Written Names • Laxus Dreyar ϟ

chapter 1

"Yes, but with you, we can certainly succeed. I need as much help as I can get. " Erza said back to her.

"I have to finish a book." She just continues walking past Erza to the guild doors, not looking back, passing by the guild members who have the look of shock on their faces.

"I heard it was something about a demon."

Suddenly, Layla stops in her tracks. After a few seconds, she sighs and nods her head, "Fine, I'll go."

"You have my gratitude, Layla."

Before she completely disappeared into the guild doors, she cast a sideways glance at Erza. "Welcome back, Erza." She sent a smile, and then she was gone.

Erza has a small smile on her face and is looking at the door.

A few moments passed, and no one said anything until Erza broke the silence, "I'll see you tomorrow, Natsu, Gray." She leaves, carrying her horn. We just look at the door closing behind her, but still, no one speaks.

"Man, now I really need to go." I heard Gray say, breaking the silence. I turned to look at him and Natsu. He has a smirk on his lips.

Gone are the nervous duo; now standing there are an excited and determined pair of boys.

"Hell yeah! A mission with Layla?! This is a golden opportunity, and I certainly won't miss it. " Natsu pumped his fists together with a wide grin on his face.

What are they so excited about?

I turn back to Mirajane, who has a look of pure shock on her face, with her mouth open and eyes wide.

"Who is that?" I must have pulled her from her trance because she looked at me like she just realized I was there.

"That's... Layla Hikaru. The strongest female wizard of Fairy Tail. "

-

The next day, at the Magnolia Station

"AHH!"

Ah~ I shouldn't have come here.

Natsu and Gray are screaming at each other, which makes lots of people turn their heads in our direction.

"Let's just sit here and pretend we don't know them."

"What made you decide to come with us?" Happy asked from beside me, munching on a fish.

"Mira asked me to tag along."

-

"Those two are gonna be at each other throat when Erza's not looking, and Layla won't care at all, so I want you to be there to stop them, okay?"

"Who?! Me? "

-

"You aren't doing a very good job." The cat said, "They're hopeless."

"Sorry, I'm late. Have you been waiting long? "

"No, not really." I turn to look at Erza but surprise at what I saw. "Woah! Look at that luggage!"

"All those belong to you?!" I exclaim with my jaw drop and my eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. But my expression quickly turns into disbelief when I saw Natsu and Gray acting like 'the best of friends'

"Listen, one Happy's enough!"

But to my utter disbelief, Erza seems to believe it.

"Good. I would really like to see the two of you get along. And what was your name? I believe I saw you at the guild yesterday." She looks at me, asking. I happily introduced myself and the reason why I'm coming along with them. She then mentions the misunderstanding about me defeating a monster with my pinky finger, which is an absolute lie. I have no choice but to agree.

"Hey, Erza, I'll come with you but only under one condition," Natsu called her.

I kind of have a bad feeling about what that one condition might be. Turns out I was completely right because he just challenged Erza to a fight, despite Gray's protestations to him to stop. And to my surprise, she accepted his challenge.

"All right! I'm fired up!" Natsu exclaims while fire is spurting from his mouth.

"Now, let's go before our train leaves," Erza said, pulling her cart of luggage to the train. I turn to follow her before Gray said, "But Layla's not here yet."

I stopped and looked around us. "You're right, she isn't here yet." I turn to look at Erza, who also stops walking, "Should we wait for her?"

"No need, she will catch up to us soon. She just has to finish something important."

"Oh, bummer! Well, as long as I got to see her in action, it's fine!" Natsu said. I look at him confuse, "You never seen her fight?"

"Well, not really! She always goes on a mission alone, and when she's on the guild, it's either she's reading or on the second floor. So, there are only a handful of times that we get to see her, much less see her fight." His face has a frown, obviously frustrated by the situation.

I remember my conversation with Mira the day before, right after Erza left the guild.

-

"Layla Hikaru? I put my hand under my chin and wonder if I've ever heard the name before. But after racking my brain to the very depths, the name doesn't ring a single bell. "But why didn't I know her? I've read every single magazine about Fairy Tail, but I never saw her name or face."

Especially with a face like that, she could be a regular weekly sorcerer model with a body and a face like one.

I look up at Mira, who is polishing a glass behind the bar.

"Uh-huh! Layla doesn't really like the idea of her life being revealed to the public. She likes to keep it to herself. Besides, she's usually on a mission, only stopping by the guild every now and then." She said, with her usual smile.

-

"Layla is a very mysterious person, but that doesn't change the fact that she's strong," Erza said. Happy's nodding along to her, "Yeah! She is very strong."

"That's why I'm going to challenge her too!" Natsu exclaimed, fire coming off his mouth.

"Now you are just being suicidal," Gray replies to him.

Erza chuckles, " You should, Natsu. I'm sure she'd be delighted."

"NOW I'M more fired up!"

Now I've got a feeling that this isn't going to end well.

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