The three little ones on their journey

And so, Eleven's team was finally formed!

Erza dragged two suitcases taller than herself to the guild, clattering and banging all the way, to meet up with Eleven.

Laxus had put on his bearhide cloak again. He didn't seem to have brought any luggage and was leaning against the doorframe, looking cool.

Eleven wore a gray combat outfit and carried a small pack on his back, making him look much more capable.

"Be careful on the road." Cana waved at Eleven.

Eleven gave Cana a confident smile but said nothing. He turned around with a flourish and strode toward Laxus and Erza at the door, the wind whipping up the hem of his clothes and sending it fluttering behind him.

Sunlight streamed through the doors into the dim guild, making it hard to see the world outside. Eleven led the way into the sunlight, and Laxus and Erza smiled faintly before following. The three gradually disappeared into the light, leaving everyone with three imposing backs, indistinct and beyond reach.

Gray watched the three of them recede into the distance, his eyes full of envy and admiration.

Cana stared in shock at the combination of cards on the table. If there was no mistake, the images showed that this team would surely stir up storms and shake the world in the future!

Erza: "Eleven, you're wearing your combat outfit backward."

Eleven: "Ah, you're right. No wonder it kept sticking out."

Erza: "I brought lots of clothes suitable for fighting. Want to try some?"

Eleven: "Really? Let me see."

Laxus: (╬￣皿￣)

Watching two members of the three-person team abruptly change the scene's tone and start rummaging through a girl's suitcase, everyone in Fairy Tail was left speechless.

((´-_-)-_-)-_-)

Cana: "Ah! I put this card in the wrong place after all!"

(￣ー￣)

The three were now sitting on a train. Eleven was still wearing his gray combat outfit, having found nothing usable among Erza's clothes. Damn Erza had actually wanted him to wear a little skirt. How could he possibly take off his pants in front of everyone?

Eleven and Erza sat together, heatedly debating whether skirts were suitable for fighting. Laxus sat quietly across from them, leaning against the backrest with a haggard face and his eyes closed, resting rather than joining their ridiculous discussion.

"All right! The point is, girls can fight in skirts, but skirts aren't suitable for boys to fight in! That settles it!" Eleven raised his voice and shouted.

Countless people in the carriage turned to stare. Even with his eyes closed, Laxus hunched his shoulders and craned his neck down, wishing he could hide his face inside his chest.

"I disagree!" Erza argued back even more passionately. "What's the difference between boys and girls? Why can girls wear pants, but boys can't wear skirts? That makes no sense!"

For a moment, Eleven was left speechless. There seemed to be something wrong with her logic, but it made so much sense!

Eleven strained for a long time, his face turning red, but couldn't think of a rebuttal. He could only draw on his authority as a senior. "Those are the rules for mages, and they're beyond question! Rules are the most important thing to a mage!"

As soon as she heard Eleven say that, Erza fell silent, even though she was unwilling to accept it. She pulled a little notebook out from who knew where and wrote down the rule that male mages couldn't wear skirts.

"Tsk, the rules for mages are really profound!" Erza exclaimed, clicking her tongue as she chewed on the end of her pen.

Seeing that Erza had taken him seriously, Eleven couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. He shook his head and began instructing her again. "Rules are the most important thing to a mage! A mage without rules can never become an outstanding mage!"

Erza listened to Eleven while scribbling away in her little notebook.

Eleven was very pleased with Erza's response and continued, "First of all, time is money for a mage. Wasting time on a job is a major taboo!"

At that, Eleven gave Erza a piercing glare and continued, "For example, when you went to wipe out the Rock-Crushing Gang last time, you didn't contact the client right away. You went shopping instead. That was unforgivable!"

Erza nodded earnestly, but offered her own view. "But I think it's important to buy equipment and make thorough preparations before a job, too."

"Make your preparations before you take the job!" Eleven sternly scolded Erza for her stupidity!

"Oh, right!" Erza actually nodded in agreement, ashamed of her own stupidity, and quickly wrote it down.

"But..." Erza suddenly stopped writing, a puzzled look on her face. "Eleven, how do you know how I did the job? Were you there too?"

"Th-that's not important, okay? There's plenty I know!" Eleven panicked a little and hurriedly forced a change of subject. "What matters is that I'm teaching you the rules for a mage of Fairy Tail!"

As soon as Erza heard that, her attention was drawn back, and she began listening and taking notes with complete concentration.

Eleven basically repeated everything Gildarts had said, added some insights he'd made up himself, and dumped the whole lot on Erza!

Erza listened in amazement, filled with admiration for Eleven.

Keep your mind free of distractions and follow your own path with all your heart? It really feels like those words struck my soul! This is the direction I'll take from now on. This is what a mage of Fairy Tail is!

"Hey, Laxus, are you all right?" Erza looked at Laxus with concern.

"Mm, I'm fine."

Though Laxus looked composed, the cold sweat covering his forehead and his trembling legs betrayed how weak he was, leaving Erza and Eleven deeply worried.

Their destination lay deep in the forest south of Magnolia. The train ride wasn't long; the main difficulty would be the walk after they entered the forest.

The job specified only that a young mage specializing in mental abilities was needed to calm a rampaging young magical beast. They would have to discuss the details with the client.

They had just gotten off the train, and Laxus had already gone weak before they'd even left the station, making Eleven very worried about his health.

Fortunately, Laxus grew more energetic as they walked, and before long he was full of vigor again. Both Eleven and Erza were extremely curious about his condition.

After that, the three didn't hesitate much longer. They plunged straight into the forest and followed a path left by those who had come before them, heading deeper into the woods.

Night seemed to fall especially quickly in the forest. The three little travelers decided it would be better not to press on in the dark, so they stopped, built a fire, and made something to eat.

The three sat around the fire, roasting the meat of some unfortunate, unidentified magical beast. The sight of the sizzling fat made their mouths water.

Eleven was playing with Laxus's bearhide cloak. He draped it over his shoulders and struck one edgy pose after another.

"Ah, cloaks really are cool as hell. Every true badass needs a cloak, like Gildarts, Gildarts, and Gildarts..."

As a diehard fan of Gildarts, Eleven was very pleased with the cloak. Wearing it even put him in a good mood.

"Heh, you really don't know anything. Truly powerful people wear fur coats. That's what's really cool." Laxus poked at the fire with a stick, bored, but for once he was interested in discussing a topic with Eleven.

"Tch!"

To his surprise, Eleven was completely dismissive and had no desire to entertain Laxus's opinion. People who followed different paths couldn't work together; he didn't want to talk to someone with no sense of style.

Erza listened quietly beside them and wrote down each of these rules about how powerful people dressed.

Eleven looked at Erza speechlessly. Why did this girl write down everything?

He angrily walked over to Erza, snatched her pen, and said sternly, "You don't need to write down what Laxus says!"

Then he mercilessly scribbled out Laxus's remarks, making a complete mess of them.

Laxus: [・_・?]