Chapter 6
Addictions
"This is torture." Kibo said, groaning as she slumped forward and rested her head on her folded arms. It had been a week since the attack, and her wounds had fully healed—as a result, she was fully healed for the first time in years, and thus fully aware of everything.
Every wizard's breath, magic flow, heart beat, digestion, vocal sounds- everything. She felt spread out, spacey, and so unbearably aware she just wanted to slaughter every person here just to make it stop.
Cut out their entrails, slice their brains into tiny-
"Get used to it." Bickslow retorted, not feeling bad for her predicament.
"What's wrong with Kibo?" Macao asked, noticing that she'd been rather mopey and spacey since she arrived 20 minutes ago.
"She's cutting soda from her diet. She's addicted to the stuff." Bickslow told him.
"I didn't know she drank soda."
"It's a closet addiction. Her entire fridge is packed with them- she barely has any food in there, just soda." The wizard answered for her.
"How long has she been without it?"
"6 days and 4 hours…" She muttered, trying to relax despite the overload of her senses. When she had been trained to utilize these senses, she was only around a few living people at a time, and having miles upon miles of empty forest to dilute the sounds.
The Guild Hall was packed that day.
"That's rough. I had no idea you were addicted."
"She'll get through it. Right, Kibo? Right." He said, patting her on the back and causing her to glare at him.
A familiar magic appeared outside of the guild. She sat up, her eyes staring through the wall at the intruder, almost thankful for the distraction. Now that her senses were ultra-heightened, she could identify their magic much better. It was night, so they were in skeleton form, and she could ascertain everything about them.
How they moved, what spells they used, how their magic was drawn from the Earth at very specific rates and intervals- everything.
They entered through the front door, and at the sight of them, the entire Guild Hall stopped. Silence erupted, eyes locking onto the strange wizards. "We're sorry for attacking you. We come in peace." One of them spoke, stepping forward.
"You attack my children, and then come here expecting us to believe you're peaceful?"
"We only wish to talk with Kibo. We apologize for being so violent before- we've had our memories… altered, recently, so we've been a bit unstable. We hope that you forgive us." The lead skeleton spoke, and all of them bowed.
"It's been a long time, bro." Kibo said, grinning at him and trying to ignore the adrenaline spike within everyone. "Let's go outside and chat."
"I'll go with you." Bickslow said, joining her in standing, but then she pushed him down.
"I'll be fine." She said, already maneuvering to the skeletons.
"I don't like this." Erza stated. "Why the sudden change in heart?" She asked the skeletons.
"Something Kibo told me at our last encounter…" One of the skeletons spoke. "She knew my parents."
"Our village was slaughtered 20 years ago. Give them a break." Kibo told the rest of her Guild.
"I want a rematch!" Natsu declared as he jumped forward, but Kibo placed a hand on his chest to diminish his movements.
"Maybe after I talk with them, alright?" She said with a soft smile, trying to ignore the tasty blood within her grasp. "Let's go outside. After you." The brunette told them, and despite the uneasiness of the other wizards, the small group left the Guild Hall together.
"Do you think this is wise, Makarov?" Erza asked the Guild Master.
He shrugged. "She won't be far. If she needs help, we'll be here."
Kibo cast a silencing charm around them when they were several yards from the building, hidden within a group of trees. "I just cast a silencing charm so that we can talk without being listened in on. Everything we say in normal tones will be silent, but anything above that like a yell or scream will be heard."
"You're a blood dragonslayer." Her brother spoke, all of the skeletons staring at her.
"Unfortunately. I've been pretty successful in not using that magic since my teacher departed though… that is, until I had to use it to save Evergreen, who you attacked."
"Our goal is not to harm innocent people." One of them spoke, looking at her pointedly even without his flesh to express it.
"I understand why you want me dead. I deserve death, for what I've done."
"So why haven't you killed yourself?"
"I've tried." She said, shoving her hands into her pockets awkwardly and looking up at the branches above them. "Hanging, stabbing, falling, electrocution- you name it. My blood magic always kicks in and revives me."
"So if we tried to kill you," One of them spoke.
"You'd let us?" Another finished.
"If you hadn't attacked my guild, most definitely. But if you killed me, there's a chance that you would turn around and kill my friends, too. I can't allow that."
"They were never our target." Two of them spoke in unison.
"Nevertheless, I'm not about to leave my Guild defenseless against the likes of you." She told them, and a few seconds of silence passed. "If you can find a way to guarantee the safety of my guild after my passing, I'll let you try and kill me."
"You'll 'let us'? We're not made of blood, you can't control us." One of them retorted, but when they tried to move towards her, found themselves immobile.
Frozen in place, unable to move, they stared at the blood dragonslayer with their shadowed and hollowed eyes. "I don't just control blood… I also control magic."
"We trained for years… spent so much time looking for a way to get around blood control…" One of them spoke, and when she released them, several of them fell to their knees. "All of it was pointless."
"It's not too late to keep living. I may never find true happiness or escape for my crimes, but you all have a chance at life." She said with a smile.
"You don't understand… this spell- once we accomplish our goal, we disappear." One of them explained. "There is no happiness, or way of breaking this spell."
"Why not join a wizard guild? They're used to having unusual wizards, and when you join, you can ask around and search for resources to undo your spell." Kibo suggested. "I will never be able to repay any of you for the pain I've put you through. For the blood I shed with the dragon."
"We will never stop looking for a way to kill you." One of them spoke, this time the voice sounding more feminine. "You will pay for destroying our village. The dragon came on the day of your birth."
"It did?" Kibo asked, surprised. "I thought it came later."
"No." Her brother spoke. "It came on the day of your birth, which is why our parents named you 'faith'. They prayed that the dragon would leave, and had faith that your arrival would mark the departure of the dragon. Instead, we were slaves to the monster for 5 years, before it got tired and slaughtered us like sheep."
Kibo stared at him, her eyes wide, staring at the metallic man. "I can't… I'm not the reason. He told me that he came to village because it was convenient, nothing else."
"So it was just coincidence that he came to our village the day of your birth, and then kept you as his student? As his pet?" The woman asked, her voice seething.
Kibo sighed. "I'm already guilty of so many things, why not tag on the slaughter of our entire village? Should make it a full, round number. Instead of just being forced to murder, dissect, cannibalize, and torture survivors, I'm responsible for bringing the most sadistic dragon in existence to our village and ending thousands of lives. Instead, now it's just 'everyone died because of me'. That's a lot easier to say."
"We will leave your guild alone for several months and look for a better way to kill you. That time away from your guild will show our good faith to leave them alone after your death." The woman spoke, and Kibo nodded.
"Fine, whatever. Sounds like a plan."
1.
"Want a soda?" Bickslow asked from the kitchen, internally laughing at the irony of it.
She didn't say anything, and instead opted for just laying there, on the couch, resting her head against the pillow. Her eyes were closed, body spread across the couch and hair sprawled across the pillow.
"You've been extra quiet today. You okay?" The wizard asked, walking over to her and eyeing the sickly expression on her face. He pressed his hand on her forehead, surprised at how warm it was. "I've never seen you sick before."
She opened her eyes, sighing, to look at his tattooed face.
"You have a pretty bad fever."
Kibo closed her eyes again.
2.
"Thanks for doing this, Wendy. I know it's a bit out of your way…" Bickslow thanked, holding the door open as Wendy, Carla, Warren, Natsu and Happy entered the apartment.
"So this is Kibo's place, huh? I thought there would be more… flowers, or something." Natsu spoke, noticing the tribal themed artwork, especially a wooden statue of an elephant.
"Aye… tribal doesn't quite match her personality." Happy spoke, landing on his partner's head.
"Don't be so rude, you two. We're here to comfort Kibo, not judge her living arrangements. I happen to think it looks nice." Carla spoke.
"No, it looks great, I just meant… nevermind." Natsu spoke, turning to look at the brunette laying on the couch with a blanket over her.
"She's been like this for almost two days. Her fever has been getting worse, she doesn't talk, won't eat or drink anything." Bickslow explained, watching as Wendy crouched down to eyelevel with the woman and tried to look at her face, which was shielded by hair.
"Is she depressed?" Carla asked.
"I've never even seen Kibo sad. She's always so upbeat." Warren commented, standing by the window and still looking around the apartment.
"She does have a fever…" Wendy commented, resting her hand against Kibo's forehead and then cheeks.
"Did this start after she talked with those skeletons?" Natsu asked, and Bickslow nodded.
"Yeah, but she's insistent that it's not them. From what she will say, it has nothing to do with them." He replied.
"She could be lying to cover for them." Warren commented.
"Wasn't she cutting soda out of her diet recently? Maybe it's just withdrawal symptoms?" Carla asked.
"Hey Bickslow, is it normal for her eyes to be red?" Wendy asked, and he nodded.
"I've seen them red before. It has something to do with her magic."
"She seems to be really low on magic. Maybe something's wrong with her healing magic." She commented. "I can't sense a virus or anything foreign attacking her body from the inside, but her body does seem out of sync and low on nutrients, but I suspect that's from not eating."
3.
Bickslow bullied her into going to the Guild Hall the next day, convinced that she was faking it. When they got there Mirajane made her a plate of food, and the seith mage made her eat it by threatening to tell the others about her little 'habit'. The little martial artist may have been stubborn enough to not eat at home when they were alone, but she was easy to succumb to peer pressure at the Guild Hall.
"You don't look too good, Kibo." Romeo commented, sitting next to the young girl and eyeing the man across from her suspiciously.
"She's just experiencing withdrawal symptoms. She'll be fine." Bickslow commented, and took a drink from his water, very aware of the accusatory looks his way. He knew how it looked, but he'd be damned if let her keep hurting herself. His comrades could think whatever the hell they wanted.
"Maybe you shouldn't be cutting soda cold turkey, Kibo. Like, just slowly cut it out of your diet." The younger mage suggested, looking at the woman with worried eyes. He'd been working with her for the past 7 years, and after what the Guild had been through, had gotten exceptionally close to her over the years. Ever since Bickslow arrived, she seemed to be getting sick and irritable all the time, contrary to her usual happy self.
"I'll be fine…" She muttered, tiredly pushing the noodles on her plate around with her fork.
"Maybe Porleuscia should look at her. Maybe she has something for addiction problems." Wendy suggested as she walked over to them, looking at the brunette with similar concern.
"No thanks. I'll just… push through it." Kibo muttered, and shoved a few noodles into her mouth, slowly chewing on them and then swallowing. "I'm going to work at Mermaid Heel today. No boys allowed." She said, giving Bickslow a pointed look. The man glared beneath his visor, annoyed that she was playing his game against her, but made no visible show of it. Now that she had publicly announced her plans, if he followed her, it would look suspicious and the other guild members would interfere.
"What kind of job are you going to do?" He asked, trying to act normally.
"Escort mission. Should be easy enough." She replied, and took another bite of her food, silently challenging him.
"Sounds fun. Hope you have fun with all your girlfriends." He said with a wide grin. "Since you seem to be feeling better, I might do a job with Fried or Ever."
4.
That night, the Guild Hall was having yet another party. No one really knew why they were celebrating, but with Fairy Tail, they never needed a reason.
Natsu was dancing on a table, shaking his butt and making the other guild members laugh, while a fight was breaking out elsewhere. Various activities were going on at once, but almost all of them included drinking.
When Kibo arrived, she slipped in through the back door and located Mirajane, who was behind the bar preparing drinks. Bickslow happened to be nearby, and when he saw the young woman enter the bar area, eavesdropped on their conversation.
"Mira," The brunette spoke, getting the mage's attention. "I'm going camping for a week, so I won't be doing any jobs."
"Where are you camping?"
"I haven't decided. Somewhere without people."
"Are you taking anyone with you?"
"No."
"How'd your mission with Mermaid Heel go?"
"I got kicked out. I'm not allowed to do missions with them again." She said, and Mira looked at her surprised, pausing in her movements.
"What happened? Are you okay?"
"I'd rather not talk about it. Don't let anyone contact me unless it's an emergency, okay?"
"Where you going?" An all too familiar voice asked, the matching body coming up from behind her and standing next to her, leaning against the counter. Bickslow sipped the drink in his hands, giving the girl an inquisitive look, wondering why she was skipping town. "Is it a party? Can you bring a plus one?"
"No, and no." She said, but as she turned to leave, the seith mage grabbed her arm.
"You weren't hurt on your mission today, were you?" He asked, slightly peeved by the anger in the woman's eyes. They were bright red, as they'd been for the past few days, and it added to the emotion in her eyes. He was trying to help her and she was mad at him?
"Tch, no. Now get your hand off of me."
"What happened?"
"Either move your hand or you're going to get a bloody nose." She warned him, her eyes serious and bloodthirsty. The harshness of her words caught him offguard, having never seen her so angry by such a small gesture.
"Is there a problem here?" Macao asked as he approached them, giving Bickslow a reproachful look. The mage knew that his abilities paled in comparison to the soul possession wizard, but it didn't mean he wouldn't put up a fight if necessary.
Bickslow let go of the woman's arm and watched her leave, an annoyed frown on the visible part of his face.
"Ya know, before you came back, I don't remember her ever drinking soda. She eats extremely healthy, and even helped me find healthy recipes to cook for Romeo back in the day."
"Closet addiction. Believe me, man, I'm just trying to look out for her." The man said honestly, turning towards the shorter and older wizard.
"So am I. She's like a daughter to me, and if I find out that you've been doing anything-"
"Save the speech, old man. I have no intention of hurting her." Bickslow told him, and already bored of the conversation, turned with a new drink in hand and walked back to his table in the corner of the room. When he sat down, Evergreen and Fried were giving him curious glances, having seen the transaction moments ago. They hadn't heard the conversation, but they could sense the hostility from across the room.
After a moment of sitting there with his drink, the seith mage noticed their staring.
"What?" He snapped.
"It's just… what's going on between you and Kibo?" Evergreen asked, unsure about how to approach the topic.
"I'm trying to help her, and you people are acting like I'm abusing her." He accused, narrowing his eyes at them.
"You have been a bit… odd, with her, since we returned." Fried admitted. "And she looked upset when you grabbed her arm back there."
"Something went wrong with her mission at Mermaid Heel today, and she was talking about leaving for a random camping trip. On her own. In the middle of nowhere. It's not like her." He told them, surprising both of them with the information.
"What went wrong?" Ever asked, and he shrugged.
"She wouldn't say, but she seemed upset. I would go after her, but after Macao gave me the shotgun speech, I suspect people will just think I have ulterior motives." He said, glaring at his comrades who smiled awkwardly at him. "She's probably going to relapse."
"She could have worse addictions. It's not the worst thing in the world if she has a soda." Evergreen commented, watching her teammate's sour expression with intrigue.
Bickslow grumbled something under his breath, and then took a sip of his drink.
Later that night, when he got back to Kibo's apartment, he was surprised to find that she hadn't left yet. He wasn't surprised, however, when he saw the blood trail leading to the bathroom. After quietly closing the front door behind him, he had his babies power down on the coffee table, and then walked over to the small room that she hid.
The tall man leaned against the frame of the doorway, annoyed by the calm expression on her face. She seemed unnaturally relaxed in the white and blue room, her blood pooling on the tile beneath her. Her back was resting against the wall, knees bent in front of her, and hands relaxed at her sides. A large blade was in one of her hands.
"Feel better?"
She smiled, and brown eyes looked up at him. "I didn't hear you come in." She commented, and watched him tip toe around the blood to sit on the edge of the bathtub. He lifted one of his feet to rest on the toilet, while the other rested awkwardly on a small magazine holder.
Still adorned in his fighting outfit, he couldn't allow himself to take his visor off. Letting her see the hurt in his eyes would be too much right then.
"Are you going to tell?" Her voice was calm, and although didn't sound weak, was softer than usual. She seemed unfazed by any pain in her body.
"I'm thinking about it." He spoke, watching the sadness reach her eyes, and then her gaze turn to the sink in front of her.
"I suppose it'll be a necessary evil. I can't afford to lose control like that again." She spoke, closing her eyes and sighing.
"What do you mean?"
"I hurt a lot of people today. If I did this again, I would inevitably hurt people at our guild." She spoke, and the words caused him to furrow his brows in confusion.
"There has to be a better way to manage your anger than cutting yourself."
"It's not anger that sets me off." She said, still eerily calm. "I lose control over my magic. When I first learned my magic, I was trained to torture and murder people. I've tried to forget that magic, but it's so engrained into my blood that the only way I can contain it is by harming myself instead of others."
"So it's not an emotional thing? It's purely a magic thing?"
"There's a second reason I do it." Her eyes were still closed. "But it's a bit more personal."
"Is that so?" He asked, unable to think of anything better to say. Blood pooling on the ground kept him distracted, and it was difficult to wrap his head around any of it.
"For the record, I enjoyed that kiss." Kibo spoke, causing him to look back at her face. Eyes still closed, yet a smile tugged at her pink lips. "Both of them."
"It's a weird time to bring that up." He told her, shifting his position but crying out in surprise when he fell back into the tub, hitting his head against his wall in the process. Cursing, he tried to get back up again, slipping in the process and hitting his head against the wall again.
Using her blood magic, Kibo caused the blood on the floor to gather and levitate in the air, floating over to the sink and into the drain. As the excessive blood started cleaning up, she stood and walked over to him, holding out a hand.
Reluctantly he accepted the offer, and she helped him get out of the porcelain object. After awkwardly getting out of it, they both remained standing in front of each other.
"So there's nothing I can say to make you stop this?" He asked, looking down at her. In the small room there wasn't much space for them, so she was much closer than they would be in a normal conversation. Their hands were still locked. "Not even kisses?"
"Sorry." She replied, blushing when he stepped closer to her and backed her into the sink.
"Are you sure about that?" Bickslow asked, and leaned down so that his mouth was next to her ear. His tongue slipped out and caressed the edge of her lobe, and when she squirmed beneath him, his hands shot out and grabbed her hips to keep them still. "I can't convince you to find… alternative habits?" He whispered, and closed the small gap between their bodies, causing the woman's breath to hitch slightly.
"Are you trying to seduce me, Bixy?" She asked him, the use of his old nickname catching him off guard. Hips pressed against his crotch at just the right angle, and he suppressed an appreciative groan. "Seducing me into quitting my… 'habit', as you call it?"
"Anything to make you stop hurting yourself."
"At the cost of the people's lives around me?"
"I think you're being a bit dramatic, and haven't explored enough options, sweetie." He said, trying to keep his hands still on her hips as his plan backfired on him. Her body was surprisingly receptive to his advances, and her very warm breasts felt awfully nice against his chest. That was the second time that day that she used his tactics against him.
"'Sweetie'?" She purred in his ear, and making him blush. "Since when do you call me 'sweetie'?"
"Do you like it?"
"Hmm, I'm not sure. I might like it better if I could see your face." Kibo commented, reminding the seith mage that he was still in uniform.
Trying to regain control, his tongue shot out again and licked her ear, but then moved down her neck. Avoiding the spots with blood, he eventually landed a soft kiss on the nape of her neck, smirking at the subtle reactions he was getting from her. His attention was completely on her; noticing the small hitches in her breath, the way her hands shook and awkwardly moved to his waist, and how her back arched slightly into him.
"I take it that you're over the whole 'big brother' role?" She spoke, her voice quivering beneath him.
"Tch," He huffed. "That's self-explanatory." For emphasis he nudged her hip with his growing erection, slightly surprised at how much her muscles tensed beneath him. "You okay?"
"O-of course."
"Right, virgin." He muttered, mentally kicking himself for forgetting that. Trying to step back, he found himself stuck, two hands keeping him in place.
"Why does that change anything?"
"It changes everything." Bickslow replied, now looking down at her flustered face through his visor. The brunette tried to lean in and kiss him, but given the height difference, he easily moved his face out of her grasp. He grinned at her.
"Oh come on."
"After all the death glares I've been getting the past few days, you deserve it." He said, sticking his tongue out her and removing her hands from his waist. "I even got a lecture from Macao and my teammates after you left the Guild Hall."
"You… you…"
"Night, Kibo." He said with a grin, and left the bathroom, leaving a flustered young mage staring after him.
5.
"You seem in good spirits. Anything happen last night?" Mira asked the next day, happy that the young girl seemed to be feeling better, not to mention physically healthy again. "Did you decide against camping?"
Kibo took a sip from the Sprite can in her hand. "I thought I'd come here and see if there were any jobs in the woods that I could take, so that I could get paid while getting out of town."
"Now that you mention it, I got a job request a few hours ago that fits the description. I haven't had a minute to put it on the job wall." She replied, and pulled out a job flier from under the bar. The brunette looked at the paper, reading over the description with a grin.
6.
Bickslow woke up to the sound of the front door opening, and grunted at the prospect of waking up. The blankets were warm, pillow was comfy, and couch cushions were surprisingly… well, actually, the couch wasn't that comfortable. Sleep was nice, though.
"Where'd you go this morning?" He asked her tiredly, not bothering to open his eyes or move. Footsteps pattered around the small apartment, and the sound of opening and closing kitchen cabinets reached his ears. "Shopping?"
"I went to the guild, and stopped by the grocery store on my way home. I'm leaving for a job in an hour or two."
"What kind of job?"
"Taking out a monster in the Phoenix Mountains."
"Phoenix Mountains? Seriously?" He asked, sitting up and looking at her, his eyes squinting against the light and hair sticking up in various directions. Kibo chuckled from her spot in the kitchen, amused by his morning hair. "Who are you going with?"
"No one. It's a solo mission."
"Like hell you are. That area is haunted as hell, and there's poltergeist traps everywhere. Why did Mira give you the job?"
"I've been to the Phoenix Mountains on my own before. I've never had any trouble."
"Then you're lucky to not be dead. What the hell is Mira thinking?" He asked, and then yawned, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Hey, I grew by the Phoenix Mountains, remember? Hell, it's probably my dead village that haunts most of it."
"I'm going with you." He said decidedly, but before she could argue with him, he was already leaping over the back of the couch and headed to the bathroom to shower.
7.
"You're still mad at me for last night, aren't you?"
She sighed, avoiding his overly inquisitive stare that got closer and closer to her face. "No, I'm annoyed that you just 'decided' that you're coming with me on this mission."
"More money I make, the sooner I can move out of your place. There's actually a nice place down the street that opened up, and I'm thinking about taking."
"Really? That would be great."
"You're not going to miss me when I'm gone?"
"Do you really want me to list the reasons why you're a terrible roommate?"
"I'm terrible? You're one to talk. Getting up at ungodly hours and doing yoga at the break of dawn. Not to mention all the healthy crap you buy for 'food'."
"At least I'm quiet and do yoga in my room. You stay up late and randomly jump on my bed when you're bored."
"That was one time, and I was drunk."
"That was several times, and how does drinking make it okay to wake me up at 3 AM?"
"What do you want for dinner?" He asked, completely derailing the conversation and annoying her. An amused smirk graced his lips.
"I don't know. Fish if there's a river nearby."
"I brought supplies for curry." He said, happy when the familiar grin encompassed her face.
"What kind of curry?"
"Your favorite kind. Glad I came along?" He asked, and although he didn't get a verbal answer, watched the grin widen as she daydreamed about the meal.
8.
Bickslow confirmed on their trip some of his suspicions about her, and without the prying eyes of the guild, he could mess with her as much as he wanted.
He knew it was cruel, but as long as he did all the cooking, she seemed surprisingly compliant with his games. Teasing her, phrasing his sentences in specific ways to set her off, and overall toying with her to get reactions from her. Making sure to avoid landmine topics, such as details about her village or the dragon that raised her, he was able to get quite a bit of information from her.
On occasion, the tables would turn and she'd get the upper hand, but they were rare and few in between. It was more likely on their trip that he'd get her to say something she didn't mean to, or he'd take her words and spin it into a completely different meaning, making her cutely flustered.
If she honestly hated the attention, she would simply not react to his comments or be more adamant about her pleas for him to stop. When he stepped on the landmine conversation topics she would do so, but other than those rare times, she'd always play with him.
"You obviously like physical contact." He stated on their 4th day camping, sitting across from her at their small campfire. Their fish was cooking slowly on the fire by a pot of rice, and the smell of it was making them extra hungry after their day of backpacking. "Yet you claim to not like dating."
"It's just not my thing. I don't get how you don't get that."
"I heard that you made out with Natsu, so you're not just emotionally stuck on me."
"Why are you so stuck on this topic?"
"You know why." He said with a mischievous smile, watching her hands fidget in her lap. "You like being around people, you like socializing… you seem relaxed in close proximity to people, and even when intimate with others, you don't seem nervous or unsure of yourself, despite your inexperience. The only things I can think of are that you're scared of people finding out about your cutting, or about your past."
"And you don't think those are good reasons?"
"No, I think they're good reasons, I just don't think they are the reasons. You mentioned that cutting prevents your from hurting people, so perhaps you're afraid to be intimate because you're afraid of losing control?"
She narrowed her eyes at him, causing him to grin.
"I'm getting closer." He stated, watching her squirm awkwardly under his stare and redirect her gaze back to the fire. "It has something to do with your magic."
"Can you drop it?" She stammered, cheeks red and eyes on the pot of rice about to boil over. "I think the food is done."
Temporarily redirecting his attention to the food, he readied their plates and added a few extra spices to the fish and rice.
A few minutes later, after they both had a plate of food on their laps, Bickslow continued the conversation. Now that she had food in front of her, she would likely be more cooperative than before.
"You don't like getting close to people because you're afraid of hurting them." He wondered out loud, but got minimal reaction while she was eating. "You're also self-conscious about the cutting. Natsu is a strong wizard and could handle himself, though, so you'd have no problem with him if you lost control of your magic. In fact, if you dated strong wizards, they might find it a turn on to have your magic used on them during sex."
"Can we talk about something else?"
"It has something to do with sex." He said with a grin, and then took a bite of his food as her cheeks reddened. "Although, I suppose you could be blushing from the conversation topic. But I'm guessing it has to do with the sex thing."
"I'm eating food. Sex and food do not go together."
"You really are a virgin." He said with an amused chuckle, watching her cheeks turn even more red.
She went back to her food, devouring the rice and three fish that he had put on her plate.
"You really are a pervert." She said a few minutes later, causing the male to choke on his food, not expecting the comment.
Later that night, hours after they had fallen asleep, Bickslow woke up to a strange sound.
He sat up, his green eyes staring into the darkness of his tent, cold air causing goosebumps to rise along his exposed skin. Calling one of his souls back to a vessel, he used the light from Peppe to find a sweatshirt to put on. As he strained his ears against the silence, trying to figure out what the sound was, he realized it was coming from Kibo's tent.
After sitting there for a few seconds, he realized that it sounded like muffled crying.
"You okay?" He asked, hearing a muffled 'eep' from the girl, his voice likely startling her. "Are you crying?"
Silence.
Bickslow waited a few seconds, half of his body still in his sleepingbag and his soul floating close by.
"Did I make you upset?" He asked, wondering if he had pushed her too far the past few days. Despite his attention to detail, he wondered if he missed something, or pushed one of her buttons a little too far. "Kibo?"
She didn't say anything, and the silence was beginning to worry him.
"If you don't say anything, I'm going to come over and check on you. I'm worried about you."
"Worried because you're crying." His baby echoed. After another half a minute of waiting, and continuing to hear some muffled sobs, the seith mage removed himself from his sleeping bag and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. Unzipping his tent, he flinched against the cold air, suddenly remembering why he always insists on getting hotel rooms when his team goes on jobs. Awkwardly searching for his sandals outside the tent, he slipped them on and then zipped the tentflap back to a close, pausing only to let his soul fly through.
"I-I'm f-f-f-fine." The woman stuttered when he was outside her tent.
"Well, I'm coming in to check on you anyway." He said, and unzipped her tent, letting his soul fly in so that he could see where he was going. Slipping off his sandals and precariously entering the small space, almost tripping over the shoe at the entrance, he closed the tent flap and then crawled over to the shaking form.
Kneeling next to her, he gently placed a hand on what he hoped was her shoulder, and tried to peer at her face in the darkness. Since she was curled up in fetal position and her hair blocked most of her features, not to mention the shadows cast across her face, he couldn't get a good look at her.
"If I did something to upset you, I'm sorry. I can be an asshole sometimes." He apologized, hoping that it was cease her shaking. As his eyes adjusted to the poor lighting, he realized that she was holding her hand over her mouth, likely trying to stay quiet. "Hey, you don't need to be quiet. I'm not going to judge you for crying. I've been guilty of it way too many times to hold it against anyone."
His hand itched to move to her face and remove the strands of hair sticking to it, but he was worried that the extra contact would send her over the edge. Since he had no idea why she was upset, he tried to keep his contact with her limited.
Wondering if the light was worsening her shakes, he deactivated Peppe and let his vessel lay in the corner of the small tent. Slowly, he lowered himself next to the shaking girl, propping his head with his folded arm. Free hand still resting on her shoulder, he moved it slowly up and down her arm.
A strangled cry escaped her throat, and he scooted closer to her, keeping his hand on her arm. "It's okay," He whispered, trying to comfort her.
9.
Bickslow woke up the next morning sore and cold, having fallen asleep on the woman's crappy, barely existent sleeping mat and no sleeping bag. The only warmth he felt was a sleeping brunette in his arms, who had snuggled up to him at some point in the night.
He could tell that it was extremely early, maybe 4 AM, and wanted to sleep more. When he tried to move and go back to his tent, the girl tightened his grip on her. Trying again, he failed, finding her grip unusually strong for such a small person.
"Kibo," He whispered, causing her to stir slightly against him. "I'm cold. I'm going back to my tent."
"No." She stated, unmoving.
"… 'no'?" He asked, and she nodded. "… what if you came with me back to my tent? My sleeping bag and mat is big enough for the both of us."
"But we're already here."
"But I'm cold. You've got a sleeping bag, I don't." He told her, and at this information, she shifted so that she could look between them. Sure enough, she was the only one in her sleeping bag, and since they weren't both covered, she had parts of her arms exposed to the cold morning air. "Come on."
"Okay." She said tiredly, and not bothering to change out of her black underwear and revealing tank top, followed him out of the tent and into his. Her movements were surprisingly more graceful than his, while he stumbled and cursed at his uncoordination.
While Kibo wasted no time climbing into his sleeping bag, Bickslow took the extra moment to change out of his sweatshirt and pants, leaving him only clad in boxers. He crawled into bed after her, and just like before, they fell asleep in each other's arms.
10.
Kibo woke up to a very strange situation.
She couldn't recall a time where this ever happened before.
Ever.
The tenseness in her muscles caused the mage to stir, and her face turned completely red. Instinctually, Bickslow placed a kiss on her forehead and pulled her closer, one of his hands resting on her exposed hip.
He was shirtless. There was a lot of skin-on-skin contact.
The sleeping bag, which she recognized wasn't hers, was pulled up just above her chin. Her nose was barely brushing against his collar bone, and she realized in terror that her arm was wrapped around him while the other was asleep between them. Bickslow's other arm was under her neck, and wasn't completely comfortable combined with the corner of a pillow she was sharing with him.
The blush deepened on her cheeks as his thumb gently caressed the skin on her hip.
But then it hit her, and the pleasant, yet confusing and embarrassing feelings, would have been preferred to the pain she felt. She bit down on her lip to keep from crying out, feeling the resounding and overwhelming sensation crash over her like a wave. All of a sudden she could hear everything happening within his body, along with the magic energy of the forest and all the creatures within it. Bickslow was loudest of all, since he was so close.
It wasn't as bad as in the city, but it the abruptness of it was enough to make her cringe. Instinctually, she pressed her forehead forward, making contact with his neck. Without realizing it, her nails dug into his skin.
"Hmm… you okay?" The male asked, wondering if she was having another nightmare. She'd had them periodically through the night, so he wouldn't be surprised at yet another one occurring.
She took a deep breath, trying to regain control.
"Kibo?"
"Give me a minute." She snapped, her voice hoarse from crying through the night. Since it was the first time that she actually said anything, it caused Bickslow to wake up more and blink his eyes awake. Judging by the light outside, he guessed that they had slept in anyway, maybe until 11 AM.
His body shook as a wave of enormous magical energy rippled from her, definitely waking him up. "What the hell was that?"
"Sorry." She stammered, and turned to try to get out of the sleeping bag, but he held her down.
"No." He said, mocking her for this morning. He briefly wondered if she even remembered that, but nonetheless used the arm under her neck to wrap around to her other shoulder, and the other hand was now glued to her other hip, pressing gently but firmly against her exposed skin.
The sleeping bag had fallen off their upper bodies in the movement, letting him get an eyeful of her exposed waist. When his eyes wandered further down, he realized that she was just wearing black underwear, which left little to the imagination.
"Bickslow," She spoke, the sound of her voice alerting him to the very awkward situation he had put them in. "I have a migraine, and I need to get an aspirin for it."
He immediately let go of her, averting his gaze as she escaped from the tent. It took all his willpower not to watch her leave, knowing that is likely a good view from what little she was wearing.
11.
That day they found the monster and killed it. It was easy enough to take him down, since it was originally supposed to be a solo mission.
They were both quiet for most of the day, not sure what to say about the previous night and morning. Conversation was minimal or awkward, and it wasn't until that night that they started talking again.
"How'd you become such a good cook?" Kibo asked curiously, watching him stir the pot of stew over the fire. He looked up at her, surprised by the conversation starter, and smiled.
"My mom taught me. She thought it was a good skill for me to learn." He told her, and after stirring a bit longer, put the lid back on and sat back down on a log. Kibo was sitting on the other side of the fire, comfortably on a blanket she'd brought for the journey. "My parents were big on food growing up. Whenever I visit, they go all out on meals, even though they don't like me very much."
"What's your favorite meal?"
"Chimchangas."
"Is that because you like the taste, or just the word?" She asked, causing him to laugh. The awkwardness that had encompassed them through the day seemed to disappear.
"You know me too well." He told her, and then eyed the empty spot next to her, tempted to sit there. Splinters were threatening to make a home in his pants, if they hadn't already.
Without needing to ask, she patted the spot next to her, and the seith mage gladly accepted. Bickslow jumped over to her and sat with his legs extended in front of him, slightly bent at the knees.
"Mind reader, you are."
"Perhaps." She said with a grin, and they both chuckled, looking back at the hypnotizing fire. Reds and oranges danced beautifully before them, flames reaching for the stars and disappearing into the night air, only sparks and smoke lifting up into the night sky.
"Sorry this morning was so awkward. Do you remember much of last night?"
"Not really. It's mostly a blur." She admitted, and he nodded thoughtfully.
"You were crying last night, so I went to your tent to check on you. You had a lot of nightmares last night."
"Sorry I woke you."
"Does that happen often?" He asked, surprised by her casualness, and she nodded. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"It's not your problem." The brunette said with a shrug. "They've gotten worse over the years, and I've handled them the best I can. I try not to bother other people with it."
"You can bother me with it. I don't mind." He said, genuine in his words. Her gaze remained locked on the fire, a silence passing between them, whether awkward or nice he couldn't tell. "You seemed to calm down last night when we cuddled. In the past, your nightmares seemed minimal when we fell asleep together."
A soft blush spread across her cheeks, the sight becoming all too familiar for him.
"You don't have to tell me what they're about, but I'll listen if you want to talk."
"Thanks."
After another moment of silence, Bickslow was about to talk again, when she started speaking.
"When I'm at full strength, I can… hear, things. It's not hearing precisely. It's like an extra sense." She tried to explain, pausing to find the right words. "Anything with blood or magic, I can sense. Things that have blood I can sense everything happening within their bodies. I can sense every living thing within a mile radius. The less I'm injured, or stronger I am, the louder it is."
"'Louder'?" He asked, curious about her word choice.
"I can 'hear' everything happening in your body. Joints, muscles, blood, chemical reactions- everything. On top of that, when I'm in a city, I can sense everyone else within a mile radius. It's like listening to hundreds of loud radios at once."
"Does that include animals?" Bickslow asked, staring at the girl. She seemed particularly vulnerable at that moment, as her shoulders were hunched over and gaze remained locked on the fire.
"Yes. They're not as loud or difficult as humans, but I can hear them nonetheless."
"That's quite the power. I'm jealous." He said, surprised by her scoff.
"It's fucking loud and gives me a headache. I was trained in a forest sparsely populated, so I didn't have to worry about being overloaded."
"But you're able to sense an opponent's weakness, right?"
"Why do you think I'm such a natural at martial arts?" She said with a confident grin, surprising the seith mage at her change in attitude. "When I'm injured and I can only hear a few people at a time, it's useful."
"But when you're at full power, it… overwhelms you?" He asked, trying to understand.
"Yes."
"And that's why you cut yourself?"
"It's one of the reasons, yes."
"Is it also the reason you don't date?" Just as her eyes had finally started meeting his, they fluttered away again, and her jaw clenched. "Since you can sense so many things, it overwhelms you when you get physically close to someone."
"Like most dragonslayers, my ability is powered by emotion. It makes my healing magic work faster on my wounds, so that everything gets too loud. On the few occasions I tried to ignore it, I accidentally hurt my partner."
"… that sucks." He spoke after a moment, now looking back at the fire and absorbing the information. "That's why you asked me to kiss you when I caught you cutting the first time?"
"Yeah. It was the first time that I tried kissing someone while my wounds were fresh."
"And it wasn't overwhelming?"
"I could still sense a little, but it had dulled enough that I could enjoy the kiss."
"… so for you to enjoy anything intimate, you have to be bleeding."
"Pretty much."
"… huh." He muttered, and then stood up to stir the stew, quietly pondering the information. "So this morning when you mentioned a headache, it was because you woke up in my sleeping bag and was overwhelmed?"
"Y-yeah…" She stuttered.
"… huh." He muttered again.
"Does it freak you out?" She asked suddenly, looking up at him from her spot. He blinked at her, surprised by the question, but then pondered it.
"No. It does give me ideas, though." Bickslow replied, sticking his tongue out at her. He loved the deep blush that spread along her cheeks, and her reaction to him just made her cuter. "For your injuries, does it have to be bloody? Or, for example, could you get punched in the face and get the same result?"
"… are you planning to punch me in the face?"
"Well, no, I'm just getting an idea for your abilities." He said with a mischievous smirk. "Of course, you don't have to tell me anything."
"… bruises work just as well, if they're bad enough. Burns work best in terms of lasting effect. Blades are my favorite, namely for the feel than anything."
"What about broken bones?"
"They're the best." She said with an embarrassed grin, and watched as the man started pouring their bowls of soup. "I would break my arm more often if it wasn't so obvious."
"How fast can you heal it?"
"A few minutes if I actively use my magic on it. A few days if I don't."