Chapter 3: The Guild

She hated to admit it, but the bedroom was simple and nice, however the bathroom had been glorious. The tiles had been a dark gray, the counter and the sink a pearl white alongside the tub. Even the towels were very fluffy. She had undressed in the bedroom and wrapped herself with a towel in case he would just barge in. She walked over to the bathroom and closed the door. She was thankful that the knobs of the tub had not been complicated either. The water had been just the right amount of hot and she noticed that he had a small bottle of lavender oil on the counter. She put a few drops of it on the tub and now she could feel herself relaxing as the scent hit her nose. She bit back the moan that wanted to slip out as she got in the tub. She submerged until the water was just barely under her nose and let herself relax as the smell of lavender filled her.

What am I going to do? She thought as she frowned, What if I can't go back home? How would my friends react? My family? Ugh this is just too much. I miss them. I don't understand why I'm here. Do I have a purpose? I mean, I'm not that strong. Yeah I've perfected my bow and arrow skills and I can perform a shield. But other than that, I don't have that many skills. Not like the wizards here apparently.

She thought back to the people she met so far. She really felt comfortable with the Thunder Legion, Laxus, and Wendy and Carla. The Thunder Legion reminded her a lot of her friends, each of them with their own traits. Wendy was a sweetheart that reminded her of Rin and Carla reminded her of Kaede with her motherly instincts. So many of them approached her after the fight that it had been a blur. She just needed to relax and meet them properly again.

Then there was the man that had opened his home to her. She noticed some of the looks thrown at him. Why did some look angry? Or disappointed? Yeah he seemed gruff and serious at times. But he always got a glint in his eye, specially when he would annoy her.

Her face got redder and it wasn't because of the temperature of the water. She kept remembering him carrying her all five flights of stairs and not once him complaining about it. Just small talk. And then his laugh…

She abruptly sat up, shaking her head. No. She wasn't have any thoughts like that with someone she just met.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, she saw on the bed a pair of gym shorts that thankfully had a string on the waist and a dark blue t shirt with a note on them.

Washer and dryer are behind the double doors in the kitchen. Will be back soon. There's food in the fridge.

- Laxus.

She smiled softly at the gesture and quickly changed. She didn't have a brush so she did her best to untangle her long hair. She gathered the clothes she had been wearing and made her way over to the kitchen. She was thankful that she was able to get the washer to work properly. She decided to make herself a sandwich and head over to the slim bookcase that was in the living room. As she munched on on her sandwich, she picked up a book that simply said Fiore.

Oh right, that's the country I'm in, she thought as she went over to the couch. She opened the book and started to read.

He was dreading going inside the Guild Hall. He really was. He had spent the last twenty minutes trying to avoid going in, but he knew he had no other choice. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to think that he was going in to beg to be let back in. He put his hands in his pockets and mentally thought fuck it and went right in.

Heads were turned the moment he came in, and the one person he did not want to explain anything to, walked right up to him.

"Laxus!" Mirajane chirped as she balanced a tray with a few beers, "Where is the girl?"

He refrained from rolling his eyes, "Somewhere. Where's the old man?"

"He left with Gildarts. He should be back soon though. Did you need something?"

He thought about it for a moment, "What's a good store to buy girl clothes at?"

She gave him a confused look but that's when Erza walked up, "Is the girl better?"

Mira looked between them, "What's going on?"

He sighed, "I found her inside a well drowning. Wendy helped her. She's fine. She just needs some clothes her size."

Wendy was passing by, "Hey Laxus! Is Kagome doing okay? I noticed she seemed overwhelmed after the whole thing."

He patted her hair and gave her a small smile. Probably one of the few that he didn't mind at all asking questions, "Yeah she's good."

And to his damn luck, Lucy walked up.

"I couldn't help but listen—"

"Nothing new," was his dry reply as he gave her a deadpan look.

She ignored him, "I know of a store. It's pretty decently prized."

His eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it, "I'll bring her over tomorrow so you can come along. I don't know shit about women's clothes."

Mira smirked, "Rumor says you just shred them."

Wendy had never blushed so hard in her life. He noticed and immediately ran a hand through his face in frustration at the demon.

He could feel Erza's terrifying gaze, "She's not going to be alone with me at my place," he snapped at the red head and then his attention turned to the she devil, "Get the crazy ideas out of your head."

Erza crossed her arms, "Who else is going to be there? A woman should never be left alone with another man!"

Mira giggled as she started to walk away, "Natsu sleeps on Lucy's bed."

He ignored Lucy's stuttering and her blush as she tried explaining to Erza. He could have Wendy stay but he was sure they would have his ass on a silver platter if he did. That's when his eyes settled on probably one of the few sane from the female population from the guild as she was walking by.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and brought her in, "Levy will be there."

And without another word, he grabbed the confused script mage by her shoulder and pushed her out of the guild.

"Ok, what's going on? You've hardly talked to me since we were kids," she said she she crossed her arms as he continued to lead her away.

He looked down at her, "Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Well you also almost fried me."

He stopped pushing her and blinked twice at her as he tried to remember. Then familiarization of what he had done came to him.

"Right. Until your boyfriend stepped in."

He took notice that a lot of the women around him could blush really bad. So far, Levy was the worst.

The blunette shook her head madly, "He's not my boyfriend!"

"Right," he said, clearly not convinced as he continued to walk, "And Ever isn't fucking Elfman."

A silent pause, "No way!"

"Way. Anyways. I'm sure you saw the girl with my team before your boyfriend," he really was enjoying messing with her, "Decided to take off. She's at my place and I really don't want anyone to think the wrong idea. Besides, we may need your knowledge with books."

She couldn't help but realize that he really had changed. One, the old Laxus couldn't have cared less for a woman that clearly needed help. He was charming when he needed to be, but never just because of the hell of it. The second? He had never once paid attention or commented on her love for books and research.

"What's going on?" She asked once the embarrassment faded away. And so for the rest of the walk, after they went to her place to get some stuff, he told her everything he knew so far.

Levy was beyond fascinated about the fact that there was more out there. A world where magic isn't known but technology is advanced. She had various questions for her but she also knew she needed to help her. Laxus had asked, in his own way, if she could help research something to help the girl out.

She was more than happy to do so.

She followed Laxus inside the building and went up the stairs again. It wasn't until half way that he heard her heavy breathing that he gave her a piggyback ride. As they reached the fifth floor and he let her down, she had a known smirk in her face.

"Motion sickness huh?"

He glared at her as he walked to his door, and just as he opened the door to his apartment, the smell of stew filled the air. His eyebrows furrowed as he wasn't expecting her to do anything like that. However, he bit back the laugh that wanted to come out.

Kagome had her back to them and she was dancing. She had found his old sound pod. Somehow figured out how it worked and now she was dancing while cooking.

She was really comfortable in his place from what it seemed like. There was something particular about seeing her in his clothes that were obviously a bit too big on her. Maybe because it was the first time he had ever seen a woman in his clothes.

He also took notice of the Fiore book on the couch.

Just then, Kagome turned and that's when she noticed Laxus in the doorway with a very amused look on his face with a very pretty petite woman. She 'eeped' loudly.

"You scared me!" She exclaimed at him. He rolled his eyes and then pointed at Levy.

"Kagome, Levy. Levy, Kagome. She's going to be staying here to keep you company because the last thing I need is being threatened by a sword or a she devil. She has a knack for books so if anyone is going to find how to get you back, it's her. She's also the metal heads girlfriend. Don't know if you saw him before he took off with his tail between his legs."

Levy had been pleasantly smiling at Kagome until Laxus said the last part. She whirled around and shouted as she blushed, "For the last time, I'm not his girlfriend!"

He gave her a bored look until his attention was brought back to whatever kind of stew Kagome cooked. In a few strides, he was already in the kitchen lifting the lid off the pot sniffing.

Kagome suppressed a laugh. It seemed that dog demons weren't the only ones with a heightened sense of smell. She served all three of them a bowl and sat at the table. Soon enough, the two girls made quick conversation while Laxus was focused on his food.

Damn this is good, he thought as he had a first taste.

Levy couldn't believe some of the stuff Kagome was saying. From both her home and the Feudal Era. However she could see how worried the raven haired woman was.

"The guild has more of an extensive library," Levy said excitedly, "I brought some books with me but tomorrow we can head there and check it out!"

The excitement of the girl rubbed off on Kagome, as she gratefully nodded, "That would be perfect!"

Mid way during their dinner, Laxus turned to the door. He seemed focused and Kagome saw the moment his face went from stoic, confused, dry, and then irritated.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me…" he said under his breath as he got up. He swung the door open and snapped at the person in the other side.

"The hell you want? You're either here for the match or to retrieve your girlfriend. If it's for the first part, it's your lucky day since I have the urge to hit something. If it's the second one… well I guess it's your lucky day too."

Kagome immediately noticed the furious blush on Levy's face when a gruff voice was heard from the doorway.

"Why the hell did you drag Levy over here?"

Laxus smirked at that, "Aw. Isn't that cute?"

Levy immediately got up because the last thing she wanted was for the two of them to go at it inside the apartment and destroy the building. She walked straight under his arm and got in the middle of them. She was really surprised to see Gajeel and Lily there.

"What are you guys doing here?" She inquired. Lily hopped on her arms, "Mira mentioned he dragged you here. We wanted to make sure you were okay."

Laxus and Gajeel were currently in a glaring contest. She sighed and looked down at Lily.

"I'm okay. He just asked for my help to stay here for a few days."

Gajeel's glare intensified and Laxus smirked at that. He was really enjoying this. He was about to say a really crude comment when Kagome's voice cut in from behind him.

"Hi! I'm Kagome. I don't think we've met yet. I come from another world. Would you guys want a bowl?"

Laxus eyebrow rose dramatically as he moved to the side of the doorway to give a full view of Kagome to his unexpected guests.

"Straight to the fucking point huh?" He dryly asked her. She didn't bat an eye as she responded, "It's rude to not invite guests in," she smiled at them, "There's plenty of food. I can serve you guys a bowl."

Gajeel was beyond confused on the strange woman's quirky personality. But once seeing the look on Laxus' face, he was in to annoy him further.

He had gone back to the guild to get some food before going back to his training and that's when he heard both Lucy and Mira mentioning Laxus taking Levy. Lily noticed that Mira had purposely raised her voice so Gajeel could hear. And it worked.

He left the guild. Without his food.

So he walked in and made himself comfortable, right on the chair Laxus had previously been sitting. After Kagome served Gajeel a bowl, Lily spoke up.

"So you're really from another world?"

"How the hell did you get mixed up with him?" Gajeel asked between bites.

Kagome's eyes wandered to the annoyed lightning dragon who came back to the table and kept eating his food.

Old Laxus would've dragged Gajeel out of his apartment with no questions asked.

He inwardly groaned as his eyes shifted to the black haired beauty across from him as she retold her story. She was definitely becoming comfortable even though it had been a day.

However, there was a slight tinge of sadness in her dark blue eyes. At times her smile seemed force as well. The girl was definitely a wreck on the inside.

Gajeel left after a couple of hours and after finishing almost all of the whole stew, much to Laxus' displeasure. He gave Levy a pointed look, that if something happened to let him know. The bluenette had bid him and Lily goodnight.

"Isn't that adorable," Laxus sarcastically said as she closed the door. Her face flushed in both annoyance and embarrassment again and quickly retreated to the room she would be sharing with Kagome.

"You're unbelievable!"

Leaving Kagome and Laxus alone.

He chuckled. He was enjoying picking on her a little too much. He got up and went over to his couch, where he jumped over and immediately laid down, putting his arms behind his head. From her spot, she could see his profile.

He looks so… calm, she couldn't help but think.

He really reminded her of Sesshomaru. A more of an asshole version of the demon lord. She shook her head and she gathered her plate, Laxus', and the one Gajeel used. Levy had put hers on the sink before leaving.

She placed them gently on the sink and turned on the faucet. She turned around to find the sound pods again but she bumped onto Laxus' chest, making her jump.

She didn't even feel him move.

She glared at him as she placed a hand on her chest, "You're asking to get punched again."

He ignored her. He studied her as he crossed his arms and leaned forward. She blinked as she suddenly was nervous since she was trapped between the counter and him.

"Why are you doing this?" His tone held curiosity as he looked in her eyes.

She was confused, "What you mean?"

"The cooking. Now the cleaning. Why?"

She bit her lip as she looked down, her fingers fumbling with the rag she had on her hands. Laxus' eyes widened when the scent of tears hit him.

She sniffed, "I just… I just feel it's best for me to be kept busy… if I'm not doing something, I'm just going to be thinking about my friends… and my family… and wondering if I'll ever see them again… I'm familiar with this feeling but… I don't know if I'll be able to go home..."

He really hated seeing girls cry. Back in the day, in his younger-not-asshole days, he had helped Lisanna, Levy, Mira, and Cana in a few occasions. Scraped knee, not finishing a job, getting dumped. The hardest one had been Mira after Lisanna was "dead." She had broken down one time really badly in front of him.

And then his father was exiled from the guild and he turned into an A Class Asshole. That was just putting it lightly.

But now, here stood a woman who was in a huge predicament in a whole other world. After being gone from the guild for months and just recently being back, his douchebag attitude wasn't as big as it used to be.

He sighed as he took the rag from her hands and pulled her. She let out a sob against his chest as she wrapped her arms around him, finding comfort in his strong persona. He could feel her shaking and he did the only thing he could. He held her. Because there was nothing else he could do or say. He wasn't 100% that she would go home soon. The poor girl needed support and he would make sure she would have that with the guild. She already became fast friends with Ever, Wendy, and Levy. She would meet Lucy the following day and that woman had the knack of making everyone feel welcomed.

Yeah, she would be in good hands once he left.

After a couple of minutes of her crying, she finally stopped and stepped away. She could see the wetness of her tears in his black fitted shirt.

"I'm sorry," she softly said as she tried cleaning her face.

He reached with his hand as the last tear fell, wiping it away, "It's fine."

They stayed in silence until she looked up at him curiously, "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

She glared, "I'm serious."

He smirked, "Fine. What?"

"How come I haven't seen your emblem? Everyone has it on full display except you," She then blushed, "Or do you have it somewhere not visible? I saw you without a shirt and I didn't see it..."

The smirk on his face disappeared and he sighed. He had been wondering when she would ask.

"If we count the time we were stuck in Tenrou, seven years ago my grandfather kicked me out of the guild. I was an idiot and put a lot of people in danger, townsfolk and guildmates. It used to be on my left rib cage, connecting the rest of my tattoo."

Her eyes widened, "Is that why you were camping out in the forest?"

He didn't say anything, just nodded. Now it made sense some of the looks she had noticed.

She felt bad for bringing up such a sensitive topic. He had comforted her, or more like he was a shoulder to lean on, and yet she had to go ruin it.

But then an idea came to her head.

"The way that I've always seen it," she said carefully as she looked up at him, "Things happen for a reason. Those reasons become lessons, and from those lessons comes out of something good. You saved your friends fighting that guy, but you also saved me. If you hadn't been camping out there, I would've died. So, thank you for that."

She grinned at him and then went to the bedroom. He stood dumbfounded for a second, until he realize he had the cleaning rag and the dishes were on the sink.

Goddammit.

As the three of them made their way to the guild, they ended up meeting with the Thunder Legion on their way there. Evergreen immediately gave Kagome a hug and asked her the normal questions. She grabbed Kagome alongside Levy, who was surprised since she was never close to her in the first place, and the three of them walked in front of the men.

Laxus rolled his eyes as he heard some of the stuff Evergreen was asking. Freed cleared his throat, "So how's it going with having her at your place?"

He scoffed, "She made dinner, had Gajeel come in and fed him. She cleaned. And had a meltdown about the situation. She also found out I got kicked out."

Freed blinked. That was quite a bit for just one night.

Bickslow was looking at her, "You sure you want to leave?"

Laxus' eyebrow twitched with annoyance. Not this shit again, he thought grumpily.

"She's officially meeting everyone today. She can stay at my place for as long as she needs while I'm gone."

And as they entered the guild, it was a full house, with the exception of Natsu, Gray, Wendy, their exceeds, and Lucy.

I told her to be here, he irritably thought. Everyone was gathered by the small bar where Makarov stood.

"After much consideration, I have finally decided to retire as Fairy Tail's Master," Makarov said. He let his children shout their questions with a calm expression. Freed looked at Laxus but the man wasn't showing any emotion.

Kagome noticed a middle aged man clearing his throat as he fixed his coat, "It is an honor."

But the man next to him started to laugh, "He's definitely not talking about you man."

"Without further ado," Makarov continued, "I present to you Fairy Tail's 5th Master, Gildarts Clive!"

Kagome was confused because of where the small old man was pointing, there was the woman with white hair she had seen the previous day.

She paid attention to everyone as the Master read the letter Gildarts left and she could see the tight knit family Evergreen, Wendy, and Levy mentioned. She noticed the red head woman curiously looking at her and she smiled shyly. To her surprise, the intimidating woman returned the smile.

"First," Makarov continued to read, "I officially reinstate Laxus as a member of Fairy Tail," the older man gripped the letter tighter.

Many people around her gasped and the Thunder Legion cheered, but as she looked up to see his face, his gray eyes were wide in shock.

Gildarts… Laxus thought as he tried thinking of what that meant.

He could stay.

Bickslow threw an arm around him, "Alright man!"

Evergreen grabbed his arm, "Thunder Legion is officially back together!"

Laxus' usual scowl was gone as he stuttered, "I.. umm…"

Kagome almost laughed when she saw Freed crying. When they finally let him go, she poked his arm. The confusion was still there as he looked at her.

She smiled, "Congratulations."

At least one of us returned home, she sadly thought. But she was really happy for him. The guild meant a lot to him.

Laxus tuned out everything else as his mind was going a at the speed of his magic. He never thought he would be a member again. Never. Maybe how Kagome said last night, things happened for a reason. He didn't feel as the same man as he was back then and he knew he was proving that. He would make sure Gildarts wouldn't feel disappointed on his decision.

Just before his grandfather could start getting drunk off his ass, he put a hand on Kagome's shoulder and led her to him.

"Old man," he said gruffly. Makarov turned around and just as a scowl appeared on his face to see his newly reinstated grandson, his eyes widened as he saw the beauty next to him. Erza had already told him some stuff but not everything. All he knew was that Laxus was taking responsibility over the girl because he helped her.

"Oh!" He exclaimed as the scowl disappeared and a friendly smile replaced it, "You're who I've been hearing about! Tell me, has this knucklehead been treating you good?"

She giggled as she could feel Laxus glaring at the small man, "Yes he has."

"There's a small office in the back, we could go there and you can tell me what's going on and how I can help."

"Actually," she said softly, "I was hoping if I could just tell everyone? I'm kind of tired of repeating everything."

A knowing look graced his features, "Alright if that's what you wish," he then cleared his throat, "Brats! Pay attention over here. There's someone you all gotta meet."

All of them stopped their chatter and turned their attention to the bar again, but their eyes immediately went to the woman they had seen with Laxus during the match.

She had been feeling confident, but now that everyone turned their eyes to her, she felt nervous. Where would she even start?

However, Laxus nudged her. She looked back at him and he motioned with his head to continue.

She swallowed, but she saw the Thunder Legion smiling at her and so was Levy. Even Gajeel was smirking at her. She had won him over with her stew. She took a deep breath and started. She told everyone who she was and where she came from. She left a few things out, such as the gravity of the jewel's powers or what she could really do. Unless it was necessary, she wouldn't mention anything about having purification magic.

By the end of her story, the entire guild was silenced.

"Freed, Levy," Makarov said seriously, "I need you to do as much research as you can regarding portals."

Levy raised her hand with a grin, "Actually Master, Laxus had already asked me to do it. Me and Kagome were gonna check out the guild's library today."

Freed nodded, "I've been reading a few books on my spare time."

Makarov nodded, "Alright then. Who here wants to offer their place for her to stay?"

Levy raised her hand again, with a wider grin, "She's set on that Master. She's staying with your grandson," she saw the look on his face, "But I'll be staying there with her."

Makarov finally turned to his grandson, "Seems you have everything under control."

Laxus had a small smirk on his face for that one.

Makarov rolled his eyes, "Well, what are you all waiting for? Time to celebrate our new member!"

Kagome's eyes widened, "Wait what?"

Mirajane approached her, while giving Laxus a dark look but then turning friendly to her.

"Some of the girls have told me about you," she said sweetly, "And I can't imagine what you're going through right now. However, just know you have a family here with us for the meanwhile until things get figured out. Count on us for anything!"

Kagome blinked but then smiled at her, "Thank you. That means a lot."

Mira's smiled widened but then she glared at the blonde, "And you!" She poked him right on his chest, "Don't keep her to yourself. She's sweet. I like her."

He gave her a what the fuck look and shook his head.

"Instead of glaring at me you should be getting me a beer."

Kagome gawked at him but Mira just stuck her tongue out. She turned back to Kagome, "Do you want anything? Beer? Wine? Water? A milkshake?"

Kagome's eyes widened as she clapped her hands together, "You make milkshakes?!"

Mira giggled at her enthusiasm, "Lucy says they're the best she's ever head."

"Can I have a chocolate one?" She practically begged. Mira laughed at her enthusiasm and nodded.

Laxus snorted the moment Mira was gone, "I've never seen anyone excited for a milkshake."

She decided to sit on the stool next to him, "You don't get it! I hardly ever have the time to have one back in my world. Majority of my time was in the Feudal Era. No such thing as a milkshake there. I'm going to take advantage."

He rolled his eyes but still smirked at her enthusiasm and continued to watch the guild as they did one of the things they were best at, throwing parties. He gave her dry and ridiculous descriptions of them.

"He's a pervert, she gets drunk a lot, she's obsessed with a stripper, he will probably die of lung cancer by how much he smokes—"

She gawked at him, "Seriously?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Just saying."

Each member was friendly to Kagome, although Macao, Wakaba, and surprisingly Jet tried attempting to flirt with her. Which she had dismissed without being rude. She hadn't noticed that Laxus had glared at them too. Erza finally got the opportunity to talk to her and Kagome got reminded too much of Sango. Their way of portraying themselves was so similar.

Levy said it would be best to look into the library the following day since their parties tended to last for hours. As the party continued, Gildarts final wish was brought up. Making the guild the number one in Fiore again.

She carefully sipped her second milkshake as all of them talked about it, until Macao's son Romeo brought up the Grand Magic Games. There was shouting of denial and of refusal as the older members of the guild opposed to the idea.

"We have a chance!" The young boy shouted, "We have the Tenrou team with us!"

Wakaba shook his head, "They're seven years behind compared to the other guilds."

Kagome caught the look of disappointment from Levy.

Makarov was unsure, "He is right…"

"The grand cash prize is 30,000,000 jewels!"

"WE WILL ENTER!"

Kagome's eyes widened at the sudden change of heart. That's when those that were missing came in. Wendy's eyes widened when she spotted her and immediately went to her to give her a hug, which Kagome welcomed with open arms. She owed the small girl that she was okay as well.

It was hard for her to keep up. So many voices and exclamations were being thrown back and forth. However, she could see a new vigor rising with them. The opportunity of being number one again and without humiliation. The previous night in the room, Levy had explained to her the hardships the guild went through while they were gone. Kagome felt for them.

"Also," Mira said, "If we win, as winners we could demand access to the Royal Library inside the castle if our library doesn't have anything. I'm sure something in there will give us a clue on how to help Kagome!"

That is true. Usually royalty tend to keep important books and documents, she couldn't help but think.

Natsu grinned as he brought his fists together, "We got this. Three months is plenty of time to train!"

Gray smirked confidently, "Hell yeah it is."

Juvia immediately started fanning over him.

Kagome smiled again as her hand went to the jewels shards. In less than four months, she could finally be home.

And the thought of that was giving Laxus a sour taste as he sipped his beer in silence.