Bonus Chapters every 100 Power Stones
"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X789]
~ With Shisui ~
Unfortunately, Ultear had always been taller than him, and the way she positioned the hug ant that his face ended up pressed directly against her chest. Specifically, against the soft curve of her breasts, which were barely contained by the form-fitting top she wore. The fabric was thin enough that he could feel the warmth of her skin through it, and her subtle perfu filled his senses.
For a mont, Shisui's brain simply stopped processing information. This was definitely not sothing he'd been prepared for when he'd walked out to et them. Ultear seed completely unbothered by their positioning, her arms remaining steadily around his shoulders as if this was the most natural thing in the world.
His face began heating up imdiately, warmth spreading across his cheeks and down his neck as he tried to figure out the appropriate response to this situation. Should he pull back? Should he say sothing? Should he pretend this wasn't happening and hope it resolved itself naturally?
The seconds stretched out, each one making him more acutely aware of exactly where his head was positioned.
When he couldn't take it anymore, Shisui scrambled backward out of her embrace with more speed than grace. His face was burning now, red enough that even the dim moonlight probably couldn't hide it. He managed to put several feet of distance between them before stopping, one hand raised defensively.
"Sorry, I just—" he started, then stopped, unsure how to finish that sentence without making things more awkward than they already were.
Ultear looked down at him with genuine confusion, as if she couldn't understand what had gotten into him.
"What's wrong?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "You look like you're about to catch fire."
Behind her, redy was staring at both of them with wide eyes and barely contained glee. Her gaze kept shifting between Shisui's flustered expression and Ultear's apparent obliviousness to what had just happened. Sothing sparkled in her eyes, the kind of realization that usually preceded weeks of relentless teasing.
This was the first ti redy had actually seen Ultear hug Shisui, she realized. In fact, it was the first ti she'd ever seen Ultear hug any man at all. The older woman had always maintained careful physical boundaries with everyone, keeping her distance even from allies and partners. Yet here she was, completely comfortable with intimate contact, apparently unaware of the effect it had had on their friend.
A slow, mischievous smile spread across redy's face as she processed the implications. 'This is getting interesting. Very interesting indeed.'
"Nothing's wrong," Shisui said quickly, though his voice cracked slightly on the words. "Everything's fine. Completely normal."
Ultear's expression shifted to one of amused disbelief. "What's gotten into you? Acting all shy and bashful all of a sudden."
The fact that she seed genuinely puzzled by his reaction only made it worse. Had she really not noticed their positioning during the hug? Or was she just that comfortable with physical contact that it hadn't registered as anything unusual?
"Nothing," he repeated, coughing to clear his throat. "Absolutely nothing unusual happening here."
He straightened his shoulders and adopted what he hoped was a more professional deanour, though the lingering heat in his cheeks probably undermined the effect. Ti to change the subject before redy's growing grin resulted in comntary he wasn't prepared to handle.
"So, what did you need help with?" He said, focusing on the reason they were here in the first place.
redy had opened her mouth to make what was undoubtedly going to be a comnt about Shisui's earlier flustered reaction, but sothing in his posture made her pause. The playful atmosphere that had surrounded their reunion shifted almost instantly as he straightened his shoulders and focused his attention completely on them.
She recognized this change from their traveling days. When Shisui entered what she privately called his "serious mode," teasing beca secondary to whatever business needed attention.
Ultear seed to sense the sa shift, her own expression becoming more focused as she prepared to explain why they'd sought him out. She crossed her arms, the gesture more thoughtful than defensive as she considered where to begin.
"Over the past two years, redy and I have been ruthlessly tracking down the remnants of Grimoire Heart's network," she started. "When the dark guild fell apart after Tenrou Island, most of the subsidiary organizations scattered. So disbanded entirely, others tried to operate independently."
She paused, glancing toward redy before continuing. "We've been hunting them down, one by one. Shutting down their operations, confiscating dangerous artifacts, making sure the knowledge and resources they accumulated can't be used to harm anyone else."
redy nodded, adding, "It's been slow work, but we've made good progress. Most of the smaller groups weren't much of a threat once they lost Grimoire Heart's backing and leadership."
"However," Ultear continued, and sothing in her tone made Shisui pay closer attention, "during our most recent investigation, we discovered sothing troubling. Reports of increased activity among forces we thought had been dormant for years."
Her expression darkened as she spoke the next words. "The final dark guild of the Balam Alliance. Tartaros."
Shisui felt his muscles tense involuntarily at the na. He'd heard whispers about Tartaros during his travels that painted them as sothing far worse than typical dark guilds.
"At the mont, nothing huge has happened," Ultear admitted. "But the patterns we're seeing, the way their people have started moving, the resources being mobilized. It all points to preparation for sothing significant."
"Which is why," Ultear said, eting Shisui's eyes directly, "we believe it's only a matter of ti before Tartaros makes their move. Sothing large-scale and devastating. We've taken it upon ourselves to investigate them more thoroughly, to try to discover their plans before they can implent them."
Shisui listened intently. Thanks to his regular contact with Warrod, he'd been kept inford about major magical threats and political developnts. The movent of Tartaros wasn't entirely news to him, though he hadn't given it much thought since it hadn't directly affected his current responsibilities.
But hearing Ultear and redy describe their investigation efforts made him realize how serious the situation had beco. These weren't just random dark mages causing trouble in remote areas. If Tartaros was preparing for sothing major, it could threaten all of Fiore, including Fairy Tail and the life he'd built here.
An idea struck him, and he looked up at both won with growing understanding.
"You're asking for my assistance with the investigation," he said. It wasn't really a question. Of course they would want his help. His skills in stealth and information gathering would be invaluable for this kind of work.
But Ultear shook her head, surprising him.
"That was our initial thought," she admitted. "But seeing that you've built a real life for yourself with Fairy Tail, we wouldn't ask you to jeopardize it for our sake."
The rejection stung more than he'd expected. Here were two people he cared deeply about, facing a threat that could endanger countless innocent lives, and they wouldn't even let him help.
"Don't be ridiculous," he said, his voice carrying more heat than he'd intended. "You two would always be worth the risk. If Tartaros is planning sothing that could threaten people I care about, then of course I want to be involved in stopping them."
redy's expression softened at his words, a small smile returning to her face.
"See?" she said to Ultear. "I told you he'd say that."
~ End of Chapter 52 ~
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