It has now been a few days since Kagari and Erza returned to Fairy Tail after completing the S-Class Quest of exterminating The Nightmare Demons of Ravainia. During that time, Kagari decided to take a well deserved break from going out on jobs as he now had enough money to invest into buying a house for himself.
However, for his home, he decided that he would rather live in one of the houses on the outside near the trail that leads to the city instead of living in the city like Erza, Lucy, and Gray do.
A/N: Before you all ask, yes. It's the log cabin from Sword Art Online.
Thankfully, there were a few homes that were built near the forest in Magnolia and one of them was at a very good price of 4 million jewel, which meant he still had money saved over for other uses. It was a very large wooden cabin that had a stone trail that led to the main trail that lead to Magnolia. Along with a very beautiful view of Lake Sciliora and Magnolia from the house's large wooden balcony.
Once Kagari officially moved out or Gray's house and when the house was finally bought, a few changes had to be made. First, a squadron of Shadow Knights and Shadow Bears were ordered remain and guard the premises when Kagari leaves his home. Then, Tusk placed a protective spell over the materials the house was made off to make sure it wouldn't be vulnerable to fire, natural or magical.
Of course, Beru offered to have himself and the other Shadows create him a large mansion like they did before long ago, but Kagari denied his offer as he didn't want people asking about a giant mansion being mysteriously built in the middle of the forest.
~*~*~
Tomorrow was going to be the day of Kagari's Housewarming Party where the members of his team (Erza, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy) were all going to come over and celebrate him earning his new home. But before that happened, there was somewhere he needed to go first.
Kagari: Hey...
Kagari: It's been a while since I've been here, huh? I'm going to be busy tomorrow and I won't get the chance to come back here so...
Kagari walked towards the stone and sat below it, quietly.
Kagari: Heh, Guild Life has been keeping me moving for the last couple of days... but it's been one hell of a week so far.... you would've enjoyed it. Better than most of those Dungeon Raids you were apart of.... but this world does have its monsters too...
Kagari: Thankfully, I got enough money to finally afford a home for myself... it's got a very amazing view... I'm sure you'd love to see it...
Kagari's Thoughts: You were the one that said I should give guilds another chance...
Kagari's Thoughts: I miss you... I really do...
Kagari stood up and began to walk away as he took one last look at the sword in the stone. Then, he walked away without saying another word.
Behind him, Igris took a glance at the sword before walking by Kagari's side, who had a depressed expression on his face.
Igris's Thoughts: Even after all this time... My liege's suffering still resides within him...
Igris's Thoughts: We must find a way to heal him... before it grows even worse than before...
(Timeskip)
Kagari's House, Afternoon
Later in the afternoon of the next day, Kagari stepped out of his house, wanting to get some training done before he had to prepare for the House Warming.
He started with some stretching before moving on to punching one of the largest trees in his vicinity to practice his physical attacks before enhancing them with magic.
Once he coated one of his fists with magic, he threw a powerful punch, creating a hole in the tree, which began to timber and Tusk held it.
Kagari: Thank you, Tusk.
Tusk: Aww, no problem, Boss! All in a days work for me!
???: Hey, Kagari!!
Kagari: Hmm?
He turned around to see Natsu and Happy were standing behind him.
Kagari: Oh, it's just you two.
Meanwhile, Erza, Lucy, and Gray were walking out of Magnolia and up a stone trail that led to Kagari's house. Erza was holding a box of cake, Lucy brought chocolate, and Gray held a large container of soda. Apparently, Natsu and Happy had ran off to get to Kagari's house before they did.
Lucy: Jeez, where did those two idiots run off too?
Gray: Knowing their luck, they went and got lost somewhere.
Lucy: Your clothes, Gray.
Gray: CRAP!!!
Erza: I'm sure those two are already there, waiting for us.
Gray: -_-...How are we sure that dragon boy ever brought something?
Lucy: He might have, but he probably ate it on the way up here. So Erza, what did you bring?
Erza smiled as she opened the lid.
Erza: It's a delicous strawberry cake with white chocolate icing over it.
Lucy: Wow! That looks really good!
Gray: Yeah, but what's with that piece you got marked up with dark icing?
Erza: Oh, That's the piece meant for Kagari. Everything else is for me.
Lucy: Wait, hold on. You're not gonna let anyone else have a piece except for Kagari?
Erza: Yes. This cake is far too good to share. however, I couldn't have accomplished the job in Ravainia without him assisting me, so I will reward him with a piece of my dessert.
Erza: Do you have a problem with that, Lucy?
Lucy: N-No ma'am! I was just curious, that's all!
Suddenly, their attention was caught by the loud boom of an explosion that shook the ground.
Gray: Woah, what the hell was that?!
Erza: It came from Kagari's House, let's go! Quickly!
Erza, Gray, and Lucy rushed down the narrow path until they arrived in Kagari's front yard. In the middle of the field, was a big crater with a large smoke cloud rising into the sky.
Suddenly, Happy came crashing down to the dirt with some of his fur being burned.
Happy: Oww, that was way too much fire, Natsu.
The trio shifted their gaze back to the field and saw Kagari standing by the crater as Natsu wasn't fighting him. Instead, He was facing off against his Giant Ogre Shadow, Tusk.
Natsu: Is that all ya got, Tusk?!!
Tusk: Ha! Not even close! You know, I'm starting to like you, Natsu Dragneel. Let's continue!
Kagari: Just don't destroy any parts of my house, alright.
Lucy: Uh, why is Natsu fighting one of Kagari's Shadows?
Gray: Eh, he probably pissed him off.
Natsu: Alright, that was good. Now then, let's see if I can--
Erza: What is going on here?!
Hearing her, Kagari, Natsu, and Tusk all looked behind them to see Erza, Lucy, and Gray standing in the front yard of his home.
Erza: I'll ask again, what's going on here.
Kagari: Oh, Natsu's just in the middle of a quick sparring match with Tusk.
Gray: And here I thought flame-brain burned your house down.
Lucy: A sparring match?
Natsu: Yeah, we got bored of waiting so we need to do something til you got here.
Kagari: Natsu wanted to see how he could do against one of my Shadows. So I decided to have him fight Tusk to kill some time.
Lucy: If you're just sparring, then why is Happy so burnt.
Kagari: -_-.... He got a bit too close...
Natsu: Yeah, sorry about that, little buddy!
Gray: If you and Kagari ain't fightin, then what the heck was that explosion, huh?
Natsu: I'm tryin' to see if Tusk can give my flames a good boost. Got a problem, ya punk!
Gray: Yeah, I got a problem with your face, dragon boy!
Natsu: Undie Flashin' Freak!
Tusk: They've only seen each other for a few minutes and they're already about to fight each other?
Happy: Aye!
Kagari: -_-....You don't know the half of it, Tusk. And trust me, you don't want to.
Erza: Natsu! Gray!
Erza: ENOUGH!! BOTH OF YOU!!!
Natsu/Gray: A-AYE!!!
Kagari: Her yelling is all it takes.
Happy: Yep, that's the mighty Erza for ya!
Lucy: Cut that out, ya suck up. It's getting old.
Erza sighed.
Erza: You should do something a bit more productive in order to pass the time...such as training with each other.
Lucy's Thoughts: Oh no, I really don't like where this is going.
Natsu: But hold on, let me try Tusk's flames again!
Kagari: You heard him, Tusk. But turn down the firepower a bit, would you?
Tusk: Understood. Here it comes, Natsu!
Holding back a bit in power, Tusk unleashed a blast of fire magic aimed at Natsu, who opened his mouth, attempting to eat the fire.
Kagari's Thoughts: Well, what do you know. He can eat Tusk's flames. When he's holding back, of course.
Natsu: Ahhh! Now I gotta fire in my belly!
Tusk: Most impressive, Natsu Dragneel. But now I must return to my duties elsewhere.
Kagari: Thank you for providing my friend some entertainment, Tusk.
Tusk: I'm happy that you are both pleased. Farewell, my liege.
With that, Tusk returned to Kagari's Shadow as a four way battle between Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Kagari was about to start, as Lucy and Happy watched from the porch with the food.
Gray: Yo, Kagari.
Kagari: Hmm?
Gray: You won your fights against Erza and Natsu, so let's see how you do against me, huh?
Kagari: Sure, I'm down for a quick match. Be ready, cause I'm not holding back.
Gray: Ice Make: Lance!
Just then, Gray fired multiple shots of sharp ice lances in Kagari's direction, who slashed them to pieces with his daggers.
Gray: Ice Make: Arrows!
As Kagari dodged Gray's Ice Arrows, Natsu clenched his fists as large flames emerged from them, ready to fight against Erza.
Natsu: Alright, all of this fight has got me all fired up! Let's go, Erza! Me and you! Today's the day I finally beat you!
Erza: Hmph, we'll see about that, Natsu.
In a golden light, Erza requipped into her Flame Empress Armor, her counter against Natsu's Fire Dragon Slayer Magic.
Natsu: The Flame Empress Armor, huh? Good, that means I can turn up the heat as much as I want!
Natsu: Fire Dragon Iron Fist!
Natsu jumped up and charged at Erza with a flaming fist, but she dodged it and unleashed a slash from her flame sword.
On the porch, Lucy was concerned that the fight would destroy Kagari's house while Happy was eating a fish, enjoying watching the fight from the sidelines.
Happy: Oh, this is gonna be fun!
Lucy: You say that like you're about to join in the fight.
(Timeskip)
For the next hour, it was Kagari vs Gray and Erza vs Natsu in their little free for fall training match. Natsu was the first one out as Erza's flame resistance gave her an edge and she used it as she Requipped into her Giant Armor and slammed Natsu into the ground, knocking him out cold.
Then, Gray was next to lose as Kagari knocked him down to the ground with a swift barrage of kicks, but Gray did land a few hits before he was taken out. Now it was the final training match against Kagari and Erza.
Thankfully their battle was not as intense as the first one, but the two were locked in a great match. In the end they called it a draw to ensure Kagari's property didn't suffer any damages.
Natsu: Jeez, Erza doesn't play fair! Switchin' armor on me at the last second.
Kagari: You didn't expect her to keep on her armor the entire fight, did you?
Natsu: Ah, whatever. I say we do a rematch!
Gray: You can't be serious, right now.
Kagari: Another time, Natsu. But is fighting all he loves to do?
Gray: For the most part, yes. More than sleeping and going on jobs.
Natsu: Hey! I heard that!
Kagari's Thoughts: Jeez, I gotta cool off a bit from that training...
Kagari took off his shirt and simply wore it around his neck.
Meanwhile, Erza and Lucy were walking behind the guys who were still talking before going into the house.
Lucy: Erza, don't you think you and the guys may have overdone it with the training?
Erza: Come now, Lucy. That was a light training session. We were just having some fun before the party... starts...
When she laid her eyes on Kagari's back, she lost her train of thought. When her eyes traveled lower, she felt her face become hotter and it did not help that she had a full body view off his frontside when he sat down with Natsu and Gray.
Lucy: Really, that's what you would call a training session? Erza...? Erza...?
Lucy's Thoughts: Huh, she's not listening...
Lucy looked onto what her redheaded friend was staring at, correction "who" she was staring at.
Lucy's Thoughts: Wait a minute, is she...? Oh wait, I get it now....
Lucy smirked and nudged Erza's arm.
Lucy: Hey, I see what you're looking at over there, Erza. Are you having a good time?
Erza: Wait what?! No! I wasn't staring at Kagari!
Lucy: I never said you were, Erza.
Lucy's Thoughts: I never thought that teasing Erza would be so much fun.
Erza's blush deepened as she turned away with then reopened her eyes and turned to Lucy giving her a very cold and threatening glare.
Erza: You will keep this to yourself. Am I clear?
Lucy: YES MA'AM!
Lucy's Thoughts: Nevermind! it's not fun anymore!
Gray: What's with those two?
Natsu: Who knows, man. You know I don't understand girls.
Happy: Aye, sir. No, you don't.
Kagari: Okay guys, I think it's about time I show you the inside of the house now.
(Timeskip)
Kagari's House, Living Room
Once he opened the door, Fairy Tail's Strongest Team were now inside of Kagari's House. As soon as they stepped into the living room, all of them immediately started exploring and going through his things.
Happy went through his clothes, Gray got in his boxers and took a nap on one of his couches, and Natsu raided his fridge for his food.
As Kagari watched this small vestiges of Igris, Beru, and Tusk appeared.
Beru: *Telepathy* Those fools! Who do they think they are, rummaging through my liege's home?!
Igris: *Telepathy* I must say, you have very rowdy and invasive comrades, my liege.
Tusk: *Telepathy* Ha! Really? Because I think they're very entertaining!
Kagari: *Telepathy* Well, I'm glad you're amused, Tusk.
Kagari: -_-...So Lucy, is this how you felt about we all stayed at your house...?
Lucy: Yep, pretty much.
Kagari: Thought so. By the way, where's Erza?
Lucy: Hmm, I'm not sure. Maybe she went upstairs?
Kagari: Oh, okay...... Wait, upstairs...?!
Kagari jumped towards the staircase and ran up the stairs to see the door to his bedroom was open.
Bedroom
When he arrived in his bedroom, Kagari saw Erza invading his dresser and going through his drawers of clothing.
Kagari: Erza! What are you doing in here?!
Erza: I have to admit, Kagari. You do have quite the collection of dark colored clothing.
Kagari: What? It's what suits me!
Kagari's Thoughts: Ugh, now I know how Lucy feels...
When Kagari looked back, he saw that Erza was no longer in the room with him. Then, he noticed the door leading to his balcony was open. As he stepped out, he saw Erza looking at Magnolia from his balcony.
A/N: Just roll with it and imagine that Magnolia was actually in the background of the picture, okay?
Erza: Ah, this is such a gorgeous view. You're very lucky to have acquired such a house for yourself.
Kagari: Eh, it's better for me than living in the city anyway... but I'd appreciate it if you guys could not raid my house...
Erza: Oh, it's not like that. We were just curious, that's all
Kagari: -_-....Yeah, curious.
Suddenly, Lucy's yelling could be heard from downstairs along with the sound of a few thuds coming from Natsu and Gray.
Erza: Those idiots!
Just then, Erza had to run downstairs to stop them as Kagari simply sighed.
Once he walked downstairs, he saw Lucy jump on the couch as Erza was laying on top of Natsu and she had Gray in a headlock, keeping them from escaping.
Kagari's Thoughts: -_-....There's never a dull moment with these guys is there? Not even in my own house.
(Timeskip)
Kagari sat down on the couch with Lucy and Happy as Erza had Natsu and Gray sitting on their knees on the floor.
Kagari: Guys, I've had this house for less than a week and you start a fight here...
Natsu: Don't blame me, man! It's Gray's fault!
Gray: Oh no! You're not pinning this on me, pinky!
Natsu: My hair's salmon! Not pink!
As Erza yelled at them to stop, Lucy watched on in boredom.
Lucy: They're gonna fight even though they're already on trouble....
Lucy's Thoughts: Wait, wasn't there something else I wanted to show them..
Kagari: Something on your mind, Lucy?
Lucy's Thoughts: Oh yeah! Kagari and Erza don't know about him!
Lucy: Hey Kagari, you remember Loke, right? Orange hair, green jacket, blue glasses.
Kagari: Yeah, but I don't know him that well except for when he and Natsu swapped bodies. Why do you ask?
Lucy: Well, you see. When you and Erza were away, lets just say something happened to him.
Erza: What do you mean? Did something bad happen to him?
Lucy: No, nothing bad. But something did happen with him. Let me show you.
Lucy pulled out on of her Golden Zodiac Keys.
Lucy: Open, Gate of the Lion: Loke!
In a golden flash, Loke appeared in the living room wearing a black suit and red tie.
Loke: Hey guys, been a while, huh?
Erza: Loke? You... are a ...
Loke: Celestial Spirit. Yeah, I am. I'm Leo the Lion, but you guys can still call me Loke.
Kagari: Okay. I'll say it. I'm very surprised by this...
Happy: You're the coolest spirit ever!
Erza: I don't understand. What happened while we were gone?
Lucy: Well, it's a long story. You see...
In reality, Loke was really a Zodiac Spirit who was in a contract with Karen Lilica, a Celestial Wizard from the Blue Pegasus Guild. But after witnessing how abusive and cruel Karen was to a particular Spirit, Loke demanded all contracts with her be terminated and he would stay in the Human World until she did so.
However, by staying in Earthland, it prevented Karen from using any of her other Celestial Spirits, which made her incapable of taking jobs. After three months, Loke grew accustomed to the Human World and went back to Karen to forgive her.
But before he returned, Karen was dead. She had desperately taken a job without her and she got herself killed as a result. As punishment for violating his contract with Karen and causing her death, Loke was forbidden to return to the Celestial World.
Now that he was banished, Loke spent the last 3 Years residing in the Human World, keeping his secret, but when his time was up, his magic power was rapidly draining away and he was on the ferge of death. However, Lucy refused to quit and attempted to reopen
Loke's gate to the Spirit World.
Seeing this, the Celestial Spirit King had appeared, explained that Loke did not kill Karen, but his actions caused her death. In an attempt to convince the Spirit King, Lucy summoned all of her Celestial Spirits, stating that saving your friends was not a sin. Seeing Lucy's resolve, The King allowed Loke to return to the Spirit World once again.
But in exchange for this, Loke must now atone for his sins by serving Lucy as she is now the new holder of his Zodiac Key.
Loke: And yeah, that's the whole story...
Lucy: Sorry if it was a too much info for you guys to take. Alot happened when you two left for Ravainia.
Kagari's Thoughts: So that would explain why Loke was so scared of Lucy before...
Kagari couldn't help but sympathize for Loke and the guilt he was burdened with. He could relate to what he had gone through.
As a memory came into his mind, a familiar voice echoed through as well.
"Closing yourself off from feeling... won't help anyone..."
Kagari's Thoughts: No. Just forget it...
I shouldn't think about it... the less I do... the less it hurts... It's not about me right now...
Loke: Well, it was nice seeing you guys again, but I gotta get getting now...
Loke turned to Lucy and smiled at her.
Loke: Like I said before, I look forward to being your most reliable Celestial Spirit, Lucy.
Lucy: Yeah, I do too .
Happy: Ooh, They're in loooove .
Lucy: WILL YOU SHUT UP, YOU STUPID CAT!
Loke: Oh , I almost forgot. For helping me , I wanted to give you these, Lucy.
Loke reached into his coat pocket and pulled out six slips of paper. Lucy was shocked as they were six tickets to the famous hotel and casino, Akane Resort.
Lucy: Loke, you didn't have to do this.
Loke: I know. But I wanted to... after everything you did for me, it's the least I could do. Well, you guys take care.
With that, Loke then vanished into thin air, leaving everyone else in the living room quiet until Lucy spoke up.
Lucy: You know something. I was just thinking. if I was ever in his situation, and I had accidentally caused someone here to get hurt, or worse ... I'd be just as torn up about it as he was. But I wouldn't hold on to the guilt ... because I know my friends would be there for me. If I ever needed to talk, there's always someone here at Fairy Tail. We're really lucky, you know?
Natsu, Gray, Erza, and Happy all smiled and Kagari nodded with a forced smile on his face before he looked down.
Kagari's Thoughts: Yes, we're all... very lucky...
Natsu: Akane Resort, eh? So, when are we gonna head out?
Erza: We can leave first thing tomorrow morning. It's almost nighttime.
Lucy: Hey Kagari, would you like to come along. We do have six tickets, so I'd like to know.
Kagari: Ah, what the hell. Sounds like a good time. Sure, I'll come along.
Natsu: AW YEAH! Now I'm all fired up! We're going on vacation!
Happy: Aye, sir!!
Gray: Finally. After all the crap we've been through. We've earned this one.
Lucy: Well, if we're going. I guess we should all start packing tonight.
Erza: Yes, Indeed we should...
Erza grabbed Kagari by his right arm, pulling him upstairs.
Erza: C'mon Kagari, let's go and get your things packed, and then you can help me pack mine when we go back to Fairy Hills.
Kagari's Thoughts O_O...Oh no, not again...
Kagari was about to speak but stopped when he saw Erza's simle face. It was the happiest , brightest smile he had ever seen on her face. It was infectious and it soon had him smiling.
Kagari: O///O...!!
Kagari's Thoughts: Why is it that when I see her smile... I feel so... so... calm...?
"Little did Kagari know, the smile on Erza's face would soon be at a major risk..."
~*~*~
ALRIGHT, WE'RE HERE!!!
The Tower of Heaven Arc!!
Kagari vs Jellal is on the way!!