AN: Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the moment we've all been waiting for, the long-awaited arrival of Gray-sama!

Thank you for everyone's reviews the last chapter; I love hearing your thoughts on everything that is currently happening.

Alecks454 - I'm glad you are enjoying the chapters; Bora and the others are definitely horrible people. You will see an ongoing pattern of a push-pull effect from Zeref. Does he like her, or does he like the way she reacts to his torment?

thecatastrophic - I was indifferent when writing these scenes because I like Totomaru, but I didn't see a point of having them in the story later, so I had to make them the bad guys.

YoseiNoAme - I think the appeal with Zeref comes from a few things, 1. We haven't really seen Juvia with anyone besides him for most of the story, so it feels natural to pair someone with someone she has been so intimate with. I hope with Gray starting to show more that you are able to appreciate their plot line too. 2. Zeref is so flip-floppy about his emotions for Juvia; does he love her or does he not? Not even he knows the precise answer to that.

Guest: You will see that Zeref is possessively flawed. He is okay with Juvia sleeping with men as one of Brandish's girls and bringing in money for Spriggan but just the thought of Juvia sleeping with a man for pure enjoyment sends him in a frenzy.

Gray was sitting outside the balcony, enjoying the brief escape from the heated motel room as he lit a cigarette between his lips. The lone man relished in the cold breeze against his bare chest; the only clothing he bothered wearing was his black denim pants that sat unbuttoned at his waist, knowing that it would only be a matter of time before they came off again once he went back into the suite.

The burning puff of nicotine filled his lungs as he took a long drag of his burning cancer stick, as his blue-haired nightly conquest loved to remind him anytime he took a break to smoke one. She hated them. She hated the tainted taste they left on his tongue and the horrid smell that lingered on him. But she loved him, and he knew those words were too small to explain her feelings for him, but it was true. Juvia was so desperately and irrefutably in love with him that she'd never complained of the stench. How she felt with her whole heart sometimes scared him, but Gray was way past the point of denying her his affection, for they both knew he felt the same.

The latch of the door opening and the feeling of her warm hands caressing his chest from behind sent instant peace to his muscles as he left her lips pressed against the shell of his ear.

"Can Juvia try it?" the bluenette asked with her eyes directed towards the burning stick between his fingers.

Gray slightly turned his head as he considered her words warily. After a brief moment of hesitation, the raven-haired man shrugged his shoulders and held the cigarette to her lips.

It wasn't the first time Juvia had come out here to watch him as he fulfilled his favorite pastime, but it was the first time she had asked to participate. The usually apprehensive girl moved from behind him and made herself comfortable on his lap, one arm wrapping around his shoulder as the other grabbed the burning cigarette from his fingers.

Juvia's cerulean blue hair shined brightly in the moonlight and contrasted against her thick black lashes, which her eyes pierced at him through. Gray cleared his throat nervously as he watched her bring the end of the bud to her lips, just like she had seen him do so many times before.

Juvia leaned back and inhaled deeply, letting the nicotine flavor fill her taste buds. Not taking too much of a puff, knowing her lungs were not used to such substances.

"Juvia doesn't get it," she replied honestly while twirling the burning stick in her fingers and repeating the action, taking a deep puff of smoke once more before sighing disappointedly.

"She doesn't know how you smoke this all the time; they taste horrible." Juvia scrunched her face in distaste and poked her tongue out her mouth. She handed what was left of the bud back to Gray with strong distaste.

Gray leaned back against the edge of the chair to get a better look at the disgusted girl. He let out a low chuckle as he ran his fingers through his messy hair carelessly, causing Juvia's cheeks to grow warm at the sight of him. He was undeniably sexy and always had a mystic aura about him, one that she sucked on like a leech, never entirely full, but enough to keep her satisfied.

"Why do you ask to try it if you know you'll only hate it?" Gray pondered as he took a large puff into the cigarette, enjoying the taste her lips left behind.

Juvia grabbed the stick between her fingers once more and copied his movements, but unlike him, she wore a face of disgust. "Juvia doesn't know. She thought it would help her feel closer to you." Juvia admitted giving her the cigarette a final time, no longer wishing to participate.

"And why would you want to feel closer to me?" He scoffed. For a second, he saw a flash in her eyes; it was the same look she had when they lay connected, their bodies entwined in the cheap motel sheets.

"I…Juvia doesn't know." She lied, though neither of the two had the courage to say what they truly felt at the time.

"How long do we have?" Gray asked, changing the heavy subject.

"10, maybe 15 minutes," Juvia replied after checking the time on her phone. The tolerant look in her eyes let Gray know that she had messages from 'him' waiting for her once she left.

"Come on then," Gray said with a soft smile that sent warmth through her bones. He held his hand out towards her and smashed the end of his bud against the ashtray.

Once they were back inside the remove, Juvia removed her robe while Gray tugged down the material of his pants down his legs. The pair crawled into bed, lips and limbs pressed together as his fingers brushed her worries away. Juvia was about to grab his stiff member when Gray quickly grabbed her wrist to stop her.

She looked at her companion, confused; his eyes were squeezed shut as he tried to calm the blood that rushed to the lower half of his body. "Did I do something wrong?" Juvia asked in a nervous tone.

"No, I just, I just need a second," Gray replied, releasing the grip he had on her wrist and instead wrapping his arms around her waist, pulling her suddenly into his chest.

"Gray-sama!" Juvia gasped at the unexpected movement.

"Just let me hold you like this. I want to feel closer to you too."

The memory of that night replied in Gray's mind as he sipped his drink, the cool amber liquid burning a path down his throat, but he hadn't minded the taste as much as he used to. This substance was his only aid in keeping him sane these last several days without her. The universe seemed to enjoy waving shining objects in his face that he could never have; parents, a teacher, a lover. Everything Gray ever wanted sitting just out of reach and unattainable.

"Gray-sama," Her voice repeated in his head, and the cold raven-haired man couldn't help the smile that followed as a result.

"What are you smiling about, pervert?" A voice beside him called out, instantly pulling him from his moment of contentment.

"Fuck off, Cana," Gray grunted lowly.

Cana Alberona, the drunk of Fairy Tail, who also happened to be their lead strategist. As much as Gray hates to admit it, Cana is smart and sees the bigger picture of things; she develops their plans and comes up with solutions for any angles their enemies might have against them. It was as if she could peek into the future and see exactly how everything would play out before it even happened.

"Come on, Cana, leave him alone." The barmaid, Mirajane, replied as she dried several washed glasses with a clean rag. It was no secret to her or anyone else that Gray had a lot of his mind.

Cana scoffed in pretend anger as she threw her around Gray, yanking him annoyingly close into her personal space. "Ya, Mira. This was the first time he smiled in days. Aren't you even a little curious?"

Gray smacked his lips and shoved Cana from beside him, caring little about how he nearly knocked the girl over on her ass. So what if she fell? She deserves it! Gray thought bitterly to himself.

"I think if Gray wanted to tell us, he would." Mira tried to reason; thank god, at least one of them was sane.

Ready to take another sip of his drink, a new form of annoyance came in the form of an orange-haired womanizer named Loke, who snatched the glass from him and downed it in one gulp.

"Ah, now that hit the spot!" Loke cheered with a scrunched face at the alcohol's harsh taste.

"Why am I even here?" Gray whispered to himself as the irritating duo sandwiched him at the bar. He must have caused serious trouble in his past life to be forced to put up with these two.

"He was definitely thinking about a girl," Loke chimed in, giving his unwanted opinion. "But by this attitude lately, I'd say he is having lady issues more than anything."

Suddenly the once privacy-respecting barmaid appeared back in front of them, a new glass in hand, eagerly pouring Gray a new drink.

"On the house!" She smirked, pushing the drink towards him, and leaning over the bar with newfound interest. She laced the tops of her fingers together and tucked her fingers under her chin. "Now, what is this about lady troubles?"

"Oh my god!" Gray exasperated, clenching his hair in his hands. "One–" He started holding a finger up and waving it between the trio. "All of my drinks are already free. Two–" he lifted another finger, "I'm not having lady troubles; Loke is just talking out of his ass like always."

Mira gave the vexed man a sad look, not liking to be on the end of his harsh words, while Loke let out an obnoxious laugh as if his whole purpose in life was to further torment Gray.

"Please, you used to come back to the base looking like you were mauled by a wild cat when you stripped, but now your back is spotless. Also, you're day drinking and a dick all the time. All tell-tale signs of woman issues."

"Tsk. And you would know all about that." Gray challenged, knowing his usually close friend was not one to talk.

"That's true, Loke. You are kind of a fuck up." Cana chimed with a hearty laugh, hitting Gray's back in agreement, causing the man to nearly spill his drink all over himself.

"Woah–woah, wait a second; how did this get flipped on me?" Loke asked, bewildered.

"What are we talking about?" a flash of blue hair entered Gray's peripheral, causing his heart to ache, knowing it was not the same owner he had been yearning for.

"Loke being a fuck up." Cana replied, throwing her arm around Levy and earning a chuckle from Gray, earning the strategist to quickly retaliate. "and Gray's girl problems."

"Gray is seeing a girl?" Levy shouted in shock, "I–I mean…No, this is crazy, Gray; you are having girl problems?"

"I'm not having girl problems!"

"Oh, he is definitely having girl issues." Cana opposed as Levy and Mira nodded in agreement.

Having enough of their nuisance behavior Gray finished his drink and slammed the glass on the bar, causing Levy to jump and squeal in surprise. Then, with carelessness, the cold man pushed himself off the chair, resulting in a loud screeching sound from the stool scraping against the freshly polished floor. At the same time, everyone nearby whined, holding their ears from the piercing sound.

"Asshole!" Cana screamed out to him as he stomped his way past the double doors and further down the base path.

"Woman issues?" Gray scoffed in defeat; so what if he was? That wasn't their business.

Truth be told, Gray was having woman issues, issues he couldn't even talk about without risking his and Juvia's safety. The last time they were together, he was needy, almost too needy. Gray was the type of guy to keep himself under control; he didn't like to beg or cause scenes. They had an agreement, a mutual understanding that they would be there when they needed each other and fulfill their desires, but the last time was different. He didn't want her to leave. Go back to Spriggan and return to Zeref, who did anything to her as he pleased.

Gray was selfish in the way he wanted to keep Juvia all to himself, never letting her go and protecting her from the world, but at the end of the day, he knew he was too weak. He couldn't save her, but that didn't mean he tried wouldn't try. Gray knew the man he was right now wouldn't be able to shield her from Zeref, the gap between them was too wide, but one day he swore to himself he would get her out of there.

However, these words and thoughts were only in his head to make him better because what was the point of focusing on the future when he couldn't even save her in the present? Once she left their motel room, he knew it was a mistake to keep her as long as he did. He knew just how cruel Zeref could be, but he held her anyway, becoming a reason for her certain torment.

Their arrangement started and ended with Juvia contacting him. In the beginning, it didn't matter much to either of them, but once their relationship progressed, Juvia felt like it would be the safer way. Maybe it was just her paranoia, but she felt it was too much of a risk for Gray to reach out to her, so she handled all the main methods of communication.

They kept their set scheduled time, meeting once every week, but any meetings outside of those regular times were made straight through Juvia. But since that day, their line had been in complete radio silence, and Gray grew more anxious for the blue-haired girl. Was she okay? Was she safe? These were questions that he couldn't answer, and he never felt more useless, but it wasn't until she failed to show up to their weekly meeting that Gray felt the weight of the infliction and misery he caused.

"Ah-Natsu~" A high-pitched voice flooded the halls as Gray made his way to his leader's office.

Gray rolled his eyes as he heard the familiar blonde's voice grow higher in octaves, and he didn't know if it was genuine or just for show to boost the man's ego.

He was no stranger to making women scream. Juvia was vocal herself, but she sounded less porn star-ish and filled their room with her gasping, whimpering begs. The thought of her lustful sounds was enough to get his blood rushing and yearning for her.

Once he reached the end of the hall, Gray knocked on the oversized mahogany doors for formalities and waited for Natsu's approval for entry. But, if the deafening sounds of Lucy's moans didn't alert anyone of their misdeeds, the rummaging sound of rustling paper and panic voices was enough to give them away.

"Come in," Natsu yelled out with a cracked voice.

When Gray opened the door, the scene was exactly like he thought it would be. Natsu sat at his desk, pretending to work, while Lucy stood by his side as a diligent secretary with a file in her hand.

"Hi, Gray!" Lucy cheerfully greeted him with a bright smile causing him to snicker.

"Your shirt is buttoned wrong," he replied amusedly.

"Kya!" Lucy squealed, causing Gray to wince at her blaring lungs. Then, in a panic, the blond dropped everything from her hands, letting the paper shatter across the floor as she quickly turned around to begin fixing her silk blouse.

Natsu could not help but laugh at his girlfriend's antics and push his salmon-pink hair back. "What do you want, Gray? We are kind of busy."

"I can see that," Gray replied, throwing himself in the chairs parallel to Natsu. "I wanted to see what you all were able to find out from the guy that was brought in yesterday."

Understanding the change of mood, Lucy excused herself, never enjoying hearing the gory details of what it took to be the leader and the heavy of a gang. Natsu waited until she closed the door and the sound of her heels clacking down the hallway grew distant.

Sitting back in his chair, Natsu sighed, shaking his head, "Nothing, we couldn't get him to talk."

"Perhaps you aren't using the right incentives?" Gray challenged with a menacing smirk.

"No," Natsu said firmly. "This is just one of his footmen; he doesn't know anything. So there is no need for you to get your hands dirty."

"Come on, Natsu," Gray spoke calmly as he pulled black gloves from his pockets, slowly slipping them over his fingers. In truth, Gray knew it was no use, Natsu was probably right, and the man didn't have information that would be worthy of all the time Gray was about to put in trying to make him speak. Still, he needed to get his built-up frustrations out, and this seemed like the perfect outlet. "Everyone always knows something."

The two men walked down the steps to Fairy Tail's basements and entered the soundproofed enclosure. As Gray moved further into the room, he could see the battered man well.

He drew a low whistle, announcing their presence to the blindfolded man, and circled him like a shark as he analyzed the work left for him to complete. The man had shallow cuts and mild bruising, but he didn't suffer from any severe wounds. Based on the lack of severity of the man's condition, Gray could tell it was Loke who most likely handled the initial interrogation.

"They sure did a number on you." Gray teased.

With a fearless attitude that he expected from Spriggan, the man spat at Gray's feet, the wad of spit nearly landing on his leather shoes. Swaying his head from side to side, Gray released a low chortle while tugging his tie loose and unbuttoning the top of his dress shirt, exposing the top of his built chest. After folding the cuffs of his sleeves further up his arm, Gray reached for the fabric covering the man's eyes and roughly yanked the material away. "But looking you over now, I can only think about one thing. You are too whole, but don't worry, we'll change that." Gray smirked, grabbing hold of a plier that was nearby. The man gulped, feeling on edge as Gray dragged a stool directly from the chair the man was bound to.

"What can you tell us about Spriggan?" Gray asked, starting with an easy question, his hands fumbling with the tool as he twirled it repeatedly through his fingers.

"Do what you want. I'm not telling you shit."

"That's just what I was hoping to hear," Gray whispered, pleased, winding his arm back and smashing the metal against the man's temple, refraining from using too much strength and potentially knocking the man out. The superficial wound began to bleed profusely as the man's hand wobbled back and forth, blinking several times in an attempt to clear his vision.

"Let's try this again; you will tell us everything you know about Spriggan."

The man began to breathe heavily as he watched Gray calmly sit back down in front of him as if he didn't just bash his head with no hesitation. He looked at gray with fear in his eyes as he understood he and the orange-haired man who tried to get information out of him yesterday were two different men. Loke was just child's play.

The man didn't realize how long he was trapped in his mind until he felt the cutting edge of a metal clamp down on his finger and a sharp wrench of his nail being plucked straight from the socket with no delay.

"Fuck!" The man screamed while Gray tossed the bloody nail on the medical tray next to him.

"Next time I ask, I'll take two," Gray said in a threatening voice that the man knew weren't hollow words but a promise.

"Like I told the guy yesterday, I don't know anything. I'm just a transporter; I take stuff where I'm told." the man tried to reason.

"A transporter? That must mean you have seen some things." Gray pried.

"No—I—No…" The man shuttered, but before formulating a coherent thought, Gray pulled out two other nails just as he promised. The man screeched in misery as a burning sensation coursed through his hand, pain branching across his fingertips like lightning.

"Oi, he says he doesn't know anything; just leave it alone," Natsu argued, clamping his hand down on Gray's shoulder, but the blacked-haired boy just shrugged him off, ignoring his words.

"Answer the question."

The man looked between the two men, silently pleading that the leader would tame his blood thirst fiend.

"Nothing? Alright, I'll take a whole finger this time; better yet, why not the whole hand?" Quicker than Natsu could mentally process, he snatched the jagged hatchet from the side table, swinging the blade in the air, reading to strike the man with maximum force until his petrified voice screamed through the cell

"Wait! Wait! I–I'll talk!" Raw panic trembled from his voice as his body went cold with dread.

Slightly disappointed with how easily the man broke, Gray paused to give the man a chance to catch his breath, but after a few prolonged moments and the man showing speaking, Gray decided to call his bluff and raised the hatchet once more.

"No, No, No, I know something big!"

"So spill it already," Natsu said in a low tone, knowing if the guy didn't say something soon, Gray would keep true to his word, and he wasn't in the mood to see anyone be dismembered today.

"Zeref's weakness." He said carefully.

"Zeref's weakness?" Natsu and Gray are both in disbelief.

"Yes! Zeref has a weakness, and I've done enough trips to his base to have seen it for myself."

"Well, don't stop there, keep talking, or this time I won't keep my friend chopping you into bits." The pink-haired leader threatens.

"There's a chick he always keeps by his side, but she isn't one of their Spriggan 12. Their relationship seems to be different. Everyone around there knows about it, but it's on the hush." The man further explained.

"You're lying, I know Zeref," Natsu spat thinking about the bad blood the two men shared. "His weakness wouldn't be a girl; there has to be something else."

On the other hand, Gray slowly backed away from the pair, his eye involuntary twitching as the man's words poured into his ears. A woman who wasn't a part of Spriggan 12, someone who Zeref kept close at his side; there can only be one person he is talking about, Juvia.

"It's the truth; I have no reason to lie."

After a brief deliberation, Natsu sat on the stool once occupied but Gray and crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, tell me more."

"I need to know that you'll protect me. If Zeref ever found out I talked, he'd kill me." The man pleaded.

"If you prove to be useful, sure." Natsu brushed off his words and directed him to continue.

"I will be; like I said before, only a few people in Spriggan know. I heard some of them talking once; Zeref makes sure that they aren't ever seen in pub–"

"Just skip to the part you tell us who she is." Natsu interrupted, "I want a name."

"Alright, I'm sorry. If you want to find her, you need to get her while she is out doing client work. It's the only time Zeref lets her out of his sight. She is one of Brandish's girls; her name is–"

Without a breath or even blinking an eye, Gray felt no hesitation as his finger tugged at the gun's trigger he hadn't realized he had already snatched from his hoister.

Everything to Gray moved slowly as he watched the other man's neck snap from the sudden entry, red fragments blossoming behind him.

The familiar deafening cacophony reverberating through the closed space caused Natsu to jump from his seat, whipping out his pistol and aiming toward the chained enemy instinctively. However, the man was already lifeless; crimson chunks of what used to be his brain decorated the walls as blood dripped out of his skull.

Nearby, Gray stood, his arm still raised with the gun clenched firmly in his grips. The raven-haired man shaking as ferocity radiated off his body.

"What the fuck." Natsu spoke softly as he tried to comprehend what Gray had just done.

"What the fuck!" He repeated, no longer in a whisper but as a ruler who had just seen his soldiers deliberately disobeying him. The exacerbating feeling that was vexed inside his chest was beyond fury as he looked at the gaping hole in the center of their now-deceased lead as a result of Gray's unprovoked actions.

"He was about to give us a name, so why the fuck would you do that?" Natsu roared as he rushed over, grabbing Gray's distressed collar and shaking him harshly. Knowing it would do no good for him to try to fight Natsu off and piss him off further than he was, Gray decided to try to calm the man down.

"He was lying to you, Natsu," Gray quickly accused. "You know I can read people better than anyone, that piece of shit was just trying to waste our time, and clearly, it almost worked. Like you said, you know Zeref, and you know his weakness wouldn't be a girl, especially one of Brandish's whores." Gray grunted the last word through his teeth as a sharp pain came from inside his chest. Juvia was worth more than this false insult, but Gray would do and say anything he needed to protect her.

Releasing his raven-haired partner, Natsu reared his arm back and swung his fist into the side of Gray's jaw, sending the impulsive man to the ground. Gray rolled his head side to side as he used his thumb to wipe the trail of blood that slipped past his lips; rolling the scarlet liquid between his fingers, a low chuckle escaped his throat.

"You think this is funny?" Natsu asked.

"I think I just saved you weeks of tracking false leads only to let Zeref and Spriggan advance further ahead of us than they already are."

Growling in defeat, Natsu kicked the nearby stool across the room, causing the wood to shatter against the wall, "That wasn't your choice to make, Gray."

Rubbing his face in frustration, Natsu sighed and shook his head. "What done is done; just clean this mess up."

Gray carefully eyed Natsu as he left the room; once the door closed, he stood from his previous spot on the ground and looked around the room at the mess he had created. He felt not an ounce of remorse or regret as he stared at the corpse in front of him, only annoyed at how much of a drag it would be to clean the blood from the stone edges. He never felt shame for the people he investigated; anyone willing to sell out their team didn't deserve his pity. There wasn't anything anyone could do to him to make him spill secrets about Fairy Tail, but speaking out about Spriggan wasn't that bastard's biggest mistake. It was nearly pulling Juvia in the middle of the firing line that solidified his name on Gray's death list. Had Natsu not been in the room, he would have taken his time on man for even attempting to let her honey-like name slip from his lips. For this was all he could do; from a distance, this is how he would continue to protect her from harm until the day he came when he could release her from her prison.

Wait for me, Juvia. Gray promised.

AN: Thank you for making it to the end of the chapter! Were you all satisfied with the take on Gray's character? Was he what you expected? Let me know :)

I felt like the relationships we will see between FT vs Spriggan would be night and day, which is why I decided to add the whole banter scene in the beginning. Sorry if it felt like it did little in progressing the plot, but I really wanted to set the tone of the family-like-bond they have for each other.