Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or any of it's characters. The plot is the only thing that belongs to me.
Please read and review, but most of all, enjoy :D
The Ice Devil's Angel
Chapter Two
2 2 2
To say that Lucy was impressed was an understatement.
"So, what do you think?" Gray asked.
The Fairy Tail guild towered three stories above her. She could tell the building was not new, that it had been standing for some time, but it felt homey nonetheless. Oh, how could she describe the feeling? She felt like she…belonged, and it made her feel important. The amazing amount of magic inside gave her head for a spin, but it only ensured that she made the right decision to come along with Gray, Natsu, and Happy. It was all filled with wonderful forms of varied magic, but they all had one similar aspect despite being so different. It was family. Their magic – they used it to protect each other, and it left a beautiful warm feeling throughout her being.
"I already feel at home," Lucy responded. "If that makes any sense…"
"No, I know what you mean," Gray said.
Lucy looked at the S-class mage from her peripheral vision when he said that. It made her wonder where he came from, where everyone from the guild came from. She could feel they were all connected. She couldn't quite understand how, but it made her feel like she could trust these people with her life.
"Gray," Happy wheezed. "Can I get fish now?"
Lucy and Gray turned around to see Happy barely being able to haul the frozen Natsu through the gates of Fairy Tail.
"Tell Mira the tabs on me."
Happy unwrapped his tail with a relieved sigh. "You're the best."
Lucy and Gray watched as the blue cat wearily flew through an open window into the guild. They could hear the collective cheers of a welcome back and a lot of talking ensued.
"Will Natsu be okay?"
"The idiot will be more than okay."
"Shouldn't you unfreeze him?"
"Can't," Gray said simply. "My magic is to create ice, not get rid of it."
"But..."
"Natsu's flames are hot enough. See?" Gray pointed.
Lucy gasped when she saw Natsu's body heat was enough to start melting the ice a little before his flaming came spewing out with such raw emotion. It was like the power of his feeling gauged how hot his flames could be. And he was pretty mad from what Lucy could tell.
"GRAY, YOU ICE PRICK!" Natsu roared, his body lighting on fire.
Lucy watched, amazed, when Gray casually ducked as Natsu charged at him. She winced when the poor dragonslayer crashed into the large, oak wooden doors. Luckily, they didn't break, but what happened next was not pretty. With the force Natsu had, he burst them open and sailed into the guild, crashing into a table full of people. Lucy ran into the guild, worried that he would be hurt but despite the ugly sound of dishes shattering and wood cracking, Natsu got up as if nothing happened, as if it didn't even hurt. Instead, it just happened to anger him more. He was about to charge at Gray again when a guildmate called out to him.
"Hey, Natsu, I heard you went all the way out to Hargeon. You just had go and start some trou–" The poor guy couldn't even finish the sentence as Natsu kicked him in the face.
"Natsu!" Lucy called, shocked. "Was that really necessary?"
Natsu ignored her. "You lied about that Salamander!" he accused, forgetting about his anger at Gray for the moment. "I'm going to kick your ass!"
The guy lifted himself off the ground, his eyes flaming. "Don't get mad at me! I'm not the one to blame here! I just passed along a rumor I heard!"
"It was just a rumor?!" Natsu repeated in disbelief.
"You want to fight?!"
"Let's go!"
As if it was some sort of signal, the whole guildhall ceased there chattering and erupted into utter chaos. Fists, food, tables, chairs, and occasionally people went flying and Lucy had to duck several times in order to avoid getting hit. Despite the entire ruckus, a huge smile was on her face. She couldn't believe that she was actually in Fairy Tail. She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt the presence of Gray's cold, calming magic nearing her. She turned around to see Gray swiftly dodge a chair and a kick to the face.
"You should hide behind the bar if you want to avoid getting hit," Gray advised from behind. "Although, I can't promise being unscathed."
"Are they always like this?" Lucy couldn't help but ask as she made her way to the bar. "There's not one sane person here!"
"Yeah, you'll get used to it," Gray said. He paused, looking at her with an arched brow and crooked smile. "I'm offended; I think I'm saner than the rest."
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Lucy apologized and bowed. "I didn't mean to offend you."
Gray chuckled. "I'm teasing you, Lucy."
Lucy felt her cheeks burn and her eyes shyly turned away from the ice mage. "Oh," was all she could say. She bit her lip. What else could she say? She had never experienced conversations like this before. What was it? Playful banter or something of the sort? She was used discussing gossip with other heiresses and older ladies and keeping quiet with "men's business talk", so she didn't have the faintest idea of how to correctly respond, hence the embarrassment and blushing. She peeked back up at him and was surprised to see he was smirking down at her.
"W-What's with that face?!"
"Nothing," he dismissed smugly. "Just that I should tease you more often."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
Gray suddenly pulled her to the side. She didn't question anything when a table sailed by right where they had been standing. They could only watch as the table crashed into several unsuspecting people.
"Thanks," Lucy said sincerely, wincing when the table smashed into them.
Before Gray could respond, Natsu appeared with a flaming fist to his face.
"Let's finished what we started, ice princess!"
"I guess I'll entertain you for a bit."
Just like that, the two were fighting hand-to-hand. What was interesting was it seemed that Natsu was putting in all his effort, and Gray, well, he wasn't breaking a sweat. He may be saner than the rest, but when it came to skill with magic and fighting abilities, Gray was a god or something – he really lived up to his S-class status. With so much as a simple push to Natsu's chest, the poor dragonslayer went flying to the other end of the guildhall.
Lucy wordlessly hid behind the bar counter and decided just to stay put. However, curiosity got the better of her, so she couldn't help but peek over the top of the counter, and boy, she prayed the guild had enough money to pay for repairs. There were so many broken tables, chairs, shattered glass, indentations and cracks in the walls…
The blonde's ears perked up when she heard a woman sigh. Lucy looked to her left to see a girl about her age or maybe older with dark brown hair and purple eyes glare at the chaos in annoyance. What was peculiar was she was holding a large barrel of beer in her lap. She wore a revealing bikini top along with pants and heels.
"This is why I don't date any guys from this guild," she muttered under her breath. "They have no class."
Lucy gaped when the said woman downed an alcoholic beverage from the large barrel itself. It was just too ironic.
"Come here and fight me seriously, Gray!" Natsu yelled from across the guildhall. He pushed and shoved people out of his way to get to his main target.
"When you can fight me with all you got, we can," Gray replied coolly.
"Why you–"
Lucy gasped when a large, bulking guy appeared in dark blue attire. His hair was white and spiked up, and there was a scar across his right eye. Lucy could hear each of his footsteps as he walked up to Natsu and Gray with his arms crossed. To put it simply: the guy was crazy intimidating and scary.
"It's about time for dinner, and you're all whining like a bunch of babies!" He sneered. "Can't a guy get any quiet around hear and enjoy his meal like a man?"
"Stay out of it, Elfman!" Natsu yelled.
In scary synchronization, Gray and Natsu pulled back their fists, one laced with fire and the other with ice, and punched the guy square in the stomach, and he went flying with a scream across the guildhall.
"That easily…?" Lucy whispered to herself in awe. The guy looked like he would have given Natsu and Gray trouble. But to be done with one blow… Either he was weak or Natsu and Gray were just insanely strong. She went with the latter because she knew that no one in Fairy Tail was weak, considering it was practically the number one guild in Fiore, Phantom Lord coming to a close second.
"Geez, it's so noisy around here," a new voice said.
Lucy turned her head to the right to see none other than the infamous womanizer of Fairy Tail, Loke, with two women on his lap. True to Sorcerer Weekly's word, Loke was a good-looking guy. He had spiky ginger hair, almost delicate facial features, and he had a lean, muscular build like the rest of the male population in Fairy Tail. She noted the azure-tinted glasses and green coat that stood out and completed his pretty boy look. He probably felt her gaze and caught her curious stare. He winked at her and said something to the girls on his lap without taking his eyes off her. The blonde watched in slight disgust as the women just fawned and drooled over every word he said, and she stifled a laugh when a flying glass cup hit Loke right in the forehead, causing the guy to fall backwards of the bench. The girls gave a melodramatic gasp in response.
"Are you all right?" One asked in an annoyingly high voice.
"Yeah, I'm good… I'm going to go fight," Loke said, brushing himself off. "Only to protect you two," he added with a flashy smile and a wink.
"Good luck, Loke!" the two girls chimed.
"Yup, he lost my respect," Lucy confirmed with a nod. Her brows suddenly furrowed when she felt his magic. Her eyes widened when it felt familiar. It felt like all those times when her mother called out her spirits. It was a bright, warm feeling of utter loyalty to serve; it also felt old, older than Natsu's – it was ancient, like it had been in the world since the beginning of time. She was confused as to why it was diminishing gradually, sapping away at Loke's life force. Lucy watched as Loke joined the brawl. Her eyes narrowed, and that was when she saw –the precise movements and bursts of speed, his hand-to-hand combat skills – it must have taken years of experience. Big emphasis on years.
"But that's not possible…" Lucy murmured shakily under her breath.
She wanted to do something, she really did, but…it was not in her place to mention this since it didn't seem like anyone knew except for himself. Lucy knew. She knew that Loke knew he was dying. She saw it in his eyes when he looked at her. He was in pain, and what was scary was that he just seemed to…accept it.
"Hello!" another new voice said, disrupting Lucy out of her thoughts. It was sweet and angelic. "Are you new here?"
Lucy turned around, surprised, and saw none other than the famous Mirajane, known for her Sorcerer Weekly photo spreads in bikinis, in a beautiful maroon dress with a light pink bow at her chest. She held a serving tray with glasses of several drinks. Her eyes were a crystal blue, and her hair was as white as snow. It was let down, but her bangs were put up into a cute ponytail.
"You're, you're…" Lucy trailed off, gaping.
She giggled. "Just call me Mira."
"Uh…" Lucy said, shocked to why she wasn't reacting to the ruckus. "Shouldn't we…stop them?"
Mira shook her head. "It's always like this. Besides–" Elfman crashed into her – "isn't it a lot of fun?" She fell limp as Elfman's weight starting crushing her.
Lucy ran and knelt beside the fallen bartender. The blonde was barely able to push Elfman off of her. "Oh my god, are you okay?! Mira? Mira?!"
Before anything else happened, Natsu flew into her. Lucy screeched as she flew in the air with him. The force was so strong they flew a couple meters before landing roughly on the ground. She was still recovering on the ground when Natsu got up and ran after Gray, who punched him in the face. Lucy could only cast him a withering glance with a scowl on her face as he left her there on the ground and disappeared in the rowdy crowd. She was so disorientated from the hit she didn't even notice that she was suddenly lifted into someone's arms bridal-style.
"Tch, Natsu," the voice said. "That's no way to treat a lady."
Lucy froze and looked up, hoping in was Gray, but indeed it was not. Her face deadpanned when she saw that it was none other than Fairy Tail's resident womanizer, Loke. She unintentionally drowned him out. She caught the word "insensitive" and "woman's needs" and that's pretty much it before Loke was punched in the face by none other than Elfman, who recovered from his crash into Mira.
"Men speak with their fists, Loke!" Elfman roared.
Lucy went flying out of Loke's arms as Elfman punched him in the chest.
"I told you to but out!" Natsu yelled, kicked Elfman back.
Lucy screamed as she sailed through the air. Her stomach rose to her throat as she fell closer and closer to the hardwood floor. She closed her eyes, waiting for a hard impact, but instead, she felt nothing. She opened her eyes in surprise to see that Gray had caught her. He had a straight face, but he looked almost a bit sheepish. Lucy bit her lip, the word cute floating through her mind. She blinked to get out her thoughts.
"Thanks," she breathed.
Gray flicked his eyes down to her. "Least I could do." He set her down and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry."
Lucy arched a brow. "For what?"
"I sent him flying into you."
Lucy didn't even pay attention to that. Instead, she felt her mouth drop into a small "o" in shock. She had witnessed him "gently" push Natsu earlier to see him fly across the whole building, but it was still unbelievable. She wasn't used to such immense power.
"Did you punch him or something?" she assumed. "Natsu looked pretty mad."
"Nah," Gray shook his head. "I flicked him on the forehead."
Lucy hid her mouth behind her hands, but her eyes widened significantly. It amazed her how casual he said it, like it was normal? He had such incredible strength. She then knew that all those muscles he had weren't just for show. Her brown eyes inadvertently scanned his body, and with closer inspection, she could see just how lean and built he was.
"Flicked?" Lucy echoed. "Just how strong are you?"
Gray only smirked at her. It was almost dark in a way, but it just made him look more attractive than ever. His eyes lit up with something, but she couldn't tell what it was.
Lucy felt her cheeks heat up, and she immediately looked away. She thanked the lord that Cana started having a fit or else she wouldn't have stood the intense way he staring at her any longer. It felt like she was naked, as if he was gazing into the depths of her soul.
"Ugh, it's so loud," Cana groaned. "So much for having a drink to relax…" She sighed as she pulled out one of her magic cards and swiveled around to face the guild in her barstool. "That's enough you guys! I suggest that you knock it off!" A turquoise magic circle illuminated and zoomed out of the card.
Elfman growled as a large, purple magic circle illuminated from his hand then scaled down his arm, transforming it into a huge arm made not of human flesh, but stone.
"You guys can be so annoying," Loke said. He touched one of the rings on his fingers and a green magic circle appeared.
"Bring it on!" Natsu yelled, his fists lighting on fire.
"Idiots," she heard Gray sigh. It wasn't out of pure annoyance. Yes, there was a hint of it, but there was some affection behind there as well. Lucy glanced at Gray to see he had an amuse crooked smile on his face. That was probably the closest thing she had seen to a real smile. She couldn't help but smile as well. Her magic sensed a certain warmth from him, and it was this same warmth that kept that lurking darkness at bay. Lucy looked back at the guild and at everyone. She understood. A feeling of belonging and of true family and camaraderie filled this place. She truly wanted to become a part of it, too.
Crash!
Lucy elicited a small gasp of terror when she saw a gigantic foot appear in the middle of the guildhall. Gulping, she looked up from the foot to the leg then the torso to the shoulders and finally, the terrifying horned head.
"Cut it out, you brats!" the monster bellowed.
Everyone froze in the middle of his or her fight, and an eerie silence fell upon the guild.
Lucy gaped up at the huge entity, feeling fear creep into her heart. "He's huge!" she whispered to herself, afraid that if she yelled she'd be killed on the spot.
"I'm sorry, Master," Mira apologized. She was practically unscathed, with the exception of the ugly bruise she had on her forehead. "I didn't know you were still here."
Lucy paled. This monster was the master of Fairy Tail? To her utter horror, Natsu began laughing boisterously.
"Haha! You all got scared!" he proclaimed in glee, a giant, victorious smile upon his face. "Seems like I won this round you lose–" Natsu was cut off when the foot of the giant squished him without hesitation, silencing him. Lucy squeaked at the sight.
The giant, noticing that everyone settled down, let out a roar, and Lucy never felt more concerned about her life at the moment. She felt herself sweating profusely while the giant yelled, confused as to why the rest of the guild wasn't as scared as her. But then she noticed that the giant was deflating. This continued until the silhouette of the giant was less than half her size. When it finished shrinking, standing in front of her was none other than Master Makarov of Fairy Tail himself. He wore a white shirt with the Fairy Tail insignia, an orange over short with matching pants, and a funny looking, two-horned hat, which was also orange, but striped with blue. He also held a neat looking staff that made him look more serious, but instead of containing the guild sign at the head, it was a smiley face. The old man gave her a toothy grin.
"You must be a new recruit," he said. "Nice to meet you!"
Lucy blinked to register if what she just saw really happened but recomposed herself with a shake of her head. "You too!" she finally said with a smile. It was a wary smile, but only because she couldn't believe the old man in front of her was the guild master and could possibly be that powerful.
Master Makarov jumped high into the air, spinning in the process. Unfortunately, the jump wasn't as smooth as he hoped it would be for he crashed into the railing of the second floor. Righting himself up, he stood atop as if nothing happened. He cleared his throat. There were a few murmurs across the guild, but it all settled when Master Makarov began speaking, or rather…shouting.
"YOU'VE GONE AND DONE IT AGAIN, YOU BRATS!" he yelled angrily. Lucy barely noticed when Natsu got back up to stand beside her, only acknowledging his presence when she accidentally stepped on his foot from shifting side to side nervously.
"LOOK AT ALL THE DOCUMENTS I'VE GOTTEN FROM THE COUNCIL!" Master Makarov continued irately as he waved a large pile of paperwork at the guild, and the stellar mage wondered how it got there. "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MINDS?! ALL YOU KIDS ARE GOOD FOR IS GETTNG THE HIGHER UPS MAD AT ME!"
The entire guild looked down, ashamed for causing the master so much trouble. There were a few exceptions like Natsu, who just rolled his eyes, Gray, who just stoically listened, Cana, who kept on drinking, and Mira, who just smiled. It seemed the ones who have been in Fairy Tail longer than the rest were at ease. Despite this, Lucy couldn't help but be a little worried for all of them because it seemed he would punish all of them.
"However," Master Makarov began in a softer tone, surprising not only Lucy but also most of the guild.
Everyone's ears perked up, and they looked at him in confusion to see a smile poking out from underneath his moustache.
The paper in his hands suddenly lit on fire. "Forget the council. He threw the burning papers into the air. Natsu jumped up to catch them in his mouth like a dog and then returned to Lucy's side. She could hear him munching on the flames – if that was even possible – and looked at the master with an odd expression.
"Eh?" was the only thing that tumbled out of her mouth in regard to the guild master's statement. Lucy couldn't help but think he should be more concerned. That pile of papers was huge.
"Now listen up! The power that surpasses reason still comes from reason. Magic isn't some kind of miraculous power. It is a talent that only works when the flow of energy that is inside of us and the flow of energy in the natural world are in perfect synchronization. To perform magic, one must have a strong mind and the ability to focus; it should take over your being and come pouring out of your soul. If the only thing we do is worry about following rules, then our magic will never progress. Don't let those from the magic council scare you." Master Makarov paused in his speech, allowing a wide grin to spread across his face. "Follow the path you believe in because that's what make the Fairy Tail guild number one!"
The entire guild cheered, and Lucy couldn't but laugh with them. The speech was inspiring, even if it was suggesting something akin to treason. The master was right – about everything he said. She took in the atmosphere of camaraderie and happiness as she looked at everyone. It was a beautiful sight.
Mira turned to her with a smile. "So, what do you think?"
"It's amazing," Lucy breathed. "I just can't believe I'm actually here."
Mira giggled. "Let's get you stamped and make you an official guild member of Fairy Tail, so you'll know that you're not dreaming. How does pink sound?"
"Sounds good to me!"
2 2 2
Gray made his way over to the request board on the lower floor after the nice speech from Gramps. His eyes slowly scanned over each and every request to try and find the right one. He was S-class, yes, but he tried not to take on several S-class jobs back to back because they were life threatening, and he was pretty much set for the next few months with the juicy reward he just got. Besides, he just finished one right before he met Lucy, and he wanted to also look for a job that–
"Gray!"
He turned around to see Lucy practically skip up to him with bright eyes. She excitedly showed the back of her right hand with a dazzling smile. The brightness of her smile never ceased to amaze him.
"It's official," she said happily. "I'm a member!"
Gray forced his eyes to stray from her smile to her hand, and indeed, as she said, she was now an official member of Fairy Tail. The guild insignia was pink and neatly stamped on the back of her right hand. The first thought that came to his mind was that the color suited her. It wasn't a bright, hot pink like the gloxinia flower behind her ear. Instead it was a soft, light pink.
He gave her his usual crooked smile. "Well, I officially welcome you as a fellow member of the guild."
Lucy giggled. "Thanks, I'm excited to be working with everyone!" She then peered around him curiously. "What were you looking at?"
Gray turned back around, resuming his search for the perfect job. "I was looking for a job that the both of us could do."
"The both of us?" she echoed in surprise.
He raised a brow at her. "Something wrong?"
"No, it's just that…" she paused. "Wouldn't I just drag you down?"
Gray blinked. It was his turn to be surprised. "No, not at all. What made you think that?"
"Well, you are S-class, you know, and I'm just a newbie, so…"
Oh, that. Of course, but…
"That doesn't mean I can't help you settle into the daily grind," he explained. "Besides, I would prefer you went with me, so I can guarantee your safety on your first job."
It was weird, but he felt a little bit protective towards the blonde. More interesting than that was this morning, when he first met her on the train, his magic was at unease and was slightly repelled by the stark contrast. But now… His brow furrowed when his magic within him shifted a little. It was almost…like it changed its mind. For whatever reason, Gray couldn't be quite sure why that was. He would shrug it off for now.
"Ah, um, er…" Lucy was at a loss for words, a blush beginning to stain her cheeks.
Gray arched a brow, but then he went over what he just said in his mind. He wanted to smirk for making her shy and flustered, but at the same time, he wanted to face-palm for making her feel uncomfortable. He did have to admit that a flustered Lucy was…endearing in a way.
"Thank you…for taking care of me," she eventually said with a shy little smile. "I'll try not to do anything reckless on the job." She bowed her head politely.
Gray raised both his brows in amusement. "No need to be so formal."
She stood back up with a hand behind her head. "Sorry, habit."
Habit? Gray repeated in his head. He wondered just what kind of background she came from. He turned back to the board, and that's when he saw the perfect job. He plucked it off the request bird and made his way to Mira at the bar with Lucy trailing behind.
"Did you find a suitable one?" she asked.
"Yes, actually, it pays two hundred thousand jewels," he said.
"Wow, what is it exactly?"
"Finding a book and destroying it."
"Just for a book?" Lucy asked, puzzled. "Seems like there's more going on than there appears. That's seems a bit too high for just destroying a book…"
"Exactly," Gray said, somewhat impressed. "You're pretty quick." He placed the request sheet on the counter of the bar in front of Mira. "We'll take this one."
Mira looked up from cleaning glasses in surprise. She looked up and glanced at Gray, repeating, "We'll?"
Gray shifted to the side and saw Mira's crystal blue eyes widen in realization as she saw Lucy. "Oh? I see… I'll just write that down." She eyed him slyly, and he couldn't help but cringe at that look he had seen all too many times. She wanted details. He could understand why because he was more of a solo mage unless he was asked specifically to accompany someone on a job or by Gramps himself to go with someone.
"All right, you're both set to go!" Mira said cheerfully.
"Great!" Lucy said excitedly, unaware of Mira's peculiar behavior.
"We'll head out tomorrow at noon," he said, taking the request sheet. "See you at the guild."
He could feel Mira's glare as he exited the doors of the guild. He let out a sigh of relief once he stepped outside the guild into the fresh night air of Magnolia. He knew that his escape from the She-Devil's nosy, pressing questions was only temporary.
"Um, Mira?" Lucy asked worriedly. "Are you all right?"
Once Gray left the guild, the white haired bar waitress had a smile frozen onto her face, but the thing was it was sickly sweet, as if promising deadly things to happen. Lucy flinched when Mira snapped her sharp gaze to her, but she immediately softened into her normal nature.
"Sorry, about that Lucy," she apologized. "It's just I had some questions…about the S-class job Gray just recently came back from, but he up and went before I could ask anything." Her crystal blue eyes inspected her carefully and a…strange smile crossed Mira's face, almost looking at her like she was prey.
"Mira?"
"I didn't know that Gray would come back with a girl? Are you someone he was secretly seeing?" she wondered. "Oh, that's typical Gray. Trying to keep things to himself. So cute~" she squealed, hands on her cheeks.
"Oh, no, it's nothing like that!" Lucy interjected. "We just met on the train to Hargeon, that's all."
"Oh," Mira said, hiding her disappointment quite well. "Sorry for making you feel uncomfortable. It's just that I assumed there was something because he usually does solo jobs. Mostly S-class."
"Really?" Lucy said. "By himself?"
"Yes, he's quite strong," Mira said with a nod. "It only makes sense. He knows some pretty powerful magic."
"I knew he was strong, but I didn't know he was that strong," Lucy said in surprise.
"Quite, he was the youngest mage to ever become S-class. I think he was about twelve," Mira pursed her lips and counted her fingers. "Then it was Erza who was fifteen. Me at sixteen. Then Laxus at seventeen."
"Wow! Twelve?" Lucy could only repeat, dumbstruck.
"Twelve," Mira said with a nod.
"And you…"
Mira cast her eyes down. "Yes, I was S-class."
Lucy didn't press on the matter. She could feel it if she concentrated really hard. She could feel the large amount of magic suppressed in Mira's body by some emotional barrier. Something happened. That was all Lucy could conclude. What was interesting was how suppressed Mira's magic was because she couldn't even tell in the first place that she had any magic at all. The emotional barrier of trauma, grief, and sorrow were strong, and Lucy couldn't imagine how it must have been in the beginning. Now that she thought about it, Lucy closed her eyes and focused on the guild as a whole, and she could sense that Mira was not the only case of personal loss and grief. Everyone had his or her own story. The blonde opened her eyes as she was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a small, worried voice.
"How come my dad hasn't come back yet?"
Lucy turned head and saw a little boy with dark, purple hair that it looked almost black if it weren't for the lighting. He had a dark green shirt with a white "S" smack dab in the middle, khaki shorts, and sandals.
"You're starting to work on my nerves, Romeo," Master Makarov addressed with a sigh and closed his eyes. "You're a wizard's son; have faith in your father and wait patiently for him!"
"But, sir, he told me he'd be back in three days, and he's been gone for over a week now!" Romeo exclaimed.
Master Makarov hummed. "If I remember, he took a job at Mt. Hakobe…"
"That's right! And it's not that far from here, so why won't somebody go look for him?!"
"Listen kid!" Master Makarov said in annoyance. "You're father's a wizard, and like every other wizard in this guild, he can take care of himself! Now go home, have some milk and cookies, and wait!"
Romeo clenched his fist and smacked Master Makarov in the face. "Jerk!" He ran to the exit of the guild with tears in his eyes. "I hate you all!"
Lucy felt her usual smile drop into a grim line. "Is he going to be all right?"
"He'll be just fine," Mira reassured.
"…But," Lucy paused, not knowing what to say.
Mira continued wiping glasses. "I know it seems like the Master doesn't care, but he really is worried."
Before Lucy could reply, there was a smashing sound along with the splinter of wood. Everyone at the bar whirled around and looked to see that Natsu had punched the request board. It seemed that he held back his true anger because there was nothing but a mark the size of his fist imbedded into the thick wood. Lucy watched in silence as Natsu made his way out the guild into the night, with Happy following along, and disappeared into the darkness.
The first thing that occurred to Lucy's mind was why he had gotten so upset. She turned back around and tapped her fingers rhythmically against the counter of the bar as she thought about. His magic was restless and wanted to help. She hypothesized that maybe Natsu saw himself in Romeo for one reason or another. Lucy drowned into her thoughts and could hear the distant chatter of Master Makarov and Nab, the large man that stood by the request board, about Natsu going up to Mt. Hakobe, but she paid it no heed. She felt like she should help in someway, but at the same time, she felt it wasn't in her place to meddle in people's personal business.
"You okay there, Lucy?" Mira asked.
"I'm all right. I was just thinking."
Mira gave a soft smile. "Just because we're members of Fairy Tail, it doesn't mean we don't have our own personal issues. We've all had our fair share of suffering and loss."
Lucy gave her own soft smile in return. "Yes, I sensed it."
"One's happiness is everyone's happiness. One's sadness is everyone's sadness."
Lucy remained silent and let those precious words sink in. A ghost of a smile rested on her lips. Not even her father was like that, and they were true flesh and blood.
"Lucy?"
"Nothing, I was just wondering what exactly made Natsu so upset to storm off like that."
Mira placed the clean glasses back on the shelf. "Many years ago, Natsu's father left and never came back. Well, technically, it wasn't his real father, but the one who raised him. He was actually a dragon. When he was a little boy, a dragon found him wandering the forest and took him in and taught him all about language, culture, and magic. But one day the dragon disappeared and never returned
Lucy eyes widened. "He mentioned the name Igneel…"
"That's right! Natsu lives for the day when he can finally see Igneel again. It's kind of cute, don't you think?"
Both girls giggled. Mira was about to continue her daily duties in the bar, but Lucy had to stop because she had one more question.
"Um, Mira, I was wondering if you know any good places to live around here close to the guild? Something cozy and not too expensive?"
"Fairy Hills would be out of the question then…" Mira then grinned. "I know just the place!"
2 2 2
Lucy woke up to a warm breeze from her window accompanied by the sounds of several birds chirping. Her eyes fluttered open and squinted from the bright light. She sluggishly sat up and rubbed her eyes with a yawn escaping her mouth. She then began stretching her limbs side to side. She sighed contently and looked around her new apartment. On her nightstand was a flower vase holding the pink gloxinia flower she received the day before, an alarm clock that read 10:38AM, and a ring of celestial keys her mother had owned.
Her brown eyes rested on the keys for a moment before looking away with a pained smile. She still had to find a suitable owner for them; she had no reason to keep them because she couldn't use them squat. But…she kept them because her father wanted to sell them, and she just couldn't let that happen. The silver and gold keys glistened in the lighting. Lucy smiled as a thought occurred to her. Maybe leaving them in care of the Master would be better. She still had to think about it. The blonde sighed and drifted her eyes from the celestial keys to her surroundings.
Lucy had to hand it to Mira. Her new place was cute, cozy, convenient, and just what she was looking for. All she had to do to get to Fairy Tail was get right through the center of town past the beautiful Kardia Cathedral, and there was Fairy Tail, the only guild in Magnolia, not too far away down the main street near the coast. It was a decent walking distance from her comfy apartment on Strawberry Street that was at seventy thousand jewels a month. It wasn't out of her reach financially: all she had to do was make sure to complete jobs from the guild successfully if she wanted to live there, as the scary landlady had said. The space was nice and the walk-in closet was just a big plus for her. There was the addition of a cute retro-fireplace and stove, but what she loved most was her bedroom.
The blonde headed to her bathroom and stripped to enjoy a nice warm bath in her tub. She practically purred in satisfaction when she sat in the steaming bath. The only difference between her and a cat right then was that she had no fur and liked water. She scrubbed herself and her hair and after a good fifteen minutes she was out patting her blonde tresses dry with a towel wrapped around her body. She walked into her closet.
"Now, let's see," Lucy hummed. "Something more suitable for a mission…"
She picked out a black tank top, some dark jean-ripped shorts, a white long-sleeved, V-neck shirt that went over the tank to her midriff, and some neat looking black combat boots that went to her knees. She put her hair up in the same style she had yesterday.
"All set to go," Lucy said to herself with a hum.
She glanced at her clock to see it was only 11:23AM. Well, she certainly had time for breakfast, and this called for some nice eggs and bacon. The blonde happily skipped to the fridge and opened it. Her face remained frozen for a few seconds. She blinked a couple of times before she fully registered that there was no food whatsoever.
Lucy face-palmed. That's right! She didn't buy food yesterday. She came straight here, rented the place, organized herself, and slept in because she was so tired.
"Well, this is great," she muttered sarcastically.
So, that's how she found herself at the guild eating Mira's incredible bacon and eggs with a strawberry milkshake. Lucy's plate was spotless when she was done, and she was contently sipping on the remaining contents of her stomach when Gray entered through the guild doors in his trademark get-up looking handsome as ever.
"That's my cue," Lucy said. "Thanks for the breakfast, Mira! You're really good at cooking!"
"Anytime! Be careful!" Mira waved.
Lucy waved back with a big smile.
2 2 2
"Finally, Shirotsume Town," Lucy said, stretching her limbs from the coach ride. "It's so peaceful!" Her eyes sparkled in admiration and excitement.
Gray still couldn't believe the blonde mage before him was the same person yesterday. It wasn't just the clothes, but her attitude. She was determined and ready to do the best she could. He had to admit that he expected her to be a little more intimidated on her first job, but no, she was ready to kick some ass. He was, to say the least, impressed in a way.
They walked through the town, and it wasn't long until the came upon the house…er, mansion of the client. They entered and were greeted by a maid and led into the living room. They sat on the sofa in front of a gentleman and his wife, who stood behind him. There was a slight frown on Gray's face because their clients seemed a little out of place from the mansion. He couldn't place it exactly, but the ice mage took a mental note and shrugged it off for the time being.
"My name's Kaby Melon," the man introduced. "Pleased to meet you."
Gray frowned. He couldn't help but feel their client didn't really "fit" with their home, if that made any sense. They seemed out of place for one reason or another. His eyes scanned the room and landed on a picture frame sitting on the table. It was a picture of a man and woman. He figured it was Kaby and his wife, but he squinted his eyes to see it wasn't them. Seeming to notice his questioning glance, Kaby's wife smiled at him and moved the picture out of the way when a maid came in to set down some tea for them. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Lucy's eyebrows furrow into a thoughtful expression.
"Well, first things first," Kaby said. "Allow me to tell you about the job. It's pretty straightforward really. Duke Everlue, the man who governs this town, owns a book called Daybreak in his possession. I would like you to get rid of it for me."
"May I ask why, sir?" Lucy asked curiously. "Why pay two hundred thousand jewels for just a book to be burned?"
"The reward has been raised to two million."
Gray's eyes widened a fraction. "Two million?"
"Why'd you raise the reward?" Lucy inquired in shock.
Kaby clenched his fists. "Because it means that much to me. That book must be destroyed no matter the cost."
"Interesting," Gray murmured under his breath. There was definitely a lot more going on than he initially thought. Looking at the their client's rigid and tense posture, he could only conclude it was more personal than anything else. "All right, it's settled. Let's go, Lucy."
"R-Right!"
After a about a ten minute hike up to Everlue's even bigger mansion, Gray and Lucy stood in front of the secure gate of his estate. Gray turned back around to see a great view of Shirotsume below.
"How do you think we'll sneak in without making it too obvious?" Lucy asked.
"I got that covered," Gray replied. "The hard part will be finding the book."
"What's your idea?"
Gray smirked. "I'm pretty nifty will teleportation magic, actually."
Lucy's eyes widened. "Just how much magic do you know?"
"Three," he answered honestly.
He could see she was about to ask, but she shook her head and focused on the task at hand. "Could you get us right inside then?"
"No, I would have to know the place. The best I can do is get us on the roof and then, from there, inside. If I tried getting us directly inside, we'd most likely end up stuck between a wall or something, and that wouldn't be pretty."
Lucy grimaced. "Yes, sounds rather unpleasant."
"Anyway, just hold onto me, and we'll be there."
"Right," she said with a small blush. "Tell me when we're there."
The blonde timidly held onto his arm and shut her eyes, and Gray couldn't help but think it was cute. He shook off the thought and looked at Everlue's residence, more specifically at where he wanted to go, and faster than anyone could blink, they were on the roof. There wasn't much on the roof, but there were windows into an attic or storage room of some sort. He looked into the room, and in an instant, they were inside Everlue's mansion.
"You can open your eyes now," Gray announced, amused.
He watched as she slowly peeked her soft brown eyes open. She let out a small breath of relief, and she let go of his arm and took a step into the room.
Gray took a look himself and concluded that it indeed was a storage room of some sort because there were cobwebs in corners and dust hovering in the air. He scrunched his nose, feeling a tickling sensation, but Lucy beat him to it. She sneezed and dust exploded and jumped around her. Gray wanted to chuckle, but he sneezed himself.
"My goodness," Lucy exclaimed. "Someone hasn't cleaned this place in ages!"
He couldn't help but sneeze again in response.
The two of them traveled through the storage room filled with armor, mirrors, pottery and vases, masks, weapons, etc., until they finally reached the exit. They happily vacated the dusty room into a hallway with several doors.
"How in the world are we going to find this book?" Lucy asked.
"Let's look for a library," Gray suggested. "With Everlue being this rich, it'd be ridiculous if he didn't have one."
"Got a point there," Lucy agreed.
And that was where they began their long journey of traveling through the halls and rooms of Everlue's mansion to find a book and destroy it. Gray opened a door to find a bathroom of gold with Everlue's ugly face. He grimaced and shut the door. He really hoped they didn't bump into the guy because judging by the golden toilet he saw – this Everlue guy was a nutcase – and they were in for some weird shit. Thinking back, Gray thought that maybe he should have chosen a different mission because this seemed more of a job suited for that flame brain – when it came to destroying things that is.
They reached – what Gray guessed – the center of Everlue's mansion because it contained a plaza with vast empty space with a huge statue made out of gold of Everlue himself. Gray could only shake his head.
"Hey, Gray, I found it!" Lucy called. He looked up to see Lucy waving over to him. "It's quite impressive!"
Gray walked up and stood next to Lucy to see she was hardly exaggerating. The library had large bookcases reaching the ceiling and lined along the walls of the circular room with a sitting area in the middle.
"Oh wow," he responded. "You weren't kidding."
"Who would've thought that Everlue was a major bookworm," Lucy said.
As they were about to enter, Lucy suddenly turned around. She looked confused.
"What's wrong?" Gray asked with a raised brow.
"I feel a celestial spirit below us…" She scrunched her face. "It is loyal to its master, but it is looking for something better."
Gray widened his eyes, amazed and impressed. He could feel the magic pressure below them, but she identified what kind and the nature of it without trying. She really wasn't kidding about her ability. Hell, she even identified a celestial spirit! That took considerable skill, and it was pretty rare. Most high-skilled mage's, like himself, could identify magic pressure and how powerful they were, but to that detail – he concluded it had to be a plus with the pure magic she had. But what was interesting was he could easily identify her nature of magic for some reason or another.
"Yeah, I feel it too," he replied.
Just as he said that, a huge, gorilla-like maid with pink hair exploded from the ground with five other maids holding some sort of weapon. Lucy shrieked in surprise, but Gray could only blink as they yelled "Intruder Alert!" in unison. They really weren't much of a threat, so Gray pondered what he could do. He could just freeze them easily thanks to his ice devil slaying magic, but where was all the fun in that? He settled for his ice-make magic, which was more fun and creative. Gray smirked and held his fist in his palm. A crystal blue magic circle appeared with an intricate snowflake in the middle.
"Ice-Make: Hammer!"
So, a hammer out of ice materialized, and boy, the maids were in for a surprise because the hammer took a big swing and – BAM! – they were already flying at the Everlue's ugly statue of himself.
"I don't even know what to say," Lucy said, a bit dazed.
"The statue was the final straw," Gray replied in the same manner.
Lucy could only nod as they entered the library. They looked around before starting at opposite ends. Gray sighed as his eyes skimmed over the spines of the several books. Not once did he see the title Daybreak. He wondered if Lucy was having any luck. He turned and glanced behind him to see her on the ladder near the top of the bookcase skimming just as he was. First thing that came to mind was if the ladder was stable and safe enough. He shook his head and continued his search. He didn't know how long time had passed, but he was on the verge of freezing the whole damn place when Lucy gave called out to him excitedly.
"Gray, I found it!"
"Seriously?"
The devil slayer turned around and saw a smiling Lucy waving a golden book in her hand. He squinted his eyes and indeed the title Daybreak was printed across it with a picture of a sunset below.
"Yeah, and it's by Kemu Zaleon," Lucy said. "I don't understand why our client would want to destroy an amazing novelist's book."
"Kemu Zaleon?" Gray repeated.
Lucy began her careful trek down the ladder, but it didn't ease Gray's mind one bit. His gut feeling was right when the ladder suddenly unlatched itself. He saw Lucy's body freeze. In a flash, he teleported by the ladder and pushed it back against the bookcase before it fell any further.
"Th-Thank you!" Lucy stuttered. "I-I don't think I can move…"
"I won't let you fall," Gray said. "Trust me."
Lucy fumbled with her grip on the rungs of the ladder for a moment before slowly moving down. Gray let out a small breath of relief he didn't know he was holding when she made it safely down. Lucy turned and stared at the ground. He guessed she sensed another magical presence, and she was right, of course.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Everlue himself exploded from the ground. "I knew you low-life wizards were around to steal something, but I didn't think it would be that stupid book."
"Stupid?" Lucy repeated, offended. "But…"
"Lucy," Gray said. "Let's destroy it."
"I have to read it!" Lucy said.
Gray blinked, totally caught off guard by her suggestion. "Right now?!"
"Enough nonsense!" Everlue shouted. "Do you realize who I am? Get your filthy hands of my book! Vanish Brothers!"
The bookcases in the library shifted apart to show a passageway. Gray immediately sensed two beings hidden in the darkness. They walked out into the library, and Gray immediately began to analyze them. They were brothers, so they communication and teamwork between them would be on point. However, one was tall and buff and the other was short and lean and happened to be carrying some weird, giant, metal pan. He already sensed the bigger of the two would be stronger while the smaller one would be faster. Gray also noticed the sign of their mercenary guild printed on their clothes; they were the Southern Wolves. He snapped out of his analyzation when he felt Lucy clench onto the sleeve of his white coat nervously as she hid behind him, hugging the book to her chest.
"Good afternoon. You called us, sir?" the shorter one greeted politely.
"Can you believe that these punks are Fairy Tail wizards? Talk about a disappointment," the bigger one mocked.
"Who are they?" Lucy whispered behind him.
"Mercenaries."
Gray drowned out some speech that Everlue was giving and trained his eyes on Lucy. "Why do you need to read it?"
"It doesn't make any sense! Kemu Zaleon was an amazing novelist! I've read all his books but this one. Something's just not right…"
Gray sighed. He decided to trust Lucy's gut on this one. "I suppose I'll stall?"
Lucy smiled. "If you would be so kind!"
Gray felt her grip on his sleeve loosen, and he watched as she made her way to the table in the center of the room to grab a pair of red Gale-Force reading glasses to help her speed read. She sat on the desk and placed the reading glasses on and opened the book. Gray turned his attention back to Everlue and the Southern Wolves.
"The Southern Wolves are always hungry for fresh game!" Everlue said with a strange laugh. "Say your prayers, thieves!"
There was a slight pause. Gray could feel the corner of his lips twitch up, slightly amused. Everlue was trying to get a reaction from them, but 1) he was hardly fazed, 2) Lucy was reading to even make a reaction at all, and 3) he's faced much, much worse than some mercenaries.
Gray cleared his throat. "You done?"
And that was the last straw for Everlue. The guy's face was priceless. His eyes bugged out of their sockets, and his jaw dropped to the ground. He began childishly stomping his feet around and yelling at him. Gray didn't register the insulting words or whatever the hell he was saying. He was enjoying his time watching the duke have a storm. Sadly, the Vanish Brothers weren't too amused.
"Kill that bastard!" Everlye yelled.
"Gray!"
Said wizard turned around to see Lucy walk up to him. He noticed she was already quite a ways through the book. "Find something?" he asked.
"Yeah, but I need to read the whole thing for it all to make sense."
"Like I said before, I'll stall!"
"Stop ignoring me!" Everlue screamed.
Lucy only ran past them and out the door.
"I'll go after the girl!" Everlue stated, disappearing into the ground. "You take care of this prick and make sure he doesn't come out of here in one piece!"
"You heard the boss," Shortie said.
"This should be easy," Big said.
"Hardly fair," Shortie replied. "It's two on one."
"Tch," Gray clicked his tongue. "I'll be just fine."
"Woah, you sure talk big for such a little guy," Big remarked.
"Perhaps we should put him in his place," his smaller brother suggested. He turned his attention to Gray. "So you're an ice wizard?"
Gray raised his brows. "Good guess."
"We saw you fight with Virgo," Big clarified. "That's how we know."
And just like Gray predicted, Big attacked first. Gray sighed as the guy jumped into the air and came down with an axe kick. Gray dodged and had to admit that he was indeed impressed by the sheer power of the kick. As Big's kick came into contact with the ground, debris of rubble and splinted wood flew everywhere. Reminded him of good, old Laxus, but the mercenary wasn't even a good match to the Lightning Dragon Slayer. The ice mage snapped out of his thoughts when Shortie suddenly appeared in front of him and swung that giant, ridiculous pan of his. Because Gray was distracted, he didn't have time to dodge like he normally would, so he just used his teleportation magic and teleported outside the library on top of Everlue golden statue of himself. He watched as the force of Shortie's swing blew out the wall.
"Where'd the hell he go?" Big asked angrily.
"He's fast," Shortie acknowledged.
The Vanish Brothers appeared out of the library.
"That cocky bastard!" Big yelled as he saw Gray. "Look!" he pointed to him. "He's just sitting there on the statue!"
Gray could only raise a brow at the insult. "Cocky bastard?" he echoed. "I was just waiting, asshole. You guys were taking a while."
"You pathetic wizards are no match for trained mercenaries like us!" Big shouted.
Gray blinked. "If that's your best, I would highly recommend you reconsider that illogical statement."
"Woah, this kid is getting on my nerves," Big said to Shortie.
Shortie scoffed. "You're so hot-headed. Don't let his smart-talk get to you. He's just trying to taunt you."
Gray sweatdropped. He wasn't trying to do anything...
"Do you happen to know what a wizard's greatest weakness is?" Shortie asked.
"Enlighten me."
"It's their bodies," Shortie explained. He flew toward him with incredible speed, but Gray easily jumped off the statue and gracefully landed on the ground. "Since wizards have to focus so intensely on holding their mental abilities..."
Big jumped down and punched the ground where Gray was standing only a second before. Like before, with his raw strength, the ground was reduced to nothing but rubble. "They neglect their bodies leaving themselves physically weak and vulnerable..." he finished.
"On the other hand, mercenaries like us focus on our physical abilities," Shortie finished.
"Which makes us stronger and faster than you," Big finished with a smug smirk.
Gray couldn't help but role his eyes at their ignorance. "You guys are idiots."
Shortie blinked, shocked. "Excuse me?"
"Do you really think wizards from guilds wouldn't know that? You probably encountered wizards who don't know any better and hide behind their magic," Gray explained matter-of-factly. "That's why" – Big roared in anger and went flying toward him with a punched. Gray didn't even bother to dodge and just caught it – "wizards like me train both." The ice mage began freezing the Big's arm. Big screamed in pain and that was Gray's cue to send him an uppercut to the jaw, which sent the poor mercenary flying into Everlue golden statue.
"Impossible," Shortie said with wide eyes.
Gray lunged toward the short mercenary, who pathetically shielded himself behind his pan. He teleported behind the guy and sent a roundhouse kick to Shortie's head, leaving him out cold and done for.
The ice mage inspected the damage around before trying to find Lucy's magical aura. He closed his eyes and with some effort, he sensed Lucy's presence down below, and she was not alone. Neither was he.
Gray turned around to see none other than Virgo.
2 2 2
Lucy sat in one of the underground passageways of the Everlue mansion. Her golden braid fell over her shoulder as she read Daybreak. Her brows were furrowed as she fanned the pages with an incredible speed. Her eyes absorbed the words quickly thanks the Gale-Force glasses. She fanned the last section she had to read and was finally done. She took off the glasses and placed them beside her before closing the book.
"That was amazing," she whispered to herself in the darkness. "I knew it held some sort of secret!"
Lucy jumped up when she felt Everlue's vile magic presence approaching her from behind. She stepped a back a few steps to get a safe distance between her and the duke. And just like she said, Everlue exploded out of the wall, attempting to grab her, but instead, he grabbed nothing but air. He grinned sickly at her.
"Well then, please share that little secret! You shouldn't keep a secret from a friend."
"No way!" Lucy snarled, angered by what she read. "A man like you doesn't deserve to know! You're an enemy of literature!"
"The enemy of literature?! Did you not see my library?!"
Lucy only continued glaring at him with bared teeth.
"Tell me, does it contain a treasure map inside? Some clue to a hidden fortune?" Everlue hopped out of the wall. His nose flared. "TELL ME, YOU BLONDE THIEF! I COMMISSIONED THE BOOK'S VERY CREATION! Therefore, any secret it holds is RIGHTFULLY MINE!"
Everlue lunged toward her. Lucy froze for two reasons: 1) this was her first fight, and 2) she actually had to hurt someone. She dodged Everlue just in time, but she was hardly relaxed when he used his Diver magic to disappear into the ground. She continued dodging when he began springing up from the ground to get the book from her, but she couldn't avoid violence forever. The blonde shrieked when Everlue sprung out right before her. Out of reflex, she smacked the duke in the face with the book.
"You bitch!" he howled in pain.
Lucy hugged the book closer to her chest, and she felt her magic coursing through her body into her fist. White light emanated from her hand. It was much like Natsu's fire. Only, instead of fire, it was pure, wispy white light. It wasn't a harsh brightness. Instead, it was a soothing, soft one. Her magic was itching to knock some sense into this duke, and she did. Lucy drew her fist back to the unsuspecting Everlue and WHAM! – she socked him in the cheek. He flew back a ways, but it was nothing compared to what she's seen from Gray.
"Come on, Lucy," she told herself. She was a Fairy Tail mage: she didn't need to be so reserved in using her magical power. She could use it freely now. Without the insulting and degrading comments of her father. And just like that, her magic was flaring from her body to show her true anger for what he had done.
Everlue shakily pulled out a golden gate key, causing Lucy's eyes to widen in surprise. He was a celestial wizard?!
"Open! Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" he yelled.
Lucy squinted her eyes when a murky purple magic circle appeared. Just like Everlue had been doing the whole day, Virgo, the giant gorilla maid exploded from the ground. The blonde and Everlue were about to battle it out when they both noticed Gray standing on her shoulder, looking lost and a bit confused. Both Lucy and Everlue were confused as well but mostly shocked.
"What is the meaning of this?" Everlue asked.
"Gray, what are you doing?" Lucy inquired.
"I...don't know..." He scratched his head. "I saw her get up and grabbed her and then we appeared here."
"But that means..." Everlue trailed off, the possibility of it all making him speechless.
"You traveled through the Celestial World," Lucy finished, even more amazed and shocked and confused. "But that's impossible!"
"Nevermind that," Gray said. His signature crystal blue magic circle appeared. "Ice-Make: Knuckle!"
Huge fists of ice slammed down on Virgo, knocking her out cold. Everlue was able to avoid it using his Diver's magic. Lucy swiveled around, sensing Everlue behind her.
Gray landed next to her. "You okay?"
"I'm fine. Perfect timing as always."
2 2 2
Just as she said that, Everlue appeared from the ground. Gray was about to just freeze him because the duke was just getting annoying, but Lucy went ahead of him.
"I got this one," she called over her shoulder with a bright smile as always.
Before he could say anything, the ice mage's breath was taken away when her magic circle appeared. The color was white, but it was the most comforting hue he had ever seen in his life. It was a softer tone, almost like it could caress anything, and it seemed impossible that it could hurt anything as well. He squinted his eyes to pick of flecks of gold, and he saw that a dove was in the center of her magic circle. Hell, even Everlue stopped because the aura of Lucy's magic was just so tranquil and filled with plenty of other nice things, unlike his own.
"Lucy Kick!"
Gray blinked at the name but stopped questioning anything when Lucy gave a solid roundhouse kick to Everlue's cheek. The poor duke went flying into solid wall with a few missing teeth and blood running out of his mouth. The force of the kick must've been great because Everlue easily broke through. That must have been the last straw of his mansion as well because it had begun to tremble with pieces of rubble falling from the ceiling.
"Whoops..." Lucy said with a frown.
Gray chuckled. "You're definitely going to fit in well."
"But–" she stopped when he teleported next to her and held out his arm.
"Grab on," he ordered. "We have to get out before the whole thing falls on us."
Gray watched as she wordlessly grasped his arm. Satisfied, he teleported outside just in time to see the mansion collapse.
"Master Makarov isn't going to be happy about this one..." he mentioned.
Lucy sweatdropped. "I hope I don't get blamed for this."
"Hardly, Everlue brought it upon himself."
She sighed. "We should get back to our client."
"Right behind you."
It didn't take long for them to be welcomed back into the same room they met their clients after they arrived at their door. They both sat on the plushy couch while their client sat in the same armchair with his wife behind him. He and Lucy decided that she would take charge since she found out that Daybreak really did contain a secret. He couldn't help but feel proud of her in a way. He told her that, and she just blushed like she always did, much to his pleasure.
"I read Daybreak," Lucy started hesitantly.
"But–" Kaby started. He stopped when Lucy put up her hand.
"When I read it, I couldn't believe that Kemu Zaleon wrote it," Lucy explained. "There's no way he would've wrote something that bad."
"So?" Kaby asked.
"So I knew there must be a spell on it. It was possible because Zaleon was a wizard before he became a novelist."
Gray glanced at Lucy, impressed that she knew her facts. She only flashed him a tiny smile before focusing back on her task. She stood up and gave the book to Kaby.
"I don't understand," he said. "I requested that this book be destroyed. Why are you handing it back to me completely unscathed?"
"If you really want to destroy it, I really rather you do it yourself," Lucy said sympathetically.
"I most certainly will destroy this trash," he seethed. "I never wanted to see it again."
"I completely understand," Lucy replied softly. "I understand the reason why you feel about this book, Kaby. You want to protect your father's legacy because you're actually Zaleon's son, aren't you?"
Gray blinked. Woah, he was not expecting that.
Kaby sighed and looked down. "Yes, that's true."
"Have you read it yourself?"
"No, I could never bring myself to do it..." Kaby admitted. "My father told me it was garbage."
Gray narrowed his eyes. "You were just going to destroy it?" An image of his deceased father popped up in his head. "You're not even going to read his last book? You know, some of us would kill for that kind of memory."
He felt Lucy's concerned and worried gaze, but he ignored it. He really wanted to give the man a piece of his mind. It wasn't like him to get angry, but his last memory of his father wasn't something he liked to remember. Even if it was a so called trashy novel, Kaby should read it. He clenched his jaw to hold back a tirade that he would surely regret. Lucy probably wouldn't be impressed either because he would just be abusing their client, and it was unlike him.
Gray tensed when he felt Lucy's hand rest on his shoulder, and almost immediately, he felt her magic rush through him, and he felt a certain tranquility. He looked at her, a bit annoyed that she used her magic on him but at the same time grateful. He furrowed his brow when he felt...something in his magic react to hers. He started wondering about it but snapped out of his own thoughts when Kaby started speaking again.
Kaby sighed. "Daybreak caused my family great heartache and shame. It happened thirty-one years ago...
"He suddenly came home after three years. He hadn't contacted us or sent letters or anything for three years, and of course, I was upset. I remember shouting at him, but he paid me no heed and cut off his arm, saying he would never write again. He was later hospitalized, and I remember telling him he should have listened to me. He shouldn't have worked for that filthy man, Duke Everlue. I asked him why, and you know what he told me? It was because of the money. The old man was smiling...
His eyes teared up. "He said he thought about me the whole time... The last...the last thing I told him was that he..." Kaby swallowed. "That he was a sad excuse for a writer, and he wasn't much of a father." He let out a deep breath. "Not long after that, he died, but the anger and betrayal lived on. But now, my anger has turned into remorse over the years, and it's too late for me to ask for his forgiveness. So I decided to make amends by destroying the book that caused so much unhappiness. This is the only way I can preserve his legacy..."
"No, Kaby..." Lucy said softly. "Look."
Gray watched with a raised brow as a light blue magic circle suddenly appeared from the book. The only thing he could think of right then was Lucy exceeded her expectation as a newbie. The thought of working with her again lurked in the back of his mind. She was sharp and intelligent, and it was never boring with her. He suddenly thought of maybe even permanently forming a team with her because of her qualities, and the fact that he was a little protective of her even though they just met, or that is what he would like to say, but his magic was acting peculiarly around her.
"A spell was cast on it," Lucy explained. "The spell was cast by the wizard Kemu Zaleon, or should I say, Zekua Melon!"
Gray blinked twice when he thought he imagined the letters in Daybreak rearranged to Dear Kaby. But no, he wasn't imagining things. The discovery only told him not only the title was mixed up but the whole book as well. Talk about a plot twist, he thought to himself sardonically.
"Dear Kaby?" their client read.
"That right," Lucy said with a smile. "This was your father's letter to you disguised behind a spell that rearranged all of the words, so no one else could read it." Suddenly, the words from the book came streaming out in golden letters. Gray couldn't help but whistle as golden letters floated in the air and surrounded them.
Lucy continued. "He didn't stop writing because he was ashamed, he stopped because he finished his master piece, a novel containing everything he ever wanted to say to his beloved son. And when you read it the way he intended, it's easily his best work ever."
Tears streamed down Kaby's face.
"Now that the spell has been broken, you can read it for yourself," Lucy finished. As if on cue, the golden letters slowly dimmed and reentered the book.
Gray sighed after witnessing everything and got up. "Well," he started, "I suppose we won't be collecting the award." Kaby, his wife, and Lucy looked at him in surprise. "We were supposed to destroy it," he went on. "We didn't finish the job."
"Even so, let me do something!" Kaby protested.
"Thanks for offering, but we don't want it," Gray rejected.
"It is about time we head home," Lucy added, still surprised at the refusal of the reward money.
Gray started walking away but glanced over his shoulder. "Agreed, that goes for you two as well."
Lucy looked at him in confusion.
2 2 2
"It's still hard to believe you refused to accept two million jewels," Lucy commented.
"It wouldn't have looked nice," Gray responded simply. "You have to think of Fairy Tail's reputation. Besides, they wouldn't have been able to pay anyway. They were just using the place to make people think they were rich."
"Oh yeah, how'd you know the house wasn't theirs?" Lucy asked curiously.
"The photo on the coffee table. It was the couple who actually owned the place."
"Ah, I didn't really pay attention to that. My mistake." Lucy bit her lip. How could she possibly miss that? The picture was literally right there, but she had been so distracted by the beauty of the intricately decorated house. She sighed, disappointed in herself. She was an ex-heiress for Pete's sake. But it was a really pretty mansion, her mind argued. Yes,
"Uh, Lucy?" Gray called.
"Hm?"
"You okay? You spaced out."
"Oh, uh, yeah," she said. "Just a little frustrated for not noticing."
Gray blinked, his brows furrowing a second later. "But you did a fantastic job for a newbie," he complimented sincerely. "In fact, you performed so smoothly, I would definitely consider taking another job with you."
Lucy felt her cheeks blush as she gazed into his midnight blue eyes. "R-Really?" she stuttered.
He flashed her a tiny smile. "Really."
Her eyes widened as she stared hard at Gray, trying to make sure if all this was real. A smile twitched on her lips before it slowly spread and brightly lit up her face. This feeling of praise and support was so different than what she was used to back at home. No, she reminded herself. What she thought was a home was nothing but the opposite. Fairy Tail was her family now. These people...
"What?" Gray asked. "Is there something on my face?"
Lucy giggled. "No, I'm just...happy." He remained silent, but Lucy knew that was his way of saying "go on": she noticed he was more a listener than anything else. "Thank you."
Gray tilted his head to the side. "For what?"
"Bringing me to Fairy Tail."
And there you have it! Chapter 2! Hope you like it and let me know what you think! Any questions, PM me. Other than that, stay tuned!