The Crimson Wolf
Summary: A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...
The Wounded Warrior
He breathed heavily as he tried to keep his sword in front of him. The menace in front of him was hardly breathing, and he had already nearly killed Lucy. He glanced over his shoulder to see Leo and Taurus guarding their master while Wendy tried to save the celestial mage's life. The man gritted his teeth in anger. He still heard the crashing and screams of pain elsewhere in the forest as Gray held back the villain's men to the best of his ability. How much longer could the ice wizard hold his ground? Erza barely managed to stand at his side, just as exhausted as he was and sporting a horrible gash in her side. Acnologia's roar brought the man's eyes to the sky above where a beyond furious Natsu fought the monster to a stalemate. The man knew that in that battle of attrition, Natsu's energy would run out first. Acnologia would endure unless Natsu received aid.
"I will only ask once more, brother," their opponent stated with a smirk on his face. "It would be boring to have to kill you again and wait for your return again, Geri."
"That is not my name," he growled back. "And I will not stand down as long as my nakama need me! You betrayed me! You betrayed everyone! Both then and now! For nothing!"
"It wasn't for nothing, fool," their enemy retorted with a laugh. "I had fun, after all. And all these years have given me power beyond your wildest dreams."
"Why?" the Fairy Tail mage breathed as he helped Erza stand. The villain roared with laughter when he heard these words.
"Why have I ever bothered doing anything?" he asked rhetorically. "It is fun, and there is no one who can hope to stop me."
The mage gripped his sword in rage, and turned to look at Erza, who stood up the rest of the way, her own anger fueling her injured, worn out body. "I will stop you," he yelled, resolute. Their opponent laughed even harder at that statement than he did to the question, even taking several moments to stop and catch his breath.
"You aren't strong enough," the hysterical menace chuckled darkly. "You were never strong enough to stop me, Geri."
"Can you hear me?" Erza asked the bleeding pinkette on forest floor. The Titania was returning from investigating and thrashing some thieves that robbed only fat men when she nearly tripped on the man. As she looked at him, Erza had to remind herself that it was not Natsu, despite how similar this man looked to her dragon slayer friend, although this man's hair was much longer and mostly held back in a spiky warrior's tail.
"Where is my blade?" the man grunted out. Erza could sympathize with the man's need for his weapon as a warrior, and guided the fine katana that lay beside him into his hand.
"Here you go," she said softly. His wounds were fairly serious, but not fatal now that she could get him to safety. When the swordsman felt his blade in his hand, he sighed and closed his eyes. For a moment, Erza thought he died, but saw his chest continue to rise and fall laboriously. Carefully, Erza checked his wounds again, making sure she did not miss anything that could endanger him. Most of the blood poured from a shallow gash in his chest and a cut along his forehead. If she did something to stop the majority of the bleeding, she could get him to Magnolia, but she had to act fast.
She cut his already ripped shirt into strips, and tied several pieces around his chest and head. "That will have to do," Erza muttered. "I'm going to get you to safety. Stay with me." The man nodded his head weakly, and Erza helped him to his feet. He only made it five feet before he fell over, nearly dragging Erza with him. Erza just grunted, and threw the injured stranger onto her shoulder before taking off toward Magnolia.
"Is Wendy here?" Erza asked urgently as she pushed the guild door open. Several people saw the injured man, who looked like Natsu at first glance, and hustled to find the sky dragon slayer. "I'm taking him to the infirmary. Gray, come help," Erza ordered. The ice-make wizard followed his instructions quickly.
"Who is this guy?" he asked as he helped Erza get the man to the infirmary. "Last thing I need is a Natsu look-alike." Gray shrunk and began to sweat when he caught Erza's glare. He swore her eyes even turned an evil crimson, and his spine tingled.
"I found him in the forest like this," Erza explained. "He is stable, as far as I can tell, but he's lost a lot of blood. Is Master Makarov here?"
"I think so," Gray answered. "I'll go find him." Gray dashed off to look for the master, and nearly ran Wendy over in the process. "Sorry," Gray said as he picked her up off the floor and ran off again.
"Oh!" Wendy cried when she saw the man. "Do you know what happened?" The young girl's hands already began to glow as she approached the bed where the stranger lay.
"I don't," Erza answered. "He was bleeding out in the forest, and I don't even know his name. He has been unconscious most of the time, and when he was awake he couldn't talk well." Wendy nodded her head. When it came down to healing, Wendy was levelheaded most of the time, but her composure quickly vanished as she tried to heal the man.
"My magic isn't doing anything," Wendy nearly whispered in shock. There had been times where she could not heal injuries because they were too grievous and she did not have enough power to heal them. But this man was not nearly hurt enough for that to be the problem.
"What?" Erza asked.
"Something is stopping my magic. Whatever or whoever did this might have cast a spell to prevent healing. I don't know what to do," Wendy cried. Tears threatened to fall, but she shook her head violently from side to side to stop herself. "Um, I'll go get someone who can help."
"Wendy," Master Makarov said as he walked in the room, "go get Mirajane."
"Yes," Wendy said as she ran out to get the takeover mage.
"Tell me everything," Makarov told Erza. His face set in a deep frown as he listened to Erza, who spared no details. Mirajane had Wendy help apply new bandages to the stranger checking over his wounds once more. After Erza finished explaining everything, Makarov grunted as he thought.
"How are his wounds, Mira?" the old man asked.
"He should be fine," Mirajane said with a wide smile. "Natsu and Gajeel had worse wounds than this man."
"Mira, they are dragon slayers," Erza said irritated. "They don't exactly stay on their backs for long."
"I know that," Mira replied. "My point is, other than the blood loss, he is fine. He will probably have some nasty scars, though."
Thinking of the already numerous scars on the swordsman's body, Erza said, "I don't think he will mind."
"Make sure someone comes to check on him," Makarov said. "He will probably need food and water when he can get it."
"Who is this guy?" a certain pink-haired dragon slayer yelled. "Why does he look like me?" Natsu got in the unconscious man's face. "Who do you think you are, copying me?" Erza slammed her armored fist on the idiot's head.
"I doubt he is trying to copy you, Natsu," Lucy said from door. "Sorry, I tried to keep him away, but when he heard he had a clone, he ran up here with a full head of steam."
"It is alright, Lucy," the guild master chuckled. "Natsu isn't easy to stop."
"I know," the celestial spirit mage said. "So what's this guy's story?"
"Erza found him like that in the forest on her way back from a job," Mira said as she pointed to the man's injuries. "Wendy can't heal him, for some reason."
"She told me that," Lucy said. "I can't believe how much he looks like Natsu."
The man coughed, fortunately without any blood. His eyes opened slightly, and his right hand moved around on the bed as if he were looking for something. He opened his mouth to speak, but Erza, recognizing he was looking for his sword again, handed him his katana from where it lay against the wall in its sheath. The man sighed, and opened his eyes wider. "Thank you," he breathed. He caught sight of Natsu and smirked slightly. "Who is the handsome devil?" he coughed out. Natsu grinned widely at his doppelganger.
"I like this guy!" he yelled. "I'm Natsu Dragneel." Natsu grinned widely as he pointed his thumb at his chest.
"Quiet down," Erza barked. Natsu shrunk back from the angry Titania to avoid getting hurt. "You should rest until you feel up to talking. Someone will check in on you often. Tell us if you need anything.
"You are the one who saved me," the swordsman stated. "Thank you."
"Rest," Erza responded as she shooed everyone out of the room, except Makarov. who followed behind, and Wendy, who insisted on staying to help the man when he needed it. Erza trusted the healer to let the man rest
Three days later, the injured man finally recovered enough of his strength to walk about, and decided he was ready to answer Erza and Makarov's questions. The wizards stood around his bed in the infirmary, insisting that he be comfortable for the conversation.
"First off, what is your name?" Erza asked. The pinkette cleared his throat.
"Mitsu, I think," he answered hoarsely.
"You think?" Makarov asked. "You don't know?"
"That is what I was told. I think they did something to me. I can't remember anything," Mitsu said.
"Who are these people?" Erza asked. "Tell us anything you remember."
"I don't know who they were," Mitsu said. "I think they were mages, but I don't remember much else. The men who fought me were masked, but I don't think they were sent by my captors. I guess they could have been, but why bother?"
"How did you manage to get away?" Makarov asked, slightly troubled. The old man wanted to avoid getting dragged into another conflict so soon after the Oracion Seis debacle if he could. Of course, Makarov would never abandon someone in need, but he could encourage the man to leave sooner if that meant it would protect his brats.
"From my attackers?" Mitsu asked. "I guess I didn't really get away from them. But I took a lot of them down with me. I'm surprised I am alive. Thanks again, uh, what's your name?"
"Erza Scarlet," Erza supplied.
"Erza," Mitsu muttered quietly. "Anyway, if you were asking about how I got away from the people who were holding me, I think someone within the group helped me escaped. He was wearing a mask at the time, so I have no clue what he looks like. I'm fairly certain that he was a mage, though, and a powerful one at that."
"Do you remember any symbols or shapes that could identify the group? They may be a recognizable dark guild," Erza said.
"No, I don't remember anything from before the escape. The man who helped me escape told me my name was Mitsu, and handed me my blade. He said that blade was mine, and that he recovered it for me. After that, he helped me get some distance away from wherever it was they were holding me, and then disappeared," Mitsu said. "I got attacked at some point after that."
"Would you happen to know if this group that held you captive cast some magic on you to prevent other magic from affecting you?" Makarov asked. "Wendy tried to heal you with her magic, but it had no effect at all. Cana, another one of my brats, tried to use magic to figure out what was wrong, but her cards acted as though you don't exist."
Mitsu's brow furrowed in confusion when he heard that. "Magic doesn't work on me? That might explain why my attackers were asking how I was able to resist. They weren't skilled enough to ask that based on my ability to defend myself. One of them must have tried to do something to me with magic, but it didn't work," Mitsu said.
"If your former captors knew of your condition or were responsible for it, they definitely would have, at the very least, informed the men they hired to capture or kill you of it," Erza surmised. She nodded to herself after rubbing her chin.
"So your attackers likely weren't sent by the group you escaped from, as you thought," Makarov asserted.
"Yea," Mitsu said, "but I still want to know what they wanted with me." The pink haired man adjusted his position in the bed slightly as he fingered his katana.
"I'm certain you will get that chance," Makarov said. For a moment, the wizard saint remained silent as he thought. When he reached some conclusion, he said: "Continue to rest until you feel up to speed. You are welcome here in Fairy Tail for as long as you need. I admit to being curious to explore the nature of this magic cancelling effect you possess, should you be willing to allow it."
"I think it would do me good to understand it myself," Mitsu replied.
"Fantastic!" Makarov cried with a comically large smirk and a thumbs up. "Come find me whenever you want, and we can discuss it over a drink." Mitsu could not help but smile in return at the previously serious old man. A loud crashing sound followed by some yelling roared into the room.
"It's probably Natsu," Makarov commented with a sigh and a smile. Erza shook her head.
"It doesn't sound like it's gotten too bad yet," she commented. Immediately after, a louder roar and a cry of "MAN" echoed into the infirmary. "Perhaps I spoke too soon."
"What is going on?" Mitsu asked his hosts. Erza turned to explain, then thought better of it.
"You should probably come see what your average day at Fairy Tail is like for yourself," the Titania said. Mitsu grinned slightly as he heard the noises of what he guessed was a brawl get louder before nodding his head.
"It sounds like they're having fun to me," the swordsman said. As he slowly swung his legs to the side of the bed, he realized he still needed to find a shirt. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare shirt around here?"
"Don't worry about it," Makarov joked. "Most of the brats down there aren't wearing shirts half the time, and Gray probably stripped to his underwear, or worse." Mitsu opened his mouth, then closed it immediately. What was one supposed to say after that?"
"Alright then," Mitsu finally managed as he got on his feet. "I'll still be getting some clothes that don't look like someone nearly died in them soon." He cracked his neck and knuckles, before strapping his sword to his waist and following the armored mage out the door toward the great hall of Fairy Tail.
To say he was surprised would be a definite understatement. When he heard the noises coming from the fight in the infirmary, they were muted quite a bit after passing through a few doors and around a corner. In here, it was much louder. Besides that, this brawl, which was supposedly friendly, looked like it could result in death with all the flames, ice, and other magically created projectiles flying around and causing all kinds of destruction. Several people were cursing at one another and screaming all the while, but they still had smiles on their faces for the most part. Three combatants in particular seemed to be the source of the greatest destruction and noise. Two had black hair, one down nearly to his waist, and the other much shorter. The one with longer hair had metal piercings or implants in his face, and the other one wasn't wearing anything besides his underwear. However, it was the third fighter that caught Mitsu's attention. This was his look-alike, though he had much shorter hair.
He threw flames from his fists and feet, impacting the other two and throwing them against the ground and walls. He laughed at the top of his lungs, sending flames shooting toward the ceiling as he roared in his pride at beating his nakama for a moment. An iron rod shot from the direction of iron-face, slamming his twin, along with several unfortunate bystanders, into a support pillar. Mitsu couldn't help but grimace and wonder if the building could actually take this abuse. Before the man with his iron-based magic could strike again or celebrate his victory, the third fighter shot shards of ice out of what appeared to be a longbow constructed from ice.
"Enough!" the redhead at Mitsu's side yelled. Everyone in the room froze instantly, before his clone yelled at the top of his lungs.
"ERZA! FIGHT ME!" The doppelganger leapt toward Mitsu and Erza with fire covering his hands and boosting his jump. Erza would have none of it, however, and slammed the man to the floor at her feet, apparently unconscious for the moment. Mitsu turned to stare at his companion in wonder. Just how strong was this woman?
"Anyone else?" Erza demanded. The rest of the brawlers shook their heads, and returned to their tables in fear. Before long, though, they shook off their terror and returned to their laughter and drinking.
"So this is normal for you people?" Mitsu asked the armored woman at his side. The pinkette on the floor groaned and rubbed his head as he began to wake up.
"For the most part, yes it is," Erza answered. Mitsu whistled in amazement as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Impressive," he commented. His look-alike finally got up from the ground, all the while avoiding looking at Erza. Something seemed different about him when compared to Erza and Makarov. This man had considerably less power than either of them, but there was something else hidden away. Some latent power to be awakened. Did Erza also sense this as well?
"Ow, that hurt," the man whined. He scratched his head and rolled his shoulders. Mitsu thought he could do with a warmer choice of clothing. It might be fine around Magnolia, but elsewhere, not so much. A vest and scarf was all he wore on his upper body, with some baggy pants and sandals on his lower body. But, Mitsu thought the man did make the look work, somehow.
"Next time, don't try and burn down the guild hall while we have a guest," Erza said to the man.
"Aye!" the man quickly yelled. "Hey," he said to Mitsu, "you're that guy that looks like me."
"Really? I thought you looked like me," Mitsu joked. Unfortunately, the humor went over his clone's head.
"I'm no copy! I'm the original Natsu Dragneel!" he growled. Erza slammed her fist against Natsu's head again, but not nearly as violently as before.
"Enough," Erza ordered.
"Okay," Natsu moped.
"Dare I ask what started the fight?" Mitsu asked. Natsu brightened at the mention of his earlier battle.
"Gray pissed me off, so I hit him and he flew into Gajeel. I don't remember much after that, besides hitting people," Natsu said excitedly. Mitsu shook his head. This guy was more than a little bit childlike. "You should join next time, uh... What's your name anyway?"
"My name is Mitsu," said man answered.
"What? No last name?" Natsu asked the other pinkette.
"Not that I remember," Mitsu replied.
"You look like me, so you could borrow my last name until you remember yours," Natsu offered with a goofy smile on his face. A blue cat flew over and landed on Natsu's head shortly after he said that.
"Natsu, he is already trying to steal your look! Don't give him your name!" the little cat cried. Mitsu's eyes bugged out of his head.
"I may not have good memory at the moment, but I know that cats don't talk," he said, dumbfounded.
"Well I'm Happy, and I can talk!" Happy cried.
"I'm glad you're happy, and I'm sure it's because you can talk," Mitsu said.
"What?" Happy asked. "No, I'm Happy all the time."
"Good for you?" Mitsu offered. Erza shook her head as Natsu and Happy smiled brightly.
"The flying cat is named Happy, Mitsu," Erza chuckled. "Though, he is normally happy."
"Aye, sir!" Natsu and Happy laughed.
"Anyway, don't worry, Happy, I won't steal Natsu's name," Mitsu chuckled.
"Hey! How did you know my name? I never introduced myself," Natsu questioned energetically. "Maybe he is trying to become me," he mumbled.
"I heard you say your name a moment ago," Mitsu deadpanned. "If it makes you feel better, let's do some proper introductions."
"Okay, well I'm Natsu Dragneel, the fire dragon slayer," Natsu proudly declared as he offered his hand to Mitsu.
"I'm Mitsu, and I wish I had a cool title now," Mitsu joked. Of course, being able to say something like dragon slayer as part of your identity set the bar pretty high. Wait a second... "Dragon slayer?!"
"Yea, it is the type of magic I use. Igneel taught it to me," Natsu explained. Happy, who now floated next to Natsu, nodded his head.
"Natsu eats fire," the cat said. Mitsu's jaw dropped, and he didn't believe it until he later saw Natsu swallowing blazing flames whole.
"Alright," Mitsu said skeptically. Natsu and Happy did not notice his tone though.
"Erza! It's your turn!" Happy cried. Mitsu realized he, in fact, had not been formallly introduced to his savior.
"I suppose," Erza muttered. "I am Erza Scarlet, as I said before. I am also known as Titania, and some have called me the Fairy Queen." Mitsu's brows shot up in surprise at the impressive titles.
"Then I suppose you are fairly well known," he mused.
"Erza is really famous and powerful," Happy worshipped. Mitsu caught Erza glancing at the roof, as though she were exasperated, and figured this was not the first time the cat had been so praising.
"I have earned as reputation as a powerful mage, but I care little for titles," Erza said.
"So what's the deal with your magic anyway?" Natsu asked. "Why did you stop Wendy from helping you?"
"I don't know if it is my magic, and I didn't stop Wendy, whoever that is, from helping me intentionally," Mitsu said.
"Wendy is the blue haired girl that helped take care of you," Erza explained.
"Ah, well I'll be sure to thank her when I see her," Mitsu said. "Anyway, why did you think I was the one stopping Wendy, Natsu?" The dragon slayer shrugged his shoulders.
"I fought a guy once that could stop magic with his own magic," Natsu said. "He was fun to fight. But you don't smell much like him, and your eyebrows aren't nearly as big. You look too much like me."
"I don't smell like him?" Mitsu asked, confused at that choice of words.
"No, you don't," Natsu said. Then he realized what Mitsu meant. "Oh, I have a really good nose. It's a dragon slayer thing, but my nose is better than Wendy and Gajeel's. Most people that use the same magic smell a little alike to me." Natsu seemed a little scatterbrained to Mitsu, but he just shook his head.
"So Wendy and this Gajeel guy are dragon slayers too, huh?" Mitsu said. "I guess there is a big dragon problem around here for there to be so many of you." Natsu looked at Mitsu with a frown.
"There is a dragon problem. We can't find any of our dragons," Natsu said with a hint of sadness in his voice. Now Mitsu was thoroughly confused, and it apparently showed on his face, because Erza explained.
"The dragon slayers were taught their magic by dragons, who were essentially their parents. All the dragons disappeared on July 7, X777, and haven't been seen or heard from since then," she said.
"Oh," Mitsu said. "I'm sorry to bring it up then." Natsu shook his head and smiled while pumping his fist.
"Don't worry about it!" the dragon slayer said. "We'll find Igneel and the others someday!" Mitsu smiled at his clone's energy and optimism. Dragons, he knew, were fearsome creatures, and he could not imagine what could even try to fight them. How he knew that was for anyone to guess.
"I'm sure you will," Mitsu offered.
"I will," Natsu said with conviction.
"Aye!" Happy cheered. The four of them were silent for several long moments as they just looked at each other. It was slightly awkward. Then Natsu fixed it.
"Hey, Mitsu, wanna fight?" he asked excitedly. Erza glared at Natsu for even thinking of it. "Don't worry, we'll do it outside," Natsu said, waving Erza off. She narrowed her eyes, then something occurred to her, causing her to smirk.
"I think it's a good idea," Erza said. Natsu, Happy, and Mitsu all turned to stare at her with their jaws dropped.
Erza dragged them all outside next to the pool, with several people from the guild following them out. Erza waved for Natsu and Mitsu to go on. Natsu's smile nearly split his face in half as he leapt at his look-alike, arms blazing, full force. Several people cried out, sure that Natsu would kill the man with his uncontrolled strength. Mitsu had enough sense to roll to the side and dodge the blow, pulling his sheathed sword from his back as he stood back up. The swordsman held his blade above his waist with both hands, tip pointed toward the dragon slayer. He did his best to maintain his composure and breathing, but it was a little difficult with a laughing, slightly crazy, fire wielding wizard charging at him.
Natsu jumped right before reaching Mitsu, and slammed his fiery fist into the ground where his look-alike once stood. Mitsu swung his still covered blade towards Natsu's head, but before the blow connected, Natsu blocked it with his hand. However, the instant Natsu touched the scabbard, the flames on his arms died. Erza, standing off to the side, smiled as her suspicion was confirmed. Without his magically augmented strength, the force of Mitsu's unrestrained blow sent Natsu tumbling into the pool. Everyone watching, sans Erza, was shocked.
Natsu soon jumped back out of the pool with a tremendous smile on his face. "Well you definitely stopped my magic that time. But can you stop this?" Natsu yelled. He sucked air into his lungs, his cheeks puffing out; "Fire Dragon's Roar!" A torrent of flame shot out of Natsu mouth. The air around the pool dried out due to the immense heat. But Mitsu somehow knew beyond any doubt he could take the blow, and leapt into the flames, to the shock of even Erza. As the fire tried to lick at Mitsu's skin, it vanished. Mitsu did not even feel the heat of the flames, just the dryness of the air. Using the fire from Natsu's attack as cover, Mitsu swung his sword over his head and then crashing down onto Natsu's hard head. When the blow connected, the rest of the flames disappeared and a loud crack echoed across the area.
Once the steam cleared from Natsu's attack, everyone saw Natsu sitting on the pool's deck rubbing his head with Mitsu offering the dragon slayer his hand. Nobody said anything for a second, before everyone cheered for the "new guy's" victory. Then they realized how much money they lost, and groaned as the jewels flowed toward Erza, who had another small grin on her face, and Makarov, who had no problem boasting about being right.
"I knew I should have bet on Mitsu," Happy said as he flew to the clones.
"Hey!" Natsu yelled. "He cheated!"
"How did I cheat?" Mitsu asked his twin incredulously.
"You made my fire go away!" Natsu yelled louder. "That's not fair!"
"It's perfectly fair," Mitsu replied calmly. "Besides, I didn't get rid of your fire on purpose. I have no idea how I did it. To top it off, in a real fight, there is no such thing as fair and unfair. There is only the victor, and the loser, who is often dead." Several people thought Mitsu's words were somewhat dark, but Erza nodded her head.
"He is absolutely right, Natsu," Titania said. "We in Fairy Tail don't leave dead bodies behind us if we can help it, but many of our enemies are not so kind. Think of the assassin guild that Jellal hired at the Tower of Heaven, or Erigor. They kill people for a living."
"That's fine, because I won't lose in a real fight!" Natsu declared. Mitsu and Erza just shook their heads. "Let's go again, Mitsu!" Mitsu glanced at Erza, and, taking a cue from her, slammed the hilt of his sword against Natsu's head, knocking him back down to the ground, unconscious.
"Does that count?" Mitsu asked Happy.
"Aye!" the flying cat said, causing everyone to chuckle.
"Flame idiot over there got beat that easily by someone other than Erza," the black haired ice mage, now wearing clothes, commented. "I think I like you, guy. The name's Gray Fullbuster, ice-make mage."
"Mitsu, the guy who Erza saved," Mitsu said. "That still doesn't sound good."
"It's fine," Gray said, "Erza saves a lot of people. And threatens more."
"Huh?" Mitsu asked, confused at what Gray said. "What do you mean?"
"Erza can be demanding. I saw her knock out at least seven different guardsmen just because they didn't answer her question quickly enough," Gray explained.
"They had it coming," Erza said. "It was an emergency situation, and there was no time to spare for niceties or excuses." Erza's explanation made perfect sense to Mitsu, but he still resolved to answer her questions promptly. "Mitsu, I would be interested in sparring with you at some point. You seem to be an excellent swordsman, and I would like a challenge."
"That sounds like a plan to me," Mitsu said. "Albeit a dangerous one."
"There is no need to worry. I know how to hold back, unlike Natsu," Erza said. Gray was standing behind her waving his hands and shaking his head no. It was perfectly clear that the ice mage was terrified of his redheaded friend.
"Sure," Mitsu said hesitantly. He turned to look at Natsu, who still had not moved. "Should we do something about him?"
"Yea, we should," Gray agreed before striding over and rolling Natsu into the pool.
"Hey! If he doesn't wake up, Natsu could drown, idiot!" Mitsu cried. Gray waved him off.
"He'll be fine," he said. "If that moron dies by drowning, I think I'll laugh myself to death right after. Sometimes I think he is just too stupid to die."
"That makes absolutely no sense at all," a familiar voice said. Mitsu turned to see the blond woman that was with Natsu before walking up. "Erza, how did you and master know that this guy could beat Natsu?" Natsu soon clawed at the edge of the pool gasping for air and glaring at Gray, who just smirked and pretended he did nothing.
"It was mostly a hunch on my part, though I can't speak for master," Erza said. "When both Wendy and Cana's magic didn't work on Mitsu here, I suspected he had some natural magic cancelling ability or something of the kind. Granted, Natsu is no slouch in combat even without magic. The rest was assuming Natsu would fail to adjust for his magic not working, and just trying to overpower his look-alike, or would fail when tested in physical combat." Lucy shook her head at Erza.
"That doesn't sound like much of a gamble," Lucy muttered. "You had almost everything figured out."
"Mitsu, come speak with me inside in a moment," Master Makarov called as he counted his winnings.
"Yes, sir," Mitsu responded in kind. "I guess I had better get going."
"Nah, gramps will be counting his money for a while still," Gray said. "But I want to buy you a drink for kicking flame brain's sorry ass."
"Sure," Mitsu said, "but where did your clothes go?"
"CRAP!" Gray yelled as he looked around frantically for his clothes. Mitsu did not see when or how he stripped. One second the ice mage had his clothes on, the next they were gone. An impressive feat, if Mitsu were honest with himself. After all, the number of buckles and straps on his clothes had to make it difficult to strip.
"How does he do that?" Mitsu finally asked. Lucy and Erza shook their heads.
"We still haven't figured that one out," Lucy said. "Gray does unconsciously. It has something to do with his training underneath Ur. She had him and Lyon, her other student, strip down in the frigid weather to help them master ice magic."
"That sounds...delightful," Mitsu commented.
"My thoughts exactly," Lucy commented.
Soon enough, the entire group wandered back into the guild hall. Gray forgot to buy Mitsu the drink he promised him, but the swordsman could have cared less. The group, which many people in the guild called Team Natsu, kept him company. Mitsu thought that, at some level, they took him in because of two things: Erza bringing him to the guild in the first place, and he looked like Natsu's long lost twin brother.
Mitsu was leaning forward on the table when he saw Master Makarov had finally stopped bragging about his winning bet to talk. Erza saw this as well, and dragged Mitsu up from his seat to go speak with the guild master. As Erza and Mitsu walked toward him, Makarov smiled widely as he drained a tankard of beer.
"Thanks for the win, Mitsu," Makarov said. "Nothing like a few thousand jewel to cheer a man up."
"You mean jewel to pay for your booze?" the pretty, white haired girl tending the bar asked playfully.
"Of course, Mirajane!" Makarov shouted. "What else would I do with it?"
"You wanted to speak with me, Master Makarov?" Mitsu asked.
"Yes, of course," the master said. "Mira, this is Mitsu, the swordsman Erza brought in the other day."
"I remember him," Mirajane said cheerfully. "I helped patch him up, remember?"
"That's right," Makarov said.
"Pleased to meet you, Mirajane," Mitsu said with a slight bow and a smile.
"Oh dear, someone has manners around here," Mira exclaimed. "I wonder how long those will last?"
"You act as though I will be staying," Mitsu said.
"You want to leave?" Mira asked, tilting her head.
"Well, I don't really have anywhere else to go, and the people around here are great, but I'm no mage," Mitsu said.
"I'm not so sure about that," Makarov said after taking another draught of his drink. Mitsu inclined his head, wondering what Makarov meant. "After watching your battle with Natsu, I am nearly certain that this ability of yours is magical in nature. That qualifies you as a mage in my book."
"I found it curious that when he touched Natsu, all of his magic power was useless," Erza said. Mira brought her hands to her face.
"Is Natsu okay?" the bartender asked with concern.
"He is fine," Erza waved her off. "It is nothing like what Phantom did to master. Once Mitsu broke contact, Natsu had immediate use of his magic again."
"Yes," Makarov said, taking another drink, "It appears that Mitsu here has some magic nullifying capability. All the magic we've seen used on him has no effect at all, whether malicious or not. Tell me what you felt when you jumped into Natsu's attack, Mitsu. Did you feel the heat of the flames?"
"No," Mitsu said, "I didn't feel any of the heat, even when I should have been touching it. The air felt dry, until I felt the steam from the pool, if that is important."
"So the magic itself has no effect on you," Mira said. "But it sounds like the stuff the magic effects does, so you could feel the dry air and the steam that Natsu created."
"That was my conclusion as well," Makarov said. "Did you feel any sort of drain in your strength when this happened?" Mitsu shook his head.
"Not even a little bit," he answered. Makarov hummed as he thought about the implications of this.
"I will need more time to think on this, and I may consult with some other guild masters to get their thoughts on the matter," Makarov said. "But I do know that your ability has a foundation in magic, as I said, that makes you a mage. If you do find yourself wanting to join Fairy Tail, you are entirely welcome to."
"Thank you for the offer, sir," Mitsu said. "But I need to find more about myself and my past. I don't want to be an occasional fixture in the guild hall."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Mira said. "Gildarts and Mystogan, two of our most powerful mages, are very rarely here, and we still consider them family. Gildarts more so than Mystogan, because Mystogan casts a sleep spell on everyone when he comes to the guild, so nobody really knows him. Although I suppose you will get to meet him if he comes around soon, since I doubt his magic will work on you."
"That sounds a bit odd," Mitsu commented. "Any idea why he does that?" Even Makarov shook his head.
"There is no helping it," the master said. "I've asked him to stop before, but I doubt he will change his ways. Mystogan is a secretive recluse, but he is a member of Fairy Tail nonetheless. He arrived during the Fantasia disaster to confront Laxus, and Porlyusica tells me he is responsible for taking out several of Phantom Lord's guild halls on his own."
"I don't understand what either of those two events are, but it sounds like this Mystogan guy is powerful and has Fairy Tail's interests at heart," Mitsu commented.
"I suppose," Erza said, "but he very rarely comes by. Not even master knows what he does with the majority of his time."
"It doesn't matter," Makarov said. "He has never disgraced Fairy Tail to my knowledge, and he has been here for us when we needed him, even if we didn't know it. What Mystogan does on his own time is his business. Our point is, you are free to pursue your personal business. Natsu has left to investigate rumors of dragon sightings to try and find his father, and likely will take off on a whim if he hears something else. In fact, there is every possibility that someone will offer to accompany you. Does that change your mind?"
"Well it is definitely something to consider," Mitsu said. "There isn't much of a reason to say no, is there?" The three mages in front of him smiled, Mira and Makarov more widely than the reserved Erza, and Mirajane brought out the guild stamp.
"Where do you want your guild symbol, and what color?" she asked. Mitsu had no idea where to put it.
"Wherever, I guess," the swordsman said, "I don't really care what color, as long as it isn't pink. I don't like pink."
"But your hair is pink," Mira said, confused.
"That's different," Mitsu responded quickly, waving Mira off. The takeover mage just giggled.
"You sounded like Natsu just now," Mira explained when Mitsu looked at her strangely. "Is your right shoulder alright?" Mitsu just shrugged.
"Just do the mark in something other than red. If Mitsu were to get a haircut, we would have no hope of telling the two apart," Erza mentioned.
"How about black then?" Mira asked.
"That's fine with me," Mitsu said. Mira then pressed the stamp against his shoulder. It tingled for a moment, and when Mira pulled the stamp away there was a dark Fairy Tail emblem marking Mitsu's muscled right shoulder. He flexed as he admired it, and then smiled.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Bladesman Mitsu," Makarov announced loudly. The guild broke out in a cheer as they nearly always did when they received a new member. Drinks went all around as the rambunctious guild found a reason to party and make merry.
"Welcome to the family," Erza said as she went to join Team Natsu at their table.
"Family, huh?" Mitsu asked nobody in particular. Mira smiled as she pushed a drink toward the newest addition to Fairy Tail.
"Fairy Tail has always been family to its members, especially those who don't have one of their own," Mirajane commented. "Your one of us now." Mitsu smiled widely at Mira as he took the drink and drained it.
Off in the shadows, a masked, darkly clothed man resisted the urge to chuckle to himself. "It figures he would find his way here," he said. The man known as Mystogan felt a magical alarm go off in his head, before sighing. "The Anima again. Father has been more active of late," he muttered before vanishing to stop the hyper-dimensional spell from wreaking havoc.
Mitsu looked in the direction where Mystogan once stood, sensing the use of powerful magic, but saw nothing but thin air. His eyes narrowed, but Mitsu shook it off as nothing. After all, the entire building was stuffed to the brim with wizards, so magic was to be expected.
Before Mitsu could ponder any more on the strange magic, Natsu and Gray started yelling. Natsu pushed Gray over, and on top of Erza, who, after the loss of her cake, jumped in the fight for vengeance. Mira giggled as more and more people got sucked into the brawl, and Mitsu shook his head before setting his drink down. He turned to Mira and winked. "I'm part of the family, right?" Mira just laughed and gestured for Mitsu to enjoy himself. In fact, his presence in the fight would probably limit some of the damage. Immediately, Mitsu leapt into his first ever Fairy Tail bar fight, and he loved every second of it.
"I told you," the man forced out with gritted teeth, "my name is not Geri. And you're right. Geri was never capable of defeating you. He was never strong enough. He faltered when it counted most. But I am Mitsu of Fairy Tail! And as long as I draw breath, my nakama give me strength, strength the likes of which you have searched for all these years. They fight with me, whether they stand next to me," Mitsu looked at Erza, "or behind me," he glanced at Lucy. Then he focused his attention on his supposed "brother" and glared with steel. "THAT IS FAIRY TAIL!
AN: Hey there everyone! I wanted to try my hand at Fairy Tail fanfiction, and dusted off my account, with great prejudice. Thanks for reading down to here! How did I do so far? Any suggestions? You just might have a part in this story. Thanks again!