Author's Note: Hey, it's been a while! Sorry for disappearing, but I'm a junior this year, and I so wasn't ready for it.

I wanted to make this chapter longer because you had to wait longer, but it just felt right to finish it there.

Fairy Tail anime is coming back soon, like next year or something. Fortunately I don't own it, because if I did, it would basically never come out, let's be honest. The art of procrastination is something I take very seriously.

The Fool

"I am very interested and fascinated how everyone loves each other, but no one really likes each other."

xXxXx

The Fairy Tail guild was full of interesting and fun people, who were admitted to be also slightly disturbing. But this guild was a judgement free zone, everyone was chummy with each other and love was in the air and all that crap, so weird behaviors weren't considered weird and unsettling conversations were even more unsettling than they should've been.

Fun times, if Storm had to say so himself.

He had seventeen years to study these people and he had absolutely nothing. They were what they were, whatever that was. And he was part of that, which he undeniably loved.

He had seventeen years to watch and study and stare, so he came to know his guild members pretty well. They didn't know him that much, just that he was grumpy and asocial, and that was honestly more than he could say about himself. Of course, he had a close circle of friends who could say more (at least he hoped).

So, to say that him staring at Luna Dragneel was creepy would be completely out of the norm.

Because, excuse you, he was not a creep.

Watching people from afar was one of his favorite hobbies, and Luna was one of his favorite subjects. Her face was expressive, she literally wore her heart on her sleeve, and she was timidly articulate with her hands. Because if she was determined not to let other people know how she felt, she put on a poker face, but she got really fidgety with her hands. They expressed everything she wanted to hide, but only a very few people realized that.

(She would start squeezing her left wrist with her right hand when she was scared. She would bite her nails when she was puzzled. She would drum on the tabletops or her thighs when she was happy. She would crack her knuckles when she was anxious. She would press her index fingers together when she was nervous. She would pull her fingers when she was excited.)

Storm felt honored to be one of those few, even if his methods of finding out were unusual to some.

He couldn't exactly remember how it happened, but he was sitting at an empty table in the guild, staring, then at some point she approached him and started a conversation, and his brain must have gone into autopilot, because an hour later he found himself at her house, helping her with her Air magic training.

Seriously, what the hell happened while he was ogling?

Wow, no, wait, that's not–

'What do you think?'

'Um, er, guh,' came his intelligent answer. He was still blinking himself awake from his daze, and the way she was looking at him wasn't helping.

Get out with those huge brown puppy eyes! I'm trying to remember how to breathe here!

'Are you alright?' asked Luna, looking very concerned at his answer – or rather at the lack of it.

'Yes,' he choked out as he coughed into his hand. 'Positive.'

'Do you need some water?'

'No, thanks, just,' he sighed, 'I spaced out. Sorry, what were we talking about?'

'Oh, I was just asking you about something I'm working on. It's okay,' she smiled sheepishly. 'I know my company isn't that entertaining, but–'

Storm's eyes widened before he abruptly cut her off. 'No, no, no! It's not like that! There's just a lot on my mind, that's all.'

'Is something bothering you?'

Yes, your incredibly adorable concerned expression.

'No, I'm fine, really,' he said, waving her off quickly. 'What are you working on?'

'I was just trying to stay in the air longer during a backflip. I thought that I could maybe go higher…' she trailed off, picking on the skin around her nails.

She's thinking deeply about something, his mind immediately explained as he felt his cheeks grow warm with embarrassment. He was staring at her a lot lately, wasn't he?

'What about your spirits?' asked Storm, wincing at the way she flinched at his voice. He probably yanked her out of her thoughts. 'Have you ever tried to do a Unison Raid?'

'Once, yes,' she said as her lips twitched into a nervous smile, then it was gone and she didn't say anything else.

Storm wanted to ask if it went well, but judging by her expression it probably didn't.

Sensing her discomfort he was quick to change the subject, and they spent the afternoon pleasantly talking and training. He offered some advice and they talked over the spells she wanted to learn in the future.

However, at some point, Storm realized something was wrong. In retrospect, he should've noticed it much earlier.

He thought that her hunched eyebrows and the sweat slowly trickling down her temple were just signs, showing that she was working harder than usual. He only stepped in when he saw her sway to one side, almost tripping over her own feet.

He helped her walk inside the house, sat her down in the kitchen and basically ordered her to drink a whole bottle of water. She seemed to be doing better after that, even if she seemed frighteningly pale. She said she was going to lay down and promptly told him to go home when he insisted on staying to look after her for a while.

He eventually left, but he learned later that he really should have just pretended to be deaf and stayed.

After Carla started to return Happy's affections, they agreed to move into a little house on their own in the small exceed village outside of Magnolia. The idea came after a little kitten named Beatrice joined their guild.

Sometime later Beatrice moved back to her parents, and accompanied Happy and Carla on their way to the guild every day. Eventually her curious little brother ended up following them, becoming a member that day, after a nice boy shared his cookies with him and agreed to become his partner years later.

Somewhere down the road even Lily moved here. When he was asked about it, he only grimaced and avoided the conversation. Some sources (Levy) later revealed that he had enough of the youngest Redfox tugging his tail and ears all the time. "The little girl is too freaking strong for her age", he apparently said.

Just because they didn't live together, the exceeds spent just as much time with their dear friends as possible. So when Happy was told he couldn't go with Natsu on their latest job, he was understandably hurt. Ever since he hatched from his egg, he and Natsu were inseparable.

He was just as confused as the others were about the case, but not angry. He trusted Laxus, even if it meant he had to let Natsu go without him. He tried to act less upset than he felt, but it didn't really work, so he just stayed home for a few days after their team's departure.

Meanwhile Beatrice, the good friend she was, decided to snoop around a little. She noticed Sakura's mood shift whenever the secret mission was mentioned, and wanting to make her feel better, she grabbed Barry and bombarded Happy with questions. Now this would've seemed suspicious to anyone else, but Happy was, well, Happy, and an upset one at that, so he just answered truthfully, leaving the grey feline with no better understanding of the situation than before.

That's why the two siblings visited her partner's home afterwards, to tell her everything the blue exceed said, hoping that maybe Sakura would be able to find some answers between the lines, she was a smart girl.

She wasn't expecting her brother's panic attack upon seeing an unconscious Luna in the hallway.

Luna, for the life of all that's good, couldn't remember how she ended up here.

Here meaning in a gigantic, dark room, sitting on one fancy (but comfortable as heck) couch, her gaze slowly shifting around, trying to take in her surroundings, even though the sensitive lighting made it impossibly difficult.

Candles are really inconvenient, she thought as she made her way to the multiple windows on the opposite wall. She tried to move the curtains, but they wouldn't budge.

She walked back to the couch with a displeased frown, looking for some kind of exit. Her vision suddenly darkened as the candles burned out. She instinctively reached for her pouch, only to suffer something close to a heart attack.

Her keys weren't there.

That can't happen, it's not possible. She always had her keys with her, always.

'Do not worry, they're safe,' whispered a soft voice. Luna sucked in a breath as her posture went rigid. She was completely alone just a second ago.

The room lit up, brighter than before. The candles on the walls were no longer candles, but big torches, and their numbers seemed to have increased as well. Luna whipped her head around to find a middle-aged woman smiling at her.

She was admittedly beautiful with her porcelain skin and charcoal eyes. Her long pale blue hair was falling on her shoulders in delicate waves, and she was wearing a peach colored dress, which reminded Luna of confident queens and determined princesses from Jinora's favorite fairytales.

However, the more Luna stared at her graceful form, the more fake her smile became.

Actually, all of her just screamed fake.

Not that kind of fake when you dye your hair and your best friend starts obsessing over unnatural hair colors, but the wrong kind of fake, like that feeling when you go for a walk at night, seeking comfort from the sound of leaves whirling around in the wind, but the sound comes out unnatural, and you can't really point out what's wrong, until a monster jumps you from behind a bush.

Luna felt vulnerable and naked under the woman's stare, because whoever she was she knew something that she shouldn't, and it didn't sit well with Luna.

'Wh-Who are you?' she asked, knowing she sounded like a scared rabbit and looked like a deer caught in the headlights.

'I'm Calico,' the woman answered, her voice distant and not quite her own, sending chills down the young mage's spine.

'I'm–' Luna gulped, wringing her hands as if it would stop them from shaking. 'My name is Luna.'

Calico's smile flashed to a smirk, before it changed back into a thin smile. 'It's a pleasure to meet you.'

'L-Likewise.'

Luna felt her sanity starting to leave her as Calico continued smiling (more like pulling her lips) at her. She wanted to go home, she wanted to apologize to Storm for being impolite, and she wanted to make sure her spirits were safe and sound and her keys were in one piece.

'Whe– Uh, um… Where are we?' she asked, gathering every bit if courage she had left.

Calico's smile disappeared. 'In a place I used to call my home at some point.'

'It's, uh, really nice. The couch is very big and, er, green. Comfortable too,' stuttered Luna, sending the fake-ish woman a small smile. When she sat down, it froze on her face.

The couch definitely wasn't as comfortable as before. She could feel her legs itching, her back started to hurt, and her dress got stuck in the cushions. She quickly jumped up and faced Calico again, who was almost glaring at her with an out of place deadpan expression.

'What are you planning on doing with the Gate of the Cat?'

Luna froze.

'What do you mean?'

'Are you going to throw it away?' asked Calico bitterly.

'I would never!' snapped Luna, her eyes widening as she realized her mistake.

The confident queen gave her a strange look. Not that it was strange, for she saw it on her parents' faces sometimes, but it was the strangest thing coming from her.

She looked proud.

And Luna became a determined princess.

'I would never throw away a Celestial Spirit's key. Being a Celestial mage is an honor, because we become better friends as we grow strong together. We're never alone and we always have someone to watch our back. It might get hard sometimes, the Gate of the Cat is a great example of that, but the moment we accept a key it's bound to us until the end of our lives. Even if we don't make the contract, or even if we gave them away to a true friend, Celestial mages never abandon their spirits!'

Calico looked unimpressed. She was probably mulling over the pinkette's answer for a few minutes before she spoke up, 'Is that what your mother taught you?'

'No,' replied Luna. 'This is the answer I found on my own.'

The woman's eyes crinkled as her lips curled into a very real and very warm smile. 'You're going to be just fine.'

Calico's voice sounded closer and clearer, gaining a sweet tone that reminded Luna of her mother.

The tension in her shoulders was suddenly gone and the young mage found herself smiling back.

He didn't have the patience for this.

Seth was taught by his mother how to use Cards magic and do tarot readings, but the latter usually just made him frustrated. He didn't care about the future enough to seek answers about it. Unfortunately, many of his guild mates did, and he had to remind them daily that he did not do readings.

"If you want to know if you'll win the lottery next time, ask my mother", he said every time.

But now she was sitting next to him, ignoring every request thrown in her way, asking him to help her with a special reading.

Seth had to groan just by thinking about it.

'This is important!' she insisted, expression as serious as she could make it after a whole day of enjoying the old man's hidden wine collection. 'I asked Erza to draw a card before they left.'

'And?' he asked as he lifted a hand to rub the side of his face.

'10 of Swords,' said Cana as she held up the card with ten swords.

'Ouch.'

'I said it's not specific enough and made her draw another one,' she said before holding up another card. '3 of Swords.'

'Double ouch.'

'Have you asked Carla if she saw anything?'

'She said she didn't. Neither did Malcon.' Which didn't necessarily mean that was true. Unlike Carla, Malcon was just as trustworthy as he was not. This ability to see the future was even less so.

But then again, so were tarot cards.

Seth had to stifle another groan.

'Then let's do this,' slurred Cana as she let out a pointlessly big breath.

They shuffled their cards, then took turns in putting them on the table. They agreed to not use the entire stack, and used their magic to help and guide them with the draws. Seth started.

The Hanged Man. Choices and decisions.

'You think it's telling us to stop?'

'Right away?' asked Cana while her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline. She slammed her first card on the table as her son let out an exasperated sigh.

The Hierophant. This was the right thing.

'See?' she murmured, already fiddling with her next card.

The Magician. Power, and good use of it.

The Moon. Confusion and Uncertainty.

Death. Deep transformation and change.

The Tower. Change and destruction.

'Aw, hell! We're all going to die,' said Cana in an indifferent tone before consuming the remains of the alcohol she was holding close to her chest.

'Or at least some of us, if we won't do anything. After the last stunt he pulled, Percy is a probable contestant,' snickered Seth.

'Don't even say things like that!' snapped Cana at his eldest son, slapping his arm before she slipped another card on the table.

The World.

'I'm starting to really not like this,' groaned Seth. The weight of the world on their shoulders? He was way too lazy for this crap.

'You're starting just now?' asked Cana grumpily, intently watching as Seth drew his last card.

The Fool.

Cana hissed.

'What? This is, like, the nicest one so far,' said Seth confused. 'A new, fresh start-'

'But without any commitments.'

'So?'

'You won't get a girlfriend in the near future.'

'Goddamn it, Mom!'

The Fool, again.

Cana hummed in thought, opening another bottle of the old man's wine, but her gaze stayed fixated on her last card.

The guild doors swung open. If one payed close attention, they could see Gale Redfox running around the guild with a speed that even Jet found himself envying. Some minutes later a blur of dark blue hair followed him out the door, her frantic questions echoing inside the suddenly awfully quiet building.

Cana, much like everybody, stared after them, paused in mid-swing. She hummed again, her voice betraying deep interest, her face showing dry amusement.

Seth really didn't like her reaction, but dutifully ignored it, and with quick reflexes – which he shouldn't possibly possess after drinking as much as he did – grabbed the bottle from Cana's hands. She let out an indignant oi as the boy slumped back in his seat and started leisurely sipping the sweet liquid.

Sakura woke to rustling sounds and loudly chirping birds.

Did I leave my window open last night?

She opened her eyes only to close them again, the sunlight streaming through the tree leaves unexpectedly blinding her. She stayed still for a few seconds, thinking of going back to sleep, when she suddenly sat up, and looked around.

This is not my room, she thought as she completely awoke from her slumber, remembering that she came here yesterday to see Obi.

I must've fallen asleep.

She stood up and dusted her clothes off, jumping a little when the aforementioned male unexpectedly jumped off the branches above and landed in front of her.

'Good morning,' he greeted her. 'I didn't think you'd be up this early. The sun just came out.'

'Morning,' she grumbled. 'You're up and about already, too. You must be an early riser.'

'I'm more of a nocturnal type, actually,' he smirked. 'But I don't sleep much in general.'

'That's not really healthy.' Her eyes widened as she let out a hiss. 'Neither is the gaping hole in your chest! Where's my bag? I completely forgot about your wound!'

While she was frantically searching the area with her eyes, she noticed Obi kept his stare on her. 'I think I saw some mice drag it away. Was there food in it?'

'I think there was some, yes, but why didn't you stop them?' she growled at him as she took in his oddly calm expression. He couldn't possibly have–?

'Those things are fast, you know. And,' he held up a finger as she opened her mouth, knowing a snarky remark was already on the tip of her tongue. 'Stop with the cat thing! I don't hunt mice.'

'But that was my favorite bag!' she whined, pouting. 'I'm bringing new supplies, wait here!'

She trudged back home half-asleep, occasionally sending a pebble flying with a kick. She was sour about losing her bag, it was a birthday present from her dear mentor, Porlyusica. Needless to say she'd been pleasantly baffled that the grumpy old lady had gotten her a gift, let alone remembered her birthday. Their student-teacher relationship had been a strange love-hate relationship, but neither of them minded.

She realized three things when she reached her home.

One, there was a pain in her lower back, which reminded her to never sleep on the forest floor again.

Two, her house seemed to be inhabited by half of – if not the entire – guild.

And three, she was suddenly wide awake, since the first two realizations chased the last bit of drowsiness away.

Multiple pairs of eyes shifted their silent attention to her approaching form. She expected Luna's curious gaze and Ryū's right eyebrow quirked in question, just their obvious and rightful curiosity of what kept her away for the night, not the accusing glares of the people she worked with.

There was clearly something wrong, and she didn't like these people in her house. When she voiced these thoughts, their glares hardened.

With a huff and a roll of her eyes she squeezed past them to find someone who would explain the situation to her. The first person on that list was her best friend, and it didn't took her a long time to find her. Just the look in Thalia's eyes was more expressive than ever, and then Sakura knew she was looking for her, too.

They exited the crowded room and walked to the edge of the woods, wanting to escape the prying eyes, and talk in private.

'What's going on?' asked Sakura as soon as they stopped.

'I'm not sure what happened exactly, but Beatrice and Barry found Luna passed out on the floor inside. Wendy is with her now.'

Sakura felt the blood drain from her face. Instead of getting straight to the point and giving a blunt answer like usually, Thalia was more considerate with her use of words and especially the tone she spoke in. Even though she did that to calm Sakura's concerns, the pinkette became more worried. If the anxiety in Thalia's words was visible enough that her best friend recognized it, then Luna's condition was very bad.

The fluttering of wings snapped Sakura's attention to her exceed companion, who flew straight to her chest. The grey feline was shaking and sobbing quietly as Sakura protectively held her in her arms.

'Shh, it's okay,' she cooed, hardly believing her own words.

'It was so scary,' whispered Beatrice. 'She wasn't moving and I didn't know what to do because Barry was panicking and couldn't breathe normally and I–'

'It's okay,' repeated Sakura. 'Everything's going to be alright. Thank you for getting help. I'm sorry I wasn't there.'

'It's not your fault!' said the exceed as she snapped her head to look into her partner's eyes.

Another voice stopped Sakura from replying. Wendy made her way to them with a small smile, trying to hide her frown, but failing miserably.

Sakura stared at her expectantly.

'It's Magic Deficiency Disease,' she said, her tone guarded. 'Her condition is critical, as if something has been draining her magic for days.'

'How did we not notice it?' muttered Sakura.

'I'm doing everything I possibly can. She will get better, especially if I have anything to say about it.'

Wendy's entire posture screamed of her steeled determination, but it didn't stop Sakura from doubting her. It should have, and she felt bad about it.

They all followed her back to the front door, where she sent every single member away. Sakura knew they were just as concerned as she was, everybody had a soft spot for Luna. How could they not?

Thalia and Sakura stood side by side, Beatrice still nestled in the pinkette's arms, as they watched the people leave. One of the last ones was the hunched form of Storm, who murmured something under his breath. With her heightened senses Sakura was able to catch it, and as the boy's gaze lifted to find hers, she immediately knew it was only for her to hear.

'I should've noticed. I'm sorry.'

She stared after him as his sister joined him on their walk home.

'Are you okay?'

Sakura whipped her head back to see Gale's concerned expression. Barry was asleep in his arms, and she let Beatrice wiggle out of her hold to hover above his face.

'I think you know the answer,' she said quietly. Gale only nodded before he took off with the two exceeds. He was probably taking Barry home.

Sakura wasn't surprised when she caught sight of her little brother stuffing his face in the kitchen. She couldn't resist an eye-roll as she stepped into the room and poked his shoulder.

'Did you make that?' Nod. 'How much did you make? Are there any leftovers for me?' She grimaced as he choked out a muffled no. 'Don't speak with your mouth full.'

He gulped down the food. 'Then don't ask questions when I'm eating.'

'Why didn't you make some for me, too?'

He put his fork down with an annoyed frown. 'What did I just say?'

'I'm hungry,' she said as she opened the fridge. 'Did you go shopping or did you just use up everything that was in here like usually?'

'You're hungry?'

'Yes, you dork. I just said that,' she growled, slamming the fridge door closed.

'I didn't hear it, kind of like how you didn't hear me before,' he said as he played with his food, his chin in his hand with his elbow propped on the table. Sakura wanted to hit him.

'You're such a child,' she chastised as she put her hands on her hips.

'Can't hear you,' he drawled.

'Damn it, Ryū! I'm not in the mood for this!' she snapped. She was hungry and tired and worried and pissed. 'Luna almost died today!'

The constant noise of his fork scraping against the surface of the plate stopped. Sakura stared angrily at him, not believing that he wasn't feeling the gravity of the situation. He acted like everything was fine, when it clearly wasn't. Their parents were off on some mysterious faux mission and their sister knocked on death's door earlier today. The fact that her favorite bag was lost and that her little brother was being a prick only caused her a lot of unneeded aggravation.

'But she didn't.'

Sakura kept staring as he pulled her out of her thoughts.

'What?'

'She didn't,' he said again. 'She's in her room, alive.'

'That doesn't mean–'

'Where were you last night?'

He finally lifted his gaze to look at her, just as her mouth snapped closed. He cocked his right eyebrow, but Sakura wasn't ready for this talk.

'It doesn't matter,' she muttered before opening the fridge again, standing behind the door to hide her face from his searching eyes.

A few minutes later she heard the chair creak against the floor as he stood up and exited the room. Realizing she lost her appetite, Sakura retreated to her room and lay on her bed, where she immediately fell into a restless slumber.

Quote from the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower written by Stephen Chbosky.

And just so you know, I spent a lot of time researching tarot cards, but I still have no freaking clue how they actually work. I just find the concept very interesting. So let's pretend this is how it works in this universe, pls.