Mizuho, Part 1
After reaching the bottom of the cliff, Team Natsu and the others travel through a forest as Sheena guides them towards the town of Mizuho. With every step they take towards the town, the more nervous Sheena grew.
Lucy decides to ease her mind by going over to her and give a pat on her back. This causes Sheena to yelp and turn her head to her.
"Hey, relax Sheena. It's just me." Lucy chuckled. Sheena blows out a heavy sigh before they both look back to the front. "I know you're nervous in seeing your fellow Mizuhans again after all these years. I had the same feeling too when I'm about to see my father again after being separated from each other for 7 years."
"That long?" Sheena said as she looked back at her.
Lucy nodded. "Our relationship was strained after my mother's death. In order to get away from the emotional stress, my father focused on his work so much that he completely forgot all about me. That was what led me to run away from home and join Fairy Tail. But after going missing on Tenrou Island along with most of my friends for seven years, we realized all the hardships the people who remained at our guild had to go through during that period. It made me wonder if my father ever cared about me when his daughter supposedly disappeared. So I decided to pay him a visit, with Natsu and Happy accompanying me on my journey."
"Did you and your father make up after the reunion?" Sheena asked.
"Well…there was no reunion. Because when we got to his merchant's guild, we realized that a month before my return, my father passed away." Lucy said grimly.
"I'm sorry for your loss." Sheena said apologetically.
"It's okay." Lucy smiled at her. "I felt devastated because we couldn't see each other one last time before he died. But at the time, I couldn't cry because I don't know if I ever truly loved him. But Natsu told me that whether I choose to cry or not, it has nothing to do with my father. Then, when I got back to my apartment, I realized that while I was gone, my father had been sending presents to me every year on my birthday. And when I read his final letter to me, realizing that he thought about me every day, and hoping that we can see each other again, that was when I finally let my tears out, realizing that even after everything that had happened between us, I had always loved him."
"That's nice." Sheena said before Lucy places her hand on her shoulder.
"Sheena, I believe that despite everything that happened between you and your people, I'm sure they are wondering how you are doing while you were gone. So have faith that everything is going to be fine." Lucy said encouragingly to you. Sheena nervously nods her head in response.
"I'll try." Sheen replied.
"That's the spirit." Lucy winks an eye at her.
"You know, you're really lucky to have someone like Natsu as your friend." Sheena said with a wan smile.
"Huh?" Lucy said, taken off-guard by her comment.
"I guess despite how dumb he may be, he does take things seriously when it comes to his friends." Sheena said. "I mean, why else would he be so quick and concern over trying to rescue you and the others as soon as possible? Darren told me everything that happened in the West Forest."
"Well…I…" Lucy struggled to answer as her cheeks blush. But Wendy suddenly runs past them and places herself in front of everyone.
"Halt." Wendy said flatly as everyone stop at their tracks. "I sense a huge presence coming towards us."
"Yeah, I feel it too." Natsu said as he, Happy and Carla go over to her. Erza, Lucy, Sheena, Darren, Alicia, Yuri, Estelle, Karol and Judith draw their weapons as they and the others get into their fighting stances.
"Are they praetors?" Darren asked Wendy and Natsu.
"No. It's something else." Wendy replied. Sheena gasped when she suddenly remembered what else is lurking outside the town of Mizuho.
"On our right!" Natsu suddenly shouted. Everyone turned to see about thirty living plants dashing past the trees at rapid speed. Fifteen of them are leafless trees with two oversized pumpkin heads on both lower branches and four large roots that serve as their feet. The other half of the large group are humanoid plants with two large buds as their fists, and a large blue iris and a single eyeball as their faces.
"Be careful everyone! The forest outside my hometown is filled with Pumpkin Trees and Boxer Irises!" Sheena warned.
"And you are only telling this to us now?" Yuri asked in annoyance.
"Umm…yeeeaaahhh…" Sheena replied sheepishly as she cringes her teeth.
When one of the boxer irises is near the group, it leaps into the air and pulls its fist back as it falls towards Gray. Gray quickly responds by swinging his left arm horizontally through the air.
"Ice Make: Battle Axe!" Gray shouted as he launches a horizontal blast of ice at the iris, which slices through its stem and its body parts lands onto the ground.
A pumpkin tree crawls over to Estelle and swings its pumpkin heads at her. Estelle blocks two horizontal punches from the tree with her shield and she quickly thrust her rod at it. The rod stabs into the tree trunk and Estelle fires a blast of energy from the tip of her weapon. It blasts out from the back of the trunk and the tree turns into ashes.
Yuri swings his sword horizontally, cutting through the stem of a boxer iris. After stabbing her spear into the ground, Judith clings onto its hilt and performs a twirling kick at two pumpkin trees who go over to her. Alicia swings her yo-yos around a pumpkin tree and a boxer iris, wrapping them around their bodies and pulls them over, allowing Darren and Erza to go over to the monsters and swing their swords to slash through their midsections. Wendy jumps into the air and performs a somersault as she generates wind from her feet.
"SKY DRAGON'S CLAW!" Wendy shouted as she swings her leg down and fires a huge gust of wind at two boxer irises and a pumpkin tree.
Natsu uses his flaming fists to punch off the two pumpkin heads from a pumpkin tree's branches before delivering a powerful kick to its trunk, sending it flying through the air and colliding against two boxer irises.
Lucy throws her whip at a boxer iris and successfully strikes it at its eyeball, sending it stumbling backwards. Happy and Carla flies over to it, wrap their tails around its arms and carry it up into the air. They drop it a few seconds later and it landed on top of a pumpkin tree.
Karol swings his hammer diagonally to knock down a pumpkin tree and Noel fires her revolvers to shoot down two boxer irises and two pumpkin trees. Finally, Sheena throws a paper into the air and above the last five boxer irises and pumpkin trees. She swiftly made several hand gestures and many more papers magically appear above the monsters. The papers illuminate purple light and create a huge explosion to wipe them out.
However, when the smoke is cleared, everyone sees fifty more boxer irises and pumpkin trees making their way over to them.
"There's more of them!" Karol yelled as everyone stand close to each other and get into their fighting stances again.
"Let's just show them what we got!" Gray added.
Suddenly, the fight is interrupted when everyone could feel the wind violently blowing through the air. Team Natsu, Brave Vesperia and the others yelp as they hold up their arms in front of their closed eyelids while the monsters stop at their tracks.
As Natsu, Lucy, Darren, Sheena and the others lift their heads up to see what is going on, they could barely see a large white airship flying above the trees. Judging by its appearance, Darren and Alicia are guessing that it is about the size of a double-decker bus. The ship momentarily flies over them before it made a U-turn. It flies over to a nearby grassy field and it folds its wings upwards as it slowly descends to the ground. Everyone sees that the airship is shaped like a rectangular, with large angular wings on both sides. There are several square glass windows on the upper level of the ship on both sides, and a much larger dome-shaped window on the front. Four metal legs that serve as landing gears extend from the bottom of the airship before it lands safely onto the ground.
The door on the right side of the airship opens up and forms into a ramp, revealing a young man with slightly long but neat black hair and black eyes. He is dressed in a black shirt, a long black trench coat with silver lining that goes down to his ankles, a silver plate on his left sleeve, black fingerless gloves, black boots with silver plating and two black scabbards on his back with a strap that went over his right shoulder and under it to wrap around his left side.
With a wide, goofy smile plastered across his face, the man waves his hand at Team Natsu and the others.
"Hey guys." He greeted cheerfully. He drops his arm and wobbles side to side as he walks down the ramp. But only a few seconds later, the man falls off the ramp to the side and collapses onto the grass.
Team Natsu and the others stare at the man dumbfounded before they and the monsters look back at each other. The monsters cry and charge towards them again.
"GUREN BLAST!" A voice bellowed as a large blast of crimson energy fires from one of the windows of the airship and wipes out four boxer irises and three pumpkin trees who are the nearest to Team Natsu and the others.
As the other surviving monsters stop again, Team Natsu and the others look back at the airship to see a red-haired woman with a red headband aiming her right hand at the enemy. She is dressed in a dark tan vest with shorts, revealing her midriff and a dark red sleeveless sweater underneath, a white belt with a silver buckle, black shoes and long dark red stockings that goes up to her thighs, a white sleeve on her left arm and a silver gauntlet and shoulder pad that covers her entire right arm and hand.
As she lowers her right arm, the woman turns her head and scolded the pilot of the airship beneath her, "Sumeragi-san! You mixed up Captain Kirigaya's drink with your wine again!"
"Sorry! My bad!" Team Natsu and the others could hear a feminine voice inside the ship responding to the woman. The red-haired woman growls in frustration as she looks back at the monsters and raises her right arm. She aims her hand and fires several small blasts of crimson energy at them.
Meanwhile, two more people quickly got out from the ship through the door. One of them is a young adult man with spiky white hair. His left eye is green while the other is red. He is dressed in a red jacket with a black shirt underneath it, black gloves, two large black belts with silver buckles around his waist, a black hakama and steel-toed red boots. On the back of his waist is a large sword with a wide silver blade and a black hilt.
The other person is a girl with shoulder length salmon pink hair, armed with a white bow without a string in her right hand. She wears red and gold mechanical goggles over her head, a dark blue tracksuit decorated with the letters 'U' and 'A', black fingerless gloves, a dark red utility belt that holds several tools, oversized white boots and a jet pack strung over her shoulders.
"Ragna, help the captain out. I'll deal with the pesky creatures." The pink-haired girl said to the white-haired man.
"Got it, Mei." Ragna responded. As he gets off the ramp and attends to the black-haired man, the monsters cry at everyone at the airship as they charge towards them. Mei uses her jetpack to fly into the air and aims her bow at them. After extending her arm out in front of her bow, she pulls it back to magically form an arrow. She aims the arrow at the advancing monsters and the crosshairs in her yellow eyes widen. She fires the arrow and shoots through the trunk of a pumpkin tree. The pumpkin heads on its lower branches dumbly stare at the arrow through its trunk as it illuminates with bright white light. The arrow explodes and takes out the pumpkin tree itself and several nearby monsters.
"Amazing." Karol uttered as he and the others watch her in awe.
"She's a natural born Hawkeye." Darren added.
"What?" Erza arches an eyebrow at him.
"It's an Earth thing." Alicia said to her with a shrug.
"Captain, are you alright?" Ragna asked the black-haired man in concern after picking him up from the ground.
"Y-yeah, I'm sure I am." The man responded to Ragna, who removes his hands from his arms. The black-haired man frantically shakes his head and glances at Team Natsu and the others before looking at the monsters charging towards him and the airship. "Oh right, these guys need our help."
The man pulls out an all-black broadsword from one of his scabbards and holds it in front of him before saying to Ragna, "You should get ready to fight too."
"Right." Ragna said as he draws out his own sword.
"Hurry up, you guys! It can't just be me and Mei dealing with these guys!" The red-haired woman chided as she and Mei continue firing their hand and arrows at the monsters.
"Hai!" The black-haired man replied before he and Ragna charge towards the monsters. When Ragna is near three pumpkin trees, he swings his sword vertically on the nearest one to smash it into bits. He swings his sword horizontally to send the next pumpkin tree flying to the side. Finally, he takes out the last pumpkin tree by stabbing his sword through its trunk and swinging it upwards to slash through and remove it out from its top. One boxer iris leaps into the air and tries to attack him from the side. But Ragna swiftly turns to the iris, thrusts his left arm, and grabs it by its throat. He puts his sword down before delivering a powerful punch to its eyeball with his right fist, sending it flying into the air.
Meanwhile, the black-haired man swings his sword horizontally and slashes through the stem of a boxer iris as he runs past it. As he twirls around, he swings his sword vertically at another boxer iris who goes over to him and slashes it into half. One pumpkin tree fires some poisonous pollen at the man, who swiftly dodges it by moving to the side. He charges over to the tree and delivers a horizontal slash through its trunk as he runs past it. He turns around and finishes the tree off by swinging a vertical slash at its back. Another boxer iris goes over and tries to attack him from behind.
"Vorpal strike!" The man shouted as he swiftly turns around and thrusts his sword through the boxer iris's stem. As the blade of his sword illuminates with bright yellow light, it fires a huge blast of energy that incinerates the boxer iris and several other monsters in front of the man.
After witnessing many of its fellow monsters being eliminated by the humans, the largest pumpkin tree angrily pushes some monsters out of the way as it crawls over to the man. The man turns to the pumpkin tree and smirks.
"Are you a worthy challenger?" The man sneered at the pumpkin tree who is twice his size before it throws its pumpkin heads at him. The man easily deflects the heads with his sword before he charges towards it and delivers two horizontal strikes at its trunk. The pumpkin tree roars in pain as the man twirls around as he passes by it. When he is behind it, he delivers another horizontal slash on its back. The pumpkin tree turns around and swings its right pumpkin head at the man, but he ducks down to dodge the attack.
"Horizontal…" As the man gets up, he delivers one final horizontal slash across the pumpkin tree. "SQUARE!"
A square of sky-blue light expands outward from the areas the man had landed his strikes on the pumpkin tree. The pumpkin tree screams in agony as it falls backwards and burst into ashes as soon as its back hits the ground.
"I guess not." The man said disappointingly as he lowers his sword. He stares at the remaining pumpkin trees and boxer irises with a cold glare that causes the monsters to flinch. With their leader gone, the monsters turn around and flee for their lives. The man swings his sword horizontally through the air before he inserts it back into the scabbard on his back.
"Incredible!" Natsu cried as he and his friends had been watching the fight from where they stood.
"Thank you for helping us." Darren said to the black-haired man. He turns to Team Natsu and the others and gave them a cheerful grin.
"Who are you anyway?" Noel asked.
"More importantly, who are you?" The man asked as he points a finger at Noel and the others.
"Are you guys aware that you are near the sacred town of Mizuho?" The red-haired woman said sternly to Team Natsu and the others as she, Ragna and Mei walk over to them.
"Yes, because we are heading to Mizuho ourselves." Estelle said with her hands in front of her waist. Suddenly, Mei gasps and widens her eyes when she noticed Sheena standing among the large group.
"Is that Sheena Fujibayashi?!" Mei asked incredulously.
"Huh?" The black-haired man blinked at Sheena for a moment before he cried in realization, "Oh! It is! And my, has she all grown up."
Team Natsu and the others look at Sheena as she steps forward.
"Y-Yes, it's me." Sheena said to them nervously.
"I've heard stories about you, Fujibayashi-san. What brings the failed summoner back here?" The red-haired woman rebuked with her arms folded.
Sheena lowers her head as she remains silent. 'They haven't forgotten after all.'
"Hey, come now, Kallen. Is that how you welcome a fellow Mizuhan?" The black-haired man said to the red-haired woman with a nervous smile.
"But it's the truth, captain!" Kallen cried at her superior. "Because of her, Mizuho still remains unprotected from its invaders after all these years."
"What?" Estelle said as she, Alicia, Judith and Karol stare at Kallen in shock.
"Even if that's the case, that doesn't renounce the fact that she was one of us, right? And I thought a biracial like you would know that." The black-haired man replied to Kallen with a smirk. Kallen momentarily gave a sullen frown to her superior before she turns her head away with a snort. The black-haired man walks over to Sheena with a warm smile on his face.
"Please forgive her. She may seem like a hothead most of the time but trust me. She does have feelings for others. Anyways, nice to meet you, Fujibayashi-san." The black-haired man bows to her. "My name is Kazuto Kirigaya, current captain of the Mizuho Defence Army. But you can refer me as 'Kirito' if you want."
"Clever." Darren commented.
"How so?" Natsu arches an eyebrow.
"It's 'Kiri' from his last name, and 'To' from his first." Darren explained to him.
Natsu stares blankly into space for a moment before he widens his eyes and uttered, "Oooooohhhhhh! I see!"
"Took you that long to figure it out?" Yuri murmured as he frowns at Natsu.
"Nice to meet you, Captain Kirigaya." Sheena replied softly as she bows back to Kirito. "And thank you again for helping us in our earlier battle."
"Don't just thank me. Thank the rest of my motley crew too!" Kirito gestures Sheena, Team Natsu, Brave Vesperia and the others to Ragna, Mei and Kallen. "The man with white hair is Ragna the Bloodedge."
"Yo." Ragna simply said as he gave a salute to them.
"The girl with goggles is Mei Hatsume." Kirito said.
"Please to be your acquaintance." Mei grins as she waves her hand at them.
"And finally, you guys are already introduced to Kallen Kouzuki here." Kirito said, pointing his fingers at the red-haired woman.
"I got nothing to say." Kallen said, glancing at Sheena for a brief moment before turning her head away again. Sheena frowns dishearteningly as she lowers her head again.
Kirito bursts out laughing as he looks back at Team Natsu and the others. "Oh, what a joker. We actually also have two other members in the airship whom I'm sure you'll love them-"
"Captain, if we are done chatting, let's escort these outsiders out of the forest and return back to Mizuho." Kallen reminded Kirito.
"Wait!" Estelle cried, getting Kirito and his teammates to look at her. "If you're heading to Mizuho, take us with you. We wish to see your leader."
"Our town does not accept outsiders! So no." Kallen reprimanded her.
"You don't understand!" Erza pleaded. "Right now, the whole of Fiore is engaged in a war with the Abbey and-"
"You think we don't know?" Kallen interrupted her. "The war does not concern Mizuho. As long as we remain neutral, no further destruction will fall upon our town."
"But what happens if the Abbey wins the war?! Are you going to let your home fall into their hands?!" Natsu cried at her.
"As long as it doesn't cost any lives, it's better to have their protection than not having any of it at all from the sacred beast." Kallen said, glaring at the Fire Dragon Slayer. Sheena grimaced as she kept her head down.
"How can you guarantee that the Abbey won't bring despair to your home?" Darren said as he steps forward. Sheena lifts her head up and stares at her friend. "We have fought against them ourselves, and we know how they are like. So how can you just openly welcome an organization when you don't even know what kind of people they are?"
"And what makes you any different from them?" Kallen inquired.
"If we are like the Abbey, we would already enter your territory by force rather than diplomacy." Darren replied.
"Darren." Sheena uttered.
"Hmmm, he does have a point." Kirito said as he rubs his chin. "Alright, we'll take you guys into Mizuho."
"But captain!" Kallen protested.
"Relax, Kallen. They seem like a nice bunch of people to me." Kirito holds up a hand to her before looking back at Team Natsu and the others with a demonic glare. "But if they do end up being liars, we will lock them up in the dungeons, hang them up by chains and let the hyenas eat them alive."
Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Darren, Alicia, Sheena, Yuri, Estelle, Judith, Noel and Carla flinch while Karol gulps as he, Wendy and Happy tremble in fear. But suddenly, Kirito clutches his sides as he erupts in laughter.
"I'm just messing with ya!" Kirito chortled as Team Natsu, Brave Vesperia and the others sigh wearily and frown at him in annoyance. After managing to bring his laughter to a halt, Kirito wipes away a tear and gestures them to the airship. "Come along now."
As Team Natsu and the others follow Kirito, Ragna and Mei from behind, Kallen holds out her arm in front of Erza.
"Until we can fully trust you, I'll be keeping a watchful eye on all of you." Kallen said flatly to Erza.
"I understand." Erza replied with a solemn nod. After lowering her arm, Kallen goes behind her and the two women make their way to the airship.
"Yui-chan, we're back!" Kirito cried cheerfully as he enters the airship.
"How was the fight, papa?" A small girl asked as she scurries over to Kirito. She has long black hair, black eyes and wears a plain one-piece white dress with a ribbon tied around her waist.
"Meh, pretty boring to be honest. I didn't even need my Dark Repulser at all." Kirito replied as he rubs Yui's head. He turns his head to the right and said to the woman in the pilot seat, "Sumeragi-san, we have guests entering the ship."
"Understood, captain." The woman replied as she turns the seat around to face him and Yui. She has long and wavy bright brown hair, brown eyes and dressed in a bright purple jacket, a dark purple and white shirt with a teal diamond on the centre underneath, black belt with a silver buckle, black gloves, white pants and black boots.
Kirito and Yui moves aside to allow Ragna and Mei enter the ship. As the two of them stand aside, Team Natsu and the others step inside the ship and have a good look at the interior.
At the front of the airship's interior is the cockpit where there are several buttons and controls on both sides and a single yoke in front of the only pilot seat which Sumeragi is currently sitting on. Right next to the doorway is a staircase that goes to the upper floor of the airship while the back of the interior consists of several seats placed in vertical rows on both sides.
"Hmm, this ship looks pretty neat." Noel commented.
"I know right?!" Mei asked ecstatically as she suddenly goes over to Noel, staring right into her eyes as she leans her head forward. "I am the one who designed it all by myself and while I admit it ain't that much, that's exactly why we like it! And I'm glad you share the same sentiment too!"
"U-um…c-cool?" Noel replied to her nervously.
"Relax, Mei." Ragna said nonchalantly as he gently pushes Mei away from Noel. "Please don't act overly excited in front of our guests."
As Ragna stood close to her, Noel could only stare blankly at him with her mouth slightly agape as she felt her heart skipped a beat. Ragna turns back to Noel and noticed the dumbfounded look on her face.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" Ragna asked.
"O-Oh…oh! I'm fine." Noel managed to blurt out as soon as she regains her vocal cords. After letting out an anxious chuckle, she places her hand on her chest. 'What is wrong with me?'
When Noel sworn that she heard Mavis giggling inside her head, she looks up at the ceiling and said, much to the confusion of Mei and Ragna, "What's so funny?"
"Hello there. I'm Sumeragi Lee Noriega, the pilot of this airship." Sumeragi said to Team Natsu and the others as she extends her hand to Darren.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Darren smiled at her as he shakes her hand.
"Don't let her old age fool ya. She is one of the smartest and courageous soldiers Mizuho is ever blessed with." Kirito said, smiling with his fists placed at the sides of his hip.
"I'm still in my early thirties, captain." Sumeragi said to Kirito with a lopsided smirk.
"Why do you have to ruin the drama, Sumeragi-san?" Kirito said disappointingly as he hangs his head and droops his arms.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Yui." Yui said to Wendy as the two girls shook hands.
"Likewise. My name is Wendy Marvell." Wendy replied to her.
"And I'm Carla." Carla said to Yui as she stood beside the Sky Dragon Slayer.
"Hello, Carla." Yui responded to the exceed.
"Ah yes." Kirito places his hand on Yui's shoulder and gestures Team Natsu and the others to her. "Finally, we have my lovely foster daughter, Yui."
"Hello everyone!" Yui greeted, smiling tenderly as she waves her hand at them.
"You're his foster daughter?" Lucy asked Yui in confusion. After Yui nods her head in response, Lucy looks up at Kirito and asked, "Kirito, how old are you?"
"19." Kirito said.
"Huh?! You are already a guardian at such a young age?!" Lucy asked incredulously.
"Yup. Yui doesn't have anyone to take care of her. So I volunteer to do it." Kirito explained. "And besides…" Suddenly, Kirito kneels to Yui's level and pulls her into a tight embrace. "Isn't she just the cutest girl you have ever seen?!"
"Yes papa, I am!" Yui replied as she hugs her foster father. Team Natsu and the others watch Yui and Kirito laugh cheerfully as they rub their cheeks against each other.
"Well, at least she's happy to be under his care." Alicia said with a small smirk.
"Ahem!" Kallen gave a loud cough, getting everyone's attention as Kirito and Yui stop their laughing. "Can we please start moving?"
"You got it." Kirito quickly stands up and ordered everyone present in the airship. "Please take your seats, everyone. Next stop…Mizuho!"
The airship flies over the forest as it makes its way to the town of Mizuho. As everyone sat together at the back of the airship, Kallen, Ragna and Mei stare blankly at Natsu, who is lying on the metal floor with one hand placed in front of his mouth and bloated cheeks and uses the other to clutch his stomach.
"Are you really sure he is going to be alright?" Ragna asked the other members of Team Natsu.
"It's a common thing for us, so yes." Gray said nonchalantly.
"If things get worse, can I shoot him?" Kallen muttered.
"Maybe we should have gotten you to carry him to Mizuho, Happy." Darren said to Happy as the exceed sat on his lap.
"Just a shame that if Sumeragi is right, the wall guards will shoot me and Natsu down." Happy replied just as Kirito and Yui walk down the stairs while they each carry a tray filled with cups of oolong tea.
"Is anyone thirsty?" Kirito asked everyone in the airship.
"I am." Lucy said as everyone except Natsu raise their hands. As Kirito walks over to them, Yui goes over to Sumeragi and hands her a cup.
"For you, Sumeragi-san." Yui said.
"Thank you, Yui." Sumeragi said as she grabs the cup. Yui turns around and walks to the back of the airship where Kirito hands a cup to Ragna.
"You made sure it isn't wine, captain?" Ragna asked.
"You're so funny, Rags. But yeah, I made sure." Kirito said as Ragna takes a sip of his tea.
"Don't think we haven't forgotten your due reprimand over mixing your wine with Kirito's energy drink again, Sumeragi!" Kallen shouted at Sumeragi from her seat.
"Sorry, ma'am." Sumeragi said apologetically with a bashful smile.
"Kallen, why are you still wearing your gauntlet?" Kirito asked, noticing the silver armor still placed on Kallen's right arm.
"To make sure our so-called guests don't do anything suspicious." Kallen replied, eyeing at Team Natsu and Brave Vesperia as she takes a cup of tea from Kirito with her left hand.
"She sure does play it by the book." Darren whispered to Erza as Kirito and Yui continue handing out cups of tea to everyone on board the airship.
"Indeed." Erza replied before they both drink their tea.
"Here we are, everyone! We have arrived at our destination!" Sumeragi proclaimed from the cockpit. Sheena gasped in response. She quickly drinks her tea and places the empty cup on Yui's tray.
"Thank you, Yui." Sheena said to her as she gets up and walks over to the staircase. Darren, Happy, Erza, Lucy, Gray, Alicia, Karol and Estelle look at each other before they also place their empty cups on Yui's tray and follow Sheena to the upper floor, while they also avoid stepping onto Natsu.
When they arrived at the upper floor of the airship, they go over to Sheena who is standing behind one of the windows and staring what is now front of them. She lets out a heavy sigh as Darren and the others stand behind her and look at the walled town in the distance.
"We're here." Sheena murmured.
As they approached the town, Sheena and the others noticed two men, dressed in black robes and red Japanese-like armour over them, standing inside one of the guard towers built beside a gigantic pair of metal doors. They look up at the approaching airship with their binoculars and spotted Sumeragi through the front window. The two men lower their binoculars as they turn to each other.
"Inform the barracks. Captain Kirigaya has returned." One of the men said to the other as the airship flies over the walls surrounding Mizuho.
Everyone in the upper floor watch the airship fly past the large hill where the town's palace is built on top of it. As they make their way behind the palace and hill, they see a facility located at the very end of the town. It is separated from the rest of the town by concrete walls, and Sheena and the others could spot many men and women doing their training on the ground.
As they descend towards the facility, the airship flies down to a large circular yellow landing pad. At the bottom of the stairs leading to the landing pad are ten armoured men and women, armed with naginatas and standing close to each other in a horizontal row. Sumeragi lands the airship right on the centre of the landing pad before she opens the door a minute later. As soon as Kirito steps out of the airship, the armoured men and women place their fists on their chests and bow their heads.
After stepping out of the airship, Team Natsu and the others look around the facility in awe as they follow Kirito, Yui, Sumeragi and Mei from behind. Kallen and Ragna follow Team Natsu and the others from behind to keep an eye on them. On their left are several wide wooden buildings which provides food, beds, and weaponry for the soldiers. On the right is a bare open area where most of the soldiers are currently doing their training by either carrying weights or sparring with each other with wooden replicas of their weapons.
As they walked past the armoured soldiers, a boy with short dark brown hair, dressed in a white short-sleeved uniform, a black belt with a silver buckle, black pants and white shoes, approaches Kirito and the others. The boy is accompanied by two tall men who follow him from behind. They wear black robes with white armour over them, and they carry long mechanical machineguns with them.
"Welcome back, Captain Kirigaya." The boy said as he and the two men bow before Kirito.
"At ease." Kirito replied to them as he holds up his hand. "How are things while I'm gone, Shinji-kun?"
"Everything is fine, sir." Shinji said as he and the two men look back up at him. He stares the people behind Kirito and his teammates in confusion. "Captain, who are these people?"
"We found them in the forest outside. They were on their way to visit Mizuho, so we picked them up and brought them here." Kirito said.
"And what is the purpose of their visit?" Shinji inquired. The members of Brave Vesperia walk up to him and bowed.
"My name is Estellise Sidos Heurassein, mayor of the town of Zaphias. I wish to see the leader of Mizuho. It is regarding our war against the Abbey." Estelle explained.
"We believe your town has a source of power that has helped you fend off its invaders for generations. If we could join forces, and you let us borrow this power of yours, we can turn the tide against the Abbey." Judith added. Shinji frowns at them for a moment before he turns around and gets out a lacrima from his pocket. As they wait, Yuri, Noel, Sheena and Erza turn to their right and watch Mizuho's soldiers do their training.
"This town does train its soldiers well." Erza commented.
"Indeed. If we have dedicated warriors like them on our side, it can benefit us in winning the fight against the Abbey." Yuri said.
"Hopefully we'll be able to convince them to join us." Noel said before looking back at Kallen over her shoulder. "We already know it won't be easy though."
"Understood, your Majesty." Shinji said before turning off his lacrima. He looks up at the two armoured men in front of him and they all nod their heads to each other. After putting away his lacrima, Shinji turns around and said to Estelle and the others, "We shall take you to the emperor's palace. He will explain everything to you when we get there."
"That's fantastic!" Karol cried happily as he, Estelle, Judith, and Alicia smile in relief.
"Thank you so much." Estelle said gratefully as she bows to Shinji again. Team Natsu, Darren, Yuri and Noel smile as well, but Sheena could not help but worry.
Shortly after leaving the barracks, everyone followed Shinji through the town of Mizuho. Shinji's men stayed behind to look after the barracks and soldiers.
Although the streets look almost empty with a few people walking around, the town itself is calm and peaceful. The buildings are small and mostly made of wood. As they pass by a few shops and restaurants, the customers and patrons are peacefully doing their everyday lives without a care in the world. They also spotted small group of children laughing and playing with their wooden toys at the side of the road. Team Natsu and the others could not help but feel like they are in a state of peace and tranquillity as they walk down the streets. Perhaps it was the bright green grass and verdant trees grown between and behind the buildings that helps give the town its own unique personality compared to most other towns in Fiore.
After leaving the town's market area, everyone is now walking through the residential area where the distance between buildings are now further from each other. Some of the houses have their own wells and small rice fields. There are also a few thin rivers streaming through the area with small wooden bridges built over them. It is also where Team Natsu and the others have a clearer view of the large concrete walls beyond the buildings. The walls surround the entire base of the hill and there are guard towers built far apart from each other.
The townspeople bow to Shinji, Kirito, and his teammates with respect as they, Team Natsu and the others walk pass by them.
"Good day, Ikari-san, Kirigaya-san." One of the townspeople greeted.
"May good fortunes be upon both of you today." Another townsperson said.
"Arigatou." Shinji replied as he and Kirito wave their hands at them.
"Likewise, everyone." Kirito added with a warm smile. When he heard the door of a nearby house opened, Kirito turns his head to see a boy with chin-length black hair and blue eyes stepping out through the doorway. "Good day, Nagi-san!"
Before he could put on his shoes, the boy looks up and glares at Kirito. "Oh. Hello, Kirigaya-san." He replied flatly.
As the townspeople walk away and continue with their lives, Kirito's eyes softened as he asked Nagi in concern, "How are you today, Nagi?"
"I was about to go for a walk." Nagi replied morosely. "Until you guys show up. So, thanks for spoiling the mood."
"Nagi-san, please understand-" Before Shinji could try to reason with the boy, Nagi turns around and shuts the door behind him. Shinji lets out a heavy sigh as he and Kirito lower their heads dejectedly.
"What's going on?" Wendy asked.
"That's Nagi Amano." Yui said to her. "His sister is the town's current summoner and…let's just say it's a really dangerous job."
"Kallen said that Sheena was a failed summoner." Lucy whispered to Natsu.
"Aye. I supposed that's why Sheena feels so troubled in coming back home." Natsu said softly to her.
"We should get moving. There's nothing we can do for him." Shinji said to Kirito.
"Right." Kirito said dully before everyone continue making their way to the palace.
After crossing a few rivers, everyone arrived at a wide-open concrete path that leads to an enormous pair of metal doors built at the centre of the walls surrounding the hill.
"Beyond these doors is the stairway to the Emperor's palace." Shinji said to Team Natsu and the others. "I've already informed him of your presence back at the barracks. He and our summoner will be expecting you."
"Thank you, Shinji." Estelle said before turning around to face her fellow members of Brave Vesperia and other allies. "Are you all ready?"
Darren, Alicia, Noel, Yuri, Karol, Judith and the members of Team Natsu nod their heads to her. But Sheena completely ignores her as she is staring at what is on their right.
"What are you looking at, Sheena?" Estelle asked. She and the others turn their heads to where Sheena is currently looking at. They noticed that beyond the small trees and a few farmhouses is the side of a large temple of Japanese-like architecture, and Sheena instantly recognized what it is.
"That is the Daigo Shrine, isn't it?" Sheena asked with a frown.
"Yes. It is." Kirito replied with a nod.
"Would it be okay if we can visit the shrine first before meeting the Emperor?" Sheena asked everyone as she anxiously grabs onto her right upper arm. "There are some things that…I had to attend to."
"Very well then." Estelle said calmly, bowing her head to her.
The Daigo Shrine itself is a single large temple located within the right side of Mizuho's residential area. It is surrounded by small trees to separate itself from the other houses in area and there is a red Torii gate that serves as its entrance. On the left side of the temple area are the shrine's water pavilion and bell tower. On the right are a few stone shrines and a lone path in the centre that leads to a larger stone pagoda, dedicated to the Mizuhans who gave their lives away for their beloved hometown.
As the others stood in the centre of the temple grounds, they quietly watch Sheena standing in front of the pagoda and bowing down in respect with her hands placed together.
After offering her prayers, Sheena opens her eyes and lowers her arms as she stands back up. She gazed sadly at the pagoda as she vividly remembered what happened that day nine years ago.
"Everyone…I'm so sorry." Sheena whispered.
"Sheena?"
As she snaps out of her thoughts, Sheena turns around and sees a family of three standing behind her. The couple stares at Sheena in bewilderment while their young daughter clings onto her mother's dress as she stood beside her.
"You're back." The man uttered. Sheena remains silent as she gave a solemn bow to them. When she stood back up, she sees that the couple's faces have turned from looks of confusion to ones of anger and frustration.
Sheena steps aside to allow the family of three to walk over to the pagoda. The couple get down on their knees and place their hands together while their daughter stood beside them and stared at the pagoda in awe. The girl later turns to Sheena and sees the woman standing there with her head down and her hair covering her eyes. She wondered what is currently going through her head.
Her parents stand up a minute later after they had finished paying their respects. Her mother goes over to her with a tender smile as she kneels to her level.
"Mom? Who is that woman?" The girl asked her mother as she points her finger at Sheena. Her mother places her hand on her shoulder and glares at Sheena.
"The one who is responsible for your brother's death." The mother replied icily. Sheena turns her head away from them, filled with guilt and sorrow. The family of three turn and walk away, bowing to Kirito and Shinji again as they depart from the temple grounds.
Team Natsu and the others look back at Sheena as she continues standing there in deep contemplation. Darren's eyes softened as he felt concern and worry for his friend.
"Sheena…"
Sovereign: I would like to thank AquaBluey, Amanny and Crimson-Tuna-Sub for checking out my story. Thanks!
Kazuto 'Kirito' Kirigaya and Yui are from Sword Art Online, Kallen Kouzuki is from Code Geass, Ragna the Bloodedge is from BlazBlue, Mei Hatsume is from My Hero Academia, Sumeragi Lee Noriega is from Gundam 00, Shinji Ikari is from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Nagi Amano is from Weathering With You.
Chapter Revised on 23rd August 2020