POV: Elior
The morning after Gildarts' return felt strangely different.
Not because Magnolia had stopped rearranging itself every time he walked through the streets.
Not because the guild had suddenly become quieter.
If anything, it was louder than ever.
But there was a new feeling around our family.
Gildarts was staying.
After years of wandering from one mission to another, he had finally decided that he wanted to spend time with the family he had almost never gotten the chance to have.
And judging by the way he looked at Cana, I had a feeling he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
"Papa!"
Cana came running into the room with a huge smile.
Gildarts immediately crouched down and opened his arms.
"Morning, princess."
Cana jumped straight into his arms.
He caught her easily and lifted her into the air.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Yep!"
"Dream about anything?"
"I dreamed I was super strong!"
Gildarts laughed.
"Of course you did."
Cana wrapped her arms around his neck.
"And you were there too."
"Oh?"
"You were fighting a giant!"
Gildarts placed a hand over his chest dramatically.
"A giant? Did I win?"
"No."
He froze.
"What?"
"You got beaten."
Cornelia covered her mouth to hide her laugh.
I burst out laughing.
Gildarts stared at Cana in disbelief.
"Your dreams are cruel, little one."
Cana giggled.
"But I beat the giant!"
Gildarts immediately looked proud.
"That's my girl."
It didn't take long for everyone to realize just how badly Gildarts was going to spoil her.
If Cana wanted a sweet, he bought it.
If she wanted a toy, he bought it.
If she saw something interesting in a shop window, Gildarts would already be walking toward the door before anyone could stop him.
One afternoon, Cana pointed toward a shop.
"Papa, look!"
Gildarts followed her finger.
There was a stuffed animal nearly as large as Cana.
"Want it?"
Cana nodded.
"Okay."
He walked inside.
I followed them.
The shopkeeper looked at Gildarts nervously.
Gildarts pointed at the stuffed animal.
"I'll take that."
"And this one!"
Cana pointed at another.
"Sure."
"And that!"
"Yep."
I stared at the growing pile.
"Gildarts."
"Hm?"
"You know you don't have to buy everything she points at."
He looked at me as if I'd said something completely ridiculous.
"El, I'm rich."
He handed the shopkeeper another bag of jewels.
"Very rich."
Cana hugged her new toys.
Gildarts smiled proudly.
"Besides, I've missed four years of this."
That shut me up.
He wasn't trying to replace the years he had missed.
He simply wanted to make sure he didn't miss any more.
And honestly, I couldn't blame him.
A few days after his return, Gildarts began training us.
All four of us.
Me.
Laxus.
Erza.
And Cana.
Of course, our training wasn't exactly the same.
Laxus and I were already capable of serious combat, so Gildarts pushed us hard.
Erza trained just as seriously.
She had become even more determined after watching our spars and had no intention of being left behind.
Cana's training was much lighter.
She was only four, after all.
Gildarts wasn't interested in making her fight powerful opponents.
Instead, he taught her the basics.
Balance.
Footwork.
How to fall safely.
How to keep her eyes on an opponent.
And most importantly, how to stay calm.
"Again!" Cana shouted.
Gildarts smiled.
"Alright."
He crouched down in front of her.
"Remember what I taught you. Don't charge straight at me."
Cana nodded seriously.
She took a breath.
Then she ran forward.
At the last moment, she suddenly moved to the side.
Gildarts raised an eyebrow.
"Good."
Cana grinned.
"Did I get you?"
"Almost."
He gently tapped her shoulder.
"Dead."
Cana pouted.
"Again!"
Gildarts laughed.
"That's my girl."
Meanwhile, Erza was standing nearby, watching carefully.
"Can I try?"
Gildarts looked at her.
"Of course."
Erza immediately stepped forward.
Unlike Cana, Erza didn't need to be treated gently.
She was still young, but she already had an incredible drive to improve.
Gildarts tested her balance and footwork first.
Then her reactions.
Then her ability to stay calm when an attack came toward her.
Erza struggled.
But she never complained.
Whenever she fell, she stood back up.
Whenever she failed, she tried again.
Gildarts noticed it too.
"You've got a stubborn streak."
Erza looked at him seriously.
"I want to become strong."
"I can see that."
"I want to surpass El-Ni san."
Gildarts looked at me.
Then back at Erza.
"That's a pretty big goal."
"I know."
I smiled.
"Good luck."
Erza narrowed her eyes at me.
"I will."
Gildarts laughed.
"Alright, then. Let's see what you've got."
The training continued.
For the next few weeks, our days developed a rhythm.
Makarov continued teaching us magic.
I focused on controlling my Light Magic more efficiently.
Laxus worked on his Lightning Magic and physical reinforcement.
Gildarts focused on combat.
He taught us things that couldn't be learned from books.
How to fight when tired.
How to react when your plans failed.
How to use the environment.
How to recognize when an opponent was trying to bait you.
How to keep moving even when your body wanted to stop.
"Power is only one part of a fight," Gildarts told us one afternoon.
He stood across from Laxus and me.
"Knowing how to use that power is what makes the difference."
Laxus wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Then attack us."
Gildarts grinned.
"Gladly."
The next moment, he vanished forward.
Crush Magic exploded across the training field.
I moved through the attack using my Light body while Laxus jumped away.
Gildarts immediately changed direction.
His movements were unpredictable.
Even with my magical perception, he was difficult to read.
I could sense his magical flow.
His body movements.
The shift of his weight.
The tension in his muscles.
But Gildarts constantly changed everything.
There was no fixed rhythm.
No obvious pattern.
He wasn't seeing the future.
He was simply an absurdly experienced fighter.
And he knew how to make every movement count.
Laxus rushed him from the side.
Gildarts twisted around him and tapped him on the back.
"Dead."
"Tch."
I attacked from the other side.
Gildarts blocked.
Our clash sent dust flying across the field.
Then he laughed.
"Much better!"
He pushed us back.
"But you're still thinking too much."
Laxus frowned.
"Thinking?"
"You're trying to calculate every move."
Gildarts pointed at him.
"Fight."
Then he pointed at me.
"And you."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Me?"
"You're even worse."
"Excuse me?"
"You're so confident in your perception that sometimes you forget your opponent can just do something stupid."
Laxus laughed.
I glared at him.
"Don't encourage him."
"He's right."
"You too?"
"Especially me."
Gildarts burst out laughing.
Those training sessions became some of the most exhausting parts of our days.
They also became some of the most enjoyable.
Gildarts wasn't just a teacher.
He became another part of our family.
He spent time with Erza.
He encouraged Cana.
He sparred with Laxus.
And with me, he often treated every training session like a challenge.
But there was one thing that stood out.
His relationship with Cana.
He absolutely doted on her.
Sometimes, I'd see him sitting on the porch with Cana asleep against his chest.
Other times, he'd be carrying her around while she told him some completely random story.
He listened to every word.
Even when she repeated the same story three times.
One evening, I found him sitting outside with Cornelia and Cana.
Cana was asleep.
Gildarts looked down at her quietly.
"You know…"
He spoke softly.
"I still can't believe I have a daughter."
Cornelia smiled.
"Neither can I sometimes."
Gildarts looked toward me.
"And I can't believe I almost never got to meet her."
I sat down beside him.
"You have her now."
"Yeah."
He smiled.
"Thanks to you."
I shook my head.
"You don't owe me anything."
"I do."
His voice became serious.
"You saved Cornelia when she was dying."
He looked down at Cana.
"You saved my family before I even knew I had one."
I didn't know what to say.
Gildarts placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I'll never forget that, El."
I smiled.
"Then don't."
He nodded.
"I won't."
A few days later, Laxus and I had another spar.
It was late.
The sky had already turned dark, and the stars were beginning to appear above us.
We had been fighting for hours.
Lightning flashed across the training field.
My Light Magic illuminated the ground.
Eventually, neither of us had enough energy left to keep standing.
We collapsed onto the grass.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
The night was quiet.
The wind moved gently through the trees.
Above us, countless stars filled the sky.
"El."
Laxus' voice was quieter than usual.
"Yeah?"
"There's something I've never told you."
I turned my head toward him.
He was still staring upward.
"My childhood."
I waited.
Laxus took a slow breath.
"I was a very frail child earlier and it wasn't because I didn't have any magic."
I frowned slightly.
"It was the opposite."
He paused.
"I had too much."
I looked at him.
"My magical power was abnormally high even when I was a child. My body couldn't keep up with it."
His voice remained calm, but I could hear the weight behind his words.
"I was constantly exhausted. My body was weak because it was trying to contain something it wasn't physically ready for."
He clenched his hand.
"That's when my father stepped in."
Ivan.
Laxus had mentioned him before.
But never like this.
"He said he could fix it."
Laxus looked at the stars.
"He implanted a Lightning Dragon Slayer Lacrima into me."
I stayed silent.
"It strengthened my body. It helped me handle the amount of magic inside me."
He paused.
"But that wasn't the only reason he did it."
"He wanted power," I said quietly.
Laxus nodded.
"He saw what I could become."
His expression hardened.
"To him, I wasn't just his son."
I understood.
"A weapon."
"Yeah."
The word hung between us.
"I hated it."
Laxus closed his eyes.
"And when I first got the Dragon Slayer Magic, I couldn't control it properly. It was too much. My magic was already difficult to handle, and suddenly there was something even more powerful inside me."
He turned his head toward me.
"That's why I never used it against you."
I blinked.
"What?"
"I was afraid I'd lose control."
His voice was almost embarrassed.
"And I didn't want to hurt you."
For a moment, I said nothing.
Then I smiled.
"You should've told me."
"I wasn't ready."
"Fair."
He looked at me.
"You don't think differently of me?"
I frowned.
"Why would I?"
"Because of what I am."
"Laxus."
He looked at me.
"You're my friend."
His eyes widened slightly.
I continued.
"Dragon Slayer or not. Lacrima or not. I don't care."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"You're an idiot."
"Probably."
He looked back at the sky.
"Thanks, El."
"Anytime."
We lay there in silence again.
Something had changed.
Not dramatically.
There was no grand declaration.
But I understood Laxus a little better now.
And he trusted me enough to show me the part of himself he had kept hidden from everyone else.
That meant something.
More than either of us probably realized at the time.
Our rivalry hadn't disappeared.
If anything, it had become stronger.
But underneath it was something better.
Trust.
Friendship.
Family.
And as the years passed, that bond would only grow stronger.