Some time had passed since the visitor from the future had arrived.
After Erza broke up one of his duels with Gray and knocked them both out...
In the forest on the outskirts of Magnolia.
Two photographs were tied to the trunk of a giant tree.
Natsu roared as he punched the photographs over and over, venting his anger.
"Hah! Yah!"
"Gray! Erza! One day, I'm gonna send both of you flying!"
"Aaargh!!!" Natsu threw another punch with all his strength, leaving his fist bright red.
"Ow, ow... doesn't hurt at all." In the end, Natsu clutched his reddened fist, his face ashen and cold sweat pouring down.
Suddenly, a giant egg covered in blue markings fell from the sky and landed right on Natsu's head.
"Ah! What's this?" Natsu stared blankly at the giant egg before him.
The blue markings winding around its shell looked like a dragon's claws. He stared for a moment, then his eyes lit up with excitement.
"This... this is a dragon egg! A dragon egg!"
The guild doors burst open.
Natsu charged into the hall with the giant egg held over his head, jumping around and shouting excitedly.
"An egg! I found an egg!"
Nearby, Blanc turned at Natsu's shouting. When he saw the giant egg with its blue markings held aloft, he understood.
So Happy was here.
Guild Master Makarov leaned forward from his spot on the counter and peered curiously at the strange egg.
"Where did you find that?"
"I picked it up in the forest to the east!"
"The eastern forest?"
Gray lounged beside a nearby table and teased him.
"Well, look at that. You're pretty useful after all, Natsu."
"You even knew to bring it back for everyone to eat."
"Gray, your clothes! Your clothes!"
"Huh?! When did that happen?"
"Are you kidding me?!" Natsu hugged the egg protectively. "This is a dragon egg! I'm gonna hatch it!"
"A dragon egg?" Gray asked in surprise.
Seeing their doubts, Natsu eagerly pointed at the markings on the shell. "Look, look! Don't these weird markings look just like a dragon's claws?"
"Do... do they?" Gray studied them for a while, finding the resemblance a bit of a stretch.
Mira leaned against an intact table, tossed her white hair, and scoffed.
"Idiot."
Natsu ignored her and rushed straight to the counter, thrusting the egg in front of the Guild Master.
"That's right, Guild Master! Use magic to help it hatch!"
Makarov nearly spat out the wine he had just sipped. He set his glass down, raised his brows, and slapped the counter.
"What are you talking about, you fool?! No magic in this world can defile life!"
"Life is born through love. No magic can accomplish that!"
Natsu stared blankly at the Guild Master.
"What are you talking about? I don't get it at all."
"Ah, perhaps it's too early for children to understand," the Guild Master sighed.
Gray propped his chin on his hand, glancing toward the corner.
"Hey, doesn't Blanc have magic that speeds up growth? Can't he just speed it up?"
Several gazes turned his way.
Caught off guard by the sudden mention, Blanc paused, then smiled and shook his head. "My magic doesn't work on living creatures."
Erza returned from an outing, heard what had happened, and stepped forward to lecture Natsu. "If you want to hatch him, you should work hard and do it with your own strength."
"All you ever do is destroy things. This is a good chance for you to witness the birth of a life!"
"We're... getting along great today, too!" "Oh, you're here..." Startled by Erza's sudden appearance, Natsu and Gray hurriedly threw their arms around each other's shoulders. All those beatings had finally brought them to heel.
Meanwhile, Mira immediately bristled at the sight of Erza.
"So you're back, Erza."
"Let's finish our fight from before. Bring it on!"
"Are you fighting again?" Lisanna sounded displeased. Elfman was worried too, and spoke up. "Sis..."
"Come to think of it, we haven't settled who won yet, Mira."
Neither would give an inch, and their duel erupted instantly. "I'm gonna flatten you, Erza!" "Just don't start crying, Mirajane!"
Natsu, Gray, and the others watched them, speechless.
"One day, I'm gonna beat Erza! And Mira, too!"
"They tell us not to fight, then go and do this themselves..."
Lisanna came over to Natsu and asked him a question.
"Hey, Natsu, can I help you look after that egg?"
"You wanna help?" Natsu asked excitedly.
"Yeah. Hatching an egg sounds fun."
"But how do you hatch an egg, anyway?" Gray asked from beside them.
"You probably need body heat." Watching the commotion, Blanc joined in too.
"Like a chicken hatching eggs. You use your own body heat to incubate it."
"In that case, leave it to me." Lisanna responded by transforming into a giant bird. "Take Over: Animal Soul!"
"Oh, I get it!"
"You're so smart, Lisanna!"
Now that they had found a way to hatch it, Natsu and Lisanna happily carried the egg out of the guild to build it a new home outside for incubation.
Blanc was looking forward to it too. A life of petting a cat was beckoning to him.
A few days later.
Natsu's voice reached the guild before he did.
"Who?! Who stole my egg?!"
Gray and Cana said they didn't know.
"Laxus, was it you?!"
"Not interested."
"Blanc! Give me back my egg!"
"I don't even know where you're hatching it..."
"Erza!! Tell me where you hid it!"
"Hey... aren't you jumping to conclusions a little too fast?!"
"Mira, do you know anything?" Lisanna asked her sister nearby.
"How would I know?" Mira spread her hands, then looked at Natsu mockingly. "You didn't eat it yourself, did you, Natsu?"
"You jerk! What did you say?!" Natsu charged at her in fury.
"You wanna fight, Natsu? I won't go easy on you!!" Refusing to back down, Mira started throwing punches too.
Blanc moved away from the chaotic battlefield and headed to the Guild Master's table. As soon as he arrived, he heard Macao remark teasingly.
"Those brats are at it again."
Wakaba looked a little worried. "This generation is terrifying. I can't imagine what the guild will be like in a few years."
Blanc sat down beside them and nodded in agreement.
Seeing Blanc's reaction, Macao and Wakaba were speechless. You're part of this generation too, you know...
Guild Master Makarov answered with a smile.
"There's no need to worry. They challenge each other precisely because they acknowledge each other. Those kids know one another's temperaments very well."
The Guild Master looked impressive as he spoke, but Blanc still couldn't help asking a question.
"Are you serious, Guild Master? You're not worried about all those smashed tables, chairs, and bottles either?"
Makarov's expression froze for a moment, and he glared at Blanc. "What an unlovable brat."
The brawl on the other side ended. Natsu sank to his knees, tears welling in his eyes. "My egg... where did it go...?"
"Don't cry, Natsu..." Mira spoke with the look of someone enjoying a show. How cute.
"I'm not crying!!" Natsu immediately exploded.
"Stop it, Mira." Erza stepped in to stop her, then comforted Natsu. "There, there. You stop crying too, Natsu."
"I'm not crying!!"
Just then, Elfman's voice rang out.
"Natsu, Lisanna, I'm sorry. I didn't steal it." They turned to see Elfman walking over with the egg in his arms.
"It must be tough for just the two of you to look after him, and it gets cold at night."
"But... I'm not very good at magic, and I was embarrassed, so I did it in secret..." Elfman slowly explained what had happened, looking bashful.
"So that's what happened!!"
"Thank you, Elfman!!"
"You really did suspect me, didn't you?" Mira looked at Erza in annoyance.
"You did the same."
Just then, a crack appeared in the egg with a crisp snapping sound.
Natsu and the others noticed first, but Blanc, Laxus, the Guild Master, and everyone farther away immediately turned their attention to it too.
"He's hatching!!!"
"Ooh!!"
Everyone scrambled to gather around the egg, eager to witness the moment this new life was born.
"Hey, make some room!!" "Idiot, don't push!"
More and more cracks spread across the shell. Soon, it shattered, and a little blue cat with wings sprang out, rose into the air, and slowly flew around.
"A cat?!"
"Whoa!!"
"He's got wings. Is he a bird?"
"No... he's a cat, right...? A blue cat!"
The little cat slowly flew over to Natsu's head and landed on it, lying down before sitting upright with an adorable expression and letting out an "Aye!"
"He's so cute!" Everyone exclaimed.
Unable to resist, Blanc stepped forward to pet him too. Laxus stood a short distance away, watching with a conflicted look.
"Look, Natsu..." Lisanna tugged at Natsu as she spoke. "Everyone was so angry just a moment ago."
"But now they're all smiling so happily. He's like a bluebird that brings happiness."
Natsu looked happily around at everyone. "Happiness, huh?"
"Then his name is Happy." "Aye!"
"Happy, the dragon's child!"
He's not a dragon, though...
Nearby, Reedus said, "Hehe, then I'll draw him as a dragon!"