Trust

Return to the Past | 過去に戻る

"Master," a voice called out from in front of Makarov.

Said Master looked up from his pile of paperwork, recognizing the voice but still shocked when he saw Loke in front of him and immediately feared that something bad had happened. The last time he saw him was on one of the saddest days in the guild—the day when Lucy announced her departure for good—and he severely doubts that he would come all the way back here unless something truly horrible had happened, so he cannot be blamed for the dread that came upon him.

Though Lucy was no longer a part of the guild, in his heart, she will always be one of them and nothing will ever change that. So, steeling himself, he prepared for whatever it may be that caused Loke's sudden arrival.

As the Spirit explained why he was here though, Makarov let out a relieved sigh.

Of all the reasons he had expected to be the cause for Loke showing up unannounced, he had never expected it to be because Team Natsu and Lucy were stuck on Tenrou Island with no way to return and when he had this explained to him by Loke, he couldn't help the fit of laughter he erupted into.

Apparently, everything had been caused by a spell from a wizard from... somewhere pretending to be Lisanna, but she's now been defeated by Mirajane, he hears, and this somehow resulted in not only everyone's memory being restored—which, what the hell, but also Lucy somehow ending up back with them.

Of all the things he could have expected, this was very far down on the list.

Now, it may seem odd for this possibility to even be on his list, but when it comes to his guild members, nothing is impossible and though he's come to expect the unexpected, he's still always shocked by what they manage to accomplish, especially so when it comes to Team Natsu. But even still, them ending up on an island in the actual middle of nowhere that no one should be able to get to that easily is still so utterly Team Natsu that Makarov can't even bring himself to be mad about it.

Loke, having finished his explanation and relaying their request for a ship or something of the sort to bring them back to Magnolia, bid the Master goodbye and forcefully closed his own gate, leaving Makarov alone in his office.

Unable to help himself, he smiled, knowing that he will never get tired of the antics and the feats of Team Natsu and eager to finally see Lucy again, immediately ignoring the rest of the stacks of paperwork he still has left to go find a ship.

- - - - -

A short few hours of waiting later (with Natsu and Gray's bickering being entertaining enough to pass the time with ease), a medium sized ship pulled up to the docks of Tenrou Island, Erza noticing it first and alerting everyone else about its arrival.

As excitable as ever, Natsu jumped up, running head first into the ship and screaming his greetings to the people on the ship, Makarov and Mirajane, the only two who were available to leave on such short notice and wouldn't have an extremely strong reaction to seeing Lucy again.

"Hi Lucy," Mira waved, her usual smile just a bit brighter than usual.

Lucy returned the greeting and turned to Makarov, a bit nervous about how she should greet him. She didn't have to worry, though, as unlike what she expected, he welcomed her back with open arms and at that moment, Lucy had to stop herself from tearing up, his reaction so different than what she thought it would be.

Of course, she knew that Mira wouldn't have changed—even before, she stayed the same and was even the one to stop the not-Lisanna, but while she knew Master would similarly be as she remembered, she never expected it to be the exact same, like nothing had even happened and she was still one of his precious grandchildren.

The boat started moving shortly after, Natsu going completely out of commission mere seconds later and Wendy feeling the slightest bit seasick but not nearly to the degree that Natsu was. At the same time, everyone else found themselves a place to sit, ignoring the pile of mush Natsu had turned into and helping Wendy feel better and Lucy could feel her chest tighten, knowing how much she missed this.

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A/N: Wow... it's already 2025... that's crazzyyy... the last time I checked the date it was September... literally, my only excuse this time is that I didn't realize just how long it's been T-T—next update will be before the end of next week though because I've already started it and wrote myself a reminder to not forget! Thanks for reading!