I looked down at the field as the teams were announced. Laxus was going up against Alexei from Raven Tail. I had a feeling we'd face off against Raven Tail, but I couldn't help but be extremely curious of who was behind that mask.
"Good luck! You can do this Laxus!" Mira encouraged, a grin on her face as the lightning dragon slayer walked onto the field.
"I have no doubt that he'll win this thing" Gajeel says as he looks down.
"Obviously, I mean. This is Laxus after all" Cana says with a grin, but I couldn't help the sinking feeling I had. I hoped my gut instinct was wrong, but I knew that they wouldn't play by the rules. I mean, Fairy Tail is now watching their team closely, but even that didn't help with this feeling.
As the match began, Alexei moved quickly and landed the first attack. I watched with wide eyes as Laxus was sent back. Whoever this person was, all that armor wasn't slowing them down. It was one attack after the other, and Laxus was hit with each one. Not to mention he wasn't even able to retaliate.
"No way, he's losing!" Cana exclaimed, equally as shocked as I was.
"How strong is this guy?" Gajeel questioned, his voice one of clear surprise.
I didn't want to watch the battle at this point with how bad Laxus was losing, but I couldn't take my eyes away, nor could I lose faith in him.
"Come on Laxus!" I called out, clenching my fists as I watched the battle. With what seemed to be a sudden burst of strength, he broke out of the pattern and knocked away Alexei.
"Finally" Gajeel says, and I could hear slight relief in his tone. Cana and Mira looked on at the battle silently, though their previously worried expressions turned into ones of relief. As Laxus continued to attack, I still couldn't stop the sinking feeling I had. Something was seriously wrong with this battle.
"Do any of you know if Laxus changed his fighting style recently?" I ask the others, my eyes not leaving the battle.
"No, not that I know of" Mira replied as I feel her eyes on me.
"Why the sudden question?" Cana asked and I shrugged, focusing on the battle.
"I don't know. The way he's fighting. It's different from before." I mumbled, my mind going back to his fight with Hades and even when we all fought Acnologia. Laxus landed another attack on Alexei, though something was different. As the smoke cleared, I noticed Alexei's armor took no damage, and he quickly retaliated with a powerful attack that put Laxus on the losing end again.
How strong is this Alexei guy? To be able to take on Laxus and make it look easy. I mean, I'd get Erza and maybe Mira, but Laxus is crazy strong in comparison to them. He's probably only weaker then Guildarts and Master Makarov, and this guy is making him look like an easy fight.
As Gajeel started complaining about the battle, he interrupted himself with a sneeze, causing the rest of us to look at him oddly.
"Come on, don't tell me I'm coming down with a cold" He says and I roll my eyes.
"Nah, someone's probably just talking about you" I tease, trying to lighten up the situation slightly. Though, it was inevitable that I returned to watching the battle only to see Laxus on the losing end. It wasn't like him to go down that easily.
The battle continued, with Laxus only getting a few moments to attack before returning to the losing end. Though, as the battle was nearly a loss for us, there was what looked to be a rip in the air. Some kind of shield cleared and the previous battle we were watching had vanished. Instead, it was replaced by Laxus standing victor over not just Alexei; who was revealed to be Ivan, but every other Raven Tail team member. I looked over at where Raven Tail should of been, only to see them disappear.
"They were illusions?" Cana says with a tone of disbelief. Mira started cheering at the fact that he had won, and I just looked at the field with a smile. That awful feeling had disappeared and I just shook my head. How could I even doubt him? Of course he wouldn't lose to that guild.
The next battle was was between Sherria and Wendy, both sky magic users. The introduction was adorable, and the fight was amazing. A battle between Dragon and God slaying, both with the base of sky magic. It ended in a tie, and it seemed like the best outcome for the both of them. Though I couldn't help but notice that Sherria had definitely grown a lot since I last saw her, 7 years ago.
As the day came to an end, I made my way with my team to rejoin the rest of Fairy Tail. We had only really had time to talk to the others at the bar, and it became a type of tradition to spend the end of the day there. As we made it to the bar, I held the door open for my team. They all walked inside, except for one person.
"Gajeel, aren't you gonna join us?" I ask, though he grabs my free arm and pulls me away from the door.
"I need to talk to you, shadow" He tells me, stopping once we were around the corner. I looked at him confused.
"Alright?" I question, leaning against a building. Gajeel stood in front of me, his usual glare replaced by a softer look.
"The hell happened with you? What changed?" He asked me and my eyes widen slightly, before I close them and smile softly.
"I saw my brother, Val. He dealt with the same thing and helped remove it" I told him. I didn't say the full truth, but I didn't lie.
"Your brother, the dragon?"
"Yeah"
"Did he say anything else?" I purse my lips at his question, deciding if I should tell him or not.
"I defended him in the past, but I was wrong. Acnologia isn't a good guy. Not at all" I mumbled, my gaze going to the ground. "Val said our family existed only to create someone powerful enough to actually give Acnologia a challenge. I only exist to fight him on equal grounds"
"And you believe that bullshit?" He asks, causing me to look up at him quickly. Before I could speak, he continues. "Sure, that might be one reason. But don't you dare think that's all you're here for"
I looked at the iron dragon slayer with wide eyes, my heart rate picking up speed. Was that his way of saying I was important?
"Everyone at the guild cares for you, Shadow. If you ever forget it, I'll beat it into you" His tone returned to his usual cold one at the end, but it didn't change the meaning of his words.
"Thank you, Gajeel. Hearing it from anyone means the world to me. So thank you" I showed him a soft smile, causing him to click his tongue and turn his head slightly. Though, I couldn't help but laugh at the crimson color that slowly appeared on his cheeks.
"Shouldn't you both be with the rest of the guild?" A voice interrupted us, causing the both of us to look at the intruder. The blond lightning dragon slayer looked at us both, and I saw that master Makarov was beside him.
"Yeah, we were just about to head inside. Gajeel just needed to talk to me about something." I tell him with a smile, oblivious to the glares shared between the iron and lightning dragon slayers.
"This is no time for talking. The two of you should be celebrating our victories today" Master said, a smile on his face.
"Will you both be joining us later?" I ask, having a feeling they were going to go talk about something in private. Though, I had a feeling it had to do with Laxus' battle today.
"Of course. Now go join the rest of the guild" For some reason, Master seemed intent on getting us inside the bar, and I had a feeling they didn't want to risk eavesdropping. So both me and Gajeel went to join the others at the bar.
Gajeel walked off who knows where and I made my way to the group of girls, who were crowded close to the entrance.
"A pool?" I couldn't help but overhear.
"It's a summer resort known around Fiore" Levi's voice spoke as I approached the group.
"Ryuuzetsu Land, right?" I interrupted, the four others looking over at me. Levi nodded and I found myself already part of the group.
With that, the guild had already made up their minds that we would go to the water park, everyone excited for the break in the games. I'll be honest, I was excited to. It would be the perfect time to relax and spend time with the guild.
My family.