Zrocker119: No AN this time...enjoy.

-Start-

"Ah man, it's good to be back home and off of the damn thing!" Natsu shouted with his fists raised to the sky as he and the rest of the party disembarked from the train.

With everything that had gone down the night before the train stations had been shutdown to make sure that no dark wizard had escaped, they had been forced to stay the night at a local hotel that had been near the meeting place.

Lucy rubbed the back of her head and sighed in content, "I'm just glad that nothing too bad happened."

"I wouldn't say that," everyone turned to see that Gin was the one that spoke, his lips forming a small frown. He thought about the families of the guards that had lost their live from the attack on the station. He already decided that he would be the one to make that calls and break the bad news. Those were calls that he wasn't looking forward to, but as soon as they had all of the names, he'd be making them.

Noticing the attention he was getting he put on his normal grin and just waved his hand, "Oh don't mind me. Just thinking about all of the paperwork I'm gonna have to do once I get back to HQ."

"Speaking of which," Mira said with crossed arms, "what are you even doing here? Are you following us."

Gin cocked his head, "Weren't you listening yesterday? I said to Mo," he ignored the snickering coming from Natsu, "that I'm long overdue for a vacation."

"And you came with us here, why exactly?" Erza questioned with a raised brow.

Gin strolled forward with his hands in his pockets, "I have a friend that lives nearby, figured that I would pay them a visit."

"Then why are you heading towards our guild?"

"Well the answer to that question should be obvious," placing a hand on top of his hat, Gin sent them a teasing smile. "Cause they're a member."

Everyone came to a grinding halt while Gin kept on walking without a care in the world.

"EHHHH!"

Makarov was the first to snap out of his shock and ran to catch up with the much taller man. "Is this person the reason why…" he trailed off as he didn't want the youngsters to over hear what the two had discussed in private just a few hours prior.

"I won't lie and say that my friendship with them isn't a big part of the reason," Gin admitted truthfully, "But like I told the council, your guild isn't full of bad people. Just a bunch that happen to cause a lot of havoc wherever they go."

The guild master groaned, "Believe me, I'm more than aware. I've lost more than a few hairs over the amount of paperwork I've had to do because of them." Gin bent down and gave him a comforting pat on the back.

"Now hold up!" Gin shot back up as Mira ran in front of him, blocking his path. "Just who exactly is this 'friend' of yours?" she asked with fists planted firmly on her hips.

She received a shake of the finger as a response. "Now that would be spoiling the fun of a good mystery." He calmly walked around her and continued on his way, completely missing the Take Over mage who had begun to shake with barely controlled rage.

She was about to snap when the silver-haired man grabbed his chin. "I...guess it wouldn't hurt to give you all a hint." He turned to see them all leaning forward as they waited for him to continue.

.

.

.

"You know them pretty well."

And promptly fell flat on their faces.

"What kind of bullshit hint is that!?" Gray yelled, not even noticing that he was stripping away his clothes.

"I never claimed that it would be a good hint." He pointed at the ice mage who was now clad in only a pair of boxers, "also, your clothes are gone. Better find them quickly before I arrest you for public indecency."

Gray looked down and sure enough his close had yet again disappeared from his person, "Shit!"

Once Gray had managed to find his missing articles of clothing, the group continued on their way, constantly pestering Gin for more information on his secret friend. While he respected their determination, he refused to divulge any more than what had already been spoken.

As they approached Natsu rushed to the front and kicked the door open, "We're back!" the pinkette announced, completely oblivious to the fact that one of the doors was now ajar and hanging on by a single hinge.

"Damn it Natsu!" one of the members, Max, shouted as he shot the Salamander an exasperated look. "We just fixed the place up from yours and Gray's last brawl."

"I'm not fixing it this time," chimed Macao and Wakaba, each with a hand raised.

Seated at a nearby table, Levy giggled as the three of them began arguing over who's turn it was. "So how did the mission go?"

Mira took a seat next to her, resting her head on her crossed arms. "Turns out that we weren't needed at all," she said with a small glare directed at Gin, who seemed completely unaffected and continued to smile.

Now that he was in the building, Gin noticed just how empty the place currently was. "Funny, after all of the stories I've heard about this place, I thought it would be rowdier."

"Oh, this is nothing," spoke a voice from behind. Turning around Gin saw Ryu standing in the doorway alongside a scantily clad brunette, both holding bags full of groceries.

"Should've been here a few days ago, heard the place got really messed up as a result of Gray and Natsu butting heads," Ryu said as he set the bags on the counter. He then took a seat next to Mira, who, without even opening her eyes, moved to rest her head on his shoulder.

Ignoring Gin's raised brow and knowing smirk, Ryu turned to the others, who by this point had all sat down around the table. "So how was the missi-"

"Better question," Cana interrupted. Taking a swig from a bottle of liquor she had swiped from the bar, she eyed up the stranger among them. A moment passed before she sent him a drunken smirk, "Who's tall, thin and handsome?"

Had his eyes been open, Gin would've blinked owlishly at the woman's blunt assessment of him.

"Right," Erza cleared her throat and gestures to Gin, "Everyone this is-"

"How have you been Gin," Ryu suddenly asked.

"Eh," Gin made the 'so-so' motion, "Been somewhat busy. Paperwork, meetings, stopping terrorist attacks. You know, the usual stuff."

Ryu hummed in understanding and nodded, "Sounds like fun."

.

.

.

"Wait a minute." Mira stopped leaning on her boyfriend and slowly turned to look at him. "You already know him?"

"Yeah."

The members closest to the couple ever so slightly scooted away from them.

"...For how long exactly?"

"Well we met when I joined the same organization as him, so I'd say," Ryu thought for a moment before shrugging, "about four, four and a half years."

"I see," Mirajane closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "So you've been friends with a Rune Knight Commander and decided not to tell any of us?"

The response she got took on the form of a nonchalant shrug, "Didn't think it was that important. You know how uncaring I am when it comes to rank and authority."

Everyone watched in anticipation and wondered how the demoness would respond. So imagine their surprise when all she did was shrug.

"Fair enough."

Even Ryu blinked in surprise at the bland response.

"Really," he questioned not completely trusting how reasonable his girlfriend was being at the moment.

"What?" Mirajane shot him an irritated look which she then sent to everyone else at the table, "were you all expecting me to make a big deal out of this?"

"Yes!" was the collective response which caused her eye to twitch in annoyance.

"Anyway," Mira growled and looked towards Natsu, "Didn't you and Tin plate over there make some sort deal before we left the other morning?"

The fire mage shot up from his seat, an excited grin stretching across his face. "That's right! Erza," he pointed at said redhead, "you promised me a fight when we got back."

The members that were present for Natsu's declaration now all found themselves out in the streets just in front of the guildhall, forming a large circle around the two combatants. Cana had set up a betting pool with everyone placing their bets. Despite not being a member, Gin also placed a bet on the fight, 10,000 jewels in Erza's favor.

The fight soon got underway with Natsu opening up with his trademark fire attack, while Erza opted to go for a more defensive approach and immediately requipped into her flame empress armor, cutting the effectiveness of all Natsu's attacks in half.

"Wow," Lucy exclaimed as the two proceeded to try and pummel the other into the dirt, "they're really going at it."

"Naw," Ryu tilted his head slightly as a stray blast of fire barely missed him, "they're just getting started." He turned to look at the blonde and realized that he had no idea who she was. "I'm sorry, but we've never met. I'm R-"

"You're Ryu Sato," Lucy cut him off with a squeal of excitement. "You got second place for sexiest male model and first for most mysterious wizard!" She then pulled out a pen and a copy of sorcerer weekly out of seemingly nowhere and held both up to him. "Can I have your autograph?"

"...Sure, why not." Ryu took the pen and magazine, noticed that Mira's name was also there, and signed the space right below it. He also took note that it was the issue that he made his debut appearance in the modeling community. "Still never got your name."

"Hehe," she scratched her head clearly embarrassed about the outburst, "Sorry about that, my name's Lucy. I'm just a really big fan of you and Mirajane."

Ryu waved away her concerns, "No harm was done, so there's no need to apologize. So how'd you end up joining the guild."

"Well," Lucy glaced in the direction of the fight, "I ran into Lisanna, Natsu and Happy while they were searching for his father."

Ryu gave Lucy his full attention as she went on to explain her little scuffle with a group a kidnappers and how the Fairy Tail mages ended up rescuing her.

While that was going on, Mira watched their little exchange from across the makeshift ring.

"I wouldn't worry too much," she glanced to the right to see Gin standing beside her. "About him seeing other women I mean."

"I wasn't even considering the idea of Ryu doing something like that," Mira said as she went back to watching the fight. "Just surprised to see blondie being so open. I've only talked to her once and that was when she wanted my autograph, and she was really skittish about it."

Gin nodded, "I could see why she would." Seeing her raise a brow he continued, "You and Ryu are both strong, but unlike him you're very open about it."

Mirajane crossed her arms at that statement. "You've known me for what? Not even two days? How could you possibly know that?"

Gin just smiled and said, "By the way you stand. You project an image of confidence and strength. While these aren't bad traits, unless people know you personally, they tend to make it hard for new people to come up and talk with you."

He gestured to Ryu, who now appeared to be telling Lucy a funny story of sorts. Evident by the blonde laughing. "He's a total contrast to you. Despite his strength and the reputation of a fierce fighter it has garnered him, Ryu's laid back attitude makes him very approachable and easy to talk with."

Mira looked toward her boyfriend. The more the thought about what was just pointed out to her, the more she realized how true Gin's words were. She had been with the guild for just over six years now, and to this day more than a few members were afraid of approaching her.

And then there was Ryu. Someone powerful enough to make people pass out and potentially die just from being near him, had only been a member for little over a year, and no one hesitated to go and have a drink with him.

It was kind of depressing when she thought about it.

"Mirajane?"

Shaking herself free from those thoughts she turned back to Gin. "Please, just call me Mira. You're a friend of Ryu's after all."

"Ok then, Mira," Gin's smiled as he looked down at her. "Just how much has Ryu told you about himself?"

The whitette frowned slightly at the question. "Not much. Just that he used to be apart of some organization and was in a war. A few things about how powerful he was compared to others...that's about it really."

"I see," Gin looked back to said redhead, his smile dropping slightly. "Can you do me a favor?

"Depends on what exactly that favor entails," was Mira's answer as she narrowed her gaze at him. What he said next caused her eyes to widen.

"We may not look like it, but both Ryu and myself are still adjusting to this country and its relative peace. We both had to do things that we aren't proud of to survive." The secret Shinigami turned to look at Mira, letting her see his genuine smile. "It may take some time, but he will eventually come clean about himself. So until that time comes...please...be patient with him?"

Mirajane felt her mouth open slightly, caught off guard the mans simple question. "You really care about him, don't you?"

"Oh, not in the same way you do. So you don't have to worry about that." Gin joked, managing to bring a smile to her lips. "But as one of the few friends Ryu had back home, the answer to your question is yes."

"Then you've got nothing to worry about." The two shared a smile and turned back to watch the fight and just in time to see Erza land a devastating punch to Natsu's face. The Dragonslayer soared over the crowd and crashed through the guild's doors, rendering them a heaping pile of splinters.

"Damn it Erza! And you yell at Natsu and Gray for breaking the place."

Everyone present was then treated to the rare sight of the legendary Titania getting scolded by Ryu. Mira allowed herself to wallow in the fact that her rival was being talked down to like she was a child, while Gin just shook his head at the guild's antics.

Onto a more important note, looks like he was walking away from this with some extra cash in his pocket. With that in mind, Gin made his way over to the brunette that had started the betting pool to collect his winnings.

-End-