Bitter-Sweet Revenge}: Returning And Planning

When the boys returned with the four bags worth of money, the girls sprung to their feet, ready to head out. The council soldiers had left without inspecting the tunnel system, for reasons unknown. Maybe laziness, or maybe they felt it was beneath them to navigate dark and dirty tunnels only for the small chance of finding something useful.

"Shall we head out?"

"It should take us an extra few hours to return now that we are carrying this. Also, boss, we should try and enter Magnolia during night time. The council has eyes and ears in many places, and if they see us walking with this, they would be legally allowed to arrest us, or just brand us as rogue mages which would make us hostile towards most legal guilds." Richard explained knowingly. Micah couldn't count the sheer amount of times he thanked the multiverse for delivering this man to him. Without him, things might not have gone so smoothly.

"I second that, boss."

"I hear you, and I agree. Richard, I know this little group doesn't have a name yet. We're not even an established power yet, but, if you would, I would like for you to take up the job as our accountant. The protector of our economy. I trust you know how to safely handle this loot and process it into money we can use." From his attitude towards money, Micah found no reason not to give him the responsibility of handling their funds.

"I have many contacts all over Ishgar, including Magnolia. You three can head straight for the guild when we get back, I will go and sell what we have here. I have quite reliable sources that should still be active in the city. Anything else you want me to do?" He had already taken it as a given that this would fall on him. He loved money, he loved collecting it, and most of all, he wanted to feel useful, so accepting this was of not issue.

"I have been thinking of purchasing a home for us. I'm not sure how much those bags are worth when turned into jewels, but I want you to scout some locations. Try and find something semi-remote. Make sure we have a moderately close distance to the guild, but also not in the centre of town. Can you manage that?"

"This is quite the collection here. More than enough to buy an entire villa straight off the market. Do you want it done low-key? We wouldn't want the council on our tail, right?" Richard guessed that this was what Micah would want to do so before he had even asked, Richard had made up multiple plans on how to process the loot, buy a house, and all while avoiding prying eyes. There were not many mages as skilled in this area as he was. Since childhood, he has had close relations with the underworld spanning multiple cities.

"On the off-chance that they are gonna track us closely in Magnolia, try and be as discreet as you can. Make sure the loot can not be traced back to us. We wouldn't want an arrest-warrant coming for us just because of sloppiness." Micah said. He felt very confident in Richard's ability to handle this with efficiency.

"I will have it done in no time. I will scout some locations and come to you, as the boss you should always be the one with the final say. And, I think Sorana agrees with that." She nodded to Micah, displaying her agreement.

"Fine, I'll be at the guild. And, while you're doing that, we should talk with Makarov about Yukino potentially joining the guild? That's if she wants to, and you allow it."

"We can talk about that on the way. We should get going, we're burning daylight." Sorana said.

"Right, let's go. We have quite the walk ahead of us." And so, their long walk back to Magnolia began.

**************************************

Back in the guild, Micah had just entered with the sisters in tow. While ignoring the fight-crazy smile on Natsu he walked right up to Makarov and gave a little bow.

"My boy, I got word from the council. I don't know what you said to them, but they aren' too happy with you."

"I'm sorry, we may have gotten slightly carried away with some light teasing," Micah said, choosing not to disclose more.

"Hahaha, no, no, screw with them all you want. Screw all they stand for, this is Fairy Tail, and here we do what we want."

"Do not mind him, he is a little drunk. He doesn't mean half the things he says when he is drinking." The always reliable Fairy Tail hostess made her presence know as she appeared like a ghost in the wind. She stood in her usual spot behind the bar with a slight sway to her movement, most likely having succumbed to the ways of Fairy Tail. "Drink till your drop"

"I wasn't, but thanks, Mirajane. I don't feel like getting arrested so I will not start blowing up council buildings any time soon."

"Micah!" Mirajane leaned over the bar with the stern gaze of an elder sibling. "I have told you multiple times, call me Mira. Formality is for royalty."

"Formality is best for a formal setting," Micah answered back with just the right amount of stubbornness to avoid a beating.

"And, does this look like a formal setting. Cana is passed out under her table, again" Cana, Fairy Tail's leading drunk had a table in the hall dedicated to her that you would often see her passed out under. Especially after a day of partying.

"It certainly doesn't, "Yukino said almost unconsciously. She didn't seem to realise she had spoken that out loud, but her elder sister noticed and pushed her sister forward. "Master, we have something to talk about." Her stoic tone washed the alcohol out of Makarov's system, and her gaze said all that needed to be said.

"Wow, Sorana, she looks identical to you. Are you related?" Marco popped his head into her peripherals. His voice raised the interest of many others and the shy Yukino had very quickly collected quite the audience.

"She and Sorana are sisters. During the raid, we found her imprisoned with almost a hundred other kids, which we assume came from the different villages around this area. All of which the bandits have attacked before." Micah was about to continue, but the intense cold and blunt killing intent rising in the air stopped him. Because he was so sensitive to emotions and intent, he had to strengthen his will just to resist being overwhelmed by the combined intent of everyone around them.

"LET'S KILL EM!" Natsu, although a very drunk Natsu came out from the crowd and slammed his hand down on the bar. "Master, let's kill these bastards!" He said again as he had to hold onto the counter to not fall down.

"Shut up, Natsu. You're drunk!" Erza hit him in the head which knocked him out, and in seconds snoring was heard as Natsu had been properly put to sleep. The scaredy-cats of the guild departed the general area around her and pretended not to have seen anything. They knew exactly what would happen when he woke up, which would be soon. No one could keep Natsu out cold for long, not even a monster such as Erza.

"They kept so many kids hostage? How awful!" Mirajane said.

"No, prisoners!" Sorana said and stroked her sister's cheek, while simultaneously giving Marco a scary look. She knew the look, but unfortunately for Marco, she had mistaken his attention to Yukino as something dirty. Who knew what he would be subjugated to in the coming days. Well, Sorana knew, and she was rigidly making up plans.

Micah was looking down on Yukino, unsure of if they should be talking about this in front of her. "They had rogue mages in their midst, they kept them locked in an enchanted cage."

"I say we go and beat them up," Gray suggest and threw off his jacket.

"We can't. The council arrested them. Our job was only to take them into custody until they arrived to arrest them. But, just know that they took a severe beating before the arrest happened."

"That's my boy!" Makarov said and raised his glass. "To our recent victory, and the recovery of Levy, Droy and Jett. Now, another party for a successful raid performed by our newest trio! HURRAY!" Makarov downed his refilled glass. And, as predicted, the guild joined in happily.

*************************************

While the guild was partying and doing their best of raising the spirits of Yukino and Sorana, Micah walked into the guild library. Whenever Levy isn't out on missions, this is where she spends her time. During the raid, she had been a constant nagging thought at the back of his mind. It told him to go and see her, and when he stepped in through the doors to the library that nagging dissipated. For there, by the long rectangular table in the centre of the room sat a well-dressed Levy with her usual reading glasses on.

Micah would have loved to be able to shrug off the awe-inspiring feeling the library provided. But, coming from plausibly one of the world's poorest villages, he was caught unprepared and unintentionally allocated several of his valuable seconds to simply stand and stare at the various bookshelves adorning the walls of the room. The centre table fitted right into this rectangular-shaped room, with its old-school interior design giving the whole room the vibe of a place of knowledge and learning.

Trying to push past the feeling of awe, he strode into the room in a casual manner, trying not to look so dumbfounded. Luckily for him, Levy rarely realized when people entered and left this place, especially when she was reading. She currently sat around a very wobbly mountain of books piled on the table. Various books going from magical theory to basic theory of relationship. That one was the first Micah caught in his perceptive gaze. With just a glance, he got a read on them all, and a smile sprouted on his face.

"Someone's busy, huh, Levy." He had even managed to sit down at the table, it wasn't until he spoke out that she noticed his arrival. He placed himself opposite her with a smile of smugness gracing his face.

Levy looked up and an even more beautiful smile spread on her face until she realized he had a perfect view of the book she was so intensely engrossed in. "MICAH!" She swiped a few books off the table and placed them on the chair beside her. "W...What are you doing here? I thought you were out!" She scanned the table for any embarrassing books still within the visible range of him.

"I heard about the fight you guys had, how was it?"

"Oh, I think it went well, I didn't really participate, you know. I was still in bed when they were doing all the fighting." She clenched her tiny hands as the words left her mouth in rapid succession. Micah's expression softened a bit as he could feel the frustration surrounding her.

"I understand. But it must feel good, knowing you have so many people willing to fight the world for you. That's what a family should do, that was what my old man did." Micah opened his defences a bit and felt his emotion strike against his heart in waves.

"It does. But, I worry all the same. And it's not just them I worry about." She said and hinted with her intentions and her worrisome gaze. "I worry for everyone I care about, even the strong ones that I know can protect themselves."

"That makes me happy to hear. You should always care about your family." Micah picked up one of the many books still stacked on the table and started to skim read.

"Anyway, enough of that, what about you? What have you been up to lately? And, I didn't know you liked books." She referred to the incredible speed in which he was going through the pages. His eye darting left and right rapidly as all the knowledge was conveniently archived in his mental library.

"A decent way to pass the time. But, I do have a real appreciation for books, they are an incredible source of knowledge. Most of what I know comes from books." The real source was Blue and his friends, but he didn't feel it appropriate to tell Levy about Blue yet. "Also, nothing much going on with me. I kinda came to find you with a topic in mind." He put down the book that he had been reading. He wanted her full attention on this.

"Yeah, what do you need?"

"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But, I wanted to know about the man who attacked you. The guild told me a little about him, and Natsu sure didn't have nice things to report."

Levy was taken aback completely, she would have never imagined Micah starting a conversation like this. 'Is he worried about me, or does he wanna beat the guy up?' She stared him in the eyes trying to see if there was rage there or sorrow.

"Not much to tell, I think. It happened almost instantly, he was very strong, I just kinda wanna forget about it." She didn't mind talking about it to him, but she thought to let it rest would do more good.

"I get that, I really do. But, don't think me as insensitive with my next question. I want to find him, and I wanted to ask for your permission to do so." Micah saw the horrified realization on her face and had to quickly raise his arm in a panic and say. "Not to hurt him! I promise! Something in me, call it a gut feeling is telling me to find him, to talk to him, and I can't rid myself of that feeling."

"Why? What could you possibly have to talk about? And also, why would you need my permission?" Levy didn't understand because Micah hadn't given her the full truth. The guild master and a few others had made it known to him that the man who hurt Levy, Gajeel, was now without a guild. His guild master had been arrested, and his guild in turn broken apart. He really wanted to find him and recruit him. He had managed to turn Richard and Sorana into what they were now, he had all this time been actively looking for people in a dark place that might want to start doing some good. He wanted to give everyone a chance, but since his group couldn't include the world population, he would try and settle for the special few.

"This is gonna sound mysterious and strange. But, that is between him and me. Also, I thought about going to find him first, but then I started feeling really guilty like I was betraying you. So, here I am." An apologetic expression crawled onto his face. It must seem so strange that he would want to find Gajeel. The man who assaulted the woman he cared for most, but just like Rufus, he believed in second chances. But, that didn't mean that he had forgiven Gajeel for what transpired.

"You don't have to feel guilty. I know most members would love some time with him as well. I don't know what your plan is, but, of course, you have my permission. I can't stop you from going. A girlfriend might have the power to stop you, but I'm not that, now am I?" She took the opportunity to tease him, especially when she saw his guilt-filled expression. Much like Sorana, she found great amusement in teasing him.

"Ehm, t...that is... Something we can discuss later." Micah picked up the same book and started reading, even though he focused nothing on the words written in it. His mind was spinning instead. 'When did her attitude change to this? Wasn't she supposed to be shy? Mirajane told me Levy is a shy girl, THIS ISN'T LEVY!' Micah was completely caught off-guard with absolutely no quick comeback to that.

"Micah, you can go find him if you want, I'm not planning on stopping you. I don't have a grudge against him for hurting me, I abhor him for hurting my friends, but he was under orders so I don't necessarily blame him either. As long as you promise me to be careful, you go and do what you fancy."

"I'm not going to confess my undying love to him, why did you have to phrase it like that? Now it's weird." Micah put the book on the table and slammed his head down not long after. "When I grow up and transcend the simple art of teasing, I will bury you in your own embarrassment." He glanced up from the table and saw the slight condescending smile adorned on her pretty face. He felt a tingle spread up his body from just catching a glimpse of her smiling face.

"Sure you will." And from her tone came the blunt sarcasm. "But, instead of that, I predict that the older you get, the easier it will be to embarrass you. I think the years will be kind to me and harsh to you. You'll see!" She said and returned to her book with a triumphing smile.

'Damn you, Levy. One day, one day I will give you hell. In the nicest way possible.' Micah felt the cool sensation from the book page on his cheek so he decided to close his eyes and rest his head for a bit. Being in the presence of this girl he adored worked wonders at soothing his soul.

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