Chapter 19// Beach Episode Part 3

Aki inexplicably got chills. He noticed Gray was still staring gobsmacked at him. 

Aki decided he didn't wanna know what just happened. He smiled and spoke, "Shall we go?"

"A..ah yes, Le's go", Gray stuttered and turned around but stumbled on his right foot.

Aki chuckled good-naturedly.

But suddenly his whole body tensed and he was immediately alerted. On the clockwise, at 2 a.m., someone was watching him...He knew this presence far too well.

Aki massaged his forehead and sighed exasperatedly, "Gray, go on ahead, I'll catch up in a bit."

Gray immediately got serious. He frowned and asked, "What's going on? Is it serious? I can help you know.."

"No, no, It's fine. I'm just gonna talk...peacefully of course." Aki eyesmiled.

Gray wasn't convinced but he dropped the subject. He knew Aki hated 'persuasion talks', "Okay but flare your magic if there's a fight."

Aki playfully saluted, "Aye aye sir."

Gray lips curved and closed his eyes. Then he turned his back and waved his hands. A few minutes later, he arrived in front of the seasick Natsu. He was lying pitifully on the scalding hot sand while the sun was glaring down from above.

Natsu lifted the scarf that was covering his eyes and looked up. Gray's shadow was covering the harsh sunlight that was supposed to fall on top of his face. Although it doesn't really bother him, a chilling shade was nice once in a while.

"Where's Aki?" he inquired.

Gray spoke cooly, "He's peacefully talking to someone."

"Huh, what's that supposed to mean?" Natsu sat up, a frown evident on his face.

"I also don't know." Gray shrugged.

Natsu stood up and began to walk towards the place where he smelled Aki. But Gray immediately grabbed his shoulder, "Let go", Natsu looked at Gray in the eyes.

"He's not a child. You know how much I also want to run up there and never let him out of my sight. But we can't do that." Gray looked Natsu dead in the eyes.

Natsu shrugged off Gray's hand, "It's for his safety. Aki will understand."

Gray looked at Natsu's back and spoke, "Is it for his sake or for your own?"

"Shut the hell up!", the fire sparked out of Natsu's palm. Immediately, chills air came out of Gray's.

"What are you two doing?" A calm voice suddenly broke the tense atmosphere.

A girl with long gorgeous white hair wearing a dress that beautifully sculpted her body walked up to the two of them.

"Mira.."

"What's this all about? Natsu? Gray?" She asked, No warmth could be found in her voice.

"Aki might be in danger yet Gray is fussing about nothing!"

Mirajane looked at Gray, asking him to explain the situation.

Gray sighed and ruffled his black hair, "Mira..Aki isn't in immediate danger. He said he's just going to talk to someone peacefully."

Natsu gritted his teeth, "Yes! 'Peacefully' no one who peacefully wanted to talk to someone would ever use the word peacefully!"

"It might just be his acquaintance or his client from the past. We don't know the situation clearly. Just rashly going over might disrupt his plans if he had one!" Gray tried to rationalize clearly.

"Even if he's talking with his friends, so what? Can't he talk to them with us present there as well?"

"Of course not, you fucking idiot! For the last time, Aki isn't a child!" Gray was almost yelling into Natsu's face at this point.

"We left him alone and look at what happened last time! He almost died, Gray."

Gray scowled, "Yes, but the last time was at the guild. No one would expect someone to drop the bomb on their own home. Anyone else would also let their guard down! And here, almost the whole guild members are present here. Plus, Aki just now didn't seem worried, he just looked somewhat annoyed. Even if a fight were to occur, he can hold off his own for a few minutes."

Gray loosened his stance and closed his eyes, "Besides, I asked him to flare up his magic if a fight were to occur. And, we have master on our side. There's no way we'll lose."

"Gray is right, Natsu." After assessing the situation, Mirajane softly spoke.

"But Mira.." Natsu's fists tightened, "...I'm just worried about him.."

Mirajane walked up to Natsu and took both of his hands into her palm, "We all are, Natsu."

"But Natsu if you think at least a little bit about what type of person Aki is, do you think he'll like it? Or do you think he'll look at you with unfamiliar eyes?"

Natsu bit his lowered lips and didn't answer.

Mirajane looked at Natsu who was lowering his head and said, "Aki is his own person..He has his likes and dislikes, his hobbies and interests...each person is unique to their own. You like Aki because of who he is, isn't that right?"

Natsu flinched.

Mirajane gently unfurled Natsu's fingers that were digging into his palm and said, "You are asking him to change who he is as a person. If, one day you look at him in the eyes and find it unfamiliar, what will you do? Will you leave him? Deciding he wasn't the person you fall in love with, will you give up?"

Natsu dejectedly murmured, "No matter where or who Aki has become, I will love him on every occasion, and besides!" his voice rosed a bit, "Who Aki as a person is killing him! Are you okay with that!?"

Upon seeing Mirajane's face, Natsu grew quiet.

"If that is what Aki truly wants...we have no choice but to let him go," Mirajane whispered with tears evident in the corner of her eyes.

Even though it was just a tickle to the wind, all the presence heard Mira's voice.

Gray frowned but declined to say anything.

Suddenly, Natsu shook off Mira's hand, "I think you're all being cowards. Yes, we had no choice but has Aki ever given a choice?"

"You are afraid that even if you did all your best to try to find a cure for Aki, you will end up empty-handed, Isn't that right!? You are afraid of disappointment. That's why before Aki gives up on himself, you all gave up on him first!"

"Natsu! You have gone too far! Apologize to Mira right now!"

"..It's fine Gray. Natsu, you're half-right...We're already close to giving up. But we did try our best."

"!!"

"When we first found out about his condition, we tried to investigate from his background first to determine whether or not it was passed down from his lineage. But what we found was so baffling that only a few people know of this information. Even Erza didn't know of it."

"Even Erza didn't know?" Gray affirmed with wide eyes.

Natsu scrowed but declined to comment. So, Gray had to bite the bullet and asked.

Mirajane closed her eyes, "Aki had an accident before...Over three years ago, an accident took his life. Aki's then-friend saw the scene with his own eyes."

That day, the sky was sunny. It was shining brightly across the kingdom without any discrimination. But suddenly the wind started roaring up. First, it was just a sprinkle of rain then it suddenly downpoured with lightning as its accomplice. It all happened in a matter of seconds. He closed his eyes for one second due to the harshness of the wind. But when he opened his eyes, all he saw was the blinding white light that brightened up the red sky.

Then, a roaring of thunder. Afterwards, stillness and a corpse.

He didn't manage to find the pulse. He hurriedly ran away to look for someone who could help him.

But when he came back with someone, he was no longer there.

Mirajane reopened his eyes and she sighed.

Natsu and Gray were wide-eyed. Then Natsu stammeringly added, "This is just one-sided! What if that person was just lying!?"

Mirajane softly shook her head, "He had all the evidence to back it up. We checked some information ourselves and they matched. And we met Aki's friend by pure luck. He thought he saw someone that looked like Aki so he came to the guild to inquire us. But when he found out it was Aki...he demanded to know what kind of magic resurrected Aki if not...he would report Aki and the whole Fairy Tail as a dark magic guild who would practice forbidden magic on innocent people."

"!That damn bastard, please tell me you beat him up real good!", Natsu gritted his teeth."

Gray sweatdropped, "That's not the point.."

At this, Mirajane sweetly smiled, "Don't worry, Laxus made sure he can't talk" –anymore for eternity.

"Mnm mm", Natsu nodded his head in approval, then suddenly a light bulb appeared on his head, "What if there are two different Akis?"

Gray raised his eyebrows, "Didn't Mira just say Aki's background had been checked? Then, there's no way there are two Akis...wait–"

Gray went gobsmacked.

Natsu went gobsmacked.

Mirajane's mouth visibly widened.

"N-no way, It isn't possible..isn't it?" Natsu weakly questioned.

Mirajane's lips parted. Then closed. Then parted again.

Finally, she muttered, "...It's possible. That day, 'Aki' died and he joined the guild approximately after six months had passed. We've been able to track where Aki had gone during the later months..but the first two months were completely empty! It seems like he just vanished from the face of the earth! At that time we thought our hand wasn't able to reach enough. But now combined with what Lucy said about what it felt like being on the other side of Aki's magic–"

"What!? Lucy has fought Aki before!? How unfair.." Natsu bit his scarf and muttered.

"She was obviously well versed in types of magic. Plus, Lucy is a celestial mage. So she knew more than us in this area. Aki's magic...Lucy said it felt like she was in another totally different dimension where magic didn't exist. It only lasted about one minute, but she felt like her rights as a human being were slowly being stripped off. Before she was dragged inside that space, she saw Aki murmuring the words, 'Ryoiki Tenkai'. Before this, anyone who has ever seen Aki's magic never survives to see the dawn of the next day. Lucy was the first case."

"After she got back, she said she searched about this in every nook and canny of the library and never saw anything remotely related to this. Lucy just off-handedly mentioned while being awestruck with Aki so it slipped past my mind! There are only two possible answers to this question!"

Natsu spoke with a serious look in his eyes, "Either Aki's magic was a forbidden one that has never been discovered by anyone in history..."

Gray quietly added, "Or..it didn't exist in the first place."