Hoo boy, I'm back! Longer than 2 weeks as promised sadly, but heyy at least it isn't 2 or 3 months later... aha...
Onto reviews!
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Which, isn't too much unfortunately, but I did want to say that Fu Will be apart of this story, in the far future. Just not now, that's pretty soon lol.
I wasn't actually planning on having them go SSBE in the What-If last chapter, but one of them was gonna go further than that for the hell of it but I just stopped there haha.
Super Saiyan 4 really is an interesting concept, but if I do happen to bring in this story, it won't be from Yusuke or Ann.
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Hmm that's really it, not too many reviews lately and hope I can see some more from you guys to hear your thoughts. I like reading them!
Well school Did start back up for me, from a community college into a university so it's a big step for me. But as always, that won't stop me from continuing this story for you guys. It's going to get interesting from here on out.
Onward!
The guild members were scattered around the building in the late afternoon, having long finished and enjoyed a bowl of ramen they had much earlier. A few had even decided to get one more to eat, but was limited past that as Marissa gave a restriction to those wanting more than two. She lectured on that having too much of it isn't healthy at all, and should only be enjoyed every now and then.
Unfortunately, that didn't really stop the God of Destruction from wanting more either.
Ann walked over to a certain table that consisted of the team that the male Saiyan would often go on missions with along with a couple of others. She was noticed right away, and was greeted openly.
"Hey Ann!" Lucy called out.
"How are you feeling?" Wendy asked, holding Carla in her arms as the white Exceed sat in her lap.
"I'm alright… mostly I guess." Ann answered.
"Here." Wendy scooted over a bit towards Lucy, and the blonde herself gladly made room as well, but had to elbow Natsu next to her so that he moved as well.
"Thanks." The female Saiyan responded with a smile, and sat down next to the Sky Dragonslayer.
"It's still amazing how that person was able to heal you just like that. Unbelievable really." Carla commented, looking at Ann before looking behind her to the far table where Beerus and Whis sat. "It almost makes Wendy and Porlyusica look obsolete."
"That's rather unnecessary…" Gray said with a sweatdrop.
"It's okay Gray… it was very surprising how he did it. I do wish I could do that." Wendy said dismissively with a small laugh.
"It's not as if you didn't help Wendy. I have you, Gray and Juvia to thank." Ann said, looking at the younger girl before glancing at the Ice-Make mage and the rain women standing near him.
"N-No, it's fine. Juvia was glad to help… Juvia has never really seen anyone else badly hurt as you before…" The water mage said nervously.
"No kidding… it's almost a miracle you were still alive at first." Gray added in.
"... how bad was it?" Ann hesitantly asked.
"It wasn't good. I did my best stopping you from bleeding out too much, and Wendy used up almost all of magic to keep you steady. Juvia is pretty good with water, and helped keep your blood inside you." Gray explained. "But we did what Marissa told us, it seems like she knew what to do once things started going bad for you."
"I see… " The Saiyan responded.
"Hey Ann, what was it like?" Natsu asked, leaning against the table so that Lucy didn't obscure him.
"What?" She looked at the Fire Dragonslayer confusingly.
"Fighting him! What was it like?" He asked again with a grin.
Ann looked back towards Beerus… who was currently picking his teeth with his nail before she looked back at everyone else at the table.
"Tough… very tough."
"Well that sounds boring." Natsu said, deflated, causing Ann to huff.
"Do you think if you gave him some fish, things would have changed?" Happy asked, taking out a raw fish out of his small blue sack he always had behind him. Seeing the gesture made Ann chuckle a bit.
"I don't think he's keen on eating something like that. He's eaten some pretty fancy things." Ann said.
"I think this is pretty fancy." Happy said, sitting down on the table, nibbling on the fish.
"Don't be absurd, Happy. Only you would enjoy it." Carla chided.
"What else were you feeling, Ann? Facing a God… it's not your first time." Erza asked, reminding herself what happened in Edolas with a stinging feeling.
"He's… on an entirely different level. When you're fighting someone you can't sense at all, then it can only go bad when you make a mistake, causing you to lose. Not only that, it doesn't help when you can hardly make a dent in him, if any at all." Ann said, crossing her arms as they rested on the table. "On top of that, being beaten. That feeling is never good."
"But… you guys made it out, all of us did actually. That's always a relief." Lucy reasoned.
"... if I hadn't gotten my new powers during that battle, I'm not sure I could say the same for myself." Ann said with a frown which didn't go unnoticed.
"That must have been some rush though, getting a power up like that. Marissa said it tired you out faster." Gray said, and the Saiyan responded with a nod.
"It does. So much faster than the first two forms. I don't doubt it does the same to Tarok when he got an upgrade as well."
"Do you think you can still do it?" Lucy asked with some excitement.
Ann looked at her for a moment before looking at her hands, balling them. "I think so… but I can't do it too often. I need to train and get used to it more."
"Speaking about that… is training with that person worth it?" Erza asked, looking back at the Angel.
"With Whis? … hopefully. Hopefully it'll give us the edge over the Time Breakers. We need it now more than ever." Ann answered.
"What kind of training are you guys gonna do? It looked like New Guy knew what was in store." Natsu asked next.
"... if I know what he'll put us through, it'll be controlling our Ki. But in just a little over a week…? I'm not sure. But we'll take what we can get." Ann answered, thinking towards the training the Angel did for two certain pure-blooded Saiyans.
"Still, it's just… so surprising, all of this. Then again, ever since we met you, Marissa, and Yusuke, our lives seemed to be more exciting." Lucy said with a small chuckle. "But, it already got exciting for me when Natsu introduced me in joining the guild."
"That's a rather odd thing to say." Ann said with a small chuckle of her own, leaning on the side of her cheek with the knuckles of her hand. "Isn't it because of us we keep getting you guys in danger?"
"W-Well… that's… kind of true. But I'm not going to lie, there's some excitement to it."
"What's even more exciting is having to fight! I mean, we just can't let you guys have all the fun! That's why I gotta work harder as well!" Natsu said, punching the air repeatedly with his toothy grin.
"We may not be a match to you guys, but it still sucks that we got beat down like that. I was even surprised that guy broke past Freed's runes. You'd usually have to have enough skill to rewrite his magic or just wait it out, and he got out of it like it was nothing. I guess he's not the Destroyer for nothing." Gray said, and let out an annoyed sigh while crossing his arms. "I feel the same way Natsu does, getting tired of not being able to help you guys."
"... just keep training. That's how we've done it, and it's not going to stop anytime soon." Ann answered as a matter of fact.
"It makes me wonder just how much the both of you trained to get where you're at now, even Marissa is really strong." Lucy commented with amazement.
"Mari hasn't trained as hard as Tarok and I did. I know he had to survive almost every day where he was from before he joined the Patrol. I've been in the Time Patrol longer than those two, but I was also in an environment similar to Tarok's, I had to stay alive almost every day…" Ann said with narrowed eyes, staring blankly at the table for a long moment before blinking and sighed. "But, that's something to tell for another day…"
"If you say so… I was actually kind of interested." Levy said, downcasted. The others in the table nodded silently as well.
"... Maybe later." The female responded, her smile faltering just a little, and with her thoughts thinking about those two briefly, there was something that the Fire Dragonslayer said that made her ponder for a bit. 'Excitement in a fight… when was the last time I felt that…'
As Beerus and Whis began walking away from the table, they caught the attention of two Patroller's near the bar, and they looked at them.
"Leaving…?" Yusuke asked, looking at the Deity and his Attendant behind him.
"For now, but we will be back. We simply wish to explore this space a bit before the both of you start training. Considering this is an entirely new universe that the King is unaware of, we figured it may be best to see what other life forms are out here."
"... is there a chance that Frieza's people might still be out there?" Marissa hesitantly asked, and the Angel looked back to Beerus.
"Ever since you've mentioned that Frieza and his army had attacked this planet, there doesn't seem to be anymore of his henchmen, let alone his Father or Brother." Whis answered, now having both Patroller's confused.
"... what?" Yusuke muttered with a frown.
"We're going now. By the time we come back, it will be early dawn tomorrow, I expect you and Miss Ann to be ready and well rested." Whis said with his nonchalant smile, and both he and Beerus began exiting the guild.
"There still better be more ramen when I come back!" Beerus shouted, which the Patroller's left ignored.
"... it was just Frieza and that army and that's it? That can't be right…" Yusuke said, tilting his head in slight confusion.
"... maybe it really was just Towa that brought them here." Marissa reasoned.
"But did she really take the effort in only bringing them here while attacking TokiToki City at the same time? When Frieza first arrived, I thought for sure that we were in a universe that was similar to the Seventh's. I was still wondering if there was somehow a Planet Namek here in this universe as well, but Shenron might have picked up on it with mentioning it."
"Except you didn't ask him…"
"... you're right. Even if Namek existed here there isn't really a way to get to them… not anymore at least."
"Aww c'mon you guys! You're all thinking too hard!"
All of a sudden, Cana wrapped Yusuke around with an arm, and brought him in with a side hug while her other arm held a mug full of booze that she was drinking from.
"Loosen up! We didn't die! Man, I thought for sure we were goners!" Cana laughed before taking another gulp of the alcohol.
"Okay, okay, calm down Cana… I'm glad everyone is safe too." Yusuke strainly said, getting some air from her hold. But just as soon as he did, he was embraced in a hug where his face was against the brunette's cleavage, and he felt her breath on his ear.
"... thank you…"
'...huh?' He rapidly blinked, hearing her whisper those words.
"Drink with me again! It was so much fun seeing you struggle!" Cana let go of him, and went for another mouthful of her beer. "Mira! Gimme an extra mug!"
Mirajane sighed hearing Cana's voice again, and when she turned around to see her holding her boyfriend with an arm, the barmaid gave her a narrowed look.
"If that extra mug is for Yusuke, then I'm not giving it to you." Mirajane stated.
"Aww, don't be like that! I was just gonna… give one to Marissa!" Cana gingerly said.
"Wait, what?" The Earthling turned around from picking up an armful of ramen bowls from the pile, and one fell out of her arm.
"Marissa! Come have a drink with us!" Cana waved an arm over.
"I can't… I'm not of age yet…" Marissa said with a sweat drop.
"... ...what does that mean?" The brunette said, blinking a few times.
"Cana, I can always cut you off." The barmaid said with a stern voice, and the Card mage sighed in defeat.
"Fine…" She whined, and sat down next to the male Saiyan while keeping an arm around him. "But that doesn't mean I don't have to sit right next to you while I continue drinking for myself!"
Cana said that, and did just as she said as she downed the rest of the alcohol in her mug in content.
However, it was calm for only a few seconds when Yusuke felt his hair being ruffled by a metallic, cold, hand and he looked up to see the Crash mage above him.
"There he is! The one and only! Oh! Ann as well, but don't tell her I forgot about her just now." Gildarts laughed, and looked over to the barmaid. "Mira! A beer please!"
"For yourself, right?" Mirajane said to the S-Class mage with a challenging look.
"Of course! Hahaha!" Gildarts answered, and was given what he asked as he began chugging the alcohol as well. He let out a refreshed exhale after a few gulps, and set down the drink on the counter. "I knew the both of you could do it! Really glad that guy didn't actually pull through with what he said!"
"That's funny, do what exactly? We lost, plain and simple, and he changed his mind. Nothing really more to it." Yusuke said, swatting his hand away from his hair.
"Ah, don't be sour. We didn't vanish, you're getting training, and that cat guy got food! I'd see this as a win-win!" Gildarts said as he finished his mug of beer before setting the mug down on the counter with a sigh of content. "But... I know that you know how I feel about losing. Don't let it bother you too much kiddo, there'll still be plenty of wins for yourself in the future."
"... yeah, guess you're right. I am getting something out of this." Yusuke said with a small smile and a nod.
"Anyway, It's been one hell of a day… good luck to both of you, considering you're the one who asked that person for training. And also considering how strong you are, it was rather surprising that you asked for it too. Hope it's some heavy stuff."
"Yeah… hopefully it is." The male Saiyan said with a focused expression. 'I really do hope so even though we only have a little over a week with him to train with... '
"See you later then kiddo, make the most out of it." Gildarts said with one last pat on Yusuke's head before waving behind him as he began walking out of the guild.
"That's nice of him. Definitely had different impressions of him when I saw him for the first time." Yusuke commented, and felt a squeeze on his shoulder, remembering that Cana still had an arm on him.
"Hey… Yusuke, what are your parents like?" Cana asked all of a sudden, a forlorn expression on her face as she looked at her almost empty mug.
"... my parents?" He asked surprisingly when he looked at the brunette to see her nod a moment later. It really did surprise him, he was never asked this question at all. Let alone, thought about his father or mother before. "I… never knew them."
"You didn't?" The Card mage questioned with a surprised look when she faced the male Saiyan who shook his head slightly.
"No. They… both died when I was really young. Might have been three of four years old during that time, can't remember much."
"You… don't seem too sad about that." She said with some skepticism, pulling her arm back from his shoulders to hold her mug.
"Oh, well… when you know that your race was a bunch of savage soldiers that worked for a tyrant that was focused enslaving planets and gaining profit from them, I don't know… I probably didn't think too much of them." Yusuke explained… almost scaring the brunette.
"Well that's dark. But… they were still your parents, right? Aren't you the least bit curious of who they were?"
"You got a point there… I suppose it isn't fair to group them in with everyone else… but, wanting to know who they were… It wouldn't be too bad. What brought this up by the way?" Yusuke asked next, looking at Cana.
"... nothing in particular. Just curious is all." She replied, almost staring at the mug blankly.
"Well while we're on that subject, what are your parents like?" Yusuke questioned.
"Mine huh…? My mother was very caring for me. Looked after me everyday when I was a little kid. But, when I was six years old… she got sick… and passed away shortly after that. My father wasn't around at all. He was always so busy with work…" Cana said, looking away with a sad expression.
"... I'm sorry."
"Pfft. Don't be. I've had nothing but happy memories with my mom. I still think about her to this day." Cana replied with a small smile when she looked at him.
"And your father? You two talk right?"
"... barely." The brunette shrugged and drank the rest of the beer from her mug. After doing so and setting the cup down, she sighed with closed eyes. "Barely talk to him, and barely see him. No biggie… hey Yusuke, what do you think of me?"
"Think of you? In what regard." Yusuke asked with raised eyebrows.
"... you think I'd be good enough to be an S-Class mage?" Cana asked with curious eyes.
"S-Class mage? Like Erza, Mira, and Gildarts?" He asked as he was replied with a slow nod from the brunette. "Uh… sure. I mean granted, I don't know too much about how to be an S-Class mage since, well, I don't use magic. But even those three had to start off somewhere to get where they were at now."
"If you consider Erza and Mira becoming S-Class mages when they were around their mid-teens starting off somewhere… that doesn't really help my case."
"O-Oh… huh, never knew that." Yusuke said, muttering the last part to himself. 'I wonder if becoming an S-Class mage at that age is a high achievement or something.'
"Mira! Another round please." Cana announced, banging her mug on the counter.
"Mhm…" The barmaid turned around and reached for the mug to refill it from the barrel nearby. After doing so, she walked back to Cana and Yusuke and put down two mugs. With a surprised look from both of them, the male Saiyan looked back at his girlfriend who winked at him. "Just one…"
"Alright! Haha!" Cheered up, Cana laughed as she wrapped an arm around Yusuke again and held up her mug. She looked at him patiently while holding her cup, and with a laugh, he picked up the mug and clanked his with hers.
Still not used to the fizzle of the alcohol, Yusuke took a breath through his mouth a lot sooner than Cana did while he watched her continuing drinking. A few seconds later, the brunette let out a content exhale herself.
"That definitely tastes so much better!" Cana said with a grin.
"Still tastes the same to me… here, you can have the rest." Yusuke said with a small chuckle, and poured the rest of his beer into her mug.
"If you insist, I'll happily take it." She replied, taking another swig of the alcohol. It was only a moment later that she went ahead and drank the rest of it from her mug before setting the cup back down on the counter. "One more question… do you think you'd give up on something after failing so many times repeatedly?"
"No. Because I'm stubborn like that. If I had more energy to continue fighting Beerus… then I would have kept fighting him. There's always a chance to fail. But there is also a chance to succeed." Yusuke answered almost immediately, and let out a quiet sigh to himself as he looked at Mirajane keeping the bar as organized as possible while catering to the guild members at the same time. "Especially when it comes to people you care for, you gotta keep fighting… for them."
"... I see." Cana replied with a small smile, and stood up from the stool while patting Yusuke's shoulder with her hand. "Thank you, Yusuke…"
The Saiyan looked back at the brunette walking away from the bar while she headed towards the door. There was one last look from her as they made eye contact with each other before Cana gave a grin, and exited the building.
'Wonder what all that was about…' Yusuke thought in his head looking at Mirajane who turned around, and responded with a bright smile of her own when she saw him looking at her.
Night had fallen on Magnolia, and everything was calm. Crickets chirped under the bright moon light shining over the city. An apartment door opened up with a women entering with a tired sigh. Flickering on the lights, Erza bee-lined to her bed, and flopped onto it almost immediately. Feeling the comfort of the sheets, she let out a relaxed exhale rolled on her back as her mind flashed back to almost every moment that happened earlier today between the Saiyans and Deity fighting.
'They're just so strong… and that strength couldn't beat that God…' Erza distantly thought, and her mind went back to Yusuke's last move before being defeated. 'His power had so much force into it, and yet…'
She lifted herself up and sat on the edge of her bed, letting out another exhale but with some resignation to it this time. The redhead unconsciously reached for her neck to touch the locket around her, until she let out a small gasp while widening her eyes.
"I still…!" Erza looked at her hand while she used her magic. In her palm, a glowing light appeared until a silver locket that belonged to the male Saiyan which was given to her by the Earthling from fear of it breaking. "So much happened that I forgot I had this…"
The Requip mage held the locket by the chain and looked at it for a few moments before deciding to open it up. There the image of him being between her and Mirajane was, and she reminisced the day it happened. It was a new experience for her, being in an intimate relationship. But not one she would expect to be in as she was sharing it with a certain white-haired woman. A part of her didn't mind it, as weird as it might sound. But a part of her did only want the male Saiyan to herself. Then, a very small part of her, after recent events… maybe thought it was best that they-
She shook her head at the thought, and stood up from her bed as she looked at the clock in her room. "It's still early in the night, I should give this back to him."
Deciding on heading to the Time Patroller's apartment where she sensed them, Erza went ahead and exited her room and Fairy Hills altogether for the moment.
She hopped into the air and began flying into Magnolia under the lit moon sky. Knowing the location well, it didn't take long for her to arrive in front of the apartment building, and entered it.
Greeting past the lady by the desk she first saw when introducing the male Saiyan to an apartment, Erza made her way towards the stairs to the second floor. Walking down the hallway past several rooms, the mage finally arrived at the one the Time Patroller's were in. She was about to knock, until she heard loud voices from within.
"Look at what you did!" Yusuke's muffled shouted from inside.
"How was I supposed to know that they packed this much?!" Marissa yelled back, albeit muffled as well.
"But unlocking all of ours at the same time...?! You saw how much ramen was packed inside that capsule!"
"But Taino was the one who gave us that capsule! Not Amber or Arc! You can't compare the both of them! Ugh, it'll take all night to organize all of this!"
Giving off a small laugh from the banter between both of them, Erza went ahead and knocked on the door a couple of times.
"Oh hey, it's Erz-AH!" Marissa's voice was heard, until sounds of fumbling was heard and several items were heard being knocked down.
"Smooth…" Yusuke said in a deadpanned tone. A bit of stomping can be heard before the lock of the door was heard being unlocked, and it opened up to reveal the male Saiyan in his black tank top, a smile on his face as he saw the redhead. "Hey Erza… what's up?"
"Is… everything okay in there?" Erza asked, peeking to the side. And she blinked when she saw the Earthling struggling to stand up from… a large pile of clothes and other various items.
"Yeah, just the kiddo being a bit silly."
"Am not!" Marissa yelled out from below, and threw a pile of clothes at him.
"Watch it! These are my clothes!" Yusuke chided as he pulled a pair of jeans off his head to look at Marissa.
"Heh, serves you right."
"Ugh… come on in." Yusuke nodded his head towards Erza after rolling his eyes at the Earthling, inviting the redhead inside their home to which she accepted. "Watch your step by the way."
Following the male Saiyan in, Erza took his words into consideration, and made a soft gasp as the entire living room was filled with piles of various clothes that were to be worn by men and women and other products and items that she didn't know what it was.
"What… happened?" Erza questioned in bizarre wonder, seeing the mess in the apartment.
"Marissa went ahead and threw four of the six capsules in here, and the result is this…" Yusuke sighed in annoyance as he widely spread apart his arms at the entire mess around them.
"Hey, at least now we got some food in the pantry. And come on… you can't just keep on wearing the same thing everyday." Marissa said, now fully standing up from her fall. She saw a bag of snacks and decided to pick it up and open it. "Ooh, barbeque."
"Stop eating, we gotta organize all this." Yusuke chided, and began picking up his clothes that were given to him by the female Majin.
"Fine… here, wanna try some Erza?" Marissa asked, handing the bag of chips to the redhead.
"What are these?" Erza asked, grabbing the pack and looking inside to see reddish-orangish colored, circular chips.
"Wow, you guys don't even have those? They're potato chips, barbeque flavored. Try some." The Earthling answered as she patted her hands against each other, dusting off the flavoring from her fingertips. "Need something to drink though…"
As Marissa began rummaging through the mess to find something to get rid of the salt in her taste buds, Erza went ahead to try out a chip as she reached into the bag to pull out one of them. Observing it for a second as she saw speckles of dark brown, orange and red, the redhead bit into it afterwards and widened her eyes.
"This is really good…!" Erza said in excitement, and finished the one she was holding.
"Don't have too much of it, otherwise it's unhealthy." Yusuke mentioned.
"Yeah… just have a few every now and then. I wonder what else Amber packed for us- oh!" Marissa picked up a bottle made from glass, and from it there seemed to be a blue liquid inside that fizzled upon slightly shaking it. "Some soda!"
"You'd think Amber would give us some healthier options… next thing you know there's going to be more sweets to be found." Yusuke commented with a small sigh, picking up another pile of his clothes on the floor.
"Aw don't be like that Bro! Some cheat options are fine sometimes. Mm, Ramune…" The Earthling said in glee, opening the glass bottle and began drinking from it. "Least Beerus isn't here to eat everything up."
"... got that right."
"Wanna try some of this next, Erza?" Marissa asked, handing the bottle over to the mage.
"What did you call this…?" Erza asked in curiosity, picking up the drink to look at the blue paper label attached onto it.
"Soda. It uh… can be just as unhealthy as well. But once in a while isn't too bad. Think of it as a nice rare treat to have." The Earthling explained.
The redhead listened to her words and looked closer at the fizzing bubbles within the bottle. A moment later of inspection, she went ahead and drank it, and almost immediately she put the bottle away from her mouth when she felt the sensation of carbon against her tongue and the entirety of her mouth. Feeling some of the drink spill out, she reached out with her free hand to wipe it off from her lips before fully swallowing the soda that lingered in her mouth, tasting the sweet lime and lemon flavor of the drink.
"Pfft, haha! You should see the reaction you had!" Marissa laughed heartily, hands on her chest as her laughter didn't stop.
"Is this alcohol?" Erza asked, still feeling the buzz on her tongue, but her cheeks red from slight embarrassment.
"N-No…" The Earthling responded, still laughing. "It's soda. It's just a sugary drink from Earth."
"It's… interesting." The mage replied, observing the bottle.
"It's fine if you don't like it." Marissa said with a few stifled laughter, and reached to take the bottle back, but blinked when she saw Erza still looking at the drink before taking another sip.
"It's not bad." Erza said with a more direct taste of the soda, and handed back the bottle to the Earthling.
"By the way, why-" Yusuke began saying, that is until a door from the kitchen began opening up that made the three of them turn their heads.
A bit of steam came from the bathroom, and revealed Ann with her hair wet, a wet towel around her neck while wearing a new black tank top that hugged her upper body while she also wore a gray, soft cotton pants that were loosely around her waist. The female Saiyan only took a few steps forward before stopping to look around in bewilderment, seeing piles of clothes and food all around the apartment.
"What…" Ann began to speak.
"Blame it on the Kid." Yusuke answered immediately.
"I said I didn't know!" Marissa whined defensively.
"Erza, what are you doing here?" Ann asked next as she looked over at her.
'I was gonna ask that…' Yusuke thought in his head.
"Oh, that's right…" Erza leaned away from the nearby droors and held out her hand, her palm facing upward. From her fingers, a light glowed around them before silver chains appeared and Yusuke's locket was seen from her hand. "I forgot to give this back to you."
"...!" Yusuke's hands immediately went towards his neck, feeling it out as he remembered he gave his locket to Marissa earlier today. "I…"
"Here." Erza went closer to him as she unhooked the chain. Wrapping her arms around him, she helped the male Saiyan wear his locket again. Resting her hands on his shoulders, she looked directly at him as he did the same as well. But with the other Time Patrollers nearby, they simply gave an exasperated smile at each other.
"Tarok's room is right there... " Ann said with an annoying tone with her jaw clenched, and she walked past them while walking over the pile of clothes to some of the drinks she saw.
Their faces became red, and they separated from each other. Ann came upon a few cans of drinks, and her eyes lit up a bit when she saw cans of iced tea. Picking one up, she was slightly surprised that it was cold to the touch, and she went ahead and sat on the couch while she opened the drink with a loud hiss. The sound startled the redhead a bit as she looked towards the female Saiyan taking a sip from the can.
"Don't tell me that you guys don't have-Gah! Hey!" The Earthling began saying when she saw Erza look at Ann, but was promptly yanked by the hair from the male Saiyan.
"We get it Kid, we have a whole lot of things that are only from our universe. No need to keep bringing it up." Yusuke sighed with a roll of his eyes. "Now shut up and keep cleaning."
"Fine…" Marissa whined, and swatted his hand away from her hair. "And I just showered too, watch it."
"It's iced tea by the way, nothing too crazy." Yusuke said towards Erza.
"I-I see…" Erza said with a small chuckle. "I was simply wondering what Ann was drinking out of."
"It's just aluminum made into cans. You open the top of it with a small nub and you can go ahead and drink from it after that. Feel like trying one? It'll be more subtle than the soda Marissa had. It's just tea after all." Yusuke offered.
"Here." Before Erza could respond, Ann threw an unopened can at the redhead, and she caught the drink as it arrived closer to her and looked at it to see it labeled "Green tea with Ginseng and Honey" as its flavor. "It'll keep you up for awhile if you really like it."
"Just have your finger under the tab and pull down, it'll open the can that way." Yusuke instructed, pointing to the suggested place on top of the drink. He saw her fumbling the tab around with her index finger with no luck, and she let out a quiet, annoyed sigh that made the male Saiyan chuckle silently under his breath. "You can use your nail to lift it up."
Erza glanced him at the side before she huffed and turned around to face him. With her face red, she slid her fingernail under the tab and with just a split moment of discomfort, the redhead lifted and opened the can of iced tea. Erza didn't hear any fizzle from it as to the bottle of soda Marissa had, and it had more of an aroma as well. After a brief moment of observation, she went ahead and took a sip. And her eyes widened.
"This is good as well…" Erza said after tasting the drink.
"What's better, soda or that?" Marissa asked.
"I would have to choose the tea." The mage answered as she took another sip.
"Meh…" The Earthling shrugged as she took a sip from her bottle of soda.
"I dunno about you, but I really don't feel like cleaning all this up." Yusuke said, looking around him before looking at Marissa. "Plus, you're the one responsible for making this mess."
"Aw c'mon… you can help out a bit, can't you?" Marissa whined.
"I can take some of the clothes that are meant for me, but other than that I still have a closet full of my regular clothes I got when I first arrived here. Plus Ann and I have our training with Whis tomorrow morning, we can't stay here and clean up all night."
"Sorry Mari, but you're on your own on this one. Can't really expect us to clean up the mess you made… and after the day we've had…" Ann trailed off.
"Okay, fine… you guys got a point." Marissa sighed in defeat, and first went to the pile of food near the couches and table. "Stupid Arc… stupid Amber…"
As the Earthling began picking up food that can and was supposed to go into a cooler, Yusuke and Erza watched her with an exasperated look while Ann let out a content sigh from her drink after a hot shower while sitting on the couch.
"I'll be going. I'm sure the three of you are tired after what happened today." Erza said towards the male Saiyan.
"Alright, I'll see you out." Yusuke said, and went ahead and opened the apartment door to let her out, to which he followed her before closing the door behind him.
"Today really turned out to be interesting. Despite the results between you and Ann… and among other events, it was rather entertaining." Erza said, heading down the stairs where she came from with the male Saiyan following behind her.
"I'm glad my other friends from the Time Patrol were able to bring us stuff. I just wish there was a way to freely go back and forth from here and there." Yusuke responded as the both of them headed out of the building after waving past the woman behind the desk.
Feeling the cold air of the night, they both let out a relaxed sigh as their skins shivered against the small breeze. With the moon shining down on Magnolia, they both looked up at the dimmed but beautiful moonlight before another breeze was felt by them. Yusuke looked back at Erza as she continued staring up in the sky, and as he did, he saw her scarlet hair move around behind her from the wind, her brown eyes and the one earring he saw shined from the light of the moon.
The Saiyan looked with his eyes widening slightly, and feeling a bit warmer all of a sudden he continued looking at the redhead until Erza noticed his stare.
"Yusuke? Is something wrong?" Erza asked.
"N-No, it's nothing… mind if I walk back with you?" Yusuke replied, stuttering a bit at first but recomposed himself.
"Of course…" A bit surprised by his request, Erza graciously accepted his request with a smile nonetheless. She held out a hand, but shortly stepped towards him to take his hand with hers and began walking away. "I don't mind, but you should be resting."
"Well that doesn't mean I can be while I'm with you." He simply said, allowing her to pull him before he was side-by-side with her.
"You…" Erza let out a quiet, but content sigh, and tightened her grip on Yusuke's hand as they continued walking.
There was a comforting silence between both of them as they walked along the stone road with the calm in-city river to their right. There were moments where the wind picked up every now and then, but not strong enough where it stopped the ongoing music from crickets in the distance.
It was only a few minutes in where Erza made a chuckle to herself, catching the male Saiyan's attention.
"What is it?" He asked.
"I was thinking about how we first met. You came out of nowhere as I was coming from a job. It's still amusing for you to say that bandits got a jump on you back then." Erza replied as she looked up at him.
"Haha… it's almost embarrassing to think about it back then. Then again in my defense, I had only just finished battling, couldn't really make up more believable excuse." Yusuke said with a small chuckle of his own.
"It's a day I'll most likely never forget. Our first meeting." Erza said, both of them now stopping as Fairy Hills was seen a short distance away behind her as she faced him. "Thank you for walking back with me, it was pleasant."
"I enjoyed it as well." He answered simply and looked straight into her brown eyes, fully this time as it shined from the moonlight that took him aback.
"You've been acting strange… you should go back and rest." Erza chuckled lightly.
"Have I?" The male Saiyan shook his head slightly and chuckled back.
"Last one for the night." The redhead went up to him with a full kiss on his lips, and she felt him reciprocate back a moment later. They pulled back from each other about a minute later, looking at one another before the Saiyan pulled her in for a hug, slightly confusing her. "Yusuke?"
"... I'm glad to have met you as well, all of you. I won't forget it either." Yusuke said, his breath slightly tickling the redhead's ear as she smiled from his words.
A moment of comfortable silence set between them before they departed from each other. Waving at each other goodbye, Yusuke stood as he watched Erza retreating back to Fairy Hills until she was within the fence that were placed around the building. The male Saiyan turned around to head back to his own apartment, but looked to his left to see the Fairy Tail guild hall still lit up. Sensing who was inside, he mostly paid attention to Mirajane who was still inside, no doubt trying to clean up the hall before going back home.
'Well if she's still there…' Deciding to go visit the barmaid, Yusuke went ahead and walked towards the guildhall instead.
Upon arriving, he passed by a couple of guild members, greeting each other as they were heading home. When Yusuke went inside, it was almost barren with just a few other members who were getting ready to leave. By the bar, he saw Mirajane wiping the counter while Lisanna and Elfman came out of the kitchen doors. He walked over to the bar area, and as soon as the oldest Strauss sibling looked up, her face was immediately lit up with a smile.
"I thought you were done for the day." Mirajan said tiredly.
"Ah… just came to check up on you." Yusuke answered.
"This is nothing since I do it everyday. But with you here again, it's less boring." She responded, and finishing up with the counter, the barmaid went out of it towards the male Saiyan, wrapping her arms around his neck. Mirajane relaxed as he rested his forehead against hers, until she initiated a kiss as she tilted her head to meet her lips with his.
"C'mon Sis, we're almost done…" Lisanna exasperatedly said, placing mugs under the bar counter.
"Sorry…" Breaking out of kiss, Mirajane giggled in response to her little sister and couldn't help but licked her lips, faintly tasting strawberry, and she looked at Yusuke in wonder. "You were with Erza just now, weren't you?"
"Uh… you caught me." Yusuke said with a small chuckle. "I was just walking her back, but since you were still here I thought I'd see you before the night continued."
"Well, I appreciate it very much. If you can help out a bit with the cleaning, maybe you can take me back home as well." Mirajane coyly said.
"Oh? I'm all yours." The male Saiyan said, gesturing his hands outwards, ready to be of use, and she saw the barmaid pointing towards the pile of leftover instant ramen noodles and he sweated in exasperation as he knew what she was going to ask. The pile was much smaller than it was earlier in the day, no doubt that quite a few members had taken a few with them to bring back home. However, knowing what his girlfriend is going to say, he let out a small sigh and walked over to the pile to begin picking up armfuls to bring back to the back of the kitchen.
With how the pile of dried noodles shrunk throughout the day, it didn't take long for Yusuke to store them in the back as well as organizing them. Coming out of the kitchen to see now see everyone but the Strauss family left within the guildhall from what he could see and sense. Most of the lights inside were now out or dimmed down, and he saw both of the sisters sitting down at a booth while Elfman was standing beside them with his arms crossed. When they spotted the Saiyan walking towards them, they smiled.
"Manly of you to help out Yusuke, even if it was a small job. Thanks!" Elfman said with a small grin.
"No problem Elfman… still, seemed everyone liked what we brought from our universe." Yusuke responded.
"Us included, we even took some for ourselves. A lot of different flavors too, I can't wait to try them!" Lisanna excitedly said, holding up a bag full of ramen inside.
"That should be it, ready?" Mirajane said, standing up to put on her dark navy blue jacket with black fur around her neck and wrists. Both of her siblings nodded as well as Yusuke as she saw him nod.
The four of them headed out of the guild, closing and locking the wooden doors behind them. As they stepped out, a moderate but calm breeze brushed past them. The light from the moon continued shining down Magnolia, and the road leading from the guild into the city was seen as all four began walking down.
About halfway of walking, Mirajane looked up towards the bright moon before stopping briefly, causing the other three to stop as well in wonder. The barmaid looked at her two younger siblings with a small smile.
"Lisanna, Elfman, go on ahead. I want to be with Yusuke for a bit." Mirajane said.
"Alright, we'll see you at home Sis." Lisanna responded with a nod, and began walking away with her brother. "C'mon Elfman."
"Yusuke, be a man and make sure she comes back!" Elfman shouted from a short distance away, causing his sister and the mentioned Saiyan to chuckle.
"Come on!" Mirajane took Yusuke's hand and began to walk briskly, seemingly back to the guild and opposite to where the other two Strauss siblings were walking. She looked up at the moon again, and lifted herself off the ground as she looked back at the Saiyan.
He was a bit confused at first, but complied with her either way as Yusuke allowed her to drag him up in the air. They flew up at a steady pace with him just behind her, and it didn't take long for the both of them to be high above the city. Both of them stopped, the wind being a bit stronger than it was back on the ground, and Mirajane inhaled deeply with her eyes closed while spreading apart her arms. Yusuke looked at her as her hair moved behind her from the wind, almost shining from the moonlight that put him in a daze, feeling a warmth in his chest despite the refreshing cold wind.
"Yusuke?" Mirajane called out in wonder, seeing a blank look on his face before her voice made him blink and shake his head.
"Y-Yeah…?" The Saiyan responded with stutter.
"Are you alright?" She asked with a small laugh, a laugh that made Yusuke react, reaching towards her and pulling her arm, suddenly embracing her in a hug. The action confused the barmaid, and she blinked when she slowly returned the hug before calling out to him again. "Yusuke…?"
"I… just want to enjoy this moment with you." Yusuke said, slightly tightening his hug around the white-haired women.
Mirajane smiled as she sighed and relaxed into his hold, tightening her arms around him as well. He was warm, and it was a comfort that she gladly welcomed as the wind continued brushing against them. It was felt by them both, but it was easily ignored as they only paid attention to each other.
A comforting minute between them passed by, and Yusuke felt the same sensation during his contact with Mirajane just like with Erza. It was warm, his body tingled as if a spark of electricity coursed through, especially through his fingertips and neck, fully taking in the embrace before letting out a small sigh of his own.
"I have no regrets meeting you, Mirajane… all of you guys." Yusuke suddenly said, and felt her shift her head so that she looked at him.
"... will you be staying with us?" Mirajane asked with a glimpse of hope in her eyes as they looked at each other.
"I will. I'm sure there's going to be other ways to go back, but now isn't the time." He answered, resting his forehead against hers.
"..." Mirajane didn't respond, but instead went in for a kiss as she met her lips with his, putting her hands on his cheeks while she felt him kiss back.
The fervent moment between them was over after a long minute between them, and when they broke apart, Yusuke made a small gasp to see Mirajane dropping tears from her eyes.
"I was scared that you'd end up leaving us. I… must sound horrible for wanting to keep you away from your other friends." Mirajane said, using a hand to wipe the tears away from her eyes.
"If that's the case, I'm just as horrible for not wanting to go back yet." Yusuke said, seeing her forming a sad frown. "They'll be fine without us for now, they're the Time Patrol after all, just look at how strong we are."
Yusuke's light jokes made Mirajane chuckle as she rested her head on his chest and let out a sigh of content as most of her guilt and sorrow washed away.
"Just a little longer… this feels nice…" She said, digging her head further into him.
"Yeah… no complaints here." He responded, tightening his hold around her as well and rested the side of his face against her head.
The both of them floated in the night sky and under the moonlight for awhile longer. The moderate winds continued going past them as distant clouds now made its way towards Magnolia. Eventually, the warmth between them died down considerably, and with some regret from them both, they separated apart from each other with a small smile on their face.
With an idea in her head, Mirajane leaped towards Yusuke, wrapping her arms around his neck again and maneuvered her lower body to the side. Unconsciously, the male Saiyan caught her behind her back and knees, a surprised look on his face as he looked at her, now carrying the barmaid bridal style.
"Carry me back?" Mirajane asked with a giggle, but knew the answer regardless as she gave off an innocent look.
"Alright…" Yusuke said with a content sigh, his smile intact.
Yusuke headed in the direction of Mirajane's house, easily knowing where it is. It didn't take long for them to arrive, and as he landed right in front of the door, she hopped out herself putting one foot on the ground first before letting her other touch the floor.
"Thank you very much Yusuke." She said, her hands behind her back as she went up to Yusuke one more time. Mirajane closed her eyes, and leaned her head towards his face, waiting.
"I swear…" The male Saiyan let out an exasperated laugh, and leaned down to peck her slightly puckered lips with his. The white-haired woman let out her own laugh as she opened her eyes and went to the door of her house.
"Good night Yusuke, I'll see you tomorrow." Mirajane said, heading inside her house.
"Night, Mira." He responded with a wave of his hand, and saw the barmaid giving him a wink from her eye before closing the door to her house. Yusuke let out a quiet sigh before leaving the Strauss residence with a smile on his face.
Up on top of an apartment building, a lone female Saiyan sat on the edge of the with a leg hanging down with her opposite limb tucked in. Ann stared up at the moon while she felt a lone breeze moving her loose hair around behind her. She reached for her half emptied can of ice tea next to her and took a sip of it before sensing someone behind her.
"Don't stare at the moon too long now."
"... I don't need you of all people telling me that." Ann said, glancing back as she saw the male Saiyan walk up to her. Another breeze of wind passed by, and she was thankful for remembering to wear her usual jacket while still being in the clothes after showering.
"Not helping Marissa out?" Yusuke asked, standing next to, but was still behind her.
"Not my problem…" Ann answered with a small grin, almost chuckling while saying it before taking another sip of her drink. She let out a sigh through her nose, and rested the arm that held the can on top of her knee that was currently propped out, looking out at Magnolia that was lit up with street lights. Her mind briefly drifted back to earlier today with her conversation with Natsu and the others at the guild, and narrowed her eyes. "Tarok… when was the last time you had fun fighting?"
Yusuke looked down at her surprisingly from her question before slowly he looked straight ahead again with his own sigh.
"Last time huh... I don't even know." He answered, thinking back to his fights so far first during his time on Earthland, and then back during the Time Patrol. It… wasn't much now that he thought of it. Not from training with his mentors, to first fighting Raditz, to fighting Mira, to Demigra, or even all the way now to Beerus. He thought to himself, it was a duty, a duty to pay back the Supreme Kai of Time for helping and nurturing him so much. A sense of defying the Time Breakers, and it was right to do so. He's seen it, everyone has.
However, was there ever a time where he felt that fighting his enemies was a thrill to him? None that he remembered. Because of this, he even questioned himself if he even is part of the Saiyan race. But obviously, of course he is. Ann as well. But if he really had to try and think of a moment… maybe… before the Time Patrol.
"It's been awhile for me… I can't remember the last time feeling excited from a battle." Ann said looking up at the moon again.
"I…" Yusuke began saying, the thoughts of all of his battle recently going through his head as Ann brought her question caused him to think of something else, and he clenched his fist tightly. "I can't keep losing like this…"
"… neither can I." Ann responded with narrowed eyes, thinking about the recent battles as well that happened within this universe. The Time Breakers, Goku Black, and then Beerus. The thought caused her to clench fists as well, which resulted in crumbling the can in her hand. Thankfully, none of the tea spilled out, but there wasn't anyway for her to drink from it anymore, and she let out a defeated sigh as she placed it down next to her. "We need to get stronger."
"Then we start tomorrow. From here on out, watch my back. And I'll watch yours..." Yusuke said, almost cryptically to her, but she knew right away what he meant.
Another soft breeze brushed past them, and at the same time Ann hugged her propped knee and rested her chin on top. Her loose hair obscuring most of her face, hiding a small smile and a small blush she had as she let out a single response.
"Yeah…"
"It seems like it's around here somewhere…" Beerus said, looking around at nothing but the ocean under the night sky.
'Someone is coming towards us? Rather slowly… by boat perhaps?' Whis thought to himself, looking at a certain direction while unaware of Beerus talking to him.
Both had come back after exploring… perhaps a majority of the universe they were currently in. They only had so much time to travel for half a day before coming back to Earthland. As they left earlier, they had sense some sort of anomaly within the planet itself, but thought nothing of it as they continued on.
There was nothing out of the ordinary from what they could find. There are definitely more planets other than Earthland that existed, but life on them were either scarce or just as normal. Yes, they were of a different race, but nothing too out of the ordinary that both of them would go out of their way and take a closer look, nor nothing that Beerus would bother destroying.
The only strange thing was the rift that they came from in the middle of outer space, far away from Earthland.
Upon returning to Earthland, to the side that was now facing away from the sun, they were about to head straight back to Magnolia first until the anomaly they sensed earlier was still present. With mostly Beerus' attention towards it, they decided to head to the source.
And here they were now, with the God of Destruction looking around at nothing… but could feel that pulling sensation very closely. He squinted his eyes right in front of him and saw… almost the space in front of thim warping.
"Lord Beerus, it seems that we have a visitor." Whis said, not looking at the Deity but instead still kept his eyes in the same direction where he sensed someone coming towards them from the water.
"Oh, do we now?" Beerus said, turning away from the spot in front of him and looked to the same direction that the Angel was looking. He saw a small figure within a boat in the far distance, and grunted. "Are you sure it's a visitor for us?"
"Well, there isn't anything else nearby, it's most likely us."
"Hm... and it seems to be someone from this planet too, but how were we found out…"
"I suggest going higher, and observe down."
"If you want to play it like that, then fine."
And they did. Going with what Whis suggested, the both of them flew up higher in the air, unable to be seen, and waited.
It took awhile for the person on the boat to arrive at the spot they were previously at. They could see blonde hair down below, and the person themself was looking around, seemingly confused until in the end, they looked a certain direction that Beerus noticed immediately. The direction that the Deity was looking at before Whis interrupted him.
"Let's go meet them." Beerus said.
With a nod from his attendant, they both descended down rather quickly. Almost instantly actually as they were immediately behind the person who was looking forward.
The person was a woman, she had long blonde hair tied into a large ponytail that reached down to her legs and was wearing large brown robes that covered her entire body and wore a red scarf around her neck.
"That's odd… I was sure there were people around here…" The women muttered.
"Well hello there." Whis introduced, effectively surprising the blonde woman as she spun around and fell down onto the seat of the boat, rocking the small transport. Fully seeing her features, she had brown eyes with two of her bangs swept to both sides of her forehead, a look that made the Angel even more curious, thinking that he'd seen her before.
"W-Who are you two…?" The woman stuttered with surprise and fear, never having seen people like Beerus or Whis before, and she reached toward her oar to defend herself with.
"That's what we'd like to know. Someone like you, supposedly knowing our whereabouts in this peculiar spot here. You know something, don't you?" Beerus questioned, looking directly into the woman's eyes that made her freeze up a bit, but maintained her composure a moment later.
"I'm… not sure what you're talking about." She replied.
"Don't play dumb. Something is hidden here…" The Deity flew forward at first, and then upward to the same spot he was in previously, sensing the anomaly even stronger in front of him. "Right… here!"
"No! Don't!" The blonde shrieked, turning around to warn him.
As Beerus tapped the space of air in front of him with a finger, all of a sudden there was a force of wind that seemingly came out of nowhere from an explosion.
And in the middle of the air, a small… orb floated. No, it wasn't an orb, it was something much more than that. More dense, more powerful, more heavy.
"Hm… is this what I think it is?" Beerus said in annoyance, now fully seeing the anomaly.
'He touched it… and he's fine…?! Exactly who is he?!' The blonde woman thought with shaking, wide-eyes from a mixture of surprise and fright.
"Oh my, it seems this world has a problem with travelling through different parts of history as well." Whis chuckled, causing her to blink and look back at the attendant while keeping her look of surprise. As the Angel looked back at her, it finally clicked for him to where he might have seen her before. "Hm, you do look familiar, if I would have to take a guess…"
Whis tapped his staff in the air, a resonating sound being emitted off it as a projection came out of the orb to reveal a blonde woman he met earlier today.
Lucy Heartfilia.
"Ah yes, you two do look very similar. Not the same person however…" Whis trailed off.
"I suppose it's time you tell us what is really going on, woman. Who are you?" Beerus asked in a demanding tone, meeting her eyes once more as he floated next to his attendant again. The woman looked down, defeated, and brought down the wooden oar she held up.
"... Anna Heartfilia."
So, yeah... I didn't start the Tenrou arc Just yet. Next chapter, now that, I can promise it will begin. Instead, the recent refresher on the Fairy Tail anime recently made me come up with new ideas, and I decided to do that instead. Unfortunately, next chapter will start off the next morning story-wise, and not a conversation between Beerus and Anna. But, it will be mentioned in the far future.
This chapter is more laid back, and more of having things settled down before moving on to the next phase of the story. Hmm, not much else to say... but I hope you guys enjoyed! No promises in a couple of weeks where I can get the next chapter finished, but give me a month. 5 classes in university is either a brave or foolish decision of me, but I'll try and make time for the story too. I just ask to be patient, even though in the past the wait time was so much longer, but I'm trying to be better with that.
God I wish we could use bukujutsu, traffic in the street sucks when I gotta drive 30+ minutes for class. That's my wish for everyone... then again, it might cause more harm than I think... hm.
Until then!
Timestamp: September 5th, 2019.
