A/N HIYAS! I currently have a poll going on at my profile page! I did this because I wanted to see what you guys wanted Kotone to do. To be honest, I've already decided what she's going to do. I'm just curious about the opinion of my readers. It is a blind poll, meaning that you will not see the current results of the poll if you choose to vote. I will put the results at the end of one of my chapters!
Kotone: That's lame! I like being able to see the results myself.
Miu: But this way there is no bias. I don't know about you, but when I see the results I sometimes want to change my answer.
Kotone:…I knew you were weird but…
Miu: (T.T) BE NICE! I CREATED YOU!...I KEEL YOU!
Kotone: What?
Miu: Don't mind me, all alone in my corner. I'll just glare at you until you become uncomfortable.
Kotone:…Whatever…
Miu: I'll have Alice beat your butt!
Kotone: Who?
Kotone watched as the group searched for any sign of her trail. She smiled at her plan, knowing that it would work if they decided she went in another direction.
What she didn't know, was that the group wasn't the only thing she had to look out for…
"Aye sir!" Happy yelled as he went off to go find Natsu.
Wendy and the others scouted around, looking for anything that would give even the slightest hint of where Kotone could have gone. Wendy and Gajeel were sniffing around like dogs, seeing if Kotone was nearby. Grey and Erza were searching for footprints or broken sticks.
Erza's gruff voice called out, "Found anything yet?"
"No."
"Nothing."
"I got nothing here as well."
"Then keep searching. We're running out of time," Erza stated.
Everyone nodded as they went back to work. Their hope was like a flame with a glass over it, burning brightly until its supply of oxygen is used up.
Just when they thought the oxygen was gone, a hole in the glass appeared.
"JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I HAD FOUND THE PERFECT TRAINING GROUND!"
Everyone looked up, surprised at the sudden loud noise.
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" the voice boomed again.
"Try to calm down," a tired voice called out.
A girl stomped out of the woods surrounding the lake, "NO! I refuse to calm down! I've been searching for a nice secluded place to train, so I can prepare for the battle. This is what I get after finding the seemingly perfect spot. A bunch of noisy, stinky weirdos just had to come here, didn't they?"
"Like I said," a little brown cat trailed behind the girl, blue eyes flashing, "try to calm down." Her voice was definitely a command as her eyes squinted into a glare.
The girl's own blue eyes widened for a moment before she yelled, "HOW DARE YOU TALK TO ME LIKE THAT? This is why everyone tells you that you're a stick in the mud Mika."
Flames erupted from the eyes of the now huge brown cat, "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?"
"What ev," the girl shrugged the threat off and her arm band started to slide down so she pulled it back up.
It was a red arm band with an intricate pattern of golden lines that formed a shark within a hexagon. Her black hair was tied back in a high ponytail and it swished as her head spun to glare at them.
She opened her mouth but then there was a huge splash and she was gone.
Mika was dumbfounded, "Alice…"
An exhausted Happy floated over to the water, "Natsu, wait up…" Happy fell in the water, drained of his energy.
There was a collective moment when everyone realized what happened and started whistling nonchalant.
"GAH!" Alice burst from the water. "To bring me into the water without knowing my magic, you have a lot of guts kid. Right now you're in my domain."
Her now soggy blue shirt clung to her body as she walked out of the water. "Now I'm all wet, not like it matters." She brushed her black shorts with her hands, but it was pointless. "Geeze, now the water is gonna taste funny you weirdos."
Natsu climbed out of the water, "Happy, where is everyone?" He glanced up, "Never mind!"
Happy, who was on Natsu's head, said a faint, "Aye sir."
"What's this?" Alice said out of the blue.
All eyes turned towards the mysterious girl. "This water tastes familiar…I can taste the cat and the boy, but there's something else…"
Grey, in the middle of hitting Natsu for ditching them, asked, "What do you mean?"
Lucy piped up, "Maybe it'll help us."
Everyone gathered around Alice, waiting expectantly. Alice bit her lip and fisted her rough hands. "BACK UP!"
Everyone took a step back, but their expressions didn't change in the slightest.
Alice sighed and brought her still wet hand to her mouth. Her tongue made contact but she immediately recoiled from the taste. "Definitely familiar, so much it's painful. It tastes like Reyna."
Mika's ears pricked at the statement. "Are you sure?"
"Yea, do you think she was here?" Alice asked.
"Is Reyna a dragon?" Wendy asked.
Alice's eyes widened as she replied tartly, "Yeah, why do you care?"
Everyone smiled and glanced at the water. They ran to the edge and started searching.
"HEY! I asked a question! The least you could do is answer it!" Alice yelled.
Happy waddled over, "Shh! She might hear you."
"HAH! Who wouldn't want to hear me? Come on, you don't meet a dragon slayer every day!" She declared with much pride.
Happy waved her away saying, "Yeah, yeah, I live with one."
"WHAT?" Alice yelled.
Gajeel turned around and had an expression like a golem. He looked down at Alice, hands fisted and said, "Look here kid, we don't have time to deal with a brat like you. Now run off and go train somewhere else."
Alice glared at the Iron dragon slayer and pointed her finger at him, opening her mouth to dish some sass. But when she was about to talk, she got interrupted again.
"Found her!" Grey yelled as he threw an ice spear into the water.
There was a great big burst of water and out of it jumped Kotone, dripping as she landed on the opposite side of the lake. She cursed her bad luck and prepared to fight. Her legs didn't have enough energy to run, but they had plenty for a fight.
"Well," she declared, "this isn't fair in the least bit now is it? Six against one? I'm sorry, seven if you count Happy."
Kotone noticed the new girl and the Exceed. "My, my…Who are the new comers? I didn't see them at the guild."
"That's because we don't belong to a guild. Who are you?" Alice yelled.
"If you don't belong to the guild, I suggest you leave. Things are about to get messy."
Alice put her hands on her hips and asked, "What? Do you think I'm incapable of protecting myself from the likes of you?"
Erza placed her heavy hand on the girl's shoulder and said, "This is someone who can defeat an S-class mage, a dragon slayer, an ice mage, and a celestial mage without breaking a sweat. This isn't something you should get involved in."
Alice took another look at the girl who appeared younger than herself. The rags were soaked and there was algae caught on them as well. The silver hair dripped as it laid flat against her pale face. Her face was a shocking contrast to her fierce amber eyes, glaring at the opposite side of the lake. Her hand reached up and unclipped the now heavy black cloak. It fell to the ground with a plop as she crouched in an almost animalistic way. For a girl who looked to be around 13, Alice thought she was an intimidating foe.
Alice smirked, please with her conclusion. She stepped into the water, grinning like a mad man. Her hands shook with excitement as she faced Kotone. Alice felt giddy as she realized that she found the perfect training partner.
"Well," she said, "then you could use all the help you can get."
Mika took to the sky, only to land on Alice's head, mumbling about how frustrating people can be.
"Alice," she whispered, "I don't think you understand the situation. Can't you tell the atmosphere is really intense?"
"Huh?" Alice asked. "What are you talking about?"
Mika gazed at the girl across the lake, "Think for a moment. They are fighting. What are the reasons people fight?"
Alice sighed, knowing another lecture was coming. "Uh…to capture criminals, to get even, to prove their worth, to protect loved ones, to get the perfect angle to take a picture of me…OOWW! That hurt!" she exclaimed.
"Fool! Focus!" Mika said as she pulled Alice's hair. "Besides your last comment, those are exactly the reasons why shouldn't involve ourselves. This fight is personal for them. They would probably prefer it if we didn't get involved."
Alice sighed yet again. She knew the scolding would never end if she decided to fight. "Fine!" she huffed. "But I want to ask something before we go."
She stepped out of the water and crossed her arms in a haughty fashion. Then she became dead serious as all her emotions escaped her body, leaving only an intense aura that surrounded the girl.
"This is a serious matter to me and I deserve the truth after you invaded my training ground," Alice said, almost in monotone. "What exactly is she? She's not human, that much is certain."
Wendy stepped up as Kotone's eyes became vicious.
"How do you know she's not human? As you can see, she has a human body," Wendy stated calmly.
Alice threw her finger at the lake, "The water gave that away."
Wendy fumbled with her words as she tried to come up with a believable excuse.
Natsu shook the remaining water off himself and said, "It's because she's a…"
Everyone looked at Natsu as he grabbed his throat. His mouth gaping like a fish out of water, he glared at Kotone.
Kotone watched, interested as Alice's eyes became twice their original size.
"M-Mika…" Alice stuttered.
Mika immediately grabbed Alice and took off like a rocket at full speed. They zoomed out of there with knowing looks on their faces, confusing the group.
They glanced at Kotone, whose face was like stone.
"Well," she said into the silence that followed their leave, "I seem to be reuniting with all my old buddies lately."
Natsu glared at her, "You mean you knew that girl?"
Kotone's eyes glazed over and replied, "Not really."
Grey prepared to fight, "What do you mean 'not really'? That was a yes or no question."
Kotone stood up and stretched. She reached over and picked up her cloak.
"This doesn't matter anymore, I'm not going to fight in hand to hand combat," she said as she clipped the cloak around her neck.
Gajeel practically growled as he asked, "What do you mean you're not going to fight us?"
Her eyes darted to Natsu and the killing intent reflected in her eyes had Natsu gulping for air.
"Someone," she said in a forced calm voice, "broke his promise." She turned away from them so they wouldn't see her face and couldn't hear her voice. "He also," she murmured, "has broken what little trust I had for others."
Kotone walked away as Lucy shouted, "Wait!"
Kotone came to a stop, but refused to turn around.
Lucy gulped as she realized that she had Kotone's full attention for the first time. She started to feel self-conscious but quickly abandoned that feeling, knowing that Kotone would walk away at any time.
Lucy started walking around the huge lake. "I have something to say and I want you to listen."
"Very well," was the only reply she received.
Lucy's hands shook as she talked, but that was the only sign that betrayed how nervous she was. "All of us know that you're a dragon."
Lucy had to take a step back at the sudden release of magical pressure. She wasn't the only one, for Wendy and the others had to bring their arms up to brace themselves from the impact.
Lucy's hands weren't the only things shaking as her voice shook, "But I don't care."
After taking a moment to calm down, she tried again and this time it was convincing.
"But I don't care. You became a member of Fairy Tail and in Fairy Tail there is no such thing as turning your back on a comrade. It's against our nature. I know that you haven't been a part of Fairy Tail for long, so maybe it's just that you're not used to how we do things."
Lucy was almost halfway around the lake and she became more determined and sure of herself the father she went.
"When I first joined Fairy Tail, my father hired another guild to get me back. Of course when I found this out, I wanted to face it by myself so no one else could get hurt, but everyone refused to let me. I saw my friends get injured and my comrades taken down all because of me. I was dying on the inside, knowing how helpless I was to protect them. I begged for them to just let me be captured, but everyone rejected it without hesitating for a second. In the end, because everyone fought together, we won and I didn't have to sacrifice myself for the sake of the guild. We know you want to do this by yourself, but I'm telling you that we're never going to let you. Run all you want, but we will chase you. Knock us down as many times as you want, but we'll just get back up. Reject us for as long as you can, but we'll welcome you with open arms every time."
Lucy was in arms reach of Kotone and she stood her ground, prepared for anything Kotone threw at her.
A light breeze came and revealed Kotone's soft smile, confusing Lucy.
Kotone's smile grew as she said, "Makarov, you've raised an excellent guild."
Lucy watched in surprise as Kotone looked at her out of the corner of her eye, still grinning.
"I know how our guild runs. Silly, I was there when your guild was created. I watched from the sidelines after I saved Mavis, the original master. Ha ha, that boy was a handful. He was still a handful when he was an old man and I handed Makarov over to him. Ha ha ha!"
Lucy was so confused. She could only just stand there as the others watched from the other side of the lake, wondering what they were talking about.
"But…" she said, not knowing what else to say.
Kotone chuckled quietly, "Wondering how I could be laughing at a time like this? Ha ha! It's because Mavis told me that this was going to happen one day. He knew I was going to join a guild and that guild would change everything. He told me that he would build a guild that I would be proud of joining. And here we are, a youngster telling me the exact same things he told me his guild would symbolize."
Lucy took this in as Kotone's smile grew and her eyes closed at the memories that flooded her.
"That girl just now," Kotone began, "is a part of an organization that I thought would have died long ago. It seems that it's actually gotten bigger, almost to a point where it can be considered as guild. Oh boy, I wonder what they're going to do now…"
"Wait, I'm not sure what's going on. What organization?" Lucy inserted.
Kotone tapped just below her shoulder. Her smile turned sly as she finally turned to face Lucy. Lucy's view of Kotone blurred for a moment and she rubbed her tired eyes. When she looked back at Kotone, she saw a smiling, dry, little girl.
"Sound is a vibration that can vary in intensity," Kotone said.
Lucy wondered what Kotone couldn't do as Kotone scratched her head in embarrassment.
"Well, as much as I want you guys to help me, I'm not going to let you," Kotone stated. She gave Lucy a thumbs up as she said, "My job is almost done. Chase me if you want, but I'll send you back home to Makarov. This is bigger than you know, so watch me! I'll put on a big fireworks show, 'Kay!"
Kotone winked and walked away, waving to Lucy as her back disappeared in the shadows.
Lucy chased after her, but when she entered the forest, she started to feel dizzy and she hurriedly stumbled out. She tripped over her feet, but was caught by Erza, who was about to rush in after her.
"No wait guys!" Lucy cried out.
"What?" Natsu yelled as he ran straight into the forest.
"Get him out quick! Kotone's put one of her sleeping spells over the entire forest," Lucy said.
Happy was already dragging out the already sleeping Natsu. Natsu snored loudly as Lucy tried to figure out what their next move should be. Her tired mind was having issues making coherent sentence so everyone was hanging on her every word.
"She…she talked about…this…organization…the arm band…the arm band is the sign of the organization…they're not a guild…but there are enough members that…it could pass as a guild…the girl…Alice…she's part of the organization…we should follow her…she might know something…" Lucy finally uttered.
"Dang it!" Gajeel murmured. "That girl was annoying."
Erza stood and put her hands on her hips, a sign that she was taking charge. She opened her mouth and commanded in a voice that had an undertone that said there wasn't room for arguments, "Then you and Grey should go back to the guild and alarm the Master what has happened so far. Wendy, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and I will go after Alice."
"Ehh! Why do I have to go back?" Grey argued.
Erza glared at him and he jumped up, suddenly overjoyed to go.
"We need someone who was in the first group to inform the other of how she was acting during our battle," Erza said anyway.
"Then wouldn't it make sense…if I went? I was the only one…conscious till the end. Also…I'm the only one who heard…this conversation now," Lucy murmured.
Erza shook her head, "We'll need you here because you were the only one who she's talked to freely."
Lucy then zoned out herself. She dreamed of laughing with Happy back at the guild. Natsu and Grey fighting in the background. Erza was talking with Wendy about a mission that would be easy for her and Charle. Master and Mirajane were watching everyone with a proud expression. Gajeel and Lily were talking about this new training program they had come up with and Levy, Droy, and Jet were looking at the request board for possible missions. Elfman and Lisanna were chatting as Kotone walked out from behind the bar, passing out drinks to everyone. Of course Cana demanded beer but Kotone just laughed, becoming a part of the guild and everyone in it.
A/N Okay, I have no new reviews again *goes into Mr. Corner for a moment* but I have been getting a few PMs. Those who I am about to talk about, you know who you are so I don't need to put it on paper.
Kotone is not a girl with mood swings. I found this offensive and I can't be completely mad at you because I think a few people out there think this. So, for those of you out there who are courious about my character read on. If not, then just know that I am still accepting OCs and the poll will be up until the day when Kotone's plan is revealed.
Now, I think of Kotone as a fox. She always has a card up her sleeve and is very sly. She doesn't hide her feelings though, which some people I guess could think is out of character. But you have to understand that Kotone is scared of being hurt so she rejects people. On the other hand she is in desperate need of other's love, so she is open about her feelings.
That is all. So, have a nice week guys, I probably won't update very soon.