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"I'm back!" Gildarts loudly announced, spreading his arms out in greeting.
Numerous people shouted back from within. An overlapping mess of either insults, greetings, or jeers.
"Gildarts! You bastard!"
"That hurt!"
"Welcome back!"
"I think I'm bleeding! Am I bleeding?"
"What took you so long?!"
Yoichi felt his brow twitch at the explosive noise that suddenly assaulted his ears. Turning to look at the one responsible, he couldn't help but stop and ask, "Was that really necessary?"
"Of course it was!" Gildarts told him with a boisterous laugh. "This is the Fairy Tail spirit."
'Destroying things is the Fairy Tail spirit?' He questioned with a deadpan expression. Gildarts ignored his blank look, and eagerly stepped into the chaotic atmosphere of the Guild. Following only a step behind him, Yoichi took a quick look around the interior.
The first thing he noticed was that it was bigger on the insider than the outside made it seem. Everything was made nearly entirely out of wood, with large beams reaching up into the ceiling. Benches and tables sat everywhere, with some smaller chairs and desks being positioned at the corners. At the very back, there was a bar, the emptiest part of the entire Guild, that was being manned by two average looking women.
His attention was pulled away from his observation, as a giant shadow began to envelop both him and Gildarts. Looking up, he had to crane his neck just to see the head of the goliath now looming over them. When he spoke, it felt as if the heavens themselves had parted to grant the power of thunder to his voice.
"Gildarts! What have I told you about breaking the door?!" The entire building shook as the titan of a man spoke.
Yoichi felt, as almost entirely on instinct, some of his strongest, and closest Quirks began to activate at the single flicker of unease he felt. It took more effort than he would like to admit, to stop himself from pulling on their power.
"Ah, sorry Master! It completely slipped my mind!" Gildarts shouted with a sheepish smile, his hand moving to scratch at the back of his head.
'Right, this isn't an enemy. It's Makarov.' He reminded himself, clenching his fist in an effort to ground himself in the present.
Gildarts had told him all about Fairy Tail's Guild Master, and how he had a tendency of using his Giant Magic to keep control, and manage the Guild. Whilst he appreciated the warning, it still hadn't prepared Yoichi enough to handle seeing it in person.
The last time someone had loomed over him like this was Gigantomachia. His fathers bodyguard was a fearsome beast, and equal in size to some mountains. Though he had fallen to the hands of a weaker Yoichi, right now, the thought did little in settling him. He was, after all, currently at the weakest he had ever been. The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, and reminded him, that he really needed some rest.
The giant before them growled in annoyance, and Yoichi made the smart decision to place some distance between himself and Gildarts. His self-preservation instincts turned out to be correct only a moment later.
"That's not good enough!" The man thundered. With a single, almost casual, wave of his hand, he struck Gildarts with the back of his hand. The supposed Ace of Fairy Tail didn't even bother with trying to dodge, instead, accepting his punishment, and being sent flying across the Guild. Yoichi watched, half cautious, and half bewildered, as his guide went sailing directly into a group of five mages.
Their grinning faces very quickly became replaced with scowls, and yelps of pain, as Gildarts' large body crashed into them.
There was quiet for a moment, as if every person in the Guild was holding their breath, and then, as if some unspoken invitation had been announced, they all followed in their Masters footsteps, and began to brawl, and fight, amongst themselves.
Yoichi could only watch, in a strange combination of surprise and bewilderment, as the earlier chaos escalated and became mayhem.
"What the hell did I get myself into?" He couldn't help but ask himself. It was only because of years of experience that he reacted in time to catch a stray stool, that had been carelessly thrown his way. Yoichi looked at it as if it held all the answers to his questions, before huffing, and deciding that waiting, would likely be his best option.
Placing it on the floor, he carelessly dropped himself on the stool, and got comfortable.
He had a feeling this brawl might take a while to be resolved.
The sound of small feet approaching him a minute or so after, had him turning his head. Yoichi blinked, as he laid eyes on the true form of Makarov. As a giant, he had been imposing, and terrifying in his own unique way. But, as he was now...
'He looks the same size as a child.' The thought brought him some amusement, though he hid it before the old Master could see.
"I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting yet," Makarov said with a warm smile. "I am Master Makarov, and yourself?"
"Shigaraki Yoichi." He responded, pushing his right hand out. Though, as he looked at the dried blood covering the limb in streaks of scarlet, he quickly pulled his arm back. "Ah, maybe next time." He amended.
Makarov looked at the arm, then at him, with barely hidden concern.
The plan had been for Gildarts to introduce the two of them, and then move to speak about his unique situation at the Masters office. But, as everything currently was, he doubted they'd get the chance.
"Gildarts mentioned that my situation is very similar to a mage in your guild. I think his name is, Mystogan?" Makarov's eyes lit up with understanding. It seemed that the old Master's age wasn't just for show. He was smarter than his looks would have you believe.
From what Gildarts had told him, the mages status as being a world-hopper like Yoichi was kept a secret. So, in an attempt to keep it a secret, he had decided to use the simplest, and most basic of words, to convey what he meant.
"I see, how long have you been here for?" Makarov asked, looking at him quizzically.
Yoichi's hand lashed out as he contemplated the question, catching a stray bottle that had been flying directly for the old mans face. Makarov looked at him with wide eyes, and accepted the bottle when he handed it over to him.
"I should let you know that I do not originate from the same place that he does." He pushed his hand up, and with a single thought, allowed fire to ignite. The temperature around them spiked sharply, though the orange flame remained the same size as his fist. Releasing a small breath, he extinguished the flames, and spoke again. "Where I'm from, magic doesn't exist. But, we do have Quirks, that act in a similar enough way."
Gildarts had mentioned earlier that Edolas didn't have much in the way of magic, and as they walked, had further expanded on what he knew, explaining that mages didn't exist, but magic tools did. That's why he had displayed his ability to naturally produce fire, it was just another example that he didn't come from Edolas, but somewhere else.
"As for how long I've been here...I'm not entirely sure. Maybe an hour?" He hazarded a guess, turning his head to look at the old Master again.
Makarov closed his eyes and hummed, brushing his rather impressive moustache in thought. In the process, Yoichi had to catch an additional two bottles that seemed hell bent on crashing into the older man.
"Alright, I understand." He nodded, satisfied with himself, and gave the two extra bottles a curious look, before continuing. "It is lucky that Gildarts found you so soon, but, as of right now, I can not offer any help in getting you home."
"That's fine." Makarov gave him a startled look at the quick response.
Sighing slightly, Yoichi gave a light explanation.
"All that's left of my world is ruin, with only some camps of humanity still existing." The old Masters eyes widened at the reveal, and only grew bigger as he continued. "A large majority of it was due to my brother, who, funnily enough, is actually the reason for my being here. And, well, he's also the reason why I'm missing an arm and look so beat up currently."
As he spoke, he moved Gildarts cloak to reveal his messily bandaged stump as proof. Makarov chocked on air as he looked at what remained of the limb.
"There's no need to worry, I just need some time to rest, and I'll be able to heal it back to normal." He hastily explained at the mans panicked look. "But, yeah, that's pretty much why I don't mind not going back. I have no one waiting for me now that the war is over."
It didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant by that last bit.
"I am sorry for your loss." Makarov respectfully told him.
Yoichi simply nodded his head. The words were courteous, almost expected, but that didn't demean the value of them. Really, it was he who was the issue. Because, after so long, all he felt when hearing them was emptiness. He felt hollow inside, as only memories of a better time—of a gentler, easier life, remained.
Makarov, surprisingly enough, seemed to understand how he was feeling, if the sad smile he gave Yoichi was anything to go by.
"Whilst I can not offer you a way home. I will also not stop you from finding residence here, in Fairy Tail. I know that our first impression is..." They both turned to look at the continued brawl. Yoichi could have sworn he saw a sword going flying through the air at one point, and felt some pity for the Master as he looked at the chaos with a sort of reserved acceptance. "...is not the best. But, I hope that you might consider maybe staying here for all the days you need to make a successful recovery."
Turning back to Makarov, he nodded, having already made up his mind on the situation.
"If it's not too much of a convenience, I would like to remain here. Just to heal...after that, well, we'll see. Maybe this place will end up growing on me." Makarov gave him a warm, grandfatherly smile of understanding. It felt as if the old man was trying to tell him that no matter what Yoichi chose to do, he would support his decision.
It felt...nice. If he was being completely honest with himself.
Of course, all of those emotions vanished, when he felt a change in the air around him. Swiftly turning, his eyes widened, as he was met with the top of a wooden table, flying directly at them.
Acting without thinking, he placed himself in-front of the Master, and pushed his right hand out.
"Cleave!" The Quirk activated at his verbal command, and the moment the table touched his open palm, hundreds of invisible cuts appeared over its entire surface. Like the doors Gildarts had broken earlier, the table broke apart into a hundred different, smaller pieces.
The Quirk deactivated a moment later of its own free will. Just like the rest of his Quirks, it knew exactly how little energy he was currently operating with, and didn't want to risk him suddenly falling unconscious.
'Ah, I really do have some lovely Quirks,' Yoichi thought, swaying on his feet.
"Are you okay?" Makarov asked worriedly from beside him, carefully moving to steady him.
"Yeah," He gasped out. "Just, really low on energy."
"I see," The Master gave him a once over, before turning to face the rest of the Guild. "Stay here, we'll get you showered, fed, and resting, shortly."
With that, the Guild Master of Fairy Tail stepped forward, and began to glow a golden light. Yoichi could only watch, as once again, he grew to be the size of a goliath.
Whilst the sight was interesting, it wasn't what caught his attention. Instead, it was his own troubled thoughts.
'Did I just move without thinking?...When was the last time I did that?'