Oh my gosh, guys is this real? Did I finally come back to this story? Kind of. I just wrote this chapter out of the blue randomly. But I think I'm going to put this story on hold for a while, we'll see.

Anyway, Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 11—Showdown: Erza versus Akira

Akira

It had been a week. Half of my probation was already over. I felt pretty good with most of the members. Sometimes I even forgot why I was even here. Then I would lay eyes on the Master and everything would come back and hit me like a ton of bricks. This was the man I had to kill. Albian hadn't given me a time limit so I assumed that taking my sweet time would be fine by him. He probably had people watching me anyway.

I felt bad, telling Gray about my glamor. If I had just left it alone, he probably wouldn't have said anything. In fact, he probably would have just treated me normally like everyone else. But ever since I showed him what glamor did to my body, he had been nothing short of annoying. He was always following me, always asking if I needed anything. He reminded me of Juvia who did almost the exact same thing to him. I think he just felt guilty for doubting me. Not that I blamed him, it was a mistake for me to have told him about the glamor in the first place.

The only person who still didn't treat me like I was part of the guild was Erza. Ever since the competition, she had become colder towards me. Now instead of making snide comments to me whenever she passed, she simply gave me a death glare and dared me to say anything to her. It was getting annoying how much her influence on the master was getting in my way. He was this close to letting me in the guild but her and her stupid conscience held him back.

Cana and I were drinking together towards lunchtime when Erza and I had our first clash since the competition. Cana was trying for what seemed like the billionth time to beat me in a shot competition. Gray, Natsu, Gajeel, Elfman and others surrounded us and cheered Cana on. Everyone knew she had no chance of winning but they still rooted for her anyway. I grinned as Cana's hands shook as she raised the glass to her lips. She was already completely wasted after simply a dozen shots. I was pretty sure I could go on for another dozen if not two more.

"I'm not gonna lose again." She slurred, tilting her head back and downing the glass. I chuckled and reached for a glass, myself.

"You've improved a great deal from when we did this the first time. But you're still no match for me." I said, grinning. I tilted the glass up and downed the shot, savoring the burn in my throat. "That hit the spot. I feel alive." I jeered. Cana growled and tried to reach for another glass. Before her hand could grasp the shot glass, her head dropped onto the table and she was out cold. I raised my hands as our spectators cheered from around us.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your reigning champion!" I gloated loudly. I grinned and laughed, swaying slightly as I stood up and basked in the praise from my spectators. Gray shook his head and smirked at me as I planted a big kiss on Lucy's cheek in victory.

"What is going on here?" The cheering was silenced immediately as I recognized Erza's voice echo over everyone in the room. Everyone ducked away, all of them scared of her. Erza walked over to us to see what was happening. She glanced disapprovingly at Cana's passed out figure. Then she glared at me. I laughed, slightly tipsy, and brushed the hair out of my face.

"Just a friendly drinking game. Would you care to join us?" I asked in mock politeness, gesturing to the table. Erza wrinkled her nose in disgust at my pink cheeks and the alcoholic odor that wafted out from my breath.

"With you? I'd rather bathe in acid." She shot. My smiled faded as I stepped back, feeling a stab to my gut. That was a verbal wound that was uncalled for. My tipsy stance faded as my smirk morphed into a scowl. She crossed her arms and shook her head, turning around abruptly to go back to the bar. I clenched my fists and looked down.

Was I really that repulsive? I liked to think I wasn't that horrible to be around. Everyone else seemed to enjoy my company. Was it the fact that I had killed before? She had no right to judge me on my past. Her past wasn't any less bloody. In fact, hers may have been bloodier than mine. I felt fury build up in my stomach and I narrowed my eyes. This was the last straw. I had had enough.

I stood up straight and lifted my chin as everyone in the guild watched me nervously. I felt Gray move and I held up my hand, causing him to stop.

"What have I ever done to you?" I shouted. Erza stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to face me. "Since day one you've been up my ass about nothing. Why can't you give me a second chance? It's true, I've given you no reason to trust me, but I've also never given you a reason not to trust me. Is it because of who I used to affiliate myself with? Is it because I've killed before? You know, you're not so high and mighty over there with your own baggage." I brandished my finger at her and my voice cooled to a sneer as I narrowed my eyes to slits.

"Just like you, I've done my research. I seem to recall a time in your life when you were a slave." Erza's eyes flashed. But I wasn't done. "I seem to recall not only that, but you had a friend there didn't you? You know, the one with electric blue hair, emerald mesmerizing eyes, and a distinguishing tattoo on his left eye. Ring a bell?" I spread my arms out as Erza's hair cast a shadow over her eyes. I was asking for a beat down. But I didn't care anymore.

"This kid not only abused you and all your friends, but he also used countless other people as slaves. This monster infiltrated the magic council and laughed in your face when you tried to get in the way. And yet, you seem to have forgiven him. Is it because he's so dreamy? I'm sorry I'm not up to your standards." Erza looked up and I had never seen more fury in her eyes than at that moment. But I had my own fury and I wasn't scared.

"And you know as well as I do that what he did was worse. At least everything I did was for my survival and not to bring back the worst wizard ever to live on earth! And don't you dare tell me it's because he regrets everything he did or that he was under spell or some bullshit like that. Why do you think I'm here? Why do you think I threw my pride out the window to beg for your acceptance? Maybe slight suspicion is justifiable, but downright hatred is not. I'm sick of you and your snide comments. I may act like your stabs at me don't hurt, but that doesn't mean they don't. Well, no more. We're settling this now. If you have a problem with me, then just say so." I spread my arms out as if I were saying come and get me.

"Outside. Now." Erza said simply. But I could hear the grating of fury under her throat. She had no intention of letting this be a playful duel. This was a serious battle to the death. Last one standing would win.

I didn't take my eyes off of her as she slowly but determinedly walked out of the guild hall. Lucy and the other girls had covered their mouths with both of their hands while the men stared wide-eyed, jaw dropped. I felt a hand on my arm and I turned to see Gray staring wide-eyed at me. In one rough and swift movement, I pulled my arms away and marched out after Erza.

Gray

I could barely process what had just happened. I stared as Akira walked out after Erza. Everyone in the guild had the same expression on their faces. Then, Mirajane was the first to move. She hopped off her stool and followed Akira and Erza with a smile on her face. She turned to look at everyone in the guild and grinned.

"Well, we all knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. Let's go watch them. This should be an interesting battle." She said brightly. I looked around and locked eyes with Lucy who looked just as bewildered. Natsu pumped his fist and cried out in excitement. Then he and most of everyone in the guild followed after Mira. I blinked a few time before I registered what was happening.

Fear coursed through my veins as I ran past people in the guild and pushed around people to see where Erza and Akira were planning on taking their brawl. This was not good. I had no idea who was stronger out of the two and I honestly didn't want to find out. I knew I had to stop this before it started. If I didn't, there was no telling where we would come out.

Erza led Akira and the guild to the open beach where there was no one around to be caught in the crossfire. The guild took a safe spectators spot far off to the right. Erza and Akira faced each other, both of them displaying a ferocity I had never seen before. Akira's stab towards Erza's past had obviously stung and Erza didn't look like she was going to hold anything back.

But I was with Akira on the fact that Erza had been overly nasty to Akira this whole week. Ever since the competition, Akira tried to steer clear of Erza but she kept finding ways to make Akira think the worst of herself. Twice, I had witnessed Akira on the verge of tears from Erza's chastising. At least, I thought it was from her chastising.

I sucked in a sharp intake of air when I saw Erza draw her sword. She pointed it at Akira and started to shout out the rules of the duel.

"First one to be knocked out or to beg for mercy loses." She stated tersely. Akira rocked on her back foot and smirked, crossing her arms. I couldn't understand how she could be so calm at a time like this.

"What are the stakes?" She asked smugly. Erza's eyes narrowed as a cruel smirk made its way into her lips.

"If I win, you will leave the guild. If you win, you can stay until your probation is over and the master decides if you're worthy to be a part of this guild." Akira's eyes narrowed as the corners of her lips turned down in disgust.

"Are you serious?" she asked in disbelief. Erza smirked and lifted her chin. Akira rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck.

"So, in other words, to prove that I'm not a threat to you or the guild, I have to beat you until you beg for mercy? Kind of seems contradictory, doesn't it?" I turned to look at Erza who didn't back down.

"You won't beat me so it won't even come to that." She said confidently. Akira's lips quivered and she grinned.

"That's an awful lot of confidence you got there, Titania. I sure hope you got the bite to back up that bark." Akira bent her legs and lifted her arms up as Erza did the same. The duel was about to start. I had to stop this. I ran out in front of the two women, directly in crossfire. I raised both arms at both of them.

"Akira! Erza! You need to stop this! This is becoming way out of hand. Please stop this before both of you regret it!" I pleaded, looking at both of them with equal amounts of fear. Akira hissed at me while Erza grunted in frustration.

"Get out of the way, Gray." Erza snarled.

"This doesn't concern you." Akira said, backing Erza up. I shook my head and turned to Akira, my arms outstretched.

"No. Listen, Akira, is this really what you want? You can stop this, please don't succumb to your old habits. This isn't who you are anymore." I begged, stepping towards her. She threw her arms up in exasperation and roared at me.

"I'm not going to kill her, Gray! But she'll be lucky if I don't break a limb during this duel. Don't worry, you can rest assured that after this is over, Titania won't dare to cross paths with me again. This has been building for too long. If we stop this now, nothing will come forward. The master will kick me out. I have to do this. I have to prove myself to her. So… Get. Out. Of. The. Way."

I gulped as she pointed to the spectators. I panted, watching the rage in her pretty blue eyes. I tried to see the girl who allowed me to see her weakness but she was no longer there. This was someone else entirely. I knew I would never be able to get through to this person. I sighed in defeat and reluctantly walked back over to the others, taking a spot next to Juvia.

Both women bent over slightly, bending their knees and narrowing their eyes. I looked at Akira whose eyes were sharp but glazed at the same time as if she were looking at something other than right at Erza. I had never seen her look so focused as she did at that moment. I could feel the magic tension radiating off of each woman in almost equal amounts. I honestly couldn't tell which one was more powerful. I realized at that instant that this would be the first time I would see Akira truly fight. Part of me was intrigued and excited to watch where the other part was terrified of the outcome.

All of the sudden, Erza re-quipped into her Heaven's Wheel armor. She lunged in an attack that was almost too fast for me to follow. Akira nimbly jumped up and out of the way as Erza swung her sword down at her. Pivoting on her back foot, Erza launched several other swords in Akira's direction. Still floating in the air, Akira deftly intertwined her body through the swords and somersaulted behind Erza to land softly on her two feet. Erza turned to face her opponent and launched more swords in her direction. Akira rose her arms and clapped them together, releasing a burst of energy through the air. I gasped as it passed through me, causing my heart to jump slightly. When I looked again, I saw the burst had disintegrated the swords into ashes.

Erza re-quipped into her Flight Armor and burst towards Akira who reacted almost as fast. She ducked and slammed her fists to the ground, triggering the earth under her feet to tremble from the force. Then she raised her arms in a lifting motion, causing the circle of earth to lift from the ground and carry her up and out of Erza's way. Erza reacted and jumped up with rapid speed to swing down on Akira. Akira jumped up as the elevated circle of land fell back down to the ground. Akira grabbed ahold of Erza's sword and tumbled over Erza's armor, dodging her fists and her legs and dropped to the ground for a second time. Both women landed facing away from each other, Akira's face still a beacon of calm and collectedness.

"Your attacks are flawless." Akira said, smiling. She turned to face her opponent as Erza did the same to her.

"And your reaction time is impeccable." Erza said, returning the compliment. Akira grinned and raised her hands in front of her.

"Let's kick it up a notch, shall we?" She asked in pleasure. Erza raised her sword.

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

In one swift movement, Akira brought her hands together, her arms outstretched. She enclosed a ball of magic energy between her fingertips and closed her eyes, concentrating as her hair blew upwards with the rest of her clothes and her body began to glow. I heard several gasps from all around me as Akira's body was lifted off the ground by a force we couldn't see. She opened her eyes and for a swift second, I saw a blink of triumph in her eyes.

In a rapid, sharp movement, Akira released her arms, throwing her head back as a bright light expanded and exploded from the little ball of energy. I ducked with the rest of the guild as the blast passed over us. Erza was right in the line of fire and she re-quipped quickly to her adamantine armor, raising her tremendous shield. The blast hit the shield and Erza grunted taking a few steps back. I gasped as I saw Akira swiftly moving under the smoke without Erza knowing. She darted under Erza's arms and appeared right behind her, drawing a club from out of nowhere. She swung the club down and hit Erza hard on the back of her head. Erza gasped and stumbled forward.

Akira wasn't done there. She darted closer to Erza and hit her again, this time in the stomach. Erza grunted as Akira drew a sword and hit Erza's head, knocking her helmet off. Then, she placed her hand on Erza's chest and released a blast of what looked like light energy that flung Erza backwards. I stared wide-eyed as Akira stood up and watched her opponent fly off into the sea. She bent her knees as Erza flipped herself over and re-quipped into her Sea Empress Armor. This duel was nowhere near over.

Erza used the water beneath her to spurt a blast of speed back towards Akira. Akira braced herself as Erza re-quipped into her Purgatory Armor. Akira grasped hold of two identical long swords and raised them to meet Erza's blow. Erza's tremendous sword clashed against Akira's and the force of the blow pushed Akira back several feet. Erza attacked again as Akira ducked and parried with her swords. Soon, the two women were moving too fast for me to see. I blinked and the cat-and-mouse game they seemed to be playing was put on hold when Akira jumped up and over Erza's head.

She landed and took no time in turned around swiftly and launching what looked like tiny daggers towards her opponent. Erza had barely managed to turn around when the dagger hit her square in the chest. Erza stumbled backwards as Akira grinned, standing up. She lifted her hands to the side and closed her fingers around two maces as Erza fell to the ground. I recognized Erza's fatigue as a sort of poison magic laced on the daggers.

Akira shot forward with an inhuman speed and used her maces to deliver a would-be fatal blow on Erza's paralyzed body. Erza gasped as Akira's attack became angrier and faster and much harder. One of her maces disappeared as instead, Akira used her bare fist to punch Erza's face. She let go of both daggers and began to pummel Erza to the ground with her bare hands. I gaped in awe as Erza fell on her back and Akira jumped onto her chest, putting her knees on Erza's arms so she couldn't move.

Akira gave Erza no time to recover as she began to deliver blow after blow to Erza's face. Lucy gasped next to me and saw her hands cover her mouth, horrified. There was a burning in Akira's eyes that scared the hell out of me. I gulped as she raised both hands and delivered what looked like the final blow to Erza's head. Akira relaxed as Erza ceased to struggle. I gasped as the notion that Erza had lost entered my mind. Just how strong was Akira?

Before I could process what had just happened, a blast burst from Erza's body and flung Akira backwards. Akira landed on both feet, not seeming fazed by the surprise attack. She crossed her arms as Erza pushed herself up. I was aghast. How could Erza tolerate the horrendous attacks that Akira had delivered on her? Erza staggered to standing position with bruises forming everywhere on her face. She wiped some blood off her lower lip.

"That almost seemed unfair. Paralysis daggers? Really?" Erza said, re-quipping into her simple, katana armor. Akira smirked and shrugged.

"Though I'd give your face a make-over. I guess I should be the one that bathes in acid instead of being anywhere near you, little miss puffy-face." Akira's eyes flashed in anger. She was still hurt by Erza's attack. Erza looked down and wiped more blood off her face.

"I realize now that what I said was a little… harsh on my part. I apologize." Erza said solemnly, bowing her head. Akira's smirk faded as she frowned, staring at Erza in confusion.

"Why are you apologizing? I would think that you of all people would just brush that aside like nothing. What changed your mind?" Akira said cautiously. She uncrossed her arms and put them by her sides, determined not to lower her neutral expression. Erza sighed.

"I could feel how hurt you were when you were attacking me. Normally, you're right I wouldn't even care. But it was a comforting thought that you're still human enough to feel pain. I didn't think you were even capable of feeling emotions after you've been able to kill with no remorse." Erza said seriously.

"You think just because I don't show remorse means I don't feel it? Do you even comprehend how ridiculous that sounds? Emotion is everything to a human. It's what separates us from other species. I don't show my remorse because I know that if I do, I will break down and no longer be able to do anything except sit in a corner and cry. I hide my emotions because I don't want to face the consequences that comes after you show them to people." Akira said, looking at her shoes. My breath hitched in my throat as I listened to her sadly.

"If you have people who care for you, then you shouldn't be afraid to show them your emotions." Erza said, taking a step forward. Akira took one backwards.

"Yeah well, you've been quite the caring person, haven't you? I feel so safe." Akira said sarcastically, raising her hands. "Are we going to keep having this stupid heart-to-heart or are we going to finish this?" She said irritably. Erza sighed and re-quipped back into her normal armor.

"This fight will get us nowhere. I want to trust you, I really do. This had taught me that I'm not ready to overlook what you've done, but I am ready to give you a chance." Erza tried to smile as I let out a sigh of relief. Akira didn't look convinced. She continued to glare at Erza with her lips pursed and her arms crossed. Erza sighed.

"It's true about what you said. I did forgive Jellal too quickly. He proved himself to me too far after I had forgiven. Part of me had always forgiven him even when he was still in charge of the R system." She sighed again and rubbed the back of my neck. "It's not fair of me to treat you with such contempt. I'm sorry for my behavior. This, however, doesn't mean that you're in the clear. I'll still be keeping an eye on you. I just won't be so resentful towards you." Akira's scowl still hadn't faded. I frowned. Erza had apologized, so why didn't Akira look satisfied?

"I don't believe you." Akira said abruptly. Erza took in a sharp intake of breath and stepped back like Akira had stabbed her.

"W-what—"

"I've spend years under the thumb of the worst assassins and thieves in this country. They aren't the most honest people in the world. I've learned to tell when someone is lying or being half-hearted about something. I'm pretty good at telling when someone isn't sincere. And I don't take kindly to liars. Especially liars that have no reason to lie to the face of a so-called criminal." She glared at Erza as I gaped, wide-eyed at her. Erza frowned and crossed her arms as well. She was about to say something when Akira held up her hand, cutting Erza off.

"Enough. I've had it with you. I thought I wanted to beat you and then I would feel better. But making your face look like an ugly mess didn't make me feel better. It just increased my rage." She fake bowed to Erza who look furious. "Congratulations, Erza. You managed to make me surrender. I honestly don't want to waste any more of my energy on trying to make you see what you obviously don't want to see."

With that, Akira turned around and walked away from the scene, leaving Erza mad like a raging bull, and me staring in disbelief at her audacity.