Almost a week had gone by since Karissa showed up at the guild. No one aside her own family knew most about her whereabouts. Today, she decided to go there and check the jobs. She was wearing her black zipper hoodie with the hood that slip into red and blue. It made her easier to recognize amongst other civilians. But she was still a little surprised when she heard Lucy call her name with a smile. She stopped just as she was about to go up the stairs leading to their guild. Lucy seemed in good spirits despite hearing about her father's passing. Honestly, realizing that Lucy was given a harsh reminder of the years that went by made Karissa see time in a new light.
Only when Lucy came to her side did she continue going up the stairs. "It's been a while since I've seen you around." Lucy remarked. "What have you been up to lately?"
"Meh. Training, going on jobs. Mage stuff."
Lucy gave her a skeptical look. "You're starting to sound like Mystogan."
Karissa smiled in amusement. "I guess. Have you been doing alright?"
An appreciative smile appeared on the Celestial mage's face. "...I'm doing okay."
Flinching, Karissa waved her hands in front of her, panicked, the shaking of her head insisting that Lucy was wrong. "N-No, I meant rent and money!" The last thing she wanted to do was dampen Lucy's mood first thing in the morning.
"Oh, pfft." Lucy giggled a little, realizing her mistake. "Yeah, I'm okay. My dad actually sent me rent money while I was gone, so I still have my cute place on Strawberry street! I'm not in a total bind!" she beamed with a fist pump. Karissa remembered how troubled she looked before she went on that cruise with Gray. It seemed like she no plans at all about moving to a cheaper place.
"Yes, the cute place that sucks you dry every month."
Lucy pouted, poking the older mage on her side. "It's worth it, okay?"
When they made it halfway, they spotted Gray climbing up the rest of the way. Karissa's gaze went from Gray to Lucy to see her wave at their teammate. After hearing her, Gray waved briefly and waited for them. When he saw Karissa, he smirked and put his hands on his hips and as he bent forward to stare her down. "Well, look who it is. I guess someone decided to come out of hibernation."
"Nah." Karissa casually waved her hand dismissively. "I might be going back into it."
Straightening up, Gray put his hands in his pockets. "Oh, pity. We're all starting to miss you. I think I might cry a few tears if you keep disappearing for too long."
"Oh, please." Karissa rolled her eyes, causing Lucy to giggle at their exchange. When the two made it up to Gray's level, Karissa let out a yawn. Her childhood friend raised a brow at her show of fatigue.
"Slept late?"
"I was training with Van last night and it seriously tired me out… even though I asked for it."
"Yeah, I heard you were training." Gray recalled. "What's the occasion?"
Karissa pretended to have a thoughtful look on her face, eyes looking upwards and a pursed mouth. "Hmm, maybe so I can undoubtedly wreck you during the next S-Class Exam?"
Gray's mouth twitched. "Oh yeah?" Karissa dodged his hand when tried to reach her. "Look at that, my reflexes are even sharper now. You won't be able to land a hit on me."
"Alright, cocky introvert." Gray smirked, putting his hand back in his pocket.
"Confident." Karissa corrected him.
While the two childhood friends exchanged words, Lucy saw someone coming up the stairs in her peripheral vision. It was Juvia coming up. Apparently, Lucy was blocking Juvia's view from Gray so when she moved the blue mage's face lit up. Lucy could barely comprehend the speed at which her guildmate flew up the stairs to greet him. It was so fast that Lucy didn't have time to move away, causing Juvia to bump into her. Lucy screamed when she missed her step and tilted towards the steps. Hearing her distress, Gray and Karissa quickly reached for her before she plummeted to her demise. Gray had a firm latch on her arm while Karissa was gripping her shirt. The blonde had tears streaming down her face. "That scared meee!"
"That was close." Karissa muttered, pulling her closer so that she wasn't angled dangerously. Lucy held Gray's arm while he pulled her away from the stairs, her complaining about Juvia unnatural speed.
"Love Rivals!" Juvia hissed when she saw Lucy touch the love of her life. She even gave Karissa one glare despite the pure apathy and disinterest on her face.
Lucy sweat dropped. "Come on, I nearly died and that's what you're saying…?"
Gray reprimanded Juvia for not being careful, but that only spurred Juvia to hold onto his arm closely to her chest with adoration. "Juvia cannot help it! Juvia wanted to see her beloved Gray-sama~!" Gray sweat dropped with a scowl and looked away from his arm that was slotted between her breasts. "You really do a 180 real quick…" That's when he noticed Karissa just casually walking past him without looking back or saying anything. Her expression was one of slight annoyance. Lucy followed after her, exchanging a look with him. The Celestial mage peeked at her face when she walked next to her.
"Is something the matter?"
"Hm? Oh, I'm just tired about Juvia acting like I'm the threat of her life. I literally just stood there, less than half a meter away from Gray, and suddenly I'm like a rat she saw in her room."
Lucy chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah… I get what you mean."
As they went inside the guild, they were just in time to hear Mirajane announce that more paying jobs have been sent their way. That immediately had members zooming to the board, the eagerness to earn more fueling their anticipation.
"Lucy-san," Wendy walked towards them with Carla by her side. She had a bright smile on her face. "I took a job from the board just now." She held up the flyer excitedly. "Would you like to come with Carla and I?"
Carla crossed her arms with a smirk. "It's a little difficult for Wendy to handle on her own so having some help would be nice. Plus, you always seem to worry about your rent." Nowadays, their usual team was going on solos jobs to make up for their funds. Going on jobs together would just make the process longer since they had to split the reward.
"I've never been on a job just with Wendy." Lucy noticed. A smile came on her face. "It should be interesting... and less stressful and destructive..."
"What, you don't want Natsu blowing up the clients house?" Karissa teased with a laugh. It was just a joke. But Lucy turned to her and gave her a look of pure disappointment. "Oh, wait, seriously?!"
"It got caught in the crossfire..." Lucy rubbed her temples as if she was relieving the horror. The Celestial mage would never forget how she despaired because her rent was due and that job's reward was going to be added to her payment to total 70000. At that time, her landlady terrified her more than she did today. Wendy and Karissa gave Lucy the same horrified looks. "We came home empty handed..." Lucy kept the same face even as Karissa suddenly clasped her shoulder and wheezed a laugh. The mental image her mind painted of Natsu ruining a client's home just turned her into a sparkler of laughs. Wendy quickly reassured Lucy that everything would go fine while Carla simply shook her head in disappointment.
"Karissa-san, do you want to come, too? We don't mind." She didn't want her to feel left out. The older mage finally recovered from laughing. shaking her head to her offer. "No, it's fine. You guys need the money more than I do."
"I heard your sister had a lot of money stacked away." Carla recalled. That day when Pandora dropped by to deliver some food revealed this truth. Cana had thrown her head back and laughed while patting the older sister's shoulder.
"Yeah, she's always careful with money. For all I know, she might be hiding even more in the house that Van and I don't even know about."
And with that, Wendy, Carla and Lucy left the guild to get ready to head out on their job. Curious about the new job requests, Karissa approached the request board and peered at the flyers. They were certainly much better than the ones she saw when she came back from Tenrou Island. It must be because of Jason and his enthusiastic reporting. They should be grateful for his help. Fairy Tail wasn't as prestige as seven years ago. However, knowing that the core members returned from that island made more people believe that Fairy Tail now had members suited for some requests. Insulting but yet not quite for those core members.
A small hand landed atop her head. It was Mirajane. She was smiling cheerfully while holding up some more flyers. Most of the ones she put up were already ripped off. This was actually the last batch. There wasn't as many as they had hoped, but it was still something.
"I haven't seen you a while. It's almost odd not to see you here with Gray or the others."
"I've been told I can be a lone-wolf." Karissa shrugged with a laugh.
"I suppose that's true." Mirajane chuckled and pinned up some new requests. "I hope you haven't been up to no good." she teased earning her a playful eyeroll.
"Not interested in breaking the law, thanks." Karissa retorted with mirth, watching more flyers appear every time Mirajane moved. A particular one caught Karissa's eye. Karissa gently took the flyer off the board to read it while Mirajane walked off to tend to the bar. It was a job involving a cult. According to the client, they've been growing in numbers and doing suspicious activity that was damaging the surrounding environment. They needed them to stop because the town did agriculture near that area. Numerous attempts to stop them themselves ended in failure and threats. It was in a part of Fiore she rarely visited. The reward was a lot.
I probably should put this back though… someone else might need this job.
"Attractive reward."
With a yelp, Karissa jolted in fright and back stepped into whoever was behind her. An oof escape them and they quickly grabbed her shoulders to steady her. She whipped her head and found Gray behind her. Gray had been leaning over her shoulder to read the description just seconds after Mirajane walked off. She gave him a pointed look while he just kept looking at the paper. Laxus walked to the request board to check for any jobs, standing next to her he read.
Gray leaned closer to her to read the flyer. "You planning on taking that?"
She replied fast without thought.
"I guess? Not sure though." His hands were still holding her shoulders. She could feel his hair tickle her cheek. Her feet fidgeted while she fixed her gaze somewhere else. Her heart skipped with delight from his contact, and she didn't know whether to be pleased or disappointed. Just as she was wondering whether or not she should slip away from him, Gray smiled at her and pointed his chin at the paper after letting her go. "Do you want to team up then?"
He missed her.
He was expecting her to say yes.
Instead…
"Oh. Sorry. I promised Laxus I would go with him on my next job."
Without turning to look at her, Laxus stared at one flyer, blinking and unmoving, while wondering to himself when the hell such promise took place. Just what on earth was this girl thinking? He could feel Gray looking at him. Narrowing his eyes at the board, he remained silent.
"Really?" Gray responded. He wasn't going to lie to himself, a part of him felt a bit disappointed, but there was also surprise since he wasn't expecting Laxus to ask her to go on a job with him. He thought they would both be too awkward for that. What changed?
"It's my first job with Laxus in a while so… I'm a little nervous…"
In his head, Laxus complimented her skill in the art of lying. There wasn't a hint of deception in her tone.
"So, you'll have to be helpless on a job without my help." Her jest made her lie even more convincing since Gray huffed and scowled in response to the smirk on her face. Karissa wanted keep a little more distance just for maybe another day or two. She didn't know if it would make a difference though. As for Gray, he was starting to feel happy for Karissa since she was going on a job with Laxus. Now that he was back in Fairy Tail, there was a possibility of them being more amicable if they decided to grasp onto the lingering threads of the past.
Too bad Gray couldn't see through her lie.
"Next time, maybe?"
"Sure." He turned his head when he overheard Elfman calling his name. Warren and Max were waving him over. He turned back to Karissa and lifted his hand to her as he started walking away. "Take care on your job."
Karissa watched him fully turn away from her before she decided to face the board. Laxus was still looking at the board too. With a sigh, she scratched her neck just as she decided to hook the flyer back on the board. Now, she was going to have to disappear for as long as Laxus was gone. Maybe she should get some random job and be on her way too…
"Sorry." Karissa muttered, glazing over the job requests. "You can take the flyer."
Laxus hummed, already holding it a bit away from the board while still pinned. "Thanks." He nonchalantly ripped it off and went over to the counter to notify Mirajane. It was quick. While Karissa was busying looking for some random job, she failed to notice Laxus marching back to her. Her ears caught the sound of shoes getting closer. But it was too late. "Let's go." A big arm wrapped around her shoulders as soon as she looked in his direction. With a yelp, she stumbled when he started dragging her along with him to the exit. Obviously, this attracted several curious stares. Laxus paid no mind to theirs nor Karissa's that was accompanied by confused Karissa noises.
"L-Laxus?! What are you doing?!" She started struggling even more when they made it outside.
He stopped and peered down, looming over her. Her body stilled. From the way he had his arm around her, his coat that hung over his shoulders curtained her back, and she was much shorter than him so no one could see what kind of face she was making.
She gave him a flummoxed look while he leaned down to smirk at her. "You promised you'd go on a job with me, isn't that right?"
Pause.
Karissa blinked.
"HUH?"
Gray was no longer deceived and his feelings were now correct.
…
…
…
"Keep up, Karissa."
"Hmm…"
Karissa trailed behind Laxus with her train ticket in her hand. She kept staring ahead in disbelief. He deadass forced her to join him and his team on their next job. She was ready, bag and everything. Despite insisting she was lying, he just played deaf and rushed her to get her things ready. He didn't let her escape his sight. Apparently, his reasoning was that it was her fault for lying, she had to take responsibility for lies.
Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen were already inside the train waiting for them.
Their surprise to her appearance made sense. She had been walking behind Laxus' towering figure the whole time, so when he revealed her as he moved to take a seat, she was just there standing there like an idiot, unsure of how to act.
Freed blinked. "Karissa?"
Bickslow tilted his head.
"What are you doing here?" Evergreen wondered.
Karissa tensed and suddenly felt like she was intruding. Without a word, she turned around and tried making a beeline for the exit. Tried. Laxus easily reached his hand and grabbed onto the back of her hoodie. She let out a sound that resembled a squeak and a caw and lurched forward when he stopped her.
"Get over here." Laxus tugged her into the spot next to him. Barely recovering from her sudden halt, Karissa collided into his shoulder when she fell into it. Another attempt to escape would probably result in the same thing. Laxus' unspoken words were 'try that again'.
Slowly straightening up, she gave Laxus a baffled face.
When asked again about why she was joining, Laxus turned away from her and stared out the window after handing Freed the job flyer. The Raijin Tribe allowed Laxus to choose the job since it would be his first after rejoining. They weren't expecting him to bring Karissa with them.
He wasn't saying anything.
She figured he was letting her talk.
"I, uh, wanted to work with other people." It sounded like question when it came out of her mouth. But she still continued with it, hiding a half truth with her next words. "I'd also like to stop giving people ideas about me and Gray."
"Huh?" Bickslow crossed his arms. "Since when did you care about what people say about you and stripper?"
"Probably after Juvia kept giving me death glares just for breathing the same air as him." Karissa spat. "The less people talk about us the better."
"Ah, makes sense." Evergreen said with mirth. It was almost tiring to see the water mage emit weird aura any time a girl spoke to Gray. Poor Karissa was obviously the most targeted one because of her relationship with Gray.
Laxus thoughtfully stared out the window when her words registered in his brain.
"Maybe you're thin-skinned." Bickslow drawled in amusement. He assumed traits of her previously withdrawn nature carried over to her present self.
"Maybe." Karissa laughed sheepishly.
Evergreen crossed her legs and smiled. "Well, it's not like you're not welcomed. And it would be nice to have another girl for a change."
"What, we're bad company?" Bickslow snorted, prompting the woman to roll her eyes.
"It can be stifling."
Karissa repressed a small laugh when Bickslow leaned away from Evergreen, feigning offense.
Being the awkward soul she was, especially in this circumstance, she didn't really engage in conversation. Instead, she found herself getting sleepier. The sound of the train moving was oddly comforting, creating a lullaby for her already tired state. Knowing she might fall asleep, she zipped up her hoodie and put on her hood to hide her face, her vulnerability.
She purposely made sure to not lean on Laxus by shoving her bag between them.
But that only made her tilt towards the hallway.
Bickslow's little dolls had to nudge her back into place each time she did.
…
…
…
"Wake up, sleeping beauty!"
Karissa flinched away from the voice, eyes squinting from the brightness and her arms held up in defense. She fell asleep on the ride since she was still tired from last night. Now, she was wondering if a bomb went off somewhere after being so rudely woken up. The first thing she saw was Bickslow being so close to her fac, pinching the top of her hood to reveal her face, and he was mischeviously grinning as well.
"Bickslow… what the fuck…?" Her words came out as a growl.
"You wanna get left behind~?"
"Don't annoy her." Evergreen pushed Bickslow out of her way since he was obstructing the path.
Grumpy from the rude awakening, Karissa gave him a death glare while Laxus ushered her out of her seat. Laxus watched in silent amusement as Karissa rubbed her eyes with a scowl.
It looked like Bickslow woke up a grumpy child who was in the middle of her nap time.
The client told them that the cult had three hideouts. Instead of going to each separate hideout and risking one of them to catch wind of their raid, they decided to divide their manpower. Freed and Evergreen, Laxus, Karissa and Bickslow. At first, Karissa was against teaming up with the most annoying member since he kept trying to tease her to get reactions out of her. But thankfully, he wasn't a pain to deal with when it came to getting to work. In the end, they rounded them all up and waited for authorities to come pick them up.
While Bickslow and Karissa waited, the latter decided to go back inside to roam the place instead of just sitting and waiting. Boredom and curiosity was killing her. "Oiii, Karissa. Where are you going?" Bickslow droned with his arms crossed, watching her walk off over his shoulder. The smaller mage hopped over debris that was caused during the conflict. "Just going to see something I saw earlier…"
"Can't it wait? Why don't you stay where I can see you so you don't get lost?"
Karissa clicked her tongue and snapped her head back to find him sticking his tongue out. Now he was treating her like a little kid. Annoying! "I'll disappear and throw a rock at you if you keep that up!" She threatened with a scowl, even making a move to reach for a little pebble. Bickslow snickered and easily leaned towards a rock that would protect him.
Ignoring his laughter, she went towards the stairs that led deeper underground and breathed through her nose. It was a long way down. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, she leaped off and used wind magic to safely get down. The way the place was formed was reminiscent to the temple on Galuna Island, corridors everywhere. But she knew which one to take. It was a wall she found suspicious while fighting off the cult members. Someone fiddling with the surface of the wall and quickly turning around to avoid giving something away made her think that they were hiding something.
Karissa ran her hand across the wall's surface curiously. "Nothing…"
Strange. There had to be a reason for that person to be acting like that.
Deciding to play smart rather than slow, she did what Fairy Tail was known best for: destruction. She made an ice hammer and broke the wall. She squinted when it kicked up some smoke. With a wave of her hand, a gust of wind shooed it away from her sight, clearing the way. The first thing she saw was a glowing light. With curious eyes, she peeked at the damage and saw several objects that emitted magic power. The ice hammer broke into a plethora of pieces after she let go to get closer.
There was a box inside with objects, containers to be precise. "Huh…" Karissa picked up one of them and carefully tinkered around with it.
Bickslow, who left the cultists with the authorities who had just arrived, went downstairs, wondering what the hell she was doing. The sound of something breaking had alerted him. He was little concerned. Also, he didn't need Laxus getting upset with him if he shrugged off his concern and came back with an injured Karissa. He found her sitting on debris while going through the box that was half hidden behind the wall. Several of the objects were sitting at her feet. They were all the same. Black containers with glass that illuminated with blue light. She kept bringing each one up to her face as if to smell it.
"Yo, Karissa. What are you up to?" Bickslow casually waltzed into the room, dropping all the teasing now that he was intrigued. She innocently looked over her shoulder when his voice echoed. Lifting up the one she current held, she shook it a little. "I found some containers containing some sort of magic?" she could be wrong. When Bickslow held out his hand as he approached, she gave hers and picked up another one.
There obviously nothing inside and yet it glowed.
The older mage lifted it up. His nose wrinkled when he sensed the magic from it.
"… Why does this feel like… Ethernano?"
"Ethernano?" Karissa repeated, confused. She moved it around in her hands.
Ethernano dwelled inside all living organisms, the earth and throughout the atmosphere. It was what gave life to their magic. It's what was a little abnormal for Karissa and Van in terms of quantity inside humans. Also, having an area of extremely concentrated Ethernano was detrimental for any living organism. What Bickslow was holding in his hand was Ethernano contained in its base form. All of a sudden, Karissa remembered an important detail concerning their job, the main reason the request was sent in the first place. Bickslow also came to the same realization since he started telling her to put all the containers back inside the box. She obeyed. All the debris that landed inside the box were thrown out. Once all needless rubble was out of the way, her guildmate lugged up the box in his arms with ease and she followed him up the stairs.
Thinking that other hideouts hid the same, Bickslow and Karissa split up after giving the box to the police. Judging from the cultists' reactions, they found something very important to them. They claimed that they were returning the power to Zeref, the true mage of the world. Mere imitations of the O' Great Zeref would only sully the power they harvested.
Great, Zeref fanatics.
…
…
…
Freed lifted the container to his eye level. His interest was piqued.
"Ethernano in its pure base form captured… interesting."
They were currently back in the town, inside the mayor's office. With the police's help, they carried all the suspicious objects back. Well, it was mostly Karissa's doing since she just made a big ice chariot that moved on its own. Freed made comments about her ice being mobile compared to Gray's. Naturally. Her style was a semi-dynamic one after all. She could move her ice but not command it like Lyon. After further inspection, they decided it was best that officials from the Magical Council keep it. They would be arriving the next day to confiscate them.
Evergreen surveyed the containers that they confiscated with a curious eye. "I've never seen something like this before."
Karissa poked the glass that was coloured in blue light. "It probably sucks Ethernano and just keeps it like this."
Evergreen frowned. "Wouldn't this be earth then? Why else would they be unable to grow their crops?"
Freed put down the container and shook his head. "For now, there is no concrete evidence if they did. However, the police informed us that they confessed to having obtained these items from a dark guild somewhere in the south."
"Somewhere in the south? There are numerous towns in the south." Karissa deadpanned as she took a seat on the couch, the walk from the hideouts to the town was exhausting. "They're gonna need more than that."
Just then, Laxus entered the mayor's office casually. "It's near Bastion." He easily slipped into the conversation as if he was there the whole time.
Karissa blinked. "How'd you know?"
"A member of the cult was interrogated."
"By the police?"
"Me."
"Oh."
The police took too long interrogating, so Laxus just sped up the process. No big deal.
Bickslow made himself comfortable by sitting on the mayor's desk. "So? What's the plan? Do we remove the root?" He was down for anything honestly. "We did our job here and got our reward." He lifted up the bag of jewels that was left to him.
"Well, if it's a dark guild, we'll most likely have to deal with them, no?" Evergreen smirked while curling hair behind her ear. "I'll bet that those officials already asked Laxus to deal with him in their stead while they hand over the items to the Council. That would be a wise decision."
"Exactly." Laxus crossed his arms and leaned back against the door. The technology these cultists were playing around with was no joke. It was like creating a type of lacrima weapon. That kind of technology didn't belong in the hands of those who didn't abide to the law. To Laxus, he felt like the less trouble dark guilds caused then the less the chances of the Balam Alliance would grow in power. Basically, less headaches.
Bickslow hopped off the desk with a lazy grin. "I say we go! I'm dying to see how the dark guilds fare after our seven year absence!" His dolls cheered, circling around him almost cheerfully. "These cultists were beyond weak! I like my fights with more challenge to them, y'know?"
Freed would follow Laxus' decision. Evergreen didn't have any objections to going to Bastion. It so happens that the town where the dark guild was said to be around had one of the best brands for clothing. She wanted to drop by once they wrapped it up. Hearing no objects from his own team, Laxus looked to Karissa who was now laying down on the couch. She looked absolutely relaxed with how she was stretching her body like a cat. "Are you up for it?"
She fell limp against the couch. "I don't have a reason to refuse other than being lazy after all that walking."
Bickslow snorted. Karissa narrowed her eyes when Bickslow came to her, her eyes watching him like a cautious cat ready to hiss. The taller mage lifted his head to pat her head. "Don't worry, we'll take the train since the baby needs more nap time."
Karissa jerked her head away and her teeth aimed for his hand.
With a yelp, the older mage leaped away.
…
…
…
They arrived at Bastion after an hour. Only after eating did they take the train since they needed to recharge little. The dark guild's name was Snake Shadow and they weren't going anywhere anyway. They had no idea they were coming after them. With the Council's directions, they found the dark guild somewhere towards the east of town past a forest.
Karissa and Freed inspected the building together. There were two entrances. If they stormed via the front entrance, they'd just scramble and leave through the back, creating more work for them. All that could easily be avoided with a good plan.
Laxus and Karissa acted as the main force of attack after Freed set up Jutsu Shiki on the other side, blocking their only escape. There was no way Laxus was letting them get past him anyway. Evergreen and Bickslow assisted Freed by covering any other possible exits they may come up with.
Cornered rats.
Karissa side stepped away from her opponent and twirled her ice mallet. Her opponent's curses were cut off, the sudden swing of her mallet hitting him square in the cheek, throwing him to the ground. Another one came at her from behind. She dropped the head of her mallet on the tiled floor and swung around it to give herself momentum. Her foot hit the dark guild member in the chest, sending him flying into a wall, knocking down two other members in the process. The strength of the blow was amplified by the wind.
"Bitch!"
Karissa grimaced when she noticed a spear's blade coming her way. Lightning sparked at the end. She back stepped a few before taking a stance to hurl the ice mallet at him. Like bunch of bowling pins, he knocked down his allies when he fell back.
"Let's get out of here!"
"Hurry!"
Those who fled from Laxus were spotted by Karissa.
Seriously, Laxus' presence all had them running away once they could finally see who they were dealing with: a monster.
"Ice Make: Crystal Tower!"
She aimed the ice towards a batch of them that were escaping. Her hands that touched the ground created ice that raced after them and then trapped them all in a towering ice crystal. It would save Freed some work. Laxus was making quick work of his opponents. He could hear Evergreen fighting outside with Bickslow. They caught the ones escaping through windows. The S-Class mage back stepped and rammed his knee up into a guy's chin. Without even taking a look behind him, he grabbed the same guy and threw him into the fire mage behind him. A powerful strike of lightning rendered them numb on the floor.
While the older mage continued taking down the dark guild members, he was able to get a quick moment of reprieve and check on Karissa's side. During the battle against Hades, he didn't really have time to see her fight nor was he able to see her at her best because of her injuries. Now, he was seeing it. His mind was updating. It was overwriting what he remembered. The memory of Karissa fighting with him on a job from several years ago was being compared to the present. Her moves were sharper, she was much more agile. Her spells improved as well.
When Laxus realized what he was doing, he quickly turned away and scowled.
… It's too early to be reminiscing. I'm only twenty-three.
Laxus scowled even deeper when he realized something.
I'm fucking thirty.
…
…
…
The hour was late, and the lights of many buildings and houses in Bastion were flickering out one by one. Karissa breathed in the cool night air as she shut her eyes as she slowly leaned back on her bench.
The Magic Council had dealt with the rest.
The mages from Fairy Tail dealt with the dark guild as per requested. Afterwards, they went straight back into Bastion. They were going to have to spend the night in that town since there was no way they were going to be back in Magnolia, mostly because the Council paid for their stay at hotel. They might as well take advantage of it. It was an expensive hotel. Who wouldn't want to stay for free? Even though Karissa and Evergreen shared a room, they still had their own doors and locks to keep their privacy. It was one of those fancy rooms. The same could be said for the boys.
Visiting the roof of the hotel was a perk. People could sit on one of the few benches above and stare at the night sky, just like how Karissa she first got there. There was also a protective glass wall that reflected the lights from the town below. It was a pretty lookout spot.
A soft laugh escaped her when she reflected on her day.
I went shopping with Evergreen.
I even had to carry some of her freaking bags.
Seriously, she wasn't expecting to hang out with Evergreen after taking a nap in her room. Apparently, Evergreen thought it would be nice to hang out with a girl for once instead of her teammates. And honestly, Karissa didn't see the harm even though she really wasn't familiar with Evergreen. Perhaps that little outing helped them get to know each other better. They mostly went looking around for clothes. Obviously, Evergreen failed to persuade her into trying any dresses. Karissa had little interest in shopping for 'cute' clothes. Her style always leaned more towards the cool side since they were comfortable and easy to move around in. As much as flashing panties because skirts or dresses might give her the upper hand against men, she'd rather just kick them in the face with a sneaker right after she looked at them dead in the eye.
Instead, the vain woman helped her choose something that would suit her taste. Like when Karissa saw a beige fedora hat and dropped it on her head. It was just for fun. The female Raijin Tribe member simply shook her head, plucking it off, and replacing it with a gray one with a black ring and a wider brim, saying it suited her better.
What did she do? She freaking bought it because Evergreen was right and she liked the way it looked on her. What else did she get? Two plaid cardigans caught her eye, blue and white. In addition to the hat and cardigans, something else also caught her eye. It was this type of cardigan that had loose long sleeves. The left sleeve was light blue while the other was dark blue, the rest was black. Each sleeve had a outlines of flowers at the end, the left was black and the right was white. The lower half of the garment had horizontal diamonds either outlined in white or filled in with blue and white. The designs it had on it was what made her fancy it. It was only after she bought all of them did she realize how much she spent. It made her feel a little bad to see how much she spent since she basically liked leaving her money to rot away in her wallet.
Buying those clothes had her realize that she rarely goes shopping for clothes except for when her sister wants to. In that sense, it would technically mean that her sister was always buying her clothes.
Also, she actually contemplated trying on a summer dress that looked nice. It made her wonder if one day she'd actually wear one with complete ease. Curiosity for the future budded in her heart. That cruise job really was an eyeopener.
Afterwards, she ate dinner with Laxus and the Raijin Tribe.
"Karissa would follow Laxus around like a little duckling! Haha!"
Ignoring Bickslow's attempt to embarrass her, she cut her steak with her knife all while maintaining a cool face. Evergreen chuckled at the memory. "But the roles would reverse once Karissa would steal his headphones."
Watching the two interact during those days was funny to watch. Little Karissa would bounce around Laxus to get his attention while he grumpily tried to escape her. There was once a time where he read a magazine while shoving his hand on her face to stop her from getting too close But the moment Karissa took his headphones, it was a game of chase where her melodious laughter bounced off the walls. She was a rapid little thing. That was her trick to have Laxus hang out with her a little. It was so obvious that she liked the attention be it in a positive or negative way.
"She finally stopped when I got her the ones that she broke." Laxus said before taking another bite, staring apathetically at the girl who returned his stare with her own.
"You still got me a new pair after your little kumbaya." Karissa scoffed, smirking when he paused. She could already sense the advent of amused smirks at the table.
"Laxus gave those to you?" Freed gasped. "I assumed you bought those on your own!" the Jutsu Shiki user turned to Laxus, who was scowling next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and holding up a thumbs you. "Good job! I'm so proud of you!" He never knew that Laxus made the effort to make it up to Karissa.
"Alright, lay off." Laxus inched away from him.
Karissa reopened her eyes.
Today was good.
"It felt good just to forget."
But it's always when she was relaxing like this.
It's always the same.
The door to the roof opened. "Talking to yourself?"
Karissa looked over her shoulder and found Laxus closing the door behind him. Those dragon slayer ears of his heard her from over there when she whispered? Talk about no privacy. With a shrug, she turned back to face the sky above her. The sound of his heavy footsteps came closer, giving her a vague idea of how much distance he covered with each one. Soon, he appeared in her sight, walking towards the glass to lean against it, the view down below admired by his own sight. The reason for being up on the roof was could not be said without a question, one that Karissa chose to restrain out of habit. It almost felt conditioned, really.
Looking to the left of the town, Laxus shifted his weight on one foot. "So, what's up?"
"… Huh?"
"This morning at the request board." He pushed off the rail to turn and lean his back against it. Laxus was so much bigger than her that it made her wonder if the glass would give up on him. "You're avoiding Gray."
Karissa squinted her eyes. "… Is that why you dragged me along? Because you assumed something?"
"Not really." He looked down at his shoes for a second before looking towards a bright billboard on his right. "I figured I could use that as an opportunity to make up for shutting you out."
That was unexpected. It just made her still. "Oh." Was the first thing that came out of her mouth. Almost immediately, she could remember the cold shoulder and the sharp words he would sometimes reply with. "Don't worry about it. I mean, you already apologized so it's already history."
He reached and scratched the back of his head. "Felt like the easy way to do it though." He dropped his head and looked at her properly. That flimsy piece of paper wouldn't cut it. "I'm sorry." That sincerity in his voice also surprised her. It felt novel since she was used to the old Laxus. But that didn't mean it wasn't appreciated. A smile came on her face when she shook her head and hand dismissively.
"I told you, it's alright." she reaffirmed. And the subject dropped.
"Alright." He shifted his weight again. "So, what going on with you?"
"I'm not avoiding Gray." She repeated.
"Feels like you are. What, did you guys finally get into a fight after several years of harmony?"
"No, of course not." She hated having conflicted with her friends. "Why do you think I'm avoiding him?"
Laxus scoffed. "When you kicked that chair into him for making you upset, you avoided him like the plague and stuck around me. If you didn't have a fight and wanted to avoid him, you'd probably avoid everyone altogether to keep people from getting any ideas, including him. The moment he suggested going on a job, you lied by using me as an excuse because you panicked."
Karissa stared at him, speechless.
Now she just had to ask.
"Dude, how the fuck did you figure that all out?"
"A hunch." He shrugged, causing her to deadpan. Karissa didn't buy that. "Hunch, my ass! What do you know?!"
"I don't know anything. Who knows, it was probably instinct."
"I don't believe you."
"Think what you will." Laxus scoffed with roll of his eyes. "So, what happened for you to avoid the exhibitionist?"
"Why do you want to know?"
"You lied and used me, and now I'm a little curious about what's making you become a loner again." He didn't want her to be withdrawn like in the past.
Karissa sighed, running a hand across her face. Of all people, why was it Laxus? He was the last person she expected to confront her like this. Maybe a part of her just thought he didn't care about her troubles. Again, she was basing him off Cold Shoulder Laxus.
... And he would be the last person to gossip about her troubles too.
Realizing this, Karissa pulled her hand away, staring at the floor with a slightly defeated look.
Right…
Laxus saw the way she flexed her hands a little, as if she was trying to figure out what to say next. He would wait until she got the courage to say it. It only took two more seconds and a deep breathe before she spat out the truth.
"I, uh, like Gray."
To say that Laxus was surprised would be half true. He more or less had a tiny hunch inside him that predicted that she would like her childhood friend, reasoning being the same as Cana's. He hummed in response but didn't say anything for her to continue. If he interrupted her now, he'd just scare her off. And she might just never bring it up again.
"But I heard him say that he definitely doesn't like me."
Laxus' eyebrows furrowed. He couldn't picture Gray saying those words. "When did he say that?"
"Um, sometime after everyone celebrated when we came back from the island… I was thinking of telling him after everything that happened because you never know… maybe a dragon might just come swooping down on this hotel roof, no more chances. I wanted to be proud that I could be courageous and confess even if he didn't like me back, but hearing him say that he didn't like me made me realize my feelings would probably just cause unnecessary pain for me, and it would probably just be an unneeded bother him." She sighed and leaned back against the backrest. Talking about this topic suddenly felt therapeutic, she didn't know why. "I figured I'd put some distance to somehow try and start moving on. That maybe I'd be able to stomp on those feelings, repress them, squash them and forget about them as if they never existed."
The Lightning Dragon Slayer blinked. "I don't know why, but it's kind of scary hearing you talk about killing your feelings. Are those traits of a psychopath?"
"Maybe." Karissa laughed once. Laxus walked away from the rail and to sit on the other end of the bench. "I mean, I didn't break down crying and gasping for air like some dramatic woman when he said that. It did hurt, but I was fine."
Laxus deadpanned at the description. "Yeah, I don't picture you doing that either. " He crossed his legs and looked up at the sky. "Feelings like that don't disappear in a week. Repressing and deliberately ignoring your feelings won't help."
"How do you know that?" Karissa grumpily replied, not liking how he was dismissing her methods. Without a word, he turned his head to look at her, giving her a skeptical look. It took two seconds for it to click. "Oh…" she paused. "How long... exactly?"
"Long enough. It just gets worse."
The feeling only became more and more intense with time.
A gentle night breeze filled the pause between them.
"She likes you, you know?"
"I know."
It was basically just unspoken between them.
"So why don't you tell her? I think Pandora's a pussy, she won't tell you."
Her words made him chortle. "Yeah, no shit." For years, they were just dancing around the obvious, waiting for the other to make a move. How did that end? Laxus leaving Fairy Tail. Much like Karissa, he wanted to tell her because he might miss his chance. Seeing the older Sinclost's arm littered with scars from the cauterization and the fact that he was allowed back in Fairy Tail made him realize that. But even after everything that happened, he couldn't find the right time.
"But you talk as if your feelings don't matter." Laxus put them back on the previous topic. That only made her sigh. She thought they were done with the topic.
"Uh, they kind of don't since he obviously doesn't like me—"
"How you feel always matters." He cut her off. "You sure you won't regret it when he hooks up with that water girl?"
"Their relationship would probably just brutally kill my feelings faster." Karissa laughed to herself, talking as if she was just an outsider. If Laxus had to take a guess, the containing and downplaying of her own feelings must have stemmed from her withdrawn days. It was easier for Karissa keep things to herself back then. But he could be wrong.
"Stupid. You're only saying that now but I bet you won't be saying that if it happens."
Crossing her arms, Karissa crossed her legs and looked away. "What do you want me to say? Look, I know a week is not enough for feelings to disappear. But I did try anyway. And it felt good just to forget and get busy. I freaking trained my spells and did some jobs. In a way, his indirect rejection was some good ass motivation. But… when I'm like this, all alone and just minding my own business… it all just comes back, my mind still just has him, and I remember how much I love that freaking weirdo."
She was embarrassed.
But this was the result of repression and frustration.
"Love and emotions are fucking annoying."
The universal truth.
A big hand landed on her head, two gentle taps came. Confused by the gesture, she looked at him with curious eyes.
"I think you might have it bad." He pulled away, avoiding the smack aimed for his hand the moment she growled. He got up and took her arm to try to pull her up. "If you want my opinion, I think you should still tell him. What better way to move on than get a plain rejection in your face? But that's something you can think about tomorrow." When she refused to get up and just frowned on the bench, he rolled his eyes. One strong tug was all it took to force her out of her seat and up on her feet. He had to drag her along with him when she dragged her shoes. "For now, it's time to sleep or else I'll leave you on the train when you doze off."
Karissa huffed. Playfully, she stuck her tongue out for that little threat. Back then, he actually almost did by accident.
...
...
...
"Why would you make yourself vulnerable when you could potentially get hurt?" Karissa tipped her head, not understanding the concept.
"Oh dear." Evergreen commented, choosing to back out of this one and simply sip her tea. Right now, Karissa seemed like that one person in the group who would try to search about love in a library.
"Well, if you don't take a chance, you'll never know if whoever you confess to likes you back." Lucy tried to explain it to her like as if she had experience. Didn't the Celestial Mage once admit that she never had a boyfriend before? "You might regret it."
"But some people still confess even knowing that the other person doesn't like them back." Karissa narrowed her eyes, still confused.
"Um… I guess it makes you feel lighter if you have an answer? It's good to let it out."
"Also, think of it this way," Erza interjected. "The person you confess to will most definitely appreciate that you think of them so highly."
"But isn't it scary?" Karissa rubbed the back of her head.
"It can be, yes." Bisca sighed.
...
...
...
Maybe I should just do it after all...
The next day, Laxus and the Raijin Tribe returned to Fairy Tail three hours before lunch time. Gray was sitting with Juvia and Cana when he saw them. He expected to see his childhood friend tagging along but she was no where in sight. Where did she go this time? Cana reached out to Laxus' self proclaimed bodyguards when they came closer to where they sat.
"Where's Karissa?"
Freed replied first. "She got off the train three stops earlier. She said that there's a magic bookstore that she wanted to check out before returning." He looked at the clock situated on one of the walls. "She should return before lunch if she doesn't run into any trouble."
She was still going to be paying for a ticket just to catch another train. Gray just hoped she didn't drop her cash fat wallet on her little trip to the bookstore. She'd probably just fly home with a pitiful frown. While the Raijin Tribe walked past them, Laxus followed behind them without a word. Gray was about to turn in his seat until the older mage called his name. All of sudden, the blonde mage clasped his shoulder and leaned closer to his ear right when he was about to turn. Gray stared at the mage, bewildered.
Cana raised an eyebrow with a confused hum. Eyes widening, Juvia slapped a hand over her mouth as flowers appeared around Laxus and Gray as if it were some boys love scene when Laxus whispered something in his ear.
"What?" Gray jerked his head away and narrowed his eyes, confused. "What are you talking about? Oi! Laxus!"
With a scoff, Laxus closed his eyes started walking off. "Figure it out." Ignoring the ice mage with only those words just created questions in his mind. It planted seeds of doubt. Gray stared at his back for a few seconds. When Laxus wouldn't turn back, Gray turned in his seat to face the table. The two females mages could see the troubled yet puzzled look on his face.
"Gray-sama? What's wrong?" Juvia wondered, her eyes filled with worry.
The dark haired wizard narrowed his eyes, no reply leaving him.
"What did he tell you?" Cana decided to take a turn asking.
Gray just shook his head. "I don't even know." he finally admitted.
…
…
…
Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow watched Laxus slowly catch up to them with a mischievous smirk on his face. The shock and confusion on Gray's face had them curious about what their teammate just told him.
"Huh, what'd you tell Gray, Laxus?" Bickslow kept staring at Gray from afar.
"Hm? Oh, nothing." Laxus waved his hand dismissively. He then stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked past them. "Just a little meddling in hopeless affairs." He said in a cryptic way, a sheepish little smile on his face.
Perhaps this was also his way of trying to make up for shutting her out.
…
…
…
"You better get your shit together with Karissa. If she's still avoiding you by tomorrow, you'll regret it."
Laxus, the meddler. "ok I'm tired of watching these idiot not doing shit"
He basically took inspiration from the chair incident.
Not gonna lie, this chapter was fighting me. Had to cut out stuff and add more to make some sense. But it all worked out in the end... and now, I look forward to writing the next chapter.