AN:
"Hello" - normal talking
'Hello' - thinking
Chapter 24 - Blackmail
The entire kingdom was in turmoil. The news concerning Oracion Seis' defeat at the hands of the alliance had travelled very fast. By the time a few days passed from the incident, pretty much everyone in Fiore was aware of what had transpired. If that was not enough to throw the Kingdom into chaos, another guild war took place simultaneously between Fairy and Raven Tail. Despite the public opinion being highly favourable towards Fairy Tail and the other 3 legal guilds, the Magic Council's opinion was nowhere close to that.
At the Magic Council's Headquarter in Era, a very important meeting was being held. However, its nature was closer to that of a trial than a meeting. In a grandiose amphitheatre, the 10 members of the Magic Council were standing atop of several angelic statues of immense height. In the middle, on top of a previously erected pillar, three old mages were looking up the silhouettes above them with a frown on their faces.
"In order to restore the trust that we once lost, we will crack down hard on any questionable guilds!" the newly appointed Chairman of the reformed Magic Council, Gran Doma, said in an accusatory voice. "This Council has been reformed! And that means that we will no longer accept your previous behaviour!"
Grand Doma waved his golden snake-shaped staff and several screens were conjured in the air.
"Look at all these complaints filed by the victims of your reckless behaviour! All these from one single guild - specifically yours, Makarov-dono! During the last incident alone, more than 10 of the civilian buildings in the vicinity of Fairy Tail's guildhall were destroyed!"
Makarov glared up at the Head of the Magic Council.
"Then, what is your suggestion? What was I supposed to do? Just sit and passively watch how my children are being killed by a Dark Guild?" Makarov asked incensed.
Master Bob, the guildmaster of Blue Pegasus, a man dressed in an extremely peculiar outfit attempted to calm him down.
"Macky-chan, getting angry won't do any good..."
Surprisingly, at that moment, it was none other than Org that spoke up in their favour. Org was the only member of the Magic Council that did not retire after the disastrous incident involving the Tower of Heaven and the firing of Etherion. Everyone else beside him was new.
"There's no need to get your hackles up. We should not forget that we owe them for going through all that trouble of destroying Oracion Seis of Balam Alliance."
Makarov looked at him startled. Out of all the members of the previous Magic Council, Org used to be the most vehement against Fairy Tail and their antics - that of causing huge property damage. Nobody would have expected his attitude towards them to change so drastically. Apparently, Fairy Tail playing such an important role in the destruction of one of the three worst Dark Guilds out there has redeemed them in his eyes.
However, unlike him, the new members of the Magic Council were extremely biased against Fairy Tail.
"Went through the trouble? What are you talking about, Master Org?!" a middle-aged man shouted. Another member of the council also added: "There's no record of the Council having approved of their plan. They moved into action solely upon the judgement of a federation of local guilds."
"To put it precisely," another mage said, "even though it was against a dark guild, they've contravened the rule prohibiting fighting among guilds!"
The sole female member of the Magic Council threw in her two bits as well:
"In addition, it's possible that the members of the Balam Alliance will now seek revenge! Which only means that more civilians will be endangered by the conflict that will eventually take place between them!"
The old woman standing between Makarov and Master Bob could no longer suppress her ire and burst in anger at that moment. She was the guildmaster of Lamia Scale.
"We took actions by ourselves especially because you are not reliable! What would have happened if Oracion Seis had gotten their hands on Nirvana?"
Gran Doma, the Head of the council slammed the bottom of his staff against the statue he was standing on. He was about to throw back some harsh words of rebuke but, unexpectedly, at that moment, the door of the amphitheatre's entrance was opened and an imposing figure stepped in. It was a man. He wasn't extremely tall - only a bit above the average - and he didn't look overly muscular either to make one feel intimidated by his outward appearance. However, an intense aura of power was coming out of his body.
The Chairman's eyes narrowed and he shouted:
"Rune Knights! Apprehend this man at once!"
Several dozens of Rune Knights rushed inside and countless magic circles appeared in the air one after another. They were very decisive in their actions - they were going to attack him with no regards for his identity or strength.
The calm expression on the man's face, however, did not waver in the least.
"Satan Soul: Obra!"
He was a Take Over mage - the Raven. The skin all over his body darkened until it became a dark brown and his hands morphed into claws but other than that, his body did not go through any other significant changes. Regardless, the power of this Satan Soul did not lay in its physical abilities. Raising his clawed hand above his head, he uttered a single word:
"Nullification."
No magic circle appeared above his hand and no other signs that indicated that his spell was cast could be seen. But in the next moment, the magic circles conjured by the Rune Knights that were about to cast their spells and even the Rune Magic that some of them were preparing to set up vanished! Regardless of what type of magic they possessed, the Rune Knights found themselves unable to even feel the magic power inside their bodies, let alone cast any spells. After that, a terrible spike of killing intent froze them in their tracks. Even some of the members of the Magic Council were affected and two of them actually lost their equilibrium and fell off from the top of the statues where they had been standing before. The previous arrogance marring the councilmen's faces had disappeared.
"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Gran Doma said through gnashed teeth.
"I came here to talk, not to fight. You're the ones that escalated things unnecessarily."
"You-!"
Even the three guildmasters standing on top of the pillar in the middle of the statues looked completely stunned by his appearance.
"Naruto... what are you doing here?" Makarov asked.
For nearly two weeks, none of the members in Fairy Tail had seen Naruto come over to the guild after the incident caused by Raven Tail. Makarov had been suspecting that Naruto was thinking of leaving the guild after their conflict in regards to Laxus and Ivan. He had never expected him to appear there.
Naruto, however, kept his eyes pinned on the Chairman of the Magic Council. His killing intent had subsided and the powerful magic oozing out of him had returned into his body but none of the Rune Knights sprawled on the floor below dared to make a move against him anymore. Subsequently, his body seemed to vanish and he appeared next to the three guildmasters with a body flicker movement.
"I wanted at first to not butt in but the amount of crap coming out of your mouths forced me to," he said. "We broke the rule of not fighting against other guilds? Civilians will be endangered because the Balam Alliance will take revenge on the legal guilds?"
As he glared at the Chairman, his voice became hard.
"If you had been doing your job from the beginning would any of these have happened in the first place?"
A mage with an eye-patch from among the members of the Magic Council yelled at him in anger, his courage renewed now that Naruto was no longer projecting his magic power and killing intent:
"What's a punk like you supposed to know about the responsibility the Magic Council has to bear every day? You're nothing but-"
"Shut your trap!" Naruto yelled at him and the one-eyed councilman became so scared that he almost squeaked. "I was the former council's proxy for more than 5 years. I don't even remember seeing your face until now. Most likely you've bought your way up with bribes and connections to get a seat on this 'newly-reformed' magic council. You think I don't know how things work in this corrupt organisation?"
The members of the Magic Council did not dare make a sound. They could very well see how angry Naruto was and they were aware of how impulsive and cruel he could be at times. The deaths of those 10 Raven Tail mages at his hands only 2 weeks before only served as a reminder of his deeds as the former magic council's right-hand man. The number of slave traders, Zeref cultists and Dark Mages that had died at his hands before was not small either. Furthermore, he had also proved to them that he was not afraid of killing people of great status either when Jose Porla, one of the 10 Wizard Saints and the guildmaster of the previously strongest guild in Fiore, was killed by him. Sure, if Naruto killed anyone right now he would be branded as a Dark Mage and appear on every legal guild's most wanted list... but of what use would that be if they happened to lose their lives? Insane people were not to be trifled with - at least that's what the councilmen were secretly thinking at that moment.
"For more than 5 years, besides the missions that I had been sent to complete by myself, what has the Magic Council done to stop the Dark Guilds expanding their influence? Nothing. The Dark Guilds continued to flourish unaffected, up to the point where they even created their own little empire - the Balam Alliance."
"Not only that you're doing absolutely nothing to stop the Dark Guilds in Fiore but you're also trying to punish those that had risked their lives to fight against the criminals? Tell me please, what is your goddamned role then? What are you here for - just to make the life hard for the legal guilds? Or maybe, you're secretly working for the Dark Guilds? Wouldn't be the first time the Magic Council did that." Naruto said, hinting at Jellal and Ultear's actions during the Tower of Heaven incident.
Gran Doma's anger reached its limit and he screamed:
"You think you can barge into our Headquarters, attack our Rune Knights and threaten us like this? The moment you step out of this building, you're a wanted man! Do you hear me, Uzumaki?!"
Naruto actually chuckled.
"If I had done something like that during the previous Magic Council's reign maybe that would have been the case. But now? Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus - these guilds' popularity is off the charts at the moment. Fairy Tail mages, in particular, are seen as heroes for not only standing up to Oracion Seis but even surviving against Raven Tail's unexpected attack... in comparison, the Magic Council's most recent feat was to fire the Etherion in an attempt to kill off not just dark mages but innocent bystanders as well."
"You no longer wield the same amount of power. The crown no longer trusts you as much as before and the public no longer respects you either."
Naruto took out one of the buttons of his black coat and showed it to them.
"This is, in fact, a recording lacrima. Everything that happened here has been recorded and will be released to the public shortly."
True to what Naruto had previously said, the popularity of Fairy Tail at the moment was at an all-time high. The people of Fiore were grateful for their efforts and it showed - despite that the guildhall had been reduced to rubble for the second time that year due to their war against Raven Tail, after only two weeks, a brand new guildhall was rebuilt once again! In truth, the guild's saved economies had been spent on rebuilding the guildhall for the first time, after Phantom Lord's attack. Normally, it would have not been possible to rebuild their guildhall once again that soon. However, countless people from all over the country - not only from Magnolia Town - had started to donate millions of jewels! Not only was Fairy Tail's guildhall rebuild in a matter of days, but their finances were also much better than ever!
"You haven't made the trial of these three guildmasters public especially because you were afraid of the people's backlash. You were planning on punishing them for no other reason than to assert your dominance."
"If you don't drop the charges and if you continue to look for trouble with Fairy Tail, I will go public with everything that happened here. I will even request an audience with his Majesty, the King, if necessary."
"The Magic Council will obviously continue to exist... but without you in it. I will end your whole career."
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"That was very sly of you, back there, Naruto. You didn't strike me as that type of cunning person." Makarov said, attempting to joke.
Naruto looked at him but did not humour him with a reply. Indeed, as Makarov half-jokingly said, it had not been Naruto's idea. Mirajane was the one that had come up with it. But he didn't feel like chit-chatting with Makarov at that moment. He had still not forgotten how only 2 weeks before, the old wizard had gotten in his way, trying to stop him from killing Laxus.
"I haven't been part of your guild for a long time - just a little over a month - but so far, I'm starting to think that joining it had been a mistake," Naruto said out of nowhere and the mood between them became sombre."I understand your position - you couldn't just watch your grandson getting killed - but you are the master of Fairy Tail."
"Are you still hung up on that?" Makarov asked, a frown marring his face. "There are times when one has to be merciful and show a kind a heart. Laxus may have been misguided, but he did not deserve to die just for that."
"Misguided?" Naruto nearly shouted and the passers-by on the streets immediately distanced from the two of them due to the dangerous aura he started to emit. "Your traitor of a grandson caused a guild war, hurt dozens of people from Fairy Tail and nearly killed Mirajane! And even now, after two weeks, I still don't know if my baby girl will live or die! Don't fuck around with me, old man!" he said, ending up screaming towards the end.
Two weeks passed since Raven Tail had attacked Fairy Tail. Reedus, Max, Nab and Makarov have recovered from their grave injuries and Mirajane had healed as well. It looked like everything was fine - even their guildhall had been rebuild with the money that the people in Fiore had donated to the guild. However, the situation regarding Naruto's and Mirajane's baby was still uncertain. Porlyusica could still not penetrate the lump of darkness surrounding the womb with her diagnosis spells. Sure she speculated that the baby was probably alright but nothing was certain. And that uncertainty was eating at Naruto more and more with every passing day.
Realizing that he was making a scene in the middle of the street, Naruto brought a hand to his face and rubbed at his forehead hard in an attempt to calm down. He turned his attention back at the guildmaster and said:
"I understand that you could not help but protect your grandson. I would do the same. The difference between the two of us, however, is that you're a guildmaster and I am not."
"You claimed many times that Fairy Tail is like a family and everyone is like your children. You said that Mirajane was your child as well... funny how you repeatedly showed favour to that grandson of yours over the well-being of the other members in the guild - I know of what happened before I joined the guild too. I also didn't see you struggling too much to find a way out of the Rune barrier when Mirajane was going to get killed... but you jumped with your life on the line to protect Laxus... the very person that led the attack against Fairy Tail, betraying you and his former comrades too."
"You should think of what are you exactly... what's your priority? Are you a grandfather for Laxus or a father-figure for your guild members?"
"I've lost any of the respect I might have had for you before. Hypocrites are what I despise the most. I give you my word that the next time anything like this happens, I will leave the guild and take Mirajane with me too."
"Remember what I said because I never go back on my word."
After that, he shunshined away. In a corner of his mind, Naruto thought that maybe he was being too hard on the old man. It had been a very difficult situation for Makarov. In truth, any other person would have done the same thing the old wizard did - just who would have the heart to watch their own blood die in front of their eyes when they could do something to stop it? However, despite understanding these things, Naruto was having a very hard time accepting them.
He had been orphaned from birth and, in the following decades, he had been completely alone. Only he knew how many times he had dreamt about having a family one day...only he knew for how long he dreamt about experiencing the joy of being a father, of having a wife, of having people that loved him as much as he loved them. It looked like his dream was going to come true very soon - he was engaged to a wonderful girl and they were even going to have a baby too! However, when he least expected it, Mirajane nearly died and the fate of their unborn child became uncertain. Knowing that he had been one step away from almost lost everything, how could he not be angry?
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When he arrived home, his frowning face smoothened and the signs of his previous anger disappeared. He took off his shoes and left his coat in the hanger. Then, he went to the kitchen from where a melodious sound could be heard. It was Mirajane. She was singing while she was cooking. She was not just humming a song, she was actually singing! It was nothing spectacular, just a lullaby one would sing to their little children to sleep at night.
Naruto was standing in the door mesmerized. He had heard from others before that aside from being a model, Mirajane was also a talented singer and she could play the guitar as well. However, he had not had the chance to listen to her until then. For some reason, Mirajane was very embarrassed when it came to performing in front of him. Hearing her angelic voice for the first time, he was amazed.
But after a few seconds of being stared at, her 6th sense made her aware of someone else's presence in the room. She looked up from what she was doing startled and her face became instantly beet-red when she realized that Naruto had been listening to her all along.
"Naruto! Why did you not say anything?!" she cried out, her red cheeks greatly contrasting with her white hair. Since they had become intimate with each other, Mirajane was rarely showing any expressions of embarrassment anymore, but now, she was mortified.
She felt like steam was going to come out of her ears any moment then. She was almost as ashamed as she had been a few years ago when Naruto had caught her for the first time in the act of bullying Macao and Wakaba and starting a fight with Erza. Seeing Naruto continuing to stare at her in amazement, she couldn't help covering her face with her palms... but after a few moments...
"Ah!" she cried out, this time for a different reason. She had been cutting onions on the chopping board. In her embarrassment, she forgot about that when she tried to hide her face from him. Now, she was crying for good!
The situation was so comical that he couldn't hold his laughter in. She was so adorable that he momentarily forgot about his earlier conflict with the Magic Council and his anger at Makarov. Just watching her for a few moments was enough to dispell all of his negative emotions. His grin just became wider when he saw her repeatedly splash water on her face to get rid of the stinging sensation in her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah! Keep laughing, you jerk, I'll get back at you!" she mumbled, her voice muffled by the clean towel she was wiping her face with.
Naruto didn't miss the opportunity to take her in his arms and embrace her tightly to his chest. She struggled a little, still annoyed at how he had been "spying" on her singing, but eventually she gave in.
"Your voice is so beautiful. You have nothing to be embarrassed about."
She rubbed her face against his chest like a cat before looking up to him with her big blue eyes.
"Really?"
He brought a hand up to cup her face and gently pinched one of her cheeks.
"Mhm, really. I would love to hear you singing again sometimes," he said and bent down to kiss her forehead.
Her face flushed a little at his praise and the tender kiss he placed on her forehead made her heart flutter.
"I can't make any promises," she muttered and looked to the side, not daring to meet his eyes.
She sneakily stole a look at his face but then she quickly looked down and buried her face in the crook of his neck. His chest shook with silent laughter at her reaction and he hugged her tight again.
"You're so cute I can't even-"
"S-Shut up!"
AN:
(Not an English native and I have no beta either. Sorry for any mistakes I may have made.)