Alright. I think that I've kept you guys waiting long enough!

I think it's time we get things going and start getting to the big stuff!

Chapter 106

A Close Call

It was morning before I even realized it. However, I didn't exactly get a good night's sleep. I wasn't able to sleep a wink at all because of one reason. The book that Erza gave me. At first, when I started reading it, I honestly didn't overthink it at first. To me, it felt like some abstract educational kind of book, but as I read further, I began to understand, and I started to feel unnerved to the point where I almost screamed. Not to mention, I know fully understood why Erza and Sieri would read those kinds of books. However, due to my curiosity, I continued to read page after page, chapter after chapter and by the time I realized it, I finished the book, and it was already morning.

I was now heading toward the guildhall hoping that Levy would be there so that I could return the books of which I kept in a small bag. As I walked, I couldn't help but feel my heart beating quickly in my chest as a nervous feeling crept throughout my body. I honestly didn't know why, but I felt nothing but anxiety and uneasiness. One thing was for sure, I didn't want anyone to know what I went through nor did I want anyone see what I was reading. If they did, I would never be able to live it down.

As I went on my way towards the guild, I walked past a couple of people that happened to glance at me. Not wanting to look suspicious, I power walked past hoping that they wouldn't suspect anything. It was bad enough that most of the people in Magnolia didn't like me due to my background. If they found out the kinds of books I was carrying, they would most likely dislike me even more, and that was the last thing I wanted.

I powerwalked as fast as I could until finally, I could see the Guildhall in sight. I looked around making sure that no one that I knew was to see me. Then after taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I then walked into the Guildhall. As I came in, I looked all around trying to see if Levy was anywhere inside, but she was nowhere to be seen anywhere.

"Where could she be? I need to find her so I could return these books! I still can't believe I read through them..."

The thought of remembering what I read from the books made my cheeks hot, and my head feel like it was about to explode from embarrassment.

"Now I understand why Mira and Finn wanted Lisanna to stay away from Sieri back then. Not to mention why Sieri was such a weirdo."

"Willy? Willy? Hello? Earthland calling Willy."

I felt my heart skip a beat as I jumped a little as I realized that someone was calling me. I then noticed Macao and Wakaba waving at me from another table happily drinking their mugs of beer.

"O-Oh! Wakaba! Macao! What's up?" I greeted trying to sound normal.

"Well, you were kinda standing there staring into space," said Macao. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No! I'm fine! Just A-OK," I said with a smile. "Just blanked out for a second that's all."

"You sure you're OK?" asked Wakaba. "You've got bags under your eyes, and you look like you like something's spooked ya."

"D-Don't worry. I'm fine," I reassured as I walked past the two. "I just... didn't get enough sleep is all."

I then walked away as fast as I can trying not to look back. I knew that Macao and Wakaba most likely didn't believe what I said, but I also prayed that they didn't pry into my business. I then resumed my search trying to find Levy. I looked all around inside from the tables to the request board, but I still couldn't see her. Since she wasn't anywhere around, I figured the next best thing to do was to ask around and see if anyone else has seen her.

At first, I didn't have any idea who to ask, so I thought about the people who Levy was close with or is always with her. The only few people that came to mind were the other two members of her team, Jet and Droy, Lucy one of her closest friends, and Gajeel because he was pretty close to Levy too, well, according to the other guild members. Hopefully, any one of them were here today. Then at that moment, I caught sight of a particular Iron Dragon who was lounging around by the table eating some iron.

"Hey, Gajeel," I greeted. "You busy at the moment?"

Gajeel stopped eating his iron and looked up at me an annoyed scowl on his features. "Yeah. Can't you see that I'm busy eating here, Water Boy?" he spoke as he munched. "I don't like to be disturbed when I'm eating."

"Don't worry. It'll only take a few seconds," I said. "Did you have any idea where Levy could be if you've seen her?"

"How the heck am I supposed to know?!" barked Gajeel between bites. "I ain't her keeper or anything!"

"Sorry. I just figured that you would know where Levy was," I spoke with a shrug. "I heard from everyone in the guild that you and Levy were close."

Gajeel then stopped as he looked at me incredulously while a slight flush crept up on his cheeks. "What the hell are you talking about?!" he snapped. "Me and that little girl are the furthest thing from close! Well... at least in that way! Where would you and those morons even get such an idea?!"

"Well, for one thing, I'm told that you saved Levy from one of Laxus' attacks," I said. "Which might I add was pretty noble of you and probably why people would think that way."

Gajeel's face flushed even further. "Th-That was because Laxus' lightning was about to hit her!" he snapped. "I couldn't just stand by and let her get hit by lightning! What else was I supposed to do?!"

I stared at Gajeel a little surprised about his outburst as he stared back at me with a glare filled with embarrassment. Then Gajeel took a deep breath and sighed trying to relax.

"Look, the point is I haven't seen that girl anywhere," he said gruffly. "Now leave me alone so I can get back to my lunch."

"Whatever you say, Gajeel," I said as I walked away. "Oh, and by the way, you're a good person."

Gajeel let out a huff as he went back to his lunch and I walked away resuming my search. At that moment, I heard a familiar voice.

"Hey! Willy! Over here!"

I could feel my heart freezing in horror for waving at me at another table was Lisanna along with Wendy and Carla which made me start to panic inside of my head at first, but I kept calm and turned towards them smiling at them.

"Hey there, you guys," I greeted trying to be cheerful. "How's it going?"

Lisanna then gasped upon seeing me in my current state. "W-Willy! Are you feeling ok?!" she asked.

"I'm fine. What would make you ask that?" I asked her.

"Well, for one thing, you've got bags under your eyes," pointed out Carla. "Not to mention that your eyes are also somewhat bloodshot."

"Yeah. I didn't get enough sleep is all," I said letting out a small yawn. "Truth be told, I didn't sleep a wink the other night."

"You want me to cast a healing spell on you?" asked Wendy. "I know that you have healing magic, but maybe mine can help ease your tiredness a little."

"I appreciate the offer, Wendy, but don't worry about me. I'll be fine," I reassured the Sky Dragon. Then I suddenly remembered. "Actually, I was wondering if you three had seen Levy anywhere."

The three of them then hummed as they thought before shaking their heads.

"I'm afraid we haven't, Willy," said Wendy. "We haven't seen her anywhere. Have you tried asking around? Like Gajeel or Lucy?"

"I already asked Gajeel, and he hasn't seen her," I said. "I was just about to look for Lucy when you guys called me over."

"Why are you looking for Levy?" wondered Lisanna. "Is there something important you need to talk to her about?"

This made me gulp as I felt a small chill go down my back. However, I kept calm as I responded.

"Yes it is, and it's something that I can only speak with her about," I said. "I only hope that she's not out on a job request or something."

"Hold on. I may have a suggestion for you," said Carla raising a paw. "If you want to find Levy, then why don't you use your Aqua Sense spell?"

"That's a great idea, Carla!" said Lisanna. "That way instead of Willy asking around for people who have seen Levy, Willy can just sense her magic power to find her."

I then gasped as I facepalmed myself in realization. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?! Thanks, Carla."

Carla then smiled with a hum as a way of saying no problem. Then I placed my hand on the floor was just about to cast the Aqua Sense, when Natsu suddenly came rushing past me almost knocking me over with Happy following close behind him using his wings.

"Hey! Watch it, Natsu!" I complained. "Where's the fire?!"

"Sorry, Willy! Can't talk!" Natsu called back. "Got a lot of stuff to do!"

He then rushed over to the counter of the bar where I saw Mira and the very person I was looking for, Lucy over there as well. Natsu then showed Mira a flyer and then he along with Happy raced away.

"OK! I'm gonna be taking this job, Mira!" the pink-headed boy yelled. "Let's get to work, Happy!"

"Aye, sir!" agreed Happy.

"Hold on just a minute, Natsu!" Lucy cried. "If you're going on a job, then take me with you!"

"Sorry, Luce, but not today!" Natsu called to the blonde. "It's solo mission this time of the season!"

"We'll hang out with you when we get back!" Happy added.

But as Natsu ran towards the exit of the guild, he didn't see that Gray wearing nothing but his boxers, was rushing towards him from the opposite direction. The two in their haste collided into each other almost falling to the ground. The two immediately glared at each other growling like a pair of dogs.

"You better watch where you're going, you pink haired freak!" snapped Gray.

"And you better stay out of my way, Mr. Grumpy Panties!" Natsu snapped back.

The two looked like they were ready to fight as usual, but then Happy spoke up.

"Do you two honestly have the time to stand around and argue?" he asked.

This Natsu and Gray stop immediately.

"Oh, yeah!" the two of them cried. "You're right!"

The two then raced off, Natsu running out of the guild along with Happy while Gray went to the bar showing Mira a job request flyer that he picked.

"Hey, Mira. I'm back!" Gray said to Mira.

"Welcome back, Gray," greeted Mira. "But did you forget about your clothes again?"

"Ain't got time to worry about that," replied Gray as he showed Mira the flyer. "I'm gonna go take this job. See ya!"

And with that, Gray raced away as Mira said good luck and a wave goodbye. Then Elfman came up to Mira next holding up a job request of his own.

"Hey, Sis! I'm heading out on this job!" he said. "This is a job for a real man like me!"

"Alright, Elfman. Be careful out there," said Mira. "And good luck!"

Elfman then took off racing past me.

"Hey, Elfman! Are you going on that job solo?" I called to him. "You sure you don't want me to come with you or something?"

"Sorry, Willy! But I gotta do this on my own!" Elfman called back. "A real man's gotta try to handle some jobs on his own, and this is one of them!"

Before I could ask anything else, Elfman raced out of the guild and was gone. No sooner than he did, a mob of other members of the guild came swarming over to the bar each one having job requests of their own.

"I'm going to pull the trigger on this job, okay?!" yelled Alzack.

"I got my sights on this one!" shouted Bisca.

"Hey, Warren! What's the big idea!" cried Max. "I called dibs on that job first!"

"Sorry, Max, but it's finders keepers!" Warren shot back.

I could only stare in surprise and confusion as the mob continued to clamor around Mira as she calmly sent them on their way with their jobs. It made me wonder why everyone was acting so strangely, but then I saw a pair of familiar faces butting their foreheads and glaring grimly at each other. It was Jet and Droy.

"Sorry, Jet, but as of today, the great mighty team Shadow Gear is splitting up for now!" Droy said while flashing a venomous smile. "At this point, it's every man for himself!"

"That's fine with me!" Jet shot back. "You'd just be holding me back, anyway!"

As soon as I saw them, I suddenly remembered, and I immediately went up to them. "Jet! Droy! Hold on a second! I need to talk to you two!'

"Sorry, but I gotta Jet! Literally!" said Jet. "I ain't got time to talk!"

"Me either! We've got jobs to do and have no time for idle talk!" added Droy. "So if you don't mind..."

"But, wait a minute! I just wanted to ask you guys something!" I protested. "Have you seen Levy anywhere?!"

But Jet and Droy had already rushed out the door leaving me dumbfounded and even more confused. Also, all of the other members who were going out on solo jobs all rushed out as well leaving Mira who calmly resumed cleaning her dish and a dumbfounded Lucy who was sitting on the floor in shock while holding a strange snowman-like creature in her arms. I then went over to the two going to Lucy to helping her up.

"You OK, Lucy?" I asked as I helped her up.

"I'm fine, but why is everyone going crazy over going on solo jobs?!" the blonde squeaked. "I mean here everyone else is acting normal like nothing's happening while they're acting so gung-ho. I just don't get it."

"You'll understand come tomorrow," said Mira. "Once that day comes, it'll all make sense."

I then refocused my attention toward Lucy remembering the task at hand. I was just about to ask her about Levy when I heard a familiar voice.

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

I then turned my attention towards my left, and I saw a certain bluette coming towards us, the very person that I was looking for, Levy McGarden.

"Hey there, Levy," greeted Lucy. "Heard that your team's split up. Taking it well?"

"It's no big deal to me, Luce," said Levy. "Besides, Jet and Droy have their reasons for wanting to on their solo jobs."

I then came up to Levy. "Say, Levy, may I speak with you for a second? There's something that I want to talk to you about."

"Sure. What's up, Willy?" asked Levy.

"Well, um... you see, it's something I can't say here," I went on not wanting Lucy or Mira to see. "I would be more comfortable if we spoke privately."

Levy looked puzzled, but she agreed. "Well... I guess that's fine, but what could be so important you wanted to speak to me privately?"

"Just come with me," I replied as I gently pushed her along.

NO POV

Lucy watched as Willy walked off taking Levy with her. Lucy couldn't help but feel a bit confused as well as puzzled.

"I wonder what that was all about?" she wondered. "Why would Willy need to talk to Levy in private all of a sudden?"

Mira heard what Lucy said and was a little surprised. "Wait... Willy went with Levy? Alone? But why?" she asked almost incredulously.

"I don't know," shrugged Lucy. "I guess Willy wanted to talk to Levy about something alone. It's probably nothing. I mean it's not like it's some love confession or something. Or at least... I hope it isn't."

Mira now felt a little worried. She then looked around until she saw Willy pushing Levy along walking outside of the Guildhall. When she did, she felt a gnawing feeling in her stomach which made her feel upset and a little angry, but she wasn't sure why.

"Mira? Is something wrong? You look upset."

Mira then gasped as Lucy's voice caught her attention. She then shook her head and smiled.

"Don't worry, Lucy. Nothing's wrong," she said. "I was just... thinking about some things. Don't mind me."

And with that, Mira continued her work seeming to fine, but that didn't mean that Lucy wasn't any more confused than before.

"That was weird," she said to herself. "Now Mira's acting weird. I should expect it considering this is our guild, but... that's not like Mira at all." She then looked down at the snowman creature in her arms. "What do you think, Plue? Do you think Mira's acting strange?"

The snowman creature of which was named Plue could only shrug his shoulders while letting out a puun noise not having a clue either.

WILLY'S POV

Levy and I were now outside of the guild hall. I lead her to the side of the guild hall in a secluded area. I then carefully looked around making sure that no one could see or hear us.

"Alright. No one's around," I said to myself. "Now I can get this off my chest."

"Willy, what's going on here?" asked Levy sounding a bit uneasy. "Why did you want to talk to me alone?"

"I'm sorry to trouble you, Levy, but I didn't want anyone else to overhear us," I explained. "Which is why we had to be alone."

Levy then looked at me a bit surprised. Then a small flush worked its way to her cheeks as she held them with her hands.

"W-Willy! W-Wait a second! I... uh... Hold on a minute!" she cried in a meek voice. "Did you... did you bring me back here because..."

I tilted my head in confusion as Levy turned around appearing to be incredibly flustered as steam erupted from the top of her head.

"I-I'm sorry, Willy! I mean... you're a handsome guy, and you're a very nice guy and stuff, but I'm afraid I don't see you that way," she said. "I mean I understand that you might have feelings for me and stuff, but there's someone else that I like..."

Feelings for her...? Someone she likes...?!

It was then that I realized that Levy thought that I was confessing my love to her which alone made me blush in a bright shade of red. I then sighed feeling a slight bit annoyed as I went over to her.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Levy, but that's not the reason why I needed to talk to you," I said calmly. "The real reason is that I have something to return to you."

Levy then turned around as I handed over the books to her. At first, she had no idea what was in the bad, but as she peeked inside, she then understood.

"Oh, now I understand!" she said. "So you're the friend that Erza was talking about when I talked to her the other day. Now it all makes sense."

"What... do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Well, the first one was obviously the one Erza borrowed," said Levy. "As for the other one, I was a little puzzled as to why Erza would want to borrow such a book, but now seeing you have these books in your possession, now I get it." She then flashed a mischievous grin. "So you're into the same kinds of books that Erza's into, huh~? You naughty little boy~."

My cheeks couldn't help but grow hot as I got flustered. "W-Well, I... it wasn't my fault! Erza's the one that got me into those books! I just saw her reading a book on the last job I went with her, and she went nuts even going as far as to try and slice me and-"

Levy then laughed. "Well, this is unexpected. I've never seen you look so flustered before. It's kind of adorable."

I then gave Levy a glare feeling a bit cross. "And what's that supposed to mean? Are you making fun of me?"

"Not at all. I just didn't expect this side of you is all," said Levy. "In fact, I think you should show this side of yourself more often."

"What do you mean by that?" I wondered.

'You see, back when we were kids, I know that we would read books together and stuff, but that was pretty much it," explained Levy. "Any other time, you would always be by yourself not talking to anyone. I've always wanted to get to know you more, but you were mostly too busy finding info your dragon. I always felt kind of bad for not talking to you enough, and then you suddenly disappeared. When that happened, I was worried that I would never get the chance to know anything else about you, but now seeing you like this makes me feel refreshed because I feel like I'm finally starting to get to know you as a friend."

"Well... I'm glad you feel that way," I said to her. "Just don't expect me to act like this more often."

Levy giggled a little as she then whispered to me. "And don't worry. I'll keep your secret from the others," she added. "Even though you're not the only one who reads that kind of books. Also, if you wanna read more of them, feel free to talk to me. I've got plenty of other books for you to try. Just ask me rather than Erza, kay?"

I felt my cheeks grow hot again as I tried my best to smile without being embarrassed.

"Thank you very much, Levy," I said. "I owe you big time for this."

"Anytime. Anything for a good friend," Levy smiled. "Now, I better go get these back to my room. Otherwise, everyone else is the guilds gonna be asking questions about these. The only problem is that I gotta walk to Fairy Hills."

"Do you want me to give you a ride?" I asked. "I can fly you all the way there."

"No, it's alright," said Levy. "Besides, I could use the exercise. Plus it'll give me something to do while Jet and Droy do their own thing. In the meantime, I'll see you later, Willy."

"Bye, Levy."

And Levy walked away. As I watched her leave, my body finally relaxed as I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

"Thank goodness. I'm glad that's over and done with. Now I don't have to worry about it anymore. I can finally go about my day without any worries."

As I walked back into the Guildhall feeling a lot better, I went over to a table hoping to get some water and relax a bit. No sooner than I did, there was suddenly the sound of metal clanging in the air and the sound of Kinana's voice of which was in a worried tone.

"Um... hey, guys! You shouldn't be doing that indoors! It's dangerous!"

I then saw the source of all the commotion which turned out to be Erza and a very muscular PantherLily locked in an intense battle of their swords with Kinana and Gajeel as the spectators. The two warriors clashed with each other again and again at a blinding speed each one having a smile on their faces. I then walked over to them just as the two separated gaining distance from each other. Then in a puff of smoke, Pantherlily returned to his smaller state wiping his brow from exhaustion.

"Had enough already?" asked Erza.

"Yes. I'm afraid so," said Pantherlily wiping his brow. "It seems that I can't stay in my original form for very long."

"Thay may be so, but I still find you impressive," complimented Erza. "Your blade skills are top notch."

"You flatter me," Pantherlily said humbly. "I think I should be the one complimenting you. I suppose this is the skill level this guild refers to as "S-Class" skill."

"How do you like that, Erza?" Gajeel spoke proudly. "My cat's a real force of nature, ain't he?"

"I gotta say, I'm a bit impressed myself," I spoke up. "Makes me want to fight you myself, Pantherlily."

"Hey Waterboy, bet you wish you had a cat as awesome as my Lily," grinned Gajeel.

"Oh yes, I'm jealous of you, Gajeel," I chuckled pretending to be hurt. "But I'm pretty sure I'll live without an Exceed. Besides, I'm cool on my own. Not to mention, I got my own pair of wings."

"You have wings? I'm surprised to hear that," said Pantherlily. "I didn't think Earthland wizards were capable of such a thing."

"Of course, Pantherlily. Not only that, but Erza's not the only person who's good with swords," I said with a hint of pride. "I think you'll find that I can hold my own too."

And just to prove it, I held out both of my hands and summoned forth a pair of water swords. I then also began spinning them around in my hands while practicing a couple of swings and slashes showing off my skills finishing with a double cross slash. When I finished and dispersed my blades, Pantherlily appeared to be very impressed.

"Amazing! I've never seen a dual sword wielder before," the black Exceed said. "Mastering one sword is a feat in of itself. You must be quite the fighter."

"It's honestly not that big a deal, Pantherlily," I said trying to be modest. "If anything, Erza's the real fighter. I even sparred with her once, and I couldn't beat her."

"Interesting. So I guess that means you're close to "S-class" level too, Water Boy," said Gajeel. "I gotta say, even I'm kinda impressed."

Pantherlily then walked up to me, staring at me with his red eyes. " Say, Willy, pardon me for being so forward, but there's something that I wanted to ask you."

"Sure. What's up, Pantherlily?" I replied.

"First off, I've been told that you were the one who defeated Kuromen who turned out to be a female version of you, is that correct?" asked Pantherlily.

"Oh yeah. I did, but it was a bit much for me," I said, remembering back to that battle. "In fact, she almost kind of killed me."

"I see," said Pantherlily. Then he pointed at me with a furry finger. "If that's the case, then I'd like to fight you sometime.."

I raised a brow taken back a little by this sudden request. "You want to fight me? But why?" I asked.

"As I'm sure you are aware, I'm a former commander of the Royal Army back in Edolas," said Pantherlily. "Your Edolas self, also known as Kuromen, was also a former captain. During my time in the Royal Army, I've heard tales about her power and her skills in battle. She was feared as one of the most powerful warriors ever to serve the king. I haven't seen her fight, and when I heard you had defeated her, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of person would be strong enough to overcome a warrior like her, which is why I want to put your strength to the test and see what skills you possess. However, at the moment, I'm still trying to get used to my surroundings, so I want you to wait for me until then."

"I think it'd be quite the interesting match," said Erza. "And It would be a nice change of pace as well as a good matchup."

"Well, when you put it like that, how could I say no?" I said with a smile. "Alright then, Pantherlily. I accept your challenge. But now I'm itching to get into a fight now. However, I don't know who should be a good opponent for me."

"How about me?" said a familiar voice. "I'll be your opponent if you want."

I then looked up and saw Mira coming up to us much to my surprise.

"Mira? You want to fight me?" I asked. "But don't you have work to do?"

"Don't worry. I've got some time," said Mira. "Besides, it's pretty slow due to everyone going out on jobs. Plus, I'm on my break and asked Kinana to cover for me. I'm free."

"You know what? I think it'd be a good idea to spar with Mira, Willy," said Erza. "It'll give you a chance for a learning experience. Plus, I've always wondered how you would fare against her. I think it'd be quite interesting."

I then stopped and thought about this for a few seconds. I never really had the chance to fight with Mira before now that I thought about it. It would be an excellent opportunity to see how much she's grown for myself, plus I've always been a bit curious as to how much her Satan Soul had improved since back when we were kids.

"Well, when you put it like that, how could I say no," I said with a slight smile. "But where should have our sparring session?"

"Why not have it here?" asked Mira. "There's plenty of room here in the Guildhall for us."

"But... is that a good idea?" I asked with a hint of worry. "I mean, I don't want to cause any damage to the Guildhall."

"Come on; you should be worried about that, Water Boy," reassured Gajeel. "Having a brawl in here come to no surprise, and this guildhall's held it together no matter what kind of fight happens here."

"I would have to agree," said Erza. "When this guildhall was rebuilt, we used the strongest of lumber and stone, so that it would withstand almost anything. Normally, I wouldn't approve such a fight nor would the master, but since Makarov's away and this guild's pretty empty, I'll allow it just this once."

"How interesting," said Pantherlily. "This will be a good opportunity for me as well. I'll use this battle as a way of studying his fighting style."

Gajeel, Erza, and Pantherlily then took a couple of steps back, giving Mira and me some room. I then took a bow, and said my usual greeting to her like I did with Erza and took a stance.

"Alright then, I suppose we're doing this," I spoke. "Don't think I won't go easy on you, Mira."

"I could say the same thing to you," said Mira with a confident smirk. "I've always wanted to show you how much I've improved since then, so sorry if I'm a bit too strong for you."

At that moment, a large black and purple magic circle appeared above Mira's head as she was enveloped in a bright light with a few purple squares encompassing her form. The light caused me to shield my eyes for a few seconds, but then I was able to see and what I saw made my eyes grow wide. Standing before me was indeed Mira, but she underwent a dramatic transformation.

Her hair was now standing up on end, her signature bang being sharper, her eyes were darker than before, and her ears became long and pointed like an elf's. She also had black crack-like lines on her skin, one going across her right eye, her right breast, and on both of her thighs. Her forearms and hands were coated in scales also having fins on each side, and she also had a large, stocky tail which got smaller till the end appearing to be of metal.

Her outfit had become a one-piece suit, which revealed her arms and legs and is open on the front and the back, exposing most of her belly and cleavage. It was maroon colored with golden trims taking on spiky shapes, with a long spikey color tied with a ribbon that was dyed pink, and thin pink belts protruding from her one-piece suit and tied around her shoulders. On her feet, she had matching, high-heeled thigh-high boots, and on her hands, she had gauntlets that were gold and sharp like dragon claws.

"Wh-What the hell?!" I couldn't help but exclaim. "Is that... Mira's Take Over Magic?"

"That's right," Mira spoke her voice now deeper than before. "This is my version of Take Over Magic, Satan Soul."

She then coiled her legs and suddenly jumped forwards, making herself just a few inches away from me. I immediately reacted by jumped backward, feeling startled by her speed and shot forwards and swung with my right hand at her only to have her block my punch with one hand. I punched, and I swung at her, and she blocked and countered with punches of her own. Then when I attacked with my fist again, she tilted her head and grabbed my hand and threw me, sending me flying to the wall with a thud. I felt a bit rattled, but now I was feeling a bit irritated as well as impressed.

"Not a bad punch," Mira spoke smirking. "But you'll have to do better than that."

"How about this then?!" I spoke as I cloaked my fist with water.

With a loud yell, I swung with a Water Dragon Iron Fist as Mira crossed her arms to block it. The blow sent Mira skidding backward, almost crashing into a table. I then spread my water wings and cloaked them with water as I brought them above my head. Then I unleashed a Water Dragon Wing attack releasing a shockwave of water at her. Mira looked up at the shockwave and then to my surprise, jumped up as a massive pair of bat wings sprouted from her back as she took flight enabling her to shoot straight towards me attacking me with a strong punch. I crossed my arms to block as her fist connected, but the sheer force alone sent me straight towards the wall.

I spread my wings using them to slow me down as I planted my feet into the wall and shot forward, letting out a fierce cry of battle. Mira then came at me her hands cloaked with dark purple magic energy as she let out a battle cry of her own. The two of us collided and attacked each other with a flurry of punches and even some kicks. So far the two of us were evenly matched, the shockwaves of our punches shook the Guildhall. Then as we broke away from each other, I fired my feet and shot towards her putting every ounce of my speed and power, hoping to land at least one blow on her. Mira took a stance and seemed to be preparing to block once again, but at the last minute and tilting my wings; I veered to the left flipping while raising my leg for a downwards kick.

"Now I've got you, Mira!" I yelled. "Don't take this personally!"

But as the saying goes, don't sell the skin before you caught the bear, for that moment, Mira's tail suddenly wrapped around my leg and with a mighty heave flung me to the floor sending down towards it, but luckily, I managed to land on my feet in a crouch. Then I sensed danger coming, making me jump immediately forward in time for Mira to slam in her fist to the ground from where I was just at. Seeing this as an opportunity, I cloaked my fist, preparing to strike her as I pounced.

"Now's my chance! While she's open to attack! I need to do is connect one single hi-"

Just as I about swing at her, my eyes happened to fall upon a particular area of Mira. That area was her cleavage. Her outfit did expose a lot of it now I looked at it, and once I saw it, I couldn't help but stare at the pearly white skin feeling somewhat mesmerized by it. Then I realized what I was doing, and that made remember the book that I read the other night which a particular chapter covered that specific area which caused my cheeks instinctively grow hot until the heat began to spread throughout my face.

At that moment, Mira regained herself and then kicked me directly in the cheek hard sending flying up in the air until I hit the ground flat on my back. Feeling stunned by the blow but not yet out for the count, I tried to get back up, but Mira was already on me getting on top of me and using her hand to push my chest me to the floor. I looked up and found myself looking up at Mira in the eyes as she flashed a victorious smirk.

"Looks like I win, Willy," she said. "You did have the right idea for going for my blind spot though, but you let your guard down."

I tried getting up to try and fight back, but Mira made sure I stay down using her weight to push down my chest. Feeling that there was no escape, I had no choice but to admit defeat.

"OK! You got me," I spoke. "I surrender."

Mira then got up, and she returned to her normal state. She then held out her hand, offering to help me up of which I took in earnest as I stood up. Pantherlily, Erza, and Gajeel then came up.

"Man. What happened, Water Boy?" demanded Gajeel. "You had her, so why didn't you attack when you had the chance?"

"Well... you see," I said quickly making up an excuse. "I... uh... was kinda tired is all. Yeah, that's it! You see, I didn't get much sleep last night, and I just lost focus for a second is all."

"It didn't seem that way to me," said Erza. "It looked like you were distracted by something. What was it that made you stop in your tracks?"

"I-It was nothing!" I spoke, feeling the heat returning to my cheeks. "I-I just zoned out is all."

"You sure? You don't look like the type of person that would get distracted so easily, Willy," said Mira. "You sure that was what happened?"

As Mira looked at me, I couldn't help but notice that she was getting a little too close to me, and that made my cheeks grow even hotter.

"Y-Yes! That's what happened, Mira," I spoke trying to keep it together. "R-Really! I-I was just distracted is all! Just distracted!"

"Willy, is something wrong?" asked Pantherlily. "Your face is bright red, and you seem flustered about something."

"Fl-Flustered?! Me? I'm not flustered!" I said, shaking my head. "I... I'm just feeling hot is all! Which is why I'm going to head back to my apartment and hopefully get some sleep!"

"But Willy, are you sure you're okay?" asked Mira. "I mean, I did hit you on the cheek pretty hard."

"D-Don't worry! I'll be fine!" I spoke now feeling my entire face growing hot. "I'll just cast a healing spell and junk! Anyway, I gotta go, so I'll see you guys later!"

And not wanting to be there any more than I should have, I turned on my heel and then took off running as fast as my feet could carry me not daring to look back.

NO POV

"Well, that was weird," said Gajeel. "But now that's over and done with, why don't we go do some training, Lily?"

"Sounds like a plan," Pantherlily spoke in agreement. "Some sparring will do me some good after witnessing a battle like that."

Gajeel and Pantherlily then left, leaving Erza and Mira by themselves.

"So, what was that about, Mira?" asked Erza. "It's been a while since I've seen you fight with someone much less anyone in the guild before."

Mira smiled innocently. "Well, since you all were having fun with sparring," she said. "I figured I'd take a chance to have some fun too. I did need to let out a little steam. However, I didn't mean to kick Willy so hard."

Mira smiled, giving a light chuckle, but that smile was replaced with a neutral expression. "So, do you think that he might be a potential candidate?"

"It's hard to say," said Erza. "I think he does have a shot considering his history, but in the end, it's all up to the master. Personally, I think he has a chance, but it's a rather small one at best."

"Well, we won't know for sure until tomorrow," said Mira. "And that's when things will really get crazy. I'm rather looking forward to it."

"As am I," said Erza. "Speaking of which, we should probably meet up with the Master. He would want to discuss everything for tomorrow."

As they went about their way to look for Makarov, Mira suddenly stopped and looked towards the doors of the guildhall feeling somewhat suspicious. Erza noticed this and stopped.

"Is something wrong, Mira?" asked Erza.

"I... I'm not sure," said Mira. "I thought that..." She stared at the doors until she finally shook her head. "No. Never mind. It was just my imagination."

She and Erza left to search for Makarov. Little did they now, Mira's suspicions were indeed correct. Someone had indeed been watching them. In fact, the said someone was watching ever since Willy made his way into the Guildhall.

The person was Silver Beard who was hiding just behind the door. His face was a neutral expression, but his eyes were filled with a fury that seeming to be ready to explode at any moment. He took one last look inside of the Guildhall and saw Mira and Erza walking together. The sight of the two made a slight vein pop on his forehead as seemed to be seething inside.

He then turned on his heel and left the Guildhall not wanting to be seen. As he went further away from the guild, he took one last look at the Guildhall for a few seconds, and then walked away. But not before saying these words to himself.

"That little wench dares to try and take my subject from me by flirting with him?! No. Not when he's in the middle of his transfiguring. If that little brat dares to try and interfere, I won't show her any mercy. I'll kill her along with anyone else who dares to try and steal my only subject."

He then crossly power walked away from the Guildhall beside himself. As he walked, he happened to walk past a certain man with short black hair with three scars on the left side of his face, only now he was wearing a striped jacket with a high collar colored red and orange stripes with loose brown arm warmers covering the sleeves, simple black pants, and white shoes.

When Silver Bear stomped past, he bumped the man on the shoulder as he walked by. The man looked back towards Silver Beard feeling cross, but he decided to not worry about it so much and went on his way disappearing into the bustling crowd of Magnolia.

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Dragoman out!