Phoenix

The Problem

It had been six months since Laxus and Emi met, and they continued to travel to the towns in Fiore and do random jobs to help the townspeople. Somewhere along the way, Emi had suggested that they wear cloaks in order to avoid any trouble and unwanted conversation, as she had seen that Laxus would usually get recognized and stared at. With the cloaks on, they were able to travel through towns without running into trouble. Emi had not recovered her memory at all, and Laxus continued to stay by her side.

"We should stay in Hargeon."

Laxus looked over at her before asking her why, pointing out that that was the farthest location from where they were then.

"I don't know. I just feel like we should. Besides, it's fishing season, which means the older fishermen are going to need help carrying their catches off the boat."

Laxus shrugged before walking in the direction of Hargeon. He was stopped by Emi pushing back on his chest.

"Oh no you don't," Emi scolded. "We're taking the train. It's way too far to walk."

"We don't need the train. We've gone six months without it. Why start now?"

"Because I'm sick of walking. It's going to take us days to get to your next job if we walk."

Laxus glared at her for a few seconds, but saw tha exhaustion in her eyes. She looked like she was about to collapse.

"Hey, uh, are you okay?" Laxus asked, concerned.

Emi made eye contact with Laxus before she felt herself falling backwards. She made a "thud" on the ground before Laxus could catch her.

"Crap. Hey brat, wake up!"

Emi didn't respond, and Laxus started to worry. He looked around and picked her up before tossing her on his back.

"Jeez. You could've at least told me you were this tired."

The lightning mage made his way back to town and checked into an inn. He placed her on the bed and tossed a blanket on her. She started whimpering, signalling that she was sleeping and not passed out anymore. Her whimpers soon turned to screams as she writhed in her sleep. Laxus sighed before walking over to her.

"Hey brat, knock it off."

"Ar...thur."

"Huh?"

Emi started screaming again, her body heating up. Laxus tried to shake her, but her body was so hot that he burned his hand.

"Ow. What the hell?"

Emi's eyes snapped open and she ran to the bathroom, reaching it just in time to vomit into the toilet. Laxus could hear her coughing from the other room and wandered over to the doorframe.

"You mind telling me what's going on?"

"I...I don't know. I just feel so h..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she collapsed again, just barely avoiding hitting her head on the toilet. Laxus rushed over to her and scooped her up and placed her back on the bed. His eyes were filled with anxiety as he heard her struggling to breathe normally.

"This guy's gonna kill me if I let her get hurt," Laxus groaned. "Man, this whole situation sucks."

Laxus fastened his cloak and ventured out to the town in search of a doctor. He finally found one and brought him back to the inn.