Who Are You? (Closed, Fairy Tail Only)

A cool wind blew through the streets of Magnolia Town, rustling the leaves on the trees, and the green blades of grass jutting up from the ground like hair on a massive scalp. The unnaturally long winter had finally come to a close, after so many months, and the world was turning green again. The sky was blue, with massive clouds as white as sheep's wool floating overhead. The weather was cool, instead of frigid. Spring was finally here in earnest, and it'd be a lie to say that it didn't feel great.

Shina looked up from her journal, pen cap sticking out between her lips as if it were a cigarette. She was sitting crosslegged underneath a large willow tree, her back against its thick trunk. The tree's leaves swayed as the wind teased them lovingly, beams of sunlight piercing the thick green curtain. Shina had picked this particular spot to park herself after a couple hours of aimless riding on her motorcycle. It was one of the few places in town that was solitary, yet outdoors. Being around the locals here was making her more and more nervous with each passing day. As usual, she was dressed in her biker leathers, with her gloves covering her hands. Since it was such a nice day, her jacket was tied to her waist by the sleeves, leaving her forest camo tank top exposed. Her helmet sat next to her, tucked between two of the tree's roots. Parked nearby, underneath the canopy, was her bike. It leaned on its kickstand, the engine dead, stars of light dotting its tornado red chassis.

Shina sighed and stared back down at her journal. Both pages that it opened up on were filled with scratchy, yet neat handwriting. She turned back a couple pages, then a couple more, and kept turning until she reached the beginning of the entry. She hadn't even realized that she had been writing for so long. Just now becoming aware of the writer's cramp, she flexed her hand to alleviate some of the tension, then began reading the entry she had just finished.

"I've been in Magnolia for a while now. A month, at least. At first, it was really nice. The town's beautiful, in its own novel way. And the people are nice. Some are a bit more invasive than I'd like, but I've come to learn that people are just naturally curious about newcomers. But now, I'm starting to feel apprehensive about this place. Ever since I met that Roejaster guy, I've been noticing that people are always staring at me. And I see something almost like recognition in their eyes. And not the kind of 'Didn't we meet the other day?' recognition you normally get. They look at me as if they've seen a ghost. And I've heard one or two whisper to themselves a name. 'Karen.' As if they can't believe their own eyes.

I'm beginning to think that Magnolia Town has a very strong, intimate connection to my past. I've never been to this place until now, and yet people are looking at me as if I'm some long-gone friend returned from the dead. Really, the only person who hasn't reacted to me like that is Roejaster. He just assumed I was a random newcomer. He was on the mark. But... was he really? Could it be possible that I'm this... 'Karen' person? I thought I wouldn't care if something like this came up. But a part of me wants to know, if only to understand why people look at me like they have been when I pass by. They always seem so sad when they do..."

Shina stopped when she felt a migraine coming on. Her journal and pen sliding out of her lap, she grasped the sides of her head as the pain began to split her skull open. It felt like her brain had suddenly become two sizes too big for the inside of her skull, her frontal lobes pressing against the bone and causing it to crack from the pressure. She couldn't think. Her eyes shut tight and she had to grit her teeth to keep herself from screaming in pain. She fell over on her side, curling up into the fetal position as the agony steadily intensified. Brief snatches of imagery flashed through her mind too quickly for her to make any real sense out of it. Glass tubes in a dark room, containing girls that looked just like her. The girls waking up and stepping out of the tubes, only to burst into flames. Screaming.

Suddenly, an overwhelming sadness came crashing down on her like a wave, drowning out the migraine somewhat. The pain remained, but it was in the background now. Without knowing why, Shina began to sob there, in the shade of the willow tree.

Tatsuma strolled through the streets of magnolia town, whistling and heading for his typical excursion out into the forest to see his wolf pack. It had been a while, and he had been busy with Fairy Tail and various job requests so he hadn't been taking care of things like he should have been, though it was definitely not challenging enough (as judged by the fact he hadn't almost gotten killed as of late) and the master wouldn't let him take higher ranked missions. As a result he was frequently bored with how things turned out. The exceptions to date had been his sparring match, and the arena battle. Still, he wasn't really much one to complain, especially lately about the state of things. He had found community and family that he hadn't been able to find, at least not from his own species, since Rhidran had left him.

It was because of this sense of community and family that led him to conclude that he should console a girl who was crying by a tree. His initial reaction was that she was wearing leather pants, and she had a motorcycle, which he had recently learned was an indicator that someone was tough, but the fact that she was crying over rode all of that. It was second nature to him at this point to show concern and care for someone who was upset. Naturally this caused him to think about how much he had changed. Rhidran had always taught him that showing concern for someone, or showing emotion in general was a good was to get yourself taken advantage of. She had quite literally beaten the lessons into him and taught him how to survive and be strong and strength had no place for love or concern. It wasn't until the mountains that he had learned the power of solidarity and true independence, not until the forest that he learned teamwork, strength in numbers, or the power of protecting something, and it wasn't until joining Fairy Tail that he had learned the true nature of family and belonging.

The thoughts of his past and the changes were superseded by a sudden sob from the girl, and he stepped closer to her, making pace in time to stand by her. Without asking he sat down, not sure what to say at first, but remaining professional for the time being. He looked at her briefly, wondering what was making her cry before he opened his mouth, forgoing his usual sarcastic personality.
"If you don't mind some company, I would be happy to listen to whatever is going on with you." He said in earnest, hoping he could be of some sort of assistance, but not getting his hopes up to high about her sharing whatever was on her mind.

When the sound of someone else's voice met her ears, Shina immediately sat upward, her hand instinctively wrapping around her left forearm to hide the serial number branded there. Her gloves creaked as her fingers coiled around the appendage. Choking back the sobs, the amnesiac opened her eyes, red and stinging, and looked at the person speaking to her. He had spiky blonde hair, violet eyes, and was dressed in a loose-fitting black jacket and wide pants which she had never seen before. He seemed young. Maybe even younger than she was. Or thought she was. Shina sniffed. "It's just a headache... A real bad headache..." She informed the young man in her usual quiet voice, quickly rising to her feet and gathering up her journal and pen. She'd rather that a complete stranger not be privy to her thoughts, friendly as he may seem.

Pressing the black notebook up against her chest, Shina shuffled nervously over to her motorcycle, the grass rustling underneath her boot heels. Once she was standing next to the vehicle, she opened up one of the saddlebags that sat on the end of the seat and stashed her journal and pen inside. Her hands again free, Shina resumed covering up the tattoo on her forearm, and then turned to face the blonde boy who had approached her. "I... Uh... Thank you for your concern, though. I-I don't mean to seem unappreciative or anything. I just... Um... I don't have much experience talking with people." She muttered, biting down on her lower lip and turning away.

If there were times when Shina wished she remembered anything about her past, it was situations like these. Surely before the accident she actually had some working knowledge of how to interact with others, as well as the confidence to actually do so. God, she hated having to go through this kind of thing. Swallowing, as if to remove the lump in her throat, Shina spoke up again. "My name is Shina. And yours would be...?" As she said this, the nervous amnesiac glanced over her shoulder at the boy, hoping her shyness wasn't offending him in some way.

Tatsuma looked at the girl quizzically at first. She was crying because of a headache? Did that even happen? Regardless he didn't question her. If it was a headache that was actually that bad he didn't want to risk saying something about it. The next thing she did was grab some kind of notebook and a pen. He wondered what it was, but the fact that she seemed to be actively keeping it from him made him think it would be best not to ask about that either. That made him start to think that she either had a lot to hide, but he had his own secrets and he wouldn't want anyone asking him about them either if they had caught onto any of it.

He watched her all the way until she walked to her vehicle? He could only assume that's what it was since he still wasn't quite sure what people were talking about with that stuff yet, but it had wheels like he had heard about. Anyway she put the book and pen in one of the bags on it and that sealed it, she didn't want any questions about that most definitely.

Finally, when she thanked him (a gesture that he didn't understand) and explained her trouble with taking to people, and asked him what his name was, he tried to smooth out the wrinkles.
"My name is Tatsuma, Tatsuma Shinju to the best of my knowledge. My mom said that it was already my name when she got me. It's okay though, I have trouble talking with people too usually, but I figured out a few tricks to make it easier. " He replied with a wide grin. He was actually proud about some of the things he had learned since he started coming to towns and joined Fairy Tail.
"I've never seen you around here before. Are you new in town or something?" He asked, breaking away from his usual nature.

"Tatsuma Shinju..." Shina repeated to herself, her voice a near-soundless whisper. He mentioned his mother had "gotten" him. Did that mean she wasn't his real mother...? Honestly, Shina wasn't all that savvy in the terminology related to parentage and the rearing of children. In fact, she wasn't even completely certain how children came into being in the first place. So she obviously wasn't in any position to be determining who Tatsuma's real parents were, now was she?

Sighing, the amnesiac reached for the saddlebag on the other side of her bike and opened it, reaching in and pulling out an aluminum flask. In doing so, she left the brand on her arm uncovered. Liquid sloshing around inside, Shina unscrewed the cap and brought the flask to her lips, tilting her head back and gulping down some of its contents. Given the water that dribbled down her cheeks from her mouth, said contents were non-alcoholic, at the very least.

When Tatsuma asked her if she was new in town, Shina scratched her head in confusion. "Uh... For all intents and purposes, I guess. But for all I know I... I could've been born here, I guess." She replied, smiling sheepishly. "I don't really remember anything before a few months ago." She then admitted, dropping the flask back into her saddlebag and sitting down sidesaddle on the seat of the motorcycle. Staring down at her feet, hands clasped together in her lap, Shina mulled over whether she should tell Tatsuma about the strange interactions she's been having with the locals. She didn't see any particular harm in it, but at the same time, it would be a complete one-eighty on her previous, defensive behavior.

Eventually, Shina decided against it, and tried to change the topic, if only somewhat. "So... uh... Are you a mage?" She asked Tatsuma, quiet as ever. She honestly didn't care if he was or wasn't. She just wanted to move the topic of conversation away from herself. She twiddled her thumbs, the leather of her gloves creaking with the movement, as she awaited the stranger's response.

The way she spoke made him think she was hiding something... or something... at least until she said that she didn't remember anything before a few months ago. That actually did explain a lot and erase his suspicions. At least she was starting to open up, or seemed like she was. He was too new at this cold reading thing to determine things for sure. Rhidran had made sure he was well versed in political workings and thought accordingly, but the way she seemed to make it out like everyone was an enemy and had their own agenda was not doing anyone any favors in the world of humans. If he had this kind of information back when they used to debate he might not have lost every single one.


When she asked him if he was a mage he decided to answer truthfully.
"I'm a Fairy Tail mage. Not really super well known yet, but just keep an ear out, one day everyone will hear of me! And dragons will finally be able to roam free again." He said with a smile, not catching on to the decisive conversational move she used to change the subject. He was all too happy to talk about his mother, even if he didn't mention her name very freely with strangers. His anger would come back with a vengeance if he didn't keep his goals in mind from time to time. It was then he noticed the brand on her arm, not missing a beat as it was revealed. He filed it away and decided to ask her about it, though maybe at a later date.
"What about you? Are you a mage too?" He asked, truly curious.

When Tatsuma mentioned dragons, Shina perked her head up. The word was unfamiliar, and yet she felt like it was something she was supposed to know the meaning of. And she could vaguely picture something in her mind that seemed to be associated with the term, even if what she imagined amounted to nothing more than a shadowy blotch. The amnesiac scratched the back of her head as she tried to coax a clearer image of what a "dragon" was out of her mind. But no matter how hard she tried, her imagination couldn't conjure anything more concrete. She'd have to ask Tatsuma about it.

Shina's thoughts of dragons were quickly dismissed when Tatsuma turned her question back onto her. She should've expected that, in all honesty. It'd be foolish to believe that she could pry into the affairs of others like that without them doing the same in kind. Sighing, Shina held up her hand for Tatsuma to see, her eyes focused intently on it. After a couple seconds, smoke began to rise up from the glove covering that hand, and before long, flames rose up from the gaps between the red metal plates of the glove. She then closed her hand into a fist, and like that, the fires were gone in a final puff of noxious smoke. "Is that a sufficient answer?" she asked, her voice quiet, but not condescending. She simply preferred not using words when she could get away with it.

Once the demonstration was out of the way, Shina's stomach let out an unpleasant grumbling, causing her to clutch her stomach. Figuring it was a sign that she was hungry, she opened up the saddle bags on her bike once again and began rooting around. After a couple minutes, she produced a bright red apple, as well as the flask from earlier. Bringing the apple close to her mouth, Shina was about to bite into the delicious fruit when she wondered if maybe Tatsuma was feeling a little peckish as well. Looking at him with her child-like brown eyes, she held up the apple. "Want one? I have extras."

Tatsu watched as the girl, Shina, conjured smoke from her glove. He wasn't exactly sure if it was smoke magic or fire magic until flames started to rise from the gloves. It seemed like there were a number of fire mages, though he wasn't particularly impressed with most of the ones he had seen so far... most of them. Still, Tatsu was watching as she went to her bike and began looking for something, only later did he realize that it was an apple, after she had found it and pulled it out, getting ready to take a bite from it... Truth be told he was starting to get a little bit hungry and it reminded him of that, but she offered him one so of course he had to accept, it was the only right thing to do wasn't it?
" Thank you I would love an apple. I was actually just thinking about how hungry I was." He said, absent mindedly scratching the back of his head as he reached for the apple.

He was a fan of the red fruit, though he preferred the green ones because they were a little more tart which had kind of an electric quality to it, almost like copper did. Still he ate the one he was given because an apple was an apple and an apple from a new possible friend was a friendly apple.
"Soooo what do you have planned? It's a good day to just relax but surely you have somewhere to go or something to do." He asked, again truly curious.

Shina smiled somewhat awkwardly when Tatsuma accepted the apple she had offered and thanked her for it. She wasn't exactly used to being thanked for what she felt was common courtesy. But she wouldn't deny that it felt nice. Reaching back into the saddlebag, the young girl pulled out another apple and took a large bite, munching away happily. The sweetness of the fruit made her taste buds sing, her smile growing. She looked more like a child than a seemingly-eighteen year old girl as she sat on that bike, kicking her legs at the air absentmindedly, occasionally biting into her apple and chasing it down with water from her flask.

When Tatsuma asked her if she had anything planned, Shina shook her head. "I generally don't plan my days. I find it better to just go with the flow. Provides more opportunities to find something cool or interesting I've never seen before, meet new people." She said to him earnestly, taking another swig from her flask. "Though before you came along, I was probably just gonna keep writing in my journal, maybe tune up my bike a bit." With that said, Shina finished off her apple and tossed the core onto the ground, and then hopped off her bike and stretched her arms upwards whilst rocking on the balls of her feet. "Why? Did you have anything particular in mind?"

Tatsuma thought about Shina's question, but eventually shook his head.
" I don't really do anything besides work and try to gather information about dragons which is practically non existent in anything but myths and legends with no discernible truths to them." He explained as he tried not to give out too much information. Kotone had told him that being a dragon slayer was supposed to be a secret.

It was nice having a conversation like this with a random person, and he took a bite from the apple she had given him. Given the fact that she had been willing to share that much with him, he was hoping that she might be a little more open so he decided to take it one step at a time, starting with the tattoo on her arm.
"So, you mentioned writing in your journal. What do you write about exactly?" He asked, deciding he would get a little bit nosy instead of minding personal boundaries like he tended to do... about half the time. He was well aware of what a journal was and he had one of his own, but the reason no one knew about it was that he just didn't carry it around with him or talk about it at all... to anyone... for any reason... ever. There was simply too much in there that so many would want to get their hands on if they could. Besides that, it wasn't his journal that was in question here.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want." He added.

There he went, mentioning the dragons again. Shina cocked her head to one side, confused as to what exactly he was even talking about at this point. She didn't know what a dragon was, and his constantly bringing them up in such an off-handed manner was beginning to frustrate her. It almost felt like he was unintentionally rubbing her lack of knowledge in her face. It was irrational to assume such things, though. Tatsuma probably didn't mean anything by it. But Shina found it difficult to not be miffed off slightly by the whole thing. Well, whatever dragons were, they were obviously important enough to warrant myths based around them, as Tatsuma stated that was pretty much all the information he could find.

"I can see how that would be a problem. I don't really know what dragons are, but I imagine accurate information on such creatures would be closely guarded, either by being obfuscated in allegory and myth, or by being outright locked away." Shina observed in her usual quiet voice, wrapping her hand around the forearm bearing the serial number again. "I would think that your best bet to find anything worth your time would be the Magic Council. They hoard information like that, I think. But I doubt they'd part with it willingly." With that said, she shrugged her shoulders and started pacing around, more due to a lack of anything better to do than anything else.

Then Tatsuma asked her about what she wrote in her journal. Shina perked her head up and looked at him, then bit down on her lip nervously and averted her gaze. "I... Uh... I don't write don't anything that's all that special. Just... Just summaries of what happens every day." she answered sheepishly, kicking at the grass beneath her feet. "I mean, sometimes I write some stuff that's more philosophical, but... i-i-it really isn't all that interesting..."

Tatsuma listened to Shina. Of course! He hadn't even thought about storming the libraries of the magic council. He already knew they weren't just going to let him in... but then again he didn't have to. Surely if he could make a contact in there someone would help him out with that. In any event he wasn't going to do that right now, though when she covered her tattoo he made note of it being the second time she had done it, and he resolved to ask about it if she managed to unconsciously flashed it again since by the time he made a decision about it the time had passed to do it tactfully. So when she started answering his question about her journal he decided it best to continue that discussion as he ate more of the apple she had given him.
"But your everyday is still new to me. If you're willing you could read some of it to me, that way I'm not handling your private book and you can select what you want me to hear." He suggested, pushing just a bit. He was genuinely curious, and the more she tried to evade, the more curious he got about exactly what it was she didn't want to talk about.

Upon further thought she was kind of a mystery. There was too much about her that he didn't know and that fact made him a little more interested. If there was one thing Tatsuma appreciated about people it was their ability to keep him interested in them with all their little quirks and actions.

Shina's eyes went wide when Tatsuma asked her to read some of her journal entries to him. "I... Uh..." she stuttered, not entirely sure what the appropriate response to his suggestion was. Her face turned a rosy red from a mix of shyness and embarrassment, and she turned her back to the blonde boy to avoid eye contact. She wished there was a rock nearby that she could crawl under. She wasn't cut out for this "socializing" thing. Give her a toolbox and a broken machine, she'll be able to fix it in a heartbeat. Give her a pen and some paper, she'll write down her thoughts. But talking to people? That seemed to be beyond the poor girl's abilities.

"Um..." But she wasn't really going to be talking, was she? It was just reading. How hard could that possibly be? Letting out a quiet sigh, Shina nodded in compliance and limped over to her bike. Reaching into the saddlebags, she produced her black, leather-bound notebook, sat down in the grass, and cracked it open. "Uh, like I said, none of this is really all that interesting. I'm not that great of a writer..." she told Tatsuma with an apologetic shrug, flipping through the pages to find an entry that wouldn't bore the guy to tears. After a couple seconds, she stopped on a page and mumbled to herself as she dragged her finger across the paper. "Okay. This entry shouldn't be a snoozefest. Wrote it about a week ago..." Shina commented aloud, bringing her hand to her mouth and clearing her throat before beginning to read.

"Not much happened today. Just took a ride around town to get a lay of the land. The streets were pretty empty, but I assume that has something to do with the fact that today was a Sunday. I think it's some kind of religious thing. Weather was nice, though. All in all it was a good day to cruise around." Shina paused as her eyes scanned the next couple of sentences, her lips forming into a frown. Then she continued. "I had another one of those headaches when I got back to the inn. The worst one so far. Felt like someone had cracked my skull open with a sledgehammer. It was accompanied by... well, I guess they were memories. Makes about as much sense as anything else that I've been going through since I woke up. I saw... I saw a laboratory. Scientists. Mages. They may as well have been faceless. There were... glass chambers, with people inside them. Girls. They looked like me."

Shina stopped again, trying her best not to cry. Her brow was furrowed, and her bottom lip quivered slightly as she fought back the sobs. Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. "I don't know what any of it means. I don't even know if these are actually memories. ...Am I even human...?" With that last sentence, the young girl stopped reading and closed the notebook.

Tatsuma tried not to look uncomfortable. It was a natural response to her own discomfort and emotion and while he kept it off his face he definitely felt it.
"Well you look pretty human to me. and if you are having memories have you thought about trying to investigate them? I mean it seems like that would be the thing to do right?" He said, mostly at a loss for anything else to suggest. She could go about it the same way he had been looking for dragons, but there was no guarantee that it would turn out any better than what he had been doing, but still he figured he could possibly help at least in that regard.
"If you want I could help you search for it like I've been searching for-" He cut himself off, knowing how she had reacted to it earlier."Well you know. Anyway it might have something to do with that tattoo on your arm. Maybe some sort of archivist at the magic council could have your answer. It seems like if you are having memories then someone else should have knowledge of them too since you're seeing other people in them." He added, unsure as to where one would even begin to look for such people. Nevertheless he had offered what he could because it was the right thing to do, even if it only led to encourage her. Perhaps she had done her own research thus far and had something else she could say, but the only way to know was to ask, thus Tatsu had his next question to ask once she had answered him.

Shina listened to Tatsuma without saying a word. Her face was blank of expression, her body still. To say that she hadn't considered investigating these supposed flashbacks further would be a bold-faced lie. As curious as she tended to be, of course Shina had the urge to follow up on these visions which she assumed were her memories. She had to force herself not to care, most days. And sometimes she couldn't manage it. But she wanted to distance herself from her past, not rediscover it. It was better that the memories remained lost, in her opinion.

A strong, cool wind blew past them, rustling the leaves and the grass as it wandered by. A heavy silence fell between the two when Tatsuma finished talking. "Look, Tatsu... I understand what you're trying to do. And in all honesty, you're right. If I wanted to learn more about all this and maybe figure out exactly what is going on with me, I have a lot of leads to look into. And there's always the Council." Shina said in her usual monotone, standing up and stretching her arms. She turned to face her bike and stashed her journal in her bags, then returned her attentions to Tatsuma.

"But I'm really not interested in my past. If I had meant anything to... well, anyone back then, I figure they would have at least tried to claim my body if they had thought I was dead." She exhaled slowly, running a gloved hand along the top of her head. "My past is dead. Whoever I used to be is dead. And they should stay dead. The only reason I even know I had a life before I woke up a month ago are these... flashbacks, I guess you can call them. And this." She held up the arm that bore the "KD-0079" brand. "They're just chains. Constant reminders of something that I could never... no, should never be able to retrieve." Shina let her arm fall to her side again and turned her back to the blonde boy, wrapping her fingers around her branded forearm.

"It's better for me, and anyone I might've known before, if I just left the past alone."

Tatsuma looked at Abigail questioningly. She suddenly had a lot more to say and while he was okay with that, it seemed to all circle back around to "nope". Still he was inclined to disagree. If she was better off she wouldn't be having flashbacks. It was hard to think that though because his own speech prior to hers was just as long so it was fair for her to have her piece.
"You know if you're having memories return then some part of you wants them back. Given enough time you'll probably regain enough of them to possibly lament the fact you didn't go searching for them sooner. Who knows though, maybe one day I'll have my own memories that I'll have to contend with and wish away." He said as he looked up at the sky. He had already been there for too long and was going to end up being unable to do a lot that day if he didn't leave now.

"It's been nice meeting you Abigail. I hope you find some sort of peace or at least some sort of relief from the headaches. I've gotta head out, but if you need to find me I'm in Fairy Tail so you can probably get ahold of me there." He said with a wave as he turned to leave. She had been nice, but he was still a bit concerned about her.


[Exit Tatsu]