Snowed in again, writing again.
Enjoy!
The sun shining in through the blinds as they were moved was what woke Nashi up. She groaned and pulled the blankets over her bandaged head, which caused her friends to laugh.
"Come on Nashi, it's time to get up!" Ultear said. Nashi's body ached even from the simple motion of pulling the blanket up.
"It's our day off." She complained. "And I'm hurt. Let me stay in bed."
"Hey, even Elise got up!" Damien said.
"Cause you threw me out of my bed." Elise shot back from somewhere in the room. Nashi groaned as the sheet was pulled away by Drake.
"Fine." She hissed, upset. "I'll get up. But if I pull something, you're all to blame, got it?" Everyone nodded absentmindedly at her threat, which only made her want to pull something to get back at them. Throwing her clothes on and following everyone downstairs, they walked into the bar area if the hotel where everyone else was.
Nashi and Elise walked in last, which in hindsight may not have been the best idea seeing as no one except Wendy and their parents had seen them since the day before.
The girls were immediately swarmed by their guildmates congratulating them and telling them how awesome the fight was. They did their best to thank everyone, but Nashi was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the attention. After what seemed like forever, her savior came in the form of her father, who waded through the crowd and grabbed her, carrying her through the crowd.
"You forgot me!" Elise shouted in indignation, but Nashi could do nothing to help her.
"Thanks Dad." Nashi said as she was placed down outside the circle of people.
"No problem." He replied. Nashi brushed herself off and looked around. The Games were not taking place that day, seeing as everyone was being given a full day to recuperate before the final day, which ended the Games in a free-for-all as every team was set loose in the city and they determined the last guild standing. That of course didn't change who won, but seeing all but one team needed to go down for the day to end, a lot of points would be handed out, and teams could easily switch places.
Of course, until then, she had a day to kill. Even in her rather injured state, she didn't want to spend her day doing nothing. Walking towards the others, she reached them as her leg throbbed in pain.
"You okay?" Drake asked, watching her carefully. Nashi winced, but nodded.
"Yeah..." She replied weakly. "Still feeling yesterday, but otherwise I'm just peachy."
"Of course you're still feeling it." Simon said. "If I'm still feeling Pandemonium, you must be in a lot of pain." Nashi shrugged as she pulled a chair out to sit.
"It's not that bad." She replied, hiding her pain behind her smile as she sat. "I'll be just fine."
"In time for tomorrow?" Drake asked. That was a different question. Nashi was no fool, she knew she wasn't going to be at one hundred percent by morning, but she was sure she'd be fine. After all, all they had to do was maintain their lead.
Against Sabertooth.
Nashi felt the need to rest.
"I'm sure we'll be fine." Damien reassured. "After all, we just need to retain our lead. People will come to us and try to take it." He laughed and slammed his fist into his other hand. "Then we squash 'em."
"Exactly." Ultear agreed. "And even if you aren't exactly one hundred percent, I'm sure you'll be more than enough." Nashi made a face, but nodded regardless as she massaged her arm. As she looked around the guild, she noted that everyone seemed pretty laid back. Of course they were, they had nothing to worry about.
Her eyes drifted over Rocky, who was sitting by himself at the bar.
"I'll be right back." She said, the others nodding at her. She walked behind Rocky and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned to look at her, and she smiled. "That seat taken?" She asked, gesturing to the seat next to him. He regarded her closely for a moment, before he shrugged and returned to his drink.
"Nope." he replied. Nashi sat down and rested her arms on the counter, silence enveloping them. A drink was placed in front of her, and she sipped in quietly.
It was a bit more awkward than she'd anticipated.
"You were amazing out there yesterday." Rocky said, making her jump. "I'd have never thought I'd see you demolishing the Domus Flau." Nashi chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess that was pretty cool." She agreed.
"Pretty cool?" Rocky demanded. "That's like saying blowing back Master Laxus is 'no big deal'" They both laughed a bit and they returned to silence.
"I don't know." Nashi said. "I guess I'm just a natural at magic. I just needed someone to teach me."
"Hm." Silence came over them again, but Nashi wasn't going to let it happen again, so she took a deep breath.
"I'm not mad at you anymore, you know." She said, but he didn't reply. "What happened when we were little...I don't blame you anymore."
"Great." He replied. She heard the grip he had on his cup tighten. "Doesn't mean I've forgiven myself." Nashi looked down at the liquid floating around in her own mug, thinking about how to approach him next.
"I get it." She said quietly. "Why you acted the way you did, I get it. I got everyone's attention for nothing. You tried but got nothing. You reacted like a child your age would've."
"And I held onto that for over ten fucking years." He hissed.
"And?" Nashi asked. He didn't respond, and Nashi watched him carefully before he downed the rest pf his drink, and turned to leave.
"Good luck tomorrow." He said in a voice just above a whisper, and Nashi sighed.
"Yeah, thanks..." Nashi sipped from her own mug as she heard the door to the inn open.
"Excuse me? I'm a representative of the Grand Magic Games committee. I'd like to speak with Team Fairy Tail, please."
"Oh lookie here, it's the big tough Dragon Slayers!" Rina called as their injured teammates joined them at the table.
"Fuck off Rina." Michael hissed. Slowly sitting down and wincing, which made the God Slater snort. Juno watched as Keita set his crutch down and slowly shuffled in next to her.
"Are you guys going to be okay for tomorrow?" She asked. "You look like shit." Michael waved her off.
"Nothing a good drink won't fix." He replied. "Right Keita?" Keita nodded.
"Indeed." he agreed. "I don't feel so hot, but it'll be alright by tomorrow." Juno didn't really believe him, but she nodded and dropped it regardless.
"Man, that fight was something else." Rina said, leaning back. "And you guys got your shit pushed in."
"I don't want to rain on your parade there Rina," Michael butted in. "But if you didn't see, Nashi and Elise both collapsed after they won so technically had we stayed standing a few seconds longer we would've won instead."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night." Rina said with a smirk, making Michael look pretty miffed.
"You should stop making fun of them for such an even fight, Rina." Kyoko said quietly, sipping her drink. "Especially since you got thrashed by the one and only Nami Mikazuchi." Rina choked on her drink as Michael started to laugh, Juno even saw Keita crack a grin.
"You don't have to rub it in, Kyoko..." Rina said, coughing up her drink. Kyoko uncrossed her legs and sat forward, regarding the rest of them.
"We should be thinking about our plan for tomorrow." She said. "Are we going to go for the win?" No one replied to her at first, avoiding her gaze.
"I think a better question is," Juno said under her breath. "Is whether or not it makes a difference if we want to win."
"Cause Fairy Tail will be in the way..." Keita said quietly. Kyoko sat back and crossed her arms.
"More than likely our best bet is to avoid Fairy Tail at any chance. If we encounter anyone of them, we risk defeat, and that is a really big risk for the final day."
"So we just run away?" Juno inquired. Kyoko shrugged.
"Essentially." She said. "We don't know if we can handle them, but the other guilds are not as big a problem."
"Can we say that with certainty?" Michael asked, speaking up. "We're talking about people Like Terra Neekis, Reyna Groh, Nami, Mami Kotobuki, and not mention whatever the hell that Bella girl is capable of."
"I think one or two wizards on another team is not as big a problem as a full team of problems." Kyoko fired back. "We can deal with people like Terra or Bella if we can, but when it's up to someone like Damien, who has a form only Michael could touch effectively, it's safe to say we should avoid them."
"Wait, what?" Michael asked. "Why can I hurt this form?" Kyoko rubbed the bridge of her nose in irritation, so Juno took the lead.
"Damien is a Demon Lord takeover wizard." She replied. "Demon Lords have very few weaknesses, save Holy Magic and other Lords."
"Oh." Michael replied, then he shuddered. "Yeah, please do not leave that to me."
"So it's agreed then?" Kyoko asked, and everyone nodded. "Alright, avoid FT if you can." Juno nodded, and everyone returned to their food or drink.
"I have another idea." It was Michael who spoke up. everyone looked over at him, and he looked up at them.
"Go all out. Hold nothing back on anyone you find. If we're going to win, we need to demolish everyone we come across. Unless you can't handle it, destroy them."
Nashi sighed and leaned back against the bench. She was alone, and the sun was starting to set. She'd decided to take a walk around, even in her wounded condition, and it had been rather peaceful. For the most part people left her alone, which was nice given any other time during the week she'd been subjected to fanboys and people wanting her atrocious looking autograph on a piece of Fairy Tail merch.
"I swear if I get an action figure I'm gonna need to talk to the people who make that shit..." She murmured to herself. She heard someone walking up to her, but it was probably somebody random.
"Nashi?" Fuck. Nashi slowly looked over and was relieved to find Michael standing there.
"Michael?" She asked. The two stared at each other for a moment.
"You look like shit." They said together. They both started laughing, before Nashi grimaced and held her side, and Michael growled and held his stomach.
"Ow..." Nashi murmured. "Shouldn't have done that."
"Agreed..." Michael said, looking up. "This is our fault, though."
"Right back at you." Nashi replied. "Even if I still beat you." Michael snorted.
"And then fell over?" he asked. "I had to catch you!"
"So wha..." Nashi got a flashback of her face buried in his chest, and her face erupted with red.
"What's wrong with your face?" Michael asked. "Your figuratively catching fire over there."
"It's nothing!" Nashi shouted, trying to rid her mind of the feeling. Sadly, it was burned there. "Ignore it!"
"...Okay..." Nashi shook her head the get rid of the though and looked up at Michael.
"What are you doing?" She asked him.
"Looking for something to eat." he replied. "Guild hall is way to fucking loud at night, and I am not in the mood."
"Cool, cool." The two went quiet as the wind blew around them.
"Wanna come with?" Nashi looked up, startled at the request. Michael smirked. :Unless you wanna stay out of tabloids, of course." Nashi rolled her eyes and stood.
"We'll already be in them because I had my head buried in your chest." She replied, making Michael blush as well. "I think it's a bit to late to prevent that."
"Fair game, fair game"
Nashi threw her head back and laughed as Michael chuckled offhandedly.
"I'm not kidding, you know." He told her, and Nashi put her hand down on the table as she laughed.
"There's no way that true!" She replied. "How could Rina be so dumb?" Michael laughed and shrugged.
"I don't know. One minute she's saying she's got this and the next she's covered in monster shit!" The two kept on laughing, fully aware they were being a little too loud. But hell, they'd worked their asses off the day before, they were going to be as loud as they wanted.
"I..I...I can't..." Nashi managed as she tried to calm down.
"Alright hotshot, your turn." Michael said. "what's a funny job story of yours?" Nashi raised a finger to her chin and gave it some thought.
"I have a few." She replied. "But most of them aren't that funny."
"No?"
"No. As a matter of fact most of the time my like gets put in serious danger." She didn't mean to damper the mood, but it happened anyway. "Like Silverridge."
"Hm, I heard you were involved." he agreed. "The whole city got annihilated, right?"
"Yep." Nashi replied, looking down. "And I..."
It happened again.
Nashi was in the crater, the sky was red, and things were burning. She looked down at her hands and them black.
"Nashi?" As per usual, looking over she saw Drake standing their in terror and confusion.
Nashi!" Nashi blinked and she was in the restaurant again. Michael and shaking her by her shoulders, and she looked up at him. He looked concerned.
"Did I black out?" She asked weakly, feeling dizzy. Michael made a face.
"Yeah." He answered. "And the room got really hot." It had happened again. Nashi needed to stop thinking about Silverridge and Etherion all together. "Maybe you need to go rest, you look pale."
"Y-Yeah, okay..." Nashi stood and walked with Michael to the exit of the restaurant, where he payed for their food and they left. he open air made Nashi feel a whole lot better.
"You going to be fine on your own?" Michael asked.
"I'd be more comfortable with you there, but if you've got places to be I won't stop you."
"Oh..." Nashi raised an eyebrow as Michael's face flushed. "Right, you did just black out. It'd be bad idea to leave you on your own."
"Uh huh..." The two began walking back to the hotel Nashi was staying at, and silence enveloped them. Nashi made a face and raised a hand to her chest.
Her heart was racing. Did the black outs always do that and she hadn't noticed?
"Say, did a committee member talk to you guys today?" Michael's question knocked Nashi out of her trance. She nodded.
"Yep." She agreed. "He told us we're not supposed to leave out hotel tomorrow morning, that we're just starting from there. That and our guild was being moved to another one to avoid trouble."
"You guys too then?" Michael made a face. "I suppose it makes sense. N point in bringing us all to the arena just to set us loose again." Nashi nodded in agreement as they reached her hotel.
"Thanks for tonight." She said, smiling at him. "I had fun, really." Michael blushed again and wouldn't look her in the eye.
"Me too..." He agreed. "We should do it again sometime." This made Nashi go red as well.
Neither said a word.
"So...I'll see you tomorrow?" Michael asked weakly, staring at his feet.
"Yep..." Nashi agreed, looking at hers as well. "T-Tomorrow..." Nashi turned and quickly dashed up the stairs, and flung the door to the hotel open. She'd never felt so embarrassed.
"Nashi?" Nashi had half a mind to not turn around and look at him, but she did anyway. Instead of looking awkward and red, Michael had a determined look in his eye.
"Yes?"
"...I'm getting you back for yesterday tomorrow." he said. "So you'd better meet me halfway!" Nashi smirked.
"Oh really?" She asked. "Better bring your A game than pal, cause you were a walk in the park yesterday!" They both smirked as Michael started to walk away, and Nashi closed the door behind her. She leaned against it as her heart slowed down.
Jeez, what is up with that thing?
There was nobody near the pond, which was a good thing.
After all, the meeting could put both parties in prison for a long time.
Finally, after what seemed like forever, a man approached him. The man was wearing a dark black cloak, and walked right past him as he walked, carrying a staff with two snake figureheads on it. The man stopped walking and looked up at the sky.
"It's nice out tonight." He stated.
"Indeed." He replied. "However, a tad cold. Could use some fire." Silence enveloped the pair, and the man waited as the cloaked figure turned.
"So Zeus is sending you in?" He asked. The man nodded. "Good, it's about time we tested her." The man took a package out of his cloak and handed it to the man. "Speaking of which, what the hell are you even supposed to do?" The man grinned as he took the package and hid it.
"He wants me to set this fusion charge on their hotel." He replied. "The other device is to hide it and make sure no one suspects they were attacked. Silent, and no one sees it." The other man nodded.
"Excellent. Pushing her to her limits is the best way to force END out. Will it work?"
"I'm unsure. Zeus did tell me I can gauge her power even without END coming out, but it'd be best to force her hand." The cloaked figure nodded.
"Good. Work swiftly, Agent. Zeus will not tolerate failure." the man bowed.
"Understood, Master Hermes." The messenger of the Olympians turned and began to walk away, and the man began to walk away as well.
"I hope you understand what's at stake." Hermes said. "Our whole plan hinges on her power level. If she is strong enough or not, I mean."
"I know."
"Do you, Blake? or are you still trying to win Sabertooth the Games?" Blake gritted his teeth.
"I'm not."
"Bullshit. We're always watching, Blake. We know you've grown attached to them."
"You sent me there to grow up, no fucking wonder."
"They are nothing but your cover, do you understand?" Blake gulped as he felt raw magic radiate from behind him.
"Y-Yes, Master Hermes."
"Good. I'd hate to see such an aspiring young man be turned to ash my Zeus. Good luck then." The wind picked up, and the presence of the man disappeared, leaving Blake alone, sweat dripping down his forehead.
"Holy fuck, that was close..." Blake felt the package carrying the fusion charge and illusion device pres hard against his chest.
"It's nothing personal, Nashi. I'm just doing what I need to too stay alive..."
And there we go! Some fun times are ahead! I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try and get five!