"Student Council President! Let's talk about this!" Yumoto offered. "Don't be assured!" Kinshiro cried. "" I have power; power that you lack, power to cleanse the world!" He then raised his left hand, getting ready to blast another beam at the Battle Lovers until they heard someone shout. "Don't be deceived!" The voice boomed. Everyone looked over to see Gora; hatchet in his left hand, and in his right holding what looked to be a chonky goldfish. "This has all been prearranged! It's a setup!" Gora roared. "What is he talking about?" Erza muttered. Both parties were confused about how a simple goldfish would be brought into all of this. "What was set up?!" Erza hollered. "All of it! This guy set up all of it!" Gora yelled back. "Let me go! Let me go, I say! Just who do you think I am?!" The goldfish demanded. Everyone was filled with shock. "A talking goldfish? It couldn't be . . . " Kinshiro trailed off. "Now, Hireashi! Confess everything!" Gora demanded, squeezing Hireashi hard enough for him to get the message. "I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell them everything! Just don't crush me!" Hireashi begged.
"This is a reality show targeted at the whole universe! The things you said, the things you do, every move you make; all of it! Down to the tiniest detail, it's being broadcasted across the universe!" Hireashi explained. "Broadcasted across the universe?!" Both of the parties were nearly overwhelmed with all of this information. "They're watching you Earthlings divide into two groups and fight each other!" Hireashi disclosed. "W-What did you say?!" The Battle Lovers yelled. "I never thought I'd have a moment in my life when I'd say "What did you say?!" But this is a real "What did you say?!" moment." En abruptly said. "To be honest, none of us can blame you . . . " Lisanna trailed off, trying to process everything that has happened in the past several minutes.
"Broadcasted . . . Across the universe?" Kinshiro said. It seemed even he had a bit of trouble processing the information. "Chief Hireashi!" The green hedgehog yelled. They then saw him fire his spike from his back, all glowing a vivid green as they shot into Gora's chest. "Big Bro!" Yumoto yelled before the Battle Lovers jumped off of the roof and rushed towards Gora. "Chief Hireashi! Are you alright?" The hedgehog asked as the goldfish-looking alien got up. "Of course, I'm not alright! You took too long getting here!" Hireashi yelled at the green hedgehog, who replied with a, "I am very sorry!" "Kinosaki-chan! Continue the broadcast!" Hireashi yelled to the said student.
"Okay!" He said, announcing into his microphone. "This is Kinosaki on the scene! Now," he began, "let's have a talk with the leader of the Conquest Club, Kinshiro Kusatsu!" He said, walking towards the student council president, prodding his microphone towards him as Tawaza followed close behind him, filing every little interaction. "How are you feeling right now?" Kinosaki asked. "Say a few words to our viewers." He needled, but Kinshiro was silent still processing all of the information that had been disclosed. "Okay! That was Dark Aurite, A.K.A. Kinshiro Kusatsu, whose expression suggests some lingering shock!" He announced, as carefree as ever. "That means . . . Everything I've said and done has all been watched?" Kinshiro finally spoke. "Yes, that's right!" Kinosaki answered. "In addition to your battles, there have been hidden cameras set up in your student council room and personal spaces, as well!" He enthused, as if this was normal and within basic moral guidelines.
"It's all being broadcasted throughout the whole galaxy!" "Throughout the whole galaxy?" Kinshiro asked, mortified at the mere thought. "Yes! The faint yearning of not only your old childhood friend, but you and your comrade," he gestured to Akoya, "in an unknowing competition against one another," he then gestured to Lucy, "for the heart of the first girl who arrived here: Lucy Heartfilia!" The three of them froze. Kinshiro and Akoya looked absolutely mortified, meanwhile, Lucy was trying her best to ignore the sheer embarrassment of the situation. "But what's even more titillating," Kinosaki continued, "the obstinacy, the angry outburst, the unavoidable failures of understanding; you're a stand-out character!" Kinosaki was practically bursting from the seams. "You're a conversation topic for thousands of millions of people across the universe!" "I-It can't be . . . " Kinshiro looked to be a mixture of embarrassment and perpetual shock. "It's the tsundere in you-" "Will you guys just shut the f#ck up?!" Lisanna yelled as all of the Battle Lovers tried to help Gora.
"Big Bro! Big Bro!" Yumoto cried. "Speak to me! Don't die!" Yumoto was in tears at the thought of losing his brother. "What are you doing, Caerula Adamas?! Go and defeat the Battle Lovers!" The green hedgehog demanded. "What's the point in fighting them, now?" Kinishiro asked. "What was that?" The hedgehog questioned. "Now that everything's been brought to light, all my talk of order rings completely hollow." Kinshiro looked defeated in more ways than one, his voice ringing with truth mixed with exhaustion. "To whom do you think I gave the power to rule the world?" The hedgehog asked or rather demanded. Kinishiro didn't have a reply for that, seemingly ashamed of his mannerisms and actions that led him down this path. The hedgehog huffed in annoyance. "If it comes to this, go to Plan B! Do it, Zun-chan!" Hireashi ordered, giving Zundar the go-ahead.
"Zundar Needles, activate!" Zundar hollered, the marking on his forehead glowing brighter than a star, along with the needles that he stabbed Gora with. "Big Bro?" Yumoto asked as Lucy pulled him away. "What's happening?" Lucy asked, knowing that something bad was about to occur. Gora screamed out in pain, as a black mist began to engulf his body. When it dissipated, Gora was wearing a black trench coat with gold buttons and trimming, black pants, black boots, a black mask that covered his nose and mouth, and a large hatchet that he was carrying on his back. "What happened to him?" Erza asked seemingly no one. "My name is Wood-Chopper Monster." He spoke in a terrifyingly low voice. "I will chop wood, and the world in two!" He yelled. "W-What did you say?!" The Battle Lovers shouted. "Okay, that's already the second "What did you say?!" of my life," En spoke. "He's become a monster?" Ibushi asked, "So, it wasn't our power doing that?" Akoya asked. Both felt a little foolish for not realizing it sooner.
"Why . . . " Yumoto trailed off as Gora got closer to him. "Why is my brother Gora . . . " Gora then raised his hatchet, ready to strike. "Chop!" He yelled and brought it down towards his brother who thankfully jumped out of the way before it got too close. "Stop it, Big Bro!" Yumoto told him, watching him once again point the hatchet towards the Battle Lovers. "He's more powerful than I gave him credit for," Lucy said. "That's Yumoto's brother for you," Ryuu sighed. "All that daily wood chopping wasn't just for show," Atsushi commented. "But how are we supposed to defeat him?" Lisanna asked. The Battle Lovers knew that even if all of them went up against him. Some would collapse from exhaustion, lose their life, or be drained of so much magic that it would be a miracle if they didn't get magic deficiency disease.
"A better question to ask is how the hell does he know how to fight like this?" Erza asked. She brought up a good point. If she was this worried about him defeating the Battle Lover, let alone her. I must've meant that he had some form of job that required fighting like this. "She actually noticed! Well done, well done!" Hireashi cheered. "Now, it's time for a nostalgic playback of old times!" The goldfish then snapped his fingers, revealing a sign that was made out of static, as if an invisible, large flat-screen TV was showing them this. It read "TV-UCHYU: TV Universe" on the screen: a television station. "Universal Calendar: 1/10/15," Hireashi began, "My employer, TV Universe, sent me, the skilled Hireashi, to be the director of a reality show: "Can I Destroy the Earth?" Hireashi was shown on the screen doing just that, flying towards the Earth in a miniature UFO. "There was a despicable, wicked Earthling. His name was Gora Hakone. That man vanquished all the monsters we sent, one after another. He had no consideration for how badly our viewers wanted to see the Earth conquered and destroyed, and no ability to read the mood! He made all of our plans come to nothing!" Hireashi screamed.
The screen then panned to Gora who was dressed in long, white pants, white sturdy boots, a double-breasted trench coat that was white on the outside, red on the inside, and had gold buttons and trimming, and was carrying the same large hatchet. He looked more like a charming prince going off to war until he swung that gigantic hatchet, defeating the monsters in one blow. To his side, there looked to be a large, bluebird that resembled a toucan that looked to be praising his victories. "Wait, so Gora was the previous generation of Battle Lovers?!" Lisanna squeaked. "Oh, now that you mention it," Yumoto began, "My brother would always sharpen his hatchet after I went to bed. I saw him go out somewhere after that, lots of times. I was too scared to ask where he was going, though." The other Battle Lovers looked either shocked or a bit scared. "Yeah, if I were in your shoes. I would've been silent, too," Juvia trembled at the meter thought.
"Once the program lost its concept," Hireashi continued, "the ratings dwindled. In the end, it was tragically canceled. CIDE is the only show I've ever directed that got canceled!" "CIDE?" Atsushi asked, not fully understanding what Hireashi was referencing. "It's an acronym for "Can I Destroy the Earth", I suppose," Lisanna explained. "It's only natural that it was canceled!" Wombat hollered. "Hoshi and I could not allow such foolishness and barbarism! You received numerous complaints from the Space Ethics Improvement Organization to the point where not only an SEIO Commander has gotten involved, but you always make some vague excuse by saying just watch it until the end!" All of the Battle Lovers looked over at the Wombat-looking alien. "Wait, you've known about it from the start?" En asked. That got Wombat's attention. "I'm just acting in the spirit of animal preservation! I couldn't stand watching the creatures of Earth wiped out for someone's entertainment! Not to mention with the SEIO Commander breathing down my neck; if no one steps in, then she'll send in her battalion, and permanently destroy the monster and the human inside!" He seemed frantic as if both events were about to happen in front of him.
"We're just giving the masses what they want to see!" Zundar argued. "What kind of viral marketing is that?! Your selfishness is your undoing! What about compliance, anyway?!" Wombat jeered, outraged at Zundar's reasons to wipe out all life forms. "Compliance? Ha!" Hireashi waved his fin in the air as if he physically brushed his worries away. "I'm laughing so hard, I could brew tea in my navel!" "I don't want to hear talk of navels from a fish!" Wombat shouted. "Silence!" Zundar demanded. "You have a pouch, and that's just gross!"
Wombat: "Are you really going there?! Are you really going to go there?!"
Zundar: "And what if I am?!"
Wombat: "Then I'll go there, too! They way you're always twitching your nose really bothers me!"
Zundar: "I'm not twitching it!"
Wombat: "You are to!"
Hireashi: 'You really are."
Zundar: "WHAT?!"
"Should we just leave and let them argue?" Lisanna asked no one in particular. "That's enough!" Erza yelled, eyes sharper than Gora's hatchet. Everyone, including the animal-looking aliens, flinch. "Honestly, I can't tell if this is either amusing or pathetic." Erza rubbed the right side of her temple with her fingers, trying to process everything that had just transpired. "Anyway," Hireashi started, "since CIDE was a failure, I was exiled to the company history compilation office. Even Aria-chan, the cabaret girl from Gotanda Plaent, dumped me! It put me through the wringer!" "You go to cabaret clubs?" Ryuu asked. "Those actually exist on other planets?" Juvia questioned. "What are those?" Erza asked them, not fully aware of what they were. The two's cheeks turned a light shade of pink, before flat out saying, "Nothing." "Okay," Erza started, "but I'll find out eventually." A phone rang before Hireashi answered the incoming call, and it ended as fast as it came.
"The numbers are through the roof! Okay, go at it! Make it look good!" Qureshi demanded before Gora raised his hatchet and swung it down towards the Battle Lovers. Over and over again, Gora was attacking any of the Battle Lovers on sight. Erza jumped in front of Yumoto since she and her swords were the only two things able to handle his attacks. "If you were once a Battle Lover, how the hell can you turn to the dark side almost instantly?!" Erza screamed, trying to get through to Gora who just kept trying to defeat her. "PISS OFF!!!" Erza screamed, giving Gora a good uppercut to the chin, ripping his mask and causing it to fall off in the process. "I refuse," Gora said, before continuing to attack her. "Stop it, Big Bro!" Yumoto yelled from the sidelines, as Gora and Erza continued to clash their weapons against one another.
'Whoever wins, we're guaranteed rave reviews!" Kinosaki hollered with glee. "You can piss off, too!" Erza yelled towards Kinosaki and Tawaza. The Battle Lovers tried to use their abilities, along with the girls combining their magic but it was not used. With one swing from Gora's hatchet, their abilities and magic dispersed into nothingness. "Big Bro, come to your senses!" Yumoto shouted. "I refuse!" Gora yelled, bringing his hatchet down again, splitting the ground beneath them. They thankfully jumped out of the way, but the rumble still collided with their bodies. "Look at that power!" Kinosaki cheered. "This is the Gora Power that drove CIDE to cancellation!" He then felt a small tap on the leg. He looked down to see Hoshi, and behind her were Ibushi and Akoya. "Hey, you're Kinosaki, correct?" She asked a deadpan expression dawning on her face. "Are you through interviewing Kinshiro, or are we mistaken?" She questioned. "Yes, I'm done. What's going on here is far more interesting." "Then," Ibushi spoke up, "I have one question for you." "I'm busy right now. Can't it wait until later?" Kinosaki asked, visibly annoyed that his attention was not on the battle that was currently taking place. "No, it's a very simple question; answer yes or no," Ibushi reassured the intrusive boy. "Did you know about their plan from the start, and that's why you've been doing your research?" Ibushi asked. "That's right," Kinosaki confirmed. "I see," Ibushi said but before he could react, Akoya had punched Kinosaki on the left side of his face, knocking him out. Ibushi looked a little stunned, meanwhile, Tawaza simply dragged him away. "The youngest member has to handle this kind of work, right?" Akoya asked, before feeling a small, repetitive tap on his leg. He looked down and saw Hoshi, dawning a rather proud-looking expression. "You've got gumption, kid. Glad to see someone knock him out, I'm just mad it wasn't me," she said.
The ground then shook beneath them, Gora swinging his hatchet into the ground and splitting it six ways to Sunday. Erza was hit, her left arm dripping blood. She ran, and Gora was close behind. They were on the roof, and she tried to ignore the throbbing pain in her bicep. 'Dammit! If he keeps this up, then I'll really be in trouble!' She thought, dodging another one of his attacks. He plunged his hatchet into the side of the tower atop the roof, hard enough for it to topple as if it were a simple domino; it was falling right towards Kinshiro, still standing in shock. "Kin-chan!" "Kinshiro!" Atsushi and Lucy screamed. Kinshiro looked to his left, only to see the tower fall towards him. Before he could consider himself done for, Atsushi and Lucy grabbed him from the rooftop and fell to the ground. "Are you okay, Kin-chan?" Atsushi groaned. Lucy looked at his back and saw a long gash on the middle of his back. "Why?" Kinshiro asked, presumably why the two of them saved them. "Because you're our friend, dummy!" Lucy said, tempted to slap him. Lucy got up, extending a hand towards Kinshiro. He took it before the two of them helped Atsushi to his feet. "Atsushi, you better sit this one out. That wound is anything but good." Lucy said, but Atsushi shook his head. "We're in this together," Atsushi said, before jumping back onto the roof.
Lucy then turned her attention towards Kinshiro, looking regretful. She went to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You know," she started, "to cleanse something can also mean to restore, or to make something right." Kinshiro's face dawned an understanding expression. "In that came, perhaps I need to cleanse myself," Kinshiro said, clasping her hand into his as his face turned from one of understanding to one filled with affection. Lucy pulled away from his gentle grasp and lightly shook her head before returning to the battle. Kinshiro's expression was pained; he knew she had rejected him. However, peculiarly, it was a form of reassurance; one must make amends and work on oneself before focusing on another.
On the top of the roof, Gora and Erza continued to clash their weapons for what felt like an eternity and a day. Erza then jumped to the ground, only to look back to see a hatchet being swung right towards her. 'This is it . . . ' she thought until she saw a mass of water surround him, before seeing Lisanna in her tiger form kicking as high as she possibly could. "Now," Yumoto shouted, "use the Love Attack!" "Yeah!" The Battle Lovers shouted. Yumoto and Lucy summoned their staffs, screaming "Love Attack", flinging their power towards Gora only for him to chop it in half. "Dammit!" Lucy screamed as she and Yumoto clashed their staffs against Gora's hatchet. "Big Bro, snap out of it!" Yumoto demanded. "This isn't my big brother! If you become a minion of evil, who will chip the wood for the bath?!" Yumoto screamed. "That's the best reason you've got?!" Lucy yelled. "Bath?" Gora asked as if he could almost remember his life. "That's right! The Kurotama Bath is everything to you, isn't it?" Yumoto screamed. "Remember the warmth of the bath!" The two then pushed Gora away, before they flew up into the air. Yumoto's and Lucy's outfits transformed into pure white, as pure white wings sprouted from their backs.
"They grew wings?!" Juvia squeaked. "They're angles?" Ryuu asked. "That's the More Better Love Making!" Wombat proudly proclaimed. "Seriously?" Erza asked, less than thrilled with the title of choice. "That's right!" Wombat began. "They are better in every respect! In other words, Yumoto's the More Sparkling Prince and Lucy's the More Enchanting Princess!" Yumoto and Lucy raised their staffs towards the sky, before screaming "More Better Love Shower!", enveloping Gora in what felt like warm, gentle rain. "What is this sensation?" Gora asked. "It seems to warm me to my core... Comfort . . . Healing . . . " He trailed off, unable to find a word to describe this feeling. "Big Bro, this is a bath," Yumoto said, giving his brother an enormous grin. "I see, this is a bath." He responded, before transforming back into his old self.
"Love is over!" The two blondes shouted. "Not yet!" They heard Hireashi scream. The Battle Lovers looked over to see I gigantic spaceship that looked to be in the form of a pufferfish. "Is this the third time you're gonna say it?" Lisanna asked En, shocked at how none of them noticed the titanic-sized spaceship. "Oh, fine! I'll say it as many times as you want!" He shouted. "W-What did you say?!" The Battle Lovers screamed. "You've rendered all my plans to nothing!" Hireashi yelled, finally having enough. "Go, finish them!" Hireashi commanded Zundar. "Roger that!" The said alien replied, transforming the large pufferfish-looking spaceship into a robot that one would only see in a mecha anime. "W-What did you say?!" All of the Battle Lovers screamed once again. 'How the hell are we supposed to go against that?!' They thought, before seeing mussels be shot off from the robot's back. "Like hell, you'll hit us!" The blondes shouted, using their staffs as a whip and blowing up the missiles in the process . . . That is what they thought. The missiles appeared from the smoke and were heading right towards the others.
"Ultima Adamas!" Kinishiro, Ibushi, and Akoya yelled, using their swords to shoot out beams that pierced the missiles, actually blowing them up. They landed, along with Hoshi who was being carried by Akoya who set her down the moment they landed. Kinshiro looked back at them, thankful that none of them were seriously hurt. "As student council president," he began, "I couldn't turn a blind eye to anyone causing harm to our students; that's all." He explained while holding a sense of authority, wordiness was interlaced around his tone. "Thanks, Kin-chan," Atsushi said. That made Kinishiro turn around fully. "What?! Why are you like this, At-chan?!" Kinshiro demanded some sort of answer. "You being so nice just lets me be selfish! It was the same then; you should have gotten angry and told me not to take things out on you!" He yelled. "But because it was me, you didn't say anything. You didn't do anything! That's why I could never apologize to you!" 'How long had he been holding that in?' Lucy thought, seeing Kinshiro's expression grow painfully regretful. "I'm sorry-" "I don't want an apology!" Kinshiro interrupted Atsushi. "I'm sorry," Atsushi said, firmly. Kinishiro looked to be a mixture of embarrassment and relief. "Kinugawa-senpai, at times like this you should just say "I understand" and take them gently in your arms," Ryuu advised. "That's just how you would react," Juvia interjected.
"Does this mean we can walk home together and talk again?" Atsushi asked, a hopeful glint in his eyes. Kinshiro nodded, for once, looking happy and fulfilled. "Oh, this is the true love known as friendship! It's a happy end!" Wombat exclaimed. "I told you, it hasnt ended yet!" Hireashi hollered. "This idiot still wants to fight?" Hoshi asked. "In that case, everyone turn More Better!" Wombat commanded. 'He really has to work on the name . . . ' Hoshi trailed off from her thoughts before simply sitting back and enjoying the show. The Battle Lover and the Conquest Club had joined forces, subsequently turning them into Battle Lovers as well. "We are the heirs to the Throne of Love: More Battle Lovers!" All of them shouted, ready for whatever comes their way. "More Better? Don't make me laugh! You're worse than before!" Hireashi proclaimed.
Lucy: "Seriously, who came up with the name?! I bet it was Wombat!"
Lisanna: "Yeah, it sucks."
Erza: "If this is his best, I suggest scrap it and start from square one."
Juvia: "I second that notion."
Wombat: "The name is just an ornamental! Why can't you understand that?!"
All Four Girls: "IT STILL SUCKS!!!"
Yumoto: "Besides that, what really matters is Love!"
En: "Freedom!"
Atsushi: "Friendship!"
Io: "Money!"
Ryuu: "Girls!"
Akoya: "Beauty, right?"
Ibushi: "I'm not sure."
Kinshiro: "For Binan Highschool to remain Binan Highschool!"
Juvia: "Self-respect!"
Erza: "Inner strength!"
Lisanna: "Courage!"
Lucy: "Trust!"
The Blondes: "Let's go!"
"Let's turn the tables on them!" Hireashi commanded. "Roger that!" Zundar complied, firing another round of missiles that were heading straight for them. The Twelve Battle Lovers dodged and destroyed any issues that came their way, defending both themselves and each other. "All of you together isn't enough!" He cackled, before getting a call; it was the Station. One sentence from his boos, and his show was, once again, canceled. "Dammit! In that case, I'll crush you all together!" Hireashi screamed. "Fire! Fire! Keep firing!" Hireashi demanded. "But, I'm afraid we've fired all our ammo, Sir," Zundar replied, sounding a bit worried. "I'll tell you why you were canceled!" Yumoto began. "Because you have no love for your subject matter! Those who have no love cannot move the hearts of others!" The Battle Lovers then combined their magic, knowing that their enemy would be defeated. "More Better Love Attack!" Yumoto yelled as he flung the attack toward the gigantic spaceship, completely obliterating it. "Love is seriously over!" Yumoto said as he and the Battle Lovers were relieved that they had finally won the war.
~Time Skip~
"So," Hoshi said, "are you ready to apologize and face the consequences?" Her eyes were as sharp as cleavers, obviously holding murderous intent. "I'm sorry! I swear to only produce high-quality programming from now on-" Hireashi was interrupted but Hoshi bapping his and Zundar's faces into the ground hard enough for the stone to break beneath them. "Uh, Hoshi, you good?" Lucy asked, a bit startled at how much strength the dog-looking alien possessed. "Do you remember Wombat mentioning a certain SEIO Commander?" Hoshi asked. Lucy paused for a moment before a look of realization crossed her face. "No freakin' way," she said, understanding how Hoshi got to be this way. "Besides," Hoshi started, "I knew these guys back in, what's it called here? Elementary? Either way, they were pretty good punching bags, back in the day." "You say that so casually," Lucy deadpanned. "Besides, his show was only good for seeing the obvious romantic attractions that occurred, at least for this one," Hoshi said.
"Romantic attractions?" Ibushi inquired. "C'mon!" Hoshi barked, "All of them have been stupidly obvious!" Hoshi pointed her paw at Kinshiro and Akoya, "These two had feelings for her and she didn't know it until I told her," she pointed blatantly at Lucy before pointing her paw at En and Lisanna, "these two have been enamored with each other since day one, but neither have grown a pair to voice it aloud," she then pointed at Ryuu and Juvia, "and these two can't just admit that attraction has bloomed.
Everyone was silent.
Kinshiro looked embarrassed and defeated knowing that he had just been rejected. Akoya looked as if he was going to die from embarrassment. Lucy looked like she wanted to spank Hoshi for making the whole vibe awkward as hell. En and Lisanna looked at each other; both of their cheeks turning redder than Erza's hair. While Juvia and Ryuu tried to look anywhere but at each other, a rapidly rising blush appeared on both of their faces. The only thing the ones whose names were mentioned knew was that there were going to be several long talks in private very, very soon. At the very least, the Cosplay Curry Stand sold out almost immediately afterward.
~Time Skip~
"So," Lucy started, "how's the new relationship going~?" Lucy needled Lisanna in the dressing room. Lisanna flushed, clearly being caught in a daze after she and En had finally gone out on a date. "I-uhm-well . . . It was fine," she answered, but looked like she wanted to say something else. "C'mon, tell us everything!" Juvia begged, hugging her from behind. "If you tell us what happened on your date with Ryuu, then sure." Juvia stopped hugging her. "I . . . I have the right to remain silent." Juvia turned away, her face feeling hotter by the minute. "Look, it was great. He was nice, we went out to get food, and um . . . " She trailed off, her face, if possible, turning into a deeper shade of red. "Oh, they definitely kissed." Erza teased. "Erza!" Lisanna squawked, not thinking that Erza would disclose what she told her in private. "Knew it!" Juvia hollered. "As if you are such an unplucked bluebell," Erza said. "I could tell them that kisses were not the only reward you've acquired with your partner," Erza said. Suddenly, in the words of a wise meme, the turns have tabled.
"O-Oh wow . . . " Lucy trailed off, not exactly having the most pure ideas of what Erza meant by that. "Damn, good for you." Lisanna said, practically announcing what she thought. Juvia looked mortified, hands covering her face that felt like it was on fire. "I give up." Juvia squeaked. "Hey, we aint judging." Lisanna said, patting her back. "I'm sorry, we're happy for how far you've come in order to maintain a healthy romantic relationship." Lucy reassured her. "If anything, Lucy and I are somewhat envious. There's no romance in our future." Confidence practically oozed from Erza's voice. "Hey," Lucy started, "unlike you. I actually want to have some romance in my life." Erza simply chuckled. "C'mon, let's get going. The guys are waiting for us," Lucy said, wrapping a towel around her frame as the girls followed suit, before once again, joining their friends in the warm and inviting bath.