My Scarlet Rose (A Jerza Fanfic)

Chapter 2 - A Stranger In The Shadows

Erza and Jellal met again, months later, at the Grand Magic Games. Crime Sorcière had informed Fairy Tail of a person with magic power similar to Zeref and asked them to be on the look out for anything suspicious. Since the Independent Guild was made of fugitives, they could not go near the arena. Their trust was with Fairy Tail.

Crime Sorcière watched the Games from afar. Being their allies, the three mages were upset to see Fairy Tail struggling. Jellal offered to help by posing as Mystogan since the two men were essentially the same person. Hurrying through the arena, "Mystogan" was able to participate. In fact, a match was even set up for him. Just in time, Jellal thought. It was the last match for the first day, Fairy Tail in last place. Jellal felt confident. He had no doubt in his mind that he would succeed in gaining Fairy Tail some points. Once his name was called, he proceeded to the field.

The Heavenly Body Mage ignored the disapproved sounds of the crowd. A serious of boos and get lost was heard from several directions, but he didn't care. He was here for Fairy Tail. He was here for Erza. True, Crime Sorcière had been investigating the mysterious magical power over the years, but since he found out that the Tenrou team had been found, he had been given a bonus in his mission. Erza. The woman he loved so dearly. This time Erza was there, watching him. He wouldn't embarrass himself in front of her.

All that confidence that Jellal had built seem to diminish as his eyes gazed upon his opponent. It wasn't that he didn't stand a chance against the man, it would just be harder for him to quickly end the fight. Jura Neekis or Iron Rock Jura, whatever you want to call him. He was Jellal's opponent. They were both powerful mages and with Jura being a current Wizard Saint, Jellal's chances of winning were slipping through his fingers. Since he was currently Mystogan, Jellal would have to use Mystogan's magic so he wouldn't get caught. Beating someone with borrowed magic is quite difficult.

Despite his determination to win, Jellal still lost and he was utterly ashamed. He had a good start, copying Mystogan's magic, but Jura was too strong to simply beat with someone else's magic. Not wanting to look like a fool because he knew Erza was watching, Jellal began to cast Sema, one of his most powerful spells. Ultear and Meredy, who were watching from outside the arena, panicked because Jellal was about to blow his cover by using his own magic. The Arc of Time Mage devised a plan using Meredy's Sensory Link Magic which, unfortunately, caused Jellal to lose the match.

He spent the rest of the evening secretly feeling ashamed, trying to hide it in front of others. He did not regret what he did, but he did regret looking foolish in front of his beloved. That will never happen again. As the sun set, he walked down the streets of Crocus alone. His attention was focused on the ground, or rather, his feet. He just stared at them as he walked, one foot in front of the other. He was so distracted that he didn't see the person walking towards him. Their shoulders slammed into one another, sending the two in opposite directions.

Jellal quickly swung around to see who he had hit. The person was surprisedly a woman. She had a slender figure and was around the blue haired man's age. She wore a pink skirt, that went to her mid thigh, with a black belt, a white tank top, and black sandals. She stared up at the man, her plump pink lips slightly parted. She stood there, her big hazel eyes widened as if she had seen Jellal before and her long brown hair swayed in the wind, her bang covering her right eye.

"My apologies, Miss." Jellal spoke quickly and walked away to avoid an awkward moment. The woman stood there, watching him walk away for a moment before coming to her senses.

"Have you found anything?" Jellal asked. He had met up with Erza as she was walking back to her inn.

"Not yet. You?"

"No. Nothing so far."

"Your match today was . . . interesting." Erza gave a soft smile that she only gave to Jellal. He rolled his eyes and groaned at the embarrassing memory that only happened hours ago.

"Don't remind me."

"Don't feel bad about the loss. You did it for us. For Fairy Tail. You tried and that's all we can ask for."

"You always know just what to say."

Jellal smiled as he locked eyes with Erza. It was true, she did always know what to say. He found that out during the fight with the Oración Seis seven years ago. From a distance, the woman from earlier watched Jellal and Erza. Yes, she followed him but she didn't hang around long. She had already saw what she needed to see.