AN: I want to thank all the support I have received from all you readers. I know my story hasn't been the most interesting since I'm still in the rising action, but I commend you for your patience. Also, I'm starting to "recover" my vocabulary, but It's still stagnant, and I'm dealing with upcoming finals, since I'm a Freshmen, but I know you guys and gals don't care about my inner quarrels. Well, on to chapter 20!
Chapter 20: Mt. Hakobe
We now relay our scene to the base of the infamous Mt. Hakobe. The notorious mountain already sending harsh gusts of wind with freezing temperatures and a white-out. Our protagonists had decided it was best to not to stay at the hotel for another day, considering the headaches that arose during the first. Drue had luckily received a refund of about 4.5 thousand jewels, but he had to pay for the property damages courtesy of Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel, and was reduced to 2.7 thousand. They had covered a large amount ground during the morning commute and- much to Natsu's dismay- had a kind man carry them in an Ox Cart to the mountain base.
They begin ascending up the hazardous terrain.
"'Ah-choo! Again, I came here in only light-clothing! Why must I endure this?!'….she says." Hologium relayed Lucy's whining from his insides. Wendy and Lucy were both huddled beneath a thick blanket inside him. Both shivering profusely in each other's embrace.
"Ugh, I told you that we would be arriving here today. You should have prepared by at least wearing something to retain your body heat!" Drue scolded Lucy and Wendy in the confines of Hologium.
"' I'm sorry, Drue, but you didn't exactly give us enough time to prepare. You insisted that it was imperative that we get her by sunrise, and we didn't get the chance to buy jackets! Besides, you're wearing a skin-tight shirt and a cloak, so you shouldn't be belittling us!' …..she says." Hologium sighed in a high pitched voice for Wendy. Drue was wearing a white cloak with a large hood covering his head. Similarly to his shirt, a yin-yang symbol was on the back with a dragon design coiled around it
"Whatever! Besides, Lucy-san, isn't it taking advantage of your spirits if you're reliant on them for refuge from the weather?" Drue asked.
"'Under normal circumstances, yes. But this is an exception'….she says."
Drue sighed disapprovingly as he quickly walked to the head of the great. The weather was progressively getting worse, and as a result, our most enduring of characters were even having difficulties coping with it.
Drue was the only one who seemed to be unaffected by the weather. He never faltered, nor did his body shiver in an attempt to signify being cold.
"Oi, Drue! How is it that you're able to bear the weather?" Natsu asked from his right. Drue turned his head to look in his direction.
"I used to live on this mountain four years ago. At first, it was rather difficult to tolerate, but overtime, I grew accustomed to it." Drue explained.
"How could you live up here?!" Juvia asked. Drue didn't answer as he started surveying what he could during the white-out.
"Drue, do you even know where you're going?" Erza asked in concern. Drue looked at her and nodded.
"Yes. Over the years when I resided here, I grew familiar with the landscape and can navigate through it with relative ease." Drue assured her.
"HOW CAN YOU BE FAMILIAR WITH JUST SNOW?!" Everyone yelled in unison. Tis true. As you could look around from their location, there weren't any other mountains visible, nor any distinctive landmarks. The girls started to get anxious about being lost.
"If we continue this way with our current pace, we'll be able to see a town." Drue informed. The group continued their ascent up the mountain. The winds grew more and more ferocious and the snow was starting to pelt them even harder. Natsu was starting to shiver and blew his flames in his hands to warm up.
As an hour passed, the snowfall had suddenly diminished until only a miniscule amount leisurely descended from the sky. Most of them looked around in astonishment and skepticism.
"Drue, what's going on?" Natsu asked as he quickened his pace to be next to the boy.
"There are magic runes established set up around a the vicinity of the town to restrict the flow of snow." Drue explained. Our heroes looked behind them to see purple runes emerge from the snow. On the opposite side, snow hailed down viciously while barely any descended on their side.
Drue only smirked as they came upon a hill. Once they reached the top, in the far distance, faint lights and dark structures could be seen in the light fog that enveloped a supposed town.
"We're here." Drue stated with a slightly upset expression on his face. Everyone rejoiced as they all ran ahead, leaving Drue and Erza alone.
Can I even step a mere ten feet away from this place without remembering her?...Drue thought as a painful expression crept to his face. Erza noticed the sudden change in his demeanor and placed a hand on his left shoulder.
"What's wrong, Drue? Feeling sick or something?" Erza asked in concern. Drue shook his head as he started walking to the town in a slow pace.
"Ahhh…it's nothing, Erza-nee." Drue said in distraught tone. Erza watched as his eyes acquired a look of sorrow and pain as his eyes never averting the ground. She sighed in exasperation and followed in his trace.
"Sheesh, what took you guys so long?" Gajeel asked, very annoyed.
"Sorry, I guess Drue doesn't feel so well because he was walking rather slow and staggered a bit." Erza apologized. Everyone turned their attention at said boy. Wendy walked up to him and placed her hand on his arm.
"Drue, what's wrong?" Wendy asked. Drue's bangs enveloped his eyes in a shadow, therefore it was difficult to tell if he even acknowledged her or not. It must have been the latter as he continued walking into the small town, past the others.
"What's gottin' into him?" Gray asked.
"Not sure. He just abruptly started acting depressed." Erza said.
"That kid's complex. I can't understand what goes on through that head of his." Lucy commented. Erza made a slight glare at her but discarded the comment. They began walking and soon caught up with Drue.
"Oh, welcome young travelers!" an elderly man wearing a chef's cap and apron announced from the front of a building with the symbol for food hanging from a sign. Everyone except Drue and Gajeel responded with beaming smiles.
"My, my we have some young folk before us here. What brings you here out in the middle of nowhere?" The elderly man asked.
"We are Fairy Tail Wizards. We were just passing through here. It is nice to meet you; I'm Erza Scarlet." Erza bowed out of respect. The bowed as well as the others began introducing themselves.
"Natsu Dragneel, Fire Dragon Slayer of Fairy Tail!" Natsu proclaimed proudly.
"I'm Wendy Marvell, the Sky Dragon Slayer. Nice to meet you, sir." Wendy said with a large smile.
"Gajeel Redfox, the Iron Dragon Slayer." Gajeel spat in annoyed tone. The others except Drue introduced themselves as well. Drue had his back turned away from them as he stared aimlessly into the rest of the town. His hood covering his head and conforming around his face.
The old man was quite perplexed as the introductions were concluded.
"Dragon Slayers? Wow, we haven't seen those type of magic wielders in a long time. Oh, my name is Tomo." Tomo said. This caught the attention of everyone while Drue tensed slightly.
"You've seen more?" Natsu asked in a serious tone.
Tomo nodded, " Yes. Our prospering little village once housed two others. They were so nice."
"Do you by chance remember whom they were?" Wendy asked.
"Indeed, I do. One was an Ice Dragon Slayer. He was always so cheerful and exuberant. Furthermore, being in a mountain with freezing temperatures, there was never an absence of ice for him consume. I believe his name was Seo. He had spikey red hair and brown eyes, and was quite young. Last time I saw him, he was fourteen." Tomo explained.
"And what of the other one?" Gajeel asked abrasively.
"Haaah, he's the one I truly cared for and miss the most. He was an odd one at first, but overtime, he slowly grew on me. He was a blonde with dark-green eyes that always instigated the feeling of curiosity. He was the culmination of two dragons. My age is obscuring my memory…um….oh he used water and thunder." The man said in realization. The mention of those two elements caused the group to turn their heads towards Drue.
Drue sighed as he turned around and removed his hood. The elderly man was rendered speechless as he started trembling in shock.
Drue averted his eyes while a small smile graced his lips, "Hey, old man. It's been a while."
Tomo slowly walked forward and hugged Drue once he was in arms reach. Tears accumulated in the old man's eyes as he was overwhelmed with the feelings of joy.
"I-i-it's great to see you again, Drue! Where have you been all these years?" Tomo croaked out as he tightened his grasp. Tomo was a couple inches taller than Drue, so Drue had to reach his arm up slightly to comfort him.
"Oi, gramps, don't tell me you've gotten soft in the four years I've been gone." Drue commented. Tomo instantly released Drue and stood with a straight posture and a more composed demeanor.
"Of course not! Don't be ridiculous, boy. The smoke from the misses' cooking had just finally started to affect me; that's all." Tomo said as he cleared his throat. Drue smirked, not buying the un-clever ploy.
"What ever you say, old man. May we come in? Some of my companions are on the verge of frostbite."
"Of course, of course. Make yourselves comfortable. Nova, honey, come out here. There's someone you must see." Tomo shouted as he cuffed his hand around his mouth to amplify his voice.
"Coming, dear. Who is it?" A sweet, elderly voiced asked. A woman that appeared to be in her mid-sixties stepped out wiping her hands in a rag. Once she turned the corner from the kitchen, she shrieked in joy as she ran up and hugged Drue in a death hug.
"Ahhhhh, Drue! I can't believe it's you!" The woman known as Nova squealed as she spun Drue around in her arms.
"I can see you still have your monstrous strength." Drue groaned from her grip. She soon put him down and gestured her arm to a vacant table while she went to go fetch some refreshments. The restaurant was very welcoming. Hardwood floors, a front bar, tables situated near the windows, wide lamps hung from the ceiling, and varnished tables made from the rarest wood available.
Nova soon emerged from the kitchen once again and gently placed ten cups of hot chocolate on the table. She grabbed a nearby stool sat near Drue in the aisle.
"So, Drue, where have you been all these years? Why haven't you contacted us? Who are your new friends? Where's Seo? Where…"
"Oi, Oi, Nova-sama, one question at a time please." Drue chuckled at the bombardment of questions the woman expelled from her endless sea of questions.
"My apologies…it's….just been so long. I haven't seen you since…..well…that night." Nova said cautiously. Drue frowned as he recalled the events of the night she was implying.
"Yeah."
"So Drue, who are these people? They seem to be rather fond of you to rejoice this way." Wendy asked as she took a small sip of her cocoa.
"Oh, my apologies for not properly introducing her. Her name is Nova Ocala. She's like a grandmother to me and cared for me when I settled here. I arrived here a few months after my dragons disappeared. Incidentally, the people here couldn't fathom a child as I was to be raised by two, so they didn't believe me and often insulted me. But Nova-sama here on the contrary did, and comforted me for years." Drue explained.
Nova tapped his shoulder, "Anyways, so Drue, who's the cute girl? Is she by chance your girlfriend?" Nova mischievously smiled as she elbowed him softly in the ribs. Wendy blushed profusely at the question and averted her eyes as she was reminded of the crush she had before she was knew Drue was her cousin.
"Ah, no. She's my cousin, Wendy Marvell." Drue smiled sheepishly at the woman.
"Oooh, that's much better. She's so endearing." Nova clapped her hands, "You better take care of her, Drue, and make sure she chooses a decent man as her lover."
Wendy's blush only intensified as metaphorical steam shot from her ears. Drue laughed in amusement at her actions as he clasped his hand on top of her head.
"She's still far too young to concern herself with that. Besides, the only other individual that comes close to our age is a six-year-old named Romeo, and I doubt anything will happen there regarding a relationship, unless she's interested in young boys." Drue said as he stared at Wendy suspiciously. She waved her arms frantically, denying that crude accusation. Drue chuckled as he rubbed his hand on her hand again.
"Oh, you two must have a deep connection for Drue to do that to you, Wendy-chan." Tomo interjected as he joined in the conversation.
"Oh, why is that, Tomo-san?" Juvia asked.
"Drue only performs that action to those he trust and cares for. From our cognitive knowledge, he's only done that with two other people." Tomo explained.
"That aside, how's your cooking? Has it improved?" Nova asked, disregarding her husbands statement.
"That's an unusual question to ask all of a sudden." Gray said.
"What's more unusual is that you're almost exposed in my restaurant, boy. Put some clothes on." Tomo scolded Gray as said teen gasped in shock.
"Well, Nova-sama here is the one who helped me hone my cooking abilities. She taught me everything I know." Drue said.
Nova stood from her chair as she went over to a private shelf and pulled out a thick book from between two recipe books, and returned to her seat.
"That reminds me of so many memories. Drue wasn't always the best at cooking, and often times conjured up meals that were either inedible, or a severe health hazard." Nova said a she opened up the book to reveal a diversity of pictures. All of which were either of the elderly couple or Drue. Everyone leaned forward to get a better view. Nova turned the book around 180 degrees and began showing a lot of pictures.
"I took a lot of pictures of Drue's culinary failures. If my memory serves me correctly, he was eight at the time." Nova said as she arrived at the 'Drue' portion of the album. The moment everyone saw the first picture, they instantly busted out laughing.
The picture showed a young Drue holding a spatula and wearing a chef's cap like Tomo's. He was covered in white slurry from head-to-toe with a guilty expression. The picture revealed the entire kitchen covered in a white paste with some splotches on the walls and Tomo slipping and falling.
"HAHAHAHA, Wow, I've never seen such a mess, even when I try to cook!" Natsu laughed as he pounded his fist repeatedly on the table.
"It's not that funny. I was just…experimenting, that's all." Drue said in an agitated tone. Nova turned the page, and the next picture only fueled their laughter even more. Drue was charred beyond comprehension as his hair was singed and he was sitting on the floor rubbing his eyes. The stovetop still was set a blaze while Tomo was rolling on the floor with his arm on fire.
"Drue-kun was that bad?!" Juvia said, putting much emphasis on 'that', and clutched her sides from her hysterical laughter.
"Yeah, he was. I swear, our medical insurance increased significantly from all of the injuries I sustained. We also had to renovate the kitchen multiple times." Tomo commented, receiving a glare from Drue.
After many pictures of amusing failures and uncontrollable laughter, they came across a picture similar to the previous ones, except there was a young girl with silver hair and brown eyes with Drue. She was wearing a black kimono with a yin-yang insignia on her right chest area. Drue was on the floor in red paste while the unnamed girl accidently spilled flour and more red paste onto Drue while she slipped. Everyone else laughed, but Drue remained dead quiet.
"You dragged another person into your mishaps?!" Wendy asked as she leaned on Drue's shoulder and laughed. The laughter soon diminished as the others regained their composures, and Gray recovered his clothes. Nova turned the page again to reveal a picture of Drue and the young girl. This time, both were unscathed and not covered in food.
"Ahhh, Drue was so cute as a kid." Lucy complimented as she clasped her hands around her face. Erza and Juvia nodded in agreement, while the other guys imputed comments regarding how they were cuter when they were his age.
"I remember the night this photo was taken. Apparently, the two of them were on what the she referred to as a 'date'. It was so adorable!" Nova squealed in delight.
"A DATE!?" Everyone bellowed.
"But, They're so young." Lucy said in disbelief.
"Well, if my memory serves me correctly, it wasn't really a legitimate date…more like an outing against a person's will." Tomo said as he poked his chin with his index finger. Everyone stared at Drue with shock.
"You forced her to go on a date with you?" Gajeel asked, slightly disgusted at the revelation of his actions.
"Actually…..it was the other way around." Nova interjected.
"WHAT!?"
"Yes. Apparently, Drue was a rather dense individual. He was always oblivious to her affections towards him, and often brushed it off. On this night, she dragged him out of his chambers and forced him into going out with her. It was hilarious." Tomo revealed as he stifled a chuckle. The others also stifled their laughter, but returned their attention to the photo.
Drue and the girl both wore black kimonos with white edges. As previously mentioned, a yin-yang insignia adorned the right pectoral region of both kids. The picture showed Drue standing in the middle of a dim-lit restaurant and smiling. The silver-haired girl was also smiling and stood to the right of him. She also had her arms wrapped around Drue's neck as she held her body close to his and leaned her head on his.
"That's cute." Erza commented with a smile. Nova turned the page over, and the next picture nearly made everyone's eyes bulge out of their heads. The venue of the picture remained the same, but what the girl was doing made everyone else gasp in shock. The girl had her eyes closed and a visible blush graced her cheeks. She was leaning very close to Drue and bestowing a kiss on his cheek. Young Drue looked absolutely petrified and flustered as he was staring at the floor with a blush that rivaled Erza's hair.
"Wow, already entering second–base on the first date. Damn, I'm envious." Gajeel said. Drue didn't acknowledge the comment. Staring contently at the photo, a small tear accumulated in his right eye and streamed down his cheek. His bangs covered his eyes as he clenched his teeth.
"Ah, yes. Drue was speechless after she did that. You should have seen the way he acted after. I wish I had a video lacrima to record it, such a shame." Nova sighed. Drue stood up from his seat and began walking toward the front entrance. Everyone eyed him curiously.
Nova and Tomo smiled, "Oi, Drue, what's with the look on your face? Need some fr-"
"Shut the hell up." Drue said coldly to the older couple. They gasped in shock and retracted slightly.
"Oi, Drue, that was highly inappropriate. Apologize now!" Erza reprimanded him. Drue ignored her and flicked his hood back over his head. Drue opened the door and slammed it shut as he exited the restaurant.
"Tch, what the hell's with that kid. He's fine one moment, and the next, he acts so cold-hearted. I don't get it." Natsu scoffed. He looked over to the older couple and a sympathetic expression took place.
"Are you two okay?" Natsu asked. They directed their attention to the salmon-haired mage and nodded.
"Yeah. It's our fault for invoking him like that." Tomo said as he comforted his wife by rubbing her right arm.
Everyone arched their brows, "Why?"
"We intruded upon a sensitive topic for Drue. You see, this girl passed away four years ago." Nova enlightened.
"What? How?" Juvia asked.
"We're are not in a position to disclose that information. But all we can say is this: whether Drue acknowledges the feelings or not, he did have genuine feelings for her- love, and she was taken away from him on a horrible night that still haunts everyone in this village to this very day." Nova concluded.
"How sad." Wendy said downcasted.
"Try to be sympathetic to his feelings. Drue has had a rather nerve-wrecking past that very few could understand. His mind isn't the most stable for people his age." Tomo pleaded. Natsu sunk into his chair. He slightly understood Drue's reasoning for his cold actions. He's the same when he recollects past memories of his long-deceased childhood friend, Lisanna. Erza only knew of the surface of his troubles. She had yet to understand the true depths of his despair.
A unsettling quietness settled upon the group as only the gust of the outside winds filled the room.
Drue slowly walked up a set of old steps from the base of a hill. His mind was preoccupied with recollections of his friend.
Hikari…..I'm sorry.
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