Devils Among Fairies

Chapter 12: Sisters and Brothers

  (Liebe's p.o.v.)

  I was on my way back to mine and Asta's camp to hide and protect my friend Zeref, accompanied by the human woman, Mirajane. She was still hurting from the phantom pain of her now healed wounds, but was still able to walk at least. She tried to strike up a conversation with me to pass the time as we trekked to our campsite. "So Liebe, when you and Asta leave the island, what will you two do?" She asked. I replied, "I don't know, but I think the first thing we should do is find a way to make a living in this world. We couldn't even leave the island when we first arrived, because we had no idea which direction to travel or how long the trip would take. Like Asta told you and your sister before, we've been stranded on this rock for months." Mira stayed quiet for a moment before suggesting, "If you and your brother want off the island, you two could came with us on our ship. And as for making a living in this world, you both could join our guild." I looked at her, thinking she was crazy. "You can't be serious. I nearly killed you, and you're asking me to join your crew? Why would I want to join your guild in the first place?" I asked her. She replied, "Fairy Tail is a great place, all of us treat each other as family, no matter who we are or where we're from. I think you both would fit in perfectly." "That's not the point, why would I want to join a band of humans when I obviously still hold a grudge against your kind? You think I would be happy being around one of the two races I hate? Besides, I doubt they would accept a Devil. Both Demons and Devils are evil pieces of shit with no principles, there's no way in hell they would let me in their guild." I said sternly, hoping she would give up on trying to recruit me. "Just because you're a Devil, doesn't necessarily mean you're an evil being at heart." I looked at her shocked and she continued, "I know the truth, you're not a bad guy. Your foster mother Licita said those same words to you before, and Asta said the same when you two fought for the first time. I honestly agree with them, you're not evil just in pain. I saw your memories, remember? I know what you had went through as a kid and I'll be honest, it broke my heart seeing an innocent child suffering because of what he was. I even thought about what my life would've been like if I didn't have Elfman and Lisanna, hated by the whole world for something I couldn't control. Believe me when I say this Liebe, I want to help alleviate your pain. I probably know better than anyone else what's like to be scorned for something you can't help. So, would you please consider joining Fairy Tail?"

  She said the last part with a sad smile. 'I don't know why, but there's something about her that reminds me of Licita. What a strange world we ended up in? I keep running into humans who reminds me of my mom.' I thought. "No promises I'll join, but I'll think about it." I said to her. Mira replied, "Thank you, Liebe." "I see that you're starting to open up to another human, my friend." Zeref chimed in. "I wouldn't go that far, Zeref. It's still too soon to tell." I said to him as we continued to make our way to camp.

 
  (Asta's p.o.v.)

  Lisanna and I were going through the woods, looking for any of her guild mates that are scattered across the island. She asked, "Hey Asta? If you don't mind me asking, what was Mira talking about when she said that Liebe had suffered enough?" I looked at her and explained that we were from a different world, I told her about my brother's tragic story to her, about all the pain he went through throughout his life and even about how we ended up on Fairy Tail's sacred ground. She looked down with a sorrowful expression on her face and she said, "I see, so he's had it worse than Mira?" This confused me and I asked, "What do you mean?" She told me about how her sister was persecuted by others for believing she had become possessed by a Demon when in reality she had absorbed and gain it's power do to a Take Over spell, and she hated herself for having such a power. That was when I realized why Liebe gained a bit of respect and sympathy for Mirajane, they both experience similar pain due to discrimination. "I see, I'm sorry she had to go through all that. Though I think this would be a good opportunity for the both of them." She looked at me puzzled and I explained, "Both my brother and your sister experienced human cruelty first hand, though Liebe had it worse. But it's for that reason why they are the only people who can truly understand each other. Maybe if she can get Liebe to open up to her, it be another step closer to my brother finally letting go of his resentment towards humans. Who knows, maybe they will even get together one day."

  Lisanna giggled and replied, "Are you seriously saying that you want to your brother to date my sister?" "It would be nice to see him happy after so many years. I don't think I've ever seen him genuinely smile before. So if he had a good woman in his life, he would definitely have a smile on his face." I responded. "You know, Mira is usually the one you says stuff like that in the guild. She always tries get ship our guild members, so it's funny to hear something doing the same thing to her." She giggled again. "Yeah, it does sound kinda funny." I answered her before she asked me, "Hey, while we're on the subject let me ask, do you have a special lady friend back in your world?"

I was honestly surprised by that and started to think of an answer. During the time Liebe and I had been stranded on the island, I had a lot of time to reflect on what had happened in my life. One of the thoughts that had been on my mind a lot, was what I had seen the moment after Noelle had defeated Vanica and Megicula, an apparition of a woman that greatly resembled her, who I assumed was her mother because I overheard Megicula say that he was responsible for killing Noelle's mom shortly after she was born. When I saw that apparition, I felt a familiar emotion in it's Ki. An emotion that I soon recognized as my feelings towards Sister Lily. The emotions of the apparition of Noelle's mom were the love of a mother to her children. I had similar emotions for Sister Lily, which I assumed were romantic interest until I saw that bore witness to that sight after Noelle's victory. I eventually realized that my feelings towards Sister Lily were not those of romantic love, but a love a child has towards their mother or sibling. All that time, I had mistaken romantic interest for a child's love for their parents. I felt like such an idiot when I realized that, and I gave up on wanting to marry the Sister. I answered Lisanna's question, "No, I don't. Actually, I don't think I've ever fell in love before." She replied stunned, "Really? Has any girl in your life ever came up to you and declared their love for you?" "No, not once. All the girls would be too busy falling all over my childhood friend Yuno because he's more good looking and has powerful magic. Me, for much of my life, no one's ever even expected anything from me. It wasn't until I join the Black Bulls and completed missions that people started doing just that. Yet still, no girl has went and told me she loved me." She was surprised and commented, "That doesn't make sense, you seem like a really nice guy. I can just tell that there have to be a lot of girls out there who would love to get have you as their boyfriend. I may barely know you, but I just know that you're a very lovable guy. So don't worry, you'll find love someday." I was flattered by what she said and replied, "Thanks, it's nice to hear that from a mage, since everyone in my world tends to look down on others with less magic power than themselves." "Sounds like your world is a pretty cruel place, huh?" "In my world, magic is everything. The royals and nobles are born with the most magic power, while commoners barely have enough to use in their daily life. That's why the people would always look down and discriminate against other. Honestly, I think it's just plain stupid. It doesn't matter if you're born with a lot of magic or not, we're all still humans. When I heard that Zancrow guy say that his guild was planning on killing most of this world's population to make a world where magic is everything, it made me furious. This Grimoire Heart is even worse than the royals, nobles, and the Devils in my world, and I'm not going to let them have their way. So, I'm going help your guild fight them, not just to protect my friend Zeref, but to protect the innocent people who will fall victim to people like Zancrow." I said to her with a determined face.

She seemed surprised by it and she replied, "You know, when you stepped up to fight Zancrow I couldn't help but think how much you remind me of Natsu." "Natsu?" I asked confused. "Natsu Dragneel, my childhood friend and a fellow member of Fairy Tail. He has the same fire in his eyes that you do. I think you two would get along really well." 'Wait, Dragneel? Does this mean that Zeref's brother is a member of Fairy Tail?' I thought. I remembered Zeref telling us about his younger brother, and asked something of us if we were ever to encounter him, 'don't let him or anyone else know I'm his brother'. He explained that because of his reputation, his brother would be a likely target for various people who want to get to him, and he didn't want to endanger his only brother because of it So Liebe and I agreed to keep his secret. I replied to Lisanna's remark, "Really? I'd sure like to meet him."

  We walked around until we heard a woman's voice calling out, "Wendy!" Whoever said that sounded close, and I could sense their Ki as well. So I could track them down easily. "That sounded like Erza." Lisanna said. "One of your friends?" I asked. "Yeah, she's actually the strongest female member in Fairy Tail. Though she's supposed to be keeping an eye on base camp, why would she be out here?" "Let's ask her when we find her. I can sense someone in the direction we heard her, so I know where to go. Follow me." I started running and Lisanna was right behind me. We started to quickly make our way to where we heard this 'Erza' yell, wondering why she was out there.