章 53: 50. Erza's Sinister Plot
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Erza and Mirajane sat in a seiza in front of a short old man with a disappointed look on his face. The former was drenched, the fur of her winter armour matted down while a crystalline blue spear sat in front of her, broken. The platinum-blonde beside her was in a transformation unknown to me, with pale blue scales covering her arms and legs with matching horns and wings.
Behind them were the younger Take Over siblings, both sweating despite the freezing cold. Or maybe it was the unpredicted "rain" and "hail" that was currently falling?
"Which one of you did it?" Master Makarov sighed as he looked at the empty lake the two girls were fighting in.
Naturally, both of the girls pointed at the other. Which, from what I could tell, was technically correct. The best kind of correct.
But it didn't save them like they had thought.
"Is that so…" Makarov grumbled as his magic aura began to shake the ground, making the others sweat even more. "Was this trident what you used to fight, Erza?"
"Yes, Master."
"And did you use this form for the fight, Mirajane?"
"Y-Yes, Master."
"I see," he said as he scratched his chin in thought. The ordinary action is made terrifying by the pressure he exudes. "Erza, seeing as the trident was already broken you are not allowed to have it repaired, and must refill the lake. And you Mira are going to help her refill the lake, and are prohibited from using this form in the future. Am I clear?"
""Yes, Master,"" the two trembled, with Mira deactivating the transformation.
Their guild master sighed and pulled in his aura before laying a careful hand on their shoulders, and warmly saying, "If you girls want to challenge each other, that's fine, just remember to exercise restraint. Okay?"
They nodded in agreement, causing a small smile to come to his face before walking away back towards the guild hanging on the cliffside. At least you would assume so, if not for the grumbling of "paperwork" and "annoying mayors". "Make sure you five get home already, too! It's getting late!" he shouted to the group before he could leave earshot.
The two girls got off the ground and sighed, admittedly looking a little embarrassed before a smug look crossed Mira's face. "How does it feel to lose, Erza?"
"You're getting punished just as much as I am!" the red-head shouted losing her sense of shame just as quickly.
"Who cares about whether or not you won or lost? What were you two thinking!?" Lisanna pouted while flailing her arms.
"We had a bet," Erza said casually before looking around in confusion, "Speaking of, where is Lyssa?"
"I'm over here," they heard me say before looking around in confusion. Mira caught sight of me though, as my body began to morph out of the shadows of a nearby tree.
"When did ya learn to do that?" she asked.
"Darkness is a pretty broad category of magic. Shadows are on the easier side to manipulate," I explained simply, "Still, I'm surprised he sensed me…"
"Well, Master is a Wizard Saint," Erza shrugged nonplussed.
"Wizard Saint or not, his detection is pretty impressive. I've stolen enough money from Jose to be competent in my stealth, and he's a Wizard Saint, too."
"Wait you steal from your guild master!?" she shrieked in surprise.
"Not my fault he hasn't realised someone knows the password to his safe."
"Respect."
"Mira!" ""Big sis!""
"What was the prize you two were fighting for anyway?" I asked, ignoring the look of righteous contemplation Erza had on her face as I tried to deter her from a lecture.
Mira's smugness grew as she began to haughtily laugh to herself. "You have been given the honour that I fought for to spend the night at the abode of yours truly! You may bow now."
"Eh? But I thought I was staying the night with you, Erza?" I turned to the redhead in confusion.
"Like I'm gonna let someone shame themselves being one of Erza's guests!" Mira snarked at Erza before the redhead could answer.
The knight huffed before walking back towards town with a wave for us to follow. Naturally, Mira didn't take too kindly to Erza trying to lead and ran ahead of her. "You seemed to be enjoying getting to know Lisanna and Elfman, so I'd allow you to spend the rest of the day with them even if you have to put up with their idiot older sister," she said spinning on her feet to walk backwards. "I've stolen you to myself all day so I'm fine with it, I'm not letting you leave tomorrow without a goodbye after all. The choice is ultimately up to you though."
"I guess if it was your decision then alright, sure," I shrugged. A glint of smug satisfaction entered Erza's eyes.
Mirajane began to gloat about how it was obviously the better decision, but I just tuned her out and looked at the Fairy Tail guild hall where a certain Wizard Saint was currently drinking himself to sleep.
'I wanna fight him.'
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Mirajane and I stood side by side as we washed the dishes, her scrubbing and I drying.
Erza had parted ways with the rest of us before we got to the siblings' home, a simple two-story family home, where Elfman and Mira had finished preparing a delicious beef stew. The younger siblings had eaten themselves into a food coma, so that left us to clean the dishes.
There wasn't much to clean; silverware, some bowls, and the now empty giant pot. But the happy smile and humming from the sister was infectious.
"You enjoy doing this, don't you?" I smiled as I wiped the pot dry.
"What do you mean?" she asked handing me the final bowl.
"Doing the menial things for your siblings."
She nodded as the smile grew softer, "The small things that make their lives just a little bit easier. Some might think it's annoying, but if I can take care of them in any small way it's worth getting my hands dirty."
"Cute~"
Immediately my vision was obscured by dirty sink water as Mira held the back of my hair in a vice grip. Just as quickly as she dunked me she pulled me back out, her smile now more annoyed than sweet. "Care to call me that again," she challenged.
And I like a challenge.
"Absolute~ly adorabBLGHLGHG!"
After a brief second, she let go, letting me breathe and hang my head over the sink so I wouldn't get the floor wet. Steam began to rise from my hair and skin as I burned away the wet and grime.
Looking over my shoulder I saw the worst lifeguard in the world leaning on the kitchen island with her arms crossed and a smug mug.
"Bitch," I huffed and flipped her off.
"Brat," she snarked and mirrored my middle finger with two of her own.
Before the two of us knew it we were keeled over laughing, the stupidity of our behaviour adding a level of levity neither of us really expected.
We just leaned on each other as we fell to the floor laughing and cackling, simultaneously acknowledging how ridiculous the moment was and not really caring.
Anytime we'd slowly come back down from the comical high one of us would find a joke that would steer the conversation further and further away from whatever it was that made us laugh to begin with.
It was chaotic, definitely spontaneous, neither one of us could properly explain it, but it was peaceful. A bountiful spring in a course dessert that I eagerly drank from.
It was nice.
"Your brother sounds like a dork," Mira said as she took a sip from a can she had cracked open midway through our craik.
"Toto isn't that bad at his core," I stretched as I plonked my head on the door of the sink cabinet.
"I don't know, someone that asks a girl if she 'wants to help him polish his sword' is a bit of a dweeb."
"In his defence he was drunk and I think he meant it literally!"
"That's even worse!" she called out before shaking her head, chugging the rest of the soda and standing up with a stretch. "It's getting late. Come on, you can share the master bed with me."
"Nah, it's fine," I told her as I stood up. My clothes briefly glowed white as I requipped into a lightweight kimono. "I don't sleep, I'll just spend the night studying instead and prepare breakfast in the morning."
Mira watched incredulously as an armful of books warped its way into existence and a purple flame ignited the fireplace.
"No," she sternly said.
"What do you mean n-?" Mira quickly shoved her hand in my face as a pink bubble quickly shot out of it.
Without me even being able to fight back in time, she quickly put me to sleep with magic and caught my unconscious body. But she hadn't expected that me being shorter than her didn't mean I was lighter, causing her to almost drop me as she ended up in a squat due to the unexpected weight difference. "How can a girl so small pack this much muscle!?"
Throwing me over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, carrying me up the stairs, and angrily throwing me on the bed. "'I don't sleep' she says. Bullshit! I'm not a doctor but I know you'd be dead by now if you don't sleep!"
—
Meanwhile, at Fairy Hills…
In her room lit only by a bedside lamp, Erza was currently sitting in her bed, laughing to herself like she was some mad genius. "If the relationship between Marquess Dovewand and Prince Branwen has told me anything, it's that political relationships can be plenty more than just beneficial. If I can get Mirajane and Lyssa to realise the potential they have together, then this feud with Phantom Lord can end peacefully and I can try to get Lyssa to join Fairy Tail afterwards! It's foolproof! AHAHAHA!"
Then her manic laughter turned perverted as she reached for the book on the table next to her, "Speaking of, let's see how their relationship deepens. Ehehehe~"
"Hey Erza!" Cana said as she opened the door without any warning, startling Erza as she threw the book out the window on reflex. The brunette deadpanned at the display and sighed, "I was going to tell you that it's your turn to clean the baths but if you're just going to keep reading smut-"
"I was not reading smut!"
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