Chapter Nineteen: Kakariko Village

Professor: Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please read and review!

Lucy watched her friends disappear from Sheik's spell. She knew it wouldn't be long before he came back to get her, but she sat down to wait anyway.

She was glad Sheik had found that potion, it would definitely speed up their journey. But what if they missed something? What if Happy was a fish or something swimming in the river right in front of her?

Wendy had gotten her message and just sent an, "Ok." back, but apparently hadn't asked Carla what races she had gotten to choose from yet.

Lucy sighed and shook her own head. They'd find everyone, she knew it. They were Fairy Tail. They were always there.

Lucy held out her hand, forcing her magic into it. Soon she had a small ball in her hand. Or the illusion of a ball anyway. The thing had no actual substance. But she made it bounce and float like it did.

"Practicing?" a voice said from behind her, startling her and making the ball in her hand disappear.

"Sorry," Sheik said, sitting next to her.

"No, it's alright," she said, "And yeah, just practicing."

"Good. Practice is good."

"Yeah…"

They trailed off into a companionable silence for a few seconds before Sheik spoke up again, "Are you ok? Really ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just worried about my friends. Why do you ask?" She looked at him, eyebrow raised.

Sheik met her gaze evenly, "I've known you for a day and even I can tell you aren't supposed to be this depressed. Plus, Ice seems to like to argue. Constant negativity like that is never helpful."

Lucy smiled, "Believe it or not, he isn't arguing as much as he normally does."

"Really?"

She nodded, "With one of our friends, he's constantly fighting. The only thing that they can agree on is that they need to punch each other."

Sheik gave a small laugh, "Well, it certainly sounds like you're never bored."

"Never," she giggled.

"We should get going." he said, standing up and offering her a hand.

She took it and let him help her up. As he got out a Deku Nut, she moved her hand to his arm, stopping him in the process, "Sheik? Thank you."

She knew that he had smiled under his mask, before he snaked his arm around her waist, "You're welcome."

The three of them left the gravekeeper's hut to find a, surprise, graveyard.

'I wonder if that room I met Sheik in is somewhere around here,' Lucy thought to herself before she and her friends went in the opposite direction, leaving the deserted graveyard behind.

A short walk later had them entering a village that was bustling with activity.

"This is Kakariko Village, founded by the Sheikah Tribe and one of the last refuges in Hyrule," Sheik explained, "We can restock here and then make our way up the mountain."

He pointed to the tall volcano near the village, the sky looking clear and calm as opposed to being near to an eruption like Sheik had said.

"What are we getting besides magic potions?" Gray asked.

"Food would be a good start." Lucy pointed out.

Sheik nodded in agreement, "Also, I need a specific potion for you Ice. That might take awhile to make."

Gray's brow scrunched together in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"Zoras don't typically go up Death Mountain," he said, "They can't survive without some kind of magical aid."

"Oh...ok then, thanks." Gray's response, though showing gratitude, was very gruff.

Lucy rolled her eyes. Well, at least he was trying to be nicer.

"So, where is the potion shop then?" she asked.

"Over there," he pointed to the right, past a couple buildings, "But I should probably go alone. It'll be easier if you go get the food while I do that. Save some time. I have a few other errands anyway, I won't force you two along on those."

Lucy raised her eyebrow at him, but didn't question it too much. If he had private business, that was his choice. She could tell that Gray was bursting to ask though, so she jumped right in, "Sounds good. Should we meet here in an hour?"

Sheik nodded again, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a small bag, "Use your judgement on how much to get."

She took it, smiling gratefully.

Sheik said his goodbyes and went off, leaving the two mages alone.

"That jerk is hiding something," Gray said immediately.

"That jerk doesn't have to help us, you know. He's allowed his private business, just like you are."

"I still don't like it." he grumbled, "We're trusting him, he should be open with us."

"Oh, would it kill you to be a little more optimistic?" Lucy snapped, opening up the wallet she had been given.

Gray looked at her in surprise at that one, but didn't say another word.

Lucy's face mirrored his surprise, but for a very different reason.

Inside the wallet were hundreds of tiny jewels. Actual, real gemstones. Emerald, sapphires, rubies, and a couple amethysts.

The last time she had seen jewels like this was in her mother's jewelry box!

"Gray…." she whispered and held the bag out to him.

He took one look and his jaw dropped.

"Is...Is that-"

"Yep."

"The man's a thief!" Gray yelled at her, "A pure blooded thief!"

"B-But, he was so casual about giving it to us!"

"Has to be," Gray snorted, "You look guilty and you get caught. He's pawned his loot off on us so he won't take the blame! And he abandoned us in a town! This was all a set up!"

"B-But…" Lucy was still staring in amazement at the contents of the bag.

"Quick," Gray grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the closest building, "Let's find the authorities. We'll turn this in."

Lucy was too shocked to protest. Sheik had set them up? But, why? She didn't want to think about it. Even more, she didn't want to think about how much the bag in her hand was worth. Something told her that it could pay her rent many times over.

Gray got to the nearest building and was about to enter when something caught Lucy's eye and she stopped short, refusing to be pulled any farther.

"Lucy, what is it? Come on." Gray tried to pull her forward again, but she wrenched her hand out of his and pointed.

There, across the street from them, was a man and woman, talking at a stall. And something exchanged between their hands. Jewels. Just like the ones in their wallet.

Lucy looked around and pointed again at another couple who were doing the same thing.

"Gray, is it possible that the jewels are money?"

He looked around, taking in the same sights that she did, "Maybe?"

"Should we try it out before reporting it?"

His lips pressed into a thin line at the idea, but he eventually nodded. Sharing a quick look, they changed their direction, heading to a food stall.

"Two please." Lucy said to the man.

Quickly he wrapped up some of the sandwiches he was selling and held them out to her, "20 rupees."

She reached into the bag and pulled out a ruby and two emeralds. The man plucked the ruby from her grasp and said goodbye. Gray and Lucy retreated a safe distance before turning to each other in astonishment.

"It's money!" she squealed, "We're not thieves!"

"They're called rupees!" Gray said in wonder, grabbing the bag and pulling a few out, "Ok, so the red is 20, but what are the others?"

Lucy looked at the gems for a moment, "Well, I think the green might be worth one, since it's the most common."

"Makes sense, but what about the others?"

Lucy thought about it some more before an idea popped into her head. Quickly she tapped her finger to her temple and pulled up her user screen. She clicked on 'database' while Gray watched over her shoulder.

"I keep forgetting about this," he admitted.

"I did too for a little while," she smiled while typing in 'rupees'. As it loaded, Gray took a bite of his sandwich, groaning in appreciation.

"These are good," he said. Lucy just shushed him as she read the information in front of her.

"Yep. Red is 20. Green is 1. Here are the others."

"Man," Gray glanced into the wallet, "Are you sure Sheik didn't steal this? Cause it seems like he's pretty loaded."

"Well," Lucy said, "This says that rupees can be found almost anywhere. In fields, grass, pots, by defeating enemies. My guess is that he's just saved up."

Gray shrugged, willing to accept it, and kept eating his sandwich. Lucy rolled her eyes and clicked on a different button on her screen.

"What are you looking at now?" Gray asked around a mouthful of food, swallowing quickly.

"Ha!" Lucy exclaimed, "Just as I thought! We have a magic storage system! That's our inventory!"

"So?"

"So now we can carry the food without lugging around heavy bags! It works similar to requip."

"Huh, useful." Gray said appreciatively.

"So how much food do we get exactly?" Lucy asked.

He rolled his eyes, "Let's get to shopping."

It was almost time to meet Sheik when they finished.

They had enough food to last six people three weeks all put away in their magical storage. Unless one of those people was Natsu. Which made them a little nervous considering where they were going, but there wasn't much they could do about that now.

Lucy absolutely loved Kakariko. It was the perfect small town in her opinion, and she wanted to explore every bit of it. Gray already had to drag her away from the Windmill, the shooting gallery, the well, and the cow inside a random house multiple times. Why there was a cow in a house, she didn't know, but she loved it.

Eventually though, he did pull her away and they were on their way back to the entrance of the graveyard. And they were almost there. Lucy could even see Sheik waiting for them.

He must've seen them as well because he pushed himself off the wall and began walking towards them.

Then Happy flew into Gray's face.

"Save me!" he cried, flapping his wings.

"Happy!" Lucy cried, taking in the shock of seeing her friend and his new body.

Happy was a chicken.

Literally, a blue chicken. With Happy's eyes, ears, and annoying voice.

"Get off!" Gray yelled, grabbing the animal and holding him at arm's length.

"Magic Cojiro Jr., come back!" they heard a lady cry out.

Glancing around, Lucy saw both her and Sheik running up to them.

"Stop calling me that!" Happy cried, "And let me go! I'm escaping!"

"Happy, it's me! Gr-Ice!" Gray changed his name at the last moment, yelling to get the chicken's attention.

Happy kept trying to fly away, flapping his wings in an attempt to get Gray's grip to loosen. Much to his disappointment, it didn't work.

"You caught him!" the red-headed lady cheered, reaching them, "Thank you so much! I was worried sick!"

"Leave me alone!" Happy yelled at her.

"What's going on?" Sheik asked as he caught up as well.

"We found one of our friends," Lucy told him quickly, looking pointedly at the blue fowl in Gray's grasp.

"One of your friends...is a talking, blue Cucco?" Lucy really couldn't blame the skepticism in his voice.

"Do you all know Magic Cojiro Jr.?" the Cucco (as apparently chickens were called in Hyrule) lady asked.

"In a manner of speaking." Gray groaned, "And it's not by choice."

"Um, can I ask about the name?" Lucy piped up.

"Don't egg her on!" Happy yelled (and was once again, ignored).

"Oh, well he's blue like Cojiro!" she exclaimed, "And he can talk! I've never met a cucco who could talk before, so he must be magic!"

Lucy bit back a laugh as Happy squirmed in protest.

"How exactly did you meet?"

"He simply appeared in my coop yesterday! It was a most wonderful surprise!"

Lucy and Gray exchanged a glance. He looked at her pleadingly while she just looked stern. Eventually he just sighed, giving in.

"How much for the annoying talking bird?"

"How much…" she gasped, "You don't mean to buy him from me, do you?!"

Lucy nodded and Gray spoke up again, "Look, it's either we by him, or he keeps escaping. If in doubt, just ask the stupid bird what he wants."

"Ask him?"

Lucy nodded and turned towards him, "Hey Happy, wanna stay with her? Or come with your good friends Celeste and Ice?"

"You guys! You guys, please!" there wasn't any hesitation or regret in his voice.

The Cucco lady's face fell, but she didn't argue his insistence, instead sighing, "150 rupees."

Lucy pulled the wallet back out and took three purple gems to give to her. Even with this and all the food, it looked like they barely made a dent in the funds.

"Thank you!" she said as the lady left, leaving Lucy and her friends alone. As she turned around to face them, a PM popped up from Wendy, but she ignored it to focus on her own new development.

"I owe you all big time," Happy said, "but who exactly are you? I mean, one of you looks like a tasty fish and the other's a ninja!"

"Happy!" Lucy cried and tore off her mask to expose her face, "It's me, Celeste. Your best friend's partner!"

He had to look at her for a moment before understanding dawned in his eyes, "Oh, it's you! Man, I didn't recognize you at first. The ninja clothes almost make you look thin and pretty, but I'm sure you're still heavy and fat if someone were to-"

"CELESTE KICK!"

As Happy flew over towards the graveyard and Lucy leveled up (exactly how much experience did her kick give her?!) Gray turned to smirk at Sheik.

"If he's alive when we find him again, we'll introduce you. Until then, just don't make her mad."

Professor: I have been waiting so long for the group to find Happy! When I got the idea for 'Magic Cojiro Jr.' I just couldn't stop laughing. Maybe I had a bit too much fun… Anyway, hope you all liked seeing Happy too!