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Chapter 85

Rainbow Sakura

NO POV

At the headquarters of the Magic Council, Org was making his way down the main hall having to have just finished a meeting with the other council members. Needless to say, he was feeling a bit tired, exhausted, and somewhat irritated.

"Thank goodness that's over and done with," he said to himself. "That meeting seemed to go on forever. If you could call that a meeting. The way I see it, it's pretty much the same thing as before. Uploading the sanctity of order and complaining about Fairy Tail."

Then Org started thinking about a particular person. A person who he hadn't seen since he had seen him off the other day.

"I wonder how he's doing?" he thought. "No doubt that he's probably joined up with Fairy Tail by now. If he has, then I'm sure that he's in good hands. If there's any guild I would have recommended for him, Fairy Tail's would be no exception. I just hope that he doesn't become as rowdy as they are."

Just then, a blue humanoid frog came up to Org carrying a couple of papers.

"Master Org, I bring you news that you need to hear about," she said.

"What is it?" asked Org.

"I just did a search as you requested," said the frog person. "And I think I've managed to find what you were looking for."

The frog person the handed Org some of the papers it was holding and Org took a quick read through them. Then he looked back at the frog person.

"Thank you very much," he said. "I think I'll take it from here. You are dismissed."

The blue frog person gave a polite bow and she went on her way. Org then looked back at the papers his face remaining neutral.

"Now... it's time I truly finish what I started," he said to himself. "And what I've set out to do, will finally be done."

WILLY'S POV

The next day, I woke up with the sun's rays peeking through my window. I sleepily sat up and stretched letting out a satisfied yawn. I then rubbed my eyes and looked towards the clock wondering what time it was. The clock showed fifteen minutes past nine which meant that it was still morning.

Then I suddenly remembered and that made me smile from cheek to cheek. I then got out of bed and eagerly hopped into the shower to start my day. Soon enough, I had showered, dressed, and was just leaving my room locking the door when someone else came out of her room as well.

"Hey there, Lucy," I said. "How's your morning?"

Lucy slowly turned towards me and my eyes then widened in shock. Lucy's face was the same as it always was, except for one little thing. Her left cheek was completely swollen about the size of a baseball and was also red and throbbing.

"What the heck?!" I exclaimed. "What happened to you, Lucy?!"

"I... kinda found out what happens when you get close to Natsu while he's sleeping," said Lucy sheepishly. "The hard way."

"I'll say you did. That looks like it hurts," I said. "I can heal that for you if you want me to."

"If you wouldn't mind," winced Lucy. "I've iced this thing for hours and its still hurting like crazy."

I then went over to Lucy and gently placed a hand on her swollen cheek and began using my healing magic on her cheek. The swell slowly began to shrink and in a manner of seconds, Lucy's cheek returned to normal and the blonde was very happy.

"Ah~! My beautiful face is back to normal! Thanks a bunch, Willy! Good thing that you know healing magic just like Wendy!"

"You're welcome, Lucy," I said smiling. "Happy to help out a friend."

A few minutes later, the two of us were walking through the streets of Magnolia. There was a couple of puddles here and there from the heavy rain from the other night and the canal was now so full that it looked like it was going to overflow. However, it was still another bright day.

"So how come you weren't at the party the other night?" asked Lucy. "I would have thought that you'd want to spend some time with the Strauss siblings after all these years of separation."

"I simply didn't want to intrude on them," I said. "Besides, I figured that they should have some time together. After all, they're brother and sisters. They deserve it after being apart all these years. Besides, that party was a bit too rowdy for my taste."

"I can't argue with that," smiled Lucy. "Fairy Tail is well known for throwing the craziest parties."

As we walked around town, we saw that some of the people were busily at work hanging up decorations and setting up stands.

"I wonder what's going on?" I puzzled. "It seems that the people are preparing for some kind of festival."

Lucy then gasped as an excited smile formed on her face.

"Oh my gosh! That's coming up soon!" she said excitedly. "I got so caught up with all the craziness that I almost forgot!"

"What do you mean, Lucy?" I asked. "What's coming up soon?"

But Lucy had already had started to run ahead of me with a speed I didn't know she had.

"Sorry, Willy! No time to talk!" she called. "I'll see you later!"

And with that, she disappeared into the distance leaving me behind confused and puzzled.

I soon came up the guild hall and entered through its gates. Inside, the guild hall was just the same as it always was. Partying it up and having a good time. I then walked over to the bar where Kinana was busily working.

"Morning Kinana. How's it going?" I greeted.

"Hey there, Willy," Kinana greeted back. "Nice to see you."

"So what's going on right now?" I wondered. "I thought that the party with Lisanna ended a long time ago."

"Nope. Did end a long time ago," smiled Kinana. "This is more like a pre-party for another one that's happening later on tomorrow."

"Another party?" I wondered raising a brow. "What for?"

"I'm surprised you forgot already," smiled Kinana. "Remember? The master talked about it a while back remember?"

I then put a finger to my chin and hummed deep in thought trying to remember. Then I remembered.

"Wait... are you talking about that flower viewing party?"

"Bingo," Kinana answered with a wink. "Tomorrow's the day of the flower viewing party that the Master was talking about a couple days ago."

"Another party?" I spoke with a hint of surprise. "Wait... haven't we already partied enough?"

Then I heard Cana who was hugging a barrel of beer as she drank from it.

"Yeah. Not only that, but I don't get this whole flower-viewing partying thing," she said. "You guys are just looking for an excuse to booze it up."

"Look who's talking, Cana," chucked Macao. "You're the one who's drinking an entire barrel of booze."

"No kidding. She drinks so much that every day is like a celebration to her," laughed Wakaba.

"Flower parties are freaking manly!" roared Elfman happily.

"Calm down, Elfman," said Lisanna. "There is such a thing as being too excited. Then again, I'm feeling pretty excited about it too."

"Hey Dad, you're gonna take home the grand prize from the bingo game, right?" asked a young boy eagerly.

"You know I will, son," Macao grinned. "This is gonna be my year! So make sure you're there to root for your Pop!"

"I didn't get a single number during last year's bingo game," said Levy at another table. "But this year I'm gonna do my best by getting all the numbers this year baby!"

"That's... not exactly how it works, Levy," said Jet.

"Leave her alone, Jet," sighed Droy. "Just let her have her moment."

"Sounds like it's gonna be quite the interesting party," I said. "But what's this party even for? Are the flowers special or something? And what's everyone saying about a bingo tournament?"

"It's actually quite a big deal for us and for the people of Magnolia, Willy," explained Kinana. "You see during this time of the season, the cherry blossoms bloom beautifully during the day, but at night they become even more beautiful by turning into a beautiful rainbow color which is why job requests get scarce because everyone will be too excited to do any work."

"In addition, the flower viewing party is a Fairy Tail tradition," joined in Macao. "We party as we wait for the flowers to change, and during the party, play games including the bingo tournament. If you win during the bingo tournament, you'll win all sorts of prizes!"

"Sounds like a lot of fun," said Lisanna. "I never took part in a party like that before thanks to me being stuck in Edolas. But now that I'm here, you can count on me taking part in this!"

"Yeah!" grinned Elfman. "Flower viewing parties are freaking manly!"

"I think you made your point, Elfman," sighed Lisanna.

"By the way guys, have you all seen Lucy?" I asked. "I was walking with her not too long ago this morning and then she ran off excited about something."

"I think she went out on a job with Natsu and the others," said Levy. "Something about getting an herb at Mount Hakabe I think. And I'm pretty sure that she's excited about the flower viewing party like everyone else."

"As a matter of fact, Lucy, in particular, has been looking forward to this more than anyone else in the guild," smiled Kinana. "I kept forgetting that she didn't take part in last year's festivities, so that's what made it so cute."

"Well that does explain it," I said smiling. "I mean I'd be excited too. I'm actually pretty interested in going too."

"Me too!" said Lisanna eagerly. "I wanna party under the cherry blossoms too!"

I chuckled as everyone continued to talk about the Sakura Festival. I then turned to Kinana.

"Hey, Kinana. Can I get some water please?"

"Coming right up, Willy," replied Kinana.

I then went off by myself at a table while I waited for Kinana with my water. I looked around at the guild letting my mind wander. Everyone looked so happy including the Strauss siblings. It made me happy that everything was back to how it was in Fairy Tail like before. It also made me wonder how things were going in Edolas with Mystogan and Edolas Me.

"They're probably doing just fine," I thought to myself. "But I can't help but wonder though."

Everything may have been settled back in Edolas and we managed to save Magnolia and the guild, but there some problems as well as questions that were left unsolved. Like during that battle with Edolas Me. I then started thinking back to the battle I had with her. She was pretty strong in her own right and I thought that I was going to die, but that's when it got confusing.

"I had the upper hand when I was fighting her, but then she got me with that Midnight Onslaught move of hers. After that... I blacked out. Then I suddenly found myself about to kill her. It's obvious that I defeated her, but... why can't I remember anything after I blacked out?"

Try as I could and no matter how much I tried, I couldn't remember anything at the last moments of the battle. One thing was sure, if I hadn't regained conscious at that moment, I would have killed her for sure and I didn't want that at all.

Then Kinana came with a large mug of water setting it in front of me.

"There you go. One large mug of water," she said.

"Thanks, Kinana."

I took the mug of water and quietly drank from it letting the cold rich taste fill my mouth and enter my stomach filling me with energy. As I set my mug down leaving a bit of water left, I stared into it while swirling my cup still deep in thought.

"Hey Willy, watcha doing over here?"

Snapping out of my thoughts from the voice, I looked up to see that Lisanna, Mira, and Elfman were in front of me. I then flashed a smile trying not to show my worry.

"Hey there, guys. What's up?"

"Well, you were sitting here by yourself looking bored," said Elfman. "So we'd figured you could use some company."

I then smiled. "I appreciate the sentiment guys, but I'm fine. I was just thinking about some things."

"Mind if we join you?" asked Mira as she sat down next to me.

"Sure. I don't mind," I said. "But I don't want to take up too much of your time. You especially Mira. Don't you have to work today?"

"Don't worry. I'm on my break, so Kinana's covering for me," said Mira. "We got plenty of time to chat."

"So you excited about the flower festival?" asked Elfman. "It's gonna be quite the manly party."

"Yeah. I suppose so," I spoke as I took a couple more sips from my mug. "But then again we party practically almost every single day."

"I wish you could have been at the party the other night," said Mira. "You missed out on a lot of fun."

"Sorry, but I was feeling a bit tired considering what happened in Edolas," I said. "I wanted to get some rest as much as I could."

"So Willy ever since I got back and find out you were alive, there was something I've been dying to ask you," said Lisanna eagerly. "Something that I need to know right away."

"And that is...?"

Lisanna looked around making sure that no one was around and the spoke low flashing a mischevious grin.

"Ever since you came back, have your feelings of love for Mira developed yet?"

At that moment, Elfman nearly fell off the table in surprise while I calmly place my mug of water on the table looking at Lisanna sighing. Mira, however, kept a neutral expression being as calm as I was.

"Lisanna, what the hell are you saying?!" exclaimed Elfman. "You can't just ask a real man something like that!"

"But I wanna know!" protested Lisanna. "I've been wanting to know ever since I got back! I'm curious how things have progressed ever since I was gone."

"But you can't just ask a real man something that!" Elfman spoke. "It's none of your business!"

"Oh my goodness, Lisanna," giggled Mira. "There you go again asking the same questions like you were as a kid. Just like old times."

I couldn't help but smile too. "Well, it just goes to show that she's the same old Lisanna we've always known," I said as I took a few more gulps. "And even though it's been years since you've all seen each other, you're all still as close as ever like you were never separated."

"So, answer the question," said Lisanna. "What's your relationship with Mira? I wanna know!"

"Well that's easy," I spoke smiling. "Of course I love Mira..."

Elfman and Lisanna's eyes then went wide and Mira even instinctively flinched a bit.

"... and I also love you and Elfman and Lucy because she's my neighbor and I love Master, Finn, Sieri, Natsu, and everyone else in Fairy Tail," I went on.

The Strauss siblings stared at me. Then Lisanna let out a disappointed sigh.

"Well, I had a feeling you'd say that. You're still so naive," she said, shaking her head. "But I'm glad to see that you're the same Willy I've always known. Although, I'm gonna have to try and teach you a few things about dating."

I then chuckled. "Sounds like something Sieri would say."

"Speaking of Sieri, how's she doing?" asked Mira. "I heard that she's living with Finn and Tu-Chi somewhere in Oak Town."

"Well, I've been told she's been doing great and she is though I haven't seen her yet," I said. "The only thing that I've heard about her was that she stubbornly refused to leave Finn and Master alone after they left Osia and she's been living with them ever since."

"That's pretty awesome," said Elfman. "I've always wanted to see Sieri again. She'll certainly be surprised to see Lisanna and how much we've all grown."

"Then we should plan to pay her and Finn a visit or maybe they can come over to the Guild Hall," suggested Lisanna. "It'll be nice to see them again after all these years."

"That sound like a wonderful idea and I can see Master Tu-Chi and Jade too," I said. "It has been a while since I've seen them."

The four of us went on talking for a minutes or so. After a while, Mira then looked at the clock.

"Sorry to cut our little chat short you guys, but I have to get back to work," she said. "We'll continue this another time OK?"

"Alright then. Bye, Sis," said Lisanna. "Don't work too hard."

"I think I'll take my leave too," I said. "I oughta contact Sieri, Finn, and Tu-Chi, right away if we wanna have them over."

"Alright then, Willy," said Elfman. "I guess we'll be seeing you then."

"See you tomorrow if we don't see you," said Lisanna.

And with that, I got up and ran off heading towards the entrance sprinting towards home. I now couldn't help but feel very excited. Now that Lisanna was alive, Tu-Chi, Finn, and Sieri would be elated to learn the news. Not only that, but I was also looking forward to watching the flowers at the party tomorrow. Sure I had some worries, but those could wait another time. Right now, I had to make sure I contacted Sieri and the others as soon as possible.

NO POV

As Willy ran along, he passed by numerous people who were getting ready for the flower viewing festival. Among them was a certain stranger that had been hanging around town for quite some time keeping a watchful eye on Willy. As Willy ran past him, he watched as he went inside his apartment. Then he dug into his coat and took out a communication lacrima. A shadowy image of a man formed inside of the lacrima. As soon as the shadowed man saw the stranger's face, he scowled dangerously.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want?" the shadowed man growled. "I'm a busy man."

"That's a fine way to talk to someone," the stranger spoke. "Especially one that has information requiring your attention."

"What kind of information?" asked the shadowed man. "And this better be good."

The stranger then smiled. "Information regarding a person who's apparently worth one million jewel and is your target if you know who I mean."

The shadowed man wasn't scowling anymore. "I'm listening."

"It just so happens that I know the location of this person," said the stranger. "He's currently residing in Magnolia and is unaware that I know his location."

"Magnolia eh? That's the town where the Fairy Tail guild is," said the shadowed figure. "That could pose a problem if we incur their wrath. They were the ones who defeated the Oración Seis."

"That's right. That's why I need your help," said the stranger. "What do you say we form an alliance?"

"An alliance you say?" the shadowed figure hummed. "And why should I team with you? A person who I barely know and don't know if I should trust?"

"Well... I just figured I'd give you a hand since we're both after the same thing," said the stranger. "You know kill two birds with one stone and all that sort of thing. If we work together, with the brawn of your guild and with my strategic brain, we can both get what we want."

The shadowed figure paused for a few seconds. Then his eyes narrowed.

"That does make for an interesting proposition, but what's in it for you?" he asked. "Don't tell me you want your share of the bounty."

The stranger then chuckled as his eyes gleamed. "You need not worry. I have no interest in the reward. The only thing I care about... is getting my subject back. My one... and perfect subject."

WILLY'S POV

The next day, I woke to the day of the flower viewing festival. I got dressed, freshened up, and went straight to the guild hall. Later on, the party was full swing at an orchard of cherry blossom trees. Everyone was having a great time. They ate, drank, and there was even some music playing. There were even some flower petals slowly raining down on us giving the party a hint of beauty. I couldn't help but gaze around with wonder as I drank my tea as I sat among the guild members.

"These flowers are so amazing," I murmured aloud. "They never had flowers like these back in Osia."

"I know right?" smiled Lisanna. "They're so beautiful, it's like something out of a movie."

"FLOWERS ARE MANLY!" Elfman roared.

Then Mira came walking by as she held large trays of food and drinks for the guild members.

"Make sure you eat up everyone," she said. "There's more where this came from!"

Then I took notice of a certain fire dragon slayer and his cat who should have been excited during a party like this but surprisingly looked glum. Not only that, but I also saw that a certain blonde wasn't with him either

"Hey Natsu, what's the matter?" I asked. "It's not like you to be so sad."

"And where's Lucy?" asked Lisanna. "I don't see her anywhere."

Natsu didn't answer as he continued to look glum.

Happy then explained. "She couldn't come," he said with a hint of sadness. "Somehow she got a cold and was too sick to leave her room."

"Oh no. Poor Lucy," said Lisanna.

"How did she catch a cold I wonder?" pondered Erza thoughtfully. "She was perfectly fine yesterday."

"Have you already forgotten?" sighed Carla. "She got a cold when she was in all that snow on our job the other day."

"I feel so bad for her," said Wendy. "She was looking forward to it so much only to end up getting sick."

"Hey wait, can't you use your magic to make her feel better?" asked Happy.

"I already did that earlier today," smiled Wendy apologetically. "But sadly, she won't feel better until tomorrow."

"Man... this just isn't her day," sighed Happy disappointedly.

I felt a little bad for Lucy too, but sadly those are the breaks. I would have been more than willing to help her out too with my magic, but sadly the results would have been the same as Wendy's. Not only that, but Wendy was a little more advanced in healing magic than I was.

Then I heard Mira who was standing at a podium with Makarov and a be big wheel next to her.

"Alright, everyone! We're just about to get started with the bingo tournament!" she said. "If you haven't gotten a card yet, make sure you get one!"

At that moment, Elfman and Lisanna sat next to me and Elfman handed me a card with letters and numbers on it. I then looked at the card curiously not sure what do with it.

"Is this for the Bingo tournament?" I asked. "Because... I'm not sure what to do with this card."

"It's really not that difficult," said Elfman. "You see Big Sis and Makarov are gonna call out random numbers using that spinner behind them. If they call out that numbers on your card, you poke a hole on it."

"And if you get five of them in a row, diagonally or across, you get bingo and win a prize," finished Lisanna. "It's really a lot of fun even if you don't win."

"All right everyone!" said Mira. "Now that everyone's got their cards, it's time for the annual flower-viewing bingo tournament to begin!"

"BINGO!" everyone shouted.

"We got some great prizes in the tournament this year!" said Makarov. "I hope you're all ready to play!"

"AYE SIR!" everyone shouted again.

"Alright then. You may now poke the center hole open," said Mira. "And we can begin!"

I then poked the center with the crown just as Mira said. Then the wheel began to spin rapidly as the tournament got underway.

I was having a great time during the bingo tournament. Even though it was my first time playing it was great fun waiting for whatever number I had to get bingo. So far, there had been about four winners each of them winning various prizes. I for one had one number left to poke in order for me to win bingo.

At that moment, Makarov and Mira called out the next number.

"Number one fifteen!"

At that moment, Elfman, Levy, and Juvia immediately jumped up to their feet.

"BINGO!"

Everyone stared at the three of them in surprise.

"My goodness. All three of you got bingo? This is a first," said Makarov. Then he smiled mischievously. "Let's have a tie-breaker! Whoever can give the best short performance is the winner!"

"Short performance?!" gasped Levy, Elfman, and Juvia.

Mira then held up two fancy pieces of paper. "This is what you're competing for. Two tickets for three days and two nights at the Akane Resort!"

"Wow! The Akane Resort!" grinned Elfman. "That'll be a great gift for my sister!"

"Three days and two nights with Gray?!" gushed Juvia who was now bright pink with steam puffing out of her head. "It's too much to take! My thoughts are so hot, I might just evaporate!"

"Wow! That sounds awesome!" said Levy. "I knew that this was my year!"

As they went on, I couldn't help but laugh at all the craziness during the party as I took a sip from my tea. This was paradise. It was hard to believe that this was happening right now in front of me. I also felt so lucky to be surrounded by so many people that cared for me like family even though we weren't related by blood. It was hard to imagine that I was once in prison before all this had happened.

Eventually, it was evening with the sun's glow now barely over the horizon. Everyone was waiting with anticipation for the big moment to come when the flowers changed color. I was standing alone by a tree still drinking some tea awaiting the moment to arrive. At that moment, slowly one by one, the cherry blossoms then changed going from a soft pink to glowing bright colors of the rainbow.

Everyone gasped at this beautiful sight. I for one couldn't help but feel amazed by this too. This was the first time I witnessed something this amazing and beautiful. It was like something from a fairy tale or a dream. Then as I continued to gaze at the rainbow cherry blossoms, one petal gently descended until it landed directly in my cup floating just on the surface of my tea.

"So this is where you were hiding."

I looked towards the source of the voice and I saw Mira coming towards me.

"Hey there, Mira," I greeted. "Master finally let you off the hook?"

"Yes. Sorry if I couldn't join you and the others," apologized Mira. "As you saw, I had to help out with the party."

"You're always helping at the guild, Mira," I said. "Don't you ever get some time off?"

"Not when you're a celebrity like I am," winked Mira. "So did you win anything at the bingo tournament?"

"No, but I had a lot of fun playing," I replied. "In fact, I was having so much fun, I really didn't care about winning."

"Glad you had fun," said Mira as she gazed up at the cherry blossoms which continued to shine brightly in the night. "They sure are beautiful aren't they?"

"I'll say. I must admit, this is the first time I've ever seen such a sight like this," I said. "Just wish Finn and the others were here to see."

The two of us continued to watch the cherry blossoms not saying another word for about a minute or so. Until at last, Mira spoke breaking the silence.

"You know... I'm so happy right now, Willy," she said. "You wanna know why?"

"I don't know. Why?"

"Because... my whole family is back together again," she said. "It may have taken years, but... everyone's all together now. And that makes me the luckiest and happiest girl in the whole world."

"I know, Mira," I said smiling. "I am too."

And the two of us continued to watch the cherry blossoms until long after the stars came out.

Nothing much going on in this chapter, but I'm raring to get another one started!

If you like what you read or want to give me some pointers, feel free to PM or Review Me!

Dragoman out!