afterglow | natsu x reader

Chapter 21: Chariots

A/N: Please tell me if I update too much

"This is just pathetic." I mumble as we watch Gajeel, Sting, and Natsu all competing for last. We're all watching the lacrima screen. The three dragon slayers last because of motion sickness. They were racing on a long wooden platforms that were constantly moving.

"I should've gone down there." I say and place my chin on the palm of my hand.

"Poor dragon slayers. Why don't you get sick, Y/N?" Mira asks.

I shrug, "Maybe cause I can cure motion sickness."

Then Mira turns to Laxus, "Do you get motion sickness?"

He simply answers with, "Don't go telling anyone."

"We see in the lead, Blacksnake of Raven Tail, followed by Ichiya of Blue Pegasus, then Yuuka of Lamia Scale, Risley of Mermaid Heel, and the reserved member of Quatro Cerberus, Bacchus. And competing for last, Natsu and Gajeel of Fairy Tail and Sting from Sabertooth. They seem to have a bit of motion sickness."

"I suppose they all have something in common..." Yajima comments.

I get bored of watching the last losers and focus on the people at front. Yuuka and Risley are trying to take each other out. Just then a loud crash was heard. The lacrima screen turns to Bacchus, who destroyed most of the carts. Then he gains speed and starts running to the finish line.

"And like that Bacchus earns his guild 10 points!"

"I didn't know Quatro Cerberus had someone like that in their guild!" I say. Then the others started coming. Second is Raven Tail, Third is Mermaid Heel, Fourth is Yuuka, and fifth Ichiya. The lacrima screen now focuses on the dragon slayers, who are struggling to move a muscle.

"I've never had a problem with transportation before!" Gajeel says as he has his hand over his mouth. He looks ready to throw up. Sting manages to stand up straight and says, "I think I'm used to it." But quickly falls over. Gajeel tries body slamming, but accidentally crushes Natsu.

The crowd erupts into laughter at the three and I can't help but laugh too. It's a bit embarrassing. Natsu looks cute though. Even sick and green, he's cute.

"Move... forward!" Natsu demands himself and starts pushing himself to his limit. They're still slow, but both Gajeel and Natsu still push themselves. Sting is now behind them both.

"Those two never give up." Mira giggles.

"Tch whatever. You guys are pathetic, I'll give this one to you. We're not going to miss one or two points." Sting tells them as he stops moving.

"Don't be crying about that one point later, kid!" Gajeel smirks.

Sting glares at both of them, "Answer me one thing. Why? Why decide to participate in the tournament? Are you worried about your ranking? Image? Fairy Tail I knew before didn't care about what people thought of them."

"For our friends..." Natsu manages to answer, "For our friends we left waiting for seven years. For our friends that held on. No matter how much they were laughed it, no matter how sad they were. To prove that Fairy Tail is back, stronger than before. To quote a wise girl, anything below first is an unacceptable. We're winning this thing, for the ones that waited for us."

I look at the Fairy Tail booth and see them all in tears. Natsu's words were cheesy, but I am touched. Mira is crying and Laxus is smiling proudly. And with that, Natsu and Gajeel cross the finish line. "It's a good thing they're stubborn." said Laxus.

"And they reach the finish line! Natsu of Fairy Tail A manages to get 2 points for his team and Gajeel of team B manages to get one point."

Then I hear people around me mumble about Fairy Tail. Their words are different from yesterday. The opposite of yesterday's words.

"And Sabertooth scores zero points for not finishing. The current rankings are: Raven Tail in in first place, Sabertooth has dropped to second..."

I walk to the infirmary and see both Natsu and Gajeel about to throw up. I come up behind them and place one hand on their back, healing them. I see Lucy sitting next to Wendy, who's asleep.

"Good job boys!" I wrap one arm around each. Then I let go and ask Lucy about Wendy's condition.

"Better than yesterday! Anyway, I'm going to watch the games." Lucy stands up from her seat and exits the infirmary. Gajeel and I start heading out and I stop, "Coming?" I ask Natsu.

He shakes his head, "I think I need a little break." And he passes out on one of the beds. I came in time for the first battle. Blacksnake vs Toby from Lamia Scale. To me, not much an interesting battle. Until the end, when Blacksnake rips up Toby's lost sock. Poor guy.

"From Quatro Cerberus it's Bacchus—!"

The crowd cheers. "I can't wait to see this!" I express my excitement.

"—Versus Fairy Tail Team A—,"

"Bet it's Erza." I think out loud.

"Elfman!"

"WHAT?!" I exclaim. We're all shocked and I look over to see Erza encouraging Elfman, who looks scared. Mira giggles and simply cheers her brother on. They both reach the arena and Bacchus suggests spicing things up a bit by betting like the last two.

"One night with both your sister." Bacchus says. I look at Mira to see her uncomfortable. Elfman looks a bit of uncomfortable too, and the fight starts.