His Spirit Is Broken (Fairy Tail)

Chapter 4

Zax shifted awkwardly in his seat, trying to ignore Lucy's glare. 'Did I do something wrong?' He thought to himself as he looked past Erza and out the window. He had never been on a train before, so the feeling of moving so fast was bizarre and made a pit form in his stomach. He had a bad feeling about this mission and he was scared. Scared the others would see just how the curse affected him. He pulled his hood farther down in order to hide his face as his eyes welled with tears. Erza seemed to notice this and mistook it as Lucy glaring at him had upset him. She placed an arm around him and glared at the girl, who turned her eyes to Natsu. Natsu was currently slouched in his seat, groaning from motion sickness.

"You're so hopeless, Natsu." Gray scoffed from his place besides the pinkette, Lucy on his other side. "Go sit somewhere else if you're going to be annoying... Even better, don't ride on the train!! Just run!!" Gray rolled his eyes as he said this. Natsu just groaned and covered his mouth. "I know it happens every time... But it looks really painful." Lucy stated as she watched Natsu. "I.... I might be able to help. My mother taught me a lot about plants and herbs, I have some healing ones in my bag. They will help with the sickness but will make him sleepy." Zax scooted over and motioned for Natsu to sit beside him as he dug through his backpack. Natsu plopped down as Zax pulled out the right herb and handed Natsu a few leaves. "Chew thoroughly before you swallow, please." Zax smiled sweetly as Natsu nodded, chewing the sweet tasting leaves with a slight blush. Zax went back to looking out the window, watching the passing scenery. He was startled out of his peaceful trance when something fell onto his shoulder. Natsu had fallen asleep and was subconsciously leaning on Zax, who was blushing bright red. The boy reached up and patted Natsu's head before turning back to the window.

He could feel Lucy's glare and suppressed a shudder. She rolled her eyes and turned to Erza. "Now that I think about it... I've never seen any other magic in Fairy Tail except for Natsu's. What kind of magic do you use, Erza?" Lucy asked the redheaded woman. "Erza's magic is beautiful. Plenty of blood came out in the end. It was her opponents blood." The blue cat, Zax now knew as Happy, had beamed up at Lucy. "How is that beautiful?" Lucy sweatdropped at the cat. "It's nothing special... I think Gray's magic is much more beautiful." Erza waved off Happy's compliments. "It is?" Gray questioned dubiously. "Can I see?" Zax looked at the ravenette. "The only magic I have seen was mine and my mom's" He added on as Gray looked at him, an eyebrow raised. Gray nodded and held out the palm of his hand before slapping his fist, knuckles out, into the center of his open hand. He slowly removed his fingers to reveal the guild symbol made out of ice. Zax looked at it in amazement as Lucy let out a happy sound. "That's amaz-" Zax was cut off by Lucy's glare. "What is it?" She turned Gray, now ignoring the boy. "It's Ice Magic." Gray said, catching the glare she had given Zax. "Ice doesn't really suit you though." She said in a slightly flirtatious tone. "I think it suits him..." Zax mumbled, causing Gray to turn to him. As he went to reply to the boy, Lucy let out a gasp of realization. "Ice and Fire!! No wonder you two don't get along!" Lucy giggled and brought a hand to her mouth to cover it.

"Is that so?" Erza looked at Gray, who remained silent for a few seconds. "Who cares about that!?" Gray crossed his arms and looked away. "Anyway, what's going on? You asking for help doesn't happen that often." Gray turned back to her and raised an eyebrow. "I was on my way back from work when I stopped by at a bar Onibas, where mages gather. Some folks there caught my attention. They were loud and noisy. One mentioned something about "Lullaby". Whatever it is, if it was sealed away it must have been for a reason. It probably contains some powerful magic." Zax had snapped out of his trance when he heard Erza mention Lullaby and fell silent, tensing slightly. "I don't get it... So, you come across some folks who wanted to break the seal of some unknown magic... Maybe that's all it was, their job... Nothing special." Gray shrugged and turned his eyes to Zax, who had gone pale with fear. "You okay, Zax?" He added, making Erza look at the boy and place an arm around him. Zax simply nodded and looked down at his lap. As if sensing his discomfort, Natsu nuzzled his head closer to Zax's neck. The boy turned red and leaned his head against Natsu's, successfully disregarding Lucy glaring at the two of them. Zax felt safe for some reason.

"Yeah... That's what I told myself, too, and didn't give it anymore thought... Until I remembered the name Eligor. The ace mage of guild Eisenwald, Shinigami Eligor." Erza leaned forward slightly. "Shinigami!!?" Lucy gasped out and covered her mouth. "It's a nickname people gave him because he kept taking up assassination requests. The council prohibits mages from taking assassination requests, but Eisenwald chose money." The train came to a stop and Erza stood, Zax waited and gently shook Natsu to wake him. "Six years ago, the guild was ousted from the mage guild league and is now categorized as a dark guild." Erza said as the group followed her to retrieve their luggage. Lucy began to sweat profusely. "Lucy's skin is producing juice!!" Happy exclaimed as he flew beside the blond. "I see..." Gray said as he grabbed his bag and followed Erza out of the train. Zax and Natsu followed close behind him, Natsu leaning heavily on the slightly shorter male. Zax's face was still red, making Natsu give him a funny look. "Wait!!! You said ousted... But didn't they get punished!?" Lucy all but yelled as she brought up the rear.

She moved around Natsu and Zax, bumping into the younger boy on purpose. "They were. Eisenwald's master was arrested and the guild was ordered to disband themselves." Erza said and turned, not catching what Lucy did to Zax. This was going to be a long mission for Zax, that much was definite.