Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail
"What's wrong?" Karie placed a cup of tea on Hisui's desk, or rather, placing it on the little space that she could find. "It's not like you to be so slow in your work." The reference books and paper stacked higher than normal, covering the person behind the desk with the occasional frantic scratching of pen to paper leaking out the barrier.
"It's nothing…" Hisui reassured.
"You said that five times now, come on, why don't you tell me what happened last night, you haven't been the same since the festival." Hisui stopped her pen.
"Maybe I need a break."
"Perhaps you do, you barely took any during the entire festival period." Karie moved away the stacks of material. "Just relax, I'll call you when it's time for lunch." Karie handed Hisui a pillow from a sofa and ran her fingers through Hisui's loosened hair.
"Thanks…" At the sound of the doors closing, Hisui sighed, her mind wandered away to the events that happened after the festival. It was a lot more romantic in her mind's replay than it actually was, the faint smell of smoke linger with each word that Natsu uttered. They were farther away than she thought, close enough to see each other's eyes in the dark, but not enough for Hisui to see his eyes twinkle with excitement. Yet, she see saw it clearly in her replay. They were vivid—more so than the real experience last night, filling Hisui with a bubbling lightness that rushed to her head.
"Why is this happening now? So many people confessed to me and I never had such a reaction. Am I sick?" Hisui felt her hot cheeks and a quick glance to a mirror showed a healthy shade of red in her otherwise, white face. After splashing her head like waves on the pillow, Hisui decided to take a walk in an autumn that was reaching the later stages of its life. Putting on a brown winter coat, Hisui slipped on her boots, tied her head with a plain, black band and embraced the chilly city.
A healthy number of leaves painted the ground with the colours of Autumn, they stained the stone bricks and tumbled to Hisui's footsteps. The caressing of winds and the energetic cries of children running helped Hisui's warm face. Currently, she was tracing the road to Fairy Tail. She stopped, turned the opposite way, walked a few steps before going back to her original path.
Hisui stopped at the guild door and took a deep breath. She swatted away the urge to return and pushed the door; a wild scene opened-up before her eyes. "Hisui?" Mirajane called out, dodging a dirty plate as she made her way to greet her friend. "I thought that you said you were busy."
"I thought that I could use a break, I haven't made much progress in my work today."
"I wouldn't be surprised, Karie told me that you've been working non-stop for the pass two months or so. She may not show it but, it really worried her."
"I know, that's why I'm going to take it easy for a while, besides, most of the urgent matters, I already had them taken care of, the rest can be handled by the rest of my team."
"That's good." After sidestepping her brother, Mirajane looked around the guild. "Let's go somewhere more peaceful."
"Shouldn't you look after him?" Hisui eyed Elfman among the pile on unconscious guild members.
"If he was younger, I would have. But lately, he seems to want to prove to himself that he's tougher. Although, I think he forgets that he should ask for help sometimes."
"Then, I think the library should have the other people that's seeking refuge."
"Perfect! I have some snacks resting in the kitchen, you go ahead!" Stepping over an arm, Hisui stumbled her way to the library, relieved to know that the noise cancellation is still functioning. In exchange of the rowdy roars and screams of pain or fear, giggles and chatter filled the room. In the reading room, Hisui found that the armchairs were arranged in a circle, which held Hisui's friends.
"Hisui! Over here!" Levy said.
"Didn't you say that you were busy?" Lisanna added.
"I'm taking a break."
"That's great, with haven't talked like this in a while, you've been taking showers, so we couldn't even talk in the baths." Laki said.
"Where's Bisca?"
"She's out on a job with her family." Wendy replied, taking a sip from her glass of orange juice. Hisui joined the circle and Mirajane entered shortly after, filling the room with the smell of butter, vanilla and cinnamon.
"That's strange, I thought that they would be more people, where's Lucy?"
"I think that she got caught in the crossfire," Lisanna provided. "and Cana is drinking outside."
"That's a shame, I think that I did a good job on these cookies." Mirajane placed three cookies in each plate and handed one to everyone. "What were you talking about?" Mirajane asked, taking a seat herself.
"We were talking about going on a trip."
"Did something happen?" Mirajane pulled her chair closer.
"Me, Levy and Wendy went on a job remember?" Seeing her sister nod, Lisanna continued. "After helping the manager of the resort, he said that we did such a great job that we're allowed to invite some of our guild members to relax."
"That's great!"
"It doesn't end there, we didn't take the offer, but we asked if we can get a discount for booking rooms instead. We wanted to invite the whole guild to the resort, it wouldn't feel right if we all don't go!"
"How did it go?"
"It was a huge success!" Levy exclaimed. "Since we have so many people, we have to work out how many people are planning to go, the manager can't give that many people too low of a discount."
"Then how many people ended up agreeing?"
"About half of the guild, we counted Hisui and Karie of course!"
"Me and Karie too!?"
"Of course! Unless you want to say that you're not a part of us?"
"No that's not it, it's just…if I go on a resort while the rest of my team has to work... that wouldn't be fair. Sorry but…can I ask everyone first?"
"No problem, just tell me if you got an okay or not."
"I will."
"So," MIrajane started, "where is it?"
"It's by a beach called Trefer," Levy replied, "have you heard of Twin Island Resort?"
"Can't say I have."
"It just opened not too long ago…for three months I think. It's called Twin Island because the resort is split into two main parts, both of them are well received by the previous tourists. Though we only had time to check out the spas, I can say that they were really nice."
"That sounds great! When are we going?"
"Assuming we have the list ready by this week, I'd say that we should be going in two weeks at the latest."
"Hisui you should come with us! A couple days-off can really help with your problem, I know that modelling all the time can get tiring with all the requirements the cameraman has. Once I took some days-off, I felt like a different person entirely."
"Yeah it'll be fun!" Lisanna added.
"We're worried about you." Laki commented.
"I'll see what I can do. At the end of the day, it really depends on whether the work load is light enough for me and Karie to go on a trip like this."
"Then that's enough of that topic." Levy said. "Has everyone been to that new café nearby?"
"I have," started Wendy, "Carla said that the tea isn't that great, the fruit cake I had was good though."
"I might have to go there with Luc—"
"Wendy." A tired, yet commanding voice broadcasted into the library. "Can you help me treat the wounded? Mira, can you help also?"
"Erza," Mirajane got up from her seat to dust off Erza's hair, "what happened?"
"They're getting stronger." Erza smiled dryly. "If only they know what that means. Mira, can you train with me?"
"Sure, I need to brush up as well. Lisanna, I'm sorry but, you'll have to do more work for a while."
"Don't worry about it! I've been skipping out on work lately, just leave it to me!"
"Then it's settled, let's see the damage, hopefully we won't have to repaired too much."
"Sadly, we increased Master's stress, Natsu and the others doesn't know restraint. And by extension; I can't either. Sorry Wendy, you have more patients this time."
"Please don't worry about it, I treat it as practise." Once the three left, Levy finished her snacks and rose.
"Should we help as well?"
"Too many people can become a hindrance." Laki replied.
"That's true." Levy sat back down. "Want to play something?"
"What do you have in mind?"
"Nothing much, it's very simple." Levy said with a smile. "Truth or Dare?"
Leaving the guild with a full stomach, Hisui kicked dust while she recalled the things she learned from her friends and the habits she exposed. She thought of the fun she had during her stay from the moment she entered to the moment she left—looking more fondly at the former than the latter as Hisui looked into Natsu's eyes before the doors severed the brief contact they had. He held understanding, adding the kindness of his smile, Hisui could only smile in return. She didn't miss the hint of hope and demand from those seemingly endless eyes that stood out better than an onyx in a pile of diamonds. Guilt ran across her knowing that her internal struggle was filled with hesitation.
Seeing her building drove away the conflicting feelings, reminding her of her friend's hopes. She pushed opened the door and waved to her staff. "Everyone, I have another selfish request I want to make." The workers stopped and looked at their leader. "I'm planning on taking a small break, do you think that you can handle the future work until I come back? I know that it's unfair that I get to have a small vacation while everyone here has to continue working. And if it possible, I would issue holidays more often for everyone. I do have plans for making that a reality. However, please wait until I have everything sorted out—"
"We were waiting for those words Princess." A man wearing glasses smiled. "We've been hoping that you would go rest. I mean, you talk about unfair but, in reality, we're unfair to you. Everyone here has relative easy-going jobs; your hard work was behind it all. That's why everyone is supportive of you going out to have some fun. Besides, it gives us an opportunity to show you that we're more than capable in completing your share of the work. So, rest easy, we got this."
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course." The unified faces on each of Hisui's worker gave her no room for argument, only a smile in return.
"Then, let's do our best until I go on my trip! We have little time left."
"Yeah!" An explosion of fervour followed by a scrambling of people. Hisui found her work pace again, having made the choice that her matters in love can take a back-seat, as her friends wanting to relax together took priority.
Hisui threw a sympathetic look at the dragon slayers as the train rocking coaxed more stomach matter to fly out their mouths. The brilliant sun gave Hisui more than enough light to read about the resort they were going to. With Karie at her side in a coat and a pair of jeans, Hisui rested her head on Karie's shoulder.
"Wouldn't you say that it's strange that we're going to the beach nearing winter?" Hisui looked at Levy that was reading the same brochure.
"The day is warm enough for us to swim so, why worry about it?" Levy sheepishly said. "Maybe we'll have less waiting time."
"Besides," Lucy said, a humorous smile on her lips, "have you been to a resort?"
"Not…really."
"Yes, you have!" A childish, sing-song voice rang from Hisui's hair. "Carol took you there once when you were small." A tiny head sprouted from Hisui's hair.
"Fi! I didn't summon you yet!"
"But I want to have fun as well!"
"Umm…who is this?" Lucy looked curiously at the spirit that was pulling lightly at Hisui's roots.
"Oww! I was planning to call you once we were there."
"Now you're ignoring your friend, Carol didn't raise you like this."
"Whose fault do you think that is?"
"Then I'll do it for you."
"Hypocrite…" Fiore stepped out of her shroud, ignoring Hisui's comment and performed an elegant curtsy. "Hello, I'm Fiore, the Kingdom Spirit of this country, thank you for taking care of Hisui while Karie is busy, I know that she may be a handful but, please continue to be her friend and support her whenever you can."
"Excuse me?" Lucy dumbly answered.
Thanks for reading! I need to be more consistent with these updates. But fear not! Assuming that I don't lose my mind, once Christmas break rolls around, I should be able to write more often, just don't expect too much, Hong Kong's Christmas breaks aren't too long because we don't really have a winter holiday.
Anyway, I was reading my last story because I have a hard time believing that my work is as good as people say they are, accuse me of having high standards, I don't care, it's the truth. I saw so many spelling and grammar mistakes that I didn't see in my proofreading. So, hopefully, this story won't have the same problem—I bet it already has. Reading it also told me that I'm pretty decent as the fluff and not much in the other departments, maybe that's why I think this story kind of blows. But darn it, I'll improve, hopefully sometime soon.
So, if you read what I said last time, I'm struggling with ideas in bonding Hisui and Natsu, you guys got any one-shot ideas I can use or take inspiration from? I would really appreciate it, thanks in advance!
Until then, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, have a great day!