A/N: Hi guys! Here it is: My Gruvia AU! Enjoy ^^
Chapter 1: The cursed village
She was sitting in front of the statue of the beloved goddess of the sun Amaterasu, praying to her, begging her to bring back the warmth of the hot days that she, unfortunately, had never felt its heat on her pale skin before. She was asking her to melt with the rays of the sun, the snow that has been falling on their village for now almost ten years.
After finishing her daily prayer, the young shrine maiden, Juvia, stood on her feet, bowed to the statue of the goddess one last time and went outside the inner temple.
As usual, it was extremely cold outside. This afternoon however, it wasn't snowing, but she knew it was surely going to today, it always does….
"It always does" Said the young woman to herself. " It will never stop. The forest, the ground and our houses, they are always covered with a white coat, but this coat isn't warm. When will we be able to see the clear sky, to feel the warmth of the hot days? When? "
Juvia was dragged back to reality when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned her head to see who it was: A beautiful young blonde who was offering her a warm smile.
"What's wrong, Juvia?" The blonde asked.
"Lucy-San!" Said the blunette, surprised. Her expression changed to a rather sad one which worried Lucy a lot.
"Juvia? Called the young woman. What's the problem?"
But Juvia didn't answer even if she wanted to; it seemed like words were caught in her throat.
Even though the young woman was wondering what was bothering her friend, she did, however, have an idea about it, and when the blunette started staring at the grey sky, she was now sure what was hurting her.
"You know Juvia…I miss the sun too. She confessed to her friend. She paused to look at Juvia's face who was still gazing deeply at the sky with an absent look in her blue eyes. Even though she felt her heart aching, Lucy continued." But I think we should keep hope that one day, maybe, Amaterasu-Sama will hear our prayers and fill our village with warmth."
"But still…" Juvia was going to say something, but then she was stopped when the blonde wrapped her arms around her.
"Lucy-San…."
"Don't worry Juvia. Everything will be just fine"
Juvia could feel her friend's warmth. Lucy was a good friend, always there to support her and cheer her up. When she joined the shrine maidens, Juvia felt a bit insecure because she believed the blonde was way better than her in many areas. However, as time passed by, Juvia got to know her better and figured that Lucy was as clumsy as her. The young women were almost like sisters now.
When Lucy let go of her, Juvia smiled to her friend who was obviously glad to see it. She always managed to put a smile on Juvia's face.
"Anyway, the ceremony is in two months" Informed Lucy.
"Oh yes, Juvia knows."Juvia said.
The ceremony, Shikinen Sengu, is held every 20 years to honor was determined to please the sun goddess. Hopefully, her prayers would finally reach the divinity and everyone will finally be able to admire the beautiful sky."Juvia will do her best to please our beloved goddess."Said the girl in a determined tone.
"I'm glad to hear that, Juvia" Said a voice from the inside of the shrine.
A young woman with long scarlet hair that was in a ponytail suddenly came out the temple holding a broom stick. She was quite tall and had a serious expression.
"Erza-San! Good afternoon." She greeted her superior. Erza was the chief priestess of the shrine. She has always been very authoritarian and likes everything to be in order, for a ceremony like this one; she was the best chief priestess you could ever ask for.
"Juvia, I didn't see you all day." The woman said. She approached the girls still holding her broom." You were praying to Amaterasu-sama all day, right?"
"Yes, Juvia spent the whole day asking Amaterasu-sama to bring the sun back."
Erza, who was apparently moved by this, hugged the younger woman tightly in her arms, letting her broom fall on the snow, smothering her.
"I'm so proud of you" She told her with tears in her eyes, holding her even tighter.
"Erza-San…"Called Juvia in a choked voice.
Erza may not seem like it at first sight, but she very sensitive and very protective to the other priestesses.
She finally let go of the young woman who was coughing while the older woman was wiping her tears.
"You should take example of Juvia, Lucy" Suggested the red-headed woman.
"But, I always pray!" Cried Lucy, angrily.
"It was just a joke."Replied Erza with a fixed expression, picking up her broom from the ground.
"What a weird sense of humor you have, Erza."Mumbled the blonde.
Juvia chuckled."They are such wonderful friends "She told herself "Juvia wants to always be with them, Juvia wants us to see the sky with them...But…When?"
Once again, the shrine maiden drowned in a deep-sea of thoughts, but she was quickly got back to the surface by her friends.
"Juvia? Is something wrong?" Asked Erza the blunette showing a bit of concern.
The confused girl let out an 'euh ?'.She had to take a minute to analyze the situation before smiling widely to her friends who looked worried.
"Don't worry, Juvia's fine "She tried to reassure her friends, but they were defiantly not convinced: Everyone in this village knew that Juvia has never been completely fine. In other words, she has never been truly happy, even if she had many true and nice friends. Sometimes she was the optimistic one when the others weren't and sometimes, she could lose all hope. Who could blame her? This village was sad and depressive. All the villagers are poor and each year somebody committed suicide. How can someone find happiness in a place like this? Some people like Lucy and Erza for example were trying their best to not lose hope, but it was difficult to hold the rope of hope for too long before falling endlessly in depression.
This village was cursed.
The chief priestess, despite, being worried about her friend had to start giving them tasks. The ceremony is in four weeks after all, they had no time to waste anymore.
"Anyway, let's get down to business". Said Erza ,with a serious expression serious."We must start the preparations of the ceremony, clean the entire shrine, decorate it, and also prepare the dance...Oh! We must command a lot of food"
In this ceremony, the inner temple dedicated to the sun goddess was destroyed in order to get rebuild, but before that, they had to offer the goddess delicious food and dance to her. The dance and the decorations weren't a problem at all. However, the food was a huge problem: Plants couldn't grow because of the cold weather and most of the thin, few animals, lived in the forest which was hunted by the ghosts of the people who suicide in it, so nobody went there to hunt. Some others did try but never came back, so some brave men had to walk for three weeks and half in to the village nearby to get some food, even though the villagers were quiet greedy, but at least some were kind enough to hand some of their goods.
"It's not a problem "Said Lucy."Natsu volunteered to go bring some food!"
Natsu was Lucy's fiancé and a quite talented samurai. The pink haired man was pretty strong, perfect for missions like these. Lucy and Natsu knew each other for two years and after they fell in love, they decided to get marry. Even though everyone supported their love, they were still wondering how they'll going to raise a family in such a place, but the optimist Natsu always told that they'll mange.
"I think Gajeel-kun is going to bring food too "Said Juvia putting a finger on her cheek.
"Well, that settles it". Said Erza with a satisfied look."Lucy, you'll clean the temple with me".
Lucy nodded, Erza continued:"I sent Wendy to buy some decoration."
Wendy was a shrine priestess as well. The youngest and the most delicate one.
"But, is Wendy going to be able to bring the decoration? I mean, isn't a bit heavy?" Asked Lucy concerned for the little girl.
"Don't worry "Said the red haired woman in a reassuring tone."It's not a lot, just enough, plus Chelia is helping her so there's nothing to be concerned about."
Lucy let out an" Oh" .Erza continued:"And you Juvia, why don't you go to the village and buy some wine, we'll need some for the ceremony and why not buy something to make dinner."
"Sure!"Said Juvia smiling "Juvia needed to see Gajeel-kun before he leaves anyway."
"Good." Said the chief priestess.
"Be careful not to fall down."Said Lucy in a teasing way, referring to the onetime Juvia fell on the grown while running to the town square. She slowly transformed, while falling down the hill, into a giant snowball. It was a very funny scene.
"It only happened once!" Cried Juvia, red from embarrassment.
Juvia left the shrine while Lucy was waving goodbye and Erza asking her bring a strawberry cake.
On her way, she met Wendy and Chelia. The girls were holding each one in her hands a box full of decoration for the ceremony. She offered the young girls, but they said that they could handle it by themselves .Juvia couldn't help but feel both sad and happy for the little girls: They seemed to be living happily and seeking for a better future hoping they'll eventually get it one day, but in a place like this, "Hope" may leave them at any moment.
"Gajeel-kun didn't leave the village yet?"Juvia asked.
"I think not."Answered Wendy, not sure whether the samurai was still in the village or not, after all they headed to the decoration shop without going anywhere else. However, the girls saw Natsu leaving the village claiming he'll arrive to the other village before Gajeel. Knowing the young man, he probably advanced Gajeel.
"Well, Juvia guesses she'll go pay Gajeel-kun a visit and see if his there." Said the young woman, concerned. She hoped her friend was still here, because the gift she desperately wanted to give him was really important.
Juvia thanked the girls and left them. After 10 minutes of walking, she finally arrived down square. As usual many people were outside chatting since the majority had nothing better to do.
When she arrived in front of a pit-dwelling house which was her friend's, the shrine maiden started calling him:
"Gajeel-kun! Are you there?"
She was standing there with no answer, which made her a bit more worried.
"Juvia wants to see you before you leave the village!"
The young woman was still standing in front the house covered with snow with no respond.
Panicking, she ran towards the door and started knocking it or, technically breaking the door.
"GAJEEL-KUN! WHERE ARE YOU?! JUVIA NEEDS YOU! JUVIA…."
"Don't yell, Ameonna!"Ordered a rough voice behind her." You exploded everyone's ears."
Juvia recognized the voice; she turned her head to verify if it was really who she believed it was.
"Gajeel-kun!" She said in a relived tone.
She ran towards the young man then wrapped her arms around him who didn't fully accept her embrace.
"Jeez, Ameonna...You almost broke my door too…"Said Gajeel to the maiden looking annoyed, but she didn't pay attention and kept hugging him.
When Juvia finally let go of him, Gajeel took a deep breath. She may not look like it, but Juvia is pretty strong physically and is not someone you should push to the limits.
"Damn it!" The samurai cursed "Now you're trying to kill me…"
"Gajeel-Kun" Started the blunette" Juvia is really glad you didn't leave yet. She wanted to see you, and…"
"And?" Asked Gajeel, almost sounding curious.
Juvia smiled widely to her friend and picked out of her pocket an Omamori.
"It will protect you from evil spirits and give you success!" She said then, Juvia took his hand and gave him the lucky charm.
"This way, Juvia will be sure Gajeel-kun is safe!"Declared the young woman, cheerfully.
The young man inspected his gift: It was navy blue and had a golden text on it.
He leisurely put it in his pocket and looked at his friend who was smiling brightly "pft, like I need this thing." He said in a harsh tone. Juvia smiled happily, she knew it was his way of thanking her.
"Gajeel-Kun,you did take the necessary with you, right ?"Questioned him the girl.
Before he could even answer, she pulled his bag from him and started looking in it.
"Hey!" He yelled, but Juvia ignored him and kept searching in his bag to make sure he took the necessary. Juvia knew he was a grown man who could take care of himself; however Gajeel could sometimes forget to take with him what he needs. The last time he went outside the village is a good example: He didn't take with him spare cloths so he had to wear the same outfit for three weeks.
Surprisingly, this time he's back was full of spare cloths that were all ,since when did Gajeel cared to fold his cloths ?
"When Juvia thinks about it, it's heavier than usual." She commented to herself on the bag.
Well, maybe he became a bit tidier? Juvia didn't think too much of and kept looking in the bag. Then, Juvia found something she couldn't ignore: A bento! She got it out of the box and opened it: There was Sushi in it, a salad and some tea.
As long as she could remember, Gajeel was unable cook and even if he tried to he would just turn the food into poison, that's why he just hunts animals or sometimes, ask for Juvia's help. How in the world was the samurai able to cook this delicious dish?
The young women closed the box and put it back inside the bag. Slowly, she turned her head wide-eyed to look at her friend who was looking in another direction to make sure his friend doesn't see the redness of his cheeks.
Unfortunately, Juvia noticed the blush. Why was he blushing? Was he embarrassed because Juvia found out he can cook? But there was nothing embarrassing about that.
The blunette took a wild guess.
She felt her pale cheeks warming up and asked in a shameful look: "G-Gajeel-Kun has….a-a…Lover?"
"It's not like that!"Denied the young man, whose face got even redder. He gazed at the shrine maiden who looked rather puzzled. He sighed "She just helped me that's all. Jeez, Ameonna! You always get the wrong idea!"
Juvia giggled nervously, that was true. She had the tendency to twist platonic thing into something rather romantic. Like Lucy believed it's due to the fact that she reads a lot of romance novels.
Gajeel took his bag from her and said:"You should focus more on the Stupid ceremony."
Juvia gasped in horror "Gajeel-Kun,how could you ?! It's not stupid! It's a ceremony to honor Amaterasu-Sama!"
"Yeah,Yeah…Whatever."He has lost faith on the goddess a long time ago,and Juvia was completely award of that.
"Anyway, Gajeel-Kun, who is she?"Asked the woman, trying to change the subject.
"Damn! You're at it again?! "He paused a second then said "You know the librarian, right?"
"Levy-San?" Asked Juvia.
"Yeah,that Shorty offered her help, so…"
If Juvia's memory wasn't playing tricks on her, she was a friend of Lucy's. She wasn't close to her, but she did talk to her in a few occasions and thought she was a very nice and agreeable person.
"You're lucky Gajeel-kun."Said the girl to her friend, while smiling widely.
Gajeel winced. Before he could respond they heard a scream:"Let me go to the forest!"
It came from an old man. Three villagers were trying to bring him back to his senses and some others were looking from a far.
"You can't go to the forest, it's dangerous there."One of them told him, but he didn't listen and kept struggling."We must give an end to this winter! It's the only way…"
"Please Hayashi-San,stop this madness, there's nothing we can do…"Begged another one.
"YES! THERE IS!"He shouted "ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS BREAK THE CURSE! "He struggled even more but the men were holding him back. Suddenly an old woman approached Hayashi."Please my dear, stop it. None of us can break this curse." Apparently she was his wife. The woman paused for a moment then continued in a weak voice "We have to believe in Amaterasu-Sama…"
"I'M TIRED OF WAITING FOR THAT USELESS GODESS TO DO SOMETHING!"He yelled in anger. The three men's grip on him got weaker from the shock and so, he was able to free himself. He approached his wife and started shaking her shoulders, violently:"THIS GODESS HAS BEEN MAKING FOOLS OF US FOR NOW TEN LONG YEARS!"He paused a moment, his black eyes were full of tears now."BECAUSE OF THIS CURSE SAITO…SAITO…"He fell on his knees "We must break this curse…"He said in a low voice."BECAUSE OF THIS CURSE SAITO…"He yelled again, tears running down his face.
"STOP IT!"Ordered him his wife whose voice got higher, crying tears hot tears."I know this is hard, but it's hard for all of us. We are all suffering .So please don't act as if you were the only one who is feeling pain."
Hayashi was subbing, still on his knees. Everyone had a sad look in their used to be such an optimist man. However, the curse caused him to lose all hope; it took away from him his happiness, his dear Saito…
Unexpectedly, he felt someone wrapping his or her arms around him. He slightly turned his head to see who this kind person that was holding him was: It was a young blunette wearing a shrine maiden outfit.
Her eyes were shut and tears were running down her cheeks. She was so peaceful that she almost looked asleep. Juvia opened her blue eyes which met his black ones. The young woman smiled at him tenderly and reassured him in low voice that everything is going to be alright.
The girl's kind words and smile moved Hayashi so much that he jerked tears even more and his sobs got louder.
Gajeel who was behind Juvia, gazed at the crowd that was still looking at the old man. He felt like Hayashi didn't need such a large public staring at him right now, so he shouted to them "Okay folks, the show's over, there's nothing to look at anymore. Get lost."
Neverthless,the villagers were didn't move an inch and started whispering to each other.
Gajeel felt his blood bowling; couldn't they understand that Hayashi needed some space? He gave them a deadly glare "You're deaf or what?! I said GET LOST"...The villagers, who seemed a bit scared of the samurai, did as he asked.
The young man sighed in exhaussement "Jeez,what's up with all this fucking drama today ?"
Juvia let go of the poor man and helped him to get on his feet.
"Thank you young lady." Thanked Hayashi the shrine maiden."I was out of myself…Please, forgive me,Aiko…"He addressed his wife.
She looked at her husband sweetly and nodded to him, accepting his apology.
"What was this entire break the curse fuss you were making? Do you seriously know how to do it?"Asked Gajeel.
"Well..."He started "The other day I-I was in the forest…"
He paused to see if Gajeel and Juvia would react to his ,they contented to listen to him ,they both knew that the forest was dangerous, but they preferred to not ask the poor man for explanations ,he obviously has been through a lot, so for now they just let him finish his story.
He continued "And…I felt it!"
"Felt what ,Hayashi-san ?" Asked a curious Juvia.
"That thing! It's aura was negative and cold! So cold!"His expression change from a depressive one to a rather haunted one."IT'S THAT THING!"He yelled which caused the two young people to back off a little. He could still remember the sensation back then: Coldness, disgust and fear. He felt his bones aching and his blood freezing. Juvia noticed that he was shivering like a leaf.
"That spirit is the curse! If we destroy it we'll…"
"Alright,that's enough!"Yelled his wife grabbing his arm. His wife seemed to a little scared herself."Thank you, both of you and excuse my husband, he…."
"It's alright."Reassured her, the priestess.
Aiko nodded then bowed to the young individuals in gratitude and went off dragging her husband along with her.
There was a short silence that Gajeel broke when he said "Don't you even think about it."
"Euh? Think about what?"
"Going to the forest… It's dangerous and not worth it."
Juvia looked at Hayashi and his wife's silhouettes getting smaller until they eventually vanished.
"Are you listening to me,Ameonna ?I said don't go there."Insisted the Samurai.
"But when Juvia and Gajeel-kun were little…"Protested Juvia; before she could finish he interrupted her: "It's not the same thing!"He sighed "Promise you won't go in it."
Juvia didn't want to promise him anything. She was too curious about that spirit. So she thought of a way to distract Gajeel from the subject. Then it came to her! She smirked: "Gajeel-kun…"She started "Weren't you going to the other village to bring some supplies?"
"Yeah...?"He retorted obviously not seeing where she was going, which somehow pleased Juvia.
"Natsu-san has already left and…"She said, but her friend interrupted her.
"SALAMANDER LEFT AND I'M STILL HERE?"Yelled the samurai."Euh…Take care!"He said to the shrine maiden."SALAMNDER! DON'T YOU FUCKIN' DARE TO ARRIVE BEFORE I DO!" He yelled running to the outside of the village. Natsu and Gajeel were somehow rivals, the two samurais couldn't stay five minutes together before starting a ,they made a bet : Who'll arrive the to the nearby village first wins and the looser will have to be the winner's servant for a month.
Juvia waved to him "Bye Gajeel-kun and please forgive Juvia."
That evening, while the shrine maidens were having dinner at their local house, they discussed about the ceremony. Erza chose Wendy to perform the dance which slightly embarrassed the petite girl, but she promised her friends to do her best. They also talked about other details and payed a great attention to the conversation, all of them, except one: A certain blunette who was staring at her dinner thoughtfully. She was thinking about what Hayashi and what he said about that spirit that hunts in the forest.
"Is there really a spirit in the forest?"She asked ,she got deeper in her thoughts "And even if there was really a spirit….Is it really the curse ?"
Suddenly, she heard someone calling name, it was the chief priestess:"Juvia "She said with a glazed look "What do you think?"
She jumped on her spot, confusion written all over her face.
"Well…euh…"She mutt, sweating from nervousness. What should she say? She looked at Lucy and Wendy who, for a reason she feared, looked kind of nervous themselves.
When their eyes met she mouthed 'Help me', but they when were about to mouth the answer, Erza gave the younger girls a black look. Lucy turned to Juvia, shrugged, smiling nervously to her.
The young shrine maiden, was so worried. What if she says something wrong?
"Well…Yes or no?"Asked the older woman with an emotionless look.
So it was a 'Yes or No' ,it was a quiet good clue. All what Juvia had to do now is to choose between 'yes' or 'no'.Juvia considered it for a second: She didn't like negativity, neither did the red haired woman in front of her, so she decided to go with positive.
"Yes, Erza-San!" She replied, ,to her chock, her friends looked at her, ,it was the wrong answer ?
Trembling, the young woman turned slowly her head to; unfortunately, face Erza who was looking blackly at her. A dark aura that made the three girls shiver like leafs was coming out from her.
"Euh ?! You believe Strawberry cake have a disgusting taste?!" She groaned.
So that was the question?!Juvia was in pure chock."If only I said no."She said to herself.
Well, Juvia has to deal now with a furious Erza. Not because she, carelessly, insulted her favorite kind of sweets, was because ,she was not paying attentions to important conversations.
Juvia lowered her eyes; an ashamed look crossed her pale face. She knew the ceremony was very important and Juvia must help, giving more attention to ridiculous ghost stories told by a poor,depressed old man than the ceremony of the sun goddess was extremely selfish from her."But…What if the ghost stories were real?"She was lost in her thoughts again. She wanted to see herself if there was really a spirit that caused their village's ,the ceremony was way more important and probably what's going to really going to stop the snow from falling.
The shrine maiden looked up to notice that the chief priestess' expression changed from her earlier one: Now it was grave and not just hers, Lucy and Wendy looked very worried too.
"Juvia…" Said Erza in a grave tone"Please,try to pay more attention to what really matters."
Juvia nodded "yes, please forgive Juvia."
Silence grows in the room, a very awkward one, so Lucy tried to change the subject: "Juvia, you didn't touch your dinner."
Juvia stared at her plate: Steamed rice with some herbs sprinkled on top of it. Juvia could smell the delicious that came out from it.
The girl's eyes watered: "Wow! It looks tasty! Just looking at this meal makes Juvia's stomach yearn."
"Guessed who cooked it? Wendy!"
"Really,Wendy ? Juvia didn't you were such a great cook."Said Juvia, smiling at the little cook.
Wendy's cheeks turned red as a rose, she replied nervously:"E-euh..Well…Lucy-San helped me a lot, though…"
"What are you talking about? You did most of the work."Lucy said, patting the younger girl's head.
"This is very nice, however tomorrow is going to be quite long, so we should rest."Suggested Erza.
She stood on her feet then called Juvia.
"Yes,Erza-San ?"
"You should hurry and eat you dinner before it gets cold and don't forget that today it's your turn to wash the dishes."
She slide the door open, to make sure Erza and Wendy were asleep, the young woman took a peek then sighed in relief: From their expressions, they were both in a deep sleep. She then went back to her room and made sure Lucy was also out light. Well, it seems the blonde was having a peaceful dream.
Juvia changed into her shrine maiden outfit, put on her coat and went outside the room.
"Juvia must quickly go to the forest and come back before anyone notice that she went outside."She said to herself. The plane was to sneak to the forest, search for the said spirit and then get back to the house as fast as possible.
Like a thief, she toe walked in the hallway, making sure not to make any noises…Too bad.
She hit her toes with something hard, probably furniture, it was too dark to tell what it really was .Against her will; she let out a moan that echoed in the hallway. She slammed her hand on her mouth and waited to see if any of her friends would react. It seemed like luck was on her side, nobody heard it; at least, she hoped nobody did. She sighed and continued walking to the outside.
She Lighted a lantern, took a deep breath and with and a determinate look in her eyes, she started walking in direction of the forest.
"Juvia? Where are you going?" Questioned her, a familiar and sleepy voice.
She froze on the spot. Maybe luck wasn't really on her side. She turned around to see who it was.
"Lu-Lucy-San? Juvia…"She was about to explain herself, but her friend interrupted her.
"Where are you going in the middle of the night?"The blonde repeated her question.
"Well…Juvia has something to do."
"What?"
"Something…"
"Something?"
"Yes, something quite private…"
Lucy raised an eyebrow. Something private? What kind of private? Wait…It can't be. Lucy gasped in horror, her cheeks turning red, she asked with a nervous voice.
"Y-you're having a-an affair?! Asked her Lucy.
"It's not that!" Denied the blunette,feeling her cheeks warming up.
Juvia hesitated a little bit, but decided to admit: "Juvia is going to the forest."
"The forest?!"Screamed the blond in chock.
Juvia ran to her friend and covered her mouth to provide her from talking too loud:"Please Lucy-San,don't scream."Begged the blunette her friend. Maybe it was a bad idea to tell her that she was going to the woods. Lucy pushed her friend's hand away "Why would you go to the forest?!It's dangerous and you know that."Said Lucy in an angry tone.
"Well, it's complicated…"Said Juvia, nervously.
Lucy crossed her arms "You really are having an affair aren't you?"
"Juvia just said she isn't. Please Lucy-san, don't think about perverted things."Asked Juvia, slightly blushing.
"At least, let me come with you."She suddenly heard Lucy say. She looked a bit worried; Lucy truly was a wonderful friend: She was ready to break the rule just to make sure that she was safe. Juvia smiled at her friend "Thank you, ,Juvia can take care of herself. Don't worry…"
"I don't care why you're going there; I can't just let you go in the forest all by yourself! What if…"
Juvia put a hand on her shoulder and with a reassuring tone she said "Juvia will be just fine. If I don't come back before twilight, tell Erza-San that Juvia went to the forest,ok ?
Lucy was hesitating a little, smiled at her "Don't worry. I'll be back soon."Promised the blunette.
With a wave goodbye, Juvia made her way to the forest.
"Juvia is so scared!" She said to herself while wondering in the forest.
It was very dark; the only light that was there came from Juvia's lantern. The forest was very alarming so alarming that it could make even the bravest men shiver from fear. Weird sounds could be heard every while and then and every time the blunette heard those noises she would shiver and froze in her spot.
She figured something out: Penetrating the forest wasn't a bad idea, it was a huge mistake. The shrine maiden didn't even know what to do. The plan was to see if there was really a spirit, but how she was supposed to that? What if there was more than one spirit? And worse: What if they tried to attack her?!It seemed like she was really bad at making plans.
She felt like crying and all she wanted back then was to get out the woods, but there was one little problem: She was completely lost. She hasn't been here for ten years, so it's normal to get lost.
Two hours have passed and Juvia was till walking in the forest, searching for a way out and still looking for the spirit?
"Maybe mister spirit is nice, maybe if Juvia calls mister spirit; he'll help her get out of here?"
The shrine maiden took a deep breath and called for the spirit: "Mister Spirit!"
She received no respond; she could only hear the sound of the wind.
"Mister Spirit?"She repeated "Could you please help Juvia? She is lost…And if you are the curse, could you please do something about it?
She heard a howling sound behind her. Shivering she turned her head, hoping it was not what she think it was what …But it was. A white wolf with crimson marking across its body was staring at her with its golden eyes. Juvia thought the wolf was very beautiful, however it wasn't the right time for that: Gajeel told her that, if she ever happens to meet a wolf, she should run as fast as she could. The wolves of the region were very aggressive and won't hesitate to attack someone.
At first, she walked slowly, staring at the animal that was staring back at her. She stopped for a second, making sure the animal wasn't moving then, she started running fast, getting even deeper in the forest. Little did she care about that at the moment; she just wanted to get as far from the wolf as possible. When she felt her legs getting weaker, the priestess slowed down. Unfortunately she didn't see the branch that caused her to fall and break her only source of light: Her lantern.
Her legs were weak and she was tired of running. Panting, she looked behind her "At least Juvia lost the pretty wolf." She said. Turned her head to gaze now at the broken lantern on the snowy grown "But now, the lantern is broken…What is Juvia going to do now?"She tried to stand up, but her legs were still weak, she couldn't walk, she could see either.
The young woman crawled to a tree near by her and laid her back against it. Juvia felt regret consume her: Why did she have to be so bold? Why didn't she listen to Gajeel and Lucy? Tears running down her cheeks, she muted apologies to her friends until she felt her eyelids get heavier. The poor shrine maiden, fell asleep under the tree while the wind sung to her a lullaby.
Juvia opened her eyes to find herself covered with a blanket made of snow "It must have snowed while Juvia was asleep."She told herself. She brushed the snow from her and now that she had rested a bit, she could stand up. Juvia Looked around her: It was still dark; she guessed it was four in the morning.
"Maybe Juvia should wait until the morning to search for a way out…" She suggested to herself. It was a good idea, but the problem was that her friends would defiantly worry about her and enter the forest. The blunette gasped "What if something bad happens to them?!"Just the thought of her friends getting hurt made her feel a sensation of fear."No! Juvia must get out of here and quickly…Juvia doesn't want to get inside this forest ever again!"
"Neither do I" Said a voice behind her. Juvia was so happy: a human been! Thank goodness!
She turned around to face the person who is, hopefully, going to help her to get out of the forest.
Well, she didn't expect him to be that handsome: He's spiky black hair that swept across his forehead gave him, in Juvia's personal opinion, a bold look and he's dark blue eyes were so dreamy and seductive. Juvia could tell that he had a muscular body. Wait…Juvia was eyeing him?! She felt the blood rushing to her pale cheeks. She hoped he didn't notice that she was staring at him. He had a glazed look, Juvia understood shell have to talk first.
"Euh…Good evening, no I mean good night No! I meant Good morning…euh…Hello…?"
That was so did she say something so stupid? Her heartbeat sped and heat climbed her cheeks. She looked at his face to see how he was reacting to her awkwardness, but the stranger looked emotionless and even kind of looked bored…
Juvia gulped "Juvia…Is lost, and…"
"I can see that."He finally said, firmly.
He gestured her with his head to follow him, was he guiding her to the entrance of the forest ? Juvia had no choice but to trust him, he was probably her only way out, she decided to follow him.
She was so distracted by his beauty that she didn't even notice he was holding a lantern. Walking behind him, the shrine maiden wondered: What was he doing in the forest? Did he hear about spirit from Hayashi too? She didn't see him there; in fact, she had never seen him before. Juvia already saw all of the villagers, she doesn't know them all personally, but she does recognize their ,does he live in…The forest ?
"Euh…Excuse me…"She said, blushing a little bit.
"What?" He replied in a harsh tone.
"Do you live in the forest? Because Juvia never saw you before."
He was quiet for a moment, and then answered her "Yes."
"Isn't it a bit dangerous to live here? There are a lot of scary noises and there are wolves too, Juvia just saw one earlier."
"I'm fine."He retorted, coldly.
Why was he so harsh with Juvia? Did she say something wrong that offended him? She felt an urge to apologize.
"What are you doing here, anyway?" He unexpectedly asked, turning his head a bit to the side so he could look at her. When their eyes met, the young woman felt her cheeks warm up again, she blinked a few times, then answered his question: "Juvia was looking for a spirit that an old man,Hayashi-San,he…."
"I know him."He informed her.
"You know…Him? "
"Yup,he was calling for someone named Saito,his son who I guess suicide here…I saw him from afar."He explained.
"What happened after that?" Juvia asked, both curious and worried.
"He saw something."
"What?"
"I don't know, I couldn't see, he started to scream 'Monster you are the curse!' And then, I don't know why but he ran away and to be honest, I couldn't care less."
"So Saito was his son? And he took his own life in the forest? That's so sad. At least, it somehow explains what he was doing in the woods…But, what did he really saw?"Juvia wondered.
They spent the rest of the journey in silence. Darkness was fading away, giving its place to the light and they were still walking in the woods. The young man put out the fire of the lantern he was holding.
"Is the entrance of the forest still far? "Juvia asked. She just wanted to get out of this place before her friends came in to search for her.
"We're almost there". He simply replied.
They walked for another ten minutes and finally got out f the forest. The young woman was so happy; she thought she would never get out of there. She smiled widely.
"Well, here you are."Said the young stranger to the priestess.
"Juvia!"She heard someone call for her: it was her friends who looked worried.
"Thank…" She turned to her saver but he wasn't there, Juvia was surprised. Where did he go?
"Juvia!" Lucy jumped on the blunette, holding her thigh as if she hadn't seen her for a very long time.
"Juvia-San,we were so worried."Said Wendy.
"Thank the gods that you are safe and sound."
Looking abcent,Juvia stole one last gaze from her back, looking at the forest.
"You…"She whispered to the stranger who saved her life earlier.
A/N: Oh man! This is a mess T.T and it turned out a bit too long, you know, just a bit, like…25 pages maybe ?
So I guess you already figured who the stranger is, right? Yup! The first chapter is 25 pages and he only appears at the very end of it. Don't worry, Gray is going to appear a lot later, or else it wouldn't be a Gruvia fic.
I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please, feel free to let a review and if I did any mistakes, which of course I did, tell me. English isn't my mother tongue…Thank you ^^
See you next chapter !