Meanwhile with Natsu, he returned to his house and started packing his things to leave.
"I hope everyone is okay during this time," he said.
After a while, he finished everything and left the house. He took one last stroll around Magnolia before leaving.
It was late at the guild, everyone had already arrived and was still celebrating. Suddenly, the guildmaster stepped onto the guild stage and called the members' attention.
"Everyone, pay attention. I have something to say," the guildmaster said, calling everyone's attention. "But since Natsu came to talk to me, he asked me for a one-year leave from the guild. He must have left town by now." Everyone remained shocked by this.
"How come he asked for a year's leave without telling us?" Lucy asks.
"That's right, he should have at least told us that in front of us," Gray says.
"He must have his reasons. When he came to talk to Master, but since I was younger, I could see he was a little down," Mira says, seeing Natsu more seriously and knowing he must have said something serious to Master.
"How come Natsu left? I can't handle myself," Happy says, tearfully. "He was so happy yesterday, why would he do something like that today?" He continues, still in disbelief.
"He said he wanted to be alone for a while, and said they wouldn't need to go after them; he'd be back in a year or two. He also told Happy to tell him to live with Wendy or Lisanna until he gets back," the Master says, looking at the blue cat.
Hearing this, Erza felt a pang in her heart. She herself, not knowing why, felt like she'd missed something when she heard the master.
"Even so, we have to look for him to find out why he's like this," Erza said, worried about Natsu.
"Give him some time to cool down, then he'll come back to normal," Laxus said.
(NOTE: He wasn't banned from the guild; the blow he took from Natsu and Gajeel fixed the screws in his head.)
Hearing this, everyone looked at Laxus, hoping for a better answer.
"What do you mean by that? Do you happen to know why he did that?" Erza asked Laxus doubtfully. Everyone looked at him, waiting for an answer.
"Not only me, but other Dragon Slayers must also know why he left," Laxus replied, looking directly at Erza, and everyone started looking at the other Dragon Slayers.
"If you know the reason, why don't you tell us?" She asks again, even though she doesn't know why she's so worried about why Natsu left.
"This is his business, there's no reason for me to get involved in this, since he just wants to be alone to think better," says Laxus. Since this has nothing to do with him, he has no reason to evolve.
"Laxus is right, Salamandre just needs some time, then he'll be back," says Gajeel.
"Yes, you don't need to worry about Natsu-san, he'll be back later, he said so himself," says Wendy.
After much discussion, the guild members let Natsu do what he wants. After everything was resolved, Happy decided to live with Wendy, but after he went to live at home, he didn't leave the house.
When Erza left, she was also acting strange. She felt like something was missing, she had a strange feeling.
----------------------------------------------------
A few days had passed since everyone found out Natsu had left. Happy finally decided to leave Wendy's house. While he was walking (or flying, whichever you prefer) through town, he saw Erza at a bakery buying strawberry cake.
So he decided to talk to her, getting closer so he could speak.
"Hey, Erza," Happy greeted.
"Hey, Happy, have you finally decided to leave the house?" Erza asked back.
"Yes. I have to train for when Natsu comes back," Happy replied.
"That's good for you, but do you know why Natsu left without saying anything?" she asks, since he's been wondering for a while.
"I don't know either. The last time I saw him was at sunset, the day we got back from Tenrou Island. He was so happy at that moment, he was even going to talk to you," Happy says, a little sad that his friend had left him.
This made Erza a little curious, since she doesn't remember talking to Natsu later that afternoon. "How come he was going to talk to me? I don't remember him looking for me later that afternoon." She asks why Natsu hadn't spoken to her.
"He told me himself he was going to talk to you at that time. You were even in the guild shop," he says, since Natsu himself had told him.
Hearing this, Erza feels a little strange, since she hadn't spoken to Natsu. Suddenly, she remembers the conversation she had with the girls. That was at sunset. Realizing this, her body begins to tremble, thinking that maybe Natsu heard her conversation with the girls.
In those few days, she had already given up on confessing to Jellal. Because in those few days, she realized she had feelings for the pink-haired boy, much more than what he felt for Jellal. The love she felt for Jellal was more like a childhood crush, since he was her first love. He wanted to keep that love.
But after Natsu left, she realized that her feelings for him were stronger than her feelings for Jellal; what she felt for him was true love.
"Did he hear the whole conversation? But even if that's true, why did he leave?" ' she says.
"Happy, what did Natsu tell me? Maybe it will help me find out why he left," she asks, trying to find out the truth.
"That's... it's better if he tells me that when he gets back," Happy says, a little nervous, since if he says that, he doesn't know how he or Natsu will react when he returns.
Seeing how the cat got nervous about this question, it also makes her nervous, so she decides to find out as quickly as possible.
"If you tell me, I'll buy you fish for a month," he decides to buy the truth.
"Done, but you can't tell Natsu that I told you that." Hearing the word fish, he sells himself immediately.
"One hundred, as long as you tell me, this is just between us," she says.
"What he was going to say was that he likes you. He finally got the courage to tell you," the redhead says, shocked.
"How is that possible? He didn't tell me anything," Erza says, still shocked.
"I don't know about that. When he left, he left all happy, so something must have happened while he was talking to you," Happy says.
Hearing this, she becomes even more worried. She's afraid Natsu overheard her conversation with the girls.
She keeps talking to Happy for a while longer, asking more questions, and the more answers she gets, the more nervous she becomes. Until she decides to talk to the master so she can go after Natsu.