Kira wasn't sure how long Lucy had been on the run from home, but from what he'd seen lately, she wasn't sweating her bank account like she let on—at least not since joining Fairy Tail.
With Erza, Natsu, and Gray carrying the team, her reward-to-effort ratio was second only to Happy, that adorable little furball.
"Sure, paying off debts is just good business, but if those collectors keep showing up at my door, it's gonna tank my rep. Better to nudge her into earning her own cash to pay me back... Maybe stock up the shop with more stuff, run some guild-member discounts or loyalty card deals to spark her shopping spree?"
"Oh yeah, what does Lucy even like? Girls mostly go for the same stuff, right? Could ask Erza and Cana..." Kira shook his head hard, shooting down the idea. "I'm losing it—asking those two? Duh, I'd get booze and sweets as answers. They're not your average girls. Better hit up Mira..."
In under a minute, Kira had spiraled from one casual comment from Lucy into a full-blown brainstorm. Snapping out of it, he realized how dumb he'd been.
"Never heard of a lender working himself to death while the debtor lounges like a pampered cat! Guess I'm too soft..."
Pulling his focus back to the arena, Kira blinked—Natsu was already on the verge of winning.
"What the...? That quick?"
It'd been barely a minute!
It was like zoning out in math class for sixty seconds, then bam—the board's crammed full, and the teacher's droning on with "obviously..." or "as we all know..." or "everyone understands..." kickoffs, followed by AA theorem, BB law, CC rule, DD theory, leading to conclusions that make zero sense or just leave you scratching your head.
You glance at your left desk buddy—he's buried in his novel, words like "wretch," "mercy," "spare my life" peeking out.
You scoff, thinking you're above that mess, so you turn right. Your other buddy nods like he's cracked the code, scribbling away. Peek over—total gibberish.
Not satisfied, you eye the class brainiac up front. He's slouched, no notes, book closed, but his eyes sparkle. He locks gazes with the teacher—they share a knowing smile, like some enlightened Buddha and his flower-holding disciple. It's all too mystical.
You're crushed, and the rest of class? Staring at that crush across the room...
Kira watched another half-minute and got why it was such a stomp. Natsu's offense was killer, his defense and speed solid too—every stat at least a full level above Biguslow. No shocker he was dominating.
"Fire Dragon's... Roar of the Flame!"
Boom!
With a massive roar, the fire blast erupted, the shockwave hurling Biguslow through the air to smash into the ground.
"Match over—Natsu wins!"
Right on the money for Kira, but he didn't expect Biguslow to go down that fast. Back in the prelims two days ago, he'd gone toe-to-toe with Gray—had Natsu really powered up that much?
"Nah... probably just the new-villain shine wearing off..."
Kira knew all too well: every "bad guy's" debut glow was OP. Take the Six Demons arc—four of 'em (Brian sat out, Night just chilled) wrecked a twelve-wizard guild alliance.
Even with his magic gadgets, Biguslow's five dolls couldn't withstand Natsu's chaos, and personally? He was leagues behind.
"Plus, terrain plays huge!"
Their prelim fight was on a narrow side path—tight space favored Biguslow's straight-line Star Puppet magic, while Gray couldn't unleash his full Molding potential. But this arena? Wide open, easy dodges, Natsu's flames free to blaze.
"Finally, magic stamina—Gray had the red team waiting after, but Natsu? No such worries."
All that added up to Natsu wrapping it in under five minutes.
So yeah, big gap: Natsu at a solid 3 (mid-tier Fairy Tail), the other at 5 (standard S-class). Matched Kira's gut on their tiers.
Ten minutes later, the last quarterfinal kicked off.
Mira had massive fan appeal—sweet face, killer curves, flawless skin, gentle vibe, beast-mode strength. Guys couldn't get enough. Rocky wasn't far behind—handsome mug, lean build, heart of gold. Total dreamboat for the teenage crowd.
One was Magic Weekly's hottest cover girl; the other topped "most wanted boyfriend" lists with endless admirers. The second they hit the field, fans erupted—dudes cheering Mira, ladies hyping Rocky.
"Mira-chan, I love you!"
"Rocky, you heartbreaker! Ditched by another girl?!"
"Mira-san, give him a beatdown for me!"
...
Hearing the noise, Mira tilted her head with a smile. "Sounds like your exes. No explanation?"
It'd been less than two weeks since Rocky revealed himself as the Celestial Spirit Leo, Loke. Most of his exes hadn't heard yet—Lucy couldn't notify them all personally. Only when they showed at the guild did insiders spill the beans.
At Mira's question, Rocky flashed that playboy grin. "Nah—they'll figure it out eventually."
Mira sighed. "Guess I have no choice then—gotta give you that lesson they want!"
Her tone was all soft, but the words? Pure terror.
Rocky sweated bullets, no fight in him. "Go easy, Mira-san..."
Damn—how'd I miss how savage she is...
"Demon Takeover: Satan!"
Match starts, and Mira's all business, soul-merging with Satan. No armor needed—as a wizard, her own magic felt most natural.
Her look shifted—sweet girl to icy demon. The massive contrast whipped the crowd into a frenzy. Rocky, meanwhile, gathered lion light in his hand, powering up.
"Lion..."
"Demon Storm!"
Boom!
Mira raised her right hand, and a dark magic wave swallowed the lion glow whole. Rocky got blasted away, crashing down out cold.
"Match over!"
Kira: "Pfft—!"
Mira dropped the form, back to her gorgeous self, flashing an apologetic smile. "Oops, sorry! Went a tad overboard..."
Snark queen Lucy: "Mira-san... terrifying..."
The crew around nodded quietly: "Yeah..."
"She used to flip the guild upside down brawling with Erza..."
"Sis is such a beast!"
Mira's one-shot wrapped the quarterfinals for good. Amid the crowd's buzz, Dispel announced the finalists for Fairy Tail's first Grand Magic Games.
"The final four: Kira, Mystogan, Natsu, and Mira!"
Making semis meant prize money—Natsu was thrilled. But what pumped him more? Beating out S-class beasts like Laxus and Erza, plus rivals on his level like Gray and Gajeel. He'd done it!
On the way home, Natsu hugged his partner tight. "Happy, I'm so hyped!!!"
Happy beamed back: "Of course!!!"
"Wahaha! I'm fired up!!!"
"Aye!"