Hi there, guys and gals! I'm here with a brand new chapter! In case you felt like the previous chapter was a bit lacking, you'll be surprised by this one.

READ THE AN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE THIS IS IMPORTANT!

Hope you all enjoy and constructive criticism is welcome!


Unfortunately, I do not own Harry Potter or Fairy Tail...yet.


Chapter 9 - Time Brings Changes

On a road to Crocus,

Nighttime,

April 3rd, X777

Kalvin Durham was a merchant. Not an overly famous one, but he was nevertheless a relatively well known one within the Merchant's Guild. He had left his home a long time ago to buy his lacrima-powered caravan and start his business of selling fruits and vegetables. Certainly not something amazing, in comparison to some of the rare jewels and exotic spices a few of the other merchants sold, but he prided himself on the quality of his produce and the fact that his caravan was never raided during any of his journeys.

It was an unfortunate fact of life that merchant caravans were prime targets for bandits, raiders and other rogues. A lone target on the road was much easier to rob than a shop in the city after all. As such, the life of a merchant such as himself was constantly at risk during his travels, especially on empty roads like this one. Since the town he had visited was relatively isolated, unlike Magnolia or Clover, there wasn't another caravan within leagues.

To put it simply, it was like placing a giant glowing sign on his back that said: 'HERE I AM! PLEASE ROB ME!'

'Well, I hope then he is as good as they say he is' thought Kalvin, his eyes drifting to the only other passenger in the caravan.

To be honest, Kalvin had been robbed before. Numerous times in fact. But because none of them were ever successful he had developed his reputation. The reason for that was Kalvin's choice in guards. It was custom for merchants – even mandatory when long travels were involved – to hire bodyguards to protect their caravans. These bodyguards would either be Mages from the local Mage Guilds, or mercenaries in cases such as the capital. They would accompany them to their destination and back, and in turn, get paid depending on the length of the journey and/or the type of goods transported. Kalvin himself has never chosen a bodyguard that failed him, although this one was a special case.

He needed to go to a small town in the west of the kingdom and set up shop there for a week, and after that, he would return to the capital for a refilling. The problem he initially encountered, however, was that most of the mercenaries in the capital had already been taken. He asked some of his colleagues for help, but all of them had their own routes to follow. He had nearly resigned to the fact that he was going to have to travel alone when one of the merchants told him about his now-hired bodyguard and said that he might be available.

To give himself credit, Kalvin was only slightly surprised when he saw that said bodyguard was in fact, a child.

Said child was sitting near the front of the cart, a black cloak draped over his shoulders and a hood covering his face. He was reading a book and seemed utterly engrossed in it and was munching on one of his apples.

The merchant had his doubts at first, the one who recommended him said that he was perfect for jobs like these: round-trip, short and good pay. He never failed a job before, and when Kalvin asked the other merchants, the ones who did know something had nothing but good things to say.

'Well, doesn't look like they've been lying. He doesn't talk much though. A kid his age would be jumping up and down the walls and asking all sorts of questions.'

Kalvin turned his eyes back to the road in front of him. 'If all goes well, we should reach Crocus by noon. Guess I didn't have to hire-'

An arrow landing in front of the cart made him snap out of his thoughts and pull the brakes. The slight shuffling behind him meant that his bodyguard heard the arrow too.

'Me and my big mouth.' He thought as large forms crawled out of the nearby bushes and encircled the caravan. All of them were human, big, and nasty with menacing weapons. One of the men in the front – presumably the leader and flanked by two archers - took a step forward and spoke up.

"Toll area. Now pay up and we won't have to get violent … much." The other men snickered at his remark and fiddled with their weapons.

Kalvin inwardly shivered but kept a calm appearance. Panicking will only make things worse. "I'm sorry, but I have nothing to pay you with."

The leader just raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Well, that fine looking cart of yours says otherwise." He sniffed the air and licked his lips. "Smells good too, and lucky us – we were all just gettin' hungry now, weren't we boys?"

The other raiders nodded their heads in agreement and the leader wagged his finger at the cart. "It'd be a shame to see such fine-smellin' goods go to waste like that. You!" he gestured to a bandit holding a large axe. "Take a look and see what we have there. Oh, and don't try to run, or the next arrow will find itself in your skull."

The huge bandit nodded with a frightening grin and walked over to the cart. He opened the back door and peeked inside.

-OBW-

The bandit leader fingered his mace in anticipation as his minion/colleague took a look inside the caravan, with the greedy stares of the others focused on him. He had been watching the caravan ever since it arrived at the town. After "inquiring" the local townsfolk about where it came from, he knew that they struck gold. A loaded caravan straight from the capital? In these parts, it was worth a king's ransom! So he and his men followed the caravan until they reached a good point on the road. Nobody will hear any of the unfortunate sod's cries for help…if he even gave him the chance.

"Hey boss! There's all kinds of food here! We hit the jackpot!" The men all let out a cheer as he tried to squeeze himself inside for a better look, but stopped for a second. "Hey, who are-"

The bandit was cut off when a bright red bolt plowed through his head and landed outside, scattering blood and brain matter all over the back of the caravan. The man's now-headless body teetered a bit before falling backwards, letting the rest of his blood flow onto the road. Crouching behind him was what appeared to be a black-cloaked man – a rather short one at that – with red sparks flashing around him. On the back of the cloak was a blue symbol: a dragon with its wings spread open and a coiling tail. (1)

The leader barely had time to react to the demise of one of his brethren when the man spun around and started firing red-hot magic bolts at the bandits, hitting them with precision. The few that weren't blown back and set alight immediately tried to surround and rush him, hoping to overwhelm him with brute force and surprise. Unfortunately for them, the cloaked man just fired more red bolts that pierced their chests, constantly moving. One of his men, who was armed with a clawed gauntlet, attacked him from behind, but the man pivoted around and threw a glowing punch right into his face, shattering his skull and blowing him back to the forest.

The leader just gaped in horror at the sight of nearly all of his men lying dead all over the road, most of their bodies singed and smoking.

'A mage!? Why didn't they tell me about him? Didn't those fools see him back at the town!?' The bandit leader clenched his teeth in fury as he glared at the mage for what he had done. 'Well, no matter. It just means I have fewer mouths to feed! I followed this piece of wooden crap on wheels all this way and I am NOT leaving empty-handed!'

A thump drew his attention, and he turned to the caravan to see that the merchant had gone inside and locked himself in. The leader let out an angry breath through his nostrils as he returned to glare at the mage, while his remaining two useless minions cowered at his sides. Time to try a new approach. He let a calm smirk appear on his face and spoke to the mage.

"Interesting. I haven't seen power like yours in a while. I commend you for taking down my men." Unfortunately for you, I am not so easy to beat." The leader raised his mace and an orange magic circle encircled its head. "Let's see how you handle this!"

He swung the mace down. "Earth Magic: Terra Trident!"

The mace made contact with the ground and three rows of earthen spikes jutted out of the ground and towards the mage, but he leaped sideways and allowed the attack to sail past him. The mage tilted his hooded head in curiosity, but the leader just smirked and gestured to his remaining two men to load and fire their arrows. He swung his mace upwards and the spike broke up from the ground and floated in the air.

"It's been fun playing with you, but I will have my prize." He twirled his mace and the spikes all pointed themselves at the mage while spinning like drills. "Any last words?"

The mage, who hadn't made a sound the whole time, turned his head to look at the leader before scoffing.

"Weak."

The leader widened his eyes at the remark before tightening his grip on the mace in anger. "Don't get cocky! Terra Drillstorm!"

The spinning spikes and his minions' arrows all flew towards the mage, intent on skewering him like cheese. But instead, the mage cocked back his fist and enveloped it in an aura of that red magic…and swung.

"Ion Shockwave"

A blinding wave of magic heated up the air and flew towards him, shattering every spike it touched with a hail of red lightning. The leader and his remaining men tried to run, but they barely even took a step before the wave hit them and sent a searing pain throughout their body, heat flaring up inside them like furnaces.

And thus, they knew no more.

-OBW-

Crocus

"Thanks for your help. I don't think I would've escaped from there in one piece if it wasn't for you."

"You're welcome. Now, about the pay?"

"Oh, of course. 50,000 Jewels, just like we said. If you're looking for more work, you know where I am." (2)

Bahamut nodded in thanks as he accepted the money and walked away. 'That was an easy job. Nice, short, and with a side of action.'

The son of Acnologia contently walked down the busy market street towards Gaelich's bookshop. The past two years had done his body and mind good. He had grown a few good centimeters and some slight muscle could be seen on his arms and legs. His hair reached the nape of his neck and a few bangs fell down his forehead, right next to his lightning-bolt scar. His green eyes remained, even if they were covered by his contacts. He wore brown pants tucked into dark-blue boots, along with a grey shirt that was covered by his hood and cloak.

Becoming a caravan guard was a very smart move on his part. First, it gave him ample opportunity to practice his magic and combat skills in real-life situations, since the danger of raiders and bandits on the road was always present, and he could test his Plasma Magic in ways that he wouldn't have been able to if he was stuck training in that basement. Second, despite him sticking to jobs that made round-trips from Crocus and didn't take too long, he had been able to get a better glimpse at the rest of Fiore, which still astounded him every time he went out of the city.

Third, depending on the job … the pay was good. Simple as that.

The green-eyed mage walked through the market, taking the occasional glimpse at the merchandise. He reached the main street and saw the bookshop from just behind the corner, but the sea of people and carts that moved made it rather difficult to cross. An annoying task to be sure, and he would've just looked for a safe way to cross, but Bahamut was itching to get some rest. He focused his gaze on the bookstore and let his magic flow …

… and disappeared in a blue flash, reappearing next to the door.

Oh, also he discovered he could teleport.

That little discovery was made when a particular job had gone sour and he had to evade a large group of bandits. Accidentally giving into panic, Bahamut found himself appearing on a ledge a nice distance away from the angry horde. After recalling that he had done such a feat twice before, the young mage sought to replicate this newfound power. It took some time and effort (and a whole lot of headaches), but he was eventually able to use this power on command, although not without cost; he could only teleport to a place that was within his line of sight and the experience left him disoriented, which was dangerous in combat, so he needed to use it sparingly.

Case in point, he leaned on the door of the shop trying to clear his head.

It was still much better than his first few attempts, when he felt like he was being squeezed through a narrow tube and one of the merchants he accompanied said that the act made a loud crack.

Bahamut quickly shook his head and straightened up, opening the door and calling out "I'm back!"

Gaelich was sitting behind his desk and looking through one of his books. At the sound of the child's voice, he looked up.

"Back already, huh? How was the job?"

Bahamut shrugged. "It was easy enough. I ran into a little trouble on the way back, but I got through."

"Hrmph. There's nothing new in the schedule, so you can take the rest of the week off."

Bahamut hummed in agreement and went to his room. Not much had changed there, only that there were a few more books and the interior was tidier. He plopped down on his bed and counted his payment.

'This job was cheaper than normal, but it's not too big of a problem. The fact that the old man lets me stay here means I don't have to pay rent.'

Indeed, as a result of the numerous jobs he had taken, Bahamut had earned quite a sum of Jewels. He used them on some essential stuff, like buying better food or sometimes leaving extra rent for Gaelich, but most of it remained safe under his bed.

Speaking of the old shopkeeper, despite him helping out Bahamut during his early training periods, the young mage was rather distant from him, and his jobs had widened that distance considerably. Not that their relationship worsened – it was just more professional these days. In another time, Bahamut might have even considered Gaelich a father figure, if it wasn't for the fact that he already had one.

Bahamut took off his cloak and looked at the dragon symbol on the back, a warm feeling flowing through him.

'I really wish you were here Father … but I won't forget my mission.'

Not a week went by that Bahamut didn't reminisce about Acnologia, and the symbol on his cloak only served to strengthen those memories. Every time he fought away bandits, every time he would learn a new spell, he tried to imagine what the Dragon King's reaction would be – and although the reactions varied, they always ended with the same phrase:

"Keep going."

Bahamut kept staring intently at the symbol and a longing look entered his eyes. 'When will I be strong enough to return to him? I know it won't take forever, but it seems so long.'

He clenched his fist and narrowed his eyes in determination. 'No, I can't think like that. I can't show weakness. I have to keep getting stronger.'

He turned his head and looked out the window, the city in constant motion and the sky touching its spires.

'Wait for me, Father … I'll come back to you.'

-OBW-

The next day, Bahamut decided to go for a stroll around the city, thinking that maybe he could find another job. If not that, then he did it just to breathe the city's air again. He walked out of the shop after waving goodbye to Gaelich and headed out to the main square. It was an uneventful yet peaceful day at the capital, with the shops and passersby minding their own business, but the young mage welcomed it.

Soon enough, he arrived at the main square. In addition to the city gates and the market, the main square was one of the busiest places in Crocus. Everyone who visited the city passed through it at some point, not only due to its beauty – with its lacrima-powered magic fountain and gleaming marble statue bearing the royal emblem – but also because a lot of important government buildings were located in the square's area, with the most prominent of them being none other than Mercurius – the Royal Palace itself.

Due to it naturally being the largest and tallest building in the city, Bahamut always saw the magnificent palace every time he ventured outside. Located on an island in a small lake and surrounded by blue walls, the Royal Palace was a symbol of the kingdom's power and influence, with its large arches and towering spires.

For a good while Bahamut's reason for accepting mercenary jobs was to build up a high enough reputation so that the Royal Family – or at the very least, one of the mages that worked there – would grant him access to their training grounds, and perhaps even allow him to learn some of the magics there. But as he kept going on more and more escort missions (thus getting into more and more fights, and as a result honing his magic and combat skills), his goal of getting to the Royal Training Grounds became more of a 'side-bonus' than anything else. After having tasted the life on the road without feeling like he could get killed at any given moment, the prospect of staying in one place for his 'training trip' seemed somewhat…unappealing. There was far more to Fiore than just Crocus after all.

Who knows? Maybe he would have more success with magic travelling than staying in a bookshop.

Bahamut crossed the square and arrived at a large tavern. Right next to it was a billboard with posters filled with various requests, including a few escort requests, but none seemed to particularly stand out or catch his eye. Sighing, he entered the tavern.

"Ah, Bahamut! It's been a while, come on over!"

The corners of Bahamut's lips twitched as he made his way to the bar. He sat down and shook the hand of the one who called him over; a bearded merchant with dark hair and blue eyes. His name was Janus, and he was one of Bahamut's more frequent business partners. The two had met a month after the green-eyed mage started taking missions, and while initially skeptical of hiring him due to his age, Janus had come to respect the boy and spread the word about him to other merchants.

"So, here looking for a new job? Didn't you just finish one?"

The young mage shrugged. "I was just taking a stroll. I passed by and figured it couldn't hurt to look."

Janus chuckled in amusement. "Whatever you say. Well, you picked a good time to take a walk. The weather's nice and the city's quiet. You should keep on enjoying the day, I don't have any news for you."

"I'm already here, so I might as well stay for a while. Besides, I'm a bit hungry."

Janus slapped the table and laughed. "You've got a point there. Why don't I get something for you, on me?"

"That would be nice."

Janus called over the bartender and Bahamut asked what did they have. A minute later, the child was silently munching on a chocolate-custard cream puff while the merchant drank some sake. The two then exchanged small talk and enjoyed each other's company. At one point they moved outside to sit at one of the benches near the fountain.

An hour or so passed and the merchant was idly sipping his sake when he noticed a man walking to the billboard and putting up a poster before walking away. His interest piqued, he motioned for Bahamut to follow him before walking to the poster and reading its contents:

Escort/s Needed!

We are part of a construction crew and we require an escort for our caravan, delivering building supplies to help with reconstruction. Our location is at Pangaea Wood and Earth near the main square for contact and further details.

Date of departure: 10th of April

Location: Rosemary Village – Round trip

Reward: 55,000 Jewels.

"Well, what do you think?"

Bahamut looked at the request with a small amount of interest. It looked simple enough; he had seen this kind of request many times before. The upside to this one, however, was the fact it was fresh – meaning there would be less competition for the job if he chose to apply. The mercenary business was a competitive one after all.

He hummed in approval. "Where exactly is Rosemary Village?"

Janus scratched his chin in thought. "I believe it's located somewhere near the southern river, although I may be wrong. Truth be told, I haven't heard from that village in a good while ever since it was raided."

"Raided?"

"Oh yes, raided…in a very bad way" the merchant's tone became somber as he kept on talking. "Roughly 3 years ago – or less if memory serves me – all contact from that village ceased abruptly. When the authorities arrived at the village, most of it was burnt to the ground and corpses littered the street. But what was especially worrying was the lack of children there, alive or dead."

"Children?"

"Unfortunately, based on the evidence, it looks like the raiders were slavers, and they came for those poor children. Not the first this has happened in recent years you know, several other villages have fallen to the same fate, and no-one seems to know why."

'Slavers…' A nauseous feeling bubbled in the young mage's gut. The memory of the night he was forced to take his first life still lingered on in the back of his mind, including the sight of those terrified people in the cage. The thought of what they would probably be forced to go through if he and Acnologia didn't arrive that night repulsed him, but to hear that there were people – and children no less – that were actually going through all of that?

Disgusting.

Bahamut swallowed the bile that threatened to rise up his throat and settled for merely clenching his fists. Abominable as the subject may be, he couldn't show weakness.

"They must have finally decided to resettle the village…" muttered Janus. He turned to the young mage and remarked. "You should take this job. If anything, its at least good pay. The shop is just down the street to your right."

Bahamut hummed in confirmation. He nodded politely to the man in thanks and started to walk to the aforementioned store.

"Wait! A question, if I may?"

Bahamut turned around in curiosity and nodded.

"Ever since I did my first job with you, I've wondered…why do you not join one of the Mage Guilds? I've seen you on the job enough to believe that any guild would accept you. It would certainly be a lot more rewarding than the mercenary life."

Bahamut looked down at the floor, his expression pensive. There were several answers he could've given Janus. He could've said that he enjoyed life in Crocus better. Maybe he was going to travel.

Instead, he shifted his gaze to his cloak, the dragon symbol on his back appearing in his mind's eye.

"…I made a promise to someone that I would return to him. I can't have anything tying me down."

-OBW-

April 12th, X777

Rosemary Village

"Alright, get ready to pull! On my mark … ready … heave!"

Bahamut leaned on one of the new houses as he watched the men pull up a wooden beam into place. The job was just like what he thought it was; simple and to the point. They had arrived at the village yesterday evening and successfully delivered the fresh supply of lumber and cement. Now his client and his men were helping the new villagers set up some of the buildings.

After watching the men set up the house further, Bahamut decided to take a look around the old village.

True to what Janus said, the village was very small. So small that if it wasn't for the houses – both restored and new – he wouldn't have thought that there was one here in the first place. Trees and greenery surrounded the area and grew all over the place, hiding most of the ruins, if there were any. For that reason, the newcomers decided to not only rebuild but to expand the village. Bahamut even overheard them adding ideas for various facilities and stores.

He walked along the path, idly taking note of his surroundings, when his eyes fell on an old building, one that seemed a bit more intact than the rest: some parts of the walls were still standing and the roof's skeleton was there, if rather singed. It wasn't anything remarkable, but it nevertheless made the young mage curious.

He slowly entered the ruins, being careful not to break anything and looked around. Like the outside, the inside wasn't remarkable; splinters of wood and glass shards littered the floor, the remains of furniture lay strewn. He took a couple more steps when he saw something peeking out from under some wood. He bent down and lifted the wood to see a stuffed bear, its fur singed and torn.

'…it looked like the raiders were slavers, and they came for the poor children.'

Janus' words echoed in his mind as Bahamut bent down and gently picked up the teddy bear. The ruins suddenly looked a lot bleaker than before.

'There were children here' he thought. 'Children who were taken away, their parents killed, and now…'

Now? Probably dead or wishing they were.

His thumb gently stroked the toy's fur when he heard something. It was very faint and had he been anyone else he wouldn't have picked up on it, but thanks to his father's training, he could make it out: a slight breathing sound, coming from behind one of the bushes.

He slowly raised his head and turned to the direction of the sound. A very faint hiss came, and then he heard nothing. The green-eyed child put the toy down and took a slow step towards the bush. He still heard nothing. Then another.

And another.

And another.

Until he reached the bush, its branches at his fingertips. No new sound was heard, meaning that whatever it was, it hadn't run off. He gently parted the branches and leaned in …

… only to meet the hazel eyes a girl.

The young mage calmly leaned back a little ('I didn't flinch') to take a better look. The girl, to give her credit, just blinked, but widened her eyes.

She was about his height, if a little shorter. She had dark purple hair that fell to the middle of her back and wore a white headband with a white ribbon tied at the middle with a bow, pointing straight up. She wore a small brown coat that parted open at the middle to reveal a faded white shirt, black baggy pants that were held by a grey sash and worn-out sandals.

'She looks…familiar. Have I seen her before?'

The two just stared at each for a while before Bahamut took a step and went through the bush. The girl took a step back and shifted her body, revealing a small dagger under her sash. He raised his arms in surrender to calm her down. It worked, and she seemed to relax, but the silence still remained.

The two kept staring at each other, with Bahamut tilting his head in childish interest and a hint of curiosity appearing in the girl's eyes.

"Um … Hi."

The greeting made the girl blink again in surprise, but she quickly resettled into an emotionless stare.

" … Hello."

Bahamut was honestly at a loss on what to do. He had barely interacted with children his age during any period of his life until now, and most conversations he had with people that weren't Acnologia tended to be more professional than anything. Even with Gaelich he rarely had an actual conversation, the bulk of the talking being done by the shopkeeper when tutoring him with magic or assigning him tasks in the shop.

But the silence between them was starting to get a tad uncomfortable so …

" … Why were you hiding?"

The girl didn't reply, but she lowered her head, peeking at the ruins of the house from the corner of her eye. Bahamut saw her gaze shift and understood.

"Did you live here?"

" … Yes," the girl answered, albeit hesitantly.

His eyes slightly widened at her answer. 'If she lived here, then that means … ' he bit his lip as his line of thought trailed off. She escaped those slavers.

"My brother and I lived in that house … but when they came, I escaped and he was taken."

Bahamut looked down to the ground as he clenched his fists. 'That must be horrible, knowing that someone you know is living a life like that.'

He was broken from his thoughts when he heard the girl whisper. "Wait … you couldn't be … could you?"

He heard leaves rustle and refocused back on the girl, only to freeze in surprise as she was now directly in front of him, leaning into his face. He remained frozen, unsure what to do as she stared intently at him, her eyes occasionally shifting above him before she let out a soft gasp.

"You're that boy … "

Bahamut just went more confused by her statement. 'She knows me? I don't think I met her, but she did look familiar before … '

She must have caught his confused look because she kept talking. "You saved me from those slavers that night in the forest … that man with you opened our cage and let us go … "

A jolt of surprise went through the young mage at the mention of that forest. How could he forget? That was the reason why he was repulsed by slavers so much. He took a good long look at the girl, his eyes trailing up her face and stopping at the white ribbon on her head as a flash of recognition came to life in his eyes.

'Wait … isn't she … ?'

Flashback

A sudden sob drew his gaze to the slave cage, where all of its occupants stared at either him or the corpses, fear and some relief showing in their eyes against the light of the red embers. In particular, a girl with a white ribbon tied to her head gave him a look with a myriad of emotions, but he was too distracted to tell.

Flashback end

"You were that girl in the cage, weren't you?"

Nodding, she took a step back and bowed to him. "I cannot thank you enough for that time … I don't know what would I have done otherwise … "

"Uh … you're welcome. You didn't deserve that fate."

"I know that. But I still thank you regardless." She raised herself and held out her hand. "I'm Kagura Mikazuchi."

"I'm Bahamut. Just … Bahamut." He stepped closer and shook her hand. It felt different than the other hands he shook, usually after the completion of a job. It was … soft and warm, with a gentleness he hadn't felt before.

"So … how did you know it was me from back then?" he asked as he let go of her hand.

"Your eyes and your hair, but mainly your eyes. I haven't seen such green eyes in anyone else, even from behind those glasses that you wore. Your hair is still that black mess, even if it is longer."

Bahamut raised an eyebrow. "You remember all of that?"

"That night was … rather hard to forget."

Bahamut internally winced. 'Oh. Yeah … when you think about it, something like that does seem hard to forget.'

Kagura then started to walk towards the ruined house, brushing past his cloak and stepping through the bushes. Bahamut silently followed her. She went inside, her eyes drifting around the remains before picking up the stuffed bear and gently stroking its fur, her eyes shining with glimmers of emotion.

All the while, Bahamut stood nearby and silently watched her. Eventually, however, he asked her a question.

"Why did you come back here?"

Kagura stopped stroking the bear's fur and looked Bahamut in the eye, all traces of emotion gone from her own.

" … After I managed to escape, I ran away and lived on the road. It was bad, but I managed to learn how to defend myself. I decided to try and find my brother again; I … I just had to know if he was alive. After you freed me, I kept on travelling, trying to look for him. I heard that people were rebuilding this village again, and I thought that … he might be here." She let out a mirthful chuckle. "I guess I was hoping for too much."

The purple-haired girl tucked the bear inside her coat. "Can we … can we keep talking somewhere else? It's just that … "

"Oh sure, follow me."

With those words, Bahamut went outside the ruins and started walking down the path that led to the caravan, with Kagura following him. They soon reached the caravan, but he saw no-one else in sight.

'They must have gone to help in some other part of the village.'

He climbed up and sat down on the caravan's seat, patting the spot next to him for Kagura to join. She did so, and Bahamut pulled out two apples from one of the crates inside; he was getting a bit hungry.

The two slowly ate their snacks, with Kagura savouring the apple a little more than he did. But he understood why, so he didn't comment. After they finished their snacks, they just leaned back and silently stared at the village.

A while later, Kagura spoke up.

"It's … hard to imagine. After I escaped, I overheard that there was nothing left but now … people might actually live here again."

"Hmm. People need a place to live. It's not that surprising."

"I know, but after what happened here … won't they be afraid that they might be attacked again?"

"I don't think so. They've probably learned from last time." Kagura didn't reply to that.

She turned to look at him. "That man with you that night … who was he?"

Bahamut froze at the question. Acnologia explicitly told him not to tell anybody about him, so he couldn't exactly tell her who he was, even though she saw him. 'Wait … I don't have to tell her who he is exactly. It's not as if anybody else doesn't know I have a father.'

" … That was my father."

"Your father? He used magic to free us. Is he a mage?"

Bahamut smiled as a touch of pride entered his voice. "He's the strongest mage I've ever met."

"Where is he now?"

Another sensitive question.

" … He sent me away. He said I needed to grow stronger before he could teach me more." Even though he knew his father did so with nothing but good intentions, the topic still left a sting in the child's heart.

Kagura gasped. "How could he do that? That's just cruel to do to anyone, especially to your own child. What kind of a father is he!?"

Bahamut shot her an angry look and clenched his fist. He knew that but …

" … He took me in when no-one else did. He trained me and made me stronger. I don't care if he's like that, he's still the only father I have!"

At that point, Bahamut had slightly raised his voice and it gained an angry tone. Kagura just sat there wide-eyed, surprised at his strong rebuttal.

" … I'm sorry. It's just that … I lost my brother, so I can't really imagine anyone abandoning their family like that willingly." Bahamut calmed down and sighed.

"I know that, but … I just don't like anyone insulting him. He said I could come back when I grew stronger. He did what he did for a good reason, believe me."

The purple-haired girl nodded and fiddled with the apple core in her hand. She thought about what he said, trying to find some way to justify it in her mind when she noticed something.

"You said that he took you in. Did something happen to your parents?"

Now that got Bahamut to clamp up and look down. He was not talking about Kazuto or Harry Potter. Those were things he didn't want to remember again, especially the latter.

Kagura noticed his discomfort and hastily apologized. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -"

"It's fine, it's fine. Just … I don't like to talk about that."

An awkward air hung over the two as they tried to think of something to say to each other to alleviate the tension. It stayed like this for a minute or two before the young mage finally decided to speak up.

"What are you going to do now? I don't think your brother is here."

Kagura turned her gaze to the town and looked at the houses. "I guess I'll just keep looking. I promised myself that I would find him, and I won't go back on what I said."

Her hazel eyes shone with a determined glint as she spoke those words, something that made Bahamut empathize with her:. iIt was the same determination in her voice that he heard whenever he spoke about his father.

Maybe that's why he asked her this, but truth be told, he didn't really know.

"Do you want to come with me?"

She turned to him with a shocked expression on her face. "Excuse me?"

"Well … it's just that … your brother could be anywhere –"

'If he's still alive,'

"– and you have no idea where to actually look, right? I'm planning on travelling around Fiore soon enough. Maybe we can find your brother faster if we travelled together. If not, I work in the capital city. You can find anything there, maybe we could find some news about him.

Also … you're most likely going to have to fight people if you want to succeed. I don't think that dagger you have will be enough. You can learn magic with me and become strong enough to fight for your brother."

As Kagura sat there in shock, the gears in her head were slowly turning, Bahamut's own thoughts were running a mile a minute.

'It sounds like a good idea. If she comes with me, I can also get stronger by training with her. What father said about letting nothing hinder me won't matter because she'll be as strong as me, and … '

A memory flashed through the young mage's mind, of children laughing and playing with one another. Despite what he tried to tell himself and his father's teaching, Bahamut still desired companionship as much as he desired strength.

' … Maybe I'll finally have someone to talk to., and I won't be so lonely anymore.'

He returned his attention to the girl and saw her contemplating the offer. After a tense moment, she sighed and looked him in the eye.

" … Okay. You made some good points. I'll join you." Bahamut smiled and started to reply.

"But," she cut him off. "I won't be your servant. If we really are going to do this, then we have to do this together."

She held out her hand for him. "Deal?"

While a bit confused at what she said – since her statement was his intention from the start – Bahamut nonetheless shook her hand.

"Deal."

The two smiled at each other as they shook hands.

"Pleased to meet you … Kagura."

"I hope we get along well … Bahamut."


(1) etsy. com il-en/listing/624338121/celtic-dragon-dragon-symbol-irish You know the drill, remove the spaces and place a "/" after the ".com"

(2) $1 = 100 Jewels according to Mashima. I looked up some requests that guilds would take and chose a reasonable price regarding the escort.

Well, there you have it! Bahamut finally gets his first companion! I'll leave you guys guessing who will be the rest.

THE IMPORTANT AN: I have noticed that despite the many, many views/faves/follows I get - to which I am ETERNALLY grateful and happy to know that you are all supporting me - I noticed that I don't get a lot of reviews in comparison. I know this might sound nitpicky, but these reviews help me. They let me know how well I am writing this story as well as your thoughts and opinions on it. "Nice chapter" reviews are all well and nice and welcome, but reviews that are a little more in-depth (your thoughts, what you liked/didn't like about the chapter/story) are even more welcome.

Again, sorry if I sound nitpicky, but it's the truth. (Flames, spammers, and haters will be ignored)

On two other notes: I have a poll on my profile page! Go check it out and vote!

Also: If someone could make fanart or a TVTropes page for this, I would greatly appreciate it (especially the former). I just think it would be awesome to actually see Bahamut and Acnologia together.

Go check out my other stories and challenges on my profile and bio! (Has no-one checked them?)

Omake challenge about Bahamut, Acnologia and "The Talk" still up!

Until next time...

Read and review!