A vein began pulsing in Erza's forehead. Though she remained calm on the outside, Mirajane knew she was upset. And she had every right to be. The job request said to be at Onibus Station by eight o'clock pm. It was eight thirty. Their teammates were late.
"Half an hour", said Erza. "Half an hour we've been here, and no sign of our teammates or our client." The job was a mysterious one.
"Maybe we're supposed to go find them ourselves", Mira said. "It wouldn't be the first time a client was purposely vague about their whereabouts." Erza nodded her agreement, and listened as Mira went over the description again.
"A matter of great concern and greater consequence requires your attention. We are unable to discuss circumstance on paper. Meet us at Onibus Station on November 15th, at eight o'clock sharp. We believe it to be imperative that Fairy Tail's three S-class wizards take this case. We have invited the rouge wizard Jellal Fernandes to join Fairy Tail on this case. The matter is that important."
Laxus was the one who brought them the paper. He said it was given to him while he was arriving home from a job in Crocus, and that the client had used an illusion spell so that his or her face could not be shown.
"I don't see any indications of what else to do other than wait", Erza said.
"But if they want you, me, and Laxus, then it must be a hefty job, right?", Mira asked.
"I suppose so. But what is really concerning me is why they're involving Jellal." Erza had not seen Jellal in quite some time, and he was still on the run from the Magic Counsel. She wondered how long it would be before he would be able to show his face openly again. Mira's voice broke her train of thought.
"There's another thing that's bothering me", Mira said. "Why did they want us to dress like this?"
The client had requested that they be dressed in fine clothes. Erza had donned a dress of red silk that matched her hair and hugged her body tightly. The dress flared at the bottom, covering the tops of her feet. It was sequenced at the edge of a plunging neckline; she thought it showed off her breasts wonderfully, yet it remained incredibly classy. The sleeves came halfway down her upper arms, and the shoulders remained bare. There was a slit on the left side that came up to her knee cap. A pearl necklace was laced around her neck. Her earrings were ruby studs with small, black and brown hawk feathers that dangled half an inch off her ear lobe from short, silver chains. Her hair had been tied in a neat bun in the back; some stray strands of hair floated gently at the sides of her face. She wore white silk gloves that came up two inches past her elbows, with gold bands at the openings. On her feet were red high heels about two shades darker than the dress. She was wearing a perfume that smelt of roses and cherry blossoms, with an apple undertone.
Mira, on the other hand, wore a lovely sleeveless, dark purple dress that hugged her down to her waist, then flared out in a style similar to a ballroom gown down to her ankles. It was made of satin and was layered with white velvet along the flare. Armlets made of the same material adjourned her upper arms, the white velvet flaring out of the top by her shoulders, and silver bands by her elbows. The neckline wasn't very low, but her breasts still protruded ever so slightly, and white lace ran along the edges of the neckline. She wore a black leather choker with an amethyst dangling from the center, and the back of her dress plunged in a v shape all the way to her waist, a single thin strap tied around her neck to keep it all in place. She wore silver platform heels, and a black anklet on her left ankle with studs of onyx and obsidian circling the perimeter. She too had her snowy white hair in a loose bun, but the long locks in the front tumbled down over her shoulders like cream, the small tuft of hair he kept above her forehead still in place as it always was. She wore two thin silver bands on each wrist and diamond studs in her ears. She had painted her nails a delicate shade of violet, and on each middle finger was a small swirl pattern in shimmering platinum. She had a silver ring on her right hand middle finger with an amethyst the darkest Erza had ever seen. Mira's perfume smelt of lilacs, fresh cotton, and the faintest hint of jungle vanilla.
It was curious that the client would have them all dress so finely, but neither women could complain. They both enjoyed getting dressed up. What they did not enjoy, however, was being kept waiting. Erza was becoming more and more irritable, and Mira was becoming a little annoyed herself, despite her perpetual cheerful attitude.
"I swear, if those two don't show up in the next five minutes, I will skin them alive", Erza said. A sudden chuckle made both women turn.
"Well, you can keep your butcher's knife away for a little while longer, I think." It was Laxus who stood before them, arms crossed over his chest, his signature fur coat draped over his shoulders. In the light of the train station, his golden hair shimmered like the lighting magic he controlled. He smirked a sly smirk.
"Easy, Laxus. I know how Erza gets when she's angry, and an angry Erza would be a match even for your Gildarts", said another voice. This time it was Jellal, standing next to Laxus, blue hair fluttering in the breeze.
They both wore matching suits. Their pants, vests, and jackets were both made of a fine, silver-white silk. Each wore a satin shirt of magenta, which clashed wonderfully with their brightly colored hair. Both had skull shaped cufflinks made of diamond, and their ties were red satin. Each wore polished black oxfords and gray socks on their feet. Laxus had a platinum watch around his left wrist while Jellal kept a black pocket watch in his vest pocket, connected by a chain to the second button. Laxus had a gold ring with an onyx cut into the shape of the Fairy Tail guild mark, which was set in the center of a tribal pattern. Jellal had a gold ring as well, only his was sapphire, and was a normal set stone. Roses and handkerchiefs made of white silk protruded ever so slightly out of the right breast pockets of their jackets. Jellal's rose was a deep scarlet, almost the color of blood; Laxus's was a fresh, creamy white, like the color of vanilla ice cream. Both wizards looked rather dashing.
"My, my, you two clean up nicely", Mira said, though her eyes were glued to Laxus as she said it. Laxus chuckled.
"You two don't look too bad yourselves", he said. He grabbed Mira's hand and kissed it. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were about to go on a date." Mira blushed and giggled playfully. Jellal crept behind Erza and rested his hands on her shoulders.
"Your dress matches your hair", he said. "It reminds me of the time I named you Scarlet". Erza smiled at the memory. But she had to ask Jellal something that would have a great impact on their operation.
"Shouldn't you be a little more careful with your identity, Jellal? The Magic Council is still looking for you, after all" Jellal chuckled.
"Cautious as always, Erza. You've always been the smart one. But I received reliable information from Yajima that the new chairman doesn't consider me so much of a threat to have to search every town. They keep troops posted only on the main roads and the largest cities. Crocus, Magnolia, Akane Resort… All of those places. But for a little railroad town like Onibus? Luckily for me, they haven't extended the search to the smaller towns and villages." Erza smiled at that, knowing that Jellal would at least be safe for a while. But it was time to get to business.
"I'm glad you guys have finally showed up. But our client is nowhere to be seen", said Erza. Mira nodded and mentioned that there may be clues hidden within the job description. Erza did not like the way they both chuckled.
"This may be a good time to tell you that there is no client", Laxus said. Erza's eyes widened in anger. She marched up to the two of them and held them both by the neckties.
"You both know I hate being tricked. You tell me what's going on right now or I will make good on my threat from earlier", said Titania.
"Erza, calm down", Jellal said. He gently grabbed her hand and brought it down from his neck.
"You're gunna ruin my shirt if you keep this up", muttered Laxus. But Mira had the same look in her eyes as Erza, and Laxus's face softened. Both men straightened their ties and fixed their collars. Laxus wrapped his arm around Mira's waist and began to speak.
"Jellal and I have kept in touch since the Grand Magic Games", Laxus began, "and I mentioned to him that since then, you two have been working like crazy. Granted, I understand the need for money, but a wizard still needs a little down time…"
Jellal took it from there. "So we organized a bit of a double date" the former Wizard Saint said. At that, Erza blushed in embarrassment. I was so mad… But they're taking the time to do this for us? Jellal smiled.
"We wanted it to be a surprise, so we made up this job request to get you guys out here", he said. Mira was blushing furiously as Laxus grabbed her hand, yet still remain playful.
"We had no idea you two would out-dress us like this", said the Lighting Dragon Slayer. "I told you we should have gone with the tuxes." Jellal chuckled. Mira spoke up.
"Erza, do we really want to get played like this?", she asked.
"Aw, don't be like that, Mira", said Laxus. "We have a pretty nice evening planned out. Plus, I am starving, and steak tastes so much better when you have a beautiful girl to share it with.
Erza looked at her white haired friend.
"I think they win this round", she said. "So, Jellal, what do you two dashing gentlemen have planned for us?"
The outlaw wizard smiled and gestured towards the stairs leading out towards the rest of the small, yet highly prosperous town.