Chapter 7: Idiots of a Long Time Past
The restaurant had a strong, tempting aroma of meat and sauce, and Grey thought there was nothing better than the humongous, delicious bowl of spaghetti that sat primly in front of him, just waiting to be gobbled up. However, he turned his attention to the man who was speaking, knowing this, was very important indeed.
"A long time ago, I owned a fancy restaurant," the stranger said slowly. Lucy blinked.
"One day, after three successful, blooming years of managing this restaurant, I was suddenly overcome with the youthful feeling of hunger, hunger for adventure and the thrill of being able to say I was an inch away from death and survived, the one that hadn't come in my teenage years and suddenly engulfed me that moment. I sold the business, took my hat, and went of in search of some adventure.
"Eventually I came to a large mansion on the edge of this town, Jambo. Above the vast doorway hung a faded wooden sign: Foxy's Jewelry. Starving and weary, I entered the mansion, hoping that this Foxy was a kind man and would spare a room for the night and a meal. Instead, I found that the mansion was empty; there was nothing save for an abandoned black cat that slinked out of and back into the shadows as I came in. Heavy grey tarps, covered in dust, covered simple pieces of furniture. Then I heard it."
"Heard w-what?" Lucy whispered, her eyes wide. Grey snickered, but Erza shushed her and motioned for the man to continue.
"I heard..." he paused to add dramatic effect. "a noise like that of the wind's, blowing gently through the heavy, dry air. A whoosh of wind, just like that, whipped past my skin. Now I had closed the front door and no visible windows were open, so I knew that either there was an open window or a crack to let in air somewhere or..." He paused, this time his eyes closing dramatically. At first Grey thought it was for emphasis, and he sniffed, but then he realized the man wasn't play-acting - something was up.
Or...? He willed the stranger to keep speaking.
"There was someone nearby."
An eerie silence hung like a thick blanket, hovering over the booth and its consumers.
"Who... who was it?" Lucy said slowly, as if she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Grey felt the same.
"It was Foxy."
"Oh, the man who was in charge of the mansion - ah, jewelry shop...?" Natsu began, then got confused and started muttering oddly to Happy, who shrugged. Grey rolled his eyes. "Well, yes... and no," the man chuckled. "He was really a she, and the jewelry shop was long out of business," he explained. "The jewelry shop was, as I found out from her later, a family-owned jewel trade and occupied a small area of the main floor."
"What was she like?" Erza asked a question for the first time in the conversation.
"Ah.. Foxy was her last name - her first name was Rose." Erza's mouth dropped open slightly, and Natsu stopped his conversation with Happy.
"What?"
"Ehh..." The man blushed and ran a hand down the back of his head and grinned a sheepish smile. "Yeah..."
"Wait. So you're our business person?" Gray said in a low voice. He preferred to keep his missions a silent business rather than have supposed eavesdroppers find out more than they needed.
"...so you're our hirer, you found this lady's shop and home, and the lady turns out to be your sister? That doesn't make any sense," Natsu said in a loud voice.
Argh... what doesn't make sense is you being so loud! Do you really want people to listen in on our private business exchanges? Gray thought darkly.
"Well... not exactly. She adopted me as her brother, and I took care of her as if she was my blood sister. I am indeed the person who hired the four of you mages... although, I might add, I didn't expect so many of you to come," he muttered under his breath.
"Is there something wrong with that?" Grey challenged coolly.
"Yeah, 'the more the stronger', isn't it?" Natsu put in, not willing to be outdone by his eternal rival.
"Ya got it mixed up, you dimwit," Grey muttered.
"Who're you calling a dimwit?"
"Natsu, Grey, stop it! The whole restaurant is staring at us!" squealed Lucy, face-palming. It took a while, but eventually she and Erza got the boys back in their seats, although you could still practically see the steam rising from their ears. The man sweat-dropped.
"Ahh, so, eh, we can move on, yes?" he blinked nervously, wiping sweat from his forehead. Natsu's attention was immediately diverted to him.
"So now you've got a French accent, huh? Oohh," Natsu said, cocking his head with one eye bulging out. Grey sighed. He guessed it was a good thing to creep out the man, but he was overdoing it a bit. Besides, wasn't this guy their hirer?
"N-no, I mean, noooo." The startled stranger gave an awkward giggle, and Lucy gaped at this odd gentleman with a girlish inside attitude...
Ew... Grey could read her reaction from Lucy's eyes and the soft blush of embarrassment quickly dusting her cheeks. Her eyes said clearly, This man is an idiot.
He glanced at Erza, who was impatiently unaware of the silent chaos and had her mouth set in a thin, firm line. "Just get on with the explanation already, darnit," Grey heard her hiss under her breath. He blinked.
"Uh, you know, we can move on now... right?" Grey said, trying to pry the hysterical Natsu away from the giggly brat-stranger.
"Ehh, he's not worth it anyway," grumbled Natsu, darting a glare at the stranger and then at Grey. He plopped back beside Happy, who tried to calm him down.
"Thank you," the hirer said quickly, giving Natsu a wary look. Then he cleared his throat and went back to business. "So basically, on the first birthday I had with her, she gave me a ring - a ring of rose gold that was extremely precious to her. It was a simple one, dusted with the faint, lovely colour of palest pink, and the imprint of a rose delicately carved on its surface." Grey spied Lucy sighing with contentment at the end of the table.
"So basically you lost it and you want us to find it, right?" Erza broke in, obviously not caring about any ring, beautiful or not.
"Ah? ...Y-yes, of course," he said almost hesitantly. Grey felt uneasy. It was as if this man had forgotten the purpose of the job - was there something else hidden inside his words?