Female Pervert

Mirajane dragged Yuri back to the campfire. After all that commotion, she hadn't even noticed she was using the right hand she had always instinctively hidden.

The two sat together by the fire, staring blankly into the flames. Neither spoke first. Mirajane merely glanced at Yuri from time to time, looking as though she wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Have a nightmare?" Yuri finally broke the silence.

"How did you know...?" Mirajane lowered her eyes and spoke after a moment's silence.

"Obviously. You're awake in the middle of the night. If you didn't have a nightmare, did you come out here just to enjoy the cold wind?" Yuri said irritably.

"..."

Although she had already left that suffocating village, every midnight, the memories of the abuse and expulsion still clung to her like evil spirits, refusing to leave her mind.

They constantly reminded her that she was cursed, the source of calamity, a terrifying demon...

In any case, she wasn't human.

Mirajane had jolted awake like that, gulping down fresh air, her back soaked in sweat. Even after a long time, she still hadn't recovered from the fright.

She knew she couldn't get back to sleep. After tucking her sister's blanket around her, she had carefully stepped out of the tent and met Yuri, who was keeping watch.

Perhaps she could talk to him.

With that thought, Mirajane had sat down here.

"What kind of place is Fairy Tail?" she suddenly asked.

"It's a gathering place for drunken maniacs and violent lunatics. When they're not fighting, they're tearing the place apart," Yuri replied, bracing his hands on the ground and leaning back to gaze at the overcast sky.

"Uh..." Mirajane's eye twitched. She suddenly wondered if she'd made a hasty decision.

Yuri quickly added, "But everyone in the guild is pretty great."

"No one gets angry or holds a grudge over little things like these, and no one cares where you came from or what your past was."

"The master is a kind old man. He's usually pretty stingy, but he's taken in a lot of homeless children."

"Erza looks rigid, but she's actually a bit of an airhead."

"Gray looks like an exhibitionist, and he really is an exhibitionist."

"Cana..."

"I see. It sounds really nice." The sudden change in his description caught Mirajane off guard. As she listened to Yuri, she gradually began to look forward to seeing the guild she'd never visited.

But then she looked down at her arm again...

Though she'd accepted Yuri's invitation today, it had been mostly because she had no other choice.

There was no longer any place for them in Xiro Village, and sooner or later they would have had to leave. Rather than wander aimlessly, they might as well follow these two and try their luck.

If they were lucky, perhaps she could find Lisanna and Elfman a good place to stay.

At the very least, they wouldn't be like those villagers, condemning them without knowing the truth.

As for her, she should forget it. No one would accept a monster like her.

Even if she shamelessly stayed there, she would only drag Lisanna and Elfman down with her.

That was what Mirajane thought.

In her heart, her younger brother and sister's happiness always came before her own. She didn't want them to suffer discrimination and harm again because of her.

As long as they could grow up healthy and free of worries, that was enough.

What happened to her... didn't matter.

But before that, she wanted to do everything she could to find someone she could entrust them to.

"Say... once we get to Fairy Tail, could you... help me look after Lisanna and Elfman a little?" Mirajane asked cautiously, seemingly prepared to be rejected at any moment.

"Sure," Yuri readily agreed.

"Really?!" Mirajane was pleasantly surprised.

She seemed not to have expected the step she'd considered the hardest to be accomplished so easily.

"Of course. I keep my word, but I can't just agree to it for nothing, can I?" Yuri poked at the fire, making the flames burn brighter.

Mirajane lowered her head in embarrassment. "But... I don't have any money."

Yuri turned toward her and suddenly gave her a mischievous smile. Staring at her lips, he said, "When did I ever say I wanted your money?"

If he doesn't want money, what else could he want?

Mirajane raised her head and noticed Yuri's undisguised gaze. A blush instantly spread across her face, and she stammered, "N-no, no... I can't! Um, this sort of thing... it's my first time."

"It's fine. It's my first time too. You'll get used to it soon enough," Yuri said solemnly.

"But..." Mirajane was still bashful, her hands twisting helplessly beneath her cloak.

"Come on, you won't even agree to such a simple request? Are you serious about this or not?" Yuri urged impatiently.

Forget it. Whatever happens, happens!

Faced with Yuri's unreasonable request, Mirajane shut her eyes and steeled herself. As long as Lisanna and Elfman could be happy, she was willing to go through with it!

With that thought, she puckered her glossy lips slightly and slowly leaned toward Yuri.

But shortly afterward, she suddenly felt a warm hand pinch her cheek.

"What are you doing?" Yuri looked at her in confusion.

Mirajane opened her eyes. "Didn't you say you wanted to..."

"I just wanted you to acknowledge me as your big brother. Why are you putting your face so close to mine?" Yuri asked, puzzled.

"Acknowledge you as my big brother?!" Mirajane was utterly bewildered.

"Of course!" Yuri said as though it were obvious. "Looking after younger siblings is a big brother or sister's responsibility. If you don't acknowledge me as your big brother, why should I help you?"

"Huh? Oh, so that's what you meant." Mirajane lowered her head again, wishing she could die of embarrassment.

"What else? What did you think I meant?" Yuri looked at her strangely. "Don't tell me... oh! You little pervert, so you... mmph mmph mmph mmph!"

Yuri cried out in "realization," raising his voice, but before he could finish, Mirajane lunged at him and covered his mouth.

"Shut up, shut up! Don't say it!!!"

The girl's face was full of mortified anger, and she bared her teeth as though she wanted to bite the bastard in front of her to death.

But Mirajane was so worked up that Yuri, struggling with all his might, accidentally lost his balance.

The two of them immediately tumbled into a heap on the ground.

The night quietly set up a spotlight. Bright moonlight parted the dark clouds and shone silently on the two of them.

The scene unfolded as dramatically as a fairy tale. At that moment, the two were like the hero and heroine of a stage play, gazing silently at each other as the crackle of burning wood filled the air around them.

Perhaps the atmosphere was too intimate, because Mirajane ultimately couldn't stand it and was the first to turn her head and look away.

A blush colored her delicate face as she said through gritted teeth, "How much longer are you going to lie on top of me?"

Yuri dusted himself off and got up with a calm expression, then naturally offered his hand to Mirajane on the ground. "Don't worry. I'm not interested in washboards."

Several veins bulged on Mirajane's forehead. Though angry, she didn't refuse; otherwise, it would have looked as if she were the only one feeling guilty.

A whole evening of absurd antics had left her thoughts in a jumble, and her embarrassment and anger mingled into a faint wisp of smoke above her head.

Mirajane instinctively offered her dominant hand, and Yuri pulled her up.