Chapter THIRTY NINE
Lahar disdainfully met Cobra's gaze, and turned away. Cobra's smirk widened and he turned back to face the front. He crossed his arms in front of him and closed his eyes.
One by one, the dressed mannequins were pushed to the front. The main commentators, Chapati and Yajima, along with Lahar, talked within themselves, commenting on each one before writing down something.
Finally, they were done. The audience whispered among themselves, pointing at the mannequins and making offhanded comments on each one. They instantly became silent when Mato appeared. "Now, here are the results for the second event, Fashion Monster."
He snapped his fingers, and boards appeared, facing the audience.
8th- Quatro Cerberus
The audience clapped halfheartedly
7th- Fairy tail B
8th- Quatro Cerberus
Juvia let out a mournful cry, and Cobra could tell that it was not because she had come seventh, but because Gray shot her a weird look.
6th-Mermaid Heel
7th- Fairy tail B
8th- Quatro Cerberus
One of the girls cheered for her guild mate, soon joined in by the crowd.
5th-Lamia Scale
6th-Mermaid Heel
7th- Fairy tail B
8th- Quatro Cerberus
Two sets of calls came from whom Cobra remembered to be Sherry and Chelia.
4th-Blue Pegasus
5th-Lamia Scale
6th-Mermaid Heel
7th- Fairy tail B
8th- Quatro Cerberus
The members of Blue Pegasus let out a simultaneous cheer and the girls in the stadium screamed out encouragements.
That was when Cobra realized something. Since when had he come to take this thing seriously? At the very beginning, he had only agreed to everything because it had sounded fun and interesting. Now that he thought about it, the opinions of his guild mates mattered to him a lot. He realized that Sting's insults and teasing that was sure to come if he lost was not the only thing pushing him.
3rd-Saber tooth
4th-Blue Pegasus
5th-Lamia Scale
6th-Mermaid Heel
7th- Fairy tail B
8th- Quatro Cerberus
Cobra suddenly felt glares boring into the back of his head and glanced over to see Gray narrowing his eyes at him. Cobra stared at him. The words floating around in his head were all something along the lines of 'What is he doing here?'
Everyone held their breaths as the final two panels flashed
1st-Grim Requiem
2nd-Fairy tail A
3rd-Saber tooth
4th-Blue Pegasus
5th-Lamia Scale
6th-Mermaid Heel
7th- Fairy tail B
8th- Quatro Cerberus
Cobra turned to glare at Gray, a smile plastered onto his face.
Gray stared at Cobra. For whatever reason, he had a sudden feeling that the former Oracion Seis member wasn't here to take over the world. Though small, the smile on his face was genuine, and when he turned to offer a small wave at his guild stand, he had a sudden vague feeling that Cobra was just someone who had longed for a place, where one was not defined by how much enemies you could kill, or how much fame you could bring to your guild.
Gray quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts. No matter what, until his actions became clear, he would keep an eye on him, along with the rest of his guild.
It had been during the break between the even and the battle when Darque had suddenly appeared, eyes wide. "Lite's chosen Minerva as a recruit!" She announced.
Sting and Rogue glanced at each other.
"So, Angel and Rustyrose as the candidates. Yukino, Orga and Minerva as recruits." Lucy noted.
"But why would Minerva agree to it?" Sting asked.
Darque nodded. "I have been observing the members of the Saber tooth team since the games have started. Minerva is not the type of person to agree to such things, unless there is a satisfying reward at the end. The wish only applies to the two candidates." She said. "Which has led to me into thinking that Lite tricked Minerva into helping."
"Maybe Lite told Minerva that if they win, she could get a wish?" Jellal suggested.
"I don't know which is worse. Lying to get someone to help, or not helping when asked." Wendy murmured.
"Now, here are the second set of battles!"
Lisanna Strauss VS Beth Vanderwood
Yuka Suzuki VS Freed Justine
Bachchus VS Ren Akatsuki
Rogue Cheney VS Minerva Orlando
Rogue stiffened, his eyes lingering on the name beside his.
"Minerva?" Sting gasped. "Thats..."
"I remember you guys saying that she was now a recruit. What's so good about her?" Cobra asked.
Sting turned on him. "Minerva is the world's most sadistic bitch, and is as scary as Lucy when she is at her angriest!"
Lucy whipped around and fixed Sting with a glare. "I think the second part is unnecessary."
Jellal nodded. "She is very sadistic." He glanced at Lucy. "Last year, she and Lucy were the last remaining participants in an event call the Naval battle." He quickly told the two former Oracion Seis members about the battle.
Cobra winced. "Harsh."
"And, that Minerva is now against Rogue." Midnight said.
Lucy nodded. "We can expect her to be extra evil." She turned to Rogue. "You probably wont come out of this battle unharmed."
Carla nodded. "Especially after you left the guild without any notice."
Rogue finally broke out of his trance. "I will do what I have to do." He said. "Besides, if I am unable to compete in the next events, Midnight can take my place. He seemed the most enthusiastic about it."
Nobody seemed to like the idea, but didn't say anything. If Rogue was willing to take on Minerva, then they would support him.
"Don't worry. No matter what, Rogue is the great Sting-kun's best friend." Lector said. "He'll do great!"
Frosch raised her arm. "For thinks so too."
Lisanna beat Beth in the very first battle.
Though he seemed to have a problem with Yuka's wave magic, Freed managed to slip past his defenses, and defeated the Lamia Scale mage.
Bacchus seemed so drunk that everyone expected him to collapse. Ren was the first to attack, but Bacchus finally got annoyed, and to say that the battle ended quickly after that is an understatement.
Finally, came the battle everyone had waited for.
Rogue appeared through the gates, and faced Minerva, who had been waiting. A smirk was plastered onto her face, as if she was confident she could win. She probably could, but Rogue was not going to go down with a fight. Ever since he had left Saber tooth and had joined Grim Requiem, he had finally began to understand the meaning of Family. Sure, he had heard about this from Fairy tail, but he now knew that some things couldn't be fully understood until one experienced it themselves.
He knew that as long as he did is best, his guild mates wouldn't mind about the outcome, but he wanted to pay them back for everything. Plus, Minerva was now Lite's recruit. He would defeat her.
Oooooo
Rogue VS Minerva! Wonder what the outcome will be!
During the tag battle, should Lucy and Jellal face Fairy tail or Saber tooth? We were thinking about making them face the two Lite Candidates, but then, we thought that maybe they should face Natsu and Erza instead. Raise the tension when they reveal themselves.
What do you think?
Read and Review!