In a world where magic held such sway, the job opportunities and pay a Mage guild could offer already far outstripped anything the mercenary guilds could match. Proud as he was, Gajeel had naturally wanted to take his talent to a bigger stage. But just as he was still weighing whether to accept Jose's offer, back when Phantom Lord had been one of the top guilds in the kingdom, Kabe had come out of nowhere, not only taking down Jose but bringing about the collapse of the entire guild right along with him. With his path forward suddenly cut off, Gajeel hadn't turned his resentment toward Kabe. If anything, he'd found himself drawn in by the man's overwhelming strength. He'd gone back to his old mercenary guild to keep himself fed while quietly keeping tabs on Kabe's exploits, all the way up until he watched Kabe become a Wizard Saint and defeat Serena the God to claim the top spot in all of Ishgar. Only then did it finally sink in just how far behind his idol he'd fallen.
That was what had driven him to leave the mercenary guild and throw himself into intense solitary training, which eventually led to him burning through his savings and being forced to "temporarily reside" in a scrap iron yard, ending in that whole absurd chain of events, getting caught, arrested, and finally bailed out by Makarov.
Once Gajeel finished laying out his backstory, before Kabe or anyone else could respond, Gray couldn't help but jump in first.
"So you're saying you spent most of the last half a year not working, just training your ass off in secret? Sounds like all that training didn't do you much good, since I still had you pinned down and beat you senseless just fine."
Gajeel's head snapped around, glaring daggers at Gray, his studded face twisted with genuine fury.
"You? Beat me? How the hell do you say something that shameless with a straight face, you cross dressing weirdo? If it hadn't been two of you useless clowns ganging up on one, trash like you would've been eating dirt in about two seconds flat!"
"What did you say?! Natsu was barely even in the fight, he was just dead weight. Or are you saying you couldn't even handle his soft little punches, and now you're just making excuses to cover up your own loss?"
Gray had no intention of admitting he and Natsu had teamed up two on one. As far as he was concerned, if Natsu hadn't been in the way constantly getting underfoot, he'd have taken Gajeel down solo, and things never would have dragged on long enough for Erza to step in and get him beaten up on top of it. Natsu, for his part, felt exactly the same way.
"Idiot droopy eyes, that's exactly what I should be saying! If your stupid ice hadn't been canceling out my fire, this tin can bastard would've been out cold way before that!"
"Who're you calling droopy eyes/tin can?!" Gray and Gajeel snapped back in perfect unison.
Having shouted that out, the two of them exchanged a glance and both let out a cold snort at the exact same moment.
Gajeel: "What are you looking at, trash? You want another round, come get it. I'll knock both of you flat this time, teamwork or not."
Gray: "Who'd team up with that noose-eyed bastard? It's you and me, and I'm making sure you go down admitting I beat you fair and square this time."
Natsu: "Quit talking big, both of you. Gang up all you want, I'm taking you both down at once."
The three of them kept trading insults, none of them willing to back down, all itching to throw hands again. Watching this, Erza's instinct was to rise and put a stop to it, but Kabe caught her arm before she could.
"Don't be too strict about it. It's just a friendly little scuffle."
He raised his voice, addressing the three of them. "Take it outside. The guild can't handle you three going all out in here."
At that, Gajeel spun back around and shot Kabe a confident grin. "Watch closely, big bro Kabe. Watch how I teach these two idiots a lesson."
With that, he strode toward the guild's exit, calling back over his shoulder, "If you're a man, get out here with me."
With him putting it like that, there was no way Natsu and Gray were letting it go, and they immediately stormed after him. The moment the three of them left, the guild hall burst into a frenzy of excitement.
Macao hopped up onto a table, waving his arms and shouting.
"Alright everyone, place your bets! Natsu, Gray, and the new guy Gajeel, three way brawl, who's gonna come out on top? Bets in, hurry up and pick your favorite!!"
The guild members were more than used to this routine by now, whenever a fight broke out among their own. Anyone with a bit of spare change in their pocket never passed up a chance to earn a little extra drinking money, and they all started digging into their pockets to place their bets.
Makarov: "A hundred thousand on Natsu!"
Wakaba: "Seventy thousand on Gray!"
Mirajane: "A hundred and fifty thousand, I'm calling a draw!"
Amid the chorus of "Natsu" and "Gray" being called out, a handful of members went ahead and bet on the new guy, taking a chance on Gajeel instead. Even Kabe couldn't resist joining in, and under Erza's disapproving glare, he threw down a hundred thousand on Gajeel.
"Gajeel, you'd better win! You can't go and lose me money, not to your own idol!"
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