Amidst their staring showdown, Kira felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning around, she saw that it was Erza.

"Hey," she said, smiling softly. "Can we talk for a while? In private?"

Kira frowned. What was Erza thinking? Kira turned back to where Brandon was, but he had already disappeared. Sighing, she turned back to Erza, nodding in agreement.

"Great!" Erza's smile widened slightly. "Let's go upstairs, where it's quieter."

As they headed upstairs, Kira overheard Laxus and Mirajane's conversation through the communication lacrima.

"The old man started this war," Laxus said. "Why should I be the one to bail him out?"

"They're targeting Lucy. One of us!" Mirajane replied forcefully.

Before Kira could hear Laxus' reply, Erza dragged Kira out of the room, much to her displeasure.

"Laxus, that bastard," Erza swore under her breath. "I bet he's not going to come help us, even though Phantom's specifically targeting one of us. He'll probably say to just hand Lucy over, or that he doesn't care what happens."

Kira didn't bother replying, as she thought the same thing as Laxus. However, she thought it would be best not to share this information with Erza; the guild couldn't afford for either of the wizards to get injured or waste their magical power.

"Anyways," Erza said, turning around to face Kira, "I'm not here to talk about that." She placed her hands on hips as she glared at Kira. "What's the history between you and Brandon?" 

Kira bit her lip, turning her head away. She knew Brandon had told the others how they knew each other, but she didn't want to end up saying something different. She was planning to keep her mouth shut until someone interrupted them, but Erza spoke again.

"I saw him slap you that day we saw you come out of the bathhouse."

What? Kira whipped her head around to face Erza, her eyes slightly open. She did? If she had seen that, she probably would've seen him try to burn her. . . . Kira groaned. If she heard their conversation, she was screwed. It didn't matter that Erza found out on her own; Brandon would find some way to make Kira guilty of it.

"I didn't hear your conversation, but you looked . . . different," Erza continued.

Kira visibly relaxed at that. If she didn't hear anything, Kira could just make something up. Unless she was lying . . .

"I also know it wasn't Gajeel who erased your guild mark."

Kira's mouth automatically went dry. Did she see it happen? Oh my god, how did she even figure out where she lived? 

"It was Brandon, wasn't it?"

Kira let out a small sigh of relief through her lips. She could say that Brandon had an identical twin brother, and that the Brandon who was part of Fairy Tail was the nicer one, whereas --

"And don't try to come up with a false story about Brandon having an identical twin brother, or anything. I did my research on him. I know Lucy's not the only rich kid in our guild."

Crap. Why was Erza so damn smart?

Erza crossed her arms. "Now it's your turn to talk. Tell me. And don't be afraid. No one except me can hear you from here. I told Mira not to let anyone up the stairs so they can't eavesdrop and it's impossible to hear anything from between these floors."

Kira glanced around the room nervously. She had never been this scared around Erza before. She was afraid Brandon had learned new magic and found some way to make himself look like Erza or find some way to sneak past Mirajane downstairs.

"If you're worried about what'll happen to you if you tell me, don't," Erza said when Kira still didn't talk. "I know you're capable of fighting against Brandon -- and winning." Kira still didn't say anything. How was she supposed to tell Erza she was afraid of losing and suffering? "And I'll make sure to be right next to you, pointing out all your faults and making you pissed off so you don't have time to be afraid," Erza continued.

"I don't need someone like you to get me to keep fighting," Kira said in mock-anger. "I bet I can beat him even without you saying a word."

Erza smirked as Kira began swelling with confidence. Kira couldn't help but smile when she realized Erza's plan had worked. It seemed as if a start to a fight with Erza gave Kira all the strength she needed.

"Brandon is my ex." She looked up at Erza, who nodded. Unsurprisingly, she didn't seem surprised at all. Leaning against the wall, Kira continued.

"When I was sixteen, my mom had a heart attack. She had to go to the hospital, and didn't recover for days. When she finally woke up, though, the hospital bills were expensive. My dad had left us when I was seven, and I had no other relatives to rely on, so I dropped out of school and began trying to find work.

"I couldn't use magic at that time, so I couldn't rely on it for money. I had to stick to regular jobs. I met Brandon at my first job," Kira said angrily. "I was a waitress at a diner, and I overheard him talking to his friends about how he wanted to go into the music industry, and that he needed a partner for an upcoming scouting. I was placing the food down on his table when he asked me if I could sing and wanted money." Kira shook her head. "I should've said no. I should've told myself that he was a stranger and that I shouldn't follow him." She closed her eyes at the memory. "But I did."

"You went to the scouting with him?" Erza asked quietly.

"I only cared about the money," Kira answered. "After hearing me sing, he told me he'd give me 100,000 jewels if I went to the scouting with him, and that much more if we won. 100,000 jewels was the amount I had to pay the hospital, so I immediately accepted."

Kira looked down at the floor. "We didn't win, but I realized how fun it was to hang around him all the time. He asked me if we could still hang out even though we lost." Kira clenched her fists against her thighs. "I agreed.

"A few months later, my mother got another heart attack. It was worse than last time, and it took much longer for her to wake up. By the time she finally opened her eyes, it was finally revealed that she had heart cancer, something extremely rare, and therefore incurable.

"The doctors told me that she would have five years, maximum, to live. And that was only if I paid money for treatment that could slow the disease down. But it was expensive. When I first found out, I didn't want to pay for treatment. Everyone around me always left as I grew up, but I wanted to be the one who left first, this time. I wanted to leave my mom before she left me." As she said this, Kira felt something wet on her cheeks.

"Is that why you didn't want to get close to anyone here?" Erza asked in a low tone. "You were afraid we would abandon you at some point?"

Kira nodded. "Yeah. And I was afraid you guys might hurt me like Brandon did. My emotions for Brandon helped me learn magic, but I never actually used it against him. I was afraid he might do worst pain on me, so I just accepted the hell he put me through already." Kira gave a shaky laugh. "I always forgave him because I thought I loved him. I thought he loved me. But I was wrong.

"Brandon never loved me, he thought he did, but he was wrong. And for me . . ." Kira had never admitted this part to anyone, even to herself, but she thought she had to say it out loud.

"I think I loved Brandon for his money."

Kira refused to look up at Erza in fear of her reaction. She thought Erza would laugh or be disgusted, which was why she was surprised by what Erza said.

"I don't think that's true. You don't seem that shallow."

"When Brandon found out about my mom, he began paying for her bills," Kira said in response. "When I first found out, I was relieved. You know how I told you I didn't want to pay for her? I didn't want to waste money on someone who would eventually leave me? Before, I didn't mind that my mom was going to die, but after I found out that someone else was helping her, I wanted her to live." Kira's shoulders began shaking as she dropped to the ground. 

"I'm that type of shallow bitch," she sobbed. "I only wanted my mom to live after I found out I wasn't the one taking care of her. I stayed with Brandon no matter how much pain he caused me because he was rich and would buy me anything I wanted after he hurt me. Before, when Lucy told us Phantom Lord was after Fairy Tail because of her, I wanted to tell the guild to send her to her father. All I ever wanted was --"

Kira stopped talking when she felt Erza squat down in front of her.

"Look at me," Erza instructed. When Kira didn't move, Erza sighed and began talking anyways.

"I'm not going to say that you're not actually a shallow bitch," Erza started, "because that was the only thing running through my head as you told me about your mom.

"But," Erza continued, "that's not the only thing you are."

Confused, Kira finally looked up. Erza was smiling, and she also had tears coming out of her left eye. Only her left eye. Kira was now even more confused.

"Why aren't there tears in your right eye?" she asked.

"When I was young," Erza said, "I ran away from a living hell on my own. I left my friends behind, knowing they would suffer. I convinced myself that it was for their sake, and continued to live." She pointed to her right eye. "You asked me why I'm not crying from this eye? It's artificial. A fake eye. My real eye was lost in the place I left my friends behind."

Kira didn't say anything, just crying for her and Erza, instead.

"I know that what I said might not completely relate with what you just told me, but there were times when both of us felt selfish," Erza said. "But we don't have to feel like that, right now. We can redeem ourselves by helping Lucy. We can show ourselves that we aren't shallow."

Kira swallowed. If she was going to follow what Erza said, she would have to tell her one more thing.

"Brandon burned my guild mark off."

Erza's expression didn't change. 

"He told me to leave Fairy Tail." Kira looked down again. "Remember when I came here earlier? I said I wanted to quit the guild. But I don't anymore. I think what you said before was right. Despite what I tried to think, I actually care for this guild and its members." Kira's tears finally stopped and she looked back up at Erza. "I was afraid to speak up before. I was afraid to go against him."

"But now you're not."

"No," Kira admitted. "I think I still am. But I also think I'm less afraid, now."

Erza nodded. "That's good. That's a start." She sniffed and wiped at her left cheek. "Now, why don't you wipe away your tears and act your age?"

Kira laughed, wiping at her face as well. "You, you knew all this already, didn't you?" she asked. "You knew what Brandon was to me."

"I didn't know all the details, but I knew you two weren't best friends."

Kira shook her head. "You know, it's funny how we were attacking each other just one week ago. But look at us now."

Erza smiled, before her eyes widened. "Oh, right!"

Kira raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Do you want your guild mark on the same spot as last time or somewhere different?"

A/N:

Next chapter: A Guild Is Your Home