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

I talked way too much about nothing of particular importance in my old author's notes, if you're wondering why they're gone.

Chapter 4

I startled awake to someone shaking me and shouting. Reflex took over; I grabbed whoever it was and locked them into a sleeper hold before I even fully opened my eyes.

"Ichigo, stop! Ichigo!"

Lucy's voice cut through whatever haze I'd been in and I realized that Natsu was choking in my arms, his hands pulling at the limb wrapped around his neck. I let him go like he'd burned me and put some distance between us.

Take a second, I told myself. Breathe.

The nightmare was already fading in my head, but my hands were shaking. I quickly hid them behind my back.

"What happened?" I asked. The sun was barely staining the eastern horizon. It couldn't be past six in the morning. "Why did you wake me up?"

Lucy looked at me askance. "You were screaming," she said. "Yelling someone's name and you wouldn't wake up until Natsu started shaking you!"

My blood ran cold. It had been the nightmare, of course. Stripping down all my defenses and making me vulnerable. How had I fallen asleep? The last thing I remembered outside of that twisted dream was keeping watch. I'd been so careful to stay awake; how had this happened?

"It appears that this world's atmosphere is far enough removed from what we are used to that it can cause problems. We are used to passively drawing in reishi as fuel to continue going; after the amount of regeneration you were forced to perform yesterday, the ambient reishi here was not enough to replenish you, and so you needed sleep to recover the remainder. I would advise against being so reckless in the future."

I scrubbed a hand across my face. In the end, the how didn't matter, only that it had happened. I would just have to remember this so I could avoid having it happen again. "Natsu, I'm sorry," I said.

"Don't worry about it," he said, rubbing his neck. "Shoulda known better than to get real close like that. I'm pretty tough, though. No harm no foul, right?"

"Right," I agreed slowly. "Whose name was I yelling?" I didn't remember most of the details, only lingering guilt, and that didn't really narrow anything down.

"Some person named Chad," Lucy replied, her eyes full of worry. "Ichigo, is something wrong?"

I resisted the urge to laugh. So much is wrong, Lucy. You have no idea.

Instead, I shrugged. "It's nothing you guys need to worry about. I had a friend named Chad back home, but he died a while ago. I'm over it."

"You didn't sound over it."

"I'd rather not talk about it."

Lucy obligingly let it drop, sensing that the topic was too raw to press. We stuck to lighter subjects as we packed up and set off on the long walk back to Magnolia.

We ran into Gray when we crossed into Magnolia's outskirts. He was also returning from a quest, though his was a far simpler gather-some-herbs-from-a-freezing-mountain deal. Gray and Natsu hit it off right away, in that Natsu accidentally hit Gray after tripping over a stray cobblestone, Gray thought it was intentional, and things spiraled from there. Lucy, Happy, and I stuck several yards behind the pair, content to stay out of the argument.

For my part, I was enjoying the knowledge that I had enough money stashed in my pockets to pay my deposit and around a third of the first month's rent, in addition to getting some bare-minimum furnishings and new clothes. I'd be spending most of the day shopping, but after hours and hours of walking, it would be a welcome break.

"You're looking pretty pleased with yourself," Lucy noted. I shrugged.

"I am. I've got money, a place lined up, and a job that's gonna pay pretty well."

"Have you thought about a team to join in Fairy Tail? You've worked with Natsu and I now. The only other two people in our team are Gray and Erza and, well, you've basically met Gray."

"Are solo mages rare?"

"Not really," Lucy said, "but they tend to take lower-paying jobs because they don't have anyone watching their back. Are you going to work alone after what just happened?"

Her eyes momentarily flicked to the still-obvious holes in my shirt.

"I think I've got a better sense of things now," I said. "I'll work my way up, though. No jumping into a 150k job on my own the first time around, think the master can live with that?"

"I think he'll just appreciate having a member of the guild who he doesn't have to worry about. All these guys just break everything all the time."

Seeing the way Natsu and Gray's fight was escalating, I could kind of see where Lucy was going. If that fight with the bandits had taken place in a town, Natsu's fire attacks—as well as my Getsuga Tenshō—would've done serious damage.

"Guess I'll just be careful," I said.

After confirming with Mira that we'd completed the request and didn't have any paperwork left to do, Lucy, Natsu, and I went our separate ways. I thanked them for helping me out on my first mission and then left to grab my stuff. I'd stashed it in a back alley yesterday, as I didn't really have anywhere else to put it and I didn't want to ask to keep it at the guild hall when I was still such a new member. No need to let everyone know about my homelessness. The barrier keeping my bag hidden was still up and running when I found it. I spent a second changing into a shirt and pants that weren't riddled with holes and then headed for the clothing shop, bloody and torn garments slung over my arm.

The bell dinged as I entered and the woman behind the counter glanced up. "Welcome to—ah, it's you. Back so soon?"

"I ran into some trouble," I said, depositing my ruined clothes on the counter. "Can these be mended?"

She pursed her lips as she examined the torn and stained fabric, poking at it with ginger movements. "I'll be frank with you. This shirt is done for. Is this blood?" She peered at me. "Is this your blood?"

"Most of it, yeah." Seeing her look, I shrugged, feeling oddly chastised. "I got better."

"Evidently. Well, I can get rid of the shirt for you. The pants, on the other hand…yes, these, I can mend. The damage isn't too bad."

"I'll take a new shirt, then."

"The same kind?"

"If you could."

"Of course I can, darling. It'll cost 2000 even for the new shirt and mending."

"1000." I caught the barest hint of a smile on her lips as we bargained.

"1250."

"Deal."

She swept the clothes off the counter and disappeared into the back. I leaned against the counter, absently rubbing the scars on my wrists while I waited. I had several things I needed to do today in addition to this. I wasn't particularly looking forward to negotiating with that sleazy, greedy landlord, but I didn't have a choice if I wanted a cheaper property on the edge of town that was away from wandering eyes.

Once I got my housing situation nailed down—and did the requisite shopping—I could go talk to Gildarts. That would probably happen either today or tomorrow, depending on how long it took me to get my house put together. It wasn't a time-sensitive conversation, not really, so long as I didn't take anymore combat-related jobs in the meantime, but I figured it would be best to get the whole encounter out of the way as soon as reasonably possible.

And, in order to talk with Gildarts, I first needed to figure out where he lived. With how friendly everyone at Fairy Tail was, I could probably just ask one of them. Probably Mira, since she'd been so helpful initially. After that…well, I could take more missions to build up a cushion and then focus on jobs that had to do with spatial magic. I would also need to talk to Levy and get her help navigating the library and its resources.

Lucy had said she would introduce us. I'd ask her to do that tomorrow, once we both had another day to recover from the mission.

The shopkeeper emerged from the back room with a bundle of cloth in her arms. "Say, darling, I meant to ask earlier." She nodded at the mark on my arm. "Did you go and join that Fairy Tail guild?"

I reached for the mark on reflex. "Uh, yeah. I needed the money, and I have the skillset for it."

She grinned. "That's great! Good for you. If you ever get in that fancy magazine, you'd better mention my little shop, understand?"

A sponsorship?

"Sure, if you stop trying to charge me an arm and a leg."

"Don't push your luck, darling. You and I both know that this shop has the best deals in Magnolia." She shoved the clothes towards me while I handed over the money. "See you real soon."

"You say that like I haven't learned my lesson."

"I know you Fairy Tail wizard types," she said with an amused smile. "You're always back here before you know it."

She probably knew the odds better than I did. Judging by the amount of Fairy-Tail-branded clothing in her shop, she got plenty of business from the local wizards. I could only hope my new shirt lasted longer than its predecessor. At the moment, I couldn't afford to waste money on a new wardrobe every week.

As I'd expected, the landlord took most of the rest of the reward money, but I got the keys to the house and a copy of the contract. I was really on the edge of town; there weren't as many people here, and the forest was a stone's throw away. My house was small and narrow, just two floors, with one bed and two bathrooms, only one of which had a shower. Things were worn down and clearly lived in, but it was clean and would function perfectly well as a roof over my head. Compared to the tent camps in Hueco Mundo and the postwar ruins of Soul Society, this was practically paradise.

After doing a thorough sweep of the place to make sure no new issues had cropped up in the time since I'd first toured the house, I went back into town. Basic furniture and appliances came first; the house already had a worn bedframe and sagging couch, but I could use a table to eat at and a desk for the work I'd be doing, among other things.

I scoped out my options in Magnolia much the same way I'd scoured the town for a clothing shop with good prices. There were a lot of options for shops—the Fairy Tail guild apparently spent a lot on new tables and chairs—but only a couple had prices I could call reasonable. After making their sales numbers spike for the day, I lugged my new stuff back to the house with some help from a few employees. It took a few trips with carts, but I hadn't expected anything less. Magnolia's streets were more conducive to pedestrians than they were to vehicles, and I had the time.

The bedframe got a mattress and sheets; my kitchen gained a refrigerator, stove, and oven, as well as a table and two chairs. When I was done, I leaned against the kitchen counter. I had some silverware, plates, cups, and bowls, but my kitchen was by no means fully stocked. Still, it would serve. As long as I kept completing missions, I could eat out most of the time, or eat at the guild hall. I'd heard good things about the options offered there from Natsu.

Satisfied with my living situation, I went up into my bedroom, shut the door, closed the blinds, and sat cross-legged in the center of the hardwood floor. In the dark and quiet, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"You aren't serious, are you?" Zangetsu asked. "Of course it fuckin' works. Only things shit right now are your Quincy powers."

"Not entirely," the Old Man put in. "I believe the Blut techniques should still function, though they make take more time to achieve full strength once activated."

How much more?

"A second, perhaps two."

I frowned, closing my eyes for a second. In a fight, I didn't have that kind of time. If I kept Blut running at partial strength constantly, though…

"Your new allies may ask about the patterning."

He had a point. I could keep it active under my clothes, though. The question was, attack or defense? Probably defense, since Hierro wasn't as effective here. I would have to test Blut in the same way I'd tested Hierro, though. Magic interacted in a strange way with Hierro's layer of reiryoku, though it seemed that my Getsuga Tenshō was as effective against magic as magic was against me.

Maybe they were each other's greatest weakness. Offensive doubled, defense halved. It wasn't ideal, but it was better than my powers being completely ineffective. I would have to rely on speed and reflex over a berserker style if I wanted to avoid more questions about my "instant restoration" magic.

I still had to test it.

"Ridiculous."

I unsheathed Zangetsu's smaller blade and, in one swift motion, dragged its sharp edge across my forearm.

Sparks. No blood.

I sighed. My abilities and this world's magic really weren't compatible.

At least now I knew.

"Ichigo, this is Levy McGarden, leader of team Shadow Gear and the smartest mage in Fairy Tail."

"Aw, Lucy, you flatter me."

Lucy grinned at the girl she'd thrown her arm around. "C'mon, we all know it's true."

I stuck out my hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Levy's palms were relatively smooth, but her fingers were calloused, an odd combination. Was it from writing? "You just joined, right?"

"Yeah. Lucy was telling me that Fairy Tail has a library, and that you're the person to talk to about it if I want to do any kind of research in there."

Levy's smile turned bashful. "We do have a library, and I suppose I spend a lot of time in it, but mostly I take the books and read them out here."

"I'll leave you guys to it," Lucy said, excusing herself to go talk to the other, much younger blue-haired girl a few tables away.

"Either way," I said, "I'd really appreciate some help finding some books on a specific topic, and I'm not really looking to spend days hunting them down, if you know what I mean."

"I totally get it. So what are you looking for? My specialty is languages, but I have a pretty good grasp on the organization of the whole place, so if it's not that, I can probably point you in the right direction."

"I'm looking for anything on teleportation magic. Or, I guess more broadly, space manipulation."

As I'd hoped, Levy didn't dismiss the topic as absurd. She cast her gaze to the ceiling for a second while she thought, then nodded. "Yes, I know where those books are. Follow me; I'll show you."

"Thanks."

"Don't worry about it! I'm happy to help."

We'd taken two steps when something shattered on a nearby table—Lucy's table. Levy and I watched, me surprised and her stunned, as the blue-haired child shot to her feet, hands slamming down on either side of her broken glass.

"Carla!" she said. "You shouldn't say things like that!"

"That was way out of line," Lucy added. "Happy, don't listen to her."

The blue cat's ears were drooping. Wordlessly, he turned and left, going so far as to walk out of the guild entirely. Natsu, after a confused glance at Lucy from the bar, gave chase.

After another second, the quiet hubbub of conversation returned. I looked away from the table and the haughty white cat still standing on it.

"Rude cat," I said. Levy spared one last glance at the table, biting her lip.

"Honestly, when she and Wendy first showed up, I was really excited for Happy to have a friend, but you're right, Carla's his polar opposite. I feel bad for the little guy." She pursed her lips, then shook her head. "Anyway, the library is right through here."

Levy walked me through the massive shelves that lined either wall. Ladders were scattered around the room, but Levy ignored all of them and headed to a section about midway down the left wall. "Let's see…I think…right around…"

She stopped. "Yep, right here. Your space manipulation topic should stretch up to there. The books are organized more or less by subject and then title, though a few sections have gotten a little messy over the years. You should be good here, though."

I tilted my head up to get a look at the rest of the towering shelf. Levy had indicated that I had at least ten feet above my head to look at in addition to the stuff at and below eye level. I needed to narrow that down or this was going to take forever. "Is there…anything on cross-dimensional magic?"

Levy gave me a weird look. "Well, the only cross-dimensional magic I know of is celestial spirit magic. I suppose there are some methods of teleportation that involve crossing dimensions, and requip often uses sub-dimensional space for storage. But I'm guessing that's not what you mean."

"Not exactly." Forever it was, then. Nothing could ever be that easy. "Don't worry about it; I knew what I was getting myself into."

"All right." She hesitated. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, why are you looking at this stuff? Is it about your magic?"

"A friend's," I said.

"Oh. Um, okay. I'll be back in the main hall if you have any questions."

"Thanks. I appreciate this, Levy."

She smiled. "Of course. I'm happy there's someone else interested in research around here."

Once I had the room to myself, I commandeered a nearby table and spread out the papers I'd brought from my new house. The notebook was already looking worse for wear since I'd bought it yesterday, its pages filled with half-remembered Kidō formulas and guesswork.

I stared at the last filled-in page and sighed. I hadn't seen that many of the formulas on Kisuke's invention; there had been too many, and they had all been so dense, but I had caught a few. I could guess at a lot more, but this…this was all Kisuke's territory. I'd gotten better at Kidō, but it was only the masters who could come up with their own formulas. I wasn't anywhere near Kisuke's level in terms of skill.

Still, I couldn't do nothing. I had to try. I owed it to Kisuke. I owed it to everyone who had died because of my failure.

I'd already written all of the formulas I could remember off the top of my head. If any more came to me, I'd add them, but I knew I couldn't rely on some flash of divine inspiration. What I really had to do was translate the Kidō I did know into un understandable formula in plain language, some outline of what the process was. Only then could I start trying to piece together magic spells that would, in theory, lead to the same result.

Without any windows to judge the passage of time, the only sign I got of the day going by was Mira stopping in.

"Oh, Ichigo, you're still in here? I saw Levy take you back here hours ago, I thought you'd left already. You're really working hard."

I set down my pen and leaned back in my chair. My spine cracked in three places with the motion and muscles I hadn't even realized I'd been tensing released when I forced myself into a languid stretch.

"It's a long project," I said.

"Oh?" Mira paused to slide the book she'd been carrying back onto a shelf before she walked over to me. "What are you researching?"

"My friend from back home had all these crazy dimensional spells. I want to replicate one of them, but I don't know if your country has the same…magical techniques, I guess."

"Can you not go back home and get some books from there?"

I frowned at the pages and pages of my own writing. "If I could," I said, "I wouldn't be here."

Mira tucked her hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, that was terribly insensitive."

"No, it's not your fault, I just try not to think about it. Difficult memories."

She gave me a kind smile that, for whatever reason, rubbed me the wrong way. "I know the feeling."

For an instant, I wanted to let my cynicism to take hold. How could she know? How could she possibly understand the void in my chest and the deaths branded in my mind like the scars on my skin?

And then I stopped. I didn't know Mira. I didn't know her life. If she was the one trying for empathy, who was I to shut her down?

God, it's been too long since I interacted with someone who hasn't lived through hell.

"So, what are you doing in here?" I asked to change the subject and not caring at all how abrupt it was. Mira seemed to appreciate the switch.

"Just returning a book. You can check these out, you know. There's a ledger over there by the door; just record the title and how long you need it for. That'll release the magic on the books so you can take them out. Just make sure to cross the entry out when you bring it back, or you'll get in trouble."

They really knew how to use magic to mimic the kinds of technology that I was more familiar with. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. By the way, before you leave, I've just got a couple more questions."

"Sure, ask me anything."

"I heard that this guy named Gildarts is the strongest wizard in this guild besides Master Makarov. Is that true?"

"Well, he is Fairy Tail's ace. He has to be strong. But yes, Gildarts is the strongest. His magic is incredible."

"What kind of magic does he use?"

"Crush."

"Crush?" So not crash, like Lucy had said.

"You haven't heard of it? I suppose not, if you didn't grow up here. Gildarts is a tad bit legendary around these parts, and I guess I've grown used to everyone knowing him. It's an extremely advanced magic that allows the user to destroy anything they come into contact with."

"Anything, huh?" I echoed. "Even people?"

"Not exactly. From what I understand, it works differently on living things. Honestly, to get better answers you should really ask Gildarts yourself. It's been a very long time since I last saw him use his magic to do more than break through the guild's walls."

Not sure what she meant by that last part, I nodded. "I actually would like to ask him some questions, if that's all right. It sounds like his magic distorts space, and that's kind of what my research is all about. Do you know where he lives around here? Or if he's open to visits?"

"Natsu talks to him all the time. I'm sure he wouldn't mind a visit from you, as long as you don't try to fight him at first sight."

"Uh…is that common?"

She laughed. "I'm joking! Natsu's a bit of a special case." She gave me Gildarts' address. "Tell him I said hello. He hasn't been hanging around the guild hall much at all since he got back, but I'm sure he won't mind company. He loves meeting new guild members."

"Uh, yeah," I said, watching her leave.

"So we challenge him to a fight after some conversation. That ain't first sight, right?"

"I do not believe we should rely on technicalities."

When I looked back at the pages I'd filled with writing over the last several hours, I realized I should've asked Mira what time it was. I was terrible about missing meals, something my assistants back in Soul Society had never let me forget. Was it dinnertime?

But I was feeling pretty good about the work I was doing now. If I abandoned it to eat or harass the ace of this guild, there was a chance I could lose my train of thought. At the very least, Gildarts and a power comparison could wait for another day. I would eat once I finished this section. Spinning my pen over my fingers, I let my thoughts fill with Kidō once more.

By the time I cleared out of the library, the sun was starting to set through the guild hall's windows. I'd checked out a couple of books, and they now sat under my left arm, a comfortable weight. I saw a few new faces milling around the hall. One man with purple—purple—hair glanced at me.

"You must be the new member Mira was telling me about," he said. "Ichigo, right? I'm Macao, and this smoker over here is Wakaba." The man sporting an impressive pompadour and pipe waved.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail," he said. "Though we're a little late to the welcome party."

"Yeah, our mission took a little longer than we'd expected. So, how are you liking it here?" Macao asked. "Looks like you've already found the library."

"It's a real nice place," I said. "I've got no complaints. It's a little different than what I'm used to, though."

Wakaba grinned. "Yeah, the wizards here that are around your age are especially rowdy these days, though they've always been like that."

"Are you two longtime members?" I asked. They nodded.

"Been here longer than most," Macao said.

"You're making us sound old," Wakaba commented. "Though, I guess we are. Glory days are over, am I right?"

"You don't have to remind me," Macao said. "After Laxus's stunt especially."

"I heard about that," I said. "Lucy said he went crazy or something. Was he a mage here?"

They exchanged a look, and Macao took the lead. "He was an S-class mage, one of our strongest. A real good kid, but he grew up missing something. He didn't quite get what Fairy Tail was all about, and that got him into some serious trouble."

Wakaba puffed his pipe. "Best not to talk about it, really," he said. "It's a pretty rough topic for the master, since Laxus is his grandson."

That sounded like a serious mess. Glad I'd missed it. "I'll remember that. You got any recommendations for dinner around here?"

"There's a really good diner-style place down the street that way," Macao said, pointing. "On the right, you can't miss it. Pretty good prices, too."

"Thanks. I'm still finding my way around this town."

"We're veterans," Wakaba said. "We know this place like the backs of our hands."

"I know who to ask, then," I said. "It was nice to meet you."

"See you around, Ichigo."

I followed Macao's directions to the diner, which was pretty down-to-earth compared to some of the other restaurants I'd seen. I'd missed the dinner rush, so I ate quickly and in relative peace. Once done, I took a longer route back to my house, figuring that more time mapping out Magnolia's layout couldn't hurt. Plus, after hours spent hunched over inside, I was enjoying the fresh air.

As I walked, I practiced sensing magic. I was getting better at it, slowly, and the time spent at the guild had done me good. While writing, I'd worked on passively sensing magic. I still couldn't passively detect someone in the same room as me without at least thinking about it, but if someone used magic nearby, I would be aware of it.

Probably.

"Best to rely on your own senses for now."

"Got ears 'n shit for a reason."

Yeah.

"And speaking of using my ears," I muttered, slowing my pace. There were some odd sounds coming from a nearby alley, and from the weird looks other people were throwing that way, it wasn't just my imagination.

It sounded like…cats?

I got closer and peered into the shadows. That person…

"Gajeel?" I said, making him freeze with his arms outstretched to particularly freaked-out looking tabby cat. "What are you doing?"

The cat hissed, swatted at Gajeel, and leaped away. For his part, Gajeel just groaned and stood straight. "Thanks," he growled. "Wasn't like I was in the middle of anything or nothin'."

"You're chasing cats in a back alley."

"Thanks for stating the obvious, genius. Who are you, again?"

"Joined Fairy Tail a couple days ago. Why are you going after cats? Is it because Natsu and that other kid have cats?"

"Natsu and Wendy? No, I don't give a shit about them and their stupid cats."

His poker face needed work, though it wasn't half-bad. "Right. Look, there's something I wanted to ask you. Other than the cat thing."

"Fuck off, man, I've got my own work to do."

"You're right, you haven't terrorized all the cats in this town. Hate to miss any."

He got close, a fierce scowl on his face. "You got a problem?"

"Not yet," I said, "but I'm getting there."

He tsked. "I'm done here."

"Wait."

"Like hell."

"You were a member of Phantom Lord, right?" That was enough to make Gajeel hesitate. "You were one of Fairy Tail's enemies."

"I'd watch where you're steppin' right now, pal. I'm done with Phantom Lord. Been done with all that for a while. I'm a member of Fairy Tail and I don't like what you're trying to say."

"I don't care about what you did in the past. I just want to know if there are any other groups like your former guild out there. Anyone or anything else you know of that's targeting Fairy Tail."

Gajeel scoffed. "What, are you scared?"

"No. But I've been taught to always be on the lookout for new enemies."

"Fuck if I know about anyone else. After taking down that dark guild, though, we probably pissed off a whole bunch of morons." He grinned menacingly, metal piercings glimmering. "If you're having second thoughts about getting into a fight, you're not in the right place."

With that, he brushed by me. I let him go; he'd given me plenty. When he'd brushed me off, he'd given the game away. There was someone or something out there, and Gajeel knew about them. He hadn't seemed worried, though, and he'd seemed pretty adamant that his loyalties were with Fairy Tail, so I was willing to bet that Master Makarov knew about it too. Whatever this threat was, it had been here long before I showed up. There was little I could do to find out more without drawing way too much attention. I would just have to stay alert.

"Not like that's anything new," I muttered, heading to my house once more.

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