At the end of December, Magnolia welcomed a rare heavy snowfall.
The windows of the Fairy Tail Guild were covered with ice flowers, and the colorful lanterns hanging under the eaves were covered by thick snow, only emitting a hazy glow.
In the hall, the fireplace was burning brightly, the firewood crackled, and warmth filled the air.
"This snow is really heavy," Cana said, leaning by the window, her warm breath condensing into white mist on the glass. "It's almost blocking the door."
"Aye!" Happy pressed his whole face against the window, his nose flattened. "The snow outside is piled higher than Natsu!"
"Yeah... huh?" Natsu grabbed the blue cat's tail. "What do you mean?"
Gray leaned lazily on the sofa, spinning an ice-sculpted wine glass in his hand: "It means you're short."
"What did you say?!" Flames shot up from Natsu's hair. "Want to fight?"
"Come on!" Gray threw off his jacket. "Just in time to warm up!"
Just as the two were about to fight again, Mira walked over with a smile, carrying a plate of freshly baked gingerbread men: "If you're going to fight, go outside. Laki is on vacation today, and I don't want to not be able to find tables and chairs in the hall."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Guild's main door suddenly pushed open, and cold wind, carrying snowflakes, whistled in.
Ezreal walked in, brushing the snow off his cloak, while Yuumi on his head shivered and burrowed into his collar.
"The snow outside is half a meter deep," he said, taking off his snow-covered goggles. "The City Hall is organizing snow removal."
"Ez!" Cana's eyes lit up. "Perfect timing!"
Ezreal raised an eyebrow: "What's up?"
"We were discussing whether to have a snowball fight," Erza said, putting down her hot cocoa. "Do you want to join?"
Ezreal looked around—Natsu and Gray were already flexing their muscles, Marcus was stuffing snowballs into his scarf, and even the usually steady Levy had put on her wool gloves.
"Alright," he said, smiling as he took off his cloak. "But let's agree first, no magic allowed."
"Huh?" Natsu's face immediately fell. "What's the point then?"
"Exactly!" Gray echoed. "How can you call yourself a Mage without using magic?"
Mira put her hands on her hips: "The Master said that last time you used magic for a snowball fight, you blew a hole in the City Hall's roof and had to pay 100,000."
"Th-that was an accident!" Natsu stammered.
"So this time," Erza said, walking over in a thick white down jacket, carrying hot juice, "pure handmade snowballs. Violators will—"
She gave a devilish smile, "—train with me for a week."
Natsu and Gray shivered simultaneously.
On the snowy ground in front of the Guild.
In the snow-covered plaza, the members of Fairy Tail divided into two teams.
"Red Team!" Natsu raised his flaming fist. "Flames never extinguish!"
"Blue Team!" Gray threw off his shirt. "Ice Make is invincible!"
"Hey!" Cana angrily kicked Gray's shin. "I said no magic! And put your clothes on!"
Ezreal stood in the middle as the referee: "The rules are simple—get hit by a snowball three times and you're out. The team with more people remaining wins."
"Wait," Marcus raised his hand. "Are there rules about snowball size?"
Erza narrowed her eyes: "What are you planning?"
"Hehe..." Marcus pulled out a snowball the size of a watermelon from behind his back. "Is this considered a foul?"
Silence fell over the crowd.
"..."
"..."
"Start!" Ezreal decisively blew his whistle.
"Take this!" Natsu rolled sideways, and a snowball accurately hit Marcus's face.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Marcus spat out a mouthful of snow. "Natsu, you just wait!"
Gray took the opportunity to circle to the side, throwing a series of snowballs at Cana.
"Too naive!" Cana dodged with a backflip, grabbing two handfuls of snow. "Double Snowball Slash!"
Yukino hid behind a snowdrift, carefully forming a snowball.
As soon as she peeked out, a snowball whizzed past her cheek.
"Good reflexes, huh~" Ikaruga stood not far away, juggling two snowballs. "But you're still far from good."
Before Yukino could react, two more snowballs flew at her.
She frantically dodged but accidentally stepped on ice, falling with a "thump" into a snowdrift.
"Yukino!" Cana rushed over to help her. "Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine..." Yukino climbed up, blushing, and saw that Ikaruga had already turned to chase Erza.
On the other side, Ezreal was leisurely building a snowman.
"Ez!" Natsu shouted. "What are you doing? Come help!"
"The referee doesn't get involved in your battles." Ezreal didn't even look up, continuing to stick branches into the snowman for arms.
"Look out!" Happy shrieked.
A giant snowball descended from the sky, heading straight for Ezreal's head—it was Marcus's "secret weapon"!
"Die, Your Honor!"
In the nick of time, a wolf's paw made of black smoke extended from Ezreal's shadow, caught the snowball, and then, with accumulated power, threw it back.
"What?" Marcus's eyes widened, and he quickly ducked to avoid it.
Before he could get up, Happy, with a mischievous grin, bounced behind him, holding three snowballs: "Aye!"
"Whap! Whap! Whap!"
Marcus was hit repeatedly, becoming the first one out.
"Nice job!" Natsu's eyes lit up, and he suddenly had a good idea. He shouted, "Happy!"
"Aye!" The blue cat and Natsu exchanged glances, instantly understanding each other. A pair of pure white wings sprouted from the little guy's back. He grabbed Natsu and flew into the sky. "Aerial bombardment, prepare!"
"Foul!" Cana stomped her foot below. "I said no magic!"
"Happy is just a flying cat, it doesn't count!" Natsu argued, while frantically throwing snowballs down.
Erza snorted, pulled out a fishbone-shaped dart from the snow—prepared at some unknown time—and threw it fiercely into the air.
"Whoa!" Happy frantically dodged, and Natsu, losing his balance, tumbled into a snowdrift.
"Natsu is out!" Ezreal announced.
Meanwhile, Gray released cold air from his palms, condensing a snowball in his hand as large as a human head.
"Isn't that cheating?" Levy pushed up her glasses.
"This is called a clever trick for making snowballs!" Gray said righteously.
Yukino looked at the chaotic battlefield and suddenly had an idea.
She quietly summoned the Celestial Spirit Libra: "Libra, can you help me adjust gravity?"
The Celestial Spirit nodded understandingly.
The next second, the snowball Yukino threw suddenly accelerated, hitting Ikaruga's back like a cannonball.
"..." Ikaruga slowly turned around, her gaze dangerous.
"S-sorry!" Yukino turned and ran.
As the game progressed, the rules were gradually forgotten.
Erza and Ikaruga engaged in a sword fight on the snow—using branches as swords;
Gajeel used his iron dragon Sword as a snow shovel, piling up a giant iron dragon statue and running around with it;
Levy, Jet, and Droy built a miniature Guild hall out of snow;
Even Master Makarov couldn't resist joining in, using Giant Magic to build a super-sized snowman—only to be penalized by Erza for "using magic" and sent to make hot cocoa for everyone.
Ezreal leaned under the Guild's porch, watching the chaotic battle.
Yuumi curled up on his shoulder, occasionally flicking her tail to brush snowflakes from his hair.
"Aren't you going to play?" Cana walked over, offering him a cup of hot apple juice.
"Just watching is fun enough." Ezreal took the cup, and in the steam, his smile was exceptionally gentle.
Cana followed his gaze—Natsu and Gray were somehow wrestling again, and ended up knocking over the snow castle Erza had just built.
Ikaruga was being "hunted" by Yukino and Libra working together; Marcus was teaching Happy to build the "biggest snow fish ever"...
"Indeed," Cana chuckled. "They're truly tireless guys."
Dusk settled, and the Guild's lights cast a warm glow on the snow.
Tired from playing, everyone gradually returned to the hall, covered in snowflakes and smiles.
"Next time," Natsu mumbled, gnawing on a hot skewer of grilled meat, "I'm definitely going to build the biggest snow—"
"Shut up and eat." Erza stuffed bread into his mouth.
Yukino sat by the fireplace, sipping hot milk in small sips.
Her hair still had snow particles, and her cheeks were flushed.
"Did you have fun?" Ezreal asked.
"Yes!" Yukino nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling. "I've never had so much fun!"
Outside the window, snow began to fall quietly again.
Inside the Guild, laughter and warmth dispelled the chill of winter.
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