Sanctity of Life
Chapter 10 – Collateral Damage
The whole guild was silent in shock, the only one who seemed to be unphased was Rei. Kazuki had his head down, waiting for the judgement that was surely to come, he didn't expect the shower of hugs and affection the guild was suddenly giving him. Why weren't they judging him? Why were some crying? Why were they so gentle? The guild had been cold to him ever since he had joined, Kazuki didn't know how to react to this sudden change of attitude, what confused him even more is, despite being hugged by everyone, he wasn't freaking out. Weren't they strangers to him? Did he trust Fairy Tail?
The guild slowly eased from Kazuki and waited for him to talk, Rei sensed his discomfort and held his hand. "You don't have to explain it all right now Kaz." She gently told him.
"No, it's okay. I want to. Stay with me?" Kazuki asked her.
"Of course."
"Ask me anything." Kazuki addressed the guild.
"How long have you been searching for this cult?" Erza asked.
"Just about 10 years."
"Does the council know about this?" Jellal asked.
"No, if I told them, I would have been taken in for questioning from within a cell."
"They would lock you up?" Gajeel asked with confusion.
"Even if I was abducted by the cult, I was still made a part of them. That makes me equally liable for the cult's crimes."
"How do we proceed from here?" Freed asked. "Our only hope of finding this cult was Subject 7, now we know that he's you, how do we find them?"
"They'll find me, I've been destroying dark guilds for a decade now, and recently, one of those guilds were under the cult's control. I've gotten their attention, they are sure to retaliate soon, all I have to do is wait for them to do something stupid."
"And what then?" Lucy asked.
"I'll crush them, without mercy." Kazuki was writhing with a murderous aura, his hate for the Blood Spirals was visible to everyone.
"Kazuki, we understand your hate for the Blood-Spirals, but is that wise? Blood only brings more blood." Jellal said, he understood Kazuki's want for revenge, but he was worried that it may blind him.
"Nothing you say can change my mind; I will kill them all. End of story."
"Listen, I know they've done unforgivable things, but nothing justifies murder." Jellal argued.
"I don't want to hear that from the person responsible for enslaving children in the tower of heaven." Kazuki stared into Jellal's eyes with rage.
"That's enough." Erza got between the two, "you don't know the full extent of that incident, so don't judge him for it." She warned Kazuki.
"…Sorry." Kazuki apologised, "Jellal, I get what you're saying, but they destroyed my childhood, when I face them, my body will not let me spare their lives."
"There's a simple fix for that, have me with you." Rei interrupted.
"What good will that do?" Kazuki turned to face Rei.
"Sweetie, you've never been able to harm anyone whilst around me." Rei smiled.
"This is different."
"If shit goes south, I'll be there to bail you out okay?"
"Rei, you don't know these monsters, they will kill you in a flash. I can't risk that."
"If I let you go alone, you could get killed, I can't risk that."
"They can't kill me; did you forget my regeneration?"
"There's a whole army of them, they can easily kill you mid-regeneration and we both know that."
"Rei, trust me on this, I can handle them if I'm alone, if they kill you or take you hostage, it's over."
"And I need you to trust me, you think I'm just going to let myself be killed or taken hostage? You've witnessed first-hand, my strength."
"I'm not, but compared the cult's main force, you're no way near strong enough." Kazuki was serious, Rei had no idea how powerful these monsters were.
"If they're really that strong, what makes you think you can take them all on?" Erza intervened.
"Because…"
"Because he's a lot stronger than any of you know." Makarov interrupted Kazuki.
"Is that true gramps?" Natsu asked
"Yes, they have a right to know Kazuki." Makarov looked at the mystic type.
"Fine. I'm the chairman of the council and the highest emperor of Ishgar. 1st Saint Crimson Prince is my title." Kazuki explained. The entire guild gawked at him, Kazuki had dropped 2 bombs on then within a span of 10 minutes.
"Rei… did you know about this?" Lucy asked.
"Maybe" She give a teasing smile.
"Rei…" Erza responded
"Okay fine, yeah I knew."
"Why didn't you anything?" Laxus barged in.
"I asked her not to, as an S Class wizard, you should understand what it's like being high profile." Kazuki answered.
"I understand that're you're scared of attention." Laxus responded.
"Oh I wonder what could have caused that?" Kazuki retorted
"You know what I think?"
"Enlighten me."
"I think that the Blood-Spirals' power is inconsequential, I think that you're scared that you might kill Rei as collateral damage."
"LAXUS!" Rei shouted at the blond man.
"Tell me I'm wrong." Laxus continued to lay into Kazuki.
"I…" Kazuki couldn't respond, Laxus had the nail on the head.
"Kazuki?" Rei questioned him.
"He's… I'm sorry, he's right." Kazuki looked down, he couldn't face Rei now that his fear had been exposed.
"Tsk. Saint or not, you're a danger to Rei and this guild." Laxus finished.
"Alright that's enough out of you Laxus." Makarov intervened. "Regardless of how he feels about this, he's been trying to leave Rei of this, can't you see that?"
"What is your problem with him?" Rei added.
"My problem with him is that he's a ticking time bomb. It's just a matter of time before he explodes, and I'm worried that you're going to be in the centre of the explosion Rei." Laxus explained.
"You don't know that, you hardly know him."
"Rei, he'll get you killed if you stay with him."
"No he won't."
"You don't know that."
"And neither do you"
"Just stop." Kazuki interrupted their argument. "Rei, he's telling the truth."
"No. I'm not buying that; you're not going to push me away that easily."
"For once, just listen to me. I have to take the cult down, and I also have to keep you safe, I can't do both."
"Then what do you propose?"
"Only 1 option."
"…Wait. No!" Rei shouted
"Rei, it's not permanent."
"I don't care, we're not going down that road. Once it's broken, it can't be fixed."
"This isn't easy for me either."
"Then how can you even suggest it?"
"Because it's the only way to keep you safe."
"No. No. No. I'm not accepting that."
"Sorry, but you don't get a choice." Kazuki instantly pointed his right index finger towards Rei and a magic circle appeared before her, she didn't have any time to react for the spell hit her and she lost consciousness. Kazuki caught her before she fell to the ground, he gently laid her on the ground.
"What did you do?" Laxus asked
"It's a sleep spell, she'll be out for a few hours. When she wakes up, I'll be long gone."
"What were you suggesting that she was against so much?"
"Breaking up." The guild froze to process what Kazuki had just said.
"That's going too far Kazuki." Erza and Jellal collectively said.
"Listen, I'm confident in my strength, but I haven't faced the cult since I escaped, I have no idea as to how much stronger they've grown or how many of them there are. I have to expect the worst-case scenario."
"Are you saying that you might die?" Mira asked.
"There's a good chance I might, if Rei is with me then she will die as well. I have no choice but to cut all ties with her, and of course the guild."
"You're leaving Fairy Tail?" Cana asked.
"I'm afraid so."
"Think carefully about this child, Rei's heart will be broken." Makarov said.
"I know, but I've already thought it through, the Blood-Spirals stripped away my childhood and my friend, I can't lose Rei to them as well." Kazuki erased his guild emblem and walked towards the main gate. "Laxus, can I trust you to stop her from attempting to track me down?"
"On 1 condition."
"What is it?"
"You have to promise to not die, come back alive and well, she will never stop waiting for you, make sure it's not in vain."
"I promise." Kazuki gently replied as he left the guild. He used his 'Sparkling Meteor' and left Magnolia within seconds. His home in Ariel had been sold, so he was essentially homeless. The only places he could go were his office at the council or crashing at hotels/taverns. He decided to stay in a hotel, it would save him the trouble of seeing Jura again and he could drink his pain away, temporarily at least.
Back at the guild, Rei had just woken up and was making a ruckus, demanding to know where Kazuki had gone. Mira gently explained everything to her, and Rei lost her shit.
"HOW COULD YOU JUST LET HIM LEAVE?!" She screamed at her guild mates.
"Rei, he made up his mind." Gray tried to explain.
"I don't fucking CARE. HE HAS NO WHERE ELSE TO GO, FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE HE WASN'T LONELY, BUT EVEN THAT IS GONE NOW." Rei continued screaming.
"Rei, can't you see that everything he did, he did to keep you safe." Laxus gently explained. Rei shut up at his comment, she knew that Laxus was right, but it was so unfair, she loved him and he was gone, she didn't know when she would see Kazuki again, if at all. Rei fell to her knees and broke down, Mira comforted her.
The guild grew silent, the only sound was Rei's cries. It was a dark day in Magnolia, and for once, Fairy Tail wasn't shining with hope.