Enlightened Shadow | Rogue Cheney X OC

Ch 15 | Proof myself

P.o.v. Yanida Clover

"And in second place; will they remain dethroned? Will the Twin Dragons challenge Natsu and Gajeel again for a rematch? And if so, what will the results of that rematch be? Sabertooth takes the field!!" Chapati gushed through the microphone.

There were loud screams and the crowd seemed to be loving the show, but after several minutes the arena got quiet. I had to use every inch of self-control to not walk out of the side entrances and look for what was going on. Normally Sabertooth would be loving the attention and play with the crowd causing them to cheer even more. "Huh? It seems their mood has changed somehow." Chapati asked startled to nobody in particular.

I was too distracted on what the change of character could've been to hear Chapati announce us. Laxus looked back at me when he noticed that I wasn't moving; "You're not having second thoughts are you?" he asked me worried. I looked to the ground to find the right set of words and then raised my head again to smile at him; "There is no choice, Fairy Tail is my family and I would do everything for my them. It's as simple as that," those are the words that I needed to say and to hear out loud. He seemed pleased with my answer and pushed me to catch up with the others.

I can't be thinking about Rogue or anyone else, now it's about Fairy Tail and saving Lucy, so I had to win the Grand Magic Games together with Laxus, Gajeel, Erza and Gray. That's the way I can help, how I can let everyone see that I'm not a little girl anymore. Subconsciously I looked up to Laxus, he had his stone wall up to not let anyone see his real emotions, that's his way of dealing with this.

"Fairy Tail takes the field." Chapati once again gushed barely containing his enthusiasm. The crowd followed him in his cheers, they are giving me nerves and adrenaline like I never felt before. This battle means so much to me and to Fairy Tail, I have to control my heartbeat and concentrate on the battle, on winning.

When we entered the arena the sun was blinding me and I could hear the crowd dying down in a surprised gasp. "W-What?! They've changed the members! This is an unexpected development! In place of Natsu Dragneel, we've got Yanida Clover!" I smiled innocently at the introduction but kept marching beside Erza with my head held high.

After every guild got their introduction, we were transported to a random place in crocus. I'm guessing they put the different guilds not too far apart from each other, so the odds of running into one another are bigger. In the end, they still want to entertain the crowd, and perhaps store some more magical energy into their portal.

"Listen. We have no choice but to win. To get Lucy back!" Erza told us before the last battle officially began. "Hopefully Natsu and the others are able to save Lucy. Because I think the Palace won't keep their word." I surmise looking at the sky, keeping an eye on the arena. "Even so, we've got another motive for winning this thing," Gray stated with a straight face. "We got to win for the guys in the guild who had it rough while we were gone those seven years" Laxus clarified Gray's sentence. I looked up to see Laxus smile at me, and suddenly weight fell off of my shoulders. This is not something I have to win, we're going to win this as a guild because even though we might stand alone sometimes, we're never lonely.

I heard fireworks going off, I looked back up again and saw many different colours lighting up the sky for several seconds. Team Fairy Tail looked at each other, convincing everyone that we are going to win this; "Let's go!" Erza yelled marking the official beginning of this last day of the games.

We did as the First master asked and remained calm, I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing, keeping my heart rate in control.

------------ Flashback ------------

"With all due respect first master, but I want to defeat Rufus!" Gray insisted trying to keep his voice down. After I got selected to replace Natsu in the games I sat down with all the participants and the first master. "I calculated everything on past events and I think the best-suited opponent for Rufus is Yanida her type of magic is harder for him to copy." Mavis tried to reason with him looking at the last battle as if it was a war. "I don't give a damn about that! I'm gonna help Lucy. And also pay him back for kickin' my ass before. Let me fight as a Fairy Tail wizard!" Gray kept on pleading with a determined face. The first master did not know how to respond and tried to find an answer around the room. I looked from Gray to Mavis and back, "I am quite sure Gray is going to win", I spoke up, "Sometimes, wanting to win more than your opponent is the factor that decides the outcome," Mavis nodded closing her eyes trusting my judgement and Gray's power.

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Several minutes past after the official start of the battle. But we were still waiting for the approval of the first master to begin running to our destinations. I helped with the telepathic connection between everyone, making it possible to alter last-minute changes. 'Everyone is in position, let's start the plan!' Mavis told us giving our signal to move; "Let's go!" all 5 of us shouted running each our own way.

In order to keep myself calm, I have a checklist in my head that lists everything that I have to do. The first point on that list is dodging Rufus' Night-of-Falling-Stars-attack. 'Ignore the lights in the sky, but dodge in two seconds,' the first master instructed us through or telepathic link.

Now, I jumped upward away from my place. The lighting hit the ground, and I grinned wide knowing we outsmarted him, task 1; successful. After this, I need to proceed running to my next opponent,

"Will Gray have his revenge against Rufus? Or will Rufus outsmart him again and take first place." I heard Chapati's voice through lacrima speakers. I looked up to the sky and watched the screens, seeing Gray fight Rufus gives me an energy boost out of excitement.

------------ Flashback ------------

"Who will I be fighting then?" Erza asked trying to keep up with Mavis' plans. "You will meet with Minerva. It's crucial that you get rid of her, to ensure our victory." She answered Erza's question. "Can't I help Erza with defeating that wretch?", "No, you have to defeat Sherria. She has to be defeated so she can't help her teammates heal."

Although I would've liked to hold myself to the promise I made to Rogue, I have to trust Mavis' predicaments. Sherria is very young, she will be an excellent opponent to improve my magic and test some new moves I developed during my training. During the games so far I haven't had the best luck to show what I can do, and although I like being mysterious about it, I feel that it is time to surprise everyone with the amount of power I store.

A little voice in my head tells me Rogue could be watching me during that fight, and somehow that makes me want to win it even more. Sometimes a girl has to show off her skills, so nobody will mess with her.

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It seems that Gray is setting in his last attack against Rufus. I have to keep reminding myself to run and focus on my own tasks but watching the battle between the two molding mages gets my blood pumping. I have to make a jump of excitement occasionally to keep myself under control.

"And it seems that Rufus can't get up anymore, Gray wins 1 point for Fairy Tail after an epic battle", "Woo-hoo! Yeah, way to go Gray!" I shouted as loud as I could, knowing he will hear it.

When I arrived at the exact position I had to go, Sherria wasn't there. 'I'm early,' I thought, let's take advantage of the time and try to get my heart rate under control while tracing the area for Sherria's magic power. Instead of Sherria I noticed Erza's and Kagura's close together, 'What? This wasn't what the first predicted, I hope she can take some mistakes like this' I thought thinking of her innocent child-like face.

In a flash, I noticed a slight change of wind and looked up to see Sherria approaching me with an attack. "You shouldn't fall asleep during a battle!" she shouted with a strong attack following her words. 'In the end, Mavis was right about this fight, so that's something', I didn't try to find a good come-back and instead dodged the attack coming my way.

"I guess you're not a talker then." She said to herself. I just smiled widely and took my curved sickle rings from their holders.

My battle is only just beginning.