Parts of this chapter were brought to you by my friend lordoftheRoses. I hope you all enjoy!
July 2, X791
As Jayden made his way to his teammates in the stadium, he was approached by Natsu, Gray, Erza, Lucy and Wendy.
"Wow, Jayden! I didn't know you were a Dragon Slayer!" Natsu shouted in excitement. "Do you know anything about where the dragons went? Tell me."
"Um… Natsu…" Wendy looked down with a sad look on her face.
"I just know that my mother is dead." Jayden said. "But justice has been served."
"Um… Could you clarify, please?" Lucy asked.
"Wendy can tell you later." Jayden replied. "I've got to get back to my teammates."
They all looked at Jayden as he walked away.
"Regardless, he's an incredibly powerful wizard." Erza said. "I'd like the chance to fight him at some point."
"I wonder if my Ice-Make Magic would have any effect on him…" Gray muttered to himself.
"THAT'S what you took from that?!" Lucy questioned.
Back in the arena, Domus Flau was filled with excitement as Yukino and Kara made their way to the center of the battlefield.
"I know that yesterday we already had a fight between members of Sabertooth and White Valkyrie, but it was so good that we wanted a double take." Chapati said into the microphone. "Though who is going to complain, especially with these two beauties?"
Kara just looked at Yukino with an intense look in her eyes.
"I've never seen you in Sabertooth before." Kara said. "You are new?"
"You were kicked out of Sabertooth because you were weak." Yukino replied. "I've heard all about you, Kara Krieg."
"Did they forget to mention that the opponent was stronger than I was?" Kara asked. "I'm warning you, Sabertooth doesn't tolerate failure, regardless of the circumstances."
"Sabertooth only accepts the strong."
Kara looked at Yukino again and closed her eyes. "… You remind me of myself… One year ago… You are indeed strong, but faced with an opponent who is clearly stronger."
"Before we start our fight, it's only fair that we place bets just as our competitors have."
"You have nothing I desire. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
"Then perhaps I should make it more interesting… By betting our lives."
"… Very well, you're going to regret this."
In the stands, Kyrin looked over at Kyo, who seemed a bit more anxious than he usually is.
"What? You're not going to place any of your stupid bets today?" Kyrin asked.
"No need to." Kyo answered. "I already know Yukino's going to win. She has to."
"Wow, you really want your girlfriend to win, don't ya?"
"Oh, ha ha!" Kyo mocked laughter. "Hey, her performance is a reflection on me, all right? If she looks bad, I look bad!"
"Hey, if she's as strong as you said she was, we've got no problem."
Kyo held his hands up to his mouth and muttered. "C'mon, Yukino… I'm counting on you."
"Open, Gate of the Paired Fish… Pisces!"
Two giant fish appeared and lunged at Kara, who just calmly kneeled and clasped her hands together.
"Geiravör, I offer you my magic power." Kara prayed. "All I ask in return is to grant me the power to slay my enemies."
A stream of magical power came straight from the heavens and fell down upon Kara. Pisces stopped in their tracks as the intense magic pressure from the stream could be felt throughout the entire stadium.
*This magic…* Blaise thought. *It's an Ancient Spell… Where did she learn it?*
When the magic stream died down, Kara was now holding a large, beautifully adorned spear in her right hand. With a single, distant swing of the spear, Pisces fell to the ground and vanished back to the Celestial Spirit World as Yukino looked on in shock.
"This is the power Sabertooth deemed too weak." Kara said. "Blessing of the Valkyries. All I have to do is offer my magic energy to the heavens and the Valkyries grant me their abilities."
Yukino shook off her fear and pulled out a black key. "Open, Gate of the Snake Charmer! Ophiuchus!"
A massive black snake appeared in the arena and hissed at Kara. Kara didn't show any reaction and charged her spear with a massive amount of magic energy.
"Blitz Lanze!"
Kara fired the energy at Ophiuchus, obliterating it and Yukino got caught in the blast as well. The energy blinded the entire stadium and when it faded, Yukino was lying on the ground and Kara walked up to her as the lance disappeared and the intense magical pressure dissipated.
"Against another opponent, you may have fared far better." Kara said. "I know we bet our lives, but feel free to do whatever you want. After all, you'll soon understand why my sister left to form our guild."
Yukino then noticed that Kara's face went from cold and calculated to something much more sympathetic.
"… Whatever happens afterward, know that Sylvia and I more than welcome you into our guild." Kara then left the arena.
"And the winner by a dominant victory is White Valkyrie's Kara Krieg!" Chapati announced. "Her skills have vastly improved since last year and her win over a Sabertooth member, even a greenhorn, genuinely shows that! What a way to end the day! Here are the results of today's games!"
Raven Tail 28P
White Valkyrie 28P
Phoenix Dawn A 27P
Fairy Tail A 26P
Lamia Scale 23P
Sabertooth 21P
Phoenix Dawn B 20P
Fairy Tail B 16P
Mermaid Heel 11P
Blue Pegasus 10P
Kyo was at a loss for words. "… Oh, Yuki…"
He looked up toward the Sabertooth box where Sting, Rogue, Olga and Rufus were to gauge their reactions. They were more in shock than they were disappointed.
"Looks like you made an error in judgment on that one." Kyrin said.
"Hey, Sabertooth had a bad day today." Kyo replied. "Sting messed up bad, too, ya know."
"Yeah, but the Master likes Sting. He'll give him another chance. He's gonna give that loser down there exactly what she deserves."
"Hey, shut your mouth!" Kyo stood up with his fists clenched.
Kyrin just looked up at him, with only a slight hint of surprise in his eyes.
Kyo began to just walk away. "This whole day has just been a fucking wash…"
As he got to the end of the aisle, there were two guys, who weren't leaving, but standing in the aisle, talking about the games today. One guy was waving some sort of drink around and when the drink almost hit Kyo in the face, he pushed both of them out of the way and spilled the drink over both of them.
"Out of the way, assholes!" Kyo shouted.
He kicked one of them down the steps and stormed off. Kyrin watched the whole escapade and just shook his head.
"Weak little girl like that isn't worth getting angry over." Kyrin said to himself.
Later that night at the inn Sabertooth was staying, all of the members had gathered in front of the Guild Master Jiemma, who was glaring at Sting and Yukino.
"You are too pathetic!" Jiemma growled as he ate some grapes. "You're not even worth crying over, you pieces of trash! Remember why we are the strongest! You do not see worms! You do not listen to worms! You crush them beneath your feet! Only the big fish are worth our attention! You make the heavens roar! You make the earth boil! You silence the seas! That is Sabertooth! Sting!"
"Yes." Sting nodded.
"I will give you a single remaining chance." Jiemma declared. "Do not fail us again."
"Thank you." Sting said. "It won't happen again."
"Yukino."
"Yes." Yukino replied.
"You do not have the same luxury!" Jiemma continued. "Not only did you lose, but you even bet your life! On top of that, it was at the hands of someone I've excommunicated from the guild for being too weak! You have completely disgraced Sabertooth!"
Jiemma threw the batch of grapes at Yukino's head.
"Yes…" Yukino said. "I'm ready to accept any punishment you deem appropriate."
"Take off your clothes!" Jiemma leered.
Kyo, who was standing in the third row from the front, looked away as Yukino stripped down, but couldn't block his ears to cover their voices.
"Your guild mark… Remove it!"
He could hear Yukino start sobbing.
"Yes… It has only been a short time… but I thank you for your hospitality."
"Get out of my sight, trash!"
He then heard Yukino's bare footsteps leave the room.
"Hmm…" Jiemma wasn't satisfied with just embarrassing her. "Kyo!"
Kyo looked up directly at Jiemma. "Yes, Master?"
"It's your fault for bringing that sorry excuse for trash into the guild!" Jiemma bellowed.
"That was my mistake, sir." Kyo said with his hand behind his back, which was clenched into a shaking fist. "It was an error in judgment on my part."
"Weakness attracts weakness and it seems you've become very weak!"
"Sir, I have not become-"
"You will remain silent!"
Kyo bit down into his lower lip from Jiemma's harsh tone. *Asshole!* He thought in the back of his head.
"In the following days, you're going to have to prove to me you're not just a trash collector! But if you mess up again, excommunication will be the least of your concerns! Do I make myself clear?"
Kyo just nodded at first.
"ANSWER ME!"
"Yes, Master!" Kyo answered with gruff affirmation.
"Good. We're done here."
As Jiemma left and the other members dispersed, he could hear some people talking about him.
"Man, Kyo really screwed up on that one."
"You'd think he'd know better than to bring in that trash."
"He probably just wanted someone weaker than him to push around."
Kyo's fists wouldn't stop shaking as he thought. *Is this really the same guild I wanted to join? Filled with these heartless Neanderthals?*
At the inn where White Valkyrie was staying, Sylvia and Kara were having tea in their suite.
"Kara, don't you think you were too harsh on the young lady earlier?" Sylvia asked.
"I'm not proud of it, either, Sylvia." Kara replied. "But when it comes to Sabertooth, you have to learn the hard way. Remember what they did to me?"
It pained Sylvia to simply acknowledge that moment in their life happened. "… I was furious. My own sister was forced to strip in front of the entire guild and remove her guild mark. I was practically trembling with anger. I quit so that we can take our revenge against Sabertooth."
"That bastard Jiemma's ways are as primal as his guild's name. He fails to understand… No… He refuses to accept that failure can increase one's strength more than victory."
"Sister, do you miss being in that guild?"
"Absolutely not. I couldn't stand that horrible man as a Guild Master… Besides, I'm much happier in our own guild, both in the rules we set up and the members we've recruited already."
"Yes, while we made this guild with the intention of showing Sabertooth what we're capable of, I never once thought of our comrades as tools of revenge."
"My thoughts exactly. In lighter news, I'm particularly impressed with this year's lineup of candidates. In particular… Jayden Oceari…"
Kyo was out on the balcony just at the end of the inn's halls. Sabertooth had completely rented out the entire upper floors so they wouldn't be disturbed. He was just breathing in the fresh night air, trying to calm himself down.
*What is with this damn place?* He thought. *He keeps talking about being the strongest. Does that matter really as much as I thought it did? That Jason or Jayden guy or whatever… When he fought, he didn't seem to care about strength. He was just busy helping those Crime Salsa guys.* He got up and started walking down the hall. *Is that really all it takes? To fight for someone else? Sounds stupid, but…* He held his head. *This whole thing's giving me a headache…*
"Hey, Kyo!" Two members of Sabertooth walk up to him. "We see you survived the Master's chewing out."
"Yeah, this time." Kyo said like he was sleepwalking through the conversation.
"Hey, it's not your fault that girl turned out to be such an underperformer." The other wizard said. "She just got lucky when you viewed her, that's all."
"Kyo, you can be honest with us." The first wizard said. "The only reason you recruited her was because she had that nice ass." He said in a mocking tone. "We'll get you a new sex toy."
The guy laughed and Kyo gave a light chuckle with him.
"Heh, yeah, Chris, I'll get a new sex toy." Kyo said. "And while we're at it, let's get you a new nose."
"A new nose?"
"Yeah, because your current one…" Kyo used his Steelbody over his fist and punched the guy in the nose. "IS BROKEN!"
Kyo's fist knocked the guy down so hard, it sent him crashing through one of the inn's doors.
"Whoa, Kyo! What the hell?!" The other guy shouted.
Kyo turned to the other guy, who fell down, and he raised his fist.
"Watch what you say to me, you piece of shit!" Kyo shouted.
Before Kyo could slam his fist down, Olga ran out of the room and grabbed his fist.
"Hey, knock it off!" Olga yelled.
Kyo just glared at him. "You want a piece of me, too?!"
"Oh, you definitely don't want to start something!" Olga replied.
Kyo's entire body went into the Steelbody. "Let's go, you overblown motherf-"
BOOOOM!
A large explosion rocked the entire building. Olga and Kyo both looked up.
"Whoa, what's that?"
As everybody rushed to the main room, they could see several guys being knocked into the air. Sting, Rogue and Kyrin were following behind Kyo and Olga to see…
"WHERE IS YOUR MASTER?!" The Fairy Tail wizard, Natsu Dragneel, was wailing on dozens of Sabertooth mages in a fit of rage.
"You have some business with me, brat?" Jiemma asked as he entered the room.
Natsu turned to face Jiemma. "So you're the master? You expel somebody after just one loss? Gotta be pretty fired up to do that!"
"Huh?" Jiemma raised his eyebrows.
"So the same applies to you… If you lose to me, you're closing down your guild!" Natsu shouted, igniting his fist.
"Fairy Tail?" Rufus gasped.
"Natsu… ?" Sting gasped.
"He came to pick a fight with the master?" Kyrin questioned.
Kyo was stunned in silence, like the majority of the guild. *Is this guy out of his mind?!*
"I hope you're serious, brat!" Jiemma said.
"Anyone who doesn't treat a guildmate as a friend gets no respect from me!" Natsu proclaimed.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I see that you live by certain rules." Jiemma said.
Natsu only got angrier. "You don't know what I'm talkin' about?!"
"Kyo!" Jiemma yelled. "Deal with this brat!"
"Yes, sir!" Kyo came out of the group of bystanders and went into his full Steelbody. "I guess I have no choice.*
A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I didn't expect it to be a Sabertooth-focused chapter when lordoftheRoses took over, but it ended up better for it.
LordoftheRoses: Damn right it is, Mother Superior! Also, check out Lunar Knights Guild! My FanFiction which might be a little bit better… might!