27

Disclaimer I do not own Fairy Tail. Why would I be writing fanfiction if I owned something like that?

Beta Reader: volfwildman

I let out a loud sigh as I wake up in my bed. I had gone to bed a bit late last night and despite not having an alarm clock my body always seemed to wake up around 9 am every day. Going back to sleep usually just made me feel sick when I woke up later so I usually never went back to sleep.

I slowly get up and head to the bathroom that was connected to my room and took a nice cold shower to wake myself up. With that done I quickly got dressed and punch the new punching bag I got a few days ago. I decided that if I was going to be punching some people I might as well get a punching bag to practice and get used to the pain caused by punching something.

With all my morning routine done I head out of my room and made my way down the hallway. When I turn the corner and get into the entrance room, I saw Erza and Cana talking to each other.

"Morning." I drawled out as I fought off the slight sleepiness that still clung onto my eyes. Both turned towards me and returned my greeting.

"Hey Bish, me and Erza were going to get some breakfast at Pete's restaurant. Want to join?" I simply nodded as I made to follow them outside. As the years went on the family had less and less breakfast together, Mom used to try and get used together for it but as our jobs as mages become more difficult and time consuming that slowed down to a stop. Still, try to get together for dinner though.

"So, what the word on the Eisenwald members?" I asked as we got near the restaurant.

Erza was the one to answer, "They're all in jail now. The council was a little annoyed at us for fighting a Dark guild without their permission but they did send thanks for taking care of Lullaby." The magic council was far more charitable to us now than they had been a few years ago. The fact we stopped destroying something every time a certain guild member went out on a job helped with that.

I soon found myself seated at a table with my sisters. They had both ordered the same thing, pancakes with bacon and a side of eggs. I went with a cheese omelet with bacon. "Where's Natsu and Gray?"

At my question, Cana answered, "They went to Lucy's place. Apparently, they're going to get something to eat with her before going weapon shopping for her, so she can fight herself if need be. I also heard Gray talk about finally giving her the tour of all his art in the mansion afterward." Gray seemed to be spending a lot of time with Natsu and Lucy but if he was having fun with them then good for him. Glad he also found someone to show off some of his works as well.

Before any more conversation could be made our food arrived and we went silent as we dug in. Not as good as Moms but still nice.

We got to the guild shortly after finishing up breakfast. Erza gave a quick goodbye before heading into the guild master's office and Cana went off to the second floor to look for any interesting S-rank jobs. I just went to the bar to order a drink.

"Hey, Mira can I get some orange juice?" At my request, the white-headed barmaid got out a clean glass and pull out a container of orange juice and started pouring. "Good morning Bishop. Here's your juice. Anything interesting happen lately?" She tried to play it off as casual but the slight edge in her smile told me she was hoping for some juicy gossip or something along those lines.

I took the drink and gave it a small sip before I responded, "Not partially. Things have been quiet ever since the Lullaby incident. The only interesting thing I can think of is that Lucy is going shopping for some stuff with Gray and Natsu then later have a tour of all the art Gray has at home." I take another small sip as I finish talking.

Mira's smile gains a funny look to it as she turns her head upwards, "Lucy and those two huh? Hmmmmm." I roll my eyes as Mira contemplated whatever she was thinking.

Eventually, Mira snapped out of her thoughts as she turns her head back to me. "So, you have any plans for today? I don't have any myself."

I just shrug at her question and take another sip before talking. "Not really. I think I'll be taking a job to do."

"Oh, ok then." She walks to another part of the bar mumbling something under her breath that I don't hear. I raise an eyebrow slightly at her before just once again shrugging and finishing my drink before heading off to my table, grabbing a newspaper along the way.

I get about halfway through the first page before some people sit down at the table. A quick look revealed them to be Lucy, Gray, and Natsu. "I thought you three would be out shopping right now," I state as I continue to read the paper.

Gray and Lucy blush at my comment but Natsu is the one to talk, "We're stopping here to get some stuff before we head out. I also wanted to look at the job board for any fun jobs to grab." I nod my head at Natsu's words.

Before any more conversation could spring up Cana had come down from the second floor and headed for the table, "Hey Lucy, Gray, and Flame Brain. I thought you all would be out shopping right now?"

Natsu tells her what he told me but added an insult at the end. This starts a small argument between the two as Gray lets out a sigh and Lucy gives him a pitying look. I just ignore them and read about some big wedding that happening for some duke in Foire.

However, before the argument could get into full swing something sprang up in the air. I felt an incredible urge to sleep hit me but before it could fully overtake me, I put an illusion on myself, one that stimulated my body into rapidly pump adrenaline. It would make me feel somewhat sick afterward but it along with my natural magic resistance allowed me to stay awake even if just barely.

Everyone else, however, had all fallen asleep beside the guild master who had come out with Erza. He was currently sitting on the bar and it looked like he had been talking to Erza a bit before the sleeping spell came.

With everyone asleep beside us, someone walked into the guild. Mystogan strolled in and promptly went up to the job board and quickly took a job from it. He headed over to Makarov, "I'll be taking this job master. Are there any problems with that?"

Makarov shook his head no, "No just make sure to complete it to the best of your ability. Also, make sure to lift the sleeping spell before you leave. Last time you forgot and I spent an hour getting them to wake up." Mystgan rubbed his head at the guild master's words and I assumed he blushes a bit at the mistake as well.

The staff wielder ended up nodding his head before starting to walk out. He lightly waved at me as he walked out. This wasn't the first time I had stayed awake after one of his sleeping spells so he probably wasn't surprised at me being awake and reading the paper.

I gave his a lightly wave back as I continued to read the paper. Once the cloaked man was out everyone suddenly woke up. I heard grumbles from all over the guild at being hit with the spell but at this point, most people were used to it.

"God, why does he have to do that every time he comes in here?" Said a yawning Cana, "almost as annoying as Natsu." Said Slayer seemed to take exception to that comment as the argument between the two started up once more. I once again started to ignore the two as I heard Gray explain to Lucy what had just happened.

Just as the second argument between Cana and Natsu was starting to get rather loud someone interrupts it. "Hey! What with all the annoying noise!"

The words come from the second floor as Laxus get into view from wherever he was hiding. He looks down and sees it was Cana and Natsu arguing and give us an annoyed scowl. "Of course, it had to be the Low S and the Dragon Wannabe."

Cana and Natsu quickly forget each other and start glaring up at the lightning asshole. Natsu because of being called a wannabe dragon and Cana for being called the weakest S-class mage. In the end, it was Natsu who spoke up.

"Why don't you come down here and say that to my face you bastard!" Laxus just smirked at Natsu's words before talking back with a taunt of his own.

"Why don't you come up here and fight me then?" Natsu glared harder at the yellow-haired man but didn't move. Natsu knew better than to try and go to the second floor, all the times I punished him for trying should make sure of that.

Laxus' grin widened at Natsu's refusal to move, "That's what I thought. I swear between you, miss barely worth an S and the illusion bastard this guild is really falling in standards. I'll be sure to fix that when Gramps finally gives it to me." And with that, he turned and walked back into where ever he had been up there.

Cana and Natsu just grumbled at Laxus' words while Gray also explain Laxus to Lucy. I just ignored them and finished up the paper. I had heard worst from people about being an illusionist and I couldn't care less about what Laxus said.

"Come on Natsu. Let's head out of here and get that shopping for Lucy done. You can get your mind off that asshole." Gray said these words to a pissed off Natsu who was still glaring at the second floor, where Laxus had been before.

Natsu gave the second floor one last look, this one had a questioning aspect to it before turning his head to Gray. "Ya let's go, Bro. I show that dumb idiot later who's better." And with that, the three were off, leaving the table with just me and Cana.

Cana was still grumbling under her breath as she laid on the table with an annoyed look. I let out a sigh as I folded up my paper and rubbed the Card mage's head. Cana's annoyed look melted away as I hit all the sweet spots, I had learned over the years of doing this. Eventually, I stopped much to Cana's annoyance.

"Thanks, Bish. I wish that lightning bastard would get hit with a train or something." She grumbles a bit more but does sit straight up with a small smile on her face.

"By the way, I have a question for you," I responded by raising an eyebrow.

She reaches into her little bag by her side and pulls out a piece of paper and sets it on the table. After turning it to face me I see it was a job. It requested some mages to come out and explore an old ruin close to the Twisting Canyons, apparently some people had been seen coming in and out despite it there being a major ban to any people go there. What really stood out to me though was the ranking this job had.

An S-ranking.

"I was hoping you and I could go out and do the job? It's fine for you to do an S-rank job as long as I invite you and I thought it would be nice for me and you to go out had have some sibling bonding like we used to." Cana was giving me a hopeful look while saying this.

I let out a sigh as I look down at the job. It wasn't that I was scared to do an S-rank job or anything but rather I just didn't have any interest in doing it. I was still focusing on the canon events and would rather not distract myself with something like this.

But as I looked up and looked at the hopeful face of my little sister, I knew I couldn't say no. I once again let out a sigh as I mumbled out a yes to her which she promptly fist-pumped too before coming over to hug me.

I roll my eyes at the hug but I can't fight off the small smile growing on my face nor the slight warmth I felt in my chest.

I guess a little distraction wouldn't hurt.

After some preparing things for the job, Cana and I were on the train heading to the city of Norden since it had the closest train station by the ruins we would be going to. I was just staring out of the train car as it was moving out of Magnolia station while Cana was organizing her cards.

"So, what can I expect from an S-rank job?" I say finally after getting bored of staring into the passing scenery and was already regretting not bringing a book due to not being given time to do so by my little sister. Starting to have a hard time finding a good novel I haven't read yet. Maybe I should start reading more about magic lore?

"In all honesty, it probably won't be very hard. Most S-rank jobs are like that because the person was willing to pay a lot of money for the job. That said they throw you some hard ones occasionally so don't get too comfortable or anything." With that said she put her cards into the cardholder I got her for her birthday all those years ago and proceeds to bring out a used and tattered journal that seemed familiar.

Once she opens it and starts reading from it, I realized why it looked so familiar. "You still have that journal I gave you when you were a kid?" At my question, Cana seems to realize that she had indeed pulled out said journal and turned slightly red from embarrassment.

"Yes, it is," She says while trying to remove the red from her face, "I kept using it after you gave it to me and wrote down spell ideas, magic tips and some other trivia I thought would be important at some point. It's completely full at this point but I still occasionally pull it out to look at it."

She finishes her words by looking down and mumbling out, "And it makes me happy to just remember all the things from back then."

I couldn't help the chuckle that found its way out of my throat, nor the warm feeling in my chest. It was nice to know that she keeps ahold of the little old thing. I had given it to her absentmindedly just because I thought it would be a nice thing for a big brother to do. Never imagined how much it meant to her.

"Good to know that you hold your time with me on such a grand pedestal," I say this in an attempt for a joke but the serious look on Cana's face stops me before I could let out a little stage chuckle.

"Well I mean you not just my Big Brother. You the person who gave me a family and gave me a place to truly call home. If you hadn't shown up, I don't know what would have happened to me." She smiles at the end of her sentence.

I did know what would have happened without me. You would have grown up alone and ended up becoming an acholic, probably to deal with the depression. I felt a slight shiver at that thought. It just made me uncomfortable to think of that Cana. A Cana that wasn't real to me nor my little sister.

The Cana I knew disliked drinking and much preferred the vice of gambling. She would never put on the rather skimpy clothing of the other one, Mom made sure of that. This Cana was my little sister, who I had spent years with not a character on screen.

I let out a sigh but still found a small smile making its way onto my face at how Cana was now. A person with more than enough family, and S-class mage and ultimately happy.

"Want to play some cards?" At my question, Cana smiled.

Once we got to the station at Norden we stopped playing cards and made to head out. As we got into the city we started asking around for some directions to the ruins and we were off. It seemed to be in an offshoot forest of the Twisting Canyons that we never went near when the S-class trials were here. It didn't take long for Cana to start complaining.

"God it's taking forever to walk there. I really need to get one of those enchanted items that can store a magic vehicle in it. Would make things a lot easier when it came to travel." She also grumbled a bit more under her breath but I couldn't hear it. Stuff like that was very expensive but then again S-rank jobs paid very well.

After a dozen or so minutes of walking, we make our way through the forest and come to a cliff that seemed connected to the Twisting Canyons. There in the side of the cliff was an old stone entrance to some underground complex. Other than the entrance it had a few old pillars around it and even the beginnings of a stone brick road. It seemed like the ruin we were here for. Now, to just make sure nothing sinister was going on in them.

However, before either Cana or I could move forward to the ruins A voice shouted out from a top of the cliff. "Old it right there you no good scum!"

From on top of the cliff stood a man who I had trouble making out do to the sun being behind him but that trouble didn't last long before he jumped down with a hyaaa. He landed on the ground skillfully in a slight pose before standing to full height.

He was a tall man, about an inch or two taller than me if you didn't count his large blond afro. He had slightly tanned skin and wore a small blue jacket which showed off his large muscly arms, his mid section's abs and some of his chest along with the hair on it. He also had on some black skinny jeans and some tan loafers and finally, a pair of sunglasses sat on his nose and blocked his eyes from view. All in all, he looked like a handsome but strange guy.

"Where there his hair in trouble you can count on Bo to be there! Now then you two better tell me what you're doing in these ruins before I get all personal with ya!" Cana and I were thrown off by the way he spoke and the exaggerated movement of his body while he talked.

I was the first to break out of the stupor and talk, "We haven't been in there before? We're Fairy Tail mages who accepted job to investigate the ruins and some people who were seen her." My words seem to surprise Bo, I think that's his name, but he seems to keep on guard.

"Oh ya? Well, prove it!" Cana seems to have also finally snapped out her stupor and proceed to lightly lift the blue t-shirt she was wearing to show her guild mark on her left abdomen. Bo nodded his head at her then looks at me expectantly.

I let out a sigh as I unbutton my vest and show him my guild mark on the back of my left shoulder. He seems to raise an eyebrow at the massive scar that ran across my back but didn't say anything and nodded once more. "It seems you were telling the truth. I should have known though considering how happy your two's hair is."

What.

Bo seems to recognize the confusion on our faces as he starts to explain, "Ya see I can talk with hair ya dig. True villains always take bad care of their hair but your two's seem perfectly happy."

Even with that explanation I still found myself confused about how he could talk to hair. He seemed to take our silence as a signal to talk more, "I'm an independent mage that took the same job you two seemed to take. I was just keeping lookout for anybody to enter here so I could shake em for info before I went in. But with you two her I think there shouldn't be too much problem with exploring the ruins. So, you two want to help the defender of hair?"

It was then that I recognized him as the man I had read about in the newspaper over the course of a few years. The decently famous mage that had made a name for himself all over Earthland. Apparently, the news decides to not write about his...interesting personality. Don't think reading about to would have prepared me for this though.

Me and Cana just once again stood silent as he waited for our answer. Eventually, Cana turned to me with a confused expression and pleadingly said, "Bish."

I knew she was hoping I could explain what was going on here. And luckily for her, I did know enough to at least explain. "I do recognize him as a decently famous mage that goes around Earthland and does high ranking jobs. He could be of great help to the job with his magic."

"Which is?" She says but before I could speak Bo beat me to the punch.

"The magic passed down from my ancestors in the Hair Tribes of Enca. Nose Hair magic!" At his words two long and think strands of nose hair shot out of his two nostrils and start wiggling about to his sides. Suddenly my normal neutral expression becomes a hell of a lot more strained as I tried to weather what I was seeing. Cana, however, started to dry heave off to my side.

"Please God, no more," Cana says and Bo seems to not take offense at the comment as he pulls his nose hair back in. Both me and Cana were very thankful for him putting those...things away.

"He is a very powerful mage if all the stuff I read about him is true," I say trying to at least help Cana here with her regret for taking this job. She stands up straight and takes a deep breath before letting out a just as deep exhale.

"Fine," She says, "Let's just go in there and get this over with." With her words said she proceeds to walk forward to the ruins. Bo lets out an ohhhh ya at her words before heading to join her.

I myself letting out a smaller sigh as I proceed to follow the two.

Sometimes I forget how weird this world can be.

AN: So some of you are going to hate me for the fact that I'm not doing the Galuna Island arc. Well, it's still going to happen but just in the background of this arc which I'll be naming when it ends. When I was planning out the arcs, in the beginning, I really didn't find much to do in this arc with Bishop or Cana and after something, I thought it would be a good chance to have my own little arc while Natsu and the others do things that we've already seen. Anyway, I'm looking forward to this arc with all the little hints I've been giving towards it. Hope you all like it.

Thanks once again to volfwildman for being a Beta. This shoutout is going to NazgulBelserion for his reviews and the messages I've been having with him, great honest guy.

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Have a great day.

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