Fairy Tail does not belong to me. This is my first fanfiction. Please read and review.
I was reading the reviews when I realized that I uploaded the wrong doc. Here is the complete one. I fixed the repeated paragraph.
Drip drip drop… Rain water leaked through a crack in the ceiling into one of Cana's empty barrels. The card mage watched as the water fell, feeling slightly apprehensive. The usually loud guild hall was almost silent. The unexpected rain had put the whole guild on edge, even Natsu was subdued. There was a chance that the downpour was natural – it wouldn't be out of season – but it come without warning and felt…off somehow. Until Juvia made an appearance no one could relax.
Mira efficiently filled mugs and wiped down counters while glancing periodically at the door. Everyone's attention bounced from their current activities to the closed door and the rain hitting the window every so often. The rain picked up and the door opened. The wizards watched as the pink parasol was closed and Juvia entered. By now all of Fairy Tail had witnessed her extreme moods swings. It wasn't unusual for her to go from joyously stalking Gray to glowering at Lucy to hopelessly daydreaming in one sitting. The girl's emotions ran extreme and she did little to hide them. They didn't know if they had ever seen her so apathetic before today. No one even bothered to pretend to be not watching her, waiting for her next move.
Juvia's eyes scanned the room, disinterested, before her gaze landed on Mirajane. The kind bartender smiled encouragingly as the water mage slowly walked to the counter. "Welcome back Juvia. How did your job go?"
The bluenette suddenly found the wood grain of the counter interesting. "Is Master Makarov here today?" Juvia asked listlessly, avoiding the question.
Mira frowned and studied the girl in front of her. As far as she could tell Juvia was uninjured but her blank expression was troubling. "He's in his office," Mira replied, nodding towards the door. "I'm sure he can see you now if you need to speak with him."
The water mage stiffened momentarily before thanking Mira and walking to the office. Each click of her deliberate steps seemed to echo in the unnatural silence of the guild. The moment the door closed the room began to buzz.
"Wonder what happened on her job?"
"Which one did she take again?"
"Where's Gajeel? He might know…"
"Do you really want to ask him?!"
"Well, what about Gray then?"
"What if it's about Gray?"
"Don't we have better things to do than sitting around and speculating?" Mira's voice rang above the quiet murmur. Attention snapped to the habitually nosey barmaid. "If we want any answers someone is going to have to man the door."
Gray was leaning against the wall of the master's office, his clothes currently in place. He'd checked. Makarov was gawking at the paper he held, ignoring the ignoring the young mage's arguments. Just as he was about to continue to explain how the bill for his last mission wasn't really his fault – the bandits had helped – and, really, the damage the town had cited was probably exaggerated, Juvia stepped in. He eyed her warily and prepared for her to jump on him and proclaim how badly she had missed her Gray-sama. She didn't even glance in his direction. Instead she immediately dropped to her knees and pressed her forehead to the ground. Makarov looked at her in surprise before turning his questioning gaze to Gray. Unfortunately, he was just as clueless as the guild master.
Makarov cleared his throat, "Juvia…"
"Master, Juvia failed her last job," she interrupted softly. The curtain of blue hair hiding her face muffled her words. "She didn't mean to damage the reputation of Fairy Tail. It won't happen again. Juvia is sorry."
As Makarov took a step closer to her, she tensed as though expecting to be struck. His brow furrowed as he considered how to best approach this situation. The girl did not rise from her spot on the ground nor did she raise her head. Until he could find a way to respond she was unlikely to move. He didn't really understand why she seemed so distressed or her apology. He sighed.
"Juvia will accept any punishment you decide on." Her words were strained, still barely above a whisper.
Gray groaned. He didn't like where this was going but at least this was familiar territory. Makarov's eyes widened as he sweat-dropped.
"Please allow Juvia another chance to prove she is worthy of being a Fairy Tail mage. Juvia will not fail again." Her voice was stronger now, holding determination that hadn't been there previously. The men stared at her quizzically before looking at each other. Her words had thrown them off balance… hell the whole situation was throwing them for a loop.
Makarov carefully took another step forward, gauging her reaction. This time there was none. He rested his hand on her bowed head and sighed. "We will discuss your job later my child," he said gently as she flinched. "Right now I believe you need a drink and some time to recover."
Juvia slowly rose to her feet, her face as passive as it had been before. She didn't look to have been comforted by his words as he intended, instead she looked pale. She turned to the door and passed Gray without acknowledging his existence for the second time that day. The door clicked quietly as she made her cautious retreat. While he supposed he should be relieved, the ice mage found himself worried about his excitable stalker.
"Perhaps you should follow her Gray. Maybe you can find out why she was so upset over a few lost jewels. We can talk about your bill later," the guild master said, his eyes on the closed door rather than the boy before him. Gray only nodded before trailing after the dejected bluenette.
Juvia had found a deserted table near the back that was usually Gajeel's, and sat to nurse her drink. Cana had immediately shared a full mug of her "boyfriend" with the former Phantom girl as soon as she had emerged from the office. No one had tried to speak to her yet. Gray sat at the bar, sparing her occasional glances, while discussing recent jobs with Lucy and Natsu. The storm outside had gotten increasingly severe and no one in the guild wanted to risk it getting worse with their questions. Maybe a few drinks would calm her and someone would be able to approach her. That was Cana's idea anyway and, for lack of a better plan, they had all agreed to it. Unfortunately Juvia seemed uninterested in the drink she held, staring at her mug's contents more often than sipping at it. Before they could think of another plan of attack, the guild door swung violently open.
"Dammit ameonna!" Gajeel snarled as he entered. He looked and felt like a drowned rat. His red eyes scanned the area. He found Gray at the bar but to his surprise Juvia wasn't near him. He blinked. Everyone seemed to be appraising him before their attention centered on a dark corner, his corner, so he followed their gaze. There she was, sitting with a drink, lost in her thoughts.
Scowling, he stomped over to the table. He ignored his new guild mate's strangled noises of disapproval; no one would actually try to stop him, though he could see Macao and Elfman move into positions so that they could react if he threatened the girl. He scoffed. Although it had been months since the Phantom attack they were still wary of him.
"What happened now, ameonna?" He asked gruffly when he reached the table. As Gajeel waited impatiently for a response, he took in her pale appearance and her slow reaction to his arrival. He stepped closer to her, towered over her, protecting her from prying eyes. His eyes narrowed. "This had better not be about your fucking stri-"
"Juvia's last job…," she answered, defeated. She didn't look up from her half finished mug.
The concerned guild members watched the pair with open curiosity. Gajeel glowered at the audience over his shoulder and slowly took a seat across from his longtime partner. He did a cursory scan for wounds though he expected none. The job she had taken…was a simple retrieval right? It hadn't interested him when she had mentioned it several days prior. He couldn't see anything going wrong with something so trivial.
"Gajeel-kun, Juvia failed" she whispered as though it pained her.
Everyone eavesdropping sweat-dropped. All this over a failed job? They expected Gajeel to verbally thrash the poor girl for bothering him with something so senseless. A few tables returned to their previous conversations, interest mostly lost on the cause of the rain. It was just an over achiever that needed to deal with a recent failure. Gray rolled his eyes before strolling back to the office to finish his discussion with the master. Mira, on the other hand, became more curious. She just felt as though a piece, or three, was missing that would explain why Juvia looked like death warmed over and Gajeel look vaguely worried.
"Juvia caught the thief easily enough. Regrettably he destroyed the ornament Juvia was sent to retrieve rather than allowing it to be returned. Even though the man is in custody Juvia failed," she explained quietly, her voice a monotone like it always had been in Phantom. She finally met his eyes and he could see her fear clearly. He felt his apprehension build.
"What did the master say?" he demanded, his fist now clenching the edge of the table. He glared at her, daring her to lie to him.
Juvia knew better than to look away. "He said that he would discuss the job with Juvia later..." Before she could say another word, Gajeel shot up from his seat and started toward the office. "Gajeel-kun!" she yelped in surprise before trying to hastily follow him.
This exchange captured the guild's attention, conversations paused and 'covert' looks were taken. The two ex-Phantom Lord members, who rarely seemed to associate with each other outside of taking jobs (possibly to avoid rumors of espionage), were making one hell of a scene in the middle of the guild hall. Lucy had both hands covering Natsu's mouth while she gawked at the two. Quick glances were soon replaced with blatant stares as Juvia grabbed his arm and planted her feet only to be dragged behind an unaffected iron dragon slayer.
When they reached the bar, Juvia desperately tried reasoning with him. "Gajeel-kun will only going to make things worse! Just leave things be!"
He ignored her and continued to the door, acting like he was unaware that she was attempting to use her insignificant weight to anchor him. In a last ditch attempt to keep him from opening the door, Juvia flung herself unto his back.
"Juvia can take care of herself. Gajeel-kun, ple-" she was arguing before he threw her into the bar counter. Gasps could be heard around the room. Mira made to move around and help the girl as she gave Gajeel a look that promised pain. Juvia used the counter top to steady herself and he sent an iron spike through her hand. A warning shot. Chairs scraped the floor and its patrons stood.
Juvia gave one last pleading look at his disappearing back before the door closed. Lightning streaked across the sky and the rain pounded against the window panes. As she straightened herself, keeping her impaled hand on the counter, Mira made it to her side. Natsu, somewhat restrained by Lucy, reached her next and examined the iron spike.
"I can't believe that he would attack you like this!" Lucy said in outrage. Natsu turned to the door to follow the other dragon slayer and Juvia's hand shot out to stop him. They watched as her semi-aquatic hand passed though the spike, undamaged.
"Gajeel-kun knows he cannot hit Juvia. The warning wasn't for her," Juvia paused, her face grim. "It was for you. Don't follow him. Juvia won't let you." With that, she positioned herself between the door and her confused guild mates.