After bidding farewell to Ajeel, who refused to let her leave without saying goodbye even though she'd be back within the week, Rin stepped onto the boat that would take her across the waters to her home continent of Ishgar. As soon as she was out of sight of her new "comrades", she slumped down to the wooden deck of the ship where her stomach could churn in peace. She remembered how long and how horrifying her first few trips on this boat were with her motion sickness and all. But she had learned to stay strong as to not look weak in front of her peers.

Rin settled into a comfortable position so she could take a nap while waiting to pull up to Fiore's port town Hargeon. From there, she would track down Natsu's strong, slightly burnt musk and find out his location. It was the only way she could think of tracking him down. Rin thought back in her slumber.

Last she had heard of, Lucy was working for the Weekly Sorcerer which meant she was bound to be stationed in the bustling capital Crocus. If Natsu had truly returned, Lucy would be the first person he'd look for. There was no doubt about that.

And just as she'd planned, Hargeon was calm and quiet as it had always been. Rin threw the hood of her black cloak up and prepared herself for her mission. While she would usually perform her tasks out in the open, she had to disguise herself in Ishgar for fear of being recognized from the Grand Magic Games. The brunette stepped off of the ship (finally) and made her way to another nemesis of hers: the train. After purchasing a ticket, she hopped onto the dreaded vehicle and took a seat far away from any other passengers. Her head fell against the window as soon as it began to move.

Rin found herself into a predicament. She hated the need for vehicles when traveling and there were only two things she could think of that could help. Leese, who had been left in Gajeel and Levy's care, and her own wings, which she had discovered the night she defeated the dragons in Crocus. She just needed to learn how to do it again. But with wings came a great loss of magic power. It could wait. She would complete her mission and could learn more about it in her spare time in Alakitasia.

Soon enough, the train arrived in the great city of Crocus. Like always, the streets were full of people enjoying the floral accents here and there. Rin stopped and let the world moved around her while she scanned her surroundings. She shut her purple eyes and breathed gently, trying to hear, smell, maybe even feel the blonde mage. But there was no luck. She moved on and began walking throughout the town. Eventually, she came to a stop near the palace. She sniffed the air again, scowling when she could smell the remnants of something that was burning. She spun around, trying to decipher just what it was.

"What the—" She stopped, her violet eyes meeting the high palace walls. On them, a faded message.

'Fairy Tail' was written in what she could only assume were flames since they were currently nothing but ash. "Natsu..." The Dragon Slayer's lip quivered slightly. "This dumbass." She chuckled and stepped closer to the scene. She went to step through the palace walls to further inspect them (and catch Natsu's scent), but a guard stopped her.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" The female didn't respond but instead took a large whiff of the burnt residue, successfully finding something familiar with it.

"Nothing," she responded lowly. "I'm done here." Rin spun and walked around the guard. She focused solely on the power of her nose and found where Natsu's scent was the strongest in the city. She eventually found a set of apartments, the one of the second floor with a gaping hole in the wall. She sniffed again. Damage like that was definitely caused by that pink knucklehead.

This time, she caught a sweeter scent. One that had changed slightly but was still very familiar. "Lucy." She smiled to herself. "You guys make it too easy." With both combined scents, she finally had a clear trail. She could tell where they walked and where they were headed. She just needed to catch up to them.

Shouldn't be too hard. In the time she knew Lucy, she knew that she liked to rest every once and awhile so her feet wouldn't start to hurt. She wore heels, after all

Rin casually walked toward the outskirts of Crocus while following their scents, not caring too much about who she'd run into just yet. But she knew, coming to Fiore meant she'd run into people that would make her next couple of months especially hard.

竜

Malba Town. It was small and peaceful. There were no mafias or monsters that made the citizens scared or rambunctious guilds there to cause a ruckus. It was just calm and quiet. Rin had spotted some Council Soldiers on a break not too far from the town and overheard that this was where they were headed to eradicate some dark guild. If there was a fight, Natsu would definitely be there.

The brunette sat at a small cafe and sipped on a porcelain cup of earl gray while she waited for any signs of magic in the area. She didn't have to wait long before massive assemblies grouped together outside of the city walls. Hopefully, someone arrived before they attacked Malba or they would be done for since Rin couldn't expose herself or her magic. That would not be good for her on either side.

Thankfully, she felt the magic power of her old guildmates approach at a fast pace. That meant that she wouldn't have to do any fighting and she could observe Natsu as planned. Rin quickly threw back her tea like it was liquor and stood from her seat, not bothering to pay. She ran to the edge of the city where she could hear fighting. After setting up a couple stepping stones with her magic, she landed on the top of a roof where she could see the battle.

The woman with scarlet hair and silver armor swept through crowds of enemies without breaking a sweat.

Gray dished out icy hits, one after another with Juvia by his side.

Lucy used her elevated strength with the help from her Celestial Spirit Taurus.

Wendy and Carla blew enemies away with a strength that surprised Rin.

And Natsu destroyed everyone in his path with flames of immeasurable heat. Rin could feel it from the roof. She was shocked. Natsu Dragneel was incredibly strong and unbeatable before, but who knew he could get any stronger? He might even be stronger than me...

Natsu stormed through Avatar's guild members until he reached the higher up.

"So you're the boss, huh? Your chances of winning are getting slimmer so give up already."

"Oh, such youth... How enviable. I, too, once had that. However, everyone eventually grows old while entering a phase in life filled with regret and despair!" Using his odd staff, the old man fired shots at Natsu which were easily brushed off. More and more attacks were pinned against the pinkette, but he got through them all with ease. Even the walls he had put up were no match for the strongest fairy.

"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Natsu slammed the older man into the ground, breaking the mask he wore to hide his scarred face. But, he laughed. "What's so funny?"

"You've lost... I've burnt my face off just for this day. That was the price I paid! And I did it willingly!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" The man laughed maniacally from his position on the ground.

"Now, it's time! Oh mighty God of War, time for you to seal your part of the deal! Grant me your powers! Summon: Ikusatsunagi!" Rin's eyes widened at the change in the air. Thick, black clouds began to swirl into one spot, the entire day darkening into a storm. Lightning struck around them and a vortex appeared in the clouds. Out of them, a giant being stepped down, crushing everything beneath its foot.

"Hey! Stop that!" Natsu gripped the old man's collar. "You're gonna kill your comrades too!" The man showed no remorse.

"This is the purification ritual." Rin could only sit back and watch as one of the 18 Battle Gods of Yakuma stepped down onto the earth. She shook in her seat and she was concerned for her comrades and the world around her.

"Now, Natsu... What will you do?"
The beast slashed its sword down and cracked the ground open with a single hit. However, that only gave a certain Dragon Slayer a path to run up and get a closer look. Natsu jumped up onto the god and prepared his fist or the strongest punch he could muster. After his first hit failed, he held his fist up to the sky, the flames of Igneel, the Dragon King, began to dance around his skin in bright waves. With newfound power, which shocked everyone watching, Natsu hurtled his fist into the skull of Ikusatsunagi, making him crumble.

It truly was a sight to see. Natsu had single-handedly defeated a god.

Suddenly, out of left field, the Council showed up and finished the job off. It was a fun reunion for the Fairy Tail members as they greeted Gajeel, Lily, and Levy's arrival. They celebrated with a battle cry, forcing their fists up into the air.

Rin couldn't help but smile for them. She was glad that they could handle their own.

"Guess I didn't have to worry at all, huh?" Rin's eyes shot wide open at the sound of a new voice.

"An army of that size versus a team of less than ten people..." Her eyes began to water and she couldn't help but feel a wave of sadness wash over her. Sabertooth's duo jogged down to greet the others as well as steal Frosche back from Gray. They all interacted like the best of friends. She wished she could be there for that.

A whimper escaped from the brunette's mouth, alarming her. She slapped her hand over her mouth, hoping not to bring notice to herself. But it was too late. A certain pinkette heard the high pitched noise and immediately looked her way. He sniffed at the air, eyes widening slightly at his discovery. Rin didn't dare move from her position since she already looked suspicious.

"Hey, Sting." The blonde looked over at his idol. "Remember when I said I'd find Rin?" His eyes never left her figure. Gajeel caught on and practically screamed at the idiot who had blown her cover. He looked to Levy who was equally lost at what to do. Without another word, Sting turned his head to see just what Natsu's eyes were caught on. He didn't need another whiff of her scent to know it was her. His jaw dropped and he began to shake.

"Rin—"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Natsu asked. "Let's go get her!" He ran toward her which sent warning bells off in her head. Rin quickly jumped down from the roof and tried to walk away casually as to not bring attention to herself. But that was impossible when you had bloodhounds on your trail.

"Rin!" She halted any movement, terrified of what would come out of this. "Rin, it's been awhile—" she glanced at them over her shoulder, her eyes glowing from under her hood.

Then, she bolted.