The Tail Of The Lightning Phoenix

Chapter 2: Training

-Hotel; Later That Night- Bradley sat in a steaming hot spring as he looked up at the starry sky. He sighed as he shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Mom… I hope you're okay all by yourself. I'm sorry I can't make it home for dinner tonight… And, you were gonna make me your infamous Mac and Cheese Burger. Man… I'm so hungry," Bradley rambled as he looked straight ahead. Suddenly, Erza came up beside him wearing a bath towel around her body. She got into the spring and sat beside him.

"What… No fancy wine?"

"Oh, shut up… We aren't even dating," Erza told him seriously as she looked at him.

"Well… You can't blame me for joking," Bradley told her with a smirk. Erza rolled her eyes and looked straight ahead.

"Why aren't you nervous?" Erza asked him.

"What? You don't think I am? I'm shaking in my bath towel," Bradley laughed, "Come on… If I get nervous every time I see a girl naked, how will I ever get a girlfriend? It's time I grow up, ya know."

"I mean about being in a strange land far away from your home," Erza told him as she slapped him in the back of his head. He rubbed the back of his head and sighed.

"Well, that was out of left field… Yeah, I am kind of nervous about that. But, to be honest… I needed to get out of the house, anyway."

"Really?"

"Yeah, really… Plus, it's just me and my mom. My dad died when I was about 17. He was awesome and he took care of me and my mother when times were tough… But, he mysteriously disappeared and his body turned up dead after a month of his disappearance. My mom was devastated by that… Sure, I was torn apart by it. But, my mom fell into a year of depression. It was horrible… She almost committed suicide twice. If it wasn't for me… She would be dead today. I'm all she's got… I wish she would've came with me," Bradley told Erza. She was silent the entire time as Bradley told her his story.

"I'm sorry… For your loss," Erza told him.

"Hey… My pops wouldn't want me moping around. He always told me to appreciate the finer things in life," Bradley told her as he looked at Erza.

"You better not try anything, pal… I'm serious," she told him as she glared at him.

"Try anything? I'm not trying to die early on in the story," Bradley smirked as he broke the 4th wall.

(Damn you! You're worse than Neptune! A/N.)

Bradley chuckles as he nods his head. He sighed and looked back at Erza.

"You are one strange man, Bradley… That's not really a good thing to go on…" Erza told him. Bradley looked straight ahead and shook his head.

"What?"

"Normal's boring… That's something my dad always said," Bradley told her.

"Oh? Normal's boring? Then, what's exciting?" Erza asked him as she faced him.

"Weirdos, of course!" Bradley laughed as he held his hands above his head.

"Why do I even bother?" Erza asked as she shook her head, "You may be a cute guy… But, you're weird."

"If you're implying that I'm a pervert… I'm kinda of a pervert and a nice guy mixed," Bradley told her honestly.

"What?!"

"I'm not gonna sit here and lie to you… If we're gonna be living with each other… We're gonna have to be honest and up front with each other."

"Ok… I can be somewhat of a control freak. But, I'm a nice girl once you get to know me," Erza told him.

"I've never had a girlfriend," Bradley told her.

"Bull," Erza said.

"Dead serious," he told her.

"Wow…"

"What?"

"I expected you to have at least 8 girls riding you like a noble steed," Erza joked.

"Oh, you got jokey jokes?"

"Maybe…"

"What about you?"

"None."

"Seriously?! And, you're chewing me out?!"

"Well, you're 19… I expected something different."

"Oh, really?"

"What did you expect?"

"You being married."

"That came out of nowhere."

"Well, 8 girls riding me is not out of left field."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. That wasn't very kind of me."

"No need… You seem scary at first glance… But, you're a big softy once I get to know you."

"Heh… You're a nice guy, anyway. All right… Turn your back."

"Huh?"

"I will scrub your back for you."

"Wait, really?! Why would you do that?"

"You want me to be honest? How about… You smell to high heaven when we first met."

"Huh?! Wow! Way to kill my self esteem, Erza!"

"Hmhmhm…"

"Wait… Are you joking?"

"Yes… I am."

"Yeah? Well, here comes a waterfall!" Bradley splashed Erza with some water and she gasped.

"You will pay for that!" Erza smirked as she grabbed a nearby bucket and splashed Bradley with a face full of water.

"Ack! That's hot!" Bradley yelled.

"Mwahahaha! I will defeat you here!" Erza smirked as she puts the bucket back into the water. She was then grabbed by her waist and was slung over the shoulder.

"What the?! Put me down!"

"Ha! Try splashing me now!" Bradley smirked as he looked at Erza.

"Fine… You wanna play dirty? I'll play dirty!" Erza told him as she stripped her towel off. Bradley then stopped and looked at Erza in shock.

"What? No words at my beauty?"

"They're… Huge," Bradley muttered as he walked closer to Erza with hunger in his eyes. Erza then called out a sword and held it in front of her.

"Geez… I didn't think he'd change like that. Maybe provoking him like that wasn't a good idea," Erza thought as she puts her towel back around her.

"Huh? What happened?" Bradley asked as he shook his head.

"Nothing… We should be heading back to the room," Erza told him as she got out of the bath.

"Man… Seriously, what happened?" Bradley asked as he looked around.

-Room; A Couple Minutes Later- Bradley laid on the bed wearing a black muscle shirt and grey pajama pants. Then, a door was heard closing and he sat up. Erza was walking towards him wearing a silk nightgown and a scarlet red headband.

"Wow… Pretty," Bradley smiled. Erza smiled as she laid in the bed beside him.

"So, you don't have any problems with sleeping in the same bed as me?"

"No… I did the same with some old friends of mine," Erza told him.

"Really? How long ago was that?"

"When I was a kid."

"So, how old are you?"

"Hmm… About 20."

"Ehh?!"

"Is there a problem?"

"Well… I thought you were 27."

"Oh… That's not too bad."

"You look so beautiful, though. How do you stay so pretty?"

"I have no words for that… Because, I don't know myself," Erza told him as she got under the blankets, "Listen… You should get some rest. We'll be getting up bright and early tomorrow."

"Ah… Nothing new to me. Good night, Erza… Don't let the bedbugs bite." With that, the young Sayain drifted off to sleep. The young female swordsman looked at him and sighed.

"This young man is something special… He'll change the world and the people in it," Gaia's voice called, "I can't wait to meet him in person!"

-The Next Day; Deserted Area- Bradley stopped and stood up quickly. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and panted for breath. Erza held her sword in front of her as she also panted.

"You're pretty good, Bradley… I should give you more credit," Erza complimented Bradley as he cracked his neck.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short… You're stronger than I gave you credit for, Erza. So, why don't you show me your true power?" Bradley asked as his hair started to turn gold.

"Hmm… If you insist. Requip!" Erza called as she was surrounded in a white light. The light disappeared and she appeared to be wearing a dress made of silver blades and silver wings were planted on her back. She summoned 2 swords to her side and stood upright.

"This is my Heaven's Wheel Armor… The 1st of many of my armors. This one shall be your target today. See if you can break it."

"Are you sure I can get serious?" Bradley smirked as his hair changed to golden yellow and became spiky. Erza gaped in surprise as she looked at Bradley's Super Sayain form.

"What is that form?" she asked in surprise.

"This is called Super Sayain in the 1st state. There are 5 states to this… And, I can use all 5. My mentor, Son Goku, is another who can do this and more," Bradley told her, "But, for now… I'll only use this form today. I'm not stupid enough to go to the 5th level just yet… I'll save that for another time. Come at me!" Bradley told Erza as he got into a fighting stance.

"All right, then… I love a challenge! Here we go!" Erza called as she flew at him. He flew at her as well and the two warriors clashed with each other. Bradley kicked at her and she dodged to the left as she slashed at him. Bradley caught the sword as his eyes became a rectangular pattern. He then flipped Erza to the left and punched her in the face. She slid across the ground and quickly got back up.

"Very impressive battle tactics, Bradley. You are a seasoned warrior… Your mentor will be very proud of you. But, I'm just getting started," Erza smirked as she got to her feet.

"Where did you learn how to fight? I want to know… You're really good," Bradley told her.

"I taught myself. Thank you," Erza told him.

"What?! Wow! Impressive!" Bradley gasped as he stood up and looked at her, "There I go again… I assumed that you had a teacher."

"Well… I did have an old and short man raise me and a few kids by himself. He watched over our growth and I became what you see today," Erza told him.

"Really?" Bradley asked as he saw the peculiar tattoo on Erza's left arm, "Is that the reason you have that tattoo on your arm?"

"Actually, it's the symbol of the place he owns. It's a place called Fairy Tail," she told him.

"Fairy Tail… I've heard of that place before. But, from where exactly?" Bradley asked as he folds his arms. Then, he snapped his fingers.

"Oh, yeah! Emily told me about this place called Fairy Tail and this symbol… Exactly… Like… The… One… On… Erza's… Arm. Oh, wow… I'm in that anime that Emily loves so much," Bradley thought. He then looked at Erza.

"So, how do you apply for this guild?" Bradley asked Erza.

"It's not exactly first come, first served. My master has to see if you are worthy of joining Fairy Tail first and foremost… Then, he will test you," Erza told him, "But, if you can best me in our training… I'll put a good word in for you."

"Hmm… Deal!" Bradley called as he raced at Erza. She held up one of her swords and Bradley ducked under the blade as she slashed at him. He then kicked her in the back and rolled away from some incoming swords that were racing towards him.

"Telekinesis? I can't believe she can use that ability…" Bradley thought as he grabbed an incoming sword by the handle and held it in front of him.

"Ah… Using one of my own weapons against me? Impressive… Now, prepare yourself for this next attack!" She then charged at Bradley and continuously slashed at him. He parried the slashes with the same blade he took from Erza and fired a lightning bolt at her. She flips backwards and stopped a few feet away from Bradley. He looked at his free and sparking right hand in surprise.

"Hmm… You seem to be accustomed to Lightning Magic. Plus… When did you get that mark on your right arm?" Erza asked Bradley. He looked at his arm and saw a long scar that looked like a phoenix feather going down his arm.

"I don't know… I have no idea where this came from," Bradley told her. Erza then raised her head and her eyes opened wide.

"I've seen that before… Master told me about several people with these on their arms. He calls them… Gaia's children," Erza realized, "Some of them have powers that can hurt… Some can heal… Some can protect. You have that power because you were chosen."

"Chosen?" Bradley said.

"She's smarter than I thought," Gaia told Bradley, "She's right… I chose you because you were a strong individual. Also, you needed a push in life."

"And, this is what you meant?" Bradley asked.

"Yes… I gave you the power to aide Fairy Tail in my rescue… Several years from now," Gaia told him.

"YEARS?! Come on!" Bradley thought as he smacked his forehead.

"Sorry… You have to get used to them first!" Gaia told him.

"Is there something wrong?" Erza asked him.

"No… It's fine, Erza…" Bradley sighed as he shook his head, "Let's continue training, shall we?"

"All right… Let's do this!" Erza called as she charged at him. He charged at her and clashed with her. The 2 warriors trained and trained until the sun set. After that… They rested the rest of the day.

-End Chapter 2-