Good morning, everyone.
So, this one-shot, originally called What Had To Be Done, was my prompt for day 2 of Gruvia Week 2018: Misunderstanding.
In the end, after a request from glodenglowingsnowdemon, I decided to turn it into a multi-chapter story. Now, let's make two things clear before we go on with the story:
1- This will be a short story. 15 chapters AT MOST.
2-Updates won't be frequent, I'm afraid. Demons is still my priority and I have a few one-shots planned, so I can't promise weekly updates for this story. Since I've already written up till chapter 4, the first few chapters should be posted by the end of June, but after that I don't know. Hope you can understand that.
3-The pairings included here will be Gruvia, Jerza and whatever couples you might request. So let me know who you'd like me to include.
Original Summary: Gray didn't want to believe it. Didn't want to face the truth that was right in front of him, because it was too hard. He stared at her in disbelief, eyes drawn to the bloody knife on her shaky hands and for a moment he worried that she might use it on him. Was this his fault? Had he broken her so much that she decided to work for Zeref? (For Gruvia Week)
WARNING: This contains mentions of MURDER and SUICIDE. Therefore, be cautious when reading.
Happy reading!
"Comrades isn't simply a word. Comrades are about heart. It's the unconditional trust in your partners. Please, feel free to lean on me... and I, too, will lean on you as well."
-Mavis Vermillion, as told by Warrod Seeken
Dorenbolt was in his office on the magic council's base; everything around him was messy. Papers were scattered everywhere, boxes took all the space and a few pictures had been thrown on the ground. He sat on a chair, staring at two different pictures; one from a newspaper and another from a file which consisted of a picture of a child.
"You're still here?" Lahar entered the office, giving him a disapproving look.
"I'm telling you, that's her." Dorenbolt replied and the former sighed.
"You need to let this go. This investigation has lead us no where." He took a few steps inside the office.
"Didn't you hear me? I've found her!" The agent stood up and tried to hand him the newspaper, to which he reluctantly accepted.
"Are you sure?" Lahar's eyes widened once he spotted the person on the picture whose head had been circled red.
"Look at the necklace. It's the same!" Dorenbolt then showed him the file where there was a picture of a young girl, no older than 5.
"But still, that doesn't mean that she's the one we've been looking for." The former said.
"It's been 20 years since she disappeared, Lahar. We'll never be sure, but I really believe that she's the one." The latter tried and Lahar sighed.
"So what do you suggest we do? You know she probably won't talk to us." A determined look came upon Dorenbolt's face.
"Then I'll just keep an eye on her, see if I can get more evidence." He pointed towards the girl's picture on the newspaper. "This girl is extremely important to us; she could help us find him. We can't give up, even if she won't admit that she's actually Juliet!"
One month later…
"Seriously, what happened here?" Lucy asked after Gray and Juvia pulled apart and the couple turned to her.
"It's a long story." The ice mage answered and Natsu raised a brow.
"We have time." He told them, crossing his arms.
"Okay." Juvia removed herself from Gray's arms and took a deep breath while she prepared to explain everything. He could tell she was nervous and scared, so he took her hand and squeezed it while giving her a reassuring look.
"Who killed Erza?" Levy asked and everyone glanced towards the lifeless body a few feet away.
"God, I don't think I can do this." Juvia was sobbing once again; guilt and regret increasing.
"Gray?" Lucy stared at the ice mage, hoping to get an answer.
"It's not what're you thinking." He replied while placing a comforting hand on Juvia's shoulder. "Come on, Juvia, tell them. They'll understand."
"Understand what?" Natsu asked, eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Before anyone could say more, there was the sound of footsteps, making them tense. Soon enough, they were joined by three familiar figures wearing hoods.
"Ultear? What are you doing here?" Gray asked once she removed it; Meredy and Jellal doing the same.
"Oh My God!" The younger girl screamed, staring at Erza's body in shock.
"It seems as if you were right once again, Jellal." Ultear said, turning to the blue haired man whose face was devoid of color.
"Oh, no." Lucy whispered, remembering how much Erza meant to him.
"I am so sorry." Levy took a step forward and stared at him pitifully. He remained silent as multiple emotions crossed his face. Shock. Fear. Anger. Sadness.
"I didn't want to. Please, forgive me!" Juvia said before he could even react to seeing Erza's lifeless body. Then she was throwing herself in his arms while everyone stared in confusion and Jellal sighed before wrapping his arms around her.
"It's okay, it's not your fault." He comforted her, much to everyone's surprise. Lucy, Natsu, Levy and Wendy were still shocked to learn that Juvia had been the one to end Erza's life. It was unbelievable, unthinkable and they were having a hard time understanding why she would do it.
"Should we tell her now?" Meredy whispered to Ultear, hoping no one would hear it, but the dragon slayers sure did.
"Let him do it." The older woman replied.
"I'm sorry, so sorry." Juvia was still sobbing and Jellal was still comforting her and it was making Gray feel a bit jealous.
He knew nothing was going on between these two; he would never doubt Juvia's love for him and Jellal had made his feelings for Erza quite clear, but it still bothered him to see her in another man's arms. Even after she had betrayed him.
"Will someone explain what the hell's going on here?" Natsu was getting impatient.
"It's a long story." Ultear replied.
"Wait, so you're in this too?" Lucy asked her, confused.
"It was your idea, wasn't it? I know Juvia said it was Jellal's, but that sounds more like something you'd come up with." Gray asked next and her eyes widened.
"Wait, so you know?" Meredy asked, shocked.
"I told him; I had to." They turned back to Juvia, who had just pulled away from the hug and was attempting to dry her tears.
"You shouldn't have. Now he's in danger." Ultear shook her head, a look of disappointment on her face.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do." The bluenette was clearly desperate.
"You should've contacted us. Why didn't you?" Jellal asked and the others chose to watch in silence and see if they could understand what had happened.
"I don't know." She looked away, biting her lip.
"This is such a mess!" Meredy said, exasperated. Now that was something they could all agree on.
"And there's no way to fix it. It's over." Juvia looked towards Erza and new tears threatened to fall. How could she possibly move on from this? Did she even deserve to? Even if she had done it to save everyone; that didn't make it okay.
"No, it's far from over." Jellal told her, determined.
"They already know what I did, so it's over for me." She replied.
"Don't say that. You know that I won't let them hurt you." This had everyone sharing confused looks.
"What's going on between you two?" Lucy asked, crossing her arms.
"I can't believe it! Are you cheating on Gray?" Levy's eyes were wide and she turned to the ice mage, who was tense.
"I would never!" Juvia shook her head, denying it.
"Like you'd never hurt Erza?" Gray bitterly asked, raising a brow.
"I thought you said that you already told him everything." Ultear was confused.
"Not everything. There are some things... I couldn't say." And his heart broke once again. Why didn't she trust him? He was her boyfriend, for Mavis' sake! He should be the one who she shared all her secrets with, not Jellal or Ultear.
"Well, you're gonna have to say them now because we're not leaving until we know the whole truth." Lucy told her, frustrated. She too was wondering why one of her closest friends would keep so many secrets from her.
"I can't! It's too dangerous!" Gajeel rolled his eyes.
"You've said that too many times and I don't care. Besides, if we're going up against Tartarus, we're gonna need all the help we can get." This had Levy's eyes widening once she recognized the dark guild's name.
"Tartarus? Remind me where I've heard that?" Natsu didn't have such a great memory.
"They're a dark guild, aren't they?" Even Wendy remembered it.
"Yes, alongside Grimoire Heart and the Oracion Seis, Tartarus was part of the Balam Alliance." Ultear explained and their eyes widened.
"Gajeel, why do you say we're going up against them?" Levy turned to the iron dragon slayer.
"You're not. This isn't your fight." Juvia answered instead.
"I agree. They shouldn't be involved in this." Ultear said and Gray scoffed.
"Seriously? You convinced my girlfriend to infiltrate them and you didn't want me to be involved?" This had everyone's eyes widening.
"Wait, what?" Lucy screamed at the same time as Levy whispered "Infiltrate?"
"Perhaps we should tell them after all." Jellal whispered, looking conflicted.
"If we don't, I'm sure Erza will." Meredy said, catching everyone's attention.
"And how exactly do you expect her to do that when she's dead?" Gajeel asked, raising a brow.
"She isn't." Jellal answered, looking at Juvia.
"She isn't?" The bluenette replied, eyes widening.
"I overheard one of them talking about their plans to get you to kill her." Her face lost all color.
"They lied, Juvia. They manipulated you; there was no tracker." Ultear said and she shook her head, disbelieving.
"No. They didn't lie, I found it." She fell to her knees, unable to keep standing.
"They wanted to eliminate her and they wanted you to do it." Jellal continued before kneeling down by her side. "But listen to me, none of this is your fault, okay? You were just trying to protect everyone like I knew you would." Once again, Gray was uncomfortable with how close they were.
"I can't do this anymore! It's too hard." Once again, the water mage broke down and Jellal wasted no time in comforting her.
It was clear that there was something going on between the two of them, but as for what, the others weren't sure.
"So Erza's okay?" While Juvia and Jellal were embracing, Natsu turned to Ultear, who nodded.
"Yes, she's safe. Jellal decided to use the illusion so that they wouldn't suspect anything." She motioned towards the lifeless body and Lucy and Levy let out relieved sighs.
"Thank goodness." The latter said.
"Where is she?" The dragon slayer asked and Meredy was the one to answer.
"We can't tell you that, it's not safe yet. We shouldn't have even said that she's alive." It was clear she was frustrated with the way things had gone, but it couldn't be undone.
"Juvia needed to know, we couldn't let her keep believing it." Ultear sighed, looking towards the crying bluenette.
"We should've never convinced her to infiltrate Tartaros. She always said she wanted to move on and we just ignored that." There was guilt in the pinkette's tone.
"She understood the risks, Meredy. They must be defeated." It was the former's reply.
"I know, but she didn't have to be the one to infiltrate. Jellal or you could've done it." Meredy argued.
"That's true. Why did you choose Juvia of all people?" Lucy asked and they shared a look.
"It's not our place to tell." Ultear replied and Gray spoke next.
"She already told me why, so I don't see why the others can't know." Before she could reply, the water mage spoke, still in Jellal's arms.
"I'm not sure if I'm ready for everyone to know. It's so…complicated." She sniffled and the three members from Crime Sorciére gave her understanding looks.
"Complicated doesn't even begin to explain it." Ultear sighed.
"Complicated or not, I think at least I deserve to know the whole truth." The ice mage pushed and Jellal gave him a firm stare.
"You should respect her wishes." Gray's eyes narrowed.
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" He couldn't deny, he was getting annoyed. Extremely annoyed.
"Don't." It seemed as if Jellal was about to say something, but Juvia stopped him.
"I'm sorry; I won't say anything." He remained silent after that and she removed her hand from his arm before standing up and turning around to face everyone.
"Please, can you just trust that I will tell you everything soon? I just need more time." Gray looked at those pleading blue eyes and sighed.
"I don't like that you're keeping secrets from me." She nodded before taking a few steps towards him.
"I know. And I'm so sorry I had to do that, but there are just some things that are too hard to share." He could understand that, considering how long it took him to tell her about Ur and his parents.
"Okay. But just know, whatever this is, won't change how I feel about you. Hell, if even after learning that you killed Erza I still love you, I don't think anything could change that." Many eyes widened at this sudden confession.
Even though they all knew that these two were together, no one had ever witnessed Gray telling her that he loved her.
"I love you too. Always have." She was close enough so that her arms could wrap around his neck and he quickly wrapped his own around her waist. Without a second thought, he lean it once she did the same. The passionate kiss they shared next brought smiles to most people's faces while Ultear's showed only regret.
"She really does love him." She whispered.
"Don't beat yourself up, Ultear. You were a different person back then." Meredy was quick to comfort her.
"I know, but that doesn't change what I did. What I had her do." They had walked away from the rest of the group and were talking in whispers, but still the dragon slayers caught their words.
"She didn't go through with it. And, honestly, I don't think Gray needs to know." Ultear nodded.
"This could destroy their relationship." The pinkette looked back at the couple.
"We can't let that happen. We promised to make up for our mistakes, so we need to protect Juliet." She froze as soon as the last word left her lips. The older woman looked back towards the group and her face paled once she realized Gajeel's eyes were widened.
"Juliet?" He whispered, confused, before sharing a look with Natsu.
"You shouldn't have said that, Meredy." Ultear scolded, exasperated.
"That's it! I am done staying in the dark. You will tell me everything, now!" Natsu took a step forward and commanded at the two women in the distance.
"Natsu, calm down." Lucy tried, holding onto his arms to stop him from going after them.
"What's going on?" Gray stared in confusion; him and Juvia had just pulled apart from their kiss.
"I overheard what you said and I want to know." The dragon slayer was still screaming at Ultear and Meredy, who decided to approach them.
"Why do I keep forgetting about dragon slayer hearing?" The former rolled her eyes in annoyance.
"What did you say?" Jellal turned to them, desperate; while Gajeel turned to Juvia, a firm look in his eyes.
"They called you Juliet. Is that your real name ?" After everything that he had learned that night, he wouldn't be surprised if she had lied about her name too.
"Ultear!" Juvia pulled away from Gray's embrace and took a step back before turning to the older woman in disbelief.
"It was me. I'm so sorry." Meredy pleaded and the bluenette shook her head.
"It's true, isn't it?" Gray realized, seeing as she wasn't denying it. "Damn it, Juvia! What haven't you lied to me about?" If only he knew the extent of her secrets, he might never be able to forgive her.
So, thoughts?
What did you think of Juvia's real name being Juliet? Why was Dorenbolt looking for her?
And can you guess what her connection to Jellal is?
By the way, I know Erza being alive kinda ruined the whole murder plot, but I couldn't bring myself to actually kill her. Besides, without her, many of the plots I have planned for this story wouldn't be the same.
Next chapter: The reason for Juvia's name change is explained, as well as her connection to Jellal and what drew them to grow closer ever since her return from Tenrou Island. Also, Erza returns with a HUGE secret that could change everything. (plenty of flashbacks + Kagura and Milliana will make an appearance)
PS: Don't forget to tell me what couples you'd like me to include!
Can we try 4 reviews by June 16th?