Welcome to Anime Masterpiece Theatre! I got the idea in high school of placing Anime characters in classic and favorite movies, and this will be the first of a few stories that I plan to write.
The first production will star the cast of Fairy Tail acting the Disney version of Beauty and the Beast. As the actors are Fairy Tail mages, I've decided to give them a little free range. So if some of the words used or actions taken differ from the original movie, don't worry, it's just the actors being themselves.
Chapter 1: Little Town, Little People
It was a crisp fall morning that Levy McGarden found herself walking into town to the sounds of the people waking and starting their day. As she walked through the village, she could feel the eyes of several townspeople following her. Though the attention wasn't entirely welcome, the blue-haired beauty ignored them since the stares didn't bother her near as much as they had when she and her father had first moved to the community.
Levy's father, Makarov, had once been a prominent wizard in their home city of Magnolia, but as his age caught up with him the old man had decided to leave the city and retire to a quieter countryside. Though he had picked up a habit of tinkering with strange devices that he said would allow non-magical people to live easier. Levy had understood, but found it hard to leave behind everything she had known except for her greatest love: books. But even those were in short supply in this town. Still, Levy did her best to remain cheerful and kind to those around her, believing that in time, the townspeople would accept her.
As she rounded a corner, the villagers that had been following her with their eyes turned toward each other to discuss their new favorite topic of gossip:
"She's such a strange girl."
"Very peculiar, no question about that."
"Never seen such a beauty though."
"Yes a beauty, but a funny girl, that one."
And with that they nodded at each other and went back about their day.
Quickly entering her desired shop, Levy couldn't hold back her smile when she saw the old bookkeeper. Yajima had quickly befriended Makarov and his daughter, and encouraged both in their endeavors, especially because Levy was his only regular customer.
Yajima's gentle smile spread on his face when he saw Levy enter the shop. Knowing what the rest of the villagers thought of the blue-haired young woman, he tried his hardest to give her a place of comfort and to make her feel welcome. So he never minded when she would browse the shelves for hours at a time, when she would surround herself with tomes of words that he was sure she didn't fully understand yet, or when he would find her surrounded by her books asleep on the floor.
Today though, Levy had just stopped by to return one of his newer volumes that she had borrowed the day before. Holding the heavy book in his small hands, he looked up at her with surprise and asked, "Finished already?"
Levy gave a small laugh, "Oh I couldn't put it down!" Then she added hopefully, "Do you have anything new?"
The old man shook his head sadly "Not since yesterday I'm afraid."
She gave a small understand smile before turning to one of the shelves. "That's alright. May… I… borrow… this one?" she asked, picking out a book and handing it to Yajima without really looking at it.
He took the book from her, mildly surprised. It was rare for Levy to read one of his books more than once and he had seen her reading it intently several times, but with a teasing smile he queried, "This one? But you've read it twice!"
"Oh, but it's my favorite!" Levy playfully whined before she started dancing around, mimicking her favorite parts, "Daring swordfights, far off places, magic spells, a prince in disguise!"
Chuckling softly, the old man held the book out to the excited young woman and stated, "If you like it all that much, then it's yours." Levy's eyes widened at Yajima's words and she attempted to protest the gesture. But the elder wouldn't hear it and ended her half-hearted argument with a firm "I insist."
Clutching the favored tome to her chest, Levy quickly bowed and joyfully ran from the store with a farewell 'thank you'. Yajima happily shook his head and went about the rest of his day with a small spring in his step.
Levy paid little attention to the people around her as she briskly walked back home, her nose buried in the book she had just received. As she was swallowed into the world of the pages before her Levy deftly avoided carts, waste water, flocks of sheep, and even jumped through a double-dutch game without turning her head from the book. She didn't even flinch when a bolt of lightning shot up from the ground and fried several ducks from a flock overhead, its thunder rolling through the small town.
Two of the three attendants to the man who had unleashed the lightning spell ran out to gather their master's prizes. "You never miss a shot Laxus!" the taller of the two cried out, his tongue waging from his masked face. He raced back to the massive blonde wizard, but was beaten by his shorter, green-haired, friend who spoke with a calmer voice, "You are the greatest hunter in the world."
Laxus grinned at his underlings praise and gave an exaggerated motion off blowing off his finger before proudly stating, "I know." His trophies gathered, Laxus and the trio who followed him started to move toward his home. Evergreen, the only woman in the group, suddenly spoke up. "Y'know Laxus, no beast stands a chance against you, and no girl for that matter." Evergreen pulled out her folding fan and covered the lower part of her face at the final statement, but her target failed to notice the attempt to flirt.
"That's right you three," Laxus stated confidently, throwing his arms around Freed and Bixlow's shoulders, "And I've got my sights set on THAT one!" Turning to look in the direction he was, and seeing Levy, the Raijinshu couldn't help but cry in disbelief. "The inventor's daughter?"
"She's the one!" he cried out.
"But Laxus…" Freed tried.
"The lucky girl I'm going to marry!"
"But she's…" Evergreen began.
"The most beautiful girl in town!" Laxus finished, ignoring Evergreen's little humph, and Bixlow's protest was cut short by his master's next boast: "That makes her the best," the lightning mage declared. Then he rounded on the three and with a threatening voice, lightning sparking from his eyes, he asked. "And don't I deserve the best?"
The trio suddenly found themselves in that awkward situation of when you want to say something, but you know it will only upset someone and get you in trouble. So rather than answer, the three began to incoherently talk at once. It was a wasted effort however, as Laxus had promptly left them to pursue 'his woman'.
Still absorbed in the book, however, it proved harder to get Levy's attention than Laxus first thought. Only by quickly taking the book out of her hands did he get her undivided focus.
Her irritation showing in her voice, Levy quietly asked "Laxus my I have my book back?" Not waiting for his answer she reached out for it, only for him to pull it further out of her reach to flip through its pages.
"How can you read this?" Laxus queried "There's no pictures." Slightly amused with his ignorance, Levy folded her arms before answering, "Some people use their imaginations."
Scoffing at the idea Laxus snapped the book shut and lowered his head to Levy's level, still holding the book out of her reach. "Levy," he started, "it's time you got your head out of those books and thought about more important things." Dropping the book into a puddle of mud, he ignored the blunette's indignant cry as his frown molded into a slightly lecherous grin and he added, "Like me."
Dropping down to save her prized novel, Levy tried to ignore Laxus as he continued to speak. The words 'It's not right for a woman to read' however, had her anger flaring, and she imagined a thousand different scenarios in which she could make him pay for the misogynistic remark.
Instead though, while wiping the mud from her book, she smiled and passively remarked, "Laxus, you are positively primeval."
Mistaking the insult, and only half listening anyway, Laxus chuckled out a thank you before once again pulling Levy's book out of her grasp and attempted to herd her toward the local tavern. Watching the exchange, the Raijinshu couldn't help but shake their heads in disbelief and deliberate reasons why Levy would turn down their leader's advances.
"What's wrong with her?" Bixlow's question gained a shoulder roll from Evergreen as she suggested, "She's crazy."
"He's gorgeous."
Two heads turned to stare at Freed in silent confusion. His unrepentant face however, meant he would not take back the strange comment, and that they would just have to put up with it. Their attention was drawn back to the lightning mage and his quarry, when the blunette managed to finally take back her book and quickly draw away from the much larger blonde.
"Please Laxus, I have to get back and help my father!"
Sauntering next to his master, Bixlow gave a short cackle, "That crazy old loon? He needs all the help he can get!" continuing in his laughter, the masked man was joined by his team and boss until they heard Levy lose her temper.
"Don't talk about my father that way!" The normally meek bookworm shouted, her eyes alight with the magic she had inherited from her father. "He is not crazy! He's a genius!"
As if in contrast to her words, an explosion from outside the village brought her out of her rage and she began to run toward its source, Laxus's laughter following her.
At this time, I would like to acknowledge one of our actor's great accomplishments in this scene, and dedicate it to Freed and his willingness to say such an awkward line, as well as recognize Yajima and his participation in this chapter.
Do want more? Want me to stop? Tell me what you think and I will rush to meet your expectations the best I can.