Author...
Ryuu, Brad and Heina were left at the forest with Hibika as the Fairy Tail members ran towards the place they described. They were silent, all four refused to say a word. The silence was only broken when the Raijin Tribe arrived with Koujiro on his stuffed lion. It was Bickslow who was controlling it.
"Koujiro!" Ryuu called out his name out of worry but couldn't move an inch.
"Papa Ryuu," the kid had a very tired voice but it showed a hint of happiness when he got to see his family again. Evergreen jumped off the lion and gave the poor boy to his leader. All the four members were worried about Koujiro and all tried their best to huddle around him. Seeing the sight, the Raijin Tribe felt guilty.
"I'm happy to see you all." the boy said with lightness in his voice and it made his fellow members' hearts flutter. Koujiro wasn't a kid who showed a lot of emotions but, when he did, everyone knows it's from his heart. He was too young to lie, he was too innocent. All he ever wanted was a family and he thought he had it.
Everyone in Darc Dracul, Aka and Lady Dracul as well, he believed they were all his family. He didn’t understand when Ryuu explained their second mission, he didn’t understand when they said Aka had to pay, he didn’t understand when they said that Lady was dead. All he understood is that they were bringing back Aka so that Lady Dracul would come back too. He didn’t understand the darkness behind the plan and the others have no plan of making them understand. They didn’t want to make him a killer like them,
“Is Aka back? Is Lady back?” he asked tears falling down his eyes while he had a smile. He was expecting that they’d be back by now even with the Fairies’ disruption.
The four adults around him felt guilty to the bone. If back then they were willing to sacrifice Aka for the sake of a dragon they looked up to, now they were wishing to the gods that Fairy Tail would succeed in saving her.
Koujiro was puzzled because they didn’t answer, “They aren’t?”
“I’m sorry, Koujiro. I’m so sorry.”
Lucy…
It was not too far when we saw the four exceeds standing in front of a cave that – had a crimson crystal wall covering its entrance?! Kuro looked gravely injured even after being healed by Wendy. What could have possibly happen while we were gone?
“Everyone!” Happy shouted upon the sight of us.
Kuro wasted no second as she turned to us with tears in her eyes. She pleaded, begged and shouted, “Save Aka, please!”
We looked pass through the crystal wall and inside was our new guild member, munching her life away by eating the poisonous blood mineral that covered her dragon. It started to melt in her hand causing her whole body to be covered by the crimson. I could also see black smoke emanating from the block she held. Was that the poison? It must be!
Natsu, Gajeel, Gray, Erza, Elfman, Mirajane, Lissana, everyone who was an offensive fighter tried to break the crystal; alone and all together. It was useless; it was layer after layer after layer of crimson wall that regenerated every time after it broke. I even called out as much celestial spirits as I can to see if they could break it too, but they couldn’t. All went back after failed attempt after another. We couldn’t understand how it could fix itself like that again, but it had only hit us that Aka was responsible when every time we broke one, she would stop eating the crystal encasing Chi and turn to us with a glare.
“Why is she doing this?” Charles asked in worry.
“Ryuu pushed her into the highest level of bloodlust so that she would eat the giant crystal off Chi!” answered Natsu.
“What would that do?!” Kuro shouted furious.
“They thought it would bring Chi back,” answered Gray, “But they’re wrong. It won’t bring her back. Her corpse would just crumble into dust and-“ he didn’t want to continue. He couldn’t face the black female exceed and be the bearer of bad news.
“What? And what?!” but she wanted to know. Even I couldn’t face her, no one could. I wish she didn’t ask. I wish all of this never happened.
But it’s too late for that.
“Aka would end up eating many years’ worth of magic that could be poisonous and lead to her death.”
I saw the world crumbling inside of Kuro’s eyes. She then shouted hysterically. It was a heartbreaking sight. I didn’t know what to do. I don’t think anyone around us knew what to do.
The black female exceed ran towards the crystal wall separating her and her friend and punched it with her small paws. Though it was futile, there were no signs of her stopping.
“Aka!” she shouted, “Aka please let us help! Let us in!”
Her cries sent different emotions to us; she was hurt, she was afraid, she was willing to do anything just to save her friend. We felt the same too. Her perseverance to keep trying gave us the willpower to not give up too. We continued our attacks, we won’t give up.
Aka…
Bloodlust, I always hated it. I hate the fact that I have to be enslaved by my own conscience just because I have the urge to drink blood. I don’t even like blood. It tastes horrible. But there’s just this certain stimuli that I can’t have enough of when I drink it. I feel powerful.
I never wanted to feel powerful. I hated that feeling too. But power controls the mind and blood controls my power. Therefore, blood controls my mind.
I remain dormant in the deepest depths of my brain until I am finally satisfied with the amount I’ve drunk. I don’t know if I’m actually drinking any blood right now or if I am searching for it or if I am attacking someone for it. All I know is that I am still in bloodlust and that is a state that I don’t know what’s happening in the outside world. I am trapped in the four corners of my subconscious.
“My, Aka, you’ve grown into such a beautiful lady.”
A voice suddenly came out of nowhere and it made me flinch and observe my dark surroundings. I have been in very few bloodlust states before, but never in those states have I heard another voice other than mine. And this voice – it sounds awfully familiar.
Do I dare to call out her name?
“Chi?” I do.
“Yes, child. It’s me.”
I was in disbelief. Was it really her? How? Where is she? I turned my head left and right, up and down, sideward and backwards, but all I really see is darkness and emptiness.
“Chi! Where are you?!” I called out hysterically as I continued to peer in the darkness. “Please show yourself! I need to see you!”
“Child, calm down.” She said but I couldn’t. It’s been so long since I heard her voice, her calm heartwarming voice. It drives me insane to hear her but not see her!
“Chi please! I need to know that you’re alive! That I didn’t kill you!”
Silence. I shouted again, et no answer. Was it all a figment of my imagination? Was that voice not real?
“Child, I’m sorry to say that I’m not alive.” Then she spoke again, this time my heart sank.
She was dead. I killed her. Nothing changed.
If she was dead, how could I hear her voice? Was this still a trick my mind is playing? As if being in bloodlust wasn’t bad enough.
“But hear me, Aka. You didn’t kill me.” I rolled my eyes as I continued to listen to her. This wasn’t Chi. I’m sure it’s just my pity trying to cheer me up. That part of me that say ‘it’s not your fault’ is trying to convince myself that I was innocent when I’m truthfully not. I killed her. I encased her in a crimson crystal made out of her own blood. It is my fault.
“Stop beating yourself up over my death. I made that choice. I killed myself.” The voice in my head sounded exactly like Chi, even the way she talked. It felt so nostalgic.
“I was still the one who froze you in your own blood, so doesn’t that mean I killed you?” I argued.
She roared, which surprised me. It sounds exactly like her roar too. “Oh please, child. Stop this nonsense! Your friends are right, you know? When they said I was stupid. I shouldn’t have put you through that. I shouldn’t have made you slay me. This was the whole reason why I didn’t want to interact with humans anymore- cause I always made them suffer with my bad decisions.”
I blinked. What was my subconscious doing? When did I start thinking about Chi like this? Never in my entire life did I expect Chi to admit she was stupid because – first of all, she wasn’t. This is a strange effect of my bloodlust.
“And stop saying I’m an effect of your bloodlust. I am most certainly not, young woman!”
My eyes shot open as I froze on my place. This was a joke right? It can’t be possible right? How-
“It’s possible, Aka. I don’t want to tell you how though. Just listen and listen closely. You need to wake up now.”
It was useless. “Even if I wanted to, I don’t know how.”
“Aka, you just need to believe that you’ve drunk enough.”
I hugged my knees and lowered my head, not even sure if she could see me right now, but if she did, she would be disappointed. She’d say something about how I’m such a weakling, how I’m such a coward, how I gave up so easily. I couldn’t help it, this was all I could do.
“Child. I will never look at you like that.” I didn’t think that she’d hear even that. What exactly is happening here? “Kuro seems to be a great friend.” She suddenly changed the subject. It was a subject that I was happy to tackle.
“She is. She’s the sweetest cat in the world. She makes sure I’m safe and taken care of. She makes sure I’m not alone. She’s like a sister I’ve never had. I miss her already.” I couldn’t help but describe her with a bit of pride and hurt. It feels like a hundred years since I last saw her. I want her to yell at me for being so careless, then I want her to hug me out of concern. I wonder how long till I get to feel those from her again.
“She seems to be a nice friend.” Chi commented and it made me laugh. That was pretty obvious already. “I wonder how she’ll feel if she lost you.”
My laugh easily stopped as I heard her ponder. What did she mean by that? How will she lose me?
“Now Aka, if you don’t wake up from this bloodlust, you’re going to perish and Kuro will lose her dearest friend. Don’t give up now, Aka. Because I tell you, your friends haven’t yet.”