Kageyama stared in stunned disbelief as Gray, arms freshly regrown from his back, climbed back through the broken window and dropped into the car, momentarily unable to process what he was seeing.
"Here, catch!"
Gray launched himself into the air and drove another kick straight into Kageyama's gut, mirroring the earlier hit. The force was enough to shift his internal organs out of place entirely, folding him up like a shrimp as he flew backward, slamming into the wall of the car before bouncing off and crashing face down onto the floor.
"Guh!"
A mouthful of blood sprayed out as Kageyama's head hit the floor, both hands clamped over his stomach, his whole body trembling uncontrollably from the searing pain.
Gray landed neatly in the aisle. Behind him, Happy, who'd grabbed onto his clothes mid flight, folded his wings and hurried over to check on Natsu. Gray flexed his fists, looking down at Kageyama, coughing up blood and clearly questioning his life choices, and let out a cold laugh.
"Guess our great pioneer of a new era isn't quite as tough as his mouth made him sound."
The smile faded from his face as he stepped forward and hauled Kageyama up by the collar, the man still frozen in agony.
"You're from Iron Forest, aren't you. We weren't even here looking for trouble with you people, and yet you went and started it yourself. Turns out I've got a few questions for you anyway. And one more thing."
He leaned in close, his gaze locking onto Kageyama's eyes, ice cold.
"You're going to apologize to Fairy Tail properly, you bastard."
"...Not a chance." Kageyama forced the words out through gritted teeth, refusing to back down.
"Let's see if you're still saying that in a minute."
Gray wasn't the type to torture prisoners or take any particular pleasure in violence. But for someone who'd hurt a member of his family and insulted Fairy Tail's name, he had no problem going a little overboard.
Before long, the car echoed with the dull, repeated thud of fists meeting flesh, punctuated by pained screams.
The train attendants, who'd initially started heading over to investigate the noise, slowed their steps and hesitated once the sounds carried far enough to reach them. After a long moment of internal debate, one attendant, who'd seen Natsu's group boarding earlier, turned to the other.
"That car... I think that's the Fairy Tail group."
"You mean the troublemakers, the guild with the Ten Wizard Saints, Lord Kabe?"
"Yeah."
"...I think maybe we should go do a patrol up toward the front of the train instead."
"Good idea."
The two of them agreed instantly and turned to walk off without another word. Whatever was going on between mages, ordinary folks like them weren't about to get involved. As for whatever damage the train sustained, the railway company could sort out compensation with Fairy Tail after the fact.
About ten minutes later, Gray left Kageyama behind, thoroughly beaten and swollen beyond recognition, and made his way over to Natsu and Happy, who'd relocated to a different seat. He leaned against the backrest with a satisfied smile.
"Turns out we got lucky. The rest of Iron Forest's people are actually gathering at our destination, Oshibana Town. Once this guy leads us there, we can wipe out the whole lot of them in one go."
"Ugghhhh..."
Already miserable from motion sickness, Natsu felt even worse after getting knocked around, unable to string together a complete sentence. All he could manage was a shaky thumbs up in Gray's direction, a rare bit of praise for his rival.
Happy, equally delighted, wagged his tail and gave Gray a playful salute.
"Captain Gray, we're following your orders now!"
"Waaah, traitor!!" Natsu groaned indignantly, but there was nothing he could do to stop Happy's shameless defection.
"Hah, Happy, at least you've got good taste." Gray laughed smugly and sat down beside him, arms crossed, shooting a mocking look at Natsu, who lay slumped and useless in his seat.
As the two of them chatted and laughed, neither noticed Kageyama, discarded carelessly on the floor, cracking open his swollen, nearly unrecognizable eyes. Vision blurry as it was, his gaze still burned with hatred, fixed unwaveringly in their direction. Fingers brushing quietly against Lullaby hidden against his chest, Kageyama silently swore that once he reached his guild master, he'd make sure both of them, and the cat too, wished they'd never been born.
Whoosh!
A faint sound cut through the sky above the outskirts of Clover Town. In front of a lone standalone villa, a tall figure dressed casually in a white shirt and blue jeans touched down lightly by the front door.
Kabe smoothed out his clothes and strolled inside without hesitation. Immediately, the sound of lively chatter, laughter, and the occasional shout of frustration reached his ears. This was where the regional council met every year, the annual gathering where guild masters from across the region came together to discuss major developments in the magic world, hash out certain rules, and settle disputes between guilds. In practice, though, the meeting mostly served as an excuse to bring together old friends who rarely got to see one another, a laid back venue for swapping stories and reminiscing about the old days.
Kabe had tagged along with Makarov to a few of these before, but after getting dragged around every single time as the old man's favorite bragging trophy, he'd sworn off attending altogether. Not that it mattered much either way, since Makarov remained the star of the show among the guild masters with or without him there.
The moment he stepped inside, Kabe spotted the diminutive Makarov standing right on top of a round table, mug of what looked like some potent liquor in hand, holding court for the crowd gathered around him about something or other. He'd planned to quietly slip over and listen in on whatever the old man was bragging about this time.
Unfortunately, his face was simply too recognizable in the current magic world these days. He hadn't even taken a single step before a guild master from some other guild spotted him and let out a shocked shout.
"...Ka, Kabe! The strongest man in Ishgar is here!"
That single outburst instantly yanked every pair of eyes in the room straight toward him. Meeting the wave of shock, excitement, and outright reverence aimed his way, Kabe had no choice but to force out a smile and wave a greeting.
"Morning, everyone. Hope I'm not intruding by showing up unannounced."
"It, it's really him! This is the first time I've seen him up close." A middle aged man, apparently newly appointed to his guild's leadership, swallowed hard, struggling to contain his excitement, sounding thoroughly disbelieving.
The rest of the room responded to his arrival with even more overwhelming enthusiasm, practically the entire crowd surging toward him in an instant, everyone talking over one another, either desperate for a word with him or scrambling to shake his hand.
The regional council meeting had, in the space of a few seconds, turned into something closer to a chaotic fan meet and greet.