'You two are way too obvious...'
Ultear sighed helplessly, rubbing her forehead as she watched the silent telepathic confrontation between the master and Raizel.
Fortunately, most people's attention was focused on the tense standoff between Gajeel, Natsu, and Gray, so only Ultear noticed the eye-signaling.
"Ahem, ahem." Raizel cleared his throat tactfully to draw some attention away from the glaring contest.
"Gray, have you forgotten the surprise I mentioned?" Raizel asked, looking at Gray.
"Surprise?" Gray furrowed his brows, his expression clouding as he fell into recollection.
"So this is the surprise you were talking about? Are you sure it's not a prank?"
He remembered now.
Raizel had mentioned back at Akane Resort that there might be a "surprise" waiting when they returned to the guild.
Gray felt he really had to say thanks, but no thanks.
Sorry, he wouldn't call this a surprise; this was clearly a massive shock, okay?
"What did you and Gray mean by that???" Natsu looked back and forth between Raizel and Gray, pressing for an answer.
Raizel pondered for a moment before speaking. "Actually, Gramps asked for my opinion before letting Gajeel join the guild and I agreed."
"Why? There's no way I can work with this guy!" Natsu roared.
"Don't worry, I have no intention of working with you either," Gajeel retorted defiantly, crossing his arms.
"I just want work. I never expected to end up working in the most infuriating guild."
Raizel continued calmly, "Think of it as me repaying a favor. Gajeel helped me out once back in Phantom Lord."
Gajeel had carried out Raizel's instructions quite thoroughly back then.
Furthermore, Raizel knew Gajeel's nature wasn't bad to begin with; otherwise, Councilor Belno wouldn't have kept earnestly trying to persuade him to reform.
Natsu still protested indignantly, veins popping in his forehead.
"But he not only destroyed the guild, he also tried to attack Levy and secretly kidnapped Lucy!"
"I'm fine with it. I didn't actually get hit anyway," Levy chimed in from the side, waving her hands to placate Natsu.
Makarov had asked for Levy's opinion privately beforehand.
It was only after Levy said she was okay with it and willing to forgive that Makarov had made his final decision.
"Gajeel-san is always alone. Juvia cannot abandon him," Juvia stood nearby, sweating nervously as she frantically explained her involvement.
"Um... it's not like I've fallen for him or anything!"
Back in Phantom Lord, Juvia was relatively familiar with Gajeel.
Even though she was always accompanied by rain, Gajeel never seemed to mind and would even go on missions with her.
She believed Gajeel's nature wasn't inherently bad; he was just led astray by Jose Porla in Phantom Lord.
She was convinced that if Gajeel stayed in Fairy Tail for a while, he would surely come to feel its warmth and kindness, just as she had, and he would change.
Raizel pointed at the black stamp on Gajeel's arm. "His Guild Mark is already stamped on. It's too late for objections now."
Makarov followed up on Raizel's words, sweating profusely.
"Guiding misguided youngsters back onto the right path in life is also the duty of us old veterans. His nature isn't bad, I truly believe that."
Although he had anticipated some resistance from Natsu and the others regarding Gajeel's joining, he hadn't expected it to be this intense.
Makarov grew increasingly uneasy as he spoke, turning his face away to avoid meeting everyone's judging eyes.
Though Erza still wanted to say something, since both Raizel and Makarov had agreed, she didn't object.
She nodded sternly and said, "If it's the judgment of the Master and Raizel, we will comply."
She paused, narrowing her eyes. "But I think we still need to observe him for a while. What do you think, Master?"
Under Erza's death glare, even Makarov couldn't withstand the pressure.
He sweated buckets as he nodded repeatedly like a toy.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes..."
Gajeel and Natsu had already started butting heads literally, sparks flying as they argued fiercely.
"Speaking of which, they call themselves Dragon Slayer Mages, but I think they're more like dogs," Macao remarked while drinking at a table.
"Aye! They're way lower than cats," Happy, being more carefree, had already started casually eating a fish.
"You're really, such a heartless tomcat," Carla turned her head away, unable to bear the sight.
"Um, I think... Gajeel-san isn't so bad, that's what I believe," Wendy whispered from the side.
She always felt that beneath Gajeel's fierce exterior lay another side to him, and Gajeel, like Natsu, gave her a faint sense of familiarity as a fellow Dragon Slayer.
"Hmph, since Wendy said so, I'll reluctantly accept it!" Natsu crossed his arms and snorted, turning his head away with a distinct tsundere attitude.
"Fine, for Juvia and Wendy's sake..." Gray also reluctantly accepted.
Click.
The Guild suddenly went dark, with countless pairs of eyes blinking in the darkness.
"What's happening?"
The curtains on the Guild stage suddenly opened.
A warm yellow spotlight shone on the center of the stage.
Mirajane, wearing a lovely yellow dress, sat on a chair holding an acoustic guitar.
Natsu grinned. "It's Mira!"
"Welcome back. To celebrate Raizel and the others' safe return and the completion of their new home, I'll sing a song."
Mirajane strummed gently.
"When you're not here... because there's someone waiting for you... Woo-hoo..."
As the sweet song ended, the hall erupted in applause.
"Awesome! Who's next?" Macao shouted.
The next second... everyone froze.
Gajeel made a dazzling entrance in a pristine white suit and fedora, carrying a beat-up electric guitar.
"NANIIIIIIIIIIII?!"
"My original composition, 'Best Friend,' please listen."
"Who wants to hear that kind of thing? And why are you making a dazzling entrance in a suit?!" Gray shouted.
"Colorful, shooby-dooby~baaaa~"
Gajeel paid no mind to the various pieces of trash being thrown at him from below.
He began to play.....badly.
"Truly a form of modern art I don't understand," Raizel picked at his ear, completely unfazed.
Watching everyone around him looking utterly shattered by the dissonance was even more amusing than the performance itself.
"How can he sing so terribly and still be so into it?!" Ultear covered her ears and yelled in pain.
She had no issue with Gajeel joining the Guild, but she took great issue with his deadly singing voice!
However, there were still those with unconventional tastes.
"Not bad, Gajeel!" Juvia cheered loudly for her former colleague.
Elfman, Macao, and Wakaba also cheered him on strangely.
"That's a manly song!"
"I've never heard a song this awful before!" Natsu protested, covering his sensitive ears tightly.
"My ears..." Wendy already regretted speaking up for Gajeel.
For the two Dragon Slayers with overly sensitive hearing, this sound was nothing short of a disaster.
CRASH!
Gajeel's guitar slammed directly into Natsu's face mid-strum.
"Wanna fight? You bastard!" Natsu roared.
"Shooby doo bop!" Gajeel retorted.
Gajeel and Natsu immediately started throwing punches without another word, destroying the stage.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Shooby dooby doo, you asshole!"
"Stop this right now..." Makarov trembled nearby, watching the destruction of his brand new Guild hall.
'Nice hit, Natsu!' Ultear mentally cheered for Natsu, relieved to finally be freed from the torture of listening to Gajeel's singing!