AN: Thank you NinjaFang1331, Goku275, and NinjaGogeta.

Sorano could do nothing but gawk at the Communications Lacrima as it broadcast the Grand Magic Games. Erza Scarlet, the woman who defeated Mid… Macbeth, was singlehandedly tearing through the 100 monsters of 'Pandemonium.'

She was so mesmerized by the display that she forgot about her mission. Sorano was supposed to be stealthily watching over her little sister — not her little sister; she has too many sins to be Yukino's sister — in case kidnappers targeted her.

However, she was snapped out of her daze by the sudden appearance of a familiar sensation.

"Huh!?" went Sorano as she felt magic similar to Zeref's. Her head shot back and forth as she scanned the area for any traces of the magic's source. "How did the signature just show up out of nowhere!? Why did it show up out of nowhere!?"

No matter how hard she tried, Sorano could not find the source of the magical signature, nor could she come up with answers to her questions. The former dark mage did discover one thing, though.

A group of people had surreptitiously surrounded Yukino while she was entranced by the Communications Lacrima (just like Sorano had been). The leader, a serious-looking woman, had been telling Yukino to surrender when Sorano noticed them, and Yukino had a scared look on her face like she might just obey.

Now, Sorano considered herself an intelligent person. In a fight, she would often analyze the situation and her opponents before selecting the best response. But, between having her nerves ignited by the Zeref-like magic and the thought that her little sister was about to be kidnapped, pausing to appraise her enemies was the last thing on her mind.

"O Angels!" shouted Sorano, summoning a swarm of round, white creatures with wings and mouths full of sharp teeth. "I command you to attack the people surrounding Yukino! I don't care if you tear off an arm or leg, so long as you protect her from harm!"

Some of the attackers screamed as they were assaulted by a storm of feathers and teeth. Sorano didn't care, though, and was already preparing to summon her next angel to take out those who remained.

"Honestly, they should just be happy I have enough maturity and self-control that I didn't order my angels to kill them for attacking Yukino," thought Sorano darkly.

"W-we have just seen a new record for the highest score ever recorded on the MPF!" exclaimed Chapati, praising Jura's score of 8544. "They don't call him a Wizard Saint for nothing!"

The audience cheered at the absurd score, which was more than five times the next highest score of 1500 that Neppa of the Garou Knights had achieved with his Acid Magic. From third onward, the scores were 354 by Flare of Mermaid Heel, 124 by Nobarly of Quattro Puppy, 95 by Hibiki of Blue Pegasus, and 4 by Obra of Raven Tail.

"And the final contestant!" continued Chapati. "From Team Fairy Tail B, Romeo Conbolt!"

The crowd's cheers faded, replaced by mutterings of confusion and doubt.

"…Why's a little kid…right after a Wizard Saint …hate to be him…tough act to follow…a total joke…"

Romeo was deeply regretting his decision to compete in this event. Between Erza's domination of 'Pandemonium' and Jura participating right before him, it was as if the universe itself was setting Romeo up to humiliate himself.

"It must be a letdown to have to follow Jura," said Chapati, pitying the boy. "But give it your best shot anyway!"

"Saying that doesn't help," thought Romeo unhappily, his feelings toward Chapati going from neutral to negative. He walked toward the MPF. "I might as well get this over—"

"You can do it, kid!"

"Go for it!"

"We believe in you!"

"Kick their asses, Romeo!" shouted Natsu.

Everyone in Fairy Tail was cheering for Romeo. Hearing this, the boy smiled.

"Even if it's overshadowed by Erza and Jura… even though I'm just a kid…" spoke Romeo quietly, reaching the MPF. He adjusted his scarf, shifted into a fighting stance, then yelled. "I'm a member of Fairy Tail! So don't count me out just yet, because I'm all! Fired! Up!"

Romeo inhaled, gathering his Magic Power.

"Fire God's Bellow!"

Black flames erupted from the Fairy's mouth, consuming the MPF for five second. As the fire faded and Romeo was left panting for breath, the audience burst into an uproar at his score.

"Unbelievable!" exclaimed Chapati. "Romeo Conbolt has earned a score of 2610! That's more than a thousand higher than everyone other than Jura! Team Fairy Tail B comes in second place on the MPF, and in third place overall!"

"I *huff* did it," said Romeo to himself, a content smile on the God Slayer's face.

Results

Ranking (first to last): Erza (FTA), Jura (LS), Romeo (FTB), Neppa (GK), Flare (MH), Nobarly (QP), Hibiki (BP), Obra (RT).

…

1st: Garou Knights, 31 points.

2nd: Raven Tail, 28 points.

3rd: Fairy Tail B, 27 points.

3rd: Blue Pegasus, 27 points.

5th: Fairy Tail A, 21 points.

6th: Mermaid Heel, 17 points.

6th: Lamia Scale, 17 points.

8th: Quattro Puppy, 14 point.

Yukino could only stare in shock. A score of fallen enemies lied around her, ruthlessly beaten by Angel, a former member of Oración Seis and a current member of Crime Sorcière. However, the thing that shocked her the most was that Angel appeared to be…

"Sorano?" spoke Yukino, gaping at her savior. "Big sister?"

Sorano, who had been glaring at the currently-unconscious leader of the failed kidnappers, froze at Yukino's words. She turned away from Yukino, looking at the ground in discomfort. "I… don't have a little sister."

"But… you…" gasped out Yukino, feeling a sharp pain in her chest.

"Never heard of her," rejected Sorano, still refusing to meet Yukino's gaze. "You have the wrong person."

"I'm not wrong!" shouted Yukino. She was upset, angry, and (most of all) hurt. "You are Sorano! I… I've been looking for you this whole time! When we were young, my dear sister was abducted by bad people!"

Tears started to streak down her face. "My big sister would always, always protect me! I loved her! I…"

"You've got the wrong person!" interjected Sorano coldly. She summoned an angel, had it pick up the leader of the failed kidnappers, and began to walk off.

"How can you be so cruel!?" cried Yukino, her vision blurry with tears. A dark thought occurred to her. "It… it's because of yesterday, isn't it!? I-I messed up so badly… and have to pu-publicly debase myself now… and you don't want a sister like that!"

Sorano stopped in her track, snapping around and giving Yukino a look of unadulterated fury.

"DON'T BE STUPID!" she screamed. Yukino's heart stopped, but not because of Sorano's words. She had frozen because a single tear was making its way down Sorano's face. "It isn't your fault! It's mine!"

Yukino could only regain enough sense to sputter out a "W-what?"

Sorano turned back around, then resumed talking. "I would never hate you for failing at something, but I can assure you that you don't have a criminal for a sister. My little sister lives in the world of what's good and right. She can't have a sister whose committed terrible crimes!"

"That's right," thought Yukino. Those words had stirred up old memories. "Whenever Mom and Dad got angry at me for failing at something, my big sister would protect me. She would never judge me like they did."

"But," continued Sorano, her lone tear getting some siblings. "But, someday… if a time comes when my crimes are atoned for… I can hug my little sister again!"

"That day will come, won't it?" asked Yukino. The pain in her chest had been replaced by a flood of warmth.

"That's why I'm fighting!" proclaimed Sorano. "But I haven't earned forgiveness yet. I need more time."

"All I ever want was for you to be alive," replied Yukino.

As Sorano left, Yukino gave her first real smile since yesterday's event. Years had passed and they had become very different people, but her older sister was still protecting her.

"Wild Spin!" yelled Semmes of Quattro Puppy, using his Spinning Magic to spin like a spinning top. He then shot at Gajeel, his opponent for the Day 3 Battles.

"Iron Dragon's Club!" shouted Gajeel, using his transformed arm like a baseball bat to send Semmes flying. "And Iron Dragon's…"

The Iron Dragon Slayer trailed off. His opponent had smashed into the wall behind him and was now collapsed on the ground. The match was over.

"Aw, come on!" shouted a disappointed Gajeel. "I didn't even hit the guy that hard! Why the hell haven't I gotten any chances to enjoy myself since the preliminaries!"

The dragon slayer left the arena, fuming over his current situation. It had been his first time participating in an event, and he had gotten paired with the weakest opponent there was.

Couldn't he have gone up against Flare of Mermaid Heel or Alexei from Raven Tail!? Those two had defeated Blue Pegasus's Eve (who received significant injuries during the match) and Garou Knight Kamika, respectively.

"Plus, I had to spend an hour watching Rogue meditate after Day 1," grumbled Gajeel mentally. The Shadow Dragon Slayer's search of his shadow for any traces of 'Shadow Rogue' had yielded nothing, which was equal parts irritating and relieving.

"Up next is the fourth and final battle of Day 3 of the Grand Magic Games!" announced Chapati. The Iron Dragon Slayer paused as one of the competitors made her way down the hall and toward the arena.

"Good luck, kid," Gajeel told Wendy. She smiled and thanked him, before making her way to the battlefield.

"Wendy from Fairy Tail A… versus Sherria from Lamia Scale!" finished Chapati. The crowd roared "Let the battle begin!"

"Heh, at least I didn't have to fight either of them," snorted Gajeel. Though he wouldn't admit it to anyone, the only thing that would've been worse than a boring match would be bullying a little girl. After all, his secret affiliation with Raven Tail was just an act.

The figure grinned as they sat on the bed in their inn room.

"It worked!" they exclaimed. "She thought your Fake-Zeref-Signature Enchantment was the real deal!"

"…"

"Then what would you call it?" asked the figure.

"…"

"Fiiine," they said in mock-annoyance. "Your Concept Enchantment of Zeref's Magical Signature fooled her."

"…"

The figure's expression grew somber at the unheard words.

"Yeah," they agreed with a sigh. "Having your younger sibling taken away from right under your nose, then dying because of it… I can't think of anything worse. I'd definitely be as miserable as Sorano was if that happened to me."

"…"

"We don't know that," said the figure sharply. Their smile was completely gone, replaced by a frown. "Even if he was fine when we left, who knows what's happened! After finishing the others off at the Eclipse Gate, Acnologia might've…"

Found and killed them all.

The figure didn't even want to think those words, much less say them.

"…"

"Right!" they said, the fire in their eyes relit. "We're here to make sure that none of it ever happens! When the time comes tomorrow, we'll start changing everything!"

Results

1st: Raven Tail, 38 points.

2nd: Fairy Tail B, 37 points.

3rd: Garou Knights, 31 points.

4th: Blue Pegasus, 27 points.

4th: Mermaid Heel, 27 points.

6th: Fairy Tail A, 26 points.

7th: Lamia Scale, 22 points.

8th: Quattro Puppy, 14 points.

Omake

"You're in a rather sorry state," Flare Corona told Eve in a tone that sounded both haughty and threatening. Her comment was a reference to the fact that, during their battle, Flare had significantly burned much of Eve's body with her Crimson Hair Magic.

"I'm sorry," apologized Beth. "Flare here isn't used to talking with other humans. What she said might sound like an insult, but she's actually trying to show concern."

"Mph mphn mphhr… mphmhmhn mh mhph, mph mhh mphph phmph mh mphph mhrh," went Eve, trying and failing to speak due to his injuries and bandaging.

Fortunately, Hibiki was around to translate his friend's words. "He said, 'it doesn't matter… compliment or insult, I will always accept a woman's words.'"

Flare Corona glare at Eve for a few moments, then dropped her gaze and blushed. With barely more than a whisper, she spoke. "Sorry."

She turned and left, with Beth following. "That's all I wanted to say."

"Mph mh mphhph phhmhmh."

"'What a beautiful tsundere.' You can say that again."

AN: In case it wasn't clear, the reason Yukino didn't fight the kidnappers was because the events of the previous day were still weighing on her mind. Her confidence was shot, though Sorano's words have started the healing process.

Between that and Romeo's performance, Gajeel definitely got the short end of the stick among Team Fairy Tail B this chapter. He'll have his time to shine, though. As will Laxus, for that matter.

That's all for now. Goodbye!