Wendy's scent became stronger the further along they travelled. Kai and Gray had initially broken into a slight jog before Kai had them slow down to anticipate who would show up. He kept his sword sheathed, hoping not to need it for the fight: as skilled as Wendy was, Mest was likely the bigger threat.
At least, he thought so. What was the guy's magic?
The tunnel curved and then turned toward another entrance. Kai and Gray stood at that entrance as Wendy and Mest came into view, with Wendy freezing in place and Mest just scowling his annoyance.
"We can make this painless," Gray said. "Just give up now and we'll keep on going."
"I didn't survive the boat ride out here just for painless," Mest said. "You've got a Dragon Slayer and I've got a Dragon Slayer, Gray. It all evens out."
"Maybe, but that leaves me and you," Gray said. "And frankly? Pretty sure I win that fight."
Mest balled his fists and Gray lowered into his stance. Kai moved to the side to stand across from Wendy, who did her best to look apprehensive. Nobody in the tunnel moved until Kai slid his foot and coated the area around them in ice, giving Gray the signal to create a cannon from the ice and fire it down the tunnel.
They split apart, with Wendy diving out of the way.
"I've got Wendy!" Kai shouted.
"No you don't!"
Mest reappeared but was slammed by another cannon ball by Gray. Kai sprinted toward Wendy, watching her try and summon the courage for a spell. He flicked his wrist and she flinched, allowing him to summon forth a small flurry of snow and ice that latched her to the wall.
Kai turned toward an attacking Mest who was easily dealt with by Gray, bashed into the upper ceiling and then dropped straight away. Kai grinned.
"Next year, Mest," Kai said, and patted Wendy's head as he released the ice on her. She rushed over to heal him.
"Man, with that teamwork I don't know who is going to beat you guys," Wendy said.
Gray shrugged. "Now that we've gotten past Erza I really have no idea what's stopping us."
"A booby trap from Cana or Lucy, maybe, they tend to play a little dirty."
"A dirty booby trap from Cana or Lucy?" Gray sneered. "I thought Erza was your girl?"
Kai shoved Gray down the tunnel. "Get moving, Fullbuster."
The tunnel did not extend that much further. Gray continued to cajole Kai on his poor word choice, particularly since Cana and Lucy weren't necessarily hiding their booby traps in the swimwear everyone had adorned on the boat.
"Just give it a rest already," Kai said, slapping the back of Gray's head as they advanced down the pretty linear path from the tunnel toward the massive Tenrou Tree and the forest surrounding it.
"I'll just tell Erza about it."
"You know, if you were as good as telling these stupid jokes as you were at fighting, you could've taken out Mest in just one shot."
That gave Gray momentary pause, for some reason. "It's weird, though. Mest almost won this last year, didn't he? How come I was able to take him out so fast?"
"Almost won," Kai said. "Means he isn't S-Class, and shouldn't be thought of on that high of a pedestal. You did a lot of training since last year, and we did a lot of training just last week. Maybe that made the differene."
"I guess, I just figured he'd be stronger."
Kai thought similarly. Mest had employed teleportation magic, but had Kai ever even seen him use that before?
The question didn't gnaw at him that much longer, as the two jogged to catch up to the scent Kai caught of Master Makarov, who was waiting with Gajeel and Levy and also Lucy and Cana; upon seeing the latter pair, Gray sneered at Kai.
Kai rested his hands on his hips and was happy to stand in the shade for a moment while Makarov surveyed the group.
Nobody said a word, almost apprehensive to do so. There wasn't so much any tension between the individual guild mates so much as there was around the situation for the second leg of the journey. Cana and Lucy whispered quietly to one another.
Natsu and Happy were the next to arrive, Natsu looking not that beat up at all. Of course, he didn't know how to shut up.
"Guess Mest and Wendy couldn't make it past you guys," Natsu said, gesturing at Kai and Gray. "And where's Freed and Bickslow, could've sworn they'd have made it here, too."
"You're dead wrong, Natsu," Cana said, and clapped Lucy's hand.
Gray tilted his head while Kai just nodded.
"You beat them?" Gray asked.
"Booby traps," Kai muttered, forcing Gray to bite down hard on his lip.
"What was that?" Cana asked, glaring daggers at Kai who threw up his hands defensively.
"No, just, congratulating you."
"Wow. And Juvia and Lisanna?"
"They encountered Erza," Makarov said, and said nothing more. That answer was more than enough.
"Then we're just missing Elfman and Evergreen," Lucy said. "They must have met up with…"
"Mirajane," Makarov said with a nod. "An interesting matchup, to be sure."
"A manly matchup, you mean!"
Everyone whirled around toward the voice, and the hulking body of Elfman, supported gingerly by Evergreen, appeared in the clearing. Everyone grinned at once upon seeing them.
"Never thought I'd see the day Elfman beat Mirajane," Kai said.
"He wasn't alone," Evergreen said, adjusting her glasses. Typical of her to take credit, but she nevertheless smiled up at the gentle giant. What a weird duo.
Makarov cleared his throat. "Good, then all of our successful contestants have arrived and are prepared to take part in the last leg of the exam."
"Last leg?" Kai muttered in echo.
"On this island, on our sacred ground, is an equally sacred location," Makarov began. "The tomb of the First Master. The wizard who finds this location shall receive the official S-Class designation. Only the first wizard to do so shall be crowned as such. It does not matter how you get there or who you have to defeat to do so. On my mark, you will all begin your quest. But be warned: there are foul, dangerous creatures awaiting you. You've all managed to pass one form of a test, now an entirely different one lays before you. It is you against the wilderness and other wizards perfectly eligible like yourselves to become S-Class."
He folded his arms behind his back. Natsu balled a fist. Kai gestured at the Fire Dragon Slayer.
"You got past Gildarts," he said. "Didn't you?"
"There's no way you beat him, though," Lucy said.
Natsu said nothing, just grinned at Gray. "Sounds like a good race."
"I ain't losing to you, Natsu."
Kai gripped his sword just once, feeling the pulsating magic from the ice gems in there.
Natsu. Lucy. Cana. Gajeel. Levy. Elfman. Evergreen.
It was possible he and Gray would have to get through each one of those wizards. Lucy had an arsenal of powerful spirits at her command, too. Daunting as it was, he couldn't help grin at the prospect. This was what it meant to be S-Class.
"Begin!" Makarov yelled, startling Kai as everyone else dashed off in different directions. Kai followed quickly after Gray, and they broke out into a clearing.
"Any idea where this thing could be?" Gray hollered.
"Not a damn clue."
They curved in and out of the forest for a moment before coming into a long yet short-walled valley. Kai slid to a halt, swearing he heard something around them.
"Someone so soon? Or do you have a scent?"
Kai glanced around. "Yeah, a scent, but it's not a person…"
From the bushes above the rocks, a huge flock of green, giant birds soared into the air, cawing at the two wizards who immediately took off.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Kai exclaimed.
"He did warn us about giant monsters!" Gray shouted. "Guess the second leg really did get started!"
Neither had any idea how much time had passed when they at last found another pair of contestants, both of whom were merely standing around having a discussion: Lucy and Cana. Kai and Gray eased into the bushes near the women, well-hidden, and listening in as they jabbered on about the grave.
Kai glanced at Gray, who shook his head. Not worth attacking them yet. Lucy and Cana seemed sure of the location. No need to take them out if they thought they had a clue on how to find it. Best wait for them to get close and then pounce.
It did irk Kai to do so, but they would still need to fight the women and they were just using their wits. Natsu would probably do the same thing. Kai continued to rationalize it as they tailed the two, who were quite oblivious to their presence.
As they followed, for a good bit of distance out toward the edge of the forest once more, Kai considered his options. He had to let Gray and Cana fight, since they were the two S-Class contestants, meaning he and Lucy would go at it. How did he stack up against her Celestial Spirits, anyway?
Before he could get any further with the thought, a crack resounded through the air forcing all four of them to turn their attention. A long streak flew into the air: an emergency stop signal flare, one that Erza had told Kai about. It was meant to signal there was some sort of creature, or enemy, around, and most important of all: it put a stop to the exam.
What the hell could possibly cause this big of a disturbance for all of Fairy Tail's strongest wizards to have to take a break? He couldn't even conceive a threat like that.
Lucy and Cana stopped as well. Gray looked at Kai with a look of surrender, then, to Kai's surprise, stepped out of his hiding spot, startling the women. Kai followed him.
"You were following us?" Lucy asked.
"Of course, you know where the grave is," Gray said. "We weren't going to think of it on our own."
"We tried for like a solid minute," Kai said. "Then we found you."
"And you better back the hell off," Cana said, brandishing a few cards from the pouch at her side. "Exam's not over yet."
"For now it is," Gray said. "Erza shot up the signal flare."
"Could be part of the test," Cana said with a snarl. "To try and trick us, to get us to put our guard down before another set of contestants attacked us."
"That's not even remotely true," Kai said. "Look, we need to get back to the emergency site, Erza and Master are probably there right now."
"I'm not going anywhere," Cana said. "I—"
A shadow crossed over them, a large, looming one that gave Kai a shiver. He looked from Gray to Lucy, as if they would recognize the sensation.
"What?" Cana asked.
He turned his head, slowly, up toward the sky. Dread coated his entire body and he locked up. His hand naturally fell to his blade and instinct kicked him, forcing him to draw it out. It startled Lucy to hoisting up Loke's key.
A massive airship slowly made its way over Tenrou Island, dropping dozens of tiny dark orbs down toward the island. Kai ignored those, though, as that all-powerful scent he wished he could forget returned.
"What the hell is that?" Gray asked.
Were they there for Kai? What the hell was…
"That's the reason for the signal flare," Kai muttered, watching as several of the orbs dropped just near them, as if preparing for an invasion. "That's Grimoire Heart."
"Grimoire Heart?" Lucy shrieked. "What the hell are they doing here?"
The orbs, more like bubbles, burst open at once, revealing quite a few Grimoire Heart wizards, each holding aloft staffs or their own glowing hands.
"Doesn't matter," Kai said, dread still circulating through his body. He recognized a few by the stances that they had, unique to the fighting style they tried to perfect against Kai as he learned his own instinctive style of combat.
Hades was above in that ship, along with Zancrow and Akuma. Kai refocused his attention to the goons that'd landed.
"You're right, it doesn't," Cana said. "They're ruining our exam."
"And invading our sacred land," Gray added. "Let's give them a nice welcome."
"A nice cold one!" Kai roared and Grimoire Heart charged.
Kai blasted back two of them with ease, latching them to the ground with ease while he blocked the staff of one more and landed a punch straight to the gut of a fourth member, blowing them away. He swiveled around one more member who Lucy took care of with her Celestial Whip and easily knocked out another member with an icy fist.
The four Fairy Tail members at one bounced against each other's backs before kicking back into battle and taking out another member. As Kai turned to face more of them, though, the wizards vanished.
"Excellent, I was hoping that little appetizer would be just the thing to warm you up."
Where had that voice from from?
He had seconds—maybe less than that—to react to the boot that almost shattered his nose. Kai leaned back to dodge it but had his feet taken out beneath him. He hit the ground and rolled away from the heavy kick that shattered the stone of where his head had once been.
Lucy cracked her whip at the man-goat-thing that now stood before them. He wore slick sunglasses and had massive muscles like Gildarts.
Gray attempted an attack on him but the goat punched through ice and attacked Gray. He caught Lucy's whip and tried to swing her around but Kai held onto Lucy's hips and yanked her close to him. She lost control of the whip but at least hadn't been flailed around.
Cana tried to use her cards but the goat-man-thing kicked out at her, forcing her to lose concentration.
"We're going to need backup," Lucy muttered. "Open, Gate of the Lion: Leo!"
Loke, in his dapper suit, came flying out from the magic circle and, surprisingly, landed a heavy blow against the beast, knocking him back a step, giving Cana and Kai their opportunity.
Fireballs launched from Cana's card as Kai launched into the air, his sword glowing with magic, and he sliced down at the creature. He brushed aside both attacks and kicked Kai in the chest, winding him for a moment and sending him flying back.
"It's no use!" Loke exclaimed, barring his fists. "This guy is using Human Suppression Magic."
Kai landed and rolled back, helped up by Lucy.
"Obviously he's not," Kai grumbled.
"More than that," the beast said. "I am Caprico, a member of the Seven Sins of Purgatory."
That explains the power, Kai thought. Damn it, was he still not strong enough to face one of the Seven Sins?
"You're not," Loke said. "You're Capricorn, a Celestial Spirit!"
"What?" Lucy cried.
Caprico adjusted his glasses. "Leo. How dare you reveal me like that. It hurts me."
"What the hell are you doing with these guys?"
"None of your concern. Your concern should be the ones you ally with. They will not see to live the dawn, as my master has sought the extermination of Fairy Tail for the betterment of his goal."
Kai got to his feet but Loke held a hand out to them, giving them all pause.
"You all need to leave. If the Seven Sins of Purgatory are on the island, they may be causing huge amounts of devastation. Go stop them."
"I should stay."
"You least of all!" Loke roared. "Get out of here now, Lucy!"
"He's right, a rogue Celestial Spirit is that last thing you want to deal with," Cana said, and sprinted over to Lucy, taking her hand. "Let's go!"
Kai shot his gaze to Gray. "I'll go find Erza, she might be at the center of all this."
"Sounds good, be safe out there, man!"
"Hey, Gray!"
Gray had started but stopped. "What?"
Kai pursed his lip. "Next time, you'll be S-Class. Got it?"
The Ice-Make wizard's expression softened for just a moment, then he gave Kai a thumbs-up and plunged back toward the island. Kai glowered momentarily back at Caprico before doing the same.
Damn it all Grimoire Heart. Kai dashed over bushes and around trees, trying to find the path back. He barely remembered it, and his harried mind wasn't helping to get himself oriented at all, either.
Kai easily got lost on the trail, surrounded by swirling sounds of destruction and powerful scents. Natsu and Zancrow clashing. The sounds of a huge battle between Caprico and Leo behind him. Another massive surge of power earlier, something that reminded him of Fairy Law. And the airship just hung over the island.
Erza had moved away from the emergency site, too, which put a serious damper on Kai's ability to find her. She was deeper in the forest, closer to the Tenrou Tree.
For a moment, though, Kai stopped. Something, or someone, else was nearby. Something familiar, but, not of Grimoire Heart. At least, not one that he knew.
He turned and felt the air get heavier, more humid. Kai laced a frozen hand through it and the particles froze. He breathed out and saw that there was a path, one that wound not only further into the forest, but, as his nose suggested, closer to Erza.
It couldn't be her and it could definitely be a trap. Kai kept his sword brandished and followed, eventually coming to a halt at the base of a small ravine, sword pointed toward the man who faced away from him that sucked the moisture from the air. He stood near the unconscious body of another wizard, one Kai recognized from Grimoire Heart: Kain Hikaru.
"Not sure if you heard it or anything, but man, your guildmate Natsu sure packs a punch, and that girl Lucy is quite a looker."
The man turned, lowering his hood to reveal white hair and blue eyes. An orange shirt hid beneath the black jacket. A warm smile curled on the man's face. Something struck in Kai and his mind swirled around this man who he knew, but…
"Who?"
"It's been such a long time, Kai, that I'm not surprised you've forgotten me. I'm Ichigo." He inclined his head toward Kai as if that would help, but…nothing.
He knew this man, but somehow, younger. Had they met as a child on his travels with Erza? No, impossible, his memories of this man were from Iceberg.
"Are you with Grimoire Heart?" Kai asked.
Ichigo motioned for Kai to lower his sword but Kai did no such thing. "No. Haven't joined a guild, though I've definitely considered it. Would probably help pay a few bills, and I'm sure they could use my help…"
"Then what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to see an old friend," Ichigo said. "And heard that you were coming here. And that you would run into that friend, and I'm afraid I can't let that happen."
"Who's your friend?"
Ichigo's smile somewhat faded. "Zeref."
Kai dropped into an offensive stance. "An ally of—"
"You." Ichigo waved Kai off. "I was protecting you from Zeref."
"He's dead."
Ichigo sighed, a distant look to his eyes. "That's the funny thing about immortals. We don't die, we just get forgotten." He rested his hands on his hips. "Oh, come on, Kai, you don't seriously intend on fighting me do you?"
"You haven't explained either how you know Zeref, how you know me, and just who you even are."
"I'm a Water God-Slayer. Top of the class, better than those three other putzes running around as God Slayers. One of them is just some little girl."
"A Water God-Slayer that's friends with Zeref? Doesn't sound like an entirely trustworthy guy."
"His reputation as a Black Wizard stems from…an inherent misunderstanding of magic, Kai. He wasn't so different from the great wizards of your time. An innovator, someone who wanted to push the boundaries. Now? The world has hardened him, as its hardened me."
Kai shifted a bit to get a better footing. The Water God Slayer bit made sense given how he was able to add so much moisture to the air. He seemed too lax, though.
"And how do you know my name?" Kai asked.
"I guess I can answer that and who I really am in a single statement." Ichigo's expression softened, as if at long last he could lift a great weight from his shoulders. "I'm your father."
