23 Special Chapter: What could have been

Note: I edited earlier chapters and added some extra scenes, so here are a few sneak peek chapters. Andddd, at the end is the picture of Aki that I tried to draw. (ง •_•)ง But since I can't add the picture in the chapter. I'll add in the comment section. 

Chapter 1// Welcome Back

The Fiore Kingdom, a neutral country with a population of 17 million, is a world filled with magic. Magic is bought and sold there like anything else and is deeply ingrained in people's lives.

And, there are some who make a living using magic. These people are referred to as wizards. These wizards belong to many different guilds and accept jobs brought to them.

There are many guilds in this kingdom, and in a place where countless legends were once born, namely; inside a certain wizard guild in a certain town...

"Aki! Are you sure you didn't accidentally add an extra four zeros? The amount of money the Council is asking us to pay for property damages this month seems too high!" Mirajane expressed her surprise to the boy with heterochromia eyes.

Although she phrased it as a question, she was simply expressing her disbelief. Mira knew her friends had the power to destroy entire cities on their single little quests.

That, and Mirajane knew Aki never made a mistake when it came to numbers. He may make a mistake like assassinating the wrong targets. But when it came to calculations, Aki was never, never wrong.

The person in question adjusted his round glasses in response to the question–statement, "Yes, I'm sure I didn't accidentally add extra zeros, Mira. As for why that amount... you have to ask that little party of Natsu with his flying cat why they destroyed the harbor town –the town which is especially renowned for their goods not to mention their trading routes! without just doing the damned quest!" Aki answered, with a fake smile and tick mark above his head.

The members sitting near the bar who were stealthily listening on the conversation went pale as they saw Aki's near-perfect smile and his holier than thou' attitude. Then, came the flashback of their own experiences dealing with that smile. It was rare for Aki to get angry and even more rare when he get genuinely pissed off. So, whenever it does happen, there is bound to be collateral damage.

Aki was also a full-fledged Fairy Tail member after all.

Literally everyone knew that whenever Natsu and Happy took on a quest, there was bound to be a letter arriving the next day, demanding compensation for the victims' mental disorientation and property damages.

So, Aki was just putting up a front for the Council and that, he was hoping at least, Natsu took on some words he said to his heart.

Leave Aki alone, at least a man can dream.

Plus, if Natsu was going to destroy something no matter the situation, he hoped instead of destroying a town where normal people were just trying to live their lives, destroying a rich evil man's mansion would be fine.

Yes, they would have to recompensate nonetheless but if Aki ever found even the smallest hint of forging fake documents just so they could get more money in their banks, they were sorely mistaken.

Someone would have to compensate all right. But it wouldn't be Fairly Tail.

Aki would deliver a lawyer's letter before the day ends. Demanding compensation for defamation and misuse of the law. And Aki would rip them apart into a new one until they were knocking on his door, kneeling in front of the whole guild with tears of blood on their face, asking him to forgive them.

Aki, who was sitting on a stool in front of the bar with his legs crossed, asked the 'victims' who were standing next to him that get their names slandered, no matter whether it was Natsu, Erza, Laxus, or anyone on the guild, and he'd said to them, 'What do you want to do?'

If they said, "Forgive them." He listened.

If they said, "Ignore them." He listened.

If they said, "Don't stop." He listened.

Aki didn't stop until they had to declare bankruptcy. Until they had to live on the street scourging on trash to search for food.

If his actions resulted in them giving up on their lives, resulting in light extinguishing from their eyes....it was of no concern to him.

Slandering someone's name was a serious business in his eyes. He could care less about other guilds' misunderstandings on Fairy Tail since if they didn't even know what was true and what was not and solely believed in the rumors without confirming with their connections, it's beneath Aki to even think about them.

But for most citizens who had neither connection nor network, rumors are a deadly thing. The value of Fairy Tail in their eyes would lessen a lot and trust would be diminished. There would be fewer quests and fewer commissions and the statistics would go downhill until someone took care of the rumors.

And that someone just happened to be Aki.

There were also a few citizens who tried to get quick cash by using that method but Aki took care of them swiftly. The method wasn't as extreme as those of evildoers. He first checks the background of the accuser and investigates their financial situation and why they did what they did. Afterward, he discussed those who had special circumstances with Master Makarov and took care of the situation accordingly.

Aki messaged his temples, this month's expenses are really too much even for Fairy Tail. He should let Natsu destroy some rich evil fucker's mansion or something on his next quest to blow off some steam and to rightfully rob them of their dirty money.

Aki was not angry. Definitely annoyed but not angry. He can already feel the oncoming headaches. Aki sighed softly but the sigh seemed to travel across the room as the chattering noise reduced significantly. Everyone tactically looked at each other but no one voiced anything. The buzz seems like a distant background noise on the slow-moving day. The members slowly lit a candle for Natsu in their minds.

But it seems fate favored both Aki and the drunken alcoholics as the lukewarm atmosphere was suddenly broken by the opening noise of the wooden guild door. Light peaked out from the uptight door as a well–toned young man with spiky cherry blossom-colored hair stepped out.

As bright and eye-catching as the sun, Natsu boasted about his latest adventure to his guild members who were not making any eye contact with him. Natsu, not noticing any hints, saw Aki's back who was sitting on a chair near the bar, and Mirajane, smiling at him with a glint in her eyes.

The soft, yellow light hit Aki's side profile just fine. His each and every strand of white hair was distinct in the halo. Natsu was in a trance as he stood still searching for those heterochromia eyes that were not focused on him.

But as if the universe granted his wish, Aki slowly turned around. The eyes met in the air and the atmosphere turned stiff. Aki took off his glasses and placed them on the counter as Natsu's eyes trailed on his slender, bony fingers. Then it immediately went back to Aki's face.

He finally noticed something wasn't right as Aki parted his smiling pale lips, "Welcome back...Natsu. I was looking forward to..your return." Aki stressed on each and every word carefully as if he meant everything he said.

Suddenly, Natsu wanted to take back his wish and shove it up on someone's ass and preferably not on his own.

Chapter 2// Troubled Natsu

Natsu POV

"A..ah, ye–yeah! I'm back! What's up! Aki." Natsu grinned as sweat were dropping on his back.

'Shitshitshit–it was one of Aki's –If you made me unhappy, I will make sure you're not happy either– signature smiles!!'

'Damn it! Who the hell piss him off!?' With Aki's soft eyes and gentle smile solely focused on himself, Natsu's smile began to turn stiff. Then Natsu noticed not a single one of the members was looking at him though he sensed some occasional sneak peeks filled with pity aimed at him...

Hence, Natsu seriously began to rethink his actions for the past few days and became paler and paler under those beautiful red and golden-colored pupils.

'Everyone be damned! Has the council letters for the port town I accidentally destroyed already arrived!? They sure are fast on their feet when unnecessary!'

'...I don't think I destroyed that much property compared to other quests though...'

'No no no!!! Natsu that's not the point. The point is Aki's mad fuck- He's looking at me like he's torturing me to hell with 600 ways!'

'He probably is but shit I'm in trouble-'

"Natsu"

Natsu flinched, "A-aye, Aki?" Before he knew it, Aki was already in front of him, his glasses abandoned on the counter.

"We need to talk about your worldviews," Aki spoke amiably with a soft reproach in his tone as if he knew what Natsu was thinking.

As if someone poured boiled water over an ice cube, the room suddenly became filled with waves of laughter and jeers. The members cheered, teased, and made catcalls, their voices vibrating across the wooden guild as they looked at Natsu with a mixture of gloating and compassion-filled eyes.

"Damned you guys! Wait until you have your turn! Then I will laugh on your face!" Natsu withered as he bit his scarf.

Aki's eyes were filled with laughter as he looked towards the new face, "And who might this be, Natsu?"

In the blink of an eye, Natsu started to bloom with excitement. "Oh! I haven't introduced you two yet! This is Lucy. She wants to join our guild. And Lucy, this is Aki, our guild's one and only logistician." Natsu smiled and introduced the two with his typical Natsu-like cheerfulness.

"H...hello, my name is Lucy." The blond girl hesitantly introduced herself to the stranger in the welcoming guild filled with enthusiasm and warmth.

Aki paused, and then nodded, "Hello, I'm Aki. I've been suffering from constant headaches all years round due to some people," Aki blatantly stared at Natsu in the eyes and then looked back at Lucy and smiled, "Nice to meet you."

Aki gestured towards the bar counter and said, "Lucy, right? You want to join the guild?" Lucy nodded in agreement. "Then, please follow me." Aki turned to Natsu and Happy and eye-smiled, "You too, come along." Hence, the trio followed Aki towards the counter.

While Aki and the trio were walking towards the bar, the members immediately pretended like they weren't blatantly gawking just moments ago and acted like they were respectively doing their own thing.

"Lucy, this is Mirajane," Aki introduced the girl who had a similar hair color as him. "She will register you and give you the Fairy Tail emblem." Compared to Aki's short hair that only reached the nape of his neck, Mirajane had curly waves cascading down her back until they reached her curves.

Lucy could only nod while gaping and looking at everything and everyone. The people present all had warm smiles on their faces and inviting mannerisms, a homely atmosphere was enveloping the room.

'Homely.'....What an irony.

It was a word that she didn't have in her vocabulary. But if it did exist, she was sure that it would feel just like this, warm and comforting which was a sharp contrast against the cold and lonely room from her memory.

After a few seconds, Lucy turned to Aki and exclaimed, "Wow! This guild is massive and there are so many people!" She then asked hesitantly, "Don't I need to go through an interview process to join the guild?"

Aki looked dumbfounded for a moment then chuckled good-naturedly, "No, no need. Mira, if you will please."

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After receiving her emblem, Natsu congratulated Lucy with a soft slap on her shoulder. "Good for you, huh," he said with a smile and hearty laugh. Aki followed suit and smiled.

Aki turned towards Lucy and welcomed her to Fairy Tail. Then, Aki closed his eyes and smiled softly, "I hope you'll find a new home here."

Lucy flinched and looked at Aki in surprise. She nodded repeatedly after a moment and discretely wiped the tears hanging off from her eyelashes and said, "Yes!"

A strained smile replaced Natsu's face. Aki has always been like that. He is just like a lone flower blooming on a withered grassland, very eye-catching and conspicuous. It makes one want to pluck off the flower and kept for oneself, and hide in a faraway place, away from, people, bugs, bees, and butterflies.

Natsu knew. He knew it was wrong for him to feel like that. Natsu should have been happy. He should have been happy since a person he admired and a person he found worthy to be his teammate was getting along. Really, he should have been.

But he isn't.

Chapter 3// The Struggles of a Milk Tea Addict

Natsu was interrupted from his thoughts by a gentle tap on his head from Aki's folded newspaper. "Natsu, are you listening? Focus on what I'm saying right now," Aki firmly reminded him with a knock on the table. "And save your musings for later."

"Natsu, have you been paying attention at all since you got here? Do you remember anything I said?" Aki said as he annoyingly ruffled his hair.

That is why he hated having 'the talk' with Natsu. If it were Erza or even Laxus, Aki would have finished this conversion some time ago albeit with some destroyed furniture but he would have already enjoyed his now unflavoured milk tea. The ice cubes were long melted. If it were not for the coaster under his glass, the documents on his table would have become the casualty and he would have to ask Natsu for compensation. And no one would want that, would they?

Aki took the glass and drowned the water in one go. His adam apple bobbled. This thing was expensive back in his place. He was not wasting it no matter if it was flavored or unflavoured. Sadly, it was the side effect of being a milk tea addicted broke student.

Now, being the sole logistician of Fairy Tail has its perks, such as being able to drink milk tea no matter what. But the shadow of the past still haunted him until now so he was not wasting even a drop of that goodness.

Aki's abnormal attachment to milk tea somewhat contributed to the overall financial situation of Fairy Tail. That's why he closed one eye to that abomination of alcohol consumption fees. Nevertheless, it made him irked whenever he saw the receipts for alcohol shopping.

That is why, he once had the brilliant idea of replacing every ounce of alcohol with milk tea that time he got extremely pissed off by the abnormal alcohol fees plus property damage fees.

Aki snapped and in a span of three hours, he managed to swap every alcohol and beverage in the storage with milk tea. He pulled some strings to deliver milk tea to his place in the last seconds. Then he blatantly switched with every liquid in the middle of the night.

The next morning came, and the 'Akicalypse' as dubbed by the majority of people arrived.

Oh, you want alcohol? Here, milk tea.

Oh, you want wine? Sorry, milk tea.

Oh, you want water? Here you go, definitely not water.

Oh, you're lactose intolerant? Too fucking bad then, milk tea is coming right up.

Don't worry. Aki properly sent them off to the hospital. He even fished out money from his 'milk tea funds' to give them hospital bills. He was responsible just like that.

After that, the members knew to never push his buttons again.

The master seems amused yet groaned over the thoughts of his antique alcohol bottles. So, he punished Aki to solitary confinement for one month with Gildarts and Cana guarding the door. In Aki's opinion, this is a bit over the top but he was definitely not smug about the fact that he managed to 'persuade' Master to let those two guard him.

Aki didn't blackmail the master with those antique bottles. Nah, not really. Really, he didn't.

Sadly for the master, he had to release Aki back to the wild only after about one week or so.

It was an undeniable fact that Fairy Tail got spoiled by Aki's talents in logistics. It was also an undeniable fact that Fairy Tail could no longer properly function without Aki for over two weeks. So, imagine his surprise when Aki got released in just over a week.

Only after he got escorted back to the guild by the Master with vigor and eagerness in his steps did Aki notice the diplomat of the council was waiting on the guild's doorsteps with stacks full of paperwork.

Later, Aki got notified that due to his actions, the financial market was thrown into chaos and he was to 'fix' the situation immediately.

Even for Aki, he couldn't just snap his fingers and fix the tangled mess he made immediately. With every day he couldn't finish mending the situation; the wizard saint, one of the members of the Magic Council, came to visit his office. In his humble opinion, what he did wasn't so despicable that he needed one of the ten wizard saints to keep him on the leash.

But, it had its advantages. Every time the man came to visit, the jerk bought milk tea and headaches. Nevertheless, he was a great conversationalist. Aki was doing his work on his desk, solely on a world of his own while the man sat in front of him, having a one-sided conversion in an attempt to draw out information in such a blatant way that Aki gave him a 'few' side eyes whilst the man had an annoying smile the entire time. This person clearly knew what he was doing, purposely pissing Aki off.

In an attempt to let those blue hair and obsidian eyes with a smug smirk get out of his face, Aki pulled an all-nighter and never stepped out of his office. On the third day of this self-imposed isolation, regretfully with the exception of one, he finally managed to step out of the door. He managed to compress a week's worth of work into three days. And, paid it off, it did.

When that jerk with red runes on his face came striding like he owned the place, Aki shoved the documents towards him and then promptly shut the door in front of his face.

The look on his face was an absolute delight.

Aki was indeed thankful for the fact that he did manage to finish the job before Erza came back from her solo mission. The girl wears her heart on her sleeves and nothing good comes out of the two's meeting. Aki actually suspected the man was loitering around the lobby to stage an unexpected encounter meeting. After all, what's better than an unexpected encounter when the concerned party doesn't even expect it.

Unluckily, Aki can't turn the man down away since he was indeed here on official business and that despicable man knew it too. The fact that Erza socket that man on the face on their first meeting doesn't go unnoticed by Aki. That person didn't press charges but that didn't mean he wouldn't do it next time although Aki himself was itching to give it a try.

Sadly, it was not legal to punch annoying people in the face. But Aki had always been the petty one. And Aki himself was the embodiment of legal and illegal mixed together. There are countless ways to disgust a person to death without breaking the law but borderline illegal and is frowned upon.

But did Aki care about it?

Heck no.

They were in a world filled with magic and shortcakes. Who the fuck cares about consequences. Aki will give Natsu consequences to eat as supper.

As soon as that jerk walked through the guild door, Aki will make sure he would be haunted by the goddess of misfortunes for at least two months.

Shifting focus back to the main topic at hand, Aki directed his gaze towards Natsu who was having a staring contest against the wooden tiles. Aki couldn't help but notice the intricate swirl pattern on Natsu's thick mop of cherry blossom-colored hair. Despite feeling a slight twitch in his fingertips, Aki kept his hands firmly on the desk. "Natsu."

"A–aye?"

"Happy got your tongue?"

Natsu broke eye contact with the floor and immediately looked at Aki. A pair of eyes met with the duo-colored eyes in the air inside the brightly lit office.

The world became silent. Even his breathing slowed down as his eyes were glued to the mole underneath the golden-colored eye. The office became an independent space away from the rowdy crowds. It was as if there were only Aki and Natsu existed on this whole planet. His senses became dull but sharpened at the same time. His heart thumped as he had difficulty opening his mouth and with a hint of pine on the tip of his nose, his thinking slowed down. Natsu never liked alcohol. Never liked being drunk.

But, at this moment, Natsu was intoxicated with a treasured wine called 'Aki'. If there was a choice, Natsu hoped to stay drunk like this forever.

But Natsu knew there were no 'Ifs'. He knew–he knew...but he chose to ignore it just like others.

Natsu finally registered the question asked by Aki.

Aki raised his eyebrows and opened his lips. Just before he had the chance to repeat his question, Natsu rushed to answer.

"Y–yes! Wait–no! I meant no!" Before Natsu could scramble out more gibberish words, Aki sighed and spoke at the same time. A feat that seems impossible but Aki did it easily.

"Listen Natsu, I know you're not the type to care about the surroundings or anything when you're fired up. But you need to– at least minimize the damage. Lure the enemy to empty place or whatever, cover them with a sack, and beat them up, I could care less about how you do it. All I want is the result."

"The Guild budget is not always endless. You need to understand that, Natsu. Every month, it always goes to alcohol fees, compensation fees, and cough...milk tea fees... –ahem The point is–"

At this, Aki sighed and laid his cheek on the desk and murmured, "...You people will never understand the struggles of a highschooler who's not only had high risk high paying job but also had high dept..."

"Sorry, what did you say Aki???", Natsu questioned while looking at Aki whose cheeks were squishing the documents on top of the cold, hard desk. Natsu made a point not to peek at those undoubtedly confidential documents. The less you know, the better.

Aki looked up, his chin still on top of the scattered paperwork. He looked Natsu dead in the eyes and decided to promptly give up. "It's nothing. All in all, we need to balance out the income and outcome. Currently, as of now, the money spent on needless things is much outweighing the income revenue."

Aki saw a pained and bewildered look on Natsu's face. He then paused his movements and sat straight. Aki solemnly looked at Natsu with both hands on the desk and with a glint in his eyes, he spoke," What I mean is if this continues to go on, the guild might go bankrupt and we might lose our home and have to sleep on the alleyways instead."

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After three hours of psychological torture, Natsu came out of Satan's office and sat on the bar with a lifeless and spiritless face. Natsu laid his face on the bar counter as his soul came out of his mouth. As soon as Happy noticed Natsu, he immediately flew over to Natsu and patted his shoulder, "My condolences, Natsu kun!"

"Why weren't you scolded too!?" Natsu whined as he sat up from the stool.

Mirajane glanced at Natsu and handed him a cup of orange juice as condolences.

"Did the talking go well?" Mirajane asked 'innocently', "Well, I guess not since you have this appearance."

"Humph." Natsu took the glass and drowned the content in one go. He put down the glass on the counter loudly as he and Happy walked towards the guild door. Mirajane chuckled quietly and took the glass and she walked towards the basin to wash it.

"Tsk...wait, I almost forgot!!" Natsu ran back towards Mirajane and banged his hands on the counter, "Aki tells me to tell you to tell him when Gray, Erza, and Laxus with his supposed mischief team arrive."

Mirajane looked surprised for a moment and smiled sweetly, "Noted!"

"Ugh...you guys are the devils."

Chapter 4// Betrayed or Betrayal?

"So...Let me get this straight...the troublemaker #1, #2, #3, and the new addiction, not the troublemaker but the trouble magnet #4 are going on a quest together?"

"...Yes?"

"Please....please tell me it's April fool." A hint of desperation was evident in Aki's voice.

"Sorry, Aki. It's true." And Cana hesitantly added with a tint of amusement in her eyes. "Besides, today's June 5th."

'Fuck, I should have stayed dead.'

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"So, Laxus has arrived? Good. Send him and those three idiots up to my office."

After Aki sent down the guild member, he messaged his throbbing temple and took off his glasses. He leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes. Aki sighed. It seems like he did nothing but sigh a bit too much these days. Aki pouted and muttered into the air, "I didn't even try this hard to dodge an isekai truck. Why am I doing this much for these people?"

Aki sighed again and sat straight. He bent down from the chair and picked up a folder from the many stacks of papers lying hazardly on the wooden tiles near him. Just as he opens the folder, a knocking sound vibrates across the room.

"Come in." Although it was merely but a soft whisper, the people outside heard it and they stepped inside as the door clicked, which then immediately followed by–

"Oi, Aki! Why am I also being called here? I'm not like those idiots who can't control their magic! Usually, when I do it, it's all intentional." Laxus's leather soles stepped inside the room as he immediately made his way towards Aki while easily dodging the scattered papers on the floor, his actions swift and natural as if he gained experience from years of practice. Laxus pulled out a chair and sat in front of Aki. He immediately crossed his legs and rest his arm behind the back of the chair.

Behind him, the three ducklings also popped out from the entrance of the door. They also hurriedly scurried inside the office while trying hard not to step on the papers. There was familitary in the movements but all three were not as proficient as Laxus.

Freed while taking his position on the right side of Laxus, "Yes, yes. Laxus sama is so great like he could never."

Seeing this, Evergreen and Bickslow rushed to take the chair on Laxus's left side. Ultimately, Bickslow won in the end as he loudly placed his butt on the hard, wooden chair and jeered at Evergreen. Evergreen tsked as she gracefully fixed her dress and sat beside Bickslow. She adjusted her glasses and spoke, "Laxus would never lose control of himself, unlike those brats."

Bickslow laughed as he added, "Oh yes, babe ~"

All of this happened in a span of a few seconds so Aki and Laxus were quietly looking at this theatric entrance. Laxus looked on bored like he had seen this scene countless times already while Aki looked on with a smile that was not yet a smile.

After the four were properly seated, Laxus glanced at the three and looked towards Aki. A cocky grin was plastered on his face and his body leaned towards the desk. "You don't have to make up excuses to see me, you know? We all know I didn't destroy anything on this mission. We simply killed the man and walked out of the front gate. I even took out some pieces of jewelry from his bank. Why not ditch these three and I'll show you the jewelry?"

The trio looked somewhat horrified after hearing what Laxus said but all three were pretty much used to it to give strong reactions. But Freed, poor Freed, looked absolutely torn at the suggestion of Laxus leaving him behind as if he was a burden.

Aki's eyebrows scrunched up as Laxus put his right elbow on the desk and leaned his face on his rough and scarred palm, "Well?" Laxus smirked as his face came closer to Aki's. Before he could come nearer, Aki said nothing but put a stop to it by placing a folder he was previously holding on to the top of Laxus's head.

Instead of taking the folder that was literally on top of his head, Laxus instead held Aki's wrist. "What's that?" Laxus asked while looking straight into Aki's eyes. Currently, Aki was not wearing any spectacles so nothing was obscuring his face and Laxus took it all in.

Laxus saw Aki's pale lips move as he heard him utter, "Won't you know if you look at it?" The silence grew as the three looked at each other but no one spoke in the end.

Finally, Laxus sighed as he released Aki's wrist and took the folder, "You're no fun." It was nothing but a few mere seconds but Aki's wrist had already turned pale red where Laxus was previously holding.

A smile finally reached Laxus in the eyes. Just as he opened the folder, his smile turned rigid. "This..."

The chair made a harsh noise against the wooden floor and Laxus immediately stood up in disbelief. "How–!?"

"Laxus sama, is something wrong?" The three asked in concern but Laxus paid them no heed. Instead, he carefully read each and every word in detail. The study was silent as Laxus was processing all the information he had seen. The trio were undoubtedly surprised and nervous at Laxus's silent outburst if they can call it that. They had never seen dread and angst on Laxus's face. Rage, they had seen it almost all the time. But, this? It was a foreign concept for both Laxus and them.

"...Laxus sama?"

Finally, Laxus sighed tiredly and he handed them the thick folder. Laxus looked at Aki silently. Aki looked back. A long, lost exhaustion came out from Laxus's very soul, the one he tried to hide from his father. His grandpa. Aki.

Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow looked at the folder containing their names in silence. Finally, they registered what they had seen and various exclamations came out of their mouth.

"Now that the cat's out of the bag, what are you going to do, Aki? I mean it is very obvious that Gramps does not know of this since I have not been kicked out of the guild yet. But, I want to know what are you going to do." Laxus spoke, the emotions drained out of his soul. The trio also looked at Aki in trepidation.

Aki looked on. He focused on everyone's face with a serious look in his eyes. Finally, his sight landed at Laxus's. Before he said anything, Aki reached out towards the glass to moisten his throat and drank whatever liquid was in the cup in one go. After he breathed out a sigh, Aki opened his chapped lips and spoke, "Are you not gonna ask how I got the dirt on you?"

Laxus scoffed, "There's no need. I know just how wide your network is. I just didn't expect you to stare at your own guild members all the time."

Aki was stalling for the time regardless of how futile his action was. He will have to answer in the end. No matter which outcome may be concluded, both Aki and Laxus knew neither would be satisfied with the ending they prepared for each other. Finally, Aki gave in, "...Can you reconsider the plan at least? This plan...it could harm innocent people, not only the guild members but the people of this town too. Laxus...violence is not the answer."

Laxus coldly replied, "Who are you to tell me this is not the answer I'm seeking? You're not me. Either you told the master on us or I will not stop, we will not stop. There's no middle ground here, Aki. Don't be so lukewarm."

The three stood up and positioned themselves beside Laxus. Aki also stood up, a severe expression on his face. "I'm disappointed, Laxus."

Laxus stiffened. Nails dug into his palm as his mouth straightened into a thin line.

"Why did you care so much about what other guilds thought of Fairy Tail? Fairy Tail can't be measured by outside standards. In this guild, in Fairy Tail, you and I are free here. We're not bound by social standards. We can be weird as hell and people here wouldn't bat an eyelid." Aki walked towards the front of the desk and stood in front of Laxus.

"And it's okay to be weird. It's okay not to be accepted by people. They are just insignificant people. Do you care when stray animals bark at you? Just treat them as dogs. Well...even dogs are cuter than them but that's not the point here."

In this silent study, duo-colored eyes met with grays. But when the sunlight hit those gray eyes at the right angle, they turned bright orange. But this little fact was not noticed by many because no one ever really looked at Laxus, looked at who he was, looked at how he became what he is today. They were all put off by his looks, his personality, or his overbearing nature. He was met with admiring gazes, fearful eyes, scorned looks, or tense ones. Even his own grandfather looked at him with those guilty eyes...and the absent gazes of his parents. He hated it. He hated it. He hated all of it.

Laxus hated it so, so, so much. If only he could make them look at him, acknowledge his existence.

No...He will make them look at him. He will make the world look at him. He will make Aki look at him and only him. He didn't want to be known as just one of the guild's members who just happened to be powerful. No. Laxus will make Fairy Tail to be the greatest guild that ever existed and that will be all because of him.

Laxus looked at the white hair male in front of him and a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes. Aki was just too nice, wasn't he. Willing to burden himself for others he holds dear. Wanting to both have the cake and eat it also.

Aki's voice sounded, "–I'm not saying you can't do it. But can't you modify the plan a little? It is too damaging. Some members are a bit weak so–"

"Do I look like I gave a shit about them?" Laxus cut off. Laxus was honestly very surprised at Aki's naivety.

Aki can almost feel the impending headache. It felt like he was just talking to a particular brick wall. Aki snapped and spoke, "Aren't you a bit too on edge? We're all friends and family here–" Aki's eyes widened as he realized he went out of line and misspoke.

The 'family' was a taboo word for Laxus.

"Laxus–"

At this moment, Laxus's string of reasons broke. Laxus rushed forward as he roughly pulled up Aki's collar towards him. "Family?" Laxus gritted his teeth.

"You knew how much I detest that word, don't you? Don't be such a hypocrite, Aki." Laxus's form was towering over Aki in such a way that the lights on the ceiling were blocked out. Shadow covered Laxus's face and their foreheads were almost touching. Aki's range of vision was so limited that he was forced to look into Laxus's eyes.

Murky and clouded grays, that was all he saw.

"Family, huh? You know too well in your heart what that word means to me, Aki. Especially if that word was said with your pretty little mouth. It's almost making me laugh." Except neither a smile nor humor was present in Laxus's eyes.

A silent storm was clearly brewing inside of Laxus's soul.

Laxus examined this fragile-looking young man who was forced to look up because of him. The study was overwhelmingly silent. With such unbearable silence, Laxus's thoughts started to drift.

Is he doing the right thing? Was it all worth it? What was it all for? Was he...

Laxus's eyesight wandered as his view landed on the mole on the right corner of Aki's eyes. The clouded gray iris were met with pale pink lips and unhealthy pale cheeks. It all made a full circle and once again, he made eye contact with Aki's clear eyes.

At this moment, Laxus felt like he had become a kid again. Vulnerable and exposed to the world, puny and weak.

Weakweakweakweak–

Laxus has become weak under those eyes.

Laxus was spellbound. He wanted to look away but he couldn't. Just as his face came closer to Aki, the shorter male suddenly spoke, "..If you're not gonna say anything, can you at least let go of my collar? You're strangling me."

Clarity washed over Laxus's mind. Anger was long gone, only an indescribable feeling was left behind. The fingers clenching Aki's cloth were loosened as Aki composed himself and stepped back.

Laxus's fists tightened and he turned around. His facial muscles tensed as he walked towards the door. There was no need to exchange any more conversations. Laxus knew what he wanted and he would make sure he got it. With consent or without consent.

Just as Laxus arrived in front of the door and twisted the doorknob, he stopped his movements. A moment later, a deep voice rang across the still room, "You'll regret it, Aki. In the future, you will blame your past self for allowing others to get hurt because you want to play as some kind of savior to everyone. Real life doesn't work that way. You can't save every one of your 'friends'. A life you saved is a life you lost. I hope you will be prepared to face your consequences."

Click

"Bickslow, Evergreen, Freed. Come."

Bickslow and Evergreen looked at Aki who was looking towards the door. A hesitant look appeared on their face, but ultimately they rushed after Laxus. Only Freed and Aki were left at the office. Freed looked down. The right hand holding on to the plastic bag tightened.

Finally, Aki turned to look at Freed. A silent question hanging in the air. At last, Freed looked up but he still was not looking at Aki in the eyes. Freed thrusted the plastic bag towards Aki and without elaborating anything, he walked off and closed the door behind him.

Dumbfounded, Aki looked down only to see there was a milk tea bottle from the popular store inside the black plastic bag. Aki took out the bottle and the temperature and the taste were just perfect on his tongue. Aki was pleasantly surprised. They had been talking for quite some time but the ice cubes still hadn't melted. It was as if the time had been frozen for this milk tea bottle.

Aki sucked two mouthfuls from the straw and he put the milk tea on the corner. By accident, his elbow hit the piles of files on the corner of his desk and one of the folders dropped on the ground as the pages were spread out in the open.

Aki sighed as he bent down and nimbly picked up the pages and put them all in the folder in order. Finally, he finished sorting out the pages and his eyes traveled to the lone picture amidst the dense-packed words. Aki closed the folder and put them on the desk as he drawled out his words, "Lucy Heartfilia, huh."

.

.

.

Just after Laxus and Rajinshuu arrived at Magnolia town, Freed shortly disappeared. When he came back, there was an ugly black plastic bag in his hand accompanying him. When asked, Freed simply said it was a Laxus figurine. It was not unusual for him to buy Laxus figurines whenever he saw one so no one paid him any mind.

Before Freed left the store, he casted runes on the milk tea as to keep the perfect temperature still. The condition is that as soon as Aki touches the cup, the runes will dissolve by itself. The cashier, seeing his actions, asked him who he bought the drink for. Freed quietly replied with a soft smile on his face,

"My love."

.......................

(AN/ I actually like the uncolored version more. Thank Asahi I took the picture before I massacred it with my own hands (ノへ￣,). As for the rest of the chapters, I'll upload them along with the new chapter which is chapter 22. For earlier chapters, I won't specifically create a new chapter for them. I will just edit them chapter by chapter and upload them in the same place. When I finish editing and uploading previous chapters, I'll delete this 'special chapter: what could have been' because I don't want chapters to duplicate. I decided to upload earlier than I intended because it's been a while since I uploaded anything at all but I don't want anyone to think I've forgotten about this story. （＞人＜;）)