Disclaimer – I do not own Fairy Tail
*Rated M for Mature
Chapter 7
"Oh, shit," said Gray as he looked at the clock.
"What?" asked Natsu.
"We're going to be late for the opening of the Grand Magic Games! We need to go! Now!" Gray shouted. He bolted for the door, Natsu following close behind.
Magnolia Stadium
They'd finally arrived at the Magnolia Stadium. And it looked like they'd arrived a bit early, too. But not early enough.
No sooner had they arrived, that Gray was swarmed by girls wanting his autograph because of his spectacular performance at the Grand Magic Games last year. When he finally managed to flee them, he started seething.
"I hate people!" growled Gray after he'd broken free from the fans. His shirt had somehow disappeared, but not of his own volition this time.
"What happened?" inquired Natsu.
"Stupid fangirls is what happened. All I wanted was for the Royal Guards to keep them at bay. Is that so much to ask?"
"Well, you can't really blame them, can you? There's a lot going on today."
"Who asked you?" snapped Gray. He'd let his temper get the best of him.
Natsu shrank back from him and looked away in response.
"Natsu?" The dragon-slayer's head snapped up and he looked at Gray…timidly? "I'm sor-"
"No. I'm sorry. What do I know? I'm just a flamebrain, right?" Natsu said. The fire was gone from his eyes. He appeared submissive. Gray didn't like that look and he knew it was his own fault. "It's starting soon. I'm gonna go to the arena now. Meet up with…everyone."
With that, Natsu headed toward the arena. Gray stood back for a while before sighing and doing the same.
Happy and Lector, who'd been watching the exchange, glanced at each other. "I think Gray messed up," said Happy.
"I think you're right," replied Lector, looking concerned. "Hmm…they really like each other, don't they?"
Happy sighed. "Yeah, I think so. But Gray's not very good with handling his emotions. Sometimes he lets his anger get in the way of reason."
"I guess I can understand that." Lector stared after Gray when a thought dawned on him. "I have an idea."
"What?" Happy wasn't too sure about the smirk on Lector's face.
"We're going to get them back together again."
Happy now had a smirk that matched Lector's. "I like the way you think. Any ideas?"
"Yeah. Here's what we'll do…" And Lector started whispering in Happy's ear, a large grin spreading across his face.
Magnolia Stadium (Arena)
"Welcome, everyone, to the Ninth Annual Grand Magic Games!" Cheers erupted in the arena after the announcer's opening statement. "We have many events planned for the duration of the games. There will be competitions, games, food, and contests. Throughout Magnolia there will be booths selling food, many different games to play, and contests. And guess what the best part is? Children twelve and under can participate for free!"
More cheers sounded, especially from the children.
"Now, I'd like to introduce you to the twenty-six guilds of the Grand Magic Games. Please come on out when I call your guild."
Everyone waited in anticipation.
"Blue Pegasus!" They winked at the crowd.
"Titan Nose!" They rolled their eyes.
"Naked Mummy!" They started laughing insanely.
"Orochi's Fin!" They smiled at the crowd.
"Mermaid Heel!" They shook hands with Orochi's Fin.
"Um…Sylph Labyrinth!" They glared when boos erupted in the arena due to the knowledge they were a guild that didn't use magic.
"Hound Holy!" They appeared emotionless.
"Quatro Cerberus!" Bacchus tripped, picked himself up, and smiled sheepishly at the crowd.
"Scarmiglione!" They went over to Bacchus, looking concerned.
"Carbuncle!" They blew a kiss to the crowd.
"Twilight Ogre!" They looked...unhappy.
"Southern Wolves!" They smiled and laughed giddily.
"Mount Altana!" They appeared quite serious.
"Red Hood!" They laughed maniacally.
"Dark Unicorn!" They started a brief altercation with Red Hood.
"Crime Sorciere!" They crossed their arms.
"Dwarf Gear!" They winked at the ladies, but they weren't as…effective as Blue Pegasus.
"Harpuia!" They smiled and waved.
"Phoenix Grave!" They greeted Dwarf Gear.
"Death's Head Caucus!" They hugged each other.
"Dullahan Head!" Titan Nose eyed them strangely.
"Lamia Scale!" They sighed.
"Sabertooth!" They eagerly waved at the crowd.
"Gramlush!" They shook hands with Dullahan Head.
"Fairy Tail!" They cheered with the crowd.
"And Dark Entity!" They remained motionless.
"Let's have a round of applause for your twenty-six guilds!" The crowd cheered and screamed in the arena for their favorite guilds.
"Now, I'll hand it over to King Toma E. Fiore," finished the announcer. King Fiore headed toward the middle of the arena and soon everyone heard his excited voice.
"Welcome, everyone! I will now explain what will happen during these games. My trusty database—which is your typical archive magic—will select your opponents. You will not know your opponent until the day a competition begins. Your opponent will also be selected by my database. Again, you may make no substitutions.
"We will have thirteen matches in the first round, leaving us with thirteen winners. We will then have a Wild Card Draw, in which a random guild will be eliminated from round two.
"Round two will be a tag team tournament between the remaining twelve guilds. Your tag team guild partners will also be selected randomly by my database. After those three tag tournaments, we will have six guilds left.
"Round three will consist of these six guilds. Each guild will face each other once. The guild with the most losses will be eliminated. When we reach round four, the guilds will be divided. The remaining four guilds will battle against each other based on the selection of my database. At this point, a new competition will be selected. You will perform this competition in round five.
"The two winners will then face off against each other. These finalists will be allowed to select any members for the finals. The winner will be known as the number one strongest guild in Fiore."
He paused when sounds of excitement rippled through the arena.
"The first competitions begin tomorrow. I hope to see you there." King Fiore stepped down and the announcer for the festival started speaking again.
"All right. You've heard it from the man himself. Thank you and good day! Enjoy the Grand Magic Games!"
After this dismissal, Natsu hurried away with Gray close behind.
"Natsu, wait!" started Gray. He grabbed the dragon-slayer and turned him around. "I need to talk to you."
Natsu bowed his head. He would not look at him. This submissive behavior was really starting to scare Gray.
"Hey, look at me," the ice mage said gently. He lifted Natsu's chin so that he could look into his eyes. Gray's heart almost broke at the look. Natsu looked so broken and scared. "I am really sorry about what I said earlier. I…let my anger get the best off me." He swallowed hard. "I did not mean to snap at you. I'll try to keep my anger under control. You have my word."
Natsu searched his eyes, hoping to see truth in them. "Okay," he said. "You do like me, right?"
"Yes." Gray suddenly realized what he was answering. He blushed.
Natsu gave a small laugh then sighed. "I think maybe, just maybe, you'll need help keeping your anger in check. A lot of help. I can help you with that if you want. What do you think?"
"I think I'd like that very mu-"
"Natsu! Gray!"
They both jumped when they heard Lector yell. He flew over to them, breathing hard.
"He's gone! Happy's gone! I can't find him anywhere!"
"What do you mean he's gone?" cried Natsu. "Why weren't you together? I thought you were hanging out today." Natsu really didn't need this right now.
"Where did you last see him?" Gray asked urgently, noticing the look on Natsu's face.
"Umm…I…I can't remember!" whimpered Lector.
Natsu started pulling his hair in distress. "We need to find him Gray! We need to find him!"
"What's going on, Natsu?" exclaimed Sting, rushing over to his disheveled friend and upset Exceed.
"Happy is missing! He's missing!"
Rogue ran over to them, panting. "So is Frosch!"
"Everybody split up! We need to search this place from top to bottom" said Gray. "Come with me, Natsu. We'll notify the security posted in the arena."
Soon, an announcement could be heard throughout the arena, notifying all personnel and anyone within earshot that there were two cats with wings missing. A brief description of the Exceeds were given, including their name, and people ran off in all directions in search of him.
"Everything's going according to plan," muttered Lector. "This was definitely the best way to get those two back together," he continued as he entered the Men's Restroom. He went over to the stall Happy and Frosch were in.
"They're not here!" screeched Lector. His eyes widened.
Flashback
"Okay, Happy and Frosch. You two stay in this stall until I come and get you, okay?" said Happy.
"Okay," said Happy.
"Fro will, too," replied Frosch. The two other Exceeds hadn't planned on Frosch joining them, but after showing up, they really had no other choice.
Happy locked the door to the stall and Lector left the bathroom to set their plan in motion.
End Flashback
Back with Lector
"Why would they leave?" questioned Lector while he started to panic. "Sting and Rogue are going to kill me!"
Lector ran from the restroom, hoping to find Happy and Frosch before anything bad could happen to them.
Magnolia Stadium (Lobby)
"Where is he, Gray? We've looked everywhere," Natsu cried hopelessly. For once, Gray didn't know what to do. He felt so…powerless. And there was nothing he could do. They'd searched everywhere. It was as if Happy had vanished. He tried to comfort Natsu, but he didn't know what to say. His eyes started tearing up.
"Natsu-"
"Are you looking for them?" came a familiar voice from behind Gray. "You really should be more careful, Gray."
Gray and Natsu jumped at Lyon's voice. They whirled around to face him and their eyes lit up in relief at the sight before them. Natsu flung himself at Happy—and Frosch—hugging them tightly.
"Natsu? What's wrong with you?" Natsu sniffed and leaned away from Happy's face. He inspected every inch of him to make sure he was all right.
"Where were you? Are you all right? Are you hurt?" Natsu fretted.
Happy looked confused. "I'm okay." He then looked at Gray. "Help?"
Now it was Gray's turn. He firmly took Happy out of Natsu's arms, much to Natsu's dismay, and squeezed him in relief. "Don't you ever do that again!" he scolded.
Then Natsu did something unexpected. He jumped at Lyon and hugged him. "Thank you so much for finding them." He released Lyon from his death grip and looked at him. "Where was he? How did you find him?"
Lyon just smiled. "Ask the cat. Mind those Exceeds of yours. That goes for the both of you. Take care." He waved and made his way out of the lobby.
"What did he mean?" asked Natsu. "Happy, what happened?"
Happy fidgeted because he wasn't sure if he should answer. "Um…"
"What happened?"
"Okay. Lector and I made a plan. We went to the bathroom and I stayed in the stall, but Frosch showed up and wanted to help, too. I was going to hide so that you would panic. It was meant to get you and Gray back together. But Frosch ran away! Ran to get Frosch back, but then we got lost. Then that ice weirdo found us."
Natsu and Gray stared at Happy for the longest time, unsure of what they just heard.
Natsu narrowed his eyes, an evil glare marring his features. He took a few steps away from Gray and Happy. "LECTOR! YOU BETTER GET YOUR SCRAWNY BUTT OVER HERE RIGHT NOW! YOU AND HAPPY ARE IN BIG TROUBLE!"
"What on earth did you two think you were doing?" roared Natsu. Happy and Lector looked down at their feet sheepishly. "Explain! Now!" His voice left no room for argument. Gray, Sting, and Rogue just stood there, wondering how Natsu suddenly became such a disciplinarian.
"We saw you and Gray fight. We didn't know what is was about, but we wanted to get you guys back together again," Lector said quietly.
"We thought that if one of us was missing, you guys would forget about what happened and get together again…because you care about us…" continued Happy.
"So Happy kinda hid in the bathroom. Just long enough for you and Gray to get back together. But when I went back to the bathroom, he and Frosch were gone! I didn't know they would actually go missing!" Lector seemed like he was about to cry.
"And I didn't really mean to get us lost, either!" implored Happy.
Natsu's heart softened at their heartfelt intentions.
"You do realize that you'll need to be punished, right?" asked Natsu. Happy and Lector stared at Natsu apprehensively.
"Punished?" they responded in unison.
"Yes, punished. You can still hang out together and participate in the games."
How is this punishment? Gray thought.
"However, for the next week the both of you will be cut off from fish. Is that understood?"
Happy and Lector glanced at each other in horror, then looked at Natsu and nodded.
"Good. I'll be checking in with Sting, also, to make sure you're doing just that."
"Oh no, you won't. Because Lector will be doing no such thing," growled an irritated Sting. "You have no right to discipline my friend. He will not be cut off from fish."
"And why not? They both did the crime, now they both do the time. What'll they learn if you don't give them a consequence?" argued Natsu.
"What can they possibly learn from not eating fish?" he argued back. Happy and Lector cringed.
"First off, they'll most likely think twice before pulling a stunt like this again. Secondly, they'll be learning what it's like to be responsible. Thirdly, they'll come to realize what they take for granted. Think about it.
"If I have to break this down for you, it means that Happy and Lector will never do something like this again, especially with Frosch involved. Maybe you should think about that. That goes for you guys, too," he said, indicating Happy and Lector.
"I don't think so-" began Sting,
"It's okay, Sting. We shouldn't have done that. It's only fair that Happy and I do this. And…I won't eat fish whether you want me to or not."
"We were only trying to help Gray and Natsu get back together. We didn't mean any harm. And we especially didn't want to involve Frosch," continued Happy.
"For the record, we are not together," Gray cut in, shooting a slight glare at the Exceeds. He didn't want anyone getting any…ideas.
Natsu started to fight back tears. He was hurt by Gray's words.
They walked out of the stadium. Natsu was hurt. Truly hurt. Why couldn't anything ever go right for him? Why was he always hurt? What was it about him that always made Gray angry?
Gray confused him. Sometimes he was sweet and kind, and other times he was cruel and heartless. Why?
Natsu tried not to think about that anymore. He was tired of being hurt by Gray. He should just let him go his own way. He'd take care of Happy and just stay out of his way. Yeah. He'd do that. It was better that way.
But if that were so, why did he feel so depressed?
"Natsu?" Happy's soft voice snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"I'm hungry," Happy said, rubbing his stomach.
Natsu forced a small smile on his face. "Okay. We'll get you some food. Let's head to a café?" Everyone cheered up at the prospect. Everyone…except Natsu.
End Chapter
