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A week after the girls sleepover, the master announced who would be participating in the S - Class trials. She was more than thrilled when she heard Cana, Natsu, Gray and Juvia all were chosen.
Now, the morning after the announcement, Maki sat in the guild hall with Erza. "So, are you excited?" Erza asked. "I may not be participating, but there's a great roster this year and it's gonna be really interesting. I honestly can't say who's gonna get S- Class this year." Maki admitted.
"However, I think Cana deserves it most and can very easily get it if she just had more faith in herself." Maki continued.
As if on cue, Cana came strolling into the hall seeming a bit happier than the day earlier. "I'll be back soon Erza, I wanna chat with Cana and check in on her." Erza nodded, "It's an empath's duty to make sure everyone is happy, no?" She asked smiling. Maki blushed lightly at this, "I guess you can say that..." she said quietly while making her way over to Cana.
"Hey Cana!" She exclaimed. "Hey short stuff. How's it going?" The older girl asked. "I'm ok but, what about you?"
"I'm much better, thanks." Cana smiled. "Me and Luce talked things out, and she is gonna be my partner and help me this year."
"Lucy's a great friend. I'm happy you two are partnered up." Maki said grinning widely.
"Now that that's covered, I also came over here to ask if you wanted extra help training, I'd be more than happy to help you. I really want you to win this." Maki whispered.
"I think I'd like that, thanks Mini." Maki sighed. She never loved that nickname but it was better than 'Mini Maki' which is what it originally evolved from.
"Ok, we'll start this afternoon." Maki said with a determined face.
"Sounds good."
~~
"Hope you're ready, cause I'm not holding back!" Maki called out from across the training area.
"Bring it short stuff!"
"Warp Magic: Construct!"
A large hand made of dark energy reached out to grab Cana, who jumped out of the way just in time.
"Take this, Card Magic: Clone!"
All of a sudden there were 7 other Cana's. Thanks to her magic though, Maki knew which was the real one since she was able to feel her presence.
"I'm offended you tried using a trick like that on me, Ground Warp!"
The ground beneath Cana began to become mush and made her slowly sink in.
"Woah! You've made the attack stronger. Card Magic: Light Card!"
A blinding light shines and messed up Maki's vision for a solid few seconds, all the time Cana needed to launch herself over Maki's head and deliver a chop to the back of her neck. Making her fall onto the ground unconscious.
"Thanks for the fight Maki, this really helped me." Cana said smiling at the girl on the ground. "Ugh this means I need to carry you back to the hall... doesn't it."
~~
Before she knew it, a week passed and the day before the exam arrived, and her and Cana just finished their last training session.
"Whew. I have to say Maki, you've been a real life saver for the exam. For someone your age, you're pretty close in power to me." Cana grinned.
"Thanks... I've been practicing a lot." Maki smiled back.
The two made their way back to the guild hall and found the mood to be... calm? Everyone had tired themselves out training so much, that it was relatively quiet (for a fairytail guildhall, that is).
Taking a seat next to Wendy, Maki stretched her arms over her head. "Geez, I'm so tired and I'm not even participating in the exams!"
Wendy giggled at her friend. "Yeah, I'm really tired too. And super nervous, I've never really talked to this Mest guy up until a few days ago..." Wendy trailed off.
"Just be careful Wendy, for some reason I can't help but feel something... off about him. Plus he seems like a real creep. So watch out." Maki warned.
"I will, don't worry." She smiled.
As it got later, Wendy and Carla decided to go home early so she can get a good night sleep for the big day, leaving Maki at their table alone.
"Is this seat taken?"
Looking up Maki found Erza smiling down to her. "Nope. Come sit." Maki patted the seat.
"Are you upset that you're not coming?" Erza questioned.
"No, not really. I'm not ready for that stuff yet. I need to get stronger first, and if I were someone's partner, I wouldn't wanna hold them back." Maki sighed.
"You have a very strong and unique magic, with few people to help guide you with it. There's still much for you to learn, little fairy." Erza reassured her.
Again with the nicknames. Maki hadn't heard that one in a while, not since she was a little kid.
"Y'know, Wendy and Carla went home early to get ready for the big day tomorrow, and since they have to get up early. It's not a bad idea, since I wanna get up early to say bye to all you." Maki thought out loud.
"Hm. Not a bad idea. I may just do the same thing as you. Would you care for me to walk you home?" Erza offered.
"Sure!"
The two said their goodbyes to everyone in the hall and made their way to Maki's home.
"Ok here we are. I wonder if Guildarts is home..." Lifting up her hand to knock on the door, it flew open before she could even touch it.
"Hey Maki!" Guildarts smiled.
"Well, I'll be off now. See you two tomorrow." Erza waved back at them while walking away. "Bye Erza! Thank you for walking her home!" Guilarts called back waving as well.
Closing the door, he turned around to the brunette. "So, you're back a bit earlier than usual." He stated.
"Yeah, I wanted to get a good nights sleep since I'm so tired and I wanna get up early to say bye to all of you tomorrow." Maki explained.
"Aw so sweet. Alright go get settled in, I'll be down here." Maki nodded at the man and ran upstairs.
She returned back down a few moments later in her pajamas.
Plopping down on the couch next to Guilarts, she questions, "So... who do you think has it this year?"
"Mhmmm. I think Natsu has a great chance." He smiled. "Is that slightly biased?" She asked.
"Maybe..." he chuckled.
"You sure you're gonna be ok on your own?" He asked.
"Please, I spent 3 years without seeing you... what's 2 weeks?" She scoffed.
"Good point I guess." He said, "So are you off to bed now?"
"Mhm. I just wanna stay here for a bit longer." She says, curling up into his side and enjoying his warmth. Before she knew it, she had dozed off on Guilarts shoulders.
After noticing this, he scooped up the girl and carried her into her bed. "G'night little bean. See you tomorrow." He whispered, tucking her underneath the covers before closing her door.
"Goodnight, Guilarts." She mumbled in her sleep.
_______________________________ Tenrou Island, here we come.
