Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.
I do own the idea for the fic though.
AN: *whistles a quiet tune* So… I caught up to the manga… well, not quite, I just read what happened in the last chapter. Pretty convenient. *chuckles* Now I wonder how the guy will be brought back to life. LOLMashima and his ways, I saw better in other stories/mangas/animes/books. Seriously… doing that to poor Jellal… it's not even a worthy way to finishing him off or try to at the least.
Onto the story…
Stargazer.
8-Island…
"I let Makarov know of your presence here." An old short man with a chef hat murmured quietly to a nicely dressed couple in one of his restaurants' tables, seeing the people around eating and chatting without a care in the world while he discussed about recent developments with two wanted people.
They were under disguise, again, to avoid detection while protecting the old man from a possible threat that might befall upon him.
Jellal nodded quietly, his new appearance alike to an young man of brown hair and normal clothes, drinking a glass of water while wondering what to do in case they were to find the strange assassin there. "I see… it was a good idea."
"They need to know what's going on in case things go out of hand." Meredy added, eating a small piece of cake with the same thoughts as her leader in her mind, disguised as a young girl of auburn hair and a bit more notorious clothes. They have been there for a day now and nothing happened, luckily.
"Aye… they won't like to have been kept out of the loop, even if it's for their own safety." Yajima chuckled at the idea, knowing pretty well how his friend's guild members would react when something big like this is being hid from them, especially when people important to them is involved. "Any clues at Michello's?"
"None, the one who did this is good at covering its tracks." The blue-haired wizard informed, disgruntled about the whole affair. This killer was not one to take lightly if it could move like this. "We found the same in Crawford's house… nothing but destruction."
"We did find a letter from the current Chairman though," The girl showed the paper to the old man, looking out the window with her teeth chewing her cheeks from inside. "It doesn't say much…"
"Hmmm, an anomaly? I didn't felt anything wrong after the Games were over." The owner of the place thought aloud, shaking his head and returning the letter to the people, folding his arms behind him after doing so. "Something imperceptible to the senses that the Council's scanners picked up perhaps…?"
"That's what we think; it's the only other explanation we have left." Jellal sighed and leaned back on his seat, crossing his arms and lifting his head to look at the ceiling in thought. "Another individual from the future is here and it's killing the members of the former Council…" His eyes narrowed. "We don't know why but it seems like that person has a personal vendetta against us."
Yajima quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. "Us?"
Meredy nodded slowly. "Yeah, we also think Jellal can be targeted."
"We're not entirely sure, but we don't discard the possibility yet." The former Saint continued, returning his gaze to the short old man with a frown on his features. "If the killer targets you next or any of the others, then it's likely I'll be hunted down as well."
"It makes sense." Yajima nodded and stared at the floor, shrugging after a moment and turning around to return to the kitchen. "I'll return to my occupations if you don't mind."
"No, please, sorry for bothering you." The wizards gave small smiles of gratitude, not only because of the time given to them but of their identities being kept secret.
"It's not a bother, young one." The old man was about to disappear into the kitchen when he suddenly remembered something. "Ah yes," he turned around, looking for something in his pocket and leaving it on the table for the wizards. "Makarov answered me as soon as he got the letter… he says he will tell the guild when the time's right and that you don't need to worry, they will be more than happy to help if the situation worsens."
"Good to hear it." Jellal nodded again and shifted his eyes to the letter, seeing it was a sealed one. It was not the letter Yajima received from the Master of Fairy Tail that was certain. "And what is this?"
The old man chuckled lightly, resuming his exit with some parting words. "He says you should see it."
"Uh? What could it be?" Meredy asked aloud, snatching the letter from the table before the blue-haired could even touch it. She giggled in amusement at his reproachful face and opened the envelope, inspecting the contents and pulling out two pieces of paper from inside. "Oh! A picture!"
"A picture?" The man asked in wonder, taking the letter in his hands and reading it aloud while the girl looked at the picture with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. "…something interesting happened a couple of days ago, take a look for yourself…?" An eyebrow rose in confusion and he turned to see the picture in his partner's hands. "What does it show, Meredy?"
The girl snapped back to reality when her name was mentioned, looking at the man before her and the picture for a minute or so before speaking, a few giggles escaping her as well. "I didn't know you had a brother, Jellal."
Jellal blinked a couple of times. "A brother… you say…?"
Earlier that day…
Fairy Tail…
'I've been slashed, stabbed and close to being torn to shreds… I had a rain of blades over my head too.' The young man eyed the landscape before him and the many eyes focused on him, the tension in the air allowing him to feel the small droplet of sweat travelling down his side-burns or even hear what was happening close to the entrance of the town. It was terribly quiet to his liking. 'But this? This definitely takes the cake.'
He swallowed the lump in his throat and inhaled a good amount of air, fixing his gaze to find a place where he could go and sit for a moment. According to what he heard the night before, he needed to rest some more, get himself checked out by a woman called Wendy and then… 'And then… I guess I'll find a place to stay.'
Jonah sighed and looked around for a free table on the second floor. Since the place was completely empty unlike the first floor and the bar, he guessed it would be best to remain there. He took a seat on one of the empty tables and leaned back, moving his neck around to get rid of some of the stiffness that remained from the fight, groaning whenever a bone popped and eased his pain a little bit.
"You shouldn't do that, you know?" He heard a voice to his right and there he found the woman of white-hair that served him some water when he joined. She smiled at him, carrying a tray with a new glass of water on one hand while the other had a jar with some more. "Stretching and cracking bones will only make the pain worse later."
"Maybe… it's better than letting it settle." The guy told truthfully, seeing her lay the jar and glass on the table before stepping back with the tray on her lap. He nodded at her in appreciation and indulged himself with the water, heaving a content sigh after downing half its contents. "Thank you."
"Ah, don't worry; I figured you needed something to drink after sleeping so much." Mira told him simply, waving his gratitude with a carefree hand. She looked at him for a good second and just when he considered taking another sip from his glass, she asked. "Would you like something to eat too?"
"…something to eat?" Jonah repeated with the glass close to meeting his lips, he laid it back on the table and thought with a frown on his face. Would it be okay to eat when he knew there were some… complications in his situation at the guild? Well, it was offered to him, it wasn't him asking for food, so, no harm to it, right? He nodded. "Sure… I would like-"
"Wait!" She interrupted him, walking away hastily with a big smile. "I have just the thing for you."
'W-what…?' The blue-haired followed the woman's movements in cluelessness. She went to the first floor, entered the kitchen and in a few minutes, she was out with her tray carrying something. What? He didn't know. Whatever thing she was bringing was currently covered by a white cloth. "W-what is that?"
"You'll see~." Mira chirped merrily, taking the cloth off and laying the dish on the table with one swift move.
The man blinked a couple of times when he got to see what she brought.
'…cake?' Certainly, it was a cake, a simple one with white frosting and a complete strawberry at the top and some cut pieces at the center with the filling. He quirked an eyebrow at it, looking at the sweet dessert from all angles and then at the still smiling woman who fetched it for him. "…strawberry cake."
"Yep!" She motioned with her hands for him to try it, a glint in her eyes slightly unnerving the man while she did so. "Go on, take a bite."
'…w-why do I have bad feeling about this?' The young man wondered alone, turning his gaze back to the cake. It looked harmless to him, delicious too, but… there was something at his insides screaming for him to not eat it. Maybe it was because of the woman's strange stare or the possibility of the dessert to be poisoned… or maybe… 'W-why's everyone looking at me so weirdly?'
Not just the woman but also those in the first floor, everyone's eyes were fixed on him and what he would do next with the completely harmless cake. It was as if they were expecting for it to elicit a certain reaction in him, something he could not understand or even begin to fathom. It was a cake, plain and simple. Was it perhaps for his preference of fresh water instead of other things? Perhaps they wanted to see if he likes sweet things?
'I-I guess there's no harm in trying… right…?' Jonah thought nervously, taking the fork next to the plate with one shaky hand and moving to strike the front top of the dish, his eyes noticing from the corners how everyone leaned closer in anxiety at every millimeter the fork advanced. He gulped and shook his head. This was ridiculous. He ate sweet things before, he liked them, yes, but they weren't his main choice. He preferred normal foods other than something like this. 'Humoring them is not a bad idea after what happened yesterday.'
He shrugged and relaxed, took one bit of the cake and brought to his mouth in one swift motion, letting his taste buds do their work and tell him how the dessert settled with him.
He swallowed.
And then… he froze.
Everyone's breathing hitched.
His eyes widened.
His pupils contracted.
'This…! This is…!?'
An hour later…
"I-I did my best, Erza-san." Wendy told the woman with a small smile, smiling nervously and bowing her head slightly. "Y-you should feel better now."
"I do, thank you, Wendy." Erza answered gratefully, closing and opening one hand to test if she felt any pain while doing so. The cuts she got the day before were now gone, the pain in her muscles vanished as if it was never there. Truly, her friend's magic worked wonders. She gave an honest smile to the nervous little girl and stood up from her bed. "You're getting better with each day."
"N-no, Erza-san, please!" The girl replied shyly, clearly flustered about the compliments while her trusty companion sighed tiredly at her antics. "I-I still have a long way to go!"
"You've gotten better since last time, Wendy." Carla shook her head and closed her eyes. How hard was it to believe that the Dragon Slayer was getting better in her abilities? She shot a sharp look to her. Luckily, she knew how to make it so that her worries would vanish. "Or are you saying Erza-san is lying?"
"N-no! Of course not!"
Erza laughed softly at the exchange, shaking her head and patting Wendy's to calm the little girl. After so many trials and time, she still was the same young girl she and the others met seven years ago. "Let's go to the guild, Wendy."
Agreeing silently to the light encouragement and the words, the girl and her cat followed the woman down the road to the guild, chatting about usual and daily worries to keep themselves entertained until they got to the front doors of the establishment.
All three noticed there was something off in the guild that day.
"I-It's really quiet…" Wendy whispered curiously, hearing no sound from the inside, though her strengthened senses told her there were people inside.
"Follow me," Erza pushed the doors open and stepped inside with her companions behind her, eyeing the place quickly and finding, much to her confusion, that the place was actually full. She could see all of her guild mates inside, even some who were rarely seen, and they were all staring at the second floor. "What's going on here?"
That seemed to snap a good amount of them from their trance.
"H-holy…! I-It's Erza!"
"W-what are we gonna do!?"
"H-how should I know!?"
Their reactions were quite confusing.
"W-what?" The woman asked slowly, not getting why the sudden fear of her presence in the hall. Sure, they were usually like that with her, but it was always when they were doing something she would not tolerate. This case… they were in silence and she stepped in, she didn't have a reason to go scolding them like she uses to, so… "Can someone explain what's going on?"
"Oh! Erza!" She heard a voice call for her and looking up, she saw Mirajane waving a hand at her with her biggest smile. She was leaning against the railing of the second floor. "Come here!"
'What does she want?' The knight thought idly as she made way to the second floor, little Wendy following her steps out of curiosity. Once they reached the end of the stairs, she turned to the white-haired barmaid there and directed her questions again. "What's going on, Mira? Why's everyone so quiet?"
"One more, please."
"I guess this is why." Mira explained cheerfully, motioning with one hand to the table behind her where the young man of blue hair was sitting with a content smile on his face. Though, that was not what called the attention and shock of both people who just arrived, no, it was the sight of five dirty plates on the table and the man holding a sixth one up in the air. The barmaid turned to him and nodded, making her way to the kitchen in less than a second. "Aye! Just a second!"
'I-Is that…?' Her mind was trying to deny it but her senses were sharp enough to know it for sure. What was lying on those plates earlier was… "Y-you've been eating… cake…?"
"It's really good," Jonah nodded with his pleasant smile still on his face, leaving the sixth plate on top of the others and crossing his arms. "I never had something this good."
"S-strawberry… cake…?" Erza asked slowly, taking one nervous step forward to better see the remnants of the dishes. Yes, for the crumps on them and the frosting at some parts, it was confirmed that the man has been eating her delicious dessert. And not just one plate, no, he ate six, and he was waiting for the seventh one. "Y-you were eating strawberry cake…?"
"Is there a problem?" The man asked curiously, directing his gaze to the woman. What was the problem of him having a dessert especially made for him? And he asks that because he now believes God himself made the sweet pastry just for his tongue to taste. His eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you want some."
Something clicked in the knight's mind when the words were said, something that made the guild turn quiet again and Wendy and Carla to take several cautious steps back. "What if I do?"
"Sure, if there's more, I don't mind." The blue-haired proclaimed confidently, closing his eyes and waiting for the barmaid to return with his food.
'T-this kid is really pushing it.' Several of the guild members thought nervously, being able to hear the guy's words as he spoke to their short-tempered knight as if she hadn't eaten strawberry cake ever before in her life.
"It'll be better if more people learned to enjoy this gift from above." He continued shortly after, stopping the woman from barking at him with a hundred reasons for him to stop being so cocky.
Now this was shocking, to say the least.
"You think so too?" Erza asked quickly, taking the opposite seat without missing a heartbeat and looking at the young man with a glint in her eyes. Oh, if all people were like him, she would be very happy to share in her passion for the sweet pastry… if there's enough for everyone, that is. "I can't believe you actually like cake this much."
"Neither do I." Jonah answered truthfully. He got to eat several kinds of sweet things but this was new and delicious to him, truly something to eat as many times as possible. Okay, not really that much, but it would be comforting to find this every time he returns from a job. Or once a day… maybe twice. "I've eaten sweets before but I never found something so… enjoyable."
"Here we go~!" Mira made her presence known to them, carrying a tray with her free hand resting on her hip.
The knight's mind caught quickly, now she wanted some cake of her own. "Mira, good, can you bring another-?"
"One step ahead of you~!" The barmaid's smile widened when she saw the red-head's teary eyes, moved to the soul when she laid not one but two portions of cake on the table. She stepped back and grinned. "Enjoy!"
"Thank you." And both wizards attacked the food in the blink of an eye.
'Perfect.' Mira thought mischievously, taking a camera from out of nowhere and taking one shot from the two while they ate quietly. She giggled under her hand and headed for the Master's office, surprising the old man with her presence. "Master, I've something you need to see."
"What is it, Mira?" Makarov asked curiously. He was currently answering a letter to an old friend, one who was currently under great danger from the looks of it, but he could delay a second or two to see what one of his children wanted.
The white-haired shoved the picture to the man's face. "Here!"
The old man remained silent, inspecting the picture over and over with his eyes widening in shock.
"…is this recent?" The Master got a merry nod in answer and he grinned, a few laughs escaping his lungs. "I will have to write another letter."
8-Island again…
"It looks like they're having a good time," Meredy teased lightly, chuckling lowly and trying to restraint herself from laughing at her partner's face. "Don't you think so, Jellal?"
The man himself remained silent. There it was; a picture of his beloved Erza eating cake together with another man who looks exactly like him, both really into the pieces of cake they had in front of them and smiling widely while doing so.
This was… outrageous… in some kind of weird way.
Jellal left the paper on the table and stood up sharply, his eyes steeled and his posture firm. He couldn't let this happen, even if there was nothing happening to begin with. "We need to go to-"
"Nope, sorry, we have to stay, remember?" The pink-haired girl laughed inwardly at the man's now deflated form, containing herself even more when she thought of why. She patted his head to ease his worry and gave a bright smile when he took a peek of her. "Don't worry! I'm sure Erza is not the cheater type."
That certainly didn't help him.
"J-Jellal, wait! W-where are you going!? Jellal!"
Back to Fairy Tail…
Present time…
"Does Mira bake the cakes here or does she buy them from somewhere?"
"Good question but I wouldn't know, I never asked her."
"We should ask her if we get the chance."
"We could ask her right now."
"Good point."
"S-sorry, Jonah-san, I'm still not done." Wendy told lowly to the man of blue hair, intrigued by how similar the guy was to another blue-haired she knew and how he seemed to act the same as the woman nearby. It was really interesting for her, good thing she had to take care of the guy's wounds or else she would not be able to hear more.
"Ah, true, don't worry, I won't move." Jonah gave a small smile and returned to the conversation, eating the last bit of the cake and leaving the fork on the plate. He sighed contently and leaned back, relaxing his muscles for the girl to work easier. "That was nice."
"Yes, it was." Erza murmured, placing the empty dish on the table and giving the man her most stern face. Now it was time to answer some questions. "Remember the deal we have?"
The man closed his eyes and prepared himself; a deal was a deal in the end. He lost that fight, despite it being interrupted so he had to comply with the woman's wishes. "Yeah, I do."
"Good, tell me then, who are you?" The red-haired asked first, wanting to know foremost with whom she was talking to.
"My name is Jonah S. - …" The guy paused and shook his head. "I cannot tell you my last name, sorry."
Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Why not?"
"Because that would change the events to come." He opened his eyes and gazed straight at her eyes. "I would like to prevent that from happening."
Erza sat quietly for a second, her eyes scrutinizing the man's face for any hint of him lying and finding nothing. If his words were correct, he meant he knew of the future somehow and wanted to prevent anything from it to be changed in any way. But then, that would be contradicting to his actions now. "Why are you here then? Wouldn't that change the future?"
"It would if it weren't because I'm here for something else entirely." Jonah tilted his head to the side and looked down, wondering to which extend he could keep on answering and when would the woman connect everything.
And she was doing just that, with what little the man told her, she started to put the facts into place and try to find the answer on her own. Since he was adamant in not revealing too much, that was her best choice. "And what is that?"
"I'm here to protect someone," he said lowly, below a whisper but not as low to be called as such. His eyes closed partially. "If something happens to that someone, the future will be changed… and many things won't be the same."
"So… you're not doing this because you want to… but because you must to…" Erza wondered out loud, moving one hand to her chin in thought while her other one supported her arm by the elbow.
"Yes… that's correct." Jonah returned his gaze to the woman and nodded sharply, though he gave a smile when he continued. "Though I changed my mind after the last two days."
One of her eyebrows rose in curiosity. "Changed your mind? About what?"
"About being here because I want to or because I must to…" He looked around and saw the hall in the first floor, the idle chatter between members, the boisterous laughs, the comradeship, the warmth as a whole. It was new to him, alien, so much so that it changed his mind with just two days there. "I can imagine myself liking this place."
"Jonah-san grew fond of Fairy Tail?" Wendy asked unconsciously, butting into the conversation without noticing. When she did notice though, she was waving her arms in the air for them to ignore what she said. "D-don't mind me! I-I blurted it out of curiosity!"
Erza and Jonah looked at her for a moment, sharing amused chuckles when they saw the girl fretting over something so innocent. They stopped and smiled at her, the guy moving one hand to pat her head as if it was natural.
"You're right, don't worry," he shook his head when she continued to fret and grinned. "It's not like I can hate you for saying something I was about to say anyway."
"O-okay…" The girl murmured with the same nervousness, which toned down, feeling strangely comforted by the man's patting on her head. It felt the same as… 'Is he… related to…?'
"I like Fairy Tail… enough to change my answer and say I'm actually glad I'm here." Jonah said with a content smile, now completely relaxed in the environment. "Despite knowing what I must do and the reasons for coming here, I can say I like this place."
Now Erza remained silent, thinking over the words and watching the man intently, he certainly looked more at ease now that he was in good terms with that fact but, she wasn't looking an answer to his nervousness, but to his secretive behavior, and why was he related to…
"I'm glad to hear that," she nodded with a small smile of her own, this one disappearing in a second and leaving her with her stern face again. "Back on topic though, how are you related to Crime Sorciere?"
The young man looked at her with a blank stare, which in her mind looked like he was trying to think of an answer, but, before she got to hurry him, he spoke. "I'm a member."
A frown etched on her face. "You're a member."
"Yes, I am." Jonah nodded sharply. "I'm not a member since its founding but I've been a part of the guild for a long time."
Her frown deepened; he was answering her questions like he promised to, but he was still giving vague responses to whatever she had to ask. "How much time?"
"I don't know… four years perhaps?" He scratched the back on his head and shrugged. "Master didn't allow me to join until I was old enough to fight on my own."
"And your Master was?" There. This was her chance to get an answer that could help her connect all the dots. All she needed to hear the name she was thinking about and everything will be over.
Jonah closed his eyes and sighed, opening slightly to gaze at the table and then at the woman opposite to him. If he were to say this name, he was sure she would realize everything, which wasn't bad in his opinion, but he still needed to attain to what he was told. "Master's name… his name-"
"Hey! New guy!" A voice yelled from below, calling all three people on the second floor and directing their eyes to see the pink-haired Dragon Slayer waving a paper in one hand with a huge grin on his face. "Sup? You up for a job!?"
Jonah remained quiet for a second, looked through the corner of his eyes at the female with him and stood up abruptly, slightly surprising them with his move. "Sorry… say, Wendy? Are my wounds healed?"
Wendy looked at the man nervously and nodded slowly, wondering in her mind why he moved so suddenly. "Y-yes, you're okay now…"
"Perfect." The blue-haired man nodded sharply and, with a simple waved of his hand, he went down the stairs to the first floor. "Yes, I'm good, what're we going to do?"
Erza, shaking the shock out of her and noticing what the young man was going to do, tried to interject. "W-wait, we're-!"
"Some guys are hitting carts on the way to Crocus," Natsu explained with his grin growing, happy to see his simple query got the man's attention. "They need us to punch the heck out of them and get their stuff back."
Jonah nodded twice and pushed the Dragon Slayer to the exit. He really wanted to get out of there before a certain someone got a way to react to his fast exit. "Sounds perfect, let's go."
"O-Oi, don't push!"
And they were gone.
Everyone looked at the door and the sun burning outside, and then at the red-haired woman on the second floor who had her arm extended in motion to catch someone.
They sweatdropped.
Why was it always them that had to suffer the stupidity of others towards her?
"H-he… he just walked out of the door." Erza uttered in slight disbelief, not really wanting an answer but…
"Y-yes… they – I mean, he left without answering your question, Erza-san." Wendy squeaked nervously with her feet taking her one step back at a time. Even though the knight was truly a kind and wonderful person at heart, no one wanted to see her whenever she got upset over something…
"JONAH!"
…and with good reason.
Magnolia's train station…
"T-thank you." Jonah murmured after they entered the train station of the town, bowing to the Dragon Slayer and his cat with ease. If they just knew that they got him out of a pretty difficult situation.
"Uh? Why? We're doing a kick-ass job so you can show us how you fought Erza!" Natsu yelled to the top of his lungs, waving the request in the air while Happy remained with his eyes on the new guy, snickering in amusement at his confused face.
"Erza was going to punish you, right?" He rolled his tongue while saying so.
"N-no, at least, I think she wasn't." The blue-haired man answered, trying to keep his nerves settled. He wasn't sure but he swore he heard his name being yelled from the building belonging to the guild, and by her, no less. He turned to the people with him. "C-can't we just leave now?"
"We have to wait for Lucy and that stripper." The pink-haired stopped and grinned to the young man with a bit of mischief. "Why? You want to head out quickly?"
"Y-yeah, I really do…" Jonah replied warily, not liking the grin of the pink-haired or the sudden feeling of being watched he had at the back of his neck. "C-cannot we go there now and let the others catch up?"
Natsu seemed to actually think about the proposition, which actually surprised the blue cat resting over his head. When was it that the head-strong Dragon Slayer ever stopped to listen to anyone's proposal? Okay, bad question. When did he ever consider a proposition that would lead to his teammates being left behind?
"Sure! Sounds like a plan!" He eventually roared, grinning like a maniac and rubbing his hands together. "I can't wait to see Gray's face when he sees we're half-way done with the job when he arrives!"
The blue-haired wizard quirked an eyebrow in curiosity. "You have that much faith in my skills?"
"Uh? Nah, not many," Natsu replied nonchalantly, sighing tiredly and waving a hand in dismissal. "You're new like Lucy was so I'm thinking you'll be more or less the same as her."
"Aye! Lucy was really useless when she joined the guild!" Happy added with a bright smile, much to the blue-hair's nerves.
'Oh, so they think I'm not strong enough?' Jonah thought bitterly, showing a forced smile to the two companions with him while he followed them to the train. Now this was a challenge, he needed to prove himself to these people if he wanted to be more comfortable. 'I wonder if it'll be bad to prove them wrong.'
And he didn't have a problem with that.
To be continued…?
AN: And here we have a more light-hearted chapter. Why? Because I thought it would be better to make things a bit more funny before heading back to the serious stuff. Seriously, shit will hit the fan pretty soon and every single moment like this one should be appreciated. *nods* Okay, don't listen to that, it's pretty simple actually. This was a filler-kind of chapter. A bit to prepare the ground for the next to come, and a bit to have laugh with the OC who is actually... nevermind.
Saludos.