32Trope #66: Sympathy for the Devil
Crossover: Fairy Tail
"Kagome! You should enter the pageant," Cana spoke, nudging the older girl in the side with her elbow, causing Kagome to spill her drink. The former miko laughed as she cleaned up the mess and said, "I don't know about that."
"Why not? You have a hot body and a killer smile," Cana unabashedly stated with a flirty wink. Mirajane grinned, helping Kagome with the mess and said, "It'll be so much fun. Plus the prize money is nothing to sneeze at."
"Whoever wins won't have to work for months," Cana added, taking a large gulp of her barrel of booze. Now that caught Kagome's interest. That would give her more time to test out a few of her latest theories.
From the look on her face, Mirjane knew she was in. "I'll let Master know."
"This whole thing was his idea, wasn't it," Kagome grumbled. Cana and Mirajane laughed, neither denying her claim. It was pretty obvious.
"Hey, I heard Laxus is back in town," Cana commented. Both her and Mirajane looked at the other girl expectantly. Kagome ignored them. She had felt Laxus' presence pop up randomly these last few days, and she could even feel him now not too far away.
She decided she needed to drop in on him. She had a few things to say to him after all, especially after everything that had happened with Phantom Lord. She plastered on a huge, fake smile and said, "Well, I'm gonna go prepare for the contest. I'll see you two later.
She found the blonde at a small park, along with Shadow Gear. The new guy was there as well, taking a heavy beating from the Lightning Mage. And when she saw him nearly hit Levy, she saw red.
"Laxus!" He turned to glare at her before huffing and turning his back to her and took off. Kagome wasn't through with him though. She easily followed his magic to the borders of Magnolia.
"What are you up to, Sparky," Kagome asked. She grinned despite her anger when she saw him tense up.
Growling, he whirled around and roared, "What did I tell you about calling me that?"
It was nice to see that she could still fluster the other mage. He had been so angry and distant, and she was to blame for their friendship falling apart. She met his heated gaze head on. She needed to fix this. "Answer me."
"What do you care? This isn't your home, remember," he coldly shot back.
She physically flinched at his words, and let her gaze fall sadly to the ground. "I-I was wrong okay."
"Whatever," he replied, brushing past her.
"Relax Lucy, you'll be great," Kagome smiled, winking at the blond celestial wizard as she was called onto the stage. Unlike most of the others, she wouldn't be changing into a bikini. She decided to stick with a traditional yukata she had made herself.
"Next up is entry number seven. At one point or another we've all felt that famous magic tough of hers, Kagome Higurashi," Max introduced.
Kagome was met with a loud applause. Not as loud as Erza or Mirajane, but still a decent turn out, maybe she did stand a chance. Smiling brightly, she put on a little light show for the crowd and used her magic to spell out Fairy Tail.
Once she was done, she made her way backstage to see that the other contestants had been turned to stone. Narrowing her eyes she whirled around, ready to warn the others, only to find Evergreen. The other girl had snuck up behind her.
"What are you doing," she demanded. Evergreen only smirked and took off her glasses. Kagome met her gaze head on.
And nothing happened.
"What, but how," Evergreen cried as she glared at the former miko. Kagome smirked as she prepared to fight. "Cheap tricks don't work on me."
"Good to know," Bixlow cackled as he caught her off guard and knocked her out.
"I'm gonna kill him," Kagome groaned as she slowly came around. Standing, she looked around to see that the guild was mostly abandoned. The others were still stone, and Natsu was yelling some gibberish about being over eighty.
"Master, what's going on," Kagome asked as she made her way across the guildhall. He and Natsu looked surprised to see her. They hadn't even noticed she hadn't been among the statues.
"Kagome, you weren't turned to stone," Makarov asked in surprise. She nodded her head but didn't bother to explain. "What's going on?"
"Laxus set up this tournament to determine the strongest members in Fairy Tail," he quickly explained. "He'll only turn the girls back if he is defeated."
"I'll deal with him, Master," Kagome declared.
Natsu pouted in the background. "No fair, I wanted a shot at him.
"Since Erza's a statue, you're the only one strong enough to deal with him," Makarov replied, ignoring the dragon slayer's outburst. "I know you don't like to fight…"
Kagome shook her head and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's okay Master. I'll smack some sense into that thick skull of his."
He worried though. Kagome was an S Class Mage, but her magic was mostly defensive. Still, he hoped she could get through to his stubborn grandson, like when they were younger.
Picking out Laxus' aura had always been an easy task for her. Even in the crowded guildhall, she could pick up on his magic signature with her eyes closed. And it took her only a matter of seconds to determine where he was.
She set out in a run. Hopefully she could stop him before he did something he couldn't undo. She passed a few of her guild mates, passed out and obviously in pain. She wanted to stop and help, but pushed on. She would heal them once this was over.
Before she knew it, she walked right into the middle of a battle. She automatically recognized Laki and Mickey fighting a few others she couldn't recognize offhand. They quickly spotted her and tried to drag her into the fight.
She dodged their attacks and quickly ran past Freed's barrier. She had yet to encounter a barrier that could keep her out.
Out of all the places in Magnolia, he chose to hide out at the cathedral. And when she entered, he actually looked surprised to see her. But he hid it quickly enough. He smirked cockily as he stood from his sitting position. "I must say I'm surprised. Didn't think anyone would actually make it this far."
She rolled her eyes at his obnoxious behavior. She used to laugh at that cocky behavior, instead she confronted his behavior head on. "It's not too late, Laxus."
"I know exactly what I'm doing," he frustratingly replied. Lightning flashed dramatically around him.
She saw right through him. Bravely, she stepped closer to the temperamental wizard. "I know you think you've already come too far, but if you end things now the others will forgive you."
"What do I care what they think? It's their fault we've become a laughing stock."
"Laxus," Kagome reprimanded, glaring up at him. "That's not what Fairy Tail is about and you know it."
"Enlighten me then. You who is looking to leave the first chance she gets," he roared back, pointing an accusing finger at her. She wouldn't let him get to her this time.
She closed the distance between the two and grabbed onto his arm, pulling him closer to her. Looking him right in the eye, she answered, "Fairy Tail is about family. We were all lost on our own, but being together makes us stronger."
"Like anybody in this guild knows anything about strength," he replied, the lightning picked up again. He wrenched free from her grasp, violently pushing her away.
Kagome stumbled back and lost her footing. She ended up hitting her head against a nearby column. She blacked out and the next thing she knew, she saw Mysotgen and Laxus arguing.
Without looking at her Mystogen spoke, "Kagome, I will handle things from here. Go treat the others and figure out a way to stop Laxus' Thunder Palace."
Kagome's eyes widened as she looked at the blonde in disbelief and murmured, "You didn't"
He steadily avoided looking in her direction. She raced out of the cathedral, with one last look back at Laxus.
Kagome was waiting for him just a small way down the alley. She watched on as tears fell down his face as Makarov and the rest of the guild told him goodbye. He nearly walked right past her.
"Shouldn't you be in the parade," he grunted as he continued to on.
Kagome rolled her eyes but chose to follow him. "I haven't done the parade in years, Sparky."
He paused once he heard the familiar nickname. He turned to look at her and said, "Why are you here?"
"I could heal you, but frankly you deserve those wounds," she bluntly replied, but that didn't stop her from leaning up and placing a hand on his forehead. A second later and Laxus was completely healed.
"You didn't have to do that," he muttered, looking away in embarrassment. Kagome smiled and replied, "I know, especially since you've been such a jerk."
He rolled his eyes at her response and continued walking. Kagome followed him and inquired, "Where will you go?"
"Don't know," he simply replied, and he really didn't know.
"Well I do. Master is sending me to scout out some dark guild. We can travel together for a while," she said, grabbing his arm.
"And why would I do that," he asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked down at the other girl.
"Because you like spending time with me," she replied. His reaction was immediate, eliciting a giggle from the former time traveler. Laxus' face turn a startling shade of red and he nearly tripped over his own feet.
"Don't say stuff like that," he yelled. Kagome stifled her giggles enough to say, "Why, I like spending time with you."