Chapter 238: Because We Are Anxious, We Need Friends
"Not bad," Noah praised him. "That's Natsu for you. Always impressive in a fight."
"What was that you said earlier?!" Natsu yelled, planting his hands on his hips.
"Huh? Did I say something? I don't remember," Noah denied, deadpan.
Natsu grabbed the unconscious Erigor and hauled him up. "You said I couldn't beat this guy! That you'd let Erza handle it!"
Noah blinked, then broke into a smile. Erza was smiling too, and Lucy just burst out laughing.
"You really are an idiot, your memory is terrible," Gray said, shaking his head.
"What'd you say, you stripper?!"
Sometime during the fight, Gray had managed to strip down to his boxers. Natsu threw Erigor to the ground and got in Gray's face, their foreheads colliding.
"I'm talking to you, squinty-eyes!"
"You wanna go, droopy-eyes?!"
"Anytime!"
As they were about to fight, Noah glanced around. The Fiore Kingdom's army had arrived. They'd shown up during the fight but had stayed back, unable to get through the barrier and uncertain who was who. Now they were cautiously approaching.
"Gray, put your clothes on," Noah said.
"You hear that, stripper?" Natsu taunted.
Gray spun around, ready to throttle Natsu, but he suddenly froze. He turned and saw Noah staring at him with a calm, unreadable expression that terrified him. He immediately scrambled to find his clothes.
"H-How...?! Erigor... lost?!" Kageyama, who had been trying to break the barrier, had been jolted by the shockwave and looked over just in time to see Erigor lying in a heap.
At his voice, Erza and the others turned their attention to him. Kageyama froze, too scared to even breathe.
"What do we do with him?" Erza asked Noah.
"I was really looking forward to seeing him break my barrier, but he didn't even come close," Noah sighed. Kageyama's face darkened; he had been trying his hardest.
"Just hand him over to the army with the rest of them."
Noah waved his hand, and all three barriers dissolved. The soldiers, startled, raised their weapons again.
"It's alright," Noah said, walking toward them. "We're from Fairy Tail. Here's my guild mark."
The captain of the guard relaxed. He recognized the mark; Fairy Tail was infamous. After confirming their identities, Noah explained the situation. The captain, who had already been briefed on the disturbance, was overjoyed.
"We will take these criminals into custody immediately! Thank you!"
As the soldiers began to round up the unconscious Eisenwald members, Noah was discussing the details with the captain.
Suddenly, a shadow detached itself from Kageyama and shot toward Noah. A shadow-hand emerged, snatched the Lullaby flute from Noah's pocket, and vanished.
"He got away!" Erza yelled, her face full of self-blame. "I was careless!"
"He's got Lullaby! This is terrible!" Lucy panicked.
"It's fine," Noah said, unconcerned. "I put a seal on it. A guy at his level won't be able to break it anytime soon. But... we should still follow him. See what he's up to."
He turned to the captain. "We need a vehicle. That man stole a magic-powered car and is heading for Clover."
Kageyama raced toward Clover, the flute in his hand. 'Idiots! They let me get away with Lullaby!'
He reached the outskirts of the town where the regular guild master meeting was being held. He could see the lights and hear the voices from the hall. 'Perfect. They're still in there. From this distance, the sound will definitely reach them.'
He was about to play, when a hand suddenly tapped his shoulder.
He froze.
"Pfft... puhahahaha!"
He spun around to see a tiny old man in a jester's hat, laughing his head off.
"Ahem!" the old man coughed. "Alright, you should head home, little man. It's late to be out all alone."
He turned to leave. 'Makarov! The Guild Master of Fairy Tail! I'm just cursed to run into them today!' Kageyama thought. He steeled his nerves.
"Wait... please..."
"Hmm?"
"Can... can you listen to me play? I came out here because no one will listen to me... Could you... just listen to one song?" Kageyama held up the skull-flute.
Makarov's eyes narrowed. "That's a... strange-looking flute."
"It... it sounds beautiful, though."
"Alright, one song. Then I have to get back," Makarov said, his eyes still sharp.
'He agreed! I won!' Kageyama thought, his heart pounding. He raised the flute to his lips, but... he hesitated. He thought of Erigor's hatred, of Noah's calm words, of the warmth of the Fairy Tail members. He couldn't do it.
"Go on, son. Play," Makarov said, his voice calm.
Kageyama's hands were shaking. 'Just play it! Just play it, and everything will change!'
"Nothing will change, you know."
Kageyama froze.
"Weak people," Makarov continued, "will be weak no matter what. But weakness isn't a sin. Humans are weak creatures, after all. Because we're anxious, we form guilds. We need friends. We gather together so we can walk forward, together.
"Clumsy people might hit more walls than others, and they might take the long way around. But as long as you believe in tomorrow and keep walking, you'll find your strength. You don't need to rely on a flute for that... right?"
Kageyama stared, stunned. 'He... he knew all along?'
His knees buckled, and he collapsed, the Lullaby flute falling from his grasp. "I... I give up."
"Master!"
"Old man!"
Erza and the others, who had just arrived, rushed out.
"Shhh!" A... very round man... in a strange outfit blocked their path. "Just watch, dearies. ♡"
He turned to Natsu and Gray. "My, my, what a pair of cuties! Heehee! ♡"
Natsu and Gray recoiled in terror, huddling together.
"Who is that?" Lucy whispered to Erza.
"That's Master Bob, from Blue Pegasus. And that's Master Goldmine, from Quatro Cerberus."
"Oh my, if it isn't little Erza!" Bob cooed. Then he spotted Noah. "And Noah, darling! It's been ages! Why don't you visit us anymore? The girls miss you terribly! ♡"
"I've been busy, Master Bob," Noah said politely. "Please send them my regards."
(Noah hadn't visited Blue Pegasus in two years. Ever since he'd grown up, his visits were... complicated. Ultear and the others had eventually started accompanying him just to run interference, which had created its own set of tensions.)
"You must come soon, darling! ♡" Bob said. Erza was now glaring daggers at Noah, who just gave her a helpless look.
On the field, Makarov was getting impatient. "Well? Are you going to play or not?"
But Kageyama had already surrendered.
"Master!" Erza and the others ran up.
"Wha—?! What are you three doing here?!" Makarov yelped, suddenly terrified. "You didn't destroy anything, did you?!"
He broke out in a cold sweat, which only subsided when he saw Noah walk up calmly behind them. 'Ah... Noah's here. It's probably fine.'
~~~
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