Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Mashima Hiro-sensei. I do not own the characters, except for my OC.
Author's Note: Finaaaallly! Enjoy reading!
Whispers of the Heart
Chapter 4: His name, Her name
…
"Gramps."
…
It was barely a whisper but Makarov clearly heard it. The old man downed a lump he didn't know he had on his throat. "Y-You—B-but how?"
The child's lips trembled in response. He looked up to meet his gramps' eyes, just as confused and stressed as him. His whimpers grew louder and louder as every second passed.
Meanwhile, the guild members could only watch the strange interaction between the two. Even though everyone hasn't had the slightest clue what was going on, no one bothered to break the moment between the two.
Except for Gray.
"Gramps, you know Yuri?!" The ice mage asked from across the hall, propping himself up from the floor.
"Y-Yuri…you say?" The Master gawked at him. He then turned to the boy, a look of utter disbelief on his face. "It can't be. Is it…is it really you?"
The blond child slowly nodded.
Makarov felt his heart was about to burst from anger. The kind of anger he had almost forgotten for a long time. The kind only reserved whenever he was involved.
"WHO? WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!" He bellowed, inexplicable rage almost spilling out from his body.
Everyone flinched at their Master's voice. They never heard their Master speak like that before. It was different when he was scolding them all earlier. It was a lot different whenever someone manages to destroy a city.
The boy in question only shook his head, his cries muffled. "I-I don't know." He stated, his voice weakening, "I was only…" The last drop of his energy left him before he could answer. The light in his eyes faded followed by his body lolling forward.
Makarov's eyes widened in horror before quickly returning back to his normal size. He gently laid down Yuri's head on his lap. Now that he'd gotten a closer look, he noticed the fresh wound on the little boy's temple was still seeping out a small trickle of blood. Makarov angrily cursed himself for almost crushing the child earlier. The pressure must have taken toll on his small body. Moreover, the boy's face was slowly becoming paler and paler by the second.
His heart raced as panic began to well up inside him.
"Someone get Porlyusica here!" Makarov urgently barked at his brats. "Hurry!"
"I'm on it!" Lisanna transformed her arms into large wings.
"Tell her I have Yuri, no questions asked! Carry her here if you must! As fast as you can!"
The youngest take-over mage nodded and flew towards the East Forest.
The rest of the members circled around their Master in worry. Mira bent down next to him and spoke, "We should get him to the infirmary."
The Master shook his head instead, his hand firmly rested on the boy's chest, feeling his weakening heartbeat. There was a line of sweat above his bushy eyebrows, showing the seriousness of the situation. "No. He'll stay here. Not until Porlyusica arrives."
"A-Alright. I should get some water and bandages." Mira was about to get up but was stopped.
"I'll do it." Cana told her, feeling quite guilty about attacking Yuri earlier. She hastily jumped to the second floor before Mira could reply back.
The take-over mage sat down next to her Master. Her eyes drifted over to him and Yuri. She could see an unusual sadness reflected on the old man's grey eyes. The sight was painfully tugging her heart. She couldn't explain it herself but for some reason, it was as if she saw it before.
"How could this have happened?" Makarov whispered as he brushed some of the boy's sweaty, golden locks out of his wound. "Of all times…"
Cana came back with the bandages, antiseptic and a basin filled with water. Mira took them and carefully tended Yuri's wound. Elfman, Juvia, Gray and Lucy also went closer. Lucy was about to ask how the Master and the kid she found at the forest were related to each other when a yell was heard at the guild's entrance.
"Where's the brat?!" Porlyusica hurriedly entered, Lisanna in tow. The old woman clucked her tongue as her eyes did a quick scan of the ruined hall.
"Over here." Makarov called out to her.
The pink-haired healer crouched down to where her old friend was and noticed the boy's shallow breathing. Eyes narrowing, she pressed her hand against Yuri's chest and gasped.
"Makarov…" She gave an accusatory look at the old man. "Tell me this isn't—"
"…It is."
"Tch." Porlyusica scowled. She wasn't convinced at first when a half-human half-bird barraged into her hut earlier, asking for her immediate help to cure a boy named 'Yuri'. After all, it's been years since she last heard that name.
But now, seeing this boy again in this state…
She exhaled deeply. Regaining her calm, her hand swiftly hovered above the boy's body. Makarov waited for her assessment as patiently as he could. The healer turned towards him with a serious expression, confirming his thoughts. He saw her raising a hand, thinking she's about to start the treatment when she instead swiftly smacked the back of his head.
There was a collective round of gasps from people gathered around them.
"Ow—what the hell was that for?!" Makarov yelled, the veins on his forehead popping angrily.
"Wipe off that dumb look on your face." She scolded her former teammate and sighed. "The child's not going anywhere now that I'm here."
Makarov only stared at her for a few seconds before letting out a sigh of relief.
Porlyusica stood up and commanded, "Transfer him to the infirmary. I'll treat him there, not here with filthy humans flocking around."
Elfman volunteered, carefully scooping up the unconscious child from the Master's hold. He and the healer marched upstairs to the infirmary. Once they entered the room, the large man put down the child on the cot gently. He waited for Porlyusica's next order.
"You may leave. Tell those fools downstairs not to bother me for the next few hours." She told him brashly, her gaze never leaving her patient. Afterwards, she took out a small, ragged lacrima from her coat pocket and crushed it in her palm, activating the magic locked inside it. Green light began to glow brightly around the healer's arms. Given this power, Porlyusica pressed both her hands on the boy's chest and a second later, the green light also started to envelop Yuri's body.
Elfman took that as his cue to leave, but as he was about to exit the room, he heard the old lady mutter, "What have you gotten yourself this time, foolish brat?"
…
…
Makarov was getting antsy. It's been an hour since Porlyusica entered the infirmary. His eyes wandered upstairs, noting the green light flashing from the edges of the door getting brighter by the minute. The guild members were also quite baffled and worried, not used to seeing that kind of magic from their resident healer.
Everyone was now itching to ask the Master about the situation, but they feared the titan mage would snap at them for asking.
It was this moment when Natsu abruptly woke up.
"GUWAAHH!" The fire dragon slayer shot up from the stage, his fist already infused with fire. "WHOSE BASTARD DID THAT—", he stopped himself short as he saw Master glance at him. "Gramps you're back!" He gave a toothy grin to the old man, his initial outburst long forgotten. Makarov only stared back, clearly not in the mood to bicker around. Natsu quirked his brow at that. Looking around, he noticed everyone's concerned expressions.
Happy had also woken up, flapping his wings to rid of the dust and blinked. "What happened?"
"Yeah, why're you all lookin' sour?"
Lucy answered him. "Yuri…He collapsed. He's now being taken care of by Porlyusica-san upstairs."
Natsu and Happy were shocked at what they heard. Then they shared a look.
"That's right, gramps. I need to ask you something. It's about—". Before the pinkette got to say it, Cana cut him off. "Master, do you know that kid?"
"Yeah, gramps. Do you know Yuri?" Gray followed.
"Are you related to him somehow?" Inquired Juvia.
Natsu frowned at the sudden interruption. "Oi—"
"Now, now, don't overwhelm the Master with questions." Mirajane chimed in. But I'm also curious, she thought to herself. While she knew that the old man has a soft spot for children, she never saw him looked this worried and distraught for a kid he just met today.
There must be a connection between those two…but what?
Her musings got derailed when she heard Lucy gasp. "C-Could it be…?"
"What?"
The celestial mage hesitated for a bit. "He…W-Well, he does kinda look like Laxus."
Everyone yelped in shock at the thought.
Putting two and two together, it wasn't hard to guess what kind of conclusion the people have come up with. Makarov exhaled deeply. "Before any of you brats get the wrong idea, no, he's—", the old man also got interrupted, his voice fading in the background as the crowd started speculating to themselves.
"Laxus has a child?"
"No way! Are you saying he kept it secret all these years?"
"Possibly. That kid looks like he's six."
"W-Well, he does have a reputation."
"What? Really? Those rumors were true?"
"Man, I can't believe he finally knocked up someone."
"That explains the lightning earlier!"
"I wonder who the mom is…"
"Do you think she's a babe?"
"I wish she could come here someday."
"Leaving your kid alone is unmanly!"
"Does the Raijinshuu know?"
"The Master probably knows, so maybe they know about it too."
"Where's Laxus anyway?"
…
Not very far from the crowd stood Lisanna. She didn't bother to join the gossiping going on around the guild and instead looked over to her sister curiously to see how she's taking this all in.
For quite some time now, the youngest Strauss suspected that there's something going on between her sister and the lightning dragon slayer. At first, she couldn't quite put a finger on it, and even quickly waved it off as a rumor, knowing that they really didn't mesh well with each other in the past, Mira being the bratty bully while Laxus the biggest jerk back then. Of course, they now both changed their ways for the better, however it didn't struck Lisanna that those two would eventually grow closer…to the point where she couldn't pass it off as a fluke.
It was only when Cana and Evergreen managed to convince her to take a double look at them that she saw some…strange signs.
Like how whenever one isn't around, they always immediately search for the other. And if by any chance they were at the hall at the same time, the two would 'naturally' draw themselves to each other despite the normal chaos running around the guild. There were even times that the lightning mage himself would volunteer to help with some of her sister's errands.
That certainly got Lisanna's attention.
There were also those moments whenever Laxus leaves for an S-class job, her sister's cheerfulness would drop a fraction. And no one would notice except Lisanna and the guy himself, to which he'd either lightly tease the demon mage that she'd get the same frown lines his gramps has before she'd turn 30 for worrying. That, or he would instead jokingly ask her to come with him on that quest.
Mira had always refuse him politely though whenever the question pops, to which Laxus would only shrug and raise his hand in goodbye. Then the next time he came around the hall and took off for another job, he'd ask her again, and the barmaid would say no yet wish him to be safe…after they both stop staring at each other…like they were passing a secret message to themselves. That became their sort-of-farewell routine for months now.
Lisanna sighed. It was cute at first, factoring in that Laxus, in secret, was in fact a social dork. The Raijinshuu confirmed it, and even told her stories how awkward he was trying to fit in as a host in Blue Pegasus when Fairy Tail disbanded. So it made sense to her that perhaps the man was having a hard time expressing himself.
But couldn't her own sister, the so-called 'guild's matchmaker', tell that he 'might' be asking her out?
Or maybe she was looking too deep into it?
Not that it matters… She sadly thought. Hearing those rumors about Laxus having a secret child all these years, her motivation to partner him up with her sister dropped down. Not that she had anything against Laxus, or Yuri most especially, but…
The youngest Strauss shook her head. How could she, a mere spectator, judge the situation when the most important thing to be considered would be their feelings for each other?
That was why she was eyeing her sister's tense form from behind. If there's anything to confirm that Mira-nee has something for Laxus, that would be her reaction to this, right?
Lisanna walked towards her. "Mira-nee?" Putting a hand on her shoulder, she softly called out to her. The elder take-over mage got startled from her touch. Lisanna slightly narrowed her eyes. She's oddly jumpy. Does that mean the rumors have gotten to her?
"Are you alright?" You look a little pale, Lisanna observed. She gave her a sad smile.
"…"
"…Mira-nee?"
Mira didn't respond. She remained silent for a while, looking down at the floor, brows knitted in deep thinking.
"Yuri…" She mumbled to herself. "…Dreyar?"
"Did you say something?" asked Lisanna, inching closer to her.
"Yuri Dreyar." The older Strauss repeated louder that time, her eyes widening at the name. "I've heard that name before."
Lisanna raised her brow in confusion, clueless to what she just mentioned. Before she could ask her further though, the two heard their Master's loud commanding voice.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!"
Everyone stiffened and stopped talking, turning their attention towards the old man, well except for Natsu and Gray.
"What was that, Flame Brain?" Gray glowered at his friend. Natsu haughtily shot back. "I said you're so stupid, Gray. Anyone could tell Yuri is Laxus' long lost brother!"
As soon as he heard that, Makarov resisted banging their heads against each other. Instead, he only let out a deep frustrated sigh before he yelled at the two. "Idiot! That child isn't Laxus' brother!"
The crowd listened intently, all ears on their Master. Makarov continued. "He's—"
"No way! I was wrong?!" Natsu shot the old man a disbelieving look. "But his scent is almost the same as Laxus'!"
"Ha! I knew I was spot on. He's Laxus' kid all right." Gray gloated at Natsu.
"Oh yeah? Wanna go at it then, underwear-shogun? Whoever loses gets to admit he's wrong!"
"Bring it, ash-for-breath!"
"Guys, stop it!" Lucy tried to get in between them but the two were already at it. "Where's Erza when she's needed here?" She whined.
Makarov didn't stop himself at that point from pumping his fists on top of the two mages' heads. "Would you two idiots settle down and just listen?!"
Both of them squeaked, "S-Sorry."
"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted…" He then cleared his throat and continued, "…that child isn't anyone's brother or son."
Everyone was unconsciously holding their breath for the big revelation.
Makarov closed his eyes, arms folded and spoke. "He's my grandson."
"…"
"Huh?!"
The whole guild was confused.
"That doesn't make any sense!" Natsu complained. "If Yuri's your grandson gramps, then that makes him Laxus' brother, right?"
"He is my grandson." Makarov repeated.
"You…have another grandson?" Gray questioned, not getting what the old man meant. "W-Wait, does that mean…" There was a dramatic pause. "IVAN HAS A BROTHER?!"
People began to whisper to themselves again.
Makarov groaned loudly at the thought. "Laxus is my only grandson!" God these dolts!
While everyone couldn't get what their Master was saying, Mira stood frozen in complete shock. The statement Makarov just mentioned…it was the only thing she needed to confirm her growing suspicions.
The lightning, the Master's reaction when he saw him, the reason for the fake name…
His sudden disappearance…
"Master!" She called out. "Does that mean he's…?"
The old man nodded. Finally, someone got it.
"That's right. That child is Laxus."
"…"
"EHHHHHHH?!"
…
As soon as Mira heard it from the Master, her stomach instantly dropped.
Yuri…is Laxus?
Even though she was the first one to put the pieces together, it didn't stop her from rejecting the idea. After all, having a 25-year-old man transform back into a child wasn't exactly normal, even by Fairy Tail's standards. More so if that particular person is an S-class mage who's very much widely known in all of Fiore…
Looking around, her guildmates were equally stunned as her, sharing disbelieving looks at each other. Then from the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of the green glow coming from the infirmary.
That boy inside that room…
Mira paled, her blood draining from her face. She quickly stared down at her feet, trying not to alert her friends of the queasiness she felt. Her throat was drying up, she could tell.
It was her fault.
She was the last person with him…at the library…before he…
Just then, it suddenly dawned on her.
That book... Her eyes widened as she realized...
That book did this to him!
Mira clenched her fist, angry at herself. Why did I chose this day to be extra-nosy and fiddle with a cursed book, she barked inwardly, keeping her frustration to herself. Even if the book was enchanted, it was still her own doing that got Laxus involved in this.
She needed to go find it again. Spinning her heel towards the library, she left the crowd in a hurry, ignoring everyone's reactions on what just happened and Lisanna worriedly calling out to her. That book which went missing for a few hours now was her only lead, and she wouldn't forgive herself if she didn't manage to find it for him.
…
While Mira was on a book hunt down at the library, the rest were just stumped. Having heard that Laxus was turned into a kid was pretty difficult to accept. Not without a good explanation. Everyone clustered closer to Makarov, expressing their disbelief.
"No way!"
"T-That's impossible!"
"Isn't Laxus err…25 or something?"
"32 if you counted the seven-year gap."
Makarov could feel everyone's incredulity; it was like a rehash of his inner reaction just an hour ago. In all honesty, he was still as skeptic as them, if not more by a long shot.
"Y-You're not really kidding us, gramps, are you?" asked Natsu.
"Why would I kid around in this serious matter?" The old man retorted.
Macao and Wakaba gasped. "N-Now that I think about it, that kid really is Laxus." Macao said while Wakaba smacked his forehead, "Damn, how could I forget?"
"But how could that happen?" asked Happy.
"Yuri-san doesn't resemble the present Laxus-san," commented Juvia, slightly unconvinced that the lightning mage had a docile, innocent look such as Yuri's when he was young.
"His eye color is also different." Elfman observed while everyone nodded in agreement. Laxus as an adult has a golden-orange hue in his eyes, whereas the child…Yuri's eyes were dark-blue with some greyish undertones.
"Yeah, and the lightning scar is missing too." Natsu added but Gray countered him. "You dimwit, he must've gotten it when he got older."
The fire dragon slayer briefly snarled at the insult before exclaiming, "Hold on a minute! Why didn't he say he's Laxus in the first place?"
Everyone turned their heads at each other, confused. Good question…
"Maybe he couldn't say his true name because he doesn't want others to find out that he's the Master's grandson." Lucy suggested. And to think I thought he was a rich heir. She sighed inwardly.
Makarov nodded. "Fairy Tail had its fair share of enemies during Laxus' childhood." Most of them caused by Ivan and his sadistic tendencies, he thought grimly to himself.
"Wait a sec…" Lucy trailed off as she began to realize. "It all makes sense now!"
"What is it?"
"Laxus…He already has the dragon slaying lacrima inside of him!" She then turned to Makarov. "Is that right, Master?"
The old man sighed. "That is correct."
"Remember what he told us earlier?" Lucy asked Natsu and Happy. The two wore questioning looks, not quite getting what the celestial mage wanted them to recall.
"At the diner?" Lucy supplied for them. "Why he couldn't tell his magic? And the persons who told him not to tell were the Master and…" She hesitated, "and…you know…"
"Ivan." Makarov said.
"That bastard of a dad." Natsu chimed in nonchalantly.
Makarov nodded, silently agreeing to what the fire mage said. "It was to protect Laxus."
"Ohhh! He said the same thing to us back then!" The pinkette remembered, finally. "But why would you tell him that gramps?" Natsu argued, "I'm also a dragon slayer, but you've never warned me before that I shouldn't fess up that I'm one?"
Lucy shook her head. "You don't follow, do you? That's because Laxus has a lacrima while you don't."
Natsu still didn't get it. "…So?"
"It means the kid is a walking target." The blonde girl explained further. "That's why he had to fake his name. He couldn't give out his real identity to strangers because it would risk him getting kidnapped. Or worse…" Lucy paused, her voice lowering, "Since the dragon slaying lacrima is a very rare find, someone could extract it from his body."
Makarov's face hardened. Everything that Lucy laid out to the table just now were all true. However, it was that last statement that struck him so bad, he feared his own magic might betray on him and seep out at dangerous amounts.
He wouldn't dare go back to that dreadful time.
Never again.
He tried to control his brewing anger inside of him by distracting himself as he listened to his guild brats.
"So that's why when I attacked him earlier, he didn't get hurt. He's immune to lightning." Cana said before chugging a mugful of ale and grinned. "If that kid's already that tough, that explains why the guy grew up to be a monster."
"That Yuri is a man." Elfman stated while Lisanna only sweat dropped at her brother.
"Yuri-san might have absorbed it too." Juvia quipped then corrected herself. "I mean, Laxus-san…" She sighed. "This is confusing Juvia…"
"Where'd he got the name Yuri anyways?" asked Gray.
"Hm…I remember telling Laxus when he was little to never talk to strangers. And if he needs to put out a name, he'll have to use my father's name." Makarov answered.
"Your father's name?" Gray repeated as he remembered that the old man's father was one of the guild's founders. Juvia had the same look as well. Yuri Dreyar. Otherwise known to the two as the guy who still owes more than 5 million jewels to Precht, or Hades, up to this day. They both sweat dropped.
"That's also how I confirmed it was him." Makarov continued. "The only ones with that knowledge were I, his parents, Porlyusica and of course Laxus."
There was a brief silence after that.
"Well, I still don't get who turned Laxus into that..." Natsu growled, his fangs showing, "But whoever did this to him will pay!"
Everyone agreed as they shared the same sentiment. But unlike the previous attacks on the guild, they didn't know exactly who to target their confusion and anger.
"It's my fault."
That is until someone spoke from behind.
"Nee-chan? Mira-nee?" Lisanna and Elfman both called their sister out at the same time, looking more confused that the rest.
By now, the whole crowd turned their full attention to the white-haired barmaid, who was safely clutching an old-looking book against her chest.
"Mirajane? What is the meaning of this?" Makarov asked, shock painting his face. Of course, how could he have forgotten? Mira was the last person with Laxus. If there's anyone that could possibly know what happened, it was her!
The said barmaid strode towards the old man as she replied, "We were cleaning the library like you told us to do, then I somehow stumbled upon this book." She handed it to him. Makarov brushed the maroon hardcover with his hand while everyone peered closer at it.
"That book has his initials." Mira added, hoping that Makarov could identify the mystery behind the book.
"His initials?" The old man repeated, staring at Mira then back to the book. He slowly opened it, turning to the first page and gasped. True to her words, it did have the lightning mage's initials.
L. Dreyar.
"T-This is…" Makarov couldn't believe it. So it was here all this time? His brows deeply furrowed as he gently swiped his fingers at the part where the name was printed. He could definitely feel it. There was magic coursing in this book.
A familiar one at that.
Makarov narrowed his eyes.
"This certainly belongs to Laxus. I believe this book was his journal when he was young."
Everyone was stunned. The Laxus they all knew didn't look like one who keeps a journal by his side. This was surely something new.
"What?!" Natsu reacted fast, leaning closer to the old man, his eyes set on the book he was holding. "Laxus? That Laxus owned a journal? Oh man, what kind of secrets did he wrote down there? You'd let me take a peek, right gramps?" His fingers wriggled as he moved to get the book but his hands were quickly swatted by Makarov.
"This is a serious matter, Natsu." Clearing his throat, he continued explaining. "As I've said, this belongs to Laxus. But he was not the original owner of this book."
Makarov paused.
"She was probably…no. I am certain she's the one behind all of this."
"She?"
"…"
"Laxus' mother."
"Lauryn."
…
Author's Note: Whew. After a month-long hiatus, I've finally updated! This time, a new character, Lauryn, enters the picture. What kind of mother was she? What were her intentions in this story? And what was that book all about?
Anyway, here's to hoping I can finish the next chapter by next week so I can start with my other fic, Demon in the Spark. Thanks for the continuous support, especially those who reviewed, followed and put this story on their fave list! And as usual, please (kindly) review.
Some references (you may skip this if you want): *In the manga, Laxus' eyes are orange. In the anime, it's grey, but I made it dark-blue because of genetic headcanon and…I'm really not sure about this but I'd like to believe it's more dark-blue than grey in some moments in the anime (like Fantasia). I put the difference for distinction purposes. In this fic, the golden-orange eyes was an after-effect of using too much dragon slaying magic as Laxus got older.
*Juvia and Gray knew Yuri Dreyar from the OVA "Natsu vs. Mavis".
Thanks for reading!
-AwkwardToffee