#I ain’t got time for your nonsensical chime-ins

[suspencerrrr]

'Bill' is a nickname, and nicknames are for friends, and William Cipher is no friend of mine.

[superfreakerz]

TDDUP 29

"Til Death Do Us Part"

Rated M for smut and heavy themes.

Reincarnation/Immortality AU

Summary: There are immortals and there are those who reincarnate, but it's best to keep these things hidden. Lucy is attending college and meets Natsu, a boy with pink hair, a mischievous grin, and a body that never ages.

Read earlier chapters on FF.net

Chapter 29

The Immortals

The car ride home was insufferable. Lucy could feel Gajeel's glare piercing the back of her head, Erza chose to sit in between her and Natsu- which she could only assume was to keep him away from her- and nobody had said a single word since the night before. Even the music that Gray so graciously played in hopes of lightening the mood did nothing to ease the tension. The negative aura was thick, and it felt like she was being suffocated with everyone's blatant stares.

All she had to do was show them the locket. Inside was proof that she wasn't just twenty years old. Still, part of her wondered if that was going to be good enough for them. Technically, she was still a mortal, and if Gajeel's dirty looks were enough to go off of, they had some pretty bad run-ins with mortals who knew of their secret.

A sigh slipped past Lucy's lips. All she wanted was to go on a ski trip with her friends. Couldn't she just have one day without some bad luck interfering with her plans?

Turning her head, she glanced past Erza to look at Natsu. As if feeling her stare, he turned towards her and gave her a show-stopping grin that somehow managed to chip away at her anxiety.

Her lips curled into a grin. At least there was one good thing that happened on the trip. The secrets that strained their relationship were now out in the open. She could finally be her true self around people. That is, being a girl who reincarnates. She didn't have to hold back on details, she didn't have to lie, and she didn't have to keep her lives straight anymore.

She was sure the same went for Natsu. Sure, he had a group of friends that shared his immortality, but he must've felt the same way about her. Now, he didn't have to lie to her about anything.

Everything felt so easy now.

Or at least it should have if it weren't for her overly skeptical friends.

Seriously, they were immortals for god's sake! Their bodies healed at abnormal rates and they never aged. Why was it so weird that she reincarnated? When they got to her apartment, she was going to make sure to rub it in their sorry faces and demand an apology. It was the least they could do after putting her through the wringer.

Reaching Lucy's apartment, the group stretched their legs outside. After being trapped in the silent car for the past four hours, they were relieved to finally be free of its confines.

"I'll go grab the locket and prove how ridiculous you guys are being," Lucy said, heading to the steps to her apartment when Gajeel blocked her path.

"Oi, remember our deal?" he asked, peering down at her. "We go together. Gotta make sure you ain't cheating."

"How in the world could I cheat? This isn't some contest, you know?"

"You could photoshop it or something!"

"How would I even have time to do that?"

"Doesn't matter! We're all comin' with you!"

Lucy rolled her eyes. Grabbing her suitcase out of the trunk, she rolled it behind her as she walked to her apartment, making sure to run over Gajeel's toes in the process.

"Fine. Come on then," she said. She couldn't deny that her feelings were hurt. After all they'd been through, they still couldn't trust her? The only thing that made her feel better was knowing that Natsu believed her, even without needing to see the proof that lied within her locket.

Waiting for everyone to finish putting their luggage aside, Lucy headed towards the bathroom. The group followed closely behind as if they were little ducklings trailing after their mother.

"The bathroom's small, so some of you might want to stand out in the hall," Lucy suggested.

"Nonsense," Erza replied. "We can all huddle together."

Lucy sighed as the whole group squeezed themselves into the bathroom with her. The seven huddled together, their elbows poking into each other while Lucy stood a foot away by the tub. Bending over, she swiftly threw open the drawer, slamming it into Gajeel's shin. The boy jumped away with a yelp.

"Oops," she said with a shrug.

Gajeel rubbed the sore spot, glaring at the blonde. "Didja really hafta do that?"

"You deserved it. In fact, if you ask me, all of you deserve it. Other than Natsu, of course."

Natsu grinned. "I've got your back, Luce! Now hurry up and show us what's in the locket! I've been dying to know for weeks!"

Lucy smiled at him. Grabbing the tampon box, she dumped it out into the drawer. Sure enough, the locket fell out with a thud.

"So that's where you hid it!" Natsu exclaimed. He tried to push everyone out of his way so he could get a closer look, but with how cramped the bathroom was, he was stuck in place. "Wait, but I checked there for other evidence and there wasn't anything in there!"

"Wait, you checked for evidence? When? And for what?"

"While you were visitin' your old man. I kinda thought that you were an immortal too, so I looked through all your stuff for any clues. I didn't find anything!"

"Oh. That's because the only hard proof that I keep with me is this locket," Lucy explained, dangling it in the air. "I don't have access to anything else."

Before she could say another word, Gajeel snatched the necklace out of her hand.

"How is this supposed to prove anything?" he asked, his crimson eyes piercing hers.

"Open it, idiot," Lucy answered, crossing her arms over her chest expectantly.

Everyone peered over Gajeel's shoulders, watching as he opened the locket to reveal a black-and-white picture of Lucy between an older couple.

"I don't get it," Gray said.

Lucy sighed, grabbing the necklace from Gajeel's hand and carefully removing the photo. Unfolding its edges, she handed it back to the boy. "Look at the date at the corner."

Natsu's eyes widened as he read the date. It was over sixty years ago.

"Ha! I toldja she wasn't lying!" he exclaimed, slapping Gajeel upside the head.

"This doesn't prove anything!" the other boy barked. "This coulda been photoshopped!"

"When would she have photoshopped it, dumbass?" Gray asked. Somehow during their time in the bathroom, he had ended up shirtless.

"Gray's right," Levy chimed in. "There would've been no reason for Lu-chan to photoshop a fake date onto it when she didn't know about us until yesterday."

Juvia shrugged. "Juvia believed her last night, so this doesn't change anything."

"You did?" Lucy asked, her mouth parting.

"Yes. Considering Juvia is an immortal, it isn't impossible for other kinds of beings to exist."

"Oh my god, yes! Thank you for saying that, Juvia! Seriously, the rest of you are all just a bunch of hypocrites!"

"Yeah!" Natsu agreed, pushing past the others so that he could stand by Lucy. "You guys shoulda trusted her!"

Gajeel scoffed, crossing his arms over his burly chest. "I still don't believe it."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked with a groan. "You need more proof? Fine. Follow me." Slipping through the group, she led the way to the dining room where her laptop rested on the table. Opening up a searching browser, she started to type her name.

"I already looked you up," Gajeel said. "I didn't find anything that proves you reincarnate."

"That's because you were looking up the wrong name. My first name stays the same whenever I am reborn, but I am always born into a new family, so my last name changes. You looked up Lucy Heartfilia. The first name I went by was Lucy Ashley."

Pressing enter, the page was reloaded with multiple links. Most of them led to the social medias of other girls that went by the same name. Muttering incentives to herself, Lucy narrowed the search with details of her death and tried again. This time, a link to her obituary popped up. Clicking it, she was led to a page that showed some of her pictures, a brief description of her life, and an explanation of how she died. In the back of her head, she noted how strange it felt reading about her own death, but at the moment, she was too spiteful to care.

"Holy fuck," Gray breathed out, pulling a chair out next to Lucy.

"So it is true," Erza added, her eyes wide as she cupped her chin.

"That's what I've been telling you guys," Lucy said, standing from her seat so that she could face all of them with a glare. "But you didn't believe me."

"I apologize Lucy, but can you really blame us?"

"Yes! I can! I believed you guys about your immortality right away!"

"Yes, but you were shown the facts first. It was impossible to deny it when you saw Natsu's body healing on its own. For us, we didn't see any proof that you reincarnate. We never believed in reincarnation before. It was just awfully convenient timing to confess such a thing, so it was easier to believe that you would say whatever you had to so that you could still be with Natsu."

Lucy crossed her arms, her glare never wavering. "Okay, yes. I can agree with you on that. I did see the proof, and maybe I wouldn't have believed that you guys were immortal if I hadn't seen Natsu's body regenerating. But did you guys have to treat me like crap because of it?"

Erza glued her gaze to the floor with a frown. "No. And we shouldn't have treated you like that. I am truly sorry for what we said last night."

"I am too," Levy added, wringing her hands together. "We've been best friends for a long time, I shouldn't have dismissed you so quickly, especially when you've been nothing but kind to me. I was a bad friend."

"Same goes for me and Jellal," Gray said.

"Juvia should've stuck up for you," the other blue-headed girl chimed in. "Juvia believed you, but she was scared of saying something last night."

Lucy glanced towards Gajeel expectantly. Part of her expected him to be stubborn and refuse to apologize. Instead, he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. What he did next was surprising.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," the boy said. "Look, there's nothin' I can say that's gonna change how I acted. Truth is, I've had some bad experiences with mortals who found out that I'm immortal- a lot of us have. I just wanna keep Levy safe. Guess I got a lil' carried away."

"A little?" Lucy asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm glad you guys are apologizing and all, but that doesn't change anything. You guys made me feel horrible last night, and I warned you before that I wasn't going to be so quick to forgive you."

"Yeah, I know. So let us make it up to you."

"How?" Lucy asked, arching a brow.

Gajeel's face was serious as answered, "We'll take you to Fairy Tail."

The widening gazes of everyone else in the group went unnoticed by Lucy as she threw her arms in the air.

"You think taking me out for some food and drinks is going to make it up to me?" she asked incredulously. "That's the dumbest-"

"Fairy Tail isn't just a pub. It's home of the immortals. Taking you there could get us in a lot of trouble."

"Gajeel!" Erza hissed.

The boy turned to face her with a shrug. "We were gonna take her to see Makarov anyways if she was tellin' the truth. Why not bring her to Fairy Tail? We can make it up to her by telling her everything. There's no better way of showin' her that we trust her now."

Lucy glanced at Natsu, who grinned back at her with a nod. She couldn't deny that her curiosity was more than piqued. She finally knew where they lived! She just couldn't believe that she'd been there a million times without knowing.

"I can get on board with that idea," Lucy said. She knew that it was a big risk to them, so she knew it was a big deal and that they were really trying to make it up to her. "If you take me there, I will agree to put all of this behind us."

Erza glanced at the others to make sure they were on board. Receiving a bunch of nods and shrugs, she turned back towards Lucy.

"Alright," the redhead stated. "We will take you there. Just keep in mind that there are other immortals who might be wary of you. They will all be surprised to see you."

"Wait, there's more of you?" Lucy asked, her mouth hanging open.

"Yes. Fairy Tail is an organization built to support immortals. The pub is a way to bring in money while the basement houses all of us."

"That's so cool!"

"I can't wait to show you to everybody!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing an arm around the girl's shoulders. "You gotta try Mira's cooking!"

Lucy arched a brow. She remembered that name. "Mira? Isn't that the friend who moved away?"

"Oh, yeah! I forgot I sorta told you about her! Truth is, we aren't supposed to bring up anyone who lives in the basement, but it just kinda slipped out that one time. So then we had to tell you that she was our friend who moved away, but she's really living in the basement!"

"Wait, why is she living in the basement?"

"It's a long story," Levy said. "We'll tell you all about it when we get to Fairy Tail."

"Prepare to get groped," Gray added, leading the way to the door.

Lucy covered her breasts with her arms. "Groped!?"

"He means Cana," Natsu explained while she locked her door behind them. "She has a thing for big boobs. And yours are huge."

Growing red in the face, Lucy slapped the boy upside the head. "Natsu! You can't just say things like that!"

"Ow! But it's true!"

That got him another slap.

Arriving at Fairy Tail, Lucy's stomach was doing flips. Her fingers wiggled at her sides as she stepped inside the pub, antsy at meeting the rest of the immortals. Following the others behind the counter into an area that was restricted to the public, she watched them head down a flight of narrow steps. Not wanting to get lost, she trailed closely behind.

Each step made her stomach churn. When they reached the bottom of the staircase, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

The steps led to what looked like a lobby. There were multiple sofas, tables and chairs, and even entertainment centers. There was also a bar, where a stunning woman was drying off glasses. Her hair was snow white and fell in waves, her eyes a brilliant shade of blue. She turned to greet them, but the words died in her throat the moment she laid eyes on Lucy. The glass in her hands dropped to the floor, shattering and catching the attention of everyone else around.

There was another girl slouched in one of the stools by the bar. Her hair was also wavy, but it was a relaxing shade of brown. She was clad in a pair of khakis and a bikini top, clutching a barrel to her chest. Her cheeks were dusted pink, clueing Lucy into what could possibly be in the barrel.

At one of the entertainment centers sat a man even larger and more muscular than Gajeel. His hair was blonde, and he had a scar running down one of his eyes. Over his ears were two large headphones with spikes protruding from the sides. Surrounding him was a man with long green hair, a scantily dressed woman with glasses, and a man wearing the strangest outfit Lucy had ever seen before.

All of them had their eyes on her, and it was clear that her presence was unexpected, if not unwelcomed.

"Erza," the blonde man called out, jumping to his feet. "Who is this?"

The redhead gnawed on her lower lip. Well, there was no use in lying. "This is Lucy."

"Wait, Lucy? As in the Lucy?" the silver-haired girl behind the bar asked. A shaky hand flew up to her mouth. "You guys brought a mortal into the basement?"

"What the hell are you guys thinking?" the brunette asked, setting aside her barrel as she glared at them.

"It's a long story," Erza answered. "We need to speak to Master. Is he in his office?"

The brunette nodded. "Good luck. Seems to me you've got a death wish."

Erza turned back to the group. "I will go let Master know that we need to speak to him. Wait here and do not move. Understood?"

Natsu flinched under the menacing stare she directed at him. "A-Aye!"

"Good. I will return shortly."

Lucy kept her eyes on the ground. Perhaps they should've given the others a heads-up that she was coming. Now, she felt unwelcomed. Not that she could really blame the others. She wouldn't be too happy either if some stranger just let themselves into her home.

"Oi, mortal," a voice called out. Lifting her gaze, Lucy saw the brunette waving her over. "C'mere. Have a drink."

"O-Oh, I wouldn't want to be a bother," she replied, waving her hands in front of her face.

"Just have a drink already. I'm sure you've gotta feel awkward with all this."

Natsu nodded at her, gesturing for her to go mingle with the other immortals. Swallowing thickly, she took the empty seat beside the brunette while Natsu sat on the other side of her. At least he was there to keep her company.

"The name's Cana," the other girl said, pointing at herself. "Nice to meetcha, Lucy. We've heard a shit ton about you. Oi, Natsu, you're right! She does have ginormous knockers!"

"Toldja!" the boy replied. The two shared a high-five behind the blonde's back while she because a blushing mess.

"I-It's nice to meet you too," Lucy said. "So you are an immortal too?"

"Yep. Have been longer than most of these guys."

"Really? I didn't know that some of you could be immortals longer than others."

"Oh yeah. Immortality is way more of a complicated bitch than most people would think."

So many questions floated around in Lucy's mind. She had no idea how immortality worked. Were people born with it? Did it run in their genes? Was there any sort of limit to their immortality? Opening her mouth to ask one of her many questions, the girl was cut off as Erza entered the room.

"Master will see us now," she said.

"What did you tell him?" Jellal asked.

"I told him that there was someone here to see him. I did, however, leave out the fact that she is a mortal. I figured it would be best to explain it all together."

Lucy swallowed thickly. "I'm scared of meeting this Master person."

"Don't be," Natsu replied, nudging her gently in hopes of alleviating some of her anxiety. "Gramps is awesome! And you're a girl, so he'll definitely go easier on you. If anything, he'll just try to kill me for bringing you."

"Yes, because that definitely makes me feel better."

"Good! Let's go, Luce!"

Cana watched as Natsu dragged the mortal away by the wrist. The rest of the group followed behind them.

"You okay, Mira?" Cana asked, her gaze tearing away from the hallway where the others went in order to face the other girl. A frown immediately graced her face as she found tears welled in the blue orbs of her close friend.

Mira's shaky hand flew up to her chest, her eyes wide and glazed over with hot tears. Her breathing was heavy and ragged as she hyperventilated.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," she breathed out, rubbing her neck. "I-I was just a little surprised, but I'm fine."

Cana frowned, but she didn't bother arguing with the other girl. All she knew was that there had better been a damn good reason why Natsu and the others brought a mortal into their safe haven.

Lucy was a fumbling mess by the time they reached the door to what she assumed was Master's office. Natsu's warm hand slid into hers, lacing their fingers together and giving her hand a gentle squeeze, silently telling her that it was going to be okay. She decided to take his word for it.

Following Erza and the others, Lucy's eyes immediately landed on the tiny, elderly man that sat at a desk that was taller than him. The top of his head was bald, but the sides sported patches of silver hair. He had a white goatee and a fluffy white coat. At the sight of her, he cocked his head to the side.

"Hello, my name is Makarov" the man greeted, jumping onto his desk so that he could stand at the same height as her. "I heard that someone wanted to see me. That must be you."

"Umm, yes," Lucy replied, shaking his hand.

"You must be an immortal. Let me get some paperwork started and we can get you all situated to join our family!"

"Oh- uhh- I'm actually not an immortal."

"Oh, you must be a government official affiliated with immortals."

"Actually, I'm just a friend of these guys. My name is Lucy."

Makarov halted his movements, the uncapped pen in his hand dropping onto the desk and tainting some of the documents.

"I'm sorry, come again? I don't believe I heard you right the first time. Pardon my bad hearing, it comes with the old age," he said, cupping his hand around his ear.

"Umm, Master, this is Lucy. Natsu's girlfriend and our friend from school," Erza explained.

The man whipped his head towards Erza. "What!? Erza! What are you thinking bringing an outsider here!? You know better than that! Oh no. The school will probably have to be shut down, along with Fairy Tail. We'll all have to relocate and who knows what will happen to-"

"Lucy's not just some outsider," Natsu interrupted. "She's different than the other mortals!"

"Natsu, I understand she's your girlfriend, but that doesn't mean you can bring her here!"

"No, not just that! Tell him, Lucy!"

Lucy swallowed thickly. Her gaze was pointed at the desk as she was too afraid to meet the gaze of the older man who- despite his kind smile- had an air of authority to him that frightened her.

"Umm, I uhh, I…" she started, the words dying in her throat due to her nerves.

"Spit it out, dear," Makarov said. "I have to know what made these brats think it was acceptable bringing you here."

"…The truth is, I reincarnate every time I die."

Makarov's eyes went wide, his jaw slack.

"I know it's hard to believe," Gajeel began, "but she's got proof! She has a picture of herself from sixty years ago, and there are obituaries written about her past lives!"

"It's true," Erza chimed in, hoping to calm the monster that resided in the older man. He was a usually kind man, but if angered enough, well… That wasn't something anyone wanted to see. "I've seen the proof myself."

"I see…" Makarov said, stroking his beard. "That is why you brought her here. To ask questions about her situation."

"Oh, no," Lucy replied, shaking her head. "I came to learn more about Natsu and the others."

Natsu cocked his head to the side as he took another step closer to Makarov. "Wait a sec. You aren't as surprised as I thought you'd be. Gramps, do you know something about reincarnation?"

Makarov's face was serious as he mulled over the question. With a sigh, he nodded. "Yes. I am familiar with some of the history of reincarnation."

Lucy's hands went limp at her sides, her mouth trembling as she choked out, "W-Wait, what?"

She had gone there to learn about immortality, but there stood a man with the truth about herself. For lifetimes she had tried researching about reincarnation, only to come up with people's theories and misconceptions as to what it would be like. Hell, in her three lifetimes of searching, she had only found one other person in the world who shared her experience. And now she was finally going to learn about the curse that haunted her?

Natsu glanced over to Lucy. Her eyes were wide with surprise as she swayed. Looping an arm around her waist, he kept her steady.

Makarov's stare was serious as he asked, "Would you like to know more about reincarnation? The history is tied to immortality."

Natsu whipped his head towards Makarov. "It is? Then why haven't we heard about it before?"

The old man frowned, fiddling with his coat. "Lucy, please have a seat. I will do my best to explain." The girl nodded slowly, moving to sit in the chair that was in front of the desk. Only once she did, Makarov continued, "First, I shall start off by saying that I am a mortal, and everything that I tell you has happened long before I was born. In fact, it happened before all of us were born."

"Even longer than me?" Gray asked, having been the oldest immortal in the room.

"Yes. It was four hundred years ago. Reincarnation is much like immortality. Nobody can control it, and it isn't passed down through genes. It is much rarer than immortality, however. Long ago, there was an immortal- or I suppose I should say there is an immortal since he is still roaming the world somewhere. He is one of the oldest known immortals in the world. I have heard of him through Mavis herself."

"Who is Mavis?" Lucy asked.

"She is also one of the first to discover her immortality. She is also founder of Fairy Tail. She was around at the time it happened."

"It?" she repeated, cocking her head to the side. "What happened?"

Makarov's frown deepened. "A massacre. Around four hundred years ago, the first reincarnation was discovered. He is known as the Spirit King because of how many 'souls' he has had since he has died and been reborn numerous times. It was four hundred years ago when he was reborn for the first time. Immortals had already been around back then, and apparently he was familiar with one. His friend brought him to meet some other immortals, as it was such a strange finding. However…"

"What? What is it?"

"Among one of the immortals was a man named Acnologia. As you know, immortality isn't passed down through genes. It is completely arbitrary on who becomes an immortal. Acnologia had a daughter named Sonya. Because of his immortality, he was forced to watch his daughter grow up before his eyes and eventually die while he had to keep living without her. Because of this, he hated his immortality. All he wanted was to die so that he can be reunited with his daughter in the afterlife."

Makarov forced himself to meet Lucy's inquisitive gaze as he continued, "When he found out that there was a man who had his wish of dying and resented it, it set something off inside of him. He followed the Spirit King that night, sneaking up from behind him and killing him."

A gasp slipped past Lucy's lips, her hands flying to cover her mouth. "B-But it wasn't his fault that he can reincarnate!"

"I know. But in Acnologia's eyes, the Spirit King's existence was a great injustice. He gathered up some immortal followers with the same mindset and together they sought out those who could reincarnate. They massacred them all, searching for them everywhere across the globe and murdering them over and over again."

Tears ran down Lucy's cheeks as she imagined what it was like to constantly be reborn and murdered by such monsters. Not only were they cursed with reincarnation, they were also being hunted every life. Then it hit her.

"W-Wait…" Lucy began, her head spinning. "Immortals never die, which means…"

"Yes," Makarov said with a nod, his frown deepening. "They are all still alive, including Acnologia."

"B-But what if he finds out about me!" Lucy cried, glancing towards Natsu. Her breaths were staggered, her heart beating a mile per minute. "I-I don't want to be hunted down!"

Natsu smoothed a hand over her head, bringing the girl in for a hug as he tried to soothe her.

"Don't worry," he said, wiping away her tears. "I'm not gonna let that happen to you."

Lucy covered her mouth with her hand, trying to quiet her sobs.

"Natsu is right, you do not need to worry," Makarov said. "After the massacre, many of the immortals who were in on the killings were locked up. The immortals have a connection to high officials in the government thanks to Mavis. The officials are why organizations like Fairy Tail exist. They locked up most of the murderers. Acnologia and a few others did manage to escape, but the odds of him finding you are slim to none."

Lucy nodded slowly, but it didn't make her fear go away. Sure, maybe he wouldn't kill her in this lifetime, but what about the next one? Or the one after that? Acnologia was immortal and she reincarnated, he had all the time in the world to find her.

Natsu could feel Lucy shaking in his arms. Gently grabbing her face, he forced her to face him.

"I promise I'll protect you, Lucy," he said, his face serious. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Neither will we," Gray chimed in, ruffling the blonde's hair. "You're one of us now."

Lucy smiled at her friends, starting to regain some of her composure. "Thanks, guys."

"Lucy," Makarov started, "would you like to meet others like you?"

The girl whipped her head towards the man. "R-Really? You know more people like me?"

"Yes. Though, perhaps I shouldn't say meet. You've already met them before, actually. You all have."

"Wait, what?" Natsu asked. "Who?"

"A handful of professors at Fairy Tail are reincarnations. Aquarius, Scorpio, and Capricorn, you've had them this quarter, correct? They all reincarnate."

"What!? How come you didn't tell us this!?"

"After the massacre, the existence of reincarnations was swept under the rug and kept a secret from later immortals in case they had the same mindset as Acnologia. When Mavis first stumbled upon Aquarius and found out the truth about her, she wanted to make sure that she had a place to turn to in the world. So, she invited her, along with other reincarnations, to teach at the University whenever they are at an old enough age to return."

Lucy gawked. Finally, everything was starting to make sense. Her talk with Aquarius, why Capricorn was so interested in her story about reincarnation, everything. They were like her.

"Wait, but how did they know about me?" Lucy asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I think they know that I reincarnate. How did they find out?"

"I am unsure. Perhaps you can ask Aquarius when the new term starts."

Lucy nodded. She would definitely have to do that. But for now, all she wanted was to sleep. After the rollercoaster of a day she had, she was left winded.

"I-I think I need to be alone for a little bit," she said. "I should go home."

"Feel free to come down to the basement any time," Makarov replied.

Thanking him for everything, Lucy followed the others back to the lobby. She noted that the other immortals were gone.

"I'll walk you home," Natsu said.

"Thanks," Lucy replied. Saying goodbye to her friends, she followed Natsu up the stairs and back to the pub. Stepping outside the grand doors of Fairy Tail, she turned back and admired the building. This whole time, it had been the home of her friends, and she never even knew it. It was also home to other immortals, who she planned on getting closer to.

Though, that could wait until tomorrow.