I'm so so sorry for taking so long with this chapter!
I'm glad that people like this story so far. Please tell me if there's something wrong with the story and I'll try to fix it!
Yay! It's Christmas soon! Merry Christmas to everyone! This chapter is my very small Christmas present to you all! It would be nice if you'd tell me something about your Christmas if you leave a review! (If you feel like it) I'm spending my Christmas with my family and I'm going to eat a lot of cake and candies! :)
Anyways, enjoy the new chapter!
After a long time of walking they finally reached the end of the forest.
A very small river was cutting through the small opening and it glistered as the fireflies danced on its surface. A red bridge ran over the river and someone was leaning to the railing, looking at the water running slowly below. The person didn't seem to be in a hurry anywhere and the serene scene somehow calmed the minds of the three mages.
First, they couldn't see who the person was but after the fireflies flew closer to the figure, Haru recognized the person.
"Kaito!" He shouted happily and the figure turned to look to our direction.
Haru ran towards the figure as fast as his small legs would carry and the person caught him in a hug.
"That's…Kaito…?" Erza asked silently.
"Apparently…" Gray said.
The three silently walked closer to the two, not wanting to interrupt anything.
"Are you okay?" They heard a voice ask. It was a calm and a serious voice, but still had a familiar sound.
"Yeah! And guess what! I found the three wizards too!" Haru explained happily.
"Thank you, Haru." Kaito answered.
"Hehe." Haru gave a small laugh.
"They're right there!" Haru said and pointed the three.
The figure had been kneeling down to match Haru's eye-level but now he rose up and the three could see him properly now.
They could only stare. Their mouths dropped open and eyes widened.
The first thing that caught their attention was his hair. It wasn't pink like Natsu's, it was black.
The second thing was that he was much taller than Haru, in fact, he was the same height as the three. And he definitely wasn't a child. No, this person was around their age.
Unlike Haru and Natsu, the air around this person was cool. He looked calm and serious but his eyes were the same. They had a fire burning inside them.
He wore a short, black coat that only had a long sleeve on his left side and the other side didn't have a sleeve at all, revealing the red bandanna he wore on his arm. The jacket had a red hood and was decorated by a red belt that ran through the lower part. He wore simple black trousers with the coat and a gray tank top could be seen underneath. He eyed the three a bit suspiciously before his look seemed to soften, just a bit.
"So you are his friends. Thank you for coming." The boy said and gave a small bow of appreciation.
The three didn't know what to say. This boy was completely different from Natsu. Not only did he look a lot different, this boy also had good manners!
"We should go to the central. It's not safe in here." Kaito then said and Haru nodded.
"Central? What's that?" Gray asked but he somehow already knew the answer.
"You'll see." Kaito answered calmly and turned around. Haru ran before Kaito with excitement burning in his eyes. "Are we going on Malu?"
Kaito gave a small smile at Haru. "Yeah."
Haru seemed very excited but the three mages had no idea what to expect. And they somehow knew that even if they would ask, the only answer they would get would be: 'You'll see.' So they didn't even bother asking for more information.
The party walked into the forest on the other side of the river and soon came to a big opening.
Before the three had time to even ask why they stopped there, Kaito raised his right hand to his neck and softly touched it with two fingers.
First, a strange noise started to come from his direction. It sounded like someone was hitting stones together. First it was slow then it sped up. Kaito raised his chin up and closed his eyes. He seemed to be concentrating on the sound. The sound got faster and faster, and deeper and darker. What they first thought was strange, had now become mysteriously a beautiful sound. The sound really made the three realize that they had arrived in a whole different world.
Suddenly, the wind seemed to blow faster. Even though they had heard the leaves rustle countless times before, this wind seemed to carry many strange sounds. It almost sounded like someone was gently whispering prayers. At the same time they felt like the sound was soothing their souls, but also that if they listened it for too long they would be mesmerized by the sound and something bad would happen.
Soon, a big figure flew over them with a great speed. They didn't have the time to see what it was, but it soon appeared again, flying slower and lower.
"What is that?" Lucy shouted.
"Kaito is calling Malu!" Haru exclaimed happily.
"What is-" Before Lucy could finish her question, a big gust of wind blew over them and a big figure descended before them.
After the wind no longer blew so hard, they all turned to look at the creature that had now appeared.
It was different from anything they had seen before.
It was a big creature. It somehow looked like a frog, yet somehow like a fish. Its head was quite flat, but they could still see the two big eyes that were now staring at them, as if waiting for orders.
It had a long tail, that got slimmer towards the end but it still looked very strong. The creature had two fins, that looked more like wings. They were completely different from the rest of the body. They were thin like the finest silk and it seemed that if someone would touch them, they could break. It also had four small round legs that were almost completely hidden under the creature.
Kaito was no longer making the strange sound and he walked towards the big animal. "K-Kaito, is that really safe?" Lucy asked with her voice wavering. She was clearly afraid of the creature.
"It's okay, Lucy. It's our friend!" Haru exclaimed happily and ran after Kaito.
The creature then opened its mouth and Lucy yelped.
"It's going to eat you!" She shouted.
The three could hear Kaito sigh, even though he was standing further away.
"It's not going to eat anyone..." Kaito said calmly but they knew that he was slightly annoyed by the noisy mages.
And just like Kaito said, the creature didn't eat anyone. Instead, a long pink tongue appeared from the creature's mouth. Haru then jumped on it and ran over the creature's flat head and jumped behind it. His childish laughter could be heard clearly from the animal's back.
Kaito too, walked on the creature's tongue, like it was a ladder, and was making his way towards the creature's head calmly like always.
"W-wait a sec! What are you doing!" Gray shouted.
Kaito turned to look at the three with an annoyed look on his face. Then he just sighed again and walked towards the three.
"I suppose I have to explain this to you or our departing is going to take a lot of time." Kaito said and gave a small sigh again.
"This here-" Kaito started and pointed at the big, blue creature. "-Is called Malu."
The creature made a strange sound, almost like it was introducing itself.
"As you probably have already guessed, we are able to call animals, such as the fireflies and creatures like Maru, to help us. They all have their own 'jobs' to do and when they form a contract with an animal master like me and Haru, they vow to serve us every time we need. You understand everything up until now?" Kaito paused and eyed the three.
"I think..." Lucy said.
"So what are these 'jobs'?" Erza then asked.
"The fireflies serve as guides and informants. Like birds, they know a lot about the happenings around here. And as for Malu, his job is to take the animal masters from a place to another."
"Right. What are the animal masters exactly?"
"I'll explain that to you later. Now we have to go. Come on, Malu will take us to the central." Kaito said and turned around.
The three just silently followed after him. The tongue wasn't like they thought it would be. It wasn't slippery and soft like tongues usually were, it was hard.
"So that's how it doesn't feel any pain when we walk on its tongue." Erza just stated and they climbed on the flat animal's back.
The frog-like animal pulled its tongue back in, and its wavy 'wings' slowly started to flutter.
The wind was blowing faster and faster around them, but on the creature's back, they didn't even feel a breeze. It was almost like they were inside something. And soon they saw that they really were inside a barrier as a leaf stuck in the air right before them. The three mages couldn't help when their faces were filled with surprise yet again.
"Amazing! What is this?" Erza asked and Kaito seemed to be just slightly amused.
"This is Malu's great attribute. By the ability of controlling wind, he creates a barrier around himself to protect himself from enemies and the strong headwind." Kaito's eyes gleamed from excitement just for a short moment before it was gone and his usual serious look was back.
But the three had definitely witnessed a side of him that reminded them, once again, about Natsu.
A/N: So that was the new chapter! I wasn't really sure about Kaito's hair, or personality, or clothes, but it turned out like.. that . I really hope you liked and it would be great if you'd leave me a review. (You don't even know how happy I get when I get a review)
