Chapter 7: Bloody Instincts

Already at Chapter 7? I'm doing well with chapters here. Enjoy the Arc's conclusion.

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or Bleach. Shame, it would be great if I did.

Protector Of The Fairies

Bloody Instincts

Doranbolt was scared. No, more than that. He was absolutely terrified.

He had known what this mission would be like. He had to transport the Shinigami, Ichigo, to the current headquarters of Poison Viper. Then, he would be left to observe and report back to the Council on how Ichigo acted on the mission.

He was essentially Ichigo's examiner.

That was what he signed up for. He wasn't too worried about seeing some death. He was an infiltration specialist, and while he was still a trainee, he had experienced a few cases of death. It was the less glamorous aspect of the job but it had to be done sometimes.

What he had experienced had been quick and simple though. Silent killing so that he had remained undiscovered until he escaped. That meant that deaths were quick and effortless, but also as painless as possible.

This… This wasn't what he expected to see.

Ichigo was younger than him. He had expected to see some rough killing but in the end, he had still been holding onto the memories of his own kills.

This wasn't killing the Dark Guild though. This was a one sided massacre.

He had been surprised when Ichigo had put up the barrier and even more so when he learned he couldn't teleport through it easily. He got through but it explained a lot about what it was doing. He had Teleportation Magic and that should have normally allowed him entry into areas without interference.

And Ichigo had looked uneasily at the barrier. Judging by his look, it probably meant the barrier was a weak one, yet it gave him so much trouble to break through. He didn't want to know what a stronger one would be capable of.

Then he had watched the Shinigami blast through the wall, using the distraction to get to the leader. It was great thinking on the boy's part, using the distraction to take out their leader.

Then the leader had struck out. He had the ring of Zeref, and he seemed to be able to use it to some degree.

It was horrible to see it in action. Life was sucked out of the leader's own allies and used to fuel his attacks.

Ichigo still managed to hold his own quite well though. That energy attack with his sword and his skills were impressive, far beyond what he himself would be capable of.

Then things looked like they were going in the leader's favour. Enhancing his own sword with the power of the ring made him extremely deadly. He would have tried to lend a hand but his orders were simple. Observe.

He didn't like it but he had to wait, hoping that Ichigo would be able to deal with the entire guild himself.

He managed to get close enough for when the leader gave an explanation of his Magic. So that was how he stole the ring. With that kind of Magic, he just had to find someone who was familiar with the Chairman and become him. While he wouldn't have his Magical Powers, he certainly would have the DNA and that would mean that he would be able bypass many of the ring's defences without any trouble.

Then the leader turned into that copy of someone Ichigo knew. Suddenly, Ichigo seemed to fight easily. He predicted the actions the leader made and managed to react quicker than he could before.

A death blast and an energy blast connected and then he saw the leader prepare to catch Ichigo of guard. The sudden reaction from the boy though was unexpected though. He struck out and killed the man. It seemed cold hearted to him as the guy who he killed down looked exactly like his supposed mentor from what he could hear, yet he didn't hesitate for a second. It also made him wonder what kind of man his mentor was.

But that was it. The leader was dead, and the rest of the Dark Guild was angry.

Yet, Ichigo didn't move. Even as the entire guild went for him, he didn't move. He was frozen.

Doranbolt swore. The boy hadn't killed before and now he had frozen up. It was the worst time to do so.

He couldn't interfere, just like before. He was just to observe, no matter how much he wanted to get the kid out of there. And if Ichigo died, he was to retrieve the ring before they could escape. It was risky in case they tried again but at least this time they would know how they stole it previously.

But at the first Dark Mage reached Ichigo, his arm shot out and slashed his sword straight through the Mage's chest.

He couldn't hide his shock so he was glad no one was nearby to see it. Ichigo had barely even looked and he had taken down one of the attackers without even a hint of hesitation that he had before.

Things just escalated from there. No matter how many Dark Mages attacked at once, Ichigo cut them all down. Each one fell with unnatural ease. He couldn't help but feel afraid.

If the Dark Mages tried Magic, he just swiped it away with one of those energy swings or he just ran straight into it, no regard for the damage he was taking. Fire, earth, ice, wood, stone, metal. He watched as a variety of different Magic impacted against Ichigo and still he kept moving.

The scary thing was barely any of their attacks were wounding him. The odd one might graze him but the majority all were shaken off like they were nothing.

How much Magical Power did this kid even have? He was something like thirteen yet he was using his own Magical Power as a shield to soften blows and even outright stop them. That was something Mages had studies years to achieve and he was doing it so effortlessly.

Maybe it was instinct. That's what the boy seemed to be relying on now. Every attack of his had no fear in it and no sign of hesitation when he mercilessly tore apart the killed the guild. And his eyes. They had no life in them. He was merely fulfilling the request, letting those instincts deal with the enemy while he dealt with the pain and the guilt.

Still, the boy was terrifying. Dark Mages were running for it yet he reached them before they could escape and sliced them apart. Blood was spilled by the gallon and Ichigo was almost covered in it.

The Shinigami's Shihakushou had been torn to shreds. It seemed while Ichigo himself was perfectly fine, the Shihakushou had taken the brunt of the attacks. Pieces had been burnt off and it was almost hanging by a thread.

It wasn't much of a surprise when it finally broke apart, scattering onto the ground. Even so, it was scary to look at. Anyone who saw this place would see the Shihakushou and know that this was done by a Shinigami. It would be just the message the Council would want to send.

The fight finally ended just as he was tired of watching the carnage. An entire guild of Dark Mages completely wiped out by one kid.

The boy was covered in blood, the sword by his side coloured red from it. The white shirt the boy had on was in similar state. It would look like his chest had been injured and that was his blood if you didn't know what happened.

The bright orange haired was dulled too by the blood, and his hands were covered in it as much as his sword was. It truly made the kid look like a proper Shinigami with that much blood on his hands.

He could see that Ichigo was standing still. With everyone eliminated, there was no one left to fight. Yet he didn't dare approach. It was irrational he knew, yet he was scared. How much control did Ichigo have currently? Would he see him as an ally or just another enemy to eliminate? He wasn't sure what the answer would be.

Their eyes locked are he could see the gears turning in Ichigo's mind, even as he began taking steps towards him. His body was trying to act as if he was an enemy but the mind was restraining it, listening to that little bit of reason still at the surface.

"Ichigo." He couldn't believe the fear in his voice. He was sure he could escape if Ichigo attacked and then he would only need to wait for him to snap out of it.

His voice was enough luckily. Ichigo made to grab him when he froze, his eyes gaining more life in them as he recognised who was in front of him. "Doranbolt."

"Congratulations." He couldn't believe he was saying something like that in this situation. His mind was just drawing blanks of what to say. "The mission is a success."

Ichigo turned back to the Dark Guild and he could swear that he saw shock appear in the kid's eyes for a moment. He didn't understand why though. He was surely aware of everything around him wasn't he?

He watched as Ichigo marched over to the bodies and shut the eyes of each one of them. He didn't need to but it showed something of the kid's character. Even if he killed them, he still believed they desired to rest peacefully, their eyes shut as if they were sleeping.

Ichigo left the leader for last and bent down for the ring. He took it off the man's finger before heading back to Doranbolt, the ring tucked away safely.

Doranbolt held out his hand, Ichigo taking it with his free hand. It was only then that he realised that Ichigo had yet to sheath his blade, the blood dripping from it.

The world spun as Doranbolt's Magic activated and they reappeared in Era. Mission successful.

Protector Of The Fairies

Juushirou left the Council chambers both happy and sad.

The trainee, Doranbolt he believed he was called, had brought Ichigo back with a successful mission.

Thanks to the young Shinigami's actions, the ring was now safe once more. They had increased security and added more enchantments to block the path. He had put up a few unique Spells himself to ensure complete protection.

Ichigo didn't speak much during the meeting unlike last time and left the talking to Doranbolt mostly. He passed on how the Dark Guild had stolen the ring last time and recommended linking the barriers to the Magic of the Council alongside their own DNA. As seen before, DNA alone wasn't strong enough as it was still managed to be bypassed.

After Ichigo had left, to head home maybe, Doranbolt had given them his assessment of Ichigo. He had to say that the mission went better than he had thought.

He had fears of leaving such matters to such a young Mage but he was also a Shinigami. There had been no other option.

Well that wasn't exactly true. They had other Shinigami available but it was far better to give use him so they actually got something out of ignoring Fairy Tail's actions. It was the first time he had ever been glad that they caused so many problems.

But it was quite a surprise when Doranbolt reported that Ichigo seemed to lose focus and instead killed the rest of the Dark Guild on instinct alone. Some would say that would be impossible.

It was. That kind of thing didn't help when you were outnumbered so much and didn't have a high enough power difference. There were some things that acted on instinct though. For them, it was always possible.

Kisuke Urahara. When he got that letter from Kisuke, he knew the man had an agenda. He wouldn't have been after the ring but he never did anything without considering all the consequences and results.

If he had wanted Ichigo to do the mission, then it meant he wanted something to happen. Perhaps he wanted to accelerate the boy's growth using danger or maybe he wanted to get him familiar with the concept of killing.

Kisuke would have also known that they would have gotten something out of the arrangement as well. It meant that he didn't care what they found out about the boy because anything they learned wasn't important to lose.

And learn something they had.

Kisuke in his many years of service had been a scientist at heart. He was their top researcher and found out things that no one had ever thought to look for. Some of his technologies were still superior to anything the new head could create. The man was an undeniable genius.

So when he suddenly disappeared, just a few years after Isshin himself vanished, it had been a shock. What had been so important that he left altogether?

Then the letter appeared saying about his apprentice. Apprentice? Kisuke had never trained anyone, no matter how much he was begged. He never found them good enough and abandoned any he did test.

Ichigo. What did the boy have that made him worthy of Kisuke's attention? He was certainly powerful for his age, and must have been closed to calling forth his Zanpaktou. But he there had been a nagging doubt in his mind. Was there another reason for training the boy?

And now he had the answer. He understood why Kisuke left. The man had an experiment to conduct and wanted to see it through to the end.

The results were just astounding. If Kisuke had down what he believed he had, then it meant the project had great potential.

For years now, the army they had at their disposal could only do so much. Numbers was their greatest weapon yet numbers didn't mean much a lot of the time. Mages were simply too powerful.

The generals were their best troops but while they were far stronger than most Mages, they were still too few. Together, the Mages had more collective power than they did.

Hence, they needed more powerful troops. They needed a force capable of dealing with Dark Guilds and stopping Legal Guilds when they went too far.

The time it took sometimes though was too long. Training could be short and it could be long. It all depended on the Mage in question.

But Ichigo just proved the results the project could do. He had a man to see.

He opened the door to the Research and Development Institute and walked in. It hadn't been much until Kisuke remodelled the place. Now it was one of the crown jewels of the Magic Council. New weapons were created, old Magic was rediscovered, new advances were made, it all happened here.

Now though, it was under the management of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Kisuke's old second in command.

The man wasn't as smart as Kisuke was but he had fewer morals when it came to advancements. It was both good and bad as it took a lot to control the man but it was worth it to have the man on their side. Such a mind was wasted in prison or in a Dark Guild.

He spotted the man quite easily. Mayuri had a habit of painting his face black with white stripes running down it. The man had turned his teeth golden since he last checked up on him and he had gained a golden headdress which curved back down to the man's back.

Mayuri spotted him almost immediately and quickly pushed the other scientists away. "Chairman."

"Mayuri."

The man nodded at him before looking back to some of his work. "Will this take long? I'm in the middle of a very important experiment."

"I believe you will enjoy the news I have to give you."

"Hurry up and tell me," Mayuri said, most of his focus on the work in front of him

"Do you remember an old research project of Kisuke's?"

Mayuri's entire body froze. "I am not familiar with his projects."

Juushirou smiled at the man. "Don't lie to me Mayuri. I especially know you would have looked at certain ones. Ones that were kept private."

Mayuri turned to face him. "You are referring to his theories on Hollowfication aren't you?"

"We both know they weren't just theories."

"That's what they were classified as."

The man was smart Juushirou admitted. He knew more than he was saying, either because of some lingering respect for Kisuke, or because he simply didn't want to give anything away.

"I need you to take control of a little project for the Council. Since you have the old 'theories', then it means you should be able to do it in practice."

Juushirou pulled a letter out from his coat and handed it to Mayuri. "You will find the coordinates of your new base. Instructions are within and you will be operating with a very small crew. Discreteness is required. Not even the rest of the Council is to be informed of this task of yours."

He could tell Mayuri knew what he meant. If the scientist was caught, he wouldn't have much help getting out of trouble. He had to act in secret and the project details had to never reach the rest of the Council, even when it gets revealed.

It was why he chose him for the job. Sometimes, morals had to be sacrificed.

Mayuri opened the letter and gave it a quick glance. "The Visored Project. I assume you want to combine those two Magic."

Mayuri took another look at the letter before sighed, the letter falling onto the table. "It's impossible."

Juushirou shook his head. "No. Kisuke did it, and now I want you to do it too."

That was the key. Play on Mayuri's pride. He never liked being second best to Kisuke and would work that much harder to create the Visored. If Kisuke had done it, Mayuri would never allow himself to fail.

"I'll do it."

"Great." Juushirou gave the man another smile before he left. Mayuri knew the limits he could push with the project but it would also give him enough freedom to stay under their control. The Visored Project had originally been thought up by Kisuke years ago but was scrapped.

Now though, it would be recreated. They didn't have all the notes the man had and most of his theories were in his mind but they had enough for Mayuri to work with.

He dreaded to think of the lives that would be lost in the attempt to create these soldiers but it would be worth it in the end. For the sake of the Magical World.

Everything he was doing was for peace. To keep it and to make sure nothing threatened it.

As long as the world was kept safe, he could rot in hell happily.

Protector Of The Fairies

Makarov watched his children run around the guild, fighting and drinking far into the night.

None of them were really his children but then what linked a child to their parent? To him, they were all people he was desperate to protect, and he viewed each one as his own child.

Laxus was sitting in the corner today. His grandson had been anxious for a few days now, waiting for Ichigo to get back.

What mission had the boy taken? He didn't have much of a record of it and he had checked all the requests that were taken. Ichigo hadn't gone on any of them.

Stranger though was that he didn't go with Laxus. It was the first time he had ever seen that happen before. They always teamed up on missions together.

And why was Laxus so worried as well? He had tried to talk to his grandson but the boy refused to tell him what Ichigo was doing. It was great to see such loyalty between the two but it made him even more worried. What was Ichigo doing that Laxus couldn't help him with?

The boy had been enigma ever since he had first appeared. He had been young yet was so strong. He had managed to get Laxus to team up with him, the same boy who had never been part of a team before and refused any attempts to get him to join one.

Add onto the fact that he had finally learned the boy's Magic and he was truly an unusual Mage. He had meet one or two Shinigami himself but they had always been much older. From what he had seen, a Shinigami isolated themselves for years, dedicating their heart and soul to understanding their own powers.

Yet Ichigo had not done that and had instead chosen to join a guild. That hadn't even seemed to slow down his development as he was growing rapidly in strength too. It made him wonder who had taught the boy to make him such a prodigy.

But part of him was always suspicious of the boy. That power just didn't seem natural. The boy didn't seem natural. For every part of him that trusted the boy, another part said to fear him.

Makarov shook his head. What was he doing? He had seen the boy around the guild. He wasn't evil. He wasn't someone to fear, even if he was unusual.

Every since he had joined, Laxus had been participating in the guild more, even being a bit more cordial with the other members. It was like he was returning to his old self.

And he had seen how Erza had acted around him. Despite being just a year younger, she looked up to the orange haired boy. It had probably started when she had seen that he had a sword and hadn't known how to ask for pointers.

She didn't even need to ask in the end. Ichigo had taken mercy on her and shown her how to use her sword. It had only happened a few days earlier but Erza had already been seen continuously practicing either her swordsmanship skills or attempting to learn Requip Magic. He hadn't expected her to take Ichigo's suggestion so seriously but she had. And she was picking up the Magic at an incredible rate.

Natsu had even taken a liking to Ichigo. He never told Natsu to stop attacking, no matter how much it annoyed him, and somehow Natsu had worked that out. The boy who challenged everyone all the time actually was respecting Ichigo's wishes and only attempting a fight once per day.

He wondered what Gildarts would think of the boy? Speaking of that man, it sounded like he was almost home. The familiar rumbling sounds of the city moving filled his ears and he could imagine the city rearranging itself to allow the man a straight path to the guild.

Had Gildarts gotten stronger? His Magical Power seemed higher but it was too high to have improved that much.

Ah. Ichigo was with him it seemed. Gildarts must have found the boy on his way back and escorted him the remained of the way.

It was strange comparing the two's Magical Power. While Gildarts had the most so far, Ichigo was a close second and that would likely change in the coming years going by Ichigo's previous progress. The two Mages approaching the guild though were practically monsters in terms of Magical Power. He hoped the rest of the guild wouldn't turn out like them. They were powerful yes, but it was kind of frightening that someone had that much power, let alone two.

He heard the door of the guild hall open and looked up towards the sound. "Gildarts. So you're ba…"

His voice cut off as he saw the people in front of him. Gildarts was just like his normal self, but Ichigo…

What had happened to the poor boy?

Protector Of The Fairies

Gildarts strode along through the forest, running a hand through his orange hair as he slicked it back. He had been walking for an hour now and he couldn't work out how far he was from the guild.

He let out a sigh over relief as he finally spotted the town in the distance and pulled his tattered cape further around him. It was getting late and that meant it was getting colder. He didn't want to be out for much longer.

Someone must have spotted him because he heard the sounds of a bell from the town. The town then went and completely shifted, leaving a straight road over to the guild from the town's entrance.

He remembered the first time he had noticed. He had just arrived at the guild and then someone suddenly pointed out that he had walked down a straight long path through the city.

It showed how absent minded he was, that was for sure. He didn't know how much it cost the city to rebuilt the town in such a way but it had to be easier than trying to repair all the damage he caused by accident. It wasn't his fault that they put houses in his path.

He felt sorry for the kid he could see approaching the town. Unless he was a Fairy Tail Mage, he would have a long trip ahead of him to get to the other parts of the town.

What was the boy covered in though? Wait… Was that blood?

And that presence too. The boy was a Mage, that was definite. With that much Magic, it would have been waste to not become one.

But why was he covered in blood. A sword was held in the boy's hand, completely ignoring the sheath on his back. Like the boy, the blade was covered in blood. If anything, there was more blood.

Was the boy a murder? No. Just watching the boy walk showed how lifeless he was. He was lost and didn't know how to find his way again.

He remembered that look from long ago. It was once staring at him from a mirror.

Leaving the boy on his own didn't sit well with him. No one should be left alone while looking like that.

The orange haired kid, whose hair was even brighter than his own, barely spared him a glance as he matched his strides with the boy's. Neither said anything but he could tell that the boy was appreciating not being alone right now.

They kept walking straight down the path till they reached the guild where Ichigo stopped at the gates.

"You want to come in?"

Ichigo didn't move much, his left hand slowly raising to stare at the palm.

Gildarts peered over the boy's shoulder to see what the fuss was about. He saw the guild mark quite quickly. Even with some of the blood covering it, he had imprinted that image into his brain. He was a Fairy Tail Mage, and it made sense that he always needed to recognise the guild's emblem.

That made him even more worried about the boy now. He wasn't just an ordinary stranger. When you joined Fairy Tail, you didn't join a guild. A guild was just a group of Mages, working together and attracting business.

Fairy Tail was a family. Your pain was the guild's pain. Your fears were the guild's fear. Your hopes, your dreams, your happiness, everything was shared and there wasn't a single person in the guild who wouldn't put everything on the line for their friends and family.

It was why he loved being the Ace of Fairy Tail. He prided himself in being the man who they could turn to when they needed help, even if he was far away. Just a single word from the Master and he would be on his way back, the job forgotten in his haste.

As such, he felt more determined than now to help the boy. He could see himself in the kid and wouldn't be able to call himself the Ace if he didn't at least try.

He reached up and unfastened his cloak before he dropped it over the boy's shoulders. It wrapped around the kid and hid most of the blood from sight. You could still see a lot of it and the look in the boy's eyes showed something was wrong but it would at least lessen the image. There could be kids in the guild since he last joined and he didn't want them to see the kid looking like that.

He would have asked the boy to sheathe the sword but he doubted the boy would listen. The grip on his sword looked like a lifeline to the boy. Holding onto the blade must have been the only thing keeping the boy calm.

Enough delays. He reached out a hand for the door and pushed it open lightly, being careful not to obliterate the door by accident. He was welcomed to the normal sight of the guild, exactly as he remembered it.

He could see the older members drinking and fighting amongst themselves while some kids hung out away from them. Cana, that sweet little girl who always greeted him, was chatting excitedly with a red haired girl in armour. A pink haired boy was fighting with a dark haired one, the occasional fearful glance locked on the same red haired girl as if she would go crazy on them at any moment.

So the guild did get some more members. Kids too. Cana must have been happy to finally have people near her own age. He had felt sorry for her having to be lonely in the guild on her own.

Laxus seemed different. More relaxed than before, something he hadn't expected. He had heard the rumours about the boy's father so he had expected someone more angry and arrogant. This Laxus looked worried and was already looking towards him expectancy. What was he looking for?

"Gildarts. So you're ba…"

The Master's voice cut off suddenly and he knew why. He could see the blood on the kid.

"ICHIGO!"

So that was the kid's name. Helped having a name to put to a face. But this was a strange reaction from Laxus. It seemed he had found a friend since he had last stopped by the guild.

Ichigo didn't move from his position which forced Laxus to move to him, crossing the distance in an instant. No sooner had he done that had he began looking the boy over, worry all over the boy's face.

"This blood… What happened? Are you hurt?"

"It's not mine."

That was the first he had heard the boy speak. The voice sounded weak but then he didn't even have that much life in him currently anyway. No one could when they were looking like that.

Laxus swore as he grabbed the boy's hand, leading him out of the guild.

"Laxus," said Makarov. "Wait one-"

Laxus spun round, pure fury on his face and all directed at Makarov. Gildarts could swear that he had never seen that expression on the boy's face before. It looked like he was blaming whatever had caused Ichigo to look like that on the Master. What had the Master done to warrant such a reaction?

Makarov let out a sigh as Laxus and Ichigo left the guild before he turned towards the rest of the guild. Silence had fallen ever since they spotted Ichigo's condition and all of them were looking at him expectantly. They wanted to know what was going on and who they needed to make pay.

None of them would do anything if he didn't allow them and the best way to do that was to not let them know what was going on. A few of their members were a bit impulsive at times and he didn't want anything to happen to his children.

He also had no idea what was wrong so he couldn't even answer them if he asked. He gave a swift gaze towards Gildarts who picked it up without any hesitation. Together, the two retreated away from the main guild hall and his office. They could talk freely there.

Neither said a word at first. What could you say at a sight like that?

Makarov himself had a big dilemma in his head. While he was worried about Ichigo, there were rules in the guild. One of these was to do with killing. It was forbidden.

But when someone looked like that, he couldn't in good conscience abandon them. For all he knew, it could have been nothing more than an accident and that could have left Ichigo being unable to cope with the situation.

From Laxus's reaction, he wasn't sure if it had been part of the mission or not. He certainly hadn't expected Ichigo to look like that.

Gildarts was the one to break that silence. "So he's Ichigo am I right?"

Makarov nodded. "Joined about two years back. Became friends with Laxus straight after their first mission and have been together ever since. First time Ichigo ever did a mission without him was this one."

"What kind of guy is he? I couldn't get much of a read on him being so quiet and all."

That there was an obvious sign that Gildarts trying to lighten the mood. He couldn't blame him. He wanted happier thoughts too.

"He's a Shinigami," Makarov commented. Talking about small details like that helped take his mind off the blood. "Don't know if he has any family or not. He never told anyone his surname from what I've seen. And he naturally draws people towards him."

"So he's a charismatic kid?"

"In a strange way." Makarov took a seat on his office's chair, relaxing as he talked more. "He's still just a kid but he seems to have gained the respect of quite a few of the Mages in the guild, including all the younger ones. They see something in him perhaps that I haven't seen yet. It may be real or it may be all an act. I don't know enough about the boy yet."

"You mean you don't know the kid's past, even to a small extent, or even part of his character."

The Master ignored the shocked look on Gildarts's face. "I normally do with anyone who joins the guild. Ichigo though… He's stubborn. He holds his past close to his chest and the most I know about him is from watching him interacting with the others."

"And?"

"He's kind." Makarov nodded at his own comment. He knew that part was certain. "He won't pick up something you dropped if you can get it easily yourself for instance but if people need help, he is there. He's protective even. I think that's where everything stems from."

"He doesn't smile that much." The smile Gildarts had begun to gain disappeared once more. "He smiles much more than he did when he arrived but he won't show it much with everyone else. He guards himself in a way similar to Erza does."

"Erza?"

"Ah. I forgot you were gone for three years. Erza is the red haired girl wearing armour."

Gildarts nodded in understanding, Makarov taking that as a sign to continue.

"She hides her heart behind that armour of hers. Ichigo lets his emotions out more around those he cares about but he keeps it locked away normally, a scowl disguising it."

Makarov looked at Gildarts sadly. "Do you know that this was the first time anyone in the guild ever saw him look weak? He always made sure he looked strong around the guild, even on the days where I could see sadness in his eyes. Those were the days normal people would avoid people to deal with the pain yet he just buried it so no one would worry about him being missing."

"So he's the kind of guy who values everyone else before himself." Gildarts gave a short nod of approval. "I can respect that, even if he forces himself to take on his pain alone. People with that kind of resolve are few and rare. He reminds me of-"

"You."

Gildarts looked at the Master in surprise. "Me?"

Makarov smacked the man on his head. "Of course. I don't make just anyone our Ace after all. Power and heart are some of your greatest qualities."

Gildarts couldn't help but blush from the praise. "I am pretty awesome aren't I?"

"And you ruined it."

Gildarts couldn't help but laugh at the Master. The tension was gone for now and they weren't worried as much about Ichigo thanks to the distraction. From the sound of it, Laxus was a good choice to help the kid, but he would drop by later. He had expected the sensation of killing before and he was one of the few in the guild to have done so. No one would be better at relating to the kid than he would, especially with the nature of his Magic.

He nodded. Now all he had to do was find out where the boy lived. It shouldn't be too hard. All he had to do was search for that Magical Signature. With one that big, it wouldn't be that hard to do so.

The sound of knocking interrupted them. Makarov looked at the door strangely before letting the person in.

Gildarts recognised the man instantly. Yajima. A former Mage of Fairy Tail and now a member of the Magic Council.

He watched Makarov greet his old friend happily while he tried to work out while Yajima was here now. The two normally met up every so often from what he remembered and he doubted that had changed much over the years. So why was Yajima here now? It could be nothing more than a coincidence but over the years of dangerous S Class Quests, you began to believe events were always related.

And Yajima appearing suddenly the day Ichigo returned covered in blood. It left only one question.

"What job did Ichigo do for you?"

Makarov looked at him in confusion before he quickly reached the same conclusion and turned to Yajima in betrayal.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing." The answer was hurried, hoping to calm down Makarov enough to listen.

"Then explain why you are here?"

"Did Ichigo get back safely then?" Yajima felt their glares intensify. "Okay then. I'm sorry about this but I thought it was only right that I tell you the details in person."

"What happened?"

Yajima shook his head in disgust. "Politics."

Protector Of The Fairies

Gildarts stepped past the trees as he tried to navigate through the forest safely. His Magic had a habit of blowing up things in his way and he really didn't want to have to pay for the forest to be replanted. They already seemed to have enough damage problems without him.

He couldn't believe what Yajima had told him and Makarov. Ichigo had gone on a mission where he had to slaughter an entire guild, all to recover a single artefact.

It wasn't much to go on about what happened but it was the most Yajima could tell them without repercussions. Apparently, the mission had been news for him too. He knew the artefact was stolen but not what they were doing about it. He said he had protested the killing when he heard of the request from the Chairman and even more so with a kid doing the request.

The Chairman hadn't budged though and had sent Ichigo a request for a job. He said it was for a variety of reasons including showing their power in the world and to warn other Dark Guilds. Using a Shinigami was to avoid being fully linked to killing themselves.

When he retired eventually, there was no way he would ever get involved with the Council. They were trying to be fair and they were for most but they had a hard job. They made hard decisions.

It wasn't right to send a kid though. They must have had Shinigami in their army so why not use one of them? They must have had another interest that the Chairman kept secret. And people wondered why Fairy Tail disagreed with a lot of the Council's decisions.

The sound of a blast flew through the forest. What caused that? It sounded like it was near Ichigo judging by how far Ichigo appeared to be and how close that sound had been.

Abandoning his leisurely stroll, he broke out into a run. He reached the sound in no time at all and reached what looked like a newly made clearing.

From the look of the stumps, it must have been new. The trees were lying on the ground, a long cut in each one straight through the trunk.

Sword slash? It looked right but he decided against it when he noticed Ichigo was standing in the middle of the new clearing. You couldn't cut trees like that at that distance unless you trained for a lot longer, and no matter how much Magic Ichigo had, he didn't believe the boy could do something like that yet.

On the stumps of the trees seemed to be some lingering energy. Some was new and some was slightly older, maybe ten minutes at most. Looking at Ichigo again, he noticed that there was a faint amount of light blue energy around the blade, slowly fading off the blade like smoke.

An energy attack of some kind? It would explain the range and it seemed to match. That was impressive.

He raised a hand towards Ichigo in greeting. "Hey. Ichigo?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the man's approach. "And you are?"

"You never heard any rumours about me?" Gildarts put his hand over his heart in mock pain. "I'm hurt."

Ichigo looked at him blankly still, causing Gildarts to sigh.

"I'm Gildarts. Gildarts Clive."

"Ah. You're the current Ace."

"You say that like I won't be the Ace for long."

Ichigo gave him a weak smile, obviously forced. "I'll take that spot from you soon enough."

Gildarts laughed at the challenge. "Well then, I'll look forward to it. You better be ready for the fight of your life when you eventually challenge me."

Ichigo nodded before Gildarts suddenly dropped down next to where he had been standing. Gildarts shot out a hand and forced Ichigo off his feet, causing him to land on the floor and end up in a sitting position.

"Hey-"

"Laxus helped you get rid of all the blood didn't he?"

Ichigo didn't meet Gildarts's eyes. "Yeah. It wasn't much of a big deal."

"You're not the best at lying are you?"

Gildarts picked up a rock before he obliterated it before Ichigo's eyes.

"What was that?"

"Crash. It's my main Magic and one of the most destructive Magic out there. I can't even control it perfectly so I need to be careful not to destroy anything I touch. It's hard to control."

Gildarts looked down at the crushed pieces of stone in his hand. "I can use this in many ways. Soften the ground and attacks can become weaker. If they attack you with Magic, just blast it to pieces. Simply right? What's not to understand?"

Gildarts raised his hand at one of the trees and it suddenly shattered, part of the trunk smashed into pieces. "Did you see that? There's a lot of range with it? How far can something like this go? What if you lose focus? How far would the destruction go before it hits something?"

A fist clenched. "I was young. Not much older than you, but a lot more arrogant. I was so sure of my own power and I believed I was invincible. I almost never lost and even then, I rationalised to myself that it was because I was younger than them."

Gildarts turned to look at Ichigo, sadness and shame in his eyes. "I went on a mission. It wasn't anything special. Just a few bandits. Problem was that there was more than I thought. Still, I believed I could handle it."

A fake laugh broke out of his throat. "I handled it for sure. I took down most of the group but the last caught me by surprise. Waited until I was distracted and tried to gut me with a blade."

Gildarts raised his hands to look at them. "I just reacted. I spun round and punched him straight in the chest. Problem was that I didn't have the control I have now days. My emotions were running wild. I was scared and just reacted. And so did my Magic."

"The body was ripped apart and the insides scattered everywhere. I was covered in the man's blood as it all sprayed outwards, limps flying off in any direction while the chest liquefied under the strain. I didn't remove my fist from his chest until an hour later, and not a single bandit tried to run while I was recovering. I think they were as scared of me as I was."

Gildarts suddenly brought his hands to his face and slapped himself. He seemed to return to how he had acted first after that.

"You probably know why I'm telling you this don't you?"

Ichigo nodded silently.

Gildarts raised a hand and patted the boy on the back. "My point is that if you ever need someone to talk to, then you can talk to me. I can relate to what you're going through."

Ichigo struggled with words for a moment before he finally found his voice. "Does it ever go away? Do you ever stop feeling like a monster?"

"No." There was no point lying about that. He still saw that man in his dreams after all. "It stays with you forever. What I like to remember is what I learned. I stopped being arrogant and dedicated myself to making sure I never killed anyone again. What do you want to learn from your experience?"

"You can never let it stop you moving forward. Trust me, I tried to wallow in shame but it wasn't good. It made the people around me worried and you aren't the type of person to want others to worry about yourself are you?"

Ichigo shook his head.

"Keep moving forward. If you keep looking back, you'll just keep falling down. You can't walk backwards and expect to see where you're going. Hold your head high and make sure you can learn from the experience. Don't let their blood drown you in shame."

He saw a quick smile appear on the boy's face before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. It was better than he had hoped for though. He'd take that as a job well done.

He slowly pushed himself back up to his feet. "Remember what I told you and you'll be fine. And if you ever want anyone to talk to, ask the Master for my address. I'll be in town for a few weeks before I head out again on some more missions and then I'll be gone for a while once more."

He began leaving, a hand raised in farewell when a thought crossed his mind. He was incredible curious at the moment.

"Hey Ichigo. What were you doing here anyway?"

Ichigo raised his sword over his head, energy gathering around it before the boy swung. The energy flew off in a crescent shape before it slashed straight through the tree he had aimed at.

"Becoming stronger so I can move forward."

Gildarts smiled at the boy. "Now you're getting it."

Protector Of The Fairies

So what did you think at the Arc's end? Was it as good as you expected?

I bet a lot of you realised what was happening in the first scene, and if you didn't, the second scene should have done the trick. And we learn more about Kisuke here in a way as well.

Juushirou is interesting here for me. He's a kind man in a political world where kindness isn't useful. He has to do whatever it takes to keep the peace but he is willing to sacrifice his own peace of mind as long as that peace stays.

The Master has that initial distrust of Ichigo here. But how will things go after this?

And for those who wanted to see him, Gildarts is here. With a new Arc next chapter, he won't be there again for a while so I hoped you liked him while you had the chance. I always thought that his Crash Magic would be extremely dangerous and I believed he would be able to relate to Ichigo better than anyone else since most of the Fairy Tail Mages didn't have as destructive Magic as these two.

If you guys remember the first chapter, we saw that Levy wasn't the Master's greatest fan. For that to happen, she needs to meet Ichigo. Next chapter, you will finally see how he and Laxus meet her. I've also imagined some new ways her Magic can work because even though she took part in the S Class Trials in canon, she never had the strength an S Class Candidate should have. I'm going to change that.

Anyway, till the next time. I've been Takei. Thanks for reading.