"Let's say you came across Tracy in a mission. What would you do?"
Kazu felt his mind already moving.
"One day, I'll take from you what you took from me. Not just you—everyone you care about."
It felt as if he was actually hearing her words.
'Every day she is alive, she is getting stronger. What if one day she became stronger than me?' A voice at the back of his mind whispered.
For some reason, Kazu could already imagine the future.
The result of his failure.
The result that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
The result—
CRACK
Kazu blinked. He let go of the doorknob he had unconsciously held.
He then saw Makarov's frowning face, looking at him.
'Fuck.' Kazu realised that he was emitting Ethernano.
Blue-coloured Ethernano with a dark tint.
"I am sorry, master. I will fix the door. Guess, coming back to the guild for so long has made me more prone to breaking things." Kazu tried to joke.
Makarov waved his hand. "It's beyond repair. Just replace it with another door in the warehouse later. You didn't answer."
Kazu felt his throat go dry. What was he supposed to say? Didn't his outburst equivalent as a statement?
"Master... what do you want me to do when I meet her?"
Makarov raised a brow. "Deflecting the subject? Well, you tell me what I would say."
Kazu bit his tongue. He understood where this was going. 'Damn it!'
"Well, Anne was part of Fairy Tail, so you probably feel some responsibility towards her. So, not harm her without any reason..."
Makarov nodded. "Indeed. But that isn't the only reason. Is it?"
"...Well, she technically didn't kill anybody, at least not any we know of. Moreover, you would probably say that there's a high chance that she would understand why I did that when she grows older..." Kazu knew all that.
'I know that I am being too paranoid. Despite feeling all this paranoia, my instinct magic had never indicated even slightly at that... but there's still a chance for the worst case happening.'
"Kazu." Makarov's words prevented him from going into another thought spiral.
Kazu looked at him again.
"You know what I would say. She's still a child like you. Children can make mistakes. They still have huge growth for change. I would let the Veyren case slide as he had less chance to turn over a new leaf. But Tracy is different. I hope you remember that. Any life is precious due to the possibilities it holds."
'Any life is precious due to the possibilities it holds.' For some reason, Kazu thought that he could understand the line.
'Possibilities...right. Any person has the possibility to create huge changes in the world. Especially mages, who have a high possibility.' Kazu felt as if he was seeing a world from a different perspective.
Something different from how he viewed the world.
He felt his sense of self dissolve.
All good and bad thoughts disappeared. Only the observations and evidence were left.
The world turned black and white as he pondered the statement.
Kazu didn't know how long he had been out, but when he became aware of himself, he saw Makarov looking at him with a worried expression.
"Hmm?"
"What happened?"
"I think I got into a trance. Your statement made me ponder things." Kazu himself didn't know what happened.
'The world turned black-and-white like the time when I used Active Instincts. Did I activate it unconsciously?'
Kazu's confusion only grew when he noticed his Ethernano reserves.
"I am out of Ethernano?" He vocalised his concern.
"As I thought, you might have actually activated your spell. Though, weirdly, you are out of magic, when not even a minute has passed." Makarov's words shocked Kazu even further.
"Not even a minute passed!?" Kazu snapped his head towards the clock. 'I swear it was at least a few minutes. For a second, I even thought hours had passed. That was definitely flow.' Kazu didn't think that one could get into flow this easily. It takes him a decent chunk of time to get into flow, even with the help of his instinct magic.
"Mhm. You might want to reflect on this incident. It might be a growing opportunity. Anyway, we are deflecting from the topic. What do you think of my original question now?" Makarov brought his attention back to the original topic.
"Right. I think I have more clarity now. Don't worry, master. I won't kill her directly when I find her." Kazu reassured him with a smile.
His bluntness, along with the smile, caught Makarov off guard. However, the old man didn't lose composure. "Right. Glad that you understand my point. You can go now."
Kazu waved his hand. "I will fix the door by tonight. See ya." Kazu bolted away. He had enough serious talk for today.
'I want to reflect on what just happened now, more on the master's words, and then talk to Mira about that incident. But first...'
"Guys!" Kazu reached the ground floor and shouted, drawing everyone's attention.
Kazu jumped on a nearby table, causing a yelp from the people who were sitting at it.
"Some of you were saying that I am stingy and whatnot. So, today I am throwing a party. You guys can order anything. I will pay!"
The tavern paused for a second before everyone broke into cheers.
"Whoa! Finally free food!"
"Did he receive high payment for his recent mission?"
"What's the occasion? No way, you are doing out of the blue." Cana was the first one to ask.
Kazu looked around the tavern for a few seconds. 'Oh, Natsu is back. Is that Elfman? I will talk to him later.' Kazu hummed.
"Well, the occasion is..." He started, prompting everyone to stop speaking so he could speak.
Kazu made a pause for a few seconds deliberately. He only released it when he felt like people would break the silence at any moment.
"I completed my first S-rank mission!"
Kazu's words caused various reactions in the tavern.
Some of the people felt as if they had heard it wrong.
Others reacted, as if it was expected.
"I told you that we will be having a new S-rank this year. It's going to be Kazu!"
"Did he improve again? No wonder. Will I win if I bet on him in his next fight against Laxus?"
"How much money did you make from the mission?"
Kazu kept smiling.
'Well, my combat power hasn't increased. The only noteworthy thing would be my instinct magic, which has become more precise due to the experience in the last few months. That was my aim, which I achieved more or less.'
Kazu ordered orange juice as he took a seat beside Gray at his earlier spot.
"Spit it up. How much did you make?" Cana smugly looked at him.
Kazu returned the smile. "Maybe if I receive a few more missions with similar rewards, I might be able to finally buy a house."
On the mention of 'house', Levy perked up for some reason, which didn't go unnoticed by Kazu's eyes.
"Kazu! Let's have a fight. I want you to take me seriously!" Natsu said with a determined expression.
Hearing about the 'S-rank' mission has kindled a fire inside him. He hasn't even gone on a serious mission yet, so this was a whole new league.
"Not now. I am out of magic. How about tomorrow?" Kazu lifted his hands in surrender.
Gray raised an eyebrow. "How are you already out? I don't think you did anything tough." He glanced at Erza and Mira momentarily, who were sitting across from him.
"I actually dunno how that happened. I was talking with master one second, and one of my spells unconsciously activated. It drained me dry somehow." Kazu thanked the waiter before sipping the orange juice.
"How about you tell us about your S-rank mission? Or are the details confidential or something?" Levy suggested before Natsu could retort.
Kazu looked around the table. "You guys really want to know?" Seeing everyone's interest, Kazu relented.
"Fine. Let me order something to eat first. This is going to be a long story"
---
"And then, it came out of its mother, killing the latter. Blood splattering everywhere." Kazu took a sip as he looked at everyone's reaction.
Some of them had pale faces, losing their appetite due to Kazu's story.
"How are you guys even eating with such a mental image?" Lisanna said while looking at Cana, Levy, Gray and Natsu.
Gray shrugged. "It's just a birth. What's weird about it?"
"Can't imagine it." Natsu shrugged too.
"Have imagined worse."
"Meh." Cana took a sip of her orange juice, not reacting.
"Anyway, then..." Kazu continued with his story.
The party went until midnight before everyone started heading home.
"Well, I am at my destination. Did you move in with Gildarts?" Kazu asked Cana.
The latter shook her head. "The old man doesn't even have a proper house. He camps in the wild. Saying he never needed it."
"Haha. I can imagine that." Kazu talked for a few more minutes before bidding Cana farewell.
He reached his bedroom and plopped onto his bed.
'Should I shower or not?' Kazu felt that this was the most difficult decision he had to make.
The discomfort of leaving the bed was too much.
But he hadn't showered in the morning.
Just as Kazu was going to make a decision—
CRACK
Kazu's eyes widened as he saw a part of the ceiling crumbling.
'An attack?' Kazu raised his guard to the maximum. The attacker had somehow bypassed his Instinct magic.
Luckily, dealing with Veyren had prepared Kazu for such situations.
He instinctively moved 50 per cent of his Ethernano to his right fist.
***
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