"There's disguises in the chest for you two," was the first thing Reiki said once they walked into a small home. He also added, "Get comfortable, I guess."
Gale scanned the room for anything suspicious. It's not like he didn't want to believe Nova, he did. However, he didn't believe her. Not a fiber of his being believed a word she said.
He changed his whole personality to get into the king's personal guard? Gale knew Reiki took extra precautions... But that was simply ridiculous.
Gale knelt in front of the chest and began digging through it. There was normal clothes, along with accessories that would change aspects of his appearance. He ended up finding a green dye for his hair, a pair of glasses, and another set of clothes. He also picked out a small plastic box. Inside the box was thin, small, and colored half-spheres. They were completely grey.
He turned to Nova, who was looking through the box herself, "what are these?"
"Um," she studied them, taking the box away from him. "I don't know what they're called, but they change the color of your eyes."
"Do I need them?" Gale asked.
"Let me see," Nova ordered. Gale turned, allowing her to study his bright red eyes.
They made eye contact for a couple of seconds. After Nova realized that what she was doing was called, 'staring', she quickly turned away while flushed.
"I- yes. Yes you should wear them."
"Okay... I just... stick them in?"
"Y-yeah. Best do it in front a mirror..." Her voice drew out. She doesn't remember the last time Gale studied something so closely before. Eyebrows furrowed, eyes squinting.
He looked vulnerable.
"I have to go," Reiki interrupted Nova's thoughts. "Knight dinner."
"Have fun," Gale murmured.
"What time will you be back?" Storm asked gruffly.
"Won't be long."
He headed out the door with that. Gale watched him as he did.
"I'm not the only one who thinks that's a clone, right?" Everyone turned their heads to the speaker, to which everyone was surprised to who it was.
Nashi pointed towards the door while she asked.
"Am I the only one who doesn't think he's crazy?" Nova asked. "People change, guys."
"That much?" Gale asked. "I'm glad we found him... but I don't understand."
. . .
When Reiki walked into the bar, everyone had gone silent. It was a strange thing. Just by his aura, you could tell that he was powerful. You didn't even have to be facing his direction to tell that he was in the room.
Not only that, but, he never came to these type of events.
One of the guards snickered, "he probably heard about the Gates."
"Yeah, no kidding, he's such a wannabe."
They sounded like they could take on Reiki any time of the week. However, when Reiki shot them a dreadful look, a shiver went down their spine.
The redhead sat down at a small table, and waved a tender over.
She quickly got his order and served it to him, which was only some broccoli and beer. A strange order, but who was she to make a fuss?
Reiki ate his broccoli and beer without a sound coming from him. When he sensed someone coming towards him, he cocked his head.
"Dang, I thought I could sneak up on you."
Disappointed, he went back to eating, silently as ever. It was the waitress who served him his food.
"You look ticked," she said, sitting down in the chair across from him. "Since you got here, you've had this... mood."
He ignored her.
She sighed, "I've heard of you. The Scarlet Knight, I heard. You're very strong, and usually people don't need you coming. Not until they're bleeding, at least."
She held out her hand across the table, "my name is Edda, by the way." She was waiting for him to shake her hand, but he only glanced up before eating again.
"Right..." she muttered. She drew her hand back slowly, and sighed again. "You don't look very cool, eating broccoli, just by the way."
A pause.
"Are you going to drink more of that beer? I can take it for you, if you want."
Reiki kept chewing.
"Not that I dislike you right now or anything, but you're very boring, Scarlet Knight."
Chewing. He drank more beer this time too though.
She's trying too hard.
"Who is that?"
Edda pointed to a man behind Reiki. He knew though, that she knew exactly who it was. She was just trying to make conversation. He wasn't budging.
She was failing miserably, but she tried.
"You stink at talking, Scarlet Knight."
More broccoli travelled from his plate to his mouth.
"Say something back, please?"
Reiki found himself chewing faster. Maybe if he finished his plate soon enough, she'd have to do her job and take it back to the kitchen.
"You aren't very good at making friends, I can already tell," her voice was disappointed.
She spoke once again, "are-"
Reiki kicked her calf.
She scoffed, "finally, something." She tried to hold in a grimace. The pain in her leg was gradually growing.
"Who are you?" He scowled beneath his breath.
Edda furrowed her eyebrows, "I was right. You are ticked."
"Listen to me," he grumbled, "go out that door. Now. Or else I'll throw you out there myself."
The blue haired girl leaned forward, resting her chin on her knuckles. "Why should I do that?"
Reiki clenched his teeth.
"Follow up on your threat, then. I'm not moving," her next sentence was in a bad imitation of pirate, "Me bones are quaking."
He kissed his teeth.
Edda stood up, and walked out the front door. Luckily, the bar kept filling up with guards. So Reiki went unseen while exiting with Edda.
He wanted to punch her as soon as they got outside, but he decided against it. He needed to know what she knew about him. He should've told her to leave while he had the chance. He didn't know she was forming one sentence with multiple sentences. Not until right before he kicked her in the calf.
It was the first word at the beginning if each sentence. After she pulled her hand back from a failed handshake. Truth be told, he probably would've stayed calm if this dinner had been the night before.
"What's your name?" He asked almost the minute they got outside.
She continued to walk, "Edda."
Edda turned into an alleyway not far from the bar itself, but it was secluded and seemed secret.
Reiki still searched around him, though. He could never be too careful. He stood a couple feet away from her, to be sure.
"Listen," Edda said, "I know about your sister. That's why you're mad." She rubbed her arms. The air was chilly, and she was beginning to get goosebumps.
He looked at her in distaste, "I don't have a sister."
Edda began to close the gap between them, "I know who you are, Reiki."
Reiki had to fight himself to keep calm, "that's not my name."
She seemed tired of this, "then what is your name?"
"Seiko. I'm sorry, but, you have the wrong person," he turned to leave the alleyway. He changed his plans, he really didn't want to deal with it right now. He knew she knew who he was, and that was all the information he needed at the moment.
Honestly, he wanted to go back home and sleep.
Reiki was stopped, though. Edda grabbed his shoulder tightly, and wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon.
"Your name is Reiki," she muttered. "Your sister died this morning, and you're mad about it. You're mad, not because she died, but because of who killed her. You're a weapon for one of the guardians and you don't plan to use that to your advantage, you want to get revenge by yourself. Why?"
The alleyway was filled with tension. Reiki thought that Edda was pissed about something else, too.
"Why are you ticked?"
He swear he heard her teeth chattering for a couple seconds, then a sniff. "My family died because of Zeref. They were related to a Guardian of King Natsu's, the ones who were supposed to protect him? Their children, who were supposed to protect his daughter? None of them were supposed do that, but they still got killed. Zeref came into my house and killed them. I want him dead. Zeref and the Gates. I spent so long trying to find the Guardians, and you. Now that you're here, you refuse to tell me that you're a Scarlet descendent. That's why I'm angry."
"Get over it, then," Reiki said sourly. "My mother's missing and he killed my sister. In case you didn't know, I'm not working by myself. A weapon of the Guardians doesn't work unless the Guardian is using them."
Before Edda could say anything else, Reiki saw a figure from the corner of his eye. He whispered, "fall down. Pretend you're dead."
"What?"
"Just do as I say."
She did as she was told, making herself limp and slamming in the ground.
Reiki turned himself around and knelt down, he pulled a dagger.
He pretended to check her heart, and then proceeded to grab her arm. He made a large cut in her forearm.
She almost swore.
"Its going to sting, but make sure to have someone wash and wrap it later," he whispered.
He put an extra emphasis on someone.
Edda understood. He placed her arm over her chest and let it bleed through the cloth of her clothing. She shut her eyes, and lowered her breathing.
Reiki stood up and turned, sure enough there was someone standing there.
He began walking pasting the guard, "She's dead. Making a protest against the king," He said monotonously.
"Hm," the guard hummed. He turned away, following Reiki back into the bar.
Reiki was boring and hardly talkative, but skilled and respected nevertheless. This made the other knights trust whatever he had to say, if he did have to say something.
After a couple minutes of eating alone, Reiki left the bar. No one cared, really. It was a miracle he came to begin with. The only reason he came was because of his sister.
They didn't believe in mourning over death, so they celebrated their life instead.
He was trying to look for Edda, but she was never found.
Shrugging it off, he began to walk home. It was late, and past curfew for the villagers. No one was to be out on the road at this hour, no one except guards and nobles.
The front door to his small home was at the end of a cobble road, the other side of town. The road was quiet, as everyone down there were farmers. They normally went to sleep much earlier than others.
He paused.
"Who's there?" He asked quietly. It couldn't have been Edda, no, something else is radiating off of them.
"You know, your grandmother was my weapon."
A shadowy figure came from the shadows behind him.
Reiki's eyes widened at the sight of him, "what the hell?"
The man was muscular, holding black hair and stubble around his chin. Cross earrings pierced his ears, and he wore chestplated armor.
Around here, everyone knew him. He never appeared, though. Not unless you did something to seriously piss him off.
At first, Reiki was wondering what he had done.
Then he remembered what he did only a couple hours earlier. How had this man found out?
It wasn't just any man, either. It was Silver, the third Gate.
"Reiki Fernandez, goes under the name Seiko Knightwalker, and is commonly known as the Scarlet Knight," Silver said, almost in a mocking tone.
Reiki was about to chip his tooth. Before he knew it, his heart was racing faster than what is considered healthy.
"You faked your death a year ago," Silver stated. "And tried to get into the Gates. Smart, and it fooled us for a while, but no one could mistake that red hair. Can't dye it, can you?"
"No," was all Reiki answered. He couldn't. No matter what he did to it, it would go back to red as soon as he bathed.
Silver snickered, "anyways, I'm getting side tracked. Where is she?"
A lump appeared in Reiki's throat, "who?"
Silver disappeared for a second, then was again visible in front of the boy's face, "the princess."
Reiki stared straight back at him, "I thought she was dead."
Before he knew it, one of Silver's hands wrapped around his neck, "fine then. Where's the other Guardians?"
Raspily, Reiki answered, "I don't know."
"I have a feeling that you're lying. You don't want to lie to me, boy."
"I'm not."
"Then how come one of them is standing right by your house?"
Reiki shifted his eyes.
"Nova," he muttered.
She stood there, in shock. She came outside to find Reiki, she needed proof that he was the same Reiki they'd known for years.
What she found was a complete stranger catching him by surprise. A dangerous stranger, at that.
Gasping, Reiki could only say one thing.
"Run."