"Um... Zane-san, aren't you angry about me? About how I left you…"
"Call me Zane. To be honest, I don't care about my past anymore. It's been a mess."
"Ehhh, that's my fault too. I let you experienced all those tough times." Tatenashi-san butted in.
"It's not. If I was stronger, it won't happen. But then, if none of those happened, I won't join Fairy Tail and learn more about this world."
"Zane-kun's getting sentimental... Creepy." Tatenashi-san backed down.
"I'm not…"
"Those? What is it about your past?" Misaki-san asked.
"Huu.. About that, maybe I'll tell you about it another time."
"You're right." Tatenashi-san agreed.
"So you say that I had a sister?" I asked.
"Yes, she's younger than you 3 years old."
"Actually, who are those people that attacked the village? What did they want?"
"I don't know, but I know that the group is called Bombard."
What? Bombard? Not going to hide anything here, but that's one funny name. Tatenashi-san had the same thought as me and honestly burst out laughing, almost bringing tears to her cheeks.
"What's with that name!? Is it for a circus group?" She was rolling on the ground laughing.
"For now, we could find more information about it. Kanzashi-chan, how's your search?"
She opened her Archive and began scrolling through the screen.
"Umm... It's...nothing. There nothing known about this name."
"Seriously?! Kanzashi-chan got nothing?!" Tatenashi-san got back up with her eyes wide opened in amazement. I had the same reaction as her too.
Suddenly, I could sense something zooming into the house. It's fast! I quickly pulled Misaki to the side while Tatenashi-san grabbed Kanzashi-chan and dodge to the other side. Two objects crashed through the roof and stabbed the floor.
"Get out of here now!"
"Btoooomm!"
The objects exploded. Smoke burst throughout the room. Misaki-san and I ran out from the house just in time before it exploded. I was safe there since her house was outside of the town, so there's no sakura trees around there.
"Tatenashi-san! Kanzashi-chan! You're alright?"
"Yeah!" A reply came and they showed themselves from the smoke.
A big sword split the house in half and reduced it to rubble. Who did that?
There was shadow on the trees. I could sense it. I made an ice bow and loaded with ten arrows. I shot them to the trees. Some hit the leaves and froze. But, there was one arrow sliced in half. The person jumped down and dashed at us. Immediately, I summoned FrostEdge and blocked his sword. Tatenashi-san pulled Misaki-san behind and casted a water shield. The shield blocked the impact from our swords clashing. He's a man about my age. He wore clothes that looked like a pirate's. Or maybe he's a pirate? But he doesn't have an eyepatch.
"Who are you?"
"Haha! Hand over that crystal or die! I'm from the strongest bandit group, Bombard!"
"Crystal? What are you talking about?"
Also, did he mentioned he was from Bombard?
"Don't play dumb with me! Here's where the island's powerful crystal is hidden right? The crystal that can control weather!"
"Crystal? Control weather?" Both Tatenashi-san and I didn't understand what's that. Where can you find such thing?
"Ohh! That's Sepal Island's magic crystal that controls the weather because that island has some serious tornados due to the island locating in between two opposite wind directions." Kanzashi-chan explained after looking it up in her Archive.
"Wait.. Isn't Sepal Island the next island further north than here?" Tatenashi-san mentioned.
"Then…. I'm on the wrong island?! No way!"
The guy fell on his knees and grovelled in regret.
When he got back up, he noticed the necklace I was wearing. The pendent that every Icecrafter has.
"Wait, isn't that the Icecrafter's necklace? Why is there more than one Icecrafter?!"
"Huh? What's that?"
"You and the young girl have the same necklace. You have it too? How?!" He pointed at Misaki-san, realising there were two people here that are Icecrafters.
"Young girl? What do you mean?
"Ceh.. I talked too much. Maybe I shall bring you two back with me!"
He jumped up and pulled out two swords. I charged forward and attacked too. Our swords block each other's attacks and the fight went on.
"You're strong. But not strong enough to take me down! Requip! Blades of Undead!"
A bunch of swords appeared and they looked different from a katana. They are pirate swords?
"Next, Enchantment, Speed!" The swords glowed. What is it? His magic?
"Dance, my blades! Dance with the requiem of the seven seas!"
The blades flew to me like laser beams. I wanted to create a shield to block the incoming swords, but my Ice Make is slower than it! I won't make it in time!
The swords stabbed the ground. I disappeared.
"Where did Zane-san go!?" Kanzashi-chan looked worried.
"Talons Strike of Ice Dragon!" I swooped down from the sky and struck him. He has good reflexes. At the nick of time, he turned around and blocked it with his swords. The swords broke as he moved back. Tatenashi-san was behind him.
"Roar of Water Dragon!" A gallon of water shot out and hit him. We dealt some damage to him.
"Ceh, I underestimated you. Your bounty is worthy for me to go all out. Let me introduce myself. The name's Jackson, one of the Bounty Hunter in Bombard."
"I'm Zane Jullian, S-rank Mage in Fairy Tail, the Ice Dragon Slayer."
"This onee-san is Tatenashi Sarashiki, Water Dragon Slayer."
"Ummm... I have to introduce myself too?" Kanzashi-chan asked.
"Nope, you shouldn't. Unless you're joining the fight." Misaki-san tapped her shoulder and the two stepped back.
"You there! You sure have the nerve to talk when your facing your death!" Another sword appeared on his hand and he pointed it at Misaki-san. Looking at her, her hand was trembling. It must be her past memories flooding her mind now. I have to protect her at all cost!
"Requip! Cocytus's Blacksmith!"
"He uses the same magic as Erza?"
"Seems like it." Tatenashi-san came to my side.
The ground around him darken. Rumbling sounds could be heard. The ground was shaking! Then, a wall of weapons appeared. Different swords and weapons like mace and spears shot out from the ground. Then, he muttered about something.
"Now! Slice them all to shreds!"
The weapons all followed his orders. They charged at us. We had to stop it.
Flames appeared on my hands. I put them together and create a huge ball of flame while Tatenashi-san set up a big wall of water. As soon as the weapons touched the water wall, I released my flames onto the water. That froze the huge wall of water immediately, catching all the weapons. The attack was stopped! Whew, that was one close one. The ice wall soon shattered in pieces.
"Impossible! What just happened? No one has ever stopped this attack before!" Jackson was stunned.
"Wow... They're strong." Misaki gasped.
He didn't stop there. He equipped himself with two swords and start attacking me. We crossed swords. He's good with a sword. Tatenashi-san attacked him from the sides too. Realising that only one sword isn't going to stop him, I split FrostEdge into two. I locked both of his hands onto me, giving Tatenashi-san a chance to strike.
But, amazingly.. He jumped up and pulled back away from me. He can avoid it before Tatenashi-san attacked? It's impossible to do that since Tatenashi-san attacked him from his blind spot. A human's vision couldn't allow him to see Tatenashi-san when he's fighting me. Both of us backed down.
"How did you see Tatenashi-san?"
"With my eyes, of course. Now die!"
He continued his assault. He's getting faster and faster. Soon, he got faster than me even though he's wielding a heavier sword than mine. He slashed me and I backed down. Tatenashi-san saw that and got furious. She launched water missiles from Mysteltainn's gun barrels relentlessly. The same result happened. Tatenashi-san got hit.
How did he move that fast?
"Hahaha! You two weren't even a match for the real me! I felt like I wasted my time here! Now, you're next!" He moved towards Misaki and Kanzashi-chan. As the sword almost touched Misaki, it was blocked.
By a scythe.
It was Gabriel. I summoned her in the eleventh hour. Her scythe cloaked in flames and tore the sword in half. Was that sword that fragile?
"Who do you think you are? Hurting Zane-sama like this... You will pay for this."
"Good job, Gabriel. Now, I'll need your help to defeat this guy. Will you help me?"
"Of course, Zane-sama!" She looked excited and pumped up.
"Tatenashi-san! Let's go for one more push!"
She nodded and we two charged in. Jackson quickly summoned another round of swords and muttered something again. Then, the swords were moving slower than usual. We could dodge it but it was like a homing missile. It won't let us move close to Jackson.
"Tatenashi-san, bring it to Gabriel!"
We moved to Gabriel. As soon as the swords were in her scythe's range, her scythe flared up and the swords were sliced down. While she's doing that, I made three ice cannons.
"This is your end. Enjoy it! Triple Beams!"
Ice beams launched at Jackson. Immediately, he pulled out a big shield and it received the attack, causing it to shatter into pieces. After the shield crumbled, he dashed forward with a wave of swords behind him.
But he never foresaw Diana's appearance which blinded his vision with her light rays.
"Now! Roar of Ice Dragon!"
Tatenashi-san followed up with Roar of Water Dragon. Both magic merged and blasted him. He took the hit and flew back into Misaki's house. Oops, I unintentionally destroyed her house even more...
What's more important was that he was defeated!
Towards the end of the battle, we figured out his magic. His magic is pretty similar to Erza's. He could summon weapons like Erza but instead switching to different armours, he enchants the weapons. That makes the weapons stronger. Gabriel could cut the weapons down easily as the weapons are actually magic weapons and her flames can negate magic and consume it.
"You guys are okay?" I asked Kanzashi-chan and Misaki-san.
I walked up to Jackson. Good, he's still conscious.
"You, where is your base?"
"Like I would tell you!"
"I see…." I created an ice sword and stabbed to the ground next to his leg. It made a small cut to his leg. Then, I pointed another sword on his neck.
"Do whatever you want, you won't get anything out from me!"
"You ask for it…" I kicked his stomach and elbowed his head.
"Remember anything now to tell me?"
"Err... No! Nothing!"
"Then, tell me about the young girl who is an Icecrafter in your group."
"Hah! Like I will spill the beans easily!"
"Zane-kun, don't tell you're thinking that your little sister is in Bombard?"
"Yeah, it could be. Since he said she's an Icecrafter and according to Misaki-san, she was taken by Bombard right?"
"So, is she called….." I asked him again.
I didn't know her name the whole time!
"Ah, it's Kazuha. Kazuha Jullian." Misaki-san said.
"Isn't that Ice Goddess? I'm the weakest of all Bounty Hunters but I heard they said she's as strong as our Head! No one ever dare to challenge her as she will leave her opponent freeze in fear, literally and figuratively."
He immediately closed his mouth after that, knowing that he accidentally revealed information.
"Ohh, so you do have something. Thank you for your cooperation. Now Gabriel, please take this guy to the nearest police station." I froze up his leg and hands and knocked him out with a strong jolt at his stomach.
"Oo, it's Zane-kun's sadist mode! So evil! I didn't know you are into this kinda play." Tatenashi-san sneered, looking pretty excited.
"What do you mean by that!?" I shot her a look while not acknowledging what she said. She backed down while laughing.
While Gabriel was gone, Tatenashi-san and I went back to the house to scavenge some stuff. I suggested them to stay at a motel and I stayed here. I'm not getting closer to sakura trees anymore. Tatenashi-san won't listen to me. She wanted to stay by my side and resulting in everyone camping out.
"Then, Misaki-san can go get some water near the river as Tatenashi-san and Kanzashi-chan get something to eat from the town. I'm going to get some wood to set up a fire."
We all went our seperate ways. I was the first to come back. I went to the river to help out Misaki-san.
Misaki-san was having a hard time picking up the water container from the river after filling it up. As she stepped into the river, she slipped. I grabbed her arm immediately after seeing that.
"Are you alright… Mom?" I hesitated a little before saying that said while I pulled her out.
"Mom?" She getting puzzled and shocked from that one word. She sat on the ground in silence, trying to process what had happened just now. I picked up the water containers from the river.
"You said yourself your my mother, right? So there nothing wrong about it, right?" I shuttered for a second as my face reddens. Calling someone I knew hours ago my mother is one crazy thing to do.
She hugged me from behind. I was startled.
"W…what are you doing?!"
"Thank you... Thank you for accepting who am I, thank you for forgiving me!" She cried again.
I started to panic.
"Woah woah, I get it! So please let me go already!"
We both head back and found Tatenashi-san and Kanzashi-chan setting up a campfire. Oh, I forgot that.
"Hey Zane-kun, the sakura trees around the town stopped blossoming that much. Maybe by tomorrow we could head back home."
"Wait. I need to find Bombard. If one of their member is here, there is a possibility others are here too."
"Zane-san, are you seriously finding them? They're strong…."
"I don't care. Now I know that Kazuha's there, I could save her out, like how I found you in Extort."
"Fine, this onee-san will help you. But first, does anyone has a way to start a fire?"
"Ohh, about that….."
Gabriel came back. I looked at her..
"Gabriel, good timing. Now please help us light this campfire."
"What? That's your plan?"
"Yup. Unless you want a cold campfire." I waved my flames at them.
We had dinner brought by Tatenashi-san and Kanzashi-chan.
Unexpectedly, Kanzashi-chan located a ship nearby the back of the island, which is isolated by people here. Although it was dark at night, we climbed up the mountain in the forest. We have no time to lose. We have to bet on our chances that Bombard was here and attacked them before they left. With Diana's light, the road wasn't that dark. And with my magic, I cut down anything that obstruct us and made stairs to get over places that can't be access by foot. When we got to the top of the mountain, Kanzashi-chan use Archive to create a scope that lets her see long distances. That's how she found a big ship with magic signals. Strong signals. It's as I guessed, which was lucky for us. But why did they do that? They could send sent a few people to get the crystal they wanted right? Why bring the whole group? Unless that big ship is their "small group"?
Everyone felt sleepy and we decided to sleep earlier. We only salvaged two sleeping bags so I wanted to stay awake and keep a eye for everyone but Tatenashi-san objected. Why she has to fight against my decisions everytime?
"If you going to kick Bombard's ass, get some rest so you will be full power when you're up against them!"
"Fine fine, I'll sleep on the tree, okay?"
"Nope! You...er...er…." She's looking around for something.
"Ahh! You could share a bag with Mom! I allow it, just don't do any thing weird…She's your mom you know."
What's with her blushing?
"Wait what?! And who you're calling Mom?"
"Of course it's Misaki-san you dolt."
"I don't mind actually…." Mom blushed.
"Wait Misaki-san… er Mom! Don't go and encourage her!"
Tatenashi-san and Kanzashi-chan were sleeping in the same bag and they slept like a log.
"I'm glad you found yourself a good girlfriend. Tatenashi-san is a good girl."
"She's my savior and my childhood friend. I lost her once and luckily I was able to see her again."
"Thank god for you seeing her again. Take care of her properly, okay?"
"I will. Anyway, you support us from being together?"
"What wrong with it? I will support you in any decision you made."
"Thank you."
In the end, I let her have the sleeping bag while I slept on the tree. I went up on one the trees and saw there was a bed of grass there, with rope tied to the branches to hold everything in place. When did Tatenashi-san do this?
Although we just met not long ago, I felt like she's one of the people I wanted to protect strongly. Anyway, she looked a bit too young to be my mother...