Chapter 03 - The Mission
The two decided to walk to the village for their mission since they received word that it was easier to enter the town through the South entrance.
Gildarts slung his bag over his shoulders, looking at Cana as she walked alongside him, playing with a lightning card. "You're still thinking about him?"
"It's not something I can forget easily, dad...," she confessed. He reached over and plucked it out of her hand. "Hey!"
"Until we have to fight, this is confiscated. We'll train along the way." She pouted but was glad for the distraction and bonding time with her father.
Cana charged at her father, sending a side kick as he merely blocked. She had been at it for hours, trying to get her father to budge from his spot and she pouted before smirking. She let her body slacken as he immediately darted to catch her before she fell and she stuck her tongue out.
"Cana!" He reprimanded.
"You said to get you to move out of your spot, I only targetted your weakness," she said with a wink. He groaned and closed his eyes.
"Dammit, Cana, don't play this again."
"I won't," she said before giving her father a hug. "I know you care a lot about us...mom knew too," she whispered, burying her face in his neck. He held her tightly as he trembled. "Hey, want to listen to stories about mom?"
"I can tell you more," he said with a smirk.
"Fine, want to know what mom said about you?" She shot back with a smirk. Cana never talked about her mother because her heart ached whenever she thought of her mother but having her father here with her to grieve and relive the happy memories with her mother made her heart light.
Emerala Village; a village overflowing with greenery and flowers. It was a beautiful and relaxing village. The villagers were friendly and easy to talk to but no one could fight. They had money due to trade and their location near the ports and many entrances. But that led them to disaster as well. The mission was to eliminate the dark guild that was terrorizing the village. It wasn't an extremely hard S-Class request but it was important for the village. The Mayor was already overstressed and his health deteriorated due to that. He was the one who requested for Fairy Tail to eliminate the dark guild and extend protection to the village since they were Fiore's Number One guild.
And so, they sought the guild. In a flash, Gildarts entered the building with a hole in the wall as Cana followed. They saw the surprise on the dark guild's faces and they went in for the attack.
"Cana! Left!" Gildarts called out, watching his daughter twist her body away to dodge the dagger. She yanked pole from another man's grasp and spun it, knocking him unconscious before slamming the other end into the man charging at her. She held out on her own and Gildarts watched in awe of his daughter.
"Pay attention!" She rebuked as men snuck up on him. He chuckled, spinning around to fight as well.
The fight itself wasn't hard but it was taxing. Men came out like ants and it was never ending. She was getting tired, her magic was almost depleted but her body moved naturally as she fought. Magic was sent her way but she dodged, pushing herself past her limit. She swept the man off balance and kicked him down. She pulled out three cards and summoned her strongest attack; her thumb stroking the lightning card her father returned to her prior to them attacking the dark guild.
"Jolt of Fate!" She pushed all her power into the attack while her other hand threw up the pole, letting it conduct electricity as she used it to redirect her attack to a broader range.
Gildarts whistled in awe and she panted heavily. He helped her sit down before patting her on the head. "Stay here, Cana," he said, treating her like a baby. She couldn't protest and he shook up the grounds, crushing all the others in the rumble he created.
He spun around and picked up Cana to see her already fast asleep as he brought her to their hotel room. He wiped her cheeks with a wet towel and she turned to her side. "Laxus...," she whispered longingly. He shifted her into a comfortable position before untying her ponytail as he frowned in response while he tucked her in.
"Sleep, Cana."
The next day, they went to the requester to claim their reward. Gildarts took the money and smiled at Cana.
"I thought of something good." She tilted her head as he brought her to weapons store. He hummed, looking around and found a two-part short bo staff – it locks to form a staff but unlocks to form two short poles connected by a chain, like a nunchuck and also, retractable stunner baton with a rubber grip. He looked around and found holsters and bought it, handing them to her. She blinked and he pointed to her thighs. "In case you run out of magic or when your enemies can't be affected by magic."
"Thank you," she whispered, strapping them on. She moved and stared at him in awe. "It's perfect!" He grinned at that, paying as he looked around, grabbing a pair of fingerless leather half gloves. He tossed them to her. "What are these for?"
"Handling the bo staff will give you blisters in the beginning, don't want you getting callouses."
She beamed at that before humming happily as she walked next to her father. He looked rather happy as well. He extended his hand to her and she took his hand. They left town, heading towards the town where Quatro Cerberus resided – Daffodil Town. As they walked, realization hit him hard.
"Cana...," he whispered. She looked at him and saw his misty eyes. "Cornelia's hometown is on the way..."
"I know, dad. Want to visit mom?" He nodded and she smiled at him. "Let's go. Mom will be ecstatic."
Author's Note: As promised! It's another short chapter though. I have a reason for naming Quatro Cerberus' town as Daffodil! One, they never said where the guild was. Two, all the names are flowers. Three, another name for daffodil is narcissus, a flower fitting for a guild led by Goldmine, Bacchus (for some reason, I think they're vain. Goldmine is roughly the same age as Makarov but his hair is still blondish brown?!). It will probably be a double release next week too.
Also, thank you everyone for supporting!