Chapter 59 - The Birth of Happy

My talk with Igneel had ended and I was once more standing before Natsu, watching the little guy snore away like nothing had happened at all just now…

"Haha, good grief… You've got not a worry in the world, huh?" I said with hands placed at my waist, heaving a sigh all the while.

Seriously though, to think that Zeref turned Natsu into what's basically a "Pseudo-Participant" is kind of mind blowing! I know he was able to create an item to block out the Gods' view of the world…

But this?

This is on a whole other level!

It's like he's playing god, making his own participant for the game…

What else can that guy do…?

I sighed as I once more moved closer to the bedside, "… Anyway, attempt number two!" I exclaimed and picked Natsu up, this time uninterrupted.

Sweet! No more unexpected events.

"{Gate}." I murmured, creating a portal to my side back to where Lisanna was at according to my clairvoyance.

Having walked through with Natsu I found Lisanna sitting next to a tree with the 'Dragon' egg beside her, she was holding her knees and seemed quite grumpy for a split second before she noticed the gate opening.

"Eh? Arthur? Natsu!? What happened?!" Lisanna exclaimed as she sprung up onto her feet, running up to me who was holding Natsu.

"Nothing much, I was out here training when I noticed Natsu run towards me and trip, falling down the side of a cliff and knocking himself out cold. Heck he even cut his neck pretty badly on something, started bleeding a bit when I checked him… Might leave a scar." I lied through my teeth, placing Natsu on the ground for Lisanna to check up on him as well.

"Ehhh?! This dumb boy!" She exclaimed, worry splattered all over her face as she kneeled down and checked if he was alright for herself.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine with some sleep." I reassured her, just in time for Natsu's loud snore to sound across the vicinity. "Hahaha! See what I mean?" I laughed.

"Jeez… Worrying is just wasted effort with Natsu isn't it…?" Lisanna heaved a sigh and stood back up. "Can you help me get him and the egg back to the house we made? I'll be sure to lecture him lots when he wakes up!" She said with a pouty face, hands crossed and foot moving up and down rhythmically.

Yikes, I wouldn't wanna be in your place today Natsu…

"Sure thing Lisanna, just please be lenient with the guy. He's already suffered enough damage as it is, hahaha!" I replied with a laugh and opened a gate to Natsu and Lisanna's make belief family house, where I carried both Natsu and the egg leaving them inside.

Happy and Natsu napping together… I'm sure it's the first of many naps to come!

"Thanks Arthur, I dunno what would have happen to this numbskull if you hadn't found him… I mean, seriously who runs towards danger the moment they notice it! Jeez…" Lisanna said whilst walking through the gate, entering the house and placing a hand on her forehead.

No doubt the shock of Natsu being hurt gave her a headache, she's worried and it's understandable.

"No problem, take care of the guy for me a'right? I'll leave you with some food for him so he won't throw a temper tantrum about food the moment he wakes up." I said with a smile and opened my {Storage}, taking out a few boxes of Japanese style Bentos I had tried my hand at making.

Mostly did it out of memory, since I'm a decent cook now and what not, but I think I did a good job recreating them!

"Do give me his opinion, and try it too if he leaves any, hahahah!" I laughed and made my way to walk out of the small house

"Will do Arthur, thanks for the ride here and for the food!" Lisanna waved goodbye and went to look over Natsu once more.

I had given them all the bentos I made for Natsu, the number being ten. As well as one more for Lisanna in case Natsu was lenient.

I have a few more I plan on giving to Erza and the others, I need some taste testers after all!

…

The next day…

Natsu had woken up the next morning, eating all the bentos except one that he let Lisanna have since he wasn't That stingy. She took it happily but apparently did still scold him for running off the day prior and Natsu was a bit shaken up after it.

He didn't remember falling down, but she just told him it was cause he hit his head too hard while falling, earning him another earful about being careful in the forests and mountains.

In other news, they both did end up liking the food I prepared and so did my other friends as well as Gramps. So I'm quite proud of myself about making them so good to say the least~ hehe.

Cooking is actually quite fun! It's a nice hobby that lets me relax when I'm not with the others or training.

Resting your mind is also important after all, so for me cooking is a good way to do so. I definitely would suggest picking it up and learning it since it's a useful skill to have!

Anyway!

That next day was completely normal and the egg was properly taken care of as always, however it started raining at one point pretty heavily.

I probably should have checked on Natsu and Lisanna… The cold is bad for the egg after all…

Buuuuuut I ended up napping at home, lying in bed through the rainy day as I kept my guard up with both clairvoyance and detection magic on the ready and at huge distances to make sure it was all okay…

What? You think I was slacking?

I can sleep and have it all activated, Okay!

(3rd person POV)

Natsu and Lisanna were caught in the middle of it while playing in the forest together with their 'Dragon' egg.

"The egg will get wet!" Lisanna yelled, running ahead of Natsu towards their little hut that they had built, a so called house for their family play.

Natsu had tucked the 'Dragon' egg under his shirt, trying to keep it as safe as possible as he yelled back in a worried tone, "Hurry!"

Once they were a few meters away from the entrance, Lisanna stopped Natsu "Wait! Just a minute!" she said and walked inside

"Eh?" Natsu looked at her in confusion.

"Okay! You can come in." Lisanna said in a cheery tone.

"What's the deal…?" Natsu replied a bit irritated, his voice sounding a little tired.

Once he walked inside he saw Lisanna sitting on her knees in a seiza position, looking at him expectantly.

"Welcome home, dear!" She said with a smile on her face.

"Huh? Oh, right…" Natsu gazed at her, still confused and as dull as ever.

"Welcome home… Dear!" Lisanna repeated, a bit irritated after having to do so.

"Oh…! I-I'm home… Honey…?" Natsu said, a bit confused and bashful at doing this family play.

They had both agreed to play it off as a family of three, a mother, a father and a child. Natsu had surprisingly agreed, although that didn't mean he was completely capable of accurately doing it all the time.

They both blushed slightly as they smiled at each other and Natsu sat down with the egg by his side.

After that they simply stood there and chatted casually, sometimes playing the family game and sometimes just acting normally while waiting for the rain to stop.

After a while, Lisanna spoke up. "The rain just keeps coming down…"

At the drop of her words, a loud growl came from Natsu's stomach, "Ah… S-Sorry! Haha…" He apologized, yet another growl escaped his stomach the moment after, resulting in another red face from our dear Dragon Slayer friend.

"Hmm, it's okay. But come to think of it, don't you live on your own, Natsu?" Lisanna decided to ask.

"Yeah." He replied casually, the previous shyness vanishing in an instant.

"What do you do for food and stuff?" She inquired, intrigued at what a lone kid could do for his meals at home.

"I eat at the guild, or when Arthur decides to feed me with his cooking like yesterday, but almost always at the guild usually." He replied casually once more.

"Do you have to pay for the food at the guild though?" She asked.

"That's what work is for…" Natsu replied with a face that said 'obviously' on it.

"That's kind of sad…" Lisanna said in a pitying tone.

"How come?" Natsu inquired.

"Why don't I cook something for you myself sometime?" Lisanna asked, smiling at Natsu with anticipation.

"You know how to cook too?!" Natsu asked in surprise and obvious anticipation.

"I'm not as good as my sister Mira though." She said, a bit of pride leaking from her tone.

"Hold on! Mira knows how to cook!?!" Natsu exclaimed, scared at the thought, "I can't imagine it! That can't be safe! Honestly it's terrifying! Ah… Don't tell me Elfman cooks too…?" He decided to ask at the end.

"He sure does!" Lisanna said with another smile.

"Somehow, I can imagine that… Actually it suits him too well… Ah… WAIT! I'M NOT GIVING YOU THIS EGG! THIS DRAGON IS GONNA HATCH! IT'S IGNEEL'S KID! DON'T EVEN JOKE ABOUT COOKING IT!" Natsu yelled out whilst protecting the egg and moving to the other side of the hut with it, hiding it behind himself.

"Talk about jumping to conclusions!!" Lisanna exclaimed, "Listen! I'm looking forward to bringing a new life into the world too! That's why I'm helping you!" She explained.

"Jeez! Don't scare me like that then!" Natsu said, holding the egg to his side to protect it from Lisanna, apparently still shaken up by his own fantasies. "Ahhh! I hope it will hatch soon!" He then proceeded to snuggle with the egg in a happy mood, earning himself another smile from Lisanna who seemed to be at peace in this atmosphere.

"Haha, you're usually so violent, but sometimes you show a kind and cute side too." Lisanna said calmly, "You're like Mira-nee!" She said smiling widely.

"Huh?!" Natsu looked back at her, obvious irritation at the comment appearing on his face.

She then started fidgeting a little, playing with her fingers as if to calm down some nervousness.

"How about I… Be your wife when we grow up, Natsu?" Lisanna said with a blush as she looked towards Natsu.

"Wha…? What brought that on!?" Natsu exclaimed in his bashful embarrassed state.

"I mean, you seem like you'd be reliable and take good care of our kids!" Lisanna explained while holding her red cheeks with both hands and moving her head left and right like a fangirl.

"Oh, uhh…. Uhhh…" Natsu's brain malfunctioned and his head started steaming from the embarrassment, his face completely turning red.

"What are you blushing for? I'm just kidding, of course." Lisanna said with a grin, obviously amused at his reaction.

"Y-You're… You're that thing Gramps said to me! You're 'nuvejile'!" Natsu yelled slightly in his irritation.

"Juvenile? I'd say you're the immature one, actually." She said with a smirk, making the poor boy tear his own hair out in frustration.

"I can't even beat her in an argument!" He continued pulling his hair as the sun started shining outside, the clouds having cleared finally.

"Wow!" Lisanna said and walked outside, Natsu noticed her and went out too. "It's so pretty!" She said, admiring the setting sun.

"Yeah!" Natsu said, his mouth slightly agape as he looked on in wonder.

"If only this moment could last forever…" Lisanna mumbled with a slightly sad, yet happy tone.

That was when the egg inside started rustling and the duo of 'parents' walked back inside to check on it.

They looked over it for a while as it shook, smiling as they gazed at it happily.

"It's making a sound again!" Natsu exclaimed with a happy tone.

"Yeah!" Lisanna did the same.

More time passed and night fell onto the scene, the two decided it was time to sleep and went to their makeshift beds where Natsu would snore loudly like a horse and Lisanna would somehow sleep through it with no visible problems.

The egg however, was probably getting quite cold at this hour with no one beside it…

Quite the troublesome matter for an egg at the verge of hatching soon like this one.

And so on the morning's sunrise when Natsu and Lisanna woke up with drowsy faces, gazing around the interior of their hut…

They noticed that the egg was gone…

And obviously panicked.

"THE EGG IS GONEEEE!!!" Natsu yelled as he ran around the entire hut in circles.

"Wha-! HOW?!" Lisanna also yelled, worried heavily over the matter.

They quickly made their way towards the guildhall afterwards, thinking that maybe someone took it.

…

"All right! Who stole it?!" Natsu yelled the moment he walked in through the front door.

"Stole what?" Lyon asked.

"The Egg! The egg! It vanished this morning! One of you all must have taken it so give it back now!!" Natsu yelled again, stomping on the ground with his foot in frustration.

"The egg vanished?" Gray asked, wearing only a pair of boxers.

"Don't look at me." Cana simply took herself out of the equation. "And Hey, Gray put some clothes on!" She reminded the young stripper.

"Eh?!" Gray looked himself over in surprise.

"Ultear, Lyon! Was it you two?!" Natsu asked as he moved in front of them.

"No, sorry Natsu but it wasn't us…" Ultear apologized, not being able to help her friend.

"Yeah… We don't really have a need for a dragon egg in the first place." Lyon commented.

"Ugh… True enough…" Natsu replied and moved to where Erza was standing at, "All right, Erza! Out with it!" He yelled at her now.

"Hold on. Don't you think you're jumping the gun a bit?" She looked at him with a face that said "Me? Really?".

On the other side of the guild, Lisanna was asking her sister Mira about the egg, "Mira-nee, have you seen the egg?"

"Nope." Mira replied normally, "Hey Natsu, you sure you didn't eat it yourself?" she asked with contempt.

"Hey!" Erza exclaimed, judgmentally looking at Mira.

"WHA-! Why you…" Natsu's face got wrapped in anger, "You're gonna get it now!" He yelled as he jumped towards Mira with his fists raised high.

"You wanna fight?!" Mira said as she grabbed one of his hands and a fight ensued between the two that ended up pushing Gray to the ground. "I won't hold back on you, you brat!" She yelled at him.

"Hey! Natsu, you little…!" Gray yelled at Natsu, angered at the fact he was pushed over like some side show, so he ended up entering the fight.

"Stop that, all of you!" Erza yelled and rushed towards them to break the brawl up.

"Anddd they're at it again…" Macao said while holding a mug of ale, speaking to the master.

"Talk about a troublesome generation, I don't even wanna imagine how the guild's gonna be in a few years!" Wakaba also commented to Makarov.

"Hmm… They repel each other because they acknowledge each other. They see themselves very clearly in each other you see… So there's nothing to worry about." Makarov reassured them both.

A minute later the fight had finally been broken up by Erza, leaving only the mourning Natsu.

"My egg… Where did it go…?" He said in a tearful tone.

"Jeez, calm down." Erza said while holding his shoulder with one hand.

"Quite crying, Natsu. You're so cute." Mira mentioned, teasing the poor kid.

"I am not crying!" Natsu yelled to her with teary eyes.

"That's enough, Mira! And stop crying, Natsu!" Erza buŧŧed into their conversation.

"I'm not crying!!" Natsu yelled even more infuriated than before, obviously still teary eyed.

Seeing that, Erza took matters into her own hands and gazed at Mira with a glare. "Just give it a rest and give the egg back!"

"I told you, I don't have it! In fact, I bet that you ate it!" Mira retorted.

"What did you say!?" Erza exclaimed and buŧŧed heads with Mira, obviously on the verge of another brawl.

"The egg…" Lisanna murmured while sobbing.

"Oh, come to think of it… Didn't Elfman wish he had an egg like that?" Cana suddenly added herself back into the conversation, saying her piece casually.

"Ehhh?! What?!" Lisanna exclaimed in shock.

"He ate it?!" Natsu yelled at Cana, seeking an answer.

"No! I don't believe it!" Lisanna said in defense of her brother.

"Well, I doubt he'd go that far…" Cana reassured Natsu just as Elfman himself popped back into the scene.

"Natsu, Lisanna. I'm sorry…" Elfman came from behind Cana, apologizing as he held the egg.

"So it was you Elfman!" Natsu yelled at him with a clenched fist, obviously still mad over it.

"The egg!" Lisanna exclaimed happily.

"I didn't steal it. It just gets cold at night, and you toss and turn in your sleep Natsu. So you always let go of the egg…" Elfman said with a soft smirk, knowing he'd cleared the misunderstanding.

"Then…?" Natsu looked on in surprise.

"You mean…?" Lisanna said in question.

"Yeah. I'm not very good at magic, so I warmed it myself in secret." Elfman explained.

"Oh, so that was why?" Realization dawned on Natsu.

"Thank you!" Lisanna gave her gratitude to her brother.

"You're a real man Elfman!" Natsu said as he took the egg from Elfman's hands, earning a giggle from the well-dressed and good mannered young man.

"You seriously suspected me, didn't you?" Mira suddenly said from behind, glaring at Erza.

"So? You suspected me as well." Erza retorted, however before anything could happen…

The egg started cracking.

"Ohhh!" a collective surprise sounded from everyone.

The egg was going to hatch!

"Oh, it's hatching finally!" Arthur suddenly exclaimed from the ceiling where he was sitting on one of the foundation.

"Arthur! There you are!" Natsu said, "Ah, never mind that! The egg! The egg is hatching!" He immediately lost interest and looked back to the egg.

"Oi, at least show some interest in me!" Arthur grumbled jokingly, before grinning a smile.

'I'll finally get to see that little fur ball, I wonder how cute he is in real life?' Arthur thought to himself, waiting for the little mascot of Fairy Tail to appear.

When the egg finally broke apart, a blue light shone and flew into the air, blinding most of the currently attending members.

"Nya!" A blue cat with wings popped out of it!

"A cat?!" Wakaba, Macao and multiple other people exclaimed in unison.

"It has wings!" Someone pointed out

"Is it a bird?" Someone asked.

"I think it's a cat. A blue cat!" Another stated.

The blue cat then sat atop of Natsu's head, resting there as its wings magically vanished.

"Aye!" It suddenly sprung up and said in a cutesy tone with a paw raised high.

"Soooo cuteeee!" Lisanna and multiple other members of the guild said as one.

"He's adorable!" Even Arthur said, jumping down to get a closer look.

People then started taking turns in holding the kitty, happily smiling as they talked about how adorable it was.

Arthur got to hold him too, exclaiming "Ohhh! He's got really soft fur!"

"Aye!" Was what the blue cat replied to that comment.

"Hahaha, cute little fella!" Arthur laughed as he ċȧrėssed the blue kitty.

"Aye!" The cat seemingly agreed.

The entire atmosphere turned to a rather pleasant one, opposed to the previous one.

"Look, Natsu! Everyone was worked up just a few minutes ago… But now they look so happy!" Lisanna stated

"Yeah, you're right!" Natsu said as he took the blue cat from Arthur's hands.

"Aww… Let me hold him just a little while longer…?" Arthur asked pleadingly, a wry smile on his face.

Obviously he was having fun with the cat, cats are soft and cute.

"Later on! Lemme name him first…" Natsu said and looked towards the smiling kitty, thinking hard on the name he'd give it.

"He's like a bluebird that brings happiness! You should keep that in mind for his name." Lisanna suggested.

"Happiness, huh? In that case… His name will be Happy!" Natsu said with a large grin on his face.

"Aye!" Happy once more said, excited over his new name perhaps?

"Happy the dragon!" Natsu exclaimed as well, raising Happy above his head with both hands.

"Aye!" And so did Happy once more, obviously approving.

"That's obviously not a dragon though…" Ultear mentioned with a wry smile.

"I'll just paint it as a dragon I guess…" Reedus said in the background as he worked on his painting.

…

And thus, everyone got their turns at meeting with the blue cat now named Happy, needless to say it was a happy day at the Fairy Tail guild hall.

A new member had joined their family after all!

…