A/N: It's finally Aira's turn!
Episode 162.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE: AIRA VS. BACCHUS
Toby was eventually on the ground, defeated. "Toby's down! And he's not getting back up! The match is over!" Chapati announced as Sherria sighed while Jura placed a hand on his forehead. "The winner is Blacksnake of Raven Tail!"
The audience soon cheered. "He's strong..." Erza commented.
"Yeah. And I don't think he was really trying hard." Aira agreed.
"Even without the dirty tricks, they've got strong people on their team." Lucy stated.
"This brings Raven Tail up to 36 points. And Lamia Scale has..." Chapati trailed off.
"...20 points." Yajima finished.
"Cool!" Jason exclaimed.
Toby was on the ground, sobbing. "So, what's your secret?" Blacksnake asked.
"My socks... I can't find one of them... Even though I've been searching for it for the past three months, I can't find it for some reason... I... I couldn't bring myself to tell anyone..." Toby replied as Lamia Scale sweat dropped.
Toby stops crying when he noticed Blacksnake pointing to his chest. Toby finally sees his missing sock hanging from his neck. "It was right here all this time?!" He exclaimed as the audience went pale. "You're a nice guy. I found it at last!"
"Yajima-san, what do you think...?" Chapati asked.
"No comment." Yajima answered.
"Cool! Cool!" Jason shouted.
"Good for you, dog-like guy!" Erza teared up.
"Unbelievably, I'm a little touched by this!" Aira exclaimed.
"Um..." Lucy was lost for words.
"Spin!" Obaba said.
Blacksnake then held his hand out to Toby. "Oh, my! The two congratulate each other on a good fight and shake hands..." Chapati said.
Right when Toby reaches for his hand, Blacksnake grabs his sock and tears it to pieces. "Or rather, they don't!" Chapati corrected himself. Lamia Scale stood there looking furious, Aira was trying to hold back Erza, and Raven Tail was laughing.
"That was cruel! Too cruel!"
"It's my nature to want to destroy something so precious." Blacksnake informed, walking away from Toby.
"You won't get away with this! I'll spin you!" Obaba began spinning a random guild member.
"Me again?!"
"What's his deal?!" Evergreen wondered. "There's a man with a sick sense of humor!"
"That's the true nature of Raven Tail." Wakaba claimed.
"Nasty..." Macao added. "I don't even know what Ivan's thinkin'..."
"I bet he was just being malicious, plain and simple!" Happy said.
"Okay, let's get back on track with today's second match!" Chapati continued. "From Quatro Cerberus, Bacchus! Versus an opponent from Fairy Tail A..."
"Us?" Erza questioned.
"What do we do if they announce Natsu?!" Lucy asked.
"I'll slap him awake." Aira replied.
"That Bacchus guy... He's on the same level as you, right, Erza?" Gray questioned.
"There he is! I don't care who does it, but somebody avenge me!" Cana shouted as Gajeel was trying to hold her back.
"Calm down, Cana..." Satsuki told her.
"If it's Gray-sama, he'll win with ease." Juvia stated.
"Airavata Mizuki!" Chapati finally announced who Bacchus' opponent was.
"Poseidon?" Satsuki questioned.
"Me?!" Aira exclaimed.
"Make us proud! The only thing we can do now is win!" Erza told Aira, who smiled.
"You're right." He agreed.
Down in the arena, Bacchus was laying on his side, one of his hands supporting his head and the other hand holding the bottle of alcohol.
"Good luck, Fairy Tail!"
"But if his opponent is Bacchus..."
"Hey, how about you and me make a bet?" Bacchus suggested, getting Aira's attention. "I don't know her name, but your girlfriend on your second team is a delightful dish..."
"What do you wanna say?" Aira asked, already tensed at the mention of Satsuki.
"It's an old story. If I win, she's keeping me company tonight." Bacchus replied.
"Bastard..." Cana mumbled.
"Oh? When did you two...?" Laxus looked at Satsuki.
"Don't get the wrong idea, lightning rod. We aren't dating." Satsuki huffed out.
Bacchus sets his bottle down. "If you win... Let's see..." He trailed off as Aira scoffed.
"Listen. Satsuki and I ain't dating. But I'm still not going to let lay a single finger on her." He claimed.
"Then we have a deal? My soul is quivering." Bacchus said.
In the infirmary, Natsu stretched his arms up. "That was a great sleep!" He said, but then realized no one was in the room. "Wendy... Carla... Granny? Where'd everyone go?"
He then sniffed the air, grabbing his white scarf. "A stranger's scent lingering in the room..."
Natsu rushed through the tunnels. He stopped and sniffed for a moment before continuing on.
"This way!"
He stopped in his tracks upon seeing someone carrying Wendy, Carla, and Porlyusica. "There!" He shouted.
"Fairy Tail?! You found us already?!"
"No, this is the one that was sleeping!"
"Scum! Where the hell are you takin' Wendy and the others?!" Natsu shouted.
"Oh, no!"
"Hurry!"
"Hold it!" Natsu yelled.
"He's hella fast!"
"Ain't that the one who staggered to the finish line in the last competition?!"
"Leave him to me! This is the best way to deal with wizards!"
Natsu punched his face before he could make an attack. "Move!" He ordered. "Jackasses! Give me back Wendy and the others!"
"What is he?!"
"That crazy bastard is scary! And he'll catch up to us at this rate!"
"What do we do?!"
"No other choice! We dump these two!"
"D-Don't be an idiot! The order was to get the girl in the infirmary!"
This grabbed Natsu's attention.
"An old bag and some cat aren't girls!"
"Then why'd we bring them?!"
"Wait, when you look at this old woman from a certain angle..."
"She's no girl!"
"Who gave you the order?!" Natsu asked as the three screamed.
"We're done for!"
An explosion went off as Aira found himself hunched over as he panted. "Oh my! This is unquestionably a one-sided match! Airavata can't land a blow!" Chapati announced as Aira breathed heavily and looked at Bacchus who was staring him down.
"I'm gonna have a wild night tonight..." Bacchus said.
"H-Hey, is that...?" Lucy started to say.
"I can see how he'd fight you to a draw, Erza." Gray commented.
"No, what's really hard to deal with is coming up." Erza stated.
"Go, Aira!" Cain cheered on.
Aira charged forward, his fist being covered in water. "Water Dragon's Wave Fist!" He called out as Bacchus dodged his punch.
Bacchus soon slapped Aira multiple times before elbowing him.
"Wild..." Bacchus started to say.
"...Four!" His guild mates finished.
"Even at that speed, Aira's attacks aren't landing at all!" Gray said.
"Maybe it's because of that guy's weird movements..." Lucy guessed.
"His magic is actually pretty orthodox. It's a type where magic converges in the palms of his hands." Erza explained. "But the secret of his strength is the mastery of a martial art that allows him to maximize that magic. The style of martial art is called Cleaving Hook Palm and that characteristic stance is used to deliver skillful palm strikes."
Aira charged again as Bacchus kicked him before slapping him again.
"Palm strikes..." Gray mumbled.
"What was even more fearsome is when he improved on that martial art, devising Drunken Cleaving Hook Palm." Erza continued.
"Drunken..." Lucy trailed off.
"You mean he's drunk?" Gray asked.
"That's right. It's impossible to predict the attacks of a drunken hawk. On top of that, his destructive force has been beefed up, making him a shoo-in to win. Even so, that's not the problem. He hasn't had even one drop of booze yet."
"Cleaving Hook Palm... That's an unusual style of martial art." Yajima commented.
"Actually, I've never seen it myself. Cool!" Jason exclaimed.
"Hey, is that..." Happy started to say.
"The move we saw at the tavern incident." Wakaba finished.
"Dammit. Isn't there anything he can do?" Macao asked as Bacchus threw Aira back with his palm.
"Wild..." Bacchus started to say.
"...Four!" His guild mates finished once again.
"Stand up, Aira!" Cana shouted.
"The movements of drunken Bacchus are as powerful as they are unpredictable." Satsuki commented.
"Huh? But he hasn't had anything to drink yet, right?" Juvia pointed out.
"Then..."
"He isn't trying hard at all."
Aira was on the ground as he struggled to get up. "You'll keep your promise, right?" Bacchus licked his lips.
"Can't Airavata rise again?!" Chapati asked.
"I forgot one important thing. Today, the Grand Magic Games official mascot-slash-judge, Mato-kun, has the day off, so I'm filling in as the judge, too." Chapati continued.
"Two roles! Cool! Two roles, cool!" Jason shouted as he was spinning around.
"The day off?!" Wakaba repeated.
"Why? All he needs to take a break is change his innards." Macao added.
"You shouldn't say 'innards'!" Happy scolded.
Aira stood up, swaying a bit as he did so. "So you're standing up?" Bacchus questioned.
"I finally decided..." Aira spoke up, making Bacchus look at him in confusion. "What I want if I win."
"Well, there's no chance of that, so go ahead, whatever you want." Bacchus said.
"If I win, the name of your guild is 'Quatro Puppy' for the duration of the Games." Aira declared as Bacchus held in his laugh and the rest of the Quatro Cerberus members were in shock.
"'Puppy'? As in little dog?" Juvia asked.
"'Four Puppies'?" Satsuki questioned.
"I like that! Make 'em say it, Aira!" Cana said.
"Okay, okay. That does it." Bacchus grabbed the bottle that was in the arena. "Bottom's up... I think I'll wind this up."
"He drank booze!" Gray exclaimed.
"It's coming... Aira!" Erza said.
"Now he's serious!" Lucy shouted.
"Uh-oh! Bacchus has hit the bottle at last!" Chapati announced.
"Drunken Cleaving Hook Palm..." Yajima muttered.
"This is the first time I've seen it before my very eyes! Cool!" Jason yelled as Bacchus soon got into his stance.
"Come and get me. You should easily be able to beat a drunk like me." He claimed.
"Man... Looks like I'm gonna have to use it. I was hoping to save that trump card for Raven Tail or those Saber jerks... More or less, I didn't really want to use that snake boy's Magic." Aira said, confusing Bacchus.
"Huh?"
Aira got engulfed in water that slowly turned red. "Poison Water Dragon Mode!" He shouted, getting Sting, Rogue, Arlo, and Fairy Tail members attention.
"Did he just say..." Sting trailed off.
"Poison... Water...?" Arlo finished.
Aira smirked. "That flame brain ain't the only one with a Duel-Element Mode. Keep in mind, I beat the crap outta this guy who's Magic I have. Twice." He stated. "Prepare yourself!"
"When was he able to do that?" Lily asked.
"Since the Zentopia affair. He sucked up Cobra's poison and defeated him." Cain explained before he sighed. "Though, he was sick for like a week after."
"Not surprising." Boris muttered.
"I didn't know about that..." Erza said.
"Don't tell me this is his..." Gray started to say.
"I think the other guy's in big trouble." Wakaba commented.
"Don't take your eyes off of them. Watch his battle to the end." Macao responded.
"Poison Water Dragon's Roar!" Aira shouted, letting out a blast of red water at Bacchus, sending him crashing into the wall.
"Hey, drunkie! Is that all you got?!" Aira taunted as Bacchus stood up.
Bacchus hiccuped. "You're an interesting guy! My soul is quivering!" He claimed.
Bacchus ran forward as Aira crossed his arms causing scales to appear and blocked Bacchus's attack. "Your moves are getting sluggish. The poison is taking effect, is it?" Aira questioned, pressing his foot into Bacchus's stomach and causing him to skid on the ground. He then headed for Aira again.
"It's about time I end this! Dragon Slayer's Secret Art!" Aira called out. "Poisonous Waves: Death Trap!"
A large amount of red water surrounded Aira as he moved his hands around, throwing the red water straight towards Bacchus and causing an explosion. When the dust settled, Bacchus was on his knees, before finally collapsing to the ground, knocked out.
"D...? Down! Bacchus is down! The winner is Airavata! Fairy Tail A gets 10 points! This gives them a total of 12 points!" Chapati shouted.
"P... Puppy?!" The Quatro Cerberus members all paled.
Aira raised his fist in the air as he shouted in victory. "Does this battle roar portend Fairy Tail's comeback?! Airavata pulls off a spectacular victory over a formidable enemy!" Chapati shouted.
"Listen to that cheering!" Natsu exclaimed as him, Wendy, Carla, and Porlyusica were watching from above.
"Aira-san did it!" Wendy said.
"Wendy, are you okay now?" Carla asked.
"Yeah! I feel fine." Wendy replied. "Thank you, Grandeeney!"
"I told you not to call me that!" Porlyusica said. "Anyway, those scoundrels from before..."
Natsu and Wendy both nodded.
"We just took the job!"
"F-From somebody in Raven Tail!"
"We were told to get the girl who was in the infirmary."
"Good work. We'll take care of them." A royal guard informed.
Natsu clenched his fist. "Raven Tail..." He muttered angrily.
"The girl... who was in the infirmary... Past tense?" Wendy questioned.
"There was one there. Natsu carried her in." Porlyusica informed.
"You don't mean..." Wendy gasped in realization.
"Lucy!" Carla exclaimed.
"The plan failed."
"Fool! In the first place, you had the wrong target. Didn't I tell you what she looked like?"
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, forget about it. It just means we'll move to plan B. Where are the actual perpetrators?"
"We arrested them and hauled them off to prison."
"Their cover isn't blown?"
"No, sir. They believe their client is Raven Tail."
"We need to keep using the discord between Fairy Tail and Raven Tail like this. And while they're busy feuding, we'll grab a Celestial Spirit Wizard... for the Eclipse Project!"
"Why the long face?" Porlyusica asked.
"Raven Tail... All they've been doing is playing dirty tricks..." Natsu responded.
"Natsu-san..." Wendy muttered.
"Certainly, Raven's master is..." Carla started to say.
"...Gramps'... Laxus's..." Natsu trailed off.
"So what does that mean?"
"I don't really know, but this ain't over by a long shot!" Natsu claimed.
A/N: Yes, I know Aira's battle with Bacchus was kind of lame. But I had to cut a lot of stuff out since Elfman wasn't on the team. And I wasn't gonna have Gray battle him.
Thanks for reading!
~ Kaleb.
