Quest for the Eighty-Eight Keys

Chapter Three: Makeover with Midnight

Midnight sighed as he slumped in his seat at a table in the back of the Fairy Tail guildhall. He watched from the shadowy corner as his fellow members of Crime Sorciere talked animatedly with the mages of Fairy Tail.

Erik was telling Natsu, Laxus, and Wendy about a particularly humorous mission that the independent guild had, the missing dragon slayer being on the stage with his girlfriend, who was dressed in a sexy bunny outfit. Jellal was sitting at the bar with Erza, both blushing madly as they caught up. Richard was talking calmly to two of the older members of the guild, Midnight heard that their names were Macao and Wakaba. Meredy was gossiping with Mirajane and Cana, most likely talking about which mages would strike up a great romance with other mages. Sawyer was walking outside with the orange-haired man that was apparently an incredibly fast runner, probably to have a race.

The reflector mage sighed again. He never was a people person and wasn't fond of carrying on long conversations with anybody. However, he felt a pang of jealousy at how easily his friends could talk to the mages around them. He wanted to do that too, but he was hesitant. Even though he and his guildmates were fighting dark guilds and were highly supported by Fairy Tail, he for some reason felt as though he hadn't redeemed himself enough.

He knew that the rest of Crime Sorciere had committed terrible crimes, not just him, but while they truly felt that they were redeemed and forgiven, he did not. Midnight still felt terrible for what he had done in the past, for the pain he had caused as a dark mage. He wanted to feel as free as his friends felt. He wanted to talk to the Fairies as easily as they could. But the feeling of unworthiness that had settled itself in his gut kept him from walking toward the most approachable mages. He was rooted to the spot where he sat.

Midnight's red gaze roamed over the loud and distracted mages, noticing that a certain celestial wizard wasn't present. He guessed that she was somewhere near the front, hidden from his accidentally intimidating gaze. That was a reasonable assumption, but in the back of his mind, the former dark mage could hear a voice that sounded like his telling him that she was hiding from him.

He grimaced at the thought and looked down at his hands that were tightly clasped in his lap. He silently told himself that he was being ridiculous and jumping to conclusions, but he couldn't stop the feeling that Lucy was avoiding him. If he was being honest, he wouldn't blame her if that really was the case. He understood if she didn't want to even be in the same room as him. After all, he had tried to sacrifice her and kill her friends. Why would she not despise him and not want to interact with him in any way? How could she possibly forgive him? How could anybody forgive him? They may say that he was redeemed, but he didn't feel redeemed. How could he fix that? He wanted to truly feel redeemed. He wanted to truly feel like he deserved the happiness and freedom from the weight of past crimes that his friends felt. How could he accomplish that though? How could he get Lucy to forgive him?

Midnight sighed once more and looked back up at the mages before him. Maybe he should leave and go back to the hotel that he and his guildmates were staying at. He heaved one more sigh as he stood up and began making his way to the large, wooden doors that lead to the outside. However, he hadn't gotten far before Gajeel called from the stage on which he was preparing for a performance, "hey! Midnight!" Once he turned around, the dragon slayer continued, "go to the changing room and get Bunny Girl!" The dragon slayer then turned around.

Midnight stood in place for a few moments. Bunny Girl? Who the hell was that? Most likely seeing his confusion, Levy called to him, "he means Lucy. She's in the changing room." She then pointed to a hallway at the back of the guild. Following where she was pointing, Midnight felt his stomach drop. He really didn't want to face Lucy. Since everything had calmed down, he hadn't interacted with the blonde, hadn't even been near her. He always stayed away from her, not because he wanted to, but because he didn't feel like he had the right to be friendly with her after everything that he had done to her. How could he expect her to forgive him when he couldn't even forgive himself?