Eien – here is my birthday gift to you. That Totomaru x Juvia (eventually) fic that I've been promising to you for forever.
I also decided to make this super special, by making it the 100th story I've posted on this site.
Happy birthday, my friend.
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
"And so the court has reached a decision in the matter of the guilds Phantom Lord and Fairy Tail, and on the charges of damage to the City of Magnolia and violation of the Inter-guild Anti-Aggression Treaty, and the charge of kidnapping in the first degree, and third degree."
Gripping the front of his trousers, Totomaru swallowed heavily at Org's droning words. The fate of his guild hung on the next statement from the Magic Council. And his livelihood, with it. His home. His friends.
Totomaru glanced over at his fellow members of the Element Four, and Gajeel. To his left, Aria was, as ever, sobbing profusely while Sol dutifully passed him handkerchief after handkerchief - a seemingly endless supply for the weeping wind mage. Thankfully, Aria wasn't scream-sobbing right now. But he was muttering under his breath about the sadness of the whole affair. Sol had occasionally offered a, "Non-Non," along with the latest cloth throughout the trial, but for now he kept his silence. Honestly, this wasn't helping calm Totomaru's nerves in the slightest.
Gajeel was leaning back in his seat, leg crossed over the other so his boot was practically in Juvia's lap. He looked nothing so much as bored out of his mind.
Juvia, by comparison, wasn't quite as relaxed as the dragon slayer. "Gajeel-kun," she murmured softly, prodding his boot with a finger. "Get this off of Juvia." With a derisive grunt the man complied, garnering a small smile from the water mage. But smile or not, Juvia's nervousness was betrayed by the drumming of rain on the rooftop of the building - rain that had been curiously absent ever since the confrontation with Fairy Tail had concluded.
There was a story there, Totomaru was certain. One he hoped that his friend would tell him, sometime. Once this was done and over with.
As for him... rage still simmered, deep inside his heart. Totomaru would not soon forget the insult Natsu Dragneel had inflicted on him, on the guild. It was just a matter of time; with some intense training, Totomaru would strengthen his control over fire, and bend the dragon slayer's flames to his will.
But that would be difficult to accomplish without a guild, without job requests to cover his living expenses and to implement his new techniques. Even harder if he was in prison.
"We will now hand down our verdict," Org resumed, his voice echoing around the chamber.
"On the charge of kidnapping in the third degree, we find Fairy Tail... Not Guilty."
Makarov, on the nearly empty side of the room, flinched at this.
Totomaru couldn't help thinking that odd. Then again, it wasn't nearly so strange as the fact that only the Titania and the Guild Master had shown up to represent Fairy Tail throughout the proceedings - and the Titania for only half of that time. Didn't the guild members care about what happened to them? Why weren't they taking this seriously? Phantom Lord was.
Org continued to read off his scroll, high above on the dais. "On the charge of kidnapping in the first degree, we find Phantom Lord... Guilty."
"What?!" hissed Gajeel. "What sort of bullshit is this?! They get off scott-free, but we don't?! We were only doing our damn job!"
Juvia held up her hands to hush the dragon slayer, but the damage was already done.
"Silence!" Org demanded. "The time for making your case has passed! You will respect the decision we have made, Black Steel. Or be thrown into prison for contempt."
His head propped up in his hand, one of the younger members of the Council leaned forward. A lazy smile adorned his face, his eyes narrowed not in anger but cruel glee. "It seems that your client lied to you, or perhaps just ignorant of the reality of the situation. The girl in question was a legally emancipated minor. She filed the paperwork and everything!" The blue-haired man laughed. "Which you would have found out... if your Guild Master had cleared the job request with the appropriate Council branch, that is."
Red seeped into Gajeel's face, though it couldn't hope to compete with the purple hue in Org's. "Siegrain!" the man admonished, to which his fellow Council member simply shrugged.
The woman seated beside Siegrain held up a pale sleeve, hiding the lower half of her face. "Which leads us to add another crime to the proceedings - one you are unmistakably guilty of, Phantom Lord. You have been found guilty of taking an unsanctioned job outside of the Magic Council's oversight." She tutted softly. "Really, you should have known better."
"You really should have," Siegrain smoothly picked up where she left off. "This basically means that every action you took against Fairy Tail was unlawful. Which is really a pity." His grin widened. "If Fairy Tail really had been knowingly harboring a runaway, we would have been more than happy to approve the request! Really... such an ironic situation don't you think, Ultear?"
His companion giggled. "Quite."
"Enough, you two," Org commanded. The pair quieted, though no traces of remorse could be found in their countenances. Once they had fallen silent, Org continued. "Siegrain and Ultear are correct, however. So the Council must also find Phantom Lord guilty of breaking the Anti-Aggression Treaty, and therefore responsible for all counts of damage to the City of Magnolia."
Totomaru's heart sank with every word, feeling each syllable drive the nails into Phantom Lord's coffin a little further.
"However..." Org turned a hardened glare onto Makarov. "Your duty was to report at the first sign of aggression from a fellow light guild. Yet no such report ever came. So while Fairy Tail's actions can be attributed to self-defense in this matter, your guild will face sanctions of its own, Makarov."
Bowing his head, Makarov spoke. "I understand, Councilman. We will comply with whatever the Council deems appropriate."
'You don't join a guild like Phantom Lord and survive without picking up on how to read inflections,' Totomaru mused. 'And those sound like fighting words to me. A challenge.'
Oblivious - or perhaps uncaring - of the insult hidden in Makarov's words, Org moved on. "Now as for the issue of Phantom Lord's punishment." Org's eyes now rested on the gathered group.
Totomaru swallowed. It didn't seem a question of if he would be getting jail time, he knew. More like how much.
"The Council has determined that - as far as you all knew - you were acting under the just direction of your Guild Master, Jose Porla. Therefore, you are in turn deemed innocent of all these charges."
The guild members stared, dumbstruck, at the Council members. All that... and they weren't even being punished? Not in the slightest?
"Ignorance does not fully excuse you," Org stated. "But in this, your only fault lies in not questioning your authority."
'Which would definitely be something you don't want,' Totomaru couldn't help but think, bitterly. 'Because if we question the Guild Masters, then we might question you. And that would be pretty bad for the Magic Council.'
"Jose Porla."
Phantom Lord's Guild Master shriveled in his seat, rage burning on his face.
"As it was your actions alone that led to this incident, and given how you put the lives of an entire city of innocents at risk... your punishment will be harsh."
Jose let out a harsh, high-pitched laugh. "If I'm being scapegoated, get on with it!"
"Very well. Jose Porla, you are hereby sentenced to twenty years in prison. Furthermore, you are stripped of your Wizard Saint status, and of your title as Guild Master. Though the second hardly matters. For we, the Council, hereby dissolve the Phantom Lord Guild."
The proclamation hit Totomaru like a brick to his skull. Removing a Guild Master was one thing. But dissolving the guild? When they could have just found another to be the Guild Master? Why?
It seemed Siegrain - unlike Org - was in an indulging mood, however, for he clarified, "As my fellow Councilman stated before - ignorance will not completely excuse you. Civilian lives were put at great risk because of your antics." He sneered. "And I hardly think you were unaware that that would never be sanctioned or forgiven by the Council. So some punishment is necessary."
A cracking sound split the air, and Totomaru's eyes were drawn to the redheaded woman standing with Makarov - the thick wooden rail before her splintered and cracked under her gauntleted hands. Why was she so angry...?
For the first time in the entirety of the trial, Belno spoke up, redirecting attention back to the Council – the Titania's strange reaction pushed aside for now. "We will not hinder you from pursuing mage work. But you will not do it under the tainted banner of Phantom Lord. Find new guilds, new homes for yourselves."
Was it just Totomaru, or were her eyes fixated on a particular point in the crowd?
"That is all," Org finished, before Totomaru could ascertain just where Belno was looking. "Makarov, you will be notified at a later date as to the specifics of Fairy Tail's sanctions. You are all dismissed."
Totomaru sat, stunned, in his seat. Others began to file out slowly, but he remained.
What was he going to do?
Where was he going to go?
He didn't have the slightest idea.