54 Fairy Tail's Blue Bird of Happiness

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

August, x778.

Just under two months have passed since the Guild Master's Meeting. Surprisingly, nothing came from the spat between Makarov and the guild master of the Phantom Lord guild, Jose Porla. So far, both guilds have simply gone about their business without interfering with the other.

A few things have happened with Fairy Tail, however. For one, the Straus siblings have all started taking on quests. Though Mirajane was clearly the most talented of the three, her younger brother and sister, Elfman and Lisanna, also showed their affinity for [Take Over Magic].

While Mirajane was specialized in [Taking Over] the souls of demons, Elfman focused on magical beasts. Meanwhile, Lisanna was adept at [Taking Over] the souls of animals.

One thing did happen that Mirajane was not particularly happy about in the last few months, though. Her younger sister, Lisanna, started taking an interest in another young member of Fairy Tail. Namely, Natsu Dragneel.

Although Mirajane did not really have anything against Natsu, she wanted Lisanna to stay away from him for no reason other than the fact that he seemed to be close to Erza.

For some inexplicable reason, Erza and Mirajane seemed as incompatible as Natsu and Gray, who even with Erza's intervention, still fight constantly.

As for the rest of the guild, not much has changed. Alfonzo still cooks in the mornings, Elicia still creates clothes, and most of the young wizards in the guild still train with Alfonzo and Elicia after breakfast. Though Mirajane has forbidden her siblings from joining the training because of Erza's, and to a lesser extent, Alfonzo's, presence.

"Hey, look what I found on my way back from my quest!" Natsu shouted after kicking open the guild hall's front door. "Gramps, do you know what kind of egg this is?"

Natsu's loud voice drew the attention of quite a few members of the guild that were idling around in the guild hall.

"Hmm… Bring it over here, Natsu." Makarov said, taking a sip from his mug of ale shortly afterward. "I'd have to take a closer look before I can be sure."

Following Makarov's instructions, Natsu jogged over to the bar and held up the egg in his hands for Makarov to see. When Makarov took a closer look, he saw that Natsu was carrying a white egg, with blue patterns on its surface, that was even larger than his torso.

"I can't say that I've ever seen an egg like this before." Makarov said after scrutinizing the egg for a few moments. "Where did you say you found it?"

"When I finished my goblin extermination quest, I found it in the cave they were hiding in." Natsu said with a smile.

"I see." Makarov replied while stroking his mustache. "And how did the goblins treat it?"

In response to Makarov's question, Natsu stopped to think for a moment. Then, after seemingly remembering something, his eyes lit up.

"They looked like they were protecting it!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Then, that means this egg was important to them." Makarov said with a nod. "It might be something special."

Once again, Natsu's eyes lit up. Then, he turned away from the bar, the egg still in his grasp, and looked around the guild hall. Once he found his target, he jogged over to a certain table.

"Alfonzo, can you cook this egg?" Natsu asked while running across the guild hall. "Gramps said it was special, so I bet it's really tasty."

Immediately, Makarov fell forward, slamming face first into the guild hall's floor. He had forgotten one thing about Natsu while giving his explanation. Natsu was not the sharpest tool in the shed. In fact, the only things that ever crossed his mind were fighting, food, and getting stronger. So, it should have only been natural that his first thought after hearing that the egg was special would be how it tasted.

Meanwhile, after Alfonzo was called out, he glanced at Natsu. Then, he made eye contact with Elicia, resulting in a short conversation occurring between them.

Alfonzo: "That's Happy's egg, right?"

Elicia: "Definitely!"

Alfonzo: "Maybe I should cook it just like he wants."

Elicia: "No! You can't!"

Alfonzo: "But that little bastard is so annoying."

Elicia: "But he's so cute!"

Alfonzo: "Fine… But I'll slap him if he starts talking shit."

With that, Alfonzo and Elicia broke eye contact. Then, Alfonzo looked at Natsu, who arrived next to him in the meantime.

"I probably could." Alfonzo replied to Natsu's question, causing the pink-haired boy's eyes to shine. "But I think you should hatch it instead."

"Hatch it?" Natsu asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Yeah." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "An egg that big probably has a magical beast inside."

"Then, I should smash it." Natsu said with his eyes narrowing.

"No!" A voice shouted from another table.

A moment later, Lisanna rushed over and snatched the egg from Natsu.

"There's a baby inside of this egg." Lisanna said, holding the egg away from Natsu.

"But it could be a magical beast." Natsu protested.

"Take it easy, Natsu." Alfonzo said, placing a hand on Natsu's shoulder.

"Indeed." Erza said with a nod. "Hatching a magical beast egg could bring you benefits."

"Benefits? Like what?" Natsu asked curiously.

"Well, you could tame it." Elicia said. "What if it turns out to be something you could ride? You could have a magical beast mount."

As Elicia spoke, it was clear that she was beginning to drift into her imagination. Then, before anyone else could say anything to convince Natsu to hatch the egg, she turned toward Alfonzo and grabbed his arm.

"Fonzie! I want to tame a magical beast!" Elicia shouted with shining eyes. "I want a big eagle or hawk. Then, I can fly through the sky."

'It looks like she forgot about Happy already.' Alfonzo thought to himself with awry smile on his face. 'Maybe I should take Natsu up on his request to cook it while she's distracted.'

As if she could read Alfonzo's mind, Elicia came back from her fantasies and glared at Alfonzo.

"Don't even think about it, Fonzie." Elicia said, tightening her grip on Alfonzo's arm.

Naturally, Elicia sudden change in expression and words with no context caught everyone off guard. However, Alfonzo knew exactly what she meant. So, he simply shrugged his shoulders and shelved his Happy assassination plan.

'I'll just have to teach that blasphemous cat that he can't' say whatever he wants.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Calling Lucy fat is heresy. Lucy is thick as hell, and her tits and ass are amazing.'

"Anyway, you should just hatch it, Natsu." Alfonzo said. "The worst that could happen would be that the magical beast is uncontrollable, and you'd have to put it down."

Agreeing with Alfonzo's statement, Natsu nodded his head. Then, he gently took the egg from Lisanna and held it to his chest.

"But how do you hatch an egg?" Natsu asked curiously.

"Well, the first thing you have to do is keep it warm." Lisanna said with a smile. Then, she turned toward Elicia. "Lici, do you think you could make a nest for the egg?"

"Sure." Elicia agreed happily. "But you'll still need to put it somewhere where it won't get wet from rain."

"Can't we just keep it in the guild?" Natsu asked curiously.

"No, it should be somewhere nearby and outside." Elicia said. "I'll make the nest for you when you find a good place."

With that, both Natsu and Lisanna nodded. Then, they ran toward the guild's backdoors. A moment later, Mirajane, with Elfman following her, approached the table with a scowl on her face.

"Hmph!" Mirajane snorted. "I told Lisanna not to hang around that kid, but she never listens."

"Big Sis…" Elfman said in a timid tone. "Lisanna's not doing anything wrong."

"You should listen to Elfman, Mira." Alfonzo said with a shrug.

"Don't call me that!" Mirajane shouted with a noticeable blush on her face.

While most of those at the table with Alfonso and Elicia did not change their expressions at Mirajane's outburst, there were two who looked at her with different expressions.

Elicia, seeing Mirajane's blush, looked at the white-haired girl with shining eyes.

'It looks like I found another member for Fonzie's harem.' Elicia thought with a smile.

Meanwhile, Cana frowned.

'How did I not see it 'til now?' Cana asked herself uncomfortably. 'That blush, it's obvious she has a crush on Fonzie. What should I do?'

With those thoughts, Cana glanced at Elicia. However, when she saw Elicia's glowing eyes, she could only shake her head.

'She's thinking of sharing Fonzie with Mirajane too, huh?' Cana thought with a pout. 'Why did I expect anything less?'

Like Cana thought, Mirajane had developed a crush on Alfonzo ever since he, Elicia, and Cana saved them from their old village. Although they all worked to stop the villagers from hurting them, Alfonzo was the one who stopped the fire from spreading to their house.

However, she was too wary of everything around her to express her gratitude or recognize her feelings. But when she finally felt safe and realized that her eyes would unconsciously follow Alfonzo whenever they were in the same place, she was too embarrassed by her feelings. Which led to her covering her embarrassment with an aggressive attitude.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, Mira." Alfonzo said dismissively. "Anyway, its better to let them do what they want. With something to occupy his thoughts, Natsu will be quiet for a while. And the rest of the guild will get some well-deserved peace."

"Hmph!" Mirajane snorted once again before turning around and walking away from the table.

Elfman could only smile apologetically at his older sister's antics.

"I'm sorry about her." Elfman said quietly.

"Don't' worry about it." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "I know she's not a bad girl. She's just got an abrasive personality."

"She wasn't always like that, though." Elfman said, lowering his head sadly.

"Well, I don't blame her for it." Alfonzo replied. "I mean, after what you three have been through, it could be a lot worse. You're all very strong people in my opinion."

"Elfman, let's go!" Mirajane shouted from the guild's front door. "We need to buy groceries for dinner."

"Coming!" Elfman shouted back.

Elfman looked at Alfonzo gratefully, once more. Then, he jogged toward his sister.

After Elfman left, Alfonzo turned back to the table, only to see Elicia, Cana, Laki, Levy, Ultear, and Erza gazing at him gently.

"Why are you girls looking at me like that?" Alfonzo asked uncomfortably.

"That was really sweet, Fonzie." Cana said with a smile.

"Indeed." Erza added with a nod. "The way you encouraged him with simple words was quite sweet."

In response, Alfonzo only shook his head.

"I didn't do anything special." Alfonzo said. "To some extent, we've all gone through some pretty fucked up shit. A lot of people with backstories like ours might have gone down a dark path. But anyone who can keep it together and try to live a better life is strong in my opinion."

Immediately after Alfonzo's words ended, Elicia jumped at him, wrapping her arms and legs around him in a koala like hug. Then, she planted a kiss on his cheek.

"Fonzie, that's why I love you so much!" Elicia said gleefully.

While she outwardly gushed over Alfonzo, Elicia could not help thinking to herself.

'When Fonzie's life changed in our past lives, he never gave up on himself. And that's one of the things I love most about him.' Elicia mused. 'But, his pride was never really brought under control, since it never had any direct negative consequences. I just hope that it can remain that way.'

September, x778.

A little over a month had passed since Natsu came back to the guild with the egg. And in that month, he and Lisanna were inseparable. They spent all their time tending to the egg and making sure it stayed warm.

However, one morning, after they fell asleep in the enclosure that was built to house the egg, when they woke up, the egg was gone.

Naturally, this caused the two children to panic as they began searching everywhere for the egg. Eventually, after they looked all around the enclosure, and could not find it, they ran to the guild.

"It's gone!" Natsu shouted as he entered the guild from the back door.

"What are you talking about, Natsu?" Elicia asked, already knowing the answer.

"The egg, it's gone!" Natsu shouted once again. "Me and Lisanna looked everywhere, but we can't' find it."

"Stupid hot-head." Gray said with contempt in his tone. "Only someone as dumb as you could lose something that big."

"Why don't you try saying that again when you put some clothes on, you frozen pervert?" Natsu shot back.

"Huh? When did I…?" Gray questioned as he looked down at himself.

While Gray began collecting his scattered clothes, he continued to bicker with Natsu. Meanwhile, Lisanna looked as if she would start crying at any second. Until Elfman approached, that is.

"The egg isn't missing." Elfman said, carrying the egg in his arms. "I came to check on you last night, Lisanna. And when I saw the way the two of you were sleeping, I took the egg with me before the two of you could break it."

Hearing that, Natsu stopped arguing with Gray. Then, he dashed toward Elfman and took the egg from him.

"What do you mean, Elfman?" Natsu asked, not understanding how he could break the egg in his sleep.

"The two of you move around a lot in your sleep." Elfman explained. "And you were just about to knock the egg over before I took it away."

"*Sigh* Thanks, Elfman." Natsu said in a relieved tone after Elfman's explanation.

"You're the best!" Lisanna cheered as she hugged her older brother.

At that moment, the egg cracked, causing Natsu to panic.

"Oh no!" Natsu exclaimed. "The egg broke."

"Calm down, you moron." Mirajane said, approaching the trio. "It's hatching. Not breaking."

Once again, Natsu sighed in relief. Then, he carefully put the egg on the floor, took a step back, and watched it carefully. After a few moments, The egg shattered, and a blue blur flew out of it before landing on Natsu's head.

"Is that a cat?" Wakaba muttered from nearby. "With… Wings?"

Wakaba was not the only confused member of the guild. In fact, no one, other than Alfonzo and Elicia, expected a blue cat to come out of the egg. On top of that, it had a pair of wings extending from its back that were slowly dissipating into motes o magic power.

"Do cats even lay eggs?" Ur asked before blushing at the question she just asked.

"That's not important right now." Elicia said loudly, drawing everyone's attention to herself. "What are you gonna name…"

Elicia then walked up to Natsu and picked up the little blue kitten that was still sitting on his head. Then, she held it above her head and looked between its hind legs.

"… him." Elicia continued, putting the cat back on top of Natsu's head.

'In the anime and manga, Happy didn't have genitals. So, I wondered how they knew he was a he.' Elicia thought to herself with a smile. 'But in this world, it's clear as day that he's a boy.'

Natsu then picked up the cat from his head. As he did, he recalled a story that an older member of the guild told him about the Blue Bird of Happiness. Noticing that the cat was blue, he instantly decided on a name.

"Happy." Natsu said with a smile. "His name will be Happy."

"Aye!" The blue cat, Happy, exclaimed excitedly.