Back with another chapter, enjoy!
Rogue shut the door behind him, leaning against it, wincing as the pain shot through his ribs to his lower back. Oh right, forgot about that. He pushed off the door slightly to relieve himself of the pain inflicted by Jiemma. He had forgotten about the ordeal, his head still caught up on other things in mind.
Such things like Kagura Mikazuchi.
He didn't understand why he cared so much, or even why he was so hung up on her words. Once during his fight against Natsu and Gajeel, and then now. He had never spoke with her until today, and he could assume that she didn't even pay him no mind until today as well. So why now? Rogue hated how she had caught him in a state of vulnerability, yet knew that she didn't care enough to go blabbering about it to other people. It was the last thing he wanted, people's pitiful stares. Her's was enough. She didn't care, so why did she bother asking? He didn't understand the look in her eyes when he had answered her question of if Jiemma being the one behind his injuries.
Maybe it was just because she had known Yukino receive the same treatment, she felt somewhat sorry for him.
But what got him the most was his final moments with the Mermaid ace. Her aloofness had disappeared, instead he caught her with wide-eyed and flushed cheeks. And then she had appeared to be for some reason flustered, bid him farewell and walked away like nothing had happened. To be honest, he had caught her staring at him so maybe that was it? But this was Kagura, such a woman shouldn't run all because of that. Right?
Truthfully Rogue didn't understand why he was overthinking a thing like this, the two had only had two conversations, both of them fairly brief, and he was getting caught up on figuring out the meaning behind her intentions.
"Oh, you're back."
Rogue glanced up to see Sting, leaning against the doorway of the bathroom. "Yeah, I am." he replied, moving over towards the bed. He sat on the edge, glancing at Frosch who was asleep, snuggled up to a pillow. "Frosch wasn't any trouble, was she?" Rogue asked, his hand moving to stroke the exceed, a small smile ghosting across his lips.
"Nope, none at all." Sting replied, moving to sit on the bed next to Rogue's. His elbows resting on his thighs as he knelt forward, a dull ache resting in his back after earlier's events. "Where'd you go?"
Rogue's shoulders rose for a light shrug, "Just for a walk around the city, sat down by the fountain."
"Mhmm." A small smile tugged at the corner of the blonde's lips. His friend always had gone off elsewhere to blow of any steam or frustrations by being alone to think, such a Rogue thing to do. Yet Sting didn't do that, it wasn't his style. Normally he would go take it out on a punching bag or train, but not tonight. He was leaving his frustration to build, simmer until boiling point, until Friday when the final day comes. Then the rest of the guild's will find out just how powerful Sabertooth truly is.
The shadow dragon slayer glanced up at his friend, a somber look on his face, very un-Sting-like. It made him feel uneasy, he had never seen his best friend look this way. Then again, they both had witnessed the blondes exceed and best friend, Lector, get eradicated only to then find out he's being held captive until they're declared the winners of the Grand Magic Games.
"Look, Sting—"
"We need to talk." Sting interrupted him, his tone deep but clear, expression hardening. Rogue closed his mouth, lips pressing into a thin line as he waited for his friend to continue. "On Friday I need you at the top of your game."
Rogue nodded, "I understand."
The blonde shook his head, "Rogue, I don't think you do." he laughed lowly.
"I do." Rogue repeated, voice raised with certainty. "I understand that you need me to succeed in whatever event they throw at us on Friday, for Lector's sake. If this was me in your situation, I'd expect the same from you. So yes Sting, I do understand." the dragon slayer added, shooting his friend a hard glare for even doubting him.
Silence fell between the two men.
Sting bit into his bottom lip, brows furrowed. "Right, of course. I apologies. I just…"
"It's fine."
The white dragon slayer nodded, running a hand through his hair. "I'm going for a shower." he muttered to himself, raising to his feet. Sting walked towards the bathroom before halting, snapping his fingers, "Oh, one more thing," he turned around to see Rogue looking at him. "You tell no one about me being appointed guild master, you hear?"
Rogue raised a brow. So he had accepted the role of guild master? But then that would mean—
"If anyone finds out that I'm competing with that title, we'll be disqualified."
Of course.
"Sure thing, you have my word."
The door shut to the bathroom, Rogue letting out the breath he had been holding. Closing his eyes, he massaged the temples of his head with his fingers. This whole thing was one big headache. They were supposed to be united to compete in the games, yet the guild was at war with themselves and each other. Sting blowing a hole through Jiemma after the guy 'stole' Lectors life, Minerva holding the exceed captive and only willing to hand him over if they win the games, the secrecy of having the newly appointed guild master on the team.
To put it lightly, Sabertooth was a fucking mess.
Standing to his feet Rogue made his way outside towards the balcony, pulling the door to behind him. Moving towards the guard rail, he propped himself against it as he overlooked the city. The whole of Crocus silent, everyone already had retreated to their homes. Mercurius the only thing lit up, the bright lights of the palace giving off a glow, seeming to illuminate the whole city.
"Beautiful isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is." Rogue nodded in agreement.
Wait, what.
The dragon slayer blinked, he was almost certain he wasn't talking to himself, the voice didn't sound like him. Turning around he was met with the grinning face of Natsu Dragneel. "You… What are you doing here?!" Rogue questioned, stance shifting into a more defensive one. He wasn't looking to play around, last time the fire dragon slayer visited their inn, he destroyed half of it.
"Can you keep it down." Natsu ground out in a hushed voice. He held his hands up, waving them about animatedly, "I'm not here to fight. Surprising, I know."
"You don't say." Rogue mumbled, standing up straight. "So what do you want?"
"I need you to come with me."
Rogue frowned and before he knew it the Fairy Tail mage was dragging him towards the guard rail. This idiot wasn't thinking about throwing them both from the balcony, was he? Shadowing out of Natsu's grasp, the dragon slayer glared at his opponent from the tag battle. "The last thing I want to do right now is go with you," Rogue scoffed, straightening out the high collar of his cloak.
He then noticed Natsu's face suddenly turn, dropping the playful grin he always constantly had splayed on his face.
"But I need your help."
The Sabertooth mage raised a brow, "Why me?"
"Just…" Natsu huffed, stomping over to the dragon slayer and grabbing his arm. "I can't explain it here, but I need your help specifically." The salmon-haired man levelled the others with a matching glare, displaying his seriousness. He wasn't playing around no more, this was important.
Closing his eyes Rogue let out a sigh, "Fine, lead the way."
The grin soon returned leading Rogue to wonder if he had just been fooled. He mentally prayed to come out of whatever this was alive. Natsu was stupid in some sense, but he wasn't lacking a brain. The dragon slayer had some method to the madness he created, and it lead the Sabertooth mage to feel he had just been dragged into a wild goose chase, or whatever crazy scheme this man had planned.
"Awesome!"
Gray paced the length of the room, looking back at the clock every other second, patience slowly wearing thin. They had sent Natsu to get Rogue twenty minutes ago, and he hadn't returned. Why is he taking so long. I swear if that idiot has stopped for food, I will kill him. Gajeel was slouched in the chair placed in the corner of the room with Lily perched on the arm asleep, also waiting for the dragon slayer.
Wendy was sitting on the bed with Ryō, the two happily colouring away. The sky dragon slayer had asked Bisca if she could loan a colouring book and crayons. Because sometimes it's just nice to colour! she had told the woman. In reality, she didn't mind colouring but she didn't want Ryō to sit there bored, and with nothing to do.
Happy and Carla sat on the bed opposite them, the blue cat gnawing on a fish whilst the other sat there patiently, watching Wendy and the young boy.
"Where are they—" the ice mage grumbled out, only to halt mid sentence as he heard voices outside the window. Raising a brow he walked over, opening it. Two hands gripped the windowsill before the face of the shadow dragon slayer popped up. "Ah, you're finally here." The Sabertooth mage grumbled out something he didn't quite hear, probably cursing them all out for dragging him here.
Gray helped him through, the dragon slayer kneeling on the floor, catching his breath. Natsu had dragged him, going at a full speed sprint to Fairy Tail's inn.
"Thanks for coming all this way, sorry we dragged you out at this time of the night."
Rogue waved his hand, shaking his head. "It's… It's nothi—" The dragon slayer let out a wail as Natsu fell on top of him, the two ending up sprawled out on the floor.
"Can you not kill the punk, flame brain. We need his help." Gajeel grunted, glaring at the two men.
Natsu rolled off of Rogue, "Uh, thanks for breaking my fall, buddy." he laughed uncomfortably, patting the dark-haired dragon slayer on the shoulder, gaining a groan in reply.
Wendy stood from the bed moving over towards Rogue, kneeling down to help him sit up. "Sorry about that, are you okay?" she asked.
The Sabertooth mage glared at her, only to feel bad when she retreated back slightly. "Sorry," he mumbled. Way to be an asshole, Rogue. "Yeah, I think I'm—" he was cut off with the young dragon slayer holding her glowing palms by him, healing him. Rogue felt the now throbbing pain in his back — thanks, Natsu — slowly disappear. Gone was the pain from hitting the wall, along with Natsu making it worse. "Thank you," he smiled.
Wendy's hands dropped, shooting the dragon slayer a smile in return.
"Can we just hurry up and get this over with, I wanna go sleep." Gajeel huffed, patience wearing thin. He let them be friendly, but now they were just taking their damned time!
"You!" Rogue stood to his feet, stepping closer towards the iron dragon slayer. "Where did you go, I was suppose to fight you!" he glared, only to earn the same look from Gajeel.
"If you didn't see, it was Salamander's fault, not mine. But if you wanna fight then I'm all for beating your punk ass!"
Wendy sighed, moving towards the bed to sit down. Here we go, yet again. What was it with these guys always wanting to fight? She glanced over at Gray who rolled his eyes, propped up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest — which was now bare. In fact, he was only down to his boxers. When did he strip? The young woman was almost sure that Gray was a magician in his spare time. Natsu was looking on intently at the soon-to-be fight between the two men. She was surprised to see he didn't have popcorn in his hands, as he looked on in excitement.
The sky dragon slayer then glanced at Ryō, who was paused in mid-colouring, eyes wide as he stared over at Rogue, mouth agape slightly. He looked to be in awe, ruby coloured eyes glistening as he stared at his apparent father.
"Can you two knock it off!" Gray shouted, hoping to calm the bickering men.
"Besides you owe me a new headband, pay up you asshole!"
"It's just like a usual night at the guild, isn't it?" Carla drawled, cheek propped up by her paw as she watched the argument.
Wendy winced, knowing that if Lucy was here she would have drop kicked Gajeel for using such language in front of Ryō.
"I don't owe you anything!"
The ice mage scowled, bashing the two dragon slayers on the head. "I said knock it off! We have a much more important matter than you two fighting and buying headbands!" he snapped, shooting the two dark-haired men a glare. Gray earned death glares of his own, rolling his eyes. Why does it seem like all of the dragon slayers are immature? Barring Wendy, she was the most sane and mature one out of all six of them. Even Laxus was immature at times, let's not forget about his little temper tantrum when he pitted the whole of Fairy Tail against one another.
"Oh, right! You're probably wondering why you're here." Natsu spoke, moving towards the beds. Rogue nodded. "Well, we were…out. Exploring. But we also found something, well… someone." the fire dragon slayer added, gesturing to the boy sitting next to Wendy.
The room fell silent, the four Fairy Tail mages glancing between their guests.
Ryō blinked, his heart quickening as he locked eyes with the past version of his father. It was amazing to see what his dad was like before he was born, to see how time had changed him. Rogue hadn't changed all that much, minus the scar across the bridge of his nose missing, but other then that he was still the same. Or the same of what Ryō liked to selectively remember about his dad. The times that both of his parents were in his life.
He still had that same passive, somewhat blank look; a look what made you unsure of what he was thinking or about to do. Ryō remembered surprising his father by jumping on him in hopes to scare him, only to receive that look before it was replaced with a smile. Those were the best days, how things used to be. Now his father wore a constant frown, he always looked angry. That and the drastic change in hair, it was a contrast to what he had seen his father's hair like. Instead of long, tied back and being mostly white — barring the small tuft of black what covered his missing eye — in colour, it was black. Just like his own.
This was his father.
Part of Ryō wanted nothing more then to run to his father, in hopes that the man would welcome him with open arms. But he couldn't, to this version of his father, Ryō didn't exist, not yet.
"You found a child?" Rogue questioned, brow raised as he glanced at Natsu. The fire dragon slayer rubbed the nape of his neck, chuckling.
"His name is Ryō." the salmon-haired man spoke.
"The thing is," Gray started, gaining Rogue's attention. "This boy— Ryō, his magic energy is similar to yours—"
"He smells like you too."
The ice mage shot Gajeel a glare before turning back to the Sabertooth mage, "Well, yeah. That and he, well… I hope I don't have to point out the obvious." he shrugged, hoping that Rogue noted that the young boy looked eerily like him.
"You say you found the kid? Where are his parents?"
Gray overheard Gajeel snort, mumbling something under his breath. Right here, asshole. Yet with the silence of the dragon slayer he suspected he didn't hear it, surprisingly. Either that or he chose to ignore it.
"We're looking for them." Wendy answered, feeling somewhat awkward that she had to say that. His father was right here, but she couldn't weird him out.
Rogue simply nodded, not questioning any further. His eyes shifted back to the young boy sitting beside Wendy, and he felt uncomfortable. He knew what the obvious the ice mage was referring to, he would have been stupid not to acknowledge it. He looked just like him when he was younger. But he didn't want to believe what his mind was jumping to, heck he didn't even know what his mind was jumping to. All he knew was that this kid looked like him and it was terrifying.
Why did he agree to this? He should have just went to bed.
"Uh, this may be hard to believe— trust me, we thought it was too! But we think this is your son."
Well, fuck.
Rogue blinked, "I'm sorry, what?" Surely his ears and good hearing were deceiving him, because it sounded like Gray had told him that this boy was his child.
"Ryō is your child." Natsu repeated, pulling out the photograph Ryō had shown him earlier, holding it out for Rogue to look at.
The Sabertooth mage paled, his eyes widening as he looked at the photo. His hand lifting to take it from Natsu, observing it further. Well it was definitely him and the boy in the photo but wait, was that..? He inhaled sharply at the woman in the photograph, recognising her clear as day. The woman who kept him company earlier, Kagura Mikazuchi.
"Does that convince you?" Gajeel questioned.
Rogue shook his head, hoping that this was some weird dream. That Natsu hadn't dragged him to the inn, that he hadn't looked at Ryō, and that he hadn't taken a look at the photo. This had to be some type of hallucination magic, this was too weird to be real. "That's… uh, isn't that…" his words kept dying out, his mind unable to put together actual sentences.
"Yeah, that's Kagura. Ryō's mother."
The shadow dragon slayer gulped. So what they were saying was that he and her had a child, a son, and he was apparently sitting in front of him. How. How had they managed to create him when the two hadn't even… They weren't even friends! Yet alone lovers.
"But how? I'm nineteen, there is no way I fathered a son, especially with how old he looks."
"We think that he isn't from here. From here being that he isn't from our time." Wendy coughed. Gosh, this was one big mess. She understood why Rogue was apprehensive in believing what he was being told, it wasn't everyday you get told that your son is here, even when he hadn't been born in this time. "The thing is we don't know why he's here, but he came with someone else. They, well uh, she… She looks like Lucy."
"From our time?" Rogue pulled a face, brows furrowing. "What are you trying to say? You telling me that this kid is from another time period?" he questioned, voice raising an octave as he glanced at the four Fairy Tail mages.
Their expressions were serious, none of them laughing at his expense. Had he sussed it out that easily?
Rogue ran a hand through his hair, eyes shifting back to Ryō who shot him a smile. A tight-lipped smile but a smile nonetheless, making Rogue's stomach stir. Oh god, this is real.
"Look, Rogue. I know this is awfully hard to take in, but we need your help and—" Thud. Gray looked up to see the dragon slayer no longer standing, instead passed out on the floor. Why did he not see this coming. "Shit, Wendy! Help."
Lucy glanced up at the building in front of her, mentally preparing herself for what she had to do.
Jellal had been kind enough to help her out in seeking out Kagura, asking around the whereabouts the inn what Mermaid Heel was residing in during the Games. He had left her only a few moments ago, telling her that he would look for Ryō whilst she dealt with his mother.
He assumed that the kid would have the same dark power surrounding him as it did with Lucy.
Walking into the lobby, she scanned around for anyone familiar, hoping that possibly the Mermaid ace was lounging around downstairs. Yet to no avail, she was nowhere to be seen. Conveniently she spotted a woman with cat ears and a cloak.
Millianna.
The blonde took a deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves before walking over to the brunette. "Excuse me—"
"Oh, hi. Wait, aren't you the girl from Fairy Tail? I think I've met you before, you're Erzy's friend right?" the cat woman blinked, finger tapping her chin in thought, trying to remember the woman's name.
"Lucy."
Millianna snapped her fingers, "Lucy! So what brings you here? How are you doing by the way? That battle was pretty harsh."
Battle? Oh, right. The Naval battle. Playing along, Lucy nodded. "Yeah, it was. I'm okay now. I was wondering if I could see Kagura."
"Kagura?" the brunette tilted her head. She blinked several times, seeming to space out before shooting the blonde a grin. "Sure! I'll go fetch her, wait here."
The Mermaid Heel mage raced off down the hall, disappearing from her sight. Lucy let out a sigh of relief, glad that it had gone smoothly. Well, for now. The hard part hadn't come yet, she knew that talking to Kagura was going to be daunting for her, remembering how the swords-woman used to be during the Games.
It wasn't until after the games she started to mellow out, but even then she was still somewhat stiff and uptight. Until he came along.
Lucy shifted her weight on her feet, hand gripping the fabric of the cloak. Her mind wandered to Ryō and where he was right now. Was he safe? Who was he with? She hoped that he wasn't getting into too much trouble. Ryō wasn't a child who went looking to make trouble. He was a quiet child, just like his parents. But she knew it was only a matter of time before he slowly started acting out.
Then again, he had every right to do so.
"Lucy?"
The blonde lifted her head to see Kagura standing before her, brow raised as she looked at the celestial mage. Her mouth opened a fraction, yet the words died out at the sight of the Mermaid Heel mage. Eyes clouding with tears what threatened to spill. It felt surreal to see her, granted she had seen her fight earlier against Lyon and Yuka, handling the two men on her own. She had always been someone Lucy admired, from her strength to her unwavering love and warmth Lucy was lucky enough to receive. Only a selected few got to see that side of the woman who often appeared stoic and cold-hearted.
It had been awhile since she had seen her, just over a year to be precise. A year before her life was taken away by her own husband.
Blinking she shot her a small smile, "Hi, I was hoping we could talk."
Kagura nodded, somewhat curious to what the Fairy Tail mage wanted. She motioned for the blonde to follow, leading her to the room she occupied. Talking in a lobby full of prying eyes and avid listeners wasn't something Kagura was too fond of. Plus she noticed that Lucy looked uncomfortable, often shifting on her feet. Closing the door behind the blonde, Kagura sat on the edge of the bed as Lucy took a seat in the chair opposite her.
Lucy glanced at the gravity mage, observing her, noting how much of a contrast this Kagura was to her Kagura.
The Kagura she had befriended had become more relaxed as time had gone by, the two forming a friendship when a programme was set in to have all the guilds work with one another more, to strengthen bonds within the guild and with others. Erza often jumped at the chance to work with Mermaid Heel, wanting to spend time with Millianna and Kagura. Lucy often tagged along on jobs with the three women, managing to form some form of relationship with the Mermaid ace with minimal conversation. However it wasn't until she started to establish a relationship with the shadow dragon slayer from Sabertooth that she started to loosen up.
Whenever she was within the proximity of Rogue a small smile was always gracing her face, lighting up her features. As cheesy as it sounds, she glowed whenever he was nearby.
Time went on, years passed. The two got married and had a child, a baby boy. They called him Ryō. Their guiding light, the missing piece to their puzzle. They were a perfect family, Lucy often found herself admiring what they had, somewhat jealous, hoping that one day she would have the look of contentment the two mages constantly had.
However after the war, things slowly went downhill.
Rogue's disappearances impacted her more than she wanted to admit. The smile Kagura used to wear now replaced with a smile which disguised her true emotions. One she couldn't allow her son to see, protecting him from the pain she was bearing alone. Lucy often visited to keep her company, and all she saw was the hurt Kagura carried around.
The pain of losing her husband, who had detached himself from her and their son. Wanting nothing more than for him to return; for him to be happy again, for her to have her husband back, for him to be in Ryō's life.
This Kagura however was reserved, her expression void of any emotion whatsoever yet Lucy found it amazing that her eyes were so expressive. Those hazel eyes told her everything, they gave her away. Lucy had known her long enough to read her, even if this was past Kagura.
The Kagura before her held a certain mystery to her, somewhat an underlying darkness. Sadness maybe? She wasn't all too certain.
Kagura glanced over at the celestial wizard, noting that she had been looking her way. Her head tilted, noting the faraway look Lucy had on her face. Clearing her throat she gained the attention of the blonde. "What was it you wanted to talk about? Apologies if I sound rude, but I don't understand what you would want from me." she asked.
A small smile tugged at the corner of Lucy's lips. Still ever so inquisitive.
"I know. I also apologise if I have disturbed your night, time is getting on." Lucy spoke, a heavy feeling building in her chest. She needed to get her emotions in check, feeling overwhelmed to be alone with the woman across from her.
"It's fine."
The blonde nodded, letting out a small sigh. How did she even start this? Lucy knew that Kagura didn't like to beat around the bush, preferring the upfront approach. "For what I'm about to tell you, I hope that you keep and open mind. It's not easy to tell you this, and I understand that you will question so I'm willing to provide answers. But please, just know that I've come to you to ask for your assistance." Lucy explained, voice wavering.
Kagura blinked, brow arching. Keep an open mind? Ask for your assistance? Just what did Lucy need her for? Surely her guild mates could help her out, neither of them had ever spoken until tonight and even that had been brief. If it wasn't for Natsu being there, Kagura was certain that the two of them would never have interacted.
"Okay."
Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief before it was replaced with a small smile. "Thank you."
Look's like Ryō has finally met his father! Even if he did end up fainting. Poor Rogue. And Future!Lucy finally met Kagura! What do you think Kagura's reaction will be to what Lucy is about to tell her? Until next time, thanks for reading.