Control

Ⅱ

"Sabertooth?" Rin heard Natsu ask from beside her.

"Sabertooth, as in the tigers with the saber-like canine teeth," Romeo explained. She gripped the edge of the bar with white knuckles from her seat on a stool. Not once did Rin rip her gaze off of the glass of water on the counter. "They've surpassed Pegasus and Lamia and are currently the strongest Wizards' guild in Fiore."

"Never heard of 'em."

"They hadn't made much of a splash seven years ago."

"Then they've suddenly risen to prominence these past seven years, huh?" Gray asked.

"What did it was changing their guild master and the induction of five extremely powerful wizards into their ranks-"

"Why does it matter?" Rin questioned them. "They're strong. But now, we are, too."

"Why do you sound so eager?"

"Because... their master is a piece of shit. And so are their five strongest members. I wanna rip them off their precious throne," she growled, her bangs shading her violet irises.

"Incidentally, how is our guild ranked?" the innocent Wendy asked. Rin stood from her seat and proceeded out of the guild without a word.

"Rin! Wait for me!" Leese called after her. They walked into the heart of Magnolia where their decent apartment was. Rin immediately headed for the bathroom. She started the hot water and stripped off her tight, black clothing and whipped her hair out of its ponytail.

She sat in the steaming water and stared at the wall across from her.

"I will participate in the Games this year, and I swear, I will crush Sabertooth."

竜

It was already midday and Rin was just now barely heading to the guild. Leese had been begging her to get up and she finally gave in to the pawing and slight scratching on her back. They walked to the outskirts of Magnolia and headed for the small barn where their family awaited.

"Grand Magic Games?" A female voice exclaimed.

"Right now, the number one guild in Fiore is said to be Sabertooth, right?"

"That's right! If we beat Sabertooth and win the Games, we'll become Fiore's number one guild!" Rin opened the barn doors and leaned against the frame without alerting anyone of her presence.

"But, I don't know if you guys are strong enough to pull that off right now," Master said.

"That's right! Exactly!"

"If we win, the guild gets thirty million jewel as a reward," Romeo bribed. There were stars in Master's eyes as he exclaimed that we were participating.

"It's impossible! Between Pegasus and Lamia..." Rin rolled her eyes at their partner guilds.

They're not that great.

"Sabertooth isn't our only enemy!"

"Incidentally, in past festivals, we were always in last place."

"Don't be proud of that," Elfman yelled.

"We'll take that crummy record and destroy it!"

"Sabertooth, huh?" Natsu began. He propped himself on a table and turned in Rin's direction. "I'm fired up- Oh Rin! How were we last place with you in the guild?" She looked down to the floorboards.

"I've never participated," she answered simply. "The tournament is in three months. There's plenty of time for Team Tenrou to train."

"By then, we'll be lean and mean, and Fairy Tail will become Fiore's number one guild again!" There were members adding on to the excitement but Rin kept quiet.