"Guild Master, we're back," Shun announced, trying to sound appropriately heroic. "We took care of that Demon King that was terrorizing the northern nations of Ishgar."
He felt a little silly exaggerating, but to be fair, the situation up north had been dire enough that the title almost fit.
Makarov nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. "I see. Good work. And you've returned at the right time. There's someone here you've never met." He glanced from Shun to Gildarts, who was making his way down the street. The guild members instinctively cleared a wide path for him, a practiced maneuver to prevent any accidental city-wide destruction.
Shun's group, a mix of familiar and new faces, caught Makarov's eye. "Hmm? And who are these new faces? Recruiting again, are we?"
"I have an eye for talent," Shun said with a shrug, the formality already slipping. "You complaining, old man?"
A familiar crease popped up on Makarov's forehead, but he was too used to Shun's habit to bother correcting him. "Who's complaining, you brat? New family members are always a blessing. Now hurry up and introduce them."
Before Shun could speak, the white-haired girl stepped forward. "Hello," she said, her voice soft. "I'm Mirajane Strauss. This is my little sister, Lisanna, and my little brother, Elfman. Our village… they called me a demon and drove us out." Her expression saddened. "A few days ago, they tried to burn our house down with us inside. Shun saved us." She chanced a quick, grateful look in his direction.
Shun noticed and gave her a gentle, reassuring smile. "What she's not telling you," he added, turning back to Makarov, "is that she's a prodigy. She's already awakened her magic power and taken a demon soul. Her potential is on par with Erza's, maybe even higher." He gestured dismissively. "The villagers just saw a transformation she couldn't control and started spreading superstitious nonsense."
Makarov's expression softened with pity. "I see. Well, welcome to Fairy Tail. This guild is a home for anyone who has nowhere else to go." He gave a firm nod of approval. Shun had decided to keep the specific detail of her having Deliora's soul too to himself; no need to start new rumors when it could be a powerful trump card for her later.
Just then, the guild doors swung open.
"Master! I'm back!" Gildarts let out a massive, weary sigh, the weight of his journey seeming to slump his shoulders the moment he stepped inside.
Makarov turned to him, his expression turning serious. "Welcome back. From that look on your face… the ten-year quest was a…?"
Gildarts paused for a dramatic moment, then a wide grin broke through his exhaustion. "It was a success!"
The guild hall erupted into cheers. The roar was deafening, a wave of celebration from the members who understood the magnitude of the achievement. Shun's group, however, stood slightly apart—some curious, some indifferent, a quiet island in the storm of jubilation. It was a perfectly natural reaction for newcomers unaware of the guild's history.
"As expected of Gildarts! The strongest mage in Fairy Tail's history!" one guild member roared over the cheers.
"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?" another shouted back, though his grin betrayed his pride.
The celebration quickly devolved into the guild's favorite pastime: debate. "Hey, I wonder who's stronger?" a third member questioned, his eyes flicking pointedly between Gildarts and Shun's group. "The strongest mage in our history, or the strongest of our new generation?" It was a transparent attempt to instigate a duel, but both Gildarts and Shun seemed entirely uninterested in fighting a fellow guild member.
Gildarts, meanwhile, was scanning the crowd. "There are so many new faces…" he muttered, his gaze landing on the unfamiliar groups.
Seeing his chance, Gray—one of the few among the younger mages who knew Gildarts well—eagerly stepped up to introduce everyone. He started with the Oración Seis group, but when he turned to Shun's team, his words died in his throat. His heart stuttered, his eyes locking onto a figure he never thought he'd see again.
There stood the woman who had taught him Ice-Make magic, the one who had sacrificed herself to save him from his own reckless vengeance.
"W-What…?" he stammered, his voice tight with disbelief. "Ur… is that really you?"
Ur was equally shocked. Before her stood one of her two former disciples, the younger, more impulsive one whose actions had ultimately led to her using Iced Shell. Yet, seeing him now—safe, grown, and surrounded by a new family—any lingering thoughts of blame vanished. She felt only a surge of overwhelming relief and joy.
"Gray!" she exclaimed, her smile radiant and warm. "I'm so glad you're safe!"
The sheer, genuine light in her expression was so angelic that both Gray and Shun had to glance away, momentarily overwhelmed.
The commotion of Gildarts' arrival had stolen the moment for a proper introduction, delaying this long-awaited reunion between master and student. But now, in the hushed circle that had formed around them, it finally felt like it had arrived at the perfect time.
Leaving Gray and Ur to their emotional reunion, Shun and Gildarts finally turned their attention to one another.
"Hello there. I'm Shun, a fellow S-Class mage," Shun introduced himself, as humble as ever.
"Huh? The guild finally got another one?" Gildarts looked confused and glanced at Makarov for confirmation.
Makarov nodded, taking a sip of his beer. "Yes, and Laxus passed the exam recently, too. He's away on a mission with his new team."
"I see," Gildarts said, a wide grin spreading across his face. "The new generation is really coming up, huh?" He clapped Shun on the shoulder in a congratulatory gesture.
The guild hall descended into its usual, joyful chaos. With Natsu not yet a member, it was a slightly calmer brand of chaos, but chaos nonetheless. Shun's group scattered, mingling with the other guild members. Shun himself stayed with Gildarts, the two S-Class mages chatting about their magic and the quests they'd undertaken.
After they had warmed up, Shun casually steered the conversation toward his real intent.
"So, Gildarts, you're no spring chicken. Got any kids running around?"
The moment the words left his mouth, two people flinched: Gildarts himself, and Cana, who was sitting a short distance away with a barrel of beer.
"Huh? Did I ask something I shouldn't have?" Shun asked, noticing the shift in the older man's demeanor.
"No," Gildarts answered, a rare shadow of sadness crossing his features. "It's just… the woman I truly loved passed away."
"I see. My apologies," Shun said, genuinely contrite. His assumption had been wrong; this wasn't a story of a womanizer, but one of loss.
Yet, he didn't give up. "I've heard from people that you were quite the ladies' man back in the day, though."
A prominent crease appeared on Makarov's forehead. 'And you're one to talk? You're an even worse case, given your age!' the old master thought, but he kept his silence and swallowed a large gulp of beer instead.
"Maybe there's a kid out there somewhere, and you just don't know about it!" Shun pressed on.
A sudden, tense silence fell over the immediate area. Guild members within earshot subtly took a step back, fearing Gildarts' reaction.
Makarov finally had enough. He leaped up and bonked Shun sharply on the head. "You brat! There are some lines you don't cross!" he scolded, then turned to Gildarts with a placating wave. "Don't mind this idiot, he doesn't know what he's saying!"
The master was already calculating the structural damage if a fight broke out between these two. He trusted Gildarts not to seriously harm a junior, but that remark had been dangerously insensitive.
But Gildarts wasn't paying them any attention. He had fallen completely silent, his gaze distant. Then, as if pulled by an invisible string, his eyes drifted across the guild hall, his focus sharpening on one person: Cana, who was sitting alone by a barrel, pointedly not looking in his direction.
In the wake of Shun's blunt, almost malicious-sounding words, everyone else heard an insult. But Gildarts, in a moment of stunning clarity, heard only a simple, undeniable truth.
All the pieces he'd never let himself put together suddenly clicked into place—the way she had looked at him since the day she first joined, a mix of hope, resentment, and a desperate longing he'd been too blind to recognize.
"I'm such an idiot!" Gildarts exclaimed, the words ripped from him with profound emotion.
It was obvious. It had been obvious all along.
——
Cana Alberona POV:
Cana had never tasted beer before. The smell alone had always been enough to put her off. But today, the weight in her chest was heavier than ever. The guild was celebrating, but every cheer for Gildarts felt like a needle prick.
He was right there, finally back, and yet the chasm between them felt wider than ever.
The reason was the same as always: she couldn't tell him. She'd rehearsed the words a thousand times in her head, but watching him laugh and talk so easily with the new S-Class mage, all her courage dissolved. He was a legend, a force of nature, and she was just a girl with a deck of cards. How could she possibly walk up to him and say, "I'm your daughter"?
The sadness was a physical ache, a hollow feeling that begged to be filled with something, anything, to numb the pain. Her eyes settled on the foaming mug a older guild member had just set down nearby. The bitter scent wafted over. It smelled awful, but she saw how it made people forget their troubles, if only for a little while.
Maybe, just for today, it was worth a try.
Her hand trembled slightly as she reached for a nearby tankard, her small fingers wrapping around the heavy handle. She glanced around to make sure no one was watching her—especially not Master Makarov—before she began to carefully pour, the dark liquid sloshing into the mug like a promise of escape.
Just as the tankard touched her lips, a large, calloused hand gently covered hers, stopping her. Cana flinched and turned her head guiltily, only to find herself looking directly into the face she had always wanted to see, but never had the courage to confront.
It was her father. Gildarts.
She had been so wrapped in her own depression that she'd completely missed the shift in the guild's atmosphere and the conversation between Shun and Gildarts. Now, he was just… there, right in front of her.
"Ah, I… I was just curious about the taste…" she stammered out a weak excuse, bracing for a scolding.
But no scolding came. Instead, the eyes of the man known as Fairy Tail's strongest mage welled with tears. In one fluid motion, he pulled her into a crushing, yet gentle, embrace.
"I'm sorry… I'm such an idiot!" Gildarts apologized, his voice thick with emotion, repeating the words into her hair.
In that moment, Cana understood. The wall between them had finally crumbled. She buried her face in his chest, her own tears beginning to flow. "It's okay… I should have just said it. I was the coward."
A stunned silence had fallen over the entire guild hall. All eyes were fixed on the scene.
Cana was Gildarts's daughter?!
Makarov, completely sobered by the revelation, turned to Shun, his voice a low whisper. "You… you knew about this?"
Shun simply shrugged. "I just had a feeling. They have the same eyes."
"You heard the rumors about him being the strongest mage in Fairy Tail," Makarov pressed, his brow furrowed with a mix of awe and concern. "Do you have no fear? What if you were wrong and he'd punched you into next week?"
"I didn't care if I was wrong," Shun said, his casual tone confusing the Guild Master. He then looked at the weeping father and daughter, his expression softening. "A father and daughter being this close, yet a world apart… isn't that just too sad? If the worst thing that could happen was me getting punched, then it was worth the risk."
Makarov was left speechless. 'I've underestimated this brat,' he thought, feeling a sudden, proud sting in his own eyes. He quickly turned his back to the room, pretending to be deeply interested in gulping down his beer to hide his welling tears.
"THAT…" Elfman's voice suddenly boomed, shattering the silence. He was standing with his chest puffed out, tears streaming down his own face. "...IS A REAL MAN!"
For the first time, not a single person in the guild disagreed with him. 'He'—Shun—was a man among men.