First attempt at a fanfic so please be kind, but terribly in love with Gajeel and Levy because they remind me of myself in weird ways. I read another story on here where Levy had a sister, so this was born out of that. Liked the idea of her having a sister that mirrored Gajeel, to lend credence to how quickly Levy accepted him. Been editing a while, hope its good!
It was a bright, spring morning at the Fairy Tail guild. Lucy Heartfilia sat at Mirajane's bar, sipping tea as she perused the latest edition of Sorcerer's Weekly. The morning had been quiet as guild members trickled in. Natsu and Gray sat at a table not too far away from Lucy, bickering over their most recent battle, while Erza and Wendy chatted lightly at another table. Happy and Charle sat together further down the bar, watching over their owners.
"Lucy!" shouted a familiar voice, and Levy McGarden came bounding across the floor to where Lucy was sitting. She was beaming, obviously excited to share some news with her friend.
"Good morning, Levy!" Lucy replied cheerfully. "What's going on?"
Levy stopped a moment to catch her breath.
"She's here! She came in last night!" Levy managed, still winded from her jog.
"Who's here?" Lucy asked.
"My sister!"
Lucy tipped an eyebrow up, puzzled. Levy had a sister?
She barely noticed Natsu and the others as they perked at the mention of Levy's sister's arrival. Before Levy had a chance to elaborate, the guild's door slammed open and a slight figure stood in the blinding morning light.
"Oy! Kiddo!" a woman shouted from the door, looking around for the petite blue-haired mage.
Spotting her, she strode confidently over to the bar where Levy and Lucy sat, now joined by Natsu, Gray and Erza, who had eager faces.
The young woman shared Levy's heart-shaped face and large hazel eyes, but stood a good two inches taller than her sister. The lines of her face and body were harder, and instead of Levy's short cropped blue hair, her sister had long wavy locks of the darkest purple. So dark, her hair almost appeared black.
She wore a tightly fitted white tank top, the bust of which she filled out far more than her sister, and loose grey cargo pants tucked sloppily into large black military boots. A colorful silk scarf similar to Levy's was tied around her wrist. And most remarkably of all, she had no guild stamp visible, but sported a number of tattoos along both arms. You'd never guess she was related to Levy; the aura she gave off was much more intimidating than the kind, cheerful spirit of her sister.
She whistled sharply.
"This place has changed," she said to no one in particular.
"Lucy, this is my big sister, Reya," Levy said proudly.
"Nice to finally meet you, Lucy," Reya said, shaking Lucy's hand roughly. "I've been hearing a lot about you from Levy."
"Oh, y-you have?" Lucy asked.
"I'm sorry, Lucy. I guess I never really told you about Reya. She's always traveling so it sometimes slips my mind," Levy apologized.
The others began to crowd around closer, having heard Reya was back in town. Apparently, Levy's sister was pretty popular.
"Reya! Fight me!" Natsu shouted happily.
"Maybe later, Matchstick," she chuckled.
"Lovely to see you again, Reya," Erza said. "I look forward to hearing of your travels."
Reya simply smiled and nodded as more guild members came by to say hello and slap Reya on the back. She became immersed in the crowd, trading lighthearted insults and quips, so that Lucy and Levy were at the back of the crowd, still sat at the bar.
"I'm surprised you never mentioned your sister, Levy! Everyone else seems to know about her," Lucy said, a bit huffily.
"I'm so sorry," Levy apologized again, eyes downcast. "The rest of the guild has known us since we were children. Reya left me here when I was ten, and she comes back to visit every few years."
"Left you here? Isn't she part of Fairy Tail?"
"After our parents died, she knew she couldn't take care of me on her own for long. She figured the best thing to do would be to have the guild take me in, while she went to work. As we got older, work took her farther away. She's not a member of Fairy Tail, but she is an independent mage," Levy explained.
"What kind of magic does she do?" Lucy asked.
"Reya does memory magic. She can implant a memory in your head, or she can alter an existing one. She can even erase your memories."
She leaned closer to Lucy and lowered her voice.
"Reya uses her magic a little differently though. She…she gets information out of people. Reya works as a…tormentor," Levy whispered.
Lucy's eyes went wide. She was certainly surprised to find Levy's sister's occupation was literally to torment people. Tormentors were somewhat of a hushed myth so Lucy didn't know much about them. Only that if you ran into one, you were in big trouble.
"That's why she doesn't belong to a guild. She's like a mercenary, really; sought out and hired for 'special jobs'. It's why she travels so much," Levy sighed, her voice back to its usual volume. "But we write each other all the time. I kind of forgot you didn't know about her. I forget about her sometimes too."
Levy's face became wistful, replaying past visits and partings with her sister.
"I wonder sometimes if maybe Reya does that, on purpose: make me forget, to make it easier," she whispered, looking at her feet.
Lucy suddenly felt sad for her friend, now knowing more about her hidden family life. She wondered if Levy was lonelier than she let on. She seemed so happy, if not a bit reserved.
Lucy placed her hand warmly on Levy's shoulder in comfort, but stayed silent, absorbing this wild new information.
"It's ok. She's visiting for a while and we spent all last night catching up. After she makes the rounds here, we'll probably tour around town for the day. Everyone loves her visits," Levy shared, as the girls looked at the growing throng of mages surrounding Reya's small body.
"You're welcome to join us!" Levy added brightly.
"Oh, that's ok. You enjoy your time with your sister. I really hope I can get to know her while she's here though."
"Of course! I'd love for you two to be friends!"
Levy grabbed Lucy's hand and they worked their way through the crowd, back to Reya. Just as they reached her, the crowd began to part, making way for Gajeel Redfox, who had been lurking in a dark corner of the guild hall. Levy froze.
"So," he began darkly. "The little shrimp has a big sister." He sniggered at his own joke, staring Reya down.
She did not look fazed.
"And you must be the infamous Black Steel Gajeel. I'm Reya McGarden," she replied, offering her hand to him.
Gajeel moved to shake her hand, completely unprepared for the sucker punch she hit him with.
"And if you ever lay a hand on my sister again, I will torment you until you rip your own skin off!" Reya snarled at Gajeel's stunned face.
Gajeel's eyes narrowed as he flexed his muscles, preparing to roar back at the small, fearless woman. The crowd tensed. Levy grabbed her sister's arm.
"Reya! It's ok. He's part of the guild now. It's in the past," Levy pleaded.
Gajeel scowled as he towered over Reya, but didn't move to retaliate.
"You don't scare me, Shrimp Senior," he said menacingly.
Someone in the crowd muttered, "Oh, here it comes". Sighs and whispers of agreement rippled.
"Oh no?" Reya feigned innocence. "Shall I give you a taste?"
"Reya, please. Don't!" Levy implored, but her sister's eyes were locked with Gajeel's.
Reya took her fighting stance, raising her fingers to her temples.
"Reya, no!" Levy cried, but to no avail.
"Memory Torment: Forced Desire!" Reya bellowed, as a sickly green light shot from her forehead into the Iron Dragon Slayer's.
He stood, blinking dumbly. Then slowly, panic began to well in his eyes and beads of sweat formed on his brow. His left eye began to twitch nervously.
"What's the matter, Stud?" Reya asked mockingly.
"N-n-n-nothing!" he stuttered, visibly shaking now.
Reya smirked sadistically.
"Say," she antagonized, running her fingers lightly across her collarbone. "Is it hot in here?...Or is it just…Natsu?"
She cackled wickedly as Gajeel fought hard not to turn his head to look at the pink-haired wizard to his left. He unconsciously licked his lips and grimaced. Natsu looked confused at the sudden attention.
Levy's eyes popped wide as she realized what her sister had done to the Iron Dragon Slayer.
"Reya! Take it out right now!" Levy ordered, her sister still smiling at Gajeel's distress.
The crowd began to murmur, attempting to deduce just what memory Reya had implanted into Gajeel's brain; some began to giggle and gasp in horror. Gray and Erza glanced knowingly at one another, restraining their grins.
"What?" Natsu asked impatiently. He didn't like being left out of the joke.
Levy could see Gajeel turning a violent red as sweat poured from his face, doing his best to avoid looking at Natsu.
"Reya!" she cried again. "I mean it! Stop this!"
"Oh alright," Reya conceded, cracking her neck from left to right.
"Memory Torment: Erase!" she said glumly, and at once, Gajeel shuddered and fell to his knees.
Levy jumped to him and knelt down, her hand on his shoulder bracing him. Reya sighed halfheartedly.
"I suppose I should also thank you," she wryly said down to Gajeel's now furious face.
"You…you made me…you made me think about- think those things…about him!" Gajeel sputtered, livid and now rising to his feet, fists balled at his sides.
Reya ignored his mounting fury.
"You've also protected my little sister on a number of occasions. So for that, I thank you," Reya finished, unenthusiastically.
The crowd anxiously awaited Gajeel's response, expecting an all-out brawl to ensue between the Iron Dragon and the petite purple-haired figure before him. Before he had a chance to react, a voice piped up from behind the crowd.
"Reya McGarden," Master Makarov Dreyer said warmly. "I see you've returned. And already acquainted yourself with one of our newest members."
The crowd of wizards once more made way as the diminutive master strode to the middle of the group.
"Your visits are always…entertaining, my dear," he went on. "But I must ask you to stop harassing Mr. Redfox. As you can see, we've only just finished rebuilding the guild hall and a fight between you would cause more damage than I care to ponder today. It's only your first day back in town, after all."
Reya smiled slyly back at him and nodded respectfully.
"Come on, kiddo. Let's grab some grub," she said, helping her sister to her feet. "I'll catch up with everyone else later on."
The crowd began to break apart, eager musings amongst them of Reya's legendary anecdotes.
"I'll see you later, Lucy!" Levy called to her mystified friend as her older sister dragged her away.
"O-ok!" Lucy called after her weakly. After looking Gajeel over and deciding not to agitate him more, she made her way back to her seat at the bar. Natsu and Gray quickly resumed their bickering as Erza filled in the newly-arrived Juvia on the earlier altercation.
Gajeel stood, still tensed and flushed, clearly outraged at his public humiliation by the tiny woman.
"Gajeel, let it go. You do not want to mess with that one," Makarov said simply, before walking off to the bar himself.
"See ya later, Stud!" Reya yelled derisively over her shoulder as the sisters exited the guild.
So, I've already completed this story but I'm going back over it again with a fine-tooth comb, so I'm still open to reviews and suggestions. I like to think the editing process is open-ended.
And in case any explanation is necessary: Levy's sister uses magic similar to Mest Gryder/Doranbolt and Rufus Lore, although I wrote this before I thoroughly researched them. She's got kind of a combination of the two I guess. I like to think of her in a network like the group of executioners under the Grand Magic Games, the Wolf/Garou Knights. She's got a lot of blood on her hands; a dark and merciless version of Levy, but with a heart still. Kind of like Gajeel...see where I'm going with this?
Anyway, hope you enjoy the story!