While Zorn and Laxus were out there clearing out the Dark Guilds and searching for clues...
Meanwhile, Juvia's plans and Lucy's troubled mind, stirred up by Mirajane, are also underway.
Fairy Tail Fairy Tail
Early in the morning
"Ah, what did Natsu mean last night? Does he like me...?"
Lucy ate a pastry, her eyes blankly fixed on the book.
Her mind was filled with what Natsu had told her last night: that he had something important to tell her.
The words "I like it~" filled her mind along with Natsu's determined gaze and face, making her blush and feel shy.
"Well, never mind, I guess I'm overthinking it. Natsu wouldn't, he wouldn't..." Lucy shook her head, temporarily putting aside her terrible thoughts, and lowered her head to concentrate on reading her book.
Time passed, and Lucy picked up the last rectangular pastry and ate it.
"Ugh, this is so boring!"
Lucy looked up and sighed, but the next moment, a thick arm wrapped around her shoulder.
"Hey Lucy, feeling better today?" Natsu's carefree voice suddenly came from the side, his warm breath blowing directly onto Lucy's face.
Lucy, who had just composed herself, blushed again and pretended to push Natsu away, saying, "Hey, don't touch me like that!"
"Hey, Lucy"
Natsu looked at Lucy, who was walking away with her head down, with a puzzled expression. He couldn't help but guess that he had entered her room without permission yesterday, which had made Lucy still angry.
"I'm not happy anymore, I'm starting to care!" Lucy's mind was filled with Natsu's image, and she didn't even notice Gray walking past her with an angry look on his face.
"When are you going to stop playing, Natsu?!"
"What do you want? Do you want to fight, Gray?"
"Hateful..."
Natsu and Gray started fighting over a minor disagreement; one complained about not working, and the other was interfering with his search for something very important to him.
The two were locked in a fierce battle, while Juvia watched Gray's every move closely, looking for an opportunity to administer the Love Potion she had bought.
Meanwhile, Lucy heard some terrible news that made her heart pound wildly.
Nearby, Wakaba, Macao, Marcos, and others were gathered together, muttering something.
"I heard Natsu has someone he likes."
"No way, you're kidding, right?"
That guy clearly has no talent for this kind of thing.
"It's true, he keeps saying lately, 'I miss her so much, I miss her so much.'"
"Hey, who's that?"
"Have no idea"
After hearing this, Lucy also walked towards the Fairy Tail gate step by step, her mind filled with a beautifully idealized version of Natsu and their happy life together.
Just as she was lost in her daydreams, a voice suddenly shattered her illusion.
Hey, Lucy.
"What is it!" Lucy asked Natsu shyly, turning her head to look at him.
"I have something very important to do tonight. Could you come to the big tree in South Gate Park?"
"Tonight? Why?"
"Anyway, I have something important to say. Remember, you're coming alone." Natsu blushed as he said this, then turned and ran off shyly. "See you tonight, Lucy."
Lucy watched Natsu blush and run off into the distance, steam rising from her head. After saying goodbye to Mira, she too disappeared from sight.
Juvia then raised the Magic potion and blew it towards Gray, but Gray dodged it and blew it directly into the Guild Master's mouth.
"Lord Gray, please don't move around, phew!"
Watching Gray walk away, he quickly increased the dosage and blew out an even bigger puff, but it was dodged again and blew directly into the mouths of the three Thunder God Tribe Fairy Tail, Macao, Levy, and the others.
"Ah, damn it, all I need is Lord Gray's burning gaze, Lord Gray!" Juvia took one last breath and blew it in with all her might, finally managing to get it in just as Gray was yawning.
"Haha, it worked!"
Gray was also taken aback, blushing as he looked at Juvia, and walked towards Juvia step by step. Juvia looked at Gray with anticipation.
She didn't expect that Gray would simply ignore her and look at Happy behind him.
"Happy, you always fly around in the air as you please. I'm strong and can't fly, but you're weak and can. We're evenly matched, so you're my real opponent. Let's settle this once and for all."
"Hey, Natsu, where are you? Gray's gone crazy, I'm scared..." Happy flew back and forth, searching for Natsu, his expression full of fear.
Gray, looking indignant, challenged Happy to a duel, then chased after Happy, leaving Juvia watching with a livid expression.
The other Fairy Tail members also found their own rivals: Macao and Wakaba competed to see who earned more money, the three members of the Thunder God Tribe and Levy's trio tested their imposing presence, the Guild Master was locked in a battle of wits with alcohol, Erza was arguing with the pillars, Mira was chasing after Erza, and Elfman was crying uncontrollably, lamenting that there wasn't a single man in the Fairy Tail...
The group of people made a ruckus in the Fairy Tail all afternoon. Erza and Mira even Requip the Purgatory Armor and received the Satan Soul, causing chaos in the Fairy Tail.
The Fairy Tail was completely ruined by this Love Potion, and the shop owner had already fled. When Juvia later tried to find out what happened, all that was left was an empty shop.
Gray and Happy were standing on the upper floor behind the Fairy Tail, facing the sea, preparing to have a flying contest, and Juvia had just given them a little more magic potion.
At this moment, Gray seemed to be possessed by Natsu, his whole body engulfed in purple flames, gazing at the sky with a look of farewell.
"I'm burning even brighter! I must fly! Ahh, I can definitely fly!"
Gray accelerated off the rooftop, roaring as he ran towards the sea. With his arms outstretched, he leaped and plunged straight into the ocean, slowly floating on the surface.
On the other side, Lucy, also dressed up beautifully, arrived at South Gate Park.
"Hey, Lucy!"
When Natsu saw Lucy arrive, he grinned at Lucy, revealing two rows of bright white teeth.
"Oh no, what should I do? I never know how to say no to people." Lucy saw Natsu like this, but she was still fantasizing about the wonderful life that would follow.
The sound of "crunching" rang out, and Lucy immediately saw Natsu diligently digging something with a shovel.
"You're taking so long, Lucy. Hurry up and call Virgo out. This soil is too hard to dig."
Natsu urged Lucy anxiously, completely oblivious to the blank and dazed look on Lucy face. At the end, he even slammed his shovel into the ground.
"Oh, you... you said you had something important to say?" Lucy stammered, looking blank, as she revealed what was on her mind.
"I heard there's a treasure buried here. Apparently, it's a bunch of ugly photos of everyone in the Fairy Tail, buried by the Guild Master himself." Upon hearing this, Natsu's face immediately lit up with excitement, and he leaned closer to Lucy with a sly grin.
"Um... didn't you say you recently liked a girl, and that you liked her..." Lucy took a deep breath and stammered out the question.
"I don't really have any likes or dislikes. Oh, you mean Virgo, right? I just wanted her to dig the hole," Natsu replied calmly, digging a few times in the ground with his shovel.
"Smack~"
This answer made Lucy despise herself from the outside in; how could she possibly think that this simple-minded person would even know the word "like"?
Natsu covered his face and watched Lucy run away strangely, completely bewildered.
"Well, I'll just dig it myself!"
The sound of a shovel digging into the soil.
Natsu calmed himself down and then dug even harder.
"Ah, haha, found it, found it!"
"This is... hahaha, it's a picture of Laxus getting seasick."
"And this... a picture of Gray getting scolded by Erza, haha, and all sorts of ugly pictures of everyone, great, great."
Natsu carefully hid the treasure in his arms, quickly restored the ground to its original state, and ran home with a sly smile.
The next day, when Lucy arrived at Fairy Tail, she found the Fairy Tail looking like it had been ransacked, and she couldn't find Gray anywhere.
After asking around, they discovered that Gray had already headed towards the coastline.
The culprit, Juvia, was also hiding in a corner, heartbroken and filled with remorse.
"Lord Gray... Juvia misses you..."