Ch. 2- The Past is the Past

Fairy Tail © Hiro Mashima

Story and OCs © Me

Hydrangea was only about 2 hours away by train, so Erza had made the right decision to take the express instead of going by wagon. One thing nice about it was that Natsu wasn't there, groaning about being nauseous since Haru didn't want to risk another incident like the last train ride. Erza quite enjoyed the trip, as well, smiling as she looked out the window with a tranquil look on her face.

Haru had to admit, it was rare to see Erza smile like that. She actually looked quite pretty, honestly. It was no wonder that she ranked as one of the Most Beautiful Female Wizards in Sorcery Weekly. Hell, one time while out on a walk in Magnolia with the Requip Wizard, Haru noticed that Erza didn't just have men drooling over her, but some women showing an attraction to her, too. One girl even gave her a box of chocolates!

That was actually one of the few reasons why Haru admired Erza so much: she wasn't just beautiful, but she was brave, strong, and fierce, unwavering even in the face of seemingly impossible odds. That was the kind of wizard that Haru strived to be.

Of course, she owed a lot to Natsu, too, but Erza was always like her big sister, always looking out for her and making sure she never felt like she was alone. Hell, when Haru was old enough, Erza actually invited her to come and live in Fairy Hills, but as much as the idea tempted the Beast Wizard, she felt more at home with Natsu and Happy in their cozy little cottage in the woods.

As Haru sat staring at Erza and Blue Fang lied on the floor between... this one thought suddenly crossed her mind. Actually, it wasn't really sudden. It was something that she thought of every now and then and she knew it wasn't polite to pry, but sometimes she found herself wanting to ask.

"Hey, Erza?" asked Haru, causing the Requip Wizard to glance her way. "Can I ask you something?"

"Depends," Erza replied. "What is it?"

"Well... this is gonna sound random," Haru began while shuffling her feet a little, "but it's something I thought of for a while." She then looked Erza right in the eye. "Erza... where were you before you joined Fairy Tail?"

Erza's eye went wide... and suddenly, various images seemed to flash before her in her head. She heard screams and crying... the sounds of whips lashing against flesh... maniacal laughter... and a young boy with a crazed grin on his face.

"Erza? Erza?! Hey, Erza!"

"Huh?!" Erza asked as she snapped out of it, only to see Haru's concerned face. Even Blue Fang looked worried, judging by the way he was craning his head up at her and whining.

"Are you okay?" Haru asked. "What happened? You just spaced out?"

"Uh... i-it's nothing, Haru," Erza answered. "Listen... where I was before I joined Fairy Tail... it's not important. It's in the past and I prefer to leave it there."

"Oh..." Haru muttered as she looked down, dejected. "I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you or anything. I just... thought I'd ask."

Erza smiled before she reached over and put a hand on the green-haired girl's shoulder, causing her to lock eyes with her.

"You meant well," Erza reassured. "You didn't upset me. Honest."

Hearing that caused Haru to smile happily at her before she leaned over and hugged her, prompting Erza to chuckle as she hugged her in turn, even as Blue Fang licked her cheek, leaving a small trail of drool.

XXX

It was already the middle of the afternoon when Erza, Haru, and Blue Fang arrived in Hydrangea Town. Houses and buildings sat upon quaint grassy little hills and a few windmills dotted the landscape. They saw a few people outside, happily chatting with each other while little children ran around, playing with their pet dogs or helping out with the housework.

"Well, this is the place," said Haru.

"The flyer says to meet with the mayor of the town," said Erza as she looked down at the flyer containing details of the job request.

"Excuse me!" Haru called to a pair of women nearby. "Where can we find the mayor?"

"Oh, you can find him at Town Hall," replied one of the women as she held a basket of laundry. "Just follow the main road. It's the biggest building in town, you'll see it."

"Thank you very much," Erza said with a bow of her head before she, Haru, and Blue Fang went on their way, continuing on the path until they eventually reached a large, white building with a blue rounded roof. Upon being welcomed inside, they were soon humbly greeted by the mayor of the town; a short, stocky man that was about half as tall as Makarov, wearing a dark blue suit with a sash around his chest, a long Fu Manchu mustache, and a balding head with a dark red top hat with an orange ribbon around it.

"Ah! So you're from Fairy Tail, are you?" asked the mayor as he sat behind his desk while Haru and Erza sat in front of him, having been served tea and cake. "Thank you so much for coming!"

"You're very welcome, Your Honor," replied Haru while Erza sipped her tea... and meanwhile, Blue Fang stood nearby, sniffing a statue that looked like some sort of dog-like creature with a cone-shaped nose and no ears.

"So, you've been plagued by bandits, recently?" asked Erza.

"For a few weeks now, yes," the mayor answered. "They've been quite bothersome. You see, our town isn't very large, but we do rely on trading to survive. Any time some traveling merchants attempt to come to our town by wagon, they're ambushed and robbed blind! I've already tried asking for help from the Royal Army, but it seems this is too much for them, as well!"

"Meaning these bandits must be wizards," Haru theorized.

"Yes, quite," the mayor agreed with a worrisome expression. "I'm at my wit's end! So I sent out the request to several nearby guilds, hoping someone would come help!"

"Then you did the right thing," Erza replied. "Rest assured, your bandit problem will soon be a thing of the past."

"That's right!" Haru agreed. "If there's one thing that Fairy Tail is good at, it's kickin' bad guy butt!" She paused. "Well... that and breaking things, but we do try not to! Well, I try not to, but Natsu on the other hand gets carried away and-"

"Ahem!" Erza cleared her throat. "Haru, you're rambling on, again."

"Oh, right! Sorry!" Haru exclaimed with an embarrassed laugh. "Ah, I hate when I do that."

"Thank you, ever so much," said the mayor. "Please, feel free to stay at our local inn and rest until tonight. I'm sure you must be tired from your train trip here!"

"We'll take you up on that," Erza replied with another bow. "Thank you very much."

"Yes, thank you!" Haru added as she bowed her head, as well... but then she noticed that Blue Fang wasn't sitting beside her, causing her to turn around and see the silver wolf about to open his mouth and gnaw on the aforementioned statue he was sniffing.

"Don't even think about it!" Erza scolded, causing the wolf to whimper before he gave the Requip Wizard a nervous grin. "That's what I thought."

"Thank goodness," said the mayor. "I adore that statue!"

XXX

It was a while later that the girls and wolf arrived at the inn. They soon checked in and got situated, knowing that they had a few hours until nightfall, when the bandits usually struck. Since they had time, Haru decided to spend a little time at the marketplace in town to see if they had anything to sell. She did see some shirts from the Heart Kreuz brand (a personal favorite among Haru, Lucy, and Erza), and some cute hair accessories that she thought that Erza might like; the kind that would blend with her hair perfectly.

She also bought a couple of cakes, just for a snack.

As Haru made it back to the room, she found Erza standing in front of the mirror in their room, looking at her reflection. She was brushing a hand over her hair and smoothing out her blue skirt, then smiled and nodded her head in approval.

"Hey, Erza, I'm back!" Haru called, causing the redhead to whip around to face her.

"Oh, Haru!" she said. "I didn't realize you were gone."

"I went and did a little bit of shopping!" Haru replied as she put the bags on her bed and searched inside. "Check out all the cute things I got!" She soon pulled out a dark blue shirt with a rose pattern on it. "I got one just your size! Wanna try it on?"

"Err... perhaps later," Erza said.

"Oh... okay," Haru said, momentarily frowning before she smiled again, reaching inside and pulling out the several hair clips she found. "What about these, Erza? These are so cute! I even found some that would go great with your hair!"

"Oh, Haru, you didn't have to get anything for me," Erza said.

"What are you talking about?" Haru asked. "I know I didn't have to! I wanted to!" She smiled at her. "Why not do something nice for a friend?"

Erza blinked before she smiled warmly at the Beast Wizard.

"You've always been so thoughtful, haven't you?" asked Erza.

"Well, yeah," Haru replied. "You always taught me that."

Erza chuckled as she pulled Haru into a hug... accidentally hitting her face against her chest plate, which made her yell in pain.

"Ow..."

XXX

"Ahhh... this is nice..."

With a little more time on their hands before their stakeout, Haru and Erza decided to check out the inn's bathhouse. Even Blue Fang decided to join them, sitting with Haru in the bath... which caused the water to overflow, but she didn't complain. Instead, she just giggled in amusement as she scrubbed herself.

"Got any room for one more in there?" asked Erza as she walked up to Haru, who looked up to her... only to be surprised to see that the Requip Wizard was still wearing her armor.

"Uh... Erza?" asked Haru. "Why are you still in your armor? We're in a bathhouse."

"I just feel more comfortable with it on," replied Erza.

"Yeah," Haru began, "and not that I'm judging or anything, it's just... you can't really bathe in your clothes. It's kinda awkward."

Erza took a quick glance around the room, seeing a bunch of other naked women sitting around while wearing towels or sitting in their own tubs... then realized how much she stuck out as she took a glance at her own armor.

"Good point," she mused before she closed her eyes, and in a flash of light, she was soon standing in the nude, the steam from the hot water of the baths covering the appropriate parts. Soon, she got into the tub with Haru and Blue Fang, the former smiling as she watched the redhead relax.

"See?" Haru asked. "Doesn't this feel nice?"

"I must say," Erza began as she began to sink into the tub, "it is quite relaxing."

"Wouldn't it be nice if we had a bathhouse like this in the guild?" asked Haru.

"Perhaps," Erza replied as she closed her eyes and sighed pleasantly. As she did, though, that's when Haru seemed to notice something. It was hard to see at first, but as Erza leaned back, Haru saw tiny specks of silvery-looking scar tissue in various parts of her skin, causing the Beast Wizard's eyes to go wide in surprise.

"Erza?" Haru asked. "Where did you get all those scars?"

"Y... you can see them?" asked Erza as she sat upright.

"Yeah," Haru replied. "I didn't realize you had so many."

Erza's eyes widened before she looked away, wrapping her arms around herself, then without warning, she got up, grabbed a towel, and walked out.

"W-wait, Erza?" Haru asked. "Where are you going?"

"This was a mistake," Erza said. "I'm sorry, Haru... I'm going back to our room."

Haru frowned as she watched her big sister figure walk out while Blue Fang whimpered and nuzzled her, causing her to sigh.

"I'm such a doofus..." she muttered.

It's not your fault, Haru. :(

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