Mira frowned slightly, her voice soft but concerned. "Oh my, this is getting a bit out of hand, isn't it?"
Kira chuckled lightly, brushing it off. "No big deal! Lucy, why don't you join in? It's a blast!"
"A blast?!" Lucy's eyes widened in disbelief. "You're seriously calling this fun?!"
"What's wrong?" Kira tilted her head, curious.
"I… I think I'll pass," Lucy mumbled, already regretting her life choices.
Kira's expression turned playfully stern. "Oh, come on, that won't do! You're part of the Fairy Tail family now. You've gotta dive into the guild's vibe!"
Lucy's jaw dropped, her voice cracking. "Why does 'diving into the vibe' mean I have to join a brawl?!"
Kira blinked at her, then flashed a grin that screamed obviously. "Why? Because that's how it works! You fight together, you bond, and then you're family."
"But… I mean…" Lucy stammered, completely thrown.
Yup, Kira was definitely not as innocent as she looked.
Watching the chaos of the guild brawl unfold, Lucy felt a wave of panic. "This… this feels like a danger zone."
With that thought, she instinctively shuffled a step away from Kira.
Happy, the blue cat, caught the move and fanned the flames with a mischievous grin. "What's up, Lucy? You jumping in too?"
"No way!!" Lucy yelped, flailing her arms.
But her protest fell on deaf ears—especially Natsu's. He grinned wide, misinterpreting her words. "Heck yeah, Lucy's joining the fun! This is gonna be awesome! I'm all fired up!"
"Wha—?!" Lucy squeaked, horrified.
Gray, already stripping off his shirt again, smirked. "Things just got a lot more interesting."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Lucy shouted.
Elfman roared, fists clenched. "Now that's a real man!"
"I'm a girl!" Lucy snapped back.
Cana raised a mug, eyeing Lucy with approval. "Didn't expect the newbie to be so ready to throw down!"
"I'm not!" Lucy wailed.
Loke, ever the charmer, chimed in. "Come on, guys, be gentle with the lovely lady!"
"That's not helping!" Lucy cried, feeling even more uneasy.
Natsu, undeterred, grinned wider. "Lucy's tough as nails!"
Happy cheered, "Aye, sir!"
"Both of you, shut it!" Lucy begged, but her pleas were drowned out as flames, ice, fists, lightning, and blinding flashes erupted all at once. She ducked, covering her head. "Nooo!"
Mira gasped, "Oh no! Miss Lucy, watch out!"
The attacks closed in, and in that split second of panic—
"Taurus!" Lucy shouted.
A golden key sliced through the air, glowing brightly. With a clear ding-dong, a magic circle flared to life, summoning Taurus, the Golden Bull Spirit. The massive, axe-wielding bull appeared, swinging his giant hoof to shatter the incoming flames, ice, punches, lightning, and flashes with one mighty swipe of his axe.
"Whoa! Lucy's Spirit!" Natsu hollered, impressed.
"That thing looks strong!" Gray added, eyes wide.
"Even the Spirit's a real man!" Elfman bellowed.
"Pretty neat to see a Celestial Spirit in action," Cana mused.
"It's Taurus…" Lucy muttered, exhausted already.
Taurus hefted his axe onto his shoulder, striking a cool pose toward the group. "Moo! Leave Miss Lucy's chest—and this fight—to me!"
Meanwhile, Lucy was curled up inside Horologium, the Clock Spirit, sobbing. "Wahhh, this is terrifying!" she cried.
Horologium, squinting with his old-man eyes, relayed her words faithfully. "She says."
Gray leaned in, curious. "A clock? That's a Spirit too?"
"You guys could at least look before you start swinging!" Horologium relayed as Lucy's voice trembled from within.
Happy zipped over, eyes sparkling with curiosity. "Lucy, I wanna go inside too!"
Cats and their curiosity, honestly.
Mira marched over, hands on her hips, glaring at the culprits. "You guys, there's a limit to how much you can joke around!"
"Exactly!" Kira piped up from behind, acting all righteous despite being just as guilty. "Is this how Fairy Tail treats its new members? I'm disappointed in you!"
The group ignored Kira but couldn't ignore Mira. They hung their heads, mumbling apologies in silence.
Lucy, peeking out, thought to herself, Okay, maybe this guild has some normal people after all. I shouldn't have doubted—
But then Kira spoke again, smirking. "After all this time, this is how much you've improved? Weren't you all training to catch up to me?"
Silence. Absolute silence.
Lucy's inner monologue screamed, This guy's just a total jerk!!
Mira turned to Kira, exasperated. "Enough, Kira! Lucy was in real danger just now!"
Kira blinked, feigning concern. "Huh? Lucy, you okay? Oh, I get it—these guys were too rough! Don't worry, I'll teach 'em a lesson for you!"
He started shrugging off his magic robe, ready to jump into the fray.
Lucy just stared, speechless.
"I'm serious, Kira, I'm about to get mad!" Mira warned, her tone sharp.
Kira raised his hands, laughing. "Alright, alright! I was just trying to lighten the mood since Lucy seemed freaked out. Don't take it so seriously!"
Lucy thought, Lighten the mood? Yeah, right!
Kira strolled over to Horologium and tapped the glass. "Lucy, it's safe now. You can come out."
Ding-dong!
Horologium vanished, and Lucy stepped out, her face a mix of fear, frustration, and… a tiny bit of relief? Wait, relief? Lucy, what's going on with you?
Kira waved at Natsu and the others. "Hey, you lot, get over here and apologize to Lucy!"
Natsu scratched his head. "Why? Didn't Lucy have fun too?"
Fun?! Lucy screamed internally.
Still, feeling a bit awkward, she waved it off. "It's fine, really! I know you were just messing around. I'm okay…"
Wow, she's so easy to read! Kira thought, smirking inwardly. But… why didn't she look that shaken? Was she… enjoying it a little?
Ahem. "Anyway," Kira said, "I'll apologize on their behalf. Please don't hold it against these knuckleheads."
Lucy softened, smiling. "No, it's okay. I get it."
Kira grinned. "If you've got any complaints, just wait till Erza gets back. She'll sort them out!"
Before Lucy could ask who Erza was, Natsu and the others snapped to attention, bowing in unison. "We're sorry, Lucy! Please don't tell Erza what happened!"
Lucy blinked. That's a big change in attitude!
"Uh… who's Erza?" she asked.
Natsu's face paled. "Erza… she's the scariest person in all of Fairy Tail!"
"The scariest…?" Lucy echoed, confused.
Gray nodded grimly. "Yeah, she's like a walking nightmare."
"If Erza finds out, we're in deep trouble," Cana added.
Seeing their sudden fear, Lucy was baffled. "What? Is this Erza person that scary?"
Happy bobbed his head. "Yup! Everyone's terrified of Erza!"
Lucy glanced at Kira, thinking, Scarier than Kira? These guys don't seem scared of him at all…
Kira, catching her vibe, felt a twinge of annoyance. Tch, Erza, scarier than me? As if!