Mama Mirajane-1

~Early Morning 5:00 A.M~

"Hey Elfman, did you take any bottles of water from the storage area?" Mirajane Strauss asked popping her head out of the storage room behind the bar counter.

"Nope, a real man asks for things, he doesn't just take them." Elfman Strauss, her younger brother, exclaimed pumping his fists.

"Hmm, well there have been bottles of water, and some food going missing ever since the Master left for the conference with the other guilds. Maybe we have a rodent problem." Mira exclaimed scratching the top of her head.

"Shall I get the poison?" Elfman asked.

"No, let's just set up a trap, a cage with some food in it should do the trick. I don't wanna end up killing some petty thief if it's not a rodent." Mira sighed.

Mira set up the cage, and placed a slice of fresh homemade pie on the trigger.

"Hopefully we'll be able to catch the thief without harming them." Mira exclaimed before she left the storage room.

~Sever Hours Later as the guild hall became more and more busy~

It was a normal day at the guild hall as Erza, Natsu, Grey, Lucy, Happy, and Master Makarov arrived back from their long trek from the Town of Clover after the Lullaby incident. Natsu was pumped and ready for his rematch with Erza, but she was ready for a slice of strawberry cake.

"C'mon Erza, I want to have our fight now." Natsu shouted.

"I'm not wanting to do it right now, I'm tired, hungry, and I could really go for some cake. Then I'm going home to get cleaned up." Erza exclaimed. "Got it?"

"Aye…" Natsu said nervously under her monstrous gaze.

"Welcome back Master, how was the meeting?" Mira smiled.

"It's good to be back, anything interesting happen while I was gone?" Makarov asked.

"Well, there was one thing, we started noticing small traces of food and drink going missing every now and again. I've set up a non-lethal magic canceling trap incase it's not a rodent." Mira explained. "If it is, Elfman said he'd take care of it."

"Good to hear you're taking care of things." Makarov sighed.

Mira continued to work behind the bar counter, until she heard the snap of metal emit from the storage room, catching her attention and Erza's.

"What was that?" Erza asked following Mira behind the counter to the back storage.

"It was the trap I set for the thief. Let's check it out." Mira exclaimed. "I'm not sure what set off the trap, but it sounded like a pretty big snap."

Mira and Erza both went to where the trap was set, only to find that something had eaten its way out of the metal cage.

"That's odd, must have been a magic user. The pie I put there is missing." Mira exclaimed.

"Wait over there." Erza exclaimed seeing something running in the shadows. With Erza's quicker reflexes, she managed to stop whatever was running away and catch it into her arms.

Erza brought the thief into the light and Mira gasped when she saw what is was. A young child covered in dirt and rags. His shorts were tied with a rope, and his chest was covered by two pieces of cloth tied off at the four corners acting as a makeshift muscle shirt. What surprised her the most though, was the fact he looked like he was no older than five. On his face was an expression that showed he was scared out of his mind, fearing what the redhead and white haired women were going to do with him.

"Here's the little culprit. What should we do with him?" Erza exclaimed motioning to the piece of pie in his hand.

"Let him go, sit him down gently but don't hurt him." Mira exclaimed.

Erza looked a little confused but did as was told, she set him down on the cage, legs facing away from the sharp broken pieces of metal.

"Hi there little one. What's your name?" Mira asked, kneeling down to his eye level with a soft smile.

The boy remained silent, as he was still scared of Erza, seeing how Mira was harmless he felt more comfortable with her talking.

"He's not talking. Shall I use force to make him talk?" Erza asked.

"Erza, he's just a child." Mira exclaimed, sounding disappointed with the scarlet haired knight.

"I was just gonna spray him with water." Erza exclaimed. "From the situation, it seems he hasn't had a decent bath in months."

"Indeed." Mira sighed contemplating the situation. "Can you let the master know I'm heading out for a few hours?"

Mira set the child down on the ground and took his hand, leading him towards the exit.

"Let him know about the boy to, tell him I'll be paying for the food and water he stole and that I'll be taking care of him." Mira stated.

Erza looked surprised but her expression went neutral once again as she nodded and went to inform Master Makarov in his office.

Makarov listened intently slowly nodding his head as he heard her explain the situation.

"I see, so the thief was just a hungry child. There will be no need for Mira to pay for the food and drinks he stole. He was just doing what he needed to do to survive." Makarov sighed. "Where is the child now?" Makarov asked.

"With Mira, she said she's going to be gone for a few hours. I think she's going to get him cleaned up and put in a new set of clothes." Erza explained.

"I see. She is good with kids." Makarov chuckled.

…

Meanwhile, Mira was busy walking through the streets, with the child following close behind her eating a frosted cinnamon bun she got for him.

"How's your treat?" Mira asked with a smile.

The boy looked up at her with hardened frosting on his face with a big smile, indicating he liked it.

'Oh my, I was hoping that a treat would open him up to talk to me. What has this boy been through to make him a mute?' Mira thought, with a bit of worry plain on her face.

Mira and the boy stopped at a clothing store. She motioned for him to stay at the door, while she picked out the clothes. Being a seamstress she was able to judge and confirm his size measurements easily before she went through the store, and grabbed out a few shirts and pants for him.

When she returned to the front door with the purchased clothes, she found he was gone. She started to look everywhere for him, until she heard some struggling coming from deeper into the store.

"Quit struggling you brat, you're only making this harder." A voice exclaimed from the back.

Mira rushed to the back to find a big bulky man trying to shove the boy into a crate. She was mad, and she slammed her fist into the man's face knocking him over before she threw the lid of the crate away and pulled the boy from the crate. He clung to her tightly with his eyes shut as he silently cried.

"You're gonna pay for that you wench." The man stated coming back at her with a knife.

He was stopped by a stone hand grabbing him from behind and lifting him off the ground.

"That's no way for a man to talk to a woman. Especially if that woman is my sister." Elfman stated turning the kidnapper to face him.

"Y-you're Beast Arm Elfman, f-from Fairy Tail." The man exclaimed recognizing the emblem on Elfman's neck.

"Damn straight. A real man would never stoop so low as to kidnap a defenseless child, you sicken me." Elfman exclaimed slamming the same man into the crate he was shoving the boy into.

"Thank you Elfman, but how'd you find me?" Mira questioned as she calmed the boy down.

"Erza told me about the child, and I figured you'd take him to your favorite clothing store, so I ran here, didn't expect to be saving you and the boy, but I did. Like a real man." Elfman smiled, slamming the lid of the crate, down on the man before he could try to escape. "You take him back home, I'll take this scum to the royal knights."

As Elfman hefted the crate onto his back, Mira smiled at how protective her younger brother was being of her and the child in her arms.

She held him close in a hug, and returned to the front where she was met by the clerk and given a refund on her money, saying the clothes were on them for what had happened. It seemed the man was an employee and had lied about his past when applying for the job.

(Que Music… True Colors: Anna Kendrick & Justin Timberlake)

Once Mira was back home with the clothes, she set the young boy into the bathroom and left him alone for a minute, before she returned, changed into a bikini so she could bathe with him, without exposing him to any part of her body she didn't want him to see. She smiled as he still blushed, it was obvious that he had never taken a bath with a woman before.

"So, what's your name?" Mira asked as she washed his back trying to get all the dirt off, covering it in suds and bubbles.

The boy was hesitant before he turned around to look her in the eye. He turned back and wrote his response in the mirror with his finger.

"S-c507."

Mira was confused as to why he gave her a code instead of his name. Her confusion continued until she rinsed his back. She gasped and dropped the wooden water bucket as she saw his back and arms now that all the dirt was removed from them. His back was covered in scars, burns, sealed gashes, and a branding from one of the most dangerous dark guilds in the world. Grimoire Heart. His right arm had the symbol for Etherion branded into the shoulder as if done from the inside of his flesh. All the other scars on his arms were simple healed burns and gashes.

She turned him around completely and found his chest and legs were covered in scars as well. If she had to guess, she would say seventy five percent of his body was covered in scar tissue.

"W-what was your name again?" Mira asked, afraid she wouldn't like the answer he gave her.

"S-c507. Personal slave to Master Hades and experiment number seven of his Etherion test subjects." Scythe wrote in the mirror turning back around, thinking Mira was going to throw him back out onto the streets after seeing the Grimoire Heart branding on his back. Even though he was only five, and he could barely write, Mira still understood what he was trying to do.

To his surprise, she scooted closer to him, and brought him in for a hug, with his head against her chest to try and help him calm down.

"It's alright. You're safe now, there's no need for you to be afraid." Mira smiled as she picked him up.

Mira held him in her arms and walked over to the stone tub and sat in it with S-c507 leaning against her while her arms continued to encircle him in a hug.

"That name from your past won't do." Mira smiled.

With him now fully clean, Mira saw his full features. His hair looked like six stripes, three of scarlet red like Erza's, and three of violet, with the pattern being scarlet, violet, scarlet, violet, scarlet, violet. His ears were pointed a bit with a cartilage spike on the tops as if they started to form.

His skin was a little tan and darker than hers, she thought it was a little bit of a darker shade than Elfman's skin tone.

"How about… Scythe?" Mira asked with a soft smile as she tightened the hug and brought her knees up around him.

The boy looked up at her with a confused look on his face, as if to ask why she chose that name.

"It's a very powerful weapon, and is the deadliest of all the bladed weapons known to mankind." Mira smiled. "I think that you're still alive, even after all you must have gone through, makes you the most powerful kid I've ever met. It only makes sense that you would have a name like that. After all, you are a little reaper."

Scythe relaxed in the tub and let himself to sink into Mira's embrace, accepting her and the name she gave him.

Scythe looked at her with wide eyes as if to say, 'I like that name.' Scythe smiled closing his eyes.

(End Song…)

Mira and Scythe sat in the tub for a few more moments, sharing each other's company, before Mira had to get out and dried herself off before she got dressed again. She helped Scythe get dressed into a fresh pair of clothes. It was a simple outfit, it was a black muscle shirt with a pair of blue jeans and black socks before she rummaged through the closet and pulled out a pair of Elfman's old shoes when he was Scythe's age. Elfman never bothered to wear them, since he wasn't into military boots, so they looked completely brand new.

After she finished tying Scythe's boots, she took him by the hand and led him back to the guild hall, where Erza was waiting patiently at the counter, talking with Natsu Dragneel and the new girl Lucy Heartphilia.

"Hey everyone, sorry that we're back so late. We ran into a bit of trouble at the clothing store." Mira sighed, sitting Scythe down at the bar counter.

"We heard. That sicko should be going away for a long time." Natsu exclaimed with a slight growl to his tone.

"Indeed, so did you manage to get anything out of this little troublemaker?" Erza asked petting Scythe's head, much to his annoyance.

"He still won't talk, but I did learn some things. Scythe, why don't you go over there to that man. His name is Jonah Reedus, ask him if he can give you some lessons in art. Tell him I sent you." Mira exclaimed going behind the counter.

Scythe nodded his head and hopped down from the barstool, and ran over to the ball of a man.

"Why'd you send him away?" Lucy asked.

"I didn't want him to hear me talk about his past with you." Mira sighed. "When I gave him a bath, I found his entire body covered in scars and there was a branding on his back between his shoulder blades… It was the branding a slave receives when given a master."

Erza, Natsu, and Lucy's eyes widened in shock hearing this. They all turned to see the little boy standing on the bench next to Reedus as he gave him simple art lessons.

"He was a slave for Grimoire Heart, and a test subject for their master's experiments. If he's here, then it means they thought he died during the experiments and dumped his body somewhere on the outskirts of town." Mira exclaimed, her body visibly shaking.

"Hey Mira it's alright. He's safe now, he's fine." Erza exclaimed, knowing that Mira was shaking in anger and sadness.

"I just… I can't imagine what he's been through, I don't even want to think about it." Mira exclaimed, her voice cracking from her emotions welling up.

"Mira, it's all right. Look, Scythe is having the time of his life, and he's even already drawn a skillful picture of you and him with Reedus's help." Lucy stated.

Mira looked up and saw Scythe jumping up and down trying to get her attention while pointing at a picture of her and him, with her holding his hand while they walked in a field of flowers.

"He seems to look up to you Mira. I bet he's gonna start calling you mom pretty soon." Natsu smiled, trying to cheer her up.

Mira blushed at that, and held her right arm as she looked down. She was embarrassed whenever someone said something like that. She had her reasons for it.

"Oh, by the way Mira, the Master would like a word with you in his office. He wanted me to tell you as soon as you returned." Erza exclaimed.

Mira nodded and left the counter, she stopped by Scythe to let him know she was going to be with the Master for a while, and asked Reedus to watch over him, which the artist wizard happily agreed to do, as he was enjoying his time with Scythe as well.

Once Mira was out of sight, Reedus continued to give the boy some art lessons, before a certain bluenet came by and peeked between their shoulders.

"Whatcha up to?" Levi asked startling Scythe, and causing him to jump back. "Who's this little cutie?" Levi asked pinching his cheek.

"This is Scythe. Mira is looking after him, he was the one sneaking food and water from the storage room." Reedus explained.

"I actually heard about that, so Mira is taking care of him?" Levi asked.

"Until we find out where he came from." Reedus explained.

"Who is this little pipsqueak?" A man asked, picking Scythe up by his shirt.

The man was tall, with spikey blonde hair, a pair of spiked earphones, a purple coat with fur on the trimmings, wearing a pair of red jeans with a black t-shirt and a pair of black wingtip shoes. On his right eye was a lightning bolt shaped scar.

"C'mon Lauxus, give him here." Levi exclaimed reaching to take Scythe from the lightning sorcerer, only for him to reach his arm up out of Levi's reach.

"I'll ask again, who is this runt?" Lauxus asked looking at Scythe in the face.

Scythe's cheeks were puffed out in annoyance as he tried to struggle free from Lauxus's grasp. He stopped struggling and looked at Lauxus with a deadeye look before he sucked in a quick breath.

"Aw, is the widdle baby gonna have a, AHHHH…" Lauxus taunted before crying out as Scythe blew obsidian black flames in his face, causing the lightning magic user to drop him, before he went running, with Lauxus chasing after him in anger. "You're gonna regret that kid." Lauxus growled.

Lauxus ran after Scythe as he tried to grab the little kid that tried to burn him.

"Get back here you brat." Lauxus shouted as Scythe continued to evade him with his arms flailing behind him as he ran from the blonde bully.

Scythe skid to a halt and run under a table like a jackrabbit running into its burrow from a predator, and hopped up onto the bench, and hid behind a brunet woman holding a wineglass, wearing a bikini top and a pair of brown pants with a purse strapped over her shoulder.

Cana looked down and saw his scared expression and turned back to see Lauxus running towards him.

"Relax kiddo, he'll stop in 3… 2… 1…"

"LAUXUS."

The blonde bully stopped in his tracks with his hand reaching for Scythe, being only inches away.

"Stop this at once young man." Makarov exclaimed sounding not too pleased as he tapped his foot.

"But gramps, he…"

"I don't care what he did, that gives you no right to chase a child just because he wanted to get away from you." Makarov stated interrupting his grandson's protests.

"Fine, waste of my time anyways." Lauxus grumbled as he went back upstairs.

"Come here Scythe." Mira exclaimed grabbing him and holding him as he hugged her.

"Can you tell me what happened exactly?" Makarov asked standing on the table to be at Scythe's level while he was in Mira's arms.

Scythe jumped down from Mira's embrace and raced back over to Reedus and Levi, who were still in shock as to what they saw Scythe do to escape Lauxus's grasp. He snapped them out of their trance by tapping on Reedus's should and pulling on Levi's arm motioning for them to explain it.

"He doesn't talk Master." Mira sighed.

Reedus drew the pictures as Levi explained the situation. Makarov and Mira were shocked to say the least when they got to how Scythe had escaped Lauxus's clutches.

"He blew out a small burst of black flames?" Makarov asked as if that type of magic sounded familiar to him.

"Yeah, strangest part was, he inhaled like Natsu does when he starts up a breath attack." Levi explained.

"Interesting." Makarov exclaimed cupping his chin. "I'll have to do some research, but in the meantime, I want Mira to continue looking after him. I'll have some friends of mine look into any missing person's case, and have someone see if anyone recognizes his photo. Would you mind drawing that up Reedus?"

"Oui." Reedus smiled doing a very detailed headshot of Scythe.

The image was perfectly done with his body turned to the side a bit and a slight smile on his face. It was a simple headshot, but it would do the trick.

"Thank you Reedus. I'll send this to my friend in the council right away." Makarov exclaimed taking the picture. "In the meantime, Mira, finish up your shift and then head home. You've earned it."

"Thank you Master." Mira smiled. "Um… where's Elfman?" Mira asked looking around.

"He left, turns out there was a reward for capturing that perv who tried to take Scythe." Makarov exclaimed. "He's going to use that reward money to buy some things, he didn't specify."

"Well, he should enjoy himself once in a while. Thanks for watching him Reedus." Mira smiled thanking the artist.

"It was my pleasure, sorry that I didn't do much to keep Lauxus from him." Reedus exclaimed.

"It's fine young man. I actually think we learned something about him." Makarov smiled. "He blew out fire like a roar. Which can mean one thing."

"He's a slayer." Levi exclaimed with a smile.

"Natsu, come here my boy." Makarov called out.

"Hey gramps, whatever I did please don't kill me." Natsu exclaimed sounding nervous as he hesitantly came over.

"You're not in trouble… yet. We have a little bit of a surprise for you." Makarov chuckled.

"Really? What is it am I fighting Lauxus, am I being moved up to S-Class?" Natsu smirked lighting his body on fire.

Though Natsu's excitement turned to shock when he felt his flames being sucked away by something like a vacuum. He turned his head to see Scythe devouring the flames with stars in his eyes as he seemed to be enjoying it.

"WHAT THE… HOW ARE YOU ABLE TO DO THAT KID?" Natsu shouted in shock.

"The surprise is we have an apprentice for you." Makarov smiled holding up a peace sign. "Scythe here is a slayer, though we don't know what kind since his flames are… an unusual color."

"Alright, I've always wanted an apprentice. First things first, let's go find you a talking flying cat." Natsu smiled picking up Scythe and spinning around happily.

"Aye sir." Happy exclaimed landing on Natsu's head.

Natsu put Scythe on his shoulders and started walking out the guild but Scythe struggled to get down, reaching for Mira.

"Oh Natsu, I don't think he wants to leave me. He doesn't seem comfortable with being alone with you yet." Mira exclaimed stopping Natsu with a hand on his arm.

"Really? It's okay buddy, you can trust me. Here have some more fire." Natsu exclaimed igniting his hand and raising it up to Scythe, who had stars in his eyes as his mouth drooled.

"Don't feed him too much Natsu, I don't want him to spoil his appetite for dinner." Mira sighed.

"Don't worry I won't." Natsu smiled as he went walking out the door again with Scythe waving bye to them.

"Alright buddy, let's go look in the forest for your talking flying cat." Natsu smiled.

It didn't take long for them to get to the forest, Scythe was looking around like crazy, and he was enjoying the view of the trees and all the plant life within it. Natsu stopped at the area he found Happy's egg at six years ago and started looking around to see if there would be any more around.

"Natsu, it's most likely that they all hatched long before now." Happy exclaimed, now resting on Scythe's head.

"I know that happy, I'm not looking for an actual egg, I'm just looking for a flying talking cat that… OUCH." Natsu exclaimed as something hit him in the forehead. He looked up to see a white tiger colored cat looking at them smiling while trying to hold in a laugh.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Natsu asked yelling at her.

"Sorry, it's just the boy on your shoulders looked thirsty. When we spotted each other I held up something for him to drink and he nodded his head as if he was saying yes to my nonverbal question of wanting it. My aim was off and it hit you in the head." The white tiger cat exclaimed.

Natsu turned his head slightly to see Scythe drinking from a can of soda.

"Where'd you even get a can of soda?" Natsu asked.

"I travel a lot and I get thirsty on my travels so, I enjoy a refreshing soda every now and then. My name's Velvet."

"I'm Natsu, this is Happy." Natsu exclaimed pointing his thumb to the now flying blue cat.

"Aye." Happy exclaimed.

"Who's that on your shoulders?" Velvet asked.

"This is Scythe, he's a slayer like me. Only I'm a Dragonslayer, I have no idea what kind of slayer he is." Natsu explained as Scythe finished drinking the soda.

"So why are you looking for another flying cat that can talk?" Velvet asked spreading a pair of angel like wings, they were bigger than Happy's, indicating her flight magic was stronger and longer lasting than the blue cats.

"Well, I have Happy, and he's a cat, we're looking for one for Scythe." Natsu exclaimed.

"Well, I can help you with that. I'm actually tired of traveling and I was thinking of settling down some." Velvet smiled. In a puff of smoke Velvet was replaced with a humanoid white tiger girl whose body was about the same shape and height as Erza's.

"Whoa, your chest is bigger than Erza's." Natsu exclaimed as Velvet was wearing a purple belly dancer's outfit without the vale over the mouth, or the hat.

"Rude." Velvet exclaimed turning away from him. "That is not the first thing you should say to a lady."

"What's the big deal, I was just making a comparison." Natsu exclaimed, not seeming to be embarrassed at all.

"Well anyways, this form I'm in doesn't last long, it lasts for about half an hour or so if I chose to revert back to my original form early." Velvet exclaimed sensing no perversion in his tone. 'Is this guy really that dens when it comes to a woman's feelings? Or is he just not interested in women?'

"Oh, I get what you're saying. You're offering to be Scythe's cat." Natsu smiled. "Well, what do you think buddy?" Natsu asked turning his gaze to the five year old.

Scythe had stars in his eyes for a third time that day, seeing her transform seemed to have peeked his curiosity as he stood on Natsu's shoulder and jumped at Velvet with a smile. Though surprised, she caught him in her arms and smiled as he hugged her neck and rubbed his face against hers.

"Well I guess it's settled then." Natsu smiled putting his hands on his sides.

Natsu motioned for Velvet to follow him as she held Scythe in her arms like a teddy bear. Once they were back to the guild, everyone didn't seem to notice that a humanoid white tiger female walked into their guild and sat at the bar counter putting Scythe down on the stool next to her.

"Hello, can I help you?" Mira asked with a smile.

Before Velvet said anything she reverted back to her original form and landing on her feet on the counter.

"I want to join Fairy Tail." Velvet smiled raising one arm.

"Oh I see." Mira smiled. "Are you Scythe's new partner?"

"I am indeed." Velvet stated matter-o-factly before Scythe pulled her in for a large hug.

"Oh dear, it seems he rather likes you." Mira smiled.

"I don't mind." Velvet smiled hugging him back.

"Well, you'll have to talk with our Master first but I'm sure he won't mind." Mira chuckled going to get the master.

"Alright little buddy, let's…" Natsu stopped when he saw Scythe visibly start to vibrate after he ended the hug with Velvet. "Scythe… you alright buddy?" Natsu asked questioningly.

"Uh Velvet… do you have another one of those drinks you gave Scythe?" Happy asked looking worried.

"Uh yeah I gave him a Dr.… oh no…" Velvet exclaimed realizing, when she looked into her bag, she gave Scythe the wrong drink. "I gave him a Monster Energy Drink by mistake."

"Everybody hit the deck." Natsu shouted out as energy started to emit from Scythe's body.

As soon as Natsu ducked, there was a large burst of black electricity as Scythe went running around the guild hall in a black and blue blur. Shocking everyone with the electricity the young boy was emitting as he ran. It seemed like he was running so fast everyone else was just standing in place.

Mira and Makarov were shocked as they saw streaks of black lightning running around the guild hall. He even went up to the second floor and came back down instantly. A few minutes later, Lauxus walked up lazily to the ledge, with marker drawn all over his face. He had a mustache, and a little hair on his chin and two lines going from the upper right side of his forehead to the bottom left part of his ear. When he blinked, it was easy to see his eyelid colored black with marker. His eyebrows were connected into a unibrow with marker.

"What's going on, who woke me from my nap?" Lauxus asked, sounding angered.

Several of the guild members tried to keep from laughing at the sight of his graffitied face less they face his wrath.

"What are you all snickering at?" Lauxus asked as he woke up more.

Makarov used his magic to elongate and enlarge his hand as he handed the lightning wielder a mirror. Saying Lauxus was pissed when he saw his face was an understatement. He was furious enough that his eyes started glowing with power.

"Who the hell did this?" Lauxus questioned as the hand mirror shattered in his grip.

Several of the guild members all pointed to the flash of black lightning as it was now just running around in circles in an empty space of the hall.

"Oh dear…" Mira exclaimed realizing something.

"What's wrong Mira?" Makarov asked.

"I just realized, when Scythe burns through all that energy and starts crashing, he'll literally…"

Mira stopped mid-sentence when the light emitting from the circle stopped as Scythe slammed into a nearby support pillar, creating a small indent of himself into the wood. Several, if not all the guild member, winced as they saw the young boy painfully crash.

"Crash from the force of his speed." Mira finished before racing over to see if he was okay. "Scythe are you alright?" Mira asked.

The only response she got was Scythe's eyes looking up at her with what looked like tears starting to form. It was obvious to anyone who witnessed this that he didn't like the pain that came from crashing.

"Oh, shush now, it's alright." Mira exclaimed picking him up as tears ran down his cheeks as he silently cried.

"Let me at him." Lauxus exclaimed appearing right behind Mira.

"Lauxus, he's just a kid, he's bound to pull pranks." Levi exclaimed stepping up beside Mira.

"I don't care. Do you know how long it's gonna take to get this permanent marker off my face? Let. Me. At. Him." Lauxus exclaimed, punctuating his words.

"Leave him alone Lauxus." Erza stated, stepping up behind him.

"Oh, so you're gonna defend him to huh?" Lauxus asked turning around to look at her.

"I'm sorry… I just can't take you seriously with all that on your face." Erza exclaimed trying to suppress a laugh.

"Enough Lauxus. If I recall correctly, you pulled many a prank like this one at his age." Makarov exclaimed. "Let it go."

"Fine. I'll let it go for now, but I will give him payback when he's least expecting it." Lauxus exclaimed, leaving the guild hall.

…

The next few days went by, after Natsu and Erza had rested and regained their strength, they were about to begin their match. Lucy and Grey arrived on the scene mere minutes before it was to begin.

Needless to say, the entire guild was surprised to find that Mira had taken in the child and that he was responsible for the thefts in storage. Natsu tried challenging him once, but Mira flattened him the instant the question left his mouth, saying it was inappropriate for him to challenge a five year old to a fight.

Back to the fight…

"Aren't you worried this fight could tear our strongest team apart?" Lucy asked.

"What are you talking about, our strongest team?" Grey asked.

"You, Natsu and Erza you dummy. You're the three strongest wizards in the guild." Lucy argued.

"We are? Yeah right, what idiot fed you that line?" Grey asked.

Mira started balling her eyes out after hearing him calling her an idiot, indirectly mind you, but still at her none the less.

"Oh you're not an idiot MirAAAHHHH." Grey's apology was cut short by a small foot kicking him in the family jewels, hard.

Scythe glared at the ice-maker sorcerer sticking his tongue out at him as well. Scythe was dressed in the same black muscle shirt, blue jeans, military boots style he came to like. Some more was added to the outfit, such as elbow braces and MMA gloves in his size that Natsu insisted he wear for training.

"Why you little punk…" Grey stated reaching for him.

"Touch him and you're dead." Mira exclaimed, her face becoming more menacing.

"Yes ma'am…" Grey stated, as scarred as he was with Erza.

As Mira took Scythe in her arms, she covered his eyes, not wanting him to see Erza's skimpy armor choice.

"Erza please, not in front of Scythe." Mira groaned.

As the fight began, Scythe was amazed at the magic and skill that was going on. Erza had made it so Natsu's attacks were only half as efficient as they were supposed to be. His attention was drawn to an approaching figure before running off behind Mira as a giant frog came in and stopped the fight as it was just getting good. She placed Erza under arrest for eleven counts of property damage. Scythe didn't really know what was going on, but he snuck onto the under carriage of the magic mobile that was taking her away and didn't drop until they got to the court house.

He didn't let himself get shown until right before Erza met up with Siegran. He showed himself by grabbing onto her leg, having become fond of her company.

"Scythe, what are you doing, how did you even get here?" Erza asked looking down to see he wrapped his arms and legs around her boot covered leg.

"Who is this boy, and where did he come from?" The toad woman asked.

"I'm sorry about this, his name is Scythe, and he's under the care of Mirajane Strauss, Fairy Tail's waitress and barmaid." Erza explained. "I don't know how he got here."

"Let the kid stay, it's not like he's going to be any trouble."

Erza turned to see Siegran leaning against the pillar close to the court room.

"Siegran." Erza stated. She looked down at Scythe again to see he was shaking in fear.

"Now, now. I'm only here in spirit. No need to fret." He said.

Their discussion was short, mainly the reason behind her being arrested, and she then proceeded to enter the courtroom, dragging her leg with Scythe clinging tightly to it.

"Siegran has already informed us of the child holding onto you. No need to explain this." The head judge stated.

Right soon after the court began, the doors blew in and in came Natsu dressed in his own impersonation of Erza, trying to fool the council.

"I deeply apologize for this your honor." Erza exclaimed as she was bowing repeatedly.

"Take the three of them away."

"Three?" Natsu asked before noticing Scythe clinging to Erza's leg.

…

Later that night down in the cells, Scythe was shaking in fear, and scared for his life, while Erza tried her hardest to calm him down. She even reequipped into her normal clothing to let him feel the warmth shared when two people comfort one another.

"I can't believe you. The entire thing was just a formality, they were using me as an example to show you will still get in trouble no matter what you do." Erza glared. "To top things off, making them even worse, Mirajane's gonna kill you for getting Scythe locked up with us."

"I'm sorry alright."

"You realize with it being a formality, the worst they would of done is found me guilty, and sent me home, with a slap on the wrist." Erza stated continuing to glare. "To think Scythe would get a record at such a young age." She sighed holding him close, smiling as he fell asleep after calming down. "But still, what you did was very brave."

Clang-Clang

Erza and Natsu looked up to see one of the toad people holding a tray of food and a note.

"Here, Mr. Siegran told me to bring you this. He said it was for the boy." The toad man exclaimed sliding the tray into the feeding slot.

Erza took the note and was a little surprised at what it said.

"Dear Erza, though the three of you are locked up, it does not mean the boy has to starve. I took a guess at what I thought he would enjoy the most. I commemorate him on his bravery for sticking up for you before court began. I hope he will enjoy this. I'm not completely heartless after all. Sincerely Siegran~" Erza read aloud.

"Why don't we get food?" Natsu groaned, the toad man long gone.

"Natsu, you and I are both full grown adults, but Scythe is still just a child. His body can't survive without proper nourishment like ours can." Erza explained.

"I get it." Natsu smiled before Erza shook Scythe awake so he could eat.

…

The next day, Scythe, Erza, and Natsu returned to the guild hall, where they found out Mira had been worrying all night about him, and hadn't slept a wink. True to Erza's word, Mira tried to kill Natsu when she found out he got Scythe locked up with them.

After a while, everyone at the guild started to feel sleepy, everyone except Scythe, who was wide awake. As they all started to fall asleep, a masked man with multiple staffs came walking in. When Mira fell over, Scythe got worried, but mad and stood in the strange new comer's way.

"Now who might you be little one, that you are able to resist my sleep spell?" Mystogan asked kneeling down in front of him.

Scythe didn't answer him verbally, he just stood there with his arms out and a determined, yet scared, look on his face. Mystogan could tell he was trying to put on a brave act, to protect the people around him, and to prove his worth. The masked man then decided to try and give the kid some comfort.

"It's all right kid. I'm just here to grab some job fliers, that's all." Mystogan exclaimed walking around him. "Everyone here will wake up after I leave."

When their conversation was done, Mystogan went to the job board and pulled a flyer, leaving, counting down from five, until the spell wore off after exiting the guild hall.

Everyone started talking about Mystogan and how much of a jerk he was.

"The strange thing is, Master's the only one who's gotten a good look at his face." Grey explained to Lucy.

"That's not true, I've seen him before." Lauxus said from the second level. "Now so has this little guy."

Their eyes all widened when they saw him holding Scythe by the back of the shirt.

Scythe was flailing his arms around trying to get down from Lauxus's grasp again.

"Scythe…" Mira called out.

"Hey now, don't get too testy, I'm not doing anything to him. I just wanted to show him the board up here." Lauxus smirked.

Without realizing it, Velvet came flying up and swiped Scythe from Lauxus's hands, putting him in Mira's arms.

"Oh thank you Velvet, are you alright sweetie?" Mira asked.

"That wasn't very nice cat, I wasn't done talking with him." Lauxus stated landing on the ground in front of Mira.

Mirajane put Scythe down and he ran to where Erza and Natsu were standing, Natsu having just woken up from Erza knocking him out.

"Leave him alone Lauxus." Mira growled.

"Or what? You're going to serve me cold food?"

"You big dumb jerk…" Velvet called out.

Lauxus's eyes flared open in anger. "Shut up you damn feline." He shouted, and shot an attack aiming for Natsu to show Scythe and Velvet his power.

But it ended up hitting Scythe instead. Everyone was surprised as the lightning flashed on impact. When the light died down. Most of Scythe's clothes were torn apart and he started crying because Lauxus had scared him really bad.

"Woops, guess my aim is off." Lauxus exclaimed with a chuckle. "But now we're even for your little prank."

Lauxus was taken by surprise when Mira socked him in the face, more than once, knocking him back against the request board as she continued to assault him.

'Seems Mira is starting to get more and more attached to Scythe every day, more so that she now sees him as her own.' Makarov thought.

"Don't you dare, harm him ever again." Mira shouted as she stopped her assault.

"Wow, guess you have some feelings for the kid." Lauxus smiled stepping forward, seeming unfazed by her attack, and then jumping back up to the second floor.

"Get down here and apologize to him right now." Natsu growled, as Erza tried to calm the crying child with a slice of strawberry cake.

"Why don't you come up here and make me?" Lauxus snickered.

"With pleasure…" Natsu shouted. "I'm gonna make you pay."

"You're not allowed on the second floor Natsu, not yet anyway." Makarov stated slamming a giant fist down on Natsu before the pinket could begin to go up the stairs.

Later that evening, Erza was putting a blanket over Scythe as Mira was tending to the bar counter.

"Looks like Scythe is just fine from Lauxus's attack. I guess we should have seen that coming since he's a dual element slayer." Lucy exclaimed sitting near the counter.

"It's been a long stressful couple of days, that's for sure." Mira sighed. "Elfman used the reward money from that child trafficker's bounty to buy him a bed and those elbow guards."

"Seems like you and Elfman have really taken a liking to Scythe." Lucy chuckled. "Makes me wish I had a little guy to take care of like that. Of course I'm not ready for that kind of responsibility."

"Well, there are downsides to taking care of a five year old, but the pros outweigh the cons." Mira smiled cleaning a glass.

"Hey Mira, how come Master said Natsu couldn't go on the second floor yet?" Lucy asked.

"There's a job board up there for S-Class ranked, and above, sorcerers only." Mira stated.

As Mira began to explain the systems of the rankings between the Classes higher than S, Scythe opened his eyes and woke up to see a blue flying cat flying to the second floor, before he flew away from the second floor with a rolled up piece of paper in his paws.

Scythe got down from the bench of the table and began following Happy, unaware of the adventure that soon lies ahead for him, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Grey.