Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Wow, so sorry for the longer than usual update. School has started back up and work hit fast and hard. I hope that updates won't take this long, though. Hoping this was a one time deal.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter!
Fairy Tail—The Master and the Dragon
Chapter 16
A few hours later, the guild was in surprisingly high spirits. Despite all that was happening, life in Fairy Tail had seemingly gone back to normal. People were laughing and drinking like it was any other day. This, of course, greatly pleased Makarov, for he hated when his children were upset or worried. It did his heart good to see that everyone was so relaxed and taking it easy, especially since he knew that they were all still ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. He sighed heavily as he sat in his office chair, listening to the banter taking place downstairs with his eyes closed and hands folded.
A knock at the door stirred him from his state. "Come in," he called out. The door opened up and in walked Nikolias. "Ah, Nikolias. What can I do for you, my boy?"
"Master, I'd like to talk to you about my part in your plan," Nikolias said.
"Of course. Are you having second thoughts?"
He shook his head. "No, it's not that. I just need to clarify something."
"By all means, speak your mind."
Nikolias walked over to the wall closest to Makarov's desk and proceeded to lean on it. "Based on what I've heard and observed, Fairy Tail isn't big on killing. Am I wrong in assuming that?"
Makarov nodded. "It's true, we avoid killing when possible. We resort to that action under very extreme circumstances."
"And does this 'war' you speak of count as 'extreme circumstances'?"
Makarov raised a bushy eyebrow. "What are you getting at?"
Nikolias chuckled. "Damn, I thought it was obvious. My apologies. What I'm trying to ask you, Master, is whether or not you have a problem with Gracie and I doing things our way in the upcoming battles?"
"You want to know if I approve of you killing our enemies?" Makarov asked, trying to clarify the situation.
"No, not if you approve. I get that that's not how Fairy Tail does things. I want to know if you'll allow it."
Makarov closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "I'd love to say no. However, I fear that this battle will be one where some of the enemy must perish in order to preserve our safety." Makarov reopened his eyes and looked at Nikolias. "You and Gracie can do what you must in order to survive and protect everyone in the guild. As for the rest of us, we'll do our best to keep the bloodshed to a minimum."
Nikolias bowed slightly. "Understood. Thank you for your understanding, Master. I'll excuse myself now." He turned and headed for the door.
"Nikolias."
He turned to look at Makarov, who was giving him a small smile. "Master?"
"Thank you for joining our family and helping to protect it."
He returned the smile. "We'll give 'em hell for fucking with us."
Makarov nodded and Nikolias walked out, closing the door behind him. Makarov closed his eyes again, smiling at the last comment Nikolias made. He chuckled to himself as he thought about it again. "That boy really never ceases to amaze me."
Nikolias reentered the Main Hall, feeling relaxed now that he had discussed things with Makarov. He had realized that he and Gracie's fighting style may be disapproved of by their fellow guild members and this worried him because he didn't really know if he could hold back against his enemies. People would probably die. The last thing he wanted was to upset his family. He sighed as this last thought crossed his mind. 'Man, these people have really gotten to me.'
"Niky!"
Nikolias turned slightly to see Gracie running over excitedly. "Hey Gracie."
She stopped in front of him and started bouncing excitedly. "So? What'd he say?"
Nikolias laughed, flashed a big grin, and gave her a thumbs up. "We're good to go to do things our way!"
She clapped her hands together. "Yay! Bad guys will bite the dust!"
"You're a 3 year old, you know that?"
She stuck her tongue out. "Shut up, I'm adorable and you know it!"
"You're a pain in the ass is what you are."
"Mean. That was mean."
"Yet true."
She stuck out her lip. "If I was Mira, you'd be nicer to me."
Nikolias sighed. "That right there proved my point. Why do you have to say stuff like that?"
"Cuz you like her."
Nikolias began to speak, but had nothing to say to that. Everything he could say would only make things more difficult for him in some way. Instead, he decided to walk away. "Done. Bye."
"Oh come on, I was teasing! Big baby!" she called out after him.
He flipped her off as he kept walking.
"That's rude, Niky!"
He ignored her as he made his way over to the bar for some food. He sat down at an open bar stool and waited for someone to take his order.
After a few minutes, Kinana walked over and smiled at him. "Hello Nikolias. Can I get you something?"
He returned the smile and nodded. "Some steak would be nice. If it's not too much trouble, that is."
She giggled. "No trouble at all." She went into the kitchen to prepare his meal.
He turned around in his seat to watch the guild while he waited. He scanned the room, taking in everything that was happening. His eyes landed on a table consisting of Natsu, Lucy, Happy, Erza, Wendy, and Carla who were all talking to each other. His focus specifically was on Natsu and Lucy. The first thing he noticed was the proximity. They were sitting very close to one another. Not as close as Juvia would to Gray, but closer than most others would be when simply having a friendly conversation. He also noticed the way Natsu was sitting. The way he was angling his body towards Lucy told Nikolias one thing; he was doing everything he could to be close to her scent. With the way he was sitting, when a breeze would blow through the door, it would carry her scent right to his nose full force. He laughed to himself as he recalled Natsu's vehement denial of feeling anything beyond friendship for Lucy. 'Sure Natsu. Sure you don't like Lucy.'
He was about to continue his scanning of the room when he heard a plate being placed on the counter behind him followed by two hands covering his eyes. His first thought was that Gracie was doing it. After all, this was absolutely something that she would do. However, this thought quickly left his mind once he took a breath. The scent that hit his nose was not Gracie's, but rather a scent that smelled like vanilla. It was an intoxicating aroma that both relaxed and excited him. He knew this scent. He smiled as he realized who was behind the darkness.
"So is this the part where I say 'who's there'?" he said with a small laugh. "Or am I supposed to guess? Never really had to do this before except when Gracie does it. Then again, when she does it, she's the only one around, so it's not much of a game."
He felt the person move closer to his ear and whisper softly, "Guess."
Excited shivers ran down his spine from the feeling of her breath on his skin. "Unfortunately, these kinds of games aren't fun when played with me. I cheat without even meaning to." He reached up and gently placed one of his hands over one of the hands covering his face. "I've known it was you for a while, Mira."
Just like that, the hands were gone from his eyes and he could suddenly see again. He twirled around in his chair to see a smiling Mira. "I should've known that I couldn't fool you," she said with a giggle. She pushed a plate closer to him. "Here, dig in."
Nikolias looked down to see a steak sitting before him. He happily began devouring it while Mira watched with a smile. After a few bites, Nikolias somehow finished his steak and put down his utensils. "I thought Kinana was serving today?"
"She is, but I saw that you had ordered and I asked if I could bring it to you so that I could try to surprise you."
He laughed as he wiped his mouth. "A solid effort and I appreciate the thought." He put down his napkin. "Well I'm glad that you sought me out. I have a question for you."
"Oh?"
"What are you doing tonight?"
Mira blushed at the question. "N…Nothing," she stuttered. She could feel her heart racing faster and faster. "Why do you ask?"
"I know it may be fast, but I wanted to know if you would be willing to go to dinner with me."
She could feel her face grow hotter and hotter and she could swear that her heart was about to burst through her chest. "Yes, I'd love to!" she said excitedly.
He stood and smiled. "Good, I'm glad. I have to go do some training now, but I'll come by your place around 7. Sound good?"
She nodded. "Yes, that sounds perfect, but do you know where I live?"
Nikolias smiled and pointed to his nose. "I think I'll find it okay."
She giggled. "Okay. See you at 7 then." Nikolias nodded and headed for the guild doors. She watched him walk away, a huge smile plastered on her face. 'I'm going on a date with Nikolias…please tell me I'm not dreaming this.'
Severo sat impatiently in his chair, tapping the armrest with his index finger over and over in an agitated fashion. It had been a few hours since he had sent Vanish and Stealth to retrieve Critik and he was puzzled at how it could possibly take this long. If there was one thing Severo hated, it was being kept waiting.
Suddenly, a knock came at the front door. "Enter," Severo called out.
The door creaked open and in walked Stealth. He bowed to Severo. "I apologize for being late, Master. Locating Critik was a challenge."
"Yes, yes, whatever. Where is Critik? I wish to have a word with him," Severo said. He was tired of waiting.
"Please Master, allow me to further specify how we found Critik in Magnolia."
"I have no interest in hearing about your abilities."
"No Master, you misunderstand my words. Instead of saying 'how we found him', perhaps it's more fitting to say 'the state in which we found him'."
Severo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'the state in which you found him'?"
"Master, when we located Critik, all that we found was the top half of his body. There was no evidence of the bottom half."
Severo stared at Stealth. "You're actually here trying to tell me that my best fighter was slain by fairies?"
Stealth bowed his head. "It displeases me greatly to have to bring you this grim news, Master."
Severo rubbed his temples. This was not part of the plan. None of the scenarios he ran had Critik being defeated. "How many fairies did he take down?"
"Based on our observations, none."
"NONE?!" Severo's entire face turned red from anger.
"Master, we retrieved Critik's body. Would you like us to put it somewhere?"
"I don't give a fuck where you put that trash's body!" he bellowed. "He was a failure and deserving of his fate! Dying without taking out a single adversary…truly infuriating."
"Yes, Master Severo."
Severo stood from his throne and sighed. "Stealth, take Vanish and gather as much information on Fairy Tail as you can."
Stealth bowed once more. "As you wish, Master Severo." With that, he disappeared into thin air.
Severo ran a hand through his hair. "How could I have so underestimated them? They can't possibly be this strong." He made his way to where all of his drinks were stored. Once he got there, he took a massive swig from a bottle of rum. "Those fairies will perish, even if I have to go there and kill them all myself."
"I knew it!"
"Gracie, you seriously need to shut up."
Gracie danced around excitedly while a shirtless Nikolias sat on his bed with his head in his hands. She had been screaming excitedly for what felt like hours, babbling like a gossipy school girl. "But this proves what I've been saying all this time!"
"It proves that we're good friends and I enjoy her company."
"It proves that you like her!"
"Do you really have to say that every chance you get?"
"Well duh. If I don't say it, no one will. God knows you won't admit it out loud."
He exhaustedly lifted his head up. "Gracie, can you please get the hell out? I need to change."
"Then change."
"You're still here."
"So?"
"I'm not changing with you in here."
"Why not?"
"I think the better question is why you want me to."
"Because you need to get ready, but I'm not done asking questions."
"No, you're done asking questions. Now get out."
"I'm not done! Where are you going?"
"Out."
"I meant a specific location, asshole."
"It's a restaurant."
"…Called?"
"Called Mine Your Own Damn Business."
"But this is my business."
"I fail to see how."
"It just is. What are you gonna do after dinner?"
"I don't know."
"Liar! You know exactly what you're gonna do."
"Please leave already."
"Nope. You haven't answered a single question correctly."
Nikolias' head dropped in defeat. "Why can't you be easy to deal with?"
"Cuz then I wouldn't be me!"
"Oh, if only you weren't you."
"Shut up. So are you nervous?"
"No. Why would I be?"
"It's your first date in a long time."
"It's not a date."
"The fact you don't think it is shows how dumb you are. You asked her out."
"We're hanging out as friends."
Gracie huffed and stomped over to Nikolias, leaning in close and forcing him back. "Niky, do you want to hurt Mira?"
"Of course not!" he shouted at her.
"Then own up to your feelings. Whether you believe it or not, this is a date. Saying anything of the contrary to Mira would crush her."
Nikolias had nothing to say. Gracie's words had left him stunned. After a few seconds, he sighed and sat up, forcing Gracie to straighten up as well. "Gracie, please get out so I can change. Otherwise, I'll be late and that may upset Mira as well."
Gracie walked over to the door. Before opening it, she turned to face Nikolias once more. "Make sure you behave yourself, Niky."
"Seriously?"
"Yes, seriously. You're a guy, so don't get any perverted thoughts."
"You're kidding. You're giving me this speech? When have I ever been a pervert?"
"Just watch yourself."
He sighed. "Fine, I promise."
"You swear."
He stood up and gave her a smile. "Yeah, don't worry. I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our first official date."
"Mira, you look like a man!" Elfman cried.
Mira smiled at her brother. Most girls would probably take offense to Elfman's comment, but she had been around him long enough to know that this was his way of complimenting her. "Thank you, brother."
"So Nikolias really asked you out?" Lisanna asked.
"Yeah, he really did," she said dreamily. She still couldn't believe it, yet here she was preparing for it.
"Well, you do look stunning, Mira."
Mira smiled sweetly at her sister. "Thank you, Lisanna." Mira was wearing a very tight red dress that came down to her knees. It had a low neck line that showed off an appropriate amount of cleavage with two thin shoulder straps holding the dress up. Her hair remained the same, but she did put on some makeup. However, she made a point to avoid any perfume.
"That Nikolias better behave himself on your date. Otherwise, I'll have to show him what it means to be a man!" Elfman cried.
Mira giggled. "Nikolias has always been and always will be a perfect gentleman. That should put your mind at ease. Plus, then you wouldn't have to challenge him and then get destroyed by him."
Elfman gulped. "Perhaps you're right. It would be unmanly to die at my age."
"Hey Elfman, can you give us a minute?" Lisanna asked.
He nodded and left the room, closing the door behind him.
"What is it, Lisanna?"
Lisanna stared at her sister. "You realize how unfair this is, right?"
Mira blinked. "What's not fair?"
"You going on a date with Nikolias. It's not fair."
"How so?"
Lisanna crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Of all the girls in Fairy Tail, Gracie excluded, you're the only one to spend any alone time with Nikolias."
"I fail to see what your point is. I never forced him to spend time with me."
"My point is that others like him, too. I like him, Cana likes him, Laki likes him, even Kinana likes him, and yet you're the only one he's been around."
"Everything has been his choice."
"What, so we're not good enough?"
"When did I say that?"
"You basically just did!"
Mira sighed. "Look Lisanna, I'm sorry if you're jealous, but there's really nothing I can say that would make you feel better."
"I'll feel better if you don't go on this date."
"That's being selfish, Lisanna," Mira said in a very stern voice.
"None of us had a chance!" Lisanna shouted. "From the very start, you stole him away!"
"I didn't steal anything. He was always the one to come to me."
Lisanna was fuming. She turned on her heels and headed for the door. "Enjoy your date," she said sarcastically before slamming the door behind her.
Mira let out another sigh. "Honestly, she can be such a child sometimes." Mira turned to look at her reflection and smiled. "I hope Nikolias likes how I look." Suddenly, a knock came at the front door. Mira looked at the clock at her bedside and giggled. "My, he's quite punctual."
"Hello Lisanna," Nikolias greeted with a smile. "How are you?"
"I'm fine," Lisanna responded. "Come in."
Nikolias raised an eyebrow as he walked through the door. "Are you alright? You seem upset."
Lisanna blushed and rapidly waved her hands in front of her face. "I'm alright, I swear! But thanks for being concerned."
Nikolias didn't really believe her, but he decided not to pry. "If you're sure that you're alright then I'll believe you."
Lisanna looked away as her blush intensified. "You look really handsome tonight, Nikolias."
Nikolias was dressed in a crisp black button-down shirt with a silver tie and gold cuff links. The shirt was tucked into a pair of long black slacks with a black leather belt holding them up. On his feet he wore shiny black shoes that shone in the light of the house. He laughed. "You think so? Well thank you. I had some money left over from the missions I've done, so I figured I'd try to look nice for my first date in a few hundred years. I hope it's not too much black, though."
"You certainly did well. And don't worry, black suits you," Lisanna said. She then took a deep breath. "Hey Nikolias?"
"What's up?"
"Do you…do you think that when this whole Bloody Moon thing is over, you would like to do a mission with me?"
Nikolias smiled at her. "Of course I would. That sounds like fun!"
She smiled wide. "Really?"
"Yeah, of course."
She blushed even redder. "Thank you, Nikolias." She then bolted up the stairs. "I'll go tell Mira that you're here."
He chuckled as her watched her disappear. He then proceeded to scan his surroundings while he waited for Mira. The house was certainly nice. It was warm and comfortable. There were a lot of knick knacks strewn about, most likely souvenirs from various missions that the three Strauss' had completed. He smiled as he took in a deep breath. This was by far his favorite part of this house so far. The entire room had Mira's scent everywhere. He felt like he was in paradise.
"Nikolias?"
Nikolias turned to see Mira walking down the stairs. He felt his face flush as he took in the sight before him. "Wow Mira. You look gorgeous."
She reached the bottom of the stairs and blushed. "Thank you. I tried to look nice. I can see you did as well."
He walked over to her with a smile. "I did try. Good thing I did those two missions so I could buy it. After all, I wanted to look nice for our first official date."
Mira's eyes widened. "A…date?"
Suddenly, Nikolias' face felt even hotter. 'Shit, is this not a date? Damn it Gracie, I swear to God I'm going to kill you when I get back to the guild!' He scratched his head nervously. "Sorry, should I not have said that?"
The corners of Mira's mouth crept up into a smile and she threw herself into Nikolias' arms. "No, I'm glad you did. I guess I was just afraid that you didn't think of it as one."
Nikolias smiled as he hugged her back. 'Okay, I guess now I owe Gracie a thank you.'
Mira left the embrace and took his hand. "Alright, shall we go? Remember, whatever you want to do, I'll be glad to do it with you. Just lead the way."
Natsu roamed the streets of Magnolia, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on the ground. The sun had long since fallen so the only light that was provided was from the dim street lamps. He mindlessly kicked a can, far too distracted by his own thoughts to remember why he was kicking it in the first place or even when he started kicking it. Over and over again, he could hear Nikolias' words from earlier today and for some reason, they were affecting him in a way he didn't fully understand.
"'When you find the one you want to be with, don't wait around. Act on it because you never know what could happen in the future,'" he mumbled to himself. He began scratching his head in irritation. "I don't get it! Why say that? It doesn't make sense!"
He gave the can one final kick, sending it flying into the night sky. He watched it sail away and then something caught his attention. He looked slightly to his right to see that he had ended up wandering into an area of town that he had been to a lot and was quite familiar with. However, he had no idea how he ended up there, for he certainly didn't consciously intend to get there.
To his right and a little further ahead was Lucy's apartment.
Suddenly, more of what Nikolias said to him started playing through his head. 'Natsu, what can you tell me about Lucy's scent? Do you find yourself drawn to it? Does it call to you? Do you find the need to be around it all the time?'
He subconsciously sniffed the air and over the smell of the brisk night air, he could just make out Lucy's scent. He could feel his whole body loosening up. He felt like he was home when he was nowhere near it. And then he noticed that he was smiling.
'Am I really drawn to her scent?' Natsu thought to himself. He stared at Lucy's window and wondered if she was still awake or not. He had an urge to leap up to her window and see, so he walked up and jumped into the air, balancing delicately on the window sill.
He looked in through the closed window and saw Lucy sitting at her desk, her full attention on her writing. He smiled at her. Her writing was always so important to her. She was way too secretive about it in his opinion, but that's just how she was. She didn't think she was good enough at writing for her thoughts to be read by others. Natsu thought it was stupid to think that way, but she wasn't about to change her views. She was stubborn like that.
He watched her write for a little bit, suppressing a laugh every time her tongue darted out in concentration, before eventually leaping back down to the cobblestone street. He began walking to his house, a large smile on his face.
"I think I'm starting to get what you were talking about, Nikolias."
Mira and Nikolias' dinner was wonderful. They ate in a very fancy restaurant, which Mira was surprised about. She wasn't sure how Nikolias would be able to afford it all, especially when he insisted on paying for the both of them. She tried to fight him on it, but he simply said, "This is something I want to do." Realizing that he had found a way to use her words against her, she simply sighed and let him do as he wished.
Other than that, however, Mira had no complaints. The food was incredible, the atmosphere was homey yet sophisticated, and best of all, Nikolias talked with her the entire time. They laughed for most of the evening as they talked about whatever came to mind; most of which involved Fairy Tail and its members. She decided to avoid talking about his past, though. The last thing she wanted was to ruin this perfect evening.
Once dinner was over and Nikolias paid for the meal, he offered her his arm and she happily linked her arm with his. He gently began leading her towards the park, saying that it was a beautiful night for a stroll.
They walked through the park and continued to talk from time to time, but for the most part, they just took in each others' company in silence. When they reached the middle of the park, they found a bench and decided to sit for a while.
Mira leaned on Nikolias' shoulder gently. "This has been wonderful, Nikolias."
"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," he said in a very gentle voice.
"Did you have fun as well?" she asked.
"Absolutely. I can't remember the last time I had this much fun. Maybe the last time was in Shirotsume."
Mira blushed lightly at the mention of Shirotsume. "I'm glad you had fun." She looked up at the moon with a smile. "I think this was a pretty successful first date."
"First of many, I hope."
Mira turned a darker shade of red and lifted her head to look at Nikolias. "Really?"
He turned to her and flashed a grin. "As long as you're willing to join me, I would love to have the pleasure of your company like this again."
She smiled as she leaned back against his arm. "I would love to join you."
The two gazed dreamily at the moon and stars, simply enjoying the warm presence of the other. Time seemed nonexistent as they sat together with no intention of parting anytime soon. However, after some time had passed, Mira let out a small yawn, which made Nikolias chuckle. "I hope that yawn wasn't out of boredom."
"No it wasn't, I promise," she insisted.
He laughed. "I was just kidding. It's getting late and you're tired." He raised himself from the bench, leaving Mira feeling cold and empty momentarily due to his absence from her side, and offered his hand. "Here, I'll walk you home."
She took his hand and stood. She fully expected him to release her hand once she stood up, but his grasp on her hand remained. She blushed as they started walking towards her house hand in hand.
The walk back to the Strauss household was a rather quiet and peaceful one. Occasionally, one of the two would speak, but for the most part, they just walked in silence, taking in the beauty of the night and absorbing the pleasure of the date.
When they reached the front step, Mira turned at the door to face Nikolias. "I had a wonderful time, Nikolias. Thank you so much for tonight."
Nikolias shook his head. "I'm glad you had fun, but I'm the one who's grateful. It's been a while since I've done something like this and you made it very easy for me. I can't thank you enough for that."
She smiled sweetly at him. "It was nothing."
He began slowly walking towards her and Mira could feel her heart speeding up. He stopped in front of her, leaned in, and gently kissed her on the cheek. "Goodnight, Mira. I'll see you in the guild tomorrow. Sleep well," he said with a smile before turning around and heading for the guild.
Mira watched him leave, her hand on her cheek where he kissed her. Once he was out of sight, she took out her keys and opened the front door in a daze. She closed and locked it behind her before leaning her back against the wood and releasing a sigh.
"Oh my God," she breathed. "I'm in love."
