Happy Friday! Today, we get to meet Mystery Date #2...
Irina: Unfortunately for Gray, the weirdness will continue for him- but you're right in that it's not what he's going for. Flare will get her own arc in Mazeverse, because I think that if I want to make her appealing and attractive, that makes her shippable. So she will get an End Game of her own, at some point. If you want to propose a name for any ship that it looks like she might be getting into, let me know.
- K. Chandler
Gray spied a free stool near the end of the bar. It was dark, quiet. No one would bother him there.
Ordering a drink, he sat down, hoping to be left alone with his thoughts. But he wasn't the only one.
"Don't even think about it," a steely voice declared.
Gray glanced to his left, seeing a woman in a well-decorated double-breasted jacket. She scowled.
Wow, someone was uptight.
Gray raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Easy, I'm just sitting."
She had an almost military bearing. The katana strapped to her side didn't look like it was just for show. Gray could tell that she was definitely a warrior.
But that didn't scare Gray. If anything, Gray found it oddly comforting, despite the unfriendly attitude. He knew her type.
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"I'd order a drink from you, but you don't look like a bartender," Gray said easily. Gray's hand closed around his drink. He could hear the clink of the ice cubes against the glass as they started to melt. He took another sip, letting the effects of the alcohol kick in.
She said nothing, nursing her own beverage.
"Come here often?" he asked, ignoring her unamused glare. A teasing smirk ghosted his features. "'Cause it doesn't look it to me," he added.
"The girls insisted that I come," she said shortly.
A wallflower. A girl after his own heart. She might be good company after all.
"Me too. I'm with those two party-animals," Gray said, pointing out his guildmates. "That one's an animal, literally."
Loke had abandoned Eve in favor of his new lady friend. Cana had dragged a woozy looking Hibiki onto the dance floor. And was that Eve with… Flare? It was an odd sight, and Gray almost chuckled, but he was secretly glad that Flare had managed to bounce back so quickly. He would have felt bad if he had ruined her night.
"With the orange hair?" she asked slowly. Deliberately. Dangerously.
"Yeah, and the indoor sunglasses."
"That's with my guildmate he's with," she said, her voice lowering.
"He's harmless," said Gray. "A great big kitty cat, most of the time."
She clenched her teeth. "Millianna always had a weakness for cats," she sighed.
"So, you said you're part of a guild?" asked Gray.
"Yes."
He smirked. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he said, lifting the bottom of his shirt to flash his guild mark at her.
"I think not," she said stiffly, but her cheeks flushed pink. Her eyes lingered on his torso before she averted her gaze. Gray found it oddly flattering that she was checking him out.
She never did that.
"Well, at least tell me what guild you're in," said Gray.
"I'm with Mermaid Heel," she said. She lifted her chin proudly. It was an expression was all too familiar to Gray.
"That's that all-girls guild, right?" asked Gray. "I've heard of you guys."
"Your reputation proceeds you as well, Fairy Tail," she said.
So, she did get a good look at his guild mark. Ha!
"You can call me Gray."
The warrior nodded stiffly. "I am Kagura Mikazuchi. It is an honor to make your acquaintance."
"Pleasure's all mine," he said.
"How long have you been with your guild?" Kagura asked, surprising Gray by initiating the conversation.
"Since I was eight," he said proudly, pointing a thumb at himself. "I'm a Fairy Tail kid."
Kagura's expression only shifted subtly, with a slight widening of the eyes and a twitch of the lips. Kagura was impressed, Gray noted smugly. He recognized the expression easily. She was the same way.
Gray sighed, draining the rest of his drink, letting the glass slam onto the bar. Then he ordered another.
If Gray closed his eyes, he could pretend. Almost. Because Kagura was just like her. Almost.
But almost wasn't good enough.
Kagura wasn't her. She wasn't so easy to replace.
Erza…
Red hair and a warrior's spirit weren't enough. Those were superficial things that didn't really capture all that Erza was. And for as much as he liked those things about her, he liked all the other parts of her too.
He liked how she was socially awkward. How she was just way too bossy. How she never wanted to show her emotions because they would make her vulnerable. How she would show him anyways. How he could fluster her with a simple comment. How she was just Erza…
Lyon had given him some ridiculous crap line about letting go. Was he supposed to just let go? Like his feelings and the time that they'd shared didn't matter?
The truth was, he had let her go. And not because he loved her or anything like that. No, it was because he couldn't stop her if he tried. She was independent that way. And he liked that… loved that.
He didn't let her go because he loved her. He had to let her go because of what he loved about her.
This would be harder than he thought.
"Hey, thanks," said Gray, pushing his half-finished drink away.
"What for?" asked Kagura, looking at him curiously.
"No reason," said Gray, flashing Kagura a terse smile. "Just thanks. Great talking to you."
"Are you leaving?" she asked, her voice expressionless.
"I told ya that I was only here for a drink, right?" said Gray with a shrug.
Kagura inclined her head, accepting his answer.
Gray headed back towards the dance floor.
This just wasn't working. Flare was too much like Erza. Kagura was too much like Erza. Okay, maybe he had a type. So, sue him, then! People had preferences and this was his.
But he was supposed to be forgetting about her. Meeting someone different.
Maybe he was doing this wrong.
So who guessed that Kagura was going to be our girl? I dreamed up this part of the fic while watching the GMG arc. I remember thinking about how Erza-like Kagura was. Having started the third anime, I see that the original author did ultimately did take advantage of this by putting them together (along with Jellal) in the one battle. It was much easier to see how different they were. BTW, wiki says that we don't actually know where Kagura's guildmark is. And we still don't.
Looks like Flaray and Kagray are a no-go. But both Flare and Kagura will be paired up before the end. Since both ladies are side characters and the ships they end up in won't be mainstream, these ships will need a ship name (like Viperhat proposed Jendawg for when we write about Toby x Jenny). I'm open nominations for ship names!
Next time, in [Mazeverse] Of Redheads, Warriors and Best Friends, Gray changes his approach: "Where am I!? What am I doing here? Why are you naked?" yelped Hibiki when his eyes fell on Gray.
Stop back next Friday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.