It was another busy day for the residents of our humble city of Magnolia, and for the ebullient members of the Fairy Tail guild more so. As the mounting sun spilled the inky canvas of the night sky with golden rays, imparting it with the characteristic shades of the daybreak, the city began to pulse with the daily activities of its rising residents. And by the time this pulsing liveliness transformed into a throb, Fairy Tail was up and about, ready to tackle another busy day of new jobs.
And by a busy day I mean the "Busy Day" as defined by the standards of the general populace, the kind of busy day that keeps the Council out of our hair, the kind of Busy that ACTUALLY gets more jobs done than Kana's drinking rounds, the kind of busy that does not end with half a city destroyed and my hopes of paying the rent on time with it.
Thanks to the coming mage tournament, today the guild members were more focused than ever on completing as many jobs possible; more so than pre S-class mage graduation test. And if Master's speech yesterday at the impromptu meeting was any clue, this placid atmosphere's going to last for a while in the redundant guild building.
"Hey there Lucy!" someone shook me out of slumber that I don't remember slipping into. It a poor practice to fall asleep inside the Guild; you're apt to wake up dead. I should thank whoever woke me up.
"You look pretty worn out, late night training?"
Once my sleep induced double vision settled, I was greeted by Levi's face pulled in a concerned frown.
"Oh, hey there Levi! How's the job?" I pushed my fatigue back and tried to pull up a welcoming smile. It mustn't have been very reassuring for the worry on her face didn't tone down a bit; instead she cocked a questioning brow.
Sigh."I'm just a bit tired's all. Bisca called last night to watch over her daughter, the two of them, Bisca and Alzac, had an S-class quest to handle that had specifically asked of them, so you know …" I allowed myself to trail off.
"Ah, I do," She nodded sagely taking a seat next to me, "Not by experience, of course, but by observation. Handling young children can be quite a daunting task indeed." Levi clarified with a placating smile.
I couldn't help but let out a wry chuckle at her answer. Always the diplomat, our Levy.
"Say, Levi-" I never got to finish verbalizing my thought because Natsu chose that exact moment to announce his presence. Loudly.
"WE'RE BACK EVERYONE!"
The entrance door was sent flying inside and it crashed against some poor wizard with frightening force.
"DAMN-IT, CANDLEWICK! STOP DESTROYING THE GUILD, FOOL!"
The angry proclamation was followed by a thundering crash as the speaker slammed an emphatic fist, reducing a table to a pile of splinters.
That's Gajeel the IRON(y) DRAGON SLAYER.
"Who're you calling a fool, dimwit?!"
"Oh lemme rephrase. Stop destroying the guild, you moronic fool!"
"WHAT?! THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE!"
"HENCE PROVING MY POINT!"
"Ooh, now you've done it! Get ready to be melted into a puddle of molten metal! FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"
"Go Natsu !"
"You tell 'im, Gajeel!"
And with that the short term peace came to a brutal end.
"You guys are back early! How's the job?" Levi politely inquired the resident Fairy Queen.
Kicking and punching any and all in her path, Erza was ambling up to us. Waving a flippant hand that caught Bixlow in the jaw and sent him stumbling into sleep, she announced, "These jobs barely demand anything! Master's words not-withstanding, these jobs seem more like a waste of time and energy."
"That's Fairy Tail's STRONGEST team for ya!" Happy boasted happily.
I can see you're still a fine flatterer, cat.
"That was a little uncalled for Lucy." Happy muttered quietly trying to sound hurt. "And if you must know, without Gray on the scene I took a few thugs out, all by myself!" he concluded proudly, all pretenses of being hurt dropped.
Ah, whatever.
Which begs the question: where's Gray? Speaking of whom, where's Juvia? I have meaning to ask her something.
"Why the sudden obsession with Gray, Lucy? I thought you had the hots for Loki. Oh well, just watch out for Juvia, she won't be very 'Happy' if she found out." Happy warned slyly.
Are you blackmailing me?!
You stupid cat, shut up before I will strangle you with your own tail!
"Juvia's out on a job with Lisana and others, but I'm not sure about Gray except he's out on a job too … maybe." Levi shrugged uncertainly.
Now that you mention it I haven't seen him since … Last week?
Erza simply nodded, nibbling at her cake but it was Mira who came up with the details as usual.
"Gray has been working on a low paying job ever since Master announced the importance of jobs for a wizard's evolution into a full-fledged Mage. Though he understands the need to complete the job in wake of our current crisis, Gray was far from appreciative." She added, serving me a steaming cup of tea. At my grateful grin she chuckled lightly.
"So wh- ?"
"I'm back." a tired voice announced.
"Welcome back, Gray!" Mirajane greeted warmly. "What took you so long? Is everything alright?"
Her concerned words, however, were swallowed by the gales of laughter, egging and wreckage surrounding our resident Dragon Slayers' showdown.
Yawning widely, Gray intoned the greetings and slumped into a chair besides us.
"I thought it was a low grade job, so why do you look as if a dragon tried to make toothpick out of you? What happened?" asked Erza, her voice level and tone indifferently curious but the effect was ruined by her barely concealed concern.
Gray snorted to that, "Tell me about it. Last week was hell. I barely got any sleep and on top of it all I had to fight a frigging army!"He finished with a wince.
Well he certainly looked the part: face haggard, eyes ringed by heavy dark circles and with all the bruises, cuts and the slashed attire he wore, Erza's remark about being at receiving end of a Dragon's talons and teeth didn't seem that far off the mark.
But wasn't it a just a run-of-the-mill kind of job? Don't tell me…
"Bull's eye." Gray remarked dryly before elaborating, "It's the same old drama; with the word of our "Resurrection" on the streets and the economic nightmare our guild is going through we're in the 'beggars can't be choosers' spot…"
"...Meaning, with a wise omission of words they can get us to do an S-class quest at the price of a low rate one." Levi sighed ruefully.
But that's just preposterous … … … just like your stripping habits, Gray!
That off-handed comment sent Gray scampering for his tattered clothes, inducing a small round of chuckle around the table.
Jokes aside, but isn't it a crime to hold information of an assignment from the guild?! We can so totally drag them in front of the Council, and charge them with a heavy penalty! tee-hee-hee … ! Muhahahahah!
"What's with the creepy look, Lucy?" Happy piped in "And we can't do that even if it's true because the Council itself authorizes all job requests, there's a whole department dedicated to this task of separating genuine requests from a sham."
Well, what do you know? This cat has more insight into the workings of the Council than I.
"The cat's right, you know." Gajeel supplied, nodding solemnly. His fight with Natsu seemed to have been postponed in favor of Natsu picking up a brawl with one of Laxus' cohort.
Even you knew it to be a fact? What's next? Natsu swearing to nonviolence?
"That's not it," he clarified "I was talking about the look on your face; it's really starting to creep me out, Loony."
Like you're the one to talk, Mister!
And the name's Lucy!
L-U-C-Y! Lucy!
...IDIOTS!
Anyway, Gray, does that mean you completed an S-class quest all by yourself?
"It sure does." Gray tried, and spectacularly failed at, being modest. The wide, pompous grin pushed his eyes into fine lines, cleaving his face in half.
But I can't fault him for this embarrassing display of self-satisfaction. Because that's just … wow!
And does that mean you're ... you're a de facto S-class wizard?!
Grave stillness welcomed these words; silence struck the guild like lightening, swift and instantaneous.
Until that moment I hadn't realized that despite the surrounding din practically everyone had been listening in on our conversation; which in and of itself is a mystery.
How do theydothat? Fighting, egging, laughing, no matter what they seem to be doing they can still keep tabs on every conversation going on in the guild. I suspect that living in such a boisterous atmosphere for practically all your life has something to do with this ability of tuning out unnecessary noise.
A gust of wind whistled through the cracks in the walls, a chair that had been standing precariously after the Dragon Slayers' assault fell with a resounding thud, pulling everyone out of their reveries.
What followed that was nothing short of a verbal avalanche and tsunami of activities.
Everyone rushed to Gray's side either to congratulate him, ask him of the details or demanding booze money in form of thinly veiled comments about a celebration party that Gray was paying for. But not before us ladies moved out of the way lest we might get caught in the onslaught that Gray was being subjected to. And if the way his snobbish grin had began to falter, his eyes attaining a glazed quality to them were any indication, he was beginning to regret it. Poor Gray.
And how can we forget these two idiots and their mammoth bruised egos.
"GRAY LET'S BATTLEEE! MANO A MANO!NOW! YOU WERE JUST LUCKY! FIGHT MEEEEEE!"
"SHUT UP, SALAMANDER! I'M THE ONE WHO'LL SHRED MR. POPSICLE TO SNOW DUST!"
Yes you guessed correctly. Sigh. I'm starting to miss the stillness of the Suspended State.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLIN-"
"YOU FOOLS!" Erza's thundering exclamation, which is actually an expressive acknowledgment of a long established fact, cut off Gray's painfully predictable retort.
A Very expressive, veryangry acknowledgment.
Some idiot had bumped into Erza, who was calmly eating her cake. And rest... is Chaos Theory.
Erza's plate slipped out of her loose grasp, the delicious half consumed cake laying daintily upon it slithered off its edge and fell into a small basket lying near Gray's foot next to whom Erza had shifted perhaps to congratulate him, too. The plate shattered into large chunks as gravity slammed it into the floor near the wooden basket with a brittle cry.
I watched this with a morbid fascination. Though this catastrophic incident of Cake did little to stem other fights that had started for reasons that I do not wish to delve into in favor of preserving my sanity, Levy, Mira and I shifted a little closer to the exit.
"Oh, dear God…" Levi groaned.
Calling an ambulance would be more appropriate and conducive in this scenario than God, i would say …. Maybe an undertaker, too…?
Mira chuckled at that, but it was more nervous than amused that belied her foreboding.
Erza had summoned her many swords and was preparing to go berserk. But before this contained chaos could have escalated into manslaughter something happened that froze Fairy Tail, for the SECOND time in the SAME hour, in their respective variations of mindless acts of violence.
A shrill, piping voice tore through the din like the first rays of dawn through morning mist and continued to do so until it was the only sound echoing off of the tattered walls of our moribund guild.
The furniture all around the guild, which had been reduced to wobbly pieces of wood during the course of fighting, fell with several thuds but nothing was enough to end the shock still that had settled over the guild.
"Oh My God, I think I'm still drunk! I hear a child crying!"Kana's surprised yelp was but a small tremor compared to the earthquake that shook the guild after that.
'HOLY HELL! IS THERE REALLY A CHILD?! IN OUR GUILD?! WHERE?!", someone shouted.
"IDIOT! WHAT ARE YOU ACTING SO SHOCKED FOR?! MORE IMPORTANTLY IS THIS CHILD A BOY OR A GIRL?! SOMEONE TELL ME!"
"...Hey, guys..."
"WHAT HAS IT GOT TO DO WITH ANYTHING,YOU SICKO?!"
"NO YOU MISUNDERSTOOD ME! IT'S JUST … A MAN MUST NEVER CRY!"
"THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE, YOU MEAT-HEAD! JUST DIE, WHY DON'T YOU!" came a supremely exasperated cry.
"Whose child is it, anyway?! WHERE IS THE CHILD?!" someone else was roaring.
"...Umm… guys..!"
"WHY IS IT CRYING, ANYWAY?! DID IT GET HURT DURING THE FIGHT?! SOMEONE CALL THE MEDICS, HURRYYYY!"
A sense of déjà-vu swept over me as the flurry of activity and frustrated inquiries came to a grinding halt. In the midst of it all stood Natsu, his brows pulled in a concerned frown.
By now the child had stopped crying, but I still don't see it anywhere. And if I couldn't find it then the poor soul might actually get hurt if it's not been already since I seemed to be the only one in control of their motor functions. Everyone else was busy gawking at Natsu with varying degrees of disbelief and wariness.
It's really amazingly noteworthy how much of a hindrance Natsu can be even when not up to his usual antics and is actually talking sense.
"OWWW!" someone yelped.
"...Guys I'm-"
"What did you hit me for, damn it?!" next to Makao, Wakaba was bent over in pain, clutching his head where a swollen lump was steadily growing, shooting Makao a murderous glare.
"Just wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming." Makao answered plainly never taking his eyes off Natsu.
"SO. WHY. HIT. ME?!" Wakaba hollered.
Wakaba was beyond indignant; his countenance murderous and unforgiving. The flames of his fury were dancing around him in mad patterns.
"Well pain is the best way of differing between an illusion and reality." Makao informed, his calm posture intact. "So when I hit you I felt a slight tingling of pain in my knuckles that tells me this is real. You see, it was a simple little test."
"Oh well," Wakaba calmed instantly. "That makes sense."
NO IT DOESN'T! WHAT'S WITH YOUR LOGIC?!
"It's… "Makao's voice was thick with unsaid emotions and trembling under the weight of pride it carried "It's… just… Natsu made… A LOGICAL AND SENSIBLE STATEMENT!" he roared at the top of his lungs. "THIS CALLS FOR A CELEBRATION! LET'S PARTY!"
"YEAHHHH!" responded a hearty chorus that included most of the men and Kana, while others looked stumped, a similar question racing through their mind.
What about the child?! Forgotten already?!
I was planning on curling into a ball and pray for this random insanity to pass when someone bellowed.
"DAMN YOU GUYS! I AM TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING HERE! SO LISTEN!"
It was Gray. Ah, so he was the one who was being so thoughtlessly overridden.
"During the-"
"GRAY!" Just like now.
Erza voice was icy and shift in her mood was so sudden that it pulled everyone's attention, even those incurable happy go lucky types, to her.
"What's the meaning of this?" her voice was chilled enough to give a polar bears shivers and humans like us goosebumps. She was carrying a small wooden basket, the same in which her cake had landed, and looking every bit the menacing Demon that she was rumored to be. Tactically, everyone moved farther from the duo.
"Hey what happened, Erza? What's this all about?" Natsu asked. Even he looked a little wary.
Erza turned slowly to face him.
"Why don't you askhim?" she pointed a metal clad finger in Gray's direction who looked utterly annoyed with this whole fiasco.
"High time you do that!" Gray sighed with relief. "On my-"
"HE KIDNAPPED A CHILD AND HID HIM IN A BASKET!" Erza roared as she lifted the wooden basket she had been carrying and removed the lid completely to reveal the sleeping form of a small baby, a tiny piece of cake smeared cross its face.
WHAT!
"IF YOU HAD TO CUT ME OFF WHY DID YOU EVEN-WHAT? BLOODY HELL, NO!" the shift of Gray's expression from a dark glower to a flabbergasted confusion would have been comical had the situation been any lighter.
"HOW LONG WERE YOU GOING TO HIDE IT? SPILL THE BEANS, Gray!" Erza disregarded Gray assertive remark with nonchalant ease.
"So that's what you have been doing, huh Gray?" Gajeel growled. "I knew you were lying about the Job."
The rundown guild shook with indignant cries and booos.
"GODDAMN YOU BASTARDS! I! HAVE! NOT! KIDNAPPED! ANYONE! SHE'S IS MY FRIGGIN' RESPONSIBILITY!"
"R-Respo..Responsibility?" Erza stumbled at the word, a confused frown knotting her thin brows.
She?!
"D-Don't tell me she's yours?" it was Erza turn to look flummoxed.
No sooner had she uttered those words a fit of whispers gripped the guild.
But Natsu was most vocal of us all, unsurprisingly so.
"NOOOO!", he wailed. "Not only does he get to do a S-class quest all by himself before me, but he also beat me at getting a baby first!" Oh, the pain. Dumbass.
He suddenly ran up to me and clasped my hand.
"Lucy" he spoke seriously with an intent face "will you help meuumph-!"
Natsu went flying through the roof and it took me a moment to realize thatI had punched him out of the guild.
What anidiot! And here I was thinking he was finally being sensible! Jerk! And besides, can't you do a simple calculation! It's impossible for Gray to have a child.
Not unless magic was involved somehow…
So maybe it's not impossible but very unlikely.
"DO NOT BE AN IDIOT ERZA!" Gray was shouting but he was being ignored.
"WOULD SOMEBODY AT LEAST LISTENTO ME!"
I am not really sure how long I can bear this.
Mother, does it hurt much when you die?
Oh don't worry, I am talking about my friends, not me.
tbc
Happy: I personally think that Lucy has already snapped.
Seeya guys later!