Curse of Compassion

Chapter 12

The rest of day one of the Grand Magic Games remained relatively uneventful, much to Mikal's relief. She didn't have any nightmares while she slept, and she woke up rejuvenated and ready for day two of the competition. The fears of yesterday had disappeared from Mikal's mind by the time the game commentators announced the next challenge.

"This next challenge is called Chariots! Sound familiar? You bet it does! Teams, choose one participant for the challenge!"

"I'll do it." Yukino stood up with confidence.  

"Yeah, way to go Yukino!" Sting cheered.

"Dragon slayers have motion sickness, so it's only natural for one of us non-dragon slayers to go," Rufus nodded with approval. "Especially after Sting jumped the gun the first time this challenge was presented."

"Good luck, Yukino," Mikal gave her an air-high-five to compensate for her curse. 

"Thank you everyone! I won't let you down!"

The team turned to the large lacrima screen above them to watch the action.  "The rules, as you may remember, are simple! Just don't fall off the chariot, and race towards the finish line!" The commentator explained the objectives, and then went on to introduce the players participating in the challenge. 

"Feeling better?" Rogue scooted closer to Mikal while still respecting the three feet rule. 

"What?"

"You were upset yesterday, but it looks like you were able to sort it out."

"Oh, I guess," she didn't do anything different, but the good night's sleep definitely took the edge off of her wariness. "Thank you for your concern."

"You don't need to be formal. It's what friends do."  They smiled warmly at one another. 

"Annnnnnnnd the challenge starts now!"

Sabertooth watched Yukino's movements on the lacrima screen.  A few players were running ahead of her, but it looked like she was able to keep up with them. "She's using her keys!" Mikal shouted out of excitement when she caught the glint of the golden key in her hand.

Yukino summoned two gigantic fish-eel things that she then jumped on as they effortlessly slid across the chariot. 

"Those were the two spirits she summoned for the qualifying round," Rogue explained to her.

"What?!" Mikal recalled the two people she saw hit the magic machine days ago. "But they look totally different!"

"I know, right?! Yukino is SO awesome!" Sting jumped up and down as he watched her on the screen. "What a great strategy!" 

The celestial spirits Yukino had summoned were so big that they took up most of the space on the chariots. The sudden summoning of Pisces sent the players ahead of her flying off the slow-moving platforms, eliminating them from the challenge. The stadium was in an uproar as her and her spirits were the first to cross the finish line. 

"She made that look so easy!" Sting, although he believed in Yukino's abilities, gawked at her in awe and jealousy. "It took me forever just to cross from one platform to the next!"

"And you didn't even cross the finish line, either," Rogue smirked as he dodged Sting's punch.

"Sabertooth comes in first! Fairy Tail's Gray Fullbuster comes in second! Lamia Scale in third! Reapers in fourth! This challenge has flown by quicker than the first time we introduced it to the Games!"

"Yeah, yeah, we get it!" Sting growled at the lacrima when it showed old footage of his former self trying not to puke during the challenge, but his expression softened when Yukino's arms wrapped around him from behind.