Yajima

Yajima (ヤジマ Yajima) is a former member of the Magic Council, and a close friend of Fairy Tail`s Guild Master, Makarov Dreyar. He is currently the owner and chef of the 8-Island restaurant in Hargeon Town.

Appearance
Yajima is a short, old man with thick light-brown eyebrows and a small toothbrush mustache that reaches halfway to his mouth, though after the time-skip, it touches his lower lip. In his years in the Council, he wore a brown long sleeve shirt with black vertical stripes and a black three-spiked hat. When he retired and entered the cooking business, he began wearing chef clothes and a chef hat. During his younger years, he was of average height, had brown hair, and wore a light-brown collared shirt and dark blue-green pants.

Personality
Yajima is a very quiet person. During meetings with the Council, he keeps silent most of the time, even when he knew that something was wrong. This trait remains with him in X791, as he doesn't say anything about Raven Tail cheating, despite being aware of the truth. Yajima greatly supports Fairy Tail, and is always rooting for them. This may be due to his close acquaintance with Makarov, a former teammate of his, or possibly due to his former affiliation to the guild.

History
At one point, Yajima was a member of Fairy Tail for some time, being in a team alongside Makarov, Porlyusica, Goldmine, Bob and Rob.

Phantom Lord arc
After Fairy Tail's war with Phantom Lord, Yajima warns Makarov to be careful in the future. He claims that the time may come when he will no longer be able to stand up for Fairy Tail when the Magic Council gets angry with their rambunctious nature, which may eventually lead to their disbandment if the Council reaches the end of their patience.

Loke arc
Together with Mirajane, Makarov, Goldmine and Bob, Yajima goes to watch Team Natsu perform the play, Frederick and Yanderica.

Tower Of Heaven arc
When the Magic Council discovers a remaining R-system tower being used by a malicious Magician to revive the dark Mage Zeref, Siegrain tries to convince the Council to use Etherion to completely destroy the tower, something which Yajima vehemently opposes due to the innocent people who reside in the tower. After Siegrain wins the majority of the Council's favor, Yajima expects the former to take responsibility for the consequences that would be caused by the firing of Etherion, and warns Siegrain that the lives lost will be upon his hands.

Afterwards, while preparing Etherion, Yajima spies on Siegrain and Ultear and overhears them talk about how his dreams are going to be realized, becoming suspicious of the duo and their apparent involvement with the owner of the tower. Upon seeing Etherion's Magic power being absorbed and used to activate the R-system, Yajima realizes Siegrain and Ultear's deceit, but before he can confront either of them he watches as the two suddenly disappear. After the Etherion is fired, he sees Ultear attacking the Council and is stunned by how he had been fooled the whole time.

Oración Seis arc
After the Magic Council is reformed, Yajima decides to leave and opens a new restaurant in Hargeon Town, named 8-Island, and hires Team Natsu to be his temporary staff. After the group finishes the job, Yajima thanks them and tells them to give his regards to Makarov, also warning them that they should be careful to not anger the Magic Council, as he is no longer there to bail them out of trouble.

Grand Magic Games arc
Yajima later appears alongside Chapati Lola as an announcer in the Grand Magic Games Main Events, where he happily congratulates the members of Fairy Tail for passing the preliminaries.

During the first day's initial match where Lucy is fighting against Flare Corona, Yajima senses something when Lucy's Urano Metria is cancelled. However, he keeps his silence.

When the second day of the Grand Magic Games begins, Jason of Sorcerer Magazine stands as the event's guest judge. Chapati then announces the day's event being Chariot - a race between competitors, on interconnected chariots. Yajima hints that this competition, however, is not a regular race. Chapati asks Yajima on whom the latter thinks will win, but Yajima replies that he is not sure. The duo comment on the game, where Bacchus emerges victorious.

In the battle portion, Yajima expects a fair fight between Kurohebi and Toby Horhorta, with the former claiming the win. Yajima observes the battle that unfolds between Bacchus and Elfman, in which Team Fairy Tail A triumphs in. Yajima eagerly watches the next battle where Mirajane faces off against Jenny Realight in a peculiar swimsuit modelling contest that ends with Mirajane effortlessly delivering the final blow against her opponent with her Satan Soul: Sitri. When Team Sabertooth's Yukino Aguria steps up to contend against Team Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi, Yajima reminds Chapati that this is no longer another beauty contest, and the two announcers watch in surprise as the battle reaches its climax, and concludes with Kagura's victory.

When the third day officially begins, Yajima and Chapati introduce the day's guest judge, Lahar. Yajima then wonders what occurrence may happen in the third day of the Games.

The day's event Pandemonium begins, in which the participants must battle monsters inside a temple to earn points. After Erza Scarlet states that she will kill all the 100 monsters in the temple and eventually conquers the event by herself, Yajima, along with his commentators, is shocked by what they have just seen. Yajima, amazed by Erza, jokingly admits that he gives up as the Games' commentator. During the day's battle portion, Yajima asks Lahar about Eve's affiliation with the Council before the Snow Mage decided to enter Blue Pegasus, which Lahar confirms. In the battle between Team Fairy Tail B's Laxus Dreyar and Team Raven Tail's Alexei, Yajima asks Lahar if he has his unit standing by just in case. Lahar replies to Yajima that he brought his unit with him for the Games' regulations and such. He tells Lahar to keep an eye out on Team Raven Tail, and if they do anything mischievous he will command him to stop the match immediately.

After Raven Tail's disqualification, the next battle is revealed to be Team Fairy Tail A's Wendy Marvell against Team Lamia Scale's Chelia Blendy Yajima is surprised about Fairy Tail having Wendy and comments on such a frail-like child joining a guild like Fairy Tail. The battle continues and Chapati gets excited as the battle gets more and more intense, leading to Yajima reminding him not to embarrass himself. Chapati is too excited that he commits mistakes when he comments on the match; Yajima corrects Chapati about the kind of Magic used by the girls battling. The battle continues with both girls giving it their all, when suddenly Wendy unleashes a secret technique and everyone thinks Chelia is defeated. Surprisingly, Chelia gets up uninjured, wearing a smile and saying that the battle has just begun.

At the end of the third day, Yajima, while leaving the stadium, meets Doranbolt, Lahar and some Rune Knights finding out that "Mystogan" has the same face as Jellal Fernandes. Aware about what was going on, Yajima decides to cover Jellal's identity, saying that he is in fact Mystogan, the Edolas counterpart of Jellal, and thus both have the same face, this being the reason why Mystogan hides his face. Aware of the existence of Edolas too, Lahar accepts Yajima's explanation and lets Jellal go. Yajima then mentally communicates with Jellal, telling him to leave before he causes problems for Makarov. After the incident, however, Lahar tells Doranbolt that Yajima was lying.

The fourth day starts with the event Naval Battle, in which the competitors must knock each other out of a giant water sphere, with a special rule applying to the final two competitors left. Given the rules, Yajima points out that the event is like a "water sumo match". Together with his partners, Chapati Lola and Rabian, he gives an overview on the competitors before the start of the event.

After the events completion, Yajima and his co-hosts watch as Fairy Tail and Sabertooth have a tense moment and narrowly avoid fighting after Minerva's display of cruelty towards Lucy. When the new Team Fairy Tail -a combination of the A and B team made to even out the numbers- steps out, Chapati comments on the fact that Fairy Tail and Sabertooth have been matched against each other later that day, with Yajima pondering over what may have happened earlier had the two teams not settled down. Later that day the tag battles begin, and Yajima comments on Nichiya's (who is revealed to be the Blue Pegasus member in the bunny suit) quick knock out of the battle, and how everything has come down to Ichiya in a 1 vs. 2 fight. However, Ichiya manages to pull through and win the fight, and when later asked if he believed it to be a good match, Yajima replies that he supposes it was.

Later that day, the third tag battle begins between Natsu and Gajeel of Team Fairy Tail and Sting and Rogue of Team Sabertooth. When Natsu and Gajeel easily -to the surprise of the crowd- begin to overpower the Twin Dragons, Chapati hastily turns to Yajima and asks for his opinion on the matter. Yajima doesn't reply at first, but then states that the Sabertooth Mages were simply outmatched. However, Sting and Rogue aren't ready to give up that easily, and go into Dragon Force, moving to turn the fight around. Before the two can attack together though, Sting tells Rogue to stand back and states that he can take the two himself, with Yajima commenting that he must be very confident.

Yajima and the other commentators declare Team Fairy Tail the winner after the long battle fought against Team Sabertooth's Twin Dragons and team Fairy Tail's Natsu and Gajeel. Before the teams head back to their respective lodgings, Yajima announces that after the one day break, the final day will feature a survival match, in which every member will participate.

On the last day of the Games, Chapati introduces Yajima as Yajima greets everyone. He watches as the teams come from the last to first. When they say the second place, Sabertooth, Chapati says they look different, and Yajima guesses that they have renewed their fighting spirit, and when Fairy Tail arrive, he and Chapati wonder what happened to Natsu, who was suddenly replaced by Juvia.

The rules of the final event are then announced: with Crocus serving as battlefield, the competitors must find and defeat each other to earn points in the ranking. Once these rules are announced, Yajima points out that, as expected, most of the teams have separated, though some of them are in groups of twos and threes. Soon after the start of the event, however, one of the teams is completely eliminated from the Games, which makes Yajima worry about them.

Team Fairy Tail, that hasn't made a move yet, finally does so, only to be the target of the spell that Rufus Lore used in the first event to decimate his opponents, as remarked by Yajima. As the current event progresses, Sabertooth, Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail have their teams tied in the ranking's first place, and once again Yajima worries about an eliminated team, this time being Blue Pegasus. After Gray's victory over Rufus, Yajima and Chapati discuss Fairy Tail's advantage, their being the only team with five members left participating, while Mato sits beside them in shock over the outcome. The astonishment takes over Yajima's face once again when, all of sudden, the three strongest female Mages of three different Guilds, Erza Scarlet, Kagura Mikazuchi and Minerva engage in a fight.

As the intense battle with the competitions strongest females rages on, Yajima, with Chapati and Mato, are shocked to see the destructive power of Minerva's Yagdo Rigora, which reduces a portion of the battlefield to rubble. Once the dust clears, Yajima and the rest are even more surprised to see that the attack barely damaged Erza and Kagura. While more battles start in the city, Yajima wonders about Sting's whereabouts as the Lacrima cameras are unable to pinpoint his location. Yajima then witnesses a pool of blood in Erza and Kagura's battle after Kagura unsheathes her sword. Erza seemingly wins, and Chapati praises her willpower in these conditions, and Yajima agrees.

As Rogue finally gaining an advantage in his battle with Gajeel, Chapati watches in shock and questions this change in Rogue. Yajima tells him that Gajeel could have done something to aggravate Rogue, with both being ignorant to the shadow's intervention in the battle, while Mato watches on, excited for what's to come. Soon after, Gajeel turns the tables by attacking while in Iron Shadow Dragon Mode, using a powerful roar which is seen around the surroundings and greatly surprises Yajima.

Yajima watches as the battle between Jura, Laxus and Orga begins and is then left in awe of Jura's power, as Orga is smashed into the ground by the Saint's might. He's then left speechless as Laxus is smacked down by Jura, very similar to how Orga was earlier. However, Yajima is pleased to see Team Fairy Tail's Laxus Dreyar defeating the Lamia Scale's Jura Neekis. Afterwards, when Erza, Juvia and Gray finish off their opponents, Yajima states that Fairy Tail is in the brink of victory, but comments on the Mages' physical state as it is noted that if Sting is able to take them all down Sabertooth will be victorious. Despite his worry, Sting gives up, giving Team Fairy Tail the win. The three commentators announce the winning Guild: Fairy Tail. Yajima expresses his opinion on Fairy Tail's victory via stating that Makarov must be overjoyed over the recent events.

Yajima then joins the party after the Grand Magic Games. When Makarov states that he is surprised they were let into the castle, Yajima responds that living a long life has some advantages.

Tartarus arc
Yajima is at his restaurant reading the newspaper along with the Thunder God Tribe, who all have taken a job request to work as his assistants, when he finds out that the recent bombing of the Magic Council has resulted in numerous casualties. Upon hearing the news, Bickslow states that it is good how Yajima is no longer a member of the Magic Council, though instead of expressing relief, Yajima instead scolds the young man.

When Yajima then asks the Mages where Laxus Dreyar is, a mysterious man suddenly approaches and destroys the entire building with a devastating whirlwind, much to Yajima's shock and horror. Then, the mysterious man attempts to attack Yajima but Bickslow and Freed quickly come to defend their employer; unfortunately, the Thunder God Tribe are all swiftly defeated. The mysterious man then informs Yajima that the Gates of Hell have opened and proceeds to strangle him, holding him by the neck. However, a bolt of lightning sent by Laxus hits Yajima's attacker at the last moment, saving the old man's life.

Vividly overjoyed to see Laxus, Yajima can only watch as the Lightning Dragon Slayer dominates the mysterious man. After Laxus' seeming victory, Yajima and the others ponder what to do with the Dark Mage. Yajima ends up sulking over his demolished restaurant whilst reminding Bickslow that, with the Magic Council presently destroyed, its branches are sure to follow. Shortly thereafter, they are abruptly interrupted by the mysterious man, who proceeds to blow himself up and release a toxic mist into the air, infecting the present Mages and weakening them. Yajima attempts to protect himself from the dark mist but is overpowered by the spell; he ultimately collapses while looking for an exit.

Yajima is later transported to the Fairy Tail Guild where Porlyusica tends to him, as well as Laxus and the Thunder God Tribe; Porlyusica later declares that Yajima's condition is grave. After Tartarus plants a lacrima bomb inside Fairy Tail where Yajima is treated, Cana is forced to transport him and the other members on Cube, where he, along with the other injured, is protected by the Fairy Tail Mages.

Magic & Abilities
Flattening Magic: Yajima is able to distort his own body structure and flatten it, additionally granting him a somewhat transparent appearance. This attribute is especially convenient for stealth.

Cooking Specialist: Yajima employs Magic to cook for the customers of his restaurant, 8 Island.

Telepathy (念話 Terepashī): Yajima is able to talk telepathically to others without anyone hearing a conversation except the person he's talking to.

Thought Projection (思念体 Shinentai): Yajima is capable of creating a Thought Projection of himself which he uses to attend trials of Mages in the court room without even being there in person.

Trivia

 * He likes his ramen with 12 slices of barbecued (char siu) pork.

Quotes

 * (To Siegrain) "It is no longer my place to resist, but I hope you are ready to take responsibility for the consequences, yes?"
 * (To Team Natsu) "A lot of things are going to be changing at the Council. Without me around, there won't be anyone to stand up for Fairy Tail when they get into trouble anymore."
 * (To Jellal Fernandes) "Get out of here before you cause Makarov any trouble."

Battles & Events

 * Trial of Makarov Dreyar
 * The Great Banquet
 * Laxus Dreyar, Thunder God Tribe & Yajima vs. Tempesta