The Crimson Wolf
Summary: A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...
The Nullified Crash
Mitsu yawned as he watched people slowly filtered into the guild from his bar stool. He knew Makarov wanted to speak with him. Again. It was becoming redundant. Mira roped him into helping pass around breakfast, saying it would help cut down on his debt. The swordsman had no pride that would be harmed by the honest work, so he agreed. The two chatted as they worked, though there were no truly important words passed between them. Before long, Makarov walked in. "Mira, Master Makarov just walked in, and I'm pretty sure I need to speak to him. I'll help you out some more right after I finish," Mitsu said. Mira smiled cheerily, as always.
"Don't worry about cutting the conversation short on my account," she said. "I've handled this crowd before, and I can handle them again."
"Still, I'll be more than happy to help if I can," Mitsu said.
"I'm sure the pay helps that attitude," Mirajane said, cracking a smile. Mitsu smiled in return and shook his head.
"Of course, but it would be a pleasure even without it," Mitsu said. Makarov jumped up on the bar and sat down.
"Stop flirting already," the old man grumbled. Mirajane and Mitsu turned a bit red, but decided against responding. Nothing they would say would help anyway. Mitsu sat down on another bar stool near Makarov with his back to the bar, and leaned back so he could see the small man out of the corner of his eye. Makarov was still grumbling to himself; apparently he was not a morning person. Mitsu decided to give him a few minutes to adjust himself, and settled in to watch the area for a while. He felt a bit guilty since he could have been helping Mirajane out, but he got over it when he saw her smiling at everyone.
Then Makarov cracked his neck and sighed. Mitsu turned to see the guild master looking at him expectantly. "Good morning," Mitsu said. The old man grunted.
"Just start talking," Makarov said. Mitsu had no idea what to say at first, so he took a moment to collect his thoughts.
"Cana mentioned last night that you wanted to speak with me about my, uh, glowing," Mitsu said. Makarov nodded his head groggily.
"Spare me the gory details," he said. "I saw all the fireworks, and, while impressive, they did not harm the guild. Your business is your own as long as you don't harm your nakama. As long as you manage to keep that up, I couldn't care less. If you think something is risky enough to need permission, don't expect me to approve it unless you are away from here. That said, if you need advice I'm willing to lend an ear." Makarov turned his head to look at Mitsu, obviously anticipating a response.
And he got one.
"Well, during my meditation, I discovered I, at some point in my past, erected a mindscape. I accessed it during my meditation, and I know how to do it again. Cana said, and I agree with her, that some memory resurfaced which allowed me to get to it." Mitsu shrugged. "Only reason I'm mentioning it is because I feel like I should be able to do something with or in my mindscape. Unless I was drastically different before I lost my memory, I doubt I would have gone through the trouble if it was some useless achievement," the pinkette said.
"So, what are you asking?" Makarov prompted.
"Do you think there is an actual purpose for this place in my head?" Mitsu asked. Makarov looked over his guild as he thought.
"How large is it?" the master asked.
"It seems pretty big," Mitsu said. "I could reshape my surroundings to my will, and I never saw the end of the forest, which I think is its normal appearance. I should probably mention the wolf as well," Mitsu muttered. Makarov cocked an eyebrow, suggesting he continue. "In the forest, there was a red-furred wolf, and I'm positive that it is the mental manifestation of my magic." Makarov appeared somewhat surprised when he heard that, but stayed silent as he thought on it.
"Your mindscape, as you call it, appears fairly large, if it has any defined end to it," Makarov began after a few minutes. "Seeing as you can change it, it might as well be infinite. Before I continue on that, I want to tell you what I know of such a phenomena." The guild master cleared his throat and adjusted himself slightly. "First thing you should know is that, technically, everyone has a mindscape. It is a facet of their imagination, and often where dreams are born. The significance of your mindscape is how you manage to access it consciously, and, more importantly, that you are able to affect your physical body through it. Of course, I don't know the extent of what you can do to yourself in there."
"What do you mean I can affect my body?" Mitsu asked.
"Everyone's body is, obviously, controlled by their mind. One's mind is incredibly powerful, as it is capable of great ingenuity and imagination. Of course, how one uses this power is solely in the hands of the individual. Now, everyone knows their mind can control their body. It's simple. Many do not understand, however, the extent to which it affects the body. Even those without magic can do their body great harm or great good using their mind alone, though few do so consciously, if any. Once you throw magic in, control over the mind becomes much more important, a lesson I learned later in life than many of my peers. Do you see where I'm going with this?" Makarov asked.
"I think so," Mitsu slowly muttered, nodding his head. "Since I have a mindscape, I have incredible control over my mind, and, therefore, my body."
"Precisely," the master said with a large smile and a thumbs up. "To erase any doubt, your light show last night is evidence of how much power your mind has over your body."
"I think I understand," Mitsu said. "But what can I do with it?"
"That is for you to discover," Makarov said with a solemn nod. "But if I knew, I would tell you!" Then Makarov laughed loudly at his own ignorance, or perhaps at the statement itself. Was that supposed to be a joke? Mitsu shook his head and smiled at his guild master.
Suddenly several images passed across his vision, disorienting him so badly he nearly fell from his stool. He saw a flash of bright blue, and he swore he heard a sound that he knew nobody else could hear. The blue took over his vision again, and he saw some texture to it this time. Mitsu stood from the bar stool and slid to the floor by feel, as he could not see his true surroundings. It was like his mind was taking full control of his vision. Soon the rest of his senses were taken over. Mitsu could not fight it, and resigned himself to let whatever it was pass.
Once Mitsu stopped resisting, the field of blue returned, and Mitsu recognized the texture this time as fur, with some visible scales where the fur was thin. The mass of fur gained some distance from his vision, and Mitsu saw a large, cobalt-furred dragon. Its head, along with most of its body, looked like that of a wolf, with the fierce teeth to match, and the one eye Mitsu could see shone with an intelligence that, somehow, did not surprise him. What did surprise Mitsu was the fear in the wolfish dragon's eye.
Mitsu then felt the wind whipping past his face in this vision. Was this some kind of memory? The dragon seemed to know him in this memory, and it looked like it was running from something, but it wasn't Mitsu. The swordsman had no clue what could scare a dragon, but when he saw what the dragon was fleeing from, Mitsu felt dumb. The cobalt dragon was fleeing from a much, much larger white dragon, though if that dragon had any scales at all, they were masked by its thick fur and the distance between him and the beast.
That is when Mitsu noticed armored scales hidden behind red fur as his vision shifted back to his front. Was Mitsu riding a third dragon in this vision, or memory, or whatever this was? It infuriated him to lack any semblance of control. The red and blue dragons did their best to escape their white-furred counterpart, but the larger dragon ran them down, or flew them down as the case was, with terrible ease. Blue and Red fought alongside one another in a desperate attempt to escape White, but it seemed as though all they accomplished was annoying the greater beast. It puzzled Mitsu that he never felt as though he would fall from Red's back, or neck, or wherever he was seated, even when the dragon looped or barrel-rolled.
But before he could think anymore on that, White finally tired of toying with his smaller counterparts. He, or she, Mitsu did not know, struck Blue with his tail, sending him flying to the earth below. Before Red could even try to react, and colossal paw slammed into him, sending him after his partner. Mitsu was so engrossed in this vision that he had to rub the bar he knew was at his back to remind him that this was not real.
His field of vision bobbed up and down and shook around as though he were trying to shake his blurry sight clear. When Mitsu could see straight, he saw Blue lying still on the earth with a broken wing. He looked up and White diving toward Red and Blue, his maw blazing with boiling silver flames. Red nudged Blue to his feet, and they rushed with one another into the nearby forest. "YOU SHALL DEFY ME NO MORE! HIDE AS YOU LIKE, BUT YOU SHALL KNOW YOUR WEAKNESS!" White's thunderous voice echoed across the area. Red and Blue dove into a nearby lake as a white pulse of energy surged toward them.
When the duo hit the water, Mitsu's vision ended and he reclaimed the use of his eyes. He saw Mira in front of him, looking at him with concern. But Mitsu was still too dazed and preoccupied to assure the kind and gentle beauty he was alright. The last thing Mitsu saw in his vision was, as expected, two furry, wolfish dragons; one red, one blue. It was what Mitsu did not see that disturbed him. Mitsu did not see himself, or anyone else for that matter, upon Red's back. Mitsu knew, somewhere within himself, from the wolf he guessed, that he just witnessed a memory, although he wished it was not so intense. But he was not in the reflection. How can I remember something that I was not there for? Mitsu wondered.
"Mitsu!" Mira cried as she shook him lightly. Mitsu finally broke himself from his thoughts and looked around. Several people seemed concerned, Mirajane chief among them.
"I'm fine," Mitsu said carefully as he got to his feet.
"You're sure?" Mira asked. Mitsu rubbed his eyes as he readjusted to actually being able to see.
"Yea," he responded. "I was reliving something, I think." Mitsu's brow furrowed as he tried to figure it out. Where was I? Mitsu wondered. He refused to believe what his instincts told him. The wolf kept telling him the truth, but he would not, could not believe it. It was too outlandish and bizarre.
"A memory then?" Makarov asked. Mitsu nodded, which made the old man chuckle. "I'm certainly glad I don't react that way when I remember something."
Mitsu was about to reply, but he was cut off by the loud ringing of several bells around town. He could hear a voice directing people in Magnolia to do something, but he had issues making out exactly what. Nearly everyone else in the guild seemed to understand what this alarm meant, and they shouted with joy and passed drinks all around in their jubilation.
"What is going on?" Mitsu asked. Mirajane could hardly contain her own excitement, and Makarov looked like he could not decided whether to be excited, relieved, or wary.
"That is the alarm signaling the Gildarts Shift," Makarov explained.
"Gildarts?" Mitsu asked. "The S-class mage you told me about?"
"Yes," Makarov answered while rubbing his face. "The very, very, very destructive one. That alarm means they are preparing to rearrange the town so he is unable, or at the least less likely, to destroy Magnolia."
"He is that destructive?" Mitsu questioned in disbelief.
Makarov's only response was a grim nod of the head.
Just as Mitsu was about to speak again, he sensed it: a colossal, swirling mass of magic energy. "Whoa," Mitsu breathed. He glanced at Makarov. "That's him?"
"Sense him already, can you?" Makarov chuckled with a bit of pride. "He is something else, isn't he? Wait until you meet him. " As Gildarts grew closer, Mitsu got a better read on his magic levels, and, unless Makarov had some trick to reducing his magical signature, Gildarts possessed more raw power than the master. Of course, the swordsman would not bother mentioning this to Makarov. The old man probably knew anyway.
The excitement in the room only escalated as they waited on Gildarts, and Mitsu found himself growing anxious with them, as if it were contagious. Mitsu sees the old man looking as happy as Natsu during a brawl out of the corner of his eye. Stretching across Makarov's face inch by inch, a devious grin made Mitsu the slightest bit nervous.
"Come closer," Makarov said, waving his hand for Mitsu to lean in toward him. "Natsu!"
"Yea?" the pinkette shouted in return as he celebrated Gildarts return.
"Come here!" Makarov said excitedly. Natsu smiled widely, smacked Gray upside the head, then ran over.
"What's up?" Natsu asked, nearly vibrating. Makarov's smile grew more wicked, though Mitsu had no idea how that was possible.
"The two of you will play a prank on Gildarts," Makarov said somewhat quietly. Mitsu cocked an eyebrow, but Natsu pumped his fist in the air.
"Awesome! I was gonna fight him, but this is just as fun," Natsu said. "So what should we do?" Makarov gestured for the pair to come closer, and he told them his master plan. By the time Makarov had finished, Natsu was rubbing his hands together and cackling to himself. Even Mitsu found himself anticipating the moment.
"Remember to wait for me to signal the right moment," Makarov reminded. "For now, you two should go sit over there near Elfman. Gildarts won't be able to see you behind him." The two look-a-likes nodded their heads, and made their way over to the giant man.
"What are you two men doing?" Elfman asked. "Is it manly?"
"Very," Natsu assured Elfman. "Just make sure Gildarts can't see us." Elfman nodded his head, and shifted his position on the bench to obscure the two smaller men.
Mitsu peeked around Elfman's shoulder with Natsu as they watched Gildarts walk in. The cloaked, auburn-haired man looked confused as he wandered into the building. Natsu snickered.
"He doesn't know he is home already," the dragon slayer explained to his counterpart. "The guild got a makeover a few months ago, and almost everyone has gotten old enough so he doesn't recognize us."
"Wait, didn't he see any of the signs saying 'Fairy Tail' on the way in?" Mitsu whispered. Natsu shrugged.
"Probably not." The duo turned their attention back to Gildarts, looking toward Makarov every few seconds to look for the signal.
Mitsu was almost shocked when Natsu turned out to be right after hearing Gildarts ask Mira where Fairy Tail was.
"Natsu," Mitsu whispered. "I'm still not sure about the second thing Master Makarov wanted me to do."
"Don't worry about it," Natsu waved him off. "Gildarts is cool. He will blow it off, or even find it funny."
"If you say so," Mitsu muttered. The swordsman noticed Makarov wave his hand. "There's the signal. Let's go." Natsu nodded his head.
The duo jumped out from behind Elfman and pointed their fingers toward Gildarts at the same time, in clear view of the crash wizard.
"GILDARTS! FIGHT ME!" they shouted in unison. Gildarts, who just finished speaking with Makarov, turned to see Natsu, as he expected, and quickly did a double take. Then Gildarts rubbed his eyes to make sure they were working right.
"Hey!" Natsu yelled, turning to glare at Mitsu. Mitsu returned his glare. "I'm gonna fight him first, and that's the end of it, Natsu!"
"Hell no! Natsu! I totally called dibs first!" Mitsu shouted back, his gaze piercing into Natsu's own.
Gildarts' jaw dropped as he looked between the two "Natsus" and looks from one to the other rapidly as they argued. He looked slightly pale, and turns to Makarov, who just shrugged at him, as if this were normal. Then Gildarts thought of a way to find out which Natsu was real.
"Natsu!" he called, expecting only the real Natsu to respond.
"WHAT!?" both Mitsu and Natsu respond, even though they never practiced.
Gildarts fell over and the entire guild laughed at his expense.
A few moments later, Gildarts recovered, though he was slightly pale, and turned to ask Mirajane for a drink. "One Natsu is a lot to handle," he muttered. "Two is too much, even for me."
Makarov tried to explain, but he could not catch his breath long enough even to speak. Mitsu shoved the hysterically laughed Natsu off his shoulder and walked over to Gildarts.
"Gildarts," Mitsu began, "My name is Mitsu. I promise I'm not really Natsu, though I look exactly like him. This was just a prank Master Makarov put together a few minutes ago. The master wanted to freak you out, and it worked better than anyone thought it would." Mitsu chuckled a little more. He supposed the effect of Gildarts reaction was less than it would have been if he had already known the wizard.
Gildarts' color quickly returned as he pumped Mitsu's hand excitedly. "Thanks for clearing that up," the wizard said with a broad smile, and, surprisingly, a deep laugh. "You performed excellently! A great prank! Good work. Though, I admit I am glad there is only one Natsu. I love the kid, but there is no way I could possibly handle two of them."
"I understand completely," Mitsu said. "I've only been here for two days now, well, two days that I've been awake for, and I get it."
"Nice meeting you," Gildarts said, picking up his pack again and slinging it over his shoulder. "Oh, and Natsu, be sure to stop by soon."
Mitsu noticed Gildarts was headed straight for the wall, and looked at Makarov, who signaled for him to do it. After a brief sigh to himself, and a quick prayer to anyone who might have been listening, Mitsu focused on generating a nullifying field of magic within his hand. Within a moment, he was satisfied to see a pool or glowing crimson energy in his palm.
Now what?
Mitsu shrugged, and decided to throw the energy like a ball, right before Gildarts made the finals steps toward the wall of the guild. The crimson magic bolted across the room and silently impacted Gildarts' back. The crash wizard made no indication he felt it, and kept walking toward the wall. Makarov was nearly bouncing in his anticipation.
But the moment Gildarts was about to face-plant, he stopped one hair's breadth away from the wall. He looked over his shoulder at Mitsu and Makarov. "I see the prank isn't quite over. Nice magic you've got there, Mitsu." That said, Gildarts took a step back, then swung his fist into the wall, smashing a hole into it with his raw, unmodified physical strength. Mitsu's jaw dropped to the floor. "But, I'm still going through the wall, Makarov."
"Did he powder some of those bricks?" Mitsu asked the guild master.
Makarov was grumbling and cursing under his breath about Gildart's being a pain in his ass. Mitsu realized he was not going to be getting anything out of the grumpy old man, and walked away. He noticed Natsu out of the corner of his eye smashing through a different wall, similarly to how Gildarts did, presumably to go meet with the older mage. Makarov then got off the bar, grumbling about having two holes to fix now.
Shaking his head, Mitsu stepped toward Mira, who was still giggling to herself. "If you need me, for whatever reason, I'll be out getting the stuff for my camp."
"Alright," Mira said. "Thanks for the help earlier."
"Heading out? I'll come with.
Mitsu turned to see Gray walk up. "I'm perfectly fine going without you, Gray."
"Nah," the ice make wizard said with a shrug. "I'm bored is all, admittedly because Natsu isn't here to fight with me." Mitsu rolled his eyes.
"Fine," he relented. "But, if you're gonna come with me, you're gonna help me pick the campsite and set up."
"I can live with that," Gray responded, moving his hands into his surprisingly present pockets. Mitsu sighed, and led Gray out the door and into town.
"So where did you learn your magic?" Mitsu asked, thinking it an innocent enough question. Still Gray stiffened slightly.
"Uh, that is a real long story," Gray said. Mitsu arched an eyebrow.
"We, literally, have all day," the swordsman said. Gray sighed.
"Yea, you're right. Everyone else knows anyway, I guess," Gray said. "I guess I should start with Ur. Ur was my teacher. She found me after the demon Deliora destroyed my hometown. As far as I know, I was the only survivor."
"Wow," Mitsu said. "I'm sorry. If this is too much, you can stop."
"I'll be fine," Gray said with a shrug. "Anyway, I was pretty obsessed with getting revenge, so I ended up becoming her second apprentice, her first being my senior, Lyon. The three of us were kind of like a family for a while, and Lyon and I got pretty good at ice make magic under Ur. Then we heard that Deliora was spotted again, and I immediately ran off to battle him." Gray laughed bitterly for a moment. "I was so cocky. I doubt anyone could have fought the Demon of Destruction, as Deliora is called. And yet there I was trying to fight the monster when I was just a kid. Ur and Lyon followed me. Lyon tried to use a spell called Iced Shell to defeat Deliora. He did not know what the spell would do to him. But Ur did, so she knocked him out. She told me to tell Lyon when he awoke that she had died, and proceeded to cast Iced Shell on Deliora. What the spell does, essentially, is turn the caster's body into an unmeltable ice that would encase the target. And it worked."
"She must have really cared for the both of you," Mitsu commented.
"Yea, she did," Gray said quietly. "I blamed myself for that for the longest time, and I guess a part of me will always regret it. Anyway, after that, I made my way here and joined up with Fairy Tail."
"What happened to Lyon?" Mitsu asked the ice mage. Another bitter laugh escaped the man.
"Well, while my desire to get stronger was to get revenge on Deliora, Lyon wanted to be the strongest there was. He thought that he had to get stronger than Ur and then beat her in combat to prove himself," Gray said.
"That would be a problem for him," Mitsu said. Gray nodded.
"It was," Gray said. "But Lyon is nothing if not persistent. By his logic, Deliora defeated Ur."
"I get it," Mitsu said, cutting Gray off. "So he decided he had to beat Deliora, which would prove he was stronger than Ur."
"Exactly," Gray said. "But the demon was still encased in ice. Lyon found an ancient spell, Moon Drip, which can dispel any magic, no matter how powerful. He set his operation up on Galuna Island. Eventually, the spell had side-effects on the local, and oddly peaceful demons. They sent out a request for the guilds to help. Happy, Natsu, and Lucy stole the request. I tried to follow them and bring them back, but they kidnapped me and convinced me to help. We confronted Lyon and his group, stopping them from hurting the villagers, but not from waking Deliora. The irony of it is Ur's Iced Shell had weakened the demon so much over the years that he literally crumbled when Natsu punched it."
"So Lyon really had no hope of proving himself," Mitsu said. "He probably wasted years of his life obsessing over it, when he could have been actually getting stronger than Ur."
"Yup," Gray said. "Erza ended up dragging all of us back to the guild."
"I'm sure that went well," Mitsu commented. Gray just grunted.
"Hey, get that tent," Gray said, pointing out one. "I've seen it before. It has magical reinforcement in its structure, so the wind won't blow it over and rain can't get in, and some low tier temperature regulation magic."
"Well, that's awesome," Mitsu said before he asked the clerk for that tent.
As the clerk was getting the tent for them, Mitsu noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Were they being followed? The swordsman decided to stay his tongue and blade, in case he was jumping to conclusions. But as he and Gray picked up more camping equipment, Mitsu became more and more convinced they were being followed. Mitsu leaned over to Gray subtly.
"Gray, we're being followed by someone," he said. Gray's eyes widened for a moment as he looked around. When he saw a flash of blue ducking back behind something, the ice make wizard sighed.
"It's just Juvia," Gray explained. "Come on out already. We know you're there."
A pretty blue-haired women stepped around the corner with a shy smile and embarrassed blush decorating her face. Gray opened his mouth to say something else, but Mitsu beat him to the punch.
"Juvia, it would be best if you stopped following us like that. It messes with my senses, and I almost lashed out at you on reflex."
It seemed that Juvia missed everything Mitsu said, however. She was too busy staring at Gray with a dreamy look on her face. Mitsu rubbed his face in frustration when he realized he would not be getting rid of this lady.
"Sorry, Gray," Mitsu apologized, though he did not fully realize why he apologizing. "Juvia, would you like to come with us to finish buying camp supplies and equipment?"
"Oh yes! Juvia would love to come with Gray!" Juvia answered ecstatically. Why is she talking about herself in third-person? Mitsu was about to say something else, but noticed Juvia reacquired that blank look in her eyes as she stared at Gray. Though, this time was probably due to Gray's new nakedness. Should I ditch these two?
"Gray," Mitsu said, rubbing his face in frustration.
"What's up?"
"Your clothes?" Mitsu prodded. Gray looked down at himself, then dashed off to find his clothes. The swordsman shook his head as he watched the boxer-clad man running around frantically. His thoughts drifted to Juvia again, seeing how her mind wandered off again, presumably after Gray.
"Juvia," Mitsu said. "For your sake, I think it would be best to try and find someone else. Pursuing Gray's love is probably a lost cause, from what I've seen." Of course, Mitsu would never say that was especially true for Juvia. "Gray is pretty emotionally frigid, uh, pun not intended."
"Mitsu is wrong about Gray," Juvia responded firmly. "And Juvia thinks Mitsu just wants Gray for yourself. I will not tolerate another Love Rival!" Mitsu's eyes nearly bugged clean out of his head and he choked on his own spit.
"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa there!" he yelled as he shook his hands back and forth. "That is not true at all! I do not play for that team!" Mitsu took a breath to steady himself, then sighed. "If you won't even consider someone else, then you should at least change your methods. The way you are doing things now, the only thing you will likely accomplish is creeping Gray out and pushing him away from you."
Mitsu got irritated when he noticed Juvia stopped listening awhile ago, having drifted off again into her imagination. Gray ran back up, muttering to himself how the clothes got that far away and that spread out.
Before long, Mitsu, Gray, and Juvia were wondering the forest, looking for a place to set up the camp. They had already found several places that would have worked if Mitsu were only staying for a short while. But the swordsman had no idea how long he would be camping out here, so he wanted to find a much better place that was farther from town that the spots they had passed over.
"Are we far enough away yet?" Gray asked.
"I'm not sure," Mitsu said. "I'm sure once I am confident in my self control I will move a bit closer to town. Probably to one of the really good spots we passed earlier."
"Juvia wants to know why you would not move from the forest altogether once you feel confident," Juvia said. Mitsu smiled at her a bit over his shoulder. She was actually pretty nice when she was doing something that was not creepy.
"I like the peace and quiet out here," Mitsu explained. "And I feel completely and totally at home in the forest. Although, I'm not sure why that is the case." Juvia nodded her head, seeming to accept the answer.
"Hey," Gray said, pointing out a nearby stream. "This area could be good. There is water nearby, which is good, I guess." Mitsu pursed his lips as he looked around. He took note that the soil was fairly rocky, so mud would not be as huge of a problem as it would have elsewhere in the forest. The ground was rocky enough to make him wonder if they were close to caves or mountains.
"Are there any caves or mountains nearby?" Mitsu asked Gray.
"The closest real mountains are quite a way off to the north," he said. "Though, there could be some larger hills around here. I have no idea about caves or any respectable hills though. That is a better question for Natsu. He explored these woods a lot when he was younger."
"Alright," Mitsu said. "It doesn't really matter anyway. I was just curious. Anyway, I think we should move a little farther away. My tent might be rain-proof, but I doubt it is flood-proof, and that stream may flood at some point."
"Juvia agrees that this is smart," Juvia said.
Mitsu moved to a spot about twenty paces up to the top of a small hill, and both his companions agreed this spot was better. The trio began to erect the tent and set up the rest of the campsite. By the time they had everything finished, the sun was halfway set.
"Thank you," Mitsu said. "Both of you. I'm sorry it took longer than I expected. In fact, since it is so late, why don't you two stay here tonight and help me break in the camp? It beats walking in the woods in the dark."
Mitsu sees Juvia shifting her weight back and forth before she opened her mouth to respond, most likely refusing the offer. But Gray spoke up first. "I'm in," he said. "Sounds fun, actually."
"Juvia will also stay," Juvia declared, excited now that she would be close to Gray for a while longer.
"Excellent," Mitsu said, smiling after noticed Juvia's attitude change. "Hey, Gray, let's go get some firewood." Gray grunted, and the pair walked into the woods, leaving Juvia behind sitting on a stump.
As he and Gray were gathering the wood, Mitsu considered asking Gray about his thoughts on Juvia. After all, the ice mage did not seem as annoyed or put out with the water mage as others would have been. Just as Mitsu was about to ask, he noticed Juvia gazing at Gray from behind a tree with that look on her face that meant she was somewhere else entirely in her mind.
When Gray and Mitsu returned to the campsite, they found Juvia sitting exactly where they left her. Mitsu could not help but chuckle at this.
"What's so funny?" Gray asked.
"Nothing," Mitsu responded. Gray eyeballed him curiously for a moment before turning to Juvia.
"If you were gonna be following us anyway, you should have at least helped us gather the firewood," Gray said. Both Juvia and Mitsu's jaws dropped, since they thought he did not notice her out there, and never seemed to noticed before. Did Gray always know when Juvia was around?
"You are right, Gray," Juvia said with her eyes downcast. Then Juvia shocked Mitsu and Gray by getting down on her hands and knees and begging for punishment.
"Cut that crap out already! I am not into that crap," Gray insisted. Mitsu, for his part, lost any ability he once had to talk. Some people actually like that?
Juvia was about to respond to her beloved, but noticed Mitsu had recovered slightly. The newest addition to Fairy Tail looked irritated, and the air started to feel heavier, and Juvia knew Mitsu was responsible, even if he was doing it unintentionally. To prevent Mitsu from doing something rash, consciously or otherwise, Juvia decided to just nod her head and sit down once more on her stump.
While Mitsu worked on getting the fire started, Gray sat down surprisingly close to Juvia. Once the fire was roaring all on its own, Mitsu moved a bit away from the fire and sat on a dry patch of ground.
"Before long, I'll have to get a good axe to chop wood with," Mitsu muttered to himself. Juvia cleared her throat, catching Mitsu's attention.
"Juvia wants to know how strong Mitsu's control over his magic is," she said. "Juvia does not want to go without her magic again." Mitsu noted her voice was perfectly steady and confident, despite the obvious nerves behind the question.
"I assure you that everything will be fine as long as I stay focused and remember to meditate," he said. "Before long, controling my power will be second nature." I hope.
"Yea, so what was with the lightshow you put on during your meditation yesterday anyway?" Gray asked. Mitsu looked through the trees into the barely lit sky before he answered.
"During my meditation, I found the heart of my magic power and connected with it consciously. I communed with it for hours, though I had no clue until I was finished," Mitsu explained. The swordsman's thoughts drifted to the wolf again.
"Don't bother keeping quiet," Gray said, thinking Mitsu was hesitating about saying more. "Juvia and I are stuck with you here all night, so feel free to talk."
"It isn't that I don't want to tell you," Mitsu said quickly. "I've just been trying to sort things out. Anyway, I discovered that I have this mindscape that I can access during meditation. In there I found the mental, and I guess spiritual, manifestation of my magic power. The thing that I'm still trying to figure out is why it was a wolf."
"A wolf?" Juvia asked.
"Yes, a wolf. My magic, in my mind at least, took the form of a huge, crimson-furred, glowing wolf," Mitsu said. Juvia stayed quiet, apparently deep in thought.
"Hey, wolves are pretty cool," Gray said, "and if your magic has something to do with wolves, then you must have some pretty neat spells, once you remember them."
"Are you familiar with any adjectives that don't play off your magic and personality?" Mitsu asked with a grin.
"Huh?" Gray asked, confused for a moment. "Oh. I guess I do say 'cool' a lot." The ice mage shrugged to himself.
The trio stayed quiet and just looked at the dancing flames contently.
After a few minutes, Mitsu decided then would be as good a time as ever. "I'm going to sit here and meditate for a while." Juvia and Gray continued to stare into the fire in silence, so Mitsu shrugged and entered his position while shedding his coat.
Presumably because of his recovered knowledge, Mitsu found himself blocked out his surroundings and standing before the wolf incredibly soon. He doubted it took more than a minute or two. As he stared at the wolf, Mitsu felt the beast tell him without words to place his hand on its head, as he did the night before. When his calloused hand met the wolf's thick fur, power surged around the area again. This time, however, it was not nearly the flood that it was before.
Mitsu realized this was because he was restraining his magic through his will. He got another wordless communication from the wolf, presumably because it was a part of him, and Mitsu knew the wolf was pleased with this realization. Soon the canine urged Mitsu to try and do more with this control he was exhibiting. The swordsman stared at the wolf for a moment, wondering, not for the last time, what the wolf actually was, beyond his magic. Then Mitsu decided to go on and try. After all, what could it hurt?
Mitsu released his tight leash on the magic, allowing it to flow all around him again. Then he flexed his power of will once more, sending the crimson magic back and forth around him. The magic danced according to Mitsu's will. He had thought his power was a beast to be tamed, but it was just a part of him that answered to his whims. His face, both the physical and mindscape, broke into a smile as he called all the power to condense into his palm. Mitsu took a deep breath to calm his excitement, and slowly guided the ball of energy along the edge of his blade. With one more breath, Mitsu stepped forward toward one of the trees and swung his sword with all his might. The magic enriched blade cut through the tree with ease, and Mitsu hardly believed his eyes when several more trees fell from a similar cut, as though his blade had hit them as well.
The wolf padded forward, offering its head to Mitsu, who softly laid his hand on his wolf friend. When his hand made contact with the wolf, his vision went black for a brief moment before he saw himself through another's eyes. The vision Mitsu concentrated his signature crimson magic in his hand. Over the next instant, the magic's intensity and brightness skyrocketed before a magic seal appeared in front of his hand. The figure of a wolf's head appeared in the magic before shooting through the seal. Mitsu's eyes followed the bolt as it tore through several trees, leaving gaping holes behind, before impacting a rock wall When the wolf's-head-shaped magic bolt struck the wall, the rocks shattered
Soon Mitsu was back in his mindscape and free of the vision. He knew that the wolf just taught him one of his forgotten spells. The spell's name popped into his head a moment later. Crimson Wolf's Fang. At his will, Mitsu's magic appeared in his hand, just as he had seen a moment ago. "Crimson Wolf's Fang!" After casting the spell, Mitsu admired the damage the magic did, even though it could be repaired in an instant.
Mitsu turned to see the wolf standing right behind him. Soon it laid down at his feet, seeming content with Mitsu's progress. Mitsu sat in front of it, again looking square in its eyes. While it did appear happy with Mitsu, it also had a yearning look in its eyes, as if it were expecting something else. Mitsu offered a soft smile, and rubbed the wolf's head. Mitsu sat in front of the wolf for several minutes, keeping it company, though he did not know why, before he finally left his meditation.
When he opened his eyes, Mitsu spied Gray and Juvia talking comfortably with each other. Maybe Juvia has a chance after all?
"You're back," Gray said. "How did it go?"
"Very, very well," Mitsu answered. "The wolf gave me a memory of a spell I once knew, but it seemed kind of upset. I have no clue why though."
"Well, if it can just give you memories, it's gotta be more than just your magic. Who knows how important though," Gray said with a shrug.
"Juvia thinks the wolf is the key to Mitsu's memories," Juvia said. "If the wolf can give Mitsu any memory at all, it might be a part of Mitsu that was sealed away."
"You're both probably right," Mitsu said. "But even if you are, it's too late to bother with it tonight." Mitsu fell onto his back and stared at the stars through the tree canopy. He took a deep breath of the fresh forest air as he gazed at the heavens. His mind drifted briefly to his inner wolf, wondering what it wants him to do, but he brushed the thought away for the night.
The wind shifted slightly, and the air pressure dropped. Instinctively, Mitsu sensed a coming storm. "We should crawl in the tent to sleep tonight. It might be a little cramped for three, but a storm is coming, and I don't want to wake in a muddy puddle, personally." Juvia and Gray nodded their heads, but nobody was quite ready for sleep yet, so they stayed out.
Still, the storm coming set Mitsu on edge more than it should have. There was something wrong about it, or so the wolf said. And Mitsu trusted his wolf.
AN: Thanks for reading so far! I hope you are enjoying it. I still haven't heard if anybody is interested in seeing a profile for Mitsu. I'm sure you guys can keep track of him well enough, I just didn't know if having all the info right there would be convenient for y'all. If I don't hear something about it over the next few chapters, I'll assume you don't want it, which is fine by me. Less work! :P
Anyway, tell me your thoughts! I would love to hear from you!