I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters

Chapter 3

Yukino had to admit that after the day she had yesterday she expected to get barely a wink of sleep during the night. However that was not the case as she had slept more soundly than she had in months. It was perhaps the best sleep she had ever had since her first day as a Sabertooth mage. She had felt accomplished as a mage to be accepted in not just a powerful guild, but Fiore's top guild. As worthwhile as that feeling was, today felt different. She felt that she was freed of some sort of weight on her shoulders, as if all restraints that life had put on her was taken away. With that in mind she decided to start her day with her morning routines before getting dressed and checking out, all of this done with a small smile on her face. Though before she decided to get some breakfast as her stomach growled quite loudly for such a delicate maiden like herself. She hadn't eaten anything since her excommunication and she was starved. Making her way downstairs she found herself captivated by the scent of bacon, eggs and pancakes. Descending down the last step she followed the scent until she found a large breakfast buffet set up on multiple tables. Her focus was then pulled from the extravagant sight to one that was slightly disturbing.

Natsu Dragneel was seated at a table with multiple plates piled almost as high as his head and he looked like he wasn't close to done. His ever present buddy Happy was sitting on the table munching on fish without a care in the world. She smiled at the scene and decided to pay her new friends a visit.

"Good morning Natsu-san, Happy-san." The duo looked up from their respective meals, Natsu with a pancake stuffed halfway in his mouth and Happy with the tail of the fish hanging out of his. Quickly swallowing they waved at Yukino ushering her over.

"Hey, what's up Yukino? Come to get some grub" Natsu asked with a big smile on his face.

"You might want to hurry and get a plate before Natsu goes for his 23rd" Happy added in.

Yukino's jaw was slack as she heard happy say 23rd. 'Natsu-san ate 23 plates worth of food? Where does it all go' she thought.

"I thought this place would be a dump, but it's not that bad. The rooms are cool, the beds are comfy and the food is freaking amazing. They said it's all we can eat" Natsu said with stars in his eyes. He then took a fork and stabbed into a plate filled with bacon and eggs and shoved it into his mouth with a smile.

"Well would you mind if I joined you two? I haven't eaten since yesterday morning" Yukino said, getting her mind off of Natsu's bottomless stomach.

"Sure" the dragonslayer and exceed said in unison. Happy picked up a plate that Natsu hadn't gotten his hands on flew it over to Yukino, who thanked with. Despite Natsu having eaten what could be compared to a buffet in of itself, there was still plenty of food left, but she only got she needed: two pancakes, a couple strips of bacon and small bowl of mixed fruits. She may be starving but she still wanted to watch her waist line. Taking her plate over to the two gluttonous Fairy Tail mages she took a seat before digging into her food. Not that much time went by before Lucy Heartfilia made her way downstairs to see if any food was left since she knew how much Natsu could eat.

"Oh, hey Yukino" Lucy chirped after seeing the silver haired Celestial Mage. She ignored the buffet and took a beeline to where the trio was sitting, taking a seat beside Yukino.

"Good morning Lucy-san" Yukino responded back with a nod of her head and a small smile.

"Hey, I'm sorry to hear about what happened to you yesterday. I know that must've been hard for you" Lucy said with a frown. Lucy understood how it feels to want to be a member of the guild of your dreams, but to be kicked out of said guild after just one failure. She couldn't image how she would feel if Fairy Tail excommunicated her for failing in the Games.

"It's alright. I understand their frustrations and their reasoning for what they did. Sabertooth is a strong guild where only the strong survive. I simply wasn't strong enough" Yukino said the last part quietly so that no one could here. No one did, except a certain raging dragonslayer.

Lucy was about to protest before the table they were sitting on shook violently due to Natsu's fist which was smoking and had a small crater beneath it. Lucy feared that Natsu was going blow his top so she put her hand over his to help calm him down. Their eyes met and Lucy stared into his onyx orbs with a stern look of understanding. Taking deep breathes, he finally calmed down enough to speak but the irritation in his voice of still there.

"You're not weak Yukino. If anything you're one of the strongest mages I've seen so far in the Games." Yukino's head shot up to look at Natsu. She didn't know what to say, but she found herself questioning his words. 'How could say that when he saw how I lost' she thought.

"But I lost to Kagura-san" Yukino said.

"Yeah, so? A whole bunch of people lost in the games. Lucy"

"Why'd I have to be the first example" Lucy yelled.

"Gray, Gajeel, me, and a whole bunch of other people from different guilds. Hell, that asshole Sting lost too. Why wasn't he kicked out" Natsu said.

"Sting-sama is stronger than I am. He helped change Sabertooth" Yukino said with her head downcast.

"But I thought you did too. Weren't you one of the five wizards to make Sabertooth into what it is now" Lucy asked.

"No, I was only a fill in for the Misses." Natsu, Lucy and Happy looked between each other in confusion.

"The Misses?" they asked in tandem.

"Yes, the Master's daughter. She is also our strongest mage. She was out on a mission during the Games and I was chosen to stand in her place, but I did a lousy job of it" Yukino said.

"Hey, you just faced somebody stronger than you that's all. That Kagura chick just had more experience than you that's all. You'll always find somebody stronger than you, but what matters is how you overcome them and never give up even when you want to. And with you being excommunicated, your strength was proven when you didn't let them break you" Natsu said with a serious face. Both Yukino and Lucy looked at Natsu in wonder. Yukino because this was once again another moment when Natsu was kind to her and Lucy because she didn't know Natsu could be so deep.

"Break me?" Yukino asked.

"Most people would've given up after being beaten but you moved on from it. Most people would've either cried and begged to stay in the guild or taken their revenge, but you didn't, you moved on. You showed strength that not a lot of people have. To be able to just move on after life dealt them a bad hand. That shows true strength. And now look what it's gotten you, new friends and a new path" Natsu finished with a smile.

Yukino, Lucy and now Happy were stunned. The latter two knew that Natsu could speak deeply when needed but they had never heard him speak like this before. Warm smiles graced their faces as they saw a new side to their friend. Yukino on the other hand was speechless. Never before had somebody called her strong. All her life she screwed something up and she was told the opposite. However now this man she met just yesterday was telling her that she was not only strong but one of the strongest in the tournament. She felt her heart beat faster at his words and a smile grace her face. Looking up she met his eyes.

"Thank you again Natsu-san." Like yesterday she had tears in her eyes but she wasn't going to let herself cry like yesterday.

"Oh no not again! Please stop crying! Lucy, Happy don't just sit there help me out" he called to his two partners as he had his head down on the table begging her to stop the tears. The two began to laugh at this partner's display with Yukino joining in with her own giggles.

"I'm not upset Natsu-san, I'm just glad to hear somebody who actually believes in me" Yukino said.

"We all do Yukino. Like Natsu said, just because you loss that doesn't mean that it's over. You just got to pick yourself up and try better next time" Lucy said with a raised fist and a big smile. She briefly looked to Natsu who had stopped his begging and gave her a warm smile.

"Yeah, it doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you can get back up" Natsu said.

"Aye." Happy just had to get his two cents in.

The party of four laughed at this and the sorrowful mood that had dawned over them had finally lifted. They soon went into conversation about the Games, their guilds and exciting events in their lives (not to mention Happy and Natsu's teasing of Lucy from time to time). Yukino looked around her and for the first time saw actual friends. She hadn't had many people she could call friends in her life and fewer still in Sabertooth, but now she had some. Though it was small in numbers, she didn't care. She was just delighted to finally have somebody that would be by her side and she could tell right away that the three mages at her table wouldn't leave her for anything in the world. As these thoughts were going through her head she looked at Natsu who was laughing himself to death due to something Happy said about Lucy if the blonde's red face of anger and embarrassment was anything to go on. Yukino would have to thank Natsu for finding her on the streets and brining her here while lifting her mood. If he didn't she'd still have the mindset that she wasn't strong enough and never would be. That people wouldn't want to be around a screw up. He dashed those thoughts as well as giving her friends and making her smile, something she hadn't done in a while.

"Yukino, Yukino!"

"Huh, what. I'm sorry, I was lost in thought" Yukino said with a small blush.

"I'll give you a penny for them" Lucy said with a giggle.

"Uh, some other time maybe" Yukino said with a smile.

"I was asking you what your plans are for today. Since you're not in the tournament what are you going to do now" Lucy asked.

"I was actually going to leave Crocus after checking out…" Yukino said but the others reaction caught her off guard.

"What!" the other three yelled in unison.

"But why would you leave" Happy asked with a frown.

Yukino giggled at how adorable the cat looked. 'Like Frosch-sama' she thought. "I was going to, but I think I'll stay until the end of the Games. It would be fun to cheer on my friends" she said with a smile.

The smiles on the Fairy Tail mages faces could light up the room. Before they could get into another bout of conversation, the room door to the hotel was kicked in with a furious looking Erza standing in its entrance like a demon risen from hell. Gray wasn't too far behind her but he was subtly trying to inch away from the woman before she took notice of him.

"Why are you three still here, the Games start in less than an hour." Her stone cold glare sent a terrifying chill down the spines of the core of Team Natsu and Yukino was no different. She had seen her master angry before, but Erza's glare was probably scary enough to make even him shudder. Erza was going to reprimand them even more before her eyes landed on the silver haired mage.

"Oh hello, you're Yukino aren't you? My condolences on your excommunication, I know it must've been hard on you" Erza said with a frown.

"It's most alright Erza-sama. I've gotten over it thanks to Natsu-san, Lucy-sama, and Happy-san" Yukino responded.

"Hey Yukino, what I say about formalities? Quit will ya" Natsu said after gaining some confidence to speak with Erza's demon mode turned off.

"Oh I'm sorry Natsu" Yukino said with a blush.

"Yeah it's not like you should give Flame Brain any respect anyway" Gray said from the side.

"What was that Freezer Burn?" Natsu was up out of his chair faster than Laxus's lightning and butting heads with Gray.

"Do I need to repeat myself you Pyromaniac" Gray retorted.

"Enough you two! Friends don't fight. If you want to fight, save it for the Games" Erza said while subduing her two friends. Well subdue was a bit of a stretch, as she had come between the two and separated their heads from each other with her hands resulting in Natsu and Gray's necks snapping at a very uncomfortable angle. Yukino gasped wondering if they were alright while Lucy and Happy just sweat dropped at the scene.

"Erza's right, we should get going. The Games are about to start and I don't want to show up last like we did on the first day" Lucy said.

"Ok then, let's head out" Erza motioned for everybody to move and they did following her out the door.

Yukino was still seated in the hotel, not knowing what to do. She knew she was friends with Lucy, Natsu and Happy but she didn't feel it was her place to tag along with their other friends just yet. That and Erza scared the crap out of her.

"Hey Yukino, what you waiting for, we're leaving for the stadium." Natsu had come back in to see if she was still there after he found she wasn't among the team.

"Oh...umm…I" Yukino couldn't find anything to say.

"Come on, you said you're going to cheer us on. It's kinda hard to do that when you're stuck in this hotel, right" Natsu said with a big smile. He put his hand out for her to grab. She looked at the hand contemplating whether to take him up on his offer or not but she dispelled her doubts and took it anyway. She was lifted out of her seat whisked out the door faster than she could blink. It took her a second to catch her footing but when they caught up to the rest of the team, they finally slowed down.

"Natsu you can't drag people down the road, what's wrong with you" Lucy said with a smack to the back of his head. Natsu rubbed where he was hit and looked at his partner with a pout.

"What I do, she's safe and she's here isn't she. No harm no foul" Natsu defended.

"Sigh, you can't act normal for once can you" Lucy just gave up. It was useless talking to him sometimes.

"You're the weird one here Lucy. What you know about normal" Natsu said with his hands behind his head.

"He's got you there Lucy" Happy added in while trying to stave off a fit of giggles.

"Hey, I am normal, you two clowns are the odd ones out of all of us! Gray help me out here" Lucy pleaded with the ice mage.

"I'm staying out of it. Besides I hate to admit it, but they aren't wrong, you are kinda weird Lucy" Gray said with a smirk. Unknown to the rest of the group but Yukino, the ice and fire mage bump knuckles from the side.

"I don't want to hear that from the guy in just his boxers" Lucy shouted.

"WHAT THE HELL?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Gray was off looking for his discarded clothes.

Yukino couldn't help herself but laugh at the scene before her. Never before had she seen people act this way and strangely enough she was drawn towards it. The others looked back at her to see what was so funny but she just waved it off.

"It's nothing I'm sorry, it's just that I'm actually glad I was kicked out of Sabertooth. I've never had such a good time before with other people until today. It's a nice change of pace" Yukino said. For the first time she had a big smile on her face that was contagious enough to make the others smile as well.

"Hahaha I would say so. Now let's get going! The Grand Magic Games are about to start and we need to make Fairy Tail number one in Fiore! I'm getting all fired up!" Natsu yelled before breaking out in a dead sprint towards the stadium, Happy flying beside him. The rest of the team plus Yukino took off after him each with a smile on their face ready to take whatever the day threw at them.

XxX

[A/N: sorry it took so long to update this story but I was seriously contemplating deleting this and starting over. I had so many ideas going through my head about what to write in this chapter it actually hurt. I've always been working on Our Little Secret and Rub a Dub Dub as well as a few other stories I have on deck. But I give you this and next chapter is when the games and the battles start. I'm going to include the Dragonslayer battle and add my own little twist on how it should've gone in my opinion. Read and Review and peace. The BlaccDragon is out]