Azra'il - POV
The northern road from Hosenka was, during the day, probably a picturesque and charming trail. The kind of path travellers would walk along humming, enjoying the view of the mountains, stopping occasionally to admire a wildflower or the flight of a colourful bird.
At night, it was a nightmare.
The full moon, which should have been illuminating our way with its silvery light, seemed unable to penetrate the mist that clung to the road like a living shroud. It was no ordinary mist; it was too dense, too thick, and it had an almost… conscious quality. It moved in slow, lazy waves, curling around our ankles, occasionally rising to our knees before retreating, as if it were testing us. Tasting us.
The trees that lined the path didn't help. During the day, I imagined they were normal pines, perhaps some cherry or maple trees. Now, under the diffuse light of the moon filtered through the mist, they looked like twisted, agonising creatures, their branches reaching out like bony fingers trying to grab us. Shadows danced between the trunks, shadows that didn't seem to correspond to anything I could see.
And the silence.
The silence was the worst of all.
It wasn't the absence of sound; it was something deeper, more disturbing. It was as if the night itself were holding its breath. There were no crickets chirping. No owls hooting. No rustling of small animals in the undergrowth. There was only the sound of our footsteps on the packed earth, and even those seemed muffled, swallowed by the mist before they could echo properly.
(This is…)
[Abnormal. The levels of biological activity in this area are significantly below what is expected for a healthy forest ecosystem. I detect no animal life forms within a 200-metre radius.]
(They've fled.)
[Or been driven away. Something is keeping the fauna away from this region.]
I walked in the centre of the group, my wolf senses on high alert. My ears were constantly swivelling, trying to catch any sound beyond the obvious. My nose was working, filtering the scents of the forest damp earth, decaying leaves, the characteristic ozone of ancient magic, in search of something out of place.
Erza led the group, as always, her posture stiff and alert, one hand resting on the hilt of a sword she had requipped at some point between the inn and here. Her eyes constantly scanned the mist ahead, looking for threats that had not yet materialised.
Natsu was right behind her, and for the first time since the mission began, he was quiet. Completely quiet. His expression was no longer that of an excited dog ready for a fight; it was that of someone who felt, on some instinctive level, that something was very, very wrong.
"Oi," he whispered, and even his whisper seemed too loud in the oppressive silence, "are you lot feeling this too?"
"Feeling what?" Gray asked, also in a low voice. He was beside Natsu, his arms crossed and, miraculously, still clothed. Though I had noticed his hand unconsciously go to the collar of his shirt several times, as if his body wanted to take it off by reflex.
"This. This… emptiness." Natsu made a vague gesture around him. "It's like the air is… heavy. Wrong."
"The magic," Lucy said, her voice a trembling thread. She was clutching her celestial keys as if they were a lifeline, her knuckles white. "I can feel it. There's magic everywhere. Ancient. Different."
"Yokai," I confirmed. "Or at least, yokai territory."
Happy, who would normally be floating around and making impertinent comments, was strangely quiet, clinging to Natsu's back like a frightened cat clinging to its owner. His little wings were folded, his tail was curled, and his big eyes were even bigger, reflecting the moonlight in a way that made them look like frightened lanterns.
"Aye…" he said quietly, and it was more a groan than his usual exclamation. "I don't like it here. Not at all."
"No one does, Happy," Erza said, her voice firm despite everything. "But we are here for a reason. Stay together and stay alert."
We continued walking.
The road gradually climbed, winding up the mountainside in gentle curves. The mist grew thicker as we ascended, until I could barely see Erza a few metres ahead of me. It was like walking inside a cloud, a cold, damp, and vaguely hostile cloud.
And then, something changed.
It wasn't a sound, exactly. It was more like a… presence. a feeling of being watched. Of not being alone.
My ears pricked up instantly.
"Stop," I said, my voice cutting through the silence.
The group froze.
"What is it?" Erza asked, her hand now firmly gripping her sword.
"There's something here. Watching us."
Natsu sniffed the air, his nostrils flaring. "I can't smell anything but this bloody mist."
"It's not a smell." I scanned the trees around us, searching for the source of the sensation. "It's a presence. Something with consciousness."
Lucy moved closer to the group, her keys tinkling lightly. "C-can you see what it is?"
"No. But it's there. Watching."
The silence stretched on.
And then, among the trees, I saw them.
Eyes.
Two points of light, shining softly in the darkness. They weren't red as the mayor had described; they were a pale, almost white blue, as luminous as paper lanterns seen through a snowstorm.
"There," I pointed.
Everyone turned.
The eyes blinked once. Twice.
And then they disappeared.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Lucy shrieked, half-hiding behind Gray.
"Our monster, probably," I said, keeping my cool.
"Let's go after it!" Natsu was already moving, his initial fear replaced by the thrill of the hunt. "Finally! A real monster!"
"Natsu, WAIT—" Erza tried.
But it was too late. Natsu had already shot off in the direction where the eyes had appeared, disappearing into the mist in seconds.
"IDIOT!" Gray shouted, running after him.
"Gray, you don't either—" Erza began.
Happy, in a moment of unshakeable loyalty (or stupidity, depending on your perspective), flew after both of them. "WAIT FOR ME!"
And then there were just three of us.
Erza, Lucy, and I, standing in the middle of the mist-shrouded road, staring at the spot where three of our companions had just vanished.
"I said," Erza snarled through gritted teeth, "to stay TOGETHER."
"Technically, they are together," I observed. "Just not with us."
"THAT IS NOT reassuring!"
"It wasn't meant to be."
Lucy groaned, covering her face with her hands. "We're going to die. We're going to die on this creepy road because those three idiots can't follow a simple instruction."
"We probably won't die," I said. "Injured, maybe. Dying is unlikely."
"THAT IS ALSO not reassuring!"
"Let's go after them," Erza decided, already moving. "Before they destroy anything else. Or kill themselves. Or both."
The three of us advanced in the direction the others had taken, the mist closing in around us like the curtains of a macabre theatre.
And somewhere ahead, I could hear the shouts.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU MONSTER!"
"NATSU, STOP RUNNING!"
"AYE! I'VE LOST SIGHT OF THEM!"
"WHO TURNED OFF THE LIGHTS?! WHY IS IT SO DARK?!"
"THE LIGHTS ARE THE MOON, YOU IDIOT! AND IT'S STILL THERE!"
"THEN WHY CAN'T I SEE ANYTHING?!"
"BECAUSE YOUR EYES ARE CLOSED!"
"…Oh."
I sighed deeply.
(This is going to be a long night.)
[Statistically, your nights with Fairy Tail have a subjective duration of 340% longer than normal nights on average.]
(That's a made-up statistic.)
[Perhaps. But it feels accurate, doesn't it?]
Unfortunately, I had to agree.
We ran, or rather, Erza ran, Lucy tried to keep up while tripping over invisible roots, and I maintained a steady pace that allowed me to stay aware of our surroundings while following the trail of destruction that Natsu inevitably left behind.
The mist seemed to have a life of its own now. It didn't just surround us; it moved with us, undulating and snaking like a curious creature observing potential prey. On a few occasions, I could have sworn I saw shapes materialising at the edges of my vision. Faces. Hands. Silhouettes that vanished the moment I turned my head to look directly.
(Illusions.)
[Confirmed. Detecting fluctuations in sensory perception consistent with magical manipulation of the environment. Whatever is doing this is trying to disorient us.]
(Is it working?)
[On the others, probably. On you, the effects are minimised due to your nature.]
"There!" Erza pointed ahead, where an orange flash had just illuminated the mist. "Fire. It's Natsu."
"At least he's not dead," Lucy panted, her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "Dead people don't make fire. Usually."
"You'd be surprised," I muttered.
"WHAT?!"
"Nothing. Let's go."
We advanced towards the light and emerged into a clearing that, definitely, should not have existed.
The road we had been following was narrow, lined with dense trees. There was no room for a clearing. And yet, there it was, a perfect circle of silvery grass under the moonlight, surrounded by trees that seemed to have respectfully moved back to create the space. In the centre, illuminated by the fire Natsu had conjured in his hands like an improvised torch, were our three missing companions.
Natsu was in a fighting stance, the flames dancing around his fists, his wild eyes scanning the mist that surrounded the clearing like a living wall. Gray was beside him, his hands ready to conjure ice, his posture tense. And Happy was perched on Natsu's head, his ears flat, his fur on end, looking like a particularly frightened cat that had been forced to have a bath.
"WHERE WERE YOU LOT?!" Natsu shouted when he saw us. "WE LOST THE MONSTER!"
"You RAN OFF without us!" Erza retorted, her voice cutting through the air like a blade. "I SAID to stay together!"
"But the eyes—"
"I don't care about the eyes! The next time you disobey a direct order, Natsu Dragneel, I will make what happened at the hot springs seem like a CUDDLE!"
Natsu paled visibly, the flames in his hands faltering.
"Y-yes, ma'am."
"And you too, Gray!"
"I only went after him to make sure he didn't do anything stupid!" Gray protested.
"And did it work?"
"…No."
"Then you're in trouble too."
Gray swallowed hard and nodded, deciding that silence was the best defence.
I moved to the centre of the clearing, my senses still on high alert. There was something wrong with this place. Not just the mist, not just the inexplicable appearance of a perfect clearing in the middle of the forest. There was something more.
"This isn't natural," I said aloud.
"Really? I hadn't noticed," Gray grumbled.
"No, you don't understand." I crouched down, touching the silvery grass with my fingertips. "This clearing. It shouldn't exist. It doesn't exist."
"But it's right here," Lucy pointed out the obvious.
"Physically, yes. But magically…" I closed my eyes, extending my senses beyond what was normal. "We're inside something. A… bubble. An illusion that's been superimposed on reality."
"An illusion?" Erza repeated, her hand going to her sword again.
"Or a dream." I opened my eyes. "That's how yokai work. Some of them can create spaces. Their own domains that exist between the real world and the spirit world. If we're inside one…"
And then, as if my words had been a trigger, the mist moved.
Not slowly, as before. Not in lazy, curious waves.
It enveloped us.
[Alert. Significant environmental changes detected. Mind-manipulation magic in progress.]
(What kind of manipulation?)
[It appears to be… sleep induction. The others are already being affected.]
I looked around. Lucy's eyes were heavy, blinking slowly. Gray yawned, shaking his head as if trying to ward off sleep. Natsu was already staggering, the flames in his hands diminishing. Happy simply fell to the ground, snoring.
"It's a trap," I said, but my voice came out slurred. "Don't… sleep…"
Erza tried to stay on her feet, her sword raised, but her legs gave way. She fell to her knees, her eyes struggling to stay open.
"Azra… il…"
And then they were all on the ground.
[You are also being affected, though to a lesser degree. The magic is attempting to induce a dream state in you.]
(Can I resist?)
[Partially. You will remain semi-conscious. But you will be pulled into whatever this creature is creating.]
(Brilliant. Just what I needed.)
The mist enveloped me like a blanket, soft and warm, and my eyes closed against my will.
Darkness.
For a moment, there was only darkness.
[Full analysis. The yokai's magic has created an interconnected oneiric network. The minds of all present are linked through the mist like knots in a web.]
(What does that mean?)
[It means that although each person is experiencing their own dream, there is an… overlap. A shared space where the edges of the dreams touch.]
(And I'm in that space?)
[Your natural resistance to mind manipulation has placed you in a unique position. You are not completely immersed in your own dream like the others. You are… floating between them. Semi-conscious. Able to observe.]
(So I can see the others' dreams?)
[Apparently. Think of it as being in a hotel corridor, with the doors to the rooms ajar. You can peek in, but eventually you will be pulled into your own room.]
(That's… invasive.)
[Would you prefer not to look?]
(…)
[I thought so.]
The first sign that something was very wrong was the smell of barbecue.
I opened my eyes, or I thought I did, since technically I knew I was dreaming, and found myself in a landscape that defied all logic.
We were all there. All six of us. But the "there" was an impossible place.
To my left, there was a mountain made entirely of food. Roast meat, fried chicken, rice, all forming the peaks and valleys of an absurd culinary mountain range. And Natsu was there, SWIMMING in a river of barbecue sauce, shouting with happiness as he grabbed chunks of meat that were floating by like fish.
"THIS IS HEAVEN!" he was bellowing, burying his face in a steak the size of a wagon wheel. "I'M NEVER LEAVING!"
[The Dragon Slayer's dream seems to involve unlimited quantities of food. Predictable.]
(Very.)
To my right, the landscape was different. An ice palace rose, shining and majestic, and Gray was being carried by a crowd of… people? Creatures? All completely naked and singing hymns about "the great shirtless messiah."
"I'M NOT A NUDIST!" Gray was shouting, trying to cover himself, which was ironic, since he was also naked. "IT'S A MEDICAL CONDITION!"
"GRAY-SAMA! GRAY-SAMA!" the crowd sang. "LEADER OF THE FREE! MASTER OF THE UNCLOTHED!"
And then, to Gray's absolute horror, a giant version of his own shirt appeared, with eyes, a mouth, and an expression of pure resentment.
"YOU ABANDON ME EVERY TIME, GRAY," the shirt thundered. "EVERY. TIME."
"I-I don't mean to! It just happens!"
"LIES! YOU NEVER LOVED ME!"
The shirt began to cry, somehow, and flew away, leaving Gray shouting "COME BACK! I NEED YOU!" while the naked crowd comforted him.
(This is… disturbing on levels I didn't know existed.)
[The Ice Mage's subconscious clearly has unresolved issues with clothing.]
I turned, looking for the others.
Happy was a little further on, in an ocean, not of water, but of fish. Fish swimming in fish. Flying fish. Singing fish. A giant tuna with a crown was declaring Happy "Supreme Emperor of the Fish Kingdom" while the blue cat was crying and eating at the same time.
"IT'S WRONG, BUT IT'S SO RIGHT!" Happy was sobbing, taking a bite out of a sardine that looked honoured to be eaten.
Lucy was sitting in an elegant garden, having tea with her celestial spirits, who were all behaving in a civilised and polite manner. Aquarius was smiling. SMILING. And agreeing with everything Lucy said.
"This is definitely a dream," Lucy muttered, suspicious. "Aquarius would never agree with me."
"Lucy dear," Aquarius said sweetly, "you are the best celestial mage that has ever existed."
"Right, now I know it's a dream."
And then the garden gate opened, and a muscular and bizarrely intimidating version of Plue walked in, flexing biceps he absolutely should not have.
"PUUUUN," he said, menacingly.
Lucy screamed.
(Okay. This dream is a mess.)
[Each person seems to be experiencing a distorted version of their desires, fears, or recurring thoughts. Fascinating from a psychological point of view.]
(And where is—)
I turned.
And I froze.
Erza was a few metres away. But she wasn't in an absurd setting like the others.
She was in a simple room. A traditional Japanese room. And in the centre of the room was a low table, covered in strawberry cakes. Dozens of them. Each one with a little card that, even from a distance, I could read:
"For Erza. — A."
And in her dream, beside the table, was…
Me.
A version of me.
A version of me wearing only an apron.
ONLY an apron.
The Azra'il of Erza's dream was smiling, holding another cake, and saying something I couldn't hear from here, but which was making Erza progressively redder.
(…)
[Interesting.]
(Eos.)
[Titania's dream seems to involve you in a state of… minimal clothing. And cakes.]
(I NOTICED.)
[Your heart rate has accelerated significantly.]
(I NOTICED THAT TOO!)
I couldn't look away. The Erza of the dream, the real Erza, I knew, because this was a shared dream in some way, was sitting, her face completely red, while the oneiric version of me approached, touched her face, and...
And then the scenery around me changed.
Abruptly.
I was no longer observing the others. I was in a different room. A room I didn't recognise, but which felt intimate. Personal. Silk futons. Candlelight. The smell of incense and something sweeter, warmer.
And Erza was there.
Lying on the futons.
Her scarlet hair spread out like a halo of fire. A yukata that barely covered her, loose over one shoulder, revealing pale skin and—
"You took your time," she said, and her voice was a low purr that sent a shiver down my spine.
(This is… this is MY dream now.)
[Apparently. The yokai's magic seems to have shifted its focus to your own subconscious desires.]
(Eos, shut up.)
[Just documenting.]
"Come here," the Erza of my dream said, holding out a hand. "I'm tired of waiting. Tired of being afraid. I want you, Azra'il."
My feet moved before I could stop myself.
And then I was kneeling beside her, and her hand was on my face, warm and real, and her fingers were tracing the line of my jaw, moving up to my ears, touching with a gentleness that made me tremble.
"Erza…"
"Shh." She sat up, the yukata slipping further. "No words."
She pulled me down, and then we were lying together, our bodies intertwining, her heat against mine. Her hands were on my ears, my damned sensitive ears, and her lips were on my neck, moving up, up…
"I want you," she whispered against my skin. "I always have. Since the first day."
(This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't—)
[Your vital signs indicate that your body does not agree with that assessment.]
(EOS, FOR THE LOVE OF—)
"Say my name," she asked.
"Erza…"
"Again."
"Erza…"
She moved back just enough to look me in the eyes. And she smiled. Not Titania's smile. An open, vulnerable, real smile.
"I love you, Azra'il."
And it hurt.
It hurt because it wasn't real. It hurt because it was everything I wanted to hear, but not like this. Not in a dream fabricated by a yokai. Not a fantasy.
"This isn't real," I said, and my voice came out deep.
"It doesn't matter," she said, kissing my forehead. "Here, now, I am yours."
"No." I closed my eyes, gathering all the strength I had. "It's not enough. I want the real thing. With all the fears and embarrassments. Not this."
(I need to wake up. I need to—)
[Detecting instability in the dream structure. Your resistance is causing interference.]
The Erza of the dream sighed, looking almost… sad.
"You are irritatingly noble at times."
"I know."
"But that's why I love you."
And then everything began to dissolve. The edges of the room trembled, came apart like smoke, and I was falling—
And I woke up.
I was lying on the grass of the clearing, panting, my heart racing, and a… very inconvenient situation between my legs that I desperately hoped no one would notice.
Around me, the others still seemed to be asleep.
Natsu was chewing on his own arm, muttering, "more meat… more…"
Gray was hugging himself, crying quietly, "come back, shirt… I love you…"
Happy was repeating, "the fish loved me… I was an emperor…" as tears streamed down his face.
Lucy was in a foetal position, whispering, "muscular Plue doesn't exist, muscular Plue doesn't exist…"
And Erza…
Erza was lying a few metres away, still asleep, but shifting restlessly. Her face was red, very red, and she was muttering something quietly.
"Mmm… more… strawberry…"
And then, to my absolute horror and fascination, she smiled. A silly. Dreamy smile. The kind of smile Titania would NEVER make when she was awake.
"Azra… 'il… the apron… looks good…"
[Her subconscious seems to have a fixation on you in states of minimal clothing. And cakes. Fascinating.]
"One more… cake… for me…?" Erza murmured, her lips curving into an even sillier smile. "You… made them all… for me…?"
I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or dig a hole and bury myself.
Erza shifted more, frowning slightly, and then her eyes opened.
For a second, she lay still, disoriented, clearly still half-stuck in the dream.
Then her gaze met mine.
And the realisation of what she had been dreaming, and what she had probably SAID out loud, hit her like a ton of bricks.
Her face, which was already red, reached a shade of scarlet that rivalled her hair.
"I— YOU— THAT WAS— I DIDN'T—" She sat up so fast she nearly lost her balance. "IT WAS JUST A DREAM! DREAMS DON'T MEAN ANYTHING! I DREAM ABOUT CAKES ALL THE TIME! THE APRON WAS— WAS IRRELEVANT! COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT!"
"I didn't say anything," I replied, trying to maintain my composure despite everything.
"YOUR FACE DID! YOUR FACE IS SAYING A LOT!"
"My face is completely neutral."
"IT'S NEUTRAL IN A VERY EXPRESSIVE WAY!"
[She's panicking.]
(I've noticed.)
The others started to wake up around us. Natsu stopping his self-cannibalism, Gray crying for his shirt, Happy waking up and muttering about the ruin of his fish empire, Lucy rising from her foetal position.
And Erza and I, staring at each other in a silence heavy with mutual embarrassment.
Well, HER embarrassment. I was more… processing information.
(She dreams about me. In an apron. Giving her cakes.)
[Valuable information for future interactions.]
(Definitely.)
And then, from the edge of the clearing, a little voice echoed:
"D-did you… like Yume's dreams…? Yume worked very hard on them… pyu~"
We all turned.
And there, trembling in the mist, two blue eyes were staring at us.
(This night could not get any more embarrassing.)
[Considering events so far, I wouldn't bet on that.]
The creature that emerged from the mist was…
Well.
It wasn't what I was expecting.
In fact, it wasn't what ANYONE was expecting, judging by the faces of the rest of the group.
It was small. Very small. About the size of a cat, maybe smaller. A little ball of bluish-white fur that looked like it was made of cloud and moonlight, with a texture that seemed impossibly soft. Its body was as round as a mochi, literally round, with no defined angles, just soft, fluffy curves that made part of me want to squeeze it and another part want to punch it.
Its face resembled a festival mask, with enormous eyes that shone with their own pale-blue light. Two small protrusions on its forehead, baby horns, apparently, that had never grown properly and now looked more like buttons than anything intimidating. Long, thin whiskers, like those of a miniature eastern dragon, floated gently around its snout even without a wind, moving with an ethereal grace.
A golden ginkgo leaf was precariously balanced on top of its head, and small, ancient bells, the kind you would find in abandoned temples, hung from its long, pointed ears, which were drooped and sad, the tips curling like old parchment. A piece of tattered red fabric was tied around its neck like an omamori for protection that had seen better days.
The creature floated slightly above the ground on a small cloud of bluish mist, leaving a trail of tiny lights that flickered and disappeared behind it. A ridiculously large and fluffy tail, which split into two tips at the end, a pathetic attempt to look like a two-tailed kitsune, swung nervously behind it.
And it was trembling.
Trembling like a chihuahua during a thunderstorm. Trembling as if the simple act of existing in our presence was terrifying.
"D-did you…" the creature repeated, its voice small and high-pitched, its huge eyes filling with tears that shone like dew. "…did you come to h-hurt Yume…? Yume just wanted… Yume just wanted to show you pretty dreams… pyu~"
Complete and utter silence.
Natsu, who had finally stopped chewing on his own arm, had his mouth open. The flames on his hands, which he had conjured by reflex, flickered and died out completely.
Gray had forgotten he was crying for his shirt. He was looking at the creature as if it were a particularly confusing mathematical equation.
Happy, still with tears from his dream of a fish empire in his eyes, tilted his head. "Is… is it a cat?"
"N-no!" the creature protested, its ears perking up for a second before drooping again. "Yume is a yokai! A very powerful and ancient yokai! Yume is two hundred years old!" A small pause. "…And three months. And twelve days. Yume counts."
"Two hundred years old?" Lucy repeated, still clearly traumatised by muscular Plue but managing to form words. "You're only two hundred years old?"
"That's a long time for Yume! Yume has seen many things! Yume is wise and terrible!" The creature tried to strike a dramatic pose, its tiny paws rising, its body puffing up, its whiskers stretching out. "Humans should fear Yume! FEAR!"
The little bells on its ears tinkled pathetically.
The ginkgo leaf slipped and fell to the ground.
"…Pyu," the creature said, visibly deflating as it picked up the leaf with a little paw and placed it back on its head with reverent care. "Yume's leaf fell. That… that wasn't supposed to happen. Yume was going to be frightening."
[This is… genuinely the most pathetic thing I have ever documented in all my records.]
(Agreed.)
[And also irritatingly adorable.]
(Also agreed. And I hate that I agree.)
Erza, who had finally managed to control the red in her face, though she was still avoiding looking at me directly, took a step forward, her posture still tense but her sword already sheathed.
"You," she said, and her voice was the commanding voice of Titania, firm and authoritarian. "Are you responsible for the disappearances? For the confused travellers?"
The creature, Yume, shrank visibly, its ears flattening even more.
"Y-Yume… Yume didn't want to frighten anyone… Yume swears…" Its huge eyes filled with more tears. "Yume just… Yume just wanted to make friends… uuu~"
"Friends?" Natsu frowned. "You KIDNAPPED people!"
"Yume didn't kidnap! Yume just… just invited! To dreams! Pretty dreams!" The creature began to tremble more violently. "Yume made special dreams for each of you! With food! And fish! And… and shirts that love you back!"
Gray made a strangled sound.
"Yume just wanted people to stay… to stay with Yume… in the dreams… because when they're awake, they run away…" A large, shining, absurdly dramatic tear ran down its white fur. "Yume tried to go to the village once. Yume wanted to say goodnight to the humans. Yume practised. Yume got all dressed up. Yume put on the best ginkgo leaf."
The creature sniffed.
"But when Yume appeared… the humans screamed. They threw salt at Yume. They called Yume a demon. A monster." More tears. "Yume is not a monster… Yume just wanted a friend… myu~"
And then, as if all the energy keeping the creature afloat had run out, Yume fell to the ground.
It didn't fall dramatically or gracefully.
It fell like a mochi someone had dropped from a table. A soft, pathetic plop, followed by a muffled sob.
"Yume is so lonely… Yume has been lonely for so long… uuu~"
The silence that followed was of a completely different kind from before.
It was the silence of six people whose hearts were, against all logic and reason, breaking for a crying ball of fur.
Lucy was the first to break. She knelt down, her hands going to her face.
"Oh no… no… this is too sad… I can't…"
"Aye…" Happy was crying now too. "He just wanted friends… like me when I was a kitten and had no one to share fish with…"
"This is…" Gray began, his voice strangely hoarse. "This is emotional manipulation. Clearly."
But he was also discreetly wiping his eyes.
Natsu had a conflicted expression, half of him clearly still wanting to punch something, but the other half looking like a man who had just discovered that the monster he was about to fight was actually a lost puppy.
And Erza…
Erza's face was completely neutral. Too controlled. Too stiff. The kind of forced neutrality that came from someone desperately fighting against a very strong emotional response.
I knew that expression.
She was seconds away from crumbling.
(This is ridiculous.)
[It is an evolutionary defence mechanism. Small, cute creatures in a state of vulnerability activate protective instincts in many species. Cuteness is, literally, a weapon.]
(A very effective weapon, apparently.)
I sighed and crouched down, getting to the creature's level.
Yume looked up, those huge, teary eyes that reflected the moonlight like pools of water, and stared at me.
"A-are you going to hurt Yume now?" it asked, trembling. "Yume understands… Yume deserves it… Yume is just a useless yokai who frightens people without meaning to…"
"No one is going to hurt you," I said, and my voice came out softer than I intended.
Yume's eyes widened.
"…R-really?"
"Really."
"Can Yume… can Yume stay?"
"Stay where?"
"Here. With you lot. Just for a little while. Yume promises to be good. Yume won't make any more dreams without asking. Yume can be useful! Yume can…" It looked around frantically, searching for something to offer. "Yume can make the mist go away! Yume can find lost things! Yume can… can…"
The little bells tinkled.
The double tail wagged hopefully.
"…Can Yume be a friend?"
I sighed, running a hand over my face.
"Yume," I said slowly, crouching down to his level. "You don't want to come with us."
His huge eyes instantly filled with tears. "D-did Yume do something wrong? Is Yume already being rejected? Yume knew… Yume knew it was too good to be—"
"Let me finish." I held up a hand. "You don't want to come with us because we don't live here. We're leaving tomorrow. Going back to our town, which is very, very far away."
"Oh." Yume blinked, processing. "Yume… Yume hadn't thought of that. Pyu~"
"And you belong to these mountains, don't you? You were born here. You've lived here for two hundred years."
"Two hundred years, three months, and twelve days," Yume corrected automatically. "Yume counts."
"Exactly. This is your home."
The creature looked around, at the clearing, at the trees, at the mist that still lingered at the edges like a protective curtain.
"Yume… likes it here," it admitted quietly. "Yume knows every tree. Every stone. Yume knows where the best mushrooms grow. And where the water is sweetest. And where the sun rises most beautifully." The yokai paused briefly. "But Yume is also very lonely here."
"That's the problem, isn't it?" Lucy approached, her eyes still red but her face gentle. "You love this place, but you have no one to share it with."
"Yume tried to share! Yume tried to go to the village! But the humans—"
"Threw salt at you. Yes, you mentioned." I stood up, cracking my neck. "What if we changed that?"
Yume tilted its head, confused. "Change… how?"
"What if," Erza said, taking a step forward, and I noticed she had understood where I was going with this, "we took you to the village? And explained to the villagers that you're not a threat?"
"But… but Yume already tried! Yume got all dressed up pretty and—"
"You tried on your own," Gray interrupted, his arms crossed. "This time, you'll have mages from Fairy Tail introducing you. It's different."
"Very different!" Natsu added, slamming his fists together with a grin. "If anyone tries to throw salt at you, we'll throw fire at them!"
"Natsu, we are not going to throw fire at the villagers," Erza said, in the tone of someone who had repeated variations of that sentence thousands of times.
"Just a little bit?"
"No."
"What if they deserve it?"
"NO."
"Alright, alright…"
Yume looked from one to another, its eyes wide, as if it couldn't believe what it was hearing.
"W-would you… would you do that? For Yume?"
"It's kind of our job," Lucy said with a smile. "The mission was to investigate the 'monster' on the road. Well, we've investigated. And we've found that it's not a monster. It's just a lonely yokai who wanted to make friends. Solving the problem is part of the service."
"Besides," I added, "you said you could be useful, didn't you? That you can find lost things? Make the mist go away?"
Yume nodded frantically, the ginkgo leaf wobbling. "Yume can! Yume can do many things! Yume can guide lost travellers! Yume knows all the mountain paths! Yume can warn when storms are coming! Yume can give good dreams to sad people! Yume can—"
"Then that's what we'll tell the village." I crossed my arms. "That you're not a demon. That you're a guardian spirit of the mountain who wants to help. That the 'disappearances' were misunderstandings, and that no one was actually hurt."
"Because no one was!" Yume insisted. "Yume always returned the people! Yume just wanted… wanted them to stay for a little while… in the dreams… with Yume…"
Its voice trailed off, growing smaller and sadder.
Happy floated until he was in front of Yume, his large, understanding eyes fixed on it.
"I don't know what it's like to be lonely," the blue cat said honestly. "Natsu found me when I was still an egg. I've always had friends. But…"
He tilted his head, thoughtful.
"But I know that having friends is the best thing in the world! Having people to share fish with, to fly with, to go on missions with… It's really good! And you can have that too!"
"Yume… can?" The voice came out so small, so hopeful.
"Aye! We'll make the humans in the village understand that you're nice. And then you'll have neighbours! And maybe even real friends who will come to visit you!"
Yume's eyes, which I didn't think could get any bigger, grew even larger. They shone with a hope so pure and intense it was almost painful to look at.
"Yume… Yume can have neighbours?"
"You can."
"And friends?"
"Them too."
"And… and people who don't throw salt at Yume?"
"That's the idea."
For a long moment, Yume was completely still. The little bells on its ears didn't even tinkle. Its tail stopped wagging. Even its floating whiskers seemed to have frozen in the air.
And then, like a dam bursting, the creature began to cry.
Not the pathetic crying from before. This was a cry of joy. Of hope. Of two hundred years, three months, and twelve days of loneliness finally finding a light at the end of the tunnel.
"YUME IS GOING TO HAVE FRIENDS! YUME IS GOING TO HAVE NEIGHBOURS! YUME WON'T BE LONELY ANYMORE! MYU~!"
And it advanced.
Fast.
Too fast for such a small ball of fur.
And it clung to my leg as if its life depended on it, sobbing against the fabric of my clothes.
"THANK YOU! THANK YOU! YUME WILL NEVER FORGET! YUME WILL BE THE BEST GUARDIAN YOKAI EVER! PYU~!"
I looked down.
At the creature clinging to my leg.
At the mist that was beginning to dissipate around us.
At the group who were staring at me with expressions ranging from amusement to tenderness.
And at Erza, who had a small, almost imperceptible smile on her lips. A smile that, when our eyes met, did something strange in my chest.
(Damn it.)
[Your heart rate has accelerated. Again. Because of her. Again.]
(I know, Eos. I know.)
[Just documenting the pattern.]
(Pattern?)
[Every time Titania smiles at you, your vital signs respond in a measurable way. It's almost Pavlovian.]
(I'm going to pretend you didn't say that.)
[As you wish.]
"So," Erza said, still with that smile, "I think we have a plan."
"We do," I agreed.
"We're going to convince an entire village that a crying yokai is actually a benevolent guardian of the mountain."
"It will be fun."
"You have a very strange definition of fun."
"I know. It's part of my charm."
Her smile widened, just a little.
And then she looked away, the pink returning to her cheeks.
(She's still thinking about the dreams.)
[Obviously. Just like you.]
(Shut up, Eos.)
[You need new arguments.]
Yume finally let go of my leg, sniffing and wiping its eyes with its tiny paws.
"W-when are we going to the village? Yume needs to get ready! Yume needs to practise being friendly! Yume needs to—"
"Tomorrow morning," Erza decided. "It's late, we're all tired, and…" she hesitated, the pink on her cheeks intensifying, "…some of us need to process… things."
Gray yawned. "I agree. After that bizarre dream, I need to sleep properly. Without giant shirts chasing me."
"Or muscular Plues," Lucy shuddered.
"Or mountains of food I can't eat because they're a dream," Natsu grumbled.
"Or fish empires," Happy sighed melancholically. "I was such a good emperor…"
Yume looked from one to another, its ears drooping slightly.
"Yume's dreams… weren't good?"
"They were… interesting," I said diplomatically.
"Very creative," Lucy added.
"Traumatising in some cases," Gray muttered.
"Yume tried very hard!" The creature protested. "Yume researched everyone's desires! Yume wanted to make special dreams!"
"And you did. VERY special."
I avoided looking at Erza.
Erza avoided looking at me.
The awkward silence was almost palpable.
"Let's go back to the inn," I said finally. "We'll sort everything out tomorrow."
"AYE!" Yume exclaimed, imitating Happy, apparently having already adopted the catchphrase. "Yume will show the way! Yume knows a shortcut! Yume is very useful! Pyu~!"
And so, led by a floating ball of fur that tinkled with every movement, we began our walk back to Hosenka.
The mist parted for us like curtains, revealing a starry sky that had been hidden all along. The full moon shone bright and clear, illuminating the road that suddenly didn't seem so threatening anymore.
And somewhere between the clearing and the village, walking beside me in a silence that was part comfortable and part laden with unsaid things, Erza whispered:
"Azra'il."
"Hm?"
She paused for a long time before continuing. The pink was still present on her cheeks.
"About… about what I said. In my sleep."
"What about it?"
"I… I don't know exactly what I said, but…" She swallowed hard, clearly mortified. "I know I mentioned your name. And… and strawberry. And maybe… an apron?"
She said the last word as if it were a question, as if she were hoping I would deny having heard it.
(She doesn't know I saw the whole dream. She only knows she muttered things.)
[Interesting information. Are you going to tell her?]
(Absolutely not.)
"You mentioned a few things, yes," I said, keeping my voice neutral.
"I… it was just a dream. Dreams are… are random. They don't mean anything. The yokai was manipulating our minds and—"
"Erza."
"—and clearly put absurd images in my head that have NOTHING to do with—"
"Erza."
She stopped walking. Stopped talking. Stopped breathing, apparently.
"Relax," I said. "We all had strange dreams. Natsu dreamt of mountains of food. Gray dreamt of a giant shirt that abandoned him. Lucy dreamt of a muscular Plue."
"But I—"
"You dreamt of strawberry cakes. And apparently I was there, in an apron, giving you those cakes." I shrugged, feigning a casualness I didn't feel. "It could have been worse."
Her face was so red I could feel the heat radiating from it.
"Was that all you heard?" she asked, her voice strangely high. "Just… just the part about the apron and the cakes?"
(No. I saw a version of me in an apron touching your face, smiling at you, giving you cakes while you melted like butter.)
"Just that," I lied.
[Lie registered.]
(Shut up, Eos.)
Erza let out a sigh of relief so profound it was almost comical.
"Good. Brilliant. Because that was all it was. Just cakes. And an apron. Nothing more."
"Hmm."
"Stop making that sound!"
"What sound?"
"That 'hmm'! As if you know something!"
"I don't know anything, Erza."
"Your face says otherwise!"
"My face is completely neutral."
"IT'S NEUTRAL IN A VERY SUSPICIOUS WAY!"
I couldn't help the smile that escaped.
She saw it.
And she turned even redder.
"I'm going to… I'm going to check on the others," she said abruptly, and walked faster towards the rest of the group.
I watched her walk away, the smile still on my lips. This was indeed a long night.
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💬 Author's Note
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Originally, I was going to release this chapter on Monday… but I decided to post it a little earlier for a special reason.
Today is International Women's Day. 🌸💃
And considering this story is full of incredible women, it felt like the perfect excuse to release the chapter early.
So today I have a mission for all of you, dear readers.
Take a moment to celebrate the amazing women in your lives. Your friends, mothers, sisters, partners, favorite fictional characters… and even this slightly chaotic author writing this story.
And of course…
I expect to see congratulations in the comments.
No escaping your mission today.
Happy International Women's Day to all the amazing women reading this story. 💜
And also a special appreciation for the incredible men who respect, support, and value these women every day. You deserve recognition too. 👏
Now go on.
Send your congratulations…
And maybe a few little kisses too. 😘