Nora blinked, staring up at the massive stone structure before her.
"... At least they weren't just sitting around while we were off doing world-saving stuff?" The Huntress offered the stunned wizards standing around her, all of them seeming beyond words at the sight of their new guild-hall.
"This is a surprise," Erza managed.
Happy and Natsu were mesmerized. "They finished it?"
"Our new Fairy Tail," Gray agreed, and they passed through the gate and started to approach the new building. "Is this an outdoor café?"
"There's even a gift shop," Lucy realized.
"Oh, it's you guys!" A wizard greeted from within the kiosk of knick-knacks. Nora found that she could not forgive his choice of hair-style for the life of her. "Welcome back!"
"You're a salesman now, Max!" Happy chimed as he flew over. "How long has it been, again?"
"I've been out studying business on the master's orders," the wizard said, smiling.
"Max Alors!" Lucy realized, running over to get a closer look at the mage. "You've been in Sorcerer Weekly!"
"Since we've just met, glad to be of service," Max told her with an awkward grin. "I've heard quite a lot about you, Lucy."
"I don't even want to imagine what you've heard…" The celestial wizard winced.
Nora chuckled as she walked over and made sure the other girl stayed upright. "I'm sure it's only the good things. That, or I'll have to start breaking some legs."
"Oh, and you must be Nora Valkyrie!" Max decided, and Nora looked at him and nodded to confirm it. "A pleasure."
"What are you selling?" Happy asked excitedly, looking around.
Max gestured. "T-shirts, wrist bands, mugs, towels, and the most popular is-"
"It's a figure of Lucy!" Happy exclaimed, picking the toy up.
Nora snorted. "Oh, geez."
"Don't go making something like that without my permission!" Lucy shrieked.
"The clothes were gonna be cast-off, but I was made aware that my legs would be turned into powder," Max remarked.
Nora nodded. "That is true." She blinked as Lucy suddenly leapt into her arms and hugged her tightly. "Uh-"
"Thank you for saving me from the pain of further humiliation..!" Lucy wailed, keeping her arms around Nora's neck. "I will never question your leg-breaking ways again..!"
Nora gave an awkward grin, raising an eyebrow and nodding. "Alright?"
'This entire guild is punishment for my nineteen years of existence,' Nora decided, then her smile relaxed as she gazed at the blonde fondly. 'And I love them to bits.'
Once the team had gone inside the guild-hall, they found it just as big and grand as the outside had been—filled with tables and chairs and hanging banners, as well as now possessing a massive stage at the back.
"Huh." Nora blinked as Lucy and Happy admired the sight. "This is pretty neat."
Erza smiled. "Yes, this is wonderful."
"What's the matter, Natsu?" Gray, who had seemed indifferent, asked as he noticed that the Fire Dragon-Slayer was sulking into his scarf with his arms crossed.
"It's different than it was," Natsu mumbled.
Nora shrugged. "At least it doesn't look like Mira's blueprints?"
"Lu-chan!" Levy stepped into view and waved excitedly. "Welcome back!"
Lucy's eyes lit up. "Levy-chan!"
"Great, huh?" Levy grinned. "You'll never believe it! There's a pool behind the bar, a recreation hall in the basement—and the biggest change is the second floor!"
"You finally built a tower to keep your sexist lightning-gremlin in?" Nora asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Anyone can go up there, now," Levy clarified, gesturing, and Elfman waved to them from the balcony.
"... I would've gone with the tower," Nora decided, then she looked over at Lucy—who seemed thrilled—and Natsu, who was… less-than impressed. "Oh, boy."
"Of course, you still have to be with an S-Class wizard to go on an S-Class quest," Levy explained.
"You've returned, you bunch of fools?" A voice asked, and the team looked back to see Makarov there with his hands folded behind his back. He was not alone.
"Master," Erza greeted.
Nora beamed. "Juvia!"
"This is our new member," Makarov explained, grinning. "Ain't she a cutie?" He noticed Nora raising an eyebrow. "Not like that!"
"Juvia is glad to be of service!" Juvia proclaimed, bowing her head. She was dressed in new clothes and she had gotten a haircut—and it made Nora smile.
'Keep moving forward.'
Gray crossed his arms and chuckled warmly at the sight. "So, you really joined?"
"You helped us a lot," Erza told the water-mage.
"Understatement," Nora remarked. "Up until the boss-fights, Juvia carried us."
"Afterwards, she literally carried us," Lucy remarked. "In a bubble so that we didn't drown at sea, which was nice."
"This is all thanks to you!" Juvia beamed. "Juvia will work very hard!"
"Glad to have you!" Lucy chimed.
"Love rival." Juvia suddenly glowered at the blonde, then she snorted. "Kidding!" She raised an eyebrow. "Mostly."
Nora found herself laughing. "Juvia, you are one of my new favorite people."
"We have one more new member," Makarov went on, suddenly a little tense, and he glanced over at someone. "Come on, say 'hi' to everyone."
Happy blinked. "There's another one?"
Everyone turned to look as Makarov gestured, and Nora saw a mass of black hair belonging a figure dressed in dark colors and metal plates. Lucy gasped, sounding frightened, and Nora glanced at her before looking back at the new person with a wary frown.
"H-Hey!" Gray looked startled as well. "You've got to be joking!"
The person looked back, and Nora saw that he had red eyes and was covered in piercings, but there was definitely a black Fairy Tail emblem on his left shoulder—just a little bit higher than the placement of her own mark.
"Gajeel!" Natsu snapped, both he and Gray shifting into combat-ready stances.
Gray scowled. "What is he doing here?!"
"Wait!" Juvia ran forward, her eyes wide. "Juvia recommended him!"
Erza growled. "Juvia is one thing, but he's the very person who destroyed the guild!"
"Also, didn't he beat Lucy for fun?" Nora demanded, stepping between Lucy and the new guild member as she realized the severity of the situation. "And attack Levy, Jet, and Droy—and crucify them?"
"Now, now," Makarov chided. "They say yesterday's enemies are tomorrow's friends, yes?"
"Yeah," Levy—who was literally crouched, hiding behind a table—said with a strained smile. "I-I don't mind, at all…"
Droy and Jet, who were scowling at the Iron Dragon-Slayer from nearby, clearly did not 'feel' the same way.
"Hm." Nora glanced at the solid-script-mage worriedly—then she looked back at Gajeel with a frown, still wary.
The Huntress knew that people could change. After all, she knew people who had gone from a bad place in their lives to a good one—Blake, Weiss, Emerald, and even Ozpin on Remnant, and then recently all of Erza's friends from the Tower of Heaven and Juvia. The difference was that Nora had witnessed the effort they put in, she knew that they tried.
Until she saw Gajeel put that same effort in, it was going to be difficult for her to relax around the guy… but did that mean she should not give him the chance to try and put that effort in? If no one gave him the benefit of the doubt, how would he be able to try to get better?
Still, what Gajeel had done… It was in no way Emerald-bad, but Nora had not exactly been conscious for that redemption arc. She hadn't had time to pass judgement.
Now, she was awake.
Now, she had time.
Natsu stalked over and slammed his hand down on Gajeel's table, baring his teeth. "This has got to be some joke! You expect me to go on jobs with this guy?!"
"Don't worry." Gajeel looked up, annoyed. "I ain't sharing my work."
"Cold as steel!" Natsu cringed.
Gajeel stood up to face Natsu, keeping his stance relaxed. "All I want is work. I can't believe I ended up here, in the most-annoying guild of all."
"Say that again!" Natsu snapped, raising his fists in preparation.
Okay, maybe Nora could help out a little here—at least, to defuse the tension.
The Huntress cupped a hand over her mouth to amplify her voice. "Louder, for the people in the back!" She noticed the looks she was receiving from the other members of Fairy Tail. "I love you guys to death, but we are a recognized public nuisance. It's a fact, embrace it."
"Gihi!" Gajeel glanced at the orange-haired girl with a small grin, then he shook his head and looked back at Natsu.
"Poor Gajeel-kun was always all alone, and Juvia couldn't leave him like that!" Juvia was trying to explain herself. "So-!" She panicked, holding her hands up. "It's not that kind of relationship though, really!"
"It is the role of elders to guide youth from the wrong path to the right one," Makarov told them firmly. "Deep down, even he is good… or so I'd like to believe."
"... Keep moving forward?" Nora offered, glancing at Erza with a shrug. "With our guard raised, of course."
The knight blinked, then she sighed. "If it's the decision of the master… but I agree that it is best to watch him carefully for now."
"As you wish," Makarov told her, while Natsu and Gajeel just growled at each other.
Eventually, after finally deciding to leave Gajeel alone for the time being, Natsu paced around with crossed arms.
"I just don't feel at home here, anymore…"
Nora sighed, crossing her own arms. "That's because you grew up in this place with the guild-hall looking one way, and now: it's been completely rebuilt. You're adjusting to change."
"And you're not?" Natsu looked at her, giving a small frown. "I know you haven't been a member for long, but…"
"I didn't have the most-stable life, Natsu," Nora admitted, and Natsu blinked. "After I was six years-old, I never stayed in the same place longer than a few months. I'm used to things having to change on me."
"Oh." Natsu turned to look at her. "How did you learn to deal with it?"
"I realized that home isn't a building," Nora said, and he blinked. "If your old guild-hall was empty, would you feel home?"
"Um… Not really," Natsu admitted, then he blinked before his eyes widened. "Oh… Home is the people, isn't it?"
"Yep." Nora smiled kindly. "So… you are home, aren't you?"
Natsu's eyes lit up. "Yeah!"
Just then, the guild-hall was swept into darkness until a spotlight hit the stage.
As it turned out, every minute at the Fairy Tail guild-hall now counted as 'Open Mic Night' if someone was gutsy enough to sing in front of the whole guild. Mirajane seemed to be the one who took the most advantage of this, sitting on a stool on the stage with a guitar in her hands as she sang, and Nora found herself grinning as she and Natsu sat down at a table with Lucy, Erza, Happy, and Gray to listen.
Nora rested her chin in her hand, closing her eyes and sighing quietly as she relaxed and let the lyrics of the song—about love and friendship and kindness—sink in. She remembered the few times Weiss had agreed to sing in front of her friends, and while this was no power ballad about overcoming loneliness and strife, it brought some of those feelings back.
Then, it was Gajeel's turn—and Nora was left wondering why anyone was ever afraid of the Iron Dragon-Slayer.
"If you guys don't sit down and stop throwing things at him, I'll have to break some legs!" Nora found herself shouting at some of the other Fairy Tail members, frustrated, and she blinked as everyone immediately sat down. "... I'm gonna be real, I didn't expect that to work."
As it turned out, most everyone adored Gajeel's horrible singing and terrible lyrics once they let him actually do his thing, and Nora found herself laughing at the sudden switch in behavior before smiling tiredly.
"That was a good thing you did," Erza told her as she took a break from her strawberry cake, and Nora looked at the knight.
Nora shrugged her shoulders. "Doesn't mean that I'm gonna 'forgive and forget' what he did, but I don't like bullies. I won't let them push him around like that when he hasn't done anything new to deserve it." She gestured to Natsu. "He already went and beat the snot out of the guy, didn't he?"
"Hm." Lucy glanced at Nora with a smile. "Yes, he did." She looked back at Gajeel, sighing. "It'll take time for me to completely stop being scared of him, but I agree that we should be kind." The celestial wizard giggled. "And I think that him singing kinda helped."
"Maybe that's the idea?" Nora offered. "He's putting himself out there for a trial by fire, or at least public humiliation."
"That's one Hell of an 'I'm sorry'," Gray admitted, chuckling a bit.
Natsu covered his ears. "I've never heard a song this crappy before!" Gajeel's guitar suddenly flew off of the stage and hit Natsu in the face, the Iron Dragon-Slayer scowling, and Natsu looked up with a glare. "Oh, you wanna go?!"
"And suddenly, all is right in the world," Lucy remarked as the two began to brawl. "I mean, except that it's usually Gray he's-" Gray stood and threw his mug, hitting Natsu in the face. "Oh, look: the ecosystem is stabilizing."
"Natsu, you're going overboard!" The ice-mage shouted, frustrated and completely unaware that he had just knocked Erza's slice of cake off of the table and onto the floor—where Elfman soon stepped on it.
"Well, there they go," Nora joked as a full-on-brawl began, then she blinked as she noticed that Happy and Lucy had vanished. "... Huh. Good bail."
"Now, this is more like Fairy Tail!" Natsu grinned, only to get blindsided by a strike to the face from a metal cylinder.
Nora sighed and stood up, drawing Magnhild and strolling through the carnage to approach the two Dragon-Slayers. "Alright, break it up!"
"Or what, pinkie?" Gajeel looked up, smirking deviously. Nora shifted Magnhild into a hammer, and he blinked as electricity began to spark around the weapon. "... Wait, what?"
CRACK!
With one swing, Nora sent Gajeel flying into a pillar, and she laughed as he slid down and onto the floor. "Shouldn't have asked!"
"... What the fuck?!" Gajeel looked up from his seated position on the floor, his eyes wide in disbelief and his hair standing up as residual pink electricity sparked around his body. He was not at all fazed or injured, but that did not mean he was not surprised. "How?!"
"Hey, he's mine!" Natsu complained as Nora giggled and put her hammer away.
The Huntress looked at him, grinning. "Whatcha gonna do about it?"
"Huh?" Natsu blinked, then the boy smirked and cracked his knuckles. "Oh, it's totally on! I've been waiting for this!"
Nora raised her fists, her eyes glinting. "Let's see what you've got!"
Nora sat down, laughing as she nursed a black eye with an ice-pack.
"That was great!"
Natsu huffed, holding an ice-pack to his jaw, then he grinned. "Hell, yeah! You hit like a trai-" He gagged, then he smiled again. "I really wasn't expecting that!" He raised an eyebrow. "So, where you're from, tournament-fights end when your shields break?"
"Yep." Nora nodded. "So, when you heard that shatter sound and saw that pink light flash around me, you won." She shrugged her shoulders. "In a real battle, I would have to try and keep fighting anyway, but I'm beat."
"Got it." Natsu nodded in understanding. "That's really cool."
"Hm!" Nora hummed, then she lowered her ice-pack and looked around at the battered guild-hall. "So, you feel better?"
"Yep!" Natsu replied cheerily. "Home, sweet home!"
"I think we're owed a make-up performance, after Gajeel's went so sour," Erza noted as she walked over. "Nora, you are not from Fiore. Are there any songs you know from your homeland that you could share with us?"
"Huh?" Nora blinked, her grip on her ice-pack tightening. "I'm not a singer, and I only really know how to play-" She cringed, then she shook her head. "No, I don't think-"
"There are special lacrima to help with the instrument accompaniment," Mirajane said as she walked over, smiling. "I just like to play. Why don't you give it a try, Nora?"
"And you're a better singer than Gajeel," Lucy remarked, she and Happy having reappeared. "I mean, you sang that one song for me and you sang that other one for Erza."
Nora winced. "I-I don't think so, guys. I-"
"Come on!" Mirajane grabbed Nora by her hands, and the Huntress found herself freezing as she was dragged across the guild-hall and up onto the stage. "It'll be fun, you'll see! We're all friends here, aren't we?"
"Um…" Nora blinked as she was shoved forward and onto the stage, then she blinked again as Mirajane offered her a pink lacrima while a microphone floated up to hang in the air in front of her face. "I-I can't-..."
"It'll be fine." Mirajane beamed, and Nora hesitantly took the lacrima into her hands before reaching up and resting her right hand over her scars. "Just sing one you know."
"I, uh…" Nora looked down at the lacrima, trying to dig through her memories, and she gasped softly as it started to glow before the sound of a piano playing filled the guild-hall. She hadn't even been thinking too hard about it, and that song was the one that was playing?! "Gods, I can't do this. Mira-" She noticed that the bartender was gone. "Oh, I hate you."
"You've got this!" Lucy shouted from the crowd forming at the base of the stage, standing with the rest of the team and grinning.
Nora looked down at her warily, then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could do this, she knew the song and she just had to pretend she was anywhere else.
"One life
Is not a long time,
When you're waiting
For a small sign…" The Huntress began nervously, refusing to open her eyes as she hugged the music lacrima to her chest and kept her other hand over her scars. "
Patience
Is hard to find.
Shadows
Seem to fill your life…
Don't be disappointed,
Don't let your heart break,
Don't spend another minute
In this way.
It's okay…" Nora's next breath shook as an electric guitar, drums, and a violin gently joined the piano. "
Dry your eyes now, baby—
Broken wings won't hold you down!
You'll take flight soon, baby!
You'll be lifted up,
And you'll be there..!" The guitar faded as other, softer sounds—maracas, the violin—lingered to accompany the piano. "
Twelve hours
Is a long night,
When you're searching
With no hope in sight…
Aimless
On the inside,
And the damage
Makes you want to hide…" The other sounds fell away and left the piano alone. "
I know that it seems pointless,
I know that it feels fake,
I know you can't stand the thought of
Being stray
One more day…" The electric guitar, drums, and violin returned. "
Dry your eyes now, baby—
Broken wings won't hold you down!
You'll take flight soon, baby!
You'll be lifted up,
And you'll be there..!" Once it was over, Nora cracked an eye open, and she noticed everyone staring at her. She set the lacrima down on the stool, gave an awkward bow, then quickly started making her way towards the stairs at the edge of the stage. "Sorry. Blame Mira."
"... That was incredible!" Lucy suddenly shouted, and Nora froze and looked back as everyone started cheering. Her face flushed, then she practically ran down the stairs. "Aw, Nora! Don't be shy! You were good!"
"Nope!"
Outside of the guild-hall doors, a figure in a long black coat scoffed quietly before putting his spiked headphones back on, turning, and walking away.
/\/\/\/\
"Here." Gajeel glanced up from his mug, surprised, to see the familiar glint of metal before his face. "Peace offering."
The Iron Dragon-Slayer blinked, then growled in frustration. He had allowed himself to become lost in his thoughts, so much so that his defenses were lowered and it actually gave someone an opening to approach him.
And that girl, of all people? That copper-haired, blue-eyed, scarred-up little thing in bright pink with all the one-liners?
Seriously?
How the mighty had fallen.
… Wait, what?
"Huh?" Gajeel blinked, then he reached up and took the offered hunk of metal into his hands to examine it. It looked like an exact replica of one of the bands the girl wore on her arms, and Gajeel was surprised again to find he couldn't identify the material. "What the Hell kind of metal is this?"
"It's from my homeland," the girl explained. "It's an alloy we called 'hardsteel', traditionally reserved for the weapons and armor of warriors but eventually adopted by our militaries." She shrugged her shoulders. "I can't even get it here in Fiore, I've got to get it multiplied magically."
"Tch." Gajeel glanced up at her again, an eyebrow raised. "What do you want, runt?"
"I dunno." She shrugged again. "Just figured you might be getting sick of getting pushed around and like a change of pace." Gajeel raised an eyebrow, and the girl seemed to take that as an invitation to slide into the seat across from him. "… When a person turns over a new leaf after they've caused the kind of hurt you did, you should always be suspicious at first. But… I think you're being treated unfairly." Her eyes narrowed. "You're trying to be better, and you shouldn't be being punished for that. It's wrong."
Gajeel scoffed. "Whatever. I'm fine."
"Hm." The girl didn't seem convinced. "You'll find your way, eventually. All it really boils down to is one stupid move, and you endear yourself here."
"Oh, yeah?" Gajeel smirked, leaning over to look down at her. "What did you do, huh?"
The girl was unfazed. "Illegally joined an S-Class quest with a bunch of idiots and smashed the hand of the master when he got drunk and perverted." Gajeel's jaw dropped, while the girl just seemed to grin at the fond memory. "Screamed at him, too—and Erza. Heh…" She looked at Gajeel, smiling. "The name's Nora, by the way—Nora Valkyrie."
Gajeel found himself at a lost. "... I can't tell if you're my hero or the worst kind of crazy, pinkie."
"Both." The copper-haired girl, apparently Nora, nodded. "Both is good."
"Gihi!" Gajeel failed to suppress the snicker that escaped, then he huffed and looked away. "Tch."
"Heck of a laugh," Nora drawled, grinning slyly. "Get it trademarked."
Gajeel shot a glare at her. "Oh, piss off."
"Hm." Nora stood, but she was still grinning as she turned away. "Made you smile."
Gajeel blinked, and he watched that strange girl walk off into the crowded guild-hall with the metal band still clutched in his hand. He glanced down at it, uncertain, then scoffed and glanced up after her again with a raised eyebrow and a bemused smirk.
"Valkyrie, huh?"
/\
Nora was just barely turning away from the bar with a tankard of juice in hand when a blur of blue and white zipped into her vision.
"Whoa!" The Huntress jumped, barely avoiding the spill of her juice, before she blinked in surprise as she realized who it was. "Juvia?"
"Juvia would like to express her dearest thanks to Nora-san for the kindness shown to Gajeel-kun," the water-mage said, her hands folded and her head bowed. "He is struggling."
"You don't have to thank me for being nice, Juvia," Nora insisted, relaxing. "Folks should just be nice to each other." She glanced away. "Though, I admit that kinda died out back where I'm from." She looked at the water wizard again and smiled sadly. "I'd hate to see it die here, too."
Juvia raised her head to look at Nora, perplexed. "Where is Nora-san from?"
"... Most haven't heard of it," Nora admitted, walking over to a table and sitting down. She gestured, and Juvia blinked before sitting down across from her. "It's called Remnant, and it's divided into five regions: the frozen Atlas, the desert Vacuo, the forested Vale, the mountainous Mistral, and the island of Menagerie." Nora gripped her tankard in both hands as she gazed into the shadowed contents. "And… there was a war back home. I fought in it, but I got really hurt. So, they sent me away so I could be safe."
"They?"
"My friends. My family." Nora closed her eyes, her shoulders raising, then she sighed and looked up at Juvia again. "Thing is, I don't have a way to get back unless they open one for me, and… I've kinda accepted the fact that they didn't make it out of that last scrape. So, I'm… here… now."
The water wizard looked stunned, then her face grew forlorn. "Juvia is sorry. Nora-san must be so lonely and scared."
"... Yeah." Nora nodded. "But I'm doing better, I think. Trying to, at least. Wanting to."
Juvia managed a weak smile and nodded in acceptance. "Hm."
"Hey, um…" Nora shifted nervously in her seat. "Since I'm new here, I've been trying to pick up on bits of the culture. Those words you attach to the ends of names-"
"Honorifics?" Juvia blinked, surprised.
"Yeah!" Nora perked up, then grew shy. "Do you… think you could teach me what they mean?"
Juvia's surprise became disbelief, like she could not fathom having been asked for help—but that disbelief soon became determination. "Of course!"
Nora furrowed her brow in thought, trying hard to process everything she had learned and commit it to memory.
"So… if I didn't know you too well, I would say Juvia-san," she began. "If I wanted to show you respect, I would say Juvia-sama."
The water wizard across from her nodded. "Right."
"Kun is a sorta cutesy-thing typically used for boys, but it can also be used for girls you are very good friends with," Nora went on, feeling a bit more confident. "And chan is very~ cutesy and I personally would be very uncomfortable using it with anyone over the age of six."
"Hm!" Juvia raised a hand to her mouth to stifle a giggle, then she lowered her hand and nodded. "Those are the basics. Not everyone in Fiore uses honorifics, but it is considered polite to use them with those who do—especially if they are an elder. If they give you permission to not use an honorific, then referring to them by name is fine."
"Oh." Nora blinked, then she cringed. "I'm sorry."
Juvia raised her hand again, this time in reassurance as she smiled kindly. "Nora-san did not know any of this. Juvia has taken no offense, and will take no offense—especially since Nora-san is trying so hard to learn about Fiore's culture."
Nora's face lit up, then she took a deep breath. "Okay, then. So… what would I use for you?" She saw Juvia's surprise return. "I-I mean, we know each other better now, so -san feels off. I respect you, so should I use -sama?"
Juvia's eyes widened, her face flushing a bit. "Nora-san…"
"Hey, I wanna do this right," Nora insisted.
"... Juvia knows." The water wizard's expression softened, and Nora could have sworn she saw the other girl's eyes growing misty. "And Juvia would be very happy if Nora-san just used 'Juvia'. Or… if Juvia may presume… kun?"
"Hm." Nora felt the last of the tension leave her body. "Then, same for me." She winked. "Juvia-kun."
The water-mage beamed, closing her eyes and bowing her head. "Thank you, Nora-kun!"
"I'll go grab us some drinks, on me," Nora said, standing up. "What do you like?"
Juvia opened her eyes, which were shining with the unabashed joy the water wizards seemed to have possessed since joining the guild. "It will come as no surprise, but Juvia would like water." She flushed a bit. "Perhaps infused with fruit flavoring, if Mirajane-san has it?"
"Gotcha," Nora assured the other girl, then she turned and walked over to the bar.
While she was waiting for Mirajane to finish up another order and notice her, Nora sensed another person approach and glanced to the side.
"Hey," Gray greeted, leaning against the counter. "What were you two talking about?"
"Juvia-kun is helping me with my Fiore culture," Nora explained, crossing her arms. "She's smart, but you saw that much at the Tower of Heaven."
"Yeah, she's impressive," Gray agreed, glancing away awkwardly. "A bit hard to read, though."
Nora nudged the ice-mage. "Come on. She's an open book, once you warm up to her." Gray shot an exasperated look at the Huntress. "That's not a joke, it's an encouragement." Nora smiled. "Just give her a chance, get to know her."
Gray blinked, then her looked down at the counter as a bit of color rose in his cheeks. "Hm."
"Hey, you survived me," Nora reminded him, tilting her stance and smirking.
"Heh." Gray glanced at the orange-haired girl with a light grin. "Fair enough… So, what exactly were you talking about?"
"Honorifics," Nora replied. "We don't have those back home—at least, not like that."
"Huh." Gary blinked. "That's interesting."
"Juvia-kun gave me the run-down," Nora told him, then she sighed. "Thank the gods. I hope I haven't offended too many people…"
"Nora, people here in Fairy Tail know you're not from Fiore—and that there's a lot you've had to adjust to," Gray assured her, allowing some sternness to enter his tone. "No one's gonna hold anything against you while you're learning."
"Hm." The Huntress looked at him again, smiling. "Thanks, Gray. You've all been so welcoming to me." She cast her gaze down. "I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found this place, and… everyone."
"Hey." A hand rested on her shoulder, and Nora glanced up and met the boy's eyes. "We think that way about you, too." He smiled. "Wouldn't be the same without you, leg-breaking and all." Nora snickered, and he squeezed her shoulder gently. "I mean it. You've been watching over us since the day you came here." Nora met his eyes again, beaming. "You may not have been here for long, but you're pure Fairy Tail."
"I'm doing my best," Nora assured him. "I just… still have a lot to learn."
"Don't we all?" Gray asked, resting his hands on his hips. "Good news is, we have all the time in the world."
"Heh." Nora glanced away, casting her gaze down as her smile saddened. "Yeah. I guess we do."
/\/\/\/\
Nora had a request form for a minor, in-town job in her hand and was making her way to the guild's front doors when she spotted someone coming through the gates.
"Gajeel?" She realized, her eyes widening as she saw that the Iron Dragon-Slayer was gripping his shoulder and covered head-to-toe in scratches, bruises, and even minor burns. Before she even knew what she was thinking, she was running to the injured wizard's side and reaching out to try and support him. "Hey, hey- Ah!" The Huntress recoiled, quite literally shocked as yellow electricity arched off of the boy's metal-studded skin. "Whoa. Who did this?"
Gajeel scoffed, not even meeting her eyes as he kept moving. "Take a guess, pinkie."
Nora watched him enter the guild-hall, stunned, then looked back to see Team Shadow-Gear running through the gates as well—wide-eyed and hot on the trail of the wounded new recruit.
"Levy?" Nora asked as they arrived, then she winced. "Oh. Levy-san." She looked at the script-mage worriedly. "What happened?"
"L-Laxus…" Levy's whole body was shaking. "He attacked Gajeel and almost hurt me, but Gajeel took the hit. Where is he?!"
"He went that way." Nora pointed into the guild-hall. "Gods, he-" The Huntress tensed, finally processing what she had been told, then she closed her eyes as her hand closed into a fist and lowered to her side. "… Where's Laxus?"
"Nora-san?" Levy blinked, and Nora opened her eyes to look at her expectantly. "Oh, uh…" She pointed. "That way. The park."
Nora nodded, then she walked past Team Shadow Gear and towards the gates—stuffing her job request into her pocket as she went. "Stay here. I'll be back, soon."
"Nora-san?" Levy tried—then she gasped, her eyes widening as she realized what was happening. "Nora-san!" When the Huntress didn't look back, she raised a trembling fist to her mouth in worry. "Oh, no…"
/\
Laxus was on one of the bridges leading out of Magnolia when he heard footsteps behind him and looked back.
"Laxus!" The orange-haired annoyance—Nora Valkyrie—snapped out his name as she marched towards him, her fists clenched. Her aqua eyes were narrowed, and she looked as close to being on a warpath as Laxus could justify someone that size and dressed in pink being.
"Tch." The lightning-mage turned back, raising an eyebrow. He was already in a bad mood, so—in his mind—he was almost daring the little thing to finally try him. There was no sign of the old man and no lacrima between them, so it looked as though this might be it. "What do you want, pipsqueak?"
"Attacking Levy?" Nora asked, arriving and placing her hands on her hips as she glared up at him. "What's wrong with you?"
Laxus has to admire the brass this girl had, if nothing else—but maybe it was just ignorance… though the scars decorating the girl's skin would tell him otherwise. She had to know the threat she was facing when she approached him.
So, she was an idiot.
Like Natsu.
"She got in the way," Laxus told her shortly, waving it off. "It's not my fault."
"It's your power," Nora disagreed immediately, removing one hand from her hip to gesture with it as she spoke. "If you don't have enough of a handle on it to keep it in check, then it is your fault! It's your responsibility!"
Laxus gritted his teeth.
He was not about to stand there and endure another lecture from that scarred-up little punk in pink.
"You really think I care if a flat little solid-script-mage gets a zap?" He retorted, putting in a small smirk—and he immediately knew it was a bit of a dick move.
Yeah, Levy McGarden was a weak little runt who had no place in the Fairy Tail he intended to create, but he never actually meant for the harmless bookworm to get caught in the crossfire and hurt. It would be a waste of power, and she would probably do something really stupid like die on everyone and make Laxus have to feel some sort of bad about the whole thing…
Plus, Freed and Evergreen would probably have his head in some sort of way if they ever heard that he used the word 'flat'. Even Bickslow would probably say 'dude, not cool' or some shit like that.
Still, Laxus would not back down—not from his would-be 'counter'.
"... You know, since coming to Fiore, I have faced all kinds of low-lifes: dark wizards, violent sociopaths, psychotic assassins, evil cults," Nora said quietly, then she stepped forward again and jabbed her index-finger against Laxus's chest, practically seething in fury. "But you, Laxus Dreyar, are the most insufferable, irredeemable asshole on this planet!" She stepped back and threw her hands down at her sides, letting them clench into fists as she fumed. "For the gods' sakes, Laxus: what could have happened to make you so broken inside?!"
Laxus blinked, then his eyes narrowed as he took a step forward, his fists clenching at his sides as he glared down at the girl. "Excuse me?"
"How are you so broken inside?" Nora repeated it, still glowering up at him. "To say everything you say with that stupid grin on your face…" She blinked, then her fists fell open and she shook her head, starting to grin herself. "Heh. Oh, geez… The more I think about it, the less I hate you. I actually kinda feel sorry for you."
"... What?" Laxus asked, confused.
"I feel sorry for you, Laxus," Nora told him, crossing her arms. "Because at the end of the day, you're never hurting anyone else more than you're hurting yourself." Sparks flew from Laxus's fists, and she noticed. "Yeah, you can do some pretty nasty damage with that lightning and words can hurt in ways people can't see. You can even kill someone." She looked Laxus in the eye. "But anything you do to me or anyone else is nothing compared to what you're doing to your soul." She shrugged her shoulders. "And when it's gone, Laxus, what will you have left? There won't even be any you left. And the shell that's still standing there, with that stupid smile… well… it's gonna be standing there alone."
Laxus just looked at her, and Nora sighed before she turned her back on him and just started walking away. He let her reach the foot of the bridge without meaning to, then he stepped forward as his eyes narrowed again.
"The old man says you're my counter!" He snapped, and she paused. "Why?!" Nora looked back, but she did not say a word as he charged his fists with lightning. "TELL ME!"
"... No," Nora said, and Laxus growled lowly. "Apologize to Levy, Gajeel, and Mirajane, and maybe I'll think about it."
Laxus blinked. "Mirajane?"
"For everything you've put her through." Nora nodded. "Yeah. Mira, too." She gestured back towards Magnolia. "Well?"
"... Fuck you," Laxus said shortly, choosing to just glare at the girl.
Nora actually had the audacity to smirk as she lowered her hand. "Hm. Thought so." She shrugged again. "Guess you'll just have to wait and see, then." She turned her back and started to walk away again, raising a hand and flicking her wrist in a casual wave as she went. "Later, Laxatives."
"Grr…" Laxus bristled, and he started walking towards the girl. "Why, you-!"
"Go ahead." Nora turned on her heel and grabbed her weapon from her back in one fluid motion, unfolding a massive warhammer and glaring at Laxus again even as lightning crackled around his body. "Make my day."
"The only day I'm making is mine, pipsqueak," Laxus retorted, rearing a fist back as he scowled down at her. "You're dead!"
"Enough!" A voice shouted, and Laxus and Nora looked back to see Makarov approaching on the path, his eyes narrowed. "Did you forget that I forbade you from fighting?!"
Nora scoffed and rested her hammer against her shoulder, placing her free hand on her hip. "Hey, your jerk-wad grandson was gonna fight me. I was just gonna fight him back."
"Tch." Laxus looked back at the girl, scowling down at her. "You're the one who came out here and started this, pipsqueak."
"I only came here because you attacked Levy and hurt Gajeel," Nora reminded him dryly. "Believe me, Laxatives: I wouldn't have graced myself with your oh-so delightful company at all unless I had to." She wrinkled her nose. "I'm allergic to perverts and cheetah print."
Laxus growled at the girl. "First off, I'm not even wearing that shirt."
"And yet, the contamination lingers," Nora said, starting to smirk again.
Laxus saw red. "And second-!"
"ENOUGH!" Makarov snapped, and Laxus and Nora looked back at him again. "Laxus, I will speak to you about this matter with Gajeel and Levy." At that, the lightning-mage seethed. "As for you, Miss Valkyrie." The master of Fairy Tail looked at the girl, frowning. "You should have come and spoken to me instead of taking matters into your own hands. I told you, I don't want you and my grandson in an altercation."
Nora huffed, then she frowned. "I don't care who he is. You didn't hear what this jerk said during the Phantom Lord incident, I did."
"Cana gave me the rundown," Makarov admitted, and Laxus and Nora blinked. "She told me what each of you said." He glanced at Laxus, his eyes narrowed, then he looked back at Nora. "I can completely understand your frustration with him, but rest assured that I can handle these matters from here. There is no need to resort to any sort of violence between you."
"Hm." Nora looked back at Laxus, frowning, then she sighed and turned away, collapsing her weapon and placing it on her back. "Fine… Not like he's worth it, anyway."
With that, the orange-haired girl stormed off.
"... What the Hell?" Laxus murmured, looking down at his grandfather as the old man sighed in relief. "Why are you-?"
"Laxus." Makarov looked up at his grandson, his eyes narrowed. "You're lucky Levy found me and told me Nora was coming for you. This could have ended poorly." The lightning-mage blinked, and his grandfather sighed again. "You need to stop antagonizing that one. If you two were to work together, you could be near unstoppable. In opposition… I worry for you, Laxus." The old man shook his head. "Your words during the Phantom Lord incident were shameful, and attacking Levy and Gajeel?" Makarov closed his eyes. "Miss Valkyrie has a… sensitivity… to that which she would view as a betrayal, Laxus. If she feels that you have turned against your own, I will not be able to stop her forever."
"You can't control your punks, old man?" Laxus bit out, his eyes narrowing.
Makarov opened his eyes and frowned. "You're making it difficult for me to want to. You are my grandson and I love you, Laxus, but you are going down a dark path—and I find it harder and harder to recognize the boy I raised with every passing day." His expression softened. "A long time ago, you told me that you wished to be a man who stood on his own. Do you truly wish to be on your own, Laxus? And even if that is what you want… do you truly believe that this cruelty and coldness you've adopted is what it means to be your own man?"
"Why, you-..." Laxus growled.
Makarov shook his head. "It isn't. A man, Laxus, knows himself and knows the world around him—and he changes that which he knows in his heart that he cannot accept by taking righteous action." The old man placed a hand on his chest. "I did my best to teach you these things… I'm the first to admit I'm not perfect, and that there were things in life I was unable to shield you from. Those failures are my greatest regrets." He looked up at his grandson. "Please… do not go down the same path as your father."
"Tch." Laxus's fists clenched. "How would I know it if I saw it, huh? You never even told me what he did!"
"... Because that's the one thing I am proud to say I did manage to protect you from," Makarov said quietly, and Laxus blinked. "I have many regrets in this life… but withholding that burden from your mind is not one of them." The old man turned away. "... Forgive me. All I have done, Laxus, I have done because I feel it is best for my family." He glanced back over his shoulder. "For Fairy Tail… For you."
With that, Makarov left Laxus alone.
/\/\/\/\
Makarov Dreyar—Wizard Saint, master of Fairy Tail, conjuror of 'Fairy Law'—sure liked to talk about family.
All of Laxus's life, he was told that the guild was his family. As a child, he knew that he used to admire that belief of the weak—he liked the idea of a large family, with many aunts and uncles and siblings to play with and grow his magical power alongside.
Idiot.
Laxus saw the sham for what it really was when his father was banished. Makarov Dreyar cast his only son, Ivan, out of Fairy Tail and would no longer speak of him to anyone aside from Laxus—and those occasions were rare, during heated arguments.
The lightning-mage never learned why his father had been so callously cast aside. Over the years, as he watched his grandfather brush off the antics of children who tore apart towns for no reason and invite those who had done Fairy Tail harm in the past though the doors, he found his bitterness and anger growing.
'Black Steel' Gajeel Redfox of Phantom Lord could be a member of Fairy Tail when Ivan Dreyar could not be spoken of? How could his grandfather be so cruel?
'Fairy Tail is our family,' the old man would say as he smiled fondly at people he barely knew in comparison to his blood. Laxus began to hate those words and everyone he felt was connected to them, and that hate grew.
Anger and hate, he found, could fuel powerful magic and make the lacrima his father had placed in his body even stronger. Laxus used to fear the magic he had been… compelled… to take on, but it was now a part of him and he wielded it against his enemies with a smile.
Makarov always hated that lacrima and told Laxus to keep its nature hidden, his eyes taking on the same look they would have whenever they discussed Ivan. Maybe that was why Ivan had been cast aside, he had gone looking for the strength Laxus possessed.
The old man was a fool.
Still, Laxus 'played nice' more often than not. While he would not help anyone weaker than him, he never harmed a member of Fairy Tail with anything but words unless challenged first. If they were too weak-willed to withstand words or too arrogant to fear his strength, then that was hardly Laxus's fault.
Makarov would just shake his head and look at him with disappointment amidst the nervous or angry faces around him.
For years, Natsu was the only one outside of Laxus's private circle who would grin at him with frequency, his eyes narrowed as he challenged Laxus or even just spoke to him with that stubbornness. It was like the fiery runt actually thought that he and Laxus were on the same level, that they were friends.
Pathetic.
Then, Nora Valkyrie bumped into his life and Laxus had never felt so angry at another person aside from his grandfather (or maybe that Gajeel bastard) in all of his years. That girl, short and soft-looking and covered in scars, had no magical power which Laxus was able to sense in her entire body aside from that bag she was carrying around. Still, she felt like she could talk to him however she wished—with more arrogance than Natsu!
That pipsqueak needed to learn the true order of things.
There was no place for Nora Valkyrie in Laxus's Fairy Tail.
"You seem… agitated," Evergreen finally noted, watching as Laxus paced along the cliff between the forest and Magnolia. "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"
"Of course not," Laxus insisted, looking up with a scowl. "I'm just thinking about a couple of obnoxious brats the old man let into the guild while you three were away."
Freed raised an eyebrow. "Are there any in particular you would want us to show special attention to?"
Laxus blinked, then he glanced at the captain of his little team of 'bodyguards'—the Thunder Legion—with a small smirk.
While the rune-mage was very stoic, Freed knew his allies well and he always seemed to know exactly what Laxus wanted.
"... Yeah," the lightning-mage decided, turning to his three confidants. "A pipsqueak with orange hair and blue eyes, running around in pink, white, black, and blue. She carries some sort of war-hammer, and she has zero filter." That was a good enough description. "As much as I'd personally like to use her for target practice… you see her, you put her in her place and then you put her in the ground."
"Sheesh." Bickslow chuckled as he crossed his arms. "What did she do to you?"
"Do to you? Do to you?" The seith-mage's dolls chimed eagerly.
"It must have been bad," Evergreen remarked, drawing her fan and giving it a few flaps in a poor attempt to casually hide her smirk. "Our Laxus doesn't get worked-up like this over just any new recruit."
Freed seemed pensive. "Laxus?"
"Grr." The lightning-mage clenched his fists at his sides. "Just do it, okay?!"
Laxus turned and walked over to the cliff, sitting down and looking out over the lights of Magnolia below. He could hear Evergreen, Freed, and Bickslow a short distance away.
"... She sassed him," Evergreen decided.
"Definitely," Bickslow agreed, snorting. "I kinda wanna meet her."
"Laxus has given us a request," Freed told them curtly. "As your captain, I ask you to obey it."
"Still wanna meet her," Bickslow went on. "She sounds ballsy."
Freed sighed. "Enough."
"... He doesn't know how to think of any good comebacks, so she has to die," Evergreen added. "What do you think the nickname is?"
Freed huffed. "Enough!"
Laxus snorted, finding himself giving a small smile at the sound of the captain losing his composure and bickering with his teammates about what could have possibly caused him to hate some girl so much. If it were anyone else doing that, he might have been furious—but those three had… certain liberties.
It was because they were strong, Laxus told himself, no other reason.
Not because, when they first showed up at the guild-hall, they could not have cared less about his name or family but instead sided with him because they admired his strength and actually seemed to like him.
Family was an ideal of the weak.
The Thunder Legion merely followed and obeyed him, and he could take them or leave them any time he wanted to.
"Wanna head back into town?" Bickslow asked, walking over and gesturing to the path. "I mean, not that staring ominously into the city we're about to wreck isn't fun—but Ever lost a bet with me on the last job and now she owes us dinner. You in?"
Laxus found himself smirking. "Fuck it. Sure."
Yep.
Take them or leave them.
I LIVE!
And I'm starting the "Battle of Fairy Tail" Arc!
The good news is that this arc is already mostly written, and has been for some time. It's honestly the first arc I wrote, because I was looking forward to it so much.
Hopefully, you're all as eager as I am.
(I say, knowing it's been… a bit… since my last update. But I came back eventually!)
I was looking forward to a lot of the interactions in this chapter; more of the Nora and Juvia friendship and some discussion of Fiore culture, Nora getting to know Gajeel after having never interacted with him and offering him a bit of mercy as he adjusts to Fairy Tail, some nice chatter between Nora and Gray, Mirajane continuing to try and break Nora out of her shell, another near-fateful encounter between Laxus and Nora, and an examination of Laxus's toxic mentality and how it conflicts with where his heart truly lies.
If you can't tell, I adore Laxus and the Thunder Legion.
(So, naturally, we can expect them to endure The Horrors.)
(Kidding!)
(… Mostly.)
In the next chapter, the Battle of Fairy Tail begins. Brace yourselves!
I own nothing. Please read, review, check out my other stories, etc. Thanks! :)