"Oh, Nashi," Anna began as she walked in with some tea and pastries, "ever since I first saw you in the Grand Magic Games, I've been meaning to ask – and sorry if I'm prying – what happened to your arm?"
"The short answer: being an idiot," Emma butted in.
Nashi whipped her head towards Emma. "Don't pretend you wouldn't have done the same! Besides…" She held up her right arm. "This was something completely different. It's true that it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gone on the five hundred-year quest, but…"
"You went on the five hundred-year quest?" Anna asked incredulously. "You're lucky it was just your arm that you lost."
"Yeah, I'm aware," Nashi agreed. "It's good that I didn't go alone, as I'd initially tried to do."
Anna sighed in disappointment. "Well, I'm glad you're mature enough nowadays to admit to that. Luckily for you, this quest is nowhere near that level."
"I wouldn't count on that…" Nashi grabbed a cube of some sort of food matter and popped it into her mouth to taste it. She instantly gagged and spit it out. "Winged fish?!"
"Yeah, sorry," said Anna. "I was expecting Hisoka, and last I knew, he really likes winged fish."
"Well, thah hathn' tanthed abou' him." Nashi desperately tried to rub off the taste with her scarf.
"Oh, yeah," William remembered. "Anna-sensei, how do you and Hisoka know each other."
"Anna's the original reason Hisoka wanted to join Fairy Tail," Henri replied.
Anna nodded. "It was about four years ago…"
A little ways outside of Marigold Village
September 19, X808
"We're lost."
"No, we're not," Henri insisted. "I'm a cat, and cats have excellent senses of direction."
Hisoka pointed out a log that had a small gash in it. "I marked that log the last time we passed it. Admit it, Henri. We're going in circles."
"Well, maybe if I could concentrate, we wouldn't be." She stopped and glared at Hisoka.
Hisoka sighed. "Cats are supposed to be agile as well, and you just stare at large objects that are flying at you without moving."
"Because they don't kill me, and I don't feel like deciding which way to dodge," Henri retorted. She looked around the forest, then back at the log Hisoka had marked. "Okay, fine. We're lost."
"We were arguing about my sense of direction," Henri explained, "when Anna happened to cross paths with us."
"I heard them arguing," Anna confirmed. "I was going for a walk at the time."
"So what happened next?" asked Nashi.
"I take it you're not from around here?"
Henri and Hisoka jumped in surprise and turned to see the middle-aged woman standing before them. Her outfit and the way she wore her long, blonde hair reminded Hisoka of what he'd read about ancient civilizations. His eyes widened as he recognized the woman from his books. "You're Anna Heartfilia!"
Anna nodded. "I see you've heard of me."
"How could I forget the Dragon Master?" Hisoka asked incredulously. "You trained the five greatest dragonslayers in the kingdom, and you flew a ship into Neo Eclipse while taking Acnologia with you."
Anna sighed. "But it was the Dragonslayers and Fairy Tail which ultimately killed him."
Hisoka nodded. "But it was still pretty awesome, and they wouldn't have been able to do it without what you did."
"I suppose so," Anna agreed. "It was that action that separated his body and soul, and so when his body was sealed by Fairy Sphere, his soul was frozen."
Hisoka nodded excitedly. "And then Natsu was like… boom!" He swung his fist in a flashy manner, water engulfing his fist as he swung down at the log he had marked, breaking it in half.
Anna's eyes widened in surprise. "You're a dragonslayer?"
Hisoka looked back up at Anna and nodded. "I was taught by the river dragon Flumentia back on my home continent."
"There are still dragons?"
"Uh, yeah." Hisoka dropped his arms to his sides and just stared at Anna blankly. "There are tons of them where I used to live."
Anna stared at Hisoka, not knowing what to say.
"Well, anyway," Hisoka continued, holding out a hand to shake, "I'm Hisoka." He used his other hand to point at Henri. "And this is Henri."
Henri waved. "Hey."
"I see," Anna shook Hisoka's hand. "Well, from what I heard, you seem to be lost. Would you like to stay with me?"
Hisoka's eyes lightened up. "Really? I'd love to stay with someone like you! It would be an honor."
"Um, no," Henri argued. "I'm sorry, but we've got places to go."
Hisoka glared at Henri. "No, we don't! We're just traveling with no particular destination."
Henri sighed. "Well, we need to go to a town or city where we can sell these fish."
"What fish?" asked Anna.
"The ones in my requip inventory," Henri replied.
"An exceed with requip magic?"
"Is there something wrong with that?"
"No, it's just surprising, as few exceeds learn magic beyond Aera. Anyway, there's a village quite close to my house where you can sell your fish. I even work as a school teacher there."
"So I led them to my home," Anna continued.
"I didn't like your furniture at the time," Henri noted. "I still don't like it."
Anna sighed. "You don't like furniture in general."
"I'm not sure that's true," Nashi corrected. "She likes the furniture in their apartment."
"You got an apartment?" Anna inquired, looking at Henri.
Henri nodded. "Nashi was nice enough to point me and Hisoka to a rather nice one after we joined Fairy Tail."
"Actually, it's the same one my mom lived in before she moved in with my dad," Nashi added. "Oh, and about that conversation you said you had about 'killing' Acnologia…"
Akane flashed Nashi a warning look.
"I know," Anna interrupted. "Laxus and his team passed through here when they came back from Edolas."
Akane's eyes widened with fear. "He wasn't supposed to tell you! I asked that he keep it a secret." He looked back at Nashi. "And how did you know?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Anna. "Why would Acnologia's survival be kept a secret?"
"It's not that, it's…" Akane stopped as he realized what was going on. "I see, he didn't actually tell you that bit."
"What bit?"
Nashi held up her hands and waved them nervously at Anna. "I-It's nothing. You don't need to know!"
"I see…" Anna glanced at Akane, and he could see a glimmer of recognition. "Well, it would be really hard to hide from me, considering how much you look like him. Well, maybe not your hair, and your skin is a bit paler, but your face and your build are both the same."
"You weren't supposed to know!" Akane protested, his breathing growing heavier with panic.
Anna shrugged. "Well, I didn't know until I got a good look at you. I knew Acnologia really well before he… well… you probably know what happened."
Akane nodded, looking down at the floor. "That's why I hate letting people know." He looked back up at Anna, a worried look in his eyes. "What do you think of me?"
Anna shrugged. "I only just met you. But if you're looking for an assumption based on what Acnologia was like, I'd have to say that you are charming, you love your friends dearly and will protect them at all costs, you can't stand it when you're unable to, you're extremely careful with anything that could hurt your allies. Let's see… you're naturally cheerful and love spending time with your friends…" She thought for a moment. "You easily win someone over when your people-oriented personality, though it's hard for them to also win you over, but when they do, it's really easy to tell, from the glimmer in your eyes when you look at them, and, of course, the way you treat that person." She glanced at William, whose cheeks had turned a bit pinker, then back at Akane, who had glanced at William in response to what she had said.
"Well, that's certainly true," Emma agreed. "All of those things." She grinned at Akane.
"What? I don't look at you that way, and I thought you were gay. What interest would you have?"
Emma burst out laughing. "Not me, idiot. But I know who you do look at that way."
Akane's face began to resemble his hair. "I don't look at anyone that way!"
Emma rolled her eyes. "If Hisoka were here, he would confirm that you are lying."
Merlin nodded. "It's pretty obvious to the rest of us. At this point, we're in the 'will they or won't they' phase."
"What are you talking about?" asked William, who was also red in the face, though a bit less intensely than Akane. "I-I never noticed anything like this."
This time, Nashi, Merlin and Emma all burst out laughing.
"What?!" William demanded, her face heating up.
Merlin managed to stop laughing first. "Anna, just out of curiosity, how hard is it for the lucky fellow to notice this glimmer?"
Anna smiled with amusement. "It honestly depends on how easily flustered that person is. I personally noticed pretty quickly."
The laughing faded, and Emma looked up at Anna curiously. "Wait… you?"
Anna nodded. "Before the clash of the dragons, Acnologia and I fell in love. I eventually had a child. Unfortunately, Acnologia didn't even realize I was pregnant before he went mad. First he was busy fighting dragons. And after all his friends died, he went on a killing spree of dragons. I'd say the true tipping point into madness was when he failed to save a little girl in Crocus." A single tear ran down her cheek. "I never stopped loving him. I couldn't bring myself to hate him, even though I'm certain I should have."
Nashi's eyes widened with surprise. "Wait… are you saying I'm related to Acnologia?!"
Anna nodded.
Nashi looked over at Akane. "So basically, you're my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great half-uncle?"
"Well, one less great than that," Anna noted. "But yes."
"How do you know?"
"I happen to keep track of my family line."
Merlin nodded in understanding. "So it can be hard to tell if either Akane or Acnologia is in love with you, but not necessarily?" he inquired, shifting back over to that subject.
Anna nodded. "Being flustered can cause you to miss certain things."
William bared her teeth, grinding them together, then shakily stood up. "I need some air." She walked over to the door, stepped outside and slammed it behind her. She sat in the grass and then laid down, splaying out her arms, breathing heavily and deeply. She continued to tremble, not knowing what to think about anything. Her chest was literally aching from her heart pounding. "What do I do?" she said aloud. She glanced over to the sound of the door opening and closing, and tensed up in fear as she saw Akane.
"Sorry," Akane apologized. "I needed some air, too." He sat down next to William.
William sighed and stared up at the sky. "Ever have a bunch of things on your mind that you need to discuss with someone, but you can't say them out loud because you're afraid of revealing any of it?"
Akane nodded. "That's why I needed some air. What about you?"
"Yeah…" William replied. "Same here."
"I see." Akane looked down at William.
As William looked up at Akane, she saw a glint in his eye. She clenched her fists, grabbing fistfuls of grass in the process. "Look, you haven't 'won me over'. I don't have feelings for you. they don't know what they're talking about."
Akane's jaw shifted around, but his expression revealed nothing.
"Sorry to disappoint you." William sat up and turned her back. "But I'm not interested." As she looked away, her eyes widened in realization of what she had just said.
"Right… um… I didn't really ask…"
"Good." Stupid William, she thought to herself. What are you thinking? That was your chance! What did you even expect to achieve by saying that? You've probably ruined your chances with him.
The door opened once more, and Emma stepped out. "Hey guys, you ready to come back in? We've stopped talking about Akane's crush."
"I don't have a…!"
"Like I said, we stopped talking about it. Come on! Don't you want to hear the rest of the story about Hisoka?"
Henri hovered at the door. "Come on, Hisoka!" She called. "It's time to leave."
Hisoka came down the stairs, his luggage strapped to his back. "Fine," he sighed. They stepped outside. "You know, I'd really like to stay."
"I don't see any reason for that."
"Well, I'm afraid there's plenty of reason," Hisoka argued. "Henri, she can teach me."
"We have to go, Hisoka."
Hisoka stopped in his tracks, prompting Henri to stop as well. "Do we, though?"
"We have to keep traveling to get fresh groups of customers. It's good for our business."
"How important is it to make as much money as possible, though? We can stand to stay in one place for a bit."
"Not a small village like this."
"Really now?" Hisoka inquired. "Look, I lived in a community that had to travel to make sure our food supply didn't thin out! This isn't like that! Sure, fresh customers will buy more in one day than old customers, but that's not fully necessary. Even with regular customers, we'd still make enough to live comfortably. And sure, I love the traveling and the extra money, but there are things more important to me. I was never able to really hone my magic, and I want to get stronger. Flumentia said it was dangerous for me back at home. Maybe if I get strong enough, I can return and see Flumentia again." His eyes watered. "Can't we do something important to me for a change?"
Henri sighed and dropped to the ground, standing and thinking. She looked back up at Hisoka. "All right. Let's go talk to Anna."
Hisoka smiled and stepped back inside, followed by Henri. "Oi, Anna-sensei?"
"Hm?" Anna poked her head out of the kitchen.
"Are you, um… willing to take on an apprentice?"
Anna withdrew back into the kitchen. A few moments later, she walked out. "You want to be my apprentice?"
Hisoka nodded. "I never really fully mastered dragonslayer magic, you see, and you taught the five greatest dragonslayers in the kingdom, so…"
"Their dragons did most of the teaching, actually."
"But they wouldn't have quite gotten there if not for you."
Anna nodded. "You have a point. I suppose I could. Aside from teaching at that school, I have a lot of free time on my hands."
Hisoka's eyes brightened. "Is that a yes?"
Anna nodded.
Hisoka raised his clenched fists up next to his head, grinning and trembling excitedly.
Henri sighed. "Come on, Hisoka. Let's go unpack your stuff."
"Did he really look like that?" Nashi asked curiously.
"Yes he did," Henri confirmed. "His reactions can be rather random, can't they?"
"You got that right. I suppose it depends who he's around."
"It does. He confirmed it himself."
"With some of the reactions he has, I didn't think he was aware."
"I think it's just that he doesn't care how weird they are."
Nashi nodded understandingly. "To be fair, I do some things others think are weird without really caring. Like, Hisoka seems to find it weird that I enter his apartment through his window."
Henri shrugged. "I don't think you're the weird one there," she corrected. "I go in through the window all the time."
"I know, right? But yeah, Hisoka is pretty weird."
Akane rolled his eyes. "It's normal for a cat to enter through the window, since you're so small, but doors are made for humans, and windows are primarily for lighting and looking outside."
"True, true," Nashi acknowledged, waving a finger at Akane. "There's nothing wrong with weird. It's a perfectly normal thing to be."
"Uh… weird and normal are kind of opposites," Merlin pointed out. "You're the weird one."
"Exactly! Even I'm weird. It's a perfectly normal thing to be and is nothing to be ashamed of."
"That's not what I was saying…"
"I fully agree," Thomas piped in. "Why does everyone see weird as a problem?"
Emma glanced anxiously at where William had previously been sitting. Akane had come in alone after that chaos about crushes, explaining that William had chosen to stay outside for a little more of a breather.
Anna sighed. "You seem like you could all use a breather. You keep talking about random things in the middle of the story. Why don't you all go do your own thing for a bit?"
Emma got up and went outside to see William still lying down in the grass. "Hey, sis."
William glanced over at Emma. "Hey, Emma."
Emma sat down in the grass. "I'm really sorry about what happened in there. We let it go too far."
William rolled her eyes. "Ya think?"
"Look, I know it was stupid of us to keep teasing you about it. But Akane's gotten over it. Why are you still out here? I know some people need more space than others, but I also know you really well. What's really on your mind?"
William shrugged.
"It might help you shake it off if you tell someone. C'mon."
William sighed. "Well, ever do something really stupid? Where you have no clue as to why you did it, and it results in the exact opposite of what you wanted to happen?"
"Like, telling a lie that's the exact opposite of what's going on your head, when you wanted to tell someone the truth?"
William's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
Emma chuckled. "Remember when I used to date Carli?"
"Yeah."
"Well, before we started dating, I got kinda nervous around her for several months. In fact, once we were alone, and she told me she had a crush on me. I panicked and immediately declared I had no feelings for her. As I walked away, I was internally ranting about what an idiot I was for saying the exact opposite of what was going on in my head when the opportunity was perfect."
"Whoah." William stared at the clouds overhead, thinking.
"And now, you're giving off the same vibe."
"I figured you were about to say that."
Emma nodded. "Well, I suppose I should just be honest and straightforward about this: I overheard your conversation with Akane."
William sat up and sighed. "Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised." She stood up. "Come on. Let's get further from the others, and I'll tell you the complete truth." She walked a few steps toward the woods, then looked back to make sure Emma was following. "Come on, sis!"
December 9, X808
Hisoka looked out the window with disappointment. "Aw, it's snowing? And we were going to do training today!"
"Actually, that's why I picked this day," Anna corrected as she came down the stairs.
"Well, you shouldn't deliberately pick days like this for an excuse to cancel," Hisoka complained. "If you want a break, at least be honest about it."
"That's actually the opposite of my intentions," Anna replied. "I thought the snow would be a perfect teaching opportunity for you and your element."
"What do you mean?"
"Get dressed for outdoors and I'll show you."
Hisoka stood there for a moment, confused. Then he decided not to waste any time and ran up to his room to get some warmer clothes on. He then ran downstairs and out the door, where Anna was waiting. "So, what did you want to show me?"
"I've shown you a few fighting moves, as well as ways to use your magic in everyday life. Now I'd like to teach you how to do things with your magic that you wouldn't ordinarily expect. Look around you. What do you see?"
Hisoka scanned the landscape. "Snow. As well as your house, which is also covered in snow." He looked up and tried catching a snowflake on his tongue.
"And tell me, Hisoka. What is snow made of?"
"Um… ice? Snowflakes are just tiny ice crystals formed in the clouds when it's cold enough."
"Indeed they are. And tell me, what is ice made of?"
"Water." Hisoka grinned as he realized what Anna was talking about. "You're saying I can manipulate the snow?"
"Why don't you try it for yourself?" Anna suggested.
Hisoka extended a hand, then waved it in a fluid motion, as if he were trying to manipulate a pond or lake, focusing on the snow as he did so. The snow fluffed up, but otherwise didn't respond. He tried the same motion he normally used to lift water toward his hand. He could hear the snow shifting around, but barely saw anything happen on the surface. "I mean, it's responding, but I don't see how something like this would be useful."
"Remember that this material is in a different state from what you're used to."
"I'm not really sure how that's supposed to help."
"You're treating the snow as if it's still a liquid. Those motions work for liquids, but not for solids. What you're working with here is more of a powder. Think beyond what you've already learned."
"Beyond what I've learned…" Hisoka closed his eyes, thinking, focusing. He extended his consciousness, feeling the snow as he felt his own body – the crystalline structure of each individual snowflake, including the ones that were still falling. Then, with one swoop, he spread out his arms in a stiff but still smooth motion, taking the snowflakes with him. He even heard the snow responding and smiled as he opened his eyes to see a surprised Anna.
"You have wings?"
"Huh?" Hisoka turned his head to see a pair of fin-like wings that closely resembled those of Flumentia. "I have wings?!" He looked further behind him to see that the snow had morphed upward to vaguely resemble a pair of wings. However, Hisoka's surprise had broken his concentration, and the snow wings fell over on the house, covering the window in snow and obstructing the view of an impressed Henri. He looked back at Anna.
"Based on your reaction, I'm assuming you didn't know you could do that?" Anna guessed.
"Well, I've been trying to for years," Hisoka replied. "You see, my friend Akane learned Aera from an exceed that lives in a village with him, so when I met Henri, I realized it was my chance. But I've never been able to do it, until now…" The wings dematerialized. "My only intention with that motion was this…" He pointed out the area around him, where the snow had been cleared into two large piles on either side of him.
"Anyway, want to try something else with the snow?" Anna suggested.
Hisoka grinned, then walked over to one of the piles. He stuck a hand in it, then pulled out a large mass of snow that now stuck to his fingers. He made a crushing motion, which in turn caused the snow to compress into a ball, then threw it underhand, releasing it with incredible speed. It rolled along, picking up more snow until it rolled to a stop, about the size of a house. He tried it a few more times, but the next few snowballs either fell apart or failed to pick up any snow. "Okay, so the first one was just luck. I guess I should work on that one."
"Want to try something else?"
"Might as well," Hisoka agreed. "Although I'd like to go inside in a few minutes. It's starting to get cold."
"Wait… you taught him Aera?" Nashi asked incredulously.
"Sort of," Anna replied. "I told him what he needed to hear."
"Whatever," Henri scoffed. "I taught him the basics."
"Well, you didn't do a good job of it," Thomas teased. "I was able to teach Akane in a span of four months. And we were both suffering from midnight sun madness."
"Midnight sun?" asked Nashi curiously.
"A thing that happens in the north," Akane explained. "The planet's tilted, which causes seasons by changing the amount of daylight, among other things. And when you get closer to the poles, there will be times in the summer when the sun is up all night."
"Cool, so what's midnight sun madness?"
"The constant sunlight hinders one's ability to sleep," Thomas replied. "And that can affect people in many ways." He looked over at Henri. "And I still taught him in that short of a time."
"Teaching's not my strong suit." Henri took a sip of her tea.
March 7, X809
Hisoka and Henri headed out the door. Hisoka took one last wave at Anna. "Goodbye, Anna-sensei! Thanks for teaching me!"
"My pleasure," Anna shot back. "And one more thing: if you want to grow and develop even further, I would suggest joining a wizard guild."
"A wizard guild?"
"Yeah. You make friends, form bonds… those friends can take you a long way."
Hisoka smiled. "In that case, I have a guild in mind."
"Not yet," Henri commanded. "You can wait until you're older."
"Aw, come on!" Hisoka complained. "I'm twice as old as Cana was when she joined."
"You're not Cana. Besides, you should probably do some more studying about how guilds work before you go joining one."
Hisoka gave Henri a dirty look, then grinned deviously. "Challenge accepted. I'm gonna join Fairy Tail!" He waved at Anna one last time. "Goodbye, Anna-sensei!"
Anna smiled. "Goodbye for now, Hisoka." She smiled to herself as she stepped back into her house. "Honestly, Fairy Tail, you inspire so many youngsters."
Nashi smiled as the story came to a close. "Those were only bits of what happened, though. Can we hear the whole story?"
"How about you ask Hisoka when he gets here? I'm sure he'd love to share stories with his team."
"I suppose." Nashi turned to the sound of the door opening, and saw Emma and William walking back in. "Hey, you missed a bunch of the story! Come on, William, it's not that embarrassing to…" She was cut off as Emma's fist connected with her jaw and she fell on the floor. As the got up, she was met by Emma leaning in really close to her face.
"Don't… you… dare!" Emma spelled out. "Not another word!"
As Nashi stared wide-eyed, there was the sound of something tumbling to the ground outside. She jumped up, hitting her head on Emma's face in the process, and threw the door wide open to see Hisoka curled up on the ground, clutching his left side, a look of agony on his face. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine…" Hisoka grunted. "Just give me a minute…" He laid there for a moment, then pushed himself into a sitting position and painfully stood up. "I tumbled a bit in the landing. I didn't take a break when my side started hurting, you see, so I wasn't able to control myself too well."
"Why didn't you stop to rest?" Merlin demanded. "You know your ribs aren't fully healed."
"Because I was in a hurry to get here." Hisoka limped past them and looked over at Anna. "Where is it?"
Anna pointed over to the egg, which was sitting on the hearth.
"That egg," Hisoka panted, "is my niece."
I don't really have much to say in regards to this chapter. Nevertheless, hope you enjoyed!
