"Thanks." Waving at the food stall owner, I munched on a kebab while holding two others as I walked toward the guild in the distance; when I arrived, I tossed the sticks onto the ground while casually opening the guild, which was even more rowdy without my presence, though considering how many people have joined over the year, it's no surprise. Compared to last year, far more people had joined, for a total of eight new little siblings.
The first to join was a cute girl named Evergreen, two years younger than me; she used two different forms of magic: Eye and Fairy magic. The second to join was a teenager, one year older than me, the same age as Laxus; his name was Reedus Jonah, and he used Pict magic. Another person of a similar age was Warren Rocko, who used Telepathy magic; he joined just slightly after Jonah. The fourth person to join was Alzack, who was four years younger than me and used Gun magic.
Nab Lasaro was two years younger than me and was the fifth person to join; he used Animal Possession magic, something I was rather fond of. The sixth and seventh to join were Jet and Droy, respectively; the former used High-Speed magic, and the latter used Plant magic; they were also four years younger than me. I also found they got along with Levy really well; they even formed a little group, although they're still undecided on the name. Lastly, the eighth person to join as a teenager, one year younger than me, was Bickslow, who used Seith magic, specifically Human Possession magic.
Walking through the rowdy guild hall, I approached Gramps, only to be surprised when I didn't see him at his usual spot atop the bar overlooking the guild; rubbing my head in confusion, I glanced at Evergreen, who was peeking at me from behind the bar, though she quickly hid behind it when our gazes crossed paths. 'What's up with her? She always avoids me but stalks me at the same time.' Although confused, I didn't think too much about the weird tendencies of my little sister and leaped above the bar, silently landing behind her before surprising her by grabbing her shoulders. "Boo!" "Ahh!"
Laughing at how frightened Evergreen got, I saw her turn around while instinctively using her magic, causing her green eyes to flash as she looked right at me, attempting to turn me into stone, though by using Indestructible Magic, I was able to resist her magic. "Oi, it's just me, Evergreen, knock it off." Leaning forward, I gently flicked her head, causing her eyes to return to normal while she held her head with a slightly teary-eyed expression. "Why did you flick so hard?" Rolling my eyes at her nonsense, I affectionately rubbed her head, calming her down and causing her to blush slightly. "Relax, Evergreen, I didn't even flick that hard."
Earning a nod from Evergreen, I removed my hand from her head, causing her to meekly nod while she refused to look me in the eyes, though I just rubbed my head since this is how she'd always act when I talk with her. "Do you know where Gramps is?" "Um, M-Master? H-He took a-a little g-girl with red hair t-to Porlyusica." Hearing Evergreen, my eyes widened as I rubbed my chin in surprise. 'Eh, I've got a new little sister, and Gramps just left without letting me first introduce myself? Hmph.' Clicking my tongue in annoyance, I thanked Evergreen, causing her to grab the hem of her dress while she muttered under her breath before running away, leaving me confused.
"Haa, how can you not see, Cooper?" Glancing at Jonah, who was painting on a canvas, I gave him a confused look before shrugging my shoulders and leaving the Guild as I headed for Porlyusica's home. Dashing out of Magnolia, I headed into the east forest, charging through trees and bushes before spotting an unfamiliar cabin in a clearing. I hadn't visited her since the first time Gramps brought me to her, so I didn't even know what her place looked like; I was just following Gramps's scent.
Although I dearly wished to smash through the door, she had healed my little siblings several times in the past, so I couldn't not show her some semblance of respect. Opening the doors, I entered the cabin and approached another room, where I saw Gramps sitting down while Porlyusica was speaking to a cute red-haired girl with only a single eye. "Oi, Gramps! I heard everything from Evergreen! You didn't let me introduce myself! Not cool!" Stomping toward Gramps, who awkwardly spat out his drink, I kicked his butt, flinging him through the window, prompting an annoying old lady to berate me.
"What are you doing, Cooper!?" Glancing at Porlyusica, who was gnashing her teeth while pointing at the broken window, I folded my arms and scoffed. "I did nothing. If Gramps wanted, he could've easily stopped me or prevented himself from breaking the window; if you're going to get mad, then direct your anger at him… Now, let me speak with my new little sister." Eyeing Porlyusica, who clenched her fist and gritted her teeth before storming out of the room to yell at Gramps, I smirked while approaching the girl, who used an eye patch to conceal her missing eye.
As I stood before my cute, red-haired little sister, who was donning armor, I smiled and outstretched my hand, eager to make a good first impression on her. "I'm Cooper, your new big brother. What's your name?" I waited for her to respond, but she merely gave me an indifferent gaze before ignoring me, causing my expression to twitch while I took a second to look down at myself. "Do I have blood on me? I shouldn't; my mission was to kill an underwater magical beast terrorizing Akane Beach." I didn't have any blood on me, which confused me as I gazed at the girl, since that is the only reason why newbies tend to ignore me.
Thinking perhaps she was the kind who wouldn't respect me unless I defeated her, I prepared to flare my magic power in hopes of scaring her as I didn't want to beat her up on my first encounter; however, before I was given a chance, I was smacked in the back of the head. "You dumb brat! C'mon, let's get out of here before she catches us!" Grabbing my head in pain, I glared at Gramps, who gestured to the front door with an anxious expression, causing me to growl, though I didn't argue with him and quickly followed, same with the little girl.
"Cooper! Makarov! You Bastards!" Hearing Porlyusica shouting, Gramps and I glanced at each other before chuckling, knowing we'd just escaped having to deal with her. "So that's why you let me kick you through the window… Heh, smart Gramps." "You don't get to my age in this profession from being dumb, Cooper." Nodding in agreement, we eventually slowed down to walk while returning to Magnolia; along the way, I tried a few more times to speak with the girl before growing frustrated and turning to Gramps instead.
"Gramps, what's her name? She refuses to speak to me!" Pointing at the little girl, I eyed Gramps, who faintly chuckled before gently patting my shoulder. "Her name is Erza, and go easy on her, will you, Cooper? Similar to you, she hasn't been so lucky." Narrowing my eyes, I folded my arms and faintly nodded while shifting my gaze to Erza, understanding what Gramps was trying to convey, which was precisely why I was everyone's big brother. "So your name is Erza? Listen, now that you're a part of Fairy Tail, speak to me if you ever need help or if anyone tries to bully you, specifically Laxus; he tends to do that a lot to the newbies."
Outstretching my hand, I went to rub her head, something I do to all my little sisters, such as Evergreen, Laki, and Levy, though Erza quickly reacted and unsheathed the short sword attached to her waist; however, I didn't stop and quickly grabbed her head, causing her to slice my arm, leaving behind a large gash, though I didn't care as I ignored the gushing blood and continued to rub her head. "Heh, you're quite strong, Erza, though no need to be so defensive; I'm your big brother; I wouldn't ever hurt you." Flashing a faint smile at Erza, who silently stared at me, I rubbed her head before removing my hand while she sheathed her sword.
"Haa, an injury, really? Just as we left Porylusica?" Chuckling at Gramps' words, I licked the blood off my wound while dismissively waving my hand. "Pain, blood, and injury are my best friends; you already know that, Gramps; this little wound is doing nothing." With a smirk, I swiftly got behind Erza and lifted her onto my shoulders, causing her to unsheath her sword once more, though this time she didn't stab me, granted, she was extremely close as her blade rested against my neck.
"The last one to the Guild gets to punch the other in the face!" With a grin, I dashed through the forest, carrying Erza, as we headed to Magnolia, leaving Gramps far in the dust.
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AHHHHH!! EVERYONE'S FAVORITE HERIONE!!!😍😍😍