Chapter 3 – Ebb And Flow
Several weeks had passed since the big party, and Akashio had been following the instruction of Mirajane and also of the Master. He had still not gotten back to her about his researching whatever it was with her magic and increasing her control over it. She still wasn't sure about what was her magical abilitiy/abilities, but she had noticed that every time she used her magic to an increased extent, she would get random odd wounds.
They were just simple cuts that would almost heal completely in a day or so. It was very weird considering she had never done anything like this before, and she hoped that it wasn't the same with everyone, and that she wouldn't have to keep patching herself up all the time. Also, there was the weird thing with the blood that she couldn't even explain at all.
"Shio-chan! Shio-chan!"
Shio turned around to see Levy running towards her and the Master trailing behind her. Hopefully they would have some answers for her. She still had a bandage over her forearm that she needed to cover a rather deep cut that she had gotten from nearly exhausting herself to the point of passing out.
"Shio. I have figured out what was keeping me on edge when I could feel your magical power. Your village used to be part of an ancient city and there was supposedly great magic that one child in each generation inherited. It has been a few hundred years since then, but the old magic is incredibly strong. I believe what you have is this power. Was there any odd buildings near your village?" the Master spoke to her with a frown on his face, furthering her concern.
"There is...was a small building at the top of the mountain my village was located on. But we weren't allowed to go up there. We didn't use magic either. No one did."
"That building is probably the one described in this book. It was the place where the child chosen from each generation was taken to receive their power. The ability was one to control demons, though at the cost of the user's blood." Levy made her input, but the same frown that the Master had was on her face as well.
"I believe that is why you gain wounds from when you are using your magical power excessively. It also explains the images of demons you are seeing when releasing power and when you are dreaming. Possibly also the lack of blood that comes from your wounds as well. It's being taken as payment." the Master hoped that the girl would understand all of this, and how hard it would be for her to use magic without harming herself.
"So, what do I do?" she asked, confused as to what would happen from now on.
"The better control you have over your magical power, the less you will receive injury. Also, it states here that you must learn the demons names to be able to summon them and gain control over them. There is one creature per person and there are three stages to the control. There is a summoning stage, the second is a partial transformation, and the third is unknown. The page was ripped."
"Okay. But I'll have to learn how to use this to my advantage at some stage, won't I? Shouldn't I do it as quickly as possible to figure out how to use the summon and get control over it?"
"Yes. The less injury you get each time you use your magic, the better." Levy nodded as she spoke.
"How can I learn to summon the creature then?" Shio was starting to lose more and more faith the more the Master and Levy spoke.
"That's just the thing. We don't know how. But Levy had the idea that maybe you could go to the building at the top of the mountain and see if there was anything left behind." Master was hoping that this wouldn't upset the girl, as hard as it may be for her.
A few silent minutes passed, and Akashio weighed up her options. It seemed that things would get harder before they got easier. But she understood that this seemed to be what fate had in store for her, and what Gray had said about her having time to get past everything was definitely going to come in handy. It would be the time where she could really say goodbye to her village and everything it used to hold for her. She was scared of having to do it alone.
"I don't have to go there on my own, do I?"
"Of course you don't. I'll go with you."
A familiar voice spoke from behind her and she spun around to see Gray looking at her with intense eyes. He smiled wistfully at her, but there was a hint of sadness in it, knowing what would lay in wait for them at what was left of her village. She nodded at him in return, taking a deep breath as she absorbed all the information she had been given.
"There you go. You already have a companion. I suggest the quicker you leave the better. The more knowledge I have, the more I can help you." Master was glad to see that someone had already offered to help and nodded in approval. "Leave first thing tomorrow morning, so go home and get some rest Shio. I know you've worked hard today."
"Thank you, Master. We will return as quickly as possible."
Shio thanked Levy as the Master walked away and she wished her and Gray the best of luck before walking over to the table Jet and Droy were sitting at, both looking pleased to see her. Shio knew that she had been working very hard to research her magic at the Master's request, so she hadn't seen them very much. There was another certain someone who had an affinity for metal that had been missing her as well, even if he didn't realise it himself.
"You don't have to accompany me you know. I don't really have anything to pay you with, obviously." the young girl said to the ice madoushi.
"I actually have a delivery mission in that area. I just have to pick up a package and drop it off to someone in Magnolia, so it's not like there is absolutely no reason for me to go." he explained simply, shrugging lightly.
"Oh okay. So it's not like you just wanted to spend some time with me or anything." Akashio laughed as if she was joking, but if Gray were to say yes, she would have flushed so red she would look like a tomato.
"I didn't mean to offend you." Gray looked at his feet when he spoke, his eyes downcast.
"Anyway. If we are leaving tomorrow, I guess I should get us some supplies. I've still got plenty of stuff in my new place so I'll pack up some of it. I think from here it should take us about 2-3 days to get back to my old village."
"Yeah, okay. Would you like to leave at dawn? If so, I should just crash at your place so we can leave first thing."
"Sounds good. I'll meet you back at my place."
Shio strolled out of Fairy Tail, waving to Mirajane on her way out, after letting her know what was going on, though she probably knew anyway, and thanked Levy again for her help. She didn't know what would be laying ahead on this trip or what she would discover. She was already scared about her magic and the consequences of it usage. This would just be another thing she would have to overcome though.
At least she wouldn't be on her own...
The next morning she woke up and got Gray up, then they ate a good breakfast before leaving. They would be travelling for quite a while after heading out of the city and towards her old village. Shio was quite nervous about being alone with him for so long, but also about what was going to happen. She was worried she would annoy him, or disappoint him, though it's not like she could possibly be any more useless than she already was, so that probably would be pretty hard.
Gray had planned for them to stay overnight at an inn about a day and half worth of solid travel away, so they would at least be halfway there by the time they stopped. It seemed like a good plan, so they headed out, ready to face whatever was ahead.
They didn't say much when they travelled, only a bit of light conversation when they stopped for food and water on the way, but every time Shio would just smile and not say anything since she felt too embarrassed to actually have a conversation with the ice mage, who just talked quietly about random things to do with magic and the magical world to keep Shio informed. She was happy to sit there and hear him speak.
When they came to the village that they planned to stay overnight in, it was starting to get dark and they headed into the lobby area. There was a older woman behind the reception desk who smiled happily at them and welcomed them both to the inn.
Gray did the talking since Shio was a little too shy in his presence to do it herself, but when the receptionist said that the only room they had available was a double sharing room, Shio found even less of a reason to speak.
"I don't mind sharing a bed. Is that okay with you, Shio-san?" Gray turned to look at her, and though his face was innocent, Shio's mind ran off with her and she blushed but nodded.
The receptionist seemed to pick up on Shio's crush on her travelling companion, and definitely seemed to enjoy making her feel more embarrassed. "I'm sure the young man can keep his hands to himself, unless you don't want him to, that is!" she chuckled loudly and Shio's face felt so hot, she was sure that there was steam coming out of her ears.
Gray didn't seem to notice Shio's horrible embarrassment, and instead smiled awkwardly and thanked the woman after she handed them their key and pointed to what door their room was through. Shio felt as if all the water in the her body had just been evaporated, so when she got into the room, she opened up the fresh bottle of water from her pack and drained it completely, though she was still blushing madly.
"Shio." Gray's voice caught her attention and she turned around only to kind of regret doing so.
He had already stripped off his jacket and his shirt, and was laying across the bed on his back, and looking over at her. The young woman turned straight back around and 'hmm'-ed in response to him, hoping that he would just let her stand there and contain herself for a minute while he spoke.
"Which side of the bed do you want?" he asked casually, and yawned as he stretched out, making Shio glance at his muscles moving and rippling out of the corner of her eye.
"I don't mind. Whatever side you don't sleep on." she managed to keep her voice fairly level, though the Shio inside her brain was doing triple-back-somersaults.
Gray just groaned in reply, and she grabbed some fresh clothes to sleep in from her pack and headed through to the en-suite shower and bathroom. She hoped the shower would cool her heated blood down, and she shivered slightly as she stripped off her clothes and stepped under the water, which was still a bit too cold for her.
The past few hours had driven her almost mad with attraction, and she wondered idly if Gray had noticed and was just ignoring it for the sake of professionalism, or the worse option being that he just didn't have an interest and was hoping she would give up on him.
Lucy had already talked to her about Gray and Juvia and how Juvia had ended up giving up on him for someone that already cared, which happened to be Lyon. Lucy doubted that Gray just simply didn't like Juvia, because he did consider her a friend, but she mused that maybe he was just put off by how forward the water mage was. Shio hoped that she wasn't being forward, but she supposed that she wasn't exactly stalking him, or calling him 'Gray-sama'.
She felt a little sorry for Juvia though, since she was such a beautiful and kind woman. It seemed that all the Fairy Tail women were really pretty with amazing 'features' if they could be called as such. There was Mirajane, whose looks spoke for themselves. Erza's beautiful long hair and figure made men desire her, and women desire to look like her. Not to mention Cana, Lucy, and Evergreen. That was just a start.
When she looked around at all the women, she felt very inconspicuous though Loke's visits had become more and more frequent since all he wanted to do was 'lay her down by a fireplace' and proceed to do something else that she didn't hear since Lucy had pushed him over and told her to run before the Zodiac spirit kidnapped her.
She sat with her arms wrapped her around her legs and her chin on her knees, while she sat underneath the cascading water, contemplating her fate. Would she her heart give out since it barely seemed to slow down in Gray's presence? Or would she make a fool of herself and blab about her crush to him?
"Oi." Gray's voice echoed through the tiled bathroom and made Shio jump up so quickly that she hit her head quite hard on the tap on the way up. "Sorry, I just wanted to see if you had fallen asleep in here or something. I just wanted to shower before I fell asleep myself."
"I haven't been in here that long, have I?"
"About 40 minutes."
"Oh...s-sorry. I didn't realise. I'll be out in a minute."
With a deep breath, she got up and turned off the tap, and dried herself before wrapping herself up in her towel and grabbing her clothes and heading out so Gray could go straight in. He shut the door behind him, and other than the sound of the water, Shio was in silence. With a sigh, she changed into her clothes, and sat down at the small table in the corner of the room, looking out the window.
She rubbed her head, and groaned when it stung a bit, and she could feel a bump forming. Why did she have to be so jumpy around Gray?! He only had to look at her and she would become a pile of goo on the floor. It wasn't that he was just that attractive. Well, he certainly is that attractive, but it was more than that.
It was the times when she couldn't move due to the amount of dark magic in her body, and because of her terrible wounds, and she would see him sitting on the tree outside the window, looking at her occasionally, making sure she hadn't died in the last few minutes.
It was the way he spoke to her. How he didn't just constantly tip-toe with his words to avoid upsetting her. Sometimes he never spoke at her because he didn't need to. He was just able to express himself in the right way.
It was the ability he had to be both care-free and serious when he needed to. Some people were either one or the other, so to find that Gray could tell when a serious attitude was needed and to be able to have fun and silly sometimes was awesome.
It was the love he held for his friends. Fairy Tail was important to everyone in the guild, but Gray's pride in everyone and the care he had for the guild was amazing. He got worried about people, he got angry when guild members did reckless things, and he got scared when his friends were in danger.
And it was all the rest. He understood honour, and respect. He was considerate to all, and helpful, not just to her, but to everyone. He was brave and courageous, but not in a reckless way. Well, maybe a little reckless sometimes, but he had come out the other end still kicking every time. It was also the mystery that got her. He never talked about himself much, like where he was from, his family etc.
She sighed again when the thoughts started making less sense because she was tired, and with a small yawn, she fell asleep.
In the meantime, Gray was standing up in the shower, one hand on the wall in front of him as the multitude of water droplets kept landing on his head. He figured that Shio was in here thinking about things, and he seemed to be doing the same.
It was odd travelling with her. Not bad, just different. He supposed that he was just so used to travelling with Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Wendy and Erza that he didn't really think about going on missions with anyone else. Their team worked well, and it was just feeling a bit funny with them not around.
He was enjoying it though. Natsu wasn't around to fight with him, Lucy wasn't here to be all mushy with Natsu, Wendy to be shy, Happy to flirt with Charle all the time, and Erza wasn't here to scare the shit out of him. Shio didn't do any of those things. She was quiet, even though that was because she was shy, and he had a hunch she was shy for a different reason. Every now and then he would see her blush, or smile in a funny way.
Though things with Juvia were very different, since she was much more forward about it, he was starting to think that maybe the guys were right. Maybe Shio was crushing on him. But the thing was, was that he was beginning to get the idea that maybe he was returning her feelings.
She was so sweet, and genuinely kind. She gave respect to everyone she met, and always tried to act in a fair and honourable manner but firm when necessary. When she spoke to him, she wasn't just speaking to him because she thought he was 'cute' or 'hot' like most of the girls in Magnolia did, simply because of his reputation. She was talking to him as a person, not a piece of meat. It amazed him how she could be so self-sacrificing as well.
Over the past few weeks, she had been trying to help Wendy out with whatever she could, to pay her back for healing her for so long. She had tried to do the same for Porlysucia but the older lady chased her away, saying that it wasn't necessary and that her being out of her house was payment enough.
It wasn't that she was trying to suck up to anyone either. She spoke to everyone the same, whether it was a strong, s-class member of Fairy Tail, or someone who wasn't well known at all. She respectfully spoke to everyone as if they were on the same level. Gray believed that it was because she came from a society where there wasn't anyone who was higher up than anyone else, aside maybe a town leader.
Also, her looks were something of note, to say the least. She had overheard Shio talking with Mirajane about how outshone she felt by all the other women in the guild. Though everyone seemed to look at her and find her attractive anyway. It was odd to find someone who was such an exotic beauty as well.
Her hair came down to her shoulderblades and was a deep purple colour, that looked almost black. Her eyes shone a bright gold colour, that got darker when she was tired or upset. She still looked a little thin from loosing so much weight while she was bedridden, but her high-set cheekbones made her look a little bit gaunt in an odd light anyway. She was a thin girl to begin with, but she was slowly building up more lean muscle, and was getting stronger and gaining more stamina every day. Shio certainly knew how to work hard. That was something Gray could really appreciate.
He was definitely tired from the travelling though, and he started to feel himself become more and more drowsy. After he dried himself and got into some clean clothes to sleep in, he came out of the bathroom to find Shio fast asleep in the wooden chair looking like she had been staring out the window.
The man smiled at how peaceful she looked and lifted back the covers on the bed before gently picking her up, bridal style, and placing her down then pulling the covers over her. He hopped in on the other side and yawned before rolling to face toward Shio and slowly lose himself to sleep.
Morning came and Gray awoke early to find Shio curled up next to him. He didn't dare move, lest he wake her. Instead, since it was still fairly dark outside, he went back to sleep, listening to Shio's even breathing.
Later on, Shio woke up and nearly crapped herself when she found that she had moved towards Gray during the night. She hoped he was asleep the whole time and wouldn't know since she would be mortified if he found out.
"Morning." Gray's voice sounded out tiredly from next to her as soon as she tried to move away from him so she could get out of bed.
Her response was a yelp and to jump so much that she nearly fell out of the bed backwards, but Gray grabbed a hold of her arm just in time. She stared at him blankly for a moment, then righted herself and quickly apologised before running off to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Gray chuckled lightly and shook his head at her as she dashed off, guessing that she was quite embarrassed. Honestly, he found that he had rather enjoyed her closeness. It had helped him get back to sleep earlier, and it wasn't a lust based thing either. It was comfort. It was nice to know that there was someone by your side.
The madoushi knew that Shio had still been having nightmares of the day her village had been attacked and he was hoping that she hadn't woken up terrified and then moved closer to him to feel like she was safe. The young woman came out a few minutes later, and seemed to have calmed herself down and tidied up. He went in after her and Shio began to get changed while he was out of the room.
Akashio found a slightly tatttered shirt that was very comfortable for travelling in, and pants that had plenty of pockets so she could easily access anything that she would need. Since she wasn't well versed with her magic, she had been carrying two daggers around just in case she needed to defend herself against anyone or anything. Luckily she had not needed them...yet.
After Gray came out, he got dressed as well and they were ready to go after they packed up their things. They stopped at a small cafe for breakfast and ate a hearty meal so that they wouldn't have to stop for a while. The next city was a few hours away and they still had a lot of travelling left to do.
Soon enough, they were only a few hours from Shio's old village. As they got closer to her village, she started to withdraw into herself. Gray noticed this and left it be. There wasn't much point in trying to make her feel better or ask her what was wrong since this wouldn't be over for a while yet and he hoped that closure would be something that she got out of this as well as some more answers about her magical ability.
He also had to admit that he was curious as to what sort of power she may possess. Most ancient or older magics that didn't exist any more or were too rare to find were hard to find information for a reason. Most of them were incredibly dangerous to targets and some to the users as well. It seemed that this magic was outlawed because of the risk of damage to the user considering the state that Shio had been found in and also because it wasn't the dark guilds doing, but the force of her magical power exploding from her body.
It was good that she survived though. It definitely said a lot about her will to live. They finally reached a large hill where Shio noticed charring marks on the ground, where the grass had been burnt to black. She stopped and looked down and Gray stopped a few steps ahead of her.
Since he was a bit taller, he could already see what was on the other side of the hill. As his head turned back towards Shio, she could see the look on his face meant that she would not like what she was going to see. She had hoped that the village would have at least been cleaned up, bodies buried and that she wouldn't see things that held so much sentimental value for people strewn on the streets.
Her eyes closed and she took a deep breath before taking a small step dorwards, feeling like her brain was subconsciously fighting her feet to stop them from moving forward. Her arm stretched out as she imagined a rope, so she could pull herself forward with it, trying to resist and defeat her fears.
Just as she was about to grab onto the imaginary rope, her eyes snapped open to see that Gray had taken a hold of her outstretched hand. He did not smile, or say anything to her for comfort or support. His eyes were hard and his mouth turned downward in the corners. She knew that this would be a difficult time, but she was happy that he was here.
So she took a step forward.
And another.
And another.
The last step she took revealed what was left of her village. There was no bodies sprawled in the street, but there was burn marks from fire, things that people had used as weapons against the attacking mages, such as sticks and a few kitchen utensils like knives. Nothing but the remains of houses that used to be homes filled with life.
She continued forward and Gray kept a tight hold of her hand and walked beside her. Her grip was strong and her brow tightly knit, and even though her eyes were blank and showed no emotion in their depths, he could see her body shaking slightly and feel the blood running through her hand. He could swear that he was able to hear her heart hammering in her chest.
It was a sad scene, knowing that people had called this place home before it had been destroyed. He could see that the home most intact was over the opposite side of the village and was almost naturally hidden from being build in a small space within the small mountain that loomed over the village, casting hideous shadows on the ground. He only saw it for a moment before it was hidden again and he began to lead Shio in the direction of the house.
Shio did not protest and simply followed him, still grasping his hand, her grip strengthened by her intense emotion. They found the house was still in ruins, even though it was in better shape compared to the other ones. They stepped inside to see if there was anything left seeing as there was no longer a door.
Most of the valuables would be gone, but there was books on the shelf that looked older than the previous village leader that lived in the house before it was destroyed. She let go of Gray's hand and picked up one book and opened it to see what it was about since the writing on the binder had faded too much for it to be read. She hoped that they may have some information that might help her figure out her power. As the book opened she saw a glint of light the next thing she knew a large knife slid out from the book and landed on the floor, so it stuck out like a sore thumb against the burnt wooden surface.
Shio bent down and grabbed it by the handle and picked it up from the floor, then began to inspect the blade after drawing it from it's sheath. The design of it was old, like nothing Gray or Shio had seen before. The handle was wooden and had some odd symbols carved into it. The blade itself still looked as sharp as the day it was made and the metal had a menacing dark colour to it that made Gray a little nervous.
Gray took it from her to try and identify the symbols on the handle and Shio looked at the book again, seeing those same symbols on the pages that was open on as well as a small hole in the handle. She shut the book and put it in her pack and grabbed the other few and carefully put them in as an afterthought.
Behind the books, there was a tiny box hiding in the dark corner of the bookshelf. She pulled it out and wondered why it felt a little heavy. Gray spotted her with the box in her hand and he looked on curiously as she opened it to show a small jewel on a chain that had the same dark colour to its metal as the knife. The jewel itself was black as the ace of spades, but almost came to life once she touched it.
It turned to a pale gray colour and got brighter when she pulled it out completely. A tiny folded up piece of paper was inside the bottom of the box and Shio sat down on the floor to gather her thoughts before looking at it. Gray placed the knife down as he sat with her and the jewel on the chain stopped glowing and went black again as she put it down.
The small piece of paper had writing on it and Shio read it out aloud so Gray would hear as well.
"To whomever finds this note,
I hope you are the one who can use the items to their fullest extent. The one who used to be called 'Kisan-Aralyn' or 'Summoner of the Unknown'. The jewel is a talisman to help you with your ability and to protect you from the effects of what your ability brings forth. If it glows when you touch it, then put it on as soon as possible.
In the book that was in front of this box, there is a knife. It took me a long time to track it down, but I found it a few years ago when I made a secret trip up the mountain to the temple at it's peak. The knife and the jewel on the chain is made of a metal called 'Kisanium' that has not been found since the two items were created. The knife is a weapon against what you may summon and ordinary enemies and will become stronger and more deadly as you become more proficient with your talents.
But please, travel to the temple as there is another piece of the puzzle left to be found.
You must find the jewel that belongs in the hilt of the knife, but only the Kisan-Aralyn may retrieve it with a payment of blood.
Do not succumb to the power.
Control it and use it for good, or it will destroy you."
Shio sat in silence looking at the talisman, the knife and the note. Neither her nor Gray said anything for a few minutes but Gray eventually moved first. He picked up the talisman, noting that it did not glow when his skin grazed against it, and put it on Shio. He draped it around her neck, watching it come to life and glow white this time, then did up the clasp at the back. He placed a hand on her shoulder and shifted next to her.
"Let's go."
