I am actually quite proud of this one. Of course, I also had quite a bit of fun writing little devil Mirajane ^^
III. Lost
In all honesty, Freed Justine could deal with being alone. It wasn't a foreign concept, to sit in solitude, perhaps reading a book. In fact, he enjoyed the serenity of not having to be bothered by other people.
Which was why he was perfectly fine without having a team. Of course, there was also the fact that he knew no one, and forming a group with total strangers would be very uncomfortable, to say in the least.
But the fact was, he was happy in that decision.
Obviously, the Master had mentioned it to him. Obviously, he wanted to help the young mage to be comfortable in the new guild.
But while Freed could appreciate the thought, that was about as far as it went. It was obvious, to him, that he would probably never have a team. Which, really, suited him quite fine.
Which was why he was dubious, to say in the least, as he stared at the certain white-haired devil standing before him; hands on hips, scowl on face. He had noticed her watching him earlier, between fights with Erza, but only now, as he made his way home, did she actually approach him. Which kind of made him fear for his life. Not that he showed it - eyes blank as always - when he finally addressed her, "Hello, Mirajane...Did you, um, need something?"
Her scowl only deepened, before she jabbed an accusing finger in his direction. One hand on her hip, one pointed forward, and a ridiculous frown on her face; it probably would've been comical, had he not been terrified of her.
"You'd better believe I need something, retard! What's with wandering around like some kinda lost puppy day in and day out, huh? You're part of the Guild now - go do something!" As Freed stared in stunned silence, Mira finally stopped to actually breath.
He dug his nails into his palms as he subconsciously hung his head. He had done something wrong. That was not a feeling he particularly liked to have. But he hadn't known - not really - what was expected of him, though he probably should've had a little bit of insight...Was the master mad? Maybe he really didn't belong in a place like this...
"Oi." Freed glanced up at the change of tone, which was coupled with a decidedly dramatic change of expression from Mira. She looked a little guilty, letting out a large sigh, "Look, you don't need to be bothered by it - really. In fact, tons of people in the Guild just sit around and drink all day. I just, uh...Well the bloody point is, you should go do stuff because it's fun. You look so...lonely and out of place, sitting by yourself like that. You'll enjoy the missions, though - I'm sure! So...so go do something!" She finished, once again forceful in tone.
"I...the master said I can't go on missions alone, so..." Freed mumbled in reply, after another moment of silence. Really, there was no predicting this girl; one moment screaming and scowling, the next about as tender as she knew how. Which, in all honesty, was even creepier then her anger.
Of course, at the moment, she just rolled her eyes, like that was the stupidest thing she had ever heard, "Well, duh - go find some other losers and form a team. It ain't that hard."
Freed mumbled in reply, quiet as he could. "Oi, speak up!" was quickly shot back. He bit his lip, before taking a deep breath, "I don't want a team."
Mira, for her part, just stared at him, like perhaps he had just gone and grown himself a second head. He was tempted to make sure he hadn't, as the silence stretched on. Finally, still looking a tad confused, she admonished, "And why the f..." she glanced guiltily back at the Guild building, before trying again, "And why not? I mean, your companions are half the fun. Of course, sometimes you'll want to strangle them slowly, just to make them suffer for being such retards, possibly with the use of magic, and then throw their useless corpse in a river...But the fact is, having a team is great!"
Freed shrugged, trying not to dwell on the second part of that speech, "I'm fine being alone. I don't want to deal with other people...I don't even know anybody else. I just...don't want a team."
Apparently, being happy with solitude was a foreign concept to the girl. For a moment, he wondered if she just wouldn't comprehend it. But finally, she managed a reply, "Why would you want to be content with being alone. Company is so much more fun...don't you miss not having other people around when you're alone?"
Freed just shrugged, listlessly.
"I mean, when I'm alone I just feel so lost and confused. Don't you?"
Another shrug. Another moment of silence.
Then, out of nowhere, she socked him in the shoulder (which, by the way, felt like being kicked by a horse. He would know.) and started grinning. Yes, he decided, this girl had to have a screw lose somewhere. As he nurtured his poor shoulder, she explained, back in full energy, "Well, I believe that you, being the total loser that you are, are lost. But the thing is...you've never be un-lost, so you don't even know it. And that's even more the reason to go form yourself a team!"
Taking a step back lest she decide to hit him again, he briefly pondered her patchwork explanation. Maybe it was true. Maybe he really had never known how it was to be found. Maybe the joke was on him. He held back a sigh, before lightly shaking his head, "I...don't know. Maybe you're right. But even so, I truly am happy as I am."
Well, as it turned out, he hadn't stepped back far enough, because in a second, she punched him again, but in the other shoulder this time.
"Of course I'm right! Even when I'm wrong I'm right; there is no 'maybe' about it! And your version of 'happy' has been denied, so screw you!" Super excited and scary one moment, the next, calm and almost tender. Definitely either crazy or bipolar.
"You're just gonna have to trust me on this one, Freed. One day, a team will come along. You may not know it at first, but they'll be your team. And when that happens, well then you'll get it. Because here at Fairy Tail, you don't have to be lost and alone. Just you see."
Next up: Found
