Azra'il - POV
The walk back to Hosenka was surprisingly… pleasant.
Yume floated ahead of us on its little cloud of bluish mist, leaving a trail of will-o'-the-wisps that illuminated the path like a trail of fallen stars. The little bells on its ears tinkled softly with every movement, creating a delicate melody that blended with the nocturnal sounds of the forest. The golden ginkgo leaf, miraculously, remained balanced on its head.
"This way, this way!" Yume exclaimed at every bend in the trail. "Yume knows the fastest way! Yume has walked these mountains a thousand times! Well, maybe not a thousand, Yume hasn't counted, but MANY times! Pyu~!"
The mist that had once seemed threatening now parted respectfully for our passage, as if recognising its master. The trees that had looked like twisted claws in the moonlight were just… trees. Common pines. Some maples. Nothing supernatural.
(Funny how perspective changes everything.)
[The yokai's magic was distorting your perception before. Now that it is not trying to create an atmosphere of fear, the environment returns to normal.]
Natsu was walking right behind Yume, still occasionally rubbing the arm he had chewed on during the dream. Gray was beside him, miraculously still clothed, keeping a safe distance to avoid accidental fights under Erza's watchful eye. Happy was flying low, clearly exhausted, muttering something about "never being an emperor again."
Lucy was beside me, her steps dragging with fatigue.
"I'm never going to be able to look at Plue the same way again," she said, her voice that of someone who had seen things that could not be unseen.
"Are muscles that traumatising?"
"You don't understand. He had a SIX-PACK. Plue. A SIX-PACK."
"My condolences."
"And he was flexing. FLEXING, Azra'il."
"It sounds terrible."
"It was. It was very terrible."
And Erza…
Erza was walking on my other side, in a silence that was part weariness and part something else. Since the comment about the apron, and my lie about what I had really seen of her dream, she had kept a careful distance. Not hostile, but… aware. As if every inch between us was calculated.
Occasionally, our eyes would meet.
And look away.
After about thirty minutes of walking, which would have been an hour by the normal route, Yume made sure to inform us at least five times, the lights of Hosenka appeared through the trees. The village was asleep, but a few lanterns still shone on the porches, and the Yamamoto Inn was lit up like a welcoming beacon.
"We're here!" Yume announced proudly, doing a little pirouette in the air. "Yume brought everyone back safely! Yume is very useful! Yume—"
The inn door slid open.
Yamamoto-san was standing at the entrance, her kimono immaculate even at that time of night, her white hair shining softly in the lantern light. Her perceptive eyes scanned our group, the exhausted mages, the confused faces, the floating creature that had just noticed our presence and was frozen in the air like a deer in front of a cart.
"So," the innkeeper said, her voice calm and measured, "you've found the mountain spirit."
Yume trembled.
"T-the scary lady from the inn…" it whispered, hiding behind me, or trying to, since it was a ball of fur the size of a cat and I didn't offer much cover. "Yume is afraid of scary ladies…"
"Scary?" Yamamoto-san raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. You didn't find me scary when you guided me back home, sixty-three years ago."
The silence that followed was absolute.
Yume blinked.
Blinked again.
"…Huh?"
Yamamoto-san descended the porch steps with slow, deliberate steps, approaching our group. Her eyes, which I now realised had a depth that went far beyond a simple innkeeper, were fixed on Yume.
"I was a little girl," she said, her voice softening in a way I hadn't heard before. "Six, perhaps seven. Stubborn as a mule. My mother always told me not to go too far into the forest, but I never listened."
Yume floated closer, its huge eyes shining with something that looked like recognition.
"A girl…" it murmured. "A little girl… with plaits… and a red ribbon…?"
"You remember."
"Yume remembers everyone!" Its ears perked up. "The girl got lost a lot! Yume always had to guide her back! Yume was worried!"
"It was you, then. The little balls of light I saw among the trees." Yamamoto-san smiled, a genuine smile, without the commercial steel edge I had seen before. "My grandmother used to say it was a guardian spirit. That I had been blessed to find it. I… I thought it was just a child's story. Imagination."
"It wasn't imagination! It was Yume! Yume always looked after the lost children! Yume never let anyone get hurt on the mountain!" The creature floated closer to Yamamoto-san, its eyes filling with tears, again. "The girl with the plaits grew up… got big… Yume didn't recognise her… Yume is so silly… pyu~"
"You are not silly." Yamamoto-san reached out her hand, and Yume, hesitantly, approached until her wrinkled fingers touched the bluish-white fur. "You are exactly what my grandmother said you were. A guardian."
"Yume… Yume is a guardian?"
"You always were."
And then, to my absolute surprise, the woman I had seen calculate repair costs with surgical precision and present bills with the coldness of a professional accountant… had tears in her eyes.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "For all the times you brought me home."
Yume was crying openly now, which, honestly, was nothing new, but this time it seemed different. It seemed cathartic.
"Yume just wanted to help… Yume always just wanted to help… but the adults threw salt… and screamed… and Yume got scared of trying again…"
"I know. And I am sorry." Yamamoto-san straightened up, her composure slowly returning, but the warmth remaining in her eyes. "Tomorrow, we will change that. I will help convince this stubborn village that you are not a threat."
"Y-you will help Yume?"
"Of course." A smile. "It's the least I can do for the creature that saved my life at least a dozen times when I was a child."
I exchanged a look with Erza.
(Well, that makes things easier.)
[Considerably. Having a respected figure from the community as an ally will accelerate the process of the yokai's acceptance.]
(Sometimes things work out.)
[Statistically unlikely with Fairy Tail, but not impossible.]
"Now," Yamamoto-san said, returning to her professional tone, "you all look exhausted. The rooms are ready. Baths too, but…" a significant look at Natsu and Gray, "…I hope there will be no more incidents."
"N-no, ma'am," they replied in unison, still traumatised from the previous beating.
"Brilliant. Yume, you can stay in the back garden tonight. There's an old tea house we no longer use. It should suffice."
"Yume gets a little house?!" The creature's eyes lit up. "A little house just for Yume?!"
"For tonight, at least. We'll see about more permanent arrangements tomorrow."
"YUME HAS NEVER HAD A LITTLE HOUSE! YUME IS SO HAPPY! MYU~!"
And off it went, floating towards the back of the inn, leaving a trail of will-o'-the-wisps and sobs of joy.
Yamamoto-san watched us for a moment.
"You did a good thing," she said finally. "Most mages would have simply eliminated the 'threat' and collected the payment."
"That's not how Fairy Tail works," Erza replied.
"I know. That's why I recommended you when the mayor came asking for help." An enigmatic smile. "Now go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day."
The inn rooms were still the same makeshift warehouse as before, a cramped space with just two double futons spread out on the floor, separated by a few inches of tatami mat.
One for the boys.
One for the girls.
Lucy looked at the futon. Looked at me. Looked at the door through which Erza had not yet entered.
"No," she said.
"I didn't say anything."
"Your face did. And the answer is no."
"Lucy, it's just a futon. The three of us can fit."
"We can fit PHYSICALLY. But I refuse to—"
"It'll be like a slumber party," I said, with the most innocent tone I could manage. "Three friends sharing a bed. Talking about boys. Or girls, in my case. Painting each other's nails."
"I'm not painting your nails."
"How about plaiting hair?"
"NO."
"Telling secrets?"
"Azra'il, I SWEAR—"
"Alright, alright." I held up my hands in surrender. "No slumber party. But you'll still have to share the futon."
Lucy sighed deeply, the sigh of someone who had accepted their cruel fate, and dragged herself to the furthest corner of the futon possible, practically merging with the wall.
"I'm taking the edge," she declared. "RIGHT on the edge. And thank you for at least not teasing me anymore."
"You're welcome."
"Goodnight!"
And she burrowed under the blanket with the speed of someone who wanted to be asleep before I could change my mind about teasing her.
And in seconds, she was asleep.
Or pretending very well.
[Her breathing pattern indicates genuine sleep. She was truly exhausted.]
(Or fleeing the conversation.)
[Also possible.]
I was already sitting in the middle of the futon, Lucy snoring softly on the left edge, wrapped in the blanket like a defensive cocoon, when the door slid open.
Erza entered.
And my heart, that stupid, treacherous organ that I so often wished I could rip from my chest, gave a foolish leap. She had changed out of her armour and her mission clothes into a simple sleeping yukata provided by the inn, the light blue fabric with soft wave patterns suiting the vibrant colour of her scarlet hair strangely well. Her hair was loose, still slightly damp from a quick bath, and fell in soft waves over her shoulders, softer and less intimidating than usual. Without her armour, she looked… younger. More vulnerable. More… real.
She looked at the futon. At Lucy, already asleep and clinging to the edge as if her life depended on it. At me, sitting in the middle, feigning a deep interest in the patterns on the sheet. And, finally, at the one and only inevitable space available. Directly beside me.
"Oh," she said, the only word that managed to leave her lips.
"Oh," I agreed, without taking my eyes off my scroll.
"I… I can sleep in the corridor, if need be."
"Don't be ridiculous, Erza."
"Or perhaps on the balcony. The night is pleasant. A bit of fresh air would do me good."
"Erza."
"Or maybe I can ask Yamamoto-san for another—"
"We've slept together before," I interrupted, finally lifting my eyes and looking at her. "Many times. When we were younger. Have you forgotten?"
She froze in place, her hand on the doorframe. "That… that was different. Completely different."
"How was it different?" I asked, genuinely curious about her logic.
"We were… we were teenagers. Children, practically." The familiar pink started to creep up her neck, tinting her cheeks. "We didn't… we didn't know about… about…"
"About?" I insisted, a small smile appearing on my lips.
"About things! We didn't know about things, Azra'il!" she hissed, exasperated.
"What 'things' exactly did we not know about, Erza Scarlet?"
"Azra'il, you know exactly what 'things'! Don't make me say it!"
I smiled, a genuine smile this time. The way she got so embarrassed was… captivating. I couldn't help it. "Come and lie down, Erza. I promise I won't bite. At least, not too hard."
"That's not what I'm worried about," she muttered, so quietly I don't think I was meant to hear, as she approached with a reluctance that was almost palpable.
[You heard every syllable, Azra'il,] Eos commented, with the subtlety of a fire alarm.
(I know, Eos. And she knows very well that I heard. That's what makes it all so… fun.)
[This mating dance of yours with Titania is fascinating from an anthropological point of view and exasperating in its inefficiency.]
(Shut up, you meddling rust bucket, and let me enjoy the moment.)
Erza approached the futon with hesitant steps, as if the tatami were a minefield and the blanket a death trap. She knelt at the edge, adjusted her pillow, smoothed it out, adjusted it again, turned it over, and adjusted it a third time—
"The pillow is perfectly fine, Erza. It's not going to attack you in your sleep."
"I was just… checking the quality," she replied, without looking at me.
"For three minutes straight?"
"It is a pillow of questionable quality. It requires a thorough inspection."
Finally, with the courage of one about to enter a battle against an ancient demon, she lay down. On her back to me. Completely stiff. As far away from me as possible without leaving the futon.
We were silent for a long moment, the air between us charged with an electricity that wasn't magical. On the other side of the room, I could hear the muffled, familiar sounds of Natsu and Gray starting another of their whispered brawls, a muffled kick, a grunt, another kick, a complaint about "cold feet," the unmistakable sound of ice forming, followed by an extremely poorly disguised "GRAY, YOU IDIOT, PUT THAT OUT!".
"They're going to kill each other before morning," I commented, just to break the tense silence.
"Probably. It's a miracle they manage to survive missions, considering they are their own worst enemies," Erza's voice replied, tense, but with a thread of familiar humour that made me smile.
"Hmm."
More silence. A different silence.
I looked at her back, at the gentle curve of her shoulders under the yukata, at the way the moonlight coming through the window illuminated her scarlet hair spread on the pillow, at the vulnerable line of her neck, pale and exposed. And an unexpected longing hit me, a sharp and painful pang.
(I really miss those simpler days.) The thought came unbidden, catching me by surprise with its sincerity.
"Erza," I said quietly, my voice a whisper in the silent room.
"…Yes?" she replied, equally quiet, almost breathless.
"I miss it."
I felt her tense even more. "Miss… what?"
"Those days. Those times. When we were stupid and clueless teenagers." I adjusted myself on the futon, turning on my side, facing her back. "When we would share a bed on a mission without a second thought. When you would hug me as if I were your little spoon and I would always wake up with you squeezing me like a teddy bear, I'd complain endlessly about it, but secretly… I loved it."
Silence. A silence so deep, so charged, that it seemed to hold a bated breath, a wildly beating heart. Mine or hers, I could no longer tell.
"You…" her voice came out strangled, almost inaudible. "You… loved it?"
"Loved it. Every second," I admitted, and the confession seemed to leave a strange, sweet taste in my mouth.
"You never… you never said."
"And you, Erza Scarlet, did you ever happen to ask?"
More silence. And then, so slowly, so hesitantly that I almost didn't notice it at first, Erza began to move. Not to move away, as I had half-expected her to.
But to move closer.
"I can…" she began, and her voice was a whisper so low it barely reached my ears, like the deepest secret of her soul. "If you want… I can… be the little spoon. At least… just for this once."
My heart stopped. For an instant. And then it beat with such force I thought it would break my ribs. What?
"You heard me." The dark pink on her ears was visible even in the gloom of the room. "If… if you still want to. I… I wouldn't mind at all. To… to hug. Like before."
[Biometric analysis: Your heart rate has just doubled in less than two seconds, Azra'il. And your adrenaline levels are comparable to the beginning of a mid-level combat. I recommend breathing.]
(SHUT UP, YOU MEDDLING RUST BUCKET, BEFORE I DISMANTLE YOU!)
"Are you… are you sure, Erza?" I asked, and my voice, to my eternal embarrassment, came out hoarser and more trembling than I intended.
A small, almost imperceptible nod of her head. But I felt the movement.
"Then… come here," I said, my voice an invitation.
And she moved. She slid backwards on the futon with a torturous slowness, until her back met my chest. Until I could feel the warmth of her skin through the thin layers of the yukata's fabric. Until her scent, that natural, impossible, and intoxicating scent of strawberries and of… Erza, enveloped my senses like a spell.
With a hesitation I hadn't felt in centuries, I wrapped an arm around her waist. I pulled her closer to me, nesting her body against mine. And, to my surprise, she not only came, she snuggled in, relaxing into my arms.
Her body fitted perfectly against mine, as if it had been made to be there. The curves of her back against the curve of my body. Her warmth heating me from the inside out, in a way no magical fire ever could.
"Is this… is this alright?" I whispered, my mouth dangerously close to the sensitive skin of her ear.
A small, almost inaudible sound escaped her. Half a sigh, half an agreement, half something else I didn't dare to name.
"Hmm-hmm."
"Then… goodnight, Erza," I said, closing my eyes.
"…Goodnight, Azra'il," she whispered back.
And, against all odds, against all the accumulated tension of this impossible night, against common sense and my own instinctive desire for emotional self-preservation, I fell asleep. Quickly. And deeply.
With Erza Scarlet, Titania, the Queen of the Fairies, the woman who was at once my biggest headache and, perhaps, my greatest hope, safe in my arms.
---------(*)---------
I woke to the soft light of dawn filtering through the cracks in the window, painting the room in delicate shades of pink and gold, like the promise of a new day.
But it wasn't the light that truly woke me. No. It was the sudden, overwhelming, and absolutely devastating awareness of several things that were happening at the same time.
First, and perhaps the least problematic: at some point during the night, my body, in its infinite and treacherous wisdom, had decided that proximity to Erza was not enough. I had pulled her even closer, if that were even possible. My arm, which had previously been casually around her waist, was now firmly wrapped around her, my palm splayed against her warm stomach, my fingers brushing dangerously against the lower edge of her yukata.
Second, and a little more embarrassing: my face, which I vaguely remembered leaving at a respectful distance from her hair, was now completely and utterly buried in her neck. Yes. Her neck. And, to my absolute horror and a touch of scientific curiosity, I was, apparently, sniffing her in my sleep, because my nose was pressed into that soft, vulnerable curve where her neck met her shoulder, deeply inhaling that impossible and intoxicating scent of strawberries as if it were the purest oxygen of a paradise world.
Third, and this was the most… immediate, most… urgent… and certainly most… rigid problem: my body had woken up before I had. And, to my misfortune, it had woken up with an enthusiasm I hadn't felt since… well, since never, in this particular life.
(Oh no. Oh no, no, no. Not again. A terrible time for biology to decide to work.)
[Good morning, Azra'il. I must inform you that your levels of physiological arousal are considerably elevated. Significantly above the normal parameters for morning rest. In case, for some unlikely reason, you hadn't noticed,] Eos commented in my mind, with the calm and precision of a weather report announcing a hurricane.
(I NOTICED, YOU MEDDLING AND UNNECESSARILY INFORMATIVE RUST BUCKET!) I hissed mentally.
[Just logging the data for future reference. And for my own amusement.]
I could feel it. I could feel, with a humiliating clarity, exactly how "excited" my body was with the situation. And, considering the position we were in, with Erza's back and, more specifically, her… buttocks, pressed firmly against my pelvis, there was absolutely no way, not even with the help of high-level illusion magic, to hide the current state of affairs. None.
(Okay. Okay. Calm. Breathe. I need to move away. Slowly. Carefully. Now. Before she wakes up and kills me. Or humiliates me. Or both, probably.)
[Movement analysis detected in the breathing patterns of specimen Erza Scarlet. The transition from REM sleep to a waking state has already been initiated. In short: too late. She is already waking up,] Eos informed, with a sadistic glee that was almost palpable.
(WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, TOO LATE?!)
And then I realised. I felt it. Erza's breathing, which had been the slow, deep rhythm of sleep, had changed. It was faster. Shallower. More… conscious. Her heart, which had been beating at a calm and steady pace, was now accelerating; I could feel the strong, rapid pulsation against my arm.
And she was… very, very still. Too still for someone who was sleeping. It was the kind of stillness one has when they are completely awake, fully aware of the embarrassing situation they are in, but are pretending, with all their might, that they are still asleep so as not to have to deal with reality.
(She… she's awake.)
[Confirmed. Brain waves indicate conscious activity for approximately… thirty-seven seconds.]
(And she's pretending she's not.)
[Also confirmed. A rather common and, I must say, fascinating social evasion tactic to observe.]
(And that means she… she can feel…?)
[Without a shadow of a doubt, Azra'il. Given the physical proximity, the pressure exerted, and the… intensity… of your current physiological response, it would be scientifically impossible for her not to notice. Unless the tactile sensitivity of her gluteal region is abnormally low, which my data indicates is not the case.]
(I'm going to die. Of pure and absolute embarrassment. This is it. The end of millennia of existence.)
[Technically impossible, given your… peculiarities. But I perfectly understand the feeling of wanting reality to unravel.]
Slowly, with the delicacy of one trying to disarm the most sensitive and temperamental bomb in the universe, I began to try and move away, millimetre by millimetre, hoping she wouldn't notice.
And then, Erza moved.
But not to move away from me. On the contrary. She adjusted herself, as if she were just settling in her sleep, a supposedly unconscious movement. And, in the process, she pressed her back and her bottom EVEN MORE against me. Against… well, against everything.
A strange sound, a small, involuntary gasp, escaped my throat. Something between a sigh of pleasure and a groan of panic that I had DEFINITELY not authorised to come out.
(What, in all the hells and heavens, is she doing?! Has she gone mad?!)
[Based on empirical evidence and the physics of the movement, Azra'il, she appears to be… encouraging the physical contact. And, possibly, investigating the situation with more… depth.]
(But… but she's pretending to be asleep!)
[A brilliant tactic of plausible deniability. If she is "asleep," she does not have to take responsibility for her own evident actions of tactile curiosity.]
(That's… that's manipulation!)
[Brilliant? Cowardly? Or, perhaps, extremely exciting?]
(ALL OF THE ABOVE, YOU BLOODY RUST BUCKET!)
I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think straight. Her smell, of strawberries and the warmth of her skin, was everywhere, filling my senses, overloading my circuits. And she was so warm against me, so soft in the right places, and I could feel every little breath she took, every small, subtle movement…
My hand, which was still splayed on her stomach, trembled of its own accord. And, before I could stop it, my fingers flexed slightly, a spasm, an involuntary caress on the fabric of the yukata.
And, in response, Erza let out a sigh. Small. Almost inaudible. A sound that was not of pain, nor of surprise. A sound that was pure and simple… surrender.
And my body, that traitor, DEFINITELY heard and understood the message.
(I need to stop. I need to move away. I need to think of something terribly boring and off-putting, like the bureaucracy of the Magic Council or the economic theories of some extinct civilisation with an economy based on seashells…)
But my face, instead of moving away, moved closer to her neck. My nose, acting on its own, traced a slow, torturous line from the base of her ear to the curve of her shoulder, deeply inhaling her scent, engraving it into my memory.
She trembled in my arms. And it wasn't from the cold.
"GOOOOOOD MORNING, FRIENDS! YUME MADE TEA! YUME WANTS TO HELP! YUME IS SO HAPPY YUME DIDN'T SLEEP ALL NIGHT! PYU~!"
The shoji door, with the delicacy of an avalanche, EXPLODED inwards.
Yume came floating in, little bells tinkling frantically, tail wagging with manic energy, completely oblivious to what it was interrupting.
"YUME BROUGHT TEA FOR EVERYONE! YUME IS VERY USEFUL! YUME— oh."
It stopped. Its cheerful floating ceased. The ginkgo leaf on its head trembled.
It looked at me and Erza, still entwined in a compromising position on the futon.
At Lucy, who had woken up with the shout and was sitting up, her eyes as wide as saucers.
On the other side of the room, where Natsu had sat up on his futon with his hair sticking up in all directions, Gray was rubbing his eyes with the face of someone who wanted to go back to sleep, and Happy was floating confusedly between the two.
The silence lasted for approximately three seconds.
Then the chaos began.
Lucy SCREAMED, a high-pitched scream of surprise and second-hand embarrassment.
Natsu craned his neck over the screen, too curious to restrain himself. "Why is Erza so red?"
Gray, who had also peeked for a second, immediately retreated, shaking his head. "I don't want to know, I didn't see anything, I'm not here, I'm going back to sleep and forgetting this morning ever existed."
And Happy, because he was Happy and his function in the universe was apparently to spread gossip and chaos, flew over the screen with a mischievous glint in his eyes and declared loudly for the entire inn to hear: "THEY FAAAANCY EACH OTHER! AND THEY WERE DOING FANCYING-EACH-OTHER-THINGS!"
And Erza…
And Erza… ah, Erza. She separated from me with a speed that would make lightning look like a tortoise, nearly knocking me off the futon in the process. She was on her feet in a second, her face as red as her hair, her hands frantically trying to smooth out her crumpled yukata, her eyes desperately avoiding mine, Lucy's, Natsu's, Gray's, Yume's, or, probably, her own reflection in any polished surface.
"I— THAT— WE WERE JUST— IT WAS COLD— CONSERVATION OF BODY HEAT— COMPLETELY NORMAL— NOTHING HAPPENED— I'M GOING TO HAVE A SHOWER!"
And she marched out of the room, leaving a trail of palpable embarrassment.
Yume blinked, its huge eyes moving from Erza disappearing down the corridor to me, still lying on the futon with the blanket strategically positioned over certain areas.
"Yume… did Yume do something wrong? Pyu~?"
"No, Yume." I rubbed my face with my hands. "Your timing was just… impeccable."
"Yume has good timing! Yume is very happy! Yume—"
"Yume."
"Yes?"
"The tea. You said you made tea."
"OH! YES! TEA!" And off it went, floating out of the room, having already forgotten what it had just witnessed.
Lucy looked at me.
I looked at her.
"I'm not going to ask," she said finally.
"I appreciate that."
"But I'm going to REMEMBER."
"I know."
"And one day, when I need a favour…"
"Lucy."
"I'm just saying." She smiled, the smile of someone who had just acquired valuable blackmail material. "I'm going to get changed. Try not to… pick up where you left off. At least not while I'm in the room."
And she left, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
And with a problem that still hadn't resolved itself under the blanket.
(This is going to be a very, very long morning.)
[I wouldn't bet against it.]
It took me a few more minutes than I would have liked to admit to compose myself enough to get out from under the blanket without causing a scandal. When I finally managed to get dressed and go down to the breakfast hall, everyone was already there.
Well, almost everyone.
Erza was conspicuously absent.
The breakfast hall was the same one where we had had dinner the night before, low tables, burgundy cushions, paper lanterns, the delicious aroma of traditional food. Yamamoto-san had prepared a morning feast: rice, miso soup, grilled fish, pickled vegetables, eggs, and a variety of side dishes that made my mouth water.
Natsu was already on his third plate, shovelling food into his mouth with the subtlety of a vacuum cleaner. Gray was eating more civilly, but not by much. Happy had a whole fish to himself and looked like he was in paradise.
Lucy was sitting a little apart, casting occasional glances in my direction, glances that were a mixture of curiosity, amusement, and "I know something you don't want me to know."
And Yume…
Yume was floating around the table, practically vibrating with energy, offering tea to everyone every thirty seconds.
"More tea? Yume made the tea! Yume woke up early to make it! Yume wants to be useful! Pyu~!"
"Yume, I've already had four cups," Gray said, with the patience of someone on the verge of a breakdown.
"Five cups is better than four! Yume read that somewhere! Maybe! Yume can't remember where! Myu~!"
I sat on my usual cushion, picking up my chopsticks and starting to eat in silence. My stomach was rumbling; I hadn't realised how hungry I was until I smelt the food.
"Good morning, Azra'il," Lucy said, with a tone that was too sweet. Too suspicious. "Did you sleep well?"
"Reasonably."
"Only reasonably? What a shame. I thought you would have slept VERY well, considering…"
"Lucy."
"Considering what?" Natsu asked, his mouth full of rice.
"Nothing," I said quickly.
"It doesn't sound like nothing. Lucy's making that face she makes when she knows something."
"I'm not making any face!"
"Yes, you are. It's the same face you made when you found out that Gray—"
"NATSU!" Gray interrupted. "Shut up and eat!"
"But I'm curious!"
"Curiosity killed the cat," I said.
"Aye! But I'm a cat and I'm still alive!" Happy offered, apparently thinking he was contributing to the conversation.
"It's an expression, Happy."
"Oh. What a strange expression. Why would someone kill a curious cat? Curious cats are the best cats! They find the best fish!"
The hall door slid open.
Erza entered.
The silence that fell over the table was instant and absolute.
She was dressed in her normal clothes, the light armour, the blue skirt, the combat boots. Her scarlet hair was tied back in its ponytail. Her posture was impeccable, her shoulders straight, her chin held high.
Everything perfectly normal.
Except for the fact that her face still had a persistent pink hue, and her eyes were carefully avoiding a specific direction.
My direction.
"Good morning," she said, her voice too controlled.
"Good morning, Erza!" Yume floated over to her, little bells tinkling. "Yume made tea! Yume wants to offer tea to the friend with the pretty hair! Pyu~!"
"Thank you, Yume." She accepted the cup and sat down, on the other side of the table. As far away from me as possible without looking obvious.
But it was obvious.
Very obvious.
Lucy was practically glowing with contained satisfaction.
[Titania is avoiding eye contact. Elevated heart rate visible on her neck. Behaviour consistent with extreme embarrassment.]
(I've noticed.)
[And you? How are you feeling about this morning's events?]
(Confused. Frustrated. And still a little… excited, if I'm being honest.)
[Emotional honesty. Progress.]
(Shut up, Eos.)
"Well then!" Yamamoto-san appeared at the door, clapping her hands once to get our attention. "Finished your breakfast? We have a lot to do today."
"The presentation in the village," Erza said, looking relieved to have a safe subject to focus on. "We need a plan."
"Yume has a plan!" The creature floated to the centre of the room, its tail wagging frantically. "Yume will introduce itself! Yume will be very friendly! Yume practised all night!"
"You practised?" Lucy asked.
"YES! Yume will show you!" It positioned itself, cleared its throat, a ridiculous sound coming from a little ball of fur, and assumed a pose that it clearly thought was imposing.
"Greetings, honoured humans of the village!" Its voice came out deep and formal, completely different from its usual high-pitched tone. "Kono Yume, ancestral guardian of the sacred mountains, presents itself before you with humility and—"
The ginkgo leaf fell off its head.
"—and… and…" It looked at the leaf on the floor. Its huge eyes filled with tears. "…Yume's leaf fell… Yume was going to be so cool… pyu~"
"Perhaps," I said slowly, "you don't need a formal introduction."
"B-but Yume practised…"
"Yume." I stood up, walking over to the creature. "The villagers aren't going to accept you because you make a pretty speech. They're going to accept you because they'll see who you really are."
"Who Yume really is?"
"A whiny, over-the-top, and irritatingly cute yokai who just wants to make friends."
Yume blinked.
"…Is that a good thing?"
"Surprisingly, yes."
"She's right," Yamamoto-san said, approaching. "When I was a child, you didn't make formal speeches. You just… appeared. Guided me home. You were kind." She smiled. "Be yourself, Yume. It's enough."
Yume's eyes shone.
"Yume can be Yume?"
"You can."
"And people will like Yume?"
"Some will. Others will take longer. But that's how it works with everyone."
The creature sniffed, the tears now of emotion.
"Yume will try… Yume will be the best Yume that Yume can be… myu~"
"That's all we ask."
Erza stood up, taking command naturally.
"Right. Here's the plan." She avoided my eyes as she spoke, focusing on the group as a whole. "Yamamoto-san will accompany us and provide local credibility. I will speak first, explain who we are and why we are here. Then, Lucy will tell what really happened; she has a way with words."
"I do?" Lucy looked surprised.
"You're a writer. Use it."
"Oh. Right. I can do that."
"Natsu and Gray." Erza turned to the two of them, her tone turning to steel. "You two will remain SILENT."
"But—" Natsu began.
"SILENT."
"What if—" Gray tried.
"SI. LENT. Not a single word, not a gesture out of place, not a LOOK that I don't like. Understood?"
"Y-yes, ma'am," they replied in unison, shrinking visibly.
"Brilliant." Erza finally looked in my direction. The pink returned to her cheeks, but she maintained her composure. "Azra'il. You stay with Yume. He trusts you. If he panics, you calm him."
"Understood."
Our eyes met.
For a second, just a second, I saw something there. Something beyond the embarrassment. Something that looked a lot like what I had seen in her eyes in the dream. In MY dream, the one I wouldn't admit to anyone.
Then she looked away.
"Let's go. The sooner we start, the better."
Hosenka's central square was exactly what you would expect from a traditional tourist village, well-laid cobblestones, a decorative fountain in the centre, shops and tea houses all around, and a significant number of villagers going about their morning activities.
Villagers who, the moment our group appeared with a FLOATING BALL OF FUR, stopped everything they were doing.
"It's… it's the monster!"
"The mountain demon!"
"Protect the children!"
"GET THE SALT!"
Yume immediately hid behind me, or tried to, considering it was too small to effectively hide behind anything.
"Yume is scared…" it whispered, trembling. "The people are screaming… like that other time… pyu~"
I looked into its eyes.
Still blue.
But starting to turn red.
(If they turn red, it will be much harder to convince these people.)
"Hey," I said quietly, crouching down. "Look at me. Only at me."
The huge eyes met mine.
"Breathe. No one is going to throw salt at you. Not while I'm here."
"P-promise?"
"I promise."
The eyes stabilised at blue.
"ATTENTION!" Erza's voice cut through the growing panic like a blade. Titania positioned herself in the centre of the square, her presence commanding an instant silence. "We are mages from Fairy Tail, hired to investigate the incidents on the northern road!"
The mayor, the dramatic man from before, emerged from the crowd, his moustache trembling with indignation.
"Investigate?! You've brought the monster INTO the village! This is the opposite of solving the problem!"
"With all due respect, Mr. Mayor," Erza said, in a tone that had no respect whatsoever, "the 'monster' you described does not exist."
"It doesn't exist?! I SAW IT! Red eyes glowing in the dark! Pure terror!"
"What you saw," Lucy stepped forward, taking a small notebook from her pocket as if presenting evidence in a court of law, "was a frightened yokai. Its eyes only turn red when it feels threatened. And considering it was probably met with screams and salt, I'd say it had a reason."
"Yokai?!" The mayor stepped back. "That's even worse! Yokai are demons!"
"Yokai are spirits," I corrected, standing up with Yume still trembling behind me. "Some are dangerous, yes. But others are guardians. Protectors."
"And how do you know that THIS one is a protector and not a demon in disguise?"
A voice rose from the crowd.
"Because he saved me."
Everyone turned.
Yamamoto-san walked to the centre of the square, her presence commanding a different kind of respect, the respect of decades of living together, of a reputation built over a lifetime.
"He saved me," she repeated. "When I was a child. Dozens of times. Every time I got lost in the forest, a little ball of light would appear and guide me back home." She looked at Yume. "I thought it was my imagination. A child's story. But it was him. All along."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"Yamamoto-san, with all due respect—" the mayor began.
"My grandmother told stories about the mountain's guardian spirit," she continued, ignoring him. "Stories that came from her grandmother, and from her mother before. This yokai has been in these lands for longer than any of us. He is not a threat. He is a part of Hosenka."
More murmurs. Less hostile now. More curious.
A child, a little girl of perhaps five or six, with plaits and a red ribbon in her hair that painfully reminded me of Yamamoto-san's story, slipped from her mother's hand and ran to where I was.
"Miss!" She tugged on my sleeve. "Miss, the little creature is trembling. Is he scared?"
I looked at Yume, who was indeed trembling like a leaf.
"Yes, he is."
"Why? Are we frightening?"
"To him, yes. People have hurt him before."
The little girl frowned, processing this with the seriousness only children can have.
Then she turned to Yume.
"Hello, little creature. I'm Asuka. I'm not going to hurt you."
Yume peeked out from behind me, its eyes wide.
"…R-really?"
"Really! Mummy says you can't hurt fluffy things. And you're VERY fluffy." She tilted her head. "Can I stroke you?"
Yume looked at me.
Looked at the little girl.
Back at me.
"Yume… can Yume…?"
"You can."
Slowly, hesitantly, Yume floated closer to the child.
The little girl held out her hand.
Touched the bluish-white fur.
"WAAAH! It's so soft!" She turned to the crowd, her eyes shining. "MUMMY! HE'S SUPER SOFT! COME AND FEEL!"
And just like that, with the brutal simplicity only children possess, the tension began to dissolve.
Others approached. Cautious at first. Curious. An elderly lady who remembered stories similar to Yamamoto-san's. A young man who had been one of the "disappeared" and admitted that the dream he'd had wasn't bad, just strange. A merchant who asked if the yokai could really predict storms, because that would be useful for business.
The mayor still looked suspicious, but the tide had turned against him.
And Yume…
Yume was crying again.
But this time, surrounded by people who wanted to touch it, to ask questions, to get to know it, the tears were of a joy so pure it was painful to watch.
"Yume has friends… Yume has real friends… pyu~"
I watched the scene from a distance, a small smile on my lips.
A hand touched my shoulder.
I turned.
Erza was there, her eyes finally meeting mine without looking away.
"You did well," she said quietly. "With him. You were… kind."
"Don't tell anyone. It'll ruin my reputation."
A smile. Small, but real.
"Your secret is safe with me."
We were silent for a moment, side by side, watching Yume be introduced to the village that, for two hundred years, he had protected from the shadows.
"Erza."
"Yes?"
"About this morning…"
The pink instantly returned to her cheeks.
"W-we don't have to talk about that."
"We don't?"
"No. It was… it was an accident. Body heat conservation. Completely normal."
"You moved closer when I tried to move away."
The pink turned to red.
"I was ASLEEP. People do strange things when they're asleep. It doesn't mean anything."
"Hmm."
"Stop making that sound!"
"What sound?"
"THAT sound! The sound you make when you know something!"
I turned to face her completely. She was still avoiding my eyes, her face on fire, her hands clenching nervously.
"Erza."
"What?"
"When you want to talk about it… about us… I'll be here."
She finally looked at me.
And for a moment, one single, suspended moment, I saw everything. The fear. The confusion. The desire she was fighting so hard to hide.
And something else.
Something that looked a lot like hope.
"I…" she began.
"FRIENDS! FRIENDS! YUME WANTS TO INTRODUCE ITS FRIENDS!" Yume's voice cut through the moment, and suddenly the little ball of fur was floating between us, its eyes shining. "These are Yume's friends who helped Yume! The wolf-eared lady who is kind even when she pretends she's not! And the pretty-haired warrior who is frightening but is also a good person!"
Erza and I quickly separated, the moment lost.
But not forgotten.
[Inconvenient interruption,] Eos commented.
(Very.)
[But there has been progress. She is considering.]
(I know.)
[Patience.]
(I have thousands of years of patience, Eos.)
[And yet, with her, you act as if you're seventeen.]
(…)
[Just an observation.]
"As for the mission payment…" The mayor turned to Erza, his tone growing sharper. "Considering the EXTENSIVE damage caused to the Celestial Hot Springs by your mages—"
"The damages will be covered by those responsible," Erza interrupted, shooting a death glare at Natsu and Gray, who shrank visibly. "Their share of the payment will be used for that."
"But Erza—" Natsu began.
"You destroyed a bamboo wall. The stones of the baths, and the heating system, among other damages."
"Gray started it!"
"YOU called me an ice-lolly in FRONT of everyone!"
"Because you WERE just in your pants!"
"ENOUGH." Erza's voice cut through the argument. "The five hundred thousand jewels will be divided among the group, minus you two. Your share goes directly to the inn."
"One hundred and fifty thousand…" Gray muttered, doing the maths. "Does that cover everything?"
"No." Yamamoto-san stepped forward, her smile sharp. "The damages totalled four hundred and forty thousand jewels."
The silence was sepulchral.
"F-four hundred and forty…" Natsu stammered.
"Minus the one hundred and fifty from your share, that still leaves two hundred and ninety thousand," Lucy said, almost with pity. "You'll have to pay out of your own pockets."
"TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY THOUSAND?!" Natsu grabbed his own hair. "I DON'T HAVE TWO HUNDRED AND NINETY THOUSAND!"
"One hundred and forty-five thousand each," Gray corrected, equally pale. "And neither do I."
"I suggest you find it," Erza said, without a shred of sympathy. "Unless you want to explain to Yamamoto-san why she won't be getting paid."
They both looked at the innkeeper.
She smiled.
The kind of smile that promised consequences.
"W-we'll find it," they said in unison.
"Brilliant." The mayor cleared his throat, looking far too pleased with their suffering. "Then the payment of five hundred thousand jewels will be arranged, with one hundred and fifty thousand deducted and directed to the Yamamoto Inn. A pleasure doing business."
An hour later, with the payment secure and our rucksacks packed, we were at the village exit.
Yume was floating in front of us, its eyes already shining with tears.
"Yume… Yume doesn't want its friends to leave…" it sniffed. "Yume just found friends… pyu~"
"You can visit us in Magnolia," Lucy said gently. "Fairy Tail's doors are always open."
"R-really?"
"Of course!"
I approached last, crouching down.
"Yume. You did a good job today. You were brave."
"Yume was brave!" Its eyes shone. "Azra'il is very wise. How old is Azra'il?"
"Older than you."
"Older than two hundred years, three months, and twelve days?!"
"Considerably older."
"Azra'il is ANCIENT! Yume respects elders! Myu~!"
Before I could move away, it clung to my leg.
"THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING! YUME WILL NEVER FORGET! PYU~!"
I gently detached it.
"We have to go."
"Yume will be the best guardian of all! It's a promise! Myu~!"
Yamamoto-san waved from the porch. The little girl Asuka was shouting "GOODBYE FAIRY TAIL MAGES!"
And Yume watched us until we rounded the bend in the road, the little bells tinkling a farewell melody.
---------
💬 Author's Note
---------
And with this chapter, we officially reach the end of our little Hosenka "filler arc." 😌
This mission was meant to be a small breather before we dive back into the main story. A chance to slow down a bit, enjoy some humor, develop the characters, and introduce our overly emotional mountain guardian, Yume.
But the calm is over now.
The next chapter will officially begin the Tower of Heaven arc.
Yes… that arc.
So prepare your hearts, because things are about to become a lot more intense from here on.
But before we get there… I have an important question for all of you. 😈
What did you think about that little "intimate" moment between Azra'il and Erza?
Nothing suspicious, of course.
Just two friends…
sharing body heat…
perfectly normal…
absolutely nothing questionable happening under that blanket… 👀
I have a feeling certain witnesses in that room (ahem Lucy ahem) are not going to forget that scene anytime soon.
So tell me in the comments:
Did you enjoy that moment between the two of them?
Do you think Erza was actually asleep?
Or was Titania… conducting a very curious investigation? 🤔
See you in the next chapter.
And trust me…
The Tower of Heaven is coming.