The Sword and the Storm

by Equinox73099

He has lost it all in the pursuit of vengeance. she never had anything but remains steadfast in the pursuit of happiness. when they cross paths and she manages to stop him from implementing a permanent fix to a temporary problem, how many lives will be changed by the duo. contains OC/Juvia no/slash

3. Chapter 3: The Savage Soil

` The Sword and The Storm

Chapter 3: The Savage Soil

Here's chapter 3, Hope y'all enjoy R&R pls, I don't own Fairy tail

Also question for other writers, do any of y'all rewatch the anime or read the manga while writing to make sure you get some things right? Or do you just get close and say screw it it's a fanfic I'm allowed small changes? Cause I've been rewatching the phantom arc while writing for this to try and remember some things i'd forgotten, like the name of the jupiter cannon, had totally forgotten what that was called until earlier today. Anyways i've kept y'all long enough.

We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep. -William Shakespeare

The large metal doors towered over them, and would have taken both of them to push one open had they not swung inwards of their own accord when they got near them. The entryway was abandoned, but Katsuro could hear noise coming from the main hall of the guild, through a second set of wooden doors in front of them. Juvia, though, turned right down the forked paths ahead of them, heading somewhere else entirely.

"Where we going, Juvia? Sounds like the party's that way." Katsuro stated.

"Juvia needs to brief the master on her mission. You can go ahead and Join the others, if you want. She will join you when she's done."

"Nah, I'll stick with you. We can head there together when you're finished. I should probably introduce myself to this Jose Porla anyways, considering I want to join." Juvia brightened slightly when he said he'd accompany her, as debriefings truly could be boring at times.

Katsuro followed her through the twists and turns of the keep, trying vainly to memorize the different areas he was being shown, a difficult task considering how his second wind was wearing off, and the exhaustion was setting in two-fold. Eventually they shuffled to a black wooden door, and Juvia rapped it twice loudly with her knuckles.

"Enter." a voice echoed, muffled slightly. They strolled in, Katsuro taking in his surroundings, which consisted of...a library. The walls were stacked nearly floor to ceiling in tomes, old and new, minus the back wall which had large windows and a door that led onto a balcony. The man had a large desk in the center of the room, paperwork neatly organized on top, though he himself was not seated at the table. Instead, he was situated in a corner of the room, reading a book in a comfortable looking leather chair.

"Juvia lockser reporting on her mission, master." she said blankly.

"Ah, miss lockser, what was the mission again… yes, bandits, correct?"

"Yes, sir. Juvia was to find the bandits hiding in the forest outside the small village of verloss, and detain them for the army to pick up."

"And how did it go," he said, putting his tome down on the small circular table beside him. "I am assuming it was a success since you seem unharmed, though I doubt common thugs like that would land a scratch on you, my dear."

"The bandits were taken care of before Juvia ever got there. They had grouped up with a dark wizard that was being hunted by another mage, master, and the bandits got between the mage and his target."

Porla's eyes flickered between Juvia and Katsuro, seeking confirmation about something. Juvia elaborated for him. "This is the mage that bested the dark wizard, his name is Katsuro Toran. We met up in the forest afterwards and began speaking, and one thing led to another and he helped her stop her rain." she couldn't stop a large smile from forming on her face, looking at Katsuro for a moment to convey her gratitude once again, though Porla's face remained strategically blank.

"How...how did he manage that, my dear. As much time as you spent searching for a counter curse, I was beginning to think there was nothing that could help you?" he phrased it as a question wrapped in a statement.

"It turns out it was no curse at all, it was Juvia's subconscious feeding magic into the clouds that always followed her, causing the rain constantly. Katsuro told Juvia that it Helped her core grow larger by being constantly in use, so she never even noticed the drain. Katsuro taught Juvia how to seek out her core and stop the tendril of magic being fed into the cloud. It was that simple master! Juvia was finally able to see the sun!"

"I am overjoyed for you, my dear, I truly am. Now I must address the elephant in the room, and ask what your new friend's intentions are here. As you said, he seems to be a solo mage, but he must be aware that Phantom does not hand out missions to those not in the guild."

"Juvia convinced him to join us master. He was tired of always being alone on missions and Juvia really enjoyed having him as a friend so she invited him. Juvia can attest to his strength, he is comparable to her own magical strength, and is more skilled physically. He seems to also have training with the blades on his waist. Juvia thinks he would be a great addition to the guild."

Katsuro Just stared blankly at Porla, who stared back at him for a few moments, both seemingly reading the other, before Porla smirked and said. "Well my boy, I can sense a large reservoir of magical energy in you, if you had to measure yourself, what class mage would you say you are?"

"I'd put myself at about even with Juvia, whatever class you have her at."

"Juvia is an S-class mage, though she is on the lower end of the scale compared to some of the mages in fiore." Porla stated.

"Then I would put myself at S-class."

"I'm afraid I cannot Just take your word for that, my boy. I can initiate you into the guild now, as I can sense you have power, but I think I should arrange a fight between you and a mage in my guild who already has S-class to test if you are truly capable. After all, I wouldn't want you to take a mission too difficult for you to complete. Not only would it risk you getting hurt, or even killed, it would also hurt Phantom's reputation as we tend to complete the missions we take." Porla said seriously, mind whirring at who to test this new candidate against. "Juvia, how would you like to face your new friend."

"She wouldn't, sir…" Juvia said shyly. "Juvia already sparred against him once, and it ended with both of us exhausted."

"Hmm, perhaps Totomaru, or maybe Gajeel… no… I have the perfect candidate for you to fight, Mr. Toran. I will arrange the bout and inform you of the time tomorrow. But for now, how would you like to be officially marked with Phantom's crest? Normally I leave this task to others, as Phantom Lord always has a large number of mages coming both in and out of it's doors, but I think this would be better than putting off inducting you until tomorrow. What do you say?" His eyes had taken on a greedy glint, but were hidden underneath his hat so neither of the mages saw it.

"That would be fine, sir. To be honest, I think I'm about dead on my feet so the sooner I can get some sleep the better."

"Quite right, you need to be well rested for your bout." Porla stood up, bat wings unfurling behind him, Katsuro couldn't tell if he actually had wings or if they were stitched onto his coat, but they kind of creeped him out as they moved seemingly of their own accord.

Porla strolled over to his desk and opened a drawer, Red hair almost so dark it was black spilling out from his hat as he was looking down. He eventually came up with the guild stamp marker, and motioned for Katsuro to come closer. "Where would you like your mark, Mr. Toran?"

"Hmm," Katsuro thought about this heavily in the time they had spent journeying over, wondering where he wanted his guild stamp to be. "How about on my wrist, right here on top of my vein." Juvia took a small intake of breath at that, but remained silent.

The stamp glowed for a moment as it was pressed against his flesh, and when it was pulled away, the Phantom Guild mark was bared proudly against his skin. "Congratulations, Katsuro! We're officially in the same guild now, Juvia and you!" she raced over and draped her arms around his chest, hugging him from behind, which was a good thing, and Katsuro's face blushed beet red, something Jose picked up on, and filed away for later use.

"Thanks for bringing me Juvia, I'm happy to be in the same guild as my best friend." now it was Juvia's turn to blush, as he brought up a hand to pat her arms that were still wrapped around him, though she was still beaming at him calling her his best friend.

"Well, I do believe that both of you are in need of sleep, so I officially dismiss you from my office. Remember to prepare for tomorrow, Mr. Toran, as the mage I choose will be S-class as well."

"I understand, Master Porla."

The duo exited Porla's study, and Juvia began leading Katsuro to the male dorms.

"Phantom does allow its mages to stay in the castle for the first month rent free while they settle in, but after that you will be expected to pay the rent. Most mages choose to rent in Oak town or somewhere else nearby because the fee isn't the cheapest to stay here." Juvia explained.

"For now I'll just take a place to sleep, I'll look for a place to live later in the week. Do you stay in the castle, Juvia?"

"Yes, Juvia and the element four are under… special circumstances, so Master Jose allows us to live rent free in the keep, but we are the only ones given that privilege."

"Wow, why you guys specifically?" Katsuro asked

"In case we come under attack, Juvia and the other elements are part of the defense."

"I see… I think, though I also think there's more to it. I won't press though, just tell me when you want to." she looked relieved at this.

"Thank you, you're right, there is more but Juvia shouldn't really talk about it. It's kind of a secret in the guild, albeit an open secret."

"Ah, well I'll trust you to tell me if it's something I need to know."

"Juvia will if it becomes necessary, but thank you again for not prying."

They walked to the left side tower, which housed the male dorms, while the females resided in the right tower. Katsuro managed to climb up 3 flights of stairs before he gave up and settled for the first open room on that floor, he had wanted a decent view and thus was aiming to go higher, but he couldn't be bothered to climb the tower every time he came home. He went out to his window and saw Juvia standing in front of the apartment tower, and yelled down his goodbyes and goodnights before collapsing onto the room's couch and going to sleep, not even undressing or making it to bed.

He was woken up early the next morning by the sun's rays shining through the same window he saw Juvia from, beaming light into the room he'd slept last night. Since he was awake, he decided to explore his apartment, and see what he had available and what he needed to purchase. He walked down the hallway, noticing a theme of the entire apartment being painted with white walls and ceilings so far. He first found a basic bathroom with a tub that looked nearly too small for him to fit in, being the fairly tall height of 6'2 that he was, and a walk in shower to the left of it. He checked the room across from it, and found a walk in closet, which also had a hamper for dirty clothes inside it. The third room in the house, also painted white, was the first of two bedrooms, this one he was assuming was the guest as it was devoid of anything besides the bed itself and a tiny bedside table that held a lamp with possibly enough room for a glass of water as well, if he was careful. There was a small closet in the room as well, completely empty. The last room in the house was the master bedroom, which came furnished with a loveseat on the side of the room, a large bed with more small tables on either side, and a lacrima-vision mounted to the wall across from the bed.

'Spartan… but I can work with that, just need to buy essentials for now considering it's fully furnished. Shit, I better ask Juvia where they do laundry here, I didn't see a washer or a dryer anywhere!" Katsuro thought, looking around his bedroom for the L.C. remote, eventually finding it in a drawer in one of the two tables. He had Just turned it on to relax for a bit when a knock sounded at his door, so he got up off the bed he'd just sat down on, and opened the door with a flourish, wondering who would bother him already. The door opened to reveal a spiky green haired male wearing a monocle, who bowed exaggeratedly to him before speaking.

"Bonjour, mon ami. Master Porla has sent me to ensure you are prepared for your match, he has decided it will be held shortly after lunch. Aussi, the pluie femme, the rain woman, is looking for you in the main hall. When she heard I'd been sent to you, she requested that I ask you to join her when you wish to." the man switched between french and english at random intervals, Katsuro noted, and he wondered which was his first language and which he learned.

"Thanks, I'll be down in just a minute, would you tell her that, please?"

"Tell her yourself, monsieur. I am no Postman." he said blankly, then turned and left the apartment without another word.

"Well at least he's a nice person…" Katsuro grumbled, but rushed to get down to Juvia nonetheless.

It took Katsuro all of ten minutes to get to the main hall, and once inside he began looking around for the flash of blue he knew would reveal Juvia. He found said flash in a corner on the second floor, sitting in a dark corner booth sipping from a teacup and reading a book. She jumped up when he sat down next to her, setting the cup of coffee he'd gotten on the table harder than necessary. He chuckled when he saw her glaring at him, and the glare switched to a pout.

"That's not fair, you Made Juvia drop her book, now she'll have to find her place again." she groaned as she bent over to grab the book from the floor, along with the small ribbon she was using as a bookmark.

"Sorry about that, only meant to surprise you cause you were lost in that thing. What are you reading, anyways?" when he asked that, she blushed and crushed the book to her chest, hiding it from his view.

"N-nothing, you wouldn't like it!" she stammered.

"Really now…" he drawled. "Now I gotta know what it is." as he said that, he scooted closer to her and began poking her in different places, trying to tickle her to make her drop the book, but while she squirmed some, she held onto it headfast.

"Juvia... Unless you want me to get serious with the tickling, I'd suggest you let me see the book, c'mon it can't be that bad."

"Juvia accepts her fate." she wheezed out, trying to hold in giggles.

Katsuro sighed theatrically, then waved his hand at a decorative plant a few feet from the table, causing tendrils to grow out and begin snaking their way to Juvia, Leaves tickling her face neck and hands while Katsuro kept tickling her sides. After a few minutes of this, Juvia was cackling and gasping for air, flailing in the booth like a fish out of water. He finally wrestled the book from her grasp, and she struggled to sit up, book temporarily forgotten in favour of catching her breath.

"Why Juvia, I didn't know you were interested in these sorts of books." he said, smirking. "The Princess' Wild Ride, god that's bad even by trashy romance novel standards… would you like to explain yourself Juvia?" he said, placing the book face up on the table, revealing an illustration of a princess in a pink gown in front of one of the most unrealistically buff men Katsuro had seen.

"Juvia has nothing to explain." she said shortly, blushing again, partly from embarrassment and partly from being so out of breath. "They're Juvia's guilty pleasure books, they aren't the only things she reads, now can Juvia have that back please, she still needs to find her place again."

"Fine, fine. You go back to your sordid novel, I'll just sip my coffee like a good little mage."

"As you should."

They continued chatting through breakfast, and wound up grabbing a quick brunch before Katsuro's match. When asking Juvia who exactly he would be facing, he was informed she was just as clueless as he was. Katsuro's mind was whirring, trying to figure out who he was fighting, so he could form some kind of strategy, but he wasn't familiar enough with anyone besides Juvia to wager a guess, and she already declined the offer to fight him.

Around 11, Porla made an appearance in the center of the guild, and began speaking loudly so everyone could hear. "Attention everyone! At lunch today a Bout shall be taking place to decide the operational status of a new guild member. He claims to be S-class, so I have chosen an S-class opponent for him to face. If you wish to spectate the test, make your way to training field by lunch. That is all." With that, he walked out of the main hall.

"Guess I should go ahead and get over there… Wanna come with me, Juvia?"

"Of course Juvia will, she wants to watch you win."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." he said, smirking.

"Well Juvia considers herself one of the strongest in the guild, and you kept even with her, so for you to lose, Juvia would, in a way, be weaker than your opponent." she stated matter-of-factly.

"Ah, I see, pride in yourself, not pride in me."

"Of course, by the way Katsuro…."

"Yes?"

"You're going the wrong way, training field 2 is to the right of the building, not the left."

"Ah, thanks."

—

They made it to the arena with half an hour to spare, so Katsuro decided to limber up with some stretches while Juvia found a nice spot nearby to watch from. There was already a crowd forming up to watch the spectacle, and it only grew larger as time passed. The arena itself had a treeline on the side not facing the castle itself, but had a flat dirt floor, barren of any plants. Katsuro subtly began moving roots under the ground to give himself a small advantage against whoever he was fighting, who he noticed, still had not shown themselves.

Finally, the Guildmaster made his way onto the grounds, followed by none other than the mage who came to his door earlier. The man's green hair was still spiked up, though it seemed to be his natural hair style as it didn't shine like it would through the use of gel. The gentleman smiled at him, pencil thin moustache moving with his lips, though Katsuro noted it was a fake smile, clearly for show, he doubted the man truly like him, or anyone else here. He was surprised by Juvia coming up behind him to whisper frantically in his ear.

"That is Sol, another one of the elements. Remember what Juvia told you about him, he is an earth/sand mage. You will need to watch yourself against him, he is powerful. No joke this time, Juvia has faith in your strength, she thinks you will win." she gave him a quick hug from behind, and walked off, not noticing the small smile on Katsuro's face.

By the time they met in the center, the nature mage had schooled his features into a blank, but wary expression, assessing his foe while side eyeing the master to see if he was going to speak, and when he noticed Porla was, diverted his full attention to him.

"Here today, we decide where our newest member ranks on the power scale for our guild! I have asked Sol of the Land, Also known as The Great Earth, to be the Scale, While I shall be the judge. Should he win, or at the very least impress me enough, he shall be granted the rank of S-class wizard. May the best mage win! You may begin when ready." he made his way over to a table on the side of the field, and sat on an old wooden chair, which creaked noisily underneath him.

Sol stared dispassionately at Katsuro, looking for all the world like he thought he was going to steamroll the other mage. Katsuro returned his stare evenly, betraying none of his inner feelings, but keeping one hand on a blade and the other ready to cast spells all the same.

Sol smirked when he saw his opponents wariness, and said. "You are correct to be nervous, Monsieur Toran. I was unsure until I saw the mademoiselle giving you advice, but then I was certain you already had information on myself. That makes this a fair match, as I read through your esprit, your mind, when I met you on your doorstep this morning. You would agree, non?"

"I suppose… wanna tell me what exactly you took from my mind?" Katsuro questioned warily.

"Oh, this and that." was his flippant reply.

Katsuro was tired of the banter, and decided to show that by rushing towards his opponent, drawing the longer of his two blades as he went. He crossed the field and was nearing his opponent in seconds, though that gave Sol time to formulate a defensive strategy. The earth mage shouted, "Sable Dance!" and suddenly the ground around Katsuro was whirling, as though he were the center of a tornado without an eye, battering him from all sides with piles and piles of condensed sand, pushing him back away from his quarry. Katsuro responded by causing roots underneath him to smash against his shoes, sending him sailing into the air, in Sol's direction. He landed running, still charging towards his opponent. Sol stopped smiling and said, "Roche Concerto." piles of rocked began breaking themselves off from the ground, and launching at Katsuro. He managed to block or dodge nearly half by drawing his other blade, but many still made contact if only just, skinning his arms or sides or legs with their jagged edges. Finally one got a lucky hit, and smashed into his head, sending him sprawling on the ground.

Katsuro, blood running down his face, growled out, "Nature's Aegis." and a line of roots grew out of the ground in front of him, intertwining among themselves to form a thick, solid wall between him and Sol, any rocks that weren't directly reflected quickly becoming stuck among the many twisting roots.

Sol responded to this defense by raising a fist to it, and saying, "Platre Sonata." the sound echoing clearly over to Katsuro even though it was fairly quiet. Suddenly chunks of rubble from previous attacks, along with new slabs of earth directly from the ground, began clinging to that fist, creating a Larger scale version of it, which quickly began growing to gargantuan proportions. Finally, it stopped when it was larger than Sol himself, and the earth mage sent it flying at the woodland wall Katsuro was still hidden behind. The wall was annihilated, and Katsuro was sent flying back across the field, landing even further back than where he was when the fight started.

As the nature mage was groaning and gathering his bearings, Sol started chuckling and said. "If this is the best you can do, monsieur, I shall not even need to use my full power. When I stole your memories this morning I was expecting to have to play to your baser, more primal fears and sense of grief, but clearly La Pluie Femme was mistaken in your strength, her faith ill-placed, non?"

"You know, when Juvia described you, I thought then that you might've been a sadist…" Katsuro groaned out, "and I can see now that I was completely fucking right." Katsuro spat out a pinkish mixture of spit and blood, and stood up, standing straight and proud even injured. "This match isn't over yet, monsieur." he finished mockingly. The nature mage reaching into a pouch on his belt, and drew out a handful of seeds, spreading them as far across the field as he could throw, and repeated this until his pouch was emptied. He then put both arms in front of him and began drawing on his magic, making the audience feel as though a weight had settled on the training field that made it difficult to breathe. Some began smelling different floral scents, even arguing over what they were actually smelling. Juvia just smiled softly, and knew he was getting serious finally, she had tired of watching him taking a beating quickly, as she didn't like to see those she cared for getting hurt.

A large forest green magical circle formed beneath Katsuro's feet, and he shouted out, "Terraforming: Birth of the Garden!" the seeds quickly sprouted, and different flowers, weeds, and patches of grass began forming along the field, some different trees even taking root and quickly maturing into large timbers. By the time he was done, the once barren dirt training ground was completely covered in a field of grass and flowers, with a dozen or so trees in different areas, spread across the field. Juvia though, was only staring at Katsuro, who was only just still standing, breathing as though he'd run a full marathon, sweat intermixing with the blood that was still dripping. He took a moment of respite, and stood back up the same as before, although still winded.

"Now the real fight begins, Sol." he said.

"The fight is already over, monsieur. You are struggling to stand on your feet, one m-"

"Cut the shit, I'm just not used to using so much power at once, I'll be fine, just you watch. I still intend on winning the fight, I'm not going to be downgraded when I've been capable of S-class missions for nearly 2 years now."

"If you insist, then I shall just have to demontrer, demonstrate to you that losing is not only a possibility, but an inevitability for you."

Katsuro didn't reply to the taunt, only raised a hand at Sol and roared, "Grassland Tomb; Branch Whip; Venus Man-Trap!" Sol went from confidently staring down his foe to using his earth magic constantly, repelling and dodging attack after attack. But everywhere he found himself assaulted by different magics, if he attempted to raise portions of earth to get away from the rapidly growing grass that continually tried to wrap around him and trap him in a green full-body straightjacket, he came under the onslaught of the branches that slapped, smacked, and smashed against every inch of his body they could access; all of this pales to the near 20 foot tall venus fly trap that was continuously snapping at him every time he came near it, and as it was in the center of the field, it was a difficult task to avoid the leviathan.

Katsuro was watching from the relative calm that was his side of the battlefield, breathing laboriously after the rapid use of powerful spells. Sol's face, when not panicked from trying to dodge and attack, or pained after failing, was absolutely livid, and Katsuro took no small amount of joy from that expression. Finally the fly trap proved successful in his hunt, and swallowed the entire upper half of Sol, comically leaving his legs flailing outside for a moment as the plant tried to fit the rest of him inside. The last words Katsuro could hear before the behemoth swallowed him were a muffled, "non non non!" making the nature mage chuckle a bit. He stopped paying attention, a mistake, and began walking off the field, only interrupted by a loud crash. He jerked his head over the fly trap, and saw that it had been absolutely shredded by another whirlwind of sand, on a much deadlier scale than what was used on him earlier. On the ground, in all his guts covered glory, was Sol, glaring murderously at Katsuro.

"Before, because of the fact that we share a guild, I was willing to just defeat you. Non, that will no longer be enough. Now I shall make you souhait, I shall make you wish that I had only defeated you so nobly. Merci la Vie…"

The last thing Katsuro heard before his mind was transported to a different time and place, was Juvia's desperate cry of "NO!". His eyes first went blank, then became, tormented, haunted by his past. Tears began freely running down his bloody face, and he fell to his knees, the legs that once stood strong against fearsome opponents now unable to support the weight of Katsuro's anguish. Juvia was only stopped from running onto the field to destroy Sol herself by the master's command, who had seen her attempt at interference. While she obeyed, you could see how much it was destroying her to do so, as she was nearly sobbing while looking at Katsuro.

Sol's face twisted into a truly gruesome smirk, experiencing the events the nature mage was reliving from an outsiders point of view.

-KATSURO'S P.O.V—

Katsuro felt like he was in a dream, a dream he was unable to control or influence at all. No, he mentally corrected himself, not a dream. A nightmare, a memory of the worst of times.

He was running down the road he knew so well, into the valley he had once called his home. In the distance, he could see the smoke rising that signalled his entire world being thrown on its axis. He knew what he would find up ahead, but he could not stop his body from running, one foot in front of the other, to the destruction of all he knew. His mind knew everything that happens, yet he could still feel his emotions as clearly as though he were feeling them for the first time.

The worry, at seeing the smoke and smouldering buildings in the distance.

The sadness, at finding the hastily dug graves made by the few survivors before they left.

The horror, at finding his father's name carved onto a jagged stone.

The numb recognition, of entering the remains of his home, wind blowing away

the ashes that contained his life, the family portraits, the books that lined their shelves, both for pleasure and education, including his father's grimoire, every scrap of furniture they owned, the flyer that was framed on the wall of the first job he had taken, all were being scattered to the winds. He wandered through the rubble until he saw a glint among a pile a burnt wood. He scrambled to find some purchase, something left to ground him, and was relieved beyond measure when he found the swords his father had used when he was an active mage lying there, unharmed besides the sheaths being scorched slightly.

He was not ashamed to admit he sobbed openly, loudly, uglily right there on the spot, hugging those blades to his person as though if he let go they too would turn to ash and dissipate. He stayed there until sundown, numb with shock, until it turned to numb from cold, and he finally had his first thought since the gravesite, which was just one word. "Cold." it could have been used to describe so many things at that moment, the cold of the low temperature, the cold that his body was feeling from being exposed to said temperature, the cold of his heart, hardened by grief.

He found a few pieces of rubble that didn't catch from the original fire, and decided right then and there, over the small fire he'd started, that he was going to find who had done this, and make them suffer. He knew there was at least one survivor from the village, as someone had bothered to bury the bodies. He doubted any random wanderer would be kind enough to do that, though it was possible he supposed. If necessary he would look for incidents like this one and talk to those survivors to find the culprit, or culprits. As he went to sleep that night, he wished he could leave this hell, return to wherever he was before, stop reliving this personal purgatory. His wish was granted with immediate effect as he entered his slumber.

—Back To the Fight-

The battlefield had been silent for the better part of ten minutes, besides the sound of Juvia sniffling, and Sol occasionally cackling madly. Porla had just stood up to call the fight, when Katsuro gave a great gasp of air, completely filling his lungs, almost to the point of overdoing it, then collapsing onto his hands and knees, coughing up a storm. Juvia instantly shouted out, "KATSURO, ARE YOU OK?" it took the nature mage a moment to compose himself, but he eventually rolled over onto his back and gave her a thumbs up, causing her to nearly collapse herself with relief.

"Well well monsieur, I must admit, your memory was truly a dark place to be, your suffering was overwhelming, I am surprised you didn't pass out, many people with less traumatic experiences do, yet here you are, worse for wear but lucid, remarquable."

Katsuro rolled over and wearily got to his feet, before rasping out. "You made a mistake, bâtard," he began, mocking the way sol switched between french and english. "You chose too quickly, you went straight for the darkest memory I have. For most people, that may be enough to kill them, but anguish, grief, anger, helplessness; while I felt all of those that day, they were not the only emotions I felt. Actually, anger doesn't describe what I felt, it was all-consuming rage that consumed me on that day. Along with determination to find my father's killers, to get vengeance. Alongside that, was my hatred for the murderers. All those emotions swirled together, and gave me an unquenchable thirst, a drive to succeed against those foes. That drive helped create the unshakeable person that I am today. You will not best me through my memories, fool, for they do not rule me, they are me. You would have to show me all of my worst memories at once to even stand a ghost of a chance of breaking my will, but I don't think you capable of that! I think you hinged all your bets on that attack, hoping it would be the end of the battle, so now… now that I have proven otherwise, I'll claim my win."

Once finished, he began slowly walking towards Sol, one foot steadily in front of the other, picking up his blades from where he had dropped them, and sheathing the short one without stopping. Step by step, he encroached ever closer to Sol, who was visibly panicking.

"Non non non, you are weak, you are nothing compared to me. You are a glorified gardener, who should learn when to step aside and révérence, bow before his betters!" his words grew more frantic the closer Katsuro got on his steady march, his face remaining blank of any emotion, though still covered in dried blood, sweat, and tear tracks. Sol attempted to perform another spell, crying, "Roche Concerto!" but the most he could produce were a few pebbles rising to pelt against Katsuro's chest, signifying he was running on magical fumes. Finally, he reached Sol, and kicked him in the stomach, doubling him over. He then placed his sword against the green haired man's neck, blade side ready to slice his throat. Sol had switched from taunting and denying, to pleading and praising Katsuro's strength. Katsuro looked from the tearful man, over to Porla, and stared blankly. "Call it." he told the guild leader.

Porla smiled disarmingly, and called out for the silent audience, "Katsuro Toran is the victor! He has defeated his S-class adversary, so henceforth, he shall be allowed to take on S-class missions with impunity!" Juvia hadn't even waited until he was done speaking, as soon as the match was called, Juvia practically flew onto the field to wrap Katsuro in a hug, trying not to hug so tightly as to aggravate his injuries. She helped him over to the side of the battleground, though he seemed capable of walking on his own, and as one they sat down against a large oak.

"It always like this here?" he asked Juvia wearily, as she moved to lay his head down on her lap. She took a moment to reply, wetting a cloth with her magic to begin wiping his face clean, before speaking. "No, Juvia thinks this is either all you, or just general bad luck." she giggled as he squirmed under the cold cloth when she began scrubbing his cheek.

"I bet it's me…" he sighed out.

"Juvia doesn't mind, at least you keep things interesting." they both chuckled a few seconds after that remark.

"You know, this is seriously going to hurt tomorrow, hell it's going to hurt today, it's already hurting now!"

"Don't make Juvia laugh, or she might accidentally drop you out of her lap."

"Just speaking the truth."

"...You know, you really had Juvia worried for a minute there." she said, wiping his forehead with the cloth, then dropping her hand for a moment to gaze at him, conveying her fears and worry and anguish in one look that Katsuro understood completely.

"Never fear when I am here!" he joked, making an attempt at lightening the mood, but when it failed, spoke seriously. "Juvia… don't worry about me, I'll always come out on top, someway, somehow, I swear. I might need help to do it sometimes, but I will do it, whether it be you, another phantom, or a complete stranger that helps me. I will fight dirty, cheat, lie, kill if necessary. But I will come out on top, for as long as you want me to."

"Then it sounds like you have quite a winning streak ahead of you." she declared softly.

"One can only hope." he responded.

They heard footsteps coming closer and looked over to find Jose approaching them.

"When you have recovered somewhat, I wish for you both to come to my study about a job offer I received earlier today. It is S-class, but I think it's right up you two's alley." He spoke confidently, then bid them farewell and left.

Katsuro was the first to break the comfortable silence that came between them after she finished cleaning his face, by saying, "You know, as comfortable as this is Juvia, and believe me it's like lying on a firm pillow, we really should move at some point."

"Juvia supposes you're right, though she's fairly comfortable herself." she replied, running a hand through his long hair.

"Maybe… just a little longer then." he yawned out. Soon, Juvia heard light snores, and knew he'd fallen asleep. She just looked down at him fondly, still playing with his hair. She was lucky she really was comfortable, as there was no way she was going to wake him up by moving after the fight he just had. She did, though, reach out and grab the hand he had resting on his chest, and entwined it with her own free hand. Soon she too was dozing, back resting against the tree she had sat against.

—

"Ah, Miss Lockser, Mister Toran, please do come in and take a seat. Thank you for coming, now let us discuss the job I wish for you two to take."

"You did say it was S-class, right?" Katsuro cut in.

"Indeed it is, though I don't think it will be terribly difficult for you. A small group of dark mages has been terrorizing a small town near Clover Canyon. As you know, Clover Canyon has an arid, dry climate as is, but the people there work with what they have available. This group of dark mages though has been demanding a weekly payment from them just so they can go about their lives as normal. They demand large sums, each individual payment equalling the pay for an A-Class mission, and if they do not receive them on time, they make life unbearable for those in the village. The group consists of five mages, each one with their talents. The one causing the most trouble for the townsfolk would be the weather mage, who is denying them the little amounts of rain they would normally collect for farming. Then they have a sand mage who, in that area, is considered an S-Class foe. The other three are unknowns, so you'll need to watch yourself, the job is to capture those dark mages and deliver them to the local Magic Council outpost for judgement. The reward is substantial, 1 million jewels, even split in half, it is still a large reward, hopefully large enough to entice you to accept..." he said hopefully.

"Sounds pretty straightforward…" Katsuro said, looking to Juvia, who nodded her agreement.

"We accept." they said together.

"Fantastic! I wish you the best of luck. I have another, important mission in the works as well, when I get more definite information about it, I shall inform you both of its contents."

"Sir, if I may ask, do you often hand out contracts to the mages?"

"I only handle the S-class contracts personally, and I only personally assign mages for jobs on the more important ones. This would build influence for Phantom lord as a capable guild in Clover canyon, so I deem it an important mission. Should you succeed, it would be a boon in negotiations for building a guild branch there." Porla stated.

"Now then, as I said before, good luck on your mission, and I may have something for one or both of you upon your return." he went back to the corner they found him at the first time and, taking it for the dismissal it was, both young mages left to begin packing for their job.

AN: starting to get pretty long so I ended it early, next chapter will be the job, havent put too much thought into this so it won't be a full story arc, but after this Phantom arc officially begins! Hope y'all are enjoying, still working on defiance of fate and others as well but my muse is locked onto this story at the moment so it's slow going. See you next chapter.