The Knight and The Strawberry

chapter 2

Ichigo could hardly believe his eyes as he looked out at the city in front of him. At first it looked just like any other city, with houses lining the streets, stores on the corners, and people going about their day just like in all the other towns they had been to. However not long after the town had come into view, the entire thing began to shift and move around right before their eyes. The buildings all shifted up and sideways forming a single main road going through the town leading to a large building. Ichigo looked at Gildarts with a questioning look, but the man didn't seem to think anything was out of the ordinary.

"Well it looks like they know we're coming." He stated with a small chuckle. "C'mon kid, we don't wanna keep them waiting." And with that he strolled into the road that had apparently been made for them.

Ichigo was still a little confused, but the more he thought about it the more he began to think that maybe it was a good idea. After all, in his month traveling with Gildarts, he learned that the man was a bit clumsy and had a bad habit of walking right through objects in his way.

The more he thought back on their journey the less aware he was of their progress up the road.

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Flash back, three weeks prior.

Gildarts sat looking at Ichigo from across the fire. At first he had thought that he was just over analyzing it, but the more he focused the more he was certain. It wasn't too powerful, but the boy had power radiating from him. This wasn't too surprising given the circumstances they had met under. However, what was strange about it was that it felt like it was trying to engulf him and even push against him. It was barely noticeable, even to someone as powerful as himself, hell anyone who was on his level of skill with magic would probably not even be able to notice it. But it was there, and it was very interesting.

Something else he had noticed was Ichigo's behavior, or more specifically the lack of it. The boy simply followed him wherever they went without talking or showing any emotion. Gildarts knew that he was suffering from his loss, but he was just bottling it up. And that was not good. He needed to find something to bring the kid back out of his shell.

'Maybe the boy could be a mage.' Gildarts mused. They were headed to a magic guild. Perhaps it would be good for Ichigo if he knew a bit of magic before they arrived. 'What type of magic should I teach him though?'

His eyes fell on the boy's sword and an idea came to him. "Hey Ichigo." Said boy looked up hearing the sound of his name. "How would you feel about learning some magic?"

Ichigo perked up "Do you think I would be able to do it?" although he was excited, he wasn't sure that he was capable of it.

"Of course you can, most people are capable of using magic. We just have to figure out what kind of magic suits you, and from there you can make a style all your own."

Ichigo's eyes lit up a little bit. Every little kid fantasizes about having magic powers, so hearing that he could really be capable of it was very exciting.

"How well do can you use that sword?

With this question Ichigo's expression fell slightly. He was no stranger to a fight. After all, he had been taking karate for several years. He was used to fighting and sparing with his fists. But that was it, and in the end nobody really got hurt too bad. But a sword? A sword was different. They didn't just leave bumps and bruises. Swords could very easily hurt or even kill people. The idea almost made Ichigo sick.

Seeing the apprehension on the boys' face Gildarts attempted to put his mind at ease "Well don't worry too much about that. I only asked because one of the basic types of magic is sword magic. It lets you swing harder and use different types of attacks with your weapon." Ichigo looked at him "And besides, we won't be learning any of that for a while. The first thing we have to teach you is how to draw on your magic power."