Round Robin

Ch. 5

The first day of the inaugural Round Robin had come to a close, and each of the nine guilds had gone back to their respective inns. In the bar of one such inn, the mages of Quatro Cerberus were drinking and having a good time, despite their lack of success in the matches earlier that day. Blues and Kuro Chi, the Water God Slayer, of course had glasses of water while the rest chugged mugs of beer. As they continued to drink and laugh among themselves, Goldmine, Quatro Cerberus' guild master, entered the room and took a seat with his guild's members.

"Alright guys. I know you're all having fun, but we need to talk about this tournament. While we still have plenty of time to recover, I think we can all agree this wasn't a great day for us."

"Ah, lighten up, Goldmine!" Bacchus said with a grin. "We had a rocky start, but we each got seven more fights in this thing. Oi Blues, who's your opponent tomorrow again?"

"Mathias. Black Phoenix's S-Class mage." the Dragon Slayer answered.

"Oh? My opponent's from that guild too. We may have no wins and two losses against Saber, but we'll just have to go undefeated against the rest now, won't we?! Wild!"

"FOUR!" the others all responded in unison before Goldmine continued.

"I like the confidence and the intensity. But you'll both have to play this smart if you want to make that a reality. Bacchus, Blues, have either of you figured out when you want to use your tag partner, or who you'll choose?"

"Yes, master." Blues responded. "And I'm pretty sure it shouldn't conflict with Bacchus' choice"

"Heh. Don't worry 'bout me. I know when I'll use it. But as far as who I choose, it doesn't really matter. Yaeger and Semmes would have a size advantage over just about anyone, War Cry's a fairly well-kept secret since most don't know how strong his Tear Magic is, Kuro's a God Slayer as well as one of our strongest, Rocker and I have worked together well in the past, and Nobarly's Smoke Magic can be pretty wild too. So whenever I need to pick someone, I'll just pick whoever's still available and seems like the best choice. Wild..."

"FOUR!" they all shouted again, before Rocker spoke.

"That's right! We'll all be ready to help out when we're needed! We came up short in the Grand Magic Games, but Quatro Cerberus is gonna win this tournament!"

They all began to shout, cheer, and drink again as Kuro nodded toward the guild master.

"Don't worry. We'll do whatever it takes to win this thing."

Goldmine grinned and nodded. "Well I guess that's settled then."

Across the street, the mages of Radioactive Decay were gathered in the lobby of their inn as well. Minoru Kanemoto was trying to read a newspaper, but was growing more irritated by the second with the constant yelling coming from Quatro Cerberus' inn.

"Tch. Damn idiots. They don't know when to shut up."

A hand gently rested on his shoulder, and he turned to see his guild master and girlfriend, Avani Moton, smiling at him.

"Try not to let it bother you too much. They're just excited about the tournament. Speaking of which, I think we should talk about it too." She turned her head and called out. "Tsuki, could you please come here for a moment?"

The dark-haired girl quietly walked over to where the two of them were.

"Yes, master?"

"I just want to talk about the tournament for a bit. First, I'm very proud of both of you. You fought well."

"Fought well? Minoru got his ass kicked!" said Sheiko Setaruga, the young Spectral Mage said from behind Avani, to which Minoru responded by simply glaring threateningly at him.

"...Well I'm just gonna go for a little walk." Sheiko said before his body turned into that of a ghost's, and he went right through the wall, leaving the inn as Avani sighed and rubbed her forehead.

"Anyway, who are your opponents tomorrow again?"

"Milliana" Minoru replied shortly.

"Rogue" said Tsuki,

"Alright. How do you both feel about your matchups?"

"I know I can take him. Shouldn't be a problem, master." Tsuki replied.

"Same. I won't repeat my mistakes from today's fight. I'll make sure I win this time." Minoru answered.

Avani smiled and nodded before looking at Tsuki.

"By the way, I think you made a great choice picking Iris as your partner. You two worked very well together. But if you don't mind me asking, why use your tag partner so early."

"Isn't it obvious?" Minoru said before Tsuki could reply. "She wants to do this on her own as much as possible, and she knows her opponents will be saving their tag partners for their S-Class opponents. By using hers early, she won't have it as a temptation for the rest of her fights." he explained, and Tsuki nodded to confirm what he said.

"I see. You know there's nothing wrong with letting your guild help you, Tsuki." Avani said.

"That's right! And if anyone does use their tag partner against you, we'll all be glad to help you out!" chimed in Melody Heywood,

Tsuki gave a slight smile and nodded. "Thanks, Melody."

Avani then sat down by Minoru to talk to him, and the rest of Radiactive Decay's mages resumed what they were doing.

In the lobby of another inn, the ladies of Mermaid Heel were sitting in a circle, with everyone's attention on Kagura, who sat with her legs crossed, and held a cup of tea in her hand.

"At this point, only three guilds remain undefeated in the tournament, Sabertooth, Black Phoenix, and us. It goes without saying, but I will continue to do my part in taking first place in Block B and moving on to the semifinals." she said before turning her attention to Milliana. "Milliana, I know this may sound like my expectations for you are rather high. But I truly believe you are capable of defeating any opponent in your block. Tomrrow you will fight Minoru Kanemoto, Radioactive Decay's S-Class mage. He is strong, but as you saw today, he is not unbeatable, and he will likely still be tired from today's fight. If you take advantage of this, wait for your openings, and attack at the right moments, you can defeat him."

Milliana nodded, her face full of confidence.

"I won't let you down, Kagura-chan!"

"Good." Kagura nodded and sipped her tea, then turned to face Arania Webb. "Tomorrow I face Eve Tearm of Blue Pegasus. If he has any sense at all, which I believe he does, he'll probably use his tag partner. If he does, I'll choose you to fight alongside me."

"Understood." Arania replied. "I'll do my best to assist you, Kagura."

"They better not underestimate Mermaid Heel! We're definitely gonna win this tournament!" Risely Law said with a confident grin.

"Indeed." Kagura said before taking another sip of her tea. "No one will stand in our way."

In the lobby of Fairy Tail's inn, the atmosphere was nearly identical to what it normally was in the guild. Gajeel and Erza might've lost their fights, but everyone was confident they would turn things around soon enough. Erza was sitting at the bar next to Cana, who had a mug of beer in her hand.

"Tough luck today with Ichiya. But at least that's over with, huh?"

Erza smiled and nodded. "I'm just glad I won't have to worry about it anymore. I can start taking this tournament more seriously now."

Hearing the conversation, Natsu went over to where they were.

"Erza! How come you didn't let me be your partner today!"

"Sorry, Natsu. I wasn't thinking very clearly earlier. But I'm sure you'll get a chance to be involved before this is all over."

"How 'bout you let me be your partner tomorrow then?!" he asked with an excited expression, as if he knew she was going to say yes.

"Well, Chelia's my opponent tomorrow. Nothing against her, but I think I'll wait until later to use my tag partner. But if she uses hers then I'll let you fight with me. How's that, Natsu?"

"Perfect! I'm all fired up now!"

In another area of the room, Juvia walked toward Gajeel.

"Juvia is sorry she couldn't be of any help"

"Huh? Don't worry about it, Juvia. Shit happens. And this tournament's far from over."

Juvia smiled and nodded. "Juvia knows you'll do great, Gajeel. Who are you fighting tomorrow, again?"

"Aira. That girl from White Eclipse."

"White Eclipse?! That guild is not a man!" shouted Elfman upon hearing Gajeel.

Laxus, who was leaning against the back wall, chuckled.

"Don't waste your breath complaining about White Eclipse when our own mages haven't even won a single fight yet."

"Yeah, cause you're doing so much to help out, right?" retorted Gray.

"Only one S-Class per guild could enter, and Erza took that spot. She's really making the most of it, isn't she?" he said in a sarcastic tone.

Erza frowned at the Lightning Dragon slayer.

"Don't forget we had a bad start in the Grand Magic Games but still won in the end. This is no different. One way or another, Fairy Tail will win the Round Robin."

"She's right! As long as we keep fighting for our nakama, we're sure to win this!" Lucy added with a confident smile as Elfman joined in again.

"Now THAT'S a man!

Laxus just chuckled again at hearing them.

"I hope you're right."

Ichiya and Eve both had bandages covering their wounds from their fights earlier, but were making their usual poses with the rest of Blue Pegasus' Trimens group.

"We have experienced the perfume of both victory and defeat today. And we will learn from today's experiences to prevail in the remainder of the tournament. Men~"

"Ichiya-sensei, your words carry as much wisdom as ever." Hibiki said. Jenny Realight, however, was looking at the situation differently.

"Confidence is good, but you guys should really think this through a bit more. Eve, even with Ichiya's Pain Relieving Perfume helping you, your injuries are sure to have an impact on your fight tomorrow. And the fact that Kagura's your opponent doesn't help at all. I really think you should let one of us be your tag partner tomorrow."

"Hm... You're probably right, Jenny-san. I'll definitely consider it." Eve replied.

"I'd be glad to help you against that beautiful mermaid, not that I care if she's beautiful." Ren said, causing Jenny to sigh and shake her head.

"Stop it, Ren. You're engaged. And Ichiya, since tomorrow's your bye, you should rest as much as you can and let your injuries heal."

"A warrior persists in the midst of his obstacles, but your words carry a wise perfume, Jenny. I will rest and recover, men~" he said as the four of them posed again, and Jenny simply looked on with an awkward expression.

Things were quiet among the White Eclipse mages. No one wanted to discuss the colossal upset that had occurred earlier when Chelia defeated Reve. And the Guns Requip mage was sitting by himself at a table, twirling a pistol on his finger as he thought to himself. The only sound was a crunching noise as Luke was eating a bag of chips. The crunching began to irritate everyone, until finally Reve spoke.

"Luke, take those to your room. I can barely hear myself think."

"Hm? What're you thinking about?" Luke asked.

"The tournament, obviously. Could you really not tell?"

"Well yeah, I just meant what specifically are you thinking about? The fight today, your opponent tomorrow, etc. Just curious."

"Forget about what happened today, Luke." Heather, the Poison Dragon Slayer said. "What's important is what happens now. He's fighting Orga tomorrow. He's probably just thinking of a strategy."

White Eclipse's Gravity God Slayer, Cygnus Gwydion, was eating a sub when he heard Heather's comment and laughed a bit.

"I bet he's just thinking about Erza and trying to figure out when he gets to fight her."

Reve shot Cygnus an annoyed glance before responding.

"I already know when I'm fighting Titania. Heather's right. I'm thinking about tomorrow's fight with Orga. And speaking of tomorrow, Aira, who's your opponent again?" he asked, turning his attention to the blonde girl. She reached into her pocked and took out her fight schedule.

"My opponent is...Gajeel Redfox." she answered a moment later.

"Heh. Fairy Tail, huh? You can handle him no problem." Reve said with a smirk.

"Bet you thought the same about Chelia." Cygnus said with a chuckle before taking another bite from his sub.

"Shut up, Cygnus." Tayakata said as she entered the room. "At any rate, the bottom line is a freak upset like that won't happen again, and we're still going to win this tournament."

"Damn straight." Reve said with a grin. "It's White Eclipse..."

"Or second place!" the others responded in unison.

In Black Phoenix's inn, the members were all in a good mood after both of its competing members had won their fights earlier today. Lucina was sitting at a table with Rita,talking about the tournament.

"How are your wounds, Rita?"

"My ribs are still a bit sore, but it's nothing to worry about." she said with a slight grin, under exaggerating the pain she was actually in. "Anyway, I'll be ready for my fight with Bacchus tomorrow."

Hearing the conversation, from a few tables over, Mathias chuckled.

"'A bit sore'? He almost crushed you with that boulder. There's no way you don't at least have a few cracked ribs. And I've told you, I have potions that can help fix that if you want."

"And I've told you to keep your damn potions to yourself. I don't need your help." Rita retorted, and Mathias just rolled his eyes.

"Tch. Stubborn woman..."

Tristan Gareth, Black Phoenix's SS-Class mage, laughed a bit as he sat down across from Mathias.

"Ah come on, you guys. We shouldn't be fighting right now. Both of you put on great fights and scored big wins for our guild. We're all on the same side here."

"Yeah yeah." Mathias said. "But I'll be the one to win this thing for us."

"Who's your next opponent, Mathias-san?" Tristan asked.

"Blues. That Dragon Slayer from Quatro Cerberus."

"You can take him no problem." said Mizaki Ome, another of the guild's S-Class mages as she walked over. "And I'm sure Rita and handle Bacchus just fine, too."

The Blood Dragon Slayer, Chisio Hidoi then joined in the conversation.

"Will either of you be using your tag partners tomorrow?"

"I doubt I will. Rita may need to though." Mathias answered.

"Shut up!" Rita shouted. "I'll use my damn partner whenever I feel it's necessary, and not a moment sooner!"

"Well, you guys should have plenty of good options available whenever you do decide to use them. So keeping this momentum going shouldn't be a problem." Tristan said.

Rita nodded in agreement. "I may not like Mathias, but I'm sure he can win against that Dragon Slayer. Those puppies are going down."

Lamia Scale's mages were all enjoying a peaceful night, and everyone had taken time to congratulate Chelia on her big win against White Eclipse's S-Class mage. Even Lyon was in a good mood, despite having been defeated by Kagura earlier, and was having a casual conversation with Yuuka. Jura walked into the inn, shutting the door behind him as Chelia happily went to greet him.

"Jura-san! Welcome back! Where were you, by the way?"

"I was at the arena. They've asked me to use my magic to repair the ground of the arena after each day of the tournament. How are you feeling, Chelia-dono?"

"Still have a bit of a headache, but I've been gradually healing it with my magic, so I'll be fine by tomorrow." She said with a bright smile.

"I'm glad to hear it. Speaking of tomorrow, I've been meaning to talk to you about your next fight. Lets sit down for a moment." He said, and the two walked over to a table before sitting down.

"Since you will be fighting Erza tomorrow, I'd like to give you some advice. Is that alright, Chelia-dono?"

"Of course, Jura-san! What is it?"

"Just some tips for your strategy. First, I think you should focus on avoiding her attacks as much as possible. Only attack when she does something that leaves herself open. You may have to wait a while for a chance like that. But if you try too hard to create those openings yourself, you'll have more things like this happen." he says, pointing to a large bandage wrapped around her head.

"I get it. And that'll also help me conserve magic energy in case I need to heal myself, right?

Jura smiled and nodded. "You're a smart young girl, Chelia-dono. And another key will be patience. There's a good chance you'll run close to the time limit if you want a chance to win this fight. As long as you stay cautious and patient, I think you'll do just fine."

"Thank you, Jura-san! And what about Lyon-san? Are you giving him advice too?"

"Tomorrow's my bye, so I'll just be scouting future opponents and cheering you on, Chelia." Lyon said as he made his way over to them.

"Oh, well thanks, Lyon-san! I'll do my best!"

"I know, Chelia. I'm sure you'll do great."

Sabertooth, like all the other guilds, had a discussion going in their inn about the tournament, as Sting had gathered all of the guild's mages.

"Great job today by both Rogue and Orga! Two wins over Quatro Cerberus' top mages have given us some great momentum in this thing. Who are you guys fighting tomorrow?"

"My opponent is Tsuki, the female Blood Mage from Radioactive Decay." Rogue answered while Orga looked for his fight schedule. After finding it, the God Slayer looked for a moment before answering.

"Reve. White Eclipse's S-Class mage."

"Oh? I can't say I know too much about Tsuki, but she did defeat Gajeel, so I'm sure that'll be an interesting fight. And Orga, you already know Reve's one of White Eclipse's best, so don't underestimate him too much. But I know both of you can win. Lets see if we can take Sabertooth to four wins and no losses by the end of the day tomorrow!" Sting said with a bright, confident smile.

Rogue just nodded in agreement, but a wide grin formed on Orga's lips, and he let out a small chuckle.

"Something amuses you, Orga?" Rufus asked, giving him a curious glance.

"I'm just excited to get a shot at one of White Eclipse's best. Once I take him down, the rest will be easy for me."

"A win tomorrow would certainly be a big step towards winning the tournament. Perhaps you should call on one of us to be your partner to help ensure that you win, Orga-sama." said Yukino.

Rufus let out a soft chuckle before speaking again. "Yukino certainly makes an interesting point. What do you think, Orga?"

"Heh. Don't worry about me. I already have my strategy for this tournament planned out. White Eclipse has spent too much time feuding with Fairy Tail over who's the best. But tomorrow, I'll show them who the real number one guild is."

"Well said, Orga!" Sting said with a smirk. "Now then, lets all get some rest. We've got another big day tomorrow."

And so the nine guilds concluded their private discussions, all feeling confident as they made their preparations and finalized their strategies. The mages each went to bed that night with a clear sense of determination to win their next fights. The first day had come to an end, but the Round Robin had only just begun.