Disclaimers: I do not own Fairy Tail. If I did Romeo would be having to choose between Wendy and Chelia as the two drown him in affection.
A/N: Okay, Chapter 6. Enjoy everyone.
I would like to thank Tenryu no Hoko for basically being a beta for this chapter as they are someone I exchange ideas with and get good feedback from. Check out their stories if you have the chance.
Please leave a Review, Fav, or Follow if you want and check out my other stories like, The Last Fire Mage, A Child of Fire and Brimstone, and Wild Master.
Chapter 6
Fire's True Nature
It was the rattling of the train cart that woke Romeo up, his eyes fluttering open to stare straight up at the roof of the car. He grabs the back of the seat he was laying on and pulls himself upright. As he looks around he quickly notices that he was alone in the compartment.
"Where is everyone?", he asks before turning his attention back to the matter at hand and why he passed out in the first place. The last thing he remembers was casting a spell for Kasai but not long afterward he felt a drain of energy and then his world went dark.
"What happened?", he asks himself but then he notices something through the window across the aisle from him. Upon closer examination, he realizes that he was staring at Mt. Hakobe in the distance and it was getting closer.
"Why are we heading back to Magnolia?", Romeo asks himself before the sound of the compartment door opening draws his attention down the aisle where he spots Wendy coming in. She looks up and instantly freezes upon locking eyes with Romeo and the boy mirrors her actions. Only the whistle of the train and wheels on the tracks could be heard in the compartment as the two young mages just look at one another.
A blush began to emit from Wendy's face as she slowly puts her hand down toward the hem of her dress, almost as if she was expecting it to fly up without warning. Without saying a word, she turns around and heads back through the door, closing it behind her.
Romeo lets out a sigh, "Great, now she won't even talk to me. Thanks a lot, Kasai."
"You call for me, Kit?", Romeo hears as a summoning circle appears behind him and soon the towering kitsune was looking down at the boy from a sitting position. Anger flashed across the boy's face as he turns around and looks up at the smiling spirit, "Oh, are you mad? I don't know why seeing how if anyone should be displeased, it should be me."
"Oh really?", Romeo growls though in the back of his mind a thought plagues him, "How long was I out for if he's able to summon himself?"
"Yes, if I would have known that a simple magic spell like Fireball would have drained you completely of your magic, I would have just keep using my teeth and claws to defeat Taurus", Kasai brags, "My expectations of you were extremely low, to begin with, but somehow you manage to disappointment me."
Burning with rage, Romeo jumps up and slaps Kasai across the face, the smack resounding throughout the cart and catching the "Trickster" off guard who afterward could only stare down at the boy in mild surprise, as his face didn't move at all from the impact.
"You listen here!", Romeo started, "I about had it with you and your attitude problem! I'll take those insults from Virgo but not...from...you?", as he finds the words dying in his throat as the kitsune began to rear himself up to his full height, making himself even more daunting in his appearance.
"Well, well, well", the fiery entity said in a cold voice as he opens his hellish eyes and glare at his summoner, "Aren't we ballsy all of a sudden?"
Even without the glowing eyes, Romeo could feel the rapid shift in Kasai's attitude. He was no longer addressing the playful, sometimes slightly harmful, trickster. No, now he was directly in front of a malevolent spirit who he felt was barely being restrained from unleashing his wrath upon the poor boy.
"I see no reason to keep up the act anymore so I won't", Kasai tells his summoner in a voice that raises the hairs on the back of the former fire mage's neck.
Romeo could feel his blood freeze in his veins even as he stares in Kasai's burning eyes and he felt his breath get caught up in his throat as Kasai leans down ever closer to him until their faces were nearly touching and his heart was threatening to burst out of his chest due to how rapidly it was beating.
"I'm supposed to show him that I'm in charge", Romeo thought in the deepest confines of his mind, "Maybe slapping him wasn't the best way to do that."
"You're a lucky boy, did you know that? For I can count on all of my front claws the number of beings in both the Human and Spirit World who can slap me and get away with it completely and there would still be some leftover" Kasai says as he bares his fangs, "And you're the only one in the Human World who can do so."
Romeo could see the razor edge of Kasai's teeth as he spoke and he briefly looks down toward the floor to see the spirit's claw extending. He was starting to regret his impulsive action as he could feel the heat in the room rising and deep down he knew he was only a split second away from being nothing more than a bloody mess splatter around the room.
Kasai brings his head over and puts his mouth next to Romeo's ear.
"Never strike me again.", he warns the boy, This will be the only warning you'll get from me, Kit. I may not be able to harm you but that law doesn't apply to your friends and family, especially your father."
Romeo stops breathing all together upon the mentioning of his dad.
"I wonder if he would even see it coming. Do you think you could send me away in time before my claws dug into his chest? Before my jaws clamp around his throat? You Short Lives are such fragile creatures that it would be over in a flash and all you'll have left of him are memories and perhaps a corpse if I'm feeling generous. , Kasai whispers into Romeo's ear, the boy feeling the sheer heat from his voice, "Heh, I wonder if you would even miss him, you haven't exactly been on the best of terms since I arrived."
The young summoner was frozen solid, his eyes widen in fear even as Loke came through the door into the compartment.
"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?", he says as he stares directly into Kasai still open eyes.
"Ah, Mane Boy", Kasai says with a dark smile, "I was wondering if you were still here. Didn't see you in the Spirit World."
"Aren't you forgetting something, Kasai?", Loke said as he walks toward them, "As the leader of the Zodiac Celestial Spirits, you kneel in my presence."
Kasai gives a huff, flames billowing out of his nose as he begrudgingly took a knee, "How could I forget?"
Loke puts his hand on Romeo and gently moves him behind him, putting himself between the boy and Elemental Spirit, "Romeo, I told Lucy and Levy to wait for you in the other cart while I have a chat with Kasai. You should go see them if you're able", he explains though his eyes never leave Kasai.
Romeo picks up at the rising tension between Loke and Kasai and decides it was best that he left the immediate area. Giving a brief nod, he nearly runs down the aisle through the door and slams it behind him.
"May I arise, oh great, Mane Boy?", Kasai laughs from his position on the floor.
"That's Leo-sama to you", Loke tells him and Kasai gets up regardless.
"Oh, I heard a rumor that you go by a different name nowadays. Loke, is it?" Kasai grins.
"Only my friends can call me that", Loke says bluntly, "And from here on out, you're going mind yourself around them, got it?"
"Are you threatening me, Leo-sama?", Kasai asks as he takes a step forward.
"I don't make threats, I make promises, especially in this type of situation", Loke tells him, "I will not tolerate another "Yanga Village" and neither will the other spirits."
Dark laughter erupts from Kasai's mouth, encompassing the entire train cart, "Is that right? So everyone still mad about that, are they?"
It was now Loke's turn to take a step forward, "Listen and listen well, Kasai. From here on out, you're going to be a bit more helpful in the training lessons Romeo is receiving"
"You don't have the authority to order such a thing", Kasai points out.
"True, but I can tell Romeo that he does", Loke says, "And what's more humiliating for "The Trickster", training alongside his summoner under his own free will or being forced to?"
"You bastard! You glowing, piece of shit bastard!", Kasai snarls as he lunges at Loke and comes within inches of contact before stopping, his fangs only a hair's breadth away from The Lion Spirit's face.
"How dare you even suggest such a thing? I am one of the thirteen Elemental Spirits and used to be one of the guardians of nature! I am a being of such immeasurable might that I was wiping entire ancient civilizations single-handily from the tomes of history before you were even a thought! Humans, Elves, dwarves, you name it, all of them used to quake at the mere mention of my name for fear of my wrath! Even today in some of the farthest reaches of the world, I am worship as a god! I should rip you to shreds right here and now for such insolence!"
Loke smiles and shrugs, "You "used" to be a being of immeasurable might. Though to be fair, even nowadays I would give you a fifty-fifty chance that you would come out on top in a confrontation between the two of us, but you and I both know that you won't try it here and now. You're already on thin ice as it is with the throne room incident and Yanga Village. One more strike and you're done."
Kasai's began lashing out at the floor of the cart, his claws easily ripping up the wooden planks as the kitsune unleash his aggravation at Loke on whatever was closest to him. He rips the seats on either side of Loke to shreds and even bit down on the tables, shattering them upon. All the while Loke merely watches, putting his hands in his pockets while whistling a tune. Finally, afterward a moment, the fire spirit calms down enough to speak a coherent sentence.
"Very well then, I will cooperate with the Kit if only to get everyone off my back", he states, his eyes now resembling fireballs in his anger, "Does this satisfy you?"
Loke gives a nod, "It will have to do. One is not required to actually like their summoner only that they listen to them." He then turns around and walks toward the door, "Also, do try to behave yourself. The boy is already having enough trouble as it is and he doesn't need you giving him anymore."
A threatening growl was the only response Loke receives as he left the car.
In the train compartment
"Romeo, do me a favor and send Kasai back to the Spirit World, will ya?", Loke says to the boy who was sitting across the table from Lucy and Levy in the mid-section of the cart. Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Juvia, Pantherlily, Wendy, and Carla were sitting at the front while Happy was with Natsu who had now resumed his puking fest.
Romeo didn't have to be told twice as he focuses his magic and he soon felt Kasai's presence disappear though Loke caught sight of his arm still shaking from his tense encounter with Kasai.
"Okay, maybe I should have been a little faster in talking to Kasai once Wendy told us Romeo was awake", Loke thought as he slid next to Lucy, "Now that that's out of the way, what did I miss?"
"Levy just told me why we're heading back to Magnolia all of a sudden, and I have to say I'm not really that surprise", Romeo admits, "Sabertooth has been doing this for years now."
"You mean that the Magic Council hasn't step in and stop them from taking other guilds' jobs?", Lucy questions.
Romeo shakes his head, "Not really, I don't think they care as long as the jobs get done and it doesn't turn violent between the guilds."
"It still doesn't make it right", Erza says as she comes up to the table, "Once a job request is taken by a guild, it is their sacred duty complete it unless extenuating circumstances prevent them from doing so. For another guild to blatantly just come and take it fills me with such righteous anger!", she shouts as she draws her sword, causing everyone to back away from her.
"Whoa! Let's calm down, Erza!", Lucy pleads, warily of how close she was to the blade, "I'm sure Master Makarov will deal with this problem!"
Erza sheathes her blade and crosses her arms, nodding while doing so, "You're right. If anyone can rectify the situation, he can", she says before looking at Romeo, "Though it sounds like other guilds have just been letting it happen. Why is that, Romeo?"
Romeo shrugs, "Maybe most of the other guilds are afraid of picking a fight with Sabertooth. Only guilds like Blue Pegasus and Lamia Scale haven't gotten their jobs taken by Sabertooth."
Levy places a hand on her chin, "Hmm, it seems that they're only taking jobs from the weaker guilds and not going after the stronger ones."
"Seems like it", Romeo says.
"Anyway", Lucy says, getting the boy's attention, "We need to discuss a change in your training."
"Huh?"
"It seems that there are some issues we didn't factor in seeing how we didn't know about them", Lucy says while throwing a look at Loke who gives a nervous shrug in return, "But right now we need to focus on increasing your magic level."
"Why's that?", Romeo wonders.
"Because it seems that to use magical spells, your summons draws upon your magic not their own", Levy says.
"What?", Romeo questions.
"Yeah, you see when the Elemental Spirit Emperor took his guardians and made them summons, he needed to restrict their magic or else they simply would have been too powerful for a human to wield", Loke began, "So he made it that they couldn't use their magic while they were in the Human World and instead have to use their summoner's magic. On the bright side, he allowed it that if you summon an Elemental Spirit in a natural environment, say like the forest we were just at, then the spirits draw upon the natural energy flowing through it to maintain itself, not the summoner's magic."
"That explains a lot", Romeo thought, "But how exactly are we going to raise my magic level?"
"Capricorn can help you with that", Loke states, "He's the smartest of the Celestial Spirits and knows a thing or two about raising someone's magic power level."
"Well that settles it", Lucy claps her hands, "Tomorrow morning we will revamp your training and focus on raising your magic level a little, then we'll move back to combat lessons."
Romeo happily nods at Lucy's statement, though he couldn't get Kasai's last words to him out of his head regarding his father. As he ponders wherever or not the fire spirit would follow through with his threat, he catches Wendy watching him. The two once more lock eyes for a moment before turning away, both of them now looking out their respective window at the passing scenery.
Conbolt's Residence
It was the middle of the night when Romeo awoke, his thirst in desperate need of quenching as his parch throat was the reason he was now making his way into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes as he got off the last step on the stairs. Fighting his drowsiness he made his way to the cupboard where he retrieves a cup and then he processed to the sink. As he turns the faucet on and allows the cup to fill up, his mind went over the events that occur today.
The moment they step back into the guild hall, Erza went straight to Master Makarov to inform him of what happen and it was safe to say that he wasn't happy. First thing in the morning, he, along with Wakaba and his father would be heading to Hargeon Town to file an official complaint to the Magic Council through the Rune Knights' garrison that was in the port town.
"Today was a long day and that's not even counting the crap with Kasai", Romeo told himself as turn off the faucet and started drinking.
…
…
CRASH!
The glass shatters on the kitchen floor as Romeo froze in place, a terrified expression etched into his face. He snaps his neck to the kitchen clock, its hands illuminated by their own magical light.
"Five-ten", Romeo curses, "I'm over two hours late in catching Kasai and sending him back to the Spirit World!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Romeo races up the stairs and upon reaching the top he stops in his tracks. In his awaken state and with his eyes more use to the darkness he spots something that he didn't notice before when he came out of his room.
Claw marks in the floors and on the walls leading down the hallway, stopping just short of his father's room. Kasai's words from the train fill his mind and a tidal wave of dread washes over him.
"No", Romeo whispers as he sprints down the hall and flings open the door. Instantly, he scans the room, corner to corner, ceiling to floor but spots nothing, nothing but his father laying down in his bed snoring loudly as the moonlight drifted in through his window.
Romeo closes his eyes and lets out a sigh of relief, "He's okay, thank the gods. But where is Kasai?"
"I've been standing right in front of you the entire time, Kit", a voice from the darkness says and Romeo's eyes snap open to see Kasai towering over on the other side of his dad's bed, his glowing eyes the only indication that he was there as the rest of him was shrouded in shadows, his tail not even burning with flames. Romeo finds himself glued to the floor as the kitsune eyes him for a moment before turning his gaze downward to the elder Conbolt's sleeping form.
"It's rude to keep someone waiting, you know? I've been sitting here for two hours now watching your father sleep", Kasai informs Romeo in a low voice, "Both of you have a bad habit of leaving your doors open at night, not that it would impede me if you didn't."
"W-What are you doing here?", Romeo finally gathers up the courage to speak.
"Me? Oh, I'm just "standing watch" if you will, over your dear old dad. Wouldn't want anything to happen to him now, now would you?", Kasai answers as he smiles and his teeth shine like knives in the moonlight, "Especially when he is soooo vulnerable in his current state", as he brings a claw down on top Macao's stomach, the very tip of it barely touching his skin and he lightly trails it up to his chin while the man still slept, "So helpless, so fragile, so delicate you Short Lives are."
Romeo focuses his magic and a summoning circle opens up underneath Kasai, lighting up the room in its entirety. Kasai slowly withdraws his claw and turns to looks at a dresser on the other side of the room. On top of it laid a picture frame and within its contents was a photograph of a much younger Romeo being held up by Natsu as the two of them smile brightly. A smile of his own flash across Kasai's face as he eyes the dragon-slayer right before he felt himself being pulled back into the Spirit World.
"Make sure you're awake in the future, Kit. Who knows what terrible things may befall your father if you aren't?"
Macao tosses in his sleep and awakens to find his son leaning on his door, breathing heavily.
"Hey", he yawns, "What are you doing up at this time?"
Fairy Tail's Building
A full week had gone by since the fight between Kasai and Taurus and Romeo found himself outside the guild hall in the clearing with Lucy, Levy, Loke, Kasai, and the newest addition to his training regiment, Capricorn and he had to admit it felt odd having the Celestial Spirit as his teacher. He has already had his dad and Totomaru as his teachers but something about Capricorn just felt different, mainly being the fact that the Goat Spirit didn't suffer from the same limitations as humans did.
"Romeo-sama, you need to concentrate more. Shrink and expand the magic within you, just like we have been doing", the goat said as he sat cross-legged next to the boy who was mirroring his position, "Magic is a living entity that cannot be fully controlled but can be tame to a degree. You must be willing to let it have just as much control over you as you want over it."
"I'm trying", Romeo grunts already irritated that he had been holding the position for two hours already.
"This is boring", Kasai yawns from his position near the forest, "Surely there are faster ways than this for me to be able to cast more spells, Goat Cheese."
"With all due respect, Kasai-sama, I ask that you have patience and let me continue my lessons with Romeo-sama in peace", Capricorn politely tells the fire spirit who clicks his tongue in response, earning himself a look from Loke. The kitsune returns the look before standing up and walking over to the other side of the clearing, where Natsu and Gray look like they were having another one of their arguments. It was mostly a normal day with no jobs on the board. Carla and Pantherlily took this time to go visit the Exceed Village though Happy opted to stay behind.
"How do you think Romeo is progressing?", Levy asks Lucy who was watching the training scene from a table that was set up outside for them.
"Hard to say", Lucy admits, "I don't have any equipment to gauge him and his magic level wasn't very high too begin with for me to sense it."
"He's actually doing better than I though he would", Loke says across from Lucy and both her and Levy turn their attention to him.
"He is? How can you tell?", Levy asks.
"Celestial Spirits have a better sense of magical presence than humans", Loki answers, "Since Romeo has started training with Capricorn I sense that his magic has just about double in size."
Two chairs go flying back as both Lucy and Levy stood up abruptly.
"Seriously?", Levy says.
"Double?", Lucy follows up, "But it has only been a week!"
"Whoa now, I'm not saying the boy is overflowing with magic now, he just increased it, that's all. He has a large amount now for someone his age but he is still small compared to say, someone like Max or even Wendy", Loke tells them, "Speaking of which, is she still not talking to him?"
Lucy shakes her head, "Nope, my guess she is still embarrassed by what happened."
"Which is sad seeing how she volunteer to keep an eye on him while he was pass out on the train", Levy adds, "Perhaps when she gets back from her business in town with Master Makarov, Macao, Wakaba, and Mira we can have a talk with her."
"I'm sure they'll make up eventually, you just need to give them time", Loke says with a prideful shrug, "I mean, not everyone can be as smooth as me."
Levy and Lucy roll their eyes at Loke's boasting and tune back into Romeo and Capricorn.
KABOOM!
An explosion from across the field rocks the surrounding area and everyone's attention is suddenly drawn to the sight of Natsu who had flames billowing off of him for a moment before they went away. The Fire Dragon-Slayer was facing Kasai, who was sporting his trademark grin while laying down not far from the mage.
"What did you say about Igneel?", the dragon-slayer growls as Gray backs away from him.
"I said, Pinky, that I can't believe that pathetic excuse for a dragon decided to waste all of the training I gave him on the likes of you", Kasai says, "In case he didn't tell you, I was the one that taught him how to sharpen and perfect his fire. In some way, I am your teacher's teacher though I see all of my lessons have been for naught."
Natsu takes a menacingly step toward Kasai, "Take back what you said about Igneel!"
"Or what?", Kasai continues to smile as he rears himself up and was now standing on all fours, looking directly at Natsu.
"Hey, that's enough, Kasai!", Loke's voice calls out as he along with everyone else in the guild rush over to the area.
"What? All I did was speak the truth. I did train Igneel a long time ago when he was younger and I just feel that he wasted my lessons on his choice of a student, one who I barely consider human with his features", the kitsune said as he sniffs the air.
"Geez, I know Natsu gets a little wild sometimes and his house ain't the cleanest, but that's a little harsh", Gray mutters off to the side.
"He was my father!", Natsu roars as Lucy runs up next to him in an effort to calm him down but he was ignored by the Elemental Spirit.
"But was all that other stuff necessary?", Loke asks.
Kasai shrugs, "It's just a matter of opinion, surely I'm allowed to have that."
"We need to stop this before things get out of hand", Loke says before turning his attention down to Romeo who was beside him, "Your choice on what to do. Either send him back or tell him to stand down. Remember, you're in charge here."
Romeo locks eyes with Kasai for a moment, weighing his options. If he sent him back now he would no doubt come back while Romeo was still training and he wasn't sure that Natsu's anger would have passed by then, and as much as he wanted to see the fire spirit get put in his place, he wouldn't be a good summoner if he just watch his spirit get throttle. But it seems like it would happen regardless if Kasai stayed.
Before Romeo could make a decision though, Kasai turns around and began walking away from the enrage dragon-slayer who was now being held back by Lucy who has placed herself in front of him, putting a hand on his chest in an effort to calm him.
"I said what I wanted to say and see no more reason to be around such a lowly creature", he says as he turns his head to face Romeo, "You may send me back to the Spirit World if you wish. Pinky here reeks of Igneel's overwhelming stench of failure and it quite displeases me. It's no small wonder that I have not seen him around since I awoke, no doubt he doesn't want to be reminded of his shortcomings."
Lucy watches in horror as Natsu's eyes became dilated and she could begin to feel the heat rise off of him. A steady growl combine with heavy breathing was escaping from his throat and she could feel the muscles in his chest tense up. All of these signs indicated that he was about to pounce. That was something that Lucy didn't need right now, especially seeing how Kasai was going to be a regular aspect of Fairy Tail from here on out.
"You don't have to fight him, Natsu", she begs, "He's just trying to bait you into fighting him. I don't know why but he is. Let's just calm down and go back inside. You can go fight Gray or even challenge Erza."
For a moment it seems that Lucy's words reach the dragon-slayer as he relaxes in his posture and his eyes went back to normal.
"I'm impressed, C-Spirit. You manage to tame Pinky without using your body which I presume you usually do to get your way", Kasai says.
Lucy didn't have time to react before Natsu moves past her and toward Kasai, leaping toward him with his arm pulled back, a clenched fist at the end of it.
Kasai's grin never fades from his lips as he leaps over Natsu and the mage's fist collides with the ground where he was standing only moments before, creating a crater in the process.
As the kitsune lands in between Natsu and a bewildered Lucy, he lets out a chuckle.
"Come Pinky," Kasai slowly taunts as he sits down, "Show me exactly what Igneel taught you and don't worry, I'll be sure to point out all of your mistakes.", he laughs as he watches his plan come to fruition so easily.
"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"
A/N: As I stated before, the Elemental Spirits have been around for a long time. Also, Kasai didn't create Fire Dragon-Slayer magic, he merely helped teach Igneel how to use his fire more properly. The next chapter is Natsu vs Kasai and the aftermath of it. It should be a good one.
Basically, I want to show what would happen if you got a spirit who didn't want to be a summon in the first place and how why they can't hurt their summoner, everyone else is up for grabs.
Please leave a Review, Fav, or Follow if you want and check out my other stories like The Last Fire Mage, A Child of Fire and Brimstone, and Wild Master.