Hey, all! Sorry this has taken so long to update! Kind of had a little bit of writer's block with this one. Anyway, it's done now, so I hope you all enjoy it!
Fly on,
NitnatRide
Chapter 4: Today's Forecast: Pissed off, with a Chance of a Storm
Kyani's POV
After my little episode last night, the others stayed a little longer than they probably would do usually. Eventually we parted, and Lucy showed me around the basics of the apartment and pulled my bed out for me.
I slept better than I have in weeks.
The next morning, after making breakfast for Lucy – whilst ignoring her protests – we meet the others at the guildhall. Everything is as it was yesterday; free and happy and fun. Gray asks me silently with raised eyebrows if I'm okay – to which I reply with an affirmative – but other than that, everyone acts as if nothing happened last night. It's not even like that awkward time when everyone tries to ignore the elephant in the room but does a really bad job of talking about anything but that subject. It's as if my past makes no difference to who I am now. I'm really gratefully for that; nothing about the way they see me has changed between when we first met and the disaster of last night. I'm still just Kyani, not the weird and pathetic pyro-phobe with the ugly scars.
About midmorning, while I'm up to get another drink – although it's not Mira serving; she's gone out shopping with Makarov – I stop by the request board to see what there is, what could be my first job.
Hmmm, if there's some kind of gardening or, even better, mining work, that would probably suit me best….
"Seen one you like yet?"
I throw a smile over my shoulder at Gray before turning back to the board before me. "Not yet. I'm trying to find one that's obviously suited to my magic style for my first one, just to be really safe. After that, I'll probably get a lot more adventurous."
"Hey," Gray says, "why don't you join me, Erza, Lucy and Natsu for your first job, at least? That way, you won't be alone, you'll get to know those others pretty well, and, if you have any trouble on the job – which I highly doubt will happen, but whatever – we'll be there to give you tips and help. Plus, everyone in Fairy Tail usually has a team, anyway, so if you like us you can stay with us."
Turning to him in surprise, I almost gasp; his expression is so…uncomplicated, and innocently hopeful and happy that it's a perfect copy of the little boy I used to know. He would look at me like that when he asked if I wanted to join him in a game, or come round his house later, or come out just to spend time together.
I beam at him, ecstatic by both the image before me and the one in the future, where I'll be joining him and the others on jobs, laughing and having fun together while watching each others' backs in any fights we may encounter along the way.
"That would be great, thank you so much."
A snort comes from above and to the right. "I wouldn't bother getting so excited, little newbie; you're probably just another weakling, anyway."
Even though the insult was directed at me, the voice had the loud quality of arrogance, and so many people – not just Gray and I – look up at the source. When they all spy the culprit, a mixture of anger and fear spreads across their faces, varying in the levels of each depending on the self-confidence of the individual. Gray's face, I see after a quick glance, contains the frozen fury one would expect from an Ice wizard.
I turn back to inspect the culprit. I know exactly who this guy is, but the infamous Laxus, Makarov's grandson, isn't exactly friendly enough to give a full photo-shoot or interview for Sorcerer Weekly – hence why I'm not fazed by the insult at all; it's normal for him – and I have the guy in the flesh in front of me.
Fairly biggish stature, although most of that could be made by his thick fluffy coat, worn across his shoulders and over his purple shirt and casual trousers. Banana yellow hair spiked up to ridiculous proportions. Metal plates over each ear with one spike in each. And an air of smothering obnoxiousness to match his malicious smile. Even the stones around him cackle along with his cruel attitude, but, interestingly, hint at a different time, a different Laxus.
I fix my concentration back on the current Laxus as he laughs again, jumping down from the second floor to land among us, looking away from me and towards the guild in general.
"What's the point in recruiting more members? They're all gonna be as pathetic as you are, anyway. You're never going to get big-timers from this guild with all you losers here; you drive 'em all away with your mediocrity. You guys think you're the best? Don't make me laugh! Fiore's Number One Guild consists of me and possibly Mystogan."
"Shut the hell up, Laxus!" Gray fumes, his fists clenched at his sides. "You're not welcome here, anyway; no one wants you here!"
Laxus turns to him, his expression amused and incredulous. "What's with the sudden defensiveness, Fullbuster? Did I offend your pathetic weakling girlfriend?"
Gray growls in response, and cold starts to emanate from his fists as they hiss with his magic.
That's pretty hot, I admit to myself.
Laxus's grin widens, and he leans closer, his eyes wild. Even without his magic actually sparking around him, you can still feel it crackling.
"You want a fight, Gray? Come on, kid; take a shot at me."
Gray's fists begin to shake in contained rage, and I can only see his profile, but he still seems ready to actually do just that: take a swing at Laxus. Gray's smart, which is why he hasn't taken a swing yet, but he can also be really proud and defensive of his friends. He has no plan…whereas I do.
"Forget him!" a voice cracks out, although neither Laxus nor Gray move. Natsu dashes out to Laxus's side, summoning his flame, which I try not to flinch at. "Forget him, Laxus! Fight me instead!"
Not moving his eyes from Gray, Laxus stretches out a hand, palm facing Natsu. Lightning streaks out of it, knocking Natsu straight back into the wall. He collapses to the floor, out cold from the impact.
Bastard, I think. He's definitely going down for that one.
But I still need to stop Gray; that attack probably only provoked him further, and I need him to get out of the way. I won't let him get caught in the middle of this. He won't get hurt just because I want a moment to put a jackass in his place. And to show off, I'll admit.
Out of sight of Laxus, I gently place my hand on Gray's lower back, reminding him of my presence and of his sense. His fists stop trembling, but it still takes him a few seconds to stop his magic and lower his hands, his eyes downcast and furious. He does stop, though, and that's all that matters.
Laxus throws his head back and roars with laughter. "I told you! This bozo, who is supposed to be on 'Fairy Tail's Strongest Team', doesn't even have the guts – or the strength in the first place! – to pick a fight with me! You guys make me sick with your weakness." He swivels his gaze back to me. "So you're probably no better. Don't let them fool you, and don't fool yourself; you're a feeble little failure, and you always will be."
With a shock, I realise just how and why those words sound familiar; those were effectively the words of my mother for every day of my life. I was never anything to her. It didn't matter how well I did in anything, it was never good enough, and, eventually, she just stopped looking at the stuff that I did, writing it off as an automatic failure simply because she expected it to be. The task was completed by a failure, so why should it be successful in any stretch of the imagination?
Trying not to wince at Laxus's unintentional connotations of his words, I simply stared at him. Not quite blankly, but not showing any reaction to his insults either. In the end, after barely twenty seconds in that state, Laxus frowned at me.
"What the hell are you looking at?"
I feign surprise, like I had been engrossed in something and his voice had startled me out of my musings, before ducking my head sheepishly.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," I smile sweetly. "It's just that…."
I point at his face, pausing there for dramatic tension before saying something I don't think anyone is expecting: "Your earphones are really cool."
Laxus blinks at me, and I hear Gray and others gasp in surprise. I can feel Gray's eyes on me, trying to suss out what I'm doing, but I don't break my façade just yet.
"What?" Laxus questions, still not able to believe his ears. I can hear it in his voice; his disbelief and frustration are mingling, and with the adrenaline and anger he's pent up in his previous speech, it shouldn't take too much to push him over the edge.
I decide to go for broke. Again, pretending to be sheepish, I apologise again. "Sorry, if you were saying something before you might have to say it again; I was too distracted by your earphones to pay attention to any of it."
Now, on the surface, everything is totally innocent. I have just complimented Laxus for something, but admitted that he may have to repeat something that he said because they were cool enough to distract me completely from what he was saying. Underneath, I know that he's too bigheaded to take being ignored – for any reason – in a good way, especially since he was insulting everyone in the room and then also me directly. For me to say that that had no effect on me because I was paying attention to something so trivial and silly as earphones…. Well, I know he's not going to be too happy about that. Laxus isn't completely stupid either, so he can see that I knew all of that, that I had planned the whole thing. The dropped front and knowing smile on my face probably just cements the whole thing.
He leans closer again, pushing Gray to the side so he can tower over me with his glare in full force.
"You must be pretty stupid to pick a fight with me, kid," he growls.
I shrug, never taking my eyes off him and keeping a relaxed stance. "Probably. And yet I'm still not as stupid as your hair."
"Kyani," Gray warns sharply as Laxus's scowl deepens and his magic starts rising again.
My eyes never leave Laxus's face. "It's okay, Gray; he won't hurt me. I've seen his type before; all talk, boasting of this great power that he's got but never shows it off. Where's the proof then, Laxus? Show me how stupid I'm being. Come on, kid," I echo his earlier words, "take a shot at me."
A pin dropping would have sounded like an explosion. The entire guild froze with baited breath, waiting to see what would happen, how Laxus would react to this one newbie who was insane enough to challenge him. I can practically feel Gray quivering, so desperate to jump in and stop this whole thing but not wanting to make a move that would break this tense ceasefire we have going on. Laxus's magic, still only ethereal, sizzles against my skin, the threat of a lightning storm to rain on the ground. My own masochistic excitement and self-confident defiance crackles and snaps out to meet the magic, probably surprising it enough to momentarily stop its striking.
After a short amount of time of mutual inertia, I smile, definitely not sweetly this time.
"I knew it," I say, turning on my heel and walking away from him, alongside the back of the guild along the bar, where fewer people are. "I know what you're like, Laxus."
A furious fizzing sounds behind me, and a half-uttered cry – probably from Gray, judging by the voice – reaches me before a hot and sharp pain stabs me in the back before engulfing my entire body, making it spasm wildly while flinging me forward hard into the wall.
Even as I fall to the ground, grunting in pain, I push myself up with a victorious smile on my face.
"Like I said," I gasp, "I know what you're like, Laxus. You wouldn't let an insult like that slide, but you're too much of a coward to shoot someone when they're looking you in the eye. You have to aim at their back instead, like the dishonourable coward you are!"
The lightning sparking around his frame flares up with his fury, and I barely have time to prepare myself before I'm struck again, sending me flying across the room before landing heavily on a table and feeling it crack under the impact. Over my groans, I can hear the others calling out to me, commanding or even begging for Laxus to stop even as the majority run from our rapidly expanding battleground. Making the effort to drag my head to look at the others, I see Gray's face first, as do I hear his voice above all the rest. He looks totally ready for a fight now – his face a mask of rage and, surprisingly, fear, his magic ready in his fists once again – but Erza seems to be holding him back, her expression similar to his but some kind of understanding in there as well.
Yeah, I approve silently, hoping she can hear me somehow. Keep him away. Don't let him get caught in the crossfire of this. He doesn't understand what I'm doing. Keep him safe.
A huge crashing noise reminds me of the presence of my attacker, and I stumble up to face him as he comes crackling my way. Laxus is proud, so he'll probably keep attacking, but he's not stupid; if he notices I'm not even trying to fight back he might get suspicious. He probably won't guess what I'm going to do, but he may not continue with the momentum I need him, too. If he stops attacking me before I'm ready, this whole fight would have been wasted, and that would kind of suck considering the injuries I'm sporting already.
So that means I should hit the guy? Awesome, I'll take that task.
In response to those thoughts, I take a stance lower down, taking a more offensive stance and stabilising myself at the same time. Keeping my game face of "I'm still going to beat you up" – which I am – I call my magic, sensing my magic circle appear below me, casting a cool glow on my person and expression (or so I've been told). Before Laxus's sense gains control over his pride and makes him actually put up a defence, I bend my knees even further, crouching on the ground with my fingertips and palms of my fingerless gloves in contact with it, preparing my attack and gaining confidence from its solidarity even as I'm about to change it. Grabbing at nothing but air just above the ground like I would a carpet, I tug backwards and forwards harshly and quickly. Again, just like a carpet albeit with a great rumbling sound, the wave I created continues along the ground until it reaches Laxus, where it flings him up in the air, flipping him upside down. The attack takes him by surprise, and he doesn't react in time to defend himself; as he's unprotected in the air, I spring up, calling my magic once again. Stones from all around fly up to my right leg, compacting themselves to create a shell around my leg. Still leaping towards him, I aim for his unprotected side, swinging my leg with the extra power of my magic.
"Earth-bound Kick!"
With the added speed and strength of the kick, it knocks his breath straight out of him and launches him powerfully into tables and, finally, the wall. The dust of his landing hangs in the air a little longer, and as I land, I scuff my still-encased leg on the floor, and all the stones suddenly find themselves detached again and flying as individual missiles into the dust-cloud. Lightning sparks out to shatter them to join the dust-cloud, and I have just enough time to call a small shield from the floor before a single bolt strikes out at me. My brain barely registers that I'm airborne before I'm suddenly and painfully not, and, once again, I fall dazed to the floor. Through the haze I hear footsteps approaching, and I gasp for air as fingers close tight around my throat, lifting me off the floor. My legs kick at the air uselessly beneath me, and my fingers grab and nails scratch desperately at his tough fist.
"You crossed me for the last time, weakling," he snarls.
"No!" Gray's voice screams.
But even if Erza weren't stopping him – oh, I really hope she's still stopping him – Gray can do nothing in time for the lightning to be charged straight down and through my body. I convulse both voluntarily and not from the pain and intrusion of something that's not supposed to be in my body in that intensity. Despite having very little air, I still expel enough to create a decent scream. It's not faked. If I open my eyes, my entire vision is blocked by streaks of light intense enough to blind me, and they feel like they're completely short-circuiting my brain, seeming to hit all pain receptors at once continuously. He doesn't let up either; he just keeps striking me.
That's it, I think dimly, a glimmer of hope in the agony. Keep it coming, big guy; you'll regret it later.
After an eternity, the lightning stop suddenly, and I'm held, gasping, up by my neck for a few seconds before he simply lets go, dropping me on the ground like he'd drop something in the bin. The impact sends me into a brief coughing fit, and I spit blood onto the floor before lying still, crumpled in the rubble of a smashed bench.
As Laxus starts to walk away and Gray calls out my name and rushes towards me, I check my body for how much the former had shocked me, how much I had stored. I groan out loud in despair and pain; not enough. There's not enough here.
But a residual spark shoots through me, jerking my body slightly before zapping into the store with the others that I had absorbed. I gasp; that's it. That's enough.
As Gray comes closer I push myself up, and he stops short, his eyes wide at my devilish, excited and possibly-prematurely triumphant smile, my wild eyes, and the simple sight of me looking a lot better than I had a few moments ago and certainly better than I should be right now. He steps back as I haul myself to my feet.
The sound of my recovery reaches Laxus, and he turns, his expression obviously incredulous.
"Hey, Laxus," I say breathlessly, pausing to cough and spit more blood, "have you ever watched a lightning storm?" I laugh-cough. "No, of course you haven't, because why would you? You can create your own whenever you want to. And I knew that."
He glares as I smirk at him.
"I knew that, and so I knew you wouldn't have seen what sometimes happens."
I shake my hands out to my sides, drawing on the storage I have inside me, powering myself up with it.
"You see, in a lightning storm, the sky strikes down at the ground, again and again and again and again, until it seems like it won't ever stop, and there's nothing the ground can do to stop the onslaught. But, actually, every once in a while, the ground has received enough electricity from the sky's lightning that it gets charged, too."
I let the power fill me up, focussing it to my arms to try and control it as much as I can, which is not much. It starts building up enough that you can hear a hum in my arms, and Gray backs away even further.
"And, you see, when that happens, the ground has actually gained enough electricity…" I place my hands together in front of me, palm to palm, fingers straight, my arms outstretched to create a line, a cannon, in front of me, pointed directly at a stunned Laxus.
"…To strike back at the sky," I grin before shouting: "Everybody get down!"
I can't tell you what happens around me. All I can perceive is this power – this foreign power – charging back through my body and down my arms, this time as green lightning, concentrated as a single intense, wild, roaring stream focussed straight in Laxus's direction. This lightning has been manipulated by my power, but it's still not mine, and my body still complains of its use, but I put that aside and shake off the haziness of what it was doing to my head and focus on keeping this weapon pointed in the same direction.
Eventually, my stores run dry, and my weapon finishes firing, and my body gives up; I collapse onto the floor, having gone through too much abuse, from both Laxus and myself and to both my mind and my body. As I lie there breathing heavily in the nearly terrifying silence after the deafening chaos of only moments ago, I hear everyone start to sit up and mutter, search around in the dust for each other and for me and Laxus. But, with my ear pressed to the floor, I can also hear heavy footfalls getting closer.
"Kyani?" Gray's voice calls out.
I realise too late that these footsteps don't belong to him. I don't even have the energy to defend myself anyway. Even as my body hangs limp, a howl of pain rips up my throat as I'm picked up not by my neck but my hair. I prise my eyes open as the rest of my face is screwed up in pain, and the enraged and battered face of Laxus appears, his eyes practically rabid as smoke rises around him, probably from his singed clothing.
"You little bitch!" he spits.
"Laxus!" Gray and Erza call out, one after the other, and I see them as the dust clears.
"Laxus, stop it! Let her go!" Gray's voice cracks even as his face suggests only anger. He readies his magic in his fists once again.
"This has gone on long enough, Laxus! You've both done your part, now leave!" Erza agrees.
Laxus turns to Gray. "This is your fault, Fullbuster; you started all this." He raises his hand towards Gray.
Struggling wildly, desperately, I try to pull his hand down or distract him enough to divert his attention back to me. Failing. "No!" I beg. My struggling pulls harder on the roots of my hair, and I cry out again. My head's being split open!
Laxus calls his magic. I can feel it building again. But Gray's just standing there!
"Gray!" I scream.
"Enough!"
The world freezes again. Even Laxus pauses in his attack. As I look in the direction of the door – as much as I can without turning my head – I almost weep in relief. Those shadows on the floor; they've got to be Mira and the Master.
"Gramps!" Gray gasps, poorly concealed relief in his voice.
"M-master," Erza stammers, probably chastised to be caught like this by him.
He says nothing, but steps further into the guildhall.
"Let her go, Laxus! Put her down! This fight is over!" he barks with the authority only a guild-master possesses.
Laxus's eyes narrow again as he glares harder, and a growl of frustration forces its way between his clenched teeth. He takes one last contemptuous and disgusted look at me before throwing me aside, hurling me across the room again by my hair, and I grunt as I hit the ground, rolling over once before coming to a stop, my breathing laboured.
Only once Laxus has left via a lightning bolt, throwing a sour-grapes-like, "You guys are wimps, anyway," over his shoulder does Gray move, dashing over to my limp body.
"Kyani? Can you hear me?" That same fear in his tone again. What has he got to be afraid of now that Laxus has gone?
"Y…yeah," I groan. "My injuries aren't life-threatening but they're noticeable. Also, using that kind of magic has messed up my body; I don't have any energy to move. It doesn't help that that attack used up a decent amount of my magic."
Gray sighs and takes my wrist carefully in his hand before bending down and wrapping my arm around his shoulder. As he stands, he pulls me up with him, and I try to put my feet underneath me. I smile weakly at everyone – trying to ignore their disbelieving stares – and glance around at the destruction within the guild. I groan again, looking apologetically at Makarov.
"I'm not going to get kicked out of the guild for destruction of property, am I?"
Makarov grins. "It's a familiar enough sight to not be worth punishment. However, challenging Laxus to a fight and holding your own is more unusual, and using his own attacks against him is completely original. You'll go far, my dear. Welcome to Fairy Tail."
His gaze shifts to Gray. "Now take her to the clinic, Gray. I'm sure that rest and time to recover her magic will do her more good than asking for Poluchka to take a look at her. If her injuries are tended to in basic ways, she will be fine."
Even as my injuries and my body complain, my mind and my heart are both punching the air in victory.
That was so much fun.
So, that was chapter 4 :D Sorry it's taken so long, again, but thank you to all who have stuck with this fanfic so far despite all the update delays :) Your loyalty and comments mean a lot to me; the fact that people can enjoy reading what I love writing is the best feeling in the world. Anyway, if you think it's good enough and/or want to read more, leave a little review. Even if it's just "Keep writing", that's all I need to hear.
Fly on,
NitnatRide