Phoenix

Dragon Book

Four people were sitting around a small fire. They were in a clearing in the middle of the forest. Emi recognized the one she remembered as Kira, and she saw that she was sitting next to the teenager she saw before. There was another young woman sitting next to Kira; she had long black hair and green eyes.

The unknown woman spoke up, turning to Kira, "Kira, why wouldn't you let me bring any drinks?This is so boring sober."

"Cool it, Yame. You can go without booze for one night."

Emi giggled at the two before turning to the man. They both made eye contact with each other before they gave each other a soft smile. The man pulled Emi into his side, and Emi leaned her head on his chest.

"Hey guys, we know you guys are like a thing now, but if you're going to cuddle you might as well kiss. At least make it worth it for us to have to look at you two being all gushy."

The man looked down at Emi and started wiggling his eyebrows. Emi looked at the two girls on the other side of the fire before leaning up into a kiss.

"EW. I didn't think you'd actually do it! Knock it off! We need to focus on the mission."

"Ayame," the man responded, "why would you suggest it then?"

"Shut up. Be useful and get more firewood."

"Come on buddy! The ladies want us strong men to do the heavy lifting!"

The man had bent down near the fire and an animal had crawled onto the man's back before he walked into the forest.

Emi woke up with a start. It all seemed so vivid to her, like it was yesterday. She looked at the wall across from the bed and yawned. She would've written it off as some weird dream, but she knew that it was a memory because Kira and that man were there.

"It's about time you woke up. It's almost time for the second day to start! The competitions will be starting soon," Natsu yelled.

"Sorry Natsu. I guess I overslept."

"Well we can't be late. I'm competing in this one!"

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"Um, Master Grampa? Why exactly did Natsu and Gajeel choose to participate in this specific event?"

Everyone was watching as Natsu and Gajeel battled to move even a centimeter. Their motion sickness had kicked in as soon as the chariots started moving.

"Wait," Lisanna asked, "Since when does Gajeel have motion sickness?"

Emi looked in confusion to see that Gajeel looked just as bad as Natsu. Didn't he say he would never be like Natsu?

"Congratulations," Sting muttered as he held back from vomiting where he stood, "You're a real dragon slayer now."

Emi looked at the three, silently cheering on Natsu and Gajeel. The dragon slayers were the only competitors who hadn't crossed the finish line yet. In fact, they were all still stuck on the first cart. Emi's eyes drifted over to Sting as he questioned why they were even bothering to keep going. Tears welled in her eyes when she heard Natsu's speech about how he was defending Fairy Tail and fighting for his friends. She really loved being a part of this guild; they all really cared for each other, and she was finally able to feel like she had a family again.

For some reason, her eyes did not drift from the blond dragon slayer. No matter what she tried to do, she felt like she shouldn't look away. Natsu ended up finishing right before Gajeel, and Sting dropped out of the race, saying that a point didn't matter to Sabertooth.