30.
Yukino Agria was a child acquainted with hardship. Where others moved with ease, she fumbled; where tasks came naturally to her peers, she struggled twice as hard. Her clumsiness often earned her scoldings from her parents, but their harsh words never truly saddened her. She had a shield against the world: her older sister, Sorano. Sorano was her protector, standing between Yukino and the neighborhood bullies, and even softening their parents' displeasure.
That protection ended the day the followers of Zeref came.
Their village was attacked, and in the chaos, both of their parents were killed. Sorano, ever courageous, stayed by Yukino's side, pulling her into a large, empty barrel to hide. The world shrank to the dark, cramped space, the air thick with the scent of wood and their shared fear. Then, they heard the footsteps—heavy, approaching, and stopping right near their hiding spot.
Just as a shadow fell over them, Sorano made her choice. Without a word, she slipped out of the barrel and ran, her tiny legs pumping as she shouted, drawing the attention away from her sister. Yukino, trembling, covered her mouth and stayed hidden, listening as the footsteps gave chase and faded into the distance. They had taken Sorano.
Time lost all meaning inside the barrel. How long had it been? An hour? A day? The world outside had fallen into an unnerving silence. The cultists were surely gone. Hunger gnawed at her stomach, and her throat was parched with thirst. She was just about to push the lid open and peek out when a new sound froze her—a set of footsteps, crisp and orderly, like a small group of five or so people.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. She shrank back into the darkness, clamping a hand over her mouth to silence her breathing. But Yukino's fate was her own clumsiness. As she shifted, her foot, numb from being curled up for so long, kicked against the wooden wall of the barrel with a dull thump.
The footsteps halted. One set broke from the group and walked directly toward her. The lid was wrenched away, daylight flooding in to reveal Yukino curled into a tight, trembling ball.
"Captain! We've got a survivor!" the man who found her called out.
They were members of the Magic Council. The organization was famously porous—anyone could infiltrate it, and its enforcers seemed to get beaten up with embarrassing regularity. Yet, paradoxically, they possessed some of the most overpowered magical weapons in the land. They had been dispatched to investigate the series of village attacks, their mission was to figure out the mastermind.
"Little girl, can you tell us what kind of people attacked this village? Were they bandits?" When the captain asked gently, the only answer he got was a noise from yukino's stomach.
The captain named Jan, had a small smile hearing the 'answer' from yukino. Feed her and take her back to the magic council station.
——
Yukino was taken to a secure carriage belonging to the Magic Council, where she was given food. Once she had calmed down, Captain Jan questioned her again.
After some difficulty, they managed to discover that her captors weren't mere bandits, but followers of the Zeref cult.
"Do you have a relative or someone you know who can take care of you, Yukino?" Jan asked gently.
After a series of questions, they decided to find her a guardian. Fortunately, they knew of a kind old man—the Guild Master of Sabertooth, named Yajee. He had taken in many children who had lost their parents and was well-trusted by the Magic Council, which often sent orphans his way.
Jan entrusted Yukino to the care of the Sabertooth master. There, she was treated with kindness and patience, even for her clumsiness, which slowly allowed her to open up and integrate into the guild.
---
The group of Paw-Bubble users arrived in the sky above the Sabertooth guild shortly after. Sorano rushed forward, but Shun stopped her. "Calm down. Let's go in together."
They entered to find the small guild having dinner—a humble meal of soup and bread. Though they appeared poor, a warm atmosphere filled the room, with smiles on every face. At one table sat a small girl with silver hair, bearing a clear resemblance to Sorano and the Strauss siblings.
"Yukino!"
"Sister?!"
The two sisters reunited in tears. The Sabertooth guild raised no objections; they were happy to let Yukino go once they learned she still had family and was a mage from a strong guild.
In a secluded corner, Shun addressed the master. "Guild Master of Sabertooth," he said, "I owe you a favor. I am Fairy Tail's S-Class mage, Shun. If you ever need anything in the future, you can come to me."
Yajee was surprised that a mage so young was already S-Class from Fairy Tail. While his title as a guild master sounded impressive, his own guild was weak.
"Then I'll ask you to bring Yukino to visit us from time to time," Yajee said, already using his favor.
"Alright," Shun agreed without pressing the matter further. He left the guild after Yukino and Sorano had thanked the Sabertooth members.
It had been a truly uneventful outing.
Until...
Ding!
[Final Mission: Steal Lumen Histoire.]
[Reward: All remaining memory fragments. Devil Fruit proficiency will be maxed to SSS+.]
"..."
What's happening now?! Shun was shocked, but he couldn't deny the mission appealed to him. After all, his original reason for wanting to become guild master was to gain legal access to it.
But Shun wasn't a scumbag!
I'll ask for permission from Mavis first, Shun decided. He then prepared some new types of cakes, planning to make the request seem natural.
'Now that I think about it, I haven't fed Mavis in a while. I'll visit her after I get them home,' Shun thought, watching Sorano and the others.
Sorano, overjoyed to be reunited with her real sister, was practically floating. She couldn't stop talking, introducing everyone and eagerly telling Yukino all about Fairy Tail. Ultear, Ur, and Shun simply watched them with fond smiles.
'Lately, there have been so many reunions, huh...' Shun mused as they soon reached Fairy Tail.
They entered the guild together and updated Makarov, who was still there. After a while, Shun stood up. "Alright, I'm going to get some rest," he announced. Without waiting for a response, he used his Paw-Paw Fruit ability on himself and vanished without a trace.
"..."
"That brat... always trying to act cool," Makarov grumbled, gulping down his beer.
"Wait, was that supposed to be cool?" Macao asked.
"Shut up!" Makarov retorted, an embarrassed look on his face.
---
Meanwhile, on Tenroujima, Mavis was utterly alone. She sat perched on a high tree branch, humming a melody with her clear, beautiful voice.
She had been feeling a bit frustrated lately. A certain scoundrel who claimed to think of her as a mother hadn't visited for a whole week.
She really missed...
All the flavorful foods he brought.
It was night. She was supposed to be alone. Crack.
A twig snapped.
"It can't be... a ghost, right?" she muttered, a shiver of fear running through her.
"Aren't you a ghost yourself?" a familiar voice chimed from behind her. She let out a startled scream.
After a brief moment of comedic drama...
"Oh, Shun. Welcome," Mavis said, pretending her frightened reaction had never happened. "And I've told you, my situation is complicated."
"Yeah, sure," Shun replied, sitting down beside her. He began feeding her a slice of cake with a fork. Then, trying to catch her off guard, he gently moved to pat her head just as she took a bite.
"!!"
His hand phased right through her, yet the cake had been solidly eaten.
"What was that for? You startled me..." Mavis complained.
'I guess I'll never understand how that really works,' Shun sighed internally, his experiment a failure.
"Mavis," Shun said. He usually called her 'Mom' during lighthearted moments, so using her real name made her look over with a serious expression.
"Do you want to become human again?"