He was a happy young boy. Short, thin with an athletic build, and a toothy grin. He had pale blond hair with beautiful ocean blue eyes. He wore a sleeveless shirt with a white undershirt, a pair of shorts that was scorched at the bottom, and a pair of sneakers that had dragon footprints on the soles. He had a calendar in his room as he crossed off the days until it neared a big red circle that was labeled: "The Big Day!"
Days passed by quickly as Master Makarov Dreyar didn't want this day to come. The following day he was going to release his youngest grandchild and guild member on his first assignment. The Master wasn't positive his grandchild was up for the task while he paced back and forth almost creating a rut within the floor.
Everyone looked on a smiled softly with fear, concern, and a hint of proudness. Kale Neoma, the second grandchild of the Master was taking his first job. Some were scared but some were proud that the Master was finally letting his youngest grandchild explore the world. Kale has only been allowed to walked around Magnolia Town and not much else.
"Master, there's no need to worry. Kale will do just fine." Erza reassures the Master
"Yeah, Kale is a prodigy he'll be just fine." Mirajane says as she sides with Erza
Kale was by the main door of the guild hall as he was about to open the door as Master Makarov lunges and clutched onto his youngest grandson with tears in his eyes.
"Please don't go!" Makarov cried
"Grandpa, you're embarrassing me." Kale groaned
"He's never gonna change." Cana sighed softly
"Kale is the youngest of the guild. If it were up to the Master the poor thing would be locked away in a tower guarded by dragons." Levy giggled
Erza walked over and pulled the Master from Kale as she sighed softly.
"Master, if it makes you feel any better. I will escort Kale on his mission." Erza said
The Master just nodded as he walked away back towards the bar sulking as he drank some alcohol. Kale sighed as Erza patted Kale on the head.
"I won't get in the way unless things get a bit too hasty. I'll let you do this on your own." Erza smiles
"Thanks Big Sister." Kale smiles
Kale walked beside Erza while Natsu whines about him not going along for the trip. They reached the train station as Kale began to feel nauseous and queasy. He muttered an incantation as a mist enveloped Kale as the nauseating feeling quickly went away. Erza smiled at the sight of Kale as his eyes were as wide as saucers. She enjoyed seeing how happy he was to travel. She remembers when Kale was only four years old and he had gotten entangled into a rose bush after playing hide and seek with Natsu and Gray. The Master was in tears of the sight as Natsu and Gray were punished while Erza and Mirajane plucked the thorns and debris from Kale. The Master has always been protective of Kale as was everyone else but the Master treated Kale like a priceless gem that should never be touched.
"What are the details of your mission Kale?" Erza asked
"Well it's only for 50,000 jewels and it's to retrieve a stolen item of great importance." Kale explained
"Anything else?" Erza asks
"No, but I'm sure it'll be fine." Kale replies with a smile
The train had stopped in town called Hydrangea. It was a rustic outdoorsy town with beautiful flowers everywhere. Kale asked a baker for directions as he politely obliged and pointed the young mage towards the west where there was an expansive property near a cliff.
"This place is beautiful and everyone is so friendly."
"Yeah it's almost eerie."
"I can't help but agree."
They walked upon the cobblestone walkway that encircled a swan fountain that was made of white marble. Kale knocks on the massive brown wooden door as it opens slowly. Keeping his guard up Kale walked inside to see a man laying in a pool of red liquid. Kale began to panic until the man picked up his head to reveal that he was alive and fine. The red liquid was red paint and the man was the owner of the mansion and the one who issued the job.
The man was tall and looked athletically toned. He had black hair with a hint of gray with brown eyes. He had olive skin and looked very young for his age.
"I'm sorry you had to witness such a horrible scene." The man said sheepishly
"It's no problem..." Kale replied looking a bit shaken
"Now, my name is Jiro, and I'm a mage like you or was." Jiro explained
"Was?" Erza questioned
"You see my family has had a spell book filled with ancient spells for generations, and somehow someone had got into my home while I was away and stole the book. I wouldn't know who would do such a thing because everyone in the town are so nice and helpful." Jiro aforementioned
"Perhaps it's a spell?" Kale inquired
"It could be but even if there was a spell cast upon the entire town nothing about them has changed." Jiro responds
"Don't worry Mr. Jiro I'll bring your spellbook back." Kale smiles proudly
"Thank you." Jiro smiles
Jiro escorted both Kale and Erza into the back where Kale drew a glyph into the earth. He sat before it and began to mutter several incantations along with information of the book he had received from Jiro.
"He's not what I expected." Jiro questions
"Of course that's what makes him a proper mage. He's been training since he was able to walk and talk." Erza explains
Suddenly a pathway into the forests behind the mansion lit a way towards where the thieves had hidden the book. Jiro stayed behind as Kale and Erza walked into the forests of Hydrangea Town. It was nothing but greenery and wild flowers and fruits galore. Animals would be in heaven here with the abundance of food. They stop in a clearing as night begins to fall as Kale starts a fire and begins to cook some fish that he fished for in a pond.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself." Erza smiles
"I am, is this what it's going to be like?" Kale asked
"Exploring new locations and seeing new faces, yes, but you know that one day you will have to battle others and have conflicts in order to get stronger." Erza says
"I know it's just it sucks being the youngest. Everyone treats me like I'm still a baby." Kale pouts
"You're still young, but you're becoming stronger every day. You've improved so much in the past couple of years. If the Master won't allow you to go on any solo missions I'll be there to vouch for you." Erza assures
"Thank you Erza." Kale smiles
Erza and Kale fell asleep under the stars, but once the fire was put out someone began pulling Erza away into a thicket. The sun was rising as Kale awoke with a yawn while rubbing his eyes. With a good stretch he noticed he was alone.
"Erza? Erza where are you?"
Kale tried to use a spell but nothing was happening. He didn't know what else to do but to keep following the trail towards the spellbook. The trail lead to a large tree that was built like a house. Once Kale stepped towards the door he was wrapped by a chain and hoisted into the tree. He was surrounded by cloaked figures when he saw Erza trapped within a giant crystal.
"No need to worry about your friend. She's sleeping so peacefully." said an ominous female voice
"If you comply we may let you live." said a gruff male voice as the bladed end of the chain was pressed against Kale's neck.
"Where's the book that you stole?" Kale questioned
"Stole? That's such a dirty word." A chipper feminine voice said
"Let's just say we borrowed it, but we have no intentions of returning it." said the more stoic yet stern male voice that stood before Erza
"That mage and his family were the most powerful mages in the town and they would often rub it in everyone's faces. They think they're so great flaunting their skills to the people who can't perform magic." said the ominous female
"They performed a stunt that killed someone close to me and they didn't even apologize nor bat an eye at the incident they caused." replied the gruff male
At that moment they all revealed their faces as the quartet of villains smiled as they brought out the book as it began to glow a mysterious yellow light. The three skimmed through the book to find a spell as Kale closed his eyes as the chain keeping him bound began to glow before it shattered into pieces. The gruff man was a large man with medium length brown hair, a full beard, obsidian black eyes, and had a multitude of scars.
"I guess I'll have to take the book by force if I have too." Kale responded
"You smug little brat!" The gruff male shouted as he conjured another bladed chain
Kale easily dodged his attacks before he was surrounded in a white light. He began to turn in a rotation until it had become faster and faster.
"Calling upon the energy of the moon: Celestial Dragon Drill Impact!" Kale shouted as he attacked the gruff mage as he shot out of the tree
Suddenly he was wrapped by soft mint green hair that squeezed Kale tightly and slammed him against every tree branch before knocking him into the crystal that had encased Erza. The hair began to wrap around Kale's throat as Kale slowly stood up and shredded the hair as claws appeared on his fingers. The female mage screamed with horror unaware to her that the impact she made from tossing Kale into the crystalline prison.
The female mage screamed as she lunged at Kale as the screaming mage face planted into the crystal as she shattered it into pieces.
"You damn brat I will kill you for damaging my hair!" The green haired mage yelled
That was when she was grabbed by her hair by Erza as she stared into her eyes.
"Those who threaten my friends don't deserve to live." Erza said in a low and scary tone
The green haired mage screamed as she was tossed into the sky by Erza as it was now two on two. The last two hooded mages removed their hoods. The male had bright orange hair and orange cat-like eyes while the female had snow white hair with rose pink eyes. The male was shaking in the knees before suddenly the book was taken from him in a blink of an eye. The white haired female mage conjured up a pink energy ball as it vanished in an instance but found its target as it sent Kale downwards towards the ground. Eventually they two followed as Erza gently floated down towards Kale.
Kale slowly sat up with a smile as he held the book in his arms before he and Erza walked back towards Jiro's mansion to return the spellbook. After collecting the reward they had gone back home. However they were greeted warmly as the Master was in tears as he held his youngest grandchild tightly.
"Your lack of confidence in me is quite insulting Master." Erza said with a slight smile
"I'm just glad to have you back home in one piece." Makarov wept happily
"Man you didn't fight with anyone?" Natsu questioned
"No of course not. If I came home with a black eye or something worse I'd be kept in my room for eternity." Kale responded before giving Natsu a wink
Natsu smiled as he ruffled Kale's hair before the sun had began to set.