Chapter 23
...
As I sat perfectly still, sweat was forming on my brow with the sunlight beating down overhead.
The sound of hammers echoed not too far away, along with murmur of conversation. I frowned as the figures in front of me struggled to grab onto a wooden beam and hoist it up. "I've made a few adjustments based on more modern script rules. Tell me again the concept of it?" The figures waivered a bit but adjusted their grip to keep holding on.
"Transportation," I clarified, "of a single individual from one singular point to another." There was no time like the present to get training done, even if it was squeezed in between work. The month of August was already well underway, with July having vanished in the blink of an eye. I intended to get ahead while I could, or at least work on catching up. There were a number of spells that I had been working on, and none of them had been completed yet. It was not for a lack of trying, however. Between Lucy joining the guild all the way up to Phantom wreaking havoc, my schedule had been packed.
This past week, there was nothing else to do except construction, and everyone in the guild was in the same boat. The council had barred anyone from taking on job requests, at least until after Master Makarov's hearing was over. In the meantime, a few people did take up some odd jobs around town as a source of income. And as far as the situation with Loke, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He was seen at the guild hall by a number of people on and off, but nobody seemed to think anything of it, not even the multiple girls he was dating.
I had the slight feeling that he was avoiding me, but perhaps I was only thinking that because my own perception of the situation changed.
A sharp headache was forming behind my left eye, and I let the tension out of my shoulders, reminding myself to breathe. Finally, the clones I created secured the beam. In unison, they moved slowly and almost clumsily, but I grinned triumphantly. Magic manipulation separate from the corporeal form took precision, but physical action required far more. Levy didn't immediately share in my accomplishment. Instead, she was focused on a stack of notes that I had given her.
"I wish I knew a bit more about this style magic script in particular, but unfortunately this one goes a bit over my head." I heard Levy gathering the papers up. "Still, using Jutsu Shiki and manipulating it in this way is fairly unheard of. What happened to that other barrier spell you asked me about?"
"Already have it set up in my apartment. It will at least keep my drawers and my refrigerator from being pillaged." There was a shadow on the ground that entered my line of sight, and I winced. Tucking the pages into the notebook, Levy turned her attention to what I was doing and leaned forward on the bench beside me.
"You really do have some unique ideas when it comes to magic and spells. Are still even using light magic at this point? That looks a bit like black magic to me— "
She abruptly cut off when I jumped up from the bench and darted forward. In a split second, the shade from the cloud cover touched the two forms, and they began to fade. Acting fast, I closed in the distance with a small spell, my arms flailing out and not a moment to spare. The beam landed heavily in my grasp. I staggered under the weight to find my balance, but internally cheered. "Well, I take it back," Levy said with a soft laugh.
The blue haired girl left the bench behind and helped me walk the beam over to the pile of materials I had already reorganized. Picking up a clipboard that sat on a small crate, I double checked the quantity before marking the wood off the list. "Inventory wise, we are doing okay. We might need a few more boxes of nails though."
The sound of a blast echoed in the distance. Levy shielded her eyes from the sunlight and stared in the direction the noise came from. "That is unless Natsu or Gray destroy some of it. You have to admit that they're the most likely to do that."
The blast was accompanied by another bang and a sharp yell.
"Watch where you're going, idiot!"
And it was getting louder.
In the way of an all-out guild brawl, nothing had occurred in a while. This was in part because all of the energy and attention of the guild members went towards rebuilding. On the other hand, Erza also kept things in order through rather draconian means. Donning a full-on construction-worker ensemble, she acted like a shift boss, particularly now that Makarov had left for Era. Nobody felt like sticking one toe out of line with how enthusiastic she was about the role.
Well, mostly everyone.
"I'm going to find Erza," Levy offered tentatively. As she slipped out of sight, I turned my attention towards source of all the ruckus. Erza had already pummeled the two into the ground for a small argument few days prior. Now it sounded as if Natsu and Gray had managed to cross the line with each other, and they were back at it. Only this time, they decided to involve spells.
Turning around the corner, I did not bat an eye as a giant icicle flew through the air, heading in my direction. "Flare," I commanded. The light expanded in front of me, and the icicle shattered. Searching around the area, the casualties appeared minimal, with the spat just having started. Nobody was trying to interfere, or at least not by getting physically between the two.
Mira was behind a half-built bar counter in the front corner of the roofless hall, holding Elfman back by the arm and urging him not to join. Lucy was nearby, showing signs of panic while others were laughing in amusement. Reedus was the only one who noticed my approach and shrugged his shoulders in a resigned manner. To my dismay, Natsu chucked a fireball at Gray, and missed. Using another flare spell, I launched myself in the direction it went, holding out my hands.
"Light Barrier!"
The fire hit it dead on, disbursing on contact. As the barrier disintegrated, the newly assembled wooden staircase sitting directly behind it was unharmed. Pumping my fist in victory, I lauded my efforts. It was a silly thing to be happy about, but restoration magic only went so far, especially when only two people in the entire guild knew how to use it. Not to mention, the process required a lot of energy.
That kind of magic fell short particularly when it came to chemical changes in materials and widespread physical destruction. In sum, restoration magic was essentially good for a broken chair leg and nothing more. It was one of the many reasons why the guild hall couldn't be instantly restored to its former state. This had taken me a couple of days to figure out back when I had first joined the guild.
And it was also a big reason why people kicked up such a fuss when towns were destroyed by a couple of rowdy mages. Digging through several binders of the guild's finances, which miraculously survived the great collapse, also revealed how much in Jewels it cost to cover an incident like that. There was little effort involved to understand why Makarov had a tendency to get upset; it was no paltry sum, especially when combined with council fines. Needless to say, while I wasn't a penny pincher myself, I was not about to let Natsu, Gray, or anyone else lay waste to what we worked so hard to build—not even the materials.
Unfortunately, there were always going to be a few people that I could not stop even if I wanted to.
"That is enough, you two!"
Erza manifested from out of nowhere. One swift motion was all it took. There were no weapons involved, unless anyone counted the gauntlets. As soon as he opened his mouth to say something in retort, Natsu was the first to go. Gray immediately followed. The ice wizard had made the mistake of laughing as the pink haired wizard got nailed in the gut by Erza's fist. The duo sailed backwards through the air. And where did they land? Exactly in—or should I say through—the very structure I wanted to protect.
As I watched this unfold, my mouth went slack. One on after the other, they crashed into the stairs, and the wood splintered apart like it was nothing. Happy appeared over my shoulder and made a snide remark about me catching flies, and I promptly shut my mouth. "Geeze, fine," Natsu complained as he crawled forward out of the rubble.
"Moron," Gray said to him.
"What was that?" the redhead snapped. In response to Erza's cold tone, Natsu and Gray sprang up from the ground and stood at attention. In an instant, they acted like no words had been spoken. She scolded them and, under the threat of further punishment, they plastered wide smiles on their faces and put on what I started to call the buddy-buddy act.
I stared at the broken stairs with a scowl on my face. "I suppose getting Erza involved only made things worse." Levy reappeared beside me, handing over my notebook with an apologetic look. I waved it off and took the object with a nod of thanks, tucking it back into my pocket. There was nothing either of us could do in that situation. I met Mira's gaze as she approached us from behind with a broom in hand, appearing unperturbed by the spectacle.
"I suppose we should be satisfied with the fact that nothing else happened," I answered exasperatedly. "This doesn't bother you?" I was in disbelief at her attitude. Mira was the one who was helping me learn the ropes with the bookkeeping and the paperwork, and she knew better than most what went on behind the scenes of the guild, acting in a much larger administrative role than the story ever elaborated. "Never mind that, you're probably used to it by now."
"Yep!"
I groaned. As Natsu and Happy headed over to Lucy, Gray busied himself with collecting his clothes, which had unsurprisingly slipped off during the fight. Erza nodded her head in approval before turning her attention back to some blueprints and handing out what I could only imagine being orders to a few other wizards standing nearby. Approaching the new mess, I started picking up the pieces, and Mira followed. "I don't suppose the Master is coming back anytime soon?"
"He did only leave this morning. Knowing the Council, it will still take some time before he returns." Using the broom, she started sweeping up some of the shards while I took down some of the destroyed spindles with the assistance of nearby tools.
According to Master Makarov, the meeting with the Magic Council would be a verbal lashing in all but name, and he had lamented said meeting prior to leaving, muttering at length how long it would take. It was not that he mentioned it to me personally, rather his rambling had been hard to ignore when I began studying the script he provided me with. However, he was not wrong about it. I would find out much later that he would return after a couple of days.
In the meantime, at least we would be able to take on requests again.
We made short work of the rubble, and with Levy's added help, it took no time at all. The area beneath the stairs had been cleared, and what could be salvaged was put aside. Looking at it from top to bottom, the only notable thing were the two gaps in between several treads, and the sight of it was almost comical. It was baffling that it was still structurally sound.
"I should probably modify the plan to make the stairs out of reinforced concrete," Mira surmised cheerily. Placing a hand to her chin, she thought for a moment, "It also wouldn't hurt to order more lumber at this point."
"I can make sure that we get the request forms sent out before the day is over."
Admittedly, I did like it better when there were plenty of job postings to go around. It was a chance to travel, a chance to hone my skills and practice new things. Without it, life had become mundane, with plenty of paperwork to go around. As I sat filling out the order, I briefly wondered if that was how things would have been outside of school. Still, even then there was some kind of freedom to be found.
…
Like clockwork, I was awake by five the next day before the sun was even up.
That was something that tended to happen when I spent the night thinking too much. It was also something that was useful when it came to getting tasks done. Peeling myself out of bed, I proceeded to spend the first thirty minutes of the day on a run, shaking some feeling back into my body. Immediately after that, I stretched and grabbed breakfast from home, slinging a bag of books over my shoulder and wasting no time in making my way to the guild hall.
At first, it was just Mira and Elfman who were there.
The three of us started work to clear the area in what was going to be the central part of the new guild hall. The dirt on the concrete foundation seemed impossible to sweep away, but we did our best. Not long after that, it was surprisingly Cana and Loke who showed up to assist with setting up the tables. Cana said little to me except open her mouth to yawn. She was not a morning person, but I had little doubt that she showed up with a specific purpose in mind. The day prior, Mira had promised an early pick of the job requests before they became available to everyone else. The deal for Cana was probably sweetened with some alcohol, however, I could not be certain.
Loke nodded his head in greeting when he arrived, making some small talk as we moved about. Watching him revealed little in the way of how he was feeling physically. Compared to when he had delivered Lucy's gate keys a few days prior, the celestial spirit actually appeared to be in better shape, with the exception of the dark bags under his eyes. That was hardly noticeable from where I stood, however, especially when trying to see past the tinted glasses he always wore.
As Loke and Elfman worked to lift a crate of mugs and transport it to the bar where Mira worked to unload other stock, I couldn't help but scrutinize his actions. "You are acting really creepy right now," Cana observed flatly as she followed my gaze. "And you're not one of Loke's groupies. I know better than that." She placed a hand on one of the tables as I finished wiping another down with a damp cloth. "Spill. What's wrong?"
I glanced up at her before tossing the cloth back in the bucket. "Nothing that I can talk about, really," I admitted. Pushing the bucket aside, I sank down onto the bench and immediately pulled out my notes and began leafing through some of the pages. Cana tapped her nails impatiently in response.
"At first I thought it was Natsu and company driving you up a wall, but I could be wrong," she then said, reaching over and snatching the book out of my grasp. "Reasons aside, you haven't been yourself lately, and I'm the one getting tired from looking at you. I've said it before, but you really need to take a break." Cana promptly handed the book back, the page I had turned to left open. Aside from Loke, the one person in the guild who came to know me best had been the brunette. And if there was one thing I could say about her, it was that she was a very direct person. Drinking habits aside, my impression of Cana was that of a down to earth person—that is to say, if I was actually still on earth.
"I guess if you're calling me out on something, then it must be pretty bad, huh?" I paused for a moment. In a way, she reminded me of my sister, with a similar blunt attitude and a small level of patience for unanswered questions. Scratching my head, I briefly considered what I could even say to her. 'Why yes, our friend is a dying celestial spirit, I'm technically a founder of the guild we're both in, and the future is looking pretty rough,' I sarcastically thought. 'Oh yeah, and I'm from another world. Did I miss anything?'
That would go down well.
Even I didn't like that explanation.
"There are a lot of things, to be honest, but I'm not actually certain how to talk about it," I finally offered. "Still, I won't deny that things are feeling pretty hectic lately."
"That so?" Cana went quiet and appeared to be pondering something. "Why don't we partner up for a job then? Aside from a good glass of liquor, that would be the next best way to clear your head and figure things out. And I'll tell you what, if you're worried about Loke, then we can have Mira keep tabs on him for us." In her hands, she flashed two cards at me with mirror images of what I could only assume were lacrima stones. I stared at them for a moment and shifted uncertainly. I didn't make up my mind quick enough, however. As if called by her name, Mira made her way over to the table, clasping her hands together.
"As promised," she announced, holding up a small keg in her hands. Mira offered the keg to Cana, who coolly accepted it. "There are also three other barrels of that special reserve you wanted. Thanks for all the help!" Sure enough, situated at the bar were three ornate wooden barrels, undoubtedly a different quality from her usual choice.
I knew there was extra motivation for her to show up earlier than usual. I absolutely knew it.
"Alright!" Cana's mood shifted entirely, and she placed the cards in the leather pouch that was always at her side. Sitting down at the table with a pleased smile, she made short work of opening the keg and took a careful sip. And as Mira went her own way back to attend other matters, Cana backed off the pressure of the conversation prior. "Well, I'll tell you what, I will pick the job, and you can just come along. Getting out of Magnolia might do you some good." As the brunette became more engrossed in drink, I shook my head at the scene and thought about the words she had said.
To take my mind off of the worry I felt, I chose to focus on my notes, both of us falling into a comfortable silence that was more than acceptable for early morning. Carefully spreading out a few of the loose papers tucked inside, I smoothed out some of the wrinkles on the corners. Lined up together, the papers formed a blocky circle of letter magic, with additional script was written vertically down the center in a style that was far smoother in shape.
Small lines of red ink were dotted all over the design, thanks to Levy's assistance. Studying over the marks, I paused briefly to pull a book out of my bag and then another, both on ancient script. The minutes ticked by as I scrawled more ideas beside some of the blocky lettering and crossed out others, referencing the other books on form. The only thing I had correct at this point was the additional lettering running vertically down the center of the circle, a set of glyphs for elemental light. Eventually I scrapped one piece of paper and pulled out another, starting one section from the ground up.
And repeat.
There came a point in time where a strange sensation at the back of my neck slowly drew me out of the droning process.
It started at first with a faint prickle. I scratched at it mindlessly. And then it gradually turned into full static that was causing my hair was starting to stand on end. The offending sensation continued no matter how much I scratched at it. Frowning, I took my eyes off the notes and turned around to face the temporary entrance to the hall. It was better lit now that the sun had reached a decent angle in the sky. While there were a few people trickling into the guild, I found, to no surprise, that there was nothing directly behind me. "Is there something wrong?" Cana asked, breaking the silence.
Without looking at her, I shrugged my shoulders.
Nobody was there.
Before I even turned back, however, that sensation of shifted away from the back of my neck and the brunette across from me shifted. Someone took up the table beside ours, and I subtly caught a small glimpse of who it was. Meeting Cana's eyes for a split second, both of us said nothing. Mustering all the willpower I could, I gave my full attention back to the notebook and the thick script pen. Laxus Dreyar now occupied the table to the left. It was when I caught a whiff of a familiar smell that I glanced directly at the blond.
He leaned forward, with an elbow propped on the wooden surface and a cigar between his lips. Ever so leisurely, he exhaled slowly, the smoke wafting right where I sat. Waving aside the cloud, I narrowed my eyes. "You could have sat somewhere else," Cana spoke in response. If he had heard her words, he gave no indication, the sound of rock music blaring through the magic headphones clapped over his ears.
Cana frowned, but only a little. Inwardly, I held my tongue from saying anything. Any words I had to say would not be pleasant, but if Cana was going to keep cool about the situation, then so would I. After all, she had more of a reason to be irritated with dragon slayer than I did. Laxus had been absent from the guild for a while now, which was not unusual. I did not care about that, and neither did anyone else. But what was causing the feeling of annoyance as I turned my attention back to the script was the fact that he had refused to help us fend off Phantom.
The guild had been trying everything to reach out to its absent s-class wizards, and Laxus was the only one who could be reached through the lacrima crystal. He had immediately made his demands known in exchange for showing up to the fight against Phantom Lord; Laxus was only willing to help if Lucy agreed to date him and Cana stripped for him.
Though not in as gentle words, I learned later.
I knew that it was going to happen of course. On the other hand, after having interacted with him the way I had, there was a small hope that I held onto that things would be different. The unexpected fight against the monster eel had planted that thought. But after what happened on Galuna island, I was nothing more than a fool for thinking that he would act any different. And that fact was solidified by what happened when Phantom came to town.
Mira had been so enraged that she had shattered the crystal ball lacrima at the time. She was a tough person to upset, but when it came to Laxus, it appeared that even she had a short fuse with him. Everyone did at this point, but it was not difficult with how antagonistic he and allegedly the Thunder God Tribe were to the rest of their guild.
The group was elusive, however, and I still had yet to actually encounter them.
Unable to help myself, I was caught looking in the wrong direction.
"Is there something you want to say?" Tucking the cigar on the back of his fingers, Laxus reached down to a whiskey glass that sat in front of him. Having taken notice of it, my eyes briefly lingered on the glass and the amber liquid inside, but I brushed aside the wayward thought that came to mind. Meeting his gaze, I opened my mouth, a list of complaints on the tip of my tongue.
"A number of things, if you're asking," I started. "But you probably won't even listen." Whenever he returned to the guild, Laxus always liked to rile people up and make them angry—it was also what he was going to do to Erza later. And he had already accused me of being an angry person before. However well founded that anger was, there was no point. Everyone knew that.
"That, and your words would no doubt be wasted on someone like him," Cana added without sparing him a look. She retained her calm demeanor, savoring one last sip from the keg. Her nose twitched though when another puff of smoke wafted across her face with the slightest breeze.
"Would you mind going elsewhere?" I stated curtly. My own fuse was already running low, and I did not want to deal with him so early on in the day, not with everything else that had been going on. Fortunately for me, another person decided to step in before I could say more.
"Ladies, is this guy bothering you?"
Loke calmly adjusted his glasses as he observed the situation. The celestial spirit had placed himself strategically between our table and the next. From where he stood, he partially blocked Laxus from my sight. I did not have to see his face to know what the blond's response was, however. There was a beat of silence as he took a sip from the glass, placing it back down on the table afterwards with a soft clink. "If they say yes, then what are you planning on doing about it?" I could feel the tension in the air, and I didn't like it.
"Unbelievable," Cana responded as she settled the keg down on the table.
Quick to react, I reached out and tugged on the back of Loke's green coat. "It's fine, actually." I switched my focus to Cana. "I'd hate to waste time when we could be discussing possible jobs over a fresh pint." Not missing a beat, Cana went along with my words. Being a rather mature person, she did not care about getting involved in any petty fights. She always had something more important to focus on. Swallowing my pride, I forced myself to put aside the complaints I wanted to say and gathered up the papers in front of me, carefully filing them into my notebook, giving one last look to the blond wizard. There was a sneer on his face.
That was a look that I absolutely despised.
Rather than give into the goading look, I tried to emulate Cana's own aloofness. I motioned to the glass on the table aiming to diffuse the situation. "That brand wouldn't happen to be Camellia Bourbon, would it? I'm not a fan of whiskey, really, but a friend of mine was." Grabbing my bag, I turned my sights on the bar. "I don't know if your habits are the same, but make sure you go easy on that stuff. Too much is bad for the liver."
Not waiting for a reaction, I left. Thankfully, Loke and Cana followed without hesitation. With the pen still in my grasp, I deposited my stuff on the bar and took a seat once more. "You didn't have to interfere, but the gesture is appreciated," Cana told Loke before turning back to me. "Now I am surprised that you didn't go at him like you normally do. Don't try to deny it; I've heard from more than a few people how you've tried talking to him. It's a complete waste of time if you ask me."
I waived a hand dismissively. "If you aren't going to snap at him, then neither am I," I explained. Mentioning to her what had come to my mind when Laxus showed up, Cana's expression didn't change much.
"Like I said, it's a waste of time to get angry over someone like him," she brushed it off. "No, speaking of a good way to spend some time, how about that drink?"
"Maybe in a few?" I answered uncertainly. Cana rolled her eyes before approaching Mira at the far end of the bar. I watched them briefly. While Cana sat and said some words that did not reach my ears, Mira was busying herself with stocking a few mugs in the cabinets. That left one other person with me. Rather than sit, however, Loke remained standing.
"You should be more careful around him," he finally said. "Laxus might remind you of someone you knew, but he's not the same person."
"I keep telling myself the same thing, but I can't help it." Tapping the pen against my lip in thought, I looked back in Laxus' direction only for a moment. I needed to stop doing that. As Cana had repeated, it was a waste of time. "Still…He's not going to be like that forever. It might take some convincing, but he'll come around eventually."
That was a fact that I had to constantly had to remind myself of. To put it lightly, Laxus was not going to be a complete jerk the whole time. After trying and failing to take over the guild by force in the original story, his personality had considerably mellowed out. Despite knowing this, there was this nagging doubt in the back of my mind. And when considering Loke's predicament, I found myself with the exact same mentality. The only difference was that it was painful watching what was happening someone who I considered a friend, someone who had greatly helped me with settling into my new life. Compared to Laxus, my concern for Loke needed to be front and center.
But…
I was not certain what I could even do.
There was nothing.
"I'm serious," Loke spoke flatly. Lowering his voice, he continued in a quieter tone. "You're one of the more rational people in this guild, but I just have a gut feeling that you might do something crazy." My mind supplemented the last few words 'if I'm not around', but I was probably overthinking it. Loke had to survive his ordeal. It was obvious he did not see it that way, however, and it was rubbing off on me despite all of my reasoning.
"Loke…" I frowned at his words. I couldn't help but drift towards that conclusion, what with the fact that the presence of his ethernano was depressingly weak. It took a bit of focusing, but it was there. He was running out of magic to sustain himself, and very soon he would fade out of existence if nothing was done. Yet there I sat and I could not say anything about it. Some friend I was.
The only think I could bank on now was hope.
Hope that I did not change anything too drastically for it to hurt his chances. "Hey, can you do me one favor?" This time, I looked at him directly. "I've already had quite a few people in my life that I didn't exactly get to say goodbye to. Can you at least…?" A letter or even a short note. That was all I wanted. Just to know. Thinking about it after I had spoken, I realized that it was probably selfish to ask.
What good would that do?
"I can do that."
But Loke was too good of a friend for that.
After we stopped talking, I became disinterested in my notes. Any concentration I had left me, and I fiddled mindlessly with the pen in my hand. Rather than stick around, Loke already had his own plans in place and left. What they were, I could not say and I did not ask. I let him go about his business and soon enough, the guild started to fill with other people. Speaking to a few of them helped little to put me at ease.
Half an hour later and then I finally gave in, and a wooden mug sat in my hand with something delightfully fruity and with a bit of a kick. Cana was triumphant when I found myself back in her company, with her and Mira picking out a rum-based beverage for me to try. She never thought that I was going to do it. I would not admit it out loud, but I did feel a bit more relaxed, if only a little. "Alright everyone, we're taking on job requests again as of today!" Mira announced proudly a short time after. "Please excuse the mess as we continue our construction, but at least you can get back to work!"
There were cheers all around, and within seconds of the announcement, the request board was being swarmed. Even those who had typically lounged around the guild hall took up an interest in it. I watched flyers being picked off one by one in all of the excitement as I was joined by Lucy at the makeshift bar.
"So Finn, you don't know where Loke is?" she asked. Putting aside the word puzzle—yes, a word puzzle this time—I told her what vague details I knew. Evidently, Lucy had not seen him lately, not after Natsu had passed along her Gate Keys that the celestial spirit worked so hard to find. Mira of course saw an opening when she brought him up, and she went for it.
"Why Lucy, are you interested in our resident playboy?" She teased.
"It's not that!" Lucy brushed of her comment. "Apparently, he found my keys. I just wanted to thank him for finding them, that's all."
"Were your celestial spirits mad at you? You know, for dropping your keys?" Mira leaned forward as the two continued speaking, but I instead chose to zone out and watch my guildmates in action. Angling myself, I did pretend to at least listen to their conversation however as I took another drink from the mug.
Among the crowd, I had already spotted Erza. Much like everyone else in the guild, she noticed Laxus' presence the moment she arrived. It was interesting to see how nobody dared to get near him, opting to watch from a distance and mutter some things to each other in passing. As expected of her, Erza did no such thing. She was already standing beside the table he had chosen to occupy earlier. The words coming from her were heated, but that was all I could tell with the distance I was at. Whatever words they were exchanging were not good, as others around them were beginning to take notice.
Erza's face was taking a dark turn too.
At that exact moment, I took notice of a dash of blue that was Happy and also Natsu. Also at the wrong moment, I actually tuned in to the conversation that was at hand. "—Lucy, can you show me how red your butt is?" Happy crowed. I paused in mid sip, pursing my lips as the words registered.
What.
"With that comment, you crossed the line!" Lucy shrieked.
"…Okay, what exactly did I miss?"
I looked at Lucy with concern, but I wasn't sure what else to say. That was when I noticed that Gray was present as well. She was floundering for words, and in the meantime Happy and Natsu plotted loudly with each other, ignoring the fact that Lucy and everyone around her could hear. It was also impossible to ignore simply because I was right in the middle, with Happy chattering over my head. "How do you think she'll react if I make her butt sting even more?" Lucy was not having any of it, however. Standing on her feet now, the blonde stamped her foot indignantly.
"Who are you, the devil?!" she cried.
I could hear Cana laughing from the other end of the bar.
Oh, comic relief.
"Clearly I decided to listen back in at the wrong time," I said, answering my own question, hazarding a glance at Lucy and then Natsu. I was thankful that I wasn't standing directly between them. That was when the unexpected happened. A single barrel came whizzing by my face, right as I was going to turn away. It approached in slow motion, but only giving enough time for a silent curse to pass through my brain. Only this time…It bowled over Natsu. For a brief moment I was speechless, and in the next I wanted to scream with excitement.
It missed me.
And then it was the realization that Erza had been the one to throw it. "Why don't you say that again so the others can hear?!" She yelled. Everyone went quiet. Drinks were forgotten, and an audience waited for the next words to be spoken. Laxus still sat where he was before. Though I couldn't see his face well at this distance, I knew there was an annoying smirk on it. Lucy and Gray both voiced their confusion.
"What's going on?"
Being dramatic as all get out, Laxus of course took his time. "I have no problem telling anyone what I think about them. This guild is made up of nothing but losers and weaklings," Laxus boldy claimed. I could see his head turn, his gaze landing on Jet and Droy behind him. Having taken the brunt of Gajeel's attacks, they still had some injuries that were taking their time to heal. Pointedly staring at the two with disdain, he continued. "Especially those two morons. You were Phantom's personal punching bags. I'm glad I never bothered to learn your names."
His gaze shifted again, this time in our direction.
"Which brings me to the worst of them all, the rich little princess wannabe wizard. This was your fault." Beside me, Lucy didn't know how to react to the accusation.
I didn't move a muscle.
"Laxus!" Mira barked angrily. "Would you shut up? The Master said no one in the guild was to be held accountable for what happened. Not even you—Despite the fact that I begged you to come back and help, you turned your back on us!"
"Stop your whining. That fight had nothing to do with me. But if I had been there, then you wouldn't be drowning your sorrows in this pile of rubble right now." There was another cigar in his hands, which had to be a new one, and he rudely snubbed it out on the table, casting it aside with an easy flick of his wrist.
"Why you…" Erza was speechless. Natsu finished the sentence for her.
"I've heard enough outta you!" The dragon slayer charged forward, aiming straight for the blond. In the blink of an eye, however, Laxus materialized behind him as Natsu whiffed the now empty space in front of him. He quickly turned around, with the same fire in his eyes (no pun intended). "Come on Laxus, fight me like a man! You gutless coward!" And in response, Laxus merely laughed.
"How do you expect to fight me when you can't actually touch me? You dimwit. I can't wait till I inherit this place and kick all of you weaklings out. Your days in Fairy Tail are numbered, kids. Things are going to be a whole lot different around here. You losers will have to find some other place to hang out." And in a flash of lightning, Laxus vanished from sight.
Silence.
"He's one to talk," I finally spoke up. A few people looked at me and I stared back for a moment. "What?" I asked. Beside me, Lucy sighed with a scowl and sank back down onto the stool.
"He's such a jerk. Why would anyone ever let him take over?" She pondered. Mira was the one to answer her.
"We may not have a choice," she admitted with resignation. "Laxus could inherit the guild because he is the Master's grandson. Whether we like it or not, he's at the top of a short list of people who could take over if the Master retires." Lucy balked in disbelief.
"I disagree with that," I interrupted. The two looked at me as I put the empty mug on the table. "The guild is not something inherited just by blood relation. Ask Makarov, and he'll tell you. Besides, the kind of guild that he is imagining, that wouldn't be Fairy Tail anymore. If anything, I'd bet money on Erza." The words came a little too easily from my mouth, and I told myself to pause. Lucy and Mira were looking at me with a hint of concern now.
Maybe it was a bit of horror from Lucy?
"Hold on a second, let's back up," Lucy said. "He's the guild master's grandson? But how can he be the complete opposite? Although, I was wondering why somebody like that would be in Fairy Tail in the first place."
Gray who had been listening in casually shrugged his shoulders. Miraculously in between the first few minutes that I had noticed him, he was undressed down to his underwear again. The conversation did not continue beyond that, however. Erza, who had been speaking with Natsu, turned to include us in the conversation.
"Gray, Finn, can come along. Lucy should be there as well." Had it not been for the murmurs of the guild and then Lucy and Gray's stunned reactions, I would have missed the fact that Erza was talking about going on a job. In the meantime, Mira kindly reminded Gray about his clothes, and the ice wizard abruptly reacted.
"We've all been working together since the Eisenwald incident, so it's only natural that we are a team of sorts now," Erza continued. As soon as she said it, I immediately wanted to shut it down. The thought of being dragged on another job that would end in chaos and destruction did not sound appealing to me. There was a pattern there.
"It took them that long to figure this out?" Wakaba told Macao. "We already knew about that."
Oh no.
"Yeah, those guys have been joined to the hip for a while now."
How exactly could I go about turning down Erza without invoking her wrath?
I silently took back my previous statement. Erza wouldn't be the best pick for a guild master.
"Actually," Cana smoothly interjected. The eyes of the guild were on her now as she made her way over to my side, slinging an arm across my shoulders and smiling confidently. "She's coming with me for now. We made a deal to go on a few jobs, but maybe you can have her after that. Maybe."
I started nodding my head in agreement but stopped short hearing the last of her words. Still, I was eternally grateful to her for speaking up. She knew Erza a lot better than I did, and if there was anyone the redhead would listen to, it would be Cana. Or Mira, but I digress. "You are a saint," I whispered to her under my breath.
"Hm," Erza hummed in thought, crossing her arms. "Fair enough."
Not hesitating for another second, Cana started pulling me with her. I barely had time to grab the strap of my bag. "Good, we have an understanding then. Finn, let's go!" People cleared out of our way as we made our way out of the guild. As soon as we were in the clear, she let my arm go, and I was able to collect myself as she continued forward.
I caught up to her, reminding the brunette that I still needed to prepare a few things at my apartment. That was when I saw the request in her hand that she was avidly studying. "Speaking of jobs, where exactly are we going?" I asked with faint curiosity. More than anything, I wanted to bury my head in the sand for a few days. There were too many thoughts swirling in the back of my mind, and I started to understand what Cana had been getting at earlier. That, or it was the smallest bit of alcohol that was driving me up a wall.
Regardless, going on a job or two would be beneficial.
"A town called Bellflower. It's actually near the Mikage Forest. I'm sure you've heard of it? And don't worry, we'll be back in a day or two before you know it."
Dealing with Eisenwald and Phantom Lord was the tip of the iceberg. On top of the issue with Loke that was now at hand, there were other things now coming into the mix that I didn't account for previously, and if I wasn't careful, I would probably destroy myself over it. I still hadn't forgotten that Makarov promised an explanation for the strange presence in Fairy Tail's basement.
Mavis.
I needed to talk to Warrod again soon about all of it. He was someone who could understand some of it, even if I could not say everything. I would send him a lacrima message when I got back. It would be pricey, yet worth it—much better than searching around for him.
But for now, this job was a break.
I needed it, and I would take what I could get.
…
A/N: Well, this was kind of a wait.
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to handle Loke's arc. It's the one gray area in the whole story that I wasn't sure how to handle simply because Finn really can't do anything about it. Since the two are friends, I can't bring myself to quickly sweep it under a rug. There are also a whole bunch of Fairy Tail plot elements thrown into the mix that I needed to try and balance with my own plot elements. That said, I rewrote parts of this chapter so many times before getting it to this point. I decided trying to slow things down just a little would be more beneficial, and hopefully build on Finn's character.
To try and ward off some concerns here, I can definitely say that Finn will be start to pull away from team Natsu at this point. Not to mention, the story itself is also going to start changing from canon, some of which will be subtle and others not so subtle. All of that will certainly make it easier to write going forward. As far as what Makarov is planning, we'll have to see what happens! Finn would probably turn him down in a heartbeat in her current state.
Anyhow, big thanks to Oceanbomb5, NinjaGogeta, kuriboh1233, Zm93, Gerbilfriend, GuestCross, Guest, galactiaconstella, Shimaazu, and Le055Li0n for the reviews! That helps a lot with motivation to keep moving forward. As is always a hope of mine, I want to work towards posting more often, so hopefully there will be less time between this chapter and the last.
Until next time!
