Display of Power and Kotori

AN: the second part contains a bit of character development and it's quite emotionally-driven. If you don't like that you can skip the second half of this chapter.

See you tomorrow guys :D

[10 minutes later, Fairy Tail Training Grounds]

And, oh boy, was Gildarts' reaction funny. Alex was able to contend with him in magic power alone. His eyes were now able to see the points and lines of death more clearly. His physical strength increased probably 30-40 times and he could now use Crush while launching long-ranged attacks! Using his eyes in combination with Crush Magic was still out of his reach but still…

What left the others quite amazed was the speed and the agility he showed. While fighting Gildarts physically, the brown-haired man sometimes couldn't even see him moving from time to time. His eyes were not able to follow his movements! Koneko Martial Arts lessons with Rukia and Mordred Kenjutsu sessions were showing their results right now. He was able to send the ace flying just with his punch alone. He still couldn't deal a lot of damage, if broken ribs couldn't be considered as heavy damage, but it was still very impressive.

Gildarts was flummoxed: Alex was already a S-class mage just in physical power alone! And he was 10! And he doubted that the other girls were that behind powerwise. What the hell did they feed these kids these days!

Alex started engaging Gildarts with his Crush Magic from long range. He launched white spheres, cubes, swords, spears just to try and see how long they were going to last. They dissipated in 5 seconds, not much, but not terrible at all, since they were more than enough to decide between life and death. He now had just to experiment a bit more with it.

He tried in the end to erase Gildarts magic with his eyes: the old man during his training had said to maintain his eyes always active but to never use them on him, only in case of emergency. Now he could see clearly even Gildart's own points of death, which appeared quite blurry before. He then slashed at his magic attack coming near him, erasing it completely. It was so fast almost everyone had problems seeing that.

'So after this small test I can say two things: firstly, Second Origin is really a cheat power upgrade. Not only my power and magic capacity have improved, even my control was upgraded by a notch. Thanks to that I can finally use long-ranged attacks with Crush Magic but I still don't have the necessary finesse to envelope my body with it. My body is a lot sturdier and I am way faster than before, probably merit of the combination between Saitama's body and Second Origin. The Ethernano circulating inside my body is much more compressed and refined, stimulating the growth of my body and in collaboration with my physical strength it caused my entire potential to skyrocket. Even my eyes had an upgrade…

Secondly, I'm physically stronger than normal and upper s-class mages. Which means that when canon will start, with the rate of growth I am experiencing I will be probably even physically stronger than Acnologia. And if I unlock third origin…' He was already salivating at the thought.

«Alex are you really human? Sometimes I have my doubts…» Commented Gildarts bewildered.

«I'm 100% human, old man, I think I am just a special case» Replied a happy Alex.

«Are you ready for the second part of my training, Sensei?» Asked the teen mockingly.

The ace gulped and had a bad premonition about the following months, he was probably going to pay for what he had put Alex through. It was better to ask Makarov for a leave.

«Don't even try to escape, I've already talked with Master and he said that you are suspended from quests for a year and that you have to continue training me, N-O-N-S-T-O-P» smirked the teen with an evil look.

«NOOOOOOOOOOOOO, WHY MEE?» Gildarts was comically crying displaying a hollow look on his face.

'Payback is a bitch, ain't it?'

What happened next was Gildarts' utter debacle. He had become a living target for Alex to practice his new capabilities. It was not going to be a good year for him.

Meanwhile the girls were still improving, and to everyone's surprise the one who had the most success was Kotori.

[19th February X779, Fairy Hill's Dormitory]

It was about 9:30pm when Alex went to the small garden that was recently planted outside the dormitory. It was really relaxing walking inside the arboretum and its natural scent that pervaded his lungs under the moonlight.

He stopped when he saw Kotori sitting on a small bench with a look that seemed going so far away…

«Kotori… what are you doing here?» Was our hero's question.

«Alex, I am just admiring the garden. I like it a lot, it makes me forget about my worries»

«Worries? What worries?»

Kotori debated a bit if she should say or not what was happening to her. She didn't see any negatives, except a bit of momentary embarrassment, so she continued:

«I feel left behind» Was her straight answer «I feel like I am progressing much more slowly than all of you. You all have amazing abilities and I am struggling just to master my Fire Magic. Not to mention my Spirit Take Over… I actually don't know what to do» Confessed Kotori.

Alex was left a bit stumped. He knew she was a bit behind but he was so occupied with his training and new powers that he neglected his sisters. And Kotori was the one suffering the most. He took a seat at her side and said: «Kotori you're still afraid aren't you?»

«I'm afraid of what would happen if I lost control after possessing Efreet. In my world I knew what was going to happen to me after a certain time, but here I don't know anything. Mira told me her story and how she had to flee her native village when her parents died. They considered her a demon! I don't want to become one! I don't want to endanger all of you!... This the reason I am still hesitant»

After a minute of silence caused by Alex internal ramblings and Kotori' confession he replied in a serious tone: «Kotori who do you want to be?»

«Eh?» Was her intelligent response.

«Kotori, who do you want to be, Kotori or Itsuka Kotori?»

«W-what the hell! What are you talking about?»

His strange question left the girl stunned. She didn't understand what he was asking her until something clicked in her mind.

'Are you still living in the past, or do you want to live in the present?' That was the hidden question.

Kotori then tried to answer but nothing left her mouth since all the replies she would have given were probably only her excuses.

«Kotori what you fear is your past, but what you have here, is your present, and will also be your future. So, what are you doing there alone when we are waiting for you to come to us. The past is what made you, the present is going to shape you and your future. Do you really want to waste that? Kotori will always have a part of Itsuka Kotori but I see the girl in front of me blooming in a very beautiful woman who will eclipse the old one. Are you ready to change your future by facing your fears and leaving behind your hesitation?» Alex then slowly gave his hand to Kotori who was still immersed in her previous thoughts.

'Alex…'

'He is right… A part of me was still hoping to go back to my old world, believing that all of this was only a dream. Onii-chan, no, Shido. Thank you for giving me the childhood I wanted and a brother I could count on. Thank you, guys of Fraxinus, you were the best companions I could ask for. I can now see who I aspire to be and what I am going to become. It's time to move on, no, it's time to fly towards the future with all of you at my back, giving me the strength to go on. Your memories will always be part of me, thank you my friends'

Tears slid on her small cute face while Alex remained there, waiting for her answer. When she refocused, she turned her determined gaze towards him and took his hand while drying her tears with her small fingers.

«Where did you learn to be the smartass hero with cool pick-up lines?» Asked sarcastically the girl while still holding his hand.

«I studied the famous Naruto's Talk No Jutsu and it has worked wonders» Was Alex's humorous reply.

«I bet you charmed Mikoto this way too, you man-whore» Continued Kotori while rolling her eyes.

«Hey I resent that!»

«Baka» Kotori had a small smile on her face and with eyes looking at him with some fondness.

«Then who I have before me? Kotori or Itsuka Kotori?» Alex asked rhetorically.

«You know very well who you have in front of you» Snorted the girl.

«Tomorrow I will try to use Take Over Magic… and I want you to watch» Her final words were no more than a whisper but Alex had caught them anyway.

«Don't worry I'll be there» Answered warmly the teen.

«Y-You… BAKA!» She tried to punch and slap him, but her actions were immediately stopped by him. He then lowered his hands while holding her two wrists and let her lean her head on his chest. He paused and commented softly:

«Kotori, don't do that, you know that it won't solve anything and will only make you be seen as violent and short-tempered. You might regret it in the future»

«I know… it's difficult sometimes exposing myself to other people and when I get embarrassed my violent tendencies surface. I'll try to stop doing that» Replied Kotori in a muffled voice.

«Thank you, Kotori. I can't wait for tomorrow»

«I am still anxious so don't make me regret this decision»

«I won't let you…»

[Next day, Fairy Tail Training Grounds]

Alex and his sisters were waiting for Kotori to transform while Makarov was observing the scene just in case he needed to intervene.

A red circle formed under Kotori's feet and she was immediately engulfed in a red and violet fire. What appeared after the flames disappeared was the small redhead in her spirit form, wearing her Astral Dress Elohim Gibor, with a happy smile adorning her face.

'Welcome back, Kotori'