This chapter has been rewritten as of 5/6/19.

Chapter 2

"Just one night?"

I didn't rise to the other question painted all over the innkeeper's face. "Just one night."

His eyes drifted away from my face to Zangetsu's hilt over my shoulder—again. I cleared my throat, my hand still holding out the money. He took the bills after a beat and handed over a room key. I headed for the stairs before he could get it into his head to try any further questions. At least he couldn't hold the key hostage anymore.

Once safely behind my room's closed door, I leaned against the wall just to the right of the entrance. My muscles were leaden, my thoughts sluggish. I could feel my spiritual energy, but it was slow to respond to my will. I needed sleep.

I staggered across the room, sat heavily on the bed, and closed my eyes, trying to sift through the mess in my head.

I wasn't on Earth, I was sure of that much at least. This was some other dimension, some other world. Kisuke's "small chance" had become my reality. I breathed out slowly, opening my eyes to stare at the floor. There had to be some way back. That girl—Lucy—hadn't seemed all that surprised at the idea of teleportation magic. In this world, then, magic was a relatively normal thing. Hell, I hadn't even gotten that many weird looks about my swords. The innkeeper had stared, sure, but no one had demanded I remove them.

Step one, then: research. After that, I'd make some money, get some different clothes to blend in, and pay Lucy back. I just needed a way to track down someone who practiced a kind of magic that could take me to a different dimension. If teleportation was practiced, then cross-dimensional techniques weren't out of the realm of possibility. I had no idea how I'd manage that, though. That was all a tomorrow problem.

Plan set, I stood and removed Zangetsu's blades, laying them carefully against the side of the bed. They'd be well within reach if anyone broke into my room. Sleeping in my shihakushō wasn't exactly a new experience, and once I settled into bed, exhaustion dragged me under.

I woke up well before the sun. With weak moonlight shining around the curtains, I sat cross-legged on the floor with Zangetsu's blades across my lap. One breath, two, and I opened my eyes to my inner world. I stood, blades now sheathed, and glanced around. Nothing seemed out of place. Clouds covered the sky, but at least it wasn't raining.

"You're tellin' me," Zangetsu grumbled from behind me. I turned, and there he was, looking as tired as I'd ever seen him. "Ah, fuck off. I dunno what the fuck Kisuke was thinkin', but travellin' across dimensions or whatever we did drained a lot more than I thought it would. It was enough to separate me 'n the Old Man 'n kick us back to shikai."

"Where is he, anyway?" I asked.

"I am here," the Old Man said, striding up next to me. He also looked tired, the lines on his face deeper than usual, his eyes bloodshot. "We will need time to recover. The energy of this world can be converted to reiatsu, but it will be more time-consuming than you're used to. We will be relying on the power you yourself produce most of all."

"Basically, recovery's gonna take at least another day." Zangetsu absently cracked his neck. "Feel like I got hit by a fuckin' truck," he muttered.

I could empathize. "Old Man, you said the energy here is different. Different how?"

"I cannot tell for sure," he replied, "but it seems that this place has little naturally-occurring reishi. Your Quincy abilities will be severely diminished. This energy is more erratic. I am struggling to make it do what I want."

"Huh. What about my Shinigami powers?"

"Rarin' to go," Zangetsu drawled. "It's all internal power, and while our reserves took a hit, we'll be back to normal in a day or two."

I frowned, tapping Zangetsu's pommel at my waist while I thought. "We don't know how we match up to the wizards in this world, so I'm going to try to keep a low profile."

Zangetsu snickered. "Attackin' that girl in the alley was a great start."

"Yeah, well, can't really do anything about that now. If I walk around with my swords, I'm going to get some looks, but I'm not leaving you two behind when I don't even know what's going on around here."

"A change of clothes would be best," the Old Man advised.

"As long as it ain't Quincy gear, I won't complain," Zangetsu put in. I nodded.

"Sounds good. If anything weird happens with this world and my power—"

"We will tell you."

The next time I blinked, I opened my eyes to watery sunlight streaking in around the curtains. Standing with a quiet groan, I went to the window, pushed back the curtains, and examined what I could see of Magnolia. In the daylight, I could get a much better sense of its size and layout. The streets were hubs of activity, with merchants and shops lining the main roads while alleys spiraled off into innumerable side streets. Even this early, people were up and about, and shopkeepers were already flipping the signs on their doors.

I sighed. This was going to be harder than I'd thought.

"A little to the left!"

Arms burning from strain, I shuffled a few inches over.

"Perfect! Set 'er down there."

The crate, despite my best efforts, hit the floor hard enough to make it shake. The captain didn't seem to care, though, as he walked up to me with an impressed whistle.

"I'll say, boy, you've got some monstrous strength right there." When I gave him a wary look, he just laughed. "I'm just surprised a guy like you isn't part of Fairy Tail. Had ya pegged for a wizard."

"Yeah, I hear that a lot," I said, which was the truth. Three separate people had mentioned their surprise when I helped them with various odd jobs. This ship captain was just the latest to say so. "Is this the last of the cargo?"

The captain glanced around, giving his beard a stroke while he scrutinized the dozen other crates I'd hauled into the ship's hold. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Actually, it is. Jeez, boy, you've saved me a couple hours' work here. My crew is half as strong and twice as lazy as you've been."

I sensed the invitation and shook my head. My chances of encountering cross-dimensional magic on a merchant ship were all but nil. "I appreciate it, but—"

"Yeah, you've got your own life here, I figured. Can't find good help 'cept for part-time these days. Ah, it is what it is, I suppose." He held out a small collection of bills, which I took. "There you go, son. Appreciate the help."

"Thanks for letting me," I returned, discreetly counting the money before tucking it into my shihakushō. I disembarked quickly and struck off down the street, heading back to the clothing shop I'd passed on my way to the small port. Ignoring the looks tossed my way, I ducked into the store. A bell on the door gave a cheerful jangle as I stepped inside, and an older woman behind the counter glanced over. Her face lit up when she saw me.

"A new face!" she said. "Sorry, I don't see a lot of new people all that often. Most of them go to that store down the street these days."

I'd seen that swanky shop. The prices had been absurd. "I wasn't looking for anything fancy," I said. "Mind if I just walk around?"

"Oh, please do. Those clothes on the racks over there can be tailored for a little extra."

"I kind of need them right away—"

She held up a needle that caught and reflected the light. "Please, darling. My Weaving magic works so well and so fast you wouldn't even have to take them off. Select whatever you like, and I'll make it look good."

"A rather specific application of magic," the Old Man commented. I agreed—silently.

All the clothes were simple, relatively unadorned, and made with colors that didn't offend the eye. They were, put simply, exactly what I wanted and exactly what the other store didn't have. I picked out a few shirts, pants, and other odds and ends that would stay within the budget of my hours of work. All the traders and merchants here had been generous with their money, to say the least, so I had enough for basic supplies while setting aside what I needed to pay Lucy back.

"Are these all?" the tailor asked, her practiced eye roving the small pile of clothes I'd set on her counter.

"For now," I said. She smiled a merchant's smile and quickly added up the prices.

"12,000 jewels," she announced. "Tailoring included with the rounding."

I wasn't stupid. This place looked relatively modern, but I'd been around merchants all morning. Bartering was expected. "Eight thousand."

"Darling, come on. I have to make a living, you know, and my magic takes work. 11,500."

"Eight and five."

"11,000."

"Nine even. I'm not made of money."

"Let's say ten even and we both agree that you come here again. Deal?"

I didn't need to hesitate. "Deal."

I forked over the cash and she swept the clothes away into the back room.

"This will just be a minute!" she called. I leaned against the counter, passing the time by examining the various styles on display around the store. Everything looked like an odd cross between normal clothing and those fantasy costumes all the cosplayers liked to copy. I'd gone with what I'd gathered to be a "normal" look based on the people walking around town, but Lucy had stood out from all of them. Did mages dress differently? Or maybe they were just eccentric, though Lucy had seemed normal enough…

"All done!" The tailor dropped the clothes on the counter, startling me out of my thoughts. "I made a few slight alterations besides basic fitting. With your frame, they'll be more flattering than simple adjustments. You're welcome to step into the changing room over there and try them on."

Better than finding some out-of-the-way alley to change in. I slid the curtain shut and examined my options.

"A few slight alterations my ass," Zangetsu said. "Not that I'm complainin'."

I decided on the green shirt and black pants. As I shifted the pile, two pieces of cloth I didn't remember buying slid out. Gloves? I put them on. They were made of something soft, almost silky on the inside, but the back appeared to have small metal pieces.

Footsteps stopped outside the curtain. "I forgot to mention," the tailor said, "but I included those gloves because of those lovely swords you wear. There's an armor shop across town that sells good gauntlets, but the cloth that comes with them is terrible quality. Consider it an investment in your future patronage."

"Thanks," I said, examining the gloves a little closer. The cloth that went up my forearms could be separated from the rest, leaving me with a pair of fingerless gloves. Not wanting to stand out with weird, elbow-length gloves, I detached the parts that could hold armor and settled on just the gloves. As the tailor walked away, I examined myself in the mirror.

The plain green shirt had gained a pattern on one of the sleeves that transitioned to a darker shade of green on my torso and stretched down across the front and back, almost like the strap for my shea—

Because it was a strap, I realized with a start. I put on my swords again, letting the sheaths settle into place, and saw that the darker pattern was actually a section of reinforced fabric to protect against wear and tear.

Clever. She'd done it with all three of my shirts, using varying colors and patterns. The pants, too, felt a bit thicker around the knees and hips. Whoever this tailor was, she was sharp and very, very good at her craft. She didn't need to bribe me to come back.

On my way towards the Fairy Tail guild hall, I stopped and bought shoes and a bag that I could wear over Zangetsu's sheath. I kept my new wallet in my pants pocket, not trusting the crowds around here and the wandering hands that could be mingling within them. As I approached the guild hall, I reviewed what I'd learned at the library that morning. An hour wasn't nearly enough time to get an idea of the whole culture of Fiore and all the complexities of magic, but I had the gist of things, and I was sure I could fake my way through the rest.

The Fairy Tail guild was a sight to behold. Standing tall above the surrounding buildings, the castle-like structure sported bright colors, sturdy stone walls, and a bell shining proudly on the top in the morning sun. I strolled through the open gate and tried not to stare like a tourist at the courtyard beyond.

My eyes skipped over the tables scattered on one side and focused on the gift shop. I knew what magic guilds were, and I was pretty sure gift shops weren't all that common, but with how much merch they were stocking, they had to be doing serious business, right?

"Ichigo?"

I turned, and there was Lucy coming through the gate, eyes bright and curious. "Lucy. Guess my timing's pretty good."

"Definitely. Did you get new clothes?"

"Yeah, I followed your advice and worked around town for a bit. The people here are pretty nice."

"Aren't they? I love living here."

"Before I forget, I think I owe you these," I said, handing over the jewels. Lucy accepted them and then raised an eyebrow at the extra cash.

"I know I didn't give you this much."

"Some of it's an apology," I said. "You really didn't have to go to so much trouble for me, especially after I attacked you, but you did, and I appreciate that."

Pink dusted Lucy's cheeks. "Oh, well, thank you. I guess you really weren't some creep."

"Thanks, I think."

She chewed her lip for a second before standing a little straighter. "Here, come on. I feel kinda bad for totally misjudging you earlier. I know you're not a member, but you haven't really experienced Magnolia if you haven't seen the inside of Fairy Tail."

"Am I allowed in there?"

She laughed. "Of course!"

I fell into step next to her while we headed for the front doors, sparing a glance at the whip attached to her left hip. I hadn't imagined it last night, then. Was there such a thing as a whip mage?

"You are distracted."

The Old Man wasn't wrong.

Lucy pushed open the doors and any questions I'd been about to ask died on my lips. Fairy Tail was on fire. Well, parts of it—a few tables had been set ablaze, but even as I watched, a wave of ice put them all out. A brawl had taken over that corner of the large room but, strangely, I sensed no real malice. No one here had reiatsu to indicate their emotions, but it was plain to see in the grins on their faces. They were having fun.

We took a few more steps across the interior wooden deck, which ringed the rest of the room and had stairs leading down to the main floor. A stage took up the far end and a bar with stools had been built into the right-hand wall. People were scattered around the room in groups, some watching the fight with amused interest, others hardly giving it any attention at all.

"There they go again," I heard someone say. "What was it this time?"

"Who knows?" their companion replied. "They don't need much of an excuse these days."

A stray mug flew towards my face. I caught it, the wood smacking against my palm, and set it down on the railing while following Lucy to the bar. She was giving the fight only enough attention to avoid being dragged into it. "Is this normal?"

She ducked to avoid a plate that would've taken her head off. "Well, it's Natsu and Gray. They're literally fire and ice, so they tend to argue a lot. I wonder what it was that set them off this time."

I glanced back at the brawl, which had abruptly shifted to a stalemate between a black-haired boy wearing only his boxers and a pink-haired boy in a scarf, vest, and loose white pants tied off at his calves.

"Say it again, flame-brain, I dare you," the black-haired one growled.

"You heard what I said, stripper," the pink-haired one shot back.

The red-haired woman sitting nearby glanced over. "Will you two knock it off? It is far too early in the morning for this nonsense."

Natsu and Gray separated immediately, even going so far as to salute. "Yes ma'am, sorry ma'am," they chorused before splitting up to occupy completely different tables.

"That's Erza," Lucy explained. "She's one of the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail. Natsu and Gray are terrified of her."

"Are you?"

Lucy got a chagrined expression on her face. "Well, you'll see why they act like that pretty quickly if you spend any time here. Erza's kind of a force of nature, you know?"

I didn't, but I'd take her word for it. Still, that gave me a benchmark. If Fairy Tail was the strongest guild in Fiore, and Erza was one of the strongest wizards in Fairy Tail…

"Hi Lucy," said the woman behind the bar counter. "Who's your friend here?

Lucy and I slid onto adjacent stools. I held out my hand, trying not to stare. This woman was one of the most beautiful I'd ever seen. My dad would've been drooling. "I'm Ichigo. Lucy helped me out and offered to show me around the guild, since this is my first time in Magnolia."

The woman brightened. "Is it? That's wonderful. I'm Mirajane, but you can call me Mira. If you have any questions about Fairy Tail, I'd be happy to answer them."

"Lucy said you guys are the strongest guild in this country. Is that true?"

Lucy stiffened, but Mira just tapped a finger against her chin. "Well, in terms of popularity, yes. And I suppose our wizards are pretty strong compared to the top wizards of other guilds. Honestly, without a big competition that includes the dark guilds, there's no way to say for sure who's the strongest, but we're definitely up there."

"Dark guilds?"

Mira gave me a strange look. "Yes, have you not heard of them?"

Sensing that Lucy was about to reveal the biggest detail of my cover story, I spoke quickly. My research had given me the knowledge that travelers from other countries weren't as common in this world as they were in mine, and I didn't want any undue attention sent my way. "Well, I haven't really been paying attention to the guild scene here. Been traveling."

"Oh, no worries. Dark guilds refuse to work under the laws set by the Magic Council. The three strongest are part of the Balam Alliance, but we took down one of those—the Oración Seis—just recently when we teamed up with a few other guilds. Lucy was there, actually."

I glanced at her. "You were there?"

She held up her hands with a nervous laugh. "Well, yeah, it was pretty scary, but it all worked out in the end. It was kind of crazy to see all that powerful magic up close instead of reading about it in Sorcerer Weekly."

I retreated into my thoughts while Mira and Lucy chatted. Fairy Tail seemed to be my best bet for immersing myself in magic. Becoming a member of a reputable guild like this would open all kinds of doors for me. The downside was that it would also put me in the spotlight. Did they do background checks on new members? Was there some kind of test, like a citizenship test, only scaled down? I didn't really know that much about Fairy Tail. I'd needed to familiarize myself with so many aspects of this world that I hadn't had the time to focus on specifics.

"So what do you think, Ichigo?"

I belatedly realized that Mira was looking at me. "Say that again?"

"What do you think of Fairy Tail? Pretty cool, right?"

I could hardly say no. "It's definitely an interesting place. Who's the guild master here?" Mirajane didn't seem the type, or at least I hoped so. I didn't want to start off on the wrong foot.

Fortunately, my gut had been right.

"Master Makarov is around here somewhere," Mira said brightly. "He was sitting here just a minute ago, but Levy dragged him off to the library over there." She pointed to a room to the left of the main entrance. I made a mental note to check that library out when I got the chance. It was probably more magic-oriented than the public one I'd visited earlier.

Of course, I had to become a guild member first, and to do that, I knew I had to talk to the master. I just needed an excuse to hang around until he came back.

"Do you have any other questions right away?" Mira asked. I shrugged a little.

"Not really, but they'll come to me."

"Okay, now that you've gotten to ask some question, why don't we ask you some stuff?" Lucy suggested. "All I know so far is your name and that you're from another country."

I wanted to groan. Mira's eyes widened. "Another country? Which one?"

Basic geography that I learned four hours ago, I prayed, don't fail me now.

"Seven," I replied. "Lived on the north coast, some town I promise you've never heard of."

Lucy frowned. "With the way you were talking last night, I thought you'd come from a lot farther away."

"Well, it's still pretty far," I said. "Where did you think I came from?"

"I'm not sure. Iceberg?"

Mira giggled. "With hair like that, I don't think that place would suit him very well."

"You've got a guy with pink hair right over there," I said. "Is orange really that strange in comparison?"

"I guess not, but it's still very bright. So, what kind of magic do you use?"

"Something with those two swords of yours, I bet," Lucy said.

"You're right about that," I said. I'd spent the majority of my research on magic—mainly, some kind of cover story for my weapons and abilities. "I guess I'm what you call holder-type. These swords let me move really fast and fire off energy attacks at range."

"I haven't heard of that particular type before," Mira said, "but it sounds like a lot of fun. How long have you been practicing it?"

I could see both Mira and Lucy relaxing around me. The more we talked, the more they let down their guards, which was good—Lucy especially. I still felt a bit bad for attacking her. "How long? Years now." I let one hand rest on the hilt at my waist. "These swords are practically a part of me."

"I'm kinda surprised you didn't learn any version of requip magic to store them," Lucy said. "Wouldn't that be easier than carrying them around all the time?"

I had only a vague understanding of requip, so I elected to evade the question. "I like carrying them. Plus it lets other people know that they shouldn't try anything reckless."

"I have heard rumors of thieves on the roads," Mira mused. "You can never be too careful." Her gaze slid past me. "Oh, the master's coming back. Did you want to talk to him?"

"Yeah. I'm thinking about becoming a member here. Do you think that's possible?"

Lucy coughed for a second, nearly choking on the drink Mira had placed in front of her. "You've only been here for, like, a day!"

Which was more than enough time to come up with a lie and practice it until it almost sounded believable. I rested my elbows on the counter.

"Yeah, well, let's just say the place I came from wasn't all that great. The people here are a lot friendlier. A lot livelier, too."

"What about your friend?"

I stared at the wood, genuine pain sliding into my voice. "There's no going back for him."

For some reason, both Mira and Lucy seemed put off by that. Lucy was the first to rally. "Still, if there's any chance—"

"There's not," I interrupted flatly before closing my eyes. "Sorry. I—I lied to you, last night, Lucy. I shouldn't have, but I was really out of it. Kisuke sent me away as his last act. I saw him die as the spell activated."

Lucy brought her hands up to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know."

"Not like I told you until now. It's okay. I'm just trying not to think about it right now."

"Because that's worked out fuckin' great in the past."

Ignoring Zangetsu, I glanced to my right as a short old man hopped up onto a stool one away from mine. Clothed in a bright orange outfit and striped hat, he hardly looked the part of the guild master, but there was a strange weight to the air around him. This whole dimension didn't have much reiatsu, but every wizard put off a little. In comparison to this guy, Natsu and Gray hardly registered.

"Mira," the man said, "would you mind removing the Onibus library job? Levy informed me that it's already been taken care of by another guild."

"Of course, master," Mira said. When she smiled, she kind of reminded me of Orihime, but the resemblance pretty much stopped there. "By the way, this is Ichigo. He said he would like to speak with you."

The guild master—Makarov, Mira had said—spun in his seat to face me, one eyebrow raised. "Oh? And what brings you here, Ichigo?"

I shifted to better face him too. "I'm from the country of Seven. I was staying in Magnolia for the night when I ran into Lucy. I wasn't planning on staying originally, but Lucy offered to show me around here, and, well…I want to join your guild."

Makarov peered at me. "I would've expected a wizard of your age to already be affiliated with a guild."

"I've been moving around too much to really have one place to call home," I said. "Things changed pretty quickly this past week."

For just a moment, I allowed myself to consider what had been floating on the edge of my mind since I woke up in this world: that my presence here, that Kisuke's invention's failure, was some sign by a higher power that I wasn't meant to go back. That my home was gone. That I was never, ever getting my home—or the people who made it, my friends, my family—back.

"I don't really think I have anywhere else to go," I finished, and the line was a little too close to the storm in my chest for comfort. Makarov regarded me evenly, no sign of whether he was buying into my story or not crossing his face.

"Hm. And you don't believe you're jumping into this, do you?"

I knitted my fingers together on my lap and squeezed. "I want to be a part of Fairy Tail," I said.

I want access to what you have, I added silently.

To my surprise, that simple conversation seemed to satisfy. Makarov faced the bar again.

"Fairy Tail is always a home for those who need it. Mira, where is our guild stamp?"

"Right here, Master," the woman replied, reaching behind the bar and pulling out a stamp. She turned to me with a welcoming smile. "Congratulations!"

"Uh, thanks." That was it? No test? No verification?

In the awkward silence that followed, Mira cocked her head. "Well, where would you like it?"

I stared at her blankly for a second.

"The guild mark, genius. Like the one on Lucy's hand."

Oh. Right. "Upper arm, if you can."

I turned so my right arm was closest to Mira and lifted the sleeve of my shirt as much as my sheath allowed to give Mira access to my bicep. Mira glanced at me for one last nod of confirmation before pressing the stamp against my skin. It felt strangely warm, and I saw why when Mira removed it: where before there had been nothing, now glowed a black mark, clearly the guild mark. With each passing second, the glow faded until it was just a normal tattoo.

Frankly, I'd been worried when Mira didn't ask what color I wanted. Maybe it was random. Either way, I was fine with the black color. Both halves of Zangetsu never would've let me live down a pink guild mark. It worked for Lucy, but not me.

I let my sleeve fall back down. The bottom of the guild mark still poked out from under it, which was fine by me.

"Mira, would you—actually," Makarov reconsidered, "Lucy, since you brought him here, why don't you give him the rundown on how things work around here? Mira needs to keep an eye on things at the bar."

"Oh Master, you just want me around to stop Cana from stealing another barrel."

Barrel?

"Another?"

"Me?" Lucy asked. "Are you sure?"

Mira cocked her head. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no, no, I just—" she glanced at me, her face dusted with pink, before looking away. "Of course I can do it." She slid off her stool. "Well, are you coming?"

Mira gave me a what-can-you-do kind of smile and shrug combination, which told me absolutely nothing. I joined Lucy on a whirlwind tour of the place. We stopped in the game room downstairs, the swimming pool out back, the library (which was apparently only a miniature sample of another, far vaster collection), several other places, and finally stopped at the request board back in the main hall.

"Hey," I said when we stopped in front of the board, "who's the loner?"

Lucy followed my gaze to a table in the back of the hall and the one man seated at it. Her expression turned conflicted. "That's Gajeel, the iron dragon slayer," she said. "He's a full-fledged member of the guild now, but he used to be a member of a guild called Phantom Lord, which did some awful stuff to us."

"He was still allowed to join?" Was there anyone these people wouldn't turn away?

Lucy bit her lip. "Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the guy, but he helped take down Laxus when he went crazy, and even though he's pretty hard to talk to, he doesn't seem to be all that bad these days."

"Huh." I let my gaze linger on Gajeel for a moment longer, wondering if the fact that he seemed to be eating metal had something to do with his magic, before I refocused on the request board. "So how does this work?"

"It's pretty simple," Lucy said. "You pick a job and take it up to Mira to officially claim it. If you don't get it cleared by her or the guild master, you can get in serious trouble, so make sure to do that. You're new here, so I'd recommend something easy to start off with."

"There's just one problem with that," I said, scanning the board.

"Yeah?"

"I need money for a place to live. Saw a couple of cheaper homes on the outskirts, but they all had a down payment of at least thirty thousand."

"I hadn't even though about that," Lucy said. "I mean, if you're really confident we can probably do a more difficult job…"

"We?"

"Well, of course I'll go with you. I'm pretty experienced, so I can show you the ropes, y'know?"

"It would be wise to have a guide knowledgeable in the ways of the world," the Old Man noted.

"What kind of magic do you use?" I asked. "Does it have to do with that whip?"

Lucy glanced down, one hand going to the weapon on reflex. "Oh, this? No, well, yes, but I carry this so that I can fight alongside my spirits. I'm a celestial spirit wizard, so I can summon spirits to fight with me from the Celestial Spirit World with their keys." She patted the leather case on her other hip.

Her magic sounded pretty strong, but I was a novice with all this in every sense of the word. While that kind of sucked, it was also nice to lack knowledge for a change. No one would be turning to me to answer their questions here. I was, for the first time in years, not in command.

"Hey Lucy, are you taking a job?"

Lucy glanced behind her. "Natsu. Are you done fighting with Gray?"

So Natsu was the pink-haired one. He stopped right by Lucy with a grin on his face. "Well, ice-for-brains realized he wasn't gonna win this round, so he backed off."

"Really. I thought Erza got between you two."

Natsu paled. "Oh, well, yeah, I guess she did." He looked at me. "Who's the new guy?" He caught sight of the visible section of the guild mark on my arm. "Whoa, are you a new member? That's awesome!"

"Natsu, this is Ichigo," Lucy said. "Ichigo, this is Natsu, our fire dragon slayer."

"So you and Gajeel practice the same kind of magic," I said. Natsu crossed his arms.

"Yeah, but mine's way cooler."

A single screw pinged off the back of Natsu's head. He spun, fist alight—fist on fire—and called across the room: "You wanna fight, screw-lover?"

Gajeel was on his feet, ready to throw down. "Come and get me, you pansy! I'll take you on any day."

"Now, now," Lucy said, trying to get between them, "maybe now isn't the best time? We are trying to help our new member here. And not scare him off."

Natsu glanced at me, then scoffed in Gajeel's direction before turning his back to him. I watched Gajeel scowl and sit back down. Just like that, the fighting atmosphere was gone.

"So, you're new here," Natsu said. "What kind of magic do you use? That's some really fancy gear. Are you like Erza?"

"He doesn't use requip," Lucy said.

"Yeah, these are my only swords," I said, tapping Zangetsu.

"Magic swords? What do they do? Can they shoot fire?"

"Uh, no."

"Ice?"

"Don't think so."

"Iron?"

"Afraid not."

Natsu frowned. "What can they do?"

Lucy sighed. "Natsu…"

"Watch your mouth, punk," Zangetsu growled.

"Trust me, they're pretty capable," I said. "So, Lucy, got any recommendations for a mission that will put a roof over my head?"

"Um…" She tapped a finger against her chin much like Mira did, her eyes flicking over the options.

"You're going on a mission with this guy?" Natsu asked.

"What? Oh, yeah. The master asked me to show him around, and it sounds like he's never been in a guild before, so he needs someone experienced to guide him through it."

"You're really proud of that, aren't you," Natsu said. Lucy reddened.

"Maybe I am. So what?"

"Well, I need some money for food too, so I guess I'll join."

"You're just going to invite yourself?"

"I mean, we are on the same team, aren't we?" Natsu's stomach rumbled and he looked away, one hand coming up to press against his stomach. "Unless you want me to starve, which would be totally cruel—"

"All right, all right, you can join if Ichigo says it's okay. It's his first mission, after all."

Natsu looked to me. I shrugged. "I'm fine with it, but that means we should take something with enough of a reward that we can split it and I can still pay rent."

"Aw, you're like Lucy," Natsu groaned.

"Quit it," Lucy said. "Half the reason I'm complaining about rent all the time is that you and Happy eat all my groceries!"

"Happy?" I said. That was a weird name. Natsu brightened.

"Oh, yeah, you haven't met him. Hey, Happy! Get over here, buddy!"

A blue cat—I blinked, but yes, it was definitely blue—looked over from where it was lovingly wrapping a fish in a pink ribbon. As though the color wasn't enough, as I watched, wings sprouted from the cat's back and it flew over to us. The closer it got, the more I realized that it was very far from a normal cat. Furry and cute, yes, but this thing looked bipedal, never mind that it was blue and could fly.

"Your soul is part soul-devouring monster and you're complainin' about a flyin' cat? Please."

Like you're any less shocked.

"Tch."

"Haven't seen you around here," the cat said. I blinked.

"The cat talks," I said, too surprised to say anything else.

"Yeah, he's a bit of a weird one," Lucy said.

"Hey," Natsu said, "Happy's not weird. He's my friend."

"Your friends can be pretty weird, Natsu," Lucy said.

"Like you're one to talk," Happy said. "You say all your spirits are your friends, and they're all super weird."

Lucy started to argue, only to stop. "Yeah," she muttered, defeated, "they kind of are."

Natsu leaned towards the board before he pointed at one paper in particular with a reward of 50,000 jewels. "What about this one? It looks super spooky."

Lucy read it aloud. "Lost family heirloom in haunted forest. Help would be much appreciated." She frowned. "I dunno. With a reward that high, that forest might actually be haunted."

Natsu's grin widened. "I know! Isn't that exciting?"

"Sounds boring as hell," Zangetsu muttered."Pick something else, somethin' that'll actually let us see what these guys can do."

"I don't think that one's going to work," I said.

"Why not?" Lucy asked. "I mean, other than the ghosts and stuff, it seems like a pretty good beginner mission for an experienced wizard. You are an experienced wizard, right?"

"Something like that," I said. "I can handle myself, trust me. What I mean is that I don't think the reward is high enough to split three ways and still work out for me. We should try something that pays a little more."

"You should not pick something too challenging to begin with. We do not know the extent of the power of the people in this world."

That's true, but I'm not making up the rent problem. That landlord didn't seem like the bargaining type.

"I am sure we could come to some sort of arrangement with him."

I am not threatening my landlord, Old Man. You sound like the hollow.

"You're sayin' that like it's a bad thing. It ain't a bad plan. The guy could use bein' taken down a peg or two."

No.

"A little more, huh?" Natsu said. He pointed at a different one, one of the highest-paying available. "Well, if both Lucy and I are tagging along, I don't see why we can't do that one."

"150,000 jewels?" Lucy exclaimed. "How dangerous is it? This is Ichigo's first mission, remember?"

"Yeah, but he smells pretty strong, so I wouldn't worry. Besides, Happy 'n I will be there too."

"Why do I even bother…"

"That'll be easy to split three ways," I noted. "What's the job?"

Natsu grinned. "See? He's already sounding like a true guild wizard. What're you so worried about, Lucy? This job seems like fun!"

"Have you even read the description?"

"Yeah, it's clearing out some bandits."

"For that much? Yeah, I don't think so. Give me that." Lucy snatched the paper and looked it over, her eyes going wide. "Some bandits? Natsu, this says that there's an entire camp in the forests outside Oak Town." Lucy's expression darkened. "Apparently, they moved in when the guild that used to be there got disbanded."

"Disbanded?" I said. "What did they do?"

Judging from the looks on Natsu and Lucy's faces, it wasn't anything pleasant. "It was Phantom Lord," Lucy said, and I made the connection immediately.

"Got it," I said. "Bad history."

"Yeah. Anyway, this seems like it could be a pretty dangerous mission. The bandits might have wizards with them. We should go with something a little easier."

"C'mon, Lucy, it'll be fun," Natsu said.

"Even if we split it three ways, we still all get 50,000," I pointed out.

Lucy hesitated. "Well, that would really help with my rent…"

"She's in!" Happy declared. "All it took was money!"

"Watch it, cat," Lucy snapped.

"Can I see that?" I asked, gesturing to the paper. Lucy handed it over. I skimmed the details and paused at the last line. "Says here that the leader's pretty strong. Either of you recognize his name?"

Natsu and Lucy peered at the paper before shaking their heads. Natsu smacked one fist into his palm. "Doesn't matter. We'll roast 'im, get the reward, and throw a party at Lucy's house when we're done."

"Don't just invite yourself over!"

"Motion sickness?" I said, staring at Natsu in surprise. The dragon slayer was sideways across his bench, cheeks green, groaning like a dying man. "He didn't seem the type."

"Wendy," Natsu moaned.

"She's not here, genius," Lucy said from my left. "You knew we were traveling by train."

"Natsu never plans ahead," Happy said from his perch on Natsu's legs. Natsu just groaned.

"Right," I said slowly. We had a while until we reached Oak Town; now was as good a time as any to ask Lucy some questions. "So, Lucy, how long have you been a member of Fairy Tail?"

She hummed for a second. "Um, not too long, actually. I'm one of the newest members. I think Wendy and Gajeel are the only ones who joined after I did. And you, of course."

"Of course. What brought you to Fairy Tail?"

She laughed a little awkwardly. "Well, it's a pretty long story."

"It's a long way to Oak Town."

"I guess."

"If you don't want to tell me, I get it."

"No, it's not that, I mean, you wouldn't really…there's some details that someone from Seven wouldn't get. I just need a second to plan it out."

Happy wasn't willing to wait. "Lucy's family is rich!" he exclaimed. Lucy shushed him quickly.

"Stop that! Besides, my dad—let's just say that the Heartfilia name isn't what it used to be."

I settled into my seat while Lucy relayed the story of her flight from home, meeting with Natsu, and subsequent battle against a slaver posing as a Fairy Tail mage.

"That fake Salamander was a real slimeball," Happy said. Lucy nodded.

"Yeah, he was a serious creep. Natsu beat some sense into him. Then we ran away from the Rune Knights together, and I joined Fairy Tail."

She went on to explain how her father hadn't been content to let her live her life away from him. When she finished, I let the silence linger. Natsu broke it after a few seconds with a particularly pathetic groan, but it was enough to prompt me to speak.

"That's some pretty terrible parenting," I said. "He was way out of line."

Lucy nodded, but she was gripping her own hands hard enough to turn her knuckles white. After a second, she sighed and relaxed. "I've made my peace with what he did. We talked it out a little while back. I haven't forgiven him, but we've both made mistakes, and at least now he's acknowledged his. And, well, we got Gajeel and Juvia out of the whole fiasco, so I guess there's that."

Since I only knew Gajeel based on what Lucy and Natsu said and didn't know anything about this Juvia person, I couldn't really comment. Now that I had a better sense of Lucy, though, I felt more comfortable asking different questions.

"That library you showed me on the tour," I said, "do you have books on different types of magic in there?"

"Some of them, I'm sure. Honestly, Levy would be the better one to ask. I'm a visitor; she's practically a librarian."

"Would she be willing to show me around in there?"

"What, are you a scholar too? You don't look the part."

I shrugged. "My friend was a bit of a scientist. I was curious to see if any of his techniques are known outside of our village."

"I'm sure Levy could help you with that. Fairy Tail has a much bigger library in the back than the one I showed you, and Levy borrows books from there all the time. I'll introduce you two when we get back."

"I'd appreciate that."

We passed the rest of the trip with idle conversation until the train pulled into the station. At Lucy's request, I carried Natsu out so that he wouldn't get stuck on the train on its way to the next stop, which had apparently happened to him more than once. I set him on a bench just outside the station.

"How long does it take you to recover from this?" I asked. "You were down and out. I've never seen motion sickness that bad before."

Natsu, now able to sit up straight and speak, gave me a shaky thumbs-up. "I'll be good to go in just a—hngh—minute."

I'd take that. "So, where are we meeting the mayor?"

Lucy jerked her thumb up the road. "He said somewhere in town. Rumor has it that he's pretty easy to spot."

Oak Town was a beautiful town, built like a medieval village on a fairly steep hill dotted with trees and surrounded by forest and sparkling water. Strangely, though the top of the hill looked like it had a foundation built on it, I couldn't see any kind of construction on it, as though whatever had been there had just up and left. The afternoon air was warm without being hot, and the sun was slowly heating my back.

The air is so much cleaner here.

Once Natsu was able to walk on his own, we set off down the road. I scanned the people we passed, but no one had any kind of obvious mayor markings. What did Lucy mean by "easy to spot"? Was he wearing a nametag? A sash?

In the end, I only wished it had been a sash.

"Ah, so good of you to come!"

"That's the mayor?"

Immediately after Lucy said that, she covered her mouth, obviously not having intended to say it out loud. Luckily, the approaching man didn't hear her.

He was a short, round man with more face than hair and—god, it's blinding—the single most hideous suit and tie combination I'd ever seen. The ensemble was dominated by putrid plaid, colored using bright pink mixed with orange overlaid with a puke green. I could just see Lucy's fashion sense wilting and dying. Even Zangetsu radiated disgust.

"You the mayor?" I asked, just to be sure. The man nodded.

"Indeed I am, young man. You must be the wizards who accepted the job."

"We're from Fairy Tail," I confirmed, trying to avoid looking at the glaring affront of a tie that was fastened around the mayor's neck. "Here to take the job about the bandits causing you trouble."

"Yes, yes, I figured as much. Just to, ah, make sure, may I see the paper?" Seeing my raised eyebrow, he explained. "We've had a few fakers in recent jobs, you know, and we just can't have that, eh?"

"Sure," I muttered, pulling out the job request. The mayor took it—I had no idea rings that gaudy existed—and then handed it back to me, appeased.

"The bandits are about two miles down the road that way," he said, pointing. "I'd offer you a map, but we don't have one."

"Least he's honest."

That's about it. Would you bet he's delusional or just colorblind?

"These are not exclusive categories."

"We'll be fine without a map," I said. "Lucy, Natsu, you guys ready?"

The celestial mage nodded, her eyes fixed solely in my direction and not on the man a yard away. When the mayor shifted and put himself in her line of sight, Lucy pretended to sneeze, which put her back to him.

"Happy?" I finished, noting that the cat seemed upset at not being included. He perked up instantly.

"Aye, sir!"

"We'll be going, then," I said.

"We'll beat 'em up for ya," Natsu declared with a grin and raised fist. The mayor nodded.

"I sure do hope so," he said. "Do let me know when you, ah, finish the job, and I will send the police to apprehend the bandits."

Setting off down the road, I let my senses spread out. I really couldn't sense much; while there wasn't a ton of ambient reishi around to interfere, none of the wizards or civilians were exactly pumping out reiatsu. While wizards did emit more than civilians, I only noticed when I got close. I could sense Natsu, I could sense Lucy, but if I tried to locate the bandits—or even any kind of trail—I came up blank.

"How common are bandits in Fiore?" I asked. "Sounded like magic guilds kind of discourage them just by existing."

"They're not super common," Lucy said. "I don't know too much about them, honestly."

"When they get big and organized, they make dark guilds," Happy put in. "Natsu and I beat up a lot of these guys."

"They're not usually all that strong," Natsu said. "But paying 150,000 jewels means there's gonna be a real challenge in there somewhere. Hey, Happy, you think the leader is a really strong wizard? I bet he uses fire magic."

"You just want him to use fire magic," Lucy sighed. "What are you going to do if he doesn't?"

Natsu gave her a strange look. "Beat him up? Why would the magic he uses change that?"

"It sounded like—oh, never mind." She focused on me. "Any second thoughts? The mayor seemed pretty nervous about these guys."

"The mayor seemed pretty nervous about everything," I said. "I handled a lot of wannabe thugs back in my hometown. Why, are you worried?"

Lucy absently rested on hand on her keys. "A little. Whenever I go on a mission with Natsu, things tend to get out of hand."

"We pick all the fun missions," Natsu put in.

"Your definition of fun. Not mine."

"So you two go on a lot of missions together," I said. Lucy nodded.

"Yep! We're part of Fairy Tail's strongest team—well, that's what Mira calls us. It's me, Natsu, Gray, and Erza."

Erza. The red-haired woman, if I remembered right.

I bet she never got accused of dyeing her hair.

"So is Erza the strongest in Fairy Tail?" I asked. "Natsu, you seemed pretty scared of her. Gray too."

Natsu shivered, but Lucy was the one who actually answered. "Well, I thought she was, but Laxus was pretty insane, and then there's Mystogan…I mean, if you don't include the master, that just leaves…well, the guy that everyone agrees is the strongest actually showed up a couple of days ago. Gildarts."

"Gildarts?"

"He's super strong," Happy said. "He breaks so much stuff that they move the whole town for him!"

"They…move the town?"

"The Gildarts Shift," Lucy explained. "Trust me, it's as crazy as it sounds. He's the clumsiest guy I've ever seen. You can see where Natsu got it from."

"But he's the strongest wizard?" I asked.

"He's the ace of Fairy Tail," Natsu said. "I'm gonna beat him one day."

"It might be a while," Lucy said with an awkward laugh. "He's got some crazy power."

"What kind of magic does he use?"

"Crash, I think," Lucy said. "Or was it crush? Either way, if you think Natsu's magic is destructive, Gildarts' is on a whole different level. He breaks things just by touching them."

Sensing that Zangetsu's interest had been piqued, I glanced at Natsu. "Have you fought him before?"

"Yeah, but he always kicks my ass," Natsu said.

"He threw you into the ceiling last time you tried to pick a fight," Lucy said. "And he wasn't even trying!"

"Right? He's so awesome!"

Natsu's positivity was infectious. More than that, though, I wanted to meet this Gildarts for myself. Lucy and Natsu both agreed that he was ridiculously powerful, so I needed to see what that looked like in person.

"Does he swing by the guild hall often?"

"When he's not on quests, he stops by every now and then," Lucy said. "I haven't seen much of him since he got here, though, and he was on a quest for three years before then. Why?"

"Just thought it would be cool to meet the strongest wizard in Fairy Tail," I said with a shrug.

"Are you going to challenge him to a fight too?" Lucy asked, incredulity sliding into her voice.

"Yes."

"No, of course not," I lied. "I don't have a death wish. I was just—"

Something brushed at the edges of my awareness and I froze, reaching out my sixth sense, but I couldn't get anything other than a general feeling of unease.

"Ichigo?" Lucy asked, but Natsu was just as on edge as me.

"Something's wrong," I said. "Natsu?"

"Heard something," he said. "And I can sense magic from the trees."

Lucy looked around. "Now that you mention it…did they teleport? I didn't sense anything a minute ago."

We closed ranks. I should've seen this coming; the forest got far closer to the road in this section, making it an ideal ambush point. They'd probably had some kind of sensor spell or a scout ready to let everyone else know that travelers were approaching.

"Anyone able to tell how many there are?" I asked. "I'm not great at sensing magic."

"At least twenty," Lucy said.

"I'd put 'em closer to thirty," Natsu said, the air around him distorting with heat. "Maybe even more, but I don't sense any seriously strong wizards except one." I could sense the anticipation in his voice, and his muscles were coiled, ready to spring into action.

"The strong one is probably the leader," I said, scanning the trees. I could see tiny, restless movements in the shadows. They were either waiting for some kind of signal or hoping in vain that we'd drop our guard again.

"This is your mission, Ichigo," Lucy said, a slight tremor of trepidation shaking her voice. "How do you want to do this?"

Even Natsu glanced at me. They were really letting me lead this thing.

If only I had any experience at all with magic. Still, I could try basic tactics. "We don't want them scattering, which will happen if we take out their leader. Try to save him for last so we don't have to chase anyone down. Try to avoid killing anyone."

"Naturally," Natsu said, smashing his hands together. Fire shot out from the point of impact, startling me.

More to the point, Natsu's reaction told me that killing wasn't normal around here. I'd have to remember that. To my left, Lucy's slight reiatsu fluctuated as she raised a gold key. Her magic?

"Open, gate of the lion, Leo!"

As she said the words, another presence appeared in the clearing. I stared, unable to help it. I hadn't expected Lucy's spirits to be so…humanoid.

"Hey, Lucy," the spirit said in a smooth, confident tone. "You finally ready for our date?"

"Now's not the time for that. All those bandits in the trees have faces you need to punch."

The spirit—a boy with startling orange hair like mine, wearing a suit and stylized glasses—sighed as he adjusted the cuffs of his suit. "I see. Well then, I'll guess I'll just have to take care of them before we dine."

"We're not going on a date!"

As if Lucy's cry was the trigger, yells filled the air. Bandits charged onto the road from either side, wielding various clubs, swords, spears, and axes. I couldn't sense any reiatsu from any of them, and while I had barely any grasp at all on sensing magic—I'd expected it to be a similar process, but even the entire train ride and walk hadn't been enough time for me to get a grip on Lucy or Natsu's magic—I could tell that all these guys were relatively weak. Fighting them would be like fighting the thugs from Karakura Town, back when I'd had to do crap like that.

Plus, from what I could tell from the scattered and unorganized charge, these guys didn't even have a sense of ambush tactics beyond the extreme basics. It would be best to just keep Zangetsu sheathed, since it was always harder to be nonlethal with those bloodthirsty blades in my hands. My Hierro would be more than enough defense; these guys couldn't scratch me if they tried.

...And that made me sound like Kenpachi. Great.

Natsu dove into the fray, flaming punches sending the bandits flying. Lion-boy was copying his example, only his hands glowed with brilliant golden light. Lucy, not to be outdone, was taking out anyone foolish enough to charge her with her whip.

However, this was my mission, and I couldn't just stand around and watch as my new guild mates did the work for me.

One bandit, probably seeing that I wasn't moving, decided to try his luck with me. He wielded a giant spiked club and his arms bulged with muscle. He closed the distance between us and swung down hard enough to crush a normal person into paste.

"Ichigo!" Lucy cried.

I caught the falling club with one hand, ignoring the small flare of disappointment at the relative weakness of the blow, and pushed the weapon to one side to unbalance its wielder. While the guy was staggering, I nailed him in the chest with a palm strike, hitting his solar plexus dead-on and probably breaking a few things in the process. He crumpled, knocked out, nearly impaled by his own weapon when it fell.

That hadn't even been a full-strength strike. Did magic work like reiatsu—functioning as a natural shield? Or were these guys just too weak to get that effect?

"This requires further experimentation," the Old Man noted.

"Light 'em up, Ichigo!"

I eyed a nearby cluster of bandits too scared to go after Natsu. The nearest guy caught my look, nudged his friends, and charged.

Truly flexing my Hakuda skills for the first time in ages, I kicked the first guy in the face, sending him hurtling back into three others. Two tried to flank me, but I grabbed the right bandit's arm and threw him into his friend, sending them both sprawling.

Experience cried warning; I ducked, watching a sword whistle through the space I'd occupied a second before. I grabbed the blade before it got out of reach, feeling the dull metal press against my Hierro without actually cutting into it. Then I yanked back, pulling the sword from the bandit's grasp. The bandit started to protest, but a certain dragon slayer's fist crashed into his skull, cutting him off and sending the bandit straight to the ground.

Natsu had a wild grin on his face. "This was a great choice!" he declared before charging another group of bandits with flames swirling around his arms. I stared after him, watching his magic take out the whole cluster in one blow.

Whose mission is this again?

The brief pause in the fighting that Natsu's sudden appearance had created vanished. Another bandit came at me wielding a long spear, probably hoping to impale me from afar.

Not a chance.

With ease, I adjusted the grip I had on the borrowed sword, stood, and let fly. The solid hilt thunked into the spear-wielding bandit's temple and he went down, tripping another guy as he went.

For the next minute, I let reflex guide me. Even though I'd decided against using shunpo or releasing the seal, the bandits could barely touch me.

Wow. I am becoming like Kenpachi, limiting myself like this.

At one point, I caught a knife by the blade. I was confused when it actually bit into my skin, drawing blood. Then I realized that the knife was glowing purple, and the guy wielding it actually had a noticeable amount of magic—for my amateur senses, anyway. He looked so proud of the blood dripping down my arm.

His cockiness about his "blade enhancement magic" lasted right up until I snapped his dagger in half and punched his lights out. Instant regeneration healed the cut a split second later, though Hollow Zangetsu wasn't letting me hear the end of the fact that I actually got cut. Still, it was a good warning: clearly, magic didn't function like reiatsu, or that blade never would've gotten through my defenses. While my Hierro was protecting me from physical damage, magic seemed to bypass it enough to inflict harm. I'd have to watch out for powerful mages who would probably be able to do more than scratch me.

The fighting died down until there was only one guy standing: the leader, without question. He was scowling, looking at the unconscious and bleeding forms of his comrades with a mix of frustration and irritation.

"Hey buddy!" Natsu yelled, already throwing a punch.

"NATSU!" Happy yelled, sensing the danger but not able to react in time. Seeing the ground start to shift, I vanished in a flit of shunpo and hit Natsu out of the way, unable to move fast enough to avoid the trap myself.

The shifting ground mutated into a purple magic circle. My muscles froze up, locking me in place as a different, golden magic circle appeared beneath me. I raised my own power to combat the paralysis spell, but I had no idea how to overpower its effects; it didn't hit me the same way as Kidō at all. If I—

Too late—spears of light shot up from the ground, seemingly out of nowhere.

The leader grinned. "Stupid guild wizard," he said, right as one of the light spears went through my stomach. Another went through my shoulder, and then my right thigh. I'd been right: Hierro couldn't protect against more powerful magic. The two energies just weren't compatible.

"ICHIGO!" Lucy screamed, her voice full of fear.

Then, as pain blossomed throughout my body, another man stepped out of the trees, smiling widely. My eyes widened fractionally as I realized that he'd been concealing himself and his magic energy. He was even stronger than the guy in front of me. I'd thought his reiatsu had just been my imagination, the foreign magic energy muddling my senses.

They actually work as a team, I realized numbly. The fake leader to draw in attackers followed by grunts to distract them, and then a trap to take out the strongest. But what kind of magic does the real leader use?

Dimly, I realized that the pain from my wounds was mutating into something much worse, and it didn't help that the spears were still in place, frozen in the air, holding me where I was. I couldn't move, and my reiryoku was slow to respond.

What the hell? It shouldn't hurt this bad.

I'd been stabbed before. A lot. I was pretty familiar with how it was supposed to feel, but this wasn't right. It was like the pain was spreading. The real leader held up his hand, and purple something bled off of it, hitting the ground and making the dirt hiss and steam.

"Poison trap magic," he said calmly, staring me straight in the eyes. "Goodbye, you foolish wizard."

I gritted my teeth. I'd had to be reckless to save Natsu, but this was bad. Magic and reiryoku weren't compatible. My defenses were about protecting me from reiatsu, not magic energy.

"Ichigo, the poison is extremely potent. You must break free before it spreads too far. We have only seconds."

Zangetsu's hollow half didn't bother with words. Power flooded through me, the sheathed sword on my back glowed with energy, and the world exploded.

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