-Day 1-
"Alright brats! It's the first day of Easter! So that means that we have a competition, don't we?!" Master Makarov announced to the guild.
"First day, basket weaving competition!" Cana announced. "Alright competitors, take a seat at our long table and let the games begin! Don't worry, I ain't goin' all out this year."
The competitors cheered at the news in relief, heading to the table suggested. The twenty two sat down and the rest of the guild gathered around. Most were already partying with booze in their mugs and smiles spread on their faces. Fairy Tail was always a lively place, and on celebrated days they were even more or so. Gray's shirt was tossed somewhere behind him and Natsu pumped a fist in excitement, this was going to be a great week.
"Let's explain the rules. Magic made baskets are not counted, and this is a competition for solo members. Using magic to assist is allowed, no matter how you assist yourself. You can't team with any other person, but there is no rule against helping. You have one hour to weave the best basket. The best looking basket wins. And your time… begins… NOW!" Cana announced and cards were thrown up into the air, landing on the table and spawning sticks. A large timer took shape next to the brunette, ticking down from 60:00.
Hands raced to the pile of sticks at the center as the competitors tried to get the most. Elfman whined as his large hands were nearly no match for the small sticks. Natsu nearly set his sticks on fire; earning a complaint from his neighbor, Lucy. Macao, Nab, and Droy struggled with aligning the sticks in the way they want them. Meanwhile, the Strauss sisters, Levy, Lucy, Wendie, Carla, Juvia, and Gray took the lead with a base forming at 53:46.
Mirajane and Juvia wove the sticks expertly together, but came to a confusing hult as they began to try and form the sides. Gray formed a mold out of his ice as he began to move to the edges. Wendy and Carla struggled and the rest were left in the dust. Mira gained ground as she figured out how to weave the sides and began to catch Gray in no time. Seeing this, Juvia huffed in frustration until an ice mold appeared in her basket. Now with the mold, Juvia caught up to Mira with a large smile upon her face. Natsu watched the interaction, then grinned evilly as an idea came to him. Fire swept across the table and melted Gray's mold and a few of the competitor's sticks.
"Gah! You lookin' for a fight, Flame-Brain?!" Gray yelled out to the pinkett that snickered.
"Well, I was aimin' for Mira and Juvia, but you'll do just fine," Natsu stated smugly.
Mira rolled her eyes and continued on her merry way as Juvia looked over distracted. A few sticks were smoldering, and one was starting to flame. Gray and Natsu lunged for each other across the table; setting aflame more of the sticks and sending ice shards around the crowd. All of the sudden, the brawl was more interesting than the competition as most of the competitors stared at the two bickering and halted their tasks in trying to weave their baskets.
"You haven't even got a base yet, ya Pyro! I bet you can't even figure out how to not burn the damn things!" Gray accused.
"Yeah? Well who knew that you could actually weave, ya Ice-Princess! This isn't manly at all!" Natsu retorted.
"Spoken like a real man!" Elfman added.
"Because unlike you, I don't destroy everything I touch!" Gray added.
Juvia was distracted by the flames that now was beginning to engulf the table. She sent her water to put it out, but in doing so she swept away Lucy's pile of sticks called a basket. Natsu bickered towards her when Lucy whinned at the happening. Gray punched the pinkett in the face, sending the fire dragon slayer out of his seat and into the crowd behind him. Now even more fired up, Natsu leaped for the ice mage and successfully did the same with an uppercut to the jaw. That launched an all out war between the frenemies as they took turns going for each other across the table.
"Would you two knock it off?!" Erza commanded, getting the males to halt and look at her fearfully.
Gray growled and sat down, crossing his arms as he looked at the damage to his basket that now lay in a heep. Natsu did the same, after grabbing Lucy's pile off the floor first. The rest began to settle back down and focus on their own baskets, but Mira was already halfway through hers. It was 35:12.
"Stay focused, you wanna win, don't ya?" Gray asked Juvia, whom nodded her head feverishly and looked back to her work. "Damnit, I doubt I can even save this. Whatever."
"I can't even tell where I started…" Lucy huffed.
"You can do it, Lu," Levy encouraged.
The competition continued. Everyone, but Gajeel who didn't even attempt to try, had gotten at least somewhere by 13:56. However, no one could come close to Mira and Juvia who dominated the entire competition with the baskets nearly complete. Lisanna had been handing Mira her sticks as she had given up on trying to make her basket as fast as her sister. The advantage was small, but Juvia had Gray's ice-mold that nearly saved her from having a lump of sticks like most of the others did. It was coming close. 06:09. 05:34. 04:56. 04:02. 03:23. 02:37. 01:41. 00:00!
"Stop what you're doing!" Cana announced, the competitors dropping their hands from their sticks and 'baskets'. "Alright, we do top three so line up and let the grading begin! Freed, Bix., and I are your judges. It basket with the highest points gained wins."
The contestants stood uneasily as the two Thunder Legion members and daughter of the strongest member in Fairy Tail walked by to judge their distorted pile of sticks. There were only six people with a higher grading that five, and that was: Reedus with 10, Gray with 12, Levy with 16, Lisanna with 19, Juvia with 23, and Mira with 28. That made the winner of the first round Mirajane.
"So, the rankings stand as Mira with 5 points, Juvia with 3 points, and Lisanna with 1. Tomorrow's game will be better in the men's department, but I ain't tellin' you what," Cana announced. "'Til tomorrow!"
Score Board:
5- Mira
3- Juvia
1- Lisanna
Carla, Droy, Elfman, Erza, Evergreen, Gajeel, Gray, Happy, Jet, Levy, Lily, Lucy, Macao, Nab, Natsu, Reedus, Romeo, Wendy.