Chapter 2: Gajeel Goes to the Park
"Take that! And… that!"
"What kind of punch is that? This is how a real man fights!"
"Ice Make: Hammer!"
"Aaaahhh!"
"Stop it, you guys!"
Yes, the guild was still battling to their fighting-will-tank's content. Erza was the one who had just demanded that they stop, with a roll of her eyes. Sighing at the boys who ignored her comment, she grabbed them by the collars of their t-shirts (Grey by the hair because, once again, he'd stripped) and screamed, "STOP OR I'LL KILL YOU!" Instantly the guild froze, and Lucy winced. They all knew she meant it… or at least, she would pound them to the ground. Of course, the rowdy bunch calmed down… for a moment.
As soon as Erza's glaring and screeching and slapping was done and she left the guild to go fix her Million Swords armour, they began punching again.
Lucy groaned and face palmed.
"STOP IT!" cried a voice above them. It sounded thick, cold and slippery.
"Erza's back!" screamed Grey and Natsu, bonking their heads together and returning to their Best Buddies act.
"Real men d-don't cower in front of the l-ladies…"
"Also, it's not Erza. The voice is deeper and not as terrifying!" The latter was false.
"I said, stop it!" repeated the speaker in a low voice. They all turned around.
"Gajeel, the newbie metallic dragon slayer," whispered Lucy. Natsu narrowed his eyes in the excited, boyish way he had and ran his tongue along his teeth, hoping to taste some iron blood soon. Indeed, the serious mage was moving down the stairs to their right, his eyes drawn away from the buzzing crowd with their fists in midair as if they were too babyish or weak for his liking. The guild felt pressed to be silent as the slayer arrived at the bottom of the steps and paused in front of the many eyes.
"Let's fight!" Natsu exclaimed, breaking the silence.
"Go kiss a llama. Master said I'm in charge. Got that?" Everyone gasped.
"Yeah, right," Grey sniffed, rolling his eyes. "Like he'd ever assign an important role like that to you, a newbie and a snob." Juvia gaped at the mage she both loved and admired. Did he really hate new people? She fought to hold back her tears and instead tore her eyes away from the casual ice mage and onto her old friend, Gajeel.
"You're a snob, and a bore!" Gajeel shouted at Gray.
"N-no he isn't!" Juvia defended shyly.
"Be quiet, Juvia. I thought you were on my side."
"B-but I love – Ah, I mean I –"
"Whatever."
"Don't you 'whatever' a friend!" hissed Grey, stepping between the slayer and Juvia (who was about to faint). Gajeel simply kicked the ice mage and snickered as Grey crumpled to the floor. Juvia rushed to his side.
"You guys behave yourselves," Gajeel warned. "I'm going out now, and if I come back and the sight don't please me…" The guild froze at his trailing remark. "Gihi," Gajeel said, and walked out of the guild.
~ o ~
"Hey, blunette!" called a voice. Levy woke up, startled.
"Huh?" she mumbled, tossing on her back. Who was calling the 'blunette'? Then she remembered that her hair was blue. Sitting up, Levy looked around. The park was as peaceful as it had been that morning. Dainty blue robins chirped merrily, and the softened breeze whistled through the branches of the nearby trees; the atmosphere was peaceful, perfect for her private picnic. Who had interrupted her small, contented nap?
"Yeah, you!" laughed the voice, again. Levy was puzzled. There was no one around, so how…? Then, staring closer at the trees to her left, she spotted a tall, shadowy figure leaning against a giant oak. That was as far as she could manage to spy. Was it a girl, or a boy? It sounded like a boy, but she couldn't tell for sure. Levy shook her head and wondered what it wanted with her. It grinned, pleased that she had finally noticed it. Levy felt a shiver up her spine when she noticed it coming towards her. Soon he was stepping out of the dark, impossible shade of the tree and into the path of the sunlight. Scruffy, dirty-blonde hair, baggy clothes and six or seven piercings adorned the grinning silhouette. Yes, it was definitely a guy.
"I'm Gajeel Redfox." Levy blinked and studied the emerging figure intensely. Gajeel…? Wasn't that the silent, frightening newbie at the guild's name? The last name was the same, too. Levy could tell. She paid a lot of attention to names, being a solid script mage, after all.
But this smirking lad had hair unlike the jet-black, spiky do of the Gajeel back at the guild. Not to mention, but this youthful perk had less build that that of the Gajeel Levy knew… or at least, was only slightly familiar with, as the guild newbie was oddly distant and only made little conversation with the master. That was most likely because of the trouble and harm that the dragon slayer had thrust upon certain beloved members of the guild, including Levy herself.
The lad looked surprised. "Uh, is something wrong? Do I have anything on my face… my clothes?" He winced and studied his clothes. Levy laughed.
"No, no. It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"I.." How could she answer that? "I don't have to tell you, do I?" blurted out the clumsy-worded mage. She instantly wanted to take back her outburst, but the lad only chuckled.
"Then, can you at least tell me your name?" At this Levy was taken aback. She knew not to trust strangers, but surely a polite, cheery lad such as this…
"It's Erza," she quickly said, then felt like face-palming. Erza? Where did I come up with that! She's gonna blow up when I tell her this.
"Ah. Just like Miss Titania! Come to think of it, you do look about her age," he added, cocking his head.
"Yes, that's me!" Ugh, Erza's gonna fry me when I get back to the guild…
"Oh? Oh, yes, no wonder." Now he looked frightened and glanced around hastily.
Wait a second. Was he going to…? Levy shivered and decided to keep on playing the role. Smiling sweetly, she leaned forward and said, "Now, if you'll excuse me…" She settled back and began to pick up her things.
"N-no! I mean… why don't we have lunch together? I know you're from Fairy Tail, and I'm formerly from, ah, – that is, I…" Now he was flustered, and turned away. Levy drew one step closer, carefully.
"Wait... Isn't Erza's hair supposed to be the colour of fire?" she heard him mutter, a devilish gleam in the corner of his eye. Levy now realized that he truly was not Gajeel Redfox, nor did he mean any good. As she hastily turned to leave, he grabbed her arm.
~ o ~
Gajeel kicked at a stone and sent it flying through the frosty air. He stuck his hands in his pockets to keep them warm instead of turning them into iron poles, which would lower his magical energy and besides, didn't metal attract cold? He shrugged, having not been thoroughly educated.
The buzz of Magnolia's commoners rang in his ears all around the flea market he was passing on his way to… well, nowhere in particular. The wild chatter annoyed him, but he knew it was wiser to settle for it than to erupt into thrashing dragon mode. Obviously the guild was more rowdy than this. Still, he was bothered, and quickened his pace as to escape from the business of the flea markets and enter another part of town as soon as possible.
Soon he arrived at a lush, quiet area. Magnolia's famous cherry trees sprung in full bloom in the springtime, even on this rainy day in April, and Gajeel paused to admire the gorgeous rainbows of colour the blossoms' dainty petals reflected. Then he shook his head and slapped himself. Studying flowers is girlish, he scolded himself. Don't be like all those weakling mages in Fairy Tail. He turned away.
Suddenly, Gajeel heard a girl screaming in the distance. He lifted his head toward the right and noticed the sound came from a large meadow with brilliant colours. A squat, wooden sign read, Magnolia Park in bold, block letters. He tried to ignore the shrieks and told himself that it was simply more noise, but to no avail. Gajeel harrumphed, and strained to tell exactly where it was coming from. Closing his eyes, he started to walk in the direction of the voice, slowly at first, then rushing faster and faster as the screams became more constant. He could tell he was going in the right place because the sound was louder than before. Hold on, he begged in his mind to the screaming lass before he could stop himself, and abruptly turned a corner in the park… and paused.
There, in the middle of a barren clearing surrounded by trees, stood a grinning, cocky male who was dragging a squealing blunette by her hair.