Here is good old one hundred and one of my fanfiction!

I hope you enjoy the read!

Chapter 101

Enjoy Your Time

A few days had passed since the Naoko incident.

Things pretty much went back to normal after that. During that time, it was the same as usual in Magnolia except for some news that recently popped up in the papers. It would seem that the news of Naoko being freed thanks to us had spread like wildfire and I was pretty sure that everyone in Magnolia was aware at this point.

As for Master, Finn, and Sieri, they had decided to return back to Oak Town to investigate the situation. I was a bit disappointed and I wanted them to stay a little bit longer, but I couldn't stop them. And so after a long goodbye, we all bid the three farewell.

As for me, I carried on with my life trying not to think about the bounty on my head, but it was easier said than it was done. I couldn't help but think and worry about it with the fear that Magnolia, it's people, and Fairy Tail would be in trouble if any guild decided to come after me. Not only that but going through that battle with Don Ghira made me realize some things.

The biggest thing being was that this was the second time that I blacked out during a major fight. The first time it happened with when I faced my Edolas self and now again when I was fighting with Don Ghira. Both of them were powerful in their own right and I was almost killed or defeated by both and yet I somehow managed to come out from those battles as the victor which puzzled me. So how come I didn't remember any of that? What happened during that time while I was blacked out?

This made me realize that if I was gonna stand a chance in future fights and if I was planning on protecting my friends in Fairy Tail, I needed to get stronger. And so, I decided to start training. But first, before I did anything else, I needed to talk to Makarov to make sure that he would keep the bounty on my head a secret from the others.

I was now walking down the streets of Magnolia making my way towards the guild hall. I soon came to the entrance of the guild hall and was just about to walk in when I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! Willy! How's it going, man?"

I looked to my right and I saw who was calling me. Over at the gift shop manning the place, as usual, was none other than Max. I then walked over to the shop.

"Hey, Max. How are you?" I greeted back.

"I'm doing great!" Max smiled brightly. "We just got new items in stock and there's a particular item that I wanted you to see as soon as I saw you!"

"Really? What is it?" I asked now feeling a bit curious.

Max then grinned. "Wait for it..." he said as he grabbed for something below the counter. Then he whipped out the item in question. "Ta-da!"

I looked at the item that Max presented and I couldn't help but gasp. Before me on the counter was a small miniature figure of me. It was just like me to a T standing upright with my arms crossed with a confident smile and also had my water wings spread out.

"That's... that's me!" I gasped.

"Yes indeed! This was the reason why I took your photo the other day," smiled Max proudly. "I just got them in stock and I'm planning to make a big buck of selling them. What do you think?"

"It looks pretty cool," I spoke. "Mind if I take a look at it?"

"Sure. By all means," Max said as he handed me the figure.

I then inspected it every which way checking out the detail. I had to admit, it was pretty well made. I don't know who made this figure, but they certainly got me down perfectly, from my feet to the top of my head.

Then as I touched the water wings inspecting them, one of the wings unexpectedly popped out the back. Thinking that I broke it, I couldn't help but freak out a bit.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, Max!" I cried. "I didn't mean to break it!"

Max then laughed. "Don't worry, Willy. The wings are supposed to come off. See?"

He then took off the other wing from the figure which made my eyes widen in wonder and amazement.

"You see, some of the figures have pop-off stuff from clothes to accessories of which you can put on or take off," explained Max brightly. "In your case, you have the option of leaving your wings on or taking them off and not only that, but the figure is also poseable and your clothes come off too."

And just to demonstrate, Max took off the shirt from the figure revealing the upper chest. I couldn't help but let out an ooh in excitement as my eyes sparkled in amazement. This was something that I've never seen before and I loved every single bit of it.

"This is amazing! It's just like magic!" I gasped.

"Glad you like it," Max chuckled. "If you're interested, feel free to buy one. I have lots of other figures from the guild members. Natsu, Wendy, Gray, you name it."

I was just about ready to buy one of the figures, but then I suddenly remembered which stopped my enthusiasm immediately.

"Um... maybe another time, Max," I said blushing shyly. "I just remembered that I have something important to do. But maybe another time, OK?"

"Oh. Alright then," said Max with a hint of disappointment. "But if you ever want to buy a figure or anything else in the gift shop, feel free to let me know."

I answered with a wave as I walked through the main doors of the Guildhall. As soon as I was sure that I was out of Max's range of sight, I let out a sigh feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Why the heck did I react like that?" I thought. "I mean... those figures of Max's were incredible, but if someone saw me, they'd probably think that I'm some kind of crazy person. In any case, I better find Master Makarov. Hopefully, he's around here somewhere."

I looked around trying to see if Makarov was in the guild hall, but then I was greeted a group of three guild members sitting by a table. One of them was a tall fair skinned muscular man with black hair, another was a dark-skinned girl that was blonde with a couple of ghost-like specters hovering around her, and the third was a slim man with shades with short black hair. They were Joey Fullborn, Chico C Hammit, and Wan Chanzi.

"Hey! Willy! How's it going, man?" Joey called out.

"Hey, you guys," I greeted back. "Say, has anyone seen the master anywhere?"

"Hmm... I can't say that I have," said Joey. He turned to Chico and Wan. "What about you guys?"

Wan shrugged his shoulders not having any idea. Chico, however, spoke up immediately.

"I think saw him heading for the archives," she said. "I don't think he's left yet."

"Then that's where I'll go. Thanks a lot, you guys," I said.

I then headed down the stairs and walked into the room of the Archive where I was once again welcomed by the sight of books.

"Excuse me, Master. Are you in here?" I called as I looked around. "Hello?"

"Oh! Willy, my boy! I'm up here," said a familiar voice coming from above. "Just give me a few seconds, will you?"

I then looked up and I saw Makarov standing on top of a ladder carefully putting away some books. He placed the books back on the shelf and came sliding down the ladder until he landed safely on the floor.

"I'm so sorry for the trouble, Master, but I've been meaning to speak to you," I said. "Something important."

Makarov then looked at me a serious look crossing his features. "I think I have a feeling what this is about," he spoke quietly. "It's about the incident in Naoko, correct?"

I then gulped my heart skipping a beat a little. "Y-Yes, sir. That's exactly it."

"I figured as much," Makarov spoke quietly. "Truth be told, I've been meaning to speak with you as well and since we're in the archives, we can speak without anyone listening in on us."

"So... how much do you know about what happened?" I asked in a quiet voice.

"I heard some details from Erza," said Makarov. "But I managed to figure out the reason why the Black Tiger guild did." He paused for a few seconds. "It was because of the bounty that's been set on your head, isn't that right?"

My hands clenched at their sides as I gave him a silent nod. "Yes. That's right and let me be the first to say how sorry I am that all of that happened. I didn't mean for any of that to happen."

"I know. There's no need to apologize," said Makarov. "In fact, I should have known that a dark guild would stir up trouble. Thankfully, you had Natsu and the others along with you."

"Yes, and that's why I wanted to talk to you," I spoke. "I was hoping... that you wouldn't say anything about this to the others in the guild."

Makarov then pondered humming as he stroked his chin.

"Yes. I suppose that would be for the best," he spoke after a few seconds. "But are you sure that this is wise? Everyone is bound to find out about it sooner or later. Do you not trust your family, child?"

"N-No! I do trust you guys. It's just that I don't want anyone in the guild to worry about me," I said. "It's my fault that everyone got in that mess in Naoko along with other things, to begin with. Therefore, I want to try and handle this on my own. I mean, after all, I'm the one that they want and I was trained in the ways of the ninja and ninjas work better in the shadows alone. So please, don't say anything to the others about my bounty, especially Mira, Elfman, and Lisanna."

Makarov stared at me and I stared back at him trying to look as determined as I could. Then Makarov finally spoke breaking the silence.

"Very well then," he said. "I'll keep quiet about this."

I let out a sigh feeling a bit relieved and was just about to thank him when Makarov raised a hand interrupted me.

"However, I have one condition," he said in a stern tone. "If there is a situation that you yourself cannot out of or if I deem that you yourself are in danger, I won't hesitate to tell everyone in the guild even if you don't want me to. Is that understood?"

"Y-Yes Master," I spoke nervously. "I understand. Thank you."

"While this is against my better judgment, I can only hope that you know what you're doing," went on Makarov. "Just make sure that you're careful."

"I will. Thank you, Master," I said politely bowing. "I appreciate it."

A little while later, I left the Fairy Tail Archives feeling a bit more confident and relieved. Now I wouldn't have to worry about anyone else finding out about my bounty at least for a while. Until that time, I should probably focus on training. And I should start by finding a good place to train.

I was now walking through the main lunch hall on the first floor about to walk out of the main doors when I suddenly stopped. A familiar scent wafted into my nose causing me to stop and sniff. It was a scent that made my stomach growl a bit and my mouth water a bit.

The smell of fish.

"Fish! Fish! Where's the fish?!"

I whipped my head left and right trying to find where the fish was. Then I saw it. There sitting on the table munching away on a fish with a pile fish next to him was Happy with Carla, Wendy, and Lucy next to him. Seeing that many fish made me hungrier than ever. I immediately went on over to their table staring at the plate of fish. I stared intently at the fish wanting to devour every single one of them.

"That's some pretty tasty looking fish you got there, Happy," I spoke hungrily. "Can I have some?"

The blue cat immediately jumped. He then swallowed the rest of his fish and immediately stepped between me and the fish.

"No way! These are my fish!" he snapped. "Go get your own!"

"Aw, come on. Give me some, Happy," I begged. "At least give me one fish."

"I said no!" Happy snapped again. "They're my fish! Get your own!"

"Give me some, stingy!" I snapped now feeling irritated. "I'm sure that you can spare one fish! You got plenty on that plate over there!"

"I said no!" Happy barked.

Happy's fur stood on end as he growled and I glared back at him growling back. Lucy and Wendy then stepped in.

"Whoa! Take it easy, you two!" cried Lucy.

"You both need to calm down!" said Wendy.

Regaining my senses, I immediately stopped and shook my head. "Oh man! I'm so sorry!" I said quickly bowing. "I-I don't know what came over me! It's just that... I uh..."

"Got super hungry and wanted to take my fish?" Happy finished raising a brow.

I could only nod shyly as I blushed in embarrassment.

"I can't believe this," Lucy spoke seeming a bit unnerved. "Someone other than Happy is obsessed with fish."

"I can understand that he was raised in the wild by his dragon, but still..." said Carla who was just as unnerved.

"I'm sorry! I couldn't help it!" I spoke. "I smelled the fish and I just couldn't help myself! I mean they're so tasty when they're freshly caught and stuff and I can definitely see that Happy's caught a very nice batch of them."

"You... think so?" Happy asked her angry snarl slowly disappearing.

"Yes. I can tell just by looking at the fish you caught," I said smiling. "The fish you caught are obviously freshwater salmon, one of the tastiest kinds of fish that are out there. Sure there are fish in the oceans and such, but nothing can compare to the freshwater salmon, cooked or raw. The tenderness is absolutely divine and the softness and taste are to die for!"

Happy's eyes then sparkled. "Yes! Someone finally gets it! Someone finally understands the value of fish!" He then grabbed a fish from the plate and held one out to me. "Hey, I'm sorry if I was so rude to you! I had my suspicions back when we went out on that job, but I had no idea that you knew so much about joys of fish."

My eyes then sparkled with delight as I looked at Happy feeling elated.

"R-Really?! You mean it, Happy?!" I asked.

"Of course! Consider this as an offering and a reward for your loyalty to all things fish!" said Happy proudly.

"Happy!"

"Willy!"

The two of us then shook hands affirming out alliance as fish lovers and then began chowing down on the fish.

"Just what the world needs. Another Happy," I heard Lucy groan.

"I don't believe it... What kind of friendship is this?" I heard Carla mumble in disbelief.

NO POV

Back at the gift shop, no sooner than when Willy left, Max had just gotten a small line of customers all of which were eager to buy whatever he had in stock for them. Some bought cups and knick-knacks while others bought shirts and other clothing. But the biggest thing that was popular at the shop like Max said was the figures. In fact, Max was just getting ready to sell one of the Gajeel figures to a couple. The figure was, of course, Gajeel himself in a midair kick pose with a figure of Pantherlily standing beside him looking tough with his arms crossed.

"And here you go," he said brightly. "Your Gajeel figure with an additional Pantherlily figure!"

"Thank you so much!" said the woman. "I've been waiting for this one to come out!"

"Yeah. It really feels complete now that Gajeel's got himself a cat," said the man. "Especially one that's super cool!"

"If you think that's cool, just wait till we get the Pantherlily ones in stock," said Max. "This one will feature not only feature Pantherlily in his small form but will also have his battle form too."

"Battle form?" puzzled the couple.

Max then took out a photo of Pantherlily of which was him looking more muscular and human-like. When the couple saw this, their eyes widened with amazement.

"Whoa! He looks just like a human!" gasped the girl.

"Totally awesome!" agreed the man. "Is that a part of his magic?"

"Yes, it is. He can even use the same magic as Happy and Carla," said Max. "Anyway, I figured I'd get the idea of getting both of Pantherlily's forms commissioned into a figure. If you're interested, I can preorder one for you guys once I get it approved."

"That'd be so awesome!" the couple said now looking excited.

The couple then purchased the figure and went on their way leaving Max feeling very pleased with himself.

"Another satisfied customer," he said to himself. "Max, my dude, you're one smooth seller."

Then another customer came walking up to Max. This time it was another member of Fairy Tail, a teenage young woman with long dark blue hair tightly curled with eyes matching in color, snowy white skin, and a curvy figure. She also wore a sapphire blue coat, a cream-colored furry trimmed navy blue shawl with a blue pendant with the Fairy Tail symbol on it, and a matching blue Russian Cossack hat on top of her head.

"Good morning, Max," she said with a neutral expression. "How does this day find you?"

"Oh, hey there, Juvia," Max greeted back. "What can I do you for?"

"I have come for the item that I ordered a while back," Juvia said. "Do you have that item?"

"Oh yes! That's right," said Max after thinking a bit. "As a matter of fact, I just got it shipped in today."

He then went over to the cabinet opening it, grabbed a figure and set it on the counter before Juvia. Upon seeing the figure, Juvia's cheeks flushed pink as her eyes sparkled in delight.

Before her, was a figure of Gray which was standing on top of a platform with his right hand into a fist into his left palm as he looked tough and a badass.

Juvia couldn't help but squeal in delight as she held the figure in her hands. "It's perfect! Every bit of perfect as I imagined it!" she gushed. "My beloved Gray has never looked more handsome!"

"Glad you like it, Juvia," smiled Max. "It's got everything you asked for on it. It's posable, the clothes pop off, and it even speaks. Although, I find it creepy."

He then pressed a button on the Gray figure and then the figure spoke.

"Oh my sweet Juvia, will you do me the honor of becoming my life? I can't imagine life without you!"

Juvia eyes sparkled practically turning into hearts as she squealed in glee. "It's perfect! It's absolutely perfect!" she cried. "An absolute beautiful representation of my beloved Gray! I shall purchase this wonderful trinket!"

She was just about to dig into her coat to get her jewel, but at that moment, another person came walking up. The person was wearing a long grey overcoat and wore a pair of dark sunglasses with a dark hat hiding whoever's face it was from view. Max and Juvia were a bit surprised upon seeing this person.

"Um... can I help you, sir?" Max asked.

"Yes, you can, my good sir," the mysterious stranger spoke in a strange voice. "Word on the street is that you've managed to obtain a particular figure that I'm looking for. I was hoping to buy that item from you."

"And what item would that be?" wondered Max. "We've got all sorts of figures of our wizards. Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Wendy, Gray..."

Juvia's face immediately turned into a scowl as she glared at Max. "Don't even think about selling my beloved Gray to this heathen!" she snapped dangerously. "All things that have my darling's face all belong to me!"

"H-Hey, calm down, Juvia," Max spoke nervously.

"Yes, please, calm down, Miss," the mysterious stranger spoke who was just as nervous. "I have no interest in any figure involving your beloved. I have a bigger interest in that other figure over there."

The stranger pointed at a particular figure which caused Max to look behind him. The figure that she was pointing at was the Willy figure that Max was showing him earlier on.

"That one?" asked Max. "Seriously?"

"Indeed," replied the stranger. "I'll pay for whatever price you want for the figure. I'll go even as far as one hundred thousand jewel."

Juvia and Max gasped.

"Whoa! Hold on! You don't have to go crazy, sir," said Max waving his arms. "Just twenty-five thousand jewel is enough."

The stranger then placed some bills on the counter and pushed them over to Max. Max then took the bills and then handed the mysterious stranger the figure. The stranger eagerly took the figure and blushed upon seeing it.

"Yes! Finally! It's all mine!" the stranger gushed. "I've been waiting for this figure to come and now it's mine!"

At that moment, Max realized something as did Juvia. As the stranger gushed over the figure, they noticed that the stranger had a change in voice tone. He now sounded a bit more feminine than before and sounded familiar.

The mysterious stranger then seemed to realize how it was talking and cleared its throat with a cough.

"Th-Thank you kindly, my good sir," the stranger spoke quickly. "You can keep the change and have a lovely day."

The mysterious stranger bowed politely and hurried raced away leaving Max and even Juvia a bit dumbfounded.

"Who in the world was that?" wondered Juvia.

"Beats me, but... whoever it was it sounded kinda familiar," said Max. "I'll say this much, it certainly was weird."

WILLY'S POV

A few moments later, I found myself walking out of the guild hall a little more irritated at myself than before. Not only did I let myself get distracted the first time around, but I also let myself get distracted a second time.

"Come on, Willy! You can't afford to let yourself get distracted again! You have to focus on the task at hand! You gotta find a place to train, so you can get stronger! The problem is... where the heck was a good place to train?"

I then started to think about places to train that were not only good places but also places that I could be alone without anyone to bug me. The only place I could think of was the East Forest that was just outside of Magnolia. That would be ideal if I wanted to spar with some animals over there, but I also needed to find somewhere to train in water and while the East Forest had rivers and such, I wanted something bigger.

"It's too bad that the ocean isn't somewhere close by like back at my old home," I thought. "Maybe I can find a map from the Guildhall. That way if there is a body of water close by, I can just fly over there. And now that I think about it, I can use that as part of my training too."

As I continued on walking planning my training, I walked along the edge of the canal just for the heck out it. At that moment, a small cargo boat that was being manned by three men then floated on by.

"Hey there, kid! Be careful!" called out one of them. "Make sure that you don't fall in!"

"Don't worry!" I called back waving. "I will!"

Then suddenly, as one of the men used his paddle to move the boat along, it slipped from his fingers causing it to fall into the water. The guy tried to reach out to get it, but due to the momentum of the boat's speed, the paddle was too far away to reach.

Seeing this happen, I spread out my water wings and with a flap took off into the air and flew over to the oar. I managed to grab it and then went over to the men on the boat handing it over to them.

"Here you go," I said. "Looks like you dropped this."

"Thank you very much, kid," smiled the man. "I owe you one!"

"Any time," I smiled with a wave. "Take care now."

I then flew back to solid ground dispersing my wings and looked back to see all three of the men on the boat waving as their way of saying thank you. I gave them one more wave and then went on my way back to my apartment preparing myself for my training.

NO POV

Back at the Fairy Tail Female Dorm, the mysterious figure carefully made its way into the dorm being very careful that it wasn't seen. Once it was sure that it was safe, it carefully went inside and quickly tip-toed down the hall while looking left and right. Then the mysterious figure saw a room in the distance and quickly made her way over it. The figure then grasped the doorknob and took one last look around making sure that there was no one around, then it opened the door and quickly went into the room.

"Phew. I managed to make it without anyone noticing me," the mysterious figure sighed with relief. "For a second, I thought Max recognized me."

The mysterious figure then took off the hat and glasses revealing a flushed Mira underneath. She then took off her overcoat and let out a satisfying sigh.

"Man, that disguise was a bit too stuffy," she complained. "Next time, I better pick something a little less thick. Geez, I don't even know why I'm acting like this."

She then took out the figurine of Willy that she bought and stared at it. As she stared at it, a cute smile worked its way to her lips and she giggled.

"But I couldn't help it! Willy looks so cute and cool as this figure!" she said to herself. "I just couldn't resist buying it!"

She twirled in a circle and fell down on the bed while looking at the figurine in her hands. Then she blushed bright red and shook her head.

"Oh brother. What am I doing?" she sighed. "I'm acting like a big goofball. If Lisanna saw me like this, she'd never let me hear the end of it."

She then placed the Willy figurine on her drawer and then took notice of something that was next to the figurine. The two tickets to the Akane Resort that were given to her by Elfman were sitting there.

"I almost forgot that I still had those," she thought to herself. "Now that I think about it, I never did get a chance to ask Willy if he wanted to go. But I never had the chance to due to all the craziness that happened over at Naoko. I wonder... if it would be a good time to ask him while things are calm?"

She picked up the tickets and stared at them for a bit before setting them down. Then there was a knock on her door which made her jump. She hastily put the tickets down and turned towards the door.

"C-Come in!" she stammered.

The door then opened and Erza walked in.

"Hello there, Mira," she greeted. "How's it going?"

"H-Hey Erza," Mira spoke trying to be nonchalant. "What brings you here?"

"I was just in the neighborhood and thought I'd drop by," said Erza. "Well, that's only partially true. There were a couple of things that I've been wanting to ask you about."

"Really? What is it?" asked Mira.

"Recently, there have been rumors about a mysterious stranger slinking about over here," said Erza. "Have you seen or heard anything suspicious?"

Mira then gulped as a beat of sweat went down her spine, but she remained composed as she shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, Erza," she said. "I haven't really noticed or saw anything much less suspicious."

"I see," said Erza. She paused for a brief moment. "Anyway, the other thing I wanted to ask you about was about the upcoming S class trial. I was hoping that you could help me discuss some things about it."

Mira no longer felt nervous. "Oh, that's right. I almost forgot about that," she said. "And considering that we lost Mystogan and Laxus has been banished, we are running a bit low on them even with Gildarts coming back, so we could use another S class wizard."

"Precisely, which is why Master is calling all the S class wizards to help him discuss the trial," said Erza. "It's not going to be today, but it should happen soon."

"I understand," nodded Mira. "You can count on me being there."

Erza smiled as she gave a nod. Then her face changed into a neutral expression. "By the way, there was something else. About those tickets to the Akane Resort, have you ever had the chance to use them yet?"

"Sadly, I haven't been able to just yet," said Mira. "With all the craziness that happened over at Naoko, I haven't had the time. Then again, it seems that I'm always so busy with something whether it's a job or another photo shoot."

"That may be so, but even you deserve a little R & R from time to time," said Erza. "You have been working hard and that's important, but it's also important for you to relax as hard too."

"I know, Erza," sighed Mira. "Don't worry. I'm planning to have Kinana cover for me for the next couple of days, so I'll get some downtime. I swear, sometimes you worry too much."

"I'm just looking out for a member of my family," chuckled Erza. "After all, you deserve it and I think that a certain someone would love to spend some time with you."

Mira then blushed knowing who Erza meant not saying another word as Erza then turned around and started to walk away.

"I have to go now," she said. "Just make sure you take some time off and make sure that you keep an eye out for that mysterious stranger as well."

"I will," called back Mira as she shut the door behind her.

The silver-haired girl then sighed as she looked to the tickets on her drawer again. She stood there thinking for a couple of seconds or so before walking over to them and looking at them again. Then she looked up towards the ceiling coming to a decision.

"Alright then. I'm gonna go for it," she said to herself. "But first, it's time for me to train! If I am gonna pull it off, I have to make sure that I say it without being nervous! I mean it's not like I'm asking him out on a date or anything!" She then realized that she was talking to herself and shook her head. "Come on, Mira. You're acting like a crazy person."

While she was busy talking to herself, Mira didn't notice that someone was watching her from the shadows. Its eyes gleamed from behind the door as it sniggered mischievously.

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Dragoman signing off!