Chapter 15: For The Guild

Chapter 15. Review and stuff when you're done but for now, enjoy. I kept you all waiting a long time for this Chapter. You know what's here.

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

Protector Of The Fairies

For The Guild

Ichigo sat on the edge of the cliff by his house, his legs hanging over the edge. By his side was his Zanpaktou, one hand resting on the hilt of the blade.

It was quiet, and he was enjoying listening to the sounds of the breeze around him. The peace helped him calm down and forget about the S Class Trials.

He still didn't understand what he did. He had been outclassed by Gildarts, he knew that. So why did he suddenly become so much stronger. He went back and saw the damage one of his Getsuga Tenshou had done. He literally torn into the landscape and created a small crevice. Getsuga Tenshou had never managed to cut that far into the ground before.

And then there was Kisuke's warning. But when would he meet this scientist? And why would he meet him?

"Do you mind?"

Ichigo glanced up at the white haired man to his left and nodded. "By my guest."

Juushirou said his thanks before he lowered himself to the ground next to Ichigo, copying the teen's position. They both sat in quiet for a while, letting each other think and enjoy the peace around them.

"Have I ever said how much I like this place," commented the Chairman. "So peaceful and quiet. I can forget all the evil in the world while I am here."

"It's my home. Of course I would keep it safe from evil."

Juushirou smiled. "This place is a lucky place then."

Ichigo tilted his head round to look at the Chairman. "Why are you here Juushirou?"

The man laughed. "Straight to the point, just like always. That's one of the things I like about you Ichigo. No one else would dare speak like that to me. It is always refreshing."

"That's because you're the Chairman of the Magic Council."

"Doesn't stop you now does it?"

Ichigo had to give him that one. It never did.

"So what have you got for me this time? The usual trade?"

Juushirou shook his head sadly. "There won't be any more missions Ichigo."

Ichigo froze. He had expected the missions would eventually stop but not yet. The guild wasn't ready.

"Please rethink this," he begged. "I'll take any you want. I'll take all of them regardless of difficulty."

Juushirou looked away in shame. "It isn't what you are thinking Ichigo. It is not that we no longer need you, rather I cannot continue to use you."

"What…"

Juushirou sighed. "I'm getting older. I may not look it but I am. My illness is getting worse too and I am starting to look back on things. And I can't continue to use you like this."

"You aren't using me. We have a deal."

"Not a fair one in my eyes. You could get so much more from this if you simply asked. It is what amazes me about you Ichigo. You put your guild above everything you would want first."

"Of course I would. I'm a Fairy Tail Mage."

"Such simple words, yet they hold so much strength in them." Juushirou let out a laugh that turned into a harsh cough halfway through. Ichigo reached towards the man but he just shrugged off Ichigo's worries.

"I'm fine. This a small attack. You should see me on my bad days."

Juushirou reached into his coat and pulled out a letter.

"Think of this as a last job of sorts. Do this, and Fairy Tail keeps that protection to an extent. They will get remands and such but as long as I remain Chairman, the guild will stay open, even if they get punished harshly."

"I see." Before Juushirou could stop him, Ichigo was on the floor by him, bowing. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Juushirou quickly forced him out of the position, completely embarrassed by the action. "Don't do something like that. It is only right after all, especially after everything you went through for that guild. Do they know?"

Ichigo shook his head. "No. I never told them."

Juushirou smiled. "Then your resolve is even greater than I always thought. To do this much and not care how they feel, just as long as they are happy and safe. You truly are one of a kind Ichigo."

Ichigo shrugged before turning his attention to the letter. "So what's this mission all about?" he asked as he ripped it open.

"We have a problem. One that should never have happened but still did. We gave a man too much power, and because of that, he pushed the limits. A man like that doesn't stop when he goes over them either, and now he has decided he would rather go rogue."

"A Scientist?"

"Yes." Juushirou couldn't hide his shock. "How did you know?"

"Kisuke Urahara."

"Of course," muttered the Chairman. "He would know Mayuri best. He always did. He even warned me once about him but I was foolish. I didn't listen."

"Mayuri?"

Juushirou waved his hand at the letter in Ichigo's hands. "It's all in there. Location, profiles, layouts. Things could have changed from the original creation of that lab but the location and layout should at least be the same in theory. Knowing Mayuri though, the passageways could have been modified with a variety of traps and even moved entirely."

"And when I find him?"

Juushirou looked at him seriously. "Kill him. I don't ask you to do this normally but this man can't live. He is too dangerous, too unstable. I knew he would do dreadful things but not this soon after disappearing from my sight. He has been tricking me for a while now, and the worst is that I gave him the power to do just that. I need him stopped before he goes any further."

Ichigo nodded as he skimmed the man's profile. Juushirou was right. From just reading, he already felt sick and he could tell the man had probably done worse than what was written. Mayuri couldn't afford to cause any more pain.

He turned toward where the Chairman was only to find him missing. That man did like to play tricks now and again, randomly disappearing when he left to add to his 'cool' Chairman image.

Glancing back down at the letter's contents, he sighed. It seemed Kisuke's warning was needed earlier than he had thought. He would have to travel far to find this base too. It looked like it was over in the mountain range near an isolated area of Fiore.

No one would check there so it would be perfect to hide. He could practically hear the sound of Kisuke in his head, praising him in a patronising way for working out something so obvious. Now all he had to do was reach the base.

He took a step back from the cliff and headed to his house. He needed to pack. This was going to be a tough one.

Protector Of The Fairies

"You going somewhere?"

Ichigo looked towards Laxus, the man holding a scrap of paper in his hand. "Yeah. Got a mission from the Council."

Laxus frowned. "You can stop taking them. The guild can adapt."

"After this one it can."

"You always say that."

Ichigo showed a small smile. "This time I mean it."

Laxus shrugged. There was no changing Ichigo's mind, he knew that. Instead, he pushed the paper he was holding into Ichigo's hands.

"What's this?"

"A job," said Laxus as Ichigo tried to unfold the paper from its scrunched state. "An S Class one."

"I won't get back in time," Ichigo muttered, still trying to fix the paper. What did Laxus do? Smuggle this paper of out the guild by hiding it in his pocket?

"It's for you alone."

Ichigo looked at Laxus strangely. That was strange. They always did missions together. What was…

Ah. It was to give him some space away from the guild. To take his mind off matters like the S Class Trials and to relax a bit.

Looking down at the paper, he could see now what it was. It seemed that the King of Fiore had sent out a request to many guilds, asking for as many Mages as possible to help him with something. The gathering looked like it would be in two weeks time, just enough time luckily to get to the lab and then to the capital.

"Well?"

Ichigo glanced up from the paper. "I should be able to make it. But can I take this? Don't I need permission from the Master to take an S Class Quest alone?"

"Technically yes," muttered Laxus. "But look at the request carefully. It is listed as S Class but it actually says that S Class is recommended. Not necessary but recommended. Therefore it is not an S Class Quest despite being ranked as such. It's the kind of quest where it is hard to judge what it is ranked as. You have the power to equal them so you should have nothing to worry about. I've already sent a message that you are interested."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "You really knew I would take it."

"Of course. We're friends after all. I know you."

Ichigo smiled. "Thanks. But why was the paper crumpled?"

Laxus muttered something quietly.

"Sorry, I couldn't hear that."

"I said I didn't exactly tell the Master I was taking it."

"Couldn't you have lied and said it was for you?"

"No Ichigo, I don't mean that." Laxus sighed. "It wasn't on the board yet. When I saw it, I couldn't risk anyone else taking it so I took it. I found it in Gramps's office."

"So you stole it?"

"I like to think that office will one day be mine. Then I don't need to feel guilty from stealing from it."

"That's a new excuse for your thievery. How long did you work on that one for?"

"About a week."

"Really? That long?"

"It was a tough one alright."

Ichigo smiled. He would miss this while he was gone. The two of them had barely been separated for long over the years, normally just a week or two most. This mission would most likely take longer so it would be strange.

"Well then, I'm off."

Laxus glanced at his best friend as Ichigo swung his sword onto his back. "Are you going to look for Levy before you go? Say goodbye?"

Ichigo shook his head. "I don't say goodbye often. I may raise a hand in farewell but I hardly say it. To me, it's better to say see you later or say nothing at all. That means you haven't said goodbye so you aren't gone forever."

Laxus smirked. "Don't blame me when she gets mad at you later."

Ichigo raised a hand behind in as he left before the door shut behind him, leaving Laxus alone in the room. Laxus waited a moment before looked towards Levy's door.

"Come on out squirt."

He grabbed the door, swinging it open and causing the girl on the outside of it to fall to the ground without the door to lean on anymore.

"You could have said something to him before he left."

"I know," said Levy as she pushed herself up, "but Ichigo does have the right idea. Why say goodbye when you aren't leaving. He's just taking off on a trip. He'll be back soon."

"He better be. I hope he forgives me for telling the Master, but I won't stand for it anymore. He deserves recognition for what he has done, even if he doesn't think he does."

"That's Ichigo though. As long as his friends are happy, he is happy."

Laxus nodded before leaving too, leaving Levy as the last one there. She sighed in sadness. She didn't want to admit it but she actually wanted to say goodbye. Laxus was adamant that Ichigo would be gone at least five months and she would miss the older teen greatly. She had been with the three most of her life at Fairy Tail, and she did wish things could be just like they were when they were younger.

Everything came to an end though and time always had to move forward. She would miss Ichigo but she would train while he was gone and make him proud of how far she had progressed. She would train and train and train until she was able to reach Ichigo and Laxus's level and could stand by them proudly. The Three Fairies, side by side.

Enough time wasting though. Time to train. But she should probably read one of her books first. She just couldn't resist new ones and she had a few she hadn't read before. It counted as training too at least, though maybe she should stop buying so many books. There wasn't much space under the floorboards anymore, even with the hole she had dug.

If Ichigo was gone for a while, could she use his room?

Protector Of The Fairies

The guild was gathering in the guild hall, just like the Master had ordered them to a few hours earlier. Members strode in by the dozen, teams hurrying back from training or from missions. Gildarts wasn't here but no one expected him to be there. He never stayed at the guild for too long.

Even Mystogan was here, many members using the opportunity to examine the teen. They barely saw him and, while they knew of his existence, not many had ever had the opportunity to actually interact with him.

They still couldn't. He had retreated to the stairs and was almost hiding behind the walls up there. Only S Class Mages were allowed up there normally but no one tried to stop him from hiding from them.

Erza and Mira were up at the top of the stairs, not far from Mystogan, deep in talk while they waited. Below them at a table sat Laxus and Levy. Levy would occasionally glance at Laxus and see him subtly glancing around every so often. He was good at hiding it but she had been around him a while. She could see that he was nervous despite playing the arrogant card.

It had to be the mission. The Master must have noticed and had called everyone here to find out the truth. How long would it take for him to work out what had happened?

Back above them, Mira nudged Erza. "Hey," she whispered, keeping her voice down. "What's this about? Any idea?"

Erza shook her head. "None. The Master told us to send out the message to recall everyone but he never said any details on why. Something big must be happening if he called back everyone for something. That rarely ever happens, and only in extreme cases"

"It's about Ichigo."

Mira and Erza turned towards Mystogan, surprised he had spoken to them. For some reason, Erza couldn't help but think Mystogan sounded familiar. She couldn't place it though.

"What do you mean?" Mirajane asked. "What makes you think it is about Ichigo."

Mystogan looked at her from the corner of his eye, not letting his gaze fall much onto Erza. "I'm good at noticing things. The Master and Ichigo always have some kind of tension between them. He always overreacts with things involving him, and I don't see Ichigo here either."

Mira looked down at where she could spot Laxus and Levy. "You're right. Where is he? Is he even coming?"

"He might just be annoyed he didn't become S Class," supplied Erza. "I am surprised he didn't at least get to the second round though."

"I'm kind of glad he didn't. You think I wanted to fight Ichigo? The others say he fought Gildarts and forced him to fight seriously."

When Erza didn't show any signs of shock, Mira's eyes widened. "No way. You're serious. He really did that?"

"I felt it. You should have as well. That was a fight between monsters."

Mira felt herself shaking. "I thought I had imagined that. I hoped I had. Didn't you feel how one of them felt near the end? It was so monstrous and wild, like it was trying to devour everything in sight. Even the Demon I use for Satan Soul was scared."

"Speaks for Gildarts's strength if he could handle Ichigo," said Mystogan.

"It does. That man is our Ace. But I do wonder why he didn't pass Ichigo. To be honest, he is one of the few people Gildarts would probably pass. I wouldn't have gotten past him in my opinion."

Erza shook her head. "Gildarts tests for how you can respond in the face of fear. I think you would have managed it."

"I would have managed to keep fighting?"

"No, you would have retreated. That would have probably done it for him, just like it did with me."

Before either could say anymore, the noise in the guild disappeared, everyone noticing the Master's arrival.

"Good, you're here like I asked."

He walked forward before making a large jump up towards the banisters of the second floor landing. He flipped through the air and landed perfectly, spinning round to face the guild. They could see a new expression on his face now. Anger.

"There was a mission request in my office earlier this morning. It is gone now. I would like to know which of you brats stole it."

"Master." Makarov turned towards Erza. "What makes you believe it was stolen by one of us? And why would it be so dangerous?"

"That mission… Was not one I was going to publish on the boards. Not only is on the level of an S Class Request, but it also is a request asking for the help of many Mages of S Class level. This could be stretching towards SS Class Quest if it was done alone."

"And as for how I know someone in Fairy Tail stole it, that is because I checked to see if it had been accepted when it had been stolen. I was told that a Fairy Tail Mage had already signed up and while I tried to get them to take the person out of it, they will ignore that request if the person turns up."

"If he or she turns up?"

"Not everyone who says they will join may actually appear on the day. Right now, they have two weeks before the start of the quest, so anyone could suddenly decide not to go and not turn up at the time. This is a dangerous quest they will be undertaking."

The Master shot his head away from Erza and scanned the crowd. "Now who took the mission? Say now and I will let you off with a warning and only light punishment. It may sound harsh but many of you would not be ready for such a request and would most likely die from taking it."

The Master's eyes locked onto Natsu. "Was it you Natsu? You talk a lot about wanting to take stronger missions."

Everyone could see Natsu sweating heavily under the Master's gaze. "No…" he finally managed to stutter out. Everyone could see he was being truthful. It was obvious when Natsu was lying.

"Gray?"

The boy shook his head. "I'm smarter than flame breath over there."

"What was that stripper freak?"

"You heard me-"

"ENOUGH!" The Master's voice shut them all up before they could descend into bickering. "Now then, was it perhaps you Erza or you Mira? You could have easily thought it was one you could take."

Both girls shook their heads.

"I see then." The Master let his eyes wonder around the guild. It wasn't any of the older members, none of them looked guilty or as if they had been caught. The younger ones were prone to cause more mischief but none of them seemed like could candidates for this. Natsu had been a prime subject, followed by Gray. Cana and the others weren't as troublesome as those two could be and it wasn't his S Class Mages either.

It wasn't Gildarts. The man only ever took missions that he wanted but he at least said which ones he had taken to get the approval.

But there was a fourth S Class Mage. Laxus. He let his eyes glance to where his grandson was sitting by Levy. The three of them were together as alwa-

Wait. Three? There were only two of them there. Scanning the guild quickly, he realised who was missing. Ichigo.

"Where is Ichigo Laxus?"

Laxus shrugged. "How should I know? He left this morning."

Makarov swore silently. "I have no choice then. We need to stop that boy before he gets himself killed."

Laxus snarled as he listened to his grandfather organise search parties to bring Ichigo back. This wasn't right. This mission wasn't even a proper S Class Quest in his eyes. His grandfather had no right to pull him off it.

This wasn't the time to tell the Master about what Ichigo had been doing all these year. It was meant to be in a private setting, to at least let the Master have some dignity left after all this. But right now, he didn't care. He was walking towards his grandfather, the man not even noticing.

As he finally reached him, he struck out with his fist. The Master sensed it coming a mile off and ducked, surprise flickering across his face.

"Laxus. What is the meaning of this?"

"You aren't going after Ichigo. You have no right to pull him off a non S Class Quest."

Makarov frowned. "I am the Guild Master. I know who is capable of what mission and have the right to decide to not allow a member to take a particular mission if I fear they will be harmed in the process of said mission."

"Why? Is Ichigo not strong enough?"

He could see his grandfather was having trouble countering that. "It's not all about strength. This is a mission I would only send someone of an S Class level on, if at all."

"Then there is no problem then. After all, Gildarts wanted to let him pass after all."

Any noise in the commotion quieted again after hearing that. Makarov glanced over at Mira nearby to see her looked at him in confusion, and he could tell what kind of conclusion she was going to make.

"So why did he not even get to the second round when his proctor decided he was good enough?"

Mira took a step towards Makarov. "Master? Is this true?"

Makarov looked aware from the hurt girl, not liking seeing the betrayed look in her eyes. "As the Master, I can overrule the proctor if I decide they aren't ready fo-"

"You never have before." Makarov saw the betrayal even clearer now. "Did I pass because I was the only one there ready, or did I pass because it was decided that Ichigo wasn't allowed to?"

"You passed because you were ready," answered Makarov. "I could have easily promoted no one. I still choose you when I didn't have to."

"Then why?"

"Yeah Gramps. Why? Tell them why you didn't pass Ichigo?"

"He wasn't ready. He failed the trial."

"Was that before or after you set him off with Levy's supposed death?"

Everyone glanced at the blue haired girl, sitting alone under the stairs. Even the Master was shocked and he saw the glare she was giving him. "You…"

"Were awake? For every word."

"You have to understand-"

"Understand what Gramps?" Laxus laughed. It wasn't a joyful laugh. This one was mocking. "What is there to understand? To you, Ichigo is just a simple boy obsessed with power, just like his mentor. Did Levy hear wrong?"

Gramps shook his head. "I said that and many people will agree. How many of you here will acknowledge Ichigo seeks power?"

They could all see the majority of the guild raising the hands. Even Laxus raised a hand but they could see he was merely humouring them by doing so.

"This is why. I cannot trust someone who seeks power above all else. It will eventually lead to people getting hurt and him leaving. His mentor-"

"Isn't him."

Makarov turned in shock to see that interruption had come from Erza. "Erza?"

"He taught me. It was years ago but I saw him for who he was. He wants power but he cares deeply for the people around him. Why else would he train me at all? He could have let me learn alone and just kept to himself."

Makarov found that he couldn't counter her argument. It was true, the boy had never had anything to gain from helping Erza all those years ago, yet he did it anyway. Kisuke never would have if he couldn't get something from it, normally an opportunity to test out a new toy or trick.

He eventually found his voice though. "It is still a matter of trust. People can change, and you remember that day he came back covered in blood. He went on a mission for the Magic Council."

Makarov turned back towards his grandson. "And he has gone back to them so many times for more missions. He either gains power from them or just wants to kill, either causing him to perform who knows what. The missions from the Council are always dark, from cleaning up their messes, to exterminating a town of innocents because they were infected by something the Magic Council created originally."

"Now do you see the trust Laxus? How can I trust someone who is at the Council's beck and call?"

Makarov expected many things. He expected anger. He expected sadness. He expected violence. He never expected this though.

Laxus looked straight at him and laughed. He could see the pity in his eyes, as if he couldn't understand why the person in front of him could be so stupid.

"He would have told you everything if you asked."

Makarov froze again at those words.

"He hasn't been mindlessly killing. Not sure about what missions he went on but none were physically as worse as the first. The rest probably played on him emotionally. It didn't help he came back here and got to see more contempt from you. You never even tried to understand what he was doing."

Had he got it all wrong?

"He went on these missions for one reason. The reward."

Maybe not then.

"So what was it then?" asked Makarov. "Power? Money?"

"Fairy Tail."

Of all the answers, that was one he had not expected.

"How many times do you think Fairy Tail has come close to being shut down?"

There had been a lot. He had heard Yajima say how close they had come plenty of times but nothing ever happened. He had always assumed that they were let off the hook.

"How many times has the damages Fairy Tail caused been less than what it should have been in the end?"

That error had appeared. He hadn't thought much of it though and had stored the money for future repairs. But thinking back, he had noticed it a few times now when the total bill came through after the complaints. It had always been a bit too small.

"Isn't it strange how Ichigo was always away around the time the complaints came in and when he returned, the bill arrived not long after."

Makarov slowly forced himself to speak, dreading the answer he was about to hear. "You don't mean-"

"GET IT ALREADY!" Laxus roared at the man. "This guild should have closed years ago. So Ichigo made a deal with the Council to overlook everything as long as he worked for them. You want to hate him for doing the Council's dirty work? Ask yourself who forced him to do it in the first place."

"He never had to."

Laxus sneered. "Of course he did. That idiot cares about Fairy Tail more than anything in the world. He didn't care about himself and he didn't care if you didn't know why he was doing this. He never wanted pity. He never cared for about being understood. He just wanted to keep the guild safe and happy."

"And you want to know the worst part? We even warned you. We said to control the damages people were doing. Each time it increased, it made things harder for Ichigo. And then what did you do? YOU ENCOURAGED IT MORE!"

Laxus swiped his hand to the side, Natsu having to dodge a bolt of lightning that shot out. "Take that idiot for example. You gave him warnings and told him not to do it again but that was all you did. You repeated the same lines over and over again and just let him keep causing more and more damage to things. How many houses did he destroy? How many families did he ruin by burning away their possessions? And you have the nerve to say Ichigo was the problem child?"

Natsu looked even more shocked than the Master. From the look of it, he hadn't even realised what all that damage might have done in the long run. "I did all that…"

"Of course. And you aren't the only one who caused problems. When Cana actually gets drunk, she is a menace. Erza knocks people out in one hit if they don't answer her questions fast enough. None of you think of the consequences of your actions, and this has put Fairy Tail so close to closing so many times now."

Laxus looked back at his grandfather one last time. "When I become the Guild Master, I won't let trash like this exist here. I'll make Fairy Tail strong, and it won't need you anymore."

"Laxus. I never knew…"

"Of course you didn't. Because you assumed. You never asked. You never confirmed. You just decided you were right."

Laxus headed for the door, Levy meeting him there. The girl still was glaring at the Master but he knew she wasn't the type to rant like he had done. She would have been better in the original private setting they had planned.

"Don't bother trying to stop Ichigo go on that quest. If you ever had any respect for him, leave him alone. Don't try and act like a caring Guild Master now. It's far too late."

Makarov watched the two members of Team Fairy leave in silence as he felt to the floor. Others were in similar states, only now realising how many problems they had caused that orange haired teen over the years.

Gildarts was right. He had just been a foolish old man and had refused to listen. How he wished he had now.

Protector Of The Fairies

How long was that guy going to stay there for?

Ichigo looked around again for a new path he could take around Gildarts without the man noticing him but he could see none. Every time he tried to get around him, Gildarts would suddenly decide to move and readjust himself in the way of his new path.

What did he want? He thought the man had left already on more missions so why was he just sitting there. He would even keep glancing at him so he knew the man was waiting for him to approach.

But he didn't want to deal with him right now. He had places to get to and he was trying to forget about the S Class Trials at the moment. Gildarts would probably bring it up if they talked.

There wasn't much choice in the end. He had been delayed long enough so he had to get going. He stepped out of his hiding place and let Gildarts wave him over.

"Ichigo. You sure are stubborn."

Ichigo sighed. "What do you want Gildarts?"

"What's the rush? You got somewhere to be?"

Ichigo observed the man carefully. Did he know about the request that Laxus stole?

"Somewhere," Ichigo finally answered.

"Which is?"

"None of your business."

Gildarts shrugged. "Oh well. At least I tried. That's all the Master needs to know. I'll say you managed to get past me."

Ichigo frowned. "The Master is trying to stop me?"

"Not you per say," the man answered while shaking his head. "He just said to stop anyone trying to leave Magnolia who belongs to Fairy Tail. Something about a stolen mission."

"And you will just let me walk right past?"

"Yep." The reply was more joyful and sudden than he had expected.

"Why?"

Gildarts shrugged again. "I'm sure you can take care of yourself. You're S Class Standard after all."

Ichigo scowled. "If I was, why didn't I even get past the first stage?"

Gildarts stood up and walked over to him. "In all fairness, I would have passed you. I was going to do just that."

"Then why-"

Ichigo cut himself off as he realised what had happened. The Master. He interfered with his trial. He had to have done. Else why hadn't Gildarts passed him like he said he wanted to? Could that also explain why he thought Levy had been killed?

"Don't hold it against the Master."

Ichigo looked at the man in shock. "Why? I can understand not liking me much but this wasn't his trial. You were the one grading me, not him. And Levy wasn't a part of it either."

"You know about his interference?" asked Gildarts in surprise.

"No. But it matches doesn't it?"

Gildarts nodded. "No one can deny that you aren't a smart kid. Yeah, he did interfere."

"But… Why?"

Gildarts shook his head sadly. "Don't blame him too much. The Master has a lot of responsibility and a lot of people to look after alongside the guild. He may make some mistakes but he always cares for the members. He did what he thought would help you, even if he was wrong."

"I see." Ichigo couldn't say he truly understood the Master but at least he wasn't motivated to interfere because of simple hatred. "I'm off then."

"Yep. I'll see you again in a few years hopefully."

Ichigo looked at the older Mage in curiosity. "The missions are that long?"

Gildarts nodded. "And tough. I took an especially hard one this time. The Quest hasn't been done in one hundred years. Let's see if I can change that."

"I'd say good luck but-"

"Say it anyway." Gildarts looked slightly worried. "Trust me when I say that I need it as a backup."

Ichigo frowned. "Good luck?"

Gildarts relaxed a bit. "Thanks for that. Good luck on that mission of yours too."

With those last few words, the two Mages separated, each going off in a different direction. Ichigo was glad he had talked to the man now. Knowing he would have passed the first part of the S Class Trials was quite comforting. He would make sure to remember that, even if he didn't have the rank of S Class.

He headed down the road, and didn't look back. He had a job to get to.

Protector Of The Fairies

CONFRONTATION!

Are you all happy now? I swear, you were all bugging me about this for ages, some possibly from the first chapter. I loved writing it though, and I thought some lines were brilliant to say when I tried hearing how they sounded. It took a while to get to this point, but we finally got there. It's been a long way in the making, and I think having all these chapters before made it better. It's been a long road but thinks are slowly going to change. We're reaching the last Arc of the past, and then we're heading ahead in time to Fantasia.

I can let you know what chapter that will be now too. I recently finished Chapter 19 which fills a role as an interlude of sorts. Chapter 18 ends the past and then we see two events that are examples of differences between canon story and this story. One is subtle with some small things but I bet a few of you will like a bit of what you see. The other both shows something we never saw in canon but knew happened and gives a hint for the future. I doubt many would get it though right now.

Anyway, for those unhappy with the confrontation, let me know. For those disappointed about there being no physical or magical combat in the confrontation except for those two small parts, well think what that could cause in the future by not happening.

Change is happening now, and for Fairy Tail, it's for the better. Even Juushirou can't stand this darkness he operates in as much as he could before.

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