Disclaimer: FAIRYTAIL characters © MASHIMA

death
and
dream

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XI

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"Okaa-san…" The boy took hold of the woman's soft hand, "… why doesn't otou-san visit us anymore?"

She didn't speak – only bent down to pat his head, smiling.

He had many, many questions. But every time he saw that smile, he would forget about everything else in the world and smile alongside her.

Following the smile, the woman would always say, "It's going to be okay."

…

"… Okaa-san, otou-san will visit you soon, right…?"

Again, she didn't speak. Only, her pale and bony hand reached for his head, patting him gently. Once more, she gave him her sweetest, most genuine smile.

The boy watched her.

He watched her age at an alarming rate, he watched her grow pale, and he watched how life escaped her bit by bit every day.

The more he watched, the heavier that unexplainable weight in his chest grew. It wore him down, made his heart sore, and… a-and it seemed to push up… – up to his eyes. And then his vision would blur up.

"It's going to be okay,"

… Yes, those were tears. Those were tears in his eyes. The boy wanted to cry.

"Laxus," the woman called softly as she stroked his head, combing through his golden hair, "… everything's going to be okay."

.

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"Laxus?"

The voice brought him back. He looked down, meeting Mirajane's curious gaze.

They were dancing to the rhythm of the slow, classical tune played by the orchestra in the background, but in truth, they were actually observing their surroundings – alert for anything suspicious. Well, they were – that was, until she realized that he was out of this world – and by that, she meant it figuratively.

"Is something bothering you?" Mirajane inquired gently.

His green eyes darted to the corner.

The girl raised a brow. On the surface, he appeared to be keeping a straight and calm composure, but just for the slightest bit, Mirajane could feel his hold on her hand and waist tense. So, she pressed on, "Laxus?"

The man tensed again, and this time, so did his facial expression. "… It's nothing." He replied quickly.

No, she thought, it definitely was something. "I'm not going to eat if you don't tell me." Mirajane joked with the intention of bringing his mood up.

Right away, the corner of his lips arched upwards. He sighed, "Really, do you think I'd care?"

Mirajane shrugged and smiled back, "It was worth a try."

He chuckled.

Naturally, the two Fairy Tail mages continued to move along with the rhythm, dancing slowly to the beat with their eyes (unknowingly) locked together. While Mirajane silently tried to decipher the mysteries behind his green eyes, Laxus searched deep within her blue ones for a sparkle – for some sort of warmth, because he desperately wanted—

"Laxus,"

He dragged himself away from his odd thoughts.

Mirajane tried again. "Right now, as you are," she started, "would you say that you're happy?"

Laxus didn't answer immediately. Reprocessing her question, surprise and wonder flooded his thoughts. His eyes softened and he responded lightly, "Why are you asking me such a stupid question?"

She kept on smiling. "I just want to know you a bit more."

A natural and warm answer. There was absolutely nothing suspicious about it… yet, why was it so hard to come up with a response? It was hard, but at the same time, he wanted to answer her.

He wanted to tell her… so that she would know him. "I…"

"…"

He took a deep breath and loosened up. "… I have the power, the money, the looks," Laxus paused, staring briefly at the emotionless Mirajane and then looking away again, "I have everything and can get anything I want. So do you expect me to say no?"

She shook her head. "I don't expect," Mirajane hesitated, "…I just… had a feeling that you'd say no."

It was nice. It really was nice, in all seriousness, because nobody – and he meant nobody – had ever bothered to… well, understand him like this. In a way, she was consoling him. And Laxus was using the term console because nobody ever tried to make him talk about his personal issues.

Nobody ever dared to.

"… It's really nothing," Laxus said. "Just that… I suddenly remembered something." He finally gave in, and realized that his voice was growing softer and softer as he spoke – a sign of vulnerability – but he went on, "… Something that happened when I was a kid."

Mirajane gave no sudden reaction; rather, she prolonged her smile, moving with the music along Laxus. "Is it something happy?"

"…" He breathed out. "Don't really know," he shrugged. It didn't last longer than a second, but the face of his mother flashed across his mind. He would've – could've – smiled, but the vision disappeared as quickly as it appeared. In turn, a sulk replaced the softness of his expression. "It's just… strange and weird how I'd remember that of all things. And it came to me so… suddenly, too."

To be honest, she was somewhat lost, but at the very least, Mirajane could tell that the said memory was something important. In any case, she sought no purpose in asking for details. It was partly because she didn't care, but mostly, it was because Laxus seemed bothered by it.

Mirajane, admittedly, had a talent for bullying people. Ironically though, she had an even bigger talent for comforting people. Perhaps it was because she could see through people's thoughts so easily? Like, she knew what people needed or wanted to become happy again. Take Erza for an example; if she was pissed off, just give her a piece of cheesecake and then she'd be sugars and rainbows again. For Laxus… well, cheesecakes obviously weren't going to work, but she did know that her smile would.

And so, she smiled.

"You should treasure it," Mirajane mused aloud, catching his attention. "… Even if it's just a memory – be it good or bad."

"…"

She chuckled lightly to his confused look. "Never mind," It was piling with question marks. "Forget that I said anything. You'd probably think I'm crazy if I said anymore."

The smirk returned to him. "No, I'm intrigued," Laxus commented. "Go on."

Mirajane blinked. Yes, the scowling lightning mage did indeed look intrigued. She had no reason to refuse if he wanted to listen, so she started, "The… good and the bad – take it all with you."

Her voice blended in with the soft violins and cellos in the background. Hearing her speak with music, Laxus felt a sort of calmness, unexplainable by words, overwhelm him. All of a sudden, he felt lighter, less restraint – free.

"That's what makes us human, right?"

He listened.

"Take too much of the good," she said, "then you'd be hiding, living in an illusion… shoving reality to the side."

Then, Laxus could see her delicate smile wither away.

"Take too much of the bad and you'll become messed up, unstable… insecure." Mirajane finished.

He fell silent. It was easy to see why she was hesitating. The girl herself, up till now, was still fighting against ghosts of her past. Every night, perhaps even with his presence, she struggled. There were simply some things in life that cannot be forgotten. Yet, still, Laxus was able to witness – Mirajane embraced them no matter the difficulty. She truly was a remarkable girl.

"… That's why you need to have a balance of the good and the bad."

Once more, his expression softened.

Seeing how he was actually paying attention, Mirajane grew relieved. Laxus Dreyar wasn't all just arrogant, mean, and selfish; he was also misunderstood.

"Even if it's something unbearable, things happen in life, and you just have to take it all in. It makes everything more real, you know?"

Her cerulean eyes sparkled with warmth – Laxus realized now just how much he enjoyed looking at those bright crystals.

"… and if it's too much to bear," Mirajane went on, in an even softer voice now. Her grip on his shoulder and hand grew firmer, "… I'll help you – as much as you've helped me for the past few weeks."

He was utterly astounded. To think that only a mere two weeks ago, Mirajane was going through an unstable phase of anxiety… with her displaying her level of maturity and optimism right now – she really was something else. Laxus cracked a smile at the young Demon. "… You're crazy."

Mirajane breathed out with amusement. "I know," she said, gazing at the man softly.

"Have you always been like this?"

She shook her head, chuckling. "I've only learned to think this way recently."

A bemused brow risen, Laxus pressed on, "Hmm? I've been with you a lot recently. Tell me you didn't start to think that way because of yours truly."

Mirajane said nothing in response. Her smile, however, became more profound. Gently, her grip on him tensed again, as if she were acknowledging his comment through touch.

Laxus, right away, comprehended. He swallowed – crazy girl… really has an odd way of expression herself – "S-so," he attempted to start a conversation anew, "… have you noticed anything?"

The girl heard shyness in his voice, but she decided that now wasn't the appropriate time to tease him. They were in a middle of a job, after all. "Nothing downstairs," she looked to the balcony of the second floor, "… but upstairs…"

"Looks like it's filled with scrawny and snobby-looking businessmen to me."

She nodded. "The 'important' people are probably all upstairs."

Lucky for them, nobody was getting suspicious over the fact that they had been dancing continuously for three songs in a row now. Well… probably some did, but this was a freaking ball, so what was wrong with wanting to dance? It was necessary, regardless of what others thought, as they had to observe each and every guest in this hall. The only thing they could blame was that god-forsaken S-class bullshit-of-a-mission.

"See anyone worth our while to beat up?" Laxus asked casually.

Mirajane scanned the people on the second floor thoroughly, but found no spectacular result. It was simply too crowded; from below, it looked like all the face were blended together – not only that, but those stupid businessmen all wore black, so it was even more difficult to spot someone who was distinct (if there was anyone like that) apart. She turned to the man, only to find his eyes closed. Was… was he slacking?! She scoffed, "Do you see anyone?"

"I don't see, Mirajane," he spoke quietly, eyes still shut.

Her irritation was instantly dropped when she saw his ears twitch. Oh, right. His sensitive ears… Still, seeing them move like that, Mirajane found it to be cute. Just almost.

Laxus suddenly opened his eyes.

And Mirajane acted right away – "What, did you find someone?"

Yes, indeed. He did find someone. Laxus stopped dancing all of a sudden and pulled the girl off the floor.

Mirajane, in turn, blinked at him in wonder. She kept quiet though, as she wanted to know what the man had to say.

He definitely had the queue to talk – the problem was, however, he didn't know where to begin. Improvising would probably be a good start. "You… do you remember our priorities?"

Hearing that, Mirajane's curious expression twisted into that of confusion.

"Jiji, he's upst—"

"No, Laxus." She cut in, "We… we're here for the mission. Let's get that over with first, and then—"

"Listen," he interrupted her this time, "I'm telling you this because I feel that it's more important. You've wanted to speak to him for weeks now, haven't you? Well, here's your chance. He's upstairs."

She knew that right now, Laxus would be having trouble trying to tell what was going on in her head, but that was mostly due to the fact that even Mirajane herself didn't understand this feeling. She clenched her fists, hesitation brimming.

"You wanted to ask jiji about Elfman, didn't you?" He spoke up. "Go ahead, no one's stopping you."

"But o-our mission—"

"This isn't like you at all," Laxus interrupted. He turned to her, "Why are you stopping yourself from doing what you want to do?"

"…" She gasped soundlessly. Mirajane looked up at the lightning mage whose stare was pressuring her like never before. In time, she realized that her body was shaking.

Yes, really, it wasn't like her at all to be like this. Why was this happening…?

"I-I don't—" she stopped when his warm hand rested on her shoulder. Mirajane blinked at the man.

Laxus had a natural smirk on him. "The good and the bad, you need both, right?" His smirk widened when he saw her loosen up. "Let's say, if the outcome is going to be bad… and I'm not saying that it will be," he paused to reassure her, "… Just know that at some point, the good will cover up all that negative crap for you."

She raised a brow. "What's the good…?"

The lightning mage grinned. "Me," he said smugly. "Like you said, I'll help you – as I always had for the past few weeks."

"…"

Laxus wasn't trying to be poetic or anything, but if he had to compare, watching Mirajane's smile disappear was like watching flowers wither. Likewise, watching her smile grow was like watching flowers bloom. A delicate, delicate thing that was – her smile. Easily breakable, but beautiful nonetheless. This was, by the way, one of the other reasons he liked to look at her. "So, what do you say?" He grinned when the girl before him finally broke into a soft giggle.

"And how would you help me, Laxus?" She laughed.

"Oh, I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe I'll kiss you or something."

Mirajane rolled her eyes. "Why, of course."

Of course that was just a joke.

How very like him. She continued, "And if the outcome is good? Would I have to get some sort of bad from you?"

He chuckled, as something clever came to mind almost instantly. "Since you hate me so much, if the outcome is indeed good, then how about you kiss me?"

Again, she rolled her eyes but was smiling. "Whatever the result is going to be, it seems to me that I'm just going to get something bad in the end."

As Laxus chuckled, Mirajane sighed – not really a sigh of agony, it was more so a sigh of… relief. It was relief because, undoubtedly, the heavy weight in her chest just moments before had somehow disappeared, and Mirajane needed no in-depth analysis to understand why.

"Fine then," she said with confidence. "If the outcome is good, I'll kiss you."

He beamed. "On the lips," Laxus quickly added. "Are you up for that?"

She smirked. "I'm up for the challenge."

He grinned. It was extremely childish, he had to admit; he felt like he just won over a childhood crush for a date or something. But still, this feeling – he was very (extremely, madly, insanely) happy when she didn't straight-up reject him. Before she could walk further, however, Laxus grabbed her by the wrist. "I'll come with you,"

Mirajane looked surprised at first, but then she softened up. "No, don't," she smiled. "Wait for me here. I want to do this myself."

Laxus was in no doubt worried about her answer, but he knew very well that once Mirajane had her mind set on something, it would be impossible to change her thoughts. "Alright," Laxus turned to look up at the balcony, where men and women alike were talking, holding onto champagnes as if they were super classy or something. Laxus scoffed, "Jiji is in the center of the second floor. I can hear him talking with some other old man, I think."

She nodded. "Thank you."

He slipped his grip down from her wrist to her hand. "I'll be looking forward to the kiss," he gripped onto her fingers firmly. "By that, I mean your kiss… for me."

There were several connotations that could come from his remark just now; the most Laxus-like one being that he simply wanted a kiss from her. But Mirajane knew – that wasn't it. This man was wishing her luck, in a very Laxus-fashion.

Still, she wasn't disturbed or annoyed or anything on that matter. Smiling, she gave him one last assuring nod, and headed for the stairs.

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So, what business would a seventeen-year-old girl have with all these middle-aged (and, as Laxus had noted, snobby, scrawny), rich, and classy-looking people? Usually being the one to scare others, Mirajane herself was feeling slightly intimidated by these strangers' looks right now. And did it make any sense that they had to talk on the stairway?! They were blocking her way for heaven's sake! As politely as possible, she brushed her way past the adults, and with much difficulty, she finally made it to the second floor.

Well, coming up here helped her confirm two things: one, it was very crowded, and, two, it seemed like nobody gave a damn that a child was in an adult area. She and Laxus were both quite positive that if they stepped on this floor, they would get kicked out.

Regardless of what others thought, Mirajane proceeded forward. She was greeted by more judgmental eyes of – you name it – curiosity, confusion, surprise… pretty much everything.

Laxus told her that Master was in the middle… so—

"Oh?" Came a deep, masculine voice.

Mirajane looked up, and was greeted by a young man, perhaps the same age as herself, smiling in an odd manner at her. The man had short, blue hair. Clad in an simple yet elegant white robe, he had a strange, red marking that ran over his right eye, and he was… well, quite handsome. But there was something odd about this man; it was faint, but Mirajane could definitely feel a sort of darkness from him. And by that, she meant it quite literally – she could feel darkness magic swelling within the man.

"You are… Miss Mirajane Strauss, aren't you?"

She was able to specify it by now – that odd smile she described earlier was sinister. Yes, that would be the proper adjective. His smile was sinister.

"Yes, this is she." Mirajane spoke firmly. "I apologize. You are…?"

"Please, there is no need for apologies," he bowed as he spoke politely. "I am Siegrain of the Ten Wizard Saints. Having only just come into name, it is no surprise that you do not know me."

She watched the young man's movements cautiously. Although he appeared to be sincere, Mirajane just could not shake this suspicion over him…

"I must ask, Miss Mirajane," the man started timidly, "What brings you up here on the second floor, where all guests gather strictly for the purpose of business?"

"I am here for business," she responded, but then paused. Thinking safely, it was probably best not to mention anything about that shady mission. It could probably bring her more trouble. "… I'm here to see my Master, whom I must speak with immediately."

He wasted no time. "Ah, I see." The man bowed again and gestured for her to walk beside him. "Please, Makarov-sama is right this way."

For what reason a Wizard Saint of all people suddenly showed up to escort her, Mirajane need not question. She could say that the reason was not important enough for her to seek, and therefore she may disregard.

"I am sorry that this is so sudden, but…" The man by the name of 'Siegrain' suddenly spoke up as they walked.

Mirajane turned slightly to acknowledge his words.

"… I must apologize for your loss," he said. "It must have been hard. Your sister—"

"Thank you," the word had no soul. She said it simply for the purpose of saying it. "Yes, it was hard, but I'm fine now, so thank you." Mirajane paid no attention to his reaction; she only wished to reach Makarov as soon as possible.

With a few more brushing and shoving, the Wizard Saint finally stopped.

"Makarov-sama is over there," he said, pointing to a small roundtable. "Shall I come with you?"

Mirajane had to squint her eyes to spot the tiny man. He was in his white Wizard Saint robes, talking to another tiny man, whom she believed to be Yajima. "No," Mirajane said bluntly, "I would like to go by myself. Thanks for the offer."

Siegrain bowed politely once more, and then he backed away.

The girl waited several moments before acting again. She had to – that blue-haired Wizard Saint's aura was… it was disturbing. Through the short time he had been beside her, she had felt uneasy, unsafe, confused, scared – everything all at once. Mirajane had never felt her own magical powers act that way before, and she did not like it one bit.

She turned around slowly, her eyes scanning her surroundings for the blue-haired man.

Good, he was really gone. She wasn't sure how much longer she could have lasted if he was present. In any case, she was free to talk to her master now. Mirajane took a deep breath and headed towards the small roundtable, where, ironically, two tiny men were sitting at.

"Master, Yajima-san," Mirajane called softly.

Makarov and Yajima were in the middle of a relaxed, friendly conversation, but hearing the familiar voice, the two immediately dropped their topic and turned to it.

The girl nodded once to the two as a greeting.

"M-Mi…" Makarov tried to start. His gaze shifted from her face down to her neck, to her chest, down to her waist, hips, her dress, and then it shot right back up at her face. "Mirajane?!"

Her expression was blank. "Yes, Master."

"W-what are you doing here…! Why are you here?!"

"For a mission, Master," she answered simply.

Makarov was utterly astounded. It didn't seem like he heard her answer, as he was much too amazed by the sight before him. The master didn't reckon that he could open his eyes this widely and still have them intact to his face. "W-why, you're beautiful, Mira!" He exclaimed. "You should dress like this more often!"

The girl in question remained stoic despite his excitement. "Please, Master, I've had enough attention for the night."

And she definitely wasn't joking when she said that.

Makarov, however, couldn't shake away his amazement. "Nonsense! You should receive all the attention in the world for looking so damn sexy—OW!"

Yajima (perhaps the more normal elderly of the two), had smacked his friend on the head. He cleared his throat and spoke up, "It seems you should drop the silliness for the time being, Mabo."

Rubbing his swelling head, Makarov turned to Yajima to frown at him, but soon understood what he meant. Slowly, he turned back to face the girl, and seeing how serious her expression was, Makarov did indeed drop anymore desire to joke around. "Mira, what's the matter?"

Did she mishear him?! Mirajane tried – oh, she tried hard – she tried to restrain herself from throwing a fist at the old man whom, all these years, she grew to look up to, admire, and to adore as a family member.

He was a guardian, a father-figure – he was literally family, and yet he…!

"What's the matter…?"

Makarov heard her grunt under gritted teeth; her clenched fists shook with nothing more than anger as she continued on—

"How can you ask me something like that…?"

He narrowed his brows.

Mirajane mentally noted that she would have to give herself a medal for having so much willpower. If this man were anyone else, then she would have gutted him already. Disregarding her master's still-clueless face, she spoke – demanded – firmly, "I want to see Elfman."

Makarov, still looking confused, could only gape. "Elf… Mira, wait—"

"Please don't tell me to wait!" She raised her voice, her shoulders shaking. "I've… waited so long. I'm scared that if I'm told to wait any longer, I'm going to… I'm…"

"…"

She paused to take a deep breath. "For the past two weeks," Mirajane said, "I… no – everyone back at the guild have been trying to reach you, to ask you not only about my little brother, but to ask where you have been as well,"

The master was growing increasingly concerned, "Mira, lis—"

"We thought that something might've happened, because… why couldn't we reach you through the Lacrima Device? Why didn't you reach us through the Lacrima Device?!" Her voice was rising without her knowing.

"You have to listen—"

"And to know that you're here, at this stupid ball, enjoying yourself—"

"Mira!" Makarov barked. He grabbed onto her fist, upon where immediately he felt a strong bewitching – near painful – chill shoot all over his body. Makarov twitched slightly, and looked up at the taller girl, "Mira, listen. Remember what I said about controlling yourself and calm down."

"…"

Took a moment, but after several blinks, Mirajane noticed that she was breathing quite heavily. All in the while, she noticed as well that she was releasing a hell lot of magical energy. Luckily for her, the atmosphere was loud enough to cover up her careless actions. "I-I'm sorry."

Makarov breathed out and shook her head, all but concerned. "I'm sorry, Mira. I honestly do not understand why you're saying all this," he started as calmly as he could. "Because I believe that I have indeed made contact with you for the past two weeks, at least once in two days."

Mirajane felt herself gone cold.

What…?

"Every time we spoke, you were in such a panic, I couldn't not answer you," he explained. "You wouldn't hang up unless I told you every single detail."

Her eyes grew wide slightly. "No… you didn't…"

"I've told you everything you asked. Whether it is about Elfman, the council's ruling to his actions, and…" the old man felt himself hesitate, "… the planning of Lisanna's funeral."

Mirajane shook harder – she needed to confirm that this was real, that she was present in reality. "No… you've never told me anything…!"

The girl was growing increasingly unstable, and Makarov knew that it would be unwise to go on. He held onto her cold hand tightly and, by the gods, her skin was freezing cold. "Mira, it's okay. Just, please, calm down," Makarov pleaded. "Really, everything is fine. Elfman is fine."

She raised her head.

He smiled. "He was quite injured when he was brought in, but healed as quickly as he came back into consciousness."

The worried Mirajane pressed forward, "Is he okay now? Will he be alright from here on? C-can I see him?"

Mirajane had completely broken into Makarov's personal bubble – not that he minded of course; the girl was very concerned, after all. "I said relax, Mira." Lightly, he pushed her back a step. "He's more than fine. Sure, he was very, very unstable when we told him about Lisanna, but he really is fine now. Trust me."

Letting out a deep, deep breath, for a split second, Mirajane could feel the blood rush up her head, and then her head spun. Relief to her felt ironically stressful.

"Unfortunately though, you're not allowed to see him yet. Although the council has ruled that he is innocent for all actions, he still needs to go through rehab."

"Rehab…?"

"Yes, rehab," Makarov replied, "for both his physical and mental health."

"T-then more so the reason that I should see him! Now would be the time for someone he cares about to support him…!"

"Mirajane,"

She froze. Master rarely called her by her full name; when he did, it would mean that he was fairly serious.

"When I say trust me, I mean it. Elfman is fine, and you are not permitted to see him for the time being. Do you understand that?"

His tone was strict. Frustrated, Mirajane looked away.

"I said," Makarov's grip on her hand became firm. His voice deepened as he spoke, "Do you understand?"

She closed her eyes. "I… y-yes." Mirajane said softly. She sighed and turned back to the short old man, "I understand, Master."

"Good," he drew his hand back to himself. Makarov could see that she clearly didn't understand, but at least she was being obedient. "I'm sorry, Mira, but…" he clicked his tongue, "… Elfman himself asked to be left alone during the time of rehab. He doesn't even want to see me."

Mirajane swallowed the lump down her throat. "It's so like him to say something like that…" She whispered. "He must be blaming himself for what happened…"

Poor girl was shaking again. He would be paying full attention on consoling her, but something far more conspicuous was on his mind right now. Something so suspiciously-conspicuous that he had to ask –"Mira, I'm sorry this is so abrupt, but I must ask – when you said that you tried to contact me, it… didn't work?"

She glanced at the shorter man, whose expression was all frowns and worry. So, she took no delay and answered, "No, it didn't. I tried for days and days. Erza, Cana, Gray, and even Natsu tried as well, but it never went through."

Makarov was visibly stunned. The old man glanced across the table to Yajima, who then nodded once and walked off. Makarov then turned back to face the young take-over mage. "Mira, I am not lying to you when I say that we have spoken through the Lacrima Device for the past two weeks. What bothers me is that you're saying we haven't."

"…"

"Clearly, someone is interfering with this matter." Makarov thought out loud, "… To alter a Lacrima Device in the Council… whoever's done it could be potentially dangerous."

Mirajane stayed quiet as her master continued to think.

But as soon as he came back from his musing, Makarov stood right up from his chair. "In any case, this is council-matter." He said as he straightened his robes. "Mira, I apologize for all the confusion… if you can even call it that," Makarov wavered as he spoke, as he could feel nothing but disappointment for not realizing this earlier. "… But know this: I will get to the bottom to all of it."

His firm statement had the corner of her lips arch slightly.

"And when I'm done, we, including Elfman, can all go home."

Of course; that was all she hoped for. Mirajane nodded, smiling.

Makarov grinned back at the younger girl. "Trust your old man on this, alright? Everything will be okay."

"Yeah," Mirajane said. "I don't doubt you, Master."

The short Wizard Saint gave the girl one last smile before walking off, and that was when she figured that he really wasn't joking when he said that he will get to the bottom of all of this. And hearing that, Mirajane had to admit, she felt certain that things were going to become normal again despite all the mishaps. When Fairy Tail's master became serious, not even the Magic Council could stop him.

Letting out one last sigh of relief, Mirajane removed herself from the crowds of businessmen and women. As she headed for the balcony that overlooked the lower floor, her chest grew warmer, lighter.

The thought of being able to reunite with Elfman, she couldn't possibly be happier. But right now, she was just glad that her little brother was free of any charges, though she would have to scold him for being so stubborn later on…

Mirajane rested her hands on the railing of the balcony as she looked down into the dance floor. Quite easily, she spotted her partner – with much help to the bright colour of his hair. He was standing there, hands in his pockets as he connected his gaze with hers.

Then, it happened.

Mirajane remembered – she had to kiss him if the news was good. It was to equalized the good and bad and all that bullshit she probably shouldn't have come up with. Well, for one, she didn't know that Laxus would take it so seriously, and for another, she didn't know that he'd twist the idea into a game. What was even more unpredictable was the fact that she'd actually choose to play that game.

Even so, right now, she was smiling.

She was smiling at him, who was smiling back.

And that was all he needed. Mirajane saw Laxus' grin widen, and then he headed for the stairs. His golden hair was easily lost amongst the pointless crowds on the staircase, so Mirajane waited and contemplated. She contemplated on how the silly lightning mage was coming for her to receive his 'reward', and she contemplated on how silly she was to be feeling happy about giving it to him.

Yes.

Just for reassurance, she was feeling happy about this. Not disgusted, not repulsed, not even irritated as she had anticipated earlier – Mirajane felt happy.

… she felt so happy, she couldn't wipe that silly smile off her face.

Well, maybe she should just admit that she actually didn't mind kissing him. And by didn't mind, she actually meant wanted to.

But…

Mirajane looked to the stairs again. The golden-haired man wasn't visible, and he should be upstairs by now. In fact, he should be standing right in front of her by now.

Concerned (only a bit, she mentally added), Mirajane made her way to the stairs. The amount of people in her way was unreal; she had to push and shove and squish and everything else that un-lady-like. One would think that all these classy-looking people would be more considerate of a tiny little girl like herself and would move out of the freaking way. Finally, through much effort, she broke free from her obstacles, and just right there, only a few steps lower, Laxus was standing, motionless – still as a statue.

Mirajane frowned. The balls he had to keep her waiting… She took a step forward—

"…!" The girl yelped – somebody had bumped into her, which almost threw her off balance, but being the agile Demon she was, Mirajane quickly regained her stance. Right away, she spun around to the person, "Sorr—" but stopped instantly.

That person, that… figure she had just bumped into – its physical appearance flashed like a malfunctioning hologram, and then it became smooth again, reverting into a normal human figure. And during that millisecond where it 'malfunctioned', the figure exposed its true form. Mirajane saw, and knew very well, that true form was—

"… Ivan Dreyar…?"

The figure simply smirked at her, giving her an ominous stare at the same time. It all happened faster than she had expected, because in the next second, he had already disappeared.

Her eyes widened; she meant to chase him, but something else popped into her mind. "Laxus…" Mirajane said out loud. She spun around to the man, who was still standing motionless on the few steps below her. Grabbing onto the sides of her gown, Mirajane raced to him. Once she was close enough, she could see that he was in shock – eyes literally lifeless. "Laxus!" Mirajane grabbed his hands, "Are you okay? He… what did he do?"

Laxus blinked once, and his green eyes grew sharp again. He returned the hold on the girl's hands, "We need to go."

"What…?"

His golden brows furrowed. Without saying another word, he dragged the Demon with him, down the stairs and towards the exit.

.

.

See what I mean when I said that I had to split the chapter into two last time? It's still so long, and there's still more I want to put in… but oh well :/

This chapter turned out longer than expected, which begs the question:
Is the length too much? Should I make them shorter, or is this actually okay with you guys? I have a bad habit of making my chapters superultramega-long, so yeah… please do tell me your thoughts!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Stuff's finally happening! D:
Oh, please remember to review as usual :3