February 20, x777

The new year started off slow, surprisingly. Aside from the frenzy that was Enno and her friends planning her wedding, there was nothing exciting beyond the usual Fairy Tail shenanigans. I went on a job with Gray to pick up some ingredients at the top of a mountain, took Levy on a translation job, and slept through Cana telling people's fortunes.

I didn't think today would be any different, so I'd taken the job at the local magic store and was content to waste the day away at the guild.

At least that's what I was planning to do, until Erza slammed her hand down on the table. I startled out of my relaxed state and looked up at her with a raised brow, her eyes were narrowed so much they almost looked closed, and her cheeks were half as red as her hair.

"Oh hey Erza, what's up?" This was rather out of character for her, all told. Normally she would be straight up and direct about talking to just about anyone in the guild, bar Master and sometimes Genkei. Now though, she was acting about as hesitant as I'd ever seen her.

"Master Makarov says I need a partner for a job I want to take, and you're the only one available that I trust to have at my back." I blinked.

"Thanks, Erza, that means a lot…" I trailed off, if this were anyone else I would assume they were teasing me, but Erza? I don't think she knows how to be anything but blunt and direct. Still, "Can I see the job first?" She nodded and held out the request.

MONSTER SUBJUGATION

RANK: A

The people of Nerine are in need of urgent aid from capable wizards! Our town is being threatened by a minotaur, we fear it may soon find a taste for human flesh instead of livestock. Our best tracker has managed to map its territory, but we don't stand a chance!. Please see Lelfya Lishane in Nerine Village for details.

PLACED BY: The people of Nerine Village

REWARD: 250,000 JEWEL

An A-Rank job… I'd been wanting to test myself on one for a while, but I wasn't sure I wanted to bring my team with me. I didn't doubt their strength, but a part of me didn't want to risk them on a job of this rank for at least a few more months. That said, I also wasn't sure I was good enough to take one on by myself. This was the perfect opportunity to see how well I stack up while still having someone to back me up if things went sideways.

I grinned at Erza and flashed a thumbs up. "I'm up for it! Give me a few minutes to get my stuff together and tell Cana and Gray I'm headed out." She nodded.

"Of course, I will meet you at the train station in an hour then." With that she walked back towards the bar, where Gramps was talking to Genkei and Wakaba.

"An hour?!" I yelled towards her.

She ignored me.

If I didn't know her better, I'd think she was upset at me.

Gray and Cana weren't happy I was going on such a big job without them, especially with such little notice, but they got over it when I told them who my partner for this request was.

"We'll take an A Rank ourselves soon, I promise." I told them.

"We better." Gray grumbled. Cana, sitting beside him, nodded.

"Don't worry, I keep my promises. I'll see y'all when I get back, alright?" Gray nodded while Cana smiled and waved.

"See ya soon, Helio!" I smiled back and headed for the bar, a packed lunch from Genkei would taste way better than whatever they were serving on the train.

Arriving at the train station with ten minutes to spare, I stood outside the station and pulled out a bestiary that Levy had gotten me for Christmas. Flipping to the section belonging to minotaurs, I sat back and read as I waited for Erza to arrive.

'The Ishgarian Minotaur comes in many subspecies, from the standard, yet no less terrifying brown to two known elemental variations. It is unknown how exactly this quirk of evolution came about, only that the Stone and Iron Bulls are the strongest known species of minotaur in all of Ishgar. While not always true, one can usually gauge the strength of a non-elemental minotaur by the color of their fur, brown being the weakest, followed by white and black, respectively. Elemental minotaurs are exclusively male, with stone being the weakest (though stronger than a black minotaur), and iron being the strongest.

While minotaurs as a rule are far stronger than the average man, mage or not, they are not capable of higher thinking processes. Outside of mating rituals (see fig. 1), male Ishgarian Minotaurs, known as bulls, are aggressive to a fault, and far bigger than their less aggressive, yet no less powerful, female counterparts, known as cows (see fig. 2).

In combat, the Ishgarian Minotaur relies on its hands for both offense and defense. On occasion, they may use an improvised club, usually a tree trunk, though if unarmed, might grab anything of appropriate size in their surroundings.

The average lifespan of Ishgarian Minotaurs in the wild fluctuates wildly due to the species' innate aggression. Male Ishgarian Minotaurs have had recorded lifespans as long as forty years when raised in captivity, with females reaching up to fifty.

Nobody is sure of the origins of the minotaur species. Theories range widely, however, from cattle bred and raised in ethernano rich environments, to the Celestial Spirit Taurus-'

Okay, that's enough.

"Ah Helio, you're already here." Erza's voice pulled me from my attempts to forget the rest of the bestiary entry and the figures therein.

Glad to have the distraction, I requipped the book and looked up to see Erza approaching with a wagon full of luggage.

Right. Forgot about that little quirk of hers.

She's got enough supplies for a few months, at least, and Gildarts thought my preparations were overboard!

I let out a low whistle. "Think you packed enough stuff?" I asked. If nothing else, it was probably great exercise.

Instead of a biting remark, or sarcastic laughter, Erza looked at me with a furrowed brow. "You are the third person to ask me that on the way here." She said, sounding genuinely confused. She looked over her luggage and nodded to herself. "I've double checked that I have everything, shall we get our tickets?"

Erza Scarlet, everybody.

Shaking my head, I turned towards the ticket booth and waved for her to follow. "Yeah, let's go."

Two purchased tickets and a porter that looked like he was contemplating suicide later, we were enroute to Onibus, where we would hire a carriage to take us to Nerine.

Working with Erza was an interesting experience. While she was unintentionally hilarious at times, at others she was cold, distant and professional. She took charge of any situation, from casual conversation to combat with an easy confidence that most would envy.

Aside from deciding that we should wait until we were in Nerine to decide whether we should fight the minotaur at night or in the morning and minor small talk about our training, the air between us was filled with silence almost the entire trip.

Unfortunately, with Nerine being as out of the way as it was, it took six hours to reach it by cart. Arriving near midnight meant our choice was made for us, as everyone in the village was long asleep at this point. Tired from the journey, the two of us barely got through setting up camp before we fell onto our bedrolls, too exhausted for much else.

When I awoke, I decided to let Erza sleep in while I did my morning exercise. Just because my magic woke me up at dawn barring serious injury didn't mean everyone around me had to suffer the same. I nodded at the farmers as they left their homes and explained my presence when one of the tougher looking farmers came up with a magic rifle held at low ready.

Thankfully, it was the alluring smell of frying eggs and sizzling bacon that awoke Erza, rather than the wary farmer. She seemed like the type to be very violent when woken against her will, and starting the day by concussing a civilian did not seem like the best first impression to make.

After blinking a few times, she'd gotten up, stowed her bedroll and joined me next to the grill and didn't speak until we'd finished eating and were breaking camp.

"We should ask around the village for their tracker. We don't want to risk the minotaur attacking while the farmers are in the fields, it would be better if the two of us got it in its own territory." It's incredibly odd being the one ordered around again, but I nodded, requipping my freshly cleaned cookware.

Thankfully, Nerine was the kind of place where everybody knew everybody, and the two of us were quickly pointed towards the home of one Lelfya Lishane by a harried looking woman who was trying to hang her laundry and nurse her baby at the same time.

Lelfya Lishane, or who I assumed that's who she was, opened the door before Erza could knock. She was a tall woman, easily over six feet, with tanned skin, shrewd eyes, and a stoic face. Her hair was white, cut short in a way that screamed function over fashion.

"You the mages that took the request?" She asked, her voice was harsh, but quiet, slanted with a distinctive drawl.

"Yes. I am Erza Scarlet, and this is my partner, Helio Dart. We're from Fairy Tail." I nodded at her, my face stoic in my best impression of Master Flare. "We were told you'd mapped out the minotaur's territory?" The woman nodded and backed away from the door, giving just enough room to let us through. She swung it shut the instant I cleared it.

"Lelfya Lishane and yeah, I stalked the big black bastard back to its territory after it ate half a flock of sheep." She pulled out a crudely drawn map and handed it to me, pointing at the area labeled 'Black Sheep Hollow'. "It might be too tough for us to handle, but it's dumb as a doornail." I nodded along as I studied the map, thankful for the compass rose in the corner to orient it. I glanced up and saw Erza looking pensive.

"Was there anything special about the minotaur other than having black fur?" I asked as I went back to studying the map. It was surprisingly easy to follow once you actually looked at it. She wasn't going to be a cartographer anytime soon, but I could read it well enough.

"He had a big ol' tree trunk with a rock tied to it. Dragged it along behind him like a little girl would a dolly." She let out a hum, "Dunno where he got that much rope, but I doubt it's a nice answer." She shook her head. "Anyway, he's due back soon, it'd be for the best if you went out there and finished him off as soon as possible." She gave us an angry look. "I know what you Fairies are like, I don't want y'all fighting him anywhere nearby, ya hear?" We nodded in affirmation and she gave us a scrutinizing look before nodding sternly. "Good, now git!" She yanked the door open and ushered us out before yelling after us. "Bring back that bastard's horns for me, ya hear?!" The door slammed before we had any chance to reply.

Our trek would have appeared to be nothing more than a serene nature hike if not for the clear markings left behind by our target. Its club had carved a divot in the earth, sometimes skipping a few feet where it had hit a rock and gone airborne for a short time.

With how blatantly obvious the markers were, I was curious whether it had been necessary to meet Ms. Lishane in the first place.

Erza, who had insisted on taking point for this trek, suddenly stopped and held up a hand to silence my reflexive questioning. She waved me forward and pointed into the hollow below us.

"She wasn't exaggerating, big black bastard was right…" I murmured quietly before Erza tried to slap me upside the head, I dodged, but she still gave me a stern look. I rolled my eyes but nodded at her quiet rebuke all the same.

Crude it may have been, but there was no doubting the accuracy of the statement. The minotaur below us was big. Going off the entries in my bestiary, he looked big even for a black minotaur, easily topping ten feet in height and with muscles to match. Its mane would have been majestic if its white hair wasn't knotted and matted with dirt and who knows what else.

Its club was as crude and savage looking as its maker, and closer to a crude battleaxe than a club, the more I looked at it.

The boulder that served as the head was ragged and jagged, like the minotaur had tried to sharpen it by slamming it into other rocks and had gotten lucky that it hadn't simply shattered.

Frowning lightly, I turned to Erza. "This is your request, Erza. How are we going to handle this?"

Erza's concentrated expression didn't break, even as she began speaking. "Ideally, I would rather wait until it was asleep, then hit it with all we've got. However, my own studies, and your bestiary, both say that a Minotaur is diurnal, and we cannot risk it heading towards the village before then." Her brows furrowed even more, probably thinking of her own strategies, even as I did the same.

"We shouldn't attack it head on, so I think you should go around the other side of the hollow and ambush it from cover. Then, while it's focused on you, I can close the distance."

I nodded, "Sounds like a plan. Let's tr-" my answer was cut off as my instincts screamed at me to move, and in doing so, I tackled Erza and rolled us both into a nearby bush in a tangle of limbs.

WHAM

Just in time too, as a boulder wider than either of us were tall landed where we'd been just moments ago.

ROOOOOOOOAAAR

I covered my ears as the minotaur's roar shook the branches of the trees around us, sending twigs falling to the ground.

"Scrap the plan, Erza! I'll grab its attention, try to find an opening!" She nodded seriously, her figure glowing for a second as she requipped into a mail and gambeson, drawing a cutlass.

"I'll be ready!"

Running out of our ineffective cover, I was forced to dodge a log as it flipped end over end towards me. Gritting my teeth, I ducked under it at the last moment, a shower of dirt and splinters peppering my back.

"Fusion!" The attack flew forward as I kept running parallel to the minotaur, determined to keep the high ground for as long as possible as I tried to get Erza her opening.

The minotaur ducked in a way I was almost sureit shouldn't have been able to, and instead of hitting it in the chest, the attack hit home and exploded on one of its horns, the cracking of bone echoing almost as loud as its enraged roar.

With its attention well and truly captured, Erza burst out of the bush, far faster than any 11 year old, even an 11 year old mage, had any right to go. With a roar of exertion, Erza's cutlass flashed in the light, and struck true on the unprotected back of the minotaur's knee.

Instead of a shout of anger or pain, however, the only noise that came from Erza's attack was her own shout of confusion.

"My sword!" I could just barely make out Erza's almost distressed voice from this distance, especially as my breaths were coming in ragged pants as I ran and prepared another Fusion. "Its skin broke it!"

Well shit. We should have figured a black minotaur wouldn't be able to take a standard blade, strong as its steel may be.

Still, despite her shout of dismay and confusion, Erza barely missed a beat in dodging away as our opponent turned its massive head towards her, a malevolent snort escaping its snout. I saw a flash of light as she pulled out a spear, and lowered her stance.

Fortunately, it turning towards Erza gave my Fusion the opportunity to strike hard and true, sending the beast stumbling as it once again turned towards me.

The minotaur apparently did not see Erza as the more important threat due to her ineffective attack, and instead rushed towards me, snatching up its ad hoc battleaxe, red eyes glinting like coals through its black fur.

Running wouldn't be an option here, obviously. Fast as I could be, I would never outrun that wall of muscle, so instead I closed the distance, my fist glowing with a Fusion Punch.

Ducking under its swing, my hair blowing from the force, I slammed my attack into the side of its knee, feeling the skin heat up as the fur burned away underneath the heat.

Dodging the meaty hand that rushed to grab me, I noticed that while Erza's sword had broken, it had at least broken its skin, and I could see a glint too bright to be the sun reflecting off of the thin rivulet of blood.

A shard of steel, just barely penetrating the thick skin, like a nail hammered just enough to hold itself up.

I grinned even as I was forced to roll away from the next attack, a one handed swing of its axe carving a great divot in the earth as it slammed into the ground.

"Erza! Aim for the same knee!" I shouted, hands glowing as I made my next run.

"I noticed!" She shouted back. I would have acknowledged her statement, but I was a bit too busy trying to dodge.

Thankfully, even if we were both in close quarters, the minotaur could still only really focus on one of us. Now that it had Erza constantly striking its back, and me trying to distract it, it decided to turn towards her instead.

Erza dodged the strike, barely, a chunk of her scarlet hair dropped to the ground, leaving her hair jagged and uneven.

Taking the opportunity given, I slammed yet another Fusion Punch into its knee, and it suddenly whirled, faster than it had before, a meaty fist flying just fast enough to graze me, sending me rolling in the dirt as I groaned.

"Helio!" I pushed myself up, my back aching from the blow, only spared the next punch by sheer luck as I threw myself backwards, collapsing in the dirt as I lost my footing.

"I'm fine!" I ground out despite the stars I was still blinking out of my vision, and the massive bruise I could feel forming on my side.

Erza, not one to attempt a scolding duringa battle for our lives, simply took the opportunity to slam her spear home into the burned and weakened knee, the spear finding purchase and apparently getting caught in something as she was forced to leave it behind, instead bringing out a war hammer.

Thankfully, her attack did give me the opportunity to gain my bearings, even if I could not heal myself quite yet. The pain of the attack forced the minotaur to instead focus on Erza, rather than continue toying with me.

Thanking my lucky stars for its sudden focus on Erza instead, I held out a finger gun with my left hand, and braced it with my right. Erza's distraction gave me the chance to cast something a little more potent.

A Photon Beam, this one refined, and only slightly bigger around than my finger, shot forth and pierced its uninjured knee.

"ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR"

This roar, more like a wall of sound than a proper noise, felt so very satisfying.

Stumbling, it tried to turn back to me, but that only bought Erza the time she needed to complete her plan, slamming her warhammer into the butt of her trapped spear, driving through the head through its kneecap.

The injury proved too much for the beast, and it fell to the ground, desperately trying to swing a fist at us as its axe failed to support its weight and it fell gracelessly to the ground.

With that, this fight was good as over, and with a grim nod from Erza, I placed a hand against one of its eyes, now glinting with fear rather than hatred.

"Photon Beam"

With that, our fight was done.

Our triumphant return to the small village was rather lackluster, most of the people in the village were off in the fields, and the rest were busy with chores or children. Still, we did get looks from the few people that were around to notice our return due to the pair of long white horns we were dragging along behind us on a sled Erza and I had fashioned out of a few logs in the hollow. They were still rather unwieldy, but it was a lot better than carrying one each like Erza had suggested.

These things had to weigh at least a few hundred hundred pounds each!

Erza was just built differently compared to the rest of us.

Lefiya met us outside her home with a vindictive look in her eyes as she saw the horns lashed to our makeshift sled. She walked over to them and examined them one by one, poking the points, examining the ends where we had cut them from the minotaur's skull (which had been an exercise in stamina and patience in and of itself) and finally turned towards us with a satisfied smile.

"I knew I could count on you youngin's to take care of that sonuvabitch for us." She looked at the horns, considering, before looking back at us. "Y'all in a hurry to get back to your guild?" We looked at each other, before shaking our heads. She smiled, softer than the vindictive and satisfied expressions she'd shown us before. "Good, you two go on inside and get yourselves cleaned up, we've got a bit of a bonus for ya, it'll be ready in a few hours."

That night, Erza and I were subjected to a feast of homemade food that reminded me of my first life more than anything else I'd so far experienced in this one.

For the first time in this life, I was reacquainted with some of my favorite foods.

Soup beans, cornbread, collard greens, country style ribs and more had me feeling a heavy sense of nostalgia not entirely my own, before Erza commented on something and I was pulled back into the moment.

Later that night Erza and I didn't fall asleep, so much as fall into a food coma.

We didn't stir until Lelfya woke us the next morning with a soft smile on her face. We were led back outside to where we'd eaten the night before and stuffed with a truly prodigious amount of bacon, eggs, grits, biscuits and gravy, hash browns, and fried apples before our carriage arrived.

Loading all of Erza's luggage while stuffed as full as we were was not a good time, but we got it done.

The atmosphere on our return trip to Magnolia was mostly silent, but comfortable. We didn't speak much on our carriage ride back to Onibus, dozing as we were, and the train ride wasn't much different. Bar my laugh at the tortured moans of the porters loading Erza's luggage, we weren't very excitable. I simply focused on the book Laxus had told me to finish before his next lesson.

It wasn't until we were standing outside the now closing train station that either of us spoke more than meaningless small talk or what we planned to do with our half of the reward. Erza was securing all her luggage, and I was stretching my tired limbs, preparing myself for the final slog that was my walk to the orphanage when she spoke.

"Helio, working with you was… nice." Through the darkness, I could just barely make out a light blush on her cheeks. "We should do this again." I grinned tiredly at her.

"I liked working with you too. We've definitely got to do this again!" I yawned, "Just give me some time to rest, do some work with the others, and we can plan our next job together, alright?" Erza nodded resolutely.

"Of course. Good night Helio." I waved as I turned away in the direction of the orphanage and more importantly, my bed.

"See ya in the morning, Erza." I stopped and turned towards her as she headed to Fairy Hills. "Just one more thing Erza."

"Yes?"

"Give me more than an hour's notice next time."

March 15, x777

So hey, funny thing I didn't actually know about Magnolia until now?

Turns out it had a bank.

Yeah, I'd spent the last year and seven months keeping my money stashed inside my requip space when I could have had it in a bank account instead.

Part of me felt stupid for not even considering whether one existed, seeing as literally nobody had mentioned the damn place, and another part of me wanted to throttle my guildmates for never mentioning its existence.

Which, considering the first time I'd heard about it had been when an old lady handed me a check for my team's reward instead of jewel, seemed rather justified.

"Hey Cana, why don't you go cash that at the bank, and I'll go tell Gramps we're back? We didn't break anything, so it's not like we all gotta be there." Cana must have heard something in my voice, because her tired expression suddenly became inquisitive.

"Why do you need me to do it? It's not like we need the money right now or something. Just go do it in the morning." I cleared my throat a little, and noticed Levy's eyebrow furrow.

"Now that I think about it Helio, you've never mentioned going to the bank before. Do you even have an account?" Her question was oh so innocent, but I felt the sweat bead on my brow.

"O-of course I do, Levy. Don't be silly." My voice most assuredly did not break! It merely cracked, that's all! Gray's face pulled into a predatory expression though, and I started looking for escape routes.

"Then let's go cash it right now, Helio! No big deal since you've got an account, right?" Cana had caught on, and I knew I was doomed.

"Nah, it's good, I'll just do it tomorrow!" I said quickly. "Let's just get back to the guild, I hear Genkei got some really nice fish at the market this morning, and I'm starving, how about you guys?" I dared not look over my shoulder again, because I knew what expressions awaited me.

"Does the poor bumpkin need us to tell him how the bank works?" Gray taunted, and just like that, I knew I was finished.

A Flare Punch lighting my hand, I turned towards him with a menacing expression. "Tough words coming from the stripper I'm sure's banned from it."

"At least I know where it is to be banned from it, night light!" His hands gave off an icy aura, and just like that, the two of us were brawling in the middle of town.

After getting back to the guild, slightly shivering from Cana blowing us into the canal, I'd asked Gramps why it never came up before this, and gave Wakaba a Flare Punch for laughing hysterically when he overheard me asking. He'd simply shrugged and said most jobs paid in cold hard jewel as it made it easier to split the rewards between wizards.

The next day, I made a detour on my usual route to the guild to open an account and cash the reward, giving a grinning Cana, who'd apparently woke up extra early just to tease me about it, the stink eye every second I wasn't busy with the teller.

Still, with that out of the way, my savings was now in an account, and no longer taking up a good sized chunk of my limited requip space; meaning I had room for more practical things than a big pile of cash.

No matter how much glee I had gotten from knowing it was there.

April 1, x777

April 1st, x777, a day that would forever go down in infamy in the history of the Fairy Tail guild, had started out rather tame, all things considered.

Cana, Levy, Gray and I had all come together over the last few weeks and planned it all out in typical, over the top Fairy Tail fashion. Minor inconveniences to huge pranks sure to annoy everybody. I'd distracted Erza with spars and hand to hand advice to keep her in the dark, and it was finally time to watch all our hard work payoff.

Of all the days to be a little shit, what better day than this? April Fool's Day was the best day to indulge each and every childish prank and joke my team and I could think of. Laxus might have been a party pooper and said he was too old to play pranks with us, but he hadn't said no when I'd asked him to distract Erza for me.

He hadn't tried to stop us though, and there were a few more ideas than I remembered being added to our ideas notebook.

It was just after 9, time for the morning crowd to start coming in, and we were all hiding our excitement with varying degrees of success.

I bit down on my lip from my spot next to Levy, trying, and failing, to follow along as she studied yet another new language.

It didn't help that Levy had the most adorable grin on her face and was mostly using the book to hide it, even as she shook with suppressed giggles.

Gray's expression was even more obvious, even as it was obscured by him removing his-

"Clothes, Gray." I said absentmindedly. He quickly pulled his shirt back down, his smug smirk replaced by an annoyed scowl and burning cheeks.

Cana kept snickering as she kept up a constant stream of card readings, probably unable to stop herself from reading all the fortunes of our poor, unfortunate guildmates.

We could hear the low rumble of a dozen people in conversation as the early birds got to the doors, and gave up all pretense that we weren't waiting for them to open it.

The door creaked slightly on its hinges as it opened….

"And here… we… go." I whispered to myself as the door opening triggered Levy's runes and her giant GLUE dropped from the rafters, crashing down on the heads of a dozen and change innocent mages.

Cursing the air blue, Macao and Wakaba were the first to regain their bearings as we broke out in tears of laughter.

"Real funny kids, real funny." Wakaba said, lighting a new cigarette with malicious intent.

"Now, Helio!" Gray called through his laughter. I fought my own amusement down to a smirk as I spared a quick glance to ensure my conspirators had their sunglasses, I snapped my fingers.

"Flash!"

"Gah! Damn kids!"

"Levy!"

"Solid Script: Glitter!"

"Wind Edge!"

"Ice Make: Floor!"

Cackling, we made good our escape through the backdoor, ready to continue our reign of terror as we were serenaded with the beautiful symphony of our guildmates' screams.

Over the course of the day, the four of us split up, smaller pranks being set off, or dropped on them when they weren't paying attention.

Drinks spiked with laxatives before freezing the toilets, benches given a thin layer of glue, and itching powder dropped from the rafters onto people's heads. All that and more was used to annoy and generally terrorize our family for most of the day.

Of course, some had a far more personal touch, to really have some fun.

"HELIO YOU LITTLE BRAT! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Macao, currently shirtless, and with a tan line that looked like a micro bikini, chased me through the guild, whips of purple fire licking at my heels as I made my valiant escape, laughing like a madman.

"Watch where you sleep next time!" I shouted.

"Cana used a sleeping card on me and you know it, you little shit!" I cackled, leaping over a thrown stool and quickly maneuvered to put Wakaba, currently wheezing like a dying man, into the line of fire.

"Hey what was that for?!" His angry shout rose over the din of the guild.

"You got in the way!"

Their ensuing brawl gave me a clean escape as I ducked through Krov's legs and absent-mindedly swept Niggy's feet out from under him.

"Hey, you can't still be mad about the cake, Helio!" He whined, I stuck my tongue out at him as I sprinted for the doors.

"Nah, but it's fun to mess with you!" I yelled as I yanked open the doors of the guild hall and disappeared into the streets of Magnolia.

I double checked the crowd around me before I ducked into an alleyway and doubled back on my trail to continue my reign of terror on my guildmates.

Wakaba's cigarettes weren't going to be replaced with tiny explosive ones by themselves, after all.

Unfortunately, our fun ended early when Erza, Genkei and Gramps teamed up and went completely and utterly overboard in retaliation.

And of course, as Gramps loves to abuse his power, Cana, Gray, Levy and I were the ones stuck cleaning up the entire mess.

It took a week to get the paint and metal shavings out of the floorboards, and even with the help of a wind mage and an air freshening lacrima, it took a month to get the smell of raw sewage and stale beer completely out of the guild hall.

At least Gramps didn't ban any future celebrations of April Fool's Day, which was a plus, I guess.

May 15, x777

While some (read: most) would consider it premature, I had, at the ripe age of eleven, decided to move into my own little two bedroom apartment on Strawberry Street, in the heart of Magnolia.

Why yes, that is the same street Lucy's apartment is on, and by some twist of fate, I had only realized that once I paid the security deposit and my first month of rent (55,000 jewel, if you were interested).

I was fairly sure that I wasn't in Lucy's actual apartment, as if my now spotty memories were correct, she lived more in the middle, and I was one door down from the end.

I could see why Lucy chose this area though, very close to the marketplace, next to the canal, and within ten minutes walk of the guild. I was actually kind of surprised more members of Fairy Tail didn't live on this street, if I'm being honest.

I had informed Father Brock of my intentions as soon as I (and Master, because full guild wizard or not, I was eleven) had signed the paperwork, he smiled, slightly sad, and wished me well.

I gave him a small smile and hugged the man, making sure to hide any sadness as best I could. I might have spent more time at the guild than in this small church orphanage, but Father Brock was a good man, and I would miss him.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, Father." I said as I pulled away from him. "I'll be sure to visit, okay?" He nodded at me, still with the same soft smile, before he turned to help one of the small children with their shoelaces.

It hadn't exactly been a home so much as a place to store my stuff and lay my head, but a part of me would miss this place all the same.

Still, it was a step that had to be taken, because if all went to plan, someone would be in that second bedroom very soon.

June 25th, x777

It had taken months of preparation, multiple last minute changes, more than a few sleepless nights, a fair few fights, and a slight fear of Enno, but the day had finally come.

Macao and Enno were finally getting married.

Cana and Levy were holding baskets of flowers, wearing white dresses that they were very consciously trying to avoid getting anything on. They had a purple sash on around their waists, as Enno had decided it would be the perfect color scheme for their wedding, something Macao had been very smug about.

Gray was seated beside Erza in the nave, who was making a concentrated effort to ensure his suit stayed on, just in case the many promises of bodily harm didn't help delay his habit until the reception.

I was fairly sure Cana had actually suggested gluing it to him, but that had, thankfully, been avoided.

With Gray out of the running for obvious reasons, and Erza appointing herself Gray's keeper, that left me as the ring bearer. A charge I was more than happy to take up for my uncle and big sister figures.

Enno, with one of her bridesmaids doing some last minute adjustments to her veil as another used some kind of shielding magic on her to keep her dress from getting stained, joined us a few moments before the end of Master Makarov's speech (which we, sadly, could barely hear through the thick wooden doors).

Her father, a man I was honestly surprised was around, considering the way people tend to join Fairy Tail, was smiling proudly, taking a moment to wipe away a few tears with his handkerchief.

With a smile from Enno as the music began, Cana, Levy and I led the way for the happy bride.

The nave was, as expected, packed to full with people. Not a single pew was empty until they all stood to watch as we led the bride down the aisle.

Master, in his Wizard Saint outfit as the minister, smiled proudly, and took the rings looking like he was trying very hard not to tear up.

Macao was smiling from the moment Enno had walked through the doors, and looked just a second away from deciding to just run away with his bride before he'd actually married her.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we gather here today…"

Erza sniffled beside me, even as she kept an ironclad hold on Gray's arm, tears ran down from her real eye as she dabbed them away with a tissue.

I smiled from the moment I'd entered the nave to the moment Macao and Enno's kiss went from "appropriate" to "We should probably separate them before they pass out" territory.

Somehow, as if some god was smiling down on us, we managed to get through the entire ceremony without a single thing going wrong.

I'd thought Fairy Tail could party before, but the reception put all the past ones I'd participated in to shame.

If it hadn't been for the mayor personally delivering an order to stop, I'm fairly sure it would have lasted a week, at least.

As it was, a 72 hour party was a new record, according to Gildarts.

I considered it doubly impressive, considering the guests of honor had left on their honeymoon less than six hours after it started.

I almost considered it triple, since Gramps didn't even grumble about the mess this time.

AN: Whelp, it's the end of June x777, so I'm sure you can guess what comes next. This next arc is one I'm most excited about, so I hope you're just as excited as I am!

I also hope this 6.5k chapter helps make up for my absence.

As always, thanks to obliviousss for his input. Without him to bounce ideas off of, I would probably still be back on chapter 12 or so.

See y'all next time!