章 16: Chapter 7: Who is Bambietta Basterbine? 1/3
I dont own Bleach of fairy tail. Those belong respectively too Tite Kubo and Shounen jump and Hiro Mashima and Weekly shounen magazine. This is just for fun!
Also, I have a poll on my profile regarding the pairing for our favorite quincy. Vote now and give your answer. The pairing will be decided by the end of February. It is entirely possible that we may not go for the one with the most votes, but do know it WILL be one of the characters on the poll.
In the town of Era lay a rather majestic building, its ornate designs carved into pale marble that gleaned in the sunlight. It was marvel to behold to any that might come across it, a beautiful structure that transcended all around it. A fitting status for the building, for it was home to Fiore's Magic Council. It was composed of those who oversaw the guilds of the kingdom, passing down rulings from the government and casting their own judgments when proven a necessity. It was generally a quiet and calm setting, yes, but now was a time for concern amongst its members. A meeting was in session, the nine members of the council standing within the main chamber. For but a moment there was silence until at long last the wizened Org began to speak.
"Eisenwald has been defeated," he began to say, lightly stroking his gray beard, "but it is merely one victory in a sea of chaos. More and more dark guilds continue to act so brazenly."
"I'll never understand how Eisenwald managed to obtain even a fragment of Zeref's power," the pale and gaunt Yajima offered up. "It was sealed away from prying eyes, wasn't it? So how could they have even found it?"
Michello simply sighed. "A curious matter indeed. The sort of political corruption that would have allowed them to even learn of its location could very well extend to the highest levels of our society. Perhaps even one of our own."
"That sounds to me like baseless conjecture," the youngest member of the council, Siegrain, interjected. "Whatever the case may be, FairyTail was quite useful in putting down this act of criminality. And to think that this council has labeled them nothing more than a nuisance. I find that rather ironic, don't you all?"
"They defeated an entire dark guild with only a handful of their own," the next youngest, Ultear Milkovich said slyly, covering her mouth for a moment with a sleeve of her uniform. "That was quite a stunt they pulled, one that worked to all our benefit."
"However, most intriguing of all," Siegrain added, his arms folding across his chest, "is the report filed by Fairy Tail's Master, Makarov Dreyer, implied. It appears that one of his own was able to destroy Lullaby with veritable ease."
Leiji, well known for his outspoken nature, lost his cool then. "That's impossible! Lullaby was said to have been created by Zeref's employment of Curses! They would have to be in the realm of one of the Wizard Saints to do such a thing!"
"Or," Ultear began to say, her voice coy as ever, "perhaps this wizard simply possesses a magic that we do not quite understand."
Much conversing began to occur then, those in power arguing amongst themselves in confusion and anger, leaving the blue haired Siegrain to grow frustrated himself. "You all may not be willing to accept it," he began to say, biting his tongue in an attempt to speak out of turn and no more, "but that fact may very well be the fact of the situation."
Leiji snapped nonetheless. "You two upstarts have always been causing a ruckus any chance you get! Now you're trying to tell us we owe Fairy Tail our thanks and that there may be a magic out there that we don't understand?"
"Leiji, that's enough," Belno said softly yet with a commanding tone nonetheless. "Is magic not a sea of endless possibilities? Is there nothing left for even this council to learn of?"
Leiji hissed through grit teeth but he began to step back and calm his nerves. "Fine, I will hold any further objections."
"Thank you, Lady Belno," Siegrain said politely. "We were fortunate for Fairy Tail intervening out of the goodness of their hearts. Would it not have been a disappointment to the kingdom of Fiore if one or all of us had to step down from our positions of power to save face in light of Lullaby's usage becoming public?"
Yet then did Org himself grow cross. "That does not change the fact that Fairy Tail's destructive tendencies have caused far too much grief for us all! And now you ask that we simply be content that such a guild may possess a magic that is capable of destroying Curses? That we should sit idly by when an out of control guild may hold in their possession a magic that is beyond our reasoning?"
"Then perhaps," Siegrain began to say with a smile, "we should take this opportunity to discuss the matter with Fairy Tail personally."
"This is completely unacceptable!"
Broken and battered, that was the state Bambietta Basterbine was left in. She had gone into battle with Erigor the Reaper with the intent to prove herself and stand victorious. Now however was she left defeated at the bottom of Clover Canyon. Bones shattered, vital organs no doubt ruptured from the uncanny fall, yet still did the Quincy cling to life.
"I lost? Me? No, I'll-"
"Poor Bambi."
Bambietta felt it then despite her weakening state, the presence of those growing closer to her. For a moment she felt nothing but relief, seeing those she had allowed her heart to open up to, no matter how slightly, approaching. Then did shadow fall upon the Quincy. Lucy Heartfilia, Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet and Happy; they were all looking down at her broken body. Upon their faces were expressions of nothing but worry and concern. Yet then did they change, a strange and malevolent glint in Lucy's eyes.
"Poor, poor Bambi," she said softly as she began to kneel down, the Celestial wizard's eyes never drifting away from staring into Bambietta's own. "Fairy Tail can't have you go away like this."
Bambietta felt her skin begin to crawl, the Quincy's breath beginning to catch in her throat. Then did the fingers of Lucy's right hand touch down atop Bambietta's chest, gently tracing down from a collar bone. The Quincy began to hyperventilate then, glancing down at staring at the hand, taking note of the guild emblem that was upon it. Then did the emblem vanish, leaving Bambietta's eyes to widen in shock. She moved her gaze to up towards Lucy's face then, only to find a very different one facing her.
A twisted expression, one captured in a cruel smile and a wretched glow of the eyes, those were the telltale manifestations of Stern Ritter Z.
"We'd miss you, Bambi," Giselle Gewelle said, her voice dripping with the venom of betrayal.
"No!" Bambietta began to scream, her voice rising past the ravaged body that was her own. Tears began to flow from her eyes then, the Quincy begging in any way that she could. "Please, Giselle don't-"
Fingers pierced flesh then and there, finding their way around the heart within Bambietta's chest. In response all Bambietta could do was scream, her eyes glazing over in the red haze of agony. Yet still did she look at Giselle then, taking note of the woman's shifting appearance.
For a brief moment she was Lucy, then Giselle, then back again, the image flickering as if Bambietta's mind was playing tricks on her.
"I," the unstable images of Giselle and Lucy began to say, their voices fused into one, "would miss you, Bambi."
Then did Bambietta's eyes close, her world fading to black as her screams of agony were the only thing left to accompany her.
Bambietta's eyes opened then quite suddenly, the Quincy finding herself staring up not at friends willing to kill her but instead an empty ceiling. It was a disconcerting sight for but a moment, the barren white surface leaving the Quincy to wonder if that was all she had left. Then did she breathe, the sensation of air moving in and out of her mouth leaving Bambietta to understand she was well and truly alive. Nothing more, nothing less. Alive thanks to the mercy of strangers, those who did not know her or owe her anything.
"Just a... just a dream..."
It was a whisper and nothing more, Bambietta's voice low and hoarse. Yet she saw it still, a glimpse of those she had once considered friends, all of them staring down at her with treacherous intent. She whispered again in turn, though this time her voice was laced with disgust and rage.
"Fuck that worthless world."
Bambietta began to sit up then, her blankets falling atop her lap. The Quincy was quickly beginning to question her choice of words then. Did she not want to return to her own world? Did she not want to avenge herself on those that had wronged her? Did she not want to return to His Majesty's service? Did she not have faith in her own world? Did she not expect it to get better upon her return?
Bambietta shrugged slightly, looking at the simple home she had now. The Quincy wanted to return to the life she had led before and yet this world was so strange, so tranquil, calming to her soul even now. Then did she shake her head, the young woman determined to remember and understand the futility of such desires. She was Stern Ritter E of the Vandenreich. The trappings of this life around her were unsuitable for one of her station. It was as simple as that, wasn't it?
Bambietta bit down on her lip, the Quincy at last forcing herself to turn her gaze around. She could see it then, Lucy sitting at her desk, full dressed for the day, her back facing Bambietta. She could see that her roommate was leaning over the desk, perhaps writing something. That gave Bambietta the moment she needed, a brief passage of time was all it took. Her mind shifted from its own dark and depressing thoughts, finding something else to focus upon. The Quincy slowly slipped her blankets off and turned her body. Her feet quietly touching down on the floor, she stood then and began to make her approach.
"Hey, roomie, what are you up to?"
Bambietta took notice of Lucy's back suddenly straightening, followed quickly by the sound of rustling paper.
"Oh, nothing," Lucy replied sheepishly as she looked over at Bambietta. "Nothing at all."
"Right." Bambietta ran her hands across her forehead, pushing aside any locks of hair impeding her vision. Then did she lean over Lucy's shoulder and glance at the papers the Celestial wizard had been writing upon. "Oh, is that a diary?"
"No, no," Lucy stammered. "Nothing of the sor- Hey!"
Bambietta quickly snatched one sheet of paper out from under Lucy's hands and skipped away. "Nice handwriting," the Quincy mused as she hoped up on her bed playfully. Her eyes began to scan over the paper then, yet she was still mindful of her surroundings.
"Bambi, give it back!" Lucy moved in close, reaching out to take back the paper, yet the Quincy vanished from sight.
"Oh, it is a diary! Let's see what we've got here." A slight giggle escaped from Bambietta as she appeared on the other side of the room via Hirenkyaku. She placed a hand on the side of her face for effect and began to read aloud. "Oh, my heart still skips a beat whenever I think about what a big event I was involved in. I heard that the authorities arrested most of the members of Eisenwald that were involved."
"Bambi!"
Lucy stepped forward again but the Quincy was quick to pull her vanishing act once more, appearing back on her bed. Yet this time her voice was rather solemn as she continued to speak.
"The part that scares me is the fact that Erigor got away and no one knows where he is." Bambietta looked towards the irritated Lucy then. "You're scared of him wanting revenge, huh?"
Lucy moved in close and successfully took back the paper from Bambietta. "What if he wants revenge?"
"Then I guess I'll just have to kick that phony Soul Reaper's but all over again!" Bambietta answered, a sly grin spreading across her face. "So don't worry your pretty little head, roomie! I've got your back!"
Lucy simply sighed. "Nothing ever phases you, huh? Hey!"
The Celestial wizard took notice of Bambietta once more vanishing from the bed. Lucy turned quick and could see Bambietta once more over by her desk, another paper in her hands.
"Bambi!"
The Quincy began to scan over the sheet of paper then, her smile quickly fading. She placed it back down on the desk at simply looked at Lucy.
"Bambi?"
Then did the Quincy simply vanish from sight once more. Lucy heard it, the sound of a drawer opening and closing quickly. She turned around, only to catch sight of a Bambietta vanishing with Hirenkyaku, leaving the space from her dresser empty once more.
"Wait, Bambi!"
The Celestial wizard heard the door to the apartment suddenly and open and close and she realized that she was alone now. Lucy had a feeling she knew what had happened, yes, but she was still intent and making certain. She moved towards her desk then, taking hold of the sheet of paper that Bambietta had last read.
"Darn it." Lucy read her own words well. Of her speaking her feelings of those she had met since joining Fairy Tail. "Bambi, I-"
Bambietta, dressed all in white, her nightwear left behind, was not thinking quite clearly as she walked through the teaming masses of Magnolia citizens. The Quincy was lost in thought, yes, but it was a jumbled mess.
Still did she continue to walk forward and away, all but ready to use Hirenkyaku to put some distance between herself and Lucy if the wizard were to give chase. The Quincy simply had not time for apologies or explanations.
"Bambi!"
The Quincy heard her name and in response did she do just as she intended, letting her body move forward at a quickened pace, the powers gifted to her by her bloodline taking affect. Soon she was allotted a modicum of peace and quiet as Hirenkyaku slowed down, leaving her to appear in stop in another section of town. There, however, did the silence come to a close, Bambietta hearing the ringing of bells. She looked around then and in response did Bambietta's eyes widen.
The Quincy could only look in awe as she stood before a rather grand cathedral, its ornate design towering above her. She craned her head in response them to get a good look at it, taking note of the moving bells within its towers.
Bambietta took a deep breath then, trying to compose herself. Her shoulders began to slump slightly then, the Quincy trying to rationalize the thoughts going through her head. She was about to step forward, to enter the cathedral, but she stopped just short of its doors.
"No," she said softly. "Somebody as messed up as me has no right being in there."
Then did Bambietta vanish once more, Hirenkyaku at her beck and call once more.
Lucy Heartfilia was looking all around now, the Celestial wizard worried for her roommate. She was moving quickly through the crowd of Magnolia citizens, trying to catch sight of the telltale signs of her white uniform, anything to let her know she had found her friend. Yet all the while she knew this would prove difficult, Lucy understanding that Bambietta's unique powers, magic or otherwise, would make her impossible to catch if she did not want to be found.
"Bambi," she began to say, whispering under her breath, "I'm sorr-"
"So am I."
Lucy turned around then, catching sight of Bambietta behind her. She reacted on instinct, reaching out to hug her roommate and friend. Bambietta, meanwhile, simply did not move. She only glanced away slightly, looking to the ground.
"Lucy," Bambietta began to say as she pushed the woman away from her, "you were right, okay? The truth just hurts is all."
"No, I shouldn't have wrote anything like that," the Celestial wizard argued. "It was just-"
"You're diary," Bambietta replied. "That's what I get for sticking my nose in where it doesn't belong."
"Bambi-"
"Bambi's a nice friend, if a little scary," the Quincy began to say, reciting from memory what she had read, "but the worst part is she seems a little messed up emotionally. I wonder what happened to her in the past."
Lucy said nothing, simply wrapping her right hand across her left arm as she glanced down. Those were her words, paraphrased almost too accurately, and she could not argue against them.
Bambietta simply began to walk a slight distance away, sitting down on a bench overlooking the canal that ran by the street. She glanced down at the water the before motioning towards Lucy. The Celestial mage moved closer then and sat next to Bambietta.
Then did she wait for the Quincy to speak. Bambietta began to open her mouth in response but nothing issued forth. She tried again, wanting to speak but unable to do so. Thus did the two simply sit in their own self-inflicted silence.
Bambietta began to grow angry with herself now, the Quincy knowing that there was a part of her that wanted to tell Lucy the truth, to let her know everything, but she was afraid. She was a monster, one that had been a part of nothing more than a group composed of such beings. That much had been made quite clear to her during the Eisenwald situation, yet still did she want to go back to that. However, to admit any such feelings to someone who clearly wanted to be her genuine friend would be tantamount to throwing her current life away.
Bambietta glanced slightly towards Lucy then, taking note of her face. There was a slight smile there but the Quincy knew it would fade if Lucy learned the truth of who she was living with. Then would Bambietta have put herself in the position of a well-deserved betrayal.
Then, as if in response to that, Bambietta saw a flash, a change. For one brief moment was Lucy's face supplanted by Giselle's own, as if the nightmare had become reality. Then did the hell leave behind only paradise, Lucy's face taking center stage once more.
"I told you before," Bambietta began to say, "that my friends from another guild betrayed me, right?"
Lucy reached out then, placing her hand gently on Bambietta's own. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
There it was. The out, the emergency exit, the escape from this conversation that she had started. Bambietta so desperately wanted to take it, to be free of this moment that she had ensnared herself in, yet she was unwilling to sit idly by and allow her inner misery remain buried.
"They were my friends," she began to say, her voice cracking slightly. "My... friends. And when I needed them the most, they..."
Lucy felt the silence return, the Celestial wizard watching and taking notice of Bambietta's lower lip trembling. Then did the Quincy take off her hat with one hand, the other running through her dark hair. The hand stopped then, pausing as it pressed against the back of her neck.
"You saw what happened to Kageyama back in Oshibana," Bambietta said, her voice and face both trembling, a strange light in her eyes. "Those Eisenwald bastards tried to kill him. His friends. His damned friends. And mine... They were... They..."
Bambietta's face began to contort then, her rage beginning to overtake her. Lucy felt a slight hint of trepidation in response to it but she refused to move. She knew she had nothing to fear from Bambietta, they were friends after all, but still was it unnerving to see nonetheless.
Then did Bambietta's voice stabilize, her expression growing dark and distant, no emotion present in her in that instant. "I hate them all."
Then there was silence once more, Lucy unable to find anything she could say to offer comfort, Bambietta simply left to mull over the implications of her own statement.
Yet in the end did Lucy finally come to a conclusion, of any offer of comfort she could provide. "Hating them won't bring you peace."
"I know that," Bambietta said quietly, her eyes suddenly narrowing. "Killing them would."
Then did Lucy grow very afraid, the young woman feeling a shiver run across her flesh. "Bambi..."
The Quincy turned to look at Lucy then, taking note of the fear etched upon her face. In turn did a sensation of guilt play across Bambietta then and her cold expression quickly faded. "Lucy, I'm sorry. I just..."
Bambietta stood then, clutching her hat with one hand.
"You're too good for me. You, Natsu, Erza, Fairy Tail. You're all better off casting aside such filth like me."
Bambietta began to move then, the Quincy all but intent on using Hirenkyaku to leave behind Lucy once again. Yet then did she feel a hand against her own, the grip tight. Bambietta bit down on her lower lip in response to it, knowing exactly what was happening. She turned then and could see Lucy looking up at her.
"Bambi," the Celestial wizard said, holding tightly, "don't go. Not like this."
Bambietta tried to keep her composure then, yet even her voice was slipping. "Lucy..."
"We'd miss you. I'd miss you."
Then did Bambietta's eyes widen. Those words again, the same as spoken to her long ago by one who had taken from her something most precious. "Lucy, let me make one thing very. I like you. Levy too. Natsu's okay, and I guess Gray too. And Makarov and Erza, I respect them. But as for Fairy Tail itself and everyone else in it? I can't give a damn. I won't."
Lucy lowered her gaze then. "That's fine. Just... don't leave like this, all right?"
"You," Bambietta began to ask, "you wouldn't ever... No, I already know the answer. You're not that type of person."
"What?" Lucy replied, trying to fight back any tears. "What are you afraid of?"
"It's not important," Bambietta said. "I already know you wouldn't betray me like they did."
"Of course not!" Lucy shouted. "I'm your friend! I don't know what they did to you exactly but I swear I'd never do anything to hurt a friend."
"Like I said," Bambietta sighed, "you're all too damned good for me. But..."
The Quincy pulled Lucy up then and wrapped her arms around the Celestial wizard tightly.
"I'll stay, all right?"
Slowly did the door to Bambietta and Lucy's apartment open, the two of them stepping in. The two were lost in conversation, having moved past all the sorrow and jubilation that they had experienced outside. Now they were simply conversing like two old friends, nothing more.
"So you're into writing, huh?" Bambietta asked as she took off her hat and hung it on top of the coat rack near the door.
"Yeah, I guess," Lucy said as she began to move into the apartment. "I doubt I'll ever be up there with the greats like Zekua Melon but I hope to have at least one good book down written at some point."
"Well," Bambietta began to say, "going by that diary-"
"It's not a diary," Lucy said sternly, looking back at Bambietta. "It's personal, okay?"
Bambietta flinched slightly. "Look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have overstepped my bounds."
"No, it's just..." Lucy could not finish the sentence. Instead she moved over to her desk and began to shuffle through the papers. "You only saw the last ones. I wrote so much more and... Well..."
"What's wrong?" Bambietta watched as Lucy waved her hand out, showing what had been the first sheet that she had wrote on. "Dear Mom?"
Bambietta quickly went red in the face. Reading a girl's diary, that she was willing to mess around with. She had done it many, many times with her old friends, though sometimes that had led to some rather horrifying discoveries. Liltotto's apparent crush on Stern Ritter C being the least strange thing she had learned from those knowledge escapades. The worst had regarded Giselle of course, leading Bambietta to never even dare to discuss the differences between the male and female anatomy with her fellow Quincy.
To read a dairy, that was fair game, yes, but to intrude on a daughter's candid message to her mother? That was something Bambietta had not dared to do intentionally. Now she could only feel shame for her mistaken actions, something she was not entirely used to. "Look, I really am sorry."
"It's all right," Lucy said. "You'd probably be the only one who actually reads it anyway."
The Quincy furrowed her brow at that peculiar statement. "What do you mean?"
"Just... forget about it," Lucy said, the Celestial wizard becoming withdrawn for a moment. Then did she suddenly perk up. "Say, you want to do some shopping?"
"I got to say, this is a pretty good pad you two got going on for seventy thousand jewel."
Bambietta and Lucy both turned suddenly at the unexpected voice. They were then greeted with the sight of Gray exiting their kitchen in his boxer shorts, a glass of ice water in hand.
"Hey!" Lucy shouted, forcing Gray to back up with her patent Lucy Kick. "Nobody is stripping in this apartment but me and Bambi!"
"Oh my," Bambietta whispered underneath her breath before at last speaking at a typical register. "It's his thing, Lucy. Outside of some quick drying cement or a really nasty staple gun, I don't think he'll ever stay in his clothes for very long."
"Wait." Lucy suddenly got very confused. "Are you the one taking this calmly now? And I'm the one getting temperamental?"
"Hey," Bambietta said with an unassuming shrug, "I dealt with all sorts of strange fellows at my old guild. It takes me a little to get used to the quirks, but I'm used to eventually getting used to them. I never would have survived with my sanity intact back home if I hadn't figured out that much."
"Sanity intact?" Gray asked, his voice displaying some signs of judgment.
"Oh no you didn't!" Bambi's right hand shot forward then, having closed into a fist. "General weirdness I'll tolerate but half-baked insults? No thank you!"
"Hey!" Gray shouted, stepping back again and waving an arm in protest. "At least let me say why I'm here before you go picking a fight!"
"All right, all right," Bambietta said with a sigh. "What a killjoy."
"I came here to remind you both," Gray began to say, "today's the day."
"Day for what?" Bambietta asked, clearly confused.
Lucy, meanwhile, had a slight inkling. "You don't mean-"
"Yeah," Gray replied. "Erza's going to fight Natsu, just like he asked her back at the train station."
"No way!" Lucy screamed. "Bambi, let's go- Bambi?"
Lucy looked around blankly, taking note that her roommate had all but vanished. She looked to Gray then.
"Don't ask me," the half-naked ice mage said with a shrug. "One minute she was there, the next not. She's quick on her feet, that one."
1234567890
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット