"I am back! Did anyone miss me?" Kazu entered the tavern through the door.
The tavern was unusually silent. For a second, Kazu thought it was because of his arrival, but one glance at the front told him that a fight was almost going to start.
A fight involving Erza.
"Nope. Nobody missed you. Now shoo away." Cana waved her hand away as she glared at Kazu.
The latter made a wry smile as he closed the door.
"Hey! The mission just took a bit to complete. I am sorry for the delay." He started walking towards the table where Cana and Gray were sitting.
"A bit? It's been 3 months! You told me it would take only a few days. You were on a vacation alone, right? " Cana pointed a finger at him in an accusatory tone.
Kazu shook his head. "Nope. It just took 3 months to complete. The guy present was a coward. I needed to use myself as bait to bring him out."
He stopped beside Erza.
"Did you buy a new sword?" Kazu lightly tapped her sword.
"No. It's the same one you last saw."
"Really?... It's so clean." Kazu found it hard to believe that Erza's sword was older than a week.
"Really. Anyway, happy to have you back Kazu. How was the mission?" She patted his left shoulder with her free hand.
Kazu's mouth curved into disgust. "...It was pretty annoying. The entire time, I felt like somebody had a knife hanging over my neck. I am happy that I went solo." He glanced to his left and saw a tomboyish girl.
"Seems you were in a duel. Is she a new member? She seems strong."
Mira found herself speechless. 'Did he forget about me?... I mean, I didn't actually think he was part of the guild.' A mixture of emotions erupted inside her, which she barely hid.
"Y—yeah." Erza stuttered for a second.
Kazu glanced at her. "You didn't lose any match, did you?"
"No!" The answer came faster than Erza would have liked to admit.
Kazu smirked. "That would have been embarrassing. Though it would have been fine either way. I wouldn't have minded laughing alongside Natsu and Gray at your loss." He then glanced around the tavern to find the firehead, but the latter was absent.
"T—that won't be happening anytime soon." Erza's grip on her sword tightened.
"Well, if you so." He patted her shoulder before moving towards Cana's table.
Erza turned her gaze back to Mira, who was looking at Kazu.
'Right. She hasn't met him. Will she challenge him or something?' Erza decided to wait to see what Mira would do next.
"Have you gained weight, or is it just me?" Kazu took a seat beside Gray.
"Just you. Maybe you are too dazzled by my body." Gray said with a serious tone.
Kazu stared at him for a few seconds.
"Pfft...."
"Hahahaha..."
Both broke into a fit of laughter.
"What do you mean by 'dazzling'? Do you even know what that means? You must have picked it up from Levy." Kazu shook his head.
He glanced at Cana, who was sipping on her orange juice.
He then glanced beside her at Levy, who shrugged. "Probably. I mean, he ain't wrong. I bet some people are dazzled by Gray's naked body." She pointed her finger at the clothes lying on the floor.
"...Pfft. You mean grannies?" Cana choked on her orange juice.
Gray shot her a half-glare as he picked up his clothes.
Kazu smiled as he turned to the last person sitting at the table.
"Wait, aren't you that girl's sister... Lisanna, was it?" Kazu's eyes widened as he looked at the white-haired girl.
'I completely forgot that they joined the guild.' Kazu didn't blame himself for that. The last 3 months had fucked him up completely. Though he knew that most of it was an illusion, it still took a heavy tax on his mind.
"Yeah.... you remember me?" Lisanna, for some reason, appeared nervous.
Kazu nodded. "You and your siblings were quite eye-catching. What was the name again... Strauss siblings?" He chuckled.
"You know her?" Cana raised a brow.
"Yeah. I was the one who recommended them to join the guild."
"Wait, so you were the cute boy she was talking about?" Gray looked at Lisanna, whose eyes widened in alarm.
"Cute?..." Kazu raised a brow. He didn't think he was cute. "Oh, I remember the context now. Her sister... Mirajane? Yeah, that was her name. I called her a few times."
Kazu looked at Lisanna for confirmation of the name. He already knew that the name was correct. He was just pretending to look like a natural person without any meta-knowledge.
Due to looking at her, he missed how almost everyone in the tavern who was eavesdropping on their conversation now was looking at Mira.
To everyone's shock, Mira had a blush on her cheeks.
'Holy fuck...' Gray was amazed at the sight. He felt like he was looking at a blue moon.
A glint passed his eyes as he turned back to Kazu.
"Cute? You really say cute to anybody these days. Didn't you say that to ERZA, Cana and Levy too?"
People's eyes widened even further when they heard Gray's words.
"ERZA even said that she can't MARRY you yet?" Gray continued.
Gulp
Some people gulped as the atmosphere of the tavern changed completely.
'Does this man not know what fear is?' Levy looked at Gray in horror.
Purple Ethernano burst from Mira's body as her hair hid her facial expression. Everyone felt a strain of pressure on their body.
Mira turned her head to Erza, who had instinctively summoned her swords around her.
'I have never seen her this serious. What happened?' Erza was dumbfounded as she looked at Mira.
Kazu had his back against the fight, so he didn't see the duo. But, he didn't care. He had been tired after the long mission, and the only thing that he wanted to do was talk with his friends.
"What's wrong with using the word 'cute' around? Anyway, the girl was cute. I think she was facing some problem with her magic. Like, she wasn't able to control it properly. Did she overcome it?" Kazu took a sip of orange juice from the glass he snatched from Cana.
"She did. It seems that Mira left a mark on your memory." Gray replied before Lisanna could say anything.
He was having too much fun with the chain of events.
Kazu raised a brow at his wording. He felt like he was missing something. His instincts were telling him that something was weird.
"Yeah... Actually, her magic power was pretty tremendous. If she trains seriously, she will become a serious rival to Erza. That's what actually caught my attention." Cana snatched the glass back from him before gulping it in one go and sticking her tongue at Kazu, who deadpanned.
"You think so?" Gray glanced back at the duo, who still hadn't started the fight.
Like others in the tavern, they were also eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Yeah. You might not have noticed, but Erza has grown complacent."
The person in question flinched.
"She has? I don't see any difference. She still trains seriously." Gray raised an eyebrow. This was new.
Kazu nodded. "Yeah. It's pretty similar to your case, like before Natsu came."
"That's not true!" Gray instinctively defended himself.
"Really? I will decide after seeing your progress in the last 3 months." Kazu grinned.
"Sure, whatever." Gray snorted as he crossed his arms.
"Anyway, Erza's case is more pronounced. She has started taking missions, so she must have realised her prowess compared to real-world opponents. This is one of the main reasons her drive had diminished. I am worried that, at this rate, it will take a long time before she reaches the next level."
'One of the main reasons I can continue my training ethic at the same pace is due to knowing what kind of disasters are waiting for me.'
"That does make sense. Though I hope you do know that Erza is hearing you at the moment." Gray decided that it was the perfect moment to release the tension he had maintained.
Kazu raised a brow. "It doesn't matter. Though I didn't know she was eavesdropping. Well, it's not really a surprise given that everyone is eavesdropping."
His blunt words caused multiple people to cough in the tavern.
Kazu turned around to look at Erza. The latter didn't meet his eyes.
"You guys still haven't started the fight? Don't tell me... You two were also eavesdropping? Was our conversation more interesting than your fight?" Kazu was taken off guard.
He turned towards the new girl who was wearing a tomboyish outfit. "That's pretty good magic pressure. You could probably thrash Gray with ease."
"Don't use me as a measuring stick!"
Kazu ignored him.
"Your mana...why do I feel like I have felt this before?" Kazu furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the girl again.
'If she could thrash Gray, then she is probably a Canon character. Either that, or she is probably a result of the Butterfly effect due to my actions.'
Tomboyish outfit, white hair, blue eyes...
'White hair?' Kazu's eyes widened in shock. He slowly turned his head and glanced at Lisanna.
He then turned back to the girl.
"Mirajane...? Oh my god, it's you. No wonder your magic power felt familiar." Kazu stood up from his seat as he walked towards her.
Mira stiffened.
"What happened to you? You used to look so cute before. Why did you turn to... a delinquent?"
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