Chapter FORTY
Rogue and Minerva stood there, facing each other, even after the 'begin' signal had been given. Rogue knew that he couldn't beat her by attacking her head on. Which left him to using his brain. Rogue was pretty smart, if he said so himself.
Minerva's magic enabled her to attack anything within her sight. The whole arena was the battle field, which Rogue decided to use as an advantage. He turned into a shadow, and streaked away from her. He slipped into upwards, and hid in the many shadows of the crowd.
Minerva could attack anything in her view, but that didn't mean she could see everything. Rogue moved behind her, and launched a Shadow Dragon's roar. Minerva whipped around and blocked it with her magic. Rogue quickly turned back into a shadow and slipped out of view again.
Ten minutes had passed with Rogue attacking Minerva from behind. One could call this unfair, but if Minerva managed to catch Rogue, it was over.
Sting gritted his teeth as Minerva turned and blocked another attack. "What is he doing?" He asked. "If he keeps attacking from behind, Minerva would be able to read his attacks!"
"Maybe that's what he wants her to do." Midnight suggested. "If Minerva begins to think that Rogue would always attack from behind her, she would watch her back, and maybe she would leave another opening."
Lucy slowly shook her head. "No." She said. Everyone glanced at her and she elaborated. "I mean, well, yes, that is also part of his plan, but I think he's trying to buy time." She glanced around at the confused looks, and sighed. "Look at the shadows." She said. "It's becoming late and the sun's beginning to set. The light is coming in from an angle, making the shadows bigger. If Rogue can get Minerva to step in the shadows, he can attack from all angles. Maybe that's what he's aiming for."
Wendy's eyes widened. "Yes." She said. "I agree with that."
Jellal nodded. "That makes sense."
"In a way, we're lucky that it's Rogue against Minerva." Cobra said. "It it was Sting, he would have attack straight on!" Sting opened his mouth to retort, when Frosch stepped up.
Frosch smiled. "Fro thinks so too!"
Rogue glanced at Minerva's feet. She hadn't moved ever since the battle had started, and half her body was in the shadows. Minerva didn't seem to have noticed his plan yet. He launched an extremely powerful roar at her, and Minerva was pushed back a few feet before she managed to dispel it.
Rogue melted into the shadows again, and slowly moved towards Minerva, who was looking around for him. "Shadow Dragon's Waxwing Flash!"
Shadows wrapped around Minerva, and soon, she disappeared from sight. There was a huge explosion, and when the smoke cleared, Minerva stood there, panting slightly. Rogue lay on the ground a few feet from her, breathing heavily. He groaned, but managed to transform into a shadow just before Minerva's attack hit.
"Rogue!" Sting's distressed cry echoed around the guild stand.
He attempted to climb over the balcony, but Cobra held him back.
Sting blindly lashed out at the Poison Dragons Slayer, but Cobra dodged the clumsy blow to the head and tightened his grip on Sting's arm.
"Rogue-kun!" Frosch cried out.
Lucy gritted her teeth, as Rogue erupted from the ground behind Minerva, causing another explosion. Minerva hissed, but Rogue slipped into his shadow form again.
With eyes filled with horror, they watched as Minerva managed to land Rogue a hit with her magic. Rogue coughed out blood as he crashed into one of the wall, then slid down to the round. He struggled to his feet, leaning heavily on the wall. Somehow, he still managed to look threatening, his red eyes flashing with defiant as he glared at Minerva.
Minerva grinned, and slowly raised a shaking hand to finish him off. She was pretty injured herself, but Lucy was sure that if the spell hit the Shadow Dragon Slayer, it was going to kill him. She got ready to jump off the balcony, when the bell signaling the end of the battle rang throughout the arena.
Sting tore himself out of Cobra's grasp. The Poison Dragon Slayer did nothing to stop him as the blonde jumped over the balcony.
Wendy, who had already grabbed a cloak just in case, rushed up to Lucy, who grabbed the younger girl around the waist. She jumped off, following Sting as he rushed towards his partner, who had collapsed seconds after the bell had rung.
Meredy, who was also clad in a cloak, followed them.
No one seemed to notice when Chapati announced that it was a draw, earning both teams five points. In the back ground, the scores for the day were announced.
1st: Grim Requiem: 40
2nd Fairy tail A: 26
3rd: Fairy tail B: 25
4th: Saber tooth: 19
5th: Mermaid Heel /
Lamia Scale: 14
7th: Quarto Cerberus: 10
8th: Blue Pegasus: 5
Lucy landed neatly on the ground and swiftly put Wendy back on her feet. Lector and Frosch flew past them. Jellal landed next to her and the two stepped a bit to the side, ready to step in should Minerva decide to attack anyways.
Fairy tail watched as the hooded figure approach Rogue, and crouch down beside him. Sting stood over the both of them. Soon, Cobra had joined them.
Minerva raised her hand. "Ih Ragdo!" A blue green beam shot towards them.
Sting reared up, and his eyes widened. The beam approached, them, and exploded.
"That spell explodes upon contact." Erza whispered.
Minerva lets out a crazed laugh. The smoke clears, and Wendy, Sting and Cobra are still hovering over Rogue.
Valkyrie and Reaper were revealed to be standing in front of their guild mates, each with a hand in front of them, huge black holes open. Midnight stood in between them, his Reflector shield in front of him.
The moment Minerva's spell disappeared, the three deactivated theirs as well.
"The portals seemed to have sucked in the spell." Levy noted. "They're standing at an angle, which allowed Midnight's shield to reflect the spells into the black holes."
"Isn't it against the rule to attack other guild members outside of battle?" Lisanna asked.
True to this, Chapati's voice was heard from the commentators box. "Due to Minerva Orlando-"
Reaper raised his hand, cutting him off. "Hang on." His voice seemed distorted. "She attacked out teammate, thus breaking the rules." He said. "How are we supposed to get back at her if Saber tooth is disqualified?"
Cobra smirked. "You say smart things once in a while, don't you?"
Valkyrie nodded. "I agree to this as well."
Sting got to his feet. He fixed Minerva is a menacing glare. "I'll never forgive you."
The hooded girl stood up. She whispered something, and both Valkyrie and Reaper nodded. They held hands, and a black portal appeared beneath the Shadow Dragon Slayer, who's wounds had healed. He was sucked in, followed by Sting and Wendy, and the exceeds.
There was no sound coming from the commentators box, followed by a cough. "Well, since the Grim Requiem..."
"Why did we need Saber tooth to stay?" Lucy asked. "We could have let them be disqualified."
Darque shook her head. "If they were, if would make our last day vulnerable. We lack in numbers, and Saber tooth, or more likely, Lite's teams could attack us. Since five of us will be in the arena, there will only be two people left here."
Jellal nodded absent-mindedly. The whole guild had gathered in then infirmary. Rogue was not in critical condition anymore, and was just sleeping.
Midnight was to take his place. The White Dragon Slayer looked like he was ready to start crying. For once, Cobra had the sense to keep quiet.
Lucy finally softly told everyone to go rest. Sting insisted on staying in the infirmary and she allowed him to stay, as he had already participated in the battle, and they just didn't have to nominate him for the event.
Once everyone had retreated to their rooms, Lucy slipped into the infirmary again. She smiled softly and gently covered Sting with a blanket. She then turned and left.
Jellal sat up when Lucy entered their room.
"Sorry, did I wake you?" Lucy asked. Jellal smiled, and shook his head. He had a feeling he knew why she had reacted worse than most to the events that had occurred today. He could still remember the way Minerva had brutally torture her too.
He moved so that his back was against the wall. He patted the place next to him and Lucy sat down on his bed. Jellal reached out and wrapped a blanket around both their shoulders. Lucy slowly leaned into him. He had no idea since when they had gotten comfortable with each other, but as Lucy snuggled into him, seeking comfort, he found that he didn't care.
Slowly, hesitantly, he placed a gently kiss on her head, and leaned his head back. His last thought was that they were both going to have a sore back tomorrow.
Sorry for the lateness.
So, some Jelu~
We're going for the 'interaction-that-they-think-is-for-friends-when-it-is-actually-very-lovey-dovey' thing.
We're sorry that we had to do that to Rogue, but we didn't think Rogue would really be able to defeat Minerva. It also did build up the bond they share, and would give them motivation and stuff.
Read and Review~