Chapter 14 - New Friends and Rivalries

Feels so good to finally get my fingers working again. Have a lot of original stories in mind but always wanted to completely finish my first and largest project.

Also got a chapter almost ready for the Misadventures too! That way you guys can enjoy more of that cancer - maybe I even have another Trope Discussions in the making? Who knows :)

The master cleared his throat before speaking. "Say Young Man-"

"Benjin, My name is Benjin." Shit, was that a bit rude?

"Alright Benjin, would you like to join the guild?" Hmm, Join the guild? I never even thought of that, was Jellal planning to do that all along?

Considering he and Jellal had been travelling in forests and mud for what seemed to be years, actually living in the presence of civilization was a humongous morale booster. AND THE FOOD!

"Do I gotta do anything?"

"Just answer me one question." The old man stared at Benjin, his eyebrows furrowing and gaze hardening.

Oh shit is this some sort of magic test? Damn I barely read 30 books in the past year it could be anything!

The master was smirking surreptitiously, easily noticing the tenseness present in the blonde's form. "What colour and where would you like your guild mark?" Oh, well you definitely got me…

Benjin smiled, his shoulders relaxing. "I guess I'm in then."

"Cana! Bring the guild stamp over!" The old man called to a brown-haired little girl sitting with another girl of similar stature, one with milky-blue hair, playing some sort of card game. Oh right, what colour do I want the mark? Wait, is it that weird bird thing the mark? But… that looks ugly!

After a quick moment of staring at the stamp-holding girl, Benjin relented with a sigh. Oh whatever I'll just put it somewhere people can't see normally.

"Hmm, I suppose yellow with a white outline and.. I guess on my chest? Somewhere in the middle so it looks symmetrical." He looked at the wide-eyed little girl that was holding the stamp, expecting her to do something.

"…" Is she going to stamp or not?

"So… is it done?" Looking down after pulling out his shirt collar, Benjin saw nothing resembling a guild mark on it. What gives?

"She has to physically stamp it you retarded tool!" A medium-deep yet scratchy voice shouted from the far corner of the guild hall.

"Who said that!" Benjin looked towards the voice, to see a fellow blonde with a scar running down his right eye. The teen seemed to be lying on a tilted-back chair while having some sort of… device on his head.

A challenging glare was plastered on the opposing blonde's face; the chair was pushed down with a thump as he stood up abruptly. "I did, what are you gonna do about it, huh?!" Not this shit again… yeah you know what? YES this shit again.

Benjin stomped towards the other teen, who looked to be a few years his senior. "Oh I don't know, maybe BASH YOUR FACE IN!" As Benjin charged, the scarred teen was more than willing to respond. Starting with a wide-arced swing, Benjin eyes widened slightly after seeing his attack so easily ducked under.

Oof! Benjin felt a kick to his stomach, the pain reverberating around his torso despite him reinforcing himself with magic. That really hurt! That wasn't an ordinary kick! Just to be sure, Benjin focused magic into his eyes to get a detailed look on his opponent's aura. It's large, but nowhere near the other two. He is DEFINITELY stronger than me, but if there is a retarded tool here, than it is definitely HIM!

Without warning, the other blonde zoomed towards him with surprising speed. Surprising, but not something out of my scope! Despite being able to perceive his movements however, reacting and predicting was a whole, other thing.

What?! Benjin was struck back once again when his opponent suddenly flashed bright gold and lunged directly into him.

Realizing that whoever this guy was, he certainly had the advantage in strength, and slightly in speed. Not as fast as Jellal though - him with his meteor bullshit. However, his fighting style was different; compared to Jellal's agility and hit-and-run based combat, this was more similar to straight up brawling. Oh shit here he comes!

*Clang!*

Damn! Benjin could only grip his staff harder as his defenses were overwhelmed time and time again.

Zero experience, that's how much he had with dealing with shit like this, and despite his enhanced vision, the only thing he could do was simply tank the attacks while avoiding critical blows. The light mage hated to admit, in terms of hand-to-hand, he was beat.

That means, it's MAGIC time.

"Light-Make: Fist!" Within an instant, the solid construct of light intercepted Benjin's lunging opponent, striking him to the side, causing him to grunt in pain after knocking over a few tables and chairs.

"HEY! If you're gonna use magic, take it outside! I'm drinkin' here!" What- who? The light mage felt someone grab the collar to his robe, and within seconds, he was violently thrown out of the open door, landing on the stone road outside.

Right after that moment, the pile of chairs and limbs exploded into splinters with one raging teen springing up to his feet. "Where did he go?!" Bloodshot orange eyes darted around the room, trying to find the one that side-swiped him into the floor.

"Outside Laxus." The master, who was now back to drinking in one of the counters, pointed to the entrance of the guild.

"Tch!" Laxus spat, running straight out with sparks dancing around his form.

"…"

"Those boys really love fighting don't they?" Ur called out from the side in her undergarments, sitting beside her, was two equally naked boys.

"He'll fit in just fine! Haha!" An older voice belonging to a dark-blue haired gentleman called out from the side, before he and many others began a chorus of laughter.

"Maybe someone should stop them before it escalates? Last time Natsu and Gray were in the hospital for days!" An older woman chimed in.

"Why does everyone love spilling my drinks…" The ace sulked, lifting up his cracked bottle of whiskey, why did everyone love spilling his drinks? Perhaps he will never find out.

"Ur…" The master called out from across the room, "Not that I mind, but PUT ON SOME DAMNED CLOTHING, you're being a bad influence to the kids!"

The ice-mage looked down, then around to the other two semi-dressed boys. "Oops! Must have slipped it off by accident! Ha!" Once again, the chorus of laughter could be heard again.

"Argh…" Picking himself up from the dirty stone - maybe I shouldn't have instigated this? Maybe I should have just ignored him and went house hunting… I bet the guild hates me now! Benjin looked back towards the entrance of the building just to see his opponent charge him again. Damn it! Not going to happen, scar-face!

Laxus lunged forward; however, unlike before, Benjin saw this coming. He easily dipped down in a low backbend, all while driving his foot straight into his opponent stomach, evading his lunge while sending him into a wall on the other side.

"Nice try, you blonde cunt!" Normally, taunting a noticeably superior opponent would have been an idiotic thing to do, especially if one valued one's health, but he was stressed and this guy was being a raging asshole!

I probably have to bust out the light mech to take this guy on! Although that might accidentally destroy this area… wait he's getting back up ALREADY?!

Seeing the cracks on the solid stone wall, Benjin thought he had a good thirty seconds before he was attacked again, but this guy just stood right back with barely a scratch!

"You're DEAD!" This time, the other blonde went low, clearing the distance between the two in an instant while sweeping his leg that sparked with electricity.

That was close!

Once again, Benjin was able dodge the kick; however, he could not shake away this numbing sensation the moment the leg passed under him. What the hell was that?! Immediately after the sweep, Benjin saw another kick aiming directly for his chest, and this time, he just wasn't fast enough.

*Crack!* The sound of glass shattering could be heard around the area as shards of light exploded from the area of impact.

Thank god I casted my barrier, if that hit me I'd be down right away!

Just like before, Benjin was on the defensive; combo after combo of charged strikes were thrown at him, each one wearing him down as he was forced to either quick-cast his barrier spell or even straight up blocking it - all while his limbs numbed further and further.

I have to break away!

"Argh, WHAT THE FUCK?!" Not having many options, Benjin chose to spit directly into his aggressor's eye, causing him to stumble and wipe it off in disgust. Of course, the light mage was not going to give the older teen any respite, I'll hit him with one of my own combos!

With that thought, Benjin's magic flowed into his staff, slightly augmenting the spell he intended to cast.

"Light Chains!" A dozen constructs erupted from a golden magic circle, wrapping it around the lightning mage, forcing his movements to a halt.

"You disgusting piece of shit!, I'm going to get out of this and fry every inch of you!" With that declaration, the chains began to buckle from the massive amount of force that was being applied to them. Despite being wrapped from his neck down to his knees, the scarred teen was putting an absolutely ludicrous amount of resistance.

This won't hold him for more than a couple seconds, but that's more than enough time!

Benjin smiled inwardly as he readied another spell. With his staff growing bright, the light mage dashed towards his immobilized opponent. This amount of power should be just enough to knock him out… Crouching down while pointing his weapon upwards at the scowling mage's chest, he casted.

"Solar Wave!"

"Arrghh!"

A massive beam of light, one that was bright enough to blind the surrounding area, engulfed Laxus just as the chains finally broke, the pillar of magic travelling towards the sky until it finally dissipated into the distance. Did I win?

His answer however, came at the form of a punch straight into his stomach, knocking the air straight out of him. He's STILL standing?! Benjin felt himself get launched backwards; immediately after, he felt a kick drill into his lower back, forcing him into the air. With all the effort he could muster, the light mage managed to right himself mid flight, only to see that his opponent had disappeared.

What? Where did he-

*Wham!*

A thunder-charged heel was driven straight into his stomach, sending him shooting downwards into the stone, cracking it for meters all around.

Augh, my stomach hurts like a real bitch right now…

Ignoring the pain, Benjin looked towards where the other blonde had landed, just to see him slowly stalking towards his prone form.

I-is this all I can do?! …No, not yet! I got one last trick!

"You really got me there," Laxus mused, holding his bloodied right arm that had taken the brunt of the damage from his Solar Wave. "Had I not freed myself at the last second our positions would have been switched…" Benjin could see an arrogant smirk plastered on his face. "But now, it's lights out for you, loser."

"N-not… just yet." For just a second, Laxus paused his approach in confusion, big mistake.

"Smite!" The lightning mage barely had enough time to look down as he was once again engulfed in a pillar of light, this time hitting him with full force.

"Raaaaggghhh!" Benjin, now beaten black and blue and barely able to move, simply smiled.

Sucks to be you, bitch!

With that, the defeated mage let darkness took over.

Uhhh, my head, what even happened?

Despite the pain that was still throbbing in the various parts of his body, only one question remained in Benjin's mind.

Did I win?

Of course, from the end of the fight, seeing how much endurance the other guy still had, it was likely he lost. Then again, it didn't hurt to be 100% absolutely sure, for if there was a teeny chance that he knocked his opponent out before he went unconscious, he would take it. A few seconds difference is still a difference after all. And a technical victory is the BEST type of victory.

Now, where was he anyway? There was nothing in his memory about being carried to a whole new room altogether. Speaking of said room, there was a couple pieces of furniture here and there, some decorations on the wall; but other than that, it was just…a room. One thing in particular he noticed though, was just how comfortable the bed he was in was! Of course, this could be because he basically slept on the ground for months and months. Whatever though, not going to complain.

Feeling his chest, Benjin felt some bandages where he was hit last. Hmm, nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. Sitting up to have a look at rest of the room, he turned to the side to see something oddly satisfying.

Isn't that Laxus…? Hah! I FUCKED him up too!

"Having a good day there, scar-face?" Benjin taunted, making Laxus to huff in annoyance.

"Much better than the one you seem to be having there, piss-eyes." AGAIN with the eyes!

The comment caused a vein to bulge from Benjin's forehead. Despite his injuries, the light mage grabbed a random piece of decoration and threw it at the other teen. "Why I outta smite you again, you blonde cunt!"

Easily catching the object, Laxus dropped the lamp on the floor and opened his mouth once again. "I'm sorry, but didn't you lose? Rather hypocritical of you to call me a blonde cunt when you are a massive one yourself!"

Fuck… I'm really too freaking tired for this.

"Go eat a dick, sparky." With that, Benjin turned back to the other side, deciding on finally recovering the much deserved sleep, but not before giving Laxus the finger. Fuck this guy.

Just as he was about to drift into a dreamless sleep, he suddenly felt a jolt of electricity on his back. "OW! BITCH!"

Really, REALLY, testing my godDAMNED patience!

With one final glare to Laxus, Benjin grunted then went back to bed.

What time is it?

Benjin opened his eyes; from the side, he noticed that no light was coming through the window. Wait, Is it night already? It couldn't have been any later than noon when we got to the guild!

This headache was definitely not helping either! Damn I need friggin' water! A rippling portal appeared in front of him, out coming an air-tight jug that he filled regularly.

Within seconds, the teen downed the entire jug, setting it down after with a satisfied sigh. "Ahhh, much better!" Looking to the bed beside him, he noticed that Laxus was no longer there.

How long was I even sleeping for?

Thinking back, fighting with Laxus was definitely more trouble than it was worth; but on the bright side, a good deal of the stress he had from walking for months and months were finally dumped and he was feeling a lot better than he was earlier in the day.

Looks like it's time to get out of here!

Benjin practically jumped out of the bed before walking out of the infirmary. A few seconds later, he entered back into the guild hall which was still occupied, albeit very sparsely, and by the more 'older' members.

"Hey, where is everyone?"

The people inside seemed to ignore him, all of them slowly sipping drinks or simply sitting without a thought. What the hell? Is this some sort of senior club?

Once again scanning the room, Benjin focused his attention on a middle-aged man with dark-blue hair wearing disgruntled white and blue robe that looked to be stained with various colours of liquid. "Hey you! Guy with the blue mustache!"

The man, who had heavy bags underneath his eyes, turned towards the teen, but not before taking a long sip of his drink. "Eh? Aren't you the kid who got beat up by Laxus? What do you want?"

…Is that my nickname now?

Irritation was written all over Benjin's face; despite that, he still took a seat beside the elder gentleman. "How come the guild hall is so empty?"

Said gentleman, with slow shaking limbs, took another long sip before replying. Okay…? "It's just past six in the morning, most of the others don't even wake up for a few hours." Wait I thought it was still Summer, wow, I REALLY lost track of time.

Now that I think about it… During his recent travels, the weather was always hot and humid. Not that he was complaining of course; being blasted by the sun with no clouds in sight was actually one of the most soothing things that could happen. It was the horrendous periods of rain that just randomly come and go that really killed him. Well whatever, I'll just get my stamp and get started on finding an ACTUAL place to live.

"So uh, Mr…?"

"Mac..ao." Benjin could feel the fatigue rolling off the man in waves, really though, how much sleep did he even have? What is he drinking anyway?

"Okay, uh, Macao, mind stamping me with the guild symbol real quick? Then I'll leave you to… whatever you were doing." The older gentleman simply stared at the boy, as if having no tangible thoughts were in his mind.

"…stamp? It's behind the counter, just grab it yourself you annoying brat…"

Okay then.

Following the older man's advice, Benjin proceeded to jump over the counter, only to be stopped by another man.

"What?" Benjin turned due to the hand on his shoulder, and he saw another middle-aged man, one who was sporting some sort of topped hairdo that was complimented by a short stubble. What's with that weird stick in his mouth?

"Ignore Macao, I'll do it for you," the teen expected the older man to reach over and grab the stamp; instead however, a trail of pink smoke extended from the edge of his 'stick', grabbing the stamp as if it was some sort of solid, causing Benjin to widen his eyes. WHAT how?!

"Wait, wait, how are you grabbing items, with smoke!" PINK smoke no less. The boy's gaping mouth only served to bring a smirk to the smoke man's face.

"It's my magic, Smoke," the man explained, grabbing the stamp that floated on the smoke with his hands, "it allows me to create solid smoke that can do a variety of things, such as what you just saw."

That's… so cool!

Some people might compare smoke and light magic and think, light magic is definitely better! However, it was smoke. The idea of something like that being used like that brought a wide, wide, open smile to Benjin's face.

"You might want to close your mouth kid, before the flies start nesting there, hah!" Despite the man's teasing, Benjin could clearly see the look of satisfaction on his face.

"Shut up oldie!" Benjin spat while trying to hold back the blush of embarrassment which served to make the smoke man laugh.

After a couple more seconds of taunting chuckles, the man took off the square cap on the stamp. "Alright, alright, now where would you like your stamp and in what colour?"

Oh yes, that.

"I'd like that in the middle of my chest, bright-yellow in colour with a white outline please!" Benjin simply stood there, waiting for the man to do something. Confused, the older gentleman simply rose an eyebrow from his antics. Wait didn't the blonde prick say they had to physically stamp it?

"You gotta lift up your shirt if you want the symbol on your chest you know." Wait, is THAT why that girl was so shocked?! Thank god she didn't actually do it; I might have gotten weird diseases!

"Right, okay."

Right after doing as he was told, the blonde now had the Fairy Tail 'bird' symbol on his chest, eliciting a smile. Maybe it isn't actually THAT ugly.

With a wide smile, Wakaba put one hand on Macao's shoulder and the other on Benjin's. "You know what time it is kid?"

"I don't know, what?"

"PARTY TIM-"

"No." As soon as the smoke man started, he was cut off by Macao, who was still long-sipping his drink.

"What do you mean 'No.'?!"

"No partying, Wakaba." Benjin could feel the tension starting to build.

"NO PARTYING?!" the smoke man screamed, shooting a aggravated look at Fairy Tail's newest member. "Hold on a second kid, I gotta deal with deputy downer over here."

Macao's eyes narrowed as he abruptly stood up, getting into the other man's face. "Deputy Downer? You try chugging seven bottles of Vodka then, sleeping upside down on a stool!"

Wakaba didn't back down, he simply got even close, both of them being inches from each other. "Maybe that wouldn't have happened if somebody didn't try to outdrink Gildarts! GILDARTS! What were you even thinking?!"

While the two were bickering, Benjin began to take his leave, but not without one last glance to the two older men.

I think this is going to actually be fun.

Right as he was about to leave, a familiar feminine voice boomed across the guild. "Both of you! It's too GODDAMNED EARLY for this shit! If I hear one more word out of either of you it's the ice, do I make myself clear!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Benjin turned back one last time, smiling in excitement.

Definitely going to be fun!

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Chapter 14 Done! Next Chapter: A New Home

Yet another chapter, I'm pretty excited to start the Magic Training Mini-Arc once this in-between arc is done! Make sure to leave your thoughts and comments below!

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