Chapter 13 - A New Guild
AUTHOR'S NOTE, AN, (AN), (AUTHOR'S NOTE).
Okay enough of being cancer. It's been awhile hasn't it? Not sure if the original readers are still following, but after the Fairy Tail final series came out, I decided to get a move on for this fic. Considering it's going to be much longer than my other fics, I need to get all the shit done (hopefully before the series ends). This gives me maybe about two years if the number of manga chapters is any indication. That is unless, FILLERS.
Anyways a little recap:
As the two boys walked out of the area, towards a more empty street, Benjin pretended to trip, stepping heavily onto Jellal's foot.
"OW! You retard, why'd you do that!" The blue-haired boy began hopping on one foot, nursing his crushed one.
"That was for punching me in the face, you monkey!"
"Cause you said 5 minutes, my ass!"
"I was doing stuff! Did you even find where Fairy Tail is?"
"Of course! I actually know what I am doing unlike a certain dumb blonde."
"For once in your life have you considered not being a full-blown cunt?"
"Shut up."
Dumbass tattoo-face really needs to take a nap or some shit, he gets angry at the dumbest things.
"Whatever, how do we get to Fairy Tail?"
Jellal's demeanor seem to relax as he sighed, pulling out a piece of paper.
"We have to take something called a 'train' which is somewhere on the south side of the city, and we have to use it to go to Magnolia, which Fairy Tail is supposed to be."
I cannot wait to just sleep as soon as I see a bed.
This is so fucking cool!
Benjin could barely stay in his cushioned seat as the train began moving. Never in his life did he ever ride something akin to interconnected moving rooms. If stacked together, they were probably bigger than his house! …or what was his house anyway.
"Dude, can you sit still for one second?!"
How can he NOT be excited?
Jellal, despite never riding a train himself, was sitting like someone stole his shoes from him. The same grumpy face combined with his crossed arms made it look like he absolutely hated being on this… marvel!
"Isn't this your first time too? How can you possibly not think this is the most amazing thing ever?"
"Because I have other things to worry about." Benjin scrunched up his face at that comment.
"Yeah, like what?"
"…that's none of your concern."
None of my concern?
"And why won't you tell me?" Jellal simply narrowed his eyes dangerously, lowering his arms while facing light mage directly.
"Because, it is none, of your concern." The two simply stared at one another, tension seemingly building up between their challenging glares.
"…"
After a couple seconds, the inquisitive blonde simply sighed in defeat, not wanting to pressure the boy across from him further.
"Alright, alright, but I'll get it out of you sooner or later."
Despite his more relaxed features, the grumpiness and wrinkled anger plastered on Jellal's face never seemed to leave.
"…definitely later."
That was… kind of awkwardly intense.
Despite what just happened, Benjin now had lots to think about during the silence that accompanied the two companions throughout the rest of the train ride.
Attention all passengers: We shall be arriving at Magnolia station in 3 minutes.
Upon hearing the sudden announcement, Benjin groggily rubbed his eyes from the less-than-comfortable nap he took on the rigid cushions.
Was that 2 hours already? Damn, I'm even more tired than I was before!
Benjin looked across to Jellal, who was lamenting by the window seat, staring into the distance. Stretching his arms, the light mage stood up and proceeded to do the same with the rest of his limbs. "Remember when I said this thing was cool? Yeah I take that back… I am completely ready to just never ride this ever again."
That comment seemed to elicit a small smile from the otherwise forlorn expression of a certain tattooed face.
"…Yeah."
Benjin simply turned towards the window himself, glancing outwards at the mountainous landscape. "So what have you been doing for the past couple hours?"
Turning to face him, Jellal simply stared back in silence, wearing a distant expression.
"Just thinking, I guess."
"… penny for your thoughts?"
The intensity seemed to return to the blue eyes that focused on Benjin's own, before relaxing.
"Just missing someone, I guess…"
Boy do I know that feeling.
Benjin looked up at the ceiling, taking in the details as he did. Has it already been 2 years since his father died? Despite everything that has happened: the library, the balrog, finding Drajin; it felt as if he was still at his parents' little cottage, oblivious to the outside world. The things he used to do… walk around with his dad, run to his mom when stuff blew up in his face… everything seemed like both a distant memory and yesterday's life.
Damn…
"Hey."
What happened between then and now? Really… just what?
"Hey."
Just what am I even doing?
"Hey!"
The constant badgering of a familiar voice interrupted him from his rather… deep thoughts.
"Train's here, we got to get off."
Benjin simply stared back at the ground, before nodding at Jellal.
"Alright man, let's go."
The city of Magnolia was similar to one they were at; the buildings had the same stone design and layout as well.
Is this really the place?
Benjin didn't really see anything particularly… special about this place. Sure it was still large, but he didn't really resonate with this city anymore than the one they were at earlier.
Whatever, if Jellal says this place is good than it is as good as any.
Don't get him wrong of course, it was a beautiful city. The same white-rock made up the majority of the buildings, while two or maybe three of them stood out among the rest.
Some rich guy's house maybe?
Exploring could honestly wait though, he was tired, he was hungry, and he would rather not focus on anything else than the embrace of a cotton pillow.
"Yo Jellal, which building is it?"
"… I have no clue."
…*Sigh*
The impatient blonde simply glanced around the familiar cityscape, his eyes darting from person to person. "Whatever let's just find somewhere we can sleep and somewhere we can eat."
His tattooed companion looked back towards him. "An inn and a restaurant?"
That's what they're called?
"Yeah, those things." You learn something new everyday.
After a few more minutes of searching, they finally found something they were looking for. One of them anyway.
Just in time too… I'm STARVING.
The two boys entered a medium sized building resembling a lodge, two forks and the sign 'restaurant' was plastered on top of the entrance way.
"I'm so hungry, I could clear this entire place of food! I am so goddamned sick of eating in the wild!" Benjin exclaimed as he and Jellal was seated down by one of the servers.
"Same." Jellal replied, uninterestingly.
How can he NOT be excited to finally eat like civiliz- …right.
Within minutes, mountains and mountains of food arrived from their order of 'absolutely everything.' The two were too busy stuffing themselves with dishes of all shapes, sizes, and colours to hold any sort of intelligent conversation.
"So what are you planning to do after reaching Fairy Tail?" Benjin still had Jellal's small 'outburst' on the train on his mind. Despite travelling together for more than a year, he realized he still barely knew anything about the blue-haired boy.
"Don't, mmph, *munch* know. Probably, *chew*-" The young blonde's face contorted at the sight of his friend's open-mouth chewing with bits of food and water spraying out as he tried to 'talk.'
"Okay, OKAY, swallow first, then talk." My friggin' LORD.
Jellal proceeded to machine-gun munch before wiping off the myriad of sauces staining his face with the table cloth.
"*Gulp* Don't got much planned, just going to settle for a few days after finding Fairy Tail and then go from there."
Not too different from what I was going to do, although I've got like literally a MILLION things to do. I got to find a decent house, not too big, maybe just one room with a decent sized kitchen, hopefully a large lawn where I can take naps on. Then I got to learn more magics… and I probably need a large shed too as a semi-house for Drajin-…WAIT.
Benjin's eyes opened wide as he frantically looked around the seats, his eyes darting from corner to corner until looking below their own table.
*BANG*
"OW." And there goes his head.
Jellal simply raised an eyebrow at his sudden panic attack. "Whoa, what are you even trying to do?" Of course, the blue-haired barbarian actually thought to speak in between ginormous gulps of food he calls 'bites.'
"Drajin… is NOT here."
Jellal simply shrugged in response, before continuing his meal. "He's the size of a dog, what harm could he possibly-"
*CRASH-BOOM*
"AIIIIIIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA A GIANT LIZARD!" The shrill voice of a woman resounded from outside the window.
"I don't know about you but I would say A WHOLE FREAKING LOT." Without waiting for a reply, Benjin ran out the door, all while Jellal continued to satisfy his munchies.
The frantic blonde followed the cacophony of vandalism that seemed to resound from all around him. Dozens of people began crowding all around him… no doubt to witness an actual FUCKING DRAGON. He had to find him fast! What if Drajin managed to learn how to roar? What if he gets caught, what if he gets neutered - or worse!
"GET AWAY BEAST!" Benjin immediately darted towards the source of the sound, pushing crowds of people to the ground with magically enhanced leaps.
After clearing the large group of people, Benjin saw that Drajin, was biting onto a large thing - think it's a pig - while the butcher, a very muscled butcher, struggled to pull the large piece of meat away from him.
I REALLY need to train him, okay I'll put that on a higher priority.
"DRAJIN, DROP THAT RIGHT N-NOW!" The light mage's command was absolutely ruined by his sudden voice crack - curses - however, the dragon responded almost right away - dropping the large piece of meat then running towards his 'father.'
When did he learn how to run? I thought he just wobbled.
"Huh."
Well that's that, time to get out of here and-
"HEY! DOES THAT BEAST BELONG TO YOU?!" The shopkeeper stomped towards him with veins bulging from his arms and face, all while holding a large meat cleaver.
"Umm, I guess?" Calm down, jeez.
"T-THAT LIZARD OF YOURS, ATE HALF OF MY FRESH STOCK!" Benjin looked back towards the butcher's stand; the wood forming the support was splintered, and pieces of meat lied scattered all around the floor, HALF? That much have been more than his weight in meat! Whatever, I have no time for this!
"Sorry but um… that's not my freaking problem." Benjin turned around, walking back towards the restaurant with Drajin silently following him.
"Not your problem? NOT YOUR FREAKING PROBLEM? WHY I OUGHTA BUTCHER YOUR LIZARD FOR ALL THE MEAT IT HAS EATEN." Benjin stopped midstride, his eyes adopting a miniscule glow unnoticed by all.
What the fuck did he just say?
A slight tremble started rocking the ground around him as Benjin's patience reached the limit. Pebbles began to rise into the air as Benjin's magical pressure started saturating the surrounding area.
"You touch my goddamned dragon, AND I WILL BLAST A HOLE STRAIGHT THROUGH YOUR FAT MOUNTAIN OF A STOMACH." The glow in Benjin's eyes intensified; the pressure began increasing as a bead of sweat drop from the shopkeeper's brow.
While the butcher did sport a rather large figure. Any wise man would understand that child or not, you do NOT fuck with mages, especially if you are not one yourself. However, the butcher was anything but a wise man.
"You dare insult me?! You owe me at LEAST 20,000J for all the damage YOUR thing caused!"
Alright that's it, I am going to beat this asshole into the ground!
A golden rippling portal opened in front of the teenager, an ornate staff decorated with an orb sporting the sun circle slowly descended into his palms. Twirling the staff skillfully, Benjin locked eyes with the butcher, who seemed to be sweating more and more as each second passes.
"I just wanted to eat, find Fairy Tail, and then take a GODDAMNED NAP! But, now it seems that I have to give you a grand beatdown before I do any of those things."
Benjin began to charge the fear-stricken shop keeper whose bravado was all but gone. Within a second, the angry mage had already cleared half the distance - the staff held in his hands gripped even harder as he swung it down.
*CRACK*
Within a blink of an eye, Benjin's form was completely frozen in ice, the staff he swung hovering inches away from the shopkeeper's forehead as all the momentum he had in his charge completely disappeared.
What?! How- Where, WHY AM I FROZEN!
"And just what do you think you're doing?" A voice, one of a mature woman, came from behind him.
Benjin tried to turn his head towards the voice, only to find every inch of his body rendered immobile from the sudden freeze.
Why can't I get free?! It's just ICE!
"Seems like you are having a bit of trouble there, young man," the woman teased. "Now why don't you tell me what is going on and why you are attacking this 'humble' vendor?"
HUMBLE VENDOR, nice joke, I'll get out of this crap yet!
With a low rumble, Benjin focused his magic and exerted it outwards in a small sphere, causing the ice to crack and crumble, freeing the light mage from his entombment.
*SPLIT*
"ALRIGHT, who are you and why did you ice me?!" Benjin pointed his staff at the black-haired woman, who only smirked in return, irking the blonde mage further.
"Little boy," A vein popped from Benjin's forehead from that remark, "don't you know it's rude to wave sticks at people?"
Grr… "I'll show YOU stick waving!" Without pause, the blonde rushed the ice woman, determined to wipe that everlasting smirk off of her face.
A right swing. "Missed me!" What? I barely saw her move!
A back kick. "Too slow!" Stay still woman!
Within a instant, the mischievous woman easily made it behind Benjin, tapping him on the shoulder. "Alright, fun's fun, but I think it's about time we call an end to this little charade~"
Benjin tried to swing his staff again, only to find himself encased up to his neck in ice, once again. Damn it! How is this annoying hag so strong?
"Let me go and go back to oldtown you stupid bitch!" Sounds of shattering glass could have been hard far away, the smirk on the woman's face slowly becoming a sneer, then a full frown.
"OLD?!" she began, slamming down her fist onto Benjin's exposed head. Ow! "I'll have you know I barely entered my thirties!"
"That's still almost three times my age!" I'll use this moment to escape!
"Just for that you little brat, you get to remain a little popsicle for an hour!" Benjin growled in response as the woman poked his face over and over. Try as he might however, the ice that froze him this time felt nigh-unbreakable. Benjin channeled magic into his eyes and looked at the ice, straining his neck as he was completely goddamned PARALYZED.
What… is this?
It was the first time he saw something like this. The aura contained in ice were woven in a honeycomb pattern, with thin strings tracing back to the caster. Multiple different auras seemed to blend together to strengthen its entire composition.
Damn! I hate to admit it but this woman's got me!
After another minute of constantly getting poked, Benjin finally relented.
"ALRIGHT ALRIGHT, you got me, what is going to get you to release me?" Benjin spoke in fake politeness, trying his best to keep his frustration from seething into his words.
The woman stepped back and pointed to the still-shocked vendor.
"First of all, you are going to pay him for the damage done," Benjin grunted in response. Dammit why! That guy is an asshole!
"Secondly, what is a little boy like-"
"I'm not a little BOY!" The woman simply chuckled in response.
"-a little boy like you want with Fairy Tail?" Oh shit… I completely forgot about that! What if I get in trouble and get arrested, or worse!
"Uhh, that is, um," I have no idea! Jellal was the one who wanted to go there and I decided to just tag along! Speaking of which, is that blue-haired dick-wad still eating?
"It's simply~ because…" Benjin froze, trying to think of a reason that would somehow get him out of this. "There is a big block of wood that we-"
"We're looking for our friends, they might be there." A familiar voice spoke from behind him. NOW he shows up.
The woman seemed to contemplate for a couple seconds before looking back with a smile.
"Well why didn't you say so! The name's Ur, nice to meet you two boys!"
What.
"…"
"…?"
"Can you unfreeze me now?" It's actually getting kind of cold… and THERE'S that annoying freaking smirk!
"Not until you pay this kind gentleman~" Ur pointed towards the shop keeper, still in his white butcher outfit and arms crossed at his chest.
Benjin gritted his teeth, not wanting to give the man a single Jewel. Yeowch! A sudden chill came from the ice as he felt whatever spell around him strengthen. Damned bitch!
Relenting with a exasperated sigh, the defiant blonde looked towards the annoying woman "…Fine, you win, I'll pay."
10 minutes and 35,000 Jewels more broke later, Benjin and Jellal now walked with their 'guide' towards their destination.
Screw that guy! And why did Jellal stick me with the bill?! Is he broke or something? Also what in the actual shit is 'Grief interest?'
Now, the center of town itself wasn't too different from where they first arrived, except it was… richer, far richer. Many of the buildings looked to be built of marble and many of them were over five stories high.
"So who are you two looking for in the guild?"
Benjin looked at Jellal, shrugging. "I have no clue, I'm just following this guy."
"…"
Jellal looked as if he was simply going to ignore the question, before finally relenting. "There's a few of them, kids around my age, but the person who told us about Fairy Tail… was a man named Rob."
Ur put a finger to her chin, looking around as she tried to jog her thoughts. "Rob, rob, rob, why does that name sound familiar? Hmm, there's definitely a sizable group of kids just entering their teens in the guild, don't know of anyone named Rob in the guild though- maybe the master knows?"
Well you tried.
…
Finally, after what seemed like hours of walking in awkward silence, the trio finally reached a large wooden building with a symbol on its front sign.
Ehh looks stupid.
"Well boys, here we are!" Jellal looked at the woman, seemingly waiting for her to do something. However, Benjin didn't bother waiting for an introduction, he simply lifted up his front leg and kicked open one of the doors.
"Hah! You'll fit in just fine!"
Tch-
"Whatever, let's just find the master and get outta' here. I am far too cranky for anything right now," Benjin suddenly felt a hand mess up his hair.
?!
"Awww~ Is the little boy missing his nap time~?"
The rustled blonde shoved the woman's hand off, fixing his hair in the process. "Damn it, stop that!" The woman simply chuckled slyly in response.
The increasingly cranky mage simply ignored the woman's antics, opting to look around the room for the largest aura, before landing on two, causing him to freeze. Both of them easily dwarf everyone around them by multiple magnitudes! This is some serious magic, one of them has GOT to be the master.
Not only that, the blonde mage noticed that on one of the auras, which seemed to belong to an extremely inebriated giant of a man, felt like there was more of it… far more.
On the other side of the room, a slightly larger aura belonged to an equally inebriated man, perhaps more so, but was far lacking in stature compared to the other, and… is that his underwear?
"So which drunk is the master?" The blonde inquired, not bothering with polite words at all.
Ur noticed that Benjin was looking at the two least sober men inside the guild, before slapping her knees, all while roaring in laughter.
"It's *snort*, HAHAHA- the short one!" Ok midget drunk is the master- won't actually call him that of course but good for reference. If the short one was the master, the tall one must be one of the veterans or something.
While Benjin was standing frustratedly at the woman's antics, he didn't notice that his friend had already walked up to the master, no doubt about to bombard him with questions. "Are you the master here?"
The blue-haired mage did not seemed bothered at all by the old man's lack of clothing. His question however, did succeed in getting the elder's attention.
"Oh?~" the master responded with a slight slur. "Why yes I am!" He took a monstrous gulp of his drink. "What can I do for you, young man?"
"Was there a person that used to be in this guild named Rob?" The master froze at his question, his eyes hardening as he locked eyes with Jellal.
"…" The master swallowed whatever was left of his drink and paced towards Jellal, before looking towards the ground in a downtrodden manner.
"He was an old friend of mine in the guild." The old man replied with a hint of sadness, staring curiously at the mage. Jellal looked at the master with sympathy, knowing that he knew the fate of his friend.
"I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose someone…"
"…Thank you young man, I'm sorry too." the two smiled at each other.
Benjin simply stared at the two, remaining silent as he spectated the whole conversation.
"So… hate to break the mood, but what does this 'Rob' have to do with finding your friends?" Jellal sneered at Benjin, obviously offended at the question. A moment passed, and Jellal found his features relaxing, and his eyes drooping.
"He was with us back at-" he stopped himself before continuing, "…there, he was the one who told us- me to go to Fairy Tail."
Us? This 'Rob' must of told the friends he was looking to go to Fairy Tail too! That's why he was always to reluctant to share about it, he must have thought they were dead!
The old man put his arms behind his back, his face furrowing in thought. "You know… there's actually another at this guild that came here because of Rob."
Instantly, Jellal lunged forward and seized the master's shoulder, shaking him violently. "REALLY? WHERE AND WHO?! TELL ME!"
The master simply flicked Jellal on his butt with his PERSON SIZED FINGER, WHAT?! Benjin took the time to check the aura in that particular limb, only to see mass amounts of white-yellow magic, similar to his own, filling it to the brim. What sort of spell is this?!
"Calm down young man, then I'll tell you." The master's fingers shrunk back to his original length, his arms crossing behind his back.
Jellal was visibly hyperventilating from the revelation, all he could do to 'calm down' was to not go into a massive tantrum on the spot. He really isn't holding it together, damn. Benjin silently put a hand on his friend's shoulder, which seemed to calm down the blue-haired boy a little.
After a minute, Jellal's breaths finally returned to normal, now waiting for the master to reply.
"Alright, there was a little girl named Erza that came-"
"ERZA?!" Jellal once again try to jump the master, but Benjin quickly held him back with a full nelson. "Where is she!"
The master simply sighed, before addressing Jellal. "She went to the smith shop somewhere in the city, she's been there for a couple hours now so she might still be there, although-"
"Calm your blueberry titties!" Ow! Benjin felt the mass of blue hair suddenly slam right into his face.
"I'LL SHOW YOU BLUEBERRY!"
Benjin felt warm liquid flowing down his nose, he reflexively wiped it off with his sleeves, dirtying the bright yellow cloth. Shit! The blonde mage glared at the tattooed mage, who glared back in return.
The tension between the two frustrated boys continued to build, the various members of the guild originally minding their own business began paying attention to the bout, specifically a certain auburn-haired giant.
As the two reached their boiling point, Jellal finally seethed through his teeth. "You know what? I'm not doing this right now," Following that, Jellal began stomping towards the entrance. "I just found where one of my friends, that I thought was DEAD, is alive and in this city, so I am out of here!"
*Bang*
The sounds of opening doors resounded through the hall as Jellal kicked it down then sprinted out at record speeds back into the town.
He REALLY wants to find them, damn.
"Say young man-" Benjin simply ignored him, too deep in thought.
Freaking Jellal and his bullshit, he needs to… you know what? Doesn't matter, I need a nap, HE needs a nap, I just want to lie down and not wake up for a week and finally stop living like some sort of hobo-
*Snap*
"Wuh?" Benjin snapped out of his thoughts, looking back down on the master.
The master cleared his throat before speaking. "Say Young Man-"
"Benjin, My name is Benjin." Shit, was that a bit rude?
"Alright Benjin..." the master spoke, seemingly trailing off in thought, "would you like to join the guild?" Hmm, Join the guild? I never even thought of that, was Jellal planning to do that all along?
Considering he and Jellal had been travelling in forests and mud for what seemed to be years, actually living in the presence of civilization was a humongous morale booster. AND THE FOOD!
"Do I gotta do anything?"
"Just answer me one question." The old man stared at Benjin, his eyebrows furrowing and gaze hardening.
Oh shit is this some sort of magic test? Damn I barely read 30 books in the past year it could be anything!
The master was smirking surreptitiously, easily noticing the tenseness present in the blonde's form. "What colour and where would you like your guild mark?" Oh, well you definitely got me…
Benjin smiled, his shoulders relaxing. "I guess I'm in then."
.
.
.
.
Chapter 13 Done! Next Chapter: New Friends and Rivalries
Make sure you guys check out my other stories!
Join the discord server at (https):/discord.(gg)/7c4gJST
Read my profile and join my Trope discussion forums!
[Rise of the Light Bringer]
[First Light]
[Chef Ramsay]
[A God's Redemption]
[A Hero's Becoming]
[The Noble World]
[The Nothing Dragon Slayer's Misadventures in Fairy Tail]
[Minipa's Trope Discussion and How to not Suck Shit at Writing]
[Minipa's Trope Discussion and How to not Suck Shit at Writing - BNHA]
Check out my Youtube Channel: Minipa!
Minipa, out!