Mother knows best

Mitsuo Takahashi wasn’t looking forward to the mission he was being sent on. It almost felt like a punishment, and honestly there was a chance it was. The thing that he was surprised about was the fact that he was being sent out with Julius again. He was under the impression that they might not be able to work together anymore after their last little foray...but it seemed that wasn’t to be the case. The place they were being sent to was called Lycan Woods, which was a place that he had never wanted to visit. It sounded like it was about the last place he would ever want to find himself, as of course lycans were a terrifying thought to have to encounter anywhere, especially in their home turf of the forests. As he travelled his frustration started to subside a bit, this being a higher ranked job than he had previously been able to go on. He was getting stronger, and it was being noticed.

The Fairy Tail wizard wore fairly comfortable clothes, a black shirt with a red spiral on the front, a dark green hooded sweatshirt and a pair of navy blue jeans. His sleeves were rolled off and showed off the Fairy Tail symbol on his left forearm proudly, and he smiled as he looked at the symbol. On his hip was his cutlass, the Blade of Atlas, and with that he felt whole once again. His Dark Ecriture was a mixture of Caster and Holder magic, the holder element coming from his sword which allowed him to cast without writing out the script. He had also spent his entire life training with the sword, and to work without it left him feeling naked. It would be good to be able to go all out once again, and these were enemies he didn’t have to worry about an issue of morality with.


He shook his head at the thought. The word we wasn’t necessarily correct, as Julius hadn’t been the one to do what he had done, but he certainly didn’t stop him. It wasn’t that Mitsuo was a bad person, quite the opposite, but it was said that he had a bit of a temper after that little excursion, and that was something he was going to have to work on. As he approached his partner for the mission at the edge of the forest, he would think on what had happened last time and resolve to do better, and to not let his emotion to get the better of him this time. It shouldn’t be a difficult task, but at the same time he couldn’t be too careful, and he couldn’t let his guard down either.

“Yo, Julius...Squabble.” Mitsuo would smile his crooked half smile and nod, his light blue eyes meeting Julius’s as he did so. While it might not have gone well, he had enjoyed working with the other mage last time, and was also looking forward to the chance to do so again here today. His hand would brush over the handle of his cutlass as he’d examine the entrance to the forest, still a place he didn’t want to go...


“Quite the task eh? I wonder if the hunters or the mother survived...doesn’t seem overly likely in a place like this.” He didn’t want to be negative, but the situation looked pretty grim, knowing the reputation of this place and its inhabitants. He wouldn’t wait long, drawing his cutlass and beginning to wade forward into the thick bush. “Have you ever been here before? I certainly haven’t.”

It was amazing how quickly Julius had managed to get on Mitsuo’s nerves. He did it not only once, but thrice within seconds of his arrival. The first time he had mentioned that he gets impatient when people took too long. Mitsuo would cock an eyebrow at this, wondering why someone would feel the need to say such a thing if not to aggravate. “I have a tendency to be somewhere between very early and early, so that shouldn’t be any kind of issue.” This was a fairly professional way of dismissing the frustration from that comment, but the next one wouldn’t get off so lightly.

Mitsuo was a master swordsman. He had studied with the sword since he was a child, and this sword had belonged to his father and was given to him as a gift when he had originally joined Fairy Tail. Not only had he called it a toy, which it in no way was, but he had implied that Mitsuo should watch where he swung it. To say such a thing to a master of the blade, to question his skill and to talk down on his sword? This was a dire mistake indeed. Were this plenty of other swordsmen, this man would have been left in a bloody heap deep within the heart of the forest to be eaten by the beasts that lived within, but Mitsuo was, fortunately, not only any other swordsman, but also a member of the Fairy Tail guild...and had recently been scolded about his anger issues.

“I’m going to tell you this once, and I suggest you take it to heart. This sword is a family heirloom, and I have trained specifically with it for the past five years, but make no mistake; I have been training with the blade my entire life. I am a professional in every sense of the word with this weapon, and I will not have that brought into question or insulted. What I did to that man in Cedar with your piece of shit knife? Imagine what this could do in my hands. I am an artist with a blade.” He would run his hand over the blade, the pull of gravity increasing and pulling trees, fruit, and creatures alike towards it before it would all fall to the ground. “I want us to be friends, and if that is to happen then you need to watch what you say and act a little more seriously.”

Now that he was more angry, he had become more resolved. He continued to push on into the forest ahead of Julius, using his sword to clear away stray branches and vines that would obstruct his path and carving a way through the thick bush. When Julius would speak again it would be seemingly to tell him what to think and Mitsuo simply ignored him a this point. There was no point in answering as it wasn’t going to be a nice thing to say. The first thing he managed to say that made Mitsuo smile was that he had a map, and as he handed Mitsuo the second one he would nod. “Thank you, this is quite useful.” He would begin to look the map over, which honestly wasn’t the most helpful thing in such a forest, navigation not specifically being his specialty. He tucked it away in his pocket and kept moving, asking back;

“So why do you keep calling me your “Dear” anyway? I feel there’s no way you’re attracted to me with the way you treat me, though I don’t expect that to be the case anyway...not the most common thing to find after all. It’s an odd choice.” As he awaited Julius’s answer, he could hear movement further in the forest not far ahead...

As he continued forward, scanning the area for the sounds he had heard, it would all be blocked out by a commotion behind him as partner on the mission had fallen and started angrily addressing his bird. At least he had the wherewithal to do it in a low growl as opposed to yelling, but it was distracting either way. He would basically tell Mitsuo what he already had about the map, so Mitsuo just kept trying to hear what was going on around them. He could feel magical energy, but unfortunately the forest seemed to be surrounded by it so it was nearly impossible to nail down the source. He very nearly told Julius that he wasn’t his friend, but he figured he’d leave it. He wanted to cultivate a better relationship with this man, and that would not be a good way to start it off. As long as he had listened to what Mitsuo had said to him earlier about being a bit more serious, it shouldn’t be much of an issue.


It took no more time at all after that for the noises to reveal themselves as instead of simply attacking, a few wolves began to speak and taunt Julius, Mitsuo smirking at the luck. He would meld with the shadows, noting that there were more nearby than the three that Julius could clearly deal with easily enough, and he would teleport near the second group of three, hiding behind a tree as they seemingly noticed him. He supposed this was unavoidable as their sense of smell would be excellent, and Mitsuo smirked before drawing his sword, the blade covered with wind magic as he did. He would slash the sword and a set of runes would hang in the air in front of him;


The runes would fade, appearing on Mitsuo’s right arm instead as his body would become ethereal, becoming one with the darkness around him. He would use his tremendous speed as a slayer to his advantage and begin to press the attack, watching as a werewolf paw would pass through him. “I hate to tell you this friends, but you won’t be able to damage me in this form.” He would snap his wrist up, taking the paw that had swung out at him off with one strike. There was a howl of pain and Mitsuo would spin on his heel, slicing out at the creature’s throat and cutting into his vocal chords so that the scream was lost, a spray of crimson washing over him. He was happy he wasn’t wearing his white hoodie, as that would have never come out. He had had to replace them before in the past when making that simple mistake.

The werewolf would bring its remaining hand up to its throat, trying to stop the bleeding as the other two began to transform, Mitsuo pursing his lips as he would instinctively remove the clutching arm at the elbow, dropping it to the ground as he jumped back, kicking the disarmed werewolf to the ground and leaving him to bleed out now that he was no longer a threat and turning his attention towards the other two. These creatures were tough, and as they transformed he noticed one had moved to a hybrid form while the other moved to a human form. This would cause Mitsuo to frown, the reminder that these creatures at one time were human now being driven into his mind. He wasn’t killing them in anger, nor was he taking pleasure in their deaths...this was simply about completing the mission, though it was tough for it not to bother him a little bit.

The human one was still finishing his transformation, but the other had cast a spell that Mitsuo dodged, or at least mostly dodged, the sound wave attack cutting into his arm and causing him to draw air through his teeth, before moving his hand to the wound and casting Heal on himself. “Watch out Julius, they’re wizards too!” He would yell out, unfortunately giving away his position, but hopefully warning his mission partner before something bad happened. He would then tap once more into his Dragon Slayer magic to cast Vernier, a wind barrier surrounding himself as well as Julius and Squabble that would increase their speed and allow them all to hover, (only half of that effect being useful on the bird, but allowing him to have more speed to get away certainly wasn’t a bad thing. He would turn his attention back to the other two. They had become far more dangerous to him in their transformed states, and he couldn’t underestimate them again, lest it end in his own peril...

With the boost of speed, Mitsuo moved impossibly fast. As a slayer he was already passively faster than other wizards, and his family seemed to also simply be faster than most. Even at his relatively low power level, his speed would be tremendously impressive, and the chance of the “human” in the pair could even track him was extremely unlikely. He would dash forward, smashing into the human to put him off balance before slashing his sword in the air towards the hybrid. He would jump up as the runes would appear in the air;


Beneath the werewolf a spike would shoot from the ground, stabbing into it and causing a yelp from the beast. Mitsuo would slash his sword once more at the human, the rune “Harm” showing up on his chest as he began to bleed out from the runes. As both opponents were reeling Mitsuo would begin to use his speed once more, moving in to hit each of them with a flurry of blows with his sword. Cut after cut would cover the two, keeping them off balance and unable to cast while the young mage didn’t give them a single second to catch their breaths. He would point his blade to the ground, flowing magic power through it and shouting out “Weight of Atlas!” causing gravity in the clearing to increase to a point where it was crushing the two opponents into the ground so they couldn’t even move. He would then build up his wind magic in his mouth and yell “SKY DRAGON...ROAR!” before a tornado of wind escaped his mouth, the two enemies being knocked unconscious along with several creatures around them that seemed to be coming to the young mage.

Mitsuo would land in a tree, using the vantage point to scan the immediate surrounding area as he would notice a clearing with more bodies in it ahead of him. “Yeah Julius, I’m fine. I think I found the search party. Lock onto my magic signature and come find me.” He would meld into the shadow of the tree and pop out of the one by the bodies, the shadow teleportation proving once again to be a tremendously useful ability as he would begin to examine the bodies. The numbers matched, though it seemed as though the mother wasn’t here.


The bodies had clearly been torn up and gnawed on by the wolves. He would frown and grimly use his cutlass to remove the heads from each of them, to make sure that there was no way they were going to change into werewolves and come after he and Julius. Julius had said that the two of them should hold out hope that they were still alive, and while Mitsuo didn’t disagree with the sentiment, it certainly made it more disappointing to come across the grizzly scene unfolding in front of him. His enhanced senses could hear movement in the bushes, more than just Julius and Squabble. He would sniff the air, picking up the scent of fear, anger and of course...fur. He would frown at the realisation that the other sound, the different smell, it was her. She may not have been dead, but Mitsuo kind of wished he had found her body in this pile instead...This was going to be quite grim.

The mother was approaching him, Mitsuo taking a defensive stance with his cutlass, not wanting to attack unless it was the last possible option left available to him. When he caught sight of her his fears were confirmed. She was in a hybrid form, snarling and growling at him. He could basically feel her fear and confusion underlying through the rage that she was exuding. This was when anyone was most dangerous, but the danger presented here was a hundredfold as the woman was a mother likely thinking that Mitsuo was responsible for her not being able to find her daughter. He assumed his shadow form made him look somewhat more hostile than he meant as well, but he wasn’t willing to drop it just in case. It was too useful.

“Your daughter is safe...she sent me and my partner to come and find you, to bring you home to her.” Confusion briefly overwhelmed anger and Mitsuo thought she might be listening to him. “That’s right. I don’t want to hurt you...I just want to take you home to your daughter...” He knew that it wasn’t going to work. She had transformed, she could never go home.

“You...you...” Her voice was a low growl, cracking from hurt and anger. It didn’t take a genius to know that she was preparing to attack, her entire body language reading that she was tightly wound and coiled like a spring. “You LIE! YOU KILLED HER! AND YOU WILL KILL ME!” Mitsuo jumped out of the way as the werewolf pounced, spinning on his heel and slashing at her arm. She let out a loud howl and turned at him again, her fur bristled and standing up as Mitsuo was weighing his options. She was almost as fast as him, which fortunately meant that he would be able to play keep away for a little while, but he was going to run out of magic power eventually...and he didn’t have that much longer on his Phase Shift spell. This was going to be interesting for sure...

The young wizard, his sword in front of him, point towards his opponent’s face and left hand behind the blade ready to parry another weapon, weighed his options as the mother reeled from the attack he had hit her from. He would nick her several more times with his blade before smelling his allies approaching and beginning to run to somewhere where hopefully they could take advantage of the surprise they would have so that they could get an attack or two off. This would seem to work as he could hear them discussing a plan, assuming the lycan was a little too preoccupied with him to hear them, and then Squabble would fly between the mother and him, taunting it away. Mitsuo could see Julius casting spells, and he would smirk at this.


He’d see the lycan fall into his trap, the bombs activating before tossing it into the air, when he would then hit it with one more attack. Mitsuo would see this and press the advantage, rushing forward at top speed and focusing wind magic into his right foot, jumping up high into the air as the wolf would come crashing down into the tree below. “SKY DRAGON’S CLAW!” he would bring the foot down, completely destroying the tree and ploughing the wolf into the ground as a result of the attack. He would frown, knowing that the woman would never be able to be the same and that she was a danger to everyone, and in one swift motion he would point his sword to the air, saying “Steelbreaker” and increasing the gravity around the blade itself as he would bring it effortlessly through the lycan’s neck, taking her head clean off.

He would take the body towards the pile of bodies making up the search party, frowning as he did so before using his wind magic to gather up the pieces of the tree he had destroyed, building a pyre around the bodies and igniting it, using his wind to quickly fan the flames and increase the blaze as he watched the bodies go up. “Julius, we need to stay here until the bodies burn. Lycanthropy is extremely dangerous and just because I removed her head doesn’t mean she can’t just get up again. I’ll remove the oxygen from the fire when it’s done, but we’re going to have to figure out what to tell that girl when we get back to her...”

He would watch until the bodies were sufficiently burnt, continuing to add wind to the blaze to increase the heat of the blaze. Once it was sufficient he removed the oxygen from the fire, causing it to go out, before heading back to tell the girl whatever story the two of them had come up with. No matter what that was, this wasn’t going to be easy...for any of them.