Chapter 65: The Clashing Heart of Mirajane (1)
Because of the battles between Fairy Tail's wizards, the Kardia Cathedral had collapsed.
Complaints from the church authorities would have been expected, but once the Harvest Festival ended, the Fairy Tail wizards immediately set to work on repairs. The cathedral was soon restored to its original form.
Of course, working through nights without rest to rebuild meant that Fairy Tail's wizards couldn't accept personal jobs for a while, but as the guild responsible for the town, it was their duty to take responsibility—and so, without complaint, everyone took part in the reconstruction.
Now, in the restored cathedral's graveyard.
Before the morning dew had even dried, Ciel stood before a gravestone, holding a bouquet of misty flowers in one hand.
"Lisanna… at last, I can bring you flowers."
With a sorrowful expression, Ciel laid the bouquet down at Lisanna's grave.
During the two years he had been unconscious after the battle with Acnologia, Lisanna had died in a tragic accident. By the time he awoke, Lisanna was no longer of this world.
Perhaps because of that, he had always waited for this day—when he could finally leave flowers at her grave.
"If I had been there… I could have protected you…"
Lisanna's death pained Ciel deeply, just as it pained Mirajane, who always came here to leave flowers.
Her death lingered like a wound in his heart.
Yet regrets could not bring Lisanna back. Ciel carried that sorrow, but he harbored no resentment or regret. Regret would not change the fact that he failed to protect her. Nor would it bring her back.
"If you had returned… the four of us could have been together again. But it seems the gods, for every happiness they grant, bring an equal misfortune. Back then, all I had was misfortune, with no blessings at all."
Just as Mirajane would whisper to the grave, Ciel too spoke his heart before Lisanna's stone.
It was an empty grave, only a marker. Yet by speaking here, Ciel could bare the truths hidden deep within himself.
"…As for Mira… it seems she doesn't see me only as family. She feels love for me as a man. It startled me, honestly. I don't know what she sees in someone like me. To me, Mira, and you too, Lisanna, were always precious family. The selfless love Phoenixia once gave me—I felt that same love from you both."
Ciel brushed his hand along the gravestone, his face twisted with conflict and hesitation.
"To be honest… I don't know if I can ever truly love someone. I don't know if I'm capable of holding genuine romantic feelings. Right now, I don't believe I have the right to accept her heart. So… for now, I just want to stay by her side as family. …Lisanna, I'm not wrong for that… am I?"
After pouring out what weighed on his heart, Ciel lifted his gaze skyward with a gentle smile.
He had known Mirajane's true feelings for over a year now.
Every day, she came here—to her sister's grave and to his—and spoke to him, sharing her heart, her love, her hopes.
Even if he had little experience with love, he wasn't so dense that he couldn't notice such feelings.
But part of him hesitated. Part of him was afraid.
He understood family love, the unconditional bond Phoenixia had once shown him. But romantic love between a man and a woman was something different. It was about mutual understanding and the pursuit of happiness together.
And in Ciel's eyes, he wasn't worthy of accepting that love.
He knew how she felt. But if he treated her only as family, he feared he would only hurt her.
To someone who had never truly known what "love" meant, the fear of wounding Mirajane weighed heavy.
With a bitter smile, Ciel turned his back to the grave.
"Lisanna… I'll come again when I can. Next time, I'll tell you not about troubles like these, but about real adventures."
Leaving those words behind, Ciel departed from the graveyard.
....
Two weeks passed after the Harvest Festival.
The town was finally returning to its usual calm, while Fairy Tail's members spent sleepless nights on the cathedral's restoration. None complained. After all, they themselves had wrecked much of the town during the conflict.
Once repairs were finished, however, the announcement of Laxus's expulsion shocked everyone. Natsu, in particular, had been throwing fits up until just yesterday:
"I can't accept this, old man! Why'd you throw Laxus out?!"
"He's one of us! No matter how much we fight, he's still our comrade!!"
Because of the wizards' quarrel, Natsu had been restless ever since Laxus's expulsion.
"Natsu, calm down."
"Enough already, Natsu."
"Ciel! Erza! I'm going to fight him properly! I'll get strong enough to beat him one-on-one…"
"Stop it! Think about how Master must feel. Do you think he expelled Laxus because he wanted to?"
"…But still…"
"Natsu, Laxus accepted this as his own trial. He's atoning for his mistakes. Please accept that."
This sort of argument repeated itself more than once.
Each time, Ciel and Erza had to calm Natsu down in Master's stead.
Meanwhile, Master himself was being stubborn in another way—insisting he would step down from the Guild Master's seat to take responsibility for his grandson's wrongdoing. Everyone had to desperately talk him out of it.
"Let me go! From now on, Ciel—you're the Master of Fairy Tail!"
"Master, don't say that!"
"I've no interest in the Master's seat. Well… perhaps I could leave the position to Hepsiel as acting Master…"
"Stop!!"
"Anything but that!"
"Please save us, Master! If Hepsiel takes over, we're all dead!"
Everyone desperately begged Ciel not to accept the position. Truly, it was like fighting for their lives against a warrior of death itself.
In the end, it was Freed who shaved his head bald in penance and begged:
"Please don't add any more weight to Laxus's burden. If he learns Master stepped down because of him…"
Moved by Freed's words, Master finally relented. From that point on, the Thunder God Tribe began to slowly open up and grow closer with everyone else.
After the Harvest Festival, Erza was often seen together with Ciel. She pried persistently about Mystogan, but Ciel never gave her a straight answer.
Still, the two carried themselves like senior and junior S-Class wizards, sometimes trading advice, other times talking casually like siblings.
....
By the time a week of this hectic life had passed, I was facing another big problem:
Miss Fairy Tail had been decided—with Erza crowned the winner. And because of that, my dream of using the prize money for rent had been crushed.
Well, thanks to Natsu picking up work and Ciel and Erza helping me out, that issue was solved quickly enough. Another week flew by, and now…
The female members of Fairy Tail—myself included—were gathered in Juvia's room, holding a pajama party. But not just for fun—we were conducting a very important strategy meeting.
"U-um… g-guys, you really don't need to help me with this kind of thing—"
"What are you talking about! Juvia thinks, if it's about love, it absolutely must be helped!"
"She's right. Mira, ever since Ciel returned, you've been restless for two weeks and still can't bring yourself to go near him."
"…Cana…"
"Mira, I know how you feel about Ciel. You've been in love with him for seven years now. We can't just sit back and watch forever."
"…Erza…"
"All of us know your feelings. You don't see him as just family—you love him as a man. You're not blood-related, so this is your chance to become real family."
"…Levy?"
So there we were: Erza, Cana, Juvia, Levy, Bisca, and myself—summoning Mirajane to hold an emergency meeting to help her confess to Ciel.
It had been Erza and Cana, who had known of Mira and Ciel's bond for years, who pushed for it. At first, us newer members wondered if we had any right to be involved.
But Juvia, with her own experience of love, eagerly insisted, and I too joined—hoping the two of them would finally find happiness together.
"But Ciel really is strange, don't you think?"
"Strange how?"
"He's barely ever had anything to do with women romantically."
"Now that you mention it… even back when we were kids, remember how often the flower-shop girl, or some rich heiress he saved on a job, would confess to him?"
"Yeah, I even remember when Karen from Blue Pegasus came all the way just to flirt with Ciel."
"Oh, that was famous."
"And yet, in the end, Ciel turned every one of them down. He always said he couldn't, because he still had children to look after."
"But he always cherished Mira the most, didn't he? That's got to mean maybe he has feelings for her too!"
Hearing the way they chattered about love, it was clear they were still very much young girls in their prime.
Well… myself included, of course.
As we nibbled on snacks and sipped drinks, the conversation revolved entirely around Ciel.
"Wait, wasn't there a nine-year age gap between Ciel and Mira?"
"W-well… I'm twenty now… I'm an adult, so it's fine, right?"
When Mirajanr blushed and stammered, everyone grinned and relished the teasing.
But the real purpose of our gathering was to figure out how Mirajane could finally convey her feelings to Ciel.
Erza, looking frustrated, slammed her fist against the wall.
"Enough! Talking like this won't help! If we keep putting it off, nothing will change. Fine then—let's make our move tomorrow!"
"Eh… Erza, isn't that a little fast?"
"Yeah, what about planning a date course… or coordinating outfits…"
"No—Erza's right."
Cana gulped down her drink and nodded.
"We've been watching this for seven years. Seven years! Sure, back then you were kids, but seven years of unrequited love? There's no point waiting any longer! If you keep making excuses, nothing will ever change!"
"Yes! Juvia agrees completely! Love is an explosion!"
"…Guys…"
With Erza, Cana, and Juvia fired up, the date was decided for the very next day.
Then Levy spread out a guidebook she'd marked with all the romantic restaurants and quiet scenic spots around Magnolia.
I got swept up in the excitement too, and summoned Cancer's key on the spot to handle hair and styling.
"Alright, I'll narrow down the best spots that Ciel is bound to love!"
"Then I'll—open, Gate of the Giant Crab: Cancer!"
"Yo, shrimp! What style you want today?"
"Not me this time. Fix up Mira here with the best hairstyle and outfit you can manage."
"Okay, shrimp."
"She's going on a date, so put your soul into it and make her shine!"
"A date? Then I'll burn my soul to unleash the ultimate beauty, shrimp!"
With all our passion poured into it, we rushed to prepare for Mirajane's big chance with Ciel.
....
The next morning—
"Ciel-nii, did you sleep well?"
"Elfman, you're always awake before me. What do you want to do about breakfast?"
"Since Sis was off at the pajama party, let's just eat at the guild dining hall."
After finishing his morning training, Elfman greeted me as I came down.
Last night, Mirajane had gone off to join Lucy and the other girls at their sleepover, leaving the house empty.
Normally she cooked, but it wasn't a big deal for the two of us to manage. Still, Elfman seemed eager to head to the guild early and look for a good job request, so he was hurrying me along.
To think—the boy who used to always trail behind his sister was now searching for work on his own. He was really becoming an adult.
I washed my face, combed through my damp hair, and tied it back into a loose ponytail.
I even considered cutting it short again like I used to… but I'd gotten so used to the weight of my long hair brushing against my back that I felt it would be lonely without it.
After tidying myself up, I decided to go with a more refined look today—rather than a simple T-shirt, I wore a crisp white shirt with a loosely tied black necktie.
To finish, I slipped on a long black coat, completing my outfit before heading out with Elfman toward the guild.
"Ciel, you're here early this morning."
"Good morning, Gray."
"Good morning, Ciel."
"And good morning to you too, Master."
The guild was already as lively as ever at this early hour.
While I exchanged greetings with Master and Gray, Elfman went straight toward the request board.
I took a seat at the bar, smiling faintly at the waitress as I considered what to order for breakfast.
Since Mirajane was taking the day off and would likely be out with the other girls, I figured perhaps I'd take Elfman out on a job today. Idle thoughts like that drifted through my mind as I prepared to order.
But then—
"Whew~, look who it is~?"
"Mirajane, all dressed up!"
"So pretty~!!"
The guild doors swung open, and in stepped Mirajane—her hair styled differently, bangs loosened, with a ponytail that mirrored mine. She'd gone out of her way to dress beautifully, and the effect was stunning.
Every guild member, Master included, erupted into words of admiration.
But for some reason, Mirajane seemed nervous as she walked straight toward where Master and I sat.
"Mira, isn't today your day off?"
"Y-yeah… but, Ciel… how do I look?"
"You look beautiful," I answered without hesitation, smiling softly at the unusual mix of maturity and innocence she radiated.
At that, Mirajane's face flushed crimson, and as if steeling herself, she shouted with all her might:
"Ciel! If it's alright… will you spend the day with me?!"
"…Eh?"
Caught off guard by her unexpected request, I tilted my head, wondering what this situation was supposed to mean.
Beside me, Master and Gray nudged me in the ribs, grinning as they whispered teasingly.
"Well, well, Ciel. Looks like a rosy atmosphere to me."
"When a girl says it straight like that, don't hesitate—go with her. This is the first time Mirajane's asked you directly, isn't it?"
Their words made me glance back at her again.
Mirajane stood trembling, head lowered in embarrassment.
I couldn't help but chuckle softly, and gave my reply.
"Yes. Since I don't have any jobs lined up, I'll accompany you."
"R-really?!"
"Yes."
The tension drained from her in an instant, replaced by the radiant, innocent smile of a girl truly overjoyed.
And with that, I found myself being pulled by her hand, leaving the guild behind.
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