A/N Not much to say except that the next chapter will be posted on Friday.
Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Fairy Tail, or any of their characters, and I make no money off of this.
Chapter 37
Fiore: Aster, Streets Leading up to City Hall
"Hmm… this place doesn't really seem at all like I thought it would." Mira thought aloud.
The job description had made it seem as if the city was in such a dangerous predicament that it was nearly abandoned. That was perhaps a bit of an extreme assessment, but, even so, the populous should have at least appeared cautious or on guard.
The request was sent to Fairy Tail, specifically, and, though it was vague, the sense of urgency was extremely clear. A labeled 'monster' of some kind terrorizing the mountainside was very difficult to not understand.
If the seemingly intended tone of the request's text wasn't enough, then the size of the reward itself served as a warning. After all, there wasn't a wizarding job in the world that offered thirty million Jewel for something that was a walk in the park. Still, though, the impression that the denizens of the city gave off made it seem as if there was no danger to be found.
People were happily conversing and everything appeared, more or less, normal, if not abnormally upbeat. Even the sun seemed as if it shined down on the city with more brilliance than anywhere else.
"I get what you mean…" Ichigo commented, carefully observing the surroundings of the city in a skeptical manner.
It didn't make sense, to him, that the townspeople were so calm. When he had initially found out about the request, he had presumed that the townspeople would be on practical wartime protocol, though very clearly they were not.
"Yes… I would expect them to be more on guard." Erza added.
"There has to be a reason for that, and something tells me we'll find out when we see the mayor." Ichigo reasoned, his companions nodding in agreement.
Aster: Inside City Hall, Some Time Later…
The three Fairy Tail wizards walked into the very elegant building labeled as the area their employer operated within. It was elaborately decorated and very beautiful, though it was a bit too white for Ichigo's taste.
'Now that's just mean…' The hollow commented.
'Please, there are a hundred different reasons that I dislike you.' Ichigo stated.
'Name 'em.' The hollow challenged, though he was ignored given that his technical landlord didn't have time for such trivial games.
"Hello there, may I help you?" A rather short, middle-aged, professionally-dressed woman inquired from behind the desk at the center of the room.
Just off of appearance alone one could tell that this woman was the mayor's secretary, and if that weren't enough her rather large desk was labeled on top of that. She appeared kind and greeted them with a bright smile, but that fact confused those she addressed more than it calmed them.
"We're here to see the mayor." Ichigo replied.
"Oh, I'm sorry, the mayor is busy today. He said he had an urgent appointment incoming that was scheduled to arrive sometime today. For some reason he said it was imperative he not be disturbed until they arrived…" The woman said, sounding slightly confused herself.
"I think we might be the people he's waiting for. We're wizards from Fairy Tail, and we…" Ichigo began.
Before he could finish his sentence, a short man immediately burst out of the nearby door leading to the mayor's office with a panicked look on his face. He had short, combed, brown hair, black eyes, and a long face. He wore a suit complete with a pink tie, black shoes, and a black belt wrapped around his waist. With sweat dripping from his brow, he zoomed towards the front desk before choosing to speak.
"Ah, I'm so glad that you three could make it today. Please, follow me." The man stated before running back into the door in a comically flustered manner.
'What the hell is going on here?' Ichigo wondered, his thoughts matching those of his comrades.
"Umm… I suppose the mayor will see you now." The woman mused.
City Hall: Mayor's Office
"Once again, thank you for coming." The mayor said, after which he cleared his throat and adopted a more profession stance.
Currently, he sat at his desk across from the three hired wizards that had responded to his request. Each was slightly confused and it showed, but more so than that they clearly wanted an explanation for what was going on.
"Would you mind telling us why you were acting so strangely downstairs? Also, why isn't this town more… well, abnormal? The job request you sent us gave me a different impression…" Mira said.
"Um… well, you see… t-that's somewhat complicated…" The mayor said, rubbing the back of his head as if he were trying to find the right words.
"Let me guess… the citizens don't know about whatever's going on, am I right?" Ichigo asked.
Almost immediately, the mayor stiffened as if shocked, but shortly thereafter he let his head fall out of mild shame and nodded very slowly in response.
"I had thought as much… but if a creature nearby is causing trouble, I would think that such a thing would be difficult to keep under wraps." Erza commented.
"I-It isn't such a horrible beast that it actively tries to kill the citizens! It keeps to the mountain nearby and never ventures out!" The mayor said defensively.
"I assumed that was the case, otherwise you wouldn't be able to get away with hiding it." Ichigo thought aloud.
"Still, it is a good thing that the townspeople aren't in a panic, otherwise the entire city would just stop functioning." Mira reasoned.
"True enough, but just because that's the case doesn't mean they don't deserve to know their lives could be in danger." Erza stated.
"But that is why I sent the request to Fairy Tail and asked for the strongest group they were able to spare." The mayor replied.
"Enough… start explaining things, now." Ichigo commanded, deciding to end the discussion in favor of gathering some actual information.
"I-I apologize… my name is Arata Kazuhiko and I am the mayor of this city and also the one who sent out the request in secret. Only a select few in the city know about the problem, and I have put forth a great deal of effort to keep it that way." The mayor began.
"Just how long have you been keeping this under wraps?" Ichigo questioned.
"…I'd rather not say." Kazuhiko replied in an ashamed tone.
"And I'd prefer you did." Ichigo countered, slightly narrowing his eyes.
"N-Now, now, no need to get annoyed… while it shames me to admit this, it has been about a month and a half since the creature showed up." Kazuhiko replied.
The brown-haired politician shut his eyes and braced for impact of the verbal onslaught he expected to be hit with courtesy of at least one of the three wizards. They should know perfectly well when the request was sent in, therefore it was only natural to be agitated upon hearing just how long it took for him to act.
"…what?" Ichigo uttered, a tick mark popping out of his head.
"Are you saying that you waited over a month before bothering to send out a request for help?" Mira asked in a tone of disbelief.
"Y-Yes…" Kazuhiko replied, sweatdropping slightly given that the more it was said the more idiotic he felt.
"Such behavior… is beyond contemptible." Erza sneered, glaring heavily at the short man before her.
"I-In my defense, it hadn't…" Kazuhiko began.
The mayor, however, didn't get to finish his sentence as before he could bring up any point to defend himself the ticking time bomb that was Ichigo's anger seemed to go off. Evidently the orange-haired teen just couldn't hold back anymore.
"What the hell is wrong with you?! Don't you know how stupid that was?!" Ichigo roared.
The volume of his voice seemed to be high enough to send the mayor flying across the room and into his desk chair, slamming into it with enough force that said chair then subsequently keeled over, allowing the esteemed politician to fall on his sides and hit the floor.
"Okay… I suppose I deserved that one…" Kazuhiko mused.
"Ya think?!" Ichigo exclaimed in an agitated manner.
"How could you justify waiting such a long period of time? Aren't you at all concerned about the people who live here?" Mira pressed, her tone possessing a slight edge and her cheerful demeanor having long since evaporated.
For the first time since the conversation had begun, the mayor's look of friendliness and mild cheer vanished and he dropped his head, frowning all the while. The atmosphere became solemn, not a sound echoing throughout the room.
"I am very much so concerned about the people of this city… I became the mayor because I care about them very much, each and every one, whether they be a tourist or a citizen. I want to make that clear before you hear what else I have to say…" Kazuhiko began in a voice of dead honesty.
'How can he say that so honestly after doing something so stupid?' Ichigo wondered, taking note that this man was, in fact, telling the truth.
Mira and Erza seemed to think that as well given that neither of them bothered to interrupt the man. Had they believed he was lying, there was a distinct possibility that the short-built man would be thrown out of the nearest window.
"While it is true that I should have acted sooner, I have a reason behind my actions. You see, it all started over a month ago… we received a report of a strange creature attacking a mining shaft in the mountains, a very small one at that. The workers claimed something was constantly moving around, lurking, watching their every move… until, one day, they finally saw something that proved their suspicions to be correct." Kazuhiko began ominously.
"What exactly do you mean by 'something'?" Ichigo inquired with a raised brow.
"Was it some kind of wild best, a monster or demon perhaps?" Erza guessed.
"It… wasn't something they could describe because of the shadows covering its body. All I know is that it was apparently very large and had a bone-chilling cry. None of them died, but I was told it was a close encounter. When they reported the event, I immediately shut down the mining shaft, however since it was the only one in the entirety of the mountain, and a rather inconsequential one at that, no one was put in danger." Kazuhiko stated.
"Still, with something so unknown and dangerous lurking about the mountains, surely you took other action?" Erza inquired, prompting the brown-haired man to nod in confirmation.
"Indeed… I also ordered the local guardsman to close off access to the mountains and ordered a series of troops to be stationed at key access points leading into the city. For about a month, however, nothing was found…" Kazuhiko replied.
"Meaning a few weeks ago, something did actually happen?" Ichigo reasoned.
"Yes, it's just as you said. Nothing had happened, so I decided to reassign a few of the troops on several of the guard stations to other areas in order to keep crime rates in certain areas in check, but after that happened… well, one of the villagers slipped into the mountains." Kazuhiko began, hanging his head as he spoke.
Nearly everyone froze at this, the message assumedly being loud and clear. It was only natural to assume the worst, after all, given what they knew to be true already and what this creature was undoubtedly capable of.
"Was that person… killed by whatever attacked the miners?" Mira asked apprehensively.
"No… I am afraid it is far worse than that." Kazuhiko replied, effectively confusing and surprising those who kept his company.
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Ichigo asked.
"The man who slipped through was seen stumbling down the mountainside by the night of the very same day by the guards, and when they found him he was… stricken… with some kind of disease. That is, from what we can tell, at least. It was simply… a horrid thing to witness." Kazuhiko replied.
"What kind of disease?" Erza inquired.
"We… don't know. We've had our doctors observe it, and take every precaution, but, from what we have seen, it isn't contagious, and one can only get infected by having some form of contact with the creature. We've hypothesized that the infection is the result of some form of attack." Kazuhiko explained.
"Wait, how exactly would you know that off of just one case?" Ichigo inquired, narrowing his eyes dangerously at the mayor. For him to have said something like that with such conviction, he assumed there had to be more than one case to observe.
"W-Well, I ordered a band of guards to search the mountains for the creature in an attempt to slay it, purely because I didn't want it lurking around our city, for obvious reasons. When they returned… they too were stricken with the mysterious illness." Kazuhiko replied.
"At that point, I decided to have them quarantined, and since they continued to live I devoted a vast amount of resources into finding a cure for them. While we have been rather unlucky in that department, I believe we have been lucky in that the creature has not even remotely left the mountainside and has been quiet. However, I can't in good conscience allow it to live, and so I reached a decision to send a request to the strongest guild in the land." Kazuhiko continued.
A silence took over the room, everyone clearly being mildly disturbed by what had happened. No matter how any of them looked at it, the situation was bizarre beyond belief and on top of that they seemed to know next to nothing about what this creature was or what it was doing to these people. However, that raised a question that had yet to be asked.
"What exactly happened to the people that were hit with this 'disease'?" Ichigo inquired.
"From what we can tell, they are simply in a comatose state, unable to move after a short time of exposure to the contagion. There is one other thing… but I believe that it would be best if you were to see it in person." Kazuhiko replied.
"Then can you take us to where they're being held?" Mira requested.
"Of course… follow me." Kazuhiko said.
Aster City: Central Church, Some Time Later…
The group had been lead to a large church located at the epicenter of the large city, at which point they were greeted by a series of priests and local ministers who seemed to be well aware of the situation.
Evidently the church had been designated as a place to treat, and essentially hide, those few who were stricken with the disease. The pretense of the building being suddenly closed off was renovations, which were, of course, not taking place, but the public didn't necessarily need to know that.
"I am very glad that you wizards from Fairy Tail are here to lend us aid." The head priest stated gratefully, bowing his head in recognition of their presence.
"We're just here to help." Mira replied, her smile returning but being much more diminished than usual.
"The head priest is a good friend of mine and someone who works with the citizens of the city to make it a better place. He had allowed for those afflicted with the mysterious illness to be treated and observed in the rearmost area of the church. Follow me to the back room, if you please." Kazuhiko began.
"How exactly have you tried treating it so far, by the way? I mean, by now you've probably had quite a few medical professionals take a look at their conditions." Ichigo mused.
"I am afraid that the disease isn't what you would call treatable… even healing magic doesn't work on it." Kazuhiko replied in a disheartened tone.
While the words of the mayor didn't phase Ichigo in the slightest, the implications thereof were not lost to the two females that currently walked by the substitute's sides.
"Healing magic? That's still possible?!" Mira exclaimed, her words mirroring the thoughts of Erza.
"Is it not supposed to be?" Ichigo questioned.
"Healing magic is a form of lost magic and thus it is very rare to meet anyone capable of using it." Erza replied.
"Hey, why do you get to explain? He was asking me!" Mira pointed out.
"Don't flatter yourself, he was clearly asking for an answer from someone who was actually capable." Erza snidely replied.
The two female Fairy Tail wizards began to argue in the background while Ichigo continued to walk forward, ignoring them all the while, and the mayor continuously observed their 'confrontation' whilst sweatdropping.
For a moment he looked back up at the orange-haired teen, then back at the two females, than back at Ichigo, and did this several more times until he came to a very obvious conclusion.
"Um… my boy, what did you say your name was again?" Kazuhiko inquired.
"Huh… oh, it's Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo replied.
"You are a god amongst men…" Kazuhiko stated over dramatically, tears streaming down his cheeks as he did so.
"What?" Ichigo uttered confusedly.
"Nothing…" Kazuhiko replied, clearing his throat and regaining his composure as they continued to walk.
'Hahahahahahahaha!' The hollow roared within the confines of his inner world, only adding to his confusion and annoyance.
"Oh, to answer your question, yes, we have had a practitioner of healing magic attempt to cure the illness. She actually arrived just yesterday, but unfortunately cannot do anything to help them. I believe she is still here…" Kazuhiko stated.
Inside the Church, Back Room…
"…and here we are." Kazuhiko said upon entering the room.
Almost immediately the group's respective eyes set on the form of the seemingly sleeping individuals that were covering in blankets an laid out on a series of makeshift beds lining the center of the room.
Many people were constantly checking on their physical state, but in all honestly the number of people stricken with the mysterious illness were very few in number, being a total of twelve.
On top of that, they didn't appear to be in pain and merely seemed to be in a comatose state. Granted that probably wasn't ideal, but at the very least they weren't dead.
"Ah, there is our healer right there… my dear, would you please come to meet with these wizards!" Kazuhiko called out.
The Fairy Tail wizards were broken out of their observations and directed their vision towards the person the mayor seemed to address. It took a moment to realize it, but the healer was indeed in the room, though she wasn't what any of them were expecting.
She was a little girl, likely no more than twelve years of age, with a petite figure and fair skin. She had long dark-blue hair that reached down to her waist, with two bangs framing her face that reached down to her chest, and a pair of brown eyes.
The female healer wore a simple dress with two wavy stripes, blue in color, running across the center while the remainder was yellow save for a white bow that was tied at the center of her chest. Her feet were covered with a pair of standard-looking blue shoes and she sported wing-like attachments on around her ankles and the center of her arms. Her appearance was complete with a guild marking located on her upper right arm.
"Sorry sir, I was just looking at the patients again." The girl stated as she ran up to the gathered group of wizards.
"Don't worry my dear. I merely desire to introduce you to these wizards. They…" Kazuhiko began, only to be cut off.
"You're from Fairy Tail, right?! You're the three that beat Jose from Phantom Lord, right?!" The child gushed, a light blush covering her cheeks as she beamed up at the three wizards.
"Yeah… that's us." Ichigo replied.
"You're all so cool!" She exclaimed cheerfully.
"This little girl… is the healer?" Erza wondered aloud, sounding a bit more surprised than she likely desired to.
"She's… she's so cute!" Mira cheered, after which she took the blue-haired girl in her arms and began to throw her body from side to side.
"Whoooooooa!" The girl uttered as she continuously flailed about in the white-haired woman's arms.
"Mira… put her down." Ichigo requested in an amused tone.
It took almost not time at all for Mira to realize what she was doing, at which point he carefully put the healer back on the ground and cleared her throat in an attempt to appear composed.
"S-Sorry…" Mira replied, a slight blush covering her cheeks.
"I'm… dizzy…" The blue-haired girl uttered as she made an attempt to regain her balance.
"Ehem… this young girl is Wendy Marvell, and she is a member of the Cait Shelter guild. I called her here first as I was given to understand her healing abilities are really quite impressive. Sadly, her powers seem to have no effect…" Kazuhiko stated.
"So you really do practice healing magic?" Mira inquired with a raised brow.
"Y-Yes, but it's like Mr. Kazuhiko said…" Wendy trailed off nervously.
"You know… you don't have to act so nervous around us. We're here to help just the same as you." Ichigo said, somewhat to the surprise of the blue-haired girl.
The Cait Shelter member fidgeted slightly before bringing herself to look directly up at the man who addressed her, at which point her eyes slightly widened out of shock. She had expected his expression to be hardened, cold, and possibly a little frightening given that this wizard in particular had a bit of a reputation already in the magical world.
While she didn't believe this meant he was a terrifying person, she did expect him to have an air of superiority given the difference in their age and strength. However, even though there was a gap between them in more ways than one, he looked down at her just as he would to anyone else, no condescension breathing through his eyes and expression whatsoever.
"Why don't we introduce ourselves? My name's Ichigo Kurosaki, nice to meet you, Wendy." Ichigo introduced.
"My name is Erza Scarlet, a pleasure to meet your acquaintance." Erza added.
"My name's Mirajane Strauss, but just call me Mira!" Mira said in a cheerful tone.
"Um… y-you guys are very… nice." Wendy replied, a slight blush covering her cheeks.
'This girl really doesn't have confidence, does she?' Ichigo thought. For some reason he saw a lot of his sisters within this girl, but that could just be him being nostalgic.
"Yes, they're very nice and you're a very sweet little girl, but I must insist that we do away with pleasantries for now. My dear, can you please tell these wizards what you know so far?" Kazuhiko pressed.
"Y-Yes, sorry. Um… this disease, or whatever it is, isn't something my healing magic works on. My magic has never failed to cure someone of a disease because it purges the body of anything harmful, and while it takes a lot out of me, it's really effective, so I'm not too sure what's happening." Wendy replied, sounding slightly disheartened.
Her attitude towards the aforementioned facts, however, was perfectly understandable given that she was just a little girl and she hadn't been able to help the illness-stricken soldiers as she likely had hoped to do.
"What, exactly, is wrong with these guards other than the fact that there in a coma?" Ichigo questioned.
"It… would be easier to show you at this point." Wendy stated.
The three Fairy Tail wizards looked confusedly at one another before subsequently following the blue-haired girl over towards one of the patients. They took the sheet off of the unconscious man's body, which showed no signs of any changes whatsoever and in no way altered anyone's grasping of the current situation.
However, a moment later the mayor, who had no desire to force the child to do what he was about to do, forcibly moved up the eyelids of the man that currently lay down on the bedspread. The moment that happened, nearly everyone present froze, despite the fact that several had obviously seen the effects of the illness before.
"W-What on Earthland…" Mira trialed off in a shocked tone.
The man's eyes were not that of any human in that the sclera were now pitch black and the pupils were now a sickly green color. While that alone was disturbing enough, the only time that any of them had ever seen such a thing was during the incident with Phantom Lord, and very truthfully none of them ever wanted to see such a thing again.
'Huh… didn't see that one comin'.' The hollow commented amusedly.
'That can't be… it just… doesn't make any sense.' Ichigo thought, a slight amount of sweat dripping from his brow.
"All of them men have something similar to this… though the color varies, the constant is the black sclera. Moreover, it is the only bodily defect that we are able to detect. None of us have any clue as to why this is happening, but nevertheless it is disturbing beyond belief." Kazuhiko stated.
"Ichigo… these eyes…" Erza trailed off, fearfully looking to her orange-haired comrade.
"I know… but that shouldn't be possible." Ichigo said in a tone of disbelief.
"Y-Y-You know what this is?!" Kazuhiko exclaimed.
"Not exactly… but I think I have a hunch." Ichigo replied, regaining his composure after his momentary shock.
"Wait, i-if you know, then what is it?" Wendy asked, clearly desiring to know what it was that she simply couldn't cure.
"Before I say anything, I want to ask you something, Wendy. Your magic… it expels any injury from the body specifically, right?" Ichigo inquired.
"Y-Yes, but what else would it…" Wendy began, only to be cut off.
"Ichigo, what are you thinking?" Mira questioned.
"I think… that this city is in a lot of trouble if we don't kill that thing right away." Ichigo stated seriously.
"I-If you desire to leave me in the dark, I don't care, just as long as you track this thing down and end its existence. Go see the head priest for directions to the mine, he knows the mountains far better than myself." Kazuhiko said.
"Will do… by the way, Erza, can you stay here and ask Wendy what else she knows about what's wrong with these guys?" Ichigo requested.
"Of course." Erza replied, nodding her head firmly in response.
"Mira, come with me. When we get the directions, the three of us are out of here. I'd like to get this done as quickly as we can…" Ichigo said before turning towards the exit.
"W-Wait!" Wendy exclaimed, stopping the two in their tracks prior to their actual departure.
Ichigo turned to see the blue-haired girl with a bashful expression on her face that indicated she was about to request something she thought she shouldn't. He had an idea of what that was, but even so he wasn't one to assume he knew this girl so well after just meeting her.
"I-I want to go with you! If I do, then I'll be able to support the three of you if you get wounded. Maybe if you get infected I can actually do something if I get to you quickly enough!" Wendy said pleadingly.
Mira and Erza stayed silent, obviously looking to Ichigo for an answer to this girl's question. Her argument was moderately sound in that her healing abilities would likely be a great asset should any of them be injured, but at the same time whatever this 'disease' was, only Ichigo had the knowledge of, or at least they assumed so.
"Fine…" Ichigo replied simply, after which he made to leave.
Mira stood in place for a minute, adopting a confused expression given that she didn't really understand why the substitute had allowed such a thing. However, the moment she realized Ichigo was no longer in the room, she too ran out in order to meet with the head priest.
"Is… is he serious?" Wendy asked, not entirely knowing such a thing given that she lacked confidence in her ability to understand even such a brief and clear-cut response.
"Yes… Ichigo isn't the type of person that would lie, especially about something like this. Looks like you'll be with us after all, Wendy." Erza reasoned, causing the blue-haired girl to smile.
"R-Right… s-so anyway, about this disease…" Wendy began.
Aster Town Church: Main Room
"Ichigo, wait up!" Mira said upon entering the room.
The white-haired woman walked up towards the far end of the church, seeing that Ichigo was already conversing with the head priest. She actually found it odd that even though she had been right behind him, he managed to already find and bring the man into a conversation, but she didn't really dwell on it.
"Hey Mira." Ichigo greeted.
"Oh, this must be one of your female companions. Hello my dear, I was just about to give this young man directions on where to go." The head priest stated.
"So where specifically up in the mountains did these attacks start to occur?" Ichigo questioned.
"Hmm… the abandoned mining shaft was located near the central area of the mountains, a relatively small distance below the summit. While the next attack occurred much closer to the base, or so we are lead to believe, it would be rather safe to assume the creature is hiding somewhere inside the caves across the mountain." The high priest replied.
"Then you're saying we should stick to the central caves?" Mira reasoned.
"Mmh, precisely, my dear. I can show you where I believe you should start… now where did I put that book?" The priest wondered aloud.
He then took out a large text from the back of his robes, after which he opened the book and started to scan the pages up until the point that he found what he was looking for. At that point, both Mira and Ichigo took a position at each of the priest's respective sides and peered down into the book in order to see where the priest believed they should start looking.
"Hmm… now, if it were me, I'd start here, and then…" The priest began.
Other Room: With Erza and Wendy
"You really shouldn't be so disheartened by your inability to cure this disease, Wendy. I can't really even say for certain that it is a disease." Erza stated.
"W-What do you mean by that?" Wendy asked fearfully. If it wasn't a sickness, after all, then she hadn't the slightest clue what it would be.
"I believe that…" Erza began.
She, however, stopped upon walking up to the door and peering out of the glass only to see that Ichigo and Mira were down at the far end of the main church with the priest at their center. Erza immediately forgot that someone else was in her company and pressed her face to the practical window, gazing suspiciously and nervously at the scene before her.
"Um… Ms. Erza, what are you…" Wendy began.
The young wizard was then shushed, at which point she shied away and just decided to be confused. Erza, on the other hand, had started to glare at Mira given that, from her vantage point, this looked like what one would expect to see at a wedding.
They were, after all, between a priest who was reading from a book and appearing as if he was pointing out something very important.
'No… that can't be the case.' Erza thought, however for some reason she couldn't bring herself to interrupt almost purely because she wished to confirm that what she thought was true.
Currently, only the priest was speaking, but she couldn't quite make out what he was saying and his lips weren't readable due to the fact that the book covered them. However, should Mira or Ichigo choose to speak, she was confident in her ability to read lips well enough to pick up on the general feel of the conversation.
Inside the Main Church: With Mira and Ichigo
"So this is the quickest path to the central area of the mountain. It's very much so covered in forests but once you reach here it becomes more open. Do you understand?" The priest inquired, first turning to the orange-haired teen to his right. In addition to this, he allowed the book to drop slightly, which made sense given that he thought what needed to be explained had been done so far.
"Hmm… yes, I do." Ichigo replied blankly.
"And you, young lady?" The priest questioned.
"Yes, I…" Mira began.
Abruptly, the door at the far end of the church shot open, at which point a scarlet-haired woman burst through with a very confused child evident in the background that also appeared to be slightly tearful out of sheer confusion.
"I object!" Erza exclaimed.
"Um… Erza, what are you doing?" Ichigo asked.
'Don't ask me, not even I know this one…' The hollow trailed off.
'That's why I didn't ask you.' Ichigo sarcastically remarked.
'Heh, just for that, I ain't talkin' to ya for a while. Enjoy the peace and quiet, Ichigo… oh, and also, good luck tryin' to find out what's wrong with those people. Who knows… maybe I even knew what was wrong.' The hollow stated.
The orange-haired teen immediately pushed it off as his inner hollow just screwing with him, which wasn't entirely impossible but at the same time it was what he was going with. Right now he was really just focused on how confused he was as a result of Erza's recent actions.
"Ah, did you have a better suggestion for what path you should take? I suggested you search for the beast at the central mountains, but if you have a better proposal, then, by all means, please share it." The priest kindly said.
Erza froze in place for a moment, feeling inwardly mortified but all the same keeping her outward composure. The only signs of her embarrassment happened to be a light blush across her cheeks, but from this distance it was likely very difficult to make out.
"I-It occurred to me that nightfall is almost here, therefore I believe it would be best if we chose to make camp as opposed to searching. That way, we as a group are more prepared to fight it during the night while at the same time the creature is more likely to come to us, allowing us to put forth less effort in searching for something we have yet to directly identify." Erza stated.
"That… is actually a good idea." Mira commented, sounding as if she were thinking on why she hadn't seen such a thing beforehand.
"Since we also have Wendy, it would make more sense for us to stay in one location as a group and wait for it to come to us." Ichigo reasoned.
Moreover, that also gave him a better chance to protect their little group should the unknown creature happen to attack. If they were searching, then it was possible that the assumed monster would be able to get the jump on them and at least manage to infect one of their party's members. If that were to happen, Ichigo wasn't sure if anything could be done at that point.
'Meaning… that when we find this thing, I have to take it out in one instant.' Ichigo thought.
A/N Alright, so next chapter the mission continues, and that will be on Friday.
Explanations:
Wendy: So I decided to bring her in a bit earlier, and have her fit into a different role in her first appearance. Many of you likely noticed that I didn't have Carla accompany her, and there is a reason for it. I just had no desire to add in Carla earlier, that's really all there is to it.