He was genuinely taken aback. "How the hell did you nail it that accurately?"
"I'm literally a Fortune-Teller," she deadpanned. Then she crossed her arms. "So, am I right?"
Kazu exhaled. There was no point hiding it. "Yeah. My affinity is Instinct Magic." 'Fuck, I can't underestimate anybody in this world. If Cana can do it, then somebody else with future-seeing abilities could get this information, too.'
She waited without pressing, which meant she expected details. And he owed her that much.
"It does exactly what it sounds like," he said. "Enhances my instincts. Heightens them. Makes them sharper and faster than they should be." He tapped his temple. "If there's something I'm trying to learn—combat technique, spell structure, even something weird—I can instinctively grasp the correct way to perform it. Or at least, the most efficient way."
Cana blinked slowly, her eyes widening. He continued.
"It's not all-powerful. It doesn't tell me everything. But it helps me understand things faster than I normally could. Like…" He hesitated, choosing his wording carefully. "When I meet someone, I can get a sense of how they think. How they'll act. It's not perfect. People are unpredictable, and I can definitely get outsmarted. Laxus proved that during our second or third spar."
"Damn...Does it also help you read people?"
"Yes. To a degree. If I've seen a technique before or studied it, I can guess what someone's planning more accurately. Not mind-reading. Just… instinctive pattern recognition." He tapped his chest lightly. "Everything I do feels like it has a second layer. A gut-level intuition constantly running in the background."
Cana's eyes widened. "So that's why you learn stupidly fast."
"It's a big part of it, yeah. Not the whole thing." He folded his arms. "I still train. A lot. And I study magic more than I should. Instinct Magic gives me shortcuts, but shortcuts don't work if I don't have the base knowledge to build from."
She tilted her head. "Yeah, I mean, you do work hard too. That's a given."
Cana walked a few steps away, thinking. Then she spun back around. "Wait—how does this magic of yours interact with your spell-cancelling? The way you neutralise magic on the fly looks so...otherworldly?"
"It's both instinct and study," he said. "I've spent years analysing the principles behind different magic systems. When I see a spell coming, the instinctive part helps me identify the most efficient point to intercept or unravel it. But knowledge matters too. If I didn't understand magic theory, I'd be useless no matter how good my instincts were."
Cana stared at him with a helpless expression, card still in hand. "You're actually ridiculous."
"I know. You will make me blush at this rate."
Cana watched him for a moment, then pocketed the card. "By the way," she said, casually swinging her legs. "I'm surprised you're telling me this now."
"Why?" he asked.
"Because you don't like talking about yourself. And you don't trust people easily." Her eyes flicked toward the guild's door.
"Yeah. You are the third person who knows about this."
Cana's eyes widened in shock. "I am...third?" She can't believe his words.
"Yup. Gray and Master were before you."
"Gray...before me?" She walked towards Kazu, stopping inches away from him.
"Why did you tell him before me? Ain't I your best friend?" She asked with a betrayed look. Among Kazu's friends, Cana was the first and is pretty close to him, just like Gray.
Kazu scratched his chin. "Well, you know...This was a pretty secret thing, and I didn't want to say it to many people..."
"So, you chose him over me?" Cana couldn't believe that she lost to a stripper.
"Well...he looks more reliable..."
Cana looked at him in shock, as if thunder had struck. She clutched her heart dramatically. "I see...So, this is what our friendship means."
Kazu hit his lips. He knew that she was pretending, but there was a high chance that it could weaken their relationship, so Kazu didn't take any risk.
"The thing is, at that time, you know... I almost killed you, so... it was pretty complicated..." Though Kazu had overcome his guilt toward her for what he did long ago, he hasn't forgotten what he did.
Cana's face softened. "I see. It's fine then. I will forgive y—" Her eyes suddenly widened. "Hold up."
"You said, 'at that time' How long ago did you tell him about this secret?"
Kazu stiffened. 'I fucked up.' He realised the blunder. On seeing the look in Cana's eyes, he reluctantly answered her.
"three years..."
"What?"
"Around three years ago."
Cana looked at him with a shocked look. "Three years...I lost to him by three years...Do I look that unreliable?" She looked as if she would cry any second. This time, it wasn't an act.
She was supposedly Kazu's best friend, which means one of the most trusted people of his. Yet, if he said this to her this late, it means there was definitely something wrong.
Their relationship had returned to normal long ago, and it has been more than a year since Kazu had overcome his guilt for Cana. The latter knew that too.
"Hey! I... I just forgot to tell you. The only reason I told Gray at that time was that he asked a question related to it." Kazu quickly placated her.
"But... even then..."
"You are still my best friend. Heck, I told Master about this nearly a year ago, too. So, it's just that Gray was lucky."
Cana bit her lips. "Say... Between Gray and me, who is your best friend?"
Kazu blinked. This was a pretty difficult question for him. The answer wasn't something he could just get in a few moments.
However, seeing Cana's expression, Kazu knew what he had to say. 'I am sorry Gray, you need to take this one.' Hoping that Gray would understand later, Kazu instantly replied.
"It's obviously you. You were my first friend in the guild, no?"
Caan grinned. "I knew it! He never stood a chance." She nodded to herself, her expression taking a full 180 in a few seconds as she stood up. Her quick change caused Kazu unease.
She took a sip from her ever-present wooden mug—when had she even filled that?—then looked at him over the rim. "So. Instinct Magic. You're going to keep it hidden from everyone else?"
"For now," he said. "The fewer people know, the better."
"Makes sense. People get weird when they hear about rare affinities."
"Exactly."
Cana nodded, then gave him a sideways grin. "That also explains something else."
"What now?"
"The way you analyse me," she said, poking him in the shoulder. "You do it without thinking. You react to stuff before I even finish talking. Like the day I first showed you my Reinforcement card—you noticed the strain before I said anything."
He remembered. Barely. It had felt natural at the time.
"…That wasn't the magic," he muttered. "You were visibly exhausted."
"Don't lie. You didn't even look that long."
He rolled his eyes. "Fine. Maybe partly instinct."
"You're such a tsundere at times." Cana sipped from her mug. Kazu didn't reply.
The sun dipped lower, painting the yard gold. The quiet between them wasn't awkward. It felt… steady. He hadn't planned on telling her today, but now that he had, the weight in his chest felt lighter.
Cana stretched like a cat, arms overhead, joints popping. "So," she said, "now that you've confessed your super-secret magic, what next?"
"Nothing," he said. "Just don't tell anyone."
She made a mock salute. "Your secret's safe."
He believed her. Completely. Which was strange, because he didn't trust easily. But Cana was—despite her drinking, teasing, constant need to poke fun—one of the most loyal people he knew.
"Also, for the record? You're still insane."
"Because of my magic?"
"No," she said, leaning in and tapping his forehead again. "Because you keep trying to hide how much you care about people. That's way more unhinged than the instincts thing."
'Is she drunk? What is she even saying?' He opened his mouth to retort, but she was already walking away, waving lazily over her shoulder.
"Kazu," she called without turning around, "next time you feel like hiding something big, tell me first. I might not look like it, but I'm actually pretty good at keeping secrets. I am a woman with many secrets"
He watched her go with a deadpan expression.
"She definitely is drunk..."
***
A/n: Kazu told Gray about his Instinct magic in ch 50: End of x777(2)... 67 chapters earlier than Cana.
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