"Where's Chika?" The man at the door repeated as Freed stood, unsure of what to do.
"Who are you?" Freed asked as Chika poked her head out into the hallway after hearing her name.
"Chika! It's been a while hasn't it!" The man said as Chika squeaked and retreated back into the living room.
"Chika? Are you okay?" Freed asked after seeing her sneak back when the man had addressed her.
"Chika we need to go. Your father wants to see you. He's missed you you know." The man said once more.
"No! I'm not coming with you!" Chika shouted
"You will if we make you." The man smirked, trying to push past Freed before he was stopped by a wall of purple text.
"Runes..?" The man asked, confused.
"Of course. It's much safer this way." Freed smirked as the man let out an angry growl.
"Listen here you... We was sent by her father after hearing news that she was at Fairy Tail." The man growled
"Look, whatever you're here for she obviously doesn't want to go. Tell her father that if he wishes to see her he should come himself." Freed stated as the man let out a dark chuckle, turning away from the house as he began walking back down the path.
"I'll tell him that then, but just remember that you've made a big mistake, rune mage." The man said, slightly turning his head to look back before he laughed once more, continuing towards the street.
"Well that was...weird..." Freed muttered before heading back inside to see Chika sat in the window hugging a pillow.
"Hey, are you okay?" Freed asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Chika nodded before she mumbled
"I'm sorry. I should of known they would find me."
"What do you mean?" Freed asked
"I ran away from home years ago, that's why I was living in the forest and one time, this guild took me in only, he found me and forced me to go back. I spent another year there before I was able to escape again..." Chika explained, not mentioning who 'he' was however, Freed had already guessed that she meant her father.
"Chika...I'm sorry. I didn't realise."
"It's fine...Can I have a hug?" Chika asked innocently. The question caught Freed off guard as he finally registered what she had said.
"Of course..." Freed replied before trailing off as Chika practically leapt at him, wrapping her arms around him and burrying her face in his chest.
"Shhhhh...It's okay. They're gone now...Shhh" Freed told the trembling girl in his arms as he rubbed small circles on her back.
"Are you sure they're gone?" Chika whimpered.
"It's okay, they wouldn't be able to get in anyway. There are runes around the whole house that stop anyone from entering unless I have said otherwise. Even if they've not gone they won't be able to get you." Freed replied, still comforting the smaller girl.
"Thank you." Chika mumbled.
"For what?" Freed asked confused for a moment
"For everything. When you were sent to get me, no one said you had to be nice to me but you were. Also you're letting me stay with you and before, you stopped them from taking me back to my father..." Chika was physically shaking at this point, causing Freed to tighten his hold on her.
"No one said we had to be nice to you but it was the right thing to do. And besides if I didn't let you stay here, where would you stay? I mean you could of stayed with Ever but then I'd miss you. And I stopped them from taking you back to your father, you looked terrified, I wasn't about to let them drag you away if you was scared out of your mind because of them. You really don't need to thank me. I'm doing this out of my own will because you're a nice person who deserves so much more than you think." Freed finished, now holding Chika's shoulders whilst looking into her eyes.
"Freed...I...I don't know how to respond to that...Stop being so nice!" Chika said, once again burying her face into Freed's chest.
"Awww, how touching. Let's see how far he really will go to protect her." A mans deep laughter rung out through the empty dungeon as he held the dark glowing orb in his hand.
"He'll regret protecting her..."
Morning came around and Freed was awoken by a loud knocking on the front door. He let out a groan, his eyes closing to block out the bright sunlight as he noticed the dull throbbing pain in the back of his head. He rolled over, opening one eye slightly to check the time.
"Who on earth knocks on someones door at four in the morning?" Freed questioned to himself before reluctantly dragging himself out of bed to the front door. It appeared Chika had heard the door too as he saw her stood at the door, looking out confused.
"Chika? Who's there?" Freed asked before Chika sepped to the side, revealing Bixslow and Evergreen stood, both looking equally as tired.
"What are you doing here? It's four in the morning?" Freed asked the two
"Don't you remember? We were going on that job and someone insisted that we had to set off early." Evergreen stated before yawning.
"I thought that was next week?" Freed asked, panic evident in his voice.
"Nope, Laxus is in a bad mood, you might want to hurry up." Bixslow replied
"Oh god... Right." Freed said before turning towards Chika "Chika I need you to stay here okay? Don't leave the house unless you need to and if you need to go anywhere call someone from the guild. I'm guessing you'll of met Erza?" Chika nodded once more "If you need anything call Erza or someone else, okay?" Freed asked as Chika nodded once more
"Where are you going?" Chika asked confused.
"Were going on a job but it's okay, we'll be back in a few days." Evergreen replied, seeing as Freed had rushed off to get ready.
"Okay." Chika replied
Freed, Bixslow and Evergreen left soon after, leaving Chika alone in the house. She had stayed up for a bit after they left, simply sitting in the window once more with a cup of tea in one hand, her head resting on the other hand. This was going to be a long few days without Freed but she would have to survive. She was still terrified that her father would come to get her and even though Freed had assured her that he couldn't get inside the house, she was still unsure. She soon fell asleep once more, her thoughts eventually tiring her out.