Here we are! Chapter 2 of "A Second Chance" is out! Please leave any of your valuables at the reception, have a cool drink and enjoy! Please note that we of SmoothyBooty Enterprise will not be held accountable for any accidents that occur when reading this chapter! And now, a few words from our CEO!
"GET THE F*** OUT OF MY ROOM I'M PLAYING MINECRAFT!"
Please enjoy the story!
It's been two years since I joined Fairy Tail. When I joined it was right before Gray did. He showed up a week after I did and while we didn't get along at first (mother told me never to trust perverts and while I already know what Gray is like, I still take her words to heart), we were able to settle our disputes. Erza joined a year after we did. It was mainly the same as Canon, she isolated herself from the guild until Gray tried talking to her only to be called a pervert. Things got pretty ugly after that but I didn't interfere since I knew what the end result would be. I wasn't good at the comforting stuff anyways, best to leave that to the members with experience.
At the moment, I was on my way back to the guild after buying some ingredients. I had taken up a job as assistant chef since I was the only guild member who could cook. The other cooks were brought from outside the guild by Master. I have confidence that one day the position of head chef would be mine. I don't want sound arrogant, but I'm pretty damn good in the kitchen. The first time i made a meal for a guild member the whole place went crazy. Wakaba and Macao fought each other trying to adopt me, Erza fought off anyone who would try to take away her 'Cake God', Master claimed ownership of me and so my food in the process. I never knew food could hold such power. It was a terrifying ability, being able to bring out the monsters in people in such a way.
In the time that I've been here, I've been working on training my Shukuchi. I'm constantly increasing my weights whenever I can run full speed in them, though I haven't reached the level of speed where I can disappear from an opponents sight. Master suggested I use speed magic but I would rather it be purely physical, the reason being that by increasing my physical leg power will allow me to have the same leg power as Sanji from One Piece. Combine it with Shukuchi and I would be come a force to be reckoned with. I've also started learning different types of magic that can be used in tandem with Shusui. For example, a lightning coat to increase the piercing power, or a wind coat to increase the cutting power. I've tried the same on my leg when trying to replicate the Diable Jambe and while it was easy to learn thanks to the use of magic, it still lacks the power needed to incapacitate in one hit. I still have a long way to go.
My swordsmanship has been improving a lot. Training with Erza everyday has its perks I guess. The real problem arises when she pulls her armours out. Seriously, it's unfair how she gets all of these stat boosts while I can only use a sword. I tried to requip armour but it takes way to long to use during a fight. Meanwhile, she's switching at least five to six times the speed I am. The only thing I can boast about is that i'm better than her when it comes to pure skill.
Just as I arrived at the Guild I was greeted to the sight of a group of children. One of them were covering their body with a cloak so I couldn't see who it was, but the other two I was able to see just fine. While both had snow-white hair, the girl had a small bob cut while the boy had a small tuft of neat hair. His skin was tanned but that was the only thing that made him stand out from his siblings. I say siblings because it didn't take a genius to know who they were.
"So are you going to enter any time soon?"
They snapped their heads into my direction. I had a better view of the cloaked figures face now. A female with blue eyes and snow-white hair. Before I could continue my thought, she already answered back.
"It's ok, we were just leaving"
"But Mira-nee! They could help you!" The little girl exclaimed while the boy was nodding furiously. Seriously, stop that.
"Lisanna, I don't think they would want to hel-" "What makes you say that?" She was about to answer but I didn't let her. I kept going.
"What makes you think we wouldn't want to help you? Fairy Tail isn't like that. If someone needs help, we'll help them. Even if they refuse, we'll just knock them unconscious and deal with the problem before they wake up."
"Do we need to knock you unconscious?" I asked with a smile. I've been practising this smile whenever I was alone. All three of them went pale when hit with the full force of my "Scary-Smile #1". Yes! It worked! Behold! The culmination of my efforts! Should I go for some more? Lets do it!
"Well?" I gave another smile, only this time I made sure my hair shadowed my face. Go! "Scary-Smile #2"!
"NO! I mean, no! Please! Just stop with the smile!"
Heh.
And that was how I met the Strauss siblings.
"Mika. It's time for our sparring session."
"Ah, you're right. I'll go get my stuff, you can leave without me."
Erza nodded before she turned to leave. Our sparring sessions have started becoming more frequent recently. This is the 15th time this week. I'm guessing it's because me and Erza are the only sword users in the guild, so she can only gain experience when practising with me. Just as I got up to leave, a fireball came flying into my face.
"WHOA!"
The fireball went flying over my head as I ducked last second and gloriously hit the wall. It was stuck there for a while before it slowly slid down and landed with a thud. It twitched for a couple of seconds before finally getting up and flinging itself like a headless chicken towards me again.
"Mika! Fight me!"
Natsu Dragneel, currently 12, lit his hands aflame once more as he sailed through the air. He pulled back his fist, determined to land a punch. He was putting everything into this one punch, nay, his soul into this punch!
That's why it was so hard for me when I whacked him out of the air with the sheath of my Shusui. It only got worse as he stood up once more and had that look in his eyes. He wasn't going to be stopping anytime soon.
I inwardly sighed. "Natsu. I overheard Gray saying your flames reminded him of a birthday candle." I tried to get his attention off of me and onto someone else. Sorry Gray but i'm going to have you help me for a bit.
"HE SAID WHAT?! GRAY! FIGHT ME!" and just like that I made my way out of the guild. Natsu threw himself at Gray letting out a war cry. Poor Gray, he didn't even get to see what hit him on the back of his head before he went flying. I'm sorry Gray, i'll make sure to include you in my prayers.
It's been another 2 years and my appearance had greatly changed since. My hair was growing too long so I had to tie it into a ponytail. I don't want to cut it because I had inherited it from father. I was wearing a long black kimono with a red sash tied around the waist, black pants and boots and a white vest. Oh? You say it sounds familiar? That's because I was trying my hardest to copy Roronoa Zoros outfit but I don't have the muscle to show off my chest, it was really disappointing but nothing that can't be solved in the future.
When the Strauss siblings joined, Mirajane she stayed as far as possible from me. I couldn't really blame her, the power of my smile was too much for her it seemed. It took a while but she was finally able to talk to me. Elfman and Lisanna were much easier to talk to though. All I had to do was apologise once and Lisanna treated me like her best friend and Elfman accepted right after she did. Ever since Mirajane was able to start talking to me, she's been declaring me to be her rival. I was pretty sure it was meant to be Erza but she was also declared as a rival soon after. A three-way rivalry, it was kind of fun. Almost every time I saw them fighting I would jump in. I took no sides whatsoever, merely basking in the chaos.
Natsu joined not long after, a year after the Strauss' joined. He was just brought in by Master one fine summers day and tried to fight Laxus. It may not have been his smartest idea but he was still a little kid. And he was also an idiot. Of course, he was knocked down in one hit as Laxus left before getting back up and challenging the next person. I tried to sneak away but he noticed me and jumped. I had just watched a horror movie the day before about the vengeful spirits of children getting revenge on their murderers, so when I saw a child flying at me, a bloodthirsty grin on his face while set on fire, I did the only logical thing.
I screamed and attacked hit him with my sheath. Across the face. Into Gildarts.
While it didn't give off the first impression I wanted (I wanted it to be cool damn it!), what I did do was put a permanent target on my back as Natsu decided to challenge me everyday. And then he attacked me right after he got up! Whatever he was taking, I wanted some of it!
Another thing is that I've finally reached the realm of the Food Gods. My cooking has become so amazing that some of the weaker willed guild members couldn't keep their conscious after tasting my deserts. Erza actually proposed to me when she tasted some of the cheesecake and my heart may or may not have went doki-doki for a moment. It was short-lived though as Mirajane came crashing in and started another guild brawl.
I was broken out of my musing as I finally reached the training ground. We call it the training ground but all we really do is just go behind the guild.
"Finally. I was getting tired of waiting for you." Erza huffed at me as her arms were on her sides. She was wearing a small breastplate and shoulder guards, accompanied by a white shirt and skirt, blue pants, dark-red shoes and a small bow on her chest. Along all of that, she had a small sword held on her waist.
"Sorry, Natsu tried to start another fight with me. I managed to get rid of him thou-"
"Who did you pawn him off on?"
"Gray" I replied without missing a beat.
She shook her head with a sigh. What? I don't care what anybody thinks, it's a genius move and I will always stand by it.
"Whatever, are you ready?" She asked as she requiped into her armour. My reply clearly wouldn't matter no matter what so I requiped Shusui and got ready. Nobody moved for a while, both of us sizing the other up. We stayed like this a bit longer before Erza got impatient and made the first move. Our blades clashed against each other, sparks flying everywhere as neither of us were willing to back down. Our swords became blurs, anyone else who was watching wouldn't have been able to keep sight of our arms. She attacked with the ferocity of a wild animal while I stood my ground, parrying everything she threw at me. It was a sword style I developed on my own, focusing mainly on parrying an enemy's strikes before unleashing an explosive counterattack. However, whenever I would counterattack, she already had another sword in place. We went back and forth for about 10 minutes until our blades were pressed against each other, turning it into a contest of strength.
"Oh? It looks like you've become a bit stronger Mik-"
"Save it for when you manage to land a hit. Mirajane got one in on me yesterday."
Heh. She really was easy to aggravate. Just bring up Mirajane and she attacks everything around her. One sentence and she was already losing her cool. There was a small opening in her guard and being the gentleman I was, I fully exploited it without holding back whatsoever. I kicked the back of her leg, forcing her to bend her knee. Using it to my advantage, I pressed down on her sword even more.
"What will you do now Erza? If this keeps going, it might just be my fastest win yet." I started, not realising that her other hand reached into the air behind her.
"Don't let me win too quickly, even I would get bored when...when..." My taunting slowed down. Erza had a grin on her face as she pulled out what was the biggest blade I have ever seen. No, that wasn't a blade. That was a huge club that promised lots of pain, and it was currently thirst for blood. While I could keep staring at the club, the logical side of my brain decided it was time to get out the way before the big stick of pain hit me. Just as she swung it at me, I ended our struggle and stepped back. The club hit the ground and earth went flying everywhere. She clicked her tongue.
"Did...did you just click your tongue? Are you trying to kill me?"
"Oh relax." She grumbled, a frown on her face. "Even if I tried, I wouldn't be able to hit you anyway. You would just dodge it."
"Oh geez that makes me feel so much better."
"It shouldn't."
She requiped into her Flight armour as she got ready to charge at me. We're turning this into a contest of speed? Oh my dear Erza.
You done goofed up now.
The second she leapt from where she was, I had already disappeared from her sight. It took less than a second before I was already behind Erza, my sword placed behind her neck.
"Did you really think you could beat me when it comes to speed?"
"Did you really think I would make such a rookie mistake?"
What? Ah. She had another sword she pulled out before she charged didn't she? The same sword that was currently pointed at my stomach.
Damn. Another draw.
"Well, I guess nobody won. Again. We've been drawing a lot lately huh?."
"I suppose so. Do you want to head back together?"
"No, it's fine. I'm going to stay back a bit longer."
"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow then. Good night."
"Good night."
With that, Erza had left me alone. I packed my things and sat down on a tree stump, staring at the sky. After 2 years I had finally perfected my Shukuchi. It was at the level where my opponents could only see my footsteps. The only problem was that I couldn't attack without stopping and revealing myself, nothing a little practice can't solve. My current goal is to be able to disappear while wearing my weights. Once I do that, just imagine my speed without them. The best part? Unlike Jets Speed magic which has a fixed speed to protect the users body, my speed can constantly increase as long as I keep up my training. Now that I finished it, I could focus more on the kicks.
"That was pretty intense." Just as I was about to get up, a voice broke the silence.
"That's what makes it so fun. She's the only other swordsman in the guild after all." I replied as I turned to Mirajane.
She had ended up looking just like her canon counterpart. Her hair was tied into a ponytail and her bangs were falling on either side of her face. She was wearing a small purple tank-top that showed too much skin, shorts, thigh-high socks and boots. A very punkish outfit but way too revealing. She walked out from behind the corner of the guild building and came towards me before sitting down.
"So what are you doing here?" I decided to ask her.
"What, I can't come to visit a friend?"
"Aww, that's so sweet. Now the truth please."
"Natsu was challenging everyone after you pawned him off so I came to hide here."
"Ah. Sorry."
And with that, the silence had returned. We stayed like that a bit longer until she spoke once more.
"Mika. Why did you join Fairy Tail?"
"Why are you asking?"
I was wondering when somebody would ask. She was actually the first one to ask me, the rest either forgot to ask, gave me my privacy or just didn't care.
"Well I know about everyone else's reasons except yours. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to though..." Aww, don't say that. You'll make me feel guilty if I don't tell you now.
"...I had no home to return to and I heard good things about Fairy Tail." I replied, giving a half truth. I wasn't really comfortable with people knowing I came from Vale, they would always pity me and treat me like I'm the most fragile thing they've ever seen. I'm not weak. I don't need pity.
"I'm sorry for asking..." She mumbled. Did she feel guilty? Aww, how adorable~
"It's ok, I accepted it a long time ago. I won't ever forget my family but right now Fairy Tail is my family, and i'm going to do everything I can to protect them." She visibly relaxed at this before a grin made its way to her face. I don't like that grin. That grin is promising something, something I don't think I'll enjoy...
"If you're going to protect us then you need to be strong right? Let's right! Right now!"
"Mira please, I just finished my spar with Erz-"
"Oh come on! What kind of man are you?!"
"Technically I'm not a man yet."
"Don't get all smart with me."
"Mira please, let's just do this tomorrow."
"Ok, fine."
"...Really?"
"If course not!" she grinned once more before a familiar red magic circle came charging at us. Wait no, it was charging at me.
"MIKA! FIGHT ME!"
"oh for fuc-"
And with that chapter 2 has come to an end. Did you guys enjoy the fight scene? This was my first time writing a fight scene so I don't know if I did good, but please feel free to leave any tips in the comments.
Onto the Haiku corner, today's topic will be on vegans:
"I can see your point"
"Just don't force it onto me"
"Or I will eat you"
And with that our Haiku corner has come to an end!
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