A/N: Here's the promised update. I'm sorry it's late by two hours. I overslept, and it's all Sting's fault.
This is once again dedicated to my lovely readers.
Note: I apologize for having to upload this twice, I reread it and found some lapses. I'm sorry for the notifications for the people who have me on their alerts list.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail.
"Ugh, finally at Hargeon…" stated a pale Laxus as he stood clutching his head with one arm, while using the other to lean on the wall for support. He took time to compose himself before walking out of the station, "I had no choice but to ride the train as I'm in a hurry. Those two better be grateful for this," he said to himself.
After settling, he decided to get a move on, and head over to the former council member Yajima-san's restaurant, 8-Island.
The chimes clinked as he opened to door of the restaurant. Though it was late in the afternoon, he was still welcomed by a busy atmosphere, and a quick greeting from a young waitress whom he assumed to be one of the contracted workers hired by the owner. The waitress offered him a seat, to which he politely refused.
"I'm here to see Yajima-san," he told the waitress.
"I'm afraid he's quite busy at the moment, so he might not be able to attend to you right now so you may have to wait a bit. I shall inform him of your presence, Mister..?"
"Laxus Dreyar," he replied.
"Okay then, sir. Please take a seat and I'll let the boss know," she said, winking at Laxus. The dragon slayer just nodded and sat near one of the windows. Contrary to what the waitress said, he did not have to wait long, for the former council member approached him only a few minutes after his confrontation with the waitress.
"Well, if it isn't little Laxus," stated the old man, still carrying his frying pan.
"I'm not so little anymore, Yajima-san," he said, smiling at his grandfather's close friend. "It's been a while."
"Indeed, it has," replied Yajima, flipping over the contents of his pan.
"You don't usually drop by, and I'm sure there's a reason behind your visit," he said, looking at Laxus intently.
The lightning dragon slayer nodded.
"Well, for whatever reason you came here for, you just have to wait a little longer. The shop will be closed in about an hour," explained Yajima.
"Yeah, no problem."
While waiting, the waitress approached him once again and served him some food and a 'Holly Soda', adding that it was on the house for the day. The delicious food and the music from his SoundPod made the waiting a lot easier for him, and an hour passed by quickly.
"Well, what is it, boy?" asked the old mage.
"I just need to ask… Have you had any news on Crime Sorcière lately?"
The old mage's brows quirked upwards at the mention of Crime Sorcière, he was one of the few who came to know of the guild's essence after the Grand Magic games, but he couldn't help but wonder what Laxus could possibly want from them.
Laxus, sensing his bewilderment, decided to add, "I just need to talk to Jellal about something. It isn't that big of a deal, really."
"I see… well, I haven't heard from them in particular but I heard from Bob, that a dark guild has been eradicated once again, somewhere in the outskirts of the town of Shirotsume. It was just about three days ago. It's high likely that it was Crime Sorcière's doing, but we can't be sure."
The former councilman then decided to point out a couple of places that he might wish to check. They were the rumored spots of the different dark guilds that were nearby.
The dragon slayer couldn't help but smile, "I see. Thanks a lot, Yajima-san."
"Very well, young lad," replied Yajima, "You should drop by more often."
Laxus nodded and stood, "Thanks again. I'll try to come over soon, but you should visit us too, in time for the Hanami next week."
"Of course, I will be there. Ma-boy still needs to treat me with some ramen and twelve slices of barbecue pork."
Laxus smiled, "I'll let the old man know then," he said, heading out the door. "I'll see you at the festival, Yajima-san. And thanks again," the dragon slayer waved, taking his leave.
"I can still catch up to them if I move around on my lightning body. But the problem is, those bastards don't really stay in the area for long. Based on the information Yajima-san told me, it should be either on the outskirts of the town where the Blue Pegasus headquarters is located, or somewhere near Mount Hakobe. I'm not really in the mood to prance around in the snow, so I'll leave that area for later. I'll go check the forest in the middle of Shirotsume and the Tenma guild town, then."
And so Laxus went, maneuvering on his lightning form towards his destination. "I don't want to ride any more vehicles either, so it's better this way, even if it takes up my magical power."
It took him a couple of hours to arrive from Hargeon to Shirotsume, and he was traveling on his lightning form the whole time. He decided to rest at the town, as it was already past midnight when he arrived, and he needed to rest a little.
Morning came with the rain pouring, and he went on with his search, still utilizing his lightning form. He covered the whole forest in only an hour, and found a run-down building. From what he surveyed, it was the base of the dark guild, Harpuia. When he decided to approach it, numerous screams of agony broke out from inside, blending in with the sound of the rain.
He smirked, "Just how lucky can I get?"
Utilizing his lightning, he peered from one of the windows on the second floor, only to see that his suspicions were precise. "Looks like I hit the jackpot." He decided to wait until the lively exchange was over, before making a move.
Jellal stood in the middle of all the chaos, with a smile on his face. "It would seem that our job here is done. Shall we go?"
Meredy frowned at this, "What's the rush, Jellal? I'm tireeeed," she whined before pointing outside, "Can't you see the how heavy the rain is pouring?" the pinkette stated, pouting.
The blue-haired mage just smiled timidly at her, while Ultear decided to interrupt.
"You know we can't stay here, Meredy."
"Fine, only because you said so," was the only reply Meredy gave.
Jellal just smiled, "What kind of criminal would dare stay at the scene of the crime, anyway?" he asked rhetorically.
"A really good criminal," replied Meredy, sticking her tongue out at Jellal while Ultear chuckled.
"You know what I mean, Meredy. Let's go," he ordered, putting his hood back on and heading towards the door.
Halfway through, he stopped, motioning for the other two to do the same.
Laxus smirked, "Looks like you're having fun, Mystogan," he said after showing himself, his arms crossed whilst standing at the doorway. "Rather, Jellal," he corrected, before nodding at Ultear and Meredy.
"I see you're well, Laxus," replied the blue-haired mage.
"Oh hi, you're his teammate from the Grand Magic games," remarked Meredy.
Ultear just stood and nodded at Laxus.
"Fun day at your job, I see," stated Laxus, smirking. "I'll cut to the chase – I need to talk to Jellal in private."
Jellal looked at the blond with a serious expression, "Very well," he replied.
The group decided to move to Crime Sorcière's make-shift hideout as a precaution. They decided to chat about how most of the guild members were doing.
"I see Juvia's relationship with Gray hasn't progressed yet. She needs to step up her game!" said Meredy.
"Actually, I think it is Gray who needs to step up, or else Juvia will get stolen by Lyon," refuted Ultear.
"So how's Erza?" asked the raven-haired lady. Jellal cringed slightly at her question, and it made Laxus smirk. Meredy, on the other hand, was snickering, elbowing Jellal in the process.
"I can't say, really. I haven't been around at the guild much, but from what I've seen, she's been the usual… sort of."
Their conversation went on, with mostly Meredy picking on Jellal's vulnerability by asking questions about Erza. When the rain subsided, the two gentlemen moved outside, to talk.
"So, what is it that you want to talk about?" asked Jellal. He didn't want to beat around the bush.
Laxus' face was serious, "I want you to get your ass in Magnolia in time for the Rainbow Sakura festival."
The blue-haired man was surprised at the peculiar request; he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the blond's statement. "Why is that?" he asked.
"She's longing for you, 'ya know?"
Jellal was slightly taken aback by Laxus' statement. He lowered his head and said, "I… can't. I can't let myself near Erza any more…" He looked straight at the lightning mage, "This is my punishment, for all the things that I've put people through."
Laxus chuckled, "Oi, do you know how much of a wuss you sound right now?" he glared at Jellal, who only looked away. "Listen up, I don't know the whole story of what transpired between the two of you but this 'punishment' deal is just a load of crap, in my opinion. No matter how much you punish yourself, it won't change whatever it is that you've done."
"But I…"
"Shut it, and let me finish," interrupted Laxus. He was pissed, because Jellal wasn't making his job any easier. "Your little punishment game is a sign that you're just a selfish bastard. It's time you move on, and stop being selfish, you pathetic brat. Indulging in your suffering isn't making it any easier for her either."
"I'll ask you just this once to go to the festival, and I'll drag her out to talk to you. She deserves it, even if perhaps you don't," the lightning dragon slayer said sternly, arms crossed. He waited for a response, but none came so he decided to continue.
"I won't drag you back to Magnolia by force, but…" he smirked, "If you don't get your sissy ass there, I will hunt you down, and shove a bolt of lightning down your throat, and I can assure you that it is going to hurt."
Jellal shuddered at this, as the look that Laxus gave him was the same one that Ultear had when she put the members of Fairy Tail in her Arc of Time spell to increase their magic power. Laxus was serious about the threat, and even though he was a former wizard saint, he couldn't dismiss the fact that Laxus had an unknown potential magic power, and he'd probably be able to carry out his threat flawlessly.
"It's that, or I will make Erza suffer from the company of Ichiya for at least, a whole month," the blond dragon slayer added, laughing maniacally. "But yeah, just so you know, I'm not forcing you, but there will be consequences if you don't come."
Jellal sweat-dropped, but he knew how much Erza despised the Blue Pegasus mage.
"Anyway, I'll take my leave now. Feel free to bring the other two with you, if you do come over. Let me know if you do drop by. See 'ya," said the dragon slayer, waving at Jellal before dissipating into lightning.
Evening came, and Jellal was having dinner with his two guild-mates.
"So… Jellal," started Meredy.
"Hm?" he asked, taking a sip from his drink.
"Are you excited to meet Erza again?" asked Meredy, grinning suggestively at Jellal, who turned bright-red at her question, and was coughing out his drink.
Ultear couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction, while Meredy went on a full on laughing spree.
"Will you stop eavesdropping, Meredy!" exclaimed Jellal, still flushed. He knew he had no choice, he needed to go to Magnolia for the festival.
A/N: Ahh, I hope I didn't make them OOC. I don't know when the next update would be because I have a lot of assignments. I hope you stick around. I'll try to respond to your reviews this week because I'm really busy. The next chapter will focus more on the main couple, and of course, it would have small moments between the other pairings.
Oh, and as you can see, I had Laxus address Yajima with an honorific. I couldn't just drop it, because it sort of loses the context.