"So, I was thinking."
Freed tried not to jump as Bickslow dropped from the second floor of the guildhall and landed in a chair in front of him, nonchalantly crossing one leg over the other as he leant on his elbows. He simply turned over the page of his book and kept reading.
"That's dangerous."
He wasn't trying to be rude, or funny. The majority of the time it was legitimately dangerous when Bickslow was left with his own mind for too long. The Sieth huffed, his totems repeating the noise before returning to their previous chatter.
"If me and Evergreen looked each other in the eyes, who would win? No other magic, just our eyes."
Freed closed his book then, it was obvious that he wasn't going to be left alone. He sat back in his chair, regarding the man in front of him. It was a question that people always asked them but as of yet they had no solid answer.
"And how are you going to convince Evergreen to come against you this time?"
Although Bickslow had been excited to learn who's eyes were more powerful almost from the moment they met, Evergreen had never been as curious. She started off being too nervous to hurt him, before she became more aloof and decided that kind of idiotic game was beneath her. Bickslow simply grinned leaning forward until the entire of the top half of his body was resting on the table.
"Tell me Freed, what's the defining feature of the Raijinshuu?"
Freed knew exactly what answer Bickslow was shooting for, but he never wanted to make it easy for the Sieth.
"Our unwavering devotion to Laxus?"
Bickslow shook his head, still grinning wildly as Freed realised he hadn't quite caught onto what he was doing yet.
"We're the strongest three man team in the guild?"
Bickslow shook his head again, almost bouncing in excitement now at the fact he was still confusing Freed. The Rune Mage almost felt bad.
"We all led a completely unsuccessful coup?"
Bickslow sighed, dropping his head to the table as he slowly figured out what Freed was trying to do.
"C'mon, Freed. Don't be an idiot. We were literally just talking about it."
Freed grimaced, leaning back against the back of his chair as Bickslow remained sprawled across the table top.
"The fact that we're the only people that no one missed when we disappeared for seven years?"
Bickslow turned his head, looking around the guild as everyone else got on with their day to day activities. It was true, of course. None of them had any family, and no one outside the team really cared for them much either. When the Tenrou team had returned the rest of the guild had been ecstatic, but for the Raijinshuu? It had been simply business as usual. He moaned in annoyance, tilting his head slightly so he could look back at Freed.
"Why you gotta bring down the mood, Justine?"
Freed shrugged. He had been trying to get Bickslow off the topic, but obviously it didn't work that well.
"Anyway, Freed. The correct answer was we have magic in our eyes."
Freed nodded slowly, looking down at Bickslow as he tried to figure out just what the Sieth was thinking.
"So, I'm going to tell her that whoever wins a duel, eye magic only, becomes leader of the Raijinshuu."
Freed nearly choked at the casual way Bickslow had said it, but the Sieth simply sat up tall and started to grin as he started to expand on his plan.
"See, you don't have real eye magic, and it's only in one eye so why are you the leader? It makes no sense!"
Freed sighed, crossing his arms as he regarded the man across from him. He smiled slowly, his own ideas starting to form in his head as he stood up.
"A duel, you say? Using only eye magic. You'll need a referee, of course. Meet me out back in thirty minutes if you can talk Evergreen into it."
Freed was stood in the courtyard at the back of the guild when Evergreen and Bickslow turned the corner. He would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised that Evergreen had turned up. He really expected her to just tell Bickslow to fuck off again. The woman must have noticed his confusion as she scoffed at him.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm only doing this to get leadership of this team. The Queen of the Fairies deserves to lead."
Bickslow giggled at her as he ran to the other side of the courtyard, waiting for Evergreen to be ready as he removed his mask and blinked at the bright light for a few seconds. Freed coughed, standing in between them and looking from one to the other.
"Okay, guys. I don't know if Bickslow has explained, but this is eye magic only. If you both close your eyes, and open them when I say so."
Evergreen slipped her glasses off her eyes, closing the lids as she dropped them to her side. Bickslow made sure he was making eye contact before his eyes closed too, and Freed grinned as they both started glowing with green magic. The idiots. If it was a duel with eye magic only they wanted, a duel with eye magic only they would get.
"Dark Ecriture: Terror."
Two runes flew out of his eyes, flying away from each other as they simultaneously slammed into his friend's chest and he watched them both collapse to the floor in sync.
Bickslow wasn't outside the guild anymore. He was running away from a mob of people shouting behind him, five fabric dolls hugged to his chest. He was surrounded by fire, and the screams of people he couldn't save. He was lying in a pool of his own blood, life draining away as his babies started to fade. He was stood in a park, watching the man he admired the most turn his back and walk away. He couldn't think. He couldn't move. He couldn't…
Evergreen was a child again, huddled in a cold dark alleyway underneath some old cardboard boxes as men walked past slowly, looking for children to take with them. They promised a lot of them that they would ascend to some tower of heaven, and Evergreen had almost been tempted until she realised that they never came back. She didn't know why but a fear beat inside her chest more than it ever had before.
Freed released the magic, letting his friends breathing settle as he smiled to himself, grabbing a hold of his sword as he turned around and headed back into the guild, his leadership safe. Bickslow recovered first, he had been on the receiving end of Freed's runes much more than Evergreen had, and he rolled on his back as he stared up into the sky.
"We never stood a chance, did we, Ever?"
Evergreen groaned, not even wanting to move yet.
"No, we didn't."