I managed to get the next chapter done! I thought Jason didn't have much of a personality, so I decided to give him a couple of quirks to make him at least a bit more entertaining to read. I hope you all enjoy it!

November 7, X790

At the guild hall, Jason was sleeping at a table with his head resting on his crossed arms when Blaise came out of her office and walked up to him.

"Jason, wake up." She said softly.

Jason slowly woke up and lifted his head up.

"I know this is short notice, but I would like you to come with me to Oshibana for the Guild Master's conference there." Blaise said.

"Why me?" Jason asked, pointing to himself.

"For this year's conference, each Guild Master is bringing one of their best wizards and Spiral is out on a job right now. Also, you seem pretty bored right now."

"You're right, a good change of pace would be nice."

"Then I'll meet you at the train station of town in an hour."

Blaise left the guild hall, leaving Jason alone again. Jason then noticed that there was a bit of drool on the table, so he cleaned it up before leaving the guild hall.

A couple of hours later, Blaise and Jason were on the train as it was nearing Oshibana Station.

"… You haven't talked since we got on the train." Blaise said. "Is something on your mind?"

"No, I'm fine." Jason answered as he looked out the window. "When I ride the train, I like to watch the trees and rivers pass by. And I'm not one much for talking."

"To think that despite you being in the guild for a few months already, we don't know much about you on a personal level. You don't bother to talk with others about your hobbies or interests."

"… There's a smudge on this window." Jason said as he leered at the smudge.

He pulled out a thin piece of cloth from his pocket and cleaned off the smudge. His attention was then turned toward the curtains on the window.

"And these curtains aren't even." He said as he tried to make sure that the curtains were symmetrical with the window.

*Looks like someone has a bit of an OCD.* Blaise thought to herself as she lightly chuckled. *At least it's something.*

Blaise and Jason had arrived at the building holding the Guild Master's conference and met with a man at the front door holding a clipboard.

"Excuse me, we're here for the Guild Master's conference." Blaise said to the man. "I am Phoenix Dawn Guild Master Blaise Lianna and this is my guest, Jason Lexus."

"Can I have proof?" The man asked. "Please show me your guild mark."

"I can't show you my guild mark, but I can show you this." Blaise said, pulling out her Wizard Saint medallion and showing it to the man.

"Please, come in." The man said as he scratched off one of the names on his list.

"Why couldn't you show him your guild mark?" Jason asked as he and Blaise were entering the building and walking down one of the hallways.

"I have it placed right where my heart is and I'd rather not expose my chest to people." Blaise answered.

The two finally reached the room where the other Guild Masters and wizards were and one person in particular caught Blaise's attention.

"Ah, Macao!" Blaise said as she walked up to the current Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Macao Conbolt.

"Oh, Blaise! It's been a while!" Macao greeted her. "Congratulations on making Wizard Saint AND Guild Master of your own guild."

"Thanks." Blaise said. "I'd like to introduce you to one of my guild's strongest wizards, Jason Lexus."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." Jason said, shaking his hand. "I was actually offered a chance to join your guild several years ago, but I wanted to get stronger first."

"So Macao, who did you bring with you?" Blaise asked.

"I'm actually… here on my own." Macao answered, nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Nobody seemed to want to come, but I had to come because I'm the Guild Master. Everyone's spirits have been on a serious decline over the last 6 years."

"I can understand why." Jason said sullenly. "The very wizards I looked up to… they were on that island, too. But you guys must have felt worse because you were all so close."

"… Anyway, we should probably go meet with the other Guild Masters." Blaise said. "Let's go, Jason."

Blaise turned around and walked away while Jason stood where he was for about a second and followed Blaise.

The next couple of hours simply had Blaise showing off Jason to several other Guild Masters and wizards that were there. They met with just about every major guild; Ooba and Jura of Lamia Scale, Bob and Ichiya of Blue Pegasus (the former was creeping the heck out of Jason by calling him 'cutie') and Goldmine and Bacchus of Quattro Cerberus.

"There doesn't seem to be any sight of Saber Tooth here." Blaise said as she took a seat in a chair. "Their Guild Master probably thinks we're not worth coming all the way here. I've met the guy some time ago and let me tell you he's the most ruthless person I've ever seen in any legal guild."

Blaise then noticed that Jason wasn't paying attention and instead was taking in the flavor of the cake that he was eating.

"Maaan, this cake is so good." Jason said.

"You like cake, huh?" Blaise asked.

"I looove cake." Jason said. "I don't care if it's bad for me, I'll eat it."

"Blaise, it's good to see you again." A voice spoke.

Blaise looked over to see Kagura approaching the table they were sitting at.

"Kagura, good to see you, too." Blaise said as she got up and gave Kagura a quick hug. "Where's your Master?"

"Unfortunately, she couldn't make it, so I'm here in her stead." Kagura replied who then noticed Jason. "And it's good to see you, too, Jason."

"Ah, that's right." Blaise said. "You two met before. You two catch up while I go see what the other Guild Masters are up to."

As Blaise stood up out of her seat and walked away, Kagura took the seat and crossed her legs.

"You know, it's lucky that I ran into you today." Jason said. "Just the other day, I was speaking with my guild mates about Blaise, so I was wondering if you could tell me a little about what Blaise was like in Mermaid Heel."

"She never told any of you?" Kagura asked. "Not surprising. She never told any of US about her past before joining the guild… But I'll tell you about when Blaise joined the guild. On the same day I joined Mermaid Heel, Blaise also joined and… well… we weren't exactly best friends."

(Begin Flashback)

A very young Kagura and an 8 year old Blaise were fighting each other with Kagura's sheathed Archenemy and Blaise's rapier clashing furiously.

"I ought to kill you, Kagura!" Blaise shouted.

"Not before I kill you first!" Kagura shouted back.

(End Flashback)

"It sounds like you two had a pretty intense rivalry." Jason said.

"We were children, so it wasn't like we REALLY wanted to kill each other." Kagura said. "Even though I did mean to kill her back then. However, the more we fought, the more I realized that she was keeping some sort of pain deep within her heart. To this day, I still have no idea as to what may have happened to her before joining Mermaid… In a way, we were both alike."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember when I told you that you reminded me of my brother? Before I joined Mermaid, the village of Rosemary was attacked and all of the adults were killed while the children were enslaved… including my brother. It wasn't until years later that I found out what happened to him."

"Was he all right?"

"… He was killed, 6 years ago."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"You don't need to apologize. Anyway, it was at that time I swore to only unsheathe my sword when I would kill my brother's murderer…"

"What do you know? I actually managed to get you to talk."

"Huh?"

"During our lasts chat, you said that you aren't very talkative." Jason said with a smile on his face. "Yet here you are doing most of the talking."

Kagura had a barely visible blush on her face, but it faded once she lightly smiled. "You do seem to have a strange effect on me. It's funny how I've only known you for such a short time and yet I already consider you a close friend. You just seem to give off this aura that people find very calming. By the way, I caught your Sorcerer Weekly article and from what I've read you seem to be quite the ladies' man."

"That's probably a joke they decided to throw in there."

*I wouldn't think so.* Kagura thought as she remembered something from a couple of days ago.

(Begin Flashback)

At the Mermaid Heel guild hall, several ladies were huddled around Milliana, who was holding the recent issue of Sorcerer Weekly, as Kagura was walking right past them.

"What are you all doing?" Kagura asked her guild mates.

"We're checking out Sorcerer Weekly's updated list of Eligible Wizard Bachelors!" Milliana said. "Ooh, he's cute! Kagura-chan, isn't this the guy you told me about?"

"Who are you talking about?" Kagura asked as she walked over and looked at the article.

The article had Jason Lexus ranked fourth, only behind Eve Tearm (third), Hibiki Lates (second) and Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki (first).

Maaaaaaan!

"So?" Milliana asked.

"So what?" Kagura asked.

"What do YOU think of him?" Milliana asked.

"I'd prefer not to dignify that with a response." Kagura replied as she left the group of women.

(End Flashback)

"Actually, now that I think about it I have a favor to ask of you." Kagura said.

"What is it?" Jason asked.

"There's a particular request I've been keeping my eye on and you might be able to help me out with it." Kagura said. "The request is to infiltrate a soiree being held by Baron Amable Cyrille and find an item he had stolen from the client. However, in order to implement the plan we have designed, we need a male ally which as you know Mermaid Heel lacks. If you accept, we'll split the reward money with you."

"Hard to argue with earning some extra cash." Jason said. "All right, count me in."

"Perfect. Please meet us at the inn in the town of Woodlea four days from now and we'll brief you of the mission there."

"See you in a few days then." Jason said as he walked away.

A/N: The next chapter is going to be the mission Jason accepted from Kagura. Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the others, but I'd rather not come up with pointless filler that would only hinder my story rather than move it forward. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and be sure to stay tuned for next time!