Couldn't have Juvia murdering the main character after all.
Lucy's blush faded quickly, and even if she tried to hide it there was a sour expression on her face.
"Don't give me that look, she staked her claim long before I got famous," I told her, taking on a very serious tone. "Plus, I'm warning you — she's S-Class, very protective, more than a little paranoid, and she's got a range bigger than most cities. So any ideas you've got? Just throw them away now. For your own safety."
"Uh… Got it…" She nodded, looking pretty shaken and very confused.
The same reaction people have when they meet Juvia for the first time, funnily enough.
"Anyway, it's been nice talking with you," I continued, capitalising on the opening, "but I've got to go figure out where the hell I can rent a suit in this town." There, made myself a way out of this conversation. Now to get the Hell out of—
"Oh I actually passed a tailor's on the way here," Lucy interrupted me, the open door to freedom slamming shut with a dull thwump."I can show you after I'm done shopping here."
On one hand, I don't want to talk to Lucy in fear of her getting any ideas. Whether that be joining Phantom Lord, or trying something with me anyway despite my warnings about Juvia.
Honestly? I don't know which one would be worse.
On the other hand, I can't just say no and leave. That's just plain rude, and I get the feeling that if I do that to Lucy, it would be the equivalent of kicking a puppy. Looks like I'm gonna be dragged into canon because I don't want to be 'rude towards a lady'. My mom raised me well but it's screwing me over now.
"Sure, I'll wait for you outside," I said, accepting my fate and heading out the door, leaving Lucy to her shopping.
I swear, if I see a single reporter while Lucy is leading me to the Tailor's, there will be blood.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Thankfully they were preoccupied with the other famous mage that just so happened to arrive today, judging by the distant shouts of 'Salamander'.
Looks like Bora's in town, and that means Natsu isn't far behind.
Recalling my brief interaction with Natsu, I can't even remember why I was scared when I first met him. I guess Zancrow and Gajeel topped him in terms of being 'fucking terrifying Slayer Mages'.
Though I'm not scared of Gajeel any more. Beating someone's ass into the ground a few times goes a long way towards destroying any fear you have of them. Of course, to be fair, he's done that same thing to me just as many times, if not more, but it all balances out somehow.
...You know, just saying that makes me think I have issues.
It didn't take long for a disgruntled looking Lucy to storm out of the shop, a small wooden box clenched in her hand.
"Stupid old man… Can't recognize real beauty when he sees it," she grumbled, pocketing the wooden box.
"He charge you an arm an a leg?" I asked, falling in step with Lucy as she started to walk off.
"Practically my whole body, not that someone like him could appreciate it!" she replied, sending a glare towards the shop.
"Yeah," I agreed. "For a guy who sells stuff to passing wizards, he charges a lot."
Before either of us could say anything, there was a loud noise coming from the plaza before us. Excited shouts, the sounds of people swooning (and yes I know that shouldn't have a sound but I swear to God I could hear it), and generally a lot of girls screaming the name 'Salamander.' I took a glance at the plaza, taking in the large collection of women of all ages who were crowding around a single figure who looked like they were signing autographs and posing.
"Salamander? The famous mage that uses fire magic you can't even get in stores?!" Lucy gushed, staring at the crowd. "Who'd expect that two famous mages would be visiting this dead-end town at the same time?"
She turned towards me, an asking look on her face.
"No go ahead," I said, waving her off. "I'm not offended. After all, what are the chances of this ever happening again? I can find the Tailor myself, thanks for your help…?"
"Uh...heh. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Lucy," she replied sheepishly. "Kinda slipped my mind…"
"It's no problem, nice to meet ya Lucy. I'm David, the actual person behind all the articles," I said with a grin. "I'll see you around Lucy, I've got a tailor to find."
"See you later David!" she said, waving at me as she raced down to the plaza.
…
'Thank god, I thought I was gonna be stuck with her all day. And who knows how Natsu and Happy will react to me?' I thought, heading back towards the hotel.
As much as I want to strangle that worthless human trafficker sleazebag Bora with my bare hands, who am I too stop Lucy and Natsu's famous first meeting?
Plus if I were to go down there right now there's no way that Natsu or Happy wouldn't recognize me on the spot. Not exactly sure if that interaction would be good or bad, but I really don't want to find out. After all, I've got a hot date tonight.
Hopefully the situation with Bora would work out. 'Cause if it doesn't…
Then Bora's gonna have to deal with me.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
It took all of ten minutes to get fitted with a suit, which honestly surprised me. The tailor had recognized me by the time I set a foot in the store, had me in the dressing room by the first ten seconds, had me measured by the first minute, and then I was out the door with a lighter wallet and a damn fine suit.
As the world's foremost expert on speed (outrun me if you want to dispute that), I was impressed.
It was getting be the late afternoon, and I got back to the hotel just as the light of the sun was starting to shift from yellow to orange. It didn't take me too long to get to Juvia and I's suite, and upon entering I was please to see Juvia up and about. She must have gotten over the nausea and ordered room service, judging by the emptied plate on the table.
"Ah, David-sama! How was your day?" Juvia asked with a smile, wrapping her arms around me.
"You know," I sighed, returning the hug. "Walking, shopping, dodging paparazzi, dealing with fangirls, getting a suit." I shrugged. "So pretty much the usual."
"David-sama made sure to tell them off?"
I sighed again, pulling back a bit to look her in the eye. "I made it very clear that I was taken Juvia."
Juvia beamed at me, planting a quick kiss on my lips. "That's all I ask David-sama."
I rolled my eyes. Juvia would be Juvia.
"Anyway, I managed to pick up a suit for tonight," I told her, grabbing the garment bag it had come in. "You've got everything you need right?"
"Yep!" she agreed. "Juvia bought a new dress before she came to Hargeon. All she needs to do now is shower and get ready."
"New dress huh? Mind if I see it?" I asked.
"Nope!~" Juvia said, grinning. "Juvia wants to surprise David-sama later at the restaurant tonight."
I shrugged. "Sure, sounds good. We have a reservation in about two hours, so you'll have time to shower and all that."
"Juvia was waiting for you to get back to take one," she informed me, breaking away and heading towards the bathroom.
Well, I say bathroom, but I didn't pay the penthouse price to have just any bathroom. It was nearly the size of a normal hotel room and came complete with a personal hot-tub. I spared literally no expense.
"Cool, let me know when you're finished so I can take one too," I called to her retreating form, setting my suit out onto the bed and reaching down to take off my shoes.
Juvia turned around, a confused look on her face. "You aren't going to join Juvia?"
I paused for a second.
"You've got a point there," I replied, taking off my shirt and heading to the bathroom.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
So we both fucked up.
Apparently it was not a good idea to take a shower together two hours before a reservation, because the bathroom doesn't have a clock, and keeping track of time went out the window the second we stepped into the shower.
A ten minute shower turned into a half hour shower…then a ten minute dip in the hot-tub…then another shower.
That went on for a bit, until I actually bothered to check the time. And lo and behold, we were ten minutes away from our reservation time at probably the nicest restaurant in Hargeon.
It's safe to say that both of us panicked.
Juvia was able to flash-dry the both of us with her magic, saving some desperately needed time to get ready. I probably set a new world record for fastest dresser putting on my suit, and if I'd been racing Erza Scarlet it would have been a photo-finish. The suit itself was a simple, form-fitting black number that had come with a nice navy blue tie. Certainly nothing to write home about, but damn did it make me look good.
Juvia had locked herself in the bathroom, and from what I could hear she was putting on her dress and makeup at the same time.
"David-sama, how much time do we have left before the reservation?" Juvia asked, her voice somewhat muffled by the bathroom door.
"About five minutes!" I yelled back, desperately trying to get the unruly mess that is my hair into a respectable style. "How close are you to being done?"
"Definitely not within five minutes!" she replied. "Makeup takes time David-sama!"
I grimaced. The restaurant would give up our table if we were late, and I would be damned if I missed another reservation this week. I've already had to give up three of them due to reporters, and I'm not gonna let this one slip away from us.
"David-sama, can you go reserve our table? Juvia can catch up after she's finished."
I thought it through for a moment, then nodded. "Sounds like a plan, see you in a bit!" I responded, exiting our room from the balcony in a flash of blue. The second my feet hit the street, I was off. It took all of twenty seconds to get to the restaurant at a fairly leisurely pace by my standards; a fancy, but not ostentatious, building that overlooked the docks of Hargeon.
I appeared in my customary flash of arcing blue light, nearly scaring the doorman half to death. He looked to be an older man, black hair with flecks of grey peaking through. He wore a nice long black coat, fashioned with golden buttons.
"Hi, sorry about that, nearly forgot about the reservation," I said quickly, hoping I hadn't scare him too badly.
The doorman collected himself, pulling out a clipboard. "No harm done, that's about the most excitement that's happened to me in a week," he said with a practiced smile. "What's the name of your reservation?"
"It should be under 'Robinson'."
"Ah yes, there you are," he muttered, checking my name on the list. "Table for two, the window seats overlooking the docks?"
"That's the one," I replied with a nod. "My date's gonna be a bit late, she can just give you my name right?"
"Certainly sir. I can lead her to your table if you'd like," he responded, holding the door open for me.
"Appreciate it man. Here, sorry for scaring you like that," I apologised, handing him a 1000J bill.
If there was any apprehension in his expression, it vanished in an instant as he accepted the tip. "Most kind of you sir, enjoy your dinner tonight."
Without another word, I stepped into the restaurant. As I walked over to Juvia and I's table, I couldn't help but appreciate how nice the restaurant was. It had a well stocked bar, tables covered in beautiful white dining cloths and fine cutlery. Sitting down at our table, I realised that this was probably the nicest restaurant that I had ever been in on Earthland.
I noticed a waiter heading towards my table, setting down two glasses of water. "Hello sir, my name is Jesse and I will be your waiter for this evening. Can I get you started with an appetizer?"
"No thanks," I told him. "I'm waiting on someone to arrive, and I'd like to order when they get here. Just water is fine for now."
"Of course sir, I'll return when the rest of your party arrives," he replied easily, heading back towards the kitchens.
I took a quick look around the restaurant, scanning to see if there were any signs of leeches (reporters) in the vicinity. Thankfully, all the other patrons were either engrossed in their own conversations or focused on their meals.
'Perfect. No reporters, no missed reservations, and I still managed to get dressed up in time. Now all I've got to do is wait for Juvia, and then we can finally enjoy a nice dinner to ourselves'
Hopefully she'd get here soon; I was looking forward to the 'surprise' she had planned.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Juvia took a look at herself, starting up and down at her reflection in the full length mirror. And honestly? She was pretty sure she could stop hearts with her appearance alone. She had chosen to go with a lengthy, form-hugging blue silk dress that showed off every inch of her curves. Adorning her neck was a small gold necklace, the only part of her attire that wasn't blue.
She hoped David-sama would like it, despite how rushed she had been when getting dressed.
Though she might have been responsible for the two of them having to rush, Juvia really couldn't find it in herself to care. After all, being a little late was worth it after that~.
Plus it wasn't all her fault; they would have gotten out in time, but David started to use his magic….
Juvia slapped herself lightly, stopping herself from having fantasies. It was rare for her to get them now, but she occasionally let her imagination run wild.
'Juvia can't help it!' she thought to herself as she walked through the docks. 'David-sama made this the best week of Juvia's life, it's natural that she—'
Her thoughts were interrupted by a collections of sounds. Cheers, loud squeals of joy, and shouts of 'Salamander!~' coming from a small crowd of people in front of her. About ten girls were surrounding a man wearing ornate clothing and a long purple cloak.
"Ladies ladies! You're really to kind," the man said, waving a ring-adorned hand around. "There's still plenty of spots left for the party on my yacht, don't you worry."
Juvia rolled her eyes. This must have been the Salamander she had been hearing about from the hotel staff. While she was thankful for him showing up and taking up David's attention for a little while, she disliked the fact that he was using his fame to pick up women. Personally, Juvia thought his behavior was…
Was…
What was happening?
The closer she got too the man, the more her heart started to pump. She was going to move past the crowd, but suddenly found herself making a beeline towards it. With each step, her heart beat faster and faster.
'What's gotten into Juvia?' she thought, feeling her cheeks flush. 'She's only felt like this around—'
The man turned, causing Juvia to freeze as he locked eyes with her. His lips curled into a knowing smile, and he gave her a sly wink.
Instantly her heart throbbed, the feeling that had taken over her suddenly became all consuming. Thoughts of…whatever she was doing before this faded in her mind as she walked over and joined the crowd.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Bora couldn't stop himself from grinning as he watched two pink hearts appear in the eyes of that ravishing woman in blue. She'd certainly sell for a great price once himself and his crew reached Bosco.
"Now ladies," he said, flourishing his cloak. "What kind of host would I be if I didn't show you to the party? Come on, my yacht isn't far."
He was pleased to see that all the girls around him, including the woman in blue. Thankfully, there were no more meddling pink-haired kids around to break his charm, or he might have lost that blue beauty.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Ok, something is either seriously wrong, or I have severe misconceptions about how long it takes women to put on makeup.
According to one of the waitstaff, I have severe misconceptions.
But it's been over an hour and I'm starting to worry.
I personally have no idea how long it takes to put on makeup, but I have a feeling that based on the circumstances, that it wouldn't take Juvia an entire hour to put on makeup. Plus, considering that Juvia knew we were in a rush, I doubted that she'd take an entire hour.
I left the restaurant, giving up on our reservation at this point. They weren't about to let me wait another hour without ordering anything.
Gathering my magic, I shot off in the direction of the hotel. Blurring past people on the street as small arcs of blue lightning snapped from my feet, it was only moments before I caught sight of the Sunrise Villa.
Launching myself off the ground I kicked the air, my feet finding purchase and giving me just enough momentum to touch down on the balcony of our room. In a quick flash of magic, I dashed throughout the entirety of the main room, bathroom and bedroom.
Juvia was nowhere to be found.
'Something is wrong, something is very wrong,' I thought, the aura 'round my feet expanding upwards into a full cloak of deep-blue. 'She has to be out in the city somewhere.'
I stepped outside, the familiar feeling of magic spreading through my head. My eyes lit up white, the world around me slowing as my perceptions were accelerated. People on the street below stopped in their places, their movements slowing down to a crawl.
'Guess I have to search the whole damn city,' I thought, leaping off the balcony.
"Razor."
Slamming my feet against the air ten times in an instant, I was catapulted over the rooftops in a blur of hazy blue. Adjusting myself with another kick, I flew over the streets of Hargeon. Slamming my feet into the air once more, I began to trace the streets of the city in a grid. My enhanced perceptions allowed me time to scrutinise every person on every street as I passed overhead. To my chagrin, none of them were Juvia.
Grimacing, I kicked my speed into a higher gear, blowing past buildings and rooftops at just-barely-subsonic speed. Within minutes (at least to me), I had searched the entire city and seen everyone who was outside.
Juvia was nowhere to be found.
'What the fuck is going on?' I thought, touching down on an outcropping overlooking the city. 'Juvia not out on the street, or in the hotel. That means she's either in a building or…'
...
No.
There was no way, there was no goddamn way that she was there.
I frantically looked out towards the ocean, seeing the distant shape of Bora's yacht on the horizon. The sight of it sent a rush of memories thought my head, minor stuff about Fairy Tail I hadn't bothered to remember.
Specifically, a little detail that I had butterflied away with my presence. In canon, Juvia had dated Bora for a time, before he decided the rain was too much and he left. That hadn't happened here, as Juvia and I had gotten together before she even met Bora.
Though that didn't really affect this situation, it made something click in my mind.
What if Bora had charmed her while she was walking to the restaurant? He specifically wanted pretty girls to sell to slavery—
…
It was instant.
White hot anger spiraled throughout my entire body. The panic and worry vanished beneath wave after wave of molten fury, that demanded I tear Bora apart with my bare—
"Hey buddy? What the hell's your deal? You're scaring people."
I turned towards the voice, and was greeted with the frowning visage of Natsu Dragneel. Happy sat on his shoulders, a smile on his face.
"Aye!" Happy quipped, raising a paw. "The magic you're letting off is crazy, it's freaking people out."
I looked down at myself, noticing the violent crackling aura of purple magic surrounding me. I didn't even notice my magic changing color, much less the intensity it had gotten to.
Taking a deep breath, I forced the anger and magic back down. The purple aura died down, shifting back to blue before it disappeared. "Sorry about that, I kinda didn't notice it got out of control."
"It's alright, as long as you're not making any trouble," Natsu replied, his frown disappearing. "What kind of magic was that anyway?"
"Speed magic," I said, keeping an eye on their reactions. "It makes an aura around me when I use it."
Natsu and Happy weren't exactly the brightest, and they didn't see to recognize me despite having seen me before. "Speed magic? Didn't Lucky say something about a guy with that being in the town?" Natsu asked, looking towards happy.
"Aye! She said a famous Phantom Lord Mage was here too!" Happy respond.
At the mention of Phantom Lord, Natsu's slitted eyes narrowed, and his aloof expression turned into a frown.
"Hey buddy, just cause we're from rivil guilds doesn't mean we immediately have problems with each other," I said, noticing suprise cross his face. "Yes I know you're from Fairy Tail. Unlike most people here, I can tell the fake Salamander apart from the real one."
"So you've seen that bastard around too," Natsu mused, slamming his fist into his palm with a burst of fire. "He's gonna pay for trashing Fairy Tail's name."
"Yeeeeah, sorry about that one man," I replied slowly, crouching low to the ground. "But I've got a hunch that he's managed to charm someone pretty damn important to me."
A crackling blue aura appeared around me, resurfacing along with my anger. "And I'm the one who's going to make him pay, so back off."
If there had been tension before, it was practically palpable in the air now. Between the crackling aura around me, and the wisps of flame that were now coming off of Natsu, the tension was thick enough to cut.
"Oh?" Natsu said, a toothy grin crawling across his face. "If you think you're gonna beat him first you've got another thing coming pal."
I paused for a bit, considering his words. "You know, there's no reason that we can't both—"
Before Natsu or Happy could even react, I launched myself off the outcropping, the stone cratering under my feet. Natsu and Happy were blown back from the force, tumbling head over heels onto the ground.
There was no way in hell that I was gonna let Natsu get to Bora first.
"RAZOR!"
My feet smashed into the air, a massive echoing boom accompanying the rush of displaced air as I shot myself towards the boat in the distance. Azure magic swirled around me, my anger rising to the surface once more.
As I tore through the air, I happened to hear the enraged screams of Natsu behind me.
"YOU DAMN BASTARD, GET BACK HERE!"
Natsu could shove it. Bora was mine.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
Third Person.
Tears began to pool in the eyes of Lucy Heartfilia.
Surrounding her were the grinning faces of the thugs aboard Salamander's ship, among them being "Salamander" himself. The mage who once proclaimed he was a member or Fairy Tail, only to reveal himself as a slave trader.
"A celestial wizard than?" he sneered, holding up Lucy's Gate Keys. "Only the mage contracted can use these, so they're useless to me."
With a flick of his arm, her keys were tossed over the side of the ship. "Whoops." He grinned. "I guess my fingers slipped."
And with that, Lucy's last hope of getting away vanished, along with all of her Spirits, to the bottom of the ocean.
The tears began to fall, as Lucy looked around at the girls who had met the same fate as her. She locked eyes with the man responsible, as the tears ran down her cheeks.
"You used magic to take advantage of everyone, all these girls…" she spat, as the thugs around her grabbed her. "You're the worst Wizard alive!"
Whatever retort or gloat that was about to come out of Bora's mouth was silenced by an almighty crack of wood. The ceiling broke apart with a thunderous bang, sawdust and chunks of wood showering everyone in the room.
The dust settled, revealing a figure which Lucy instantly recognized, and the feelings of dread and hopelessness she felt vanished.
"David!"
The thugs, including Bora, stared on in shock as David walked over to Lucy without a care in the world.
"Hey Lucy, fancy seeing you here," he said, handing back her ring of keys. "I think these belong to you."
"Thanks David," she replied, turning back towards Bora. "You guys are gonna get it now!"
"Lucy, get the other girls out of here, find the wheel and steer the ship back towards the shore," David barked, his tone leaving no room for argument. "This is going to get ugly."
"Ah! Yes sir!" she quickly replied, rushing out of the room as she ushered the other quickly-fleeing women from the room. "Kick their asses from here to Hargeon!"
Some of the thugs moved to stop them, but stopped as Bora raised his hand. "Don't mind them men, we'll just collect them later." He grinned, looking towards David. "So who are you supposed to be? Her 'knight in shining armor', showing up to save her?"
A few of his men chuckled, pulling out their weapons and raising their fists as they did.
"Well, sorry to break it to you kid but you're hopelessly outnumbered," he sneered. "Get him men!"
With that, all of the men rushed forwards, shouting battle cries and raising their weapons.
With the Speed Magic suffusing his form and mind, David had almost literally forever to judge the men approaching him.
He looked at each one in turn, considering them. Their rough clothing, their scars, the looks of savage glee on their faces as they brandished weapons and fists.
And he thought to himself, 'What a waste.'
In a single, fluid motion, David drew back his arm and let his fist fly into the chest of the man closest to him.
In the first instant of the collision, there was no sound and no recognition. The man's legs moved as if to keep running, his sword remained lifted above his head in preparation for a downward stroke, the primal wish to inflict harm for his own enjoyment still burned in his eyes. Even as his entire body was folded double over David's fist, his spine barely holding together, neither he nor his companions had time to register the fact that he'd just been hit.
Then the first instant passed – and the sound of his ribs shattering, his spine shrieking, his sword falling to the ground and his internal organs getting slammed with the force of a runaway car was swallowed up by first the boom of David's fist moving through the air, and second by the colossal series of wooden shattering noises as the man was propelled backwards through first one wall, then another, then another and another before he exploded out the front of the ship and skipped across the water into the distance beyond the horizon.
"You know Bora, I don't think you understand exactly what you're dealing with here," David said in a deceptively calm manner as the men suddenly realised that their friend was gone and tried to parse what had just happened.
While they were doing so, David casually reached out and grabbed another thug by the neck. Then, without even shifting his footing, he dragged the man into the air and threw him through the nearest wall in a brief spark of blue light.
Another figure went skipping over the water.
"So I'm going to make this nice and simple for you all."
David's aura exploded into violent blue life, his magic crackling around him like a plasma ball as it sparked to nearby surfaces. The air around his body suddenly accelerated away like a wind cannon, throwing the thugs nearest to him through the walls and ceiling, their limp forms crashing down into surrounding waters. The sounds went unnoticed though, because all the slavers unfortunate enough to remain in the ship found themselves being pressed down on by what felt like chains of purest dread.
Constant waves of magical energy washed over them like the ocean, and every single one felt ready to drag their souls into the depths to never see the light again.
"You're going to tell me where my girlfriend is," David asserted, his tone a low growl, "and come quietly with me to the Rune Knights. And maybe, maybe, I won't break every bone in each one of your bodies."
Bora laughed. "You may be a mage, but you should make threats that you can actually—"
Bora didn't even see him move.
As if it happened all at once, each one of Bora's men was smashed into the floor, cracking the wood beneath them enough that the remaining flooring started to creak ominously Bora himself felt something grab his neck, nearly crushing his windpipe as he was whipped around and slammed into one of the few remaining areas of intact wall.
"I don't make idle threats Bora," David snarled, tightening his grip on Bora's neck as he pinned him one-handed against the ship. Behind him, the rest of Bora's men were sprawled out on the ground, some of howling as they clutched their broken limbs. Some had their arms broken, cradling them in pain. Others were clutching their legs, many of those being bent at odd angles. The ones who remained silent only did so because they were lucky enough to be knocked unconscious.
One twist. Just one twist of the wrist, or a brush of the thumbnail, just a little squeeze.
"Now, here's how this is going to work," David declared, his own glowing eyes starting into Bora's as he flexed his grip on the slaver's neck. "You're going to tell me exactly where the person I'm looking for is, or I'm going to start breaking ribs. Capisce?"
Bora nodded, struggling to even breathe in David's grip.
"She's got blue hair, sea blue eyes, and was probably dressed up very nice. Her name is Juvia Lockser."
"S-she's upstairs in one of the rooms," Bora choked out. "Top deck, room three, you can't miss it."
"So you do have a brain in that thick skull of yours," David noted, lessening his grip slightly. "If I find a single hair out of place on her head, the Rune Knights are going to be scraping you off the floor."
"G-got it…" Bora replied.
There was a shift in the ship, as it began to gradually turn back towards Hargeon.
"Guess Lucy found the wheel," David said, looking towards the door. "It's only a matter of time before we get—"
In the brief moment that David was distracted, Bora struck. A purple magic circle came to life in his hand, fire swirling around and from it as Bora aimed it towards David's chest.
"Hell—"
Boom.
Bora blinked in stupefaction, starting momentarily at the still-turned head of his captor. Then, slowly, he looked down at his arm...and saw the Speed Mage's fist pressing against the flopping, distorted limb having gone right through his magic circle and crushed the limb itself.
Bora dropped to the ground, clutching his now broken arm in agony as David's free hand released its grip on his neck and he stood above the slaver, glaring down on him.
Just aim a little higher, just grip a little and tear, just turn the hand around and push.
"You know Bora, I don't know what you were expecting," David spat, glaring down at the Mage as he writhed in agony. "It took me less than a second to take out all your goons, and you thought you could get the drop on me?"
A foot slammed into Bora's back, pinning him to the ground with his broken arm beneath him and bringing a whole new round of screams. "I'll be honest, that was probably the stupidest thing you could have done."
Step a little harder, plant the foot a little higher, reach down and grab hold and break.
David paused. "On second thought, let's go over all the bad decisions you've made tonight."
Grabbing the back of his cloak, David tossed Bora up off the ground and into the air. As he fell, a fist slammed home into his stomach, sending him sprawling across the room as he rolled and skipped over the ruined floor and the bodies of his men.
Move a little faster, hit a little harder, flatten the fingers and aim upwards and pierce.
"You used illegal magic to charm girls onto your yacht, with the intent of selling them into slavery."
David crossed the room in an instant, slamming his palm into Bora's chest with a loud crack as he rolled into the air. The Mage was sent flying into the opposite wall, splayed out across it by the force. His scream of pain was cut short as David grabbed him by the neck again in a crushing grip.
Break through, break apart, break down.
"You took on the identity of a well known and respected Fairy Tail Wizard, and used that reputation for your own ends."
Still holding his neck, David heaved upward, lifting Bora off the wall and choke-slamming him back down onto the floor. The air was forced from Bora's lungs in a wordless scream as David's foot smashed into his diaphragm.
"You used that same magic to charm the woman I can honestly say that I love, and tried to sell her into slavery."
David grabbed Bora by the hair, dragging him up to eye level. "And for that, I'm going to take your life."
IT WOULDN'T EVEN TAKE A SECOND.
There was nothing Bora could do. His body had gone limp at that point, his broken arm hung loosely at his side, and his broken ribs throbbed in agony. He couldn't do anything at that point but close his eyes and wait for the inevitable.
But it never came.
"Oh not physically," David continued, dropping Bora back to the floor where he crumpled like a half-full garbage bag. "I'm not some crazed psychopath that goes around killing every single bad guy he comes across. Just because I can doesn't mean I'm going to."
David leaned down, his face hovering just inches above Bora's ear. "I'm just going to make sure that you get put away for life. No freedom, no rights, and no chance of getting out. Kinda ironic isn't it?" David said with a devilish grin. "It's what you were going to do to these girls."
And with that, David delivered a swift blow to Bora's head, knocking him out.
"The rest of you bastards will stay here till we get back to Hargeon," David said, glaring at the rest of the thugs still clutching their broken limbs. "Don't make me come back in here."
They quickly nodded, not wanted to get the same treatment that Bora received.
And with a flash of blue, David vanished from the room.
-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-
First Person.
I forcefully shoved down the white hot anger as I left. It was taking far more effort than it should have to resist the urge to go back in there and end Bora's miserable existence.
It would be easy. So, so easy…
Too easy.
I mentally slapped myself, shoving away the surprisingly murderous thoughts. 'What the hell was that David? You nearly beat a guy to death, and legitimately considered killing him.'
That's something that I'll have to worry about later. Right now I needed to find Juvia.
Following Bora's directions, I dashed through the hallways of the ship, blowing past door after door until I reached room three. Nearly tearing the door off its hinges, I felt relief wash over me when I saw Juvia lying on the bed asleep, but otherwise unharmed.
I grabbed her shoulders, gently shaking her awake. Juvia's eyes fluttered open, meeting mine as she looked up at me with a confused expression.
"David-sama? What's going on—"
I could see the moment where her recent memories caught up to her. I watched them play across her face in myriad expressions, sliding constantly downhill until her face settled into a form of icy-cold rage.
"Excuse me David-sama," she said with a voice like winter. "Juvia has to go drown a certain someone." She started pushing herself off the bed, but stopped when my hand pressed down on her shoulder.
"Juvia, I've taken care of it. Did anything else happen besides him charming you?"
"Not that Juvia remembers," she replied, rubbing her temples. "She got on the ship and was led to a room. She was put to sleep by magic after that…" I could see the anger in her eyes fading to confusion. "How did David-sama know Juvia was here?"
"Well, you didn't show up to dinner, so I—"
I was cut off by a massive crash of splintering wood and metal, a scream that sounded suspiciously like Lucy, and a loud shout of "I think I'm gonna hurl!".
"You know, it's kind of a long story."
-0-
After a quick explanation of the night's events, Juvia and I stepped out onto the deck of Bora's ship. It was nearly empty, as most of the 'guests' were asleep inside the boat; the exceptions were the group of girls that had been conscious with Lucy, who had all huddled together near the forward railing. Looking up, I spotted the brand-new hole in the ship's canopy that probably looked like Natsu.
"Lucy!" I shouted up towards the upper parts of the ship. "How long till we reach the port?"
It took a minute for Lucy to poke her head over the balcony. "Only a few minutes, the ship should stop itself."
A familiar blue cat also poked his head over. "Aye! It's powered by magic so the ship will drop anchor on its own!"
"How do you – nevermind." I'm just not gonna ask how Happy knew that. "Just come down to the deck. We need to make a game plan before we get back to Hargeon."
Lucy nodded, disappearing from the balcony. Juvia looked at me with a raised brow.
"David-sama, why is there a talking blue cat on the ship?" she asked.
"You know, it's a bit complicated," I replied, already dreading the explaining I'd have to do. "Hopefully we can get this over quick and go back to the hotel, because this whole day has just been a complete shitshow."
It took another minute for Lucy to get on the bottom deck, followed by Happy, who was making lazy circles in the air around her head. There was a loud crash from the inside of the ship, and Natsu proceed to drag himself onto the deck. With one hand I might add, as the other one was covering his mouth.
I wonder if motion sickness was that bad for all Dragon Slayers, or Natsu was just a special case.
"Juvia has several questions."
"Is one of them, 'Why does the talking cat have wings?'"
"Yes."
"Really couldn't tell you," I said, stepping forward. "Hey guys, this is Juvia, my girlfriend. Juvia, this is Lucy, Natsu and a flying blue cat respectively."
"Hey, I have a name too you know!" Happy quipped. "I'm Happy!"
Lucy waved, a bright smile across her face. "Hi, I'm Lucy. David and I met this morning." She chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Probably should have expected him to be dating Phantom Lord's strongest female mage, though. It would have saved me a lot of embarrassment!"
Juvia locked eyes with Lucy, the air around her starting to grow heavy with moisture. Her eyes darkened, as her hair began to rise like a nest of angry snakes. I was close enough to hear a whisper.
"Love riv—"
"You two make a really cute couple!" Lucy gushed.
And like that, the oppressive aura around Juvia vanished in an instant. She looked to the ground, bashfully shuffling her feet. "D-do you really think so?"
"Totally!"
The beautiful moment of Lucy and Juvia bonding was interrupted by the sound of Natsu puking over the side of the ship.
I raised a brow. "Is he gonna be ok?"
"Aye, Natsu has bad motion sickness. He'll be fine when we land."
"Anyway, we should be able to contact the Rune Knights when we get to port. They'll deal with all of the slavers," I said, glancing at Lucy. "Speaking of which… They didn't do anything to you or the other girls on the ship, did they?"
"I mean, other than being tricked into thinking I'd get into Fairy Tail, and nearly losing my keys, I'm fine," Lucy responded. "They put everyone to sleep a few minutes after we left port."
"Good, at least none of you were hurt," I sighed. "When we get back to Hargeon, could you wake all of the girls on the ship up and let them know what happened."
""Aye sir!""
Lucy and Happy looked at each other.
"Stop copying me you stupid cat!"
Before they could break into argument, the ship lurched slightly before coming to a stop. The once distant sights of Hargeon were now only little over a hundred feet away. Bora's ship had come to a stop on one of the sandy parts of Hargeon's coast, somewhat beaching itself on the shore.
"I thought you said it would drop anchor itself?"
"Well…" Lucy said, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "I kinda pressed random buttons until the ship turned around…"
"At least you didn't crash it…"
"I'll go wake the girls up now…" she trailed off, starting to head back into the ship.
"Hold on just a goddamn second."
All of use turned to face Natsu, who had stopped puking off the side of the boat, and was now standing up and glaring at me. His face was twisted into an annoyed snarl.
"That bastard was mine to fight!" he said, pointing an accusing finger at me. "He was trashing Fairy Tail's name!"
I gave him a look. "He charmed my girlfriend with the intent to sell her into slavery. I think that gave me the right to kick his ass first."
Natsu shook his head. "Nope, he was going around using my name before that happened. That gives me first dibs."
"Dibs doesn't apply unless you call it, and I'm pretty sure I said I was gonna beat him first."
"No, I got dibs because he was using my name before the charming thing."
"Do you know how dibs works?"
"Do you?"
"Wait, so Natsu is Salamander!?" Lucy asked, her jaw almost slamming into the deck.
"Did you not figure that out? Jeez Lucky you must be pretty dumb," Happy said, dodging under Lucy's following swing.
"Why don't you go shove it cat! And my name isn't Lucky!" she yelled, taking another swipe at Happy before turning back to us. "I don't get it though, if you both were after the same guy, why didn't you work together?"
""BECAUSE I CALLED DIBS!"" both Natsu and I shouted, glaring at each other.
I couldn't help a smug grin from crossing my face. "It doesn't really matter now, I already beat his ass six ways to sunday. Guess you weren't fast enough Natsu," I said with a shrug.
"That's not the point you bastard! I called dibs first, and you took the fight anyway!" Natsu growled, taking a step towards me.
"I still don't think you understand what dibs is."
"That doesn't matter, the point is you owe me a fight!" Natsu said with a grin, cracking his knuckles. "And I saw what you did to that poser, it's got me all fired up!"
Now, you have two options when the main character of an anime challenges you to a fight. You can puss out like a bitch, or you can accept the challenge. And I'm going to be honest, I've been itching for a chance to see the fruits of my training.
I considered him for a moment, tilting my head to the side. "You know what Natsu? You're right," I said, ignoring the incredulous looks Lucy and Juvia were giving me. "I do owe you a fight, but I've got one condition."
"Name it."
I stepped over, whispering in Natsu's ear. "Let Lucy join Fairy Tail. Bora tricked her into thinking she'd get in, and she's always wanted to join."
Natsu shrugged. "Sure, I was gonna ask her if she wanted to anyway."
I smiled, silently thanking God that I was able to keep canon somewhat on track. God forbid if Lucy asked to join Phantom Lord. I have no idea what the hell would happen to canon if Lucy didn't end up in Fairy Tail.
"So Natsu…" I said, no longer whispering. "I've got one more question for you…"
The air around me crackled with magic, my eyes lighting up blue.
"You think you're ready to fight an S-Class Mage?"