"Iт αιɴ'т αвoυт нow нαrd yoυ нιт, ιт'ѕ αвoυт нow нαrd yoυ cαɴ ɢeт нιт. How мυcн yoυ cαɴ тαĸe αɴd ĸeep мovιɴɢ ғorwαrd."-R o c k y

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As Lucy promised, she would go see Gajeel's fight today.

Gray had picked up Lucy earlier and hung out for a bit before grabbing Levy and Juvia and heading towards wherever the fight was. It was early evening, with the sun just starting to set.

Lucy hadn't known what exactly to wear, and she wasn't trying to impress anyone, so she opted for her usual style of dirty white rip-off vans, well fitting black sweatpants and a white t-shirt with her hair up in another messy bun. Gray thought it was cute in a way, even if the rest of her friends were in jeans. Levy and Juvia had put on a subtle amount of makeup, making her feel like a bare potato comparing to two hotties.

They all stepped out of the car, already hearing roaring voices coming from inside the musky, small arena. Her feet landed on the dirty ground, each step crackling beneath her shoes. Gray made sure she was tucked at his side, warning her that it would be a bit more rowdy than any other sporting events.

She was completely overwhelmed by everything. The inside was darkened among the cramped crowds around the ring while old, heavy lights hung just above the center of the fighting area. Various streams of smoke fluttered in the air from either cigarettes or weed, the smell filling her lungs uncomfortably. Old men in suits had clipboards with a cigar between their teeth, maybe scouting for particular boxers that stuck out to their likings. Rowdy yells and screams came from crazy fans, more colorful language being thrown out.

Lucy looked to see that it wasn't full at the moment, more about halfway. Two exhausted fighters currently tiptoed back and forth, awaiting for the other to take a cheap shot before advancing. She wrinkled her nose at their bloody and bruised skin.

"Is it always like this?" Lucy asked loudly, trying to have her voice too over the crazy shouting.

Gray nodded, keeping a comfortable hand barely on her lower back. "Yeah, it'll only get worse once Gajeel comes out for his fight after this."

Levy waved her hand like it wasn't an issue. "Don't worry, if any guys hit on you, either Gray or Gajeel will beat their asses. Happens a lot."

Well, that was totally reassuring. Lucy didn't want to be hit on by anyone, much less a drunken creep, and there seemed to be more than dozens of them wandering around recklessly.

"It's...different," Juvia added, standing on the other side of Gray.

"Follow me." Gray motioned, keep a soft grasp around Lucy's wrist to make sure she wouldn't get lost. Him and Levy casually walked towards a section with Juvia and Lucy trailing close behind.

Lucy glanced over to the ring to see one of the guys smash a punch in his opponents' face. She duly gulped as the other young man stumbled back and toppled over, knocked out unconscious. Just by watching the scene made her skin crawl, imagining the harsh blow to her own face.

That thought made her shiver.

Gray led her to a few open centered spaces that were fairly close, but it was more like bleachers rather than cushioned seats. He gave her a comforting smile, something she desperately needed to not run out of the small and cramped building. Lucy slid right next to him, not minding their bodies touching. Juvia sat on her other side while Levy sat on the end, letting the two feel more comfortable between their presence.

As she walked, she made small conversation with mostly Gray, an awkwardness arising whenever Juvia would occasionally glare from the side. The crowd grew just a little bit, but it wasn't completely full. There were still plenty of large gaps visible. To keep herself occupied, her and Gray mainly took a bunch of pictures to post on their stories for fun.

"You know, its way more fun with you here too." Gray chuckled as they took a picture with the basic dog Snapchat filter. Lucy laughed at how the ears weren't straight on his head, almost dropping her phone in the process.

A finger tapped her on the shoulder, so Lucy turned around to see a young man her age with ruffled brown hair and taunting eyes.

"Hey baby, you doin' anythin' later tonight 'sides watchin' this shit?" The guy tapped his chin, checking her out.

Lucy furiously flushed as Gray turned around as well. "Go fuck another hoe, she's not up." He spat, keeping an arm hooked with hers.

The brunette shook his head, taking the cigarette up to his lips, playing with it between his fingers. "Damn, maybe another time, blondie." He gruffly spoke, breathing the smoke out. He winked before getting up to sit somewhere else, probably to hunt down another chick.

Lucy sweat-dropped nervously, turning back around. "Well that was pākaha." Her voice dripped of sarcasm. Her friends glanced at her, which she already knew what it meant. "It means 'great', but I was joking."

"Sorry, that shit happens all the time here, just stay with Levy or I and you'll be fine." Gray assured again, not minding her slightly leaning towards him for comfort.

A well-dressed man with a microphone walked to the middle of the cleared ring, coughing before speaking. "Good afternoon, everybody, you know what time it is. I'll be your MC for tonight, Rob." He said, silencing the side conversations of the crowd to grow into whistles and cheers.

"It's almost time, get ready." Gray whispered, nudging her side lightly.

A figure started walking out on one side with a hallway, their body covered with a blue robe. Gray pointed towards the hallway just on the right to where they were sitting, seeing a much bulkier body adorned in a black robe.

"You got it babe! Woohoo!" Levy shouted in the silence, standing up and waving her arms hysterically as the figure in black looked their way. Apparently it was normal for the short bluenette to do so from the various chuckles scattered across the crowd. She blew a kiss while he winked.

"That's so cute, oh my gosh." Lucy squealed, her toes tapping against the bleachers.

They both walked up with a few managers behind them to their respective corners, slipping off their robes. Both men were drilling with sweat already, assuming they were warming up for their smackdown.

"On the challenger side..." The MC started, pointing to Gajeel's opponent. Lucy bit her lip as both a few cheers meshed in with a bunch of booing when the MC said his name, almost chuckling. The smaller man had blue-green hair that stuck upwards, sending a cocky message by raising his arms in the air.

"Now, on the home court side, we have the Metal Moulder, no other than Gajeel Redfox~!" The crowd burst with crazy excitement. Lucy and Juvia jumped in their seats from Levy screaming her lungs out, waving an empty popcorn bag in the air for no reason.

Gajeel stood there, a blank stare on his face as he walked to the middle. The opponent nervously shuffled to the center, his cocky smile disappearing from view once realizing how much smaller he was.

After the rules and explanations, the first bell rang to start the first match. The smaller boxer immediately bounced on his feet, deciding where to take a shot.

Gajeel barely moved, his eyes narrowed with his fists up to block a shot. He took a couple steps back closer to one of the sides of the ring because it closed off options for the quicker male to move around him.

Gray and Levy burst out laughing when the male took a few shots, noticeably confused when Gajeel didn't stumble back. Without a warning, a fierce punch was thrown right to his face, practically sending him flying to the ground.

Lucy gulped, making a note to never piss off Gajeel. That one punch sent that man to his grave at least.

"He's not fast, but he's a powerhouse." Gray said as they continued watching. The opponent landed twice as many hits, but Gajeel's punches always sent him stumbling back for a few seconds needed to recover.

The first five rounds were the same, Gajeel making sure to stuff the green-blue haired male with a powering punch to mainly the face that left bruises and nasty cuts. Lucy almost felt bad because he'd already had a black eye. There were light bruises scattered on Gajeel but they weren't serious.

"I told you he needs to work on footwork." Levy laughed.

Lucy did pick up on how stature he was; sturdy, but unbreakable or moveable. It was going to take a miracle and a prayer to knock him out.

During the ninth round, Gajeel suddenly threw multiple punches in a row to the head and the side, alternating the damage to leave the opponent stumbling to the ground in unimaginable pain. Levy jumped up on the bleachers and screamed with the fans. She jumped up and down while waving a huge flag from who-knows-where, having a Gajeel face placed directly on it.

"Yeah babe! Make sure he stays down!" Levy shrieked, making Lucy laugh at her antics. Gajeel cockily walked back to his corner as the MC started counting, sending a smirk.

The rowdy crowd shrieked in delight as the opponent stayed down to admit his loss, knowing full-well he didn't have energy to send a punch strong enough with his condition.

"Yeah! That's my man, suck it you hoes!" Levy yelled as some other fan girls screamed. They frantically waved their hands over the bleacher railing as Gajeel walked by.

Lucy burst out laughing as Levy pushed past them, leaning half her body over to the sweaty boxer. He smirked and leaned upwards, playing a peck right on her lips before walking back to the locker room. A bunch of the girls gave her nasty glares as the bluenette flipped her hair and sauntered back.

"You're going to piss them off one day and you'll regret it." Gray muttered.

Levy rolled her eyes. "He's not their man, they can deal with it from the sidelines."

Gray checked the time on his phone, sighing. "Hey Levy, I gotta go now."

Lucy cocked her head curiously as Levy nodded back at him. "Yeah, I'll be here with them for the rest." Levy replied.

Gray noticed the confused expression on Lucy's face. "I'm one of the guys that have to help out with the idiots fight coming up." He explained.

"Oh, no worries!" Lucy smiled. "E'ike wau iā'oe."

"I know what that means, see you." Gray stood up and gave her a crooked smile before walking back to the locker room, leaving the three girls by themselves.

A body squished in between her and Juvia, an arm each hug around their shoulders. "It's going to get packed real quick, so just be prepared." Levy shouted in their ears.

Lucy nodded, taking another glance around. There still seemed to be lots of large gaps in the crowd, the bleachers all around not entirely packed yet.

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"So remember, he likes to try takin' cheap-ass shots just above the waist, then he'll start swingin' like a madman at your head." Gildarts said from the side, arms crossed.

Natsu nodded his head, mentally envisioning himself in the ring. "Yeah, this guy's a piece of cake." He watched Gildarts patch the last strip of athletic tape around his knuckles.

"My opponent was scrawny as fuck," Gajeel said from the other side, swishing a gulp of water in his mouth. "I could barely feel a thing."

"Shut up, you always get off easy." Natsu retorted, lazily clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

Gildarts helped Natsu slip his red gloves on, making sure they were secured in place.

Their locker room door swung open with Gray walking in. "Nice dub, Gajeel." He said, closing the door with his foot.

"It was nothin', I was just toying with him." Gajeel snickered.

Natsu eyes Gray from his seat. "Took you long enough to get here, princess."

"Oh geez, my bad," Gray backfired, not hiding the sarcasm in his voice. "I was hanging out with a few friends."

"Wait, you have friends?" Gildarts questioned, raising his eyebrows as if he was clueless. The two boxers snickered along.

Gray shrugged his shoulders. "No big deal, I was just with a couple new friends. Hmm, they said they were tired though, I don't know where they are now."

Natsu stopped snickering and narrowed his eyes, catching onto the emphasizing of his words. By friends, did he mean..?

"After these next couple fights, you're up next. Just don't get too cocky, boy." The elder man said, patting Natsu's shoulders. It was more slapping, but it didn't bother him.

"Sure thing, ol' fart."

"I'm not an old fart, dumbass! That Makarov is, not me!" Gildarts complained.

The energy build up inside Natsu was skyrocketing, an excitement building up wanting to show off tonight. Not a single though of Lisanna came to mind as he warmed up, throwing punches at Gildart's gloved hands repeatedly.

He was ready more than ever.

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As a couple more quick fights passed, Lucy made hilarious conversation with Juvia and Levy. Awkward moments of random guys hitting on them were apparently normal, at least to Levy. They all seemed to beam towards her once Levy said she had a boyfriend, but always managed to make up a corny excuse.

After a fight that lasted ten rounds, a long break was included for some reason. Lucy noticed that suddenly people started pooling in at the late hour, every centimeter of space taken up somehow. At least five times more scouters were apparent, whispering among each other while drunks yelled out.

"Levy, it's getting really crowded." Lucy said, watching the crowd become larger every second. The small bleachers surrounding the ring were completely full now, people opting to stand just to watch whatever fight was next.

Levy winked, nudging her side. "Oh, shouldn't you know who's coming on?"

The long break was for the place to settle in with as many people as possible. There were still a huge line waiting outside, praying that there was enough space in the compact, Misty building. The air was dry and thick with cigarettes, the lights were more of a yellow hue, and the bleachers were completely bare to sit on that started making Lucy's butt sore.

The MC walked towards the center again. Lucy blinked as all the lights around shut off except for the one above the boxing ring, something that wasn't done in any other previous fight.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, as you know what time it is," The MC spoke. Loud yells bursted from hyperactive fans. "The main event of the night!"

Lucy sweat-dropped as a bunch of pretty teenager fan girls waved their colored signs high in the air.

"Ugh, they're all so thirsty, go jump off a bridge in a lake." Levy muttered and rolled her eyes. Juvia and Lucy burst into giggles, clamping their hands over their mouths to muffle the voices.

"Now, on the challengers side..."

A light flickered to the opposite hallway between the bleachers across from Lucy, a robed figure still halfway in the shadows.

"We have an unexpected opponent...the Roaring Lion...he's known as no other than Loke!"

Lucy froze. Her body stiffened. Her heart picked up its pace with widened eyes as the figure slowly walked out.

It couldn't be him..?!

His long orange hair stuck in certain directions, a yellow rove thrown over with a flirty smirk on his lips as a few girls googled their eyes over him. Most of the crowd booed in protests, disliking his confident demeanor when he walked to his corner of the ring. His three assistants walked behind him and set up their waters, stools, and extra towels.

Lucy never felt the desperation to run away from him more than now.

"Calm down, he won't see you, it's fine." She thought.

"Now...the one man you've all been waiting for." The MC said. Lucy anxiously tapped her fingers on her thighs, the anticipation quickly growing on her.

The crowd already started bursting with energy, the time of the night more lively.

"..He's the King of the Ring..a master of disaster...mostly known as the Red Dragon, he's no other than Natsu Dragneel~!" The announcer held the last name for a long time as the lights flashed to the hallway next to Lucy's right.

Lucy turned to see the same salmon-haired boxer smiling as he lightly punched Gray in the shoulder. His ruffled locks of damp hair spouted in random directions, a red robe adorning over his body. She smiled as the crowd burst louder than before, camera lights blinking in every direction possible.

"Go kick some ass, Natsu!" Levy screamed, jumping onto the bleachers and pretended to wind up an arrow in a bow, launching the imaginary weapon at the ceiling. Her voice just hung over the yelling, capturing the boxers attention as usual.

Natsu rolled his eyes at his friends' girlfriend acting crazy as usual, shaking his head at her.

His eyes glanced down in front of her just before almost tearing his eyes away, seeing the familiar bundle of blonde hair in a cute, messy bun.

There she was sitting calmly, a pure smile formed with her sweet pink lips. Her chin propped in her palm, elbows leaned on her knees. She wore sweats as usual, still looking bubbly and content. Eyes the color of dark chocolate with flecks of hazelnut had a tenderness in them that calmed his jitteriness like a peaceful meadow, an affect that drowned out the ear-piercing shrieks.

For a moment, Natsu was temporarily dazed out until Gray shoved him forward to start walking. "Move it, microwave, I don't feel like standing here all day."

"I'm goin', I'm goin'." Natsu said, having the urge to send a glare but held it back.

As he walked to his corner, he looked over his shoulder again and flashed a grin towards her through the fans, hoping she'd notice it was only for her.

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Fight for Glory
❀ by queen_random1 ❀
comments & votes are
always more than welcome.
❤️Thank you for reading❤️