Reana and Gray were seen walking around a thick forest. It appeared like they brought along some of their belongings for the mission Reana had chosen. There was a huge silence throughout their walk as Reana was holding a map. She often held it at different angles, as if she was trying to figure out the destination of the client.
"So, do you know where we're going?" Gray asked, looking at Reana's frustrated expression.
"Of course…"
"So how far do we have left?"
"Not much…" Reana simply said, slightly irritating Gray with her simple words.
Gray scratched his cheek, 'Talking to her seems harder than I thought it'd be…'
"Care to explain to me why your clothes are gone right now…"
"Hah?" He questioned in confusion as he froze to look down. "Wha… When did I…?"
"Despite it from being adorable; I don't really understand how something like that can go unnoticed…"
"Well, it's sort of a habit now…" Gray replied defending himself, "My master used to have me do this for my training out in the cold snow…"
"Snow?" Reana questioned confused, "Did you train somewhere near snow?"
"Yeah, I guess it was to be one with the cold or something since I was learning Ice Magic."
"You're an Ice wizard?" Reana asked with a hint of joy in her tone.
"Yeah…" Gray said as he held out his hand to create a small ice sculpture of the guild mark.
"Ice Magic is just like Crystal Magic…" Reana whispered as she held out her hands to create a crystal version of the mark before grabbing his version, "They're both similar things created to showcase how much beauty they can bring." She complimented before an idea popped into her head, "Is this why you and Pinky fight? He's fire while you're ice, both of which are completely incompatible…"
"Well, this isn't the first time I heard that, but I guess you can say that, though I just hate his guts."
It seemed like Gray had finally struck a full conversation with Reana and it all began because of his stripping habits. Something about Reana struck him as her being the more mysterious type. He knew nothing big about her except that she was loud, calm, used magic and had a similar past as him.
-0-
They shortly came across a small village with people walking around normally. There were kids running around the small river and several adults minding their small shops. They continued walking until a feeble old man, who looked important came towards them.
"Can I help you two with something?" The feeble old man asked as he noticed Reana's mark, "Oh, you must be the wizards accepting this job of mine."
"You never did tell me what job you took…" Gray whispered to Reana, who ignored him.
"Yeah, that's us… I'm Reana Lancaster and this is Gray Fullbuster." Reana introduced before holding a paper, "In the flyer you said you would go into more details about the ghost."
'Ghost?' Gray thought eying Reana's happy face, 'Don't tell me she's into disturbing things like Erza…'
"Let me bring you to my home and fully explain the details of the job." The feeble old man said guiding them to his house.
They enter the man's quaint house and saw how neatly everything was placed. Everyone took a seat at his small table, waiting for the further details.
"Our whole village is indeed being robbed by a ghost. As far as I can tell, the ghost doesn't seem to take any of our valuables, but mostly just common things like fabric and many more. At first we didn't mind, but this keeps happening often and my people are getting worried of losing their things. We managed to lock them up, but for some reason, they still get stolen…"
"That does sound like a work of a ghost…" Reana noted with her arms crossed, "Are you sure it's just not some person with magic doing all of these things?"
"That does seem like a more reasonable answer to these mysterious robberies." Gray added, looking around the place.
"Also have you noticed anything peculiar about the ghost's robbing behaviors? Maybe something about which places he comes across?"
"Well, it appears that it only robs from main households like mine here." The feeble man explained, "Such as the important stores and whatnot. I'm sure the ghost is going to target our home; it has for the past few days…"
"So what should we do?" Gray asked curiously.
The feeble man smiled, "In other words, I want you lovely couple to stay in our storage room and make sure the ghost doesn't steal anything."
Gray blushed madly after his assumption as the feeble man gave a grin. Reana on the other hand was red as a tomato while her hands held her face. Nobody could really blame the old man. If you were to see the two of them alone and know nothing about them, you would figure they'd be a couple.
"D-Don't be absurd!" Reana uttered flustering, "As if I can be his girlfriend!"
"N-No, you got it all wrong!" Gray said sharply, "We're just friends!"
The man looked at them separately, "Such a shame… You're quite beautiful and I figured you already had a man to call yours…"
Reana's face got even redder, "L-Let's just hurry up and finish this job so I can get back to the guild!"
"Sorry about her…" Gray chuckled, "She's sometimes too loud…"
"I am not!" Reana retorted angrily.
"Don't worry, I don't mind at all." The man said waving his hand out with a chuckle, "Let my wife show you to the room." The man grinned as he walked out.
An old woman came beside a small doorway. She held a delighted smile on her face, almost showing her kind self like Mira.
"I take it you're going to help with our ghost problem?" The woman asked as Gray nodded his head. "Please do everything you can to help us…"
"The nerve of that old man…" Reana mumbled a bit irritated as she followed Gray and the woman.
'Sheesh, she's a lot more than I bargained for…'Gray thought looking at Reana slightly cursing in her mumbles.
"Here's the room with the things the ghost might come after." The woman said with a smile, "I'm very sorry that we had you stay in such a filthy place like this."
"Don't worry about it." Gray said as they entered, placing their stuff down.
"The ghost usually robs at night, so please try not to fall asleep…" The woman said before slightly closing the door, "If you need anything, be sure to call out!"
"With everyone I meet, they somehow seem to treat me like I'm some little child!" Reana shouted as she started touching the stashed items. "It drives me crazy sometimes!"
"Don't go touching them!" Gray scolded, amazed at her lack of formality.
"Shut up!" Reana quickly retorted, "It's not like I'm going to break anything! We're going to be here for a while and the least thing I can do is occupy my mind!"
"Fine, do what you want! It won't be my fault if something breaks." Gray said sitting on the ground, 'She's says she hates being called a child, yet she has a temper of one…'
"So, what ever happened to your master?" Reana asked catching his attention, "I mean it's not like I want to know or anything… I'm just curious…"
"So which is it?" Gray asked, "Do you want to know or what?"
Reana randomly slumped to the ground crossing her arms in front of him, "Since the conversation is already up, you might as well tell me."
'Can't she at least be a bit nicer?' Gray thought eying her before taking a huge breath, "Well, my master ended up dying when she sealed Deliora away in ice."
"You mean your master was the one who froze it in ice?" Reana asked curiously.
"The ice used to seal Deliora away was my master." Gray said as Reana's expression slowly dropped, "She used a move called Ice Shell, which changed her into the ice used to seal Deliora. Though Deliora is now dead since my master depleted its life force and the ice sank into the ocean…"
"I-I'm really sorry to hear that…" Reana said noticing how sad his story was before Gray patted her head.
"Don't get too upset over it; I'm okay now and you should be too about your master." Gray consoled as irritation crept Reana's face.
"Get your hands off my head! That makes me feel more like a child and I'm not the wimpy girl I was back then!" She retorted angrily, "Do something like that again and I'll tear your limbs apart!"
Gray took in this deadly threat of her, "Sorry about that…" Gray apologized as Reana eyed him angrily, "What did you mean by wimpy girl back then?"
Reana froze and her expression slightly changed. It looked like she was thinking about something, but what? Gray noticed this and felt like he probably made her feel uncomfortable after silence filled the room.
"Y-You don't have to say anything if you don't want to…" He continued, after noticing how uncomfortable he felt about asking her.
"I couldn't stop her back then…" Reana simply said, confusing Gray in the process.
"Stop who?"
"My older sister…" Reana said looking at her lap, "I don't really know you well enough, but I have no reason not to tell you since we're going to be seeing each other a lot…"
"If you don't feel good with talking about it I don't mind…" Gray said, 'Jeez what's with her? She says she doesn't want to do something, but she ends up doing it…'
"Look, I need to get this off my chest! Do you want to hear it or not?!"
Gray held his hands up defensively, "Alright, alright… Just calm down..."
Reana took a deep breath, "She abandoned me right after our parents and home got destroyed. I was still a kid at that time… She got corrupted with the idea of revenge and wanted to learn more about Deliora. I haven't seen her since then and I've grown to hate her for that… Any tears I had left with her since I couldn't stop her from leaving me…"
Gray couldn't help but feel sorry for Reana. Even as a child she had to go through some tough times like him, though she still hold a grudge against her only family left.
"Hate is a strong word…" Gray noticed sensing Reana's aggression, "I understand how you feel, but towards your sister?"
"How can you possible know how I feel?" Reana questioned angrily, "It still doesn't change the fact even if she was my sister! She still left me alone until I turned 16… That was when I decided to go find my aunt…"
"I…"
"Look, I don't want to talk about it anymore!" Reana gritted, turning her back to him. "Leave it be…"
Gray felt the need to comfort the poor girl despite the fact that they barely met the other day. She had a horrible past with her sister and hates her for leaving. What could Gray even do to help her? Was there anything worth trying to say?
"I'm going to seal your darkness away just like what my master did for me." Gray said, making Reana turn to look at him, "I'm sure you're capable of loving too and I want to change your hatred towards your sister."
"My hatred for my sister isn't something that can be easily sealed, but if you insist on trying, be my guest."
They continued to have some simple conversations, trying to keep themselves occupied. Gray found out that Reana could actually be pleasant to be around once you got to know her. Time quickly fell upon them when they heard small footsteps and whispering. Surprisingly they figured it'd be the owners, but the door didn't open. They kept a low profile on their noise level and saw something almost transparent like, sliding through the door.
-0-
It was a small boy, but he looked very thin. If they didn't know any better, the boy was a wizard just like them. The boy had his eyes closed before slowly turning into his regular form with a snicker. He opened his eyes, thinking he was alone, until he noticed Gray and Reana sitting down.
"Y-You!" The boy whispered sharply, "What are people doing in here? Are you also this owner's possession?"
"You little idiot! Some ghost you are!" Reana gritted angrily, "We're wizards on the job of the ghost of this village, not items and I'm guessing you're the ghost?"
"You're just a boy…" Gray noticed, looking at him.
"So? You're a boy too and you're a girl in this storage room alone…" The boy stated until he had a mischievous look on his face, "Oh…! Two people, alone… So what'd you two do in here, alone?"
Reana's vein popped out angrily just after listening to this boy's assumption. He kept emphasizing the word "alone" which drove Reana crazy. Even if he was just a boy, she wouldn't have a second though on hurting him.
"I'm on the verge of hurting you little boy!"
"Little boy? If we're calling each other names, you're the little one here!"
"Excuse me?" Reana questioned angrily, getting up, "I'm not a little girl! I'm 18 years old you…!"
"So you're the one stealing from these people?" Gray asked, getting up, "Why would you do something like that?"
"For one thing, I have my reasons and the second thing is why you're alone with this little girl?"
"Enough with the stalling and spill your motive!" Reana said, bonking the boy's head. "Either you talk or we can do this the hard way…" Reana said while holding a crystal blade on her forearm.
"Ouch!" He yelped, holding his head while looking at the blade, "Okay, okay! I'll talk! I'm only stealing things for my mom!"
"Your mom?" Gray questioned.
"Let me guess, she forced you to steal for her?" Reana asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No! Of course not! She's too kind and gentle to do that!" The boy shouted, "She's hurt and I just wanted to help her…"
"So you're helping her by stealing pointless things?" Gray questioned, gesturing to fabric.
"I don't know what I can do to help her…"
"For a kid, you're surprisingly stupid." Reana said, crossing her arms.
"Please, help me then!" The boy pleaded as the door opened to reveal the owners.
"Did the ghost finally come? We heard shouting!" The man asked, until he saw the boy.
"Oh dear, why is there a little boy here?" The woman asked.
"He's your little ghost. He's been using magic to slip through the doors." Reana explained as the boy looked down.
"I'll return all the things I took if you only help!"
Everyone looked at the boy's honest expression. Reana and Gray couldn't leave this boy's mother who was still wounded. Reana took in a deep breath before turning her head away.
"Fine, take us to your mom and I'll see what I can do…"
"Really?" The boy asked happily.
-0-
The boy began to lead Gray, Reana, and the two owners through a forest. They continued to walk for what seemed like several miles until they came across a small hut. They walked in to see a woman lying in bed, apparently she was sleeping. The boy walked over to her and slightly nudged her awake. When the woman got up, everyone saw that she had a huge injury on her arm.
"Mom, these people are going to help you…" The boy said with tears in his eyes.
"What happened to you?" Reana asked, looking at the wound.
"You see…" The woman started, "Several weeks ago, I was caught during a wizard fight and I guess it never got the chance to heal."
"Let me see what I can do then…" Reana said walking towards the lady.
Reana placed her hands out and a blue light appeared covering the woman's wound. It took a while, but during this healing process, Gray noticed how Reana was doing. She seemed a bit weakened by using her Healing magic. After a few minutes the wound began to disappear as Reana wiped her forehead.
"There, you should be fine now…" Reana said with a slight smile.
"Thank you so much lady!" The boy said before hugging his mother tightly. "I promise I'll give the stuff back too!"
"Well, you didn't cause as much damage, but why not come to my place until your mother can finally get back to her feet again?" The man asked as the boy nodded his head.
"Thank you very much." The woman said until she noticed something wrong, "Are you okay?"
"Reana?" Gray asked since she had her hand on her forehead.
"I'm fine…" Reana said breathing heavily again, "I guess that wound…" She uttered before collapsing to the floor.
"Reana!" Gray shouted as he ran to her, but she was fast asleep.
"Poor dear…" The man said looking at her.
"Is she going to be okay Mister?" The boy asked curiously, feeling a bit bad of how he treated her.
"Yeah, she just used too much magic." Gray said before carrying her bridal style.
"Thank you for the help and please give my thanks to the girl when she wakes up." The man said before giving him the small reward.
-0-
Gray decided to head out back to Magnolia while still holding the unconscious Reana in his arms. He had walked about a few miles which made him a lot closer to Magnolia. It was soon in his sights as he began to make his pace a lot faster. He often sent looks down to Reana and saw how cute she looked when she was quiet and asleep. He could hear Reana's small muttered as her eyes slowly opened.
"Where…?" Reana asked as her eyes slowly focused to her surroundings. "Gray?"
"Glad you're finally awake." Gray said looking at her with a grin.
Her eyes were finally focused which was a bad sign for Gray. She realized that he was carrying her, like a bride and to top it off his shirt was gone. Her face completely turned red and she started to push his face away, squirming in the process.
"Don't carry me like that!" She shouted pushing herself out of his grasp before falling on her butt.
"You're still loud as ever…" Gray sighed with a slight laugh, "If you wanted to walk by yourself, you should've asked."
"Shut up! I despise being carried like that. It makes me feel useless."
"But you were…"
"Don't try to get on my angry side. You've done that multiple of times already…" Reana said, getting up, "You didn't have to carry me all the way to Magnolia."
"You were unconscious the whole time. I didn't expect you to walk on your own like that."
"I would've been fine if you slapped me awake!" She retorted back at him, "I'm not some fragile girl who can't take a simple hit!"
"And why would I have to slap you awake?" He shouted questioning her strange behavior, "You were hurt and I couldn't just let you get hurt again!"
"Listen here, I can perfectly handle myself! I'm not some sort of prized possession that needs protection! I'm not a wimpy little girl anymore and let's just hurry back to the guild!" Reana said while slowly trudging back to the city with Gray following behind. "Everything that happened on this job didn't happen, got it!"
"Yeah…" Gray said agreeing with her.
-0-
The two of them finally came back to the guild. Everyone was doing their normal things; having fun or either talking about things. Mira noticed the two of them come back and walked towards them.
"Reana, Gray, welcome back." Mira said with a smile, "I take it the job went well?"
"Yeah, it went well, but it wasn't what I thought it would be…" Reana said a bit depressed.
"Gray!" Natsu roared coming out of nowhere, "Fight me!"
"Now's not the time Natsu!"
"You scared to get beaten, snowman?" Natsu asked with a smirk.
"What'd you say?!" Gray shouted before they got into their fights.
"Oh dear…" Mira chuckled before walking away, serving drinks.
"They're not really mature at all…" Reana sighed to herself as Lucy walked over to her.
"Hey Reana, how were things on your first job? I know mine wa…"
"Listen here Blondie; I know your secret…"
"Secret? What secret?" Lucy questioned with a confused expression.
"Don't act like you don't know. I know that you're the daughter of that Heartfila family." Reana simply said, shocking Lucy in the process.
"H-How'd you know about that?" Lucy asked in a whisper.
"My aunt was good friends with your mother and they talked a lot about you, so you shouldn't be surprised if I knew anything about you. Word of advice, it's best if you come clean to everyone so they know who you really are."
"Umm…" Lucy said with a grin, "If I did that, everyone might treat me differently."
"It's amazing that your father even let you join a guild. Aren't you supposed to be those prissy, fragile, and can't do anything type of daughter? I mean you were born with everything you could possibly want."
"Actually, I sort of ran away from my home…" Lucy said with a small chuckle, "It's not like he ever cared for me in the beginning…"
"Please don't tell anyone about this."
Reana looked into Lucy's pleading eyes, "Fine, I won't tell anyone, but this doesn't mean we're going to get along…" Reana said before walking away, leaving a confused Lucy behind.
'Getting along with her is going to be harder than I thought!' Lucy thought shocked.