In the market streets of Crocus, Kagura Mikazuchi was browsing for a weapon store, aiming to find a new sword to partner her beloved blade, Archenemy. Ever since seeing Erza dual wielding with such grace during the Grand Magic Games, Kagura had been overtaken with the desire to learn the art herself. She was even more taken with the idea of her "big sister" Erza being the one to teach her the style. She allowed herself a small smile at the thought of having a way to connect to the strong, fearless warrior she'd come to look up to and admire… the only problem was, up to that point, she'd been singularly dedicated to Archenemy as her sole weapon and as such, was unsure where to begin with buying a sister sword for her. To that end, she'd found herself her own partner to help her with her errand- and it was none other than the Celestial Spirit mage, Yukino Agria of Sabertooth.

Early on in the Games, Yukino had brashly challenged Kagura to a bet in which the loser of their fight would have their life be forfeit to the winner, a bet Yukino was currently cursing herself for making as she and Kagura walked in awkward silence through the market streets. She and Kagura stopped for a second so Kagura could ask a nearby merchant for the nearest weapon store, and while this happened, Yukino took the time to relive the morning that led to this currently uncomfortable afternoon.

Kagura appeared at the Sabertooth accomodation at the crack of dawn the day after the Great Banquet celebrating the ending of the Games, as well as the successful repulsion of 1000 Dragons aiming to destroy the world. Yukino was already up and eating breakfast downstairs. She always was an early riser- whether it was because of some sort of anxiety or her natural body clock, she wasn't sure. But she just never seemed to be able to lie in. As she ate her fruit salad, she spotted Sting walk in wearing a baggy sweatshirt, bleary-eyed and starving from last night's drinking and merriment. When Yukino caught his eye, he quickly tried to pull himself together and put on his best smirk. "Mornin' there, Yukino." Sting said, with a hint more hungover rasp than he was intending to let out, ending in his voice cracking as he said her name.

"Good morning, Sting-sama" Yukino replied, before letting out a girlish giggle at Sting's failed attempt at trying to look cool in front of her.

"Hey, what's so funny?!"

"Hahaha, nothing, Sting-sama. I take it you're not feeling the greatest after last night?"

"You take it right. Man, I thought we were kind of an intense bunch in Sabertooth, but those Fairy Tail guys…. Jeez, those guys needta be in some kinda program or something. The way they drink just can't be natural! Especially that Cana chick…."

"Ah, you're right. They are especially rowdy…" Yukino smiled uneasily, remembering the shenanigans from the night before. The night had been… lively, to say the least. With the exception of a few weird moments, it seemed everything was actually going to go relatively quietly for once. But from the moment Natsu finally made his appearance with the King of Fiore's crown, all bets were off. The guilds even started a fight over her! Yukino distinctly remembered Sting making a heartfelt apology to her when she arrived, asking for her to return home to the newly-structured Sabertooth. She remembered the pain and shame in his piercing blue eyes as he said "I'm sorry for the way we treated you, but we're starting everything over from scratch. The way we were was wrong, but the old Sabertooth guild is history now. From here on out, we'll be the kind of guild that treats its members like family... I know that the wounds are still fresh. But I'd love it if you were part of it again." The moment she looked into those sincere eyes, she knew where, and who, home was for her. Though she had to admit, she was certainly caught off guard by Kagura's drunken interjection. She figured the stoic swordswoman had been no more comfortable at the event than Yukino herself was, and turned to drink in order to calm her nerves, resulting in her slurred declaration that Yukino belonged in Mermaid Heel.

A moment like that, Yukino thought, was something she'd probably want to forget. Which is why Yukino was confused when she heard a knock on the door of Sabertooth's accommodation. She and Sting exchanged confused looks, before Yukino got up and went to the door, figuring Sting was in no shape to be fielding potential persistent fans. She opened the door only to find Kagura, looking perfectly put-together as always, in her trademark blazer and skirt combination, with her signature adorning headband and equally signature stony face.

"Oh! G-good morning, Kagura-sama" Yukino said

"Good morning, Yukino. Are you busy today?" Kagura asked

"Ah… no. I believe I'm free today. Can I help you?"

"Actually… yes. That's what I'm here for. I need to run a particular errand today, and I'll require your assistance"

Remembering the fact that her life belonged to Kagura now, Yukino crossed her fingers internally, hoping the errand in question wouldn't be too deadly (or embarrassing) and responded.

"Oh. Will you be needing the services of my Celestial Spirits?"

"No. Just you will do. I'm going to buy something in town and I need a second opinion on it"

"Well… alright then. When would you like to leave?"

"Right now, if that's possible"

Yukino looked out at the still red sky and turned back to look at Sting, who was slowly making his way through a bread roll like it was medicine and sighed before turning back to Kagura and saying "That's fine. I'm free to go now anyway". Kagura nodded as Yukino went over to Sting and put a hand on his head, which was currently facedown on the table he was eating at.

"Sting-sama" Yukino said gently "I'm going to go to town with Kagura. I won't be gone for too long. Will you be okay for a few hours?"

Sting didn't even raise his head to answer.

"I'm not a damn puppy…" was Sting's muffled reply. "I'll be fine. I'll just find a quiet place to die for a few hours. Go have fun. But if she tries anything funny and tries to get you to join Mermaid Heel again, you come straight back, okay?"

Kagura rolled her eyes as Yukino giggled and ruffled Sting's hair, saying "I'll see you later, Sting-sama" and the two of them left for the market.

While they were on their way there, Kagura told Yukino exactly what it was that she was planning to get from town, and this made Yukino even more nonplussed. What possible reason could Kagura, a master swordswoman, have for needing Yukino to help her in selecting a weapon? Yukino thought about it the whole trip there, and it didn't make sense. The question stuck in her mind once they arrived at the market and started looking for an arms store, until Kagura decided to stop and ask for directions, bringing her back to her present situation.

With Kagura having finally found the location of a weapons store, the two wizards made their way there and Kagura began sampling the wares. With each weapon she tested, Kagura asked Yukino her opinion, only for Yukino to be totally stumped on how to judge them, something Kagura honestly seemed to notice, but not care about for some reason. Eventually, Yukino's curiosity got the better of her. She couldn't not ask Kagura anymore and as they walked to the next store, Yukino broached the topic.

"Kagura-sama…"

"Yes?"

"Forgive me if this seems rude, but there's something I must know."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Well… it seems that for a task such as finding a new weapon, you would want the assistance of someone well-versed in such things. You can probably already tell that I have no idea what constitutes an appropriate sword."

Kagura turned her head to Yukino and said "You want to know why I asked you to come along with me today, don't you?"

"Well… yes" Yukino nodded. Kagura sighed and said "Well, it's a good question. I suppose I should be honest with you. I didn't just ask you here to get your opinion on weaponry. I asked you to join me today because…. Well, because I was hoping we could be friends". Kagura found herself slightly uncomfortable at this point. She realised she was basically rail-roading Yukino into going on a day out with her by using their bet and suddenly, she felt slightly pathetic.

Yukino, for her own part, was even more confused. "But… why?" She asked

Kagura sighed again and responded "Because it was a good way to get my guildmates off my back! Milliana and Risely have been on my case forever about being more social with people outside of Mermaid Heel. It's been a bother for months now. I thought this would allow me to make a new friend and stop their complaints for good".

Yukino wasn't really sure how to respond at first, but slowly began to crack up, eventually bursting into full-fledged laughter. Kagura blushed and yelled "What?! Am I so funny to you?!"

"No! No, it's not that at all" Yukino said through her laughter "It's just, you didn't need to do this. If you wanted to be my friend, all you had to do was ask"

"Perhaps, but this was easier for me. The idea of walking up to a person and just asking them for their companionship is ridiculous" Kagura pouted.

"Well, either way, you have it now. I would be pleased to call you my friend, Kagura-sama" Yukino smiled.

Kagura smiled and gave a bashful "Thanks" before saying "Will you still accompany my on my trip? I may have used it to get you to come with me, but I do genuinely need a new sword"

"Mhm! That sounds wonderful, Kagura-sama. But there's no need to stop there. After we get your sword, we can get lunch, and I'll bring you to Sabertooth so I can introduce you to all my guildmates properly."

"Well… I suppose that sounds alright. In terms of the members of your guild who are still around, I only really know you and that obnoxious blond-haired Dragon Slayer, Sting."

Yukino winced remembering Kagura and Sting arguing over her during the Great Banquet and quickly said "That's fine, he comes as part of a pair anyway. I'll introduce you to Rogue as well! You'll probably get along much better with him".

"At the very least, they're both too quiet and serious to get into a fight" She thought.

Kagura paused, remembering the image of Rogue. He did seem quite handsome at the Banquet. Or at least she thought he did, anyway. She was quite plastered at the time, so she couldn't really trust her memories.

"Alright then. Swords, lunch, and then Sabertooth." Kagura said

"Great!" Yukino responded, and they continued their quest for Archenemy's partner.

Author's Note: Thanks so much for reading the first chapter of my first ever published fanfic! You'll have noticed that Rogue and Kagura haven't actually met yet. Since Rogue and Kagura have literally no relationship in-canon, I've decided to go down the slow burn route for this story. I figure since Kagura and Rogue have yet to meet in-canon yet, and she has more of a relationship with Yukino, it'd be best to do a little setup between them first so when Rogue and Kagura do actually meet, it's in a context that makes sense. Fear not though, they'll get their meet cute soon enough.

Also, I really wasn't intending for all that StinYu to come out when I started, but it just came to me so naturally, I couldn't help but keep it in the end. So what the hell, this is gonna be a part-StinYu story as well as the intended Rogura. Sting and Yukino have a very natural chemistry between them to me, which makes sense seeing how similar they are to Natsu and Lucy.