Phoenix

Lizard Tongue

"So are you actually Laxus from Fairy Tail?"

"What does it matter?"

"How come you're not with your guildmates? Do you always go solo?"

"I'm not part of the guild anymore."

Emi looked at Laxus in confusion before she caught on. She stood up from her seat and moved so she was standing in front of Laxus and holding his hands.

"Hey what the hell are you--"

"So it's true that you lost something precious to you."

Laxus stayed quiet for a minute before he huffed and stood up, yanking his hands away from Emi.

"Who gives a shit anyway. Not like I can get it back."

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Emi and Laxus were walking past a couple when Laxus was spotted.

"Hey you! You're that Dreyar wizard, aren't you?"

"What of it?"

The man drew his sword and charged at the lightning mage. He was, of course, quickly dealt with, Laxus striking him down in one shot.

"And what exactly were you trying to accomplish with that?" Laxus grunted.

"Consider this your warning," the man coughed, "because Lizard Tongue will be going after Fairy Tail."

Laxus raised his eyebrow at the man before stepping on his face.

"I'd like to see you try."

Laxus then ushered Emi past the man and they continued walking through the town.

"What was that all about?" Emi questioned.

"I've been getting all kinds of threats," Laxus explained. "Everyone apparently caught wind of my exile and think that it's the best time to attack Fairy Tail."

"Were you that strong of a member?" Emi asked in wonder.

"Depends on who you ask. I was S-class, so I guess so."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Laxus looked at her confused. She smiled up at him and stood in front of him.

"You're going to help your guild, right?"

"I told you already that I'm not part of it anymore."

"From what I've heard, Fairy Tail treats everyone like family. And I might not know much about anything, but I'm pretty sure there's no real way to exile a family member. And family protects family. So what are you going to do about it? Someone threatened your family."

"You're really annoying, you know that?"

"Anyway," Emi said as she ignored the insult, "I heard that Lizard Tongue's base is somewhere in the forest."

Emi started to walk away, leaving Laxus standing in the middle of the road. He looked at her in wonder before his eyes narrowed.

"Are you trying to get me killed? That's an entire dark guild."

"You defeated that dark guild that threatened me, didn't you? If I recall, you got them in one attack. Plus, you're S-class, right?"

"You're not coming with me."

Emi smiled to herself before turning around to face Laxus and agreeing, saying that she'd take care of finding an inn. They both went their separate ways.

"You're telling me that you were the one to start him on that?!" Makarov shouted.

Emi smiled sheepishly before Laxus chimed in.

"Actually, I would've done it anyway. I just wasn't going to do it right then."

"You two are unbelievable!"

Emi jumped on one of the beds and landed on her back. She let out a content sigh and closed her eyes. She heard a knock on the door and jumped up to answer it.

"Why would you knock?" Emi laughed as she faced Laxus standing in the doorway.

"I don't know what you do when you're alone," Laxus replied simply.

Emi rolled her eyes, continuing, "So how did it go?"

"There were ten of them and they all had swords. Which means," Laxus drifted off and lifted up his shirt to show a deep gash in his side, "I have to deal with this now."

Emi gasped before reaching into her bag and pulling out a first aid kit. She rushed over to Laxus and gently touched his side. Laxus didn't even flinch when she touched the wound.

"Do you just not feel anything?"

"I've had worse injuries."

Emi focused on the wound and used the disinfectant to clean it out before wrapping his side in bandages.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Emi pushed.

"I'm fine. And Fairy Tail will be now too."

Emi beamed at Laxus before harshly poking his side. Laxus still didn't flinch.

"Damn. How do you do that?" Emi muttered.

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"It's...too far. Can't...walk any farther."

Laxus turned around to face the short woman and huffed, "We've only been walking for twenty minutes."

"You should carry me," Emi stated seriously.

"Absolutely not. Hurry up. We have to be in Tuly Village by tomorrow morning."

Emi stopped walking and crossed her arms. Laxus noticed and mirrored her.

"You guys sure have a lot of staredowns," Mira commented.

"That's because he's stubborn," Emi responded coolly.

"Yeah and she's a pain in the ass."

"Please? My feet hurt."

"We've been walking for twenty minutes."

"You said that already. That doesn't mean I can't be tired."

Emi decided to take matters into her own hands and jump on his back. Laxus growled and waited for her to fall off, but she wrapped her legs around him to steady herself.

"Get. Off."

"No!"

Laxus sighed before holding her thighs and adjusting her. Emi cheered as he began to walk again.

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A/N: Hey y'all. Just a short chapter for now.