A New Potion

Riyao stopped at a door at the end of the corridor and pushed it open hard. With a piercing screech of hinges, a musty smell from the long-unventilated room hit them in the face, mixed with dust.

"Cough, cough..." Gray coughed several times as the dust caught in his throat, waving a hand to clear the air in front of him.

"This is your room." Riyao leaned against the doorframe and pointed inside. "You're responsible for cleaning it. If you damage guild property, you pay for it. As for meals, you can eat at the guild."

Gray walked slowly into the room and over to the simple wooden bed, reaching out to touch the rough sheet.

He turned and looked at Riyao, who was standing in the doorway, and Cana, who was peeking inside.

Riyao was always mocking him, but there was no malice in his eyes.

Cana was always laughing at him, but she had accompanied him all the way here.

In this guild full of all sorts of weirdos, he seemed to have found a strange sense of belonging.

"Thank you," Gray said quietly, his voice barely audible.

"Huh? What did you say? Speak up, I couldn't hear you!" Riyao deliberately cupped a hand to his ear, making an exaggerated show of listening.

"I said, stop blocking my doorway!" Gray instantly dropped the act, snatched a rag off the table, and threw it at Riyao.

Riyao easily tilted his head to dodge the rag, then turned and walked away laughing.

"All right, all right, you get settled in, bare-assed brat. Remember to come to the guild hall tonight. As a newcomer, you've got a 'warm welcome' waiting for you from everyone!"

Cana waved at Gray too. "Bye-bye, Gray! Remember to find your pants first!"

Riyao ruffled Cana's hair and said, "Don't copy him, or Gildarts will beat us all up when he gets back."

Cana broke free of his clutches, made a face, and ran off.

The guild hall was brightly lit that night. As soon as Gray appeared, Makarov shouted, "You lot! Let's get this party started!"

Grinning, Riyao ushered Gray inside and brought him to the children's table, where Cana and Levy were sitting.

Strangely enough, Levy hadn't joined the guild yet, but she came by every day to read its books for free. She had just finished reading and was about to leave when Riyao persuaded her to stay and celebrate with them.

"This is Levy McGarden. She won't join the guild, but she comes to read our books for free every day. Isn't she awful?"

"Brother Riyao, I will join!" Levy retorted, blushing.

"Oh? How about joining now, then? We can celebrate both at the same party."

"Old man, Levy's joining the guild!"

Levy reached out to stop him, but Makarov laughed. "Hahaha, wonderful! Two happy occasions in one day!" The mood in the guild rose to new heights.

"Oh! Let's get wild!"

"Bring out the good food! And the booze too!"

"All right!! Now!! Let's raise a toast!!! Everybody, let's party! Drink all night!!"

"Bastard, why are you stealing my meat?!"

"Bullshit, that's my meat."

Everyone ate and drank, roughhousing and bickering.

Riyao narrowed his eyes and chuckled. Cana and Levy shuddered when they saw it, while Gray stood with one foot on a chair, wolfing down meat.

Early the next morning, the sky over Magnolia Town had only just begun to pale, and a thin morning mist draped the silent streets like gauze.

Riyao got up early and tiptoed into the guild hall with an unidentified potion in hand. Several drunks lay on the floor.

Rubbing his hands together, he approached them one step at a time.

Riyao crouched down, his movements practiced and merciless. He pinched Macao's jaw with his left hand and poured the viscous liquid into his mouth without hesitation.

Then he did the same to Wakaba, Nab, and several other guild members who were sleeping like logs.

After dosing each of them, he quickly put away the empty test tube and slipped toward the door to the backyard, as lightly as a cat.

"This time, I made the sobering potion strawberry-flavored. Ten, nine, eight, seven... one."

Screams rang out from the guild hall.

"Ah, what is that taste? Blegh~" Macao shot up from the floor, his eyes bulging and bloodshot.

"It had to be that little brat Riyao! Blegh~"

Wakaba rolled wildly on the floor, snot and tears streaming uncontrollably down his face and mixing with the pink foam spilling from his mouth, leaving his face a complete mess.

"Get rid of my tongue, quick, blegh~"

Nab knelt on the floor, frantically clawing at the inside of his mouth with both hands, trying to scrape away the taste that clung to him like a festering sore.

"Why does it taste kind of good? No, it's disgusting. No, it's delicious. Blegh~"

(×﹏×)

Ignoring the commotion in the guild hall, Riyao looked at Cana in the backyard and gave her a gentle smile.

Cana saw it clearly and trembled.

"B-Brother Riyao..."

Cana's voice was thick with tears. Without realizing it, she edged toward the end of the bench, trying to put some distance between herself and the smiling devil.

"You're... not going to use that potion on me, are you? You wouldn't, right? You definitely wouldn't, would you? I didn't drink any alcohol last night! I swear I only drank juice!"

"How about I make you a banana-flavored one next time?"

Just then, the door to the backyard opened again, and Gray walked out yawning, wearing nothing but a pair of white boxer briefs.

"Shut up already... It's so early. Are they slaughtering pigs in the hall? It stinks..."

Gray rubbed his eyes as he complained, completely unaware of the puddle of pink slime on the threshold at his feet, which Wakaba had spat out earlier.

Splat~

Gray stepped on the slime. His foot slipped, and he instantly lost his balance and pitched forward.

"Waaah!"

Riyao reacted quickly, reaching out to grab Gray's arm and pull him upright.

Still shaken, Gray found his footing and was about to thank him when he saw that another test tube had somehow appeared in Riyao's other hand.

"Good morning, Gray."

The smile on Riyao's face grew even brighter as he held the test tube up to Gray's mouth, his tone full of enticement.

"You look listless. Want a sip of my newly developed 'energizing banana soup'? I guarantee you won't feel sleepy for the rest of the day after drinking it."

Gray stared at the yellow liquid writhing as if it were alive, then caught the strong smell of vomit mixed with strawberry flavoring wafting out of the hall. His pupils instantly shrank to pinpricks.

His beastlike instincts blared a frantic warning. He wrenched free of Riyao's hand and stumbled back three or four steps, his back slamming hard against the backyard's brick wall.

"Y-you stay away from me! You perverted poison maker!"

Gray pointed at Riyao, his voice rising to a different pitch with sheer terror.

Watching Gray flee for his life and Cana beside him, who was already so frightened her soul was nearly leaving her body, Riyao shrugged helplessly.

Facing the rising sun, he stretched at length. On this new day, the Fairy Tail guild was as lively and noisy as ever.