Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima.
Rogue's POV
As Sabertooth members stood in the back, waiting for Fairy Tail to arrive, Sting announced, quite dejectedly, that he would be in his office, finishing paperwork. He never changes, huh? I felt a little bad for him, but I was happy nonetheless. The last time that Sabertooth had been in a competition was during the Grand Magic Games. Everyone was standing around, talking, but when we heard a stampede plowing through the town, we all smiled at each other, knowing that the rowdy guild had arrived.
"All right, brats! Lets show Sabertooth who's boss!" Master Macarov shouted, earning cheers from the guild. Sabertooth's backyard was basically just a gigantic clearing in the forest, enough so that we could fit a couple of battlefields.
I spoke up, "We'll be having three matches at a time, and we're having some earth mages set up some dividers. So, we're basically going to draw slips, or call dibs, in order to match each other up for the battles. And by the way," I said, looking for a flash of blond hair.
"I…" I trailed off, looking for her, "Call… dibs…" I said, smiling to myself when I saw her, "On Lucy" I pointed to the said girl, and she smiled my way, in which I returned it with a silent nod of my head.
"First Matches! Cana vs. Yukino! Erza vs. Minerva! Rogue vs. Lucy! Healers, stand ready! Begin!" the master shouted, signaling with a wave of his hand. I wasted no time.
"I'm not going easy, you know?" I said with a rare smirk. My magical energy incrasing, I went all out.
"Shadow Drive…Shadow Dragon's Iron Fist!" I shouted, running towards my target. Lucy sidestepped it, and pulled out her keys.
"Open! Gates of the Zodiac, I summon thee! Unify and Destroy! Zodiac Gates, open, in balance and harmony, Celestial Balance!" Lucy yelled. I never heard of this summoning form, but she summoned all of her spirits at once, which had Yukino a little distracted, but everyone payed closer attention to the stellar mage. The spirits glared at me, with devious glints in their eyes. I needed to be careful. They looked different this time.
"River of Stars!" Lucy activated her whip and lunged for me, in which I responded my pulling out my katana. I slashed at her, while she tried to grab my feet. I had the avantage here, in terms of control, but then she reached into her pocket and took out something shiny.
Lucy's POV
I took out my throwing knives, and added some magic to them.
"Elemental Rain! Dance with Blades!" the daggers pointed themselves at him, and started to swerve, in which distracted him.
"Star Dress Transformation: Gate of the Lion, Leo!" I took out my sword, and dispelled the daggers, and met Rogue's katana head on. We clashed, not using magic, and tested ourselves. Jumping back, I changed into my Saggitarius Star Dress, and shot arrows at the unsuspecting slayer. THe other matches had ended, and everyone's eyes were on us. I loved it. The barriers were taken down, and we had more space to move around in.
Rogue never seemed to notice that my spirits were simply standing back and watching, so I sent them all back, smiling at what was about to come.
"Requip! Celestial Unison Raid! I summon thy powers of the Zodiac. Heed my call and pass through the Gate!" I shouted, changing into heavy celestial armor, while shooting a beam at Rogue, composed of blinding stars and colors. Everyone was awed at the sight. He began to counter.
"Shadow Dragon's Roar!" Rogue shouted, and as he fired the attack, he melted into the shadows, and I closed my eyes. I tried to sense his magical presence. Behind me..! I turned around, my fist colliding with the mage's. We smiled at each other, obviously enjoying this. What a thrill.
Rogue's POV
I started kicking and punching, surprised that Lucy could keep up with my shadows. I was having fun, for once, and I let my emotions show. Lucy dodged my attacks, and she was pretty good, at it, too. She was also good with a sword. I used one of my most powerful roars at her, and as the smoke cleared, I was about to claim victory, but I saw her standing, in another dress, protected by a water barrier. I jumped forward, sending a low roundhouse kick, which she jumped over, and I heard her land behind me. Then, she decided to switch things up a bit. She sent a barrier to the audience, and used her elemental card magic.
"Elemental Decomposition! Air! Rid the gases and rid the winds!" I didn't understand at first, but then, I was losing oxygen. I looked at Lucy, and I applauded her for that. However, I wasn't going to give up that easily. Through sheer will power, I ran forward, and was able to land my first hit.
"Shadow Dragon Iron Fist!" It hit her in the gut, and sent her flying into a tree. The oxygen came back, and I gratefully gulped down the air. I thought she was defeated, but she stood up again. Her bangs covered her eyes, and I barely heard her whisper, "I didn't want to go all out on you, but you leave me no choice…" she said, dangerously. Wait, she was going easy on me?! Was all I could think, but I stood there confused as she carefully took off one of her usual rings. Then, I face palmed. Those rings weren't jewelry, they were restrainers. The air tensed as a huge flood of magical energy started to crush everyone. She started to chant a spell.
"I summon you, now. My aspect is evil…may darkness consume the light, and may even the darkest of shadows be overwhelmed… I call upon you now, look upon the stars as your guide, as you rip through the souls of those who are pure. I summon you, come, and face my wrath!" Lucy said quietly, a dark aura surrounding her. I could see it in the way she was casting the spell, she was going really easy on me. A dark, pitch black beam shot towards me, even darker than my shadows, but as I went into my shadow form, the magic energy itself pulled me back up, and as I was hit in the head, I smiled to myself. Good, game, Lucy. I fainted.
Lucy's POV
I tried to be as weak as I could with that spell, but I guess it was still too much. I ran over to him, pushing aside, Wendy, because I knew that this called for purification magic, not healing.
"I call upon you, show me your face, the aspect of purity. Rid the darkness, and shine brighter than the light. Mend broken souls and patch crushed hearts" I muttered quietly, and all of Rogue's wounds healed, as well as the strange shadows that surrounded him when I casted the spells. When he was completely healed, his eyes cracked open.
"Lucy…?" he said, before getting up. He squeezed my hand, and he smiled at me, causing me to blush, and causing everyone else's jaws to drop. "I have a long way to go, I see" was all he said, before all the Sabertooth and Fairy Tail mages made their way over to me. Yukino was especially excited.
"Lucy! You summoned 10 zodiac gates, and you didn't even need to use them, you just summoned them to make the transformations easier! Also, you have to teach me all of those new spells!" the white haired mage said excitedly. I nodded, and I coughed when Minerva and Erza patted me on the back a little too strongly. I looked over to the mages, and then I remembered that they had a match.
"Yukino, who won your match?" I asked.
"Cana…she used that weird mark that she had at the GMG's" Yukinio said, scratching her head. I turned to Erza and Minerva about to ask the same thing, but decided against it when I saw that they looked ready to kill each other.
"It was a tie, because this woman cheated and started to haphazardly throw rocks at everyone like a madman!" Minerva shouted, clenching her fists.
"Just shows how many skills I have!" Erza shouted back, pulling out a sword. Backing away slowly from the dangerous argument, I went to Rogue, whom I playfully punched on the shoulder.
"That was a really fun match, we should spar again sometime soon. Oh yeah, I felt that you were about to use a new spell, before I blocked it of course, but, if you want, I can help you power it up. I have magic for that" I pointed out, recalling the fight.
"Oh yeah, thanks. If you want, I could also help you with your sword fighting. By the way, I never knew that those rings you wore were restrainers. I thought that you just really into jewelry or something like that…" Rogue mumbled the last part, and I laughed.
Rogue's POV
I wondered why she even wore them. Sure, her magical energy was overwhelming, but shouldn't that work to her advantage?
"Why do you even wear them? The restrainers, I mean. Don't they hold you back? And why do you wear so many?" I interrogated her, staring at all the rings she had on, and I also noticed her metallic earrings. From what I saw, she had on about 10 of the things, and I wondered how powerful she truly was.
"Well, I don't want people to see me differently" Was her reply, and I cocked my head in confusion. Seeing this, she smiled.
"When I first came to Fairy Tail, I was pretty weak, and I was just starting out as a mage. When I met everyone, though, I grew stronger with them, and we all were happy, just like the good old days. But then… Natsu went on a mission, and I was alone, so I took time off and traveled, meeting new people and learning new things. Nobody knew about it, though, and I was still just normal old Lucy to them. When I came back, my heart was broken by somebody, and it made me grow stronger. Nobody knew about my real powers then. They would only get a glimpse of it, but the guild waved those glimpses off as flukes. I didn't want to be like Erza, although she's whom I admire, because just the name Titania can cause people to run away in fear. I don't want to scare people, I want them to think of me as a normal person, not an all mighty mage. Fairy Tail, too. They all keep themselves away from people like Laxus and his gang, but that's because they respect them for their power. I want to be close with everyone, not send people running or cowering in fear at my name, or being left alone, respected but lonely. I guess… I guess I just want to be just Lucy Heartfilia in the eyes of everyone" I gasped in realization as I noticed that I was rambling on.
"S-sorry!" I bowed in apology and turned to leave, embarrassed. However, Rogue caught my wrist, and he smiled at me. I looked at him, forgetting that we were in the middle of a rowdy crowd.
"Don't worry about something as silly as that. To me, and to your friends, you'll always be he strong, kind, caring, and beautiful Lucy Heartfilia" He said kindly, bringing me in for a hug. My eyes widened, and the blush was wiped off of my face as I gently hugged him back.
Rogue's POV
I didn't mean for it to go that far. I pulled her in for a hug so she wouldn't see my flushed face. It's true, though, a voice inside of my head spoke. AS we parted, I turned my face away, and Lucy laughed cutely.
"Thanks, I knew I could always count on you. We better get back, though, since everyone'll be waiting for us" She spoke, taking my hand, surprising me. I let some emotion flicker across my face, before attempting to return it to its usual expressionless state. It didn't work. This woman, in just mere minutes, broke down all my walls. I smiled a little. It felt good. Not replying to her pleading calls, I ran ahead of Lucy, back to the battlefields, not wanting her to see my glowing expressions. I was too happy for my own good. I cursed silently in my head, not being able to return to my stoic expression for the rest of the day.
The Next Day
The tournament ended for that day, and would be continued next week. I got up as my alarm rung, which was unusual for me, and headed down the stairs to eat breakfast. Today, I was going to be able to train with Lucy. I smiled, not knowing that Sting was up, which was surprising, and did a little victory dance.
"What the hell are you doing?" Sting asked as he saw my little jig.
I informed him, expressionless, "I was doing a little victory dance, good sir, because, as you can see, I for one, am happy, because I get to spend the day with my good friend Lucy Heartfilia" Sting pouted as I said this, and started to whine.
"No fair! You get her all to yourself!" He complained, but that was before I reminded him that he got to spend a whole week with her. He turned away, and I, grabbing a bagel from the toaster, ran out the door, bringing a backpack filled with supplies, as well as my katana.
Lucy's POV
I went out, much to Natsu's dismay, in which I promised him that I would go on a mission with him later, after I was done. Seeing Rogue at the spot I selected in the forest, I waved to him. I kept up a friendly atmosphere as I approached, but it broke when I commenced a surprise attack and swung at him with my sword. HE jumped back in surprise, then came at me with his own katana, smirking.
"I won't use my whip!" I shouted, throwing the said weapon aside. He charged forward, being able to get a small cut on me by the ribs, but I ignored the ripped fabric of my shirt. We clashed together, the same pattern repeating multiple times, until Rogue kicked my legs out from under me, and I fell, him pinning me against the ground, holing a dagger near my stomach. I pouted, surrendering, but then I noticed the position we were in. He was pinning me down, on top of me, our legs entangled. Our faces were inches apart, and we just stared at each other for a second, before blushing, looking away, and getting up, straightening out clothes. I found my now ripped shirt very interesting, and Rogue now found a dead tree just as interesting. I cleared my throat, and we looked at each other. Then, we burst our laughing at the awkward silence.
I gripped onto my sides, which were hurting from laughing. We were laughing like idiots, rolling around on the ground, and slapping our hands on our knees. It looked as if we were doing some deranged version of the Macarena. When we calmed down, we decided to move onto what would be the next part of our training.
"So, what are we doing now?" I asked, listing off sword training from my check list.
"Spell posture" Rogue replied, dusting himself off. That made sense.
"Okay, then can you show me that new spell you were about to use during our fight?" I asked, wanting to see it for myself.
"Okay, but I haven't fully grasped it yet, so don't laugh at me" Rogue said, almost shyly. I looked at his posture carefully as he charged up magical energy into a round figure I his hands, before releasing it. He charged up a lot of magic, but the result was a puny, black orb, floating leisurely towards its target, a tree.
"This is embarrassing for the tree" Rogue muttered, sighing. I walked over to him though, and I told him some things that I saw.
"Straighten the upper part of your back, and use your hands to mold the figure of the energy" I explained, asking him to perform the spell again. This time, I went behind him, and I straightened his upper back by holding it straight with my arms, while I supervised him molding the ball of energy, occasionally fixing something. With that, he released the orb, but I was bigger and darker, and it flew towards the tree, obliterating it in mere seconds. He looked a little confused, and I snickered.
"It worked, silly! Now high five me!" I said, waking Rogue up from his trance. We high fived, and he looked really happy.
Erza's POV
I walked through the forest, following the voice of what I thought was Lucy's. When I came to a clearing, I ducked behind a bush, only to have my suspicions confirmed. It was Lucy, but she was… Hugging Rogue Cheney from behind?! I blushed at the shameless approach, watching Lucy as she hugged Rogue in the most embarrassing position, occasionally running her hands over Rogue's. I… I never knew that she had this kind of relationship with Sabertooth. AS I begin to think about doing that with Jellal, I blushed and ran away as the two separated, running to tell Mira, knowing that she would want to hear this.
Lucy's POV
There was a rustle in the bushes, and I saw the glint of silver armor, ad I nudged Rogue.
"Did you see that?" I asked, suspecting that it was a certain redhead.
"Yeah, it smelled like Erza, but I guess she got lost or something" Rogue said. I put on a fake smile, but I was panicking on the inside. Erza told Mira everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Mira once asked Erza to look into Gray, to see if he like Juvia, but Erza stalked him, even giving a detailed report of Gray's underwear as well as what laid beyond. I still blush, thinking of that report. I turned ti the dragon slayer as he spoke.
"Your turn" I nodded, ad thought of a spell hat I needed to perfect. Bumping my fist onto the flat of my palm, I decided to use a new spell that I recently learned, but never had the chance to try out.
Taking a deep breath under Rogue's intense gaze, I began to chant the spell.
'Thy stars, let me feed off your power as you shine, and illuminate the night. May your radiance blind those who are ignorant to my cause, for I am your ruler. Judgement Day has arrived, and feel fear under the ruler's gaze. HOLY JUDGEMENT!" I shouted feeling the power well up inside of me. I put my hands out in front of me, and a blinding, bright light emerged, I faced the trees of the forest, and released the magical energy, a huge beam erupting from my tiny figure. Rogue and I watched in awe as the beam obliterated everything in its path, clearing trees left and right for a couple hundred feet. Rogue stared at me.
"Um…" I replied.
"Yeah…"
"So… put your hands closer together?" Rogue suggested, trying hard to think of something. I was confused as to what he meant, and Rogue saw this. He then went behind me, and positioned my hands in a secure fashion, holdin on until he thought that i got it.
"Like this, so you can condense the energy" Rogue said helpfully. We stayed like that, Rogue's hands on mine, as I tried the spell again, and, sure enough, it was even stronger. The strength sent us flying, and we fell together, our arms wrapped around each other, holding on for dear life. He ended up on top of me again, somehow, but we ignored the position this time, still dazed at the powerful spell. No wonder it was called Holy Judgement. It sends the angels running in fear.
Gray's POV
I was walking through the woods, investigating. Erza had run into the guild, mentioning something about Lucy and Rogue so I came it out, sure enough, Rogue was hugging Lucy from behind, holding her hands tightly. My eyes widened, and I ran back to he guild, needing to tell everyone about what I just saw.
Rufus' POV
I was taking a calm stroll through the woods, but that was before a huge, bright beam came and obliterated everything in its path, I, thankfully, not being one of those things. I ran towards the source, and was met with a very cuddly and lovey-dovey Lucy and Rogue. They were in each others arms, holding on, very tightly, if I might say so myself, and they weren't letting go, that much was certain. Recording this in my memory, I walked away, continuing my stroll, thinking about how I could embarrass Rogue in front of the guild.
LOL! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'll be updating tomorrow, as well, so you don't need to worry about that. Anywho, LOTS OF STICY AND ROLU FLUFF BACK TO BACK!