"'She'll be fine on her own. I know she can get back up.' Are you kidding me? Why did I even listen to you in the first place?"

Was that Erza?

"I didn't know. I really thought she could get back up."

That sounds like Brandon. . . .

"She was bleeding heavily! It's lucky Natsu interfered when he did, or Kira could've been killed!"

I could've been killed?

"I'm really sorry, I really thought --"

"Both of you, shut up! The girl should be waking any moment now."

At the unfamiliar voice, Kira finally opened her eyes. She found herself in an unfamiliar room. Above her were Erza, Brandon and an old pink-haired woman. Kira sat up from where she had been lying down. She frowned. This place didn't look like the guild's hospital room.

"Um, where am --"

"Here, drink this."

Without warning, the old woman shoved a spoonful of medicine into Kira's open mouth. At first, she choked on it, almost spitting it out because it was so bitter, but one look from the old woman made her swallow it quickly. Once the medicine was successfully down, Kira opened her mouth to try again.

"Where --"

"And this one, too."

Another spoon got crammed into Kira's mouth. She gagged when the spoon hit the back of her throat, but quickly swallowed the medicine.

Kira quickly placed her hand over her mouth, causing the old woman to roll her eyes.

"Calm down, that was the last one," she said as she placed the medicine back in their cabinets. "And you're in my home, which also takes care of severely injured patients, mainly from Fairy Tail," she continued, referring to Kira's previously attempted question. "You, besides Makarov, were the only one who was in need of my help. The others can be healed at the Fairy Tail infirmary."

Kira nodded. She lifted her shirt up, and saw that the burn and other bruises from previously had completely disappeared. The skin around the right of her stomach was also completely smooth, and she felt no pain when she pressed on it or anywhere else. It was as if there had never been anything there. . . .

Oh crap.

Kira looked up at Erza, who glared down at her with her arms crossed.

"Where is your guild mark?" she demanded. "If my memory serves correctly, you received your mark on your stomach. I know I saw it there when your stomach was visible. Why is it gone?"

Kira glanced back down, lowering her shirt. She wasn't afraid of Erza, but she didn't know how to reply. Instead, she tried to divert Erza's attention with a question.

"Why are you and Brandon here?"

"They brought you and this idiot here," the old woman said, gesturing to Master. "I've told them both to leave countless times but they refused."

She shook her head in annoyance. "You would think the girl would be more adamant, but it was the boy who threatened to burn this place down if he had to leave. I didn't believe him, of course, but I told them they could remain here if they stood as far away from me as possible." She then glared at Erza and Brandon, who quickly took three steps back. The old woman turned back to Master, leaving Kira to her thoughts.

So Brandon had wanted to stay. Not because he cared about what would happen to her, but because he didn't want Kira to tell anyone how her guild mark had really disappeared.

"Well?" Erza said loudly, reminding Kira to quickly come up with an excuse.

"Uh, it must have happened when Gajeel attacked me with his Iron Club thing," she made up. "Yeah. You know how it bled? My theory is that his thing broke through the guild mark first and then through the skin, which caused it to bleed," Kira rambled.

Erza's expression didn't change. "You had bandages around it beforehand. You couldn't have known you would get hurt there and put the bandages on beforehand. And even if what you said is true, why didn't you bleed anywhere else?"

Damn Erza and her quick thinking.

"Well, he probably hit me the hardest the first time," Kira said. "And for the bandages, um . . ."

"I put them on her."

Kira looked at Brandon with surprise. Since he was in the back, she had forgotten he was there, as well.

Erza also looked at Brandon with surprise. "You put them on her?" she clarified. "When?"

"When you told everyone to retreat, I noticed that Kira had been knocked out, so I quickly carried her out. Outside, I saw that she was bleeding heavily, so I wrapped bandages around her." Brandon smiled effortlessly. "Since I'm a Fire Mage, I always carry around some bandages."

Kira frowned. Perhaps the reason she had passed out earlier was not because of someone from Phantom Lord.

Erza looked at him skeptically, but eventually turned back to Kira. "Is this true?" she asked. "You didn't have bandages on when you came through?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah," she said, trying not to make it so obvious that she was lying.

Before Erza or Brandon could speak again, the old woman spoke up again.

"I have given you lot ten minutes," she snapped. "You, girl," she said, pointing at Kira, "should be completely healed with no pain so go sort your drama out away from my house!"

Kira immediately jumped out of the bed, momentarily surprised that she was, indeed, completely pain-free.

"Thank you, Porlyusica-san," Erza said, bowing.

"Just get out!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

The three of them ran out of the house quickly and did not stop until they reached the end of the forest.

"That woman, Porlusca-san, or something, why is she like that?" Kira asked Erza when they stopped to catch their breath. "And why does she live in the middle of a forest?"

"It's Porlyusica-san," Erza corrected. "And she's like that because she hates humans, hence the reason why she lives in such a secluded area."

Kira frowned. "Then why is she a doctor for us?"

Erza shrugged. "Master trusts her, so we should as well. Now, let's go to the guild. Come on, you two," she said, before heading back into the village.

The pieces of iron had been taken out of the guild, and the holes were patched up, although barely. Inside, everyone was in the basement, grumbling about how they had to retreat.

On one side, Macao was discussing a plan with Wakaba and a few others.

Lucy, Natsu and Happy were in a corner, looking glum. 

Come to think of it, Kira thought, she hadn't seen Lucy when they were at Phantom Lord. Kira walked up to Lucy to see if she was alright.

"Hey, where were you when we were at Phantom Lord?" Kira asked the sad-looking blonde.

Natsu immediately jumped up. "Why?" he spat. "So you can rub it in your face that you went when she didn't?"

Kira frowned. "No," she said, drawing the word out. "I was just wondering. And why would you think that?"

"Because you always act like you hate us and don't care about what happens to this guild but you ended up taking that bastard on your own!" Natsu yelled back. "Are you trying to show off, or something? Like saying we need you? Because we don't, and we still had to retreat." He leaned back against the wall, crossing his arms. "So don't try to hate on Lucy. She had a legitimate reason for not being able to fight with us."

Kira was pretty sure the kid had insulted her about three times with that monologue of his, but her head was still stuck on his first sentence.

Because you always act like you hate us and don't care about what happens to this guild but you ended up taking that bastard on your own!

Why did she do that? She could've died, or gotten more serious injuries while fighting someone made of iron, but she had gone against him anyway. It couldn't have been because he was the one who attacked Team Shadow Gear; Kira wasn't close to anyone from the trio. As she thought about this, she realized she still hadn't replied to Natsu.

"I just wanted someone to fight, okay?" she snapped. "Don't worry, I wasn't trying to be a hero or anything, you can keep that title to yourself, you pink-haired narcissist."

"It's salmon-haired narcissist," Natsu snapped back. "It's not pink."

Kira rolled her eyes. "Whatever. My point is, you're right. I don't care about this guild. It could get blown into pieces and I wouldn't care."

"You're lying."

Kira turned around and saw Erza staring at her. 

"I'm not lying," Kira said. "I really don't --"

"You're lying," Erza repeated. "I saw it in your eyes when you were fighting against Gajeel. You knew what he did to us, so you tried to beat him for it. You don't want this guild to lose to Phantom Lord. You do care about what happens." Erza smiled, tilting her head. "You're trying to convince yourself otherwise, but I bet you wouldn't sacrifice anybody here to them."

The entire guild was now staring at Kira, quietly waiting for her response. Kira was also waiting for her own response; before, she would have said that Erza was wrong in a heartbeat but now, she wasn't so sure.

"I'm sorry."

All the attention in the room turned to Lucy, who was staring at the floor. Kira frowned. What was she sorry for? For not fighting with them?

Elfman was the one who broke the silence. "Well, it's the fate of rich heiress' to get chased."

Kira's left eyebrow shot up. Was he talking about Lucy? Lucy was a rich heiress?

"And the ones who protect them are men."

"Don't say that!" Gray suddenly yelled at Elfman.

"But I'm really surprised. Why did you keep it a secret, Lucy?" Happy asked.

As Lucy talked about her past, Kira frowned. She ran away from home and her dad wanted her back? And he told Phantom Lord to get Lucy back, which was why Fairy Tail was in this position right now? 

"I guess if I went home, it would end this, right?"

Kira thought so. This sounded like a personal issue between Lucy and her father. It wasn't as if everyone was remotely close to the girl, or if she had been here for many years. There were more than just a few injured people in the basement, and they were like this because they had Lucy? If that was the issue, the guild could hand Lucy over to her father, and there would be no more war. Just as Kira opened her mouth to state her opinion, Natsu stepped up first.

"I wonder about that."

Kira looked with interest at Natsu, who was now standing in front of Lucy and smiling at her.

"But 'rich heiress' just doesn't strike the right tone," Natsu continued. "Laughing in this dirty old beer hall and making some ruckus while on an adventure . . . that's the Lucy I know.

"You said you wanted to stay here, right?" Natsu said. "What's the point of returning someplace you don't want to go?"

At this, Kira looked up at Brandon, who was the only other person in the room not staring at Lucy and Natsu. Instead, he was staring at her apathetically, although Kira still felt like she should be worried.

"You're Lucy of Fairy Tail!" Kira heard Natsu say. "This is your home to return to."

Go back home. There are plenty of job opportunities there. Not as many guilds as there are in Fiore, but there are still a few decent ones.

Kira continued to stare back at Brandon as his words replayed itself over and over again in her head. What even was home to her? Previously, she had always thought of it as a place she lived, such as her tree. Now, though, it seemed the word "home" showed a deeper meaning than that.

As the others tried to make Lucy stop crying or eventually go back to making up battle strategies, Kira and Brandon stood where they were, still staring at each other. What Natsu had said to Lucy made Kira's brain turn. Brandon had told Kira to go home, and she would. But first, she would have to figure out where her home was.

A/N:

Next chapter: When I Was Sixteen . . . (this is a filler, tbh)