Moving on

Chapter 24 : Moving on

So that's it! It's with a mix of sadness and joy that I share with you the last official chapter of Moving on.

There was a gunshot. She heard a man's body hitting the ground. Mira couldn't dare to look. She simply couldn't deal with the fact the Laxus could possibly be the one who had fallen. Anyways, she would soon join him if she had failed. But the shot never came. She opened her eyes, those filling with tears as soon as she saw Laxus. He was there, his eyes locked with hers, his chest rising in a regular movement from his breathing. Laxus was alive. She ignored her protesting body and threw herself in his arms, clinging to him for life.

- Laxus...

- It's over, he whispered, a hand in her hair.

The words that were supposed to reassure her had a too shot effect. She stiffened in his arms, fully realising what just happened. Ivan...

She freed herself from the embrace, staggering to the unanimated body of her sister's murderer. Blood was flowing from an horrible wound in the center of his chest. She fell on her knees next to him. Despite her disgust for the man, she checked his pulse, but no beating could be felt under her fingers.

A shadow above her attracted her attention.

- Mira, he started.

- I'm sorry Laxus. I... I killed your father, I...

Now knelt beside her, he pulled her back in his arms, preventing her from saying more.

- You didn't kill my father. He was already dead to me.

- But...

- You didn't kill Ivan neither, he once more cut her off. You saved my life.

She stopped for a moment, thinking about the thoughtful words she would've never imagine Laxus saying. She remembered the hatred, the need for vengeance that had token over her in Hargeon in that warehouse where she almost lost herself. None of those feelings of violence were guiding Mira this time. Only remained the desperation to keep Laxus alive, to see him again, to feel his arms around her like they did at the moment.

She tightened her grip on him, then felt herself pulled up as Laxus helped her to stand. She finally let him go. A cold sensation took over her as soon as her contact with him was lost. She compensated that lack of heat by sliding her hand in his.

The sound of rushed steps attracted their attention. Gray was soon in sigh, the young man out of breath, only wearing his boxers, resting his hands against his thighs as he finally stopped.

- Mira! Laxus!

He didn't say anything else when he saw Ivan's body behind them.

- His he...

- Dead, yeah, let out Laxus.

Gray nodded and, after giving a questioning look to Laxus, silently making sure he was okay, he made a couple of steps closer to the unanimated body.

- I'll take care of it. Go take care of those wounds. You had way more than your fair share.

- Thank you Gray, whispered the young women, holding a little more Laxus's fingers between hers.

***

Gajeel couldn't bare to wait anymore. They may have confirmed that Levy would indeed make it through, he couldn't tolerate not having her next to him. The young woman was at the moment in surgery so they could remove the bullet from her shoulder.