To Kill A Dragon

Kai

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima, Tiamat is loosely based on Tiamat from Forgotten Realms which Belongs to Wizards of the Coast, LLC. The traits of the chromatic dragons have been altered to match the dragon slayers in the Fairy Tail Universe. Drakan belongs to Surreal Software.

Chapter 30: Kai

"KAI!", Igneel bellowed as he watched the small red dragon collapse after absorbing Tiamat's spell. Damnit, why hadn't he listened to him? He had allowed Tiamat to pull him out of Natsu so he could avoid Kai getting hurt. Once again he had been the cause of somebody else's pain. Igneel was beginning to think that Zeref was right about him. He brought nothing but misfortune to those who depended on him. If Kai died because of him he would never forgive himself, Natsu might never forgive him either. He looked over at Tiamat and he felt rage take over as he noted the greed with which she looked at the youngster. She had no maternal interest in Kai, just in the power she could acquire if she controlled him. He roared back to life driven by the hatred that coursed through his veins for the deity that single handedly derailed all their plans and caused Natsu so much pain.

Natsu was still somewhat dazed as he tried to make sense of what had just happened to him. Two dragons had somehow come out of his body. The first, the father he had been searching for incessantly since he woke up alone all those years ago. He couldn't even begin to process that. He had so much anger and longing and regret associated with Igneel. The second, the son he had only known about for several days. Kai, who was now lying unconscious at his feet, not as an infant like he and Gray had expected, but as both a red dragon and the smiling boy from his dream. How was that even possible? He supposed it must have something to do with that dummy god thing Lucy had mentioned. He examined Kai carefully. He could easily see that the boy was a mix of both his and Gray's features. Once his eyes had connected with Kai's he had felt an immediate bond with the boy which had only grown when he had called him Father. Natsu felt himself quickly falling in love for the second time in his life, and with it came an overwhelming need to protect. He felt his dragon instincts awakening within him. He shifted his attention to Tiamat who was staring down at his son with longing. He snarled a challenge and moved to block her view of Kai as his canines elongated and his skin became covered in the scales that were a tell tale sign of his impending Dragon Force.

Gray heard Natsu challenging Tiamat and gently picked Kai up and cradled him in his arms the way he remembered being held by his own parents. For some stupid reason he could not stop smiling as he peered down at their son who looked like a tiny version of Natsu. He was surprised by the timing of his appearance but not by the act itself. That had been a total Natsu move, protect without any thought to your own life. They were going to have their hands full with this one. Gray had gone from having no family to call his own to suddenly having a father, a son and a mate. Given his track record he wasn't sure how many of those he would still be able to lay claim to at the end of this fight but the thought that he had them warmed his usually chilled heart. He worried that Kai seemed like he was not completely in this world and he did not know what to do to help him, especially now that he was outside of Natsu's body. Silver stood next to him looking at the boy in his arms with stars in his eyes.

"Your son... is beautiful.", Silver said to Gray in awe, completely unfazed by the circumstances of his appearance. He was enraptured by the sight of Gray, his only son, holding his grandson in his arms. Just two months ago he'd thought that Gray had died along with his wife. He wished Mika had lived to see this, he made sure to capture every detail in his mind to share with her when he finally saw her again.