Chapter 32: Ow! My Back!

A/N: Hello there people! Welcome me back as I have our next chapter here! Since we only got three of the ten things I asked for, there will only be one chapter today. Unless of course there is a massive spike in numbers while I write this. Then we'll see a second chapter today or tomorrow! But as of now, only one per update. Thanks to brucie86 for his suggestion via review, sashaXmafuyuFOREVER for the ideas via PM, and to the voter from yesterday! And to the one from the day before, who doesn't count towards our ten combination. NOW ENJOY!

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The next day (Gōsuto POV)

We sit in our train car and relax, something we rarely do in trains as usually Natsu is whining about his motion sickness or the lack of Lucy being there. It gets annoying. 'Man, this is nice. Been a while since we could rest and relax like this. Hell for me it's been since before I met them, back in my early years really. When I was younger I wasn't exactly what I was now, was I? Sure I was a tracker still, but not for any of the good reasons. I was dark person back then, probably still am just doing the right things now.'

"Hey Gōsuto, I have a question for you." Esoj said from his seat across from me and I looked at him with one eye, the other eye closed. "You were a bounty hunter for dark guilds who wanted help, right? And you had a partner right? What was his name?"

I was taken aback a bit by the question, 'He a mind reader now?' but I still answered none the less, "Yes I was. And yes I had a partner, his name was…"

"Raitonekusasu, light mage." Came a voice I had not heard in years, and was a voice that made me jump up and into a fighting stance.

"Rai! What are you doing here?!" I ask pointedly as he just sighs at me and sits down.

"Calm down would ya? I've been looking for you to ask you a question." He said and looked very serious, something he only did when he really did have something meaningful to say. "I want to know why you broke us up, our partnership was the best in the world, why did you go straight." He asked getting straight to the point.

I hear what sounds like someone suppressing a laugh, and I turn and see Esoj as the culprit. He fails and bursts out laughing, "KIKIKIKIKIKI! GAAAYYY! What were you two life partners before he figured out he liked pussies, not dicks? KIKIKIKIKI!" He continued laughing as I narrowed my eyes at, as did Rai.

But Nena beat us to it and smacked him on the head, sending him crashing into the ground. "Cabron! Can't see the seriousness of the conversation? Cabron! Baboso!" She yelled at him and he cringed while picking himself up and I knew why, 'If she's yelling in Spanish, she's mad, especially when she calls him baboso on top of cabron. 'He's so not getting laid now. Maybe before this, but now? He's luck if he stays conscious for the rest of the ride.'

"Come on! The way he said that was hilarious made them sound really gay for each other! KIKIKIKI!" Esoj said, laughing, and was then promptly dropped to the floor again by Nena.

Then an older woman walked by and said to me, "You know young man, it's ok to admit your gay, my grandson is and I still love him." I deadpanned as she looked at the two of us and said, "You know you two would make a great couple!"

She walked away leaving two stunned men, an annoyed woman, and an idiot who was howling like a hyena. "I'M NOT GAY!" I roared as I found my voice and face palmed. I looked at Rai who looked embarrassed and was as red as a tomato, and asked him, "Oi, what's wrong with you? You want an answer to your question or not, idiot."

"Yes, yes, yes. Now why did you leave the life? It was good to us you know. And fuck you I'm fine." He answered back and I looked at him and saw the look of a determined man, a man who had possibly changed as well.

I sigh and look at him, saying, "I left because of what happened on that last job we did."

"But that wasn't our fault! It was an accident! We didn't know enough!" He said.

"No, it was our fault. We killed an innocent girl, she didn't have to die, but all we cared about was the money. Now I only care about the people, not the money. What about you? You still only care about the money?" I ask and look at his face and see a look of determination and of… happiness?

"Nope. I only care about something along similar lines to you. Just not the people, I met someone. She's amazing and she has changed me. Now I'm trying to meet her expectations of a man. So far so good, but I had to leave the life as well. It's part of the reason why I came looking for you." I saw his face the entire time and was surprised to see the sincerity of his answer. 'He must really love this woman. His face was practically glowing with happiness when he talked about her, I wonder what he wants? Whatever it is, I'll help him. He's like a brother to me.'

"What do you need Rai?" I ask as he looks and sees the sincerity behind my words.

"I hear you and your new group are going after someone. A certain someone that you'll need help finding. You're looking for Zeref, I know. And I want to help. I hear you guys are still based in Naito. I left my wife there after I waited for two months. I was looking for you for about a year before that and finally got wind of your new job. So what do you say, let's reunite again? The light and dark duo of Naito, reborn?" He asked and looked at me.

I wanted to tell him yes right away, but I knew I had no power over our group here, Natsu does, and he's not here. 'Wait! I'll just call him up with the lacrima! Hopefully he's not on a train.' "I'm not in charge but I'm sure he would be ok with it, our boss I mean. Let's call him up now." I pull out our communication lacrima and tune it to the frequency we need. Then I remember I have the visual one and really hope he's not on a train or Rai would think he's weak.'

The visual communication lacrima comes to life and I hear a strange sound, I call out to Natsu, "Hey Boss! You there…" Then I understood what the sounds were, they were moans.

"Oh my gods… NATSU!" I heard Lucy yell obviously enjoying whatever Natsu was doing.

"KIKIKIKIKI! Oh my gods! This day just keeps getting better and better! This is better than actual comedy shows! KIKIKIKI!" Esoj howled and continued doing so, and I mistook him for a hyena.

"Oi! Luce, what was that?" I heard Natsu ask.

"Shit!" We all whisper yell and fumble with the lacrima but are too slow.

"OH MY GODS! YOU FUCKERS! WHAT THE FUCK! WHY ARE YOU WATCHING US?!" Natsu yells and we see Lucy yell and fall of to the side of the bed they had us bring them, as Natsu rushes over to the lacrima and turns it off.

We stare at the lacrima as the hyena in the train continues laughing like an idiot. "Ummmm, sorry Rai. That was totally unexpected."

"…it's ok Gōsuto. I know it was an accident. So that was your boss right? Natsu Dragneel, The Salamander?" He asked changing the subject.

"Yeah, but he doesn't use that moniker anymore. He goes by the name Hell's Judge now." I say and he looks surprised.

"You mean the man who purges the darkness of the world with his fists of flames? You are the Ronin?" He asked and looked…excited?

"Yeah, that's us. We created this group about a year ago. You still want in? Or are you scared now that you know who we are?" I ask him.

"Scared? More like excited! Me and my wife have been keeping track of you guys and love the good you guys do! I want in even more now!" He said very excitedly and looked at us with a big grin on his face.

"Well alright then. You'll need to recite the motto for us as well, have to see if you can say it with the conviction necessary to be a Ronin." Esoj said cutting me off and then we began the chant, which he surprisingly knew already.

"THOUGH WE MAY HAVE NO TRUE HOME WE ARE NEVER ALONE! THOUGH NO ONE MAY WANT US WILL DO WHAT IS NEEDED! THOUGH NO ONE MAY APPRECIATE WHAT WE DO WE WILL ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING! WE ARE THE FORSAKEN, THE FORGOTTEN, THE LOST, WE ARE THE RONIN! DEATH TO OUR ENEMIES AND TO THE EVER LASTING GLORY THAT AWAITS US IN THE FUTURE. LIVE! FIGHT! LIVE AND FIGHT FOREVER!" We finish the chant and see the conviction behind Rai's chant and know we just gained a new member, and a partner for me.

Esoj claps his hands and says, "Ok, you pass. Welcome to the Ronin!"

(POV Change to Jura)

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?" I hear Sherry ask someone, consciousness now beginning to reach me.

"Yes, we just have to be patient. I just woke up this morning, and I wasn't beaten as badly as him. And why won't you let me look in a mirror? What's wrong?" I hear Lyon ask and finally realize what's going on, they're watching over me.

"Shut up! I'll spin you!" I hear Obaba say and I cringe slightly as I am now fully awake. 'She's mad. I am so dead now…'

That movement was a mistake as I feel a sharp pain in my back and I yell out in pain, making my consciousness known to everyone in the room as I begin writhing in pain. "Jura!" They all yell and I hear the door open and someone else rushes in.

"Porlyusica-san! Jura is awake! Come here quickly something is wrong with him!" I hear Wendy yell and look around to see her, and everyone else.

I see now why Sherry refused to let Lyon look at himself, it wasn't pretty and I wasn't even sure that it was Lyon anymore. He looked like a stranger now, his only recognizable feature on his face that is the same is his white hair. His face itself is horribly scarred with burns and looks like he walked through into a volcano, and like he stayed in there for a minute. The scars are deep and make him look strange, his once alluring charm that his face had is now long gone and would probably scare a child nowadays. I felt so bad for him that I no longer was able to look at him and looked to the door instead, and feel the pain in my back and yell out "OW! MY BACK! ARGH!" I continue writhing as the one I assume to be Porlyusica walks in and sees me and rushes over to me.

"Stay still! If you keep moving it will just make your back hurt even more! You broke several vertebrae and we were barely able to keep you a walking person. Almost had your career ended by that woman. You must rest and prepare for a very long rehabilitation period. So stop moving about some little child! Act your age!" She yells at me and I follow her orders.

I relax slightly and feel the pain lessen to a mild discomfort now. I sigh and ask the room, "What happened? Did anyone win?"

I get silence as an answer for a moment until I hear Porlyusica sigh and say, "No. No one won. We were defeated and lost some good people."

I stiffen at her words and feel my heart clench at the last part. I try to compose myself and prepare for the news I want to hear and get ready for the hammer to drop. "Who died?"

I hear silence again, until I hear Porlyusica sigh deeply and say sadly, "Warrod, Juvia and Makarov lost their lives."

I feel my heart pop and I feel tears threatening to fall from my eyes. Apparently this was the first time Lyon had heard the news as well, as he yelled out, "WHAT?! JUVIA DIED! WHO KILLED HER?! I WILL KILL GRAY AND WHOEVER DID THIS ATROCITY! WHERE IS GRAY?!"

"Lyon, please calm down. You know it wasn't Gray's fault." Sherry says, with a slight sadness to her voice at his obvious affection for the now deceased water mage, and how she was probably a consolation prize for Lyon.

He realized this and I hear him say, "Sherry, don't be sad. I am over my feelings for her, I just saw her as a sister now since Gray is my brother basically. Don't worry, you're my only girl now."

"Thank you, Lyon." Sherry says and I hear the sadness in her voice lessen but still there. She cared for Juvia as a friend as well and was still sad at the loss of the girl that she would have probably been sister in laws with.

I finally feel the severity of just how deep and sad these deaths reach everyone involved. I begin to cry a little bit and hear Obaba whisper, "Jura… I know your respect for Makarov, but this is not the time for tears, not yet. You must be strong for Lyon, as he has yet to see his face as it is now. When that happens I fear that he will not be too happy and do something rash. So rest up, I'll need help restraining him." I nod and am surprised by her kind words and the compassion she said them with. She senses my surprise and says quietly again, "I care about all of the mages in my guild and feel compassion for them all. I may not always show it, but I truly do love you kids like Makarov did with his kids."

"Thank you, Obaba-dono." I say and compose myself again. I hear Lyon and Sherry whimpering and sniffling slightly, clearly still comforting each other. I realize the need for my leadership and sit up, this time ignoring the pain and look at everyone. "Everyone! We must stay strong! Lyon, you will get your chance at revenge! Just be patient. We have a year to train, so we will make the most of it! We will bury our dead and use their lives as motivation! We will not let their killers go unpunished!" I finish speaking and look at everyone from my guild and see the same determination that is on my face as well, and I feel hope for the first time since I was awake. Hope that next time, things will be different the next time. I remember Madre's challenge to me and think to myself, 'Ok Madre. I will train and surpass you. I will defeat you this time and get revenge for what you did to my friends!'

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A/N: Wow, that was fun to write! However I can take no credit for the new OC this time. The character idea was given to me by sashaXmafuyuFOREVER in her PM. Raitonekusasu means Light Nexus for those of you who care. Also while I went through the day I saw that we had another response for the poll. That makes it four out of ten now, six more things needed for a double chapter day! Keep it up, and if you voted and want to let me know you did and why you voted how you did, PM me. It will count towards the ten and I will be very happy with you! READ AND REVIEW! ADIOS!