Chapter 40: A New Day!
It has been a little over 10 months since the war against Tartaros, the last Dark guild of the balam alliance. And with the final stone pillar of the criminal underworld that were the dark guilds now gone. Dark guilds were almost none existence in Fiore, and whatever remained of them were tiny branches that used to belong to Tartaros, Grimoire Heart and Oracion Seis. The remnants of those dark guilds had panicked after the fall of the three big shots, and scattered around the entire continent. And with that panic they had been picked off one by one by the Royal Army. And rumors of a small guild of monsters having actually been behind defeating most of those dark guild branches, spread across the country like a wild fire.
In the far west of the continent of Ishgar, there was desert stone valley. The wind carried the sand of the desert around a mountain side, with what appeared as buildings carved into the mountain. It appeared to be ancient ruins, and these ruins housed one of those dark guild branches. Or at least used to house one of them, out in the desert field before the mountain laid an ocean of 50 unconscious dark guild wizards. But what appeared strangely upon inspection, none of these 50 dark guild wizards appeared to be injured.
Within the center of the 50 beaten dark guild wizards, a lone figure sat on a rock. His eyes glowed in a glint of red, the man let out a sigh and closed his eyes. Once he reopened them, they were black and looked tired. The back of his right hand carried a red tattooed symbol, shaped like a fairy with a tail. It was Itachi, he was dressed in a black open cloak similar to the ones he used to wear in his Akatsuki days minus the red clouds. Underneath this cloak he wore a sleeveless black shirt with red lines going from the shoulders down to his chest, and meeting in a singular line on his six-pack. He also wore camouflaged cargo pants held up by a black belt, with bags of ninja tools strapped onto his sides. And black boots. Itachi like the dark guild wizards, hadn't suffered any injury, his clothes weren't even dirty nor tattered. He wasn't even out of breath or breathing heavily.
Itachi stood up, stretching his arms up into the sky, his ears tingled with the sound of marching footsteps approaching. He lazily turned his head around, and saw the royal army approaching to arrest these unconscious dark guild wizards. "Guess it's time to leave…" Itachi uttered as his body started scattering away into a murder of crows taking off into the sky. The crows soared into the sky, flying above the desert wasteland, the scenery on the horizon looking greener. One figure awaited Itachi upon a grassy hill watching over things. "You're late." The figure commented as the crows flew down and formed into Itachi.
"I decided to rest up a while and meditate. If you want to blame anyone blame the army for being late." Itachi walked next to the womanly figure that was Ultear. Her sharingan shining in a bright crimson color. "How did the others get along?"
"They have all finished up, they are waiting back at camp." Ultear turned her back on the edge of the hill and walked straight past Itachi. "We should hurry back."
"Indeed, once we've all had a bite to eat. Perhaps we can continue training you in the use of those eyes." Itachi suggested, having trained Ultear in the use of the sharingan and how to utilize chakra for the past 10 months. As expected of one of Madara's bloodline, she was a natural at it.
"I would very much like that, but I don't think Mirajane will be that happy about me taking you away." Ultear teased, knowing that because Itachi had spent most of his time training himself and others. He hasn't spent a lot of alone time with his girlfriend Mira, and she honestly sometimes would seem jealous.
Itachi gave a whistle, to which two horses ran up to them. One raven jet-black stallion, and one chestnut brown. Itachi mounted the jet-black horse, and Ultear the chestnut brown one. They then rode off into the distance. "I will make it up to her, somehow… it's just that at the moment training is more important." For these past 10 months, Itachi has been training himself mostly mentally. Meditating to try and gain control over his demon powers, and with the help of Kisame, Sasori and Kakuzu Itachi had managed to enter Stage 2 of his demon transformation without losing his emotions. It was when he entered his partially transformed state that he started losing some of his emotions. And he hadn't dared enter his E form as he could feel the demon lurking in the corner of his mind, waiting for that moment and take over. Other than that, his training consisted of sparring with the three former Akastuki members, with Jellal, Erza, Ultear and Mira sometimes.
"These horses have come quite in handy. Not as fast as a magic mobile. But efficient and not as draining." Ultear lightly patted the side of her horse. Itachi had given the idea that their group get a few horses for transport. That way they could transport their equipment easier, and instead of a magic mobile they didn't need to drain their energy for it to function.
"As I thought they would be." Itachi replied as they signaled for their horses to run faster. They rode across the hills until they reached a forest area with tall trees, covering almost the entire field making it hard to spot anyone or navigate through. The two Uchiha flashed their sharingan eyes and spotted smoke coming from one spot within the forest. They had the horses move slower to avoid crashing into the trees, all the way until the far corner of the forest where they dismounted and lead the horses the rest of the way.
They reached a very small clear spot within the forest. Three wagons surrounded the camp like a barricade, and within the camp a couple of tents were set up. And in the very center of the camp there was a small fireplace with a boiling pot with stew. And more horses where hitched onto the surrounding trees around camp. "Well, look who's back." The two were greeted by Erik, formerly known as Cobra from Oracion Seis. He along with Macbeth and Sawyer were currently guarding the camp site, on the lookout for any potential threat or any knights searching for some of the wanted members of their group. "I thought you two would be the first ones back."
"Well, someone decided to take their time." Ultear nudged towards Itachi, whom gave a mere shrug.
"Not like we were in a rush, so I decided to do some mental training." Itachi hitched his horse next to Ultear's on a nearby tree.
"Heh, if you ain't takin' down dark guilds, you are training. Same old story." Erik rolled his eyes, remaining on watch. With his super hearing he could pretty much detect someone stepping on a stick, miles away into this dense forest. Then coming speeding towards them was Sawyer. "Anything on your end?"
"Searched the forest twice, nothing but a few animals lurking around. And besides, I think you would have heard if I found anything." Sawyer stretched his legs a bit before taking off again for a third sweep.
"Just remember Sasori is taking over your shift in an hour!" Erik shouted at the speedster whom was already long gone.
"Is Jellal around?" Ultear asked not seeing their group leader anywhere in camp.
"Huh? Oh yeah, he and Erza are in the main tent. Discussing our next move, and if we might need to move camp soon. That group of knights from last week made it obvious they know we are in this area." Erik commented as their camp was nearly discovered when a group of knights walked by the forest. Erik with his hearing had heard them approach, and went closer in to overhear their conversation. To which he learnt they were hunting for Jellal, and that some townsfolk from the local farmers town had seen someone matching Jellal's description coming riding through town.
"And uhh, what about Mirajane?" Erik nodded towards the fireplace where the two Strauss sisters were finishing up the group's dinner. Itachi gave a look of thanks and excused himself from the conversation.
Mira was happily humming as she took a taste of the stew. "Hmm, could use some more seasoning. Lisanna could you add some oregano to the pot?"
"Sure thing big sis." Lisanna smiled sheepishly as she noticed Itachi sneaking up behind Mira. Mira blinked in confusion from Lisanna's look, when suddenly a pair of hands touched her shoulders startling her a bit making her jump.
"I'm back." Itachi smiled at seeing the surprised look Mira had, that was quickly replaced by a pout as she glared at him with her hands held to her hips.
"Jeez, don't sneak up on me like that~" Mira playfully hit Itachi's head with a karate chop. Itachi chuckled a little before embracing her in a hug. Mira let out a small squeal as Itachi suddenly lifted her up, and she started laughing a little as he began spinning her around. Mira smiled lovingly at him holding her hands around his cheeks. As she was still being held up, she lowered her head and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "Welcome home." Itachi smiled back and gently put her down, to which she returned to the pot.
"Sure smells good." Itachi knelt down next to Mira as she stirred the boiling pot. Itachi casually tried to move a bit closer to Mira, although was prevented as some more firewood was dropped in between them. Itachi sweat dropped as he looked up seeing the towering tall Elfman staring down on them.
"Got some more firewood for ya big sis! Cut down personally by my manly muscles!" Elfman flexed his biceps, having spent most of his training building up his muscle mass.
"I don't see an axe…" Mira noted to which Elfman gave a snort.
"That's because I cut them down with my bare hands!" Elfman proudly declared, to which Mira gave a worried gasp as she saw a few splinters on his hands.
"Oh my gosh, Elfman. You poor thing." To this sudden treatment Elfman's face flushed red as Mira gently held onto his hands. Destroying the boasting look of manliness in Elfman just like that.
"N-Nee-san… I'm fine, I hardly feel anything I swear!" Elfman tried to ignore some of the chuckles from around camp, Mira strictly pouted and pointed her hand down for Elfman to sit down. Itachi chuckled as the big bulky man had his big sister pull out the splinters and put band aids onto the wounds.
"Sh-Shut it." Elfman mumbled as he glared at Itachi.
Night time came, and the group gathered around the fireplace. Enjoying their meal, the sound of laughter filled this warm atmosphere. For Itachi it seemed like back when they were in Fairy Tail, it was almost like he, Erza, Mira, Elfman and Lisanna had brought the warm family like atmosphere of Fairy Tail with them. And it seemed to be rubbing off on their travel companions. Especially Jellal whom sat next to Erza acting more like the two responsible parents watching the rest of the family, and taking in the happy looks on their faces. Meredy ended up falling asleep onto Ultear's shoulder, the pair looking like a mother and daughter. As it was getting late, a lot called it a night and went to their tents. Ultear took Meredy and a slight drunk Sorano back to their tent.
Jellal ended up calling it a night as well, going to his tent along with Macbeth, Erik, Sawyer and Richard. Although he did not go without wishing Erza a good night first. Mira wished Itachi a good night as she went to sleep in a tent with Lisanna and Erza. While Sasori had fallen asleep under a tree, and Kakuzu by the fireplace.
Meanwhile, Itachi and Kisame took their shift as lookouts for the camp for the night. Sitting on a log while Itachi used his sharingan to see if anyone was approaching. "Itachi-san." Kisame called out earning a look from the Uchiha. "You know, you've changed quite a lot."
"Is that so?" Itachi raised his brow at his oldest firend, whom gave a nod.
"For instance, you don't seem as gloomy as you always used to. You seem, more cheerful. And I can see why." Kisame looked towards the tent with the sleeping Mirajane, Erza and Lisanna.
"Well, to be fair in the Akatsuki… I couldn't afford to show emotions." To this Kisame gave a light chuckle.
"Yeah, that wouldn't look good in a group of killers. Still, makes me feel like I never truly knew you." Kisame looked sort of happy reminiscing about the old days.
"Kisame, I can assure you this. I've always been honest with you. Since it's not like you asked about details on the Uchiha massacre. So, in a way I never lied to you. You just never asked."
"That's because I couldn't care less actually… we all had done something criminal. We all had killed. There was no need for me to ask. Because in the end, we were all in the same situation. Or so I thought." Kisame shrugged still seeming surprised at finding out Itachi's truth and all, yet he also found it funny that he never figured it out.
"Everyone, had different situations to deal with. But in the eyes of the public, we were nothing but a bunch of killers. We all had our reasons for the things we did, some more twisted than others… but in the end none of them were justified."
"Yours seemed pretty justified."
"…" Itachi didn't know how to respond to that. He had never tried to justify his actions. They were just things that needed to be done for the greater benefit of the majority. Of course, the one thing one could argue that made his actions justifiable in a sense, was that he mostly did it for his beloved younger brother. "Kisame… you are probably the oldest friend I have left in this life. Despite our situations in the Akatsuki, you were the only one I considered to be even remotely close to a friend during those days."
Kisame grew a thin smirk. "Heh, I know… I know." They both shared a small friendly chuckle as they continued to mostly reminisce about the old days. Before they knew it, it was morning.
The next morning the camp continued their daily routine. Some were sent off to take down dark guild branches, some stayed at the camp to do a few chores. And Itachi, began his daily training. He was sitting on a tree stomp, his legs crossed as he sat in a meditative position. He took in steady deep calm breaths, trying to focus on the power of darkness within him and gently tapping into it. The more he reached into the darkness of his mind, the more it began showing on his body. As the black flame shaped demonic marks began growing like wildfire across his body.
"He's entered stage 1 of his transformation." Sasori, Kakuzu and Kiame sat around watching Itachi ready to subdue him should he lose control. For the past 10 months they have acted as trainers for Itachi to master his demonic powers.
"His limit is stage 2, any more after that and he begins to lose himself to that monster." Kakuzu took notes of Itachi's progress, having been stuck on stage 2 for a few months now. Every time Itachi attempted to enter stage 3, his partially transformed state, he would begin to lose emotions.
"Well, despite losing his emotions he is somewhat in control in his partially transformed state. It is the final stage that is the most concerning." Kisame added, standing over Itachi with Samehada ready to have the blade absorb Itachi's power should it get out of control.
Within Itachi's mind scape, he dipped into a lake of pure darkness. Taking tiny steps further into the ice-cold lake. While at the same time taking in deep breaths, while thinking warm happy thoughts. As it was within his own mind, he saw images of Mirajane, Erza, Sasuke, the guildhall, his comrades and dear friends all waiting for him to return home. Although, the further he walked in it was like his mind was being poisoned. As memories of war, death, Danzo, the death of his former lover Izumi, the death of Shisui and the very death of his own parents started to appear. It was like the further he walked in, the more he began to feel angrier.
To Itachi, this was nothing new by now. As he has been working on this for the past 10 months, he knew exactly what he needed to do. He dug deep into his own mind, trying to remember every single happy, innocent, pure and loving moments of his life. He remembered it all. From the birth of his younger brother to the day he met Erza and took her to Fairy Tail where they both found a new home. The day he met the woman he loved so dearly, Mirajane. And all the way back to when he was an infant and his mother softly sang him a sweet lullaby gently into his ear.
The lake began to look clearer, as the darkness retracted further into his mind. And light followed him as he walked deeper in. He could hear the animalistic growl coming from the darkness. The beast was annoyed, annoyed at these warm emotions and kept trying to spark up the cold dark ones. Although as he felt the darkness creep in, Itachi began to hum gently. Mimicking the tune of the memory of his mother's lullaby, and all the dark memories were snuffed out.
A pair of red eyes began to glow from the darkness, followed by the animalistic growl. Itachi kept on humming to the tune of the lullaby, keeping his mind calm, at peace, and passive. Eventually all the darkness imploded, and gathered into a single form. The beast had enough, and gathered into a shadowy figure of what resembled a demonic version of Itachi. E, had shown himself completely. The lake was clear, his mind was lit up in a brilliant light as all the darkness clouding it had been suppressed. Itachi stared down the shadowy demonic form of himself, his eyes morphing into the sharingan and evolving into the eternal mangekyou. But it didn't stop there, his eyes evolved further turning into a shade of purple with a black ripple pattern. He had activated the rinnegan.
While on the outside, the three former Akatsuki members stared in awe. Itachi had entered his partially transformed demon state. But he felt calm like he wasn't being corrupted by the darkness anymore. "D-Did he do it?" Kakuzu questioned.
"I think so…" Sasori inspected a little closer, but was pulled back by Kisame. The Samehada twitching and turning in his grasp.
"He hasn't done it yet. There is still a tiny bit of dark emotions in there, he hasn't subdued E completely. But I would say he has made progress."
Back within Itachi's mind scape. Itachi was all beaten up, panting, exhausted and tired. While the beast still stood standing it's will was strong and refused to be tamed. Itachi could feel it, if he continued any further to fight this monster, he would lose himself. The beast growled at him, Itachi remained calm and looked at the shadowy figure of himself. The beast was angry, angry that Itachi refused to continue. Angry that it was denied control. What Itachi did next caught the beast off guard, he bowed. He gave E a respectful bow like a martial artist would after a match against a worthy opponent. Itachi then flashed a smile at the darkness, and it took it like an insult. The darkness jumped at Itachi to attack but something stopped it. Itachi's mind kept it at bay, preventing it from suppressing Itachi and take over.
Then, Itachi awoke from his meditation. Standing face to face with his former Akatsuki comrades. He was in his partially transformed demon state, and he felt completely fine. He smiled. Itachi had mastered his partially transformed state. Kisame gave a light hearted chuckle and patted Itachi on the back. "Well done."
Yet Sasori and Kakuzu did not look as amazed, although it was progress it wasn't nearly enough. "You still have ways to go, before you can get strong enough to beat Madara." Sasori stated, and Itachi gave a nod.
"I am well aware… But it seems nearly impossible. I think of my purest memories, yet they are not enough to subdue E completely. His darkness is far greater than I could ever imagine."
"We're lucky in that sense. Seeing as we don't have pure memories at all." Kakuzu snorted, feeling a sense of relief that Zeref resurrected them with their soul within their bodies. So that they didn't develop a second personality like Itachi did.
"Yeah, if we had we wouldn't even be in control at all." Kisame agreed. The way he saw it, Itachi was the only one who could tame the darkness with pure memories from his life. Neither Kisame, Sasori or Kakuzu had enough pure memories to use for that.
"Umm, pardon the interruption." Jellal approached them, as in the background it looked like people were packing their stuff. "But we are about to move camp. Erza seems to have found a good spot."
"Understood." Itachi took a few deep calm breaths, as the darkness around his body began to retract and he returned back to normal. His eyes going from the rinnegan back to their normal shade of black. "Let's get going then." They packed up their wagons, and readied the horses. "Jellal, remember to hang in the back. We don't want to attract any unwanted attention. Same goes for Erik, Macbeth, Sorano, Sawyer and Richard. Ultear and Meredy keep a low profile as well. Me and Erza will ride up front." Itachi mounted his horse and rode up front, helping the group navigate the wagons through the trees and out into the plain grassy land.
In the span of almost a whole day of traveling, they arrived at the coast area of Fiore. Itachi noticed something familiar about the area, and the city they were viewing from the hill. "This town… is the home of Mermaid Heel?" Itachi looked to Erza whom rode next to her.
"Yes, I figured we could get refuge amongst allies. Seeing as they were the closest allied guild around, I thought why not." Erza couldn't see what might be wrong about this idea of hers.
"You seem to be forgetting one thing." Itachi nudged towards Jellal in the far back. "Kagura may have said she won't look for revenge. But she might think differently once she sees him." To this Erza widened her eyes as the realization hit her, but then she quickly dismissed it and calmed down.
"Not to worry, we are going to set up camp outside of town anyway. We can still move in between Mermaid Heel and here for supplies and assistance. Jellal doesn't even have to set foot inside of the town. I will head into town first, Jellal knows where the camp site is at." Erza rode on into town ahead of the others, while Itachi rounded up the others and with Jellal headed to a field on the far outskirts of town.
The camp was in a small clearing on a hill side with a view over the town. And while the others started unpacking and setting up the camp. Itachi hitched his horse and dismounted. "So, what's the plan?" Itachi looked towards Jellal whom was carrying a box from one of the wagons.
"We stay here for a few days, then move camp again. We'll be gone long before the royal army has a chance to look for us here. I heard there is a dark guild close to a few towns over, used to be under the control of Grimoire Heart. Calls themselves Black Widow. That dark guild is our next target. But, since their base of location is unknown… according to Ultear they tend to move base every third month. We might have to expect to spend quite a few days maybe weeks tracking them down. So, I had Sasori and Kakuzu go on ahead to find a secluded camping spot for us." Jellal went over the plan with Itachi, as they both helped unload the wagons.
"I see, and what then? Move on to the next dark guild?" Things had been rather repetitive with the group, follow leads on dark guild branches, take them down and move on to the next.
"Pretty much. And when there are no more dark guilds left in Fiore. We move on to the big one, Zeref." Jellal declared, his main goal all too clear. Take down Zeref as an act of redemption for him and the rest, that seemed to be the main goal of everyone in Crime Sorciere. "Anyway, do me a favor and head into town after Erza. Tell her we need to go over some planning."
"Why not include me in the planning?" Itachi was honestly curious why Jellal seemed to only involve Erza when it came to the planning.
"Well uhh… You umm, you are needed for other tasks." Jellal's face was with a tint of red, and Itachi understood right away.
"I understand. I will make sure to remind Erza of your alone time." Itachi rolled his eyes and walked away with a humorous smile, as he could imagine the expression Jellal was making. Itachi mounted his horse again, ready to head into town.
"You are leaving already?" Mira popped her head out from behind the tree, holding a boxed lunch from the looks of it in her hand.
"Yeah, figured I would go scouting the town. Maybe get some supplies while I am at it. Is that for me by the way?" Itachi points to the boxed lunch to which Mira sighs and hands it over to him.
"You hadn't eaten on the trip so I figured I would fix you something up really quick. I imagined you would be hanging around here a bit longer though." Mira looked a little disappointed, seeing as they hadn't had the chance to spend that much time together.
Itachi looked a little guilty, even though he had a duty to become stronger he couldn't neglect her either. Itachi reached his hand down from the horse, and gently poked his fingers onto Mira's forehead. "I'm sorry Mira, I promise I will make it up to you. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But you have my word, I will make it up for you." Itachi promised, to which Mirajane grew a thin little smile.
"I know you will. See you later." They both waved each other off, and Itachi rode on into town.
His first stop, the Mermaid Heel guildhall. Where he instantly ran into Erza hugging an embarrassed Kagura. "Oh, you are so cute. Running up to greet me like this."
"Y-You are mistaken! L-Let me go!" Kagura's face was the same shade as Erza's hair. The embarrassed swordsman trying to nudge her way out from Erza's embrace.
"Well, you two seem to be enjoying yourselves." Itachi smiled at the pair, as Kagura frantically reached her hand out for Itachi's help to pull her out from this hug.
"She's just so cute, onii-san. The moment she saw me she called me big sis and ran up to me." Erza dotted on Kagura, whom looked like she lost more strength by being stuck in Erza's embrace.
"Erza, even if she is cute, I think you are overacting a bit." Itachi helped break the two from the hug to which Kagura let out a sigh of relief. Although still embarrassed as she heard whispers coming from her own guildmates. "Anyway, Erza, I just came by to remind you to go planning out our groups next move back at camp. Our, leader is very much looking forward to it." Itachi casually hinted to avoid triggering anything within Kagura when it came to Jellal.
"O-Oh, right… thank you." Erza blushed a little as she began wondering if Itachi had figured it out. Which he most certainly had.
"Anyway, Kagura. I was hoping maybe you could help us out getting some supplies. We are traveling again in a few days from now." Kagura without hesitation nodded, feeling like she owed Itachi and Erza in a sense and wanted to do the noble thing of helping them out.
"Of course. Anything for you two." Kagura guided them into her guildhall, although Itachi had to keep a low profile as it seemed the Mermaid Heel guild master had a strong policy on no men in the guild. "Oh, and while you are here… I have a request of my own."
"A request?" Erza questioned, sounding curious as to what it could be. Itachi just crossed his fingers it had nothing to do with Jellal.
"Yes, I was hoping one of you could train with me. I've been trying to improve on my own but… I seem to have hit a stopping point. And I wondered if one of you could help me break my limits." To this Erza beamed with a proud smile, and instantly showed she accepted by once again hugging Kagura.
"I shall gladly help you! Just count on your big sis!" Erza happily declared to which Kagura once again looked embarrassed.
"I-I'm happy… but please stop…" Kagura pleaded and Itachi once again had to separate them.
"Kagura-chan~" A sweet gentle voice called out, to which Kagura had a look that said 'Oh shit!' And she quickly pushed Itachi behind a pillar.
"M-Master Beatrice!" Kagura greeted, as a gentle tall mature looking woman with long wavy purple hair with golden eyes approached them. With her height she could be described as an amazon warrior, if she didn't look so fragile and slim that is. She was also so beautiful she could be described as a mermaid having grown legs. She walked around barefooted, with a light purple elegant gown, the gown had a low cut with her massive bust peeking out. Her breasts were only covered by a pink seashell designed swimsuit.
"Woo! Who is our lovely guest?" Master Beatrice inspected the sight of Erza from top to toe, and quickly recognized who it was. "My, my, Titania Erza of Fairy Tail! Have you perhaps come to join up with Mermaid Heel~" The woman asked looking a little hopeful. But Erza shook her head in responds.
"No, Master Beatrice. I am merely here to pay Kagura here a visit." Erza spoke respectfully to the Mermaid Heel guild master.
"Really? That's too bad… with a strong sweetheart like you, our guild would be sure to grow stronger!" Beatrice demeanor was similar to that of a little girl, she was beyond innocent and pure from the looks of it and the sound of her tone.
"Thank you for that. But my true loyalty still is with Fairy Tail." As Erza turned the offer down once more, she couldn't help but notice what appeared to be a Wizard Saint medallion attached to her gown.
"I can respect that. But still such a shame. Makarov must be so proud of you." At the mentioning of her father figure, Erza went silent. As no one had heard anything about the master ever since Fairy Tail was disbanded. "Also, who is that hiding back there?" Beatrice looked to the pillar Kagura had shoved Itachi behind.
"Eh? N-No one!" Kagura stepped before the pillar, to which Beatrice pouted.
"It's not nice to lie Kagura-chan. Now who is it?" Beatrice tried to get by her treasured ace guild member. And despite Kagura's best efforts, Beatrice eventually managed to grab a hold of Itachi's collar and pull him out from behind the pillar.
Beatrice froze, as she held up Itachi before her eyes. Itachi was surprised at the woman's height as his feet were over the ground. Beatrice stared with wide eyes as she looked to be processing this. "Uhh, greetings master Beatrice. I am Itachi Uchiha of Fairy Tail. I uhh, hope I am not intruding."
"Kya!" Beatrice flung Itachi up into the air like a doll and went to hide behind Kagura. Whom looked at Itachi with an apologetic look as he crashed to the floor.
"Sorry about that, master Beatrice gets rather nervous around men so… she doesn't hate you or anything. She's just nervous. If she hated you, she would attack you mercilessly just so you know." Kagura gave a light nervous chuckle as her guild master was trying to hide her blushing face.
"I-I touched a man… a man…. A pretty man at that… ughhh! My fragile heart can't take it!" The guild master squealed to which both Itachi and Erza sweat dropped. Well, that would explain why the Mermaid Heel master never showed up to events for guild masters, nor even the Grand Magic Games.
"S-Should I leave?" Itachi asked with a dumbfound expression on his face.
"N-No! I-I don't wish to be rude to Kagura-chan's guests! But… please forgive me! As long as I don't look at you! Smell you! I should be fine!" The guild master frantically tried to excuse herself. Desperately not trying to be a burden for Kagura and her guests.
"If it is an inconvenience I don't mind leaving." Itachi didn't want the poor lady feeling uncomfortable, but she kept insisting against it telling him it was fine if he stayed for a bit.
'Big bro Itachi is just lucky he didn't come here around full moon…' Kagura thought with a sweat drop as a shiver ran down her spine at the image that appeared in her mind. 'If he did, he would experience the true reason we don't allow male guild members.' And luckily Itachi didn't stay long, as soon as Kagura had helped him gather supplies. Itachi stored the supplies onto his horse and decided to go on a little walk through town before heading back to camp.
While Erza stayed to help Kagura with her training. Itachi had gone off into town square, sitting at a bench ready to enjoy the meal Mira prepared for him before he left. He opened his lunch box and saw raw vegetables, pieces of fried chicken, and rice decorated with a pink heart. As he took one bite, the first thing his taste buds noticed besides the marvelous flavor and texture. Was the amount of hard work and love put into the food. It filled him with a sense of joy, and a little guilt. Joy over having someone to love him like Mirajane, and guilt over not having spent that much time with her lately. 'Truly, I wish to spend every day of my life with her…' Itachi thought to himself while he ate up his lunch. While he was waiting, he heard the shriek of a crow. Whether it was coincidence or a sign from powers beyond his understanding, he saw a crow sitting on the rooftop of a jewelry store.
He sat on that bench, thinking a little longer as he looked onto the jewelry store. "Hn, I have no doubt in my mind…" Itachi smiled and headed into the shop. And after about an hour, he came back out holding a tiny black box. He opened it to get a good look at it once more. It was diamante engagement ring. Now all Itachi had to do, was bid his time until the perfect moment to pop the question presented itself.
Yet the perfect moment never seemed to come. He waited and he waited, before he knew it two more months had passed and they had already moved camp again. Heck, Erza had even gone on some special mission given to her by Jellal and had been gone for a month. Itachi didn't look it, but he was stressing, sweating even. There had been a few semi perfect moments as he would call it, but they were still not perfect enough to satisfy his perfectionistic nature. As he sat by the campfire in the middle of the night, he felt like screaming and tearing his own hair out. 'That does it, if the perfect moment won't present itself! Then I shall make it!' As night time came, and everyone were gathered by the campfire. Itachi snuck off into the local town. With a whole bag filled with millions of Jewels. And he came back before the sun had woken up, with the bag nearly empty. 'Tomorrow was going to be perfect.' He had made sure of it after all.
Now all he had to do was to wait until the time was right, and go ask her out on a date. Itachi kept his eyes on his watch, as time was nearly right for his plan to be set into motion. Around afternoon, Itachi made his move.
Mirajane was right in the middle of preparing the camp food with Lisanna and Elfman. "Mira." Itachi called out, poking her shoulder instantly gaining her attention. Almost like she was expecting for him to come over. Itachi ignored that thought and went on with the plan. "Would you… like to you maybe go on a date?" Itachi asked and it looked like Lisanna was about to squeal out of excitement for Mira.
"O-Of course! Umm, when, exactly?" Mira acted a little fidgeted as she asked him this.
"Well, right now would be perfect. Unless, you are busy?" Mira instantly grabbed his hand, beaming with a joyous smile.
"I would love to."
"Great, shall we?" Itachi lead Mira over to his horse, and hoisted her up on the stallion before he mounted himself.
"O-Oi! Itachi! You better be careful with nee-san you hear?!" Elfman was about to run up to them, but Lisanna managed to stop him by looking at him with a pouty angry face.
"Have fun!" Lisanna waved them off. Lisanna kept waving and smiling as they rode off out of the campsite.
"L-Lisanna, why did you stop me?" Elfman looked to his younger sister whom signaled him to come closer, to which he did and then she smacked him across the face.
"Because Mira-nee has waited a long time for this. Itachi having been busy with training has hardly paid enough attention to her. Now come on, let's follow them." Lisanna smirked while rubbing her hands together excitedly to spy on her older sister and Itachi on their date.
When they got into town, Itachi hitched up his horse by the gate and the couple took a walk into town. Although something about it, seemed off if Mira were to describe it. There was hardly anyone outside, it was almost like a ghost town. She didn't complain however, as it meant her and Itachi were alone together.
While Itachi smirked on the inside, casting a glance to an alleyway where he saw a music band of sorts waiting for something. In a different alleyway where some people held a large banner. Everything was going according to plan, Itachi had paid off almost half the town to make sure this date would go perfect. He even hired a flash mob for when the perfect moment to propose to Mirajane presented itself. He had his right hand in his pocket clutching onto the ring box to make sure he didn't lose it. Everything was going perfect, there weren't many people to disturb them in the streets. There was a reserved seat for them at a fancy restaurant. 'Nothing can possibly go wrong!' Was what Itachi thought as they went into the restaurant, where the waiter had prepared a table for them. With the finest sake they had to offer ready at display, and two sets of menus, with also lit candles at the table and violin music playing in the background. Mira looked amazed at how much was ready, making her wonder how much Itachi had paid for the reservation. Which wasn't nearly half the money he had spent on this date.
The mood was perfect, everything was perfect. The lit candle dinner, the music, the flash mob right around the corner waiting for the signal. Itachi reached his hand into his pocket, and gently grabbed a hold of Mira's hand. "Mirajane, I… I-" As he was about to go down on one knee, the sound of the music around them in the restaurant died out as it sounded like a bomb went off. Then what followed next was screams of panic, and the flash mob he had hired ran out into the streets along with everyone else in town.
Itachi froze, the mood was gone. Mira's attention was diverted to the window looking outside seeing an army of wizards marching into town. "We are with the dark guild Black Widow! Bow before our might!" A bulking muscular man wielding a battle axe declared as he stood next to the leader of the group. A young pale looking woman with long beautiful black hair dressed in a black dress.
"Oh my, seems like the town is in trouble." Mira gasped and was about to head outside to bust some heads as she entered her Satan Soul form. Itachi remained frozen, only hearing the bawling sound of the dark guild wizards roaring in the streets.
Itachi twitched his eyes in annoyance, his perfect moment to propose to Mirajane was ruined. The moment he has waited for these past two months, gone, destroyed! Itachi rose from his chair and walked outside to face the Black Widow guild.
The leading woman of the guild was laughing while waving a fan before her face. "You all should feel honored, to have us take over your little town and put it under our protection. Kneel before me for bestowing this honor upon your pathetic little town!"
"Uhh, master… those two ain't runnin'." The big bulky man pointed ahead of them. And some flinched as they saw the demonic looking Mirajane, staring coldly down at them with her demonic wings flapping in the sky. And Itachi stood bellow, his face darkened by his bangs.
"Mages huh? Oh well, I suppose it wouldn't be fun conquering this town without a fight. Kill them." All of her dark guildmates let out a roar and charged straight ahead with magical weapons in hand.
"You… ruined it." Itachi uttered to which the master looked at him with a raised brow. Something about him and that woman seemed familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen them before. "You ruined the moment." Itachi flashed his sharingan, angered and beyond annoyed that they had managed to ruin the perfect moment he had struggled to create for this date. Itachi exploded in an intense blue fiery aura of power, causing the entire town to tremble and the dark guild wizards to trip over at this sudden immense pressure.
Mira seemed happy enough, cracking her knuckles and charged straight ahead into the masses. Knocking several of them over like bowling pins. "Eh?" The Black Widow master looked in disbelief as her wizards were knocked around like ragdolls with such ease. Her eyes shrank, and sweat began pouring down her face. "Eh?" She began trembling as her guild mates were basically massacred before the might of these two young mages. Her men didn't even last a minuet out there, they were all instantly knocked out like they were nothing. And now Mira had turned her attention towards her, standing right before her with a devilish smirk. "P-Please… don't hurt me…" She trembled before Mirajane, whom gave a sadistic giggle as she raised her fist. "Eep!" The Black Widow master squealed like a frightened little mouse, and the moment Mirajane's fist connected to her face everything became black.
The destruction had been kept to a minimum, with only one street in the whole town having suffered any damage from the attack of this dark guild branch. The knights sweated a little over seeing all these knocked out dark guild mages, and all of the destroyed buildings laying in ruins. The rest of the town looked sparkly clean and fine, with the exception of this one street that looked like the aftermath of a bombing.
And what made the knights look even more baffled as they rallied up the criminals, was that Itachi and Mira casually walked through all the destruction. Neither of them injured, and their clothes weren't even tattered or had a single speck of dust on them. Itachi sighed in disappointment to which Mirajane gave him a perplexed look. "Is something wrong?"
"…" Itachi looked a little hesitant to answer, feeling it would ruin the mood even more. Then again, nothing could get worse than this. "Well… I tried my best to make this date perfect for you. But…" Itachi halted in speaking as the unconscious form of a dark guild wizard bumped into his boot. He casually stepped over the body of the dark guild wizard and then looked to Mirajane. "… as you can see, I failed in that. Heck, I paid over half the town to help me make it perfect." Mira looked in disbelief and then snorted a little followed by a laughter.
"Yo-You really paid half the town?" Mira could barely contain herself over how cautious her boyfriend was. Itachi sheepishly scratched his cheek, feeling a little embarrassed over hearing Mira laugh of his efforts. "Why would you do that?" Mira muffling her laughs while wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye.
"Well, I wanted it to be perfect… you deserve only the best after all." Mira's laughter eventually managed to bring a smile to his face. He couldn't help but be happy over seeing Mira having a good time. She then held onto his hands, while smiling lovingly at him.
"You don't have to go that far for me. Just being together with you makes every moment perfect no matter what. Besides, it was pretty fun beating up all those bad guys." Mira giggled with excitement to which Itachi chuckled a little at Mira showing her bad girl side. Itachi looked to Mira's soft gentle hands holding onto his gruff big hands that made hers look small in comparison. She leaned her head onto his chest, her big blue eyes looking warmly into his. She looked so small looking up to him like this, so fragile. Itachi gently held his big hands around Mira's, they just stayed silent while looking into each other eyes. It was like they were the only two people in the whole town. They then leaned their faces in closer and connected their lips together for a kiss.
Itachi broke the kiss and started laughing himself. "I feel rather silly now at stressing this much to make this date perfect." Mira laughed with him, and they walked hand in hand towards a small bridge going over a lake. The mood was still there, and Itachi held his other hand into his pocket gripping onto a tiny box. He looked to the distant seeing the sun beginning to set. 'As good place as any…' Itachi halted in the middle of the bridge, Mira stopped looking at him with a curious look.
"Is something wrong?" Mira looked confused as Itachi while still holding onto her hand, looked at her smiling lovingly.
"No, everything is perfect." Itachi replied and went down on one knee, to which Mira blinked looking in slight disbelief. "Mirajane Strauss, will you do me the honor of making me the happiest man alive?" Itachi slowly brought his other hand out from his pocket.
Mira's heart was beating faster, it seemed unreal to her. She let out small gasps as her face gained a tint shade of pink. "Wh-What's happening?" Mira could barely speak. It was as if she had lost her voice. Itachi brought out a tiny black box from his pocket, flicking it open with his finger revealing a diamante engagement ring.
"Will you marry me?" Itachi asked as the setting sun in the background cast a warm red shade over them and glistering in the still blue water. Mira gasped with a blush, all she could hear was the drumming beat of her joyous heart. Tears of happiness swelled in her eyes and before she knew it she jumped into his arms. "Yes! Yes Itachi, I will marry you!" They both shared a small laugh as Itachi lifted her up and span her around in his arms. He gently put her down, and out of joy they shared a kiss. It was like fireworks were going off in their hearts, the feeling of joy, excitement and love filled their hearts full. Itachi broke the kiss for a mere few seconds, holding Mira's hand up and sliding the engagement ring down her ring finger.
The two embraced each other, Mira smiling happily as she rested her head on Itachi's chest while looking at her engagement ring. The light around them started to die down, as the sun had almost set bringing the night with it. "Looks like it's almost night… the camp is a little far away from here. So, umm… how about we spend the night in a h-hotel?" Mira suggested, her face blushing red as something inside her felt ready.
"A hotel? Well, we could always fly back to-" Itachi a little clueless as to what Mira seemed to imply, got pinched on the arm as a result. He blinked in confusion for a few seconds, as he looked at Mira's pouting face. "A hotel it is then." Itachi could see that he wasn't the only one who had planned something for this date. Mira took the lead guiding him across the bridge and further into town. "So, what's at the hotel?" Itachi decided to ask, to see if he could figure out what she had planned.
"Let's just say I'm claiming a prize I won sometime ago." Was all Mira had to say, making Itachi raise his brow at Mira acting this secretive about this. Now he truly was curious as to what she had planned. He was even more curious as they walked by two hotels on the way. Eventually they stopped outside an eight-story tall hotel, it sure looked fancy enough. Once they walked in the receptionist instantly seemed to recognize Mirajane.
"Ah, miss Strauss, welcome back." The receptionist was a young woman with shoulder long brown hair. She was dressed in a black suit like uniform, with a black skirt. "Everything has been prepared as you asked."
"Thank you." Mira thanked as the receptionist handed her a room key. Without a doubt she had planned whatever this was thoroughly. They headed up to the fifth floor of the hotel, and went to their assigned room.
Itachi walked in looking a little surprised at what a saw. One queen sized bed, scented candles lit around the room, and room service having been brought up to them. "I see…" Itachi without a doubt realized what was going on, and while he was busy looking around the room Mira had sneaked off into the bathroom. "I honestly thought we would wait with this until the honeymoon." One que Mira exited the bathroom, and Itachi turned around and saw Mira. She was breathtaking, her hair was let down, and she dressed in a white nightdress that reached to her upper thigh, it was almost see-through and she wore nothing else underneath.
Mira looked a little fidgeted and embarrassed at Itachi staring at her like that. "Umm, it's not weird right?"
"No, you… wow." Itachi was at a loss for words, she looked beautiful like always. And the way she looked a little nervous made her look even more innocent and beautiful. It was hard to believe she used to be known as a bad girl before. "What brought this on all of a sudden?" Itachi walked closer to her, putting his hand on her shoulders.
"Like I said, I wanted to claim a prize I won. Y-You remember, at the Grand Magic Games." Mira although nervous, gently put her hands onto his chest. Itachi widened his eyes remembering how Mirajane and Jenny during their battle ended up betting on who would take his virginity. "So, I thought that it was time… to, you know."
WARNING: Lemon ahead proceed on your own accord!
Itachi could feel she was nervous as her body was slightly trembling, although it was also trembling with excitement. Itachi gently grabs her by the chin and looks her in the eyes. "Are you certain you are ready?" To this question, Mira kisses him as confirmation. Itachi returns the kiss and starts by taking off his coat, they then break the kiss for a few seconds for him to take off his shirt. He softly kisses her neck, to which she lets out small faint moans.
He gently pushes her down onto the bed, laying on top of her. His right hand grabbing a hold of her big soft right boob. Fondling it as he continued to kiss her neck, Mira's face blushed faintly red as she let out more moans of pleasure. Her nipples getting erect underneath her nightgown, which Itachi acted upon by gently rubbing the erect nipple between the fingers of his right hand. Mira let out more moans, clearly feeling sensitive around her nipples. Her legs grew weak like jelly, her body quivered with pleasure and her lower area started getting wet.
Using his left hand, Itachi unbuckled his pants while moving his right hand down on Mira. Reaching it underneath her nightgown and began rubbing his fingers up against her dripping wet entrance. He then began pushing two of his fingers in, twirling them around inside her steaming hot wet insides. Her juices began flooding out over Itachi's hand making her soaking wet. Mira let out small gasps in between her moans as Itachi rubbed her clit. Her eyes filled with pleasure looked into Itachi's deep black eyes. "T-This isn't your first time, is it? Ah! Nhhh…!"
Itachi looked a little unsure of what to reply with. Was Mira upset that he got to take her first, but she didn't get to take his? He had already experienced intercourse with his former lover Izumi in the past. "Does it bother you that it isn't?"
Mira smiled at him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "No, not at all… I trust you." Was all Mira had to say, feeling a little at ease that she could trust Itachi to take the lead as she herself was inexperienced. Itachi had to admit he felt a little at ease as well that it didn't bother her.
Although inexperienced, she did know one thing about boys, that they were most sensitive down there. Itachi was taken by a little surprise as Mira unzipped his pants and reached into his boxers gently beginning to stroke his manhood. Itachi's male instincts and testosterone began acting up, as he grew erect and his manhood was unleashed. Mira gulped a little looking a little nervous wondering to herself if it would fit. Itachi smiled a little at that cute reaction of Mira, holding back a chuckle he moved in and eased her mind with a passionate kiss.
He took his might shaft and rubbed it up against her soaking wet entrance at first. His throbbing manhood getting soaked in her juices. He then positioned himself, slowly and gently pushing his tip inside her. "Ahh…ahhh…" Mira moaned in between the inches he pushed inside of her. Feeling herself getting filled up. "Ahh…ahhhnnn! Nnnh! Mmnnhhhh!" Mira began panting, her legs quivering and her bouncy chest heaving slowly up and down. "Ah!" Her tongue stuck out as she tightly grabbed a hold of Itachi, panting as he was all the way inside her. Blood began to drip out from Mira as her hymen broke. However, the short feeling of pain was quickly replaced by the feeling of pleasure.
Itachi gave small grunts feeling Mira's insides tightly wrapping around his throbbing manhood. They both panted as they looked into each other's eyes, and Itachi then began gently thrusting into her. Mira let out cute moans at the feeling of Itachi halfway taking it out, and then shoving it back in. Her very body felt like it was on fire, while at the same time drowning in pleasure. Mira's back arched at the intense feeling of being stretched by Itachi's scorching hot pole
Itachi started off gently at first, however the more he thrusted into her, the more he himself overcame with pleasure. His thrusts began intensifying little by little, and with them Mira's moans followed. "Nhhh… anh! I love this feeling… anh! I've never felt anything like it! Nhh! Ah!" Mira gave series of moans, and her muscles flexed in insurmountable pleasure. The more pleasure she felt, the tighter she grabbed a hold of Itachi. The intense feeling of Mira's insides squeezing and milking his shaft, caused Itachi to grunt even more. The strap of Mira' nightgown fell down from the intense thrust, to which one of her big soft bouncy boobs fell out. She took off the top of her nightgown, letting her bouncy breasts out free in the open. Her legs wrapped around his hips, forcing him to thrust harder into her.
The thrusts grew more intense and Mira's boobs bounced up and down with their movements. Itachi grabbed onto her boobs and began massaging them, knowing they were a sensitive spot for her. Itachi held her boobs together and began licking around her nipples gathering them into his mouth and began sucking on them. "AHHHN! I-Itachi! Ah! Itachi!" Mira called out, loving every moment.
"Mirajane." Itachi called out as he gave more small grunts feeling Mira's wet insides getting tighter around his manhood. He then reached his hands onto her hips, and lifted her up. Sitting with his knees on the bed, he held her by her soft big ass and thrusted into her more violently.
This sudden change of position, gave Itachi more to push into Mirajane. "Ah! Ah!" Mira moaned as her fingernails began sinking into Itachi's back. Mira's face flushed in a shade of red, her chin resting on Itachi's shoulder. Feeling his hot breath tingling down her neck. And her hot breaths and soft moans, gently went into Itachi's ear. "I-Itachi…" Mira's voice was softer as she leaned her head back, looking into Itachi's eyes her tongue sticking out. "Kiss me…" She called out, to which Itachi complied sucking onto her tongue and pushing his own into her mouth as they embraced in a hot passionate kiss. They both twirled their tongues up against each other exchanging salvia, and exploring each and every corner of each other's mouths.
Her moans were muffled by their kiss, as Itachi kept thrusting into her. Her juices began leaking a little bit out from each thrust dealt to her by Itachi. Their hot bodies began to sweat from their intense movements, Mira's tongue felt numb her mind feeling like it was spinning with pleasure. They broke the kiss, a trail of saliva connecting between their tongues. "P-Pound me… pound me harder." Mira seductively whispered into his ear, her hot breath turning him on even further. His body leaned downwards as he pushed Mira down onto the bed again, thrusting even harder into her.
Itachi felt like he was close to climax, and by the looks of it so was Mirajane. "Mira… I'm…" Itachi uttered, wanting to warn Mira to release him from her hips so he wouldn't unleash his load inside her.
"I-It's fine! I want it! I want it!" Mira called out as they tightly pushed up against each other and both climaxed. Itachi gave a grunt as he unleashed his white liquid inside of Mirajane to which she gave a loud moan at the surging hot feeling of liquid filling her insides up.
Dazed from an orgasmic high, Mira was breathing heavily while letting out small tiny whimpers as her hips trembled still feeling Itachi's hot rod inside of her. Itachi pulled out and sat onto the bed, leaning his head backwards while panting. His manhood still standing fully erect. Itachi noticed the innocence in her eyes, were instead replaced by one of lust.
Before Itachi could react, Mira sat onto his lap grabbing a tight hold of his rod in her hand. "M-Mira?" Itachi looked to his fiancé, seeing her panting, her eyes having changed. Her white hair was standing straight up like in her Satan Soul form. Her ears grew pointy, and she got dark goth like lipstick.
She pushed Itachi harshly down onto the bed and laid on top of him. Pushing her big soft breasts into his face, muffling his voice preventing him from speaking. "Shush now cutie." She stuck her tongue out, it was even longer and resembled a serpent as it was split on the tip. She licked the side of his face, and moved down to his neck and down his chest. Her tongue licked his muscular upper body until it reached his lower area. "Round two, big boy." She gave a seductively devilish smirk as she licked the side of his now extra sensitive manhood. Mira slowly and teasingly wrapped her tongue around his tip and began sucking it into her mouth. Bobbing her head up and down, the bulge of his shaft visible in her cheek as she took it all the way down her throat and up again. Her gothic lipstick leaving marks around his throbbing manhood.
"Hng!" Itachi let out grunts of pleasure. Mira began sucking more violently, letting out slurps in between as she took it all in. What is more, the tingling sensation of her tongue playing around with him in her mouth was just too much. Before Itachi knew it, he unleashed a second load without any chance to warn Mira. Although she didn't seem to mind as she merely looked up at him while taking it all in.
Mira slowly brought her head up, releasing Itachi from her hot mouth. She panted her mouth wide open and empty, having swallowed the load. She giggled seductively as she laid her bare chest onto Itachi's, and licked her lips. "Yummy. Now then, we'll try things my way." Mira with a wave of her hand, summoned various tools for her to use.
"Eh?" Itachi blinked in confusion, looking slightly nervous at seeing Mira holding a whip in her hand. Her nightgown replaced by a latex BDSM outfit. She proceeded to sit on Itachi's face.
"Eat up~" She seductively called out, and let out moans as she rubbed her steaming hot wet vagina up against Itachi's face. Itachi with no choice, seeing as Mira swung her whip onto his leg, proceeded with her request. One could hear both moans and grunts, as well as slashes of a whip coming from the very room. Some guests walked by sweat dropping at what they could hear from the room, before moving on like they didn't hear anything.
End of Lemon!
The very next morning, Itachi was wide awake, sweating and panting. 'I can't feel my legs…' Itachi thought, as the moment Mira had her first time taken, she went from innocent to full on sadist. Mira was sleeping peacefully next to Itachi, using his chest as if it was a pillow. She looked so sweet and innocent unlike she did last night. Although despite all this, Itachi's feelings for her hadn't faltered one bit. He still loved her with all his heart. As they both laid naked under the covers, surrounded by the various tools Mira had used. There were used up candles on the beds, whips and amongst other things laying around them. Itachi quietly used his available arm to reach for a glass of water on the nightstand. Feeling completely dried up.
"Mmm." Mira slowly opened her eyes, the first thing that greeted her was Itachi's face which brought a warm loving smile to her face. "Good morning sweetheart." She gave him a good morning kiss on the cheek, and nuzzled up with him for cuddling.
'I can get used to this.' Itachi thought as he cuddled back with her. Neither of them wanting to get out of bed. They rested in their hotel room for a few hours, went to grab some breakfast and then checked out. Itachi ignored the strange looks they got from people in the hotel as they left, and the receptionists giggles. Seemingly they were too loud last night. While Mira seemed to be oblivious to the whole thing, and merely had this glow around her while smiling looking rather satisfied as if she had unleashed years of pent up energy. Where as Itachi looked worn out and tired, although strangely happy and satisfied.
Despite both being satisfied however, the walk back to camp had quite the awkward atmosphere. Neither of them seemed to know what to say, in fact once their minds had gotten the time to rest and clear out. Mira began to blush while acting a little fidgeted around him. Itachi was not embarrassed like Mira, but he did notice the atmosphere around them were different now.
Itachi decided to be the one to break the silence. "Are you doing okay?" Mira flinched a little at Itachi having leant in so close to her.
"I-I'm fine. Totally fine. J-Just trying to wrap my head around what just happened." Itachi sweat dropped the memory of how it went in the end still fresh in his mind. Her expression said it all. 'I can't believe I acted out like that! I probably should have held back, I hope he's not freaked out.' It didn't go unnoticed by him.
"You certainly had quite… the interesting personality change at the end there." Itachi gave a small humorous chuckle as he teased her a little bit. Mira's face flushed red in the shade of a tomato.
"Dummy." Mira mumbled as she kept playfully punching his chest, to which Itachi just chuckled even more.
"Anyway, next time try and not drain me to the point where I can barely walk."
"N-Next time?" Mirajane's eyes widened and her lips quivered as her face got redder from embarrassment.
"Of course, after all…" Itachi grabbed a hold of her hand, gently holding it up so Mira eyes the engagement ring on her finger. "… we're getting married."
Mira's embarrassment faded, as looking at the ring and Itachi's face calmed her down, making her smile with happiness. "Yes… we are. It honestly feels like a dream." Mira leaned into Itachi as they walked together back to camp. "I can't wait to tell Elfman and Lisanna the good news."
"I'm very much looking forward to inform Erza as well. I think we can expect her to claim the maid of honor spot right away." They both shared a chuckle over the thought, they both knew Erza well enough to know that was going to be the fact.
Back at the campsite, Lisanna sat with Elfman around the fireplace. The younger Strauss sat there pouting. "Can't believe we lost sight of Itachi and Mira-nee."
"Those damn dark guild wizards, attacking in an unmanly way like that." Elfman growled while eating a big piece of meat from an animal they had hunted. The younger Strauss siblings had indeed followed after the couple, but lost sight of them in the aftermath of the destruction of the Black Widow guild.
While in the background, Kisame was sparring against Jellal. The former Akatsuki member seeming to have the edge over the former council member. "Your fast I will give you that. But you're fighting style isn't really that much suited for sparring." Kisame swung the Samehada down onto Jellal's head. Jellal slipped away from the strike in the nick of time using his meteor spell. Jellal bounced around the area like a glowing ball of light and kneed the unexpected Kisame in the back.
Kisame merely chuckled as he turned into a puddle of water. "A clone?" Jellal took a backflip as the real Kisame attacked him from his rear. "I seem to be getting the hang of your fighting style." Jellal taunted the shark man a bit, whom only chuckled.
"You sure about that?" Kisame brought his right hand up into a hand sign, sending four water sharks towards Jellal. Jellal countered the attack with a wave of his hand sending four golden waves into sharks. The explosion caused the water from the sharks to rain around them. The steam and the pouring water, acted like cover for the shark man. While Jellal's magic made him shine like light in the middle of a fog. "You are mine!" Kisame jumped out from the fog and swung the samehada into the golden light, his blade cutting through a piece of clothing as pieces of the material were ripped apart and flew before his very eyes. "What?" Kisame widened his eyes as instead of it being Jellal it was a ball of glowing energy covered by Jellal's coat. The energy ball looked unstable, the frequency of the energy twitching all around from the cut given by the samehada. The ball then imploded into an explosion knocking Kisame back a few feet.
"I've learnt a lot by watching you lot spar with each other. Gave me a few ideas for my own technique." Jellal stood right behind Kisame, having covered every exit for the shark man with magic circles threatening to blast him with a series of energy attacks.
Kisame smirked in a toothy grin, holding his hands up in defeat. "You got me, not bad at all." The sparring match ended, and Jellal negated his magic circles his hand stretched out to Kisame.
"Good match." Jellal respectfully shook Kisame's hand.
"Heh, if we both went all out, I think the results would have been different. You are as clever as Itachi told you would be. But that alone won't be enough to defeat Zeref or Madara." Jellal nodded in agreement to Kisame's words, he was not strong enough to take on the likes of Madara. And not strong enough to defeat and kill Zeref, if he even could kill him.
"I see you two are getting along." Itachi and Mira returned back to camp, and instantly Lisanna and Elfman jumped up and ran to their older sister's side.
"What happened?!" The two instantly asked.
"Well…" Mira blushed deciding to leave certain parts out. She held out her hand, showing off her engagement ring. "We're getting married." Lisanna gasped, which was followed by squeals of excitement.
"Congratulations, Mira-nee!" Lisanna jumped into a hug with her older sister, both sisters laughing with joy. While Elfman was caught off guard and left in agape.
"Oy! Itachi! You better treat her right, you hear?!" Elfman went right up to Itachi's face, whom merely reacted with a sweat drop.
"Right, don't worry I will." Itachi calmed down the manly Elfman, whom gave a huff and a nod of approvement but at the same time a dangerous glare.
"What's the big loaf going to do anyway? It's not like he can do anything to Itachi." Sasori sighed on the sidelines, laying on his back while looking up at the clouds.
"I think it's the fact that if Itachi tries to resist and fight him, it will upset her." Kakuzu nudged his head towards Mirajane. "She's the one Itachi can't do anything against." Both Kakuzu and Sasori shared a chuckle at that.
While everyone was busy giving their congratulations to the engaged couple, the trampling sounds of a horse could be heard approaching. And coming riding into camp, was none other than Erza riding a proud white stallion. "Good everyone is here. I have news." Erza reports to which they all gather around her, as she dismounts the horse.
"Wait, Erza, Mira-nee and Itachi have some news first." Lisanna nudged towards the couple diverting Erza's attention completely. Without saying a word, Mira happily showed her the engagement ring to which it looked like Erza's jaw would hit the floor.
"Y-Y-You two… a-are….?" Erza shakenly pointed at her brother and Mira, staring in disbelief. Itachi merely gave a nod as confirmation, smiling at seeing Erza's reaction. "… g-getting married?" Erza's eyes lit up like if it was Christmas. "I call dibs on maid of honor!" Erza instantly called out before anyone else had the chance amongst the girls. "This is so exciting! We have to prepare a wedding ceremony, a wedding dress for Mirajane, we have to make reservations."
"Erza, what about your news?" Itachi reminded his little sister, whom was already making a to-do list for weeding preparations.
"O-Of course!" Erza took a second to compose herself, looking rather serious. "We have discovered the remaining dark guild factions. They have gathered up into a single dark guild. They call it, Avatar." Erza reported of this dark guild that has risen from the ashes of the Balam Alliance. "All members used to be under Tartaros, Grimoire Heart and Oracion Seis. All except for one." Erza smiled holding an envelope in her hand that contained a report.
Itachi took the report and read it over, and what he read shocked him to no end. "Gray?" Their old friend, Gray Fullbuster was not only a part of Avatar, he was one of their top dogs.
"What?!" The Strauss siblings, Ultear and Meredy erupted into shock and outrage. Wondering just why Gray would join up with a dark guild. To which Erza realized her mistakes and frantically tried to calm them down.
"Oh, it's not like that. The truth is, I came into contact with Gray about a month ago. And I asked him to spy on them. To figure out what they were planning, and how powerful they all are. According to Gray they aren't much to brag about, they have some that might be S-class level but that is about it. But apparently, they are planning something rather big, so big that they haven't gone into detail with him considering he is a former Fairy Tail wizard. But he has heard talk, that whatever it is they will use it to destroy an entire town."
"I see… then we probably should stop them." Itachi handed the report to Jellal so he could go over it in depth.
"I was just about to leave, I am supposed to meet up with Gray is in a few days from now." Erza revealed, and instantly Itachi, Mira, Ultear, Elfman, Lisanna and Meredy all stepped up.
"Let's head out then." Itachi gave a whistle, calling forth their horses. As he was about to mount a raven black horse, Erza stopped him handing him over a newspaper.
"There is something else you should see." Erza flipped the page for Itachi, pointing at one certain article. Itachi smiled upon seeing it, it was the name Fairy Tail burning in a brilliant fire. And underneath it, an article about how a mysterious character had arrived at the Grand Magic Games, defeating the winning guild with ease. It is said flames emitted from his very body, and that he had long flowing pink hair.
They all had a look at the article, and everyone in camp exchanged a look with one another. "Natsu." They all said simultaneously, they would have recognized that description from anywhere. And they knew this kind of stunt was just up Natsu's alley. "Heh, took him long enough… Guess this means Fairy Tail is making a comeback."
That's the end for now!
So, yeah, been a long time. I suppose. I have been rather busy with my job lately, plus I got sick for a bit a few weeks ago. And it was kind of difficult to write this chapter, on the account of what happened in it. I'm sure you all can guess what. Also, sorry if this chapter seems rushed. I just wanted to summarize what Itachi and the gang have been doing all this time, while leading up to the starting point of the next arc.
Anyway, so to explain one thing in this chapter. And that is how Itachi is training to tame his E persona. Since E is basically pure darkness, a wild animal basically with no regard for human life. I thought the best way for Itachi to mentally counter this darkness, was basically remembering the purest, happiest moments of his life. And using that to suppress E's influence over his power. And although he has come a far way with it during his journey with Jellal's group. He still has ways to go as it seems he can't find a pure enough feeling to subdue E completely, thus making him unable to enter his fully transformed Etherious form. And the reason Kisame, Sasori and Kakuzu don't have to go through such training to use their demonic powers. Is simply because the way Zeref brought back Itachi, and the way he brought them back were different. With Itachi he first only brought his body back without his soul, which caused the body to develop a new personality which became E. And with the others he brought them back body and soul, having learnt from his mistake with E, and as well added Itachi's soul within E around the same time. Anyway, you guys have already read that explanation a few chapters ago so let's move on.
Now, next chapter will be the Avatar arc, and it will be short I can guarantee that. It will all take place in the spam of one chapter. Then we will have one more chapter before we reach the final arc of this story. Which I am looking forward to considering all the changes I've planned for it. And once this story is done, I will get to work on the sequel for it.
Anyway, make sure to leave a review for feedback and if you have any questions as well. Or PM me if you want.
-Later!
(responds to reviews):
Shadow Joestar: Yes, things are really starting to heat up as we are getting closer to the final arc.
keybladelight: Madara's story will be explained before the start of the final arc, so maybe that can shed some light on his situation for you all.
Anime Lovers Indonesia: Thanks!
588963-B: Thanks! And well to answer your question, it happened but you probably know that already XD.
andresskorskiruiz: Thank you!
Ultimatrix bearer: I can understand that, but Izanagi was more of a way to cheat death. Itachi's rinnegan ability allows him to bring creatures/weapons/attacks of his imagination into reality.
Samuel Gomez: My story, I decide. Bye!
Mr. Haziq: Indeed, figured it was the perfect guild for the former Akatsuki trio.
DarkReaderSeiin: Thanks!
Crisjames0421: Thanks! And sorry it took so long.
RunOnSentences: I know, which is why I changed it from what originally happened.
Daoist Atlas: If you have reached this point, he was cured a long time ago.
ValiantMaelstrom: Thanks!
Quantum qwazi: Wow, grammar nazi much XD
Xud10a: Sent you a PM about this so, no need to say the same thing twice.
Itachi fans: No worries! You are welcome!
Andromeda: Thanks!
Ghost: I don't think so, I never planned to include Danzo in this fic from the very start.
Kellin123: Thanks! And no, Sasuke can't. Merely because so much time has past in the Naruto world, since Itachi was brought back in the Fairy Tail world hundreds of years ago in this story, which would mean Sasuke has died of old age if not killed.
Slay KinG: Well, I did, he did share a touching moment with Mira and Erza when he showed them after Tenrou. Kisame and Itachi had a strange friendship that is true, although Kisame once did tell Itachi if he ever betrayed the Akatsuki he would kill him. Still, their relationship was the closest either had to any form of friendship during those times.
Guest: Thanks!
OGbread: That is my opinion of it yes. Others may disagree, but oh well. Kamui is just ridiculously broken.
Singing Dove: Thanks!