Chapter 2: The Fox's Tail
"Oh man," Mikado said, worried. "Is she going to be alright?" The three mages were taking a horse-drawn cart through the countryside to Acaciawood, the town that officially housed the Fox Tail guild, and Kohaku was laid-out flat, moaning in nausea and discomfort.
"Yeah," Buddy reassured him. "Kohaku's tough. She may be down, but she'd never let these evil vehicles defeat her!" Mikado took a second look at the girl, at the moment the most haggard mess he had ever seen.
"This is undefeated?" he asked. "No wait, that isn't the thing I should be asking about – what do you mean evil?"
Kohaku groaned, catching the boys' attention as she tried to pull herself up to a sitting position with her shaky arms. "It's like Buddy said," she explained, putting on a brave face as she fought against the sloshing in her stomach. "Every time I get on a moving vehicle, my tummy gets really, really, icky…" Any façade of strength she had put on dissolved as she suddenly fought back the urge to vomit, yet she swallowed hard and continued. "And as soon as I get off, the icky feeling goes away. But every time I get on another moving vehicle – a carriage, boat, whatever – it comes right back. It can't be… urp… a coincidence. Therefore, the moving vehicles are all conspiring against me…" A fresh wave of nausea cut her off and she collapsed again.
"That's ridiculous," Mikado pointed out.
"Well, that's what… urp… Buddy told me…"
Mikado sighed and leaned back. "You sure put a lot of trust in that cat, don't you?" he asked.
"I have to…" Kohaku replied, rubbing her stomach. "Buddy's… the only one I've had… to help me… for twelve years…"
"Twelve years?" Mikado asked. He leaned in closer, both because Kohaku's voice was getting faint and because he really wanted to hear this.
"Yeah…" Kohaku began to reminisce. "In my oldest memories… it was just me and Papa… Papa taught me everything…. He taught me how to… survive in our caves, where water was, how to find tasty gems and food, how to read and write, even a little bit about the outside… We… always stayed in the cave… Then one day, when I was five years old, Papa disappeared… I looked everywhere for him… I thought we were playing hide-and-seek at first… Then one day I understood… Papa wasn't coming back… I was all alone for two years…" She suddenly found herself fighting back not just the urge to vomit, but the urge to cry as well.
"But then, as I was wandering around the cave… I found this egg… I don't know where it came from… There was a crack in the ceiling, so maybe… But then the egg hatched, and out came this… little kitten… He was my new buddy, so I named him Buddy… We've been together ever since… I taught Buddy everything Papa taught me… He'd never eat his crystals though… Then one day Buddy thought we should go outside and look for Papa… and that's what we did… Buddy's really smart though, so whenever I don't know what to do or don't understand something, I can always count on him…"
"I see," Mikado said. So this cat's been carrying that burden for twelve years now… I guess that explains it. He looked up to survey their environment. The open fields had been replaced by the thick foliage of the Acacia Forest some time ago, and he was recognizing a lot of landmarks now. "Well, you won't have to worry about those kinds of things much longer. We're almost there now."
No sooner had he said that then the cart came to a halt and Kohaku's stomach settled down. She struggled to her feet and looked up in wonder. Before them was a giant tree, taller than any building Kohaku had ever seen. It easily outstripped the other trees in terms of height, leaving them looking like mere bushes in comparison. On closer inspection, Kohaku noticed that several knots had been hollowed out and replaced with windows, and a large door had been cut into the trunk. Above this was a massive sign bearing both the guild mark and the name "Fox Tail." Within the massive branches Kohaku could make out several tree houses, connected by a network of rope bridges, and hidden in the shadow of the tree was a small stone shack. The girl could only stare in wonder as Mikado helped her down from the cart.
"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" Mikado asked. "I know the guild is officially listed as part of Acaciawood, but the Mistress is a real nature lover. She believes that it's from the natural world that we derive magic, so she wanted to have the guild itself be one with the earth. Or that's what I've heard, anyway."
"Woooow!" Kohaku breathed. "It's so pretty."
"And it's got tree houses!" Buddy cried as he spread his wings. "This is gonna be a blast!"
"I hear that! C'mon Mikado, let's go inside!" With that, the dragon slayer led the charge into the guild.
"W-wait! Kohaku!" Mikado yelled after her. "Ah, what's the use…?"
Kohaku threw open the doors in excitement and delight, a smile on her face like a kid in a candy shop. She drank in the sight of the guild. The bar, stairs, tables, and the request board had all been carved out of the trunk of the giant tree – likely by magic – and sunlight streamed in through the windows, leaving the room bright and cheery. Vines snaked their way up the railings of the stairs and along parts of the wall. And there were all sorts of people in the guild: young and old, men and women, dark and fair – Kohaku even saw a child running around. The boy, about ten years old by the looks of him, had scruffy red hair and wore a brown aviator's jacket, goggles, a navy-blue shirt, black pants, and hiking boots. He charged around the guild, watched from a safe distance by another little boy of the same age, who had shoulder-length black hair and glasses, and was dressed in a robe and boots. The second boy, in contrast to the first, was sitting quietly reading a book, titled Magical Theory vol. 2, glancing up occasionally to observe the first. The red-head stopped suddenly and turned to Kohaku, a curious look on his face.
"Hey aneki!" he shouted. "Who are you?"
Kohaku looked around in confusion. Who's he talking to? she wondered. And why is he asking their name if he already knows it's "Aneki?"
"He's talking to you, onee-san," the dark-haired boy quietly pointed out, glancing up from his book.
Okay, now who's "Onee-san?" Kohaku thought. This is all really confusing…
"Okay, I can see where this is going," Mikado interrupted. "Give her some space kids, she's kinda new… In a lot of ways…"
"Is she a new member aniki?" the red-head asked loudly. Before Mikado could respond, the boy interrupted again. "Hey, aneki, you wanna see my guild mark!?" he asked, a big, toothy grin on his face.
"Okay that's it! Beat it rugrat!" Mikado growled.
"Uh… who's 'Aneki?'" Kohaku asked. "And who's 'Aniki?'"
Mikado sighed. "You're 'aneki' and I'm 'aniki.'"
"But I'm Kohaku, and you're Mikado."
"Those must be codenames," Buddy explained. "After all, Mikado's a spy, remember."
"Oh yeah!" Kohaku gasped. "I totally forgot!"
"Makes sense, right?"
"Geez, is every conversation with you going to be like this?" Mikado sighed in exasperation, pushing Kohaku along. "Anyway, let's get you out of here before Cass decides to show you his guild mark anyway."
"Why?" Kohaku asked. "What's wrong with his guild mark? Why can't I see it?" As if to answer her question, the red-headed child, Cass, quickly did an about-face and dropped his drawers, wearing that same grin the whole time. Kohaku just stared in shock.
"And that's why."
"Whoa, hey there!" another voice called to them. Kohaku averted her gaze from the mark-in-the-moon and looked up to see another wizard, the same age as Mikado. This young man had dark skin, short black hair, and a pair of round shades hiding his eyes. He was dressed in a short-sleeve shirt, slacks, and sandals and bore a friendly, confident smile. "Is Cass giving you a hard time?" the young man asked. He turned to the boy with the book. "Hey Paul!" The boy looked up. "Do me a favor and control your bother will you?" He turned to Kohaku and smiled at her. "'Bother,' get it? Because their twins, and he's a pain in the ass." He smiled again. "Hey! Or is he a pain in the Cass? Because…"
"We get it," Mikado interrupted. "And nobody's laughing because your jokes aren't funny, Rashid." Kohaku burst into gales of loud laughter. Mikado and Rashid both stared at her.
"'Control your bother!'" she laughed hysterically. "'Pain in the Cass!' That's hilarious!"
"Wow," Rashid murmured. "I like this girl already. You mind if I spend some time with your girlfriend here, Miki-kun?" he asked with a sly smile.
"By all means, take her, please," Mikado groaned. "And she's not my girlfriend, she's a new recruit." Rashid's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Oh, really?" he asked. He put one arm around Kohaku's shoulder. "Well, then, I guess I gotta do my job and take you on the official tour of the guild, huh little lady?"
"Yeah, you go do that," Mikado grumbled as he turned to leave. "I've gotta go talk to the Mistress anyhow." And with that, the two groups were off, Mikado going one way, and Kohaku, Rashid, and Buddy going the other (though Mikado needed to point Buddy in the right direction first).
"So is 'Little Lady' my new codename now, or is it still 'Aneki?'" Kohaku asked, puzzled.
Rashid chuckled. "Aw, man, you're going to be a fun one, aren't ya?" He then proceeded to lead Kohaku around the guild. "By the way, my name's Rashid."
"I'm Kohaku!" the girl replied, cheerily.
"And I'm Buddy!" the cat joined in.
"Kohaku and Buddy, huh?" Rashid asked, then grinned. "Those are some fun names you've got there! Anyway, this here is our bar. I think it's pretty self-explanatory. By the way, a guy once walked into the bar and said 'ow.'"
"I'm sorry to hear that," Kohaku replied in earnest.
"Well… Got me there I guess. Moving on." He stopped again a moment later. "This is the request board. We've got all sorts of jobs for you to take. But since you're a rookie, you can't take any S-Class jobs yet. Heck, I can't take any S-Class jobs yet, and I've been here a couple years. Anyway, these stairs over here will lead you outside the guild to the dorms. You saw the dorms outside, right?"
"Dorms?" Kohaku asked, thinking it over. "Oh! You mean the tree houses!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. "Those look like so much fun! Do I get to play in them?"
"Well, they're not actually for playing," Rashid explained, "but yeah, you kinda do. By the way, have you considered where you're going to be staying from now on? We have rooms in the dorms if you need 'em."
"I hadn't really thought of that. Buddy and I usually sleep wherever we find a comfy spot."
"We're hobos!" Buddy proudly proclaimed.
"Is that so?" Rashid asked. "Well, we can't have a guildmate homeless now can we? I'll talk to the Mistress later about getting you a place to stay. Did you bring your luggage?"
"Um… Well now that you mention it, Buddy and I don't really have anything with us, just the clothes on my back."
"You mean your backs, right? Your friend's too?"
"Buddy's naked," Kohaku said, pointing at the cat.
"Oh, yeah," Rashid murmured. "Hadn't thought of that. I guess that cat's got my tongue now though." He laughed at his own joke.
"Kohaku," Buddy whispered, floating eye-level to the girl. "This guy's weird. I don't have anything like his tongue with me."
"That is strange," Kohaku agreed.
"Ah," Rashid interrupted. "And here's the final and most important stop on the tour." He paused in front of one of the tables. Kohaku looked down at it and gasped in awe. There was a young lady, just a little older than Kohaku by the looks of her, laying fast asleep on the table amongst trays of food. She had silky, raven-black hair that flowed down past her shoulders, and a pair of glasses rested on her dainty nose. She was clad in an elegant black dress, but her feet were left bare, and a discarded pair of heels lay on the ground. From her sleeping face to her delicate toes, she was the prettiest girl Kohaku had ever seen.
"Oh wow," Kohaku breathed. "She looks just like a princess from a fairy tale."
"Pretty," Buddy murmured in agreement.
"Yeah, well it's time for Sleeping Beauty to wake up now," Rashid said. He gently shook the girl's foot. "Hey, Eva-chan, wake up. We need you for a second." The girl's eyes gently fluttered open. She sat up and turned to the trio, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Huh?" she muttered. Her voice was very gentle, and still a little tired. "What happened? I was waiting tables and then… Must have dozed off…" She picked herself up off the table and slipped her shoes back on. Realization briefly flashed in her eyes when she noticed Kohaku, though they still remained dull and sleepy. "Oh hello there," she said with a smile. "You must be new here. My names Evangeline, but you can call me Eva if you want. It's nice to meet you." She held her hand out to Kohaku, which the dragon slayer accepted.
"It's nice to meet you too," she said. "My name's Kohaku, and he's Buddy."
"Wow, that's a pretty name," Eva said dreamily.
Kohaku gave the girl a puzzled look. "You think Buddy's a pretty name?" she asked. "That's kinda weird…"
Should she really be saying that? Rashid wondered. He hadn't even spent five minutes with her, but he could tell she was… different. Not to mention the looks she seemed to get from Mikado. "Anyway," he cut in, "Eva-chan's something of the guild's poster girl." He put his arm around Eva's shoulders and gave Kohaku a thumbs-up. "But don't let her looks fool you. She's one of the toughest wizards we've got."
"Oh, I'm not all that," Eva denied, blushing the slightest bit.
"She could beat the tar out of me and yet she says she's not all that," Rashid deadpanned, shrugging his shoulders. "That's a little disheartening for me. Guess I'll never become an S-Class Mage then."
"Now, now…"
"Anyway, Eva-chan," Rashid said, motioning towards the newcomers. "These two are going to be joining our guild."
"Oh are you now?" Eva asked.
"Yup," Kohaku chirped.
"Do they have their guild marks yet?" Eva asked, turning to Rashid.
"Well, that's what we came to you for," he pointed out, turning to Kohaku. "So it's like this. Every official member of a wizard guild has to have the guild's mark stamped somewhere on their body, so people know you're really who you say you are. Mine's located on my chest, for example…"
"And mine's on my ankle," Eva finished. She held her right foot in her hand, turning her ankle to Kohaku and revealing a miniature version of the mark Mikado bore. "Cool, right?" she asked. "Having this mark means you're one of us."
"It's a symbol that you've been marked…" Rashid said. He paused as if for emphasis and pushed his shades up his nose. "For death."
"What!?" both newcomers shrieked. There was a punctuated silence as Kohaku stared at Rashid in horror and Eva just plain stared. After a moment the young man coughed, chuckled sheepishly, and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry," he said. "That was the best joke I could come up with at the moment. Kinda poor, huh?" He pulled a notepad and pencil from his pocket and began to scribble a note to himself. "Okay Rashid, note to self: 'mark' jokes. Learn some." He leaned back, crossed his arms, and touched the eraser to his cheek, deep in thought.
"Um…" Eva murmured. "I'm sorry about that. Rashid's like that sometimes."
"What a weirdo," Buddy whispered to Kohaku. The girl nodded.
"But don't let him get to you," Eva reassured her. "There's nothing dangerous about a guild mark. In fact, it's kinda required. Hang on a sec." She rummaged through the plates on the table, searching for something. Whoever made that order was clearly going to have to do without. "Let me see…" she mumbled to herself. "Where did I put it… Sleepy… Oh, here it is!" She pulled out a stamp and inkpad from behind a flask. "Here we go: the official Fox Tail Guild Stamp! So then, where would you like your mark? You're going to need one if you want to join us."
Kohaku took a moment to think about it, then smiled and gave what she hoped was a cool look of determination. "I've got it!" she declared, snapping her fingers. She rolled up her right shirt sleeve. "Can you put it right here, on my shoulder?"
"Sure thing," Eva said with a warm smile. She gently pressed the stamp to Kohaku's arm, and with a small blink of light the mark materialized. Kohaku giggled in excitement. "Wow, this is so cool!" she squealed.
"Ooh!" Buddy cried. "Me too! Me too! Right on my back!" Eva obliged. "It tickles!" the flying cat exclaimed. He turned to get a good look at it. His smile faded as he spun in the air, trying to catch a glimpse of his own back. "I can't see it!" he whined. He landed, retracted his wings, and continued his mad spinning, like a dog after its tail. "Is it even there? Kohaku, can you see it?"
"Yup, I can see it alright."
"Are you sure? It could be a trick!"
"Oh! I never thought of that!"
Eva shook her head and sighed. She placed her hands on the new girl's shoulders. "Kohaku, Buddy, welcome to the family," she said, closing her eyes as she smiled. Kohaku returned the grin, and that was it. Yet both girls remained frozen in that position.
After a while, Kohaku's curiosity got the better of her. "Um… Eva?" she asked. Eva snored in response. "Huh!?" the dragon slayer cried.
"Sorry about that," Rashid said, finally rejoining events. "That's just how Eva-chan is. Her magic eats up a lot of her energy, even when she's not using it, so she tends to fall asleep at the drop of a hat. Any conversation after that is arrested while she takes a rest." He smirked at his own joke as Kohaku broke into laughter. "Maybe I should write that one down… Nah!" Rashid slipped the notepad back into his pocket, turned, and gathered Eva into his arms. "Anyway, I'd better find a bench or someplace to lay the princess for a while. It's been nice talking to you, Kohaku!" And with that, he left.
"Wow," Buddy murmured. "That must be one heck of a stamp if it takes her out like that…"
"No kidding," Kohaku agreed.
"My, my," someone behind them said with a soft, polite laugh. "Mikado was right. You are an interesting one." Instantly everyone went quiet. Every head – including Kohaku and Buddy's – turned to face the woman who had just entered the scene, Mikado walking behind her. She was beautiful, no doubt about it, but not in the same way as Eva. While Eva looked like a princess, there was something… otherworldly about this woman. She was older than Eva, looking to be somewhere in her mid-to-late-thirties – though Kohaku thought something smelled off about her – and was dressed in a flowing white kimono, accented by a red sash. On her feet she wore traditional Japanese socks and sandals. She had long white hair, some of which was tied into a looped braid that resembled the petals of a flower or the leaves of a four-leafed clover. Kohaku was stunned by her beauty.
"It is nice to meet you," the woman said in a gentle voice. "So you are my new daughter, are you?"
"Daughter!?" Kohaku cried. "Are you really my Mama!? How come I never saw you before!? How come Papa never mentioned you!? What's going on here!?"
The woman smiled and laughed again. "Oh my," she said. "It appears Mikado wasn't exaggerating about you in the slightest. I'm sorry to confuse you, my dear. I only mean to say that, to me, all members of this guild are my sons and daughters. I am Tamamo Nomae, Mistress of Fox Tail."
"Oooh," Kohaku breathed.
"So she's the boss here then," Buddy said. "The big fish, the big cheese, the cream of the crop." He tilted his head for a moment. "Hm. So what's with all the food names then? She's pretty odd too, Kohaku."
Absolutely no one knew how to respond to that.
"You must be Buddy, then," Mistress Tamamo said. "Mikado told me all about you too."
"I knew he was a spy," Buddy muttered.
"Mikado tells me you are a dragon slayer, Kohaku," the Mistress continued. Everyone's eyes lit up at this statement (except for Eva's, of course). "Is this true?"
Kohaku nodded. "Yup!" she said. "I'm the Crystal Dragon Slayer, Kohaku Diamont, and this is Buddy, my buddy." She indicated the cat beside her, who took to the air as if to punctuate her statement. "He can fly."
"I see," the Mistress said. "Then allow me to welcome you to Fox Tail, to your new family." Everyone cheered for their two new friends.
"What's going on in here?" another voice boomed from the entrance. "Are we having a party!? Count me in! Flame Make: Festival Dragon!" With a loud Fwoom a massive, Chinese-style dragon, made entirely out of fire, burst into the room, dancing and weaving through the air while everyone except the mistress and the two newcomers ducked and dove under the tables for cover.
"Yeagh!" one mage shouted. "What the hell, Shishio!? Are you trying to kill us all!? The guild's in a giant tree! You can't use fire magic here!"
"Oh, I'm sorry. Guess I should be more careful." The voice belonged to a man who seemed to be in his late-twenties or early-thirties. He had brown-black hair, most of which was covered by a bandana. His face boasted a strong-looking chin and a newly-grown beard. The man was dressed in a blue jinbei, his hairy legs, forearms, and part of his chest exposed. On his feet he wore simple wooden sandals.
"Careful my butt," Mikado said. "Didn't the Mistress already tell you 'No fire in the guild' Shishio? Hell, she even had that studio built next to the guild so you could make your fireworks in peace."
"Yeah, sorry about that," the man, Shishio, said sheepishly but still in that booming voice. He clenched his fists and started trembling. "But when the moment comes, I just can't contain myself. I just have to unleash…" He spread his arms wide as a fiery phoenix burst into being. "ART!" he shouted to the heavens.
"ARRGH!" everyone else shouted as they took cover again. The Mistress, however, simply shook her head and raised one hand in the air, unleashing a burst of wind that extinguished the flame-beasts.
"That's enough Shishio," she said. "Come meet your new guildmates. These are Kohaku and Buddy, a dragon slayer and a flying cat, respectively."
Shishio's eyes widened as he rushed to the two of them. He seized Kohaku's small, slender hands in his large, rough ones. "Really? For real!?" he cried. "You're a dragon slayer!?"
"Yup," Kohaku said, nodding. "I'm the Crystal Dragon Slayer."
"Crystals!?" Shishio exclaimed. "That sounds utterly beautiful! Imagine the great works of art you could produce with such magic! You simply must show me!" The Mistress cleared her throat. "I mean… Later, I guess," Shishio stammered, releasing Kohaku's hands. He looked around at his silent guildmates. "Well, what are you all sitting there for? We have some fantastic new members here. LET'S CELEBRATE!" he boomed. Everyone else joined in a chorus of cheers.
"Well then," Mikado sighed as he rejoined Kohaku. "I guess you got to meet all the other nuts in the guild. So what do you think?"
Kohaku gave him her biggest, widest grin yet. "I think it's going to be great!" she said, laughter in her voice.
"Kohaku," the Mistress interrupted. "Mikado also tells me you've had some problems with the law?" Kohaku blushed and twiddled her fingers.
"Yeah, well…" she stammered. "I kinda… You know… Accidentally… Stole some jewels… And ate them…" The Mistress sighed and put a hand to her head, but her smile did not drop away.
"My, my, my," she said. "Well, I suppose I will have to take care of that then. Don't worry too much about it. Makarov had a lot of trouble to deal with too when he ran Fairy Tail, but he always managed to keep his fledglings out of harm's way. I suppose a little damage from one small fox kit won't be too hard to handle."
"O-oh," Kohaku stuttered. "Th-Thank-you ma'am. Thank-you very much!" She bowed deeply to her creditor and new mistress.
"The pleasure is mine." The Mistress turned to leave. "In the meantime, please take good care of her, Mikado." The young man blushed and made an exasperated face, but said nothing as Mistress Tamamo walked away.
Kohaku simply smiled as she looked over her new guild. Can you see me, Papa? she thought. I have a family again.
"Hey there lovebirds!" Rashid called out as he strode over to Kohaku's group, a piece of paper in his hand. "How's it going?"
"Ugh," Mikado groaned. "Is it really so hard to get some alone-time here?"
"Sorry," Rashid said, "but I couldn't help but overhear you're talk with the Mistress and Shishio, Kohaku."
"People in the next town over couldn't help overhearing that blowhard," Mikado pointed out.
"I hear you're a Crystal Dragon Slayer," Rashid said, ignoring Mikado (much to the latter's annoyance). "Does that mean you're good with crystals and caves and stuff?" he asked.
Kohaku nodded. "The best."
"Great. Well, I know you just got here and all, but I'd like to help you get into the swing of things ASAP." He held up the paper for all to see.
"How'd you like your first job?"
