The Harvest Festival was in full swing, and Magnolia had transformed into a lively wonderland of lights, music, and laughter. Banners stretched across the streets, stalls lined every corner, and the smell of grilled meats, sweet pastries, and roasted nuts filled the air. Performers juggled, dancers twirled, and fireworks periodically burst in the sky, even though it wasn't quite nightfall yet. For most, the festival was a time to enjoy themselves.
For me, it was another opportunity to cause chaos.
Which was exactly why I had sponsored an event this year.
"An egg hunt?" Makarov raised an eyebrow at me earlier that day.
I smirked. "Not just any egg hunt—The Grand Egg Hunt."
Makarov sighed. "Why do I get the feeling this isn't as simple as it sounds?"
"Well…" I dragged out the word. "I may have scattered a few mystery eggs all over Magnolia."
"Define 'mystery,'" Makarov said, rubbing his temple.
"They contain surprises! Some have money, some have rare items, and some have… well, let's call them pranks."
Makarov groaned. "Aiden…"
"Relax, gramps," I grinned. "It's all in good fun."
And so, the Grand Egg Hunt was born.
"Are you ever going to warn me before you do these things?" Alma asked, hands on her hips as she looked at the city-wide hunt unfolding before us.
People—kids and adults alike—rushed around Magnolia, checking under stalls, climbing on rooftops, and even jumping into fountains looking for the mysterious eggs. Some cheered when they found something good. Others groaned when they got, say, an egg filled with confetti that exploded in their face.
I grinned. "Where's the fun in that?"
"You know you're going to be the first suspect if this turns into a disaster, right?"
"Alma, please. I live for the disaster."
She rolled her eyes but grabbed my hand, pulling me along. "Fine. But for now, you're coming with me. We have a festival to enjoy."
The moment we arrived at the festival's main street, we were met with pure, unfiltered Fairy Tail chaos.
Cana was already at a carnival game stall, a ridiculous pile of prizes stacked behind her.
"I'm almost impressed," I said, stepping beside her.
Cana grinned. "Almost? Aiden, please. This is skill."
"Right." I watched as she casually tossed another ring and—without even looking—landed it perfectly.
The stall owner's face had gone pale.
Alma sighed. "You're cheating, aren't you?"
Cana smirked. "Cheating? Or just really good?"
The stall owner whimpered.
Meanwhile, Erza had entered an eating contest. Again.
Alma and I turned just in time to see her slam an empty plate onto the table. "More."
Her opponent—a burly man twice her size—looked one plate away from giving up on life entirely.
Laxus stood nearby, arms crossed, pretending he wasn't amused. "She's terrifying."
"She's eight," Alma pointed out.
"That makes it worse."
Across the way, Gray—predictably—had already lost his shirt.
I groaned. "For the love of—again?!"
Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose. "I left him alone for two minutes."
Gray, completely unfazed, was trying to win a strength challenge. Unfortunately, the challenge required being fully dressed, and the stall owner refused to let him participate.
I sighed. "Someone get him a damn coat before he catches a cold."
After being dragged through several festival stalls—where Alma suspiciously won every game—I stopped at a dart-throwing booth.
And immediately noticed something was off.
The stall owner had that look. The kind that screamed, I'm about to scam you.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Oh no," Alma muttered. "I know that look."
"What look?"
"The one where you're about to ruin some poor man's entire night."
I smirked. "Please. I'm just playing fairly."
Alma sighed. "Sure you are."
I grabbed a dart and threw it. It bounced off the target.
The stall owner grinned. "Oof, tough luck, buddy."
I smiled back. "Right?"
I summoned a properly weighted dart from my Celestial Inventory, hidden in my sleeve, and threw it.
Bullseye.
The stall owner's face twitched.
I threw another.
Perfect shot.
By the end of it, the man was forced to hand over every prize. Alma simply sighed as she accepted the massive stuffed animal I casually tossed her way.
"I can't take you anywhere."
"Nope."
As the festival reached its peak, Makarov stepped onto the central stage, clearing his throat as he prepared to announce the winners of my brilliant idea—the Grand Egg Hunt.
The crowd had gathered in anticipation, eager to see what kinds of treasures had been uncovered.
I stood off to the side with Alma, watching with a smug grin. "See? A huge success."
Alma folded her arms. "That depends on how you define success."
Makarov adjusted his tiny glasses and unrolled a parchment. "First, we have young Tobio, who found an egg containing 10,000 jewel! Let's give him a round of applause!"
The crowd erupted in cheers as a small boy, no older than six, stood on the stage, beaming as he clutched his prize. He looked like he had just ascended to a higher plane of existence.
"I'M RICH!" the kid shouted, lifting the bag of jewel over his head like it was the most important thing in the world.
Alma smiled. "Well, at least one of your eggs was actually worth something."
"Some of them had good things," I defended.
Alma squinted at me. "And the others?"
Makarov cleared his throat. "Next, we have… uh…" He squinted at the paper. "Well, this poor fellow found an egg that… unleashed an illusion of a screaming ghost upon opening it."
The crowd turned to the unlucky man standing nearby, his hair now stark white from the sheer trauma. His hands were trembling as he stared into the abyss, muttering, "It was inside my head… it was inside my head…"
The festival goers gave him a polite clap.
I hummed. "Huh. I was wondering where that one went."
Alma elbowed me. "You traumatized a man, Aiden."
"I gave him a story to tell, Alma."
Makarov, deciding to move things along, continued. "And finally, our last egg finder of the night is… Erza Scarlet!"
The crowd turned as a very proud eight-year-old Erza walked onto the stage, holding her egg high above her head like a warrior displaying a captured trophy. "I found one!" she declared, her voice full of victory.
The moment she cracked it open, a thick cloud of flour erupted in her face.
Silence.
Then, the wind shifted just right, perfectly coating her in a fine white powder.
She stood there, blinking. The once-mighty warrior now looked like a freshly baked loaf of bread.
I inhaled sharply.
Alma immediately grabbed my wrist. "Do not laugh."
The crowd didn't dare make a sound. Even Makarov looked like he was holding his breath.
Erza slowly wiped the flour from her eyes.
Then she turned her head.
Her gaze locked onto me.
I immediately grabbed Alma's hand.
"Run."
The second Erza lunged, we bolted.
"GET BACK HERE, AIDEN!"
"IT WAS A RANDOMIZED EGG, I SWEAR!"
We sprinted through the festival, weaving between stalls and panicked festival-goers. Erza, now fully in rage mode, chased us with the unrelenting determination of a warrior out for revenge.
"She's going to kill you!" Alma yelled, barely keeping up.
"NOT IF I OUTRUN HER FIRST!"
Behind us, Erza grabbed an entire cart of fruit and hurled it. I barely ducked in time as an apple whizzed past my head.
"I SWEAR IT WASN'T PERSONAL!"
"LIES!"
As we ran past a game stall, Gray and Cana—watching the whole thing unfold—casually stepped aside.
Gray tilted his head. "Think he'll make it?"
Cana smirked. "Nah. He's dead."
And with that, the festival carried on as normal, except for the absolute chaos that was me desperately running for my life from an eight-year-old covered in flour.
By the end of the night, fireworks lit up the sky. Alma and I stood a little away from the crowd, watching from a quiet spot near the river.
She leaned against my shoulder. "Not bad for a forced date, huh?"
I chuckled. "I'll admit, you might've been onto something."
"Might've?"
I smirked. "Might've."
She rolled her eyes but didn't argue.
As the fireworks reflected in the water, I stole a glance at her.
For a moment, all the chaos of the festival, the guild, and my own wild existence faded. Right now, this was enough.
---
A few days later…
I should've known today would be chaotic the moment I walked into the guild.
Alma was behind the counter, arms crossed, eyebrow raised like she had already caught me doing something wrong—which wasn't fair, because I literally just got here.
doing something.
"What did you do?" she asked.
I blinked. "Why do you assume I did something?"
Her eyes narrowed. She didn't even have to say anything. That was the look.
Sighing, I rubbed the back of my head. "Okay, fine. Maybe I switched Laxus's shampoo with a dye that turns his hair neon pink under sunlight. Maybe."
She stared at me.
"You really have a death wish, huh?"
Before I could respond, the doors slammed open.
I turned around—
And there he was.
Laxus.
Pink.
Glowing under the sunlight like a magical fairy.
I almost fell to the ground laughing.
The guild went silent.
Cana spit out her drink. Gray fell off his chair. Even Makarov, who had been casually drinking, froze mid-sip.
Laxus slowly turned his head toward me. His eye twitched.
I pointed at Cana. "She did it."
"YOU LITTLE—" Cana started, but it was too late.
Laxus cracked his knuckles.
"Leonhart."
I ran for my life.
The moment I dashed out of the guild, I heard plotting.
Cana, Gray, Erza, and Kagura were already scheming.
"This has gone on long enough," Cana declared.
"Yeah," Gray agreed. "Aiden gets away with too much."
Erza, still covered in flour from my last prank, nodded. "Revenge is necessary."
Kagura, the youngest, just wanted in on the fun.
I should've been worried.
But I wasn't.
Because I was about to ruin their lives first.
I walked back into the guild an hour later, fully expecting some kind of trap.
And I was right.
Above the door, a bucket of water was suspiciously placed.
I smirked. Amateurs.
So I stopped walking.
And Alma, completely unaware of the situation, walked in before me.
SPLASH.
Silence.
I turned to Gray.
Gray turned pale.
Alma was drenched.
Her death glare locked onto Gray.
Gray turned to me. "I AM SO SORRY, PLEASE PROTECT ME."
I took a step back. "Nah, you're on your own."
Alma cracked her knuckles.
Gray ran for his life.
The guild absolutely lost it.
Cana and Kagura teamed up to poison me.
Not literally.
But they did swap my drink with some kind of insanely spicy potion.
I took one sip, blinked, and downed the whole thing like it was water.
They gaped at me.
"…Huh?" Cana muttered.
Alma leaned toward them. "Aiden eats ghost peppers for fun. Did you really think that would work?"
Kagura frowned. "What do we do now?"
Cana sighed. "Plan B."
Plan B was… dropping a cake on my head.
They succeeded.
I just stood there, covered in frosting.
I licked my lips. "…Tastes good."
Cana screamed in frustration.
Kagura just stared at me. "This man is impossible."
It was time for revenge.
So I did what had to be done.
I swapped all their shampoo with hair dye.
Gray's hair turned green.
Cana's became purple.
Kagura looked like a walking rainbow.
Erza was spared.
Because she held a sword to my throat and said, "Don't."
Fair enough.
Cana pointed at me. "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS."
I smirked. "Come at me."
After several hours of chaos, Makarov punished both Laxus and me.
We had to cook dinner for the entire guild.
Ur grinned. "You boys better not burn the place down."
I looked at Laxus.
Laxus looked at me.
Neither of us knew how to cook.
This was going to be a disaster.
I stared at the shelves of ingredients like they were ancient runes I couldn't decipher.
I picked up a bag of flour and squinted at the label. "Is this sugar?"
Laxus picked up a raw chicken by the wing, holding it up like it was some kind of alien specimen. "How do you cook this?"
Alma sighed. "You two are hopeless."
We had one job.
One.
And somehow, within five minutes, the kitchen looked like a war zone.
Laxus, for some reason, thought electrocuting the food would "cook it faster."
The result?
A fried pan.
Not the food. The actual pan.
Meanwhile, I—out of sheer scientific curiosity—wanted to see what would happen if I threw a handful of seasoning into a boiling pot all at once.
What happened was that I set water on fire.
Water.
Flaming.
Alma had to smack me with a ladle to put it out.
Cana walked into the kitchen at that exact moment, took one look at the chaos, and immediately walked right back out without a single word.
Smart girl.
Even Makarov, who had been peacefully drinking on the counter, glanced at the scene and actually looked concerned.
And that's saying something.
Miraculously—against all logic and reason—the food actually turned out good.
Laxus and I stood there, arms crossed, nodding proudly at our creations.
I elbowed him. "We might be natural-born chefs."
Laxus smirked. "Yeah. Fairy Tail's finest."
Then Alma ruined everything.
She smirked. "I fixed everything behind your backs."
Laxus and I froze.
"What?"
She held up a frying pan. "You really think food that came from whatever that—" she gestured at the still-smoking pot in the corner "—would actually be edible?"
We both just stared at her, our pride shattering instantly.
The rest of the guild, who had been watching this disaster unfold, burst into laughter.
Cana nearly fell off her seat.
Gray wheezed.
Even Erza, usually so serious, looked deeply amused.
Laxus muttered under his breath, "I hate this guild."
Alma patted his shoulder. "No, you don't."
"…Yeah, I don't."
Later that night, after the chaos died down, I finally got a moment of peace outside the guild.
Alma and I sat on the wooden steps, looking up at the stars.
The air was cool, the distant chatter of the guild behind us. For the first time that day, things felt calm.
She shook her head. "You cause too much trouble."
I grinned. "That's why you love me."
She rolled her eyes. But she smiled.
Behind us, inside the guild, the others were still arguing about who won the prank war.
"I clearly won!" Cana declared.
"Like hell you did," Gray argued. "You just got cake all over him!"
"Which means I won."
"That's not how winning works—"
Laxus, still slightly pink from earlier, silently sipped his drink, ignoring them.
I sighed, shaking my head. "Another perfect day at Fairy Tail."
Alma smirked. "You realize they're going to get revenge tomorrow, right?"
I blinked.
"…I need to leave town."
She laughed.
And honestly?
I did too.
—----------
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