What did you expect?...

AN: I like drama. I enjoy drama. And hence I write drama. Unfortunately, sometimes it turns out a bit "too drama" and this is probably one of those cases… But nevertheless, I will accept this flaw of mine with honor and I will present it to you with pride! (And hope that it's not going to be too annoying ()…I would be very grateful to receive a review, because I am very unsure about this one

Personally, I'm more inclined to think that something happen to him, rather than between them... But in case he was at fault for Juvia's current state...What the hell did he do?! Given how high Juvia's patience and tolerance threshold is... This story is my version of what could've potentially driven her to become the rain woman.

Enjoy! ^_^

Prologue

He didn't believe it at first, but then again, he wasn't very surprised either. Not because it didn't sound like her, which in all fairness it did not, but because ever since that day he made sure not to let his mind stray from his goal. That involved discarding thoughts about his far future, thoughts about home and Fairy Tail, and thoughts that could make him waver, drop everything and go back to the place where he last saw her.

He couldn't have that", he kept telling himself, "not when he came this far". "It's too late to go back", "it's just temporary nostalgia", "there's nothing more important than the mission" and etc. Everything people usually say to themselves when they want to make sure their heart's internal screaming would go unnoticed made it's way through Gray's mind several times during the year.

So it's not that it was astonishingly surprising to hear from Natsu that when he, Lucy and Wendy found her in Rainfall Town she refused to come with them and told them to leave. It's just that Gray never actually thought about the possibility, so he accepted reality for what it was:

Juvia refused to leave the village that he had abandoned her in almost a year ago.

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CHAPTER1: How it was.

"I will defeat E.N.D. at all costs.

"Yes."

Juvia heard the determination in his voice and she tried to express her own resolution to accompany him in what promised to be an extremely challenging journey.

They slowly made their way to the closest town nearby, found a hotel, which had only one spare room, but two separate beds. Both were exhausted and worn out emotionally, so they settled in as fast as they could and went straight to sleep.

Since the next day onwards Gray and Juvia spent their days researching, trying to find anything and everything they could on Devil Slayers, their magic, Zeref, demons, black magic, lost magic, ancient forbidden spells that might've been involved and most importantly, E.N.D. The last one proved to be the most difficult one of all, especially since both figured he might have not actually been going by "E.N.D.". If this demon was Zeref's greatest creation then descriptions like "hellfire's beast", "evil in its purest form", and "The Lord's rage towards humanity" might've also fitted the bill. Or it could've been something completely unrelated to Zeref… Filtering through what seemed like a ton of useless information was a stage both of them wanted to fast-forward or even skip altogether.

About seven days of intensive reading later Gray began his training. He didn't want to start without gathering information on his magic first, because he needed to know what exactly he was dealing with to maximize his training's efficiency. Juvia kept researching while Gray practiced slayer magic, and she would spar with him to keep his creation magic in form. Taking breaks in between her investigation she would train herself to prepare to stand by Gray's side and be the partner he could count on.

Though a part of her really wanted to practice ice-water magic combinations with him, she waited for Gray's own initiative because she didn't want to make him agitated or feel like he's failing at time management. After all they didn't really have a "deadline" so it was one of those "the sooner-the better" type of situations. They did discover during those joint sessions a few pleasant treats about their abilities and briefly discussed what they could potentially accomplish in battle. However, Juvia felt that when the battle comes, Gray would need to defeat the demon himself. This was his promise to Father. She will be there for support, but she'll leave it up to him. She wouldn't deprive him of an opportunity to fulfill his promise. However, she will keep her promise as well and take care of him. She decided she would only get involved if absolutely necessary. Juvia had faith in Gray.

Days were flying, weeks were passing, Gray wanted to go faster, Juvia cautioned him to go slower, since he had passed out a couple of times while testing his limits. After two months they had a pretty good idea about the origin and use of Devil slaying magic, it's advantages and drawbacks, and knowledge on Dragon slaying magic certainly came in handy since a lot of features were very similar. Gray would try to recall Natsu's and Laxas's abilities, and Juvia would contribute with her knowledge about Gajeel.

Turned out Juvia knew quite a lot about "Gajeel-kun" for someone who claimed not to be involved much with the guy back in the days. Gray wasn't jealous or envious, just surprised, because Juvia did make a point to him the day she joined Fairy Tail that there was nothing going on between her and Gajeel. And it's not like Phantom Lord was swarming with bff's so it was just a bit strange to learn that she had always been quite observant.

They were moving a lot, packing lightly, from one place to another, following any leads they could find, but not getting too hopeful, obviously, because what they were dealing with was a topic of hundreds of years ago, and it's not like they could've just gone to a bookshop and bought "The new, most latest and refined edition of all you need to know about Zeref and his pets".

Juvia became much better with maps to her own delight. She was good at finding her way around and even better at visually projecting the map onto the city to begin with, but she didn't really enjoy this part. Maps weren't really treating her too well, especially when she used to have to unfold it with one hand, while holding the umbrella with the other, and also trying to keep the raindrops from destroying the multi-folded-turned-out-to-be-quite-a-huge-and impossible-to-fit-under-the-umbrella kind of map.

Gray on the other hand was getting more and more exhausted with having to deal with the fact that most places mentioned in the texts were either re-named several times or are just simply non-existent anymore. He had a really nice time that time they had to sit for over 3 hours in a smelly carriage going south down the rockiest road imaginable only to discover that the old town was now a glorified empty desert with a small stream of running water somewhere around the center.

"This must be the Great Orcina River" – thought to himself Gray and sighed heavily.

It wasn't too long after that that they decided to change strategies.

"Avatar?..." – asked Juvia.

"Yes. They're a small cult just two days away from here. We might get there faster if we take the next-"

"Gray-sama? Juvia will accompany you, undoubtedly, however is Gray-sama sure he thought this through? Juvia believes in Gray-sama's strength and the fruits of his training, but these people are practicing black magic…."

Gray was still looking at the map he was holding, trying to spot a shorter rout. It seemed that he did hear her words, just showed no intention of responding.

"Even better," – he simply stated after a pause, - "I can test whether training actually paid off."

He was still looking at the map. Juvia understood and in fact his words made a lot of sense. This would be a perfect opportunity for him and it's not one that presents itself on a regular basis. Some might say that Gray has a tremendous influence on Juvia, but how can you blame her when the man is making some very good points? He had to test his abilities to gain confidence and be sure he did all that was in his power. Juvia wouldn't be fine with letting even a tiny shred of doubt be present in Gray's consciousness or subconscious.

Doubting your abilities usually leads to fatal mistakes…

"Juvia thinks it would be wise to make sure they can be trusted before anything else," –she stated simply.

"We'll observe and then make our move."

She nodded.

Soon afterwards they boarded yet another train, just like all the other trains they took since all of this began, and headed towards one of the most promising destinations they've encountered so far.

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That seemed like such a long time ago...As if decades had past.

Maybe Juvia was right. Maybe he actually hadn't thought it all through. Maybe he should've thought about it again. Perhaps if he did, he would've stopped to think twice before leaving the town. And perhaps he would've stayed. Or at least told her that he was leaving.

"She deserved better".

He would hear those words over and over again and each time he'd tell the voice to shut up, because it was too late now. He was already gone.

Gray recalled that the avatars weren't the most comfortable people to be around, but they weren't particularly threatening.

They were very religious, which meant respect and compassion came above all. They weren't hurting anybody, or so Gray convinced himself, and they lived among like-minded individuals so no one in the town was bothered by their beliefs.

"Black magic in itself is not evil", - they told Gray and Juvia when the two mages finally decided to approach these strange people, - "Above all things it is still magic. It does not intend to bring misery. It is You, who decides if it does or if it does not. The cost you pay for your decision, however, is not one everyone can pay. Therefore, only those who believe can truly understand and accept the responsibility of making your own decisions. Black magic is liberating. It is freedom. It is confidence and balance with yourself and your spirit. You are in full control of your destiny, and if you wish to sacrifice your life for your cause, then so be it."

After that Juvia didn't need any more persuasion. These people weren't set on hurting people or using darkness for their own advantage. From what she gathered, they were like magic-adrenaline-junkies. They got tired of playing it safe and were just trying to master something a bit more extreme, with the possibility of death. Extreme sports? Extreme... magic? Maybe. They didn't really have a goal like "bringing back Zeref" or "destroying the world". It sounded more like a lifestyle, a religion they chose to follow. At one point they must've gotten lost and didn't know who they were, but they knew they wanted more. They got tired of people telling them what to do and feeling like their life was just passing by. They wanted to feel like they were in control of something great, something big, something important. Perhaps it gave their lives a bit more meaning...Perhaps they were judged, and black magic made them feel like they were more than what society tried to make them believe they were.

She understood. She really understood what it's like to feel less then what you are and she knew how fast people could jump to conclusions about one another.

After the leader mentioned sacrificing your own life for a cause Gray needed to hear no more. He knew more than he wanted about magic taking away people's lives. And as much as he would like for all those types of spells to disappear once and for all, he knew it was thanks to them that he was still alive.

They weren't switching to the dark side though. No, Gray and Juvia came with a specific task, and they were very much still focused on it. As appealing as this cult made black magic sound they had no desire of becoming members of their strange family. They asked if they knew anything about Zeref and if they could help them. The leader chuckled and gave a them the kind of smile parents give their children when they say something silly. They said they would help them.

Weirdest thing? They didn't even ask why. They weren't interested in why Gray and Juvia were asking about him and what were they planing on doing with this information. And they didn't ask for anything in return.

But like the leader mentioned:

Black magic always comes with a price.

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Continues in CHAPTER 2: How it went wrong.

AN: About my the "That time was not our last". I didn't not forget about it!... I'm just having troubles figuring out where I want to lead that story... So I'm not updating until I know the ending.

That is not the case with this one. This one I already know. It's gonna be three chapters and now it's just a matter of writing it down. ^_^

So, see you soon! ^_^