Kibo of the Thunder Legion Chapter 5, a fairy tail fanfic

Author's note: Thank you everyone for the faves, follows, and reviews! And sorry for the delayed update! ^^

Chapter 5

O' Death

The ice cold hands of death gripped her soul,

Skeleton hands slipped through the cracks of her chest and plunged

Blades that she once called friends held her close.

Blood flowed freely from her open wounds

Screams scratched the night air

Scarring the ears of anyone that heard.

The bones scraped against her own,

Ground to dust,

Flesh torn apart like paper.

She looked down, her wide brown eyes watching in curiosity as the skeleton's hand delved deeper into her chest cavity, while the other cupped the side of her face. When her gaze slowly crawled up the arm of her assailant, the metallic bones shining ominously against the full moon, she eventually locked eyes with pure darkness within empty eye sockets.

"I am death. I am the reaper of Skeleton Village." The metal skeleton spoke, the only color being the blood of his current victim that sprayed across him. "I am your brother, the spirit of vengeance."

The spell caused blades to pierce through her entire body, emerging everywhere from her feet to her head, causing instant death.

"Your evil shall no longer walk this Earth."

Kibo stood there, her corpse held up by the skeleton's hand and the tree that slowly began enveloping her.

The few days earlier….

"Why do you let that guy push you around so much?" Romeo asked one day, enjoying a nice meal with his friends. The group, consisting of non-Tenrou Island wizards, was only four people, and the entire Guild Hall was scarce for mages at the moment. Most of the wizards were off working, and ever since the festival, there were plenty of jobs available.

Kibo looked up from her sandwich, not surprised by the question. Ever since the Thunder Legion came back, she'd been doing many missions with them rather than the people she usually worked with. Specifically, she'd been spending a lot of time with Bickslow, who tended to rub people the wrong way. Figuratively and literally.

"It's all in good fun." She said with a shrug. "He's a nice guy when you get to know him."

"He's creepy." Warren stated, causing her to smile awkwardly.

"So are most wizards before you get to know them."

"But… he's creepy." Romeo emphasized. "And he's not even that attractive."

"It's not like I'm dating him. He was like a big brother when I first came to Fairy Tail…. Actually, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the Thunder Legion. I would still be living in the woods."

"You used to live in the woods?" Droy asked between bites of his massive lunch.

"Yeah. After… well, I uh, spent most of my childhood alone in the forest. I stumbled across the Thunder Legion one day, and they took me to Makarov, who said I could join Fairy tail."

"So you put up with Bickslow because he found you wandering in the woods as a kid?" Romeo clarified.

"He's really not that bad… annoying as hell sometimes, but he has a good heart." She said with a smile.

"So does Natsu. When are you going out with him again?" He asked, causing her to laugh and for Warren to shake his head.

"Natsu is in love with Lucy, Romeo. They're practically married."

"No way. Kibo and Natsu would be a way cuter couple. Plus, they've actually gone out on a date." Romeo defended, and Kibo couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"How many missions have Natsu and Kibo been on together, though? Lucy has him wrapped around her finger."

"No way, Natsu just likes her as a friend."

The conversation continued for quite a while, as if the young wizard wasn't even there, so she found herself daydreaming about Bickslow.

The youngest wizard of Fairy Tail, Romeo, managed to set up a job for Natsu and Kibo to do. Although Kibo couldn't figure out the details, apparently he'd accepted a job on behalf of a larger group that including the pair, and then at the last minute 'everyone bailed'.

It was a simple job. Stay in a haunted house all night, and if they saw or heard any ghost activity, to write it down in a journal and give it to the home owner. The owner, a man by the name of Carrol, was having various men and women stay in the house in order to determine if the house was haunted or not.

It was a pretty nice house- well, mansion. It was three stories tall, and wasn't quite large enough to be classified as a mansion, was still big. Well furnished, fairly stocked kitchen- the only downside was the dust and musty smell.

"Gotta hand it to Romeo. For a set up, he did a pretty good job." Kibo complimented as they entered the house, Natsu closing the door behind them before standing in the main hallway with her.

"Eh." He said with a shrug. "I'm hungry." The dragonslayer said, and made a beeline for the kitchen.

"I'm going to walk around for a bit." She said, and started exploring. The backpack on her back would become a nuisance soon, so she dumped it in the living room on her way to the rest of the house.

In the corner of her eye she saw a flash, but when she turned to look at it, nothing was there.

This occurrence kept happening through the night, and she started to wonder if there was simply something wrong with her eye sight.

"How's the food?" She asked after an hour of exploring, trying to ignore the creepy flashes in the corners of her eyes. Even though it felt like someone was watching her, she couldn't smell anyone there, nor sense any physical bodies.

Natsu was smiling, flashing his signature grin at her. "Awesome!"

"Is there any left?"

"Uuhh…" He scratched the back of his head and looked at the ceiling, trying to remember if there was any food he saw and didn't eat.

"It's okay, I already ate and I brought snacks." She told him, making him relax a bit. "Have you seen any ghost activity?"

"Ghosts? Oh yeah… nope." He replied, looking full and content while the pile of dishes in the sink went well above the counter. "You? Find anything?"

"Nothing concrete… it does feel like I'm being watched, though, and I keep seeing flashes in the corner of my eye. Like a piece of metal reflecting off of something."

He sniffed the air. "I haven't smelled any new scents, and you're the only person I've heard walking around the house."

"I haven't smelled anything either, nor can I sense any other magic… I can't shake the feeling, though." She admitted, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Well, this place is supposed to be haunted." The pink-haired man said, getting the mischievous glint in his eye that she knew all too well. "If you're too scared-"

"I'm not scared of the dead, Natsu. It's the living I worry about." She said, and winked at him before walking out the kitchen, causing the boy to chase after her.

"Next time we go on a mission together, I'm wrapping you in bubble wrap." Evergreen told the woman, sitting in the warm water of the spa and eyeing the injuries on Kibo's body. After their job ended just a few hours ago, the girl had scratches all over her body from falling into blackberry bushes and then into a river, where she managed to accumulate even more scrapes, bruises, and lacerations.

Kibo sunk into the warm waters, not entirely fond of the water, but pretending to enjoy it for the company she was with. Several of the Fairy Tail women had decided to do a 'spa day' together, and when Evergreen saw her walking past the group, there was no saying 'no'.

Although Evergreen had been in Fairy Tail for longer, she didn't get along with the other women very well. She kept her distance, afraid to get emotionally close, and had started to make a habit of dragging Kibo along with her whenever there was a group activity.

"How did you get hurt this time?" Lucy asked, smiling politely at her. "Did you get mauled by a cat?"

"She fell into a blackberry bush, and rolled into a river." Evergreen explained for her. "I mean, really. I'm starting to suspect that she likes getting hurt. It's no wonder that she and Natsu haven't hooked up yet."

"I heard something different…" The blond said, smiling knowingly at Kibo, who sunk deeper into the water so that her nose was just above the water.

Evergreen gasped, and then hit the brunette on the shoulder. "Why don't you tell me anything!?"

"There's nothing to tell." Kibo said meekly, smiling awkwardly at the angry fairy.

"Not according to Natsu… he wouldn't give any details, but judging by his red face and bite mark on his neck…"

Suddenly all of the women were interested, and gathered around the awkward girl excitedly. "Spill it!" Levy said, smiling at the woman.

"Lucy, I'm home~!" Bickslow sang as he entered the small apartment, only to look around and find a certain young girl sleeping on the couch. His loud entrance didn't seem to wake her, which was unusual, but he nonetheless tried to be quiet as he closed the door behind him.

He'd just returned from a mission with Fried, a week long monster finding endeavor that took them into the mountains. The large and heavy backpack on his shoulders had been killing his back, and he was thankful to put it on the ground with his other duffel bag of belongings.

It was rare that he found her sleeping on the couch, but that was likely because he tended to hog it for sleeping and such. He walked over to her, taking his hood off along the way. When he reached her, he took a seat next to her on the floor, now eye level with her.

The apartment smelled of roses, likely from one of the many candles she lit on occasion.

His mind wandered to how she looked when she slept as a child, and how she always looked so troubled in her sleep. When she was awake, she was happy and carefree; but as soon as she slipped into slumber land, her face contorted and twisted. Only when he pet her hair or tightened his grip on her did the expression turn to calm and serene.

He reached up and entangled his fingers in her hair, gingerly caressing her scalp.

A sudden possessiveness came over him, and for a moment, he didn't want anyone else to have her.

She belonged to him, and no one else. Those beautiful lashes, the pink cheeks, glossy lips, even the small scratches along her otherwise milky smooth skin.

He knew it was irrational; but as he stroked her long hair, the image of Natsu or any other person doing something as innocent as this with her made him sick.

He leaned in closer and placed a small kiss on her forehead.

She slowly opened her eyes, not surprised to find him so close to her. It was happening so often lately that she almost expected it.

"Good morning." She said softly, causing him to smile. He watched her yawn cutely, a small squeak escaping her mouth like a small kitten.

"How was your nap?"

"Excellent." She said with a smile, enjoying the feel of her muscles stretching. "How was your mission?"

"Boring. I want to do something more exciting." He said, grinning at her, and causing her to frown.

"What are you-" Her sentence was cut off as his lips crashed onto hers, causing her eyes to widen and pulse to quicken.

And then he pulled back, grinning like an idiot, chuckling at her expression. "Let's get some ice cream." He said, and stood up, leaving to go into the kitchen.

Confused and still sleepy, she decided that she was likely still dreaming, and went back to sleep.

"Do you want chocolate or strawberry ice cream?" Bickslow asked from the kitchen, but when he peered over at her, discovered that her eyes were closed again. A giddy feeling took over him, and happy smile tugged at his lips.

She kept seeing her brother's face everywhere, and it was beginning to weird her out. As they walked through town, a single man with her brothers eyes would walk past, with no distinguishable scent, and disappear.

As she tried to pinpoint his magic in order to track him, it proved impossible to distinguish from the objects around him. It was like he was an extension of the earth, not having his own distinct magic signature or form.

At night, she kept seeing flashes of metal in the corners of her eyes, and every time it felt like she was being watched.

If Makarov hadn't talked to her brother, she'd think that she was going crazy- that her years of bottling up her emotions was making her crack. The ghosts of her past coming to haunt her for the terrible things she did.

Bickslow had started noticing the flashes, too.

"Come on, why won't you fight Natsu?" Romeo asked her one day, trying to convince her to join the fist fighting taking place. Natsu was fighting people one-on-one, and each time they challenged him, he managed to knock them out or make them forfeit. Even Gray was on the ground passed out, after being distracted by Juvia that allowed a lucky hit from Natsu's firey fists.

"She doesn't fight because she knows I'll win." Natsu answered for her, a cocky smirk on his face.

"In hand-to-hand combat, Natsu, she would give you a run for your money." Macao contributed. "She's a natural at martial arts."

Kibo smiled at the compliments, albeit feeling a bit awkward.

"If that's the case, then come on!" The wizard yelled at her, pumped up and standing on a table. "I challenge you!" He yelled, pointing at her.

"Well, if you challenge me, I guess I have to fight." She said and stood, taking her jacket off in the process. She was wearing a pair of jeans and decorated shirt, a tribal style with various browns and reds. "I'll try to go easy on you."

His smirk widened, cracking his knuckles loudly in anticipation. Romeo kept telling him how strong and agile she was since his first day back, and now he was fired up for it.

"Try not to destroy the Guild Hall…" Makarov warned them, but Natsu wasn't listening.

The fire dragonslayer jumped up and tried to land a kick on her, which she easily redirected and dodged. Mid air he tried to hit her with a side punch, but was met by her forearm. She pushed him back, surprised by the force behind his hit. Her skin was singed slightly. "We're using magic?" She asked, but was ignored as Natsu threw a flurry of attacks at her, all of which she easily dodged or redirected.

At one point, when he had his leg in the air from a kick, she grabbed the limb and pulled him off balance, slapping his ear with great force. "Gaaaah, damn it," He cursed, jumping back and frowning at the pain that pulsed in his ear.

She grinned, having barely moved since the beginning of the fight. The Thunder Legion was watching her, and she couldn't help but feel a bit of pride as she continued fighting against Natsu. As her body moved, she mainly used attacks that redirected his massive amount of energy, and when he was off balance, attacked sensitive areas of his body.

"Stop moving so that I can hit you!" He yelled at one point, trying to hit her face, but missing yet again.

"Come on, Natsu, you're embarrassing yourself! You haven't even landed one hit!" Lucy teased, causing him to turn and yell at her.

"Shut up, I know that!"

She found herself enjoying fighting him. Given her ability to sense other people's bodies, martial arts was extremely easy for her, since she could detect what they would do before they would do it. With Natsu, he was so random and sporadic with his tactics that there was no anticipating his attacks, so she could only use her martial arts skills to fight.

Most of her fighting right now was based on her reflexes, which she rarely got to do.

"This is fun." Kibo said with a smile, narrowly dodging a hit and spinning away.

"For you, maybe!" He yelled, frustrated, and ran at her again.

This time, though, he tried something different.

When she threw him off balance yet again, instead of throwing his guard off as well, he used the opportunity to grab her mid fall and throw her balance off, the momentum exchange causing him to get the upper hand.

He punched her stomach, the force of which caused her to go back several feet before skidding to a stop. As he ran at her again to punch her face, she regained her composure and went back to dodging, now more careful about getting close. He was adapting to her style and she wasn't sure she liked it.

"How are you still standing? That much power usually takes down the average person." He asked, surprised that it hadn't deterred her movements in the slightest.

"I have a high tolerance for pain."

"So I don't need to hold back?" He asked, smiling.

"Bring it."

His speed and agility increased significantly, which although made it more difficult to rely on her reflexes, it made his body much easier to read.

Erza once told her that Natsu's greatest ability in a fight was being able to match his opponents strength and surpass it, along with his adaptability to nearly any fighting style. Kibo was starting to learn just how incredible he was, as his fighting efficiency was increasing exponentially.

She barely missed one of his hits, only for the table she had been standing on to explode.

"Guys, take this outside!" Macao told them. "We can't afford repairs."

They didn't hear him, since Natsu didn't care and Kibo was just struggling to stay ahead of his movements. He managed to kick her, causing her to hit the wall, break it, and fall on the other side. Quickly she rolled onto her feet, when Natsu appeared, running at her full speed and emerging out of the dust cloud with his fist ready to hit her face.

Dodging at the last second, she grounded herself and aimed her elbow at his face, causing him to run full force into the joint. She felt his cheek bone smash into her, cracking from the force, and watched as he fell flat on his back.

He grabbed her foot and knocked her over, utilizing her distracted state, and jumped on her. His body froze on hers, his legs straddling each side of her waist while his fire dragonslayer magic shined brilliantly from his raised fist.

"Good fight." He said, making his fire disappear and smiling down at her.

Despite his victory, he was pretty bruised and beat up. He'd also broken half of the furniture in the Guild Hall, along with the portion of the wall he'd smashed Kibo into.

Trying to push the memories to the back of her mind, she smiled up at him. "Good fight." She agreed, and after he got off of her and stood, took the hand offered to her.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Bickslow screamed at her, startling her and causing the blade to shift in her hand. The woman had thought that she'd have the house to herself, since the other wizard had said he'd be gone, but evidently that wasn't the case.

"… what you doing?" She countered, awkwardly pulling the large blade from the side of her chest. "You said you weren't going to be home tonight."

"Fried canceled on me. Why the hell are you stabbing yourself?!" He asked, striding forward and grabbing the blade from her hand and slamming it down on the table. When he looked closer at her, he noticed that there were more stab marks across her body, namely her upper body, but there were a few long cuts along her exposed legs.

She was wearing a tight, black, wife beater shirt with matching form-fitting shorts. It was what she wore during training or when she was home, since it allowed a wide range of motion along with unlikelihood of stains. "… why the hell aren't you stabbing yourself? Didn't you hear that it's all the rage these days?" The woman asked, her face flush and embarrassment creeping along her chest.

Not only was she caught cutting, but she was also caught in revealing clothing, which made it worse.

She couldn't tell what exactly he was feeling, but she knew that he was feeling a lot of emotions that moment, one of which included anger.

"Are you that depressed? Do I make you that miserable by living here?"

"Tch, it has nothing to do with you." She said truthfully, and leaned against the kitchen counter. Water was boiling on the stove, preparing her tea.

He stared at her, his wide radioactive eyes boring into her with such intensity that she wanted to run away, and their height difference didn't help. He was looming over her, hand on the counter only a few inches from the blade he had just confiscated, and his gaze wandered across her fresh wounds covering the expanse of her skin. "Is this why you don't date? Because you're afraid they'll find out about your 'hobby'?"

"My blood magic heals it. They don't leave scars."

"Why… why do… why do you mutilate yourself?"

"It… feels nice?" She said uneasily, feeling like a child that did something wrong, and was being lectured by a parent. She'd gotten lectures tons of times from Macao and the others, but she'd never seen any of them this enraged, nor had she ever been caught in such a compromising position.

"'It feels nice'?" He repeated, his eyes locking on the portion of her chest he'd caught her stabbing. Blood was traveling in small rivers down her breast, and absorbing into the thin fabric of her shirt. "You stab your beautiful body because it 'feels good'?"

"People do worse everyday."

"You're a masochist." He said, and suddenly shoved her shoulder, causing her to turn and lean against the counter, her lower back pressing against the lip of the surface. Bickslow positioned himself in front of her, his arms on either side of her, eyes refusing to meet hers. He was staring at her shoulder, where a small cut had stopped bleeding but extended a few inches.

"You're mad." She said, more like asked, and unsure what to do. She could feel the warmth of his skin radiation from his body, which was only an inch away from her own and brushing against her in other parts. Her cheeks were red, trying to look at his expression at the weird angle, but unable to get a good look.

"Is this how you deal with stress? How long have you been doing this?"

"… I was raised by a blood dragon, Bickslow. Learning to control blood requires losing it."

"So it's habit?"

"I suppose."

She felt uncomfortable, which was rare around this wizard. He was usually the only person that she could stand being this close to, and felt so safe and warm with; now, she felt insecure and nervous, squirming and fidgeting awkwardly beneath him. "I don't understand."

"It's not a big deal."

"Of course it's a big deal!" He yelled, slamming his hand down on the surface behind her and making her jump. She had never been scared of him until now.

She was glad that she was so injured at that moment; her 'sensing' abilities were considerably dulled, so she didn't feel everything that was happening inside him.

Her true reason for cutting, or any injury, was because it dulled her senses.

When she focused her blood magic on herself, it meant that she wasn't focused on the bodies of people around her. Now that she thought about it, her main problem with being intimate with people was the fact that she could sense so much within their body. If she was more severely injured, she might be able to enjoy intimacy with another human being.

"How did you think this would make us feel?" He asked, bringing her out of her thoughts. "Evergreen, Fried… Natsu."

"Everyone has their own way of relaxing. Speaking of which, any interest in making out?" She asked, completely over the awkward position he'd put her in. She wanted to try out her new idea, and was in the perfect situation for it.

His lips crashed onto hers, pressing his entire body against her. Even though Bickslow was lean and fit, he was still a tall and muscular man, and the action almost smothered her. He was still angry and frustrated at her, so he didn't bother being gentle.

Kibo snaked her hand up his side and landed on the back of his neck, enjoying the feel of him against her. The amount she could feel was perfect—physically she could touch his skin, but she couldn't sense or hear the various organs in his body working. For the first time, she could truly enjoy the feel of a man on her.

His large tongue slid along her teeth and slithered into her mouth, catching her off guard. Her eyes opened in surprise, feeling his tongue masterfully caress her own and dance within the inside of her mouth. She'd imagined his tongue doing things to her on multiple occasions, but her imagination paled to the real thing.

Bickslow's large hand rested on her hip, while the other slowly moved upwards to cup her breast. His movements were slow and controlled, except when his tongue sped up inside her own. Slightly rough in some places, he silently reminded her that he was still mad at her.

Her hands managed to become entangled in his hair, and if she could move, she would grind against him. As it was, she was pinned down by his body, only able to move her arms, and could feel his need growing against her hip.

She moaned into the kiss when his hand gently squeezed her breast, and suddenly, he stopped.

He pulled away, tongue and all, leaving her panting and staring at him.

He removed his hand, and took a step back, a strange expression his face. "What's wrong?" She asked, trying to reach out and pull him back, but missing. He moved out of her reach and without a word, practically ran out of the apartment.

The brunette stood there, flustered and panting, trying to recompose herself.

"So… guess I'll just go back to, uh, doing my thing." She said, a smile on her face and only now realizing that the teapot was boiling.

The next day she found herself at the Guild Hall, sitting at a table with Macao and Wakaba. As they spoke about the 'good old days' and random topics, she picked at her food, slouched over and thinking about the previous night.

Apparently, Bickslow had stayed at Evergreen's apartment in the Girls Dormitory last night, and took a job early that morning that required traveling halfway across Fiore to accomplish. He'd just left, without saying goodbye, and Kibo didn't know how to feel.

On one hand, he was annoying. On the other hand, it was a really awesome kiss. On another hand, he is a close friend. On yet another hand, he's an ass hole.

"Did you and Bickslow have a fight or something? I heard he spent the night at Evergreen's." Macao asked her, noticing how quiet she'd been for the past half hour.

"And he ran out pretty quickly this morning." Wakabo added.

"He's just being a judgemental ass hole…" She muttered, frowning down at her noodles that she twisted with her fork over and over again.

"He's judging you?" The two men asked in unison, causing her to look up from her food.

"I know, right? He possesses people's souls and shoves them into flying dolls, but no, I'm the weird one." Kibo said, and sighed. "I don't remember guys being this weird before the Tenrou group came back."

"Maybe you should spend time with your other friends. Why not hang out at the Mermaid Hell for a while?" Wakabo suggested, and she looked at the ceiling, contemplating the idea.

"That's a really good idea, actually. Mil-" She started to speak, but was interrupted when a loud bang came from the front of the Guild Hall, the door wide open. Lucy stood there, looking beat up and frantic, while Erza was close behind with an unconscious Natsu on her arm. With them was the rest of Team Natsu, and Gajeel, who looked pretty beat up.

"What happened?!" Mirajane asked, noticing that the fire dragonslayer was bleeding and looked worse for wear. Kibo stood, along with the rest of the Fairy Tail wizards, trying to see what had happened. The red headed wizard, Erza, carried Natsu over to a table and laid him down on it.

"We were attacked, Natsu was hit worst. They were targeting dragonslayers." Lucy explained, visibly shaking from the event.

All of them looked beat up, with several cuts on each of their bodies.

It looked eerily like Evergreen's injuries when she was attacked.

Natsu lay there, unconscious, and bloody. He looked so helpless and beaten, a side of him she thought she'd never see.

"Kibo, can you heal him? I used up all of my magic during the fight." Wendy asked her, snapping the woman out of her dazed state.

"Yeah," She replied, and walked forward, feeling robotic in her movements. Her arms effortlessly lifted and hovered over his barely moving chest, which rose up and down weakly with every breath.

She hated using her blood magic.

"He's going to be okay," Lucy said, noticing the woman's hesitance and placing a hand on her shoulder. "I have faith in you."

"So the mission for dragonslayers was really a trap?" Mirajane asked Erza, and as Kibo started healing Natsu, she listened in on their conversation.

"Yes. 7 men, or possessed metal skeletons of men, attacked us. They were targeting dragonslayers, and had this strange device that detected their magic."

Kibo listened, her heart racing, and trying to be slow in her healing efforts with Natsu. She only healed the most urgent injuries, so that she could keep control.

"They called themselves the 'Avengers of Skeleton Village', or something like that." Gray said, and Kibo's muscles stiffened at the mention of her hometown.

"Skeleton Village, huh?" Makarov asked, looking over at Kibo, who didn't know how to react.

'They're targeting me. They attacked my friends because of me.' She thought angrily, and once her magic was done, she turned towards Makarov and the group, who were now looking at her. "Were they very shiny?"

"Huh?" Gray asked.

"The skeletons- Erza said that they were metal. Was it a shiny metal, or dull?"

"Shiny." Erza answered. "Why does it matter?"

"I've been seeing metal or shining objects in the corners of my eyes for the past week… I first saw them when Natsu and I did a mission together last week."

"He told me about that," Lucy spoke, sitting down in a chair near the unconscious man. "He started seeing them afterwards, too. As did I."

"I have, too! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me." Macao said, and suddenly multiple wizards spoke up with similar sightings.

'This doesn't make sense. Why follow everyone at Fairy Tail? If they were after me specifically, they would have attacked me by now. Targeting other dragonslayers doesn't make sense.'

She looked down at her watch, realizing the time. "Natsu is going to be alright, he just needs rest. I have a job that I need to get to."

"I'm coming with you." Macao stated, standing up.

"Erza said that they're targeting dragonslayers. Since I'm not one, they shouldn't come after me."

"True, but they've apparently been stalking our entire guild. I'd feel safer if you had backup." The older man stated, putting on his jacket. "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer."

"No one should be alone until we take down whoever did this. They were extremely powerful, and we barely escaped with our lives." Erza announced, and although the rest of the guild looked nervous, they nodded in agreement. Natsu's team consisted of the most powerful wizards in their guild—if they couldn't take down these skeletons, it was unlikely that the other wizards would stand a chance.

"We're already late- let's get going." Kibo told the old man, nodding to the front door.

"Yes ma'am." He said, and followed her out the door as the Guild Hall erupted yet again into conversation.

It was a cold night, the air dry and quiet on this late evening. It was nearing 11 PM, and the crescent moon hung high above them with a strangely ominous glow, the stars around it twinkling in dismay.

"Natsu's going to be okay." The wizard said after a few minutes of walking in silence, noticing her solemn expression. "He's a tough kid. The toughest I know, in fact."

"I know. I was the one that healed him." She said frankly, her eyes set dead ahead and avoiding his questioning gaze.

"You seemed pretty upset when you saw him. It must have been scary seeing someone you care about so injured." He said, and she couldn't help but bark out a laugh. She'd witnessed the slaughter of so many people, including her friends and loved ones, and seeing a guy she liked with a few scrapes was supposed to rattle her?

"I find out that my brother is alive, and there are other survivors of my village… only, instead of reaching out to me, they stalk and hunt down the members of my guild. My friends." She said, the tone of her voice putting Macao on edge. "I watched my family and countless others die at the hands of a sadistic dragon; how ironic the survivors decide to kill off my new family."

"Kibo," He said, stopping and turning towards her. The woman paused as well, mimicking his movements. "No matter how powerful they are, they won't win. We're all strong and capable wizards that look out for each other- we're a family. As long as we stick together, not even a hundred skeletons will be able to take us down."

She stared at him for a moment, surprised by his words, and eventually let a grin encompass her face. "Good. I don't think I can handle losing another family." The brunette said, and started walking again, her hands moving back to her pockets.

When they finally made it to the house, Kibo knocked on the large door. The house was only 2 stories, but it was a very fancy and economic home. Solar panels on the roof, intricately designed yard ornaments- they could tell that the owners were very wealthy.

After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal a butler. "Come in, the masters are waiting for you." He said, and gestured for them to enter.

"What kind of job is this again?"

"Babysitting. The parents are overprotective of their kid, so they made a job request with Fairy Tail." She explained.

"Bickslow? What are you doing back so early?" Mirajane asked the young man, confused by his early arrival. The rest of the guild was still talking about what happened with Natsu and the others, all of them riled up and contributing theories about the attack.

"The job was a fake. Halfway there I got ambushed by a bunch of weirdos." He explained, and the woman gasped.

"Did they look like skeletons?"

"Yeah, actually. They were using possession magic to put their souls into them, so it was pretty easy to take them down." He explained, getting the attention of several other wizards. "Anywho, I'm-"

"They attacked you too!? Are they trying to start a war with us?!"

"Natsu and his team were attacked by them, but Natsu got hurt pretty bad. Kibo had to heal him." Mirajane told him, and beneath his helmet his eyebrows raised, surprised by this knowledge.

"They did seem less interested in me when they confirmed I wasn't a dragonslayer…" He commented, looking across the room and noticing a sleeping Natsu for the first time. The pink-haired wizard seemed to be stirring, though, and waking up.

"They call themselves the 'Avengers of Skeleton Village'." Mirajane told him, causing him to turn and look at her in surprise.

"Skeleton Village? You mean Kibo's hometown?"

"We think so. She seemed pretty upset when she saw Natsu. Poor girl."

"Where is she now?"

"She had a job in town. Macao went with her as back up." She replied, wondering if his curiosity was simply as a concerned friend or something more.

"Give me the address. If these guys are from the same town as her, there's a good chance that she's next."

"They're only targeting dragonslayers." Erza spoke, joining the conversation after eavesdropping. "Macao is with her. I'm sure she'll be fine."

"If they targeted me, and I'm guessing caused those injuries on you, what makes you think they're limiting their attacks to dragonslayers?"

Kibo stood there, her eyes wide in disbelief, staring at the little girl that bounced down the steps.

'You've played with her long enough.' The Dragon's voice echoed in her mind. 'Now is the time to kill her. You must not feel sympathy for your toys.'

'But I don't want to.'

'You will do as I say, daughter. You don't want to disappoint me again, do you? Aren't you daddy's little girl?'

The little girl had long brown hair that bounced with her walk, with an extra skip in her step. She was wearing a white and blue frilly dress, a fabric doll in her arm, and ran at full speed towards Kibo with her arms out wide. "Yay!" The girl cheered, crashing into the older woman's legs and wrapping her arms around them.

Kibo hesitantly put a shaky hand on the girl's head, petting the soft hair.

Just like her brother, she didn't sense an actual body from her, just magic from the earth.

"Take care of our daughter for us!" A woman yelled from the top of the stairs, adorned in a beautiful orange gown, looking as if she were going to a fancy opera. Next to her, a handsome man stood with his arm reaching behind his wife, a kind smile on his face. He was wearing a tux, clean and pristine, not a wrinkle in sight.

They both descended the steps together, oblivious to Kibo's terrified expression.

'All of your toys will eventually die.' The dragon spoke, and devoured the man in one gulp. His wife cried, her sorrowful howls filling the air and echoing through the night sky. 'It's your turn. Put her out of her misery.'

"This is a trap." She finally spoke, snapping out of her reverie and pushing the little girl away.

"What makes you say that?"

"They're all dead." She said simply, getting into a fighting stance.

"Well… that's definitely a good clue." He said, readying his own fighting stance.

A strange metal thing popped out of the ground, looking almost like a snake in its movement, and headed towards Kibo. Another one did the same and went after Macao. Both of the objects were lightning fast yet only a few inches long.

"What the hell are those!?" Macao yelled, trying to jump away from the small device, but failing to get out of its way in time. Kibo was in a similar predicament, as the small device wrapped around her leg and started glowing red, while his glowed green.

"Why are they glowing…?" She asked, having a bad feeling about it.

The family slowly melted into the ground, and in their place, metal skeletons rose. "And what is your element, dragonslayer?" One of them asked, its dark and empty eyes staring into her wide ones.

"These must be the devices Erza talked about… it must be registering Natsu's magic on you." Macao spoke, and she nodded, watching as four more skeletons emerged from the shadows, their shiny metal bones reflecting against the chandelier. "Kibo, run! They think you're a dragonslayer, so they're going to try and kill you!"

But she couldn't move.

"How did you know my family was dead, I wonder?" The lead skeleton asked, striding towards her, making no sound. She could sense strange magic from him, but was unable to distinguish just what made it so odd. It almost reminded her of Bickslow's 'babies'.

As Macao tried to stand and run at him, a tree root came up from the ground, breaking the tile and pinning down his legs. Instantly he was weakened, his magic being drained away and sucked into the ground. "Kibo, run!" He tried to yell at her, to try and snap her out of her daze.

The 4th Guild Master yelled out to her, even after the skeleton reached forward and stabbed its long boney fingers into her chest, watching as the woman made no movement or struggle.

"Snap out of it!"

"I am death. I am the reaper of Skeleton Village." The metal skeleton spoke, the only color being the blood of his current victim that splattered across him. "I am your brother, the spirit of vengeance."

The spell caused blades to pierce through her entire body, everywhere from her feet to her head, causing instant death. Macao cried out to her, tears falling from his eyes at the sight of large blades piercing her small body. One of them protruded from her mouth, extending far enough to almost touch the metal skull.

"Your evil shall no longer walk this Earth."

Kibo stood there, her corpse held up by the skeleton's hand and the tree that slowly began enveloping her.

Suddenly, her hand reached up, gently grabbing the back of his neck. She bit down, causing the blade to break, and used her magic to cough up the large blade. "You can't… how did-"

She pulled him towards her, so that his skull was next to hers, and blocked her face from her guild member. "Your parents wanted me to give you a message." She whispered, her voice raspy and blood magic having to shift the blades still in her body to allow for speech. "They wanted me to tell you- on the remote chance that you escaped- that they loved you. That they wanted you to live a full, happy, wonderful life to honor the people that were lost. To honor them."

"You're lying-"

"They wanted you to get married, have children… get that dog, Pepper, that you always wanted."

"Shut up!" The skeleton screamed, pulling out of her grasp and readying a sword that morphed from his bones. "Let's see if you can survive getting your head chopped off!" He screamed, a frantic and terrified quiver in his voice as he raised the blade above his head.

But then, as the blade descended to her neck, froze merely an inch away from her skin.

"Bickslow! Natsu!" Macao yelled, and the woman sighed, not sure whether to be happy or sad.

The skeleton man disappeared.

Even if it was pointless, it probably would have made the guy feel good to chop her head off. After killing his family, she practically wanted him to win in getting his vengeance. Well, against her specifically, with no other casualties.

The blood magic started working on her, breaking the metal protrusions and pushing them out of her body; including the hand that had remained in the center of her chest. "I thought you were done for." Macao said, running over to her after his binds had relinquished their grip. Two other wizards, Bickslow and Natsu ran over to her.

"Where are they!? I wanted to fight them again, damn it!" The fire dragonslayer yelled, only to be lectured by Macao.

"You okay?" The seith mage asked, crouching down to eye level and glancing at the wounds across her body, trying not to linger his gaze on her chest. Although her breasts were still covered, the stab wounds between them left large holes in the fabric.

She was sitting on her butt, legs folded at her sides, and smiling at him. The tree that had bound her before was now dying quickly. "Yeah. Are you?"

"They use the same possession magic I use… well, almost. Close enough anyway. I simply severed their lock on these bones so that they can't control them for a while. We have a few hours at least."

The metal devices on their ankles broke, fell off, and became absorbed into the ground. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the area and heard Macao yelling." He said with a shrug.

"And you happened to be wandering around with Natsu? You guys are buddies now? And I thought you were on a mission?"

"And you happen to be covered in stab wounds and have a pissed off Guild Master staring at you right now." He told her, and she blinked, wondering what he meant.

"How the hell are you alive? And why didn't you move out of the way when he attacked you!?" Macao asked, his voice stern as he used his parenting voice, hands on his hips.

"… high tolerance for pain?" She answered awkwardly, only to start getting lectured for being careless… again. It wasn't her first lecture from Macao about safety, and it was hardly going to be the last. She could still sense the adrenaline pumping through his veins, and knew that his yelling at the moment was less about her and more about his fear at watching her die.

10.

"I'm so glad that you're okay!" Evergreen said, pulling the young woman closer to her and pulling her face into her chest, causing the younger woman to grumble and try to escape the death grip. At least she wasn't wearing armor like Erza, but still- they were so large it was like a death trap.

"Are you trying to suffocate her?" Porlyusica stated, and despite her glares, the fairy woman ignored them and continued to smother the young girl. After a few more moments of hugging, she eventually let go, smiling at the brunette.

"We're all glad that you're okay, Kibo. The Thunder Legion wouldn't be the same without you." Fried told her, Laxus nodding from his side, and causing the green-haired mage to internally cheer.

"Macao said that you didn't fight back, though. Mind telling us what that was about?" Laxus asked, causing the fairy woman to glare at him.

"She was attacked by a bunch of creepy, walking, talking skeletons! She was probably frozen in fear!" Evergreen spoke in Kibo's defense, trying to keep from smothering the younger girl in her bosoms again.

"I wasn't under the impression that you scared easily." Laxus told her, eyeing the smile that spread across Kibo's face. Like the others, whenever he looked at her he couldn't help but remember the little 12 year old that they found in the forest. Although he hadn't spent much time with her back then, very little in fact, he did remember that she seemed unafraid of most things. Spiders, bugs, snakes, a dead animal that they happened across in their travels- she was a tough cookie, and it was hard for him to grasp that she would be frozen in fear by a few skeletons.

"I wasn't afraid of the skeletons." She said simply. "The family that I was supposed to work for wore the faces of dead friends, and the skeleton that attacked me was their son."

"You poor thing!" Evergreen pined, and pulled the woman into another hug, causing her to open up several stitches.

"You all are hindering her recovery. Leave." The old woman stated, glaring at them.

"But we can't leave her alone! What if she's attacked again!?"

"Bickslow can stay. The rest of you leave."

"Why does he get to stay!?" Evergreen whined, despite her terror for the ferocious and scary woman.

"Because he's not opening her stitches and if I recall, can actually defend her with his magic." She said, and out of her line of vision Bickslow stuck her tongue out at Evergreen, causing both women to glare at him. "Out!"

The pink-haired woman used her broom to kick out the young wizards, all of whom wished Kibo well before evacuating the premises.

"Care to tell me why you're lying about your dragonslayer magic?" The healer asked once the others were out of hearing range. Both Bickslow and her looked at her in surprise, not expecting it. "Don't act all surprised. Dragonslayers have very distinct magic; and since you're proficient in blood magic, you don't need me to tell you that. The only thing I can't figure out is why you don't heal yourself on your own."

After the initial shock of having her secret out, Kibo sighed, and then smiled at her. "Their magic nullified most of mine, making me unable to heal on my own. It will take some time to replace the non-magical tissue with magical tissue."

"Why are these… skeletons, attacking Fairy Tail? Are they targeting you?"

"Since I am the student of the dragon that killed my village, it makes sense that they would want revenge by killing me. But their actions don't make sense."

"How so?"

"I'm sure that one of them is my brother, who I've been seeing around town the past few weeks. His magic has been strange, as if he's simply an extension of the earth, and when Macao and I went on the job this evening, the family had the same magic. In the day, my brother knows who I am, but the skeletons seemed to have no clue."

"Hm…" The old woman hummed, her gaze moving to the floor as she contemplated her words. Bickslow remained quiet in the corner, silently absorbing the information they were exchanging. "It sounds like an ancient spell called 'Death Exchange'. I didn't think that humans could cast it."

"What is it?" Kibo asked, surprisingly calmed by the woman's presence. Despite her scary disposition, it reminded her oddly of her childhood, which in this case made her feel better. The dragon that trained her may have been a cold-blooded, sadistic, crazy murderer, but he was strong and she knew that by his side was the safest place in the world.

Her magic felt strangely like a dragon's, which enforced the comfort Kibo felt. "It's a spell that allows the caster to become invincible at night, but a shadow of themselves during the day. Their memories are fractured between those dual selves, so what one half knows, the other is unaware."

"Interesting…" Kibo commented, looking down at her hands. "Their skeleton selves don't know about me, but their other selves do. It must be frustrating for them."

"Indeed." The woman nodded.

"Will you tell the others about my magic?" The brunette suddenly asked, looking back up at her.

"Do you have a good reason why I shouldn't?"

"If they know about my power, they may want me to use it in the future. If that happens, many people's lives will be at risk."

"You believe your magic is that dangerous?"

"Most definitely." She replied, her voice dead serious. "I've only been able to stay sane all of these years by forgetting my training. There's no telling what will happen if I actually implement it."

"… Alright. I'll keep your secret for now. But they're going to find out eventually."

"Thank you, Porliyusica." She said, bowing her head.

After giving her a last look over, and healing up the stitches that Evergreen had opened, Porlyusica retired to home next door. The two wizards, Kibo and Bickslow, were left alone.

He pulled up his chair so that he could sit next to her and took his hood off for the first time that day. His hair was surprisingly tame, slick back from wearing this hood all day. Slouched, tired looking, and resting his elbows on his knees, he looked up at the injured woman.

"Why doesn't the old hag yell at you?" He asked suddenly, causing her to giggle.

"Because I don't talk back to her." She said simply. "People like her demand respect, so I give it to her."

He didn't say anything for a moment, and instead they just stared at each other, studying each other's features. They both looked tired, but Kibo still had a ghost of a grin on her face, appearing content and comfortable. "I shouldn't have kissed you last night."

"Is that why you ran off?"

"You're like a little sister to me… it was stupid of me to try and make us something we're not."

"You're right. I like you better as a big brother." She lied, smiling at him.

"And as your big brother, I'm forbidding you from hurting yourself." He said, his tone suddenly shifting from soft to harsh, making her feel like a child again.

"You're not the boss of me."

"No, but I can tell the rest of Fairy Tail. Either kick the bad habit on your own, or feel the wrath of the entire guild making you quit."

"You suck." She said, furrowing her brows at him and glaring.