In the magical, grassy and lush countryside of Fiore, a lone train blew it whistle and released clouds of steam from its chimney.
Inside, four wizards and a little blue cat sat together, quietly discussing a mission.
"So what's in the town?" Gray asked.
"There's someone there who might be able to help us." Erza said seriously. "If I'm correct in my assumptions about Lullaby, then she's the person we need to see."
"Do you think-" Lucy grunted as she shifted Natsu's body to a more stable position over her shoulders and repeated her query in full. "Do you think this person knows anything more about Lullaby?"
"Whether she does or not, it's our only lead to exactly what Eisenwald is planning to do with it." Erza looked out the window, her eyes sharp.
"I just hope we haven't missed her."
It was a pleasant summer morning in Onibas, if not rather warm. People milled about the town, going about their daily activities, smiling and greeting one another as they passed by. Merchants called out their wares in the heart of town from their various shops. One particular shop had very good business that warm summer morning; the vendor waving a hearty farewell to a departing young man and woman from his doorstep, bidding them to return someday.
Liquid vanilla disappeared from mocha skin as a bright pink tongue licked a trail up her arm.
"Tuli, must you lick it instead of using a napkin?" Vijeeter Ecor sweatdropped, grimacing as he handed his companion a kerchief from his satchel. "Your arm's all sticky now."
Tuli grinned sunnily at him and ate the remainder of her ice cream cone whole, baked waffle and all. She continued to smile cheekily even around her bulging cheeks.
Vijeeter simply sighed and wiped the sticky white mess from around her lips with the handkerchief. "Why do I put up with you?"
She widened her eyes to bug-eyed proportions, turning her head just right towards the sunlight to make them sparkle, poked her cheek with a finger and stuck out her tongue. Vijeeter assumed it was supposed to be an attempt at a cute face.
It was, but Vijeeter wasn't about to tell her that.
"Well, we'd better get going. The train leaves in about an hour." Vijeeter secured his satchel over his shoulder. "Maybe I'll be able to get those tap shoes I saw in the window on the way here..."
Tuli worked on swallowing the large amount of food as they walked through the town square. She meticulously licked each sticky finger while Vijeeter went on speaking. "It's a shame Reedus couldn't accompany us this time; we really could have used a Vulcan or two against those thieves." He grunted when a very firm pat on the back knocked him off balance. He stumbled, but quickly regained the rhythm in which he always walked. Glaring at Tuli he huffed, but her bright smile was too contagious for him to stay irritated. She jabbed quick punches in thin air and pumped one fist high above her head, grinning triumphantly.
"I suppose we did kick butt, didn't we?" Vijeeter closed his eyes in contentment for a moment, basking in the satisfaction of the well earned victory.
A tug to the sleeve of his jumpsuit broke the moment. He stopped walking.
"Hm? What is it...ugh." He cut himself off in exasperation.
Tuli had her hands and face pressed to the glass window of an old antique shop. Her breath made steady puffs out of her wide open mouth and fogged up the glass as she ogled a beautifully made antique violin that sat as the centerpiece to the shop's window display.
"No." He deadpanned. Absolutely not." Had she a voice, Vijeeter was certain he would have elicited a whine from the girl as he dragged her away by her collar. "You've already spent half your cut on that ice cream buffet, you'll not blow the rest on my watch! Don't you need an additional ten thousand jewel to cover your rent this month?"
Even as Tuli kicked and struggled, desperately holding out a begging hand to the violin as it grew smaller with distance, Vijeeter stood his ground. "I said no! Now stop being a brat and let's get to the station!" He ignored the stares of the square's passerby; he knew they were a sight to see: A young man with long, girlish hair in a skin tight bodysuit dragging along a wild haired, dark skinned girl who appeared as if someone had magically turned her volume all the way down to save their eardrums, what with the way she struggled.
Eventually she crossed her arms and pouted, purposely going limp and letting her feet drag out in front of her and making Vijeeter wish he could simply mail her to the guild. But then there wouldn't be anything to entertain him. Plus, he'd be out of a best friend and decent dance partner.
The sacrifices he made.
After a while, Tuli deigned to stand on her own. She tugged free, landed on her back and nimbly jumped to her feet. Vijeeter eyed her boredly as she turned her nose up and haughtily walked off in front of him, taking only her personal bag and leaving him to carry their luggage.
"Oh, spare me. I did you a favor, you chit."
Tuli haughtily flipped her hair.
They walked in silence until the smoothly paved road became cobblestone pathways and the sounds of loud train whistles, hissing steam and shouting train conductors calling passengers to board were within range.
"Alright," Vijeeter pulled out their tickets. "Our train should have pulled in just this minute, so we'd better hurry if we want good seats-" He was cut off by a mouthful of hair; Tuli had abruptly stopped in his path, staring at something.
"Now what? Honestly, we're going to miss the train if we keep dilly dallying!"
It was then Vijeeter noticed that the shorter girl was trembling rather violently, and had turned a few shades paler than was probably healthy. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her face was stricken, as if she had seen something truly frightening.
"Tuli, what's the..." Vijeeter's voice died as he caught what was in her line of sight-or rather, whom.
The blood promptly drained from his own face and he gulped at the beautiful redhead with ridiculous amounts of luggage making her way in their general direction, accompanied by two others.
"Ohhhh dear..."
The two of them stood rooted to the spot in growing dread as the redhead drew closer.
"Please, under Mavis and everything sacred, tell me you were on good behavior for the past few weeks," Vijeeter's voice, in his terror, was a cross between a panicked hiss and a fearful whimper. "Please!"
Somehow, she grew even paler.
"Why, why, why?" The dancer was in near tears. He pulled at his hair. "I've been good!" He bemoaned to no one in particular. "I've been well behaved. I don't dance in the guild hall anymore!" He buried his face in his hands. "Why must I be caught in the crossfire?" He then looked to the heavens and raised his arms in frustration. "Why must I suffer?! Ow!" Vijeeter rubbed the abused, freshly twisted skin on his cheek. "You horrible little imp you, what was that for?!"
Tuli zipped her lips, put a finger to them and frantically mimed other gestures for him to shut his mouth. She grabbed his face with a hand (and Vijeeter barely had the time to lament on how silly his squeezed cheeks must have looked) and forced him to look at their mark again.
They watched the redhead move through the crowd, unceremoniously shoving people out of her way. A caught glimpse of her face froze the blood within them as it revealed an almost predatory expression.
"She hasn't spotted us yet," Vijeeter gasped. "Perhaps if we silently make our way..." When he turned to quietly sneak off he noticed Tuli already a few yards ahead of him, doing exactly that and leaving Vijeeter behind, much to his aggravation.
"Don't you dare!" he hissed. "You'll not leave me here alone-"
"Vijeeter!" A strong voice called his name, and he squeaked. His normally fluid and flexible dancer's muscles locked up, failing him utterly. "Stay right where you are!"
Like a statue he stood, frozen in his position as his doom drew near.
This. This is it. I'll end up paying for the crimes that wretched changeling must have committed.
Yet he thought to himself, that if he must die today, he should at least do so as a man. Or at least, as close to one as he could get through his fear. So Vijeeter called upon the last scraps of his dignity and squared his shoulders, turning around and facing his demise as she approached him, pointedly ignoring the burn of apprehension in his blood and the ice that froze his nerves.
She stopped in front of him (along with Gray and a blonde girl he didn't recognize), and Vijeeter looked fear in the eye.
"Erza, it's been a while." Not nearly long enough.
To his surprise, Erza smiled warmly. "Yes, it has been a while, hasn't it? I'm always glad to see a member of my family as well."
Vijeeter could only hear a ringing echo through the blunt force trauma of his head smashing against her metal breast plate. A hug from Erza Scarlet; lovely.
"A-ah, yes, it's good to see you too."
"Lucy!" Vijeeter clutched his head, trying to recover from the bout of dizziness of being promptly shoved away from the hug as Erza addressed whoever. "This is Vijeeter. Say hello, you'd do well to get familiar with your new guildmates."
"Uh...hi?" Vijeeter looked up to see three of a blonde holding...some sort of snowman? A dog? He couldn't tell, everything was wiggling.
"Vijeeter, this is Lucy. She just joined."
"Ah. Hello, miss. Normally I'd greet you properly but I'm..ah..."
"Don't worry, I totally get it."
"I had to ask Mirajane," Erza interjected, "About Tuli's whereabouts, and she let us know that the two of you were on a job here." She peered at Vijeeter, and he felt himself begin to sweat bullets. "She doesn't seem to be here with you."
"A-ah, yes, well." He rubbed the back of his head. "The thing is, I'm sure whatever she's done this time can't have been too horrible, right?" He stuttered nervously and attempted to smile, though judging by the subtly pitying look on Gray's face, he had faltered badly.
"Your loyalty and willingness to sacrifice yourself for the sake of your teammate is admirable, but you can't afford to do so now, Vijeeter." Erza's voice was deadly calm, more serious than he had ever heard, and Vijeeter suddenly got the inkling that something was truly wrong.
"You sound serious."
"I am. There's an extremely important matter at hand, and I'm in desperate need of Tuli's knowledge."
He studied Erza. She looked quite earnest, and a little fearful too, although that could have been a concussion induced hallucination. Nevertheless...
"I see," Vijeeter straightened himself and turned around. "Well, then I suppose I'll fetch her and-"
He stopped in his tracks. At that very moment a whistle blew loudly, and a locomotive slowly chugged out of the station.
"She's gone! Why that little-!"
"Do you mean Tuli?" Erza demanded. "Tell me where she's gone at once!"
Vijeeter heard his conscience echo in his own voice within the depths of his mind. You can either rat her out, or protect her from a terrible fate, Vijeeter.
Vijeeter pointed behind him. "She went that way."
Erza immediately bulldozed her way through the station's crowd and left him there with Gray, Happy, and the new girl and her pet.
"So." Gray put his hands in his pockets. "How was the job?"
Tuli cautiously looked around her, making sure she was hidden in the crowd before she boarded the train.
She sighed silently; looking over her shoulder as the doors closed. A flash of red hair prompted her to very quickly move forward.
The train cars in the front were packed with amiably chatting passengers, inciting a comforting hum. However, there was no space, so Tuli moved to the quieter, emptier cars further back. She ended up bumping into a man much taller than her in the narrow corridor.
Tuli, who only came up to his neck, had to look up to see his face, and noticed his hair was styled in a way that made his head look like a black topped pineapple.
"Hey there," He said, not unkindly. "Watch where you're going, alright?" He smiled, not unkindly. "Someone your size could get hurt, yeah?"
Tuli, remembering her manners, bowed a few times to apologize. "Ah, no need for that. Tell you what, maybe if we got something to eat together, I might forgive you. What do you say?"
Tuli peered at him. He smiled pleasantly, and carried himself in a rather amicable way: hands in his pockets, shoulders relaxed. She continued to stare at him, keeping her face expressionless.
"Uh…" He grew nervous. "L-look, I'm not propositioning you or anything, I swear!" His expression turned sheepish, and he rubbed his neck while looking away. "Honestly, I just finished a mission for my guild-I'm a wizard, by the way-and I guess I'd like some company on the ride home. You wouldn't mind, would you? You seem like good conversation."
She smirked wryly at him. It was random, but Tuli was satisfied. He seemed genuine enough, and it'd probably do her well to keep her mind off the hole she'd just dug herself. So she shrugged and pointed to an empty seat not to far away from the full coach in front of them.
"Looks good to me. I'm Kageyama, by the way."
Tuli jubilantly shook his hand.
"So," Vijeeter made to clarify. "You're after a dark guild that wants to fulfill an evil scheme with a magic simply known as "Lullaby."
"Yup."
"And you have no idea what they might be planning, or what Lullaby is."
"Uh huh."
"And because it's called "Lullaby," Vijeeter pinched the bridge of his nose. "You assumed Tuli would know what it is?"
"That's about the gist of it." Gray leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. "Other than that, Erza didn't tell us anything."
"Eisenwald…" Vijeeter muttered. "I can't say I've heard the name, but Lullaby does ring a bell. I just can't recall it…"
"Let me know if you get it."
The two of them sat on a bench nearby. Lucy had tentatively gone after Erza (with a reluctant Happy in tow) to see if she could keep her from doing anything too drastic.
How Vijeeter envied her naivete.
He sighed and crossed his arms, closing his own eyes. "Well, in any case, at least she's safe from Erza."
"Mhm."
They sat in companionable silence for a while, content in not saying anything.
A loud warning bell began to ring and the sound of screeching tracks in the distance shattered the tranquil atmosphere.
"Hey lady! What do you think your doing?!"
"Aaaand there it goes." Gray drawled. Vijeeter nodded in concurrence. "Well, let's go see what mess we made this time." They both stood up walked towards the scene of a gathered crowd.
"We left Natsu on the train and Erza knocked out a guard and pulled the emergency lever and-!" Lucy was panicking, relaying what had recently transpired.
"Huh. Completely forgot about him." Gray mused.
"Natsu was with you?" Vijeeter asked incredulously. "Why?"
"They're Fairy's Tails strongest Team!" Happy piped up. "And Lucy came along for the ride!"
"I was asked to come! And why am I not included?" Vijeeter gaped as she began to rather maliciously poke at, pinch and stretch Happy's cheeks.
"T-team? The three of you? Team?"
"Hopefully just for this mission." Gray said lowly.
"That's...that's one mission too many…" Vijeeter shook uncomfortably and put a hand to his head. Perhaps he was having dreams induced from head trauma.
"Oh, what have I been dragged into? Fate truly is a cruel mistress."
"What's that? You finally get laid or something, man?"
"Just...just shut up, Gray."
"So you can't talk? Not a single word?"
Tuli shook her head.
"And on top of that, you can't even make noise?" Another head shake. "Wow. When you made that face earlier...this is what you meant, huh?" Kageyama ran a hand through his hair, chuckling. "Just my luck to pick a conversation partner who can't speak. Ah well, we can make do, right?"
The sat across from each other, where a small table meant for eating separated them.
Tuli gave him a leer and raised her hands to the window, and made shadow puppets on the table.
"Ahaa, how funny. I totally haven't heard that joke before." Tuli smiled sweetly at him. "You're something else."
For a while Kageyama did most of the talking, chatting idly about vague memories of his childhood and such. He played a game of yes or no to communicate, and things were nice. Tuli felt at ease. When it got to talking (or rather, listening) about the current state of affairs, however, things turned a little less calm.
"I mean, it isn't fair!" Kageyama huffed. "The Magic Council can just bring the hammer down on any guild it wants, without any cause, and everyone follows their whims like sheep on the pasture!" His hands clenched into fists. "They don't even fight for their rights, they don't even care. Hundreds of wizards are put out of work, or blacklisted from even taking jobs because suddenly their guild is kicked out of the order and labeled dark!"
Tuli didn't know exactly what to do, so she simply put a hand on his and patted it.
Kageyama let out a huff. "Yeah, best not to get worked up. You're right."
Tuli nodded quickly, smiling encouragingly at him.
"Besides, it'll all be fixed soon. There's always a way." Kageyama smiled back, and Tuli faltered just a little.
There was an underlying steel in his voice. She could hear it.
"Anyway, there's no reason to get in a tizzy, even if it does make me sick."
Suddenly they heard a loud, miserable groan.
"...kinda like that." Kageyama turned around in his seat and Tuli stuck her head out to the side. What she saw floored her.
Natsu was there, sitting with his head down. He heaved a little and slunk lower in his seat, looking pale, sweaty, and absolutely ill.
"Geez, that guy look like motion sickness hits him pretty hard." Kageyama turned back. "Hey, what's the matter? What are you doing down there?"
Tuli huddled as close to the window as possible, curled up in a ball.
Kageyama cast another quick glance behind him. "You know him?" He looked at Tuli, and she tried to make herself even smaller.
"Is he after you or something?" She shook her head. "Enemies?" Another shake. "I could get rid of him for you, if you like." A firm head shake. "So why are you hiding from him?"
That was a question she didn't feel like answering. Instead, she rummaged through her bag.
"What are you looking for?" Kageyama asked. His answer soon came when she pulled out a simple wooden flute.
"You play?"
Tuli put the flute to her lips and gently blew. Soon a soft, soothing melody perfused the air, and a small magic circle appeared at the end piece. Golden magical notes, translucent and delicate, drifted through the air like leaves on the wind and surrounded the ailing pinkette, and Kageyama gaped when he saw the pallid, sweaty face turn right again, and slowly, the boy grew healthier.
When the song ended, Kageyama felt calmer than he ever had in recent weeks, and he noticed the boy looked as if he had never been sick.
"What...happened…" Natsu blinked at his surroundings. "I'm still on the train. It's moving. I'm on a moving train."
Not the sharpest tack in the box, is he? Kageyama thought to himself.
"...and I'm not SICK!" Natsu roared triumphantly, standing up. "Hell yeah!"
As he pumped his fist, Kageyama caught sight of the red guild mark on his right shoulder.
Fairy Tail. He looked over to his new little, who was putting her flute away. And she's a music mage, huh?
Things are getting pretty interesting.
