Gray Fullbuster flexed his fist, his bloody knuckles sending spasms of pain into his hand as he pulled it away from the stone wall.
I lost, he thought, let them all down.
The roar of the crowd spectating the Grand Magic Games echoed down the exit tunnel he stood in. Every chant a fresh jeer at his failure in the Hidden Game round.
He held up his bleeding hand and breathed, infusing his breath with frost and coating his fist in ice. Relieving numbness, the blessed freedom from pain that ice magic offered. He fiercely wished he could coat his entire body in it and let everything become numb. Even Leone had beaten him, everyone had.
Nalpudding had gunned for him, that was true, but Gray should have been able to outsmart that leering purple wizard. Instead he'd been the one to end up on the bottom of the scoreboard.
So much for Fairy Tail's rise to the top of the standings.
"Gray?"
Blinking, Gray looked down and saw Carla staring up at him. "What?" He said, his breath a cloud of steam. The air around him was frigid.
Carla shivered and frowned up at him. "If you're going to turn this hallway into an ice block then do it when I'm not about to walk through it."
"I didn't see you. It happens when I get angry." He dampened his magic and let the heat rise.
"Natsu turns into a walking torch and you become a living popsicle. You two are ridiculous," Carla huffed.
"I'm nothing like that ash-for-brains idiot," Gray said, voice low.
"Why aren't you out there? Isn't Lucy about to fight?" Carla said. "I would think you would be there to cheer her on. I'm sure she was rooting for you during your game."
Gray said nothing. The temperature around him dropped again at the mention of Hidden. Carla doesn't understand. The little Exceed hadn't been humiliated in front of thousands of people.
"How's Wendy?" Gray said. "Did she get recover from the attack by Raven Tail? Those cowards are going to get what's coming to them. I swear it, they'll pay."
"Grandina is overseeing her healing, you have nothing to worry about. Instead you should be focusing on your next challenge."
She thinks she knows everything, Gray thought.
"Whatever," he said and stalked away. He could feel Carla's disapproving gaze on his back but he didn't care. Her irritation was nothing to the shame he felt.
The tunnel opened into the tight competitor corridor that ringed the interior of the arena. He let his feet take him where they wanted, his footsteps echoing in the empty hallway. Everyone was in the stands watching the games and Gray doubted he'd run into anyone else.
Gray halted. What's this?
There was a closed door and 'practice room' was written in the stone above it. Gray smiled for this first time since leaving the arena. Good, I really feel like hitting something right about now.
He entered and shut the door. Bright sunlight shone through a high widow, illuminating an empty room.
"Come on, there's not even a dummy to hit? What kind of practice room is this?" Gray said.
Magic power suddenly thrummed and filled the room. A hidden latch slid down over the window, plunging the room into darkness.
"What the?" he crossed his right hand over his left, his ice maker magic creating a whirling storm of frost around his hands.
A voice spoke from the air. "Auto detection of participant's magical power complete. Adjusting room to compensate. Target acquisition commencing."
Gray felt a strange sensation in his head, as if someone was trying to pick at his thoughts. "You better stay out of my head, you won't like you find," he shouted, tossing his shirt to the ground.
The air shimmered in front of him and a grinning image of Nalpudding appeared.
Gray gritted his teeth. "Ice make Spear!" He put his hands back over his right shoulder. A massive, glistening trident of ice appeared. Gray growled and hurled it. The spear roared through the air but the Nalpudding vanished and his lance crashed into the back wall, exploding in a shower of ice.
Three images of Nalpudding flashed into existence standing in a row in the centre of the room. Gray tightened his fists. All three of the Nalpudding's wore the same leering grin, as if they knew Gray had made a fool of himself in the arena and let down his entire guild.
"Alright, is that how you want to play?" Gray said. "Ice make Frozen Storm!" He roared and put hands together above his head. A whirling nova of ice gathered around his wrists and began to expand outwards. Gray ground his teeth together and poured every ounce of frustration into it, fuelling his magic with hatred of his failure. His ice magic chilled the air, froze the spittle on Gray's lips and frosted the lock of black hair that was draped over his forehead.
He roared and released the storm ball. It cascaded through the room and hammered the target Nalpuddings with concussive force. Their images exploded and shattered like a glass bowl hitting a stone floor.
The latch over the window raised. The practice room looked like it had taken a trip to the North pole. Drifts of snow piled into the corner and the window was frozen solid, a block of ice firmly embedded in opening. The light from the sun made the room glow a soft blue.
Gray sucked in rapid breaths, feeling drained but good. He'd been unable to use his magic in the Hidden Game and it made him feel better to flex his power. He felt a momentary surge of surprise at the display.
He'd grown stronger.
Gray thought about the Grand Magic Games and straightened. He wasn't done yet, not even close. His failure at the Hidden Game was only a setback. When he helped Fairy Tail take first place it would be that sweeter since they'd risen from the bottom.
Gray smiled, his breath puffing out in front of him. He wasn't going to let Natsu take all the glory today. What hell had he been thinking?
He raced out of the practice room. His team was counting on him. Fairy Tail was counting on him.
Gray would wipe the smirks off the faces of every Raven Tail member before he was done. Like the ice he wielded, he'd be cold and determined.
Nothing would crack his resolve again.