Hope you weren't waiting long. Time for another chapter! Last chapter, Fox and the others fought against Eisanwald and Lullaby, which caused the destruction of the Guild Masters' meeting hall. Erza also started seeing Fox in a new light, wondering why he's hiding his abilities.
Oh, and Fox is publishing smut that Jiraiya snuck in his jacket when he arrived in Fiore.
Well, time for the chapter to begin!
Chapter 5: The Magic Council
"Geez, that was some mission," Lucy groaned as she rested in her bath tub, enjoying the warm water. "My body is still sore."
Lucy rested her head on the tub as she recalled the mission. After running away from the enraged Guild Masters for accidentally destroying the meeting hall, where Fox carried her and ran away with the rest of their group. She blushed since that was the second time he carried her.
She also learned a lot of things about Fox, like him using some type of Shadow Magic, he's some kind of doctor, and has three, bushy tails, which she finds odd. And she knew that he could match something like Lullaby, since he restricted its movements and blocked its attacks like it was nothing.
She also remembered how muscular he was as he carried her away from the angry Guild Masters, holding on to his muscular chest.
She blushed and splashed water on her face, to clear her mind.
"Don't think about him like that," she said to herself as she stood up from the bath and grabbed a towel, drying herself. "He's my friend. And my teacher…But he is cool…But Mirajane likes him…And then there was the incident with Levy-chan…"
She groaned, feeling like her head was all messed up. Because of the mission with Fox, unfamiliar feelings started rising in her chest. Ever since meeting him, her life changed, she has seen things in a way she never thought existed, and it was all because of him.
"Ugh…this is so confusing…" she said as she walked to her living room.
"Hey, nice place you got here," Gray greeted, sitting on the sofa, shirtless.
"GAH! Pervert!" Lucy exclaimed as she kicked Gray, blushing.
"Ow! What was that for?" Gray asked, rubbing his face as Lucy grabbed some clothes and ran back to the bathroom, returning a few seconds later.
"That's my line!" she exclaimed. "It's bad enough that Natsu does it, I don't need a stripper to break in my home!"
"For the record, I lost my shirt coming here," Gray said in a defending tone. "I just came by to remind you of the fight."
"Fight?" she repeated, looking at him with confusion.
"I knew you'd forget," Gray said with a sigh as he stood up. "The reason why Natsu agreed to help Erza, remember?"
Lucy's eyes widened as she remembered Natsu asking Erza for a fight in exchange for joining the mission.
A few minutes later, Lucy and Gray arrived at Fairy Tail, where a lot of the mages were gathered in front of the building. In the center of the large crowd were Erza and Natsu, preparing to fight.
"Wait, they're really going to fight?" Lucy asked in shock as Natsu started stretching. "But they're friends!"
"So? We fight all the time," Gray said, looking at Lucy.
"But this looks serious!" Lucy exclaimed before she saw Cana placing bets on who would win, with a lot of them betting on Erza. "You're betting!?"
"Yeah, otherwise I'd be boring," Cana explained with a shrug as Happy walked towards her.
"Hey, can I bet on Erza?" he asked.
"Well I'm not betting!" Lucy exclaimed, crossing her arms. "It's immoral."
"Hm…I think there's a chance Natsu-san can win."
"Ha! Good one."
Lucy turned and saw Fox and Kurama next to her, surprising her since she didn't see him nearby.
"Fox-kun!" she exclaimed in surprise.
"Lucy-san, glad to see you're well," he greeted with a nod before turning to the fight. "Let's see how much Natsu-san has improved since his last encounter with Erza-san."
"Last encounter?" Lucy said as she looked at the two. "You mean Natsu and Erza-san fought before?"
"It wasn't a fight, it was a one second beating," Kurama replied. "Natsu didn't even had a chance. Like, it was over in a blink of an eye."
"Shut up, Kurama!" Natsu exclaimed in an annoyed tone. "I was a kid back then!"
"That was last year!" the mages exclaimed in unison.
"I was a kid a year ago!" Natsu exclaimed as he grinned eagerly. "I've gotten stronger than before, so don't hold back, Erza!"
"Very well. Requip!" Erza exclaimed as her body glowed before her outfit changed. A dark red, one-piece swimsuit-like armor with black and orange parts shaped like flames and other parts looking like Dragon's limbs, the breastplate shaped like Dragon's wings, the greaves shaped like Dragon's claws, and her hair was tied to ponytails that resembles a Dragon's horns.
"That's Erza's Flame Empress Armor!" one of the mages exclaimed. "It reduces fire attacks by 50%!"
"Erza isn't holding back."
"Okay, I want a nice, clean fight with no property damage!" Makarov exclaimed, acting as a referee. "Now, begin!"
The moment he said that, Natsu quickly charged, his fists lit with flames. With a roar, he threw a punch at Erza, which she blocked with her orange sword. Natsu quickly followed with a flaming roundhouse kick, which Erza dodged before she threw a punch that sent Natsu flying a few feet away.
"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu exclaimed as he released a stream of fire from his mouth.
Erza crossed her arms in front of her, taking the attack head on. Everyone watched as the flames hit Erza, some cheering, thinking they won their bet. Suddenly, the flames parted suddenly, revealing an unharmed Erza.
Erza suddenly flew to the air, causing Natsu to grin as he jumped to the air, using his flames to propel towards Erza. He then started throwing flaming punches and kicks, which Erza deflected with her sword.
"Wow," Lucy said with wide eyes. "To think the two of Fairy Tail's strongest can fight like this."
"Fairy Tail's strongest?" Gray commented as everyone looked at Lucy.
"Well, you, Erza and Natsu makes Fairy Tail's strongest team," Lucy explained.
"What idiot told you that crap?" Gray asked bluntly.
Mirajane, who was smiling behind him, suddenly cried in her little sister's arms.
"O-oh! I didn't mean that, Mira-san!" Gray exclaimed as all the guys gave him dirty looks for making her cry.
"Erza-san is the strongest female in Fairy Tail, but Natsu and Gray are not part of the strongest, Lucy-san," Fox explained, still facing the direction of the fight. "There is a ranking system in the guild, with S-Class as the highest, and there are only six people in Fairy Tail that has that rank, and one of them is Erza-san. Natsu-san and Gray-san have the potential to be S-Class, but still have a long way to go."
"I didn't know that," Lucy muttered before looking back to the fight, with both fighters returning to the ground.
"You have gotten stronger, Natsu," she complimented with a smirk, looking serious. "I don't need to hold back."
"Bring it, Erza!" Natsu exclaimed as he prepared to unleash a strong attack.
"Stop!" a voice exclaimed, causing everything to stop. They all looked and saw a humanoid toad dressed in white robes walking through the crowd, the symbol of the council displayed on the robe, with a group of Rune Knights behind him. "I am a messenger from the Magic Council."
"A frog?" Lucy thought as the messenger walked forward, pulling out a scroll.
"By the authority given to me by the Magic Council, the one named Fox is under arrest!"
Everyone's eyes widened as they turned to look at Fox, his expression hidden, but Kurama's wasn't. His eyes were wide with shock before they were filled with anger. Before he was about to do something, Fox started petting him, calming him down.
"Old man?" Fox said, turning to Makarov, who didn't look please about what was happening.
"…There's not much choice," Makarov said with a sigh. "Go ahead, boy. It's probably nothing. Just a scolding for the mission with Lullaby."
"I get punished because Natsu-san destroyed the Guild Masters' meeting hall?" Fox said with a sigh as he walked towards the Rune Knights. "How unfair."
"Hey! Don't blame me!" Natsu exclaimed in anger as he stomped towards the group. "And there's no way I'm gonna stand here and let you jerks-!"
"Kurama," Fox said as one of the knights shackled his hands together.
Suddenly, Natsu doubled over as he felt something hit his abdomen, before he felt his limbs restricted by something thin. Blinking, he saw that he was hogtied by thin ninja wires, with Kurama patting his paws together.
"Hey! What's the big idea!?" Natsu exclaimed in anger as he struggled from the wires, his limbs erupting with fire.
"Shut up," Kurama said as he slapped a piece of paper on Natsu said, with the symbols glowing. Natsu's eyes widened when he felt his magic suddenly restricted.
"Hey! What did you do!?" he exclaimed, before Kurama suddenly put a piece of duct tape over Natsu's mouth, silencing him and ignoring his angry, muffled protests.
Kurama then watched as Fox was led away by the Rune Knights, growling as everyone stayed silent while the Rune Knights took one of their own away.
"Shouldn't we do something?" Lucy asked as she looked at Makarov, who only sighed.
"There's nothing we can do, but wait," the old master said.
Later…
Fox silently followed the Frog through the marbled halls of the Magic Council. He hasn't spoken a word during the trip to the place. He has never been here before, since he never had any reason to. He's been to the area dozens of time, because of a mission, but never entered the headquarters of the Magic Council.
As he walked through the halls, a figure sitting on the rails was waiting for them. It was a young man with blue hair and blue eyes, with a red tattoo under his right eye, dressed in a white coat over a black shirt, white pants and white boots.
Fox noticed that his escort deeply bowed to the man, showing that he was one of the highest authorities.
"Greetings, Fox-san," the man greeted in a friendly manner, but Fox could feel something dark underneath, and felt like the man was incomplete.
"…You know me, but I don't know you," Fox replied.
"Oh, how rude of me," the man said with a chuckle. "My name is Siegrain Fernandes, a member of the Magic Council."
"Hm…Impressive for someone your age," Fox commented.
"Why thank you," Siegrain said with a nod before looking at Fox. "You know, I have always been interested in Fairy Tail. You are an interesting bunch, always doing whatever you want, even after being warned by the council numerous times."
"That's just how we are, I guess," Fox replied with a shrug.
"Well, I shouldn't keep you waiting," Siegrain said as he slowly disappeared, revealing to be a Thought Projection. "See you inside, Fox-san."
Fox just stood there before the frog leading him told him to move. Fox followed him through the oak double doors, which looked like a place where a criminal was to be judge. Sitting highly on the platforms were the eleven members of the Council, the ones who decided the fate and priorities of every Magic Guild in Fiore.
Fox walked towards the small platform with wooden fences. He then faced up, looking at the members. He could feel that some of them were very frustrated, probably at Fairy Tail, but a few of them weren't.
"Fox of Fairy Tail," the leading man said, an old man dressed in white robes, with long white hair and a long white beard, holding a gavel. "Due to the destruction you caused at the Guild Masters' Meeting Hall, we of the Magic Council decree that Fairy Tail shall pay for the damages caused."
"…Is that all?" Fox asked, slightly surprised.
"Well, this trial is just for formality," a beautiful woman dressed in a revealing white kimono with silky black hair explained. "A showcase of our power, so to speak."
"Be quiet, Ultear!" a short old man with cat ears said in a stern voice.
"Though she is correct," Siegrain said with a small smirk.
"I see," Fox said. "But why me? Erza Scarlet was also there, and her name is widely known, unlike me, who only takes C-Rank missions."
"Siegrain suggested you, for some reason," a large man with a bushy, white beard replied.
"I see," Fox said before pulling out a scroll from his cloak. "How much does Fairy Tail owe you?"
"Do you think you can pay for the entire exp-," one of them began, only to be interrupted when there was a loud poof and a cloud of smoke. Once the smoke cleared, some of the council members' jaws dropped at the giant pile of Jewels neatly arranged next to Fox.
"Will this suffice?" Fox asked as he looked at the council, still shocked from the amount. Siegrain and Ultear were quietly chuckling from the old people's expressions.
"Um…yes," the leading councilman said, coughing in his hand. "That is sufficient. Thank you."
"As long as there's no problem," Fox said with a nod as the frog uncuffed his hands. "If that is all, I shall take my leave. Have a good day, Magic Council."
He bowed at them politely before moving to the exit. The council members looked at him leave with strange expressions.
"I didn't know Fairy Tail has a gentleman in the guild," one of them commented.
"Yes, such a rare trait in such a troublesome guild," another agreed.
Siegrain just smirked as the frog man carried the money away. He knew Fox was hiding something, and he wanted to know what it was. After all, it could liven up the place.
Fox walked out of the headquarters and saw that it was nearly sunset. It would take a long time for him to arrive back home, so he decided to stay at an inn for the night.
"…It's surprisingly quiet…" he commented to himself as he walked to find an inn to sleep in. This was the first time he didn't have Kurama with him in a while, so it was surprisingly lonely for him to walk the streets alone.
He then noticed a young boy and a young girl happily running through the emptying streets, smiling and laughing. He stood there as he felt the two ran back to where they live.
Flashback…
"Hurry up, Naru-kun!" a six-year-old Sayuri exclaimed as she ran through the empty streets of Konoha, the streets being dyed by the orange of the setting sun.
"Yer too fast, Sayu-chan!" a six-year-old Naruto exclaimed as he ran after his best friend. "Slow down!"
Sayuri just laughed as she kept running. Naruto started laughing and ran after her. The two ignored the looks they were getting from adults. Naruto was getting scorns, glares and disgust, while Sayuri was getting the judgmental looks, wondering why she would associate with the Demon Brat.
But they ignored them as they ran to Ichiraku Ramen, to enjoy dinner after a long day of playing together.
Naruto gave a happy grin as the two entered the familiar stand together, being happily greeted by the father-daughter duo that ran the ramen stand.
The two children then sat down on their usual stalls, smiling happily and enjoying the warmth.
Flashback End…
"Loneliness really is unbearable," Fox thought sadly as he started walking again.
After taking a few steps, he stopped as he felt something. He suddenly disappeared in his shadow, surprising the bystanders near him.
In a dirty alleyway, a group of unsavory people surrounded a nervous girl. She was about twelve years old, with pale skin and beautiful red hair tied in braids that reached the back of her legs, dressed in a red dress.
"Come on, little lady," one of them said while breathing loudly. "If you want our help, you have to remove your clothes."
"That's right, that's what you need to do for our help," another one said while the others nodded in agreement.
The girl looked scared as her eyes shined with unshed tears, but she nodded and slowly started the process of removing her clothes.
Suddenly, a heavy pressure filled the area that caused the group to almost stop breathing, though it didn't affect the girl. The shadows started moving menacingly towards the group.
"You bastards are the ones I hate the most," a voice echoed through the area, sending a chill of impending doom as the shadows crept nearer. "Taking advantage of children for your own amusement. Shadow Grace: Black Vortex!"
Suddenly, the group started sinking in the shadows, causing them to scream in fright as they tried to free themselves from the shadow's embrace. The young girl watched in fear as the group were finally devoured by the shadows.
"Are you alright?" she jumped at the sound of the voice, this time less menacing and gentler. She turned and saw Fox standing next to her. "Did those men hurt you?"
The girl looked at him before slowly shaking her head.
"That's good," Fox said before returning to his monotone voice. "Tell me, where are your parents? They must be worried about you."
"…I don't have parents," the girl said.
"Oh…I'm sorry," Fox said, not knowing what to say next. "Um…Do you have a guardian?"
"I was sent away from my village," the girl replied, no longer nervous in front of Fox. "This is my first time away from the village."
"I see," Fox said, which explained why she was so willing to go with the group of disgusting men. "You should be more careful, little lady. There are many bad men out here."
The girl nodded. Fox then led her out of the alley, where she was holding on to the edge of his cloak. Not knowing what to do, Fox simply let the girl come with him until they found an inn. Sensing that the girl is hungry, the two sat down on the table and ordered some food.
"So, what's your name, little miss?" Fox asked as they waited for food.
"I'm Flare Corona," the girl greeted politely.
"Hello Flare, you can call me Fox," Fox said. "Tell me, why were you sent away from your village, if you don't mind me asking?"
"My guardians thought that it was good for me to be with my own people for a while," Flare explained.
"Own people?" Fox asked, confused as he tilted his head.
"Yes," Flare said with a nod. "I'm from the Sun Village, which is the home for Giants."
Fox sat there, silent for a few moments before nodding. He heard stories of Giants before, but just like Dragons, they seem to have faded into make believe. But he was from another world, so he was open minded about things like these. That, and he could feel that the girl wasn't lying.
"I see, it must have been hard for you to be around small people now," he said to the nervous girl. If he suddenly moved in a place with people bigger than him, he would be nervous too. "Did your guardians told you anything else?"
"No, just that I have to be careful and find good friends," Flare replied.
Fox just nodded. The Giants probably didn't know how dangerous the world is, since they're so big that there weren't many threats to them. The food then appeared, and the two started eating. Flare seem to enjoy the food as she ate ravenously. Fox simply ate slowly, though Flare wondered how he was eating when his mouth was covered. The ate in silence before the last morsel was gone, and Flare smiled with satisfaction.
"So, tell me, Flare-san," Fox said, getting her attention. "What are your plans now?"
"I…I don't know," Flare said as she looked down.
"Hm…" Fox hummed as he scratched his chin. "Do you know any magic?"
"Yes," Flare nodded before her hair suddenly moved, like a pile of snakes. "The Guardian of my village blessed me with magic to control my hair."
"Then would you like to join Fairy Tail?" Fox asked in a kind tone.
"Fairy Tail?" Flare asked, tilting her head.
"It's the guild where I'm from," Fox said as he tapped at the metal plate on his blindfold. "A place where Mages like me gather and make a living. There's lot of good people in Fairy Tail, so you won't have any problems."
"Really?" Flare asked, looking hopeful.
"Really," Fox said with a nod. "I'll take you there tomorrow. Right now, we should get some rest."
Flare, with a happy smile, nodded. Fox then booked a room for two of them to share. Fox was sitting on his bed in a meditative state as Flare took the shower first. This was a good opportunity for him to train his Chakra reserves. He started stretching his chakra as far as he could, almost covering the entire town. He could feel every living thing in the town, from the oldest man sleeping to the youngest baby crying, from the biggest dog eating to the smallest ant gathering.
He then started gathering the natural energy in the area, turning them into Chakra. It was something he discovered a long time ago by accident when he was learning meditation to calm his emotions. He was exhausted from training that day, so he meditated to relax himself. As he started focusing on the area around him, he could feel a lot of energy in the area. Without meaning to, he used his chakra to absorb the energy in the plants, quickly refilling his reserves and causing it to grow, as well as a few physical changes.
He did some research on what he did and the closest thing he discovered was Senjutsu, a technique to gather nature energy from the world around him, something that the Shodaime Hokage could do.
He was shocked that he did something that the Founder of his home village could do, but it gave him the edge he needed in case he faces against stronger opponents, so he kept practicing Senjutsu until it became second nature for him to gather natural energy.
He then heard the bathroom door open. He turned to the direction, where Flare was walking, dressed in the clothes she came in, which was now clean thanks to magic. She was drying her hair with a towel, but because of the length, she was having a hard time.
"Would you like some help?" Fox asked to Flare, who was struggling. "I'm sure there's a hairdryer here somewhere."
"I don't want to bother you," Flare said in a shy tone.
"It's not a bother to help someone," Fox said, smiling behind his mask as he found the hair dryer. It was powered by Lacrima, a Magic crystal used to power everyday home appliances. Flare looked nervous before she sat in front of Fox, her back facing him.
Fox turned on the device, releasing warm air to Flare's hair as he gently combed it. Flare smiled happily, enjoying the feeling. This was the first time someone else was combing her long hair, and it felt relaxing. Once he was done, he braided her hair until it was back how it was.
"There, all done," he said to Flare, who nodded happily. "Now go to bed. We have a long journey tomorrow."
"Hai," she said as she walked to one of the beds. She lied down, covering herself in the blanket. A few minutes later, she was asleep, probably exhausted from her day. Fox just smiled before he went to sleep as well on the other bed, getting comfortable.
The Next Day…
Fox was leading a nervous Flare to the building of Fairy Tail, which was surprisingly quiet. The girl was holding on to the edge of his cloak as she followed him.
"Now, now, don't be nervous," Fox said to Flare, feeling her nervousness. "They're good people. They're crazy lunatics, but still good people."
Flare look at Fox before taking deep breathes and nodding. Fox then entered the guild with Flare in tow. Everyone looked at him before they exclaimed "FOX!"
"You're alright!" Lucy exclaimed, happy and relieve to have him back. It felt odd without him in the guild.
"It's good to have you back, Fox-san!" Mirajane said with a big smile.
"What'd they do to you?" Natsu exclaimed. "Did they torture you with butt seals or something?"
"Hm? Hey, who's that girl with you?"
"Wow, she's cute."
"Her hair is so long!"
Flare grew nervous from the attention and hid behind Fox. Suddenly, Kurama landed on top of Fox and sighed comfortably. Fox just smiled behind his mask as he petted his furry companion.
"Thanks for keeping Natsu in here, otherwise I would have stayed there an extra night," Fox said to his partner.
"Don't mention it, it was dull without you here," Kurama said before he closed his eyes.
Makarov suddenly walked towards Fox, silencing everyone. He stopped in front of him with a serious look.
"I am back, Old Man," Fox greeted with a bow.
"What did the council want?" he asked.
"Nothing, just someone to blame and pay for the damages," Fox replied before gesturing at the girl hiding behind him. "Oh, and this is Flare-san. I found her when I was going home and she has nowhere else to go, so I thought she would join the guild."
Makarov looked to the girl, who was peeking through the cloak. Fox then petted the girl encouragingly. The girl looked at him, seeing him nod, before she walked towards Makarov.
"I'm…Flare Corona, a-and I would like to join Fairy Tail," she said with a bow.
"Well, if you brought her, why not?" Makarov said with a big smile. "Welcome to Fairy Tail, Flare-chan!"
Mirajane took the young girl to the bar to get her stamp and sign some papers and Fox went to his usual table. He sighed, finally feeling comfortable at being back home. Lucy then took the sit next to him, so did Erza, Natsu, Happy, Lisanna and Gray, much to his surprise.
"Hey, what really happened at the Magic Council?" Lucy asked, curious.
"Like I said, they just wanted to pin the blame on the damages you guys caused," Fox said, looking at Natsu, Gray and Erza.
"Hey, you fought too!" Gray exclaimed.
"No, I didn't," Fox said as he pulled out his bottle of sake and drinking cup. "I was just a bystander that got caught."
"Fox-san," Erza said, getting his attention. "Did a man named Siegrain talk to you?"
"…Actually, yes," Fox replied. "In fact, he was the one that requested my arrest."
Erza's eyes widen slightly before she calmed down.
"…Are you an acquaintance of Siegrain-san?" Fox asked.
"No…but I was with someone he knows," Erza replied before quieting down.
"Fox!" Natsu suddenly exclaimed, slamming his hands on the table. "Fight me!"
"No thanks," Fox said before turning back to Lucy. "So, when should we continue training, Lucy-san?"
"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Natsu exclaimed, fire erupting from his mouth. "Fight me, Fox!"
"How about you fight Kurama instead, Natsu-san?" Fox suggested.
"What! I'm not fighting him!" Natsu exclaimed, getting mad.
"Yeah, he couldn't beat me anyway," Kurama said, a smug tone in his voice.
"Whaddya say!?" Natsu exclaimed in anger. "You wanna fight!?"
"Bring it on," Kurama said as he floated off Fox's said and made a 'come on' gesture with his paws.
Natsu roared and charged at Kurama, his fists lit with fire. He threw a punch, but Kurama disappeared, causing him to miss.
"Huh? Where'd he go?" he asked as he turned his head left and right. He then something hit the top of his head at full speed, sending him crashing face first in the ground. Kurama then jumped off Natsu's head and back to Fox's.
The guild was silent for a minute before they started laughing uncontrollably.
"Natsu lost to Kurama!"
"Man, how embarrassing!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Gray would be laughing too, but he knows how strong Natsu is personally, so he was shocked to see Natsu get one hit by Kurama. Erza was looking at Natsu before at Kurama and Fox.
"Told you Kurama was strong," Lucy said to Gray and Erza as Happy poked Natsu with a stick as Lisanna started bandaging his head.
"Ara, ara, it sure has gotten lively," Mirajane said as she carried two bowls of ramen with Flare next to her, her guild mark located on the right side of her chest, the ink vermillion. "Here, Fox-kun! I thought you might want something to eat."
"Fox-kun?" Lucy thought as Mirajane lowered the bowls as Flare took a sit next to Fox.
"Thank you, Mirajane-san," Fox said as Kurama started eating his share. "I am rather hungry."
"Great!" Mirajane said with a bright smile and a pink hue on her cheeks, causing Lucy to look at Mirajane suspiciously.
Suddenly, Lucy started swaying, her eyes feeling heavy. She wasn't the only one as everyone in the guild started swaying before they suddenly fell asleep. Lucy fell off her chair, with Erza and Gray following her. Mirajane started falling towards the table head first, before Fox gently caught her so she won't hurt herself. Flare fell to the ground, also asleep.
The only ones who weren't sleeping were Makarov, Fox and Kurama, who was still eating. They then heard footsteps and a figure walk in the guild. It was a man of lean build dressed in a dark blue cloak, his arms and legs covered in bandages, and blue and gray clothes with a pair of brown sandals and dark blue gloves. His face was covered by a headband with a metal plate and a dark green bandana, and carrying a wooden staff, with four more staves strapped on his back.
"Welcome back, Mystogan," Makarov greeted to the heavily dressed man.
"Yo, Mystogan-san," Fox greeted as he gently laid Mirajane on the ground.
"Greetings, Fox-san," Mystogan said before going to the Request Board.
"You know, you should really stop casting this Sleep Spell," Fox commented as Mystogan grab a request.
"I prefer little interaction," Mystogan said as he got approval from Makarov to do the quest.
"Well, later," Fox said as Mystogan started walking out the exit, slightly waving at Fox.
"Hey! Undo your spell!" Makarov exclaimed.
"5…4…3…" Mystogan counted down as he exited the guild. "2…1…Undo."
As soon as he was gone, everyone that fell asleep suddenly woke up, yawning and stretching. Lucy drowsily stood up, rubbing her eyes.
"What happened?" she asked tiredly as she saw the almost all of Fairy Tail fell asleep and were slowly waking up, except Natsu, who was still unconscious from Kurama's attack.
"This feeling…it was Mystogan," Erza concluded.
"Mystogan, that bastard!"
"He always does this, making everyone go to sleep!"
"Man, his Sleep Spell is strong."
"Mystogan?" Lucy asked as Flare and Mirajane stood up, rubbing their eyes cutely.
"One of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages," Fox replied, putting his chopsticks on the empty bowl of ramen. Lucy blinked as she looked at the bowl, wondering how long she was asleep that he already finished the ramen.
"Why did he put everyone asleep?" Flare asked, tilting her head.
"He's not fond of interacting with others," Fox explained, causing the people near him to give him weird looks.
"That's weird coming from you," Gray said in a deadpanned expression.
"That's mean," Fox said, though he said it in his monotonous voice. "At least I don't put people to sleep."
"He has a point," Erza said with a nod. "No one but the Master knows what Mystogan looks like."
"That's not true," a voice said from the upper levels. They looked up and saw a blond man gray eyes with a lightning shaped scare across his right eye, dressed in a purple polo shirt, brown pants, black shoes, a black coat with gray fur like a cape and a pair of Magic headphones, crossing his arms and smirking. "I know what he looks like too."
"Laxus! You're back!" one of them exclaimed.
"Who's he?" Lucy asked as she looked at the man.
"That's Laxus Dreyar, another S-Class Mage," Erza replied, surprising Lucy.
Laxus then looked at Fox, smirking widely.
"Besides, I'm not the only one who knows Mystogan," Laxus said. "Fox seems to be friends with him."
"We work together from time to time," Fox said with a shrug, surprising the other Mages. They didn't know about that.
"Laxus! Fight me!" Natsu exclaimed, having woken up and jumping towards the man.
Before Natsu could reach him, a giant hand slammed him back to the ground. The hand belonged to Makarov, who didn't even look at Natsu as his arm went back to normal.
"Natsu, you know you're not allowed to go up the second floor," he said as he lit up his pipe. "Only S-Class mages are allowed."
"Huh, how come?" Lucy asked, looking at Erza.
"That's where all the S-Rank missions are located," Erza replied, looking at Lucy. "Missions so dangerous that only S-class mages are allowed to take them. We keep them up to the second floor, so people won't be tempted to take the mission."
Her gaze turned to Natsu, and Lucy understood that. Natsu seems like the kind of guy who would take a dangerous mission for fun. It was probably safe for the missions to be away from them.
"Hmph, you should just stay there at your place, Natsu," Laxus said as he walked away from the wooden rails. "Just like the rest of you. Hahahaha!"
A lot of them seems pissed off from Laxus' comments, as they started yelling how a jerk he is.
"Man, what a jerk," Lucy commented with a pout.
"Don't mind him," Erza said, though she does look displeased.
"By the way, Mirajane-san," Fox said, getting the barmaid's attention, not bothered by Laxus' speech. "Can Flare-san stay in Fairy Hills? There's no other place for her to stay in."
"Sure, I'll help her get settle in," Mirajane said kindly.
"Fairy Hills?" Lucy asked, confused.
"It's a female-only dormitory for Fairy Tail," Fox explained. "It's just located on the hills nearby. The rent is 100,000 Jewels a month."
"Eh!" Lucy exclaimed in shock. "That cheap! Why didn't I know about this?"
"You didn't ask," Kurama replied with a shrug. "Besides, you have a nice place."
"But I need to pay 500,000 Jewels a month!"
"Oh well, too late," Kurama said as Lucy kneeled on the ground, a cloud of depression appearing above her.
Later…
Lucy was walking back to her apartment, balancing on the ledge of the bridge, with Plue, a Dog Spirit that looks like a small snowman, walking next to her.
"Geez, I learned a lot today," she said to Plue, who was shaking like always. "Like the guild ranking. I already met three out of the six strongest…well, two of them. Oh, and Fox-kun! He's definitely strong. Then there's me, Kurama, Natsu and Gray, then everyone else..."
She imagined the guild hierarchy, with Fox, Erza, Laxus and four mysterious figures at the top of the pyramid, then below them were her, Kurama, Natsu and Gray, and at the bottom were the remaining mages of Fairy Tail, who didn't seem happy to be at the bottom.
"Man, there's so many amazing people in Fairy Tail," Lucy said with a small smile. "Maybe if I train enough, I'll end up as an S-class Mage!"
She then unlocked her door to her apartment and entered it, and was greeted with the sight of a sweaty Natsu doing sit ups, and Happy copying him.
"GYA!" she exclaimed in shock before it changed to disgust. "What are you doing!? You're getting sweat all over my carpet!"
"We're just training," Natsu said as he finished his sit ups, wiping his face with a towel.
"Aye!" Happy agreed.
"Guess what, Lucy," Natsu said with a grin as he showed her a request form. "We're going on a mission!"
"Really?" Lucy said as she took the paper and read it, but stopped when she saw what rank it is. "Wait…This is an S-rank mission!"
"Yeah, Happy stole it!" Natsu said with a grin.
"Are you crazy!" Lucy exclaimed, waving her arms around. "You could get into trouble!"
"C'mon! It'll be fun!" Natsu said with a grin, not ashamed of his crime.
"No way!" Lucy said as she crossed her arms and looked away with a huff. "I don't wanna get in trouble!"
"Fine," Natsu said with a huff before he and Happy climbed out the window.
"Exit like a normal person!" Lucy exclaimed as the two jumped out the window. "Geez, those two…"
She then noticed that the request was on the ground.
"They forgot the request," Lucy said as she picked it up. "I should probably return it…hm?"
She read the request, which was asking for help in a village located in Galuna Island. She then saw the reward.
"Wow, 70,000,000 Jewels! That's a lot," Lucy mumbled before noticing something. "An additional reward…"
Her eyes widened when she saw that the extra reward was a Golden Key, one of the Twelve Zodiac Keys. She stood there for a few seconds before smiling mischievously.
"Natsu! Happy! Wait up!" she exclaimed as she quickly left her apartment and ran after the two.
And another chapter done. Hope you guys like how I introduce Flare. Being a naïve girl in a new world, it seems like some weirdoes would take advantage of that. Luckily, we have a hero nearby to save her. We also saw two of Fairy Tail's strongest, and a hint of Fox's true strength, and it's time for the Galuna Island arc. What's gonna happen? Who knows. Well, next chapter, The Demon Island! See you later!