Chapter 29: Freeze! In the Name of Love!

(A/N: Yeah I know the title is incredibly cheesy, but really, it worked so well that I couldn't let it pass me by when I came up with it. As you would've figured out already, this is dedicated to Gray and Juvia. I'm pretty sure not many people have any complaints with this couple, so I'm just going to go ahead and write it.

Also, I'm not a big fan of using an honorific in a setting where it doesn't even remotely resemble Japan – although you may have noticed me using them in my earliest chapters. But Juvia's "Gray-sama" – and her third-person mannerism, although that's a given – is so awesome that I'm going to keep it. Just for her though – don't go getting ideas that I'm going to throw around some crazy Japanese dialogue for no reason, like "Sugoi" – "Amazing" – or "Arigato" – "Thank you". I will have none of that.

Oh yeah, one last thing before we begin. I wanted to finish writing chapters 30 and 31 before I posted this, but I think I've waited long enough. Besides, I have a bit of writer's block, and that has lasted . . . about a few months, at least. So here you go.)

I do not own Code Geass or Fairy Tail.


Gray-sama is sitting with Lucy over there… … Rival!

Gray-sama seems to be enjoying his conversation with someone… Juvia wishes she was there right now…

Gray-sama…and the Guild Master, Lelouch… Is he a friendly, or a rival like everyone else?

Gray-sama stripped again! Juvia can't handle it anymore!

Gray-sama…

These were just a few of the thoughts going through Juvia Lockser's head whenever she was 'observing' Gray's activities during the day. It seemed to have become a habit of hers to watch practically everything he does, and she hadn't noticed it was becoming a bit of a problem – no matter how funny it was to everyone else. Even some of the guild members (that is, Team Sorcière and Lelouch – a clueless chick magnet himself, according to the newspapers going around Magnolia with his name being mentioned in the gossip section's 'Top 100 Hottest Guys in Magnolia', of which he was always first) were starting to wonder when the girl would just go up to the Ice Make wizard and ask him out or something. It wasn't like she wasn't old enough to do that.

"You think she'll ever break the habit?" Ultear asked those sitting with her.

"I don't want her to; it's frickin' hilarious," said Reiji, smirking.

"That's horrible," Meredy told him.

Still smiling, Reiji said to her, "I know. That's why I said it."

"Still," Andreas started. "Maybe Gray should start paying attention."

Ryuko nodded. "I agree; it's also his fault that Juvia is doing this. She wouldn't have to if he told her how he felt, whether he shares her feelings or not."

"If you ask me," Jellal voiced in, his arms folded and elbows resting on the table, "I think Gray's too scared to admit it to himself."

"Scared?"

"Think about it. More than once we've seen Gray look over his shoulder to see if Juvia was there whenever he thought no-one was looking. He's unsure of the situation; he doesn't know what to do."

"Who can blame him?" Andreas asked rhetorically. "It's possible he doesn't know how he feels about her."

"Well, he better figure it out sooner or later," Ultear said.

Meanwhile, Gray sat in his seat – wearing only his boxers – thinking, Why does Juvia keep watching me from a distance? Do I smell bad or something? He sighed. I don't get it…

An unexpected visitor entered the guild. He had white hair. And if anyone in Fairy Tail knew him personally, it would be Gray.

"Greetings, Fairy Tail," Lyon said loud enough for them to note his presence.

Gray – with his clothes back on – got up from his seat, surprised. "Lyon?"

Lelouch took notice of the new arrival, so he walked up to him and made himself known. "Lamia Scale's very own Ice Make wizard, huh? I would assume Jura and a few other wizards from your guild would be here as well."

"You must be the new Guild Master. It's a pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand.

"The feeling's mutual." Lelouch shook it.

"And you're correct. I was meant to show up with a few other members of my guild on official business, but I decided to come here beforehand on my own. I wanted to see how everyone was doing after disappearing for seven years."

"Well if you wanted to see everyone the same way they were before Heaven Wolf Island then you're a little late. There are already a few changes here," Lelouch told him.

"I see. I could've showed up here earlier, but I'm afraid I was too busy."

Gray finally walked over to his old training partner. "Hey Lyon, haven't seen you in while."

"Good to see you're safe and sound Gray."

"So you said you were on official business?" the Guild Master asked, bringing up a point made earlier.

"I am. Everyone else wanted to tag along soon after I was given the task."

"Understood. But before that, I assume you would like to mingle with Gray and everyone else for a bit, so meet me upstairs when you're done."

"Yes, thank you."

He walked off.

"So how you been Lyon?" Gray asked.

Lyon shrugged. "Alright I guess. I have–"

All of a sudden, Lyon grew very quiet.

"Lyon…?" Gray called.

Lamia Scale's Ice Make wizard was staring at a gorgeous blue-haired woman hiding behind a table, watching from afar. His chest felt lighter, his cheeks were flushed, and he felt a bit woozy in the head. Either he was drunk, or he fell in love at first sight.

He preferred the latter option – made more sense.

Blushing, he walked over to Juvia and held her hands. "And who is this beautiful young woman? Please, may I have your name?"

The rain woman was pretty confused right about now. "Uh, it's Juvia…" Who is this person?

The name set Lyon's heart on fire. "Juvia, what a lovely name! It suits you perfectly."
"Okay, easy now, lover boy," said Gray, pulling him aside, all the while Lyon was muttering to himself the different ways he could address Juvia from now on (he came up with 'Lady Juvia', 'Miss Juvia', 'Princess Juvia' and many more).

Team Sorcière had a good idea of what the future was going to hold, especially after seeing that little event. Reiji appeared to be the only one supporting a threesome between the three of them. Ryuko whacked him in the back of the head for saying an unnecessary comment. But he just laughed.

Gray tried talking to Lyon again, but Lamia Scale's wizard was in his own little dreamland. So Lelouch told him to go back to his guild, saying the message could wait. Lyon did, albeit slowly and hesitantly, since Juvia was in there.

Gray sat back in his seat – naked, again (causing Juvia to have a nosebleed when she turned to face him) – and thought, Something's wrong with that guy…


The night sky glittered, stars shining brightly with the accompaniment of the planet's moon, like moths hanging around an open flame. There was a cricket somewhere in the distance, chirping, minding its own business. The occasional predatory night-hunting bird flew over the city of Magnolia, disturbing none of its inhabitants as they wistfully slept through the night.

Lelouch was dreaming.

The young Guild Master stood still in the bright light engulfing the area, patiently waiting for his friend to arrive at any moment. It always bugged Lelouch whenever his friend was late, and tonight was not going to be an exception of that. He almost considered leaving the dream, until he saw the man of the hour arrive, clad in the outfit of Zero.

"You took your time," said Lelouch.

"Sorry," Suzaku replied, taking off his mask and holding it under his arm, looking much more older than Lelouch was familiar with. "I had trouble sleeping tonight."

"Why's that?"

Suzaku explained, "We were literally one gunshot away from starting another war."

Lelouch tensed. "What happened?"

"Nunnally was holding a special conference in Pendragon before a group of Britannian purists started to cause a ruckus. They planned on assassinating the Empress."

Lelouch was a little concerned. "How is Nunnally?"

"She's safe," he told him. "She isn't really scared anymore. She got over the fear of getting killed by the time she reached her 20s."

Lelouch forgot how long it had been since he died. As of now, Nunnally was 28 (although he didn't actually know that, because he arrived in Earth Land seven years later than he should have; so now his sense of time was misplaced and he thought she was 21). The thought sort of scared him; the thought that Nunnally was now an adult frightened him. For a while, he only imagined Nunnally as the same defenceless little girl in a wheelchair back when they were still living in Ashford Academy together. But now that image was destroyed by reality; Nunnally was independent now – still crippled, and slowly rehabilitating herself (according to Suzaku), but independent nonetheless. That made him glad.

For a while this dream was the only opportunity for Lelouch and Suzaku to talk about what happened back in their home world: a place Lelouch had become unfamiliar with for quite some time now. Regardless, they talked about what happened in their respective worlds, seeing as how there was no way to contact each other apart from this, and not to mention there wasn't much else to talk about anyway. Lelouch had counted the amount of conversations they had over the past seven years (should be fourteen), and the total amounted to at least over 700.

"Here's something I haven't asked you in a while," Suzaku brought up after a long conversation about other things. "How's Fairy Tail coming along?"

Lelouch smirked. "They're all doing fine, actually. Natsu Dragneel and Lisanna Strauss are a couple now."

"Wait, you mean the Dragon Slayer whose 'desire for love' as you put it is lower than your dirty tactics?"

Lelouch laughed. "That's right, that's the one."

Suzaku was quite surprised. "Huh. Well good for him." After a short moment, Suzaku asked, "Is anyone else in a relationship?"

"Not at this point, although Team Sorcière are rooting for Gray and Juvia at the moment."

"Oh yeah, the stripper and the stalker."

The two of them laughed.

"Still, it's good to see you so relaxed, Lelouch."

"Hmm?"

"Think about it. You haven't been this happy in a long time. This world is doing you some good." Suzaku smiled. "I'm glad things are working out for you."

Lelouch frowned. "You think so?"

Suzaku nodded.

Lelouch turned away and paused for a very long time. "Perhaps you're right…" he said after a while.

"Is something the matter?" Suzaku asked.

"Three things are the matter." Lelouch turned around to face his friend again. "One: Tsumibito isn't talking to my conscious self very much; he's leaving it until I kill him."

"Sounds like typical behaviour from you if you ask me."

"Two: the Strauss family ordeal is still bothering me. I haven't had a lot of time to go and investigate."

"And the third problem?"

Lelouch paused for a little bit, wondering how to word it properly. "I feel strange whenever I think about Mirajane."

"You mean the oldest Strauss sibling? How'd this happen?"

Lelouch told him about being turned into a girl and that Mirajane saved him by kissing him (and got pretty angry at Suzaku for laughing mid-explanation).

"Okay, so you're not sure of what to do about it," Suzaku concluded.

"Put simply, yes."

Suzaku thought about it for a bit. "Do you want to be together with her?"

Lelouch looked away in silence. "I don't know…"

"It's because of everyone else back in my world, isn't it?"

"In this dream? Yes. Out there? That's harder to answer, because I'm still missing half my memories when I'm awake."

"I see… So you're having trouble moving on…" Suzaku looked a little sad.

"I don't know what to think about anything anymore… Especially after Kishi…"

"…"

"…"

"If possible, tell yourself when you're awake to consider the possibility of being together with someone. It might help you in the long run."

"Maybe…"

"Well, you told me that Reiji lied to you when you asked him why he turned you into a girl. Do you think you know what his real intention was?"

Lelouch thought about it for a split second before reaching an answer. "It was probably his way of telling me to get a girlfriend."

"My thought exactly," Suzaku said. "So just consider it. Who knows? Maybe when you wake up you'll reach the same conclusion there as you did here."

The dream world started to fade.

"Anyway, it's time to go." Suzaku turned to walk away. "See you tomorrow?"

"Y-Yeah, we'll see…"

Suzaku put on his mask, and–

Lelouch woke up, and the first thought to come to mind was, Ceiling: made of wood, five metres above me. It was a routine habit of his; he'd been doing it for about six weeks now. But the next thought was different from the usual, and he didn't even know where the thought came from.

"Reiji wanted me to get a girlfriend," he said aloud before he realised what escaped his lips.


Footsteps echoed in the dark pathway, leading to the bottom of the Magic Council's branch building, and into the prison that held Fiore's worst criminals captive. However, the footsteps moved down to the lower level, where only one prisoner – amidst all of the foul stenches and dead rat carcasses – was chained to the very walls of his cell, deprived of basic human decency. And this was where the footsteps finished their destination.

Tsumibito chuckled with his head held low. "What an unexpected surprise. It looks like Lelouch isn't as cold-hearted as I first thought." He looked up, his hair partly hiding his left eye, as he said, "What do you think about all of this, Erza?"

Erza Scarlet stood close to the cell door with her arms folded, and gave him a stern look. Lelouch, so this is…


This was what happened.

"You want me to visit a prisoner?" Erza said.

"He specifically requested it before his execution," Lelouch explained.

"But why me? And who is this prisoner anyway?"

Lelouch took a deep breath. "He's my Edolas counterpart."

"Ah-!" Erza was shocked. "B-But how…? I thought only the Exceeds and Mystogan were from Edolas…"

Lelouch explained everything he knew from the conversations with his other half, careful to avoid anything to do with his own past and current power that isn't from Earth Land.

"I see," Erza concluded. "So that's why he wants to see me."

"Make sure you don't do anything rash when you meet him," Lelouch warned. "If Tsumibito were to be cut free somehow, then I predict that something terrible will happen."

"I understand."


"Your name is Lelouch too, isn't it?" asked the scarlet-haired wizard.

"Just what exactly has he told you?"

"I know that you decided to be my Edolas counterpart's big brother, for one thing, and that that is why you wanted to see me."

Tsumibito muffled his laugh by closing his lips. "Has he told you anything about his past?"

"His?"

"Forget it…" So then…it looks like he avoided talking about himself for now.

Erza didn't quite know what to do here. She was asked to see him, but she wasn't told anything beyond that; apart from Tsumibito's life in Edolas, anyway. It sort of felt like her Guild Master just dumped this on her and expected her to adapt instantly.

She knew from life experience that she couldn't adapt that quickly, not since she was taken from Rosemary Village.

Erza sat down on the concrete with her legs crossed. "So tell me, were you happy in Edolas?"

"…" Tsumibito expected this question, but he still couldn't come up with an appropriate answer. He could lie and keep up his façade, or he could be honest so that this moment would be the last thing on his mind before he died. So he tried playing cryptic. "That depends. Are you asking me if I was happy living with you, or are you asking if I was happy living under a totalitarian dictatorship where the king was as corrupt as I was?"

"Was?"

Damn it, a slip of the tongue… So much for playing the cryptic… "Am," he 'corrected'.

Erza sat in silence. Just what happened to Lelouch? I remember him telling me a long time ago now that he isn't from Earth Land or Edolas. So what… "You're not originally from Edolas, are you?"

"You're perceptive; it's a commendable trait. You're correct. I'm not from the worlds that you know of. I came from another one altogether. I take it Lelouch told you that."

"Seven years ago, he did; when we first met him."

"I see… So where exactly is this going?" He already had a feeling he knew the answer.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"As if you weren't doing that already…"

"Did you…have any family in your world?"

Tsumibito lowered his head, avoiding eye contact and letting his long hair fall in front of his face. His hunch was spot-on. "…"

"Sorry, a stupid question–"

"My family mostly consisted of half-siblings, but yes, I had one sibling who shared my surname." It wasn't like Erza was going to do anything with this information, so it wouldn't hurt to make himself out to be the tragic villain.

"Oh? Who is it?"

"Her name was Nunnally. She was my little sister…"

"Is she still alive?"

"As far as I know, she was alive before I arrived in Edolas. But now, I don't know…"

"I see…" She shifted her body so that her back was lying against the steel of the jail door. "What was Nunnally like? Was she a good sister?"

Tsumibito answered, "Yes… She was a wonderful sister… Her smile…always made my day seem so much better than it was…"

"How old was she, before…you know…"

"She wasn't even 15."

His answer made Erza feel sad. "Oh…"

"…"

"What was life like back in your world?"

"Nothing to be particularly proud of if that's what you were wondering. Most of the countries in my world were fighting over other countries like a game of tug-of-war. My family was in control of one of those superpowers. And I wanted nothing to do with it, after my mother was killed."

"Did you ever find out what happened to her?"

"I did, but it'd take too long to explain."

"…"

"You weren't expecting this, were you?"

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting anything," Erza admitted. "When I heard that you were Lelouch's counterpart, I didn't know what to expect. He doesn't talk about his past very much, if at all."

"That's to be expected," said Tsumibito. "The past wasn't very pleasant for the both of us. He also doesn't remember half of the things he has done."

"Do you know why?"

"No," he lied convincingly.

"But how does that work? You sound like you know everything about him."

That's because I do, Tsumibito thought quietly. "I don't have to explain everything to you."

"No, I guess you're right."

"…"

"Tell me something: do I remind you of her?"

"You're going to have to elaborate," he told her.

"Do I remind you of my counterpart?" she corrected.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"So that's why you wanted to see me before your execution. You wanted to remember the new memories you made in Edolas before you passed on."

"I take back what I said earlier. You're a little too perceptive for your own good."

Erza stood up and leaned her back against the door, arms folded again, and hiding her smile.

"Tell me something," Tsumibito asked. "What do you think about Lelouch executing me, Erza?"

"Personally I'm against it, as are most of the members of Fairy Tail," she answered truthfully.

"Well then, if you're so against it, why don't you cut me loose; let me have a fair trial and be sentenced to life in prison instead?"

"Even Fairy Tail isn't stupid enough to disobey the laws of capital punishment."

"Then answer me this: why is Fairy Tail, a guild against killing anyone, under the executor's command? Doesn't that contradict your guild's policy of not killing anyone?"

Tsumibito had a point. Lelouch was their Guild Master, yet he was also going to be the one to carry out Tsumibito's sentence. So why was he in Fairy Tail, let alone in charge of it?

Luckily, Erza had an answer. "Lelouch is the only one who can confront his past. No-one else can do it for him. If it means he has to kill someone in order to move on, then even I would find that acceptable, depending on who has to die. Someone like you as far as I know should be killed right now according to the law, but I personally can't do anything about it."

"So is that… …from experience?"

Erza stopped leaning on the door, still not facing Tsumibito. "No… It's a way of life."

"Ah-!" He remembered the exact conversation he had with C.C. when she said that.

"You reap what you sew. Have you heard of that saying before?"

"More often than you think," said Tsumibito.

"In that case, you should know why Lelouch is doing this then. Try to understand that Fairy Tail accepts anyone into the guild if they want to escape their past."

"Even I think that's cowardly," he said.

"You can think what you like, but it doesn't mean everyone will agree with you."

"I can force them to if I wanted. You saw the mark in my left eye when I looked at you; it's as clear as day. Why else have you been turning your back to me for half the conversation?"

Erza didn't actually know that until now, but now she really wasn't going to look at him. But it did raise an interesting question. "Does Lelouch have this power you speak of?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Tsumibito asked, looking up at her back. He was smiling slyly.

"You know he won't answer that himself."

"Then drop it. It's not something you need to concern yourself over." Not yet anyway.

Erza unfolded her arms and held them at her side. "Well then there's nothing more I have to say to you." She went on her way–

"It was nice talking to you, Erza."

–and stopped.

She stood in silence for what felt like a few minutes, but she finally replied. "Yeah… The feeling's mutual, Lelouch." And then she was gone.

'Reap what I sew'? What an interesting thing to say to me, Erza, because I'm going to do all of the reaping here.

A small chuckle escaped him, and it echoed quietly in the lowest level of the prison.


Juvia was spying on Gray again, as usual. And again, a select few members of Fairy Tail took notice and worried about the ordeal. In short, it was a typical day for some people. But this day was going to be a little different.

"Gray, Juvia, I need to see you both," called Lelouch from the other side of the guild.

When they approached him, Lelouch said, "I have a special mission for you two to go on."

"A special mission?" Gray repeated.

A mission . . . with Gray-sama…? Juvia thought, her stomach getting butterflies.

Lelouch handed them the job request paper. "Allow me to explain what you have to do."

Juvia took the paper and read it while Gray listened to Lelouch.

The Guild Master explained, "It's a bounty mission. The two of you are to go to the newly reconstructed capital city, Crocus, and to search for a suspicious character – look at the photo so that you know what he looks like – and are to apprehend him for questioning by order of the Magic Council."

"Since when did the Magic Council turn to official guilds for help?" Gray pondered. "I always thought they caught their own suspects."

"They've tried," Lelouch told him, "but this one has always slipped past them. Not to mention they no longer have the Rune Knights to assist them."

"Why's that?" Juvia asked, having heard the last sentence.

"It's because the Rune Knights were disbanded by order of the new king of the Fiore Kingdom. Now the king only hires powerful wizards from well-known guilds to take positions in guard duty, patrol, and even crowd control."

"Man, times sure have changed…" Gray remarked.

"Here Gray-sama, you can read it," said Juvia, and the ice wizard took it from her.

"And one more thing," Lelouch said to them. "It's believed that this person has connections to Tartaros."

"You mean the dark guild?" Gray asked.

"Yes. They've been missing for nearly four years. The Magic Council has been looking all over the country for them, but they haven't had a lead until just recently."

"So they asked Fairy Tail for help?" Juvia asked Lelouch.

He told her, "I personally requested that they gave this to us."

Gray looked down at the paper and saw the picture of the suspect.

The tanned man looked to be in his 40s, and had a long black beard that reached down to the middle of his chest. He was bald, and he had an ugly look in his eyes. His name was Carlos Mussolini, and rumour had it that he was affiliated with several dark guilds before the Great Wizard Generals attacked the Isle of Sin.

"Looks pretty feral if you ask me," said Gray.

"Compared to your level of ability he's pretty harmless," said the Guild Master. "I trust that the two of you can handle this. Try to get it done within the week."

"Got it." Nonchalantly, Gray turned back and waved Lelouch goodbye. Before Juvia left to go after her crush, Lelouch put a hand on her shoulder and spoke into her ear in a low-key.

"If you want to advance in your relationship with him, then you need to approach your situation more casually."

"Eh? Juvia does not understand."

"Trust me; you'll figure it out." And then Lelouch disappeared with an Angel Step.

Advance Juvia's relationship…casually…? If only Juvia could understand anything the Guild Master says…

Quite a few people found they couldn't do that either.


Gray and Juvia arrived in Crocus in two days time. Overall, the city looked pretty much the same as it did before the Balam Alliance burned it all to the ground. But it definitely didn't feel the same as before, and Gray and Juvia felt that difference as soon as they arrived. At first they thought it was because they hadn't been to Crocus in at least seven years. But they knew that wasn't the case, since Lelouch told them it was reconstructed.

"I feel out of place here," said Gray as the Fairy Tail duo walked on a small bridge.

"Juvia agrees. It really has been a long time since Juvia has visited the capital."

"This might make it harder for us to find that Carlos guy. We should probably get a map of the city somewhere and find any locations where he might be hiding." They were now walking along a street with several houses on either side of them.

"But we don't know where the library could be."

"Well, then we ask some of the locals."

It took the two of them about twenty minutes to find a single person in the gigantic city. It was sort of ridiculous, unless somehow the population dropped severely. But when they asked about that, it turned out that there weren't many people who moved into the capital in the first place, because they feared it would go up in flames like seven years ago. It appeared that despite all of the messages going across Fiore that Crocus was safe again, people didn't trust the authorities. Some didn't trust them because Fiore's Magic Council branch wasn't even completely occupied by anyone from the Kingdom. Some just didn't care. And some were family members of the victims of the great fire, so their suspicions were partly justified.

Eventually, the two Fairy Tail wizards made it to the library – completely remodelled; in no way similar to the old one. It was like the city was trying to remove a giant stain on its clothes, but instead made an attempt to cover it up by applying too much bleach.

Gray and Juvia went to a hotel where they would strategise their next move in order to catch Carlos Mussolini. It was early in the evening, and the sun was setting.

The hotel room was finely decorated with two separate beds – Gray's request, because Juvia was being all weird about sharing a double bed – and two bedside tables with lamps on them. There was a door that led to the bathroom, and there was even that new invention, the television, in the room. Gray sat on the bed furthest from the window (which was opposite the main door) and picked up the remote.

"What's this thing?" Gray asked, examining the strange new device.

"Juvia does not know, although Juvia thinks it has to do with that black box over there." She pointed at the TV.

Gray pointed the remote and pressed what he assumed was the 'on' button, and suddenly the screen came to life.

The TV just happened to be on the 'adults only' channel.

That made things awkward.

At first, they both just looked at it dumbly, like they didn't know what it was. But then as realisation crept up on them, their faces were either full of embarrassment (Gray), or full of wickedness (Juvia).

Before things became worse, Gray turned off the TV and placed the remote down onto his bed. "Well… That was… …interesting…"

"Juvia wanted to watch more to see where it was going."

"Don't get any ideas; we have to focus on finding that Carlos guy." He pulled out the map they had and placed it in front of him on his bed. "Okay, first off we should look at locations closest to the edge of the city, because it would be possible for him to have a quick and easy escape."

Truthfully, Gray was doing his best to distract himself. He wished he never turned on the TV in the first place; now he couldn't focus. And Juvia… He looked up at her briefly without her knowing, and now he couldn't help but think of how voluptuous she appeared to be.

Stupid box, he thought, referring to the TV.

Juvia sat down on his bed, appearing to be contemplating something. Relationship… Be casual… "Gray-sama."

"What."

Juvia avoided looking directly at him. "Do you . . . find Juvia attractive…? Or do you . . . hate Juvia…?"

"Oh come on, don't tell me you're comparing yourself to that girl in the black box–"

"No! Juvia isn't!"

"Then what the hell are you talking about?"

"Juvia wants to… Juvia wants…" She held her hand to her chest, hiding her blush.

Gray sighed. "No I don't hate you."

"Is…that so…?"

He got up and turned his back to her. "You are what you are. You're not a bad person by any means, it's just…" He rubbed the back of his head. "…well, I don't know… You need to . . . be more social with other people."

"Social…?" He looked back up to him.

"Yeah, like with me… I mean, sure, we talk once in a while, but it's nothing special… If you wanna be friends with me, then . . . don't hide so much. Come out and talk to me; I'm right there if you need me."

"Gray-sama…" Juvia got teary-eyed.

The ice wizard turned back and saw what he did. "Oh for crying out loud… I made you upset and now you're crying…" He was blushing too, although it was from embarrassment instead of being nervous. He hated it when he saw women cry – Juvia was no exception. He hated it because he didn't know what to do about it.

"No, Juvia is not sad…" She smiled. "Juvia is happy…that Gray-sama doesn't hate Juvia…"

He put his hands in his pockets. "I'm gonna go out for a little walk. The sun's going down, so it'd be nice."

Juvia wiped her tears away. "Okay… Juvia will see you later then…"

"Yeah… Later." And then he left the hotel.


Gray walked along the empty streets of Crocus, with nothing but the streetlights guiding him along the road. He was thinking about Juvia. For some reason he couldn't stop thinking about her, even though he was able to before he went on this mission. What was wrong with him?

Yeah… What is wrong with me? ... She's probably worried about me right now. It's not like I'm trying to make her worry, but… Dah man… I dunno what to think about her… She's a nice girl, yeah, but she acts . . . weird around me… I've been trying not to notice since she joined the guild, but her hiding spots really aren't that good for camouflage. Not unless it's a puddle of water on the floor…

Ah forget it. That's not important.

Juvia… What was she trying to say to me earlier? Something about me finding her attractive or something… Well that's…

He stopped under a streetlight.

a good question, actually… It's pretty obvious that she likes me; I just ignored it up until now and thought nothing of it. But what do I think of her? Do I like her, the same way she likes me?

He started walking again.

I don't find her unattractive in any way. I mean, I remember that one time she wore a bikini in the Miss Fairy Tail contest during the Harvest Festival…

He blushed.

Damn, she actually looked pretty good…

He shook his head, shaking away the thought.

When you add it all up, she seems like the ideal girlfriend – or at least I think that's a good assumption. So then, what's holding me back?

He stopped under another streetlight and looked up, catching the glimpse of a suspicious shadow.

That guy… I felt his presence about three blocks away. Why is he following me? "Hey, you over there!" he called out. "What are you doing following me?"

The shadow ran off.

He followed after it. Is it that Carlos guy? No, it can't be; not unless he figured out who was going after him already. But we just got here, there's no way!

He weaved through a couple of buildings and got out onto another street. He looked up and saw the shadow on the roof. "Hey, stop!" He ran after it, and put a fist into his hand. "Ice Make: Lance!"

The ice lances advanced and stopped the shadow in its tracks. But it moved to another building with little difficulty.

Gray made a staircase out of ice and climbed it to get onto the rooftops. But by the time he got there, the shadow was gone. "Damn it, where'd he go?"

"Is something the matter, Gray?"

Gray turned around and saw Lyon standing on the roof with him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gray asked.

"I was about to ask you that. I was following that shadow thinking it was Carlos Mussolini."

"Wait, you're after that guy too?"

"I was asked by my Guild Master to go on the mission," Lyon told him. "I heard there were going to be two other wizards doing this mission as well. Tell me, who is the other wizard?"

"None of your business Lyon. I wanna know why you're looking for the same guy as we are."

"And that is none of your business," Lyon countered. "I was asked to do this and I accepted it."

Gray sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. It's Juvia; we're working together on this."

"You mean the Lady Juvia!?" Lyon asked excitedly and out of the blue.

"Um… Yeah, whatever…"

"Oh Miss Juvia, now I have to see you," he rambled, speaking to no-one in particular while addressing Juvia's name with different words, like 'Princess', 'Fair Lady' or even 'Queen'.

"Um… Are you okay, Lyon…?"

"Be quiet! I am thinking about what Her Majesty Juvia and I can do together! We can go to the beach, or read a magazine, or watch a movie!"

"Uh…" Why the hell would you share a magazine at the same time?

Returning back to normal, Lyon said, "Now if you'll excuse me Gray, I'll return to my room for tonight. It's too early for me to start looking for Mussolini, since I only arrived here in the city a few hours ago."

"Gee, what a coincidence," he muttered sarcastically, not mentioning he and Juvia arrived at around the same time.

"So long, Gray." And then he was gone.


"Gray-sama, Juvia is done with her shower," she said, coming out of the bathroom with nothing but a bath towel wrapped around her body. Then she saw Grey stripping (he hadn't noticed he was doing it) and she started getting ideas. "G-Gray-sama, don't tell Juvia you…want to do that now?"

"Huh?" He turned around and saw Juvia. He blushed when he realised she was wearing nothing but a towel. "Remind me again why we're sharing a hotel room." He was down to his boxers in no time flat.

"We didn't have enough money to rent two…"

"… Oh yeah…" He felt like an idiot.

"Gray-sama, do you not like what you see?"

He turned and walked up to her. "I thought I told you that I don't hate–"

He slipped on the water on the ground, and fell on top of Juvia with his face buried in her breasts. They crashed down to the floor.

The air was very still.

Juvia looked at Grey after he got up from her, but still hovering over her. Somewhere along the way the towel slipped off of her. "Are you alright, Gray-sama?"

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Crap crap crap crap crap crap crap what am I doing what am I doing how did this happen!?

"Gray-sama…" Juvia raised her head slowly, getting closer and closer to his.

Gray saw this, and told himself to move away, but he just couldn't. She had him right in her grasp. He inched closer to her face as well.

No.

Gray pulled back.

"Gray-sama, what's wrong…?"

"I…" His fringe covered his eyes. "I can't…"

"Can't what?"

"I can't do this… It doesn't feel right." He got up from her and headed for the bathroom. "I'll be in the shower," he said before closing the door.

Juvia was stunned; shocked. She and Gray were so close to fulfilling her fantasies that she thought she was going to pass out. But then he pulled away. But wait, didn't he say it didn't feel right?

Does that mean, she thought as she lied naked on the floor, that Gray-sama likes Juvia after all? But then, what does this mean for the both of us? Won't this change things?

That last thought was correct.


"Hey, Lelouch," Reiji called. "Come here for a minute."

When he arrived, the Guild Master said, "I told you before Reiji and I'll say it again: I am not going to monitor Gray's and Juvia's activities during their mission."

"But why not? I mean, you already organised it so that Gray, Juvia and Lyon were going to go on the same mission at the same time. Not to mention you hid the fact that the Magic Council actually captured this Carlos guy after we defeated Tsumibito years ago now, and that you 'kindly' asked the Council to let you 'see' the prisoner due to 'something important'." He was referring to Lelouch's Geass, which all of Team Sorcière knew about for quite a while now. But they agreed to keep it a secret from the rest of Fairy Tail; it would complicate things otherwise.

"Yeah, because you asked me to," he countered.

"Let it go you two," said Ryuko. "You're both lucky that Team Sorcière is the only group in the guild right now talking about this."

"Well it is night-time," Andreas said. "And a lot of the guild members are on missions themselves; the others are at home."

Jellal asked Ultear and Meredy, "Is it just me, or is it always Ryuko, Andreas and Reiji who contribute to the conversation more than the three of us combined?"

The two of them shrugged.

"Speaking of which," Lelouch continued, "when was the last time any of you went on a mission? All I've seen you six do is hang out at the guild all day."

"What are you, my mother?" Reiji asked with a grin.

"Isn't your mother dead?" Andreas asked.

Reiji answered with the grin still on his face, "That's why it's funny."

"I've been taking jobs," Meredy said, putting her hand up.

Ultear put Meredy's hand down. "No no, let's see where this conversation goes."

"I don't need to go on missions," Reiji told the Guild Master. "I've been taking money from you all this time."

"So you're the reason why my funds are always low!"

"Problem, Master?"

"Yes actually, there is a 'problem', and it involves your things being laid out on the side of the street – what will be left of them anyway."

"…" Reiji paled, still smirking. "I'll stop now."

"Anyway, back on topic," Jellal said. "The three of us–" And he gestured to himself, Ultear and Meredy. "–have been going on jobs every fortnight."

Ultear said, "We don't seem to go anywhere else because we get the job done in less than two days."

Andreas told them, "And I've been sharing missions with my family when they ask me to go with them."

Ryuko said, "I take them when I can; they're usually S-Class because then I get bigger rewards."

Lelouch reassessed everyone's alibis. "So basically, Reiji is the only one who hasn't gone on a job recently."

Everyone except Reiji nodded.

Then Lelouch figured something out. "Reiji, where were you last night?"

"In Crocus."

I knew it… "I have a special mission for you, even though it appears you've started it early."

"Ah crap…"


It took them a while, but Gray and Juvia finally decided on two spots where Carlos Mussolini would likely be hiding at. They chose to look around in the shopping district (Juvia), and the library (Gray). But what they didn't know was that someone high in the sky was watching them down below, by order of his Guild Master.

"Da da da da dum," Reiji sang as he manipulated the wind to make him do cartwheels in the air. "Dum dum. Dum dum."

Gray entered the library.

"Da da da da dum." Now he was doing somersaults while flying down low to the ground while singing at a higher key. "Dum dum. Dum dum."

Juvia walked through the shopping district.

And now through crowds of people – Lyon was among them – Reiji kept singing while doing backstrokes in the air. "Da da da – Oh yeah, Lyon, Juvia's in the shopping district – da dum." He stopped backstroking and, with his arms stretched out, began spinning around like a disc. "Dum dum. Dum dum."

Gray found the target: Carlos was pretending to read a book. Fairy Tail's ice wizard did the smart thing by walking past him casually before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Carlos Mussolini, you're coming with me."

"Da da daaaaaaaaaa," Reiji sang, "da da daaaa, da daa, da dum, de dum dum."

Carlos made a break for it, and Gray followed suit.

Carlos burst out into the open street and ran right. Gray followed up not too long afterwards and went down the same road. Faster than Gray would've wanted, Carlos merged with the crowd around the corner. Regardless, he started to move through the crowd as fast as possible, pushing aside anyone who kept on getting in his way. And then he saw Carlos climb onto a building and began running on the rooftops. Gray smirked as he used his magic to create a slide made of ice that led him right to the rooftops.

When he landed, he began sprinting, jumping over any gaps the buildings had and quickening his pace. Carlos, despite his rather obese-looking figure, was actually pretty quick. If Gray was to catch him, he would probably have to rely on more magic.

The buildings eventually led to an open road. Carlos had no way of crossing over to the other side in a single jump. He would have to jump down and waste time climbing the next building. If he didn't do something, he was going to get captured. He had no time to think, so he went ahead and jumped off the building. He landed, and sprinted over to the other side.

Gray reached the same spot a couple of seconds after Carlos, and when he noticed that Carlos was starting to climb the next building, he made a hand gesture and said, "Ice Make: Lance!"

Carlos somehow dodged and kept running.

"Damn it!" He made another slide of ice and kept up the pursuit.

Suddenly, Carlos jumped back down into another street and ran to the y-intersection of the road. Gray followed as best as he could in the crowd. When he arrived at the intersection, he saw something that made him almost stop moving altogether.

It was Juvia. And Lyon. They were both in the shopping district; the right side of the intersection.

Time slowed down for Gray, each step feeling like it was taking forever.

Juvia? And Lyon too? What are they doing together? He turned his head to Carlos, who was running to the left side of the intersection. Damn it, if I stop moving now, I'm gonna lose Carlos! But wait, what is Juvia doing with that guy anyway? She should be helping me out here!

He was at a crossroad here: he could either leave Juvia and Lyon to do their thing and catch Carlos, or he could leave Carlos and stop Juvia from falling for him

Hold on, what the hell am I thinking? There's no way Juvia would fall for a guy like Lyon. So why do I care so much? I don't–

Each step felt like it was getting slower and slower.

I don't what exactly? Care for her? Hate her? Love her? How should I know what I feel about her? She has her own life to take care of, and so do I. Getting into a relationship would just hinder us… …wouldn't it?

He had to make a decision now. If he didn't leave Juvia alone immediately, he would lose Carlos.

I… I… I can't… …do it…

He turned left, and in thirty seconds, Carlos Mussolini was caught.

"I'm sorry Lyon, but Juvia does not see you that way," she said to him.

But her words fell on deaf ears, as Lyon kept on rambling. "Oh Lady Juvia, how your sweet words set my heart aflutter."

Juvia isn't feeling very comfortable around this man. He's acting too strange for Juvia's liking.

She saw Gray walking down the road, and noticed that he had Carlos with him. She was happy to see he accomplished the mission. So she ran from Lyon and over to Gray. "Gray-sama! Juvia is glad you caught the criminal!"

He looked at her once, and then turned away and started walking faster.

"Gray-sama, is something the matter?" Juvia asked, concerned.

"You were…talking with Lyon, weren't you?"

Both wizards stopped walking.

Juvia was confused. What did he mean by that? "Gray-sama, is it because Lyon talked to Juvia that you are bothered?"

He didn't dare look at her. "No, it's…" He drifted off a little. "You two . . . look like a good couple…"

Juvia got flustered. "N-No we don't!"

"You two…should try to get to know each other better…" And then he walked away.

"G-Gray-sama! What are you saying!? Juvia's heart belongs to Gray-sama, and Gray-sama only!"

I don't deserve someone like you; not after I chose to stick with the mission instead of going to talk to you… He only wished he could say that aloud. If only he could tell her that he was uncertain about his feelings for her. Seeing her just made him feel uncomfortable around the chest area, even though it wasn't like that before they arrived in the capital. He couldn't explain it.

"Gray-sama!"

He almost stopped walking, but he continued to walk through the crowd.

Did Gray-sama . . . think Juvia liked Lyon…? But . . . Juvia doesn't want Lyon; Juvia wants Gray-sama! "Gray-sama, wait!" She ran through the crowd, trying desperately to find him before he disappeared.

But when she broke out of the crowd, Gray was nowhere to be found.

"GRAY-SAMA! WHERE ARE YOU!?" Juvia cried out.

"Do you see it now, Miss Juvia?"

Juvia turned around and saw Lyon standing close to her with a smirk. "Gray doesn't want to be with you, even after you just confessed to him. Please don't delude yourself any further, Princess Juvia. It is obvious that my old friend isn't interested in you." He edged ever closer. "But I am not like Gray. I would never leave you, Queen Juvia; I promise you that. I will always stand by your side through thick and thin. Because…"

He grabbed her by the shoulders. "…because I love you, my dear Juvia."

"Ah-!"

Lyon's confession threw off Juvia significantly. She figured that he liked her, but loved her? She wasn't expecting that. It almost felt like…

…like something she would say.

But no. This wasn't the person she wanted to hear a confession from. This wasn't right. She didn't want this.

"Lyon, Juvia thought she told you, that she did not feel that way about you."

"Ah-!"

"Juvia is sorry, but Gray-sama is the only one for Juvia." She smiled to herself. "Juvia cares for Gray-sama so much, that the thought of going off with another man makes Juvia sad. Please try to understand, Lyon. Juvia just cannot feel love for anyone else the same way as with Gray-sama."

Lyon got mad. "But he didn't want to be with you, did he?! He left you just now; he turned a cold shoulder to you; he doesn't want you like I do!"

"That's okay."

"But why?!"

"Because Juvia is happy with just being around Gray-sama. Juvia has been doing that ever since she joined Fairy Tail. Nothing makes Juvia happier than just being friends with everyone in that guild."

Lyon growled through his teeth. "Fine. If that's what you want, Lady Juvia, then I'll make your happiness come true."

"Huh?"

He speedily walked past her, not even offering a goodbye.


The mission was finished. Gray had no reason to stay in Crocus anymore. He and Juvia could go back to the guild. It had been a few days since they started this mission, so now seemed like a good time more than ever to go back to his friends and try going on another job. Maybe with Juvia–

Wait, why Juvia? Where did this come from? There were plenty of other people he could go on jobs with – hell, his lizard friend Natsu would be fine. Why should he have to go on another job with Juvia? It wasn't even that enjoyable with her around.

Oh who was he kidding, seriously?

He prepared to leave the hotel room, having left a note on Juvia's bed reading, 'See you at the guild.' He opened the door.

And Reiji was standing there, looking as if he was about to knock.

"Reiji? What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh you know, I was here because I felt like it; nothing special," he answered sarcastically.

Gray sighed. "What's up?"

"It's about Juvia, and Lyon."

"Well gee, good for them. Why should I care what they do?"

"Lyon found me and asked me to pass on a message." Reiji looked serious. "You better sit down. It's going to take a bit of explaining."

"Reiji, I get that you like pulling pranks on people, but I'm tired, and I want to go back home."

"I said, sit down, Gray. I am not joking around here." God, he felt like slapping this kid right now.

"Fine, fine…" He went over to his bed and sat on it. "What did he say? I bet he said he and Juvia are going to marry each other or something stupid like that."

"Just shut the fuck up and listen. Lyon wants to challenge you to a fight – a fight that'll determine if Juvia is to stay with Fairy Tail or join Lamia Scale. He also said that Juvia wants you to win no matter what the circumstances. So before you even think about going ahead with the fight–"

"Assuming I choose to," Gray interrupted.

"–you need to find out once and for all if you love Juvia or not."

"Why the hell does that matter? I have nothing to do with Juvia; she can do whatever she wants with her life."

"God, how fucking stupid are you?"

"Say what!?"

"You want Juvia to do whatever she wants? Do you even know what the fuck she wants you dumb bastard? She wants you. She loves you. Even you of all people would've seen her hiding behind that god-damn fucking pillar near your table." He went up to Gray and pulled him up by the shirt. "Get this through your head: Juvia is in love with you, Gray Fullbuster, and she isn't even going to think about any other man than you."

"Stay out of this Reiji, this is my business! I don't need you telling me how someone else feels about me!"

"How do you feel about her, huh!? If you have an answer then I'm dying to fucking hear it!"

"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?!"

"Ah-!"

"Ever since I went on this stupid mission, I've been feeling things I've never felt before. I don't know what the hell to do about any of it! So leave me alone!"

"Running away from responsibilities now are we!?" He punched Gray in the face and sent him over the other side of the bed. "When did you become such a coward? Man up! Confront what you feel inside of you now or else you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Ya fucking got that, Gray!?"

Gray got up and held his throbbing cheek. "You…"

Reiji turned for the door. "The fight starts today at sunset at the front of the capital city. Don't miss it." And then he left.

Gray slumped down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling. Was he angry at Reiji? Maybe a little; he did punch him in the face after all. But did he not speak sense? Gray wished he knew that answer; love wasn't exactly his strong suit.

But then again, it wasn't Natsu's either, so that point was rendered moot.

"Do I . . . love her…?"

He thought about Juvia at different points since he met her. He thought about the fight they had when she was a part of Phantom Lord. He thought about when he saw her before the Tower of Heaven, at the casino. He thought about that one time she and he used Unison Raid on Natsu when he was becoming a mechanical dragon created by that weird scientist lady. And even Heaven Wolf Island…

Looking back, the two of them did a lot together. It was surprising how much they did in the short time that they were friends. He had to admit, he…

He enjoyed it. He liked being around her. She was actually a fun girl to hang out with. The time they spent here in Crocus was actually not as bad as he first thought.

But did that mean he loved her? It was possible. But then again, it might not have developed into that just yet; perhaps he just liked her.

"Yeah… Maybe that's how it is between us…"

He got up from his bed, walked over to her bed and tore up the paper he wrote on earlier into tiny little pieces. He chucked them into the little bin beside the bed, and then left his room. He had about an hour left before the fight, so he tried walking around the city to bide time.

Wait for me, Juvia.


It was sunset.

Lyon stood at the front of the large gate with his arms folded and his eyes closed, awaiting his opponent. Juvia was standing a fair distance away from him, having caught wind of what he planned from Reiji. "Lyon, why are you doing this? There's no need!"

"Be quiet, Juvia," he said to her, no longer addressing her by silly titles.

"But this is ridiculous! Juvia doesn't want Gray-sama to fight you; you're a lot stronger than he is – you'll beat him too easily!"

"I don't care. Gray and I are going to settle this once and for all. If he wins, you can go back to him if you want. But if I win, you're joining Lamia Scale."

"What kind of an arrangement is that?" called a voice.

"G-Gray-sama!" Juvia turned and saw Gray walking slowly towards her, the sunset behind him and giving him an awe-inspiring glow. That's . . . kinda hot…

"So it looks like you decided to show up after all, Gray," shouted Lyon from across the road.

"Yeah, looks like I did," he replied with the same volume behind his voice. "Juvia, stand aside now."

"But Gray-sama, you're–"

"I don't care. I'm doing this, for you."

"Ah-!"

"I'm not letting Lyon take you to another guild without your actual consent. So just stand aside Juvia. I'll be fine."

"Gray-sama…" She moved out of the way quickly, and Gray continued to walk towards Lyon.

Lyon started walking too, at the same pace as Gray.

"Tell me something Gray."

"What, Lyon?"

"Why did you choose to fight me? Is it because you actually do love Juvia? Or is it out of the kindness of your heart?"

"You know what, I asked myself the same thing right before I started heading over here."

"Hmm?"

"At first I only thought Juvia was a friend of mine. But things started to change when we were trying to find Carlos Mussolini. That was when I started to see Juvia differently. I didn't understand it at first, but now I realise…"

"Realise what exactly?"

"That I don't love her."

"What!?"

"But I do like her. I like her a lot. I want to get to know her better. I want to fall in love with her, but I'm not exactly a romantic kind of guy, am I. I'm just a normal person; feelings don't always just pop outta nowhere for some people. I'm a prime example."

"So you will stand by her side no matter what the consequences?"

"Only if she wants me to."

The two of them stopped two metres in front of each other and stared in silence.

"Heh…" Lyon laughed a little. "You really are an idiot, Gray."

"Damn right I am, and apparently Juvia loves me for that."

"In that case, I forfeit."

"Say what!?"

"WHAT THE FUCK LYON!" Reiji screamed from a distance. "I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO SEE SOMETHING GOOD FOR ONCE!"

"It's clear to me now that you two really do care for each other," said Lyon. "It was wrong of me to step in the way I did. I can't take away something that my old friend cherishes." He walked over to Juvia and bowed politely. "Please forgive me Juvia. I did not mean to make you uncomfortable. I see now that you and Gray are supposed to be together."

Juvia was a little surprised by how polite Lyon was, and she accepted his apology. "T-Thank you, Lyon…"

He walked back to Gray and held out his hand. "Please, take care of her."

Gray was surprised at first, but he smiled and shook his friend's hand. "I will; don't you worry."

Lyon fared the two of them well, and walked back to his hotel to get his things.

Gray looked at Juvia, and then blushed when she walked over to him. The sunset really made her look gorgeous.

"I uh…" Gray tried to say something, but nothing came to mind. Embarrassed, he turned away and rubbed the back of his head.

"Gray-sama, is everything you said . . . true?"

"Uh, yeah… It is."

Juvia smiled. "Juvia is glad. Very glad."

"That's uh . . . nice…"

She laughed. "Gray-sama."

"Wha-What's up?" He turned back to–

Juvia went on her tip-toes and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush even more.

"J-Juvia…"

She went back down flat on her feet and held her hands behind her back, also blushing. "Thank you…"

"WHAT BULLSHIT! I'M GOING HOME." Reiji flew away from Crocus as fast as he could.

"Y-You're welcome, Juvia…" Oh man, her lips were so soft…

"So then . . . what do we do from here?" Juvia asked.

"Well um… I uh…" Great, he was getting embarrassed again. "We should try . . . and go steady with this… I think…"

"Juvia is okay with that." She slipped her arm around Gray's. "As long as Juvia is with Gray-sama, then she'll always be happy."

Gray looked at her, still blushing. "Just one thing."

"What?"

"No more crying from you. I hate it when women cry."

"It's a promise then. Juvia won't cry anymore. On one condition though."

"A condition?"

"Please, take care of Juvia. Protect Juvia, please."

Gray had a genuine smile on his face.

"I'll protect you. You can count on that."

End of Chapter 29


(A/N: Took me long enough to write it. I had a hard time getting to the end of this, because there was so much I wanted to do here. Before I knew it, the chapter clocked in over 10,000 words. But I had a lot of fun. Sorry that he didn't fall in love straight away, but I felt this was something Gray was more likely to say anyway.

Keeping a character the same as they should be is pretty hard work, you know.

Leave a review, yada yada… Bye guys. Don't expect chapter 30 for a long while, let me tell you now.)