Day In The Shadow

Sale Off
"Today is the day." Amon got out of bed, feeling refreshed, smiling happily. It was if today was a special day, one that comes only once a year "There is a special event sale today." But for Amon, it was a matter of not getting broke "Lamia may have spent all of our money on getting more equipment, but I managed to score some by working part-time at Mira's restaurant and from my job as a teacher!" Amon did manage to get some extra work for more money. Since Lucy moved out to live with Mira, and subsequently, closer to Gajeel and Levy, the only productive people left in the house are him, Nanaya (?) and Lamia (???), but he was really the only one with a llegal job not involving some kind of illegal activity such as murder or making sins against mother nature. Funny how everyone else chooses to stay at home rather than go get work. Amon was still puzzled as to how they weren't completely broke. The only reason they have a house is because they have this one illegaly owned by Lamia.

Amon looked at his clock next to his bed, and all happiness left his face and was replaced with gloom and horror upon finding out it was eleven A.M. in the morning, not 8 A.M. "W-...What?! Impossible! I put the alarm on, didn't I?!".

"You did." Lucadra reassured Amon "It just didn't wake you up." Amon felt fault for that.

"Shit! I need to get going quick!" Amon quickly got out of bed, switching out of his zebra-style black and white stripe pajamas, and into a simple white, short sleeved shirt, and black pants. "I'm goin'!" Amon teleported downstairs, looking around "Where's my wallet...?" Amon looked around, looking for his wallet. He quickly noticed Lamia sitting down on the sofa, eating pudding, while wearing pink pajamas complete with a hoody with rabbit ears "Lamia! Did you see my wallet? I need to get to the sale today for cheap goods!".

"Oh, yeah." Lamia snapped her fingers, as Frank came to her aid almost instantly "Frank, give 'em his wallet." Lamia ordered Frank, and he did as she said, giving Amon his wallet, which he pulled out of his own pocket "I asked Frank to go buy me some goods that I needed urgently, so I dunno how much is left.".

"..." Amon openned his wallet, as a single fly left the empty space where his money once took place "...You do realize we're almost out of food, right?" Amon said to Lamia.

"I have some bucks saved up in the cookie jar, you can borrow 'em." Lamia said, pointing at the very top of the shelf. On it, infact.

Amon looked on the shelf, finding the cookie jar "Ha!" Amon let out a cry of victory, getting back down and opening the cookie jar, seeing it only had 150 Jewels max "...This won't do...!" Amon said "I'll have to give up on my honey to buy more goods for everyone!".

"What'd ya need honey for when ya got me?" Lamia said to Amon "By the way, we're out of puddin'.".

"I will buy you the best pudding!" Amon said, suddenly feeling determined "Tell everyone I'll be back at noon!" Amon quickly rushed to the door, opening it, ready to get everything. But stopped immediately when he saw a sleeping woman at his doorstep, wearing a white kimono, with grey hair and blue eyes "...Lamia! There's an unconscious woman at our doorstep!".

"There is? But I didn't call the dealer yet..." Lamia hobbies were suspicious and probably not the best "Get 'er in here!" Amon did as Lamia said, bringing the woman inside, carrying her and placing her on the sofa to relax "Ah, she's knocked out." Lamia checked for a pulse, and then the temperature of the woman "She's not sick or anything...I'll have to make sure she's not poisoned or worse." Lamia whistled as Frank immediately came to her aid "Go to the sale, Amon. If we fail with this event, we'll need to wait god knows how long before you get a raise.".

"Or you can get a job too..." Amon suggested to Lamia.

"Pfft!" Lamia held back her laughter "As if I'd have a boss!" Lamia patted Amon on the head like he's some kind of child "You always make my day. Now go on! And win!".

"I will!" This was becoming more intense than a simple sale now. "And don't do anything funny with this lady! Frank, make sure she doesn't do anything funny with this lady!" Frank nodded, as Amon teleported "Time...to head out!".

"What's so great about a sale? Don't you humans have these often?" Gram questiond Amon's urgency about this event, as if nothing else mattered right now.

"You don't understand..." Amon quickly began rushing through the town "This is an event where 10 ships return to port after a one-year excavation, and bring rare goods! Food involved! And for this event, everything is off sale by atleast 50% or more! Right now, we're almost broke, so we need to make the best of our situation, 'till I get a good paycheck, or someone else in the house gets a job! Goddammit!" Amon was running towards the main port where the ships always stop.

"Then why is waking up at this hour a problem?".

"It only lasts 'till 8 P.M., but Mira said, be up early and get to the port, before anyone else! Because otherwise, I'll be facing a wall greater than any giant you've ever seen!" There may have some exaggeration about this event "So, I have to hurry before all the goods are gone! And I bet the damn thing already started too!".

"You humans astound by how you get so flustered over simple things." Kagami said, appearing in Amon's eye's surface.

"Stop! Doing! That!" Amon did not like Kagami appearing that way in his eye at all "It's not fun! Not fun at all!".

"Oh, don't be such a wuss!" Kagami scolded Amon "For someone who managed to fight against one of the Thirteen Calamities, you're pathetic!".

"I...!" Amon suddenly stopped his arguement with Kagami, as well as physically stopping himself in place as he noticed a crowd gathering around the city central. They all seemed to be surrounded a certain group. That wasn't the issue however, the issue was the fact that they were all blocking Amon's path, and he couldn't tell which direction to go for. "Ugh..." Amon slipped by the crowd, apologizing every time he bumped into someone or passed through "Excuse me, sorry, pardon. My bad." Amon eventually reached the forefront of the crowd, and in the center, saw the reason behind this crowd.

Around 10 men in black robes stood, each holding a flag with the symbol of a skull on it, grey in colour, and missing its jaw. "Attention! People of Hargeon!" One of the men clad in black spoke, his voice raised high, reaching the ears of all the citizens "We, the Guild Grey Skull, have come to claim Hargeon as our territory!" The man grinned maliciously, bearing his sharp canine teeth, and exposing his blood-red eyes beneath his hood.

"...Are they a cult?" The citizens began gossiping among themselves "Maybe we should call someone...? Like the Rune Knights?" The whispering of the citizens was heard by the Dark Mages, much to the leader's (?) irritation.

"Hey! Stop buzzing in there!" The Dark Mage hissed at the crowd "Now, if you comply, we won't hurt anyo-...!".

"'scuse me." Amon passed by the Dark Mage without much care, almost bumping into him, and completely ignoring the rest of the Dark Guild.

"Hell was up with that?" Even Gram didn't quite grasp the situation.

"Eh, they're probably just another bunch of nutjobs. Had enough of those kinds with Kaiser..." Amon said with mild irritation as he passed the Dark Guild.

"Hey!" The Dark Mage called out to Amon, stopping him in his tracks "What do you think you're doing, passing by us without paying your respe-...?" Amon simply continued walking after the man spoke "Don't ignore me, asshole!" The man gritted his teeth in irritation "You guys, get him!".

"Excuse me, miss, where's the Hargeon special sale event at?" Amon asked a random lady the directions, since he wasn't familiar enough with the geography of the place.

"Oh, well, you just need to take a turn at the-...".

"Hey." One of the Dark Mages grabbed Amon by his shoulder, turning him around "You don't know your place, do y-...?".

"Fun stuff." Amon turned his back to the man, focusing back on the woman "Sorry, I didn't get that. Again, please?".

The man's vein popped on his forehead in anger at Amon's behaviour. He openned his hand, as a red sphere gathered on his palm "Vanish!" The man thrusted his arm forth towards Amon. At the moment of impact, the sphere should explode, a fiery hell unleashing on Amon and all the citizens around him.

If Amon didn't catch the man's wrist, stopping his attack midway "Are you trying to attack me, sir?" Amon's grip on the man's wrist tightened, almost as if crushing it.

"Ow ow ow ow!" The man fell on his knees, the sphere vanishing "Please, stop! I'm sorry!".

"Umm..." The woman caught Amon's attention as he continued to crush the man's wrist "The event is beginning in another 10 minutes. You might wanna hurry.".

"Shit!" Amon released the man's wrist "Thank you! Goodbye!" Amon quickly rushed through the streets again, heading towards the port.

"M-...My wrist..." The man rubbed his wrist in pain, turning to the red-eyed member "Boss, what do we do?".

"Grr...! All of you follow me! We'll teach him a lesson." The man said, as his followers followed him, passing through the crowd.

"...Should we be worried?" Gajeel asked Levy, having been among the crowd the entire time.

"I don't really know..." Levy scratched the back of her head "They don't look like much of a problem, to be honest..." Even Levy didn't feel intimidated by them "Well, we might as well just go make sure Amon will do okay...Lucy did mention being friends with him, so we should atleast see if we can help.".

"May as well." Gajeel grinned, rubbing his chin "I was feeling kinda dull these last few days.".

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shiiiiiit!" Amon frantically ran across the streets, passing by people who were seemingly headed towards the port or leaving it "Why am I the only one panicking?!".

"Why are you not teleporting is a better question!".

"Because it's a waste of power! And I feel like jogging, dammit!" Amon's excuses weren't really legible ones. But that was beside the point. He began to see a large gathering of people, and a sign with the directions to the port written on it "I'm here! Fuckin' finally!" However, Amon quickly halted when he noticed a barrier being erected before him, blocking his path "...Oh my god." Amon turned around, seeing the Dark Guild, Grey Skull, behind him "Why don't you guys just fuck off?! I'm in a hurry!".

"Not until you pay for your disrespect to us! As the future kings of the world, you need to know your place!" The "Boss" of the group said to Amon.

"...Fuck, not this shit again." Amon was getting bad flashbacks about Kaiser "Yeah, that's cool. Nice. I'mma leave now, so...".

"Oh, teach, s'that you?" Sol called out to Amon, carrying a large bag with him, and accompanied by Sora and Maya "What are you doing here? You here for the event too?".

"Oh, hi!" Amon seemed to completely forget about the group threatening him, to focus on his students "Yeah, though I'm running kinda late, haha..." Amon scratched the back of his head, smiling awkwardly, not wanting to show incompetence to his students "Overslept and whatnot...Did you already head there?".

"Nah, we're late too. No school means sleeping for as long as we want! Ain't that right guys?" Sol turned to his two associates.

"I woke up early though..." Sora said "I had to cook for everyone after all.".

"I don't like sleeping much. It makes me lazy." Maya said as well "Sol is the only one who slept late, and made us all late.".

"...Wait, you three share a room?".

"Oh, we share an apartment near our dormitory. Of course, I'm the one who pays the bills and everything..." Sol glared for a moment at the two with mild irritation "Working as a pizza delivery boy part-time isn't gonna pay for us forever...!".

"Hello! Evil world dominating guild here!" The boss shouted "Don't ignore us!".

"You're still here? Bugger off, I'm trying to talk to my students!" Amon said to the guild, paying no mind to them.

"That's it! I'll have to beat you up instead!" The boss said, walking forward to Amon.

"..." Amon walked towards the boss as well.

"Sensei?" Sora looked worried, feeling the mood becoming serious.

"Let's see how our dear teacher does in combat." Maya said, not even looking worried.

The two drew closer, everyone else was quiet, letting their footsteps be the only sound present "Don't be careless...This one is actually a threat...I can feel heinous power emanting from that person." Gram said to Amon, warning him.

"Alright...I'll have to not kill them either. Don't want them to see." Amon thought to himself, deciding it'd be best to hold back to a degree, so he won't kill anyone infront of his students.

And then, they were inches away from one another "There!" Suddenly, the boss quickly pulled out a sword from beneath his robes, swinging towards Amon at blinding speed. "I'll decapitate you!".

"Oh..." Amon teleported behind the boss, grabbing his hood, and lifting him up his feet, high up in the air, and instantly smashing him back on the concrete floor "Huh, I guess I'm better at reacting to things now...".

"H-...How did you...?!" The boss was stunned, quickly getting up and stepping back from Amon, as his hood fell, revealing his, or rather, her face. A black-haired girl, with blood-red eyes and black pupils "My sword shouldn't be...!".

"...I dunno." Amon shrugged, he didn't really get to test out how far he's gone in the last few months. Though, he did fight alot of much faster foes, Deviot and Marx being his two most recent ones. Maybe he did become stronger "And you. What the hell's your problem? I just wanna go buy some fuckin' cheap goods for my family! Don't come hunting my ass just because I didn't treat you well!".

"You'll regret this!" The boss exclaimed, shaking her fist at Amon "I, Ken Makkura, will make you pay!".

"Your name is Ken...?" Amon didn't see that to be a very fitting name for a girl.

"My mother named me that, asshole! Infact, I'm gonna name you asshole from now on, asshole!" Ken was quite short tempered.

"...'kay." But Amon really just wanted to get this over with "I'll see you whenever." Amon waved goodbye to Ken and her guild as they all escaped the area.

"Boss, what's the matter?!" One of the Dark Mages asked his master.

"I took him for granted! I'll need to strategize for my next move if I wanna make him pay! In the meantime, we're gonna go get us something to eat!" Ken said, apparantly having forgotten about her original goal in coming to Hargeon.

"...So, shall we go ahead?" Amon turned back to his students, who nodded in response.

A while has passed, and Amon eventually returned walking off at 8 P.M., the event ended, and he managed to get some food for...generous prices, infact. He even had some spare change left after that. He carried them all in one large bag he bought as well. Amon even got to spend some time with his students, before they had to split up to head home. "Well, today was successfull." Amon said, feeling pleased with himself "Managed to snag some goods for ourselves.".

"Yeppers! Even got you a nice jacket!" Lucadra said, even though Amon doesn't recall buying such a thing.

"What do you mean?".

"Oh, look. It's Mira's place. Why not go grab us a bite?" Gram suggested to Amon, and he complied. He was feeling hungry after all.

Amon walked into the restaurant, briefly looking around, and then proceeding to sit down, placing his bag next to him "Oh, Amon, nice to see you." Lucy said, still working at the restaurant, dressed like a maid still "What can I get you?".

"Eh...I'll take a hotdog. No need for anything grand today." Amon said, and Lucy complied, taking his order and walking away.

Amon stretched his arms, then looked at his table, noticing he had no salt "Aww..." He turned his head to the person sitting behind him "Hey, buddy, can you spare me the salt maybe?".

"Oh, sure." The person kindly agreed, getting up from her seat, and passing the salt to Amon, and when the two met face, they instantly recognized each other "Asshole?!" Ken was surprised, as all of the other guild members stood up in shock as well, looking back at Amon.

"You guys!" Amon himself stood up from his seat.

"Oh, you know each other?" Mira said, standing next to the Grey Skull's table.

"You're damn right I know this asshole! Ain't that right, asshole?" Ken grinned at Amon, bearing her teeth once more.

Amon seemed to be getting irritated with Ken "If I'm an asshole...Then you're a brat, ain'tcha?!" Amon was beginning to resort to petty insults as well.

"That the best you got, asshole?" Ken had a smug grin on her face, feeling a rush of adrenaline once more, and was ready to break out into a fight at any second.

"Now, now...please, keep it family friendly." Mira tried to calm down the two.

"Oh, hell no! I ain't letting asshole get away with it again!" Ken snapped, pointing at Amon.

"She made me miss out alot at the event today! After I was already late!" Amon himself retorted.

Mira flashed a smile, however, it wasn't sweet, nor was it warming. Infact, the way she smiled so widely, and peeked open her eyes, staring down at the two as if they were children, gave her an eerie, intimidating and abnormal aura around her "Then would you like to take it outside~?" The two instantly sat back down like good little kids, much to Mira's pleasure "Good kids! As your reward, you both get 10% off~." Mira proclaimed, walking off.

"...Let's schedule our scuffle for another time." Amon offered ceasefire to Ken.

"I have important shit to do when I get home anyway, ain't that right, guys?" Ken said, as her Guild mates nodded in agreement.

Hot Waters
Lamia laid the woman that was found on her doorstep on a bed, and has been watching over her since yesterday. "Okay, she has no issues. She's not sick, not weak, not anything. She's just...unconscious." Lamia explained to Amon, who was present to hear about the situation.

"Oh...is she gonna be okay?" Amon asked, sitting down on a chair and eating a vanilla-flavoured popsicle.

"She'll live." Lamia said, tapping the woman's head twice "She's just gonna need some rest. Still, I wonder how she even ended up in our front door, and how.".

"What'd you think we should do with her? After she wakes up, that is." Amon asked Lamia.

"See if she's an enemy. From there, you know what to do." Despite the serious tone she displayed, Lamia immediately switched back to her less than caring nature, taking a sip of her mug "But, if she stays unconscious forever, I'll just keep 'er.".

"I don't think I like that very much..." Even Amon was unsettled by Lamia.

"Oh, hush up! Don't be such a wu-..." The weakened grunts of the woman caught Lamia and Amon's attention, getting them to focus on her "She's waking up." Lamia lightly tapped the woman's cheek in an attempt to wake her up "Hey, lady, ya up and daily?".

"Ugh..." The woman slowly openned her eyes, rising up, and grabbing her aching her "Where...am I...? What happened?".

"Kinda what we wanna ask ya." Lamia said "You kinda ended up on our doorstep like an abandoned pup, and we kinda picked ya up, and ya kinda owe us now. Kinda.".

"Oh..." The woman rubbed her head, looking around.

"Do you remember anything?" Amon asked the woman.

"I...remember my name. I am Hakuya, and I am...Ice Devil Slayer...everything else is...hazy." Hakuya's breathing got heavier, and she grabbed her head with both hands, feeling a great headache "Trying to remember...hurts...".

"Calm down." Lamia patted Hakuya's shoulder, comforting her "No need to break your head on it." Lamia reassured Hakuya "I'll be yer doc 'till you remember more. Me and my husband, Amon, and our family, will help you out too, m'kay?".

"...Thank you." Hakuya got off the bed, stumbling, but stood up with assistance from Lamia "I can't really...say much else...I'm sorry.".

"Don't worry." Lamia said "Infact! Just 'cause I feel like makin' an excuse to see you naked, I say we all go to the hotsprings, eh?".

"Hargeon has hotsprings?" Amon asked, not the least bit questioning of Lamia's obvious motives.

"Mira mentioned them. Why not take everyone else? It'll be fun!" Lamia suggested, though Hakuya began looking less loving towards her doctor.

"I...I think I'll just fine." Hakuya said, turning down Lamia's offer.

"Hush up." Lamia grabbed Amon's popsicle, sticking it into Hakuya's mouth to silence her, much to Amon's soul being crushed, and Hakuya enjoying the taste of vanilla. "We're goin' skin dippin' like a family!".

"Mmm~ This is actually good." Hakuya enjoyed the flavour and cold sense of the popsicle, infact, the ice cold treat didn't even bother her, and she even took a bite out of it without flinching "What is this?".

"M-...My popsicle..." Amon was too heartbroken at his loss.

"I would like more of these please!" Hakuya's eyes lit up like a little child after making a phenomenal discovery.

Later, everyone gathered outside, upon Lamia's request, involving throwing rocks through their windows to get their attention "So, mind telling me I woke up to a brick in my face?" Gajeel asked Lamia, sounding somewhat irritated, with a clear red bruise on his forehead.

"I called ya'll here today for an important message." Lamia said, sounding serious.

"Oh? What is it? Also, who is that woman?" Mira asked, pointing at Hakuya, being the first time she ever saw her.

"We're goin' to the hotsprings as celebration of Hakuya joining us and 'cause I want to!" Lamia wasn't even trying to hide her true intentions "Now, let's go!".

"No." Gajeel replied, almost instantly "I have more important things to do.".

"Yeah, sorry." Levy refused Lamia's offer as well "I have a novel to write, and I can't waste any time.".

"I'll go." Lucy said, much to Gajeel and Levy's shock "A hotsprings sounds nice~ Ain't that right, Mira?" Lucy turned to Mira, smiling as she asked her.

"...Yes." Mira replied. She couldn't say no to Lucy's face. Since Lucy's amnesia, Mira has been trying her hardest to atleast make new memories for her, rather than trying to force back old ones. So, no matter what happened, she had to agree, in order to help Lucy develop new fond memories to look back on "I'll go as well then!".

"..." Gajeel grabbed Levy by her shoulder, as he turned both their backs to everyone, huddling together, whispering "Is this bad?!" Gajeel asked Levy. Considering recent events, he wasn't so sure if Lamia is someone who should be trusted to leave his friends with.

"I'm not sure..." Even Levy didn't know what to think of this "Maybe we should go, just to keep an eye." Levy suggested.

"Right!" Gajeel said, turning back to face everyone along with Levy "We'll go too!".

"Great!" Lamia turned to the Zenaku Unit, and Hera and Frank "Ya'll take care of gramps and my kids, okay? We'll be back in like a few hours or somethin'." Lamia said to the five, turning back to everyone else "Right, off we go! To the waters and shit!".

"I wish I had an excuse to not go..." Amon thought to himself, knowing it would be rather dull for him.

"Don't you have a job?" Gram asked Amon.

"Charlotte called me and said I didn't have any today, because of some kind of celebration after the event yesterday. Some stuff, I dunno.".

It took around an hour to reach the hotsprings of Hargeon, which were on the other side of the town, nearby to the port, at the very corner, where no ships actually port into, leaving it a tourist attraction, and without the need to worry about ships coming in and too many port workers being a bother. Payment wasn't even that big. Luckily, despite the large number of people, it was cheap due to a price drop in light of yesterday's event.

Everyone got into their seperate baths, and it was only at this moment, that Amon realized how lonely he felt as a man, with his only company being Gajeel. "And we're the only ones here today...?" Amon asked Gajeel, sitting inside the warm waters, with Gajeel sitting nearby, revealing the scars as well as piercing on the Dragon Slayer's body.

"Seems like everyone is too busy celebrating something. Might be a goodbye party for the sailors before they leave for another year." Gajeel said, but even he wasn't 100% sure he was right with his assumption "But it makes things less troublesome for us.".

"I guess." Amon lied against the edge of the hotspring, relaxing "May as well relax...It's been a very stressful...time.".

"So this is a hotspring?" Lucadra said, appearing as an illusion sitting next to Amon, in her adult form and completely nude to match the situation "Ah~ This does feel nice~" And Lucadra was feeling whatever Amon's body was, so she would know.

"If I had my body, I'd enjoy as well, but for now, I only have the vague feeling." But for Gram, the feeling wasn't as strong or potent as it was for Lucadra.

On the women's side, Lamia was actually sitting by and behaving herself for once "Good god, this feels great." Lamia stretched her arms, lying on the edge.

"I haven't been in a hotspring for years." Nanaya said, also relaxing. Various scars were visible on her back and shoulders, appearing like sword slashes and bullet holes, even a bite mark on her elbow "Last time I had one was with Amon.".

"Ah, you two were close..." Stella said, being quite deep in the waters, up to her shoulders "Though I guess that's a no brainer since you two have a son and all...".

"Not like he's happy about that. Atleast when he saw you, his first thought wasn't were to insert his sword." Nanaya replied to Stella, sounding leginimately upset about how much disdain Amon showed towards her.

"Honestly, if you are that upset about it, you should go to him and slap him." Juvia said in her usual monotone voice and deadpan expression "If a servant doesn't listen, he needs a good beating.".

"He's not my servant though..." Even Nanaya was becoming uncomfortable talking to Juvia.

"Oh." Juvia still didn't seem very bothered "My bad. Then if you're spouse doesn't listen, a good slap on the wrist.".

"I worry about you sometimes." Lamia herself knew something was terribly wrong with Juvia.

"Hey." Lucy turned to Mira and Levy, who sat beside her "Did we ever do this before? Going to a hotspring?" She sounded rather curious about any past activities she may have had.

"Ah, well..." Levy recalled moments when such a thing did happen, but they were rare and not very common.

"Oh, it doesn't matter~" Mira shrugged off Lucy's question, smiling warmly to her "Let's not focus on the past, and just look forward to making new and better memories, no?".

"Oh..." Lucy was rather confused about Mira's offer, but nodded regardless "Alright.".

"Ah, but poor Gajeel and Amon." Lamia sighed "Just those two alone, while all of us just sittin' 'ere, all skin bondin' and havin' a good time, eh?".

"Haha! Indeed!" Hyperion said, boasting rather proudly "I can't imagine how the libido of a human works, but I heard it can be frustrating!" Hyperion had no idea what a libido was, really "But, alas, I just rememebered I forgot something in my pocket!" Hyperion leaped out of the waters, going back into the changing room.

"Hey, wait!" Asura followed Hyperion, not really feeling comfortable being left alone with all of these people.

"I don't think Gajeel really cares, haha." Levy chuckled, scratching her cheek.

"Oh, well, if they try to peek, we can always poke their eyes out as punishment~" Mira was quite terrifying with that simple smile. "Oh, I just noticed. Where is the other woman? What was her name again? Aph?".

"Oh, yeah. She's resting up. I had Hera look after her for me, same as she did for you." Lamia said. Mira managed to heal rather quickly. Infact, this morning she could walk just fine, and get back to working 100%. It was amazing. The only other person Lamia remembers who healed so fast was Amon, yet even he took longer than Mira "Since Aph is pregnant, I don't want her to stress herself, but she wants to take care of her horse, so I had Hera be her babysitter.".

"Oh, right, Amon's havin' another kid, right?" Nanaya said, smiling, as if pleased "Ah, love sure is blooming to a real man. And Ricky will finally know what it's like to be a big bro. Do we know if it's a boy or a girl yet?".

"Nah, too early. I don't even have the neccesary equipment. I asked Roach to try and get me some, and she said she'll see what she can do." Lamia said.

"Does that Roach lady even speak?" Mira doesn't recall hearing even a peep from Roach when she was sitting next to her, not including the sound of cookies being chewed.

"She does. You just need to believe she speaks, and you will hear the wisest words ever." Lamia sounded like a crazy person by saying Roach could speak. "So, how're ya doin' there, Hakuya?".

Hakuya swam in the hotspring, mostly floating on her back "I never knew I can feel so relieved..." Hakuya looked like she was about to fall into deep slumber at any moment.

Meanwhile, Hyperion was rummaging through her pocket, stark naked while Asura actually had a towel on "What was so urgent you just had to leave?" Asura asked Hyperion, who seemed to be in a hurry.

"Ah, there we go." Hyperion pulled out a small black box from her pocket "This thing has a dangerous item within it. If fallen to the wrong hands, could be bad. I managed to grab it after inspecting the area in Bosco. I am going to hand it over to Lamia so she can use it.".

"What is it?" Asura said, feeling the urgency in Hyperion's tone.

"A magic negating crystal. Red Lacrima." Hyperion said "Now, we should get this to her. But first!" Hyperion suddenly remembered "I must congratulate Amon on becoming a teacher! I forgot to do so earlier!".

"Why do you forget things so easily...?" Asura asked a very leginimate question.

"My memory card isn't very good. I should ask Lamia to upgrade that for me.".

"So that's why you kept forgetting my name when we first met!" Suddenly alot of things made sense to Asura. Even the weird ones. The especially weird ones.

"But. let's go!" Hyperion said, leaving the changing room, and walking out to the hall.

"Atleast put a towel on!" Asura ran to Hyperion with a towel, just to cover her partner's nude body. If only Lamia didn't put such unneccesary detail to it.

"You know, I just came to the conclusion that this is kinda boring." Amon said to Gajeel "I mean, being inside hot and warm water is nice, but the only real boost it has over a normal bath is the open air bit. Am I crazy for that? I mean, my first hotspring was with Nana, so I wasn't exactly bored being with her.".

"Are you saying I'm boring...?" That was the only thing Gajeel got out of that.

"...So, how was your day?" Amon asked Gajeel.

"...You raise a good point." Gajeel shrugged, he didn't really have anything of value to say "I just worked in Mira's restaurant, your wife brought in those weird robot wolf things, and that's about it. Anything interesting happen with you?".

"Oh, I just overslept yesterday, forcing me to rush to yesterday's special event sale, where I met a Dark Guild called Grey Skull, and their bitch of a boss named Ken, forcing me and her to now have an eternally hatred for one another as we will probably meet again and try to kill each other once more." Amon replied.

Gajeel smirked in amusement "You have a knack for meeting people, don'tcha?".

"Funnily enough, most people I meet end up living in my house for some reason. Luckily, I don't think I'll be seeing Ken soon." Amon replied "Only real problem is trying to get enough money to buy food for everyone...And just today we got an extra mouth to feed..." Amon felt down on his luck, realizing he had too many people living with him.

"Hahahaha! You guys are fucking great!" Another voice called out from within the steam of the hotspring. The individual walked closer, the sound of water sloshing becoming more apparent as they drew closer, and when they did, it was revealed to be a red-haired young woman, rather petite in appearance, with brown pupiless eyes, as well as notable scars on her arms "I couldn't help but be amused by you fellas." The woman seemed to lack much shame, as she was stark naked infront of two men. She sat down inbetween the two, holding a bottle of some alcohol drink.

"Who...are you...?" Amon asked the woman, tried to maintain proper eye contact.

"Ah, name's Tomoe there, fella." The woman, Tomoe, took a sip from her bottle, letting out a satisfied sigh.

"What are you doing in the men's bathes?" Gajeel asked Tomoe what Amon was more than likely also wondering.

"Eh?" Tomoe tilted her head in confusion "Ain't this mixed bathes?".

"N-...No..." Amon replied.

"Ah, my bad~ Ah well, we'll just get a long fiiiiine." Tomoe was rather carefree.

"Amon! Congratulation on becoming a teacher!" Hyperion came barging into the men's bath. Fortunately, she wore a towel after Asura got her to put it on "Let's celebrate!".

"Haha...thanks." Amon wasn't really bothered by Hyperion. He liked Hyperion, so having her come over just to congratulate him felt nice. "Hmm? What's that?" Amon said, pointing at the black box Hyperion was holding.

"Oh, check it out~!" Hyperion tossed the box over to Amon, who caught it in his hand "Ah, who's that?" Hyperion only now noticed Tomoe.

Amon openned the box, revealing a small red shard "Oh, what's this?" Amon pulled out the red shard, holding it in his fingers.

"Hell is that thing? A jewel?" Gajeel also looked interested in whatever that was.

"Looks familiar..." Amon didn't notice his voice becoming lighter and...feminine. "Looks pretty tho-...The fuck's up with my voice?" Amon looked down, seeing two breasts floating infront of him, and saw his reflection at the waters "...Oh my god, really?" He became a woman again.

"Pfft! Hahahaha!!!" Lucadra rolled on the ground bursting out into laughter  "Oh...Oh god! Priceless! Hahaha! This is great!".

"What the hell happened to you?!" Gajeel backed away, shocked by Amon's sudden transformation.

"Hey, what's the matter over there?" Lamia called out, having heard Gajeel's screams.

"Ah...is it gonna be a thing now...?" Amon said to herself, sighing in aggravation.

"Oh, you became a woman. I didn't know people can do that these days." Tomoe said, examining Amon's female body.

"Amon, you never told me you had that ability!" Hyperion was stunned at this revelation "Now Lily has more mommies! How wonderful~" Hyperion was rather optimistic.

"You're friends are quite something..." Asura was just smiling awkwardly as she let this sink in.

"This is not the best time for this to happen!" Amon said, looking at the red shard still held in her fingers "Hyperion, come with me." Amon put the shard back in the box, tossing it over to Hyperion, as she got out of the waters, revealing her completely nude body to everyone, even Gajeel, who blushed and covered his eyes "I need Lamia to look this over...".

"Put a towel on, dammit!" Gajeel said to Amon "I know you're not used to being a woman or whatever, but seriously!".

Suddenly, the wall was kicked down, a hole joining the two bathes "The hell?!" Gajeel was even surprised.

Lamia walked out, appearing annoyed "Fuck's goin' o-...?" Lamia cut herself short when she saw the female Amon. She recognized Amon by the hair and eye colour, as well as the distinctive scars. The expression also helped "...Amon, can you stay like that forever?".

"No." An instant reply.

"Shit." Lamia regained her composure "Ah, well, come to this side then, Amonko.".

"Amonko...?" Amon didn't know what to think of that nickname "Wait, I'm not going there!" It was only now that Amon was becoming flustered, blushing "I may have boobs now, but I'm still a man in spirit! 'cides, I don't wanna.".

"We're gonna have to pay for that..." Mira sighed, beginning to regret this trip.

"Wait, is Gajeel alright?! He was screaming alot!" Levy asked, prioritizing Gajeel over Amon.

"He's fine, he's fine. Just a bit flustered, eh, metal?" Lamia put a huge smug grin towards Gajeel, knowing very well he was flustered being the only man on this trip now.

"Sh-...Shut up..." Gajeel was bright crimson by this point, trying to avoid as much eye contact as possible.

Much later, everyone left the hotsprings, but not before paying for the hole Lamia made through the wall. Amon tried keeping her clothes, even though her normal male clothes were too big for her, even forcing her to tuck up her pants "This is gonna be annoying..." Amon said, not looking forward to the shenanigans turning to a woman can bring.

"I like it. It ain't so bad. Only side effect is no magic, but we don't need magic all the time, right?" Lamia said to Amon, when in reality, she was just enjoying the form a bit more than Amon's usual male form "Though, I'd miss your male body too...We can switch back and forth though.".

"I guess I shouldn't rely on my magic always..." Amon said "Maybe I should start trying to improve my swordsmanship.".

"Ah~ I can help!" Tomoe said, having been following the group.

"Why are you still here?".

"I have no home to return to. Anyway! I can help you out!" Tomoe said, rather pridefully "Y'see, I'm the best damn sword person you'll meet this side of wherever the hell we're at now!".

"Hargeon." Mira answered for Tomoe.

"This side of Hargeon!" Tomoe said, patting Amon's back, much to her pain and irritation "What'd ya say? I teach you how to use a sword, and you give me a house to stay at!".

"...I...I guess..." Amon was struggling to maintain her balance. Her back was too sensitive for her own good... "One more mouth to feed...Great..." Amon turned to Tomoe "But you'll need to work too! Get a job and pay money too. I can't support all of us, y'know.".

"Oh, you have a money problem?" Mira asked Amon.

"Yeah, that's why yesterday special sale was such a big deal..." Amon sighed, remembering the hardships of yesterday.

"Why didn't you say so?" Mira smiled to Amon "I make more than enough money~ As thank you for being so kind to Lucy and as good neighbors and friends, I don't mind helping you out financially!".

"...Eh...?".

"Gajeel and Levy don't really need my help. Levy is doing good money with her novels. Her work as a chef at my restaurant is just a part-time job." Levy nodded to Mira's words "So, really, it's just me and Lucy I need to worry about.".

"I...I..." Amon felt like she worried herself over nothing. "I'm gonna go sleep for a few days when I get home...".

"Don't you have work tomorrow?" Lamia reminded Amon, who let out a frustrated grunt in reply.

Everyone arrived home, though on the way, Mira, Levy, Gajeel and Lucy had to head onto their apartments "Atleast I can relax now..." Amon openned the door, seeing a sight so horrifying she could die.

"This is delicious!" Ken said, eating a popsicle, while the rest of her Guild was being served by Frank, and chatting with the Zenaku Unit.

"You!" Amon shouted at Ken, pointing her finger at her.

"Hmm? Do I know you?".

"Oh! Boss is back!" Gold said "We got these guests here, so we invited them in. They're fun!".

"Hahaha, that's right, Gold!" A few other Mages laughed alongside Gold, as they all huddled up, laughing together.

"...It's me, Amon!" Amon was irritated at his identification being unrecognizable by Ken.

"...Ah!" It suddenly struck Ken as she recognized Amon "You!" Ken pointed her sword at Amon "Is this your house?".

"It is! And that's my popsicle! Why does everyone eat my goddamn popsicles?!" Amon quickly turned to Hakuya "No offense, Hakuya.".

"Some taken." She replied.

Amon turned to face Ken "Now what'd you want?!".

"...I want a place to stay with my buds." Ken sheathed her sword, bowing to Amon.

"Eh...?".

"Boss?!".

"Actually, the only reason we came to Hargeon, is to conquer it for a place to stay. But, we're too weak right now. We're starving, and without a place to stay. So, please. You can kick me out, but atleast let my friends stay." Ken sounded sincere in her request.

Amon sighed in irritation "Fine...We have enough rooms..." Amon agreed.

"Wait, really?" Ken was genuinely surprised. She thought Amon would reject her.

"On the condition you get jobs for yourself too. Be productive, please..." Amon kindly asked the Grey Skull Guild.

"You hear that guys? We have a place to stay!" Ken and her guildmates rejoiced, as Ken turned to them "Well then, I guess that means truce, asshole?".

Amon twitched a bit, but calmed down quickly "Yes...truce.".

"Oh, Papa, why do you have boobs?" Lily said, walking over to Amon.

"Oh, well...".

"Did Papa grow boobs?! Oh! Can I touch?" Circe was rather curious too...

"Wait, Papa can do that?!" Kuro was just shocked.

"Why is my son a woman?!" Rhea was just heartbroken "What about grandkids...?".

"It's not so bad..." Juno tried to reassure Rhea "She's a beautiful daughter, y'know!".

Kiryu simply glanced at Amon for a moment, chuckling a bit "Hahaha...Ah, Lamia finds the darnest people.".

"This is gonna be a mess..." Amon said to herself, as if predicting the very obvious future.