As the golden crow descended in the west, Fairy Tail finally saw the return of the children from school.
Gray, Cana, and Erzi were all sixth-grade students at the Fairy Academy primary school, with less than half a year remaining before they would graduate to become middle schoolers.
"We're back from school!!"
"Gray got scolded by the teacher again today for stripping in class!"
"And Cana got caught red-handed by the grade director during lunch break for sneaking alcohol into school!!"
The three little ones had barely stepped into the guild before they couldn't wait to share the day's amusing anecdotes. Cana and Gray were exposing each other's flaws, while Erzi followed behind with a smile, ready to provide supplementary details whenever the guild comrades gathered to ask for more.
However, the atmosphere in the guild today seemed quite different from usual. Grandpa Third, who usually stayed in the guild playing the fool, was nowhere to be seen. The other adults seemed to lack their usual enthusiasm, replaced instead by an indescribable exhaustion.
"No way..."
"Those brats only just quieted down for a moment, and now they're back. The guild is going to be a riot again!"
"Can't I just have ten minutes of peace and quiet?"
The strange atmosphere and the expressions of the adults made the three children realize something was wrong. Their eyes scanned the guild, and they finally noticed the difference—there were several unfamiliar faces.
Gray immediately noticed the boy with cherry-pink hair who was roughly his age.
"Why is some random guy sitting in my exclusive seat??!"
Perhaps it was destiny, or perhaps the attraction of magic; just as Gray was sizing up Natsu, Natsu noticed him at the same time. Their eyes met for less than three seconds before an inexplicable fire sprouted silently in both their hearts.
What a localized, annoying bratty face!
I can't take it!
Gray tossed aside his shoulder bag and charged aggressively toward Natsu: "Hey! Where did you come from? Why are you sitting in my seat??!"
Almost simultaneously, Natsu stood up with a "ceng" sound: "Huh? I remember the guild doesn't have fixed seating! What makes you say this is your seat?!"
"What do you mean 'you remember'?! You're talking like you grew up here! I've sat in this spot since I was a kid—everyone in the guild knows it!!"
"Is that so? Well, sorry about that, but from today on, this seat is mine!"
Natsu didn't actually care about a mere seat, but he just found the guy in front of him annoying; he felt that only by going against him could he feel at ease.
Gray was indeed enraged: "You squinty-eyed jerk! Do you want to fight??!"
Natsu refused to be outdone: "Who's afraid of you! Droopy-eyes!"
At this moment, Sting also jumped out with a "kuang-dang" and stood by Natsu to show support: "Go for it, Big Brother Natsu! Give this ungrateful guy a lesson!"
There are actually helpers?!
Gray raised his leg and kicked: "Scram, you brat!"
"You dare kick Sting's butt?!!"
Seeing Gray kick his little lackey away, Natsu grew even angrier. He silently decided to teach this annoying guy a lesson. He clenched his right hand into a fist, and a brilliant, crimson flame burst forth with a "ceng."
"Fire Dragon's..."
Gray remained calm in the face of this, letting out a sneer: "Hmph, a Fire Wizard. Too bad you've met me! Ice-Make..."
"IRON FIST!!"
"CAGE!!"
Kuang-dang—!!
The flames and ice struck each other with equal force. Natsu and Gray were both startled, realizing the other was more troublesome than expected, but this only strengthened their resolve to win. Their magic became more violent, fierce, fast, and ruthless.
"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!! Fire Dragon's Claw!! Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!!..."
"Ice-Make: Shield!! Gauntlet!! Holy Sword!!..."
Peng peng peng—
After several consecutive collisions, both were blasted back several meters by each other's magic. Natsu crashed headfirst into Gajeel's head, while Gray knocked over Ultear's dinner.
"Stinky Fire Dragon, you just have to stir up trouble, don't you?!"
"Get out of the way, you're a nuisance!!"
"What did you say?!"
"GRAY!! You can't go one day without a lesson, can you?!"
"It's not my fault! It's all that fire-using bastard's doing!!"
"No excuses! I'm cleaning up both of you!"
In the blink of an eye, a one-on-one duel turned into a four-way melee.
"Fire Dragon's Crushing Fang!!"
"Iron Dragon's Club!!"
"Ice-Make: Devil Sword!!"
"Ice-Make: Shards of Balsam!!"
Flames, iron, and ice flew from different directions, colliding in the air and causing violent tremors. Among the four, Ultear was older and had stronger magic. In less than half a minute, her ice-flower bullets suppressed the others' magic.
The three boys saw things were going south and retreated quickly, using the guild's tables and chairs to dodge. But the ice bullets were relentless, pursuing the three naughty brothers as "da-da-da" sounds echoed through the guild.
Soon, the other wizards in the guild suffered too—
Wakaba's ashtray was knocked over, smashing heavily onto his head;
Reedus's drawings were pierced, his hard work of the entire day going down the drain;
Sting, who had just climbed off the floor, and Rogue, who ran over to check on his friend, were pummeled until their heads were full of lumps;
Wendy was woken by the commotion; finding Anna nowhere in sight, she began to wail;
Brandish, who had ordered a deluxe sundae and shrunk herself down to enjoy it, was blasted into the air by a meteor of ice. The sundae flew out, was shot into mush in mid-air, and finally landed squarely on Cana's chestnut hair, which hadn't been washed in two days...
"My head!!"
"My drawings!!"
"Waaaaah... Ms. Anna, where are you?"
"You brats! Behave yourselves!!"
"The sundae... my sundae..."
"What is this mush on my head? How disgusting!"
In an instant, the four-way brawl turned into a chaotic riot of dozens of people, friend and foe alike. Pink smoke condensed into two thick arms and began to spin like a windmill through the crowd. Ice, fire, and iron flew everywhere, interspersed with streaks of white light and black shadows. With a "dong-long" sound, Brandish transformed into a six-meter-tall giant, her crystal heels—larger than an adult—stomping wildly around the guild...
Erzi used her sleeve to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead, then shielded the crying Wendy in a corner, not daring to join the fray.
Just then, Descartes, Layla, and Anna walked into the guild together, having just finished the children's school registration.
"Ms. Anna, rest assured! Those children will definitely get along harmoniously with everyone..."