Lucy wasn't in the mood to keep sniping back and forth. She let out a sigh and went back to swinging her sword like it was her fate, but the nonstop crunch-crunch-pop of popcorn munching right by her ear made it impossible to focus.
Mirajane whipped her head around, plastering on that super "friendly" smile as she eyed the two snackers. "Y'know, Lisanna, hasn't it been a while since you got in a solid training session?"
Lisanna froze solid at the mention of her name. She shoved the popcorn bucket into Cana's hands and snapped to attention. "N-No way, Mira-nee! I've been super serious about training lately! Don't believe me? Ask Cana!"
"Huh?" Cana blinked, thrown for a sec. Spotting Lisanna's frantic hand-waving behind her back, she nodded like crazy. "Y-Yeah, yeah! We totally trained together on the way back yesterday!"
"Oh~? Really now?" Mirajane's grin stretched even wider. "Perfect timing, then. We've got a minute—let me check out your progress."
"What?!" Lisanna's jaw dropped. She was here to watch the chaos, not join it! Her head shook like a bobblehead. "Uh—I just remembered, Juvia needed me for something! Gotta jet!"
She spun to bolt, but Lucy—sneaking up outta nowhere—lunged and bear-hugged her tight!
"Lisanna! Don't ditch me now! I know you secretly wanna train with me! Mira-nee's just dying to see what you've got!" Lucy's face lit up with sweet, sweet payback vibes.
Lisanna: (0_0 Lucy, you traitor—dragging me down with you!)
Lucy leaned in close, smirking wicked. "Payback for laughing at my misery. Besides, extra practice never hurt anybody. C'mon, help me 'build some stamina'!"
"Lisanna~" Mirajane's voice floated over again, all drawn-out and syrupy sweet.
That tone? Lisanna knew she was doomed—no escaping today.
She heaved a defeated sigh, turning back. But as she shuffled past Cana, inspiration struck. She pounced! "If I'm training, you're in too! No dodging for you, Cana!"
Her hand grazed Cana—and poof. A soft pfft later, Cana deflated like a popped balloon, leaving just a card fluttering to the ground.
"Huh?" Lisanna scooped it up. Scrawled across it:
[Knew you'd pull this! Heading back to the guild for drinks. Catch ya tomorrow! —Your clever and cute Cana]
At the bottom, a chibi Cana stuck out her tongue in a cheeky grin.
Lisanna's eyes bugged out in betrayal. "0_0 That jerk! She bailed and left me hanging?! She's the one who suggested crashing the show in the first place!!"
Lucy patted her shoulder, stifling a laugh. "Aw, chin up. Let's train together."
"Look on the bright side—at least you've got one more shot at leveling up than Cana does."
"QAQ Nyaah, I should've stayed outta this mess! I just shook off training hell!"
Lisanna wailed, face crumpling. Teaming up with the equally doomed Lucy, she joined the ranks of Mirajane's "loving guidance" victims.
The clearing soon echoed with way more "enthusiastic" training grunts—punctuated by the girls' yelps and heavy panting.
For Lucy, those training days dragged worse than her childhood etiquette lessons or the toughest classes back home.
Every day felt like slogging through quicksand—time crawling at a snail's pace.
In the thick of this "fiery trial," the seven-day special training? Stretched to a brutal ten.
On the afternoon of day ten, back at the Fairy Tail guild hall, Roger lounged at the bar, sipping fruit wine easy as you please.
The front doors creaked open slow. Lucy shuffled in, legs like lead weights, looking wrecked.
She basically collapsed onto the stool next to Roger, then flop—facedown on the counter like a puddle of goo. She buried her face in her arms, sucking in deep breaths before throwing her head back and howling at the ceiling in pure relief: "Finally—! Training's over!!"
"Those ten days felt like a decade! My bones are jelly—I'm exhausted—"
She mustered one finger like it took Herculean effort. "Gimme a juice! Icy cold, thanks!!"
Roger paused mid-sip, eyeing her funny. "Huh? Wasn't it supposed to be seven days? Where'd the extra three come from?"
That lit Lucy's complaint fuse. She unloaded: "Don't get me started! Blame Mira and Erza—they got into this random bet."
"Said after seven days, we'd spar with Natsu. See whose style let me last longer against him."
"First round? Dead tie—same exact time with both moves!"
She slapped the table, on the verge of tears. "Neither would back down, so they tacked on three more days to settle it! QAQ"
"Luckily, they called it—Erza won!"
"Then Mira wouldn't quit, so those two ditched to the back lot to 'spar' it out. That's when I snuck away!"
Her words barely landed when a massive BOOM rumbled from outside, vibrating the floor enough to jolt half the guild.
Lucy clutched her pounding chest, going pale. "Doesn't the guild have soundproofing magic?"
"How'd that sneak through? Just how hard are they going at it?!"
Roger cracked up at her jumpy freakout. "No wonder Erza's been out at dawn and crashing late these past few days—scribbling notes nonstop. She was invested in that bet."
He shifted gears, teasing light. "But hey, three-day extension and you clinched the win for her? Knowing Erza, she'll hook you up with some kinda 'little reward,' right?"
"Huh? Yeah, actually." Lucy blinked, surprised. "How'd you guess? Does she always spoil folks after training 'em?"
"Kinda," Roger said, a nostalgic glint in his eye. "Truth is, I started the habit."
"Back when we were kids, Erza and Juvia made a huge leap in training. To celebrate, I treated 'em to a ton of grub and snagged some fun magic gadgets."
"Turns out they loved it, so whenever they hit a milestone, I'd surprise 'em with cool eats or neat toys as rewards."
"Erza picked it up from there. Now, if someone's training with her impresses her enough, she might toss 'em a quirky trinket now and then."
"Whoa, had no idea..." Lucy perked up at the childhood tidbit, fishing something from her pocket. She slid a few stickers with weird patterns over to Roger. "This is what she gave me—calls 'em 'Owner's Stickers.'"
"Didn't get the full rundown before she and Mira started duking it out."
"You know these?"
"Oh? This little gem." Roger picked one up, brows lifting in mild surprise. "Not super useful for us, but for you? Might be perfect."
"Just slap it on your stuff, pump in a smidge of magic."
"Then, no matter where it ends up, focus a thread of magic on your fingertip, yell 'Come back!'—and zip. Straight to your hand."
"Wha—?!" Lucy's eyes went saucer-wide. "A magic tool that handy? So my Celestial keys are loss-proof forever?!"
She bolted upright, fatigue forgotten, buzzing with hype. "Lemme test it!"
She yanked out Aquarius's key, peeling a sticker onto the handle careful-like, then trickled in magic.
Done deal. With a dramatic flick, she chucked the key out the guild doors to the open lot.
It arced through the air, clink—landing on the gravel path way out.
Lucy hauled in a breath, right hand high, belting: "Aquarius's key—come back!"
Boom—instant vibe. The key quivered on the ground, then whoosh—shot up, slicing the air like a bullet. Blinked back safe in her open palm.
"Yes! Nailed it!!" Lucy whooped, hopping like a kid. "No more key panics!"
Tears welled up, all emotional. "QAQ Those 4 a.m. wake-ups and midnight crashes weren't for nothing!!"
"Lu~cy~" A voice oozed right by her ear—sickeningly syrupy, pitched all fake-cute.
That tone pinged some bad memories. Lucy jolted, twisting stiff to see Cana grinning ear-to-ear.
"What's up?" Lucy asked wary. "Why the creepy voice? You're freaking me out—"
"Aww~" Cana waved dramatic, batting lashes like a shy schoolgirl. "I've always talked this sweet and gentle~"
Wrong! Total red flag! Post-Mira-and-Erza boot camp, Lucy's radar was pro level.
She scooted her butt away on instinct, putting space between 'em.
"Wh-What do you want?"
"So distant, Lucy~" Cana scooted right back in, plopping down hip-to-hip, slinging an arm over her shoulders, faces mashed close.
"Aren't we besties? Why the cold shoulder? You'll break big sis's heart~"
"T-Too close!" Lucy squirmed to stand, but Cana's arm clamped like a vice, pinning her down.
"And you were munching popcorn and heckling me during training!"
"I'm not talking to you! You're scheming something—bet on it!"
"So heartless~" Cana nuzzled her cheek, pouting all sad-puppy. "Am I that evil in your eyes? I'm crushed—"
She leaned heavier, whispering hot in her ear: "Heard you've been writing a little—"
"Aaah! Shut it!!" Lucy slapped a hand over Cana's mouth, beet-red. "H-How'd you even know?!"
"Heh~" Cana smirked smug under the palm. "A girl's gotta have her sources~"
She pivoted smooth. "Anyway—big sis here's got a teensy favor to ask."
"Nope!" Lucy shot back flat, shields up max. "Anything you say in that tone? Bad news, guaranteed!"
"I just wanna crash! And rent's due soon—gotta grind jobs for Jewels, no time to waste!"
"Lucy, you're killing me~" Cana fake-sobbed twice, doodling bored circles on the table with her finger.
"And here I prepped this as thanks: 'Celestial Mage Super Magic—Stellar Saga'~"
(0_0) "Super Magic?! Usable by Celestial Mages?!" Lucy's eyes lit like fireworks, heart doing flips. Busted—hooked hard!
Gotcha. Cana's eyes narrowed sly, but she schooled it to regretful, sighing long as she started pulling her arm back, easing to her feet.
"Eh—guess if you're not down, no biggie."
"After all—I'm no demon. Won't push a pal into something they hate—"
She half-turned—and yank. Her arm snagged. Lucy's voice piped up behind, all sugar: "W-Wait—Cana! Y'know, I just remembered—I'm suddenly free!"
"Helping friends is what we do! Spill—I'll jump right in!"
"Ehh~ For real?" Cana played shocked. "What happened to no time? Your rent—don't wanna get you evicted on my account~"
"Haha..." Lucy grinned awkward. "Hey, my skills leveled up lately—jobs'll fly by now. I'll squeeze it in!"
"Ohhh, gotcha~" Cana winked. "Thought maybe 'Super Magic' three words flipped your switch that hard."
"N-No way!" Lucy tittered, denying hard. "Totally not about that!"
This witch—on purpose!
Quick pivot: "So—how'd you score Celestial Super Magic?"
Cana puffed up proud, flipping her hair. "Hmph~ Drew it from my cards, duh!"
"Wha—?!" Lucy yelped again, gobsmacked. "Cana? Card pull? Super Magic?!"
Cana's forehead twitched with a vein. "What? Got beef with me landing a Super Magic?"
"N-No, no!" Lucy waved frantic. "Just... floored!"
Cana opened her mouth for more—when Natsu's voice boomed from behind, all fired up: "Lucy! Where's Lucy?! That scrap was lame—let's go full-throttle rematch!!"
"H-Hey?!" Lucy's eyes popped, neck shrinking as she dropped into a crouch, ducking behind Cana for cover.
How'd he track me to the guild?! No way I'm burning more time brawling!
"Natsu~ Lucy's right here~" Happy's snarky chirp floated down from above.
Stupid furball! Veins popped on Lucy's head. Before she could pop up, Natsu barreled over, grinning wild: "Lucy! Round two! Wasn't even warmed up!"
"Uh, s-see—" Lucy scrambled up, eyes darting for an out. "My Spirits—they're off-limits today! Yeah! After that beatdown with you, I gave 'em the next three days off—training wiped me!"
She dialed up the sincere puppy eyes. "Aw, man—sucks, 'cause I'd love a redo, but no can do."
"For real?" Natsu squinted suspicious. "But we just fought—you notify 'em that quick?"
Happy's mouth cracked open—Lucy knew it was trouble. Hand shot out, clamping his muzzle lightning-fast. She beamed up at Natsu: "D-Duh! Spirits need R&R too! And—uh—" Lightning bolt: Cana! "Gotta help Cana out—zero time for fights!"
Natsu's gaze swung to Cana.
She raised a lazy hand, inspecting her nails all casual. "Y'know, I think I'm suddenly good without the assist."
She eyed Natsu, smirking playful. "Why not handle your thing first, Lucy? I'm in no rush~"
Natsu crossed arms, mimicking Leo's deadpan drone: "That's what she said."
Lucy's jaw hit the floor: Cana, you backstabber! Switching sides to dunk on me!!
She flung the wriggling Happy aside and lunged at Cana, hooking her arm desperate, hissing low: "Hey! That wasn't the deal! Integrity, remember?!"
"Was it?" Cana leaned in, all "you're mine" smug, head tilt. "But I seem to recall someone swearing up and down they had no time for rent-grind... then 'Super Magic' dropped, and poof—plans changed."
She tapped her chin fake-thoughtful. "Who could that be?"