Kazu instinctively moved half of his Ethernano to his right fist. His fist was shining with Yellow coloured Ethernano. Even from a distance, one could feel the pressure.
The perpetrator finally came into Kazu's view.
"..."
"..."
Two people stared at each other. Both of their faces were stoic.
"...That was a nice punch. Guess it runs in the family." Kazu broke the silence as he took back all the Ethernano covering his fist.
"...I am sorry." The boy tried lowering his head, but realised that he was already looking down due to the floor difference.
"What the fuck happened!?" A loud voice came behind the boy, causing him to stiffen.
"I..." He felt himself at a loss for words.
"You did this again? This time, the floor. What if the resident on the ground floor ret—" The girl stiffened when her gaze met Kazu's.
"K—Kazu?" Mira's eyes widened.
"The one and only. Didn't expect you to take the first floor." 'She said 'again'. Does this mean it's not the first time Elfman had accidentally destroyed my ceiling?' Kazu didn't know what to feel about this.
"It was Levy! She was the one who strongly recommended this location." Mira immediately defended herself.
Kazu lifted his hand in mock surrender. "Bruh, chill. It's completely fine. I was just shocked that a guild member took the upper floor. It's pretty cool." 'No wonder Levy perked up when I mentioned 'house'. It was definitely intentional.' Kazu made a mental note.
"Oh...I am very sorry for my brother. We will fix your ceiling immediately." Mira put her hand on Elfman's shoulder while glaring at the latter, who didn't meet her eye.
Kazu waved his hand. "It's fine. I don't think it would be fixed that quickly, especially in the middle of the night. No need to trouble yourself."
"But... where will you sleep then?" Mira frowned. Though their relation wasn't that deep or anything, Kazu was still one of the first people who had reassured Mira about her magic. He was technically her benefactor, so the last thing she wanted to do was cause trouble for him.
"I will just sleep somewhere else tonight. Maybe at Gray's place or maybe Natsu's." Kazu shrugged. He turned to his bed, which was half broken due to the debris. 'Maybe I should have protected that. Then again, the situation just caught me off-guard, preventing me from focusing on trivial things.'
"Oh..." For a second, Kazu felt like she was almost disappointed.
"We have a guest room. If you don't mind..."
"Sure, why not?" Kazu agreed instantly. He was too tired to go to Gray's house.
Mira clapped her hands. "Perfect. I will prepare it immediately. Meanwhile, Elfman would host you." She patted the latter's back before disappearing immediately.
Kazu turned to Elfman, who turned to him.
"I am sorry..."
"As I said, it's completely fine. Such incidents happen when you are new to magic. Just train your control more."
The atmosphere then turned silent between them.
Kazu decided to break it. "So, should I enter the house through the door, or can I directly enter through this hole?" He smiled at his joke.
"...Whatever you prefer." Elfman awkwardly said.
Kazu didn't mind and jumped directly, passing through the hole.
"So, how is Magnolia? It's been 3 months, right?"
"It's good. Way better than my village..." Elfman muttered the last part.
"Is that so? How about the guild? Nobody's bullying you or anything, right?" Kazu patted the latter's shoulder.
"It's good.... I feel like I belong somewhere." Elfman finally made eye contact with him.
Kazu's smile widened. "Maybe you should say that to the master. He would be pretty happy hearing that."
Suddenly, the door opened again. "What happened?... Why is Kazu here?" Lisanna entered the room.
"Hey! I live downstairs. Elfman accidentally lost control of his magic. How was the party?" Kazu immediately changed the topic. The last thing he wanted was to make the other boy even more guilty.
"Oh. It was good. Though your story definitely wasn't." She involuntarily shivered at the thought of pigeons.
Kazu grinned. "You will get used to that. Do you also have Take Over Magic?"
"Yeah. Mine is Animal Take Over." Lisanna's hand suddenly transformed into paws to illustrate her point.
Kazu's ears perked up. "Wow! Is that a cat's paws?" Kazu took a closer look at the pads. It looked like a real cat's.
Lisanna nodded. "Yup. Though it's not as strong as my brother's beast takeover magic."
"That's fine. Raw power is not everything. You should focus on your strengths. Also, can I touch it?" Kazu pointed at the paw.
"Sure."
Kazu didn't shy away and touched the paw. "Wow. It's even softer than a cat's... Well, the only reference I have is some of the street cats, so I am probably wrong. But still..."
"Well, it's hard to find cats normally."
Mira entered the room. "The room is prepared. Do let us know if you need anything."
"Kay." Kazu reluctantly pulled his hand away from the softness.
He followed Mira to the guest room.
"Oh, right. I was going to do it tomorrow, but I think now is the best time. I wanted to apologise for what happened in the afternoon."
Mira tilted her head. "About?" She opened the door.
"The killing intent. That spell just brought back memories. So, it was an instinctive response." Kazu entered the room.
"Oh. I figured. I was just shocked that somebody like you could have such... oppressive presence." Mira's back was towards Kazu, so he couldn't see her expression.
Kazu shrugged. "Well, it is what it is. A lot of things have happened in the last few years." He turned to the mirror, looking at his reflection.
"Do... you mind sharing the incident that triggered your extreme reaction?" Mira suddenly asked, causing Kazu to stiffen.
He didn't answer immediately. He just looked at his reflection, which stared back at him.
"I...I once had a sister. Little sister...." Kazu exhaled.
Mira's expression morphed into a frown. She was already regretting asking that.
"Well, it's related to the day I lost her... Anyway, it's all in the past. Boring past." Kazu continued looking at the mirror.
Mira didn't know what to say.
The room remained silent as both of them stood still.
"I am sorry for asking that."
Kazu waved his hand. He turned to her. "It's fine. It's all in the past."
"Does it still hurt?"
"Huh?"
"The pain. Has the pain reduced?" Mira looked him right in the eye.
A self-depreciating smile appeared on Kazu's face. "No. It hasn't. The pain never reduces. The only thing that has changed is me. I guess I can handle it better compared to before."
Kazu's eyes darkened. "As an older sibling, I would say that you should make sure you don't end up like me." He patted her shoulder before plopping onto the bed.
"...I will remember that." Mira walked towards the door and then left the room.
---
June 12, x778
"Are you sure that it's legal to do that? Why is nobody stopping you?" Kazu looked at Cana in astonishment.
The girl in question was sipping a glass.
A glass of beer.
"I am an official mage now. I am a big girl now." She smirked.
Kazu deadpanned. "Yeah, 'big' girl. I am worried about your future, seeing how you are drinking in daylight."
"It's not my first time. I am not a lightweight." She almost sounded proud, causing Kazu to cringe.
"Well, whatever." He sipped his orange juice.
Cana's smirk widened. "You really are a kid. Still sipping orange juice." She patted his shoulder.
A vein popped off Kazu's forehead. He didn't like being called kid, especially by Cana of all people.
"Yeah? I think being a kid is better than being an irresponsible adult, right?"
"Irresponsible? How am I irresponsible?" Cana folded her arms. It seems she was in the mood to argue today.
"Yeah? Let me write it for you. So that you could look at it after you forget it." To enforce his point, Kazu took out a pen and paper.
Just as Cana was going to say anything, several whistles were heard in the tavern, causing the duo to pause.
"Oh my god. Am I seeing things?"
"Wow. It's a bunny girl."
"Don't look. What if your wife finds out?
Kazu looked at the entrance and saw Makarov along with another person behind him.
It was a late-teen wearing a bunny-girl outfit, clearly embarrassed.
Blond hair and brown eyes.
Kazu's eyes widened when he recognised the figure.
'L—Lucy?'
***
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