Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
July 4, x791.
{"Oh, wow!"} Loli exclaimed as he read the first set of names on the card. {"It looks like there's something really special in store for today's Battle Round."}
{"Don't keep us in suspense."} Yajima replied in an irritated tone. Though, there was definitely interest shining in his eyes. {"Just read the card already."}
The crowd also seemed to agree with Yajima, as murmurs of discontent could be heard throughout the Domus Flau, as well.
{"Alright, alright, sorry."} Loli said while raising his hands, and the matchup card, disarmingly. He did make sure to keep the contents of the card hidden from Yajima, though. {"No need to get up in arms. I'll just spit it out, alright?"}
{"Well then, get on with it."} Yajima said in a dry tone while his perpetually squinted eyes opened a tad, adding some gravitas to his words.
Seeing the dispassionate light in Yajima's slightly opened eyes, Loli shuddered momentarily. Then, he decided not to make the former Magic Councilman any more annoyed and read out the matchup immediately.
{"Today's matches, will be two on two bouts."} Loli said, his tone a bit apprehensive with Yajima still staring at him. {"And the first match of the day will be even stranger, as one of the teams will be fielding their reserve member, as well."}
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
At first, when the audience heard Loli's explanation, they froze momentarily. However, when the words settled in, they erupted in thunderous cheers.
{"So, without further ado!"} Loli said, his enthusiasm coming back with the crowd's excitement, not to mention the fact that Yajima closed his eyes once again. {"Yoruichi Shihouin and Sui-Feng of Mermaid Heel, Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki and Nichiya of Bue Pegasus, please make your way to the arena~~~~~!"}
"Oh, God…" Marin muttered in dumbfounded amazement. "Please tell me he doesn't mean who I think he does."
Not only Marin, but everyone who participated in the forceful trip to Edolas back in x784 when Magnolia as a whole disappeared, had the same expressions on their faces as Marin.
Meanwhile, Yoruichi and Sui-Feng wasted no time jumping into the arena and looking in the direction of the Blue Pegasus seating area. Shortly afterwards, Ichiya stood up with a rose stem held between his lips while a much shorter figure wearing a cloak stood up from the Blue Pegasus guild's seating area. Then, the shorter figure stepped forward, jumping past the rest of his guild mates until he was standing atop the separating wall just to the left of Ichiya.
A moment later, after they both struck flamboyant and, in their opinions, gentlemanly poses, both wizards leapt down into the arena. The two then made their way towards the center of the arena to face off against the two S-Class Mermaid Heel wizards.
"My lovely ladies." Ichiya said in his deep, what he considered to be, silky-smooth voice. "Allow me to introduce one of the newer members of Blue Pegasus."
As he spoke, Ichiya bowed politely while gesturing to the short, cloaked figure next to him.
"He came to us about two years ago, after embarking on a journey to discover himself." Ichiya continued while maintaining his bow. Then, just as the figure next to him grabbed his cloak, Ichiya continued. "Lovely ladies, this is Nichiya, a true gentleman, much like myself."
*Flap!*
At the same time as Ichiya's introduction, the cloaked figure, Nichiya, flung away his cloak to reveal… An Exceed. One with facial features that were very similar to Ichiya's, standing in a gentlemanly pose with his own rose held between his lips.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, ladies." Nichiya said, his voice sounding eerily similar to Ichiya's in its tone and pitch. "Now, instead of fighting, wouldn't you rather sit down for a cup of tea and discuss life?"
*Gag!*
As one, the entire crowd gagged when they saw what was hidden under Nichiya's cloak. Meanwhile, Yoruichi and Sui-Feng both visibly flinched. And Yoruichi, who had the ability to transform into a cat, was the worse of the two.
The reason for that was simple. It seemed that Nichiya already knew about Yoruichi's transformation ability. And he was looking at her with an, please excuse the pun, exceedingly, hungry gaze.
"It's him!" Happy and Carla shouted in unison while remembering the time Nichiya led a group of Exceed to kidnap them while they were in Edolas.
"Yup, it's exactly who I thought it was." Marin said in a tired tone.
"Eww… This is so much more gross than I thought it would be." Yoruichi said while shaking off her apparent disgust.
"Hey, Cat." Sui-Feng said with murderous intent burning in her eyes. "If you don't take your disgusting eyes off of Lady Yoruichi, I'll rip them out."
"Now, now, young lady." Nichiya said, putting on what he considered to be his most charming smile. "There's no need to be jealous. I assure you, I have enough love for the both of you. So, how about that---"
"Start the damn match!" Yoruichi and Sui-Feng both shouted while shivering at the amorous gaze they were both receiving from Nichiya.
{"Uh... Yeah… Let the match begin…"} Loli said, intimidated by the auras the two Mermaid Heel wizards were releasing.
"[Shunko]!" x 2
Immediately after the match began, both Yoruichi and Sui-Feng chanted their most powerful enhancement spell. Then, they were covered in lightning and wind respectively. A moment later, both ladies vanished from where they stood and reappeared in front of Ichiya and Nichiya, each with an attack primed and ready.
*Bang!* x 2
*Boom!* x 2
Then, at the same time, both Yoruichi and Sui-Feng released their attacks, sending the two, self-proclaimed, gentlemen flying into the walls behind them, collapsing them on top of themselves from the impact.
"Men~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!" x 2
And as they flew, both Ichiya and Nichiya let out Ichiya's catch phrase in pained voices. There cries only coming to a stop when they were buried by the rubble of the collapse wall.
At the same time, the entire stadium fell silent, not sure what to make of what they just saw. Meanwhile, Yoruichi and Sui-Feng, having put everything they had into those attacks, stood where Ichiya and Nichiya once stood while trying to catch their breath.
Eventually, the silence was broken when the dust from the collapsed wall settled. However, the silence was not broken by the crowd cheering for the Mermaid Heel victory. Instead…
"Ladies… there's no need… to be shy…" Ichiya said in a weak tone, his clothing covered in dust while his hair was a mess.
"*Cough* That's… right." Nichiya added, his hair and clothing just as disheveled as Ichiya's. "That invitation for… tea, is still… open for later…"
"Ugh!" x 2
Then, as soon as Nichiya's words ended, all the energy the gentleman of Blue Pegasus mustered to give their last words was used up, and they fainted in the rubble.
"Ichiya~~~~~! Nichiya~~~~~!" The members of Blue Pegasus, the Trimens being the loudest, shouted in despairing tones.
{"Um... It looks like Yoruichi and Sui-Feng of Mermaid Heel are the winners."} Loli announced, unsure of what to make of that match, much like the rest of the audience. {"Anyway, let's get onto the next match, yeah? The next battle will be between Quatro Cerberus and Lamia Scale. Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa, Takashi Komuro, Rei Miyamoto, make your way to the arena."}
{"Actually, is Ikkaku even able to battle at this point?"} Yajima asked in a concerned tone. {"I mean, he was just knocked out in the game that took place a few minutes ago, wasn't he?"}
{"Huh? Now that you mention it…"} Loli said while looking towards a member of the staff stationed in the broadcast room.
"Oh yeah!" Ikkaku's voice sounded throughout the arena before Loli could get an answer, however. "I've been waiting for this! I think this is the perfect occasion for my happy dance!"
Then, before anyone could react, the doors to the waiting room burst open. And through them, Ikkaku with clear signs of ointment having been applied to his inner ears, sauntered out into the arena while dancing on the tips of his toes. Meanwhile, Yumichika, having expected something like this from his old friend, shook his head with a fond smile on his face as he jumped down into the arena.
At the same time, with expressions filled with determination, both Takashi and Rei also jumped into the arena before making their way to its center to face off against their opponents.
Not long later, the match began. And to everyone's surprise, the two newcomers, Takashi and Rei put up quite the fight against Ikkaku and Yumichika. Though, it should be noted that neither Soul Reaper released their Zanpakuto during the fight. Still, for two youngsters who had only been wizards for the last four or five years, it was quite impressive. Even if they did not take the victory in the end.
The third match was between Natsu Dragneel and Gray Fullbuster of Fairy Tail Team C and Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney of Sabertooth. And when you consider that there were three Dragon Slayers on the field, the crowd's excitement was palpable.
However, when Natsu and Gray started fighting each other as soon as the match started instead of their opponents, the audience did not know what to think. They were even more dumbfounded when Natsu, after using a dirty trick, knocked out Gray and threw him back into the stands to face the Sabertooth Twin Dragon Slayers alone.
However, when Natsu finally faced off against Sting and Rogue, the crowd could not help but remember back to last year's games, when Alfonzo did something similar. And just like that fight in last year's games, Natsu managed to defeat the two Dragon Slayers alone. Though, he did not do it quite as effortlessly as Alfonzo had the year before.
{"Next up is the last match of the Battle Rounds in this year's Grand Magic Games."} Loli said excitedly as he read the last four names on the card in his hand. {"And this one is akin to a clash of titans. This time, we won't have just one Fairy Tail team involved in the match, but two. So, are you all ready for this?"}
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
{"Then, help me welcome the combatants into the arena~~~~~!"} Loli shouted at the top of his lungs, the anticipation in his tone on full display. {Alfonzo Marcus, Elicia Marcus Taylor, Laxus Dreyar, Fried Justine! Make your way to the stage~~~~~!"}
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
Based on the volume of the cheers and the way Loli introduced the match, it was clear to anyone present that this was a widely anticipated match. In fact, it was the first time that wizards from the same guild would fight each other in the Grand Magic Games. And thanks to Fairy Tail's reputation, everyone knew that neither side would be holding back.
Meanwhile, as the sound of the cheers saturated the arena, Laxus and Fried both stood up calmly. Then, without hesitation, they both leapt into the arena. At the same time, Elicia also stood up. Alfonzo, on the other hand, sighed while continuing to work with his [Archive Magic] for a bit longer before closing all the windows floating around him. Then, he, too, stood up. After that, he and Elicia jumped down into the arena hand in hand.
"I didn't think I'd get an opportunity like this until the last day of the Games." Laxus said as Alfonzo and Elicia stepped into a comfortable speaking range. "But I'm not complaining. I've even got something new to show you, Alfonzo."
"Oh?" Alfonzo, clearly interested in Laxus words, intoned, genuine curiosity shining in his eyes. "I hope it's worth it, Laxus. Because if I'm disappointed by what you have to show, I'm gonna kick your ass even harder than usual. Then again, you probably won't get to show it off until the last day. I'm pretty tired, you see. So, Lici and I are gonna end this one fast. *Yawn~~~*"
"Hmph! We'll see." Laxus said as he pulled the halberd, his [Soul Armament], Elexion, off his back.
At the same time, Fried also drew his [Soul Armament], Thoth, a longsword hanging at his waist, from its scabbard.
Meanwhile, Elicia took her fighting stance while Alfonzo drew Riot and Bedlam from the strap on his lower back.
*Cheer~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!*
Seeing the four fighters were all ready to begin the match, the crowd cheered loudly once again. At the same time, all the wizards who had a chance of facing Alfonzo and Elicia in the Grand Magic Game event, watched the match like a hawk. Because none of them had forgotten the overwhelming displays the husband and wife pair put on during last year's games.
{"Alright, it looks like all four combatants are ready!"} Loli shouted, his hair piece flying off in his excitement. {"Then, let the last match of this year's Battle rounds… Begin!"}