"Natsu, what are you doing?" Gray asked as he saw the pink haired Dragon Slayer creeping around the town.
"Sh! I'm doing secret spy work for the old man." Natsu whispered and desperately tried to shoo him away while overlooking Happy eating a fish.
"So you're hiding behind a market stall…" Gray then peeked his head around to see where his guildmate was looking; "Watching Yoshida shopping…Why exactly?"
Takeda had been taking the off moments that he had in between the guild missions that Mirajane kept putting his way to try getting some work of his own done, this time however had him standing in a blacksmith's store and showing the chief smith a sheet of paper.
"Now that you mention it, the hell IS he doing?" Gray asked as he joined Natsu behind the stall once his own curiosity piqued; "He uses those weird flames from what I saw when he arrived…Is he getting armour or something?"
Happy flapped his wings to gain some air and narrowed his eyes; "Maybe he's trying to get info or something made? That's the same place Erza gets her custom gear."
"Happy, that still doesn't answer anything, if he uses fire like Natsu does then having weapons or armour doesn't make much sense, especially since he can make stuff like that barrier." Gray mentioned as he then started getting smacked by a broom by an elderly woman for not wearing clothes. "He-Hey! When did this happen?!" He sputtered to himself as he was missing his shirt and pants but left his boots and boxers still on.
"You really need to get a handle on that habit, Freaky Frost…Besides, the weird thing is that I've seen him everywhere in the city, like LITERALLY everywhere!" Natsu commented as he diverted his attention away from Takeda who was currently leaving the Blacksmith's store and walking off. "Come on, let's follow after him before he disappears." He stated as he rushed after Takeda who had began marching off in another direction towards the city square.
"Natsu, wait a-Aw damn it!" Gray groaned as he ran after the two while they pursued Takeda on his journey. "Still, why exactly is the Master asking to have him watched? I know the guy's from that crooked guild but he can't be that bold to start trying to do something under our noses…Right?"
By the time that they all rounded a corner, Takeda was gone and the twosome were glancing around trying to pick up their target. "Dang it, he's gone!" Natsu bellowed in frustration; "YOSHIDA! Come on out!"
"What are you guys doing?" Takeda asked as he was holding on to a set of bags in one hand and dispelling a flame on his ring in the other. "Mira hasn't got missions for me yet, has she?"
"No, we were wondering about-" Gray started but then got cut off by Natsu as he barrelled ahead.
"Why're you avoiding us?! And why were you in multiple places at once…And how did you disappear right in front of us?!" Natsu yelled and bombarded Takeda with questions and Happy flying around him to make sure that he didn't vanish again.
"You guys seriously never heard of multitasking?" Takeda asked as he quickly figured out why Natsu was more fired up than usual. "May I?" He asked and gestured to his ring. "If you're unsure then feel free to slug me."
Natsu looked to Gray who then kept his eye on Takeda and nodded. "Go ahead…"
Takeda put his shopping bags down and made a small indigo flame dance on his ring finger; Suddenly a small bud of similarly coloured fire lit up on the ground next to him and slowly started to rise higher and higher, slowly slimming and taking on the shape of a human before finally filling out and taking on the form of Takeda right down to the last hair.
"Whoa…" Happy gasped as they watched this happen while Gray looked equally as intrigued and confused.
"Wait…So you can make barriers and clone yourself with Illusions?" Gray asked as he leaned against a nearby wall. "I thought you were a flame mage like Natsu was."
"I am…My abilities just work differently; I used this in the city centre because this other me is also me." Takeda said and gestured to the other him who nodded at them. "This particular flame can make real illusions that can fool anyone at face value."
The Other Takeda then spoke up. "So I focus on the important tasks, make a few copies of myself and then go in to conduct multiple errands on the side." He explained as he pointed to the bags. "It makes travel time and effort a lot easier."
"But…How does that not just…" Gray asked as he eyed the two and then touched Takeda's cheeks: "Real…" He mumbled then did the same to the other Takeda and felt his body stiffen a little when he realised that they were both real. "How do you even tell each other apart?"
"The smell." Natsu pointed out as he pointed at the real Takeda. "The copy that he made…The copy has a weird herbal smell like an incense candle."
Takeda raised an eyebrow at the weird analogy before dispelling the copy and picking up the bags. "And as you can see, it's not exactly 100% effective for anyone with sensory Magic or illusion resistance."
"So…What other things you got under the hood?" Gray asked curiously as the four walked back to the Guild. "Because between that Barrier, those orange flames and now this? You've got some weird ass powers."
"Coming from the guys who can eat fire, make ice out of thin air and a talking cat that grows wings to fly." Takeda listed off at the equally peculiar powered mages. "Plus I still wanna know why you guys were following me, besides being nosy."
"I'm watching you for the right moment so you can fight me again!" Natsu said with a rather proud expression.
"Master said to watch you but he promised me a fish if I did." Happy agreed as he floated around Takeda's head before peeking into the bags. "You got any?"
"I got food at home, besides I just needed to restock things and make some changes." Takeda elaborated as he waved Happy away from his bag.
By the time that they all got to the Guild, it was as lively as it could get with Mira serving tables, Team Shadow Gear trying to both pick missions and flirt with their teammate Levy and Cana sat in the corner drinking her alcohol by the barrel.
"Welcome back guys!" Mira waved to them as the others followed suit when they saw Natsu and Gray, though there was nothing to be done when the cheering got quieter when they saw Takeda coming in behind them. "Hey Takeda, you ready for another mission? I got a few that we can team you up with someone."
"Pretty sure that warm reception says it all about who's willing..." Takeda pointed out as he wasn't blind to the stares he got.
Jet and Droy both stared daggers at him since they were normally the ones to get into fights with Hellhound Claw when they popped up, this resulted in short but curt conversations when he was around and they were far from forgiving him, though most of that animosity stemmed from the protectiveness that they had about Levy when she recently suggested trying to befriend him.
Cana was nonplussed about the whole thing: "If he's willing to play nice, then I will." was her go-to response when others asked her opinion, though she was all too willing to rack up a huge drinking bill if she was ever chosen to team up with him.
Bisca and Alzack were neutral about the whole thing for a number of reasons. While they did have their grievances about him joining the guild due to his former guild being a constant annoyance, they were also willing to let bygones be bygones due to the two realising that Takeda never actually acted maliciously to them at any of those times.
"Well, look who decided to finally show up." A voice boomed from the second floor; Laxus the Lightning Mage peeked over the railing once he saw Takeda showing up along with Gray and Natsu.
The Thunder Tribe were all too willing to make their feelings known against Takeda instead of burying the hatchet. Whenever they ended up in the Guild at the same time was always the same treatment; Bickslow was eager to dish out the taunts alongside his dolls, Evergreen would slide passive aggressive jabs at him while keeping up her belief that she was the real Titania and therefore better than anyone barring Laxus.
Freed just pretended that Takeda wasn't even there while Laxus on the other hand had all the subtlety, tact and eagerness of a sledgehammer. Being all too willing to remind Takeda of his place…Or what became of him, "You got a lot of nerve to show yourself while I'm here, Felon."
"Don't start, Laxus…" Cana grumbled as she took a breath from her last drink.
"Laxus, fight me!" Came the hotheaded response from Natsu as he saw the man upstairs.
Takeda simply ignored the mage; The two had confronted each other plenty of times and out of respect to the others, he chose not to try antagonizing someone in their group even if that someone was an arrogant prick. "So is there any specific missions you need doing?"
Mirajane was surprised to see Takeda not rising to Laxus's taunts but ultimately happy that he was. "Well, we got a number of missions but you'll need to ask…I think Gray, Cana or Natsu might have something you can go with them on."
"Hey!" Laxus yelled as he glared down at Takeda. "You burn your ears shut or something, vermin? Answer when you hear an actual Guild member talk to you!"
"Trying to figure out a job, so I'm a little busy right now." Takeda responded with stiff politeness while not looking up from the list of jobs that Mira gave him and trying to block out the barbs.
"Laxus, nearly everyone here is letting Yoshida have a chance to redeem himself, why can't you just leave it alone?" Levy berated him from the first floor since she was willing to believe that people deserved a second chance.
"I'll leave it alone when that guildmate killing pyromaniac gets out of the guild and thrown back in the hole he crawled out of." Laxus snapped as he made sure to keep poking at him. "Ain't that right Mr. "I'm a Fire Mage and all my old Guildmates mysteriously died because of Fire Magic."? Oh wait, no one can vouch for you because you turned them into charcoal."
"That's seriously way too far, even for you!" Gray finally spoke up; He was all for remembering what Takeda did but what Laxus was doing benefitted no one but his own amusement.
"What? I'm just saying what everyone else is thinking." Laxus smirked as he sneered down at the others. "Face it, the old man took pity on him and he just wants to feel better about himself by taking a charity case…But that won't last forever because once he passes the title to me, I'll make sure that a spineless rat like him can't ruin the image that Fairy Tail has as the strongest."
"Oh yeah, because you do such a good job as you are…Why don't YOU face it, Laxus? The only real reason that anyone here ever puts up with you and your shit attitude is because you're the master's grandson…" Takeda finally snapped back at Laxus, turning the tense room into a deathly silent one. "And even then, people wonder if you two are even related."
Before anyone could even blink; Takeda got sent flying across the bar and crashed through the tables with the sound of rumbling thunder. "I dare you to say that again, trash…" Laxus growled as he now stood where Takeda was sitting, anyone with a keen eye would have seen Laxus warp across the room with his Lightning Form and sucker punched Takeda in the back of the head.
Takeda was panting heavily as even he wasn't expecting to get hit that hard or fast, he tried to get up but Laxus firmly and harshly stomped him back down under his foot.
"I said say that again, asshole!" Laxus snarled as he lifted his foot and stomped down harder, grinding his heel on Takeda's chest. "Or did I knock all the nerve out of you when I decided to show you your place."
"Laxus, that's enough!" Mira protested as she rushed out from behind the bar and tried to get between him and Takeda. "Takeda is still a member of this Guild whether you agree with it or not! All you're doing is attacking a fellow Guild Mate!"
"Are you serious? Look at him! This spineless prick ran away every time this shabby Guild took on his, I get that you feel sorry for this shitstain but if the fabled Vice Guild Master of Hellhound Claw can get knocked around this easy…Then what does that say about all of you when you couldn't beat them at any time?!" Laxus barked as he glared at the others.
A lot of them could barely stand Laxus on a good day but this really tested them, however they also knew that Laxus was an S-Rank Mage and his position there wasn't earned by a handout.
"See? Every person here agrees…Only you and the old man actually want this crook around." Laxus dug it in further as he pushed down on Takeda to make him grunt out in pain with an almost quiet sounding crack from his chest before finally getting his foot off of him. "The old man probably sees him staying here as a trophy, I still don't get why YOU want to see him show up here, drinking our booze and even helping him find jobs…You doting on him to try making up for little Lisanna?"
"Because everyone here deserves a second chance if they want one, Laxus!" Mirajane snapped back at him with the urge to restrain herself from smacking him in the face for that comment, "You keep talking about what's good for the Guild but what you're doing right now is only good for your ego."
"Fine…I'll give this piece of garbage a pass for now…But the next time he spouts off to me like that, I won't stop at breaking a rib." Laxus warned as he spat in Takeda's direction before heading back up the stairs.
"Of all the….Are you okay, Takeda?" Mira asked him as she turned her attention away from Laxus and to the floored Takeda.
"Asshole…" Takeda merely grumbled, the faint hint of a yellow flame snuffed out by the time that Mira's eyes met his. "I'm fine now…But how does someone like that end up as a Mage here?"
"It's like you said…" Mirajane said as she helped Takeda to his feet and was surprised when she noticed that he hadn't so much as winced or groaned in pain when he moved. "Laxus is our master's grandson and he has some…opinions about how the Guild should be run, ones that not everyone agrees with."
"With a sparkling attitude like that, it's a big shocker to why no one's eager to agree." Takeda snarked as he ordered a drink and took a seat on an unbroken chair.
"Gotta say, I didn't expect you to have the nerve to talk back to Laxus like that." Gray mentioned as he took a seat by him. "The only others who do are normally the Master, Erza, Mirajane or Natsu…Though how come you didn't fight back?"
"I'm gonna be here for a while, right?" Takeda said and saw Gray nod a little. "I'll talk back to people but I'm not gonna jump into fights that aren't worth it."
"Not worth it? You just called out Laxus in front of everyone, even breathing in his direction is enough for him to consider flattening you." Gray mentioned as he recalled the numerous amount of times that Natsu actually tried to fight Laxus. "Still, that looked like it hurt…You sure you're good?"
"All fine." Takeda said bluntly as he downed his drink and considered ordering another. "Though I can see why he's an S-Rank...I didn't even register that punch until I hit the floor."
"That's Lightning Magic for you." Cana grumbled as she poured him a drink as she took a seat on his other side. "He may be a big, noisy asshole but that Magic makes him a powerful one."
Takeda thanked her before taking a drink. "So either of you want me on a mission? I could use the chance to work off that table's damage."
"May as well tag along with me, I've got a smuggler ring to bust so if you're anything like what Elfman says and what I saw when you fought Natsu…I'm pretty sure you can use the stress release." Gray remarked as he got up and headed out, only stopping when Cana cleared her throat.
"Gray, if you're planning on riding the train in public, probably best that you put these back on." Cana stated as she threw a discarded pair of shorts and boxers at Gray.
"Shit! When did this happen?!"
Takeda groaned to himself as he averted his gaze away from a naked Gray; "Dude, you seriously need to work on this." He muttered as he then accepted; Noticing that the transparent Guild Mark on his arm changed to a dark blue colour to match Gray's.
By the time that night fell; Both Takeda and Gray were surrounded by dozens of unconscious smugglers with the Flame Mage headbutting the leader to knock him out, Gray on the other hand was wearing different clothes and tying up the remainder of the smugglers.
Takeda wasn't feeling any better about the beating he got even after fighting and Gray was embarrassed since he had to "Borrow" someone else's wardrobe after ending up naked during the actual bust.
"Gray, be honest with me…Am I gonna have to carry spare sets of clothes every time I go on missions with you?" Takeda asked as he tapped a box on his belt; "Because I will if I have to."
"Look, I keep telling you that I don't know how or why it happens! Besides, you got that illusion thing right? Why not just make something if I do that." Gray responded indignantly as he tightened the knot around another bandit.
"I can but it's a lot of effort because it's only that…An illusion…And you're a famous Mage in Fairy Tail remember? Anyone with common sense and pattern recognition would noticed that you'd drop your pants without so much as a heads up." Takeda pointed out as he dragged the unconscious leader over to be tied up. "Here, you can tie knots better than me."
Gray merely grumbled as he made up the ropes to tie them all together; "From what I hear, you're starting to get mentioned too…Not like front page on magazines or anything but you're showing up in articles and pictures, not to mention that people are talking about you."
"Probably because I've been hanging around you guys…Plus I'm still considered a hot topic for being Hellhound Claw." Takeda pointed out as he took a glance around, "Although, I'll leave the popularity to you guys…I've seen what popularity comes with when doing a mission with Loke." Takeda sighed as he took his gloves off and tied them around a belt loop. "There is such a thing as too much crowding."
"Not into girls then?" Gray asked as he got up and dusted himself off; "Or do you just not like people like that old lady Porlyusica?"
Takeda sighed as he headed off towards the train station; "Let's just head back, we've already wasted the day as is." He said pointedly as they began their trek back.
Gray was far from ignorant as he noticed that so he left it at that, at least that was until a cat in the street darted for Takeda and before transforming into a skinny looking man with a knife.
"DIE, FAIRY TAIL!" The man screamed as he made for a downward stab at Takeda's head, though that thought quickly left his head when Takeda not only drove his elbow into the man's stomach to knock the wind out but Gray followed up by freezing him from the waist down to stop him moving. "Okay, I think I give up."
"That one's on you." Gray pointed out as he followed after Takeda. "You didn't catch that the first time."
"Oh yeah, like you somehow managed to see that while you were trying to steal some dude's pants off of a laundry line." Takeda snarked back as they bickered all the way back to Fairy Tail, while the two hadn't quite become close friends; The sight of the two arguing and trading jabs back and forth was pretty much the equivalent of them getting along.
"Yoshida! I got us a job!"
Those six words repeated themselves every day for the next month or so as Natsu got himself job after job with Yoshida every chance that he could; Whether it was pest control or simple bandit hunting, the Dragon Slayer seemed more invested in seeing more of the skills that Takeda had after his fight and even moreso when he proved he could take a hit from Laxus.
The current job that the two were on was one that Mira said was a high potential for good pay but warned to curb the destructiveness with it, though that last part primarily was for Natsu and after seeing how he was before, Takeda couldn't exactly blame her for fair warning.
This job was to help look into rumours about a congregation that threatened to "Topple the false gods and to usher in an age of deep, deep dark." which considering that this particular church was one of the things that put Freesia on the map, it was a lot of "No Pressure" from the chaplain, the priests and the Mayor who raised this job out of concern.
However with Fairy Tail's hotheaded Dragon Slayer and the Flame Mage to jump in when those fallen idols of the congregation tried to attack, they managed to turn the inside of the church into a battleground. It hadn't taken much motivation for Natsu to start smacking around anyone who was in a black robe; The air rang out with yells to catch the Fairy Tail Mages along with the occasional Fire Dragon's Roar or Iron fist, even Happy who was flying overhead was taking rocks from the debris that his friend made and bombarded them from above to help out as best he could.
"Come on, ya spooky looking jerks! This can't be all you got because now I'm really fired up!" Natsu roared as he delivered another kick to a robed man who quickly hit a wall and collapsed in a heap. "Alright, that should be the last one! Time to find th-"
That sentence was quickly cut off when the last robed figure got to their feet followed by the mob of other figures slowly rising and chanting a single prayer like it was one voice coming out of multiple mouths.
"Feel the gaze of the dark ones from the beyond."
"Know that you are the ant compared to the mighty."
"Grovel before the ever-encroaching shadow."
"And accept your fate as the stepping stone to the new world."
Natsu blinked in confusion; He had been knocking these guys around like they were ragdolls but they wouldn't take the hint. "Why don't you guys stay down?! Alright, if you guys are gonna make it dark…Then I'll just make it bright again!" He yelled as he cracked his knuckles.
Meanwhile up above in the ramparts; Takeda had opted for a more subtle approach when Natsu decided that running in through the front door was the best idea, though it didn't help that Happy's backup plan was to fly Natsu out of the way of bad stuff. "That guy could give some people I know a run for their money when it comes to motivation." He thought to himself as he carefully teetered along the upper floors to see what he could find.
As he navigated along the narrow corridors and winding staircases until he reached what looked like a meeting room for cardinals and other officials; It was now a hollowed room stripped of everything up to the stone walls and what looked like a wooden chair that had been crudely shaped into a throne. "I see you've managed to make it past my Legion of the Damned…I'm impressed by your strength of will, Mage."
"Call it divide and conquer." Takeda shrugged as he eyed up the figure on the throne. "But you've got a lot of confidence hiding up here while your friends downstairs do all the work."
"That is the power of unquestioning faith and the loyalty to the one true god in this world." The leader said from his throne and then gestured around him. "Look around you, every one of these robed charlatans are blindly following their lust for coin, magic and their ever expanding desire for comfort."
"Uh huh…" Takeda mumbled as he had a feeling that someone like this was bound to ramble and monologue. "And let me guess…You are the one who sees the truth of the world and you desire to reduce everything to a more primeval state."
"As is stated by our gods' will; As they desire it above, we who serve shall colla-Wait, you know of our teachings?" The Leader questioned as they got confused that their objective was that obvious.
"Well, when you try to cement yourself as the real deal for a god, you're either someone who drags everyone down to their level or you try to get on top of everyone else." Takeda elaborated though he noticed that some robed figures walked in to join their leader. "Though I'm guessing that you're more of the latter."
"It doesn't matter, two mages are not enough to stop my invincible army of followers from toppling this cradle of false gods." The Leader bragged as he snapped his fingers. "Now go make this heathen prostrate himself towards me."
The figures wordlessly obeyed as they began to spread out and each holding a variety of weapons such as swords, ceremonial daggers and even guns. "Kneel to the gods." They mindlessly repeated as they started to rush at Takeda.
Takeda ducked and rolled under the swings and attempts to force him down; Utilising a series of quick but debilitating blows with his knees and elbows, though there was something bugging him as he knocked each one back and watched them get back up. "Weird…"
"The look on your face says it all…My minions are invincible and immune to pain thanks to the divine gift I bestow upon them." The Leader bragged; "You and your dullard friend down there can hit them as many times as you want but they will get back up without so much as a wince of pain."
Takeda grimaced as he shook his hand like he had punched something hard. "Feels like punching a wall…I guess I just need to hit harder." He thought to himself as he threw his jacket off and slipped his gloves on. "Alright then, since we're gonna do this…I may as well see how far I can push it."
"You can try and posture as much as you like, it won't matter once you tire yourself out." The Leader bragged but then felt a little unnerved when he saw a red flame sprout from Takeda's forehead and then covered the gloves on his hands.
This particular flame was a peculiar mix of vibrant red shades. Its inner layer was a pale red, almost pinkish in colour while the outer edges of the flame deepened into a deep crimson. The very outer edges seemed to defy a normal fire's appearance as it burned erratically and form soft tendrils before leaving from the ring or from his head.
"What…Are you?" The Leader remarked as the idea of this form of magic put him on edge. "What kind of curse did you acquire to form this?!" He yelled but then saw another of his "Followers" fly backwards and hit the wall; The cloak burning away like it was a dry leaf and revealing a stone doll falling apart, one crumbling chunk at a time.
"Something special for situations like this; If your minions are made of stone then it's only fair that I disassemble it brick by brick, by being continuously at the heart of the attack, the furious Storm that never rests." Takeda said with a smirk as he then grabbed a box from his belt and opened it up.
The Leader could feel his troubles grow as the mobster in front of him pulled a sword out of what looked like a tiny grey box that was the size of his palm. "You…You could do a lot better working with someone like me, think about it! My divine guidance and your hellish flames, we can topple these idols and rule this land of heathens under a new leadership!"
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Takeda snarked as he ran his hand along the flat of the sword, making it ignite with that same red fire from the tip to the hilt. "Because now I know how to take your followers down." He said as he started to cut down the dolls that tried to mob him with close ranged weapons.
The Leader growled in frustration before getting up out of the seat and then lowered the hood from his face to fully reveal himself; He was already a man that stood a good foot taller than Takeda, he also had a dozen tattoos etched on his face in a language that couldn't be read, coal black eyes, shining black hair and a mouth full of sharpened teeth.
"I know you…" Takeda smirked as he then saw a bunch of the remaining stone men forming a wall between him and the leader. He rushed forward towards the group and blocked out their leader's latest bluster of how strong his followers' defenses are; With a draw of his sword back, Takeda then started to quickly swing his burning sword against the blocking figures. "Zanna di-oh…" He called out when he began a thrust to the ringleader but then stopped when the statues not only collapsed into a pile of burning, broken down rock, the sword in his hand completely disintegrated until it was nothing but an empty handle. It was only thanks to his adrenaline rush that he managed to avoid getting fatally skewered by a three pronged attack as the Leader threw something at him.
"Ha! No matter how driven you are to attack me, your feeble attempts are nothing once you try to rise your hand against me!" The Leader sneered as he pulled a trident out from the wall from where he threw it and poised it in a position like he was ready to skewer his supposed lesser. "Now be ready as I destroy your body in the same way that you destroyed your last line of defense!"
—
Natsu was starting to waver as the stone minions were constantly getting back up even when he used his aggressive fighting or his Fire Breathing to put them down. "Why don't you guys just stay down?!"
"Natsu! We should find Yoshi, maybe he's got something we ca-" Happy tried to suggest but stopped when he heard a rumbling from the ceiling.
"What the?" Natsu barely had much time to react when he saw the ceiling collapse with both Takeda and the Leader coming crashing down onto the floor below. "Whoa, Yoshida! Where'd you find him?!" Both he and Happy yelled out as they saw their partner land a solid sounding punch into the enemy's head.
"Guy's name is Richter Faustus…Guild Master of Imp Fork and Would-be insurrectionist." Takeda mumbled wearily as he pulled the unconscious cult leader by the hair, dragging his unconscious body out of the rubble before slumping down on a not so completely destroyed pew.
"A Guild Master? But where's the rest of his Guild?" Natsu asked but then saw that the Figures he had been fighting had all started to literally fall apart into piles of broken rock.
"Guy's a Mage that specialises in Doll Creation…He makes dozens of Heavy Stone Golems and uses them for his dirty work, the only reason he's called himself a Guild was to pocket all the money without hiring other people." Takeda explained as he moved his hand from his side; showing a ripped portion of his shirt that had since stained red from where he got cut, along with three holes poked into his stomach.
"Yoshida, you're bleeding! We need to get you to a doctor!" Natsu yelled while Happy struggled to try finding a fish which he figured would help in some way.
"No need…Just give me one sec…" Takeda said with a grimace as he held up his ringed hand and then summoned up a new flame to try fixing his situation.
This particular Flame was brightly coloured, almost white at it's core with layers of yellow enveloping it and slowly expanding as it got further out, Takeda then gently held his flaming hand to the wounds that he had sustained and tried to hold it there for as long as he could.
Natsu and Happy watched as the cut slowly healed up and aside from the bloodied holes left in Takeda's shirt, neither of them would've thought that he was the one who got hurt. "Whoa…What kind of Flames are those?"
"Just another trick up my sleeve…and no, I'm not telling any of you…It's already too many people to know what I can do when Mirajane already knows." Takeda pointed out but saw that both of their stares weren't budging and decided to give them something at least to make them leave him alone. "This Flame has a special ability called Activation."
"Activation?" Natsu asked as he raised an eyebrow and looked at the red spot on Takeda's shirt; "Is that just a weird way to say Healing Magic?"
"No It's…Alright look: You know how the body can naturally heal on it's own?" Takeda explained as the two sat down to listen; "This Flame has the ability to trigger the body's natural regenerative factors and stem any potential injuries, reducing the recovery time of an injury like this from a few days to a few seconds."
The fact that both Natsu and Happy had a blank stare on their faces at this explanation made it clear that this was both helpful but not helpful. "So you just…sear your wounds shut and let it work out?" Natsu asked as he tried to process the word jumble that Takeda told him.
Takeda shook his head; "No…" He said before deciding to try again with something simpler. "If you get a cut on your arm, it'll heal up in anything from a hour to several days…This Flame is capable of supercharging your body's natural ability to heal itself."
Happy nodded along as he and Natsu looked like they understood it a little better. "Oh! It's like putting a piece of fish on a cut."
"That's….actually a good analogy." Takeda was about to dismiss this but then remembered a time when he had been cut up bad during a raid, they used fish skin as a quick way to staunch his bleeding and heal him up until someone with the right flame could heal him. "Yeah, that's pretty much it."
Natsu nodded as he kept getting more and more curious about the numerous types of flames that Takeda seemed to have, the fact that he refused to outright say what they were definitely made it a subject to constantly ask. "Alright, let's go back and get this guy to the guards."
Happy flew around as they exited the chapel with the culprit tied up and dragging behind him while Natsu was busy pushing Takeda for more info; "I can tell Natsu's already liking him…Still at least we have a job done with no property damage, this way we have more money for-"
That train of thought quickly crumbled as the entire cathedral collapsed in on itself following the aftermath of both Takeda's fight with the Cult leader and Natsu's unrestrained fighting in the lower floors, sending any hope of full pay crashing down with it. "-Fish…"
Natsu blinked but then started laughing at the shocked faces of the people who came running at the sounds of fighting and lack of cult chantings. "Well, I guess there goes our pay."
Takeda blinked in shock as he realised that; "Natsu, we need that money…"
"Well, let's focus on getting out of here before sweating the small stuff!" Natsu yelled out as the three ran off away from the cathedral ruins and the slowly growing protests of the people.
"So that's why you're here?" Cana asked as the two were sat in an inn for the night for a mission that the resident fortune teller had taken up; They had been commissioned to go undercover to find out who is the one responsible for running an illegal poaching ring, the trail seemed to lead towards a ring of the social Elite based outside of a small town.
"I've been able to muster up enough money to help with the construction but now that my wallet has a colossal dent in it, I want to follow Natsu's example and take on as many jobs as much as I can, that way I can not worry about being out of pocket." Takeda explained as he adjusted his tie in the mirror, he had currently donned a black suit and decided to wear his gloves as a security measure. "I have to ask though, why we have to do things like this? I thought my plan was better."
"Because we want bad high society people to believe that we are equally bad high society looking to get in on this…I act as the "Manager" to call the shots while you are the hired muscle to do the poaching and the enforcing." Cana said as she sat at a nearby table; Currently she was wearing her usual clothes but she had a crate of wine opened up as a "Room Service" delivery.
"And why the hell do I have to wear this?" Takeda asked as he held up what looked like a mask; It was a white mask with a swirling black pattern around it followed by what looked like snake fangs on the mouth, finished off with a large white rectangle on the forehead. "It looks like some crappy souvenir shop threw this out."
Cana then threw a card which smacked Takeda in the head with it; It was a cartoony picture of Cana on the front with her name on it; "Is the walking, talking Mafia wannabe really giving me a lecture on fashion choices?" She snarked as she walked over to him; "THIS…Is your lifeline to me when we get in there; Put that card on the white spot and you'll be able to keep a line of contact with me if anything should happen."
"Wait…You can do that?" Takeda asked in surprise as he looked over the card; "But…This is just a card, how can you do something like that without needing a lacrima?"
"Card Magic, duh…" Cana waved it off as she drained another bottle and looked at the cards on the table beside her; "Just keep that card AND MASK! on at all times once we get in there, then we'll be good for the mission without any problems."
"I know how to disguise myself, you don't have to yell it in my face." Takeda grumbled as he rubbed his ear. "Besides, take it easy on the booze…I don't want to have to carry you in because you can't see straight." He fired back at her as he noticed the empty glass bottles were piling up behind her chair.
"Look, when you have to go on missions with Gray or Natsu; Sometimes you have to repeat yourself a lot, plus you've seen it yourself: They never really pay that much attention." Cana retorted before pettily flicking another top off of a new bottle. "Besides, I'm not gonna have you ruin my good time, I can handle way more alcohol than this…So don't go treating me like a lightweight."
"Whatever…" Takeda sighed as he knew that pushing it anymore was a losing battle; "So we're clear on the story: You're the Baroness of…What was it again?"
"Alba Card Company!" Cana reminded him and then carried on the explanation; "I've come into inheritance from some rich relatives but I also want to get more so I can get higher…So knowing this lot, they will jump at the chance to either fleece us or manipulate us into going with them for a cut of things."
"So I have to prove that I can be a solid hunter worth their time while you act as the one with the leash and try to get names." Takeda finished as he threw his coat on; "Remind me again why I have to pose as your boyfriend on this as well?"
Cana smirked; "Because it means that I don't have to deal with as many greasy rich kids trying to put their hands on me with you standing there menacingly, while you can get brownie points for being in the same ring as me at the same time~." She smirked and slipped him a wink before going into the bathroom; "Plus with them having all their focus on you because of that, it'll make my job easier to pull off."
"I still don't think that part's a good idea." Takeda admitted begrudgingly; "Guys like that don't exactly stop when something's spoken for and with someone like you, I'm guessing I'm either going to end up jumped or they'll set me up to fail…Or just outright kidnap you and shake you down as a hostage."
"Someone like me?" Cana asked from behind the door as the sounds of rustling clothing could faintly be heard. "Yoshida, you seriously need to have more faith in this: You know I can do MORE than just tell fortunes and drink an entire bar out of stock."
Takeda was about to make another rebuke towards her but the click of the lock stopped him and the door opened up to show Cana in her "Disguise".
Cana had her hair tied up in a high ponytail which let the lower part hang over her shoulder and wearing a sapphire coloured backless dress to cover her Guild mark that was on her midriff, complete with matching heels underneath. "So…What do you think? Am I good enough to look like I can buy my way around a Magic store?" She asked with a twirl to show off her look.
"Like someone who would sooner buy a whole train car than share with everyone else." Takeda snarked but then gave her a thumbs up and a grin; "It's perfect."
"And y-Oh for heavens sake…" Cana was about to return a compliment but she noticed something that bugged her and walked over to Takeda; Grabbing a hold of his tie and began to adjust it for him. "You're supposed to be this well-dressed mobster Mage, how do you fail at tying a tie?"
"Probably because I spent more time getting shot at, slashed at and having punches thrown at me than learning how to put myself in a neck trap." Takeda grumbled but ultimately let her tie his tie in a more appropriate manner, though he felt something odd settle in his stomach as he realised how close she was getting even for something like this.
"There, proper form for a proper bouncer~" Cana said and smirked a little when she saw the unnerved expression on his face; "What's wrong? Not used to being this close to girls?" She asked as she looked him in the eye.
"I am!" Takeda snapped awkwardly but then grimaced; "I can...just smell the liquor on you." He said and deflected some of the actual truth, which looked like it partly convinced her but not fully.
"Trust me, this is light compared to how I can normally be…Plus you need to lighten up a little, if we're supposed to be together then you can't wander in there looking like a sourpuss." Cana pointed out before leaning up towards his face with a playful smirk, nearly having to stand on tiptoes to do it while keeping a grip on his tie.
Takeda looked her in the eyes, determined to not let her games get to him and to show her that he wasn't that easy to break. "And about the whole "Having faith" thing? I do…But I also think it's good to look at it from all angles." He stated to Cana but that confidence lowered down to a quiet, almost whisper as she leaned up closer.
"You know…Those grey eyes of your's are real nice to look at~" She complimented before finally letting go and pulling away to walk out of the door. "Now come along "Babe", because we've got a party to go to~"