Zrocker119: Quick little heads up for everyone. Near the end of this chapter there's a slight lemon scene and I do mean it when I say slight. I put another heads up right before and after the scene so keep a lookout for that. You can actually skip the scene and not miss out on anything should you choose. It's strictly for fluff purposes only.

-START-

A few weeks had passed since Ryu joined Fairy Tail and he couldn't say that he wasn't enjoying himself. Despite being the newest member everyone treated him like he had been there for years. Despite the pink-haired kid, whose name he learned was Natsu, challenging him to to a fight every time they saw each other, he got along with everyone just fine.

Ryu had bought himself quite the lavish house with the money he earned from his first job. Well technically it was a mansion, being around 10,000 square feet, three stories tall, dozens of rooms, a hot spring in the backyard and 200 acres of land. What? He had his own castle back when he was an Espada so he was used to having plenty of space.

He would take requests regularly to keep himself busy and not just the high rewarding ones either. He took jobs that varied from simple house work to construction, earning him quite the favorable reputation with the townsfolk. Apparently they were used to Fairy Tail causing the damage instead of fixing it.

It was about halfway through his third week when Ryu ran into the one person that he wasn't too sure about. That person being Laxus.

After saying his hellos to everyone, Ryu walked up to the second floor to grab his next job when he noticed Laxus leaned up against the board, arms crossed and an unreadable expression. He was wearing a skin tight, sleeveless shirt so wound he had received weeks prior could barely be seen. It had healed but left a large scar.

The two stared at one another in a tense silence before the blonde broke it, "Got a moment to talk?"

Not finding anything wrong with the request, Ryu gestured towards a nearby table. Once they were both seated Ryu spoke, "What's on your mind?"

"Quite a bit but mainly one thing," Said the veteran mage, "I keep thinking back to when we fought," he winced at the word because it was anything but a fight, "and I know that you were holding back, but not how much."

Ryu thought for a moment before taking out his Zanpakuto and placing it on the table. "When I dodged your attack and slashed you, I used every ounce of my power that wasn't locked away in this blade."

Laxus eyed the blade with a mixture of fear and curiosity. "Did you need to?"

"No," Ryu said truthfully.

"Then why did you?"

"Because I know what type of person you are," Ryu placed Olvido back in his sheath before continuing. "You're someone that believes in power and nothing else. If you aren't strong then you don't deserve to be here."

Laxus narrowed his eyes, "You knew me for about 40 seconds. How could you possibly know what type of person I am?"

"Because I've worked with people like that before. One of them was a complete asshole that nobody in my old organization liked, while the other was much more tolerable and actually became a close friend of mine." Ryu was thinking back to Grimmjow and Nnoitra. His eyes took on a dark look at the thought of the late Quinto Espada. "The asshole would constantly antagonize our fellow members, showing them zero respect."

Laxus was now curious, "What happened to him?"

"I robbed him of the thing he desired most," as he spoke the Arrancar adopted a smirk that sent chills down Laxus's back.

"That being?"

"The warriors death that he wanted. Our organization was at war with another and the enemy had invaded our base. I was watching the battle between my friend Grimmjow and his chosen rival, a talented warrior by the name of Ichigo Kurosaki. Let me tell you something," Ryu leaned forward, "That battle was one for the history books. The two were evenly matched in almost all aspects, and just when it looked like my friend would win, Kurosaki managed to land the finishing blow."

Ryu smiled fondly at the memory, "Ichigo refused to kill him though, despite Grimmjow having tried multiple times. The berry preferred to fight him another time. Grimmjow wasn't happy with that answer," His tone took on a dark turn once again, "But before Grimmjow could even try to continue the fight, Nnoitra, the asshole I was telling you about stepped in and tried to put him down."

"Nnoitra was sadistic bastard that wasn't afraid of killing the weak and wounded. Several times I've had to step in and put him in his place, but that had been the last straw. I beat him and his subordinate into the dirt. Even when he unsealed his powers, I tossed him around like a rag." Ryu looked Laxus in the eyes, "I didn't give the honor of dying a glorious death that he desired. The last thing he saw was me, staring down at him like the insect that he was."

Laxus wasn't sure what to think. The knowledge that the man sitting across from him had killed one of his own allies put a knot in his stomach, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I think that you're like my friend Grimmjow. An asshole most of the time, but with the capability to change." Ryu got up to leave, stopping only to place a hand of his guildmates shoulder, "Don't follow that same path as Nnoitra, Laxus. Unlike him, you have people that genuinely care about you. Don't toss them aside for the sake of being weaker than you."

With that said the Arrancar left without grabbing a job, leaving Laxus to think about what he had just been told.

Ryu had decided to go back to his home and spend the rest of the day relaxing in isolation, grabbing only a bottle of booze and a book before plopping down on the large couch in his living room.

He was about half way through the book and around ΒΌ into the bottle when someone came knocking on his door. Marking his page, Ryu set the book and bottle down and went to the door.

Opening it he was greeted by the sight of the the ever beautiful Mirajane "Oh, hey Mira. How's it going?"

"Just got back from a job," she said with a shrug. "Elfman's off doing who knows what and Lisanna went to go spend time with her fire eating boyfriend. So I'm alone with nothing better to do and figured that I'd come over and talk."

Ryu saw nothing wrong with having some company and stepped to the side, allowing entrance into his home. He led her into the living room and motioned for her to take a seat before heading to the kitchen.

"You want anything to drink?" He asked.

"Sure, preferably anything stronger than regular booze," Mirajane called back. While Ryu was out of the room she took the time to look around. The living room was quite large, having a grey L couch, loveseat, chair, coffee table and a few stands with assorted items on them like pictures and such.

Looking closely Mira noticed that all of the pictures were hand drawn and very well done. Almost all of them were of people dressed similarly to how Ryu was back when they first met. All wore white and carried a sword, just like Ryu.

The one that really caught her attention though was the one of Ryu. He was wearing his old white outfit, sword drawn with fire surrounding him and ready to fight. But it was what stood behind him that made her stare.

It could only be described as a demon. It had Steel grey skin, black, bone like armor covering its forearms and shins, giving it clawed gauntlets and greaves, and had a whip-like tail. Its head was completely covered by a black mask that resembled a human skull, but with demonic features such as razor sharp teeth and two large horns the protruded from its temples that curved upwards at a sharp angle.

Crimson red hair cascaded from underneath the back of the mask, reaching all the was down to it's mid-back. Lastly, there was a whole the size of a cannon ball in its chest. Right where its heart should be.

"See something you like."

Mirajane jumped at the sound of Ryu's voice. She turned to find him standing beside her with a glass of wine in each hand, one held out for her. She thanked him as she took it.

"Why are they all hand drawn," she asked as she took a sip. She looked at the glass in surprise once the taste hit her tongue. It was of the same quality of what they kept stocked for the higher shelves at the guild.

"They're all drawn because I had no actual pictures," Ryu explained as he grabbed one of the many pictures. It was a group drawing of him with the friends he had made during his time with the Espada.

Ryu was in the center of the group with one arm around the shoulder of two of his fraccion members, Loly and Menoly. The imposing figure of Takeshi stood behind them, with his mate Mila Rose sitting on one of his arms. Starrk was lying down in the front with Lilynette crouched on his stomach. Grimmjow stood with his hands in his pockets while Nel was propping herself up on his shoulders. Off to the side stood Ulquiorra and Gin.

Everyone was smiling in some shape or form, with the exception of Ulquiorra who Ryu had drawn stoic as ever.

Mira leaned over to observe the picture, taking note of how he had his arms around two the women on either side of him. "Were you close with those two?"

"We had a few flings," was his casual reply, "It was nothing serious though." He turned and put the picture back, completely missing Mirajane's slightly miffed expression.

She didn't really want to know but curiosity got the better of her so Mira asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Ryu rubbed his chin for a moment before saying, "While I cared for them and their well being, I couldn't bring myself to truly feel any sort of romantic attachment to them." He paused, "Wow saying it like that makes me sound like a real dick."

"Kind of, yeah," Mira nodded in agreement.

"Okay let me explain it like this. Where I'm from, the rule of survival is that the strong flourish. If you were too weak, you flocked to the strong for protection. I was the strongest of my old organization, so the two of them asked to serve under me-"

"In more ways than one," muttered Mira but spoke low enough so that Ryu couldn't hear.

"-I said yes and we sort of became friends with benefits. Everything was consensual and I never asked them to do anything they didn't want to do themselves." Ryu finished his explanation. "Do I still sound like a dick?"

"Less so," Mirajane said with a shrug and took a drink of her wine, "Now you just sound like a player."

"Haha," Ryu laughed halfheartedly and finished his drink in one go. "So other than my past sex life, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I was actually hoping to cash in on the favor you owe me," Mira took a seat on the couch, her legs crossed. Ryu found himself struggling to not take a peek under her teasingly short skirt. "I have a photoshoot in a couple days and the other models and I were asked to bring a guy along."

Ryu raised a brow, "And I was your first choice?"

"Elfman's my brother, Natsu's dating my sister, Laxus is a prick, Gray can't keep his clothes on and the rest of the guys in our guild are barely average when it comes to looks," she stated with a completely straight face. "It's more like you were the only remaining option."

Ryu crossed his arms and smirked, "So according to you, not only am I a player, but I'm a player that has decent looks."

Getting up Mirajane approached Ryu, eyeing him up and down like he was a prize to be won. She stopped directly before him, placing a hand to his chest. She felt him tense up and smirked, thinking that she finally manage to catch him off guard.

In reality though Ryu was internally panicking, for her hand had just missed his hollow hole by less than an inch. He released a quiet breath when she dragged a single finger down his chest. Panic of nearly being found out aside, Ryu was quite turned on by what she was doing, especially since he had to look down to see just what she was doing, giving him an unrestricted view of her vast amount of cleavage.

"You're a very attractive man, Ryu." The way she spoke his name sent a unintentional shiver down his spine. She looked up, staring into his mismatched eyes, "So, will you come with me to the studio this thursday?"

"If you're calling in the favor then I don't really have a choice."

"Not really no," She agreed and turned to leave with a seductive sway in her hips. Just when she was about out, Mirajane threw him one last look over her shoulder and winked before finally closing the door.

"...Spirit King be damned, I really want that woman," Ryu breathed out as soon as the door closed. She was everything that a man like himself could ever hope for. She was smart, powerful and drop dead gorgeous, but the thing he found most attractive about her though was the fact that she refused to be seen as anything other than an equal.

The true reason why he could ever truly love Menoly and Loly was because they saw themselves as beneath him, and never tried to improve themselves.

Mirajane was the exact opposite. She knows that she's currently weaker than him, and trains to reach his level. Even while sitting in his home, Ryu could feel her power growing stronger everyday. It was a slow burn for sure, but with enough time she will eventually reach her goal.

That was the type of mate that Ryu sought, one that could stand at his side and face the world with him. But he held himself back for one reason. His hand drifted to the spot where a heart should be instead of a hole.

Ryu's eyes suddenly widen when he realized what he agreed to. If he went to the studio...then there would be a chance that his hollow hole could be discovered.

"Fuck!"

Mirajane strolled off the train and took in the site that was Crocus, the capital city of Fiore. Stretching her arms and back she said, "That was the most relaxing train ride that I've ever taken."

"Probably because you all but begged me to pay for first class tickets," Ryu said as he stood beside her.

"Oh please," She replied with a hand on her hip, "The food alone was worth it."

"The food was decent, though I can do much better," he commented offhandedly.

Mira smirked, "Alright, then you get to cook a full course meal for me tonight." She then proceeded to walk away, leaving behind a gaping Ryu.

Regaining his composure Ryu quickly followed after the white-haired model through the capital's busy streets. The duo received many stares as they went on their way. The ones directed toward Mira were of lust and admiration, while those sent Ryu's way were mainly of confusion.

Ryu ignored them for the most part, but Mirajane would actually stop to say hi to a fan or to sign a magazine. Due to her stopping so much though, it ended up taking them an extra twenty minutes to reach the studio, not that Ryu minded anyway. It was nice to see that Mira interacted with her fans.

"Well here we are," Mirajane announced once they finally arrived at their destination. "Just follow me, they're expecting us."

Entering the studio, Ryu was surprised to see just how much larger the place was from the inside than the outside but just wrote it off as some sort of space distortion magic. While following the veteran model the duo passed multiple dressing rooms and several different sets. Some being beaches or hotel lobbies. It was quite the set up.

They walked towards the middle where another dressing room was. Upon entering Mirajane was immediately confronted by a man, and what Ryu meant by that was that she was pulled into a hug and spun around.

"~Mira~," the man sang. "~It's been so long since you were last here!~"

She let out what Ryu thought to be a cute sounding giggle. "Calm down Diz, I've only been gone for a few weeks."

"But I still missed you nonetheless," Diz said before finally setting her down. Now that he wasn't spinning around, Ryu could get a good look at him. He was of average height and had a skinny build. He was relatively handsome with brown eyes and thin eyebrows. His dirty blonde hair was short along the sides and longer on the top and pulled into a single thick braid that he hung over his left shoulder.

"Now who's this handsome stud that you've brought before me today?" Diz asked after giving Ryu a quick look over.

"Name's Ryu Sato."

Diz' eyes widened at the mention of his name and looked toward his top model, "Is this the same Ryu that you wouldn't stop mentioning for months on end?"

Ryu couldn't suppress the smirk that formed at the sight of the whitette blushing up a storm. "So you were even talking to you photographer about m-" he was cut off by Diz enveloping him in one of the strongest hugs that he had ever been on the receiving end of.

"Thank you so much for saving Mira and her brother and sister!" Diz cried as he squeezed harder. Ryu was certain that his spine would've snapped if it wasn't for his steel-like skin. "I've been working with Mira since she first came to model. I wouldn't know what to do without her!"

"A-a-anytime," Ryu managed to croak out. His vision was had begun to blur when Diz finally released him. 'Damn I think he cracked my ribs!'

"Hmhm," Mirajane giggled to herself.

"Anyway," Diz put an arm around each of their shoulders, "Let's get the two of you prepped and ready!"

"What's the theme this time?" Mira asked as she took one of the two seats that was set in front of a mirror. With a snap of her fingers her clothes disappeared, replaced by a dark purple robe.

"Night on the town," Diz said as he got behind Mira and began working on her hair while she started to apply a small amount of makeup. But before getting too into it he turned to Ryu, "Go ahead and strip down to your undergarments and put on the spare robe behind you."

As Ryu began to strip, Mirajane watched his reflection in the mirror. His coat and vest were the first to go, followed shortly by his shirt, leaving his upper body completely exposed. She let out a quiet gasp at what she saw.

His body was completely flawless, consisting of nothing but tightly compact muscle, being only slightly larger than Natsu of Gray but nowhere near the same level as Laxus or her brother.

His lower clothes were soon off, briefly leaving him in nothing but his dark blue boxer briefs, allowing Mirajane to see his toned rear.

"Better work fast Mira," Diz whispered to her, "A man like that won't be available forever. I saw the stares that your fellow models were giving him on the way in."

"I'm working on it," she whispered back.

Ryu let out a sigh of relief, glad the the illusion lacrima he bought the other day worked properly. The illusion was strong and could even be touched, but if enough force is applied, then objects could still pass through the space so he would still have to be careful.

"Is there anything we can do about your mask," Diz asked without turning away from his work.

"Afraid not," Ryu replied as he took the remaining chair beside them. "It's one of the physical representations of my power. Besides back when I was learning to control my powers, the skin beneath was pale so I always looked like I was wearing a mask anyway."

Diz let out a humming sound, "No matter. Besides I quite like it. Adds a layer of mystery to you."

After getting their makeup all done, Ryu and Mirajane were sent to the clothing racks. His was full of suits and other nice clothes, while hers consisted mainly of dresses. Once dressed the photo shoot began.

It went on for hours, switching between dresses and locations. Ryu actually found it to be pretty enjoyable. Diz was a great guy and didn't flip out whenever he made a mistake, which was more often than Ryu would care to admit.

It was almost night time by the time they had finished the shoot.

"And that does it for today," Diz said as he packed away his camera and shot them both a thumbs up, "Good hustle out there!"

"Thanks Diz," Ryu returned the gesture, "It was a lot more fun than I originally thought it would be."

Mira elbowed him in the side playfully, "That's because Diz is the best photographer I could ask for."

"Damn straight!" Diz exclaimed which earned him laugh from the mages. "I'll see you soon Mira and hopefully you as well Ryu."

"I'll keep it in mind Diz," with that said the Fairy Tail wizards left the studio. Once they were a good distance away from the building, Ryu suddenly wrapped an arm around Mirajane's waist.

"What are yo-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as the two disappeared in a burst of sonido. Everything was a blur to the Take-Over mage for what felt like several hours. Her eyes could barely keep track of the environment that flew past her, and then it was suddenly over and Mira found herself keeling over.

Ryu, for his part, just rubbed Mirajane's back in soothing circles as her stomach threatened to unload all of it contents. Good thing he was smart enough to plan for this and had them appear by the bushes in front of his porch.

"There there," he said as he continued to rub her back, "It's completely normal for you to get sick on your first trip."

After several agonizing long moments of dry heaving later, she managed to get a hold of her stomach, "W-what the hell was that?"

"That was Sonido, a technique that allows me to move at highspeeds."

Mirajane leaned forward as another wave of nausea hit her, "How can you use that without getting sick."

"Same reason you can use Take Over magic. It's natural for me," Ryu explained as he lead her inside. Taking her to the dining room, he sat her at the table before grabbing her a glass of water and some medicine to help settle her stomach.

As she took the offered pills Mirajane spoke, "I don't care how much time that move shaved off, I'll be sticking with the train."

The secret Arrancar chuckled as he took his coat off, draping it over one of the chairs and proceeded to wash his hands. He then reached into the fridge and began to pull out ingredients for dinner.

"You craving anything in particular?"

"Chefs choice," was Mira's response. She was curious to see what he would come up with.

"I've got just the thing in mind," Knowing what he was going to cook, Ryu seemed to zone out everything around him and fell into his own universe.

It wasn't long afterwards that Ryu set dinner on the table. Mira took in the sight of chicken curry, chapati bread, plain rice and a glass of mango lassi to wash it all down. She had to force herself not to drool as the scent assaulted her nose.

"Well don't just stare at it," Ryu said with a smirk. One that widened when his guest began to dig into the food that he had carefully prepared. He watched for a moment longer before joining her.

About ten minutes later the two of them sat with every scrap of food gone and full bellies.

"That," Mirajane began, "was some of the best food that I've ever eaten." She knew that Ryu was a gifted cook from the time she helped him with breakfast, but what she had just eaten as on a whole new level.

"Well I was the designated cook back where I'm from." Ryu said as he got up to grab a bottle of wine and some glasses.

As he moved to poured their drinks Mira asked, "What was your old home like?"

Ryu paused in what he was doing, having been caught completely off guard by the her question. "My...my old home wasn't too different from here."

"Oh come on,"' She pushed, not even close to being satisfied by his answer. "There has to be more to it than that."

Ryu chuckled as he poured them both a her one he spoke, "Well, I guess there are a few differences. One being that not many people had powers."

"I remember you mentioning that back when we first met." Mirajane said as she took the offered drink. "Something about how less than a single percent of the population."

Ryu nodded, "Correct. That's because many don't have the proper amount of Reiryoku to develop abilities of their own."

"Reiryoku?" Mira questioned, having never heard that term before, "You mean magic right."

The red head shook his head, "That's another difference between our homes. Back where I'm from, there's no Ethernano so that means no magic. What we have instead is Reiryoku, which is the power of ones soul. It's what fuels my powers. You remember when the air seemed to become heavier back when we fought."

Mirajane nodded, remembering the feeling very clearly. It was as if the air was trying to suffocate her. So similar to when a mage exerts his or her magic and yet completely different at the same time.

"What you were feeling was my Reiatsu," Ryu explained, "That's the physical force that is created when my Reiryoku is released. Essentially you were feeling the weight of my soul."

That sent a shiver down the mages spine. "And that was with you holding back." She all but whispered. "Are there others with that much power where your from."

Ryu held his chin in thought. "In terms of raw power, I can think of three others that I know for certain that out class me." Mira almost spit out her wine at how casually he stated that he was basically the fourth strongest back home. "But there are a few others that could potentially defeat me."

Mirajane's expression became one of confusion, "But you just said that you were forth when it came to power. How did you reach the conclusion that others could beat you?"

"Simple, they all have something that I sorely lack," He held up a single finger. "Experience. While powerful, I'm still young. And many of the people I fought against had decades of experience." He then said somewhat grumpily, "Not to mention that some of their powers are completely broken."

Mira raised a brow, "Really? It can't be that bad."

"One man had the power to make childrens games reality. Another was so smart that if his opponent used the same ability too many times, he would grow bored and simply disrupt their powers," Ryu actually shivered as he recalled his training with his former guardian Kisuke. "Lastly, the man that defeated me twice has the ability that he calls complete hypnosis that allowed him to manipulate the five senses. All you had to do was see him use this ability once and you were forever under his illusions till the day you died."

Ryu took a drink to sooth his parched throat, "Also, that man didn't even have to cast his illusion to defeat me."

The color drained from Mira's face as she processed what she was told, "I can see what you meant by broken."

Emptying the rest of his glass down his throat, Ryu checked the time. "Damn I didn't realize it was getting that late," he said with yawn and stood, "I'll show you to your room."

Mira, having finished her drink as well, followed him to one of the many rooms located on the second floor. "This is it," he said as he showed her into a moderately sized room, "The bathroom's the next door over to the right. If you need anything my room is right across the hall."

Ryu went to leave but was quickly stopped by her hand latching onto his arm.

"Before you go," Mirajane said as she slid her hand down so that it was holding his, "I just wanted to thank you. Even though I used my favor to get you to come with me to the photoshoot, you didn't have to be such a gentleman. So, thanks."

The Arrancar glanced down at her hand that he was still holding. He marveled at how the softness of her skin felt against his calloused fingers. Lacing her finger with his own, he gave her and a reassuring squeeze, "Even if you hadn't called in your favor, I would've gone anyway."

"Why?"

Smirking he let go of her hand and left the room. Before he closed the door though he looked over his shoulder and said one last thing.

"Because you were the one that was asking."

Ryu stood with his back against the shower wall as hot water fell down his body, carrying away the days grime and troubles. But while it soothed his muscles, it did nothing to calm his metaphorical heart as it raced at a thousand beats per second.

"Why the fuck did I say that? Because you were the one that was asking," he repeated in a mocking manner. Was that really the best he could come up with? Talk about a lame way to end what Ryu very much considered to be a date.

Glancing down at his chest, Ryu placed his hand against the illusion that covered his hollow hole and slowly began to apply pressure. A few moments later and the illusion began to fade, the false skin becoming more and more transparent allowing him to see the lacrima that powered the spell. It had cost him a small fortune to get but damn if it wasn't a good investment.

So long has he took care to avoid any blows to the heart then he should have nothing to worry about. Ryu took his hand away from his chest, watching as the spell hid the hole once again.

A few more minutes went by before Ryu stepped out of the bathroom, one towel around his waist while he used another to dry his hair. Once finished he let it drape around his neck and glanced at his bed to see Mirajane sitting there.

Thinking nothing of it he opened the top drawer to grab underwear, but stopped once his brain finally processed what he just saw. Ryu's head turned to his bed so fast that he was surprised his neck didn't snap.

Mira watched him from her spot on the edge of his bed no longer dressed in her daily clothes. Now she wore only a matching set of lacy, dark purple bra and panties along with her stockings. The bow had been taken out, allowing her silvery-white locks to cascade down her back and over her shoulders where they stopped to frame her breasts.

She was currently leaning back on her arms so that her back was in a slight ark, which in turn caused her already large breasts to be pronounced even more so.

Ryu could think no thoughts other than how absolutely beautiful the woman before looked at that moment. As his eyes took in every ounce of her beauty, he felt desires that he thought were long buried rise to the surface

"Kept me waiting long enough," Mira said as she stood up and began to slowly saunter over toward him. The sensual sway in her hips immediately drawing his gaze. "I was starting to think that you wouldn't be coming out."

Ryu finally found his voice again and spoke, "I wasn't aware that you would be waiting for me. I could've swore that I had already bid you goodnight."

"You did." She came to a stop right before him, forcing him to look down to meet her gaze. "But I don't recall saying such a thing." She placed one hand on his shoulder and the other at the back of his head, pulling him into a kiss.

-Lemon start, skip if you want-

While at first caught off guard by the act Ryu was quick to reciprocate the kiss, grabbing her by her shapely waistline. He probed her lips with his tongue, asking for entrance. He felt her lips form a smirk but refused to part them.

Growling at being kept from his goal Ryu decided to up his game. The hands that had been idle up to this point went straight to work, one going to palm her shapely rear while the other snaked its way under the her bra to cup her right breast.

He gave both parts of Mira's body a squeeze, making her moan from the stimulation. Ryu used that moment to work his tongue into her mouth, exploring every inch of it. The two battled for dominance for a few moment before she submitted and followed his lead.

Once every square inch of her mouth had been thoroughly explored Ryu pulled back. He took one look into Mirajane's desire filled gaze and knew what she wanted and put both hands on her ass so that he could lift her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and allowed herself to be carried. Her hands disappeared behind her back to undo the clasp of her bra, all while moaning from him nibbling on her neck.

Once the article of clothing was tossed to the side, Ryu immediately moved from her neck to her breasts and took one of her now stiff nipples into his mouth. She wrapped her arms around his head, forcing him even further into her bosom.

Mira felt his teeth replace his tongue, throwing her head back as she cried out in pleasure.

Even though blinded, Ryu was able to find the bed and allowed them to fall onto it. The rest of Mira's clothes were soon discarded, followed shortly by his lone towel as their desire for one another reached new heights.

-Lemon over-

Several hours later Ryu lied awake in his bed, sleep having eluded him. He glanced down to take in the sight of Mirajane sleeping peacefully as she used his chest as a pillow, with one arm holding her close to him.

The blankets only came up to their waists, leaving them uncovered from there and up, but neither were cold. As he traced circles into her back, Ryu thought about what this meant for the two of them.

He didn't know if this was a one time thing, but he really doubted that it was. What the two did felt different from the nights that he spent with Loly and Menoly. That was just sexual relief and nothing more, but what he dime with Mirajane was different from that.

"What are you thinking about?"

Ryu blinked and looked to see that Mira was now awake. He hadn't even felt her stir.

"I was just think about what this means for us," he admitted, seeing no reason to hide his thoughts.

"Hmm," Mirajane replied as she snuggled further into his chest. "By now it should be pretty obvious that I want us to be more than just friends." She propped herself up and over him so that her face was hovering over his. Her hair fell onto his chest and her eyes bore into his own, painting him a picture that would be forever engraved into his memory. "Besides I wouldn't give my virginity to just anyone."

Ryu cocked a brow at her statement. "A virgin doesn't know how to do the things you were just doing."

She treated him with a coy smile, "I may or may not have been borrowing certain novels from Levy for the past few weeks." She silenced any further questions with a kiss. Several moments pass before she broke the sensual act for air.

"I like you Ryu," Mira confessed as she snuggled into his chest. "I want us to be more than friends."

Ryu hummed in response, "And I take it that you don't mean friends with very good benefits." The Arrancar wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. "I've never been in a relationship before," he admitted. "I was always too busy to even consider having one."

"And now?" Even though she did her best to hide it, Ryu was able to pick up on the subtle worry in her voice.

"Now...now I'm willing to give it a shot." Ryu felt her smile into his chest and he found himself smiling as well. "The real challenge though," he began, causing her to face him. "Is how do we break this to your brother and sister?"

Mirajane just shook her head as the two shared a chuckle. Shortly after that she fast asleep with Ryu being awake for only a few minutes longer before following her example.