Natsu Finds a "Dragon" Egg, Happy Is Born (Part 2)

"It's an egg! I found an egg!" Natsu cheered as he ran into the guild, holding the egg aloft. Everyone marveled at how big it was: it was half Natsu's size, and it looked a little strange with him holding it up.

Watching the scene, Zorn suddenly remembered: wasn't this when Happy was about to be born? He hurriedly put down his cup and walked over to Natsu, taking a close look at the blue-patterned egg now cradled in Natsu's arms. I can't blame Natsu for thinking it's a dragon egg, though. It really does look a bit like one!

"Here, Natsu, put the egg on this blanket." Zorn took a blanket from a nearby chair and spread it on the floor. Natsu carefully placed the egg in the very middle, still staring at it with a delighted smile.

"Hey, Zorn, can you tell what animal this egg came from?" Cana bent over to examine the egg curiously, then asked Zorn when she saw how happy he looked.

"Well..." Before Zorn could finish, Natsu declared confidently, "It's a dragon egg! It's definitely a dragon egg! The blue patterns on it look like dragon claws, so it has to be one." He looked excitedly toward the master at the bar. "Gramps, Grandpa, please hurry and hatch the dragon egg!"

"What are you talking about, you fool?" the master immediately scolded Natsu and the others sternly. Then, looking solemn and reverent, he continued, "There is no magic in this world that can desecrate life like that. Life is born only through love. Love surpasses all magic."

"What are you talking about, Gramps? I don't understand at all." Natsu looked at the master in bewilderment, and the master sighed helplessly.

"Natsu, what the master means is that you need to do this yourself with the power of love. In other words, you have to hatch it yourself," Zorn explained further. "So do your best."

"And this is a good chance for you to learn how life is born, Natsu," Erza added.

"Mm-hmm, I get it." Natsu nodded, seeming to understand, and gazed at the egg before him, full of anticipation for the life inside.

"Oh, Erza, you're back. Let's continue, then. Our last duel isn't over yet, eavesdropper." Mirajane suddenly heard Erza's voice and spoke up arrogantly from the side.

"You're right. If you hadn't mentioned it, I'd have forgotten we still haven't settled things, gossip," Erza shot back, unwilling to be outdone.

"Huh? Are they fighting again?" Lisanna and Elfman remarked helplessly from a nearby table.

"Eavesdropping, gossip, last time?" Zorn murmured, utterly confused by what he was hearing. He didn't notice Cana beside him, blushing with her head lowered, at a loss for what to do.

"Hey, Zorn, let's have a match. Show me how much you've improved lately." Wearing the coat Zorn had given him over a short-sleeved shirt and Sound Pod headphones on his head, Laxus excitedly held out one hand to challenge him.

"No." Zorn gave a curt refusal without the slightest hesitation. Turning to Cana, who was still embarrassed, he asked, "Cana, what's wrong? Why is your face so red?" He was quite concerned about her health.

"No, nothing..." Cana denied it, flustered.

Once Zorn knew it wasn't because Cana was ill, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he noticed that Laxus beside him seemed ready to explode: sparks were already crackling all over his body. Zorn hurried to placate the delinquent.

"Laxus, I used up too much magic on my last mission. I need some time to recuperate. How about we have a fair and square duel once I've recovered?" Zorn threw an arm around Laxus, offering an excuse to put him off. Fortunately, Laxus didn't press the matter and found the reason fairly acceptable. Still looking dissatisfied, he pulled free, walked over to a chair, and sat down with his arms crossed. "I'll be waiting."

"Watch me!" Natsu cried, suddenly sending a burst of flame at the egg. Zorn immediately snatched it from his hands, while Lisanna scolded Natsu for doing that.

"Take Over Magic: Animal Takeover. Zorn, give me the egg." Lisanna transformed into a swan and took the egg back from Zorn, warming it with her body. Only then did Natsu, Gray, and the others understand that this was how they were supposed to warm it.

"Honestly, the moment you look away, something like this happens. That's Natsu for you," Zorn remarked, marveling at Natsu's talent for causing trouble. From his chair, Elfman watched somewhat enviously as Natsu and Lisanna ran out of the guild. He didn't know where they were going to hatch the egg.

A few days later, Zorn came to the guild as usual. Before he could go in, he saw Natsu and Lisanna rush in, looking frantic. They bounced around, shouting, "Ah! Ah! The egg's gone! Who? Who stole it?" Natsu ran over to Laxus, who was leaning against the wall, and asked if he had stolen it. Then he ran to the request board and asked Erza if she had eaten it. Finally, he ran to Zorn and asked if he had seen it.

Although Zorn had a pretty good idea that Elfman had taken the egg to look after it, he still didn't tell Natsu. After all, if Elfman hadn't kept following them and taken care of it at the end, it might have taken a long, long time for Happy to hatch. Zorn really wanted Natsu to learn a lesson.

"Natsu, I think you might have eaten it yourself," Mirajane said suspiciously.

"Damn it, what did you say?" An angry Natsu charged at Mirajane, and the two began fighting. Wakaba and the other guild members once again remarked on what a bunch of little kids they were and wondered what the guild would be like in the future.

"Where did my egg go? (灬ꈍ ꈍ灬)" Natsu lowered his head, his eyes red and tears brimming on his eyelids, ready to fall. Mirajane teased him from the side. "You're so cute, Natsu."

Zorn paid no attention to Mirajane and Erza arguing again over Natsu's "dragon egg," but when he saw Lisanna standing nearby with tears in her eyes too, he told everyone that Elfman had the dragon egg.

Then Elfman walked in carrying the egg and explained what had happened. While everyone was still discussing how much longer it would take to hatch—

"Crack, crack." The sound of the shell breaking suddenly rang out. Everyone in the guild turned to the egg in the middle, which was shaking violently as the cracks in its shell grew more obvious.

"It's hatching! It's coming out!"

The cracking stopped, and a ball of blue light shot into the air. Everyone looked up. "Ah!" A blue cat with a pair of wings appeared before them.

"A cat?" Macao and Wakaba cried out in surprise, and everyone else was astonished too.

Zorn watched in amazement as the cat flew unsteadily over to Natsu and lay down on his head. This is the one who'll be mostly responsible for the comedy later on, haha.

Happy folded his wings and held out one of his tiny paws. "Aye~"

"Kawaii!" He immediately won over the crowd, led by Lisanna and Cana. Natsu picked Happy up from his head and cradled him in his arms as everyone gathered around, watching Happy with hearts in their eyes.

"Give him a name, Natsu," Zorn said, stroking Happy's head with a finger.

"What should I call him? Do you have any suggestions, Zorn?" Natsu looked down tenderly at Happy in his arms, unable to make up his mind for the moment.

"Look around. Isn't everyone cheering happily for a new life?" Zorn had Natsu look at the happy, cheering people around them.

"Then I'll call him Happy! Happy, son of a dragon!" Having made up his mind, Natsu spun around with Happy in his arms, cheering.

Reedus took the new magic painting tools Zorn had given him and recorded the scene before him. As he painted, he murmured, "Since he's the son of a dragon, I'll paint Happy as a dragon, with Natsu on his back."

When Reedus put down his brush, the moment was preserved forever. Zorn was beside Laxus, laughing heartily, while Laxus wore a disgruntled expression and didn't want to stand with Zorn. But there was no way to change it now; he had been recorded in the picture too.