A/N: Episode 158.

Enjoy!

edited on may 10th, 2024 @ 8:05pm

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𝓒𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴,
𝓞𝙽 𝙰 𝙽𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃 𝙾𝙵 𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚂𝚃𝙰𝚁𝚂.

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"𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗣𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 '𝗛𝗜𝗗𝗗𝗘𝗡', 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗗!" Mato called out.

"See ya later." Gray said.

"Good luck!" Lucy cheered.

"You better not lose!" Natsu pointed a finger at him. "Especially to Gajeel's team! And Sabertooth and Raven Tail and..."

"Go out there and kick ass!" Takashi encouraged.

"We're about to begin! But exactly what kind of competition is 'Hidden'?" Chapati asked. "Commentator Yajima-san, is there a player we should pay attention to especially?"

"Sabertooth's Rufus-kun is probably the crowd's favorite, but I'm going to be watching Gray-kun." Yajima replied.

"How about our guest for today, Blue Pegasus's Jenny-san?!" Chapati addressed Jenny.

"Of course, our Eve-kun. He's strong!" Jenny responded.

All of the competitors gathered around Mato. "Gray-sama... Sorry to say this, but Juvia has no intentions of losing." Juvia said.

"Course not! Hit me with everything you got!" Gray told her.

"Sorry, but I'll give you everything I've got as well." Lyon spoke. "For Juvia's sake!"

Juvia stepped back, freaked out. "Don't pay him any attention. His stupidity may be catching." Gray informed. "Actually, I've been wondering since the elimination round, but what are you?" Gray then asked Mato.

"As you can see, I'm a pumpkin!" Mato replied.

"Huh? Should I not have asked that?" Gray questioned.

"Juvia thinks you look like a pumpkin, too." Juvia stated.

"Well, yeah, you look like a pumpkin, but what's inside...?" Gray wondered.

"This happens every year." Eve informed. "I didn't really pay much attention, though..."

"I think he's a staff member." Beth added on.

"Good job creating a character." Eve and Beth bowed.

"Non, non! I do this for fun, so no need for praise-kabo!" Mato waved them off.

"Don't go overboard on the character thing!" Gray exclaimed.

"Hold on a second here. This competition that's gonna start any second, 'Hidden'... I don't know what it entails... and that goes for all the competitions ahead... but it's pretty obvious that the two fairies have an advantage." Nalpudding said, referring to Gray and Juvia.

"Huh?" Gray said as him and Juvia gave him an annoyed look.

"It can't be helped. It's amazing that two teams from the same guild made it this far... k-k-kabo..." Mato responded.

"It's fine with me. My memory is singing." Rufus said. "It's not necessarily the case that two of them confers an advantage."

"I don't especially care either!" Yeager exclaimed, pounding his fists together.

"I'm fine with it." Beth claimed as Nalpudding scoffed.

"I'm impressed. Is that what they call the 'confidence of a king'?" Gray questioned.

"It's possible your fellow guild member will become your weakness. She could be held hostage, threatened, leak information... And many more unfavorable circumstances could be created. Keep that in mind." Rufus responded.

"If I don't forget it..." Gray said.

"Field open!" Mato shouted.

"What the...?!" Gray exclaimed as a city soon appeared in the arena.

"A town?!" Lucy questioned.

"It's huge!" Erza said.

"Whoa..." Natsu mumbled.

"What the hell is goin' on here?!" Takashi wondered.

"A city is appearing in the middle of the arena!" Happy exclaimed.

"Now I've seen everything..." Master Makarov said.

"The creation of a town? How much Magic is being used to pull that off?!" Jellal asked himself.

The city was soon completed. "Juvia! Lyon!" Gray shouted. "What happened to everyone else?!"

Juvia was walking until she stopped. "Everyone disappeared..." She said.

"I see... So that's the idea..." Lyon began walking.

"Hide and seek here?" Eve questioned.

"Where should I hide?" Beth wondered.

Nalpudding and Rufus said nothing.

"This is a weird way to play hide and seek!" Yeager commented. "Nobody's the 'seeker'!"

"Everyone, please enjoy what's going on in town via Lacrima Vision." Chapati said as lacrima screens appeared, showing the participants. "The eight participants don't know what the others are doing. The rules of 'Hidden' are simple. Each person is both the hider and seeker!"

"What's that?!" Natsu asked.

"Find each other in this town! You can use any kind of Magic. Then deliver one blow! It doesn't matter if you do any damage. The person who attacks gets one point." Chapati said.

Copies of the participants soon appeared. "There are tons of the same faces!" Lucy exclaimed as Natsu got sick.

"That makes you sick?!" Takashi asked in disbelief.

"After all, a bunch of Grays is gross, isn't it?!" Natsu said.

"This is a pain. Even we'll probably lose track of which is the real Gray." Erza informed.

"These are copies of everyone. If you accidentally attack a copy, you lose one point!" Chapati said. "Now, disappear into the silence! Like a black cat lurking in the dark night!"

The gong soon rang out, signaling the start of the competition.

"Let 'Hidden' begin!"

"This ain't hide and seek, but more about figurin' out how to find your real enemy!" Yeager said.

Juvia had hearts in her eyes once more. "There are so many Gray-samas! With all of these around, no one will care if Juvia takes just one!" She hugged a Gray copy. "Gray-sama..."

A buzzer soon sounded as Juvia teleported away to another location.

"Oh, my! Juvia attacked a copy and lost one point!" Chapati said. "In this situation, the player restarts ten seconds later in a different area. Likewise, if the player is attacked by another wizard, a point is subtracted then too, and the player restarts in a different area ten seconds later."

"That idiot..." Gajeel muttered.

"This may be a disadvantage to Juvia-nee..." Samuel sighed as his arms were crossed.

"If I knew it'd be like this, I would've done it." Laxus commented.

"As long as it's within the time limit, it's possible for the players to restart any number of times. The time limit is 30 minutes and the team that has the most points at the end will be in first place."

Gray was running past copies. "In this competition, it's harder to find than it is to hide!" He exclaimed.

"Oh, I don't know about that. You should try to grasp the rules faster." Gray turned and spotted Nalpudding.

"Who are you?!" Gray asked.

"Nalpudding from Raven Tail."

"I didn't figure you'd be the first one to come at me." Gray stated as Nalpudding chuckled. Gray placed his fits together. "But now I don't have to look for you!"

"Ice Hammer!"

Gray attacks Nalpudding as Jet and Droy look in shock. "That's different from his Molding Magic up to now, isn't it?" Jet questioned.

"It's the result of all his training." Happy answered.

"And now I'm gettin' a point." Gray declared. The buzzer sounded. "What?! That attack should've nailed him head on!"

It was revealed that Gray had hit Nalpudding's copy instead. "I don't believe it..." Gray mumbled.

"Too bad. That was a copy." Nalpudding said.

"The real thing was right behind the copy!" Natsu exclaimed.

"Then he gets a point taken away for attacking a copy?!" Lucy questioned as Gray teleported to another location.

"Dammit! I blew it!" Gray cursed. "I see. So that's how he did it..."

"He did a good job using his copy to approach the enemy. A strategy like that isn't bad, but if the enemy identifies you first, they could possibly do a surprise attack. This is 'Hidden'!" Gray noted.

"Everyone is blending in with the crowd." Lucy said.

"How is he gonna find 'em now?!" Natsu questioned.

"I'm glad I'm not out there!" Takashi claimed.

"If he acts carelessly, the enemy will be alerted to his presence. What are you going to do, Gray?" Erza asked.

"Which one's the enemy?" Gray wondered out loud. "Which one's real?!"

"Gray-san... I found you!" Nalpudding exclaimed as he charged forward and attacked Gray from behind.

"Gray!" Natsu shouted.

"How did he know?!" Erza exclaimed.

"That guy... He went after me again!" Gray said.

"You're an easy mark!" Nalpudding stated.

"This is the first game, 'Hidden', and the fierce but silent battle continues! At the moment, Nalpudding is in first place! On a field with yourself an an army of enemies, what should you do to ferret out the flesh and blood ones?" Chapati questioned.

"There are various ways. For example, you could look for your opponent's Magic." Yajima replied as Jenny chuckled.

"I think Eve-kun has a better method than that." She informed.

"Look for your opponent's Magic... Getting a general direction is one thing, but pinpointing it is rough." Erza stated.

"Gray! What the hell are you doin'?!" Natsu shouted.

"Don't let the same guy tag you twice!" Takashi added.

"Raven Tail..." Lucy mumbled, looking at Raven Tail in which Flare noticed.

"What are you looking at, Blondie?" She asked.

"First, you went after Wendy... It seems you want to thoroughly crush us, huh?" Lucy questioned.

"Blondie..." Flare mumbled.

"Enough, Flare."

"Damn you, Ivan..." Makarov muttered.

"Hang in there, Gray!" Happy encouraged. 

"Crap. Back to square one..." Gray said. The ground suddenly uprooted as carrots went flying.

"Carrot Missiles!"

Beth soon appeared. "Huh? I missed!" She examined before she got attacked.

"What the?!" Gray said.

"I saw you use your Magic!" Yeager claimed before he got swatted away by ice.

"I saw it, too." Lyon stated.

"Lyon..." Gray mumbled.

"I found you, Gray." Lyon claimed.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia shouted, jumping down from a building.

"Juvia!" Gray exclaimed.

"Panties!" Lyon said before getting knocked down by Juvia.

"Hey, I don't need you to give me a hand." Gray informed.

"Juvia knows." Juvia replied.

"I saw a piece of heaven..." Lyon muttered before teleporting away.

"Juvia is going to beat you." Juvia declared. "Juvia promised Master!"

"You promised Gramps?" Gray asked.

"Yes." Juvia nodded.

Samuel was gathered with Gajeel, Laxus, and Juvia. "Gimme a break! Who's gonna be part of that spectacle?!" Gajeel exclaimed.

"I don't mind being in it, but I don't like being on 'B Team'." Laxus claimed.

"That's your issue?" Samuel muttered as he sweat dropped.

"Then let's do this. The team that wins gets to do what they want with the other team for a whole day." Makarov said.

"Put another way, it's a 'punishment game' for the losing team." Lily chimes in.

"Do what I want for a whole day..." Laxus mumbled, imagining Natsu serving him food.

"Do what I want..." Gajeel imagined Lucy dancing for him.

"That sounds like fun, huh?" Samuel smirked, imagining bossing his older brother around.

"Do what Juvia wants..." Juvia had sparkles in her eyes. "That's..."

Juvia then blushed. "Quit screwin' around!" Gray said.

"Hey, Gramps! I didn't hear anything about this! That local rule applies to us too, doesn't it?!" Gray shouted as he appeared on the lacrima.

"O-Of course." Master Makarov replied.

"Huh. That could be fun." Natsu commented, imagining ordering Laxus and Gajeel to do a Happy imitation.

"That's your idea of fun?" Takashi questioned.

"So Juvia isn't going to lose!" Juvia declared.

"Music to my ears!" Gray said as they got ready to fight.

"I'm gonna get two fairies together!" Nalpudding exclaimed, attacking both Gray and Juvia.

"That guy's after Gray again?!" Lucy questioned.

"Bastard..." Erza mumbled.

"What the hell's with this guy?!" Gray wondered out loud before it began snowing.

"Oh, my! What on Earthland is this?! It's started to snow in town!" Chapati said.

"Eve-san's Magic... A good tactic, but Nii-san and Lyon-nii have immunity to the cold." Samuel thought.

"I miscalculated by not realizing there are some wizards here who can stand the cold." Eve said.

"Still, when it's cold, people shiver and their breath turns white." Ichiya informed.

"Copies don't, though." Ren pointed out.

"Exactly." Hibiki agreed.

"I see you! Over there!" Eve shouted as he attacked Beth, Yeager, and Nalpudding.

"That gives Eve three points in a row!" Chapati announced before Eve got attacked by ice eagles flying towards him.

"But Lyon loses no time pursuing him!"

"Sorry, but cold doesn't work against me!" Lyon informed.

"Figures..." Eve mumbled as the competition continued.

"Found you!" Nalpudding exclaimed, attacking Gray once more.

"Damn you, Jawface! Just targeting me this whole time...!" Gray said.

"Anyway, Sabertooth's Rufus isn't moving at all, is he?" Chapati realized. "He hasn't attacked anyone or been attacked yet."

"This competition is too simple."

"W-What is this?!" Chapati questioned as Rufus was on top of a building.

"I remember it... Everyone's heartbeat, footsteps, the quality of their Magic..." Rufus continued on.

"What's he doing way up there?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"It's like he's beggin' to be found!" Takashi stated.

"Gray! Look up!" Natsu shouted.

"I remember... I remember it." Rufus said as a red Magic Circle appeared behind him. "Memory Make..."

The sky began to turn dark. "Memory Make... Molding Magic?!" Erza said.

All of the participants soon began to glow yellow as they stared in shock.

"Night of Falling Stars!"

All of a sudden, all of the other competitors got attacked at once. Nalpudding dodged the light and jumped up to attack Rufus.

"You stick out like a sore thumb!" Nalpudding exclaimed as Rufus disappeared. "Oh, no! Just a copy?!"

Rufus then appeared again. "Relax. You won't lose any points. That was the memory of me being there." He informed before attacking Nalpudding.

"I don't need a decoy." Rufus claimed before the sky went back to normal.

"E-Everyone else is wiped out! In an instant, he rocketed to first place! That is Rufus! That's Sabertooth!" Chapati announced.

"Spectators... This competition isn't interesting. After all, I didn't even need to hide. If they find me, their attacks miss, because they only target the memory of me that stays behind." Rufus said as Gray gritted his teeth.

"W-Who is this guy?!" Lily stuttered.

"He's strong..." Happy commented.

"I guess he isn't called 'the strongest wizard in Fiore, bar none' for nothing..." Lucy said.

"That's our Rufus-kun! Even though he's not as strong as Sting-kun..." Lector cheered.

"Yay!" Frosch added.

"Molding Magic!" Gray exclaimed.

"I've heard rumors about him... I see. He really is somebody to be reckoned with." Lyon commented.

"Think this is all one big joke?! Obey the rules of 'Hidden'!" Gray shouted as he jumped up to attack Rufus, but Nalpudding got in the way and attacked Gray, sending him to the ground.

"Again?!" Gray exclaimed.

"That guy... Instead of going for the opponent who's right in front of him..." Lucy started to say.

"... it seems he's only targeting us." Erza concluded.

"Times up!" Chapati announced as the city disappeared from the arena. "Here are the rankings!"

"What are you doing?!" Obaba shouted, spinning her finger.

"Obaba, calm down!"

"Not too bad, I guess you could say." Ren said.

"Yeah..." Hibiki agreed.

"Ugh. This isn't good." Arana said.

Risley laughed. "Beth did her best!" She stated.

"As expected, Sabertooth took first place." Chapati said.

"It was brilliant!" Yajima agreed.

"Both Fairy Tail teams put up a good fight, but their results were unfortunate." Chapati continued.

"I expect better from them next time." Yajima added on.

"I knew Fairy Tail was gonna suck!"

"Always in last place!"

"Your day is over!"

The audience comments caused Gray to grit his teeth.

"What's so funny, asshole?!" Natsu shouted in anger.

"He blew his stack!"

"Howl all you want!"

"Enough." Erza placed her hand on Natsu's shoulder.

"If they wanna laugh, let 'em." Takashi told him.

"Sorry." Gray apologized, walking by Lucy.

"It's fine! We're just getting started..." Lucy said, looking at Gray with concern.

"Raven Tail... Molding Magic wizard..." Gray punched the wall, making a dent. "I swear I'll get you both back!"

Samuel had gone to check on his brother when he saw Gray who was shirtless and had his fist in the wall.

"Nii-san..."

Gray looked up at Samuel. "Don't beat yourself up for your lost, it's only the first day." He said, giving him a smile.

"How could you still be smiling after all that?" Gray questioned.

"I'm used to the audience laughing at us, unfortunately." Samuel responded, making Gray glance down. "But don't worry! We'll kick some major ass from now on. We're Fairy Tail after all. Giving up isn't in our dictionary."

Gray chuckled, feeling a bit better after his younger brother's words. "Yeah, you're right." He agreed.

"I see Rufus hasn't changed. His face still pisses me off." Samuel scoffed.

"Rufus?"

"The guy who performed that spell. He was the one who severely injured me last year." Samuel elaborated as Gray recalled Takashi's words.

"Hey! You got severely injured last time, remember?"

"I see. So that's the guy who injured you... Sam." Gray thinks to himself.

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"And now we continue to the battle part. A member from each team will fight in a single match. This isn't a tournament." Chapati explained.

"And the sponsors decide the pairings, right?" Jenny asked.

"I just hope the match-ups are interesting." Yajima said.

"I've just received the list of the matches!" Chapati announced. "The first match of day one! From Fairy Tail A, Lucy Heartfilia!"

"Me?!" Lucy exclaimed in shock.

"Versus Flare Corona from Raven Tail!"

"Blondie..." Flare said.

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A/N: Rufus is most definitely going to be dealing with Gray's overprotective older brother mode during the final day :)

Thanks for reading!

Word Count: 2666 words.