MD Ch 21: Number One Guild In Fiore
September X786 morning of the last day of the Grand Magic Games:
"Good morning everyone and man have the last two days been exciting, but all of that has been building up for today. Where by the end of it we'll be awarding one of the teams the title of Number One Guild In Fiore and as it stands right now the top four are still in the running. Sorry Sabertooth and Mermaid Heel, it seems that this wasn't your year." announced Chapati as the screen showed the current rankings.
Fairy Tail = 50
Blue Pegasus =36
Lamia Scale = 27
Quatro Cerberus = 20
Sabretooth = 15
Mermaid Heel = 10
"But just since they can no longer get first place doesn't mean they won't have a big impact on the outcome for the other teams. And just like yesterday we're going to be having six fights and one more event, but unlike yesterday we're going to be doing the fights first." he continued to announce as the crowd cheered.
"And it seems like Fairy Tail vs Quatro Cerberus is going to be our starting match of the day, with Fairy Tail vs Sabertooth to end all of the fights for the day. Whoever was in charge of the schedule knew what they were doing when they set it up like this." stated Chapati with a grin as the crowd cheered that their favorite guild was going to start and also be the last of the fights.
"You're going to be doing both of those aren't you?" asked Macao as he looked over at Natsu who had a smug grin on his face.
"As the team captain it's my duty to ensure that we win like you wanted Master Macao. And this was one of the easiest ways for me to do that." he replied still grinning as he then jumped into the arena.
"He's only doing this to show how stupid these games are." stated Cobra with a small grin that was almost a smile.
"Well that and maybe to piss Jiemma off as much as possible." replied Ultear as she looked over at said Guild Master who was constantly glaring at Natsu.
"He should really stop trying to do that to him." said Warren with a frown as he looked over at the Sabretooth Team.
"And why the hell should he do something like that?" asked Jet with Droy and Laki right next to him, wanting to hear Warren's response.
"I don't really think I should say." he stated as his frown only got bigger.
"Warren I think it's about time we fill them in on what you saw." said Macao with a serious expression.
"But what about Natsu Master Macao, he can still definitely hear us." he asked while l turning to look at their Master.
"No need to worry about him hearing since Bacchus and him are talking right now and they are definitely going to be having a fight that will keep him too busy to listen in. Also I think it's pretty clear that none of you are allowed to tell Natsu about any of this." stated Macao with a slight frown since he really didn't like keeping secrets from him.
"Why is this even a secret from him?" asked Kei and Meredy at the same time, while also both having concerned looks on their faces.
"I'm also curious as to why you're keeping things secret from him of all people Master Macao, he would never do anything to harm Fairy Tail." stated Kagura with an upset expression.
"I don't think I can agree to that at all Master Macao." said Ultear as she gave him a deadly glare.
"Calm down you four, and just listen to what Warren uncovered and I am confident that you'll agree to keep this a secret from him." stated Macao.
"That's highly unlikely Master Macao but I guess we'll have to wait and see." she replied still glaring at him.
"I guess that's all I could hope for since you're his girlfriend, Warren could you please inform them of what you saw." said Macao after letting out a long sigh.
"Well I guess I might as well cut straight to the point, Jiemma is a terrible guild Master that only rules by fear." he said.
"We already knew that." pointed out Jet knowing that there had to be more than just that.
"Yes but we didn't know how bad he actually was, and ever since Natsu's little visit Jiemma has become even worse and has gotten rid of any mage that wasn't willing to do everything that he told them to. And when he kicks them out let's just say that it's not very pretty, he has them strip down completely to then remove their guild mark in front of all the other members only to then kick them out the door in that state." said Warren with a very angry expression on his face just like pretty much everyone else had as well.
"That bastard, now I'm wishing that we didn't stop Natsu from tearing into him like he wanted." said Laki barely able to contain her rage that a guild Master would actually do that to his own mages.
"How did he even become their Master?" asked Kagura who was really good at hiding the rage that she had for Jiemma right now.
"No idea but I do have to agree with Laki on what she said." replied Jet as he glared at Jiemma.
"That's not all, every member that didn't win or take us down in the events or fights at these games are going to go through the same thing. Jiemma actually told them all of that before the first day as a form of motivation I think. But the worst part is what I saw him do to his daughter every time she so much as questioned his words, he would actually hit her. And it was an actual hit that you would do in a real fight." stated Warren as you could see the hatred in his eyes for Jiemma.
"He's why I hate most men." growled Laki as she started to think of twisted ways to punish the Master of Sabertooth.
"How could he do that to his own daughter?" asked Kei who now pitted Minerva for having to deal with a father like that.
"Natsu would destroy him if he found out about this." stated Meredy with a sad look.
"And that's exactly why we don't want him to know." said Macao with a frown that kept returning to his face because of the topic they were discussing.
"I think we should let him." said Droy with look of disgust on his face since he knew that most likely all of the mages that tried to help them that day probably got expelled.
"Unfortunately there is nothing that we can do about all of this because every guild is different about how they are run. And if Natsu did attack Jiemma for this then the Council would be forced to step in this time which would make things very ugly very fast. So our best decision is to let this play out and try not to antagonize Jiemma anymore than we already have." he replied still frowning.
"If that is what you want then you should have probably told the person doing all of the antagonizing." stated Cobra with a smirk since he didn't care about what happened at Sabretooth. That is as long as it didn't affect Fairy Tail in a negative way, which slightly surprised him since he didn't think he would ever actually care for the guild like that.
"He's right Master Macao, and I also think you're not giving Natsu enough credit here. Yes he would be furious about finding this out but he wouldn't be so dumb as to charge in like a madman and attack Jiemma. That Natsu died when the Tenrou group went missing and he was the person that everyone started to rely on." said Ultear with an upset expression on her face as she looked at Macao.
"But I don't even want to take that risk." stated Macao with a concerned look in his eyes.
"And you didn't Master Macao, which might have gotten the mages that competed in last two days kicked out of his guild. But as you said it's not our responsibility to look out for them and others like them since they're in a different guild that only cares about power." she replied.
"Ultear you know I didn't mean it like that, but right now we're still in a tricky spot with the Council." he argued while now slightly glaring at her.
"I don't really think we are Master Macao and that's all because of Natsu and what he's done over the last two years. But hey if you want to keep the one person that has done the most for the guild in the dark that's all up to you. Now I would like to watch the end of his match if you don't mind." she said while turning away from him and watching the match like she said.
"It was because of you two that I even have this position." he mumbled to himself as he and the rest of the team decided to watch the match in silence.
Back with Natsu when he entered the arena:
"Ladies and gentlemen if you wanted to witness another fight from Salamander it seems that today is your lucky day." announced Chapati as Natsu jumped into the arena as the crowd started to cheer louder than before.
"You seem to be the crowd's favorite Salamander." said Bacchus before jumping into the arena with a crazed grin on his face.
"And it looks like Bacchus is more than willing to face off against Salamander, which is sure to make an interesting fight between these two S-Class mages." cheered Chapati as the crowd somehow got even louder.
"What can I say Bacchus, they can't get enough of me right now." replied Natsu with a smug grin.
"That they can't Salamander, so what have you been up to lately?" he asked with a smile before he started to drink from his gourd.
"Since there hasn't been any more drakes recently I've been taking it easy." answered Natsu with a smirk.
"Don't give me any of that bullshit Salamander, I don't think you even know what that word means anymore." he said with a smirk of his own as he continued to drink.
"Hey I drank your sorry ass under the table." argued Natsu as he glared at Bacchus.
"That doesn't count since you can't get drunk Salamander." he stated with his smirk getting bigger.
"I'm still going to count that as my victory, and I still know how to take it easy Bacchus. Only my definition of that has changed, I mean not dealing with drakes is definitely taking it easy for me." he said as he got out a cigar and lit it with his lighter.
"I bet you were training ever since that last attack for these game." stated Bacchus after taking another swig from his gourd.
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, but during that time I was mainly focused on training the rest of my team." he replied with a gesture over his shoulder to where team Fairy Tail was located.
"Why in the hell did you do that Salamander, I mean you seem to be the only one competing?" asked Bacchus with a slightly confused look on his face.
"Because I wasn't really training them for this since all of this is really pointless in my opinion. I was training them for the next time they have to help me fend off another drake attack. You can understand why I would want to do that, since it was a miracle that we all made it last time." he answered now with a frown.
"More than most since we weren't as lucky as you guys." stated Bacchus with a frown of his own.
"I'm sorry about that Bacchus, if I was only a little faster." he said with his head down.
"Salamander you have nothing to apologize for, you took on four of those bastards on your own when my whole guild could barely handle one. Only for you to come and save our sorry asses, so don't apologize or even try to take the blame for their deaths. They were both great wizards that died doing something that they believed in which is more than most of us get to do." said Bacchus with a serious look in his eye as he looked Natsu directly in his.
"Never thought that I would hear something like that from you." he replied with a slight smile.
"Hey just because I tend to drink a lot doesn't mean I don't know a thing or two." stated Bacchus with a grin.
"Would you two fight already!" shouted one brave soul from the crowd.
"Well it is the reason that we're both here." said Natsu as a grin made its way across his lips.
"That it is Salamander and I plan to be the first one to take you down." replied Bacchus after finishing the booze in his gourd.
"I feel honored that you are actually getting drunk before we even started." stated Natsu as he got into a defensive stance.
"Of course I did Salamander, I'd be a fool if I didn't after everything I've seen from you." he said with a drunken grin as he took a wide stance.
"Considering that you've been an S-Class mage for a while now and could actually handle Erza I'm not going to hold back either." said Natsu as the two started to walk in a circle, keeping the other one on the exact other side.
"I wouldn't want it any other way Salamander, especially since I don't want to hear any excuses from you after this." he taunted in the hopes that Natsu would attack.
"Is that so Bacchus, then how about we add a little wager to this match?" asked Natsu while they continued to circle each other.
"What did you have in mind Salamander?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.
"The loser has to pay for the tab next time we go drinking together." answered Natsu as he moved his cigar to the other side of his mouth.
"You're on Salamander!" he shouted as he lunged at the dragon slayer catching him slightly off guard. Natsu was just barely able to block the attack with his forearms, while not having the proper footing to receive such a strong hit. This caused him to be sent flying back into the wall of the arena causing most of the crowd to have their mouths drop open.
"Salamander was just sent flying." said Chapati in complete shock as Bacchus started to chuckle.
"Damn Bacchus I think that would have killed a lesser mage." said Natsu with a grin as he touched the spot that Bacchus hit him at while also picking up his cigar of the ground that flew out of his mouth after the hit.
"Oh come on Salamander, I know I can go all out against you which is something I don't get to do that often." replied Bacchus with a grin that was wiped away as he had to block a kick from his opponent. Pushing him back five feet and leaving large skid marks in the ground since he was able to keep his footing unlike Natsu moments earlier.
"And it looks like it might be the same for me if you exclude drakes of course." said the dragon slayer with a crazed grin now on his face as he launched himself at Bacchus.
"This is so wild!" shouted Bacchus as he charged in as well. This resulted in both of their attacks hitting each other and causing a giant burst of energy to shoot from the two of them. That blew the dirt and dust away from the two fighters in the center of the arena.
Both then launched into a series of strikes and other combinations all in the hopes of breaking through the other's guard. For the first minute it looked like they were evenly matched until Bacchus all of a sudden started to land more blows than Natsu. And it continued on this way for another five minutes ending with Natsu being launched into the wall and leaving an indentation of himself in it.
"Shit Bacchus, your hits are what I imagine being hit by a train feels like." said Natsu as he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders.
"Thanks Salamander, but how are you even standing after being hit like that?" asked Bacchus who was hoping that Natsu would stay down after that last hit.
"Bacchus I was getting hit like that since I was seven years old, so of course I can take stuff like that all day. I mean I was raised by a dragon for crying out loud, but seeing as we only have a few more minutes left I think I'm going to have to start using my magic. Otherwise this is going to end in a draw which I can't allow." he said while putting a new cigar in his mouth and lighting it with his fingers since he finished the other one.
"Salamander is finally going to start using his magic!" cheered Chapati who was barely saying anything during most of the fight.
"Let's do this Salamander." said Bacchus with a crazed grin as he charged at Natsu. He tried to strike him in the face but was shocked when his hand went straight through his face and causing black smoke to shoot out.
"What the hell?" asked Bacchus with his hand still were Natsu's head should have been.
"Nifty trick right?" asked Natsu as his head reformed to the side with it being out of the way of Bacchus's attack.
"You have to be kidding me." said Bacchus with a look of disbelief.
"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FISTS!" he shouted as he laid into Bacchus who still had his guard down sending fiery fist after fist at the mage trying to get his guard back up, which he did after taking a few strong hits.
"You're one tough son of a bitch Bacchus, FIRE DRAGON'S SMOLDERING EMBERS." he said with a grin while adjusting the cigar that he still had in his mouth somehow. Bacchus who was thinking it was a new attack of his was surprised to see that the only thing that changed was black smoke was now coming off of Natsu whenever he moved.
"What type of move was that?" he asked while keeping his guard up.
"One that guarantees my win before the match is declared a draw, unless you can breathe smoke like me. FIRE DRAGON'S TALON!" shouted Natsu as he jumped into the air and brought his foot down on Bacchus. Said mage easily dodged it with a side step and countered the move with a few blindingly fast strikes that would have caused Natsu severe damage if they didn't go through his body again.
"FIRE DRAGON'S SLASH!" he shouted as he swiped his arm horizontally at Bacchus. Who thanks to his quick reflexes was able to only make it a flesh wound, but couldn't stop the grunt of pain that came with it because of the burning sensation that he was now feeling.
"Okay Salamander what the hell are you doing?" asked Bacchus as he glared at his opponent.
"Which part are you talking about Bacchus?" he asked back with a grin.
"All of it, especially the part about why my lungs and cuts feel like they are on fire?" asked Bacchus in a slightly angry tone.
"That's because they kind of are, anything that comes into contact with my smoke starts to burn and as you already know it's not a good sensation. So how about I end this right now, FIRE DRAGON'S SMOLDERING ROAR!" shouted Natsu as he unleashed a roar at Bacchus. But unlike his normal roar this one had his black smoke mixed in with it, making it look even more intimidating as the black and orange swirled together.
Bacchus tried to dodge it but thanks to him being slightly out of breath because of the smoke that he inhaled he wasn't able to and the crowd watched as he took on almost the full force of Natsu's roar. As the roar was stopped they were shocked to see Bacchus still standing there with a crazed grin on his face as he looked at Natsu.
"And this is why I called you a tough son of a bitch." stated Natsu with a smile as he slowly walked towards the mage.
"Thanks Salamander, the same is definitely true about you." replied Bacchus as he barely remained standing.
"I kind of had to be otherwise I wouldn't be here right now Bacchus, and just so you know. You were going to win if we kept this strictly a hand to hand combat fight, but since it wasn't I decided to have some fun and win in the process." said Natsu while moving his cigar to the other side of his mouth.
"Oh I could see that Salamander, but like you said this was a fight where all that matters is who won. And now it looks like I'm going to have to pay for those drinks we're going to be having sometime soon." he said with a smile, right before falling flat on his face.
"Salamander wins and he did it with a dual elemental roar!" announced Chapati as the crowd went wild at the conclusion of the fight that looked like Natsu was the closest to possibly losing.
With Sabretooth:
"Look at that arrogant bastard he thinks he's untouchable." growled Jiemma as Bacchus fell to the ground.
"Dad I don't think I'll be able to defeat him." said Minerva nervously after once again seeing how far above her Natsu actually was.
"What was that Minerva?" he asked while turning to look at her with an angry expression.
"I said I don't think I can beat him." she replied while looking away from him.
"And why not Minerva, because you better otherwise you will suffer the same fate as those other losers. Don't think that just because you're my daughter I'll treat you any differently, weak is weak." he declared while glaring at his daughter.
"How do you expect any of us to be able to contend with him?" she asked in a louder voice.
"Because that is what I commanded you to do, besides he's like any other mage out there and has a weakness. All you need to do is find what it is and then exploit it." he replied as he got up from his seat so he was towering over her.
"But that's still unreasonable." she declared as she glared back at him.
"How so Minerva?" he asked as both of them tuned out what was happening around them.
"Because you couldn't even do anything to him, so how are we supposed to!" she shouted at him.
"Why you ungrateful little bitch." he growled as he swung at her. But right before it would have hit her it was stopped by something extremely hot that now had a hold on his wrist. Standing to the side of Minerva was none other than the cause for all of Jiemma's hatred and disgust, Natsu Dragneel. And the look that he now had on his face was one of complete and utter rage, ready to be unleashed on him.
"So this is how a mage is treated at you guild when pointing out facts." said Natsu as he increased his grip on Jiemma's wrist, causing the man to bite back a scream of pain.
"Salamander." growled Jiemma with nothing but venom in his voice.
"Hello again Jiemma, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation with your daughter about me." replied Natsu as he let go of his wrist now having a fake smile on his face.
"Just like a Fairy to eavesdrop in on a private conversation." he said with a sneer.
"Jiemma don't you remember our little deal we made a few months ago, because I would hate to have to remind you in front of all these people. Also I wouldn't call almost yelling at each other in this arena a private conversation by any stretch of the imagination." stated Natsu still having that same fake smile.
"No I didn't Salamander and you should really learn to mind your own business." he said while glaring at him.
"I was going to until you were about to strike your own daughter just because she pointed out the fact that I can beat you. Oh and I am more than happy to make a public demonstration of that fact right now Jiemma, and I think if you lose you'll have to step down as Master of your guild and leave. Or did I make a false assumption about you kicking out all the losers from your guild as you called them?" asked Natsu hoping that Jiemma would fight him since all of this was being showed to everyone watching the games right now.
"You really should know your place Salamander; you can't talk that way to a Guild Master. And you couldn't beat me if you wanted to, also what I do with my guild members is my own business so stop trying to play the hero." he replied still not realizing all of this was being broadcasted.
"First off Jiemma I am never going to see you as any sort of Guild Master after you made the decision to not help Aster while they were being attacked by a drake. And I couldn't care less about your guild but I do care about your members and what you do to them, considering that you were just about to hit your own daughter just a few moments ago. Also if you're so sure that you can beat me then why don't you accept my challenge Jiemma and to make things interesting the loser has to leave their guild to never return again." he said still smiling at him.
"Why you little piece of shit, I would take you up on that offer but something like that is beneath a Guild Master." stated Jiemma as he continued to glare at Natsu.
"The words of a coward that isn't willing to back up his big talk, but that's to be expected from the man that sat back and watched Aster be destroyed." said Natsu as he turned away from Jiemma.
"That's it!" shouted Jiemma as he swung a fist at Natsu only for it to go through him just like when he was fighting Bacchus.
"SMOKE DRAGON CHOKE!" shouted Natsu as he twirled around and grabbed Jiemma by the throat. And easily lifted him off the ground as black smoke from the hand holding him started to go into Jiemma's mouth and causing him to start choking as it started to fill his lungs.
"We're never going to be able to stand each other Jiemma, which I really couldn't care less about since I don't want to associate with someone who's so consumed about obtaining power for all the wrong reasons. But what I won't stand for is you using me and my guild as an excuse for how you treat your own mages." he said while Jiemma was still gasping for air as more smoke filled his lungs.
"Now I would love to destroy your guild but I'm pretty sure that you just did a great job of that all by yourself since you've been the center of attention before I even got here." he stated while pointing to the screen that was displaying the two of them at the moment.
"Salamander please stop, you're going to kill him." said Minerva with a concerned look.
"I can't believe she still cares for a worthless father like you Jiemma. And I was never going to kill you, I was just planning on letting you experience what the citizens of Aster had to go through. So you have your daughter to thank for not experiencing that pain for the next few minutes." he replied as he dropped Jiemma to the ground and started to remove his smoke from the man in a less than gentle manner. Once he was done with that Jiemma was now passed out on the ground with a few of his mages making sure that he was still okay.
"Thank you Salamander." said Minerva as she glanced at him.
"I honestly wasn't going to kill him even if he is one of the worst men I've ever had the displeasure of meeting." he stated as he was turning to leave.
"I meant thank you for stopping him from hitting me." she clarified as she turned away from him.
"There was no way I was going to let something like that happen while I'm around. And I actually have to thank you for telling my friends how to get to Aster, who knows how many more would have died if you didn't do that. So if you ever need anything don't be afraid to ask and that also includes dealing with your jackass of a father." he replied with a grin before jumping back into the arena that still didn't have another fight going yet because of the commotion that he just made.
"Thanks Salamander." she replied with a slight smile.
"You know you can call me Natsu Minerva since that's what most of my friends call me." he stated while he continued to walk across the arena with his back to her. Not noticing the embarrassed look Minerva had on her face for apparently becoming Natsu's friend during that little exchange.
"Thanks Natsu." she said just above a whisper as she decided to make sure her dad was still okay.
With Fairy Tail:
"Well that could've gone a lot worse." stated Max with a grin.
"At least we don't really have to tell him since he appears to have figured most of it out." said Warren with a look of relief on his face.
"That idiot might have just gotten us disqualified." said Macao almost in tears since the thirty million jewels were practically slipping through his fingers at the moment.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that Master Macao." stated Kagura with a slight grin.
"Why the hell not, he just attacked the Master of a different guild?" he asked still imagining all the jewels that they would no longer be getting.
"Natsu did no such thing Master Macao and the whole country saw it. He also protected Minerva and chastised Jiemma for not helping the citizens of Aster in the process as well. So overall I think we should be fine after everything is all said and done." said Ultear with a happy little smile since Natsu actually controlled himself.
"He did show his darker side as he choked Jiemma like that." stated Cobra with a smirk since he has been on the receiving end of Natsu's dark side before.
"I'll admit that probably wasn't the best decision of his but it could have been worse like Max said." she said as the person they were discussing jumped up to them.
"Sorry Master Macao looks like I'm probably going to be disqualified from competing anymore in these games. But I'm confident that we'll still win without me helping anymore." said Natsu with a huge grin that looked like he honestly couldn't be happier.
"What if our team gets disqualified because of what you just did?" asked Macao as he glared at the still grinning dragon slayer.
"Then it would mean that we could all head home earlier, and before you even start screaming at me about the jewels I already said that I could easily get that amount for you. Besides I am confident that they wouldn't want to punish the whole team for my actions that most people are going to find very justifiable after everything that they just heard and saw." he answered while taking a seat next to Ultear.
"Even if that does happen Natsu, you have to think before you do something like that." declared the current Master of Fairy Tail.
"I did think before I acted Master Macao because if I didn't then Jiemma wouldn't be breathing right now." he replied in an angry tone as Chapati finally started to talk again.
"Sorry everyone but the games are going to be on hold for a few moments please, so now would be a great time to use the restrooms and get more refreshments from the stands located outside." said Chapati before turning off his mic.
"This doesn't look very good." stated Meredy as she kept glancing over at Natsu and Ultear.
"Don't worry, the worst that's going to happen is that I'm going to be disqualified from participating in anything else." said Natsu with a confident smile that made the few members that were concerned about this stop freaking out.
"Salamander can I ask you a question?" asked Sting with a confused look on his face.
"Ask away Sting." he replied while messing with the blonde's hair again just to rile him up.
"Why did you help her when she's not even part of our guild?" asked Sting as the fought with Natsu's hand that was still trying to mess with his hair.
"There's going to be times in your life Sting where you see things happening that you know are just wrong. And despite what most people might think you should do in those situations you'll know exactly what has to be done, even if it seems like the dumbest idea out there. So long as that action doesn't harm Fairy Tail in any way then I'm confident that you'll make the right choice, which is exactly what I just did." he answered with a serious face so Sting would understand that he's not joking about this.
"But couldn't you have just gotten all of us disqualified." pointed out Rogue with a slight frown.
"I might have, and if that's the case then all I did was cause the guild to lose a few jewels. Still making what I just did okay since jewels aren't really that important when compared to helping someone out who's in need." he clarified as Chapati coughed into his mic to get the crowds attention.
"Attention everyone a decision has been made regarding the recent incident between Sabertooth and Fairy Tail. And I unfortunately have to tell you all that Salamander has been disqualified from participating in any of the following matches." he announced with a frown as the crowd started to boo the decision. Some demanding that he be allowed to compete since he didn't do anything wrong in their eyes and it looked like it was going to get worse until Natsu let out a roar to get everyone's attention.
"Thank you everyone but that's enough already, I knew that my actions would most likely lead to something like this. And I'm more than happy to accept the punishment for attacking another guild like I did because even if I'm out the rest of team Fairy Tail will be able to pick up where I left off and finish these games in first place." he said to the arena with his usual grin as everyone seemed to calm down since he was completely okay with it.
"Thank you Salamander and I think I speak for everyone else here that it was a pleasure to watch you compete." said Chapati with a smile.
"Thanks and it was a pleasure to be here, but now that I've been disqualified I think I'm going to go attend to some other business of mine." he replied shocking the crowd and his own team as he started to leave the stands.
"Natsu wait for me." stated Ultear as she went after him.
"Ultear I'll be fine and I think the team still needs you." he said while turning to look at her with a warm smile.
"What are you planning to do?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.
"Nothing much, probably go and say hi to Sherry and meet her cousin who's dying to see me. And I'll probably do a little snooping into that thing we were talking about in the garden the other night." he answered while walking back to her and wrapping his arms around her waist.
"If that's what you planning then I should definitely be with you." she stated with a determined glint in her eye. That then changed to surprise as Natsu brought her into a kiss that reminded her of the one in the garden but somehow this one was better since he was the one to initiate it.
"Sorry, but it'll be easier for me if I'm alone, less likely to get noticed." he said just above a whisper after ending their kiss.
"Just be careful." she replied with a faint blush gracing her cheeks.
"When have I not done that?" he replied while laughing to himself as he once again started to leave the arena.
"You and everyone else probably think you're joking about that Natsu, but you would and the rest of them are wrong." she thought with a small smile as she returned to her seat. She then finally noticed that all of her team was smiling at her funny, none more than Meredy who looked like she might burst from happiness.
"What's with everyone?" she asked mainly wanting to hear from Meredy on this.
"Your and Natsu's little moment was just witnessed by all of Fiore." stated Laki with a happy smile.
"Not just that, but he was the one to kiss you." said Meredy as she got right in her face.
"He's done that before." she replied, slightly embarrassed by all of that being displayed for the whole country.
"Yeah maybe a little peck but never something like that, that was important and you know it." stated her surrogate daughter while smiling at her.
"I'm more surprised that she actually blushed." stated Jet with a grin that was gone with one look from Ultear.
"I didn't blush." she declared while glaring at him.
"Oh yes you did Ultear, which means you were even caught off guard by him doing that." said Meredy with a smug grin.
"Let's just watch the fights." she replied with a defeated sigh.
With Natsu:
"Hello Lamia Scale." said Natsu as he came up to their team.
"Oh no he's come to attack us now." shouted one of the members to only be quickly hit over the head by Lyon who still had a few bandages on thanks to the dragon slayer.
"Shut up, Natsu wouldn't do something like that for no reason. So why did you stop by Natsu?" asked Lyon with a smile that Natsu thought looked weird on him.
"Decided to give up on calling me Salamander?" he asked with an eyebrow raised.
"As you said before its fine for your friends to call you that." stated Lyon now with a smirk that reminded him of Gray.
"That I did Lyon, and I just stopped by to see if Sherry's cousin was with you so I could finally meet her." he said while looking around for the pink haired Lamia Scale mage.
"They both went to go get some food just a little bit ago, so they should be back any minute now." said Lyon as he motioned for Natsu to take a seat.
"Thanks for the offer but I think I'm going to go and find them since I have other things I need to do." he replied before taking his leave. Now following the scent of Sherry to a group of concession stands, where he spotted her and a little girl with the same hair color receiving food from one of the stands.
The little girl was wearing a light blue dress with no sleeves that puffed out at the bottom of it. Around her waist was a large yellow bow that matched the two smaller ones that she had in her hair, which gave her pigtails that just went past her shoulders. On her feet were simple black dress shoes that looked pretty comfy to wear and very practical to use as an everyday footwear.
"So I've been told that someone around here is a really big fan of mine." he stated while coming up to them with his usual grin.
"Natsu Dragneel, you just couldn't help yourself could?" asked Sherry with a smirk while shaking her head at him.
"No not really, or would you have rather watched her get hit by him?" he asked back with a smirk of his own. That he had until a high pitched squeal came from the little girl next to Sherry, causing him to cover his ears as she continued to let out her squeal of excitement.
"I can't believe the famous Salamander is actually right in front of me." she said while jumping around excitedly.
"Wow, what in the world did I do to make you such a big fan of mine?" he asked with a grin as the ringing in his ears died down.
"What haven't you done Salamander." she replied as she then started to list off his accomplishments while counting them on her fingers.
"How does she know about all of that?" he asked Sherry in a whisper.
"She started reading at a really young age and instantly took an interest in magic. And I guess when those stories about you came out a while ago she read all of them." replied Sherry with a grin as the little girl continued to rattle off all of his past deeds including a lot about the destruction that he used to cause.
"Okay how in the world does she know about some of these, they were never released to the public?" he asked with a confused look on his face.
"She's already halfway through her Magic Schooling, where some of the teachers work for the Council as well. So maybe she got them to let her read them." suggested Sherry with a proud smile now on her face.
"Magic Schooling?" he asked.
"Figures you wouldn't know about it since you were taught by a dragon. But for some people who didn't run into a friendly dragon they decide to go to a school to be taught the fundamentals of magic and possibly even specialize in a specific type of magic." she explained.
"And when do most people finish this schooling thing?" he inquired since this little girl was only ten years old.
"Depends at what age you enter, but the average is six years." she answered while her little cousin continued to go on and on about what Natsu has done.
"So she started when she was just seven?" he asked with a slightly shocked expression.
"No she actually started at the age of eight but she is scheduled to finish in only four years." she replied once again having a proud grin.
"And finally one of the main reasons that I look up to you is due to the fact that everything you do is to protect the ones you care about. It's something that they keep telling us at school, but for some reason a few of my teachers say I shouldn't have you as my role model." said the little girl now almost out of breathe.
"That's probably because they're just a bunch of old fools that are jealous that we're both still young and can have fun. So what's your name since we never really got introduced properly?" said Natsu with a warm smile.
"Oh no, how could I be so rude sorry Salamander, my name's Chelia Blendy and I still can't believe that I'm actually getting to meet you." replied Chelia with a huge smile as she tried not to bounce around in joy.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Chelia and feel free to can call me Natsu if you want. And from what I've heard from your cousin Sherry you're already becoming quite the little mage." he said, causing her smile to somehow get even bigger than it already was.
"I don't know about that, I still don't have any spells for attacking yet." she said with a little disappointed look.
"And it's probably a good thing since you're so young." he said only to be surprised at the glare she was now giving him after hearing that.
"Like a drake or a dark mage will care about that." she pointed out while continuing to glare at him.
"Very true but you really shouldn't be worried about things like that since you're still only a kid. Don't you want to go and play with your friends like all of the other kids?" he asked since she really shouldn't be concerned about things like that just yet.
"I would but most of my friends died in Aster." she replied now about to cry. Sherry was about to comfort her but Natsu decided to intervene since seeing women has always been a weak spot for him.
"I'm so sorry Chelia I didn't know, but you can't let something like that stop you from ever having any more fun. I might not have known your friends but I'm confident that they would want you to keep smiling and having fun as if they were still with you. Also you just made another friend today who could really go for having some fun." said Natsu now on one knee right in front of her.
"I didn't make a new friend today." she said with a little sniffle.
"What are you talking about, you and I are friends now aren't we?" he asked with a warm smile.
"Do you really mean it?" asked Chelia with a surprised look on her face.
"Of course I do Chelia, why wouldn't I want to be friends with you? And I bet in a few years you'll be giving me a run for my money and I'll be calling you for help." he said only for her to jump him with a hug.
"Thank you Natsu." she said quietly while still hugging him.
"Anytime Chelia, so what do you want to do since I'm no longer competing in these games?" he asked as they separated.
"Could we talk and watch the games together?" she asked nervously while looking at her feet.
"If that's what you want to do." he replied with his usual grin as she hugged him again and then grabbed his hand and practically dragged him to her seat. Only to instantly start asking him all sorts of questions about certain things she read about him that she wanted to check if they were true for herself.
With Fairy Tail:
"So he left us to go hang out with a little girl?" asked Jet with a slightly puzzled look on his face. Since a while ago Natsu talking with Chelia was displayed on the screen for the whole arena to see, causing a lot of people to wonder what he was doing with Lamia Scale or more specifically Chelia. Who looked like she was having the time of her life while talking with him about who knows what, and even causing Natsu to laugh out loud sometimes.
"That and some other reasons." answered Ultear with a smile since she always liked it when he relaxed like this.
"What other reasons?" asked Meredy with a slightly jealous look on her face as she looked at the two talking with each other.
"Is someone a little jealous?" she teased Meredy back, causing her to have a slight blush and start mumbling to herself.
"I would also like to know what other reasons Natsu has for not being with us right now Ultear?" asked Macao with a slight grin because of Meredy's reaction to being accused like that.
"It's not my place to tell Master Macao, just like it wasn't my place to tell him what you were keeping from him." replied Ultear with a sly grin.
"Fair enough." he stated, knowing that he should have guessed that she would have said something like that.
"So who are sending out to fight?" asked Kei as she and everyone else looked at Ultear for an answer.
"Why are you all looking at me, Natsu was the captain?" she stated while looking back at all of them.
"Because you're the next one in line for that position." stated Laki as if she should have known this.
"And when in the world was that decided?" she asked back.
"Come on Ultear, as soon as he was captain we all knew you were second in command. So who's it going to be, because I wouldn't mind going out there and showing Sabretooth what I'm capable of." replied Max with a grin. And soon pretty much everyone else was asking to be sent out.
"Enough already, you guys do know that if you asked Natsu earlier he definitely would have let other people fight besides him?" she asked with scowl because she couldn't understand them when they were all talking at once.
"We know that, but we wanted to let him have some fun since he rarely does that anymore." explained Warren as the rest nodded their heads in agreement.
"Thank you all for doing that, he would really appreciate it if he found out. And I just decided who we're going to be sending out there." she replied with a warm smile.
"So who's it going to be?" asked Sting hoping that he would be the lucky one.
"Kagura you are going to show the rest of the country that Natsu isn't the only capable wizard that we have, just like Jet did on day one." she answered with a smirk.
"Thank you Ultear, I will not let Fairy Tail down." said Kagura just as her fight was announced and the crowd was waiting to see who would be participating.
"It would appear that Fairy Tail is sending out Kagura Mikazuchi to face off against Minerva Orland. Who has to be pretty happy that she's not facing off against Salamander right now." announced Chapati as the crowd cheered for the two beautiful young ladies facing off against each other.
"I'd like to apologize for my father's actions." said Minerva with a quick bow.
"No need for that Minerva, you're not responsible for what he does and I'm sorry that you and your guild had to see Natsu when he's angry." replied Kagura with a slight smile.
"That's definitely something I won't be forgetting any time soon and I didn't expect you to be this nice to me." stated Minerva with a shocked expression.
"Any friend of Natsu's is a friend of mine. Besides, from what I heard you were one of the few at your guild to try and help out my friends on that day. So you're obviously not that bad of a person, but I think we should put all of this aside since we're supposed to be fighting." she said while taking out the sword that she would borrow from Natsu, Dragon's Regret.
"That we are." replied Minerva as a smirk made its way across her face while she gathered her magic and concentrated it to both of her hands. Both of them lunged at each other causing a large shockwave to explode from their location.
"Minerva was able to block Kagura's strike with just her magic alone, this is going to be one interesting fight." announced Chapati.
"Very impressive, but you shouldn't have let me get this close." said Kagura as she and Minerva were locked together at this moment. Kagura's sword just a few inches away from Minerva's face, thanks to her holding it back with both hands still covered in her magic.
"We'll see about that." replied Minerva as she kicked Kagura off of her. Only for her to have to lean back as a slash went straight through the spot that her chest used to occupy only seconds ago. And for the next five minutes the crowd watched the two duke it out and all were surprised at how well Minerva was at fending of Kagura while unarmed. But even though she was doing a great job of it she was always on the defense and was slowly getting small cuts from the swordswoman.
"It's over!" shouted Kagura as she slashed as Minerva's unguarded back knowing that it was her win if it landed. But was shocked when her sword met no resistance and Minerva was no longer standing there.
"That was a little too close, and you were definitely correct about not letting you get that close to me. And I don't plan on making that mistake again." stated Minerva from the other side of the arena.
"You don't have a choice." said Kagura as she started to run at her, but was caught off guard when hit directly with a wave of Minerva's magic causing her to let out a little scream of pain.
"Did you really think I could only use my magic at close range?" asked Minerva as she sent wave after wave at Kagura who was just barely able to dodge them. And rather than responding Kagura just continued to advance on Minerva whose smirk was only getting bigger by the second.
"Sorry Kagura but even if you get close to me again it won't matter." she stated with a little chuckle as Kagura took another direct hit.
"We'll see about that." growled Kagura as she started to move at speeds Minerva was having troubles keeping up with.
"Too slow." said Kagura now right in front of Minerva stabbing forward, only to receive a kick to her back as Minerva was no longer in front of her.
"I was going to say the same thing." she stated with a smile as Kagura picked herself up and rolled out of the way of another attack. With another growl of anger Kagura charged at Minerva again and for the next four minutes the crowd watched it happen all over again. Kagura would get to striking distance only for her and Minerva to switch spots with Minerva hitting her with a magic infused kick or punch.
"I'm impressed that you're still standing, but that's to be expected if you train with a mage like Salamander." stated Minerva who looked only slightly winded and had no new cuts since their first clash.
"As he always says a good mage needs to be able to take what they can dish out." replied Kagura as she spat out some blood. She on the other hand looked way worse than she did just five minutes ago, she now had a few tears in her clothing that showed off the cuts and bruises that Minerva had been dealing to her recently.
"Sounds like something he might say from what I know of him." said Minerva as she started to throw more waves of her magic at her opponent.
"Well you're about to learn that he's a great mentor in more than teaching someone how to take a beating." said Kagura as she jumped away from Minerva and her last attack, which put an even greater distance between the two of them.
"How so?" she asked, while trying to figure out why Kagura backed off when the whole time she had been charging in.
"Because I am one of few mages that he's mentoring right now." replied Kagura as she sheathed her sword while still having it in her left hand.
"Interesting, but why would you put away your weapon now of all times?" she asked with an eyebrow raised questioningly.
"I find it safer to not have a cutting edge when I use my magic." stated Kagura, causing a large collective gasp to go around the arena. As they all just realized that Kagura had yet to do any sort of spell and was only going at Minerva with just her own strength and speed.
"And why is that?" asked Minerva while Kagura said something too quiet for her to hear. She was about to ask her what she was mumbling about, but was surprised to find herself face first on the arena floor with a large weight holding her down.
"To answer your question Minerva, I don't want to accidentally slice you in half." said Kagura as she looked at her struggling to get back up.
"This won't keep me down!" she shouted while getting to her knees and starting to release her magic that was coming off of her as a purple aura.
"I'd be very disappointed if it did, GRAVITY CHANGE: 50 TIMES!" said Kagura with a slight smirk as Minerva crumpled back down to the ground.
"Give up Minerva, you can no longer attack me." she stated with a stone cold expression now on her face.
"We'll see about that." hissed Minerva as the two of them switched place. Unfortunately for her that didn't affect Kagura's spell at all since she was still face first in the dirt and couldn't move.
"A good attempt and it would have worked if I wasn't already affecting the area around both of us." she said while walking towards her and then bringing down her sword right next to Minerva's face causing cracks to spread from where it impacted.
"I surrender." said Minerva with wide eyes, knowing that if Kagura had wanted to she could have done that to her instead.
"There you have it folks, Fairy Tail has done it again. All they have to do is win the last event and they will have won these games without a single loss." said Chapati as the crowd cheered for the fantastic fight they just watched.
"Now you're not going to want to go anywhere since this last event is going to be one for the ages. It's a six way battle royal, with each team sending out three different mages to compete. And all it takes for a team to secure first place is have one member be the last mage standing." he announced causing the crowd to explode with excitement as people started to set up the arena for this event.
"Good job Kagura!" cheered Meredy and the rest as she rejoined them.
"Thanks everyone, I was hoping that I wouldn't need to use my magic." she replied with a slight frown.
"Come on Kagura, that's nothing to be sad about. Minerva is also an S-Class mage like yourself so it only makes sense that she'd force you to use it." stated Kei with a bright smile.
"She's right about that Kagura and I don't know if anyone else would have been able to take her down." said Ultear with a smile.
"That's not true, everyone else would have been fine against her." she said with a serious expression.
"Maybe Ultear and Natsu, but the rest of us probably wouldn't have even touched her." stated Droy with a smile.
"Hey, why wasn't I included in that list?" asked Jet as he glared at his best friend.
"Because you felt the need to go all out on the first event, meaning that you wouldn't have been able to do it again against her. And you know that would have been the only way for you to take her on by yourself." answered Laki with a grin.
"So as they were saying Kagura you did a great job at representing Fairy Tail." said Macao with a proud smile.
"Thanks, so who's going to compete in the event?" she asked with a warm smile, glad that she joined a guild like Fairy Tail.
"This is where Natsu would excel since he knows who works really well with each other. And unfortunately our usual teams of three have at least one of their members not in the best condition for something like this." said Ultear after letting out a sigh.
"I can still fight." said Kagura not wanting to let the rest of them down.
"I know you can, but Natsu would be really upset if you went in right after having a fight like that." she replied with a concerned look.
"Then why not team Dragon Slayer!" suggested Sting as he jumped up and down.
"She doesn't want to send us for a few reasons." stated Cobra with a neutral expression on his face.
"Like what?" he asked now glaring at the older dragon slayer.
"First off I don't really work well with others except for her and Salamander, but the biggest reason is she's just as concerned as Salamander about more drake's showing up again." replied Cobra as he glared right back at the boy.
"And why would drakes showing up matter?" asked Sting only to be hit in the back of the head by Rogue.
"Because we don't want to be tired or possibly knocked out if that did happen, who knows how many lives could be lost if that happened." said Rogue as he glared at his partner, meanwhile their two exceeds seemed not too concerned with the conversation at all.
"Then what about just piecing together a new team." suggested Cole, realizing his odds of competing were now pretty high.
"I guess that's what we're going to do in this situation since we don't really have any other option thanks to Natsu not being able to compete. Cole, Max, and Warren do you three think you'll be able to work together and not fight amongst yourselves?" asked Ultear as she looked at the three of them.
"That shouldn't be a problem with me on the team." stated Warren with a smug grin as he pointed to his head.
"Even without that, it's not like any of us are like what Natsu and Gray used to be." stated Max with a grin of his own.
"But knowing what the two of you are doing is going to really help since we haven't worked together much." said Cole as he gripped the handle of his sword in anticipation.
"Glad to hear so go out there and make us proud." she said with a commanding tone as the three of them headed into the arena.
"You do know that we could finish in last place and we'd still win this right?" asked Meredy as soon as the three were gone.
"Yes, but why tell them something like that before they go out there? When they're so excited to be competing for the guild and wanting to help out." she asked back.
"Good point Ultear, couldn't have said it better myself." stated Macao with a huge smile on his face.
"You're just saying that since you didn't realize that we've already won this thing, which is why you're now smiling like an idiot Master Macao." she replied while glaring at him.
"Just think of what we can do with all of those jewels." stated Macao completely ignoring her previous comment.
Fifteen minutes later:
"After fifteen minutes of giving it their all Fairy Tail has finally been eliminated from this event." said Chapati with a slight frown.
"But man they didn't go down without a fight, who could have guessed that the other five teams would gang up on Fairy Tail like that. While also keeping at least one of their members back to not be accidentally eliminated, which as you all just watched easily could have happened to Quatro Cerberus or Mermaid Heel who are both down to one remaining member." he continued to announce as the fight continued to be waged in the arena.
"Here is what the current ranking of the teams are." he said while the screen showed their current positions.
Fairy Tail = 70
Lamia Scale = 47
Blue Pegasus = 36
Sabretooth = 25
Quatro Cerberus = 20
Mermaid Heel = 20
"This means that Fairy Tail, Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus have secured their positions and that the other three are now fighting for fourth place." he stated as the fight started to become hectic now that they all weren't focusing on Fairy Tail.
"Now let's see who's going to be the next team knocked out." said Chapati as the screen then showed the two mages that were the only ones remaining on their teams.
"I can't believe that they would do something like that." said Meredy as she glared at all of the competing teams in the arena.
"It was actually a really smart move on their part." stated Kagura with her usual stoic face that she had while analyzing something.
"No kidding, if they didn't do that I'm pretty sure that we would have easily won that." said Jet with a big grin since they just showed that Fairy Tail is never to be taken lightly.
"How were those three so coordinated with their attacks and defense?" asked Sting, who honestly didn't know half of guild members' magic.
"That would be thanks to Warren's telepathy, which let them know exactly what the other one was doing during the whole fight." explained Ultear with a proud grin like most of the team.
"That's so cool." he replied back as they all went back to watching the fight.
"Where's Natsu by the way?" asked Kei all of a sudden.
"Isn't he still with that girl from Lamia Scale." responded Laki as she glanced over there and realized he was gone.
"Nope, he got up before this event started and I assumed he would show up back here but he still hasn't." said Kei now having a concerned look on her face.
"He's fine Kei, he's probably just starting to work on those other reasons I talked about earlier." stated Ultear in a confident tone.
"You know you really didn't tell us what those other reasons are." pointed out Jet.
"And I still won't, and you should be fine with that since its Natsu were talking about here." she replied.
"I think that's why we're all so interested in it since he's usually such an open book about pretty much everything." said Laki with a slightly concerned expression.
"He still is, but he just wants to confirm something before he even bothers to tell you all about it." she said hoping that would be the end of this topic, which it was since the fight started to get even more intense now that it was down to the final three teams.
Two days later at Fairy Tail:
"Where the hell is he?" asked Jet, which was the question on most of the minds of the Fairy Tail mages.
"Obviously not here." stated Wakaba with a smirk since Jet was easy to annoy when he was like this.
"I know that, but he didn't even show up for the closing ceremony after the games." he replied.
"That didn't really surprise me, but him not returning with us or showing up for the celebration here has me concerned." stated Laki as she took a seat next to Wakaba.
"You two are actually worrying about Natsu, never would have guessed in a million years that something like this would have happened." said Wakaba as he lit his pipe.
"Of course we are you didn't see how strange he was acting before he randomly just left us during the games." stated Jet as he decided to sit next to Laki.
"When has Natsu ever not acted strange?" asked Wakaba with a smile.
"Good point." replied Laki now having a small smile of her own.
"Yeah but this was somehow different, it reminded me of how he was acting before that pack of drakes showed up." said Jet as Kinana gave him a mug of beer.
"I didn't get that feeling from him." said Kinana with a bright smile as she handed Laki and Wakaba their own mugs.
"Me either Jet, and you guys shouldn't be too worried since Ultear and the rest don't seem too bothered by his absence." pointed out Droy while taking a seat and gesturing to the table that had the group of girls that were usually stuck to Natsu's side whenever possible.
"Not to mention Master Macao seems okay with this." said Kinana still smiling.
"That's because TM Maco is too happy about getting all of those jewels without filling out paperwork or paying for the destruction that we usually cause." stated Wakaba after taking a large drink from his mug.
"Why aren't they freaking out?" asked Laki now realizing that they didn't even seem concerned about Natsu being gone.
"Let's just go over there and ask them." said Jet as he got up and headed over to the table.
"Hello Jet, what can I do for you?" asked Ultear as he and Laki came up to them.
"We were wondering why you weren't freaking out about Natsu randomly disappearing?" he asked with a concerned look.
"I wouldn't freak out Jet, and he hasn't randomly disappeared." she replied while glaring at him, once again reminding the speedster that she gets angry a lot easier when Natsu isn't around.
"So he told you what he's doing." said Laki since Jet was too afraid to speak in fear of making her angrier at him.
"No he didn't but before we left Crocus he told me that he would be gone for maybe a week and to not expect him for at least two days at the earliest." she said now having her usual slight smirk on her lips.
"Do you have any idea what he's up to?" asked Jet now able to talk since she was no longer glaring at him.
"I only know what he was most likely doing while still in Crocus during the games, but after that I don't really know. Whatever it is he'll tell us as soon as we need to know so you two don't really need to be too worried about him." she answered with a smile, causing the two to return to the bar as everyone continued on like it was any other day at Fairy Tail.
End of Chapter
Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. So I'm sorry if you wanted me to do the last event but I decided not to since that probably would have added another additional three thousand words. And this chapter was already long enough as it is and I had to skip and shorten a few things already. So the next chapter is going to be the last one for the second year without the Tenrou group and it'll hopefully be a good one. Just so you all know I would love to hear your thoughts in a review or pm and I'll try to respond back as soon as I can.
Until the next Chapter
Digem Out!