Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
"And that should do it for today, all the paper work that is,"Hisui placed down her pen and handed the papers she just signed to Karie. "we should expect courses on arts and craft, language, culinary arts and music available soon in community centres."
"Even when you're supposed to be taking it easy…" Karie took the documents shakily, making sure not to meet Hisui's eyes.
"I am, just because I can't organise anything large-scale doesn't mean I can't complete my standard duties as the mayor, besides, for this one, Daisy-san did most of the work, I just have go through her reports and sign the papers needed."
"I suppose," Karie placed the paper down on a table, stacking them neatly before tucking them under her arm. "have you heard of the word on the streets?" Karie opened the doors of Hisui's office slowly.
"And that is?"
"That some parts of the city is getting…" Karie dropped to the floor, letting the papers cascade to a rose of disorder.
"Karie!?" Hisui nearly tripped over herself on her way to the fallen maid. "What's wrong!?"
"I'm sorry…but…it seems like…I caught some sort of…sickness…please…stay away from…me"
"What are you saying at a time like this!? That's right, doctor…wait right here, I'll call a doctor!" Hisui's shoes clattered noisily on the floor, her eyes darts back and forth, cursing herself for not memorising the city map clearly. "Daisy-san! Do you know where the nearest doctor is!?" Hisui called out to a woman with bleaching hair and kind blue eyes.
"What happened?"
"Karie is sick, do you where can I find a doctor?"
"That's terrible! Wait a second, I'll call Kent." Hisui could only pray as she watched Daisy speed down the corridor and enter a room. Standing in the corridor for a while, Hisui returned to her office—silent footsteps and a growing dread accompanied her.
Seeing her friend in a collected yet, unstable manner allowed Hisui to take in the laboured breathing, lifeless complexion and trembling limbs of Karie as she tried to get up.
"What are you doing!? Stop moving, someone will take us home soon." Seeing that her words had no effect, Hisui's voice became stern. "That's an order. Karie, if you care about me, please just sleep and get some rest." Once Karie drifted to sleep, trouble formed in Hisui's head. "How do I get her back?"
"I thought I smelled something bad, it was Karie." Natsu walked in while supporting Happy's weight on his head.
"How does that even work?"
"Shut up."
"Natsu-san, what do I do?"
"For starters, buddy."
"Aye." Happy flew away from Natsu.
"Now, we get her back home." Natsu placed Karie on his back with ease. "Hisui, tell a doctor to come to Fairy Hills."
"But, you might catch what Karie has."
"Don't worry," Happy reassured. "idiots don't get sick." Feeling Natsu's stare, Happy corrected himself as fast as he could. "W—well, more like, Natsu doesn't get sick because of his body temperature, so Levy said. Though, I'm sure it's because that Natsu's motion sick counters the other stuff he gets."
"If you say so, I'll tell Daisy-san what happened."
Hisui was sitting in the lobby of Fairy Hill waiting for the doctor's analysis—helpless to do anything and anxious for information—refusing to think of the worse, anytime that she did, Hisui tore her focus to something else. She tried to read a book, only to slam the pages together before a line was read.
"Hisui-sama, I apologise for having you to wait." A balding man came down from the stairs and took a seat across Hisui.
"How is she?"
"She's showing the same symptoms as my other patients well, there is an outbreak after all."
"Outbreak?"
"You haven't heard? Some parts of the city is being plagued by a sickness like the one that's affecting Karie-san."
"Is it life-threatening?"
"That, I can't say for certain, I simply don't have enough information. If I must give an opinion, I don't think it's life threatening."
"What do you think is the cause? Why is this spreading?"
"Magnolia is a lively city, it's not surprising that people will stay together, that just helps spread the disease. However, I will say that a reason why it's spreading faster that others is because of the…recent happenings."
"It's my fault isn't it? Please don't sugar-coat it, my constructions and hiring citizens is making people clump together. And since those people come from different parts of the city, they became the catalyst for several outbreaks in the city."
"Most likely, and…since some people don't have jobs until Hisui-sama's plans, they wanted to take advantage of it as much as possible. They chose not to rest and continued working."
"And what of Karie? How did she get sick?"
"Things like this can't just be predicted and given an explanation. Though if I much voice my opinion, I think that she was unlucky."
"I see…when will she get better? Can it be cured?"
"From what I can gather so far, a healthy person should have no problems fighting the disease, I can't guarantee it since I don't know what will happen later on, it's similar to some viruses I'm familiar with but, at the end of the day, it's still different. However, I believe that Karie-san will get better, it's only a matter of time."
"Thank You."
"Contact me if anything changes, be careful yourself Hisui-sama, you might catch it." The doctor gripped on his cane and started to leave the dorms.
"I will."
"I'll deliver the prescription later, be sure that she takes it."
"Thank You." A clack rang through the lobby, Hisui sighed and looked up the stairs. "Levy-san, can you look after Karie until I get back? I'm going out for a walk."
"Okay! Come back soon, you might get sick if you stay out too long."
"I won't." Hisui put on her shoe and walked outside. "No one is going to be there." Hisui followed the road until she came across the point where she needs to deviate from the regular path, and into the woods. She continued walking down the pathless route Natsu guided her through—using the amusing names Natsu gave to certain landmarks as a guide. Her steps were steady, careful not to tear the dress she's wearing. Hisui's caution stop once she stepped foot on a straight path cleared by her guide from before. Taking a deep breath, Hisui made her first move on the incline.
Without Natsu to help her, Hisui was having a harder time. When she slipped, he wasn't there to support her. When she was tired, he wasn't there to push her. When she was attacked by the sun, he wasn't there to provide shade. However, these didn't discourage Hisui at all, her steps were consistent throughout the journey, determined and vivacious. Hope and trust carried her—both spawning from the words Natsu said.
The large buildings hit her first, then the small ones, before merging together into a uniform piece of art. The vastness of the city was as awe-inspiring as before only that, seeing the construction sites brought guilt to Hisui's heart. A contradictory feeling rose from her heart again.
"While I did say you can come here when you're down, I didn't expect that you'll be back so soon."
"Natsu-san…Th—thank You for helping Karie."
"No problem, I was just in the right place at the right time."
"Natsu-san…I…caused all this…Karie got sick because of me."
"What are you talking about?"
"I increased the population density in certain areas, so I effectively made it easy for—"
"I don't really get the complicated stuff so, save it. All you need to know is that you shouldn't worry about what happened."
"Shouldn't worry? I just got my friend sick and you're telling me to brush that away? Natsu-san, I misjudged your character I didn't think that it's possible for me—"
"Just listen alright? I didn't mean that you should just ignore what you did, I mean that, you should stop beating yourself up when you could be doing something else. Like helping Karie."
"What can I do? I'm useless."
"Have you been looking at the streets? I hear them you know, what people say about you. They all love you, they're glad at what you've been doing. Look back at the city, the building sites."
"Why?"
"Just do it." Hisui felt guilty again seeing the scaffolding the size of toothpicks. "What do you see?" Natsu's voice was soft.
"My mistakes, I was too focused on infrastructure and didn't think about the ramification of my actions."
"Wrong."
"How can you say such a thing? I was over-aggressive and now the citizens are suffering."
"You're looking at your accomplishments."
"You're making fun of—"
"Like I said! I've been hearing about what they're saying about you. They're thankful in what you've been doing, they're taking pride in the job you've given them, they're doing their best at finishing the school and the station. If you're calling those your mistakes, You're the one that's making fun of people!" Natsu's intense stares was burning at away at Hisui's nerves. The overbearing anger made Hisui that a step, she realised that she did misread Natsu—he's terrifying. "If you're tossing way the hard work of those people, I won't forgive you!" A suffocating feeling gripped Hisui's heart, his eyes was turning her body to ashes. Tears streamed down her face, Hisui dropped to the ground, covering her face.
"So—sorry…I didn't think…" Her fear evaporated once a comforting and protective warmth entered her—safeguarding her from the anxiousness.
"Forgive me, I went too far. I'm not good with words so, I end up saying things out of line." His harsh words left behind a caring tone. "I didn't mean to do those things. Can you…forgive me? I was trying to say that you should take pride in what you've been doing, I ended up saying those things.
"I also wanted you to stop beating yourself up and focus on the things that matter more. When I'm on a job and I mess up, I make sure I finish the job first, reflecting comes later. What I'm trying to say is…worry about this stuff after we're through this mess."
"You're right." Hisui gripped onto Natsu's shoulders to meet his eyes, relieved that the fires have extinguished. "You're terrible with words." Hisui wiped away her tears, trying to form her best smile.
"You're not mad?"
"I could never be mad at someone that had good intentions but executed poorly. Moreover, I don't think I can ever be mad at you." Hisui got up and brushed herself off. "However, I will have you accompany me for a while."
"Where to?"
"Although your words were scary, they did make me realise that I shouldn't be moping around. You'll be helping me with taste testing."
The smell of spices and cooking ingredients mingled in the air, wetting Natsu's appetite. The sound of Hisui's knife colliding with the chopping board was varied from slow to fast; firm to hesitant; soft to hard. Hisui place the ingredients in a pot, stirring it before closing the lid.
"You can cook?"
"I'm still learning."
"When will it be done?"
"That's…something I'm not too sure of…"
"Should I call Mira over?"
"It'll be meaningless if I ask for help, this is something I'm going to do alone, with you being the taster of course. On that note, can you check to see if Karie has woken up? If she did, make her take the medicine and have her sleep again." Hisui pointed to the bags of pills and tablets sitting on a table.
"Sure."
When Hisui finally lifted the lid with a bandaged hand, she took a sniff of her cooking. Knowing that nothing smelt burnt, Hisui tasted it—frowning at her imperfect imitation. Hisui handed a small dish for Natsu to try.
"What do you think?"
"Salty."
"You think so too?"
"Yup."
"I won't give up."
"Good luck."
"Thank You."
With a tray in Hisui's hands with her creation and a spoon sitting on it, she steadily climbed up the stair to Karie's room, wondering how she carried a tray with one hand. Hisui reached Karie's room without spilling anything.
"Karie? Are you up?"
"I am, come in." Karie's hoarse and weak voice sunk deep in Hisui's mind as she struggled to balance the tray with one hand while opening the door with the other. Hisui found her friend with a close book on her lap, still looking frail as when she first collapsed.
"Did you take your medicine?"
"I did."
"Good." Hisui set the tray on Karie's night stand. Karie's main focus wasn't the bowl to her left, it was Hisui's bandaged hands.
"This is?"
"Soup, I made it for you, you must be hungry right?"
"Just to be sure, you did taste it right? Or did you receive help?"
"How rude! I'll have you know that Natsu-san is laying outside with a full stomach."
"That's doesn't help me feel at ease…wait, you should be avoiding contact with me."
"The window is open."
"That doesn't mean that you should stay close to me, the last thing I want is to have you come down with my illness."
"Enough with your worrying, just eat." Hisui lifted the lid to her bowl of soup. Seeing it make Karie's suspicion rise. The carrots were poorly cut—some weren't peeled properly—varying in sizes. The same situation with the celery expect that some celeries weren't severed well, leaving pieces sticking to each other with one or two strands of fibre. It was the worst with the onions, seeing the disfigured vegetables reminded Karie that she didn't teach Hisui how to cut onions. From what Karie can tell, the chicken was relatively fine, but she developed a theory on why that is the moment she saw the soup.
"For someone that just started cooking, it could be worse."
"You're not holding back…"
"Presentation aside, the taste is more important." Karie picked up the spoon and scooped Hisui's creation with a shaky hand. In the same motion, Karie served the soup to her mouth.
"What do you think?"
"Passible I guess."
"All that work just for that? Cooking sure is rough."
"That's just me as a maid that's talking. If you're asking Karie Vidal however, it's perfect."
"What do you mean?"
"While presentation and taste are important, the feelings that a dish is trying to convey is the most vital. In that regard, nothing else can compare, what's speaking to my heart right now is making me glad that I'm serving you, it really makes all those hours worth it. Moreover, a servant like me tasting her master's cooking is already something outrageous, for it to be directed to me and no one else, that's something very special." Karie's smile was filled with gratitude. "Thank You, it was delicious."
"You're welcome…" Karie drank another mouthful of soup. "when you get better, can you help me satisfy the other part of you?"
"Of course, seeing you grow is one of my greatest pleasures. Though it makes me feel uneasy at the same time."
"Don't worry, no matter how much I change, I'll still be the same hopeless girl that needs her maid to take care of things for her."
"If that's the case, I'm glad."
"Karie, do you think, mother will enjoy my cooking?"
"Without a doubt."
"It's strange isn't it? Our relationship."
"Why do you say that?"
"I mean, you're my servant, best friend, big sister and in a way, a second mother."
"Caroline-sama will get sad hearing you say that."
"She won't, because I'm sure she feels the same."
"Hearing you say that, makes this soup even better you know?"
"Consider it as a bonus for all the times you took care of me, before and after."
"What a large bonus it is then." Karie finished the soup. "Are there seconds?" Hisui smiled.
"Plenty."
Over the course of three days, Magnolia mutated into a completely different city, worry plagued the air. As if a towel covered the area, the liveliness was smothered; no one exchanged words unless it was mandatory—they were afraid to. Despite the sun, in the eyes of the people, it might as well be raining. Amid this crisis, Hisui was in her room looking at the future, ways to prevent the same thing from happening: cheap vaccination, hygiene education, frequent street cleaning. Two clear knocks from the door followed by it's opening.
"Hisui, you shouldn't work too hard, you need to rest properly, or you'll get sick 's like me." Karie's black hair showed no signs of maintenance, her voice was noticeably deeper, and her speech gets interrupted by coughing.
"What did I say about getting rest? You're getting better but, that doesn't mean you should be out of your bed."
"I'm here to remind you that you need to rest well, I ended up like this because I didn't take enough breaks. Plus, walking next-door isn't too taxing for me."
"That doesn't help at all. Now go back to bed, you're making me worry."
"Just promise me you'll rest."
"I was planning to after this book."
"Then, please wake me when lunch is ready."
"I will." The book Hisui closed masked the sound of the door closing, and Hisui's sigh covered the click of the door knob. She placed her book on the night stand next to her bed. Stacking away the other books in a neat pile, Hisui set them on the ground and sprawled on the bed, staring at the shell white ceiling, noticing the small stains left behind from the previous occupant. Hisui repeated the dance of picking up and putting down the book on her nightstand. Finally, Hisui stood up and started stripping her clothes off, eyes set on a shower door.
As the cold water streamed off her bare skin, Hisui's mind cleared. Her back shivered when her hair guided the water. She examined the closing cut wounds from her poor knife handling, the burns on her fingertips healed on the day she finished cooking for Karie. All the while, Hisui was thinking about the events that happened within the past three days, for once, Hisui thought that Karie's prophesy of Hisui's hair becoming white would come true. She was thankful that didn't come true, her green hair was a gift from her mother, they were something that Hisui wouldn't trade for anything.
Coming out the shower, Hisui dried and dressed up in the relaxing environment of her room. Swiping away the curtains, light illuminate the room, giving her a good look at her cuts again. She smiled imagining Arcadios's reaction if he were to see the small, pink cuts the stood out from her pale skin. This time, there's no chance her getting hurt again—the others won't let her cook without supervision.
"Karie, lunch is ready." Hisui announced, accompanied by a few knocks on a door. The door opened smoothly and Hisui pushed in a trolley filled with food that flooded the room with different scents, drawing Karie's appetite.
"Sorry, to have you bring it to me."
"Don't worry, I'm the closest to you after all."
"You didn't cut or burn yourself, did you?"
"No, I was only allowed to cut ingredients. Even then, Levy was watching over me."
"Shame…no, I suppose it's good that you don't waste money."
"You're the one that was happily eating my soup a few days ago."
"I already said it back then, it wasn't the taste, it was symbolic and filled with emotions that made me enjoy the meal."
"If that's the case, hurry up and get better."
"Even if I did teach you how to cook more proficiently, I'm not as shameless as to have my master cook for me, my pride as an experienced maid will be for nothing. Not to mention my years of training."
"Just eat before the food gets cold."
"Our roles truly have reversed."
"Don't get used to it, I'm useless in your position."
"Then I really do have to get better."
"Please do."
As if it didn't exist at all, the disease that cursed and spread all over the city disappeared after another two days. To most, that was a sign to rejoice, to Hisui, it was the signal to prevent the same thing from happening again, she was behind her desk, pouring her time into books and more papers for a reasonable solution that she didn't think of. Currently, Hisui was writing a letter to consult a doctor, finding out what is suitable hygienic knowledge to teach the citizens. Though Magnolia does have basics of hygiene, Hisui is planning on reinforcing the knowledge. Hisui has started increasing the frequency of street cleaning, in the end, Hisui doesn't have much information on how a disease in spread, so she decided to cast a large net to help with the situation.
Usually, it was the sun that told Hisui to the go home. Following the orange sky turning pink, Hisui packed away her things and left the office. Karie and Hisui walked home in silence, the latter was looking at the sky, more specifically, the pink hue was reminding Hisui of Natsu's assistance.
"Did something good happen? You look overjoyed."
"It's nothing that dramatic, I was just grateful for what Natsu-san had done for me. Honestly, if he hasn't talked to me back then, I wouldn't have recovered as quickly as I did."
"Natsu-sama again huh? He really has been helping us out."
"Yes, he's surprisingly meddlesome."
"I would say it's the best kind of meddling." Hisui's lips furthered into a bigger smile, one filled with mystery and appreciation.
"Yes, yes it is."
Thanks for reading! Sorry if this chapter feels really jumpy and too fast, it was planned to be two chapters but, I couldn't think of enough content to fill in two chapters. I also apologise if my line of logic seems a bit weird, but hey, that's why I write stories like these, to learn.
Since I do want to get this story over with soon, due to it feeling like every chapter following a template, I will hopefully speed things up and have less focus on the city and more on the socialising, just so I can get a happy end without me losing my mind.
Much like the last time this happened: the chapters blending into same thing. I lost interest in the story pretty quickly and it's happening now. Unlike my last story however, I won't make promises on seeing this story to the end, I will try my best on doing it don't you worry.
A big lesson I learned is that I didn't plan nearly enough to write this kind of story, most likely why I feel so unsatisfied with it. Maybe I'll re-visit it in the future but, the chances aren't too great mainly because it seems like not much people is interested in it.
And before you say that I should be writing for the passion and expressing myself—all that good stuff. At the end of the day, I don't want to dump a bunch of time into something that not many people care about. If I do write something more people are in to, there will be more tips and advice for me to grow from, now the tricky part is to do that and stand out from the crowd.
Thanks for reading my ramblings(if you did anyway), and Thank You for reading the chapter! I hope you enjoyed, until then, have a nice day!