The Sword and the Storm

Chapter 4: A Malevolent Menagerie

Hope y'all enjoy, R&R pls. I do not own fairy tail.

This chapter will include the first quest, and probably an intro into phantom arc, long as my muse stays the way it is atm. Also I realized that my line breaks weren't translating into the uploaded version of the story so changing my line breaks...

"As you've correctly observed, this isn't a fairy tale, it's life. Lousy and evil. And so, damn it all, let's live it decently and well." -Andrzej Sapkowski

-LINE BREAK-

Katsuro and Juvia decided to take the train to Clover town, only to be informed no trains were running to that area, so that they were forced to buy a ticket to oshibana, and trek through the desert climate of the canyon to the other side of it to reach their destination. The hike would take them just over a day on foot, through the blistering heat of the canyon. So naturally, Katsuro said fuck that and asserted that he was going to pay for a rental to take them through the desert, as he was sure there were some off-road magical vehicles at the local rental shop. Juvia concurred, once he agreed to split the cost with her 50/50.

That is how they found themselves racing through the sandy dunes, pure magical energy being pumped out of Katsuro to fuel the dark blue off-road truck they chose to charter. Juvia had long since abandoned trying to hold her hat on, and just held it in her lap, her hair flying all over the place in a similar manner to Katsuro's due to the fact that the truck they'd rented had no AC, so they were forced to keep the windows rolled down or bake inside the metal contraption. Katsuro's was going all out draining his reserves at a great rate in an attempt to get them to the town sooner.

After what seemed like an age, they came upon a worn sign signalling their entrance into the village of Acies. The town truly was tiny, settled right on the edge of the desert, mountains visible in the distance. They rolled into the center of town and parked against the side of the road. The duo of mages decided to wander until they found the mayor's office. While on their walkabout, they saw signs of the struggles the village was being forced to suffer through, they saw crops wilting from lack of water and animal water troughs nearly empty, any barrels or other items put out to store rain in were bone dry, the town truly was drying up.

Finally they were approached by a farmer asking if they were looking for something. Upon asking where the mayor's office was, he pointed them to an unassuming farmhouse they never would have taken a second glance at otherwise. They strolled up to the porch and knocked on the door, and were soon let in by an older lady. She beckoned them to come inside and once she had them sat down on her couch, sat across from them and asked them what they were there for.

"We're here for the job, missus..." Juvia said politely, though subtly asking for a name.

"Oh you're here to stop those horrid wizards! Thank goodness, I don't know how much longer the town would have without someone to help us. We're nearly at our limit here. I'm sure you saw how low our water supplies are getting due to the drought they're enforcing on us. Oh, and please call me Sakura, none of that missus stuff."

"Yes, we saw on the way, your farm animals are going to suffer from the lack of water soon and it seems the people are already slightly suffering judging by the rain barrel's emptiness. Juvia must ask if you have any extra information you can give us on the dark wizards though, Sakura." the old lady brightened slightly at this.

"I'm sure I can offer up something to help you… let's see; their leader is the one causing the drought, the weather mage. When they entered the town, it seemed as though they all deferred to him for orders. The sand wizard seemed to be powerful as well, what with the way he created a dust storm to cover their escape so we had no clue where they went. That is all the times they have been here by the way, not just the first. The only other one I can take a stab at their power is the one who always wore a trench coat, never mind the fact that it's hot as Hades out here. He seemed to teleport around, but only himself. He used it to dodge one of the farmers who charged at him with a pitchfork. He disappeared and reappeared behind him and knocked him out with a single blow. Our one warning they called it…" she grumbled murderously.

"Thank you for all this, I'm sure it will come in handy when we try to track them down. Is there anything else?"

"Yes actually. There is no need to track them down. They'll be coming back tomorrow to try and get a payment out of us. We've continuously refused them up to this point, it's the reason they're preventing it from raining. We don't think they're just going to keep leaving like they have been though. Eventually they will get tired of waiting and take it out on the town until we fork over the money. We've been very lucky up to this point."

"Juvia would say so… don't worry we'll handle it, but can you point us to a hotel in the town so we can settle in for the night?"

"Oh dear, I can't simply let you stay in a hotel, the only one in town is one I wouldn't even lock those mages in, let alone kind people like yourselves. You two can have my guest bedroom." Katsuro's head shot up at this, up until this point he had only been listening and nodding politely, letting Juvia do all the talking. Both the mages faces flamed red, and Juvia stuttered out. "N-n-no thank you, Juvia and Katsuro would need two bedrooms anyways, we'll just take the hotel." the old lady grew red faced herself, and said, "ah, I've misunderstood something haven't I. I'm sorry dearie, you two just looked like such a cute couple and I assumed… you can still stay here! This house is a four bedroom after all and I live alone, my husband passed nearly 3 years ago, and it's just been me since then, as our daughter lives in Hargeon. Oh don't look all sad, she mailed me a Lacrima comm on my last birthday so we could talk more often! But back to the matter at hand, I have plenty of room for the both of you, couple or not."

"If you insist, ma'am, we'll stay." Katsuro stated as it looked like the old woman wasn't going to take no for an answer.

The mayor showed them to the rooms she had chosen, two rooms side by side that were connected through a walk in closet. Katsuro wasn't sure, but he thought the lady looked especially smug when she told them about that.

"The restrooms are the last doors down the hall, across from each other. Be warned though, the right side bathroom is the only one with an actual tub to wash in, the other just has a walk in shower. I'll leave you two to get situated. I'll prepare dinner for us three at 6-ish."

"You don't have to do that, ma'am." Katsuro replied, trying to stop the kind woman from going overboard for them. Juvia seconded him, nodding her head at his side.

"Oh please let me, I never get to cook a nice large meal anymore! It would be my pleasure. And stop with the ma'am, boy, I told both of you my name." Sakura chided.

"...If you insist, Sakura." the nature mage gave up on trying to stop her, thinking it a fruitless venture. He just opened his door and went to unwind, leaving Juvia to contend with the iron-willed hostess.

-LINE BREAK-

The next day approached quickly, and with it the coming confrontation with the dark mages. Katsuro chose to hide himself in a nearby building while the Mayor and whoever else was held a position of power in Acies, while Juvia stood in an inconspicuously placed bucket and used her water body ability to turn fully into water. They were not forced to hide long, as only ten minutes into the wait, Katsuro began to see the sandstorm that signalled their approach coming closer to the town.

They were engulfed in the raging sands all too soon, Katsuro being forced to cancel his mage sight as the sand was similar to Juvia's rain, the individual grains were slightly charged, making it nearly impossible to see with all the different directions the granules were flying. Soon the storm let up, and five figures stood before Sakura and the two men flanking her. The nature mage took stock of his opposition, taking special note of the ones Sakura mentioned. He guessed that the leader was the one in the center, a tall man with short gray hair, though he didn't look a day over 30. He could see the sand mage clearly, as the guy was still surrounded in a small cyclone of dust, whirling around him like a shield. The teleporter was indeed wearing a black leather trench coat, and in weather hot enough to have a stroke in nonetheless. He then noticed two women who looked just alike, both with blonde hair, wearing matching clothes, obviously twins, or trying very hard to seem like it if they weren't

Katsuro was too far away to hear talking, but he could tell Sakura was afraid, though she held her head defiantly high, speaking in a clearly hostile manner to the leader. Katsuro waited for the prime moment to spring his ambush, which was a bunch of seeds he'd scattered across the ground earlier that morning. Sakura shouted something unintelligible at this distance, causing the leader to backhand the aging woman, sending her sprawling across the ground, being helped up by her friends. Katsuro chose this time to act, and pounced, a predator on the hunt, activating his ambush.

The seeds rapidly grew into a clump of saplings, then into full on trees, branches wrapping arounds the twins instantly, pulling them against the still expanding trunks and taking them out of the fight quickly. The teleporter moved himself to an unknown location at the moment something seemed off, escaping the attack, while the sand mage expanded his cyclone while powering it up, which protected both himself and the leader by shredding any branches that tried to breach the twister.

The nature mage strolled out of the building he was in lazily, like he had somewhere better to be, just to piss off his foes because an angry enemy is a careless one and a careless enemy makes mistakes. His branches poked and prodded at the sand mages shield, attempting to find a weak point, but any that got too close wound up the same as the original, a shredded pile a splinters.

"Tell you what, if you get rid of that shield and let me arrest you, I won't harm you. Oh, and I'll also need to know where that teleporter friend of yours went to." Katsuro drawled.

The weather mage looked blankly at him while the sand mage smirked. "Now why would we do that, I don't know about you, but I see a numbers advantage for us. Two to one see, I think I can take you alone, forget both of us fighting you, we'd slaughter you."

The weather mage spoke. "I give you a counter offer, leave right now and we will allow it. It is not your fault you chose to accept a job beyond your level, these people did not understand what they face, and as a result, neither do you."

"What I face is a few mages with a little power who think it means something, but whenever you encounter someone better than you, that extra power that sets you apart from most means nothing! I am that somebody!" As he said this, roots sprouted from under the ground and dragged both the mages under the ground up to their necks, leaving only their heads above the dry ground. "I gave you a chance to come peacefully, whatever happens now is on you."

The sand mage glared at him, all the while the dirt around him was kicking up, creating a cyclone to put the shield he was using before to shame, when he was next revealed both mages were simply being held midair by roots in a crater where solid ground used to be, and the roots were quickly cut by the grains of sand whirling around them, dropping the dark wizards to the ground. He then sent the miniature sandstorm straight at Katsuro, who tried to erect Nature's Aegis, but it was buffeted and torn apart quickly, causing alex to get covered in small lacerations. "I fucking hate sand…" he muttered, spitting out a mouthful of that very substance.

"And sand hates you, pal!" the mage shouted. The weather mage was surprisingly staying off to the side, analyzing the situation, which slightly concerned Katsuro.

"Not gonna help your buddy?" he egged the guy on.

"Should he require my assistance, I will step in. it seems he has things well in hand at the moment." he stated emotionlessly.

"Suit yourself, one on one just makes it easier for me." Katsuro shrugged. Juvia was still in hiding, waiting either for the weather mage to step in or for the teleporter to return, whichever happened first. The sand mage raised an arm at Katsuro and yelled out. "Dust Devil!" which sent a cyclone similar to the one he was using as a shield at the nature wizard. From prior experience, Katsuro knew that this mages attacks shredded through defenses, his at least, so instead chose to dodge by having himself launched by roots pushing him to the right, skidding across the ground when landing and drawing the longer of his two blades. He once again smashed roots against his feet to propel around the battlefield, moving too quickly for the sand mage's attacks to hit.

"Finish it Sabaku, or I will finish it for you." the weather mage irritably remarked.

"It isn't like this guy's just standing still for me to kill him, ya know!" Sabaku barked.

"I don't care, you heard what I said." he asserted.

"Fuckin' fine, alright." with that, he commenced attacking Katsuro with renewed vigor, shouting out, "Sand Burst!" causing globs of sand to float around him and compress themselves into balls, exploding on impact and peppering the surrounding area with hardened, clumped up granules. He continued the assault by sending two more twisters at Katsuro, one from the left and one from the right, which Katsuro dodged by leaping backwards. Instead of dissipating on impact, though, the two twisters combined into one much larger twister and proceeded to pursue him relentlessly, forcing him to be on the move constantly.

Katsuro finally had enough, and sent himself flying at tear-inducing speeds straight at Sabaku, slicing his stomach severely and sending a spray of blood into the sand. He landed in a crouch a few feet behind the wounded mage, ready to cuff him and toss him off to the side to be treated later, but the weather mage strolled up and put a hand on Sabaku's forehead, causing him to begin convulsing violently. The nature mage attempted to move up and stop him, but by the time he got within striking distance, the man had backed away from him, leaving a hand shaped electrocution burn on the head of Sabaku, who was clearly dead.

"You just… did that to your ally?!" Katsuro shouted disbelievingly.

"He was clearly bested, Sabaku had outlived his usefulness and became a loose end. I do not tolerate loose ends." the weather mage proclaimed.

"Why? It wasn't as though the fight was over, he could have been healed if you bested me! There was no need to kill him."

"As I said, he outlived his usefulness. I, Arashi, do not suffer weaklings and will not allow them to behold my presence. Sabaku showed me that he was weak, and therefore I dealt with him." Arashi stated emotionlessly.

"Well, I didn't like him, but I think I might hate you. So I'll beat you and prove to you that you're weak too, Arashi." Katsuro proclaimed determinedly.

"You are a fool, you've already lost this battle, but you've yet to realize it."

"From my point of view, it appears that I am winning," he commented nonchalantly. "How exactly have I lost. I've beaten your last ally, who you finished off. Your teleporter ditched you, I captured those twins right at the start. Please enlighten me, how exactly am I even losing, let alone lost."

Arashi began laughing darkly. "You truly are a fool. I ensure my subordinates are loyal to me, do you honestly think one of my own would abandon me so, especially knowing the punishment just for being defeated…"

"If he didn't leave you, then where'd he go?" Katsuro was honestly curious.

"He went to gather my reinforcements!" his laughter was reaching manic levels at this point.

Suddenly he saw the cloak reappear behind Arashi, along with… a third blonde twin, er… triplet? The woman had a smug grin, but the teleporter's facial expressions remained hidden by the high collar on his coat.

"Ok...I'll bite, how exactly did you time that so well?" Katsuro questioned.

"Time what so well?" the blonde asked innocently, the other guy just stayed quiet.

"You know what, I don't care. Just fight me so I can get this over with sooner." the nature mage sighed out, letting the tip of his sword fall to the ground. The woman grinned and charged at him, just going for basic hand to hand combat instead of magic. Katsuro obliged her, and met in the middle. She threw the first punch, one aiming for his head, which he blocked with an arm, only to shout in pain and attempt to withdraw from her quickly, holding said arm with his free one. As he was backing off he was attacked from behind in a surprise attack, three blows landing against his back before he could even turn around to face this new threat. Once he twisted, he saw that it was the second of the three twins, arms moving so quickly they blurred as she rained blows against him. At this point Katsuro knew he was outgunned and used his roots to propel him a distance away from the enemies, giving him a chance to recuperate for a moment.

"Now how did you get free, blondie number two?"

"Teleporters are awesome aren't they." she said sweetly. The speedster raced towards him, kicking up a path of dust behind her. She was on him in moments, pelting him with a flurry of punches, kicks, and other assorted melee attacks, putting him entirely on the defensive. Katsuro also saw out of his peripherals that the seconds sister was approaching more slowly, and seeing as she nearly broke his arm just from a block, he wasn't all that keen to face her fairly again.

Of course at this point in time, another party was introduced to the fray, the third sister, who was teleported to close range after being freed, and immediately sent a jab at Katsuro, who ducked under it and brought up his injured arm into an uppercut, only to feel like he smashed his fist into solid rock when it collided with her chin. With a strangled "fuck!" he got back on the move once more, at this point not even touching the dry ground, instead choosing to land on roots which instantly launched him again. He built up speed considerably by doing this, though it required much more focus than landing then directing his springboards, and quickly rivalled the speedster triplet, even surpassing her.

Katsuro attempted to go on the offensive for a moment and tried to lariat the teleporter, but he poofed away out of Katsuro's line of sight once again, so he continued moving until, upon looking up, he noticed dark clouds forming in the sky. First he glanced at where Juvia was, who he was sure was waiting for a prime opportunity while taking the moment to examine the powers of these mages. Then he looked at Arashi, who had his arms splayed out and his eyes closed, concentrating heavily on a spell, presumably the one causing the storm to form above them.

The next thing Katsuro knew, the world around him exploded. He realistically knew that wasn't likely, but having a bolt of lightning strike a literal foot in front of him as he was flying through the air made it feel like that all the same. He was sent sprawling into the sand by the resulting explosion of the magically charged lightning, speedster already closing in on him. Katsuro just managed to bring himself up to his knees when she arrived and kneed him in the face.

The nature mage had had enough by this point, and ensnared her foot on a root, causing her to trip when she attempted to back away from the blade he swung at her wildly. She missed the slice, but still got further trapped in the growing pile of branches she had fallen into. By the time his spell was done, she was inside of a wooden cocoon, out of reach of the teleporter and hopefully out of the fight as well. He launched her some distance away, hoping to get her out of range of Arashi's wrath.

He turned in time just to get a stone fist in the stomach, doubling him over, but the fist wasn't done yet, and was joined by another softer one that nearly punched a hole in his chest, surely breaking a few ribs just from the one blow. Upon landing and forming a small crater some thirty feet away, Katsuro quickly rolled to evade another lightning strike and growled to himself.

"Could you all just fucking not!" he roared. "One on one, sure… two on one, not as fond but I can handle it… three on one is just ridiculous! Not to mention the fact that the triplets all have enhancement magic, body hardening, super strength, super speed... This just isn't fair!" he complained loud enough for the entire town to hear.

The two identical sisters just grinned unrepentantly, while the weather mage kept his face expressionless. The sisters charged him together, forcing Katsuro to stagger up once again, beginning to tire. He splayed out his hands and shouted. "Nature's Aegis!" hoping to buy some time, but the two just smashed straight through it, giving him maybe a second's reprieve. Frantically, he yelled " Wooden Lasso!" which caused a thick root to come up out of the ground and pull the sister with super strength into the air, twirling her around and around as one would a lasso continuously, even causing her to vomit after a nauseating minute. Finally she was dropped, only to show that she'd fainted whilst being spun around. Katsuro didn't even pay her any attention, so focused was he on dodging the hardening mage.

Just as soon as he could spare a moment, though, he trapped her in the same thick cocoon as the other sister, the only difference being he made this one have barbed branches to give her less… incentive to break out. The two remaining fighters were separated by yet another thunderbolt, which harmed him significantly more than it did the stone-skin sister.

"Do you know any other spells besides that stupid lightning?!" he shouted at Arashi exasperatedly.

Arashi grinned smugly in return and called back. "Why change a winning strategy!"

He got the surprise of his life, though, when he was hit in the back with one of Juvia's Water Canes, having waited until she saw the perfect opening to strike. She got him right in the back of the head, sending him sprawling onto the ground, eating a mouthful of dirt as he landed. Spitting out a mouthful of sand and dust then rolling over, Arashi saw a tornado made of water swirling up from a bucket, and from waist up, the torrent was replaced by the body of a blue-clothed mage. The rest of her formed quickly, and she stepped out of the bucket calmly, staring at her foe.

"So the weakling wasn't as alone as he led us to believe… interesting." he stated. "Awfully vicious of you to allow him to take such a beating, wasn't it?"

"Juvia knows that Katsuro can handle himself just fine. Her part of this plan was to wait for the best moment to strike. Too early on and you all would still be on the lookout for another mage, too late and Katsuro would be defeated. Juvia simply waited until she could catch you off guard, considering you are supposed to be the strongest of them all." Juvia explained.

"Clever witch. It doesn't matter, your plan hinges on defeating me, so you'll fail in the end. Then, should Ishi have lost to your friend, I'll kill them both, then anyone in this town that refuses to pay their due, then I'll be on my way." Juvia was disgusted by the way he sounded cheerful saying that.

"Juvia thinks you will find she is not such easy prey." she got into a fighting stance as she spoke, the smell of seawater filling the air around her as she started channeling her magic. It was matched, though, by the smell of ozone that was exuding from Arashi channeling his own magical energy, the two S-class mages preparing to combat each other until one of them was unable to continue. Juvia began the fight with "Water Slicer!" sending a razor sharp blade of water at Arashi, who sidestepped and shouted "Sword of the Ten Fists!" which sent a thunderbolt from his palm straight at Juvia, who created a hole in her water body long enough for it to pass through without harming her.

"Water Cane!" she retaliated, sending a jet of water that smashed into his stomach, pushing Arashi backwards, creating trenches in the ground by his feet digging into the earth. The weather mage growled through gritted teeth. "Lightning Cloak!" creating a sort of suit of armor that surrounded Arashi made of pulsing thunderbolts. He charged straight at Juvia, who attempted to counter with "Water Jigsaw!" causing her body to partially turn to water, giving her more maneuverability in close quarters, but also spawning smaller versions of her Water Slicer, acting as deterrents that shot themselves at Arashi every time he attempted to close the distance. The weather mage finally attempted to close the distance by propelling himself with a mighty gust of wind, but passed straight through Juvia, whose body performed a sort of reverse wave, spreading apart around him and reforming after he'd gone through, then proceeding to cover his back in small cuts from the aquatic blades.

Arashi roared his rage, seeing only red, and blasted a lightning bolt straight at Juvia, which actually hit her as she was unprepared for him to switch strategies so abruptly. Upon impact with her body, which was mostly H2O at this point besides her head, she immediately collapsed screaming in agony, her body reforming to its solid state. The scream drew the attention of Katsuro, who was still fending off the Ishi's stony fists.

The nature wizard was understandably livid, and instantly caught Ishi in a branch by the ankle, which she instantly punched through, only to get caught in a second as she was falling. The second branch flung her straight at Arashi, and due to her stony physique at the moment, it was like being smashed by a wrecking ball, and if it wasn't for his Lightning armor, it might have killed him. As it was, Arashi knew he'd broken at least two ribs and multiple bones in one of his arms, and was finding it difficult to go much faster than a fast walk.

Juvia was shakily attempting to stand when Katsuro joined her, looking at him as he landed near her. "I think we need to switch, Juvia." he advised quietly. "I can't fight my opponent well at close range, so my swords are practically useless, not to mention the fact that her hardened skin punches through whatever I try to use on her. Then your guy makes liberal use of lightning, not a good fight for you considering your water body." he took a knee beside her, wincing at the pain coming from his ribs and arm.

"Juvia agrees, that last shock is… not something she wants to repeat. Ever." she murmured.

"Alright, plan established. When I charge Arashi, you charge Ishi. 3...2...1...NOW!" he jumped up in a run, charging straight at the just now recovering weather mage, dodging thunderbolts left and right, even blocking one by using his wakizashi as a lightning rod and impaling it into the ground. He kept the katana in hand, though, and continued his mad dash, shortening the distance even quicker with his root propulsion strategy. Katsuro was on the man in seconds, but Arashi's reflexes weren't slow, and he was already halfway into an lightning cloaked uppercut that Katsuro was forced to sidestep to dodge. He turned it into a spin, bringing his blade around for a slice but the lightning cloak was not just for show, and it stopped his blade from inflicting much more than a long, shallow scratch across Arashi's forearm when he blocked it.

Katsuro heard Juvia shout "Water Lock!" and spared a glance to see Ishi imprisoned in a sphere of water being manipulated by Juvia, slowly becoming more desperate in her need for oxygen. Soon she succumbed to oxygen deprivation and passed out, which let Juvia release her and turn her attention to Arashi as well. The duo faced off against their foe, each wary of his skill and ability.

"One attack Juvia, we need to bust through that armor, so give it your best shot." Katsuro told Juvia.

"One attack… got it." she nodded.

"Spear of the Wild God!"

"Water Nebula!" two voices called out simultaneously. A plethora of branches sprung up from the ground and began twining around each other, spiralling a length of over twenty feet, ending in a sharp tip, which impaled itself against Arashi's armor and began driving him back. Alone, though, it was not enough to breach the lightning cloak, but Juvia's attack joined it a second later, twisting a helix around the spear and smashing against the armor with great force. The pressure was too much, and the duo's view of the weather mage was distorted by the smoke that came from the combined attacks exploding, sending Arashi flying through the air.

Upon landing, it was clear to see their power combined had rent through the cloak, and severely injured their foe. His clothing was in singed tatters, his body covered in burns, along with the stab wound in his chest. Yet still, the dark wizard attempted once, twice, to stand up, falling down each time until on his third try he passed out, causing Juvia and Katsuro to let out sighs of relief. They took a moment to recuperate, then Katsuro inquired. "So how exactly do we go about getting the teleporter?"

"Juvia honestly doesn't know… we have his comrades so if we keep a watch on them he might try to break them out. Though Juvia doubts he would. She thinks he ditched them and ran when it looked like they were going to lose."

"Me too, but I thought that once already and then I had to fight three more people. So I'm not all that keen on testing my luck by saying it again."

It would appear his luck truly was that bad, and Juvia had tested fate once again by repeating the words he ate. It was his sixth sense that saved him, causing him to duck just as the teleporter jabbed at him with his own wakizashi. By the time he brought his katana to bear upon the man, he was already gone, stabbing through Juvia, who activated her water body once again when she saw Katsuro get stabbed. She attempted to capture him in a Water Lock, but he simply teleported out of it and back at Katsuro.

"Juvia, Magic-Null cuffs! Get them ready!" Katsuro shouted as he parried his own blade for the third time. The nature mage anticipated the next attack, and instead of dodging his blade, he allowed it to stab him in the shoulder and grabbed the wrist of the hand holding it. The teleporter struggled to get his hand back, twisting the blade further and further and causing more pain, but Katsuro's grip was relentless, and Juvia managed to get close enough to bash him on the head, knocking him out. She cuffed him with a huff, then looked at Katsuro crossly.

"Was there not a way for you to do that without further injuring yourself?" she questioned, looking him over concernedly. She had cause to be concerned as well. If Arashi looked bad, Katsuro looked much, much worse. His clothes were torn to shreds practically from the Sabaku's sand attacks, and the ribbons that were left were burned from the explosions of the targeted lightning strikes. His body was already turning into a giant bruise from the three sisters, not to mention all the small lacerations bleeding, making him a truly sorry sight. He pulled his sword out of his shoulder with a pained groan, and collapsed onto the ground, his injuries and fatigue suddenly weighing down on him like the weight of the world itself.

"You're upset now, I'd hate to see how mad you'd be once you heard about my inspiration for that." he sighed wearily.

Juvia's eyes narrowed. "What would that be?"

"Well I figured his magic worked one of two way, either whatever he was touching teleported with him, or he could choose what he teleported, considering the fact that he freed the sisters. So I let him get close enough to latch on, and my hunch was proven right when he couldn't just teleport away."

"...You didn't even know that would work?!" she exclaimed.

"It was fifty-fifty, and we were going nowhere just fighting him like that." Katsuro elaborated.

"Juvia doesn't even know what to say, she really wants to smack you for your stupidity, but she doesn't want to exacerbate your injuries. You'll get off easily this time, but take better care of yourself in the future." she pleaded.

"I'll do my best, but three versus one odds are never fun. Neither are fights against other S-class mages for that matter. Matter of fact, pretty much every fight I've been in today sucked…"

"This was a difficult mission…" Juvia allowed. "But Juvia isn't a fan of seeing you half-dead, so please be careful in the future, if you can."

"I'll have you know that I, at most, look a quarter dead!" he argued. "...I will try, Juvia. It's not like I was actually trying to get hurt today, these guys just had the advantage and they pressed it."

"Juvia knows… come on, we should go fetch our prisoners before they get any bright ideas."

"Yeah," he groaned, slowly getting to his feet. "The sisters are fairly secure, but we need to get Arashi over there cuffed."

-LINE BREAK-

"Oh my word…" Sakura breathed as Juvia helped Katsuro limp into the healer's office.

"Just a scratch." Katsuro tried to smile, but it came off as a grimace. "Anyways, how are you doing, Sakura? I saw that guy slapped you pretty hard."

"Apparently better than you." she retorted, causing Juvia to snort. "I'll have a sore neck for a day or two, at most. Will you be alright?"

"With rest, relaxation, and a lot of complaining to Juvia, sure." he stated lightly.

"You will do no such thing. It isn't Juvia's fault that you got hurt."

"Yea but you're like my only friend right now, so you need to put up with all my complaining since I can't complain to anyone else."

"...Juvia doesn't understand how you think sometimes…"

"Just sometimes?"

"Point. All the time." they started chuckling, but Katsuro quickly groaned and grabbed his chest. Juvia lowered him into a chair to wait on the doctor, and sat down beside him.

"What happened to the mages, if I may ask?"

"All locked up tight with Magic-Nullifying cuffs, and tied ten spaces apart from each other by branches, besides the sand mage. He was betrayed by the weather mage. They won't be going anywhere until the magic council sends someone to collect them. Your road might be in need of some repair, though. I'm pretty sure it was damaged during the conflict."

"If that is the worst thing to come of this conflict, I'm certainly okay with that." she assuaged any fears they had about portions of the reward being taken to cover repairs.

The doctor chose that moment to call him back, and Juvia helped him back up, the duo saying goodbye to Sakura before joining the healer. Just over an hour later, Katsuro left the hospital looking half mummified under his clothes, and carrying an assortment of medicines to speed his recovery. He'd even convinced Juvia to get checked up from where she got electrified, but the doctor just informed her to take it easy for a day or two. Their wallets were significantly heavier, having just been paid their 500 thousand jewel each, as they made their way toward their truck. They got on their way, Juvia driving this time as Katsuro's magic was still drained from the fight.

It was past dusk when they made it back to oshibana and returned the rental, so they chose to rent a hotel room for the night. Thanks to his medicine, Katsuro was out as soon as his head hit the pillow, and Juvia followed not too long after out of fatigue.

-LINE BREAK-

The first train left just after dawn, which Katsuro an Juvia totally missed due to oversleeping. So instead they bought a ticket for the twelve o'clock train to Oak Town and got some brunch while they waited. Once on the train, Juvia pulled out a book, another penny dreadful Katsuro noted, and the nature mage took to observing the surroundings they passed.

They made it back to Oak Town, and subsequently Phantom, within a few hours and went to report to Porla. Juvia was the first into his office, Katsuro walking at a slower pace behind her.

Jose was conveniently in his study when they arrived, and beckoned them forward. "Welcome back, Miss Lockser. I assume the contract went well?" he questioned.

"Yes sir. Besides Katsuro being injured fighting them, the fight went well, and we were paid in full. Juvia thinks the mayor, a widow named Sakura, would be amenable to allowing phantom to build a station out there should you ask. She seemed very kind."

"Fantastic! How were you injured, Mister Toran, if I may ask?"

"The plan was I confront the mages, who were originally a group of five we had gained information on from the mayor. Juvia was to wait for an opening after I got them to let their guard down, then strike the leader. Unfortunately there was a sixth member that was teleported in by one of the original five, and all of them proved to be stronger than expected. We still handled it, though." Katsuro smirked.

"I can see that. Job well done, both of you. I was originally going to put the two of you on that second job I had mentioned when you returned, but seeing your state, I think it best if I pair Juvia up with one of her fellow elements for this mission." Katsuro frowned, but nodded his assent.

"Could you give Juvia the details of the job, Master?"

"It Is a retrieval Job," Juvia stiffened slightly, but Katsuro noticed. "One Jude Heartfilia has hired Phantom Lord, after some persuasion on my part of course, to capture his runaway daughter, heiress Lucy Heartfilia. This mission is not only about retrieving the girl, though. You see, Miss Heartfilia has decided to join a mages guild… Fairy Tail to be precise."

"Phantom's Rivals?" Katsuro questioned.

"Indeed. Makarov has been a thorn in my side for the longest time, and he will not make retrieving the girl easy. You see, Makarov sees the members of his guild as family, his… children." Porla sneered. "I find it pathetic, but that is the truth. So taking the Heartfilia girl will more than likely provoke open war with Fairy Tail. I intend to use this as an opportunity to destroy those fairies once and for all. The entire guild is readying for this assignment Miss Lockser. In fact I've already sent Gajeel out to initiate phase one of said plan, which is sending a message to Fairy Tail they won't soon forget. Be prepared, I shall send for you when the time is right. You are dismissed, but once again, congratulations on a job well done."

Juvia was quiet as they left his study, and Katsuro could tell something was on her mind. By the time they hit the main hall, he was becoming concerned with how withdrawn she had become, and confronted her. "You alright, Juvia?" She was so focused on her thoughts that she didn't notice him, which made him call her again, slightly louder. After once again being ignored, he underwent drastic measures and poked her in the side, causing her to jump nearly a foot in the air with an "Eep!"

"Why did you do that!" she demanded.

"Because you might as well have been on a different planet for all the attention you were paying anything." he answered unashamedly.

"Juvia was paying attention!" Katsuro simply raised an eyebrow, causing her to blush slightly.

"Ok, maybe Juvia was just a little distracted…" she admitted.

"Juvia, I could have replaced myself with Sol and I doubt you would've noticed so long as we didn't touch you."

"Ok, more than a little distracted."

"I noticed, so what's up?" he gently probed.

"It's the mission master gave Juvia… She's just not that fond of retrieval missions, especially ones like this. If the contract is to retrieve a bandit or a thief who stole something, Juvia is alright with that, but going and finding a girl who ran away from home… How does Juvia know she didn't have a reason to do that! She could be running from an abusive home for all Juvia knows, or maybe she ran away with a lover, Juvia doesn't know her reasoning and it's not like she knows this Heartfilia girl well enough to make an informed decision about it."

"If it bothers you that much, then why don't you just decline the mission?"

"Because it isn't that simple. Juvia can't just decline a mission from the master." she murmured.

"I think it is that simple, Juvia. If you don't want to do it, then you shouldn't have to. What would Porla do, force you to go? How? It's not like he has blackmail on you or something, is it?" he questioned.

"No...no, it's not like that. Though he can force Juvia to take the mission, and do her utmost to ensure its success."

"How?"

She hesitated, then sighed. "Remember how Juvia told you the Element Four were part of the defense for the castle and got to live here rent free as a result?"

"Yeah… if its about money, Juvia, then I'm sure we can work to pay it off without you being under Porla's thumb."

She grew agitated. "No! It's not blackmail, Juvia already told you that. It's...one of the defenses for Phantom Lord's headquarters is something called the Jupiter Cannon. Have you heard of it?"

"Afraid not. Is it anything like the magic council's etherion square satellite?"

"Not really, think smaller scale and not a satellite. It's a legitimate cannon that is highly destructive, it's not been actually tested on a city, but Juvia has been told it would be capable of destroying Oak Town in its entirety should the weapon ever be fired on them." Juvia elaborated.

"Alright, and this has… what to do with why you can't tell Porla no?" he pressed.

"How do you think such a destructive cannon would be powered?" she mumbled.

"I would assume some kind of Lacrima powering the cannon, probably charged by… shit. Juvia please tell me you don't have a lacrima somewhere in here that's connected to your magic." Katsuro beseeched her.

"Juvia could, but she'd be lying." she said in a light tone.

"Son of a- Juvia! How gullible were you when this happened!"

"Juvia had just been promoted to S-class okay! This was the only place Juvia felt any kind of acceptance and she wanted to give something back! So of course she would say yes when presented with an opportunity to help. For the most part nothing is ever done with it, but occasionally Master forces Juvia to do a mission by reminding her of that connection."

"I'll solve this problem right fucking now. Where's the lacrima, I'll destroy it!"

"Juvia doesn't know where he put it, but the cannon itself is nearly indestructible so you can't destroy it. The lacrima for the element four are hidden somewhere in the castle."

"Damn it Juvia. I guess you were being honest when you said you don't have a choice. What a fine mess you're in." Katsuro sighed.

"Juvia knows!" she cried. "Juvia will just have to do her part for the guild."

"For what it's worth Juvia, I would do this mission for you if you asked me to."

"Juvia can't ask you to do that for her." she fretted.

"You really could. I'd leave right now and grab her before Sol and you ever have a chance to leave, injured or not."

"Juvia won't ask you to take on her burdens for her. Plus, Juvia doubts master would be very pleased to learn he'd been disregarded…"

"To be honest, I can't really be bothered to care about what Master," he said with a sneer. "Wants at this point. I have recently learned that Jose Porla is, in fact, a raging dick with a superiority complex."

Juvia looked as though she wanted to contradict him for a moment, but then she shrugged in agreement. She sat down heavily on the ground, staring into the distance

"What a day…" Juvia sighed.

"What a day…" Katsuro echoed.

-CHAPTER END-

AN: yet another chapter of Sword and Storm, also working on fresh start, defiance of fate, and wandering mage atm. Though i will admit that defiance of fate is slow coming. I've realized that i hate doing courtroom scenes… will be glad when I'm done with that chapter so I can move onto better things. Hope Y'all enjoyed, see you next time