Gray, Juvia, Cana and Gajeel were walking around the city at night. After they had rested and the time they had set to start acting had arrived, the four mages gathered in the hotel lobby and started looking for some off-the-beaten-path bar where they could get some information.

"So, where do we start?", asked Gajeel looking around as if looking for something.

"I just have to find the ideal place," replied Cana.

"How about that one over there," said Juvia. "It looks a lot like the bars that Juvia and Gajeel-kun frequented"

"Gihi! That bar is perfect. I can even smell cigarettes and bad drink. Remember that bar in Oshibana?", Gajeel asked smiling.

Juvia remembers, Gajeel-kun. It was fun," bluenett laughed at the memory.

Gray and Cana were looking at them surprised, Gajeel they would understand, but Juvia going to places like that was something that had never crossed their minds, especially Gray. Just imagining Juvia in an environment like that, made Gray feel uncomfortable, which he couldn't say for sure where it came from.

"Did you two... go to bars like that?", Gray asked pointing to the place Juvia had seen.

"Sometimes, Gray-sama. Gajeel-kun sometimes dragged Juvia with him to these bars, especially when we returned from missions," she replied. "But she can say she liked it. It was a moment of relaxation", he smiled with the memory.

Gajeel put his arm around Juvia, around her shoulders, and smiled at the other two with puzzled expressions. "Juvia was wilder than you think. It could be a little dark, but it suited the places we frequented. And I can say that we were badass! Gihihi !"

"Gajeel-kun! There is no need", replied Juvia embarrassed.

"What was fun about Oshibana?", Cana asked curiously.

"Hahaha ! We were at the bar, returning from work. The other Four Elements, too, were there that time, which was annoying me, I never really liked those idiots, anyway... I decided to play my music and for some reason it started a mess. When I found myself there was a general fight. You had to see Juvia taking down those clowns. Then we found out that they were from some enemy guild, gihihi ! We taught those idiots a lesson, wasn't that, Rain Woman!?"

Juvia looked at him and smiled, a slight red tone on her cheeks. "Yes Gajeel-kun. Juvia was enjoying Gajeel-kun's music, until some dark mages started to speak ill of him. Juvia couldn't let anyone speak ill of a friend, especially not being Gajeel-kun. So she went to get satisfaction and the fight started. In the end it was fun. Juvia and Gajeel- kun fought together and we defeated everyone."

"That was is…interesting," Gray commented not knowing what to say.

"HAHAHA!", Cana laughed and hugged Juvia. "Who knew you had that inside you, Juvia. We are in front of a troublemaker, hahaha!"

"Juvia is not a troublemaker! She just doesn't like people who talk badly about her friends."

"So, you've always been protective of friends? I'm still grateful for what you did that time against Freed ", Cana said hugging the water mage.

"Juvia always wanted to have friends and a family. In Phantom, the closest to that was Gajeel-kun. In Fairy Tail she has so many and that's why she's so happy that she'll do anything to protect them."

"Awww , how cute!", Cana hugged her even tighter, making her blush and smile happily.

"I'm glad you feel that way Juvia," Gray said with a legitimate smile.

"Really, Gray-sama!?", Juvia pushed Cana aside, breaking free of the brunette's grip, and standing in front of the ice mage, almost pressing her face to his.

" Eh …yes", he replied embarrassed and annoyed by her proximity. Gently he pulled her back a little and looked at Gajeel. "Do you two still go to bars…together?"

"Sometimes we go out together, or when we're at work to talk and stuff. Why?" replied the Dragon Slayer.

"For nothing, for nothing," Gray said with a little blush on his face. Juvia looked at him confused, but Cana noticed the signs and looked at him maliciously. She nudged him with her elbow, making it clear exactly that she knew. Gray looked at her and blushed annoyed at his dark-haired friend.

"Well, that doesn't matter now. Are we or are we not going to execute this freak's damn plan?" muttered Gajeel impatiently.

"Leave it to me," said Cana. "Gray, you already know, don't you?", she looked at him and he nodded. "Excellent! I'll meet you inside," she walked away from the group and headed towards the bar.

"What does this crazy woman think she's doing!? Aren't you going after her?", Gajeel said, seeing the brunette going alone to the bar, which seemed to be frequented by dangerous people.

"She knows how to take care of herself and we have a protocol for that. Let's wait a while and then we'll go inside. I go first, you two come later," he explained.

"Have Gray-sama and Cana-san done this a lot?", asked Juvia, she looked worriedly at the bar where Cana had entered.

"A little bit." He looked at her seriously, but managed a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, everything will be fine"

Juvia looked at him and nodded, sighing. "Juvia believes too. Cana-san is very strong," Gray couldn't help but agree.

"I really hope she knows what she's doing," Gajeel grumbled.


Cana walked into the bar and looked around, taking in her surroundings. She smiled, it was exactly what she was looking for. An environment dominated by low-value men looking for easy and defenseless prey. She just had to find the ideal guy, looking at the bar she saw a man staring at her, from her experience she knew he had information and she knew exactly how to get it out of him. Smiling, she went to the bar and sat down next to this man of few friends.

"Hello", greeted that guy of medium height and bearded, hair disheveled but with well-groomed clothes, despite dressing simply. Clearly he didn't have table manners, yet he had a seductive air that would please unsuspecting girls.

"Hiii!", Cana greeted back, looking at him in an innocent and shy way.

"It's not common to find a girl like you in this joint," he said, looking at her. "Are you lost?"

Cana laughed and smiled at her. "I'm not lost. Just looking for something new. I'm tired of the usual life"

That guy smiled and looked at her longingly. "Can I buy you a drink? They're not very good, but it's worth the cost"

"I can pay for it myself," replied Cana defiantly. He smiled, imagining he had a challenge ahead of him.

"A lady shouldn't pay if a man can pay. Let me pay for this round"

Cana turned to him and looked at him thoughtfully. "Okay, but that's all ," she said finally. The man smiled and ordered two drinks from the bartender.

As soon as the drinks were delivered they toasted and took a sip. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Brena," Cana replied, she never used her real name, Gray's idea.

"So, Brena … What do you do?" he asked.

They started talking and started ordering more and more drinks. Over time, Cana started pretending to be drunk to reassure and give that guy a feeling of victory, pretending to be an easy and naive girl who fell for his scam. However, what he didn't realize was that he was the one getting drunk and falling for Cana, who was much smarter and smarter than he was.

Outside the bar, Gajeel was getting impatient. It had been a while since Cana had walked in and Gray hadn't moved.

"Are you still going to stand there?" he asked grumpy and impatient.

Gray looked at the bar and sighed. "I think it's right. I'll go in and pick a table close to where Cana is. Five minutes later you two go in and sit down or stay in another corner, keeping an eye on Cana", he turned to Juvia. "Juvia, stand by Gajeel's side, as if you were…a couple. People who frequent this kind of place are not to be trusted, especially against a girl alone", he felt a pang in his chest as he said those words, but despite his unease, he knew he was right.

Juvia looked at him confused and made a crying expression. "Juvia doesn't want to be a couple with Gajee-kun! She would never, under any circumstances, not even in a nightmare, be with Gajeel-kun. Let her go with Gray-samaaa!"

Gajeel glared at her with the veins popping out of his forehead. "Oh, crazy Rain Woman! I'm not that bad!" he raged.

"Shut up, Gajeel-kun! It's Juvia's future we're talking about. She wants to go with Gray-sama", she said looking at him with hearts in her eyes.

Gray put his hand up. "Okay, we don't have time to waste. Come on Juvia", he said defeated. Juvia smiled and followed the ice mage to the bar. Gajeel stayed behind in disbelief.

When they entered the bar, Juvia immediately spotted Cana talking to not just one, but three other men at the bar. The first was already passed out, his head lying on the bar. The water mage warned Gray, who looked where she was pointing and rolled his eyes as he noticed his smiling friend flirting with all those idiots. He saw an empty table and the two walked over to it and sat down, ordering a drink from the waiter, while keeping an eye on the brunette.

"Take it easy and don't look at the guys in this bar, Juvia. We don't need to create any confusion," Gray warned.

"It's not Juvia's first time in a bar like this Gray-sama. She knows how to deal with those kinds of people," she replied with a slight smile.

"Oh yes. I'd forgotten you frequented that kind of environment," Gray said a bit harshly.

Juvia noticed the change in tone in his voice and the frown that formed on the ice mage's face. "Some problem, Gray-sama. Did Juvia do something wrong?", she asked worriedly, fearing that she had irritated him in some way.

"It's not all about you," he replied gruffly.

Juvia recoiled at the sound of his voice. " So what's bothering Gray-sama? Is it because Juvia wanted to come with you instead of Gajeel-kun? "

He sighed wearily. "I didn't say it has nothing to do with you, Juvia. Why do you bother with that?" he asked irritably.

"Ju…Juvia is sorry", she said, crestfallen. Gray looked at her and sighed heavily, he felt he shouldn't treat her like that, after all she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Juvia, listen...", he got the bluenett's attention. "You…you didn't do anything wrong, okay. I shouldn't talk to you like that," he saw the gleam returning to her eyes.

She smiled, a wide, happy smile. "It's okay Gray-sama."

"You have to stop forgiving me so easily for everything, Juvia," Gray looked at her seriously.

She looked at him not understanding what he was talking about. "It's impossible for Juvia to be upset with Gray-sama. She could not. You showed her the sun and the sky. How could Juvia be angry with you?"

The ice mage blushed, he always blushed and was embarrassed when she said such things about him. He never understood how he did it, or how he ended up with his rain, it was a mystery to him. In his view, he didn't do anything and didn't even feel deserving of all that affection she showed him.

"Ah… that's what is about, Juvia. It doesn't have to be that way. If I'm an idiot, you have to treat me like an idiot. You can't overlook everything I do, it's okay to be mad at me when I'm an idiot," he said.

Juvia looked at him for a moment, they remained in a silence that seemed interminable and embarrassing. "Juvia would never be angry with Gray-sama", she broke the silence. However, when Gray was about to retort, she interrupted him. "But if that's what Gray-sama wants, she promises she'll say it every time Gray-sama is mean to her."

Gray smiled.

"That said... Juvia didn't like the way Gray-sama spoke to her just now", she pouted and puffed out her cheeks looking at him with a frown. Gray looked at her in surprise, but he couldn't say he'd seen anything cuter than her at that moment.

"Sorry", he apologized and Juvia smiled.

Gajeel entered the bar and went to a corner, where he could keep an eye on the Cana, sitting at the bar and surrounded by men pampering her. Gray and Juvia were watching her in the same way, ready to intervene at any sign of danger.

"Cana-san seems very calm in this situation", Juvia commented.

"That's what worries me. If she lets her guard down just for a second, we're going to be in trouble."

"I don't think Cana-san will let his guard down, Gray-sama. She seems to be in control of the situation. Besides, those men seem to be in her hand ."

Gray looked at Juvia and then looked away at Cana. "Do you know how to read this kind of situation well ?" he asked.

"Juvia has seen women cheating on men in bars like this before. She can tell that Cana-san is doing this job very well," she replied.

"Women cheating on men?"

"In that kind of environment you have to learn to survive, Gray-sama", Juvia smiled at him.

Gray looked at her, astonished and curious. "Has it ever happened to you?"

Juvia looked at him and smiled reassuringly at him. "Not with Juvia. Don't worry, Gray-sama."

"I'm not worried!" retorted the scowling ice mage. "It's just... it's still weird for me to imagine you in a place like this"

"Why do you think Juvia is weird in a bar?"

"I don't think it's weird you in a bar, Juvia. Just... in a bar like this. I didn't think you came to this kind of place, with guys like these", Gray explained to a Juvia who was looking at him confused.

"There's a lot you don't know about Juvia, Gray-sama," she smiled gracefully. "To tell you the truth, Juvia only went to poorly frequented bars when Gajeel-kun called her or forced her to. She ended up enjoying it over time, it was a time when she could forget about the problems and loneliness she felt back then. In addition, Phantom Lord was not much different from this"

Gray listened to her and understood, she was dark and lonely back in the day. Being with her friend, even in a bad environment, was the moment of escape, of relief that she had. He had to agree with her, her old guild was worse than a lot of the dirty bars he'd frequented with Cana.

"I think I understand, Juvia. Although it seems like an eternity, the truth is that we've only known each other for a few months," Gray said.

"Exactly, Gray-sama. And Juvia doesn't know much about you either. But she's eager to find out, down to the smallest detail...", she almost drooled.

"Yeah… we better get back to work, Juvia," Gray dodged.


Cana continued to be surrounded by men, who seemed increasingly drunk and buying her more and more drinks. The brunette pretended to be drunk and helpless, taking every secret from those guys, defeating them one by one. In this way the hours passed. Gajeel watched her, Juvia and Gray kept an eye on her, waiting for the right moment, apprehensive for anything that might happen.

At one point, Cana took the glass with her left hand . "Okay, the signal has been given. Time to save that freak," Gray said.

Juvia didn't understand anything. "What do you mean, Gray-sama? What sign?" she asked.

"Cana took the glass with her left hand . She never takes the glass with her left hand , that's a sign for us to act. Tell Gajeel to get ready", he said and walked towards the bar. Juvia nodded and went towards Gajeel.

"Why... why don't we... don't... go somewhere more... more discreet?", one of the men, completely drunk, asked, holding Cana's hand .

She ran her hand over his face and smiled. "I don't think you'll make it, honey."

"I... I can take it more than... than you can imagine", he rocked back and forth and his eyes couldn't fix on anything.

"Forget about this idiot. You…you come with me", another took her by the arm and started pulling her with him.

"Hey idiot, she's mine!", the third stopped him and they stared at each other.

"Don't fight for me, dear ones," Cana stood between them. She had a rosy look on her cheeks and a gleeful look and a goofy smile on her face.

"Get out, you asshole! She's... she's mine. Find another one, you... you weakling"

"Who is weakling?"

The first came to him and grabbed Cana, pulling her to him and setting her aside. "You shits! She was... was with me before you. Yeah… of course she comes with … with me," and an argument broke out between the three men. That's when Gray arrived.

"One beer," Gray ordered at the bar, watching the ruckus unfolding beside him. He glanced at Cana, but she was calm and showed no concern. But it was time to end it. He saw Juvia and Gajeel position themselves, ready to clear the area for them to escape, as planned. When he received the glass, he turned around and intentionally bumped into one of those men spilling all the drink on top of her.

"What's the matter with you!?", he shoved Gray and went on top of him angrily.

"Hey Hey! I'm sorry!" Gray put his hands in front of his body in surrender.

"Look what... what you've done!"

"I already apologized. I didn't mean to bother you and your friends with the girl," he said looking at Cana.

The men looked between him and Cana, who was smiling at the ice mage.

"You want to steal her from us, is that it!?", another one of those guys said, surrounding Gray.

"I think they are mistaken. I don't steal anything from anyone. She's not even yours for me to steal in the first place," Gray smirked out of the corner of his mouth, playfully.

On the other side, Gajeel and Juvia watched the scene unfold.

"What the fuck is he doing? This will only make things worse. Now the whole bar is watching them," Gajeel said.

"We have to trust Gray-sama and Cana-san, Gajeel-kun," said Juvia.

"Tsh ! You trust him too much", Juvia looked at him seriously.

Gray was surrounded by the three men, their alcoholic state preventing them from accessing common sense. What they wanted was to get satisfaction from him for trying to take Cana/ Brena from them.

One of them grabbed the ice mage by the collar and threatened him. "You don't know... who you're dealing with, boy"

"You better let me go. For your sake," Gray retorted confidently.

"Or what?" another took out a knife and put it to his neck.

Gray looked at the knife and at the man. Cana just smiled at it all. "I think you better drop it or..." Gray said, but before he could finish the man with the knife was kicked away. "Too late", sighed the ice mage, looking and smiling in amusement at Juvia.

"No one dare threaten Gray-sama," she said menacingly. The other two recoiled at the presence and murderous gaze of the powerful water mage. Gajeel didn't even notice the moment she left his side.

"Oh you...", one of the men said threatening to attack her, but Gray hit him knocking him out. The entire bar was looking at them at that moment.

"FIGHT!", someone shouted in the middle of the bar and a general brawl broke out. Kicks, punches, chairs, allowances, bottled everywhere. Everyone who was frequenting that establishment got into a fight, causing a huge mess.

Gray punched the other man, while Juvia fought with other people around, preventing them from reaching the ice mage.

"What the fuck!", Gajeel said and bumped into a few people around him, clearing the way to the door.

Tables and chairs and bottles and people were flying everywhere.

"UHU!" shouted Cana, raising her arms in the air amidst all the confusion. "That's what I'm talking about!" she wanted to hit someone, but Gray stopped her.

"That's why I hate your plans!" he had to duck to avoid getting hit. "We have to go," he told the brunette.

"Oh no, Gray! Your spoils pleasure. Now that's getting fun," she said, clearly in an alcoholic state.

"You call that fun!?", he could only see the destruction around him. He picked her up and lifted her onto his shoulder as she kicked. "Come on, Juvia!" Gray called.

Juvia waved and she ran after Gray and Cana to the exit of the bar, which was maintained by Gajeel. Once outside, they ran at least a block, with Cana on Gray's back. When they thought they were safe, he put the brunette down.

"What the fuck was that, Fullbuster?" Gajeel asked indignantly.

"The famous plans of Cana Alberona. That's why I hate them," he said with a huff.

"Did we even get some damn information?", Gajeel asked and everyone looked at Cana, who was just smiling like a fool.

"Piece of cake," she said.