The second square-off between Gajeel and Rogue went much differently than the first. Rogue was very much kicking butt this time, his unsealed Second Origin making an impossibly huge difference. Gajeel had been caught off guard, and as such, Rogue was able to gain the upper hand quickly. The memory of encouraging blue eyes had Rogue unrelenting in his assault, even when Gajeel began really fighting back.
Kagome was on the edge of her seat during the fight, holding onto Nox, who was trying to calm her down. Rogue's eyes bled shadows as he floated up, his cloak parting to reveal more darkness. When Gajeel attacked, those shadows swallowed him. For a moment, the audience was stunned. Then, Rogue's shadows spat Gajeel out, leaving the Iron Dragon Slayer unconscious.
On her feet in an instant, Kagome was cheering wildly for her friend. Even if Sabertooth lost now, she knew Rogue was satisfied. He'd finally managed to beat his idol and understand why he would join Fairy Tail after Phantom Lord was disbanded.
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At the party that night, Kagome sat beside Rogue and passed him the drink she'd snagged. "Are you okay with how it turned out?"
He shrugged and sipped the drink as Nox curled around Kagome's neck. "Going up against five wizards with their Second Origin unlocked wasn't going to end any other way."
Slouching, Kagome nodded. "I should have unlocked our team's."
Pulling her closer, he frowned and disagreed. "No, because you'd have to leave them unsealed after the Games were over. I don't think I trust all of them with that kind of power just yet."
Cuddling into his side, she released her guilt at his words, knowing he was right. Still, losing by a measly four points was really galling. Rogue had kicked all kinds of butt, however, Fairy Tail had tag-teamed him at the last.
Breathing in his dark, masculine scent, Kagome closed her eyes and reveled in the insanity being over. Rogue chuckled at her and tweaked her ear when she began purring, making her smile.
"Hey! Shadow-brat!" one of the spectators who'd gathered in the bar called.
Rogue's eyes narrowed as the drunken man stumbled over to his table, bleary gaze focused firmly on Kagome. Nox woke enough to blow out a shadow-flame in his own warning, Kagome petting his head soothingly.
"How about sharing your pussy cat?"
The corner they were occupying suddenly darkened dangerously as Rogue's shadows began seeping into the space. At that, everyone's attention swung their way, the bar falling unnaturally quiet.
"What did you say?" he asked lowly.
The man swallowed, but took another look at Kagome and straightened.
"No need to get nasty, man! Don't you guild dudes all share your girls? What's the problem with passing her my way?"
Rogue was over the table and beating the man before anyone could blink.
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"Haha!" Natsu cried, gleefully waving his tankard around as Fairy Tail walked back to their hotel. "We're number one! Woohoo!"
Gray opened his mouth to reply, just as a man was thrown through a door beside them, skidding to a stop before he reached them. They all paused as a seriously pissed off Rogue emerged from the building, shadows swirling around him ominously. In a flash, he'd jerked the man up and was viciously pounding on him.
"Rogue!" Kagome called, running out and throwing her arms around his shoulders, making him halt the assault. "Stop! He's a drunken idiot."
Snarling, Rogue stood and then shoved the man at Kagome's feet. "Apologize to her!"
"S-sorry!" the man coughed out with blood and what looked like a tooth. "I'm s-sorry!"
"Get out of my sight before I kill you anyway," Rogue demanded, watching as the idiot staggered away as quickly as his injuries allowed him. Looking back in the suspiciously quiet bar, Rogue flashed his fangs.
"Anyone else believe that filth?"
Quickly, all the non-magic people shook their heads and cleared out. Sabertooth's members just snorted and went back to their business. Kagome crossed her arms and arched a brow at Rogue when he looked at her. The dragon on her shoulder butted its head against her ear, making her sigh.
"A bit much, Rogue."
Rogue's face tightened and his shadows reached out to surround her. Lucy made a move to go to them, but Carla got in her way and shook her head.
The shadows pulled Kagome closer and hid whatever Rogue said to her. Whatever it was made Kagome soften and move to hug him. Rogue's anger faded, taking his shadows with it, and he was once more the calm, impassive wizard they were familiar with.
Kagome caught sight of Fairy Tail and blushed brightly. "Ah, hi, guys," she laughed nervously. "Did you see that?"
Erza arched a brow. "Hard to miss. What'd he do?"
Rogue's eyes flashed. "He seemed to be under the delusion that guild females are shared and wanted to know why he couldn't have a go with Kagome."
The group tensed and glared in the direction the man had gone. "You should have finished him," Natsu spat, his hands clenching.
Kagome covered her face and shifted in embarrassment. "Can we talk about something else? He was obviously drunk out of his mind if he kept pressing after Rogue gave him a chance to back off."
Gray rolled his eyes and looked at Rogue sympathetically. "Or you're seriously hot and he thought a beating would be worth it," he told her.
Peeking up at Rogue, she saw him shrug uncomfortably, which told her he thought Gray was right.
"I do not understand men," she stated with furrowed brows.
Lucy and the girls laughed at that while Carla smirked and nodded. "They do oftentimes defy logic."
Kagome crossed her arms. "Exactly. I'm not sure why they think groping me or belittling me would entice me to copulate with them."
Rogue's eyes narrowed. "Someone touched you?"
She blushed and looked away. "Well, he tried, but I took care of it! I may have sealed his ability to copulate for the next…few years." She frowned and poked the dragon on her shoulder. "That was before Nox set his pants on fire."
Erza grinned maliciously. "I like her. Want to join us?"
Surprised, Kagome stepped closer to Rogue and shook her head. "No, but thank you for the offer. I go where Rogue goes."
One corner of the Shadow Dragon Slayer's lips hitched up as he shifted to let her duck under his cloak. She grinned at Fairy Tail as his shadows happily embraced her.
"His shadows are so nice, after all!"
"Nice?" Natsu choked in disbelief.
But, Rogue was already leading Kagome away, her contentedly playing with the shadows that loved her. When Natsu looked back at his guild, he found them wearing varying degrees of surprise.
"That's something you don't see every day," Gray stated.
"Yeah!" Lucy agreed. "His shadows ate Gajeel before spitting him back out."
Carla shook her head. "He means that Rogue's dragon has claimed Kagome. It must have always been so for her to be so comfortable with his power."
Erza's brows drew together. "I don't get it. What do you mean 'claimed?' "
Happy shrugged as they began walking again. "Dragon Slayers have many draconic instincts. Sometimes, their inner dragon will find someone or something that they consider a perfect treasure and they'll claim it if at all possible. Dragons hoard treasure, you know."
Skipping along, Wendy bobbed her head. "Yep! But, it doesn't happen very often at all. Our inner dragons are super picky. It's no wonder Kagome aligned her Four Souls for Rogue if she's accepted his claim."
Erza tipped her head to the side as she assimilated all of that. "Why is that?"
Natsu snorted and took a swig of his drink. "Because, that kind of bond is deep. Goes way beyond the already serious bond a Slayer has with his Exceed."
Floating up, Happy flicked his nose. "See? I told you appearances could be deceiving. There's no way he mistreats her if he's claimed her. And did you see how pissed he was at that guy? Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't kill him."
"That idiot is too stupid to live," Gray agreed. "Nobody in the city could have possibly missed Rogue wiping the floor with everyone until we teamed up against him."
"Yeah, that was a shocker," Lucy rubbed her neck.
Cackling, Natsu again waved his tankard around. "I'd love to fight the bastard one-on-one! He was much more interesting today."
Rolling her eyes, Erza dragged them off.
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Next Chapter: Scents!
(And, I love you guys!)