MAIN HOUSE LOUNGE

A three years old boy slept comfortably on the couch. His dark red hair being messed up in the process.

A tired yawn came from Jellal who was sitting on one of the stools by the bar isle.

"Damn...this boy's killing me," he was referring to his sleeping son.

He had been looking after the kid all day, now he was finally free.

Mirajane laughed at his complaint and placed a glass of champagne on the granite surface of the isle for him.

"Well, it can't be helped. Erza's at the company helping out with business," she said.

"Stuck with babysitting eh?" Cana joked. She was sitting next to him on the right.

"And you, when are you getting married huh?" Jellal got back at her with a smirk.

Cana answered this by drinking her glass of beer to the bottom. Well, she just had a fight with her boyfriend again, Bacchus.

"What about your casinos?" Lyon asked Fernandez. He and Rogue were playing on the pool table at the corner, "Who's managing them now?"

"Nahh...I got trustworthy people back at the estate to handle them." Jellal just shrugged.

Then a low murmuring by someone got everyone's attention.

"I miss Gray-sama~"

It was Juvia, sitting next to Lucy on the couch.

"Don't worry, Juvia. They'll all be back from work in no time," the Lady reassured her.

Juvia missing Gray everyday wasn't really something new.

Then they heard the sound of Levy's and Juvia's kids running around the corridors of the house. Probably playing tag. Again.

"Needless to say, the ones remaining here are stuck with babysitting," Mavis sighed. She was also at the bartending isle, eating vanilla cake.

Everyone seemed to hum in agreement.

"I was just thinking," she started, "All the kids here are boys...my sweet Diva is the only girl. It would be nice if she could do dress up with someone her age."

Cana laughed at this fact, "Well, growing up with the boys means she'll be handling guns and not make up."

"But think about it, that's not too bad at all." Lyon said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Anyway, babysitting would be much easier if Lucas was your kid," Jellal spoke up, "I bet he's in the library right now, reading brain-damaging stuff like republic acts and politics. Am I right, Lucy?"

She just answered with a smile.

And they all understood it as a 'yes'.

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UNDERGROUND HALL OF MAIN HOUSE

The glory of the Dragneel territory didn't just end on the land's vast surface, it also extended underground.

Beneath the Main House laid the wide training hall designed for practicing either long-ranged or short-ranged firearms.

Armaments of all classes and variants were hung purposefully on the bricked walls of the wide room, be it from knives to bazookas.

There were even legit samurai swords displayed inside glass containers, probably worth millions for each.

Why not? These things can be bought from the black market, something that the Family always had access to.

At the moment, a sound of a gun shot echoed through the closed room. Someone was there.

The bullet fired landed on the shoulder of the white-colored dummy target.

After that, there was a sound of a disappointed scoff.

It was Gin.

A fresh bead of sweat trickled down his forehead as he brushed his silver hair with his hand.

He'd been training since 2 hours ago. And he was still disappointed with missing the target's chest.

Sometimes he'd go there to train with Laxus, other times it was just him.

He always set his standards to be as good as his father, or even better. Just like him, Gin wanted to protect the family...everyone he loved.

He reloaded the .45 caliber pistol in his hand with a set of new bullets.

As he aimed it again at the target, he heard the sound of footsteps going down the spiral staircase that lead to the underground floor.

He turned to see who it was, and then he saw Diva walking to him with a smile on her face.

Her pitch black hair was longer now, reaching her waist.

"I was looking for you." She said.

"Why?"

"Do I really need to have a reason to see my bestfriend?" Diva mocked.

One side of his lips curved upward.

"I guess not," he then walked towards a glass table by the wall, placing the gun on it.

"Training again, huh." She followed him.

"I have to."

"Can't it wait?"

He chuckled as he lightly pinched her cheek.

"Not if I want to surpass my own father."

Diva sighed and pressed her back against the bricked wall.

"But you still have a lot of time to train. Just have a break now."

Gin understood that she was trying to help. But he didn't want to take a break until he got better.

"You do know that our family is not just any family, right?" he spoke.

When he said this, Diva straightened up from where she stood.

"Of course I do," she answered, "We are the Mafia."

"Exactly. That is the reason why I have to do my best." He said.

She saw determination in his eyes when his words came out.

"I have to protect the Heir," he continued.

With this, she felt admiration.

"...and I want to protect you."

And with this, she felt her cheeks go warm.

It was silent after Gin's last words.

Not wanting to let him see her flushed face, she quickly made up something to say.

"O-O-Okay. I'm going then!"

And with that, she ran off with a face still red.

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DRAGNEEL COMPANY

Natsu stood by the glass wall of his office.

He could see the vast grounds of his company. Even the structures of the city was in clear view.

"So the worldwide second rank family, the Americans, are coming here in Japan to meet you?" Zeref clarified as he took a sip of his coffee. He was on the couch.

"Their head personally called me last night, informing that their visit will not be a form of declaring a challenge." Natsu answered.

"Are you going to meet them?"

Natsu turned and went over to the couch, sitting on the opposite side and legs crossed.

"Whatever it is that he wants to discuss, I'll just have to lend an ear," he answered, "This is the least I can do since he made an effort of asking me politely."

Zeref chuckled with his signature sweet face before saying,

"Well, we'll just be prepared just in case something bad happens."

The CEO hummed in agreement.

"By the way, how is Lucas' training progressing?" he inquired about his son.

Whenever the Heir wanted, he would practice with pistols and rifles at home. And Zeref often observed his performance.

"It's going absolutely perfect. He never misses a shot to the head."

Hearing this, Natsu nodded as he relaxed his back on the couch.

"Are you sure it's okay?" the older one suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Lucas is still young..."

Understanding what his brother meant, Natsu just closed his eyes.

"I was a lot younger when I first held a gun. I turned out just fine. He will, too."

Zeref then recalled the memories of them as children. Natsu was always the best with weapons and combat. On the other hand, he was more of the bookish type, earning him the degree of a lawyer.

"You're right. He's just like you," Zeref agreed with a knowing smile, "Like father, like son."