Sanctity of Life
Chapter 5 – My name is…
*2 Minutes before bane particles explosion*
"Why did the council want at least 2 mages on this job? These dark guild creeps are pretty weak." Rei was sitting in one of the chairs of the 2nd Dark guild she had just wiped the floor with. This one was an all-female guild called 'Lily Valley'. Judging by the name, the wizards of this guild specialised in Poison Magic. Not that Rei would know, she beat them all before they had a chance to fight back.
*BLAST* The entire island shook, and Rei fell off her chair, disgruntled, she got up and slapped herself a couple of times to regain her composure. "Did he blow the guild up? What the hell was that?" She ran out of the guild and towards the final guild that her partner was meant to be at. She expected him to be standing outside with a smug smile reflective of his victory, she didn't expect to see him inhaling in black dust surrounding him. "Are those bane particles?!" She ran faster towards him, 'Why is he consuming them?!'. The man was on his knees, she assumed he was struggling to breathe since he was tightly squeezing his heart with both hands. Blood was visible from his mouth, he turned his head towards Rei as she ran to him, but it was too late. The man closed his eyes and fell on the floor whilst smiling.
"PRINCE!"
Rei fell to her knees besides her partner and put her hand on his forehead, he was burning up and blood wouldn't stop flowing from his mouth. She mentally cursed herself before slapping him a couple of times, it did the trick as he slowly opened his eyes. "You idiot! How could you do something so reckless?"
"One of them…" He coughed, spitting out more blood onto his hands, groaning in agony. "One of them was a suicide bomber with bane particles, I had to inhale them all before they spread to the whole island. Before they got to you." Rei melted at his response, he risked his life to ensure her safety, why? Rei held his hand and called the agency.
"Hi, this is Rei of Fairy Tail, I took the job concerning 3 guilds occupying an uninhabited island. My partner and I have completed the job, but we need emergency medical help. My partner is dying, he's been infected by a vast amount of bane particles. Please hurry." She stayed with him whilst squeezing his hand and stroking his forehead. She put his head on her lap and waited for the medical team to arrive. The wizards that they had taken out won't be conscious for several hours at least, so there was no need for her to waste energy worrying about them, she was far too busy concerned about her partner.
The medical team arrived within 15 minutes, they rushed to Rei and the man and examined him. They asked Rei to move away from him, but she refused, he was vulnerable to contact, she had to protect him.
"Ma'am please understand, we cannot allow you to be near him without his permission."
"I don't care! He's extremely fragile and cannot be touched, I'm his partner, whatever you do to him, you do through me." Rei was fuelled by her desire to protect him, although, she didn't quite know why.
"I'm afraid we can't do that; we need his consent for a 2-factor treatment. We don't have much time."
"Then stop wasting it!"
"But-"
"It's okay, I give her consent" The man had woken up and heard everything. He was breathing a lot better and he was no longer bleeding from his mouth. Rei smiled at him and squeezed his hand, to her surprise, he squeezed it back.
"If you say it's okay then we can proceed." The doctor and his team set up their equipment and began taking blood samples from the man, they injected him with painkillers as his throat was too inflamed for consumption. They tested his blood to measure the level of bane particle infestation. "It's a miracle you're still alive, the mount of bane particles inside you is enough to eradicate at least 4 towns."
"It's going to take more than some dark guild scumbags to kill me." The man responded closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, his body had started to glow in small golden embers. "Here it comes."
"Hey, what's going on?" Rei asked him, the flames were touching her, but they didn't burn nor hurt, it was as if it were an illusion.
"I was born with regeneration energy. I can't die from anything other than old age. These particles have temporarily paused my regenerative process, but it's adapted now." The glow of flames increased until it illuminated their surroundings. After a couple of seconds, the light and flames faded into the atmosphere. Rei looked down at the man, and to her surprise, his visible injuries has fully healed, it was as if they were never there.
"How extraordinary, I've heard of regeneration, but I never thought I'd ever be fortunate enough to witness it in action. You're outer injuries have healed but it will take 1 or 2 days for the bane particles to be fully expunged from your body. Do not use any magic at all until the particles are gone unless you want to spend the rest of your life in utter agony. I'm afraid you'll still suffer from magic deficiency; however, it won't last any longer than a week. Make sure to get plenty of rest, and again, do not use any magic until you're fully recovered, you can't die but the particles can render you with a permanent disability."
The man nodded and tightened his grip on Rei's hand, she smiled at him warmly in response and stroked his hair. "Thank you doctor."
"You're welcome. Now then it's time for us to leave, do you 2 need a ride off the island?"
"No." the man replied, "We hired a private boat."
"Is it SE powered?"
"It is, but don't worry, it also has a fuel engine with auto-pilot that we can use instead."
"Very well then, we'll be off. She's a feisty one, you're a lucky fellow." The doctor chuckled as he took off with his crew, leaving Rei and the man blushing furiously. "OH! I almost forgot." The doctor turned back and handed Rei an envelope, "This is your payment from the agency."
Rei took the envelope and thanked the doctor, "Wait so we can just leave?"
"Mhm" The doctor nodded, "By the looks of things, those criminals won't come around for hours at the very least, the council has already sent custody units, they will be arriving within 20 minutes, they'll handle the arrests and autopsies, in the meantime, you two and free to leave."
"Okay, thanks again doctor." Rei smiled at him and helped her partner stand up. Rei let him lean on her as they walked back to their boat.
"Are you okay with this? Last time we touched it didn't exactly go well with you." Rei was concerned, she didn't want to put her partner through any more discomfort, he was already in pain.
"Yesterday was because I didn't trust you at the time, things are different now." He sounded like he was still in pain, but his tone was happy, Rei didn't know what surprised her more, his newfound trust in her or him not sounding angry for once.
"You trust me?"
"No one has ever cared for me like are, what did you expect?"
"You're so mellow today."
"I'm always finding excuses to be angry, but with you I've given up."
"And why's that?" Rei already knew the answer, she just wanted to hear it from him.
"Because your chipper attitude is contagious, it's impossible for me to remain mad when I'm around you."
"Aw stop, you're going to make me cry." Rei smirked at him, expecting his signature growl, what she received instead was him blushing and looking away.
"You're still annoying."
Rei's smirk progressed to a shit-eating grin, "You love it, just admit it."
The man just stayed silent in defeat; Rei's grin stayed on as she did an internal victory dance. They arrived where their boat was parked. There was a small problem, the boat had been camouflaged by the man's magic earlier.
"Is there a way for me to undo the spell?" Rei asked him, she wasn't going to let the man use any magic whatsoever.
"There is, I use my magic through you."
"What? No way, the doctor said-"
"I won't be using magic myself."
"Explain."
"It's simple, I hold your hand and convince myself that you're me and then the spell will go through you and hit the boat to make it visible again."
"You're going to break your camouflage spell via placebo?"
"Precisely." The man offered Rei his hand.
"I know I asked before, but is this okay?"
"Only with you, Partner." The man smiled at her and Rei felt her heartbeat faster than ever, he had just acknowledged her as his partner, and it made her feel so happy. She smiled warmly and took his hand; in an instant she felt her energy charge up and the boat faded back into visibility. Rei helped the man get on the boat and sat him down gently, she set the co-ordinates and put the boat on auto-pilot. The boat started moving as Rei sat down with the man and held his hand. "You know, we've been holding hands a lot today." She teased.
"I'm sorry, we don't have to."
"No, I-" She paused and swallowed back her embarrassment, "I want to."
"Can I tell you a secret?"
Rei nodded her head; she was too flustered to speak after her confession.
"I do too." The man's face was beet red. Rei grabbed his arm and rested her head on his shoulder, in response, the man rested his head on top of hers. The pair stayed silent, enjoying the peace. They remained this way the whole journey back to boat port.
When they arrived back at boat port, there was a small plane waiting for them.
"What's a plane doing here? This is a town known for boats and cruises, not planes." Rei inquired, the bizarre spectacle in front of her was difficult to just ignore.
"It's for us, it's owned by the council."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've been a passenger on it many times, Jura probably heard what happened and sent it."
"Wait so this isn't the first time you've been so badly injured?"
"That's not it, I'm usually drunk shortly after I finish a job, so Jura has a habit of sending me means of transport for me to get back home safely."
"He really looks after you."
"I wish the cunt would mind his own business; I don't like being looked after."
"What about me?"
"You're the only exception."
Rei blushed again; she was going to have to get a money jar to save some money for every time he made her feel this way. "Can I come with you? I don't think you'll look after yourself very well alone."
"I don't want you to feel forced to come."
"No I want to go with you, but if you don't want me to then it's okay."
"I'd really like it if you came."
"Then it's settled, let's go." The pair smiled and walked over to the plane. The pilot was always the same, so he knew where the man lived. They arrived at 'The house of gloom' within minutes. The man heard whispers as him and Rei walked to palace, avoiding the stunned gazes of nearby civilians. "Jeez, what's their problem?" Rei was getting mad at these people.
"They're probably surprised to see me leaning on you, the entire town knows me and my complications."
"I guess that makes sense." They approached the front door and Rei held out her hand, "I'll unlock it, give me your keys."
"It's unlocked."
"What do you mean? You didn't lock the door?"
"I told you before, everyone here knows me. I seriously doubt they would be stupid enough to enter my home."
"You make yourself sound like some kind of demon."
The pair entered the man's home, Rei was surprised by how clean it was, there wasn't any trash in sight, not even the smallest speck of dust. "How do you keep it so clean?"
"I'm hardly ever home and the windows are always open, I spend most of my days getting drunk in an hotel or hunting down dark guilds."
The man guided Rei to his bedroom and she helped him lay down. It was going to be night soon, she went to the kitchen and checked for ingredients for food. As she expected, the kitchen was empty. She got her phone and ordered some sushi for delivery; she had a coupon, so the food was free. She went back up to find the man staring at the ceiling. She placed the Sushi down on the table next to the bed he was laying on whilst sitting up. "I ordered us some Sushi, is that okay?"
"Mhm. Thank you."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, well… I need to tell you something."
"What is it?" She walked to him and sat down next to him on the bed.
"I don't have any taste buds."
"What? How does that happen?" Rei was shocked, if he couldn't taste anything then it means he was pretending to enjoy the fries she had cooked last night.
"I can't say why." He looked like he was about have another panic attack. Rei held his hand and squeezed it, it worked, and he calmed down, squeezing her hand back. "I'll tell you everything one day, I promise. I just need some time to work up the courage."
"It's okay, I don't want you to feel forced to tell me."
"Thanks. Actually I was wondering something."
"Yeah?"
"What happens to us when I'm back to full health?"
"You mean this partnership?"
"Yes, I don't want it to end, what about you?"
"I feel the same, I normally work alone, I love everyone in Fairy Tail but I'm not compatible with any of them for work."
"Then what if I join?"
Rei perked up at his question, "You want to join Fairy Tail?"
"If it means we stay a team, then yes."
"Oh my god, this is the best news I've heard all day!" Rei grinned and hugged him in excitement, she quickly realised what she was doing but before she could pull away, he hugged her back.
"So now that we're officially a team, there's something else you should know."
Rei maintained their embrace and the man didn't protest either, "What is it?"
The man broke their hug and looked her in the eyes as he gave her a warm smile. "I know your name; you should know mine." Rei's eyes widened at his words, he trusted her enough to tell her his name, once again she was blushing, and her heartbeat was breaking world records.
"Rei, my name is… Kazuki."
Rei couldn't fully comprehend how overjoyed she felt, her partner, no Kazuki had told her his name. She hugged him once more, and again he returned the favour. The pair could feel each other's racing heartbeats. This time Rei broke their embrace and brang her face close to his, Kazuki mimicked her and their lips locked. The world around them seemed to freeze, all they could feel was each other's warmth. They separated from each other, breaking their kiss. "That was-"
"It was nice." Kazuki interrupted Rei.
"Yeah." Rei held his hand again and opened her mouth to speak, "I like you Kazuki."
"I like you too Rei." The pair laid beside each other on Kazuki's bed hand in hand. The atmosphere was too peaceful, they never wanted the moment to change.