Black Rain
This…wasn't supposed to happen. Juvia was frozen in place, shock and horror coursing through her veins. From her spot on the roof she could see Laxus Dreyar laughing as he stood over the broken body of Gajeel. She could see red pooling around her friend and she dove off the roof, ignoring her enemy's panicked cry as she reformed on the ground.
"Gajeel!" she wailed, cradling his head in her lap. Behind her she could hear some of the Fairy Tail members arguing but she chose to ignore them.
"Juvie," he rasped, his pained eyes catching hers. "I'm so sorry," his voice trailed off into a fit of coughing, blood splattering on his chin.
"It's okay," Juvia attempted to soothe him. Suddenly his eyes widened and before she could ask what was wrong a sword went through her chest, piercing his heart. She sat there for a moment in stunned disbelief then something deep within her snapped and she screamed.
It was a primal sound, one that started at the back of her throat and clawed its way out of her mouth. Not even the screams of the Fairy Tailers as they struggled for breath in her water locks or were ripped in half by her water slicers could drown it out. The feel of lightning didn't even faze her though she knew her body would register the pain later.
A hand settled on her shoulder and when her head whipped around she found herself face-to-face with Makarov, Fairy Tail's Master. "There's been enough death for one day, don't you think? We both have dead to bury; we can continue this fight another day."
As much as she wanted to slaughter them all Juvia forced herself to nod, enveloping Gajeel and herself in a protective bubble of water. She would kill the rest of them once Gajeel had been put to rest.
On one of their jobs they had stumbled across a meadow hidden deep within the forest. They had sat next to the clear stream and discussed the small cabin they wanted build and the garden Juvia had wanted to plant. She was going to grow fruits and vegetables and even a few flowers around the cabin. Gajeel had casually mentioned raising some chickens and rabbits so they could have some meat. They had spent the day basking in the warmth of each other, reluctantly leaving only when the moon had risen.
It was to this place that Juvia returned. She buried Gajeel next to the stream in the exact spot they had sat. Juvia then kept vigil over the grave for a solid week, neither eating nor sleeping.
It was on the eighth day that a man emerged from the woods. Magic power practically oozed off of him and despite the staff he carried and the eye patch he wore Juvia knew better than to dismiss him as unimportant. "My name is Master Hades and you must be Juvia of the Rain."
"What do you want?" Juvia spoke in a monotone, returning her gaze to the simple cross she had made.
"I came to pay my condolences," Master Hades came to stand by her side. It was silent for a moment then he spoke again. "The other reason I came was because I could use a person of your…talents in my guild."
"I'm not interested," Juvia rearranged the flowers on Gajeel's grave.
"Our goal," Master Hades continued speaking, "is to destroy Fairy Tail."
Juvia froze. "Fairy Tail?" her voice was little more than a whisper. The picture of Gajeel's broken body popped back into her mind, followed by their emblem. Slowly she stood up, the rain coming down even harder. "I will never forgive them for what they did."
"One of my comrades lost her mother because of a Fairy Tail wizard so we can certainly understand how you feel."
Juvia snorted. "I highly doubt that."
Master Hades ignored her comment and continued speaking. "After we defeat Fairy Tail we will then travel to the Grand Magic World where we will then reshape reality to our will."
Hope flared in Juvia's chest as she looked at the elder wizard. "Reshape reality?"
"You can bring him back," he promised. "He'll be the same as he was before."
"I'll help you," she placed her umbrella on the grave, offering a silent apology to her friend.
"Let's go then," Master Hades took Juvia's hand and led her out of the clearing.
All things considered Grimoire Hearts wasn't so bad. The members seemed content to ignore Juvia and, truthfully, she preferred it that way. She had never been a social child, her only friends the little rain dolls until she ran away and met Gajeel so the lack of human interaction didn't bother her.
Meredy was the only one who even made an attempt to be friendly and that was only if Ultear was either gone or ignoring her. The two girls had quite a few things in common and under other circumstances Juvia could easily see them becoming friends. For now, however, they were merely acquaintances.
Juvia was even gloomier than before-having switched out her blue ensemble for a long-sleeved black, lacy dress that hid bloodstains better. She had abandoned her rain dolls and she had left her umbrella with Gajeel-the pink umbrella that he had mocked her for and the one that he had retrieved from some bullies for her, wiping the tears from her cheeks. They had split a stolen chocolate bar that night as they huddled under the umbrella in an attempt to stay dry.
Totomaru had sought her out, using his contacts in the underworld to find her. Juvia was soaked with blood after destroying an entire regiment of Rune Knights and simply gazed at him in boredom. He didn't stay long, sadness covering his face as he gave her his condolences then left to continue running from Fairy Tail, the guild having sworn vengeance on them all after the massacre.
Juvia gave no more thought to her former comrades once Master Hades informed her that they were finally going to destroy Fairy Tail. Tenrou Island was surprisingly beautiful and she fleetingly thought that Gajeel would have liked it before pushing it out of her mind. She was mildly disappointed that it had been so easy to take down Fairy Tail but it was only to be expected.
Several people had been killed during Phantom Lord's attack, including two members of the Thunder Legion and Team Shadowgear. Titania and the Celestial Wizard had been lost in the Tower of Heaven incident along with many others. It had taken no time at all before Grimoire Hearts defeated the once proud guild, claiming its sacred land as their own.
Zeref was not very pleased when he discovered what they had done in his name. He wasted no time in dispatching Master Hades then turned his attention to the rest of them. "For your part in this atrocity I shall grant your desires," he grinned darkly then vanished.
Juvia was wondering what he meant by that when she suddenly found herself in a dark forest. Screams echoed through the trees and Juvia wished that Gajeel was there as he would keep her safe. As if in response to what she was thinking a dark figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
"Gajeel?" Juvia gasped. "Is that really you?"
There was no answer as he continued walking towards her, the dying moonlight revealing that was indeed her friend. The truly disturbing thing, however, was the fact that he looked the way he had at the time of his death, albeit with a little more decomposition. Juvia felt a chill go down her spine as the reality of what she had done began to sink in.
"I'm so sorry, Gajeel," she whispered. "I hope that one day you can forgive me."
Gajeel didn't answer as he stopped in front of her. The light glinted off of the knife in his right hand, mere seconds before it was plunged into her heart.
When Juvia woke up the first thing she became aware of was a gentle warmth shining down on her. Gajeel had tried to explain sunlight to her several times but ultimately failed. If this was what it felt like then she could completely understand his obsession with it.
After a few more moments Juvia rose to her feet, taking notice of her surroundings. She was back in the meadow but it looked very different; there was a cozy little cabin surrounded by pretty flowers. There was no grave as Gajeel was busy weeding the small vegetable garden.
Juvia took a hesitant step forward then another until she was practically running; only coming to a stop when she reached the garden. "Gajeel," she felt as though her face would split in half her smile was so big.
"Been waitin' on ya," Gajeel grunted, wiping his dirty hands on his pants before giving her a hug.
"I'm sorry it took so long," Juvia apologized. She could feel another apology on the tip of her tongue but was unsure of what it was for. The memories of before were hazy and so she put them out of her mind.
"It's okay," Gajeel shrugged as he released her. "Dinner's ready if you're hungry."
"Starving," she smiled, clutching at his hand much like she had when they were little.
Gajeel grinned at her before heading for the cabin. "After that we've got a job if you're interested."
"As long as we're together I don't care what we do," Juvia said fervently.
"Awesome."
A/N: This story was inspired by the line where Gajeel said that if Laxus had been there at the battle of Phantom Lord he would be dead. That plus Future Lucy's happy ending equaled this story.
Before everyone starts fussing about it-yes Juvia's body is made of water so the sword used to kill Gajeel easily passed through her. However, when she is killed it's because Zeref used a zombie Gajeel to do it so Zeref's magic was what allowed her to die.