Chapter Seven

AN: Guys, I know I haven't updated as often as I said I would, but here's chapter seven and hopefully you wont have to wait an eternity for chapter eight. So, last chapter we left off with Juvia preparing to assassinate Levy, Levy's emotionally backsliding, everyone's going to great lengths to protect the small blunette, and Emmit is still on the loose. Let's see what happens.

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"Why would someone pay you to kill me?" Levy stared into the oceanic glare of the woman before her. "I'm not worth that kind of thing."

"Levy seems to have low self esteem, Juvia has been there once as well. Why are you so upset?" The assassin spoke with a voice full of pain, distracted at the moment from her task.

"Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Why do you kill? Why take a life for money when that life hurts so much? Wouldn't it be easier to just let them suffer rather then put them out of their misery?" Levy felt white hot tears roll down her cheeks. "Why does life hurt so much?"

"May Juvia join you on the porch swing?" the tall blunette asked.

"Aren't you here to kill me?"

"Juvia was hired to kill Miss Levy McGarden, but Juvia doesn't want Miss Levy to cry."

Silence filled the air as Juvia sat beside the very soul she was hired to kill. When Juvia had gotten the order from her boss to kill a young blue haired woman, she hadn't thought twice about it. Now staring at this helpless creature, Juvia didn't know if she could do it. The girl was just so sad and dead inside that Juvia just wanted to hold her. The money was in her account already, however, so Levy's death was set.

"Juvia!" A loud deep voice echoed through the air. A tall, well built man ran into the yard. His black hair stuck up in random spikes on his head. A silver cross necklace dangled against his chest.

Levy stood up in shock, "Gray?"

"Miss Levy knows my Gray-sama?" Juvia instantly asked.

"Juvia, what the hell? You told me you were done killing!" Gray yelled, "And you can't kill my friend!"

"Miss Levy is your friend?"

"You know this woman?"

"Gray, Juvia, what're ya doing here?" Gajeel asked stepping out onto the porch. The large black haired man wrapped his scar riddled pierced arm around Levy's shoulders, pulling the small woman into his side.

"Gajeel, you know this woman?" Juvia asked.

"Course I do. Dammit, Rain Woman, don't you ever read your texts? I told ya I found a girl." Gajeel grunted.

"Juvia, I understand that you were paid to kill me," Levy sighed drawing the attention of both the men and the woman around her straight to her, "But I hope you'll understand if I ask you not to go through with it. Gray has been a good friend to me for many years and Gajeel has helped me and taught me to love after my ex, Emmit, raped and almost killed me before escaping prison and trying again to end my life not long ago. I am just not ready to leave my friends or Gajeel just yet."

"WHAT THE FUCK, JUVIA?! I FINALLY FIND A GIRL AND YOU TAKE OUT A HIT ON HER?!" Gajeel's yell drew Laxus, Mira and Natsu from the house into the yard where Juvia stood in shock.

"Juvia will leave now. Her job will remain incomplete. Juvia does not wish to harm her beloved or her brother. She also is rather fond of Miss Levy herself. Please forgive Juvia." The blunette began to make her way towards the street when suddenly a small hand caught her wrist. Turning Juvia found Levy holding onto her.

"Excuse me, Juvia, but could you tell me who hired you to kill me?" Levy's voice shook a little as her words sent a wave of silence through the area.

"A man named Alex Scott." Juvia sighed, looking down. "I'm sorry, Levy."

"It's okay, Juvia. Why don't you and Gray stay for dinner?" Levy smiled at the girl. "I'd like to be friends."

"I'd like that too." Juvia smiled as Gray joined them to hug Juvia. "I'm sorry, Gray-sama. Juvia never meant to hurt you, my love."

"I know, its okay." Gray sighed, kissing Juvia on her forehead. "Let's go in."

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Juvia laughed as Natsu and Gray got into their usual fight. Natsu having turned the TV to a movie about a fire breathing dragon, effectively shutting off the documentary on the ice age that Gray had been watching, sparking an argument that transformed into a brawl on the living room floor. Deciding to exit the house as the duo slammed into the coffee table, shattering it, the blunette stood under the shade of the old oak tree in Mira's back yard. Slowly she dialed her boss's number.

"Juvia," the deep, creepy voice of Jose dripped from the phone like venom. "Report."

"Target unharmed. Juvia can not kill her friend." The wind blew through her hair as Juvia gave a quick report to her boss.

"Juvia, we've talked about this. Levy McGarden dies or you do. My dear, I want her heart in my hand by sundown."

"No, Master Jose, Juvia refuses. Juvia quits. You can not have Levy." With that, Juvia hung up her cell and turned to go back to her friends.

A small form blocked her path, its brown orbs dripping with salt water. Blue curls twisted in the wind, held away from an innocent face by a red and black bandanna. A black hoodie fell to the form's thin knees hiding the red denim short shorts almost completely from view. A pair of white ankle socks poked out from a torn up, ancient pair of black converse shoes. The form reached out and snagged Juvia's phone from the taller girl's hand. Backing up a step or two, the slim fingers of the distraught creature hit the redial button.

"Levy, no," Juvia warned jumping at the phone.

"Juvia, back so soon?" Jose's venom poured from the phone.

"Jose," Levy spoke into the phone with a calmness that made Juvia's skin crawl. "You were ever the brute."

"Levy McGarden, my dear sweet girl, why won't you just die already?" Jose snarled.

"Come get me, Jose. Juvia is no longer yours, who will you send next?" Levy taunted the nightmare.

"Levy, I will win this time."

"You sold Emmit the drugs that night, you planned it out so he would kill me and you'd get away with it, but I'm still here. You left me alone when I was nothing but a tormented hermit cause I wasn't a threat to you and your operations." Levy laughed in a manner oddly resembling a maniac, "Now Alex has told you I'm out in the world again and has even offered to be a client asking you to kill me, hasn't he? But, it's you who wants me dead."

"Ever the brain, too bad you don't have the power to stop me." The phone went dead and Levy tossed it to the stunned Juvia and retreated back to the house, recreating her sweet innocence as she went.

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Gajeel watched from the screen door as Levy stole Juvia's phone. What was that crazy shrimp doing? As he watched her, the sweet, innocent girl he knew and loved slowly bristled into a threatening, four foot nothing bad ass with a score to settle. The taller blunette in the yard backed away from levy with fear in her eyes. Gajeel strained his ears to catch what was being said.

"Come get me, Jose. Juvia is no longer yours, who will you send next?"

Jose. The two bit, snarling rat from the phantom gang? How would Levy know who he was? Why did Juvia have his number? What the fuck was going on around here? Gajeel glared out the window as he tried to hear more.

"You sold Emmit the drugs that night, you planned it out so he would kill me and you'd get away with it, but I'm still here." Levy's voice echoed in his ears. Her voice distorted by hatred. The wind picked up cutting her words out, but Gajeel still caught one last bit. "But, it's you who wants me dead."

Growling in anger at the new information, Gajeel stormed away from the door. Excusing himself from the gathering of friends he passed in the kitchen, the large man went up the stairs to Mira's spare bedroom. He needed to be alone. He need to think. Jose was after Levy, who had a past that was still a mystery to him, and somehow this came back on Juvia. What the hell was he going to do? Sure, Shrimp wasn't who he thought she was, but people seldom are. That didn't mean he loved her any less. She had some connection to Jose, the same man who held Gajeel in the palm of his hands when he was younger, but Levy was still the same loving soul he'd fallen for.

Wasn't she?

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AN: HA! Turned the tables on you, huh? Let me know what you think.