Chapter 3: Family
"Grandma Porlyusica! Help, it's an emergency!"
From a distance, Moen could already see the treehouse nestled in the forest, and he began shouting urgently as he ran.
Creak!
The door flew open. A petite old woman with pink hair and a red cloak adorned with dragon teeth stepped out. Her expression was tight with concern as she looked toward the source of the shouting.
"What's wrong?! Who's hurt?!"
Porlyusica's voice was sharp with alarm — Moen's shouting had made it sound like a life-or-death situation.
"It's Natsu! He passed out!"
Moen and Erza arrived breathless at the treehouse. Erza, clearly anxious, answered quickly.
"Bring him in."
Porlyusica's panic instantly faded the moment her eyes landed on Natsu. She could tell at a glance — the boy wasn't in any real danger.
She narrowed her eyes and frowned at Moen, who had been screaming like the sky was falling. That rascal just smiled cheekily at her before slipping right past and into the house.
Inside the cozy treehouse, several children gathered around the bed, their faces filled with concern for the unconscious Natsu.
"Grandma Porlyusica, is Natsu going to be okay?"
Moen finally asked — as the one who started all this, he figured he should at least show some concern.
"He'll be fine. The kid's built like a rock."
Porlyusica replied briskly as she began administering healing magic with the help of a potion. The bruises and swelling on Natsu's face began to fade visibly — though to be fair, he hadn't been seriously hurt in the first place. Just thoroughly beaten black and blue.
"That's a relief."
Moen nodded. Just as he expected — there was no way a guy like Natsu would go down that easily.
Once the treatment was done, Porlyusica looked around at the kids, her expression shifting from mildly annoyed to openly irritated.
"He's fine now. Take him and go. Stop bothering me."
The sharp contrast between the worried healer from moments earlier and the now visibly grumpy old lady was almost comical. Her distaste for the noisy bunch was written all over her face.
"Heh… we're going, we're going!"
Moen laughed awkwardly, scooping Natsu up from the bed and tossing him over his shoulder. Erza, Gray, Cana, and their little white dog quickly followed suit, trailing behind him in a chaotic pack of shouting and running.
"Bye, Grandma Porlyusica!"
The group shouted their goodbyes over their shoulders as they disappeared into the woods.
Watching the lively, chattering kids disappear, Porlyusica — despite her earlier scowl — couldn't help but smile faintly.
...Then she immediately caught herself and reset her scowl.
"Hmph. I hate humans. All they ever do is fight and make noise. Even the kids are the same — so annoying."
She muttered to herself as she shut the treehouse door.
Of course, Moen was long used to this side of Porlyusica.
She was the textbook example of a tsundere — cold and sharp-tongued on the outside, warm and kind-hearted deep down. She was always going on about how much she "hated humans," but whenever anyone was in real trouble, she'd be the first to step in. Practically everyone in Fairy Tail had been healed by her at some point.
—
With Natsu slung over his shoulder, Moen led the rowdy group of kids out of the forest and back toward Magnolia.
Magnolia was a historic magical city in the eastern region of Fiore, home to over sixty thousand people. Magic had flourished there for centuries, and Fairy Tail was the only officially sanctioned wizard guild in the entire city.
Once they returned, the group split up instead of heading straight back to the guild.
Erza and Cana returned to the girls' dorms. Gray, now carrying Natsu, headed for the boys' dorms.
As for Moen — he went home.
One thing worth mentioning is that Erza, Cana, Gray, and Natsu were all orphans — children without parents or family — and they lived in the dormitories provided by the guild.
Moen, though also an orphan, had been more fortunate. He had a place to call home. He grew up within the Fairy Tail guild itself, raised by none other than the guild master, Makarov Dreyar.
As the master of Fairy Tail, Makarov lived in a spacious white, three-story house with a charming front and backyard. It was a cozy western-style villa, much larger than most homes in Magnolia.
Moen opened the front gate. A cobblestone path stretched through the center of the yard, leading straight to the front door. On either side of the path bloomed a variety of flowers and plants — lovingly tended by Makarov himself — currently in full, vibrant bloom.
He jogged up the path toward the house, but just as he pushed open the door—
Thud!
He smacked right into someone.
"Oy! Moen! Watch where you're going, idiot!"
The person clutched his chest as if the impact had knocked the wind out of him. He glared at Moen, baring his teeth in frustration, his entire expression fierce and annoyed.
"Laxus?! You're home? You finished your mission already?"
Moen's eyes lit up with surprise and joy as he recognized the figure before him.
The tall young man had short, spiky blonde hair and a distinctive lightning-shaped tattoo over his left eye. He wore a modern magical audio device called a Sound Pod — essentially a magical headset that played music. Such enchanted gadgets were fairly common in this world.
This was Laxus Dreyar, Makarov's grandson and Moen's older brother in all but blood. He was sixteen now. Back when Makarov found and adopted Moen, Laxus had already been there, watching from nearby.
"Yeah. Just wrapped up an A-Rank job. Honestly, they're getting too easy for me."
Laxus straightened his back and replied with pride, a confident — maybe too confident — smirk on his face. He had long grown dissatisfied with A-Rank missions; they no longer felt like a real challenge.
"Then maybe it's time you tried for the S-Class Wizard Exam," Moen suggested casually.
He knew exactly what Laxus was thinking. If A-Rank missions weren't enough, the next step was clear: S-Class. But you couldn't just take those requests. First, you had to earn the title of an S-Class Mage — and that meant passing the guild's rigorous test.
"Soon. This year, maybe next. That old geezer won't be able to hold me back much longer."
Laxus clenched his fists, clearly already focused on that goal. He'd been thinking about it for a while.
"Laxus, you should show Grandpa more respect," Moen said quietly, his tone more serious now. "Stop calling him 'old geezer' all the time. He's your grandfather. He's the guild master. He's someone who deserves to be respected."
At Moen's words, Laxus's expression darkened. A faint flicker of static danced around his shoulders — a sign of rising temper. It was almost ironic — he was older, taller, stronger, but at this moment, Moen was the one sounding like the older brother, lecturing him.
"You don't get to lecture me!"
With a flash of electricity, Laxus shoved Moen aside and stormed past him, leaving the house in heavy, crackling silence.
"…"
Moen stood still, watching him go, then let out a soft sigh.
Laxus didn't used to be like this.
That polite, kind, enthusiastic boy — the Laxus he used to know — had slowly vanished.