"Oh la, oh la~ what's this? Erzaaa, did your magic meter hit zero?"
Mirajane's voice was way too cheerful for someone poking another S-Class wizard in the face.
"Poke. Poke. Pooooke!"
A stick jabbed into Erza's cheek.
Again.
And again.
"…."
Erza sat on the ground in her normal clothes, staring forward with the dead eyes of someone questioning the meaning of life.
"Mira," she said flatly, "why are you poking me?"
Mira grinned like a gremlin who found a new toy.
"Who knows~?" She tapped the stick against her palm. "What should I do with a completely helpless Erza Scarlet…?"
Erza narrowed her eyes.
Still calm. Still composed.
"What are you planning?"
The moment she said that—
"Oh! Yes! I remembered something!"
Mirajane suddenly pulled out… a camera.
Already prepared.
Erza's entire soul flinched.
"Y–YOU!! W–Why do you have that?!"
She scooted back like a cat that saw a cucumber.
Mira blinked. Then her smile widened.
"Oh~? That reaction… interesting."
"That's not interesting!! What are you planning?!"
"Relax~ relax~ I'm not going to do anything bad~~"
That made it ten times worse.
"Okay, Erza! Let's begin!"
"W-WAIT—!"
Whatever happened after that…
Only the trees and the traumatized Erza knew.
Her pitiful little voice echoed across the forest like a ghost asking for help.
One hour later
Mirajane was humming happily as she fixed Erza's clothes like she just finished a photo shoot.
"I'm satisfied. I'll come find you next time~"
She even patted Erza's head like she was a pet.
Erza just sat there, hugging herself, staring at the ground like her spirit had departed.
Mira glanced into the distance at Rain and gave him a thumbs up.
Rain: "???"
Mira… what did you just do…?
He had heard Erza's noises, but wisely decided not to approach.
Some lines even God shouldn't cross.
Still, Mira's look was suspicious.
"…Okay, I should go check."
Rain approached, stepping loudly on purpose.
Erza instantly snapped alert.
"Who's there?!"
Then she saw him.
"Rain?"
The tension melted away. She trusted him more than Mira for obvious reasons.
She had a good impression of him: Haki, Shigan, Tekkai — he had taught her a lot. Especially Haki, which suited her perfectly.
And whatever rivalry existed between her and Mira…
Rain wasn't part of that.
"Uh… Erza, did Mira… do something to you?"
"!!!"
Instant trauma flashback.
Her pupils shook.
Rain blinked slowly.
Yep. Mira absolutely did something.
"Rain… you're really… suffering, aren't you?"
"…Huh?"
Erza gave him a look — the same look Wendy gave Natsu after he destroyed something again.
Pure pity.
"Rain… having a girlfriend like Mira… it must be rough. Do you have to go along with all her weird… urges?"
"…."
Rain slowly placed a hand over his face.
Mira… what the hell did you do to this girl in one hour…?
He sighed.
"…Yeah. Mira's hobbies are… special."
Very special.
Special enough to scar Titania.
And judging by Erza's trembling…
Special enough to scar the next three generations of Scarlet children.
Even Rain couldn't handle half of Mira's "creative ideas" when she used take over magic.
"Sure enough… Rain, you're a victim too."
Erza let out a deep sigh. When she remembered what Mira did to her an hour ago, she looked at Rain with pure sympathy — the kind you give someone who's been through a war.
Rain's expression was heavy. Very heavy. And Erza understood why.
Because Mira's… behavior today?
Yeah.
No normal person invents that on the spot.
That kind of insanity takes practice.
Which meant Mira must've been "relieving" her weird habits somewhere else on a regular basis.
The only logical target?
Rain.
Erza nodded to herself.
"Rain… Mira must've been tormenting you for a long time, right?"
Rain silently stared into the distance, as if remembering dark memories.
"Looking at your face… Mira definitely did the same thing to you, didn't she…?"
"…Yeah," Rain muttered. "Mira is… absolutely perverted."
"Right?!"
Erza slapped her thigh, completely agreeing.
Then she leaned forward.
"Rain… we can't keep living like this. We need to fight back."
"…Fight back? How exactly?"
Rain tilted his head.
He wanted to hear this.
Erza raised a finger.
"But first — I'm not using force. If I actually tried, Mira would never be able to hold me down."
Rain blinked.
"…Are you giving yourself a disclaimer?"
"Yes. Rain, you're a good man."
Erza placed a hand on his shoulder with a proud, approving nod.
"…Did I just get a good-guy card?"
Rain sighed.
"Anyway, what's your plan?"
"Rain, I understand you can't do anything to Mira directly."
She nodded seriously.
"But I can."
Rain paused.
Ah.
There it is.
"That's… actually a good idea," he admitted.
"Only problem is…"
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
Mira's strength — thanks to Rain's training — had shot way past Erza.
Like… way past.
Erza noticed the hesitation instantly.
"I know my strength is nowhere near Mira's right now. I'm not delusional."
She crossed her arms boldly.
"If I can't win now, I'll just train until I can."
"So," she leaned in, eyes burning with determination,
"This is why I need your help, Rain."
"…My help?"
Rain blinked.
He definitely didn't remember signing up for this.
"Yes," Erza said firmly. "Your help."
She looked him straight in the eyes, expression deadly serious.
"Rain. From today on… you will be my sparring partner."
"Huh?"
"You'll train with me nonstop. Help me sharpen my Haki. Push my magic. Challenge me. Beat me. Pressure me. Everything."
She clenched a fist.
"With a partner like you, my strength will shoot up like crazy."
Rain finally understood.
"…So you want me to help you beat Mira someday?"
"Exactly!" Erza's eyes sparkled. "What do you think? Will you do it?"
In Erza's mind, Rain agreeing was basically guaranteed.
He was too nice to say no.
And she was right.
"…Sure."
Rain nodded.
He didn't have the heart to disappoint her.
"Good!"
Erza instantly brightened like a kid who got her favorite sword.
"Oh right," Rain added casually, "once the assessment ends, I'll give you a blade. I think it'll suit you pretty well."
"…A sword?"
Erza froze.
Then her eyes widened like someone handed her Excalibur.
YES.
Swords.
Her weakness.
That sealed the deal.
Thus…
The Anti-Mira Alliance was officially formed.
The Next Morning — 6 AM
BOOM!
A huge magical flare shot into the sky — the signal that the S-Class Mage Exam had ended.
Rain, Mira, Erza, and Cana all gathered with their captured monsters.
"Pity…" Cana groaned, shoulders slumping.
"If I had just thirty more minutes, I could've taken down a second one…"
Still — she'd caught one S-Class beast, which was already impressive.
Half an hour later, the four returned to Makarov.
Rain, Mira, and Erza each held three S-Class monster corpses.
Cana held one.
Makarov stroked his beard, pride filling his wrinkled face.
"Splendid. Truly splendid! Even Cana managed to take down an S-Class monster without collapsing. That shows real talent."
Kana gave a tired smile.
Makarov sighed sympathetically.
"Sorry, Kana… but you know what this means."
Cana nodded without fuss.
"I failed, huh?"
It stung a little, sure.
But resentment?
Not really.
She knew better than anyone that the gap between her and the other three was… wide.
"Seriously," Cana muttered, scratching her head, "I used to be some kind of prodigy, right…?"
She glanced at her empty barrel.
"…Did I seriously drink away all my talent?"
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