ASS 5

"Now, I might've had a drink... or five," Cana took a swing out of her glass. Some might say that it was too early to be drinking, but then she would politely inform them she'd already been awake for half an hour.

"But that's Erza right there smiling by herself like a loon?" Cana pointed at the redhead wizard, who was - just as described - sitting on a table by herself and widely smiling.

"That's her alright," Mira chuckled while cleaning up the usual mess Fairy Tail left after a night of drinking.

"She's been like that ever since William brought her back," Mira said on the cusp of laughing. "You should've seen her trying to get him into Fairy Hills, acting all sneaky. Old Man Ruchio caught them and kicked William away. Then he tried reprimanding Erza, but I don't think she heard a word he said."

"So what I saw yesterday wasn't just my imagination? I thought that, for the first time ever, I might've drunk too much," Cana said in disbelief, causing Mira to giggle.

"Yeah, I know. Like that would ever happen," Cana just shook her head. "But seriously. Erza really got dressed up, got kissed by a man, and went out on a date with said man? I'm having a hard time believing it, and I saw it with my own eyes."

"Of course, you saw it with your own eyes. Did you think you'd see with someone else's eyes?" Mira replied with a smirk on her face. Cana just rolled her eyes in response, but that just made the she-devil's grin widen.

"You don't like how eye roll?" Mira wiggled her eyebrows.

"It's too early for me to handle the lame jokes you read in the newspaper," Cana just drowned her drink in one swing.

"Why? Are they too cornea for you?" Mira asked, her smile never leaving her face.

"Just get me another drink," Cana just placed her cup on the counter, hoping Mira wouldn't continue.

"Who is that William Erza went out with? You seem to know him as I recall you talking with him," Cana asked as Mira served her beer, the equivalent of coffee for Cana.

"William is the owner of the new store in town. The one that sells those potions," Mira informed her.

"Oh, I overheard people talking about that. Place is getting pretty popular. Think I heard that some Twilight Ogre members have been seen lingering around the store," Cana absentmindedly said before tilting her head and narrowing her eyes.

"Wait, isn't he the guy that smacked Natsu so hard, he was brought back by Happy swimming in his own vomit?" Cana suddenly asked.

"Yep," Mira confirmed. "Didn't seem too pleased that Natsu sought him out, though."

"Must be pretty strong if he could beat Natsu," Cana said, thinking about what her chances of beating the Dragon Slayer were. As hard as it was to admit, they weren't in her favor.

"Can't say for sure," Mira said in thought with a hand on her chin and a finger tapping her cheek. "Erza's been teaching him Requip, and William hadn't picked it up quickly, judging by what she said. Though her standards are pretty high."

"Huh," Cana muttered.

"However, William's also been giving Erza ideas on how to use her magic in different ways. So who knows? Maybe he is strong, maybe he is not," Mira just shrugged her shoulders and continued with her cleaning.

"His potions any good?" Cana asked, looking thoughtfully at her drink.

"Twilight Ogre's been having more success as of late," Mira simply replied as she finished with her duties. She washed her hands quickly, stored the apron she wore over her dress, and moved from behind the counter, leaving Cana to her thoughts.

"Hey, Erza," Mira walked up to the smiling redhead, who turned to her in interest. "I'm gonna visit your boyfriend. Want to come with me?"

"I'm not gonna let you win!" Erza declared as she stood up in alertness, slamming her hands on the table, her smile gone from her face. Without waiting for a response, she turned around and started walking away.

"Win? This is not a competition," Mira shook her head. "I just need to talk with him."

She really did. Despite her cheerful demeanor, Mira was very angsty. The bomb William dropped on her wasn't a simple thing. The only reason she knew what happened the night before was due to having trouble falling asleep. Mira had to stop herself from running after William just to ask him more questions about her sister.

"You're right, this is not a competition," Erza stopped in her tracks and turned to her with a smug grin. "I've already won."

Mira's eye twitched as Erza strutted forward like a confident peacock.

'Deep breaths, Mira, deep breaths.' She breathed in and out. 'Don't hit the tin can in the head. You are better than this.'

"Erza!" William was quick to answer his door, and Mira should've expected what happened next. Erza just grabbed and pulled him in for a kiss. Mira was sure that part of that was the redhead claiming her superiority, to show she had won their nonexistent competition.

Though as cute as it looked, Mira wasn't sure William enjoyed it that much. Not the kiss, but the part where Erza was still wearing her armor on. She couldn't see a world where hugging a tin can was comfortable.

"And Mira," William greeted her after Erza released him. He still didn't pull away or push the redhead even though she was in her armor, and Mira found it kind of cute.

"To what do I owe the visit?" He asked her.

"You ask this after what you told me yesterday?" Mira asked back with a pointed look.

"Stupid question, never mind," William shook his head.

"And I..." Erza scrunched her eyebrows as if thinking of her reason.

"You don't need a reason to visit me," William gave her a quick kiss. "You can come over whenever you want."

"I can?" Erza asked in wonder as a smile formed on her face.

"Yep," William nodded, "now how about we enter inside?"

Moments later, they arrived at his living room upstairs. Mira thought it had a homey feeling, though it lacked decorations. But the leather couch and chairs sure looked comfortable.

"Do you want anything?" William asked, to which Mira just shook her head in response. She was here just to talk. Erza, on the other hand, just looked at him expectantly.

"Okay, be right back then," he said and returned more moments later with a strawberry cake in hand before handing it over to Erza without a word.

Mira held in her laughter as Erza looked like a trained puppy to her. She did feel a lot better about their relationship, however. He had her favorite dessert ready for whenever she visited, and Erza was clearly aware of that, judging by the look she gave him.

"So," William sat down and looked at her.

"Can you prove that what you said is true? Other than just giving me false hope?" Mira asked him, getting straight to the point.

William leaned back as she stared at him, biting her lower lip in nervousness. Erza even stopped eating her treat for a moment, the topic catching her interest. She still wasn't sure what he had told Mira the other day.

"Your magic activated when you were a kid," William looked up at the ceiling with a hand on his temple. "You were attacked by a demon, and you took it over. However, since you lacked control of your magic at that time, a part of you transformed into that demon. Your hand, I think."

Mira's breath hitched. It wasn't word for word what had happened, but it was close enough, and that wasn't something many were aware of. However, William wasn't done yet.

"You were scorned by the villagers, who thought you were possessed or something like that. They thought of you as a monster and ran you and your family out of the village."

Mira nodded, feeling her heart tighten for a moment. She'd gotten over that a long time ago, but it still hurt to know she was chased away by the people she protected.

"On an S-rank mission, you took your family with you to fight against... a beast, or the Beast?"

And now, she started trembling. William noticed that and paused, continuing in a moment when she calmed down.

"I won't go into too many details, but Elfman ended up possessing it with his Take Over Magic. He is still unable to use a Full-Body Take Over due to what happened."

Mira was thankful William didn't go into detail since it still hurt.

"Elfman will get over his slump in time and will master his magic. Though he might need a little push, he will do it."

Erza just looked back and forward between the two, wondering what was going on. Mira, on the other hand, took a few calming breaths before asking.

"And you are sure Lisanna is in this Edolas place you spoke off?"

"Yes," William confidently replied.

"Edolas is a parallel dimension next to Earthland. It is very similar to this one, but magic there is finite. It is running out, and the people there are trying to find ways to counteract that. The tears in space are caused by them as they are trying to draw from the magic of Earthland."

Both Erza and Mira looked at him in wonder - magic being a finite resource was something they had a hard time understanding - but the next piece of information shocked them.

"The people there can't use magic normally, and they have to rely on magical items. Like, none of them could use Caster Magic."

That straight-up didn't make sense to the two S-class wizards. They couldn't get their heads over the fact that people weren't able to use magic. They couldn't even imagine what life would look like without it, but William wasn't done surprising them.

"Edolas is also kind of weird since it has counterparts of the people of Earthland. For example, there is a Fairy Tail guild there as well. Most of the members are pretty much the same. Though there are a few differences. Lisanna is currently in the care of your counterpart, Mira."

That was relieving to know. Lisanna was safe.

"And as I said yesterday, you will get the chance to see her again," William told her with a smile.

"You also mentioned that she might need my help," Mira replied, her face hardening as she balled her fists. At that moment, she resolved herself. For her sister, for the chance to see her again and to be able to help her... Mira would do whatever it takes to make sure nothing ever harms Lisanna again.

"How do you know this?" Erza asked, finally being unable to take it.

"I... have a magic that lets me see past and possible future events," William said.

"Sometimes, they are static like a picture." The manga he'd read.

"Sometimes, they are short glimpses of an event." The gifs he'd seen on the internet.

"Oher times, they are long visions that could last for hours." The anime he'd watched.

"The only problem was I've never once seen myself in them." Because he wasn't supposed to exist here.

"So, I don't know how my presence will change things," William finished with a frown.

"Do you... do you know?" Erza asked, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

If William knew about her past, would he just throw her away, betray her, hurt her? She was scared because she was starting to get attached, and...

"Do you have some more comfortable clothes?" William asked, causing Erza to look at him questionably with a tilt of her head.

"Something more comfortable to wear, like, something you'd lounge around on a couch with?" William continued.

"I... do?" Erza nodded, wondering what the point of that was.

"Can you change into those, please?" William asked.

"Okay?" In an instant, Erza's outfit changed to fluffy, red sweatpants and a green blouse.

"Come here, princess," William patted his lap. As confused and as worried Erza was, hearing him call her princess made it better.

"Come on," William urged her, patting his lap once more, and Erza lunged at him, almost toppling the couch.

'She really is like a trained puppy!' Mira held a hand over her mouth, stopping herself from laughing out loud to not ruin the moment.

"Princess," William said as he hugged and pulled her close. "I think you are amazing for achieving and accomplishing what you have despite the hardships you had to suffer. I still mean everything I told you yesterday, and I won't change my mind, okay?"

Erza just snuggled closer to him, feeling safe and protected. She should've known better.

William was her safe haven. He wouldn't hurt nor betray her since he promised. And Erza... Erza would make sure nothing hurts him.

'They are cute and all, but... what am I supposed to do now? I don't want to speak up and ruin their moment, but I'm getting uncomfortable here!' Mira complained in her mind as the two of them forgot her existence, lost in their own world.

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AN: Quick note here. In the conversation with Mira, I mentioned Lisanna died without leaving a body behind. That was wrong. I had this vivid image of Mira crying over a Lisanna that just disappeared into white particles. I don't know why, but that was the memory I had of that event. Maybe I read a fanfiction that changed her death and it stuck with me, I don't, but that's not the point. Moving on.Apparently, the Lisanna from Edolas had died and switched places with the one from Earthland. I was honestly surprised when I found out since I don't really remember any characters dying in Fairy Tail before the end game. Granted, it's been a long time since I read the manga, so there's that.Either way, I figured I could just go back and change up the dialogue between Mira and William. No big deal. I was just gonna amend it a bit to fit better and inform you guys with this chapter. I was gonna do that.But I decided to check why and how Edolas Lisanna had died. It had to be something extraordinary, befitting that of a character of Fairy Tail, right? No, that Lisanna had apparently died from falling from a high place. That's it. In this fucked up world, where people survive being blasted with spells that make grenades look like toys, magical weapons that could destroy towns, she died from falling from a high place? Seriously? There was no better explanation than that?Yeah, nah, the moment I read that, I changed my mind about amending the conversation with Mira. For those who care too deeply about the canon of FT, I'm sorry, but I'm sticking with what I wrote. If you want a better reason, think of it like this, you get two cute white-haired girls for the price of one. Two is better than one, am I right?