Chapter 108: A Changed Mirajane
After Mirajane had vented her emotions and wiped away her tears, she stood up straight and asked her brother and sister, "Who in the guild taught you Take Over magic? We have to go and thank them."
"It was Noah. After he heard our story, he said that only when you accepted your own magic, Mira-nee, would you be able to change your arm back. After we heard that, we decided we wanted to use the same magic as you. We asked Noah, and he taught it to us."
"Noah? Then let's go back and thank him together."
"Mhm!"
Hearing their sister say they would go back together, smiles filled Lisanna's and Elfman's faces. They had been truly afraid that she would just walk away. They had noticed that their sister's mood was off, and they had been very worried. But now, it seemed she was back to normal.
They quickly pulled their sister back to the guild and went to find Noah.
"Thank you for teaching Elfman and Lisanna their magic," Mirajane said to him in a low voice.
Noah just waved his hand. "It's no big deal. Many of our guild members learn their magic from within the guild. Since your brother and sister wanted to learn, of course I would teach them. But it looks like your emotions aren't too stable yet. You should go home and rest for a bit."
"That's a good idea. Let's go home for now, Mira-nee. Thank you, Noah," Lisanna said.
"Thank you," Elfman added.
After thanking Noah, they took Mirajane and went home. When the Strauss siblings had left their village, they had taken all of their family's savings with them. After joining the guild, they had rented a small house nearby for the three of them to live in. That was their new home.
The next day, Lisanna and Elfman brought Mirajane to find Noah to learn magic. Mirajane still looked a little embarrassed, but Lisanna dragged her right up to him.
Noah didn't say much, just handed her a stack of materials he had already prepared. He knew that Mirajane's literacy was better than her siblings', and since she would be listening in on his lessons with them anyway, she could just ask if there was anything she didn't understand.
Mirajane's talent was indeed greater than her siblings'. It only took her a few days to master Take Over magic. And with her family by her side, she accepted her magic from the bottom of her heart, and she was soon able to change her arm back to normal.
Seeing their sister's arm return to its original state, Lisanna and Elfman couldn't help but shed tears. Mirajane herself also couldn't stop her tears from falling. It was because of this demon arm that their family had been forced to leave their village, to abandon the home they had always lived in. It could be said that this arm had changed their entire lives. Now that it was back to normal, all three of them were overcome with emotion.
Noah didn't disturb them and continued his own studies on the side. When their emotions had settled, he continued to teach them magic.
With her arm restored and her emotional burden lifted, and as her strength began to grow, Mirajane gradually began to show her true nature. She adopted a punk-rock style from who-knows-where and became very competitive, often getting into fights with Erza and Sorano. Many times, a challenge from Mirajane or Sorano would also drag Ultear into the fray, as she was also not one to back down.
One day, Noah was reading a book when he heard them start fighting again. He put down his book, pointed at the brawling Mirajane, and asked a nearby Lisanna, "Was your sister always like this? Or did she only become like this after coming here? I feel like several years have passed; how did she change so much in the blink of an eye?"
Lisanna had a complicated look on her face. She leaned over and whispered to Noah, "My sister used to be the 'big boss' of the kids in our village. But after that incident happened and she took a huge blow, she became the way she was before. She's probably just back to her old self now."
Only then did it make sense to Noah. Such a drastic change shouldn't have been possible. After hearing Lisanna's words, Mirajane's current behavior was understandable.
Suddenly, a whooshing sound echoed, and a cup came flying at Noah at high speed. With a flick of his finger, the cup slowed down and gently landed on the table. Noah looked in the direction it had come from and saw Mirajane, Erza, and the others brawling; he couldn't tell who had thrown it. However, seeing that the four of them had already wrecked the surrounding area and were about to start damaging other things, he teleported all of them directly to the training ground to let them fight it out.
He then said to Lisanna and Elfman, "You two go to the training ground as well, and keep an eye on your sister."
"Mhm."
Seeing they had agreed, Noah teleported them there as well. The guild instantly became much quieter.
He picked up his book again. Levy, who had been reading nearby, came over to ask him some questions. Having been in the guild for some time, Levy, of course, knew who was the most knowledgeable and well-read. As a girl who loved to read, she would often come to ask Noah about the contents of various books. Levy's magic, "Solid Script," was also very fitting for her love of reading and studying ancient texts. This magic allowed her to write words in the air, which would then become solid and take on the meaning of the word. For example, if she wrote "FIRE," the letters would burst into real flames. Thanks to her love of books, although she had only just begun to learn her magic, her progress was not bad.
Just as Noah had solved Levy's problem and was about to go back to his reading, he noticed the guild had become noisy again. It turned out that Natsu and Gray had started fighting over some disagreement, and Lyon had gotten involved as well.
"Ugh!"
Having been interrupted twice in a row, Noah was temporarily not in the mood to continue reading. He closed his book, and with a gesture, a book from the guild's library teleported into his hand. He gave it to Levy. "Most of the questions you just asked are mentioned in this book. You can take a look. I have to go and sort a few people out first."
"Mhm. You go ahead."
Levy looked on with pity as Noah walked towards Natsu and the others. He gave each of them a punch, knocking them all to the ground. Before they could say anything, he said to them, "Alright, I'm in a good mood today. I've decided to help you all with some proper training. You should be grateful."
Ignoring their terrified expressions, Noah teleported the three of them and himself to the training ground.
When they returned that evening, the other guild members could clearly see that their heads were a size bigger, and their faces were bruised and swollen. They came back leaning on each other for support. The guild was instantly filled with the sound of laughter, accompanied by the pained, teeth-grinding groans of Natsu and the others.
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