Noise.
Shouting.
Crying.
Karissa's eyes opened when the noise wouldn't settle down. Her mind fuzzy from sleep, she squinted and slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position.
What happened?
With a groggy hand, she rubbed her eye and then frowned when the noise got louder. She was noticing how Gray, Erza, Juvia, Gildarts, Gajeel and Levy were around her. They were either coming to or just sitting there in pure confusion.
"What happened?" Cana, who was next to her, wondered as she scratched her head.
"THERE THEY ARE!"
"THANK GOODNESS!"
Lazily, Karissa turned and found several unfamiliar people running towards them all. She was barely able to comprehend what was happening and then found herself being barreled into. She yelped and rolled around with whoever threw themselves at her. Confused and annoyed, she let out a growl, she pushed their head away from the crook of her neck and barked out, "Who the hell are you, creep?"
The person only laughed merrily and wiped his tears and pointed at his face. He had short straight and slightly wavy hair with a stubble on his chin. There was something familiar about him that her sleepy mind was alerting her about.
"It's me! Max!"
Karissa's paused and squinted her eyes. "… Eh?"
"What happened to your face?!" Max patted her face that had bandages over it.
Around them, members from the Tenrou Island team were getting greeted by similar tearful behaviours. The woman in the group had familiar long green hair and remarking clothing style that reminded her of a certain mage. The others were also beginning to show signs of familiarity as she let the image sink in her brain.
"What's going on…?"
…
…
…
Fairy Sphere.
One of the great spells of Fairy Tail.
In their dire hour, the spirit of Mavis Vermillion, the First Master, came to their aid as they prepared to cast a defensive spell to protect themselves from Acnologia's attack. She converted their power into Fairy Sphere. The sphere is impervious to any attack. However, it acts as a chamber of stasis, keeping everyone sealed away, untouched by the hands of time. It is only after seven years that the spell finally deactivated. She was also the one also revealed Tenrou Island to those who were searching for it, acting as the guardian of the scions of her guild.
Makarov smiled tearfully, grateful for her help. "So then… the First Master protected all of us."
The spirit of the young woman shook her head with a soft smile. "No. I am but a disembodied spirit. It was all I could do to transform all of your magic. Your unwavering trust and strong bonds were what called forth this miracle." Then she beamed a happy smile to everyone was she began fading away in golden light. Her long hair floated around her. "The guild's done well, Third Master!"
Everyone could only watch in awe she completely vanished before their eyes.
"Well, damn." Van finally said.
Before leaving Tenrou Island, everyone made a quick search for belongings and were relieved to find them still intact. The Fairy Sphere really protected the whole island. Gray and Karissa were already on the ship and waiting for the others to get on. Juvia, being the love savage that she was, tried hobbling over to them. Even after being sealed away after seven years, her main concern was Gray, again. Karissa could only wonder how she didn't think of her rent at Fairy Hills first, it wasn't exactly cheap. She was currently being healed by Wendy who wanted to help her stop relying on a crutch. For most people, their wounds somehow recovered even while being in stasis while some still had a bit of trouble.
Karissa was one of the lucky ones. Gray helped her take them off and was quicky to notice a tiny little scar on the upper right corner of her forehead. It was from Hades' assault on her face.
"Is it big?" Karissa worried.
"Nah." he poked the scar, making her flinch a little. "It's as small as the nail on my pinky."
She breathed a sigh of relief. That was good.
"But if it does bother you, then you can just ask Wendy to get rid of it."
"Maybe."
Soon, they were sailing back for mainland.
Karissa breathed in the ocean air and sighed pleasantly. She was just wearing her socks while her boots were set on the side. It was freeing after everything that happened. She was sitting on the ledge facing the ocean while Gray was by her side staring at the horizon, thinking about what Mavis said. It was really surprising to know that seven years had passed. They would have had a hard time believing if it were not for Alzack, Bisca, Droy, Jet, Max and Warren showing up.
After hearing her breath out, Gray glanced over to her out of awareness. Her cardigan was shredded near her right shoulder along with her shirt, revealing the skin underneath. His face fell when he spotted a scar there.
…
…
…
Karissa plunged an ice dagger into Gray's shoulder which made him grit his teeth and punch her in the face to get her off him. She recoiled and looked back in front of her and found him lunging at her. He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her on the ground.
Karissa gasped for breath when her back collided harshly against the hard ground.
Gray created an ice sword and plunged it down. Karissa turned on her side at the last moment to avoid it piercing her stomach before glaring at him and knocking her fist sideways into his jaw. He groaned in pain and backed away, giving her enough time create her dauphin clock hands and direct it towards him. The male ice mage created an ice dome around himself which was only enough for her ice to only pierce through but not touch him.
He shattered the ice around him after smashing it away with a battle axe.
She created her ice halberd and swung towards him, lightly slashing him across his stomach. He winced and broke her ice weapon with his battle axe and proceeded to kick his leg up. The female ice mage brought up her arm and blocked his leg with a grunt before grabbing his ankle and swinging him to a tree.
In an instant, Gray's hand was pinned against the tree when Karissa plunged a dagger into his palm. He cried out in pain. She stared down at him with piercing blue eyes while she pushed the dagger further into his hand.
The raven haired male grabbed her other hand that tried to pierce him with another dagger and squeezed her wrist tightly until she cried out in pain, forcing her to drop her ice dagger. He used that opportunity to make his own and stab her in the same shoulder.
…
…
…
The bad memory from Novera resurfaced and easily made him question himself. Was he truly more confident to protect her from anything this time?
Sensing eyes on her, Karissa looked down at him with curious eyes. "What's up?"
"Hm? Oh, nothing." He turned his head away from her gaze, making her even more curious. One of his fists clenched tightly and his jaw tightened.
What's wrong with him?
"Karissa!"
They both looked back to find Max waving at her as he approached them. Pandora and Van were trailing after him. He brought the Sinclost siblings together and didn't really pay much mind to Gray as he started talking about a discovery that he made a few years ago.
Clavis Sinclost was alive and well.
Pandora's eyes widened silently with her arms crossed. Van fumbled over his words in confusion while Karissa looked silently surprised too.
"Wait, how do you know?" Gray asked.
Max proceeded to tell him what he learned during their absence. Clavis Sinclost showed up at Fairy Tail a year after Tenrou Island vanished from the map. At first, Max thought he was trying to ride of the Sinclost name, getting rather defensive since Karissa was a good friend of his. However, the young man quickly became flustered and whipped out a photograph and a file. From there, he explained that he only recently learned of his identity as well. He brought Clavis in front of the others to validate the identity of Domilia and Zack in the photograph. In the picture, there were four children with parents, he could recognize Van and Pandora but not the adults. Macao and Wakaba were the ones who confirmed that Domilia and Zack were indeed the people in the picture.
From there, he explained what he learned. All this time he was in Lamia Scale under the name Clarus because he had forgotten his name from the trauma he endured from the laboratory. As proof, he brought out a file that had minimum information written on it about who he was. He told them that the file was given to Lyon by someone who knew about the laboratory. Seeing as how Bosco was his place of origin, he went searching for clues about Zack and Domilia. He had found a house that was sealed away but could be accessed Anti-Mages if they detected it. He found photographs in that house. He also discovered a makeshift grave that was for someone named Clavis Sinclost. Instead of a skeleton or a corpse, they found a doll with a single strand of hair. He told them that a doctor had fooled Domilia and Zack into thinking he had died but instead was sold to a human trafficker. The doctor took advantage of his parents' trust.
Max and Warren took the trip with Clavis, Yuka and Toby to find said house. Thinking it was best to leave the house as it was considering it was sealed away for a reason, they decided to collect the hanged photographs and take them back to Fairy Tail. From then on, everyone in Fairy Tail was certain of Clavis' lineage.
"So he just discovered all of this?" Pandora asked, suspicious.
"Like I said, someone gave Lyon Clavis' information. That's all I know." Max then smiled pleasantly as he remembered the young man and his angelic smile. "He's such a nice guy! After he told us about him, he even volunteered to take care of your house as a way of helping you out."
"What?!" Pandora screeched. "You let a stranger into our house?!" he stomped towards Max who instantly raised his hands in defense. How the hell did they even get in?! No one had the key. Then again, remembering who was left behind, there was only one other person who could possibly obtain a key, or in this case, make one. Laki Olietta. The light purple haired woman was a molding mage just like Karissa and Gray except that she practiced in the wooden form.
"All he did was dust the place and throw out all the rotten food!" Max quickly said to appease her. "Warren and I helped too! He never stole anything! If anything, you should be grateful! Your house smelled like crap! Seriously, that milk in the fridge was horrible! No one went in there for a whole year and half! Clavis did you all a favour!"
Pandora held eye contact with the sand mage for a few more seconds which did not alleviate the tension he felt. He felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead. But then she said and huffed, crossing her arms again. "Alright, but I want to see him with my own eyes. It's hard to believe just with hearsay. Because I don't remember anything about living in Bosco."
Max breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Van, Karissa and Gray were just smirking from the little exchange. Even after seven years, Max was still scared of one of the top mages in Fairy Tail.
"You know, it's not really hearsay, by the way." Van spoke up. "Before the S-Class Exam, Loke was telling us about how he met mom and dad in Bosco because he ran into mom. He said he met us but we don't remember anything, right? So we assumed that our memories were tampered with. Because, from what we know, we lived in Iceberg's Isvan the whole time, right Gray?"
He shrugged. "I just know what I was told as a kid."
"Well, Clavis might hold the answer to it all then." Pandora leaned back against the ledge. To not know anything about their life in Bosco was very suspicious. As the oldest child, she should remember living there. But she couldn't recall anything. Did something mess with their memory? She knew she was born in Fiore because she could remember little things. But from what she remembered, they all moved from Fiore to Iceberg, they never went to Bosco.
Karissa remembered what she thought about after they departed from Cait Shelter. The questions about her parents possibly giving away Clavis for whatever reason began fall apart into pieces that would never again form in her mind. If anything, she felt pity for her parents who felt heartbroken from being fooled by a doctor. They purposely bestowed unnecessary grief for two people who just wanted their beloved child to live.
What she had seen in Edolas was never mentioned to her siblings. Only Gray knew the Clavis that she saw there. She didn't want to report what she had seen only to find out that Clavis had truly died in Earthland. After all, when Edolas Lisanna died, Earthland Lisanna was forced to take her place. Believing that he was alive without concrete proof aside from Brain's little comment would not do anyone any good.
"All I want to know is who the hell this doctor is and if he's even alive." Van pushed himself on the ledge to sit like Karissa, except that he was facing the other way to face Max.
"Why?" Gray inquired, leaning his side against the ledge.
"So we can beat the shit out of this guy for selling an infant." Van growled and brought up his legs to cross them. Pandora warned him to be careful. "I mean, who the fuck does that? That's evil. He sold my little brother for money?" crossed his arms and sported an angry look on his face. "If anything, I should bury him six feet undEEEER—OH FUCK!" Van had gotten so worked up about this doctor that he moved too aggressively and started falling backwards towards the ocean. Thankfully, Karissa just slammed her arm into his back to push him back to safety, causing him to fall on the wooden floor of the ship.
"Ack-!" He nearly kissed the floor. "… Thank you." Gray just watched the way his old friend moaned on the ground while holding the shoulder he landed on. He didn't know if he should pity him or just shake his head.
Karissa smirked. "You're welcome."
"Idiot! I told you to be careful!"
Some people changed their clothes on the boat since they figured it would be more appropriate to show up in suitable clothes instead of raggedy ones. Karissa made a whole ice closet, that she latter pitched into the ocean water, to change her clothes. She wore marine blue pants and slim long red t-shirt. She looked much neater.
What everyone noticed upon stepping foot on mainland, in Magnolia, was the whispering and lack of excited stares. Makarov had commented that it must be the effect of the seven year absence. That was quite some time. When he asked why they were not walking into town to the guildhall, Alzack was the one who had to inform him and the others that the guild was moved somewhere else. Warren depressingly informed them that Fairy Tail was no longer Magnolia's main guild. They were headed somewhere away from the main streets of Magnolia.
"We've had to endure harsh stuff from Twilight Ogre since we couldn't pay our debts." Max sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Couldn't get much money with how weak Fairy Tail got."
"Money problem…" Pandora cringed with her arms crossed, causing Laxus to quirk an eyebrow at her.
"Those jerks wrecked the guild hall just yesterday too, but Master wouldn't allow us to fight back." Jet growled, crossing his arms.
"Oh? And who's the current Master?" Erza wondered. Makarov also looked curious.
"Macao." Droy answered, making Natsu pipe up with interest. He surprised and yet pleased for Macao for becoming master since he was friends with him. It also made him wonder how big Romeo had gotten in seven years.
Karissa looked horrified and she grabbed onto Max's sleeve. "What happened to the Souvenir Shop?!"
Max gave her a gloomy stare and shook his head. "Didn't do well… so I had to shut it down. Sorry, Karissa."
"Aw, you guys worked hard on that." Gray remarked.
"I feel so bad, Max." Karissa pouted with knitted brows. She pictured Max just sitting there and hoping to contribute to Fairy Tail's declining finances with something he worked hard on only for it to just die. She knew how much he liked running his little shop. Her heart ached for him.
"Eh, it's not so bad. I got over it." He smiled for her and then threw an arm around her to gently ruffle her hair to try and cheer her up. He even made fun of her face with a goofy grin. Warren looked over to the two and couldn't help but smile tearfully. Max was usually very talkative and enjoyed others company, always smiling and outgoing. However, after the Tenrou Island incident, Max had become much more like Karissa, quiet and introverted. But with the core members returning, he was already seeing signs of the old Max returning.
Eventually, they made it to the guild.
It was a run-down tavern near the forest.
Elfman recoiled his head upon seeing it in view. "This is kinda shocking when it literally felt like yesterday that it such a huge building."
"No kidding..." Bickslow added.
Sheepishly, Bisca chuckled as she and Alzack led the large group. "You get used to it."
"Yeah, besides, it has a nice homey feeling to it." Alzack tried to lighten them up.
"I hear shouting." Gajeel remarked as they got closer to the little tavern.
"Shouting?" Warren repeated.
Natsu's eyes narrowed when he also picked up on the voices. "Sounds and smells like trouble."
"Don't tell me, it's Twilight Ogre again!" Droy groaned, causing Jet to growl angrily. Natsu didn't waste one more second and began to race off to check on the situation. Makarov, Erza, Gajeel, Gray and Karissa raced off after him since they were in the front row. Natsu was correct, there was trouble going on inside. Natsu took the first leap inside and literally kicked the first person in front of him forward and further inside the guildhall to the point where they slammed into the wall in the back. This made the five lackeys to looked behind them angrily.
"Who did that?!"
Karissa grabbed the smaller person's face and straight up slammed him into the floor and froze him there. Gray froze someone nearby. Gajeel rammed an iron beam into one guy's face. Erza easily slashed someone. And Makarov dealt the worst blow by slamming his Titan hand on someone, pounding him into the ground. By that time, everyone else caught up and greeted those who were inside.
"We're home!" Natsu grinned boyishly and waved his hand.
"Yo."
"Yep, we're back! Now where's the liquor at?!"
"Hey, it's not so bad here!"
"Still pretty small…"
"Sorry it took so long!"
"Dang, stuffy as hell."
Macao took shaky steps forward as they all start spilling into the little guildhall. "I… It… It's you! But how?!"
Laki, Nab and Vijeeter were all crying.
"You're so young!"
"You guys haven't changed in seven years!"
"What happened?!"
Makarov put down his belongings and sighed as he hopped onto a table to sit on it just like he used to just sit on the bar counters. "Well, how do I start… let's see…"
…
…
…
"And that's what she said."
"The First Master, huh?" Wakaba repeated, still in awe of everything. He was the first to speak for those who stayed behind at the guild during today's search. The unbelievable story was undoubtedly true since they were all standing before than still looking the same. Romeo, the only youngster left in Fairy Tail, tearfully welcomed home the people he looked up to with the biggest smile.
Annoyed for being forgotten, Twilight Ogre got back up on their feet and growled at them. Karissa noted how the guy she froze still had ice on him. His friend must have dug him out.
"You think you can just do that to us?!"
"HAH?" Pandora stomped her foot with all her might and glared darkly at them. They recoiled at the scary aura she emitted. Van had a shit eating grin on his face when his sister scared them.
"Get out of here!" Gray spat, shooing his hand at them with a scowl on his face.
"Yeah! Or do you want me to burn your hair off?!" Natsu sneered, lighting his hands on fire and blew some flames to scare them.
"Damn it, you won't get away with this!" was what the ringleader said before bolting away with his group.
"Finally!" Jet threw his hands up.
After enduring all the abuse, they finally fought back.
To make up for the lost time, it was decided that they would party just like the old days, bringing that sense of nostalgia for those who were left behind. They went all out and brought out all the food and drinks that they currently had to enjoy. It was still only past noon so there was so much time to have fun. They'd most likely just party until the evening. Surprisingly, even Laxus stayed around after much urging from the Raijin Tribe who wouldn't let him leave.
They learned that Alzack and Bisca were married and had one little girl.
Gildarts let everyone know that he was Cana's father.
Romeo was a fire mage (not surprising since he dressed like Natsu).
The information regarding Clavis Sinclost was also mentioned thanks to Wakaba and Macao.
At some point during the party, Macao, the current Master, called everyone's attention and made an announcement that Makarov asked him to make.
On behalf of the Master, Laxus was allowed to return to Fairy Tail.
Natsu obviously erupted into a ball of happiness and was eager to start a fight with him.
Karissa, who was sitting at a table with Lucy, Wendy, Gray and Juvia, was just drinking her mango juice. Gray was commenting on Natsu's idiocy while Lucy just hoped he would settle down and not destroy anything in their small guildhall. Wendy didn't know much about Laxus so she was confused until Juvia filled her in. Meanwhile Karissa was hiding her smile behind her glass. Gray, who was next to her, let his own smile appear when he noticed it.
"KARISSA!"
The female ice mage flinched at the voice and nearly sputtered her drink, causing the others to look at her. They were just in time to see her clumsily trying to hurry out of her seat. It was Freed. He wasn't alone this time. Evergreen and Bickslow were coming after her too.
"N-No, wait! Hold on!"
Too late.
As fast as lightning, Freed swooped her up and hugged her tightly. He was spinning her in a circle again. Lucy and Gray did nothing thing to help and just watched her suffer.
"Freed, stop!" Karissa freaked when the world became blurry. How the hell was he spinning her so fast?!
"Thank you so much!"
"Let us have a go, Freed!" Evergreen beamed, all excited.
"Yeah!" Bickslow cheered with his little dolls.
From another table, Laxus just watched as the Raijin Tribe all but manhandled the poor introverted wizard. Just when Karissa thought she'd have reprieve when Freed let her down, she was picked up by Bickslow and Evergreen who started throwing her up and down. At that point, Karissa stopped resisting. He saw her dead expression and how her eyes were spinning from everything that was happening. He couldn't help but smirk in amusement.
By the time they stopped, Karissa was just weirdly lightly bobbing her head up and down and stumbling around like a drunk person. She could barely comprehend what the Raijin Tribe was telling her before they left her alone. She could mostly just catch the 'thank you's. Her whole world was still in complete disarray that she thought she was seeing three Juvias. The horror.
"Karissa-san, are you going to be okay?" Wendy asked, worriedly. Did she need to cast any Sky Dragon Magic on her?
"I think so." Karissa put a hand on the wall behind her. Her eyes were squinted as she focused on Lucy's face to try and regain her orientation.
"Just sit back down." Lucy suggested with a sheepish smile.
For a such a simple task, Karissa was struggling to walk straight. This was the closest they were going to get to seeing her drunk. Gray huffed a laugh and decided to lend her a hand (much to Juvia's immense jealousy). He grabbed her wrist and led her to her seat next to him. Her ass nearly missed the seat if it weren't for him holding her up. Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the sight of Gray controlling her like a puppet. She just rested her cheek on the table and faced Lucy. From what the blonde was seeing, it looked like all the air in her brain just left and she was spacing out to wait for the world to return to normalcy.
Reedus came by their table to draw them. He looked quite happy to draw his old friends once again. It was only when he was in the midst of drawing did she finally recover.
An hour later of absorbed celebration, their doors opened without a single knock. The tavern's doors were quite creaky so the sudden noise made numerous people look over to the entrance. Thinking Twilight Ogre came knocking at their doors again, some people were ready to bust a move until they realized who were standing there.
"Well, that was fast." Max commented with a grin. "I guess Blue Pegasus told Lamia Scale…"
Members of Lamia Scale were present. Lyon, Sherry, Jura, Yuka and Toby were walking inside with impressed looks. They were checking out the faces of those who went missing and were surprised to see they hadn't aged at all.
"It really is surprising to see you lot haven't changed at all." Yuka commented while Toby let out some dog-like sound.
Sherry smiled brightly and waved her hand. She had cat ears on her head and her long pink hair was tied up in a high ponytail. "I want to say to everyone, congratulations on making it back, from us to you with love!"
"Are you all in good health?" Jura looked a bit older. He had quite the long beard now. He looked over at Makarov and greeted him with a smile. "Makarov-dono, it is good to see you again."
Lyon smirked at them. "So, are you going back to being a noisy guild again?" He was mostly wearing dark blue and yellow with brown boots. He was also wearing an earring on his left ear. When Karissa spotted the earring, she was reminded of Edolas Lyon, causing her to nearly choke on her own saliva.
Thank god those two are completely different though or else I would be unable to look at him. Period.
Max turned them since they all looked confused by their sudden appearance. "Pegasus and Lamia really helped us out in the search for Tenrou Island."
"I see." Erza spoke. Those who were familiar with these faces were getting up to approach them.
"Then does that put us in their debt too?" Gray sweat dropped. Debts to three different guilds sounded like quite a pain in the ass.
Lyon just shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. "There's nothing to worry about. Pegasus may be ahead of us now, but we will prove superior in power." It sounded like Lyon wanted his guild to beat Blue Pegasus in the search.
Gray scowled at his former classmate. "That was your reason?"
Lyon just walked further inside the guild to walk towards Gray who just quirked an eyebrow. But he was actually going towards Karissa who was standing behind him. He all but nudged Gray out of the way with his arm.
"Oi!" Gray scowled after a light stumble.
"I'm glad to see you again." Lyon told her earnestly with one hand on her shoulder. Pandora quirked her eyebrow from afar when she saw that. She nearly marched over there (since her protective instincts had kicked up a notch after that whole Gray incident) until she remembered that Lyon was the boy she saw when she went to pick up Karissa at Ur's house.
For someone who was usually so cool, Lyon showed quite the caring side for his former classmate that he preferred.
"… I would say the same but it only feels like a month since I haven't seen you." Apathetic, Karissa said bluntly while holding her wrist as she placed her arms in front of her. Lyon closed his eyes and smirked at that. It was certainly pleasant to know that nothing had changed. "So, seven years, huh? That makes you… ew, twenty-six…" Karissa recoiled from him, feigning disgust. Lyon deadpanned at her words. "You're old, old."
"You're chronologically twenty-five."
"Yeah, just not physically."
"Whatever." He turned away from her. The moment he looked away from her and landed his sights on something else, he stiffened and his eyes grew wide. Karissa cocked her head at his reaction, giving him questioning eyes. He looked stuck in a trance. Then he staggered passed Karissa who just watched him go. Lucy and Gray were also wondering why Lyon had suddenly lost his cool composure.
He went straight for Juvia and grabbed her shoulders.
"So this is what is called love at first sight!"
"EH?" Juvia blinked.
Karissa's mouth fell half open. You wanna bark up that tree?!
"Zero subtlety there!" Lucy said behind her hands.
"Things just got more complicated!" Gray ran his hand over his face.
While they were watching Lyon fawn over his new crush, Jura approached Karissa from behind to gently tap her on the shoulder. She turned to him and gave him curious eyes.
"I supposed I should start by saying that Lamia Scale made a discovery regarding your family." Jura said with a smile. Knowing what he was about to say, she pointed at Max, who was nearby, and informed Jura that she was filled in on Clavis. "I see. That's great. But as you can see, Clavis isn't with us right now. He's currently on a job outside of Fiore."
Van, who overheard his little brother's name, casually put himself into the conversation. "What's this about Clavis?"
Jura took a glance at the man who just waltzed into their conversation and was about to ask who he was until he remembered. "Ah, you must be Van Sinclost. I was just talking about Clavis Sinclost. Are you aware of him?"
"Yep. Max told us."
"Yes, so, as I was saying, Clavis is currently out on a job outside of Fiore. He left a week ago so he should be returning home soon. Otherwise, he would have been excited and eager to meet you all." He remembered how Clavis expressed silent enthusiasm when he heard that Pegasus made progress in the search for Tenrou Island. He was subtly bouncing on his feet and feeling restless.
"I hope we get to meet him soon." Van smiled. He threw an arm around his sister's shoulders and glanced at her. "Right?"
She nodded with a little smile.
I'm curious about him.
A little after Lamia Scale arrived, the party started to die down. People were starting to head home or they were simply curious about if anything changed in town. Erza went off to check out if her favorite cake shop was still in business. After all, knowing if whether or not strawberry cake was still available was crucial. Lucy went home. Natsu and Happy also went home. Wendy as well. Pandora and Van went home to get some money so that they could go out and do some much needed grocery shopping since they knew Clavis emptied out the fridge and drawers. Karissa stayed behind with Gray to talk with Lyon. They were all sitting on the roof where they could see Magnolia. To her surprise, Lyon had stripped off his shirt like Gray. It made Karissa wonder if her time would one day come to inherit Ur's curse. Hopefully not.
"You two know about the three ex-Grimoire Heart members named Ultear, Meldy and Lukius?"
"Yeah, what's going on with them?" Gray propped up one leg to rest his arm on it.
"Apparently, they've established a certain guild called Crime Sorcière. But that isn't all, they've also given membership to Jellal Fernandes after breaking him out of jail."
"What?!" Karissa gaped. "I thought he would be in some sort of maximum security prison considering his crimes…"
"I don't know." Lyon shrugged. "I just know that he is now with that guild. They've been taking down dark guilds for the past seven years. However, their ultimate goal is to defeat the Black Wizard, Zeref."
Gray's eyes widened at the name. "So, he was still alive after he escaped…"
Lyon looked at him curiously. It sounded like Gray had actually laid eyes on him before. To Lyon, he was already that Zeref was still alive since the Magic Council reported to have sighted him on Tenrou Island before they retreated. "You've seen him?" Lyon asked.
"Yeah. Juvia and Karissa's brother went to try and stop Meldy from taking Zeref, but when they came back, they said that they got knocked out and awoke to find no one but one of Grimoire Heart's members dead nearby."
"I see." Lyon looked back to the horizon. They also caught him mumbling something about how brave Juvia must have been to chase down such a threat. It made them sweat drop. The elder pupil was probably the easily whipped type.
"So, they've just been doing good things then?" Karissa asked for clarification. Lukius honestly didn't seem like a total bad person though. He tried to kill her just to save Meldy from killing with hatred. Even though she disliked the part about being the target, she could appreciate that love Lukius had for her.
"That's right. Ultear was also the one who paid me a visit to tell us who Clavis truly was."
Gray hummed at that. "That was nice of her, I guess."
Karissa peered at Lyon. "Did you know she's Ur's daughter?"
Lyon glanced back at her and gave her a look. "The resemblance is rather obvious."
"True."
"I didn't believe it at first, but she clarified that she was indeed Ur's daughter. Our teacher didn't know she was still alive."
…
…
…
Karissa sat in between Lyon and Gray. She was cupping her hands around her cup of hot chocolate on the table. Ur had started talking about a daughter that she used to have. Gray was the reason why the topic shifted there. He said that she was so scary that she scared all the men away and had to live in the mountains like a hermit. She responded by saying that she did have someone before and had a daughter.
As usual, Gray looked disinterested in what sounded like a boring life story while Lyon and Karissa listened attentively. Ur smiled gently as she gazed the table while her three students listened across her.
"When that girl was born… I felt a light coming into my heart. And I saw a future full of hope for her. I was so very happy. Packed inside such a tiny body… was a future of unlimited possibilities. It was the power of life. My tears overflowed and wouldn't stop… That child was proof of my own life."
Thus the reason why her daughter's name sounded similar to her own.
Lyon and Karissa quietly glanced at each other when Ur suddenly fell silent and closed her eyes. They didn't dare utter a word for some reason.
"Anyway," Ur lifted her head and smiled at them. She started getting out of her seat. "Finish up your hot chocolate because we're going out to train."
…
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…
Remembering how their teacher would have her moments of sadness when she thought they weren't looking made them fall silent and simply stare out the skies that was turning shades of pink, orange and purple. This was the first time they were thinking on the past together. A moment like this one made Karissa realize that their lives shared a thread of an unchangeable connection. Such is the effect of historical ties.
However, the moment was shattered when Max started calling out Karissa's name.
With a sigh, she cupped her hands around her mouth. "Up here~"
The sand mage took several steps backwards until the three ice mages came into view. "There you are. We still have left over cake, you want it? It'd be a shame to throw it out!"
She jolted. "The fuck, we had cake?"
"Yeah, you didn't know?"
"… No one told me."
"We got strawberry, vanilla—"
"I'm coming!" she was about to slide down until she looked at her two friends. "You guys wanna help finish it too? I'll bring it up here."
"I guess I can do you that favour." Lyon sighed, shaking his head. "With Fairy Tail's poor financial state, it'd be a real waste to throw it out. Give me vanilla."
Gray lifted an eyebrow at the smug tone that Lyon's voice carried. "Fine, give me one too." Gray raised his hand briefly. After receiving their orders, Karissa shifted her legs around and proceeded to slide off the roof quickly. Lyon nearly jumped at the speed she went and how she literally flew off the edge. He leaned forward to make sure she got down okay.
"You nearly kicked me in the face!" Max cried from below.
The elder pupil shook his head. Reckless.
They both listened to Max and Karissa's footsteps that quickly disappeared when they went inside the little guildhall.
At first, Karissa found herself at a dilemma since she realized that she couldn't carry the three paper plates in two hands. And because of the laziness she had, she didn't feel like making two trips. She wanted to find a way to carry them all at once. She nearly opted carrying two in her hands and carry the other on her arms if she stuck her arms together. However, she realized that would have risk of just dropping everything if she wasn't careful.
After a minute of just staring at the table, she perked her head up when an idea popped up.
She made a tray of ice.
Why didn't I think of that first?
Amused by her own late realization, she grinned to herself sheepishly and placed the paper plates of cake on them. She'd just use wind to climb back on the roof. And for some reason, eating cake with her two old friends seemed to warm her heart. There was something pleasant about enjoying something together. Perhaps because she never thought she'd have the chance to do it before? She didn't know. It just put her in a good mood. Today was a good day, period.
And then she remembered something Cana told her.
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…
"The worst that'll happen is that he won't feel the same way. I don't think he'd push you away just because of something you can't control." Cana was quick to reassure her. "I won't force you to do it, but I think you should try and do it. Personally, I think he might have a thing for you."
Confess to Gray? The thought was simply unthinkable and terrifying. A thing for her? Impossible.
"Even if I am curious about his reaction, I'm worried about making things awkward." Karissa grabbed her head.
But the sooner she got it out of her system, the easier it might get… It might even fade away with time if he clearly gave her an answer to her feelings.
Cana grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her head. "Life's too short to worry. You never know what he might say. Just be honest and courageous! Even he knows how anxious you get, so seeing you come up to him will definitely impress him! He won't brush it off. I'm sure he'll appreciate it."
"Don't always shy away."
…
…
…
It made Karissa stop in her tracks.
We literally survived a dragon attack even though should have died during it.
Death was obviously inevitable. And as long as she and her friends lived the life of a wizard, then death's kiss could be nearby. Cana had a point. Life could be short for people like them.
I am actually tempted to follow her advice now.
Karissa chuckled to herself and walked to the entrance with her tray.
Perhaps her good mood was a factor.
Maybe if I just explain that I wanted to get it off my chest and won't act upon them, he'll understand. Besides, since it's such a scary thing to do, I can actually look back on it and be proud that I did confess. That would be such a hurdle for someone like me.
Yeah, maybe I'll say it after gathering some courage...
She breathed in the outside air and looked at the horizon when she passed the doorframe. What she first overheard was Lyon and Gray bickering on the roof. It made her roll her eyes and think that their quarrels would be something that wouldn't change even though they weren't as childish as before. She could still remember how she'd just sit on the couch and watch the two argue over something stupid. Lyon would often call upon her to take his side. Sometimes Gray would do the same since he was confident that she would side with him.
Looking back on it, playing the mediator was actually a little fun.
When she took a few more steps further outside, she could clearly hear what was being said.
"You're still trying to insist that there's nothing going on?"
"Yes, now shut up." Gray spat.
"Come on, even dog could understand how close you two are." Lyon sounded exasperated.
"Obviously, because we've known each other for so long. I didn't think I'd have to remind you of that. Karissa doesn't care for me in that way, and neither do I. Now, can you stop talking about my love life? Like, seriously."
Oh.
Damn. Oops.
I didn't know Lyon wore an earring in the manga.
Also, the way Lyon worries over Karissa whenever she does something reckless...
He's literally:
Karissa: I'm cold.
Lyon: My god. Okay, here, take this scarf. Here's a blanket. Oh, here's a hat. Get warm and cozy.
Gray: I'm cold.
Lyon: What do you want me to do? Set you on fire? ಠ_ಠ