Quick thing- Hey guys! Here's another Gruvia fic! I love this couple and couldn't help but write another one ;) This one is going to be much longer than Snow and with more of a story. I normally hate the Japanese sounding words (like when people say 'that is Kawaii' instead of 'that is cute'.) But it doesn't sound right to me if Juvia doesn't say Gray-sama. That's my only exception. Anyway, continue with the fic my dears!
-OoO-
Juvia searched the job board with a purpose. She was going to take a job and it needed to be a good one. She had been pretty lax about rent lately and her debt was slowly rising. She was a few months behind and that certainly wasn't like her. She read each job listing carefully; first looking at the price and then the job. 100,000 Jewels a month was a steep price for her Fairy Hills apartment but it had an added perk of her guild mates. She always enjoyed hanging out with them and playing fun games. Juvia wanted to gain more confidence as she always got embarrassed so easily. Maybe if she had more confidence, Gray-sama would look her way. She shook her head hard, this wasn't the time for that, she had to find a job and find it fast. She scanned the board again and found a particular flyer that caught her eye. *Was this here before?* she thought to herself.
It was a larger flyer depicting a reward of 1,000,000 Jewels. She scanned the flyer as if her life depended on it. It wasn't marked S class and it didn't have a specified mage requested. She read the details-
Reward: 1,000,000 Jewels
Need a skilled mage to get rid of a dark mage. Please help!
It seemed a bit suspicious that there wasn't much detail of the situation but a million jewels were a million jewels and Juvia needed the money. It wasn't very far and she could get there easily in a few days. She didn't doubt her ability to take down a foe but she still would feel better if she at least asked Gray-sama to accompany her. She walked over to where he was sitting (clad in only his boxers) and eating shaved ice. She held up the mission flyer and gave him a smile, "Gray-sama, would you like to go on a mission with Juvia?" She asked hopefully. As soon as he turned toward her she knew the answer.
"Sorry Juvia, Erza already cornered Natsu, Lucy and me to go on a mission with her but thanks anyway." He continued eating his shaved ice, unaware of her slightly disappointed expression.
Juvia turned and gave Mira the flyer, hoping she'd just OK it and let Juvia be on her way. Mira seemed a bit distracted as she approved the job request, seeming to watch Natsu and Lucy. Juvia looked over and was pleased to see the two laughing together. *Fall in love with Natsu, Lucy! One less Love Rival to worry about* her eyes glinted as she thought of Lucy happily hugging Natsu. She'd always rooted for those two, mostly to ease her own doubts about Gray-sama.
She took the flyer and went to leave when Gray called out to her "Good luck on your mission, Juvia!" She looked back, extremely happy that he cared, and gave him a wide smile and a thumbs up. \
-OoO-
Juvia was hurt but she could still fight. Her opponent was a tall man with a shaggy black mop of hair on his head. He had a wild mustache that seemed to want to go in all directions at once and appeared to desperately want to escape his face. He had a strange type of magic that seemed to defy the laws of reality (as weird as Fairy Tail reality is concerned). It was strange but he kept switching whatever he touched. For lack of a better explanation, he reversed the properties of everything around him.
She shot a water slice at him, hoping to disarm him or at least distract him as she summoned a giant wave of water.
He made a circle gesture with his index finger and shouted "Reverse!" Her water slice turned into fire and shot back at her. She leaped away from the flames, completely stupefied as to what the extent of this strange magic was. She was frightened and she didn't like being frightened; it made her feel weak and confused.
This exchange of fighting had gone on for the entire duration of the fight. She shot an attack and he reversed it back to her.
She let the wave of water she was building die down. It would do her more harm than good if she were to unleash it on this strange man. He was unlike any other enemy she'd ever faced. The odds of her winning this fight were dwindling. She couldn't use her magic for fear it would be reversed into fire and attack its caster. She clutched her arm, already badly burnt from the fire slices. Her legs were riddled with singes too. Her body was telling her to stop but she knew she couldn't. This wasn't about the reward anymore. She needed to stop this man. He was dangerous and as a Fairy Tail mage she wasn't about to let him run his destructive path.
Juvia ran at him, ignoring her body's plea for rest, and gathered magic for another attack when he suddenly appeared before her and put his finger on her forehead. She couldn't move. Her thoughts suddenly filled with Gray-sama and how she'd never get to see him again. Would he be sad?
"Well, well, well, little miss Lockser; it looks as though you have an unrequited love. Such strong feelings of happiness, such hope for your future with this man." He chuckled deeply. "It seems as though this is your strongest feeling you have. Something you cling to. Since I've wounded you enough physically, it's time for a mental attack." He looked at her straight in the eye, smiled maliciously and yelled loudly, "REVERSE!"
Everything went black.
-OoO-
Juvia awoke, cold and in pain, and stared up at the night sky. She was dazed and confused. What had happened? She remembered fighting some guy with a weird mustache and then… she was starting to get a headache as she struggled to remember. She tried to sit up and cried out as she felt her multiple burns scream in protest. She forced herself into a sitting position and surveyed the damage to her body. The burns looked bad but they would surely heal with the right medicine. Right now it was time to focus on getting back to the guild. She tottered a bit, swaying in a zig zag, but managed to steady herself enough to walk.
After about 20 minutes of walking she came upon the inn she was staying at and went to her room to get some rest, while ignoring the inn keepers' concerned suggestions to go to a hospital. She just wanted to sleep and go back to Fairy Tail. She felt bad about her failed mission but she really just wanted to be with her friends and sleep in her own bed at Fairy Hills.
She'd get on with her journey home tomorrow but for now all she wanted was to be ignorant of her painful body and drift into dreamland.
-OoO-
The guild was buzzing as usual but all Gray Fullbuster could think about was where a certain Rain Woman was. He was feeling uneasy as Juvia hadn't made contact with the guild in over 4 days. It wasn't unusual that she went on solo missions but she usually knocked them out in no time at all. She was a strong mage and she could defend herself but 4 days was a long time for Juvia to be away. Gray was starting to wish he'd gone with her when she'd asked him. He and the gang had finished their mission as soon as they got there. The mission was to capture some silly punks that knew some weak magic. Natsu burned them to a crisp and he froze them and the job was over. Lucy and Erza didn't even have to lift a finger (though Erza lifted her whole arm to pound Natsu and him senseless for destroying the village). He cringed just thinking about it.
Gray looked toward the door for what had to be the hundredth time and was unsurprised to find it empty. He really didn't like the nagging feeling in his head that told him something was wrong. Something just didn't feel right and he wanted to find out what it was that made him feel this way. Glancing at the door one more time and finding it empty once again, he got up and went to Mira.
"You don't happen to know where Juvia went for her mission, do you?" he asked calmly.
Mira looked up from wiping the table and gave him a look that suggested she was as worried as he was, "I haven't heard from her for a few days. The job she took was just to take care of a single dark mage. I thought it'd be a piece of cake for Juvia but I'm starting to get really worried about her-" Just then her communications Lacrima started to react.
Mirajane grabbed the Lacrima crystal ball and peered into the haggard looking Juvia's face. Juvia looked awful. She had dark bags under her eyes and her face had what looked like burn marks blemishing her pale skin. Her hair was a ratty mess and it looked as though she were in pain.
"Juvia! What happened?! You look terribly injured!" Mira clasped her hands between her breasts and looked at the water mage with concern.
"Juvia is at an inn nearby. Juvia just needs to get some bandages and she'll get back to the guild." Juvia looked like talking was hurting her considerably.
Gray watched this exchange with a relieved expression but he was boiling inside. Who did this to Juvia? Juvia was injured but she was alive and that was what counted but he wanted to find whoever did it and completely obliterate them. Mira chatted with Juvia, telling her how she'd get arrangements for her to be picked up. Gray left the guild, intending to take a walk cool his head a bit. He knew Juvia was going to be fine but he still had a terrible feeling that something was wrong.
-OoO-
Juvia watched the Lacrima go black and returned it to the inn keeper. She walked through the village to find a doctor. She got some burn treatment and her burns were covered in salve and bandages. She sat on a bench to catch her breath. She was still in considerable pain. Her body ached from all the burns but it also pained her that she couldn't remember what happened. She concentrated hard. She'd fought with the mustache guy; he did something weird with his magic. Her water was turned to fire and was the reason for her burns. After that she ran at him. Then…then…he pointed at her? Yeah, he pointed at her. She couldn't move a muscle. She remembered the fear, the crippling fear of not getting out of this alive. He yelled something and she had fainted. That's what happened! But what did he do to her?
Juvia went back to the inn and stared carefully at her reflection in the full-length mirror in her room. She looked at her head where he had pointed and she found nothing odd. She looked at her eyes and lips, seeing nothing out of the ordinary and continued observing her body. Everything looked fine. She looked at her hands last. She stared at her palms and turned them over carefully. There was nothing wrong with her besides the array of bandages covering her injuries.
She snapped her head up and looked into her reflections eyes, her mouth in an open 'O' of comprehension. *Maybe he has converted my magic into fire permanently.* She was suddenly very unsure of whether or not she should test this theory. Could she control it? She didn't feel like anything was different with her magic. She experimented by trying to change her hand into water. She closed her eyes and, when she felt neither heat nor burning, she opened them to discover a watery appendage. So, nothing was wrong with her body or her magic. What had he changed? He could reverse things but he chose not to do any damage? She doubted it. He seemed to be intent on destroying something within her.
She was feeling better now that she knew she could use her magic the way she knew how. She knew she should take it easy because of her burns but all she wanted to do was go home. Juvia waited patiently outside the inn for the carriage Mira had arranged. After she had her suitcase loaded in, they departed. She was going back to where she belonged. Juvia couldn't wait to see everyone! She couldn't wait to see Natsu and Lucy laughing and she wanted to see Happy eating fish. Juvia wanted to see Erza eating cake and Mira wiping the bar counter. She wanted to see Gajeel and Levy bickering about silly things.
She smiled, thinking about all of her friends. One person flashed into her mind and she scowled. If there was one person she didn't want to see it'd be him; that stupid black haired idiot that always took off his clothes. Gray Fullbuster, the perverted ice mage.
-OoO-
Author's note:
Well, that was intense! This idea popped into my head when I was just daydreaming about what would happen if Juvia really hated Gray. I'm really trying to expand my horizons with this fic. I've never been able to correctly mold a story into something really great so I'm hoping this one will turn into something I'm proud of. Please feel free to review, review, review! Give me some feedback people!