Chapter 338

The Grand Ball Games is the 338th chapter of Hiro Mashima's Fairy Tail.
Following the end of the Fated Day, the Mages who participated in the Grand Magic Games gather at Mercurius for a grand celebration. Following a series of unique interactions, as well as a fight over which guild Yukino will belong to, the Mages are ordered to be silent, as the King is ready to make an appearance. However, much to Makarov's utter dismay (and the Mages' total shock), Natsu comes out instead, wearing the King's crown and royal clothes, and jokingly declares that he is the new King, leaving the rest of his team to laugh at his action, whilst the King repeatedly tries to retrieve his crown.
==Summary==
Several days after the battle of the Fated Day, in a dressing room in the Royal Palace, Yukino, garbed in an illustrious emerald dress, bashfully asks if she truly needs to wear something as gaudy as what she has donned; Lucy and Mirajane state that the dress suits her well, leaving Yukino mildly embarrassed. Meanwhile, Lisanna struggles with her corset and asks Mirajane to help her tie it.
In Crocus, several men talk about the rumor that Dragons were the ones that destroyed the city after they, the civilians evacuated; one man says that the rumor is a lie, whilst the other states that there were witnesses who say that they saw the Dragons. Passing by, a waitress asks if the Mages truly never destroyed the town by themselves. One of the three men, however, immediately changes the topic to the celebration about to take place in the Royal Palace, prompting a nearby drunken man to comment that he is jealous of the Mages. The men then proceed to note that a Mage has never been invited into Mercurius for an event such as this; another man states that they should just let it be and enjoy the festivities.
Inside the castle, Lucy, Mirajane, Lisanna and Yukino arrive and are greeted by Elfman whilst Gray and Gajeel bicker in the background. Erza then proceeds to call them over to her, saying that all the guilds are gathering; all those who partook in the Grand Magic Games interact with one another in their own unique ways: Ichiya gets on a stage and demands the band to play "that song", much to their confusion, Bacchus and Cana begin another drinking contest and are met by the cheers of the rest of Team Quatro Puppy, Kagura arrives in an elegant dress much to her embarrassment, saying that it doesn't suit her; her teammates inform her otherwise. Concurrently, Makarov and the remainder of his old team drink together in happiness, with all four of them expressing joy over the fact of having lived long enough to be invited into the Royal Palace.
While this occurs, Hisui runs towards Lucy, finally recognizing her as Jude Heartfilia's daughter, stating that she was friends with Jude. Hisui then proceeds to apologize for the way she treated Lucy despite how indebted to Jude she was; Lucy states that she's a Mage, so trouble follows her regardless, prompting Hisui to smile. Looking around, Hisui asks where Natsu is, to which Lucy answers that she has no idea.
In their own section of the dining hall, Juvia confronts Gray, explaining that she's become "Juvia version 2.0" (puzzling Gray) and that she's entered a new age. Stating that she loves him, Juvia leaps at Gray, but Gray turns around walks away, crushing Juvia. He then turns around and states that he's entered a new age as well, and that in this new one, he's going to tell people who and what he doesn't like. Juvia then gets up, unfazed by Gray's comment, and tells him that she loves it when he toys with her affection; Gray exclaims that the "new" Juvia is much crazier than the "past" Juvias. Lyon, however, walks by and berates Gray for saying such a thing. With a hollow smile, Lyon states that he finally realized that Juvia's heart doesn't have room in it for him, much to Toby and Yuka's bizarre amazement. Shrugging off the encounter, Gray wonders aloud where Natsu is while Juvia remarks that for him to be away from where the action is is highly uncharacteristic of him.
Elsewhere, Sherria and Wendy stare a piece of jello and remark at its pristine appearance, wondering what it tastes it like; the two quickly devour the treat, exclaiming that it was delicious. Mavis then appears behind Wendy and states, drooling, that it does indeed look delicious, surprising the Sky Dragon Slayer. Wendy then proceeds to dismiss Sherria's worries at her sudden exclamation, as Mavis cannot be seen by non-Fairy Tail members. Still mesmerized by the food, Mavis states that she wishes to try some, but Wendy asks her to show restraint, as she is a ghost, much to Sherria's confusion. Wendy then asks Mavis if she has seen Natsu, to which she replies that she hasn't. Also stating that Natsu's absence is uncharacteristic of him, Sherria feels Mavis' presence behind her, and asks Wendy to help her.
While Laxus is smothered by several adoring fans, much to Fried's chagrin, Bickslow and Evergreen also notice his absence; Levy also dejectedly states that Lucy hasn't seen him, though Jet and Warren comfort her by saying he probably fell asleep somewhere and is fine.
During the banquet, Erza approaches Kagura and asks her how her wounds are, to which she replies that she could ask the same question. Erza then asks Kagura if they can become friends despite all that has happened; Kagura refuses and asks Erza if she would rather become more of an elder sister to her. Surprised, Erza pulls Kagura in for a hug, commenting that she's adorable, despite her blushingly saying that what she said was a joke, all as her teammates remark on her surprising cuteness. Noticing that Millianna is glum, Erza asks her how long she plans on continuing to sport such a sour expression. When she gets no reply, Erza states that she now has no choice and removes Happy from her cleavage; the Exceed spits out Millianna's own catchphrase in an effort to cheer her up. This, however, only works for a moment, prompting Erza to reveal both Carla and Panther Lily as well, completely destroying Millianna's bad mood, much to Carla and Panther Lily's annoyance at being treated as stuffed animals. As Millianna plays with his face, Happy meets Erza's question as to where Natsu is with no answer, causing her, as well, to wonder where the Fire Dragon Slayer could have gone.
Sting and Lector appear in front of Gajeel bearing wine and glasses, asking for Natsu; Gajeel replies that Natsu isn't with him. Dejected, Sting replies that he was finally planning on ending the bad blood between themselves. Completely ignoring Sting, Gajeel talks to Rogue, calling him "Ryos", much to his displeasure. The Iron Dragon Slayer then asks his former friend about his future counterpart, to which Rogue replies that he doesn't understand the situation either, but that he won't grow up to become him; Frosch agrees with Rogue, causing Gajeel to smirk with satisfaction. Sting then puts his hand on Gajeel's shoulder and asks him for a drink, stating that he'll gladly settle for him instead, prompting Gajeel to point out his sudden urge to hurt Sting. Worried, Lector asks Gajeel to be friends with Sting despite his unruly attitude; watching from afar, Orga and Rufus note that Sting seems to have lightened up considerably, with Rufus in particular stating that the Sting he's observing is absent from his memory.
Clinking their glasses together, toasting to Sabertooth and Fairy Tail's friendship, the three Dragon Slayers then notice that Yukino has found her way towards them, much to Frosch's delight. Apologizing for her "intrusion", Yukino attempts to walk away, but Sting stops her and apologizes for not realizing that she was at the event as the well, informing her that both Jiemma and Minerva have disappeared and that he plans on rebuilding Sabertooth from the ground up. Admitting that Sabertooth hasn't been kind to Yukino, Sting declares that they're going to become a guild that treasures their comrades and asks Yukino to rejoin Sabertooth. At that moment, however, an extremely drunk Kagura walks in on their conversation and declares that as Yukino's life belongs to her, she will be joining Mermaid Heel, greatly shocking Team Sabertooth, as well as Yukino. As she and Sting fight over Yukino, Fairy Tail joins the argument as well, declaring that is Yukino is to truly "go with the flow", then she must join them; Blue Pegasus also expresses their desire to have the Celestial Spirit Mage join their ranks. Taking the bait, Lyon states that Lamia Scale will enter the contest for Yukino as well; Toby shouts for Yukino to join them despite Yuka's protests, prompting Jura to remark that this fiasco isn't going to end well. Even Quatro Cerberus expresses their desire to have Yukino join them, with Bacchus in particular stating that Yukino can be the lone flower in their guild of men. Despite Yukino's protests, even the Guild Masters express their want of the young woman; Sherria describes the situation as one of "love." The guilds then begin to brawl, with the fate of the young Mage's career seemingly in their hands.
As this goes on, Yukino, on the ground, begins to cry. Mirajane tries to console her, telling her not to cry, but Yukino smiles regardless, stating that even if what they're saying turns out to be a lie, she's still the happiest she's ever been. Happy for Yukino, Mirajane states that she now has many places for herself to call home, however, Aracios demands that the Mages cease their fight at once, as the King is coming to greet them all as thanks for their help in averting the great disaster that the Rogue Cheney of the future was about to beset upon the country.
In lieu of this, everyone silences themselves, however, Natsu himself arrives on the balcony, having stolen the King's crown, and raucously declares that he is the new King, much to everyone's utter befuddlement. Livid, Arcadios asks the Garou Knights to deal with Natsu's stupidity, but they immediately decline, declaring that Arcadios is asking the impossible. With Makarov utterly mortified at Natsu's lack of respect, Natsu continues to bring embarrassment to his Guild Master by shouting that as Fairy Tail has won the tournament, he's the King and everyone is his subordinate, all while ignoring the King's demand to give him his crown back. Smiling, the rest of Natsu's team breathes heavily as Lucy remarks that Natsu has always had a penchant for crossing the line.
==Characters in Order of Appearance==
==Battles & Events==
*The Great Banquet (started & concluded)
==Magic, Spells, and Abilities used==
===Magic used===
*
**
***Summoned the Canis Minor, Plue
*
===Spells used===
*None
===Abilities used===
*None
===Items used===
*Celestial Spirit Gate Keys
**Gate of the Canis Minor Key
==Navigation==