Hey guys! Welcome back to Heart to Heart! I've been on a bit of a writing roll since I finished chapter seven, so I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth! I hope you're ready for what I have planned for you, because I'm not slowing down!
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights are reserved for Hiro Mashima.
Chapter eight: Heart Snatcher
Friday morning finds Anna leisurely strolling through Oshibana, her head in the clouds and the sun on her face. After her self-imposed isolation, Anna was eager to get back out into the big wide world and take a break. Since she'd come out of her room last Sunday, she'd been meditating and training non-stop, both with her team members, and her fellow Spirits. Especially her newest Spirit, Ascella. As it turned out, Ascella has a hyperactivity and attention span comparable to Vulpecula's, which honestly shocked her. Vulpecula was widely known to be a bit of a space cadet, for lack of better word, so it was rather...surprising that anyone could be just as spacey as the Fox Spirit.
In spite of the surprising levels of hyperactivity, Ascella proved to be a very capable Spirit. Just as Anna had thought, Ascella worked amazingly well with Draco, their elements similar enough to the other that they interacted without much friction, unlike Draco and Hydra, for example. Plus, she didn't have to be asked something twice, also unlike Hydra, who always seems to moan and whine before complying with her wishes. Anna can't not see the irony of him being her elder Spirit, and yet he acts younger than her.
Speaking of that temperamental, childish Spirit, he'd been closely monitoring her seals alongside Vulpecula, and had confirmed once again that she was almost ready for another seal to be broken. Anna herself could also feel the next seal weakening, that same sensation that filled her whole body, occasionally sending shivers down her back. She knew that the unsealing had to be soon, or else she'd just be left like a sitting duck with all these symptoms of an overdue seal. She knew first-hand just how unpleasant that could be.
Yes, she'd rather get the seal broken sooner rather than later. The process itself was less than pleasant, but the payout was more than enough to make up for temporary pain.
"Hey watch out!" A young voice shouted suddenly, bringing her out of her thoughts. The redhead glances upwards to see a ball headed straight for her, and she obligingly opens her arms, waiting for the ball to land in her grip. Once its in her hands, she looks back down, seeing a couple of kids making their way to her. At the front of the group stands a young boy, moving over to her slowly, with a slightly guilty look on his face. "Sorry, miss. We weren't watching where we were kicking." He apologized.
Anna smiles, handing the ball back to the kid. "No problem, things happen. Just try and keep out of the street?" She asked, aiming a grin at the group. The group of kids slowly relaxed, and they too began to smile.
"Sure thing, miss. Sorry again!" They said and ran off once more, in the direction of the park. Shaking her head indulgently at the children, she continues on, heading for the shopping district. She's got some spare cash on her and she's itching to let it burn a hole in her pocket, especially since she's already paid this month's rent. Making a hard right into her favorite shop, she greets the woman attending the register with a wave, perusing the racks and shelves.
Spotting a nice maxi skirt, she picks it up off the rack and moves over to the tall mirror, holding it in front of her short purple skirt. Since Oshibana somehow ran hotter than most Fiorian towns in the summer, August heat was still going strong. To try and combat the heat, Anna had carefully selected a light purple skirt and a quarter-sleeve white off-the-shoulder shirt, along with a pair of flat strappy sandals, in the hopes that it could help keep the heat off her.
After a moment of deliberation, Anna puts the skirt back where she found it, moving on to the next thing that tickled her fancy. From her far left, she spots a blue skirt and moves closer to inspect it. It's about the same shade of blue as Hydra's eyes, with sequins all over the thing, and the material is nice and stretchy. Beside it is a rack full of identical pants made of the same material, only the pant legs are tight and then flare out widely around the knee. Smirking, she swipes one of each off the rack, making sure they're in her size, and ambles over to the dressing room to try them on.
The pants take a bit more finagling than the skirt does, so she may want to think of getting them in a size up, but she loves the way the material feels on her and how the sequins catch every stray source of light they can find. The skirt is just as pleasing as the pants, and she grins. Anna changes out of the skirt and back into her own clothing, stepping out of the dressing room with two of her picks in hand. She continues perusing the store, occasionally picking up something else that catches her eye, before she finally makes her way to the check-out, arms heavy with merchandise.
"Hello Anna," The cashier greets her, an indulgent smile on her face as she glances down at the redhead's spoils. "Rob a bank recently?"
Giggling, Anna reaches into her side bag for her wallet. "Not really. Just had some left over from a recent job, felt impulsive."
"I can understand that." The cashier said, ringing up the items. As soon as everything was rung up, Anna handed over the necessary cash. She waited for the transaction to finish, accepting her change and the receipt and then her bags of spoils. "Have a good day!"
"You too!" Anna responded back, stepping out of the cool store into the almost oppressive heat of Oshibana once again. Up ahead, she spots the Oshibana Library and decides to head in. She makes her way to the fiction section, ignoring the stout, stern-looking librarian who pauses book-keeping to hiss out a 'shh!' when she drops her spoils onto the table.
After browsing the fiction section for a few minutes, she selects a couple of books and brings them back to the table she claimed, sitting down and cracking one open. The first book she has is one that her mom used to read to her for bedtime stories, before the book was burned away. It doesn't take long before the setting and the story completely overtake her, transporting her into the world of the story.
She becomes completely absorbed, delighting in her quiet, peaceful surroundings. She's so comfortable, she doesn't even notice as time passes by. By the time she's finished the book, it's just past lunchtime. She isn't quite hungry yet though, so she stays right where she is, picking up another book. She'll go get something to eat when she's actually hungry.
Of course, she ends up regretting that decision two hours and six books later, finally meandering out of the library at a shocking three-thirty-seven pm. Sighing and lightly cursing herself for losing herself in the books that easily, she makes quick work of getting to the food vendors area of downtown Oshibana, and nearly cries with relief as soon as the delicious scents of cooking food graces her nose. She heads up to the first vendor she can find, and orders a plate of chicken tenders with a side of fries, as well as a slice of pepperoni pizza and a tall sweet tea. She waits patiently by the side for her food to be done, and once it is she takes it and heads over to the fountain.
Carefully setting her food down on the fountain wall and then her shopping bags against the wall, Anna takes a seat and digs through the bag, pulling out her sauce packets and the straw.
The first bite is like heaven personified to her growling stomach, and she's almost tempted to moan, but holds back so she won't embarrass herself. It's better to not make a fool of herself in a city where everyone knows who she is. Although, this small reminder doesn't apply to how fast she eats, apparently, because she just starts eating like she's going to die, only pausing long enough to breathe and drink.
Within no time, her meal is no more, and she finally feels relief. Just as she's taking a breath, she hears a commotion nearby. She looks up, and notices two kids, maybe a year or two younger than herself, in some kind of argument. With a frown, she glances around, noticing how the argument is quickly drawing the attention of others. Oshibana isn't typically the place you'll find a couple of kids in a screaming match, and almost more than half of the adults in the square look annoyed to all hell at the kids.
And so she heaves a sigh, rising to her feet and grabbing her bags and trash. As soon as she dumps the garbage in the can, she lets her face twist into one of her more frightening scowls, and she calmly and quietly looms over the kids, waiting for them to notice her. The one who first notices is the boy, and as soon as he catches a glimpse of her face, or more accurately the glare on it, he shrinks back with a flinch. The boy's flinch draws the girl's attention, and she too glances up, she has about the same reaction as he did.
"I don't suppose you bothered to observe your surroundings before getting into your little screaming match, did you?" Anna asks calmly. "Because if you had you would have noticed this is one of the busiest spots in Oshibana, and none of us honestly want to listen to your bitch fit. Now, you have two options here. You can either break it up and let us resume our lives without having to hear you air your dirty laundry, or you can keep going and I can resolve the situation myself. What's it gonna be?" Anna made sure it wasn't a mystery how she'd solve the problem, letting a magic circle form under her hand, although she didn't call forth any weapon. She was just letting them know she was a Mage, and a capable one at that.
The girl's face scrunched up, and she looks away. "We'll go away." She finally says, ignoring the boy's incredulous look. He's about to open his mouth, probably to protest, but Anna cuts him off with a wide, pleased grin.
"Great." Anna answers, and although the smile is still on her face, her dark eyes that she turns on the boy lets him know exactly what he's in for if he doesn't keep his mouth shut. "I'm glad you chose that, because I really don't recommend airing your dirty laundry for all of Oshibana to hear. Very bad for reputations and all that."
She leads the two into a less populated area of the town, where they won't be disturbing anyone. "This area of town doesn't see much traffic, and no one really lives or works around here. It's been pretty run-down ever since the buildings here caught fire. Since the fires destroyed everything with structural integrity, the town's mayor deemed it unsafe to live in and had it closed down. It's the perfect place to sort out your problems without bothering anyone."
"Thanks," The girl responds, her voice now a complete 180 from the shrill yelling she'd been doing.
"Don't worry about it. But you're lucky you didn't interrupt me while I was eating. If you had, I'd have been a lot harsher." She warned them. "I've got shit to do, so I'm gonna take my leave now. Try and keep the volume down if you can though?" With this parting message, Anna strolls back into the town square. As soon as she's there, she makes a left and heads for the park, remembering that the rare apple trees are still in season. The apple trees in Oshibana are pretty odd, both in their content, and in the fact that they don't typically bloom in apple season.
It's also an added bonus that these apples naturally replenish magic. So with a bounce in her step and a gleaming grin, Anna bounds off towards the park, her sweet treat in the forefront of her mind. Maybe if she can climb the tree without her skirt causing problems, she can even take a nap there. Maybe she shouldn't have worn a skirt today though, she decides soon after she arrives, though.
Staring up at the tall apple tree, she glances down at her skirt and frowns. But then, an idea hits her, and she quickly requips a pair of spandex shorts under her skirt, and she grins at her easy solution. Quickly, she scales the tree, ignoring how small branches try to stab her through her sandals, and she hauls herself almost to the top, where she then grabs an apple or two off a nearby branch, biting into one with a pleased hum.
This is the perfect way to relax. Up in a tall tree with a good snack, watching as Oshibana's people mill about.
...
Anna ended up staying in that tree well into the day, up until dinner came around. At that point, she finally descended, and acquired a nice meal once more. Once she was done eating, she vaguely remembered that there was a play that the local arts school was putting on in the park, and promptly raced right back to attend.
The play was a beautiful ode to an old Fiorian folktale Anna remembered being told as a child, and years later it never failed to bring tears to her eyes. It was a tragic one, where the titular main protagonists had been separated by a brutal slave trading incident which spurred a war to begin. The two met each other again, on opposite sides of the war, as the female protagonist had been brainwashed into joining the oppressor's side, while the male protagonist fought on the side of the resistance.
She watched, her eyes growing misty during the battle scene where the main characters argued with one another whilst in combat. Her heart ached for these characters, although they may or may not be real. The characters may not be real, but the emotions that she feels for them is.
The play is rather long, but it's well worth it. It ends with the war being won by the resistance, and the female lead has been recovered from the enemy, regaining her senses and memories in the process, although she lost a leg during battle. The male lead discharges from the resistance, now that his duty is over, and the two retire into the countryside where they can live without strife.
Anna wipes her tears away as she stands. She congratulates the art students and tells them it was a wonderful performance before she takes her leave. Around her, other patrons are speaking amongst themselves about the play and its wonderful characters and whatnot, some still a bit misty-eyed. She separates from this crowd, following the darker, lamplit street that leads to True Heart and its dormitory. She's ready for a nice, hot bath and her bed.
Little does she know, she won't be getting that bath. Her footsteps echo strangely down the silent street, surrounding her on all sides with the steady pattern. As the clock tower chimes ten o'clock in the distance, Anna's stomach curled up uncomfortably all of the sudden, a bad feeling surging through her blood. She can't explain it. It's so bizarre, but she has the feeling she should give her Keys to Hydra for now. There was just something in the air that rubbed her the wrong way, like something was going to happen, and she just didn't know what yet.
Thanks to her parents, Anna knew to never discredit her instincts. If they were saying something was wrong, then something's wrong. Besides, her Keys were highly valuable on the black market, so if she had the chance to protect them, any chance at all, she was going to take it. Plus she wasn't helpless without them; she knew two other magic types, and she had her best possible trump card up her sleeve. So, with that decision in mind, off to the Spirit Realm her Keys went.
And now, as she stalks down the lamplit street, ten Keys lighter and with a bounce in her step to the beat of Half a Million, she's sure she made a good choice. Even if she feels a bit unprotected without them, as silly as that notion is, even if her bad feeling doesn't make sense now, she knows she made the right decision.
The redhead takes a deep breath in, observing the tranquility of the night, when the air goes chillingly still, and the uncomfortable coil of suspicion curls tighter in her gut. Just then, a surge of magic makes her whirl around, and her reward is an immediate fist in the face. She backpedals, not expecting it, but is quick to recover. Apparently late night melee is on the menu, she surmises as her eyes attempt to survey the area around her, cursing how the streetlights have somehow all gone out.
She's just about to open her own Gate, if only for the advantage of nocturnal vision, when the next blow from her surprise attacker comes too fast for her to possibly see or even block. It hits her square in the face and she stands still for a second, vision blurry, before she falters and crashes to the ground. And in the pale moonlight, a fanged grin is illuminated as Anna's body is picked up, and the two disappear, not a trace left behind.
Woo! Chapter eight is finished! I honestly can't wait to dive into this! I'm so excited! Oh, but this arc is kinda...dark? I guess? I dunno.
Next chapter will involve violence and a little bit of swear words, so keep in mind the chapter will be rated as T. Don't like it? Then don't read it.
See you all next chapter!
-Silver Sin