Italics indicate thinking
Bold is for attacks.
Kanji's POV
I sat on the train rubbing my temples trying to dissolve my headache. I didn't care, Natsu was in way worse shape than I was.
"You'll have to bear with it till we reach the Rose Garden station." Erza said rubbing my head.
"You're the one who dragged me on here; I thought you loved me…" I whined.
"Don't even start."
Eventually we arrived and I was able to get of the headache machine. Rose Garden was an advanced looking city, lots of shops and high-priced goods.
"Happy let's go eat!" Natsu yelled running off with his cat.
"What a bone head." Gray complained.
"We can't check in for a few more hours so let's have some fun." Erza told the other "We can meet up later."
We all went our separate ways. Lucy wanted to take her new friend around, Michelle and Wendy wanted to go to the amusement park, and Gray just wandered around town.
"So what'd you wanna do?" I asked Erza.
But she was gone.
"Erza? Where'd she go?" I wondered.
"Miss Erza said she was going shopping." Scruff said "Perhaps we should go do some sightseeing."
"Sounds like a plan." I smiled "We haven't hung out in a while."
The first thing we did was go to the market. We checked out some of the merchandise.
"Sir can I interest you in a Magic Carpet." Some salesman yelled out.
"No thanks." I told him.
Scruff and I got a little further.
"How come you didn't want one?" the cat asked.
"I can fly on my own." I told him "and worse case you can fly me."
The next stall of interest we saw was a homemade jewelry stand. They had some nice pieces but nothing that screamed Erza.
"This necklace is nice." Scruff said.
"It's okay." I shrugged.
"Why exactly are you looking for a gift?" he asked "The wedding is coming up but I didn't think you got each other gifts."
"I know I'm just thinking of getting her something nice." I told him.
"But there's no occasion for a gift?" he said sounding confused.
"When you have a cat girlfriend of your own someday, you'll understand. You don't need anniversaries or birthdays to get a gift. Sometimes it's nice to get on just because." I explained.
"I think I get it…"
"Come on I'll just get some flowers or something." I told him.
I bought a nice bouquet of roses to match Erza's hair and headed to the motel to meet the others. Along the way I passed by the local police station. I peaked in the window and saw that Gray was at the interrogation table…without his shirt on. I couldn't see lower but I was praying he had pants on.
"Let's go bail him out." I told Scruff.
I headed in and told them I was with the naked guy. I paid the fine and got Gray out.
"You owe me 20,000 Jewel asshole." I grumbled.
"I'll pay you back eventually." He sighed "Thanks for the save."
We headed to the hotel and sure enough we were the last ones to arrive. Erza was already at the counter booking the rooms and the rest of us took seats in the waiting area. There was an aura of happiness coming off my fiancée.
"Erza seems to be in a good mood." I said out loud "I didn't even give her the flowers yet."
"I think maybe it has something to do with that wedding dress she bought earlier." Wendy told us.
"What?!" we all yelled.
"Something wrong?" Erza asked.
"Nothing!"
"What do you mean Erza bought a dress." Lucy whispered.
"Wendy and I saw her at a store purchasing a beautiful gown." Michelle said "She kept saying that she had found 'the one' or something like that."
"Finally." I mumbled "Now were just have to have the ceremony…I suppose we need suits to."
"We actually have to go buy stuff." Natsu said.
"Of course you do." Lucy pouted "You'll look nice and you won't complain, got it."
Erza came back and handed out the room keys. The guys and I had one room of three. Lucy, Michelle and Éclair were sharing and finally Erza and Wendy had a room together.
"For you." I said handing Erza the flowers.
"Their beautiful." She smiled "Thank you."
"How come we're in separate rooms?" I asked.
"It was cheaper, and I don't want to share with you if Wendy's in the room…and I'm not sleeping in the same room as Natsu and Gray." She explained.
"Fair enough it's only for the night."
Michelle's POV
Lucy had gone into the shower and left me alone with her new friend. Éclair wasn't keen on talking to me, just to her little bird friend. I sat on my bed skimming through a magazine Wendy and I had bought earlier at the fair.
Big sister exited the bathroom in just a towel. She told Éclair that she was welcome to use the shower if she wanted.
So I guess I have to wait…
"Listen if you're uncomfortable Michelle and I can get a different room." Lucy told the woman.
"I don't mind sharing" Éclair said "We're a lot alike, I sense a great sadness inside you. It's in your eyes…"
"My eyes?"
I feel…wrong…like there's a darkness creeping in on me…
As if on cue the room got dark and filled with shadow. I quickly stood up and saw a man emerging from the ceiling. Small knives shot out of the man's wrist and punctured the bed and wall. I got in a defensive stance. He looked right passed me and straight at Éclair.
"Lucy." I said changing into my battle outfit "Run now."
I heard Lucy kick the porch door open and flee out the back.
"Natsu!" I heard Lucy call for help before she hit the street.
"Out of my way."
"That won't happen." I told the man.
The shadows moved and he darted forward. I took a slash at him but he bent around it like it was nothing. He was already on a break for the window.
"Vine Snare!"
I grabbed his ankle before he hit the street and pulled him back up. He cut the tether between us and shot a knife at me, I blocked it with my shield and charged forward to cut at him again. This time he slipped into the shadows and started sliding after Lucy.
"Don't run from me!" I yelled.
I went after the man but by the time I caught up he was closing in on Lucy.
"Stay away from them!" I threw my shield saw but he just knocked it back.
"Come fourth and seek her blood, o' blade of mine."
A sword emerged from the cloak and the man dashed towards Lucy and Éclair.
I threw my saw again hoping I could knock him off course.
It's moving to slow it won't make it!
A ball of fire flew passed my head, followed soon after by a blast of lightning and spears of ice.
The converging projectiles were enough to stop the man in his tracks. I got up and regrouped with Natsu, Kanji and Gray.
"Guys…you're here." Lucy smiled.
"Who the hell are you?" Natsu demanded.
The man didn't respond with a good answer.
"Knowing will not help you…" he said.
The masked man turned and started to run away.
"Get back here!" I yelled "I'm not done with you yet."
"Happy! Scruff! You stay here and watch them." Kanji yelled following after me.
We chased this man through the back alleyways. He tried to lose us in some drapes. I just cut through the ones that were in my way.
"Don't run from me!" I yelled "Stop and face me!"
I slid around the corner and blocked a kick from this man with my shield.
"Come fourth and feed my starving claws!"
Two claws came out of his gloves and this time he tried to fight me. I dodged in and out of his slashes, taking my own when I got the chance. Eventually he jumped back and to avoid my strike and went all the way to the top of a building.
"Going up!" Gray said making a pillar to rise himself up.
I used my vines to quickly ascend and Natsu and Kanji were right behind us. When I got to the top the man was just standing there.
"Finally done running?"
"Fairy Tail was it?" he mumbled before he slipped into the shadows.
"Wait!" I stabbed the ground where he was but it was no use, he was long gone "Dammit!"
Accepting our loses we headed back to find Lucy and Éclair. When we returned Lucy was trying to see if the attack caused Éclair to remember anything.
"What was that all about?" Gray asked.
"I don't know." Lucy said standing up, and causing her towel to fall off.
"Oh my." I gasped "How bold."
Gray and Natsu were just staring like idiots and Kanji had turned away.
"What?" Lucy sneered.
"You feel a breeze out here." Happy giggled.
"AHHH! Close your eyes Perverts!"
Kanji stepped up and offered Lucy his jacket.
"You two disgust me." He told the other boys "To think you'd act like that."
"If you weren't engaged, you'd be looking to!" Gray yelled.
"Don't talk like I'm not here!" Lucy yelled back still covering herself.
After that we headed back to the hotel to try and regroup.
Kanji's POV
Éclair suggested that maybe the man who attacked her had been after the stone around her neck. She said she needed to get to the Boundary Forest to meet someone named Kalard, a name I did not recognize. We made some new arrangements with the rooms. We stuck Lucy and Éclair in with Erza and I and Wendy and Michelle took the damaged room. Natsu and Gray were left to share the room the three of us had been in prior.
At first light we all headed out to the forest. The place was full of monsters that needed to be taken down. Most of them were easy enough to blast away. Eventually we arrived at a monster inhibiting barrier that had clearly been set up for some time. The only thing on the side of the wall was an old ruined house.
The house was full of old books and junk, but no people had been here in some time. The only thing that still worked was a message lacrima. It had a video from Kalard, which upon listening to we concluded that he had been dead for a while…and also that he was Éclair's father. It turned out Kalard had one goal, to dispel the Phoenix stone, the item around Éclair's neck. No matter how hard we looked we couldn't find anything about this dispelling magic.
"What worries me is that magic on the stone." I said "for something needing to be dispelled it must be very powerful and very dangerous."
"We happen to know a dispeller." Erza pointed out "I suppose our best bet is to return to the guild and see if Kage can break it."
The good mood was shattered after that. Lucy did her best to try and cheer up her new friend but the death of a parent is not easily overcome. We made a campfire to keep warm. Once Lucy was able to get Éclair to talk to us the woman made a formal request.
"I would like the Fairy Tail guild to look into this stone and find a way to dispel it." She asked.
"Gladly." Erza said.
"We'll head home in the morning." I announced "Let's get some sleep."
Thanks to Erza's brilliant packing skills we had plenty of sleeping bags and tents. One of which was for us to share.
"So…" I said snuggling up with her in the tiny sleeping bag "Wendy told me you bought a dress."
"Maybe…" she snickered "But you can't see it till the wedding."
"Fair enough." I said going to sleep.
AN
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Till next time!