Naruto x Fairy Tail: Fairy's Shadow

Bonus Chapters every 100 Power Stones

"Normal Dialogue"

'Inner thoughts'

[Year X791]

~ With Max ~

One week had passed since Ichiya's announcement. One week since he'd stood in that crater and spoken four words that had changed everything: "Tenrou Island still exists."

Bisca, Alzack, Droy, and little Asuka had departed with the Magic Bomber and the Blue Pegasus guild to search for the island. 

The guild members who remained had spent those seven days in a strange kind of limbo. Some had thrown themselves into simple missions, while others had barely left the guildhall, as if staying close to home would somehow make the waiting easier. A few had quietly started making plans, just in case. Just in case the news was real. Just in case their missing guild members were really coming home.

Max sat at one of the long tables, staring at a mission flyer he'd been pretending to read for the past hour. The words blurred together every time he tried to focus on them. His mind kept drifting to the same question that had been haunting him all week: what if it was all a mistake? What if they let themselves hope, and then had to watch it all crumble again? How many more times was this going to happen?

"You think they're really alive?" Jet's voice cut through his thoughts. 

Wakaba looked up from his cigarette. "Course they are. Question is whether we'll ever see them again."

"That's not what I meant. I mean, what if they're not the same? Seven years is a long time. What if they don't remember us? What if they've changed?" Jet leaned forward, his expression serious.

The question hung in the air like smoke. It was the fear none of them wanted to voice, the possibility that had been eating at them all week. Their family might be alive, but that didn't mean they were coming home.

Macao had been listening from behind the bar, polishing the same glass over and over. Finally, he set it down and walked over to their table.

"We'll deal with whatever comes." He said quietly. 

"Easy to say, harder to live with." Wakaba muttered. 

"Maybe. But what's the alternative? We stop hoping? We give up on them before we even know what happened?" Macao pulled out a chair and sat down.

Max finally looked up from his mission flyer. "Sometimes I think it would be easier. To just accept that they're gone and move on. At least then we wouldn't have to keep getting our hopes up."

"And sometimes I think you're all overthinking this," Romeo said from across the room. He'd been standing by the window, supposedly keeping watch but really just trying to stay busy.

"They're our family. They're alive. That's all that matters."

The conviction in his voice made the adults fall silent. There was something about the way he said it, with absolute certainty, that reminded them of why they'd fallen in love with this guild in the first place.

Faith. Not the blind kind, but the kind that chose to believe in something better even when the world gave you every reason not to.

"Kid's got a point. Maybe we're making this more complicated than it needs to be." Wakaba said, crushing out his cigarette.

"Maybe," Max agreed. But he couldn't shake the feeling that they were all walking on thin ice, one wrong step away from falling through.

The conversation might have continued, but Jet suddenly straightened in his chair. "Speaking of complications, what's the deal with Twilight Ogre lately? I saw three new faces at their guild yesterday. Big guys, looked like they could crack boulders with their bare hands."

"That makes five new recruits just this month. Not counting the many others over the past few months. All of them A-class or close to it. Since when does Twilight Ogre have that kind of pull?" Max said, frowning.

Wakaba lit another cigarette. "Since never. Something's not right about those guys. They don't carry themselves like normal guild mages."

"What do you mean?" Macao asked.

"I mean they move like soldiers. Like they're following orders instead of doing jobs. And the way they look at people..." Wakaba shook his head. "It's like they're sizing everyone up for a fight."

The words sent a chill through the room. Twilight Ogre had always been a smaller guild, content to take the missions that Fairy Tail didn't want. The idea of them suddenly recruiting powerhouse mages was strange enough. The idea that those mages might be planning something was worse.

"Maybe we should—" Max started to say.

The words were cut off by a booming sound that shook the entire guildhall. Dust rained down from the ceiling as the walls trembled and glasses rattled on tables. 

Everyone froze. The sound faded, leaving them in tense silence.

Then it came again. Louder this time, sharper, followed by the unmistakable sound of splintering wood.

"What the hell was that?" Jet was already on his feet.

Romeo's voice cut through the confusion from his position by the window. "The bell! They destroyed the ceremonial bell!"

The others rushed to the window, crowding around to see. Sure enough, the large bronze bell that had stood at the top of the guildhall for decades lay in pieces on the front steps. Its fragments were scattered across the stone, some pieces embedded in the walls of nearby buildings.

And standing around the wreckage, making no attempt to hide their presence, were several figures in Twilight Ogre colours.

Macao's face went white with rage. "Those bastards."

For years, even during Fairy Tail's weakest moments, there had been an unspoken agreement between the guilds of Magnolia. Competition was fine. Rivalry was expected. But open hostility, especially in the middle of town where innocent people could get hurt, was off limits.

This wasn't competition. This was a declaration of war.

"Everyone listen up!" Max's voice carried across the guildhall with an authority that surprised even him. "Full evacuation through the rear exit. Now!"

The guild members began moving immediately, but Romeo stepped forward. "I'm not running. I can fight."

"Your job is to keep everyone else alive. Jet, scout the escape route. Make sure it's clear. Macao, Wakaba, you're with Romeo. Get everyone to safety." Max said firmly.

"What about you?" Macao asked.

Max was already moving toward the front doors, sand beginning to swirl around his feet. "I'm going to buy you time."

"Max, you can't face them alone—"

Another boom shook the building, this one close enough to crack the windows. Max turned back to look at his guildmates, at the people who had become his family over the years. They were looking at him with trust, with faith that he could protect them. The same way they'd once looked at Shisui.

"I'm not planning to win," he said quietly. "I'm planning to hold them off long enough for you to get everyone to safety. That's what matters."

The truth hit them all at once. Max wasn't just buying time. He was risking everything, maybe sacrificing everything, to protect what remained.

"Go. And don't look back." He said, turning toward the doors. 

~ End of Chapter 78 ~

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