"Hey, Lucy. Wake up, we're here." A few hours later, Gray shook his shoulder on which there was a sleeping Lucy.
"Y-yes, whashapnin?'' She murmured, taking her head off him and yawning. "Did I miss something?"
"Not yet, but if you don't hurry up, we'll be going back to Magnolia." Answered Gray and stood up, massaging his numb shoulder. "Come on, Lucy."
"Yeah, yeah. Comin'." She said and also got on her feet.
The Fairy Tail wizards went out of the train and looked around. The town was small and seemed rather abandoned. There were no people around, even the train platform was empty — excluding them and one drunk guy sitting on a bench. They exchanged interrogative looks. "So," started Gray. "should we go? I think it won't be too hard finding the house…"
"S-sure." Lucy cleared her throat and the mages started walking. There were many ruined flats with no windows or they were simply jerkwatered. "Where the hell are we?"
"No idea, but look." The boy pointed his hand at something. Her sight followed its line and she raised her eyebrows. A few meters away, there was an outstanding manor, perfectly looked-after, with a huge garden and many sculptures.
"It reminds me of my own home…" Gasped Lucy. "Look, even the alleys are similar, and the plants…"
"Oi, I don't know 'bout that stuff, Luce." He mumbled and rolled his eyes. Then he looked at the girl and found her startled, with eyes wide open. Her cheeks flushed a little, her body bent over. Gray found this view quite bonny. "Lucy?"
"Sorry. I'm okay now." She shook her head and with a strange face came closer to her partner, catching his arm.
Gray gulped and turned away his head to hide flush on his face. I behave like a teenager in love, he thought with distaste. He put his hands in the pockets and went towards the manor. Lucy followed, walking half of the step behind him.
She felt uneasy. She could not tell what made her so insecure, but the more she was looking at the scenery, the more things she found too familiar. But there was just no way she could have been here before, was it? Then why did all those things look so recognizable… And similar to her own old family's conzern? But what was that dreadful feeling of hurt and anger?
"Are you all right?" Lucy heard Gray asking and when she raised her eyes at him, she gasped in astonishment. She did not expect his face to be so close. A slight blush colored her cheeks.
"Ye— Um, no." She answered, sighing.
"What's wrong?" He knew it very well that there was something not right.
"I don't really know." The blonde trembled and he came closer, opening his arms for her. Lucy's mouth fell open at that, but she willingly let him hug her. Of course, she was surprised, she even intended to ask about his unexpectedly warm reaction, but decided that telling him what was going on was much more important right then. "Everything seems familiar, like I've seen it someday before…"
"You said it's because of the similarity to your home, right?"
"That's not it." Lucy shook her head and pulled away from his embrace, embarrassed. She tried not to look at the guy at that moment. His hug was surprisingly warm — she had expected it to be rather ice-cold or something like that, as of the Ice mage. Moreover, it was not unpleasant. It was definitely something that made her feel braver and safer and what was more — when he let go, she experienced a sad feeling of emptiness. Is this how I should feel about it? Or is there something wrong with me, she panicked inside. She forcefully swallowed her saliva and focused on the conversation she was having with Gray, not within her mind. "I feel scared and hurt."
Gray did not say anything, but lowered his head and looked at the ground. Lucy sighed, watching the brunet and looked in the other direction. "You know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be bothering you with my paranoia."
To her amazement, Gray only growled, turned around, and caught her hand into his. "Come on. You don't need to be afraid when you're with me."
Dumbstruck, Lucy stared at his back while he was pulling her towards the house. Finally, she chuckled and smiled with gratitude and tenderness. Yeah. There's nothing really wrong with me. It's him who's making me self-confident, and, in addition, is such a good man. I think I understand Juvia a little.Although she admitted it to herself, the blonde did not have any intention of telling that to the man himself. At least, not yet.
Gray approached the door and knocked on it. He caught a glimpse of Lucy and found her grinning at him. He felt abashed. "W-what?"
"Nothing. Thank you, Gray."
He did not have a chance to answer, because the door suddenly opened and the maid stood in it, looking suspiciously at them. "Yes?"
"Hello, we're from Fairy Tail." Said Gray. "We came to Mr. Futago."
"Ah, yes. Okay, come in. He's expecting you." The maid told them, speaking quickly and with a foreign accent, and let them inside. The mages came in and their feeling of uneasiness increased. Gray felt it because of the richness of the house, omnipresent gold and silver, paintings and sculptures, carpets and flowers. He had never seen such a luxurious home. However, Lucy's disturbance was growing with every minute due to her memory of that very place, which finally returned. Oh, yes. She knew whose house it was. And that she was not welcomed there. Still, there's the slightest chance they won't recognize me…
"Welcome, my dear Fairies." A deep bass pealed in the room where they were waiting. Lucy and Gray turned to see — to Gray's distaste, and Lucy's discomposure — a tall, handsome man; he was a well-dressed brunet and seemed to have great manners. "Please, let us pass to the sitting room and have a comfortable seat there. You must be thirsty, you've traveled quite a distance, thus, would you like something to drink?"
Mr. Futago did not wait for the answer and turned to the servant to give orders. Only when he did, Gray felt the girl clinging to his arm and a blow of air when Lucy whispered with determination to his ear: "Please, don't let me talk in front of him. Please!" Wondering what that was about, he only nodded and felt her loosening the squeeze. They sat close to each other, Lucy feeling safer by his side and Gray feeling overprotective of his clearly terrified friend.
"So, someone finally has enough bravery to come and inspect my request in detail, huh? I am Futago Kaoru, and my guests…?"
"Gray and… Lisanna." Replied Gray. He felt Lucy's movement like she wanted to hit him, but she knew she could not allow herself to do so. If she had done it, the cover name would have been for nothing. "And yeah, we're here to find out about the job."
"Of course. Nice to meet you." The owner of the mansion nodded. "All right, then. My reward isn't that high for nothing. The job is hard, if not dangerous, and many mages before you resigned from helping me. In fact, I am shocked that there are only two of you."
"What's the mission?"
"Now, now. Brace yourselves, because you're going to hear something good. You see, I've always loved fairy tales and legends, I simply adored them. Until, one day, I heard a story about a long forgotten treasure, which can provide money for the whole life." He stopped talking, watching his guests intently. "I wasn't really interested in that, until I encountered another version. Surely, there is a treasure, but inside of the chest there is something much more valuable. A stone of life. Dark Stone of Eternity."
Mr. Futago paused to observe the reaction of his guests. Gray frowned, and Lucy was sitting with lowered head, but furrowed brows. He cleaned his throat and continued. "See, at the beginning, I thought exactly the same thing… It's just a legend! But slowly, the matter took over my whole mind and I started the research. And now, after those years, I know it's real. It exists. And it's somewhere on this continent."
"Well, I thought as much." Said Gray and crossed his arms. "So getting it is hard, right? Well, no problem…"
"No. It's not just that." Denied Mr. Fugato with a smile. "And that's why the reward is high. But I must tell you, there is more; when you find the treasure, you can keep 50% of it. I just need the Stone."
"WHAT?" Exclaimed the Ice mage, moving nervously and looking like he was expecting the man to yell Prima Aprils! at any time. "You're joking, right?"
"No, not at all!"
He was thinking for a while. "Okay, so tell us, where is it?"
The owner of the manor cleared his throat again. "I shall have no idea."
"… What?"
"As I wrote, I need clever and smart people — just to find it out. You have a full access to my research and sources, and you live at my mansion. It's huge, so you will find it quite comfortable, I suppose. Ah, and the dinners we eat all together, of course. I'm pretty lonely in here… So it will be a pleasure to me to have someone to talk to."
The Ice mage turned to look at Lucy. She asked him not to force her to speak, but it was not something he should have been deciding on his own. Although, when he saw the look on her face, he changed his plan.
"Sorry, Mr. Futago… Can we talk it over?"
"Sure! Go on!" He agreed at once with a smile.
"Um, I mean… Me and Lisanna. Alone."
That time, the tall man gazed at them with suspicion, but said nothing and nodded his head in a direction of opened door on the right side of the room they were in. Gray got up and pulled Lucy after him. She did not throw her hair from the face and followed the brunet to another room. Gray made sure Mr. Futago stayed away and closed the door, then turned to the blonde.
"Okay. I suppose you know this man, Luce. But can you explain to me…"
"Sorry, not now. I promise when we'll be left alone, I'll tell you all you need to know." She looked at him the way which made the boy regret saying anything on that matter. He cleared his throat and asked about the mission. "Well, it seems pretty tough, but I think we could handle it. What do you say?"
"I don't know. It may take much longer than we thought…" He scratched his head and turned his sight onto the portrait of the owner of the manor. I wonder what's happened between those two. "But I think it might be a good experience. And, after all, we can resign from doing it, right?"
"Sure. So, what, do we give it a go?'"
"Yeah."
"Oh, and Gray…"
"Mmm?"
"Where's your shirt?" Lucy giggled and crossed her arms, looking at his nude torso. Gray jumped and growled. He must had left it in the salon. The blonde shook her head with a smile and opened the door, getting serious again. He nodded and went out as the first one. He stood in front of the man, his shirt back on its place, and said with determination. "We accept the mission. Please, take care of us."
Needless to say, Mr. Futago was delighted when he had heard of their decision. He announced that their bedrooms were prepared and the maid would take them there straight away. Then, he asked Gray and Lucy, alias Lisanna to gather in the hall and promised to show them around, including the most important place for them to use: a secret room, where he was doing his research. Or maybe the guests were too tired to see the mansion that day? After all, it had been a long journey, getting there and it was night already. Both of the mages admitted to being exhausted, but Kaoru announced that they shall do it the next day.
"The maid will be calling you for the meals, but, as I have mentioned, I will be eating only dinners with you. Please, now, take care of yourselves and see you around. I wish I could get to know you better, but I must do some business stuff today. So, tomorrow's the day!" Mr. Futago laughed and left the wizards alone.
When he was gone, one of the maids came to them and bowed down, saying her name was Kiyomi and asked them to take care of her. Lucy smiled, finally letting herself go and replied politely the way she should. Gray only mumbled something, having no idea of the etiquette. The blonde giggled and winked at him.
Kiyomi-chan was leading them through countless corridors and finally got to one where she stopped beside the door and bowed down again. "This is your room, master." She told Gray and watched as he went inside. "Now, please, follow me, mistress." She led Lucy to the room on the other side of the corridor and showed her door. "If you need anything, please, call me by the button inside. Its magic will let me know."
"Sure, thank you. You may leave now." Said Lucy and went into the room. It was definitely huge. A huge bed with canopy, a wardrobe out of oak wood, enormous windows and carpets on the floor. A dressing table was standing right next to the window where the light was shining the best way to do a make-up and take care of a lady's face. She sighed. So much like at her old home…
After several minutes, she heard somebody knocking on the door. "Yes?"
"Hey, can I come in?" Lucy sighed in relief. It was Gray.
"Sure! Always. You don't need to ask, I guess I'm used to you guys invading my room when I don't expect anything."
The man went inside and closed the door. He skimmed the room and nodded. "Good to know. Oh, what a room. Mine's similar. I only have a bigger bed."
"Oh really." She laughed and sat on hers. It was soft and comfortable. "So, what do you think?"
"About…?" Gray joined her on the bed, sitting in a safe distance.
"About everything. Like, the mission, and the house, and the owner…" she hesitated before saying the last word. Gray sighed.
"Like we agreed before, I think we should give it a try. This is kinda fun. And I like the idea of looking for it later on." He smiled.
"If we ever find the place." Said Lucy with a roll of the eyes.
"With your brains? Sure we will!"
Lucy felt really nice when he flattered her and praised her skills. Yeah, the same had been with the S-class exam — he had waited for het to solve the problem, and then had planned on following her and Cana to the Mavis's grave or even defeating them on the way. Such a clever boy. "But hey, what are you gonna do? I mean, you'll help he, right?"
"Guess so! This is our mission." He smirked and lied down athwart the bed. Lucy blinked and in this half of second he managed to lose his shirt again.
Someone knocked on the door. It turned out to be Kiyomi-chan, who invited them for the supper. Both of them were so hungry that they were ready to go after the maid straight away. (Lucy made Gray put his shirt on) It was good to have a guide, because they would have been lost after the first three bends. "What a house." Mumbled Gray, cursing the spacious and labyrinth-like corridors. Lucy smiled at that.
"Here, have a good meal." Kiyomi-chan said when she finally stopped and showed them a medium room. There was a fireplace in the old style and a table with various dishes on it. "Do you prefer white wine or red wine to your meal?"
Fairy Tail mages looked at each other with a twinkle in the eyes. That was a real feast! If only Natsu… Oh, wait. No, no idiots allowed this time, she chastened herself and sat down. Gray answered: "Red wine."
It was the second time in a row when Lucy was eating supper with Gray. A nice talk and delicious food were making it pleasant and nice. When she slaked the first hunger, she premised her chin on the hand and started observing the brunet, who was stuffing himself with everything he could reach. It was kind of funny, watching his behavior. It was much better than she had expected, though. Lucy knew that Gray was growing up at the guild and the people there did not have any of the manners she had been taught as a small child. Yet, he seemed to manage everything quite well. Huh, I guess that's Gray for you!, she thought.
"What? Am I doing something wrong?" Lucy suddenly heard and realized she had been staring at the man with half-closed eyes without knowing he had noticed it. Gray was visibly confused.
"Um, no! Not at all, I just…" She turned red and made an excuse. "I was lost in thought and—"
"Okay." The boy gave her a smirk and grinned. "Not that it was particularly disturbing me, well, maybe a little, but it's not like you."
"Ah. Right." She sighed with relief, then took care of her last portion of food. That was definitely embarrassing, to get caught like that…! Hey, but I was thinking about him again… THAT'S EVEN WORSE!
Gray raised his eyebrow and laughed quietly. He knew what she was thinking — or he thought he knew, and was definitely aware of her staring at him. That was sly, Lucy.
Lucy and Gray drank the whole bottle of wine together that evening. The atmosphere became more intimidating and at ease, the air definitely heated up. The mages went back to their rooms, telling each other a small goodbye and sending a shy smile.
That was what Kiyomi saw and when the door closed behind the last one of them, she turned around and rushed to the room on the other side of the house. She knocked five times and opened the door after a loud Come in. "Master."
"Ah, Kiyomi. What's it?"
"I've watched her carefully, as you asked me to. The blond girl who came here with that guy."
"Ah, yes." Mr. Futago sat vigorously down, taking his legs off the desk and looking at the maid with interest in his eyes. "And?"
"She doesn't behave like one of the guild's magicians. She knows the etiquette well and customs of living in such a conzern. Besides, if I may, her posture is like a real lady's."
Kaoru Futago turned on his chair and gazed at the darkness outside. That was interesting… "Thank you, Kiyomi. Now I need to confirm it…"
"What, Master?" she asked.
"Oh, it's not important. At least, not for you." He murmured, still looking outside, but that time there was something much darker and devilish in his expression. Oh, yes. He had to confirm those suspicions before it was too late.
8/18/16 edited&posted.
