After freeing the town from the Dark Guild, which was incredibly difficult, and I nearly died a few times, I returned home, healing, and spent that time practicing my magic control, though unfortunately, I was making slow progress. However, the fact I even made some progress considerably eased my frustration as at least I now knew I wasn't just wasting my fucking time. Anyway, like usual, once I finished healing, I took another mission, which Gray asked to join, and while I had no qualms about him joining, the specific mission I picked out was a bit dangerous, so I promised to take him on a mission afterward, after all, I wouldn't miss the chance to teach my little brother about being a mage.
Anyway, after a few days of completing my mission, I returned home to the guild with multiple broken bones, a concussion, internal bleeding, and a few other things, though after three days, I had decently recovered, at least enough to do a mission with Gray.
Standing before the request board, I furrowed my brows, searching for a non-dangerous mission I could do with Gray, though they were mostly boring. 'Ah, a little danger shouldn't be bad. Let's just take this one… Subjugate a powerful beast near Tuly Village.' Grabbing the job off the request board, I approached Gramps, who was at his usual spot atop the bar. "Gramps, Gray, and I will take this mission." Handing the mission to Gramps so he could approve it, he grabbed the paper and read it before nodding. "Why did you choose this one, Cooper? It could be dangerous."
"Only slightly dangerous, Gramps. We are to subjugate a beast, and I've lived with them for years; I know how they think and act, so I'm highly confident in protecting Gray. Besides, now that he's a Mage, he needs a mission to show him we're not messing around and that he's risking his life, though I didn't want to choose a mission to scare him, so I picked this one." Folding my arms with a firm expression, I looked at Gramps, who had nothing to say and flashed a proud smile, causing me to grunt as I looked away, only for him to suddenly sigh.
"Why is it, Cooper, that I'm less worried about you taking Gray on a mission than when you go by yourself? Logically, it shouldn't make sense, but it does." Gramps just stared at me in confusion while rubbing his head, causing a few passing guildmates to laugh. "Haha, because he's the big brother! You should already know this, Master!" Growling at my three guildmates, I scoffed and snatched the paper out of Gramp's hands while entering the Interior pool, where Gray usually stays, considering he had a weird tendency to strip randomly.
Spotting Gray wearing nothing but his underwear while practicing his Ice-Make Magic, which was pretty cool, though it wasn't able to prevent me from beating him. "Oi, Gray, c'mon, we're doing a mission!" Yelling at Gray from across the pool, he raised his head and looked at me eagerly. "I'm coming; let me get dressed." Nodding at Gray, I turned around and headed back into the guild hall in search of Cana, whom I eventually found sitting at the table alongside Macao and Wakaba.
"Cana, join Gray and I. We're doing a mission, subjugating a beast." Approaching the table, I stood beside Cana, who curiously raised an eyebrow before nodding in agreement, prompting me to smile. 'Hehe, I'm going on a mission with my little siblings.' While thinking about spending time with my little brother and sister, Wakaba rubbed my head, messing up my hair. "Haha, someone's excited!" Aggressively growling, I brushed aside Wakaba's hand before crushing his smoking pipe. "Tch, annoying old man… I'll be at the front waiting, Cana."
Sitting outside on the steps to the guild, I waited a few minutes before Cana and Gray arrived, causing me to stand up and stretch, only to flinch when I saw her use her x-ray card to observe my body, which was still decently injured. "Haa, big bro, really?" "Hmph, I'm fine." Folding my arms, I scoffed before turning around and walking through the street of Magnolia while the two followed. With all the injuries I've returned home with, it's gotten so common that it's surprising for me not to be injured.
"So, what's the mission?" "Yeah, what is it?" Handing Cana the paper, she and Grey read through it, and while the latter was a bit excited, the former wasn't so much. "Eh, are you sure, big bro; this might be dangerous." Grabbing the paper from Cana and stuffing it in my pockets, I confidently nodded while approaching the kebab food stand, which was a bit of a tradition for me as I always grab a few before a mission. "Another mission, Cooper? How many kebabs this time?"
Nodding to the woman, I reached into my pocket and handed her a few jewels while asking for ten kebabs, causing her to nod as she gave me all ten kebabs, which I obviously shared with Cana and Gray, handing them two each. "Hey, why do you get so much, Cooper?" Tossing an empty kebab stick into the trash, I hit Gray's head, causing him to wince in pain. "Because I paid for it, and I need to eat more since I'm older. After we complete the mission, you can use the reward to buy what you want. Also, I said to call me big bro." "Tsk, why?"
Ignoring Gray, I finished all six kebabs before arriving at the train station a few minutes later; paying for tickets to the closest stop near Tuly Village, we waited about an hour inside the train, which was spent training before it finally began moving. "Why do you keep exploding the pens?" Glancing at Cana, who peeked her head from behind an ice wall Gray had erected, I accidentally exploded another pen, causing me to grunt. "I'm training my Indestructible Magic." "Indestructible Magic? Is that the magic you use?" Nodding at Gray, I grabbed another pen while Cana explained to him my magic, as it wasn't a secret within the guild.
During the train ride, Cana and Gray talked quite a bit, which was nice since this was the first time they really spent time interacting with each other. I, on the other hand, used this chance to continue practicing my magic; as irritating as it was, it was a good way to pass the time. After about seven hours, we eventually arrived at Borwatt Town, the closest city near Tuly Village; exiting the train, Cana, Gray, and I stretched slightly as we had been doing nothing. "Ah, that feels good." Nodding in agreement with Cana, we walked through Borwatt Town, one of the most prosperous places in Fiore.
Feeling a bit hungry, as I'm sure the two others were, we stopped by a restaurant to have an early dinner; the price was a bit expensive, though the food was great, so I didn't complain. "That was delicious. So, are we heading straight for Tuly Village?" Grabbing the map of Fiore from my pocket, I furrowed my brows, judging the distance before shrugging my shoulders and nodding. "Sure, it isn't too far."
Heading straight for the city's exit, the three of us left Borwatt Town, though, after just thirty minutes of walking, I clicked my tongue, realizing it would take us much longer than I had initially expected, since I tend to jog between cities. 'Tsk, at this rate, we won't arrive until morning.' Rubbing my chin, I suddenly snapped my fingers and looked at Gray. "Gray, use your magic to make a big ice sled." Although Gray looked a bit confused at my sudden response, he eventually nodded before using Ice-Make Magic to create an Icebox.
"What was the point of me doing this?" Rather than responding, I took action and swiftly tossed both Cana and Gray into the icebox before reaching underneath and lifting the icebox above my head. "Woah, t-the heck are you doing, big bro!?" "I'm ensuring we get to Tuly Village before nightfall." Digging my nails into the icebox above me, I ran down the dirt road, and although we didn't manage to arrive before nightfall, it was significantly faster than if we had continued to walk.
"Well, that was a unique way to travel." Setting the icebox down, I ripped it open, freeing Gray and Cana while we entered the village, heading straight for the center where a tall clock tower slash building resided; if anyone had created the request, it would've been the person who lives there.
Gray was a bit silent as we walked through the village, probably thinking about his own. Once we arrived at the clock tower, I took the lead as the veteran mage in this group and aggressively knocked on the door. "Fairy Tail Mage, I'm here for the request to subjugate a beast!" Yelling loudly while banging against the door, I folded my arms and tapped my foot as I listened to the house owner scramble around before opening the door and greeting us, though he seemed slightly surprised.
"H-Hello, E-Esteemed Mages, p-please, enter my humble abode." Nodding, I stepped into the house while glancing at Cana and Gray, only for my face to twitch. "Oi, put your clothes on, Gray!"