"No big deal," she replies easily. "After all, it's not like it was something you haven't seen before." She moves further away from the healer's house with the sounds of strangled gasps, indignant squawks, and noises of confusion sounding off behind her. Unseen by her friends as they struggle to process the implications of the brunette's words, a huge smile settles on her face at the chaos she caused.
After the commotion caused by the brunette's words died down, the others were able to quickly catch up to her. It's decided by Erza that they needed to get Krysti clothed properly, so Natsu is charged to lead the way through the woods to their home. Erza follows after him with Gray supporting Krysti behind her. Lucy brought up the rear while Happy flies all around.
Not much happens during their trip until Lucy is captured by a Forest Vulcan that is quickly chased off by a couple of swords, an ice spike, and a fireball aimed at its head. It let her go as it dodged the attacks and scampered away just as suddenly as it appeared. The appearance of the large ape left the brunette in shock, Natsu never even mentioned to her that something like this lives in the forest. It made her early morning trips into the woods seem a lot more sinister.
Erza, seeing the look on her older friend's face, realized that Krysti has never seen a Vulcan before and felt that it was up to her to inform the larger woman about the creatures. They started walking again as the red-head began her lecture. At the part about how they Take Over a person's body, Krysti started shivering so much that Gray thought that he was the cause of it. He backed off a step, but still kept his hands on her to act as support. It took a moment for Krysti to understand what Gray was doing and whispered a few words to him.
An understanding expression appears on his face as she explains how their Take Over ability reminds her of demon possession. Gray steps closer to Krysti to support her like before. The group kept pace with the brunette and with frequent rest stops, were able to make it to Natsu's house within an hour. Inside, the girls quickly work to get their friend dressed since she is weakened from the journey through the woods. Once she felt appropriately clothed, Krysti plops down onto the couch that has been acting as her bed and lets out a huge sigh of relief. She is feeling quite drained from the trek and is grateful for the rest. Natsu and Happy, feeling hungry, were cooking up some food while the others were exploring the Dragon Slayer's home.
Erza was giving the home a thorough inspection while Gray and Lucy only a cursory one. When they saw the maid outfit that Natsu has displayed out in a corner, both of them were embarrassed albeit for different reasons. They quickly turn away and continue their tour of Natsu's house. The two were fairly sure that the only reason why the house looks as clean as it is has to do with Krysti. On the other hand, the brunette was grimacing at the mess Natsu and Happy have made of the house while she was unconscious. As everyone finally settles down, Krysti asks for the entire story of what went on with the war.
It took a long while, but finally, the story in its entirety was revealed to the brunette. She sits on the couch in silence, absorbing the barrage of information that she was given. A few minutes of no one doing anything and Natsu can't stand it anymore. The retelling of what happened with Phantom Lord has rekindled his earlier rage and he needs to let off some steam.
Literally.
Swiftly hopping out of his hammock with a growl, he heads towards his homemade weights and starts working out to vent out his frustration. Gray scoffs at Natsu's lack of emotional control which of course riles up the irritable Dragon Slayer. Just as they start to get into a fight, Erza grabs them both by the back of the neck and smashes their heads together so hard that a visible bump forms on their heads.
Lucy, Happy, and Krysti all wince in sympathy at the brutal way the fight was stopped. Both boys are collapsed on the floor with their rear ends up in the air. As they lay there recovering from that blow, Erza calmly sits back down on the couch next to the eldest of their group.
"Was that really necessary?" Krysti asks as she worriedly looks over at the prone bodies of the boys. She gets up off the couch with a grunt before making her way over to check on them.
Lucy sighs heavily before answering, "Unfortunately yes, it is. Once those two start going at each other, nothing short of Erza beating them up like that will stop them."
The brunette shakes her head as she replies, "No. I mean was using all that force necessary? It seemed to be a lot more than needed to stop them." By this point, she is kneeling next to the guys and gingerly checking their bumps.
"Just about." Happy answers flippantly. "Almost nothing short of knocking them out can stop Natsu and Gray from fighting each other. And that only works for a short while. They are idiots and quickly forget about being beaten up until Erza goes to beat them up again." Krysti purses her lips at that answer, clearly unhappy about the situation. Almost in unison, both the males let out pained groans as they move to sit upright. Gray, who sat up next to Krysti, was the first person she checked on to make sure he isn't going to have a concussion. Satisfied that the only thing wounded on the ice mage was his pride, she turns to the Dragon Slayer who is rubbing his sore head with a pout.
Krysti's worried expression softens as Natsu scoots closer to her after she beckons to him. Lucy and Happy share a smug smirk with each other that goes unnoticed by everyone else as they watch the larger woman gently comb her fingers through the fire mage' pink hair. After making sure he will be alright, the brunette goes to tuck her hair behind her ear when a gasp escapes her lips. Everyone turns to see a look of shock on her face as she sits frozen in place.
"What's wrong?" Gray was the first to ask.
She turns her shocked gaze to the ice mage before answering his question with one of her own.
"What happened to my hair?" Krysti asks with trepidation.
Everyone exchanges a look, unsure how to break the news when Happy pipes up, "You burned it off when you burned up the entire Phantom guildhall." An evil look enters his eyes when he next says, "You burned off all your clothes and bandages too. You were naked!" He then starts giggling madly at the look of horrified embarrassment that Krysti now has due to his bluntness.
"I-… Wha…? How? What?" the brunette manages to stammer out after a moment of shocked silence. To her relief, Erza rushes to explain the situation which stops the larger woman's imagination from running wild.
"Fire mages have to wear special fire resistant clothes when they are practicing their magic or otherwise they would all be running around in fewer clothes than Gray." She says in a lecturing tone.
"Hey!" Gray cries out, feeling offended about being singled out until he looks down to see that he is yet again shirtless. "Shit." He curses under his breath before standing up to go search for his shirt, again.
Ignoring his protest, Erza continues on with her explanation, "You may have been unclothed but like a true gentleman, Elfman offered his shirt to help keep your modesty intact."
"Hey! I offered first, well at least I would have if my shirt wasn't missing." Gray grumbles out, feeling slighted that his attempt of an act of kindness wasn't being mentioned.
Turning wide eyes toward the ice mage, Krysti asks in a small voice, "You and Elfman both saw me like that?" A sudden blooming of red on Gray's cheeks was her answer as he looks away in embarrassment. Gulping hard, Krysti closes her eyes and takes in large breaths of air in a visible effort to control her emotions. Lucy and Erza both share a glance, knowing what the brunette is going through. Happy and Natsu look confused at what is going on, the two not understanding how finding out that people seeing her naked without her consent can be a jarring event for a woman. A moment later, Krysti stops her deep breathing and looks up at everyone present.
A sudden mischievous twinkle in her eyes is all the warning they have before she locks eyes with Gray and asks him with a seductive smirk, "So what did you think? Liked what you saw?" She leans back with her arms supporting her from the back in a pose that emphasized her body in a way that made it clear to the ice mage exactly what she meant. Lucy understandably makes an indignant squawk at the brunette's implications while Erza's eyes open wide in surprise.
Gray splutters in shock, not able to make out a coherent sentence and becomes a blushing, fumbling mess which causes Krysti to giggle madly. Still confused at what is going on, Natsu nonetheless smiles in smug pleasure at how uncharacteristically out of sorts his rival/best friend is in. He also feels proud of his roommate at how easily she is able to make the ice mage lose his cool in ways that he can't. According to Natsu, anyone who can mess with Gray is alright in his book.
Of course, just from the introduction of the motion sickness curing tea, Krysti has already cemented herself in his good graces and every day that he has spent living with her has only reinforced those feelings. Gray gives up in trying to defend himself and apologize at the same time and just turns around with a loud huff as his face and neck are red from blushing so hard.
As her giggles die down, Krysti turns to Erza and asks, "Is there anything else that first-time fire mages are known for?" Going with the flow, Erza continues her explanation which catches Lucy off-guard as the blonde didn't expect what Krysti asked earlier to be just glossed over.
"Also, first-time fire users are notorious for singeing or burning a lot of their own hair if they have big bursts of fire before they learn any control like you did. Only you did not have just a big burst of fire, yours was massive on a scale that would even be difficult for a Wizard Saint to replicate. To be completely honest, everyone who witnessed it is astounded that you were able to survive such a feat. Natsu is the most powerful fire mage that any of us know and yet on your first showing of magic you were able to completely outdo his most powerful attacks."
She pauses to let the information sink in for the other-worlder. The red-head and the rest of Fairy Tail had days to deal with the information while Krysti hadn't. Everything is still new to her despite being on Earthland for close to a month. Just the idea alone that she could have magic is a foreign concept to the brunette much less that she had one of the most powerful displays of magic that anyone in the guild has ever seen.
Looking shell-shocked, Krysti asks, "But how can that be? I am not even of this world. Mine is devoid of magic of any sort. How is it that I was able to apparently do something so impressive?"
Erza shakes her head in resignation before answering in a heavy voice, "That I cannot say. Many theories have been made, but all without any definite answers. We mainly believe that it may have something to do with how you came over here. Perhaps the magic that brought you here has been absorbed by your body giving you all this power that you otherwise wouldn't normally have." Lucy at this point jumps into the conversation also wanting to say her theory.
"It could also be that maybe the people of your world have vast potential for magic yet are unable to unlock it since no one believes that magic is real. Without that belief, no matter how strong you are you cannot access any magic. That's how it works here, and with how much in common our two worlds are it very well could be the way it works in your world as well."
Krysti has an unreadable expression on her face as she tries to absorb all the information coming at her. As she runs her hands thru her hair in an attempt to calm herself, deep sorrow fills her eyes as she is reminded that her long hair is now singed short. She may not be one of those vain women who thinks that appearance is everything, but she was proud of her hair. It was one of the very few things about herself that she thought was beautiful and now that small comfort was gone. Lucy, who may not be as vain as the vapid waifs that she grew up with, still cared about her looks and immediately recognized the expression on the brunette's face.
An idea quickly forms on how she can help the older woman and with a small hop, gets up from the couch and marches over to Krysti. Natsu and Gray lean away as they see the intense look of concentration on the blonde's face. They both been on the receiving end of a Lucy Kick and would prefer not to go through that again if they can help it. Her hands shoots down in front of the brunette's face and Krysti flinches at the sudden movement as she is snapped out of her thoughts. She looks up questioningly at the younger girl who in return gives her a bright and happy smile.
"Come on, there may not be much that I can do to help you about getting home, but I can at least help you fix your hair." The blue-grey eyes of the brunette dim slightly at those words.
"What can you do besides brush it? It's too short now to do anything really." Lucy giggles brightly despite Krysti's lack of enthusiasm.
"That's what you think. Get up and follow me. I have the solution." The blonde ex-heiress says with a large smile and a wink.
Closing her eyes in defeat, Krysti lets out a long suffering sigh before agreeing, "Fine. Let's see what kind of magic you can whip up to fix this." Krysti ends with a grimace as she holds a lock of her singed hair. With Lucy's help, she gets off of the floor with a grunt and the two females head to the bathroom. Curious about what is going on, the other four go to the slightly open bathroom door and peek around it. Lucy has Krysti sitting on the edge of the bathtub while looking through her keys. She holds up one with a small cry of triumph.
"Here we go!" She turns away from the brunette and shouts out, "Open a door to the Crab! Cancer!" A bell sounds and a cloud of smoke appears in the bathroom. Krysti reels back, unsure what to expect since she hasn't seen any of the gold key spirits before. As the smoke clears, a tall thin man with odd hair appears. Krysti gets a weird look on her face as the rest of the man becomes visible. Crab legs jutted out from his back and his hair is in the shape of crab pinchers.
"Ebi." Cancer says in a deep and rich voice. Krysti looks even more confused as she mouths the word ebi.
"Cancer! Thank you for coming!" Lucy exclaims in her bright and bubbly way. "I was wondering if you would please help us with Krysti's hair. Her first showing of fire magic unfortunately burned a lot of it off. Could you please use your special shampoo to restore it?"
"Of course ma'am. What kind of style would you like?" Cancer asks as he twirls his scissors around with a flourish.
Lucy spins back to face the older female and with a cute pose asks, "So what do you think, Krysti? Do you want to go for a new style as well?"
Looking unsure about it all, Krysti answers with uncertainty, "Um, I think just growing back my hair will be enough for now." Lucy looks disappointed but perks back up almost immediately.
"Ok! We can work with that. Shall Cancer have it grow back to its original length? Or do you want it to try something different?" She asks with a hand on her hip.
"I can have it grow even longer than before?" Krysti asks with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. Lucy closes her eyes with a large smile.
"Of course! Cancer can do that in a snap." Lucy declares while snapping her fingers for emphasis. Krysti smiled softly as she looked towards the Celestial Spirit.
"Um, Cancer-san I would really appreciate it if you could help me grow my hair back. If you don't mind that is?" The crab man smiles slightly before shifting into a new pose.
"No problem, ebi." He says with determination. Krysti looks a bit uncomfortable as both the blonde and the crab are both posing like they are on a photo shoot.
"So, uh, what do I do?" the brunette asks, still looking unsure.
"Turn around, ebi." Cancer says as he moves towards the older woman. Krysti casts a glance towards Lucy who gives her a thumbs up for reassurance before complying with the Spirit's request. The boys wandered off feeling bored while Erza walks further into the bathroom, intrigued by the Spirit's abilities. Minutes later a loud squeal of accompanied with loud thank yous catches the attention of the males in the living room. Soon, a much happier but still wobbly brunette walks out with her hair restored. She twirls around with a happy giggle to show off her now even longer hair before she almost falls over.
She catches herself before falling over and lets out a sheepish chuckle as she rubs the back of her neck still grinning widely. Happy laughs at her clumsiness and the boys just have grins of amusement. Her impromptu twirl reveals to the guys that she now has hair that reaches to her bottom and that looks like it's a lot thicker than before.
"Krysti, even though I am glad for your happiness about your newly restored hair, you must be careful since you have yet to recover fully from your ordeal." Erza chides as she walks out of the bathroom with Lucy in tow. The brunette laughs sheepishly again before she carefully moves to the nearest couch to take a seat, but not before grabbing a hairbrush from the top of the dresser.
The rest of the day, the group of friends stay at Natsu's home to make sure that their newest friend is resting properly so she can recover sooner. The girls spent at least a couple of hours playing with Krysti's new hair and putting it up in all sorts of styles that she could wear it in. After some arguing, a simple braid down her back ended up being the winner much to Erza's delight. The boys were overjoyed when the girls finished as they were bored out their minds since they don't care about hair styles and the like.
That night, as everyone went to their own homes, Krysti is picking up dishes from the meal that Lucy was kind enough to make for them all. Happy is passed out from another one of his fish comas and is currently snoring in the hammock. Natsu notices when Krysti almost stumbles from her knees wobbling and hurries to take the plates from her. She places her hands on her hips while arching an eyebrow in amusement.
"I think I can manage a few plates, Grilled." She says drily.
"And you're still unsteady on your feet, I think we can suffer my dishwashing for the night if it keeps you from having another broken nose." The Dragon Slayer quips back. The brunette grimaces at the reminder of one of her previous injuries.
She heads to the couch that is also her bed while retorting back, "Well I guess we can survive your dishwashing now that I made sure we have soap for you to use. That and whatever isn't clean I can always just rewash it later." Natsu mock glares in her direction and laughs when she childishly sticks her tongue out at him in response. As she sits down a big yawn catches her off guard and her posture slumps. Natsu hears it, but doesn't pay any mind to it until he hears her laying down. A quick glance over his shoulder shows that his roommate is out like a light in an uncomfortable position on the couch bed.
He chuckles with a fond expression as he watches both of his friends sleeping soundly. He moves over to Krysti and straightens her out on the couch so she would be more comfortable before grabbing a nearby blanket and covering her with it. Sparing a glance at the slumbering blue cat to make sure he is comfortable as well, Natsu goes back to the sink to continue washing the dishes.
Back out at Healer's home in the woods, a warm glow shines out into the night from the windows. Through the window, two silhouettes can be seen sitting near each other.
"So she will be ok then?" a deep male voice can be heard coming from the smaller figure.
"As long as she follows my directions and actually drinks that potion, she will be. I still can't understand it though." The larger figure says that sounds like an older woman.
The smaller male lets out a soft grunt before asking, "Can't understand what?"
"How she is alive." The female says bluntly as she raises a cup to her lips. "She should have died."
"Porlyusica!" the cries man out scandalized at her harsh words.
"Oh be quiet idiot! I don't mean it like that." the woman snaps angrily. "What I mean is that I examined her and from her physical wounds and amount of blood loss she suffered should have killed her. Then from the amount of magic she released for the first time to go on top of that? The strain on her body was tremendous! No one that isn't trained extensively in magic can survive through that. I think that even you Wizard Saints would be hard-pressed to live though that unaided."
The female's head dips down as a loud sigh is released before she asks, "What is that girl? She seems perfectly human, but no human should be able to survive that without an enormous amount of magic under their control."
The male sits still for a moment before quietly saying, "She is from another world." Porlyusica sits upright with a start and the smaller figure lifts up a hand in an attempt to calm her down.
"No. Not Edolas. From another one altogether. She claims that they have no knowledge of magic except in myths and stories. I'm inclined to believe her from how everything that has something to do with magic fascinates her in a way that people who don't normally see it would act. That along with the device she carries with her everywhere. She let me examine it and there is absolutely no magic in it, yet it harnesses the power of electricity to work. There isn't anything in this world that I know of that can do that without lacrima." He explains in a low rumble.
The healer takes in a shuddering breath before asking, "Then how did she get here? If they have no knowledge of magic, how was she able to come to our world, Makarov?"
The Master shakes his head slowly as he answers, "She claims to have no knowledge of how she got here. According to Krysti she went to sleep at her home and woke up on Galuna Island with Natsu hovering over her."
"This is worrying. This girl with no knowledge of magic comes to our world and in two weeks was able to perform a feat of magic that should have killed her with injuries that really should have killed her and yet she is still alive. Someone, or something, powerful wants her here and it wants her alive. It's the only explanation why she survived. Whatever brought her over is keeping her alive for a reason and until we find out what this reason is, we are going to have to keep a close eye on her." The healer says in a rush. Her eyes widen as something occurs to the old woman.
"Where is she staying?" Porlyusica asks with a snap.
"With Natsu," Makarov answers easily. The healer lets out a sharp hiss at that answer.
"With the Dragon Slayer?! This could be bad, Makarov. If she is here for nefarious reasons she has a chance to convert the Dragon Slayer to her side and his potential for destruction is devastating!"
He raises a hand to stop her rant before calmly explaining, "On the contrary, I think she is in the best place to stay. There aren't that many people who Natsu hasn't been able to charm into joining our cause. From what I saw, she is quite taken with many of my children and has already shown a fierce protectiveness for them that is hard to fake. Most of them are quite taken with her as well. I will keep a close eye on her, but I believe that whatever reason why she is here, good or bad, she will be on Fairy Tail's side through it all."
"I'll trust your judgment, for now, Makarov. But your judgment isn't always infallible. Remember that." Porlyusica huffs out.
"I will. And if Krysti poses any threat to the safety of Fairy Tail, I will take care of her myself." Makarov solemnly promises.
The next day, Natsu wakes to the sound of a pan hitting the floor and a loud curse. Peering out from his hammock, he sees Krysti picking up a pan off the floor with a grimace on her face. She is leaning down to pick up the fallen utensil when a sudden burst of warmth next to her warns her of the Dragon Slayer's presence.
"Morning Natsu, I'll be getting breakfast started soon. You can go back to sleep if you want." She says cheerfully without looking over at her roommate. Before she knows it, the pan is snatched out of her hand and she gets twirled around until she hits a nearby chair next to the table and sits in it. She faces her roommate with her arms crossed and an arched eyebrow just like last night.
"And what, pray tell, was that about?" she asks in a slow, unhappy drawl.
"This is me cooking breakfast, and that is you resting to regain your strength," Natsu says as he first points to the pan on the stove and then at her. Her lips quirk up in amusement.
"You know the healer said I wasn't supposed to do magic, not chores, right?" she continues to speak in a drawl while leaning back in the chair.
He shrugs before answering, "Doesn't matter. I would rather not have to eat breakfast off the floor."
Indignant, she barks out," Hey! Just because a pan slipped out of my hands once does not mean that I'm going to drop breakfast. And even if I did, the floor is clean enough that you can eat off of it." She pauses to think for a second before adding, "That is, if you cleaned that floors since I was gone." Krysti nods her head with a smug smirk as Natsu suddenly busied himself with making breakfast.
"Have you done any of the chores since I was away?" she asks. The Dragon Slayer's lack of an answer spoke volumes. She shakes her head in mock exasperation as a grin overtakes her features. "Did you at least remember your tea?" she asks of him with fond amusement.
He throws a bright grin over his shoulder that leaves her temporarily breathless as he enthusiastically answers, "Sure did!" He frowns somewhat as he next says, "But it didn't taste the same as yours. Dunno what I'm doing wrong." With a smirk, she gets out of the chair and stands next to the Dragon Slayer just before bumping him away from the stove with her hip.
"Watch," Krysti commands as she gathers the ingredients to make the ginger tea that is helping cure Natsu's motion sickness. He watches with rapt attention as she makes the tea which causes a small blush appear on her cheeks from how close and focused he is. A few minutes later, a steaming hot cup of tea is ready for the pink-haired man to taste. He sniffs it before quickly chugging the entire cup in one go. A big smile adorns his face and the brunette answers it with a grin of her own.
Natsu gets a mischievous look on his face and before Krysti could react, she finds herself spinning before landing in the chair she recently vacated. She sits there in stunned silence trying to process just what happened when the clatter of pots and pans snaps her out of the daze. The older woman aims a half-hearted glare at her male roommate while he just acts like he didn't do anything to deserve it. She sighs and shakes her head as she settles down to observe the Dragon Slayer's skills in cooking, ready to jump in if needed.
Surprisingly, Natsu made a decently cooked meal which increased the respect the brunette held for the Dragon Slayer. Leaving the dishes to Natsu, who insisted to the point that Krysti let him do it for fear that the dishes would get broken if they actually fought over them, Krysti moves over to the window couch to sit in the sun. She basks in the warmth for a while before pulling out a brush that she left in one of the shopping bags that she has yet to put up to detangle her newly grown hair.
Starting at the ends, she slowly works her way up to her scalp. Natsu, who was clearing away the dishes before washing them, glances over and freezes in place. With the sun on it, her hair shines as golden as the sun itself and Natsu's eyes widen as he stares, entranced by the sight. It's just as golden as when he first saw it in front of the shop of pink horrors. Happy giggles quietly, for once, at the sight of a gobsmacked Natsu as he weirdly stares at Krysti while she brushes her hair. It's not like this is the first time she did it, so Happy has no idea why he is acting like this now. He quietly flies into the hammock to watch the two humans in case something either funny or blackmail worthy happens.
After a moment, Natsu was able to shake himself out of his stupor and returned to washing the dishes. Yet, he wasn't able to stop his eyes from straying over to watch his roommate brushing her hair with a serene expression on her face.
I'm walking slowly towards the guild wanting to see the rest of my friends, with Natsu by my side to help catch me in case my legs give out. Which I am very grateful for since I already almost fell a few times. I can feel my lips twitch into an amused grin as I listen to Natsu and Happy chatting animatedly with each other about plans for future pranks. My attention drifts away as we round the street corner that brings the guild into sight. I have to stop a disappointed sigh when I can't see the familiar top of the guild in its usual place. I guess it's too much to hope for the building to be already built. Even with magic, it takes a while to construct buildings. Huh, construction magic. That could be extremely handy.
Soon the sound of construction work reaches my ears and curiosity grip me. Natsu starts to walk faster and goes ahead of me to disappear thru an opening in a fence that is put up where the guild is located at. I follow along at my sedate pace and stop right at the entrance to survey everything going on. Immediately, I can tell that the new building is going to be a lot bigger than before. Although everything is still made of wood so it will be still just as easily breakable as before during brawls. I already heard the Master complain more than once about repair costs when the boys fight.
I wonder how much more expensive it would be to switch to a harder material for the guild to be made of? Or is there a way to enhance the strength of a substance to make it more durable? Hmm, would be worthwhile to talk to the Master about this, if for nothing else to find out if there is a type of magic like that. My thoughts pull up short as I spy a new person sitting at a table nearby. A blond, large muscled man wearing a black cape and yellow shirt with leopard spots running down the sides is just lounging around with an arrogant yet bored look on his face.
Wow is that guy sexy or what? Hubba-hubba. I don't like that look on his face though, then again he could just be in some sort of mood. I should hold off judgment before I get to know him. Feeling that I should introduce myself to the new guy, I go over towards him. As I slowly approach the hot hunk, I notice a couple of pads on his ears that has a spike each. Soon I see some cords coming from the spikes and a thrill shoots through me.
They look like headphones. Ooooo! Maybe he has some sort of music player, and if he does then maybe he would know a way I can keep mine charged! A wide smile crosses my face as I pick up my pace a slight bit and now the guy has noticed my approach. A look of slight distaste appears on his face, but it isn't anything new to me since back in my world most guys are shallow and don't care to be approached by a girl of my size. I don't let his expression phase me as I continue towards him.
When I get to a proper distance, I introduce myself in a happy manner, "Hi there! My name is Krysti, I couldn't help but notice that you seem to be wearing headphones." A sudden bout of doubt kicks in as I next ask, "Uh, those are headphones, right?"
He gives me a scathing look before answering, "They are sound pods, idiot. Haven't you seen sound pods before?" His deep baritone caused a barrage of tingles to flood my body. Sexy as hell voice, although I don't care for the arrogance. He might just be in a bad mood, don't let it get to you.
Arching my eyebrow at his tone, I place my hand on my hip as I answer back, "I haven't seen any from this world before so I wasn't sure if they would look the same as mine or not." He lets out a questioning grunt and I reach into my pants pocket to pull out my earbuds. He lifts an eyebrow in question and I hand it over to him as I move to sit on the bench with him. He takes the earbuds and looks them over with a disinterested look on his face and I decide to pull out my iPod as well.
"So what music do you listen to?" I ask conversationally. He gives me a long searching look before grunting and leaning back against the table while closing his eyes. When he doesn't answer for a moment, I look away with a twinge of disappointment.
After another moment of silence from the large male, I open my mouth to ask for my earbuds back when he quietly says, "Rock. That's what I listen to." Hearing this I perk up, my last ex from my world was an avid Rock 'N Roll fan so he made sure that I had a wide variety of songs to listen to.
"Wanna trade for a bit?" I ask while holding up my iPod. He opens one eye to look at me and I just give him a soft smile while waiting on his answer. He lets out a puff of air just as he holds out one large hand with his palm up, signaling that he is ok with the trade. Placing my iPod in his hand, I'm struck by how large it really is, over twice the size of mine. Then again, I do have tiny hands. A slight tingle goes through my body, almost like static electricity when my fingers graze his palm.
He gives the iPod an almost disdainful sneer and I have to bite my tongue, knowing that he isn't aware of how much that little piece of plastic and metal can do albeit a lot of its functions are no longer useable without the internet in this world. With a grunt, he moves to pull something out from his left side while still holding onto the iPod and earbuds with his right hand. With a practiced motion, he takes off his headphones, err, sound pods and hands them along with some sort of round glass ball that is connected to the sound pods to me. I take the proffered items with a puzzled look as I try to figure out how to work it.
Tapping it slightly doesn't work after inspecting the ball all over to see there are no distinguishing marks on it. I start to look at the cord to the headphones to see if there are any control buttons on it when I hear a grunt of exasperation.
"You add some magic to the lacrima to get it started, idiot. It's like you never saw one before." He growls out in a low mutter.
I bite my tongue again to hold back a scathing retort I want to say and instead I reply with, "Well, I haven't. We don't have magical crystals back on my world." Then his words sink in, magic, I can't use magic as of yet. I deflate some before I next say, "And I guess I can't use this for now. Porlyusica says that I'm not allowed to even try to tap into my magic for two weeks." At that, he sneers at me before heaving out an annoyed sigh. I try to not let his attitude ruffle my feathers, but it's hard as he has this look of superiority as he raises a finger and sends a zap of electricity into the crystal in my hands.
I jump slightly from surprise, not expecting the display from the blond. Huh, so he has lightning magic. I give him a closer look, and notice that with his spiky blond hair, storm grey eyes, and lightning scar that it almost seems like he embodies electricity.
His superior sneer becomes a smug smirk as he says, "Are you going to listen to the music or stare at me all day? Not that I blame you, I am the strongest mage in Fairy Tail. It's natural for weaklings to want to stare at greatness."
"Keep your panties on Sparky, you're not that handsome. I just never seen this technology before so it's only natural that I don't know how to work it." I answer him with my own sneer.
His eyebrow raises at the nickname I given him and he retorts condescendingly, "Never seen a lacrima before? Where have you been living, under a rock?"
"Nope." I quip back while popping the 'p'. "Just in a different dimension that isn't ruled by magic but instead by science." I look down to inspect the crystal as I say that last bit like I'm discussing the weather. I don't bother to look up at his grunt of confusion as I try to figure out how to work the lacrima before I realize that he won't know how to operate my iPod.
"Oh yeah, I better turn this on for you. Wouldn't want you to try zapping it and breaking it since you wouldn't know how to turn on an iPod." I say happily while plucking the small device out of the larger man's hand and giving him a pointed look. He has a sour expression on his face but doesn't say anything so I consider it a point in my favor. Smug punk. People like that really rub me the wrong way.
After the iPod turns on, I quickly open the music app and get a playlist going of Rock music before plugging in the earbuds. Finished with setting it up, I hand the device back to Sparky.
"When you put in the earbuds, you just tap this symbol here," I inform him as I lean in closer to show him the correct way to start it, "and you tap it again to pause it. You use these two buttons here to control how loud the music is. Don't use any of that electricity magic Sparky, you could destroy it and there isn't way that I'm aware of to restore it." He narrows his eyes and lets out an annoyed grunt but otherwise follows instructions. Sparky then closes his eyes while crossing his arms over his chest to listen to the Rock medley playing. I have on that playlist a wide variety of rock going from classic, indie, metal, soft, screamo, alternative and so on.
Erza walks over to me with a smile and a questioning look on her face as she greets me, "Morning Krysti, I see that you have met Laxus."
"So that's his name!" I say happily as I put his sound pods on the table behind us. "I just been calling him Sparky." The red-head gets a surprised look before it quickly turns into slight amusement.
"I'm sure that Laxus didn't take to that name very well." She says with a small smile.
I grin back before replying, "He hasn't said anything about it, although he has been grunting grumpily. I'm starting to think that it's a normal way of communicating for him." Her smile widens.
"Yes, it is. Laxus is someone who doesn't talk much usually. So how are you doing today, Krysti? Shouldn't you be resting instead of walking all the way here? It is quite a ways from your home." She asks me in concern.
I give her a happy grin before replying, "It may be far, but I think the exercise is good for me. I am still a bit weak, but Natsu was sweet and stayed by me to make sure I didn't fall. That and I just had to come to see how the guild and everyone else is doing. I haven't seen them in over a week and I'm feeling anxious to see them."
The redhead gives me her small smile as she answers, "Everyone is doing fine and I'm sure that they will be happy to see you too. After all, you did give us quite the scare."
"Well it's not like I meant to…" I cut off what I was saying as a high pitched voice shouts out something unintelligible. Curious to what is causing the noise I look around towards the construction site but nothing seems amiss over there. Something small latches onto me as it rams into my side hard enough that it knocks me off of the bench so I'm lying on the dirt in front of Sparky. I look at what is holding onto me and a mop of dark purple hair is burrowing into my side.
"What the…?" I say to myself before a tear filled face pops up into view.
"Krysti-nee! You're okay! You're really okay! Dad said you were but I thought he might have been lying! Days went by and you didn't show up and I thought *hiccup* I thought…!" Romeo cries out and breaks down again. My heart softens at the sound of his crying and I envelop the boy in a tight hug.
"Hey, it's ok, Scamp. I'm fine, your dad didn't lie. I just used too much magic in one go. But I was healed up by Porlyusica, so I'm all better now." I whisper to him as he cries loudly. With Erza's help, I get back on the bench with Romeo sitting on my lap as he refuses to let me go. Guess the little guy really does care for me. My heart warms at the care and concern that the young boy has for me and I hug him again.
"Ti-chan!" a higher pitched female voice calls out and I perk up at the sound.
"Levy!" I shout back happily as I turn to face the petite girl just as she slams into me with a big hug just like Romeo, not even moments before. At least this time it wasn't so hard that it knocked me off the bench.
"I'm so happy that you're alright! Porlyusica wouldn't let me in to see you after the war was over and then the Rune Knights came, and the Master had us start rebuilding the guild…" she quickly states before getting cut off by a tight hug from me.
"Ti-chan?" Levy asks in confusion. I give her a tight squeeze before letting her go. A squirm in my lap has me look down at Romeo who thankfully wasn't caught in the middle of that hug.
"Are you ok, Krysti-nee?" he asks worriedly.
I sniff and wipe my wet eyes before answering, "I was so worried for you, Levy." Jet and Droy limp around Levy to where I can see them. "You two as well, Droy, Jet. The last time I saw you, y'all were unconscious in a hospital bed." At this point, I started to cry again. "I didn't know if you would be ok."
Levy starts to cry now as well, "We were fine, Ti-chan. Yes, we got beaten up, but that doesn't keep Team Shadowgear down. We are coming back stronger than ever."
I shake my head. "You don't understand. I was there when you were found hanging on the tree. I helped carry your bodies to the hospital. For a while there, I thought you guys might have been…" I stop talking at this and just let my tears roll down my face as I'm attacked by hugs from two sides. I close my eyes as I hug them back, telling myself that they are ok. That I didn't see my dear friends die.
"Hey everybody!" Mirajane's voice rings out from the makeshift bar where Lucy is sitting. "We can now take missions again!" A chorus of approving shouts quickly follows Mirajane's announcement. I sniff and wipe my eyes free from tears as Levy and Romeo both disengage from our group hug. I look over to see Jet and Droy's watery eyes as they look towards us and I see Gray walking up to Lucy who for some reason is holding her butt. Natsu and Happy approach her from another side with matching mischievous looks on their faces.
What are those two up to now? Suddenly a loud snort from my left startles me and I look over to Sparky who has an arrogant sneer on his face again.
"Weaklings. All of you are pathetically weak to let Phantom Lord stomp all over you." Laxus says in disgust as he places my iPod and earbuds on the bench between us. At his words, two things happen simultaneously. First, Lucy is shouting at Happy, Gray, and Natsu about sexually harassing her, and secondly, Erza stands up so fast from her seat that the bench falls over.
My fierce protectiveness kicks in and before I realize what I'm doing I bark at Erza, "Erza, sit down." She has a wild look in her eyes that I'm certain that is matched with mine. I hand Romeo over to Levy, so he will be safe just in case things go for the worse. I figured out a while ago that Erza is like me and is a mama bear when it comes to people we care about, and that means things could escalate.
"Young lady! Sit yourself down right this instant." I command using my best mom voice that I can muster. Erza jerks in surprise but follows my command without saying anything. I turn my gaze onto Sparky which becomes a glare. "I'll deal with you in just a moment, mister." Standing up, I look over towards the rest of my friends by Mirajane's bar.
"Natsu." I bark, and he comes to attention like he is in the army. "Gray." I bark again and the ice mage follows suit. "Happy." The cat actually salutes me as he also comes to attention. "All three of you, step away from Lucy and stop whatever it is that you are doing to harass her. This may not be my actual house, but I will not tolerate shenanigans of that sort in my presence. Is that clear?"
"Aye sir!" they shout out in unison.
I point over to the construction site and continue to bark, "Now go over there and help build. And if I catch you guys slacking off or fighting with each other, there will be consequences. Is that clear?"
"Aye sir!" they shout out in unison again.
"March!" I bellow out the best drill sergeant impression I can make and the three hurry over to the unfinished Guildhall as fast as they can. Satisfied with how that situation was resolved I turned my gaze back onto Sparky who is looking highly amused at me.
My dander still up, I cross my arms and growl out, "What do you find so funny?"
His lips twitch in amusement as he lounges back against the table more before replying, "Never seen anyone but Erza make those three hop as fast as they did."
"Well, we aren't here to talk about that. What I want to know is what makes you think that you have the right to start insulting the rest of the guild for being weak during a fight that you weren't even here to fight." I hiss out that last part. Last night when my friends were telling me what I missed, it was mentioned that Laxus refused to help which made me upset.
He looks a bit taken aback from the venom that is clear in my voice before retorting with, "I know because I'm the strongest ma-" I quickly cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah. Strongest mage in Fairy Tail. I heard that already. That's all well and good but you weren't there! What is the point of being strong if you're not there to protect your friends and family?" I take a step closer to Sparky so I'm looming over him and he looks up at me, unimpressed. Hearing the arrogance in his voice, thinking he is better than anyone to go along with him insulting my friends. This just added fuel to my anger which is threatening to burst loose like a breaking dam.
"And what makes you think that you have a right to insult anybody here about being weak when every single one of them risked their lives to protect each other and managed to overcome the odds when they were stacked against us. What gives you the right!?" I snarl loudly at the blond man before me. I'm more pissed than I was at Erza when I found out she punches Natsu in the stomach to keep from having to deal with his motion sickness. I can feel what might be my magic trying to bubble under the surface but I ignore it to deal with the man in front of me.
He gives me a look of disdain before retorting, "I'm Laxus Dreyar, the strongest mage in Fairy Tail and I'm going to become the next Master once Gramps retires."
"Ok, so you're Laxus Dreyar. Big whoop. All you talk about is being the strongest mage like some broken record. Frankly, I'm getting tired of hearing it. You're strong you say, strong how? Tell me that." I say with extreme sarcasm.
Starting to look frustrated, Sparky indignantly responds, "I'm strong the only way you can be strong. Anyone here I can beat with one arm tied behind my back while blindfolded." He finishes with a proud expression.
"What did you say, Laxus!? I'll fight you here and now!" I hear Natsu roar out as he comes closer to us. A loud thud lets me know that someone stopped him from interrupting me and Sparky. I give the blond man in front of me a flat look before clicking my tongue and shaking my head slowly. I push down the anger as another emotion comes into play. Pity
"Oh sweetie, sweetie. No. Just no. There isn't only one way to be strong." I give him a pitying look. "Dear child, there are many ways to be strong, and physical strength isn't the best way to go about it. Anyone can have muscles and be able to beat up people. But it is much rarer and precious to find those who have strong minds or those who have strong faith. There is a strength in loyalty, a strength in willpower, a strength in determination and much more." I take my hands off of my hips and raise them up and out as if to encompass the whole guild. "Yet the one strength that I see that is stronger than any other that always prevails, in the end, is the strength of love. The love that people hold for each other, whether it is for family, friends, or for the one you want to live the rest of your life with is far greater than any of those other strengths that I mentioned."
Arms encircle my right leg and I look down to see Romeo looking up at me with a big grin. I smile fondly down at him and rub his head affectionately. I look back up to see the dark look on Laxus' face and I smile warmly at him in response despite the anger I feel towards him. "Love is the greatest strength anyone can ever possess and with it, people can accomplish things that others would think impossible. And you know what?" I ask the lightning mage before picking up Romeo in my arms with a small grunt.
"I see that this guild is full of love, and as long as that continues to be true there isn't any obstacle that we can't overcome." I end my small speech with a sharp nod of my head.
Laxus sneers at me with the darkest look in his eyes yet before growling out, "You pathetic weak piece of trash. You can't even use magic and yet you're lecturing me about strength? I don't know why gramps even let you in this guild, but once I take over all these goody-goody feelings and crap will end." I look down at him with a raised eyebrow, acting like his words have the same effect on me as a child throwing a tantrum would.
"Child, you have a lot of growing up to do before you take over anything," I state as calm as I can. At those words, Laxus gets to his feet in a rush and he looms menacingly over me. I'm not worried that he will attack me, I'm more worried about Romeo who is now trembling in my arms.
"I am not a child," Laxus says slowly before he literally growls at me.
I raise an eyebrow again as I shift Romeo in my grip before replying, "You sure are acting like one. Talking about being the strongest all the time, talking about how you're going to be the master one day, and now you're trying to intimidate me with your size to make me agree with you? Just like a kid. Heck, right now even little Romeo here would be a better guild master than you until you mature some more."
The positively evil glare he gave the boy in my arms raised my hackles to the point that I put Romeo down and had him stand behind me. Having the child safely behind me, I stood up and glared at the lightning mage with my not so impressive height of almost five and a half feet. Our eyes lock in a contest of wills and I do not plan to back down. We stay that way for a full minute, staring each other down before Lexus suddenly closes his eyes with a scoff.
"You and the rest of these weaklings aren't even worth my time." He boasts while turning away to grab his lacrima and sound pods. I snort at his words.
"More like you're scared." I snapped back at him before mockingly scoffing. I can hear his neck snap, he turned to face me so fast.
"What did you say?" he growls as an expression of outrage overtakes his features. I cross my arms over my chest as I ignore his glare.
"You heard me." I retort before uncrossing my arms to put one hand on my hip and point to him with the other hand. "You are scared," I repeat while enunciating each syllable.
He marches up to me while growling in a very threatening way, "I. Am. Not. Scared."
Not breaking eye contact, and not willing to back down, I shift into a more firm stance before continuing, "Yes you are. Scared that I'm right that physical strength is not the only type of strength there is, but also scared that I'm right about you still being a child." His eyes widen in fury and for a moment it seems that he is about to attack before he deflates into nonchalance and turns around again.
"Why should your opinions matter? Once I'm Master every one of you weaklings will get kicked out. Only the strongest will be able to stay. Fairy Tail will be the strongest guild." He retorts airily before disappearing in a blast of lightning. The sudden departure caught me completely off guard and I tried to leap back with a yelp, but only to trip over Romeo who was right behind me. We both tumbled and Jet was fast enough to catch Romeo while I just landed against Erza.
Helping me stand upright, the red-head looks away with a sad expression. "I'm sorry about Laxus…" she starts off softly. "He hasn't always been this way, but ever since the incident, he has been obsessed with strength." I tilt my head to the side slightly at that.
"Incident?" I ask in confusion. Erza's head lowers at my question until her eyes are hidden from me.
"I don't know exactly what happened, but the Master had to exile his son, Laxus's father from the guild. Laxus hasn't been able to forgive the Master since." I narrow my eyes at this.
Ok, so tall, moody, and handsome may have a legit reason for having a chip on his shoulder. "Still doesn't give him a right to be such an ass-bag," I say as a snide comment. At that, I hear Natsu laughing over my particular insult for Sparky, Happy's giggling soon joins in along with a quiet chuckle I barely caught from Gray.
Without turning around I call out sweetly, "Oh boys?" the laughter immediately stops and I smirk as I see Erza holding back a smile as she looks over my shoulder.
"If I turn around and don't see you working, you better be prepared for retribution." I almost sing-song before slowly turning to face them. I hear a quick pounding of feet and I can see the three guys working hard in the distance. A loud sound of laughter comes from all around and I'm startled to see that most of the guild is nearby and laughing at Natsu, Gray, and Happy.
"When did they get here?" I ask in bewilderment to no one in particular.
"They all came up just after Erza knocked over the table and you ordered her to sit down." Jet said as he still is holding onto Romeo.
"Yea, I know I never saw anything like it!" Droy exclaims as he waves the arm not holding onto a crutch in excitement. "Erza never takes orders from anyone but the Master! And then you stood up to Laxus." Droy says the lightning mage's name like I just challenged some sort of god.
"Not just stood up, you put him in his place!" Jet butts in excitedly.
"And you did it for us!" Droy finishes before the two start crying and engulf me in a big group hug. Now I know how Levy feels. I laugh awkwardly as I try to comfort them. As I look around, I can see the smiling faces of the rest of the guild looking our way and I lock away the anger for another time as I allow myself to be content. This may not be my world or even my dimension, but this is my home now. For better or for worse I will do my best to do right by these people.