Sorry I haven't updated in forever! I've been rereading through the manga and falling back in love with Fairy Tail, so I decided to crank out another chapter in the wee hours of the morning. As a slight note: I felt like fleshing out Hikari a bit more in this chapter and hopefully I do it well. Fairy Tail had three days of celebration before the plot kicks in, and this chapter represents the second day. So after the next, they'll be going to the tournament and fun will be had by all!
Also, thank you all for your comments, favorites, and follows. It does mean a lot to me as a writer knowing I'm doing something right and that you all are enjoying my stories. So thank you for your time, especially those of you that comment. It does make my day. So thank you 3
Anyways, on with the story!
"Lightning make…" She slid her palms against one another, trying to open the magic within her to form a bolt of lightning. She felt the gathering energy but when the magic seal was to appear, a bright yellow light burst and fizzled away, the energy dissipating like it had never been.
The forest around them seemed to sigh with relief and a breeze rippled through the clearing Laxus had made with his magic.
"Brat, you're not worth my goddamn time," Laxus stated coldly, whipping around so violently his coat nearly fell from his shoulders.
He began to walk away and for once and the girl couldn't find the courage to call him back. He was right. She was a waste of his time. She couldn't learn his magic. She couldn't be a mage. There was nothing she could do. She slid into a heap as her hopes and dreams crashed down on her, her face full of horrified shock.
Her Laxus was going to leave her here because she wasn't strong enough for him.
Tears flowed down her cheeks unchecked and she felt the cold seep into her body. She was trembling violently, there was nothing that could be done.
She was a failure.
She couldn't wield magic.
She wasn't strong enough for Laxus.
She couldn't join Fairy Tail.
She was going to be alone again.
Her heart pounded painfully and she held a hand to her chest as the cold burned her from within. Failure, failure, failure, her mind chanted. She held her hands to her head as her mind continued to fracture and break, the taunting never stopping.
"Stop it," she whispered.
The cold whirled around her, blazing with its intensity.
"Stop it!" she repeated, her voice audible now.
Failure, her mind chanted. You're nothing.
"Stop it!" she yelled, holding her head tighter as if that would stop the voice.
Laxus is gone all because of you, her mind whispered sadistically.
"STOP IT!" She screamed, lifting her head to the sky.
Without warning the cold burst from inside her, as if the tether on a leash had snapped. A fiery intensity replaced the icy cold that burned as much as the cold had. She screamed at the pain of the cold and scorching heat and her body shook violently. She opened her eyes; all she saw was swirling darkness. She became consumed by the fire inside her, surrounded by the cold around her.
She was alone. All alone, worthless, a failure. Laxus wouldn't come for something so weak. The cold dark whipped around faster and faster until only the heat inside of her kept her warm. She was lost to the darkness. There was no escape for her, and why should she? She should let herself go to the cold darkness. What better for a worthless brat like her?
"Brat!" The voice sounded like Laxus and she looked into the thick darkness swirling around her. Instead of his voice cheering her up, it made her more convinced to choose the darkness. She wasn't worth him coming to save her. "The fuck are you doing?!" She needed to let go; she couldn't survive on her own again. The only one she loved said she was worthless. Lifting her hand she touched the cold and felt its bite. When she pulled her hand away a raw, bleeding burn throbbed on her hand. Her broken mind whispered to her, wanting her to put her hand back. She needed to feel the pain, needed to feel its burn.
As she lifted her hand again, she saw a bright flash of light, then felt a slam in her chest. She flew backwards and tumbled violently until she felt herself slam into something solid. The breath flew from her lungs and she gasped for air. Her vision was hazy at best and she couldn't focus with the bright light of the sun above her. A hand pulled her up by her collar and through the haze she could see a silhouette Laxus kneeling in front of her.
"Brat, what the fuck was that?" he asked as she gasped for air. When he realized that she couldn't breathe he simply fastened his lips to hers and forced air into her lungs. It was a sharp, searing pain and she ripped away from him to make it stop. Fortunately she began coughing and drawing in air on her own. "I asked you a damn question, brat."
"I can't be alone. Not again. Never again. I want the cold. I need it." A violent shake had her odd tirade halting and she brought her eyes back to the vision in front of her. "I'm worthless to you. Nothing. No mage is nothing." Laxus shook her again, this time with more force, and her head whipped around violently.
"Kid. Shut up for two goddamn seconds." The small kid did as she Laxus told her, tears streaming down her face. Even the hardened Laxus was not immune to the sight before him. A broken, crying child crying because of words he had spoken in frustration. For the first time he realized just how young and fragile she was, and it was a sobering experience for him. He felt…protective. "What was that?"
"I don't know," she murmured. "I just knew I deserved the cold." Her eyes were cold and dead and for Laxus felt a quiver of guilt.
"You summoned magic." Her deadened eyes widened and he saw clarity start to return. He almost sensed the hope return to the small kid in front of him. "That was magic, kid."
"I…made magic?" she asked, her vision clearing so she could see Laxus in front of her.
"Yeah, kid. That means you can be a mage."
"It was so cold," she spoke quietly. "It hurt when I touched it."
"Idiot," Laxus snapped out. "You can't control your magic yet, you can't touch it without control over it." He lifted her hand and saw the cold burn on her right hand. "Don't touch your magic without my permission."
"My magic," she whispered in awe, looking down at the burn, seeing Laxus' tanned hand holding hers with a gentleness he rarely showed. "Mine."
"Now kid, you have to learn how to use it." She lifted her eyes back to Laxus. He was startled by the mature intensity he saw in her green eyes.
"If I become strong, can I stay with you in Fairy Tail?" He felt the surge of protectiveness and was helpless against it. Here in the small, charred clearing with only the two of them to witness, he finally let down his guards for the first time since he had taken the young girl with him.
"If you become strong, I will take you to Fairy Tail, Hikari." She nodded somberly and hugged him. Laxus held her against him and placed a hand on her head. For this one moment in time he felt calm and complete. The rage that coarsed within him was grounded; he was content with this little brat and he didn't know why. Instead of questioning it, he simply made up his mind. He would make this girl strong.
A few hours later and after a life or death game of 'Sneak out without Erza noticing', I finally made it to the clearing I had so often inhabited. It seemed the same as when I had been here with Jura only a few days earlier. The melancholy was still thick in the air, the memories fresh as if they had just been. The scorch marks still scarred the earth, the splintered trunks of destroyed trees still littered the clearing, the grave of my Laxus still gathered tears in my eyes. It was the same here as if time stood still. Different and yet not.
I felt the air around me tingle, causing goosebumps to break out on my skin. The very air was becoming charged with electricity. It was subtle and usually only energy users could detect the change, but this charge I was familiar with. I felt the burst of energy long before I heard or saw it coming and I immediately dodged to the right, still facing away from where the attack had come from.
"Good, brat, you're learning." The words in this place of memories were so familiar I felt tears coming to my eyes. He had been home but with every passing encounter I was learning he was real, he was solid, and that he wasn't going anywhere.
"Of course I have, Laxus," I replied saucily. "You expect me to fall to such a surprise attack?" Finally I turned slightly to see him, throwing a smirk his way. He smirked in response and my insides fluttered. The man was simply devastating and I hadn't realized how sexy his smirk was until he had come back. Too young to know better, I supposed.
"How about this, brat?" He lifted his hand and shot a bolt of lightning at me. I lifted my hand and the powerful bolt of lightning slammed into my palm, crackling wildly from its immense power. "Well, well, kid," Laxus stated, amusement in his voice. "You can control my lightning." I turned my hand away and let the energy fly. It slammed into the trees to my left, leaving a crater in its destructive wake.
"Energy is my domain, my dear Laxus." I disguised my taunt under my flirty tone, but Laxus caught it and if possible, smirked wider. It made my heart beat wildly and my pulse race.
"Brave words from a little kid." He let his coat fall to the ground. That action alone meant business.
"Not so little anymore, Laxus. I've learned while you were away."
"Show me," he commanded. The tone was all male, all Laxus, and I licked my lips in reaction.
Holding up my hands, I slammed them together to form a magic seal. Laxus' eyebrows rose; I hadn't been able to do this as well when he left. "Slayer bolt." The energy flew from my hands and slammed into the smirking Laxus. His lightning erupted from his body, dissipating my attack as I thought he would. He lifted his hands and I shifted to a defensive position; the true battle was just about to start.
"Lightning storm." A sphere formed in his hands and I launched myself to the right. A mere second later lightning spewed from the sphere in his hands and slammed into the ground where I had been. The air sizzled with electricity, warning me where the lightning was going to go a second before it happened. I dodged most of them; one of the bolts scored my arm and left a nice burn. The pain I pushed away and ignored; I couldn't divert my attention for a second.
"Black hole!" I cried out, lifting my hands in the brief seconds between lightning strikes. The energy flew from my hand and formed as a huge sphere between me and Laxus. I clenched my hand and the energy slammed in on itself; forming a ball no bigger than a plate. At once the lightning diverted into the energy ball between us and I landed, panting slightly. I wasn't used to having to contort my body to such drastic measures in battle.
"Thunder bullets." My black hole quickly dissipated as I quickly raised my hands and formed the magic seal. Around him small, crackling spheres of lightning formed.
"Galaxy Barrage!" Dark spheres of my own formed around me and I flung them at them at the same time he threw his attack.
Quickly I went into evasive maneuvers, knowing full well what one of those spheres could do if they touched my body. Some of the spheres collided in midair and caused an explosion, throwing many of the other spheres into disarray. Each hit seemed to cause another explosion until I had no idea how to twist and turn to avoid the randomly flung spheres. It was my mistake. One of the lightning spheres slammed into my side and flung me back into the trees behind me. I caught myself before I slammed into anything else, but the damage had already been done. My side was on fire and I knew that it was at least a third degree burn.
I felt the change in the air instantly again and I realized that his lightning storm was still active. Many of his bullets were still flying toward me and I had a split second to decide on how to proceed.
"Gamma burst!" I gave myself to the cold energy inside me and my body became the dark swirl of energy. The bullets flew through my body harmlessly, the energy swirling in agitation at the electric current as they passed through. Relieved that I was immune to Laxus, I launched myself at him and managed to score a glancing blow against his shoulder as he dodged.
I let myself become solid once more and began to fight hand to hand with him, Laxus happily engaging. He was a brawl sort of fighter and I had known that since I was a child. Yet since he had taught me, I was quite proficient myself in hand to hand combat. He had the strength; I had developed speed to counter him. We traded blow after blow, neither of us getting through the other's guard.
"Lightning punch!" I saw the magic circle this time and knew that Laxus had upped the ante once again.
Quickly I brought energy to my own fists to counter his strikes. Now our punches hit harder and each time our energies clashed, sparks flew between us. Finally I used my gamma burst in my arm to increase my swing. At the last second I made it solid again and the punch hit him straight in the chest with everything I had. Laxus flew back as the energy exploded and I had to dig in my heels not to go flying myself. He landed on his feet and even staggered for a moment as he gained his bearings. He looked to his chest to see his shirt ripped open where I had hit him and the dark bruise that was already forming was testament to the strength I had.
When he looked up at me, his eyes were alive. They glowed a dark yellow and I realized his dragon side was surfacing. This was a rare occurence and one that I had never had to fight against firsthand. However, I had seen its damage. The dragon slayer before me was powerful and almost managed to defeat two dragon slayers at once. I might have been able to fight Laxus in his human form, but with his dragon form, I had no chance. I had to give everything and more to not be seriously injured.
I felt the gathering of energy and could feel the increased amplitude in the air. Static electricity made my hair rise and even began to leap between my fingers. His whole body engulfed itself in lightning, powering up the attack beyond human standards. This was Laxus' ultimate form: the monster dragon slayer."Lightning dragon's breakdown fist!" He reared back his hand and punched, the lightning gathering to his fist. When it shot from him it formed an oversized version of his fist as it flew toward me. I had no choice.
"Dark energy barrier!" Quickly I gathered my energy and gave all of my strength to my defense. The fist slammed into my shield and pushed me back a good ten feet. However, my shield held. Barely.
But my moment of defense cost me. When I dissipated my shield, Laxus' true fist was already flying toward me. It slammed into my face before I could finish swearing in my mind and I saw black as my vision faded. I felt my body slam through trees like a rag doll. I felt my leg snap as it caught in a branch and broke through it as my body continued to fly through the air. Finally I hit something solid and it nearly knocked the wind out of my lungs. My body fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. All I could feel was the pain from the punch and knew he had probably broken my jaw.
My vision was still black but I knew I had to get up. I had to make sure I could survive this. My battered body was shaky as I forced myself to stand up and I rested the weight on my good leg. The energy in the air was beginning to charge. I knew he was coming for me, still in his dragon lust. I lifted my hand and coalesced energy in front of me. I squeezed it harder and harder until I could feel that it was small enough to not be seen by human eyes.
"Meltdown," I murmured. I started a chain reaction in the small ball of energy. In about ten minutes, the small sphere would explode. I flung it towards where I felt the energy coming from and forced my body to go into a defensive position. I began to see spots flash before me, my vision finally beginning to return to me, but it would be too late in coming. I felt the energy source enter the clearing and felt its immense power. "Try this on for size, dragon slayer," I taunted, slamming my hands together to form a magic seal.
"I'm waiting, girl." The voice was still Laxus, but without my vision I heard its power and authority. With the seal active I moved the small energy sphere toward Laxus. It was difficult and exhausting; trying to move the ever changing energy sphere without stopping the reaction and keeping it small enough used up most of my power I had left.
"I'm no girl, I'm a woman." I smirked but winced as pain flooded my jaw.
"Prove it."
"Critical mass." The sphere reached him and the lightning cascading around his body slammed into the sphere, the lightning feeding the sphere energy to speed up the chain reaction. It exploded in front of him and I heard him slam into something very hard. We must have been close to the small rock hills for him not to fly far enough away.
I knew I had injured Laxus but he possessed the endurance of a god. I didn't have enough energy left to critically injure him and win the fight. My broken body was not going anywhere and my vision was still shot. I had lost this fight long ago, but when you sparred with Laxus, you did not give up because of an injury. You passed out, bleeding and broken, giving everything you have even if you know you will lose. It was strength to fight until the end and that strength Laxus had beaten into me for years. I would give him my final attack before I lost.
"Quasar!" I slammed my hands together, needing to use the magic seal to unlock its true power. I gathered the necessary energy in my palms and pointed it at the mass of energy I felt. I gathered every iota of energy I possessed and dumped it into the energy. This would debilitate me.
"Lightning dragon's roar!" I heard him yell out and my body filled with dread.
Yet I would not back down from the pain that was about to come. I was Laxus' student. I was a mage of Fairy Tail. But most of all, I was a woman proving her worth to her man.
The energy flew from my hands and slammed into Laxus' roar, creating a huge explosion of energy that ripped me from my feet and flung me yet again. This time I slammed into rock and the force was enough to embed my body into the rock. Pain swamped my senses, threatening to knock me unconscious. Finally my body fell forward and crumpled into the unforgiving ground below. That was everything I had. I had nothing more to give.
Now the adrenaline began to fade and the pain came full force. My leg throbbed in agony. The wound on my side was burning and probably bleeding by this point. Yet it was my face that felt the worst. I knew he had broken my jaw but now my mind began to go fuzzy. There was so much pain I couldn't concentrate at all and it didn't help that I still couldn't see at all. I was in deep shit.
I heard footsteps long before I felt Laxus approach, which meant he knew I couldn't fight anymore. I didn't have the magic to sense where he was so I listened as well as I could.
"You're strong," was all he said as he picked me up. I couldn't help the cry of pain that escaped or the muffled cry when he shifted me in his arms. "You all right?"
"Fine," I whispered, trying not to pass out.
"You can't pass out now, kid," he said gruffly. I couldn't see his face, but I had to have been far gone for him to show any concern after a fight. I knew that with the force of the hit I had taken from Laxus I had gained a concussion at the least. If I went to sleep, I might not wake up.
"I'm awake," I grumped back. To my horror my voice was whispery and wavering, not at all like the strong woman I was trying to be at the moment.
"Kid, seriously." Laxus began to move faster. "Talk to me, kid."
"M'name's Hikari."
"Hikari, stay awake." I heard his concern and I wanted to comfort him, but I couldn't move my body anymore.
"I'm 'kay."
"No you're not, you fucking moron. Why didn't you stop the fight?"
"Strong mages dun stop. We give itall," I slurred. It was getting harder and harder to fight the fuzzy, sleepy feeling.
"Damn right we do, kid. You did well today."
"Can I stay with you? Am I strong e'nuff now?" I felt him nuzzle the top of my head.
"You're not leaving my side again," he replied gruffly.
"Love you. I do." My world was spinning and I was losing myself to the fuzzy feeling. The dark cold was creeping up on my, threatening to overtake me. "My Laxus." I had no control of what was coming out of my mouth anymore.
"I know, kid." I felt something press against the top of my head briefly. I was too gone to comprehend what it was.
When I woke, I realized I was no longer in Laxus' arms. I was staring at a ceiling, buried under blankets. I blinked and tried to get everything into focus.
"Hikari, you're awake!" I tilted my head to the side and saw Mirajane sitting in a chair beside me. She reached out a hand and grabbed my own. Thankfully I could feel her skin on mine, which meant I wasn't paralyzed from the lightning. I squeezed her fingers and relaxed when I was capable of doing so.
"How long was I out?" My voice was quiet but strong.
"A day. Wendy used her healing magic on you. She couldn't heal everything but she mended your broken bones and eyesight."
"That's fine. Where is Laxus?" Mirajane looked down at me with her Cheshire cat smile.
"Looking for him so soon?" she all but purred.
"He's always at my side when I wake up. Where is he?"
"Young love is just so cute!" I stared at her with a deadpan expression, waiting for her matchmaking tirade to end. She always had harassed me about Laxus so it didn't bother me anymore. However it was a habit she couldn't break so I just let it happen to get it out of the way. She couldn't embarrass me about loving Laxus, anyways.
"Did he take a mission?" I would be devastated to think that he would when I was so injured, but I had to ask.
"Oh, no! He's talking with Master Makarov! He wasn't happy about Laxus injuring you so badly, you know," she admonished. I sighed in exasperation.
"Yes, I totally got hit by his attacks on purpose. I'll make sure to dodge them next time when he goes into his slayer form. I don't know why I didn't think of that before." She 'tsked' at my sarcasm.
"You shouldn't have worried everyone so badly, Hikari." I smiled softly. She had spoken this line so many times to me, always when I was recovering after a training session with Laxus. It was almost a ritual by this point but one I didn't mind. For seven long years I hadn't heard it so it made me happy that I could hear it from her once again.
"I know, I know." I sat up much to Mirajane's displeasure. "I'm not going to let Laxus get fussed at for something I did. Help me over there."
"I think not," she replied.
"Then I'll walk myself." I tossed the covers back and realized that bandages covered my injuries but I wore fresh clothes of mine. Mirajane sighed; she knew me well enough to know I was going.
"Let's go," she said in defeat.
I rose to my feet and nearly stumbled. My sense of balance was a bit off and my leg was still irritated when I put weight on it, but it wasn't extremely painful. Wendy did heal most of the injuries and I could deal with this little amount left. Mirajane threw my arm over her shoulders, making sure she held me on the opposite side of my burn wound, and began to walk me to the door. Once we were outside and walking around the balcony, I began to find my own groove and get my footing back. I also heard the yelling and screaming, chuckling as I imagined the scene behind the door. By the time we got to Makarov's door I was able to carry most of the weight myself and I nodded at Mirajane.
"Thank you, Mira."
"Just let me know how it goes!" she replied cheerfully. Seriously, if Laxus and I ever did become a couple, it would probably blow her mind. Shaking my head at the errant thought, I pushed the door open and walked in. Makarov was in mid-rant to Laxus and his face fiery red from the force of his anger.
"You should know better than to hurt Hikari like that, Laxus! I've told you time and time again to not hurt her as badly, and what do you do? You send her back in a coma!" While Makarov was ranting, Laxus was sitting in a chair, a look of complete disinterest on his face as he watched his grandfather yell. "What do you have to say for yourself?!"
"It's training. I don't see the problem." He delivered his argument in such a deadpan, blasé tone that I couldn't help but chuckle, though I covered my mouth with my hand to muffle the sound.
"The problem?! You don't see the problem?!" Makarov roared. "She could have never woken up, Laxus!"
"The kid's stronger than that, Ji-Ji." The use of the name and the blatant indifference had Makarov twitching and turning purple. I decided now was my time to step in.
"Master Makarov?" He whirled to me but immediately calmed as he recognized me.
"Hikari, you shouldn't be moving around," he admonished. "Where is Mirajane?"
"She knew better than to try to stop me, Master," I replied with a smirk. He sighed and ran a hand through his white hair.
"You two are going to be the death of me, do you hear me?"
"I think the guild did, Ji-Ji," Laxus replied as he absently scratched his face. The anger I had dissipated now came back to life in full force as Makarov whirled back to his grandson. I had to swallow my laughter at the comical sight of a bored Laxus in the face of such ferocious anger.
"Laxus!" he roared as his body grew, his magic responding to his anger. Laxus merely flicked his gaze to him and raised an eyebrow in question.
"What, Ji-Ji?" Makarov was turning the familiar shade of purple again.
"Take Hikari back to her room, NOW!" Laxus sighed as if it were a chore to do so and rose, working the kinks out of his neck. He calmly walked over to me, swooped me into his arms and opened the door, making sure to close it once we were outside.
"That old geezer, I swear," Laxus grumbled as he carried me away.
"He was just worried, you know," I told him.
"Yeah, yeah," he replied wearily. I laughed at him, uncaring of the glare he shot down at me. "I can drop you, you know."
"I'll tell Makarov, you know."
"You're a pain in my ass, brat." I flicked his chin and he glared again, but I just smiled up at him.
Instead of going to my room like Makarov had ordered he carried me down the steps into the guild hall. People began to stare at him but he remained uncaring, not even bothering to throw the usual glare their way. He simply set me down at the bottom of the steps and walked away. I saw him head toward the Thunder God Tribe but I went to Mirajane instead, who was at her usual spot behind the bar.
"Hey Mira."
"I see you're not in your room like Makarov ordered," she replied as she turned, an amused smile on her face.
"Well, it wasn't my fault he was loud. That was someone else's." She looked behind me, most likely at Laxus, then back to me.
"Just like normal." I felt the pang of remembering what normal had been like for me, and it wasn't the happy picture she remembered. Seven long years had passed without normalcy. Seven long years of me not waking up after training, of Makarov not yelling, of Laxus not being with me. "I'm sorry, Hikari." Mira's concerned voice brought me back to the present. I simply shook my head at her, trying to dispel the memories.
"It isn't your fault. I'm still thinking I'm going to wake up and things will be back to normal...for me." Mira placed a hand on my head, much like she had done when I was a child.
"We're here to stay, Hikari. I'll prove it to you."
"You do that," I replied with a smile. She smiled brightly back at me before reaching under the bar and handing me my Laxus fashioned coat.
"Here, you told me to keep it safe while you went training. You look too different without it on." I took the coat reverently from her and slid it on. "I'll bring some food to you in a second, so at least go sit down. You may be almost healed but that head wound was very serious." I knew that fact well; I'd trained with Laxus and Erza all my life and I had never felt like that after a fight.
"Thanks, Mira." I made my way over to Laxus' table, amused when none of the Thunder God Tribe gave up their spots close to Laxus. I sat on the opposite side of the table from him.
"Hikari, Hikari, Hikari!" Bixlow's doll cried, flying around me frantically. "Where were you? We missed you! No one would play with us! Hikari, let's go! Play! Playtime!" The chiming chorus had me laughing and swatting at them playfully.
"Not right now. Later." Still they crowded me and though I pretended I was annoyed, I was content with their attention.
"I see you just woke up, Hikari," Evergreen almost purred. "You should have taken a moment to at least compose yourself." Instead of getting irritated like she wanted, I merely shrugged.
"Ain't no one to impress." Mira placed a plate in food in front of me and I thanked her, sighing as she winked at both me and Laxus. Turning away from her I began to eat as Ever turned her attention back to me.
"Oh, so Laxus doesn't count?"
"Nope." Laxus had seen me at my worst and my best. He'd seen me bloody, bruised, and broken. The way to impress Laxus wasn't by looks, it was by strength. The most beautiful woman in the world could want him but if she was shallow and weak, he would turn her away.
"Hear that Laxus?" Evergreen asked him. "At least I care about my appearance." She flipped her hair casually, showing off her beautiful hair. Laxus only grunted as he ate the food in front of him. She glared at his unresponsive attitude and turned back to me. "A woman needs to take pride in her looks, Hikari. Now that you're all grown up it seems like I'm going to have to be the one to teach you."
"A woman isn't defined by looks," Freed spoke up. "It is defined by her actions and her character."
"A woman that doesn't take pride in her appearance isn't a woman at all," Evergreen shot back primly.
"She looks like one," Bixlow stated as he yawned loudly. Two equally intense glares narrowed in on him but he simply shrugged. "It's true."
"Don't look at Hikari like that," Freed admonished. Unconcerned, I kept eating.
"Kinda hard not to." The two glares intensified on the puppet master. "But I don't give a shit. Hikari's grown, she's a woman now."
"Be that it as it may, Bixlow, you do not talk about women like that, especially in front of them." Bixlow shrugged again. Freed realized he wasn't going to win this argument and turned back to Evergreen. "And Hikari is a lady now." Ever laughed outright.
"A woman doesn't allow herself to be seen without being prepared. Look at her hair. It's all...ragged. Uneven. Who cut your hair, Hikari?"
"Jura," I replied easily. Evergreen almost fell out of the seat in her surprise.
"You let a...man...cut your hair?" I shrugged.
"I had an enemy grab my hair once and after the battle I asked Jura to cut it so it couldn't be used against me." I shrugged. "Who cares what my hair looks like?"
"I do! And you should!" Her shock was so great it was literally causing her face to pale.
"It's been three years since I've been home, it's not exactly like I've been swarming with people who could do it."
"You've been wearing the Fairy Tail symbol...with that hair?" she moaned. "That's it. I'm taking you to get everything done tomorrow."
"No," I immediately rejected. Doing anything fashion oriented with Ever was always a really, really bad idea.
"You don't understand, Hikari." Her voice was low and dangerous and got my attention. I turned to Freed and saw him glancing at me as well, each of us with trepidation on our faces. "You're going to go with me tomorrow and become a woman." She pressed her glasses farther up her nose and revealed her intense eyes that were staring into my very soul. "You have no choice."
I realized instantly that if I didn't, I would hear about this forever. Once she had a fashion idea in her head, Ever was an unstoppable, deadly force until it was completed. One way or another my hair would be done. I could run but with the level of determination she had now, I wouldn't be able to hide.
"Oi, eat your food." Laxus dispelled the tense atmosphere by gesturing at the mostly uneaten plate in front of me. I looked at the food, then back at Ever, who still hadn't taken her gaze from me, then back at the food.
"Not hungry."
"Eat, kid, or she's taking you today." I couldn't believe Laxus would use it as a threat! Beside him the energy level intensified and Ever was grinning delightedly. I gulped.
"Asshole," I muttered. Laxus only smirked before returning to his food. With a sigh, I grabbed my forgotten spoon and started to eat. I would procrastinate this as long as possible.
I didn't procrastinate long enough.
It was the only thought going through my mind as Ever ushered me into the unfamiliar territory of the salon. Immediately a woman grabbed me by the arm, sat me into a chair, and chided on the state of my hair. Evergreen was obviously at her side, nodding ferociously at every statement the woman uttered. I couldn't get a word in during the tirade and when they began to discuss how my hair would be cut, neither pretended to hear anything I said. Once they decided on their battle plan, Ever flounced away to another chair and a woman came up to her side to help her. The stylist doing my hair wrapped the black cloth around me and cinched it around my neck.
"We've decided on how your hair will be cut," the blond-haired woman stated as she began to wet my hair. "So no arguing will change that."
"Arguing is futile by this point," I muttered in defeat. I had lost the second that Ever had thought of the idea and knew it well.
"Well whoever did this shouldn't be cutting hair anymore." I grinned at that; I would tell Jura bout this escapade the next time I saw him.
"It was an emergency. I was off at an S class mission and they used my hair against me. It had to be cut." Still the woman shuddered as she saw the state of my hair.
"Never again, honey. Come back to me and I'll make sure your hair is cut the right way before you leave." Fat chance of that, but I said nothing to her about it. "Why didn't you get your hair done before you left?"
"Gossiping females terrify me." For the first time since I came in here she laughed.
"You don't come around often, do you?" she asked as she began to cut at my hair.
"This is my first time back to Magnolia in three years."
"Three years, huh?" she asked, carrying on the conversation without effort. "Did you leave a man behind?" The question cut at me but something about the woman behind me had me relaxing enough to want to tell her the answer.
"He left me behind," I told her honestly. Her eyes flicked to mine in the mirror in understanding.
"My husband went to war long ago. I understand being left behind, honey." I felt that she did and in that moment I felt a bond with this stranger of a woman. So I continued to tell her my story.
"I thought he had died seven years ago. He just now made it back two days ago." Her hands expertly handled my hair but I felt her sympathy more than anything.
"Is he your boyfriend?" she asked.
"No." She stopped, surprised.
"It's one-sided," I told her with a lopsided smile.
"Oh honey, you can do so much better than that."
"I love him. There's nothing I can do about that." She smiled as she began to cut my hair again.
"Love is never easy. If it was, it wouldn't be worth the effort. Does he know how you feel about him?"
"Yeah," I answered. "I told him when I was a little girl. I told him I'd love him forever." The woman sighed with a soft smile on her petite face.
"That's so cute. How did he find you?" she asked, prompting me for more of the story.
"He actually found me on one of his missions. I was the only survivor of a village that had been killed by a rogue mage and when I saw him, I thought he was a god. I remember hugging him and begging that I wanted to stay with him, that a god would protect me. He said he could take me to his home and find me a place to live."
"What was his name" the blond asked.
"His name is Laxus," I answered with a smile.
"Laxus. A fine name," she stated as she turned my head to the side for better access to my hair.
"I wanted to stay with him instead of being adopted by a family, but he told me that only a strong mage could stay with him. I begged him to train me and after a while he gave in and taught me what he knew. I couldn't summon magic when I was that young and every time I tried, I couldn't even manage the magic seal. One day he had enough of my failure and said I was worthless and not worth his time, and left me."
"Rat bastard!" Beside the woman cutting my hair, I saw a new brown-haired one watching me as I spoke. I hadn't noticed her before but it was all right. I smirked at her reaction. "What happened next?" she asked eagerly.
"Well, I don't remember much of it, but somehow I wanted to stay with him so badly I ended up summoning magic. When I did, he promised that I could be in Fairy Tail with him."
"Oh, that's romantic!" the brown-haired one said.
"Did you join?" the stylist cutting my hair asked.
"Oh yeah, the very day I managed to control my magic, I made my way to the guild and demanded he make me a member so I could be near Laxus." Both women giggled. "He allowed me in on the pretense that I train to become stronger before I took an actual mission. When I took my first mission I became a true member of Fairy Tail."
"What about Laxus? Was he there?" the brown-haired woman asked.
"He had his own missions to complete so he wasn't around that much, but when he was, I was at his side. He was so annoyed with me and tried everything to keep me away from him, but I wouldn't take no as an aswer. Eventually he got used to me. Then one day he left the guild and left me behind. I didn't know what to do, only that he needed time to find himself." I reached into my shirt and pulled out my necklace over the black cloth they had draped over me. "He gave me this when he left. He said he would be back for me."
"It's so beautiful!" The brown-haired woman exclaimed as she examined it. "Did he come back for you?" she asked.
"Well, seven years ago he sent me a letter saying he was going to investigate an island. Tenrou Island." The brown-haired woman's face fell; she apparently knew about the island.
"Oh no," she whispered. "The island that was destroyed!"
"It was destroyed?" the stylist asked in amazement. "The whole thing?"
"Yes! They say it was a black dragon and no one believed them! But when authorities tried to find the island, it was completely gone!" The stylist's mouth was open in shock. "But enough of that, did Laxus go to the island?"
"He did. For seven long years I thought he was dead, but apparently he was saved along with everyone else on the island by an ancient spell. He just came back two days ago." The brown woman threw her arms around me and hugged tightly; taken aback I hesitated, but wrapped my arms around her anyways.
"Well, you don't worry. Fuschia is going to finish your hair, and then you're going to come to me. I will make you so beautiful no man could resist you, not even your Laxus." I chuckled at the brown-haired woman.
"That's a tall order. He still sees me as the kid he rescued."
"Oh, honey," Fuschia laughed out. "Mary is experienced in tall orders."
"You bet I am," Mary replied gamely with a smile. "And you are pretty enough under that wild hair. It'll be easy to make him notice you."
"You don't have to," I told her.
"You told me your story," Mary argued. "Not only that, I love a happy ending. A true woman doesn't let another woman down in her time of romantic need and I'm not going to stand by and let this chance slip away! Fuschia, send her to me when you're through!" she commanded. "I'm going to get ready!" She swept away and left me with the smiling stylist.
"She lost her chance at love long ago," Fuschia explained quietly. "She loved a man once and never spoke up. When she finally did, it was too late and he had already fallen in love with someone else. Now she'll never know what might have happened if she had taken the chance and told him. She doesn't want that to happen to you." The stylist looked at me in the mirror, her eyes serious. "Whatever happens with your Laxus, follow it through to the end. Don't be like us and lose the chance, only to wonder what could have happened later. Don't give up on him."
"Never," I swore. "Laxus will be the only man I love. He saved me, cared for me, taught me to be strong. He gave me life. There is no other man that can do anything for me that Laxus has not already done. I can't love anyone else. I won't."
"Then don't let him slip through your fingers," Fuschia said with a sly, feminine smile.
"I'm giving him time to adjust to me being older, but it won't be for long," I promised her.
"Not with the way you're going to look when you go home after we're done with you." Fuschia promised. "No tilt your head back, this is where the serious work begins."