Author's Note: This is another one of my stories that I wrote like... two or three years ago? This is one of the many variations that eventually led up to Walking Cliche. I have a lot of fun/strange Bickslow stories. :)
Summary: Kibo is a strange woman with no past, but plenty of smiles. After crossing paths with the Thunder Legion, she gains a new family, and will do anything to protect them. Bickslowxoc
Beginning is set between the guild war and Laxus attacking Fairy Tail during the festival. This chapter is set with my main character being 12, but after the time skip she'll be 19.
Chapter 1:
A New Home?
"Will you stop following us?" Evergreen huffed, glaring at the little girl that followed behind them. They were currently in a dense, green forest, and a little homeless girl had started following them for some reason. Her hair was long, dark brown, and tied back in a braid- she looked around 12 years old. The girl's face was dirty and matching her even more filthy clothes that hung from her thin limbs.
"Yeah, scram kid." Bickslow told her, his babies echoing his last words to her.
She seemed unfazed, just smiling at them and doing a little twirl.
"We'll drop her off at town." Laxus announced, surprising his team.
"But… Laxus, she-"
"She's probably lost, and just following us to get back into town. Leave her alone."
"You're so kind, Laxus!" Fried swooned, and the rest of his team gave their leader an uneasy glance, but obeyed the order nonetheless.
"What are those floating thingies?" The girl asked, referring to Bickslow's 'babies'.
"None of your business." He told her, crossing his arms as he walked and trying to ignore her inquisitive stares. "Yeah, scram kid." The babies echoed to her, causing her to giggle as they edged dangerously close to her, and surprise the group.
She jumped up, trying to touch one of them, but missed. The girl leaped again, trying to grab one, but they kept going just out of her reach. Each time she missed, she giggled, and the group couldn't help but smile at the kid.
"Where's your family?" Evergreen inquired, relaxing a bit at the child's presence. Usually she hated children, much like Bickslow, but the girl's smile seemed contagious.
"They died." She said, and twirled as she tried to catch one of the flying puppets again, missing just as before. "A mean dragon killed them."
"A dragon?" Laxus asked, similar surprise spreading to the other wizard's faces. "I thought dragons were gone?"
"It happened a long time ago." She said, and then squealed when one of the puppets charged at her, knocking her over. Without missing a beat she was already up on her feet again, playing with the flying dolls.
"You wouldn't by chance be from the Skeleton Town?" Laxus asked, and she nodded. When she finally caught one of the dolls, she smiled and hugged it to her chest, enjoying the feel of its magic humming against her skin.
"'Skeleton Village'?" Fried asked, the group stopping when the blond turned and stared at the little girl, a strange sympathetic look in his eyes.
"A Blood Dragon attacked it 15 years ago… I've heard rumors and stories about its destruction."
"I thought it was just a campfire story?" Bickslow asked, looking at his leader. "I remember hearing stories growing up."
"They weren't just stories… it was supposed to be the most brutal and sadistic massacres in history. There were no survivors…." The dragonslayer explained, causing the group to look down at the young girl that frolicked and played with the possessed dolls, who had completely forgotten about them and focused all her energy on the flying dolls. "At least, I thought there were no survivors."
"She can't be from that village, though. She only looks around 10 years old." Evergreen reasoned.
"If she's been living in this forest for 5 or so years, it makes sense that she would be malnourished and have her growth stunted."
"This is interesting and everything… but what do we do about her?" Bickslow asked, returning his gaze to his group. "It was one thing to drop her off in town where her family would find her, but if she has no family…"
"We'll take her to Fairy Tail and have gramps decide. Who knows, maybe she'll get along with the dragonslayers there." Laxus said with a shrug, starting to walk again in their previous direction.
"What's your name, kid?" Bickslow asked, making his puppets return to the group and float around him again. The girl frowned, not being able to chase the little creatures again, but almost immediately started grinning again.
"Kibo."
"'Kibo'? That's an odd name for a girl." Evergreen told her.
1.
"A survivor of the Skeleton Village?" Makarov asked his grandson, watching the young girl play with Natsu and Happy. She was a very agile and energetic girl, knocking Natsu over several times and bumping into others by accident over and over again. "I was under the impression that there were no survivors."
"I was, too." Laxus told him, and then shrugged. "Whatever. Do what you want with her."
"You don't care what happens to her?" Makarov asked, annoyed when he didn't receive a response from the young man, instead just the sight of his back as he retreated from the group.
"I can't wait to take her shopping." Lucy swooned near the young girl, several other female wizards around her doing the same. The Thunder Legion had left almost immediately after arriving, simply dropping off the girl and grabbing a new mission from the job wall.
"Your fire is pretty!" The girl squealed, causing Natsu to smile confidently and start showing off his fire magic, much to the dismay of nearby guild members that got caught in the crossfire.
2.
"Why do I have to take a test?" She asked, looking up at the blue-haired woman with wide and innocent eyes. They were both sitting in the Fairy Tail library, which was completely empty, and the sun was shining brightly outside. Kibo could hear the sounds of laughter from outside, making her more antsy.
"We just want to know what you know. Don't worry if you don't know the answers to the questions- even Natsu failed it when he took it." Levy told her, whispering the last part and causing the girl to giggle. "Whenever you're ready, you can start. I'll be keeping track of your time, but don't be intimidated by it."
"It sounds boring." Kibo whined, and Levy smiled awkwardly.
"How about I give you a lollipop afterwards?"
Almost immediately the girl picked up her pencil and started writing quickly on the page, marking each answer with incredible speed. "Try to actually answer the questions correctly, though."
"Done. Lollipop?" She asked, only a minute later.
"How about, if you got all of these correctly, I give you two lollipops?" Levy asked, causing the girl to gape at her in disbelief.
"I get two lollipops?"
"Yes. But only if you answered all the questions correctly. Do you want to double check your answers?"
"No. It was easy. Lollipop?" She asked impatiently, surprising the young wizard.
"I'll give you one now, and after I check these answers, only if you got all of them right, will I give you a second one." Levy explained, and the girl nodded, taking the red candy from her hands.
As the wizard began checking the answers with the key, her eyes widened in disbelief. Kiba stared out the window a few feet away, oblivious to Levy's surprise, silently bouncing in her seat and enjoying the sweet treat.
"Why have you been lying to us, Kibo?" Levy asked, causing the young brunette to look at her. The harshness in her words made Kibo pause, unsure how to respond to the change in emotion. "According to this, you're extremely intelligent. In fact you have a better score than me. There's no way that you could have guessed on all of these questions. So why are you acting like a 10 year old?"
The younger girl looked at the table, ashamed, sadness in her eyes.
Levy instantly felt guilty, watching the pain that distorted the young girls face. After a few seconds, just as Levy was about to apologize and change the subject, Kibo spoke. "How am I supposed to act?"
The question caught her off guard.
"I haven't been around humans since I was 5. People seem to like it when I act the way I do."
"Some of these questions were based on recent knowledge- there simply was no way to know them unless you learned it in the past 10 years. That means you've have had some level of interaction with humans over the years." Levy explained, trying to make her voice soft and less accusatory.
"I can't tell you what taught me… but I can tell you with absolute truth…" The girl said, looking up at Levy through her tears. "I haven't been around humans in a very, very long time."
3.
Kibo began reading more often, since the wizards she hung out with kept leaving to go on missions. Temporarily, she was living with Levy, who had assigned her several books to read for the next few weeks. She wasn't an official member of Fairy Tail yet, but Makarov said she could join if she stayed for a month and was still interested.
The young brunette found herself sitting in the Guild Hall reading her book, absorbed in the text, when she heard sudden yells and shouts in her direction. When she glanced up, she saw the fiery dragonslayer flying towards her, his back facing her.
"Watch out!" Lucy yelled, watching he scene unfold.
Kibo watched, confused by the random body flying towards her, frozen in place.
Someone suddenly appeared in front of her, knocking Natsu out of the way and saving her from getting some bruises and burns. As she gazed up at the new presence, she recognized the purple and striped fabric. "Watch where you're landing, idiot." Bickslow told the dragonslayer, crossing his arms over his chest and standing over the younger male.
"Sorry!" Natsu yelled, but was instantly side-tracked and pulled into another fight with Gray.
"Thanks." Kibo said, her cheeks slightly pink as the man turned and stuck his tongue out at her.
"No problem. Next time you might want to dodge, though."
"I guess."
"You guess?" Bickslow asked, folding his arms over his chest. "He could have hurt you pretty bad, and you guess you could maybe possibly dodge?"
"Yeah." She grinned, knowing full well that he was trying to tease her.
"Bickslow, we're leaving." Fried spoke, causing both of them to look up at the green-haired mage.
"Can I go with you guys?" Kibo asked, causing Bickslow to burst out laughing.
"As if, little 'I guess'." The wizard chastised, moving to rejoin his team. "Take it easy, Kibo."
"Be safe." She told them, watching the Thunder Legion leave the Guild Hall with sparkling eyes.
1.
"So you're an official Fairy Tail wizard, huh?" Bickslow asked, looking skeptically at the girl. She grinned up at him, reminding him of the first time they'd met.
The girl had changed considerably since their first meeting. She was clean, for one, and wearing a cute dress that was green and blue. Her hair was much shorter now, only reaching her shoulders, but was now braided in two French braids. She also acted slightly closer to her age now, giggling less often and standing more 'lady like'. "Yep!"
"Do you know any magic yet?" Fried asked, causing her to chuckle awkwardly.
"Levy is teaching me, but I haven't learned much yet." She admitted. "I've started taking jobs with different wizards, and I was hoping to go on a job with you guys?"
"No way." Evergreen said quickly. "You're too weak to join the Thunder Legion. You'd just slow us down."
"You don't have to be so mean about it." Bickslow told the fairy woman in a hushed voice.
"If I got stronger, would you let me join you?" Kibo asked, getting uneasy looks from all of them.
"Well, perhaps." Fried spoke, watching the girl's face light up in joy.
"Excellent." She said simply, turned, and walked away.
"She's only 12, Evergreen. Give her a break." Bickslow told his team mate after the young girl had walked away.
"Tch, if you like her so much, you do a mission with her." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the puppet man.
"You were a bit harsh, Evergreen. Since Laxus left Fairy Tail, we're supposed to be nice to other wizards." Fried told her, inwardly crying at the memory of his idol.
2.
Later that night, the Thunder Legion found themselves hanging out at the Guild Hall. They didn't socialize with the other wizards very much, but their very presence was signifying their positive change in attitude towards their fellow guild members.
"You guys haven't left yet?" A new voice spoke, Mirajane's sweet voice causing their discussion to cease. The group looked at her, blinking in surprise and confusion. The female wizard stood there, a smile on her face.
"Left for what?" Fried asked.
"The mission with Kibo. I was surprised that you decided to go with her, but I think it's great that you're doing a job with her."
"We never agreed to do a mission with her." Evergreen blurted, causing Mirajane's eyes to widen.
"She said you guys were going with her on a monster hunting mission. I only let her go because I thought you guys would look after her." She explained, causing the group to exchange worried glances.
"Why the hell would she do that?" Evergreen asked, causing the other two wizards to glare at her.
"Because someone said she had to be stronger in order to go on a job with us." Bickslow told her, causing her to become flustered.
"What? You can't possibly blame me for this!"
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is." Mirajane interrupted, regaining their attention. "Someone needs to go after her- the monster has already hurt a lot of people, and she doesn't have any magic to protect herself. If you guys don't go, I'll send someone else."
"Let's go." Bickslow said, and Fried nodded.
"Seriously? We're doing this?" Evergreen asked, sighing and eventually caving as she saw her teammates walk out the door with a copy of the flier Kibo had taken.
3.
"Here, monster, monster," Kibo said loudly as she walked along the dark trail, ominous shadows lurking and moving in the corners of her eyes. The trees made odd sounds, swaying with the wind and snapping twigs in the dark night. It was foggy, but the sky above her was clear.
She was smiling, excited to be on her first job alone. She'd felt a little bad about lying to Mirajane, but after this mission, she was sure that the Thunder Legion would accept her offer next time. They were so anti-social, no one would realize that she was alone on this mission until it was already over.
After overhearing conversations with Natsu's group about how weak monsters like this were, she figured that it would be a synch.
"Here monster, monster, monster," She spoke again, speaking as if calling out to a lost dog.
The ground below her rumbled.
She could smell a foul odor nearby, getting closer as the shaking ground intensified. When she turned to look behind her, at where she knew the monster was, her eyes could barely make out its form due to the fog. "Death." A deep voice spoke to her, sending chills down her spine.
It was a dark figure, emerging from the shadows, and began rising and getting taller.
When it stopped growing, it stood close to thirty feet tall, effectively towering over the 12 year old girl. "You look tasty." It whispered under its breath, and Kibo wouldn't have caught it if her hearing wasn't so sharp.
It raised its arm, getting to strike down, and she just stood there looking at it. "You're tall…." She whispered, watching the dark and disfigured hand hurl towards her.
But something slammed into her side instead, a new dark figure wrapping his arms around her small body and pulling her out of the way just in time. When they were on the sidelines, safely away from the creature, Bickslow released his grip on her and grabbed her shoulders, crouching down to eye level. "We really need to teach you how to dodge things…. Are you hurt?" He asked, looking her up and down for injuries and causing her to blush.
"W-why are you here?" She stuttered, staring at the glowing green eyes behind his mask.
"Why are you here?" He countered, his hands still on her shoulders and keeping a firm grip, on the off chance that she tried to run and join the fight.
"I wanted to prove that I'm strong."
"How does getting yourself killed prove that?"
"I could have handled it." She said, her eyes wandering back to the fight, where Fried had trapped the creature in an enchantment and Evergreen was attacking it.
"Promise me you won't do this again." Bickslow said, shaking her shoulders and causing her to look at her again. "Promise me."
"Why do you care?" She asked, her cheeks still red.
"Because everyone would be sad if you got hurt."
"Even you?"
"Especially me. Now promise me you won't do anything this stupid again."
"I promise."
"Promise what?"
"I promise to never do this again." She said, smiling at him. "You remind me of my brother."
The older man sighed, reaching up and ruffling her hair, causing her braids to become messy and loose.
4.
For the next few months, the Thunder Legion let Kibo tag along with them, slowly getting more and more attached to her. She wasn't particularly strong or useful on missions, given their abilities overpowered hers considerably, but she did learn a lot and made the jobs much more enjoyable.
When Fried discovered that she was actually quite literate and well read, he appreciated her presence considerably more, since his other team mates didn't care for those subjects. Evergreen liked to dress up the young girl in outfits, much to the dismay of Bickslow, who would get mad whenever the Fairy woman tried to dress up the 12 year old in a mini skirt or revealing shirt.
"I've never seen Bickslow so attached to someone before." Evergreen commented one day, her and Fried sitting on a park bench one day. They were watching Bickslow and Kibo buy ice cream, the young girl sitting on his shoulders, and both of them laughing about something they couldn't hear.
"Well it makes sense." Fried said, causing the woman to give him a confused glance. "Bickslow's sisters died when he was young, and her brother died when she was young. It makes sense that they would bond like siblings."
"I guess when you put it that way…" She said, a soft smile tugging at her lips. It was a beautiful day, sun shining, children playing on a playground nearby, live music drifting from a nearby clearing. The day couldn't be any more perfect. "Do you think we'll ever find out about her true past?" Evergreen asked, breathing in the summer air.
"I have no idea." He replied, honestly. "What she says happened to her family doesn't match up with her age… but who knows. She could be telling the truth, and happened across a magical item that froze time for her. I don't think it really matters."
"I suppose you're right." She said with a shrug, smiling when she noticed the two wizards walking towards them, four ice cream cones total in hand.
"Ice cream?" Kibo asked, extending her hand towards Evergreen.
5.
"Aren't they adorable?" Evergreen cooed, looking at the two sleeping wizards on the couch. Bickslow had fallen asleep at a weird angle, his body diagonal and half off the couch, while his head was awkwardly turned with his mouth gaping open. The twelve year old had cuddled up to him, sound asleep, and even looked happy in her sleep.
"Should we wake them?" Fried whispered, and the woman shook her head.
"Let them be. You can sleep in my room tonight, and they can keep this one."
"It can't be comfortable to sleep like that…" Fried whispered, inwardly cringing at the angle of Bickslow's neck.
They were currently on day one of a mission and had checked out two rooms, which were joined by a door. Originally Evergreen and Kibo were going to share the other room while Fried and Bickslow shared this one, but since Kibo and Bickslow looked so cute, the fairy woman decided to change it up. If they woke up they could simply move to the twin bed, while the other remained on the couch, as per the original plan.
When the two wizards had left, Kibo couldn't help but smile.
She knew that Bickslow would never return her feelings, and given their age difference, she understood why. Whatever the circumstances, it didn't keep her from enjoying these rare moments with him.
She had a crush on him. It was as simple as that. She'd read about it in books, and her symptoms matched perfectly.
Due to her abilities, she could sense every body function happening in his body, including the chemicals in his brain being released. She could sense everything in him from his heart pumping blood to the shifting chemicals signaling his deepening sleep state.
Times like this, she couldn't reign in her magical abilities even if she tried. She'd promised herself never to use her magic again, but in times like this, she had to bend her rules a bit. There was only so much she could do to limit her powers, which came so natural to her after years of training, and still so after years of trying to remove the training from her memory.
"Kibo…" He whispered, causing her cheeks to turn pink. His body was warm beneath hers, blood pumping slowly due to his sleeping state, and his arm reached up and wrapped around her, his hand landing on her hip.
He smelled like the flowers they had looked at earlier.
He was warm.
She felt safe in his arms.
He was wonderful.
She never wanted to leave his arms.