Suddenly, the lights in the guild hall became dim. The curtains closed. The room was dark and everyone was waiting. Then one bright spotlight turned on. It was bright and sharp. It shone on the center of the stage.
Everyone was nervous. They thought Mira would come out and sing.
Instead, the light showed Gajeel Redfox.
He sat on a stool. He wore a bright white suit. He held an acoustic guitar. He looked uncomfortable with the guitar in his hands.
"Ehhhh—?!"
"Gajeel?!"
The guild started shouting. Nobody thought they would see the Iron Dragon Slayer play music tonight.
Gajeel played a note. It sounded bad. He did not care. He began to sing a melody with a rough voice.
"Not many guilds would take in a person like me… but I found a home here. Yesterday we were enemies… today we are—"
He looked very proud. He looked like he was about to show everyone a great song.
"—today we are family. I present my original song: 'Best Friend.'"
"…."
The hall was completely silent.
The silence was not because the people were being polite. It was because they were shocked by the bad music.
Mira clapped her hands. She smiled and tried to make the moment nice. "Well! The guitar playing is… not very good, but the words are actually very sweet!"
Kael put his hands over his ears. He looked like he was in pain. "He has… energy. Now let's make sure he never sings again."
Mira laughed at what Kael said. But Kael was not the only one who did not like the song. Soon, the people became angry.
Mugs were thrown. Plates were thrown. Someone even threw a shoe.
Gajeel moved out of the way on the stage. The stage was now a target. The performance did not end with people clapping.
It ended with a fight in the bar.
"COOL—!!" Jason from Sorcerer Weekly shouted. He took photos quickly with his camera.
A few days later, the magazine was sold in stores.
There were some good photos. Kael looked calm. Erza looked like a queen in her armor. The other photos showed chaos. There were fights, broken tables, and Gajeel's bad performance shown from three different sides.
In a tavern in a small village, some men were laughing loudly.
"Hahahaha! Look at this! Fairy Tail is not tough anymore!" one man said. He put the magazine on the table. "How can these people be a top guild?"
"Look at the new building. It has a swimming pool now. Are they wizards or are they people who watch swimmers?"
"If Kael was not there, the whole guild would be a joke!"
"A small joke?" another man said. "They are a big joke!"
A shadow appeared over the table.
The three men turned around. They wanted to start a fight. Then they became very afraid.
"L-Laxus?!" one man said. "From Fairy Tail?!"
"What is he doing in a place like this?!"
"W-We are sorry! We did not mean it!"
They ran away quickly. They moved the chairs and spilled their drinks. They left the tavern because they were scared. They were brave when Laxus was not there.
They were not brave when they saw Laxus Dreyar.
Laxus looked at the magazine on the floor. He looked angry.
"You are acting like a clown, old man," he said to himself.
"Ooh, scary."
Someone at the bar spoke. The voice was lazy and rude.
A man with an afro and gold teeth was leaning against the bar. He was smiling. He looked like a monkey putting on a show.
"The famous wizard looks at them and the people run away," he said. "That is exciting. So you are the grandson of Makarov, right? Are you a rich kid wizard?"
Laxus looked at him. He did not blink.
"Oh, I am very scared," the man said. "My name is Zato."
The owner of the tavern came over. His hands were shaking. "Zato… please. Do not start a fight."
Zato looked at him like he was garbage. "Start what, Dallas? I am only saying the truth. That guild is just clowns and people who break things—except for Kael."
He spit on the floor.
Everyone knew Kael was strong. He had defeated a Wizard Saint. But Zato thought the rest of Fairy Tail was weak.
"Zato," Laxus said. His voice was cold. "I have never heard of you."
Zato smiled. He looked mean. "Of course you haven't. We work in the dark. We do not put our photos in magazines."
There was a sound of electricity.
Gold sparks appeared around Laxus. The room felt dangerous.
"If you want to die so much," Laxus said, "I will help you."
He walked toward the door. "Let's go outside."
"Outside?" Zato laughed. "You are the one going out!"
BOOM!
A force hit Laxus. He was thrown through the wall and into the street.
The people in the tavern screamed. They ran out to get away from the magic.
Zato stood by the hole in the wall. He laughed. "Hahaha! You are weak. Maybe we will go hunt fairies tomorrow!"
Then the ground under him started to glow.
A bright gold light appeared at Zato's feet.
CRACK!
A big bolt of lightning came from the ground. It hit Zato and threw him into the air.
"Gwaaaah!!"
Then there was a loud sound.
THUD.
Zato fell on the street. He was burned and unconscious.
The dark wizards with him were very afraid.
"Lightning… from the ground?"
"He defeated Zato in one hit?!"
Laxus stood in the street. He looked disgusted.
"Pathetic," he said. "Why is my guild a joke to weak people like this…?"
Defeating a weak person did not make him happy. He was angry because people were laughing at Fairy Tail. They talked about swimming pools and shops.
Fairy Tail Guild
The reporters were gone now. The guild was loud again. Lucy stood at the request board. She looked at the papers.
"Is there a job I can do by myself…?" she said.
"What is wrong, Lucy?" Mira asked. She was behind the bar. "Are you not working with Natsu today?"
"Natsu said he wants to train," Lucy said. "But I need money for my rent."
"Keep looking," Mira said. "There are many different jobs now."
Lucy looked at the board. "Hunting monsters… no. Finding treasure in the sea… no—wait."
She looked happy.
"'Magic Teacher for Children'… this is perfect!"
She tried to take the paper.
Someone else took it first.
"Hey! I saw that first!"
"I was faster," Gajeel said. He read the paper.
Lucy turned around. "You?! A teacher?! Are you serious?"
"I will take the job I want," Gajeel said. He looked at her. "Do you have a problem?"
Lucy was angry. "Fine! I do not care!"
Gajeel went to talk to Kael.
Makarov was busy with the Magic Council. Kael was the leader of the guild for now. Gajeel had to ask him about the job.
Gajeel put the paper on the bar. "I am taking this job."
Kael read the paper. Then he looked at Gajeel. Gajeel looked mean and tough.
"You?" Kael asked. "You want to teach kids? You will scare them."
"Be quiet."
Kael gave the paper back. "Fine. You can have it. Do not eat the things in the school."
Gajeel walked toward the doors.
He bumped into someone who was walking inside.
"Watch where you are going," Gajeel said. Then he said, "My bad."
He tried to walk away.
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
"You hit me, say 'my bad,' and think it is okay?"
Gajeel looked at the person. "Do you want to—?"
CRACK!!
Gold lightning hit him.
"Gwaaaaaah!!"
Gajeel was thrown across the floor.
"Laxus!!" the guild members shouted. They were shocked.
Laxus looked annoyed.
He had lightning on his fingers. He looked at Gajeel like he was trash.
"Why is a person from Phantom Lord here?" Laxus asked. He was very angry. "It is disgusting."
He prepared another bolt of lightning. It was very bright. He aimed it at Gajeel.
SMACK!
Someone moved very fast between them.
Kael moved his hand and pushed the lightning away.
BOOM!!
The lightning hit a table and destroyed it.
Kael did not move. He stood between Laxus and Gajeel. He looked at Laxus with cold eyes.
"What do you think you're doing, Laxus?"
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I have 9 active novels, and I post 2 chapters per day for each novel.
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