Chapter II

March 15th, Year x771. 

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia Town, Fairy Tail Guild Hall.

It was the same as always. 

The guild was loud and rowdy. 

Its members chatted away about their lives and past missions. 

A sickening display. 

Crossing his arms over his chest, Ivan looked down from the balcony to the Guild Hall below, his brow furrowed and lips into a frown of displeasure. Ivan's gaze then turned and focused on the dwarfish figure of Makarov Dreyar, the third Guild Master of Fairy Tail who as always, held a tankard of ale in one hand, deep within a daily action of binge drinking joined by many of his fellow members. 

The sight of it made Ivan's frown deepen. 

The Fairy Tail guild had truly fallen far from the days of the Second Master, Precht where they had stood unmatched in the Kingdom of Fiore and all the continent of Ishgar as the greatest guild in all of Earth Land. Now they had the likes of Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Quatro Cerebus and Phantom Lord. 'But if I was to get my hands upon the Lumen Histoire that Master Precht spoke of, then perhaps I could change things. Remove the weeds and cull the weaklings, return Fairy Tail to its rightful spot as being unchallenged.' Ivan thought to himself as his gaze once more turned, focusing on two figures rushing across the Guild Hall and toward Makarov. 

They were his two children. 

Laxus and Yuri Dreyar. 

One a disappointment. 

The other a prodigy. 

When Laxus was born he possessed a great deal of magic power within his body as was expected from a child of his lineage. Yet the amount of magic power he possessed was too much for his weak and feeble body that was prone to illness. At the time, Ivan had determined that the only way to salvage his legacy which he believed extended only to Laxus was to acquire a Dragon Lacrima. It had been a costly and time-consuming endeavour, one he had believed was necessary and one that he succeeded in. 

Implanting the Lacrima into his son had been a successful procedure despite the worries of his father. 

From this procedure, Laxus had been reborn powerful and strong. 

The weak body was removed and the immense magic power he had within his body was amplified tenfold. 

Laxus had gone from being a disappointment to being a mage with immense potential and a bright future ahead of him. 

Ivan finally believed that his legacy had been saved and his lineage would continue. 

Finally, he could be proud of his son. 

That was until he had a second child, Yuri. 

When that child was born everything changed for their family as all his expectations and hopes held for Laxus were dashed. All of it was placed upon the shoulders of the newborn baby that he had held in his arms. A baby with no weak and feeble constitution, possessing immense magic power even greater than Laxus. 

He was a son that Ivan was proud to call his own. 

The only disappointment Ivan held was that Yuri was not born sooner because if he had, then the Dragon Lacrima could have been given to him rather than it being wasted on Laxus. At least then it would have gone to a more deserving mage with great potential, something that Yuri held in droves. It was impossible not to recognise the talent that Yuri had for magic, he showcased it after pestering Macao Conbolt to show his magic {Purple Flare} which he had witnessed in a drunken brawl one day. Ultimately, Macao gave in and showed him, giving a brief explanation of its properties and abilities before Yuri disappeared for a few days. 

A few days later he returned showcasing his ability to manifest {Purple Flare}.

Like everyone in the guild, Ivan had been shocked by the display after all, Yuri had only been four at the time and was already capable of using magic. It took most mages many more years before they were capable of even manifesting magic let alone using magic to cast spells. But more than that, Yuri had replicated magic he had only brief seen and only had a vague explanation of its uses. 

The sight of this talent had been truly wonderful to see and Ivan for the first time felt real joy. 

Ivan was by no means blind to the hard work that Laxus put into learning magic nor the achievements he had accomplished. It was impossible not to know as he had showcased his ability to use the A-Rank Lightning spell, {Lightning Form}, a difficult spell to master for mages with many years of experience.

Let alone a boy not even in his teens. 

However, despite that, Yuri was entirely different. 

Laxus worked hard. 

But Yuri possessed an innate talent for magic that was unmatched. 

That was what a child of Ivan Dreyar should be like. 

However, learning magic was not all it took to become a mage, let alone a great and powerful one as a child of his should be. As a mage, one needed experience and to undergo numerous tests, overcoming hardship, learning and growing from the lessons battle taught. Now, as a member of Fairy Tail, Yuri was about to embark upon his first real mission accompanied by Laxus. 

His son was about to undergo his first real test. 

There was not a doubt in Ivan's mind that Yuri would succeed. 

He had been uncertain of Laxus' success. 

But not Yuri's. 

He was a prodigy and his son.

Only success and victory awaited him. 

A true child of his would never fail. 

-X-

March 15th, Year x771. 

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia Town, Magnolia Station.

"I can't wait!" Yuri exclaimed with excitement, jumping up in the air with a fist raised high.

Beside him, Laxus smiled, shaking his head in amusement as he and Yuri both entered the bustling train station, passing by numerous people going about their daily business. More than a few though spared them a glance as they walked by, each of them taking note of the Fairy Tail emblem the two boys displayed proudly upon their bodies. 

Laxus was wearing a baggy red tank top and white shorts, the Fairy Tail emblem emblazoned upon his left shoulder. 

In contrast, Yuri was wearing a loose tracksuit, the top undone revealing the white shirt worn underneath, the Fairy Tail Emblem resting on the nape of his neck on the right-hand side. It was clear to see even with the collar of the tracksuit being higher than the norm. 

"Yeah, yeah." Laxus drawled. "Just remember I'm in charge. You follow my lead or gramps ain't gonna let you out of the Guild Hall again."

Yuri stuck his tongue out. "Whatever." Laxus jumped at him making Yuri flinch, the exact response he wanted making the older blond laugh and the younger glare. Huffing, Yuri crossed his arms over his chest and began looking around through the sea of people as they approached the train. "Can you see the guy we're meant to meet?"

"No." Laxus shook his head having also been looking around though had caught no sign of the guy they were looking for. "But he should be here. That's what the note said when we accepted the quest. Though the description they gave us was pretty descriptive so if he was here we would have spotted by now."

"Maybe he's already on the train." Yuri wondered. 

Laxus shrugged. "Could be. Let's go check."

"What if he's not?"

"Then he's late." Laxus answered bluntly, climbing onto the train first, Yuri following behind him as they made their way past numerous compartments toward their own. "Ain't our problem if the guy can't be bothered to show up on time. That's his only job."

"I'm not late." 

The quiet voice that interrupted them as the door to their compartment opened, made both Yuri and Laxus slightly jump in shock having not expected to be joined by someone else. Both focused upon the young figure standing before them, he being slightly taller than Yuri in height but smaller than Laxus by a good margin. His face was almost entirely covered by the collar of his trenchcoat collar which came up past his nose and the large round sunglasses he wore.

"I was here early. You were barely on time." The response was equally as quiet, but very blunt leaving the two brothers bewildered. 

Laxus grit his teeth, fist clenching down by his side, mouth opening to say something in response until Yuri moved in front of his brother with a wide smile. "Hi, I'm Yuri Dreyar." The younger blonde greeted with a hand outstretched. 

"Shino Aburame." The young boy replied shortly, turning around to sit down, looking at them when they didn't follow. "We should sit now because the train will be departing shortly." Upon that statement, a whistle blew outside piercing through the tense atmosphere that was beginning to form. 

"Okay." Still cheerful, Yuri quickly plopped himself down on the seat across from Shino."Wow! These seats are comfy. Laxus you should come sit with us."

"I was going to." Laxus replied with a scowl on his face, his frustration at Shino's behaviour evident. 

Throwing himself down on the seat next to Yuri, Laxus crossed his arms over his chest and stared out back at the door they just came through. Though this mission had only just begun, he could already tell that their guest was going to get on his nerves and try his patience. Yuri could already be a lot to handle at times with his incessant questions, Shino seemed worse though in an entirely different way. 

"So, Shino," Yuri as always though, was entirely unbothered by the situation at hand, completely oblivious to Laxus' frustrations and unfazed by Shino's bluntness bordering on rudeness. "What's a Bikochu?"

"An endangered insect." Shino stated, not elaborating further making Laxus' scowl come back in full force. 

"You gonna act like this the entire time."

Shino tilted his head slightly to one side. "I don't know what you mean."

"Course you don't." Laxus huffed his mood even fouler as he rose to his feet sharply. "Yuri, I'm gonna get something to eat and drink, you stay here with the brat."

"Okay. Get me something too." All he got a was grunt in response, but Yuri knew Laxus had heard him, so he turned back to Shino. "So, why are we going after the Bikochu? Are we going to rescue it? Capture it?"

-X-

March 15th, Year x771. 

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Balsam Village.

Humming a tune to himself, Yuri walked beside Laxus as they followed behind Shino who had taken the lead of their unlikely trio. As the one who knew the most about the Bikochu they were looking for, such as their appearance and other valuable information. Shino was also the only one who had the means to locate it, all Laxus and Yuri had to do was help secure the insect once it was found. 

"Shino." Yuri stopped humming and Shino tensed up ever so slightly. It was only a minuscule change, one that caught Laxus' eye and made him crack a little smile as all through the train journey, Yuri had bombarded Shino was a constant barrage of questions that had grated on the calm and collected Aburame. 

The sight was one that Laxus was enjoying far too much. 

"How are we going to locate the Bikochu?" Yuri wondered as the trio came to a stop at the entrance of the forest located around Balsam Village. "Because I don't think it's going to be easy with a forest this size."

"It's going to take us weeks to find." Laxus murmured, nodding his head in agreement with Yuri. "Damn gramps picking this mission." The last part was muttered under his breath as he placed his hands on his hips and hung his head. This whole situation was similar to when Laxus went on his first mission, Makarov choosing one that didn't pose much risk to him, but in turn, had been a long and drawn-out one. He had thought with him going with Yuri that maybe things would have been different, clearly though that was not the case. 

"It will take us time." Shino agreed, insects coming out from the forest and approaching the trio in a swarm that made Laxus tense and Yuri tilt his head to one side in shock. "But not weeks, only a few days." The insects closed in on Shino, crawling up his body and entering the arms of his sleeve. 

"What was that?" Laxus asked, the disgust in his voice evident as he stared at Shino.

"My magic."

"Really?" Yuri excitedly rushed up to Shino. "What kind of magic was that? Holder or Caster? I'm assuming Holder because of the insects, right? What magic spell was that? What does it do?"

"That was {Insect Gathering)." Yuri responded. "I summon insects in a nearby area to me and with that, I can gather information based on what they see as they travel to me."

"Insect Magic. {Insect Gathering}." Yuri murmured before erupting into a huge smile. "That's so cool!"

"It's disgusting." Yuri disagreed.