So, I cranked this one out a lot faster than I usually do. It's probably because I have school very soon, so I want to make as much progress as I possibly can. Anyways, I have to say that I was kind of disappointed with the amount of reviews that I got last time. So I want to thank those people.
Satomika- Well I go to a really big University in the States so we can pick which classes we would like to take, though we're restricted to certain classes in our first year.
Fluffyluver2- I hope that this was fast enough for you. :]
Bellator-Tonitrus- I was upset about how they left out a bunch of stuff too! Especially at the end when Harry didn't fix his wand. -_- But I still loved it too.
Fooster26- Lol, I think I sent you a personal message about this. But I always felt that Lucy was special. :]
Thunder-Kitty83- Is your name an allusion to the Thunder Cats? Anyways, I was bawling at the end of the movie too! And I'm glad that you like it. :]
Please guys, if you like what you're reading leave a review it makes me so happy when I read them. Other wise I feel like people don't care about what they're reading and I'm just wasting time writing all of this.
From the moment Lucy stepped foot in the guild, the whole room was silent. Everyone stopped and stared in surprise as they saw her walk across the floor of the guild to where the new master was seated at the bar, just like the master before him. Though, Guildarts was seated on a bar stool rather than the bar itself (1). He looked up from his drink in surprise when he spotted Lucy and he small entourage enter the guild and make their way toward him. He hadn't known her for long, but he often heard stories about her from her teammates and heard about her situation from the master.
"Lucy! It's been a long time!" Guildarts said happily as he downed his drink. "You're finally back, eh?"
"I wanted to talk to about something," Lucy said in a low voice. "It's important."
"Of course," Guildarts nodded and motioned for them to follow as he led them down into the library.
A few moments later, they were all inside the vast basement library of the guild, seated at on of the many tables inside.
"It's a mission," Lucy began to explain. "We need protection, for her." Lucy motioned to Mai who looked pale, and uncomfortable sitting within the guild. "We think someone is after her."
"Who?"
"I…" Lucy turned to look at the other three. Kai and Kano glanced at each other and nodded slowly. Kano took Mai gently by the arm and together they walked off into one of the nearby sections.
"My brother," Kai explained slowly. "He was banished from our clan three years ago for practicing dark magic. He was stripped of his powers and sent off to some place far away, but Mai said she could feel him coming for her. That he visited her in a dream."
"And what does he want with her?" Guildarts continued to question. He observed the boy in front of him who looked hesitant to answer. Kai didn't look at the man, nor did he look at Lucy, his gaze was directed at the girl, Mai. Even without knowing her for too long, the powerful mage knew that this Mai girl was special, and that her magic was vast and great.
"It's complicated. The less you know the better," Kai said at last.
"I see." There was silence for a moment; Lucy stared up at her current master, wondering if he would accept such a mission. "Before we can accept, we have to know a bit more about your brother. For instance, his name?"
"Kaji," Mai said as she approached the group again. She wasn't shaking anymore, but her color still hadn't returned. "He was my fiancé, before he was banished."
Kano was right behind her; a dark look had come across his features in the few moments that he and Mai had been gone.
"As for any other information that we have on him, there isn't much. We have no idea what he's been doing all this time. No one has been tracking his whereabouts, the clans cut off all ties from him when he was banished," Mai continued.
"What kind of dark magic was he practicing?" Guildarts pushed. He saw the hesitancy in all of them. They looked worried and concerned, as if they weren't sure what to say. He sighed quietly, knowing that they had a secret to keep. "You don't have to explain, I know who and what you are."
The four young people looked up at him in surprise. "The master explained to me why Lucy had left and who she had set out to find. I figured she would be successful. She is after all a member of Fairy Tail."
"Then, you know what we can do?" Kano asked. "You understand what will happen if you tell anyone else our secret?"
Guildarts nodded. "You can rest assured that I won't tell anyone else. But you must tell me what kind of magic we maybe dealing with."
Mai looked away for a moment, before she answered. "A method to control the dead." She said quietly, in almost a whisper. "He wanted to resurrect powerful mages and use their power accordingly."
"That's impossible," the current master said, shaking his head. "It's never been done."
"It is possible, if one has enough power to do so," Mai continued. "He wants my power. He wants to use it so that he can create his army, and take revenge."
The room was silent. Guildarts turned away and began to slowly pace the room, as if trying to decide what to do next. Slowly, he turned back around to face the group and nodded his head. "Alright, the guild will accept this mission. I already have a team in mind. Wait here."
They all nodded and watched as the man walked back up the stairs and disappeared into the guild. Lucy sighed; she could only imagine what the rest of the guild might be saying at this moment. She felt almost sick at the though of having to face them again. It had been so long, and despite receiving the message that Mai had delivered from Erza, she didn't feel comfortable with the whole thing. It was several minutes before they heard the door to the basement swing open again. They heard several pairs of foot sets coming down and the group turned to see who would walk down the stairs. The first to appear was of course Guildarts himself. Lucy watched intently, wondering whom the team he picked was. She then saw the glimpse of crimson and silver and knew right away. She felt her heart sink, and she swallowed hard. It was her team., well at least her old team.
"I believe you've all met already," Guildarts said as he waited by the stairs for the rest of the group to come in. Erza, Grey, Juvia, Lisanna, and Wendy appeared smiling at the group kindly. Lucy watched the stairs with intensity, knowing that he would be coming down the stairs at any moment. Then she saw a flash of blue and felt something collide with her chest. She stumbled back and looked down at the blue cat that was cuddled up to her and smiled.
"Hi Happy," she said petting his head.
"LUCY! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE BACK. NO ONE WANTED TO BUY ME FISH," he wailed and as he cuddled with her.
Lucy laughed and continued to pet him with promises of buying him some fish.
"Natsu missed you too," Happy said, looking up at her with his incredibly large eyes. "Didn't you Natsu?"
Lucy looked up to see the pink haired man standing there, watching the scene with sad eyes. He smiled. "Of course I did."
Happy laughed and smiled and preceded to talk about what Lucy had missed while she was gone.
"Let's talk about the mission," Guildarts said after a moment. Happy stopped talking and the two groups turned to face him. "I understand that you're not sure when Kaji will be coming, correct?"
Mai nodded. "But I can feel him coming closer everyday. I'll be able to sense him."
"Since we aren't sure when he's going to strike, we'll have a couple of these guys with you at all times."
Mai shook her head. "I couldn't do that, I know that they've divided into teams to do missions, I don't want them to miss out because of me. Kai and Kano are with me all the time anyway."
Guildarts shook his head, "No, if he's as dangerous as he says he is then you need extra protection."
Mai looked unsure about the whole thing, a troubled look clouded her face.
"Why don't we do this?" Wendy began. "Mai-san can go with us on missions from time to time. It'll let us go out on missions and keep her safe. And it'll throw off this Kaji person, because she'll be constantly moving around. It'll stall him at least for awhile."
Guildarts nodded. "Id that okay with you?"
Mai nodded, though she still looked uneasy.
"Then I'll leave you all to discuss the details." Guildarts smiled and left the room, leaving everyone in an awkward silence.
They stood for several moments before anyone said anything, until finally Erza cleared her throat. "So, who exactly is this Kaji person?"
Kano took over from there, explaining the situation with as little detail as possible, dodging the important parts that seemed to be missing. They team look suspicious, but let it pass on account of Mai. Mai grew paler and paler as the day went on and by the end of the day, she was sitting with her head down on a desk, her breathing slightly labored. She rejected any help or any motion to leave, insisting that everything had to be sorted out first.
When it was finally time to leave, Kano helped Mai up, and put his arm around her, steadying her.
"Let's go out the back," Grey motioned and the rest followed.
"I'll take her back," Kano said. And he and Mai went off in the direction of the apartment.
Just as Kai and Lucy were about to leave, Erza stopped them. "I didn't want to push it while we were inside, because Mai looked ill, but what exactly is going on? All you've given us is vague detail, if we want to protect her properly we need to know more."
Lucy shook her head and looked to Kai. He sighed again and rubbed his forehead. "I can't say. And I'm not saying that because I want to. I really can't. Trust us when we say that it's best that you don't know too much. We know nothing of Kaji's current state, or his magic. All we have is information from the past," Kai paused for a moment. "He was considered a genius, and grew bored of the magic that we were being taught by our family. He was able to teach himself other magic, and excelled. He was especially skillful in dream and psychic magic. He was able to hear the thoughts of those who thought about him. Just knowing his name could put you at risk."
"We've accepted the mission, and thus the dangers that come with it. We have the right to know," Lisanna pushed. Lucy could tell she was uncomfortable with the idea of helping when there was so little to go on.
Kai sighed. "Look, like I said I can't tell you."
"Then why should we accept this mission?" Lisanna was thoroughly annoyed now.
"We didn't ask you to help us," Kai's expression was dark. "It was Lucy's idea."
"Kai," Lucy started, "You know how scared she is. If he's as bad as you say then you'll need all the help you can get."
"Why don't you just move her?" Juvia asked. "Back to you home, he can't enter since he was banished."
Kai looked at her. "It isn't that simple. If he really has his powers back then going home would be a bad idea. It would just encourage him to go after all the people who tried to stop him in the first place. Right now he wants Mai, and so he'll come for her. In order to protect our families we have to stay away from them."
"And put the rest of us in danger," Lisanna retorted quietly. It was just loud enough for them to hear.
"Lisanna-chan!" Juvia exclaimed. Lisanna seemed to ignore her and turn away, heading back into the guild. Juvia looked worried, and bowed graciously before going after her friend.
"It's up to you whether or not you guys want to take this mission. Kano and I won't care. We can take care of our own just fine," Kai said turning to leave. "Just don't get in the way." And with that Kai left the group, following the path that Kano and Mai took earlier. Lucy sighed as she watched him leave and turned to face her old teammates once more. She took a deep breath, and a look of stubborn determination crossed her face. This wasn't going to be easy.
Back at the apartment, Kano had placed Mai on the couch. They had been a block away from the apartment when she collapsed and he had to carry her all the way back. She was resting peacefully, drifting in and out of sleep, in a daze. Kano knew that she was forcing herself to wake up whenever she would fall asleep, and it concerned him. He took a seat on the floor next to her and placed a hand on her forehead.
"Sleep," he murmured. "I'll be here when you wake up, I won't leave I promise."
Mai looked at him with lidded, sleepy eyes; tears threatening to fall at any moment. "He comes in the darkness." She whispered. Kano only shushed her and gently stroked her cheek.
"He won't come tonight. I promise."
Mai nodded softly before allowing herself to fall asleep. Kano watched her and sighed heavily. Kaji was always a good brother. He was the oldest, gentle, caring, and kind. He was strong too and extremely talented, a genius even. But Kaji always seemed to have this strange air about him. As if he was hiding something. Kano remembered the day that he had given up his position as a candidate. He had been strangely calm; there were no signs of remorse, more like he was pleased with himself and his decision.
After that, the families had paid less attention to Kaji and his actions, and let him do whatever he wanted. That was his reason for giving up his position as a candidate. Surely, if he had remained in the competition, then it would Kaji rather than Kai who would be sitting at the council table next year.
Kano them remembered the conversation that they had the few moments that they had left Lucy and Kai with Guildarts. His brow furrowed with frustration at the thought of what she had told him.
"Mai."
"We have to kill him." She had said suddenly.
"What?" Kano was unsure if he had heard her correctly. "Mai, what are you-"
"It's the only way to stop him. The only way to save everyone." She looked up at him. "When he comes for me. I'll be ready." She turned and began to walk away. "Let's go back."
Kano had always watched her as they were growing up. Mai excelled at everything that she did, and she had grown up to be a fine mage and warrior, but Kano knew that she could kill someone. It went against every fiber in her being. But she was scared. Kaji's first victim had been her. He had betrayed her, used her after all. It made sense that she was this terrified. All of a sudden he felt useless to stop any of it. When it came to magic and overall fighting ability, he was strong, one of the best out of all of the candidates, but he was nothing compared to Kaji, who always bested him when it came to sparring and training. What's more, he wasn't a council member. He lacked power and it angered him. All he wanted to do was to protect her, like he had in the past. And even then he had failed.
"Kano-nii-san," Kai's voice called from the door. Kano looked up to see his youngest brother looking down at him with worry. "I know you're angry. I am too."
Kano said nothing and turned his attention to the floor. His right fist clenched tight. Kai looked at him with worry, and remorse.
"It should have been you," Kai said quietly. "I'm sorry that I was picked and not you."
Kano looked up at his brother in surprise. "What are you talking about?"
"I know how hard you trained to try to become a council member. You deserve it more than I do. If I could I would have given you the position from the start."
Kano just stared at his brother. Kai had never taken any of his training seriously, though he was talented. He had done it for the sheer pleasure of doing it. Kano was always surprised whenever Kai would show up to train, and even more surprised when he officially declared himself a candidate. He had to admit, when Kai was chosen as the successor, it had stung. After all the years of training, he didn't have anything to show for it. He had never expected Kai of all people to pick up on it. He shook his head and smiled.
"No, you deserve it Kai." Kai looked at him in surprise and smiled back.
"Nii-san, about Mai…"
"Ah, she had trouble sleeping, but she's fine for now."
"That's not what I wanted to ask you," Kai started slowly. "Why don't you tell her?"
"Tell her what?"
"That you're in love with her."
Lucy stared back at the group of mages, determined to make this work.
"Okay," Erza said. "We understand Lucy. We'll take the mission."
Lucy smiled. "Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me." She glanced at her watch and gave a look of surprise. "It's already this late? I have to go I'll see you guys later!"
As she ran off the group watched her fondly.
"Same old Lucy, huh?" Grey asked breaking the silence.
Erza smiled and laughed in agreement.
Natsu watched, longingly as Lucy ran farther and farther away from him. A crushing pain filled his chest. She was so close, and yet so far. This would probably be one of the hardest missions he would ever endure.
1. Yes, I know that there's some implication that Laxus is supposed to succeed the master, but I wanted Guildarts to be the new master okay?
2. Kaji is actually the eldest of the brothers. So that would make him three years older than Lucy and Mai. Sorry for making it OC centric again. -_-
3. Anyone get what song I alluded to in the end?
So I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter, I can't promise that the next chapter will come out as quickly as this one did. But please, please, please review! I it would make me so happy. I love reading them!
Truly yours,
WeHoldTheseTruths