A/N: Well, well, what do we have here (I like doing this and soon you will realize just what this is)? It's a Gruvia angst! Okay, a tragedy. But really, like something like this wasn't expected after the latest chapters. Of course, this was supposed to be just a drabble, but things don't always go the way we planed.
Hopefully, something like this never happens and Juvia kicks some sense into stupid Gray and drags him back to the good side. I don't care they have cookies on the other side.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail.
Gray clouds covered the entire sky over Magnolia, hiding the sun, leaving the world in darkness. Bitter rain kept pouring, mercilessly falling down on those who were unfortunate enough to find themselves outside. The air was cruelly cold.
Somewhere on a grass field, that was now completely soaked, two silhouettes could be seen.
A man and a woman.
Two enemies.
Gray slowly closed in on the woman, hands in his pockets, his slicked hair now wet, a single lock plastered on his forehead. His usual smirk was there, but instead of being good-natured, it gave away a sinister vibe, telling everyone that something was wrong, and something bad was about to happen.
Juvia, on the other hand, stood still in her place. Her eyes were empty and lifeless, as they always were since he had left her. It wasn't supposed to be this way – they weren't supposed to meet again on the opposite sides. And yet, there they were, surrounded by rain and despair, ready to lunge at each other.
"Well, well", the man taunted, now only a few meters away, "who do we have here, huh? If it isn't the infamous Rain Woman, Juvia Lockser. I must say, it's an honor to meet you.", he bowed mockingly, then raised his head to see the look on the blue haired girl's face, only to be disappointed by the lack of reaction.
"Tch. And here I thought we could have a little fun before I destroy you. You're really boring, you know?", he said, and Juvia flinched a bit, prompting an evil grin from Gray. "Oh, what's the matter? Did I find a sore spot? Did I hit where it hurts?"
"Enough.", the woman sharply said, surprising her enemy a bit. When she locked her gaze with his, the man could see that her eyes were no longer emotionless. Far from it – they were almost burning with the intensity of the feelings building inside of her. She was still confused, though. The one standing in front of her was a man that meant more than life to her, the one that saved her numerous times, the one that cherished her and the one that she cherished. Yet again, it was someone foreign, someone she didn't know, someone who threatened to hurt her friends and family and the whole world.
"Juvia will ask this of you once: surrender. If you fail to deliver, she will have to fight you.", she said determined, although a piece of her heart crumbled and a part of her mind screamed 'Stop! You can't hurt him!'
Gray blinked several times, before chuckling, and then full out laughing at the ridiculous request.
"Surrender? Me? To someone like you?", he said through laughter, and then abruptly stopped and looked Juvia dead in the eyes, his gaze cold and cruel, and Juvia had to stop a few tears from falling. "I think you're overestimating yourself, Rain Woman."
Then, he attacked her so quickly and unexpectedly, Juvia barely had the time to turn her body to water and dodge his attack. She pulled away, now in a fighting stance, and with disappointment and disapproval said: "Juvia's body is made of water. Physical attacks don't work on Juvia."
'And you were supposed to know this.'
"Oh. A mild inconvenience, then.", Gray responded, not at all bothered by what he had learned. "Sooner or later, you'll run out of magic, and then I will easily kill you.", he said, and the maddened grin was back again, sending shivers down Juvia's spine – she was scared, very scared. "Or maybe, I could try to find another way to destroy you! Well, what do you know? This might turn out to be more fun than I thought!", and with that, he lunged at her once again, and the battle started.
It was obvious that both of them had grown stronger than they were a year before – they trained a lot, after all. But it was undeniable that Gray had the upper hand, because he wasn't held back by emotions like Juvia was. She knew that this Gray wasn't her Gray, but it was still hard battling against him. No matter how much she willed herself, her body refused to go all out and risk hurting him. He meant so much to her, too much, and her heart didn't want to acknowledge that he was a threat and that he had to be eliminated.
They tried talking him out of this, they tried to wake him up from his madness, but they failed every time, and there was no time left to keep on trying. He had… He had done too much. He was no longer who he was before. He was no longer Gray they all knew and loved. They even dared to say that… he was no longer human. He had become a demon, the same thing that killed his parents, the same thing that destroyed his master, the same thing he despised and wanted to defeat.
Juvia's eyes watered for a brief moment as she recalled the time he had promised to defeat E.N.D. and she had promised to help him, but she blinked the tears away, knowing that she couldn't allow the luxury of having a blurred sight in the middle of the battle. She turned her focus back on her opponent, and tried attacking him with a water cannon, but Gray just cheekily froze it and mocked Juvia again.
"Is that all you can do? Pathetic.", he said, then sent a rain of ice spears flying in her direction, and while she changed her body to water, he tried to use the chance to freeze her – Juvia realized his intentions and instead of turning to water, she tried to dodge the flying spears. She managed to escape most of them, but several still hit her and cut her right shoulder, right cheek and her left thigh – the place where she put her guild mark.
"I guess I shouldn't be too harsh on you, though...", Gray haughtily said, evading the jet of boiling water coming his way. "My magic is ice, so I'm probably not your best match."
'The best there is', Juvia caught herself thinking, but quickly pushed those thoughts away. She looked at the man in front of her. Mad, cruel, with inexplicable desire to erase and destroy everything he comes across. An enemy.
Juvia remembered the way he smiled at her after he had beaten her in the battle for his friend.
An enemy.
She recalled the way he thanked her when she helped them save Erza, offering her a small, almost invisible smile, but it was still there.
An enemy.
He congratulated her when she joined the guild.
An enemy.
He saved her from Ultear on the Tenrou island.
An enemy.
Their Unision Raid against Lyon and Chelia.
He pushed her out of the little dragon's beam's way.
He rejected her.
He held her hand. (I'm with you.)
She helped kill his father.
He hugged her. (Thank you... You're warm.)
An enemy. An enemy, an enemy, an enemy, an enemy, an enemy.
…
The fight continued for a long time. Both of them were panting, tired and they consumed a lot of their magic, but none backed down. Gray was surprised with the woman's endurance, but he could see that she was nearing her limit, and although he was also worse for wear, he still had a lot of energy left, and he knew he could end this soon. The thought made him experience an unusual ache in his chest, but he ignored it, thinking it was an injury he got from her.
"Still not done?", he tried to ridicule her once again, but the fact that he was fighting for his breath while saying that lessened the impact. She looked at him, wet from the rain that never ceased to fall, and her eyes gave out only determination, not even a trace of the conflicting emotions that controlled her at the beginning.
"Juvia…", she breathed out, trying to compose herself as much as she could. "Juvia won't give up. She- She can't. Her friends… her family… they are all… counting on her.", she said, and with a new found strength launched herself at Gray. She was nearing her limit, she knew it, and she knew that he knew, as well. Her entire body hurt, she was covered in bruises and cuts, and not even her water body could help her now – she was too tired. And somewhere inside her mind, she was aware of what was going to happen.
She will lose.
Gray easily evaded her attack, and returned it with one of his own, managing to hit her in the stomach since she wasn't able to turn into water on time. She coughed out, and blood started dribbling down her chin. Gray enjoyed every second – the nuisance managed to keep him busy for quite some time, and though he couldn't deny that he had fun, the play time was over.
'Gray-sama!'
Gray suddenly stopped, looking around. Who was that calling him?!
'Gray-sama, stop throwing your clothes everywhere! Geez!'
"Haaaah!", Juvia tried to hit him, and actually managed, because Gray was distracted by something. He cursed and tried to concentrate on the battle, but somewhere inside his head that voice kept reappearing, and wouldn't leave him alone.
'Aaah, Gray-sama is so dreamy!'
"Dammit, die already!", Gray yelled at the blue haired woman, sending a barrage of ice weapons at her.
"Aaah!", Juvia cried out when she was hit by numerous ice objects. Her knees gave away, and she fell onto the muddy ground, broken and exhausted, and she knew this was the end. Tears pricked her eyes, and she didn't fight them anymore, instead she let them fall freely, and they merged with the drops of rain on her cheeks. The raven haired man laughed, and started walking towards her, deciding to finish her off.
"It's over now!", Gray shouted at Juvia, and she whimpered and closed her eyes, praying for it to be quick, praying for her death not to be painful. She prayed that her friends would win and get out of this mess alive, and continue their lives the way they should – with heads held high and as cheerful as always, because that's who they were. The sound of boots squelching against the water mixed with dirt invaded Juvia's ears, and her heart broke into million pieces.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be, this was not what was supposed to happen, she should not die by the hands of the only man she ever loved. But she had to face the reality, because whether she liked it or not, this indeed was the end of their story.
Gray pulled Juvia up by the collar of her ripped dress, making her stand. She weakly looked up, just in time to see the most disgusting face her love ever made.
Grinning from one ear to another, eyes sparkling with excitement and thrill, Gray made a sharp ice spear and held it in his right hand. Slowly, he inched his face closer to Juvia's, and when his lips found the shell of her ear, he smirked.
"Goodbye, Rain Woman.", he whispered as he plunged the ice into Juvia's stomach, and the woman's body tensed because of pain, before starting to relax.
But at the same time he pierced her, his mind was flooded with memories he suppressed a while ago.
A gloomy woman, the top of a moving guild, constant rain.
Him freezing the said rain, a clear sky, her beautiful tear-stained, but smiling face.
A bar in a hotel, her big, golden Fairy Tail necklace, trouble, her helping.
Her first day in the guild.
Fantasia parade, the Tenrou island, the Grand Magic Games.
Her holding on tight to him, him squeezing her hand and comforting her. I am here.
Tartaros, his father, demons, the end of the battle, cold stone, a small cross, snow everywhere.
Her confession, his gratefulness, her warmth.
His promise.
Her smile.
'Juvia loves you, Gray-sama!'
Gray's entire body started shaking, overwhelmed by the memories and emotions. He was pulled out of his trance when a small, weak hand reached for his cheek and gently cupped it, urging him to look into the eyes of the dying woman in his arms.
"Gray… sama…", Juvia whispered, too weak to say anything else. Gray's eyes widened, and, at least for a second, Juvia could see the dark, midnight eyes she had grown to love so much take the place of the red eyes of the demon who just killed her. Happy that in her last moments she could see the real Gray, her Gray, Juvia smiled and closed her eyes, never to open them again.
The world stopped.
And then it started moving faster than it did before, leaving the raven haired man confused, broken and numb at the same time. He fell onto the ground, still holding Juvia's lifeless body. It all felt so surreal, as if it never happened. As if it was all just a horrible dream, a nightmare.
"Juvia…", he called out, his voice cracked and barely audible. "Hey, Juvia, wake up. C'mon, this isn't funny. C'mon, Juvia!", he started shaking the bloody woman, trying to wake her up.
"Dammit, Juvia, open your eyes! Juvia!", he screamed out, unaware that the clouds that were there just moments ago started disappearing. His head started hurting, and his eyes filled with tears, tears that started falling down his face. His mark started pulsating, and it spread even more.
"Aaaaargh!", Gray yelled, before his consciousness faded and his world turned black.
…
When he came to, Gray was lying next to the cold, bloodied and bruised body.
Of the woman he loved.
Of the woman he killed.
And the last of his humanity disappeared.
A/N: To make things clear, this fic was written with the idea that Gray's marks messed with his mind and turned him evil (one of the popular theories). I guessed that he would have lost (or somehow locked away or suppressed) many of his memories over the time. The reason Juvia never called Gray by his name until the end was because she refused to acknowledge that version of Gray, and, well, Gray didn't really remember Juvia so he called her Rain Woman to taunt her, because one of his associates told him that she hated being the one who brings rain.
Anyway, hope you liked the story... Bye! :)