"She said she was going to a friend's house in the evening. But when she didn't arrive by sunset, I knew that something was wrong... My daughter..." The woman sniffed, unable to continue.
"Don't worry, ma'am. We will find her!" Levy said with a reassuring smile.
Behind her, Mira and Natsu had a righteous expression.
Happy had an intrigued expression, observing everything with barely hidden interest.
Kazu, on the other hand, had a blank face, betraying no emotion. 'Oh well, this is troublesome.' He thought as he looked at the trio.
He then turned in a direction. 'Not only that, but my instincts are warning me that something is happening there since I arrived in the village. The only reason I haven't left them and rushed in that direction is the possibility of it being a trap.'
If it were Kazu of before, he wouldn't have thought much and would have blindly trusted his instincts. However, Kazu is now experienced. He knows that his instincts have clear limits. They could also be tricked with various means.
The group exited the home.
"That was the 4th house. Do we check out the rest 4 too?" Levy looked at Mira.
The white-head shook her head. "I think it's time we start looking for the culprit."
"Yeah. Let's fight that jerk." Natsu touched both of his fists together, ready for action.
Mira slapped him on the shoulder. "And how are you going to do that if you can't even find him?"
"How about we use somebody here as bait? The guy kidnaps children who are alone every night. This is the perfect time." Levy said before Natsu could retort.
Mira turned to her in half-shock and in half-admiration. "Wow... That's a pretty good idea."
She glanced at Natsu, who suddenly shivered.
"Though Natsu seems like perfect bait, I am afraid that he might become a hostage. I will be the bait. Let's get ready." Mira didn't waste any time and started walking.
Natsu sighed in relief.
"Wait!" Levy stopped her. Natsu involuntarily stiffened. He shot Levy a betrayed look.
"What?"
"You can't go like that. You look like a delinquent." Levy pointed at her clothes.
"So?" Mira shrugged.
"You will probably scare the kidnapper like this," Levy muttered.
Mira had a baffled look on her face. "Huh? How's that even possible? I won't be leaking any of my magic, so how will he get scared of a kid like me?"
Levy paused. She put her hand under her chin. "You need to make yourself look more kidnappable. More innocent. For instance, I can give you an example. Between Elfman and Lisanna, who do you think has a high chance of getting kidnapped?"
"..." Mira deadpanned. The answer was obvious.
"See? You need to look like an innocent, powerless kid. For that, you need to look cute." Levy nodded to herself.
Mira involuntarily glanced at Kazu, who was currently looking in a different direction.
Levy didn't miss that. "What do you think, Kazu? My point is valid, right?" She immediately brought Kazu into the conversation.
The latter didn't respond.
"Kazu?" Natsu put his hand on Kazu's shoulder.
Kazu turned around, now facing the group.
"Hmm?" He currently had a serious expression on his face, catching the group off guard.
"What do you think?" Natsu asked.
"I think we should quit now," Kazu said matter-of-factly.
Levy threw him a baffled look. "You don't think Mira will look like an innocent, kidnappable kid if we make her look cute?"
"...Huh?" Kazu raised a brow. "Well, she will. Wait, what are you even talking about? This is not even important. We need to focus on survival." He turned more serious.
"What do you mean? Are we not doing the mission?" Happy tilted his head, confused.
Kazu nodded to the cat. "That's my suggestion."
"Why?" Mira raised a brow. Kazu's statement came out of nowhere.
Kazu pointed his finger in the direction he was previously looking in.
"It took me a while to figure out, but two people are fighting in that direction."
Before anybody could ask anything, Kazu continued.
"Two S-ranks."
Everyone's eyes widened.
"What?"
"How do you know that?"
"Where? I want to see."
Before Natsu could even take one step, Mira's hand transformed, and she punched him in the gut. "Idiot! You will die. Even Kazu won't be able to save you."
Natsu dropped to the ground while clutching his gut. "I was just going to look from far..."
"Jeez. She's right. I am not sure if I could survive myself, let alone with you guys." Kazu crouched beside Natsu, patting the pinkhead's shoulder.
"Is this related to this kidnapping incident?" Levy bit her lips. 'This exactly sounds like what would happen in a novel. Is this the point where Kazu would become S-rank?'
"I don't know." Kazu shrugged. If he knew what the bluehead was thinking, he would have looked at her like she was crazy.
He was nowhere near S-rank level. All the optimisations he could think of for his spells are already implemented.
Going there would be a suicide.
"What is making you conflicted? You seem to be the type who would have forcibly dragged us out." Mira asked him.
Kazu smiled at that. "What makes you say that?"
Mira just looked at him for a few seconds. "...Instincts."
"Instincts, huh... You have got pretty good instincts. You should hone them." Kazu's smile widened. 'I wonder if there would be time if I could mess with other people's instincts. Won't that be awesome?'
"I don't want to go home now!" Natsu protested as he quickly got up.
BAM
"When adults talk, kids shut up." Mira punched him again, causing him to drop again.
"Natsu is a kid." Happy shook his head.
Natsu groaned. "Why did you punch me on the same spot?"
"You can't even take a punch from me. What would happen if somebody like Kazu punched you at full force? Do you still think you could compete with S-ranks?"
"But..." Natsu turned to Kazu, who was at the same level as him, beside him.
Kazu lifted his fist, which shone in blue colour. "Wanna try taking one of my punches head-on?" He suggested with a harmless smile.
"NO!" Natsu quickly got away from Kazu. "You hit even harder than Erza when she is serious."
"Haha." Kazu chuckled. He turned to Mira. "The reason I haven't turned back is because one of the people fighting is Laxus."
As if to support his point, suddenly lightning flashed in the sky.
"Laxus!? He is S-rank?" Levy raised a brow.
Kazu nodded. "He is very close to S-rank. I was thinking of going to support him as he seems to be at a disadvantage in the fight." 'By a large margin.' Kazu didn't say those words to make others worry.
"What are you waiting for? You should go right away!" Natsu immediately said.
Mira glared at him, causing the pinkhead to shut up.
"Are you sure that you... won't be a burden to him?" Though Kazu was way stronger than Mira, he was still not S-rank.
Kazu nodded. "Yeah, I have my ways. In the worst case, we can both escape safely from an S-rank."
"Then, why are you not going?" Levy tilted her head. It seemed good opportunity for Kazu to gain experience from fighting a S-rank.
"In the worst case, if both of them escape, then that guy would come here. The village. We will be in danger." Mira frowned.
Kazu nodded.
"But, can we even escape now? How far do you think we can go? The next train is 3 hours away. That also does not count 1 hour on the carriage." Suddenly, Happy got himself into the conversation.
Kazu didn't say anything. His face was contemplative.
"I think we would be fine, Kazu. It's a kidnapper to beat." Kazu looked at Natsu's determined face for a few seconds.
He then sighed. "Fine. I want you guys to defeat that kidnapper, free the children and immediately make your way towards the station. You would be taking the train, which is in 3 hours, irrespective of its destination."
"Yes!" Natsu pumped his fist. He would finally be getting mission experience.
Levy nodded. "Yup, let's go right away. We are on a time crunch, so we need to quickly find a cute outfit for Mira!"
Kazu shot her a puzzled look. "Why do you... Need to go to shopping when two S-ranks are fighting nearby?"
"To lure the kidnapper."
Realisation shot on Kazu's face. "Ohh... so, that was what you meant then." He turned to Mira.
"Guess, she would look kidnappable if she wears a cute outfit."
Mira shot him a half-annoyed and half-embarrassed look. "So, you also agree with that plan?"
"Nope. There's a major flaw in your plan. You are assuming that the kidnapper will make his move tonight. Unfortunately, he won't do that. He knows that you all are mages." His words shocked them.
"Wait, how do you know that?" Levy looked at him in confusion.
Kazu blinked. "Right, I didn't mention it, but I know who the kidnapper is and where he is currently."
***
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