The Crimson Wolf
Summary: A story about Mitsu, a swordsman that looks exactly like Natsu, and his fight alongside and for Fairy Tail, as well as his journey to recover his lost memory. But not all memories are meant to be remembered...
The First Incident
Mitsu had nowhere to sleep that night, although Erza offered him her earlier winnings to pay for a place in the male Fairy Hills dorm, saying he did all the work anyway. He opted to crash with Natsu, after said dragon slayer practically begged him to. After spending the night with Natsu and Happy, Mitsu wondered just how wet he would have been if rain had come during that night. He did find that he liked the location of Natsu's house, though. The distance from the town proper was nice.
Either way, the next morning Mitsu walked alongside Natsu and Happy as they made their way to the guild. "Come on, let's go get Lucy," Natsu suddenly said out of nowhere.
"Aye!" Happy cheered before flying a bit ahead.
"Do you normally pick Lucy up in the morning?" Mitsu asked his counterpart.
"She normally wakes me up," Natsu answered, turning to smile at Mitsu, who looked concerned.
"You mean she goes all the way out to your house before going to the guild?" the swordsman wondered.
"No, I crash at her place a lot," Natsu said. "Her bed is the best I've ever slept in." Mitsu nearly choked on his own spit. He did not think that Natsu and Lucy had that kind of relationship.
"I had no idea you were that close," Mitsu commented.
"Well, she normally Lucy Kicks me out of her house when I take over her bed," Natsu grumbled. Now Mitsu was completely confused. Just who was Lucy to Natsu, and vice versa? "Here we are," Natsu said, his hands on his hips as Happy flew up to a particular window.
Natsu jumped up to the window with Happy, to Mitsu's surprise, and knocked on the window. "USE THE DOOR FOR ONCE!" Mitsu heard Lucy scream before seeing Natsu and Happy falling back to the street after being kicked off the ledge. Mitsu laughed as Natsu rubbed his head and Happy moaned something about Lucy being mean. Natsu turned to Mitsu and grinned.
"That's our Lucy!" he said happily.
"Aye," Happy groaned. "And she is cranky as usual."
"It sounds to me that you two invade her personal space more than a little too much," Mitsu chuckled. He understood Natsu and Lucy a bit better now. It seemed to him that they did like each other, but Natsu was entirely oblivious, even to his own feelings. After all, nobody bothered climbing through just anyones window, or sneaking in their bed, unless they harbored some feelings. Or was Natsu just that much of an idiot?
"Let's go inside," Natsu said, using the door this time. "I'm sure she is dressed by now." Mitsu shook his head in exasperation with his nakama. How could anyone that looks just like him be that oblivious and ignorant? Mitsu only hoped Lucy would not associate him too closely with Natsu in this instance.
"Morning," Lucy greeted grumpily from the couch. "Oh, Mitsu, you're here too?"
"I crashed with Natsu last night, but I want to figure something else out before the next storm comes around," Mitsu explained. "If I had known what he was going to do wasn't acceptable to you, I would have at least tried to stop him."
Lucy yawned again as she stretched her arms out above her head. "It's fine," Lucy finally mumbled. "It just won't go through his thick skull, no matter who tells him otherwise. He isn't the only person to make free use of my apartment. I'm almost used to it now."
"What do you mean?" Mitsu asked, before changing his mind. "Nevermind that, I don't think I really want to know. Since you're on Team Natsu anyway, I'm guessing it has something to do with Gray, and a lack of clothes."
"Erza has come by unannounced before as well, but she is a much better houseguest than a half-naked Gray or Natsu. I have stopped counting how many times he has snuck into my bed," Lucy said, mumbling the last part.
"I'm surprised you haven't killed him already," Mitsu laughed.
"Lucy tried, but she isn't tough enough to do it," Happy commented.
"Shut up, cat!" Lucy yelled in anger. "I have not tried to kill Natsu! He just needs to learn his lesson, and he doesn't understand anything but violence."
"I still think your kicks hurt bad," Natsu muttered.
"Lucy is scary when she is angry," Happy said. Mitsu glanced at Lucy again before nodding his head.
"I'm sure she is," he agreed. "But, then again, most women are scary when they are angry." Lucy laughed at Mitsu's joke. The best jokes do contain a kernel of truth, after all. As an author, she knew that well. Mitsu pointed his finger toward one of the chairs in the room, asking silent permission to sit, which Lucy assented to with a wave of her hand and a smile. It was a relief for her to have a truly polite house guest. Part of the Heartfilia in her still enjoyed proper manners and etiquette.
"Feel free to stop by," Lucy invited the swordsman. "Having some dignified company
once in a while will be nice."
"Dignified?" Natsu asked, totally confused. "What's that?" Lucy sighed.
"Don't worry about it, Natsu," Lucy groaned. "It isn't important, and I wasn't entirely serious anyway."
"Thanks for the invitation, Lucy," Mitsu said from his chair. "This is a nice little place you've got here. It seems peaceful."
"And it would be, if my teammates would offer me peace," Lucy agreed.
"I heard someone say that you are a writer," Mitsu said after a moment of silence. Lucy looked surprised, and narrowed her eyes at Natsu. Then she dropped her head down.
"The whole guild probably knows anyway," she mumbled. "Yes, I'm writing a book. I don't think it is really all that good, though."
"I'm sure it is good," Mitsu insisted. "You seem to be fairly sharp, despite what your hair color suggests." Lucy smiled a bit at that.
"Thanks, I guess," she said. "Levy seems to like the chapters I've shown her so far, and she probably reads more than I do, so I guess I don't really give myself enough credit."
"Lucy kicks everyone but Levy upside the head when they read it," Happy said. "She's mean."
"I do not! Stupid cat!" Lucy yelled with her face contorted in anger. Natsu thought this was hilarious, and end up laughing as his feline friend tried to hide from Lucy's wrath, and Mitsu had to admit he did chuckle a bit himself.
"Anyway, the fact that you are making an earnest attempt at writing a book is impressive on its own," Mitsu said after everything calmed down. Happy was still hiding behind Natsu, and Lucy's face was red from the anger and the exertion from trying to catch the cat.
"Thanks," Lucy said with a slight shy smile. "I do have a lot of inspiration from my travels with Team Natsu." Mitsu nodded. It made sense to him, he had heard a few select tales about the group the previous day. Everything that could possibly happen seemed to center around them. Even his own appearance directly involved Team Natsu. They attracted trouble like honey attracts ants. Seriously, how many times could they get dragged into something against their own will? And when they did do something willingly, they ended up getting more than they bargained for. But Team Natsu pulled through, if just barely, every single time. What scared Mitsu was how they seemed to nearly consider him one of their own.
Natsu suddenly groaned loudly. "I'm bored, let's go to the guild already. Talking is boring." Lucy said a few choice words and smacked the dragon slayer around a few times, but agreed that it was past time to leave.
When they pushed through the doors and into the guild hall several minutes later, Mitsu was pleased to see the guild in as much chaos as it normally was, though there was no fight, yet. Then Natsu jumped toward Gajeel, and the pair proceeded to fight, before Master Makarov stopped them, saying it was too early, and he still had a slight hangover from the booze he drank last night, courtesy of his prize money. Mitsu never met the dragon slayer formally, but they did hit each other several times during the brawl, which was much more personal anyway.
"Hey there, handsome," a voice called from several tables away. "Thanks for the drinks."
"Cana," Mitsu said with a smile. He learned quickly that Cana Alberona was always either drunk, or trying to be. She was a very impressive drinker. Last night, several people bought him drinks, but once he felt he was beginning to impair himself, he discreetly slid the booze over to her, earning her immediate friendship. His instincts were sharp for a reason, and he did not feel comfortable if he was unable to fight adequately if he needed to. It went against every instinct to continue drinking, so he stopped. Even after drinking her barrels of booze, and Mitsu's drinks, Cana still was not wasted."It was no problem at all. I'm glad you enjoyed them."
"Fairy Tail has good booze," Cana cheered heartily. "And great people," she added after a draught of beer. Mitsu smiled as he sat down across from her. Neither of them said anything else, apart from Cana offering a few taste tests of several varieties of liquor. Soon enough, Gray plopped down at their table.
"Hey," he said cooly. "Did Natsu manage to not drive you insane last night?" The now half naked Gray asked. As long as he kept his pants on, Mitsu would not say a word. After all, he still had not found another shirt, and his pants were mostly in shreds. Though, his bandages did cover part of his chest.
"He would not shut up for the first hour, just talking about Igneel, and asking if I remembered anything yet," Mitsu chuckled. "But, as you see, I'm still perfectly sane."
"None of us are wearing shirts," Cana chuckled before Gray could respond. The card mage was right of course. Cana herself was just wearing her bikini top, while Gray and I were shirtless. And there went Gray's pants, though Gray still failed to notice.
"Gray, how did you even get your pants off while sitting down?" Mitsu asked flatly. Gray looked down to see that his pants were indeed missing. Then he shrugged his shoulders, as if he could not be bothered to care at the moment.
"I guess I'm talented," Gray joked. "So Natsu didn't try to pick a fight with you or anything?"
"No, he just kept me up with questions. He wasn't satisfied with my lack of answers until I told him he was welcome to help me find the answers for myself. Natsu actually said he thought we would find that I was his lost twin brother, or a magical clone, or something to that account," Mitsu said with a chuckle.
"Hey, don't discount the weirdness that surrounds Natsu," Cana reminded. "I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case."
"If what were the case?" Mitsu asked. "If I were his twin?"
"No, the magic clone thing," Cana clarified. "There is no way some poor mother could actually manage to give birth to two monsters like the pair of you. And if she did, how would she have survived, and how did you get separated? It makes more sense that you would be a magical clone." Gray leaned toward Mitsu when Cana began drinking from a barrel of beer.
"Personally, I vote for the twin thing," he whispered.
"It's not a poll or election," Mitsu whispered back. "For all we know, I could be some kind of time traveler, or some alternate dimension's version of Natsu."
"Enough crazy talk," Cana said after she drained the rest of the barrel. "Mitsu is Mitsu, and a member of Fairy Tail. Nothing can change that." Gray nodded his head in agreement, and I smiled.
"Maybe so, but I still want to know who I am," Mitsu said. Cana shrugged.
"Fair enough," the champion alcoholic said as she reached for another barrel. Mitsu shook his head. This girl never satisfied her thirst, so far as he had seen, and he doubted that anyone has.
"So where would you start?" Gray asked. "Looking, I mean." Mitsu grunted.
"That's the problem," the swordsman said. "I don't have the faintest idea. I don't know how to get back to the mages that held me. The only person that might know who I am is the person that saved me, but I wouldn't have the first clue on where to find him, if he is even still alive. There is every chance that someone killed him for helping me escape."
"You're assuming two things," Cana said, looking to Gray to see if he would agree. "First, you're assuming that the man who helped you get away was actually associated with your captors, which isn't necessarily true. Second, you're assuming that this guy, if caught, would be unable to defend himself."
"She has a point," Gray agreed. He then leaned forward onto the table to get more comfortable.
"I guess so," Mitsu said thoughtfully. "If the person who helped me get away wasn't actually one of my captors, then he was an excellent infiltrator, and probably a skilled fighter. He is my best lead, so I had better pursue it. The question is how." That pretty much stumped all three mages.
"It isn't like with Natsu, or the other slayers. Natsu keeps his ear to the wind for rumors of dragons, and when he hears one, he investigates to see if it's Igneel," Cana said.
"Yea, Flame Head has it easy," Gray said. "You're looking for someone who was wearing a mask when he, essentially, broke you out of prison. If I were gonna break someone out, I would wear a mask too. He might wear a mask everywhere he goes, like I hear Mystogan does, but I doubt it."
"So, I basically can't ask after him, or search for him in any other way," Mitsu muttered. "Even if I could, there's nothing saying he knows anything about me other than my name, if he actually knew that, and didn't just give me a random name. So, I'm back to square one."
"Don't be so bummed about it," Cana said. "If your amnesia is magically induced, your power should shake it off eventually. If it is normal, then you might recover your memories some day."
"Or you could be a magical clone that doesn't even have memories, since you didn't exist before a few days ago," Gray joked. All three of them laughed at the absurd thought. Soon their laughter grew more intense for no real reason, and a few other people from the nearby tables began to chuckle as well. After all, if such magic even existed, it would be far beyond foul; something the likes of Zeref would practice.
Lucy wandered over toward the hysterical trio, with Wendy not far behind. "What's so funny?" Lucy asked. Cana and Gray had no control of their laughter yet, but Mitsu had his beaten down to a chuckle.
"Gray joked again that I could be a magic clone of Natsu, and it just seemed more funny the second time around," Mitsu explained after a moment.
"Well," Lucy said as she blinked. It was not even the slightest bit funny to her. "I guess it is ridiculous."
"That it is," Mitsu agreed as he threatened to begin laughing again. Gray and Cana were entirely out of breath, and that was the only reason they managed to stop. "Was there something you needed?"
"Mirajane and Erza mentioned that you still needed to get some new clothes, and Wendy and I decided to offer to take you out shopping," Lucy said. Wendy nodded behind her with a broad smile on her cute face.
"Thanks, I guess," Mitsu said as he rubbed the back of his head. "But why would you even want to come? I can probably figure it out myself." Lucy shrugged her shoulders, but before she could say something, Wendy spoke up.
"It will be fun, and this way we know you will actually buy more than one outfit," Wendy replied happily. Lucy gestured toward Wendy, who hit the nail right on the head with her comment.
"She is right," Lucy said. "Half the guys here wear the same thing all the time. I think they bought several of the exact same outfits."
"Honey," Cana said, "don't be so optimistic about it. Most of these idiots don't change, or even wash their clothes hardly at all."
"I do," Gray mumbled.
"That's because you lose half your clothes anyway," Lucy said. "Where are your clothes anyway?"
"Fine, I'll go find them," Gray grumbled.
"We mentioned it to him earlier," Cana explained when Lucy look confused, clearing everything up perfectly.
"So, how about it?" Lucy asked Mitsu again. Wendy smiled shyly with her brown eyes wide. Mitsu shook his head hopelessly. He did not have a chance.
"Sure," he agreed, "let's go." Gray snickered slightly, but Mitsu glared at him and drew his finger across his neck threateningly, effectively shutting Gray up. Then Mitsu smirked devilishly. "Hey, Natsu!" he yelled.
"What?" the dragon slayer asked, sticking his head out of ball of fighters.
"Gray just called you an idiot again!" Mitsu said.
"GRAY, YOU ASSHOLE! I'M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS!" Natsu screamed, just as Mitsu predicted.
"I hate you," Gray said to Mitsu an instant before Natsu tackled him, arms blazing. "CUT IT OUT, IDIOT! I DIDN'T SAY THAT!"
"OH YEAH? YOU SAID IT JUST NOW!" Natsu retorted as he threw his fists toward Gray. Wendy looked horrified, but Mitsu slung her over his shoulder, with Carla, who Happy previously had distracted, flying overhead.
"Let's get out of here, girls," Mitsu said as he hustled out the door, Lucy laughing the whole way. Cana for her part, just kept drinking after a brief laugh of her own.
"You already fit in, Mitsu," Lucy yelled over the noise.
"Can you put me down now?" Wendy asked now that they were far enough out in the courtyard to avoid being caught by the brawlers.
"Yes, put the child down already," Carla said. "She is perfectly capable of walking on her own."
"I know that," Mitsu said as he set her down with a sigh. "I just acted quickly to make sure she didn't get sucked into that." Mitsu found himself not liking Carla all that much, from what little they had interacted. The white cat treated the ever-cheerful Happy with disdain, along with pretty much everyone else but Wendy and the master. Needless to say, that annoyed Mitsu.
"Well she was fine," Carla said firmly.
"Carla, don't worry about it," Wendy said meekly. "Mitsu did nothing wrong. Thank you, by the way."
"No need for that, Wendy," Mitsu insisted. The three of them began to walk again while Carla flew alongside Wendy.
"So, is there anything in particular you have in mind?" Lucy asked. Mitsu chuckled.
"You realize you're asking an amnesiac guy that only vaguely knows himself what he would like to wear, right?" Mitsu asked. Lucy sniffed slightly as she frowned.
"It needed to be asked," Lucy said. "All this means now is that this will take longer." Lucy suddenly sported a nearly evil grin as she glared at Mitsu, who paled when he began to get an idea of what he managed to get himself into.
Even though Mitsu was terrified at first, mostly because Lucy was especially cruel with the first few things she insisted he try on, the blond eventually settled down and found several outfits that Mitsu actually liked. The one thing Mitsu decided on his own was he wanted to get the Fairy Tail emblem on his clothes. The guild was the one thing he had to identify himself, apart from his blade. He knew he would introduce himself in the future as Mitsu, the Swordsman of Fairy Tail, and that made him eager to show the symbol of Fairy Tail, even if his shoulder was covered.
Mitsu found himself with several pairs of sleeveless shirts, mostly in black, red, and blue, and a few pairs of pants. Lucy said they were cargo pants, but Mitsu did not really care. He liked the large pockets on the sides, and how they fit so comfortably. The majority of the pants were a tan color, but two were black and gray. Carla, who stayed quiet for the most part, actually helped choose a pair of heavy-duty combat boots, which Mitsu thought were great. When Mitsu mentioned something about colder weather, Wendy managed to convince Lucy that Mitsu might travel somewhere soon where it would be cold, so they ended up grabbing long crimson coat with black trim. Mitsu had to fight tooth and nail to convince Lucy to let him buy a pair of bracers. Lucy finally relented when Mitsu said that the pair he liked was technically light armor, and therefore not for looks. Wendy, for her part, actually thought the bracers suited Mitsu. The final item was another one of necessity for Mitsu: something to keep his long, spiked hair out of his face when he fought. Lucy snatched two long strips of cloth, one black and one red, and told him to figure it out. The swordsman decided to tie one around his forehead as a headband, cutting a small bit off to tie up his warrior tail.
When he got back to the guild, Mira helped Mitsu put a large Fairy Tail emblem on the back of his coat, along with a smaller one set on the right breast. Both symbols were a deep black to contrast against the crimson of the jacket. When he had the jacket on along with the rest of one of his new outfits and his sword, he looked like the warrior he truly was; confident and intimidating.
Mitsu plopped down, exhausted after Lucy's forced shopping trip. He had no idea you could be that tired after something so simple. He buried his head underneath his folded arms as he tried to rest for a moment. But, knowing Fairy Tail well enough, even after one day, Mitsu was not the least bit surprised when someone shook him to get him up. Mitsu looked up after a moment, with a slight glare, to see Erza. He softened his glare, mostly because he was happy to see the knight.
"Erza," Mitsu greeted, suggesting she sit down with him. Titania remained standing, which made Mitsu pause for a moment. "Is something the matter?"
"No," Erza said. "You've got your clothes now. It's a good enough look for you."
"Thank you," Mitsu said. "Is there something you need?" Erza remained standing, but she seemed to be in a good enough mood, despite her usually severe countenance still being in place. That is to say, Erza was not scowling, but not really smiling either.
"Come outside with me," the redhead said. "Master suggested I do something, and I agreed."
"Alright," Mitsu said after a brief yawn, "I suppose I should go with you then." The swordsman followed Erza as she discreetly left the guild, without saying a word to anyone. Surprisingly, the pair managed to slip out without Natsu noticing, although if he found out they left, he could probably manage to follow them.
Erza remained silent, and Mitsu had no reason to ask the mage what they were doing. He trusted her. After all, Erza had already saved his life and offered him a family. Soon, they left town and entered the woods outside Magnolia, but Erza kept going for a while yet. By the time they stopped, Erza and Mitsu had probably walked the better part of a mile into the forest. The sun was high in the sky still, but only offered mottled light through the trees, making the area slgihtly dim and cool. The Titania turned to the bladesman, who still had not asked a question. Mitsu felt he had no need to, though he began to wonder what was going on as they trekked farther and farther into the forest.
"So why have we come so far out?" Mitsu finally decided to ask. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and tilted his head slightly as he asked.
"Master Makarov heard that I wanted to spar with you at some time," Erza began. She paused then, expecting Mitsu to say or ask something, but he stoically gestured for her to continue. "And asked that I try to further evaluate your magical abilities. Now that we are in private, away from prying eyes and ears, and before we begin, I want to tell you about some peculiarities the master and I noticed about your magic."
"Okay," Mitsu said, now intrigued, as he had no notion of what they could mean. "Tell me what you know." Erza nodded her head, and then there was a flash of light. Erza now wielded a katana of her own and wore hakama with flames decorating them and some bandages to cover her breasts. Not a moment later, Erza leapt forward, forcing Mitsu to draw his sword rapidly, though he did so with practiced ease and grace. The redhead withdrew without dealing another blow, nodding to herself.
"That was obviously a test of some sort. But for what?" Mitsu asked calmly, resheathing his blade. Erza smirked slightly at the swordsman. He was as skilled as she hoped he would be, and his deductive mind impressed her several times already. This just made her wonder how he could have been injured the way he was when she found him.
"Two things," Erza said, presenting two fingers to Mitsu. "First, I needed to know how strong your reflexes were. Now I know you should be able to spar with me without too great an injury. Second, I had another hunch about the nature of your magic, and that confirmed it."
"Care to explain that now?" Mitsu asked. He caught Erza's eye, and her sword arm seemed to itch. "Of course, I believe I can handle fighting as we talk. That is, assuming you can handle it as well," Mitsu teased slightly. He knew full well that Erza could, just based off that first strike.
Erza's smirk grew as she brought her sword in front of her, gripping it with both hands now. Mitsu returned her smirk as he squatted down, bringing both hands to his blade, ready to draw in an instant. They stared at each other carefully, evaluating each other's stance and position, to see who would strike first. "He who does not strike first, gets struck first," an unbidden voice from Mitsu's memory echoed. The swordsman reacted instantly, knowing this voice was that of his master, though how he knew this eluded him.
Mitsu took one quick step forward, drawing his blade with a rapid flourish, and then leapt the remaining distance to Erza, who caught his blade with her own. "First off," Erza said as she pushed Mitsu off. "The fact that I can fight at all with you proves that―" Erza slashed at Mitsu's shoulder, trying to force him to block or jump back. But Mitsu surprised her by ducking underneath the strike and sending a blow to her ribs with the hilt of his sword. "―your magic only nullifies magic itself, not the work the magic does on the world around it. Meaning―" Erza jumped back a few steps before dashing back in and feinting at Mitsu's right side. Mitsu, however, did not take the fake, and countered her true attack before it could connect.
Erza frowned, before requipping to her Black Wing armor. Mitsu's eyes widened briefly, before his smirk grew to a full blown grin. "―that you cannot negate my requip magic by touching the swords or armor. It also means that you could still be harmed by Natsu's magic indirectly, such as if he destroyed something above your head so it would fall on you, or heated the air so greatly that it could sear your lungs," Erza said as she dove down toward her sparring partner. Mitsu leapt backward, making Erza land on the ground. Before Mitsu could retaliate, however, Erza took off once more. Mitsu dashed forward toward one of the trees, and launched himself into its branches.
"Wow," the swordsman remarked as he ran from tree to tree, occasionally jumping across an open space to strike at Erza who flew alongside. "You figured all that out from one blow?"
"Actually," Erza said after swiping at Mitsu, trying to knock him down to the forest floor where he would be easier prey, "I had that mostly figured out before hand. I just needed to confirm it."
"I see," Mitsu commented. "That is impressive, as is your swordsmanship." Mitsu, by no means, outmatched Erza by much in terms of raw skill, but with her added dynamic ability from her armor, Erza forced Mitsu to change tactics. He doubted he could keep up with her for long, unless he found some way to take out her magic, which made Mitsu wish he knew more of her magic's nature.
"I would like to meet the man or woman who taught you," Erza said, "if you ever manage to remember your master." Mitsu leapt straight at Erza, forcing her to veer off course to avoid the collision. Erza knew if he made contact with her skin, this fight would be over. Her equipment's magic was seperate from her own, and so would remain summoned if he made contact, although the magical affect of the equipment would be negated. But if Mitsu touched her skin, it would suppress her own magic, as it did Natsu's, which would result in her armor and weapons returning to her pocket dimension.
"And I wish to meet your teacher," Mitsu stated with a smirk. He had a suspicion now, based off how Erza just reacted to his attack. He flawlessly stepped from branch to branch in the forest and crossed blades with Erza with every leap he took from tree to tree. This winged armor of Erzas possessed incredible agility, and it made it difficult to strike at her and defend himself from her blows. Sparks flew as Mitsu's katana slid along Erza's once more. Mitsu followed the slash with a savage kick, which altered her course and sent her into a tree.
"There is no greater teacher than experience," Erza responded as she cut herself from the ensnaring arms of the tree Mitsu sent her into. For his part, Mitsu could not help but be surprised. Erza was self-taught, and nearly a master in her own right. Mitsu jumped high off the limbs of a tree and, using the sun to obcure himself, dove on Erza from above. The redhead knew Mitsu was up there, and, cursing to herself, began to slice away at the last few limbs holding her captive. Just as she got free, Erza reacted, following her instincts, and stopped Mitsu's katana dead. What her instincts did not guard against, however, was Mitsu releasing one hand from his blade and slamming it on her forehead.
"I am incredibly impressed," Mitsu said, breathing heavily with a massive grin as Erza's armor and sword vanished. Erza cursed and pushed herself away from Mitsu quickly to requip once more.
"You figured it out," Erza said, impressed at how quickly Mitsu picked it up. She jumped at him, swinging her blade vigourously, forcing Mitsu back to the forest floor. Now he was firmly on the defensive without the trees to guard against Erza's surpreme maneuverability. He diverted a stab aimed for his gut, but Erza followed with two brutal follow-up kicks and an overhead blow, which he barely blocked. Mitsu growled in frustration at his inability to counter-attack.
"You avoided my tackle more aggressively than I expected," Mitsu explained as he hustled to guard against Erza's numerous and precise strikes. Erza flew higher in the air, giving Mitsu a very brief reprieve, before diving back to the earth. "Encourage your oppenent's confidence, and then exploit it," the memory voice echoed in Mitsu's mind once more. Again, Mitsu understood how that applied in his current circumstances, and acted without reservation, jumping up to meet Erza, and throwing her off with his sudden aggressiveness.
The tide of battle shifted once more as Mitsu kicked Erza to the forest floor. Erza noticed that the longer Mitsu engaged in combat, the better he got, as if he were entering some mindstate or remembering how to fight. In fact, it was not just his skill that increased, he grew physically more capable. His agility grew, and his jumps during attacks sent him higher in the air. Every slash seemed more rapid than the last. The air around Mitsu seemed to shimmer as well. Would this increased ability remain awakened after the fight, or did it only rise during a fight? This was going far better than Erza hoped, but she was slowly beginning to doubt her victory, and she had long since abandoned holding back. But her goal seemed close at hand, and she would accept defeat if it meant a greater victory. Besides, no one was here to see, and Mitsu did not seem the type to boast. Of course, that was assuming Erza did, in fact, lose.
Both combatants were breathing heavily after their well drawn out fight. They stood opposite one another once more between the trees. Erza realized by now that Mitsu outclassed her in skill with the sword, and both thrilled her and infuriated her. She was incredibly competitive by nature, and she knew that. As Erza and Mitsu squared off once again, Erza could sense Mitsu's latent power surging just beneath the surface, but could not comprehend its depth. Mitsu breathed steadily yet heavily as he held his blade in front of him. As he and Erza circled each other for a moment longer, waiting for the next series of blows, Mitsu shook off his coat, leaving him in his sleeveless shirt and bracers, Fairy Tail emblem gleaming in his sweat. "Your instincts have been honed to serve you. Follow them," the memory voice whispered once more. Mitsu was definitely fighting his instincts at the moment. His instinctive desire at the moment was to sheath his blade as he did during the early moments of the fight.
After a brief internal struggle, all the while watching Erza carefully, Mitsu quickly sheathed his sword. Erza immediately lunged toward the swordsman, boosted by her armor, to strike a victorious blow. But something clicked within Mitsu when he surrendered to his odd instinctual urge. In the mere fractions of a second that Erza was in the air during her attack, Mitsu stepped forward so quickly Erza never saw his feet move. A flash shone from Mitsu's blade as Erza passed, her attack missing entirely due to Mitsu's rapid movement. Erza's blade had been cut off at the base, leaving her with just the handle. Not a second later, the handle and blade, along with her armor, vanished. Erza turned to see Mitsu standing behind her, his arm extended out gripping his sword. Erza was slightly shaken to find she was unable to use her magic. Mitsu still had not moved, and Erza saw his katana actually held a slight red glow. Finally, Erza saw Mitsu release slowly release a breath as he sheathed his sword. Mitsu then turned around, and Erza noted that his black eyes shared the same red glow as his sword had a moment ago. Then the swordsman blinked and his eyes returned to normal.
"What just happened?" Erza asked her newfound sparring partner. Mitsu thought for a moment, and breathed out slowly before he spoke.
"I heard my master's voice in my head," Mitsu said. "At least, I think it was a memory of my master. I remembered several things he said at some point, but I don't remember anything else. One thing he said was to trust my instincts. I did, and I remember cutting through your sword and stopping your magic, but not how I did it."
"Do you feel tired at all?" Erza asked. Every few moments, she tried to use her magic, but there was still nothing. She remained in her Heart Kruez armor and skirt, despite any attempt to requip. She knew Mitsu was either still suppressing her magic somehow, or the spell he used had a lasting affect.
"From the fight? Sure, I guess so. It was a good fight," Mitsu said with a shrug. Erza knew he would be tired from the fight, to a degree, but... "Why do you ask?"
"When you did, well, whatever it was you did, I sensed a tremendous amount of magical power in you that I couldn't feel before," Erza explained. Mitsu's brow furrowed when Erza said that. Everything was slightly foggy in his memory, mostly because it happened in a fraction of a second, but he did not feel magic like he felt from those around him.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Mitsu finally admitted. Erza sighed before responding.
"It has something to do with the things I wanted to tell you that the master thought strange," Erza began. "One thing we know for sure after your fight with Natsu is that your ability to negate magic is magical in nature. The single greatest oddity about that is we can't sense any magic in you. Neither master or I knew what to make of it, until Mira made a passing comment. She joked that it was as if something blocked us from sensing your strength. After this just now, I think that is the case. Another possibility that occured to the master was that it was akin to something Natsu has called Dragon Force. Dragon Force is a hidden power that Natsu has unlocked twice now through the consumption of huge amounts of magic power, an ability unique to dragon slayers. Master suggested that, if it were not a block of some kind, it was that the ability never showed itself unless needed, or unlocked. I suppose it is still possible that could be the case, but I lean toward the block now."
Mitsu sat on the ground as he thought on Erza's words. Erza sat in front of him in silence as he sorted things out, still occasionally trying to summon a sword, but without results. The swordsman breathed deep as he thought, his legs crossed underneath him.
"So do you still sense this power?" Mitsu asked the requip mage. Erza nodded her head.
"Yes," she said. "It appears that you broke through a barrier in your mind that partially suppressed your power. The amount of magic has subsided greatly, but you still don't seem to show any signs of magic fatigue, which I find odd." If Erza were honest with herself, she would say she reveled in unraveling a mystery. It took a certain strength of mind to answer such intricate questions. It was a challenge. Erza Scarlet loved challenges.
"Hmm," Mitsu hummed. "I feel slightly different, but I don't know how to use this power. I don't know what kind of magic I use either, so I have no idea how to proceed on learning to use it again."
"But some of your memory seems to have returned, so there may be hope for the rest to come back," Erza reminded. Mitsu waved her off.
"I remembered three things my master said to me," Mitsu said. "Nothing more. Not what he looked like, or where I came from." He ran his hand through his hair as he tried to control his frustration. Neither Erza nor Mitsu said anything for a while.
"Is there some way you could try and tame your power?" Erza finally asked. "I still can't use my requip magic." Mitsu looked at Erza worriedly.
"I'm not trying to do anything," he said, "and frankly, I don't think I am doing anything." Erza pinched the bridge of her nose, before standing up and hitting Mitsu's head. "What the hell?" Mitsu yelled.
"You are completely ignorant of yourself," Erza said. "You have no control over your magic. You're worse than Gildarts, in fact. Fortunately, your magic is not destructive, from what I've seen so far."
"Huh?" Mitsu asked, confused. Erza sighed again, resisted the urge to hit him. One minute, he is deductive and contemplative, the next she cannot get him to understand something simple.
"Look at your skin," Erza instructed. Mitsu did as told, and his eyes widened slightly. "Your body is glowing a slight red, and there is tremendous magic pressure around you right now. How can you not feel your own power?"
"I seriously do not feel any of this power. I can sense your magic easily, but nothing different with me," Mitsu said. Erza's eyes narrowed. How could Mitsu sense her power? She was strong sure, but she kept her strength contained to avoid letting people read her. Only a select few could still detect her strength levels, and they were invariably powerful mages such as her master. What she found still more odd is that he was unable to sense his own power. All mages could sense their own power. It was just how things worked. They simply knew how much they had left. It was as if he had no magic at all. When they used a quantity of magic, they felt the magic leave their body to do work, unless it was an incredibly small amount of magic. Erza's eyes widened slightly as she thought of something, but it was so outlandish she immediately discounted it as impossible.
"Well then, we need to get to master," Erza said. "He might have an idea of how to get your magic under control. As it is, I doubt I will be able to use my magic around you any time soon."
AN: And there is the second chapter for you guys! Thanks for the reviews! I'm happy you like the story so far. Please, don't be afraid to make suggestions, for pairings or plot. They help keep me thinking, and excited about the story. I have literally been unable to work on anything else but this story since the last update. Make sure to leave me a review! It would make my day!