Lucy now knew why Yukino was carrying luggage, it turned out she had been kicked out by Sabertooth.
"Come with me." Lucy stood up and pulled Yukino downstairs.
"Lucy-sama, what are you doing?!" Yukino looked at Lucy in surprise, not knowing what she intended to do.
Soon, Lucy pulled Yukino downstairs. At this time, the members of Fairy Tail were drinking and celebrating, marking their sweep of the top two spots today.
Of course, even if they lost, they would still celebrate. After all, the losers were good fodder for teasing over drinks. For example, today Natsu and Gajeel, who were so confident yesterday, ended up with only 2 points and 1 point respectively in today's competition portion.
"Everyone!"
"What is it, Lucy?"
"Everyone, I want to recommend someone to join the guild."
"Lucy-sama?"
Hearing Lucy's words, Yukino couldn't help but be shocked. She already knew what Lucy was going to say.
"It's her. I want to recommend her to join our guild." Lucy pushed Yukino forward.
"Eh? Isn't this..."
Makarov felt Yukino looked a bit familiar.
"Isn't she that girl from Sabertooth?"
"That's right. She was very impressive in the competition today."
"Why are you letting someone from Sabertooth join Fairy Tail?"
Lucy explained, "She has been expelled from Sabertooth."
Then Lucy told them about Yukino's situation—having to strip naked in front of the guild members and personally erasing her guild emblem.
Upon hearing this, the expressions of everyone in the guild changed.
"Sabertooth actually did that?!"
"Just because she lost a match, they kicked a guild member out?!"
"That's way too much!"
"Does that even count as a guild?!"
Everyone in the guild spoke up for Yukino.
Looking at the Fairy Tail members who were getting worked up because of her, Yukino couldn't stop her tears from flowing.
She had been in Sabertooth for a year, yet when she was expelled, not a single person pleaded for her or spoke up for her.
But these people from Fairy Tail, who had nothing to do with her, were angry over her plight. This was the first time she had felt the warmth of a guild.
"Crying?!"
"Why is she crying?!"
Seeing Yukino's tears streaming down, the guild members panicked a bit.
"S-sorry... I... I've never been so valued before..."
Yukino kept wiping her tears with her hands, but the more she wiped, the more they flowed.
Mirajane came to Yukino's side and handed her a tissue.
"Thank you."
Makarov clenched his fist and said angrily, "I didn't expect Sabertooth to be such a guild. In competitions, there are wins and losses. The child even bet her life for the honor of the guild, yet she was expelled nonetheless. Sabertooth has gone too far."
Then Makarov comforted Yukino, "Child, if you are homeless, then settle down here at Fairy Tail for now. If you want to join Fairy Tail, our doors are always open to you."
"This... I, someone who was expelled from Sabertooth... How could I be qualified to join Fairy Tail?"
If it were the old Fairy Tail, she might have, but the current Fairy Tail was no longer that last-place guild. Having taken first place for two consecutive days and sweeping the top two spots, even Yukino knew that Fairy Tail was now the returning king and definitely the strongest contender for the Grand Magic Games championship.
For her, someone just expelled from Sabertooth, to join Fairy Tail immediately—wouldn't that be belittling Fairy Tail?
Makarov waved his hand. "That kind of thing doesn't matter at all. We won't pay attention to that. Let others think whatever they want."
"That's right! Let them think whatever they want!"
"Sabertooth actually expelled such a cute girl, they really are blind."
"Now our guild has another beautiful female Mage."
Everyone in the guild welcomed Yukino.
Seeing the attitude of the Fairy Tail members, Yukino's tears flowed uncontrollably again.
"Crying again?!"
"Why?!"
"N-no... I just... I just..."
"Those guys who don't treasure their comrades—if I run into them, I'll definitely give them a piece of my mind. No, I want to give them a piece of my mind right now." Natsu said.
He was furious after hearing about her situation. He couldn't believe there was a guild that disregarded its comrades so much. He wanted to go to Sabertooth and cause a major scene.
"Natsu-sama..."
Yukino couldn't help but be moved.
Takeshi held Natsu down. "Alright, it's late at night, don't go looking for trouble. Even if you make a scene, it won't solve the problem. If you can't stand it, then defeat them fair and square in the competition."
Takeshi was also somewhat dissatisfied with Sabertooth's behavior after hearing about Yukino, but in the end, that was another guild's business. He wasn't close to Yukino, so he naturally had no right to stand up for her.
"If they don't treasure their comrades, then we will."
"Come! Drink! Welcome, Yukino!"
Yukino wanted to say something more, but Mirajane had already placed a glass of wine in her hand, saying with a smile, "I know you've just gone through something painful, so just drink. Use joy to wash away the pain. It's a very good way."
—
[Grand Magic Games Day 3 Competition Mode]
[The Grand Magic Games has finally reached the third day of the Middle Stage. Currently sweeping first and second place is Fairy Tail. It must be said, this is a minor miracle.]
Yajima nodded. "Yes, the members of Fairy Tail have all performed very well."
[Today's guest is Lahar-san from the Magic Council.]
Lahar nodded. "Please take care of me."
[Lahar-san, you are the Captain of the Custody Enforcement Unit, right?]
"Yes, I will not tolerate any foul play in the tournament."
In the audience, Mest sat there. He had been forced to come by Lahar. He felt quite a bit of guilt toward Fairy Tail. As a Magic Council Member, he hadn't saved anyone from Fairy Tail, and because of him, a little girl like Wendy had been dragged into it.
Knowing that everyone from Fairy Tail was safe and sound, the guilt in his heart was relieved quite a bit, but he still felt indebted to them.
[The competition event for the third day is Pandemonium! The number of participants is one person per guild! Now, each guild please select your representative!]
Erza said, "I'll go."
"Good luck, Erza." Lucy cheered for Erza.
"Let me go. I want to crush Sabertooth." Natsu clamored to go out.
It was already the third day, and he hadn't had a proper fight yet.