Last time: Lucy thought about her feelings towards Natsu. Gray contemplated his feelings towards Juvia and Krysta.
Now: Someone from Sorcerer Weekly shows up for a new exclusive.
Chapter 3- The Interview
The next day at the guild was rather energetic around the guild hall. It was a beautiful day in Magnolia and so everyone was at the guild in droves, ready to take on jobs and earn some money during this sun shiny day. Krysta sat at the bar watching the guild loudly talk and laugh as people enjoyed their breakfasts before taking off on guests. Mira walked over to her with a fresh plate of eggs and toast, and a glass of juice.
"Breakfast is served," Mira said, smiling at her.
"Thanks Mira. This looks great," Krysta said looking at the plate of food. "I haven't had the time to go get groceries in the past few days so I had nothing to cook at home this morning."
"Well, you know you are always welcome to here," Mira said, leaning against the bar. "And if you need a hand running errands, just ask. There is always someone here to help." She then nudged her chin in the direction of one of the tables behind her.
Krysta followed her gaze and realized who specifically she was referring to. She saw Gray sitting at a table with Natsu, Lucy, and Wendy. He was arguing with Natsu about something as she heard him shout something that sounded like "shut it you damn pyro" from the bar top. She smirked and looked back at Mira who was staring at her with a devilish look in her eyes.
"We're just friends, Mira," Krysta said simply as she started digging into her food.
"Who are you referring to?" Mira asked innocently.
Krysta rolled her eyes. "You know very well who I am referring to. Your innocent act will not work on me, Miss. I-turn-into-a-bunch-of-cool-devils. Which is really cool by the way."
Mira chuckled. "Thank you, but I see that you will not be easy to tease. I accept your challenge."
Krysta laughed at that. Mira joined her in laughing just as the door to the guild opened up. They turned their heads to see who arrived for the day and both were taken aback.
"Is that Jason from Sorcerer Weekly?" Krysta asked, surprised. 'What is he doing here? Is Fairy Tail going to be an exclusive on the next issue?"
MIra shook her head. "I don't think so. They normally call ahead that they are sending someone over for interviews. Here let me take care of this," she said as she made her way around the bar.
Krysta watched Mira as she quietly ate her food from the bar. Jason was looking around excitedly as he eyed the guild hall. He spotted Mira as she approached.
"Hi Mira Jane! It's so cool to see you," He said excitedly.
"Hi Jason, what brings you by?" Mira asked politely as she flashed a smile at him. "We didn't schedule for an interview or anything."
"Oh, I was in the neighborhood and thought I'd pop in on you guys," Jason said casually. "We are thinking of bringing Fairy Tail in on the next issue since you guys are still the winners of the Grand Magic Games. But this time we were thinking of doing an exclusive on the famous fight between Natsu and the twin dragon slayers of Sabertooth."
"Oh that sounds interesting," Mira said, nodding. "But do you want to schedule an appointment and come back at a later point?"
"I can do that, but if it wouldn't be too much of a bother, can I just talk to a few members and Natsu since I'm here?" He asked. "It would mean a lot and it also means I can get a head start on my article." He said giving her the puppy dog eyes.
Mira sighed. "Alright Jason. That shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'm sure they will be glad to answer your questions. But make it quick. A lot of our members are going off to work on job requests this morning."
"I'll be as quick as Jet," Jason said, saluting Mira. "Thanks!"
He then took off into the guild and started to bombarded members with questions. Krysta looked on amusedly as Mira walked back over to her.
"Do you think he will interview me?" she asked the white haired wizard.
"Not this time, unless you have anything to add in regards to Natsu vs Sting and Rogue," Mira replied simply.
"Don't you mean Natsu and Gajeel vs Sting and Rogue?" Krysta clarified.
Mira chuckled. "I just quoted what he said."
Gray looked up in surprise when Jason from Sorcerer Weekly suddenly appeared from the crowd in the guild with his usual excitable energy. He looked at him incredulously as the reporter grinned at the table.
"Gray Fullbuster! Lucy Heartfilia! Wendy Marvel! And Natsu Dragneel! COOL!" He cheered practically right into Gray's ear.
"Hey Jason, it's good to see you. What brings you by?" Lucy asked pleasantly.
"I'm doing an article on Natsu's famous fight with the twin dragon slayers of Sabertooth!" Jason exclaimed. "So I wanted to ask you guys, his friends, some questions then I wanted to ask Natsu. Is that cool with you guys?"
The table exchanged a shrug as they glanced at each other. Gray noticed, however, the Natsu was staring at Jason questioningly. He knew the dragon slayer didn't normally like when the reporter came around, but this time he almost seemed confused by his presence.
"COOL!" Jason cheered.
He then spewed off questions to the others at the table. He asked:
How did you meet Natsu? How long have you known him? How powerful is he? Do you think he is more powerful than Laxus? Is he the most powerful Dragon Slayer in the land? Do you think he would win in a rematch against Sting and Rogue?
Everyone, except Natsu, answered the questions, but a bit differently. Wendy was very kind and sweet in her answers. Lucy was honest, but a little uncertain with some of her answers as she felt they were rather… forward. And Gray was just brutally honest that Natsu nearly flung himself across the table to beat his ass. Jason was too encouraging of the fight as he wanted to record it and use it for the magazine. However, Lucy managed to hold Natsu back before he could land a hit on Gray.
"Thank you guys!" Jason said, excitedly. "Okay now Natsu? What would you say about the fight?"
"I, uh, don't remember much about it, but I will totally take down Sting and Rogue again!" Natsu said, over confidently.
Gray rolled his eyes at that.
"COOL!" Jason cheered. "Alright, thank you!" He then took off out the door like a high energy child on a sugar rush.
"God he is always so exhausting when he stops by," Gray said with a groan.
"Did he smell weird to you, Wendy?" Natsu asked rather seriously.
"Um, I'm not sure. He smelled like chemicals," Wendy said, unsure.
"What are you getting at Natsu?" Lucy asked, confused. "That was just Jason."
"I know that. But normally he smells like candy and paper," Natsu observed. "This time he smelled like a chemical dump. Like he came from a science lab or something."
"How do you know what a science lab smells like? Have you ever been in one?" Gray asked, accusingly.
"No," Natsu said, shaking his head. "But I know what I smelled."
"I smelled it too," Wendy said, shrugging.
"Let's go ask Gajeel," Natsu suggested, getting up from the table and going over to where Gajeel was enjoying a quiet breakfast with Levy and Juvia.
Jason slid to a stop, winded. He didn't stop running like a dofus until he was at least more than a mile from the guild. Leaning over, panting heavily, Jason suddenly morphed until he looked like himself again. Mason sighed in relief as he cleared his throat.
"What a pain," Mason grumbled as he rubbed his neck. His voice was back to normal after the spell of his takeover wore off. "But at least I got the intel."
He looked down at the notepad he had been using to take notes on Natsu Dragneel with a smirk. He tucked the notepad into his pants pocket and headed for the train station to return home with an update for his father.
"Hey Gajeel," Natsu called out as he approached the table with Wendy tailing him.
"What do you want, Salamander?" Gajeel asked, irritated that he was being disturbed.
"Did Jason come over and interview you guys about that fight against Sting and Rogue?" Natsu asked.
"Was that why he was here?" Levy asked curiously. "Yeah, no he didn't even bother coming over to ask Gajeel anything about that fight."
"The hell kind if crap is that!" Gajeel exclaimed, pissed. "Did everyone just forget I was in that damn fight too? It's your fault, Salamander!"
"Mine? You're the one who ditched me!" Natsu gasped.
"No I didn't, you dumbass!" Gajeel growler as he stood up and pressed his forehead to Natsu's. "Does your one brain cell remember anything?"
"Shut it metal freak!" Natsu growled back.
And then the fists started flying. Natsu and Gajeel tussled with each other throwing punches and kicks back and forth until they were black and blue.
"Will you two knock it off?" Erza's voice boomed from behind them.
They both froze mind fight to see Erza looming over them, pissed. Both dragon slayers gulped and immediately parted from each other, favoring their new bruises.
"Now, care to tell me why you two are fighting so early today?" Erza asked sternly.
"We came over to ask Gajeel if that Jason guy smelled werid," Natsu answered simply.
"That's such a stupid question!" Gajeel barked, annoyed.
"No its not!" Natsu barked back.
"Boys!" Erza snapped and they shut up. "Now why would you ask if he smelled werid?"
"Because he did," Natsu said looking at Erza. "Normally he smells like candy and paper. Like how Gajeel smells like iron and how Lucy smells like strawberries. Everyone has a scent that is specifically their own. But that guy didn't smell like Jackson."
"Jason," Wendy corrected. "And I agree with Natsu. He smelled different than normal. He smelled like chemicals."
"Chemicals?" Erza questioned.
"Hey didn't you say you thought you smelled something strong? Like acid almost?" Levy pointed out to Gajeel.
"Yeah, I did. I smelled it the moment he arrived. I thought maybe someone had taken a bath in acid for a moment or got an acid burn and didn't know, but now that you point that out, I don't smell it anymore," Gajeel said.
"That is strange," Erza pondered. She turned towards the bar where Mira and Krysta were chatting. "Hey Mira, was Jason supposed to come by for an interview today?"
"Not according to our schedule. He just happened to be in the neighborhood," Mira informed her.
"Hm, this is strange," Erza said. She looked at Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel. "You three come with me. We are going to pay a visit to the Sorcerer Weekly office."
"Why us?" Gajeel asked.
"Because your dragon sense of smell can tell us if what you smelled was correct," Erza explained. She looked over to the other table. "Lucy, Gray. Let's go. You guys are coming too."
"Wait, where are we going?" Gray asked as he stood from the table.
"To the Sorcerer Weekly Headquarters. Now come on," Erza ordered. "Mira, we will be back later." She said as she led them towards the exit.
Wendy grabbed Carla and quickly followed after her. Gajeel shrugged, rolled his eyes, grabbed Lily and followed too. Lucy and Natsu exchanged a confused glance before she grabbed Happy, following as well. Gray lagged behind unsure of what to do as he and Krysta's eyes met. He had planned to go on a job with her after everything she had been through and because her rent was going to be due soon. She gave him an encouraging glance and he nodded. He ran to catch up with the others.
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