Laxus Dreyar was the last S-Class mage to successfully pass the trial.
And as far as Laxus was concerned, other than Gildarts who was who knows where and doing who knows who, he was the best S-Class mage the guildhall had ever seen.
Quite honestly, if he had enough booze in him, the nineteen year old might even boast to his faithful band of only slightly younger teens (Freed, Bickslow, and Ever) that he could beat Gildarts, one on one, if the lame old man would ever challenge him.
Now, that did not mean that there were no others that qualified for the testing.
Because there were.
Even in his age range.
Namely, poor, stupid, foolish Cana that was never going to get it, Laxus knew this, and mostly just felt bad for.
Kind of.
Mostly he just wanted to get possession of the guild already so he could kick her stupid, weak, card dealing ass out of the hall already.
Or force her to sleep with him.
Err, not force. That sounded very rape-ish (if not flat out rape; at the least, it was sexual assault). He didn't mean force. Just offer her S-Class if she slept with him.
But in a very vague way because Laxus wasn't desperate.
Really, there would be no offer. Not on his part. He was expecting her to put the offer out on the table.
Then he'd sleep with her, but not hold up on his end of the bargain.
So there.
There was Freed, Laxus' most faithful bodyguard (read stalker who he put up with because, fuck, if you were bragging him up, you were allowed to pretend to guard him all you wanted), that Gramps just didn't see enough from just yet. But Laxus did. And the second the old geezer croaked, Freed would definitely be at an S-Class Trial.
And bleh, freaking Erza Scarlet, that annoying little twat, she was around.
Now, Laxus would admit, the woman was strong. Powerful. Plus she had immense magic residing inside of her. He could sense it. And that was ever-growing. Even Gildarts thought so. Last time he was in town to have a beer with Makarov and basically be a waste of space (Laxus respected him, but he didn't have to like his work ethic), the slayer had overheard as much. He jokingly said maybe one day, he would even have his ass handed to him by her.
Then, of course, Makarov made a really gross joke that, had it come from Laxus' mouth, would have been funny, but coming from a way too old guy sounded really creepy and disgusting and- Gah!
Laxus hated his grandfather.
Anyways, the year following Laxus' own trial, no one that qualified made the cut. They had no new S-Class that year. And, over the year in which Laxus enjoyed still being the only S-Class that hung around the hall (rarely, at that, but Gildarts was gone even more frequently), he would frequently lean over the upstairs banister and leer down at the other lowly guild members that he just couldn't wait to kick the hell out.
So when the next trials rolled around, Laxus happened to be in the area. He didn't plan on, like, going to freaking Tenrou or anything, to help the old man, but he was interested in seeing who would be named.
One or two old geezers that Laxus knew wouldn't even be able to trek around the island, much less compete in battles and solve puzzles were named that he snorted at. Then, of course, came Erza and Cana and, once more, complete ignorance on stupid Gramp's part as he looked over Freed (something that made Bickslow's stupid dolls that followed him around boo and Ever to huff from where she was in the crowd, at the old man, though Freed only bowed his head and whispered something about how there was always next year).
Laxus was about to get down from where he was, all alone on the second floor, to go sneer at Cana and Erza about how lame they were as well as growl at Freed about how he should be better! If he wanted to lead the Thunder Legion, then he needed to step the fuck up!
Oh, and yell at Gramps about how dare he not acknowledge Freed. That stupid old man.
Anyways, he was about to do all that when, over all the noise of the rest of the gathered hall, Makarov called out, "I am not finished!"
This got some more intense silence out of the crowd and Laxus' interest was immediately piqued.
Finally.
It would feel so good for both he and Freed to be S-Class together.
Not, like, the two were friends. Or that he was friends with the other two bozos. But they all did mention his name, when they were out doing their own shit and, well, Laxus wanted at least one of them to be S-Class if they were doing that. And Freed was just the best bet.
And...fine.
He didn't absolutely hate the three of them.
And Freed worked really hard! He trained from sunup to sundown when he wasn't out on a job.
He deserved at least a damn chance to make it.
But just as Laxus' full on scowl started to turn into a more blank stare that he would use to go grumble out something that might be construed as advice to Freed, Makarov named his final pick.
"The final qualifier is," the old man said as he stood up on the bar down below, "Mirajane Strauss."
And there was more silence. Before a loud yell from, of course, the teenager in question's younger brother about how cool that was as well as the shrill giggles of her younger sister and that stupid Dragneel boy, who was annoyingly friends with the youngest Strauss and just arg!
It aggravated the fuck out of Laxus.
It really did.
The oldest Strauss girl was this annoying little fifteen year old snob that thought she was so hardcore and dark because she had some sort of demon inside of her.
Fuck her.
Laxus was dark. Laxus was traumatized. She had siblings. She had friends. She was a poser.
And damn poser.
Downstairs though, that 'poser' was trying very hard to keep up her misunderstood veneer she'd cultivated so well since arriving at Fairy Tail as her brother, sister, and pseudo-brother Natsu (he was always hanging off Lisanna and, more often than not, was fed off the same food Mira spent job jewels on for her younger siblings) all cheered. The little winged cat they had (that Laxus absolutely loathed) was fluttering around yelling too.
It was embarrassing to Mirajane, it seemed, but aggravating to the slayer up on the second floor, who wanted to shoot them all down with lightning.
She was taking Freed's spot.
That stupid little girl was taking Freed's spot.
Now, it should be stated that Mira had been with the guild for some time at this point. A time where Laxus wasn't S-Class. So he would hang around more, back then, and therefore they got to know one another at least a little bit.
And, for a very brief period of time, they tried to kind of sort of be friends.
That is to say, Laxus thought that someone that, apparently, had a demon inside of them would be a great addition to his Thunder Legion.
And yes.
They were his.
He didn't like them following him around back then, didn't need them, didn't want them, but fuck, they were still his.
He practically owned them.
Damn it, that sounded Bosco-ish.
He didn't own them. He just…
Fuck! He didn't have to explain himself.
Again.
Especially not when he was only thinking these things in his own head.
The point was, that Mirajane, on spec, seemed like the type to join his merry band of morons. She and Freed were a lot alike. He could go into that demon mode shit too. He didn't show it off to most people, Laxus was pretty sure that he was one of the only ones that had ever seen it in true action.
Hey! Maybe he'd make him show it off to the old geezer. And then he'd have to let him go to trials the next year!
Right?
...Right?
Not that Laxus would just come out and, like, suggest this. He was going to have to figure out someway to do it without sounding like he cared at all.
Anyways, Mira wasn't too...responsive to Laxus' backdoor attempts at getting her aligned with Ever, Freed, and Bickslow. He could tell that she was kind of interested in him, in that way that kids were, when she first arrived. He was about seventeen and she was only thirteen, but they both had that dark and misunderstood vibe and it just made sense they would be friends.
He had to play it cool though, of course, and act disinterested and shit while also attempting to steer her towards the Thunder God Tribe. He knew, of course, they weren't the easiest three to penetrate (a joke he made in his head many times and also laughed many times) and that it would take some sort of big show of dedication by Mirajane to get her in the group, but…
Well, he ruined it before it began.
They were having one of those moments when it was pretty clear that Mirajane was at the very least, interested in being friends with him, where she was asking about his headphones and discussing music with him and Laxus was still being an ass because you just had to be an ass to make people admire you.
Err, at least, that's how he got the Thunder Legion, so…
...and no one else, but that was beside the matter!
So she was talking while looking through his soundpod and Laxus was sitting there with her, at a table in the guildhall, allowing it, hardly listening to her, when he just…
Sigh.
It was stupid Natsu. He was annoying the fuck out of Laxus, just by existing, and they were chasing one another around the hall, the younger slayer and youngest Strauss were and Laxus just…
He was going to insult Natsu.
Honest.
That was all.
But somehow he ended up calling Lisanna a fucking loser too and Mirajane, of course, took exception to this. Probably not enough to make them complete and utter enemies or anything, but enough to make her require an apology.
That's just the thing though.
Laxus didn't apologize. Ever. To anyone. Not the Thunder Legion, not any of his elders in the hall. Not even his damn grandfather, the man who basically raised him, no matter how wrong he knew he was.
So what the hell did the girl expect?
Not much. But an, "Oh, shit, that's your sister, My bad," would have sufficed.
Instead, he acted like a jerk when she got offended and told her that that was why he didn't hang out with children because they always got their feelings hurt and, well, that sealed the deal.
The she-devil as a member of the Thunder God Tribe would have definitely shaken things up, but no more. It was over. Gone before it had a chance to live.
Which, honestly, was probably for the best. Not soon after that, Mira revved up her blood feud with Erza and it was clear that she wasn't Thunder Legion material. Ever would be up in arms as it was, having another chick on the team. Add in one that was fighting with Erza? And might even be more on par with the other girl?
Oh heck no.
It was easy for Laxus to pretend as if he never had this thought before, as he'd never shared it and, of course, time flew. He and Mira were never rightly at one another's throats, but it was more or less an unspoken vow between them that, though they might appear similar at times, they were far from it. They were just going to stay the hell out of one another's way.
Which was easier for Laxus to do, when he became S-Class and therefore wasn't around all that often.
Until that day, as he stood on the second level, glaring down at the first, he'd been able to mostly avoid her. And he would still be able to of course.
He just...needed to stew for awhile.
Because that was Freed's damn spot. No way it wasn't. But stupid...Makarov couldn't keep it in his damn pants around the underaged girls and was just gifting them S-Class.
It was complete bullshit!
And also pervy.
But Laxus was more hung up on the complete and utter bullshit, personally.
Also because, well…
If he hadn't acted like an ass that day and had somehow managed to draft Mirajane to the Laxus is a God Fanclub, well…
He'd finally have a shot at making one of his little bodyguards S-Class.
Laxus was so upset over this that he took off that day. Didn't go over and console poor Freed (by which he meant calm the other two the hell down and growl at Freed that he should try harder and train harder). Didn't even go yell at Gramps. Or pick on Cana or Erza. Just took off on a job.
Not before mean mugging the hell out of the Strauss siblings (plus Natsu and Happy because they deserved it).
And he stayed away. For days. He didn't talk to the Thunder Legion on the lacrima or anything. Part of him was kind of afraid that they thought he ran off because he was disappointed in them, but the other part of him hoped to hell they did.
When he got back to the hall, it was to find the Thunder God Tribe was nowhere to be found and Laxus had no idea, of course, where they'd run off to, but he figured jobs. Freed probably stressed this to the others, that he had to level himself up then until that time rolled back around in the following year.
It was the only way, Laxus was sure, that Freed thought he could win back the favor of both Dreyar men.
Not that that was what the slayer was immediately concerned with. Rather, as he strolled into Magnolia, all he heard about from those he passed was how Fairy Tail had finished up their trials with a newly crowned S-Class.
A fifteen year old girl.
He about died.
Honestly, he did.
Mira had...but…
It almost made him head right back out of town, but no, fucking no. He wasn't a coward. At all. And if there was a new S-Class wizard hanging about the hall, he had to show him-
Err, her.
He had to show her who was boss.
But when he strolled into the bar, it wasn't the stupid Strausses that were celebrating.
And it wasn't Cana that the others were gathered around either.
Rather, it was Erza, standing victoriously up on the second level, shouting down at Natsu and Gray who seemed to have been in an argument only moments before, about how if they dared make her come down from her new level of the hall, there would be hell to pay.
Laxus only stood there, in the center of the hall, awkwardly staring up at Erza, feeling like a big dummy.
Erza.
Of course.
Why hadn't he realized that? Even he had to admit that she was strong. Very strong. And probably better equipped for the island as, after all, with her equip space, she had all sorts of weaponry and armor for whatever she might encounter.
And on Tenrou, you encounter everything.
As annoyed as he was though, over having a new S-Class member, Laxus did find himself smiling, just a bit, at the thought.
He hadn't bet wrong. Given up on the chance to have a fellow S-Class.
Mirajane had failed.
He might have laughed aloud if he didn't feel he already looked like enough of a fool, just standing there.
"Here you are, boy. Taking stock of your new S-Class body, eh?"
And there was Makarov, walking by, just to bring Laxus back down.
Sigh.
Turning his vision downward then, the teen glared at the man before barking out, "That's more your thing, ain't it?"
Makrov snorted, glaring up at his grandson at the remark, before saying, "Well, anyhow, you should go up there and make nice. The two of you have to share the upper deck now. Maybe you can actually attempt socializing and making some friends, hmmm?"
"I have plenty of friends," Laxus retorted. "Just none of these clowns that you fill your worthless hall with."
"This worthless hall sure seems to provide you plenty of jobs to support yourself on."
"Yeah, because everyone knows that Laxus' effin' Dreyar is hanging around and send them this way. I could move right on to Blue Pegasus and all the jobs would head right over to- Gramps, are you even listening to me?"
No. And that was very annoying.
Laxus could tell he wasn't by the fact that the man's eyes had shifted passed him and the way his whole demeanor changed. And, when he glanced over his shoulder at what he was staring at, the man snorted. But Makarov was speaking before he could make a rude comment.
"This year was quite the trials," he said simply, with a shake of his head. 'All three of our young women were the final three. Cana, Erza, and Mirajane."
The latter was who they were staring at in that moment. She was over in the corner, with a rather sour look on her face, as stupid Elfman sat beside her, looking just as morose. Randomly he'd glance at her, as if to check to see if he should still be feeling so horribly and, after confirming that yes, she was still upset, he'd go back to his downcast expression
Lisanna was with Natsu, of course, because feeling down was not something that she did well. Happy and her were both snickering and teasing the slayer, about his fear of Erza, while he would only deny this in hushed whispers, battling internally with the chance that his two best buddies might think he was afraid of something (worst of all a girl) as well as keep said girl from overhearing and knocking his head into Gray's.
And he did not want that.
It would have been hard to accomplish though, as Gray had run off from bothering Natsu and gone back over to where he and Cana usually sat together. She was there, with an expression matching Mirajane's, while he sat across from her, trying many times to say something that would get her to smile, but failing horribly each time.
It wouldn't be until he started subconsciously stripping that she would finally feel a bit more like herself as she was forced to bring it to his attention.
Mirajane, however, was not feeling better.
Not for a single thing in the world.
What kept his eyes on the Strauss most, however, was probably when Laxus noticed beneath the table that Mirajane's leg was in a cast.
"Which one broke the other's leg then? Huh? To take the demonic one out?" the slayer asked as Makarov only shook his head.
"The others didn't take Mirajane out of the trial,' he said simply. "I did."
Laxus blinked. Then frowned.
Glancing down at the man, he asked, "What do you mean?"
He knew, after all, that the only time you would meet Makarov was at the end of the trials. Definitely not before.
"It was made clear to me," he said simply, eyes no longer on teen girl, but rather a random point in the hall, "by one of those helping with the trials that Mirajane was unfit for competition."
"What do you mean? Like she...cheated or something?" Even Laxus, the most disrespectful bunch of new brats in the hall held the trial to some standard and would never dream of doing such a thing. "Gramps?"
"No,' he said slowly. "She… Previously, during another part of the trial, she had broken her leg. Quite badly. And planned to continue to compete. I could not… They were to the end and all they were going to have to do from that point forward was make it to me by completing the riddle. I knew the three of them were left and they'd no doubt encounter one another on the trail. They would fight, of course, to see who would get there first. I could not...allow that."
"Are you fucking serious?"
"Come again, boy?" the man grumbled as Laxus' wondering eyes turned back to glares.
"You set up the damn rules to the trial," the slayer said. "You compete until you get eliminated. She didn't get eilimated; she got injured. And was going to fight through the injury. But you-"
"They're children. They don't know how to take care of themselves. It was-"
"A broken leg. She broke her leg," Laxus kept up. "And you took her out before she-"
"She can try again next year." Makarov shook his head and began to walk away from the boy. "Erza would have eliminated her, regardless, with a broken limb. I helped her skip a step. Not to mention Cana was still hanging around. Mira could have been seriously-"
"Stepping on that island you can be seriously-"
"It is done, Laxus." Then Makarov glanced back at him. "And what difference does it make to you?"
None.
At all.
Mira wasn't Freed.
She wasn't the one that was going to bring his bodyguards to greatness.
She was the one that took (in his mind) that spot away from one of his bodyguards.
So...why did it bother him so much that Makarov had cheated her?
That, actually. Simply that. Gramps had cheated. He took a right away from her. It was Mira's decision whether or not to go on. And Makarov snatched it away from her.
For some reason, that really struck a chord with the man's grandson.
He'd done the same thing to him, after all. He took away Ivan before Laxus was able to decide what to make of the man's actions. He snatched away his last real parent for no good reason.
Makarov ran his guildhall like a damned fool, just taking everyone in. He let them act like equally as damned fools.
But let them make a decision he didn't agree with? One that could strengthen them as a mage?
No. Dictator Makarov wouldn't allow that.
Your father's just gone, Laxus, without even telling you about it. But it's better for you. Believe me. Trust me.
Yeah. Trust the guy that sends your damn father away.
He saw the situation with Mirajane much the same. She didn't want to quit. She was willing to put her body on the line to make S-Class.
Was that not the point of it all? To prove yourself?
And yeah, sure, Laxus knew that Erza would have creamed the other girl, especially with a broken limb, but that was beside the point.
"It doesn't," was what he growled to Makarov, however, though the man didn't seem to care as he only headed over to the bar to order a drink. And Laxus, eyes still dark, turned his head upward.
Ah. Right. The perfect way to take out his aggression.
He was going to go explain to Erza just why he would always be the greatest S-Class mage the worthless guild Makarov ran had ever seen.
To do this though, he had to pass the poser, Mirajane, and, well…
He didn't know why he did it, but he held up a bit, as he passed the table. At the sight of the man, Elfman stiffened and looked ready to deck him (which he knew would result in getting his ass kicked, but no one picked on his sister; especially not when she was feeling so down already), but Laxus ignored him. Just stood in front of the table, scowl focused on Mirajane.
Just as her brother was about to growl out a question of just what the slayer wanted, Laxus spoke to her.
"What Gramps did to you during the trials?" He snorted as Mira refused to look him in the eyes. "That's complete shit."
That got her to. Her eyes went from downcast and cloudy to big and blue, right on his dark ones.
"When I'm Master," he told her simply, "if you want to go on, you fucking go on. It's your call. He's an asshole."
Elfman snorted, rather loudly. "Who would ever let you be Master?"
And he could have gone off on the stupid snot, but Laxus ignored him as he tapped a fist against the table, as if to emphasis his point. Mira continued to stare at him, but said nothing and, slowly, Laxus started up the stairs to go quarrel with Erza over nothing.
But he caught it, as he was walking away. She wasn't...smiling in victory like Erza was. She wasn't…being forced out of her sour mood by a good friend like Cana.
She had just been reminded that, while she lost out for another year, her dedication hadn't gone unnoticed.
And by the biggest jerk in the entire hall of all people.
Her scowl wasn't replaced by a grin, but she didn't look as dead inside, as he walked on to go make someone else miserable for awhile.
And even though Laxus would be pissed, the next year, when his Thunder Legion was once more overlooked by incompetent morons (even though a lot of the time, he found the three of them much the same), he wasn't really that annoyed to have to climb those steps to the second level and torment Mirajane about how weak and powerless she was compared to him and not to dare think about snagging an S-Class job before he got a chance to make his pick of the ones up there first.
Don't get him wrong, he still did it.
Because he would always be an asshole.
But…
If it couldn't be one of his own, he figured he was alright with it being one that almost had been.