Hiya!
So school starts again tomorrow (start crying) but I came up with a little back-to-school present: this chapter!
CelestialxXxAngel—Sasori's name wasn't the only thing I got from Naruto. Read Tiamat for another thing I "borrowed".
Cough hack *Kakashi killed Rin* cough cough*
Chapter 6
Silver and Iron
"What did you say?" Gajeel pulled himself off the wall, a look of annoyance and rage painted across his face. "Did you say I was rusty?"
Platina cocked her head, retaining that sinister smirk. "I thought Dragon Slayers possessed good hearing."
"I'll show you rusty! Eat this: Iron Dragon's Restraints!"
The restraints flew towards her. Dodging under one, Platina caught the other in her hand. "Vell, you did show me how rusty this restraint is," she taunted, twisting the iron so that a spiral formed.
"She's dead," Laxus decided. "First tinfoil, then rusty: she ain't making it out alive."
"You're that sure of Gajeel's victory?" Juvia sweated.
"He's our comrade! You're supposed to have faith in him!" Freed protested.
"Iron Dragon's Cannon!"
Gajeel's arm lengthened, growing in width as a hole appeared in the center. Iron took the place of skin, and his arm was a fully loaded bazooka.
Endless waves of blasts were unleashed, but Platina somersaulted across the sand, dodging each blow with the slightest movements.
"Is that all you've got, Gajeel? Snails vould be able to dodge these!" Platina catcalled.
"I see." Risley put her hands on her hips. "Platina's specialty is pissing people off. She's making that Gajeel lose focus by taunting him."
"Is it actually working?" Beth asked skeptically.
"When people are frustrated, they tend to use more magic even in a simple spell," Millianna said. "She's exhausting him by making him throw a tantrum."
"Confidence, speed, power, and good eyes," Rufus admitted. Noticing something, he leaned over the parapet. "She moves with the grace of a dancer. Not a single movement wasted, always in time with her rhythm."
"This is a first. You're checking out a girl, Rufus," Sting snickered.
"...can the two of you manage to shut up, or is that too hard?"
Sting scowled, Rufus went back to watching the battle as did Rogue.
Platina crossed her arms above her head. "Silver-Make: Silver Rain!"
Sharp pieces of silver started beating down on the arena, managing to slice Gajeel's iron. Grabbing as many as he could, the Iron Dragon Slayer stuffed his face with silver shards.
"...delicious." Gajeel looked up, meeting his opponent's eyes. "I guess you were born with a silver spoon in your hand."
Platina scowled, putting her hands together. "Silver-Make—" Before she could blink, Gajeel appeared in front of her, his fist ready to fly towards her face. "Porcupine!"
Multiple silver spikes appeared on her body. Her black hair turned silver and spiky; the same spikes formed along her clothes. Gajeel's fist collided with sharp silver, creating scratches that bled.
Platina prepared a roundhouse kick. Gajeel managed to figure out the foot's path. Her target was a spot on his right arm.
The meridian whatever! Gajeel thought, moving his arm out of the way. The spikes on the silver mage's boot only scratched his arm.
"Just in time!" Gray cried.
"Iron Dragon's Club!" His iron arm burst forward, his target however moved out of the way. "Tricky one, aren't ya?" Gajeel growled. "Try this then!"
Multiple clubs spurted from his club arm. Platina dodged each one efficiently, until one of the clubs snagged her sunglasses off. "No!"
"Come and get it!" Gajeel taunted, waving her sunglasses in the air.
Covering her eyes, Platina stepped out of the way of another club.
"Is she that determined to keep her face a mystery?" Mirajane wondered.
"Maybe she only has one eye so she wears them to hide her hideous face," Laxus snorted.
"Iron Dragon's Roar!" A gale of swirling iron shards burst from his mouth, charging towards his opponent.
Platina, despite having her eyes covered, ducked under the Dragon Breath, running underneath the iron storm to reach Gajeel.
"How does she do that?" Sting awed. "How does she move so fucking fast?"
Without wasting time, Platina kicked Gajeel in the groin. Many males in the crowd groaned, imagining what kind of pain he was in.
"Oh! That must hurt!" Chapati winced.
"Platina...she's really scary," Vóreia mumbled.
Sunglasses fell, but Platina caught them in midair, placing them back on her eyes. Thanks to his enhanced sight, Gajeel could briefly see her real face.
A set of blue eyes glared at him. "Nobody," she snarled, hiding blue eyes from the world, "touches the glasses."
Instead of asking why, Gajeel simply smirked as he returned to his feet. "So I assume you count as nobody then?"
Growling, Platina slammed her hands together. "Silver-Make: Infinite!"
"Her signature move!" Arania exclaimed.
Tendrils danced together with silver shards and weapons. The precious metals swirled around the duo, creating a silver wind barrier.
"Silver Storm!" True to its name, the silver wind barrier collapsed on itself, storming towards Gajeel, who could only take so much.
"Nice, but—" Gajeel positioned himself, his right foot forward. "Iron Dragon's Ro—"
His mouth froze, as did his right arm, and his right leg. In fact, everything on the right side of his body refused his commands. What's going on? he thought furiously. Why can't I move, damn it! I can't even speak!
"What happened?" Juvia cried.
"Again." Yuka whistled. "She paralyzed him."
"But last time, it was only the arm," Lyon pointed out.
"I really hate to repeat myself," Platina said. "Remember vat I did to that mutt?"
Everyone in the arena thought back to Platina jabbing Yaeger's arm and disabling his good arm.
The meridian thingy! Gajeel realized. But it should only affect the arm!
"If struck vith force, then the arm is paralyzed," she answered as if reading his mind. "But if it's struck vith enough magic, then half your body is paralyzed."
"But when?" Orga questioned, impressed. "She never hit the meridian whatever—"
"She did," Rufus realized. "She scratched that spot with her foot!"
"And now!" Platina ran towards Gajeel, holding two sickles, in her hands. She became a dark blur.
"What incredible speed!" Chapati cried.
Multiple attacks struck Gajeel, all in a split second as Platina appeared behind him, kneeling, her arms spread out. The sickles had traces of blood on the metal.
Gajeel fell, his shirt tattered to the point that it resembled a rag.
"Th-the match is over! The winner is Platina! Mermaid Heel is up to twenty points for Day 1! Fairy Tail B, a mere two points for the day!"
"She beat Gajeel! How?" Pantherlily cried.
"She's a monster," Happy mumbled, shocked.
Up in the stands, Rogue barely managed to contain his shock. His idol, the same one who beat him and Sting last year with a flick, was beaten. By a girl.
My opponent isn't you anymore, Gajeel, he thought, making a fist under his cape. She was enough to defeat you...she's good enough for me.
~Infirmary~
Gajeel lay on one of the beds, unable to move half of his body while Porlyusica examined him. The remainder of Fairy Tail B watched worriedly.
"Hmph. It's been a long time since I encountered the meridian valve," Porlyusica grumbled. "But to have struck it so subtly...his opponent is one you definitely need to watch for."
"No duh," Laxus pointed out. "We got that tip as we carried him over here."
"And it wouldn't hurt to take it again!" With lightning reflexes, Laxus dodged the broom.
"But you can fix him, right?" Freed asked.
"It will take a day at most, but he'll be back on both feet. Now scram! I don't want humans stinking up the place!"
Team Fairy Tail B was forced out the door. "Eesh, what a hag," Laxus grumbled.
As they walked away, someone began to walk towards them. Millianna approached the quartet, a serious look on her face.
"You're from Mermaid Heel, aren't you?" Mirajane noticed.
Millianna nodded. "Is your team mate okay?"
"He's out for the day, thanks to yours," Laxus grumbled.
The cat mage bowed her head. "Gee, I was hoping she'd go easy on him."
"Juvia wants to know why you are here," Juvia said.
Millianna rose her head. "I'm here to apologize for Platina. I'm really sorry." She bowed.
"She can still walk, why can't she apologize—"
"Thank you for coming all this way to apologize," Mirajane cut off. "But...why can't Platina apologize to us in person?"
"Well, the thing is..." Millianna scratched behind one of cat ears. "Platina's really prideful. She wouldn't let herself be caught dead doing anything like that."
"Of course she wouldn't." Laxus stormed past Millianna. "A rich lady like her wouldn't—"
"You don't know Platina! She's not rich, she has to make a living just like the rest of us!"
"Huh?"
"What do you mean?" Juvia asked.
Millianna looked away. "Platina was never born with a silver spoon...she was a slave in the silver mines."
"Fairy Tail A's Erza Scarlet—"
"Win for us, Erza!" Gray called down to his team mate. The scarlet haired knight gave him a thumbs up.
"Versus Blue Pegasus' Ichiya!"
Erza froze in shock, a disgusted look on her face as the perfume mage waltzed in.
"...I don't know who I should feel sorry for, Erza or Ichiya," Lucy muttered.
"I feel sorry for both," Wendy decided, sweating.
"I think it's Erza," the ice mage said.
"This is troublesome," Ren sweated, crossing his arms. "Sensei is battling his lover."
"Senpai won't let that stop him from winning," Eve said. "Hibiki, Jenny, what do you—"
But they found Jenny and Hibiki making out. "Are you guys serious?!" Eve and Ren shrieked.
"Begin!"
"Erza, my honey!" Ichiya swooned. "I don't wish to injure you~! Come into my arms—"
Erza, though shaking in her armor, made a fist. "Don't come near me!" she screamed, punching Ichiya away from herself.
"Men~!" Ichiya broke through the wall, buried deep inside by Erza's fist.
"Uh...uh...Fairy Tail A's Erza has knocked Ichiya out! Ten points to Fairy Tail A!"
"Cool! Erza is so cool!"
"Amazing..." Lucy mumbled, dumbfounded.
"Just one hit," Wendy sweated.
"It just shows you how much she dislikes the guy," Gray finished.
"Wasn't Ichiya supposed to be crazy strong?" Natsu pointed out.
"Under Erza's fist, he's helpless."
"Next up, Lamia Scale's Lyon Vastia versus Quatro Cerberus' Semmes!"
Lyon rubbed his forehead as his mummy-like opponent entered. "Why do you even bother?"
"Begin!"
Before Semmes could move—he had a hard time moving to begin with—Lyon froze him in place.
"Victory to Lamia Scale! And they finish Day 1 with eighteen points! Quatro Cerberus—zero!"
"Is it me, or does Quatro Cerberus suck?" Lyon asked his team mates.
"The latter," everyone but Jura replied.
"Our last battle for the day! Sabertooth's Rogue Cheney—" A wave of feminine screams went up. "—versus Imperial Snow's Mizuno!"
A tall, water blue-haired mage entered the arena, aqua eyes regarding his opponent curiously. His dress sense was similar to Sasori's, except for the gladiator bit: a dark blue tunic with gold and silver accents, dark pants, and Roman sandals.
"Imperial Guardian of the South, Mizuno," Dobengal noted.
"What kind of magic does he use?" Yuka asked.
"Water," he said. "But his main magic involves mirrors."
Down below, Mizuno held up a silver hand mirror. "Mirrors are fascinating objects, don't you agree?"
Lyon sweated. "Is he...conceited?"
"Partially vain," Dobengal agreed, slightly disgusted at the fact that his former comrade, who did nothing to stop his excommunication, had not changed one bit. "But his power starts here."
"They say that eyes are the windows to the soul," Mizuno continued, putting the hand mirror away. At the same time, another mirror separated Rogue and Mizuno from each other. This one was big enough to display a face.
"And your point is?" Rogue asked, annoyed at his opponent. His reflection mirrored his emotions.
Mizuno smiled slyly. "Sometimes your eyes betray your greatest fears, your darkest secrets. Show me...your deepest..."
Rogue's reflection began to change. The image rippled, distorting his face. Black faded into white; red darkened to blue. When the mirror focused again, Glacia's face stared back at him.
"Oh no." Dobengal gripped the parapet. "Tell me he's not...he wouldn't..."
"Wouldn't what?" Chelia questioned.
"When he uses Mirror Magic, Mizuno can create an exact copy of a person his foe is close to," he explained. "But he grabbed Rogue's feelings for Glacia, so if the mirror reflects her image..."
"Oh dear." The floating mirror pivoted so Mizuno could look at the occupant. "Well, well...I did not see this coming. But in order to win, I'll do what I can to bring my foe to his knees!"
It looked as though the mirror were melting. Then it began to fold in on itself, resembling a silvery blob. But then the mass began to take a human form.
"Your intense feelings for Glacia Patin will be returned," Mizuno leered.
Pale skin took the place of silvery material. A light blue shirt, darker blue pants that came to the midcalf, and sandals outfitted the mirror. Snow white hair covered the mirror being's head, brushed over its left eye.
"After all, what goes better with darkness," Mizuno mused, "than cold?"
Glacier blue eyes blinked several times, zeroing in on Rogue, who backed away in shock.
"Shit. Is that—?" Sting leaned closer, hoping his eyes were decieving him.
Vóreia stepped closer on the parapet, unable to believe the image her former comrade decided to shape.
At the same time, Team Mermaid Heel stared in shock at the mirror being.
"...Glacia?"
Next chapter: Cold and Shadow