Hello again! It's been one heck of a summer so far, don't you think? Anyway, here's the latest update. I'll try to update faster from now on. Enjoy!

Chapter 8—Gaining Their Trust

Gray

I stood next to Natsu and Lucy and watched Akira as she shifted in her seat nervously. Her hands were clasped in front of her and she struggled to come out with words to tell her story. I had to admit I was really curious and fearful to know why she had come back with a dagger in her chest. But Erza's untrustworthy glare and Master's deep thoughtful eyes were not helping her case. Erza made eye contact with me and I shot her an annoyed glare before she looked away. She shouldn't be so skeptical. Akira took a deep breath and looked up to look all of us directly in the eyes.

"I guess I should start with after I knocked Gray and the others out in Caldera." She said hoarsely. Erza's eyes flashed and she shot me a look. I had conveniently left that part out when I was explaining the story to her. I avoided her angry glare and continued to watch Akira struggle to tell us her story.

"I went back to Albian and I guess… it was safe to say that he wasn't very pleased." She cringed slightly, probably swarmed with the painful memory. I had to hold myself back from reaching out to her and to assure her that she was going to be okay. "He punished me harshly. I mean, I don't really blame him. I did ignore him and defy him for three months straight. I knew that I wasn't going to get off easy." She smiled humorlessly and looked up as if asking why her.

"Anyway, I took it. I didn't fight back. I mean, how can you? When you're faced with the most powerful man in the world, you don't try anything. So yes, I lay there like a dog and took it." Her fists clenched as she looked down angrily. "And he used that to his advantage. He… he humiliated me. He… mocked me in front of everyone in the guild. And then… and then he banished me." Her voice cracked and she doubled over, gripping the sheets roughly. "He banished me from the most notorious guild in the country. Why would he do that?" she threw her head back and laughed. "He may as well have just planted a target on my head that was asking for people to try and kill me!"

"Why would people try to kill you after being banished?" Erza asked sharply. Akira lowered her head and gave Erza an annoyed look.

"What are you talking about? I'm an assassin. I'm a murderer. I have enemies. And they aren't stupid. They know they can't do anything to me while I'm in a guild with countless members to protect me. But once Albian banished me, I was vulnerable. It didn't take long for a group to ambush me." Her eyes filled with fury as she cast a glance out the window as if she were imagining their dead bodies at her feet. I gulped slightly at her words and looked down.

"How many enemies do you have?" Gramps asked her pointedly. She looked at him and frowned.

"Me? I don't have that many. But the guild… the guild has more than there are stars in the sky. It only takes one angry person to try and take revenge on the guild. And it doesn't matter which assassin you take revenge on. We're all the same in the end, right?" she gave him a nasty smile. I decided it was time to step in.

"You're not like that, Akira. Maybe you made mistakes, but you're here now. And you saved our lives. You aren't the same as them." She looked at me for the first time since I had walked in. Her eyes swelled with emotion and at first, I thought she was going to laugh at me. Instead she looked down, a sad look passing her face and faced front again.

"I guess… anyway like I said, they ambushed me and I tried to fight back, but they were strong. It didn't take long for them to finally stick a dagger in my gut. If it were any regular dagger, then I wouldn't have had to come here. I can deal with flesh wounds. But this dagger was laced with something. I could feel it the second it entered my system. I didn't know what to do. I knew I would die if I didn't get out of there. So I used my last bit of magic power and transported here. It was the first place I could think of." She finished her story and looked down at the sheets as gramps and Erza looked at each other.

"You understand that we can't just simply allow you to stay here?" Gramps said gravely. She nodded sadly, pulling her knees to her chest. I growled in protest.

"Why is it like this, Gramps?" I said, stepping forward. Akira head shot up to look at me as did everyone else. "Why can't she stay here? I don't think any of us have a problem with her. If they do than they would have said so by now. Also if any one of her enemies come to get her, we'll protect her. They messed with the wrong guild if they even think to lay a finger on her. I'll rip them to shreds myself if I have to." I felt Lucy grab my arm and pull me back. I realized then I was stepping towards Gramps and Erza menacingly. I quickly stepped back.

"Gray, I know you want her to stay but…" gramps began. Before he could say anything else, Akira threw her legs over the cot and he stayed silent.

"No, he's right, Gray. I can't stay here. If I stay here, I'll be putting all of you in danger. Albian may have banished me, but that doesn't mean that other guild members won't try to come after me." She stood and looked me dead in the eyes. Even with her being almost a head shorter than me, I still felt intimidated.

"I have some questions." Erza said suddenly. Akira's eyes flashed and she clenched her fists behind her back. She turned to look at Erza who had released her sword. "If you were banished, why do you still have his mark?" Akira flinched and looked down at her left wrist where and 'A' in orange lay. She clenched her fists and held her wrist up.

"Look at it." She whispered harshly. "This isn't a mark. It's a brand. Every guild member has to do this for Albian. When I was fourteen, I burned it onto my own skin to show my allegiance to Albian. There is no escape from this kind of mark." Erza's eyes wavered as she stared at Akira's mark. I looked sadly over at her and wanted nothing more than to remove it forever.

"My second question." Erza said, looking down. She tried to recover quickly and still maintain her act of authority but it wasn't really working. "I am still skeptical about this situation. I think maybe, you might be tricking us. So I have a way for you to show me that you really are through with Albian. You need to tell us where Albian's guild is located."

Akira tensed and stepped back, standing up at her full height. I looked at her and almost recoiled at the murderous look she was giving Erza. Her mouth had parted slightly like she was shocked that Erza could even suggest such a thing. I wasn't going to lie. I was also curious to see what her answer would be. It confused me to think that she would want to keep any more ties towards that man than she already had.

"You want me to do what?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Erza began to speak but Akira held up her hand, silencing her. "Do you know what would happen if I even mentioned the area where he is located?" she squeezed her eyes shut and gripped her head like she was trying to comprehend why Erza would ask something so horrendous. "Do you know what he would do to me? Worse, do you know what he would do to you? If I told you where he is, you would go after him. Worse, you would send the royal army after him. You think they have any chance of beating him? You think you have any chance of beating him? You have no idea what he is capable of.

"If I told you where he is, I would be responsible for not only your death, but for the death of every single person who came in contact with you and with me. This isn't just about saving my life. This is about saving all of your lives too. It will be a massacre. He will find who told you, he will find out who else knows. There is no return from this. I am already responsible for seven deaths and you want me to be responsible for hundreds more? I'm sorry, but if this is the only thing that will make you see that I mean well, then I will be in a bad light in your eyes for the rest of my life. I won't tell you where he is and there is nothing you can do or say that will make me change my mind." She took a breath and looked around with fiery eyes. I stared at her, my mouth slightly open, bewildered at her response.

"I need some air." She said frustrated. She shoved past me and barreled through the door, ignoring all the looks she was receiving. I blinked and then felt my legs move on their own accord. I prepared to run after her, to hold her in my arms, to assure her that he would never touch her again. To assure her that I would always be there to protect her from now on and forever.

Before I could take a step out the door, Erza's arm shot out and forced me to stumble backwards.

"Wait, Gray, we need to talk about this." She said firmly. I whirled around and brandished my fist under her nose.

"What is there to talk about, Erza? You heard her! The reason she won't give you the location is because she doesn't want you to die. If that doesn't tell you that she's a good person, then you are a terrible judge of character!" Erza turned on me, her eyes flashing.

"Just because she doesn't seem like a bad person doesn't mean she won't do something bad again. I don't think it's a good idea for her to stay here. She doesn't have to go back to Albian but I think she should go to some other guild, maybe and start over there. Why should she have to start over here?"

"Why are you being so closed minded? Why can't you just accept her, at least for a little while? You saw what Albian did to her. You saw how much it pains herself to even think about that place. Why can't you just accept that she needs to be away from there? She needs a family to protect her."

Erza angrily stepped forward and lifted her finger to argue with me some more. I turned to face her, ready to argue with her until the bitter end. Before she could, however, a long, stretched out arm wrapped around her hand and yanked it back. We both closed our mouths after that and turned to look at Gramps who was giving us the evil eye.

"You two need to shut up." He said angrily. "I'm trying to think." We stayed silent as we stared at him. He touched his chin with his fingers and rubbed his jaw, his eyes closed. Part of me was scared that he was going to throw her out. But I also knew that the master would never throw her out.

"I believe her story." He said abruptly. My shoulders sagged in relief as Erza turned to face him, a look of bewilderment on her face. He held up a hand to keep her from arguing with him. "I believe her. But I'm not fully convinced that she will simply return to being the person she was when she was a child. I'm going to give her two weeks." Erza and I both stared at him in confusion.

"She has two weeks to prove to me that she is indeed trustworthy. She can stay here for those two weeks unless she does something, then she will be forced to leave. If after the two weeks I and the rest of guild decide that she is trustworthy, I will consider allowing her to become a member of the guild." A grin of delight spread over my face as Erza stepped forward in protest.

"But, master—"

"Thanks Gramps! I promise, you won't regret this." With that, I pushed passed Erza's arm and bolted out the door. The other guild members were still in their spots but they were whispering violently to each other, and I could only guess what they were talking about. I looked over at Cana and I guess she understood the look in my eyes because she simply pointed to the door that lead outside. I gave her a nod of thanks and jogged outside to catch up after Akira.

I burst outside and looked around to see Akira leaning over a balcony, her arms propping herself up. Her head was ducked down and she was breathing deeply with her eyes closed. I stopped running and just watched her for a second. Her hair shielded her face and couldn't help but notice how badly the blue streaks clashed with her blond hair. Whatever had forced her hair to turn blue was no accident. She obviously had gone through something to make it turn blue like that. My hand involuntarily raised to the cross around my neck. It was the only thing that I never took off. It was the one thing that held me to my family who were wiped out by Deliora, just like hers.

I took a deep breath and started to walk towards her. She rubbed her fingers together and I managed to see a single tear escape down her face. I felt myself walking faster as she brushed it away and stood up, her face returning to its emotionless, confident smirk that I had come to know very well. She turned to look at me and smiled shortly at me as I reached her.

"That went well didn't it?" she said humorlessly. She placed her hands on her neck and rubbed, like she was trying to rub away a soreness that had been there for weeks.

"It went better than you think." I smiled and took her hand. Just as I was about to tell her the good news, Erza stepped into our line of sight and pushed me a few steps away from Akira.

"The master has given you two weeks to prove that you are trustworthy. If after those two weeks, you show us that you have thrown away your assassin ways for good, then he will consider allowing you to become a member." She said harshly. I looked at Erza in annoyance as she continued to hold my shoulder to keep me from getting any closer to Akira. Akira blinked twice before smirking.

"How kind of him." She said sarcastically. Erza's eyes narrowed and she released my shoulder to face Akira head on.

"This should not be taken lightly, Bellfront. You should know that you are very lucky to receive this gift. I would advise you not to waste it because you won't get another chance." Erza's threat rang loud in my ears but didn't seem to faze Akira. She turned to face Erza head on and even though she was slightly shorter, her stance and demeanor did not make her any less intimidating.

"Don't worry, Titania, I won't need another chance. As much as you would like me to waste this gift, I can assure you that it won't happen as long as I practice my own free will." Erza's hands tightened around her sword's hilt.

"I have taken it upon myself to watch you over these two weeks. I will not be lenient, know that. If you do anything that could threaten my guild or my family I will cut you down without hesitation." Akira stepped back and waved her hands around mockingly.

"Oh I'm so scared of your sword. Really, Titania, you have me on the ropes. Whatever will I do?" she dropped her hands back to her sides and frowned, her eyes burning into Erza's. "I am not the one who needs watching, Titania. I am not the one who poses the immediate threat. And I think you know this as well, you just don't seem to care. Or maybe I'm reading this wrong. Maybe you do want to kill thousands of people in vain. If that's the case, then it's you that should be on probation, not me."

Erza's eyes flashed and all of a sudden, she pulled out her sword and lashed out at Akira. The movement was so quick, I could barely follow it. But Akira seemed to be ready for it. Faster than Erza, a shield appeared in her hand from nowhere and blocked Erza's thrust. I gasped and stepped back as I saw Akira's grin from behind the sword.

"Was it something I said?" Akira looked at me tauntingly and I found myself smirking back. Erza let out a grunt of frustration as she pulled her sword away and Akira's shield disappeared.

"I'm watching you, Bellfront. Do not test me." With that, Erza turned on her heel and stalked away. Akira let out a burst of laughter and leaned back against the railing.

"She must have been a brilliant student. With a temper like that, her teachers must have been ecstatic to have her in class." She said provocatively. I shook my head in disbelief.

"You must have a death wish, or something. There's no way I could ever stand up to Erza like that. In fact, if she pulled a sword on me, I think I'd just flat out pee my pants." I admitted, rubbing the back of my neck. Akira let out a soft laugh. She looked up to the sky and sighed, a far-away look passing over her features. Her eyes glazed over and suddenly, the amusement that was present was gone and I felt an aura of sadness and despair. On instinct, I reached forward and grasped her hand. She flinched and stared at me, allowing me to pull her hand up towards me.

"I'm really happy you're here, Akira." I said fondly. Her eyes softened and I even saw what I thought was tint of pink on her cheeks but I couldn't be sure. I was too focused on her hands. "You remember when we got into your mother's closet and you used to force me to play 'the princess and the frog'? You used to fish for her dresses and apply hordes of makeup and I had to pretend to jump around like a frog until you decided I had struggled long enough and finally kissed me on the cheek so I could turn into me again."

My voice trailed off as I gripped her hand in mine. When we were children, her hand was soft and smooth and felt like a blanket made of cotton balls. Now, her hand was long, and lean and her fingers had had no baby fat left on them. They were sharp and tense. Her hands were rough, calloused and very dry. Her hands made me think about how much she had to go through. If only Ur and Lyon could have found her as well as me. But I started to think that if she hadn't been found by Albian, then she wouldn't be here and I would have truly lost my best friend in the entire world.

"Don't flatter yourself. You used to cheat in that game. You almost attacked my lips with your face." She said in amusement. She pulled her hand away and brought it to her chest, smirking at me. I looked at her through my lashes and couldn't help but admire how beautiful she looked at that moment.

"Maybe I just liked the way your lips felt against my cheeks." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. Her smirk faded and her lips parted. She took a breath staring into my eyes, her hair falling over her face.

"Gray…" She whispered softly. My heartbeat sped up as I took a step closer to her. My hands involuntarily found her waist and I pressed her against the rail, our bodies now only a mere six inches apart. She gulped and looked at the floor, avoiding my line of sight. "Um…" it seemed like she was fishing for words. Did I make her nervous?

I closed the distance between us even more and that's when she seemed to snap back into reality. She blinked a few times and shook her head. Then she ducked around me and side stepped over my legs, ending up behind me instead of enclosed between me and the rail. My bear body seemed an awful lot colder after she was gone.

"I'm not the same person as I was before. I hope all of this has ingrained this in your head. What you expect of me might not be what I actually am capable of." She said firmly. I turned around to her standing straight up and her hands clasped behind her back. It was like she had raised stone walls around her and I knew that it would take a while for to ever get as close as I was again. I sighed sadly, but forced a smile on my face as I stuck out my hand.

"Hi, I'm Gray Fullbuster. What's your name?" I asked pointedly. A look of confusion passed over Akira's face, but she took my hand anyway.

"I'm Akira." She said tentatively.

"It's nice to finally meet you." I nodded lightly and smiled broadly. She caught on and grinned at me. My heart skipped a beat as I noticed a dimple on her left cheek that was in the exact same place as it always was. This was the first time she had ever truly smiled at me. And it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

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