A Little Bit of Chaos
Chapter 2-A Maddening First Mission
It had been a few days after the the bathhouse incident and simply lazing around that Erza finally got tired of Kazuki not doing anything, except to participate in the many guild brawls that happened. "Go find a job request you like and do it instead of lazing around!"
"What are you, my manager?" Kazuki didn't even open his eyes. "You're not even the Master. And seriously, leave me alone. I happen to like being lazy."
Makarov had been nice enough to lend him some cash until he started going on job requests. It was more than enough for Kazuki to buy himself some new clothes, as his old ones were mere rags. He now wore a clean grey shirt under a black jacket, some jeans and new steel toed boots. His sword, usually strapped across his back, was currently resting beside him.
"It's your responsibility to participate in job requests as a member of the guild!" Erza persisted.
"And your incessant whining isn't helping my attitude," Kazuki mumbled.
"Don't backchat me!" she snapped.
"And if I don't care?" Kazuki asked.
Erza equipped out a sword. Kazuki grabbed his own and was about to draw it when Mira showed up and said, "Well, well, well. Looks like the lovebirds are about to have a lover's quarrel!"
Both turned to Mira and shouted, "WE'RE NOT LOVEBIRDS!"
"You wanna die, Mira?!" Erza challenged.
"Ha! Like you could kill me!" Mira sneered.
Kazuki took this moment and snuck away from them, silently thanking Mira for her timely arrival. Unfortunately, Fate decided he wasn't done yet.
"Skyro!" Laxus' voice came from somewhere behind him.
Kazuki didn't turn around. Instead, he picked up his pace.
"Hey! Don't ignore me, Damn it!" Laxus shouted and punched Kazuki in the head. Kazuki grunted as he flew into a table. Coincidently, Natsu and Gray were sitting at this particular table and were about to start another fight.
"Kazuki!" Natsu said cheerfully. "Hey, Gray! Forget our fight! Let's you and me beat the crap out of Kazuki first! Then we can beat each other up later!"
"You know, two days ago I might of told you to buzz off," Gray commented offhandedly. "But now, I'm more than happy to oblige!" Both guys grinned as they tried to punch Kazuki in the gut but Kazuki flipped away from them.
Unfortunately, Kazuki landed and hit another Mage in the back. Soon after, the guild erupted into a massive fistfight. Kazuki dodged a punch and quickly ran for cover behind the bar. He peaked over and began watching the chaos.
Unknown to him, Makarov was standing behind him, slowly growing bigger as he activated his Titan Magic.
Kazuki watched as Mira and Erza's fight escalated into using their magic. Kazuki gaped at Mira's transformation. He hadn't seen her magic before, so he was kind of freaked out she transformed into a freaking demon!
Erza had Requiped into a full suit of armour, as opposed to her usual breastplate. It looked like a full suit of knight armour, save for the Fairy Tail symbol on the breastplate. Kazuki watched, amazed at Erza's sword skills. Not because she was good. From what he could tell, she was self-taught in the art of the sword. Even with Skyrologia's teachings, he wasn't THAT good!
'Maybe I should spar with her sometime,' he thought. 'Perfect my sword skills.'
"Mira-nee!" Lisanna cried. "Please, stop fighting!"
"Get out of the way, Lisanna! I need to teach this pompous little knight-wannabe some manners!" Mira snarled.
"Oh, like you can talk about manners!" Erza snarled back. She raced forward but was stopped by Elfman. "Outta the way, Elfman!"
"No! You need to stop fighting now!" Elfman told her, sending a fearful look towards the bar.
Why was he looking so fearful this way, Kazuki wondered. But before he could ponder further, a crash caught his attention.
"Get outta the way, Laxus!" Natsu yelled.
"Sorry, no can do, Natsu!" Laxus yelled back.
"SHUT UP, YOU BRATS!" Makarov's Titan enhanced voice boomed around the Guild.
Kazuki winced at the volume, as it was right behind him. He was very freaked out that he didn't even sense the man's presence!
"NOW TELL ME WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS!" Makarov boomed again.
Like Moses came and parted the Red Sea, the guild moved away to reveal Laxus, Natsu, Gray, Erza, Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna. All looked very fearful of the Master, even Laxus, who had never seen his grandfather this angry.
"WELL, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELVES?!" Makarov demanded.
Erza gulped. She looked at her fellow guild mates and in unison, the seven accused shouted, "It's Kazuki's fault!"
"Wait… WHAT?!" Kazuki shouted.
"ALL OF YOU BRATS IN MY OFFICE NOW!" Makarov shouted, leaving no room for discussion.
Seconds later, the group of eight were seated in front of Makarov's desk. All of them had a resigned look on their faces. Well, except for Kazuki. He was irritated for being dragged into this mess.
"Now, what happened?" Makarov asked sternly. But to Kazuki, it sounded more like a demand.
"I'm sorry things escalated the way they did, Master," Erza said emotionlessly. "I was trying to persuade Kazuki to take a job request and it went downhill from there."
Man, she could pull off the emotionless droid routine well, Kazuki observed. Makarov turned and looked at Kazuki. "Care to explain?"
Kazuki gulped at the stern glance he was receiving and absently wondered if Makarov took classes with Skyrologia on how to make you feel uncomfortable with just a glance. He shrugged slightly and said, "Well, sir, Erza here was badgering me, trying to take a job request. I refused and we started to argue."
"And how do the rest fit into this?" Makarov asked, looking at the Strauss siblings, Natsu and Gray and Laxus.
Mira looked to him and said, "Don't blame my siblings, Master. They were only trying to stop Erza and myself from fighting when we started our daily fights."
"Me and Gray were trying to beat some sense into Kazuki," Natsu said, slightly pale.
"'Gray and I', idiot," Gray whispered to the pinkette.
Laxus stayed quiet but Makarov was sure he knew the teen's reason.
He sighed tiredly. "Well, it occurs to me that you brats are lacking in a very fundamental aspect."
"And what's that?" Laxus asked snidely.
"Cooperation, teamwork and trust," Makarov told them. "Without these things, Fairy Tail wouldn't be the successful guild it is."
Laxus snorted. "Yeah, right," he whispered.
"Whether or not you believe that is your choice, Laxus," Makarov said, making Laxus' eye twitch. "The crux of the matter is that the eight of you need to learn how to work together."
"And how do you plan to do that?" Erza asked politely.
"You know, it occurs to me that we recently received a job request that asked for a small group of exceptional Mages to track down and apprehend a dangerous criminal," Makarov said cheerfully with an evil grin on his face.
Mira and Kazuki were the ones who got it first. "Y…You don't mean…" Mira asked.
"And it just so happens that you eight just volunteered to take it on," he continued, completely ignoring Mira's question. "Now, the train leaves in thirty minutes. I'm sure if you guys hurry, you'll be done with the job and back at the guild before dinner! Good luck!"
Finally, it dawned on the other six. They all paled. "WHAT?!" they screamed in unison.
Kazuki groaned. "This day can't get any worse," he grumbled.
"NO! No way in hell! Ain't no way on God's green earth am I getting on THAT… THING!" Kazuki exclaimed.
If being forced into doing a job with Natsu, Erza, Laxus and the Princess wasn't bad enough, NOW they wanted him to board a train! No WAY was he getting on that demonic beast from hell!
"I agree with Kazuki! I ain't doin' it!" Natsu added.
"You'll do it and you'll like it," Mira growled.
"Wow, I didn't know you were chicken, Skyro," Laxus sneered, a dark chuckle escaping his lips.
"What'd you call me, scarface?" Kazuki growled.
"Please! Don't fight!" Lisanna protested weakly.
"Yes. Please, let's just get this over with," Elfman said diplomatically.
"I ain't riding that monstrosity!" Kazuki repeated. "I'd much sooner run there." 'Or fly but that'll take up too much magic.'
"Just get on the damn train!" Mira shouted.
"No, I will NOT, Princess!" Kazuki shouted back. "You know what? Forget it! I'll take whatever the old man can give me! Spending a day with you ain't worth the agony!" He turned to leave but was immediately smacked in the back of the head and he fell to the ground, out cold.
Erza looked to Gray. "Well? Drag him onto the train!" she ordered.
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Gray stuttered and grabbed the young Dragon Slayer's legs and commenced to dragging him.
Laxus laughed, along with Mira. "Nice one, Ginger!" Mira said.
Erza turned to glare at her but saw Natsu trying to sneak away. "Hey! Who said you could leave?!"
"Agghhh! Someone save me!" Natsu screamed as Erza grabbed him by his scarf and dragged him onto the train. Mira and Laxus continued to laugh.
"Wow, I never took you to suffer from motion sickness, Skyro," Laxus mocked.
"I-I'm not sick," Kazuki growled. The train hit another bump and he bit his lip to stop a groan from escaping.
"Ah, could've fooled us," Mira purred.
"Screw you."
"Oh, I'm sure you want to but you aren't my type," Mira cooed.
"Really? I didn't know hags had a type. Glad I ain't it," Kazuki ground out.
Erza laughed out loud. Laxus chuckled as well while Mira turned red. "You wanna die, punk?!" she shouted. She turned to Erza and asked, "And what are you laughing at, fire crotch?!"
"What'd you call me?!" Erza shouted.
"Like you could kill me," Kazuki muttered as his stomach made a noise.
"Aw, stomach not agreeing with ya?" Laxus asked.
"It's i-indigestion, dumbass," Kazuki denied.
"Really doesn't look like it," Laxus grinned.
"Wow. Sykro looks as pathetic as this guy," Gray commented, kicking Natsu's leg.
"I-I could use a-a barf bag," Natsu mumbled.
"Hang in there, Natsu," Lisanna said to him.
"Hey, guys," Elfman spoke up, "Just how are we going to find this guy the Master wants us to find?"
"Well," Lisanna threw in, "Natsu once told me that Dragon Slayers have heightened senses. Maybe Kazuki and Natsu and track him?"
Mira leered down at Kazuki. "That works. How about it, doggy? You gonna be our blood hound or what?"
"Is the hag still talking?" Kazuki snarled.
"Shut it, dragon boy!"
Elfman sighed. Looks like they would be doing this all the way there, he figured.
He wasn't wrong, either. Even after they disembarked, they didn't stop arguing. They almost scared off the client when they met him. Elfman wasn't a violent person by any means but he was starting to get irritated. Lisanna looked at him in trepidation.
"Elf-nii," Lisanna began, "Are they ever going to stop fighting?"
Elfman shook his head. "I'm not sure, Lisanna," he said, watching the fight escalate. "I'm not sure."
"And are you going to do about it, Princess?!" Kazuki demanded.
"How about I rip your balls off for a start!" she growled.
"Oh, God, please stop! This got boring three hours ago!" Laxus complained.
"I think they're too far gone," Gray commented.
"Gray, you stupid stripper! Put your clothes back on!"
"Damn it!"
Erza was out in front, her eye twitching badly. As the arguing grew again, she turned around and shouted, "ENOUGH! We have a job to do! Yes! We DON'T GET ALONG! We may even hate each other! But let's worry about that AFTER we finish the job request! Arguing is just going to get us hurt or worse!"
She finished and breathed in heavily. Everyone looked at her in astonishment. They all stared slack jawed at the breathless redhead.
For a brief and scary second, Elfman thought they were about to start arguing again. He heard Mira sigh. "Fine," she ground out, like it was very unpleasant to agree with Erza.
Laxus snorted. "Whatever."
Kazuki looked at Erza long and hard for a moment. Finally, he nodded and said, "Sure."
Natsu and Gray were quick to agree. Erza smiled. "Great. Now let's find this guy!"
Kazuki looked at the abandoned building with an uneasy feeling.
If there was one thing he learned, it was abandoned buildings were your best friend… or your worst enemy. Most times, they were good for getting away from the elements but there were times that they were occupied by gangs or other sorts of criminals. Kazuki learned the hard way that if a building seemed questionable as whether it was truly abandoned or not, don't go in it.
And now, here he was, going into a questionable building, with seven other people he barely knew, not knowing if he was leading them into a horrible trap or not.
He was leading, with Laxus and Mira behind him, Lisanna and Elfman next, with Natsu, Gray and Erza bringing up the rear. He chose this particular arrangement because if just by biased opinion and what he's already seen of them, Mira, Laxus and Gray were long ranged fighters. Natsu, he knew, was a Dragon Slayer so having one in the back and one in the front balanced out the long range and melee ratio, as Erza was a swordswoman. Elfman and Lisanna didn't seem to be big fighters in his opinion so he left them in the middle, easily defensible, easily accessible to either the front or back team.
He walked through two large double doors and stared into the room. It was empty. He led them into the room slowly. Once Erza was in, he closed the door.
"So our target is in an old opera house?" Gray asked.
"Oh joy. I've always wanted to go to an opera," Mira said sarcastically.
"Don't knock it 'till you try it," Kazuki mumbled. "It's actually pretty good."
"Wait… You've been to an opera?" Laxus asked incredulously.
"I've stayed in a few opera houses before and watched some performances," Kazuki said dismissively. "You tend to pick up a few things when you're on your own. Even if it's as off the wall as opera."
"After Skyrologia left you, right?" Natsu asked. He knew all too well the pain of being left behind by your pseudo parent and the time wandering around, lost and alone.
At least until he met up with Makarov.
"And for a time before that. I was an orphan for as long as I can remember," Kazuki said as he started down the main aisle between the seats. "But I vaguely remember having a younger sister and brother."
The statement hung in the air for a while as the group followed him down, each lost in their own thoughts.
Natsu felt bad for Kazuki. Really, he wasn't an orphan before he met Igneel but he didn't remember his parents at all. Sometimes, he'd see glimpses of them when he slept. A hug here… A warm, flashing smile there… but he could never make out their faces or any other discernible features.
Gray understood what it meant to be an orphan. He lost his parents to Deliora. The loneliness was crushing. If it wasn't for Ur and Lyon, he would've been lost in that crushing darkness.
Still, to not even know your own parents… and then to have your adoptive father disappear…
The Strauss siblings were quiet. They, being orphans themselves, felt bad for him. Lisanna more so because she didn't know her parents before they died. But even then, she had her big brother and sister with her. The pain wasn't as bad. But it was still hard to see someone who didn't even have that. Mira and Elfman suddenly felt grateful that they had the memories of their parents and had their sister with them.
Laxus was the most stoic out of the group. But he did come to find he respected Skyro a bit more. You had to be strong to deal with loneliness on a daily basis like that.
Erza, on the other hand, felt her insides twist violently. She had only become an orphan after the Dark Guild which was trying to recreate the R-System killed her parents. Then after Jellal exiled her from the island, the pain was unbearable. She couldn't see how anyone could stand it. She stared at Kazuki and wondered how he dealt with it.
Kazuki and Natsu stopped. They tilted their heads to the side and Erza asked, "What's wrong now?"
"I hear footsteps," Kazuki stated.
"And… clapping," Natsu finished.
Kazuki turned to the stage and watched as a man, about late twenties or early thirties in age, walk onto the stage and take a seat on one of the abandoned chairs scattered around the broken stage.
He wore a solid black gi with gold accents and had platinum blonde hair. His gold eyes stared at the eight kids in undisguised humor. He tossed a dark, evil smirk at them. "Well, well, it would seem that Rita believed me to be less of a threat than I am by sending children to beat me. I must say, I am not sure I should be honored or insulted."
Laxus growled, not liking that this magicless loser. "You SHOULD feel honored. Fairy Tail Mages don't usually waste their time with worthless little twits like yourself," he said arrogantly.
The man seemed amused. Well, more than when he showed up. "Fairy Tail, huh? Interesting. I remember a mage from that particular guild," he mused. "Gildarts, I think his name was. Now he was a worthy opponent. Do you think you children can match a man who is known as the Ace of Fairy Tail?"
Mira made an unlady like snort. "Please, old man, you think you can beat the eight of us by yourself? I'll admit, being able to fight Gildarts on equal footing is impressive but we are eight of Fairy Tail's best Mages! There's no way you can win!"
"Then please, try and prove yourselves, young Mages!" the man said calmly. "I wish to see how well you all measure up to Gildarts."
Kazuki was about to warn them not to take the bait but Laxus had already dematerialized into a bolt of lightning and rematerialized behind the man. He went to throw a lightning encased fist at the man but the black clad man turned faster than anyone could perceive and sent a straight roundhouse kick to Laxus' gut.
Laxus gasped at the sudden pain and was sent flying back into the curtains, further ripping the already moth eaten fabric. "Joudan Sokutou Geri," the man muttered.
"You bastard!" Natsu roared as he jumped into the air.
"Natsu, no!" Kazuki shouted but it was no use. Natsu was already in the air and falling towards the man. The man smirked at Natsu and muttered, "Shouryuuken."
The man jumped up and landed a rising uppercut to Natsu's stomach. The salmon haired youth gasped and flew into the rafters. He crashed into one and the whole building shook.
Erza took this time to charge in. "You scoundrel!" she snarled and Requipped a sword into her hand.
"Erza, stop!" Kazuki tried to call out to her but she was already bolting down the stairs to the stage. He cursed and ran down as well, the others following closely behind.
"Ice Make: Lance!" Gray shouted and several spears of ice jetted towards the unnamed man.
The man smirked and dodged every single lance, never once moving from his an ice lance shot towards his foot, he simply lifted his foot up. By this point, Mira was on top of him and was in her demon form. Her hands were cupped at her sides and surrounded by dark energy. She thrust her hands forward and shouted, "Evil Explosion!"
Black energy erupted from her hands and tore up the ground where the man stood. But the man jumped out of the smoke and landed a kick to the side of Mira's head. She grunted and flew straight into the seats.
"Mira-nee!" Lisanna shouted as she rushed to her sister's side.
Kazuki jumped towards the stage, drawing his sword, Tyrfing. He swung down at the man, intending to wound him enough that they could win but the man calmly raised his forearm and stopped the blade cold. The man's arm wasn't even hurt. Kazuki gasped at the lack of cutting.
"Tyrfing," the man stated. "The blade hailed for its ability to never miss its target… at the cost of the wielder's life. And yet, you are not dead yet. Why is that?"
Kazuki couldn't stop the smirk that made its way to his face. "'Cos my good luck trumps this sword's curse!" he proclaimed as he raised his sword again.
"Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku," the man murmured again. Without warning, he jumped into the air and began spinning. His legs shot out and nearly took Kazuki's head off. Kazuki ducked and rolled under him. By the time he was on his feet, Laxus was up and sent a lightning enchased fist at the man.
The man responded by cupping his hands, making them resemble a crane's beak and ducked under Laxus' fist when he overreached. With surgical precision, the man struck several points on Laxus' body, sending the blonde mage flying again. But this time, Laxus dematerialized into lightning and appeared elsewhere on the stage.
"Water Dragon's Cyclone Fist!" Kazuki yelled and threw a water enchased fist at the man but he ducked under it and punched the Dragon Slayer in the head, sending him back a few feet.
Erza struck at the man with a fierce downward swing. He dodged effortlessly and threw a hard right hook at her face. She brought her blade up to defend. He lashed out with a roundhouse kick but Kazuki appeared and held off the kick with the flat of his blade. The two looked at each other and nodded. By an unspoken agreement, they began attacking the man, swords flashing through the air.
Elfman stood by Lisanna as she checked on Mirajane. He knew he wasn't much help in this fight so he decided to see if he couldn't find something that could help everyone else. This person was familiar. Elfman couldn't place it but he knew he saw this guy somewhere before.
Mira shook her head and growled. "That punk! I'm gonna rip his…"
"Mira-nee," Elfman called out, making Mira look at him. "Doesn't that guy look familiar?"
Mira looked at her brother dubiously. She narrowed her eyes at the man. Yes. He did look familiar. Especially the dark red hair and and dark eyes…
Mira gasped in terror and her eyes widened in panic. She placed a hand over her mouth and actively tried to crawl away.
"Mira-nee?" Lisanna asked, beginning to worry about her sister's moment of vulnerability.
"I-It's him," she whispered hoarsely.
"Yes," the man's voice resounded. He kicked both Erza, Gray (with an ice sword he conjured up) and Kazuki away and turned to the Strauss siblings. "It is I, little Mira-chan." He smiled at her. "It has been a long time, hasn't it, little she-devil."
Tears fell down Mira's cheeks as she relived a part of her childhood. Her face twisted into a menacing snarl as she shot forward with a loud scream of, "HĒI GUĀNG!"
She reappeared before him and began striking blindly. He was grinning as he dodged her wild attacks. He struck her several times but nothing slowed her down. She continued on in a raging fury. Kazuki then noticed her breathing was beginning to become heavier and shorter.
"Mirajane! You need to calm down! He's goading you! He's gonna…"
It was too late. Guāng lashed out with a hard fist to her chest, breaking her ribs. She gasped in pain and he grabbed her by her hair. She cried out as he pulled her up and said, "Now, kiddies! Don't move or I show you how to remove a head with just your bare hands."
They all stopped moving. Gray snarled as he relaxed his Ice Make stance but didn't move out of it. Laxus gritted his teeth and moved away from where he was about to launch a lightning bolt at Guāng. Erza stiffened but otherwise dropped her sword but she kept close to the ground in case she got an opportunity to grab it again.
Kazuki was the only one who didn't move out of his fighting stance. "What do you want?" he demanded.
"Nothing you could offer me," Guāng replied. "But if you all could do me a favor, I might let little Mira-chan go."
"Don't listen to him!" Mira snarled. "You'll be playing into his little game! He WANTS you to leave! He…" She cried out when he pulled her hair again.
"Now, Mira-chan," he admonished calmly, like a father reprimanding a child, "You know it's not proper for a young woman to interrupt a conversation. What would your parents think?"
"I wouldn't know! YOU killed them, remember?" Mira screamed. Lisanna gasped and placed a hand over her mouth. Elfman growled under his breath. He knew this man was familiar.
Guāng heard them and turned his head. "Oh, Elf-chan," he said in the calm voice. "You've grown into a fine gentleman. And the mini Mira-chan must be…"
"Touch her, I'll kill you!" Mira screeched as she thrashed around violently.
"Ah, yes. Lisanna-chan!" he said. "My my, how you've grown."
"I mean it, Guāng!" Mira insisted. "I'll kill you if you touch her! I'll rip your entrails out and strangle you with them! I'll floss my teeth with your spine! I'll burn your insides and watch you spontaneously combust!"
"Such vulgar language," Guāng murmured.
"It's a hell of a lot better than you deserve," Laxus sneered.
"Perhaps," Guāng conceded. "But the fact remains that I have a hostage. So do you want to hear my proposal…"
"Not gonna happen, Hong Kong Phooey!" a voice shouted from the rafters. Everyone looked up and saw Natsu falling fast. "You can take your proposal…" he shouted and slammed a fire enchased fist into the man's shocked face. "…and shove it up your ass!"
Guāng grunted and loosened his death grip on Mira's hair. Mira turned and lashed out with a kick to Guāng's stomach. He grunted again and was sent flying off the stage.
"Natsu!" Lisanna shouted happily.
"Come on, guys!" Natsu shouted. "This weirdo's been kicking our butts and he's got no magic! We're stronger than this loser! We're Fairy Tail mages! And we don't give up!"
Not much of an inspirational speech… but it's a start, Kazuki thought. "He's right. We have the ability to beat him but alone, we will lose."
"Are you suggesting we work as a team?" Gray asked.
Kazuki shrugged. "That's why Jiji gave us this mission, right? Plus, we've already tried beating him alone. Let's see how far we get working together."
"Kazuki's right," Erza said, picking up her sword. "This might be our only chance to get out of here with our lives. This man has made it clear he can and will kill us."
Mira snarled wordlessly. "As long as no one has any qualms about me ripping his fucking limbs off, I'll be content."
Laxus would be lying if this Mira wasn't turning him on. "Please, be our guest," he said.
They nodded to each other and turned their attention to Guāng. He was dusting himself off and was walking towards the stage. "Do you children honestly think you can win?" he scoffed. "You've already lost to me. What makes you think this next bout will be any different?"
"'Cos now we're about to show you what Fairy Tail mages can do!" Natsu shouted as he lit his hands on fire.
"Guys," Kazuki whispered to everyone. "I have a plan. An attack I think will work. But I need you guys to distract this guy while I concentrate."
"Some super secret Dragon Slaying move?" Erza asked.
"More or less."
"How long?"
"Only about two to three minutes."
"Then we can double that." Erza made some hand motions to the others. They nodded and took off running. Laxus charged up a bolt of lightning and shouted, "Raging Bolt!" The bolt streaked towards Guāng but he simply deflected with with the palm of his hand.
Gray and Erza raced towards him with their swords and struck. He dodged the blades but Mira appeared flying above them and shot dark energy bullets at him. Laxus appeared behind him and began shooting lightning.
While they tried to hit Guāng, Kazuki took a deep breath. Skyrologia warned him never to do this technique often, as it would put a terrible strain on his magic. But right now, he needed something unpredictable.
This certainly counted.
"Element Dragon's Sacred Art: Element Roulette: Wind," he mumbled and felt his magic change violently. He gritted his teeth and rode through the pain. Once it died down, he grinned. He put Tyrfing down and jumped into the air. He concentrated on the winds and chanted, "Winds of the North, Winds of the South! Come to me and eliminate my enemies!" Wind spun around his arms in never ending cyclones. He looked down at his friends and said, "Get away! Wind Dragon's… Raging Twister!"
He threw the violent winds down. The Fairy Tail mages looked up and gaped at the spell. Quickly, they jumped away from Guāng. Said martial artist looked up and saw the attack baring down on him. It hit with a loud BANG!
Kazuki landed at the edge of the stage and surveyed his handiwork. Everyone was staring at him with wide eyes as he grinned and said, "And the rest, as they say… is silence!" He bowed at the waist.
"W-What the? How the…?" Laxus tried asking but he couldn't find the words.
"But… But how can you use TWO Dragon Slaying magics?" Natsu shouted.
Kazuki grinned sheepishly. "Well, Skyrologia IS the Element Dragon Slayer, after all," he explained.
They all looked at him for a moment, mulling over his statement. Before they could freak out, they all heard Mira scream, "Where the hell'd he go?!"
They all turned to see the dust had settled and Guāng was no where to be found. They panicked and began frantically searching for the man. Kazuki turned around and saw a piece of paper held to Guāng's chair by a dagger. Curious, he walked over to it and took the paper.
It read:
You fought bravely and I must admit, I didn't see that last attack coming. But you all still are too inexperienced to defeat me.
'Till the next we meet,
Hēi Guāng
"That little son of a bitch!" Kazuki shouted, shocking everybody with his outburst.
The group of eight walked down Magnolia's main street towards Fairy Tail in subdued silence. They failed. They didn't complete the job, and it hit every one of their egos hard, Kazuki more so as it was his first job.
Rita, their client, was sympathetic with them. She knew they would be dealing with someone from the Black Sun, a group of non-magicals who existed to destroy magic but she never expected them to face its leader. She gave them the full amount for the mission for their troubles, much to their protests (they failed after all) but she wouldn't let them leave until they took the money.
Kazuki fidgeted in place as they walked. He groaned loudly. Erza stared at him. "What's your problem?" she asked irritably. She was still upset about failing the job.
"It's not my fault!" Kazuki complained. "This happens every time I switch elements!"
"Every time?" Natsu asked. "You've done it before?"
Kazuki nodded. "Skyrologia is the Element Dragon. He can use every natural element there is and he taught me how to switch elements. I use water the most because it's most comfortable to me."
"Why?" Laxus asked, genuinely curious.
"Because it's painful to forcibly change your own element," Kazuki explained. "Not to mention the fact that once I change it, the sudden influx of magic affects me physically. Like right now, with wind as my element, it's affecting my metabolism and my mind. Wind is a very carefree element that doesn't like being contained or being inactive. As such, switching to said element kinda makes me feel the same way as well."
"That's gotta be annoying," Gray commented.
"You have NO idea," the Element Dragon Slayer moaned. "Last time I switched elements, I somehow nearly became the princess of Fiore's betrothed."
"Wait, what?" Laxus couldn't help but ask, an evil smirk on his face.
"I had switched to fire to deal with a some forest demon and didn't switch back," Kazuki went on. "Fire, as Natsu here can tell you, is a passionate element that is quick to temper and not good with patience. Well, long story short, I was in Coccus and somehow ended up in the castle and met the princess. Her mother actually did have the the betrothal contract written out. I'm glad that Skyrologia wasn't there or else he really would've signed it."
Natsu laughed. "Wow, your luck is terrible! What did the king say?"
Kazuki shuddered. "Trust me Natsu, as a fellow Dragon Slayer, you DON'T want to know."
"You okay, Mira-nee?" Lisanna asked, breaking through their conversation.
"I'm fine," Mira mumbled."Mira-nee, it's okay…" Elfman tried but Mira interrupted him.
"I SAID I WAS FINE!" she shouted.
"You certainly don't sound like it," Erza snarked.
Mira turned to Erza but Kazuki decided to stop the fight before it started. "Cool it, you two. Mira, I understand if the situation back at the opera house spooked you. You don't have to talk about it but I would suggest you not take your frustration out on everybody."
Mira stared at the green haired youth a second. She responded, "His name is Hēi Guāng. He and his wife were close to our parents and I considered them family." Her expression darkened. "He's the one who killed my parents because they could wield magic. He's… He's also the one who sicced the local demon on my siblings and myself. That's when I gained my Take Over Magic."
The others were stunned to silence. Natsu shook his head and said angrily, "We'll destroy him next time!"
"Natsu," Lisanna said softly.
"Next time, I'm going to rip his legs off so he CAN'T run away," Mira growled.
"Well, that's later in life," Kazuki said as he came to a stop. The Fairy Tail guildhall stood ominously in front of them. "We're back."
"So," Makarov said from behind his desk, "You fought the leader of a guild that wants to get rid of magic, failed to apprehend him, got paid the full amount of the job anyway and now you're here."
They all nodded solemnly. Kazuki was gritting his teeth, furious with himself at failing to complete the job. 'And my first one at that,' he thought glumly.
Makarov nodded thoughtfully. "Well, Hēi Guāng is a tough opponent to beat," he said. "But the fact remains that… YOU FAILED!"
"Please Master," Erza pleaded. "We tried our hardest! And we worked together! Isn't that what you wanted?!"
"But you eight did so out of necessity instead of a desire to," Makarov gathered. "As such, you failed. Miserably, I might add."
"Give us another chance!" Lisanna pleaded. She didn't want the Master to be upset with them.
Makarov looked at them for a moment. "I think…" Makarov said finally. "That I have a solution."
The house was a wreck.
That's all Natsu could say about it. He and Kazuki looked at each other and asked the same question, "We your demo crew now?" Not that Natsu minded. He would love to set fire to the structural hazard.
Makarov grinned sinisterly but he said nothing and simply walked in. The eight followed uncertainly. "This building used to be the male dorms for Fairy Tail," the third Guild master explained. "It's been condemned for years after some friends and I started the worst fight in Fairy Tail history." He chuckled at that. "Why, just breathing on the columns might cause the whole building to collapse!"
"Then why are we here?" Laxus sneered.
Makarov turned and they all saw an evil grin on his face. "As of today, you eight shall be living here!"
It took a full fifteen seconds for the eight to process what the diminutive guild master had said. It took another five to sink in and another five for them to turn white as sheets. "WHAT?!"
Makarov grinned wider. "That's right! As of today, I am assigning you eight to stay here, clean it up, fix it up and stay here for the duration of your time as members of Fairy Tail!"
"Surely you can't be serious!" Kazuki shouted.
"I am serious and don't call me Shirley," Makarov said. "You eight need to learn teamwork and how to work with each other. And this is how you're going to do it, whether you guys like it or not."
"Bu…" Gray stuttered but Makarov went on.
"You WILL stay here and you WILL like it," Makarov ordered sternly. Then he smiled sweetly, "Your sleeping bags are in the corner. Have a nice night!" He took off running towards the guild at a high rate of speed.
The eight were left standing in the entryway of a condemned building gaping at where their master once stood. Kazuki summed up their situation in one word.
"Crap!"
An: Yes, I borrowed a few techniques from Street Fighter (btw, I don't own that, either), but I thought that a warrior like Hēi Guāng needed some powerful martial arts moves since he doesn't have magic himself.