Cana ran in the direction where Kazu had gone.
'I should have let Gray go after him instead.' She thought while her breathing roughened in less than a minute.
"Huh?" She stopped in front of Kazu, who was standing there.
"My bad. I just dropped my house key. That's why I ran to retrieve it." Kazu said with a smile. The smile was his usual, not any different from how he normally smiles.
For a second, Cana believed that's why he ran off and not for some other reason.
"Oh... Should we walk back?" She asked panting. 'I didn't know his poker face was that good. I should keep that in mind in case I gamble against him.'
Cana didn't believe that smile on Kazu's face was genuine.
They walked back in silence before reaching Kazu's house again.
Gray was taken aback at how quickly they were back. "We—"
"I dropped my key on the way here. That's why I ran to retrieve it. Afraid that it will get lost." Kazu said calmly.
"Really? That surprised us." Gray read the lie and adapted to it. Kazu was indirectly telling him to forget about that incident. Gray didn't want to make things awkward.
'I will have to address this on a later date.' Gray mentally made a note. He was already feeling the headache his future self will have when he has to do that.
"You are 9 this year, right?" Cana asked, holding up the candle.
Kazu nodded. "Yeah."
"How did you know that today is my birthday?" Kazu asked Gray.
Gray shrugged. "Did you not mention it before?" He looked at Cana.
Kazu shifted his attention to Cana, who was looking proud.
She lifted her head and smirked. "Hehe. My fortune-teller cards told me your birthday."
"..."
"..."
Both of their gazes turned dumbfounded.
An awkward silence surrounded the room, only broken by Gray. "Wait, they work?"
Kazu also nodded. Also curious. 'I wonder what the mechanics behind it are.'
"Obviously they do." She snorted.
Next, Cana lit the candles on the cake.
'I don't even remember the last time I cut a cake.' Kazu's eyes became contemplative.
In his previous life, he didn't bother with having celebrations like this after he became a teen.
In his life, his new family was too poor for big celebrations. That, along with Kazu's denial, made his birthdays ordinary. He did celebrate Yui's birthdays after he became a hunter, but he didn't bother to waste money on his.
"Blow the candle," Gray said, breaking him out of his musings.
"Right." He did just that. The other two clapped.
Cana then urgently said, "You must make a wish within 10 seconds. Don't tell us a wish."
Kazu stiffened. 'What's the point of wishing? Nothing ever lasts.' His gaze shifted to Cana and Gray.
He decided to address what he was feeling. 'These guys...they are dangerous.' He realised that after pushing back his memories of celebrating Yui's birthday, he noticed one thing.
Both Cana and Gray were kids. They were celebrating his birthday on their own volition.
They weren't expecting anything from him.
Just giving.
This reminded him of celebrating Yui's birthday. However, their position didn't coincide with Yui's, but rather his.
'One day...If I die... Will they feel the same pain I felt when Yui died?'
THUMP THUMP THUMP
Kazu's heart throbbed at the possibility.
He knew that if he died now, they wouldn't feel as much pain.
But what about 1 more year later?
3 Years later?
5 years later?
9 years later, when Canon starts?
His mind screamed to cut all the ties now if he wanted to prevent such a future. To prevent causing them pain.
'I—I...just want to be selfish this once.'
He closed his eyes and, going against every logic, he wished.
'I hope... this warm feeling lasts.'
He then opened his eyes.
"What wish did you make?" Gray asked.
Cana hit him on the shoulder. "Idiot. If he says that, then his wish won't be fulfilled."
Kazu just watched them bicker. A smile crept onto his face.
'Even if it's a lie... I want to believe it. Just for now'
---
September quickly passed by. October was no different.
Date- 15th November.
WHOOSH
KLANG
The sound of something cutting through the air and hitting against something hard could be heard.
"Damn. Your defence has become pretty good." Cana commented, panting.
She had been throwing cards at Kazu's barrier for more than a minute. Despite an impressive edge, the cards failed to penetrate.
Kazu smiled brightly. "Yeah. I have spent months on this. I won't be spending time on this anymore."
Cana was taken aback by his smile for a second. "Cool. How about we drink some orange juice to celebrate?"
Kazu nodded, following her. 'I feel like I could beat anything today. Is this what success feels like?'
They entered the common area, which was pretty loud despite it being just afternoon.
Kazu took a seat on the counter and started observing people.
He generally does that after dinner, but he doesn't mind doing it in times like this. It has become a habit by now.
"You haven't broken any walls since you entered the guild, have you?" Cana asked with a teasing smile.
"Nope. In my entire tenure here, I won't be breaking any walls." He smirked at his words. "Have you?"
Cana grinned. "I have broken more than Gray."
Kazu's eyes widened in shock. "No way!"
"Do you want me to predict when you will first—" Cana paused.
Suddenly, the loud tavern became silent.
She looked around and found the source at the door.
Laxus
Kazu also looked at him.
'So, this is the master's grandson and one of the early S-ranks of the series. I don't remember much from the Canon, but he definitely had a good character development... From what Cana said, he should be 14 now.'
Kazu was feeling quite good today. He wasn't lacking any confidence. If somebody tells him to challenge Igneel to a fight, he might even give that a thought for a second.
'Gray's gotten stronger. I've matched him.
I'm not saying I'll win… but I want to see how wide the gap still is.'
He looked around the tavern.
People were looking at Laxus, who was walking straight towards the mission board.
"It's a shame that Gray isn't here. I would have gotten a better read on him." He muttered.
Cana looked at him in disbelief.
"You..." Before she could say anything, Kazu jumped from his stool.
Laxus glanced at him.
"Do you mind a spar? I want to measure myself against you."
The silent guild became unsilent.
True to their nature, people started betting.
"One Hit if he is lucky."
"Three Hits. That kid might look creepy, but he is gritty."
"He won't even get time to hit. We should prepare to patch him up."
They shamelessly started making bets on how many hits Kazu will make.
Kazu ignored their hushes and looked Laxus right in the eye.
Laxus stared back. Silently assessing him.
'He is hiding it, but he looks tired. Well, it shouldn't change anything.' Kazu thought. Laxus's eyes looked tired.
"Kid...Let me humble you." A cocky smirk appeared on Laxus's face.
'Active instincts.' Kazu kicked the wooden floor gently.
Next second he appeared on Laxus's right side, his fist already cocked back.
"I need to humble myself from time to time. Such help is always welcome."
Light blue Ethernano covered his fist. Not External Enhancement, but a bluff.
Laxus's eyes lazily met his.
WHOOSH
Kazu punched with all his might.
A sharp cutting sound could be heard throughout the tavern. The wind pressure was enough to knock some tumblers down, spilling beer. However, people were awestruck by the battle and did not notice it.
Laxus didn't dodge. He brought his one hand and caught Kazu's fist with his right palm.
THUD
Flesh collided with flesh.
"It seems you have some firepower. What about defence?" Yellow lightning crackled on his body, streaks moving towards Kazu's caught fist.
It all happened in less than a second.
"Oh?" Laxus raised an eyebrow.
The lighting didn't travel through Kazu's body.
During that brief moment of surprise, Kazu made a barrier beneath his feet and used that as a platform to jump towards Laxus. His another fist already cocked back.
Laxus took a step back, releasing his hold on the other hand.
"A barrier? So, that's how you blocked the lightning." Laxus nodded to himself.
Before Kazu could punch, a heavy force slammed into his gut.
'So fast.' He was barely able to cover his gut with a barrier before being shot back like a rag doll.
He looked at the approaching wall and panicked.
'FUCK. NOT THE WALL. I don't want to cause property damage.' Kazu didn't want to break his streak of not breaking walls this early.
Multiple barriers appeared in his path, disappearing as soon as they appeared. They did their job of slowing him down.
Kazu stopped a few inches away from the wall.
'Safe.' Kazu sighed in relief.
CRACKLE
He turned his head, and a lightning bolt was a few inches away from him.
'Nooooo...' He thought.
BOOOM
The wall behind him broke, and Kazu was sent like a rag doll.
The dust shielded him from vision. After it cleared away, Kazu's figure became visible.
He was lying on the ground with his limbs twitching.
His eyes were rolled back.
"Kid. I hope you got humbled. If not, meet me next time. It was my pleasure to help you." With that, Laxus continued his way towards the mission board.
Cana rushed towards him.
She picked a nearby branch and touched him with it.
"What were you trying to prove, dumbass?"
Kazu grunted, and a few seconds later, he came to consciousness.
His eyes were blank. Cana hit him on the head with the stick a few times.
"Oh!"
"You good?" She asked.
"Yeah. I need to train." Kazu seriously nodded.
Cana deadpanned. "Right... But before that, you need to rebuild the wall." She pointed at the wall Kazu had broken.
"Fuck." Kazu's face fell.
Cana shrugged before smirking, "It's your first time, right? I will help you."
***
Join my Patreon to support me and get up to 20 advanced chapters:
- DESIRE96
(search it up)
Check out my other works.