Return of the Guardian

Inside one of the training halls, the lights were taken out and anyone entering would feel their limbs getting so heavy that an arm would weight the same as that of a golem’s. Instead of taking a nap at the nearest bench in the main hall, Mura was training his reflexive skills - the training consisted of his speed being limited by the gravitational field that could be changed to his liking, along with almost no light to aid his field of vision. A technique from his father that, if mastered properly, would let him react to events around him without the need for vision - something that could have been useful back at the haunted house so long ago…

And if he didn’t see the ghosts, then his fear of them shrank. It was prompted to be mastered. Inanimate orbs of metal were strung to several points around the room, each consecutively beginning to fire off the iron ball. With only Harusame at his disposal, Mura furiously beat the iron orbs off from impacting his body. He had to put all his focus to it and do his best, otherwise he would get bonked by a heavy cannon ball.

And yet, the signature of a powerful wizard alarmed outside, forcing Mura to brake his training and let the rest of the orbs contact him, instantly turning to puddles of water upon hitting his skin.

“No way, is that-“ Mura was about to speak up to Zirconis, but Kyuken’s absence lined out a silhouette at the position where he was supposed to float around. Internally infuriated, the shaman rushed out to spot the hanging tongue of a charging Kyuken who was aiming for the main entrance.

"SHE'S BACK AGAIN! YES, YES, YES, YES, YES!!! I'VE MISSED MY BOUNTIFUL QUEEN-"

And déjà vu, as Mura attempted to grab the spirit in his tracks, he plumped right into Eris akin to so long ago… at the very least, he was now certain that it was her. She looked… way different, as if she had gotten way too much sun back where she had travelled to.

She had changed, but so had the guild. In fact, Mura’s Wizard Saint badge was hanging on a pearl bead around his waist. The moment was a tad exciting, since there was so much that he wanted to inform her about; all the new wizards that had joined, their prosperity, their alliance with WFTC and Silver Wolf, and how she was partly at fault for him having gone through a hell of a mo- nah, she didn’t need to know the latter.

“*muffled* U-ris? Eris, yue ah pack *muffled*”

He didn’t expect getting picked up. If Arcadia or Althea were to see this, they would likely feel avenged by Mura’s habit of picking up smaller people that he might or might not have picked up from Eris. Then again, this was new; his limbs were hanging as he eyed her, embracing the bright and mischievous expression emanating from her face.

Man, it had been several months since they last saw her. That begged the question; she must’ve completed her objective in… uh, wow, she never stated where she headed to. Either that, or Mura had bad ears and sucked at overhearing things critical to a proper reunion like this.

Mentioning Haru awakened weird feelings. As far as Mura remembered, the red-haired brat had gone out on a far-wide mission in Midi where his mother lived, so it was sufficient to inform her: “He’s in Midi on a mission back at his mother’s place… he’s been gone for just as long as you, actually.” A tad sulk appeared on Mura’s face as he faced away, wondering what Haru was up to nowadays…

No effing way he had died or anything…

“Woooaaaaaaaaah!” Kyuken moaned out in awe, “I’m being honest, you look buxom as ever, Eris!” “Did you have a skin color change?” the dragon ghost asked in curiosity, “And… uh, hair change? Eye change? Is this your magic?” The samurai ghost simply choked the dragon ghost’s neck and continued without warning: “Nah, forget all that! Who cares? You look great, and your bust size hasn’t shrunk at all, so it’s good…!”

Kyuken was right on that. However, it was irrelevant to the serious, mature shaman… is what Mura could only dream of being. He had to change topic to avoid being spotted.

“Oh yeah, as you can see-“ he suddenly informed her out of remembrance, pulling on his Wizard Saint badge, “Fairy Tail has grown much stronger these last months. It never felt the same without our kitsune mascot, though… hehe, Althea and Nessa will love to meet you, I'm sure of it.”

Good lord, she had actually missed more than he thought.

Huh… so the kitsune form was but a vessel? After all this time, Mura was convinced that Eris was a kitsune gone wild in magic power, but it appeared not to be the case. She still harbored so many secrets to herself, but this would appear to be the form she took when entering Fiore… which could mean that she had yet to show her true form. Maybe this was her true form, but her choice of words made him doubt that.

She did succeed in flustering him all about when mentioning just how much stronger that the guild had become. Of course, they got stronger! It was a necessity, simple as that. “O-Of course, we all grew…!” he responded with a flustered voice, “Ever since meeting the West Fiore Trading Company and Silver Wolf, every wizard here has been through a whole novel of their own…”

The silence in the guild was unnoticed by Mura as he had been isolated in one of the training cells for a while. “Well, we’ve just celebrated our annual Fairy Festival… so some of us went out to revive our daily job routine. I, on the other hand, am preparing for a future trip… wait a second…” A swift idea crossed his mind that might have been able to cure him of his worries; with Eris back again, he could show her just how strong that he had become.

The vixen… or well, the previous-been-vixen-that-is-now-more-tribal-and-colorful had also battled with Haru before. She specifically stated that it pampered with her kitsune form… Mura should be able to promise her a good challenge, right? He quickly looked down at his hands for a second, considering if he had to challenge her here and now. With the vixen origin thrown out of the window, he couldn’t be sure if she was classified as… well, Mura had no idea what Eris was now. This was tricky, and it even caused a sweat pearl to trickle down his forehead.

“… Are you trying to ask her out?” Kyuken joked, pulling Mura back to reality. The dragon scuffed harshly at the samurai ghost’s reply, clearly aware of his interests in the powerhouse. “You know how clingy he can get, I’m surprised he hadn’t taken her away from you yet-“ the dragon replied, only to be tackled by an enraged Kyuken. “Y-You shut your wide mouth, gecko…!”

“. . .” Mura had trouble taking things seriously with those two at times. However, his mind at focus once more, he looked up at the taller femme, “If you really want to see for yourself… why don’t you fight me?” When it came to facing an opponent, Mura sucked at intimidation. No matter how strong he would become, he was always so laid-back and silent in spirit, almost mockingly towards any challenger that faced him. He simply didn’t know how to look intimidating or at the very least express the very aura of a seasoned brawler… something along the line of how Eris caught his attention from several rooms away.

It was weird…

A portal opened up near the bar, and a young blonde girl of about fourteen stepped out, looking somewhat under the weather. For once she was not bare foot, she was actually rather bundled up in a blanket and pajamas. She held a handkerchief in one hand, wiping away at sniffles. When she sneezed, she sneezed a spray of snow to dusting much of the floor and a few tables in front of her, "Ugh..."

Her nose stuffed and the rest of her senses dulled, she barely noticed Mura and stranger as she went to see if the bar had any chicken soup. With a sniffle, she glanced back toward the grand doors. She shuffled toward them, opened just far enough to sick her head out and peered outside with another sneeze that sprayed snow al over the front steps.