After Cooper handled his business with Loke, who ended up fleeing to the Celestial Spirit realm with a disfigured face, the man in question spent the next week taking it easy as his injured body recuperated, only partaking in light exercises, which involved sparring with his fellow guildmates, except for Erza and Mira.
During that time, Gajeel, who was awkwardly trying to fit in and earn the recognition of Fairy Tail, was having more than just a difficult time, as everyone, especially Shadow Gear, chose to mostly ignore his existence; if it weren't for Cooper vouching for him, others would've already argued with Makarov. However, what also helped was Juvia, who ended up joining a few days later, and although everyone was skeptical about her, she more easily earned their trust, which inadvertently helped Gajeel.
It's been eight days since Cooper awoke from his week-long slumber, and currently, he was walking through the streets of Magnolia, heading to Fairy Tail.
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Cooper POV
"Ahh, man, I'm still a little tired." Stretching my arms a little, I scratched my head while glancing at the passing stores, briefly stopping when I saw a pair of blue jeweled earrings. 'Juvia would probably like those… Since she's officially joining Fairy Tail today, I'll gift my new little sister a present.'
While I didn't exactly have a favorable impression of Juvia, considering her past, I wasn't that petty; Lucy and Reedus, the ones who were most affected by her, had already accepted her apology. Entering the jewelry store, I grabbed the pair of blue jeweled earrings, costing nearly a hundred thousand jewels, which was equivalent to the cheapest S-class mission, and placed them in a small box before leaving.
Heading toward Fairy Tail, I stopped by my favorite stall, buying a few kebabs for myself, though not without being teased by the owner. "Fufu, who's the lucky woman, Cooper? Is it that lass with the blond hair? Or perhaps Cana? Or maybe it's one of the many other women in Fairy Tail?" Rolling my eyes, I quickly finished the kebabs in one bite and tossed them in the trash. "Hmph, they're earrings, and they're for my newest little sister." "You say that, but don't you mean fiancé?"
Growling in annoyance, I paid for the kebabs and quickly left, ignoring the woman as her voice faded amongst the bustling city; arriving at the guild a few minutes later, I kicked the doors open, though because Nab had finally taken a job request, I wasn't subjected to one of his sneak attacks.
No, instead, it was Jet and Droy's turn as the latter used vines that wrapped around my legs while the former speedily dashed around, stealing the box in my left hand before stopping at the opposite side of the guild beside his teammate.
"Heh, let's see what you've got." Smirking, Jet was moments away from opening the box, though before he did, I ripped through the vines and swiftly appeared in front of him as I punched a hole through the wall directly beside his head, causing him to freeze. "You'll see soon enough, so return the box before I make you swallow it." "W-We were j-just joking, big bro." Sheepishly smiling, Jet handed me the box, causing me to snort as I took it.
Stuffing the box in my pocket, I glared between Jet and Droy, both refusing to look at me, causing me to sigh as I grabbed the bridge of my nose. "Are you two still annoyed with me for vouching for Gajeel?" Hitting the nail on the head, both of them flinched at my words while Droy clenched his fist before nodding. "Yeah, we are, big bro."
Raising my hands, I rubbed their heads, causing them to subconsciously lower their heads. "I understand, but I'm sure you two can agree with Gramps' sentiment that everyone deserves at least one chance to change their ways." "But I don't like it." Faintly chuckling at Jet, I removed my hands and folded my arms. "If you don't like it, go confront Gajeel about it; you two are men, right? Real men won't do shit like what you guys are doing."
Rather than immediately responding, Jet and Droy looked at each other and sighed before lowering their heads once more, though this time, I could sense a bit of resoluteness in their voices. "Haa, you're sounding like Elfman, big bro." "Am I wrong, though?" Getting no response, I slapped their backs, causing them to hiss as they stumbled forward. "E-Even if we do confront him, what if he gets aggressive? We aren't exactly his match."
Narrowing my eyes at Droy, who awkwardly averted his gaze, I snorted while chopping his head. "Hmph, don't think you can use me to beat up Gajeel." "Hehe, it was at least worth a try." "Do you want me to beat you up instead?" Watching Droy and Jet flee out of the guild, I rolled my eyes and leaped up to the second story, where a few S-class missions were not available.
"Thinking of taking a job, Mira?" Approaching the quest board, I stood beside Mira, who raised her head and glanced up at me. "How about you and I take one, big bro?" Squishing her chest against my arm, Mira slowly snaked her hand down to my crotch, though before she could grab my manhood, I stopped her. "Oi, no touching Mira, that's not seducing, that's just sexual harassment." "Tsk, sorry, sorry."
Folding her arms with a pout, Mira stepped away from me, causing me to sigh at her child-like antics as I shifted my focus to the quest board. After looking around for a while, I settled on an S-class mission revolving around a contaminated river that ran through a few villages.
Falling from the second story, I approached Cana, who was drinking at the bar with Laki, and handed her the quest. "Huh, yeah, what is this big bro?" "Our next quest." "Ugh, why do we have to take quests? Can't we just stay at the guild?" Placing my hand against Cana's back, I filled her body with my magic, causing her to sober up quickly.
"Unless you wish to forever remain sober, you're taking the quest." Smiling at Cana, who looked at me in horror, I removed my hand and headed to the corner of the guild to sit down while she plopped her head onto the bar. "When do we leave?" "Ask Lucy, technically, she is the leader."
Winking at Cana, who groaned, I kicked my feet onto the table and leaned back as I fell asleep, though unfortunately, my nap didn't last for long as I was awoken by tugging on my pants, causing me to growl in annoyance as I opened my eyes, only to glance at a younger version of Macao. "Romeo? What's up with you?"
Grabbing Romeo by the back of his collar, I lifted him onto the seat while also throwing a cup at Macao as revenge. "Ouch! Who threw that!? If you want to die, just say it!?" Ignoring Macao's tantrum, Romeo laughed a little before hesitantly lowering his head. "Um, b-big bro, c-can I learn your Indestructible magic?"
Raising an eyebrow in surprise, I looked at Romeo, who showed a significant amount of determination for someone his age, causing me to sigh as I shrugged my shoulders. "Sure, I don't really care, but you're not going to learn Macao's fire magic?" "I also plan to learn Dad's fire magic." "Then why do you want to learn mine?"
"Because when Dad recounted the events when he faced the Vulcans, he had been attacked from behind, so I thought, if I used Dad's fire magic, which is mainly suited for long-range, and combined it with yours, I would cover both grounds." With shining eyes, Romeo looked up at me in excitement, causing me to smile wryly since, while his idea wasn't bad, there was one fatal flaw.
"That's pretty smart of you, but I don't recommend doing that. Indestructible Magic is incredibly powerful, but it uses a lot of magic; I have a tremendous amount, so it's not an issue for me to use it for a prolonged period, but it'll be different for you." "O-Oh, so I shouldn't, big bro?" Seeing Romeo lower his head in disappointment, I faintly sighed and rubbed his head.
"I wouldn't quite say that; if you used them simultaneously, then it would chew through your magic, but what if you were to only use Indestructible magic in bursts? If you did that, not only would you still maintain most of its power, but the magic expenditure would be significantly lessened." My words filled Romeo with joy, and he quickly stood up, grabbing my shoulders in excitement. "R-REALLY!?"
"Y-Yes. However, to be able to use Indestructible magic near instantly will require a lot of training; even I took a few years to get to that level." "I'm only 6, so I have all the time! So when will you start teaching me?" A little put off by Romeo's immense amount of excitement, I leaned further back while gently pushing him away. "W-We can start right now, just calm down first."