Hey guys!

Jeez! Finally managed to find some time to write! I'm kind of in a rush these days at work but it should calm down… one day XD

Anyways, here's the second chapter called him as well.

Enjoy!

Lily xxx

"That was the last one!" Exclaimed Elfman, dropping the supply boxe before his sister.

"Oh! Thank you Elfman!" Said the latter with the radiant smile she usually wore since the past few years.

Elfman still couldn't believe how much his big sister had change. Rather than being the irritable, impulsive, fighting teenager called the she-devil, Mirajane had become a calm person, smiling in all circumstances. The young man had to admit that since the appearance of her ring, she had to be careful and control her boiling temperament. The end of their studies with Mrs. Helene had also improved a lot her mood, allowing her to work on the day shift at the tavern in much more enjoyable conditions.

Although, she wasn't the only one who had changed. If he once was smaller then Mira, he was now more than a foot taller. And that, not considering his shoulders that were now much larger than before. He also cried a lot less, that wasn't worthy of a man. Another positive change was that he could now help his sister and contribute to the family's income, taking his rightful share of the weight that was crushing Mira for all those years.

Smiling to his sister, he went back to the back store to make sure everything was where it should be. As the tavern's handyman, it was his job after all. Then he saw a box full of cans. "Better put that on the shelve" he thought. Quickly evaluating the weight of this box as heavy, he lifted it on an big enough impulse to raise it above his head. The young man was instantly surprised by its lightness. He could've sworn it was full, but a box this heavy could only be empty. So, he let the box fall on the ground. A huge noise erupted as soon as it connected with the flor.

Elfman rose an eyebrow, looking at the weird crate without understanding. To be sure, he looked inside to find out that it was, in fact, full of cans. A terrifying thought reached his mind.

Mira just finished serving that new wave of clients when she heared a loud thud coming form the basement.

"What is he doing this time?" sighed the young woman, a hand on her cheek.

She already knew that her "little" brother was everything but delicate, but it wasn't in his habits to be clumsy. Judging she should probably have a look at the back store just to be sure, she let the cloth she was holding on the counter and walked to the stairs leading to the basement. She however had to interrupt her plans when the tavern's door slammed open.

"Everyone, without exception, has to meet up outside this establishment" ordered a man dressed in a khaki green uniform.

Most of the crowd started to complain but the man didn't tolerate this behaviour very long.

"Now!" He barked with an authoritarian tone.

When the crown started to slowly move outside, Mira also collaborating against her will, she could have a better look at the man. Her heart tightened in her chest. He was part of the DFA, the agency responsible of the active defence against the fallen. Even though the kingdom was probably still standing because of them, Mira always had associated them with fear and despair. They where responsible of her separation from her parents. Where they even still alive? But worst of all, it was the DFA who was threatening to take her and her brother apart.

If she was chosen, he could of course have the opportunity to escort her to the wall, just like her dad did many years before with her mother. However, she knew the route to the wall was a dangerous one. The fact that her father never made it back was probably the proof that he didn't survive to the trip. What about her mother? No, Mira knew for sure she didn't want this for Elfman. Anyways, every bearer was free to accept or not an escort. All she had to do was to refuse his offer and he would stay safe. "Calm down, Mira" she tried to reassure herself "it may be a false alert".

Spotting her brother, obviously taller than most, she squeezed through the crowd until she reached him before stepping into a line as instructed by the representatives of the DFA.

"We need twenty new ring bearers for the kingdom's defence" started one of them, going straight to the point. "Any volunteers?"

A heavy silence, one you could practically never hear in this public area, took place. It wasn't surprising. No one was ready to abandon their lives to join the worrying DFA. Anyhow, the few people who where crazy enough to join willingly didn't wait for these assemblies and went themselves to the wall.

"The duty of a ring bearer is first and foremost the defense against the fallen" Stated the man. "We will now proceed to the mandatory enrolment concurrency to twenty candidates.

Elfman was obviously a nerve wreck. As for Mira, despite her heart that seemed on the verge of explosion, she tried to maintain a neutral expression. They could absolutely not afford attracting attention on them. With a bit of luck, they would enroll twenty bearers before looking at her mark.

The man started to walk among the town's people, demanding them to take off their gloves to inspect their hands. Then, one of them stepped before Mirajane and Elfman. He pointed her brother, the latter seeming on the verge of tears as he took off his gloves. Mira had to focus herself so she wouldn't cry. Once they'd figure out Elfman didn't bear a ring, she would be next and her would meet the criteria.

But, if even possible, her destress got to a new level when she saw her brother's hand. A ring! Why would he have a ring around his thumb? She barely came back from her shock before Elfman was guided by the men in uniform to the group of selected villagers. She couldn't speak nor emit a single sound. Words buzzed in her ears without understanding one of them until the soldier got impatient and snapped his fingers before her face.

"Your gloves!" He repeated angrily.

Resigned, Mira started to remove her own gloves when a far voice caught the soldier's attention.

"We got nine more here!" Yelled another soldier. "They are twenty in total!"

At that announcement, the one that was about to reveal her ring ignored her and walked back to the group of twenty chosen bearers. Among them stood her only family, distress marking his face. "No! That wasn't how it should have happened!" She mentally panicked. "If someone must go it was her, not him!". Without thinking, she started to run to him, screaming his name before getting stopped by the soldiers.

"Your presence is not required here!" said one of them,

"I want to accompany my brother!" she protested, the rage she once bore resurfacing at the thought of being separated from Elfman.

" I… I don't want her to come" Intervened a voice behind the officer blocking her.

Mira's heart tightened. It was Elfman who had spoken, obviously fighting against himself to keep his position. The young woman knew what he was doing. She had planned to do the exact same thing barely minutes ago. He wanted to protect her just as much as she wanted to protect him. But she wanted to stay with him. She simply couldn't bear the idea of letting him go to what could very well compare to the slaughterhouse. She had to find a way. She clenched her fists then took a decision, starting to take off her gloves.

"I love you Mira" said her brother, tears now flowing on his cheeks.

He was giving her farewell, but she simply couldn't deal with this thought. She was about to try to take his place but the guard wasn't listening to her anymore and pushed her back to the remaining villagers. The latter were deafening, a lot of them in a same state of mind as her. Her calls got lost with those of the others. When she finally could get free of the crowd, the procession taking her brother away from her was already far.

The young woman fell on her knees, her face buried in her hands, her tears now roaming freely. It was even worst then her worst nightmare. She was not only apart from Elfman, it was also him that was exposed to this life of danger, that everyone feared, rather then her.

"No way! She wouldn't let such a thing happen". She ran to their modest house, atrociously empty, and packed a bag before starting walking in the wall's direction.


"What?" Yelled Laxus.

In front of him stood, terrified by his anger, Evergreen's colleague from the flower shop she worked at. Having complained to Makarov that she usually hadn't time to eat at work, the old man had insisted that Laxus bring her a meal she could easily eat on her shift. The young man was pissed off about the constant gibbering of the one with whom he had grown. However, for the first time in his life, he wished he could listen to her complains.

He simply couldn't process the information: Evergreen had been taken by the DFA? He slammed his fist on the counter, making the man in front of him almost faint. Then, facing the facts, he walked out of the little shop, slamming the door behind him. "Evergreen was gone" he repeated in his mind. He had of course expected this to happen one day or another. Still, he always imagined he would be enrolled as well. A diva like her will never make it on her own…

Only two options were offered to him. The first one was to do nothing about it. After all, it was a priority to protect the kingdom against the fallen. However, something was pushing him to choose the second one. An option so much more of a pain than the previous one, with little chances of success. "Tch" he thought, resigned. She wasn't even truly in his family, but…

A group of soldiers interrupted his train of thoughts. He didn't know were exactly was their base at the wall, but they did. Struggling against the will of beating the answer out of them, he kneeled in the bushes near the soldiers' emplacement, the latter seeming to be ready to leave. Yet, once he was installed, he found, in the same position as him, that bartender… Mira? Whatever.

"What are you doing here?" He whispered in an annoyed voice.

"I could ask you the same thing" she said in a tone that didn't suit her.

She may remain calm like she always did since she stopped being a fury, she didn't bore the smile she now always had.

"Get the hell out of here" he said however, determined to not get spotted.

"Obviously, I was there first" she retorted, a glimpse of anger in her voice. "Anyways, there's nothing you could do to convince me to leave this spot".

He held back a swear, wanting to keep quiet. She was even more annoying than in his memory of her, demon or not. Normally, he probably would have just dragged her further by force, but there was no way he could do that while staying discrete.

"What about you? Why don't you get out?" Asked the girl that felt her fiery side surfacing in the young man's presence.

"Something to get back" he mumbled.

The young woman stared at him for a moment then realised. "Him as well… He also just saw someone dear taken from him".

"Your sister…" she let out.

"She's not my sister" he grumbled.

"Evergreen was taken as well" continued Mira without considering his answer.

"Just mind your own business and get lost".

"I also have to follow them" she said in a determined tone.

Then he understood.

"That crybaby is a bearer?" he said surprised.

She firmly elbowed his ribs, a hit to which he had to restrain from yelling at her.

"Don't you ever talk about my brother like that".

Her large bleu eyes seemed to want to reduce him to shreds for that comment. Then they became gleaming just before she looked away, wiping the tears that threatened to fall without achieving to be as discrete as wanted.

Mira then took a deep breath and locked her eyes on his. She was obviously about to say something against her will.

"You want to get Evergreen back and I, Elfman. So we'll have to stand each other a little while to maximise our odds".

Mira waited while Laxus looked at her like she was some kind of freak. Was she out of option to the point of wanting to ally with him? Yet, she knew that inside of him, he as well was just as desperate of getting back his younger sister.