(Crawls back onto Fanfiction) I liiive! Lucky for you guys, so does my laptop!
Review Response: Dear Guest, hi! Glad you liked softy Laxus, I was afraid people would think he was too nice. Though, this is before his "fall to the dark side" so to speak... Hope you enjoy the next chapter and thank you, as you can see/read, my computer repairs went well.
Dear Hazel tree09, hello there! Correct guess! Laxus is now an official part of the cast, to get used to seeing him around. Very glad you enjoyed the chapter and that the reactions were realistic. Be prepared for OverProtective!Bickslow in the future though, because I'm pretty sure the last chapter left a mental mark on the poor kid. (Rubs hands) I have plans for Laxus and Co ... plans ... (trails off cackling faintly about Fairy Tail luck).
Dear Sakura-hime99, greetings! Thank you, I did my best! Eh ... not quite. The real birth of the Raijinshū is the chapter after this one actually. Last chapter was just their first meeting. As for if Wren is going to be an official member ... you'll have to wait and see! It won't take too long to find out though, so just have patience please! You're welcome, I hope this update lives up to expectations as well!
Dear BizzyLizzy, hey there! Close, but not quite yet. That was their first official meeting, we just need one or two more catalysts for the Raijinshū to form. I was kinda frustrated when I was first researching the Raijinshū because that side note about Freed being asked to keep an eye on Laxus is pretty much the only backstory the three eye-magic users get. Oh well, more creative liberty for me, I guess. It would have been nice to know what year the joined though. Glad you tried out and enjoyed my story! Using colors to describe souls is fun, and was also what made the most sense to me. It's kinda based off of how anime uses color 'auras' to show a power-up, rage, etc. If you do post an OC/Bickslow story, let me know when you do please, Bickslow doesn't get enough love in my opinion.
Dear Wandering Mage011, hi! Glad to hear it! I wouldn't mind having Conrad and Orazio show up again, but it isn't really in my plans so far. We'll have to wait and see, I guess. I was actually puzzled as to how/when he got it after noticing it was absent during the Fantasia flashback with him as a little kid. The first time it shows up is when he's a teenager of about 15/16 years old. But, as no explanation as been given in the anime, I have since made plans for Laxus's scar (rubs hands eagerly). Male anime characters do tend to bond over pounding each other to a pulp, don't they? Always wondered why how that worked but, eh, I won't question it too deeply. I think Laxus would like Wren because she's so quiet and practical, not whiny, pushy, or hyper. I agree, words are powerful things, especially when directed at an impressionable child.
Dear YumiKnowsBest, greetings! Glad to hear it! As for the length, just give me another year or so and this will probably be 50+ chapters like my transformers story.
Author's Note: First off, sorry for the delay, on top of my computer part taking a vacation to Guam (!?) and thus being way late, Real Life has had me in pretty tight grip. But, I am finally here, hoping to put my posting schedule back together. Also, for anyone who also reads my Transformers story and is waiting for an update: I'm working on it. I've almost got the one-shot I was working on before the whole cable-debacle finished and I'm about a third of the through the next chapter. Just be patient please. Random side note, I have discovered a theme for Wren and Bickslow's relationship, possibly even Wren's relationship with Laxus and the Fairy Tail guild as a whole. It's called Lean On by ... Dj Snake & Major Lazer, I think. I don't see the song as romantic in any way and the genre isn't usually my style, but the lyrics remind me of Wren and Bickslow as they grow up for some reason. Just wanted to throw that out there if anyone want's to listen to it. I ... think that's everything. On to the chapter!
Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any references made in this story. The only things I own are my OCs and the plot.
Chapter Twelve - Training and Cobalt Colors.
(Two Weeks Later)
(One month, one week, six days since joining Guild)
Bickslow hit the ground with a thud and a whoosh of air for the tenth time in half as many minutes. Above him, his opponent sighed in exasperation and asked yet again, "You've really never had a straight fight before in your life, have you?"
Bickslow lifted his head off of the ground and squinted at his opponent-tormentor-trainer, "No, not really, … why?"
Laxus ran a hand through his hair, "Nothing really, it just … shows. Very obviously."
Bickslow crawled to his feet reluctantly, knowing that the moment he had regained his balance, the torture would start all over again, "Yeah well, I've always been more concerned with surviving than fighting and then later I had to take care of Wren too. If I'd gotten into any fights, she would have been right in the middle of it all." Like she was two weeks ago, he added mentally with a shudder.
Laxus gave a hum of acknowledgement before sliding into a ready stance again, "Point. But that isn't going to work anymore. Fairy Tail has a reputation for getting into fights for a reason. If you want to protect your sister, you've got to learn to fight better than this."
A low hiss interrupted their conversation, making both boys look over to the edge of their training area. Wren glowered at the two of them from where she was performing control exercises with her shadows, her expression needing no whistles or hand-signals to further elaborate, "I don't need protecting. I can take care of myself."
Bickslow glowered right back, "No, you do, Imōto, and it's my job to do that."
Wren huffed faintly and turned back to her shadows, knowing that an argument would be pointless and would probably be punished by a mildly-sadistic, pushup-happy Laxus.
After they'd returned to the guild following the near-disaster of a mission with Mest, they'd finally gotten a full explanation for what went wrong and how Laxus had become involved in the entire thing.
Apparently, the bandits Spellmeyer-san had been afraid would kidnap his sons were not actually bandits at all, but were a dark guild so down on their luck they'd resorted to petty thievery and kidnapping.
The leader of the dark guild, Ulrich Ackermann, used a special variation of Sound Magic nicknamed Mute that rendered anyone in the nearby area who didn't bear his guild mark unable to hear anything. He was also able to use sound pulses to enhance his punches, which was how he had killed the bandit Bickslow had sent charging at him.
Laxus had accepted a mission to find and capture Ulrich a week before the ill-fated escort mission and had finally tracked down the location of Ulrich's base that day. He had met Mest inside the base, fighting off some dark mages who hadn't gone chasing Bickslow, Wren, and Conrad out in the woods. Laxus had stepped in and held them off so that Mest could teleport the hostages to safety, after which Mest had asked for help finding the wayward kids and getting them away from Ulrich and his mages.
They had followed the flashes of Conrad's firecrackers and Bickslow's lasers, arriving just in time for Laxus to save Wren with a carefully controlled burst of lightning. Once the fight had finished, Mest had teleported them all to where Orazio and the others were and then from there, to their destination.
Which personally made Bickslow wonder why he hadn't just done that in the first place, but apparently Mest couldn't teleport that many people and all of their luggage without passing out. Or something to that order.
Either way, with Laxus's help, they managed to complete their mission and deliver Conrad and Orazio to the boarding school a little banged up, but still alive. Mest had even managed to convince the headmaster to let Conrad study magic in his free time without reporting to the boy's father about it.
Safely back in Magnolia with instructions on how to care for their bruises and the job finally behind them, Bickslow had dutifully started showing up at Training Area Seven every morning at five-thirty sharp for Laxus's training. A few days after that, Wren had followed Bickslow to see where he'd been disappearing to every morning and Laxus had cheerfully inducted her into his training program, which he claimed was a toned-down version of the one his father had given to him at Wren's age.
Two weeks in and Bickslow could safely say that Laxus's father was both a madman and a sadist and that he hoped he never had to actually meet the guy. Because if Laxus's version was "toned-down" because of "their inexperience with this stuff", then Bickslow shuddered to think of what kind of torture the full version entailed.
Bickslow had no idea that his body could be sore in so many places at the same time, and that was counting his experience on the streets and propensity to perform wild acrobatics on high rooftops. The single hour of morning training with Laxus involved more pushups, sit-ups, squats, and sprinting laps than Bickslow thought was possible to cram into a mere sixty minutes. That wasn't even counting the annual sparring matches. Or Laxus's version of encouragement for when he was doing his exercises too slowly. Or, Laxus's personal favorite, magic dodgeball practice.
"Oi, done daydreaming yet? We don't have all day, you know." Bickslow pulled himself out of his memories and reluctantly slid into a fighting stance again. Laxus checked his form over and nodded shortly, "Okay. Yo, Wren-chan, call the match!"
From the side, Wren obliged Laxus by whistling sharply. Bickslow barely had time to register the whistle before Laxus was coming at him, right fist already lashing out at Bickslow's jaw. Bickslow frantically sidestepped to his left, one hand whipping out to slap Laxus's fist away from his head. Almost instinctively, Bickslow stuck his left foot out as he dodged, catching Laxus's right foot and temporarily ruining the other boy's balance.
Laxus stumbled a step before using his forward momentum to duck and roll under Bickslow punch from behind. Coming out of his roll, Laxus twisted around just in time to block Bickslow's attempted axe-kick. Bickslow barely had time to spot Laxus's smirk before a hand a firmly latched onto his ankle and Laxus pushed, sending him flailing onto his back with a loud curse. Laxus lunged to straddle him but Bickslow curled his free leg up to his chest and kicked, pushing Laxus away and forcing him to release Bickslow's captured ankle with a grunt.
Rolling to his feet, Bickslow backflipped several times to gain distance, coming out of the flips with protesting shoulder muscles and a heaving chest. Laxus watched him from a few yards away, a calculating gleam in his eye, "You still aren't using Figure Eyes." Bickslow bit his lip to keep from snapping a curse at Laxus for bringing it up.
The lightning user had, after learning that Bickslow had never named his eye magic, dubbed them Figure Eyes after the tattoo on Bickslow's forehead. Bickslow still wasn't sure if he should be grateful Laxus was so nonchalant about his eyes and tattoo, or curse him for repeatedly insisting he practice with his eye magic. So far, Bickslow had managed to refuse and not use his "Figure Eyes" at all, but something steely in Laxus's tone made Bickslow believe that Laxus wasn't going to let it go so easily this time.
Gritting his teeth and bracing for an argument, Bickslow deflected curtly, "You said no magic during sparring until I knew how to fight without it."
Laxus tilted his head to one side almost lazily, nowhere near as tired as Bickslow from the spar and instead looking oddly stubborn, "I meant your tiki dolls when I made that rule. Like I said before, you could probably learn to anticipate an opponents moves by reading their aura in a fight and that could be a real edge. But you need to practice with it to do that."
Bickslow shook his head stubbornly, scrambling for an excuse that wouldn't just make Laxus push the subject harder, "But you aren't using magic at all! It wouldn't be fair to abuse my magic like that when you're stuck with just your fists! Besides, I might look you in the eyes by accident, or-"
A snap of static electricity filled the air and Laxus was suddenly in front of Bickslow again, glowing yellow leg arcing for his side. The blow connected and Bickslow went rolling, his nerves jittering and spasming briefly at the electric current that had just whipped through them.
As he rolled to a stop, Laxus called harshly across to him, "Fine. If that's what it takes to make you practice with them, then I'll use magic. Just close contact blows though, I won't use my long range attacks. But you know," Bickslow's eyes went wide and he rolled out of the way of the electrified axe-kick that slammed into the ground where his middle used to be, "I'm a lot faster when I'm using Lightning Magic."
Bickslow scrambled back to his feet despite the protests of his ribs and leg muscles and whirled to face Laxus. The blond had a disturbingly predatory smile on his face that made Bickslow want to run and hide rather than stand and fight, "So if you don't want to have to go to Enno-san for more bruise ointment, I suggest you use those eyes of yours."
Several inappropriate words Bickslow had heard on the streets flashed through his mind as Laxus lunged for him again, his fist coated with lightning as he aimed for Bickslow's midriff. Sidestepping out of the way and barely avoiding the spinning kick that was Laxus's retaliation for dodging, he frantically pushed power into his eyes.
Emotional fire leapt into the air, nearly stunning Bickslow with its intensity and brilliance despite having already seen it a few times before. Brilliant neon orange whirled a tight circle with vibrant aquamarine blue. Dispersed through those two main colors were fragments of other colors: the flashing, lightning-like snap of intelligence, the budding purple of growing wisdom, and many more all swimming through Laxus's two most obvious colors like minnows in a whirlpool.
Something vibrant, yet not emotion-based, spiked in Laxus's aura, so fast and sharp he almost missed its journey down Laxus's legs and up one arm. Realization struck Bickslow a split second later as he bent double to avoid Laxus's rebound and punch. The color he'd just seen was Laxus's intent. The fight kicked off again at greater speeds, with Laxus jumping to and fro, mocking Bickslow for not punching more often while Bickslow ducked and whirled around lightning-enhanced attacks, struggling to pick out Laxus's intent from the rest of his always moving aura.
Laxus's aura was like a whirling, multi-colored sun. It was brilliant, powerful, oddly addicting to look at, and so busy moving it was near impossible to pick out the little slivers of intent that forewarned of Laxus's next actions. It was a combination of colors that made Bickslow dizzy just watching and was always startling to see no matter how much he studied it.
But while the tightly whirling dance of Laxus's emotions, thoughts, and flickering intent were impressive, it was their core that truly glowed, truly drew Bickslow's attention no matter hard he tried to concentrate on something else.
All of Laxus's other colors orbited the core, almost burying the core's colors unless Bickslow looked between the cracks and momentary gaps to see the pulsing, seemingly unshakable core of mysterious forest green mixed irreversibly with the richly dark color of pride. Those two colors, one still unnamed yet purely good in Bickslow's mind and the other he'd always previously associated with harsh words and cruelty, twisted and rippled around each other, tumbling end over end in a never-ending cycle, merging and weaving until it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.
It spoke to Bickslow somehow, those core colors. Baffling him yet never scaring him. He knew that it meant Laxus was deeply proud of something. So proud that the color had worked its way into his very core, into the deepest parts of his heart and mind, unshakable and permanent. Yet, Bickslow couldn't tell what Laxus was proud of. He suspected it was the partner color to Laxus's pride. That whatever that color represented, whatever emotion it was, Laxus was proud to feel it, proud to hold that emotion in the very center of his heart.
All in all, it made picking out Laxus's intent in time to dodge even more grueling than any of the previous, non-magical spars had been.
Around and around the two danced through the clearing, kicking, punching, dodging, and, on Laxus's part, laughing. Everything outside of their fight was rapidly forgotten as Laxus charged, jumped and attacked while Bickslow twisted, dodged, and occasionally lashed out in a desperate counterattack.
He was so busy sparring, so busy learning to pick out Laxus's intentions from the myriad of other colors and impressions that Bickslow forgot to be wary of his power, wary of the eyes that let him see Laxus's whirlpool aura.
Then Laxus managed to tackle him and their eyes locked.
Bickslow felt his breath freeze in his lungs as Laxus's colors suddenly froze, Laxus's muscles locking up at the exact same time as his aura. Several seconds of horror passed in which Bickslow could only stare at the sudden lack of motion, the colors of life abruptly becoming as flat and immobile as an ordinary painting, helpless and moldable to his whims. Then realization struck him and Bickslow snapped his eyes shut with a gasping curse. Air rushed in and out of his lungs harshly as he cut the thread of control that had formed between them, struggling not to dry heave at the sheer level of self-revulsion he felt.
Laxus went slack, barely rolling to the side so that he wasn't sprawled on top of Bickslow as his harsh panting joined Bickslow's. A thousand thoughts spun through Bickslow's mind, all of them a mixture of apologies, I-told-you-so's, and self-rebukes.
Small hands shook his shoulder, a shrill whistle of concern identifying the owner of the hands as Wren, but Bickslow refused to open his eyes or get up. He just lay there and tried to ignore the stinging behind his eyelids as he waited for Laxus to recover from the eye contact and the words of hatred to start. Beside him, Laxus's breathing slowly evened out and his clothes rustled faintly in motion. Several moments later, another hand, larger than Wren's and from the opposite side, shook his shoulder with shocking gentleness, "Oi … You okay? Yo, Bickslow, you … you can hear me right?"
Bickslow swallowed hard, still not daring to open his eyes as he nodded weakly. He expected Laxus to remove his hand and start yelling, but instead, the hand stayed and Laxus continued to speak softly, if a touch breathlessly, "Oi, open your eyes or something. You didn't damage them did you? Was there a power rebound when you let me go?"
Astonishment had Bickslow opening his eyes and glancing incredulously at Laxus before hastily redirecting his gaze to the sky instead, "…What?"
Wren's face loomed into his vision and Bickslow flinched slightly at her eye contact despite knowing that his eye magic was once again dormant. She studied his face intently before forcibly pulling him into a semi-sitting position and hugging him tightly. Bickslow automatically returned the hug with one arm, his other pressing against the ground for balance while Laxus's concerned voice buzzed in his ears, "Oi! Talk to me, Bickslow!" Laxus's voice was sharp with command, but not, bafflingly, anger. If anything, he sounded … worried. About me? After what I just did? That … that can't be right.
Wetting suddenly dry lips, Bickslow whispered shakily, "You … you aren't … mad?" Hateful? You aren't scared of me now? You aren't going to attack me for what I just did? What I can do?
There was pause, a falter in Laxus's demands before he spoke again, a thick incredulity coloring his words, "Mad? Mad? I'm asking if you're hurt, baka! Of course I'm not mad!"
Bickslow swallowed hard and risked another glance at Laxus's face, his gaze lingering briefly when he realized that Laxus didn't look angry. If anything, he looked just as worried as he sounded. Laxus's brows furrowed as he stared back at Bickslow, "Maybe I should go get Jiji. Or Reika, she's good with herbs and stuff and it will take a while to get Porlyusica-san here from her forest-" Rocking back on his heels, Laxus made to stand up only to lose his balance and flop back down with a grunt.
Laxus pressed a hand against his head with a wince and Bickslow flinched apologetically, words spilling out of his mouth without his consent, "You probably shouldn't try moving very much or too fast for a few minutes. Um … loss of muscle control is a side-effect from … 'that'. I … I think it'll pass in a little bit."
Laxus slowly lowered his hand and stared at Bickslow, tilting his head to stay in Bickslow's line of sight when the blue-haired boy tried to avert his gaze, "So. You aren't hurt?"
Bickslow clenched his hands into fists, "Why do you keep asking that? I'm the one who … who took control of you! I should be the one asking you if you're alright!" He shot Laxus a tense look, ignoring Wren's shushing noises for the moment as he almost begged for an answer, "Why are you asking if I'm okay? Don't you hate me now? Fear me? Think my tattoo is appropriate after all? Why?"
"Because it was my fault." The world froze. Five little words. Five little words was all it took to make Bickslow's world temporarily stop spinning. There was no sarcasm in those words, no reproach, no double meanings, no hidden barbs. They were just five little words being stated as fact, said with the same level of confidence as someone claiming that the sun rose in the morning and that grass was green.
Five little words that he never thought he would ever hear. Not directed toward him, not about something like this, and not from anyone other than his mute, far-too-forgiving little sister. Bickslow stared at Laxus, his mouth opening and shutting helplessly as he struggled to remember how to speak in the aftershocks of those world-stopping words. Finally, when coherent sentences remained unaccessible, he settled for making a questioning noise in the back of his throat and staring in wide-eyed bafflement at Laxus.
The other boy heard his wordless question and rubbed his head with a, dare Bickslow think it, guilty expression, "I'm the one who forced you to use Figure Eyes during our spar when I didn't fully understand how it worked. That was reckless … and stupid. I should realized that something like this would happen and you did try repeatedly to warn me against it. So, this is all my fault." He suddenly groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, "I'm going to be in so much trouble if Jiji and Otō-san find out about this. Seriously. I'll be banned from missions for life … and probably get lectured for the next week too. Or worse."
Bickslow listened to Laxus ramble to himself about the horrible things Makarov-jiji and Laxus's father would probably do to him if they found out about what had just happened and tried to figure out what the feeling growing in his chest was. Helplessly, he looked down at his lap, wishing despite his recent mess-up that his powers worked on himself. He really, really wanted to see what the color of his newest feeling was. It was probably a strong color by the feel of it. Something dark, like the green color Wren gave him so often, but not as dark as the color of pride.
Slowly, Bickslow raised his free hand and pressed it over his chest, idly hugging Wren closer as she continued to watch him in concern. Inwardly, he focused on the feeling tentatively filling him, so vibrant, yet somehow still delicate because of how new it was. Fingers snapping in front of his face made Bickslow snap out of his dazed contemplation. Laxus lowered his fingers and cocked his head at Bickslow, "Well?"
Bickslow blinked, still half-disbelieving that they were having a conversation at all after Laxus had been on the receiving end of his eye magic, "S-sorry, what did you say?"
Laxus made to stand up again and this time was successful. Shoving one hand in his pocket, Laxus offered the other one to Bickslow, "I said, that since it's a Saturday and you don't have school, we could go down to Fairy Tail's library and look for books about eye magic. I probably should've done that earlier, honestly, but I didn't expect eye magic to be quite so … strong and different from regular magic. Anyhow, there's bound to be something about eye magic and how to safely train it in there and we should probably end the training session for the day anyway. Our hour's almost up as it is."
Bickslow stared at the hand as if he'd never seen one before, several long seconds crawling past before he finally worked up the nerve to grasp it. Wren reluctantly let go of Bickslow as Laxus pulled him to his feet. The blond boy raised an eyebrow and repeated his previous question, "Well?"
Bickslow swallowed at the lump in the throat before answering, "I'd … I'd like that. You really think they'll have books about that kind of thing? About eye magic?"
Laxus grinned briefly, "Please. Jiji collects books on everything, of course there'll be something down there about eye magic! Oh, and hey, let's not mention my pressuring you into using Figure Eyes during a spar to anyone else, ne? I can't exactly train you and Wren-chan if I'm busy getting lectured to death."
Numbly, Bickslow nodded, his feet trailing automatically after Laxus as the other boy led the way back to the guild building. A hand gently slipped into his and he looked down at Wren in confusion, "Imōto?" He whispered faintly, "What just happened?" Wren simply smiled at him knowingly, her eyes holding a depth that startled him every time before she turned her gaze ahead to the guild building, her feet managing to skip despite being no doubt tired from all her training.
Bickslow turned his gaze forward as well, but instead of staring at the guild building, found himself staring at Laxus's back. The feeling in his chest was stronger, brighter, so much so that for a moment, Bickslow was sure he knew what it's color would be despite being unable to see it. It would be blue. A rich, cobalt blue that increased in strength and power the more he thought about what Laxus had just done.
Laxus had done something no other person save Wren had done, and she had an eye magic too and thus didn't really count. It was one thing to overlook Bickslow's tattoo and his explanation about his powers like the guild had done. It was one thing to see his powers in action and still look at him without fear him as Mest had done. It was another thing entirely to feel his power, to make eye contact and have their colors brought under Bickslow's control however briefly … and come out of it concerned for Bickslow. Afraid, not of him, but for him. To ask if he wanted help with his powers.
What the guild had done and what Mest had done were wonderful, astounding things. But compared to what Laxus, calm, slightly gruff and eye magic-less Laxus had done … there was simply no comparison. Suddenly, and with a clarity that was startling, Bickslow knew what his new cobalt feeling was.
It was loyalty.
Laxus might not know it, certainly didn't realize it, and absolutely hadn't done anything to gain it on purpose. But that day, with that simple gesture, that easy acceptance, that sincere offer to help, he had earned Bickslow's loyalty. Bickslow felt a smile work its way onto his lips as he followed Laxus into an unfamiliar part of the guild building, barely hearing the greetings called by other guild members as he contemplated the boy who had just earned his loyalty above any others in the guild.
Bickslow was so absorbed with his new discovery and thoughts that he failed to notice the thoughtful look on Wren's face as she watched him. Had he seen it, had he checked her colors in that moment with Figure Eyes, he might have seen the way her eyes swept away from him and to Laxus, a new color blooming and weaving into her aura like the trickling birth of what would someday be a roaring river.
The color of cobalt for the boy who had made her brother honestly, truly smile.
Japanese Translation: Otō-san - father, either someone else's, or in this case, one's own father with respect in mind.