Ch. 7 — In Front of the Mermaid Fountain (Part 2)

Day: 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail :3 (Or the Sphinx's riddle)

Genre: Humor, Family

Summary: My Next-Gen. Asuka Connell, now 23, gets wrapped into babysitting the twins of terror — Iggy and Nashi Dragneel.

The first thing Asuka saw was in the darkness their hair. Two pink-headed, and two blondes. Then, they came into closer view, and she could make out the shapes of two children holding the hands of their parents.

Iggy was the taller of the twins, with dusty blonde hair that hung down to the nape of his neck. His light green eyes seemed to glow in the night. He was a Celestial Mage, and three silver keys jingled on their chain around his neck.

Nashi had pink hair tied up in a loose ponytail that hung over her shoulder. Her brown eyes were even darker then Lucy's, the color of the burnt chocolate in a s'more. She had inherited her magic from her father.

Lucy Dragneel smiled tiredly. "Thank you for taking the job, Asuka. We haven't been on a date night in a long time."

"Don't worry about it," she said nonchalantly, even though inside, her instincts were screaming to run.

Those two sweet pairs of eyes didn't fool anyone.

"Get them to bed by nine. We'll be back by eleven." Natsu added, holding up a hand to the whine of his children. "Nine. Or would you two rather eight-thirty?"

Lucy knelt down beside her ten-year-old daughter. "Nashi, you be good now, and no burning anything." The girl softly agreed. "And Iggy, only summon Draco if it's an emergency. You know how cranky he can get." He nodded, fingering the middle key on his necklace. Lucy stood back up, facing Asuka. "Can you take them to your place? Ours… is kind of not visitor ready."

Asuka nodded. That was fine, her apartment was more than big enough to fit three people for a few hours. Though she might need to clean up some of the guns lying around first…

"I'm BORED," complained Nashi for what seemed like the millionth time. Iggy looked up from his puzzle sent a despairing glance at his twin. The three of them were siting cross-legged on the rug in Asuka's living room, puzzle pieces scattered around at random. Despite the mess, the two children had been surprisingly good so far — meaning nothing had been burned to the ground. Yet.

"Why don't you help your brother with his puzzle?" The gunner asked, gesturing towards the blonde boy. Iggy raised an eyebrow. Nashi was known for her extreme ADHD — she wasn't about to do anything that required even the littlest bit of patience. Asuka sighed. What could be interesting for someone with no want to stand still, but also fun for someone who was good at things that required a bit more planning? She blinked. Of course! Why hadn't she though of that immediately? "Alright, how about some target practice?" She asked with a cocked grin.

The twins reacted immediately. Iggy dropped the puzzle piece he was holding and scrambled to his feet, Nashi not far behind. "YES!" They shouted in unison.

Asuka laughed. "Alright, follow me." She stood up and walked out of the room, her charges following her with exuberant expressions on their faces.

"This," she said as she stepped into a new room, "is my Guns Range." She smiled at the awed look in the twins' eyes. The walls were spotted with holes of all shapes and sizes, and red targets were pasted up all around. There was no furniture in sight. "So, who wants to go first?"

Nashi's hand shot up into the air. Asuka nodded, and pointed at one of the larger targets. "But," the gunner said as the small girl opened her mouth, "only concentrated attacks. I don't want you incinerating my entire apartment." Her mouth snapped shut, and a clenched fist flew up.

"Fire Dragon Machine Gun!" Nashi yelled, opening up her hand so that her palm faced out. In quick succession, five small fireballs shot out hitting the target a few inches to the right of the bullseye.

"Good." Asuka complimented. Nashi looked a bit bemused.

Iggy took a key off of his necklace, and raised it into the air.

"Open, Gate of the Hunter — Orion!" There was a flash of golden light, and when Asuka had cleared her eyes of dancing black spots, a teenage girl stood in front of Iggy. Her green hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and she had a gun slung over her shoulder. She wore camouflage slacks and a tight black tank top.

"Yo," she greeted her keyholder. "What do ya want, kiddo?"

"Can I borrow your gun please, Orion?" The spirit handed the gun to Iggy without a single question. Maybe not the best thing to do when the person your handing it to is no more than ten…

"Knock em dead." She said with a knowing grin.

Iggy raised the gun up and closed an eye. His tongue stuck out of the side of his mouth as he squeezed his hand around the trigger and—

BANG! The gun went off. By the time Asuka had moved her eyes from Iggy to the target, here was a sizzling hole right in the center of the bullseye. Nashi stared, openmouthed, at her brother.

Orion chuckled. "I've taught you well, kiddo." And with that, she disappeared, taking the gun with her.

"I DEMAND A REMATCH!" Was the first thing out of Nashi's mouth after she had snapped out of the shock.

Asuka glanced at the slightly burnt clock on the wall. "Not tonight. It's 8:55…"

Nashi pouted.

"…but how about I read you two a bedtime story?" The fire-starter looked up, interested, and a small smile began to grow on Iggy's face. "But you need to get into bed first." Asuka took their small hands and led them into her bedroom, where there was a mattress laying on the floor next to her own bed. They sat down and pulled the blankets over their feet, looking up at their babysitter expectantly.

"Ok, ok." She said, raising her hands up defensively. She walked over to her bookshelf and pulled out a thin book, then sat down on the mattress in between the twins.

"The Prince and the Dragon," she began. "Once upon a time, in a kingdom not so far away, there lived a Prince who wasn't quite a prince. You see, when the other men of court went out to ride their noble steeds and slay wild beasts, this Prince would much rather be curled up in the library with a book.

In the forest next to the castle, there lived a Dragon. The Dragon was loud and wild, but she had never once killed a single living thing. The other dragons scoffed at her consideration, but it did not, not once, waver the Dragon's conviction to never kill.

Then, one fateful day, the Prince started to read a particularly interesting book. It was a book of Legends. Legends that told of the unusual, the unexplained.

And most of it's tales took place in the forest that, even from the library's small window, the Prince could see in the distance.

So the Prince mounted his steed, and he rode out into the forest. There, the dragons stopped him. The reptiles were in the mood for a game. What kind of game, you ask? The kind that ended only when someone's blood was spilled.

'Halt,' the dragons said, 'You may only pass if you answer us a riddle."

The Prince agreed to the dragons' terms. He sat down on a nearby rock and listened to what the drakes had to say:

'What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?'

The Prince pondered the question. Suddenly the answer came to him. How much easier could this be? 'The answer,' he said, 'is a human being.'

The dragons were angry then. But dragons stuck to their promises, so they stepped aside and let the Prince pass.

Next, after an afternoon of walking, the Prince came across a cave cushioned with moss. He was beginning to get tired, so he decided to sleep for a while before setting out again.

Inside of the cave was the Dragon. If it had been any other dragon who had found the Prince sleeping, he would have surely been the next day's breakfast. Instead, the Dragon kept away the predators, and when the Prince woke up the next morning, he was able to continue his journey, even if he didn't know who to thank.

Sometimes, it is the invisible who are the most important."

Asuka looked from side to side. The twins' eyes were shut, and their breathing was shallow. She smiled and stood up slowly, careful not to wake them up.

Two hours later, Lucy and Natsu knocked softly on the door. Asuka stood up from her bed and, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, opened the door for her clients.

Natsu whistled when he saw the sleeping forms of his children. "Even I have trouble getting them to sleep."

Lucy pressed the reward money into her hand. "Thank you," she whispered.

Natsu picked up Nashi bridal style, and Lucy quietly shook Iggy awake. The boy looked up drowsily. "Come on honey, you can go back to sleep as soon as we get home." He stood up shakily and took his mother's hand. As the four Dragneel's stepped out of Asuka's apartment, the boy waved goodbye with a sleepy smile on his face.

You know, even if she hadn't earned the money, this job would still something to remember.

Please review and tell me what you think of these little guys (not to mention Iggy's spirits). Reviews fuel my writing. Also, I have put up a guide to the Next Gen Characters in the chapter before this one.

Natsu: *is still in hiding*

Erza: *is in hiding (with a lifetime supply of cake)*

See y'all tommarow.