Kaoru looked up at the stars, thinking. Is this what I want? To be stronger, yes… But to go this far… She shivered, telling herself to get a move on. It was a warm summer night, but her family lived in a dark forest where Father could strip freely and Mother could practice her magic all she wanted. Kaoru didn't care. The only thing that bothered her was the high insect population. Flies and ants didn't bother her; it was just the spiders and scorpions that made her a little scared to go outside. She brushed a raven lock out of her eyes and began walking. One final glance at her home is all she allowed.
The messenger bag on her shoulder had everything she needed, anyways. The girl opened it as she walked down the dirt road, checking its contents. Fifty thousand Jewel for shelter and when she was low on food, dried food that she could keep for a long time, five bottles of water, a lacrima to contact her family once she was far enough away, spare clothing and shoes, hairbrush and toiletries, a jacket, a light lacrima, and some other necessities, including multiple pairs of contacts and a pair of glasses, just in case. The note had been left, and everything was perfect. On she went, sneaking through the forest. This had been planned for a long time.
As she walked, Kaoru thought of what she had done to get this far. It had required a lot of work and she had been thinking for almost two years now. She had taken over eighty jobs to get the large sum of money she had with her, and had purposely estranged herself from her family, so much that they couldn't tell what she was thinking anymore. She didn't want them to know, though. Kaoru had made a promise to herself, one that she couldn't break. And the Fairy Tail mage couldn't crack now. Her cold hand went to the back of her neck, where it bore the bright blue mark of her guild. Another shiver. She shook her head, and kept walking.
Her only concern was the next morning.
The next day, Kaoru's parents burst into the guild, panting, with Juvia panicking and Grey just glaring daggers at everyone. A hall of noise and happiness quickly fell silent. "Who did it?" Grey asked, his voice full of burning, stinging acid.
"What do you mean, who did it? Did what? What's wrong, Ice Princess?" a man with salmon hair asked. His voice was carefree and it had a hint of "I'm-annoyed-what-do-you-want-now" in it.
"My daughter is missing, Natsu. I don't have time to argue," the distraught man replied through gritted teeth.
"Maybe she just left to go swimming or something," Natsu said back. Juvia shook her head.
"Juvia thinks not, because she found a note this morning." Mirajane stared at Juvia, so distracted she didn't notice the mug she was cleaning slip through her fingers before it shattered on the floor. Everyone fell silent.
"You found what?" Erza asked, rising to her feet and leaving her strawberry cake on the table.
Juvia could feel the tears gathering in her eyes. "Juvia's child has left! The note told her so.." Grey slowly squeezed her hand, gentle as he wrapped her in a shaking hug. Muffled, she murmured, "Grey-sama, your clothes…"
Meanwhile, two girls were running to the guild, one with black hair that was pulled into pigtails and the other with messy red hair, chattering. "What do you think everyone's doing?"
"I don't know, 'Ru. Maybe Dad and Grey are fighting again?"
"Maybe," the one with the pigtails answered curtly. She ran a little faster.
"Or Aunt Erza could be eating cake..." the red-haired one mused, running to catch up with her sister.
"That wouldn't be happening if Dad and Grey were fighting, Ponyo!"
"I was just thinking, gosh!" Ponyo defended. "Kamberu, don't be so mean!"
"I can be what I want when it comes to you!" Kamberu retorted, stopping at the guild's doors. She opened them, about to greet everyone when she realized everyone was silent. "What's wrong?"
Grey turned to look at them. "Kaoru's missing."
Ponyo smirked. "What's the problem, then?" She received a punch from her sister. "Damn it, Kam! That hurt!"
"Why?" Kamberu asked. "Nobody, except Ponyo here," she gestured to her twin with a simple jerk of the hand and a thumb, "hated her…"
"Juvia will have the note read to the guild, if it helps," the blue-haired woman murmured. She dug through her pocket and produced a small lacrima. A watery image of Kaoru appeared in its shining surface.
"Read it, Juvia, please," Lucy told her, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She shifted her weight and one could faintly hear the metal of her keys clink together.
"This is what it says," Juvia announced before tapping the magical ball.
"Dear Mother and Father," her voice rang out. As the twins stepped closer, curious, the
You're probably freaking out right now. I promise, I'm okay. I've left to become stronger, 'cause simple little Water Make just ain't doin' the trick anymore, right?" The image nods to herself. "I've taken a lacrima with me so I can talk to you if I need to, and I'll be home in a few months, maybe. I think. I'll be safe, so please don't worry, even though you probably will. Also, please tell everyone I said hello. Kaoru."
"Calm down, Grey-sama..." Juvia comforted him.
"You know, Ponyo and I can go looking for her," Kamberu offered. Ponyo punched her shoulder, but she ignored it.
Erza smiled at the sisters. "That'd be nice. Go, find her. She can't be far."
Kaoru looked at the rising sun, frowning. Her parents were surely getting up now. She had better get a move on. Luckily, she was in the outskirts of Magnolia and had quickly reached the train station. After paying for her ticket and getting on the train, she sat in thought.
I only have 49, 800 Jewel left.. better be careful or it'll be all gone in an instant. I wonder how things are in Fairy Tail right now? Is Cana getting drunk this early in the morning? Most likely; she's always getting drunk or groaning about being hung over. Her eyes fell onto the contact lacrima in her bag. She desperately wanted to let her parents know she was safe, but that would give away her location. Maybe next time she was in a forest, so it would look like she was coming home. Wait, no. That'd be a terrible thing to do, Kaoru. Don't get their hopes up like that. The girl sighed.
But, the little voice in her head replied, its voice snide, then if you don't do it there, they might recognize the location and come track you down. It's better to get their hopes up and keep going than to give them what they want and lose two year's careful planning. This may be your only chance. After this, they may never let you out of their sight again. You have to keep going, so you can prove to them that you can protect yourself, that you can be alone. That this was for everyone's good, not just yours, not for theirs, but for the guild. If you're powerful enough, you can be on the front line and help. Like when that Twilight Ogre guild was abusing us. Back in x791. You weren't there. But if you were, if you had power, they would have been beat into last November. You can't do anything while you have weak Water Make magic. Go learn more powerful magic. Become stronger. Be able to protect anyone, and overpower all who pose a threat. Kaoru smiled. The voice was right.
Present time, Kaoru got off the train in Hargeon, looking around. She smiled and started on. From here, she'd take a boat to Oshibana and take a train into the mountains. She had heard of Lost Magic teachers there, but they would only train you if you could successfully make it up to their homes, which were at the peaks of said mountains. It would be hard, but you had to work to get anything in this world. And hard work was nothing different. Not at all.