It was two hours before Lucy and the others had to leave for the Grand Magic Games, and she spent it throwing random clothes into a suitcase. There were at least three to four different suitcases, one just full of shoes. As she finished packing the second, her door opened as Zeref stepped through, skimming his eyes along the messy room.
"How much stuff are you exactly packing?" He asked questioningly, glancing up at her as she placed her favorite pair of boots into the suitcase.
She smiled at his entrance. "I have to be ready. Looking good during a fight isn't a crime, is it?" She stopped, making her way over to him. "I'm glad you came though! I'm going to be gone for a long while so I thought," she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him towards her. "We could spend some time together. What do you say?"
He grabbed her hands and pulled them off him, placing them at her sides. "I say no," and he moved towards the window. "I didn't come for such a silly thing, I just wanted to make sure you were ready."
Lucy rolled her eyes, following after him. "I'm definitely ready, my darling. But I know what could make me readier!" She meant to jump on his back but Zeref moved out of the way fast, letting her slam her forehead into the window seat. "Ow, Mr. Z you should never dodge a love attack." She turned to him, seeing him finish her packing. She groaned, getting to her feet. "I didn't know you wanted me to leave so badly."
"There's only two hours and you've got to be ready," he stated, finishing up the suitcase. "You won't need a fourth."
"Zeref, come on. An hour is long enough and then I'll be out of your hair." She stayed where she was, rocking back and forth on her heels. She carefully undid her hair from it's ponytail, letting her blonde hair spill over her shoulders. "Please, Darling?" Zeref glanced over at her, watching as she made her way over, slowly unbuckling her sleeves and sliding them off.
"You've changed a lot in a year," he said, making her smile widen.
"I think that's a good thing, isn't it?" When she was close enough to him, both her sleeves were off, showing her ring of skulls on her right wrist. She reached up to touch his face with that hand but he grasped her wrist, making her jump a little.
"I'd say you've become a lot more persistent, Lucy." She seemed like she was going to say something but was cut off when their lips met and she gladly melted into it. She ran her free hand through his black hair as he let go of her right hand and ran his hands around her waist. He twirled her around so her back hit the wall, hard.
Wrapping her legs around his waist, Lucy dug her nails into his back hard as the kisses became more intense and it filled her with joy. He never touched her like this and she's been giving hints, practically begging for the entire year. The thoughts running through her head were telling her he'd miss her and it made her happy. Sometimes she heard the others saying he didn't really care about her but she knew differently. What was happening now, the way their hands ran over each other's bodies, told her he loved her too.
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Team Natsu had set out to retrieve Makarov by the time Mirajane and Elfman discovered the new Grand Magic Games. It was being held in one week and as Mira stared at the flyer, leaning forward enough for Elfman to still see, she had already made a decision.
"We should participate," she stated.
"What, why?" Lisanna asked, who sat beside her older brother with a lemonade in her hand. "I know we won last time but we also fought a bunch of dragons and almost died."
"Because I heard that a dark guild had joined. A dark guild where all of the members had to participate. Why? Cause there wasn't enough." Mira let her words hang in the air as her siblings figured it out. Their eyes widened and she nodded, already knowing what they wanted to say. "Exactly."
"So Lucy might be there," Elfman said. "We have to wait for the others to return though." Lisanna got up from her seat and made her way over to Cana, who was in a deep conversation with Gajeel and Levy. "Do you think she'll be different? If we actually do go and she's actually there?"
Mira sighed, thinking back to the mug-shot Erza had shown her. "By everything I just heard, yes, she'll be a lot more different." She was saddened by this answer, for she remembered Lucy always coming up to her just to talk. Thinking back to the picture, it made the white haired mage shiver. "Though, the more I think about her, the more I wonder what she had to go through to get that far off the rails."
Elfman was silent as Mira turned away and rounded the corner, so she was on the same side. "Where are you going?" But she didn't answer, for she was already out the door.
As Mira walked down the streets of Magnolia, she scanned the crowds of people, stopping when she noticed an old man sitting on top of a barrel. A cigarette was in his mouth and he was intently writing something down on a clip board. Mira walked over to the bulletin board beside him and pretended to read a flyer about a missing dog.
She cast a small glance at his clipboard, noticing he was writing down guild names. She saw Fairy Tail, which was at the top of the list and noticed Premonition at the bottom. Mira raised an eyebrow and hoped he knew something about the master.
"Um, excuse me sir," she said, catching his attention. He stopped writing and looked up at her, smiling at the young mage. "I noticed you were writing guild names down and I noticed one that has been catching my attention for quite a while."
The old man seemed surprised by her interest in guilds. "Are you a mage?" She nodded. "Oh, well then I must ask which one got your attention." She told him it was Premonition and the man seemed more surprised then earlier. "Why it's a dark guild. What would you want to know about such a guild?"
Mira thought of coming up with an excuse but thought better of it. "My guild will be participating in this year's Grand Magic Games and I heard that Premonition would be participating as well. I also heard it was a dark guild so it caught my attention. Um, I wanted to know if you knew anything about their master and where the guild is located?"
The old man sighed. "The only thing I've heard about the master is that he likes to keep his identity a secret but that he recruited every member for a reason. As for the location, it is somewhere near Era. I'm pretty sure a town or two over." Mira thanked the man and started making her way back to the guild.
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By the time Team Natsu returned to the guild, Makarov with them, the sun had begun to set. Everyone was cheering when the master stepped into the guild hall and as Mira watched them gather around, she thought over what the old man had said. Premonition's master's identity was unknown to everyone but those in the guild and he had chose everyone for a reason.
"Mira?" She jumped by the sound of Erza's voice and it nearly scared Erza by her reaction. "You okay?"
"I found somethings out about Premonition," Natsu and Happy were over before she could finish the sentence. Gray joined and when Makarov hoped onto the bar, she gave him a quick hug. "I'm glad your back master." He nodded, sitting down beside her as she turned back to them. "Their master's identity is completely unknown, only the members know who he is and most likely the council."
"So it is a guy," Gray said.
"Yes, and apparently he had picked everyone for a reason. Also, their guild is somewhere near Era and they defiantly are going to be at the Grand Magic Games." She quickly explained how she thought Fairy Tail should join the Games again, for they would be able to see Lucy again. It didn't take a lot to convince them, especially Natsu and Happy, who were on board in a second.
"If we're doing this," Erza said. "We ought to get going. I'm gonna tell Jet to run to the magic council and sign up." As she made her way across the hall, Gray turned to Mira and the master.
"Who's participating this year? Can the same people like last year compete?" Mira nodded and they started discussing who'd compete. Natsu voted himself, which Mira couldn't say no too, along with Gray and she had a feeling Erza would want to be involved.
"I'd like to join, if that is okay with you guys," all five of them turned to find Juvia standing beside Natsu, her hands neatly folded in front of her. "I want to see Lucy and being on the same team as Gray-sama really warms my heart."
Gray groaned but didn't decline. "Okay, but I vote Gajeel be in too." No one disagreed and Juvia left to go ask him while Natsu, Happy and the master left to talk amongst themselves. "That girl is gonna give me a headache."
Mira smiled as Gray ran a hand through his hair. "She told me about the time she spent with you, along with when you abandoned her to spy on Zeref's little groupies." Gray looked up at her as she turned and quickly made him a drink of lemonade. He gladly accepted it. "She's not mad, Gray. She understands why you left."
"Yeah, but I still left her," he twirled the straw around as he looked glumly at the ice. "Besides, I didn't really find anything out except that everyone who follows him are crazy. And that they aren't the only ones who follow him. He has like, five other people," Gray froze and Mira frowned as he stilled.
"Gray? You were saying?" He was suddenly on his feet, the drink about to tilt when Mira caught it. His eyes shot up and met hers.
"The master," he whispered, making Mira even more confused. She was about to say something when he turned and made his way towards Erza, who was currently patting Jet on the back before he ran out of the guild hall, making his way to the council. "Erza!"
She turned by his voice and seemed slightly alert by his expression. "What?"
"When I was undercover with Zeref's buddies, one of them told me that they weren't the only ones following him. That there were a few more who weren't part of that circle." Mira caught up to him, glancing back and forth between the ice mage and red head. "I remembered what he said, about Zeref having an intimate relationship with one of the other people."
"Wait Gray," Erza stopped him, waving her hands in confusion. "What are you saying?"
"I had forgotten about this conversation until now and I have no reason why I would since it was so important," he stated as Natsu and Happy came up to them, Juvia by their side.
"What's going on?" Natsu asked. "What about Zeref?"
"He had five other followers, five. And the guy said Zeref was their master." He let the words hang in the air until it caught on. Erza's eyes widened while Natsu and Happy stood there, completely confused.
"Zeref is the master of Premonition," Erza whispered, but loud enough for the ones close by too hear. Mira placed a hand on her mouth as Juvia looked like she was gonna faint. Natsu reached into his vest pocket and pulled out the mug-shot of Lucy.
He flipped it around and pointed to the guild mark. "The mark is literally just the letter Z in an eye," he stated. "Are you telling me that Lucy joined a dark guild run by our greatest enemy in the entire universe?"
Gray sighed. "Not only that, but I'm pretty sure she's the one who's in an intimate relationship with him." Natsu's hand on the photo tightened, and Happy, who was standing beside him, placed his paw on his pant leg. "If I'm corrected about all this, she'll defiantly be at the Grand Magic Games. And she might be ready to kill us."
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As everyone parted ways to get packed for the trip to the Grand Magic Games, Mira sat at her desk, her hand on the tip of a picture. It was of her and Lucy, for all she could think about was how different her old friend would be.
Just thinking that she might be partnering up with Zeref, even having a relationship deeper than that made her sad. Not angry, or even sick but just sad. She remembered when the blonde had first joined the guild, how excited she had been when she had gotten her guild mark, that was now just a scar of her past.
As she looked at the picture, Mira had the urge to rip it up but she didn't. She knew that she would regret it later, since it was the only piece she owned that made her remember the old Lucy. Of course, she also remembered the conversation they had had.
"Mira, will you stop pestering me about Natsu? You're gonna make my head explode!"
"I'm not pestering, I'm asking. And it's a simple question that I really would like for you too answer. I have been wondering the correct answer you'd say, but I feel like I already know. So, how about it?"
"Look, I don't feel comfortable talking about this. The Grand Magic Games just finished and we won, so I'm going to go celebrate. Coming?"
"I will when I get at least a tiny answer. It can just be a shake of the head even."
Mira folded the picture and put it in a pocket of the suitcase. She had always told Natsu was in love with her, since it seemed very clear to herself but Lucy had never believed it and the one time Mira had asked Lucy, she had made up an excuse to not answer. But she had insisted and, Lucy had given her an answer.
A nod. Just a small enough nod to make Mira smile before she had walked out of the door. Now, she had a feeling if she'd ask again, it would be a shake and not a nod.
That conversation had taken place after they had won and the fight against Future Rogue. Mira had started placing clothing in her suitcase as she imagined how different this year was gonna be. Not only would Lucy be fighting them, but she wondered what Zeref had in store for the competition. She had a feeling Premonition wasn't just competing for fun, there had to be some kind of motivation behind it, but Mira couldn't come up with a single thought.
The only thing she was thinking about as she closed the suitcase was how Lucy would react to Fairy Tail returning. She had a feeling she didn't know so, what would exactly happen when she did?
The guild that had disbanded and everyone who had left her alone, which turned her into who she was today. A criminal, assassin, dark mage, whatever kind of name she could come up with for her former friend.