Sneaking up behind Levy, I stealthily stood right behind her before grabbing her ankle and quickly lifting her into the air, causing her to scream in surprise while I faintly smirked. "Boxers? Are you ever going to wear feminine panties? How do you expect to ever get a man like this?" Glancing at Levy's underwear, which looked more childish than womanly, she raised her hand, blocking my view. "S-Stop looking, big bro!"
I wasn't interested in my little sister's plain boxers, so I averted my gaze and entered her house while carrying her; once we entered, I set her down on the couch, prompting her to fix her appearance before glaring at me with a deep blush. "F-For the record, those are built into my skirt! My panties are underneath and super sexy!" "Hmm, sure, whatever." Taking Levy's words with a grain of salt, I sat opposite of her and solemnly gazed at her.
"Can you help me with something?" Whether it was because of my solemn expression or the fact that I was asking for help when I rarely ever did so, Levy huffed in annoyance before folding her arms and eyeing me. "If you're asking me for help, it's probably something that involves using my brain." Ignoring her little mocking remark, I cleared my throat while she smirked.
"How many different types of magic can take control of beasts?" Furrowing her brows, Levy glanced at the ceiling while tapping her chin. "We're talking about absolute control, right?" Nodding in agreement, Levy continued to look at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression before raising her hand. "I only know of four: Mind Control Magic, Slave Magic, Puppet Magic, and Avatar Magic… Those are also all forbidden Magic outlawed by the Magic Council."
Furrowing my brows slightly, I rubbed my chin before glancing at Levy. "What about controlling a large number of beasts at once?" "Hmm, if it's that, then only Mind Control magic and Slave magic." "Do any of them change the color of the iris?" "That… I don't know. I've only read about them in books, and they're only briefly mentioned."
Inwardly clicking my tongue, I went silent as I remembered that day, trying to recollect everything that could help, but besides the fact that every beast had red irises, there was nothing else noteworthy. "That dark mage you defeated didn't use those magics, so why are you asking, big bro?" With just a look, I could tell Levy was asking out of pure innocent curiosity, though even so, I had no intention of telling her.
"Do you think you could find out every mage that has been arrested for using those two forbidden magics? Starting from 30 years ago?" My question was met with raised eyebrows before Levy released a deep sigh. "That's a lot of work, big bro." "I'll take Shadow Gear out to a fancy restaurant." "Heh, you've got yourself a deal, big bro!" Flashing a charming smile, Levy leaped in joy before pointing her thin finger at me.
"Alright, you've promised, no backing out!" Shaking my head slightly, I stand up and rub her head before leaving, giving her a final piece of advice in the process. "Ask Mira to help you pick out clothes." "What's that supposed to mean!?" Leaving her to her thoughts, I exited her house, and instead of heading to the guild, I left Magnolia before breaking off into a sprint.
Since I was still injured from my fight with that dragon skeleton, it took a bit longer before I arrived at my destination. Slowing down from a fast jog to a casual walk, I approached the destroyed and rotting village. While walking through the village, I approached a tall tree at the very center and placed my hand on it while heaving a deep sigh.
"It's been a decade since I was last here." A year after I joined Fairy Tail, I returned here, hoping to find remnants of my people and build a grave, yet after 8 years, nothing remained. Out of pure symbolic gesture, I built sixty-seven graves, each one for every one of the villagers.
Removing my hand from the tree, I approached the rows of graves in the distance and just plopped beside Savannah's; I stayed there for a solid hour before standing up. "I'll kill them. Don't worry." Growling softly, I patted the lump of dirt before turning around and leaving; this place was nothing but a remnant of the past, and staying here did nothing but worsen my mood and reinvigorate my fury.
Entering the forest I stayed in for seven years, I noticed it had regained its lively atmosphere, and beasts had filled the forest after my previous slaughter. 'Still, there is that faint hint of blood.' Faintly smirking, I left the forest and headed back home, jogging the rest of the way.
When I arrived, it was night, but instead of sleeping, I spent the time training; I had too many things to mull over to be able to sleep. Ironically enough, though, by the time I finally felt tired, morning arrived as if to mock me. 'Tch, that's enough for now.'
Stretching my aching body, I entered the guild, which was still pretty empty, and fell asleep at a table in the corner of the room.
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3rd POV
"Ha! Big bro, fight me!" Overly energetic like usual, Natsu breathed fire at the ceiling before eyeing Cooper, who merely shook his head, not even bothering to 'disciple' him like usual. "Later." His tone lacking his usual aggressiveness, Cooper left the guild, causing Natsu to scratch his head in confusion.
"Is it just me, or has big bro been behaving weirdly this past week?" Leaping onto the ground, Natsu approached the bar, sitting beside Cana while looking at Mira, who softly nodded in agreement. "He's been acting a bit cold; he didn't even give me a kiss goodbye." "Hmm, but he never does, Mira?" Tilting his head, Natsu glanced at Mira, who lightly pouted while Cana added her thoughts.
"He's been behaving like that ever since we finished that quest." "Huh, what are you guys talking about?" "Just about big bros' weird behavior." Sitting beside Natsu, Nab grabs a bottle of beer and takes a sip while nodding. "Oh, so you guys also noticed? I thought I might've been overthinking things. Glad to see I wasn't, what do you think happened?"
As the topic of discussion involved the 'big bro' of Fairy Tail, everyone quickly joined the conversation, adding their two cents and agreeing that Cooper had been behaving unnaturally. "Did Cooper get a girlfriend?" Throwing out a random idea, Macao looked at everyone, only for two fierce gazes to snap at him, causing him to cowardly shrink behind Wakaba.
"Big bro getting a girlfriend?" "Hah, don't joke, Macao." "Yeah, no disrespect to big bro, but he's not the relationship type." While everyone unanimously agreed Cooper wasn't in a relationship, they continued to throw out ideas, yet nothing stuck, at least until Levy suddenly busted through the guild door, looking tired beyond belief.
"W-Where is big bro? I-I've finished what he asked of me." With black circles under her eyes, Levy approached the crowded bar with documents in her hand before plopping onto an empty seat. "What did he ask?" "Things about forbidden magic. From what it seems, he was looking for people who could command a large number of beasts."
Placing the documents onto the table, Makarov, who had been silently listening, briefly frowned at Levy's words, yet unlike his, Lucy's frown didn't go unnoticed. "What's the frown for, Lucy? Did you figure something out?" Leaning against the wall, Warren eyed Lucy, who became the center of the crowd.
"I don't know about that, but during the quest, we came across a beast horde, at least the remnants of one that happened to destroy the village, though weirdly enough, big bro seemed extremely interested in it." Rubbing her hands with a skeptical expression, Cana added fuel to the flames. "Yeah, it was a bit unnatural of him; of course, I didn't think much of it back then. However, it seemed there might be a deeper meaning."
Taking a swing from her bottle of beer, everyone curiously looked between Lucy, Cana, Levy, and the documents, only for their silence to be interrupted as Makarove released a deep sigh, gathering everyone's attention while the most perceptive one narrowed her eyes. "You know something, don't you, Master?" Mirajane hit the nail on the coffin as Gramps hesitantly nodded.
"Then what are you waiting for? Tell us!" Standing up, Natsu eagerly looked at Makarov, who rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It involved Cooper's past, so it's not exactly my place." Makarov's words did the opposite of what he was hoping for.
Cooper's past was something everyone in Fairy Tail was curious about; they all wanted to know what their powerful, protective, and short-tempered member was like before joining Fairy Tail.
"You can't, you just tell us, Gramps? I know it's unethical, but something from his past has likely come to plague his mind, and while I'm just as curious as everyone else, we'd all like to help if possible." With furrowed brows, Gray stared at Makarov, prompting everyone to nod in agreement, causing him to rub his head before deeply sighing.
"Haa, alright, just… Just pretend to not know, okay? I don't want him yelling at me when he returns." Lowering his head in defeat, Makarov cleared his throat and began to explain the past of Cooper, the 'Beast' of Fairy Tail.