Weighted Hearts chapter 9: Perfect memories.
The streets were alive with people eagerly going to and from booth to booth, intent on seeing every single sight there was to marvel at.
Festive colored lights laced across light poles, lined shop fronts and framed signs that were placed all about, each one signifying the different teams that would be entering the GFG tournament that year. People stalked around, holding different merchandise sponsoring their preferred teams and special food was being sold throughout every store, signifying the official start to what everyone knew to be the Grand Fighting Games Festival.
The tournament itself was not scheduled to officially begin until that night, however that hardly deterred the morning rush of visitors, who, to pass the time, busied themselves with partaking in the awe dropping celebration. Music blared from the center of the main town plaza and friends chatted happily about the teams that would be facing one another head to head that night, some even crafting bets, whilst those that were not fond of the upcoming events merely enjoyed the lively and happy atmosphere.
This year the teams who had proved themselves worthy enough to enter the competition had been the routine six, seeing as only the strongest of participants were allowed to compete. After all, people from all over the world came to see breath taking battles and excellent combat skills, not run of the mill martial artists that could barely even hurt a fly.
This year was said to be consisting of numerous new martial artists and the spectators could not be more excited to see just what these fighters were capable of.
"What team do you think is going to win the title this year?" A blonde man of rather average height asked his friend who was lingering on the sidelines of the festivities, drinks in hand as they awaited that night's events.
"Fairy Tail, of course. Sabertooth's victory last year was just a fluke." The somewhat taller, brown haired friend scoffed, taking a long chug of his beer before continuing, "They ain't got nothing on Magnolia's prized team."
"I don't know…" The blonde guy objected, coolly reaching into the pocket of his black pants before taking out the Tournament's crisp guide, which listed the teams and all their competing members, "This year Sabertooth has two new members, and, from what I heard they are pretty skilled, not to mention that Sting, Rogue and Rufus are forces to be reckoned with too." His brown eyes scanned Sabertooth's listing, a confused expression marring his aged face as he clicked his tongue at the paper, "Huh, looks like the new members are marked as unknown on the guide."
"Hah, probably are too embarrassed to put their faces under such a pathetic team." The brown haired man grinned at the other, who merely shrugged in return,
"Who knows, but, you know, I hear that one of them used to be a part of Fairy Tail, or at least that's what the rumor going around is."
He was met with yet another scoff from his friend, who quickly brushed the comment aside,
"Do you believe everything you hear, you old coot? That's all that stupid thing is; a rumor. Ain't nobody's left Fairy Tail in years and if they did they sure as hell wouldn't join Sabertooth. That's their most profound enemy. Besides, they're all too loyal for that…" The brown haired man raised his drink to his mustached mouth, prepared to take another swing when suddenly he paused, seeming to remember something,
"Well, nobody's left besides that girl who died some years ago in that car accident, you know, that model MiraJane's sister… Oh, and that boy whose family was killed by that old serial killer… Let's see… Now what was his name again?"
A light chuckle escaped the drunk's friend,
"Don'tcha remember anything, old man? He damn near killed enough people to fill a town. The guy's name was Deliora."
"Right… Guess my memory just isn't what it used to be, though the last attack was some years ago, wasn't it? Now the guy's all washed up; hasn't attacked anyone since."
"That's true…" The blonde agreed, his carefree expression changing slightly at the memory, "Wonder where that physo disappeared to…"
The other just shook his head,
"Hell if I know, but for everyone's sake let's just hope he's dead."
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"You almost done there? We have to head out soon. Really, I only used one hand to sculpt most of my sculptures yet I still managed to finish before you."
Tching, Gray rolled his eyes at the nagging silverette and took to tuning him out in favor of concentrating on the last small detail needed to complete his final dragon project.
"If Ur saw you do that she would hit you. You know how much she hated it when you only used one hand."
The raven's words were met with a shrug as Lyon seemed to otherwise ignore the statement,
"Whatever, just hurry up."
"Yeah, yeah…"
With just a few last finishing touches the ice sculptor stepped back, silently admiring his work. The last two days he and Lyon had worked day and night to ensure that their job was completed before they were scheduled to join Sabertooth's team at the Grand Fighting Games.
Luckily, it seemed as though they had managed to sculpt the dragons and dog things with time to spare, which Gray was entirely grateful for. Now he would have time to rest and subdue his nerves, which only seemed to worsen as the minutes to the games ticked by.
Checking over his masterpiece one last time, Gray turned to look at Lyon,
"Alright, annoying albino, I'm done."
"Tch, what immature name calling." The white haired male reprimanded lightly, a slight grin lighting up his pale face.
"Yeah, yeah, well let's-…"
"Oh good, you're still here, ice princess."
Gray stilled, his sentence ending half way as he slowly turned to face the door, unsurprised to find a familiar pinkette leaning against the doorway, his green eyes trained on the dark blue haired boy.
"We were just about to leave; we've finished the sculptures."
Refusing to allow his unease to show in his tone, Gray pulled his attention away from the dyed pink haired boy to instead concentrate on his work bag, which he promptly slung over his shoulder nonchalantly before beginning to walk out the doorway not occupied by the flame idiot,
"We're done here."
"Wait!"
Surprised by the other's almost pleading shout, the raven glanced behind him and just barely managed to suppress the jolt of shock that shot through him as he turned only to find Natsu now only inches from him. Damn, how the hell did he manage to move so fast?!
Taking the Salamander's entrance to be his cue to leave, Lyon cast the two a hesitant glance before lifting his own bag and leaving the room.
"What do you want, Flamebrain?" The black haired boy muttered as he silently cursed Lyon out in his head, not wanting to be left alone with his former rival.
The name felt almost foreign to Natsu's ears and he couldn't help but feel a tinge of pain in his heart because of the tone in which his old friend uttered his name. It was no longer just a teasing jeer that the younger Gray would use to playfully insult his best friend, no, now it was laced with years of hurt and served as nothing more than a heart wrenching reminder that the two no longer harvested a deep bond.
All their carefully crafted bridges were burned and it was all thanks to Natsu who just couldn't stop playing with fire.
"Well… Since you're done and all I was just wondering if you would want to… I mean, since there is a festival going on and everything I just figured I'd ask if you would want to… Walk around with me or something… You know, like old times…"
The pinkette's question was met with a blank stare from Gray, who couldn't believe that the idiot actually had the audacity to ask him to hang out, especially after how well their last encounter turned out.
"You're joking." The ice sculptor snickered, his eyes closing as a thin lipped, feigned smirk crept onto his pale face, "What makes you think I would want to waste my free time playing nice with my employer?"
"Come on, Don't give me that shit Gray, I-…"
"I told you it's Silver." The younger of the two boys snapped, his smirk disappearing as he took to instead glaring at Natsu, "Really, how big of an idiot are you? I've already told you that I put my past behind me and that includes you and the rest of that Fairy Tail gym."
"Oh yeah?" Natsu snickered, his temper rising the longer he stared at the pale man, "Is that why you're still wearing that necklace I gave you?"
Gray immediately clenched his teeth, his arms crossing over his chest as he challenged the Salamander's determined look with one of his own,
"That is none of your business, Natsu."
"Natsu?" The pink haired martial artist repeated, his hard tone hiding the disbelief he felt at hearing the other actually speak his name, "You called me by my name... What, did I hit a sore spot or something, icy?"
"I said it's none of your business, idiot. Now shut up!"
"So I did hit a sore spot then?" Natsu paused for a moment before a look that rivaled shock and eagerness marred his features, "You couldn't forget about me completely, could you?"
"Shut it…"
"You didn't want to give up everything from your old life."
"I said shut the hell up."
"Just admit it, Gray, You haven't moved on; not like you claimed to have. You miss Fairy Tail, you miss your old life, and, you miss me."
"Damn it, just shut the hell up already!"
Growling, the ice sculptor felt his nails begin to dig into his forearms as he tore his gaze away from the tan man,
"You don't know anything…"
"And I won't know until you stop being so damn stubborn and just tell me."
The so called Dragon Slayer's confidence grew as one fact repeatedly crowded his mind, giving him hope that maybe he really didn't lose his Gray after all.
He never denied it.
The raven never denied Natsu's statements.
A pregnant silence dwindled between the two as Gray remained silent and visibly clenched his hands around his strong biceps, seemingly suppressing his anger, that is, until suddenly his stiff position faltered, his resolve seeming to melt away.
Taking this as his chance to instill reason into his old friend, the dragon slayer continued,
"Everyone really misses you and would love to find out that you're alive… Juvia… She still loves you, ya know… I think she blames herself for your death, well, now she blames me mostly… Actually, I think everyone in Fairy Tail feels like they had a part in it… Just mentioning your name still makes people sad and I… I'm tired of seeing my comrades hurt just because you're too selfish to just give in and come back to Fairy Tail! To your home!"
The pinkette's emotions flared and his body shook subtly as he seemed to barely be able to suppress the flurry of feelings surging through him,
"Damn it, Gray, Just come back… We miss you…"
I miss you.
Natsu thought dryly to himself.
"I don't have time for this nonsense."
Moving to turn away, the raven was about to leave when the brush of paper against his shoulder caused him to stall once more.
"Look… Just… Just come to the games tonight, okay?" The salamander asked, holding two tickets to that night's events out, "Hate me all you want, but don't blame Fairy Tail. If you're here, why not come, Silver…"
Pausing, the ice maker glanced uncertainly from the tanned skin boy to the tickets he was offering before hesitantly taking them; stuffing them in his pockets right after.
"Whatever…."
Not allowing Natsu to say anything else Gray swiftly turned on his heel and stalked away, waiting until he was out of the room before letting out a low, bitter laugh, his fingers absentmindedly reaching down to brush against the insulting paper in his jeans pocket,
"If only you knew, Natsu…"
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"They're running late…"
Rogue crossed his arms and stared ahead blankly as he stated his observation to the rest of the group. The games were scheduled to begin in an hour and so far the ice sculptors were half an hour late to their team meeting in the designated hotel room for Sabertooth.
"They'll be here…" Sting assured, grinning slightly at his brother, his sharp canine teeth making the gesture appear to be somewhat more volatile than encouraging, "If I know Gray he won't pass this chance up."
"Oh? I cannot help but wonder how well you do indeed know this ice maker."
Turning, Sting rolled his eyes at the blonde haired almost pirate looking man, already used to the other's skepticism of people.
"I told ya already, we've known him since we were kids." He easily brushed off, "Rogue and I both used to be his close friends."
"Used to seems to be a rather key term there."
"What exactly are you trying to say, Rufus?"
"I am merely suggesting that perhaps things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence perceives what has been carefully hidden. Luckily my intellect is not as blind as some others may be…"
Growing slightly agitated with his friend's vague responses, the short blonde haired male narrowed his eyes at him,
"Are you calling me stupid?"
"That is far from my point that I assure."
"Come on, you knew Gray when we were younger too. I mean, I know you never liked the guy much because he was a part of Fairy Tail but now he's our teammate, so just get over it."
Snickering softly, the masked man merely closed his eyes and shook his head, dumbfounded at just how dense his fellow blonde could be.
It was true, he did in fact harvest a special dislike for the boy, however the reasoning behind it was far from just the fact that he was from another gym. His perfect memory reminded, no, tormented him day after day as to why he despised the formally pronounced dead man so much. Sting was partly to blame for that, but Rufus supposed the light dragon slayer truly couldn't help it.
After all, it wasn't his fault that the 'Memory make' fighter fell in love with him.
Just like it wasn't his fault that the dragon slayer was manipulated into liking the pale Fairy Tail martial artist.
"That reminder is hardly necessary for I remember everything."
"Yeah, whatever."
Dismissing his genius friend, Sting looked towards his brother, about to speak when another voice interrupted him.
"Yo!"
Smiling to himself, the scarred boy turned his head to the doorway of the room,
"'Bout time you got here, Gray and Lion."
An irritated 'tch' sounded from the hallway before both sculptors entered the room,
"For the last time my name is Lyon. I'm not a god damned cat."
The silverette growled at the blonde, who merely shrugged in response,
"Whoops… Well, I'll probably get it eventually."
Sending a glare at the smirking man, Lyon just managed to swallow his anger before putting his bag aside.
Mimicking his comrade's actions, Gray not so lightly dropped his duffle bag to the ground before looking at the three others gathered in the room, no doubt waiting for him and Lyon.
"Sorry for being late, we got a little held up finishing up our commission."
"Eh, no problem." Sting shrugged, "We just have to meet downstairs in a few minutes to get changed into our team outfits and get into our arranged spots and yada yada yada…"
Suddenly the taller of the two males smirked deviously,
"You ready to show the world you're still alive, Gray?"
Matching his comrade's smirk with one his own, the former Fairy Tail Martial artist nodded, ignoring the nervousness creeping into his being,
"Yeah."
Aware of Lyon's questioning gaze on his back, the raven turned and flashed his friend a reassuring grin,
"I'm done running from my past; I won't let it control me anymore."
Returning a grin, Lyon nodded at the boy he considered his younger brother, although a part of him couldn't help but worry for him, even as Gray turned away and begin talking to the twin dragon slayers the silverette couldn't help but wonder if his partner was getting into more than he could handle.
It was easy to move on and pretend as though what happened never occurred, Lyon knew that much from his own troubled past, but it was harder to look back and face what you had spent years avoiding.
But the silverette would help the dark blue haired man, just as he always had and always would. He would be there to support the idiot in whatever disastrous decisions he made because he was family, even if one of those choices killed him.
With those thoughts in mind the albino looked towards his comrade and the twin dragon slayers, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips as he settled with fading into the background, uninterested in whatever it is they were talking about.
Instead he took to studying body signs, watching the three foreign fighters carefully. He always preferred that to conversing with others, which always seemed to end up in people labeling him as isolated and 'not a people person.'
But that wasn't it at all.
It wasn't that he wasn't a people person, he just wasn't a stupid people person.
He knew when to voice his mind and when to remain silent; when to joke and when to be serious; and when to pry and when to let it slide.
That was how he noticed the special way Sting looked at his younger brother figure and the disdainful glare that Rufus would direct to them both, though the albino noticed it was more focused towards Gray than himself.
He also noticed how Rogue looked like he would rather kill himself than stay around and talk any longer.
Pushing his observations aside to be dealt with later, particularly the hatted man's glare, the white haired male focused back on the actual conversation when he noticed Gray staring at him, a black eyebrow raised in question.
"Ready to get going, snow head?"
Allowing a slight grin to mar his expression he nodded in confirmation before leaving with the raven, prepared for whatever hell these games would bring.
Following after them, the twins left, unaware of the last person still remaining in the room, making no motion to move just yet.
Lingering behind, Rufus stared with narrowed eyes at the raven's retreating back, entirely displeased. Certainly seeing the raven again added to his dissatisfaction, although what truly irritated the long blonde haired male was the way Sting looked at the ice maker; a look in which was never directed towards him.
It was one of attraction and excitement, the exact same one that the light slayer used to direct towards Gray when they were kids.
Sting still liked Gray, not Rufus, of whom loved him.
Letting out a hollow chuckle, the costumed man smiled dryly to himself before pushing off the wall, following after the rest of his team in silence.
People often praised him for his perfect memory, claiming it to be wonderful, however, there was one fatal drawback to remembering everything.
He could forgive nothing.
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Okay, so here is chapter 9!
Now, I know everyone really wanted me to get to the Grand Fighting Games and I meant to in this chapter, however when I was writing it went in a whole different way, so I'm really sorry about that. I was also going to add all that into one chapter but I decided that would be too long and tedious, so I settled with basing a chapter entirely on it. That and I wanted to add a little something extra with Natsu and Gray because they've only really talked three or four times in eight chapters…
To make up for that I withheld this chapter until I was able to finish chapter 10. That way it gets to the Grand Fighting Games and is a bonus two chapter thing. Yay…
Anyway, I just want to thank everyone for reviewing, following and favoriting. It really encourages me to write when I see that there are people reading that really like my story J