บท 9: 9. Surprising Opportunity

"You could and should be in worse shape, all things considered. You're malnourished, and your wrists and hands have suffered from an extensive time of limited blood circulation."

One of the guards had escorted me through the streets after they had confused me for a threat. The magic aura I had made them think of me for one of the bandits that had been trying to sneak into town and fence their ill gotten goods, however that changed when they got closer to try and capture me. The bandages around my wrists, eye, bruised skin, and extremely thin body set them off that something else was going on. One of them had the sense to take me to a doctor first and leave it to the guard captain to figure out what to do with me afterwards.

People looked at me in confusion and hushed whispers as a gate guard escorted a young child through town, each of them wearing some form of robes with a sash or rope holding it together around the waist, and each of varying quality and colour. The more dirty ones appeared near the edges of the village where the farms started and seemed more oriented to physical labour than fashion, which changed as we got further inwards to the main market towards more ornate designs with embroidery and jewellery accentuating the men and women that passed through.

The guard dressed in similar but more fitting black robes and black but baggy pants that seemed more fit towards combat than style, however the uniform nature and armoured bracers still made it standout as comfortable but functional apparel.

He guided me towards the more temple-like area where the doctor's facility sat and led me inside before going to make a report to his captain.

The doctor, an old lady with short greying hair and light wrinkles, had me lay on a table and hovered her hands over my body. As she moved them, a gentle pale blue flame emitted from her palms and I could feel my smaller injuries heal while her face twisted into one of concern as she studied my body's condition.

After she had told me about my body's condition, she stepped out from the room I was in and came back with a jar of gummies.

"Eat four of these right now, and a couple every morning and night for the coming months."

"What are they," I said as I took the jar in my hands. It opened easily and the scent of fruits wafted from the top and made my stomach growl.

The doctor laughed at my embarrassment before answering. "Vitamins. They'll help replenish what your body desperately needs. I'll write up a recommended diet for you to follow to get some meat on those bones, but those can carry a large amount of the aid you'll need. Potent little things they are, made to help the guards push themselves when they end up deciding to train themselves to their limit."

I popped the first one in my mouth and the delicious slurry of berries almost made me cry tears of joy as I ate more. She took the jar of gummies out of my hand though with a laugh.

"Easy there, hungry. There's a reason I told you to hold off on eating the entire thing. You have to let your body digest the nutrients properly otherwise you'll just get sick."

She guided me to an office and sat me down in a chair and left the jar on the table in front of me.

"Someone will be here in a short while to speak a few words with you."

With those words, she left me alone.

In that momentary isolation, my mind began to drift off to the events that happened yesterday, or at least what I think was yesterday.

Erza was thrown from the tower hours before me, and mister Spriggan didn't seem to have seen her so I can only hope that she survived.

At the same time, I hope only misery upon Jellal.

We fought the entire day, Erza spurring us on through her motivation to free him, and he casted us aside like tools that lost their edge. Erza might be dead, my arm is injured, I don't have any idea what to do right now, and the entirety of the tower that fought tooth and nail for their freedom is still stuck there until who knows when.

But at the same time I want to save him. There was something in his eyes, something so entirely different that there was no way for it to be Jellal. That accursed symbol that appeared in his eye, that strange yet powerful magic, even his face and posture. Five years I've had time to study him, and none of his usual mannerisms were there. And if he had that magic the entire time then he could have easily taken the tower for himself well before we had moved.

Something wasn't right.

I couldn't say I had the instincts to know for sure, but I knew it.

But I couldn't do anything about it.

Not yet.

I have fire magic, and the people here are fire mages.

I need to take this opportunity, to learn everything they can teach me and learn more elsewhere.

I will learn everything I can about fire magic and use it to burn down the hopes of whatever possessed Jellal.

I will leave anything and everything that utters the Black Mage's name in praise to fly away as ashes in the wind.

For every shadow they try to cast, and for every mutter of Zeref's worship will result in another hour of searing pain as they scream for their god to bring them mercy.

If they want to bathe darkness, then I will make it my life's mission to shower them in fiery light.

Call me a fool, but I don't think I can do anything else. My mind would have been at ease if I escaped with everyone on ship, but now I don't think I can do anything else but worry for them. A worry that will have years to permeate into my being and always be at the back of my mind.

And once I do free them, because I will free them, that spot in my mind will be hollow and I have no idea what I'll fill it with.

So seeking out revenge on the other cults that dot the land will be my only other goal in life.

Anything and everything that had Zeref's hand involved in its creation, whether literal or metaphorical, will burn.

Dangerous thoughts for a ten year old, admittedly, but I doubted I could truly find peace knowing that more cults like the R-System existed.

It was these thoughts that I stewed in for a silent hour before the door to the waiting room opened up.

Immediately the temperature of the room rose to suffocating levels as an elderly man walked into the room. His age did nothing to diminish his presence however, as he was well over 2 metres tall (7 feet) and his extremely muscular frame was noticeable even through the haori he wore. The most imposing thing about those muscles was the wrinkles that were strewn about his face, a sign that the muscles under his skin didn't stretch them, meaning that he used to be even bigger.

At that point, could this man even be considered human?

The sweltering heat his magic pressure generated proved otherwise as I tried to get in any breath I could.

The beast of a man sat down on the chair in front of me, slicking his long white hair back before stroking his beard and pinning me down with his brown eyes.

"So," he started. His was deep and heavy, decades of hardship seemingly weighing it further down than it should. "You know magic, and seem to have a large quantity of magic power for a child. Demonstrate your abilities. I'm curious as to what you're capable of."

My body obeyed without my consent. The right side of my body immediately changed shape under his order leaving a stark contrast in my appearance. The right, a glowing flame and the left, an injured child. The sling my left arm was in and the medical eyepatch the doctor gave me being highlighted in this moment, something he seemed to take note of.

"What's your name, girl?"

"L-Lyssa, sir."

"Where did you get those injuries from?"

"I lost my eye in an accident a while back, and my arm broke when the ship I was on crashed. S-Sir."

"Hm," he looked at me with a discerning eye, studying me with practised ease, "Your medical reports described scars on your wrists from cuffs or something similar. How did you get them?"

I sat there with a bit tongue, wanting to respond but unsure of what would happen if I answered honestly. My mind worked in overdrive to come up with a reasonable answer, but the man's impatient voice made me jump after the few seconds of silence.

"I asked you a question."

"I…ummm…I w-was a slave on the ship, s-sir…"

He nodded before looking me in the eyes. His earthen pupils added to the weight his magic presence imposed upon me.

"Then how do you know magic?"

"I studied it when I was an infant."

"And you aren't dead?" he asked with squinted eyes.

"I-I only studied the theory. The actual magic just…sort of…"

"Awakened."

"Y-Yes, sir. It was…what destroyed the ship…"

"How did you get enslaved?"

"My village, Rosemary, was attacked and burned. They…they took all of the young and killed the adults, and we were sold off somewhere near the beach."

"And you don't know where this location is?"

"N-No, sir."

"And do you have any ideas about who they have done dealings with? Do you think there are other survivors?"

"N-No, sir."

His eyes pinned me down as he stroked his beard in thought. The entire time I fidgeted nervously, and eventually the overbearing heat relented as he sighed and stood up, grabbing the bottle of vitamins and opening the door.

"Come with me."

Hesitantly, I followed after him. Worry flooded my system as I was fully aware of the difference in strength between us. He walked towards the temples furthering us away from the central market, and the stairs grew steeper and steeper due to the incline of the hill.

"The locals refer to me as Guard Captain Ito Tatsuo. You will refer to me as either that, sensei, or father."

"W-What?"

I was genuinely confused, but the behemoth of the man just looked at me with eyes of pity.

"Fire magic is dangerous in untrained hands, and judging by the fact you destroyed the entire ship I can tell you have a lot of potential. And that's even more dangerous. I refuse to let you walk around this country without proper training, and in return you will dedicate that training to protecting the people of Himura until I deem your training complete. You can choose to stay afterwards and continue serving, as most do, if you find yourself viewing this basin as home."

As we passed through the temples I was introduced to the sight of a large courtyard. Multiple men and women were fighting each other with hands and legs coated in flame as they used them to dance around their designated areas with immense speed that was just dizzying to watch.

"Many of these students I view as my own children, and they view me as their father. Orphans. Streetrats. Downtrodden. Lost. Many of them had nowhere to go, and so decided to dedicate their lives to martial arts and pyromancy."

We continued further down into the compound, where in the centre of a garden rested a smaller mimicry of the large statue towering in the mountains, it was sat on a plinth even bigger than the man that proclaimed himself my sensei.

"I refuse to let a young child walk around Ishgar when she could only be a danger to herself or others. Which is why you'll be staying here, learning and training to hone your abilities. What you do afterwards will be up to you, but if you become an enemy of the people, I will hunt you down myself."

His tone was sincere, and carried honesty the weight of a mountain even if they didn't hold any hostile intent.

He gave me a small tour of the compound; plenty of the residents were fighting and training in the martial courtyard but others were relaxing underneath the noon sun. He had taken me to the kitchen first where I quickly devoured the chicken legs that were placed in front of me, a sight that amused both him and the others inside the dining hall greatly as they got to witness a ten year old devour an entire plate of food in a ravenous frenzy.

Afterwards, he escorted me to the residential area. In front of the large red manor dozens of individuals dressed in casual wear, the familiar haori of the guard, or robes made with the task of meditating in mind sat around a large bonfire in rings facing away from it, likely trying to build their ethernano capacity and focus their mind.

"This is where you'll be staying, at least until you're older. Come, Lyssa, let's go meet the others."

I followed behind, coming to terms that I wasn't going to be given a choice in the matter. Instead, I was going to make the most of this opportunity. Whatever struggle may come my way can only serve as a hurdle that I can use to strengthen myself.