~Gajeel~
“Go on, then,” Makarov said once everyone had stopped gawking at me. “Go join the others.”
“Fine,” I sighed, knowing I didn’t really have a choice. The old man had finally, after fifty years, talked me into joining his damned guild. Apparently, things were getting dangerous for human-born supernaturals because of some lunatic, so he had urged me to join, saying we were safer in numbers. I would have been fine, but whatever. I owed the old man a favor for saving my hide a few years ago, so I figured joining—at least for a few years—would satisfy him.
As I made my way down to the first floor, an interesting scent caught my nose. I tracked it to a small bluenette who was sitting by a blonde and that pink-haired dragonborn kid. Something about her was different. She smelled like a human, but there was definitely something extra there. She isn’t like the rest of us. I frowned as I watched her from across the guildhall. What is she?
“Hey!” The dragonborn called, standing up on a table as fire engulfed both of his fists. “Fight me, wolf!”
“Sit down,” I barked, “before ya get yourself hurt.”
“Bring it on, fleabag!” He smirked, jumping at me.
I sighed, punching him in the face. “Didn’t your master just tell you not to start a fight?” I asked as he quickly recovered and came at me again.
“I want to see how strong you are,” he grinned.
I frowned. Although he was attacking me, I could tell he wasn’t actually trying to hurt me. His strikes were almost friendly in a way. I had never fought anyone who wasn’t trying to kill me, so it was strange dodging his attacks.
“Natsu, leave him alone,” Makarov said, causing the dragonborn to halt.
“Fine,” he pouted, returning to the blonde’s side. “We’ll finish this later, Gajeel!”
“Yea, whatever,” I grumbled, sitting at a table alone.
“Can I get you something to drink?” A white-haired woman asked, offering me a friendly smile. The hairs on the back of my neck immediately stood up when I smelled her, and I decided to bite back the retort for her to leave me alone. Not even I was dumb enough to mess with a soul eater.
“Sure,” I nodded. My eyes drifted back to the bluenette, and I found that she was staring at me as well. She quickly looked away when my eyes met hers, and I saw a slight blush color her cheeks. What was that about?
“Did you hear about Ivan?” I felt my ears twitch at the sound of the Oni’s name. Two older men, one with a pipe, and one with a beer mug, were huddled close together, whispering to each other.
“Ivan, as in, Master’s son?” The one with a pipe asked.
“Yeah. Apparently he’s come out of hiding recently.”
“That can’t be good. I wonder what he’s planning.”
“I don’t know,” the man paused to take a large swig from his mug, “but I have a bad feeling.”
“Gajeel. Levy.” Makarov’s voice from the second floor suddenly pulled my attention away from their conversation. I paused on the stairs, realizing the bluenette with the interesting smell was directly in front of me.
“Yes, Master?” She asked. So, her name is Levy.
“Come with me,” he said, motioning for the two of us to follow him.
He led us to a large office, then shut the door before taking a seat on top of his desk. “I have an important job for the two of you.”
“Us?” Levy asked, shooting me a surprised look.
“I assume you’ve both heard about my son, Ivan,” he sighed, looking quite tired.
“Yes,” Levy nodded. “He’s a purist, isn’t he?”
“Purist?” I frowned.
“He thinks that human-born supernaturals are below those who were born supernaturals. He has a small following of other purists who hunt down supernaturals who were once human and kill them. They feel the same way about humans, and have targeted them from time to time as well.” Levy explained. “For several years, Ivan went into hiding to avoid getting caught. Just recently he has reappeared, and seems to be more powerful than he used to be.”
“That’s right,” Makarov nodded. “An Oni’s powers increase with age, so I’m not surprised that his have grown. However, this worries me because he has gone back to targeting human-borns.”
“What do you want us to do about it?” I asked.
“You and Levy are going to find him,” he said, simply. “Once we know where he is, report back to me and we can send a team to kill him.”
“That could take days,” I frowned.
“And?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“The full moon is in two days, old man.”
“That’s what Levy is for,” Makarov grinned. “She’ll take care of that.”
“How is a little girl supposed to subdue a fully-matured werewolf?” I scoffed, glancing down at the tiny woman.
With an annoyed huff, I saw her reach towards me. When her hand gripped my wrist, I suddenly felt all of my strength leave me. In an instant, she had kicked my feet out from under me, and I was staring up at the ceiling in shock. “I can take care of myself,” she smiled.
“What the hell?” I breathed, looking at the wrist she had been holding. As soon as she had released me, my strength had returned, and I felt normal once again.
“Levy here is a preternatural,” Makarov chuckled.
“A soulless?” I gaped down at her once I had gotten to my feet. I had heard of them, but their existence was just rumors and folklore amongst the human-borns. I had never actually met one.
“That’s right,” she grinned. “When I touch you, you’re nothing more than an ordinary human. So, the full moon won’t be a problem.”
“Damn,” I mumbled. “Scary little shrimp, aren’t ya?”
“I’m not a shrimp!” She shot at me.
“Gihi,” I chuckled, patting the top of her head. “Don’t get so worked up, Shrimp.”
“Now that you’re both acquainted,” Makarov said, clearing his throat, “go get packed. You’re leaving tonight.”
