Warnings: reference to past torture, crying, memory of trauma, pain from wounds.
Cautions: really cringy attempts at Japanese. I really just hope I haven't butchered the language.
{-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-}
Levy was reading.
It had been some days since the enigmatic ex-Black Mages had arrived, and she had already become close friends with Aki. They had just returned from Porlyusica's, or so it was rumored they had been; Levy knew this rumor to be true, knew what had happened to the pair on Galuna – of their past physical and intangible torture.
Natsu's voice rose above the usual clamor of guild, and Levy sighed in frustration, peeking over the book she had buried her nose in.
"Zeref, let's go on a quest!"
The Dragon Slayer was standing on a table Aki and the other ex-Black Mage, Zeref, were sitting at. That was another startling revelation about them: the two heralded as Black Mages were not only not evil, but also Natsu's long lost siblings that nobody knew he had. Natsu had died, and that was what had triggered all that had come after as Aki and Zeref had searched to resurrect their brother.
Overall, they were about as Fairy Tail crazy as it was possible to be.
Levy's eyes narrowed as Natsu raised a fist.
He wouldn't dare…
Zeref looked up warily from the book he had been reading. "Natsu, we're reading right now," he said, hoping – foolishly, he knew – to placate the Dragon Slayer.
"I don't care!" Natsu rebutted, lighting his fist on fire. For some reason, this made Zeref smirk, albeit resignedly.
The gesture, however, went entirely unnoticed by Levy. She had leapt up, prepared to hit him with a stool for putting a book—nay, two books, the heathen—at risk, but was preempted by Aki, who jumped up only a second later.
She looked as outraged as Levy felt, raising a gloved hand threateningly. Something invisible seemed to loop around Natsu's ankle, hurling him into the guild's front doors with a loud thunk.
As she stalked over, Natsu hopped up, eager to fight, realizing too late that maybe he should have stayed down. "How dare you put fire near an ancient, irreplaceable book, Nanii-chan!" she shouted furiously, hardly noticing the attention she was drawing. {Nanii-chan. A play on 'Natsu,' 'nii,' and 'nani.' 'Nani' means 'what?' Together, I meant it as like, you know, 'stupid big brother,' or something. If I got it right. Japanese isn't my first language.} Right arm held perpendicularly to the side, the other straight in front of her, she raised her right, pulling a nearby table into the air. She flexed the fingers of her left hand, and Natsu was picked up by the back of his jacket.
He dropped onto the airborne table.
"Hey, wait-!" he started, his eyes widening in realization, but, with a whipping motion of her arm, she set the table spinning.
"You do not endanger books, Nanii-chan," she barked, "let alone delicate, literally one-of-a-kind manuscripts!" People watching laughed as the table spun faster and faster, eventually throwing a nauseous Natsu against a pillar; the pillar crumpled on impact, causing Aki to wince. While she couldn't care less about the wreck of a brother slumped in a heap at its base, she hadn't meant to destroy the building.
Levy watched as Aki raised a hand, causing the broken pillar to mend itself, floating back to its original position. Aki nodded satisfactorily, threw one last glower in Natsu's direction, then went back to her table. First talking to her for a second, Zeref stood and left the hall, picking Natsu up along the way.
Levy stood, not noticing Jet and Droy's questions.
Walking up to Aki's table, she asked cheerfully, "Aki-chan, you're a book lover too?"
Aki jumped at her voice, but bobbed her head, grinning uncertainly at her. "Want to, uh, join me?" she offered slightly awkwardly.
"I would love to." Levy sat down next to her, but, when Aki flinched, made to scoot away.
Only, Aki waved her hands emphatically, shaking her head. "No! It's fine, I'm just-" She bit her tongue. "…I like having people around, I'm just- not used to it."
Levy beamed at her, scooting back. "So, what are you reading?" she probed, trying to catch a glance at the closed book in Aki's hands, which was, inconveniently, face down.
Aki chuckled. "I don't think you'll be able to read it, but I'm reading 文豪ストレイドッグス."
Levy raised an eyebrow. "You said 'Bungo Stray Dogs?'"
Aki gaped at her, making her laugh. "You know 日本語?"
[Japanese. {Sorry, I'm cringy. I warned you at the outset! (^^;)}]
"Eh." Levy tilted her head and hands side to side. "I know it, but am not fluent in any sense. I have to keep a couple reference books nearby if I want to read anything comprehensive in it. ここでアニメをすすめるぞ。ぜんぶ見てた、好きだったから、たみしてみてな."
[Here, I'll be recommending some anime. I've seen all of them and liked them, so give them a try.]
Aki's eyes sparkled. "えっとさ、日本語は正しいの？がんばったけど、私の友達の中日本人がいませんので… 時間があれば、おねがいです！伝えてね。[Also, uhm, is my Japanese correct? I tried my best, but nobody in my group of friends is Japanese, so… if you have time, please! Tell me.] Awesome!" she cheered, holding a hand up in the air. Levy thought she was waving, maybe asking for a high five, but three books appeared in her parted fingers. "We can read together, then!"
Levy clapped her hands together gleefully. Mission success. "Yes!"
"What have you read?" Aki questioned, pulling book after book from wherever she hid them.
"Only a few treatises. 暗殺教室[Assassination Classroom]、鋼の錬金術師[Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood]、圕の大魔術師[Magus of the Library]、犬夜叉[Inuyasha], and, uhm, oh! How could I forget! フェアリーテイル :トルーテール!" [Fairy Tail: the True Tale {Hehehehehheheheh ( ‵▽′)ψ}]
Aki twitched, then replaced a few books. "You've read フェアリーテイル? [Fairy Tail] What did you think of it?"
"Well, I thought that it had a lot to say about magic and how it relates to the world. It was very dense, you know?" she chattered happily. "What I particularly enjoyed were the evocative renditions of thaumaturgic matrixes and runes; they were so much better than anything else I've read from there – from all that I've read, period. Of course, I don't have access to a decent chunk of ancient books because of the council's bans, but" —she smirked— "I've managed to read a fair few of those."
Aki snickered, and they shared a mischievous look. "They do have a tendency to ban anything that isn't in line with whatever they think at the time, don't they? We – Zeref and I, I mean – should know," she added ruefully, scowling.
Levy sweat dropped. "Well, the Black Mages' books were never… 'safe for the public.'"
Aki nodded absently, laughed suddenly, then stopped just as abruptly, telling her matter-of-factly, "We haven't only written demonic books, you know."
"Really?" Levy asked eagerly, leaning forward. "What else have you written?"
Aki grinned, slightly sheepish. "Well, for one, トルーテール." [True Tale. {Yes, I know I'm clever ;P}]
Levy's jaw dropped. "You wrote that? But- do you come from Botvia?"
Aki shook her head, rubbing the back of it as she pinked. "I've learnt a lot of languages and written quite a few theses and such, not as many as Zeref, though. Probably read most of the books in the world. There aren't a lot of things I haven't read – serious reading wise, anyways. Four hundred years is a long time."
Levy pulled a book towards her sniffily. "I'm taking that as a challenge," she mock snapped, stifling a grin.
Aki grinned, too, laughing. "Go ahead. I'm already pretty impressed, though."
|^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^V^|
"Oi!"
Levy turned around on the bench, Aki more spinning in anxiety at the tone of voice of the caller.
It was Gray.
"What's up, Gray?" Levy asked, trying to warn through her eyes for him to leave Aki, who had been leaning over to point something out in Levy's book, alone.
It blatantly didn't work, since he strode forward regardless, grabbing Aki by the forearm. Aki, noting with a bit of frustration that her pain tolerance, so high when she had been prepared for it, was comparably low, forced herself not to flinch as his grip pulled on her unhealed cuts.
"Gray!" Levy exclaimed indignantly, jumping up. He ignored her, pulling Aki's wrist up. She didn't struggle as she was dragged upward, instead scrambling to find her feet and stand for him, her eyes turning to the floor.
"What the hell is this?" Gray demanded.
"Let her down," Levy retorted coolly.
Gray glared, resolute. "What—the hell—is this?" he repeated, pulling off Aki's glove.
Now Aki panicked, but he lifted her from the ground, leaving her swinging her legs pointlessly in front of the gathering crowd. When he gave her a shake, she bit on her lip, pausing in her efforts to escape so as to hold on to silence.
"What's what?" asked Elfman.
"Please, please let go. Please," Aki whispered desperately, still wriggling in mid air; Gray ignored her, only lifting her a little higher off the ground.
"These scars on her hand!"
"They're nothing!" Aki blurted, struggling harder in his grip. For good measure, she applied a layer of Transformation Magic to her arms, ensuring that nobody could see, even if the worst happened.
"Gray, let her go!" Levy shouted, lunging at him. He dodged easily, leaping onto a table and pulling Aki with him. Unfortunately, he wasn't holding her quite high enough, because her shin connected with the edge of the table, and she couldn't help a short yell at the unexpected pain.
Everyone froze, even Gray, staring at her as she dangled limply, jaw clenched, eyes screwed tight shut.
"Gray, put her down right now!" Levy ordered, unwilling to move closer again.
"What the hell was that about?" Gray demanded of Aki, shaking her.
"Leave her alone!" Levy returned furiously, taking a step forward from the crowd.
"Those are scars from when they kidnapped Wendy to Galuna." A calm voice had joined their adrenalized ones. They looked around to see Carla floating forward, looking a mixture of aloof and worried.
"Oh, no, don't tell them!" Aki begged, pitch high from strain; many in the crowd raised their eyebrows.
"Carla, stop it," Wendy chastised, hurrying forward and picking the cat up.
"It's the truth."
"So they beat her up?" Gray asked, sneering. "Good! Wendy was injured, they-"
"That isn't what happened at all, Gray!" Levy interrupted, appalled.
"Then what?" he shot back, shaking Aki again.
"It's fine! Just stop! Please, please stop!" Aki pleaded in a cracked voice, giving up all pretense as the blood from her shin continued to seep into her pant leg—it would start dripping if she didn't do something, so she kicked in Gray's grip.
Using the momentum, he flipped her over, making to grab her ankles. As she spun, her shirt slid down her torso, and—
A piercing shriek resounded through the guild hall.
Aki slid over the edge of the table with additional yelps of agony, onto and then over the bench, her cuts catching on the wood, tearing open, ripping apart. She hit the ground with a small, dull thud before curling instinctively into a ball. Her sobs weren't stopping, even as she held her hands to her mouth in an attempt to silence them, her whole body shaking. Blood blossomed over her borrowed shirt, easily visible on the white fabric as it wasn't on her black pants.
"The Edolas-" Gray breathed, staring, along with everyone else, at her still exposed back—at the nest of half-healed cuts and bruises that colored it. Several similar mutters filled the suddenly silent hall, but they were all drowned out by a harrowing roar—
"The egg do you think you're doing!?"
Natsu crashed into Gray out of nowhere, looking as ferocious as when Lucy had been attacked by Minerva at the Grand Magic Games. Everyone gaped between the two scenes as Erza suddenly appeared beside Aki, kneeling, lifting her gently. "I'm sorry, Aki," she murmured as Lucy and Levy joined them. "I have to, now."
"N-no…" Aki managed, eyes tight shut. "Erza… please…"
"Lucy," Erza spoke over her, and Lucy was instantly there, taking her.
"…please…" Aki repeated painfully, apparently unaware that Erza had stood.
Loudly and clearly to the assembly, Erza spoke, "Those are injuries they earned from their trip to Galuna. They originally went to retrieve the Demon Book of Deliora to keep it from villainous hands, but were caught by a group of those villains, who had been trying to revive the demon. They were subsequently tor-" The wooden floorboards of the guild hall pried themselves from their foundations, wrapping around her and blocking her mouth.
"It… doesn't… matter!" Aki rasped, ignoring everyone's gaze, her eyes crimson. "It's… fine!"
"It ain't fine!" Natsu snapped, sticking his head momentarily out from the cloud around him. At the same time, Aki started coughing, and Erza summoned a sword, slashing through the planks binding her.
"And it does matter!" Erza barked, clearly furious that Aki had attacked her. "She and Zeref were tortured for days in exchange for Natsu's safety!" she pronounced before Aki could try to stop her again.
Dead silence but for Aki. Not a sound could be heard from the rest, and even the bustle of the street outside seemed to have died down.
"Aki-chan!" Lucy worried as Aki pushed herself away from her, shaking. She made to lift her up, but Aki shrugged her off.
"Is that true?" Macao asked, shocked.
"Yes," answered Erza.
"That doesn't matter!" Aki denied hoarsely, still hunched forward on the ground. Her tiny fists trembled in front of her. "It wasn't- it- Them being there was because of us-" She hacked wetly on the last word, but forced out, "-in the first place!"
"Because of your legacy, you mean?" Erza asked pointedly.
"What's the difference?!" Aki spat back, startling those nearby. "It makes no difference!"
"It really does, Aki-chan," Lucy contributed.
"Wait, but," Nab started, as bewildered as anyone else, "if she-"
"They agreed not to resist even though they had access to their magic," Erza explained, "because the cultists who had caught them had placed a magic circle on Natsu, which would have otherwise detonated."
Several gasps of horror rose from the crowd, including Levy, who's hands were held in front of her mouth in horror. "That's what she meant by being used for rituals?"
"Rituals?"
The word echoed around the guild hall, whispers passing, sources unidentifiable.
Erza nodded solemnly.
"Then why was Wendy hurt?" someone called, and still more mutters swept the hall, quickly stifled by Erza's death glare.
"Aki saved her from them by-"
"Bloody awful job then!" Aki snapped; everyone jumped. She was somehow pushing herself to her knees, one eye still screwed shut as she glared at Erza. "All I did was" —heave— "threaten her life!"
"You saved her from the cultists!" Erza returned fiercely.
"And nearly killed her!" Aki said with disgust. "Don't make me sound like… some sort of… hero…!"
"You were, though, Aki-chan," Lucy said kindly. She quailed as Aki turned her glare on her, finding it as dangerous as Erza's.
Erza continued for her, "You were trying to save-"
"SHUT UP!" Aki howled. Before Erza could retaliate, Aki started coughing again, tipping over and curling back into a ball. "'m f-"
"You're not fine!" Lucy shouted this time.
"Lea-eave me al-lone…"
"Is she okay?" Wakaba asked anxiously.
"Don' ask-k tha-t!" Aki managed hatefully, not opening her eyes. "Don' as-sk-"
"Aki-chan, you deserve to-" Lucy started.
A crash interrupted her as Natsu was thrown past, crashing into a pillar.
"Just because they helped out one time doesn't erase all they've done!" Gray bellowed, waiting in maker stance.
"They didn't do squat, Gray!" Natsu retorted, jumping up from the crumbling remains of the pillar. Everyone scrambled to get out of the way, Lucy lifting Aki gently, ignoring her feeble attempts to push her off.
Silent, the two watched each other.
"They made Deliora!" Gray finally snarled. "I don't care if they're your siblings-"
Natsu's chest puffed with rage. "That ain't their fault! They-" He froze, ears twitching in the, but for Aki's slightly quieted pants, silent guild hall. After a few seconds, he let out a growl of frustration and, apparently giving up on words, hurled himself towards Gray.
"That's enough!"
A giant foot came down on Gray, squashing him; Natsu bounced off it, unable to stop in time.
"Master!" Lucy shouted in relief as the little man – big man – little man? – shrank back to his usual diminutive size.
Seeing him, Natsu visibly relaxed, his focus instantly and entirely switching over to his sister.
"Since when does Fairy Tail attack someone who isn't resisting?" Makarov shouted, incensed. "Since when would a member of Fairy Tail gang up on an injured girl and force her to reveal her secrets? Since when did a Fairy Tail member have so little faith in their guild mates?!"
Natsu heard none of this.
Aki whimpered as he took her, hidden by Lucy and Levy, who stood up between them and the crowd. He held her gently, breathing in her scent in an effort to calm himself.
He was shaking, a savage animal born of their stay with the cultists roaring for satisfaction, for retribution, for action. It howled, brought back by the sound of her scream. When Gajeel, then a member of Phantom Lord, had hurt Lucy and Levy and the rest, he had spent every last ounce of anger in adrenaline fighting him. He had turned his determination and fury into power, and no force had been strong enough to stop his raging storm. The endless fire, determination that so many in the guild looked up to, energy to suffocate even Hades, he willed it to calm.
She was trembling as much as he, and every shake of his fury caused a cringe and nearly imperceptible whine; every unneeded movement was causing her more pain. So he forced it down, kept it in, silencing the demon within in hopes of making her the slightest bit more comfortable.
She was crying, whether from pain or frustration or fear, none could say. As he stood with her, he alone could hear her breathing, brokenly, "H-help…"
"'m right here, Aki-ki," he murmured, elbowing his way through the crowd, snarling at any who refused to move with such ferocity that they quickly reconsidered.
"Don't… hurts… Stop…"
"I'm here, Aki-ki, it's alright now," he breathed, shouldering the guild's back door open as Makarov gave a particularly loud remonstration behind him.
She shuddered, head moving in what might have been an attempt at a nod. "N-Na-tsu…nii… h-her-here-" She choked on a sob, turning her face into his scarf.
"Right here," he repeated, tilting his head against hers.
She mewled, still trembling. Glancing around the corner of the guild hall and noting the crowded street, he made his way through the guild's backyard to the sandy beach front.
A minute passed before she scraped out, "N-nii…"
"Right here, Aki-ki," he repeated certainly.
She managed a nod, however weak and jerky it might have been. "H-here… Thank-"
"It's your secret," he hushed, shaking his head slightly. "You asked me not to."
She managed a quiet laugh, but it was painful and forced, and her face displayed nothing but pain. "You h-heard me?"
"I'll always be there. Whenever you need me."
She sniffled, hiding her face in his shirt as he continued down the shore.
"Whenever you need me," he repeated almost to himself, still attempting to calm the ravenous dragon in his stomach.
"I don' deserve it," she whispered abruptly, her hands balling and unballing around his shirt. "Nii-chan, I'm a h-horrible person. I don't de-s-serve you."
"You don't have to deserve anything. I'll be here, no matter what, I promise."
She whimpered.
"And you're not horrible, either," he added forcefully. "You're kind and strong and cool-"
"'m not," she croaked, her every gasp of air sounding agonizing. "'m awful. 'm a murderer and-"
"That was the curse, Leafy, not you."
"Sometimes I stopped myself," she breathed, another long-festered wound devouring her. She shook her head feebly even as she pressed against him. "Why didn' I all the ti'me?"
"Maybe you were too tired."
"So hun'reds- thousan's of people lost their l-lives?" she choked excruciatingly. "Jus' 'cause they s-saw me, Na'su-nii. So many-"
"They died because you cared about them, Leafy. You didn't want them to die."
"Bu' I di' some'i'e'!" she tried to shout; it came a scratchy whisper. It still seemed too much for her, though, as she broke off, dragging in as much air as she could.
Natsu began to hum the tune that he had remembered the previous day as he, continuing along the beachfront.
After a minute, Aki resumed, "I had meant it!"
"You didn't," he reassured her. "You-"
"I k-killed them with my bare hands, Natsu! Intentionally!" she sobbed, her voice breaking still further, blood trickling from the corners of her lips. "I enj-joyed it!"
"The curse was messing with your head, though," he reasoned, settling down onto a sand dune, hidden from the rest of the beach by a peninsula of trees. "No one's around now, Aki-ki," he murmured, putting his chin on her head.
She shattered.
As she wailed, she could not understand how he had known, that he cared, that her brother really was there again, that he was comforting her. "I wr-wrang their necks myself, Natsu-nii! I hurt and killed and tortured! I don't deserve this life!"
"You do," he muttered, his brows creasing.
"I don't!" she howled, pulling unconsciously on his shirt. "I should just die-"
She gasped as he pushed her from himself, holding her at arms length. "Aki-ki," he said solemnly, ignoring her attempts to pull closer again, "promise me you won't die."
She shivered, mewling, struggling to return to him; he kept her back, meeting her skittish eyes with his own solid certainty.
"I can't lose you, Aki-ki. Promise me."
She bit her lip, then nodded. "I p-promise."
He grinned, but she had already buried herself in his shirt again, crying harder than ever. "Don't be mad," she pleaded, wrapping her arms around him. "'m sorry. Don't hate me, please, don't…"
"I'd never hate you," he assured, frowning.
"'m sorry… Don't g-go… don' leave me again, please-"
His brows furrowed. "I ain't gonna die either, Aki-ki."
"You said that last time!" she shouted suddenly, making him jump; she didn't seem to notice. "You say you' be right behind me! But you w-weren'! You didn'- an' i' was my faul'!" she ended in a rough scream that was agony just to hear. Another coughing fit started, but she forced through it, "If I ha-ha- so wea-" —a disturbing, wet sound of heaving air— "Hadn' slowed down-! If I ha'n' been th-there, you could'a'- you- Na'u-nii!"
"That wasn't your fault, Ak-"
"I' was!" she denied, her eyes glassy, kept upright only by his support. "I' wa'! I kill' you! I' my faul'!"
"You didn't, Aki-ki," he said loudly over her. "You were safe. That's what matters."
She shook her head, but it seemed that her lungs had finally failed her, unable to squeeze out a single whisp of air. He could hear her almost whistling as she tried to continue, but what she wanted to say wasn't what worried him most.
He jumped to his feet, her a tight ball in his arms, and pelted down the beach. He could feel her shuddering, a feeling he couldn't cognitively remember yet his muscles knew intimately: her weak lungs revolting.
Cutting a corner into the city to cut to Porlyusica's, he nearly crashed into a small group.
"She can't breathe, right?" Wendy said instantly. "Lay her down on her side."
He nodded, dropping with a thud to his knees, laying her down as carefully as one might a butterfly. He didn't bother to take note of the rest of the party: Erza, Lucy, and Levy.
Aki's hand twitched, fingers flexing. "'ii-'ha'-…"
"I'm right here, Aki-ki!" He took her hand in both his own as Wendy started easing the aching of his sister's lungs.
"'ii-…"
He put her hand to his forehead. "I love you, Aki-ki. I'm here; right here. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
{-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-}
I'm trying this thing with the not over-talking, so here goes!
This is the last chapter where Gray is borderline antagonist. Serious. Probably. I'm fairly certain. It's the last in the draft as far as I'm aware. (Don't ask about my writing process if you value your sanity, seriously.)
Comment, if you want. :) Would love to answer any questions, or just chat. Coming up, drinking extraordinaire and the bluest Fairy Tail member.