If all goes well guys, the next arc starts on chapter 238. We're almost there!
Enjoy!
"You really think so mom?" Nashi asked. Her mother nodded with a smile.
"Of course. I know you can do it. It's just because you're so tired."
"I suppose." Nashi agreed. She'd been talking to her mother for a little bit about the whole thing, and so far she was feeling pretty good about it. More so than when she'd gotten up that morning. Although overall, she was still relatively uncertain.
"So," Her mother said. "Have you made up your mind?" Nashi looked down at her feet. No, she really hadn't. Sure, she liked Michael. She liked him a lot. But whether or not she had the courage to actually go out with him? That she wasn't sure about.
"I don't know." She said. "I wouldn't know what to do. Gah, this is so nerve racking."
"Tell me about it." Her mother muttered. "I rally don't think you have anything to worry about, sweetheart."
"No?"
"Not at all." Her mother reassured. "You've survived how many life or death situations now?" Nashi understood her mother not knowing the answer to that, but she felt stupid not knowing it right off the top of her head either. "I think going out with this boy you're talking about would be a walk in the park."
"I guess." Nashi agreed, growing quiet once more. Talking to her mother had been a great help. "Thanks mom." She said, smiling over at her mother. "I really appreciate this."
"You're welcome, sweetie." She replied, and the two hugged. "Now, do you have something to do at the moment?" Nashi felt her stomach twist around at this.
"Well...I suppose." She said. "But I kind of want to have a few drinks beforehand...Might help."
"It might." She agreed as Nashi stood and stretched. "Just do you, honey. You'll be okay."
"Thanks again." Nashi made her way for the door, heart much less heavy than when she came in the first time.
"Nashi?" Nashi stopped and looked back over at her mother. She was smirking devilishly.
"Yeah?" She asked.
"Good luck. He's quite the catch." This made Nashi go red. Did her mother really know who was liked? She seemed so sure of herself. Had she made it too obvious?
"Uh, thanks." She replied. She was about to leave when a thought occurred to her. This made her stop. "Hey, uh, mom?"
"Yes?" Nashi looked back over at her mother.
"Could we, uh, not tell dad about this?" She asked weakly. "Knowing him, he'll just...do exactly what I know we both know he'll do." Nashi didn't know exactly how to say what she was worried about, but her mother seemed to pick up on her worries easily.
"Don't worry." She said. "My lips are sealed. Natsu won't know about you and him unless it comes from your own mouth." Nashi smiled.
"Thanks." She said, finally taking her leave. As she made her way back to the guild hall, her mind bubbled up with thoughts of how to handle talking to Michael.
All she knew for certain was the sooner, the better.
"So?" Michael asked. He watched Drake for a moment, unsure as to what the man was going to say. After a few seconds of silent thinking, Drake grinned.
"It's good." Drake said, taking another bite of his sandwich Michael had bought him. He'd whisked Drake away from the guild hall to talk to him privately about Nashi, and at the moment he was filling the boys hungry stomach. "I've never tried this combination of toppings before, it's really good."
"I told you man. We're too similar. I love that too." Michael watched as Drake ate happily, seemingly without a care in the world. He wished he shared the sentiment, but he was unsure as to how to approach the Poison Dragon.
During his multiple other dates with Nashi, she'd gone into detail about her friendship with Drake. She spoke at length about how protective he got of her due to the bullying she went through as a child, and how he always stood by her no matter what. And how much she truly appreciated him, no matter if she'd never really told him. Come to think of it, Michael figured this was probably why he'd gone out of his way to ask Drake if he and Nashi were an item, of if was interested. So now, faced with what he planned to do, how was he to go about it?
"So, you wanted to talk?" Michael came back to reality to find Drake still chewing, but watching Michael curiously. He nodded.
"Yeah. it's something only you can help me with really." He replied.
"Shoot." Drake said, taking another bite as soon as he swallowed. Michael took a few seconds to wonder how to phrase what he was going to ask, before deciding he just needed to go for it.
"It's about Nashi." He said. This seemed to catch Drake's attention, as he started to chew much slower than a second ago. "I'll be honest, okay?"
"...Okay?" Drake said, slowly swallowing and putting the remainder of his sub down. "What's up?"
"I, uh..." Michael said, faltering a bit. "I...like her. A lot, actually." Michael watched Drake's face carefully, looking for any sort of reaction whatsoever. Drake barely reacted at all, truthfully. He seemed a bit surprised, but that was it.
"Ah, okay." Drake said, returning to his food. "I get it. You want help with something?"
This was nowhere near the response he was expecting.
"Uh..." Michael started, unsure of what to say next. "I...I guess?"
"Alright, what is it exactly?" Michael took a minute to realize Drake wasn't being angry or protective and thought. What was it he wanted help with?
"Over the past few weeks," He started. "Nashi and I have been hanging out. That's where she disappeared to sometimes, if you were curious."
"Makes sense." Drake replied, still eating as Michael spoke.
"Right." Michael agreed. "Well, here's the thing. I was planning on asking her out yesterday, so I worked hard to make her happy. And well...I kissed her." Michael saw Drake pause as he took another bite, but it was subtle and it just seemed to be him thinking this over.
"Continue." He said.
"I planned on asking her out officially afterwards, but...She didn't say anything to me. Like, at all. She clammed up and din't say a word to me until we parted ways, and I don't know what to do now?"
"Not a word, huh?" Drake asked, finishing his sub and turned to Michael. He sighed as he licked crumbs off his fingers. "That is so much like Nashi it hurts..." He muttered.
"Huh?" Michael asked. Drake finished licking his fingers and turned to face Michael fully.
"Nashi ain't exactly very good at handling her emotions when they crank up to the extreme." Drake explained. "If she get to riled up, or scared, or anything else...She gets exactly like you just described." Michael thought his through. So Nashi was quiet because her emotions were going wild? Was that a good thing?
"I see..." Michael said slowly.
"For example," Drake continued. "When Nashi was told her mother was pregnant, she didn't exactly act gracefully. She threatened Erza, her own mother, and then stormed off in a rage. She acted similarly when her dad first came home almost a year ago. She's not good at handling her emotions." It certainly seemed so. "And I'm sure if Nashi thought about it, she's probably got a few instances I don't know about that fall into that category as well." Drake laughed at this. "She's a mess sometimes."
"Sounds like it." Michael agreed, chuckling weakly. "So...What do you think I should do?"
"Well, that depends." Drake replied. "You sure you like her? A lot?"
"Yeah. I do." Michael replied. Drake nodded.
"Alright then. Here's what you do." He said. Michael waited, and Drake moved a bit closer and slapped his cheek lightly with a smirk. "You come right out with it and tell her."
"Wait, what?" Michael asked as Drake leaned back and smirked at him. 'Is that really it?"
"Yeah." Drake agreed. "It's the only way to get through to her is to be straightforward. I'm willing to bet you're the reason she's been acting so weird today."
"She's acting weird?" He asked. Drake nodded.
"Yeah. We try to talk to her, but then she gets quiet and then a faraway look in her eyes." He explained. "When she snaps out of it, she just tells us it's nothing. Earlier she went to talk to her mom and I haven't seen her since. So, I'd just tell her how you feel man. It'll probably work out. Probably." The probably wasn't really helping his case, but Michael thought this over. If Drake, the one he considered closest to Nashi excluding her parents thought this was his best course of action, then it looked like he had no other way of going about it.
"Thanks man." he said, smiling at Drake. "And here I was worried about you threatening me."
"Why would you think that?" Drake asked. "We're good friends. I trust you. Plus, to be honest, I think you really make her happy."
"You think?" Drake nodded.
"Yeah. If you guys really have hung out those few times before, then that explains why she's all smiles for a few hours." Drake stretched and stood. "Now, let's get you too the guild hall. I'm sure we'll find her." Michael stood.
"Yeah. Let's go."
Nashi had made it to the guild hall and downed a few drinks, and none of the others seemed confused at her actions. Nashi's alcohol tolerance was pretty high, so she'd need just a few more before...
"Nashi!" Nashi made a face and turned as Drake called out to her.
"What is i-" She froze.
Why the hell was Michael with him? Drake smirked.
"Someone wants to talk to you." He said.
Nashi's face was pretty red, and Michael watched as she quickly chugged the rest of her drink.
"How is she?" He asked Drake lowly. He turned a bit to see Drake's ears twitching.
"She's really nervous." Drake relayed, looking over at him with a smile. "And her heart's going wild too." Michael took a deep breath at this. Nothing to lose. Nashi approached them slowly, taking her sweet time as she did so. Finally she reached them and smiled weakly.
"H-Hi." She said. Drake chuckled.
"I"ll leave you guys to it." He said. He went to walk away, but paused to stop and whisper something in Nashi's ear. This caused her to blush wildly.
"D-Drake!" She whined, Drake walking away laughing. "That's not funny!"
"It so is." He replied, waving over his shoulder. Nashi growled in his direction, but then turned back to Michael, who smiled at her.
"Can we take a walk?" He asked. Nashi nodded quickly.
"Sure."
Nashi knew she said she wanted to talk to Michael soon, but this soon? How long had he been here anyway? What had he talked about with Drake? This was way too sudden.
Oh stop it!
Nashi steeled herself as they came to a stop along the waterway of Magnolia, overlooking the flowing water.
"I'm sorry." Michael said, making her look at him. "For the other day. Shouldn't have just gone and done that."
"I-It's okay." Nashi replied, looking back at the water. "I'm not mad."
"That's good." There were a few seconds of silence before Michael sighed.
"Look," he said. "I'm going to be blunt." He turned to look at Nashi. "There's no easy way to cut it, really. Nashi, I really like you." This made heat rush to Nashi's face, but she held her ground. "Like, really. I think about you a lot, and being with you...Makes me so happy." If he continued on like this, Nashi wasn't sure she'd be able to do anything. "And you have every right to tell me you don't feel the same way. I just had to tell you." Nashi thought at this. She thought back to how happy she'd been when she hung out with Michael. How he made her stomach flip around.
"But...I do." She said, returning her gaze to the water. "Feel the same, that is. I just...Don't know. When I'm with you I am happy, but I get so nervous and act so stupid..." Nashi took a deep breath. "And I know what I want, but I'm not sure I can do it...I wouldn't know what to do. I still don't. I'm blabbering right now. So, I don't really know if-"She turned to face Michael to speak to him.
And he kissed her again.
This time, Nashi was able to keep control of herself, and didn't shy away once the contact was broken. She kind of wished she had though, because Michael's proximity to her had barely changed.
"You're too cute when your blabbing." He said, making her laugh weakly. "If you really do feel the same way, then that's great. That's my worst fear out of the way." Nashi looked down at her feet.
"I just don't know..." She said weakly. "I'm not a model person, you know."
"I don't care."
"My life's in danger regularly. If something were to happen..."
"Remember what I told you?" Michael asked. "I'll be by your side if a fight like that ever comes to the surface again."
"Even if it's them?" Nashi asked, steeling herself and facing him. "It's the Olympians?" Michael steeled himself as well.
"I don't care if the gods themselves descend to fight you." He replied. "If you're going to throw down, you bet your ass I'll be there. How many times do I have to tell you that?" Nashi didn't reply to this. "Look, I know you're nervous. Everyone's first is nerve racking. But if something so mundane and normal scares you, how will you react when the Olympians do come?"
"...Look, What is it you want, Nashi?" He asked. "Do you want me, or not? I don't mind either way, I only wanted to tell you how I felt because you're special to me and-"
Nashi cut him off by smashing her lips against his.
She'd really never kissed before save Drake on accident, so she really didn't know what to do. Luckily it didn't take Michael long to take charge, and she giggled as his arms snaked around her waist. They broke apart, and she smiled at him.
"Stop talking." She whispered. "It makes you look stupid." He laughed.
"Coming from you." He replied. "Blabbermouth over here. So, was that a yes?"
"What do you think?" She asked. "Do I need to repeat myself?"
"Might have too, my hearing isn't the best." Nashi grinned at this. She moved closer as if to kiss him, but swiftly moved past so her mouth was right next to his ear.
"YES!" She shouted in his ear, making him recoil with a yelp. She laughed as Michael glowered at her. "What?" She asked. "You said your hearing was bad."
"I can already tell this is going to go swimmingly." He hissed, hand covering his ear. Nashi smiled.
"Yeah." I think so too."
Kyoko took a deep breath and looked up at the house in front of her.
She doubted Juno wanted to talk, but keeping herself locked away wouldn't do anybody any good.
Sighing. Kyoko knocked on the door and waited.
"Juno?" She called, getting no answer. "Juno? Come on I know you're in there, open the door." After getting no response for about a minute or so, Kyoko wiggled to doorknob to find it unlocked. Steeling herself, she walked inside the house and made her way for Juno's room. She stared at the closed door, wondering just what exactly she'd see when she opened it.
She needs someone right now. I know that better than anyone.
Kyoko opened the door. The lights were off, which was to be expected. Juno was curled on in a ball on her bed, completely silent. Kyoko crossed her arms and walked inside.
"You okay?" She asked. No response came. Kyoko frowned and looked towards the window where the curtains covered the outside world. "I knew you liked Michael since we were little, but...I never expected this."
"...Neither did I." Kyoko looked back at Juno to find her shaking slightly. "Hah...Nashi. I'm not surprised we likes her and not me."
"Why's that?" Juno laughed and lifted her head up a bit. Kyoko noted her eyes were bloodshot.
"I'm not his type." She whispered, voice cracking. "She's nice. She's beautiful. She's exactly the kind of girl he always chases after." Juno lowered her head again. "And I'm the childhood friend left in the dust. It's so cliche yet it hurts so bad..." Kyoko sat down on the bed and stared at her feet, playing with her hands.
"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you." She said softly. "You know Michael. He'd never do that."
"...Besides, you know his flings never last very long. He's moves on quick, that one."
"I know." Juno replied weakly. "So..." Her voice cracked, and Kyoko heard a sob force it's way out. "Why the hell does this hurt so much more?!" Kyoko embraced the girl softly and listened as she began to cry all over again.
"It hurts." She said. "It always does, losing someone you love."
I like you, Blake. I might love you.
Kyoko closed her eyes as her words floated back to her.
"Trust me. I know. It gets better."
"Why're we here, again?" Michael asked.
"Don't worry about it!" Nashi replied. "I just wanted to thank my mom for something." Michael shrugged.
"Alright, go on. I won't stop you." Nashi nodded thankfully and walked inside the house, and immediately found her mother smiling at her.
"So?" She asked. "How'd it go?" Nashi blushed and looked down at her feet. "I take it that's a good thing. Congrats."
"Thanks." She replied. "For the advice. Everything, really."
"You're welcome, honey. Anytime." Nashi moved to hug her mother, but didn't stay in the embrace longer than thirty seconds.
"I've got to go. Michael wanted to go on a date, so..." Nashi raised an eyebrow at her mother's confused expression.
"Michael?" She asked.
"Yeah." Nashi agreed. "He's the guy I was talking about. Did you guess wrong?" Nashi's mother only looked confused for a brief moment. Then she smiled.
"Nope." She said. "I just wasn't expecting him to want to go on a date so soon. Go one, have fun." Nashi smiled widely.
"I will! Thanks again!"
Lucy watched her daughter run off, before she frowned.
"Michael..." She muttered. "Really? Guess I'm losing my touch. That or I misread them horribly...Oh well."
Michael watched as Nashi went in to speak with her mother, smiling as he did so. That had gone incredibly well. Drake's advice really worked.
"Nice moves, my man." Michael turned to find Drake walking towards him.
"Thanks to you." he said. "I was blunt, just like you said." The two fist bumped, and Drake smiled at him.
"Anytime. Looks like she's happy, too."
"What, you stalking us?"
"No, I was on my way to get another sub. That place makes great ones." Drake moved past Michael, but paused. "Oh, I forgot. One more thing, Michael."
"What's that?" Michael asked. Drake walked back to him, and smiled at him.
It all changed in an instant.
One moment Drake was smiling, the next he was pinning Michael to the wall of the house, holding him by the collar of his shirt. It happened to fast Michael was confused. How had he...?
"Listen up." Drake said, sounding dear serious. "If I ever catch wind of something you did to hurt her, anything, and you'll have to deal with me. I won't stand for that."
"D-Drake...?" Michael asked weakly.
"Got it?" Drake asked. Michael swallowed and narrowed his eyes, nodding. Drake smiled and let him go.
"Then we're good." He said. "Just keep that in mind, okay?"
"...Okay."
"Have fun on your date, man." Drake said, patting his shoulder as he walked away. Michael stared down at his feet, pondering what he'd just heard.
"Drake." he said, making him stop as he walked away. "If...If Nashi and I being together...Gets in your way at all, speak up now." There was silence between the two, and Michael looked over to find Drake's back still to him. Finally, he laughed and looked over his shoulder at him.
"What did I tell you when you trained me to use Dragon Force?" he asked, smiling. "She's just a dear friend. And one that even warned you that I'm protective. So have fun and stop being weird." With this, he walked off, leaving Michael by himself. Once he was gone, he stared down at his feet.
Just a dear friend, huh?
Do you think I'm a fucking idiot, Drake? I don't need sound magic to know you're lying . Question is, is it to me, or yourself...
And there we go. One more filler down! Next two will be some fun times. As if the last three weren't. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!