AUTHOR'S PRELUDE: SO HOW ABOUT THAT SUN AND MOON, HUH? I can't believe it's literally 9 days until the games come out for me. I can safely say no-one is going to see or hear me for the entirety of the 23rd (though I'm a tiny bit salty it's coming out a week later for Europe than the US). But that's next week. For now, please enjoy!

With full stomachs and sore feet, Kagura and Yukino headed to Sabertooth to make good on Yukino's promise to introduce Kagura to her friends, a relaxed and comfortable air lying between them. During a lull in conversation, Yukino took a second to stop and think about the situation she'd found herself in.

"Wow, it's funny. Just a week ago, my guild was the toughest, scariest place to be. I don't think anybody in Sabertooth would've referred to me as their "friend", and I probably wouldn't be able to bring myself to call them my friends out loud. Come to think of it, I didn't really have that many friends at all. And now look, I've made a new friend and I'm about to share all my wonderful friends with her!" With this sweet thought lingering in her mind, Yukino couldn't help the warm smile that graced her face. This didn't go unnoticed by Kagura, who quirked a brow, asking an unvoiced question. Yukino merely shook her head and said "It's nothing. I'm just excited to bring you my guild, I suppose". Kagura herself couldn't help the small chuckle from her throat and pursing of her lips that came from that comment. She hadn't expected it, but she was already feeling some level of enjoyment just hanging around with Yukino.

This happiness was rudely interrupted by some shouts and screams of panic from a nearby street, as a group of thieves came flying past the two of them from behind, each one carrying a bag full of stolen loot. Kagura glared down the alley as they ran, her hand reaching to the scabbard of Archenemy that was so familiar, before stopping for a second and instead gripping Renewal, a shadow of a smirk appearing on her face.

"It's not the most grand of occasions, but now seems like as good a time as any to give my new partner some real battle experience" Kagura thought to herself before darting off after the bandits.

Yukino however, wasn't about to let her new friend handle this on her own. "Kagura-sama, I'll join you!" she shouted, and Kagura turned her head and nodded as they began their chase together, their superior training and physical conditioning giving them a clear advantage in running speed. Once they got in range of the thieves, Yukino pulled out her Celestial Spirit keychain.

"Open, Gate of the Heavenly Scales! Libra!" Yukino cried, summoning the titular spirit. With no time wasted, Yukino commanded Libra to use her Gravity Change magic stop halt the thieves' progress, and Libra immediately obeyed, using her magic to lift the thieves into the air, leaving them helpless as Kagura took the opportunity to charge in and effortlessly dispatch the thieves with Renewal. Like Archenemy, Renewal's power was great enough to the point that Kagura was able to attack without removing it from its sheath. "It's almost as powerful as Archenemy." Kagura thought to herself as she sheathed Renewal. "I definitely made a good choice today."

With the would-be rogues now unconscious, Kagura picked up the bags of stolen goods with Yukino's assistance and handed them to the grateful owners who ran up to them, before hearing the voice of what sounded like an older lady from behind her. Kagura turned around and saw that she was indeed elderly. She was short in stature, with purple hair not unlike Kagura's. However, hers was a light lavender colour, rather than the deep indigo of Kagura's own, with the gray magic of aging mixed into it. Something about her aura seemed vaguely familiar to Kagura, making her feel on-guard and anxious, even though the woman clearly posed no threat.

"Oh, you stopped those ruffians. How good of you." The woman smiled. Kagura noted that the look she carried was one of total serenity, something that made her even more uncomfortable, as it just reminded her of what she so sorely lacked.

"Those eyes. That smile…. She looks like someone who hasn't a care in the world. As if she was able to simply wash away her pain just by standing in the sunlight." Kagura thought to herself. "If only it were so easy. That's a look I'd love to carry myself one day…" as she clutched Renewal a little closer to herself subconsciously, already feeling a sort of comfort and kinship with the blade.

Kagura hid this momentary pain behind her usual stony visage and answered. "It was nothing. These were nothing but common thieves, hardly a challenge for two experienced wizards such as ourselves."

The old lady continued to smile as she answered. "Come now, dear, don't be so modest. Many others would have looked the other way, but your first instinct was to do the right thing and help someone in need. The world is in great need of that kind of justice." Kagura began to feel slightly overwhelmed by the praise she received from the old lady. Praise she felt, was unnecessary. With a cough and a light blush, Kagura thanked the lady for her words, receiving a smile back and grabbed Yukino, pulling her in the direction of Sabertooth's accommodation.

"Kagura-sama?" Yukino asked "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'm just eager to meet your guild. We've spent enough time dallying now." Yukino didn't totally believe Kagura's words, but she let the matter pass and began telling Kagura stories about the members of the guild in order to help Kagura get a better idea about them before she met them. It turned out to be a great idea, as it helped revive the relaxed, positive feelings Kagura had before their run-in with the bandits. What it also did, however, was paint a picture in Kagura's mind about Yukino's guildmates that was…. Not the most endearing. "From the sounds of it, Rufus is a pretentious show-off, that God Slayer Orga is nothing but a loud oaf, and your Sting is nothing more than an arrogant, hard-headed troublemaker." Kagura said after hearing a story of Sting destroying a particularly lecherous Vulcan after it got a little too handsy with Yukino while they were on a job together.

"Nooo..." Yukino began. "Actually… I suppose that isn't entirely wrong." She finished, giggling lightly into her hand.

"You know, you're not exactly selling these people you want me to make friends with to me." Kagura quipped, raising her brow for what felt like the dozenth time that day. Yukino laughed again, replying "But even with all that, they really are good people if you get to know them. They give my life a kind of pace that's almost infectious." Kagura hummed, but continued to look unconvinced, before Yukino started. "Ah! I know a story that will help." Yukino said, before her eyes softened. "One of my favourite stories is about Rogue-sama and Frosch-sama." Yukino said cheerfully, with a sunny smile on her face. "It was very recent, actually. We were in town during the early days of the Grand Magic Games, seeing the sights. Frosch-sama started getting made fun of by some mean kids at the park about his suit. They were just children, so most of us didn't pay too much attention to them, but Rogue-sama noticed Frosch-sama start to cry into his ice cream. We know how protective Rogue-sama is of Frosch-sama, so we were all scared he was going to scream at them and cause a scene. But instead, he picked Frosch-sama up and wrapped him in his cloak. Then, he went to a store nearby and bought a charm for Frosch-sama. He had it engraved "I'll always be there to dry your tears."". Yukino sighed, putting a hand to her chest as she closed her eyes, reliving the memory. "It really was very sweet."

"Wow, I never expected such sensitivity from the guild of tigers… The way she describes Rogue, he almost sounds kind of… Dashing. And I guess we both have a cat in our lives we're protective of." Kagura thought to herself, finding the idea of Millianna being a pet under her care to be mildly amusing, if not completely inaccurate. "Hmm, well it sounds like at least one of the men in your guild is going to be worth talking to at least. Try to introduce me to him first." Kagura eventually answered. Making at least one sane friend would make interacting with the rest of them significantly less of a headache.

After several minutes of chatter, the duo finally arrived at the door of Sabertooth's accommodation. "We're finally here, Kagura-sama!" Yukino chirped. "Are you ready to make some new friends?" Kagura took a small breath, before her nodding and responding. "Yes, Yukino. Let's go." Kagura said, and as she pushed the door open, she ended one adventure, but began a whole new one without even knowing it.

Inside, the guild was in high spirits, the members actively socialising in a way that wasn't quite the norm yet. Though it was a new experience for a lot of them, the overall atmosphere was lively and energetic. Orga was screaming his lungs out into a microphone nearby, while Rufus made a show of himself, using his Memory-Make magic to create magical artwork in the air. Meanwhile, Sting was in the middle of a small group of members, joking and chortling like he was addicted to laughter. He caught sight of Yukino and immediately waved her over with cheer, yelling "Welcome back, Yukino!" Yukino for her part blushed slightly at the attention, both from Sting and from others as the whole group Sting was in turned to her and began to greet her. Sting looked slightly less pleased when he saw that Yukino had brought Kagura with her, but held his tongue… mostly. "Oh, fancy seeing you here, Kagura. You so attached to Yukino, ya decided to join our guild, huh?" He said with a cheeky grin. Yukino giggled and lightly slapped his arm as Kagura rolled her eyes at him for the second time that day. "Ha! Don't flatter yourself, Dragon Slayer." Kagura hit back. "If Yukino and I did have to stay together, she'd join Mermaid Heel well before I'd consider working under you." Sting's left eye twitched at that barb, and he went to continue the repartee, when Yukino cut into the conversation.

"Sting-sama… Have you seen Rogue-sama anywhere?" Yukino asked. Sting scratched his head for a bit, before crossing it. "Nope, not for at least an hour. He was looking for Frosch somewhere 'round here last time I saw him. You know how it is." Yukino nodded, before hearing Kagura make a noise beside her. Kagura turned around to see a tiny feline figure in a pink plush suit. It could only be Frosch, she surmised. Frosch looked up into her eyes and smiled absently, as they normally did. It was a totally normal thing for Frosch, but it struck Kagura right in the heart, and she was instantly charmed by them. Without thinking, Kagura picked them up and hugged them to her chest, holding them just as lovingly as she used to hug Archenemy when she was younger. The Sabertooth members watching the scene were all unfazed. By this point, they were used to the effect Frosch had on people. Frosch responded to Kagura in kind, hugging her back. Kagura closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the small body in her arms. Which was suddenly interrupted by her sensing a panicked presence coming up behind her.

Rogue came steaming towards the group gathered with Yukino, Sting, Kagura and Frosch, a manic expression of fear on his face. "Where's…!" Rogue began to yell, when Sting interrupted him. "Calm down man, he's right here." Sting said coolly, pointing towards Kagura, who hadn't turned to face Rogue yet.

"Who is that?" Rogue thought to himself. "Wait, I think I recognise her from the Grand Magic Games final battle. That's Kagura." Whether from the surprise of seeing Kagura holding Frosch, or being out of breath from running around looking for Frosch, Rogue couldn't respond to Sting verbally, so was silent as Kagura turned around. It would've made no difference anyway, as the sight of Kagura, blushing and serene, with Frosch happily hugging her, left him utterly speechless. The two of them looked at each other in the eyes for the first time, not knowing that they had just taken their first step into a new chapter in their lives.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Whew, quite the wait, huh? It's been a busy time, so I wasn't able to update this anywhere near as early as I would've liked. I've actually had the basic idea for this chapter figured out for at least 2 weeks and not getting to actually get it out there was starting to get on my nerves. I was pretty nervous about this chapter in particular. This is Rogue and Kagura's first meeting. I was really anxious to get the meeting right, so I could start writing their relationship on the right foot. That's probably another reason why this took so long, to be honest. I spent a fair bit of time thinking about the best way to go about this. With that said, I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out.

Also, did anyone spot the cameo of a certain repenting wizard in this chapter?

UPDATE: You may have noticed a snazzy little fanart on the cover of the fic now. That lovely image is courtesy of elodye-x on Tumblr. She's a fantastic artist, so be sure to check her out!