Chapter 1: Introduction
According to latest sightings, a mysterious figure is confirmed to have appeared in Seoul multiple times. We however cannot confirm if… The nearby television that hung on the walls of the cafe crackled to the customers, who paid no heed. However, a certain individual sat outside of Marmalade Cafe, hearing it perfectly fine over the loud ramblings of Seoul streets and the cafe.
Pink hair. Jet-black eyes. Narrow eyes. And fang-like teeth.
Despite this unusual appearance, no one bothered and continued whatever they were doing.
He lazily extended his arm to plop a rook beside his bishop. "Hey Gramps. Your turn."
In front of him, the said man nodded his head. Natsu observed how the elder carefully scrutinized his stare ever so often at his chessboard. His wrinkly hands hovered over his ivory black queen. Then his fingers flew over to his pawn. Then back to his queen. To his pawn. Then finally a grunt as his warm eyes crinkled when they flickered up to Natsu's.
"My dear grandson, you are excellent at this," he chortled.
"..And for the last time Gramps, I'm not your grandson." Natsu rolled his onyx eyes.
"Oh shush, Laxus. Don't be embarrassed for having an old geezer like me be your Grampie!" He let out another throaty chortle as Natsu sighed, sliding back into his chair. It had been four weeks since he met the old man and three weeks since the strange elder had claimed Natsu as his grandson, Laxus...whoever the hell he was.
Although Natsu had repeatedly denied it, he didn't have the heart to leave the old man alone. So here he was today with Gramps. Again.
Many Seoul citizens have confessed being saved by this strange individual or creature. For now, we do not consider this oddity a threat…
Where the hell was this 'Laxus' anyways? Frustrated, Natsu ran his fingers through his untamed hair and jabbed one ear bud into his right ear. Out of his pocket, he pulled out his connected iPhone, setting the music on shuffle.
"Oh, I got it!" the old man exclaimed happily. He proceeded to push his knight up one, then over three, jabbing one of Natsu's pawns. He examined his move and sat back, obviously proud of it.
Natsu then curiously glanced at the board and sighed when he lifted his hidden bishop and easily overtook his opponent's knight. "Your turn, Gramps."
Gramps, as Natsu had officially dubbed him, gaped incredulously at the board. Once again, he was back to debating, muttering, and pouting to himself.
Some have even seen a mysterious trail of fire follow the oddity. Each scene of incident has left ashes as traces of its rare appearance…
Natsu closed his eyes as he drank in his surroundings. Cars buzzed left and right in the free Sunday morning. The traffic had considerably lessened during the weekends, he noted. His weekly destination, the Marmalade Café, was bustling as always: the children screaming out their favorite dessert, the parents indulging those brats, the clerks scuffling to each amounting order, and the swift keyboard clicks and silence left by the remaining customers.
"LAXUS, your turn!" The eager voice startled him out of his trance.
"Yea…." Natsu narrowed his eyes at the board and clicked his tongue. A risky move from Gramps. His raven-colored orbs tilted upwards, only to see the old man's hopeful eyes begging him to take the bait. He sighed in defeat. After rubbing his tired eyes, he pushed his rook up to eat Gramp's sacrificed queen.
"Ahah! Got you now, grandson! Checkmate! Haha!" His wrinkly hands suddenly emerged into life when he swiped Natsu's rook with his own and lined the piece directly in front of the pearl-white king. All remaining directions were blocked by Gramp's pawns, bishop, and knight.
He smiled at the old man jumping in happiness. If only his real grandson knew how little it took for his grandpa to be happy.
The latest witness, Loke Celeste shares his account with KBS news. 'It was all so fast, you know? The robbers in the bank were suddenly knocked out. I'm telling you! The guns even self-destructed. There was some…you know…some ball of fire speeding into the bank…' His wife, Aries Celeste, confirms his story…
"Aigo, you do realize how much time I spend for you every Sunday. Even if you never acknowledge that I'm not Lax-" He stopped when the grandpa's face fell.
"B-but…Laxus…why would you say that?" Gramps teared up.
"OI! I didn't mean it like that!" The pink-haired male slapped himself internally as he hastily tried to assure the old man. "I mean like…Gramps, don't cry!"
"Laxus…" the grandpa whimpered.
"OK OK! I'm your grandson, Laxus. I'll always be your old boy." Natsu gave in easily as he pushed two fingers to his temple.
To his relief though, the old man smiled brightly again. "Laxus~ Laxus~" he sang.
Another incident has pointed to the oddity's beneficiary actions. Around a month ago, an underground subway heading toward Seoul suddenly lost control of its brakes…
"I'm just saying Gramps, you should call me Natsu..at least?" he tried, weaving around the elder's sad triggers.
"Oh, but why, Laxus?" Gramps turned around and glanced at him curiously.
"Well, my…uhm…coworkers like…to call me….Natsu? …So I guess…I'm used to it..?"
"…"
As the impending doom came upon the passengers, the same described fireball whirled past the train and halted it just before it collided into a turn…
"…" Natsu gulped when he felt the pair of eyes kneading at him.
"…"
"…I mean you don't…have to….."
The old man blinked a couple of times before spreading into one of his widest grins. "Well, that's a-diddly fine HAHA! My boy is nicknamed Natsu, eh?"
"Uh, yea! …I think?"
"WELL, NATSU! I'm still your old gramps, right?" His eyes twinkled in bliss. He didn't even question how the name Laxus suddenly transformed into Natsu. "even if you're now 'Natsu' instead of Laxus?
Suddenly, the pink-haired male snorted in laughter. Somehow whenever he saw Gramp's face light up in joy, he would instantly forget all his troubles and just want to continue being this 'Laxus.'
"Aigo, you'll always be gramps. Who else would you be?" he chuckled while reflecting one of his toothiest smiles back at the old man
Sadly despite this miraculous save from our supernatural person, one death resulted. The sudden halt had caused passengers to be thrown forward and the said victim to crash his forehead onto one of the train's leaning poles…
"Same time as before?" The old man sat back in his chair and folded his hands nervously. "Sunday…morning?"
"Yep, same time, Gramps. Bring that board game you've always talked about." Natsu waved his hands nazily. A small smile crept back up to his face when the old man grinned in happiness.
"I think it's called Candyland. Yes, Candyland. I'm sure you'll love this game, La-er, Natsu!" He quickly corrected himself. "Apparently it's been the talk back at the senior center. I'll borrow it from my friend!"
"Sounds very exciting."
"I know!" The old man exclaimed. He paused to take the final bite from his strawberry cake. After that, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn leather wallet.
"H-Hey wait, Gramps, you don't need to pay for breakfast. It didn't cost that much anyways." Natsu hastily pushed his wallet away.
"Oh, nonsense! You paid last time!"
"No, really. I'm serious, Gramps. It doesn't cost that mu-" He stopped when the elder pulled out lollipops from his wallet. "….that much?"
"How much was my cake?" the old man demanded, irked when Natsu rubbed at the spot between his eyes. "I can really pay for it," he insisted, not realizing his strange currency was the cause of Natsu's silence.
As the man was transferred to urgent care with reported internal bleeding he was later pronounced dead the next day. Officials have not yet released the victim's name due to his family's desired privacy…
"Gramps…" Natsu finally spoke.
"Was it five dollars?" He picked at a grape-flavored lollipop. "Or was it ten dollars?" His fingers then pried another one out, this one being root beer flavored.
"I…it…i-it was five dollars.." Natsu gave up as he accepted the grape lollipop from the old man.
"Good boy.." He ruffled Natsu's wild pink hair. "Sometimes, you have to accept other people's offers, you know?"
"..Y-yea Gramps. Got chu."
"Good..boy…." The old man repeated absentmindedly. Suddenly, he brimmed to life again. "Well, see yah next Sunday, La-er Natsu!"
He perked up. "You're going already, Gramps?"
"Yep, Natsu-boy. Duty calls!" The old man hopped away, grunting as he steadied his cane.
"Take care, Gramps!" He called after the hobbling elder.
"You too, Natsu!"
"Bring that Candyland!"
"You got it, old boy!"
As the old man disappeared behind the corner, Natsu stopped to sink into his chair. With no company now, he inserted the other earbud into his left ear, muting out the busy café and the monotonous streets. The pop music blasted into his ears. His foot tapped to the beat while his fingers flicked off the table every eighth-note interval.
Natsu now stared at the lollipop left by Gramps. "You know old man, I hate grapes…I really hate them…."
The victim's family however does not wish to file any lawsuit upon our supernatural oddity. Instead, each would like to thank whoever saved the collision from occurring…
Without realizing, his hand reached for the candy. After a few minutes of ripping off the cover, he licked it and grimaced.
"Ugh….w-whatever…." He sighed and popped the entire lollipop into his mouth, scrutinizing its sour yet overly sweet taste.
From his peripheral vision, he observed a small blue-haired girl twirling the string of a blloon in her delicate fingers. To his amusement, the balloon had the face of an angry white cartoon cat. It looked as if it ordered the girl to release it, but the tiny pedestrian was too busy with the roaming sights to care.
His fang-like teeth crunched into the hardness of the lollipop, causing it to release a firework of sourness and sweetness. He cringed but continued to occupy himself with the overbearing taste.
There were no further mortalities. Only minor injuries in the rest of the passengers had resulted. The public transportation and the public safety team have sincerely apologized to the families, giving five million won to each as repercussions…
Natsu's ivory black eyes rotated up to the clear blue sky. He smiled as he saw the vast clarity of the lonely yet bright color. He however blinked when he noticed something white floating by.
It was the white-cat balloon. The little girl must've released it by accident.
He chuckled to himself as he sat upright in his chair, swerving his head to search for the little blue-haired girl.
…Where was she…?
"Ba-balloon…." Through his blasting music, he could hear the tiny voice.
His head immediately whipped to the location of the source.
To the citizens of Seoul, rest assured that a city's hero exists in these circumstances. Our mysterious fire savior…"
His eyes widened in horror.
She stood there simply with her hands outstretched toward the disappearing balloon.
The ear buds flew out of his ears as his phone clattered on the ground.
Immediately, Natsu sprung into action. Flames swiveled from thin air and danced from his every limb.
Yes, Seoul citizens, rest assured that a Superman is here. The mysterious fire…and the fact that we have never observed who this individual is…are arousing questions into those who are naturally curious…
He let out a shout of fury as he rammed his shoulder into the bumper of the truck and used the other arm to push her away.
How is this fire so easily produced? One that can specifically harm the bad and benefit the good…
Immediately, the truck let out a quiet shudder. Then with the equivalent force, its end flew upwards into the air. Every vehicle part groaned when it defied gravity. Time stopped as it remained headfirst toward to ground.
With a heavy grunt and brilliant fire pulsating down on his arms, he brought the truck down with a simple pull onto the concrete streets. A loud crash then resounded in the populated streets.
What kind of fire can give birth to such a hero now?
Natsu turned around to face the bewildered girl. "Hey."
She stared at him in awe and in shock. "H-hi?!" she squeaked.
He gave a toothy grin as his eyes swiveled back to the truck driver. He seemed fine, just unconscious from the shock.
"Uhmm….uh…don't mind me aksing…but are you the so-called….." the little girl began.
Who knows when we will know the mystery identity of this supernatural occurrence…
Slowly, Natsu placed a finger between his lips, grinning when the girl ferociously bobbed her head up and down.
Since we have no whereabouts or clues to his profile, we shall refer this oddity as to what other media sources have addressed him as….
Time suddenly continued when screams erupted on the streets. The girl panicked. "Quick, p-please you must get out-" She stopped when only a wisp of smoke stood in his place.
Code name Dragon.
Police swarmed around the incident as firefighters cranked open the demolished door and pulled the half-dead man out. Shouts for the ambulance piled one after another.
The girl stood, dumbfounded while gaping at the spot where the male once stood. She didn't realize the adults who surrounded her, pressing if she was alright. The transparent smoke hovered, then diffused into thin air.
Reported live from Seoul, this is Lucy Heartfilia, KBS eyewitness news.
Hi guys! Hope you enjoyed that! R&R if you have time, thank you!
-blessifier