Gajeel cracked his knuckles a bit, then cricked his head from side-to-side. Levy stood in the room with him, watching as he did one last tug on his pants to make sure they were in place and wouldn't go flying during the fight. He clapped his hands together and turned to face the happily worried expression of Levy.
"Hey big guy," she said. "Ready?"
"You're nervous," Gajeel said. "You don't think I can take this guy?"
"I just always get nervous seeing you go off and doing things when I can't help you," Levy said, blushing. "Even something like this, just a simple fight, something we do like all the time. I just can't help it I guess."
Gajeel chuckled. "Man, you've really gotten soft in all this peace, haven't you?"
Levy shook her head. "No, just more content." She beamed up at Gajeel, and he felt a great swelling in his stomach.
In a quick movement he had Levy in his arms pinned against the wall, their lips against one another. Levy, despite her small size, was able to kiss him back just as hard. She wrapped one leg around his muscly back, her breath hot on his ear, and said, "Be safe, for me."
Gajeel chuckled and kissed her again. "C'mon babe." He set her down and moved a bit of hair from her face. "That just ain't me."
Levy sneered. "Then you better win."
"That," Gajeel said, heading for the door, "is exactly the plan."
Natsu sat in Fairy Tail's balcony with Gary, Lucy, Cana, and their captain, Erza. Not even Happy was allowed to be with them. Natsu felt a bit betrayed by the softer rules in place for this Dragon Festival, but when he looked across the arena and saw Happy giddily talking and sitting with Master and Panther Lily he felt much more at ease.
He leaned against the stone railing as the somewhat gender-neutral Mato strolled out, the crowd giving them a minor bit of clapping and cheering, though Mato ignored it. He observed the commentary booth, Lola, Yajima, and Doranbolt, all preparing themselves and doing a little conversating. He heard Gray and Cana making small talk while Erza and Lucy also watched on, awaiting Gajeel's arrival. Natsu stretched his back and arms a bit.
"Man, it's been a while since I last saw Gajeel fight," he said to nobody in particular. At this point he just wanted to create noise for himself; the slight lull of the crowd was putting him to sleep. Not to mention the last few hours were rather action-less.
He stole another glance to Lucy, who had the ghost of a smile upon her face. She felt a good bit of disappointment in not being able to come in first for their competition, seeing as how confident she and Erza had been that Lucy was one of the best dancers of any wizard guild. Fairy Tail sat at third place, tied with Mermaid Heel, according to Erza, and that wasn't likely to change if Gajeel won. If anything it could tie them for second; Sabertooth's Dobengal really managed to steal the show.
Natsu rubbed his chin, the math hurting his brain a bit. He just wanted to see some cool fights. He had no idea what the other matchups were besides the one about to play out. He tried to see himself fighting Ichiya, and grew a smile of his own when he remembered the last time he actually got to witness Ichiya: way back in the Grand Magic Games before Tartaros, Ichiya singlehandedly took down Quatro Puppy's Bacchus and Warcry. Now that was awesome.
Natsu played the situation out in his head: Fire Dragon Iron Fist versus that Smiling Smash or whatever it was that Ichiya called it. Ichiya had grown to be about Elfman's size but probably with a bit more muscle than most of Elfman's forms. That, in terms of raw strength, put him pretty high up there. Natsu tapped his chin.
Now, how strong was Bacchus, really, to be taken down like that? Or Elfman? He blinked and noticed a bit of snot running down his brain from all the concentrating.
"Man, too much thinking can be dangerous," he muttered.
"For you, perhaps," Erza said behind him.
Natsu flung his hands in the air. "Oh, now you pay me some attention?"
Lucy giggled for the first time since her defeat, and Natsu's smile grew a little bigger.
"You're such a dolt," she said.
Natsu found himself incapable for words until he looked at Erza, and then said, "Well, hey, I had to give it a shot."
"And what, pray tell, were you thinking about?" Erza asked. She stepped around the conversating Cana and Gray, who, reading Gray's lips, appeared to be talking about Juvia or something.
"Ah, just how Ichiya stacks up against me," Natsu said. "And, I guess, that metalhead Gajeel."
"I suppose we'll have to see," Erza said. "I believe I heard Blue Pegasus had a great hand in the clean-up around Fiore. Must've given Ichiya quite the amount of time to do various kinds of training, wouldn't you say?"
Natsu nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."
"He'd probably pound me," Lucy said.
Natsu's face flushed and he looked at Lucy with the pale expression. Her face was red as Erza's hair, and Erza was doing her best to keep the laugh from bursting from her mouth.
"Wait, who is pounding you?" Cana burst, probably loud enough for Fairy Tail to hear across the way.
Gajeel sauntered onto the arena grounds, his fists clenched, his opponent approaching from the other side, the crowd roaring, the announcers hollering at them various statistics and facts. Gajeel tuned all of it out, focusing only on the pudgy little man that approached.
If Ichiya represented anything, it was to not judge a book by its cover. His Parfume magic made him exceptionally dangerous in combat: any one of his vials he sniffed or summoned from his body could mean myriad things. That Power Parfume would present a major problem for any wizard not made of iron, but it was yet untested against iron itself.
Worse, Ichiya could have some sort of magic-negating parfume, meaning Gajeel would have to rely solely on his physical body. While he knew he was tough, that drunk Bacchus got taken down in a single hit, and that dude was made of just raw human muscle. Gajeel, without his magic, probably wasn't as strong.
The Iron Dragon Slayer ran his hands through his jet black hair and stopped. Mato, the little tomato-headed weirdo, stepped out between them, raising their hands. They had a familiar scent, but Gajeel couldn't quite pin it down.
"As promised, the first fight of our Day 1 is here!" Mato exclaimed. "Fairy Tail's Gajeel Redfox and Blue Pegasus's Ichiya Kotobuki!"
The crowd roared again. Gajeel unfurled his fists and just curled his fingers in and out in anticipation.
"I appreciate all that you did against that devil Acnologia," Ichiya said. "You are a true maaan."
Gajeel nodded. "Heard your airship really helped out, too. Guess I shouldn't beat that much crap outta you."
"Let's make a game of it then, shall we, meeen?" Ichiya asked. Gajeel leered, and Ichiya explained, "As this is a festival celebrating magic and not brutality, why not make it more on spectacle than force?"
Gajeel grimaced. If that were the case he would gladly swap places with Lucy so she could show off her spirits again.
Ichiya continued, "Whoever lands the first clear blow on their opponent shall be declared the winner." Ichiya held up two fingers. "However, there should be two rules, one of my own discretion, and one of your own, meeen."
"Alright, you first," Gajeel said.
"I say that we must make like the dragons and fly, meeen," Ichiya said.
Gajeel cocked an eyebrow, but didn't want to question the man's ideas. "Okay, then I say whoever draws first blood wins."
Ichiya grinned. "Splendid! I knew you'd be a good sport, Gajeel."
Gajeel grimaced. He much preferred being on the ground and to have access to Shadow Iron Dragon Mode, but being in the air also put Ichiya at a disadvantage.
Gajee's eyes widened. Wait, if he flew, that meant…
"Everything set?" Mato raised his hands before Gajeel could retort. "Then here we go!"
"Meeen!" Ichiya exclaimed. "Parfume: Air!"
Ichiya waved a hand over himself and Gajeel, and instantly Gajeel felt himself go airborne. His stomach heaved at that exact moment and he put up a cross block to defend himself. Chapati Lola explained to the crowd just what a massive mistake Gajeel made.
"Oh no! It seems like Gajeel's Dragon Slayer abilities are really coming back to bite him!"
"Don't worry, friend, the effects last only for five minutes," Ichiya said. "That gives me plenty of time to put you back down after I've beaten you!"
Gajeel snarled. The effects of flight weren't nearly so bad as being stuck on a vehicle. He readjusted himself but the nausea still settled in. He kept his arms up, glaring across the way at the cheeky little bastard smiling wide at him.
"Fleet-Foot Parfume: Zero Distance Inhalation!"
Ichiya spun around in a few circles then stopped and Gajeel saw a flicker of movement, then another, then Ichiya was lancing right toward him.
Ichiya rammed his head into Gajeel's gut but Gajeel held strong and just flipped end-over-end a bit in the air. He managed to catch himself by exerting a powerful magic aura, then pushed himself forward but stopped halfway and held his gut in check.
"Here I come, meeen!"
Ichiya appeared overhead, elbow down, ready to drive Gajeel right into the dirt. Gajeel gasped and managed to get out of the way. Ichiya, like a meteor, dropped to the ground, then cut off his magic and spun around, striking a loving pose for the crowd. Gajeel sighed, feeling a bit of a gag as the weightlessness consumed him once again.
Not much time left. Gajeel glowered down at Ichiya, who floated back up toward him, arms crossed.
"Much as I appreciate what you've done, as I said, I must also respect and honor my guild, Gajeel, and that means defeating you," he said, then let out a long sigh. "Meeen."
"Here it comes!" Lola exclaimed, and Gajeel could sense it.
Ichiya roared and a golden light captured him. His magic power knocked Gajeel back, sending his body into a tizzy. Gajeel bit down on his lip, springing up some blood, the pain momentarily distracting him.
"Power Parfume!" Ichiya roared. "I'm afraid this is the end, my dragon slaying friend!"
Gajeel stopped himself again by punching out at the wall with an Iron Dragon Club. He managed to swing his arm up to catch Ichiya, but Ichiya blocked it and repelled it. He launched at Gajeel, who swooped to the side and just managed to get out another attack but Ichiya swatted it away, given its low strength.
Ichiya slammed his elbow into Gajeel's two metal arms. Gajeel shot toward the ground but reached out and punched down at the ground, keeping himself airborne, and in more torture.
Gajeel formed his hand into an Iron Dragon Club again, then punched himself hard in the face. The crowd went silent for a moment before Gajeel screamed and punched himself again. The pain completely consumed his mind, taking him away from the nausea at hand.
No time. No time, all pain. Focus on the pain, draw your strength from it. Gajeel roared again, feeling his draconic power flow through him, course through his veins.
"Iron Dragon Roar!"
The blast of magic crashed against Ichiya, who tried to hold it back, but was unable to fully, and took the brunt of the blast, allowing the rest to crash to the ground.
"That's the spirit, meeen!" Ichiya exclaimed.
Gajeel shouted again, exploding his aura around him. He had at most one more attack before he'd have to inflict another bit of harm, but he ran the risk of drawing his own blood and forfeiting the match at that point.
"Power Parfume: Max Men!" Ichiya exclaimed, and his massive muscular body tore through the sky right up toward Gajeel.
Gajeel steeled himself, literally, then shut his eyes tight, watching as Ichiya moved from the sunlight under the shadow of the statue.
Ichiya punched out where Gajeel had just been, then stopped and whipped around. The entire crowd, too fell silent, and even the announcers were confused where he went.
"How…how'd he just vanish like that?" Lola wondered.
Ichiya turned once again, just in time to see Gajeel reappear from the shadow, foot extended. The metal sole of his foot crashed against Ichiya's face, springing blood instantly from his nose and sending him rocketing toward the ground. Ichiya created a tiny crater where he landed and slid in a bit of a rut. The magic holding Gajeel in the sky dropped and he plummeted as well, but turned his lower body iron and took the fall with ease.
Gajeel sighed, the knots in his stomach finally untying themselves. He breathed a bit easier and stood up. Ichiya managed to get back up as well, not all that affected by the attack, but he smiled and bowed to Gajeel.
"I concede, meeen," he said.
Mato leapt in between them and threw his hands up. "It's over!"
"My, what a battle!" Lola exclaimed. "Truly hair-raising all the way through!"
"Indeed, it was quite difficult to determine the outcome," Yajima said.
Gajeel blocked out whatever else was said and made his way across the arena toward Ichiya, who bowed to Gajeel again.
"You tricked me," Gajeel said. "You knew it would make me pretty much prone, didn't you?"
Ichiya grimaced, but nodded. "Yes."
Gajeel stopped just in front of the little man, then clamped a hand on his shoulder. "I like it. Almost had me there, gotta admit."
"I figured it was my best way of being able to defeat you," Ichiya said. "After all what hopes do I have against a Dragon Slayer?"
"One," Gajeel said. "That one."
Minerva raised her hand to chuckle into. Rogue raised his eyebrow at Minerva. "What is it, Minerva?"
Minerva sighed and waved her hand. "Nothing. Just an interesting bout is all." She looked keenly to Rogue out the corner of her eye. "Does it bring you a little pride knowing that you, in a way, helped him win that round?"
Now it was Rogue's turn to smile. "Yes, a bit. Gajeel's truly become a master with the shadow magic he took from me."
"Not as good as you, of course," Minerva said, resting a hand on Rogue's shoulder. He patted it, holding down a blush as best he could. Minerva slid her hand down to his elbow, stopped, then laced their arms together and brought them to the edge of the balcony.
Gajeel and Ichiya walked off the battlefield together, both not that harmed and jabbering away. Mato waved to the crowd again, trying to keep the energy up as best he could.
The next match got underway quite fast. Milliana of Mermaid Heel came prancing out as fast as she could, coming to a sliding halt. Across from her, Warcry of Quatro Cerberus came rushing out as well.
The hairs on Milliana's body stood up and her tail shot into the air at the sight of the dog-suited man. Minerva stifled another chuckle.
However, it was not Milliana that was in tears. Instead, Warcry burst out into tears. Minerva's arm tensed and Rogue leaned forward on the railing.
"Ah, that's right, he has Tear Magic," Rogue muttered. "Suppose we'll get to see much more of that this time around."
"Yeah, he's just lucky he ain't fighting me," Orga growled behind them.
The fight got underway. Milliana prowled around her opponent, eyeing him keenly while Warcry just let the tears run wild, spilling magic power out of his body but also gaining much more power in the process. Milliana seemed to notice, as each spike in power made her hair stand up a bit more.
When Warcry was at last ready, he whirled around to Milliana and sprinted at her. Milliana tensed, then leapt in the air over him and wrapped her tail around his throat. She flung herself forward and slammed Warcry to the ground. Milliana slid on the ground, spun, and bolted at him, ramming into his chest with her body and ramming him into the back wall.
Warcry tried to stop but Milliana used her quick reflexes to get out of the way. Warcry pushed himself away from the wall and dashed at Milliana, running like a mad dog at her. She easily stepped to the side but he swiped and his tears lashed out at her. As if someone just took her and picked her up, Milliana flung back, tumbling on the ground until her tail helped her regain her balance.
Milliana shook her head, stunned.
"Intriguing," Rogue said. "He has a ton of natural magic just stored up inside."
"Yes, but he's quite aimless with it," Minerva muttered.
Warcry once again charged Milliana, who seemed to know what to do. Unfortuantely, her feet got tangled up and she tripped forward, but it also threw off Warcry's attack.
"Though, that might be a shared trait today," Minerva said.
Milliana was the first to get up and clawed aimlessly at Warcry.
"Just stay down stay down stay down stay down!" she exclaimed over and over. Warcry managed to get her off of him, but she snagged his arm with her tail and flung him around again, making him quite dizzy.
With Warcry dizzily standing still, Milliana had a perfect target of attack, rushing at him and slamming her feet into his chest with ease. Warcry stumbled back and fell over, too dizzy to move, and the match was over.
Milliana leapt into the air, her tail and hands and legs running wild. She ran laps around Mato, who tried to properly congratulate her but she just would not stop.
"She's like a little kitten," Minerva said.
"It would seem so," Rogue said. "Though not even the Exceeds have that much energy pent up in them."
"Not many of Sabertooth do," Minerva said. "I think Orga may be our most energetic member?"
"No, definitely Sting," Rogue said.
Minerva's lips curled to a nasty grin. A beautiful smile crept onto her face. Rogue blushed and had to look away.
"I think you've got a lot of pent up energy too, Rogue," Minerva said. "You just need the right catalyst to let it out."
"Are you suggesting I fight this round?" Rogue asked.
"No," Minerva said. She patted his arm. "Just trying to loosen you up a bit is all."
Rogue felt an odd sigh of relief when Minerva removed her arm, but it was immediately replaced by longing. Minerva stepped away and Rogue's eyes lingered too long on her body. He blinked and returned his attention to the field.
Lucy scratched something in her hair and leaned against the balcony while Warcry was carted off and Mato finally managed to calm Milliana down a bit, at least enough for her to claim her victory and scamper over to the Mermaid Heel balcony.
"Fast fight," Natsu said.
"Milliana never was one to take things slow," Erza said. "Though an interesting matchup."
"Because of the cats and dogs thing?" Cana asked.
Erza shrugged. "I thought it clever."
"Predictable, really," Cana said.
Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. The crowd grew to a fever pitch after the speed and ferocity of the last fight compared to the slow, methodical one Gajeel found himself in. Still, Lucy couldn't be happier that Fairy Tail managed to secure a point and secure themselves at second place…though still tied with Mermaid Heel, a less-than-favorable position but one that, at the moment, put them closer to the top.
"Anyone know who the next fight is?" Lucy asked.
"No clue," Erza said, though she was clearly lying right through her perfect white teeth. Lucy just rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the arena.
"Well, things don't look too bad so far," Natsu said. "No surprises, I mean."
"Were you worried?" Gray asked, snark laced all throughout his voice.
"Yeah, for you," Natsu jabbed right back.
Lucy sighed but didn't stop the warm smile from latching onto her lips. She still had some butterflies in her stomach, even though her part in the games was, at the moment, over. She wasn't going to participate in any further events nor would she be fighting anyone, since Erza used her one reserve role in Gajeel for that fight with Ichiya.
So, why so nervous?
Her eyes widened and she quickly averted them. She'd been staring at Natsu. They were butterflies for the damn arena, they were butterflies for the damn Dragon Slayer!
Lucy so desperately wished to quiet her mind, but couldn't. It raged like a tsunami in there. She tried to focus on the arena, on the dancing pumpkin person.
Thankfully, Chapati Lola chimed in to distract her. "Up next, we've got quite an interesting matchup. Making their first appearance in the Dragon Festival is Sorciere, headlined today by Sorano!"
Sorano stepped out of the tunnel, waving to a crowd of mixed feelings, but of several cheers from Sabertooth, Fairy Tail, and some in the crowd who may have seen her during the battles against Alvarrez. Sorano stopped and bowed to Mato, who hesitated, then bowed back. Weird.
"Her opponent will be a man you ladies may know a thing or two about, a wizard from the new Orochi's Twilight! It's Bora of Prominence!"
"Sorano!" Lucy's voice boomed over the crowd. "Kick his ass to next week! You hear me! Kick! His! Butt!"
Sorano looked over her shoulder as if Lucy were speaking a foreign language, then held up a tentative thumbs-up. Almost just as loud another voice carried over the arena, exclaiming, "You better listen to Lucy, Sorano!"
"Is that Juvia?" Gray muttered.
"Let the match begin!" Mato exclaimed.
Lucy returned her attention to the field, where Sorano studied her opponent, and her opponent studied her, although for much different reasons.
"My, you certainly are something," Bora said. "I don't think it'd be right of me to fight a woman like you."
"You don't know any women like me," Sorano said.
Bora waved that off. "I've been with plenty of women like you, sweety. All looks and mouth. You're just wearing like it is, really."
Sorano, Lucy observed, wore a different outfit than normal: a long, low-cut white dress that did not hug too tightly to her sides. Her angel wings actually flowed out the back, while the front of her dress cut short, revealing her thighs. She had sleeves on her arms to match, with angel wings running out the side of those as well.
"I want you to say that again," Sorano said. "To my face. That way I can remember it when I put it on your tombstone."
A chill ran down Lucy's back.
"Oh, wow," Cana muttered.
Bora chuckled. "Well, can't say I hate a girl with spirit." He ignted his hands with purple fire. "Though to be honest, I have to be quick with you. My guild doesn't have business with Sorciere we have business with Fairy Tail. So just concede and we'll get on with why I'm really here."
"And I'm here to win, and to win, I have to crush little men like you," Sorano said. "Now, say it again. Tell me what I'm doing here."
Bora snarled. "Fine, you stupid little witch. But don't say I didn't warn you. Hell Prominence!"
Several women in the audience gasped as Bora prepared his ultimate attack. He slammed his arms together and formed a large purple magic seal. When he opened his palms a long stream of purple fire shot straight at Sorano, who didn't even move, didn't even blink. Lucy felt the heat of it from up in the balcony.
Bora roared with laughter. Sorano raised a hand, glowing with white-gold magic, then swung out. The fire hit the hand and veered away, shooting across the sky and harmlessly away from Sorano, who still did not blink. She took a step toward Bora, whose mouth hung agape.
"You've never met a woman like me," Sorano said. "A woman who doesn't care about your charms, not even for a second. A woman who wants to do everything she can to rid the world of men like you."
She held a single hand out and said, "Raguel."
A massive golden light blasted from around Sorano before capturing the arena in pure white light, and then, when everyone's blindness settled, a figure of translucent white light stood behind Sorano, towering to be almost as large as any of the surrounding statues. Bora quivered and tried to scoot back. The angel looked down at him and he froze.
"Say it again," Sorano said.
Bora looked over his shoulder, to where Orochi's Twilight all sat. They nodded to him and the fear washed away from his face. He managed to get back to his feet and glower at Sorano.
"I've not just been idly sitting around, either," he said. "And I'm not afraid of some angel! Go on, try to hit me with that thing!"
"Go," Sorano said, pointing forward.
Raguel nodded and swung down at Bora.
"Red Carpet!"
Bora slid away with ease from Raguel's attack. He howled with laughter, taking Sorano out of his field of vision. When he spun back around, though, there she was, having been flung by the massiv angel. She punched Bora across the face with a fist full of magic. He crashed to the ground, his jaw clearly broken.
Raguel stood over him, palm out, facing him. Bora, shaking, afraid, helplessly watched as Sorano landed near him and planted her foot on him.
"Just wearing it like it is, right?" she asked, and kicked him into the side wall, instantly knocking him out, if the fear of Sorano's rage didn't do it already.
"That's it!" Lucy cheered with the crowd. "Hell yeah, Sorano!"
"Quite amazing," Erza muttered.
Lucy and Juvia cheered Sorano off the arena, who strutted without any hint of looking back at Bora. In that moment, Lucy wanted nothing more than to be as cool as Sorano of Sorciere. They'd have to talk after the battles were all done.
Doranbolt sighed and shook his head. He knew Bora didn't stand a chance in that match, but for Sorano to just destroy him was also quite surprising. Bora wasn't that much of a slouch, which meant that Jellal had been whipping the old Oracion Seis into some major shape. He stole a glance down at the schedule Yajima had for the coming days. Indeed, there were some interesting matchups on that page.
"Who's next, Mr. Yajima?" Doranbolt asked.
Yajima placed a hand over his mic and said, "Actually, it's the match I'm most curious about."
Doranbolt raised an eyebrow. "More exciting than Gajeel and Ichiya?"
"Not exciting, but curious," Yajima said. He pointed to it.
Doranbolt's eyebrows raised even higher and he placed a hand over his own microphone. "Oh, that is quite the intriguing matchup." He grinned. "I would rather like to see that."
He found the names on the paper and soaked them in, trying to imagine what the final battle of the day, Carla vs. Dobengal, would look like.
Thank you for reading! I hope you've enjoyed Day 1 of the Dragon Festival so far, from the Dance Battle to 3/4s of the battles. For the sake of length, and theming for chapters, I decided to leave the last fight out. Gotta have a little bit of build-up, you know?
Let me know what you think of the goings-on so far, and if you like what you see here, check out my other Fairy Tail fic Fairy Tail - New Era, which is approaching it's 100th chapter :DDDDDD (mind=blown)
Also I thought I'd give a shoutout to The New Tournament which is another Fairy Tail Grand Magic Games fic that's just gotten its tournament underway and it's pretty fun stuff (it's also got a few nifty crossover elements to it).