Fairy Tail - Eyes of Ice

Chapter 10 - Tower of Heaven Pt. 5

Sunset washed over the Akane Resort. Kai leaned against the railing of the hotel room, his back to the sun, while he watched Milliana, Wally, and Sho continue to mingle in their own room. They'd been that way for hours: packing and talking excitedly about stuff. Kai could've listened in but instead decided to listen to the hollow roar of the ocean and not eavesdrop on his old friends.

Old?

No.

Just friends.

Millianna looked up at Kai quite often, and then over to Iggy. Iggy sat on the railing facing the sunset.

"What makes a sunset so peaceful?" she asked with a purr.

"I'm not sure," Kai said. Sho and Wally accidentally bumped heads and laughed it off. "The colors, maybe?"

"It is rather cozy," Iggy agreed.

The sun caught Kai's eye in reflection of the glass door, so Kai turned around and looked down, toward the beach, where Gray sat in one of the resort's beach chairs, sipping a drink by himself and watching the sunset as well.

Natsu was probably knocked out still. That Dragon Force power had really taken a toll on his body. They'd been relaxing and catching up at the resort for three days. Erza and Kai were out for most of the first day but spent much of the next couple of days with their old friends. They were at last able to vacation with them. The others couldn't believe the privileges they'd had stolen from them, like warm water showers.

"Nighttime is also coming," Kai said. "A quiet time, I guess."

"That's true."

"But I've never experienced a sunset like this one," Kai admitted.

"Really? It looks like all the other ones I've seen the last three days."

Kai grinned and patted Iggy on the top of her head. "I've never experienced a sunset this quiet and peaceful. Even the last couple of days have had rambunctious sunsets."

"That's because you've had to keep Millianna from clawing into you." She rolled her eyes. "And me, now that I think about it..."

"Mostly," Kai said. "But look at them, Iggy." Kai gestured back at the room without switching his gaze. "They're getting ready to leave."

"I think Erza wants to invite them to Fairy Tail."

"Exactly. Whatever life they had before is over. They're not living a life bound by cages and the walls of a cursed tower, they're living without them. They're living free. They can make mistakes and not get killed for them. They can listen to their own hearts, not the dark will of others. Even if they join Fairy Tail, where we have rules and guidelines, it's a life where you live by the beauty of the world to help others and defend one another."

"They should take the offer," Iggy said, standing precariously on the balcony railing. "I think I'd call them fools if they didn't."

Kai shrugged. "I'd be surprised if they didn't, at least so they could have Erza and I's protection."

"From what?"

"Their nightmares. Erza and I had eight years to sort through our thoughts about the Tower, and we've only just gotten over them. They've been there all that time, stuck in a timeless hellhole. They may need someone to be there to tell them it's okay."

"You can do that?"

"I want to do that, Iggy." Kai glanced at the little cat with wings. Iggy, though, didn't have a hard face. She was smiling.

"That's why you can."

Kai reached out and Iggy held Kai's hand in both of her paws, then let it go and placed it back on the railing. He leaned forward and didn't react to his sword at his hip.