Month: Early November
Year: X775
Location: Magnolia Town — Fairy Tail Guild
Age: Kaito (10) · Erza (10) · Mirajane (10) · Juvia (10)
---
The Fairy Tail guild hall was loud.
Not exploding-table loud. Not bar-fight loud.
Just… alive.
Wood creaked under running feet, mugs clinked, laughter echoed off the high rafters. It was the kind of noise that settled into the bones, the kind that made the place feel less like a guild hall and more like a home.
Kaito sat near the long tables, leaning back in his chair, eyes half-lidded.
Great Sage, he thought casually.
> Great Sage: Erza Scarlet's condition is stable. Muscle strain recovery projected at thirty-one days with proper rest and nutritional intake.
He glanced toward the infirmary corner.
Erza was awake.
Not training. Not pacing.
Just… sitting.
That alone told him how badly the last mission had shaken her.
---
Mirajane hovered nearby, arms crossed, expression tight.
She hadn't said much since returning.
Too quiet for someone who usually filled a room by force of presence alone.
Juvia noticed.
She always did.
The rain mage sat beside Mira, offering a small cup of tea.
"Warm water," Juvia said softly. "Helps calm magic circulation."
Mirajane accepted it without teasing.
That worried Erza more than anything.
---
Makarov stood on the balcony, pipe in hand.
Watching.
Not just the kids.
Watching the guild.
Council pressure hadn't faded. If anything, it was thickening in the air like humidity before a storm.
But for now—
Fairy Tail was still Fairy Tail.
---
Gildarts leaned against a pillar, arms folded, eyes sharp.
He looked at Kaito.
"Yer thinking too much," he said casually.
Kaito smirked. "Hard habit to break."
Gildarts chuckled. "Strength's not just power. It's knowing when to step back."
No lecture.
Just a reminder.
Kaito nodded once.
---
Later that evening.
Erza sat on her bed, staring at her hands.
They trembled—just a little.
Kaito knocked once before stepping in.
"Doctor says you're officially forbidden from pretending nothing's wrong," he said lightly.
She snorted. "I hate doctors."
"I know." He sat beside her. "You glare at them like they're enemies."
Her lips twitched.
Small win.
---
Outside, the guild continued its low-level chaos.
Cana laughed too loudly.
Gray argued with Wakaba.
Lysanna swept the floor, humming.
Elfman trained in the yard, shouting about manliness to no one in particular.
Normal.
Safe.
For now.
---
Erza finally spoke.
"I hesitated."
Kaito didn't answer right away.
"I thought I could handle it alone," she continued. "And Mira—"
"That's not on you," he said firmly.
She looked up.
"No mission is won by pride," Kaito said. "You trusted each other. That matters."
Silence.
Then—
"Stay," Erza said quietly.
He smiled.
"Wasn't planning on leaving."
---
Above them, clouds rolled past Magnolia.
No fire.
No thunder.
Just the quiet before whatever came next.
And Fairy Tail—
Loud, stubborn, warm—
stood together.