Chapter 2

A cool breeze rustled the edges of her fraying cloak. Mira's eyes were dry as she stared down at the tombstones before her. She'd cried all of her tears over the past two years.

She wondered briefly if Master had taken any of the money out of her account to pay for these. She'd deposited all her Jewels whenever she had the chance, but she'd never checked to see if it was being used. She was glad they were simple stones, nothing fancy about them. They'd have preferred it that way, she was sure.

She hadn't planned on returning to Magnolia. She was no longer a member of Fairy Tail, not even Master would consider her a member now surely. Her left hand rubbed over her guild mark, she'd never had the heart to remove it.

Mira took a deep breath, steadying herself for what was to come. Turning on her heel she marched determinedly out of the church's graveyard, toward the town's only mage guild. She had some old friends to see.


"Natsu! Stop picking fights with Gajeel already!" Lucy yelled in exasperation. They hadn't even been back a full day yet and already the two dragon slayers had gone at it no less than 7 times.

The bartender laughed at her grumbling. Lucy knew she should learn her name, but since she wasn't a member of Fairy Tail, just a hired hand, she could never seem to.

Erza slid into the seat next to Lucy and timidly asked for a drink. Lucy still couldn't get over the transformation of the S-class wizard. Not even two months ago she wouldn't have been brave enough to sit this close to anyone. Lucy didn't quite know how the change had started. Perhaps it was after the Masters annual meeting. That was the first time she'd ever heard of Erza forming a team. After that they'd all ended up on job after job together.

Lucy gently fingered Loke-no Leo's-key as she thought about the last adventure they'd ended up on. Lucy had had no idea how dark her guild mates' past had been. She knew she was lucky to be alive, after having been hit by Etherion, but she couldn't help but wish that something similar would happen again soon. She loved every minute she spent with her friends. Nothing was boring around them. They made even the worst things enjoyable.

There was nothing better than being a Fairy Tail mage!

Just as that thought passed through her mind, Lucy noticed Erza stiffen beside her. She was about to ask her what was wrong when she sensed the immense dark magic coming towards the guild.

Instantly the entire place was on the defensive, ready for anything that would walk through their doors.


Mira was used to people running away from her. She knew they were scarred of her power, that any rational person would run from a demon. She didn't think there was any part of her that could be hurt more than it already had. But she was wrong. Seeing Fairy Tail poised to attack just from her opening the door broke her heart-a feat she hadn't thought possible without actually possessing a heart.

Erza was the first person to lower her stance. Mira just glided over to the bar, silently placed Jewels on the counter for a drink and took a seat. When the bartender didn't move, Mira sighed, drawing her hood closer over her face, and stood up. She put her left leg on the stool she had just been sitting on, and raised her cloak high enough to show the frozen girl her guild mark. The girl blinked slowly, before finally reaching slowly to take Mira's money when Erza put her hand in the way. Mira couldn't help but note that Erza hadn't exquiped her armor yet, and wondered if that was due to shock or if it was some new habit. Instantly she hissed at herself. She had no right to be curious. Slowly, distrustfully, Mira sat back down on her stool.

"This drinks on me. Welcome back, Mirajane." She said, flashing a kind smile that shone from her every being. Mira was glad her face couldn't be seen under her hood, she never wanted to admit how much it hurt to hear Erza use her full name.

"M-Mirajane!? You mean the Mirajane? Demon Mirajane?" A blond girl standing next to Erza squeaked, one hand on a ring of keys on her hip, the other in front of her mouth. Mira simply tossed back the drink Erza had bought her. It wasn't nearly strong enough. She was pleased to find that her glass was refilled as soon as it was emptied. With any luck this would last, and she'd actually be able to get drunk enough to forget for a few minutes. She wouldn't hold her breath though. In the two years she'd been gone there hadn't been a single moment where she was able to forget.

"That's right, she's been a member of Fairy Tail for a long time now." Erza said, sliding back into her seat as well. The majority of the guild had relaxed enough to begin partying about their long lost members return, but Mira couldn't help but notice that some of them-particularly the members she couldn't recognize-still seemed afraid of her.

"Yeah Luce, she's been gone for two years so you haven't had the chance to meet her. She's also an S-class wizard like Erza. She's gotten a lot stronger though-I can't believe I could feel your power from the front of the guild! You've got to fight me Mira!" A warm voice yelled from behind Mira.

Her glass dropped from her hand, she spun quickly, smashing her leg against the side of the pink head, making sure her heel connected with a crunch, letting momentum bring her down on top of the teen. She was about to reach for her knife when she came to her senses. She immediately jumped up, backing away quickly. She opened her mouth to apologize but it had been so long since shed spoken anything that she couldn't find the words. It had been a force of habit, normally when someone said anything about fighting to her they were trying to kill her. She knew she had a large bounty on her head. That's what happens when rumors spread saying you kill senselessly.

The guild was silent for a moment before a gruff laugh broke everyone's trance.

"Ge-hehe. She got you good Salamander." A black haired teen guffawed from where he stood across the guild hall. He turned his attention to Mira and shifted into a defensive position. "You should try someone tougher on for size, like me." And with that he launched himself at her, ignoring the mages that jumped out of his way.

Without pausing to think Mira used her satan-soul take over, and launched herself at the oncoming opponent. The instant her hand connected with his shocked face she blasted him full force, smashing him out through the wall of the guild. She was about to fling herself after him but a voice stopped her in her tracks.

"We just rebuilt this place you know, I don't want to have to rebuild it, Mira." At the sound of the voice Mira's takeover faded away.

"I-I'm sorry." Mira managed to croak.

She noticed Erza's eyes widen at the sound of her voice, but Makarov acted as though he didn't notice anything strange about it. He just laughed. "It's fine, it's fine! If the walls didn't break it just wouldn't be Fairy Tail anymore." Master continued to laugh, as though it were funny. But it wasn't funny.

She'd attacked members of Fairy Tail without a second thought. She had believed she was prepared for this, but she was wrong. She couldn't even handle being in the guild for five minutes. She turned to run away, but a firm hand held her back.

"Miraja-Mira." This wasn't the voice of the Erza she knew. It was weak, and scared. Titania was scared of Demon Mirajane.

"Wow! You've got such a pretty face! I can't believe you cover it up all the time." The blond haired girl was kneeling in front of Mira, peering up at her face in amazement. Before she could stop her the girl reached up and pulled her hood away. "There, that's better! I'm Lucy, its nice to meet-" The girl began brightly before Mira's scream choked her to a stop.

"Don't look at me! No one look at me! Get away! I'm a monster, don't you understand? I'm a demon! I'm a murderer!" She couldn't breathe; the darkness was closing in again. She clawed desperately for her hood, as her knees gave out. Finally she felt the familiar material beneath her fingers, and she tried to wrench it over her head, but the fabric had been through one too many fights, and ripped heartlessly to pieces in her hands. She was hyperventilating now. She was going to die she was going to die she was going to-

A white cloth fell on her head all of a sudden. "You don't like showing your face anymore? Just so you know, no one here thinks you're a demon." Gray said, in an embarrassed voice. Mira was frozen with shock for a moment, but when she had gotten control of herself again, she glanced curiously up at Gray, careful to hide her face of course. "I don't know if my shirt is ok, but if it will work for now I can go get you a new cloak." He offered quickly. Anything to stop her screaming Gray thought. Erza had only just begun to get better; she didn't need to be reminded of what Gray knew she thought of as a failure on her part.

Before he could say anything more Mira bolted. She sprinted out of the guild holding the shirt close over her head, as the tattered remains of her cloak disintegrated behind her. The newly exposed clothes were equally tattered and foul, and quickly followed suite. She must have been quite the sight, sprinting through town wearing less and less with each step she took. But she couldn't stop. If she stopped her thoughts might catch up with her.

Her feet brought her to her destination before her brain even realized where she was heading. The house Lisanna had built with Natsu when they were little. When Mira saw the grave in front of it tears flooded from her eyes.

She felt herself sink the ground, shaking with cold. It wasn't summer anymore, and here she was, outside in the buff. She wrapped her arms around herself, drawing her legs closer to her, desperately trying to retain body heat, as a sob tore through her chest. God it hurt. She was almost positive now that the hit shed taken to the chest about a month ago had done something serious. Perhaps one of her ribs had punctured her lung. Maybe she'd die, Mira thought doubtfully. Her luck wasn't that good.

Once they started, she couldn't stop the tears from streaming down her face. She could hear their voices in her head again. Begging for help. Screaming in pain. Blaming her. She dropped her chest onto her knees, clasping her hands to her ears and screaming for them to stop. She knew she shouldn't have come home. A demon had no place amongst a bunch of fairys.