Sting's Great Idea
Leaning forward in the chair, Minerva tugged at a strand of hair absent-mindedly. The words on the paper started to blur, and she felt her eye-lids grow heavy. She was used to forgoing sleep- taking care of matters with the guild, going on missions, and what not. The drive to succeed was different from in the past when she focused most of her time on training. Now she spent much of her time on the guild repairing Sabertooth's reputation from what it was. Sometimes she wondered what it was all for.. Penance, she supposed.
The guilt weighed on her heavily but she knew the others felt the same.
She had sent Rogue and Frosh home earlier. Rogue offered to stay but she knew the exceed wouldn't be comfortable sleeping in the office.
The clock flashed 3:21 am.
Maybe it was time to sleep. She closed the book, gathering the rest of the papers in a neat pile. Hopefully, it would remain the same way she left it. If she had to reorganize it again, she would transport Sting to Blue Pegasus into Ichiya's willing arms.
—
Rufus walked past the doors into the guild hall the next morning, a bit surprised to see Sting, Rogue and Yukino already at a table eating breakfast together. It was still early so the guild hall was empty except for the small group. Sting and Yukino were seated on one side of the table together, while Rogue sat on the other. Frosch and Lector were sitting on the table enthusiastically eating fish pancakes. At the sight of him, Yukino waved for him to come over. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen." He settled himself into the seat next to Rogue.
"Good morning Rufus-san! It's good to have you back."
"Morn—nmg-ing Rufushh. Howsh wush the misshion?"
"Morning."
"You should try these pancakes Rufus!"
"Fro-san thinks so too!"
Rufus smiled in acknowledgement at the warm greetings. His gaze traveled over the group, but stopped to linger on the white-haired girl a few seconds longer than the rest.
Yukino Agria. From what he knew of her, she was celestial mage that joined Sabertooth a short while ago. Her skills ranked as mid-tier mage, but since she was one of the few celestial mages that were left in the world, her status rose rapidly. Her physical strength was lacking, but her magic power was quite impressive.. She possessed two of the golden zodiac keys, one of them the legendary Ophiuchus. She could perform complex celestial magic that few other wizards in the world could. But he knew that there was more to her than to be seen. Yukino's true strength laid in the heart. Victimized as a child in the Tower of Heaven and losing her older sister, no one would blame her if she grew up wary and distrustful of the world. Even in Sabertooth, she had faced persecution for her weak ideals during Jimena's rein. Yet, she never lost the light that lit her path. She remained kind and trusting even among those who were greedy for power who were rough and even cruel in their methods. Much like a lone white flower that bloomed even in the darkest depths of the water. She always believed in the best of others, even faced with their worst. Her innocence was a rare quality among most. Even when the members of Sabertooth apologized and asked her to come back, she didn't show any sign of resentment towards her comrades for their cruel treatment in the games. Her presence had a calming effect on everyone around.
At first, Rufus had only been observing her as he did with everyone else. Over time, he had been drawn by that radiant smile and it became something he always thought about. He looked forward to the times he could see her whenever he entered the guild hall. Her kind words always brought a smile to his face. This was the emotion that was likely known as attraction, he presumed.
His focused his attention on Sting, as unappealing as the sight was.
"I left the details on your desk Master Sting."
"Cool!"
Yukino slapped Sting in the arm for his disregard for manners. "It's not polite to talk with food in your mouth." She looked towards Rufus with an apologetic look. "Sorry for his rudeness." Sting looked as if he wanted to protest but he gulped everything down as she said. "That's not very nice to slap your guild master!" He paused to shovel some more waffles into his mouth. "And you can't blame me." He whined. "I was super hungry after yesterday's work!"
"Says the person who fell asleep on his desk yesterday." Rogue's comment was laced with sarcasm. "Minerva ended up doing most of the work for you, you idiot."
Sting grumbled, pouting at the unfair treatment he seemed to be getting. Yukino placed a hand on his back to comfort and reassure him that wasn't the case. Although it technically was.
The mention of their lady brought to Rufus's attention that she wasn't here yet. "Did something happen to the lady?" It was unusual because she was always one of the first to arrive.
"I think she's at her apartment asleep. She stayed here last last night after Frosch and I left. She was working on those documents that were due today." Rogue answered.
Rufus speculated on the quickness of the man's response. Rogue's relationship with the lady was quite ambiguous but intriguing. They seemed unusually close that many assumed they were together as a couple. However there was no evidence to prove, so it remained needless gossip among the the lesser members.
Rufus' voice held a questioning tone, "When I arrived yesterday afternoon, she mentioned that she was nearly finished?"
"We had a few delays."
Rufus was quick to understand the issue.
There was an indignant sound from Sting's end of the table "Hey!" followed by the Lectos's words "Sting-san is not a delay!"
Everyone chose to ignore the guild master and the red exceed to proceed the next course of the conversation.
"Let Minerva have a break, she certainly deserves one." Yukino said. Everyone murmured in agreement.
"For now, why don't we start discussing plans for the Magnolia Festival?" She suggested, clapping her hands together in excitement at the idea. This year's festival was guaranteed to be special one. Mainly because this was the first time Fairy Tail and Sabertooth, the two strongest rival guilds, would collaborate together on a public event. Everyone was invited, an invitation was already issued to the other guilds including Mermaid Heel, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Cerberus Quatro and more. The festival served as a gesture to the public as a sign of the improved relations between guilds. It also a great chance for Sabertooth to be presented in an honorable light.
"Yosh, let's do it!" Sting pumped his fist in the air.
—
Joining the festival was actually Sting's idea. Two weeks ago, he sent the Fairy Tail Guild Master, Makarov, an informal request for a meeting. Sting seem confident in his great idea but as the date approached, he grew more and more nervous about it. "What if he doesn't like it after all? Or they're too busy? What if the there's an alien attack and the world explodes?" Yukino reassured him over and over that everything would be okay, although the last part was questionable, trying to ease the the dragon slayer's discomfort. Makarov had accepted the invitation and sent word he would be arriving at the guild in a few days. when he and his escorts arrived at Sabertooth, Yukino led them to the conference room.
There were six people seated in the room; Makarov came accompanied by Erza and Mirajane while Sting was accompanied by Yukino and Rogue (who originally did not intend to come but acted as a substitute for Minerva who for reasons unknown had declined to be there).
"O-ho, it seems like the child has something important to talk about." Makarov said.
Sting attempted to explain his idea to the other man with his practiced speech for all the pros and cons laid out. Makarov seemed quiet about the idea at first which made Sting even more nervous. Maybe the Fairy Tail guild master wouldn't agree after all. But after quite the sinister contemplative look, Makarov broke into a big smile instead. "Fairy Tail would only be happy to agree." This had Sting jumping in the air shouting "I'm all fired up!"
Mirajane complimented the idea and Erza wholeheartedly agreed.
"You're shaping up to be a master who cares for his friends." Erza was more than proud as she pulled Sting to her chest to give him a hug that had him gasping for air.
Mirajane greeted Yukino with a sisterly hug. "It's good to see you Yukino-chan. Won't you come by a visit sometime? Lissana would be happy to see you."
Dragging Sting over to the chair, Erza sat herself down next to Rogue striking conversation about how Frosch was doing.
It was a lively meeting that lasted a few hours more before the Fairy Tail members left for the ride back home.
—
In the present day and hour; Fairy Tail would be charge in planning the events and parade where Sabertooth would help in the physical preparation and work. It was agreed that each team would comprise of members from both teams to promote cooperation. The list was still undecided. But if a certain match-maker had already come up with several ideas..
—
Minerva had received a message from Yukino on the lacrimal communications to take the day off.
Inwardly, she was secretly relieved after yesterday's work. She slept in later then usual, gone shopping for groceries, made preparations for cookin dinnerg. In the midst of setting the plates, she heard a knock at the door.
Was I expecting someone today?
She opened the door to reveal someone she hadn't expected to see.
—
I know the first chapter was pretty short, so I'm hoping this chapter will draw people in. Please review, and let me know what you think! 333