Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 8

"Seriously?!" Kisa exclaimed. It was early morning of the following day, but Fairy Tail seems to be as lively as ever.

"Yes. I will personally train you during the afternoons to improve your magic." Erza replied calmly as she was eating her breakfast.

"I really appreciate you going out of your way to help me improve Erza, but I don't want to be a burden to you." Kisa glumly said. Mira's special breakfast seem to not be interesting this morning.

"That is why you would have to train; so you won't depend on anybody anymore." Erza said with finality.

"Uhm – Thanks Erza-san." Kisa replied. But, it seemed that the younger mage still doesn't show even a little bit of enthusiasm.

At noon…

Kisa was just relaying what Erza told her this morning to the other girls.

"Oh, cheer up Kisa. You should be excited! Erza will be your trainer; your future as a mage is bright!" Lucy said trying to cheer up the purple-head.

"Why don't you ask Erza to let Lucy train with you, if it really bothers you that much?" Mira suggested.

"Err…" Lucy started, "hehe, maybe we can convince Erza, otherwise."

"Don't worry Lucy, I won't drag you into this." Kisa said as she patted Lucy's back. "I'm just worried that I will be such a failure, Erza-san would give up on me."

"Don't put yourself down too much, Kisa. Confidence is your first step to strength! I learned that here in this guild." Wendy interjected.

"But I still think you should be prepared for failure, Kisa – its Erza after all. She doesn't hold back on anyone." Levy said.

"Don't forget to be prepared for tons of bruises – possibly wounds." Cana added. This made Kisa slump on the bar table.

The girls continued chatting without noticing Lucy slip out of the group and sat herself on a table nearby.

"Why don't you cheer her on? I think she'll really like that." Lucy said softly.

"No need, she has the others to support her already." The ice mage replied still pretending he's not listening to the girls' chat.

"I heard you were one of the reasons she studied magic."

"Well, that's the first I heard of it." Gray said, bored.

"Hmpf, Gray! You're no fun." Lucy said as she stood up. "Sometimes I wonder if you're not interested in girls or you're really that dense." With that, Lucy walked away from the table and back to the girls.

Gray just scoffed at this and turned his attention to the wall. Just where the hell is Natsu when you need a fight?

Training – First day…

Erza decided that their training be held at the back of Fairy Hills. There would be plenty of space and the wind and the sea would be at Kisa's advantage. She couldn't be prouder of her choice of venue.

Kisa appeared with Lucy holding Plue in her hands.

"Lucy, do you wish to train with Kisa, too?" Erza questioned when they came closer.

"N-no Erza. I'm just here to cheer both of you on!" Lucy immediately answered.

"I see, but this will be good for you, too. But, considering this will be the first I see of Kisa's magic, it would be better if I could focus on her more." Erza said – more to herself. Kisa, on the other hand gulped upon hearing this.

Erza and Kisa stood away a few meters facing each other.

"You said you can control anything that flows, correct?" Erza started.

"Y-yes!"

"I need to assess your magic. I will display my power and so will you; but in order to do that, you have to attack me with your magic." Erza said as she poised to change her armor.

"W-wait! I'm not used to attacking, yet. I've only defended ever since!" Kisa tried to stop Erza.

Erza, already exquipped to her Heaven's Wheel armor replied, "You have to remove the hesitations in your heart. Attack me with whatever you've got!"

Kisa stiffened – she seems to be thinking deeply. After a few seconds of staring at Erza, she breathed in deeply and started to sway her hands. Her body followed and she breathed evenly, as if she were performing a kind of dance. One slow circular motion of her right hand and a step to the right – on the second swing of her right hand, her left followed. She stepped forward with her left foot and pointed her palms at Erza. Right then, a huge wave was already coming at Erza. Erza managed to jump to her left but another wave was approaching on her left side. Just when the waves were about to converge, Erza smirked and swung her swords around. With the force she created, the waves dispersed until they become tiny droplets of water. Kisa's mind went blank as she watched – she didn't notice Erza coming up at her.

"Look out Kisa!" Lucy yelled from the side.

The purple-head panicked; she stepped backwards, almost running, to increase her distance from Erza. She swung her hands frantically, which made the land underneath her feet shuffle. When she was able to steady herself, she started throwing her arms with precision. This was how I was trained. To defend. She thought, as the land shoot up in front of her blocking Erza's path.

"You're faster than I expected!" Erza yelled as she dodged the obstructions.

Yeah, that's what I'm good at – running. Kisa sadly thought as she continued with her defense strategy.

"Let's take it up a notch!" Erza yelled as she started to strike all the obstacles thrown at her. When she reached the end, Kisa has already disappeared. She reappeared a few meters behind Erza.

"I used the land to envelope me and transport me underground." Kisa explained. She was already panting at this moment. Erza took a mental note of that.

"Nice strategy. But you weren't able to hide your power."

It seems Kisa's body couldn't take it anymore; her knees gave in and she fell down on the ground.

Lucy ran towards her.

"I guess that's all for today. Our first agenda will be building up your stamina." Erza ordered as she changed back to her usual clothes and carried Kisa in the dorm.

The next day…

After lunch, Lucy, with Plue on her hands, started scouring the guild for Kisa. She didn't notice Mira coming up from behind her.

"Who are you looking for, dear Lucy?" Mira said, which almost caused Lucy to drop Plue.

"Oh Mira! You startled me!" Lucy said as she held on tightly to Plue. "I was looking for Kisa. She has training with Erza this afternoon."

"I think they started early today; which reminds me!" Mira said as she went inside the kitchen only to come out with lunch boxes on her hand – which she handed out to Lucy. "Erza asked me to bring them lunch; she said 'We will be training all day'". Mira said while transforming to and imitating Erza. "Would you be a dear and bring these to them, for me?" she said with the most dazzling smile Lucy has seen.

"It'll be no problem Mira!" Lucy exclaimed. "We'll be going there, anyway, right Plue?" she said addressing her little spirit.

"Puuuun!" Plue agreed.

When she got behind Fairy Hills, she immediately saw Kisa lying face down on the ground and Erza standing a few feet away, unmoving.

Before she could run to help, Erza shouted, "Again!"

At this, Kisa suddenly shot up and ran towards the beach. She started swimming as fast as she could to a marker floating on the sea, which Lucy couldn't see clearly. But she saw that a number of those things are floating randomly on the water.

Kisa handed a small bottle to Erza and then, immediately dropped down on the ground. Lucy didn't move this time, anxious of what's going to happen next.

Erza read the small paper in the bottle, "Gray's guild mark is on his right pectoral muscle."

Lucy heard Kisa groan. "I already knew that"

"I told you if you want to know deeper things about Gray, you have to reach the farthest bottles," Erza said strictly.

Kisa stood up again, but without Erza prompting her. She looked at each floating bottles seemingly devising a strategy.

When Kisa started running again, Lucy took this time to get near Erza and give them their food.

"Thank you, Lucy. Please put that on the rock over there; it might distract Kisa." Erza said; her eyes glued on the panting Kisa. The purple-head returned with another bottle on her hand; Lucy wasn't able to see where she got it. As Kisa approached them, Lucy started thinking that the poor girl's sweat is probably mixing with the sea water on her skin.

When Erza got a hold of the bottle, she threw it towards the sea. It landed farther on the water than where the others are. Lucy's eye widened in shock, but Kisa's face looked like she expected it.

"I told you no magic, or else this would happen." Erza said, "Get that one again."

Kisa was already breathing heavily, but she obeyed.

"Uhm Erza, what's happening?" Lucy was debating within herself if she should ask Erza, but she did anyway.

"It's her stamina training." Erza simply answered.

"Her stamina training is Gray?" Lucy said, confused.

"Details about Gray – I thought that was a good way to motivate her. Some of these are obvious characteristics, those which are harder to get are traits he doesn't usually show. I asked other Fairy Tail members for their inputs on this one." Erza said proudly.

At Fairy Tail, a few days later…

"Hey Laxus, fight me!" Natsu shouted as Laxus and the Raijinshu entered the hall.

Laxus just dodged the flying Natsu and proceeded to the bar where a few of the girls are.

Minutes later, a fight had – as always – started. Laxus did not pay any attention to it; instead he just ordered a beer from Mira. He was leisurely drinking when Lucy and a new-face approached him.

"Hey Laxus, she's our newest member. Kisa, this is Laxus. Laxus, Kisa."

The new girl seemed to be nervous. "H-hai! Nice to meet you, uhh, Laxus-sama!" the Kisa girl said and bowed.

Laxus was just looking at her trying to figure her out.

"Kisa, being too polite, aren't we? You don't have to be that nervous around Laxus. He's a good guy deep down." Mira said emphasizing the word "deep".

This made Laxus look at her – almost pouting, but immediately changed to his normal expression. He faced Kisa and said, "Yeah, no need to use the honorifics."

Laxus could pout. Cute! Lucy thought to herself. She didn't notice Kisa was sending her looks like she was asking to be saved.

Fortunately – or maybe not – for Kisa, Erza saw them and handed her a piece of paper. It contained a series of exercises – cardio, stretching, climbing, and even cleaning Fairy Hills!

"I need to take a mission. It was Master who asked me, so it must be that urgent. I don't want you slacking while I'm gone, so make sure to do these every day until I return." Erza instructed.

"Cleaning?!" Lucy almost shouted.

"Yes, not only does it improve you physically, but it also develops patience." Erza said before she left.

"You've got it tough, girl." Lucy said sympathetically. This made Kisa gloomy.

"Could you be the one I've been hearing others call Erza's disciple?" Laxus interrupted.

"D-disciple? I'm not at all! She's just kind enough to help me train." Kisa said, embarrassed.

"But I haven't seen Erza do that, ever." Mira added.

"Mira, Laxus, I have something important to tell you." Master appeared behind them.

When the older mages were gone, Lucy, with a friendly smile, said, "Come on Kisa, I'll cheer you on while you train."

On the other hand, Master was relaying to Mira and Laxus what Erza reported and had planned.

"I see. That's why Erza haven't taken any missions lately." Mira said contemplating.

Laxus just looked at master as if he had something to say. Master just raised his brow at him.

"I'll train her." He said simply.

"Just like that?" Master inquired.

"Yeah, I have nothing better to do. Besides, the Raiijinshu and I agreed to not do any missions together for two months. I'm letting them do missions separately or with other guild members. And this might be interesting."

"If you wish, go ahead. She and Erza trains at the shore behind Fairy Hills." Master said before dismissing them.

The next day…

"Mira, where's Juvia?" asked the blond mage.

"Huh? What a random thing to ask; I think she's on a mission with Gajeel and Levy."

"When will they be back?" he inquired further.

"Tomorrow, I suppose."

"Perfect." Mira was left confused at the bar as Laxus walked out of the guild.

Erza had just come back and asked Kisa to start their training early; by this time, few of the guild members had seated themselves on the sand a few feet away from the two females. Apparently, word has been going around that Erza had picked an apprentice – so they thought it was interesting to see just what the younger mage is capable of.

"Did you follow all my instructions yesterday?" Erza questioned.

"Yes, Erza." Kisa, a little self-conscious, answered.

"You finished them on your own, of course?"

"Of course." Kisa said, but with a much softer voice than before.

"Today, we'll do the same as our first day of training. I'll need to gauge your improvements after the two-day stamina training – and decide our next days." Erza started, after which she exquipped to Heaven's Wheel. "Ready." With that, Erza sprung forward aiming a double sword at Kisa.

Kisa was already expecting this from Erza, but she noticed the guild members build up just around their training area making her feel uncomfortable. Distracted, Kisa was sure she wouldn't be able to dodge the swords in time; luckily for her, Erza picked this up at once so she stopped her sword just about a few centimeters from Kisa's skin.

"Focus Kisa!" Erza said while moving back.

"Hai, Erza!" Kisa said apologetically.

"Again!" Erza shouted and leaped at Kisa once more.

Kisa, with the movements of her hands and arms, lifted the soil in front of her forming a thick wall. But, Erza easily cut through it in one swing. When the soil fell, Erza was greeted with a wave coming towards her. Several 'Ooohhs' and 'Aaahhs' could be heard around; these made Kisa lose focus, releasing her spell on the wave. The water fell and became small puddles on the ground. Erza, instead of stopping like before, charged forward. Kisa, shocked, sprinted backwards, trying – not successfully, at that – to avoid Erza's swings.

"Why aren't you responding?!" Erza shouted while chasing after Kisa; she started to increase her speed.

Kisa wasn't able to follow, and fell over – butt-first on the ground.

Erza finally decided to stop; looking at the panting Kisa, she said, "This was even worse than the first day. Is something bothering you?"

"Sorry," was all Kisa could answer. She can feel her heartbeat racing; whether from the recent activity or from the people she knew – and clearly heard – were watching, she couldn't be certain.

"Tss. Erza, I for one, can see what's bothering her," an orotund voice said from behind Erza.

"Laxus, I didn't know you were near here."

"I think you didn't notice just how many were here, watching."

Erza knew some people were watching, but her attention was on training Kisa, she didn't notice that there were already so many.

"But, I think your apprentice, here, was fully aware of your audience." Laxus said, smirking at Erza. He stepped towards the two girls, but not before Erza could face the spectators.

A demonic aura was already spreading around Erza's body, which made their audience cringe and run away; all of this, while Laxus was watching in amusement.

Erza turned to face Kisa, who was already at her feet watching Laxus.

"Let's take a break, why don't we?" Erza suggested.

Kisa didn't waste energy and just seated herself on the sand trying to get comfortable.

"I assume the old man told you, already?" Laxus started.

"Yes, of course. I wasn't aware you'd start today." Erza answered.

All the while, Kisa was watching the two mages' conversation. Wow! Lucy said, they're two of Fairy Tail's strongest mages. Kisa thought in awe.

"Nah, well maybe tomorrow, if it's alright with you. I thought you might not want to let go of your pretty little student, huh Erza?" Laxus teased, as he raised his brow at Erza. "Figured I'll just watch how she does today."

"Of course it's alright with me. I'm not the one to decide, after all." Erza answered straightforwardly.

"Heh, I guess, that's Erza for you." Laxus said, and then turned to Kisa – who wasn't able to follow their conversation – "What do you say?"

Kisa immediately stood up, not quite getting what the question meant, answered, "Nice to see you again, Laxus-sama."

This made Erza smile; Laxus just smirked and explained, "I meant what do you say with me being your trainer from tomorrow on?"

Kisa was stunned – she visibly stiffened – and couldn't even utter a syllable.

Laxus found it hilarious, so he started teasing Erza, "Hmm, maybe Erza didn't train you well, getting stiff after just one question from me."

Erza, looking pissed, strode towards Kisa – catching the latter's attention. "Kisa has improved greatly, and she will show you that, now!" Erza stated pointing at Laxus.

"A-ah, Erza?"

"Come on Kisa, let's show him your progress!" Erza demanded.

"Uh, hai!"

Alright, I'm sorry. I think I foolishly posted a chapter (or chapters) without checking for grammar or spelling mistakes. Forgive me!.