Chapter 3, here it comes!
A couple of hours later Gray, relieved that the cold shower worked its magic, knocked Juvia's door. "Coming" Juvia's voice sounded from the inside. Seconds later, she opened the door and Gray gasped. She was wearing a tight denim mini-dress with a line of buttons at the front, so short that half of the Fairy Tail insignia on her left upper thigh was exposed, and her usual thigh-high boots. A brown belt with a butterfly clip hugged her waist. This is the first time she was wearing something so revealing, every other outfit he had seen her in was no shorter than the length of her knees.
"Juvia thought that a lighter clothing would be more comfortable during a fight. How does it look?" she said nervously.
Luckily for him, he was good at acting cool and indifferent no matter the situation. "It's good. You should wear it more often." he replied while moved towards the staircase. On a second thought, I'd rather rip it off and… Fuck, what am I thinking?
If Gray-sama likes it, Juvia will wear it all the time! Aaah this is the first time Gray-sama made a compliment to Juvia! Juvia is so moved!
A middle aged man, who turned out to be the mayor's assistant, was waiting for them at the central square of the village.
"My dear children, you're our last hope to get rid of that monster" he seemed desperate and at the same time happy that mages from Fiore's strongest guild had come to their rescue. They walked towards the little port as the mayor's assistant gave them some details.
"When did it first appear?" Gray asked him.
"It was about a year ago. Ever since, countless fishermen have gone missing. We've only found the debris of their boats. We've sent people to investigate, but they went missing too. Now every other fisherman refuses to go in the sea out of fear. But the village's economy is based on selling fish and seafood to the towns nearby. We no longer sell, the village is about to perish."
"That's dreadful. How is the monster like? Have you seen it?" Juvia inquired.
"Some villagers claim that they've seen it. They say it's gigantic, and its skin is covered with sharp scales." the man opened his hands to display just how big the monster is. "Please. Please save our village!"
"Yeah, don't worry, we'll deal with that thing once and for all." Gray said, bumping his fist on his other palm.
"Rest assured. We'll help you no matter what!" Juvia added. The man's face lit with hope. They had now reached Acanthus' port. Many villagers went out of their houses to see the so rumored mages from Fairy Tail that would fight with the despicable monster. Gray and Juvia walked to the edge of the marine.
"Juvia will go investigate underwater." She informed Gray but right after finishing her sentence, a big mass popped out of the sea, splashing tones of water on the marine. The monster, as if it had sensed their magical energy, showed itself, glaring at them menacingly.
The villager's screams of despair echoed in their ears. "IT'S THE MONSTER! THE DEVIL HIMSELF!"
" IT'S SO CLOSE TO THE SHORE, WE'RE DONE!"
The creature matched the assistant's description, so big that it almost occupied one's whole field of vision, it had dark blue scales, so sharp that a single shave could rip your flesh in little pieces. A pair of bright yellow eyes with black vertical slits as pupils gazed hungrily at its prey. Suddenly it roared, shooting a strong jet of air towards them. Gray grabbed a column beside him to hold himself in place and wrapped this free arm around Juvia's waist before she was blown away, holding her tight on him. She closed her eyes and buried her face in his neck, waiting for the monster to stop its ruthless attack. When it did, they both took the chance to strike back.
"Ice make Lance!"
"Water Slicer!"
The creature screamed, so loud that Gray thought his eardrums were going to break, as it took a fair damage, but the wound was not enough to incapacitate it. They saw big droplets of blood running on its scales before it instantly flicked its tail towards them. Before Gray could react the tail's tip landed on Juvia and pushed her forcefully on the ground. Then the monster disappeared in the water.
"FUCK!" he screamed, mad with himself for being unable to protect her. He run to Juvia, feeling his blood pumping fast in his head, this attack could be deadly. "Hey, are you alright?"
A big cavity had formed on her back, its walls were liquified, dripping water on the ground. "No need to worry Gray-sama, physical attacks don't affect Juvia." she said in a shaky voice, trying to sit up. Gray sighed out of relief and helped her get up.
"Juvia will dive in and attack the monster underwater to lure it out and then Gray-sama will attack it from the outside" she said when her back returned to normal. She had only made a few steps towards the end of the marine when Gray grabbed her wrist.
"It's dangerous" he said.
Juvia cupped his hand with her own hand. "Have a little trust in Juvia. Juvia is invincible in the water." He released her wrist, she liquified herself and jumped in the sea.
A few moments later, Gray could see signs of movement inside the water. Juvia must have attacked it but it seems it was not enough to make it get out. Then a whirlpool formed on the water's surface, laced with neon pink hearts. Gray shook his head, trying to remember where he had seen that before. Oh right, she had used it in the Naval Battle, during the Grand Magic Games. Wings of Love... Wait. Wut?
"Ooi Juvia, don't use that! It's embarrassing!" he shouted at the water. The monster popped out again. He had to be quick.
"Ice Geyser!" the water's surface between him and the monster froze, along with a part of its body, immobilizing it. "Ice make: Super Freeze Arrow!" The arrow pierced the monster. Seconds later it floated lifelessly.
Juvia climbed on the marine and threw herself on Gray. "We did it Gray-sama, we did it!"
"Hey, get off me!" she reluctantly did as he said. You two just defeated a monster, do you have to be so mean? a little voice sounded in his head. He sighed and reached his palm towards her. "Gimme five" She smiled and joined his hand to a high 5.
Meanwhile the villagers that watched the whole fight were now jumping out of joy. "WE'RE SAVED!"
They walked back to the port, Juvia used her water magic to move the monster's corpse to the shore. Before they realized a crowd had circled around them and soon they caught in a mess of shaking hands, hugging, people thanking them from the depths of their hearts.
...
It was evening. They were strolling in the picturesque little roads of Acanthus. It was indeed a beautiful place. All the houses were little and square, their walls covered by climbing plants, and the roof tiles had a light purple color, reminding the flower that the village was named after. Across the beach there was a bunch of little restaurants and a light smell of fried fish was all over the place. They decided to sit for dinner, as they didn't have a proper meal the whole day.
"Good evening! What would you like to order?" the waitress asked cheerfully. She was about their age, she had long blonde hair, and for some inexplicable reason she had locked her eyes on Gray. Which irritated Juvia. A lot.
"Ahem. No.57 for me. Thanks." She said and almost threw the catalogue on the waitress' head. The waitress caught the catalogue before it landed on her head, without taking her eyes off Gray. "What about you, Gray-sama?" Juvia continued, gritting her teeth.
"I want No.30"
The waitress noticed that Juvia addressed him with a honorific, assuming that they didn't have a girlfriend and boyfriend relationship, so she became a little bolder. She leaned towards him to take the catalogue, but it seemed more like an attempt to show off her cleavage. "Whatever you like" she said softly. Juvia took her napkin and tore it into little pieces. The waitress left, jiggling her butt as she walked, in case that he was looking.
Gray looked at Juvia and she forced a smile at him, trying not to let her jealousy take over. He smiled back, recalling what had happened in the fierce fight with the monster earlier. They made a good tag team after all, there was no denying. Maybe we should take on missions together more often… he thought.
About ten minutes later showed up again with their orders. She had unbuttoned a couple of buttons on her shirt. Juvia gave her an angry glare. That little bitch, she's playing dirty… Love rivals keep popping up out of nowhere!
The waitress put the plates on the table and then slid her hand on Gray's shoulder. "You know, I finish work in a couple of hours.. Would you like to go for a drink with me?" Her green eyes were sparkling as she played with her blonde locks.
Okay, that was the tip of the iceberg.
Suddenly it started to rain heavily. Clouds covered the start sky out of nowhere. "Geez, look at that rain! It's not a good weather for a night out, don't you think?" He told her.
"Guess so..." she said disappointed. "Enjoy your meal." A few moments after she left, the rain slowed down a little.
"You did that, right?" he asked Juvia.
She looked the other way, a little blush appeared on her cheeks. "Juvia doesn't know what you're talking about..."
"Thank you by the way. She was a nuisance. " he added, wearing a devious smile. It was not a lie. For some reason, the only girl he felt like starring at tonight was Juvia. They started eating.
"Umm.. Gray-sama, what is this you're eating?" she looked at the weird food on his plate.
"It's like a spring roll, but it's stuffed with seafood instead. You want some?"
"Juvia…"
"Here" he took a spring roll and moved it to her mouth. She took a bite, her teeth barely touched the tip of his finger. He removed his hand and sucked the sauce that ran on his finger. Juvia gulped. That is so hot. And he just fed Juvia! This is more than Juvia can take!
The rain now had stopped completely. Gray paid and they headed back to the inn. Now they were at the end of the staircase that led to their rooms.
"So…" he started when they reached the end of the corridor, "Which train should we take tomorrow?" He had checked the schedule at the train station, there was a train for Magnolia at 12 a.m. and another one early in the afternoon. He thought that maybe they could take the latter, so that they would have more time to see the village.
Juvia looked at him unconsciously unbuttoning his shirt. Right, we completed our mission, there's no reason to stay here any longer… She hoped that they could stay one more day. But then again, she was happy that they finally had a mission together. "Juvia would prefer the afternoon train!"
"That's what I thought too. Well then… see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight Gray-sama!" He starred as she removed a blue lock out of her face, his mind stopped functioning for a moment. He leaned and pressed his lips on hers. They were so soft. She was startled at first, her heart skipping a beat, but soon she gave in and kissed him back. He stepped back hesitantly and opened his eyes, realizing what he had just done. "Goodnight." he said huskily and turned his head the other way.
So what now? Stay tuned..
Sorry if the action scene bored you. I know some of you read it just for the lemons (I do too sometimes) but it doesn't feel right to me to go straight for it. I want this story to have a nice balance of plot, feels, humor and steam of course!