"I see it… His soul is still there."
Bixlow was standing in front of a bousquet of tree. Behind him, his wooden dolls were on the ground, softly glowing with a green energy. In the middle, there was a sixth doll, who Bixlow brought for this occasion. He putted his right hand on one of the trunks and concentrated.
Behind him, was a small old man. He was watching the man very carefully. The Dragonslayer, who was next to him didn't speak at all since they stepped on the island. He wasn't even attentive, as he would have wanted to train some more before the great magic tournement.
After a moment, a magic circle appeared on the ground. The trees in front of Bixlow enlightened themselves, with a white light. It was softly at first...
Suddenly, the trees enlightening became dazzling and Bixlow screamed in pain! From his body, sprout were beginning to appear and were growing!
Makarov losed his nerves: "BIXLOW!" He was about to try something, but Laxus putted his hand in front of him, looking serious: " That's useless Gramps. All we can do now is have faith in him."
Then, Bixlow began glowing, surrounding himself in a soft green energy...
O0o0o0o0o
Bixlow tried to connect with the soul of Azuma, one of the members of Grimoire Heart, who's body have been changed into a tree.
He could saw it in his mind. It was only a sparkle and a faint one, but it was there. Before it could do anything, he heard Azuma voice in his mind:
Who are you? And why are you here?
Bixlow, surprised for a second, quickly understood what was going on.
I see, he thought. I thought his body died and rooted his body faster. But his magic actually took control of his body and changed him into a tree… Its gonna be a harder fight then I thought.
Bixlow armed himself mentally before answering: " I'm a member of Fairy Tail. My name is Bixlow. I thought you die and that your soul was trapped here. I wanted to free your soul from this prison..." He was about to say something else but Azuma interrupted:
Kill me. Please.
Bixlow was surprised by the request. He decided to take a different approach of what he first planned: " Why would I kill you? Our guild beated you, Grimoire Heart is history… You don't want to be free again? "
He could sense the sadness in the soul he was looking at. Azuma voice was nothing more then a whisper: " I done enough harm in my life. Even if you freed me, I would only deserve to be in prison, which my body already provide. The best thing you could do for me is kill me."
" You could seek redemption."
" I can't, as I can't forgive myself."
Bixlow suddenly had a idea. It was crazy and against his moral code… but...
I could lose myself in the process, he thought, a bit nervous. He is really worth it?
Then he thought about what Erza and the others said about him. He was not just a battle-seeker. He was seeking someone strong enough to kill him. And he battled Erza honorably, not even once using his power of Tenjarou island to make her lost her magic and rend her helpless, like he did for the rest of the guild. And most of all, he let Lisanna live when he could have kill her instead...
Azuma voice interrupted his thoughts:
You shouldn't be hesitating about it. You can't free me from my burden anyway. At least give me peace, please.
Hearing that, Bixlow strenghtened his resolution. I have to try...
The words went out easier then he thought:
" Death won't lessen the burden of your soul. Trust me, I know. The only way to do that is to try to redeem for the crimes you did or at least to do some good around you. I don't know what you have done or even how many person you killed… But if you can't forgive yourself, you have the obligation to do something about it."
He continued, as he sensed the soul suddenly was connecting more with him: " I can help you. I can seal your soul into a new container. By doing so, you will become part of my magic. If you accept, you and I will be bond to each other. In exchange, I swear that I will help you in your quest for redemption. "
He sensed Azuma was reluctant. In his mind, he heard: Why would you do that for me?
And Bixlow simply answered, naturally: " Because you will become crazy being here, trapped and all alone. Nobody deserve that."
And finally, after a few seconds, the flash of light that was Azuma should began to grow bigger and bigger. His voice seemed to come from everywhere in Bixlow's mind: I accept...
OoOoOoOo
Suddenly, the trees in front of him withered and became dust. The light surrounding Bixlow disappeared. The masked man fallen to his knees before collapsing on the floor… Laxus, finally approached Bixlow. Standing right next to him, arm crossed, he simply asked: " You're conscious?"
A soft laugh was his answer.
O0oo0o0o
The great Magic Tournament was beginning. Team A from Fairy was composed of Natsu, Gray, Lucy, Wendy and Erza. They were thinking they would be the only team from Fairy tail but saw that there were a other team representing Fairy Tail !
When everyone already were thinking about it, Natsu said it out loud: " Huh? Who is that guy next to Laxus?"
Then, they saw the Fairy Tail symbol on his tongue! Natsu yelled " BIXLOW ? WHAT IS HE DOING HERE? "
Except of Laxus and Bigslow, there was Gajeel, Mirajane and Juvia.
Bigslow was hardly recognizable. He was wearing a stage mask with a moss pattern on it, who looked exactly like his Figure Eyes symbol. However, all could see below his nose, showing his usual scary grin, with his dark Fairy Tail symbol on his tongue. His clothing was different too. On his body, he was wearing mask as if they were piece of armor! Floating next to him, he seemed to have trade his dolls for five scary looking masks. All together, he was looking like a scary dark harlequin!
After the crowd calmed down, they announced the first part of the of the magic tournament. Juvia wanted to go for the game when Gray stepped forward but Bixlow stopped her:
" Finding what's hidden will be easy for me. Let me step forward on this one…"
Juvia was kinda pissed but let him go in her place.
When explaining it was going to be a giant game of Hide and seek, Bigslow grinned like a mad man. When the game started, he muttered: " Go my babies! Show them what we are made of."
The masks flew away in different direction. For a little while, nothing happened. Standing on the top of a building, the man from Sabertooth was searching for his opponents. Suddenly, he got it from behind! The score showed Fairy Tail A: + 1 Point ! Sabertooth -1 Points!
How, was wondering the masked man from Sabertooth. He was quite surprised. Not only he was able to figure out my real position but I didn't sense anything from behind me!
Before being teleported away, he could turn and saw one of Bigslow mask. He heard Bigslow voice from the mask but it sounded a bit distorted: " Not even hiding? You are sure full of yourself HAHAHAHA !"
Rufus apperead somewhere else, a bad taste in his mouth. Interesting, he thought while smiling bitterly, but trust me, this game will become a bad memory for you.
Meanwhile, Gray was been harceled by the Raven Tail guy, who was making him a fool out of him. Suddenly, when he was he was about to strike for the second time, the guy got blasted just before he landed a attack on Gray again. The mask turned to Gray, surprised: " Good thing my baby here saw you reappearing Gray! Are we even now from the Fantasia event?"
Gray looked piss: " I didn't ask for your help, Bixlow! We're even so get lost! "
" As you wish, Icepick! HAHAHAHA!"
" DON'T GIVE ME WEIRD NICKNAMES!" yelled Gray but the mask was already flying away.
It was soon discovered that Bixlow was surprisingly good at this game. Most of the time, his masks were flying from false Bixlow to a other, hiding with the false masks... and spotted their opponent with ease!
Erza quickly understood what was happening. She said it out loud: " I see.. It seem his masks can also see the souls of his opponents."
Lucy, hearing that, answered: " Well I suppose its ok. Bixlow is part of Fairy Tail after all. Its ok if we lose to him..."
Ironicly, at that moment, after having found Narupuding again, Bixlow claimed out loud: " I won't lose! When my team will won this, Erza and Lucy will become my dolls, HAHAHAHA !"
That was at that moment Fairy Tail team A first heard about the bet the master made. After hearing that, only Natsu was fired up in that team... Erza and Lucy had goosebumps.
O0o0o0o
Rufus wasn't happy. It seemed this masked guy was a match for him at this game. When he tried to found this guy memories to track him, he found six similar signature, all around the fake town. While he came to the conclusion it was his masks that were making him hard to find, he was surprised to find a trace of a other person, right next to Bixlow.
I don't know what's happening but if Fairy Tail is cheating, that should reveal that invisible fellow, he thought.
He had to increase his spell efficiency, costing him more energy. Finally, when he thought he was ready, he jumped on a roof, he talked to the crowd:
" I can see it all. It already happened, the wish for my victory coming into reality... MEMORY MAKE!"
The magic then released itself, darkening the false city for a brief moment. "INTO A NIGHT OF FALLING STARS!"
The spell send a blast of energy to everyone on the field. Hearing a satisfying sound from the crowd, he salute… but frozen, hearing the score.
O0o0oo
Bixlow sensed the attack and saw the two beams of light coming swiftly in his direction. He understood he wouldn't be able to dodge it. But, with a grin, he shooted a very large green beam from his mask, countering the attack! The attack went very far in the sky, almost hitting the colloseum in the same time. Makarov yelled a warning for Bixlow while Pantherlily was concerned. He sensed something oddly familiar about Bixlow but couldn't put his finger on what exactly.
His masks, who were spreaded around the field and hitting opponents, dodged the attacks easily.
Laughing like if he was crazy, he said: " Did you saw that coming, pretty boy? HAHAHAHA !"
Seeing that, Erza smiled: " So Bicklow grew that much… Surprising!"
Ignoring Bixlow, Natsu was encouraging Gray: " What are you doing Gray? Get a hold on yourself!"
Juvia, also encouraging Gray, was exaspering most of her male teamates.
Except from Narupuding (Raven Tail) and Bixlow (Fairy Tail B), Rufus hitted each other one participating in the game, raising his score accordincly. Narupuding, tried to attack Rufus. However, it only resulted in increasing Sabertooth score by a other point.
The end of the game went soon after that. To much everyone surprise, Fairy Tail B ended in second place. On the other hand, Gray was feeling bitter about his negative score. At least the other Fairy Tail team arrived second but Natsu and his team weren't in the most cheerful mood.
O0o0o0o
On the battle part, Raven Tail proved once again they were specificly sneaky and vengeful, using dirty tactics against Lucy. Fortunatly, Natsu saw throught it and saved Asuke-chan. Sighing in relief, he heard Azuma's voice in his head:
" That was low... but you should had see that. Were you distracted? "
" Quit it," Bixlow answered in thought." I can see souls, not magic. Her hair are not part of -"
And then, Bixlow got distracted by the apparence of Gemini, looking like Lucy but only wearing a towel! He heard Azuma voice in his head, with a tone that was still neutral:
" Well, now I couldn't blame you to get distracted. That girl sure is bold... "
" Oh, interested?"
" Not really."
But Azuma had to revise his jugement, after he saw what was the spell she was invoking. The ultimate magic of the Star: Urano Metoria.
But both Bixlow and Azuma became pissed when they saw that her magic power have been dispelled. Understanding that was a other cheating method from the Raven Tail guild, they sweared to watch their every moves very closely.
O0o0o00o
To everyone surprised, Bixlow was called to battle Jurra from Lamia Scale during the Battle section. When Bixlow heard of Jura strength, he grinned:
" Im not sure we can't take him on... but we can still promise you a hell of a match."
Azuma voice resounded in his head: If the opponent is that strong, does that mean we can go all out?
Oh yeah, baby! You don't have to worry about your magic side-effect after all. Its the perfect opportunity to strenght our new strength! Bixlow sounded very excited.
Don't call me "baby" please, its freaky.
- Sorry, old habit. Anyway, he is in front of us now, let's concentrate.
O0o0o0o0o
Once Bixlow went on the field, Juvia asked if Bixlow is really gonna be alright. To that, Laxus grinned and answered: " You guys will be surprised. Bixlow is no longer the same you knew. To tell you the truth, I think he would be a good match for me now... "
Mirajane and Juvia turned around, clearly surprised. Gajeel just grumpled, showing he wont believe it until he see it.
On the field, Jura warned Bixlow:
"On a personal level, I'd like Fairy Tail to do its Best, but our master's been nagging quite a bit, you see..."
He then smiled a bit more: " Im sorry, but I won't go easy."
Bixlow grinned and passed his tongue on his lips:
" Don't worry about me... I would be offended if you holded back. I have been wanting to test my new strenght for quite a while."
Once the announcer said the match was beginning, To both Bixlow and Azuma surprise, his opponent closed his eyes! Grinning wider, the masked fairy asked: " Oh, closing your eyes? Did you heard about me by any chance? "
While saying so, his mask began to flight in circular motion.
" I heard only bribe about you... but I recognize the magic symbol on your mask," the bald man answered " Its not something that can be countered normally. But don't worry," said Jura, waving his right arm in front of him, making pillars of stone appear from the ground, barely missing Bixlow who swiftly dodged, " Im not really at disavantage here"
Saying so, with a other move of his hand, he twisted the pillar exactly where Bixlow was. While dodging, his masks went above Jura head, increasing the flight speed of his mask so greatly that all we could we was a large green Halo:
" BARYON FORMATION!"
A large beam of green light went throught Jura, hiding him from view.
The beam is larger then when he attacked me with it. It seem more powerful too, thought Lucy, a bit surprised.
When the beam stopped, Jura body where no where to be seen.
" Jura!" His teammates Sheila was a bit worried there but Lyon reassured her, saying she shouldn't be fool by that.
Jura is in my opinion the best mage in Fiore... Too bad for Juvia team, thought Lyon
A giant fist raised from from the ground. It hit Bixlow with force and sending him flying. But then, in midair, Bixlow joined his hands together:
" MASK TAKEOVER - KODAMA ARMOR !"
The mask Bixlow was still wearing suddenly expand, swiftly covering all Bixlow body... and he began to float! Surrounded by a green aura, Bixlow was maintaining himself in the air!
After a moment, suddenly, huge pieces of rocks began to flew toward the sky in random direction toward the sky... Then Bixlow began to move... His flight speed was so fast that it was hard to follow him with the eyes alone!
Natus couldn't belive it! He was as fast as that Jella when he used Meteor!
The trained eyes of Erza could see something most missed in the crowd: the few rocks that manages to hit Bixlow were disintegrated by his green aura.
That technique is even stronger then Meteor! That Bixlow... How did he improved so much?
Erza was soon going to find out however. While dodging the attacks, Azuma mask were using various technique to try to hit Jura hidden underground. But finally said the words Bixlow was waiting for:
I finnaly ceased control of that terrain magic. Want to do our newest spell?
Bixlow then laughed loudly: " Ok, time to start up the show ! "
Bixlow then slapped his two hand together. The moss pattern on his mask began to glow... and the stadium began to shake! Smiling like a demon, Bixlow released the spell:
"TREE BIRTH - ADANSONIA FOREST!"
Apparing in the stadium, lots of huge trees apparead...
O00o0o0o0o
Below the ground, Jura first thought it would be a safe place to attack his opponent. He could sense his exact location simply by sensing the vibrations his feets on the ground. But after he hit Bixlow with a giant fist made of stone, he vanished. Understanding that somehow his opponent was no longer touching the ground, he raised a eyebrow:
Its rare a opponent force me to be this sneaky, he thought. Lets try to enjoy this a little...
He send a hail of rocks in the air, hoping to sense him as they touch him... And it worked, Jura thought. But after a long moment, he realized that his rock didnt seem to alter his trajectory, meaning they did little damage to him. Sighing, Jura decided to no longer restrain itself... but it was a bit too late.
He sensed the earth shaking and was wondering if this scary masked guy sended a attack toward the ground. Suddenly, he sensed them in the obscurity: huge tentacle were holding him tightly! The force of those things surprised him and he wondered what those were for a moment... then he understood:
Trees roots? I thought this guy magic was about controlling souls!
He then concentrate, trying to break free. But he was surprised again: he had a hard time controlling the earth around him!
The roots are making my earth magic difficult to use, he realized. I have to get out of here and fast!
Concentrating his magical energy, he released his spell...
" ROCK MOUNTAIN! "
O0o0o0o0o0o
Thanks to lacrima screen, even if the two magician were behind trees, all could see what was happening.
Nobody was as surprised as Fairy Tail. Those who faced Azuma remembered that magic...
Natsu dropped is mouth, eyes at their widest: " WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON THERE? IS THAT BIXLOW ?"
Gray sweared and yelled too: : " WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE ? "
Erza, surprised, told them: " A Lost Magic: The Tree Arc. But how can Bixlow can use it? Could he..."
Not leaving time to think, Bixlow then fusionned with one of the tree, disappearing in it. In almost the same time, we saw, a huge form appearing from the ground...
A huge Earth Golem, prone, seemed to force his way throught the tree roots in the ground before breaking them entirely. Apparing from below it, Jura wasn't smiling. He was turning his head to left from right, seemingly searching for his opponent while talking:
" Its been a while since I had a tricky opponent like you to defeat."
He began to smile again: " But unfortunatly, I was chosen to be your opponent. I dont need to find you to win this."
The earth began shaking. From everywhere, the huge trees who just appeared began to fall, all falling toward the center of the arena, where Jura was. From beow the trees, huge hands seemed to push them push them, digging them up easily, like if they were only flowers!
After the dust have fallen down, all of them could see Jura, standing in the middle of the arena, not even touched by the fall of the trees toward the center. The bald man was glad he could connect again with the Earth as easily as before, even if that move costled him a lot of magic.
And, finally, he sensed him: he found the body of Bixlow on the ground, not moving and trapped under a tree...
" ITS OVER! That's Jura for you!" The announcer and the crowd began to applause.
Hearing that, Jura sighed in relief but was concern for his opponent. He removed the tree trunk that was on top of Bixlow and opened his eyes...
... only to saw Bixlow face! Floating upside down in front of Jura, not wearing his mask, at the same height as the Jura's head. Jura body began to grow darker as Bixlow said the fatal words:
" FIGURE EYES!"
Controlling his opponent body, all saw that what everyone thought was Bixlow was only a piece of wood, transformed with magic to look like him... the size of the decoy changed, to become... Bixlow mask! The mask floated and putted himself right next to Bixlow. He took it before saying:
" Your body is now under my control Jura... "
Flying away, to reach the limit of the collosseum, Bixlow continued, his other arm stretched toward Jura:
" KODAMA SACRIFICE!"
Right next to Jura, happy faces appeared from the trees trunk. It seemed like they were rapidly carved by a red magic light. Once the face completed, beams of light fired from them, hitting a paralysed Jura. Then, the holes in the trees trunk crumbled, becoming bigger and bigger... to finally make the trees explode!
The intensity of that spell was amazing, all trees explosion became pillars... those pillars were so close to each other that they seemed to fuse into one colossal pillar. Even Bixlow was knocked against the arena walls from the intensity of the spell. Once it was over, they all seeked to see Jura but once again, he was nowhere to be found. Seeing that, Bixlow looked everywhere on the ground again but couldn't find his opponent... his voice came from above him:
" I acknowledge your strenght."
Looking up, Bixlow saw Jura, standing on the floating head of his stone golem from before. But before he could move, Jura sended the head of the golem in his direction at dangerous speed. Bixlow could barely dodge it, prone on the ground, Bixlow heard Jura landing on his feet right next to him. The masks of Bixlow then putted themself between him and his opponent but before Bixlow or his masks could do something, Jura talked:
" Stop. Listen to me."
Surprised, Bixlow looked up. Jura had his eyes wide open, with a honest smile.
" I could easily end this match right now but its extremely rare that I get to be so worked up. I want to thanks you for that. But if we get more serious, I think we should get back at the middle of the arena. Staying here could be dangerous for the crowd. So, what do you say?"
His opponent then lower himself, giving him a hand so he could stand up. Bixlow faintly smiled in return. After rosen up. Bixlow turned his head. Indeed, the huge power he used barely stopped near the wall of the arena. Finally, he agreed with Jura's request:
" Alright, let's go back at the center of the ring."
The crowd went in a huge uproar." That's sportsmanship for you!" Applause everywhere, both mans returned in the middle.
Once they were there, Jura closed his eyes again and asked Bixlow to not hold it anymore. Azuma was worried:
I never faced such a strong opponent. How did he brake the Figure Eyes spell?
He simply figured out my Figures Eyes weakness. To maintain it, I have to maintain line of sight with my target. And our strongest spells are on large scale, we cant use them in this arena it seem.
A idea struck Bixlow. While heading for the center of the arena, he explained his plan to Azuma, who agreed it was a good plan.
Once they reached the middle of the arena, Jura told them to attack when they feel ready, his back turned against him.
Azuma released the spell it was preparing. From the base of Bixlow armor, his feet seemed to grow larger. Jura sended the roots underground but he didnt understand their spheric pattern. None of them they going in his direction... until he sended the hude gathering of magic energy in the middle. He heard Azuma mutter the name of the spell:
" Root Bomb"
Sensing it was spreading fast and how dangerous it was, he sended a huge pillar of stone to strike Bixlow before the spell became too big. Striking bixlow, the force make his wooden armor broke on his feet. Bixlow went flying again... and his floated mask fallen on the ground. Thinking he may have hitted him too hard, Jura raised a eyebrow...
Suddenly, in the blink of a eye, Jura and Bixlow were no longer to be found on the field. Everyone was surprised and searched for them... the announcer yelled to look in the sky.
Bixlow, using his superior speed against his opponent and his ability to flight, grappled Jura on the ground so quick that Jura couldn't dodge it. From that impact alone, he lost his breath. They raised up high in the sky and when they stopped, Bixlow throwed his opponent toward the ground... a green aura surrounded Jura during his fall.
" DOUBLE IMPACT- HELL AND HEAVEN! "
Jura, tried to use earth magic to soften his landing... but realized too late that Bixlow had sended him exactly where he planted his last spell. Those roots, making impossible to slower his impact, sealed the end of the match... Before reaching the ground, all Jura could do was smile:
Impressive...
The force of the impact alone would had left a huge crater. The whole colosseum shake again from the first impact... And then, his second spell activate as Jura broken the hidden root sphere underground, holding a huge amount of magic. Sending a other huge pillow of red magic toward the sky, all was wondering if Jura actually survived...
When it vanished, all could saw Jura in the sky, motionless, and falling...
O0o0o0o
Bixlow and Azuma were now exhausted. When they saw Jura, falling, they grabbed him and landed clumsily on the ground. The bark armor of Bixlow retracted itself to become a mask again. Then, to both Bixlow and Azuma horror, Jura moved.
Slowly, his opponent from Lamia Scale sat on the ground. Bixlow, on all four, couldn't move at all. Their strenght gone from the last move, Azuma and Bixlow were amazed by Jura resilience. Even though he seemed a bit hurt, he looked like he could still go on...
He really is a member of the Ten Saint Wizards. I can't compare to him...
Jura stretched himself a little... before saying something that Bixlow wasn't expenting:
" That was really impressive. I would be ashamed to win after you showed this much determination and potential. Would you satisfied yourself with a draw? "
Bixlow, who wanted to reject his opponent's pity, was interrupted by Azuma's voice in his head:
Forget your pride. That would be the best result we can achieve at the moment. Remember your comrades... We need those points.
Bixlow wanted to argue... but he knew Azuma was right. He sighed:
" Thank you."
Jura then laugh. That surprised Bixlow. Jura, smiling, replied:
" Don't be like that. You were a great opponent."
The crowd, hearing all this, went to a huge applause.
O0o0o00o0o
That night, Bixlow received a lot more attention then normally. Erza was glaring at him from afar, suspicious. When asked how he could use that new magic, Bixlow sighed and said: " Give me space, it will be simpler to show you how then trying to explain..."
Then, the mask on his face began to float and change its shape. When he took a humanoid change, all could see his facial feature appearing...
Erza was surprised! There was now a wooden statue with glowing green eyes in front of them. Even if he still had the moss pattern on his face, those who met Azuma before easily recognized him. A few stepped back and Bixlow explained:
" I wanted to free his soul to make him like my dolls but in the end, Azuma and me became one. He doesn't have a human body now however... and he won't do any harm to our guild again. Don't be harsh on him guys."
After a moment, the guild became what it was always been: happy, loud and lots of fun. Azuma, instead of changing it shape to become a mask again, retained his appearance. Natsu was the first to approched him:
" Hey, wood guy! So, you're supposed not having a body now?"
Saying that, he began to poke Azuma, as to try to see if he was real: " That's weird, I can touch you. But you are one of Bixlow dolls now, right? Are you gonna repeat everything we say like them? "
Then Azuma statue, moved his mouth, like like it was real. A green light seemed to be inside his mouth as well:
" I would be careful if I was you..."
The moss pattern on his eyes began to glow. Suddenly, Natsu body became darker:
" ... saying I'm a doll will only make me using YOU like a doll."
Then, Natsu began to dance a hula dance, much to everyone surprise... and delight! While Natsu complained to be use like that, it made Gray ask:
" Hey, can you make Natsu do something else? Like bringing me a sandwich? That would be enjoyable."
Still maintaining his glare toward Natsu, he partially turned to Gray, his moss pattern still glowing: " No but I think he could need a dance partner."
Then Gray body became darker too... And began to dance with Natsu a folkloric dance! Everyone became even louder. Stopping the technique, Natsu and Gray weren't happy.
" AZUMA! YOU WANT A PIECE OF US? "
Turning to them, he asked: " This body don't feel pain. It would be pointless. But I can do worst that make you dance if you want."
To that, Happy asked, while mimicking playings with dolls: " Oh? You mean like making them kiss?"
Turning to Happy, both Gray and Natsu yelled in unisson: " DON'T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT ! IT'S DISGUSTING ! "
Azuma was wondering if it was like that everyday...
It sure is different from Grimoire Heart, he thought. Those guys are so noisy... but I suppose I will have to get use to it.
Bixlow was often watching Azuma from the corner of his eyes... and his soul revealed his true feeling to him. Even if he seemed uneasy, Bixlow could see that he actually was beginning to enjoy himself. Seeing that, he knew he made the right decision.
Meanwhile, Pantherlily had approached Bixlow: " You sure you have him under control? "
Instead of answering directly, Bixlow pointed something on Azuma. Behind his right shoulder, there was a dark green symbol of Fairy Tail:
" He is one of us now. Just treat us like everybody else. "
Pantherlily then replied: " So now we will have to talk to you like if you were two? "
Bixlow laughed: " Well if you have a message to say to Azuma in public, just say the message is for "him". He prefer to have a lower profile for now. Grimoire Heart might be history but we never know..."
Even Erza began to relax, seeing how the others seemed to slowly accept Azuma as part of the guild. Beside, she had other things to worry about.
END OF THE FIRST DAY OF THE MAGIC TOURNAMENT