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Chapter 130

Stranger Scars

NO POV

Mira awoke to the rays of the sun, which basked her in their warmth. Her eyes fluttered as she sleepily sat up, letting out a sigh of content as she stretched her arms, rubbed her eyes, getting all the sleepiness out of them, and looked around. When her vision was clear, Mira was expecting to see her room as she always did, but instead, she found herself in a different place entirely. It was then that she knew that she was in her brother Elfman's room, of which where Willy was sleeping.

"Oh, no. Not again," Mira sighed to herself. "Why do I always end up sleepwalking whenever Willy's around? I've heard of old habits die hard, but this is getting ridiculous. How did I even get here? Oh, well. I suppose I'll have to try and play it off as usual, although Lisanna isn't going to let me hear the end of it if she sees me."

Mira then got up, tiptoed out of the room as quietly as she could, and then walked down the hallway and into the bathroom. When she went inside, she went up to the mirror, and had just started brushing her teeth, when she noticed something. From the other end of the room, she noticed that there was a thin stream of steam coming out of the door leading to the other one where the tub and shower were. Feeling a bit curious about who was in there, Mira walked over and went to the basket to see whose clothes were inside.

In the basket was a t-shirt, a pair of shorts, boots, socks, boxers, and two long strands of bandages. Upon seeing them, Mira knew who it was that was in the tub at that time. She looked towards the door, and she saw a silhouette of the very person cast on the door. It was lean and muscular and was washing its hair while the water continued to run.

Mira's cheeks took on a bright shade of pink as she watched this, entranced by the shadow.

"Oh, wow. I keep forgetting how much Willy's grown since the last time I saw him back then," Mira thought, remembering back to when she and Willy were preteens. "He looks very mature and fit as always, and very muscular."

At that moment, Mira felt the flames of temptation tickle her heart as she looked at the handle on the door. She reached her hand out about to grasp it, but then she hesitated, her hand stopped just inches away from it.

"Wait... What am I doing?" Mira thought to herself. "I'm thinking about doing something completely, unlike me and naughty. But for some reason, I can't help but want to see. I really want to see..."

Her hand slowly reached out towards the handle of the door, her sense of reason battling with her longing, and just when she was about to grasp the door...

"Mira? What are you doing?"

Mira jumped in surprise and turned around, her eyes wide as saucers, as Lisanna had now suddenly appeared. Mira felt her body freeze like a statue, making a face that practically made her look like a child that had her hand caught in the cookie jar. The two Strauss sisters stared at each other; then a wide grin spread on Lisanna's cheeks as she began to giggle.

"It's not what you think!" Mira immediately spoke. "I was just uh, well."

"Mira, were you doing what I think you're doing?" Lisanna asked. "I mean, I know you had a crush on Willy, but come on. I didn't think you'd be the kind of girl that would want to peek on someone while they're taking a bath."

Mira's cheeks took on a new color of red as she furiously shook her head. "No, it's not like that! I wasn't doing that at all! I'm not that kind of girl!"

Lisanna then laughed. "You sure could have fooled me. You obviously were about to open the door leading the tub of which was where Willy was taking a shower. Let me guess; you were doing something else?"

Mira was about to argue back, when they both heard Willy. "Mira? Lisanna? Is that you two out there? Is everything okay?"

"Everything's fine!" Mira squawked. "In fact, I just finished brushing my teeth, and was about to leave and get breakfast started! Okay, bye!"

And Mira quickly departed, leaving a sniggering Lisanna behind.

WILLY'S POV

Hearing the commotion going on outside of the bathroom and assuming that something was going on, I walked over to the door standing behind it, but not opening it for obvious reasons.

"Mira? Lisanna? Is that you two out there? Is everything okay?" I called out.

"Everything's fine!" I heard Mira say with a strange voice. "In fact, I just finished brushing my teeth, and was about to leave and get breakfast started! Okay, bye!"

I was a bit puzzled, wondering why Mira sounded so strange.

"Are you sure everything's okay, Mira?" I called out again. "You sounded a bit weird."

"Don't worry about it, Willy. Mira's fine," I heard Lisanna say. "Just carry on with your bath or shower."

Despite not feeling reassured by Lisanna's words, I decided to get back into taking my shower. The reason being was because I needed to calm myself down from the other night, and to add to that, Mira snuck into my bed again. I knew that this was a childhood habit of hers, but it was getting a bit out of control, especially since I've been acting a bit strange around her. I decided to refocus my attention on more important matters, my current living situation.

"As much as the Strauss siblings don't mind us staying here, I can't stay here forever," I thought. "I have to find a way to pay back all the debt I owe to the landlady, which is going to a steep obstacle in of itself. Especially since Fairy Tail's lost a lot of its reputation lately, hopefully, there will be some job flyers at the guildhall."

After showering a few minutes longer, I turned off the water in the shower and grabbed my towel to dry myself off, and excited. However, before fully stepping out, I made sure that no one was around. The last thing I wanted was someone like Lisanna or Lucy seeing me in the nude, especially Mira. Thankfully there was no one else, so it was all clear.

I came over to the basket where I placed my clothes and started getting dressed, putting on my boxers and my shorts first. As I started putting on my bandages, I happened to see the red lines alongside the scar on my left wrist. Upon seeing them, I couldn't help but feel worried. They didn't hurt me anymore since we got released from Fairy Sphere, but they didn't go away and would have been noticeable had it not been for the bandages and gloves.

"I almost completely forgot about these things. I guess with all the craziness that happened since we came back, I forgot that I'm overdue for a good healing, considering that whole debacle over at Tenrou Island and the fact I got kicked out of my apartment. Well, might as well start now."

I wrapped my hand around my wrist and began to concentrate, casting my healing spell. After about a minute or so, I lifted my hand, expecting the mark to be gone, but I was in for a surprise.

The red marks remained. If anything, the marks barely even started to disappear.

I wrapped my hand and started using my healing spell again, this time for a few minutes more. When I looked back at my wrist, I could see that the marks were going away, but they were still evident.

"That's odd. I wonder why it's taking so long for this to heal? It shouldn't be."

I clasped my hand around my wrist and used my healing spell one more time, using quite a bit of magic power. After a good ten minutes or so, I looked at my wrist again, hoping that it was enough. To my relief, the red marks had faded away. However, I couldn't help but feel a bit winded.

"Geez. That took a bit more than usual for just a healing spell," I panted. "And I've got the other one to fix too. I'm probably going to have to drink some water after this."

Then I heard Lucy from behind the door. "Hey, Willy! You almost done in there? Breakfast is almost ready, and we got a lot of work ahead of us today!"

"I'll be out in a second!" I told her. "Just putting on my clothes!"

I then looked at my other wrist, which still had red marks on it, letting out a sigh. "Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be one of those days?"

AT THE FAIRY TAIL GUILDHALL

I was over by the request board trying to see if there was a job worth going on, despite the guild's current state. Sadly, I could only see up to ten posters on the board at most, and most of them were the small ones in town. The only one that appeared to be the biggest one out of all the others was a wanted poster for a man named Velvino for one million jewel. The job seemed intriguing enough, but it didn't pique my interest. Nab, as usual, was standing by the request board as well being as indecisive as he always was, if not more than me.

"Having trouble finding a job, Willy?" asked Nab.

"I guess you could say that," I replied. "And why am I not surprised that you're still looking for a job too? Have you even went out on a job before?"

"Of course, I have!" Nab spoke indignantly. "Why, the last job I went on was... Wait..." Nab trailed off as he tried to remember, but he couldn't say anything more. "Look, all you need to know is that I've been on jobs before, so there's no need to assume, ok?"

"If it takes you that long to recall when you last went on a job, then I can't help but assume," I thought to myself.

I returned my attention to the request board and went on scanning through the requests. After a while, I decided to pick a job that was in Magnolia for about fifty thousand jewel. It wasn't much to go on, and because I pretty much had a low rep there, but I figured it was better than nothing. I walked on over to Kinana, who was now the one in charge of the book.

"Hey, Kinana? I'm going to go ahead and take this job," I said, placing the flyer on the counter.

"Alright then, Willy. Let me get you signed up then," Kinana said, as she bent over the counter, getting the book, opening it, and turning the pages till she stopped at a particular one, writing down the information by quill.

As she wrote, I looked around the guildhall wondering who was here and who wasn't. The members that were here in the pub were Nab, Vijeeter, Cana, Gray, Juvia, Gildarts, Laki, Max, Wendy, Carla, and Romeo. The rest of which I assumed were either out on jobs or taking care of some business. Even Master Makarov appeared to be gone.

"Hey, Kinana? Do you know where the Master went?" I asked, feeling a bit curious. "Did he have to go to a meeting or something?"

"Not really," replied Kinana. "I heard he was going to the Twilight Orge guildhall along to discuss the debt we owe along with Erza, Mira, Macao, and Wakaba."

"Wait, Makarov, along with Erza and Mira?" I repeated. "That sounds like something that will go completely awry if the slightest little thing sets them off. Then again, I'm hoping they'll give those guys a taste of their own medicine."

"You wouldn't be the first to say that," Kinana laughed. "Anyway, you should be all set to go now, Willy. Be safe out there, okay?"

"Sure thing," I replied, taking the flyer. "Thanks."

And after putting the flyer into my pocket, I walked out of the guildhall. I spread my water wings and in a great leap, while Aqua Jet, I took flight into the air soaring into the sky. As I flew over Magnolia, I couldn't help but savor the feeling of the wind blowing through my skin, which made me feel so free. As I flew over the buildings of Magnolia, I glanced downwards towards the ground, searching for the place where I was supposed to go.

"Let's see... It's got to be around here somewhere."

Soon enough, I could see the place where I was supposed to go and dipped downwards toward the ground until I landed on my feet. I was in front of a large building that had a large sign that read, MAGIC SHOP. According to the flyer, the owner of the shop needed someone to help him do some heavy lifting.

"Looks like this is the place. Well, I might as well get this over with. Hopefully, the person who posted the job doesn't hate me like the other people in Magnolia do."

I then walked towards the shop and entered the little bell on the door, ringing when I stepped in. Inside, the shop was filled with various magical items from lacrimas to other strange magical items.

"Hello? Is anyone here? I'm here for the job request."

At my call, an old man popped out from behind the counter. He was an old man with two tufts gray hair that came from both sides of his head, had black eyes, a tiny nose, and wore a dark, rusty gold shirt with a dark green hat that was pointed with a star on the front.

"Ah! Hello there," greeted the old man. "I'm so glad that you came to take the job."

"It's no problem at all, sir," I said. "Just tell me what I have to do. I can get started."

"Now that's the attitude," the old man smiled. "Follow me to the back, and I'll put you to work."

Feeling happy to get started, and the fact that the elderly man hasn't started despising me yet, I did as I was told and then went to work.

NO POV

In an unknown area, inside of a building just on the outskirts of a town, something very dark as well as dangerous was being concocted inside, as a woman stepped inside of a room.

"Sir, I have returned," the young woman announced, kneeling. "And I have some critical information that might interest you."

The person, the man, was addressing turned around. "Is that so? Then, by all means, tell me," the man spoke. "I'm a busy man, and I haven't got time for idle chit-chat."

"Yes, I apologize, Sir. I am aware that you have little time, so I'll try to keep it brief. Besides, I believe you'll be interested in the information I've got," the woman said. "It seems that Fairy Tail's strongest members have returned, alive and well."

The man turned around. "And you're positive that this information is true? Because if you're lying..."

"I can assure you that it's the truth," the woman insisted calmly. "My followers have made sure that the information they found was correct, and it's the truth. All of the Fairy Tail members that supposedly perished on Tenrou Island have returned, the same as the day they disappeared seven years ago, including him."

The man stared at the woman for a brief silence before responding.

"Well, then. This is wonderful news," the man said. "If that is the case, then you are to alert our Master as soon as possible. He will especially be happy to hear of this."

"But, of course, sir," the woman said. "Should I alert Macbeth and his colleagues as well?"

"If you must," the man said.

"Then is it time to strike for us to strike, Sir?" asked the woman. "Is it our time to wreak havoc?"

"Not just yet, Amina," said the man. "First, we need to prepare. And speaking of which, I have a job for you. I've just finished my latest work and I need someone to test it out." He then faced the woman again, while holding a syringe that contained black ooze. "Would you mind being my test subject?"

The woman looked up at the man, and answered with a firm nod. "It would be my honor, Sir," she said.

WILLY'S POV

I was now busily at work, helping the storekeeper of the shop. I mostly helped the shopkeeper old man move some goods around, clean up the windows, and even clean up his chimney, which might I add was a messy job. I then went to other little tasks around Magnolia and managed to get those done too, some easy, while some are more difficult than others. After a while, I managed to get over four jobs finished, and after I checked back in with Kinana, and collected the reward money, I went to the Everfree forest to train.

I was practicing my punching, kicking, and flexibly using a tree, and had been at it for a while. I threw a right hook, a left roundhouse kick, another right kick, a left punch, and finished with a flurry of punches. My hands and my feet stung a bit, but as they say, no pain, no gain. I then sat down against a tree, wiping the sweat off of my brow as I took a break. As I sat there catching my breath, I tallied up the jewel I made throughout today in my head, which was a little less than I hoped for, making me feel disappointed.

"Man, I didn't make much today, but at least its start. I'm lucky that I managed to get any job at all, considering our guild's current state. Well, I suppose that I'll have to make do with what I can get. Anything to ease off the debt I owe to the landlady. However, I got a long way to go. I'm just hoping that I won't have to stay with the Strauss sibling's residence for very long. I don't want to put them out anymore than I already have. Especially since..."

Then suddenly, I sensed something coming for me, something of a projectile coming from above. I instinctively turned around and caught it before it hit me. It was a long arrow with a small piece of paper tied on end. Knowing that it was a message, I opened it up. Inside, was a map, no doubt being of Fiore, having a red dot encircled at a particular location. I then read the letter, which read:

COME TO THESE COORDINATES ALONE. DO NOT TELL ANYONE.

I felt my eyes widen a bit, and I could help but look around, trying to see where this message came from, but I could see only the trees and the wildlife that surrounded me. I glanced back at the letter and the map wondering who could have sent me the message much less find me out here. An enemy? A friend? Or perhaps maybe someone that just wants to mess with me as a prank? Whatever it was, I couldn't help but feel as if something was amiss, and I had to follow through on the letter. It was still day, so it wasn't like I had anything else to do.

And so, after going through another few minutes of flying, I followed the map until I came to where I was designated to go, which was somewhere in the middle of the forest. I wasn't quite sure where this map was leading me, but I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be for a good reason. If it was a trap, then I would have to make sure that I would be on my toes. Full ninja stealth mode. I flew downwards into the tree and dispersed my wings. From there, I jumped from tree branch to tree branch, making sure that I was as quiet as possible while following the map.

When I got close to where the red dot was on the map, I jumped down and looked around, trying to get a read on my surroundings. I found myself in an area I've never seen before that had an eerie atmosphere, and it seemed a bit dark. I ventured even further into the forest, walking past the many trees that surrounded me as I paid attention to the map. As I went deeper, the area seemed to grow darker, and the atmosphere seemed to change into an ominous and foreboding feeling. However, I kept my wits about me as I walked on, step by step.

"Man, this place is giving me the creeps. It feels like I'm being watched by pretty much everywhere."

Soon enough, I came to the clearing, and the next thing I saw no sooner, was something that made me feel all the more uneasy and a bit frightened. It was an open area with a couple of dead trees here and there, had a large building over a few feet away, and there were large stone slabs that stood up varying in size everywhere.

It was a graveyard.

At that moment, I stood there, frozen in place, not expecting to be seeing or being in something like this before. However, I started walking again, albeit a bit more slowly and tentatively looking around at the many stones that stood around me. Then suddenly, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on end, as a lot of alarm bells went off in my mind. Something was here, and whoever it was, knew that I was here too. Expecting a fight to happen, I clenched my fists, causing them to glow with magic power as they were cloaked with water.

"Hello? Is anyone here? I came alone just like you asked," I called out, my voice echoing. "If you've come here looking for trouble, you've found it. Now show yourself!"

But only the sound of my voice could be heard as it echoed throughout the area. I kept on walking while my hands were still cloaked, preparing to use my magic whenever I needed to. Then suddenly, I heard something coming from behind in from my four o-clock, which immediately made me turn around and throw three water stars in that direction, shooting straight towards a tombstone. At that moment, something shot out from where I shot at the stone went above my head and then landed in front of me.

The stranger was wearing a black cloak, hiding his or her body from view, and held up the three stars that I threw before dropping them to the ground. I immediately conjured a pair of water swords and took a fighting stance, ready to fight this unknown enemy.

"So you've finally shown yourself, huh? I don't know who you are, but you're going to wish that you never called me out here!"

The stranger then spoke in raising a hand. "Calm down. I don't want to start a fight in a place like this. You don't want to show disrespect to the dead, you now."

The moment I heard the stranger's voice, I felt my eyes widen. I recognized that voice anywhere, and that immediately made me disperse my blades. The stranger also relaxed as she pulled back her hood, revealing her true identity. She had even more wrinkles on her face than before, her white hair was longer, tied in a ponytail, but she was the same as she always was when I last saw her seven years ago.

I stood there staring at the woman, shocked and greatly surprised as I spoke the stranger's name in a hushed whisper.

"Master Tu-Chi."

Willy reunites with Master Tu-Chi in a graveyard.

What reason did she bring Willy here, and is it because of bad news?

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Dragomaster, signing off!