[Orphanage]
Clarissa flittered about the kitchen, humming peacefully while she cooked breakfast for the kids that she took care of. She hadn't felt this at peace in a long time. Usually she was running around the entirety of the orphanage waking kids up, getting them dressed, making them breakfast, and getting them ready to head off to school all at the same time. Since the two Dragneels had shown up, Clarissa had been able to focus her attention on things one at a time. Natsu was taking care of waking the kids up and ushering them to the bathroom to get cleaned up while Myou was using her powers to pull plates and utensils from cupboards and drawers.
The two had been there before Clarissa was even awake, which surprised the woman since she woke up just before dawn every morning. The two had swept and mopped the entire building, making the hardwood shine beautifully. She had been taken by surprise when Natsu drug her over to a seat next to one of the windows and Myou had appeared with a tea for her.
Clarissa tried to put up some resistance at being pushed aside and made to relax so early in the morning when there was so much to do, but Myou had remembered much of what needed to be done before the day could start and the two had already gotten a head start on it. They had begrudgingly let her cook for everyone though, which is where she found herself now.
"Myou?" She called out the door, seeing the girl in question perk up and look over. "Can you go tell the others that breakfast is ready while I bring it out to the tables?" She returned the smile that Myou gave her as the little girl ran off and Clarissa went back to grab the prepared food. It was nice to see Myou so confident in herself now. She was glad that trusting Natsu had worked out as well as it seemed.
A loud commotion made her turn to the hall that lead to the bedroom section of the building and she had to cover her mouth with her hand to hide the giggles that bubbled up. Natsu was swarmed with younger kids, two children hanging off each of his limbs and one particularly daring child sitting on top of the Dragon Slayer's head. They were all talking at once and Natsu was laughing. The older children trailed behind them and helped the younger ones into their seats.
She took a few moments to observe the Dragon Slayer and how he was interacting with the kids. It was a genuine smile that he wore now, almost like he didn't have a care in the world. It was something that she had seen on him in the past when he had come to help out. That happiness seemed to elude him at times and she knew that there was something on his mind that kept the man from truly being happy here. She didn't know much about how things were for him and his adoptive daughter, but she could at least offer to hear him out if he needed it. She would have to bring that up later when things calmed down.
After everyone had taken their seats and Clarissa had made sure everyone was served did, she notice that Natsu wasn't joining them and instead had kissed Myou on the head and left out the back door. She was slightly worried at the serious expression he wore, but let him head off on his own. It would seem her fears were more founded than earlier thought.
Myou must have seen Clarissa's worried expression. "Daddy is worried about everyone here." She explained around a mouthful of eggs. She took the time to swallow what was in her mouth before wiping it off with a napkin. "He's going out to the forest to get some firewood so you won't have to buy any."
Clarissa nodded at that and left things as they were. She didn't know everything that was going on in the Dragon Slayer's mind, but it was clear to her that there was more than just him worrying about the orphanage going on. She'd just have to make sure he knew that she would be around to listen if he needed it. Now that she thought about it, he reminded her of her late husband in his desire to help everyone out at the cost of his own health.
After breakfast was over three of the older children gathered up the plates and took them to the kitchen for cleaning, saying they were going to take care of it for her, much to Clarissa's surprise. Whatever Natsu had talked to them about the night before must have really stuck with them. Clarissa quickly started ensuring all the children had their school supplies all packed up and were ready to go.
Myou ran off and dragged her father back inside when Clarissa was just sending all the school age children off, the older ones leading the younger. Natsu's eyes darted around and counted four children that weren't leaving before coming to a decision. "I need you all to leave for the day while I get the repairs underway." He said walking up to Clarissa with Myou at his side. "The team I paid for last night should be here in about an hour and when they do, this isn't going to be a safe place for kids. Do you mind taking them out for a few hours?"
"I think I can find something for us to do. Do you know about when you should be done?" Clarissa asked while sending the remaining kids off to play until they had to leave.
Natsu looked down at Myou and cocked his head to the side. "Where'd you put your backpack when you came in?" Myou darted off into Clarissa's office and came back with a small backpack shaped like a bear and held it out to him. Natsu thanked her and dug around in it for a few seconds. "Here, take them out to lunch and come back once you're done." He said pulling out some money and offering it to Clarissa.
"No, no I couldn't take your money. We can just have a late lunch when we get back." Clarissa sternly pushed the wad of money back to Natsu.
Natsu shrugged his shoulders and handed it to Myou, who took it and shoved the somewhat large wad of jewels into her dress pocket. "You get them something then. Can't have you kids getting hungry while you're out playing." He looked back up to Clarissa and handed her a small Lacrima the size of her palm. "I'm kicking you out for the day, least I can do is pay for a meal. I trust you know how to use this?" She nodded and took the gem from him. "I have one on me as well and Myou knows how to contact me, so if anything happens or you need help, I'll just be a call away."
Clarissa nodded again, looking down at the crystal in her hand. These weren't cheap, not by any means. To have two on them at any one time could cost a small fortune if they got one on sale. But, she had to give it to Natsu if he was willing to shell out that much money just for a little added security, then he was taking his role seriously.
Myou looked up at her dad. "Can I call my Mamas when we get back? I never got a chance to say bye yesterday and I wanna se how they're doing." She bounced in place, hopping from one foot to the other with a hopeful smile plastered across her face.
Natsu sighed and rubbed his face with his hand before flashing her a bright smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, ignoring the curious look from Clarissa. He may not be looking forward to the talk that was to come, but he knew it had to happen sooner or later. "Of course. As soon as you get back we'll call them together, okay? Now, go play until Miss Clarissa is ready to go." Natsu dawned a real smile at her over the top excitement.
Myou cheered and ran off and Clarissa waited until she was out of ear shot before turning to Natsu sternly. "Mamas? As in more than one?"
Natsu flinched and his shoulders sagged. He should have expected the woman to find out about it and grill him about it, but that didn't mean he wanted to have this talk. "It's…. complicated." His voice was quiet.
"You certainly don't seem to be happy, what's going on?" Clarissa folded her arms over her chest, her eyes going cold. Maybe this was why he had seemed withdrawn, afraid of how she would react to his interesting situation. That begged the question of why he even bothered to come help out if he was this worried about what she thought.
"Look… I can't talk about it right now, okay? Myou's happy and right now that's all that matters here. Please, no matter what happens I'll always put Myou's happiness and growth before my own selfish desires." He said quietly, not able to meet her eyes. Talking about it only made it feel more real and hurt all the more.
He was luckily interrupted by a knocking at the door and he took the diversion as quickly as possible and all but ran to the door. A group of four men and two women walked in and immediately Natsu started to point out the things that needed fixing, dragging Clarissa into the impromptu meeting since she knew the place better than him.
Clarissa was worried about the cost but one of the women merely smiled at her and said things had already been taken care of. Clarissa, forgetting entirely about Natsu's premarital relationships, was worried about how much Natsu had spent. It clearly wasn't going to be a cheap fix, not if they brought a team in and he wasn't able to do it himself. She didn't think she had enough money saved up to pay for the repairs and she didn't want Natsu to have paid for it out of pocket. Once the crew and Natsu finished deciding on what needed to be fixed and made a plan of attack, Clarissa took Myou and the other children out of the building and left it to Natsu to take care of.
[Fairy Tail]
A pounding headache surged through several of the gathered mages when Mirajane began to rant and rave, again, about needing to find Natsu and Myou. Surprisingly, Kinana hadn't budged on her position at keeping it a secret. Even after Mirajane had tore the mission logbook out of her hands and looked through it, Mirajane couldn't find anything specific about the mission. Kinana had taken all information out of the entries, even going as far as destroying the reserve copy of the flier before the three had shown up.
"You don't understand!" Mirajane tried going on. She tried to sound confident, but her confidence was waning and she was growing desperate. "I-we need to talk to him. The longer he is lost with his own thoughts and doesn't have the full story, the worse things are going to get and he won't be making a good decision based on all the facts, just the small amount of information that he has right now."
Kinana glared at the woman across from her, not backing down. "He said he needs time alone with Myou. I don't know if you've seen him between when he got back from his last mission and left again, but he's clearly distressed. Whatever little information he has scared him and he ran. It's not like him to run, so for him to go this far means he is in a rough place right now."
Mirajane huffed and slapped her hands down on the bar. "That's exactly why we need to talk to him. We made a rash decision out of desperation and yeah, it was probably stupid now that I look back on it, but if we don't' explain then he'll make a rash decision in turn."
Kinana kept her arms crossed over her chest and shook her head. "I gave my word and he seemed pretty adamant about it, so I'm going to stand by it. I'm the only one that knows where he is, so unless you have a way to call him, then you'll just have to wait until he comes back or sends word to you."
Mirajane threw her hands in the air and stormed off to where Lisanna and Millianna were sitting with Levy and Lucy. "Just give him some time, he'll come around." Levy offered with a small smile, rubbing Mirajane's back when she sat down next to her. "Natsu isn't one to run away from his problems, he probably just needs to get his head on straight."
"Have you tried calling him?" Lucy asked hopefully, wringing her hands together. She knew she didn't have the best relationship with the Dragon Slayer anymore, but she was hopeful about the future. Once she took the time to think about it and thought about everything that had gone on between her, Natsu, and Sting. She didn't believe that Sting had been in control of himself, or at least that he was being influenced by whoever had taken him over. When they had gotten together initially, Sting hadn't pulled her away from Natsu, that had come later.
Lisanna nodded, her determination broadcasting more confidence than she actually felt at the time. "We called him immediately once we realized he had taken Myou out of town, but I don't think he was in a place to take the call because the video only showed darkness and what sounded like rushing wind."
Millianna slid her hand into Lisanna's to squeeze it comfortingly. "Anytime we call and it actually goes through, the video shows a small room with two beds in it, I can only assume it's whatever inn he took them to. His Lacrima doesn't isn't as advanced as others out there, it's mainly for emergency cases. That's why it instantaneously links instead of waiting for him to answer the call."
Lucy continued to rub Mirajane's back softly while she picked her words carefully. She could see how emotionally distraught the women were and knew it wouldn't take much to make it worse on them, but in an effort to help sooth things over with her old teammate, she knew she had to bring it up. "Maybe, and just hear me out here before you freak out, maybe you three shouldn't be the first ones to talk to him."
Surprisingly it was Millianna's glare that made her flinch back. Lucy, however, pulled up her courage and spoke over the cat girl. "I'm not saying not to talk to him, not to tell him what's going on and try to figure out how this whole thing is going to work between all of you." She explained quickly. "You all know how much Natsu loves and how deep that love runs. He has always been forgiving and he will hear you out, but you have to let that be when he is ready. I know that first hand. I hurt him too, and even though at the time I wanted nothing to do with him and hated everything that he was, I saw that he still cared for me. All the little things he would keep doing, thinking I wasn't seeing them, infuriated me even more."
"You didn't know." Mirajane whispered to the blonde. "You didn't know you were being manipulated to hurt him. We knew what we were doing. We may not have known how he would react, but we knew we were manipulating his feelings to do what we wanted because we feared what could happen. At how things could turn out if we didn't do something drastic."
Lucy groaned and nodded. "But that doesn't change that I hurt him. Despite how harsh my words were to him and what I said to Myou those few times, he never fought back. He just took whatever I said to him and put on a smile. Whenever I had a rough day, I know it was him that would bring me my drinks, or his notes he would leave at my house. He may not have been the one that actually brought them to me, but I know he was the one that was sending them. Even in my hatred for him, I knew he still cared about me. I have no idea how he is feeling right now, but I know he still loves you three. He's just afraid right now. Maybe you need to let someone else talk to him first so he has someone to talk to."
Lisanna nodded slowly in response. "I see where you're coming from and what you say does have a point… but the longer it is until we talk to him, then that's just more time that he doesn't know what we're thinking, wh-"
She was cut off when the Lacrima sitting in front of her sister flickered. Mirajane was quick to snatch it up as the call was connected to see an elderly woman holding the counterpart up to her face, dirt and sweat across her face. "Who is this?" Mirajane asked quickly.
"Do you know how to contact Natsu on this thing? I can't get Myou to tell me and we need him, now! This was the most recent connection, please tell me you know how to get to him!" She asked frantically, her eyes darting around at things that those at the table couldn't see. The sounds of explosions and people crying out brought most of the Guild's attention and people quickly darted over to see what was going on.
"Clarissa?" Mirajane asked, recognizing the woman that had visited the Guild just before Natsu had adopted his daughter. "What's going on, where are you?"
Clarissa shook her head. "We don't have much time, I don't know how long Myou can hold out, I need you to contact Natsu and tell him we are at the park down by the church! The one with the water!"
"I'll see if I can call him, what's happening?" Mirajane didn't want to hang up just in case something happened and she could hear someone getting up from the table to run and grab the Guild's communal Lacrima.
The ambient temperature in the room dropped when Clarissa turned the Lacrima around to show Myou standing a couple of feet away, her black hair flowing erratically while glowing bright green. There was a green dome surrounding the two of them that Myou was holding together with one hand while the other was gesturing wildly. Four small bodies broke through the barrier, each of them surrounded by that same green glow. "Where are you guys? What town?"
"Clover Town!" Clarissa's voice shouted over more screams coming from the children now inside the bubble. All of the children, aside from Myou, were screaming and crying in fear. Myou however had an expression of extreme concentration. Everyone could see the sweat already pouring down the girl's face that she was taxing herself magically and they didn't know how long she could hold out.
A blonde-haired man with what looked like cat ears and sharp teeth walked up to the barrier with a sadistic grin. He touched the barrier and a plum of black smoke erupted with an explosion. Behind the man were two more figures, these ones covered were wearing black cloaks so their features were covered. Smoke and fire littered around the three and people were running away.
Millianna didn't know who was the first to cry out, but her heart hammered in her chest and she looked up to see Levy running back to the table with a large crystal. "I'll call him, you guys go!" Levy cried out. Millianna didn't let go of Lisanna's hand and the two were darting towards the door. Millianna cursed to herself that she hadn't been moving already, she should have remembered where she had seen Clarissa before. But now wasn't the time for self-depreciation. They had somewhere to be and needed to hurry.
Mirajane snapped out of her frozen state and shoved the crystal into Lucy's arms as she was still sitting next to her and was already darting out of the door. Black energy enveloped her form as she transformed, a shout of "Requip!" ringing out just behind her as she reached the door. She barely heard footsteps as more of her fellow Guild members charged after her. She knew they were still a few hours away at her fastest speed, but she had to at least try.
If Levy wasn't able to get in touch with Natsu, then they were the best chance of getting there to help.
[Earlier with Myou]
Despite not knowing the other four kids for that long, Myou could feel that they were going to be fast friends. All of the kids were younger than five so they all looked up to Myou as if she was something spectacular. They were at the park down the street from the orphanage so she kept an eye on all of the supplies and people entering the building, wishing that her father had kept her back to help. She knew her powers were still relatively weak, but any help would make things go faster. And this was her first mission with her dad! She should be helping, not playing!
A voice in the back of her head argued that she was helping. Her father was taking care of the orphanage repairs while she was keeping the client occupied. She was doing her part, even if it wasn't a physically demanding aspect of the mission. That eased her worries somewhat
A spiky blonde-haired boy was pulling her hand to drag her over to the swings, asking to be pushed. Myou couldn't help but smile and agree to push him. Off to the side she could hear Clarissa talking to one of the parents of another child but she didn't pay it any mind. She spent the next couple of hours pushing the four kids she came with on the swings, playing tag, and generally just running around having a good time. She showed off her powers for a few minutes but could see that while the kids were excited to see magic, the parents that were there didn't look too enthusiastic. Granted, they didn't say anything about it and Myou knew that she shouldn't be ashamed of her powers, but she didn't like it when anyone looked at her like the adults were. It wasn't fear, but there was obvious apprehension in their looks.
It reminded her of the time before she had been adopted by Natsu. A time when she had been ashamed of her magic. Natsu and Fairy Tail had been a great boon for her self-confidence. She no longer feared what she could do, and the looks she was getting were not nearly as worrisome to her as they would have been in the past.
Aside from the adults' apprehension, Myou had a good time. These kids weren't like Asuka or Romeo, or even Wendy. They were generally excited about everything magical and were asking her tons of nonsensical questions. Did she get her powers from her dad? Did she belong to a Guild? How much could she pick up? How strong was she? Could her powers let her fly?
That last one got her thinking. She hadn't tried it before. She made a mental reminder to bring it up with her Dragon Slayer father when they were alone tonight. She didn't even know if her powers could work on herself or if it was possible to move people. She had moved things with people ON them before, but not actual people. If she could move people and herself, that would give her a lot more things she could do!
Barriers and object manipulation were all that she had been able to consciously control right now, and those were steadily getting better. But, to her, it wasn't progressing fast enough.
Myou was pulled out of her own mind when Clarissa called them over to get something to eat. Myou unzipped her dress pocket, mentally thanking Millianna for altering the dress to have pockets, and handed the money over to the older caretaker. Her studies hadn't quite made their way to money yet. She knew what it was and that it was needed to buy things, but she didn't have a very good grasp on how much things should cost or what spending too much money was. Besides, Natsu had given her this money for lunch when Clarissa had tried to turn it down.
The six of them, Myou holding two of the kids' hands while the other two held onto Clarissa, strolled slowly through town to reach a marketplace. They got some sandwiches and fruit before heading off to another park further away from the guild, one that would have a small splashpad for kids. Myou had to admit she was excited for the waterpark. Her favorite adventures with her Daddy were when he took her to the stream to fish and she would play in the water with happy. She didn't even need a bathing suit when he was around! He could just dry off whatever she was wearing when she was done!
It was while they were eating that she started to focus on her surroundings, trying to work on her ability to hear where people were and what they were saying like her father could. She really wanted to be like her dad, strong, dependable, fun, happy, and a good person. He seemed like he could do anything. She knew deep down that his ability to hear sounds from far distances and to be able to smell nearly nonexistent things had a lot to do with him being a Dragon Slayer, but Myou wanted to try and develop her own abilities to match him. They were too useful to not try to attain.
Currently she was only able to listen intently, but everything muddled together and she could only catch a few words here and there. She couldn't place who was saying what, but it was progress.
"What should we do for dinner tonight?" She could hear that one just fine, it was Clarissa talking to the other kids. She closed her eyes and quickly tuned the older lady out to listen to those further away.
Someone off to her left had a very high-pitched voice and was talking about some kind of dog. Another voice joined the chaos in a growl, but the words were too quiet for her to properly make them out. More voices echoed in her mind and she realized she had finished her sandwich when she bit down on one of her fingers. A giggle from the blonde boy that had been attached to her since early this morning jolted her out of her concentration and she awkwardly chuckled, flashing a nervous smile to the boy.
"I'm telling you, it cut off somewhere around here!" The gruff voice was closer now. Myou looked up to see a small group of hooded figures about thirty feet away.
"Did it stop in this town, or was it passing through?" A female voice quipped sharply. Myou knew she shouldn't be eavesdropping, it was rude. At least that's what Lisanna had said. 'Does that mean Daddy is always rude because he was listening to everything all the time?'
"Boss said it was dying down slowly before reaching this town, but he was sure it came to a stop here!" The gruff voice hissed. "I just know that if we find him here, we can push him that last little bit and he'll reawaken! Something had him freaked out and he nearly completed his transformation, his will, will be done soon!" The male was growing excited and the voice made Myou shudder. Whoever this was, she didn't like them already.
Myou had a feeling that they were talking about her dad. It was too close to their own story to be a coincidence, and Master Makarov had drilled into her that coincidences did not exist in a world with magic like they lived in. She scooted over towards Clarissa while the other kids they were there with were already taking off towards the water area. "Miss Clarissa?" She whispered, not taking her eyes off the group.
Clarissa looked down at the little black-haired girl with a small smile. "Yes, dear? I hope you're having fun."
Myou pulled gestured to the group of cloaked people walking through the park. "Those people are talking about my Daddy. Should we tell him that someone is looking for him?"
"I'm sure it's just a coincidence, dear." Clarissa rubbed her hand through Myou's hair, not playing to the girl's worries. Myou frowned and shook her head, aiming to refute the woman's casual downplay of what might be going on.
"Your Daddy?" Myou froze when the gruff voice spoke up, his cloaked head turning towards them. Myou assumed she wasn't as quiet as she had hoped to be. "Just who is your Daddy, little girl?"
Clarissa stood up and gave a gentle smile to the one that had spoken to them. "Just a young man that's helping out an old lady around her workplace."
"Not talking to you, ya old bat!" The man was walking up fast now, shoving Clarissa away to squat down in front of Myou. He pushed his hood back to flash a toothy grin. "What's your name little girl?"
Clarissa huffed indignantly and made to put herself between the two again, her soft smile flashing into annoyance. "Listen here, young man, you leave Myou alone-"
"Ah! So you're that Myou!" The man's yellow eyes widened as his grin turned feral. "I guess we don't have to keep looking any longer! You're going to come with us and with you're help we are going to bring your father out to play!"
Myou backed up quickly while still sitting on the ground, fear taking her over quickly. The man reached out for her and Myou threw her hands up reflexively and his hand hit a green wall. A crack of energy released from his hand and the wall shattered, making Myou cry out in fright. "A fighter, that'll just make it more fun!"
When the man made to get closer to her again, Myou leapt to her feet and threw her hands out in front of her, a dome of energy exploding from around the girl and knocking the man back. Clarissa cried out and quickly rushed up to Myou as the barrier fell.
The yellow haired man rolled to a stop at the feet of his fellow cloaked individuals and the female voice spoke up again. "Just kill the girl, that'll get a rise out of him."
"With pleasure." The man jumped to his feet.
At that declaration those that still remained in the park started to scream and run away. Myou snapped up her barrier again and she could hear Clarissa fumbling with something, but her focus was entirely on the man walking towards them. Clarissa was asking her something and shaking her arm, but Myou was too focused on what she was doing to listen. Without giving it a second thought, Myou's eyes darted around to spot the four kids they had come with, knowing that she couldn't leave them alone without help. She didn't know she was reacting until she saw felt a sharp pain at the front of her head and she could see the blonde-haired boy flying towards her with a green outline around him. She had done that! Her power worked on people!
The pain increased when she reached out again and grabbed the other three kids at once and brought them over to her, putting all four kids behind her. Clarissa was speaking again, but she didn't know what was being said, the pain in her head dulling her other senses. When the man's fist made contact with her barrier, it wavered but held. Barely. She reached out with both hands and closed her eyes to focus on the barrier, just trying to keep it in place. For as long as she could. Clarissa was hopefully calling her dad and telling him to come help.
More strikes hit her barrier, but it still held. She felt something warm trickle out of her nose, her arms start to shake at the effort she was using, and everything sounded like she was underwater now. A hand landed on her shoulder, but she didn't know who it was and instead kept the barrier up. She could feel the attacks increasing in strength against her.
With a gasp, a cold feeling washed over her and her barrier fell. Her eyes flew open to see the blonde man still grinning, his mouth moving but she couldn't hear him. She started to fall, but the hands on her shoulders kept her upright. Everything grew hazy and she didn't know if it was from the smoke that was permeating the surrounding area, or if her sight was failing her.
The hand was reaching for her now and Myou let out an ear-piercing screech, making the man pull away to cover his ears and stumble back a few steps, knocking him down to a knee. The man attacking them was still holding his head on his knee when everything went black for Myou.
[Orphanage]
Fear gripped his heart and he stopped listening to the blue haired mage that had called him. A scream rang out through the town and something inside Natsu snapped. He wasn't aware of the Lacrima crystal in his hand shattering when black energy exploded from around him, knocking back the five workers around him. Natsu didn't bother with the door and went straight up into the air through the roof in a streak of fire.
AN: Cliff hanger! Short chapter here, expect a long one to follow. Sorry for the delay in posing, work has been hell lately. Before everyone starts to assume things that are happening, I'm altering the order of events from canon, obviously. Things will be severely inconsistent with the source material, but will have elements from it.
Myou's powers are developing, but she still isn't very powerful, nor does she have very good control.