Chapter 8: The Verdict
The walk back to the guild hall once they'd reached Magnolia was a procession of the damned, led by a queasy, green-tinged prophet of their own doom.
Natsu moved like a man who'd forgotten how legs worked, listing to port with every other step. "Just… just a quick detour," he'd wheeze, pointing a shaky finger at a food stall. "For medicinal meat. Stabilizes the stomach…"
"No detours!" Erza would bark from the front, not even turning around, and Natsu would wilt, groaning.
Gray stalked beside him, radiating a silent, shirtless fury. "This is all your fault," he muttered for the twentieth time.
"My fault? You're the one who followed me!"
"I was curious! It's a character flaw!"
Lucy trailed behind with Happy, who was trying to hide in her hair. The noise from the guild hall reached them a block away, the familiar, comforting roar of clashing mugs, brawling wizards, and raucous laughter. Today, it sounded like the jeering crowd before an execution.
As they pushed through the heavy double doors, the roar didn't just die. It sucked out of the room, leaving a vacuum of profound, attentive silence.
Every single head turned. Every mug halted halfway to a mouth. Mirajane paused mid-pour behind the bar, a gentle, pitying smile on her face. Cana looked up from her cards, grinning like a shark. All eyes were on the four prodigal idiots and their celestial spirit accomplice.
The whispers began, slithering through the silence.
"They're back…"
"Galuna Island, I heard…"
"Stole an S-Class..."
"Makarov's gonna boil 'em…"
Before anyone could say another word, the air at the far end of the hall crackled with power.
"ENOUGH!"
Master Makarov stood on the bar, having appeared in a flash of golden light. He was in his full, three-foot-tall, titanic rage mode. His mustache quivered. His bald head shone with righteous fury. The guild's symbol on his back seemed to pulse with anger.
"NATSU DRAGNEEL! GRAY FULLBUSTER! FRONT AND CENTER!"
The voice wasn't loud. It was a force, compressing the air in the room and nailing the two boys to the spot. They shuffled forward, Natsu still wobbly.
Makarov's eyes were like chips of flint. "You two… you insolent, reckless, brainless children! You violated the most sacred rule of this guild! You trespassed on the second floor! You stole an S-Class mission, a task of such danger it could have meant the annihilation of your entire team and the failure of a sacred trust!"
He hopped down, growing to a more intimidating height as he marched toward them, each step a mini-earthquake. "Do you have ANY IDEA what you've done? Any CONCEPT of the danger?"
Natsu, finding a last reserve of bravado from his empty stomach, tried a grin. "C'mon, Gramps! We handled it! We beat the bad guy, saved the village! Job's done, right?"
It was the wrong thing to say.
Makarov's face turned a dangerous purple. "'JOB'S DONE'?" he thundered. The windows rattled. "You nearly DIED! You are LUCKY to be standing here, and it is ONLY because of Erza's intervention that you are not a fine pink ash on a frozen shore!"
He jabbed a finger at Gray. "And YOU! You know the rules! You are supposed to be the responsible one! Instead, you followed this walking natural disaster into the abyss!"
Gray looked at the floor, his usual cool replaced by genuine shame. "I… I know, Master."
"The official judgment," Makarov boomed, his voice leaving no room for appeal, "is a THREE-MONTH SUSPENSION from the Fairy Tail guild! No request board! No jobs! No missions! No guild privileges of any kind! You are BENCHED! Like the reckless, irresponsible children you have proven yourselves to be!"
The sentence landed like a physical blow. Three months. No fighting, no adventure, no money, no purpose.
"NO! Master, please!" Natsu cried, his seasickness forgotten in a wave of panic. "You can't! I'll starve! I'll… I'll waste away!"
"Good!" Makarov shot back. "Perhaps a little emptiness in your stomach will make room for some sense in your head!"
Gray was less dramatic but no less desperate. "Master, I accept my part, but three months… There has to be community service, extra training, something!"
"The sentence is final!" Makarov declared.
Then, Erza stepped forward. The silence deepened. She removed her armored glove, placing it solemnly on the request board table, a knight's gesture of resignation.
"Master," she said, her voice clear and firm. "I knowingly accompanied them on an unauthorized S-Class mission. As the senior member present, I took de facto leadership. I share in the responsibility. Therefore, I voluntarily accept the same punishment. A three-month suspension."
A gasp rippled through the guild. Erza Scarlet, turning down work? Accepting a punishment?
Makarov stared at her, his anger momentarily tempered by something else, respect, and a faint, grim understanding. Erza's greatest flaw was her overwhelming sense of duty, which sometimes manifested as taking too much upon herself. This was that flaw in action, but it was also her integrity. Letting her share the punishment was, perversely, a form of respect for her own code.
He sighed, the titanic rage deflating into weary disappointment. "...Very well, Erza. Your request is noted, and accepted. The suspension applies to you as well."
He then turned his gaze to Lucy, who flinched. "As for you, young lady…"
Lucy braced herself.
"You joined this mission under false pretenses, unaware of its classification," Makarov said, his tone slightly softer. "You are an uninformed accomplice, not a rule-breaker. You will receive a formal reprimand, and you will spend the next month assisting Mirajane with guild hall maintenance and ledger-keeping. Consider it an education in how we do things here."
Lucy sagged with relief. Paperwork and cleaning were a heavenly reprieve compared to the abyss of a three-month suspension. "Y-yes, Master! Thank you!"
And so, the verdict was passed. Three of Fairy Tail's heaviest hitters, the fire, the ice, and the sword, were grounded. The guild slowly returned to its noisy life, the spectacle over, now buzzing with gossip about the unprecedented suspension.
Natsu stood shell-shocked, staring at the request board teeming with jobs he couldn't take. Gray looked utterly defeated. Erza merely nodded, already mentally planning her enforced hiatus.
Makarov, back to his small size, watched them. The anger was gone, replaced by the deep, quiet worry of a grandfather. He'd saved them from the mission's monsters. Now, he could only hope the boredom of the next three months wouldn't break them in a whole new way.
From the bar, Mirajane's gentle voice cut through the gloom. "Would any of you sentenced gentlemen like a drink? On the house. It might… soften the blow."
Natsu didn't hesitate. He stumbled toward the bar, the call of free food and drink the only law he could currently obey.