A Bloody Cure [Private | Menka]

This mission proved its mettle to the relatively young Guildmaster. It wasn’t supposed to be an extremely lethal mission; if dealt with efficiently, Mura could go through all of this without taking a single life. That was, if he didn’t attract unwelcome company from the likes of monstrous entities and the usual thugs… but there was weight to this mission. Different kinds of weight, depending on your source of information from the Hakobe Inn.

Mt. Hakobe resonated with the past footprints of an old guild, a previous enemy to Fiore and to Fairy Tail – Basilisk Fang.  However, with their disappearance, the mountain and its coat of a town had become more populated, but the mountain itself still emitted ominous and terrifying energies to the public that often kept them away from the higher altitudes. None dared to venture above the town’s placement through a road that had been blocked by wooden signs warning curious people that any who dared enter the cold caverns higher up would inflict upon themselves an unbreakable curse.

Previously, when Mura entered the inn at the settlements of Mt. Hakobe, he asked a few about rumors that had travelled around the region… rumors of a common cold that had spread to some members of Mt. Hakobe’s settlements. This cold, however, was told to be unending; people had been reported laying in their beds indefinitely, and this had been going on for a year or two… a year in bed sounded insane, and two was ridiculous.

However, there was a client at Oshibana who contacted the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail and informed him about a possible cure. Said client had, apparently, researched a monster for quite a few years and has even come face to face with the cause of this strange cold – this monster, a sort of beast that they weren’t able to describe. Apparently, it was in the dead of night that the confrontation took place, but according to the scientist, the beast was the source of the cold that had spread over Mt. Hakobe Settlements, so it would likely be the cure as well. Or, more specifically, it would harbor the cure to the cold deep within its veins…

Mura read the scientist’s notes about this possibility. Townsfolk had called it ‘Aerico’, the beast that spreads plague with its own breath. They, too, associated the strange sickness with it too, but so few had actually seen it out in the wild… and some were never reported to have returned.

The scientist had sent a backpack containing a special machine; a synthesizer, a refinery and a distillery. These, along with specific chemicals and a recipe were going to help Mura concoct an antidote… but while the generic antibiotics and distillated water were at his disposal, he was in need of one, crucial ingredient…

Aerico’s blood.

Blood usually coagulated directly upon contact with the air, so he needed a good couple of samples. That was the dangerous part of this mission; he had to face the beast and extract blood samples from it. It would’ve been easier to just kill it and take huge samples of blood at once, but… weirdly, the scientist gave him an ultimatum; finish the mission without killing the beast, or he wouldn’t get paid at all. And given that the guild hall back in Magnolia Town needed all the finances that he could get, he agreed to take a less lethal direction.

Once when you ignored the signs and ventured higher up on the mountain, it began to snow. Mura realized that the beast must’ve been a very shy creature, but it had also attacked some people… which begged the question; why the hell did the scientist want it to stay alive? Mura planned to call him on his iLac, but the blizzard jammed with the connection.

Maybe just hiding in his tent would lure it out… it was late, too. The night sky was hidden above the falling snow, the stars reflecting their faint lights upon the thin layer of frost on the uneven floor. Mura tucked himself away into his sleeping bag, not knowing that some other entities were lurking around the higher parts of the mountain… some after the beast themselves, others after other thing.

“Maybe I should’ve waited back down at the inn…” he mumbled to himself, oddly alone for the time being, as he remembered that he contacted Menka through his iLac. Her physical senses were far sharper than his, and they would help a lot in this annoying blizzard. At first, he was a little worried for her well-being and how she would fare up here, but he had seen her vigor and magical prowess first-hand, and she was definitely no pushover…

She was pushing him a few times, though… in another fashion.

WC: 798

The cold was driving her absolutely bonkers and as Menka made her way through the blizzard, her features almost completely covered by layers and layers of clothing, she couldn’t help but wonder why no Earthland the Guildmaster had decided to set off during the storm. There had been a lovely inn that she’d stopped at which would have made for a much nicer resting stop but no, she’d been told instead that Mura had already been there, before wandering up a so-called forbidden trail or something like that anyway. It sounded rather ominous but after her previous adventures, Menka didn’t feel all that threatened now. She’d come to adore her life as a Fairy Tail mage by this point and generally loved the thought of getting involved in yet another job. Mura hadn’t gone over all of the details with her when he’d rung her but that only made it more fun to her and she was out the door as soon as he’d contacted her.

Her encounter with Victor was still in the back of her mind as she trudged and although she was proud of the way she’d handled him, his last words to her kept coming back. Would she forever be hunted by vampires like he’d said, now that she bore the magic to eliminate them for good? Yeah, Adronica had warned her when she’d first acquired the lacrima but the kitsune hadn’t taken it all that seriously at the time. Oh, she wasn’t afraid of them or anything but the idea of them following her around all the time was rather annoying. Menka was a sociable girl and the last thing she wanted was to have her fun spoiled by a bunch of blood sucking lunatics. What if they interrupted her when she was having a night of passion with someone? The thought of that was enough to annoy the usually laid back vixen.

For the time being, her task was to simply find Mura and thankfully due to her keen senses, the brunette could detect his scent, even with all of the snow. From what she could tell, he was the only human in the area although there were faint traces of other creatures, even if they did seem rather far off for the moment. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect in terms of possible attackers but the kitsune was confident in her own abilities and knew that she could handle whatever came her way. Her powers had now settled and her odd combination of slayer magics had now become one, much to her relief. It did sound weird to refer to herself as the Thunder Cookie Vampire Slayer though and just imagining herself saying it made her chuckle. The thought of what her mother would think if she heard of her powers amused her too. She’d probably throw a fit or something to learn that her daughter was no longer a pure slayer, not that Menka cared at all. She’d always been an experimenter.

It was hard to tell how long she wandered for but sooner or later, the vixen came across a tent as she made her way along the trail. Menka could definitely detect Mura’s scent from it and there was no doubt in her eyes that this was where the brown haired guildmaster had decided to make camp. Part of her wondered if perhaps this was all one of Kyuken’s games and that the second she went in there, he’d be all over her as usual but that wasn’t exactly a negative and she had no issues with helping him to warm up, if that’s what he wanted.

Either way, Menka was soon opening the zipper to the tent and quickly clambered inside too, not wanting to spend another moment in that mass of snow and ice. The inside was nice and cozy too and the moment that her eyes focused onto the obviously suffering guildmaster, a smile crossed her features. He looked frozen, even with his sleeping bag and so without giving him the chance to argue or fend her off, the vixen would scramble over to him and naturally wrap herself around him. Her tails helped in keeping them both warm as they wrapped around his sleeping bag. It was a natural thing for her to do, harking back to her own animalistic instincts.

(727 Words)
(1525 TWC)

Hmmmf… it was difficult to lay completely still in the sleeping bag. The cold was getting to him, but he persevered… he had gotten through worse terrains, worse conditions and terms, and they all helped him build tolerances that aided him in all of his life’s endeavors. He couldn’t allow himself to be beaten by mere colds…

The cold, however, was nostalgic. It felt like a cold from his past… a cold that was dear to his heart at one point. Ah yes, even today, he had visions of his past pass his face when taking on a quest like this one; back when he was part of a little team in Fairy Tail, back when he met pretty Dragon Slayer and fell in love with her… but they were gone now. And they had been gone for years.

So Mura moved on… but he still had visages, hallucinations, mirages. It was like the past refused to let go of him. Where were you, Sorano-imouto? Julius? Gamon?

… Hana…

His eyes suddenly widened when he felt an entity embrace him in full, but he recognized that magical signature. It tasted… good. He got a weird taste in his throat, that of sweets and… chocolate? No, it was like cocoa and sugar… but also a tint of milk. However, despite the taste, the presence of demon-demolishing magic was enough to indicate Mura who had arrived and decided to wrap him in her tails. He slid down the zip and stuck his head out to meet Menka’s front as she clung onto him and shared her fluffy warmth.

“…” He wasn’t able to say anything. The warmth was necessary, but the scene was also nerving. Her fluffiness added to the insulation, which felt like a lifesaver under these conditions, but he had a good idea of her gimmicks and feared that she was going to try and take advantage of him. He began to fluster, trying to utter words from his mouth, but colds and embarrassment was a bad combination.

…

After a while, a thud could be heard outside. The thud pushed away some snow and triggered Mura into going alert. He was beginning to feel like his arms and legs were… shaking violently. It was probably the cold, nothing serious. However, what a damn cold to throw his body into such a chill… weird.

A-Anyway, he rose up and nodded to Menka, whispering to her in a silent voice: “My lure must’ve worked…” While holding an index finger to his mouth, he slowly pulled down the zip to the tent and looked out – thankfully, the blizzard had died down, but the creature nearby was colossal…

It had long, feathery wings. Those were the first traits that Mura spotted… but its proportion was humanoid. Its arms were fused with its wings, and the starry sky only barely illuminated its bright-brown plumage and black talons. It was turning its back on them… then turned around to spot them before basking its wings. Their presence was likely a surprise to it as it acted more like a shy animal than a bloodthirsty monster.

Then it took off at a high speed, surprisingly given its size. First, Mura clapped the ground, stuck his hands deep under the snow and caused the earth to lunge up in two pillars to grab its legs. Shockingly, the beast was strong enough to break off with a few basks. “Menka! Can you paralyze it for a brief moment?” he quickly asked the brunette kitsune behind him before he pulled up a glass bottle with metal needles used for taking blood tests. He saw that his hand vibrated… but he had a job to do. He wouldn’t let cold weather pull him down – that would look bad for Fairy Tail.

The beast felt pushed, however… it would definitely go on the offense if they attacked it again.

WC: 648
Thread TWC: 2173

(OOC: if you want more stuff for your post, then you can RP the owl-man-beast attacking us in it :D)

“Easier said than done,” Menka replied, eyeing the humanoid owl, her head tilted to the side.

It was pretty quick on its feet too and as soon as the kitsune moved to try and get into range of the creature, its gaze snapped around to her. Clearly, it wasn’t going to just stand there and as soon as she took another step forward, the bird creature suddenly took flight and charged down towards her, talons outstretched. The brunette was able to glide out of the way of it, gracefully dodging its attack although too not quickly enough for her to get off an attack in return. It was very swift indeed and was not put off by her evasion, instead simply swooping around and coming in for another attack. This time she was ready and charging her foot with lightning, the vixen would swing it towards the creature as it came towards her, resulting in a squawk as her attack made contact, as well as a few feathers flying everywhere. The kick was forceful enough to knock the creature back too, allowing the vixen to summon a lightning javelin and hurl it towards the beast, which barely missed the creature, much to Menka’s dislike.

It didn’t say anything and simply took to the sky again, recovering its senses quite quickly and looking down at the duo from above. Menka wasn’t a scientist and didn’t really get what the scientist was going to do with the creature's blood but if getting it was what the job asked for, then she’d do her best to help. The beast, however, didn’t seem to want to play ball and continued its wild assault, forcing the kitsune to summon her lightning claws and leap into the path of the bird, resulting in a powerful crunch, as well as a nasty slash for the bird. It screeched with pain and fell out of the sky, crashing to the ground in a heap. It wasn’t a death blow and the brunette had deliberately held back but the attack was enough to leave a mark. It kept rolling around on the ground though, clearly not willing to give up and so Menka decided to use a different technique to quieten it.

After a brief inhale, she’d unleash a blast of warm milk that would strike the fallen bird, the effects of which would soon become clear. The being stopped flapping and struggling, before finally dozing off into a slumber, completely helpless before the two mages. It hadn’t been too much of a task to quieten it but enough that Menka could certainly feel the blood pumping within her, which did wonders for dealing with the cold.

“All yours, Mura,” she then said, her tails wrapping around her mischievously. She didn’t wish to cause any further harm to the creature and was more than willing to heal it afterwards if necessary but for the moment, all she could do was watch as the Guildmaster took over. The cold certainly seemed to be affecting him more than her and the brunette couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps he’d caught a chill. Perhaps she’d have to be his blanket again for a while, once the job was done.

Not that she’d mind one bit.

(544 Words)
(2717 TWC)

The aerial monstrosity was quick to attack Menka, but while its furious assault was noteworthy, it held little up against her Demon Slayer Magic. Damn, he shouldn’t let her fight it alone… but the more experience Menka had under her tails, the more assured he felt as a Guildmaster. Besides, what a terrible cold! Her fluffy tails could protect her from the elements, but Mura felt much more exposed… he even started a little flame between his hands to keep himself warm. It was so weird… but he had to focus on the task at hand.

He stepped out into the snow and approached the creature as soon as Menka released… m-milk? Some kind of white, milky flood escaped her and almost drowned the beast, leaving it in an unconscious state. His eyes widened in shock, now tasting the same fragrance in the air… so that was from her magic. Milk, though? What kind of magic was that? “M-Milk? Since when…?” he asked out loud while approaching the fallen creature, inspecting its talons to see if it was about to ambush him… which, to his luck, was a dud, “… Oh snap, it really is milk!” He began stepping on the surface of the snowy ground that had evaporated from the warmer milk, hearing the splashing sounds from the healthy beverage beneath his feet.

“Hehe, t-that’s so silly…” he chuckled, spinning a few times around the heated area like a curious toddler. After some time, he did return to his quest; with the tube in hand, he approached the sleeping creature and stabbed the needles of the tube straight into its neck, watching its deep-red blood fill the tube up quickly. It was risky… the scientist wanted it alive. He should’ve avoided a jugular, but the needles were very thin and short. It would live to see another day.

Once the tube was full, Mura took it off of the creature’s neck and turned around. An iron dome rose up from the ground around him and began encapsuling the monster, closing it in a sort of sarcophagus for it to stay until their mission was completed. There, it would do less harm, and the pair would be able to concoct the antidote without fear. “L-Let’s go b-b-b-b-back…” he stuttered towards Menka, this time not out of timidness or due to any of her reckless advances… but purely because of a terrible frost that travelled up his lungs.

“T-There’s a machine that our client sent to me inside the tent…” Mura informed her, “W-We’ll have to c-c-concoct an ant-t-t-t-tidote… in there… I-I got a recip-p-pe…” He pulled up a small piece of paper where he wrote down the recipe sent verbally to him from his client through the iLac and entered the tent, taking a seat next to what looked like a cylinder vacuum station.

The machine had openings where the tubes could inject their contents into an inner tank where they would be measured and properly mixed, heated and centrifuged by other tools and chemicals. Accordingly, these components were required:

Heated, distillated water
Powdered aragonite
Honey
Honey
Acetamide

Upon mixing these and heating the mixture up, it noted that there would be a suspension which would manifest a toxic oxide precipitation that had to be removed from the solution. That was where the blood joined in; blood was a natural binder of oxides, including oxygen from the air and other components due to its contents of iron. The blood also carried enzymes that would enable the solution to adapt to live material. If the blood would bind the toxic rest that falls to the bottom via centrifugation, then a magnet could successfully separate the toxine-bound blood from the finished medicine.

“U-Uuuurghhh…” Mura groaned in irritation, grinding his hands up and down his arms and legs to keep himself warmed up, “M-Maybe the cold got to me… let’s hurry-“ He plugged the tube into the side of the machine and pressed the start button, but to his misfortune, the machine didn’t start. It was having problems…

It groaned and roared quite terribly, but it felt like it needed a kickstart. The cold must’ve frozen over some of the turbines inside of it that generated the electricity. “Argh, me and machines are not friends, I tell you that… M-Menka, you think you can k-k-k-k-k-k-kickstart the mixer? It just needs a little bolt or t-two, but be careful – it’s our only one around.”

WC: 740
Thread TWC: 3457

Menka did her best to try and follow what he was doing but nothing really came of it sadly. So, she simply remained quiet for the most part and just let him work. She’d become rather more acquainted with blood since she’d taken up the mantle of vampire slayer but her interest in the liquid was purely on a more basic level. The taste of it was lovely. The kitsune did truly wish for an antidote to be found though, as the thought of people suffering for their entire lives was rather alarming to her and judging from the little she’d heard, that seemed to be the current prognosis. It sounded almost unnatural in a way and the vixen couldn’t help ponder if perhaps it was the work of a dark mage or something. It sounded like something that one of the more crueller bastards might do, just for their own twisted pleasure. She hoped that wasn’t the case but it was a possibility. She’d certainly met a few weirdos who might do something as nasty as that.

Her eyes occasionally turned to watch the Guildmaster as he worked, a frown crossing her face each time she saw the unwell look upon his face. The cold was affecting him badly and the vixen couldn’t help but be concerned. The last thing that she wanted was for him to have caught the same bug that was affecting the people from the village and although she couldn’t heal it exactly, there was something that she could do at least help to fight off the chill. She was just about to mention it to him, when he instead asked her to use her magic in order to give the machine a bit of a jump start. It sounded easy enough and the furry kitsune nodded, “Alright, I’ll have a go.”

Turning to the machine again, she’d raise her hand towards it and send just a few bolts of lightning in its direction. Her control of her elements were rock solid by now and as the mixer started to warm up and then begin to mix the concoction that Mura had created. It didn’t look all that appealing and the smell was something else but she couldn’t help but watch as the antidote was mixed, curious as to whether it would have the desired effect. The sooner a cure could be found, the better and the vixen certainly didn’t want to hang around too long when it came to getting it to those who needed it most.

In the meantime though, the vixen would once again look back to the shivering guild master and then briefly tap into her magic a second time. A large oat cookie would appear in her hand and without any hesitation, she offered it to Mura, “Eating this might help a little with your cold, Mura. It’s not an antidote as such but it will help ease the chill a bit. It’s a part of the same magic that my milk spell came from, Cookie Slayer. Yeah, I know it sounds a little weird but that’s what it’s called.” She chuckled softly as she spoke, unable to help herself. It did sound strange to say such a thing but it was what it was.

(546 Words)
(4003 TWC)

A bolt from her Thunder Demon Slayer Magic did the magic trick, causing the machine to boot up fully and initiate the function that he commanded it to do via the installed buttons. The machine shook much smoother now, lessening the rough noises that it caused earlier – much to the delight of his ears, as the noise could end up attracting bad company. However, for now… nothing of that sort was upon them, neither did it seem to approach their location. For now, they were safe in the humble tent, sheltered by the soft snowfall with an owl here and there glaring over the landscape.

The solution was turning deep-blue and quite glowing… but the machine showed an approximated estimation of completion per a percentage on a green screen, which at the moment showed up at 11%. It was raising up to 12%, then 13%... so it was assumed to reach 100% upon completion, simple as that.

In the meantime, he was suddenly offered a random cookie from Menka. At first, it came out of nowhere, and he had no clue why she even was in possession of a cookie – he saw no cookie box or roll – but she explained to him that it was part of her… Cookie Slayer spell.

Cookie… Slayer…

“… B-But you can’t slay a cookie,” Mura protested dryly, his throat suffering from a hissing exhale, “Cookies aren’t even… I-I mean, cookies aren’t usually living or- who even taught you- and why milk too- y-you know what, nevermind…” He gently took hold of the oat cookie and dug into it with his teeth, gnawing its contents in his mouth before swallowing the food.

“I once said that magic had no limits, but this is absurd…” he mumbled in a slight irritation over having to go back on his old words. Then, his chill began to turn into a slight cold on the back… it felt a little better now. “Hey, this is a little better… thanks, Menka. Guess I’ll live to resist your advances another day… n-no, really, what you and Kyuken are having is cool and all, b-but it makes me feel inflicted and somewhat unfairly taken advantage of, a-and Kyuken’s mind often interceps with mine, which is an irritating side-product of my magic, s-so sometimes, I feel things that I think only Kyuken would feel, and it scares me at times…” he began talking and mumbling and whispering and going on without any feasible end. Listen, she could be so reckless and shameless at times, but Menka truly had a kind heart unlike many shapeshifters and youkai. He was now a witness to that… but goddamn it, her and Kyuken were way too sex-fixated – Mura didn’t want his body to be used that way, so it felt like one of those weird forbidden love stories, which only excited Kyuken even more! At times, Mura just had no say in it! Where was his willpower? Where was his say?

He noted the falling of the temperature while grinding his hands together, which caused a spark after a long moment. The spark landed on the cloaked ground and turned into a plate of wood – as confusing as that would be, that was the case – and another spark ignited the thin plate of wood and manifested a bonfire. The fire was a little weak due to the outside temperatures, but Mura felt that the wind and the blizzard was dying down outside of the tent, in which he could finally make this fire. It was a pleasant, orange tongue that licked the air above the wood, sending waves of delicate warmth to both of them. While Mura’s baggy eyes could be seen in full light from his inflictions, he smiled contently.

“… *cough* This is nostalgic… just the right atmosphere to tell stories and all,” he thought out loud.

WC: 642
Thread TWC: 4645

His mumblings were quite sweet and due to her slayer enhanced hearing, she was able to quite easily pick up what he was saying. They amused her to be honest and the kitsune had to try and not chuckle. There was no denying that the relationship that the two, well, three of them had was different from the norm but the vixen just didn’t truly see the harm in it. It wasn’t as if Kyuken had ever gone too far with her and they always knew when to stop. They hadn’t exactly ruined Mura for his wife or anything like that and Menka couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for Kyuken, having to go for so long without having physical contact with someone. If it had been her in his shoes then she’d have been driven completely mad by the situation. Truth be told, the concept of marriage was one that the vixen had always found rather limiting and despite her mother’s constant insisting that she settle down with someone, Menka had never actually considered it. There were those of her kind who did become wives and bare children but that just didn’t appeal to Menka. Settling down was what others did, not her.

The fire was a nice source of relief and it helped lift the mood a little, not that she was in a bad one anyway. Despite the weather, she thought they’d done a pretty good job handling the owl creature and if Mura’s analysis was anything to go by then it hopefully wouldn’t be too long for the antidote to be mixed properly. It did leave them a little free time though and despite her inner urging to perhaps try and awaken Mura’s more flirtatious spirit, she managed to shrug it off for the time being. With his cold and all, it wasn’t the time or place for it. Maybe later.

It was hard to argue with his claim that the now quite homely feel of the place was fitting for a tale or two and after thinking about it for a second, she replied with a smirk. “Well, I suppose we could spend a bit of time telling tales although I’ll have to be careful, unless you want Kyuken to take over again. Most of my tales tend to end the same way.” She didn’t feel that she had to elaborate any more on that point. “I guess I’ll start by explaining how I got this lovely cookie magic that baffles you so much. I was given the lacrima after coming to the aid of some train station workers who were under attack by thieves. It was a complete accident that I was there but I was able to beat up the thugs and protect them. Afterwards, one of the lovely lady workers gave me the lacrima as a reward for my troubles, as well as her number naturally.”

Remembering his confusion regarding the magic in question, she’d then go on to explain. “Gingerbread can be brought to life through magic though, right? Well, that’s the type of creature that the magic was made to slay. I can use pretty much any ingredient used in baking, as well as making cookies of all kinds. Sweet, yeah?”

She opened her mouth to make a joke regarding her use of milk but after thinking about it, Menka just giggled instead.

(564 Words)
(5209 TWC)

Speaking of Kyuken… their absence was starting to worry him. They were meant to be guardsmen, searching the woods for potential dangers, but they hadn’t returned yet. Maybe they stumbled upon trouble… or maybe they were just dicking around, biting each other again. Probably that, they always got into squabbles with each other over the smallest things and the pettiest of remarks.

For now, Mura wanted to warm himself up by the fire. Onmyoudou was such a gem of a magic, and he was eternally grateful to have learned it. It gave him a story to tell Menka after hers… ye… he should’ve assumed that most of her stories led to fornication, but he didn’t micro-manage and he didn’t really… well, care. Not that he didn’t care about his guildmate, for of course he did – he would be their close friend and companion forever, even if they disliked his clinginess… looking at you, Akemi.

However, her short tale of the origin behind her Cookie Slayer Magic was simple but… brow-raising. “Huh, that’s very generous of them… usually, jewels are all we get – literally, times past people didn’t even thank us for saving their butts – but a useful artifact can be priceless,” he lectured softly, leaning a little back on his hands.

He had never personally met a Gingerbread person before… or, well, not that he remembered. Would she ever find the situation to use the oddly specific Slayer Magic against such an oddly specific opponent? If there’s anything that Earthland had proved, then it was that everything would happen – it was never a matter of if, but when.

As Menka giggled, he couldn’t help but glance over her swinging tails. Kitsune tails were so soft, fluffy and comfortable… he would definitely fall asleep in a heartbeat under the shelter of them. It was a trait that all kitsunes in his life shared – from Menka to Kumiko to Eris – and it reminded him of many other things… youkais in general. And his magic… ah yeah, the story.

“I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone in the guild about my time in Midi… y’know, before I travelled to Fiore and joined Fairy Tail,” he lead with, leading her sharp ears into a story never told from his mouth to another person out of the absent necessity that always loomed the atmosphere. It was a story that he… well, it didn’t feel like a story that he wanted to stay hidden in his memory. Telling a kitsune, a literal hailed entity in Midijin folktales, was suitable. “I started learning about magic when I was 10. Pretty young, but it was also around that time when I met your dearly loving Kyuken for the first time. Heeh… at first glance, he was scary – believe me. He floated above his own gravestone, trying to find his old katana that I just happened to have inherited from my father as a gift from another family… now that I think about it, quite a funny coincidence. It’s like we were meant for each other, or how do they say it…?”

Truly, telling a story of your past put things into perspective that you rarely thought about before. That was one of the joys and wonders of storytelling; you put things up for show, so that you or the listeners could fathom in with each their own senses of judgement and speculations.

“So ever since then, he followed me around, and my habits of talking with him when no one else in the house could see him started to frighten my father. Then some vengeful spirits tried to attack him, and I saved him… hehehehe…” He couldn’t help but chuckle in pride, “I was pretty skilled from the beginning… okay, that might sound a bit pretentious, uh… m-moving on from there!”

He didn’t want to turn this story into a brag-fest about himself. It felt like scratching his own heart, wounding it and leaving deep cuts for all to see… just disturbing.

“My father sent me to the Onmyouryou when I was ele…ven…” he continued, his voice slowly turning… sourer. It was a subtle hint, but the mention of the Onmyouryou brought back bad… bad… memories. His story clearly meant to go there, and yet he was found… distraught. He pulled his legs towards himself, hugging them tightly. It was at times like these where his appearance really fooled people into believing that he was younger than he actually was.

“… An incident happened afterwards. A big one… s-so I fled. I-I mean, what else could a kid do? P-People, my brothers and sisters, they told me to, and they… s-so I fled as far away as possible… walked all the way to Minstrel, got on a random boat and closed my eyes. A-And the moment I opened them again, I was at Hargeon on the other side of the continent. The rest speaks for itself.”

Could really need Kyuken to barge into the tent right now, but sadly, Mura was left in the silence with Menka listening. Maybe he should’ve told another story, one more… joyous? What about his old team, the Flame of the Phoenix? B-But they were all gone too… no, that wouldn’t do.

Shit, he started low.

WC: 873
Thread TWC: 6082

It wasn’t a happy story to say the least and Menka, for once, didn't just reply with a double entendre or something of the sort. It actually made her consider her own past which in a way, wasn’t all that different from his. Her mind went back centuries, when she used to be dragged around by her mother, having her ear bent about the role that their kind was supposed to play in the world. Menka had never agreed with it, believing that it was her choice as to what role she chose to play. She had forged her own destiny, which had all started when she’d broken away from her kin and started to travel alone. Would it help if she spoke of it to him? She didn’t know and it wasn’t a topic that she generally discussed in any real depth. The scars that had been left behind were so old now that she barely ever felt them any more. She’d become numb to them and the joy and pleasure that she’d experienced in the time from that point to now had more than made up for any pain.

“My mother was and I bet still is a dictator,” she finally said dryly. “I had no real say in what my life was going to be or at least, that’s what she thought. My destiny was to settle down with someone of her choosing, have a baby girl and pass on what she had taught me, both magically and philosophy wise. My duty, as she liked to call it. As you’ve probably guessed, I didn’t agree with that and we fought a lot as were growing up. Her magic training regimes were brutal and after a while, I’d do anything to avoid going to them. I ran, hid, whatever it took to try and get away from her. As I got older, I started to rebel more strongly. I began to disappear for longer and longer, travelling wherever I felt like and mingling more with others. I travelled across Midi and after a while, started to explore other lands too and I know for a fact that I learned more from my wanderings than I did from her. I experienced joy and pleasure that I’d never have felt if I’d stayed with her although I knew that she was getting angrier as time went on. She didn’t like the fact that I was erm, experimenting and embracing my true nature.” It didn’t take a genius to know what she was referring to there.

“One night, it all came to a head,” she continued after a moment. “She found me in a tavern and we ended up having a fight. Neither of us held back and there was lightning all over the place by the time we were finished. We let loose on each other and neither of us held back. It was a nasty scrap and both of us were badly hurt by the end. I actually beat her that night, for the first time and I think that’s what hurt her pride the most. She’d been going on about how both a kitsune and a slayer had to live in order to truly understand both their magic and life in general but I managed to beat her, having spent my whole life saying and doing the exact opposite to what she’d been saying. I think her eyes were finally opened that night and ever since then, she’s stopped trying to control my life. In fact, I haven’t seen or heard from her at all since then. She finally let me go.”

Once her story was done, she’d then get up and take a seat beside him, her eyes turning to him. “I understand the pain that you feel whenever you think back to those days, Mura, but sooner or later, you’ll have to let it go. Otherwise, it’ll keep eating away at you until all you will feel is that.”

(664 Words)
(6746 Total WC)

Huh… it felt like his story, but Mura felt blindsided. It came out of nowhere… a story from Menka concerning her rocky relationship with her mother. Her mother, of all people… it was… new to him. Mura associated mothers with far better attributes than that of a ‘dictator’, but it must’ve been special in Menka’s case. He actually cleared his throat in surprise and listened intently, his eyes widening a bit in what looked like disbelief.

He didn’t exactly know why she was expected to have a baby girl, specifically, but Mura had only written the common knowledge of kitsune down in his tome. Hearing her explain that it was her duty and that it was expected of her to inherit her mother’s philosophy and teachings without question made him pull up his tome and ready an ink-dotted stick between his fingers before flipping to the pages that he reserved for information on Kitsune – the sentient entities of lost origins, not the jolly foxes jumping around the plains back in Midi.

He began inspecting his notes, trying to find anything about having specifically female offspring… nope, nothing in here. Next to the texts was a drawing, however, of Eris (drawn in black-white with ink), a reference to a typical female kitsune’s looks.

“I-I mean, your mother sounded tight as hell, but even she must’ve been knowledgeable… then again, staying in one place all the time is a bad thing, no matter who or what you are,” he gave his input to her story, “…” Okay, sorry, but hearing of her travelling back in the days made him quite red in the face. Imagining just how much sex she must’ve had with myriads of individuals was… hmmpf, something, alright. Hmmpf…

However, it came to an abrupt end – the rather harmless story of a rebellious teen phase turned into a physical feud between the two, and Mura refused to imagine just how bloody the two could’ve looked. He didn’t associate bruises or taint with Menka now – she bloomed with elegance and prowess nigh unmatched in her class… it was difficult to see her injured, especially against her own mother. Mothers were supposed to protect their children… how crazy was all of this back then?

Crazier yet, it looked like Mura was reacting worse to all of this than Menka herself. His skin was shivering a bit again, and his face was growing a little fearful… worried. She gave him necessary advice, though, and simply told him to let go of the past… she had let go of her past, most likely, and that had led her to this state of mental fortitude. If she could do it with who knew how many years behind her, then… Mura should definitely be able to move on for real…

For real…

“I… I’ll try…” he whispered, “It’s hard, but… it’s for the best… s-sorry, about your mother. I hope you’ll make up one day…” Life was strange.

Mura loved his mother. Imagining ever having had a feud or fight with her… was impossible for so many reasons. Mainly the fact that his mother had passed away a long time ago kept that scenario at the void, but even if she lived today… she was said to have been selfless. Her disease didn’t prevent her from caring for Mura for two years before her body couldn’t handle it anymore…

That was what his father told him. Rest in eternal peace, dear mother…

If he were to move on, then he would have to continue with what he had been doing up until now… see what the future had in store for him. He wasn’t truly immortal or destined to live for a millennia like certain others, so what happened a few years ago likely just weighed more in him per his biological understanding of events than for someone like Menka, but still… there was wisdom behind the words she spoke. She didn’t want him to pain himself with elegies of the past…

That was the kind veil she often coated behind her friskiness.

The machine beeped. The potion must’ve been on its way, so Mura pressed the update button and checked the test tube. It was filled with a dark-blue liquid, unlike the reddish blood taint that it held earlier. The antidrug was halfway to completion.

“…” He was starting to feel like needing a nap, so he took the freedom of borrowing Menka’s lap for a pillow and sighed out his exhaustions. “*sigh* I could need a nap, if that’s alright… Guildmastering can be pretty grindy, y’know,” he sighed, “… Zzz…”

His notebook was left open where he sat earlier, along with all his notes and drawings of youkai and monsters that he had encountered ever since he came to Fiore. The antidrug was nearing about 60% completion. Owls could be heard chirping outside, and a pleasant aura emitted from the tired Guildmaster.

And if she were to turn her face to the left, then she would spot Kyuken eyeing her from less than an inch away. Those big, round eyes were screaming jealousy and wrath. “W-Wha- he’s hogging you all to himself… t-that little brat! So much for his innocent acting; ohhhhh, just wait ‘till he wakes up…!!!” he whispered loudly.

WC: 877
TWC: 7623

She glanced down at him for a few moments, not failing to notice just how youthful he appeared as he lay in her lap. Here he was, a Wizard Saint and the Guildmaster of Fairy Tail but Menka couldn’t help but think of him as simply a young man as she watched him. He’d been through so much suffering and torment in that time and the kitsune couldn’t help but sigh. Life was a bitch at times and it seemed to try and do whatever it could to make things difficult for those trying to make their way through it. What could she do? What she’d always done. She’d make the most of the time she had, preferably in the company of those she adored and who attracted her attention. She was still fairly young for a member of her kind, after all, a phase that she referred to as ‘Maiden’. A stage where life was supposed to be all about pleasure and experiencing all that there was to experience in life. Years of adventure and white hot encounters. Personally, she hoped that hers would never end.

Would she ever end up like her mother? God, she hoped not and the thought of her reuniting with her kin caused her to cringe. They just didn’t share any common ground and although neither of them would claim to hate the other, there was just so much ill feeling between them that it felt like there was nothing that could be done to heal the rift. Their battle had ripped away any chance of them mending fences and Menka, at least, intended to just leave things there. She wouldn’t seek out her mother, no matter what happened.

Her eyes caught sight of his notebook and she’d curiously retrieve it with one of her tails, eager to see just what he’d been noting down. As she started to read, her eyebrows rose, finding herself reading information regarding her own race. It was rather thorough and although she didn’t usually do much reading, she found herself captivated enough to peek a little further. Menka of course already knew about his deep interest in spirits but she couldn’t help but be surprised by just how deep his interest was.

The kitsune’s other hand would gently rest on Mura’s head, stroking his hair softly. Her touch was tender and there was no chance that she’d wake him. He was just so cute looking that she couldn’t help but do it.

Unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you looked at it, her attention would suddenly be grabbed by an all too familiar figure.

“Well, hello to you too,” she replied with a grin, batting her eyes at the angry spirit, “You took so long that we thought you’d gotten lost or something. We were exchanging stories, you see and poor Mura ended up dozing off. Too much for him to handle I guess. You’ll have to work your magic and give him an energy boost.” Her eyes were almost crackling with playfulness, tails swishing around her. Kyuken was always so much fun to tease.

(518 Words)
(8141 TWC)

Kyuken’s face was full of… anger? No, more like frustration; he looked like he had been holding in his pee and was cut off the line he stood waiting in for over half an hour by some random bloke who charged straight into the toilet from the blind side and left him waiting longer than necessary. Menka’s enchanting, playful words only aggravated him even further, solidifying his desire completely; Muar could continue sleeping, but Kyuken wanted him to hand over that body here and now, so that the samurai spirit could live again.

“S-Say no more, my irresistible partner…!!!” he proclaimed viciously, his ghastly hands clenched and jabbing up and down in excitement before he turned into a blue spirit ball head and launched himself straight into Mura’s chest. Once Kyuken’s spirit leaked all in, a quick hue surrounded the shaman’s contour, and a slight whitening appeared on one side of his hairdew. Then, without warning, Mura’s eyes opened and revealed their silver-white form belonging to Kyuken… along with that lecherous smile of his.

“Me~n~kaaaaaaaaaaa~!”

With his call, Mur- no, Kyuken jolted his torso up and removed the necessary garments from Menka’s front before latching his hands on her goodies, easily helping himself to many different layouts for their exchange of pleasantries and affections. Over 600 years, mate, he needed this more than Mura at this point. Menka was always so generous to help the usually scorned, unpopular ghost with his urges, letting him revive his days of delight back when he was still thriving and living.

… … …

It led to a few things, but Kyuken knocked himself out cold before all those 600 years of lewd could be fully sated. Menka sure was a woman out of this world, being able to entertain him and let him entertain her in return for so long – maybe it was that kitsune heritage of hers, but Kyuken was defeated. Her drive… had proved a little stronger than his.

*BEEP!* *BEEP!*

The antidote was ready; dark-blue, in a small glass tub and ready to be mass-produced back at the client’s place. Just in time, too, for Zirconis to float into the tent and spot the scene, raising an eyebrow before stoically asking: “… Soooooo, is the antidote ready? Because someone is causing a ruckus back at the inn, and you two should probably check by that place before leaving…”

WC. 398
TWC: 8539

“What antidote?” Those were the only words that escaped Menka’s lips at first. The kitsune was laying flat on her back, eyes almost glazed over with pleasure, staring at the cave’s ceiling. He’d sure been thirsty for her and the pair had both thoroughly enjoyed the experience, as they always did. She felt a little sore but that was just the price she had to pay whenever Kyuken and herself played around with each other. He was always so rough although Menka was pretty sure that when Mura woke up, he might just be feeling a little worse for wear too. She’d have to admit that during their play, she’d forgotten that it wasn’t Kyuken’s body that he was playing with, it was Mura’s. Still, she was sure the Guildmaster would find the bright side of things, right? Right.

Recovering her senses, Menka would gently place the still unconscious Guildmaster on the ground to rest, while she got up and wandered over to where the antidote was waiting. It had turned a lovely shade of blue and after gazing at it rather blankly for a few moments, she’d turn to Zirconis and reply, “Looks like it’s ready to go. Not sure we can say the same about Mura though…” Chuckling, she’d turn to the sleeping shota and say, raising her voice a little, “Rise and shine, Mura! The antidote is ready and we’re needed back at the inn! Wakey wakey!”

In the meantime, the currently brunette kitsune would start to wander around the cave, trying to find her clothes which Kyuken had almost ripped off of her during their play. She was lucky that he hadn’t ripped or torn any of them but she did look like she’d just been mauled by a bear or something, which hadn’t been that far from the truth. Menka did feel a lot of sympathy for the ghost though and that was partly why she was so eager to let him indulge himself. Six hundred years was a heck of a long time, after all. More than that though, it was actually him that had been the one to attract her to Fairy Tail in the first place, a fact that she’d never forget. She owed him for that. Would she have joined a guild otherwise? Probably not. Before meeting him and Mura, it had been the furthest thing from her mind. Back then, she’d thought that she’d have to restrict herself in order to fit in but that hadn’t been the case with Fairy Tail. She’d been allowed to embrace her nature, rather than try and fight it. Where she’d expected hostility, she’d received encouragement and that meant more to her than anything. She could truly be herself and be in a guild at the same time. It was perfect really....

For her anyway.

She couldn’t help but ponder what would happen if her and Kyuken’s playing ever reached the ears of Mura’s wife, a woman that Menka didn’t know much about but assumed would be just a little angry.

(508 Words)
(9047 TWC)

”… The… antidote…” Zirconis dryly replied back with a hint of worry, hoping that Kyuken hadn’t caused a concussion on her. It seemed to be a mere flail of the memory as she soon found her way to the blue antidote, glancing over its shade and clearness. Mura, in the meantime, was still asleep…

“… M-Mhmm, w-wha- alright, alright…” he slowly woke up and rubbed his eyes to see things clearly around him, noticing the slight soreness akin to that from exerting physical labor as well as a blushing tint covering his face. While thinking it strange to be like this, he… he quickly came to the right conclusion once he saw Menka along with Kyuken trying to hide behind her tails.

His own pants weren’t even properly on, and once he realized that, he yipped in shock and pulled them back up before rolling all the way to the wall of the cell. There, he hugged his legs and began whimpering a bit. “… I-I swear, I’m gonna lose my mind…”

“Aw, c’mon, Mura! You weren’t even awake, and nothing much happen-“

“YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH, YOU RUDE, HEARTLESS LITTLE SHIT!!! AT LEAST YOU LET ME KNOW BEFORE – WHO ON EARTH STEALS A MAN’S BODY WITHOUT HIM KNOWING?!?!? WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR GHOST HEAD WHEN YOU HIJACKED ME WITHOUT PERMISSION?!?!?”

“W-WHAT DO YOU MEAN PERMISSION!?!?!? YOU NEVER ASK ME BEFOREHAND, EITHER, BUT I THOUGHT WE WERE COOL WITH IT!!! JUST PRETEND LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED-“

“I KNOW IT HAPPENED!!! WAS IT THAT MUCH TO WAIT FOR ME TO WAKE UP AGAIN OR SOMETHING?!?!?! I-“

“UH, YES IT WAS!!! YOU ENJOYED YOUR SLEEP, AND I ENJOYED THOSE FINE BUNS- ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-“

Kyuken was having a comedic rage-fest with Mura at the moment, one of their many brawls that seemed more serious than it actually was, in the end. However, as if caught onto something Mura said, Kyuken’s face went from angry to… playful.

“I see now~! Haaaaah, Mura you wild dog, you…”

Mura’s eyebrow was twitching with the new tone on Kyuken’s voice, waiting to find out what he had to say.

“Seems to me like the only reason you’re angry is because you feel left out, am I right~? Ahhh, but Muraaaaaaa, you’ve already got your sweet wife to play with; you shouldn’t be so selfish-“

“W-What?!?” the shaman burst out, his face turning beet-red with tears of embarrassment pouring out, “N-No, you’re so wrong, you know that?! W-Why would I be sel- I-I love my wife, and she wouldn’t have me chea- I-I wouldn’t cheat on her!!! A good husband doesn’t cheat on his wife!!!”

He went back to facing the wall and hugging his legs, pretty discouraged to move for the time being. Poor Mura…

”… A-Anyway, looks like the antidote’s completed. Mission complete~! No more staying up here in this chilly nightmare-“ Kyuken proclaimed in valor, only to have his words cut short by a sudden screech forming such desperate words:

“H-Huuuuuurts… it h-h-huurrts…”

That came from outside. From where the bat-humanoid being was chained down by Mura’s magic. The shaman turned around from his awkward leg-hugging position and took a glance out of their little settlement to spot the beast poke its head up from the cold snow… the blizzard had died down a little, but it was still impressive to spot the glistening tears trickle down the beast’s face from afar. Mura’s whole body language changed, signaling a strong sense of empathy. It was able to talk Fiorian… those were definitely Fiorian words, he couldn’t overlook that. Shockingly, the beast began to wrestle and attempt to free itself afterwards, with all the living signs of a primal animal, but Mura hadn’t just seen some weird vision caused by the cold…

“… It’s… sentient? M-Menka, did you hear it, too?” he turned back to his vixen companion in a request for confirmation. This, he couldn’t hear himself despite his status, for human ears weren’t as sharp as those of a kitsune’s, but… there were footsteps approaching them, the sound of crunching snow capable of reaching the Demon Slayer’s ears. And they were numerous, heavy… and armed with knives, bows and staffs. The sound of coats gliding across the surface could also reach her.

The beast outside only intensified its shaking, no longer capable of using human language to sing its elegy and thus warn of the danger approaching. This was a beastly instinct; to sense danger coming at you from hundreds of meters away, even if you couldn’t see it.

WC. 753
TWC: 9800

It was unmistakable and as Menka reached Mura’s side, her keen senses were already working to full effect. The bat was clearly sentient and the sadness and pain in his voice was enough to tug at the heartstrings of the vixen. He was no mere beast but as feeling and human as anyone else. It caused her to feel a pang of guilt that they’d treated him in such a way but was necessary, right? They needed his blood in order to make it work but when she thought about it more, the question of what they were going to do with him now came to mind. They couldn’t leave him like that and the kitsune wouldn’t be able to live with herself if they decided to end his suffering. Surely they could just let him go if he was suffering that much or perhaps heal him if he was a victim of the condition that was currently plaguing the people below? “I hear him.” She eventually said, the usual warmth and frivolity missing from her voice. “He’s suffering out there, trying to escape from the spell we put on him. I can see his tears from…”

Her voice trailed off as she detected something else, voices, movement, the sound of heavy equipment. Something else was going on out there and as the vixen focused on her hearing, it became rather apparent as to what it all was. They were people, seemingly coming from the bat. She could hear the sound of weapons being drawn and as she put two and two together, Menka reacted on impulse and walked straight outside and in front of the bat, defending him from the people as they clambered up towards them. “Don’t worry. We’re not going to let them hurt you, right Mura?”

Her gaze briefly turned towards the guildmaster, almost a look of pleading in her eyes. She wasn’t sure why but from the moment she’d heard the bat speak, she’d felt some kind of a kinship with him. Maybe it was because in her own way, she was somewhat similar to him. They were both different from the norm and although Menka had never thought of her kitsune background in a negative light, she could understand the issues that it could cause if she wasn’t able to shrug off insults so well. Some people had insulted her over the years and there were those like the summoner that had tried to capture her on the day that she’d met Mura and Kyuken, unpleasant people who only thought of her as an object. Perhaps the bat felt the same way now? Just a means for her and Mura to find an antidote. It was a depressing thought and the sounds of his cries were ones that she wasn’t going to forget in a hurry.

As the weapon wielding figures got close enough for her to see them, her body would start to charge with lightning. She wasn’t going to let them harm the bat, no matter what.

(506 Words)
(10306 TWC)

... Okay… so he wasn’t hearing things. And he wasn’t under the influence of some false vision, not if Menka could see and hear it as well. The beast had emitted a short and temporary sign of sentience, one built on pain. It almost made Mura undo the spell, but the beast began shaking violently with blood-curdling shrieks befitting a true monster… still, there was a sign of a conscience in it, and Mura had a speculation.

… !!!

He could sense it now! Several signs of life further away from them were approaching the snowy flat, and Menka had immediately moved out to stand between them and the huge bat. She dearly wanted to protect it now, to guard it from the incoming hunters who, for all they knew, could’ve just heard rumors and wanted to solve the problem themselves. Still, this couldn’t align with the very soul of Fairy Tail any more than now, and watching Menka take such a stand to defend a stranger – much less a creature of such ferocity – kind of warmed Mura up inside. She wanted to protect it, like a true heroine.

“Don’t worry. We’re not going to let them hurt you, right Mura?”

“… Of course not.”

Mura’s magic power suddenly spiked up, and the thick layer of snow revealed waves upon waves of mana mesh across each crystal. The entire area, all physical objects of nature, reacted so strongly to his Magic that it sent vibrations through the air and caught the attention of all the arrived hunters who waved their weapons around in shock. “W-What’s happening?! Mowin, look, the monster-!”

One of the hunters who wielded a knife and an orbed staff looked over to Menka, confused at the whole scene as he recognized the monster she was standing in front of. “T-That’s the monster! You, what’s gotten into you?! That creature’s cursed us all – s-stay away from it!!! It’s dangerous!!!” he warned Menka while trying his best to step forward across the deep snow terrain. His voice was genuinely frightened and worried for Menka’s safety, but he began feeling more worried about the layers of snow rapidly moving.

A huge, torso figure had been spawned behind the vixen Demon Slayer – upon a quick glance, someone as familiar as her would be able to recognize that it was supposed to resemble Mura; what, with his characteristic ducktail hairstyle and modest musculature. The snow golem, as one could call it, pointed at the group of hunters and proclaimed in a deep voice: “No! it’s you who need to stay away from Aerico! We’ve got the blood samples, and we will bring an antidote back to the town soon! Don’t be foolish, and return back home now!”

The hunters were mostly awe-struck at the construction that was shouting down at them, but Mowin felt so confused. “W-What good will an antidote do?! The creature’s fucking bloody, it’ll just try and kill us all with another disease afterwards! Damn it, why are you standing in our way – it’s bloody dangerous!”

“It’s still a sentient creature, and it can even talk! It won’t harm you guys ever again-“

“What do you mean sentient?! Does THAT look sentient to you?!?” Mowin shouted back in disbelief while pointing at the creature behind Menka, who was salivating, shivering, wrestling with its confinement, shrieking beastly vocals and showing no signs of self-awareness or self-cognition. Its bloodshot eyes even looked as if it wanted to eat Menka… no, there must’ve been something they could do to stop the hunters from harming it.

How would one even force out someone’s sentience? Sentience and cognition were matters of the brain… wait-

Upon realizing it, the snow golem died down and became a pile of inanimate snow, while Mura walked out to the others from their tent. “M-Menka, listen to me closely…” he tried to convey his plan to her, as her Demon Slayer Magic could prove impeccable and invaluable once again, “I think this’ll work in making Aerico talk to us, just like he did before. But… you have to send a current into his brain.”

As dead-serious as he looked, Mura even pointed to areas on his head as he continued: “I still remember those lessons Kanix held… the brain has some important areas, like here (pointing on each side of his head, between the eyebrows and ears) which harbor our speech control. I think it was c-called broca areas… a-and underneath that area is a large lobe of the brain that-“

“H-Hello, are you just gonna waste our time or what?! Guys, move in-“

“DAMN IT, I SAID WAIT, SO WAIT!!!” Mura’s voice shrieked through the air, pushing away the snowy blizzard and creating a moment of silence across the entire mountain area. He had lost it for a brief moment, signaled by the sudden release of Hades’ miasma… it was unintentional, but at least they stood still.

“… H-Here, under the brocas, there are temporal lobes. They control language and memory… and around the base of our necks is brain stem, which harbors consciousness… to sum it up, we need to ‘wake up’ Aerico’s conscience, then make it remember our language, a-and then make it talk. You have to hit those three areas quickly, but one at a time; brain stem, temporal lobe, then the broca. C-Can you do that with a small current? It doesn’t have to be any stronger than an electric fence to guard sheep, that’ll be enough…”

WC: 913
TWC: 11,219

He wanted her to perform brain surgery? The idea took her completely by surprise and the kitsune didn’t know if she was even capable of controlling her powers in such a way. Her lightning powers tended to run rampant when she used them, feeding off of her emotions and tapping into her animalistic nature. She’d never used them in such a subtle way before but there didn’t seem to be a lot of choice. Those men were clearly not to believe that the creature was sentient unless he spoke for himself and so she’d simply have to do her best and try although there was some doubt in her voice when she replied to the guildmaster’s suggestion. “I’ll try but I’ve never done anything like this before. Brain surgery isn’t my forte.” She tried to turn it into a depreciating joke about herself but it fell a little flat.

Turning away from the mob, she’d focus her attention on the struggling creature, her hands gently moving towards his neck. He took one look at her posture and started to struggle harder, thinking she was going to attack. “Relax.” She uttered softly, giving him the warmest smile that she could and after a few moments, he seemed to at least pause for long enough to let her come close. The kitsune would then place her hands upon his neck and briefly channel her powers, before unleashing a small current of electricity that tickled and stimulated his brain stem, resulting in him starting to seize up and shake. She didn’t keep it up for all that long but hopefully enough to do the job. Deciding not to push her luck, she’d quickly move onto the next area.

Moving her hands up so that one was one either side of his face, she’d then release a second charge of electricity to wake up his temporal lobe. At first, she wasn’t sure if it was having any effect but there was something about the way he was looking at her that showed more signs of sentience and less of the wild creature that he had once been. It was enough to bolster her confidence and so she proceeded with her work, her skilled hands moving in tandem. She’d never considered herself to be a surgeon but the brunette mused that perhaps she’d done a bit of physical therapy in her own way.

There was on more area to go and moving up further, she’d reach the spot where his broca was supposed to be and let loose one more time, his eyes seeming to light up. He was clearly waking up now and there was a sense of humanity in his gaze that hadn’t been there previously. It seemed that it was working, now that she’d charged each spot. Her hands were as tender as ever and as soon as she believed she was finished, she cut off her powers.

When it was all said and done, she’d smile at the creature and say. “Are you with us again, Aerico?”

A grunt was the only reaction at first, followed by a low and grumbling. “Yes, I am. I appreciate your aid, Miss Vixen.”

(529 Words)
(11748 TWC)

No, no, no, it was definitely going to work. Even if she had never tried it before, and even if he had never seen her attempt to perform such a feat, Mura wholeheartedly believed that someone like Menka possessed the right frequency of control over their Magic to perform something as delicate as direct brain stimulation. It was a good thing to remember those biology lessons back then – although, there was still a doubt left to uncover… M-Mura didn’t precisely remember the order, actually.

All he could do was hope that he guessed right. He had, ultimately, waffled his explanation to her due to the fact that they couldn’t exactly go back to the guild hall, research and return in time. The other hunters would likely just end the creature in their absence, or Aerico would probably tear them to shreds in frustration. They had no time to waste, so bet it was…

He held his breath once she released an electric charge through Aerico’s neck, activating his brain stem. However, despite the shaking and shivering, Aerico… grew less hostile. Being hit by something as painful as an electric fence in terms of power would likely bring any animal to a state of ‘do or die’ mentality, so this was the first sign that Menka had done it correctly.

The temporal lobe revealed actual, facial expressions from Aerico, and because of this development, Mura’s mouth was wide-open. He guessed right! Even the hunters were a little dumbfounded by it, and the one named Mowin approached the Fairy Tail Wizards in order to get a closer look. Mura felt the need to stand in the way and spread out his arms to signify that to Mowin, but the hunter’s expressions showed more curiosity than an intent to kill. That was when Mura realized that he was slowly easing up to the likelihood that Aerico was sentient.

“See? I’m sure seasoned hunters like you guys know how desperate a cornered predator can become…”

“… Hmmh… s-surely, this isn’t an illusion? Some kind of, I-I don’t know, mind control?”

Oh… no, Mura knew that Menka had never showcased any feat of that nature. However, for strangers like them, it was a valid point to clarify. “… Have you ever heard of a Demon Slayer who uses illusions?”

“…! S-She’s a Demon Slayer?”

The news of Menka’s Magic, however, sealed the deal and convinced Mowin. It had to do with Aerico being, somewhat, a ‘demonic’ being – at least in their eyes – so seeing her aid it felt a little contradictive. Then again, just because you possessed Slayer Magic, it didn’t mean that you had to slay with it… as funny as that sentence sounded.

And Aerico’s words finally reached everyone’s ears, and they gasped in shock. “It… It can talk. W-Wait, that sounds like an old man’s voice, too…!”

Relieved and rejoiced, Mura approached Aerico and threw a reassuring wink at her in satisfaction: “Thanks to you, it looks like we got rid of any doubt left in them. Good work, Menka.” Kyuken, thankful as well, appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders as he pressed his still ghostly cheek against her warm one, embracing her with tears of joy – or perhaps ectoplasm, or whatever ghosts secreted from their eyes. “You did sooooooooooo well, my lovely, foxy goddess~! You should be so proud of yourself – I never doubted that you’d be able to fry his brain just enough to wake Aerico up – that’s just how splendid your Magic is!”

Leaving the two of them to relieve and flirt with each other, Mura approached Aerico himself and casually spoke to him: “I have a feeling that you weren’t completely gone all this time… were you cursed to turn into this?”

“… In… in a way, yes,” Aerico replied nervously, showing a rather timid side despite the deep, growling echo from the vocal cords of a creature like him, “… W-Wait… Aerico, that’s not… that’s not my name… is it?” Mura’s face suddenly glared derp-ly at the creature, unsure on how to answer that random question. Did he… did he not remember his own name? “U-Uhm… don’t you remember your name?”

“… I don’t really know how to, uh… answer.”

Oof. Amnesia, perhaps? Mura didn’t know if it was due to Menka’s brain stimuli or something else, but Aerico needed medical assistance. “Then you’re coming with us. I’m sure our client can help you out a bit more. We’ll take my ride, it’s faster-“

A quick glance over to Kyuken and Menka brought something of inquiry to the shaman; Menka had first fully embraced the ability to release her Magic, as clearly shown back in their previous mission together. And now, she was approaching the embrace of her ability to knit finesse into her use of her Magic… release and control were the two pillars of performing spells perfectly. It was only a matter of time until she reached a wall, though… but once she built up enough resolve to climb over that wall, she would enter a whole new league of power that she could only ever imagine before…

“It’s a job well done, my dear~. Ohh, maybe we can pass by the inn down in the small town again – I’m so beat from the terrible cold up here, so a nice bed and a warm blanket could really heal my wounds… and I’d just, damn, fucking, love it if you kept me company again-“

A large swoosh from above caught Kyuken’s attention, revealing that Mura had summoned the Azure Dragon. It was a constellation brought to life by Mura’s Onmyoudou. “W-Wha-“

“We’re leaving now, Kyuken! Menka! Hop on board, we’re bringing Aerico some aid from our client along with the antidote…!”

“W-Wait, but the inn! Wait, at least let us rest! Muraaaaa!!!” Kyuken begged as he turned into a blue hitodama and nudged up on Mura’s face in plead. The shaman, however, simply pouted angrily and replied: “… You’ve already had your fun. You can wait.”

“… T-That’s so cold, I THOUGHT WE WERE FRIENDS! I THOUGHT YOU’D UNDERSTAND ME, BUT HERE YOU ARE, BREAKING MY POOR 600-YEAR OLD HEART! YOU THINK ONE NIGHT IS ENOUGH TO QUENCH CENTURIES OF EDGING!?! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT MY URGE, MY PAIN AND LIBIDINAL SUFFERING! IF YOU REALLY WERE MY FRIEND, THEN-“

“A-Alright, alright, alright, I get it! I get it… y-you can just… y-you… just have your fun with Menka after we help out Aerico!” Mura finally suggested with a blood-colored hue over his entire face, eyes shut and drowning in embarrassment over what he just said. Kyuken, however, found a reason to rejoice and await good tidings, so his face shone like a wonder child.

“… J-Just get on board, you two.”

WC: 1130
TWC: 12,878