~Hugo~
The room was really dark. Then again, the whole guild was dark. After being in Fairy Tail for so long, this place seemed really gloomy. It was also unnervingly quiet. I tiptoed through the long corridor that I'd found my way into. I suddenly stopped walking, catching sight of something. Val almost stepped on me…man, it was weird calling someone else my name. I was going to have to adjust to be called Hugo.
"Don't just stop walking like that!" Val protested quietly. I grabbed his pant leg to try and quiet him down. It worked for a moment before the rest of the group followed after him. Gray smacked into Val's back and Erza into Gray's. Natsu and Lucy were still back in the guildhall. I'd told them to stay, figuring that they'd rather talk for a little while instead of searching with me.
"Why'd you stop?" Gray asked, rubbing his nose, which had collided with Val's shoulder blade.
"Look," I whispered, pointing ahead of us. At the end of the corridor was a sinister looking door. It was slightly ajar and a little light streamed through the crack.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Erza asked, "Your friend could be behind that door."
I took a deep breath and then ran towards the door. I burst through it and whimpered. A cage sat in the corner of the musty room. I hesitantly walked towards it, reaching for the cloth that covered the cage. I glanced behind me and saw my friends waiting in the doorway. Val smiled, "Go on."
I nodded and took hold of the cloth. I counted to three in my head and ripped the cloth off. It fluttered to the ground and whimpered again. Curled up in the cage, fast asleep, was O. I slowly opened the cage, "O?"
His eyes cracked open and he squeaked. I felt puzzled and looked to Val. Val was frowning. "Val, I can't understand him anymore!" I cried desperately. Val knelt beside me, "Hey, I'm always here to help, right?" He reached forward and touched my forehead. A small golden light shone down on me and I waited. Val pulled away and stood up.
"Is that you, Val?" squeaked a voice. I turned to O and nodded, "A lot has happened. Actually, my name is Hugo."
Catching my by surprise, O rocketed towards me. He collided with my chest, knocking the wind out of me. I wrapped my arms tightly around him and he curled up close to me, "I knew you would come. I knew it!"
"I missed you, O," I sobbed. Tears fell down my face as we curled up together. I didn't care that the floor was damp and dirty. I didn't care that I was cold or that I was tired. I didn't care about anything other than the fact that I was finally with O again. I shakily stood up, O still in my arms, and smiled at Val. He patted my head, "Way to go, little bro."
I looked up at him and stared, "Little bro?"
"Just accept it," Val said, slinging me over his shoulder.
I giggled, "I've never had a brother before!"
"Well, now you do. Let's go see if Lucy and Natsu are done with…whatever the hell they're doing."
"Ok!" I said happily.
"Who are Lucy and Natsu? Who are those people?" O asked.
"This is Val. That is Gray and that is Erza," I said, pointing to my respective friends. They smiled and waved.
"You can understand him?" Erza asked.
I nodded, "Thanks to Val!"
"Hey, you call me 'big brother' ok?" Val said as we walked down the hallway. As he passed by Gray and Erza he tapped their foreheads and they blinked.
"Nice to meet you!" O said, raising his paw.
Gray blinked, "It speaks English…"
"So it does," Erza said, smiling and taking O's paw in between two of her fingers. She shook it delicately and nodded, "It's an honor to finally make the acquaintance of Hugo's beloved friend."
"Yeah…same here," Gray said, taking O's paw. He looked a little creeped out to be talking to a flying squirrel.
"O, I can't wait for you to meet Lucy. She's my really, really close friend," I said, smiling.
"Psh," O mumbled.
"Don't be jealous. You'll always be my favorite," I said, patting his head. He nuzzled into my hand and I smiled. When we got to the guildhall, Val set me down on the floor. I walked up to Lucy and pulled on her skirt, "Lucy, meet O."
She knelt down beside me and smiled softly.
"Hello!" O said loudly, raising his paw to wave at her.
"Um…nice to meet you," she said, raising an eyebrow.
I turned around, "Big brother?" Val nodded and touched Lucy's forehead. Natsu stared wide-eyed at what was happening until Val also touched his forehead. He flinched and smacked Val's hand away. Val chuckled a little.
"My name's O. I hear that you've been taking care of Va-Hugo. Thank you," O said, nodding his head.
Lucy stared for a few seconds, a little shocked, "You're…welcome?"
"Whoa! The rat is talking!" Natsu shouted. Lucy elbowed him in the stomach and he doubled over, "Ow…what was that for?"
"One: he's clearly a squirrel, not a rat. Two: you were being impolite!" Lucy chastised. Natsu nodded, rising to his full height but still clutching his stomach.
"Sorry," he said quietly. Lucy smiled and nudged him in the arm gently, "You're forgiven."
"Are you two in love?" I asked. O clapped a paw over my mouth and I shot him a questioning look. Had I said something wrong?
Lucy's face turned red, "Uh…um…well…"
Natsu draped an arm over her shoulders, "Yeah, I love her. You already knew that, though. Lucy said, 'Really? Ok.'"
Lucy punched him in the arm and Natsu smiled, "You just made it sound like I'm a—"
"Aw…no I didn't. You know I love you," Natsu cooed. I grimaced. Gross.
"All too well!" Lucy practically shouted. She tried to punch him again, but he caught her fist.
"Sorry, sorry," he said, "I'm just messing with you." Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. I turned to Val, "I want to go home."
Val grinned, "Home?"
"Fairy Tail," I restated as if it were obvious. Val grinned and scooped me up. I curled up in his arms.
"Alright, let's go home, then," Val whispered, turning to walk out the door.
"Hey, wait up!" Gray called. The others caught up with us almost immediately.
"So, are you going to poke every member of Fairy Tail's forehead?" Lucy asked.
"If that's what Hugo wants, then yes," Val replied.
"I want everyone to meet O," I said, nodding.
"Alright, then," Val said, "It'll be a forehead-poking party."
I laughed, "Thanks."
"Mm…I can't wait for food. I'm hungry," Natsu said, patting his stomach.
I smiled, "But you're always hungry!"
Everyone laughed, including Natsu. "That's only completely true!" Natsu replied. We stepped out into the sunlight and my mouth dropped. Standing outside the hall was the entirety of the Thief Soul guild. Val sighed, "I forgot about them."
"Where's the Mistress?" someone shouted. It was a man who had dark skin and red eyes.
"She's gone," Val said, setting me down. I clung to his leg, not wanting him to go anywhere.
"What? No one can kill Ambrosia!" someone else shouted. There was a chorus of yells in consent.
"I did," Val said, his voice sobering and steady. There was a moment of silence.
A woman stepped forward. She was half skin and half metal. I stared at her, a little intimidated by her glowing robotic eye. She stared Val in the eye and I watched closely. My mouth dropped as she dropped to one knee. She bowed her head in respect, "Thank you."
"What!?" Natsu shouted.
"Ambrosia was suffering. She was my friend. I'm glad that suffering is over," she said, looking up at Val. The shock on Val's face soon faded away. He smiled slightly and nodded in return. One by one, every member of Thief Soul bowed down to Val. I hugged his leg tighter, "I think they like you."
Val laughed and patted my head, "I guess so, huh?"
Years Later
~Hugo~
"Yeah, well I'm not little anymore," I mumbled.
"But he's your big brother. He worries about you just like any big brother would and should," Wendy said. I looked to where she sat beside me and nodded.
"I guess you're right," I said, sighing.
"You know that I'm always right," she said proudly. She leaned close and whispered in my ear, "You should be nicer to Val. He's just worrying about you." I felt my face heat up at her proximity.
She pulled away and smiled, "I'm going to go and get something from Mira. You want anything?"
I shook my head, trying to hide my blush. She walked away, leaving my face bright red and my nerves shaken. I'd had a crush on Wendy ever since she joined the guild. She didn't know, of course.
"I saw that," said a voice to my left. I flinched and practically fell off of the table I was sitting on.
Natsu grinned, "You like Wendy, don't you?"
I shook my head, "No!"
"Hey! Remember all that time ago when you were my advisor? Does this mean it's finally my turn?" Natsu asked excitedly.
Lucy smacked him over the head, "Don't be so pushy, Natsu. Hey, Hugo. When is Val dropping by again?"
"He told me he was coming today," I said.
"Actually, he said he was coming an hour ago," Otto added. I shrugged, "You know him. He isn't exactly the perfect example of timeliness."
"That's an under exaggeration," Otto mumbled, munching on a piece of cheese I'd given him.
I laughed, "Pretty much, yeah."
~Valaymier~
The way to Fairy Tail was pretty far. Granted, flying did make it easier. I'd landed on the streets of Magnolia and a few people gave me weird looks. I just ignored them. I wished that Yin Yang was closer, but it wasn't like I could just pick up the guildhall and move it closer just so that I could keep a closer eye over my little brother. He was sixteen now. I figured he could take care of himself. That didn't mean that I wouldn't still worry about him.
You may ask what Yin Yang is. It's my guild. Yeah, I'm the master. It used to be Thief Soul, but somehow I got looped into becoming the new Guild Master by Alex. I nicknamed Alex 'Metalhead' because the entire left side of her body was made of metal. She hated when I called her that. How'd it end up being called Yin Yang? I didn't name it. Believe me, if I had it wouldn't be called Yin Yang. The members wanted to show that they'd turned over a new leaf. I guess something about the balance between light and dark associated with the Yin Yang made for the perfect guild name. I didn't really care.
I walked down the streets, my hands in my pockets. I breathed in the scent of a flower shop that I was walking past. I closed my eyes, letting the scent gently wrap around me. I was jerked out of my trance when I slammed into something.
My eyes snapped open and I reacted immediately. I caught the flowerpot that was plummeting towards its certain demise. Right before it smashed into tiny pieces, I saved it.
"I am so sorry, sir," said a frantic voice. I straightened up and set the flowerpot down on the table next to the other pots.
"It's alright. It was my fault anyway," I said, looking towards the person who I'd walked into. She was pretty short and had long, frizzy, red hair. Freckled were scattered all over her nose and cheeks. She had brilliant green eyes. She was wearing dirt-covered jeans and work gloves.
"Do you work here?" I asked.
She nodded, "Yeah. I only just started, though."
"Really? That explains why I've never seen you before," I said, nodding. I smiled at her and noticed her cheeks turn a little pink.
"Y-You're very h-handsome," she stuttered and then clapped a gloved hand over her mouth. Her eyes went wide and her face turned bright red.
I grinned, "Thank you."
She frantically looked around, trying to find something to change the subject with. She was pretty cute, but also really scatterbrained. Sudden realization struck me at I realized that I had to get to Fairy Tail. Hugo would get mad at me if I were to be late again.
"Hey, do you think I could buy some flowers?" I asked. I figured I could bring some flowers for the guild. They'd probably appreciate it.
"Oh, sure. No problem. Which ones?" she asked. I pointed to some random flowers, not really caring which ones. She picked them up and frowned.
"They're wilted on this side. Hang on," she said. She furrowed her brow in concentration and touched the wilted flowers. They immediately sprung to life, their brilliant yellow color returning.
"You're a wizard?" I asked.
She nodded, "Only a little." I laughed and she blushed, handing over the flowers. I paid for them and turned to leave. "Hey, what's your name?" I asked.
"Celeste," she replied. I nodded, "I'm Val."
"Hey, you should stop by more often, Val. Buy some more flowers, or something," she said, fidgeting a bit.
I grinned, "Definitely."
As I walked away, staring at my newly purchased flowers and thinking about how strange Celeste had been, I remembered something that I didn't expect to remember.
Years ago, Lucy had said something to me: With love comes understanding and happiness. Sometimes it can bring pain and hate, but love changes people. If you can't love anyone, you won't ever get the chance to experience that change.
I smiled. Change didn't sound that bad.
A/N: The end. Thanks for reading all the way to the end! Don't forget to leave me a review!