Here is the nineteenth chapter of this story released when I wanted it to be in keeping with my self-imposed upload requirements for this series. Two battles have been completed on the second day with two more yet to come and they will start off with a battle unlike any other in the games, one that the Black Bulls and all of Fiore won't forget anytime soon. Anyway, that is all the administrative stuff I have for you as there are no questions that require answering and no guest reviews need a response as any response would include spoilers for this chapter so just stay tuned for what is to come, though I thank all of you for your support and suggestions as I used a few to improve this chapter. Do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from those who enjoy my work. That is it for pre-chapter note so it is time to end it so that y'all can sit back and enjoy the nineteenth chapter in Black Bull Banishment.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to these two great animes.
Chapter 19: Unashamed Fanservice
"Today's battles are about to get a whole lot lovelier as it's finally time for our battle of the beauties." Chapati said excitedly as the fans cheered at that while Mira and Jenny stood facing each other, the silver haired Mira in a simple but low-cut black dress with her hands crossed in front of her and the blonde Jenny already striking an alluring pose before her. "This will be a battle between the former Miss Fiore and Fairy Tail Team B's lovely Mirajane Strauss and the woman who took her title while she was away, the current Miss Fiore and blonde bombshell Jenny Realight! That's right folks it's time for this special battle so get ready for this one of a kind match unlike any others in the Grand Magic Games."
"Vanessa, you know this world, what's your assessment?" Noelle asked as the Black Bulls looked down at the battlefield. "About how this battle will go?"
"It's a battle that Jenny's wanted for a long time." Vanessa said repressing a smirk for the surprise about to come because she knew that this wasn't going to be a normal battle. "I know her well, we've done a few collab shoots back when I was first starting to get some steam with the general public and that really helped me rise to number two in the hottest girl ranking but Jenny's held that spot for almost 7 years now, since the first poll after Mira disappeared apparently, so I couldn't beat her out for it. Now with Mira back I'm sure I'll fall to third."
"She's wanted this battle for a while?" Noelle asked as Mimosa returned telling them that Luck was in one of her Dream-Healing Flower Cradles and should be fine so long as he remained in it for a while, but she'd check on him after the battles to make sure and if need be use a stronger spell to speed up his recovery for tomorrow. "How so?"
"Apparently Jenny idolized Mira back in the day and even modeled her career after Mira, pretty useful for getting information on Mira for us actually as Jenny knows this side of her well, but she could never truly top the level of popularity that Mira had." Vanessa said as the two women began to glow with magic. "Now she's actually older than Mira so has more experience but with the return of Fairy Tail's missing members the desire for Mira is back in full force, so Jenny wants to show that she is better despite Mira's return. This battle, is going to be good because it's not about brawn."
"Then what's…" Noelle began before the change happened and her eyes went wide as the women changed into bikinis with their magic, bikinis that were definitely designed for modeling as they showed plenty of cleavage, side boob and under boob thus making it almost more skin than fabric showing. "Oh."
"This is a battle about beauty but at the same time it is more than just superficial, outward, beauty." Vanessa said with a grin as Mira took a pose on her knees, legs a little spread with her white Fairy Tail Guild mark on her left thigh on clear display, left arm under her ample breasts to push them up and a coy, innocent, and slightly bashful look on her face as she blushed ever so lightly in an alluring manner and asked if the crowd liked it. "It's about how well you can move a crowd with your looks alone. It's about how you can sway the hearts of the masses without the need for violence."
The crowd, mainly the men but a surprising number of women as well, let out a roar of approval as Jenny took her pose with a more assertive and sexy look, hair mussed and arms over her head to push up her equally impressive chest though she too was on her knees. It was a tantalizingly provocative look that made the crowd putty in her hands, well both women's hands for that matter.
"What the hell!" Noelle said as she and Mimosa acted to cover Asta's eyes from what was below them while Finral was loving it though the rest of the Black Bull men had varying reactions from confusion to horror masking enjoyment, to feigned indifference, to Zora chuckling and making sure he had a camera on him just in case it was needed. "Isn't this supposed to be a battle for wizards?"
"Yeah not a bikini contest." Mimosa said nervously as she made sure to hide Asta's eyes, not that Asta would really get the whole sex appeal going on, but it was still precautionary.
"It's disgraceful." Noelle said. "Asta, you'd better not be looking."
"I can't with you two covering my eyes." Asta pointed out. "Though I'm not sure what's going on, they're just posing in swimsuits, what's the big deal?"
"Really Asta?" Magna asked as his grin grew with the spectacle below them. "This is a real man's event."
"Of course a virgin street punk would say that." Vanessa said.
"I'm not a virgin street punk." Magna retorted.
"Regardless I thoroughly approve of this." Finral said hearts in his eyes.
"It's all so embarrassing." Grey wailed her hands over her face though she did peak through her fingers. "How can they be so confident, I practically died during the swimsuit you had us do Vanessa."
"But you didn't, and you looked so cute in it Grey." Vanessa said. "We all did in our own ways."
"This was unexpected." Nero said in her usual deadpan tone as the women began to change positions and bikinis as the crowd went wild going for different poses, styles, and attitudes. "I didn't anticipate this kind of battle, but I guess it is a battle of sorts so fits. Not all battles are won by might alone."
It was clear that the methods the women were using were different and thus indicative of their modeling styles, but they were almost equally as effective. Mira seemed to go for the coy, look at me I'm so innocent and bashful, girl next door kinda girl while Jenny was all about raw, confident, sex appeal that spoke of a woman who knew her worth and showed it off. The difference between the two top models just added a whole new level to the event and was really making the crowd go wild.
"Is this what all of us girls are going to have to do?" Noelle asked nervously as she looked down still hiding Asta's eyes though at least he didn't seem to be falling for the women below, not that she cared mind you. "Some beauty spectacle for all to see."
"Nah this is special for them." Vanessa said. "The fans have made these games popular and successful for the kingdom over the years and while battles are great to enjoy, sometimes you've got to thank your fans for making something the success that it is and this is likely their way of thanking at least most of the male fans, and judging by the reaction plenty of female fans as well it seems. That and Jenny really wanted a pose off if she was to face Mira in battle, combat wise she's no match I think, and Mira accepted."
"Mira is an S-Class wizard, in a fight I think she'd win easily though I'm not aware of Jenny's combat skills as it was hard to get that info from Blue Pegasus given how they tend to do a lot of non-combat related things." Nero said. "Regardless, Jenny's being smart as well as vain. This way she might beat Mira in the battle or at least tie when she'd not do so normally if it came down to pure brawn. A wise strategy. Also I think Mira doesn't like to fight unnecessarily, my nesting in their Guild Hall revealed some snippets about how despite Mira's skills she only really fights when she has to defend her friends and family these days."
"Yeah I've heard a few things from the other models that Mira's past is complicated, and she had some big change in her personality several years ago though her fighting skills are still top tier." Vanessa said. "But whatever, this is much more entertaining than a simple fight between them. Being a warrior woman is all well and good but not all of us can manage that, so we have to fight with other ways and this highlights some of the best ways women fight, or at least lull moronic men into thinking things before we beat them bloody."
"Thank you for that Vanessa." Noelle said. "I think I'll stick to just straight fighting."
"Well you have the power Noelle." Vanessa said with a side glance and grin at her friend. "Plus, there's only one guy you want to entice that way and he's a little too dense to realize."
"Vanessa!" Noelle yelled.
"Oh my…" Mimosa said her jealousy flaring again.
"Don't think I've missed you as well dear Mimosa." Vanessa said. "You're just the same. Don't worry, I'll teach both of you my ways."
"Er…" Both girls said really unsure how to handle that as they blushed for multiple reasons before they were mercifully interrupted by the announcer.
"This is just getting started folks as we enjoy two bodacious babes who are both masters of Transformation Magic, which an aspect of they are putting to great use right now." Chapati announced as the women seemed to take a pause in their poses to exchange some words with each other. "This is truly what dreams are made of someone pinch me to make sure I'm not dreaming this."
"I really, really, want to slap him." Noelle said as she and Mimosa continued to make sure Asta couldn't see the busty bombshells below though only Mimosa would admit that it was because of jealousy.
"This is for men so expect some baser instincts to come out." Vanessa said with a sigh. "But most men can be animals when it comes to this. The good ones are those who can rise above it."
"And for his take on this, our resident ladies' man Mr. Yajima, your thoughts?" Chapati asked.
"I'm feeling young again today." Yajima said happily. "Reminds me of the good old days of my youth."
"And of course, our special guest Jason who's perfect for this battle as he's shot countless centerfolds for Sorcerer Weekly, including both of these lovely ladies." Chapati said. "Jason, your take on our two top models showing us why they are the top?"
"This has gotta be the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Jason exclaimed really excited about what was going on. "We need more of this for Sorcerer Weekly!"
"I just wonder what is next after this brief banter we're seeing?" Chapati asked. "We're already so hyped up as it is, so it's got to be good."
"Oh it will be." Vanessa said as she began to produce threads that snaked through the air to grab all the female Black Bulls. "A friend tipped me off to this, so ladies…"
"Not so fast everyone, you think that we'd let some busty bimbos hog all the attention when we're around." A new, female, voice said, and everyone turned to see three women leaping into the arena. "When we are here as well."
"We have strong and stunning chicas as well so don't count us out." A second female voice, this one with a distinctive accent to it, added as the three women landed in the arena revealing themselves to be a slimmed down Lislie, a still body suit wearing Araña, and a highly embarrassed Beth with the first two striking poses while the third landed on her knees clearly not wanting to be there. "We redefine beauty."
"Team Mermaid Heel is the ultimate Guild when it comes to girl power." Lislie and Arana said in unison. "Anything a woman does; we do the best."
"This is so embarassin'." Beth added meekly her head low.
"Well, I definitely did not see that one coming did you?" Chapati asked as Vanessa smirk and her threads wrapped around all the Black Bull girls, and she clenched her fist over them. "Mermaid Heel has joined the party and even Lislie has ditched the junk in the trunk and brought her A game to this. I am more than pleasantly surprised by all this."
"That seems…" Noelle began before Vanessa yanked them back to the back of the suit. "Wait what?"
"We aren't going to be outdone by this world's version of the Blue Rose Knights, no way in hell am I letting that happen." Vanessa said as Sherry and Shelia of Lamia Scale leapt into the arena in bikinis as well talking about love as they posed for the crowd as well. "Charmy, cotton wall, ladies, let's show them what we can do."
"Wait no, I didn't bring…" Noelle protested as the cotton wall went up to protect the women's privacy.
"Don't worry, I brought all your outfits and spares from my own collection just in case you wanted to mix it up, so I am more than prepared ladies." Vanessa said as she used her Thread Magic to hold Noelle, Mimosa, and Grey fast to change them while Nero and Charmy just went with it. "I'd say mine are cuter but…"
"No way am I wearing that excuse of a swimsuit!" Noelle shrieked. "Put that away!"
"Oh my…" Mimosa began. "I, er, am too larger for that so please something more covering."
"Can I please at least…"
"Nope, stay as you are Grey, I'm not letting you transform, you've got to break out of this shyness and show the world how cute you really are." Vanessa said as she finished up. "There we go and now…"
Before the rest of the girls could protest, Vanessa leapt up from behind the cotton wall and over it and the railing down to the arena floor in a single bound wearing just her red bikini that was actually less provocative than her normal lingerie with Rouge on her shoulder and trailing 5 threads that she yanked hard as she fell. All 5 had her fellow female Squad mates on them and they were hauled up and over the cotton and edge with her as she fell.
"Hey boys, don't think Fiore's number 2 model was going to stand idly by and let those two have all the fun." Vanessa said with a smirk as she struck a pose that really showed off her looks and her mature attitude as Rouge preened herself on Vanessa's shoulder. "And I brought my Guildmates along for the ride. The ladies of the Black Bulls are here to show y'all what real women look like. If you thought our calendar was something get ready for the real deal boys."
Said real women crashed hard into the arena floor with Charmy in her one-piece outfit body slamming the ground in a belly flop landing first. That was followed by Noelle landing undignified on her ass in her green and bejeweled bikini that she hadn't realized Vanessa had brought, Mimosa doing something similar next to her in a forest green and vine-like outfit with pink flowers on it that was much more revealing than she would have liked though that was in part due to her impressive bust size, and Grey straight up face planting in her cute and modest white bikini top and sarong.
Only Nero, in a jet-black outfit that was more a sports bra and shorts look given her lack of curves, landed on her feet having reorientated herself in the air and just stood there as if it didn't bother her at all. She did note that the moment they landed that Zora had his camera out and was taking pictures, so she'd at least make sure she got a cut of whatever schemes he had in mind for them.
"Oh, and look here, the girls of the Black Bulls have joined in as well." Chapati said as they all rose and did their best to pose which ranged from the coy and shy looks of Noelle, Mimosa, and Grey, to the indifference Nero had which actually worked on some guys, to Charmy just looking around and doing her own thing. "This is really turning into quite the event."
"I'll say, with Vanessa Enoteca in the arena we now have the big three from Sorcerer Weekly." Yajima added. "She's the only one who's managed to come close to challenging Jenny over the last few years and you can see why. Plus her unique Guild Mark location really adds to it all."
"This is unbelievably cool!" Jason cheered.
"This is beyond embarrassing." Noelle said as she rose and did her best to cover up, her face flushed though at the same time she couldn't help but look up at the Black Bulls' section and turn to make sure Asta saw her just in case he noticed how good she looked in her bikini.
"I agree." Mimosa said looking around though she didn't really try to cover up seeing as it was a lot harder for her to manage that so she just turned so that she was facing the Black Bulls her face bright red but pushing past it as best she could. "And Asta's watching."
"I want to die." Grey wailed as she crouched down hands over her face trying to be anywhere but here and wanting to change but also knowing that she really couldn't as Vanessa had gone as far as to slap on a magic neutralizing cuff onto Grey's wrist that looked like a cute bracelet to ensure that she couldn't use her Transformation Magic. "This is beyond mortifying."
"Shame my prince isn't here." Charmy said as she just stood around unaffected by this as Vanessa went through all of her best poses. "I know he'd love to see me in my sexy outfit, it would make him swoon and then we'd enjoy some yummy fish in our swimsuits, oh my darling Prince of Provisions how I miss you."
Even though Noelle was trying to get Asta's eye now that she was in her swimsuit, not that she wanted it, she couldn't manage to keep her body partially facing him for long. As such she soon turned to put her back to the Black Bulls' section, her face red and shaking as she was taken back to Raquey beach.
She really wanted to show off her new bikini to get a compliment from Asta, not that she was seeking it or anything, and make it clear that she was better than the other girls here but was mortified at the same time. The only difference to the beach was that she was now in the center of a massive arena so even more on display than she was back then.
Mimosa, likewise, was struggling with the situation as she was here in a bikini that really showed off all her curves, which she couldn't help but note were more curvaceous than Noelle's were, and Asta was no doubt now looking at her. She really wanted him to notice her in her bikini and like it but it was also embarrassing as hell and so she was just as flustered as Noelle though at least she could admit that it was because she'd fallen for Asta and wanted him to reciprocate her feelings.
As all this was happening the entire female cohort of Fairy Tail, including the female exceed in their ranks, had come down to the arena as well and were posing or trying to hide in embarrassment like Grey was trying and failing to do. Literally, it was every woman in the Guild it seemed, and it was all thanks to their strange, female, first master, for the most part as Juvia Lockser had her own reasons for posing as she made sure that she was in full view of a certain Ice Mage, while the Fairy Tail men were not questioning Mavis's wisdom.
The Black Bull men were just stunned by all this, the ones that were paying attention at least, as they looked at what was going on and tried to process how fast the whole battle had devolved from a simple beauty showdown into a full on bikini contest it seemed. Magna was grinning at what he saw, Finral had hearts in his eyes, Yami was just confused, Gauche didn't care as they weren't Marie which just showed his deep issues, Zora was amused as he began taking pictures of the Black Bulls to add to their merchandise sales, and Asta had no idea what was going on, but he was there to support his Squad so he cheered them on as best he could.
"Well folks this is really getting out of hand but we're loving every second of it." Chapati announced. "Because if you wanted more fanservice than you could handle then you've come to the right place here in the Domus Flau Colosseum."
"And unless we want an actual riot on our hands, we have no choice but to let this continue." Yajima said happily. "Safety first after all."
"This is amazing!" Jason said his excitement now through the roof. "The Sorcerer Weekly Cover Story to end all cover stories, it's the Big Battle of the Busty Bathing Bombshells! It's so hot and cool!"
"That it is but remember folks, as lovely as the ladies are, this is still a strictly one on one battle between our participants." Chapati said as a scoreboard appeared above the arena showing a score of 9-8 in Jenny's favor under whatever the scoring metrics the judges were using to determine their battle. "So only Mirajane and Jenny will be scored."
"Then why are we demeaning ourselves down here!" Noelle demanded glaring at Vanessa her embarrassment briefly overruled by anger as she held her arms by her side with her fists clenched and looked at the woman who she saw as a big sister, most of the time.
"Lighten up Noelle, this is just some harmless fun that everyone is getting in on so enjoy it." Vanessa said as the Fairy Tail women seemed to have their own discussion about this, or in one strange case some personal competition between a brunette Nero had identified as Evergreen that had been really cheering for Elfman in the previous battle and Erza Scarlet. "We've got to take a break from fighting from time to time and besides, think of how this will get a certain set of green eyes on you. I know you're trying to get him to look at that sparkly bikini of yours. That is why you didn't want him to see earlier after all."
"What!" Noelle exclaimed.
"Noelle?" Mimosa asked.
"You too, don't think I've not noticed." Vanessa said while Rouge agreed with her by nodding her head on Vanessa's shoulder. "And as a woman with a rival, though why it's that man hating blonde bitch that leads the Blue Rose Knights I don't know, I know the value of competition. Naturally I will favor Noelle in this, but I will still stay out of it as it's only fair to let you duke it out with each other without my interference."
"Oh, um, well…" Mimosa began she'd still not really convinced herself that Noelle was a true rival but that was just Mimosa's own denial coming forward and she latched onto something that Vanessa had said. "Wait, why are you rivals with Captain Charlotte? I don't get that."
"Don't worry, that's not relevant." Vanessa said dismissively. "I'll beat her one day but she's not here to annoy me so I'm going to enjoy this cousin rivalry instead."
"Vanessa's right." Nero said as she continued to act like nothing was going on around her or that she was even in a swimsuit. "You two are rivals in this regard, I said as much at the magic ball."
"My prince isn't here though so he can's see my mature sexiness." Charmy complained thankfully distracting them as Grey continued to try and cover up where she was.
"See, at least Charmy accepts it even if Asta's hot rival friend isn't here to enjoy her looking good." Vanessa said. "So…
"Wardrobe change!" Chapati suddenly announced really excited at the announcement. "Let's see you all in school swimsuits!"
"In what?" Noelle asked confused as suddenly all the girls were changed, with magic likely, into blue one piece swimsuits which for the busty girls somehow showed off their chests even more though to all the Black Bulls they had no idea what these things were or why they were called school swimsuits. "What the hell are…er come again?"
"Must be something special here." Vanessa said looking at it on her and then around at the others who were gathered. "Seems small breasts work best in them; Nero and Charmy don't look out of place in these things."
"I just wish my prince could see how sexy I am in this, it's even better than my other outfit I feel." Charmy wailed. "And then we could share some yummy seafood together."
"I really don't care." Nero said still completely indifferent to the situation she was in.
"Now it's time for bikini's but this time with thigh highs!" Chapati announced and they were changed again. "So mix it up ladies!"
"Oh, my this is more embarrassing." Mimosa said as she blushed and looked down while Vanessa struck another pose loving the thigh high stockings she was in that matched her red bikini, all the girls suddenly had thigh highs that worked well with their outfits other than Charmy who was too small it seemed to pull it off. "More is covered and yet it feels more risqué."
"Yeah and mature." Noelle said her own green ones covered in the same things as her bikini. "It's definitely Vanessa's style."
"Oh it so it." Vanessa said with a grin as she struck a pose to show off her thigh highs. "I love this addition, makes this all that much naughtier."
"Please let me die." Grey cried as her sarong had vanished for the thigh highs showing her white bikini bottoms. "This is too much."
"And now for some intellect with girls in glasses." Chapati said churning through the themes at a good clip.
"They do make you feel smarter." Vanessa said adjusting the pair she had on and made sure to go with the alluring intellectual pose. "And this is really sexy."
"Please don't." Noelle said even if the glasses did really suit her the most of all the girls. "How can this get worse."
"Cat ears!"
"I stand corrected." Noelle said as suddenly all the girls had cat ears and tails on them including the exceed Carla in Fairy Tail which made absolutely no sense at all. "This is more humiliating."
"Meow." Vanessa said as Rouge mewled her agreement. "We look good."
"Why are they over my horns?" Nero asked felling the black cat ears on her head showing how that was her only concern.
"And now, bondage gear!"
"What is…ahhhh!" Mimosa yelled as suddenly they were all in sexy leather outfits of various colors, some with spikes, and in some with whips, flails, or in Charmy's case a frying pan of all things with Mimosa's having flowers and thorns on it and a thorny, long, vine whip in her right hand. "What on earth is this?"
"Sometimes a wild man needs a little taming." Vanessa said as she cracked the red cat o' nine tails whip she had on the ground with a grin in her very provocative red leather corset that pushed up her large chest and thigh high boots a sadistic grin now on her face that really unnerved the other Black Bull girls. "Or some pain to get past his density."
"I still don't approve." Noelle said now even more mortified as Asta saw her in this ridiculous white leather corset, stockings, and a thong that revealed far too much skin while holding a flail. "This is definitely not me."
"Why, just why?" Gray cried as she was forced to stand up in a dark blue leather outfit that just covered her breasts, crotch, ass and upper thighs with knee high boots and a lot of spikes pointing out that prevented her from crouching as she held a paddle in her hand. "Why am I wearing this."
"Well this is strange." Nero said as she knew that Zora was taking pictures of this outfit as well and figured that there were certain magazines that might like her cold indifferent look as she word a black corset that came down to over her ass and thigh high black boots with matching bicep length gloves with a standard black whip in her hand. "Might see if I can bring some of these styles back, surely there are some perverts back home that would love to get their hands on fear like this."
"I'll squash that bug." Charmy declared wielding her frying pan and seemingly oblivious to the leather and cotton body suit that she was in. "And claim my Prince of Provisions!"
"And now it's time for a blushing bride challenge." Chapati said and both Noelle and Mimosa froze at that, so far things had been mortifying but this was a whole new level to them as it implied a partner was needed, an implication that was confirmed a moment later. "So ladies, grab the guy you like and squeeze into some wedding dresses."
"Oh Captain, you've made me the happiest woman in the world." Vanessa said as she was suddenly in a full and flowing white wedding dress with a surprisingly modest bust coverage and elbow length white gloves, her arm around Yami's as she stood there in a formal wedding attire from his homeland with his katana still at his waist and a cigarette in his mouth. "I've wanted this moment for so long."
"Huh, wait how'd I get down here?" Yami asked looking around confused and then at the outfit as a fully tuxedoed Zora took a few pictures of it, he'd trade the stupid outfit for all the pictures he was about to get. "And why am I wearing a wedding kimono?"
"Seeing as I have to do this then I can allow it with you, Asta." Noelle said trying to ignore how much she liked the idea of marrying Asta, and how good Asta looked in his tux, as she walked up to stand next to Asta while wearing a white wedding dress cut in her house's style with a tiara that matched the one her Valkyrie armor gave her. "So…hey, what are you doing her Mimosa?"
"I could ask the same of you Noelle." Mimosa said as she walked up in a white wedding dress that fully covered her chest thanks to being in the halter top style and had plenty of floral decorations tastefully appointed on it as well as a floral circlet of vines and white roses around her head. "Um, Asta, if you don't mind, at least for this can I be your bride?"
"Huh, wait what's going on?" Asta asked as he stood there in a black tux with a white shirt, black tie and waistcoat, a white rose in his lapel while Noelle and Mimosa stood on either side of him and took his arms while Zora took plenty of pictures of this that the girls didn't notice as they had their eyes closed for the moment and Asta was just too confused by the whole situation. "Why is everyone dressed so nicely?"
"Er, Gauche, would you, um, if you don't mind and aren't embarrassed then…" Grey said in her own modest wedding dress that had a full face veil hiding her embarrassment, which she actually really appreciated, as she stood next to Gauche who was in a pure white tux.
"What, you're not Marie so I don't care." Gauche said completely unaware of anything going on around him as he stared at a picture of Marie with a nosebleed that was staining his tux with small circles of red so Grey just decided to stand next to him and leave it at that and Zora still took a picture of it because he was sure Grey would buy it from him.
"So many lovely brides to choose from." Finral said as he looked around, he was the only Black Bull who'd willingly come down to be with a bride while the others just kinda appeared it seemed or were watching from the stands as they'd managed to avoid it though Magna was going to never let any of them forget it while Gordon just muttered about how cute it all was. "So, Charmy, for this one…"
"Ah my Prince of Provision, how I can't wait for that day that we can wed in a lavish and food filled ceremony." Charmy said as a cotton version of Yuno in a tux that had a surprisingly good amount of detail to it appeared next to her, and she leapt into the arms of her creation in her dress. "One day we'll be together my prince."
"Ok, guess that makes sense given that she does have a crush on him so, er, Nero, how about…" Finral began turning to the one remaining girl in his Guild not attached to someone and looking at the cool cutie with horns on her head and in a slightly dated and modest wedding dress with long sleeves that really suited her.
"No." Nero said bluntly before Finral could finish as she turned and walked to where Asta was in the middle of his love triangle, not that he had any clue about said triangle. "You have nothing on his highness, only he was ever worthy of my hand."
"Er…" Finral said now crying at the rejections, which was made worse by all the couples around, including Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail kicking Lyon Bastia of Lamia Scale away to carry Juvia Lockser instead much to her amusement, and Lucy looking around confused and trying not to go after Natsu like she really wanted but was denying though seeing Lisanna approach him made her nervous for some reason while her lonesomeness was just what Finral was looking for. "Well, there's that blonde beauty from Fairy Tail, may as well try for her."
Nero ignored that knowing that there was no way Finral would convince Lucy Heartfilia, all of Nero's observations coupled with how well she knew and had observed Noelle over the years, told her that Lucy was in love with her guildmate Natsu but unable to admit it. It was like Noelle with Asta and to an extent Nero herself when it had come down to Lumiere, minus Noelle's extreme insecurities over her feelings, but it wasn't her place to get involved so she ignored it as some Celestial Spirit appeared and grabbed Lucy in a bridal carry before Finral could reach her as Nero reached Asta.
"Seeing as we're doing this." Nero said standing before Natsu and getting the glares of both Noelle and Mimosa who had finally opened their eyes and turned to look at Nero. "You'll do Asta but only because everyone's paring up, unlike others I'm not interested in you like this."
"Er ok." Asta said as Finral wept in the distance over how lucky Asta was to have three women with him, and that wasn't missed by a few others from the other Guilds as well. "But if this is about who we will marry then the only one…"
"Nope, you're not finishing that or else I will seal it shut." Nero said putting her hand over Asta's mouth and waited as he nodded in agreement at that. "Good because that ain't happening and besides, it's more amusing this way."
"What, who?" Both Mimosa and Noelle asked before they devolved into flushes and wondering who it was and if it was them, but Nero ignored them as she turned to stand in front of Asta and saw Zora there.
"None of your business, just the obstacle you have to overcome to get through his dense head." Nero said as Zora snapped several more pictures that only Nero knew about. "Now smile, I'm sure Nozel, Kirsch, Fuegoleon, Mereoleona, and even Leo will like these."
"Er what?" Noelle asked turning and seeing Zora there grinning his sharp toothed grin as he snapped even more shots. "Oh hell no…"
"Now, now, this is still technically a battle so don't use magic." Zora said as Mimosa's eyes went wide, and her face flushed. "Smile, all these will go in the next calendar as well. Don't worry, I'll sell you some copies as well."
"How about some individual ones for us as well." Nero suggested playing into it. "Asta and his brides, could be a good collection."
"Agreed and it will sure annoy your siblings and cousins." Zora said with a grin.
"Well, I guess it's ok." Mimosa said.
"Fine if Mimosa is doing it but as Asta's fellow rookie I will go first." Noelle said.
"Whatever alright now look happy as I get some group shots." Zora said as he began conducting the impromptu photo shoot. "Good and now some individual ones starting with Noelle, then Mimosa, and finally Nero. Ok so…"
As all of this was happening Lisanna Strauss had gone over to Natsu to be his bride for the theme. She still carried a spark for him in her heart, she'd fallen for him a long time ago and even after the whole Edolas thing her feelings hadn't gone away. However, Natsu redefined density in a way Lisanna had never seen before when it came to this sort of stuff, so he hadn't noticed back then so when Lisanna returned thanks to Mystogan's actions she'd gotten another chance.
However, shortly after getting back Lisanna knew that she'd lost any shot she might have had with Natsu. It was obvious to her early on that he'd never see her the same way she saw him simply because of the way he was with Lucy, and she with him, made it clear to her that even though neither of them were able to admit it, or possibly realize it just yet, but they'd clearly fallen for each other.
Regardless, Lisanna could enjoy this moment as Lucy wasn't around and she held no ill will to the girl for taking Natsu from her in that regard. Natsu had thought she was dead, the whole Guild had, and he'd found Lucy who really did complete him in a way no one else seemed to be able to do, how could Lisanna be upset at that. Besides, over time Lucy had also become a dear friend to her so there was no way Lisanna could be upset at Lucy for something Lucy herself wasn't aware of either.
Still, it didn't mean that accepting her loss after she got back, she'd accepted she'd never go to Earth Land again until that whole incident where Edolas was changed forever, didn't hurt. As such Lisanna was sure as hell going to take this chance to once again pretend to be Natsu's wife. That and he looked damned good in that white and gray outfit that went with his precious scarf, a jacket would have ruined it for sure, and he complemented her on her wedding dress which made her happy.
Of course fate, and Loke, had other ideas as Lucy fell from the sky and landed right on top Natsu as if to show that they were meant for each other while Loke vanished right after Natsu was crushed under Lucy. Lisanna just laughed at that, they really did look great together in wedding attire even if Lucy was currently sitting on Natsu, and looked around where she noted the sight of that Black Bull who'd won Hidden, Asta if she recalled correctly, with three of his female guildmates around him while another male guildmate began to take pictures for some reason that Lisanna felt wasn't for posterity.
The one in the center, a slender girl with short black hair and horns on her head that oddly reminded Lisanna of a more serious and reserved version of Mira, stood before him, and clearly had no romantic interest. It was the two girls on his sides, a haughty beauty with silver hair and a homely and pretty vermilion haired girl, that were the rivals for Asta, Lisanna could just tell from their body language that both had fallen for the boy but neither had won the battle.
That might be something to keep an eye on and learn more details about as Lisanna may have failed but if she could help another woman succeed in such a triangle, she'd help the one who she empathized with the most do what she'd not even had the chance to do with Natsu. However, before she could do that there was a gong sound.
"And now that the wedding is over, let's have another swimsuit round." Chapati said clearly eager for it as the crowd cheered. "This time we're going with…"
"Stop all of you!" An old, loud, female, vice yelled from above them and they all looked up to see the elderly Guild Master of Lamia Scale, Oba, standing on a statue that overlooked the arena with her hand pointing at the arena floor and spinning as she looked down on all of them. "This is a complete outrage! I can't take anymore of this. You are all foolish young people, let this mature woman teach you a lesson so pay close attention and learn what a real woman is."
"I have a bad feeling about this." Yami muttered as he sensed what was coming but couldn't look away either.
As Yami spoke Oba leapt off the statue and down to the arena floor, her red cloak coming off as she did. It hid her body until she landed and began to spin her hips as she stood there in a pink one-piece swimsuit laughing and spinning as she did.
To say that the entire arena went white for a moment would be an understatement. Silence slammed into the Domus Flau Colosseum harder than that meteor shower during the first day of battles as the entire fun and frivolity of the battle that had been created thanks to the mass participation was demolished in one fell swoop.
"And with that hard crash back to reality the mood in the arena had been brough back down to Earth Land." Chapati said breaking the silence as things returned to normal though Zora took that moment to snap a few extra shots of the old woman as they may be as useful as a rainbow stinkbug in the future. "The party is now over thanks to the Guild Master of Lamia Scale putting us all back in our places and now the other teams have begun to clear out. We really should get back to the actual match at hand."
"It was getting a little out of hand even if it was all in good fun." Yajima said. "Trust Oba to get us back to business, that's the Guild Master of the current number 2 Guild for you though."
"So cool now." Jason added as the last one left the arena and Mira and Jenny remained now back in their original dresses; it was so quiet though that everyone could hear them as Jenny broke the silence to speak with Mira again.
"The circus is gone, though we should have expected that, and we're back where we started Mira." Jenny said. "Where we really should be with just you and me battling it out."
"It is too bad, that was a lot of fun." Mira said with a smile as she put a hand on her face. "I enjoyed sharing that with the other girls in various Guilds, a nice break from the battles. It was really fun while it lasted at least."
"Ok folks we really do need to wrap this thing up so let's move onto the final round of this match that will go down in the history of the Grand Magic Games as one of the best to ever happen in them." Chapati said as the scoreboard appeared above them revealing the score tied at 30 points each though no one still knew how it was scored by the judges, or how they'd managed to give over 20 points to each woman during the recent chaos. "And with this being tied, this will be the final one to decide which of our beautiful women win it."
Jenny saw this and grinned at the tie. She had what she believed was an airtight plan for victory that she'd come up with and the whole bets that had been made over the last few battles only added to it as she could exploit that to her advantage.
"Well Mira, it all comes down to this." Jenny said. "One more battle to decide which of us has more appeal to the judges using only our looks and modeling skills."
"Correct and I'm not going to lose it." Mira said with a smile.
"Well then why don't we make things more interesting for us." Jenny said smiling back as she set her own plan into motion. "The others have had their own bets on the matches so why don't we do the same."
"Sure, I'm game and I can't let my brother down so what do you have in mind?" Mira asked.
"The loser of this match will pose for Sorcerer Weekly…" Jenny said as she thrust her arm out to point at Mira. "Wearing only her birthday suit and she won't cover up anything."
The reaction was as expected as the men of the arena, and several women who were also into that, all reacted with joy as various other spectators gasped and a fair few fainted for various reasons. Noelle and Mimosa were stunned at that though both separately agreed to keep Asta, and the other men of their Guild for that matter, away from that issue. Only Vanessa laughed at that.
"Oh, that's bold from Jenny." Vanessa said as she laughed. "There are issues like that out there, this will be a true best seller to 18+ readers though I'm sure they'll do one that's covered up a bit as they can't not sell this issue to as many people as popular. If Mira…"
"Ok, you're on Jenny." Mira said as the crowd gasped and collapsed at that, especially with her charming smile at the idea. "I accept the terms of your bet."
"She has a plan." Nero said as Vanessa just laughed even more as Mira confirmed it. "An S-Class wizard in Fairy Tail doesn't reach that rank on raw power alone, no one does."
"True, even for us you need to be smart to pass the S-Class trial as brains are needed to complete those jobs even if the brainpower is in smart tactical combat which both Asta and Luck managed, after a few attempts." Yami said as the commentators freaked out at that while Jenny smirked at the bait being taken. "What do you think she has in mind?"
"Not sure." Nero said. "Zora, this is some cunning, underhanded, trickery so your area of expertise. Thoughts?"
"Unless that girl likes to be pictured naked, which I doubt, I'd say that the Blue Pegasus one suggested this because she knew that the judges voting on it would prefer to see the Fairy Tail girl naked than they'd want to see her naked for whatever reason." Zora said as he made sure that his camera filled with pictures from the earlier frivolity was safely tucked away. "It's a devious strategy but she's done her homework and figured out a way around it. Based on what I've heard, even in the underworld Mirajane Strauss is a hugely popular model, more so than Jenny has ever been. It seems like Jenny would have never wrestled the title of Miss Fiore from Mirajane had she not vanished for 7 years."
"That is correct." Vanessa said as the final theme was revealed to be combat gear which was a drastic shift away from the past themes. "In a standard vote based on most scoring metrics for this kind of thing Mira will win so Jenny needed something to tip the scales. A young, hot, model who hasn't aged in 7 years and returning to the industry and with her first ever naked shoot to boot, the sales will be off the charts. Jenny's banking on that to get the judges to vote for her to win so that they can see Mira's naked shoot."
"Clever, that bimbo is a whole lot smarter than I gave her credit." Zora said as Jenny changed into some kind of combat armor that was a mix of red armor and some over the top lingerie it seemed while Mira took a moment before she too changed. "So…ok what on earth is that?"
Mira had also changed and was now in a full bodysuit of armor with a horned helmet on her head as fire seemed to be around her. It wasn't so much gear to look good, it was true combat gear and the power radiating from the woman was easily on the level of a Squad Captain.
"She's changed this up." Nero said having realized what was going on before Mira explained her own stipulation to the bet. "Jenny's plan was a smart one, but she can't outsmart Mira it seems. The Fairy Tail woman accepted that bet because she was always planning on making the decider about a test of strength, or at the very least had a plan to win it and strength was best which she can now do. That's got to be her Take Over Magic at work and as you can see it's similar enough to what Asta does to be able to hid Asta's true abilities by claiming he uses Take Over Magic too."
"Smart woman." Yami said as they watched what was about to unfold. "Both sides of the bet do have the right to set the terms and…well that happens."
Everyone just stared in shock as Mira launched forward and past a still stunned Jenny who clearly hadn't expected the battle to be turned on its head like that, not that she had any hope against Mira in a contest of brawn. Mira in her transformed form blasted past Jenny and took her down with a single blow to her chest.
"And just like that this beauty contest became a brawl to decide it." Chapati said clearly excited by the sudden change in the third battle's dynamics.
"Well, it is more in keeping with the nature of the games." Yajima said. "And we had the beauty part as well so best of both worlds in my mind."
"Such a cool brute babe!" Jason exclaimed as the gong sounded to declare the match over. "So much power!"
"And with that Mirajane Strauss of Fairy Tail Team B has beaten Jenny Realight of Blue Pegasus." Chapati said as Mira turned back to normal and happily promised to buy an issue with Jenny's first nude shoot in it when it came out as Jenny cried on the floor. "And that win nets 10 points for Fairy Tail Team B."
"I'm confused." Asta said as he looked down trying to process how the battle had suddenly ended. "Wasn't this some odd beauty contest and not a brawl?"
"Yeah what happened?" Magna said as Mira walked off the arena to rejoin her team. "Why'd they fight at the end?"
"The rules never stated that they couldn't fight as well as show off how hot and sexy they are." Vanessa said with a grin. "It's a creative loophole to the rules. Some harmless bending I'd say."
"Fairy Tail is good at creatively bending the rules." Nero said. "It's not outright cheating but at the same time it's not exactly how others play."
"That old man's got some deviousness to him." Yami said looking over to Makarov who was cheering Mira's win but also clearly excited for the upcoming nude Jenny issue as well. "No wonder he and Julius got along so well. For all of Julius's strangeness he is still a shrewd and cunning man."
"And after an exciting day that will be remembered for years to come, we are now on our final match of the second day which will start in just a moment." Chapati said ending any discussion as the Black Bulls returned their attention to the arena to see who from Mermaid Heel and Sabertooth faced off as they were the only Guilds remaining. "This one will feature the skills of Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi and Sabertooth's Yukino Aguria."
The Black Bulls looked down to see the stoic swordswoman of Mermaid Heel who was their clear team leader standing in the arena facing off against the newest member of Sabertooth's team who Nero had said was a Celestial Wizard but who they didn't know too much about as she'd not been on Sabertooth's team the year before. This was going to be interesting to say the least.
"So once more we are treated to two lovely ladies facing off in a battle only this time it will be combat from the start." Chapati said. "Sorry folks, this won't be a battle of beauty but one of magic power and skill, but we are looking forward to it just as much as the last one."
"So, who's going to win?" Asta asked.
"We don't know what Yukino's Spirits are." Nero said. "So, we can't really tell at the moment how strong she is. Kagura is skilled, from what I gathered she's the top of Mermaid Heel's team and the strongest in their Guild who is considered to be a swordswoman on par with Erza Scarlet apparently. That said we've not really seen Erza in action either, so we don't know her skills for comparison."
"Oh cool, I bet I can learn a lot from her then." Asta said grinning and really focused now as he did his best to learn from anyone who wielded a sword in battle.
"True, you will." Nero said as the girls walked out onto the battlefield. "But Yukino is not only in Sabertooth but on their team and my observations showed me that their Guild Master is a right bastard obsessed with strength so for her to be on their team means that her strength is no joke. She'll hold her own in this match so expect a tough battle."
"This definitely won't be another beauty contest." Yajima said getting their attention once again as the girls set themselves. "A shame but it can't always be like that. This is the Grand Magic Games after all so a magical battle is better suited for it."
"Personally, if they want it then I'm game." Chapati said.
"Nah these chicks are way too cool for something that cheesy though I'd love for both of them to be models for us." Jason said as the girls. "And I really want to do a full spread on the girls of Mermaid Heel so if their Guild Master is out there contact me and we can make them exclusive models."
"Pay close attention then." Yami said as he ignored the commentary. "We've got two strong competitors who we may have to beat later on, make sure you know what they can do in battle."
"Kagura has certainly made a name for herself in recent years." Chapati said getting the Black Bulls' attention. "She's considered to be the strongest member of Mermaid Heel but that's not all, recently she was named the top female wizard by Sorcerer Weekly though of course that was before the return of the missing Fairy Tail members so that spot may be in jeopardy after the games. However, not much is known about her opponent Yukino but the fact that she's on Sabertooth's team in the Grand Magic Games speaks for itself so she should be a force to be reckoned with as well. On that, let the battle begin."
The moment Chapati stopped talking the gong sounded and the battle started with of all things a discussion between the women and their wager as that seemed to be a theme for the battles today. The whole arena was silent, so they heard what it was and when Kagura said she didn't gamble frivolously or for entertainment, Yukino agreed and made the wager their lives which Kagura accepted to the shock of everyone. From there the combat part of the battle began.
To say that it was intense would be an understatement. The battle started with Yukino opening the gate of the twin fish, Pisces, one of the 12 Zodiac Spirits and one of only two that Lucy Heartfilia didn't have. They were a massive pair of long eel-like fish with one being white on black the other black on white with blue markings on both of them.
"Woah." Asta said his eyes wide as the Celestial Spirit appeared. "Those are some large fish."
"They look really yummy." Charmy said drooling a little as she pulled out a knife and fork while Pisces attacked Kagura. "Can I eat them? I bet they'd taste great fried up but with that much fish I can make all sorts of delectable disses with them."
"I don't think we're supposed to eat Spirits Charmy." Asta said. "You've tried with Sylph already remember."
"Yeah but that bug deserves it, she's always in my way." Charmy said as they watched Kagura impressively dodge all the attacks from Pisces. "Without her I'd have already wooed my Prince of Provisions with my irresistible sexiness."
"She's rather impressive." Noelle said ignoring Charmy and commentating on how Kagura was doing in the battle. "A lot like that Mystogan guy on the first day with the rocks, she's dodging and using their bodies to ensure she doesn't take a hit from them as they look really strong. To do that requires excellent awareness and agility."
"And she's not phased at all." Nero commented. "Calm and determined, that alone shows her skills in battle but if she's the top female wizard in Fiore at the moment then there's a lot more to her than simple agility and I'm sure that we're about to see what that is. Seems like Yukino realizes it as well, she's produced a second gold key."
Nero was right as a second golden key was suddenly in Yukino's hand. They had no idea what it could be, however, as Nero was only aware of the fact that Lucy had 10 from her observations of Fairy Tail, not which 10 Lucy actually had contracts with.
So far they'd been able to deduce that Lucy had Capricorn as that had to be the goat thing she danced with while practicing for the magic ball as no other Spirit was a goat, Gemini, Tauros, Cancer, and Scorpio but that was it though Finral had seen Leo and not realized it. Pisces wasn't one of them and now they'd learn the final one that Lucy didn't have thus determining what she did have.
Interesting." Gordon mused as Yukino opened the gate of the balance revealing her second Zodiac Spirit to be Libra. "So it would seem that it is true that all 12 Zodiac Spirits are bound to just two wizards. That means that either they're basically the only Celestial Wizards or they are the only two with the necessary skills to form such contracts."
"Or they're just super lucky to have ended up with all the keys between them." Nero said ignoring the commentators as they commentated on how attractive Libra was, which as she was an exotic looking belly dancer with a mask over her face it made sense but wasn't relevant to the discussion the Black Bulls were having. "Regardless, for all 12 to be under the command of just two, it's impressive. With this who are left for Lucy to have?"
"Aquarius, Sagittarius, Leo, Aries, and Virgo." Gauche said as Libra showed her ability was gravity based by increasing it right where Kagura was to bring her down and force her to stay in one place from the magic now being used on the swordswoman. "We may have seen one of them, I read that at the very least Leo and Virgo come off as normal looking humans, or close enough to not stand out too much under most circumstances. I just want to see them for some stories for Marie so that she can know all about this place when we get back. Yes, I'll have so many good stories for my darling sister, she'll love them and me for telling her them."
"Well summoning two is impressive and she's using them well." Nero noted as the gravity allowed for Pisces to dive down onto Kagura ignoring Gauche's latest nosebleed while discussing his little sister. "That should at least…oh."
"She escaped it!" Asta exclaimed. "But how? With that gravity how can she have broken free short of using something like my Anti-Magic."
"There are other ways, with enough time and motivation that sadistic beanpole's Severing Magic can actually slice things like Spatial Magic that Golden Dawn Vice-Captain uses so Gravity Magic isn't out of the question for him." Yami said. "But more plausible is that she's able to use Gravity Magic as well and used that somehow, this world does allow for a wizard to use more than one kind of magic. Now watch because that girl's not done yet. Her ki is interesting, been a while since I felt ki that was so determined and yet so filled with both nobility and revenge."
The others nodded at their Captain's words as they watched Libra shift the gravity on Kagura as she was in the air and for the first time she actually took a hit as she was dragged into a statue that overlooked the arena, the very same statue that was used by Oba for her grand entrance into the last battle which shocked the stadium back to reality after it had descended into the mess that it had become.
Then, for good measure, Yukino had Libra increase the gravity again to re-slam Kagura into the statue with enough force to create a small crater in it and pin her to the forehead of the statue in a spread eagled posture. As all of this was happening the commentators excitedly commentated on the whole sequence that Yukino and her Spirits had used.
From there it seemed like things were over as Pisces launched up and at Kagura once more, this time with her pinned to a statue above the arena so she had nowhere to go. It looked like things were over but just as Pisces was about to reach Kagura the pair of fish suddenly stopped dead in their tracks.
"What?" Asta asked confused. "Why did the fish things stop?"
"Can we catch them now?" Charmy asked hopefully. "I want some jumbo fish sticks and sushi from them as well as grilled fish fillet. Oh and maybe deep fry some parts of them in batter to also see how that tastes."
"No, watch." Yami said seriously as suddenly Libra was forced into a squat where she stood. "That Sabertooth girl didn't do her homework. I was right, that swordswoman can use Gravity Magic as well."
"Clearly." Nero said as Pisces was also rooted in place as Kagura pulled herself out of the crater no longer under the control of Libra's Gravity Magic and stood on a ledge it had made overlooking the arena floor as she held the Spirits in place showing that she had a large amount of magic power at her disposal. "But Yukino isn't rattled, she's got plenty of composure as well."
"That or she's overly arrogant." Noelle said as the gravity finally drove Pisces down to the ground and on top of Libra causing Yukino to dismisses them as it was clear that Kagura was stronger than Libra when it came to Gravity Magic and that not even the raw power of Pisces could break it. "That can blind someone at times."
"Like you cousin?" Mimosa asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about, I was never arrogant about my power." Noelle said flicking her hair. "Now if you mean my brother Solid then yes arrogance did lead to his defeat at my hands."
"That is true and the same was for my idiot brother, we do share that in common." Mimosa said with a chuckle as Kagura faced off with Yukino once more on the arena floor having leapt down from the statue the moment that the arena was cleared of Yukino's Spirits. "What will Yukino do now though? She's used her two Zodiac Spirits which have to be her strongest so what will…oh, er, did I just hear that right?"
"The 13th gate, Ophiuchus." Gordon said his eyes wide as those who remembered their discussion on this recalled what Gordon had said as Yukino pulled out a black key and Kagura charged at her. "The snake charmer, the spirit said to be stronger than the others. To have that key, I never would have thought as I didn't actually believe what I read about it existing. It's different from all the others."
"It must be her trump card." Nero said as the arena was filled with black smoke before there was the sound of a Celestial Spirit gate opening and suddenly a massive snake appeared in the arena. "Huh, wonder what the whole charmer thing was all about as that's just a snake plain and simple."
"Whatever it is, that thing is freaky." Noelle said her eyes wide.
"Does it taste good?" Charmy added clearly unphased by the giant, sinister feeling, snake that appeared and only caring about its potential nutritional value as meat.
Some of the others in the Guild added their two cents to the appearance of Ophiuchus but Asta just watched. He'd been keeping a close eye on Kagura because of the sheathed katana she had on her and finally he sensed her go for it. The woman's ki had remained calm and serious throughout though there was an undercurrent of rage to it that Asta didn't get but did note was clearly under control.
Finally though she used her sword but to Asta's shock she didn't draw it, just used it still sheathed on the snake which caused it to break as if sliced and it vanished, as did the mist in the air. He didn't understand it at all but at the very least he could remember the move she'd used and see how it would work in his own style as he watched Kagura work.
The Mermaid Heel girl's actions didn't end with beating Ophiuchus as she ran on from her move and closed in on Yukino who finally showed fear. Then, after pointing out how ill-considered Yukino's bet was, Kagura struck the other girl with the sheathed sword bringing her down to end the battle. The force of the blow kicked up dust and silenced the crowd before it settled to reveal Yukino lying on her back, eyes wide, and unable to move as Kagura made a statement about mermaids feasting on tigers.
"And it looks like…" Chapati began after a few seconds before a bell sounded to indicate that Yukino was considered defeated. "…that is the match. The winner is Mermaid Heel's Kagura Mikazuchi."
"What technique was that?" Asta asked. "She never drew her sword so how did she cut the sword without using the blade."
"I'm not actually sure, the closest that I can think of is something called zetten." Yami said. "And even then, that wasn't it though I'll admit I don't know much about zetten as I didn't learn it before arriving in the Clover Kingdom. That said, what we just saw was likely a technique unique to this world. It doesn't apply to you Asta as you don't have sheathes but still, it's something I've never encountered before. Both the blow on that snake and the final one, they're not things a normal swordsman can do. That girl's something else for sure."
"Still, I bet I can learn a lot from it." Asta said as he replayed it in his mind and a now bald Chapati, his hairpiece of the day had fallen off with the force of Kagura's hit, noted that Sabertooth had not scored a single point that day.
"Do so but we should but quiet now, the final scores are in so let's see where we stand and how we can improve." Yami said. "Because I won't accept another loss you knuckleheads, got that Asta, Finral, Noelle, Charmy. You 4 are the ones left to battle if chosen, unless they do a repeat member for some reason, don't lose them."
"Yes sir." All 4 of them said at once as Kagura left the arena not looking at the tearful Yukino as she left but did pause briefly to remind the Sabertooth girl that she had her life in her hands now and to make sure that Yukino understood that which she apparently did.
"Well ladies and gentlemen, that wraps up day two of the Grand Magic Games so let's see how the standings are at this point." Chapati said once again getting the attention of the crowd as the commentator wrapped up the second day of the games. "Leading the way with a total of 32 points it's Raven Tail much to all of our surprises. Trailing them in second with 22 points despite the loss a moment ago is Blue Pegasus and rounding out the top three it's the Black Bulls with 20 points from their two event wins. The shock though is that in fourth with 18 it's Sabertooth. I don't think anyone would have predicted that they'd be outside the top 3 at this stage of the games given their track record."
"Their Guild Master won't be happy with that one." Yajima noted. "But it has certainly been a surprise from the other ones. Raven Tail has been a surprise for many reasons that I won't get into, Blue Pegasus is showing a solid consistency as we'd expect from them, and the Black Bulls are truly a shock with the event wins, but no battle wins which is a strange way to get there. However, I for one am excited to see what they will do tomorrow."
"Agreed and now onto the bottom half of the table." Chapati said continuing the round up. "Were we have a tie for both 5th and 7th place with Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel tied in 5th with 16 points each, the real surprise there being Lamia Scale ranking that low, and Fairy Tail's two teams bringing up the rear with 12 points apiece to tie in 7th."
"It's been so cool today!" Jason exclaimed.
"That is has Jason and thank you for your guest commentary on the day." Chapati said. "And with that we wrap up day 2 of the Grand Magic Games, lets see if tomorrow is just as exciting as we eagerly await day 3 of the Grand Magic Games to start but for now it is goodbye."
With that the crowd began to disperse as the day was over while a scoreboard showed the current rankings of the Guilds in the games. It had certainly been a surprise but other that Raven Tail pulling away from the others things were within 10 points for the other Guilds so a lot would come down to how the next day went.
"Right, that's a wrap." Yami said getting up. "Let's go check on Luck to make sure he's ready for tomorrow as we may need him in the event if it is combat based."
The rest of the Black Bulls either nodded or just mentally agreed with that as they filed out to go and make sure that Luck was better, which he was, while they thought back on the day. It had been an interesting one with a solid win for Finral, a good battle by Luck that just fell short, and some other interesting battles though Grey, Noelle, and Mimosa were still a little shaken from their involuntary participation in the third one.
Regardless, they'd ended the day in third despite Luck's unfortunate loss and things were really looking up for them as the Grand Magic Games entered the middle day of them. What could possibly go wrong.
"So, they really are from another world?" Hisui asked the man from the future as he finished his report from the night before as the night of the second day of the Grand Magic Games filled the sky outside the Palace. "You are certain that you are correct about this?"
The second day of the Grand Magic Games had ended and while the Chariot event hadn't gone as predicted thanks to the Black Bulls, the battles actually had gone as the future man had said they would with the winners he had said would win doing so. In three cases the battles had gone precisely as he said they would go including the benefit of a second Celestial Wizard appearing who had the other two Zodiac Keys so now there were two available wizards for the plan.
Naturally, the only difference from what the man had said would happen occurred in the second match as it was between Elfman Strauss and Luck Voltia, not Elfman verses Bacchus Groh, but even then that still ended as expected at least. Still, Hisui had been hoping that with the Black Bulls being present and showing that things weren't going as predicted that that meant that the dragon attack wasn't coming. Alas it seemed that the man from the future's predictions were truly thrown because of an unpredictable, outside, force that messed with the timeline he knew.
The man had confirmed his theory by spying on the Black Bulls the night before and learned the truth about them. Apparently that they came from another world where they were part of a place called the Clover Kingdom and it seemed that the Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar, knew about that place. The man from the future had learned all this by spying on them while fully merged in the shadows so he heard the full discussion on this. He'd even gotten a name to search, a man called Julius who'd been a Fairy Tail member for 6 years several decades ago.
All this had just been reported to Hisui by the future man as she'd fallen asleep the night before he could return with his news right after he learned it, though admittedly her sleep had been fitful, so now was the time for his report. For him that had worked out great as he'd been able to use the day to confirm the story of this Julius's time in Fairy Tail from the records, both public and not public ones that he could access, which only furthered his goal.
"It is all true but if you don't believe me then look into the records that the Magic Council have on this Julius Novachrono character." Future Rogue said using the man's full name that he'd discovered during his search to make it easier on the Princess to confirm his account. "I am sure you can do an even deeper dive than I can with the resources that you have at your disposal. You'll find his service, it matches the timeline I gave you from my observations, and his origins here are unknown just like the Black Bulls' origins are. Plus, all this explains why they and they alone have those books, or as they call them grimoires."
"I will look into this, but it would seem that the veracity of your explanation is there." Hisui said with a sigh, she'd told Arcadios that they should pause their plans because of the Black Bulls but it seemed like she should resume things though Arcadios had still jumped the gun with a foolish attempt to kidnap Lucy Heartfilia and failing spectacularly though he blamed Raven Tail which was fine as their due was coming according to the future man's predictions. "They do really appear to be from another world entirely and if there is this strange time distortion between our world and theirs then of course that would mess up the timeline of our own world via an outside source."
"My point exactly." Future Rogue said as he suppressed his grin. "So, as you can see, things will still happen as I said with the dragon attack, it's just the games that have been affected by these outsiders, not the coming attack. Remember, I predicted the return of Fairy Tail's missing members, which occurred after the Black Bulls arrived in our world, and the battles without the Black Bulls have gone as I said they would so it's clear that they're just messing with the games and nothing more."
"It would seem so." Hisui said as she resigned herself to this but there was still one thing to do before she fully recommitted to the plan to save the kingdom that she'd spent years working on. "Very well, once I verify what you've said about this Julius Novachrono man I will officially resume the preparations. It's not like they aren't almost done as just about everything is ready for things to proceed as planned and with two Celestial Wizards things will go well."
"Precisely, this is just an insignificant blip in the grand scheme of things." Future Rogue said. "Though if I may suggest your highness, don't mention the Black Bulls origins to anyone else, it may cause a panic due to the unknown nature of them and throw all this into disarray which could prevent you from using the gates as prescribed to stop that impending attack."
"Of course, I wasn't going to tell anyone regardless, not even Arcadios." Hisui said. "Edolas is one thing, there are enough people who are aware of that world to know about it, but this is something else entirely. I will discuss things with their Guild Master once this incident is over but that will be in private. For now, you and I are the only ones who know, along with Makarov Dreyar but he seems to have known about that world for a long time regardless, and it will stay like that."
"I couldn't agree more, Princess." Future Rogue said. "Now, by your leave, I must attend to some last-minute things on my end."
"Of course." Hisui said. "Thank you for all the assistance you have provided over the years, and I am sorry for doubting you."
"It was understandable." Future Rogue said. "I am just glad that your trust in me is still there. Until I am next needed, goodnight."
With that Future Rogue just bowed to her and melted into the shadows. What she didn't see was his smile as he did so. His spying had been fruitful, and he'd learned what he needed to learn to get that gullible Princess back under his thumb. Things were once again back on track and soon his machinations would come to fruition, and at last he'd become the Dragon King.
For her part, Princess Hisui E. Fiore just turned to the window to look out over the stary night's sky and think on everything she'd just learned. She had hoped that the Black Bulls changing the predictions meant that the future man was wrong but alas it seemed that fate was just messing with her as an outside force had sent them here, this Julius Novachrono character apparently, and now it looked like in a few days, when the games ended, dragons would fill the sky and attack Fiore.
However, they were ready for this thanks to the man from the future. Hisui was prepared to defend her kingdom to the end as she began to make final preparations for what was now inevitable to her, pending confirmation of the final thing of course.
Well there it is, the second day is over, the whole crowd was treated to some epic fan service followed by an epic smack in the face by Oba and the day ended on another tough battle that really damaged Sabertooth. Fairy Tail is steadily pulling back while the Black Bulls hold firm but there are still three more days of competition so anything could happen as the games continue. Of course behind the scenes Future Rogue is up to his tricks and has convinced Hisui that he's still right despite her doubts and now she too knows, or at least believes she knows, the truth about the Black Bulls so what will come of that I wonder? Well y'all will just have to wait and see what is in store as the games soldier on. For anyone wondering about the whole Vanessa going for Yami thing, it is canon that she has at the very least enough of a crush on Yami that she sees Charlotte as someone she had to destroy at all costs so it made the most sense for her to be with Yami for it and I am sure the pictures Zora took will somehow find their way to her one day. As for Grey, I wanted her in her normal form for this as a forcing out of comfort zone and she was with Gauche because that is a canon confirmed crush. That is all that I have for now though so I will leave this chapter off here. If you liked this please favorite, follow, leave a review, or let me know in a PM and I will try to answer any questions posed in reviews and PMs as best I can. Until next time.
Stringdog