The Demon & Assassin ( Fairy Tail, Miraxus )

The Fateful Encounter

Laxus POV

"Ahhh!" I almost got a heart attack when I opened my eyes to a demon sleeping beside me.

Mirajane, not realizing what have become of her, wipes her eyes and asks, "What' wrong? Why did you shout, Laxus?"

"No, it's nothing." I release my right arm from around her waist and untangle my left hand from her's. "I just had nightmare." I lie through my teeth.

Mirajane seems disappointed, and so am I, but for a different reason. I was so looking forward to admiring her beautiful sleeping face, however she had turned to an ugly scary-looking demon.

Dawn is approaching ( 5:00 a.m.). The sky is reddish, and the morning air is refreshing. The grass dances as the wind blows like a gentle breeze. It's only a matter of minutes until the sun comes out of hiding.

"How's your fever, Mira?" I ask; my eyes looking somewhere else.

Mira puts her hand on her forehead and answers, "I believe it's gone now..." Right away, she realizes the transformation on her arm. She immediately gets up on her feet and takes a step back from me, covering her upper body with her hands.

"Hey, don't feel bad about yourself." I stand up and approach her. "I mean, look at me," I spread my arms wide to the side. "I feel comfortable with my own body."

"But unlike you, I'm ugly." She lowers her head down and adds, "You said it yourself last night, and I can tell from your sudden change of behavior that you must find me really hideous right now..."

"..."

She reads me like a book. It's true that I don't see her as the same person she was before. She's just not the flawless beauty that I admire. In fact, nowhere even close. But what am I supposed to tell her right now? I don't want to hurt her feelings.

While thinking for a reasonable answer, I grab and put on my cloak that was lying on the grass. I've been bare- chested the whole night, and it's really about time for me to cover up. Don't want to come across more as a stripper than an assassin now...

"Err... you look, err... j-just fine the way you are, Mira." Even without looking at the mirror, I can tell from her face expression that I was nowhere near convincing. Oh, who am I kidding here!?

"Stop it... you don't need to lie to me." She turns around and exposes her dark wings on me. "Please... I don't want you to see me like this, at least not for the next 10 minutes until sunrise..."

I've had enough seeing her feeling so insecure about herself, thus I force myself to confront her and rest my upper arms on her shoulder from behind. "Don't wait for the sun to rise. Instead, do something about it." I then force her to turn around and finally see eye to eye with her. "Stop running away from your past and embrace your magic!"

"Me? Running away from my past!?" Mirajane is puzzled.

"That's right! If you keep dwelling on your past mistakes, then you will never have the courage to face your fear!" I then lean forward and whisper in her ear. " I know... it's your little brother, isn't it?"

Mirajane nods silently. "Laxus... I'm afraid of repeating my mistaske. I don't want to have anymore regrets..."

I sigh. " Well, if you still haven't mastered your magic by the time Freed has arrived, then surely there will be even more regrets, don't you think?" I give her a gentle rub on the back and smile at her. "Stop doubting yourself. We all learn and grow from our mistakes."

She smiles backs at me. "Thanks, Laxus. I feel so much better now."

By now the sun has risen, and Mirajane's body starts glowing and reverting back to her former self. I, too, have changed to my usual day look, a black hooded assassin with his angry mask on. It's about time we leave this unwelcoming forest.