Bonus Chapters every 100 Power Stones
"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X789]
~ With Shisui ~
Night had settled over Magnolia. Hours had passed since Ultear's revelation about Tenrou Island, and Fairy Tail remained trapped in a silence that felt more like a wake than anything else.
Shisui had left them to their grief, understanding that some wounds needed time to bleed before they could begin to heal. Unlike the others, he carried no personal connection to those lost family, no years of shared laughter and tears that had been severed by Acnologia.
The private training ground felt different in the darkness, shadows stretching across the packed earth where his guild mates had pushed themselves just hours ago. Two figures waited for him in the center of the field, their silhouettes familiar despite the time that had passed. Shisui approached slowly until he could make out their faces in the dim moonlight.
"Ultear. Meredy." He offered a genuine smile as he came within speaking distance. "It's good to see you both again."
Before he could say anything else, Meredy was moving. The pink-haired woman closed the distance between them in three quick strides, her arms wrapping around him without hesitation or ceremony. The hug was fierce, the kind that spoke of worry that had been carried for too long.
"I missed you," she said against his shoulder, her voice slightly muffled but clear enough to hear the genuine emotion there. "I definitely didn't miss your hellish training though."
Shisui chuckled as he returned the embrace. His arms settled around her smaller frame, and for a moment the weight of everything else that happened throughout the day fell away.
"I missed you too, Meredy," he said quietly.
When she finally stepped back, her green eyes were bright with unshed tears, though her smile remained firmly in place. She'd grown some in the two years since he'd seen her last, not just physically but in the way she carried herself. There was more confidence there, more certainty in her movements.
His gaze shifted to Ultear, who had remained where she stood, watching their reunion with an expression that managed to be both fond and mildly amused. Her dark hair had grown longer, and there was something different about her posture. Less rigid than he remembered, though that familiar intelligence still sharpened her brown eyes.
A smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth as their eyes met.
"You know, when you left us all those years ago, you thought our relationship was still only at the handshake level."
She tilted her head slightly, the smirk growing more pronounced. "I'm curious what level we'd be at now that two years have passed."
Heat crept up Shisui's neck as he scratched the back of his head, suddenly feeling like he was missing something important about this conversation. The way Ultear was looking at him suggested accusations he wasn't quite catching, and her amusement at his confusion only made it worse.
"I shouldn't be the one to blame for that," he said as his defensive instincts kicked in. "Especially not with how serious and stuck up you were when we were still traveling together. You barely talked to anyone unless it was about magic, our next destination, or unless spoken to."
The words left his mouth before he could think them through properly. As soon as the words hung in the air between them, he realized he might have made a tactical error. Beside him, Meredy let out a low whistle that somehow managed to convey both appreciation and warning.
Meredy immediately took a step backward, creating distance from what was about to happen while her expression shifted to one of barely contained anticipation. Her eyes sparkled with the kind of mischief that suggested she was about to witness something entertaining.
Shisui noticed the movement peripherally, but his attention was focused on Ultear. Something had changed in her expression, a subtle shift that sent warning bells through his mind. Her smirk had tightened slightly, taking on an edge that he definitely remembered from their traveling days.
Usually right before someone ended up regretting their life choices.
Her left eye twitched once, so briefly he almost missed it. The fact that Ultear was still smiling somehow made it worse rather than better.
"Serious and stuck up?" she repeated, her voice deceptively calm. "Is that really how you remember our time together?"
Shisui opened his mouth to clarify, maybe backtrack a little, but the words seemed to stick in his throat. Something about the way Ultear was looking at him suggested that digging deeper might not improve his situation. Behind her, Meredy had her hand pressed to her mouth, clearly trying not to laugh at his predicament.
"I mean," he started, then stopped.
The hole was already dug. Might as well see how deep it could go.
"You did have a tendency to overthink everything. And you never wanted to stop for anything fun."
Ultear's smile grew wider, which somehow made it significantly more threatening.
"Fun," she repeated thoughtfully. "I see."
Meredy had backed up another step, now clearly outside whatever blast radius she expected from this conversation. Her shoulders were shaking slightly with suppressed laughter, and she'd given up any pretense of hiding her entertainment at watching Shisui talk himself into trouble.
Shisui's laughter came out strained and awkward as he watched Ultear's expression. He'd definitely stepped in something he couldn't easily step out of, and the way her smile had taken on that particular quality made his survival instincts start sending up warning flares. Not that he was actually in danger, of course. This was Ultear, and whatever she had planned would be more embarrassing than harmful.
Still, that didn't make the anticipation any more comfortable.
Ultear began walking toward him with measured steps, each one deliberate and unhurried. She moved like someone who had all the time in the world to savour whatever comeuppance she had in mind. Her hands remained relaxed at her sides, but something about her posture suggested she was calculating the most effective way to make her point.
"What's going on?" Shisui asked cautiously as she drew closer, his voice pitching slightly higher than he'd intended. He glanced toward Meredy for support, but found only gleeful anticipation on her face.
Clearly, he was on his own for this one.
Ultear stopped directly in front of him, close enough that he had to look up slightly to maintain eye contact. The height difference had never bothered him before, but something about this particular moment made him acutely aware of it.
"Oh, nothing much, I just wanted to show you exactly how serious and stuck up I can be." She said pleasantly.
Before he could react, her fist connected with his stomach. The punch carried just enough force to make the point without actually causing harm, but Shisui recognized his cue. He doubled over dramatically, one hand pressed to his midsection as he let out an exaggerated groan of pain.
"Oof," he wheezed, playing up the injury for all it was worth. "I think you might have broken something vital."
"Serves you right," Ultear said, though her tone had already begun to soften. "Calling a lady stuck up. The nerve."
Shisui remained hunched over for another moment, then slowly straightened with what he hoped looked like tremendous effort.
"I think I'm dying, tell my guild I fought bravely." He announced solemnly.
Despite herself, Ultear's expression cracked. The threatening smile dissolved into something much more genuine as she watched his theatrical performance. A soft laugh escaped her, the sound unfamiliar to Shisui.
"You fool," she said fondly, shaking her head. "Still playing the idiot after all this time."
Before he could respond with another dramatic declaration, she stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. The movement was gentle, her arms wrapping around his shoulders as she drew him against her.
~ End of Chapter 51 ~
You can read advanced chapter on [email protected]/The_Editor982
Well well well, Shisui the boy wonder. They say time and distance makes Love grow stronger. I wonder whether this is true. Guess Shisui'll find out. Or maybe not. Who knows :D