Our shopping done Lucy declared, "We should stay at my house after dinner at the Guild!" We all agreed and set off to Lucy's to drop off not only my purchases, but whatever things the other girls had gotten for themselves. Before we left Lucy said, "Hey why don't you change into a bra? It will shock the guys that made fun of you yesterday." I thought about it for a moment before saying, "Wouldn't it be more shocking to wait for a while and then just show up one day with a bra on?" The others by then had crowded around us as we were standing by the door.
"Juvia thinks it will have a bigger impact," Juvia interrupted.
"Yeah, maybe doing it after a mission?" Levy joined in. Ersa nodded along with Lucy and said, "Yes do it after a mission. They will not expect it for they will only remember the way you looked before you left."
"Alright," I said, "Do guys want to split dinner?" A chorus of "yes" conformed that we would all go Dutch. With that all said we walked to the Guild laughing.
After we were all seated at a round table in a corner Levy suggested we get a pizza. Pizza, I thought to myself, now where have I heard about it? When Levy started to explain it to me, I realized that I had eaten it a lot before the void. I just couldn't remember because the trip to the void had messed with my memories. "Oh! Pizza, I remember that now. I had when I was really young. It was good," I said. With all our different tastes we decided on mini pizzas so we could all have the kind we wanted, but still not pay a fortune. We still agreed to split the bill, though. Everything was going smoothly: we were sharing stories about missions gone awry. It was fun until Gajeel and Laxus walked up.
"Hey shrimp! Tomorrow we're going on a mission," Gajeel gruffly ordered. Levy smiled and said, "Sure, Gajeel! What time?" As they were caught up in their conversation, Laxus stood uncomfortably close behind me. I tried to pretend that he wasn't there, but when he reached past me and snatched a piece of my pizza I couldn't ignore him.
"Guild Boy, give me back my pizza!" I demanded. He raised an eye brow at my pizza, "What the heck is on this?" he demanded in disgust. I stood and said, "Onion, peppers, and cheese. Is that a problem, Boy?" I tried in vain to get my pizza back. I knew that using his nickname would just provoke him, but I won the bet and he was being really annoying. "Here, that smells horrible," he said and through the slice haphazardly on my plate.
"Sheesh, what do you want? Or did you just come over here to insult my pizza?" I said.
He's teasing look turned sour and he said, "Master wants us to go on a mission tomorrow. Be here at noon." He walked away before I could ask what I needed to bring or even what the mission was about. I sighed and started dejectedly at my pizza.
"What's wrong Aiyana? What did Laxus want?" questioned Lucy. I sighed again and said, "I have to go on a mission with him tomorrow. He didn't even tell me what it is." Lucy looked at me apologetically and said, "He's like that sometimes."
"Only sometimes Lucy? He always seems to be mad," Levy joined in.
"Well he is like that most of the time, but he has good moments and attributes," Ersa said.
"Like what? I still remember Fantasia," Lucy challenged.
"After Tenrou he has been more helpful around the Guild. And haven't you guys noticed that the Thunder God Tribe has been here more often. Laxus has even been learning how to run the Guild properly form not only the Master, but Mira as well."
"What?" came the collective gasp.
But then Levy said, "Oh yeah, he also recently helped out members we got during the Tenrou incident. They were in trouble and Laxus totally saved their lives and even let them keep the reward."
"Fine but he can still be a jerk sometimes," Lucy said with a pout. This new information shocked me. That jerk that couldn't look past my physical appearance actually did nice things for the Guild? Of course, I wasn't really one to talk because I wasn't around for Tenrou and Fantasia. "I guess I'll find out for myself just what kind of guy he is on this mission. When I get back do you think one of you guys could go on a mission with me?" I asked.
Juvia squealed, "Juvia would love to accompany you Aiya-chan! When will you be back, so Juvia can plan our mission?"
"I don't know Juvia. Laxus didn't tell me anything." I sighed. Juvia thought for a moment before saying, "Mira will know, she signs off on all the missions. Juvia can ask her what mission you are going on. While we are up there, we can pay too. Girls, give Juvia the money!" She finished the last sentence with an accent. I was vaguely reminded that it was probably a quote. The girls gave Juvia and me the money and we paid.
"Mirajane? Do you know which mission Laxus and I are going on?" I asked after we paid.
"Oh, you're going on the mission with Laxus? I thought he was going with the Thunder God Tribe," Mirajane said surprised.
"He told me that the Master wants us to go on a mission together. I think it has something to do with assessing my skills and getting me used to how the Guild functions. Though really, I would fare better with Levy," I said in answer to her unspoken questions. She nodded in understanding and began to tell me about the mission, "It's a search and destroy mission. There are some caves by Corcus that have become over run by monsters. A group of women yearly go there as a retreat, but this year it is too dangerous with the monsters. They sent out a mission request to clear out the caves. They need it done as soon as possible."
"Sounds reasonable, thanks for telling me Mirajane!" I said and walked back to the girls. After sitting down I said, "Alright I really should get some sleep I have no idea how Laxus will want to finish the mission tomorrow."
Lucy stood up and exclaimed, "Let's go to my place now! Let the slumber party begin!" We all stood up and joyously agreed. We turned a view heads at our noise, but the other girls didn't seem to mind the funny looks some of the guys got on their faces as when they realized what we had said. I tried not to let it get to me, but I could feel eyes on my retreating back.