While continuing to man the bar alongside Mira, Jason, the reporter, moved from target to target, interviewing anyone with any fame, whether it be the good kind or the bad kind. Though honestly, given Fairy Tail's reputation, very few people had a good reputation.
I also got to witness Lucy act like a monkey as she tried, and failed, to get Jason's attention; I don't know why. Maybe he was somehow oblivious to her, as he seemed like the type of man to ignore everything else when someone caught his interest, or perhaps he was doing it purposely. Either way, Mira and I got a kick out of it.
"If he's doing it on purpose, I'll beat him up." "Big bro, you can't solve every problem with fighting!" Sighing, Mira glanced at me with an exasperated expression, causing me to roll my eyes. "Says who?" "Says common sense." "Well, fuck common sense then." "You'd probably make her fall for you in the process."
Bantering over nonsense with Mira, Jason eventually switches his target to Erza, who I'd bought a whole strawberry cake for this morning, so she was in an extremely good mood. Erza displayed the proper persona of an S-class mage, giving us a much-needed good look, as most of the previous interviewees hadn't done so.
"As irritating as she is, you can trust that foul red-head." Having to force those words out, Mira looked upon the confident Erza with an annoyed expression, earning a faint smirk out of me as their rivalry was always so amusing. "Oh, stop that, Mira. Is it that hard to compliment Erza?" "Try complimenting Laxus." Seeing her look at me with a raised eyebrow, I faintly nodded in defeat. "Touche."
As Erza gave Jason a half-hour interview, by far the longest one yet, he left alone, completely ignoring Lucy, who was now doing some rather odd actions to get his attention, and walked towards us, his eyes glowing.
"Mirajane Strauss in the flesh! I've got to get pictures! I'll get you on the cover of Sorrccers' magazine!" Jason didn't even wait for confirmation and began snapping pictures immediately while Mira softly chuckled. "Fufu, I'll have to pass, I can't constantly steal the limelight, I've been on the cover for the past two years, I should give others a chance."
"Arrogant as hell." "Then why are you smiling?" "Heh, cause I liked it." She lightly slapped my arm while chuckling, only for Jason to shift his focus to me, as if he'd just now noticed my presence. "Eh, C-Cooper!? THE Cooper!? Enemy of Dark Mages!? Destroyer of Dark Guilds!? Wizard Saint Slayer!? The back of Fairies!? The Beast of Fairy Tail!?" His eyes were wide and his mouth agape as he stared at me as if I were a living legend, which I guess I might've been to some extent.
"Wow, so many titles, big bro. All I got is 'The Demon'." Ignoring Mira's light teasing, I raised my eyebrow in surprise; the other titles weren't surprising, but 'Wizard Saint Slayer', that was a first one. "Wizard Saint Slayer, where did that title come from?" "Eh, you don't know Mr Cooper!?" "I'm not an old man, Cooper is fine, and just tell me."
"I-It started after you became a wanted man, and how you defeated two Wizard Saints in combat; however, it only truly exploded once news of how you managed to beat the traitor Jellal, the sixth-ranked Wizard Saint! You've beaten the eighth, seventh, and sixth-ranked Wizard Saints; the only ones left are the fifth-ranked!" 'Also the ninth if you include Jose Porla.' Listening to the excited Jason, I slowly nodded while glancing at Gramps with a faint smirk, as he was the final barrier between me and the four gods of Ishgar.
"Oh, don't even think about it, big bro." Wincing as she pulled my ear, I brushed her arm away, though she continued to suspiciously eye me. "Relax, I'm not fighting Gramps… I'd rather not be on the receiving end of Fairy Law." Satisfied, Mira nodded, leaving me to shake my head. Of course, having been taught Fairy Law by Gramps, I knew the ins and outs and knew it wouldn't work on me, but still, it didn't matter how much stronger I grew; I wouldn't ever seriously fight Gramps.
"S-So, Cooper, since Mirajane refused to photoshoot for Sorrccers' magazine, would you perhaps be interested-" Having heard this question directed at me too many times to count, I was about to refuse before he could even answer, but Mirajane suddenly grabbed my arm.
"Fufu, ah, on second thought, Jason, big bro, and I decided we'll do a photoshoot together." Narrowing my eyes, I ignored the dumbstruck Jasone and eyed Mira. I didn't even need to ask her; my gaze was questioning in and of itself. "Our pictures might be able to get rid of our lackluster reputation. Besides, this is your fault, remember." Unable to manage a retort from her whisper, I groaned in defeat and softly nodded, causing her charming smile to return.
"MIRAJANE AND COOPER!? SWEEEEET!" Rubbing my ears at his loud ass voice, Mirajane dragged me from the bar, taking me to the back of the guild. "We'll be back, Jason. Don't leave." "I won't! I promise I won't! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
As Mira took me into the back, she directed me to the changing room, which was full of racks of clothing, causing me to turn in disgust. "Shirts? You know I despise shirts." "Quit being a baby, big bro. It's for our image. Now strip." Grumbling, I did as Mira commanded since this was an area of expertise and stripped down to my underwear. "What are you doing? I said strip." "I can see right through you." "Tch."
Looking at her with a twitching expression, Mira cleared her throat and searched through the racks before tossing me a purple suit. "A suit? Constricting clothes? You're just trying to annoy me, aren't you?" "Just put it on." As I put on the clothes, cursing at how restricting they were, Mira changed into an all black dress, doing so with practiced ease.
"Why are you so slow?" "Sorry, but this is my first time wearing a suit." Shooting Mira an annoyed glare, I finished buttoning the shirt and put on the vest, buttoning that on before finally putting on the jacket. Once I was mostly ready, Mira did my tie and my hair, muttering about how phenomenal it was, clearly out of envy, before finishing up.
"I don't even want to see how I look, probably like a dumbass. C'mon, let's just get this over with." With a hand in my pocket, I brushed aside the strands of hair hanging in front of my face before standing up and heading to the door, missing Mira's stunned expression.
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3rd POV
Roughly ten minutes had passed since Mira had dragged Cooper away to get dressed, and during this time, Jason hadn't been idle. He brought out his portal backgrounds and was setting them up on the stage, garnering attention from the others, as it wasn't uncommon for Mirajane to have photoshoots.
"Looks like Mira's having another photoshoot." "Heh, we old bastards got front row seats." Macao, smirking at Gray, stood as close as possible to the stage with Wakaba joining him. "Mira will be the death of you guys." "Heh, well, depends on how she kills us." "Death by snu snu? I'll go into the afterlife proudly." As Gray listened to Macao and Wakaba, he just shook his head with a half-amused expression.
"Oh, is big sis about to do a photoshoot?" Having just returned from the bathroom, Elfman looked at the stage, joining Gray. Following him, Max, Vijeeter, Droy, Jet, and even Alzack joined, the latter earning an annoyed glare from Bisca. After most of the lust-driven boys, excluding Elfman, had arrived, Jason was already finished and was setting up his camera, though while doing so, two figures stepped onto the stage, though one presence in particular gathered everyone's attention.
"Jason, we're ready." "Yeah, get it over with. This tie is irritating beyond belief." Mirajane, a being of beauty and elegance, while rare, wasn't anything shocking to the members of Fairy Tail. No, it was Cooper. Cooper's personality was known to all, as well as his hygiene; he wasn't a dirty man, but when he was filthy, you could smell the blood on him from a mile away.
However, to the guild, it was an undeniable shock to see Cooper in a suit and tie, though what really shocked them was that he looked utterly sexy in them. Rather than the wild and untamed type of animal, he looked like an aggressive CEO, the kind in numerous romance books and the dream of countless women.
The woman, who had been half-paying attention, had now joined the men, staring at Cooper with undisguised awe. "God, big bro is so handsome, I sometimes forget." Muttering softly, Bisca sat down. "Ugh, it's just not fair, how can a man be so handsome!" Laki, rubbing her head, looked at Cooper with intensity.
"He's seducing us, right? He must be seducing us!" Lucy, deeply blushing, looked around at her fellow women. "G-Gray is the most handsome, b-but I suppose big bro is a close second." Juvia, as if to reaffirm her love, constantly looked at Gray, though she was unable to stop herself from glancing at Cooper.
"Tch, why does that childish woman get to stand up there with big bro? It should be." Gritting her teeth in anger and envy, Erza folded her arms and glared at Mira. "How is he sexier with more clothes on? That doesn't make sense." Cana, a little tipsy, rubbed her head in confusion while eyeing Cooper. "What a fucking hunk." Levy, without an ounce of shame, spoke her thoughts while staring at Cooper.