Hey guys! So here's chapter three, The Apology Of The Past. I'm not going to lie, this took ages, but mainly because I didn't plan this. I just had a rough idea in my head. Well anyway, enjoy this chapter; I hope it was worth the wait :)
I do not own either Fairy Tail or Bleach. Shame, think of the money I'd earn if I did.
A lot of things had happened to Natsu during the last year. He had become stronger, he had worked on his search for Igneel, but most of all, he had found Lucy. He wanted to bombard the man he was leaning on with all the events that had happened while he was gone, but there was one question that was more prominent in his mind than anything, for this was the reason why Ichigo had left.
"Did you find him?"
The questioned man turned his head and raised an eyebrow at Natsu before looking up at the sky, then back forward again. He shook his head solemnly side-to-side, silently answering the question. The human Fire Dragon followed suit, his expression becoming more dejected. He had hoped that if Ichigo had found who he was looking for, so could he.
Noticing the defeated look on his friends face, the Shinigami decided to offer something that he had hoped he wouldn't have to.
"Hey Natsu, it's been a while, hasn't it? Fancy showing me how strong you've gotten sometime soon?"
The Salamander's face instantly morphed into a more jovial persona. Gone was his solemn expression, instead replaced with a overwhelming intensity and a vigorous nod.
Ichigo sighed, realising his offer had improved the situation. It really did look like nothing had changed.
The Fairy Tail members were waiting impatiently back at the shore. The Master and Erza had come back only ten minutes ago, so the rest of the guild were still waiting for their Dragons. They had all seen Natsu's impressive display of fiery judgement upon his opponent and the wrath of Ichigo's Getsuga Tenshō. Every single member of the family had to agree that, no matter how many times they saw the two fight, they would always be amazed. The pair of them may not have realised it yet, but there was something majestically beautiful about their magic.
After another ten minutes of waiting, two figures appeared on the ice path, now quickly making their way to the shore, seemingly teleporting forward every few seconds. A wide grin appeared on the faces of many of the awaiting; those who didn't have one either wore a small smirk or a warm smile, some with a few tears. Fairy Tail's Dragons were back, one from his long journey and both from their long battle.
Flash-stepping was a lot harder when you were dragging someone along. After a while, Natsu had built up enough strength to stand by himself, so Ichigo took that as permission to grab the younger teenager by the scarf and flash-step their way back to the shore. He knew it would make Natsu feel travel sick, but the Fairy King was becoming impatient to see his family again. It wasn't long until the pair reached their destination, in front of the people they cherished.
The orange-haired-teen stood there in an awkward silence, his nakama mirroring him in an intense battle-of-the-gazes, the only thing breaking the lull being the rose-haired dragon trying to recompose himself and settle his stomach.
"Ichigo's home!" Mirajane pounced at the man in question, tightly wrapping her arms around his neck. When she had seen him earlier, the situation hadn't really hit her. It was only when she was watching the battle unfold that she realised the significance of the events. Ichigo was here, not in a far off continent, but here, in Magnolia, back home. She bawled, mumbling incoherently at her black-clad friend as the rest of the guild started to crowd around him. Natsu was caught up in the wave of mages surrounding the long missed Darkness Dragon Slayer, but was saved by the strong, yet delicate, arm of Lucy pulling him under and out of the magical battalion. The only sounds that could be heard in the surrounding vicinity were the wails of joy, the cheers of delight, and the awkward laughs of Ichigo as he tried to pacify his comrades. Despite the destruction, this truly was a joyous day.
It was only when the clink of metal was heard before the crowd melted away. The wave of bodies parted to reveal a direct path between Ichigo and Erza, only a few meters separating them. The last time they had talked was during battle, so they didn't really have much time to clear their past. She started to close the gap, stopping a few feet in front of her returned partner.
The atmosphere was tense, a off mix of hostility and joy. The sun was lower now, casting a much deeper red over the pair to create a picturesque scene. As Ichigo was about to open his mouth to break the silence, the redheaded beauty launched herself at him, burying her face into the nape of his neck. Her arms grabbed and tightened around his back, while light sobs were made. Letting his eyes soften from impulse, Ichigo returned the hug, wrapping his arms around his broken best-friend, letting them fall to the mid-portion of her back. He wasn't mad at her; even on the day he left, he couldn't get angry with her. Call it a weakness, but it was just something he couldn't do.
"S-s-sorry. I'm really sorry." Titania's voice was strained, filled with emotion that she didn't even attempt to hide. "I never meant…"
In any other circumstances, the viewing members of Fairy Tail would have fallen to the ground in shock at the image of their Queen crying and stuttering, but this was different. Even though she always managed to keep a cool composure, Ichigo was her exception and they all knew it. Besides, it wasn't as if they were any better as everyone had started crying due to the scene that had just unfolded in front of them, even Natsu and Lucy.
As Erza started to continue apologising, Ichigo simply interrupted her. He still remembered the events of that day, but that was in the past; what mattered now was that he was back home.
TURN BACK THE CLOCK, ONE YEAR IN THE PAST.
It had been a week since Ichigo and Erza came back from their hardest mission to date. It was a high reward, S-class mission to slay a group of demons in the Valley of the Damned and, while they did manage to complete it, it wasn't without injury. The Shinigami had returned with a scar all the way across his torso where he had been sliced by the claws of the last demon, leaving him hospitalised for just under four days. It still stung, but Pōryushika-san had patched him up well, even though she had finished by using the back of her hand to slap him across his face.
What worried Ichigo the most though was Erza. He would notice her visit Pōryushika's home to see him, but whenever he sat up to greet her and have a conversation, she would just close her eyes and leave. It was cold and distant, unlike the armour-clad redhead he knew. That happened for the first two days; on the last two, Ichigo simply pretended to be asleep so he could see how long she would actually stay. In those two days and the three that followed, the Strawberry realised something. Erza was avoiding him.
He didn't know why though. Sure, the reason he was cut was because he was trying to protect her, jumping in between her and the demon. But did she blame herself for it? Was she feeling guilty? Whatever it was, Ichigo knew he had to clean up this mess before it became too troublesome to deal with. Erza had a habit of letting things like this snowball into catastrophic proportions.
The Dragon Slayer had just finished his drink before he smelled his partner walk through the large twin doors of the guild. Before the opportunity passed, he turned to call to her, beckoning her to come over. With a sigh, Erza relaxed the confused face she had instinctually adorned, slowly walking across the hall to the bar. After ordering her drink and having it served by Mirajane, the redhead tried to ignore the small-talk her orange-haired partner tried to have with her by focusing on her overgrown fringe. She was at the end of her fuse, but she knew the reason for her pent-up anger was illogical, so she tried to subdue it.
"Erza, what's wrong with you recently? What happened on that mission that I don't know?"
That was it. That was the last straw for the Scarlet Knight; not only did Ichigo make a mistake, but he didn't even know what it was that he did wrong? No, she made her resolve to tell him. She knew she might over-react slightly, but maybe this was what Ichigo needed.
"What happened? What happened?" She could feel her blood flow start to increase. "What happened is that you nearly died! WHAT HAPPENED IS THAT YOU JUMPED IN FRONT OF A BLOODY DEMON AND HAD YOUR CHEST SLICED OPEN!" The S-Class mage was effectively screaming now, gaining the attention of everyone in the mess hall. "AND FOR WHAT REASON EXACTLY? BECAUSE I WAS IN DANGER? YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LET ME TAKE THE HIT, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN MY FAULT AND MY FAULT ALONE! What's the worst that could have happened to me? I could have lost an arm, sure; but atleast I would be the only one to blame. Instead, you decide to take the hit for me and make me feel guilty. I can look after myself you know, I don't need to be protected!" She knew this wasn't why her friend did what he did. He wasn't trying to make her feel guilty, he was just doing what he felt right. She could sense that she was about to say something she would regret, but there was no stopping now.
"If you miss your bloody Dragon so much, why don't you go find him? You know what you are Ichigo, you're just a coward with abandonment issues and a deep need to protect others, all because you failed to protect your own si-"
"ERZA"
The guild turned to look at the source of the interruption, only to see a glaring, seething Natsu and a deathly Gray. After a few moments of analysing the pair's expressions, Erza's actions finally registered with her. She realised what she was about to say - no, what she had said. She turned to her partner whom she had just unleashed hell upon, only to see his face pointed downwards, visibly containing his fury.
"Ichigo… I didn't mean… you've got to unde-"
"No, Erza. Don't worry." The berated man's voice didn't harbor the hatred Erza thought she had seen, rather an understanding. And sadness. Just pure, raw sadness. "You're right…" He stood up from his stool and started walking towards the double doors, finishing, just before he left, "You're right. I think I needed to hear that. Thanks."
The Knight watched uselessly as her Dragon left the guild hall, one hand limply outstretched as if she were trying to grab him and pull him back. She couldn't process what had just happened; no, she could, she just didn't want to. Titania had done the one thing she thought she'd never do. Erza Scarlet, of Fairy Tail, had just betrayed her closest nakama.
Natsu's rage only grew. He didn't dare concentrate on it though because he knew that, if he did, he wouldn't be able to forgive Erza. He would have ripped at her with all the might of the winged lizard, despite the difference in their power. Instead, he decided to follow Ichigo through the large doors, somehow hoping to pacify him.
The Salamander ran onto the cobble path leading away from Fairy Tail, calling the name of his fellow element eater. Out of everyone that bore the insignia, Natsu probably knew what Ichigo was going through the most; he too was abandoned by his Dragon-father at an early age. But he had to admit, from the stories the Shinigami had told him, Isshin wasn't much like Igneel; he seemed a lot more colder and brutal.
As Natsu ran along the path, he spotted the Strawberry figure he was looking for. By the looks of things, Ichigo had heard his calls and allowed his rose-haired friend to catch up to him. Natsu continued to close the gap before coming to a stop a few feet away from his destination.
The Darkness Dragon Slayer tilted his head slightly, silently inquiring why he had been chased down, even though he had a notion that he knew. The respective Fire Dragon Slayer managed to calm his thoughts enough to think of a logical plan. Knowing that his friend wasn't someone who openly talked about feelings, he needed to think of an excuse for him being here, quick.
"Erm; yo, Ichigo! Things were getting a bit heated back there, right?"
"What is it Natsu?" The Shinigami, not wanting to draw the conversation out, decided to ignore the pun that had just been made.
"Right! It's just… I need a hand with something. Yeah, that's it." It was a weak excuse, but it was the best the Salamander could have thought of at that moment in time.
Hard, brown eyes relaxed as Ichigo realised the course of action his friend was about to take. This was weird for him; he wasn't one to comfort. To save him from the discomfort, Ichigo beckoned Natsu towards him before messing up his pink tuft of hair.
"Listen Natsu, I will always give you a hand; no matter what happens, that is a definite truth. And I appreciate you trying to help me out here, but really, I'm fine. When you really need help, Natsu, I promise I'll be there. Just not right now, okay?"
With that, the Fairy King turned to walk away before a reply could be made, waving his hand in goodbye at his wide-eyed-brother-figure. Right now, he might have been hurt and confused, but there was one thing he knew for certain; he meant every word he had just said and it didn't just apply to Natsu. It applied to everyone in Fairy Tail. To everyone in his family, his hand would always be there.
A sole, pink-haired form stood in the middle of the cobble path, mouth slightly agape at what had just happened. He knew Ichigo had a way with words, but it never ceased to amaze him whenever he heard the black-clad mage spin his audial magic.
Natsu looked up at the feathery sky, now a mix of pink and orange due to the blazing sun. The view reminded the Dragon Slayer of memory, a cherished memory, one that helped changed his way of looking at the world.
"Eat the Sun. Become stronger."
"I WILL BECOME STRONGER THAN YOU, SUN!"
A ten-year-old Natsu was standing twenty or so meters along the path that led out of Fairy Tail, pointing challengingly at the fiery mass that ruled over the lit sky. Ever since he had learned his magic, there wasn't a flame that Natsu couldn't eat or control, apart from the Sun that is. It angered the young child to a ferocious extent, despite the futility of his pique.
"FIGHT ME, MY RIVA-"
Before the young, yet-to-be Salamander finished his challenge, he involuntarily made acquaintance with the cold, steel foot of Erza Scarlet, a disgruntled expression upon her visage. Salamander braced himself, waiting for the oncoming onslaught of discipline, both mental and physical.
"WHY ARE YOU MAKING SO MUCH NOISE?" Erza bellowed at the floored boy, completely oblivious to the raised tone of her own voice. She wasn't actually angry at Natsu; she just wanted to discipline him because, well, someone had to. The boy had to learn that he couldn't just go around, screaming at the top of his lungs.
It wasn't long until Ichigo caught up to his female partner, as she had bolted away from him to deal her metal redemption. He looked the the braced child on the floor in front of him, vocalising his curiosity as to why he was screaming.
"The Sun!" Natsu began, "It's always there, mocking me. I can't eat it, so it laughs in my face. I want to get stronger, so I can defeat it."
Ichigo's eyes enlarged, followed by a small smirk as he narrowed them back again. He recognised this story; Isshin had once told it to him during a storm. It was about a Dragon with immense power, so much so that he challenged the Sun to a duel. The battle raged on, fire levelling everything in the vicinity, but the unnamed Dragon fought on. He never surrendered, eventually defeating the ruling ball of fire. However, his victory was short lived as he turned to face his fallen victor, only to see it missing, and in its place, a cold, dying Earthland. Feeling responsible for the events unfolding in front of him, the giant lizard gave the ultimate sacrifice, converting the rest of his soul into a flame to become the new Sun that watched over the sky. It was a nice story that embodying several morals, but that was all it was, a story; a Dragon's version of a Fairy Tale. Ichigo knew in his heart that Natsu didn't truly believe the story to be real, but there wouldn't be any harm in humouring him here, would there?
"So you want to defeat the Sun, huh?" Ichigo started, receiving a vigorous nod from the younger Dragon Slayer. "Then stand up. You won't get anywhere if you just lie there, you need to get up. It's only when you stand up that you can become stronger. It's only when you pick yourself up that you can move forward. So Natsu," the Shinigami offered his hand to one of the
youngest members of his family, "Why are you still on the ground. Stand up; rise and walk with us in the light. Become stronger with us, with Fairy Tail."
The scarf-wearing child stared at the sword-wielding boy that had his arm outstretched, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and admiration. He never had a focus to his actions, he just wanted to destroy. But now here he was, with a choice. Natsu barely understood what the implications of the speech were, but before he could think, as if out of instinct, he reached out towards his fellow Dragon Slayer's hand. He had a reason now, he had a focus, and he was going to stand up.
Erza had left the guild not long after her younger, scarf-obsessed friend had, her mind swirling with regret and bursting emotions. She hated to admit it, but she was on the verge of crying. It wasn't she normally did; emotion wasn't normally her thing. But this was different, this was way different. She berated herself for saying too much, for letting her tongue loose the way she did. Scarlet knew she didn't mean a word of what she said, she was just furious at herself for letting her friend get injured so badly and just had to lash out. Even if it wasn't Ichigo's plan to do so, she still blamed herself for what happened. If she hadn't been so reckless, maybe they would have been able to avoid this situation altogether. No, not maybe, they most definitely would have been able to.
As her search led her to an opening in the outskirts of Magnolia forest, Titania found her bright-haired nakama sitting on a poorly made bench. She mentally reprimanded herself for not coming here sooner, of course Ichigo would be here. They had found this clearing less than a year after they became partners, both instantly deciding on making it their training ground. In order to make it more familiar, they had marked out a sparring arena and added a self-cleaning, magical pool of water to wash their faces with after their sessions. As the crème de la crème, they finally constructed their own bench with the Fairy Tail insignia on it. It was a shoddy creation, there was no doubt of that, but they had made it as children, so it was bound to be of poor quality. Whenever the pair thought of replacing the home-made bench, they would simply dismiss the idea, justifying themselves by saying that it was still working fine.
"Hey, Ichigo…?" Erza gently approached the Shinigami. 'Gently' wasn't really her normal style, but the situation at hand wasn't exactly normal either. She would have to ease gently into this conversation if she wanted it to go anywhere at all.
The man in question wearily turned to face the approaching woman, before shifting over to make enough space on the bench for her to sit on, a gesture that Erza did not pass up.
The silence was deafening. The only thing the ashamed woman could hear were the chirping of a few birds; and even though normally she would have enjoyed this setting, the situation was too tense. She realised that she had to break the silence, for her sake at least.
"Look, Ichigo, I just wanted to say that I'm so-"
"Erza." The voice that interrupted her bared no malice or hostility, rather, it was calm and logical. However, it still managed to cut through the redhead's prepared speech as if it were Vulcan butter.
"I've been thinking, and I've decided that you were right." Titania's brow furrowed in disorientation. "You were right, I do have some unsolved issues. Things were left too open ended with Isshin and I need some closure, moreso than Natsu." Ichigo let out a chopped sigh, almost as if what he was about to say next was going to hurt him more than anything imaginable. "And that's why I've decided to leave Fairy Tail."
Erza's whole body tensed and froze as her brown eyes started to shake slightly. She was in genuine shock. Out of all the people in Fairy Tail, Ichigo was the last person she expected to leave. He was the last person that she ever wanted to see leave. He was her friend, her closest friend, and she would be damned before she lost him forever. Sensing the outbreak of emotion sentiment that was about to spill out of his friend, the Shinigami decided to quickly continue.
"Don't get me wrong! I don't mean forever, just for a little while; a year or two maybe? There are just some things that I need to do, things that I wont be able to do if I remain in Fairy Tail."
Scarlet was about to interrupt him with a bombardment of reasons why he shouldn't leave, nearly all of them resulting in her profusely apologising and begging him not to leave. Needing to wrap the conversation up quickly, Ichigo decided to hammer the final nail into the coffin.
"Erza, this isn't me asking you if I can leave or not. This is me telling you, before I tell the Master."
At that, the woman's imminent hysteria died down, eyes levelling with her leaving partner's. In that instant, she saw the resolve in his normally brown eyes. They had a strange habit of adorning a faint tint of blue whenever he was dead-set on doing something. There was nothing she could say that would change his mind and she knew it, so she settled for backing down and standing up off of the memory-filled bench.
She made her way away from the Strawberry, painfully deciding on returning back home. She wasn't in the mood to return to the guild, the dejected looks that waited for her wasn't something that she wanted to currently deal with. Before she left the forest opening, Erza turned her head halfway towards Ichigo, allowing herself to get one more look at him before left.
"I guess we won't see each other for some time then." There was sadness in the voice, that much was evident. "I'll look forward to when you return. Goodbye, Ichigo."
The sat Dragon nodded solemnly as the redhead Queen turned her head back forward as she glided back to the city, her mind ripe with the events of the day. She wasn't ever going to forget the last few hours of her life, that much she was sure of. All she could do now was wait.
This was it, no going back now. Ichigo stood in front of the Fairy Tail Guild Master's office, steadying himself to knock. Once he walked through this door, there would be no going back. He would leave the guild to find his answers, and no matter how ready he felt he was, there was still a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. With a heavy sigh, the black-clad swordsman rapped on the mahogany door and entered as he was beckoned to do so.
"You want to what now?" Makarov had heard exactly what his grandchild had just said, and quite frankly, he was expecting it. He knew what Ichigo was like; maybe this was best for the boy?
"I want to leave Fairy Tail for a while, only for a year or so, so that I can find some answers." He pulled at the v-neck collar of his shihakusho, revealing a black print of the Fairy Tail insignia, an image that he treasured as much as the guild itself. "I understand that a non-Fairy Tail member can't wear the badge; I assume you have a way to remove it?"
Makarov eyed the logo on the man's chest. It was true, he could remove it if he wanted to; Print magic was a simple one to manipulate. However, he decided to simply wave off the process.
"Keep it. You're coming back someday, aren't you? Keep it for that day. Wear it on your journey and make Fairy Tail proud. Good luck, my child."
For not the first time that day, Ichigo was taken back by stupefaction. To be able to keep the insignia mean that he was still regarded morally as a member of Fairy Tail. Even if he didn't return, he would always be considered a Child of Mavis. Accepting the act the kindness shown by the old man, the Shinigami turned to leave.
Ichigo turned to look back at the entrance of his home. He had spent over half his life there. He had made friends, he had made rivals, but most of all, he had made memories. No matter whatever happened in his live, no matter what path he followed, the memories were one of the things he'd never forget. That was a promise.
TURN FORWARD THE CLOCK, BACK TO THE PRESENT.
The sobbing redhead continued to empty her tear ducts onto the Strawberry's neck. She couldn't believe that he had actually come home; sure he was only gone for a year, still a shorter time than Gildart's had, but he meant more to her than the Ace did. He was closer to her. He was her partner.
Ichigo kept his arms embracing his armour-attired comrade, a deep desire to interrupt her crying dwelling inside of him. He knew that if he let her continue, then they were both going to grow old on this spot. Parting his lips slightly, he let his words flow out.
"You know, the armour's kinda cold."
A familiar light spilled out of Erza's body, eventually disappearing and leaving her in a relatively short, red skirt, a black ladies shirt, and a thin, white tie. She buried her head even moreso into the nape of the orange-haired man's neck. Ichigo noticed the change in clothes his partner sported; it was different to the normal white, frilly, sleeveless top she usually wore, but it was aesthetically pleasant nonetheless.
The light wailing only continued for another few moments or so, halted by Erza pulling her head away, eyes still glistening from the tears and a small, yet passionate, smile.
"Let's get you back home, Ichigo."
The male teenager could help but grin. A year ago, he had promised himself that he would return stronger and with closure. Now, here he was, back home and with all the closure he needed. As he looked at the mostly destroyed, the most prominent thing remaining being a tattered banner of guild logo. It wasn't perfect, not by a long shot, but it was his life, his home. This, was his Fairy Tail.
So there we go! I tried to make this chapter as emotional as possible without overdoing it; did it show? Either way, typing this nearly killed me, but I enjoyed it nonetheless :D
Oh yeah, and thank you guys for the reviews, favorites and follows! I really wasn't expecting that many! I was aiming for ten favorites max by chapter five or something. To have so many right now truly amazes me.
Either way, thanks for reading Of Demons and Fairies, cya.
~Legiance.