New Additions

Mira and her siblings had just returned from an A-Class job. After she learned that Erza had completed one solo, the eldest Strauss had done a few of her own to prove she is just as good. She successfully completed them and started bringing her siblings along. Mira loved her family and couldn't stay away from them for long. Taking them with her on jobs would also give them more experience and prepare them for the future.

Her little sister Lisanna had been nothing but a prodigy when it came to her Take Over: Animal Soul. A little genius is what she was. Partial and Full transformations came to her naturally. She didn't even have problems taking over any animals. Lisanna was nothing short of amazing even though her Magic wasn't as strong as Mira's

Elfman was a different story. His Take Over: Beast Soul was stronger than Lisanna's, but his control over it was nothing compared to hers. Her brother couldn't transform more than his right arm. At least he was physically gifted. Of course, not as much as herself, but he was pretty strong.

Their last job... wasn't as successful as Mira would've wanted. Evident from the bandages on her left arm and the ones around her waist. The latter were hidden under her dark grey dress, and she was thankful that she had some clothes to cover at least that up. Showing weakness wasn't part of her character.

Mira entered the Guild, and her sapphire orbs scanned the hall. Her eyes landed on one of the larger tables where a group of the younger members had taken for themselves.

Gerald was sitting on a table with Cana to his left and Levy to his right. The two brunettes were eating and talking about their recent job while the bluenette was busy reading her book. Levy's reading time had been reduced due to having to learn Magic with the other two, so she took every chance she got to make up for it.

On the other side of the table, there were three more occupants. Jet and Droy, the two lost puppies, had joined their group. Cana only had to tell them that they would get the chance of spending more time with Levy, and the two jumped the gun. Not before taking a beating from the Card Mage.

When she had gone to speak with them, they had apparently thought she was interested in them and asked her out. Jet and Droy were two pretty desperate boys since girls didn't really talk with them.

The last member of their little group was Laki Olietta. A glasses wearing and violet-haired girl with a dark red ribbon adorning the top of her head. Laki was mostly a loner since she was a bit eccentric, but she was more than happy to join their little group when Cana asked her. The two of them were on somewhat good terms.

"Ah, I fed my stomach with the tasty substance," Laki exclaimed. Yeah, she was a bit eccentric, but fun to be around

Now, this is where Gerald realized Jet and Droy were desperate to go out with a girl. They thought that Laki had joined because of them, and didn't waste any time at asking her out. They had learned their lesson from Cana, however. When Laki showed signs of being annoyed, Jet booked it with his High Speed Magic. Droy, on the other hand, wasn't as lucky and took a good beating from her.

Surprisingly, after Laki had her way with him, she agreed to go out with him. Since Droy was able to take a good beating, that meant that he had met her requirements for a date. But the two were a good combination, besides the fact that one was an S while the other apparently turned out to be an M. Droy used a type of Plant Magic, which relied on him throwing seeds that, well, sprouted plants.

Laki, on the other hand, used Wood-Make Magic, which allowed her to create and manipulate wood. It reminded Gerald of a certain powerhouse from a ninja anime. Wood-Make was a Magic that had an awful lot of potential. With enough Magic Power and imagination, she could easily replicate the techniques of that ninja. Laki was already working on Wood Clones, which were harder to control than shown in the anime. She had to control each one of them manually, but with the help of Dark and Fay, she was working on how to make them automated.

"Ge~rald~" He let out a sigh hearing the sing-song voice. A second later, a hand was placed on his shoulder. "I really need to let out some steam, and I got a lot of Jewels in my wallet, so how about you accompany me for some shopping."

Mira wasn't asking. There was no option for refusal. Gerald stood up and turned around. He'd rather go along with her willingly than be dragged by Mira, and he knew that she wouldn't accept no for an answer. Even then, she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the Guild in a hurry. The less time she spent there while wearing bandages, the better.

"You're hurt," Gerald noted, seeing her bandaged arm.

"It's nothing I can't handle. It will heal in a few days." Mira played it off. Her arm was fractured, but she wouldn't admit that. She was strong and would never show weakness in front of people other than her family.

There was a flash of white from Requip, and a card appeared in Gerald's hand. "White Magician Pikeru!"

A girl appeared, dressed in white robes and a yellow ram-horned fluffy creature on her head. She had two long pink and curly pigtails and held a staff with a purple orb.

"What is this?" Mira asked.

"Pikeru is here to help!" The girl declared and pointed her staff at Mira. She didn't need to be verbally told what to do. "White Magic: Restoration!"

A white light covered Mira's left arm and waist. It lasted for a few seconds, and Gerald felt his Magic Power drop by 80%.

Pikeru had unlocked after the beating from Laxus. The girl couldn't stand her Master getting hurt and wanted to help. Unfortunately, she had made things worse when she tried to heal him. He had been pretty low on Magic Power when she summoned her and hadn't expected to drop to zero from a single one of her spells. Magic Power Exhaustions was something he didn't want to experience ever again, that much he was certain.

Nevertheless, Pikeru was extremely useful. Healing Magic was scarce and considered a Lost Magic. It cost a lot of Magic Power to heal wounds, but it was invaluable because it allowed them to fight Laxus on a daily basis since the blond made sure to crush them every time. Cana and Gerald had been improving a lot, but he would increase his level just enough for it to seem that they've made no progress.

"Good job, Pikeru!" Gerald praised her and patted her.

"Yes! Pikeru did good! Pikeru helped!" She twirled around like the little girl that she was while happily giggling.

"Thank you for helping Mira out, Pikeru." The girl beamed him a smile from ear to ear. She loved getting praised.

"Pikeru loves helping! Pikeru will always help Master's friends!" She hopped next to him and hugged his leg.

"I will summon you again when I need your help, okay?" He patted her once more.

"Yes!" Pikeru celebrated before dissipating.

Mira looked with wide eyes as she removed the bandages on her left arm. She then turned towards Gerald with an appraising eye. She had to reevaluate the brown-haired boy after learning that he had a summon that could use Healing Magic. She looked him over and noticed that he had changed quite a bit since the day they met. Gerald had grown a bit taller, his arms had gained some muscle, and his chest was slightly wider.

"Not bad," Mira said as she grabbed his arm and gave it squeeze. "You've been working out. Are you trying to impress me?"

"No," Gerald bluntly answered. "I've been training for myself. Not to impress someone else."

"What? I'm not good enough for you?" Mira asked, offended by his answer. Her hand didn't stop touching his arm while she placed her other hand on his chest.

Gerald rolled his eyes at that. Puberty was hitting the younger members of Fairy Tail hard, including him as well. The girls were all good-looking, but he wasn't attracted to them due to his older mind. Not yet at least, since they were all maturing quite fast thanks to the thing called Magic Power being in the equation. Their chests were budding, their faces were becoming more womanly, and they were becoming more charming by the day.

Then there was also this one thought in the back of his mind. Telling him that they are all fictional characters, that they are not real, that none of this is real. But the more he spent time with them, the more that thought was pushed further and further in the back of his mind.

"You are too young for me," Gerald told her with a straight face.

"What? We are the same age!" Mira yelled out.

"Exactly."

Mira's eyes were like saucers. 'He tells me I'm beautiful, but now he says I'm too young for him? Is he playing hard to get to try and get my attention?' A mischievous smile formed on her face, and the hand on his chest suddenly pinched him in a sensitive area.

"Can you not?" Gerald's hand quickly grabbed hers with a surprising amount of strength.

"Ohh~ What are you gonna do about it?"

"Pinch you back."

"I will kill you if you do it!"

"Death or shopping? I'll take my chances." Gerald's hand reached out.

"Bastard!" Mira cursed out and turned around, pulling him towards the store she had in mind to check out today.

A few steps later, she asked. "Do you really not like me? Didn't you say I'm beautiful? Was it a lie?"

"No, you are beautiful, and you will become drop-dead gorgeous in a few years." Mira tightened her grip on his arm. Being complimented was... nice. Ever since she took on the persona of a Demon, people preferred to avoid and stay away from her. Gerald was the only beside her siblings that said good things about her. Even though he made her feel like punching his face off at times.

"But you don't like me."

"I like you. I'm just not attracted to you. There's a difference. Maybe in a couple of years, I would be. Who knows."

"Ha, I'll be taken by then. You won't even get a chance." Mira puffed her chest out.

"Maybe, but that's life for you. You don't always get what you want." Gerald shrugged his shoulders. "I already lost everything, I lost my family." Both of them. "But I was lucky enough to be adopted in another family with open arms. I can't ask for more than that. If I can't be with a girl that I like in the future because she is already with someone else, well, that's life for you."

Mira didn't say anything and only tightened her grip on his arm. He was like her, but he didn't have any family left while she still had her siblings with her. She kept quiet as she pulled Gerald towards the store while lost in her own thoughts.

Two hours later, Gerald returned to the Guild while Mira went back to the house she had purchased for her family. A simple 2-story building with a bedroom for each Strauss sibling and an additional guest room. Mira entered her room with a thoughtful look on her face.

Gerald met with Laxus just as the blond was leaving the Guild. The two nodded to each other in greeting. Gerald got along with Laxus surprisingly well. The S-Class mage was blunt like him, always saying what was on his mind without any sugarcoating. He was also closer to his mental age compared to the rest.

"I'll be gone for about two weeks," Laxus informed him.

"That's fine," Gerald replied and joked. "You won't be missed."

Laxus scoffed with a very slight smirk on his face. "Don't slack off when I'm gone."

"We won't. Cana even wants to start taking higher-ranked jobs and possibly get into the next S-Class Promotional Trial."

"And you don't?" Laxus narrowed his eyes. He didn't miss that Gerald specified Cana and didn't include himself.

"Being S-Class or not, doesn't matter to me. I just want to be strong and whoop your ass," Gerald answered with a cheeky grin.

"I see." Laxus nodded. In the end, being an S-Class mage was only a title. If one was strong enough, it didn't matter if he was officially considered one or not. Without saying another word, he left for his job.

Makarov watched the two interact with a giddy smile on his face. His grandson had been getting more and more distant after his father was banished from Fairy Tail. He was happy that he was getting along with other members of the Guild. The Thunder God tribe were his loyal follower, so they were a given, but for the past month, he had seen his grandson interact with Gerald. Even go as far as to train him and Cana. That was a surprising and pleasant change.

The next day, Gerald summoned both Alligator's Sword and Celtic Guardian. His sword materialized in his right while his saber in his left. In neither life was he ambidextrous, but he now was able to wield a weapon in his off-hand as if it's his main hand. He wasn't sure if it was due the boost of learning a weapon from his summons or something else, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. He would take any advantage he could get to prepare for the future.

Compared to his summons, Gerald's skill with the two weapons had become pretty much equal to theirs. In terms of physical abilities, he had become as strong and fast as the two, or even slightly better, thanks to having Magic Power. Something the two didn't have. However, he lacked their fighting experience. That was the one thing they had on him.

Alligator's Sword and Celtic Guardian dashed towards him, almost in synch. The elf warrior relied on his strength and skilled attacks while the lizardman used his speed and unpredictability to his advantage.

Alligator was the first to reach him with his saber being wildly swung. Gerald blocked the attack with his two weapons before jumping back. The saber wasn't Alligator's only weapon. His sharp claws were just as dangerous, and there was also his tail. Gerald couldn't even remember how many times the lizardman had used it to catch his leg and flip him over. Alligator had made sure to teach him that in a fight, there are no dirty moves, only winners and losers. You either use everything you got to your advantage or your opponent does.

Celtic Guardian followed up with a mighty swing, which Gerald deflected with his saber before striking with his sword. The elf warrior parried the attack with his armguard, and he was forced to jump away since Alligator was about to split him in two. Gerald could've used his flat-screens to block it, but that would be against the point of this. He wanted to prepare for situations where he would be low on Magic Power and wouldn't be able to use his Magic.

So, the cat and mouse game between the three began. Block, parry, dodge, attack. Gerald got in a trance. His entire focus was on his two opponents. Everything else was forgotten at that moment. Block, parry, dodge, attack. Block, parry, dodge, attack.

Gerald didn't know how long it lasted, but the first to go down was Alligator's Sword. The lizardman liked to take chances and overextend. Gerald cut off his arm before stabbing him in the chest. Alligator smiled proudly without any misgiving before dissipating into white participles. His master had become strong, someone that could stand on his own in a fight. The lizardman couldn't ask for more.

With the fight now being one on one, it was a foregone conclusion. Gerald was faster than Celtic Guardian, and after deflecting an attack from the elf warrior, his sword pierced the unarmored neck of his summon. Like Alligator, there were no misgivings on his face. He was happy with the outcome. He might not have anything else to teach his Master, but that wasn't a bad thing. Gerald had outgrown him, and the only thing he hoped for was that he got the chance to help him in the future.

Gerald breathed heavily. His mind still in a trance and not even hearing the clapping from behind him. In a moment, he relaxed, and a deep voice spoke in his head.

'You are on the path of a warrior. A path I once walked. Summon me, Master. I will teach you the way and slay your enemies in your name.'

Gerald inspected his cards and found his newly unlocked one. On it, was a knight in black armor with a white outline. He had a white blade attached to his right hand and a black shield attached to his left. A warrior so great, he sealed himself in a suit of iron armor to limit his power.

"That was a good fight. A good show of swordsmanship."

Gerald turned around to see Erza looking at him in interest.

"So, how about that spar we talked about?"

Very few used a weapon in the Guild, and only Erza wielded a sword. Suffice to say, she was interested in fighting Gerald.

"Eh, I'm a bit tired now," He replied. "But, I know someone that would love to spar with you."

"And who's that?" Her eyes shone brightly.

"Gearfried The Iron Knight!"