Demon Hunter 202
-Cobalt PoV-
I made sure to transport Neeya and I back to my room in Yokai. I'm glad we could arrive in any room of the castle since the portal was stationed below everything. It was here where I left the transporter and silently opened my window.
Down below, Dennevah and Wendy were circling the grounds. I took a deep breath and saw Neeya gasp as well. We couldn't just jump out the window like we first planned. Luckily the hallway was empty. Though if I stayed in the same place for long, someone would have sensed or smelled me. With that thought I began to run, keeping Neeya in my arms at all times.
It was obviously flooded downstairs with people on the search, so I headed towards the library.
A few minutes later I was there…but so was Dad. I cursed silently to myself. If there's anyone who knew my scent, it was Gajeel Redfox. Though my scent had changed a bit after the trip to Hell. Maybe it was distorted enough to get me past him and to the courtyard. Geez, I've all but blew my chance to ever call him Dad. He'd be so pissed!
Silently waiting, he heads upstairs to find any clues of Kuma and I's wear abouts. With that as my chance, I quickly sprint to the librarian's desk and hide underneath it, not chancing the far run to the courtyard just yet. Instead, I turned to my phone's settings and with the utmost care, set the device on silent. I even turned of the vibration. If I got caught, it was death times ten.
Neeya kept eeirly calm as she snuggled closer to my chest, masking her breath with my shirt. I did the same with the current of the air conditionair. For a few kids, these adults surely underestimated us.
Dad's phone rang and I hear the familiar gruff of a voice answer with a grunt. Luckily, he had put it on speaker.
"Gajeel! You went into Cobalt's room earlier, right?"
It was Dennevah's voice. I use to have a crush on her but it died when her boyfriend, Koga, came back from the Tower of Heaven. I wasn't upset about it, Hell, I was glad he was alive! It made training with the other guards all the more exciting! Right now, he was one of the ones hunting the four of us down.
"Yeah, why?" Dad asked slowly. Knowing him, he had stopped doing whatever task he was doing to turn to the conversation. There was a pause before Dennevah's voice came back on the line.
"Was the window open?"
A pause. "…No."
Suddenly I heard Wendy squeak that it was working. What was working? Now it was Wendy's voice that wafted through the air.
"Gajeel-San! His window is open and his cellphone is back to normal! He's not answering, but it's not the weird voice message. We're going to head up to his room!"
Dad was racing down the stairs, maybe taking four or five at a time by how quick he got to the bottom. "I'll meet you there."
His footsteps stormed past the desk in a frenzy. Did he sound hopeful? Nah, I doubt it. Probably aggravated or something of the like.
Neeya must be a mind reader because she hugged me as hard as she could. "He's so worried about you. Like a father!" She whispered as we get from under the desk.
"Sure, he is."
In Cobalt's room, a shadow took away the transporter he sat on the nightstand and dissappeared.
Erza's PoV
Jellal cautiously walked into Kuma's room, almost hissing at the thick air that seemed to settle in there. He looked around, hazel eyes scanning the perimeter. Mystogan and I followed in, on guard in the seemingly empty room.
"She's been binding secrets in here. A lot. I need to find where all of her emotions bleed out."
Suddenly, Dennevah ran into the room. She was talking in a frenzy, saying something to Mystogan about Cobalt's cellphone being back on when she noticed Jellal. She pointed at him questioningly before shaking her head and dragging Mystogan off. I sighed in worry.
I looked up when a sudden weight fell on my left shoulder. "Do not worry, Erza. We will find her," Jellal assured as he squeezed my shoulder in comfort before returning back to his investigation.
It had been less than two minutes when Jellal spoke back up. "Call one of her friends back in. I dont know her well enough so I can't find a lead."
Nodding, I texted Shinra and Koga, who were downstairs in the courtyard. Shinra immediately replied that they were on the way.
God, where is my baby?!
Cobalt sighed quietly when Shinra told Koga they were heading back upstairs by the request of Erza. He was hiding behind a tall and elaborate basilisk statue.
"…Appearently Erza and Mystogan brought in Jellal."
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah."
Cobalt froze horribly in shock. Holy Crap, he was still alive?! Kuma was going to piss herself if she ever found out about this. They were all royally fucked. With a breath, Cobalt and Neeya scurried off into the woods.
Home free.
-Back to Erza and Jellal-
Jellal sighed wearily as he glanced around the room. How could Kuma breathe in here, let alone hang out and live? The air was thick, thicker than a room being filled with cotton. It was taking everything in him to not pass out. She binded secrets in here. The literal phrase 'what happens here, stays here' was being pushed a bit to far for Jellal's taste. It was obvious whatever secrets she held were deadly to herself. She wanted no one to find out.
Finally, Koga and Shinra appeared, Shinra stepping through the threshold with ease. Kuma must have trusted him with a secret she kept here. For Jellal, it was perfect.
"So why are we here?" Shinra questioned, voice nothing but deep baritones. How a sixteen year old posessed the voice of a grown man was beyond the Incubus.
Jellal could sense this teen was a straight to buisness type of kid. Without skipping a beat, he began his questioning, "I can track down Kuma, but I need a lead. Does she have a habit that harms herself or others here?"
Koga bit his tongue, not exactly the biggest fan of the blue haired ex-wizard saint. "Plenty of habits. Sarcasm, wearing long sleeved shirts. Cursing your name— oh wait. That's me, never mind."
Jellal flinched but stayed calm. "Look, I know I'm not exactly the world's awesomest guy at the moment, but this is about YOUR friend. Not mine. Do you want to find her or not?" The bluette knew he had Koga beat when he stopped talking.
Shinra coughed and look down at the floor, guilt clear in his voice. 'Sorry, Girl.' He thought before placing his hands in his pockets. "She drinks. A lot. Everyday, actually."
Erza grabbed the dresser blindly for support, hurt in her voice. "She said she stopped!"
Shinra kept his eyes glued to the floor. "She did for two months, but then she had a nightmare and drunk even worse than before she quit." His voice ended into a gruff whisper by the end, hurt evident by his posture. It was obvious he worried for the girl, everyone was. Though he grew up with her. Learned Dragon Slaying magic with her. Shared more than a few kisses with her; both on stage and off. He promised their dragon he would protect her, yet she ended up hurt by the man interrogating him at the exact moment.
Jellal sighed, knowing this was hard on all of them. This girl that he abused so long ago meant the world to them. She was their dark star. He sighed. His hazel eyes flashed a dark leafy green in determination and hardened icily. He would find her and bring her back home to this loving family of hers.
"We don't have much time. Does she keep alcohal here?"
In response, Shinra pushed Jellal aside gently from where he stood and kicked open a floorboard sourly. He nodded and stepped back so Jellal could take a look.
Inside were at least ten giant bottles of vodka and two shot glasses. One was without a cap, sticky lip gloss on the neck of the glass bottle. 'Whipped Cream Vodka?' Jellal thought idly. Such a party girl drink. The man focused and transformed into a demon, blue hair now as green as his eyes. Silently, he tuned in to the last thoughts she had with this bottle. Without warning, her voice dug into his mind.
'Such a waste of space. You can't do anything right, can you? You are not strong. You are not cute. You are not a leader. Stop acting like it.' Her voice was vicious and painful to listen to. His heart pumped harder for the girl, his emotions intertwining with her own. He felt tears come to his eyes, knowing they were not his own.
Jellal spoke when Kuma spoke, his deep voice masking over Kuma's feminine one. "I know," in his mind came a softer version of her voice, hypnotic and angelic. "I'm trying my best to—"
'To what?!' Her bad side interfered. 'Make everyone love scum? You constantly lie to your mother. You string all of your friends along when you couldn't give a damn about them and to top it all off, you've been talking to Zeref this entire time. Face it, you're no better than Jellal. So stop playing like the innocent saint.'
Tears were now streaming down his face. He could hear Erza vaugley questioned him if he were in pain so he shook his head. "I'm almost done." He announced sadly, taking a sip from the bottle like Kuma did. He was actually reenacting what she did.
"I have to listen to him. He'll hurt them if I don't."
Shinra froze and shared a look with Erza and Koga, confusion adamant. "Listen to who?" He questioned, glancing back at Jellal who had stood up from his seat. He walked to Kuma's mirror, totally ignoring the other three. He placed his hand on the mirror and paused, setting the bottle onto the dresser. Suddenly he turned towards the corner of the room that would lead to her balcony.
"What do you want?" Jellal/Kuma asked, staring intently at that corner. The room grew colder as he paused once more.
-Through Jellal's eyes-
Kuma leaned against the dresser, wiping away tears. She stared at Zeref with clenched teeth.
"Aw. What's wrong? Do you want Daddy to give you a hug?"
Kuma growled angrily and pulled her hair back in a messy ponytail. "I wish, but he's on a mission at the moment."
Zeref chuckled and walked up to her, swiping the bottle before taking a sip and placing it back down. The girl followed his every move, guard on maximum. She took her own gulp of the burning liquid before biting her tongue anxiously. Zeref sighed and lifted her chin, frowning when she slapped his hand away. "What do you want?"
Zeref smirked and shrugged, "Have you ever thought about going to Hell?"
"That's a low blow. Even for you," Kuma scoffed back, rolling her puffy red eyes. Could the dark wizard not see her emotional state at the moment?
"I don't mean like that, I meant the actual place. There might be something there you might take interest in," He supplied idly, strolling across the room with her Vodka. Zeref pushed back his black fringe with a sadistic smile.
It had caught Kuma's attention. Sniffling, she was back on acting mode. "Like what?"
Zeref shrugged before flopping on her bed. "Weapons, dark magic spells and books… a certain contract you made."
-Snap back into Reality-
Jellal gasped as if he hadnt taken a breath for several minutes. He sucked in viciously, wanting the sweet oxygen that burned his lungs. Without thinking, Jellal ran. He ran downstairs knowing Erza and the two boys were following.
"I know where she is!" He yelled across the house. Practiclly flying down flights of stairs to where the portal lay.
"They traveled down to Hell!"
-Let's check on Kuma-
Finally we had arrived at the tower!
Looking down at my phone Cobalt…sent me a text. Oh no. He and Neeya were caught?! I was so sure he would make it! Who had possibly caught him?! For all I was worth I prayed it wasn't Gajeel. Cobalt didn't see it but everyone else did. Gajeel was his dad. Period. No argument or discussion. You have a father like Gajeel, or even my own, this little sneak out would be the last thing you do untill your fifty. If they were being generous.
"Sting, Rogue. You two should head back. I don't know how severe the punishment will be just because you tagged along."
Sting shook his head. "We're already in deep shit. Might as well stick through to the end."
I glance at Rogue and he nods his agreement. I sighed and nodded, holding a hand out to each brother. They take it and I control the ground to shoot up, taking us up to the only entrance of the tower. An open window. It oddly reminded me of Rapunzel.
Finally arriving, I ushered Sting and Rogue in first to ensure they don't fall to their deaths. After I know they're safe, I hop into the room and gasp at what I saw.
In the room lay a massive mega-king sized bed with a boy laying in it asleep. The boy was facing away from us, thick comforter hiding his frame. Honestly, the only reason I knew it was a guy is beacause of the high amounts of testosterone infecting the air. He must have spent a lot of time here.
I did not recieve anymore directions from Zeref, so I silently step around the bed towards the boy. Sting and Rogue stood back, giving me space. Glancing outside the window, the sky is still as red as we first arrived. The woods seemed like a thick black wall that protected this place with a promise of rare survival.
Quietly I pull back the comforter to see a face. First black hair, then angular sharp eyes with long lashes... a perfect nose... oh no. No. No. No. No. NO! I hadnt even pulled the cover down the whole way because I knew exactly who it was. Without realizing, my fingers shook and I stepped away.
My phone began to ring.
Rogue and Sting's eyes widened in shock. Was Sting's phone working now too? Glancing down at it, it's not who I wanted to talk to at all.
Zeref.
As soon as I answer, I went off, "You didn't tell me this involved Reiga!" I whispered fiercly, seeing the boy I hate stir in his sleep and sighed in content.
"Of course it does. He's the contractor, silly!"
I hang up on his stupid ass. My blood is through the roof. I killed this son of a bitch back at the Tower of Heaven. How is he still alive?! "You two. Go home. Now." I bark and Sting legitimately looks afraid.
"But Nee-San—!"
"Sting, I am not playing with you! You and Rogue need to get out. Now." I hadn't really cared about how loud my voice was, because I knew Reiga knew I was here. As if to prove my point, I feel two arms wrap around my waist and I feel like I was dying all over again. He presses me flush against him and his breath tickles my ear.
"Your brothers can stay, Princess. I must say, it's nice to see you again!"
"Ah, go to sleep, Reiga." I grumble back, somehow thinking about a killer I saw on the internet. He always carved smiles into his victims or whatever. Anyway, Sting and Rogue took a few steps back. I had not moved a single bit since Reiga wrapped his arms around me. I just kept telling them to go home. Rogue and Sting argued for a bit before reaching a conclusion.
"Nee-sama… we will go home now." Rogue informed, making sure Sting left first before following.
It was then where I felt a tear reach down my cheek and onto Reiga's hand.