Despite Ivan's ominous warnings, seven AM came. Laxus met his dad in the training hall. Ivan's face, which had been healing nicely after his run-in with Zan, bore a long but shallow cut that started below his left eye and terminated at the corner of his lip. Laxus studied the man while he rolled his shoulders and stretched out his arms, getting warmed up. "What happened?"

Ivan tugged fingerless leather gloves onto his hands. Laxus eyed them warily; his dad only donned those when he planned on having a good row and didn't want to split his hands open. Mechanically, Ivan said, "Too much to drink. Took a spill."

The man was a good liar. He was a liar all the same. Feeling brave without his father's fist marks in his skin for some time, he asked, "Why did Randen tune you up?"

Ivan didn't flinch. "Who?"

"I saw Lieutenant Randen in the hall last night, from the Magic Council. I heard you arguing. He did that to you. Why?"

Ivan looked up, all fury. Laxus blinked and Ivan was there, coming on strong, swinging mercilessly. Laxus was too busy dodging and blocking and failing to dig anymore.

By the end of it, he was lying on his back staring up at the raftered ceiling, his whole body aching, his face bleeding. He wasn't in as bad of shape as he had been that day his father dumped him outside the train station with a bag of clothes packed, but it was close. Anger gave him a little more energy when he thought he could lie there and die. He struggled to rise, grabbing magic, though when they fought like this, they both knew magic was forbidden.

"Zan may be dead, but his lackeys remain. If you want to start fighting back, now is the time. Crawford Seam has given us his blessing." Ivan swiped blood from beneath his nose. "But you hit the targets I give you, when I say."

Laxus let his magic fade. He looked at his old man, searching for deception or uncertainty. He could find none. "Yeah?"

Ivan reached down and grabbed Laxus' hand, yanking him up and steadying him when Laxus swayed drunkenly. "Perhaps you're ready. It's a dangerous game we play, son. No one can implicate us or the council, so when you go after them, make sure they're dead."

He thought about Zan's smoking corpse, the smell that clung to his nose. It haunted him. Not as much as inaction. "They will be."

It took four days for Elfman to be released from Porlyusica's care. In that time, Mira spent long hours there, loitering in Master Makarov's office, provoking him into the planning of a proper infirmary because he never could get a moment's peace.

When she wasn't with Elfman, she was with Lisanna, and when she wasn't with Lisanna, she was hunting. For what, exactly? Any leads she could find. Wenden was a fucking ghost, though. In that regard, he and Tani were cut from the same cloth. Careful. Methodical. There were a few stories that pique her interest: men and women burned to death in a town six days north. And then there was Ketnab, where she'd first come into Miss Yunica's care—it burned to the ground the day after Zan's death. Mira wasn't foolish enough to imagine it wasn't a warning.

Master wouldn't give her permission to leave to investigate, and honestly, the thought of leaving Fairy Tail so far behind was enough to make her hesitate. It could be a trap. It could be a trap to get her out and away from Fairy Tail so she was defenceless. Or, even worse, to get her away so Elfman and Lisanna were defenceless.

It ate at her, but she stayed where she was and worked a different angle: getting Lisanna to work with Reetus to draw a picture of the demon that killed Silas. Lisanna wasn't very cooperative. She claimed that it was too dark that night to properly see his face. Mira didn't know if she believed her or not.

In the very few moments she had to herself, she called Laxus. He was usually too busy or too tired to talk, popping on for a few quick minutes then hanging up again because he was going on a job or he was training or he was exhausted from a day of practice. His face was a bruised mess again, his cheekbone swollen, one eye black, his lip split. When she asked why, he answered very shortly, "Training." Everything was training. She thought he was lying but didn't know how to ask for the truth.

Long weeks passed like that, with only the odd day presenting itself where he had enough time to sit down and have a conversation with her, and when he did, it wasn't to talk about the circles below his eyes or his cracked knuckles. Or about when he was coming back to Fairy Tail—he always found a way to avoid that. It was to flirt shamelessly. To tease. The conversations got bolder, to the point where she went to Laxus' room for privacy, closing the door and shutting out the lights, whispering. They never fell into silence, he dragged out of her plenty of things Mira thought she should be embarrassed about but wasn't.

It was exciting, but not the same as having someone there with her, someone to actually touch her. By the end of those conversations, Mira was always frustrated. The kind of frustrated that had her wandering over to Fairy Hills. Cana invited her in, she always did.

The first three hits were nothing to talk about. They happened over the course of the spring and summer. To find them, Laxus travelled to cities he'd never heard of, two on the Alverez border, one in the far north. The demons he tracked down with a lot of direction from his father didn't seem very surprised to see him. Instead of entertaining why, he killed them and left their bodies where they lie, hoping that any demon associated with them would get the message and be afraid.

The fourth he found in a shooting gallery in the heart of a town called Graven, a little closer to home. That one, too was easy prey because it had been using the stoners lying around as easy prey. It was the most twisted demon Laxus had ever had the displeasure of coming into contact with, covered in tacky blood as it was, flesh caught between its teeth, high as fuck. Useless, too, when he hit it with enough magic to stop its heart. He threw up afterwards once again, in a dusty needle-riddled corner, though this time it had less to do with the smell of cooking meat and more to do with the half-eaten bodies lying around.

Afterward, he'd found a cop on the street, tipped him off to the scene inside and slipped away while the cop was calling for backup.

Back in Raven Tail, his father told him, 'Good job.' Laxus asked for another. And another. And another. He got stronger. Killing became easy. They fought back. They never won, though sometimes, it was close.

The eighth demon in what was turning into a long line of targets, loitered in a swamp entering winter's grip not far from Trinity. Laxus' boots sunk into the late-November snow. His feet were cold. Steel toes and leather didn't make for warm winter gear. He didn't plan on being here long, though. Long enough to do as his father asked, and then he'd be returning to his motel, and then the guild in the morning.

According to his father, the demon he hunted was high-profile. He'd worked closely with Zan and then went into hiding when Zan was killed, like a coward.

Cold wind bit through his jacket, making him shiver. He picked his way carefully over the ground, on alert for thin ice.

The landscape was strange, full of ups and downs caused by grass tufts, but also by more unnatural things: pine boxes that had been squared together stuck out of the earth, some by millimetres, some by several feet, all had fallen into rot. Laxus glanced at the snow-laden shapes, imagining what he'd find inside if he looked. Nothing good. Swamps made bad soil for a cemetery. Winter's ice froze the earth, spring's thaw heaved coffins in the air. The city had moved all of the graves that were claimed, but this cemetery was old. All of the bodies that weren't immediately spoken for were left here because the process of moving them was expensive and Trinity didn't have the funds to do it all at once. It was a project that had started twenty years ago and had fallen into the wayside for other, more important things: roads, buildings, police. The cemetery was cordoned off to the public. No one came here anymore. Unless, of course, you were a kid trying to spook yourself. Or a demon looking to take advantage of fear.

Finding the thing wasn't so difficult: it had dug into the earth like a groundhog, churning up fresh soil when everything else was still snow-covered. Laxus sniffed and smelled it on the air: sulfur and rotting cheese. It was enough to make him gag. He breathed shallowly and approached with caution.

Wind moaned through stubby black spruces, bending the narrow trees into old men with crooked backs, and swept through leafless red maples, twisted and knobby, stressed growing in a place they could survive in but weren't meant to. Cattails rushed, frozen grass crinkled, snow crunched. Laxus squeezed his hands into fists again and again, trying to work some blood into them. The leather gloves he wore had been warm an hour ago when he started on this crusade. Not any longer.

Snorting let him know that his quarry was home. Laxus stepping on a thin sheet of ice and going through up to his ankle let the demon know that he had a visitor, because Laxus' responding "fuck" was anything but quiet.

The ground burst, throwing up bits of snow and mud and some other chemically smelling soggy thing that Laxus didn't want to identify. It landed on his coat, on his cheek, and got all over his pants. He would have cussed more, but something a little more solid hit him and he was staggering back. The only thing he saw clearly in the half-moon light was a black blur, a shadow in the shadows. Pain flared in his face, in his ribs. His mouth filled with blood.

The next attack that came, Laxus didn't even try to avoid. It was the last of the flurry, though, because he made his body buzz with lightning that wouldn't be ignored. Hit with the charge, the creature fell to the ground, muscles jerking for a solid five seconds before it could stop. Then it panted, cheek pressed into the snow, fingers encased in brown scales curling in the ground.

Laxus watched it until it tried to rise again, then, fueled by fury and embellished with magic, he kicked the demon so hard in the ribs, it forced the thing onto its back, exposing its face. A long and narrow nose, a pointed chin, scaled like his hands. It didn't try to protect itself, it only asked, "Every time you kill one of us, do you feel stronger, Ivan's son?"

Laxus let lightning strike. The demon rolled, narrowly avoiding the blow by moving before Laxus formed the spell. Laxus gathered energy for another; the demon's flurry of laughter made him slow.

"Did you know he asks us to die? To lie down so you may become strong? To give in for a better cause?"

The demon was quick, avoiding the next burst of lightning, too.

"I say, I don't want to die."

"It's not a negotiation," Laxus said and attacked again.

That demon was quick, darting back on hands and the balls of his feet. "Dreyar's boy… killing me, you're not doing yourself any favours. You should be going home and trying that lacrima on a human heart." When he spoke, Laxus saw his red-stained teeth. He didn't think he'd done that much damage, but apparently. "Kill your father. For all the lies he tells. He would look good in one of these pine boxes."

"You haven't had to beg for much, have you?" Laxus let lightning come, resolved once again.

The demon dodged again. The ground exploded with the force of the spell. Panting from the effort, the creature said, "I'm only interested in fairness, young Dreyar. It's in that name that I tell you, he's playing you for a fool. He will betray you for that lacrima of yours, as Tani has betrayed us. I wouldn't be surprised if your father reached into your chest himself and tore it out."

Laxus thought, until then, that he would be merciful when the time came. Instead, he used his magic to hurt when he could have used it to kill. The demon still died quicker than Laxus thought it should. It didn't utter another word. Not to scream, not to defame.

Laxus continued on. It didn't take much to turn into a proficient killer.

It was kind of terrifying.

It was kind of liberating.

In mid-January, it was cold in his room in Raven Tail. Laxus had thrown on a wool sweater. It didn't help much; the dampness came through the stone that made up his outer wall.

In the lacrima, Mira looked comfortable lounging in his room in Fairy Tail as usual while they talked. She was on his bed with her head tipped back over the ledge, looking up at him from upside down. She wore a sweater that was tight enough that with her arms over her head, it turned into a belly top that almost revealed a little too much. On her hips was a pair of pants so tight that, while Laxus watched her close the door, he thought she wasn't wearing anything beneath them. Or, if she was, it was something very small.

On a different day, he'd ask kindly and she'd remind him why he missed Fairy Tail. Today… he didn't think she'd bite. She was irritated.

"Have you been keeping up with this bullshit about this 'Vigilante'?"

"The demon hunter?" She'd expressed her displeasure before, not wanting anyone else to get the step on Tani.

"Obviously," Mira grumbled. "He's a fucking dick."

Laxus laughed. "Thought you'd be like, kindred spirits or something?"

Her gaze darkened. "Did I mention he's doing it without asking for a reward or anything? He's actually ruining me. I haven't seen a job posting in months. Not for demons. People think this asshole's just going to come around and clean up their problems for free."

Huh. He hadn't thought of that. Telling her the truth now seemed like he was signing his death warrant. Laxus asked, "Have you heard anything? About Tani I mean?"

If he thought Mira couldn't get more irritated, he was wrong. Her fingers plucked mercilessly at his blankets. "You mean since Ketnab was burned? A whole lot of nothing. Lisanna says the town razing was probably coincidence."

"What do you think?"

She abandoned the blankets and laced her fingers through her bright hair. Her shirt snuck up more. "I think Tani's waiting for something." Her face screwed up. "Do you think he's behind these killings? Maybe he's trying to embarrass me." She laughed dispassionately, not like she really believed it, but like she could.

"No," Laxus said with conviction.

"Yeah. Why would the scourge kill their own, right?" Finally, after so long, Mira asked, "Laxus, when are you coming back home?"

He took his eyes from her body and grinned. "Miss me?"

She only looked at him, making him uncomfortable. They never put name to this thing they were doing. He didn't know if she was seeing other guys and he didn't want to ask, either, just in case she was and he was sitting like a fucking nun watching the women go by.

"I'll try to get by this weekend. I don't think I have anything going on," he said to break the silence.

Mira's smile was quick and nervous. It faded before it really took root on her face. "Alright."

Raven Tail's master's office was cold, but did his father have the fireplace going? No, not Ivan Dreyar. He sat back in his chair in his long-sleeved, white button-up shirt and some fancy as fuck green waistcoat, fingering a smouldering cigar and looking at the newspaper looking as comfortable as you please.

"Vigilante," Ivan read upon seeing Laxus. "'Bane of demon kind.' The press is turning themselves inside out looking for you. I wonder how your friend feels about playing second-fiddle?"

"Mira?" Laxus asked dryly. "She doesn't care about that shit." Oh, if only she knew.

He only raised his brow. "I don't have any other locations for you for now."

"I'm not looking for names," Laxus said. It'd been quiet and he wasn't so sad for it. It felt good hunting down demons, sure, he was getting to work out his lacrima in a way he never could in the training hall, he was as strong as he'd ever been. But it'd be nice, for once, to just do nothing. "I'm going to Fairy Tail for a few days."

Ivan's mouth flat-lined. "Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah. Last time I talked to Gramps, he asked when I was coming by." Which wasn't a complete lie. Makarov Dreyar made it known that he'd been away for a lot longer than he'd previously stated the last time he left, almost an entire year ago.

"You're making good progress, Laxus," Ivan said. "If you go away now, you may lose all of that."

"I'm going for the weekend," Laxus said. "Not eternity. My lacrima isn't going to fall apart in that time."

He opened his mouth to present another argument. Laxus bowled over him. "Three days. I'm leaving tonight and I'll be back Monday." He left the office before his father could think of some other way to try to make him stay.

With a cigarette in his hand, Laxus took to the outside, moving to the huge oak behind Raven Tail. Above, faint sunlight petered through a thin layer of cloud that dusted the world with very, very fine snowflakes. He dropped to the ground, relying on his coat to keep everything dry, and slouched against the tree, curly bark digging into his back. Despite the discomfort, he dug his lighter from his pocket and lit his cigarette, then he just smoked and watched the dead ryegrass sway in a nearly non-existent breeze. He closed his eyes and relished the peace, tired. When he started killing demons for his father, he thought his conviction would be unending. It was only after killing eleven creatures whose names he didn't know under an order from the council he hadn't seen, did he realize that it could actually go on forever.

This was the most peace he'd gotten in months. Months and months.

And it was about to be shattered.

Kurohebi flew out of Raven Tail's back door, pushed violently, and fell to the wet ground. Cora came out next, a macabre prize in her hand. "You think this is funny? Or sweet? It's fucking sick, you bastard. S-I-C-K. You need to get checked out if you think anyone would ever want a gift like this."

Kurohebi rose. He said something to her that had Cora's hand flexing. Laxus watched the shit-show unfold and wasn't even all that surprised. Cora reeled back and let loose. Her palm clapped loudly against the man's face. It took some time for him to react. He touched his stinging cheek and then lunged, grabbing the girl by the shoulders and screaming in her face almost incomprehensibly. Cora yelped. Laxus swore. He was across the grounds in record time, tugging Kurohebi off Cora and throwing him back to the ground.

"What the fuck is the matter with you?"

The man only blinked up at him, confused by his sudden change of state.

Cora spoke from Laxus' back. "He's a fucking creep, that's what the matter is. He's been sending me these sick necklaces again." She shoved her hand out around Laxus' side for him to see. Sure enough, in her fingers was another one of Kurohebi's specials.

"I thought I made myself clear the last time?" Laxus demanded.

Kurohebi finally spoke to defend himself. "She was yours last time. Now she is not."

"His?" Cora spat. "I'm my own fucking person—"

Laxus held up his hand. Cora trailed off. Looking at the man on the ground, Laxus calmly said, "Things will go very, very badly for you if you keep this up. That I promise."

"He kills demons now and thinks I'm afraid." Kurohebi stood. "The last time we fought, Laxus Dreyar, I won."

He wasn't bragging so much with Laxus' fist in his temple. Actually, he wasn't saying much of anything at all. The ground caught him. Cora threw his necklace back, the bones laughing dryly as they bounced off the man's chest and came to rest on the white, white snow. She spat and kicked him for good measure.

"Hey." Laxus grabbed her arm and tugged her back. "He's down."

"He should be dead," she said.

It felt weird talking to her again. They'd kept their distance for so long, looking away from each other whenever they met in the bar downstairs or in the hallways. All the same, Laxus asked, "Did he hurt you?" because it seemed like the decent thing to do.

"No." She rubbed her arms. "Just creeps me out. That's the third time this week."

Laxus looked at the man with the stitched up smile and scabby fingers tipped with nails filed to a point. "I'll deal with it."

Laxus was still far away, but a low bass voice drifted from his father's office. His footfalls fought to drown out the conversation. He just barely heard someone he didn't recognize ask, "What are you suggesting?"

"I think it's time to harvest it." Ivan's low voice travelled more easily through the door of his office.

"You surprise me, old friend. I thought you'd balk."

"Not me."

"I knew you were cold, but you have no regrets at all?"

"This day has been coming for years," Ivan replied. "I knew and prepared accordingly. I am at peace with myself."

"Of course. Would you like to do the honours?"

"Of course not, I said I was at peace, not that I was thrilled by it. I'm not a savage."

The other man laughed. "All men think they're tame, until they're not."

Ivan only said, "Tell him to be discrete. I still have to live in this town."

At the door now, Laxus didn't care if he was in the middle of something, he pounded on the smooth wood roughly, barely waiting for his father's gruff, "Enter."

Laxus shoved the door open and came into the room, Kurohebi's gross prize in his hand. His father was sitting at his desk speaking into a lacrima that portrayed Randen's face. Laxus barely looked at Randen, eyes only for his father. He dropped the bone necklace down on the desk and said, "I want him out of the guild."

"I see."

"This is the third one he's left for Cora."

"Mmhmm." It was clear Ivan was uninterested.

"He's a psychopath," Laxus said.

"He's just excited after Cora's recent relationship change," Ivan said idly.

"That's not an excuse," Laxus spat.

"He's enthusiastic."

Enthusiastic.

"You know what?" Laxus said. "Forget it. I'll do it myself." He was halfway to the door when Ivan called him back.

"You are not master of this guild."

"One of us has to be," Laxus said. "And it sure as fuck isn't you. He's been dogging her since she joined Raven Tail and you just laugh it off."

Ivan's jaw twitched and his fingers curled on his pen. He didn't look at Randen, but his neck was red enough to let Laxus know he was embarrassed and angry about it. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Kurohebi still has worth. Rough him up if you must to teach him some manners, but he is still a part of this guild."

"The only thing he's good for is fertilizer," Laxus said harshly.

"Laxus—"

Laxus slammed the door between them, knowing full-well he'd be paying for that later if the old man dared. Long steps took him back outside. The grounds were empty. Kurohebi had come-to and picked himself up again.

Laxus reeled around, entering the guild again and choosing his direction wisely; he thought he knew where he'd find Kurohebi, if the sound of Cora's elevated voice was any indication. Her room was off the same corridor as Laxus'. He moved over the concrete and stenciled floor quickly. As soon as he turned the corner, he found his quarry. Kurohebi was pressing Cora's door open while she fought to keep it closed. Laxus didn't ask questions this time. His magic snapped from his fingers and hit Kurohebi squarely. The man went completely rigid. When the spell released him, he collapsed to the floor, a drooling mess. He got back up, though, and faced Laxus.

"I told you to leave her alone." Laxus augmented his words with more magic. Lightning let his body, arcing with a very specific destination. It felt different, though, bolstered. Bolstered by one of Cora's power-changing spells. He realized it a millisecond before it hit Kurohebi, but by then, it was too late. The lightning, much stronger than it had been before, entered his body and stopped his heart. He fell, limbs twitching some. When he stopped, his eyes were open and his mouth was still spilling drool. His lungs didn't rise, though. He was dead. It took Laxus a long time to process that. And then, really, it was Cora that put things into perspective.

"Kurohebi?" With her hands clutched together, pressed into the pink wool sweater she wore, she nudged his foot with her toe.

He didn't move.

She tried again. "Kurohebi? Fuck. I don't think he's breathing."

Laxus lifted his gaze and said the first thing he could. "Why would you do that?"

"What?"

"You changed the power of my spell. Why would you do that?"

Cora looked scared. "I just…"

"Cora."

"I didn't mean to. He was being so weird. I just wanted to increase it a little. I wanted him to hurt."

Fuck. Laxus thrust his fingers through his hair. It didn't help clear things up for him. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. "I can't fucking believe this." Do something. What, though? Anything. Magic stopped his heart, maybe it could start it again?

He knew before he started that it wouldn't help, not if Kurohebi's heart was completely still. He tried anyway, going to the man's body and pushing bolt after bolt into his chest. He jolted and twitched and foamed more from his mouth. There was no change, though, his chest didn't lift.

Cora was crying. "Stop it, Laxus. You're just making it worse."

How could it get any worse? He was dead.

"What's going on?"

Ivan Dreyar's voice struck fear in Laxus' heart. He stopped what he was doing and forced his shaking legs to bring him upright. Then he faced his father. His father who wore a face of disbelief and disgust. "What did you do, boy?"

"It was an accident." An accident. He felt like a kid again.

"He's dead?"

Laxus couldn't reply.

Ivan pushed by him to feel for Kurohebi's pulse. Seconds passed, bleeding into a minute. Ivan swore. And again. Standing, he pushed his fingers into his temples, mind working overtime.

"Master Ivan, Kurohebi was supposed to be doing a job for the council. He was supposed to leave tomorrow," Cora said. "What are we going to tell them? They'll arrest Laxus for murder if they know, and take him away."

Arrest? Everything was moving so quickly, Laxus struggled to keep up. "My magic wasn't enough to kill him."

"He's dead," Ivan barked.

"Cora changed my spell," Laxus protested.

Ivan's face got dark. His fingers clenched into a tight fist. Cora backed up, wary. Laxus joined her. Ivan composed himself enough to say, "It doesn't matter what happened. It was your magic that killed him, Laxus, the council won't care why. You'll be taken from here and thrown in jail."

"But—"

"They won't care what happened. Because of that, we can't ever let them know. We'll tell them that Kurohebi left abruptly," Ivan replied in a more collected way.

"We'd be lying," Cora whispered.

Ivan got very intense. "Unless you want to be joining Kurohebi, I suggest you make amends with that, girl. I won't have my son arrested for murder because of your carelessness."

Her chin wobbled. "Yes, Master."

Ivan took in a breath. "I'm going to take care of this. Laxus, return to your room and tell no one. Cora, help me."

Laxus was startled into obeying. It seemed Cora was, too, because when Ivan indicated that she grab Kurohebi's feet, she did.

Halfway through a micky of whisky, his guilt still wasn't less. He kept thinking about Kurohebi's twitching limbs, the drool. Even knowing that Cora's interference was the catalyst that set everything into motion, Laxus felt sick. He'd killed before, sure, but it was demons. Demons that were evil through and through. Kurohebi was just a man. A man that was sick, sure, he was a menace, absolutely. He might have even been dangerous. It was different, though.

Different.

And Dad's cleaning up your mess. As calm as you fucking please, hiding a body, hiding murder.

Holy fuck.

Trapped in his room well into dark, Laxus felt caged and twitchy. Needing to do something, he dropped the bottle on the nightstand and stood, going for his door. The hallways were empty and quiet. He felt detached moving through them, a ghost full of disjointed thoughts. His feet carried him to his father's study. It was dark. He moved next to the man's rooms. There was a light on inside, coming through the bottom of the door.

Laxus raised his hand to knock. Voices made him still—one in particular he knew very well. Cora was inside.

"You don't think anyone will find him, do you?"

"No."

"I really didn't mean to kill him. I just wanted to scare him some more. When you told us to put on the act to get Laxus to stay, I was okay with it, but him coming to my room wasn't part of the plan."

"It's fine, Cora. Unexpected, but everything is still fine. The distraction worked, I'm sure he's not thinking about catching that train to Fairy Tail. We just needed to keep him here to give Tani time to arrive. He should be here late tonight. He'll harvest the lacrima then we'll kill him, take it and sell the magic to the military as we planned. Crawford assures me we'll be protected from inquisition."

"Why do we have to wait for Tani? Can't we just remove it ourselves?" Cora asked.

"It's delicate work and I'm worried about destroying it. He assured me that even without Zan it can be done, he's had plenty of experience removing them."

"And what about Laxus?"

Ivan hesitated. "It'll probably kill him."

Laxus' ears roared. His mind, already overburdened, struggled to process what he was hearing. He almost turned right around and went back to his room, sure that he was too fucking drunk, too fucking stressed, that he was making things up—imagining them.

That must be it.

It didn't ring true.

He grabbed the door handle and turned. The door was silent opening. Light petered out, making everything seem so perfectly clear. There was his father, in his overlarge bed with his hands clamped behind his head, and there was Cora on the mattress beside him, breasts out while she leaned over and dragged her fingers over his chest in a way Laxus was all too familiar with. His mind tried to reject the scene. His eyes, and logic, wouldn't let him.

Disgusted and feeling betrayed, he almost burst in yelling. It was very, very close.

He closed the door as quietly as he'd opened it and returned to his room. He gathered a few things in a bag, took his stash of money, grabbed his micky, and left Raven Tail before he was missed. It felt like running. It felt like he didn't care much.

He just…

Needed time to think.

Mira was brought out of a fitful sleep by the sounds of shuffling next door in Laxus' room. Her heart went into her throat, first in fear, thinking there was an intruder in the guild, then, when she heard him stumble and his familiar voice cuss, in excitement. She pressed her lips together and shimmied out from beneath her sheets and adjusted her T-shirt down around her hips. Her feet took her to the door quietly. With her hand on the doorknob, she did a once-over around the room. Lisanna and Elfman were still very much asleep, both snoring lightly.

Very quietly, she opened her door and snuck out into the hall. The lights weren't on in Laxus' room. Not discouraged, she tiptoed over and tapped lightly on the barrier and waited.

The door was tugged open a second later. Illuminated by the moonlight, Laxus was a mess. His hair stuck up at odd angles, his clothes were dishevelled, his shirt more than half undone, his belt open. He'd been getting ready for bed, Mira thought.

"Mira." His voice was thick with alcohol. The smell came to her nose. He'd been drinking a lot. His mouth was a flat line; there was worry and anger in his eyes, though she didn't think it was directed at her.

"Hey."

A look overcame him. Mira thought, for an instant, he was about to tell her to leave. His Adam's apple bobbed. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.