Here's the next chapter, guys! I hope you all enjoy!
April 4, X791
The sun was setting and Spiral, Kagura, Sakura and Flora had returned to the Phoenix Dawn guild hall with Jayden. As soon as they came back, Sakura and Flora were sent out with Frost, Cole and Kuroko to rescue Fleuressca. Meanwhile in the guild hall, Spiral and Kagura were being treated by Aura with Aqua and Blaise sitting at a table while Jayden was taking the first shower he's had in who knows how long.
"I can't believe that Jason was a clone this whole time." Aqua said.
"I've already contacted the Magic Council about Alexander's crimes." Blaise said. "It should only be a matter of time before he's brought to justice. Thankfully we told them how to find the lab because without evidence they wouldn't do anything."
"… I can't believe he's gone…" Aqua muttered, looking sullen.
"If we knew Jason was going to head home sooner, maybe we could have stopped him and Alexander wouldn't have killed him." Blaise said. "Jason will be missed, but if I've learned anything from my fight with Luna it's that we have to move on."
"I know… it's just that…" Aqua said. "It was only until now that I only liked him because I thought he was cute."
"You shouldn't solely base a relationship on looks, Aqua." Blaise said. "Some people end up in the worst relationships of their lives because of it."
"Man, that shower felt good!" Jayden said as he came out of the shower room.
Everyone looked over to see Jayden with a clean shave and a towel wrapped draped around his shoulder… and wearing nothing.
"I almost forgot how good they felt!" Jayden said.
Everyone had a different reaction to seeing Jayden naked. Spiral covered his eyes and turned his head in the other direction, Aura placed her hands over her face, Blaise calmly put her hand over her eyes almost as if she was face-palming herself, Aqua was blushing and looking down at the ground, and Kagura retained her composure aside from a light red on her cheeks.
"Hm, is something wrong?" Jayden asked.
"Yes, something's wrong!" Spiral shouted. "You're naked!"
"… So?" Jayden asked.
"It's note polite to reveal your crown jewels to a lady." Aura said.
"But I don't have any clean clothes." Jayden said.
"What about the clothes we took from the clones?" Spiral asked.
"I'd feel uncomfortable wearing dead people's clothes." Jayden replied.
"You know what? Here." Spiral said before he took off his shirt and pants, revealing his blue boxers and tossed the clothes he removed to Jayden. "Take those for now and go clothes shopping."
Jayden put on the clothes Spiral gave him and everyone who wasn't looking opened their eyes. However, Aqua was still looking at the ground with her face completely red.
"The only question is: Who's going to take him shopping?" Aura asked.
Spiral looked around at everyone until his gaze noticed Kagura. "How about you, Kagura?"
"Me?" Kagura asked.
"Look at your clothes." Spiral said. "You clearly have a good sense of fashion."
"But-" Kagura was about to say.
"It's settled then!" Spiral said. "Oh, before you go…" He walked over to Jayden and rummaged through the pockets of the jeans he put on. When he was done he pulled out a wallet. "I don't want you spending my money."
"Well, Kagura, let's go." Jayden said before leaving the guild hall.
Kagura sighed and left the guild hall with him. Just as they left, Hikari entered the building.
"Hey, what are Kagura and Jason doing-" Hikari said, but stopped when she saw a half-naked Spiral standing in the middle of the guild hall, surrounded by three women. "… Spiral, mind telling me what this is about?"
"Uh…" Spiral stammered. "Ladies, could you help me out here?"
Aqua was still looking at the ground with a furious blush on her face. "… Um… I really need to use the ladies' room."
Without even lifting her face up, Aqua walked away.
"… What was that about?" Spiral asked, confused as to what just happened.
Kagura had taken Jayden to one of Roseshade's clothing stores and he was in the changing room, trying on different outfits while she waited and leaned against the wall.
"So, what kind of person was Jason?" Jayden asked from inside the changing room.
"He was…" Kagura had to think for a brief second. "Loyal and caring. There was this girl he had been waiting for the past seven years for and he never wavered from his devotion."
"Now I see why he didn't put any real moves on you." Jayden said.
"He shared that devotion to his guild mates as well." Kagura said. "Even me."
"Sounds like he was a great guy."
"… Yes, he was… Can I tell you something? Just promise not to tell anyone."
"What is it?"
"… I actually did kind of like him. It wasn't anything romantic or physical…"
"Just infatuation? Yeah, I know words like that. I may have been a prisoner, but at least he gave me dictionaries and grammar books to read."
"Anyway, that perfectly sums it up."
"Well, I'm sorry regardless."
"It wasn't your fault. You were a victim. Though thank you for your condolences."
"By the way, can I ask you a favor?"
"Hm?"
"All those years cooped up in that cell, I haven't been able to get much exercise and I'm not as strong as I should be. Would you mind helping me train?"
"I don't know. You're a water wizard, so shouldn't you ask Aqua to train you?"
"This isn't really about my magic, more like I want to improve my strength and stamina. It doesn't have to be today. I mean you did go through one hell of a fight earlier."
"Well… since my wounds have healed and I regained the magic energy I used, we can do it once we're done shopping."
"Thanks! I owe ya!"
Jayden finally came out of the dressing room, now wearing a purple T-shirt, black pants and white sneakers.
"How do I look?" Jayden asked.
"It's simple, but you to really pull it off you should get a haircut." Kagura answered.
"Oh, that all?" Jayden asked.
Jayden formed a small water blade from the tip of his index finger and trimmed off an inch or two of his hair. Now he looked like a slightly hairier version of Jason.
"That should do it." Jayden said.
"How old are you?" Kagura asked. "I recall that you said that Cloning Magic can even alter the clone's age. Are you the same age as Jason?"
"Actually, I'm a few years older than that. I believe I'm 23 now."
"So you're the same age as me."
"Guess so. I'm gonna go grab a few more of these clothes and then we can head out training."
After their finishing their shopping trip, Jayden (now wearing his new attire) and Kagura went to the outskirts of Roseshade for some intensive training. The sun was so low in the sky that there was very little light shining on them.
"Remember, there's no need to win." Kagura said. "This is merely exercise."
"I'm aware." Jayden nodded.
"First, you will perform 100 push-ups."
"… What?"
"You said you wanted to exercise, right?" Kagura asked while giving a small smirk.
Jayden smiled as he got on the ground and took the time to prepare the proper stance before starting his push-ups.
For almost the next few hours, Kagura had been helping Jayden by having him do simple exercise routines which included sit-ups, squats and pull-ups using a tree branch. Once those were out of the way, Jayden and Kagura got into the middle of a wide open field and they were ready for their sparring match.
"Are you ready?" Kagura asked.
"Ready." Jayden replied.
Jayden lunged at Kagura with his entire forearm surrounded in water.
"Water Dragon…"
Kagura blocked his fist with her sheathed sword, only to have Jayden smirk.
"Wave Fist!"
The water around Jayden's arm burst and sent Kagura skidding across the ground, her clothes drenched from the blast.
*Such power…* Kagura thought to herself. *After only a few hours of basic exercises. I can't even imagine how powerful he is once he's regained his strength.*
Kagura then charged at Jayden, ready to kick him in the side, but he blocked it with his arm. The two traded kicks and punches for the next several minutes, neither one of them giving a hint of exhaustion. However, once those seven minutes were up Jayden had to stop in order to catch his breath.
"Okay…" Jayden said. "I think that's enough for today."
"Your potential is unbelievable." Kagura said. "I'm surprised you managed to hold out as long as you did."
"Well, part of that might be because I absorbed the magic energy of two clones." Just as he said that, he stomach started grumbling. "Man, I haven't eaten since yesterday. Too bad all the restaurants are closed."
Kagura pulled something out of her pocket. It was wrapped in cloth and she unfurled it to reveal that it was a sandwich.
"I… made this for Jason to cheer him up." Kagura said. "Sorry it's wet."
"No, I'm sorry." Jayden said. "I was the one who got it wet. Hold on, I'll take care of that and your clothes."
Jayden held out his arm and a breeze came from it that dried off the sandwich and Kagura's clothes.
"That's right." Kagura said. "When you absorbed the clone, you gained his Zephyr Magic as well."
"Thank you for making this." Jayden said as he accepted the sandwich and took a bite out of it. "It's good. Though, that might be because I haven't had quality food in years. But I like it and that's what matters, right?"
"I guess. I should probably head back to Mermaid Heel. Millianna and the others are probably worried about me."
"Who?"
"I'll introduce you two some other time. Right now, you should head back to the guild hall and get some rest. All I can say is to keep following the same exercises I put you through tonight and you will be physically stronger."
As Kagura walked away, Jayden couldn't help but look back at her as he made his way back to Roseshade.
"Something on your mind, lover boy?"
Jayden noticed that Tristan was standing in front of him.
"I caught the way you look at her." Tristan said as he walked up to Jayden and wrapped his arm around him. "Don't tell me you don't want to tap that."
"Tap?" Jayden raised an eyebrow.
"You know? Sleep with her? Mate?"
"Whoa, um…" Jayden blushed. "Well, I definitely… like her."
"Listen, I heard about you from the Master. I know you've been detached from the outside world for over a decade. I might not be able to teach you much about magic since you're already so strong, but if you have any questions about women my ears are always open."
A/N: Finished! I might not be able to post a chapter by next weekend, but I will definitely be able to do so by the following Friday. This is because finals are coming up. But when they are over, I'm going on a Fairy Tail binge and watching the entire series right from the start as soon as I get home. Anyway, with this chapter I wanted to establish the relationship between Jayden and Kagura simply to show that the two have chemistry and like they said, at this moment the feelings aren't that strong, but there has to be some interest. I hope you all enjoyed it! Stay tuned for next time!