"Ahem, excuse me. Where do I sign in?" Erza tried in her deep voice, "Ah, I see you got a sword! I got one too!"

She tried to unsheathe the sword from its scabbard, but failing as she didn't grasp it tightly and it pathetically slipped off her hand.

"Hahahaha" she heard a loud laugh from somewhere in the bushes,

"Stop that! Else, she'll hear you!" again Erza heard another voice, this time it's a girl's voice.

Erza approached where the whispers can be heard. She put aside the leaves and her eyes widened upon seeing those hidden in the bushes.

"Too late, she found us" the blue cat said

"You-you can talk" Was all Erza can say, the white one jumped out the bush and was followed by the other.

"Yes, we can. Now, let me explain" the white cat said,

"We are Exceeds, the guardians sent forth by the forefathers to guide their family when they needed it. My name is Charle and the other one here is Happy"

Erza gave the two of them a skeptical look before kneeling down and pulling Happy's ear.

"Wait, so the forefathers sent me two adorable cats to help me fight a war?" Erza asked, and Happy was annoyed at how she pulls his ear.

"Exceeds! We don't do the licking thing on our fur!" Happy snapped

"Ahem, now that we introduced ourselves, I saw how you tried to act being a guy earlier… it was, rather pathetic" Charle said, trying to find a nicer word to describe it.

"I'm working on it! It's just that, it would really take a miracle for me to get into that camp" Erza said as she pointed at the camp not far away from where they are.

"I told you, we can help you. But, you couldn't bring the two of us together in there. Only one cat can fit in that bulky armor of yours" Charle said

"I have an idea! I'll be the one to accompany you!" Happy offered, Erza smiled at the blue cat.

"You think so?"

"You'd better know what you are dealing with here, Happy"

"I mean, Charle isn't a boy! And since you are trying to act like one! I'll be the one to help you with that!" Happy said. Erza and Charle looked at each other.

"The blue cat has a point. At this instance, I could use his knowledge on how men act" Erza said

"I'm not a cat! I'm an Exceed!"

"I don't know… Maybe" Charle said, as she thought of it further

"Fine… You'd better not mess this up, Happy" Charle finally said. With this, Happy flew towards Erza's shoulder.

"Let's go get them, sir!" Happy cheered as he and Erza walked to the camp.

xXxXxXxXx

As soon as Erza got inside the camp premises, her nose scrunched. The smell is utterly disgusting, as if no one here even knows what bathing means. Happy was hidden at knapsack she brought with her. She doesn't feel comfortable if Happy stayed inside her armor.

"Now these unhygienic company here are men. No one here got time to bathe or look beautiful, because all they want to do is brawl" Happy said as Erza watched the men around her.

It was disgusting. She saw men who were picking their nose, cleaning edges of their fingernails using a toothpick, men drenched in sweat, and other things Erza didn't even want to talk about.

At one time, someone even spat right infront of Erza, much to her dismay.

"I don't think I can do this" Erza murmured, and was close to throwing up.

"Relax, you'll get used to it. Now, first impressions matter. Punch that guy over there, that's how men say hello" Happy said as he peered out of the bag and pointed at the pink haired man not too far from Erza.

Erza stared at the man. He had an unmanly pink hair, cocky grin and was quite shorter than most men. And did she mention that he's an asshole?

"Look, this tattoo will protect me from harm!" a soldier said as he boasted the poorly drawn tattoo across his chest. Erza saw the pink haired man gave a sideways glance at the naked man beside him. Wait what?

The pinkette threw a punch straight at the man's tattoo, causing him to knock out cold and fell on the ground.

"Nice hit Natsu" the naked man said before turning back to the fallen man, "You'd better get a refund for that!"

"Natsu, that's the pinkette's name" Erza thought, but she couldn't stand looking at Natsu's companion, the naked guy.

"Oi Gray, you're naked again!" Natsu yelled and Eza was amazed at how Gray, the naked man, managed to wear his clothes in record time. It would seem like Erza was the only one wearing the complete attire.

"Are you sure about this, Happy?" Erza whispered

"Yeah! Just approach him and land your fist squarely on his face!" Happy whispered even louder. Hesistantly, Erza walked towards Natsu who spat on the floor in front of him.

"Remember, hit him as hard as you can" She heard Happy say. And thus, Erza poked Natsu's shoulder to get his attention. Natsu turned his head to look at the person behind him, only to get a punch on his face.

Natsu doubled over and accidentally bumped on the taller man in front of him. It would seem that the men are forming a line to get some food, and the taller guy didn't seem amused.

Erza saw the distressed look on the taller man. He had long spiky hair and he had some iron piercings on his face.

"Get the fuck away from me, Natsu" the man growled, but Natsu didn't care. His angry gaze was looking for the person who just hit him. And he found Erza.

Natsu angrily pulled her by the collar and raised his fist.

"I'm gonna hit real hard, it will make your forefathers dizzy!" Natsu yelled and the taller man behind him grinned.

"That pretty boy ain't worth your time, Salamander." The man said and Natsu seemed to think this through and let Erza off the hook.

"Yeah, Gajeel's right. You ain't worth my shit, chicken boy" Natsu grinned cockily as he put Erza down.

Erza frowned at Natsu. He isn't nice. Not one bit.

"Chicken Boy?! I'll ground your face in your friend's ass, you limp noodle!" Happy yelled, making Erza freeze on her feet. She can't believe she heard a cat just trash talked someone, and was quite effective in enraging him.

Without even thinking, Natsu pulled someone, thinking it was Erza and rounded him with a barrage of hard punches.

It was too late until he realized that he just hit Gray.

"Oops, sorry Gray" Natsu said, though he wasn't really sorry about hitting the stripper. He can hear Gajeel laugh his head off behind him, but finding that asshole is much more important to him right now.

"There he is!" Natsu pointed at the redhead who was trying to hide behind the crates. Natsu was about to go after Erza until he was attacked by Gray. In doing so, they hit Gajeel once more, causing a domino effect in the line in front of them.

Erza knew she's in trouble, and so she ran from tent to tent, with Natsu, Gray and Gajeel pursuing her. Behind her she can hear the loud smashing of crates, yells of pain and to sum it up she can hear utter destruction behind her.

"I'll tear you to pieces!" she heard the men say as she goes deeper into the quieter places of the camp and bringing the chaos along with her, by the way.

"Damn, I screwed up. Big time" Erza bit her lip.

xXxXxXxXx

General Simon put the scroll down, before facing the man before him. Jellal Fernandez look troubled. Did he find something wrong in his report? If so, what would that be?!

"Jellal, if you are thinking that something's wrong with your plan, you are gravely mistaken. It's brilliant. I never even thought of this" Simon smiled at his adoptive younger brother. Jellal gave a sigh of relief, completely ignoring the silent protest of the councilman.

"Thank you. But I believe I can still make it better" Jellal stated, much to Simon's amusement.

"Don't overdo it, Jellal. Besides, it's good on its own. Though it's missing something" This caught Jellal's attention. He knew he should've double checked it first before presenting it.

"W-what would that be? Is there anything I can do to fix it?" Jellal said rather quickly. Simon laughed at this.

"Calm your nerves, Jellal. You are slowly becoming like Kagura if you're like that. You two are very enthusiastic"

"I'm sorry. I'm just greatly concerned about any setback in the plan I made" Jellal's face reddened in embarrassment.

"You need a captain that will train the recruits outside. And that isn't stated here" Simon said,

"Do you have anyone in mind? If you do, then say so, and I will send a letter for him this instant" Jellal said as he gestured to get a brush and parchment. Simon laughed again as he raised his hand.

"There you are again. Seriously, you need to get a break"

"I can't take a break knowing that my plan has deficiencies" Jellal countered, slightly annoyed.

"You always say that your plans have deficiencies, Jellal" Simon replied curtly.

"Whatever, just tell me who the captain is so that we can get this over with" Jellal said and Simon took his sword.

"It would be my honor if you agree to become the captain, Jellal. I will give you the responsibility to lead this men, and prepare them for battle" Simon said as he gave the sheathed sword to Jellal. Jellal didn't know what to say, but apparently, the councilman has a lot to say.

"B-but sir, perhaps you can choose someone with more experience!" the councilman said and Simon laid back.

"I don't see anything wrong. He is top of his class, a master in battle strategy and the art of war, an excellent warrior and was raised in a family with a long military lineage. He'll be perfect for the job" Simon said as he picked himself up and Jellal finally got out of his trance.

"I- This is awesome, I never could've-" Jellal was getting ahead of himself until Simon raised a brow at him. Jellal sheepishly bowed down,

"Uh… Thank you" he said as he watched Simon and the councilman leave the tent. He heard Simon order the councilman to send him a report about the progress of the military training these men are going to get from Jellal.

But that doesn't matter. Jellal took his sweet time alone to bask himself in his pride and joy just for a while.

"Captain Jellal Fernandez. Leader of the greatest troops in all of Fiore. No, the greatest troops of all time." Jellal grinned to himself. He can already imagine the men out there walking on the streets with their heads up high, with him as their leader.

"Crap, I'm getting way ahead of myself again" Jellal said to himself as he strapped the sheathed sword on his side.

As soon as he got out, what he saw was a very big surprise. The men, his men, are now breaking each other's faces. Right in front of him.

Simon gave Jellal an amused look.

"Goodluck, Captain. I'll see you in battle" Simon said as he rode on his white stallion and led his men out of the camp.

As soon as he left, the council man looked at Jellal,

"Day 1" he said mockingly"

xXxXxXxXxXx

Erza was having a bad time, she was lucky that she didn't get hit despite almost everyone brawling in here was after her. At the same time, she was amused. Who knew that this was exciting?

"SOLDIERS!" all of them heard a man yell in an authoritative tone. Erza saw Natsu who was standing above her pause before landing one last punch to his victim. In a blink of an eye, the men formed in one straight line, except for her actually. She was lying on the ground, hiding herself from the men earlier.

"He started it!" The men pointed at her lying figure. With this, Erza saw the man. He had a mop of blue hair and what made him different was the peculiar tattoo on his face. The man was undeniable handsome.

Erza knocked her head away from those thoughts. It's ridiculous, she's in trouble and she even finds the man attractive. Way to go, Scarlet. She didn't even hear what the man had to say to the men as he walked around each of them.

Soon, Erza felt the man's eyes on her. It would seem like he would soon bore a hole through her with just his stare.

The man walked towards her and towered her easily. He was quite tall. The man leaned closer to her, and Erza wanted to just disappear. This is too embarrassing, even for her.

"And I don't want anyone causing trouble in this camp. Explain your actions" the man said. Erza took a step back, finding their closeness a bit awkward. Erza cleared her throat, preparing her manly voice.

"I'm sorry for the trouble back there. I just can't hold back my manly urges, and I just had to let it out" Erza said, emphasizing the word manly, as she landed a light punch on the man's shoulder who raised a brow at her.

"Tell me your name"

"Uhh…"

Happy was now brainstorming. How can they not think of a name beforehand? Erza too had the same thought.

"Bora?" Happy whispered questionably

"Bora?" Erza said hesitantly, and the man repeated it.

"Your name is Bora?"

"Nope, that doesn't sound quite nice" Happy whispered, "How about Gray?"

"Uh no! Gray! I mean, no, that's his name" Erza pointed her eyes at stripper behind her.

"I don't care about his name! I'm asking for yours!" the man grew impatient

"Sho! My name is Sho!" Erza snapped, the name just appeared in her head and she needed it.

"Give me your conscription notice" the man ordered. And Erza hastily gave it to him.

The bluenette read it and was quite surprised upon finishing.

"The Makarov Dreyar?" Jellal read the old man's name. The councilman leaned over and stared at the redhead in front of him.

"I never knew he had another son" the councilman said.

"Grandson, actually" Erza said in her usual voice before quickly clearing her throat and said in a deep voice,

"But he never talks much about me!" Erza then tried to spit on the floor, trying to act like a man. Unfortunately, her saliva somehow didn't leave her mouth, making her look like a lunatic.

"I can see why, captain. The boy's a total lunatic" she heard the councilman say. Gee, thanks for the reminder.

Though Erza felt embarrassed now that she knew that this man in front of her is their captain.

"Thanks to your friend, Sho. You will clean this up and pick up every single grain of rice. Tomorrow, the real training begins" the man announced.

Erza can feel heated glares at her back, specifically the three morons.

"Boy, I made such a good impression already"