Chapter Eleven : Dead Lotus Poison

Gray's P.O.V. -

Juvia held onto my hand as we walked. All of us were quiet after seeing the bodies hanging in the trees. I promised myself this would be the only time I held Juvia's hand like this in public. But…I couldn't help but notice how warm they were in mine.

Finally, Gajeel spoke, "So…are you two like a thing?"

"Juvia and Gray-sama?" Juvia looked up quickly. Of course!"

"N-No we aren't!" I protested.

Gajeel chuckled, "No no I know you two are but what about you, Tabiki? Anyone special?"

"WHAT!" I shouted angrily.

Tabiki shook his head, "No. If anything, Nakina and Tanoshi are the closest thing to a couple."

"Oh yeah?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Umm…they've been through a lot together, so they treat each other...differently than they do others," Tabiki explained. "We're all close, but they have a special bond."

"Juvia thinks that Gajeel and Levy are the cutest," Juvia smiled. "Juvia hopes that Gray-sama and Juvia will be that close later on. With two or three kids!"

My face began to turn redder and redder, "H-Hey-"

A girl jumped down from one of the trees and landed in front of me. Her eyes were huge and pink. She had long, curled hair with a little red dress. She waved at me, and then kissed my cheek.

"LOVE RIVAL!" Juvia screamed, summoning water all around us.

Suddenly, I began to float from the floor. I quickly created an ice dome around all of us, keeping me from flying into the air. I was twirling in the air, trying to catch my balance.

"Hello!" the girl grinned at all of us. "I'm V."

She flicked Juvia's forehead. Before long, Juiva fell to the floor. She tried to get up, but failed. V was too fast to keep up with. It was as if she moved without the toll of gravity.

"Watch out Gajeel! She's to your left!" I warned.

Gajeel managed to dodge, throwing a metal spear at her. She placed a peck on the spear, sending it flying towards me.

"Ugh!" I created a shield to block the metal shard flying at me. It crashed through most of the ice, shattering it.

Juvia groaned as she struggled to push herself up, "Juvia...feels...so...heavy…"

She was able to get up, only to wobble and fall back down. Gajeel turned his arm into a metal beam, swinging it around to try and hit V.

"Oh my, that's no good," V tapped Gajeel's metal, sending it through the ground.

"What the!" Gajeel's whole arm was buried into the floor. "Don't let her touch you!"

Juvia created a sphere of water around V and shouted at me to freeze it. I quickly did as she said. Suddenly, V appeared behind Tabiki, jumping out of the floor. Tabiki pranced back. When I thought about it, those two were not a good match. Tabiki could only use martial arts, so physical contact was needed.

Nevertheless, he quickly jabed at her stomach, sending her flying into the ice wall. Then, he ran up to her, kicking. She was able to move out of the way, causing Tabiki to kick the ice. He left a huge crack.

"Hitting a girl?" V sighed, coughing up some blood. "Not very gentleman like."

"I don't particularly care what gender you are," Tabiki continued to attack her at incredible speed, keeping up with her movements.

Eventually, V was able to land a flick onto Tabiki while he was punching her. He wobbled, but surprisingly was able to stay standing.

"My my," she purred, "what a strong boy!"

He ran at her, though his movements were slower. She easily dodged, flicking him again. This time, he groaned under the weight. She flicked him over and over again, until he was on his knees, panting.

"I've never met anyone who could breath under this! Let alone stand," V giggled. "How fun!"

While she was distracted, I created a chain ball of ice, which slowly began to drag me back down.

Tabiki huffed, "This body of mine...has been through so much worse than this...to prepare it for intense battle."

He slowly began to rise.

"Built to fight and fight until no limbs were left," he grabbed onto V's collar.

Eventually, he jumped up, just enough for him to land on top of her. She screamed in pain as Tabiki crushed her. In the end, she had to kiss Tabiki's cheek until he was levitating off of the ground. He didn't give up. I was still mid way between the floor and the ice above me. Tabiki grabbed her hair, forcing her to go up with him.

"LET GO!" she shouted as she smacked him.

"GRAY!" he called for me to blast her with ice.

I created a huge ice spear and threw it up towards her. Gajeel used his other hand to shoot little fragments of metal at her. Juvia sent big clumps of water towards her, attempting to suffocate her.

"Looks like I underestimated you," V sighed, closing her eyes.

Then, she put both hands out, as if she was giving up.

The next moment, she shouted, "May the toll of gravity send you all to the center of the Earth."

We, along with our magic, fell to the floor with such a force, I felt as though my bones were breaking. I felt as though a giant were stomping on me slowly.

"At this point…" I tried to move, "we'll get killed."

I noticed V, on the floor was well.

"You're gonna kill yourself too?" Gajeel laughed dryly.

"No," she smiled. "I just have to out last all of you."

"And what makes you so sure you can do that?" I asked.

"I've done this to myself millions of times, preparing myself for this," she said. "This is just the beginning."

Suddenly, Tabiki began to crawl towards her. Gajeel and Juvia were crawling as well. I joined them.

"If Juvia can still crawl," Juvia smiled. "Juvia can still kill the woman who kissed Gray-sama!"

Juvia began to crawl like a mad person with incredible speed. The floor underneath us began to crack. Gajeel turned his arm into metal, slowly extending it towards her. It was sharp, threatening to pierce her.

"You guys don't know when to give up," V intensified the pressure.

I chuckled, "Well, I most definitely won't die at your hands."

"I got a shrimp to take care of," Gajeel continues to move his spear arm towards V. "And a little girl at home. No way this weak magic will keep me from going back home to them!"

"Very well," V lifted the magic. "Then kill me."

Tabiki walked over to the girl and drew his sword. I reached out for him.

"No!" I shouted. "Don't."

"Why?" Tabiki did not take his eyes off of the girl.

"We don't kill!" Gajeel joined in. "I know it may sound stupid, but we don't. That's not how we roll."
"Juvia is against this as well," Juvia suddenly smiled creepily. "But if Tabiki-san kills her, Juvia will be thankful because you got rid of love rival."

"If you do this," I spoke slowly, "you might destroy your chance at a life with Fairy Tail."

He finally stepped back. Suddenly, V began to shake and twitch.

"INPUTTING INFORMATION : SUBJECT GRAY → INABILITY TO KILL. SUBJECT JUVIA → WILLING TO KILL FOR SUBJECT GRAY. SUBJECT GAJEEL → INABILITY TO KILL / WIFE AND CHILD. SUBJECT TABIKI → WILLING TO KILL / WARNING," she fell to the floor after speaking, dead. Foam began to spill from her mouth.

I rushed over to her and saw a needle pierced into her body.

"Dead lotus poison," I concluded. "One drop in your body and you will most likely die. Two drops and you're dead in seconds."

"Gray-sama is so smart," Juvia complimented.
Gajeel frowned, "If she had something like this on her, why didn't she try using it on us?"

"I...I don't know," I admitted.

Tabiki sighed, "If it comes down to it, and it's kill or be killed, then I hope you know I will kill without hesitation."

We continued our journey in silence.

Mystery P.O.V. -

"Did V send you the information?"

"Yes, father."

"So far the only ones willing to kill are the ones with the swords?"

"But not the Scarlet haired one, father."

"Yes...yes..."

"Shall I send out the hounds?"

"Haha, yes. Let the fun begin."