Gildarts left the office with a sigh, something rarely seen on the normally grinning mage. Much to his annoyance, Macao and Makarov had yet to provide him with sufficient information regarding the Kage clan. He would have gone to look himself, but if Makarov couldn't get any facts, it was unlikely he would. He rubbed his fore head in annoyance, before settling at the bar.

Cana glanced at her old man from her usual place at the bar. She, like the other members had noticed the sombre mood of the S class mage. It was a strange sight to see, that she didn't like. She also was unsure as to how deal with this new persona. She could kick away an overclingy father, which normally solved things. This… was unknown territory for her… so with a sigh of her own, she downed another bottle of sake, perhaps hoping to gain inspiration…

It was at this point that the guild doors swung open, where a tall, lean and muscular figure stood. His dark purple eyes scanned the guild, till he noticed the familiar auburn hair at the bar, he grinned and ran to the figure.

"AKI-CHAN!"Before the tanned man could reach his target, Gildarts turned round, causing the man running to realise that this wasn't Aki at all. Skidding to a halt he frowned, tilting his head in confusion.

"Huh? Wait, you're not Aki-chan…hmm.I was sure this was the right place" He scratched his matching dark purple hair as he looked round the guild, in hopes that Aki would magically reveal himself. Mira smiled warmly at the confused man.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" The man smiled, and grasped Mira's hands in excitement.

"Ah, how kind you are miss! I'm looking for someone!" Cana looked at the figure with suspicion.

"You're looking for Aki right? W-"She didn't even get to continue to speak before his eyes turned to her, and she could have sworn they were twinkling as he let go of Mira's hands and grabbed hers.

"You know Aki-chan?! That's great! Oh beautiful brunette angel, please tell me where I can find him"

Cana cringed at the man, whose aura was almost blinding. How in god's name was Aki associated with…THIS?!

Gildarts, upon seeing the man, too close to his daughter for his liking, seemed to regain some of his equilibrium, as a dark aura surrounded him. The man paused in his flowering of compliments over Cana, and stopped, his instincts telling him that he was in some sort of danger, turning he found himself faced with an angry demon, his arms crossed and his eyes seemed to almost glow…

"Get. Away. From. My. Daughter. NOW." The man quickly complied, and was quick to stutter an apology, when he paused, and narrowed his eyes at Guildarts.

"Wait a minute…"He leaned closer to the man looking into his eyes.

"Dark eyes… Check" He glanced at his hair.

"Auburn locks… Check" he peered at Gildarts usual dark cloak

"Dark cloak… Check …YOUR AKI-CHAN'S DAD?!" Cana along with everyone else in the guild, sweat dropped at the man.

Gildarts frowned, for some reason he didn't trust the stranger…

"That's right" He said stiffly. "Who are you" The man however didn't answer and instead turned back to Cana.

"And that means you're Aki-chans sister!" Cana frowned when she noticed he was once again holding her hand, much to her annoyance.

It was at this point, Boys and Girls that Aki stalked through the guild doors. He was in a bad mood, and had almost not gone to the guild today. After his meltdown the previous day, he didn't want to face anyone, especially Gildarts and Laxus. He also knew that he would have to somehow apologise to Laxus for, well punching him, and to guildarts, for displaying such weakness. He cringed at the thought of his breakdown. He hadn't cried like that for a very long time. Crying was for the weak, and he cursed for still succumbing to his emotions. He was deep in his thoughts, when a he stopped a couple feet from the bar, his eyes wide as he noticed the man. Cana, noticed Aki's arrival and his tense and wide eyed appearance. She narrowed her eyes. What could have possibly caused such a change? Her eyes wondered to the man in front of her. Wait…It couldn't be…Could it?

Laxus from his usual place in the guild on the 2nd floor had been watching the commotion of the man looking for Aki. He like Gildarts was suspicious of the man, but those thoughts were put on pause when he noticed Aki entering the guild. He smirked, and rubbed his jaw fondly almost, and without saying anything to his team, descended down the stairs, planning on picking on the mage, something he seemed to enjoy lately. However the smirk slipped of his face, as Aki abruptly stopped in his journey to the bar, his eyes wide as he stared ahead. Following his line of sight he noticed that the man had stopped harassing Cana had was smiling at Aki. Laxus noticed that Cana had noticed as well, but before either of them could say anything the man had launched himself at Aki.

"AKI-CHAN!"

BANG!

The man nursed the large bump on his head and whimpered.

"How cruel Aki-chan! I haven't seen you in years and this is how you treat me!" He pouted "How cruel!" Aki glared at the whining man.

"Shut it" He scowled as the man tried to hug him, only to receive a knee to the gut.

"I-im glad y-you haven't c-change m-my s-sweet A-ki-chan" He groaned, holding his now bruised stomach

"And you're still an annoying idiot" He drawled out. He turned to the stunned trio before him, before turning to Cana,

"You okay?" He asked. She blinked before noticing his disapproving gaze on the man, who was still holding his gut. She smiled softly, realising he was actually concerned about her. Maybe he was getting soft?

"I'm fine, but is he…"Aki understood her silent question and nodded.

"This is my distant cousin, Kyo Kage" This was apparently all the verification that Laxus needed, before he lit up his fist, with a sinister smirk on his face.

"So you are one of those bastards" He loomed over the man, now known as Kyo, and was about to unleash a skull shattering blow to his head. Kyo felt his eyes widen, and he quickly shook his head, as he noticed Guildarts crack his knuckles and other members of the guild get themselves ready to attack.

"Me?"He squeaked "No,No,No, You've got the wrong guy! Neh Aki-chan tell them!" Aki however was slightly shocked that the mere mention of Kyo's name had made Laxus, followed by the others, to act so quickly. Sure they had said they would protect him, but he hadn't taken them seriously! He was almost awe-struck by the whole thing. But then he remembered what was going on before him, and he placed a hand on Laxus' arm

"He's right, wrong guy" Laxus lifted an eyebrow, silently telling him to go on.

"Do you really think if he was after me, that he'd be so blatant and stupid about it" Upon noticing the guild members relax, he continued, staring at Laxus meaningfully.

"And do you really think I'm scared of… that?" Cana looked at Kyo with disdain.

"Well, he's scary in a way…I could see why you would run away" Kyo fell to his knees, holding his chest

"Oh Amethyst eyed goddess you wound me" Gildarts however wasn't convinced. Upon noticing this Aki spoke again.

"His father was exiled from the clan, along with him. He isn't after me" Kyo nodded in agreement

"That's right! I'm a good guy" Aki narrowed his eyes at the revived, energetic man.

"Anyway, why are you here" Kyo pouted and clung onto Aki's arm, much to his… and Laxus' annoyance.

"I came to visit my Aki-chan of course" Laxus quickly zoned in on the man's grip on his nakama's arm and before he could even think about it, he grabbed Aki's other arm and tugged him next to him, away from the now empty handed man. What's more, even when he was away from Kyo, Laxus didn't let go of his arm, much to Aki's confusion. Deciding to ignore it he turned his attention back to his cousin.

"That's bullshit" He snapped, though Laxus noted it lacked its usual hostility, and instead was more of annoyance.

"Now tell me what you want" Kyo opened his mouth, perhaps to try and defend his previous statement, but then his wide smile slipped slightly, and he let out a sigh.

"I honestly wanted to check up on you Aki-chan" He glanced around the bustling guild hall. "It's a nice place you've found yourself in" He paused, a look of seriousness in his eyes.

"You weren't doing so well, the last time I saw you" Aki stiffened, and Laxus however was the one to speak

"What do you mean by that?"Kyo glanced at Gildarts, his humor gone.

"Last time I saw my beloved Aki-chan was after he escaped from the Clan. I'm surprised you got out considering…"He trailed off, his eyes darkened for a moment, but then as if a switch had been hit, he smiled his wide smile.

"Sides Aki-chan you're my only pleasant family member left! Why wouldn't I visit you?"Aki still looked at him in suspicion.

"I don't owe you any favours do i?"Kyo shook his head

"Nope! In fact, I'm also here to give you information on the house! Aren't I the best?" Aki looked blankly at the now sparkling man before him

"Well, what is it?" Kyo paused, and looked meaningfully at the group surrounding Aki.

"You want them hearing this?" Laxus scowled

"We're his nakam-"

"Its fine…"he paused for a moment.

"I… trust them" He said this slowly, as if it was a foreign concept for him.

If the situation had been less serious, Gildarts would have exclaimed his joy, instead he made do with smiling softly in his son's direction. Cana was simply shocked at this revelation.

And Laxus?

Laxus was trying to keep his face blank, despite the warm feeling that filled his chest. Aki who had just yesterday punched him in the jaw, trusted him.

Sure he had the thunder god tribe that trusted him, but people in the guild still were somewhat wary of him. Perhaps that's why he had latched onto Aki when he arrived. He was someone new, who knew nothing of his past mistakes and he wasn't afraid to fight back against the lightening mage. So it was strange that someone besides the thunder god tribe had deemed him worthy of their trust. Despite his efforts… a small smile crept across his face, which didn't go unnoticed by anyone in the conversation.

"To put it bluntly Aki-chan, the good old Kage's ain't happy" Cana scoffed

"Were they ever a happy bunch?"Kyo smiled at Cana.

"Nope!" Maybe realising that he was about to go off topic, he rapidly shook his head.

"I mean, they are pretty pissed" His smile faded as he looked Aki dead in the eye.

"If they get you this time Aki-chan, I don't think you'll be able to get out again"The seriousness of his words seemed to echo in everyone's mind. Aki was a powerful mage, so saying something like that…It made their skin crawl. Aki though simply stared at Kyo, a silent message to get to the point.

"I mean, from what I've heard they've been messing with that magic Aki-chan."The others were confused at this, but the seriousness of which Kyo spoke of the magic, told them all that whatever they were using… wasn't good.

"And if they use that on you. Well it will be a 100 times worse than 'the box' "Aki stiffened at the mention of 'the box', much to the others confusion. But before anyone could speak, Kyo smiled.

"Well, I'll be around town for a while my sweet Aki-chan, so don't forget if you need me, I'll help you out"Aki scowled

"Yeah, I doubt it will be for free though" Kyo laughed

"That's right! Aki you know me so well! Anywho, I thought I'd warn you my sweet Aki-chan" He turned his blinding smile towards the other three.

"Well, this is farewell" He grabbed Cana's hands in his once more.

"Goodbye lovely Cana-chan" Cana felt her eyes widen as she watched him leave.

"He… Knew my name the whole time?" Gildarts watched the happy go lucky man leave. He probably knew who they all were from the beginning. No Kyo Kage was not who he appeared to be at all…

"Of course he knew" Cana turned to Aki, who was still being held to Laxus side.

"He probably researched everyone in this guild before he even got here" He narrowed his eyes.

"He deals in information. He'll give you information in exchange for jewels or favours."

"But he told you about the Kage clan for free." Cana pointed out. Aki nodded slowly, before grunting in agreement.

"That's what worries me" He answered truthfully. "Kyo doesn't usually do this sort of charity work." Gildarts raised an eyebrow

"But's he's your cousin isn't he?" Aki glanced at his father.

"Kyo looks out for number one pops." His eyes darkened for a moment as he spoke.

"The Kage clan installs their twisted loyalty towards the clan at a young age, the damn clan only exists because of their loyalty towards tradition. So you see, Kyo doesn't exactly see loyalty as a good thing"

"And you don't either?" Laxus almost asked his silent question. It explained why Aki had been so reluctant to trust anyone, and with what happened to Mori…

"So can you trust his information then Aki?" Aki nodded gravely

"Yeah, he wouldn't gain anything from lying" He grit his teeth in unease.

"Aki… what he mentioned…What's the box?" Laxus asked, uneasily, not liking the look of dread in his eyes as he mentioned the word.

"…It's… its… a room they have" He began slowly, unconsciously leaning into Laxus side for support. Not that the blonde minded, in fact he even wrap his arm comfortingly around his shoulder.

"A room?" Gildarts echoed, somehow knowing he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear.

"I told you before…right? That they punish disobedience and weakness with their magic…right? The box is the one of the worst punishments they can give you…" Gildarts didn't like what he was hearing, or what he was seeing. Leaning on laxus seemed to be the only thing holding him was paler, and his dark eyes were clouded with pain. Cana frowned

"What exactly do they do to you in the box?" Aki closed his eyes, and hung his head.

"…It doesn't matter" He finally murmured. He pushed himself away from the lightening dragon slayer, muttering an apology, before heading towards the door.

No made an effort to stop him, realising that the appearance of Kyo and rattled the mage. The box still remained a mystery but they all had the feeling that the box was something to avoid. After all, Aki had looked haunted at the very thought of the box…And they still had no idea what the magic kyo had spoken off was…