Shoutout to the first follower of this story, SummerBum95! You rock! xD
I'm back and updating! I'm stuck in a rut with this chapter. This came in a whim so it might not be good. Please enjoy! Janis, disclaimer!
Natsu: Cry Girly does not own Fairy Tail, its plot or its characters.
Cry Girly: Hey, where's Janis?
Natsu: She's running.
Cry Girly: ...? Anyway, let's enjoy Chapter 3!
Chapter 3
She ran as fast as she could in the halls of the mansion. Currently, Janis is in the mansion of the Weiss family. The family has a valuable heirloom that could sell for about a trillion jewels in the market, which makes the mansion an easy target for robbers. She, along with a certain fire mage, took on a job that requests for protection of the heirloom for one day. Intelligence of the family shows that a lone bandit would infiltrate the household and attempt to steal the antique.
The halls of the mansion were adorned with blue Victorian wallpaper with a brown marble floor. In each corner, a table with a flower vase on it with a rose or two inside would stand. The ceilings were decorated with crystal chandeliers with a blue hue to its light. The doors were white with yellow flowery patterns painted on it.
'It really is tiring, running around like this. I wish I could just leisurely walk while taking the beauty of the hall.' She sighed as she continued running. She currently held the Thunder Eye, a yellow gem with thunder patterns engraved on it, in her arms. The thief, who was supposed to steal said gem, was currently in pursuit of the blonde.
Trying to shrug her boredom, she finally opened a door and entered the room. Much to her chagrin, it was a dead end. It was a storeroom that houses loads of crates on the left side of the room. She ran towards the wall and faced the door, hearing the death threats of the burglar. 'I wish that mouth had something more pleasant to say.' The blonde wore a bored look on her face as she saw the bandit enter the room, fear quickly taking over her face. He locked the door behind him and snickered.
"There's no escape now, child! Hand over the Thunder Eye!" He said, inching closer towards Janis, who was backing up against the wall.
"Do you really think I'd give this to you? I have my job of protecting it and I'd do it even if I have to sacrifice my life!" She blurted, clearly laughing at the back of her mind. 'I wonder how much longer I can put up with this act?'
"Heh, you asked for it!" The thief raised his hand, motioning himself to stab the girl. Being the helpless girl she currently is, she held up her hands in a defense stance. As the shadow of her arms covered her eyes, a smirk made its way to Janis' face.
"You fell for it."
The perpetrator was suddenly thrown to the other side of the room by a punch. It was delivered by a certain pinkette who came out of his hiding place. The girl just stood there chuckling evilly, putting her hands back to her sides. The man struggled to stand up, not able to fully recover from the blow he took. Fire lit up on Natsu's fist as he charged toward the man. Janis began to walk out, yawning.
"It went exactly as planned. Do what you want with him, Natsu. Call me when you're done, 'kay?" She brushed off her right hand as she walked outside the room. The boy may have not heard her as he bullied the bandit more.
"I can't believe you made me do all the fighting work." Natsu pouted.
"Well, considering you love fighting, I figured you'd love to fight the bandit alone." Janis chuckled.
They succeeded in their job and received 40 thousand jewels for their job, splitting it into half for their share. They were currently in the streets of Magnolia and on their way back to Fairy Tail.
"Hey, I haven't seen you use your magic ever since the day I met you. I want to see more of your Light Fairy Slaying Magic!" Little Natsu's face got close to the blonde's as his eyes lit up like he's going to the amusement park after being grounded for 1 week. Her eyes widened when she saw this. A small shade of pink appeared on her cheeks, making her instinctively look at the other direction. However, another emotion suddenly took over her in less than a second.
"I…" She trailed off, at a loss for words. Her tone was suddenly filled with… 'Grief?' The boy's sparkle disappeared as he thought about this, his smile toning down slightly. He waited for the girl to sort out her thoughts before she continued.
"I-it's not l-like I d-didn't want to use it. I just can't." She sounded fidgety, like a little girl who's about to cry. "I didn't e-even know h-how I managed t-to use magic on that d-day either." Janis held back her tears as she stuttered. The boy noticed this and decided to stay quiet. After a few seconds of silence, she continued, somehow composing herself.
"Since Hailey left me, my mind has been severely traumatized, rendering my magic unable to be used. At some point, I managed to recover from my trauma, but not from my magic paralysis. Even before all that, it's true that Hailey taught me how to use the Light Fairy Slaying Magic and I learned the spells, but I only mastered the basic support spells. I can't cast any offensive or defensive spells as it would severely damage me given my magical state. I currently hold little magic, enough to conjure light that would last for 5 minutes. I'm that weak in magic."
She looked down at the floor, her bangs shading her eyes while sobbing uncontrollably. Natsu didn't know what to do. Should he apologize for bringing up and being excited about such a topic? Should he comfort her? Apparently, he was mentally panicking. The only thing he managed to do was put his hand and rub it on the blonde's shivering back.
Janis flinched at the contact. She looked at the little dragon that was looking at the opposite direction. That small hue of pink now dusted both their faces. As if by instinct, she turned to the opposite direction. They were now both facing against each other, the boy not removing his hand from the girl's back. Silence then took over the pair. It wasn't awkward, yet it wasn't comfortable either. It was just the normal silence Janis needed to compose herself. She stopped sobbing, but the silence went on.
As they finally arrived in Fairy Tail, the atmosphere was like usual: it stank of booze.
"I'm going to tell Master we finished the job. You can sit at the bar if you like." The little dragon's tone was monotonous. Apparently, the earlier incident was still fresh in his memories. Natsu gestured towards the said place, snapping the fairy out of her daze. Janis nodded and made her way towards the bar. Natsu then proceeded to find Makarov in the midst of chaos that magically brewed up.
'Seriously though, how do these people survive this every day? It gives me a headache worrying about them.' She thought as she propped her elbows at the counter and held her head with one hand. She wore a frown as she tried to remember what happened earlier.
"I'm that weak in magic."
Her own words echoed in her head like a sweet yet sickening symphony. 'He is the first person who knows about my secret. I really thought he'd ditch me on the spot just because I wasn't strong, but instead he tried to comfort me. What does that even mean?'
"Ah, Janis! How did your first job with Natsu go?"
A flying, blue cat came up to her, interrupting her train of thoughts. At first, she just stared blankly at the cat with "It went well" as a reply and went back to her world of deep thoughts. Then, realization hit her like lightning as her eyes widened in shock and shot it right back at the cat.
"A BLUE CAT?!" Apparently, the fact that it flew and talked never bothered her.
"Aye!" He landed on the counter and raised his hand/paw. "My name is Happy and I'm Natsu's partner! Nice to mee'cha!" He said in his cute voice. Janis inwardly giggled.
"Awww! Nice to meet you too! Well, you are a cute one! You can fly too! That's so nice!" Janis smiled.
"Hey Janis! Come here!" Natsu managed to get out of the fight, locate Makarov and talk with him. The fire mage gestured the girl to come outside.
"Be right there!" Janis waved as she ducked just in the nick of time. 'A near miss. That table would've hit me square in the face.' Her sweat dropped, accompanied by nervous laughing. The fairy proceeded to make her way towards Natsu without getting killed. The blue cat went together with her. They got to him unscathed and gave a questioning look to the boy.
"I see you've met my partner Happy here!" A cheeky grin was plastered on the fire mage's face. "Aye!" Happy flew up to Natsu's head and rested on the pink nest.
"By the way, why'd you tell me to come here?" Unable to bear her curiosity, the blonde spoke out.
"Gramps said he'd train you so that you'd get used to your magic! Isn't that great? You'd get to train with a powerful wizard like Gramps!" He beamed out happily, his familiar grin showing up.
"I specialize in light magic myself and may just be able to help you out, child." Makarov stated firmly. She only managed to nod faintly.
"Good then! We'll start tomorrow! Get some rest first, my child. You've done a spectacular job earlier and you need rest." Makarov stated as he began to walk back into the chaos, trying to stop it. Janis looked at the old man before looking back at Natsu. He was still smiling like an idiot for no reason at all.
"Hey Natsu…" She muttered. She was completely unaware that the said teen was already expecting her to ask something. His attention quickly snapped to the blonde after barely hearing her. Janis wore a frown, worrying the pinkette.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I just want… to ask. Why did you even save me that night?"
She looked into the obsidian eyes of the boy, hoping she'd find the answer. Her azure eyes locked on with Natsu's. The blonde was hoping for an answer, an answer that would ease her aching heart.
"I'm that weak in magic."
Her words ran through her head again. This time, it left a big pang in her heart which was inexplicably painful for Janis. She closed her eyes, hoping to ease the pain. It was ineffective, however. She opened her eyes to look back at the boy again.
"It's because I can't ignore someone who's in trouble."
'Figures.' The blonde averted her gaze and mentally facepalmed herself for asking a stupid question. 'Anyone with some common sense would've been able to predict that answer.' The fairy faintly sighed. Clearly, this was not the answer her inner self was looking for. Before she could even fully process his answer, she managed to find another question.
"Why… are you doing all this? All of this for a stranger you just saved from the streets?" Her voice cracked. Her gaze was still focused on a random direction. Apparently, any direction right now that didn't include a pink bush would be great for her eyes at the moment. She was about to cry again. That's when she felt two hands rest upon her shoulders.
"Because you're family now!"
"Aye!"
'Family…' Was the only word she was able to pick up. Her thoughts trailed off as tears began to form in her eyes. It's as if all the sadness she was keeping inside was trying to get out of her in a desperate attempt. Natsu, using his thumb, wiped them off and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Didn't I tell you the first time I met you? I'll protect you, no matter what! So don't cry anymore, okay?"
The blonde's heart skipped a beat. Never had she heard those words ever since her "mother" disappeared. She felt comfortable as she rested her head against the boy's chest, nodding slightly. She'd never have to pretend to be strong again. She can rely on someone else again. He smiled at the contact as Janis continued to cry, not because of sadness, but because of happiness, the happiness of belonging to a family, the happiness of being accepted. Natsu, in return, wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl.
"He liiiiiiiiikes her!" Happy teased, rolling his tongue to extend the "i" part. He then flew away from Natsu's head, giggling uncontrollably.
"Oh shut up, you darn cat!" The little dragon had let go of Janis in response. Irritation was apparent in Natsu's voice as he tried to chase the flying cat. The little dragon's cheeks were red in embarrassment. Janis smiled at the sight and laughed. She looked up and saw the clear, serene sky.
"Mother, I hope you can see this right now. This is a new start for me: my new family."
And that concludes the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!
Natsu: Just as much as I enjoyed it!
CG: I see what you did when you said she was running. -_-
Natsu: What? It's the truth during that time.
CG: And I see you're trying to earn points from Janis. *evil smirk*
Natsu: *blushes* Shut up!
CG: The next chapter is a time-skip chapter (probably a summary of what happened from this point up to the beginning of the actual plot) so it's probably boring but I do recommend reading it. You'll get a treat there, and more background information about our heroine! Until the next update! Please R&R!
~~ Cry Girly ~~
