A/N: Heya guys. wiErD here. To celebrate this Valentine's Day, here's another of my favorite crack pairing one shot. Apologies for the late upload.

Hope you like it ^^

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Mashima owns them all except my plots.

- When Two Opposites Met Each Other -

They say demons never cared about humans.

That they don't harbor the same feelings as that of them.

For demons, yes.

No one in their right mind would ever come to talk to a human, let alone befriend with it.

Sayla could hardly think of a way to exploit the human heart. The very concept of the ones she called playthings continued to baffle her thoughts throughout these centuries. Her study of them and their emotions have intrigued her for quite some time.

At first, she regarded these emotions as nothing of an illusion that blinds their judgment that it is completely unnecessary for the demons to exploit into.

She accumulated knowledge between the histories of demons and humans. Her safe haven was nothing more but a collection of books that she all read to understand the world itself.

She always enjoyed the spare time reading books all day while ignoring her other demon comrades' petty squabbling.

...

Comrades... isn't exactly the right word to put in her other demon allies.

They're more like acquaintances, though with the exception of Lord Mard Geer who leads their guild and Kyoka, her most trusted admirer.

Of course, the affection she had with the other female demon was only out of admiration to her ruthless nature. After all, they're all demons. So the display of their hatred towards humans should be a token of appreciation.

But all of that has nothing to do with her current thoughts today.

Sayla doesn't feel right on getting on her feet from the long couch as she took another cycle of sifting through the same books she read a few minutes ago. It was her fourth sigh.

A soft yet dangerous sigh...

There are different meanings to describe that unusual behavior for a demon like her. As one of the Nine Demon Gates, she carries the same deathly sensation alongside with the rest of the Tartaros.

But today's is something different.

Her boredom accumulated. Not because of the books she repeatedly read but rather the life she currently lives at inside Plutogrim. It's been a long time since they went into hiding. The world outside is peaceful and the two other dark guilds that represent their alliance are already defeated by some guild.

She knew that they would be making a move quite soon as well but it seems like they have to wait a bit longer until the time was right.

That was the plan yet the time she has to wait is still ongoing and she can't handle herself being in the same room without anything to keep her interested. If given the chance, she could've satisfied herself with slaughter but that would cause suspicion from the Magic Council and the plan would eventually deem a failure if that happens.

And that's also the reason why she can't do anything to let loose without screwing their long-time plan.

Another sigh was released.

"Oi, demon girl. Are you deaf?" A voice suddenly declared.

Sayla's brows twitched in response as she looked towards the door and saw one of her demon ally standing beside it as if he was expecting her.

"What is it this time, Jackal? You know I hate someone interrupting me in my spare time." She answered calmly though with a venomous stare that spell death when angered.

"Heh, glare all you want. I wouldn't be even doing this if not for that Kyoka."

It was then her eyes lit up in anticipation.

"Kyoka-sama? What did she want?"

"She needs you at the Hell's Core. Another human experiment is needed for demonic transformation." He revealed.

"Is that so? Very well, I'll see to it then." She hated agreeing with him so she answered unhappily until her feet dragged her off the couch and went straight to the door where Jackal was waiting.

"Tch, if you don't like it like that then why even bother following that stupid woman?"

"Do you want me to strangle you?"

"Setting your room on fire would be nice too."

"Die, stupid dog."

"Yeah, whatever." They're never gonna get along in the future.

Sayla and Jackal have been each other's throats and would often disagree with each other. If Sayla knew that the Bomb demon would be this idiotic, she wouldn't have to resurrect him once he dies.

But Mard Geer needs him as well so let's not.

Leaving her room, she proceeded down to the familiar hallways of the huge castle within a giant cube. It only consisted a couple of barren wastelands and a small sea the separates it like islands at a glance. Almost like a miniature planet though with the unusual cube-like shape. In those islands sits their headquarters which consisted of the large castle adorned with large curved obelisks that surround its front.

Some of the demons are not entirely present within their headquarters as opposed to several of the members being outside of the cube who were currently in hiding.

Sayla made her way to another part of the hallway where she was greeted by a bunch of other lesser members of the guild.

"Good morning, Sayla-sama. Kyoka-sama has been expecting you." The leading captain of the members uttered as he saw the demon girl make her appearance.

"I was informed... Is she inside?"

"Yes..."

"Very well. You may take your leave." With that, the leader bowed in response alongside with his subordinates as they left the hallway, leaving only her alone towards the giant door located in front of her.

There were several exceptions of Tartaros taking in humans as their subordinates. These people aren't exactly normal as they called them since they were all cultists that worship Zeref and revered him as their some sort of god.

They have their absolute trust of the Black Mage and see the demons as their second-in-command due to them being created by Zeref himself in hopes of killing his immortality.

Sayla knew that as well but she couldn't care less of the notion of killing the Black Mage. Her interests simply lie on humans and Kyoka alone. It almost seemed like she had replaced her purpose of killing Zeref into serving the latter.

Other demons think differently about that matter. Even Kyoka herself had made sure her true purpose remains strong unlike her who already thrown it aside just to become her servant despite being demons.

She opened the giant doors as the next room revealed a large set of capsules attached with giant roots from beneath. Sayla walked inside and saw some of the containers contained some humans who were being tested in demonizing their bodies.

The circumstances about these humans were different from the cultists. They were more like collected samples in testing their experiment for further study. Others were probably simply taken out on a whim just for the enjoyment of their suffering.

However, Sayla wasn't here for that matter.

Instead, she gazed towards the person figure standing on one of the capsules, seemingly examining the human being tested inside.

"Kyoka-sama. You called for me." Said demon took her eyes for a moment as she saw Sayla coming into view.

"Ah, indeed I am... You see, we got a bit of a problem with the testing progress." She turned her gaze back on the capsule with a serious expression.

Sayla also followed her gaze as she started speaking.

"...It looks like our demonizing experiment hasn't gone quite successful and we've yet to produce a successful specimen. There are two candidates that were about to get tested for demonization but I fear the result might end terribly since we had no way of getting past the problem." She explained.

"What problem?"

"The human heart..."

"H-Hai?" Sayla felt dumbfounded for a second there before regaining her composure.

"You see, it seems like the humans we've been collecting this month has shown a powerful emotion that gets in the way of our experiment. Every human has shown signs of the same emotion and I can't make out why this happens. So I'd like to propose a small mission."

"A mission... For me?" Sayla clarified.

"That's right... I want you to head out at once and find out the source of these emotions coming from the humans. I fear that this may lead to a serious matter if we continue to face them with such a mysterious phenomenon. Humans are fragile creatures so I'd like to you to find the source and learn how to destroy it." Kyoka suggested.

"...If the source turns out to be quite troublesome, I'll give you the permission in dismantling it with your powers. Although keep in mind that you should be wary of the eyes of other people around or else you might foil our plan in the next few months."

"I understand. So I'll just have to masquerade as a human and find out what's causing this unusual emotion, am I right?"

"That is correct."

"Then I'll head out at once, Kyoka-sama. I'll promise you won't disappoint."

"I already knew you weren't. But keep in mind that you should not use your power carelessly unless necessary, understand."

"Yes, Kyoka-sama."

"Then, this discussion is over."

As quick as their conversation goes, Kyoka eventually worked back on her previous venture as Sayla heads out of the room.

Upon exiting, she soon pondered about the task she was given to.

"Disguise myself as a human, huh? Hmm... It wouldn't be so bad to blend with them and find out more about them."

She thought out loud as she prepared herself to head outside of the guild as soon as possible.

It's been a long while since she stepped out of the outside world. Years of spending her life inside Plutogrim was definitely boring and she could not express just how much she longed to be on the outside once in awhile.

With the task still in her head as her main priority, she made sure to not lose her track from her original objective.

She turned to look at her current clothing which consisted of her usual clothing of a leopard kimono along. Her markings around her forehead and arms were concealed alongside with the symbol of Tartaros to avoid detection. She also hid her horns which were the most noticeable feature at a first glance which kinda makes her like a normal human being. Her feet remained bare as she didn't bother getting herself some footwear since she wasn't fond of human fashion.

Truth be told, masquerading as a human gives a somewhat weird feeling. She didn't know why but she could not help but feel uneasy about the whole disguising thing.

As if something's bound to happen soon enough.

"Iya... I can't falter here now. This is a task from Kyoka-sama and I'll make sure to finish the task as soon as possible."

She shook her head whilst keeping that thought in mind. Her eyes now turned towards the barren wasteland and looked towards the horizon. She took flight as she levitated from the ground and flew away from the cube and headed straight to find out some clues.

As she flew across the forest landscape in front of her, she felt the cool breeze penetrate her skin for the first time. The glowing rays of the sun radiated the world, showing the landscape's greenery. She could feel a warm feeling as she continued to bathe in the world's magnificent atmosphere. It's usually something that demons would come to despise but for her, it's not that bad at all.

She didn't know if this was the result being constantly living inside Plutogrim that she honestly forgot about the wonders of the other side of the world but one thing's for certain, she definitely did not hate this feeling.

Rather she only had mixed feelings about it. Demons aren't capable of appreciating wonderful things since they're the opposite of good. They're the embodiment of evil and their presence merely spreads misfortune and despair to those around them.

Sayla knew that such a feeling would not possibly surface within her but it looks like it isn't true.

Setting that confusing thought aside, she continued on her flight as she turned to gaze at the beautiful landscape even to the distant mountains on the horizon.

Since she was alone, there's no harm in letting loose from work once in awhile.

...

A few hours passed and the demon girl continued on her flight to find any clues concerning the sudden change of the human heart that hinders their efforts on demonizing their human subjects.

She had been flying around for quite some time and could only spot nothing but lush trees and remote areas away from civilization.

She wondered just how far did they settle their guild away from the humans just so to avoid detection.

Is she wandered this far, it would only mean that their guild was located deep in a forested landscape that no human would ever dare to trudge on.

As expected of Mard Geer, he had a knack of concealing himself completely from the world and waited for a moment to make a move soon. She guessed that it might be one of the advantages they had from the other two dark guilds that were mostly meddling against their own private matters that eventually led to their defeat from their enemies.

Apart from the three guilds that make up the Balam Alliance, Tartaros had only been the elusive one that even the Magic Council cannot hope to discern their location or even their strength.

Sayla recalled what Kyoka had warned her about the same thing about not exposing her powers too much.

If she were to expose her powers from witnesses, it might start a posing problem for them as the humans might start growing wary of them in the near future.

The world had been peaceful for way too long and it's only a matter of time before another calamity would strike again.

"Now where should I start, huh?" She thought as she discussed her current mission until―

"Kyaaaaaaa!"

A distressed voice reached her ears despite being in the air. Her eyes spotted a couple being surrounded by a couple of bandits. It's obvious how the situation would turn out.

She could only wonder, though.

Why there are humans in this part of the forest? A couple no less.

It would be interesting to watch how it would turn out as she stopped in mid-air and watched from afar. It looks like the man was protecting his wife from the bandits who carried swords and other weapons that would easily kill the couple if they wanted to―though it looks like they have a different motive.

"Get away, you beasts!" The man barked as he stood defiantly against three men around him while guarding his wife behind his back. He held on the wood in his hand as his weapon against their steel swords. However, in comparison to their weapons, one swing could easily break it in two. Worse, they might kill him just as the same as well.

"Hohoho. Now don't be afraid. We just want a taste of that woman beside yer. Wouldn't mind to lend her quite a bit will yer?"

"Yeah, yeah. The boss' right, mate. If yer gladly leaves her, we might spare yer life too."

"I won't hand her to the likes of you!" The man remained determined to protect her wife no matter what.

"Tch, yer asked for it. Didn't say we warn ya. Kill 'im boys!"

"With pleasure!"

The three men charged at the same time towards the man as he steeled himself in response.

Sayla's eyes quirked in curiosity to how the man remained strong despite in such a terrible situation. She always liked humans giving up in despair but it seems like this one doesn't feel any fear at all against his enemies.

Perhaps this might be one of the clues she might be looking for about the mysterious human emotion that's been hindering their plans all along.

She closed her eyes as soon as she decided.

Just as the bandits were about end things, a sudden burst of dust cloud erupted in between both sides as they were forced to halt their advance and stop as they noticed something fell from the sky. The couple was also taken by surprise as the dust settled, revealing a woman that they don't know of.

Her black hair gracefully fluttered along the wind as Sayla made her appearance in front of two parties.

"Who goes there?!"

"My, my... I was wondering how you humans act around the defenseless. I'm giving you one last chance to turn around and walk away or else..."

"Or else what?" The boss retorted back but his face immediately became frightened as soon as he saw her vicious look.

"I'll make sure your deaths won't be swift as possible."

It was a sign of danger in his eyes. This girl is not like those other two. Whoever she is, she's something they must avoid contact with.

Though despite those warning thoughts, the leader steeled himself and simply ordered his shout towards his other two men.

"W-We're not afraid of the likes of you! Kill her!"

Sayla expected to flee in fear but it seemed like they're more stubborn than she thought.

"Oh, that's where you wrong, human..."

As the two bandits raised their sword above to slash the woman down, Sayla simply gazed her eyes over the two as if staring right into their soul that caused them to stop in their tracks, feeling the induced fear they just felt upon looking at her dark eyes.

An intimidating expression was present on her face as she remained standing between the two men. The leader seemed confused and a little bit of frightened upon what just happened.

"O-Oi! W-What's wrong, yer bastards?! K-Kill her!"

"I-I can't!"

"What do you mean?!"

"I-I can't move at all!"

"This bitch must've done something!"

The two struggled to break free from the control but it was no use. This only made them realize what kind of person Sayla was.

"S-She's... She's a mage, boss!"

"Tsk, it looks like I have to use it!" The leader seemingly pulled out some sort of a magic gun from his pocket and pointed it at the woman's face.

But as he was about to shoot, he felt his body unable to move as well.

"W-What the?! Why can't I move?!" He gritted in frustration as he tried to pulling the trigger but his hands were completely controlled by some unknown force.

Sayla simply walked between the three as she gazed at the leader with a sweet but deadly smile that could scare the shit out of them if they stared for too long.

"I told you before, didn't I? You're making a big mistake fighting someone like me, human... Now how should I do this? Order you to peel off your skin as slowly as possible until you're bleed out to death? I can easily make that happen in just a flick of a finger, you know." Sayla threatened with her voice laced with poison.

The other three could only look in fear as they trembled in their bodies until they found themselves completely under her control.

It was then Sayla realized that the other two people were watching in fear. Her urge to kill immediately receded out from her system as she closed her eyes for a moment and drew back from the group before speaking.

"I want you three to walk as far away as possible. And never ever look back until you're out of sight. Understand?"

"Y-Yes!" They obeyed her command as they turned around to leave without much of a word.

It only took a few seconds until the attackers were out of sight.

Sayla turned towards a tree from her side where she spotted the couple hiding away from the scene.

"It's alright now. They're never going to bother you anymore." She called out to show that she's friendly.

The two figure slightly flinched at her words, probably due to hearing her malevolent tone when she talked with the bandits earlier but they eventually revealed themselves as soon as they were called out in the open.

"Don't worry, I'm not like them. Though I'm surprised to see some humans here in this part of the forest."

"W-We were kinda on a trip when we encountered those guys... T-Thank you for saving us." The man expressed his joy whilst stuttering in front of her.

"R-Really thank you, miss!" The girl beside him added as well.

"Iya... You don't need to express your gratitude to me though I advise you to move away from here as soon as possible, those guys are temporarily under my control so once I leave here, the spell would break." She advised as she turned around to leave.

"W-Wait!" The man called her back. Sayla glanced back with an uncaring look on her face.

"What?"

"At least, let us show our gratitude for saving us awhile back."

The demon girl paused for a moment to think until she looked back again to speak.

"Okay, then let me ask you a question?"

"...Do you know anything about the sudden change of the human emotion at this time of the year? Judging from how you protected her, it seemed like your heart was strong. I'd like to know the source of that."

As if her question would be that easy to answer, the couple drew their heads in a tilted fashion.

"Ah, w-what?"

"Like I said, do you know anything why the human's emotion was stronger than ever at this time of the year? I've been wanting to know the reason behind this unusual change." Her serious expression was in stark contrast to the couple who had their faces completely confused at her question.

Sayla knew nothing would gain from just asking only two people.

More importantly, why did she even bother conversing with them?

It's not like someone's watching them and she could easily silence them due to witnessing her power just now.

Noticing the lack of answer from the two, she changed the question with a sigh.

"Well then, do you happen to know a nearby town around this part?"

"A-Ah, yes, of course! You might want to go north if you want to see Magnolia. It's the nearest town that's located around in these parts." The man answered attentively.

"I see... Then, thank you for your cooperation, human. I'll be off."

She didn't want to talk any further as she took off once more and left the couple behind.

"What a strange girl..." The woman spoke.

"Yeah indeed, though I'm still grateful that she saved us. What did she want to ask anyways?"

"I think she must be referring to..."

The two continued to baffle themselves at the appearance of the demon girl throughout the day.

Magnolia (Town entrance…)

The information was right.

There was really a town located somewhere around these parts. Sayla landed on a fair distance away from the outskirts as she watched the people carried on their lives working in the fields to start the day.

It looks to her that the town is not as bustling as she thought it would be, judging from its number of people living outside. Then again, this is only the outskirts. The town might hold more surprises than she thought it would. She might need to give herself some extra caution. After all, she's entering into her enemy territory and for some reason; she could feel a tense atmosphere surrounding the town itself as if something must be inside.

Despite not being able to step inside the town, she could already feel a strong presence lurking within that place.

The concentration of magic can be detected.

"Mages, huh? It looks like it won't be as easy as it should." She speaks to herself with a serious look.

She examined herself once again just to see that she was perfectly disguised and eventually started walking towards the town.

As she approaches the town, several more people began to flood the place as the population inside continued to grow. Sayla wondered about the sudden increase of crowds within the area as if there was some kind of event going on.

Her eyes set themselves over at the entrance as she prepared herself to enter for the first time.

...

It only took a few minutes as the demon girl finally stepped into the town of Magnolia for the first time. Her eyes soon widened in surprise at the sight around her.

A sea of people flooded the main street as multiple stores and stalls were opened for them to settle in. The confusing part is that the decoration on almost every other place was somehow similar to each other. In every corner of her eyes, she could see decorations of heart and other props that define the unexpected lighthearted atmosphere.

"W-What the hell is this?" She could only exclaim in shock as the sight of the town was completely decorated beautifully in hearts.

People go by in pairs which consisted of mostly a male and a female to spend their time together happily throughout the day. The number of couples seemingly overwhelms to those who go into groups.

Not only that, the brim laughter of the folks was accompanied by a warm atmosphere that she somehow found repulsive. There was not a single shred of hatred or enmity among their faces. Everything is just washed with happiness.

Was this some kind of a new culture that she didn't know of?

The reason behind the humans' sudden outburst of strong emotions was revealed to her. However, she's yet to understand fully about the source.

"W-What's going on here?"

She could only stand in shock and disbelief at the sight of the people walking past her in happy expressions.

"!―" She felt a light nudge from her back as she saw some kids running past her without looking.

"Uwah, sorry, onee-chan!" The kid who bumped into her immediately apologized. But when he looked at her eyes, he immediately stopped in mid-sentence.

"Oi! What are you waiting for? Let's go!" The voices of his other friends called him back as he looked at Sayla one last time before picking up something from his pocket and handed something into her hands.

"Here's some chocolates, onee-chan."

"U-Unnn..." Sayla unknowingly accepted the offer. Before she could even look back, the kid was already running to meet with his friends waiting for him before looking back at her from a distance.

"Sorry for pushing you. Hope you cheer up with those chocolates. And also, have a Happy Valentine's Day, onee-chan!"

She wanted to say something about what he just said but the group simply left in a hurry without a single word. Sayla looked at the stuff in her hands that looked like candy wraps. She could already smell the sweetness of the contents inside as she turned to open one and revealed dark brown chocolate candy.

"Chocolate…huh? I wonder what it tastes like?"

Despite her complaints, she couldn't deny the sweet smell of the chocolate as if she was tempted to eat one. However, the task that was given to her by Kyoka resurfaced inside her mind as she was forced to lay down her hands and thought about her priorities.

"What the hell am I doing? I should find out more what's going on around here."

Despite all these intriguing things, she must first gain an open ground to find out the source of the strong emotion happening around the humans these days.

This place is surely a perfect chance to find out the source since she could notice every people being happy. As if the concept of sadness and other negative emotions never existed at all. And that's the problem for demons like her to come up with since their curses are based on the negative emotions of the human heart.

Being around in this kind of situation makes her bit weary for some reason.

Slipping the chocolates down to her pocket, she proceeded on.

...

Minutes of scouring around the town and she found no such thing. According to the rumors she heard, it looks like the main reason behind the human's strong emotion was because of the occasion.

"From what I remember, this is called Valentine's Day."

Like what the kid said to her earlier, today is indeed Valentine's Day. According to the sources, it was a time where people from all over the world would gather along with their loved ones and share their moment together.

It was a time where every human would express their love to their loved ones by giving them chocolates. The express of love could be defined in many ways that range from friendship to eventual love.

In other words, it's just a worldwide celebration between humans in sharing their times with each other to appreciate the love they had for each other.

Sayla finally puts all the pieces together.

The reason behind the sudden change of the human emotion was because of this day. The reason why humans became more resistant against the demonization was because of this unknown event that hinders their efforts in the experiment.

Sayla could not help but release a disappointed sigh.

"What the... I came all the way here just because of some petty occasion? If this was the only reason behind the change, then Kyoka-sama would be disappointed to hear the whole thing."

It was not a matter of seriousness of their progress with the plan but rather an embarrassing part for them since they were merely troubled by some yearly celebration that they hardly even know of.

"I'm going home..." She spoke to herself as she found her time wasted here for nothing.

She hardly cared for the happiness of the humans. All she wanted to was to enjoy their suffering. Her demon instincts made her sure of that and seeing this kind of atmosphere in her eyes makes her disgusted to look at it any further.

There was no point in this mission.

THUD*

"Ow, what the hell?!" A sudden nudge to her side caused the demon girl to land on her back as soon as she lost her balance. Apparently, someone had bumped into her without knowing so she stumbled forward to the ground without warning.

"Ah, sorry! I wasn't looking! Are you alright?" The other person who bumped into her by accident immediately called out as he was the first one to recover. It sounded male so Sayla could immediately recognize what kind of person it is.

"Why you humans are so–" She was about to retort in annoyance towards that person until her words came to a halt when her eyes finally met up with the person she bumped into.

It was a male figure, seemingly tall and lean much like in his late teens but having a rather impressive body built structure. His clothes contained nothing but a light set of clothes, seeing how his chest was slightly exposed. A pair of baggy pants occupied his lower clothing but that's not why she had her full attention on that person.

It was the gleaming pink hair that was being shined against the direction of the sunlight behind him that somehow made her stop thinking altogether and became captivated towards it. It fluttered gracefully as the soft winds blew past him.

His face was clearly blinded by the light but it suddenly faded and revealed itself to the demon woman who became mesmerized by his features.

A scaly scarf was seen wrapped around his neck as it fluttered in the air behind him.

She failed to respond at all that the person decided to ask again to snap her out of her trance.

"Are you alright?" This time, he reached out a hand.

Sayla soon managed to regain her composure as she momentarily stared at the hand being present to her as a sign of help.

After a few seconds, she suddenly realized her own place as she brushed off his helping hand before tracing an irritated look.

"I'm fine... I don't need help from a human." She dusted off her clothes and tried to recompose herself as soon as she stood up from the ground, leaving the person standing in confusion right in front of her because of the harsh denial of his help to her.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you." The young man apologized again but it only earned her more annoyance.

"I don't need any apologies... Just get away from me."

Sayla turned her gaze away as she ignored the pinkette and simply focused on her own matters. The person, however, immediately frowned at her reply so he replied back.

"Hey, I was trying to be nice, alright. I didn't mean to hit you like that. It was an accident."

"I know so start moving and disappear from here, human."

The man knew nothing could be gain from having to reason with a woman like her so he simply huffed in annoyance.

"Sheesh, it's not my fault if you got dumped by your lover or something..."

"Wha―" As if his words have ticked her off, Sayla could only turn back at the man who was already walking away with a grumpy look on his face. If she didn't overhear of what he just said, she would've just moved along and gone back but...

'This man...' She thought as her face adopted a more irritable expression. She proceeded to walk past him and faced him head on.

The man also stopped in his tracks as soon as he saw her figure stood right in front of him with a glare.

"What did you just say to me, human?!" She asked irritably.

"Huh?"

"Who are you to talk like that to someone like me?!" Sayla couldn't help but shout towards his oblivious response.

"Someone like you? I don't see any difference from you. And will you go away already? I already did what you told me so why bother getting worked up over something little as that?!"

"Of course there is! I, a superior being, having to have been talked back by some lowlife who doesn't even know his own place!" Sayla retorted in response as she gave an intimidating look towards him.

She knew she was in a disguise but she can't just let someone talk behind her back like that. Her pride as an Etherious was suddenly put on the line.

She expected him to back away in fright after discreetly showing her true nature towards him but―

The man didn't appear frightened and simply gave off his own angered expression as a vein popped up from his head before shouting back at her in a comical fashion.

"Huwwwaaahhhat?! You, a superior being? Bullshit! I don't know what's troubling you but don't take it out on me, dammit?! I hate women like you." A response that took her by surprise.

'I'm gonna kill this guy!' Sayla was already at the tipping point. She doesn't care if she was found out by everyone about her true nature. She wanted to send this guy down to the ground for talking back to her.

"Well, I despise humans like you!"

"Will you fucking cut it out with the human thing? Aren't you human too?! You're practically digging your own grave here, woman."

"I'm not digging my own grave! A human like you should be buried instead!"

"It's a figure of speech, stupid!"

"What did you just call me?!"

"Stupid! That's right! I'm looking at you stupid!"

"Why you―"

Because of their heated argument with each other, several people had begun turning their heads over to the duo with sweated looks.

It almost looked like a couple fighting each other for some reason.

Maybe the guy was cheating with his woman and the girl was complaining how she was being betrayed by him and looked like an idiot. Or maybe the guy had enough of the girl that he decided to break their relationship on this day for extra effect.

Whatever it is, the two are causing a scene that is clearly destroying the sweet atmosphere around them.

A lover's fight in Valentine's Day is something that is least expected to happen but it seemed like there were some special cases.

"Mom, why are they fighting?"

"Just turn away, honey. It's bad for you to look at them." Murmurs from other onlookers were heard which most of them trying to avoid their company from getting absorbed within the fight as they turned away from the sight.

The two's argument continued to escalate as both Sayla and the man started butting their heads together, seemingly cannot hold to calm themselves towards each other.

"I hope you're prepared yourself, human," Sayla warned as she slowly began raising her hand to activate her curse.

"Don't say I didn't warn you too. I won't hold back even to a woman like you." The man responded as he raised his hand that soon sprouted crimson flames that caused the demon woman to stop and widen her eyes in disbelief.

A moment of realization went past her as she began to notice him as a mage.

However, just as they were about to clash, a steel fist came crashing down on the pinkette's head as he was simply slammed back to the ground, prompting Sayla to draw back her hand from activating her curse.

The ground where he stood cracked into tiny little pieces as it resulted in a small crater due to the force of the fist slamming right into his head. Any human would die from a fist like that but that's not what surprised the demon girl as she noticed another mage appearing right beside them.

It was a woman, seemingly about the same age as the man. Her overall apparel consisted of a Heart Kreuz armor and a long scarlet hair fluttered behind her back as she moved to grab the unconscious man by his collar and brought him up close to her face.

"One minute I took my eyes off you and you're fighting an innocent woman, huh, Natsu!" She gave off a scolding remark on the unconscious person with a very pissed off look.

Sayla simply stared at the woman with a complicated expression to how she was trying to scold him without utterly knowing the fact that he was knocked out by her punch.

"LISTEN TO ME WHILE I'M TALKING, GODDAMMIT!" Since there was no response due to him being unconscious, the armored woman shook his body tremendously that it somehow sprung the pinkette back to life.

"I'm sorry, Erza! Will never happen again!"

The two exchanged several conversations as the pinkette called Natsu, whom Sayla heard from the other person, kept apologizing in front of the scarlet knight like an obedient boy. Of course, the knight gave some additional scolding remarks in response as Natsu knelt in front of her, listening to every word she says.

What happened to that confident attitude that he showed to her just now?

After a few minutes, the scarlet knight soon turned towards Sayla with an unusually serious look after finishing her conversation with the pinkette.

Sayla's first instinct was to take a step back due to the unnatural magic power the woman has. It was nothing compared to other mages she encountered before and she could tell that this person is somewhat strong that could rival an Etherious.

It would be a bad situation for her if she were to be found out right away.

She remembered how this town is a place where a concentration of magic is strong. This must be the reason behind that phenomenon. There must be guild lying around in this town that probably housed powerful mages like her.

Sayla took heed of her thoughts as she looked at the scarlet woman in caution. She didn't know if she saw through her disguise but whatever it is, it looks like her eyes carried suspicion towards her.

Sayla motioned her hands discreetly to prepare for an attack but she quickly withdrew it back as soon as the woman suddenly bowed right in front of her.

"I apologize for my friend's behavior." She spoke in a rather apologetic manner, surprising Sayla in the process.

"...It seems like he was causing you trouble. Please understand that he might have some sort of a short fuse when it comes to arguments so let me apologize in his behalf."

For a moment Sayla thought that the woman would see through her disguise but it seems like it wasn't the case.

"Hey! It's not my fault, Erza! That woman is just venting out her anger on me so I had to respond!" Natsu called out in protest but was met with another fist that knocked him out cold once more.

"I'm sorry for bothering your time. Then, we'll go on ahead. Sorry for everything." As swift as their conversation goes, the woman dragged the poor pinkette away from the scene, leaving Sayla on the spot as she stared at the duo until their disappeared into a corner.

She even never had the chance to speak but it seems the situation was averted at least.

...At least, that's what she initially thought as her mind began to think back on the scene of her first encounter with the pinkette.

Why did she felt something different after seeing him? This is the first time she'd ever felt something like this in a long time.

Even she did not feel these unusual feelings back at Tartaros. Nor even to Kyoka whom she admired the most. It almost seemed like she was unknowingly drawn towards that man but she didn't know why.

They couldn't possibly have met before now, right?

She didn't know as she tried thinking how to analyze those mysterious feelings that she felt at that time. She also remembered how she tried studying human emotions. She cannot fully comprehend the concept of human feelings due to their differences as a demon from the Book of Zeref.

She wasn't supposed to have these types of feelings but after what's happened, her curiosity grew.

Her original mission was left forgotten as she turned her gaze towards the direction where the pinkette had disappeared into.

...

"Tch, that Erza... Why did I have to be the one getting punished? Damn, I'm just having a bad day right now." Natsu stomped away from the guild as he casually walked his way downtown with his hands cupped inside his pockets.

After suffering from a 20-minute scolding from the redhead, the fiery dragonslayer grumpily trudged on the road to find some place to clear up his head.

Be nice to everyone, they said.

Well, yeah he did but what he got in return was nothing but an argument by some random woman on the streets that looked like she was mad about something and decided to take it all out on him.

In truth, it was partly his fault for starting it since he said something rather sensitive about her situation. But he didn't expect it to be that case so maybe he went a bit too far on that fight with that woman.

Though he was still bewildered to how she talks back to him like he's some insect to him since she doesn't regard him as a person or anything.

―Natsu simply shook his head sideways.

No, it can't be like that. She must be the type of person who thinks so highly of herself and doesn't care about other people other than herself. He encountered some similar people in the past so he kinda understands why she would talk like that.

'But man, no wonder why she was dumped.' He thought out loud after making that realization as he walked along the narrow road, leading back to his home.

'Ah, there's no need to concern myself on some woman... It's not my problem anyway.' Noticing how he keeps on thinking about the same person, Natsu brushed off that thought off his head and went on his way to sit on a bench right beside him.

He needed some time to calm his mind after all that incident.

Plus, he needed to make use of his time on this day as well since everyone is quite having their own plans in the process.

He knew it's Valentine's Day but he had no plans about it until now so he was only one left alone as the others went out on their own to spend their time elsewhere to enjoy themselves. Heck, even Happy had a plan of his own to meet up with Carla and Pantherlily. They probably making some sort of an Exceed party for themselves.

Natsu felt envious of that.

Lucy and Levy went out for some bookstore shopping along with Gajeel while Gray and Juvia went off somewhere though he could see that the latter insisted on letting the ice mage to come along so he had no choice but to come as well. Wendy went with Mirajane and Lisanna alongside with Elfman as well to act as their guard since it's Valentine's Day and all.

Natsu really doesn't understand the last part of that but whatever it is, everyone is having their own time with each other which leaves only him to enjoy himself alone.

Erza was having her own plan as well with Master and the others. She just happens to wander around and saw him along the way while arguing with that woman earlier.

..

..

Once again, he began to remember the woman he argued with before.

Seriously, when will he ever move on from that incident? It is as if something was trying to force him to rethink about those events.

Is this punishment for what those harsh words I said to her earlier? Am I supposed to apologize to her now?

Come to think about it, seeing her face for the first time made it looked like she's not from town. He could tell from the unusual scent he smelled on her after encountering her for the first time. Though there's nothing wrong with her scent, it feels like it was concealing something sinister―almost to the point of a malicious aura.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Will you fucking leave me alone already?!" He screamed out in frustration as his thoughts about the girl continued to linger inside his mind. He had enough, okay?

Give him some peace and quiet.

...

"Screaming out of nowhere for no reason... You're quite the noisy fellow, aren't you?" A voice that he did not want to hear came resounding from above as Natsu looked up and glared in annoyance.

"You again?!"

"You remembered me it seems... Looks like you humans have a bit of a good memory in you." Sayla remarked with a teasing expression as she jumped from the roof and landed a fair distance away from the pinkette. To be honest, her landing isn't quite as simple as falling off from a tree. She easily slowed her descent which makes him assume she was a mage or something but that didn't catch much his attention as he looked at her in irritation.

"What do you mean by that?" Natsu retorted.

"Well, I initially thought that you don't have enough brains to understand a simple thing so I'm quite impressed that you have a good memory."

"You're not letting it down any time now, aren't you? Or do you perhaps you specifically have some business with me?" Natsu narrowed his eyes in response.

"Well, that I do." Sayla nodded at his reply though for a different reason.

"Well, if it was about what I've said to you earlier, I apologize, alright? I didn't know you had some issue going on with your lover so I didn't think I touched a sensitive topic." Natsu finally gave a polite apology towards her but―

The demon girl, on the other hand, suddenly found her cheeks flushing red for some reason. In response, her tough façade crumbled as she hastily denied his somewhat off-course assumption towards her situation.

"I d-did not have a lover! W-Why would you think I was like that?! This is the second time you insulted me!"

"I didn't know... It just came into my mind!" Natsu answered in defense.

"Well, you could've thought of another way other than that, human!"

"Will you stop referring me like that? I have a name, you know."

"I know, it's Natsu, am I right?" She spoke, finally regaining her composure. The pinkette simply stared at her in open shock.

"How'd you know?"

"I heard your other friend there talking to you earlier, remember? Where is she now?" She began to ask after noticing the lack of the scarlet knight beside him.

Natsu crossed his arms with his gaze turned away for some reason.

"She took off with someone else. She just happens to find me along the way and then went back with the others to spend their time on this Valentine's Day." He speaks rather depressingly which soon caught her attention as Sayla began to look curiously at the pinkette in the process.

"You seemed different from the other people I've observed lately." She pondered.

"What?"

"Your face... It doesn't carry any joy in it, unlike from most of everyone around this town. And here I thought that this occasion has a lot of things that could make you happy as a result except you." As soon as she said that, Natsu could only bear a bitter look on his face as he suddenly gazed up at the sky in a rather solemn expression.

"Nah, I kinda brought this on myself. It's not anyone's fault that they have plans on their own while I don't. As a result, I ended up wandering alone myself."

"Hoooh... So you don't have anyone spending with you at this time?" Sayla perked in curiosity.

"Sort of... Though I'm kinda surprised that you can notice someone's feelings right away. I'm just trying to hide it from them so they wouldn't worry about me, to be honest." Somehow, he managed to lift up a small smile towards her after seeing she can sympathize with him.

For a moment there, their hostility against each other dissipated but Sayla's next response simply rekindled that hostility.

"Iya, iya... Don't mistake my words, human... I merely find your situation to be quite appalling to my taste." She grinned seductively which ticked off the pinkette in the process.

"Alright, I take it back! You're not nice!" Natsu stood up in irritation.

"You're welcome." Came the sarcastic remark.

But just as they were about clash yet again, the dragonslayer realized the pointless of their fight as he backed away from her and started scratching his head with a tired look.

"Why do I even bother?" He said as he walked away from the girl.

"Giving up already?" She teased in return as she watched him glanced back at her.

"Like hell, I would give up."

"Then you're running away?"

"I'M NOT RUNNING AWAY!" He walked right back next to her as he turned to face her with an angered but comical expression. Seriously, this girl always finds the right time to lose his composure every time she speaks to him.

But just as he was about to speak any further, Sayla had put her index finger just right on his lips, catching him off guard as her expression turned into something more serious than the last one.

"You owe me so let's make a small deal, shall we?" She paused before speaking again. "Help me understand what this Valentine's Day really is then I will overlook what you just said to me earlier, is that okay?"

"Huh?"

"I'm curious about this new occasion your town is currently holding so I'd like you to accompany me in learning what this day is all about." Her words seemed rather calm and serene, much like different from how she was talking to him before.

It made him stop and think for a bit of what she was saying to him.

"So you're not really angered by something like that incident?"

"I'm not. How many times do I have to tell you that I don't concern myself with such trivial matters?"

"Really?"

"Really."

"But what's in it for me?"

"What?"

"What's my reward on all this? You know I'm not gonna spend my money for showing you around just to not get anything in return." Sayla pondered for a moment before finally replying back with an answer.

"Hmm, I don't know... Memories maybe? I thought humans value memories above all so there's that."

Natsu's head drooped low in depression.

"In the end, I'm getting nothing huh..." Well, it's not like he was going to expect anything from her judging from their brief history with each other. But since she was pleading him for a request, he's gonna have to play along and probably turn their relationship for the better.

Seeing how his expression turned gloomy, Sayla thought about for a second in restating her words back then.

"W-Well, I shall grant you the honor of knowing and speaking my name in exchange..." She paused as Natsu looked towards her in interest. "My name's Sayla."

"Say...la..." The pinkette repeated those words as soon as he heard her name for the first time.

"Hnn... That's my real name. Will that suffice for the compensation?"

Natsu could only look at her with a mix of complicated expressions. Honestly, this girl is annoying yet interesting to hang out with. Although he didn't know her much, she's already displaying a lot of her true character towards him.

Not only that, he could also see her gentle side. Though it was only for a brief moment they were able to take a glimpse of it.

Natsu thought that spending some time with this girl isn't so much of a bad time after all.

He sighed in defeat.

"So... does that cover the compensation?"

"It's not enough but I guess I can't complain about it either." He replied.

"So it's a deal then..." Sayla clarified.

"Deal."

"Then it's settled. I expect great results from you, Natsu."

For a moment there, Natsu wanted to react to how she suddenly addressed her by name but he immediately stopped as Sayla moved to skip a few steps ahead of him as her face soon adopted a rather warm smile, apart from the expression she put up earlier. It wasn't just any kind of smile, Natsu could've easily thought her to be cute in that look as he found himself fascinated by her.

His thoughts were soon cut off as he spoke.

"So this is some kind of a date then." Then it was Sayla's turn to be taken aback as her cheeks immediately blushed at such a word that she could only answer with a stutter.

"W-W-Well, y-you could say that..."

"Well, if that's what you want then let's get going!" Without hearing any more words from him, Natsu began pulling Sayla by her hand towards the busy streets of Magnolia to start their date.

At first, Sayla wanted to get away from the touch as soon as possible but she somehow felt a fuzzy feeling creeping up into her heart as she watched the back of the dragonslayer, holding his hand for the first time.

This is the first time she actually touched hands with a human. His warmth also sends another warm feeling that caused her heart to race fast for some reason.

However, she did not seem to resist to these sensations. In fact, she rather liked it.

With her original objective nearly forgotten and a new development happening around the two, Sayla simply resigned to her desires and let the dragonslayer drag her towards the bustling town of Magnolia.

The gears of fate will soon begin to move as the two opposite sides will join close together.

...

A/N: Sup guys! Hope you have fun reading this short story from my favorite crack pairing. And yes, this is a bit different from the other story where I have the same pairing since I'd like Sayla to be a bit rebellious at one story such as this before she came to know Natsu as END. Oh, don't worry, the next chapter will eventually tie up all loose ends though I expect a slight bit of angst at the last part.

Anyways, I'm still open for new ideas for other pairings but I'm just gonna keep it only at this pairing for now since this is already a late upload to the Valentine's Day celebration a few weeks back.

Thank for reading and I'll see you on the next chapter!

- The wiErDos send their regards...