Sadness, Too, Often Cannot Be Erased

Erza was alone by the riverbank, curled up with her knees in her arms. The scarlet sunset seemed ready to dye the whole world in its colors, and even the still surface of the lake shimmered with its light.

Erza's long red hair flowed down her back, as if it could conceal her perfectly within the melancholy scene. Her shoulders trembled slightly, as though she were sobbing. Eleven could actually sense traces of sorrow and despair coming from her.

Looking at Erza's back, Eleven simply couldn't pretend he hadn't seen her. So he gently floated up and drifted silently to her side.

"Heave-ho~" Eleven plopped down and set his vegetable basket beside him.

Eleven's sudden appearance startled Erza, and she hurriedly wiped away her tears. Eleven noticed that when she saw him, the faint emotional fluctuations she had let out vanished again. She had hidden herself once more.

"I think crying is a really good thing," Eleven said. Instead of looking at Erza, he braced his hands behind him and gazed at the reddened river in a relaxed manner. "I think tears are proof that a person has feelings. I like crying. I cry when I'm happy, when I'm moved, and when I'm sad."

At that, Eleven turned to Erza and flashed her a toothy grin. "So there's no need to hide anything. Crying alone in silence is too dreary. When you feel like crying, call me over to keep you company."

Erza had already dried her tears, and her face had returned to its cold expression. "Oh, it's you," she said flatly.

She seemed to have no reaction to what Eleven had said, but she didn't get up and leave either. She stayed there with her knees in her arms, staring blankly ahead.

Seeing Erza's reaction, Eleven sighed inwardly. He didn't know what to say either. But he knew Erza probably wasn't cold by nature. From her airheaded behavior on their mission, he could tell she was supposed to be a lively girl, full of passion inside.

What happened to make her like this, even sealing away her own feelings?

"Erza, would you like to hear my story?" Eleven asked quietly.

"No, I wouldn't."

"I wasn't originally from this city. I came from somewhere else..."

Erza turned to look at Eleven as he began his story and frowned slightly. But she didn't interrupt him, listening quietly instead.

Eleven told her about his life in the research institute in his previous life: the painful experiments and the lonely years. Even thinking back on them now felt like tearing open old scars.

As Eleven spoke, tears appeared in his eyes and ran down his cheeks.

Erza listened quietly, turning to look at Eleven as her expression gradually softened. Tears welled up in her one eye again, leaving a trail down her cheek. It was hard to tell whether she was grieving for Eleven's story or her own.

"In the end, I died there. When I opened my eyes again, Miss Maria appeared in front of me."

Eleven slowly brought his story to an end. The ending was fantastical, but he had no transmigrator's code of secrecy.

Erza, however, understood. Hadn't she "died" once herself in the Tower of Heaven? It was such a brilliant metaphor, almost a match for Elizabeth's...

"Have I heard your voice somewhere before?" Thinking of Elizabeth, Erza suddenly grew a little puzzled. Eleven's voice sounded very familiar.

"Uh... you're imagining things... well, didn't we talk a couple of days ago? Of course you've heard my voice before, hahaha..." Eleven immediately panicked and scrambled to explain.

Seeing Eleven's panicked reaction, Erza was puzzled, but she didn't dwell on it. "Thank you... um..." she said quietly.

Erza had just realized she had forgotten the name of the person in front of her. After all, they had only met once. Even so, it was terribly rude of her, and her face flushed red as she racked her brains.

Seeing Erza's expression, Eleven immediately understood why and smiled as he came to her rescue. "Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Eleven Brain. Welcome to Fairy Tail."

Erza's face grew even redder when she saw that Eleven had figured out her predicament, but she still answered softly, "My name is Erza, Erza Scarlet."

Eleven paused briefly when he heard Erza's name, then said with a grin, "Scarlet? That's a lovely name. It's the same color as your hair."

Unexpectedly, Erza suddenly began to cry when she heard him. This time, no matter how she tried to wipe them away, her tears wouldn't dry. They flowed as though the floodgates had opened.

Eleven was dumbfounded. Did I say something wrong? What's going on? Ah, why is this so hard for me!

Eleven scratched his head and thought for a long time, trying to smooth things over. "Um, I was just joking. Your name doesn't sound good at all. What a lousy name! Ptooey~"

Bang!!

"Ow! Why did you hit me?!"

Eleven clutched his head. He had just taken a heavy blow from Erza's iron fist.

Looking at Eleven protesting with a huge lump on his head and his hands wrapped around it, Erza actually burst out laughing.

It was the first time Eleven had seen Erza smile. Tear tracks still marked her smiling cheeks, and she looked beautiful.

"Ahem!" Seeing the atmosphere ease, Eleven hurriedly coughed and returned to the subject.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that everyone has a past they can't forget, more or less. Rather than bearing it alone, it's better for everyone to bear it together... damn it, I can't make it sound like the old man!"

Eleven sank into frustration all by himself.

"Um, people formed guilds so they could rely on one another. Now that you've come to Fairy Tail, you're our comrade, our family."

"I don't know what happened to you in the past, but if you can, let us shoulder some of it for you. You don't have to bear it all alone!"

Eleven had finally managed to say what he wanted. Though he didn't think he had said it as well as the old man, it came from his heart. It was the spirit of Fairy Tail he wanted to convey to Erza.

Erza made no reply to Eleven's words. She lowered her head and remained silent for a long time.

Just when Eleven thought he had failed again, Erza suddenly stood up and raised her little fist toward the sun.

"Thank you, Eleven!" Erza said, facing the sunset. "I won't cry anymore!"

"No, um, I said tears were a good thing..." Eleven tried to emphasize his point.

But Erza paid him no attention and vigorously wiped the tears from her face. "Eleven, I'll listen to you and move toward the future. I'll definitely deal with the consequences of the past, but not now. I'll work hard to grow stronger, strong enough to protect every one of my comrades!"

Eleven wanted to retort that he didn't seem to have said any of that, or even thought it. He had no idea how Erza had come to those conclusions.

But when the words reached his lips, he ultimately left them unsaid. He would let her be. It seemed to be a change for the better, anyway.

"Ah! Erza, I found you! This time I'll definitely beat you!"

Just then, a little boy wearing nothing but a pair of underpants appeared on the riverbank and began shouting, completely oblivious to the situation.

Only after sliding down the riverbank did Gray notice Eleven sitting there too. He jumped in fright and exclaimed, "Eleven, why are you here too? Aren't you afraid the master will hunt you down?"

As Gray said this, a recklessly smug look appeared on his face.

Eleven cast a cool glance at the triumphant Gray, then turned to Erza. "He's challenging you again. Beat him up!"

Erza nodded and beckoned to Gray. "Come on!"

Gray was dumbstruck. He couldn't understand when these two had formed a united front! Is even heaven out to make life difficult for me?

Watching Erza chase Gray around and beat him up, Eleven still couldn't sense any fluctuations in her emotions. That kind of closed-off heart wasn't so easily opened.

"What a strong person!"

Eleven braced his hands behind him and looked out over the river, talking to himself. He thought that even if he hadn't come to talk to Erza today, perhaps she could have gradually worked things out on her own. After all, the conclusions Erza had reached today didn't seem to have much to do with what he had said.

"Ah~ the sunset really is pretty."