Who Needs a Princess, When You Can Have a Queen?
Celestia193'2 Author's Note: Okay, since there was some interest in seeing Sasuke meet Fairy Tail, we thought it might be a good idea to include this chapter. It wasn't originally planned, but it does take a couple of requests into account, and it helps to lead up to the next chapter. Sasuke makes a new friend! And because this is Fairy Tail, it includes a healthy dose of…you guessed it, crack. Enjoy!
Silver's Author's Note: As Celestia said, this is something of a bonus chapter and yes, it has a lot of silliness. Sasuke jumps to some cringe worthy conclusions about Dragon Slayers and tries to "protect" the Queen. I came up with the nickname "Snowgirls" to describe the Strauss Sisters, but it also refers to Yukino Agria (who I sometimes call SnowGirl 3). Anyway, happy reading. I just wanted to clear up any potential confusion.
Chapter 6
Itachi really wasn't sure if this was a good idea. Sure their guilds were allied, but he'd heard way too many things about Fairy Tail to be entirely comfortable just waltzing into their guild hall, unannounced. Though he did hear from Hibiki and Eve that Fairy Tail was totally fine with people just dropping in for a visit, so it's not as though they would be breaking any codes of courtesy or anything. And they were hardly the only ones here. Master Bob had come with them, and was already inside. The three of them were hesitating, and for good reason.
He had heard more than a few alarming tales about flying tables. And flying wizards. And lots of crashing. And Itachi was reluctant to let Sasuke get into the middle of that, no matter how exciting it might seem to visit the home of the strongest, strangest, and most destructive guild in the kingdom.
Tales that, judging by the sounds coming from inside the brightly adorned guild hall, were entirely accurate, no matter how outlandish they'd sounded. "Shisui, are you sure that this is a good idea?" He knew that Sasuke was more than a little excited, though certainly trying to hide it, but Itachi was still worried by what sounded like an all-out war going on inside the eccentric guild.
"Itachi, they might play a little rough, but we're an allied guild." Shisui's eyes dance with mischief. "So stop worrying so much." Honestly, at the rate Itachi was going, the elder Uchiha was tempted to find a pink apron for the man and to start calling him Mikoto. "Besides, Sasuke did well enough with the bandits. I'm sure he can handle dodging tables."
Sasuke nods at that. Of course, he wasn't going to give his brother a chance to talk him out of this. "Yeah! I'll be fine!" So he did what any 'smart' twelve year old would do. Sasuke Uchiha raced inside the guild before his brother could protest further.
Rolling his eyes and following quickly behind, Itachi steps through the front doors of the guild, only to hit the ground quickly as a chair went flying over his head. "Yes…of course you'll be fine." As he got up, he deftly dodged a mug of alcohol that was chucked haphazardly in his direction by no one in particular. "Was it like this the last time you visited, Shisui?"
Shisui shakes his head. "No. Last time I visited it was much more chaotic." He pauses as though unsure if he should go into details. "Elfman challenged Gray and Natsu about their masculinity. Fortunately, Erza and the Snowgirls managed to settle them down." Not before five tables and at least a dozen mugs were broken though.
Still, Itachi eyes the massive tangle of bodies and magical attacks warily. "And you escaped without injury?" It was rather impressive, actually, considering that the brawl before them easily looked as though it would result in at least a few broken bones. And perhaps a concussion or two.
"Well I've always been skilled at dodging and as I wasn't one of the combatants, it was easy enough to avoid the worst of it." He chuckles and looks at Itachi reassuringly. Silently telling him not to worry. "Besides, I'm sure they'll scale it back at least somewhat once they see Sasuke." Even Fairy Tail didn't want 'kids' to get caught up in a hurricane, right?
In the middle of the room, Natsu and Gray were in the middle of the mess, as usual. And most alarmingly, though not at all unexpected to the Fairies in the room, their magic was flying everywhere, fire and ice whirling around as they alternate between fighting each other, and shoving people out of their fight.
Sasuke blinks. Well Bob had said Fairy Tail had another fire user in its midst, a dragon slayer. Ice was new though. "This probably won't end well." How the guild ever managed to stay in one piece was utterly beyond him.
"Quit tryin' to burn the place down, ya Pyro!" Gray's clothes 'mysteriously' disappear as he slams an ice hammer down on Natsu's pink head.
"I wasn't gonna burn the place down, Ice Princess." An irritated glare crosses Natsu's face. "I was tryin' to eat when ya knocked over my food!" A burst of fire explodes around the dragon slayer's fists, tossing several of the other wizards onto their asses. "You started this, not me!"
"You're the one who knocked me over, Flame-Brain!" A ring of icy heat races through the room as Gray puts his hands together. "It's not my fault that you're a clumsy idiot!"
"Oh yeah!?" The icy heat is joined by burning heat, steam starting to fill the air as their disparate magics touched.
"This has got to be the most violent foreplay that I've ever seen." Sasuke blinks as he watches them. "Weird." He wisely decides to take a few steps back and stands behind Itachi.
Said Uchiha's eye twitches. "And just how much 'foreplay' have you seen?" It was one thing to see the flirting going on at Blue Pegasus, but since when had Sasuke seen, let alone thought to recognize THAT?
"..." Sasuke suddenly decides it was in his best interest to stand behind Shisui instead of Itachi.
The commotion and clash of magics continue, until the doors slam open once more, and a loud, commanding voice rings through the guild hall. "Natsu! Gray! Enough fighting! Take it outside!" And in walks the Queen of the Fairies, herself.
Natsu glances over, glaring at the Queen as well. "But HE started it!"
"No I didn't! I'm finishing it!" Gray punches Natsu in the gut, only to be elbowed in the head by the dragon slayer.
"I said ENOUGH!" She's behind them in a flash, grabbing them both by the ear and pulling them apart. "Can't you see that we have visitors?"
Shisui chuckles at the display. "Well there, see Itachi?" He smiles at him. Hoping to keep Sasuke out of trouble. "You were worried over nothing. The Queen has this under control."
"So it seems…" And thank goodness, Itachi wasn't far from doing something rather drastic if those two didn't settle down. "Her tactics seem to be rather effective."
Sasuke's eyes began to wander across the room, away from the ending scuffle, falling on his guild master sitting at the bar with an old man that he could only guess was Makarov, Fairy Tail's master, and an old friend of Bob's. That wasn't the problem, though. "Uh oh." Bob had found some cake. "Master Bob is eating Erza's cake." That wouldn't end well, Sasuke had heard things about Erza and her cake.
After dumping the two morons outside, Erza makes her way back to the bar, twitching when she sees that her cake is being eaten. "Ah…Master Bob…" She really didn't want to offend a guild master, especially not one that she had so much respect for, but…her cake…
"Erza!" Fortunately, Mira was there to prevent a disaster as she pulls out a whole strawberry cake and places it on the counter. "It's fresh, frosted it half an hour ago!"
The Fairy Queen's twitch disappears, a grateful smile on her face. "Thank you Mira." She sits at the bar, fork in hand, the cake slowly beginning to disappear.
"Well that's one disaster adverted." Sasuke smirks, impressed by Mira's foresight. "Gods and goddesses help anyone who comes between that woman and her cake."
Now that the brawling had ended and the crisis of the Fairy Queen had been averted, Sasuke decides it was safe to explore a bit. So he spots a rather feral-looking man with at least a couple dozen piercings sitting at one of the tables, Eating some kind of…shiny food? Food was shiny here? Weird. But maybe he would be able to answer his questions without starting a fight, he'd been one of the few to stay out of it earlier. "Hey." He had a lot of questions on his mind and now as as good a time as any to get some answers. "So..." And he wasn't above using the puppy eyes. "I've been hearing about these wizards called dragon slayers in Fairy Tail. What exactly are they?"
The darksome wizard glares at the kid who popped up right when he was perfectly happy and enjoying his iron scraps. "And just why do ya wanna know that, kid?"
That really was a lot of metal, but appearances could be deceiving. Maybe, he was just gruff on the outside. "Because apparently he is one?" His eyes glance over at Natsu. He was the one he'd heard about back at Blue Pegasus, the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Are they all like him?" So loud and...well to put it charitably, energetic.
Gajeel glares harder at the kid, snapping a piece of iron between his teeth and crunching it down. "You mean good at annoying the hell out of people like Salamander?" As if. "No."
Sasuke's eyes widen. "You're eating iron!" He knew that this world was different than the one he had been born into, but people were not supposed to eat iron! How the hell did the man not break every single one of his teeth?! "But...yeah, I guess you could say that." And apparently, could iron as easy as a normal person could eat a cracker?!
Gajeel crunches down the last of the iron, rolling his eyes. "O'course I eat iron. I'm the Iron Dragon Slayer." Jeez, what was with this kid? "And no, we're not all like that moron."
"...How many dragon slayers are there?" Sasuke blinks as he processes that. "If you're the Iron Dragon Slayer and you eat iron than that means..." The idiot ate fire. "Natsu eats fire?" Damn and here he thought Itachi had strange tastes in food. These two made his brother's cabbage obsession seem almost normal.
Black Steel rolls his eyes. "O'course the moron eats fire. What'd you expect him to eat? Water? Ice?" Yeah right, not in this lifetime, well, not unless those two finally quit with the damn foreplay already. "And three, there's three of us here." His eyes fall on the little girl about the same age as this brat, accompanied by her little white cat. "If you're here to make a friend, go annoy Wendy."
He tilts his head in confusion. "You want me to go hang out with your daughter?" That was weird. He had seen the looks that Iron Mouth gave the bookish blue haired woman. If Wendy was also a dragon slayer, that might be genetic. She was probably their kid. "Um sure. I guess." He shrugs as he gets up and turns to head towards Wendy. It was hard to gauge the man's age. He might have been eighteen or thirty-eight. Those piercings and that hair were really fucking with Sasuke's ability to judge his age.
Gajeel's crimson eyes flash angrily. "I'm not an old man, ya damn brat! Do I LOOK old enough to have a twelve year-old kid!?" He was only twenty, for crying out loud!
"Well...it's kinda hard to tell." Sasuke cocks his head to the side considering it. "You have one of those faces where you could be twenty or forty…" That and his hair, but Sasuke wasn't going to get into that. He was from Blue Pegasus, God knows Iron Mouth wasn't the only man to spend way too much money on shampoo and conditioner!
"I'm TWENTY, not FORTY!" Even if that damn barrier seemed to think that Gajeel was over eighty. Which he was not! "And who the hell would I ever have a kid with!?"
"Well you're a Dragon Slayer." Sasuke nods knowledgeably. "Wendy is a Dragon Slayer with blue hair and there's a blue haired woman here." He gestures subtly towards a petite bluenette. "So I figured she was yours and hers."
The Iron Dragon Slayer raises an incredulous eyebrow. "The Shrimp?" Even if they did, the kid definitely wouldn't be twelve. "Kid, you really need yer eyes is no way that I'd have a kid as old as Wendy with the Shrimp."
Shisui chuckles as he strides over to prevent a bloodbath. "He has 20/20 vision and I can see his point, but I do apologize if my cousin offended you." He smiles at the Iron Dragon Slayer. "He's twelve and well you wouldn't believe half the things that come out of the mouths of children his age."
"Hmph." Gajeel shakes his head, pulling another piece of thick iron out of a bag next to him. "If you wanna talk to a dragon slayer you won't piss off, go find Wendy. She'll probably play with you."
"That and I imagine she'll be quite the heart-breaker in a few years." Shisui laughs as he nudges Sasuke away from Gajeel. The younger Uchiha didn't look too pleased at the use of the word play or kid, but he sulks off towards the blue haired girl anyway. "Sorry about that."
Gajeel watches the kid approach Wendy, and he shrugs. "Not as bad as dealing with Salamander every day." Well, every day that he wasn't on a job. That pink-haired moron sometimes felt like the utter bane of his existence.
Shisui watches Sasuke like a hawk as he converses with Gajeel. "Well I'm sure that he can't be that bad. Perhaps it's just a clash of personalities." He offers.
"I wanna to knock his head off every other hour." The dragon slayer shoots the newcomer a blank look. "But don't worry, I won't touch the kid." Not since it looked like Wendy was taking a bit of a liking to him, even going so far as to introduce her cat to him.
"Ah I see. Well that's good to hear." He shakes his head as he watches Cana try to challenge Itachi to some sort of drinking contest. "Because Itachi is very protective of his little brother." One might even argue obsessively so.
"Yeah, but I think he might be a bit preoccupied." It looked to Gajeel like Itachi, the third newcomer, by default, was wiser than that, because he seemed to be declining the challenge. As well as a date with Mira. Weird. She was only three years older than him, what was the issue? Whatever. "You here to interrogate me?"
"I don't interrogate allies." He smiles at him. "Mostly, I came over to ensure another scuffle didn't break out." Scuffle was putting it rather charitably, but still they were guests here. It was best to be diplomatic.
While Shisui was trying his best to be friendly, Sasuke was doing the same. "Hello, Carla." He smiles as he reaches out the pet the pretty white furred cat that Wendy had just introduced him to.
"And just where do you think you're putting your hand, child!?" Carla glares at the boy as she reaches for her teacup. "I am not a pet!"
"On your chin...most cats like that." He blinks at the response. "Even ninja cats." Which is what he had thought Carla was. A ninja cat with wings. "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. Your fur just looks so soft."
"Carla…" Wendy smiles sweetly. "He didn't mean it. He's just never met someone like you is all." Her partner could be rather…aloof and proper at times, but she was a sweetie, deep down. "Sorry, she doesn't like anyone touching her fur." Her smiles becomes apologetic as she turns it on Sasuke. "So you were running away from Gajeel, right? I promise that he's not as scary as he looks."
"I wasn't running away." Sasuke shakes his head and puffs up. He had his pride after all. "I just figured out he wasn't exactly the most talkative person and decided to seek out more pleasant company." It was something Hibiki might say and well people seemed to like that sort of thing, especially girls for some reason. Hopefully, Wendy wasn't a giggler though.
"Oh." Wendy blinks, before smiling brightly. "Okay. So what were you two talking about?"
"His age and strange eating habits mostly." The grump actually ate iron, no wonder he was such a hardass. " Though I asked him about dragon slayers."
"You did?" Wendy's cheeks turn a little pink. "Uh…well…I'm not really all that experienced yet, but I'm a dragon slayer too!" She draws her fists in close to her chest, chocolate eyes shining with determination. "I'm training hard so that I can be as strong as Natsu someday."
"Shouldn't be too hard." He glances at Natsu. "He spends most of his time fighting with Gray. I doubt he gets in much training." The youngest Uchiha nods his head confidently at that assessment. "So I imagine you'll be stronger than him and the Iron Mouth eventually." After all, he didn't seem to do much other than glare at people.
Wendy wasn't so sure about that. "Well, he got more time to train with his dragon than I did with Grandina. And he beat Master Zero only a short while ago. And I heard about his fights with demons and dark wizards…he's…so strong." And she really looked up to him. "He's strong and brave, and he never gives up. And…I really admire that."
Oh boy. Natsu was this girl's Itachi. "I thought...people were joking about dragons being real." apparently, they weren't. "Well it's not always the quantity, but the quality. I mean Itachi is really gifted at everything, but cooking. He used to be able to make really fancy stuff." He didn't know why he was telling her any of this. "But now, the only thing he can make decently are eggs, after like a hundred tries." He wasn't exaggerating.
Sasuke suspected he was telling her this because whatever a Dragon Slayer was, it was clear that Wendy was different. So in that way they were the same. That and she was the only one here who didn't seem to view him as a kid. His dark eyes scan the room for Erza. He wished that the feisty red head viewed him as an adult too.
"Wow…" Wendy giggles at the thought of Grandina cooking her something fancy. "Mom always made simple stuff. It's hard for a dragon to make human food,but she always used to catch me wild boars and duck, and she taught me how to collect berries and things."
"..." Sasuke blinks. "Your mother was an actual dragon?" She looked...so human though and how was such a thing possible. Suddenly, the youngest Uchiha was rather traumatized by some utterly bizarre images. "Well um never mind. I'm sure she did her best." Scales or not...Wendy seemed to hold this dragon in high regard.
"Uh-huh, she was. She raised me since before I can remember." And Wendy missed her so much. "She…disappeared when I was little, but I remember her so clearly. She had giant white wings, and her feathers were so soft, even the ones on the end of her tail. I would sleep in her tail every night…and every day, she'd teach me support and healing magic."
It was probably best not to dwell on how it was possible for a dragon to have a human child, he decides. "Well that's good. She sounds nice." No reason to alienate the only 'normal' Dragon Slayer.
A few minutes later, Shisui shakes his head at Itachi. "There. See?" He gestures to the preteens. "There was no reason to be so nervous about taking Sasuke to Fairy Tail."
"Yes, so it seems." Well, after you got past the flying chairs, flying tables, and very volatile dragon slayer and ice wizard. But Itachi wasn't so worried about Sasuke hanging out with the youngest member of the guild. It was good to see him finally socializing with someone his own age. "The two of them do look rather comfortable with each other."
"Mhm." Shisui nods and chuckles at where Itachi's thoughts were going. "It's cute, but I think it's more a friendly conversation than an example of Puppy Love." That and Shisui suspected Sasuke might prefer redheads.
"That seems to be the case." Though Itachi knew that it would be much easier if Sasuke's attention were more directed towards Wendy, than Erza. The Fairy Queen was a grown woman, and Sasuke…well, he was certainly closer to Wendy's age, than Erza's. That kind of gap would be difficult to overlook. "But at the very least, it seems that he has certain tastes in what girls he chooses to socialize with." Wendy did seem on the quieter, albeit more focused side, a caring and compassionate healer. And seemingly very advanced for her age, seeing as Shisui came back after their job without a scratch on him.
He chuckles and shakes his head. "I think he just tries to find the ones that don't giggle." Shisui didn't understand Sasuke's aversion to the sound. He thought it was cute personally.
"Or perhaps the ones who giggle less loudly, and less shrilly?" Because Wendy struck him as a girl who would giggle in an innocent fashion. Itachi was fairly sure that she was simply a happy person. "She might end up helping him to cure his aversion to giggling."
"Bad Itachi." He could see where this was going. "Don't even think about it." If Sasuke found out his brother was trying to play matchmaker, he'd probably avoid the poor girl like the Plague. "You'll just embarrass them both."
Itachi holds up his hands in surrender. "I was not seriously considering it. Besides, he seems to prefer redheads, in any case." The last thing he needed was his cousin on his case. Plus, he was way too young to be an uncle. Sasuke likely wouldn't even have his first girlfriend until he was at least fourteen.
"You weren't SERIOUSLY considering it, but you were considering it." Shisui shakes his head. Honestly, what was he going to do with Itachi. "As for the red head thing, don't say anything to him about that. We don't have any proof and well, we've all had an infatuation for an older woman at least once in our lives." Personally, his first crush had been on Kurenai. It was harmless.
That was true. Though, speaking of crushes on older women… Itachi nudges Shisui as he glances back towards the bar. "It seems like the Queen is on the move." She'd finished gobbling down her cake, and was heading for…Sasuke and Wendy?
"Oh boy." Hopefully, Erza wasn't deciding to play matchmaker, Shisui thinks to himself. "I do pray this isn't going where I believe it is." That would prove disastrous for Sasuke's pride.
Itachi could only hope so as well as Erza approached the two children, smiling at them both. "Hello you two. I'm glad to see that Wendy has made a new friend."
Wendy's sweet smile returns in an instant. "Yeah, Sasuke's really nice to talk to." And there weren't really any other wizards her age, so she liked having someone else around who was as small as she was.
"Hey, Erza." Sasuke smiles at her as he shoots Wendy a subtle smile of acknowledgment. He didn't want her to feel like she was being ignored. "Sorry about Master Bob trying to steal your cake."
"It's quite alright, and it's not your fault, therefore you have nothing to apologize for." Erza had gotten plenty of cake, and that's what mattered. "Are you enjoying yourself here at Fairy Tail?"
"Yeah." Sasuke smiles. He'd just ignore the fact that he'd set off Iron Mouth. Wendy was nice and more importantly, Erza was here now. "Is it only the men of Fairy Tail that are kinda crazy?" He was beginning to notice a pattern actually...
Erza chuckles at the observation. "Well, in truth, we might all be somewhat eccentric. Try not too let it bother you, there's just a lot of different kinds of people here."
"At our guild, most people share similar eccentricities. Here it's..." He pauses searching for the right word. "Very diverse."
"That is because we are a very diverse family." She pats his head softly. "Don't judge them too harshly for it, there are many here whose hurts run very deep."
"It's alright. I'm used to diversity from the Leaf." He glances at Wendy. "Gajeel is upset with me because I thought he was your father." Now, he knew why Iron Mouth got so angry with him. If Wendy's mother was a dragon, that would have meant that Iron Mouth...bad images! Bad images! He was going to be sick.
"My father?" Wendy tilts her head, considering the notion. "Well, he's not old enough to be one of my birth parents. Though I wouldn't know…I don't have any memory of them. Just…Grandina."
And whoever was brave enough to marry a dragon, Sasuke thinks to himself. Which probably explained why she didn't know her father. "Yeah. He made that rather clear." Why were Itachi and Shisui staring at them so much? Hmpf.
Knowing that the boy wouldn't understand the details behind the dragons, Erza clarifies for him. "Yes…Natsu, Gajeel,and Wendy were raised by their dragon foster parents as children, and it seems that their dragons disappeared long ago." Patting the girl's shoulder, she smiles. "But you have a family again, Wendy, remember that."
"Yeah, I know." Wendy still hoped that Grandina would return, but for now, she had her Fairy Tail family, that's what mattered.
"Ohhh...that makes sense." She was adopted. That explained a lot. "I assume the dragons talk like Carla and Happy?" Because if you have talking, flying cats...obviously, talking dragons were the next 'logical' step.
"Of course they can talk." The very thought of a mute dragon was foreign to Wendy. "They're much more intelligent than humans, and a lot older too. That's why they taught us magic."
Now, the dragons had magic. "Ah I see." What was he really supposed to say to that? Talking, magical dragons that in theory were even smarter than humans. (Granted sometimes that was a very low bar depending on the individual, but still).
Not that he got the chance to say anything to that, as a low, rich, and somewhat annoying voice floats through the air. "Erza, My Sweet Honey!" A voice that sent a chill up and down Erza's spine.
Sasuke twitches. Alright. MY SWEET HONEY?! "He wants to see my Chidori." He mutters under his breath as he watches the short man come racing into the room.
Wendy blinks. "Your what?" She didn't understand how Ichiya deserved…whatever it was that Sasuke was talking about. But she was pretty sure he was here to try and woo Erza again. "What's wrong?"
"Everything…" Erza groans quietly, before forcing a smile to her face, and turning towards the short, ginger-haired man bounding into the guild hall.
"Unbelievable!" He might have been twelve, but he was still at least twice as tall as Ichiya. "What the hell is he thinking?" Sasuke had absolutely no idea how Erza would be able to kiss the man, if she even wanted to. She'd probably throw out her back when she was leaning down and damn it, this just was not right.
Erza retains the forced smile as Ichiya approaches. "Ichiya…it's good to see you."
"Yes, it is marvelous to see you, Miss Scarlet." He poses, sparkles emanating from his entire body. "It has been too long…" He races to her in an instant, sniffing her hair. "Since I last smelt your wondrous parfum."
Sasuke was severely tempted to start throwing some Chidoris at the little man. "Ichiya, Miss Scarlet was just telling me that we ran out of champagne. Perhaps you would be kind enough to grab her another glass?" It was a lie, but whatever. "It should be with Mirajane, or in the kitchen. She really likes the bubbles." That might or might not be a lie, but again whatever. Whatever it took to keep from strangling his guild mate, he'd do.
"Ah! Of course!" He reaches out to kiss her armored fingers. "I will return as soon as I have your champagne Miss Scarlet." A split second later, he's dashing off towards the bar, leaving behind a both disgusted, and thoroughly relieved Erza.
She shivers as she looks at her hand, wiping the silver pieces off on her skirt. "That was…not pleasant…" Not that it ever was, but she was usually too polite to hit him for it. Some times, though…well, she just couldn't control herself. "Thank you, Sasuke." She shoots him a small smile. "Your efforts are very much appreciated."
"You're welcome, though we might want to slip off now." Like right now. "He's a lot faster than he looks."
"Yes, I'm aware of that." Painfully aware, seeing as the number of times he's snuck up on her disturbs her to this day. "Outside the guild would likely be best." After all, he almost seemed to have the nose of a dragon slayer, being able to pick out her scent the way that he did.
"He said something about a perfume. You might want to change it." Sasuke smiles at her. "Yeah. Outside would probably be better." He glances at Wendy. "You want to help us dodge him?"
Wendy nods eagerly. "I'll stay here and distract him, you two get out of here." She could handle distracting one little man long enough for the two of them to get out of the guild hall. She knew it!
Erza nods. "Thank you, Wendy." And with no hesitation whatsoever, she makes a break for the door, disappearing as quickly as she could.
Sasuke mouths a quick thank you at the bluenette as he races off with Erza. "That was a close one, but I think we made it." Maybe. His guild mate could be rather persistent.
Erza eyes the boy next to her curiously. "You're quite fast." Not quite Jet fast, but considering his age…he could very well get right up there with time and practice. "Come, I know a place where he should not find us so easily." At least, hopefully. "The man has a nose like a bloodhound…"
"Yeah. I like to think so." Sasuke smiles at her as he follows Erza. "That I'm fast. I did well in Taijutsu at the Academy." Not that she would have clue what he was talking about, but he'd worry about that later. The important was that in some small way, she had acknowledged his skills and they had escaped from the dwarf.
"I see, that's good that you excelled." She smiles as she leads him off towards the lake, and down a steep embankment that would hide them effectively for a while. "And I'm sorry that you were dragged into this. Ichiya can be very…persistent. Though I still can't quite figure out how it is that he keeps finding me."
Sasuke didn't get it either. "Well he said it was the scent of your perfume." Though the vibrant red hair probably stood out as well. That was an easy tell.
Shaking her head, Erza chuckles. "Except that I don't wear perfume. It irritates Natsu's nose while we're out on jobs, so Lucy and I stopped wearing it." He'd complained that it made them harder to find, because it masked their actual scents, and made his nose itch. He even sneezed a few times, just to prove his point.
"Maybe, it's the cake then." He nods at her. "Then again, who knows? He can be…eccentric at times."
"Yes, that is certainly true. Though I suppose that you see more of it, being in the same guild as he is." Erza couldn't imagine having to deal with flirty men day in and day out. It would drive her to her wits end, and then off the cliff. "Though…you strike me as less…frivolous than most of your guild." She didn't like making it sound so negative, but it truly was very annoying.
Sasuke smiles at her. "Shisui would say that frivolous is mistakenly given a negative connotation, and that it can be a good thing from time to time." He pauses an adds. "Though that's usually after that line he tries to make out with whoever he said that to and Itachi gazes at him rather disapprovingly. Bob well Bob just laughs." Damn. He should probably have quit while he was ahead. "But thank you since you meant that as a compliment."
Laughing once more, Erza places her hand on Sasuke's head and ruffles his hair. "Good. Then I hope to see you grow up to be a powerful young wizard."
"And I hope that you stop seeing me as a puppy one day." The words left his mouth before he even realized it. Damn it!
Blinking in surprise, Erza removes her hand from his head and gives him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. You're right. You may still be young, but you are a wizard in your own right." He was not a child to be coddled. "Then perhaps, one day, I might test your skills myself, once you've grown, developed your own style, and gained experience."
"I'd like that. You should probably show me some of your armors." Sasuke tilts his head to the side. "He's going to find us eventually and ask why we left. It's a good excuse." Everyone saw him as a child. He couldn't blame Erza for it. It was just a product of being the youngest Uchiha and member of Blue Pegasus. "You can say that I wanted to see requip magic since no one in our guild has it."
"Yes…I suppose that you're right." And it would do her good to burn off some energy. "Very well." Her body glows as her clothes and armor disappear. "The we'll start with the basics, shall we? You use fire attacks, correct?" The glow brightens, engulfing her form completely. "Then I think you will appreciate this flame-resistant armor.
When the glow diminishes, her form is revealed in rather revealing red, orange, and black armor. With claw-like boots and gauntlets, and wings spreading from the back of her breastplate, Erza brandishes a scarlet sword to match her hair, the blade itself flickering with fire. "This is my Flame Empress Armor."
Sasuke blinks and nods dumbly. "Yes, I do and it's very...dramatic." And it would also have his guild mate panting after her like a starving dog chasing a bone.
"Yes, I think so." Now, for its opposite. Her body glows once more, the glow fading to reveal a green armor, opened in the front, but with large waistguards, a free-flowing skirt behind her, and a pair of fins sprouting from her helmet and the pauldrons on her shoulders. It was paired with a finned, green and blue blade. "This is my Sea Empress Armor."
"I think I actually like this one better, even if fire is my primary chakra nature." Sasuke blinks as he tries not to stare.
"Oh, so you like this one better?" Then what should she show him next? Perhaps… "How about my Infinity Robe?" Glowing yet again, her armor changes out for a purple, white,and pink garment with a swooping neckline, a cloth waistguard and half skirt, and thigh-high stockings. "It is also called the Robe of Yuen."
"I like it." And this was probably the first one that Itachi probably wouldn't protest him looking at. "It's very...elegant." And feminine. And Sasuke hadn't known legs could be that long.
"Yes, I think so too." Erza smiles, the glow returning. "However, when my guild is in trouble, and defensive measures are required, I turn to this, my Adamantine Armor." And in place of the robe appeared a suit of full-body armor. She was dressed like a knight, even the shield on her arms done in blue and white. "It is my strongest defensive armor."
"It does look strong." Sasuke nods. He liked the other ones better though. "Inspired by the dragons probably?"
"Perhaps." Her powerful suit of armor disappears, leaving her once again in her casual skirt, blouse, and breastplate. "After all, there is reputedly nothing stronger than a dragon's hide."
"Probably should have left that one on." Sasuke sighs as he stands between Erza and a flying ginger blur. "She was just showing me her armors. Relax." He had found them.
"Perhaps…" Though she worried that it wouldn't really do much good in a situation like this.
"Ah, very good, young man!" Ichiya flashes Sasuke a dazzling grin as he comes to a halt. "Study hard and learn well from Miss Erza. She is graceful and wise beyond her years." He blows her a kiss, which she subtly dodges. "My Sweet Honey!"
Well that was a fail. Itachi or Shisui probably would know how to handle this better than him. "Yeah. I'm learning a lot from her." Like impulse control. If he called her honey one more time, it was going to be a Chidori below the belt for him.
"Very good!" He sinks a little into a pointing pose. "However,it is time to go! Hibiki has arrived with Christina, and it saddens me to say that we must part from Miss Erza… Men."
Extremely quietly, Erza breathes a sigh of relief. "I see, then we shall see you again soon, Ichiya." But hopefully not TOO soon.
"Right." Sasuke shakes his head as he looks at Erza. "I'll see you around sometime and be sure to give my thanks to Wendy." She had provided a distraction, but this man was just relentless.
"I will." She smiles at the boy before her, proud to be inspiring the next generation of wizards. "Goodbye, Sasuke."
He nods as he heads off with the dwarf who still had the audacity to call Erza his Honey! "Goodbye, Erza." Damn. If only he had been born just a few years earlier...oh well. At least he got to see some of her armors. That and he had kept Ichiya from doing anything too crazy. So all in an all it was a good day.
And they would continue to have good days, good visits. …Until the day tragedy struck.
December 16th, X784…Acnologia destroys Tenrou Island.
