Bonus Chapter every 100 Power Stones!
"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X788]
~ With Shisui ~
Shisui stepped into the Fairy Tail guild hall, immediately struck by how empty it was. The large space, clearly designed to accommodate dozens if not hundreds of mages, contained barely a handful of people. A man with a distinctively semi flat-top haircut sat smoking at the bar. Near him, two others conversed quietly over half-empty drinks. In the far corner, a single person scanned through what looked like job requests, though the board seemed barely filled with requests.
"Your guild must be pretty busy if most of the guild members are away on missions judging by the almost empty request board." Shisui commented, trying to sound casual.
Alzack let out an awkward laugh that died quickly in his throat. Behind them, Romeo's expression darkened, his earlier cheerfulness giving way to something more somber.
Bisca adjusted her hat, her direct gaze meeting Shisui's. "Myself, Alzack, and Asuka are the only ones who went out for missions today," she stated flatly.
Shisui took a second, more careful look around the hall. The spacious room suddenly felt less like a gathering place and more like a hollow reminder of what once was. In that moment, understanding dawned on him. His anonymous financial support through Warrod had helped keep the doors open, but he'd severely underestimated just how much the guild had suffered.
For the past year, he'd believed that his contributions were supplementing an otherwise functional guild. The reality before him suggested otherwise.
"Those who abandoned the guild were never truly Fairy Tail mages at heart anyway," Romeo declared. "The ones who stayed are true family. We don't need fair-weather friends who run at the first sign of trouble."
"Romeo," a tired voice called from across the room.
Shisui turned to see a middle-aged man with dark blue hair approaching them. The lines on his face spoke of stress and responsibility, but there was a semblance of authority in his stance that marked him as someone in charge.
"We've talked about this," the man continued, sighing heavily. "Circumstances change. People make choices based on what's best for them. We need to be more understanding of—"
"Understanding?" Romeo interrupted as his hands clenched into fists at his sides. "They left us, Dad! They abandoned Fairy Tail when things got hard! What's there to understand?!"
The man, now revealed to be Romeo's father, rubbed his forehead. "They had families to support and careers to consider. The guild is no longer able to offer them stability anymore. Not everyone can afford to—"
"So they just quit?!" Romeo's retaliated, drawing attention from the few guild members present. "A real Fairy Tail mage would never give up! Master Makarov wouldn't have given up! Natsu wouldn't have given up!"
A tense silence followed the names as if Romeo had brought up something sacred and painful.
"They're not here, Romeo..." his father said quietly. "And until they return, we have to make decisions based on reality, not how we wish things were."
"You mean giving up." Romeo rebuked, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "You've already given up on them coming back!"
Without waiting for a response, Romeo pushed past them all and ran toward a back hallway, disappearing around a corner.
"Don't worry about Romeo," Bisca sighed behind Shisui. "The members who left is still a sensitive topic for him. He was very young when everything happened."
She then stepped forward, addressing Romeo's father directly. "Macao, we finished the delivery job. No complications."
"Good, good." Macao replied, seeming grateful for the change in subject. His eyes then fixed on Shisui, question clear in his expression.
"This is Shisui," Bisca explained. "He says he has a letter for you from a Wizard Saint."
Macao's eyebrow rose sharply at that. "A Wizard Saint?"
Shisui took this as his cue to speak.
"If possible, I'd prefer to discuss this in private," he requested, aware of the curious looks they were receiving from around the guild hall.
Macao studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Bisca, Alzack, thank you for bringing this to my attention. Why don't you go check on Asuka? She looked ready for her afternoon nap."
Bisca seemed to understand the dismissal for what it was. She nodded, taking Asuka from Alzack's arms as they moved toward the other guild members.
"My office is upstairs," Macao said to Shisui. "We can talk there without interruptions."
As Macao led Shisui toward a staircase at the side of the hall, the remaining guild members immediately clustered around Bisca and Alzack.
"Who is that guy?" one whispered, not quite softly enough.
"What's with the letter from a Wizard Saint?" another asked more directly.
Bisca shrugged. "All I know is he's delivering a letter from a Wizard Saint to the Master. That's it."
This sparked an immediate flurry of theories. "The Council must be coming down on us again," suggested one.
"Maybe it's news about Tenrou Island!" another offered hopefully.
From his seat at the bar, the man with the flat-top haircut exhaled a cloud of smoke.
"We won't know until they're done talking," he said with the resigned tone of someone who had learned patience the hard way. "No use speculating."
~ With Shisui, in the Guildmaster office of Fairy Tail ~
Shisui sat across from Macao, the guild master's desk between them. Without being asked, he removed the sealed envelope from his pocket and placed it on the wooden surface, sliding it forward.
Before reaching for the letter, Macao straightened in his chair. "I should properly introduce myself. I'm Macao Conbolt, Fourth Master of the Fairy Tail guild."
"Shisui," he responded with a small nod. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."
Macao's fingers tapped against the envelope without picking it up.
"Do you know what this is about?" he asked, studying Shisui's face.
"Yes," Shisui confirmed, offering nothing more.
Macao waited, his expression expectant. The silence stretched between them, growing more awkward by the second. Shisui tilted his head slightly, wondering why the guild master was staring at him so intently.
"Is something wrong?" Shisui finally asked.
Macao sighed, shaking his head. "No, nothing's wrong."
Shisui's confusion only grew. The guild master's behavior seemed oddly hesitant for someone who'd just received communication from a Wizard Saint. In his experience, most officials were eager to read such messages immediately.
Macao's hand rested on the envelope but didn't break the seal.
"Before I open this," he said, "would you mind telling me if it's good news or bad news?"
Understanding dawned on Shisui. Macao wasn't being formal or strange. He was stalling. The guild master was worried about what the letter might contain, perhaps fearing yet another problem to add to Fairy Tail's struggles.
Shisui allowed a small smile to cross his face but didn't answer the question.
"The silent treatment won't work on me," Macao joked, leaning back in his chair. "I'm a father to a teenage boy. I'm used to it."
Still, Shisui maintained his silence, which seemed to unnerve Macao more than any answer might have. The guild master tried several more tactics. Casual remarks about the weather, questions about Shisui's journey to Magnolia, even a comment about his outfit. Yet Shisui did not budge.
After nearly five minutes of this one-sided conversation, Macao finally exhaled a defeated sigh.
"No time like the present, I suppose," he muttered, breaking the seal with his thumb.
As Macao unfolded the letter and began to read, Shisui watched his expressions change. Initial wariness gave way to surprise, then deepening shock as his eyes widened progressively with each paragraph.
When he reached certain points, Macao's eyebrows shot up so high they nearly disappeared into his hairline. By the time he finished reading, he was staring at Shisui with undisguised astonishment.
"IT WAS YOU?!" Macao exclaimed loud enough to potentially be heard even through the closed office door.
Shisui's right eye twitched involuntarily. Immediately, Macao's demeanor changed, his outburst giving way to frantic backpedaling.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he said quickly, hands raised in a placating gesture. "I didn't mean to shout. It's just. The letter... I was surprised, that's all!"
Shisui's exasperation only grew as he watched the guild master's animated distress. 'This is the leader of Fairy Tail? He seems more like a nervous parent caught snooping through his child's room than the master of what was once Fiore's strongest guild.'
"I'm not irritated at you," Shisui finally interrupted. "I'm irritated at what Warrod likely revealed in that letter."
Macao halted mid-apology, looking at Shisui cautiously. Seeing no signs of anger directed at him, his shoulders visibly relaxed. "Oh. Right. Of course."
'This was the person who had been anonymously supporting Fairy Tail for the past year? According to this letter, this young man before me has been donating forty percent of his mission rewards.
And given the substantial amounts, those missions could only have been S-class. So that means, an S-class mage has been keeping us afloat this whole time?' Macao thought, excitement building in his chest.
"Did the letter also explain why I'm here?" Shisui asked, cutting through Macao's thoughts.
Macao nodded, his expression turning serious. "Yes, but I need to ask. Is this what you want? Fairy Tail today isn't what it was four years ago."
He gestured around them. "We're down to about twenty members. We barely get high-paying jobs anymore. The Council watches us like hawks, looking for any excuse to punish us."
He leaned forward, his voice dropping slightly. "And I need to be honest. You might not be well-received by everyone. After so many left, those who stayed view this guild as true family. Romeo isn't the only one who feels betrayed by those who abandoned us."
Macao tapped Warrod's letter thoughtfully. "I will not lie to them about why you're joining us. They'll know it started as a mission from Warrod. That might make it harder for them to accept you."
~ End of Chapter 34 ~