Chapter 51: Fairy Tail Insignia
Hi, people! Here we go, another update! Ah yes, thanks for the reviews! :) Aww...really appreciated those and made me smile! Do keep reading...Laxus is coming, very very soon (*evil laughter)
"Vannessa?" Erza spoke up. "What is your decision; do you want to join us?"
Vannessa looked down at Micaiah and they shared a covert look. She did not fail to catch the brief, almost imperceptible nod from the Wraith. The Gespenst had given her approval. Vannessa looked up once again and met Makarov's aged eyes directly.
"Well?" he urged, awaiting her reply.
The nineteen-year-old's face broke into a small smile and nodded. "But before that…I-I feel that I need to tell you something first."
"About?" Lucy spoke up, her face mirroring her confusion.
Vannessa looked at her before gazing at everyone in turn. "I…I'm a Dragon Slayer…"
At this, the other Fairy Tail mages began to stir and mutter amongst themselves.
"Why aren't I surprise," Gray muttered under his breath.
Only Erza remained quiet throughout; she had sort of guessed it during their fight against the leader of the Oscura Siete. She had managed to put two and two together when Vannessa told the gang that she was a Dark magic user.
"But I'm the Dark Dragon Slayer…" Vannessa added, this time a little hesitant.
As if on cue, Micaiah stepped up next to Vannessa protectively, her silver eyes regarding everyone with a sharp gaze. Everyone stopped talking and stared at her openly.
"Your foster father is the Dark Dragon?" Natsu questioned suddenly.
Vannessa nodded wordlessly and looked down at her feet, expecting negative remarks thrown her way.
"He disappeared on July 7, of the year X777?" Gajeel demanded.
Vannessa's eyes widened at this. "Eh?"
"That's why you are looking for a guild isn't it, for somewhere to belong in." Natsu continued.
The pink-haired Dragon Slayer smiled uneasily at this. Her reason for joining this guild was not that neither did her foster father disappear on that particular day…
"Yeah, I guess so," she answered carefully. The girl was still wary of her Fairy Tail friends; she did not want to divulge anything further other than what she had initially decided. "Y-You don't mind about me being a Dark magic user, do you?"
"Course' not!" Natsu answered without thinking twice. "You're one of the good guys so what do you say, Vannessa?"
The Dark Dragon Slayer broke into a huge smile and nodded. "I'll join here."
"Wise choice indeed, Vannessa-chan!" Makarov said before raising his glass to her.
"Welcome to Fairy Tail, Sa-chan!" Lucy told her with a grin as they clinked glasses with one another in a toast.
"Thanks!"
"There's one more thing that you missed out," Mirajane spoke up suddenly, holding up one finger and winked at Vannessa.
"Eh?" Vannessa blinked at her, looking perplexed.
"What's that, Mira?" Lucy asked.
Mirajane leaned forward and motioned for Vannessa to come nearer. "You need the Fairy Tail mark." She placed the magic stamp tool on the table surface from underneath the shelf of the counter. "Where do you want your Fairy Tail mark?"
"On my neck please," Vannessa answered and bared the exposed skin on her neck, tilting her head and gathered her hair to one side.
"That's an odd place to put it," Mirajane remarked but she complied anyway. She pressed the stamp into the Dragon Slayer's skin. Vannessa felt her skin tingle with magic as a white-colored Fairy Tail mark imprinted itself onto her skin.
"You're a part of us now, Vannessa," Mirajane replied, smiling. "Welcome to Fairy Tail!"
"Now, let's get you an apartment!" Lucy declared once she, Vannessa, Micaiah and Levy left the guild for an 'all-day girl's day-out' (Erza was not invited of course).
"You could stay with us at Fairy Hills, you know," blue-haired Levy suggested shyly.
"The rent there is expensive!" Lucy pointed out. "100, 000 Jewels a month, that's a bomb!"
"But they do offer you good stuff for that kind of money," Levy argued back. "They have a lobby, a private library, an open bath area and…you even get to decorate your own room in any way you like it to be."
"Who are us anyway?" Vannessa asked quietly, ignoring Levy's previous statement. She was not interested in décor or services offered; she just wanted a cheap place to stay in was all.
"Hmm, there is Erza, Bisca, Juvia, Laki, Evergreen and of course, me."
"And what about you, Lucy?"
"I live on my own, quite a short distance away from Fairy Tail," Lucy answered. "It's cheaper there though, only 70,000 Jewels a month but its cozy and stuff," she added.
"If you don't mind, I prefer to stay on my own as well and a cheap rent would definitely be a plus point too."
"Then why don't you rent out an apartment somewhere near Lucy's?" Levy offered helpfully. "Both of you could be neighbors too!"
"Great idea!" Lucy squealed, looking excited by the prospect. "Why not? Soon after, we can do some shopping too!"
Without waiting for Vannessa's response, the two of them each took hold of Vannessa's arms and dragged a somewhat confused Dragon Slayer with them, with Micaiah trailing after the three mages.
"All you need to do is just sign this contract, here and we're a done deal!" the agent told the Dark Dragon Slayer with a greedy smile as he rubbed his hands together anxiously and motioned to the piece of paper with typewritten details on it on the table before Vannessa.
"Go on; sign it, Sa-chan!" Lucy urged as she handed her friend a quill.
Vannessa stared down at the stumpy little man who stared watchfully back up at her with beady eyes that belonged to those of a criminal's. The Dark Dragon Slayer could sense the dark emotions within that man and she shivered from its intensity. She was more attuned to these dark emotions of humans, ever since Micaiah's power combined itself with hers. She opened her mouth to speak but Micaiah's paw was on her feet before she could say anything. Vannessa closed her mouth and took Lucy's quill without another word and signed her name with a professional flourish.
"You need me to pay this month rent and the deposit upfront right?" Vannessa spoke up quietly as she dug around in her bag for her purse.
"Yes, that is what's stated in the contract…" the agent answered as he waited for her money impatiently.
Vannessa could feel his eyes boring into her as he watched her like a hawk as she counted out the correct amount. "I will pay in full for every month but there is one condition I would like to bring up…which I hope you will see to it."
"The condition being?" he asked carefully.
"Should I need to leave immediately without a moment's notice, I will simply pack up and leave without notifying you of a month's notice."
The agent smiled nervously and dapped at his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief and nodded. "Yes, that wouldn't be a problem unless you pay me for that very month you are leaving."
"By the days I stay," she cut in sharply, her eyes darkening.
The agent swallowed and nodded hastily. "Yes, yes by the days," he repeated. "Funny, that was something someone said to me the last time round though…" he mumbled under his breath.
Once the agreement was made, Vannessa rewarded him with the due payment and he left the apartment, shutting the door politely behind him with a soft click.
"What was that all about?" Lucy whirled around to face her as soon as the agent left.
Vannessa turned to her and smiled. "He carries a very bad aura around him and I sensed him."
"Wow," Levy breathed. "I didn't know you could sense people's auras."
The Dragon Slayer shook her head. "I don't, let's just say I am very sensitive to dark emotions like fear, greed and stuff like that."
"That's deep," Lucy remarked teasingly.
In response, both Levy and Vannessa burst out laughing.
"So, how do you like your apartment?" Lucy asked, breathless from laughing.
Vannessa looked around at the empty space consisting of only a bed pushed against the far corner of the room, next to a dirt-stained glass window with an adjoined bathroom which was in a similar state as the window and a chest of drawers right next to the bathroom door. "I would love it if it's brand-new," she answered. "But I guess second-hand would have to do."
"But I wonder what happened to the last tenant," Levy added, looking thoughtful.
"Maybe never been around much, I guess," Lucy replied.
"Or maybe that person hasn't been staying around in here much and the agent just kicked him out like that and declared it unused," Vannessa told them. "You might never know what he is up to…he is sure one sneaky person with lots of dirty tricks up his similarly dirty sleeve…"
