A/N Happy to say that this story is now the #3 on the crossovers of Bleach and Fairy Tail! Hope to take the #1 eventually, but regardless I'd like to thank all of you for your continued support! Well, this chapter's quite a bit shorter than the last one, but this is pretty much the calm before the storm. The next chapter will be around 10k words long and it will be ready by Monday, just wanted to say that.
Chapter 20
Magnolia: Streets Leading up To Fairy Tail
"Well that was an awesome job, eh?" Natsu reasoned, a cheerful grin on his face as he and the other members of his practical team walked the streets of the city.
The past day, the very same group of Fairy Tail wizards that had once set out to defeat Eisenwald decided to go on a job request together. This time, however, it hadn't been to destroy a dark guild or really anything remotely as exciting. In fact, it was a very simple job that Lucy had intended to do by herself, though everyone else seemed to insist on coming.
"The client sure seemed to think so." Happy commented.
"Yeah, you guys are just happy I decided to come along." Gray said calmly.
"We're lucky that you begged to come with us? How do ya figure?" Natsu sneered.
"Because you're about as helpful as one of Erza's suitcases…" Gray replied.
"Ouch." Ichigo piped in.
"My suitcases aren't useless. I pack everything that I need to be prepared." Erza stated defensively.
"There's a limit to how much you should bring, Erza." Ichigo replied.
"It's never hindered me before." Erza countered.
"I'm not turning this into an argument…" Ichigo sighed out.
"So I've won then?" Erza asked in a tone of superiority.
"No, I just don't feel like trying to explain why you don't need that much luggage." Ichigo replied.
"Yes, and therefore I win." Erza stated, causing a tick mark to pop out of the substitute's forehead.
"Okay, if you wanna be like that…" Ichigo began.
Just as Ichigo and Erza had gotten into a pointless argument, despite the orange-haired teen's initial intent not to do so, Gray and Natsu were butting heads and throwing insults at one another. Happy just watched with a smile, but the last member of their group opted to point something out.
"Um, guys… not that I don't appreciate the help, but when I took this job I was kinda thinkin' it would be a solo mission so why'd ya have to come along?" Lucy asked in as friendly a way as she could. The job request wasn't even remotely exciting and the reward was only five hundred Jewel.
"Come on, isn't it obvious?" Natsu asked rhetorically, clearly believing the blonde knew the answer by default.
"I think so." Ichigo commented.
"Well, no, to me it isn't…" Lucy replied confusedly.
"We're Fairy Tail's strongest team, so we gotta stick together no matter what." Natsu stated matter-of-factly.
"Aye sir!" Happy chirped from atop the ice mage's shoulder.
"And don't you forget it." Gray added.
"Indeed." Erza said.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Lucy said cheerfully, obviously being happy that they considered the group a genuine team.
"No job is too tough for us!" Natsu cheered.
"So far you're right… but don't you think we need a team name? Levy's has one, so shouldn't we as well?" Lucy reasoned.
The group adopted an expression of deep thought at the blonde's words, each now giving consideration to what the answer for that very question should be. After a short while, the pink-haired fire mage snapped his fingers in retaliation, directing all eyes to him before he chose began to speak.
"I've got it! How about Team Strawberry?" Natsu offered.
At this, everyone in the present group began to laugh, and even Erza had to place a hand over her mouth to at least sound somewhat respectful. The object of the presumed joke, however, was far less cheerful as evident by the fact that he began to growl, a clearly annoyed look currently marking his face.
"I swear Natsu, one more crack about my name…" Ichigo trailed off warningly.
"Oh come on! Erza, back me up here. You love strawberries and they're even in your favorite food." Natsu pointed out, actually causing the requip user to adopt an expression of thought.
'She's actually considering it?!' Ichigo wondered angrily.
"That is true…" Erza mused, lightly grasping her chin to show that she actually was considering the proposal.
"I'd be up for it." Gray stated.
"I'm game." Lucy commented.
"Aye!" Happy chirped.
"I hate you all." Ichigo said childishly, a scowl and glare now evident on his features.
"Aw come on, don't be like that… strawberry." Natsu jibbed in a friendly manner.
The orange-haired teen turned and glared heavily at his comrade, but before he could shout anything in order to counter what was just said, he noticed something that he hadn't before. In fact, they all seemed to notice it.
As they walked through the mildly populated streets that led towards the guildhall, people were staring at them and whispering in hushed tones. Upon first glance, it couldn't have been anything positive as everyone seemed to be rather glum or concerned.
"Why is everyone staring at us?" Natsu wondered aloud, being the first to raise that particular question.
"Maybe it's our hair color? I mean, orange and pink aren't really standard, and back in my world this happened a lot. It stopped after I started to kick peoples' asses though…" Ichigo mused.
"I don't think so…" Erza trailed off warily.
A moment later the group rounded the nearest street corner, after which the guildhall they all knew and love came into view, or at least its general outline. When that happened, however, each of them froze in place.
"W-What the hell?" Ichigo muttered, staring at odd-looking structure that seemed to be exactly where the guild was located. It wasn't that he believed the building had been replaced, but given how it appeared he was too shocked for the time being to consider otherwise.
"The guildhall…" Lucy trailed off, staring at the building's warped form.
The home of the Fairy Tail wizards appeared just as tall as it normally did, but several large objects giving off a pole-like appearance seemed to be sticking out of it. On top of that, several large extensions of broken wood exuded from the points the objects were protruding out of, giving off the impression of some sort of attack.
"Let's hurry and get back at once!" Erza exclaimed, after which she ran off. No one else said a word thereafter, each just preferring to investigate what on earth was going on.
Outside Fairy Tail's Guildhall, Some Time Later…
"What happened…" Gray trailed off in a tone of disbelief.
Before his and everyone else's eyes was the form of a battered and desecrated guildhall, though it wasn't just some building, it was their home away from home. The pole-like objects were now exactly as they seemed, however they were made of metal and definitely lodged into the building by and attacker.
"Someone did this to our guild!" Natsu growled out, knowing full well that this wasn't an accident of any kind. There was such a clear malicious intent behind the building's damage that even a blind person could clearly see it.
"Who the hell would do something like this?" Ichigo asked in an aggravated tone, his eyes narrowing at the destroyed guildhall.
At this moment in time, he didn't really consider anything else being a possibility. The building had clearly been attacked, the attacker had meant to cause a significant amount of damage, and if it turned out that anyone in their guild had been hurt, it didn't even matter who, then he would personally seek out the perpetrator and deal with whoever it was by force.
"Clearly someone who doesn't like living." Gray growled out.
Just as everyone was giving consideration as to who could have possibly done this, another person decided to grant clarification on the issue. Behind them, the strained voice of another who appeared to be deeply hurt by the guild's destruction spoke out.
"It was Phantom…" Mira stated in a tone just above a whisper, her voice heavy with grief.
"Phantom did this?!" Natsu inquired in a tone that gave off a severe hint of bloodlust.
"We couldn't do anything to stop them… they got us good." Mira continued, tears nearly coming into her eyes.
"Who are they and where can I go to teach them a lesson?" Ichigo immediately asked, a very keen intent to do so lighting up in his eyes.
"Yeah, count me in on that one…" Natsu stated, pounding his right fist into the palm of his opposite hand in an effort to at least lessen his already substantial desire to destroy something.
"It may not be that easy, Ichigo." Erza said in a disappointed tone, though it wasn't directed at the substitute himself.
"What do you mean? These guys attacked us, right?" Ichigo reasoned.
"Erza's right… come with me, I can explain along the way. Right now everyone is using the basement since the main room is destroyed." Mira sated.
Guildhall's Basement
"Wait, so these guys are another legal guild?" Ichigo asked confusedly as he and the others ventured down the stairs towards the lowest levels of the guildhall.
Thus far he had been informed that the guild known as Phantom Lord, or at least someone who was a part of it, was responsible for what had happened to their guildhall. However, no one was hurt, despite such substantial damage being caused, and the number of perpetrators and their affiliation with the mentioned guild were not known.
Still, the substitute had also been told that the two guilds had always been at odds with one another, mostly over the title of Magnolia's strongest guild. Thus far, Fairy Tail was their equal in terms of strength though many people would say they were indeed stronger than Phantom. Perhaps this wasn't a good motive altogether for Phantom to do what they presumably did, but even so more malicious and devastating attacks had been mounted for less.
"Yes, and that's why taking any action right now may be dangerous since we don't really have proof that a member of their guild did it on orders." Mira explained.
"What kind of a crappy reason is that?!" Natsu exclaimed, though before he continue with his outburst he was silenced courtesy of a stern smack on the back of his head.
"Calm down, Natsu." Erza stated calmly as the dragon slayer rubbed the impact point.
"What did the old man say about all of this?" Ichigo questioned.
He had figured that since they were actually attacked it was ultimately up to Makarov in terms of what they decided to do, if anything. The situation itself was just entirely too complicated and at the moment nothing was truly known about it other than that someone from or affiliated with Phantom Lord attacked Fairy Tail.
Given that no one was hurt, he had allowed himself to calm down slightly, though that didn't mean he'd sit idly by if it came down to it. After all, he was no stranger to tearing down something that tried to harm something precious to him.
"You can ask him yourself…" Mira trialed off as the group walked down the stairs.
Immediately after entering the basement, the white-haired woman pointed towards a nearby pile of crates. Atop said pile of wooden crates was none other than the master himself, a rather evident alcohol-induced blush covering his cheeks and a mug of beer gripped tightly in his right hand.
'I don't believe it…' Ichigo thought with a deadpanned expression. Of all the things he expected the old man to do, this was definitely not one of them.
"Yo, what's up kids?" Makarov asked in a drunken tone, waving towards the group of returning members.
"Uh… hi." Lucy replied warily, taking distinct notice of how plowed the guild's technical leader was.
"You're kidding me, right?" Ichigo whispered, turning towards the barmaid as he did so.
Mira just looked at the substitute with a sad smile and shrugged her shoulders. She had her own guesses as to why the master decided to drink his troubles away for the time being, but in truth she didn't know the exact reason so it wasn't really her place to say anything.
"Why is everyone just sittin' around here doin' nothing?!" Natsu exclaimed angrily.
"How'd it go Lucy… did you finish the job like a good girl?" Makarov inquired, having obviously ignored what the pink-haired teen had said.
"Yeah, I guess so…" Lucy replied, sounding lost.
"Master, do you understand the gravity of the situation?" Erza questioned with a raised brow.
The redheaded wizard did have a high tolerance for the master's eccentricities and laid-back attitude because she respected him a great deal. Still, getting drunk at a time like this in no way appeared to be an acceptable solution no matter how she chose to look at it.
"What're ya gettin' so worked up about? It's not the end of the world…" Makarov replied before taking another sip from his mug.
"What?" Natsu and Gray growled out simultaneously, their words mimicking Ichigo's thoughts.
"If ya ask me, it just goes to show how cowardly those dunderheads at Phantom really are. They hit us when no one was here." Makarov added.
"Does that really make a difference? They attacked the guildhall and beat the living hell out of it. Granted it's not my decision, but I just want to know if you really think that letting them get away with it is really the best choice?" Ichigo questioned, his tone possessing a slight edge.
Most everyone picked up on the tone of the substitute as well as the general look in his eyes. The brown piercing orbs of the otherworldly man stared directly into the dazed ones of the master, which made several nearest to them think that a potential fight was going to break out over recent events.
From Ichigo's perspective, he was never trying to give off the intent to enter conflict with the master, but he did need to bring himself to understand his real feelings on the matter. Even drunk, if the master's next words turned out to be false, he'd know.
"…I do." Makarov replied, a drunken smile still etched on his face.
For a moment, the orange-haired teen's expression shifted to one of annoyance, but shortly thereafter it returned to his normal expression. While he didn't necessarily agree with Makarov's attitude towards the situation, he did understand that whatever was going on was more complicated than he cared to understand.
"Fine… if that's what you really think." Ichigo said, causing many nearby guild members to sigh out of relief.
Not many people understood the look in his eyes when he was searching through a man's soul to find answers, but that was too be expected given that he pretty much only ever did that when he was fighting or about to fight, therefore the two looks just happened to coincide.
Even so, he could tell that this wasn't what the old man had wanted. It was the look of someone who was deciding to take the hit because retaliating would be too costly given the current circumstances, and if Makarov really believed that was the case then Ichigo would go along with it. If anything like this ever happened again, however, he'd personally drag whoever did it back to the guildhall to become his personal punching bag. But the master didn't need to know that for the time being.
"What?! How can you be fine with this?!" Natsu shouted angrily, destroying a nearby wooden crate that fortunately contained nothing.
"I don't wish to discuss this anymore." Makarov stated childishly.
"You… you…" Natsu began, though a hand on his shoulder courtesy of Fairy Tail's strongest female wizard stopped him dead in his speech.
"Natsu… if the master wishes for us not to retaliate then we must respect it." Erza said solemnly.
The dragon slayer released a slight grunt, after which he angrily rid his shoulder of his friend's arm and stormed over to a remote corner of the basement in order to calm himself down. That reaction was perfectly understandable, however, given that most everyone in the guild wanted to at least do something, they just hid their anger much better.
"Hey, old man, can you answer a question for me?" Ichigo asked evenly.
"Sure, what'd ya wanna know my boy?" Makarov inquired cheerfully, a wide smile gracing his lips.
"Why are you drunk in the middle of the day?" Ichigo questioned confusedly.
"Because I can have more fun this way!" Makarov replied joyously.
The second after the elderly wizard spoke he brought up his hand and extended it forward to quite literally smack the orange-haired teen's ass. That, shortly thereafter, drew many confused and worried stares from those around who could see the annoyance etched on the face of the guild's latest member.
"Hand's to yourself and off of Ichigo's ass, master." Mira said warningly, a glare fixed firmly on the drunken man's form, after which her pseudo-demand was granted.
"Oh, sorry, I thought it was Lucy's." Makarov replied, chuckling after he did so.
"Do I look like a blonde to you?!" Ichigo shouted in mock-anger.
"You forgot the 'incredibly cute part', and no, you don't." Lucy commented, still managing to be rather vain in the wake of all that had occurred.
"He is cute though!" A female shouted from some corner of the guild.
"That's not the point!" Ichigo shouted back, a blush lightly covering his cheeks as he did so.
Incidentally he, and most everyone else, happened to miss the look of irritation that graced the faces of both Mira as well as Fairy Tail's strongest female. They may or may not have subsequently wasted the rest of the day subtly searching for who had said this.
Magnolia: Outside Lucy's Home, Later that Night…
"Hm… I had no idea that another legal guild would do something like that." Lucy thought aloud.
The guildhall, for the remainder of the day, had consisted of Natsu pouting, Ichigo trying to calm him down while simultaneously considering action himself, Gray sulking in an opposite corner in an effort to calm himself, Erza trying to maintain order, the master drinking, and Mira continuously serving people whatever they requested since the majority of the food and supplies were actually located in the basement. All in all, the only thing out of the ordinary was the location.
Well, that wasn't necessarily true. The mood was extremely different than the usual rowdy sense of comradery that almost always coated the building's atmosphere. On any normal day, Lucy would want it gone, but now that it was she preferred how it was as opposed to the current gloomy disposition everyone currently shared.
'Also, that guild… I remember hearing about them when I had thought of joining. They weren't ever first in the rankings, but they are usually just behind Fairy Tail.' Lucy thought.
Still, she'd never change the guild that she had chosen to join. Fairy Tail was where she belonged, and, though she would never admit it, she thanked god every day that she met Natsu and was able to successfully join that particular guild.
That's why it pained her in some ways to see someone get away with hurting her extended family. The blonde wasn't one to allow her emotions to get the better of her when it counted, but now was a time when she was struggling to do so. However everyone seemed that way, more or less.
"I was surprised that we aren't doing anything… but still, the master knows best I suppose." Lucy said to herself as she approached her home.
The very second that the entrance to her rented living area was within her eyesight, she took note that a certain orange-haired teen was sitting down, his back leaned against the wall directly next to her door with a bored expression present on his face. Oddly enough, though, he had a book in his hands that she never recalled seeing him with beforehand.
"Hey Ichigo, whatcha readin'?" Lucy asked curiously, stopping directly in front of her door in expectation of what was to come. Her question, or rather the nature in which it was asked, caused the orange-haired teen to release a quiet gasp of surprise before he chose to answer.
"It's a book on Magnolia's guilds… um, you seem pretty calm right now. Since I'm here, you should know who else is, right?" Ichigo questioned in a confused tone, prompting the blonde to shrug her shoulders in response.
"Meh, it doesn't really surprise me that Natsu and Happy are here. I'll just yell at them when I get in." Lucy mused, after which she made to open the door.
"But it's not just…" Ichigo began, though it was far too late to warn his friend.
The celestial spirit mage opened the door only to be greeted by the sight of Erza, Gray, Natsu, and Happy each sitting at the living room table with somewhat cheerful expressions on their faces.
"Oh, hey Lucy, how're ya…" Natsu said.
"Who said you could come in?!" Lucy shouted, kicking the dragon slayer directly in his cheek and effectively sending him across the room.
Ichigo just watched the pink-haired teen release a tired groan and simply not move, himself being confused as to why Natsu had been the first target of her rage. Even right now, she still appeared to expect an answer despite the fact that the fire mage wasn't able to currently give one.
"You have a lovely home, Lucy. It's quite nice." Erza stated before taking a sip of her beverage from a little wooden teacup.
"Why are you two here as well?" Lucy questioned in an exasperated tone.
"Calm down, they actually have a good reason. By the way, I did tell you this is exactly what would happen if you just broke in." Ichigo sated, looking towards the scarlet-haired woman as he walked over to pick his comrade up off of the floor.
"If Lucy is truly bothered by it, then she may…" Erza began.
"…strike you down if she wishes?" Ichigo finished, cutting the redhead off and prompting her to glare lightly at him.
"It's rude to interrupt people." Erza stated matter-of-factly.
"It's also rude to walk into people's homes when they aren't there." Ichigo countered.
"Noted… but I still don't see why it matters in the grand scheme of things." Erza replied.
"Well sure you don't care, but Natsu's the one who got hit." Ichigo said.
"Anyway… the reason for our being here is because at the moment we can assume that members of Phantom Lord are in town. Therefore I believe it would be safer if we stick together in case they choose to attack us as individuals." Erza explained, getting back to the topic at hand.
"They'd attack us?!" Lucy exclaimed fearfully.
"Yeah, and by now they probably know where everyone lives." Gray added.
"If that's the case, then I guess she's right…" Lucy replied, now being inwardly thankful for her female companion's foresight.
"Sure, after she almost knocks me out ya explain it to her." Natsu complained as he cracked his jaw.
"If you had waited outside with me in the first place then you wouldn't have gotten hit." Ichigo stated matter-of-factly.
"You just think you're so clever, don't you?" Natsu asked rhetorically.
"From time to time…" Ichigo replied with a small smirk.
Lucy's Home: Main Bedroom, Some Time Later…
"Hm… is it… brown?" Natsu asked curiously.
"Nope." Ichigo replied.
"Is it… red?" Natsu inquired.
"Yes… a specificshade of red." Ichigo replied, trying to lead the pink-haired teen into the proper guess.
Thus far the night had gone by in a fairly uneventful manner. Gray had just sat on the bed with a tired expression on his face, Erza had been going through Lucy's clothing, despite the blonde's protests, and Happy alongside Plu were eating various types of candy. Natsu and Ichigo, however, were currently playing I-Spy in an effort to kill the current state of boredom. Who it was that requested the game be played need not be said.
"I got it, Lucy's panties!" Natsu exclaimed, his tone giving off the impression that he believed this was the case.
"How do you know what color my underwear are?!" Lucy shouted angrily.
"I told him." Happy chirped.
"I'm going to kill this cat!" Lucy proclaimed, glaring at the object of her ire all the while.
"More importantly… Ichigo, why were you looking at Lucy's panties?" Erza asked, a dark aura emanating from her being.
"What the hell is wrong with you people?! I wasn't talking about Lucy's underwear, I was talking about Erza's hair! I didn't even know what color they were in the first place!" Ichigo exclaimed.
"Oh… well I suppose that isn't deplorable." Erza thought aloud, her anger seemingly vanishing.
"Ya think?" Gray asked rhetorically.
"What was that?" Erza growled out warningly, having picked up on the raven-haired man's slight insult.
"N-Nothing!" Gray instantly replied.
"That's what I thought… however right now we have a serious issue to discuss. Natsu, Gray, you boys' hygiene… I refuse to stay in the same area with boys who refuse to bathe. Go take a bath at once!" Erza ordered.
"Nope." Natsu simply replied, simultaneously shaking his head.
"Meh, I don't feel like it…" Gray said through a yawn.
"Don't sleep on my bed!" Lucy shouted in an annoyed fashion.
"Why should we have to take a bath anyway?" Gray asked, ignoring the blonde's demands.
"Yeah, and why don't you get on Ichigo's case too?" Natsu added.
"Because, unlike the two of you, I shower every day and don't smell like a forest." Ichigo stated uncaringly.
"I don't smell like a forest… much…" Natsu trialed off.
"I don't either… I think. At the very least I'm not as bad as Natsu is." Gray mumbled in an unsure tone before crossing his arms and took up an expression of consideration.
"But yes, Ichigo does smell fine… most likely because strawberry's have such a wonderful natural scent." Erza stated, eliciting a round of laughter from most present save for the actual target of her joke.
"I swear, one more time Erza…" Ichigo trailed off warningly, obviously not being content with his namesake being insulted so continuously.
He never did understand why people happened to get it wrong in the first place. After all, there really wasn't a person on the planet that would name their child after a fruit. Not in this one, or the one he was born on.
"By the way, I still ain't getting a bath." Natsu scoffed, after which he went back to his favorite pastime of being bored and doing nothing in the blonde's bedroom.
"Me neither." Gray stated.
"Now, now boys… if it helps, perhaps we can take a bath together like when we were kids." Erza offered with a sly smirk, knowing full well what the effects of her words would be.
That instantly accomplished several things in quick succession. First and foremost, Gray and Natsu turned the color of ghosts and gained a sudden interest in personal cleanliness. Secondly, both Ichigo and Lucy looked at the redhead with an expression of absolute disbelief.
"Nope, we're good!" Natsu and Gray replied instantly, running towards the closest bathroom a split-second thereafter.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ichigo exclaimed, clearly shocked by what was just said.
"I have no issues bathing with two people I consider to be brothers." Erza replied blankly.
"Is that supposed to make it better?" Ichigo asked in a tone of disbelief.
"Doesn't it?" Erza countered.
"Well… yeah, I guess, but it's still really damn weird!" Ichigo stated.
"Agreed." Lucy piped in.
"Aye!" Happy chirped.
Each of the remaining three sat at the table within Lucy's bedroom in silence for some time while Happy and Lucy's technical pet continued to eat candy they had somehow managed to find in the house. In the silence, however, a certain orange-haired teen noticed something he hadn't before. During all the commotion it somehow escaped his view, but he felt it was odd enough that he needed to address it.
"By the way, Erza, I just noticed something… this is the first time I think I've ever seen you without your armor on." Ichigo thought aloud, somewhat shocked that he didn't notice it prior.
True enough, the scarlet-haired woman was currently wearing the same attire on her lower body but as opposed to her traditional armor she was currently wearing a sleeveless collared shirt with a blue ribbon tied just above her breasts.
Actually this had been the first time he had gotten to see her true appearance when she wasn't about to fight, and she really did have a rather nice figure. In fact, her breasts were about as big as Mirajane's, not that he was comparing the two directly mind you.
"Yeah… wow, Erza, you really do look different." Lucy commented, sounding equally surprised that she too had yet to notice.
"Yes… but I believe this attire is not quite appropriate for the occasion." Erza thought aloud.
A moment later her body was engulfed in a bright light, showing that she had used her requip magic in order to take on a new appearance. When the light had died down, it was revealed that she had opted to put on a pair of pink and purple pajamas with crosses pattered throughout the garment.
"There, that's better." Erza sighed out.
"Wait, is that really how you change your clothes?" Ichigo asked, sounding somewhat confused.
"Yes, indeed it is. To me it seems so much more efficient and since I have the room in my magical space I don't see why I shouldn't use my magic in such a way." Erza reasoned.
"Fair point." Ichigo replied.
Inwardly he wished he could change his clothes so easily, no matter how lazy he knew that would make him seem. At the very least he wished that he could swap his soul form and his human form in such a way, but for the moment that seemed impossible.
'Still… that'd be a hell of a lot more convenient then having to leave my body somewhere every time I fight.' Ichigo thought wistfully.
Some Time Later…
"Now was that so hard?" Erza asked upon the missing two members of their group returning from the bathroom.
The two made no verbal reply, rather they simply grunted out of annoyance and crossed their arms in an agitated fashion. Still, neither of them really had the guts to go against the redheaded woman in such a confined area where escape wouldn't be possible in a short amount of time.
"I thought not. And now you don't reek of sweat." Erza stated.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah…" They mumbled in unison before sitting back down on the table.
"Hey Erza, can you answer a question for me?" Lucy inquired, sounding rather pensive as if what she was about to ask was something she had been meaning to for some time.
"Yes, you may ask away." Erza permitted.
"Why would Phantom Lord attack us like they did? I don't really see a reason, so I just want to know if you had any idea." Lucy stated.
"I can't say that I really know the answer to that question. We have had our fair share of scuffles with them in the past, but never on anything of this sort of magnitude before." Erza replied.
"Tch… if gramps wasn't so scarred of them we could wipe out those punks for good." Natsu griped.
"Come on, you know the master isn't afraid of them Natsu. He's one of the Ten Wizard Saints, remember?" Gray stated from his seated position at Lucy's desk.
The raven-haired teen raised a good point, which was clearly illustrated when the dragon slayer just huffed in response. Still, two individuals present within the room didn't quite know the meaning behind Gray's words.
"Wait, what's a… hey, I never gave you permission to read that!" Lucy exclaimed, taking immediate notice that the ice wizard currently held the novel she had been writing within the palm of his hand in a nonchalant manner.
Almost immediately thereafter she grabbed the collection of papers from his hand, much to his disappointment and Erza's confusion given that she didn't know what the pile of papers even was.
"Hey, you can't just snatch that outta my hands without at least tellin' me what happens next." Gray said reaching towards the papers that were currently being gripped rather tightly by the blonde-haired woman.
"Yes, I can. Besides, I promised Levy that she could be the first one to read it." Lucy replied.
"Oh, I didn't know you and she had gotten to talk yet." Ichigo said, interjecting into the conversation.
"Yeah, she's a nice person and she was really supportive when she talked to me about it. She really loves books too, so maybe she can give me her opinion when I finally finish writing my novel." Lucy stated.
"Hmm…" Erza trailed off in an attempt to gain the blonde's attention.
"You're not getting to read it either!" Lucy exclaimed upon turning towards the woman and seeing that she was gesturing a hand as if to say she wished to be given the collection of writing.
"By the way, you seemed like you wanted to ask something before you started to yell at Gray." Ichigo commented.
"Oh yeah… I wanted to know what the Ten Wizards Saints are supposed to be." Lucy stated.
"Well they're the ten strongest wizards in the magical world, at least the legitimate ones. The master's one of 'em, and the rest of the Wizard Saints are just as strong as he is, if not stronger." Gray answered.
"That just means he's being even more spineless than I thought." Natsu sneered.
"Not at all, Natsu. From what I've read about Phantom so far, it looks like their master… Jose, I think his name is, is also one of the Ten Wizard Saints. That means that if we went to war with them than we'd definitely cause more harm than good. That's also just assuming that both of them fight it out. If everyone else got involved… I can't think of the damage it would cause." Ichigo stated.
To him, at least, this was a very straightforward issue and the old man's decision, for now, appeared to be the best one. No one had been hurt, and should the two guilds essentially go to war that would not only bring about all forms of chaos but also put innocent lives in danger during the process. Then there was the fact that the Magic Council would likely become involved and above all else Ichigo desperately didn't want for them to get the impression he was here to start trouble.
"Ichigo is right, Natsu, we can't go to war with Phantom over something like this because the risk would be far too great. Should anything else happen, then we will give it special consideration, but given that no one was hurt and the master is against any form of retaliation our hands are tied." Erza said in agreement.
"Tch, figures…" Natsu scoffed.
A/N Once again I'd just like to thank everyone period for supporting me! You're all fantastic and I hope you love the story as much as I do writing it! The next chapter will be posted on Monday, so until then!
Explanations:
Is Ichigo really Calm about this?: Nope, not at all. He's suppressing his anger a good bit, but I guess that you could say… if something bad were to happen in the future, it might erupt. Who knows what that means, right?
What's Next?: Next chapter has a special surprise, that's all I really have to say ;P
Reviews:
cecebeec: I know what will happen, but I cant tell you, now can I? :P
Krazyfanfiction1: Thanks, and could Ichigo basically make Getsuga Tenshou into a cero blast? No, not really. Could I make him do that? Yeah, but I'd more likely allow him to learn how to use a cero instead since he technically should be able to do that. Not to say I will do that, but I am saying that it is a possibility.
Pokemaster94: Given what happens in the future, don't expect the spar to occur in the near future. It will happen, and when it does it will have more of an impact than a lot of people probably thought, but yeah, that's basically all I have to say.
Cloud Narukami: Hmmm… I can't really answer your question, but I can say that I won't not consider adding one of them. Feel free to unscramble these words as you see fit xD.
Omega Collaborative: It was in the anime as it was the story of Happy's birth, I assume that was in the manga as well but I don't really know. Either way, it's around the few episodes before the Phantom Lord Arc, in fact it is I believe the episode immediately before the guild is attacked.
SpartanPrime101: Can't answer that question, unfortunately. ;)
cellum95: Well, he could explain that if it were to happen, but he cant explain that his inner hollow is really his zanpakuto given that even he doesn't know that yet, and he realistically wont figure that out in this fic.
Hotsreak's crossover stories: I believe I answer this over PM.
Guest (1): Yes.
Dp11: I went by the occurrence of events in the anime. I haven't read the beginning of the manga, so I don't really know if the attack from Phantom happened immediately after they got back, but honestly I just wanted to include a few things so it worked out better this way.
Guest (2): As I say just about every time I talk about the pairing, yes there is a potential for a third, but I can't say who.
DarkPirateKing69: I get what you mean, but just image how much this makes you look forward to the time I don't have it happen ;P
Spider-Man999: Of course.
lijuan: There isn't really any human in the realm of Fairy Tail that's a match for Ichigo outside of Zeref, who can't really kill Ichigo because he is immune to death magic. Will I eventually create a situation where someone comes along that is close to his strength as he is now? Can't say ;(
Guest (3): Depends on how you look at the timeline, but yeah. It also is happening after the Galuna Arc.
hollow96: Maybe… guess you'll just have to wait and see.
Exanime Draco: There will, of course, come a time when this story diverges from canon completely never to return to it for quite some time. Expect a lot more original stuff from here on out, but the relative events that occur like the Phantom Lord Arc will remain the same because some things you just can't edit out.
Matsuki Sakata: Yup.