Mermaid Heel's New Flare
A knock on the door interrupted the peaceful morning at the Mermaid Heel magic guild, causing Beth Vanderwood to look up from the kitchen. She looked around, saw Kagura Mikazuchi and her girlfriend, Arana Webb training in the yard, Risley Law opening the café attached to their guild, and Millianna was on the phone talking to her fiancé Sho. Beth sighed as the person on the other side of the door started knocking again, causing Beth to leave the kitchen area and head to the door.
When she opened the door, Beth looked shocked when she saw a tall and well-endowed woman with long flowing red hair, with eyes that had bags underneath them. Beth recognized this woman as a member of the former Raven Tail, Flare Corona.
"Uh…hello?" Flare simply looked at Beth with her head tilted to the right with her eyes completely fixated on the inside of the guild.
"You're…Flare Corona, right?" Beth asked, trying to get a verbal response from the woman who was giving her the creeps. Flare simply nodded and stepped closer to Beth, causing her to jump back out of instinct, which didn't seem to bother Flare.
"So…why are you here?" Beth asked. Flare tiled her head slightly more before looking straight at Beth for the first time during this conversation.
"I want to join your guild," Flare finally responded as she put her head back straight up as Beth nodded.
"Well alright, why don't you come in and I can get someone who can help you," Beth responded as Flare nodded as she and Beth went back into the guild. Just then, they saw Kagura and Arana coming back inside from their training, and the two stopped when they saw Flare. Flare looked back at them with her head tilted to the right as Beth went up to them.
"Kagura, Flare here wants to join our guild," Beth explained, displaying Flare with her hands. Flare simply looked at Kagura with her usual absent expression and tilted head, which Kagura didn't seem to mind.
"I see…I remember watching you from the stands at the Sports Festival. Your Crimson Hair magic was very impressive and your battle with Lucy Heartfilia was very entertaining," Kagura stated as Flare's eyes started to glimmer with the increased hope that she was going to be accepted into the guild. But that glimmer quickly dimmed as Kagura looked up at her with a serious glare on her face.
"However, I also saw your conduct during the match, especially holding a small child hostage so that you could get the advantage in your match. I hope you realize that those types of tactics will not be permitted in Mermaid Heel," Kagura chastised, causing Flare to start shaking in fear as her eyes started to tear up, surprising Kagura, Beth, and Arana.
"I know…I was never going to hurt the child. I…I was scared," Flare stuttered, not even being able to look at her potential new guildmates in the eyes.
"Scared of what?" Arana asked.
"Master Ivan. He hates failure. If I were to have lost to Blondie, Ivan would've hurt me…worse," Flare explained, shaking in fear as the memories of the hour-long beatings she would receive at Ivan's hands. Kagura and the other girls looked at each other, vividly remembering seeing Flare covered practically head to toe in bruises.
"Master Ivan has hurt me before, and I was scared. So I felt like I had no choice but to go after a member of the guild. I thought it would make Ivan show me more mercy since he despises Fairy Tail. I wasn't going to actually hurt the child, I…I…I…," Flare attempted to continue explaining as her shaking grew worse and she sat down on the floor with her head in her knees. Memories of her being a bloodied mess on the floor thanks to Ivan's beatings while the rest of Raven Tail just watched flooded her mind and she started crying. Before anyone could do anything, Risley and Millianna came by and saw what was happening.
"Kagura, what's Flare doing here, and why is she crying?" Millianna asked as Flare paid them no mind as she continued to bawl and shiver.
"We were talking with her about joining the guild, but when we brought up what she did at the games, some traumatic memories must've come back into her mind," Kagura explained as Flare continued to cry while rocking back and forth. Risley without saying a word walked up to her and put an arm over Flare's shoulder. Flare looked up at the heavyset woman with teary eyes as she looked up at her with interest.
"Flare, it's OK. We're all friends here, and you can tell us anything you need to," Risley said while rubbing Flare's back. Flare's crying and rocking had stopped, so Risley took it as a sign that she could continue talking.
"You did something awful, but that doesn't mean you're evil. The fact that you're showing this much regret for what you did shows you have a good heart. Millianna made mistakes before she came to Mermaid Heel, and she's one of the sweetest members of the whole guild," Risley explained as Millianna blushed at the spontaneous compliment. Flare suddenly got up to her knees and hugged Risley, much to the shock of everyone in the room, including Risley.
"You…I…remember you," Flare mumbled with her face muffled by Risley's shoulders. "I just left Raven Tail and Master Ivan, and…I was so sad. But while I was crying, you came and…made me feel better," Flare continued to mumble as she looked up at Risley who ran her hand through Flare's hair to keep her relaxed and more comfortable. "You hugged me, wiped my tears away, and told me things would be better. It…it was the first time in such a long time I felt cared for and loved," Flare further explained as Risley looked at the shocked looks of her guildmates.
"Yeah…I do remember that" Risley mumbled as she continued to hug Flare.
"That's why I wanted to join your guild. I remembered the logo on your dress and looked for your guild. When I saw that your guild was close to my home, I really felt like I could finally…be with normal people that actually care about me while still being near my family in the Sun Village," Flare explained, finally letting go of Risley as she got up and looked at the rest of the Mermaid Heel guild, who were all looking at each other and Flare. After what seemed like an hour, Kagura walked up to Flare and put a comforting hand over her shoulder.
"Flare…I've heard all I need too. I may not be the guild master, but when she comes back, I will put a good word for you to join our guild," Kagura finally responded as the other Mermaid Heel wizards nodded in agreement. Flare looked at all the Mermaid Heel members smiling at her with a warmth she had only ever felt at her home in the Sun Village. Flare's crying returned at full force as she ran at Kagura and her team and hugged her with as much force as she had with Risley.
"OK…thank you…but I'm not a hugger," Kagura said, completely uncomfortable as she awkwardly patted Flare on the head. Flare still didn't let go no matter how much Kagura tried to wriggle out of it.
"Awww…group hug!" Millianna exclaimed as she and Beth joined in on the hug, making Kagura even more uncomfortable.
"No, no, no, no! No group hugs!" Kagura exclaimed in annoyance as Arana and Risley joined in on the hug, and Kagura was gripping Archenemy in stress as her annoyance levels began to rise.
"Alright, let's let go before Kagura goes on a rampage," Risley joked before everyone released Kagura much to her relief. However, Flare jumped back and looked at Kagura in fear and shock.
"What!? Kagura can snap at a moment's notice from too much hugging!?" Flare yelled in shock as Kagura looked at her with a raised eyebrow as Risley laughed at Flare's mini freak-out.
"No Flare, it was just hyperbole," Risley attempted to explain, but Flare titled her head to the right in confusion. "I'll explain it to you later, but I have to get back to the restaurant because I'm sure people are waiting for their orders," Risley said before she and Millianna walked back to the restaurant.
"Beth, take Flare up to her room. Until the guild master comes back, she will stay here, and I will train her tomorrow," Kagura explained as Beth nodded while Flare's head was still set in its confusion motivated, right-leaning tilt.
"Training?"
"Yes. While you were very skilled with your magic, but I noticed that you did not attempt to strike Lucy, which leads me to assume that you are not as skilled with your hands as you are with your magic, so I will train you in hand-to-hand combat tomorrow. Be ready," Kagura explained before she and Arana went back to the outside of the guild as Beth led Flare up the stairs of the guild. On their way to the guest room, Flare was worried about what her training with someone as strong and serious as Kagura Mikazuchi had in store for her training tomorrow. Beth was also worried, hoping in vain that Kagura wouldn't go too hard on their possible new recruit.