Ok guys, I am so sorry for the long delay. I wanted to get this out by Christmas, but I got really sick to the point I had to take Antibiotics. So that delayed me significantly.
I like to thank Keampo and RadioPoisoning for helping to beta this chapter while my beta is currently busy. I would like to thank redscarfninja for drawing the first official picture of Rubi and giving me a new cover picture.
And yes, I do know of the recent developments in the Manga, and I already have an explanation thought out.
As Tears Go By
July, X782
Erza Scarlet was worried.
Not for herself but, for the first time, her longtime rival - and friend - Mirajane. Last week the unimaginable happened, and because of it the guild would never be the same. Apparently Elfman lost control of his Beast Soul during one of his jobs, which caused him to turn against his siblings, killing one of them in the process. Lisanna… was no longer with the guild.
When they came back they were both broken, physically and mentally. Elfman was sobbing up a river and Mirajane had a broken arm, but it was the expression on her face that concerned Erza the most.
It was blank, devoid of any human emotion.
After she came back she locked herself in her room and didn't come out until the funeral. She tried her best to hide it but when Erza saw her, for the first time in days, her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked like she just ran a marathon. Erza figured she must have cried herself to sleep every day, only sleeping when she had no more tears to cry. For once, Erza felt bad for her rival. The one girl in the entire that could challenge her, that could rile her up, was no longer the same. What once was a rude, irritating, enraging, cocky brat of girl, was now a depressed shell of her former self.
Erza never seen such a change in a person since… Since…
…Jellal…
Erza felt a shiver go up her spine, and her hair stand on end at the mere thought of him. She then took a calming breath and continued her quest, which was finding Mirajane. She had been looking for the girl all day and she still had no luck. She had decided that she had waited long enough and it was now the time to check up on her, and see if she could do anything to help, even if she wasn't the best in these situations.
"Mira, where could you be…." Erza said out loud, her face contemplative. "I've checked her room, the graveyard, the guild…. dammit. Where are you, Mira!?" She growled in frustration. Something wet hit her face and Erza looked up to see a large, dark rain cloud coming in from the south. "I got to find you before the weather turns bad…" Erza started rubbing her temples, her eyes closed, trying to think of where in the world she could be. With each passing moment, the frequency of the falling raindrops became larger, and her temples were becoming raw.
Her eyes snapped open in revelation. "What if she is somewhere Lisanna liked to go… Somewhere people wouldn't expect her to go in particular… I got it!" She thought, and started sprinting towards the forest. Every second she spent sprinting through the forest, the rain intensified, and by the time she got to her destination, Erza was thoroughly drenched by Mother Nature's tears. It was a small clearing with wild grasses grown all over the place and small cliffs in the background. In this clearing was a small, straw hut. Several years ago, Lisanna and Natsu built it with the intention of keeping it secret. Of course, they couldn't keep it secret forever when both Erza and Mirajane decided to follow them. If it weren't for the egg that Happy would soon hatch from being there, it would of most likely been destroyed in the fight Erza and Mirajane almost got into. That, and Lisanna started crying because she thought her little secret place with Natsu was going to be destroyed over a petty fight.
She wasn't completely inaccurate with that assumption, as Erza would admit that she and Mirajane could get a little rough when they had their little skirmishes.
Erza slowly walked up to the abandoned hut. "Mira? Are you in there?" She asked cautiously, and was met with silence. She took a deep breath and looked inside to see Mirajane sitting there, her knees up to her face and her unbroken arm wrapped around them. "Mira…" Erza called again.
"Go away…" came the quiet, muffled voice of Mirajane. The pure dejection in her voice worried Erza gravely.
Erza slowly entered the hut and sat down next to the grief-stricken girl. Erza said nothing, opting to listen to the steady downpour of the rain hitting the top of the hut like a drum. Erza chewed the inside of her cheek nervously, not knowing how to start, and what to say to the girl. "Listen, Mira… I… uh…" She stumbled out awkwardly, and she started inwardly cursing herself for her inability to deal with sensitive situations.
"What part of 'go away' do you not understand, Erza…" Mirajane said as she lifted her face from her knees and looked at her. Her eyes were tired with bags under them, and her hair was completely disheveled. She looked like she lost all hope; like she fell completely into despair.
Erza's heart clenched at the appearance of the once fiery girl that terrorized the guild halls, and it hurt to see the other girl in this state. "I-I…" She stuttered, before calming herself by sheer will power. "I…I'm sorry about what happened." She said with a soft but confident tone.
Mirajane looked towards the entrance of the hut, "Sorry?" She asked numbly. "Why are you sorry about something that was my fault? Why would you be sorry for something you weren't even involved in?" She said as she hid her face in her knees once again. "If I went alone, none of this would have happened. If I wasn't so damn arrogant in my abilities, I wouldn't have let them come in the first place! If I just went alone, Elfman would have never lost control! Lisanna wou-"
"Stop it!" Erza half shouted, interrupting the other girl's self-loathing. "It's not your fault! There is no way you could have known that would happen!" Mirajane didn't move, and was silent. Erza sighed at the girl's lack of reaction, "Look. Blaming yourself for this is destroying you from the inside, Mira."
"Shut up…" Came the muffled reply of Mirajane, her body started shaking slightly.
Erza ignored the other girl's request and continued, "You need to stay strong for both yourself and Elfman! Every day he comes into the guild broken and lost. He feels like he's responsible for his own sister's death and you are not there reassuring him that 'no, it was not your fault!'"
"Shut up!" Mirajane said louder, her voice filled with sorrow, and muffled sobs could be heard.
Once again, Erza ignored her, "Pull yourself together!" She commanded. "The Mirajane I know would never allow herself to fall to such a state! The Mirajane I know would overcome this and start pushing forward, and not let herself be consumed with sorrow! If Lisanna was here, she would not want you to-"
The nerve had been struck.
Mirajane's head snapped towards Erza, her face red with rage, her eyes flooding with tears, fist clenched tightly. "AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW HOW LISANNA FEELS!?" She roared with the intensity of an erupting volcano. "You know nothing!" Her voice venomous, and pointed an accusatory finger straight at Erza, "You know nothing about having family! You know nothing of losing anyone, because You Have No One!" She seethed, angry tears were streaming down her face. "So why don't you just get out and Leave Me Alone!" Mirajane finished bitterly, and was panting heavily from her verbal assault.
Erza recoiled from the vicious barrage of rhetoric, and felt like someone struck her heart with an arrow. She felt something wet on her cheek. She put her hand up to her face and felt tears streaming down.
Mirajane then realized what she said and sat back down, facing away from Erza who was silently crying. She looked over shoulder, her eyes both apologetic and annoyed. "Just go. Leave me alone…" She pleaded tiredly and sank her head back into her knees, and started sobbing quietly.
Erza sat there in silence. The only sounds were the rain outside and the quiet sobs of the girl in front of her. She sniffled, and then wiped the tears off her cheek, "You're wrong." She said quietly, feeling a wave of nervousness overtake her, and she gulped down the rampaging butterflies in her stomach. "I know what it's like to lose someone… A sister…"
Mirajane stopped sobbing, and she turned towards Erza, curiosity in her eyes. "What…?" She croaked out.
Said red-head swallowed hard, "Rubi… Her name was Rubi. She..." Erza held back a sob. "She was my little sister. Before I joined Fairy Tail there was fire at the orphanage we were living at. She didn't make it." She couldn't hold her sobs back anymore and the flood gates opened. "S-she *sob* was only 6 y-years *sob* old."
Now it was Mirajane who was at a loss. She never expected Erza to have such a skeleton in her closet. She moved next to the now crying Erza, her face now expressing concern rather than the anger from before. "Why…why haven't you ever mentioned her?" She asked.
"Because every time I think of her crimson hair, ruby red eyes and bright smile, I break down." Erza sniffled. "She was the only thing that brought me joy before Fairy Tail. She gave me a reason to continue living. To protect her…like a big sister should." Her face fell. "Whenever I saw you with your brother and sister, I-I couldn't help but feel jealous of you. I had nothing while you had family..." Erza's sobbing returned in full force.
Mirajane could only stare, not knowing what to do. She had never seen Erza in such a vulnerable state before. After a few moments, she decided to wing it, and embraced Erza in a hug, causing said girl to freeze from the contact. "Shhh, it's ok. I'm sure Rubi wouldn't want to see you in this state if she were alive, ne?"
"Y-yeah. *hiccup* She wouldn't." Erza returned the hug.
"I think we should get back to the guild. Everyone must be wondering where we are." Mirajane said as she let go of Erza.
"Right." Erza nodded.
Both girls got up and looked outside the hut. The rain had finally stopped and the sun was shining through the forest, with a rainbow forming in the sky. "Erza?" Mirajane asked, turning her attention away from the outside and back to the girl next to her.
"Hmm?" Erza hummed.
"You're right about Lisanna not wanting me to blame myself. Thank You." She said with a smile, the first one in a long time.
Erza smiled, and nodded. As they started walking back towards the guild a feeling of guilt welled up within her. "Rubi, I know you're alive out there. Sorry for lying to Mira about you. Nee-chan can't allow anything or anyone linked to me finding you. Not while Jellal is still out there, watching." She thought.
XXX
Magic Council: Fiore Branch Building
The sound of footsteps echoed in the long, windowed hallway, and the source were two figures walking next to each other. One was a young man wearing a long, white jacket with black trim and metal buckles, and matching white shoes and pants. The young man had blue hair and on the right side of his face was a tattoo that ran vertical from the bottom of his cheek to the top of his forehead. This was Council Member Siegrain, a magic prodigy that was destined for Wizard Sainthood and the youngest person to ever achieve a seat on the Magic Council. However, the name Siegrain was a façade. His real name was Jellal Fernandes.
The second person, who was walking next to Jellal, was a young woman with dark purple hair styled in the Hime-cut, wearing a white kimono-style blouse with only a left sleeve, and a white skirt that went down to her upper thighs. Wrapped around her waist was a gold sash and around her neck was a dark red collar with a metal buckle. This was Council Member Ultear, the former youngest person to ever achieve membership in the Magic Council and the one who vouched for Jellal.
"Tell me, Siegrain…" Ultear began, tilting her head towards Jellal. "Where are we heading to? I thought we would be heading to your office to 'celebrate' your promotion to Council member."
Jellal let his lips form into a small smirk, "Well, since I'm now a full-fledged member of the Council, I decided to quell a… curiosity I've had for a while now." He said smoothly as they rounded a corner and continued down another hallway with a large metal door at the end of it, and two Rune Knights standing guard on both sides. "I can finally go somewhere that I've been eager to visit for quite a while."
Ultear quirked a brow, "The archives?" She asked, wondering why he was going there. "If you wanted access to the archives you could have just asked me." She pointed out.
Jellal's smirk widened and he shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Yes, I know, but what would the fun in that be? It's no fun always getting what you want right away, as it takes away from the satisfaction of earning it the hard way." Jellal then made a dismissive hand gesture. "And besides, it wasn't that urgent that I required access immediately, so I just made it a goal to strive for when I would inevitably make it to the Council, and it served as the perfect little motivator to make the accomplishment that much more satisfying."
Ultear rolled her eyes slightly, "Well, I hope you find the wait worthwhile, Siegrain." She said casually as they arrived at the door. The two rune knights protecting it nodded silently and opened the large metal door, which slowly creaked open, revealing a large, open room full of cabinets and bookshelves, neatly organized into rows and stacked up the ceiling. In the center of the room was a large console with various buttons on it.
Jellal and Ultear entered the room, the large doors closing behind them, and walked up the console. Jellal pushes a green button and a large, blue screen projected itself atop of the console from a glowing lacrima crystal. Underneath the glowing screen another object appeared with various buttons on it. Jellal started pushing these buttons, feeling the slight jolt of magic as his fingers interacted with the projection, until a rectangle appeared on the glowing screen.
"What exactly are you looking for?" Ultear asks, genuinely curious.
Jellal smirked deviously. "It's not what I am looking for but rather who I'm looking for." He looked at Ultear, smirk growing wider. "You see, Erza Scarlet has a sister who I've been looking for for quite a while now, but I've found myself rather busy these past few years gaining power, and lacked the resources to effectively search for her in a time-efficient matter. But now…" He gestures the screen, "I have this, and I should be able to find her in no time at all."
"I'm assuming capturing this girl is essential to your plan?" Ultear asked.
Jellal let out a small chuckle, "Well, she isn't particularly necessary for the plan, but finding her location would prove most beneficial when the time comes to capture Erza. If we have her sister she will have no choice but to cooperate."
Ultear sighed, but had a smirk of her own, "Well, if you think she is important to the plan then I'll leave you to it." She then yawned, "That last meeting was such a bore, and I could really use a nice relaxing soak." She then started walking away, "Good luck with the search." She said over her shoulder as she opened the doors and walked out.
Jellal looked back at the screen and grinned malevolently. "Ok then, let's get to work…" He said as he cracked his knuckles.
2 Hours Later….
Jellal was rubbing his temples in frustration. He never thought it would be this hard to find someone. He figured that since he knew her name, he would be able to find her fairly quickly, but when he searched for any wizards named "Ruby" he got hundreds of results, and none of them looked anything like the sister of Erza Scarlet. They were either too old or too young, and almost none of them had that distinctive red hair that Erza had. It would have been much easier to search up the orphanage records from Rosemary but that proved a dead end because it was such a small village and as such it didn't report its records often to the government, and he couldn't just go there and retrieve them himself for obvious reasons. Jellal growled and slammed a fist on the console, rattling the screen a little. "Dammit, how hard could it be to find a red headed girl with the name Ruby!?" He pinched the bridge of his nose and started to think some more, until after a few minutes an idea popped into his brain.
'Unless… Erza didn't give me her full name, but rather a nickname instead. Let's get rid of the name Ruby and just search for red heads born between X765 and X770 that have a name starting with 'R'… ' He thought as his fingers were furiously typing.
About 50 or so pictures popped onto the screen and Jellal scanned the list until his eyes set upon one. The girl in the photo had red hair that was a very similar shade of red to Erza's, had ruby red eyes and her facial structure resembled Erza's closely. Underneath the photo read "Rubina Crimson".
Jellal grinned maliciously, "Well well, I think my long search is over." He opened the girl's file and found himself rather impressed. A gold star at age twelve and already on the Council's watch list for potential powerful wizards that could one day be Wizard Saints. If the looks didn't already cement that she was Erza's sister, it was her abilities the put the final nail in the coffin to any sort of doubts he had. It seemed like magical talent ran in the family.
"Well Erza, it looks like I found your precious little sister." He started chuckling, "And when the time is right, she will prove most useful." His chuckling turned into maniacal laughter, which filled the room.
In his right eye was a weird symbol that looked like a sideways Z, and it briefly glowed a brilliant purple.
XXX
Ruins of Rosemary
It has been 8 years since the burning of the once vibrant village named Rosemary. Since then the skeleton piles had been removed and properly buried in a mass grave. All the ash had been washed away, revealing the ground once more. Nature had started to reclaim the remnants of the buildings that were once the home of families, with moss and ivy crawling up the fragments of walls, and overgrown grass sprawling all over the place. In a few years, nothing would be left of this place, except for a memory that those who lived there will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
Rubina Crimson walked through her former home with feelings of both nostalgia and depression, with her face calm but also somber. Her footsteps were slow and careful, as to not disrespect those who died there. She looked around, remembering how the kids ran through the streets, how the people always smiled and were always kind, how she would run around barefoot with her sister without a care in the world. She looked to her left at a broken wall and remembered that that used to be where the ice cream man would place his cart. She suddenly found herself back in time, when she was younger and still enjoying the bliss of her second childhood.
"Nee-chan?" A young Rubina said, tugging on her sister's blue dress.
Erza looked at her sister, "Yes, Rubi?"
Rubina pointed at a cart with an elderly man with white hair covered by a white cap, and wearing a long-sleeved shirt and a white apron. The man was scooping various flavors of ice cream out of the top of his cart through a hatch, and putting the ice cream into cones to sell to people. "Can we get some!?" She questioned eagerly.
Erza had a pained expression, her eyes regretful, "I'm sorry Rubi, but we spent all of our allowance on those strawberry candies yesterday, remember?"
"Awww…" Rubina pouted. "I really wanted some though…" She said, disheartened.
"Maybe we can get some next week, okay?" Erza said, trying to reassure her sister.
"I guess…" Rubi said, perking up a little.
"And what seems to be the trouble, Young Ones?" Came an elderly voice.
Both girls jumped in surprise, and their heads snapped to the source of the voice. It was the man who was selling ice cream.
"N-Nothing, Sir." Erza stuttered out. "My sister was just a little disappointed that she can't have any ice cream…" She said nervously. Rubina was hiding behind her, shying away from the man.
The man quirked a brow, "Oh? Why is that, dearie? Ice Cream is good for the soul, you know?"
Erza mumbled something quietly.
"What was that? I can't hear you clearly. These ears are not what they used to be…" The old man questioned.
Erza's face flushed and she started to fidget, "We have no money. We live at the orphanage so we only get a monthly allowance…" She said, embarrassment in her voice.
The man put a hand up to his chin, "Orphans you say…" He said contemplatively, before snapping his fingers in excitement, "Why, that is still no excuse for not having ice cream!" He exclaimed, before gesturing to his cart, "I'll tell you what, if you help me make my next batch of ice cream then I'll give you some for free. How does that sound?"
Erza perked up and Rubina came out from behind her sister, excitement in her eyes, "Really!?" She said with glee.
The old man nodded.
"Cool!" She exclaimed" Are we gonna use salt to melt ice, creating an endothermic reaction, and lower the temperature of the salt water mixture to freeze the cream!?" She asked quickly.
Erza and the old man just stared at her, not knowing what she just said. Rubina blushed, and Erza looked at the old man. "I have no idea where she learns this stuff."
Rubina shook her head, bringing her out of memory lane, and continued walking through the ruins of the village. She came upon large, nearly empty clearing, with a pile charred wood covered in vegetation being the only thing occupying the space. But Rubina knew what used to be in this gigantic space. It used to be where she lived for the first 6 years of her new life.
It used to be the orphanage.
Rubina and Erza were walking towards the orphanage, getting back before curfew started.
"Nee-chan?" Rubina asked her sister.
"Hmm?" Erza hummed, looking to Rubina.
"Do you think we will ever be adopted?" Rubina asked curiously.
Erza put on a face of contemplation, before smiling, "Of course we will, Rubi! It's just a matter of time before we have an actual family." She said confidently.
Rubi's face suddenly became downtrodden, "But what if they adopt you, but not me? What if we are split apart?" Her eyes started to tear up a little, "What if we never see each other again… I don't want to be alone…"
Erza suddenly hugged the girl, and they stayed that way for several minutes, before she released her. Erza stared straight into Rubina's eyes, "Listen, Rubi. I Will Not Let Us Be Separated. Nee-chan will be there to protect you, always."
"Always?" Rubina sniffled.
A loving smile graced Erza's face, "Always." She said with finality, and connected her forehead with her sister's. "It's because I love you, Rubi, and I always will, no matter what."
"I love you too, Erza-nee…"
"I can't believe it's been so long…" Came the voice of Kagura from behind her. Rubina snapped out of her memories and turned to the girl walking up to her at a calm pace.
"Yeah." Rubina said slowly, her voice melancholic, "It has."
"If I remember correctly this was the orphanage where you and your sister lived, correct?" Kagura asked.
Rubina nodded, "Yeah. Even though it was one of the biggest buildings in the village, it always seemed kinda small with all the kids that lived there." Her lips formed a small smile, "Although… I heard the previous building use to be really small, so I can't imagine how cramped it use to be. So, I guess it wasn't too bad."
Kagura eyed her for a moment, before gesturing her to follow, "Come, I want to show you something." And she grabbed Rubina's hand, pulling her along. She led Rubina through the ruins before stopping at the remains of what looked to be a two-story house. The only thing that remained was a single, tall wall that was covered with ivy. "This was my house… or what's left of it." Kagura said somberly.
"I've always wondered where you lived." Rubina said as she inspected what was left of the house. "I can tell it was really nice. " She paused, before turning to Kagura, "I don't think you ever told me what your parents did, did you?" Rubina said, curiosity in her voice.
Kagura blinked and started remembering all she could, "Well, I think Papa was some type of doctor, because he always messing with a bunch of herbal recipes and creating remedies for common ailments. Mama, well…" Kagura grew contemplative, "Mama didn't really do much, and opted to stay home and take care of her garden. She always wore pretty, eastern dresses and always made me wear my hair like hers, saying something about a tradition of some sort passed down by her ancestors from the east. She also gave me my ribbon, saying it has been passed on from mother to daughter in my family."
"The East? Is your family from outside of Fiore?" Rubina asked, intrigued.
"No, not really. From what I know, Papa's family had been living in Fiore for many generations. Mama's family had been living in Fiore for a few… I'm a little fuzzy on the details." Kagura scratched her head.
"Huh." Rubina said, interested in the new information about her friend. "I never knew that. I can't believe you never told me this…"
"You never asked." Kagura said simply.
The two teenage girls continued walking through the ruins until they reached a small hill that overlooked the area. Rain clouds were coming in, threatening to snuff out the golden light of the evening sun.
"I still can't believe it's been so long since then. In a few years Rosemary will cease to exist all together, and will just be a forest… Anything else you want to see before we head back? The rain will be coming in soon." Kagura asked the other girl.
Rubina stayed silent, the wind blowing against the trees the only sound that could be heard, before sighing. She held out her hands and black acoustic guitar flashed into existence. She began plucking the strings, tuning it, until she was satisfied. She than began strumming the guitar and began singing.
"It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Smiling faces I can see
But not for me
I sit and watch
As tears go by
My riches can't buy everything
I want to hear the children sing
All I hear is the sound
Of rain falling on the ground
I sit and watch
As tears go by
It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Doing things I used to do
They think are new
I sit and watch
As tears go by"
I'm sorry for such the depressing chapter. I'm saving the Christmas chapters for when I eventually do the OVAs.
Erza reveals to Mira the one secret that she vowed never to tell. Well, she only told the half-truth anyway. She lied about her being dead so Fairy Tail wouldn't look for Rubi. Unfortunately, Jellal has found Rubi despite Erza's efforts. After Erza's little confession, Erza and Mira will be on better terms now.
The song Rubi sings is "As Tears Go By" by The Rolling Stones.