x
Rena walked into the office and shut the door behind her. She crossed the room, leaned against the wall, and slid down, bringing her knees to her chest. She was overwhelmed with anger, fear, embarrassment, and frustration. Everything felt so heavy. She fought to keep the tears from streaming down her face. She just needed a moment to compose herself before going back out to send everyone home.
Rena, are you alright?
No, I’m not. He has her, V. He has Sy.
I know, but she’s strong. She’ll make it, and we will save her.
V, I can’t lose her. I know who she is, and who she will be in my future.
What do you mean?
I know who she is to me. I’ve known for a while.
Suddenly, a red feather fluttered in front of her face. She instantly recognized it as Hawks’. She grabbed the feather and whispered to it, smiling, “Yes, you can come in.”
Rena had a close friendship with the number two hero from the hero world. He reminded her of her long-lost childhood friend. She kept in touch with Hawks even after the Hero World mission, texting and chatting with him like they were long-lost buddies. She was glad to have a friend like him and considered him one of her best friends. He brought her a comfort that the others didn’t.
Hawks knew this too. He liked having a best friend from another world. He knew he was her shoulder to lean on, and he leaned on her as well. They had an unspoken bond that seemed to draw them together, though he knew they would be no more than just friends. He’d still crack flirty jokes at Rena just to make her laugh. He knew she was deeply in love with someone else, but he still cared for her and wanted to be there for her until she found her long-lost love.
There was a knock at the door. “Hey, kid, I’m coming in, alright?” Hawks softly said through the door.
Rena sniffled, trying to stop her tears, but they just kept coming.
Hawks entered and walked over, sitting down next to Rena. “Hey.”
“H-hey… is for… h-horses,” Rena tried to joke through her tears.
“Pfft, haha, omg. Only you would joke in the middle of a breakdown.” Hawks burst out laughing. “But seriously, are you okay? That was some heavy stuff.”
Rena sniffled. “Honestly, no. I’m not okay.”
Hawks put an arm around Rena and brought her closer for a side hug. She turned her face into Hawks’ chest, and the dam finally burst. Hawks just rubbed her back while she let it all out. She cried for an hour straight.
She finally shifted a little as the tears slowed down. “Thank you, Hawks.”
“Anytime, Mystie, though you owe me some dry cleaning.” He chuckled.
Rena giggled. “Sorry, send me the bill and I’ll take care of it.”
“I’m charging extra for the therapy session.”
“Well, you make a pretty shitty therapist.” Rena cracked a small smile.
“Oh right, sorry, I forgot. And how does that make you feel?” he said sarcastically.
“Like shit, but I’ll live, I suppose. You should stick to hero work; you’re not cut out to be a therapist.” She teased. “Sooo, Keigo Takami, huh? Why’d you never tell me?”
“I could ask you the same thing, Serena Reyes.” he cracked.
“Okay, fair. You got me there.” She chuckled. “Sy said it’d be best if I went by my code name at all times so Odysseus couldn’t track me down or my origins. Nothing is stopping him from just going to my world/timeline and killing me before Versa showed up.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. Though, I wouldn’t have given your name up even if I was tortured.” He grinned.
“Aw, how sweet, but he knows now. I’m not sure what he is going to do with the information though. Anyway, what’s your reason for hiding your name?”
“Ah, well, the commission stripped me of my name. Remember how I told you they cut all ties to my parents? Well, that included my name. I’m still not sure how Dabi found out. That’s a mess I’ll have to deal with when I get back.” He sighed.
“I’m sorry they did that to you. I think it’s a cute name.”
“You wanna borrow it?” He smirked.
“Hawks!” she yelped, smacking him on the shoulder.
“Ow! I’m kidding!” he held his hands up in defense. “Just trying to make you laugh.”
“Thanks. I do feel a little better.” Rena glanced towards the door. “Guess I’ve been keeping them waiting long enough, huh?”
“Yeah, I suppose you better go give a cool speech or something. I could give you a few pointers if you want.” He winked as he stood up and reached his hand out to help her up.
“No thanks, I saw your speech when you got ranked 2 on those hero charts. It was… interesting.”
“Oh? I thought it was pretty cool.” He snickered.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Rena joked as they reached the door. She let out a sigh. “Welp, here goes nothing.”
Hawks held the door open. “After you, m’lady.”
Rena stepped through the door and back into the main room. She glanced around at everyone and saw the concern on all their faces.
“Hey,” she said softly. “Sorry about that. I’m okay now.”
“Mystic, you don’t need to apologize. We’re your friends. We are here for you when you need us,” Ezra said as the others nodded in agreement.
“Thank you, but really, if this is to turn into a battle, I don’t want you guys following—” she was interrupted by Hawks covering her mouth with a feather.
“Now what kind of Pro Hero would I be if I didn’t help someone in need?” he asked.
“And we’re Magic Knights! We are supposed to protect people, so we will protect you!” Asta cheered.
“You are a member of Fairy Tail, so you are our family. There’s no way we’d let you do this alone,” Lucy said, jumping up to give Rena a hug.
Rena started to tear up again. “Seriously, thank you guys. I-I don’t think you guys realize just how much you all mean to me.” She paused for a moment, drying her tears. “I… I’ve been alone for quite some time. I lost my mother when I was 5, so my grandmother took me in, but she was never home. I had a childhood friend, but one day he… he just disappeared, and I was left alone… again. Then all this happened, and I met all of you. Our times may have been short together, but you all mean so much to me. I don’t feel so lonely anymore.” She said with a warm smile, so warm it melted everyone’s hearts.
Hawks leaned in and whispered, “My speech was still better.” She playfully slapped his arm. “Go sit down, cocky bird.”
Just then, Law walked back into the room, removing bloody latex gloves and tossing them in the trash can. Everyone looked at him with concern, so he reassured everyone with a cocky smirk. “He’s still alive. I didn’t kill him.”
Rena turned towards Law. “Have fun?”
“Lots,” he said with a grin, taking his place against the wall behind the Straw Hats.
Rena just gave an approving hum, then walked over to Sy’s computer to see if O had sent over the rendezvous point yet.
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