Kagura slid a cloth across the sealed sheath of her sword, wiping it carefully. She was sitting across the table from Millianna who watched her hero polish her precious weapon. Even though it was believed to summon a calamity when drawn, Archenemy was slated to avenge a murder most foul. Millianna licked the last remnants of milk from her lips and her glass clinked when it hit the table empty. Millianna knew that Kagura had every intention of killing Jellal. She agreed Jellal should die for his heinous acts at the Tower of Heaven, but she also cared about her friend Erza. Knowing that the scarlet haired swordswoman had deep feelings for Jellal made her own heart conflicted. Should she tell Kagura about the connection between Erza and Jellal?
Kagura's eyes shifted to the bartender who was busy fixing one of the girls some noxiously sweet drink. "Hey Kai, some more milk and some herbal tea over here." Millianna whispered to Kagura briefly. "Oh and a bowl of rice for me and grilled fish kebabs for Millianna."
Kai nodded as he stood there behind the counter. He was one of the very few men allowed on the premises. Kai was employed at the Mermaid Heel guild, cooking, cleaning and performing other jobs as needed. He had put in extra effort, working overtime to scour the guild clean before the team headed off to participate in the Grand Magic Games.
This year he hoped Mermaid Heel would win the competition, especially overtaking those arrogant bastards at Sabertooth. He grinned to himself. Kai had strong ties and feelings of loyalty to the guild he laboured at, but he also had dreams of standing shoulder to shoulder with other mages.
Kai wanted to join the Sabertooth guild. He had no illusions concerning their characters, they were strong and ruthless. To become an official mage with them; he first needed to exit his employment with Mermaid Heel, and to do that he felt obligated to tell Kagura of his decision.
His sister had given him a home, given him new friends and work. His grin became rueful as he pondered his existence; Kaiziro Mikazuchi, the youngest brother to Kagura Mikazuchi, fledgling gun mage and lovesick fool. Kai had a crush on Millianna. His heart was bound from the first time he had seen the beautiful cat girl. Her innocence and sincere kindness drew him closer, his own shyness and self-doubt kept him from openly expressing his admiration.
Kagura figured it out almost immediately upon seeing how Kaiziro acted around her. The stammering had dropped off soon enough, but Kai still dropped a lot of cups and plates when the cat girl was nearby. The number of times Kai was flushed couldn't always be blamed on the heat, nor could he stop his eyes from tracking Millianna. All these things Kagura witnessed, catalogued and remembered.
Kagura was protective of Millianna's innocence; suspicious of any man showing interest in her, but Kaiziro matched Millianna in naiveté and sweetness. In Kagura's extremely traditional mindset, Kai was first and foremost, her little brother. In her estimation, his love for Millianna was chaste and pure. It needed to be nurtured and guided.
Kai avoided the steam from the kettle as he filled the tea pot. Swinging back to replace the kettle, he hit the wall causing a photo frame to tumble forward. Kai displayed the fast reflexes necessary to a Gun Mage, simultaneously settling the kettle and snatching the frame out of the air.
Kai took a cloth and polished the glass on the frame. It was a photo of Simon. A hollow feeling of sadness came over him. He didn't have many memories of his brother and went by what his big sister told him he was like. Despite the lack of recollections, he felt a sense of security in looking at the photo. He had blood bonded family and guild nakama. He knew where he had come from and it was up to him to create his future.
Placing the photo back, Kai poured a fresh glass of milk and completed the food order on auto-pilot. He cast his mind back to his first days in town. Special permission from the mistress of Mermaid Heel Guild had secured him space in Kagura's rooms. A time of joy and despair.
He came home later that day and was horrified upon finding his sister actually crying, clutching the photo of Simon. Kai wrapped his arms around his sister and listened to her storm of tears. It was that day that he realized the one thing he truly hated more than anything was the image of his sister crying. Kagura railed against Jellal, blaming him for Simon's death and that stoked a deep hatred in Kai's heart for Jellal.
The young man shook his head, returning focus towards the approaching Grand Magic Games. Rumours about the missing Fairy Tail mages had filtered through town, Tenrou island had reappeared and the mages would be competing in the games. Kai was curious to see this Erza Scarlet who wielded 'The Knight' and who was supposedly on par with his sister with a blade.
Kagura's heart sank when she saw Kaiziro approaching the table, carrying the order laden tray. He walked slowly and with purpose, careful with his movements. The weight of the tray wasn't a concern so much as the reliability of his limbs. Two years earlier he had been unbroken in body and mind. Now the enchantment engraved brace around his knee was slowly losing effectiveness.
Losing Simon had been a huge blow, and the beating her youngest brother received for being tied by blood to her was another punishment. Kagura stifled the urge to wring her hands, forcing herself to sit calmly and composedly. Her mind drifted right back to that day. The day when her younger brother almost died. Her only other reason for existence - her desire to kill Jellal.
Kagura scolded him for admitting his desire to kill Jellal, though she felt like a hypocrite internally. Here she was telling him not to go seek vengeance when that was the main thing that drove her. She wanted her brother to have as clean hands as possible. Kagura didn't care how bloody that path to vengeance was for her, but she was not going to let the only thing Jellal hadn't stolen from her get ruined by him. They had spent many nights arguing over Jellal. The two siblings had their differing trains of thought on that subject and had yet to come to a solution other than agreeing to disagree.
Millianna spoke up. "Kai, I thought you'd forgotten our order when you took so long!"
Kaiziro blushed, embarrassed, "I am sorry. I hurried as fast as I was able." He placed the tray down, "I apologize for the delay, Sister... Anna-chan."
~Flashback - two years ago~
The cat girl's smile lit up his heart with confidence as Kai stood in the main hall of the guild. Millianna and Beth were on one side as he turned to Kagura. "I want to tell you that-"
Kagura calmly lowered the chopsticks from her mouth, "you intend to go try out for a Guild to become an official mage?" Kaiziro nodded, his anxiousness very much apparent. Kagura smiled. "You've grown very much since you moved here. I think you are ready Kai, just be careful, alright? You are all I've got left." Kagura said that last part almost silently, and lowered her head until she felt his arms wrap around her in a tight hug.
"I'll be careful. Who knows? I might become a stronger mage than you." He chuckled confidently until she 'lightly' nudged him in the stomach with the sword's handle.
"You have a ways to go if you can't even dodge that, little brother."
Kaiziro grumbled and turned, only to get tackled by Millianna as she hugged him firmly. His face heated up and he nervously slid his arms around her, responding gingerly to her impetuous squeeze.
"I'm definitely going to miss you Kai! Ris-chan isn't as good a cook as you!" Kaiziro laughed and released Millianna as Risley approached.
"I heard that Milli," Risley mock pouted at the cat girl and wished Kai much success. One after another, the mages of Mermaid Heel congratulated Kai on becoming stronger and advancing his journey. A few tearful farewells later and Kaiziro was on his way.
Once outside of the guild he stopped, holding up one of his guns into the air. A magic circle soon covered the barrel. He fired and the lightning-element bullets left a trail as they spelled 'Good Luck'. Kai headed down the trail and holstered his gun - known as the Sanctus Arma model of magical firearms. He was on his path to securing his future. His silent wish for his sister and her guild mates to do their best in the upcoming Grand Magic Games.
Several hours into his journey, Kaiziro had decided to make camp. Just as he got the fire started he felt a sinister presence behind him. Using a gun mage's version of exquip, he switched to his shotgun. It was a fire-element gun, found on a vacation with his sister and engraved with the ancient word Ifrit.
Several cloaked figures rushed the solitary man. Kai raised his shotgun in a smooth motion, blasting a Dark Guild mage in the stomach with a fiery burst. He took out a few more of the approaching figures before turning to see the leader of this Dark Guild brandish what looked to be a staff. The leader prevented Kai from raising his revolver, then moved his hand to the middle of the stick. It broke apart and the Dark Guild leader howled, "Reaver Shock!" as the metal chain that connected the multi-sectioned staff made contact with Kai's body. His body convulsed, shocking him into unconsciousness. Two henchmen waited until his body stopped having spasms and their boss reconnected his weapon before picking up their victim.
Ten hours later; Reaver, the leader of the gang chuckled as he looked down at his injured gang members. "Hmm, impressive. Exactly what I'd expect from the bratty sibling of that sword bitch. Revenant Claw will have power like never before once we get the information we need out of him."
He began walking off as one of the lesser members looked at the boss. "What about the others?"
Reaver turned back and smiled with dead flat eyes. "Take care of them. We can't afford people finding them and these idiots alerting the guild what we are up to." Cries for mercy rose up and were callously silenced. Reaver thrust a hand into his filthy cloak and withdrew a cigar. He jammed it into his mouth and lit it, staring at his prize.
"Oh the secrets you must hold! You're the vault door to our grandest prize. Imagine what we could accomplish with Kagura Mikazuchi and Mermaid Heel under our thumb. The magic council is still searching for those dead Fairy Tail losers so they won't even notice, and if they do intervene - they care far too much about their own lives to try and stop us." Reaver cackled with psychotic joy.
Kagura sat up in bed drenched in cold sweat as a feeling in her heart screamed something was wrong. She looked to her bedside table; a photo of her, Kai and the team together right before the Grand Magic Games last year. Looking at it usually calmed her, but right now she only felt apprehension. She picked it up and clasped it to her breasts. "Kaiziro is the only thing that bastard Jellal did not steal from me. Please Fate, do not rob me of the last person I cherish in this world."
A muted thud came from the room where Kaiziro's body hung. He was dangling from his arms, tied by chains courtesy of the Revenant Claw mage named Garista. He used his unique Snare magic to construct chains of magic to bind a person securely. This ability made him invaluable to Reaver for holding prized 'cargo' in place. Meanwhile, Yuan, the muscle of the gang was busy torturing Kai.
Yuan had trained alongside Bacchus in his youth, but had been ejected from the school after purposely hurting the younger students. Bacchus challenged Yuan, and utterly defeated him. His left arm was twisted behind him as Bacchus asked him to repent and beg forgiveness. Yuan refused and struggled harder. Before Bacchus could let go, Yuan's arm broke from the strain. He cursed the school and all the students, vowing vengeance. He was kicked out of the dojo to prevent him from ever being able to humiliate the school with his failure as a human being.
Yuan growled as he slung his right arm into Kai's sternum sending his body swaying again as Kaiziro coughed in pain. Kagura's young brother struggled to open his eyes and caught sight of another gang member. Jian's smile never wavered as Kai was beaten, whipped and cut.
He grabbed hold of Kai's hair and lifted his head to stare into his eyes. Jian had the cold eyes of a snake. He was dispassionate even as he smiled at him. Kaiziro's upper body was bare and covered in bruises, welts and cuts. Blood oozed and mixed with the sweat covering the young man. "Now...Boss wants you to tell us everything you know about your sister Kagura. Be a good little boy and all this unpleasant behaviour-"
Kaiziro spat a mixture of saliva and blood into Jian's face. Jian ignored that provocation and held out his other hand, fingernails glowing a rather eerie purple as five faint wires emerged. His smile neither dropped nor grew as he began lashing Kaiziro again.
The beleaguered lad bit his lip refusing to give these creeps the satisfaction of hearing him scream. The tendons in his neck strained as more welts blossomed over his torso, thin rivers of blood flowing.
Yuan grabbed Jian's wrist. "You are going to kill him. The boss will have our heads if he dies before we get what he wants out of him, and that's if we're lucky - I don't wanna know what he'll do to us if he gets pissed angry."
Kaiziro grinned as blood ran from his mouth, caused by internal injuries from Yuan's tenderizing. "You want a secret?...Here's one the whole town knows...Your mother is a dirty w***."
Garista snickered as Yuan growled, upper cutting Kai in the stomach with such force it ripped the chains from their position in the ceiling, launching him into the stone wall behind him. Jian and a few other dark guild members got the enraged brawler out of there, before his rage caused him to kill the boss's prized treasure.
Kaiziro wasn't suicidal, nor was he out cold. Unconsciousness would have been a welcome gift. He needed a break from them working him over. He had lost track after the second hour.
For once he was grateful it took him so long to get as far as he did in Kagura's training. When he first made his intentions known about joining a Guild, Kagura had brokered a deal. If he could draw his guns and fire before she closed the twenty foot gap between them, she would approve. After eight months he was able to get the gun out of his holster before getting an up-close look at his sister's sheath. She didn't hold back on the attacks, except to prevent them from doing permanent damage or being fatal. She knew neither the Guild's tryout officials nor any monsters or bandits encountered during Guild jobs would take it easy.
After a year and a half he was able to meet her qualifications and she rewarded him, by displaying her Gravity manipulation magic dropping him on his backside. Initially he wanted to cry foul until he saw the smile on Kagura's face and the two began laughing; easily the happiest memory he had that didn't involve Millianna.
Reaver sighed as he stood over Kaiziro crossing his arms. "He's durable for a runt. Definitely tougher then that weakling Simon who died against Fiore enemy number one...What was his name?"
Garista thought for a bit before speaking up. "Jellal."
Reaver nodded, "yes, Jellal. Now chain him again. Blunt attacks aren't going to break him, so I'll do it."
Reaver stood and looked at Kaiziro. He rubbed his chin before he peeled off a black glove, the fabric snapping like a whip once free of his fingers. "I must admit I knew you would be difficult to crack. While I will commend you on lasting this long, the easy stuff stops here." Reaver held out his index finger as it began to glow blue from his magic, a sound of humming much like electricity filled the room. He pushed the finger into Kai's side piercing through the flesh; taking great care not to hit anything vital, the near silence of the room shattered by agonizing screams from Kaiziro. "You are going to tell me what I want to know about your sister and Mermaid Heel, or I guarantee you that the Grim Reaper will have trouble finding enough of you intact to pull your soul from."
~Hours Later~
Arania headed off with the search party, looking for any sign of Kai. Most of the guild members considered him either a little brother to watch out for, or a big brother to confide in. They could talk about anything, even new members found Kaiziro easy to talk to as he led them around the guild.
The worried mages found a collection of corpses. The bodies all showed wounds from Kaiziro's gun magic though the fatal injuries were clearly done by something else. The death dealing holes were neatly drilled through skin and muscle, including bone.
Millianna's ears twitched as she picked up on the faint echo of screams. Her heart sank as her mind processed the voice, recognizing it despite the agony within it. Calling for the guild to follow her, she and Kagura began running. The swordswoman's eyes shone with a mixture of worry for her brother and hatred for the people responsible for this. The cries of pain gained a terrible strength as Mermaid Heel rushed closer.
Kaiziro's body was painted with crimson. Blood had been staunched with a small amount of healing magic, only enough to sustain life. Reaver was now working on boring a hole in Kaiziro's knee.
The sudden exclamations of henchmen under attack caught Reaver off guard. He lost control of his finely tuned magic; tearing a gaping hole through Kai's kneecap, compromising the joint severely. Kaiziro screamed again, it echoed through the Dark guild's base. Kagura flattened Garista with a powerful blow, and his magic fuelled chains on Kai disappeared. Fighting against her desire to draw Archenemy, Kagura smote the Dark Guild members in her path, desperate to reach her brother.
Kaiziro groaned, using the wall to pull himself up and began partially crawling and dragging his body to the door. The chaos caused by Risley and Kagura's assault on the front of the hideout was the perfect chance to escape. It was an effort doomed to failure. A brawny right arm hooked around his neck and forced him upright. Just as quickly, a familiar, at least to Kai anyway, fist launched him into the hallway's ceiling. Yuan stood there smirking, but his triumph didn't last long as the wielder of the Nekosoku Tube emerged using her Kitten blast on him. It succeeded in knocking the man away from Kaiziro and more importantly gaining his attention. As Yuan pulled his fist back to swing at Millianna, Kaiziro forced himself upright and drew his Sanctus Arma revolver to blast Yuan repeatedly in the back. The man was sent through the wall into the bloodied chamber he had been held prisoner in.
"Kai!" Millianna ran to him, using her Nekosoku caster magic to wrap the rope around Kaiziro's wounds as emergency bandages. She hugged her friend and exclaimed her concern as she waited for the others to arrive. The sounds of panic and violence from Kagura's assault rose to a crescendo and Kaiziro passed out from the combination of pain and blood loss.
~End Flashback~
It took nearly two whole years after the incident for Kaiziro's wounds to recover. Well, most of them anyway; his knee was damaged beyond even magic's ability to heal. Kai's dream of becoming a full-fledged mage and attaining the status of World's Strongest Gun Mage had been put, at the very least, on hold.
Kai realized there were no guarantees in life. If Mermaid Heel had not gotten there when they did, he might not have survived. If his sister hadn't had such a strong gut feeling he was in danger... Kai shuddered. He would have died, so young and all his goals would have gone unfinished.
He wanted to confess his feelings for Millianna. Coming so close to an eternal sleep made Kai need to live fully. He'd decided to break out of his chrysalis, spread his wings and make his move. The rest of the guild except for Millianna had become aware of his feelings. Risley never hesitated a moment to tease him, but always intervened to stop the innocent and friendly Beth from spilling the beans.
Kagura had forbidden anyone from mentioning Kai's blood relation to her. She was worried that if some low profile Dark Guild made a move, what could a ruthless group like Sabertooth do in order to try and gain an advantage against them? Kai wanted to protest but part of him knew she was right; yet now he felt reduced to a glorified servant role, cleaning, cooking and watching others live out his dream. Before his maiming, he'd filled a menial role, and happily. Now he was pained to think serving was the height of his capability.
That dream of becoming the World's Greatest Gun mage no longer seemed so out of reach. Reports of the Fairy Tail mages on Tenroujima island being located after seven years had spread far and wide. Among the missing wizards was a small girl, nicknamed the Dragon Healer. Her incredible healing magic had been learned from a dragon; her mother, Grandeeney. Fairy Tail also had the services of the legendary healer Porlyusica. If either or both of the healing specialists could examine him, and even if he couldn't be healed to full function, maybes something could be done...
Kai was going to attend the Grand Magic Games. If he could somehow finagle a physical with either or both of the healers, maybe he could get his life on track. He'd be happy to even just meet his two favourite Fairy Tail Mages, Bisca and Alzack. Perhaps he'd get a photo and autograph from them.
Earlier in the day, Kaiziro had stood in front of Kagura to argue his case to attend the games and had the wind taken out of his sails as she peaceably agreed with his decision. He felt Beth place a necklace around his neck as he was busy speaking with his sister. Kai pulled at the chain and looked around the women of the guild who had suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere. He felt a prickle of magic shiver over the skin of his arm and gasped.
Risley was the first to speak. "We know the master has her rules, however according to her...you are just as much a member of Mermaid Heel as any woman here."
Arana took over next nodding, "Indeed...your kindness, help and bravery against the Revenant Claw gang proved that."
Kaiziro disentangled his fingers from the necklace and traced the edges of his new tattoo, a wide grin pasted across his face. He gazed all around the circle of mages, locking gazes with Millianna who smiled back sweetly.
Her face calm, Kagura spoke briskly. "You wear our Guild crest now Kai, a lot is expected and required of you. Our Lady felt guilty that you lost your dream of being an active mage. As reward for protecting the Guild, she made this singular exception. It might seem unbelievable but it is genuine." Kagura softened her tone, "after learning of all that you endured to guard our secrets, the Mistress gave her blessing for this. She's been one of your biggest fans since meeting you. Who do you think made your brace to keep your knee still and stabilized while you were going through physical rehab?"
Mermaid Heel's guild master's eyes shimmered in the shadows before she slipped away to her office. Kai felt a lump form in his throat. He was humbled and elated to be considered a guild mate.
As an extra celebration, it was decided to attend Magnolia's festival before the opening of the games. Millianna had decided to tag along, as extra security and to see her friends; Erza and Happy. There were two new equally adorable kitties she had heard about. One was white who wore dresses and teamed with the Sky Dragon Slayer - the other one black, had sword wielding skills and paired with the scary Gajeel.
Inside the train station, a tall man accompanied by three friends whistled at Millianna. Kaiziro couldn't hold back the urge to softly growl. She walked past and ignored them, sedately pushing Kai in his wheelchair. They entered their cabin to see one of the other occupants they'd been told would be there, was there. It had been incredibly exciting to hear the ticket seller reveal their semi-private coach was going to be full of magic users.
Kaiziro stared in awe at the masked figure standing in the center of the cabin, holding several staffs that abutted the ceiling. His blue garments shimmered and all that showed of his face clearly were his eyes that seemed to recognize Millianna. "I am Mystogan of Fairy Tail, and you are-Kaiziro, Kaiziro Mikazuchi."
Millianna smiled watching Mystogan help Kaiziro into a normal seat, before she folded the wheel chair up, locking it in place with the rope from her kitten tube spell. The S-rank wizard spoke wondering aloud, "is that a Mermaid Heel crest...Millianna was it?" I had heard from Erza you were considering joining a guild but I thought it'd be Fairy Tail. Ah, is he wearing the crest too?"
Kaiziro nodded proudly as he looked at the two of them. "Indeed. I am a member of the guild that is going to win the games this year. I hope I get to compete in the games, I definitely want to test my skills against those Tenroujima mages who returned."
His eyes shifted toward a white haired man who was settling his baggage in an overhead compartment. Millianna introduced herself to the man and discovered his name was Lyon Vastia, another magic user. They began to chat amiably.
As the train headed towards Magnolia, Kaiziro began wondering what other legendary mages and mighty spells he'd get to see, the conversation between Millianna and Lyon fading as he got lost in his head.
To Be Continued.
Again I want to thank DanceswithSeatbelts who has been such a monumental assist in helping me redo these chapters. her aid has been so vital.