Kazu held up a fourth, final finger.
"And then there's your most broken potential branch: Memory Devour."
Mest visibly flinched. "Devour?"
"You experience someone's memories. Not steal, not hollow them out—you sync with them. Their knowledge becomes usable to you. You get their perspective, their training, their magic insights."
Mest stared at him, stunned. "…That sounds illegal." 'With this, won't I be able to learn all types of magic?...' His mind blanked.
"It probably is," Kazu admitted. "And it's definitely not something you use on friends unless they give explicit permission."
Mest rubbed the back of his head. "Or enemies?"
"They need to be unconscious and restrained. And the process takes time. So not in active combat. But outside of battle? It's the best way to expand your magic theory base fast."
Mest's eyes turned thoughtful. He muttered, "Experience their lives… understand their instincts… learn their spells…"
"And before you run away with the idea," Kazu warned, "it has risks. You might pick up emotional residue. Or take in habits that aren't yours. Keep your own identity clear. Also, creating this spell would be pretty difficult."
Mest's gaze sharpened. "I understand."
"Good."
Kazu paused, letting the information settle. Leaves rustled overhead. A bird hopped across a branch, shaking loose some dust. Mest finally exhaled, long and controlled.
"That's… a lot more than I expected." Mest laughed quietly, embarrassed. "When you said we should talk, I thought you wanted to warn me about something I messed up."
"You didn't mess up. How are you finding the guild so far?"
"Everyone's loud. And friendly. And loud." Mest replied after a few seconds.
"That's Fairy Tail."
"I noticed."
Mest paused for a moment before asking with an uncertain expression. "Why are you helping me? Seeing how detailed you are with the spells and their drawbacks, I really think you can help me create those spells."
Kazu smirked. "Don't thank me. I'm investing in a future ally. You get strong, the guild benefits. Simple."
Mest nodded, straightening unconsciously. "What about teleportation? You mentioned development there, too."
"Right." Kazu gestured for him to stand, and Mest did, brushing leaves from his cloak. "Teleportation magic is dangerous because it has a high risk of messing up. Main thing you could continue with is trying to teleport to places you have been to before or through co-ordinates, safely."
Mest nodded. He had already been training for that.
"And then," Kazu continued, "there's Spatial Awareness. Think of it as sensing volume. Anything that occupies space creates a disturbance in the spatial field. Not magically—physically. Their presence bends the field. If you tune your senses, you can 'feel' that."
Mest's breath caught. "A detection field…"
"Exactly. Wide-range awareness. Great for ambushes, rescues, and not teleporting into a living creature, which would be messy for both of you."
Mest shuts his eyes tightly. "Okay, nope, not thinking about that."
"Good instinct."
Silence lingered a moment. The forest felt wider now that the conversation had weight.
"You're going to train these branches in stages. Start with Memory Communication—low risk, high control. After that, Memory Disruption. Devour comes last. Memory Communication would be the toughest because you need to change the nature of your magic to overcome others knowing your magic aspect. With me here, it should be smooth."
Mest straightened like he was being given a military assignment. "Understood."
"And one more thing," Kazu added. "When you get stronger, you're going to have to deal with people who don't trust memory magic. It scares them."
"…I know."
"Then give them reasons not to fear you. Be transparent, be careful, and don't erase someone's memory because they annoyed you."
Mest coughed. "I haven't done that even once."
Kazu raised an eyebrow.
"…Not intentionally," Mest corrected quickly.
Kazu smirked. "Good enough."
He walked past Mest, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go back before someone thinks a monster ate us."
'He's going to be fun to train.'
***
x780 September
The guild doors slammed open hard enough that half the hall looked up. Bisca stood there — travel-worn, hat slightly crooked, clutching her bag like she wasn't sure if she was welcome or about to get arrested.
Cana leaned toward Gray. "Newbie or outlaw?"
Gray shrugged. "Could be both. This guild has a type."
Kazu walked over before Cana said something worse. "You're Bisca, right?"
She nodded, a nervous smile flickering. "Yeah. I talked to Master earlier. He… told me to come in and introduce myself."
Cana waved lazily from her seat. "Hey! I remember you. Weren't you that 'Mulan Rouge' girl from the west?"
Bisca groaned on reflex. "Please don't say it so loud."
Too late. A few heads turned.
Kazu gestured toward an empty seat. She followed him, sitting stiffly, like she expected judgment from others.
"So," Gray said, leaning back. "Master said Erza found you."
"That's one word for it," Bisca muttered.
"Wanna talk about it?" Cana asked with an all-too-innocent grin.
Bisca hesitated, then sighed. "Might as well. You'll hear it anyway."
She set her bag down and started talking.
"I came to Fiore with nothing. No family, no money. So I used what I had — my guns and my magic. Mostly small stuff. Intimidating bandits, scaring off drunks, taking a few wallets." She winced. "Okay, maybe more than a few. People called me Mulan Rouge. It worked. Nobody bothered me."
Gray raised a brow. "You also pretended to be in Fairy Tail."
"Yeah." She stared at the table. "The name scared trouble away. I know, I know. Stupid."
Cana whistled. "Lucky Erza didn't rip your spine out and use it as a broom."
Bisca paled. "Honestly? She might've tried."
She took a breath.
"I was lounging in this dessert shop I liked. Had a slice of cake, thought life was finally stable. Then this giant sword slammed through my table."
Gray snorted. Kazu didn't comment — it sounded exactly like Erza.
"I look up… and she's standing there. Red hair. Armor. The angriest face I've ever seen in my life. She yelled, 'How dare you stain the name of Fairy Tail?!' I panicked and — don't laugh — I stole her panties and bolted."
Cana burst out laughing. Gray nearly fell off his chair. Even Kazu's mouth twitched.
Bisca rubbed her face. "I got about two steps before she punched me through a wall. Straight into a pool hall. My ears rang for five minutes."
"Checks out," Gray said.
"I tried shooting back. Multiple rounds. She deflected every shot like I threw confetti at her. I thought she was going to kill me." Her voice softened. "I begged her to stop. Told her I was just trying to feed myself. Feed my pet mouse. I wasn't lying."
"She didn't kill you," Kazu said.
"She beat me up again, then stopped." Bisca let out a breath. "Then she said if I needed real work — work that didn't involve crime—I should join Fairy Tail."
Cana nodded. "Classic Erza. Terrifying, moral, and weirdly supportive."
"And when she walked away," Bisca added quietly, "I asked her name. She turned back and said, 'Erza Scarlet.' I thought… damn. That's someone worth following."
She looked around the guild then — the noise, the chaos, the occasional plate flying overhead. A tiny, tentative smile tugged at her mouth.
"So here I am. Figured she was right. I needed a place to belong."
"You picked the loudest one possible," Gray said.
"Congratulations," Cana added, raising her mug. "You've joined the only guild where being punched through a wall counts as a job interview."
Bisca finally laughed. "Feels like it."
Kazu leaned forward slightly. "If you need help—with guild rules, magic, or anything else — you can come to me. I'm the official advisor."
That surprised her. She blinked. "Wait… you're that Kazu? I saw you in Sorcerer Weekly. Youngest S-Class in Fiore."
Gray and Cana both groaned in unison. They had witnessed the same thing dozens of times since Kazu became famous.
Bisca blinked. "So… are you stronger than Erza?"
Kazu answered without hesitation. "Barely."
Cana snorted her drink. Gray coughed out a laugh. Bisca looked between them, confused.
"Barely?" Gray repeated. "He says it like there's a one-centimetre difference."
Cana nodded. "He's being modest. Or stupid. Hard to tell."
Kazu ignored them. Bisca didn't push further; she just smiled, relief settling in her shoulders.
"Thank you," she said. "Really."
"Welcome to Fairy Tail," Kazu said. "Try not to commit any more crimes."
"No promises," Cana muttered.
Kazu kicked her chair.
***
x780 October
Cana was waiting outside, leaning against a post with the lazy confidence of someone who'd skipped two missions this week and didn't feel guilty about it.
"So?" she asked. "You came to check my progress."
"That was the idea."
"Well." She pushed off the post, grinning. "I'm gonna show you something better."
Kazu raised a brow. "Have you finally progressed in your Fortune-Telling?"
"No. Just throw a magic bullet at me."
"Cana." Kazu threw her a disapproving look. At this short range, even the strongest barriers Cana could put up were useless.
"Do it. Trust me."
He sighed. "If you explode, I'm telling Gildarts this was your idea."
"Please. Dad already assumes half my injuries are my fault."
Kazu flicked a finger. A small compressed magic bullet shot through the air toward her.
A single card slid from her sleeve and hovered in front of her, turning sharply just as the bullet reached it.
Then the card dissolved — not physically, but into a shifting lattice of Ethernano patterns. Pale, geometric light bent around the card's surface, collapsing the bullet's structure from the inside out.
The projectile vanished soundlessly.
Kazu didn't move. Didn't breathe. He felt as if somebody had put cold water on him.
'She didn't… No. She can't possibly have—'
***
A/n:
HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS!
Just watched the last two movies + currently watching the latest season of Bunny Girl senpai.
The nostalgia hits so hard. This was one of my first series, which I watched in 2020, the first season, along with the movie.
At that time, I was new to anime, so I didn't read the novel. 5 years later, I had almost caught up.
Sakuta is so realistic. He is stoic/calm from a distance, but not emo like as in multiple instances, he had cried. His interactions with Mai are also so natural. There's so much transparency.
I think it's one of the romances done right. Both of them give mature vibes, unlike so many romcoms I have watched(mainly high school T_T).
Though it's kind of sad that I devoured 5 years' worth of content in a few hours.
But, some would argue that, unlike most of the shows, Bunny Girl Senpai series does drop a movie every one or two years, which is way better than having a hiatus for like 5 or 6 years.
Imagine waiting 6 years for the next season of anime, and what you get is a fucking slideshow xD.
(For those who didn't get it, I am talking about OPM S3).
Anyway, it was nice talking to you guys. My account has been unfortunately shadow-banned for a long time now, and people on Discord aren't active. (I myself ain't due to that).
Lemme know your thoughts on this or the chapter or anything.