Chapter Sixty One – Rosemary Village

I should have seen this coming – there were clues, even.

Jet and Droy's town had been attacked. The adults were killed, and when Jet had me check his friend's house, there was no child among the bodies – which means he either ran, or was taken.

Nothing happened in X775 because Erza doesn't escape until X776, and the story never mentioned when she was taken in the first place.

The village was deserted, already covered in flames. It looked as if the slavers had already come and gone, and all that was left to do was to find Yukino.

So I started following the bracelet; and then I saw something that was familiar.

Very familiar.

I stared at the trashcan.

The bracelet hummed, but I ignored it.

What was so important about the damn trashcan?

And then like a wave, it crashed down over me.

The name of the village had seemed familiar, but not because it was Yukino's village. I'd never heard the name to Yukino's village.

Rosemary Village, however, hosted three other people that I knew of.

Erza.

Simon.

And Kagura.

I moved closer to the trashcan.

Please be the right one.

I threw the lid open.

Kagura screamed.

I screamed back.

Even though I knew she was in there, I was not expecting her to scream in my face.

"Calm down!" I shouted, holding a hand over my ears.

Kagura stopped screaming as she realized that the village around us was empty.

"Fuck, Kagura, get out of the damn trashcan."

She stared at me, before… "What?"

I sighed, and reached in, grabbing her.

"Hey!" she protested, trying to squirm.

"Calm down," I said. "I'm just helping you get out. You're too small to do it on your own."

"No, I'm not!" she protested.

I sighed again. Kagura was born the year after the youngest kids in the guild right now. "How old are you? Six? Seven?"

"S…six," Kagura admitted.

So half my age.

"When do you turn seven?" I asked.

"November," she said.

I sighed (I WAS NOT MENTALLY PREPARED FOR THIS), and squatted to go next to her. "Listen, Kagura. This village was attacked. I'm here to find survivors and get you guys to safety."

She gasped. "My brother? And Onee-chan?"

"I'm afraid they were both taken by those men," I told her.

"But…" her eyes started to well up.

"Don't worry!" I said urgently, holding up my hands. "I know how to find them. I promise you, Kagura, I'll help you get them back, alright?"

Slowly, she nodded. "Who are you?"

"My name is Elle," I said. "I'm with the Fairy Tail guild."

"You were the girl on the LS!" she gasped.

I tried to refrain from hitting myself.

That damn name…!

"Yes, I was the girl during the GMG, this summer. Is this your house?"

She shook her head and lead me over to a different burning house. With a wave of my hand, I doused the fire, and we went inside.

"Get your things," I told her. "And anything of your brother's that you want to keep, too. Don't worry about storage, I can take everything with magic."

The girl nodded and lead me around, trying to take all that she could. Still, she didn't have much, even with going through her brother's items as well.

"Alright," I said. "Now, I know for a fact that there's another girl still alive in this village. Can you search for other survivors while I try to get this girl to come out? You should still stick close, though."

Kagura nodded, and we followed the bracelet to another burning house; which wasn't surprising, considering that all of the ones we passed were also on fire.

Kagura slowed behind me, peeking into houses and behind bushes and looking for other people.

The bracelet glowed and vibrated as I neared one house, but as I went to step into it, it died down again.

I paused, thinking. Was I going the wrong way?

I took a step back and the bracelet lit up again, humming steadily.

Wrong way, then.

I continued playing Hot and Cold with a bracelet, looking around, as Kagura continued making her way through the surrounding houses.

And then I saw her; hidden behind a bush near her house was Yukino.

She was shivering – shaking despite the heat of the fire.

"You know," I said to her. "You shouldn't be so close to the fire."

She screamed.

Okay, so maybe I should have found a better way to introduce myself.

And all of this damn screaming was giving me a headache.

"Shhhhh!" I reassured her. "It's alright! You're safe now."

She still didn't come out of the bush.

I held out my hand. "My name is Elle. And I know you went through a traumatic- er, a bad experience, but I can help you find your sister."

I know some psychology, but I'm nowhere near an expert, and I have no clue on how to deal with traumatized children. Especially considering how young Yukino is.

"Sora-nee?" her voice was a whisper among the flames.

"Yeah," I said. "I can help you find Sorano, but you need to come closer, alright? Staying near the flames like that isn't safe."

Slowly, Yukino began to crawl out.

"Hey, sweetheart," I said, and I noticed she had what looked like a twisted ankle. "Let me help with that."

I heard Kagura come up behind me, now that Yukino was out, and she gasped as I closed my eyes and whispered, "Saturn's Healing Winds."

The wind surrounded the ankle, and the swelling started to go down.

"You still probably shouldn't stand on that," I said. "Are you alright with me carrying you?"

Yukino waited a bit before nodding, and lifting up her arms.

I bent down and pulled her up, propping her on my hip.

"Yukino, is this your home?" I asked her, pointing at the house with my other arm.

Yukino nodded again.

"Alright," I said, pulling back my arm. "Wave of Neptune!"

The water cascaded over the house and put out the fire, and (after covering Yukino's eyes and checking to make sure there was no dead bodies) we entered the house.

"Yukino, which room was Sorano's?" I asked her.

Yukino pointed at a room.

"And which one was yours?" I asked her.

She pointed at the same room.

"You guys shared?"

She nodded.

"Kagura," I told the girl. "I want you to find the master bedroom. See if you can find any Jewel for Yukino to keep or use in the future. The guild and I will help support you two, but it's always good to have money saved, anyway."

Kagura nodded and took off, trailing down a hallway. I turned and entered Yukino and Sorano's room.

I put Yukino on what was obviously Sorano's bed, as far from the edge as possible. Luckily, the fire hadn't seemed to have reached the room, so there wasn't any damage.

"Alright," I told her. "Stay there, I'm going to start putting things away."

I moved over to Yukino's side of the room and began requipping things into my storage space. I had emptied out all of the clothes and nearly finished with the crib when Yukino started crying.

"What's wrong?" I asked, turning to her.

She was staring at some empty spots on her makeshift crib, and I realized what it was.

I requipped the last few stuffed animals I had put away. "Do you want one of these?"

She stopped crying and smiled, reaching for a bear. "B! B!"

I blinked, before pointing at the bear. "Its name is B?"

She nodded, and I shrugged, passing the bear over to her.

She hugged it, smiling, and I continued requipping.

Eventually I finished, and the room was mostly bare.

I hefted Yukino up and finished requipping her crib and Sorano's bed.

We left the room and went over to Kagura, who was eating some food in the kitchen.

A pile of Jewel was on the table, and I requipped it away.

The three of us continued through the village for survivors, searching as we went. But despite it all, there was no one left. I was dousing houses left and right (after gathering the fires closer to me to conserve energy), and Kagura was scavenging through them to take some things.

"You're not keeping all of them," I told her. "We'll give them back to everyone when Fairy Tail rescues them, okay?"

She looked a bit disappointed, but nodded.

And we were done. The fires were out, and there was nothing and no one left.

I couldn't help but think it was extremely disappointing how Yukino and Kagura were the only survivors.

And also that the Rune Knights were absolutely nowhere to be found...Toma would be pissed.

With one last look at the city, I grasped Kagura's hand and tightened my hold on Yukino before teleporting away.

We landed in front of my little house, and I couldn't help but be thankful that Erigor had moved out and that Laxus had only stayed for a little while earlier in the year.

"Where are we?" Kagura asked.

"This is my house," I said. I turned and pointed at the lights in the distance. "And that's Magnolia. I'll take you to the guild there, tomorrow, alright?"

She nodded.

"Alright, come on, guys," I said, opening the door and leading them inside. I lead the way through the kitchen and into the spare bedroom.

"This is where you guys will stay. Are you alright with sharing?" I asked.

I was specifically asking Kagura this. While I had previously left kids younger than her alone in Fairy Hills or Fairy Valleys, Kagura had just been through a traumatizing experience and shouldn't be left alone. In addition to that, I don't think I could handle Yukino by myself.

Kagura nodded and turned to Yukino. "Yukino?" she asked quietly.

Yukino looked at her, to show she was paying attention.

"Until we get our brother and sister back…" Kagura said. "Can we be sisters?"

Yukino was quiet, simply thinking, before, very slowly, nodding.

Kagura hugged her, and Yukino hugged her back.

"Are you guys alright with sharing a bed?" I asked. "If Yukino stays closer to the wall, she won't fall off if you're on the other side, Kagura."

Kagura nodded, and Yukino clutched her bear tighter.

"Are you guys ready to go to sleep?" I asked.

They both nodded, and I helped them get changed into some of their clothes. The rest could be put away in the morning.

As I got them ready, I sat down on the edge of the bed, turning to them. "I need to have a conversation with someone. Can I go now, or do you want me to stay? I can speak to them tomorrow, if I need to."

"Stay," Yukino's voice was quiet, but firm.

I nodded. "Alright. If you need me, I'll be in the room right next door." I requipped out a card and put it on their dresser. "If you need me, this will wake me up, and I'll come to you guys. If you count to thirty, and I haven't come, Kagura, come and get me, please. Yukino probably shouldn't be walking yet. I'll take you to a healer in the morning."

There were more than a few problems with using Saturn's Healing Winds and some were that I weren't the best at certain things. It was easier to heal something like a bone versus a sprained ankle. The bone needs to be mended together. The ankle needs to be set correctly, and the muscles adjusted so it heals properly, and I don't have enough experience in that area, yet.

I leaned forward and gave both of them another hug. "You girls are amazing, and so brave. Don't worry. I'll help you get your family back, alright?"

They both nodded and returned the hug.

"Goodnight, Kagura, Yukino," I said.

"Goodnight Onee-chan," Kagura said.

"Goodnight, Onee-chan," Yukino repeated.

I hugged them one more time, and turned for the door. "Do you guys want the door opened, or closed?"

"Open," Kagura said.

I nodded and left the door open, going back to my room.

I was in for a long night.

So I have a new goal - I want to hit over 1,000 reviews (on Fanfiction) before I'm done with the Tower of Heaven Arc. It will probably be finished by Chapter 65, and I tend to get an average of about 20 reviews a chapter.

If, (somehow between your logging out so you can yell at me more) I get over 50 reviews a chapter, I will try and find more time to work on writing this! :)

I actually spend most of my time doing homework and watching Fairy Tail (I'm rewatching the show with a new friend in college. Eventually, she'll get to this chapter, when she's caught up enough to read this).