Chapter 2
Different
"So we've been gone for 7 years?" Fried repeated, his group nodding in disbelief. It had been a few hours since they first arrived at the Guild Hall, and the Thunder Legion had resigned to a corner of the pitiful looking building, trying to get a grasp on all of the information they had been bombarded with.
"It's so hard to believe." Evergreen said, her eyes wandering to the other wizards in the room, noticing similar expressions on their guild mates. Most of them had left the Guild Hall to either explore the town or tie up loose ends, but there were a few stragglers that didn't want to leave. Of those wizards, that included the Thunder Legion.
"I wonder what happened to Kibo." Bickslow said, his babies popping out and repeating her name. Macao walked up to them, getting their attention.
"If you're at all curious…" He spoke, standing at the end of the table. "She's become a fine wizard. In fact, she became one of the strongest wizards in this guild after you all left."
"Since all of your strongest wizards were gone, that's not saying much." Evergreen told him, causing him to laugh.
"I guess you have a point… but she's going to be happy that you're back."
"She was 12 when we left, so she's now… 19?" Fried asked, causing the other two wizards to stare at him with wide eyes.
"No way. She can't be that old. What does that say about me?" Evergreen asked, slumping in her seat and crying.
"You didn't age on the island, so it says nothing about you." Fried said, being ignored by the fairy woman who continued balling her eyes out.
"What kind of magic does she use?" Bickslow asked, looking forward to seeing the girl again. He couldn't even imagine what she looked like now, and some part of him didn't want to, fearing that she turned out like Evergreen in his absence.
"She doesn't really focus on using one magic. She uses a variety of them to compliment her martial arts training." Macao told him, causing the two male wizards to give him a quizzical look.
"Martial arts?" They both asked in surprise.
"Yeah, she had a great teacher from the Mermaid Heel Guild."
"Are you guys talking about Kibo?" Romeo asked, walking up to the group with Natsu behind him. Macao nodded at his son.
"Oh yeah, I guess you two didn't do missions together until after they left…."
"Kibo is probably stronger than Natsu at this point. I've never seen her go all out against an opponent before." Romeo said, smiling knowingly at the spark in Natsu's eye.
He hadn't changed.
"Well where is she? I want to fight her!" Natsu said, ready for the challenge and hands blazing already, itching for a fight. The people he usually fought with had already left, and given the awkward and confusing information he'd been trying to understand ever since he got there, he just wanted something simple: punching, fire, kicking, fire, and more punching.
"She should be back today, if I remember right." The shorter wizard said, trying to think back to last he saw her.
"She was supposed to be back yesterday, but you know her. There's no telling when she'll be back." Macao spoke, sighing.
"So you and Kibo have been getting close, huh?" Bickslow asked Romeo, who was weirded out by the look and tone of his voice. Since the short wizard didn't know him very well 7 years ago, he knew even less about him now, and the fact that he couldn't see the older man's eyes made it even creepier.
"I guess. She's the closest to my age out of everyone in Fairy Tail, so we end up getting paired for missions a lot." He said, trying to act nonchalant and putting his hands in his pockets. "Speaking of which…" Romeo said, he eyes locking on a familiar face by the door.
Everyone turned to look at the Guild Hall entrance, the newly returned guild members not recognizing her, but the others smiling at her arrival.
"You were supposed to be back yesterday." Macao barked at her, causing her to laugh awkwardly and scratch the back of her head. "And did you hurt yourself again?"
"Hey, it's not my fault." She said, grinning at him. "There was a small bunny caught in a bear trap, so I tried to get it out, but it turned out that the trap was a trap for another animal, and well, it took a while to get untrapped." She rambled, and her gaze suddenly landed on the newcomers, her eyes widening.
Bickslow recognized her as soon as she started speaking, but it took him a while to comprehend how much she'd changed. Kibo wasn't a girl anymore, she was a full woman, and a beautiful one at that.
Her hair was longer now, reaching her mid back, and slightly curled. She wore only a small amount of make up, but it was enough to accentuate her big brown eyes and soft pink lips. Her clothes were conservative, to Bickslow's relief, but were stylish and cute. She wore a blue mini skirt, but she also wore black leggings and a green t-shirt with a black vest over it.
Bickslow frowned when he noticed the scratches on her soft pale skin, reaching from her left shoulder to her cheek, and that her left arm was bandaged and in a sling. He felt something odd stir inside him, but had no idea what it was.
"You need to be more careful, Kibo. One of these days you're going to come back in a body bag." Macao scolded her, but she wasn't listening anymore, her brain too focused on their visitors. "One of these days you're going to fall off a cliff from chasing a butterfly."
"You're back." She said simply, a grin encompassing her face.
"I thought you promised you weren't going to do stupid things that get you hurt?" Bickslow asked her, causing her to laugh.
"You haven't changed a bit, have you?" Kibo asked, her eyes watery from laughing so much.
"For them, only a day has passed. They've essentially been frozen for the past 7 years." Macao explained, and she chuckled.
"Of course they have." She said, walking towards them. The Thunder Legion stood up, shocked at her appearance, but still gave her rib-crushing hugs and smiles that warmed her heart.
1.
Bickslow's apartment had been cleaned out in his absence, making him not only broke with no belongings, but also homeless. He'd been with Kibo when he found out, so upon learning he had nowhere else to go, she offered to let him stay at her place for a while.
They'd been talking for hours, sitting on her couch facing each other and speaking animatedly, his 'babies' coming out on occasion and echoing his words. She always loved to see his puppets, ever since the first time they met.
"So I hear you're strong enough to take Natsu down." He finally said, causing her to chuckle awkwardly.
"I don't know about that. Romeo has a tendency to exaggerate my strength."
"If you didn't get injured so often, I'll bet you'd be a lot stronger." He said, commenting on her arm. He was relaxed, sipping at his tea with his legs crossed beneath him, and hadn't felt so comfortable in a long time. When she was younger he had to keep some level of guard up, watching his language and playing the 'big brother' role, but now they only had a couple years difference. They were just two people enjoying a cup of tea together.
Her apartment was quaint. Small, but just the right size for one person. A kitchen, 1 bedroom, bathroom, and living room. The decorations were antique and tribal looking, appearing to date back hundreds of years. He could smell the faint scent of incense.
"I don't really care about being strong… just strong enough to protect the people I care about." She said, blushing and looking down at the mug in her hands. They had both changed into comfier clothes, consisting of sweat pants and loose t-shirts. Since his belongings were gone, he had to borrow the clothes from her. He wondered in the back of his mind if they were her boyfriend's, since they were obviously way too large for her, but decided not to ask.
"It must have been tough when we all disappeared." He commented, and she looked down again.
"Yeah… it sucked." She said bluntly, looking up at him again. "I had a crush on you back then, to make it worse."
"Evergreen told me. I felt really bad about it." He admitted, causing her to laugh. She seemed to do that a lot, even after all these years, and he couldn't help but love the sound of it.
"And I thought I was so great at hiding it."
"Well, you were twelve." He reminded her. "You should have seen me at that age. I flirted with every girl within a 10 mile radius."
She smiled, trying to imagine him as a 12 year old without the tattoos, died hair, and radioactive looking eyes. It was proving difficult, only resulting in a mental image of a little 12 year old boy with crazier tattoos, hair, and eyes.
He had planned not to ask her, but given the topic in conversation, decided to bring it up. "So have you been seeing anyone?"
"Dating?" She asked, and shook her head. "No, I don't really date."
"At all?" He asked, surprised.
"You sound surprised."
"Well, I figured with having guy clothes, you've at least had a boyfriend or two. But no dating at all?"
"I've had a friend or two crash on my couch, and a few of them have left some articles of clothing, but I've never hooked up with anyone. I mean, sure I've gone out on a few dinner dates… but I've never really met someone that I liked enough to have a relationship with." She explained, suddenly feeling awkward.
"It's not because of me, is it?"
"Tch," She snorted. "If it was, it would make things easier." She said, suddenly sour and looking out the dark window.
The awkward memory of past attempts to have sex came to mind, and she couldn't help but frown. Because of her sensitivity to other people's bodies, she could literally sense everything that was happening in their bodies, and it was distracting to say the least. Digesting food, organs pumping blood, bones squeaking against cartilage…. When she added her own arousal into the mix, it caused her magic to act out of her control and cause her partner pain.
She couldn't even get passed kissing before she lost control.
"Someone didn't try to take advantage of you, did they?" He asked, confused by her suddenly change in demeanor, going from light hearted and happy to sad and angry so quickly.
"No, nothing like that." She assured him, trying to push the memories to the back of her mind. "Are you going to start dating now that you've returned?"
"Once I get my own place, probably." He said with a shrug. "I worked so often in the past, most girls dumped me for being away all the time. But it was nice to come home to someone."
"That does sound nice."
"So… you don't date at all?" He asked again, causing a sweat drop to form on her head.
"Why is that so hard for you to understand?"
"Because you're hot." The wizard said, causing her to laugh. "How are guys not climbing all over you?"
"I never said I don't have offers." She said with a smile. "I just don't enjoy dating." Kibo said with a shrug, finally setting her empty mug down on the coffee table.
"How do you not enjoy getting free food and sex?"
"Can we just drop it?"
"No, because now I have to know. I am genuinely confused." Bickslow said, copying her and setting his mug on the table next to hers. He fixed his posture, shifting slightly to lean forward and continue his questioning. "I've met ugly people that don't like dating, I've met attractive people that enjoy dating, but I've never met an attractive person that didn't like dating to at least some extent."
"It's just not fun for me." She shrugged, her face beat red at his inquisitive nature. He had never been so forward with her before, and she wasn't sure if he was aware of how close he was getting to her, or doing it on purpose just to see her reaction.
"Have you tried dating girls? Maybe you're gay."
"I've dated guys, girls, and even a transsexual."
"And nothing? You felt nothing with them?"
"I didn't say that."
"So what about dating don't you like?"
"A-all of it." She stammered, for once trying to focus on the inside of his body to distract her, but finding it strangely complimentary to her feelings. The sound of his heart pumping blood to the rest of his organs and the overall natural sound of his body calmed her nerves, making her feel as safe as she used to feel in his arms.
"What are you thinking about right now?" He asked, noticing her eyes glaze over and focus on his shoulder, probably trying to ignore their proximity.
He was cruel sometimes, and he knew it, but he had a nagging curiosity about her. He wanted to be close to her, and although he acknowledged that part of it was attraction, part of it was just being comfortable around the young girl. To him, she was still a little girl he found in the forest and took home.
Despite his fondness for her, he used her crush on him to his advantage. He was very purposeful in his movements and words, his eyes locked on specific body parts that would indicate if she was attracted to him or not, and whether she was lying. In his previous relationships, he'd been accused of being manipulative and evil for doing things like this, but he enjoyed it too much to stop.
When he'd gotten to a certain point, he watched her shut down. Her body relaxed, her breathing started to slow, and her eyes wouldn't look at his. "What are you thinking about right now?" He asked again, leaning back slightly so that his face was only a foot away from hers, and keeping his voice low and smooth.
"Do you like pizza?" She asked, grinning, and causing him to blink at her in surprise.
"You're thinking about pizza?" He asked in disbelief, baffled by her change in topic.
"There's an awesome place, Pizzario's, that does delivery. They opened up a few months ago and they have awesome pepperoni pizza."
2.
"You two seem close." Evergreen commented, referring to him and Kibo, causing Bickslow to shrug.
"She's letting me crash at her place until I raise enough money to rent another apartment."
"At least you're not in debt." Evergren cried, thinking back to her massive debt with the girl's dormitory that she lived at. Just like the other girls that had disappeared for 7 years, they all owed rent for the time they were gone, and each of them had been fighting each other to get the high paying jobs.
As soon as she started crying, Bickslow's attention turned to Fried, who was also upset but at least had the decency to not cry about it. "Luckily, my stuff was put in a storage locker, but to get access to it I have to pay the bill…"
"You're homeless too, then?" Bickslow asked, and he nodded.
"I had enough money on me to rent a hotel room last night, but Macao is letting me stay with him until I get enough money to afford a new apartment. Apparently some of the other guild members are in the same situation."
"I've never seen the job wall so empty before." Bickslow commented, sad that he had slept in that morning instead of getting here earlier to grab a flyer.
"The guild hasn't been getting as much work since we left, and with the influx of wizards, it makes sense that jobs would be scarce."
"Kibo left super early this morning to get a job flier… now I see why." Bickslow slumped over the table, annoyed at having nothing to do.
3.
"The chef dropped a kitchen knife on your foot? How are you not in agonizing pain? You're not even limping!" Bickslow asked, nearing the end of his long lecture. Kibo had started ignoring him somewhere after the first minute of his speech, and after 5 minutes of his rambling about her safety, she was thinking about what to have for dinner again. "I don't even think you're really injured. You're just doing it for attention." He said, staring at her, and glaring when he noticed that she wasn't paying attention any more. It had been almost 10 minutes now, and they were close to her home, where she was planning to cook the fish in her fridge.
To see if she really did have an injured foot, he stepped on it, causing her to cry out and fall sideways, hitting her head on a trashcan.
"What the hell was that about!?" She asked, sitting on the ground with her hand on her forehead and glaring at him. There was a small cut there, and when Bickslow kneeled over and moved her hand, saw that it was bleeding.
"I thought you were lying about the foot thing."
"Well, now you opened up my stitches. Thanks." She said, referring to her shoe now slowly soaking up blood. Bickslow's face turned white beneath his helmet, not expecting so much blood. The fact that she wasn't crying or showing any sign of pain was unnerving and confused him as well, since he'd never met a woman other than Erza that wouldn't complain about a minor injury. "I have a high tolerance for pain." She answered before he could ask, and tried to stand up, but then gasped in surprise when he picked her up bridal style. "Put me down."
"Nah. You shouldn't be walking on that foot."
"I told you, I have a high tolerance for pain. It's not that far to my apartment, anyway."
"Then you shouldn't be bothered by my carrying you the short distance."
"Put me down." She repeated, but he just stuck his tongue out at her, showing off his Fairy Tail symbol and continuing to walk in their original direction.
Kibo's eyes suddenly locked with a man passing by them on the street.
Her breath caught in her throat.
It couldn't be him.
His green eyes had flashed in her direction for only an instant, but she was sure that it was him. It had been 20 years, but she was sure that it was his eyes.
Before she could jump out of Bickslow's arms to chase after him, she turned her head and realized he was gone, unable to sense him anymore. She sniffed the air, trying to catch his scent, but his disappearance was just as quick as his appearance.
"You okay?" Bickslow asked, noticing the woman looking around them, as if searching for someone.
"I thought…" She started to say, but stopped herself. Saying that she saw her brother's ghost sounded crazy even in her head. "I thought I saw someone I recognized."
"Oh? Who?"
"It wasn't them, so it's not important. How do you feel about mac n cheese?"
"You really like food, don't you?"
4.
"Wendy! Where's Wendy!?" Fried yelled as he entered the Guild Hall, causing everyone to look up from what they were doing and stare at him, gasping at the scene before them. "Evergreen was hurt badly. I found her in the park like this." The wizard spoke, carrying his unconscious comrade on his arm. With the help of the other wizards, they set her down on an empty table and cleared enough space for Wendy to look at her.
Bickslow and Fried were at her side, shock and anger filling them, watching their close friend lie bleeding to death on the table.
"What happened?!" Many people asked, and were met with few answers. Fried didn't know anything about the attack, other than it involved blades, as there had been several in the area he had found her.
"Her heart stopped!" Wendy said, moving her hands from hovering above the woman's chest cavity to giving compressions.
"Is she going to be okay!?" Bickslow asked, watching the small girl work, a panicked expression on her face.
Wendy tilted Evergreen's head back and breathed into her mouth, using her wind magic to amplify the usefulness of her technique, and then go back to chest compressions.
Kibo watched, her eyes wide, able to sense the life slipping away from the woman's body.
She was like a sister to her.
She couldn't let her die.
But she's promised to never use her magic again….
After a second of debating with herself, heart beating wildly in her chest, Kibo finally ran forward, pushing people out of the way, including Wendy. "Kibo-" Bickslow started to say, but stopped when he say her hands glowing.
"Blood magic healing technique: circulation," She said, causing Evergreen's body to start twitching and shaking. "Seal." She said after a second, causing all the blood that had left her body to return to it, causing the surrounding wizards to jump back in surprise, and after a few more seconds the woman's eyes shot open and mouth gaped open.
Kibo gently pressed her hand against her shoulder, keeping her flat.
"I know it's scary, and it hurts, but you'll be okay." Kibo spoke, but her words were drowned out by the screams of the fairy woman, who felt her skin literally being sewn back together and ancient blood magic coursing through her veins.
After about a minute, Evergreen fell unconscious, but her breathing and heart began slowing down to a normal pace. The Guild Hall became eerily quiet, only the sounds of panting and rapid breaths filling the tense air.
"Where did you learn that, Kibo?" Wendy asked after a moment, looking up at the woman in surprise. "That's more advanced than anything that I learned."
"Is she going to be okay?" Fried asked Wendy, still shaking from the earlier events. Evergreen's shrieks and yells from only moments ago had shaken everyone to the core, making them silent and wide eyed. Wendy looked at Kibo for an answer to Fried's question, since she wasn't the one to heal her.
"She'll be fine." The wizard finally spoke, one of her glowing hands still hovering over her belly while the other pressed firmly against her shoulder. "She's almost fully healed, and even though she'll be a bit sore for the next day… she'll live."
"Since when do you know healing magic, Kibo?" Macao asked, causing her to look up at him. "That was amazing what you just did…"
"I don't plan to use this magic ever again. Wendy is the healer, not me." She said, and after another moment, removed her hands from Evergreen's body.
"You're not tired?" Wendy asked, noticing that the woman didn't look drained after using the spell.
"Good job." Bickslow said, wrapping his arm around and pulling her close, so that he could ruffle her hair. "That's the Thunder Legion for you."
5.
As soon as they got home, she hid in her room, sitting in the corner and covering herself in blankets and pillows. She covered her ears, trying not to sense so many things at once, but it did little to help.
She could sense everyone in the building, and it was driving her insane. Digesting stomachs, chemical reactions, beating hearts, lungs absorbing oxygen, sexual organs swelling, cartilage cracking, joints twisting-
"Oi, you okay?" Bickslow asked, knocking on her door. Her heart beat wildly in her chest, being able to sense him better than anyone else, given their proximity. The seith mage had accompanied her home, and after the silent walk, had closed the front door behind them. After a minute of not hearing anything, he pulled his hood off and leaned against the door frame to her room.
He was dehydrated. Stress chemicals were flowing through him.
"If you feel bad for not telling us, we're not mad or anything. When we met you, we figured that you had some skeletons in your closet that you wouldn't tell us about. It's okay."
She felt overwhelmed.
His heart was beating faster. His breathing was slow.
His babies were flying near him, and repeated the words 'it's okay'.
"Can you say something? I'm worried about you."
"Worried, worried," His babies echoed. "Why are you hiding?"
Silence.
"Come on," He said, and banged his head against the wall.
She always talked to him.
Always.
Even when she was upset with him, she still talked to him, and they always worked it out. It's like she couldn't not talk to him; even something as stupid as the weather, when she was a kid, she would always talk to him. To the point of being annoying as hell, she couldn't shut up around him.
And she always had a smile on her face, even if it was just bubbling beneath the surface, waiting for a reason to come out and shine.
"Worried, worried," The babies echoed.
After another minute of silence, he finally twisted her door knob, walking into the dark room. Despite the darkness, he could see her soul hiding in the corner, covered in blankets and pillows.
He found the light switch, lighting up the room so that he could see her better.
The room was a lot less decorated for the living room, but on her dresser, he saw a picture from 7 years ago. It was of the Thunder Legion, a selfie version using his old camera.
"You still have this." He commented, temporarily distracted by the old photo. "That was a fun day."
She squeezed her eyes further shut, still hiding beneath the blankets, and pressed her hands harder against her ears.
Her 'sense' didn't rely soley on her ears, eyes, or even nose for that matter. It was another sense entirely, involving her magic that she couldn't shut off.
But the closer he got, the more she could feel.
"Are you asleep?" He asked, taking a seat in front of her.
She tried to take a calming breath.
Relax.
The grip on her ears relaxed, her eyes blinked open, despite still being covered. Light was causing the white sheet to glow.
"You're not naked under there, are you?"
"No." She muttered, causing the wizard to smile.
"Finally, something. I was worried that you'd died under there or something."
"Worried, worried," His babies, echoed.
Bickslow was calm.
She tried to emulate it. Copy his slow breathing, relaxed limbs….
"I… haven't used the spell in a long t-time." She stuttered after a minute.
"I'm guessing that it has some kind of side effect?" He asked. He'd actually wondered if that was the case earlier, and was why he was being extra pushy with getting information from her, to make sure that she was physically okay. Well, part of the reason. Every time she shut him down, for whatever the reason, he had the inexplicable urge to go out of his way to open the door again and find out what she was hiding.
She started shifting beneath the blankets, and pulled them down, revealing her face to him.
"Your eyes are red." He commented, smiling. "That's it? You don't like using the spell because it changes your eye color?"
She smiled, chuckling. "I didn't even know it did that."
"Well, now you match the rest of the Thunder Legion." He said, loving the sight of her smile again.
"You're pushy." She commented.
"And you're extra secretive. You used to tell me everything."
"You mean back when I was twelve and had a crush on you?" She asked, and he nodded.
"Yeah! Go back and be twelve again."
"I think it would be just as easy for you to go back in time to when you left."
"But I said it first." He said, and bopped her on the nose, causing her to scrunch up her face at him.
6.
"What if I took you out on a date?" He asked as they entered the Guild Hall, which was already packed full of wizards scrambling to get a flier from the wall. Fights were already starting, although with Fairy Tail, there was no telling if it was about the limited jobs or just for fun.
"Would you drop it? I don't like dating, alright?"
"I promise to be a gentleman, no funny business. I'll pay for dinner and everything, all you have to do is show up and have fun."
"You're broke, how are you going to pay for anything?" She asked, causing him to stammer and scratch his head as she went ahead and started looking on the board for jobs. "Seriously? All of them gone?"
"What!?" Evergreen screeched in her ear, causing her to jump from the loud sound. "I got up at the break of dawn only to have all of the jobs taken already!?"
"What have you been doing since the 'break of dawn'? That was hours ago." Kibo asked, frowning as she rubbed her sore ear.
"I don't just wake up this beautiful." She said, flipping her hair back and posing.
"Well, while you're being 'pretty', I'm going to head over to Mermaid Heel and see if I can get a gig with them."
"'Mermaid Heel'?" She asked, blinking at her.
"It's an all women guild. My teacher is in it, so they sometimes throw me a job if they're overbooked." She explained, causing the woman to get a creepy look in her eye.
"Introduce me! I need work!" She yelled, grabbing Kibo's shoulders and shaking her wildly.
"We can do that? Go to other guilds for work?" Lucy asked Gray, both of whom had overheard the conversation between the two women.
"Kibo has a special situation." Macao spoke, answering the blond. "Most guilds won't let you do work with them unless you have their emblem, but since Kibo was specially trained by their Guild Master, she'll sometimes do jobs with them when there's nothing worthwhile here."
1.
"Hey Romeo, do you know what kind of guys Kibo has dated?" Bickslow asked, walking over to the youngester's table and sitting down, completely interrupting his conversation with Warren.
"Why do you want to know?" He retorted, crossing his arms and looking at the older wizard skeptically.
"I want to set her up on a date with an awesome guy, but I don't know what type she goes for."
"That's not a good idea." Warren told him, slightly annoyed at having their conversation interrupted so abruptly. "She hates dating."
"Yeah, but do you know why?"
"No, she's pretty vague about it." The telepath admitted.
"Neither do I. She won't tell me."
"So why set her up?" Romeo asked, confused by him.
"She's like a little sister to me, and I want her to be happy. So I'm going to set her up with an awesome guy that will make her happy."
"She gets asked out all the time, and always turns them down. I don't think that's going to work." Warren said, and Bickslow looked at him, suddenly wondering why he knew so much about her. He understood why Romeo would, since they were close in age, but Warren was at least 10 years older than her.
"How do you know so much about her?"
"I have been working with her for 7 years. We've done a lot of jobs together."
"And that's all?"
"Fine… I may have asked her out, and she shot me down. She was really nice about it, though."
"So your opinion is biased." Bickslow stated, causing the telepath to sulk.
"What about you? Have you ever asked her out?"
"Me? No, of course not! Girls are gross." He said, his cheeks slightly red at the accusation.
"Good. You're not biased. Now tell me everything you know about everyone she's ever dated."
"You're really creepy, dude."
2.
"Your date with Natsu is in one hour." Bickslow announced, causing the woman to look up at him in surprise, not expecting such exuberance upon entering her apartment. The man was standing there, a dress in his hand, and staring at her as she closed the front door behind her.
"The dragonslayer?"
"Yeah, now move, move, move," He said, grabbing her and rushing her into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. When he realized he'd forgotten to actually hand her the dress, he opened the door again, threw it at her, and then closed it again. "Get in the shower already, woman. You've got 58 minutes left."
"But I don't want to go out on a date."
"Do you want to make Natsu cry? Because if you don't show up, he's going to cry."
"I don't think I've ever seen him cry."
"Well, if you stand him up, he will. Now come on, Lucy has had all day to prepare him for this date, and you only have 57 minutes. Hop, hop." He clapped, smirking when he heard the water running over her annoyed grunts and mumbling.
3.
"So, uh… How's it going, Natsu?" She asked awkwardly, standing next to him in a cute red and black dress. He was dressed in a surprisingly nice pair of black slacks and button-down shirt, along with clean looking face and hair. She didn't recall him ever looking so… clean.
Even his skin was shiny.
"It's going good… uh…" He said, awkwardly trying to remember her name.
"My name is Kibo."
"Right. I knew that. I guess we should get going." The pink-haired boy said, and started walking towards the direction of the restaurant, the brunette at his side.
"So what do we have planned?"
"Dinner, movie… walk in the park?" He asked, and she smiled.
"Sounds like fun. What movie?"
"Um…" He dug into the pocket of his pants, pulling out two movie tickets. "Lucy picked it out…. 'Juliet +'. It's a romantic comedy." He said, and then put the tickets back in his pocket.
"Do you like those kinds of movies?"
"Not really, but I can watch pretty anything and be entertained to some extent." He said with a shrug, causing her to chuckle.
"Personally, I'm a fan of horror films. Have you seen the new 'Jeepers Creepers' movie?"
"It's already out!?" He exclaimed, eyes wide.
"It premiered last night." She said, happy at his exuberant nature.
"We should- I mean, uh… Do you want to see it? We could probably trade in these movie tickets for it, unless you really want to see this movie, which-"
"Let's go see Jeepers Creepers." She interrupted him, causing him to grin from ear to ear.
"Ya know, I thought this was going to be boring from the way Lucy described it, but you seem okay, Biko."
"'Kibo'." She corrected. "You've been on dates before, right?"
"No, not really. I never really saw the point in them."
"I'm your first date, huh? I'm honored." She said, and intertwined their arms together for their nightly stroll to the restaurant.
"You know we're being followed, right?" He whispered quietly in her ear, and she laughed, nodding.
4.
"I can't see anything!"
"Shh, they'll hear us!"
"Get your hand away from there!" Lucy whispered, albeit loudly, before punching him in the back of the head.
"I can't believe Natsu is going out on a date." Erza said nearby, and the other wizards hiding in the bushes nodded.
"Our little guy is growing up." Gray added.
"You guys are creepy." Romeo told them.
"You're one to talk." Lucy snapped back. "Aaaw, they're locking arms!"
"Sounds like they're seeing Jeepers Creepers tonight." Gajeel said, causing Lucy to turn and stare at him with a terrified expression.
"That's a horrible date movie! What the hell is Natsu thinking?!"
"Shhh!"
"You 'shhhhhhhhh'!"
5.
They sat in the dark movie theater, and although they tried to focus on the movie, the eyes of their entire guild were boring holes into the back of their heads, making it extremely uncomfortable.
"I'm going to get a snack… do you want anything?" Kibo asked Natsu, who looked up at her just as a character screamed and hurt his sensitive ears.
"Refill?" He asked, smiling and handing her his empty bowl of popcorn.
"I'll be right back." She whispered, and awkwardly left the movie theater, ignoring the Fairy Tail wizards that tried to hide their positions and blend into the darkness. When she reached the lit hallway, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. It was a medium sized theater, floor and walls various shades of bright red, and movie posters on each wall.
This was, by far, the most stressful date she'd ever been on. She liked Natsu, he was cute and energetic and had a good heart, but the constant eyes of all their friends and comrades made it awkward as hell.
"Refill, please."
"One dollar." He said, and she pulled out the money, along with extra for gummy worms.
The thought occurred to her, that she had never really hung out with a dragonslayer before. She'd always avoided them, thinking that if they were raised by dragons, they'd be like the dragon that attacked her village.
But Natsu seemed nice.
He didn't have an evil bone in his body. Violent and energetic as hell, but not mean.
When the man handed her the popcorn, she looked up at him, and her eyes widened. She blinked, trying to register if it was the same man she saw in the street the other day. "You… look a lot like someone I know."
"Your brother, perhaps?" He asked, smiling. His dark hair was slicked back, his green eyes shining brilliantly at her, and a cocky smirk tugged at his lips. "You know, I used to have a sister… she ended up being a filthy dragonslayer. You wouldn't be her, would you?"
She felt a shiver run down her spine, the sliminess of his words making her shudder. "My mistake." She said quickly, grabbed the popcorn and gummy worms, and walked quickly back to the movie.
When she sat down, she handed the popcorn to him, and stared blankly at the screen, her mind racing. She didn't even notice Natsu stretch and put an arm around her shoulders.
It took her about ten minutes to realize that he was so close to her, and she only noticed it because of his body heat.
You know, I used to have a sister… she ended up being a dragonslayer. The words echoed and repeated in her mind, and she started to wonder if she had imagined the entire thing.
Even as the credits started rolling, she was just sitting there, staring at the screen. "You okay?" Natsu asked, waving a hand in front of her face. "Biko?" He asked, and she finally snapped out of her daze to look at him. "The movie's over."
"Oh… what did you think of it?"
"I liked the first one better." He said with a shrug, and she smiled uneasily. "You seemed kind of… out of it, when you got back from getting popcorn."
"Sorry." She apologized, and blushed when they realized how close their faces were.
He stood up, removing his arm from her, but reaching his hand to her instead.
"Do you want to go home, or go for a walk…?"
"A walk sounds nice." She said, smiling, and accepted his hand.
As they left the theater, she kept an eye out for her brother, but couldn't find him. Now that it was so late, there was no one at the concession stand, and everyone was either leaving or cleaning up the theater.
He was warm on the cold night, so she found herself walking particularly close to him. Just like him, she could hear the whispers and sounds of their guild, and would sometimes giggle when they said something funny. Natsu caught on pretty quick that she could hear them too, but instead of ruining it for the both of them, they silently decided to mess with their friends as much as possible.
"We should fight." Natsu announced loudly, causing Lucy to panic and have to be held down by Bickslow and Elfman.
"How about another time? This dress isn't good for fighting. How about we make out instead?" She asked, causing the guys to gasp at her forwardness and cheer Natsu on. Their eyes were locked, and it was already becoming difficult to stay in character.
"Nah, these clothes aren't very good for making out." The pink-haired man replied, looking down at his clothing, and causing all of their friends to freak out.
"What about sex? That requires no clothes. Problem solved." She stated simply.
Even more reactions resulted. They didn't even need their good hearing to know that they were there now, but they both continued the game nonetheless, acting like they couldn't hear them. "Sure, but I've never done it before… will you be gentle?"
"Sorry, I only do rough. Guess that plan is shot."
"Darn."
For the people that were catching on to what they were doing, it was hilarious to watch the other guild members react so strongly to their conversation, namely Lucy and Bickslow, who had set them up. Erza was one of the few that was believing the conversation, and she was close to jumping out and beating the crap out of both of them.
"Does Natsu even know what sex is?" Gray suddenly asked the others, and the wizards froze, unsure if he did.
"Of course he does. He's a man." One of them argued, and for a minute they all bickered, trying to figure out if anyone had confirmed he knew or not.
"Uh, guys, they're gone." Gajeel pointed out a few minutes later, causing the wizards to further freak out and panic.
6.
"I wish I could have seen their faces." Kibo laughed when they were a good distance away, having run a good half mile before stopping. Natsu was laughing, too, holding his stomach as he bent forward.
"That-was-great." He said between laughs.
"So Lucy pushed you into this date, huh?"
"Yeah. She got really into it, too. I think she had a heart attack when I mentioned fighting you."
"I think our entire guild had a heart attack. Did you hear Bickslow's scream when I mentioned sex? I almost broke character a few times back there."
"So you and Bickslow, huh? Romeo mentioned you had a crush on him back in the day." He asked, beginning to calm down from the running and laughter, but a smile remained on his face. They were alone for the first time all night, and as they started walking again, they found the other's presence comfortable.
"Yeah, I used to like him… but he's been so weird since he got back. I can't tell if he likes me, wants to be my big brother, or just play mind games on me."
"The guy creeps me out personally, but he's also a member of Fairy Tail. He's a good guy."
"Anyone in Fairy Tail is automatically a good guy in your book?"
"Well, except Gray. He's an ass hole." He said, causing her to laugh.
"So are you and Lucy a thing?"
"Who the hell knows." He said, waving his arms exasperatedly. "She somehow loses her clothes on every mission, shoves her boobs in my face and then yells at me for being a pervert, wants to do every mission with me, but then at the end of the day she claims to have no interest in me. And then she sets me up with you."
"Why are people so weird?" She asked him, causing him to laugh.
"Maybe Lucy and Bickslow should hook up, and they'll realize just how weird and confusing they are." He said, and they both laughed at the mental image, trying to picture them together.
"Can I ask you something?" She asked suddenly, and they both heard the group of wizards nearby, finding them again.
"Yeah, sure."
"You were raised by a dragon, right?"
"Yeah, Igneel. He's basically my dad."
"What was he like?" She asked, and he hummed, recalling his childhood.
"He was tough, but he was also nice, caring… an overall great dad." He said, grinning from ear again, a softness on his features. "I miss him."
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know." He said with a shrug. "All of the dragons disappeared on the same day, July 7th." After a few minutes of walking in silence, he reached out and held her hand, causing their friends to swoon and coo at them. "Have you ever met a dragon?"
"Once…" She said, and took her hand away, putting it back in her pocket. Her gaze met the starry night sky above them. "The one I met wasn't as nice as yours, though."
"Natsu, abort topic, abort topic. I repeat, abort." Bickslow whispered, causing the others to hush him. Natsu overheard his pleas, but didn't know what to make of it, wondering why Kibo had suddenly started looking so sad.
"He was a blood dragon, and he killed my entire village."
"What?" He asked, stopping. "A blood dragon?"
"He used the villagers as puppets to worship him. When he was done, he slaughtered them." She said, her voice soft.
"I'm so sorry." He said, looking at the ground.
"It was a long time ago. I'm sorry for making things awkward."
"Don't worry about it. I love awkward." He said, instantly cheering up and putting his hands behind his head. "Are you sure you don't want to fight?"
7.
"'Sex requires no clothes, problem solved!'!" Bickslow quoted after Natsu had left, causing the woman to grin. "Do you offer sex to every guy on the first date!?"
"I wish I had a tape recorder for your reaction. It was priceless."
"You did that just to mess with me!?" He yelled, waving his arms in the air animatedly.
"Well yeah. You guys weren't exactly subtle. What, was the entire guild there?" She asked as she made her way to her bedroom, ready to change into pajamas for the night.
"Did you have a good time, at least?" Bickslow asked, trying to calm down as the door to her room closed. His arms were crossed, foot tapping, and electrifying eyes locked on a nearby statue of an elephant.
"Yeah, Natsu's a nice guy. "
"Would you go on a second date with him?"
"I told you, I don't like dating."
"But you just said you had a great time with him!"
"I also said that I don't like dating. Why are you obsessed with getting me laid?"
"Sex isn't the only thing that results from dating. You also find a person that you can connect with on an emotional level, feel safe around, and share your life with them." He explained, causing the woman to pause after slipping into her pajama pants. "I don't want you to miss out on love."
"I didn't know you were such a romantic." She admitted after a moment, regaining her thoughts and continuing to change.
"Don't get me wrong, sex is great, oh man is it great…" He said, and his sentence drifted off, causing her to scoff. "But, uh, it's not the only thing that matters."
Her thoughts, for the first time since the movie, wandered back to her brother at the theater. 'Did I imagine that…?' She silently wondered, putting away the dress that Bickslow had chosen for her. When she went to put it back in the closet, however, she found that most of her clothes were on the floor.
"Why are all my clothes on the floor, Bickslow?"
"I had to find you the perfect outfit for tonight, and that required looking at your every article of clothing."
"Natsu's right. You are creepy."
"Oh come on, don't be like that. If I was a girl, it wouldn't be weird at all."
"What makes it weird is that you went through my clothes without me here, and without my permission." She explained, and finally opened her bedroom door, stepping forward only to walk into the large man's chest. Her face was red as she pushed him back.
"Sorry. Ice cream?" He asked, suddenly holding up a small container of ice cream, and causing her to give him a weird look. "What, you loved ice cream as a kid. Don't be mad at me? Please?" Bickslow pleaded, and his babies repeated his plea as he did puppy dog eyes, and to make it worse, his bottom lip quivered.
"Fine. Give me the ice cream."
"You forgive me?"
"Yes, I forgive you."
"Woohoo!" He cheered, and pulled her into a hug, smothering her through the annoyed sounds she was making in attempt to escape.