I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters.
Trouble
Sado sat at the bar, sipping his soda and trying to decide what to do. He could take a job, but he didn't feel like it. Not yet, at least. He also couldn't train with Ur because she was away doing a quest of her own. Which left him with nothing to do.
"You could always take a few days off," Mira suggested.
"True," Sado agreed. "Alright. Relaxation it is. Maybe I'll finally collect the money Loke owes me after that last poker game."
Mira laughed. "You still haven't collected?"
"Nah," Sado laughed. "Been too busy, what with Phantom Lord and all."
Mira nodded and picked up her tray, returning to work. Sado sighed, tearing his eyes away from her as she walked away. Doubt was beginning to set in. He was starting to close himself off again. He didn't want to be wrong. And he couldn't bear the thought of messing up because he was mistaken.
"What's wrong?" Cana asked.
"I'm just…it doesn't matter," Sado said. "Anyway, have you seen Loke? I want to collect on the money he owes me from the last time I beat him at poker."
"Oh, that's right," Cana said. "You didn't hear. Loke disappeared while you were away, and Lucy went looking for him. Turns out Loke is actually Leo, the Celestial Spirit, who was banished to our world."
"Leo?" Sado asked. "As in, strongest of the twelve Zodiac Spirits, Leo?"
"That's right," Cana nodded. "Apparently he was looking for a place to die, but Lucy found him and yelled at the Celestial Spirit King until he gave Lucy Leo's key and ordered Leo to serve her until the day she died."
"I see," Sado nodded. "And, I take it that means that he's back in the celestial spirit world and I'd have to have Lucy summon him?"
"Pretty much," Cana nodded.
"Fine," Sado said. "Where's she at?"
"Leo got her, Natsu, Gray, and Erza tickets to that new beach resort as thanks for saving his life," Cana said. "I happen to have a couple, that is, for a price."
"I'm going to regret this, but what's the price?" Sado asked.
"A favor for a favor," Cana said, holding up a park pass.
Sado narrowed his eyes, reaching up to the pass. "Within reason."
"We'll see," Cana said, releasing the pass. "See you when you get back."
"Yeah," Sado grumbled. "I'll be back in a couple days at most."
Cana nodded, smiling, and Sado sighed, heading to the door, saying goodbye to Mira on the way before heading to his room in the dormitory to get some clean clothes and a pair of swimming trunks, then left for Akane resort.
Sado stepped onto the beach and smiled. Warm sand, blue water, a massive theme park. Akane resort was as amazing as he had heard. Now, all he had to do was find Lucy. He looked around, humming thoughtfully as he strolled along the beach.
"If I were a group of mages on a free trip to the beach, where would I be?" Sado mused. He stopped as several people walked past, complaining about public indecency. Sado sighed. "That was easy."
He followed the beach until he found the others, Natsu holding Gray's swimming trunks and Gray covering himself with Happy while both Lucy and Erza simply watched things play out. Sado snatched the shorts from Natsu and tossed them to Gray who hurriedly pulled them on, Happy huffing indignantly as soon as he was away from Gray.
"Oh, hey Sado," Natsu said. "What's up?"
"I've been looking for you guys," Sado said. "Lucy, I need a favor. Can you summon Loke, er, Leo for me? I need to talk to him about something."
"Sure," Lucy nodded, pulling out his key.
A moment later, Loke was bowing, Lucy's hand in his own. "How may I be of service, my beloved?"
"For one you could never call me that again," Lucy said. "For two, someone needs to talk to you."
Loke straightened up, looking around and spotting Sado, a sheepish, knowing grin spreading over his face.
"Oh, uh, hey there Sado," Loke greeted. "Finally come to collect on my debt, huh?"
"It's been a full year, Loke," Sado said. "I mean Leo. Ten thousand."
"Right," Loke sighed. "I suppose. Do you accept down payments?"
"Sure, in the amount of ten thousand," Sado smirked.
"I see, it's just...I got used to carrying it," Loke said.
"You mean you had it all that whole time!?" Sado shouted.
"Well...uh...kinda," Loke said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
Sado sighed. "Fine. How about this, then. In exchange for you paying it all back at once, and because I'm nice, I'll do you one favor. Within reason."
"A favor, huh?" Loke asked. "Alright. Find Aires for me. I miss being able to talk to her."
"Aires?" Sado asked before shrugging. "Sure."
Loke nodded, holding out a wad of bills, which Sado accepted, slipping it into his wallet. Then, Lucy released Loke.
"You still have the key for that spirit that knows other spirits, right?" Sado asked.
"Yes," Lucy nodded, pulling out a silver key.
A minute later, a spirit with a giant silver cross for a head was hovering in front of Sado.
"Can you tell me who currently has Aires's key, and where they are?" Sado asked.
The spirit drifted off and Sado waited patiently. Finally, the spirit woke back up, making a bunch of random noises.
"I can't give you the specifics," the spirit said. "It's against the rules. But I can tell you that the wizard that has Aires is called Angel, and that Aires doesn't seem very happy. As an interesting side note, Angel also has Gemini. I can't tell you much else, though."
"That's fine, thank you," Sado said.
The spirit nodded and Lucy closed his gate. Then, she looked to Sado.
"Do you know an Angel?" Lucy asked.
"Only Mira," Sado smirked, Lucy rolling her eyes. "But the name does sound familiar." He pulled out a small round communications lacrima and tossed into the air, the lacrima expanding and hovering in front of him. After a couple of minutes, Mira's face appeared in it, smiling happily when she saw Sado. "Hey Mira."
"Hello Sado," Mira smiled. "How's the trip to the resort?"
"Not bad," Sado smiled. "I should be back by tomorrow."
Mira nodded, smiling.
"Listen, can you do me a favor while I'm away and see if you can find any information on a female Celestial Spirit Mage going by the name Angel? It sounds familiar but I can't put my finger on it."
Mira nodded. "Sure, but why?"
"I promised Loke, er, Leo that I'd find Aires, and apparently that's who has her," Sado explained.
"Oh, I see," Mira nodded. "Okay. I'll see what I can do. You're right, though. The name does sound familiar."
Sado nodded and said goodbye before ending the call. The lacrima shrunk down to the size of a marble and he stuck it back into his swimming trunks pocket with his wallet.
"You have a portable communications lacrima?" Gray asked.
"Of course," Sado said. "You never know when you'll need to make a call."
"You really are rich, aren't you?" Erza asked.
"I just know how to save money," Sado said. "Not rich. Now, what's up next for fun?"
"I'm going to try to get a tan," Lucy said.
"I'm going to find some food," Natsu said.
"Aye sir!" happy agreed.
"I challenge you to a fight," Gray said, Sado chuckling in amusement but nodding.
Just as he did, he glanced past Gray, seeing a woman with blue hair in a blue bikini but wearing a gold Fairy Tail emblem pendant.
"Hey Gray," Sado asked as both walked to the edge of the beach, the water lapping at their feet each time a wave came in. "Do you know a girl with blue hair who wears blue clothes? And maybe a necklace?"
Gray thought for a moment before shaking his head slowly. "The only person I can think of that you don't know would be Juvia, the water user of the Phantom Lord Element Four."
"Is that right?" Sado asked, smirking.
"Why?"
"You've got a shadow, that's why," Sado chuckled.
Gray turned, glancing back but Juvia had already ducked into cover. Gray turned back to him, sighing. "Great. According to Ur, she fell in love with me during my fight with her."
Sado laughed, nodding. "I figured it was something like that. Fire Make Lance!"
"Ice Make Shield!"
Sado's attack slammed into Gray's shield and Gray leapt over it, forming a hammer. He swung it down at Sado, only for Sado to make a shield of his own. Gray's hammer crashed into the shield and both smashed. Both slammed their hands together before pulling them apart, both forming a sword. Their swords met with a metallic ring, despite one being fire and the other ice. Gray landed in front of Sado, slashing and making Sado flip backward. As soon as Sado was on his feet, Gray shot forward, slashing again, only for Sado to block it, both swords breaking apart. Sado spun, slamming a foot into Gray's chest and forcing him back enough for Sado to have time to make something else.
"Fire Make Dragon!" Sado shouted, a massive flaming serpentine dragon shooting into the air then down at Gray.
Gray formed a massive spear, hurling it through the dragon and destroying it before jumping and catching the spear, swinging it downward at Sado, who dove out of the way. As he stood, he formed a shield, the spear smashing against it before Sado punched the shield, a fireball shooting out at Gray, who dove aside. Where the fireball had been launched, the shield now had a hole. Sado let the shield disperse, the shield going out like a match's flame in the wind. Gray stood, forming a flail with a spiked ball on the end and Sado grinned, forming himself a matching one. A moment later, both weapons shattered against one another. Gray instantly leapt back, touching his hands together before spreading them, holding one back and the other forward as he turned sideways, like he was holding a bow. Except, instead of a bow, a bazooka formed.
"Ice Make Cannon!" Gray shouted, Sado diving out of the way of the massive blast of Ice Magic that nearly hit him.
As he stood, several Ice Make Lances shot toward him. He formed a shield, but they blasted straight through. Sado leapt back, holding out his hands and blasting them all with a stream of flames. Then, he flipped, landing on his feet as Gray stopped.
"Maker Magic only," Gray said.
"You won the Maker Magic fight," Sado said. "You're better than me at it."
"I can't make dragons," Gray pointed out.
"Making living things is easy for me because fire is alive," Sado said, forming a pair of wolves to prove his point, both sitting down beside him and whining, Sado scratching their heads, the wolves reacting like a dog would. "Doing this is easy. Making things like shields is harder, but more important to me."
Both wolves dispersed and Gray nodded, understanding.
"Yeah, you have always been looking for a way to make your flames defensive, haven't you?" Gray asked. "Well, you have the ability to now. Just look at the Phantom Lord attack."
"True," Sado nodded. "Anyway, if it's alright with you, I'm going to get some sun too. It's been a while since I got to tan."
"Sure," Gray nodded. "By the way, are you and Mira together yet?"
"No," Sado said. "It's been…different lately. I'm not really sure where we stand, honestly."
"That's good," Gray said. "Different means you might not be family to her anymore. At least, not yet. Different is what you needed in order to have a chance to win her over."
"I suppose so," Sado said, then shrugged and walked away.
Finally, he found an empty beach chair sitting by itself and lay down on it, sighing. After a few minutes, however, a shadow fell over him. He cracked an eye open, seeing Juvia standing over him.
"Juvia, right?" Sado asked. "What can I do for you?"
"Fight me," Juvia said.
"Excuse me?" Sado asked.
"You wield fire, I'm made of water," Juvia said.
"Right, so fighting me would probably be unwise for you," Sado said.
"You're my natural enemy," Juvia said. "You have to fight me."
"Actually, lightning is closer to your natural enemy, ice is closer to mine," Sado said. "But either way, no. I'm not fighting you. Go back to stalking Gray and stop blocking my sunlight."
"Allow me to rephrase," Juvia said, one arm growing into a long stream of water. "You attacked Gray. You will fight me."
She swung the arm at Sado, and he dove out of the way, the chair being crushed by her water whip.
"Water Slicer!" Juvia shouted, firing several arcs of water at him out of her body that he barely managed to dodge around.
He looked back, seeing the massive gashes they had torn into the ground and instantly turned, sprinting away from her.
"Get back here and fight me!" Juvia shrieked, chasing him.
"Stay the hell away from me!" Sado shouted.
They sped past several other people who gave them funny looks, then turned and hurried away from them as Juvia sent several more arcs of water at him and he blocked them with a wall of flames.
"Fight me!"
"No way! You're insane!"
Finally, Sado spotted Gray, sprinting toward him only for a massive wall of water to shoot out of the sea, crashing into him and forming into a massive sphere of water, Juvia standing outside of it, glaring at him. He clutched at his mouth, plugging his nose and struggling not to breathe. As his air began to run out, however, he held his hands out, twin streams of flames blasting out of them, making the entire sphere boil for a moment before exploding outward. Sado crashed to the ground, panting as Juvia pulled more water from the sea. He was off like a shot instantly.
"Stand and fight you coward!"
"Gray save me!" Sado shouted, skidding around Gray and stopping, using him as a shield as Juvia stopped, the water she had pulled from the sea hovering behind her in spikes.
"Juvia?" Gray asked. "What are you doing?"
"She's trying to kill me because of our sparring match and because I use fire and she uses water!" Sado said.
"Juvia, he wasn't really trying to hurt me," Gray said. "It's called sparring. It's like practice fighting."
"I know what sparring is," Juvia said. "He's my natural enemy. He and I have to fight to determine which is strongest. So please, step out of the way my beloved Gray."
"Please don't," Sado said.
"Are you afraid of her?" Gray asked.
"Of course not," Sado said.
"Then fight me!" Juvia said.
Sado ducked back behind Gray. "On the other hand, water is one of the things that's most dangerous for me to fight against, so...maybe a little?"
Gray laughed hard, holding his stomach and doubling over, Sado dropping into a squat, arms over his head as a blast of water shot over him before he was hidden again. Finally, Gray got ahold of himself, standing, allowing Sado to do the same.
"Juvia, I forbid you from fighting Sado because of our sparring match or because he's a fire wizard," Gray said.
"Okay," Juvia said, the water spikes reforming into a massive globe of water.
"Thank you," Gray smiled, just before the water globe turned into a massive jet of water that reached around behind Gray, blasting Sado into the ground, then returning to the sea. "What did I just say?"
"I wish to spar with him," Juvia said.
Gray grinned. "You are aware that you're not supposed to kill, seriously injure, or render unconscious during a sparring match, right?"
"I am," Juvia nodded.
"Then there's no reason why you can't," Gray said.
"Gray what the hell!?" Sado demanded, on his feet in an instant.
"Oh, what's the worst that could happen?" Gray asked.
"I'm fire and she's water!" Sado said. "I'll boil her!"
"She can boil her own water," Gray said. "Trust me."
"That's not the point!" Sado said. "I'll kill her! Or she'll kill me!"
"Oh relax," Gray said. "No one's going to die. Now stop being a pussy and fight her."
Sado swallowed hard, turning back toward Juvia just as a massive wall of water shot out of the sea, wrapping around Juvia then flying at Sado, Gray leaping out of the way. Sado extended an arm, a massive stream of fire shooting out to meet the water only to be extinguished instantly, the water blasting into Sado and bouncing him along the beach for a ways. Sado stood, groaning as the water shot at him again. He grit his teeth.
Hotter! he thought, holding out his hand, a jet of lighter-colored flames shooting out of his hand, this time hitting the water and managing to hold its own.
He heard the next blast before it hit him, though it still did. Juvia had been holding one arm out, the stream he was already fighting against being controlled by it, then had swung the other arm and sent another blast straight out of the water into Sado, blasting him straight downward into the ground and cutting off his flames, allowing the other jet of water to once again hurl him. He stood as Juvia attacked again from the front. He began to resist it with his flames. He looked to the side, seeing the other jet coming. He raised his other hand, a second jet of flame fighting that jet back. Steam began to fill the area, the temperature beginning to rise considerably. He grit his teeth, feeling the strain of holding such hot flames for so long. He usually didn't have to adjust the heat. The water began to win out as Juvia pulled more from the sea. He cursed mentally. With the sea right there, he couldn't win without really meaning to beat her. Maybe without being out for blood.
Hotter! he thought, the flames turning blue as their temperature climbed, halting the water's advance.
Juvia's eyebrows sank a bit, a look of concentration forming as even more water began to assault his flames.
HOTTER! Sado thought.
However, just before he could increase the heat even more, a third jet of water blasted into him from behind, launching him straight into Juvia's first jet, which blasted him backward a third time before the remaining jet, now wrapping around in the air to follow him, blasted down on him for a moment before leaving him, Sado now thoroughly soaked and lying in a crater, groaning. He slowly began to push himself up as Juvia walked over, holding a hand above herself. He looked up, seeing a pillar of water spikes hovering over him, as big around as the crater but as tall as a castle tower and with thousands of spikes.
"Do you surrender?" Juvia asked.
"Yes," Sado squeaked. "You win."
Then, a massive torrent of water crashed down on him as Juvia released her hold on the spikes. When the water ended, Sado wiped it out of his eyes and glared at Gray who was doubled over, laughing hard. Sado stormed over to him, grabbing him and spinning, hurling him out into the water before storming off away from the beach. He eventually reached the hotel, renting a room for the night and heading there, getting into the shower and washing the saltwater and wet sand off his body and then off his swimming trunks before toweling off and sighing. There was a knock on his door, and he walked over to it, looking through the peep hole and seeing Gray, now dressed in a red shirt with the top couple buttons undone, a loose black tie, and black pants.
"What do you want Gray?" Sado asked through the door.
"We're all heading to the casino if you want to come," Gray said. "Oh, and I'm sorry I made you lose to a girl."
"Fuck off Gray!" Sado said. "You know full well that water beats fire. And beside the ocean like that, you knew I was going to lose."
"But it was good practice," Gray said. "You had to actually put in effort for a change and had to manipulate your fire's heat a lot more than you usually do."
Sado groaned, walking away from the door, opening his suitcase and pulling out a dark grey button-up shirt and some black slacks, pulling them on and leaving the shirt untucked, putting on a loose tie, similar to Gray's. He opened the door and Gray grinned knowingly.
"Don't start," Sado said. "I'm not going to be in a good mood for a while."
Gray raised his hands in surrender, and they walked away from the room.
"So, what are you going to do about Juvia?" Sado asked.
"What do you mean?" Gray asked.
"Oh, don't give me that shit," Sado said. "What are you going to do about her being in love with you?"
"Well, so far she's just been stalking me," Gray said. "It's creepy."
"Gray, either give her a chance, or tell her you're not interested," Sado said. "Do not play with her emotions or lead her on."
"Is it even possible to not lead her on?" Gray asked. "Every time I act polite, she assumes I like her. Every time I don't take her side, she assumes that I hate her."
"She's never been in love before," Sado said. "What do you expect? I was the same way when I first got to Fairy Tail and met Mira."
"Yeah, about that," Gray said. "What exactly did you see in Mira back then? She was abusive, angry at the world, overly violent."
"Beautiful, strong, understanding, and she was in pain because of her powers the same way I was because of mine," Sado said. "The world called her a demon. I had no memory and the world was afraid of me because I was constantly on fire. She was driven out of her home because of her power, I burned my home to ash with mine. She understood how I felt, and she taught me control. And any time I started to lose control, she stopped me."
"By kicking your ass," Gray said.
"Only twice," Sado said. "The rest of the times, she did it by talking to me. By understanding. By caring. She was the only one to ever try and reach me through my rage and my power. And she was the only one who was ever able to."
"I see," Gray nodded. "I suppose I understand then."
"How did this become about me, anyway?" Sado asked. "You're not getting away from it. Do something about Juvia's feelings."
"What do you suggest?" Gray asked.
"Give her a chance," Sado said. "Give her a chance at being with you. Then, if you decide you're still not interested, you can tell her so. And I don't mean one date, either Gray. Give her a month or two. Enough time to settle and stop seeing everyone as a potential rival and stop trying to figure out whether or not you like her. And Gray, actually try to like her. If you look for flaws, you'll find them. But if you look for perfections, you'll find those too. There's an old saying that you don't love someone for their perfections, you love them for their flaws. Try following that."
Gray sighed and nodded as they reached the bar just as Juvia stepped out of the crowd ahead of them.
"Oh, hello again Juvia," Sado said, stepping back and behind Gray as he spoke, almost making it seem like he wasn't actually hiding from her. "Hey Gray, doesn't Juvia look beautiful in that dress?"
Gray's eyes flicked down to Juvia's dress, a slim, sea blue dress ending just above her knees and with a small slit in the bottom of the front. The top of the dress had a low V to show off her cleavage then reached up with a single strap around the back of her neck. She also was still wearing the Fairy Tail pendant.
"Uh...y-yeah," Gray said. "Sure." He turned to Sado. "I'll give her a chance but I'm also going to kick your ass for making me regardless of how it turns out. The severity depends on the result."
Sado shrugged, walking away and heading for the poker table. He found Lucy and Erza there and sat down beside Erza. The dealer dealt him in, Sado using some of the money he had gotten from Leo. About two hands later, he set his head on the table as he lost to Erza again, Erza having a straight flush.
"I guess it's my lucky day," Erza said as a second dealer walked over, swapping with the one they had. "I have a feeling that this hot streak is just getting started."
"Oh yeah?" Lucy grinned.
"God, I hope not," Sado said, buying more chips. "I want to have some money to get home with."
"In that case, I've got a special game for you folks tonight," the dealer said, Sado glancing up at him, seeing a tan guy about their age with messy blonde hair, and a tattoo on the left side of his jaw. He dealt five cards to Erza, the cards having letters that spelled out "DEATH" on them. "And while we're at it, what do you say we raise the stakes a bit higher, Sister?"
"It can't be," Erza breathed. "Sho? Is that you? It can't be."
Sado sensed magic from him, as well as a dangerous aura.
"So, you do remember me," Sho said.
"You know him?" Lucy asked.
"You're...you're alive!" Erza breathed, trembling with fear.
"Alive?" Sho grinned wickedly.
"Uh...I mean..." Erza trailed off.
"You okay?" Lucy asked.
"Hey buddy," Sado said. "I don't know who you are. And I don't know how Erza knows you. I don't even want to be rude to you. So, I'm going to warn you now. You don't want to do this here. If you do, it's going to end badly for you."
"Is that right?" Sho asked, holding two fingers to his temple. "I've located Erza. Go ahead and take care of things on your end."
"There are more of you?" Sado asked.
Then, everything went dark and he felt his stomach drop out through his feet as the feeling of falling gripped him. Then, all feeling faded.
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