"Cooper! Wake up!" Hearing Macao knocking on the door, I groaned in annoyance and rolled onto my side while folding the pillow around my head, though thanks to my powerful senses, it didn't even dampen his voice. "Cooper!" Ignoring him, I continued to try and sleep as I had barely gotten two hours last night after my battle; unfortunately, a smoke hand snaked its way underneath the door and unlocked it, prompting Macao and Wakaba to enter.
"Haa, good, you're still here. We were worried you'd leave by yourself first thing in the morning… C'mon, let's get going; we'll teach you how to properly do missions." Remarked Macao with a sigh of relief while he and Wakaba approached me, though, as I was tired, his voice slightly annoyed me. However, Wakaba suddenly yanked the blanket off me, revealing my bloody, injured body and surprising them.
"W-What the hell!? What happened to you, Cooper!?" Glancing at Wakaba's shocked and confused expression, I growled, only to start coughing blood, scaring them. "Cooper, are you okay?" As Macao began to rub his hands across my battered chest, I brushed aside his arm while nodding, only to cough some more blood. "I'm fine… Let's return to the Guild, so you two can collect the reward." Grunting, I removed the bloody pillow and slowly sat upright before standing up while yawning, earning a gaze of confusion from my two supervisors.
"C-Collect reward? What are you talking about, Cooper? Also, are you sure you're fine? You look half-dead." Nodding at Wakaba's words, I approached the closest before opening it, causing the five unconscious dark mages tied together to fall out. "I don't look good without my sleep." Grabbing the rope, I did a bit of stretching, resulting in some winces, before approaching the door.
"You two coming?" Stopping by the door, I glanced at Macao and Wakaba, who looked between me and the five dark mages before hesitantly nodding, prompting me to the wall towards the front of the Inn while they followed. "So, um, w-who are those five?" "The Dark Mages." Exiting the Inn while dragging the five mages behind me, earning various questionable looks from passing individuals, though I didn't care, I had two supervisors, so I was in the right.
"T-The Dark Mages!?" Exclaimed Macao loudly with an expression of disbelief while the smoking pipe fell out of Wakaba's mouth. "Yes. I think so. They never claimed to be Dark Mages, but they met all the required criteria… Camping near Cedar." "I-I'm confused." "S-So am I."
"W-When did you capture them?" "A few hours ago, where do you think I got my wounds? I don't participate in self-harm." Glancing at Wakaba, who grabbed a new smoking pipe from his pocket, I held up two fingers while we passed a small group of knights, though Macao quickly explained everything and pointed to our guild crest marks. While Macao explained everything to the knights, I told Wakaba what happened with my fight against the five dark mages, and by the end, he just stared at me. "I know reckless, but you're something different… Suicidal. To fight a group of five dark mages by yourself? I-I'm speechless."
Scoffing and shaking my head at Wakaba's words, I tightened the rope around my five prisoners. "Through my numerous battles with bloodthirsty beasts, I've learned I grow the most when pushed to my limit." Glancing at Wakaba, who constantly opened and closed his mouth, I sighed as it seemed he couldn't comprehend my words. "Also, I'm not suicidal… I've got a little sister to look after now." Hearing him deeply sigh, I saw Macao approach us while rubbing his head, seemingly frustrated or annoyed… Or both.
After Wakaba informed Macao of what I did, the man gave me a bit of a lecture, one I listened to but didn't take to heart; those four years in that forest, fighting for survival and revenge, have changed me.
"Haa, Master is going to have some strong words to say, so I'll save myself the trouble." Exiting Cedar, the three of us walked across the road, heading towards the nearby city so we could take the train back to Magnolia. "Though, little sister, huh? It seems you've taken a liking to little Cana." Said Wakaba with a teasing smirk, one that caused me to aggressively growl as I flared my magic power, my skin shimmering with a faint gold. "Mention that again, and I'll beat you up and drag you back to Magnolia."
Glaring at Wakaba, who got the signal and backed off, Macao decided to tease me instead since he must've thought I was joking. "Heh, that's a rather apparent blush you've got there, Cooper. Do you plan to sit Cana on your lap and tell her a story?" As Macao laughed, I felt my cheeks heat up in both anger and embarrassment, causing me to drop the rope before punching him and knocking him back.
"Argh, you dumb brat! Take a joke!" "I'll turn your career as a mage into a joke after I beat you!" Glaring at each other, Macao's hands were quickly enveloped in purple flames, prompting us to lunge toward each other while Wakaba watched from the side. "Haa, this is ridiculous."
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By the time we returned to Magnolia, it was evening, and Macao looked worse for wear after our battle; as for me, well, all of my wounds had reopened and worsened, the fact I was still moving around with seemingly no problem confused them both, though they didn't bother to question it, probably because I was annoyed with them both.
"Yo, we're back!" With Wakaba leading us into the guild, which was relatively calm right now, everyone greeted us while also giving Macao and I concerned looks. "Yo, you two okay? Especially you, Cooper, you look well, like a zombie." "Urgh, don't mention it, and I'm fine." Glancing at a fellow guildmate, I nodded with a grunt while dragging the five now-conscious dark mages through the guild.
"What do we do with these Dark Mages?" "You're supposed to drop them off at a Magic Council branch; it's in South Magnolia." Giving an appreciative nod, I tossed the rope tying the dark mages to Wakaba, who caught it with a wry expression. "Well, considering you did all the work, it's the least I could do; I don't think I could accept the reward otherwise."
Dismissively waving my hand at Wakaba, who exited the guild with the dark mages, I approached Makarov, sitting at the bar like usual, drinking a bit while overwatching the Guild, ensuring everyone didn't get too rowdy. When Makarov saw me, he gave me a nod, only for his eyes to widen while I hopped onto the stool beside him. "Completed the job." With a yawn, I rested my head on the bar while looking at Makarov, who slowly nodded before gulping and pointing at my injuries.
"W-What happened!?" "Fought the Dark Mages. They weren't that strong individually, but they were pretty strong together… Took a while to beat them." Drinking a cup of water, I proudly raised my head as I informed him of my battle; I always took pride in hard-fought victories; it was just that until now, I had no one to speak to about it. Makarov looked at me before glancing at Macao, only to heave a sigh of relief. "Haa, I'm glad you two boys are fine. It seems they must've given you three a difficult time; we should get you to see Porlyusica, though." Remarked Makarov with a relieved expression while standing up, earning a grunt from both Macao and I.
"Hmph. Wakaba and I didn't fight against the Dark Mages. Cooper snuck out in the middle of the night and faced him by himself." "Tch, I don't want to visit that old woman even if I'm dead. My injuries will eventually heal." Scoffing at Makarov's words, I vehemently shook my head while folding my arms, only for a large amount of magic power to escape from him, causing my body to subconsciously stiffen in fear, and I wasn't the only one.
However, just as the magic power appeared, it quickly vanished, prompting me to look at Makarov, who was glaring at me. "Now that you're a Fairy Tail, you're my child, and I will not have my child foolishly die because of stupidity… Understand?" Quietly growling at him, I begrudgingly nodded; I agreed with his words, it was stupid of me with how I did things, I could've at least asked Macao and Wakaba to hide nearby in case things went terribly wrong. It just never crossed my mind, considering how I've never had anyone to look after me during my days in the forest.
After nodding in agreement, Makarov's anger eased somewhat, but he was still upset with me. "Alright, you may not want to visit Porlyusica, fine. However, you will not leave this Guild until you've fully healed." Groaning in annoyance, I slammed my head onto the table while scraping the idea of taking a job tomorrow since it would probably take me three to four days to fully heal. Leaping off the stool, I headed to the infirmary to rest, though along the way, I ran into Cana, causing me to quickly wipe the blood off my face, though my actions did little.
"COOPER!? What happened to you!? Are you okay!?" Exclaimed Cana with teary eyes as she quickly grabbed my body, checking my numerous apparent injuries. "Hmph, I'm fine, it's not even my blood, Cana. Also, I thought I told you to call me a Big Bro?" Eyeing Cana, I snapped my broken finger back into place and fixed my dislocated shoulder when she wasn't looking, though it didn't look like she believed my lies. "You're lying, Big Bro! I can see it through my card!" Glaring at Cana's card that allowed her to see the inside of my body, basically an X-ray, I grunted while shaking my head, firmly denying her claims. "Hmph, I'm fine."