"What was that all about, big bro?" "Yeah, that aggressive, even for you." As Lucy and Cana glanced at the entrance to Sabertooth, where the man had fled, before looking at me, I turned around, taking the stairs down while shrugging my shoulders. "Nothing. Just want to remain updated on how Minerva's handling everything. She's a strong girl, but she's also young; if she's been traumatized, I want to be the first to know."
While Lucy accepted my response without much thought, Cana, someone who knew me best, was still a bit skeptical, though she remained silent. Walking down the stairs, we took the streets through Gazania before finally leaving the city nearly twenty minutes later.
"You're really good with kids, Lucy." Slightly taken aback by my praise, Lucy sheepishly smiles while scratching her cheek. "Really? I was just trying to make her happy. If anything, we should be the ones praising you, big bro; I thought you handled her even better than me. No offense, but you don't strike someone as being good with children." Softly sighing, Lucy quickly smiled once more while poking my arm, causing me to scoff at her remark.
"I had to deal with Cana, Levy, Jet, Droy, Natsu, Elfman, Vijeeter, Warren, Max, Nab, Gray, Evergreen, Fried, Bickslow, Mirajane, and Erza. I was forced to learn how to handle brats." Swatting away Lucy's hand, I folded my arms in annoyance while reminiscing, causing my eye to twitch.
"Hey, I wasn't that bad." "Cana, remember when you first gave me a tour of Magnolia?" "Yeah, no way I could forget." "Well, because you got us lost, I had to deal with a bunch of thugs working for dark mages. Handling children doesn't just mean dealing with their attitude; it also means cleaning up after their mess. Which I did frequently."
Staring at Cana, who lightly blushed with embarrassment and averted her gaze, I grunted before looking away. "I-I have nothing to say." "You'd better have nothing to say." "Hehehe." "Oi, why the hell are you laughing, Lucy?" "Eh, I-I can't laugh?" "You think just because you're 17, I haven't had to clean up after you either?"
With a raised eyebrow, I looked at Lucy, who opened her mouth a few times before lowering her head, sighing in defeat, causing me to smirk. "That's what I thought."
"Now, c'mon, you brats. Let's return to Magnolia." "Haa." "Aye aye, big bro."
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3rd POV
Shortly after entering the Sabertooth, Minerva headed straight for the guild hall, which had been renovated to add a large throne in place of where the stage previously was, allowing the Guild Master to overlook his guild.
"Minerva." Hesitantly entering the guild hall, a deep voice holding no warmth echoed off the walls, causing Minerva to flinch as she instantly lowered her head. "M-Master."
Getting no response, Minerva, against her better judgment, raised her head, glancing at the large, muscular man with a beard sitting on his throne; his gaze was intense and colder than ice as he stared at her, causing her to flinch and quickly lower her gaze.
"Come here." His tone was that of someone who has always been in control and in power, preventing any thought of disobeying from even manifesting within Minerva as she did as ordered.
Nervously gulping, Minerva stopped just a few feet from Jiemma, who sternly eyed her. "What are those?" Gesturing to the outfits within her arms, Minerva subconsciously clenched them. "C-C-Clothes, M-Master." Jiemma's gaze hardened from Minerva's response, causing him to raise his head, glancing at Finger's, the man who had been attacked by Cooper, standing by the entrance of the guild hall.
"Fingers. How did my daughter arrive here in clothes?" At Jiemma's words, Fingers dropped to one knee and lowered his head. "Reporting Master. Minerva had been dropped off by three Mages, two women and one Male." Hearing Finger's words, Jiemma's gaze intensified.
Without warning, Jiemma suddenly released his magic power, pressuring Minerva with it, forcing her to her hands and knees. While struggling to withstand the full weight of Jiemma's magic power, he stood up and stepped closer to her, towering over her with his large frame.
Reaching down, Jiemma grabbed Minerva by her hair, lifting her like a doll before tossing her into the wall, causing her to cough blood, though he wasn't finished. "Strip." "M-Mas-" Minerva wasn't able to finish speaking before an orb of blast magic slammed into her chest, flinging her back into the wall. "Do not make me repeat myself."
Under Jiemma's intense orders, Minerva removed herself from the wall and slowly began to strip under his watchful gaze, shivering in fear while doing so. Once her clothes were on the ground, Jiemma wasted no time and fired two orbs of blast magic, one at the clothes at her feet and the other at the clothes she had been holding, destroying both of them.
"I did not raise you two to accept help from the weak! Pity is for the weak! Compassion is for the weak! Help is for the weak!" Although Jiemma didn't yell, his furious voice filled the hall as he stomped towards Minerva, who was sniffling and shedding tears. Having arrived before her, Jiemma raised his hand and backhanded her, forcing her to the ground.
"How long will you shed those worthless tears!? Tears are the ultimate apex of weakness!" Glaring at Minerva, Jiemma, for the first time, finally raised his voice, causing her to forcefully stop her tears, lest she be beaten even worse.
"Better. Now rise. Kneeling is for the weak; you're my daughter, you're not allowed to be weak." With trembling legs, Minerva slowly rose to her feet, causing Jiemma to nod, seemingly satisfied. "Leave. Your training will continue tomorrow."
Turning around, Jiemma returned to his throne, though while doing so, Minerva stared at the scorch mark where her clothes had previously lain before shuffling out of the room, and only then did she allow the tears to flow.
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A few days had passed since then. During that time, Team Natsu, who had left to defeat Oración Seis arc alongside their fellow guilds, which they succeeded in doing, were currently walking through Magnolia, returning to the guild, though unlike when they had left, two extra members were accompanying them.
One was an innocent young girl with blue hair observing the city with fascination, and the other was a small cat scrutinizing everything.
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Wendy's POV
"Carla, Carla! Look, a fountain!" While pointing at the fountain, I grabbed Carla and showed it to her, though she wasn't as excited as I was. "Yes, Wendy, it's a fountain; it is a fascinating concept." Pouting slightly at Carla's mild interest, I set her down.
"Huh, the hell did you just call me flame-brain!?" "I said you're a dumbass ice boy." Hearing Gray and Natsu arguing, I glanced at them, watching as they slammed their heads against each other while insulting and occasionally cursing each other. It had scared me when I first saw them behave like that, but over time, I came to accept it as their normal behavior.
'Honestly, it's a little fun to watch.' Although I felt a bit bad for liking it, it was funny. "Hehe." "Alright, you two, that's enough." Erza, sort of like the mother of the group, grabbed the two of them by their head and forcefully separated them; Natsu and Gray were both powerful, but neither of them dared to anger Erza, and rightfully so, as Erza was scary when angry.
"Anyway, how are you feeling, Wendy? Excited?" Shifting her gaze to me, Erza smiled, causing me to nod before lowering my head slightly. "Well, I'm a bit nervous. What if your friends don't like me?" "Haha, don't like you? Nonsense, Wendy, they'll love you." With a reassuring smile, Erza rubbed my head. "Hahaha, and if they don't, I'll just beat it into them!" Grinning, Natsu roared in enthusiasm, causing me to faintly smile.
"Yeah, don't worry about it, Wendy, no way in hell they'll dislike you." "Eh, Gray, your shirt." Pointing out Gray's missing shirt, he softly cursed before quickly picking his shirt back up.
"However, there is someone you should be wary of." At Erza's words, I looked at her in curiosity, though that curiosity turned into concern when I saw Natsu and Gray solemnly nod. "Oh, yeah." "Tch, yeah, him."
"W-Who is he?" "You'll know when you see him. Just be careful around him. If he finds out you can heal, well, let's just say you'll never experience peace again." "Yeah, no way someone as aggressive, violent, and bloodthirsty as him would leave Wendy alone. He'd try to take her all for himself." "We should probably get Gramps present, otherwise he'll ruin her innocence."
Listening to how they spoke of this man, my curiosity had long since vanished; now all that remained was nervousness and fear of this person. 'W-Who could this person be!?' "This person, he sounds no better than a beast! Does no one have him on a leash?" Carla, concerned for my safety, snapped at Gray, Natsu, and Erza, causing the latter to sigh.
"Haa, hardly. If he truly wants Wendy, there'll be nothing we can do." Seeing Erza shake her head in defeat, I felt my heart drop. "U-Umm, m-maybe I should-" "Ah, perfect, we've arrived. Fairy Tail!" Instantly, her earlier expression vanished, and a bright smile graced Erza's face, prompting me to face forward, only to gaze upon the Fairy Tail Guild.
However, unlike what I imagined, it seemed more like my end than a new beginning.