A/N: I apologize for this chapter's slight lateness. Only a day late! I drew a pretty sweet picture of Blackstar from Soul Eater for a contest, and it turned out wonderfully. Next week I have several important exams to prepare for, so there may not be any updates.

Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I do not own, so please do not sue.

Thesaurus

Chapter 9: Ryomo

"Hey Lily," Levy started as she looked at the Exceed. "Why would Gajeel be scouting again?" She was genuinely curious, wondering why on earth the dragon slayer was so paranoid that he'd double check their surroundings. Pantherlily had his own, more accurate answer, but he decided to keep that answer to himself.

"It never hurts to double check; Gajeel just wants to make sure everything's secure," Lily figured telling a slight white lie wouldn't kill anyone. The real reason Gajeel had gone to sniff around was probably because he wanted to be sure Shadow Claw wouldn't return and hurt Levy again. Protective dragon instincts had something to do with that mix.

Levy let out a slow, 'oh' and dealt out the cards for a new game. She'd been beating Lily pretty easily the entire time they'd been playing, so it was time for something else. "This one is called Slap Jack…" The blue-haired girl smiled as she began to explain the rules.

*Outside of the Town Hall*

The first attack came from the opponent, and that was something Gajeel wasn't expecting. Especially when the opponent completely revealed themselves and he was able to realize that he was up against a girl.

She was lithe and quick; which became evident when she back flipped over the iron pole Gajeel formed to ward her off. She had a crown of blue hair slightly darker than Levy's, worn in a thick braid that smacked him in the face as she leapt over him. "Oi," he complained feebly.

Twin golden eyes gleamed in the near darkness and in the distance, thunder rumbled. 'Oh come on!' Gajeel inwardly rolled his eyes. 'This is so…what'd shrimp call it, Cliché?' A tanned forearm boxed his ear as she again leapt over him like some kind of feline.

"That's it, you're going down!" The iron dragon slayer was being toyed with, and that was something he did not enjoy. Now he was both irritated and determined. The determination came from the desire to protect those behind him in the town hall. 'Well maybe not that Tony guy…'

He was interrupted when a sphere of water hit him in the face and sent him reeling back. Gajeel coughed and blew salty water out of his nose, doubly pissed off now. He located the pest and bellowed: "IRON DRAGON'S ROAR!"

The mass of shrapnel and wind barreled for the enemy, and it must've made contact because the iron mage's keen ears picked up the angry curses streaming out of her mouth as a wobbly figure stood up. Gajeel managed to chuckle at the disheveled girl. He wasn't laughing for long.

Contrary to what he'd thought, she'd come out of his roar rather alright. With one of her water shields up, the attack had only caused minor damage. Now she was ready to rumble. "Brace yourself, cause' Ryomo is coming at ya!"

Two short yet sharp blades were tugged out from her boots and sent flying at the iron dragon slayer. 'Bad move, short stuff. Then again, she ain't shrimp short. And she's actually got boobs-'A mental picture of Levy playing cards with Lily in the hallway flitted though his mind, and his cheeks flushed. He'd bent over to see what they were doing and had gotten a peek down Levy's shirt as he towered above her.

A whistling sound caught his attention and reminded him that now really wasn't the time for this. The two knives were caught with one hand and thrown with abandon into his mouth; never to be seen again. "Thanks for the meal…Roly poly?"

"The hell…my name is Ryomo you metal-headed freak!" She shouted angrily at him. It seems as if now the battle had become one of insults and crude words rather than fists and magic. It's a good thing that words are Levy's specialty.

Said bookworm and Pantherlily had been starting their second round of Flap Jack, (Levy had predictably won the first round,) when they heard a commotion outside. With everything that had already gone wrong on this mission, they weren't going to take any chances.

So now they stood, somewhat behind Gajeel, in front of the town hall. Levy immediately zeroed in on the enemy…and gasped. 'Oh come on! Besides her blue hair, I mean, seriously!? She might be short but even from here I can tell she's taller. And her chest, it's...' Her forehead scrunched up adorably in frustration, effectively and unintentionally distracting Gajeel.

"Who are you?" Lily tried to be diplomatic, hoping to talk out their differences or whatever to avoid more fighting. Before Gajeel could interrupt with 'Roly Poly,' the woman piped up.

"Ryomo, I'm here to…take care of you guys. Fairy Tail, right?" She glanced over them with narrowed eyes, noting the mark on Gajeel's shoulder. "Yep. So, you can either die quietly or-" She was interrupted by a shout.

"Solid Script: Bind!" The little bookworm had been practicing, and it had paid off. The brown word transformed in midair into a clump of ropes and abruptly ensnared Ryomo. Said person shrieked and looked up with confusion. The last person she'd expected to attack had been the short one.

"Not bad, Shrimp," Gajeel grinned down at her and ruffled her blue locks. "Now we can see what this chick is 'ere for." Behind them, Pantherlily used his magic to change into his larger form and scooped the struggling Ryomo up.

"It's best to just tell us everything and to not put up a fight," Lily advised her. The girl looked up at him incredulously, but complied for two reasons. One, she could bide her time pretending to give these people her life story and escape, and two: she had a weak spot for animals and really couldn't protest.

Inside, they set the enemy on Levy's bed and gathered around. "Who are ya and what the hell do you want?" Gajeel, predictably, got straight to the point. He wasn't comfortable with knowing she would've attacked them in their down time to accomplish her goal. That was playing pretty dirty.

"I'm the leader of Shadow Claw, Ryomo Meroux, and I came here to get rid of your interference so that my guild can move on with our plans of capturing some idiot spirit mage. That's it, you aren't getting anything else outta me." Ryomo stuck out her chin in defiance, expecting angry shouts or a couple of insults, but instead was met with three pairs of dumb founded eyes.

A/N: And…Cliff hanger? XD I think yes. Is this the second time in a row…sorry? Well anywho, better move along to the replying, because I'm going to go watch Soul Eater like my life depends on it! By the way, are my fight scenes sucky? If they are, any tips to improve?

REVIEW REPLIES:

Miss Rune: Lol, you probably loathe me now for a cliff hanger AGAIN! Naraku does look like a chick. Totally, I agree. I mean, his hair is just…and his face! O_o

1fairytaillover: Ha, I'm glad you liked that part! ;)

Passwordrawr: Texting language has always been boss. And…NEVER! Lol, sorry, it's just something I do to motivate or make reviewers laugh. I apologize if it irritates you. O_O those are freaking good threats.

Kurisu313: I hate spiders…they suck. Killing them is terrifying, but not for the ass-kicking Gajeel! XD Once I tried to squish a spider on my ceiling with a Kleenex but it fell on my face. .

MsSlicingClaws: Ha, his mind reminds me of a lot of boys at my school. I hope you like how I portrayed Ryomo! Sorry Gajeel ate her weapons, though. (Lol, I am pretty young, but I think I'm a little more mature than a lot of 13 year olds I know.) Outta your comfort zone? XD I like the way you worded that. And I'm sorry it broke! ;_;

Nadeshiko Redfox: No! TAT Give Lucy back! *sends Natsu off to do some heroic rescuing stuff* I know right? Adorable little people playing cards. Poor Gajeel must've gone insane!

Review or I will tell Tono Rabbits you stole his banana. He likes bananas! XD