Laxus offered to walk me back to the guild hall, but I declined. There was no way to be sure that August was done with the master, and I wasn't brave enough to face Natsu again. I knew that an apology was inevitable. But it could wait a day or two.
We walked in silence until we reached the cross roads where we would have to part. I expected to slip away quietly, even unseen. But Laxus paused at my side, preparing to speak. I had half a mind to continue walking, to pretend that I hadn't noticed, but my feet slowed to a stop below me, waiting for him to gather his thoughts.
"What you told me today…" he said.
I braced myself for his words as if fending off blows.
"You should tell Natsu."
Whatever I had been expecting, it hadn't been that. To tell the master, or August even I would understand, but Natsu? And for Laxus to be the one to suggest it…
"See you around kid."
And he started off toward the guild hall. I lingered for a moment, my legs unsure of what I wanted them to do, then turned and went the other direction, heading for the center of Magnolia, and the safety of the apartment that waited there.
I would face the guild hall again tomorrow, with August at my side. Not that I had much of a choice anyway. I would have to return to the guild hall, and to the people that waited there. To Laxus who knew my secrets, and Natsu who was the source of them.
But first I would have the chance to talk to August, and find out what Laxus had asked him, if it had been the same question across the board, or if he had sought me out in particular.
I had been coherent enough to tell that Laxus had been asked to interrogate me on the master's behalf. But that didn't mean that he wasn't interested in the answer. How would he tell the master what I'd said? Could it get back to Natsu, further complicating our relationship? Or even worse if August found out. I had yet to try and figure out what he thought it would have been like to die for Justice Valkyrie's cause. Did I even want to know? Would he be ashamed of me? Shamed to know how I had failed at Natsu's feet that day in the woods? If he hadn't considered it yet, I wasn't one to be the one that put it in his mind.
I reached our apartment and walked in, closing the door behind me, feeling suddenly small now that I was cut off from the rest of the town. The four thin walls had once represented a protective barrier between us and the rest of the world, but now they seemed to be looking down on me, as if they were judging me for what I'd wanted. What I'd realized I didn't, as Laxus had come to do.
Or had he?
I was still so confused as to why he would bother asking. I understood the image that the rest of the world cast upon thought of wanting to die, though until a few minutes ago, I had assumed that Justice Valkyrie was the one that had it right. There were still a lot of their teachings kicking around my head.
Perhaps Laxus had been sent to ask because the master really had been concerned for my safety. Was that why August had been given freedom so much earlier than I had? Why had I never been left alone?
I haven't mentioned anything about when talking to the master right after coming back, and I hadn't really had a proper conversion since then. But there were other ways...Natsu for one. And the master had read me that night, just briefly. Had he seen smoothing there that I hadn't thought to hide away?
I told myself it didn't matter. For reasons I still didn't quite understand, Natsu hadn't killed me, and I no longer wanted him to. End of story. Right?
I pulled myself away from the door, slipping off my shoes for the second time that day. It was still early, but I wanted a shower, I wanted to wash away the thoughts that I knew had been put in my head by my old guild, to wash off the look Natsu had given me before I left my current one. The feeling that snaked up my spine every time the master glanced in my discretion, like he knew me better than I knew myself.
I walked into the bathroom and shut the door, striping off the clothes that I'd spent so much time picking out only a week before and throwing them on the ground in a heap. The moment the hot water hit my skin I felt my body relax, August would be back soon, and then it would all be okay.
*Laxus's POV*
Laxus walked toward the guild hall for a few paces before turning to watch Violet until she disappeared around a corner. As soon as she was out of his sight he felt an involuntary shutter run up his spine, as if an after effect of the intensity of her presence.
Laxus wasn't exactly the world's most mysterious guy, but something about knowing he could be read at any moment, to have his intentions revealed...it was a little unnerving. He wasn't afraid of the girl in the traditional sense. Even if she had been still out to kill him, he doubted it would have been much of a problem. But somehow knowing that she was on their side made it stranger…
August's was a story that Laxus could understand. He could see through cold exteriors and logic based thinking to the anger underneath. It had been that understanding that allowed him to convince the kid to get all excited at the prospect of marching into battle with team Fairy Tail.
But Violet was different...when she did give answers, they seemed genuine, it was the silences that were confusing. The master had told him that here were many differences between how Violet and August were handing things, but when he'd walked into the woods, he hadn't been prepared for what he was faced with.
He knew from watching her run in with Natsu that he hadn't exactly caught Violet at a good time. But to see someone that guarded...to feel it for himself as he had when their skin touched. It wasn't something he had been prepared for.
Laxus took a deep breath when he reached the door to the guild hall. When he entered he noticed that both August and the Master were absent from the main hall, and let out a little sigh. He hadn't known August for long, but he seemed like the type that would worry over details. No wonder he was still in with the old man. Even so...Violet needed him right now, even if she didn't know it. And the kid would use some time away from talk of war.
He walked back behind the bar and tabbed on the master's office door, hearing the voices behind it pause before a "come in" sounded.
Laxus opened the door to mixed emotions, but he didn't want to waste anymore time, "Violet went back to your apartment," he said, "You might want to go talk to her," then with a sheepish glance at the master, "if you're done here that is."
August was on his feet before Laxus finished speaking, "Did something happen?"
Laxus glanced at the floor. It wasn't his right to go around rattling off other people's secrets. "There was a little confrontation with Natsu," he said, then, after seeing the looks on both their faces, "nothing serious but...she went home."
"I'll go right now." August said, then, as if an afterthought turned to the master.
"You don't need my permission," the old man reminded him.
"Uh...right," August nodded, turning to leave again, "Thanks."
And he was gone.
Laxus lowered himself down into the recently vacated chair, letting out a deep sigh as he sunk into an unhealthy posture.
"That bad is it?" the master asked.
Laxus looked at his grandfather over the desk, then straightened. "It wasn't that bad."
"You said she had a confrontation with Natsu."
"Okay maybe it's a little bad." he amended. "But it could be worse."
The master looked over him. Laxus knew that he was burning to know the answers to the questions he had given him, but he hadn't received many. Even with a reading, the girl was far from an open book.
Before either of them could speak again, there was another light knock on the door.
"Come in."
This time it was Mira Jane, carrying a stack of papers.
"You said that you wanted to go over all incoming job requests?" she asked.
"Yes thank you," the master nodded, setting them on my desk.
She did as he asked and then left, closing the door behind her.
"Do you know what you're going to do with her?" Laxus asked.
The master's eyes flicked over the job requests on the way to meet him, but they stopped along the way, a single brow razing.
"I think I have an idea."
