Author Note: Thank you for all those reviews. Y'all got me gushing.
"What would happen to Juvia and Jellal if Gray x Erza became canon?"
This is Juvia and Jellal's story.
"I tried to be a good person and give ya a chance to come quietly." Cobra shooked his head. He started doing circles around Juvia's Water Lock. "Then, you had to fuck it all up and bump into Jellal. Now, you gotta answer some questions."
"I'm telling the truth!" She screamed, still struggling in my grip. "I don't know anything."
"Then, why the hell do you have a bounty on your head?" Erik unrolled the request and shoved in her face. When he was sure she got a good enough look, Cobra smashed the paper back into his pocket. "The more time we're here the less sense this mission makes!"
"Erik, let's be rational." Juvia stepped up as the peace maker. With Jellal out of commission, Juvia was really the only thing standing between Cobra torturing this woman. "This is our first mission. This sets the tone for the rest."
"One, I wasn't planning to torture the girl. Let's clarify that." He frowned for a moment. "Fine, what's your name?"
"Jellal Fernades...Hehehe..." She awkwardly chuckled. Erik gave Juvia the 'Is she fucking serious?' face. Juvia could only sigh. Does she not know her position? The lady was already trapped in an inescapable bubble. The two of them could easily hand her over to the chief and be on their merry way.
"Seriously? What's your name because that's not it!" Cobra barked at her. The woman opened her mouth, but Cobra cut her off his signature poison dragon claw. "Make another joke and I will torture the info out of ya."
"Erik, you just said you weren't going to do that!" Juvia pointed out. It wasn't even five minutes again, and he was already resorting to that tactic.
"I-I don't know." She hung her head in shame. That could explain why this woman isn't that experienced with her magic. Could it be amnesia?
"You're close, stalker." Erik grinned as if he hit the jackpot. Juvia made a mental note that Erik can become considerably calm when things go his way. "Her soul is unstable. That's why I approached her with caution. The woman has retrograde amnesia."
"Retrograde? What are you talking about?" Her eyes were wide open. It was becoming apparent that this woman had no grasp on her mental state. Great, this mission was going smoothly from start to end.
"I'll make it simple. You lost the information that your mind was supposed to retain." Erik poked his head as he explained the situation. "What caused it I can't tell ya, but it's weird that you're out in a forest."
"That's the thing. I just woke up, and I couldn't remember anything." The pieces started falling into place as this woman went on. "I came across this village. I tried talking to this short guy, but he wouldn't answer any of my questions. He just kept directing me to something called a 'nursery' with the other women."
"Okay, we already know the guy's an asshole. How the hell did you get a bounty on your head?"
"I'm getting there, Erik." She frowned at his interruption. "Some buff guy with red paint all over came over said I was bothering the chief with my questions. He grabbed me by arm. We both screamed, and the man just collapsed right in front of the short man and me. I got scared, so I ran back this place. While I was running, I had these weird flashes in my head."
"Flashes of what?" Erik narrowed his eyes, calculating and deducting what was the truth and what was a lie.
"That's the thing. When I touch a new person, whatever memories that belonged to the previous person completely disappeared. I can't remember what that man thought."
"Juvia thinks she gets it." Juvia paused to gather all clues she had in her mind. "One person's memories at a time, like an override?"
"I'm guessing here, but from you trying to use Jellal's magic," Erik stuffed his hands in his jean pockets. "Can you use a person's skills?"
"I was able to maintain this camp with that man's memories and skills," She pondered on the limits of her powers. Juiva swears this woman was just as clueless as everyone else.
"Speak for yourself, stalker, the whole thing is fitting nicely for me." Erik mocked Juvia. She had to resist the temptation of attacking a comrade. She was above petty and childish antics, or at least that's what Juvia told herself. "There's a limit to what you can do. Survival skills and stuff like that you can mimic, but you're lacking in copying magic."
"That appears to be the case." She sighed, relieved that the whole mess was sorted out by Erik. Juvia was thankful for his soul reading, but he was too condescending for Juvia's liking.
"What should we call her?" His grin grew exponentially. Juvia was more worried about what he just said. A name? Why does that matter at all? The mission could be done with. They have all the answers they could want.
"Not quite, there's some shit that hasn't been taken care of." He gave Juvia the side eye. "One, the girl hasn't done anything outlandish. At most, she stole some clothes and food. Two, she's joining the team when we get back to the guild."
"Huh?!" Jellal's speech pattern was dissipating from her voice, and the southern Foire-ish accent was back with a vengeance. "Whatcha talkin about? I never agreed to that."
"Girlie, I'm gonna be blunt. The prison system in this country sucks ass. As in, the prisoners are abused constantly regardless of gender." Joking aside, Erik was talking from years and years of first-hand experience. And this, itself, put Erik's life back into perspective for Juvia. This man has been through hell and high water, enough pain to make an average mage submit. Yet, Erik can still smile and grin more than Juvia and Jellal combined all day. Perhaps Juvia's current life isn't as bad as she thought. "With us, you got a chance to find out who the hell you are. You don't get that when you go to jail. Ya get lukewarm water and a biscuit instead."
"On one condition," The white haired woman currently didn't understand how much she had to bargain. "I wanna be named Kyushu."
"More power to ya kid." Erik shrugged and flung Jellal's unconscious body over his shoulder. "That can be your name, but I'm calling ya Rouge."
"Why that?" Juvia asked as she followed Erik back to the village. Juvia's Water Lock automatically trailed her. "What's wrong Kyushu?"
"Nothing, but the word rogue is splattered all over the request, and she's a rogue mage." His smirk was definitely devilish, to say the least. "It fits perfectly with the theme of our team."
"The request..." This seemed all too easy. No, the mission was simple and executed perfectly, but there was something the four of them must have overlooked. A detail mentioned but small enough to go unnoticed.
Feeling uneasy, Juvia mentally went over the request for a second time. The rogue mage has been captured. Yes, Cobra and Juvia completed that section. Kyushu was highly dangerous, but she wasn't highly skilled. The woman was just skilled enough to avoid being captured by the chief. Could that be what was bothering Juvia? No, Juvia believed that part because everything involving it made sense. The reward? It was possible. This small village can somehow pull together three hundred thousand jewels? Or, Juvia was underestimating the wealth of the village. Everyone could've pulled together enough.
Juvia contemplated the whole case as the four of them returned to the village. All of the villagers were up and wandering about and going on with their lives. When the chief saw Kyushu in Juvia's Water Lock, he signaled us to go back into the forest. Kyushu and Juvia exchanged confused glances, but we still did as we were told. A moment later, the chief came back with a bag.
"Thank you Fairy Tail wizards, this menace can finally stop disrupting the flow of my village." He grinned, but he also glared at Kyushu. "Now, if you sir was kind enough to hand her over."
"I'm not the one who caught her." Erik scoffed. He pointed in Juvia's general direction. "Give her credit when credit's due."
"A-Ah yes," The chief stumbled to find what words to say. What could he say? He couldn't accuse Erik of lying since the man had no reason to lie. Nor could he denounce Juvia's accomplishments. The only option he had was to admit Juvia's victory.
"The reward please," Juvia smiled, pride beaming throughout her voice.
"I have yet to receive the menace." He coughed up a reply. "I need to punish her for the crimes she committed against my village."
"What's the punishment? Manual labor or something?" Erik asked. If it was, the three of us could finish it in no time. It would be quicker with Jellal, but he's out for a while. How long is he supposed to be unconscious again?
"For females, it's public execution." The stumpy man answered with a straight face. His eyes didn't waver, completely focused on Kyushu. He wasn't kidding; this man wanted her blood.
"Execution as in death?!" Kyushu's eyes widened. It took a moment for Rogue to realized her situation. Technically, yes, she was a criminal, but the offenses were minor. A few stolen fruit and clothes weren't worth a person's life. After all, she and everyone on this team have done some horrible thing at some point. It dawned on Juvia that she was only the Fairy Tail wizard in this group without a criminal record.
"Juvia thinks that's unreasonable! She never meant to hurt anyone."
"Watch your tongue, remember who you're working under." Juvia really wanted to wash away that evil smirk on his face, but he had a point. The chief was the one who hired them, but this was still wrong. "If you want your reward, I suggest you hand over the menace."
"Hold on short and stupid," Erik's face read completely bored. This dragonslayer wasn't the most tactful. Insulting the boss shouldn't be an option or even cross his mind. "do you really have right to boast your position?"
"Erik, where are you going with this?" Juvia eyed him, mentally screaming at him to hush. Discrediting this man was not an ideal method.
"I'm just saying. How are you gonna have a public execution when the village doesn't know the wizard is a girl?" ...What? The village doesn't know. Hold on, that might be what was bothering Juvia. The chief did force us back into the forest. This man didn't give us a description of Kyushu. Could that be the reason?
"Ho-How-" The man stuttered, shocked that Cobra was right. Erik went on with his rant.
"You're soul sold you out, but since that's not good enough answer for most people." He dropped Jellal onto Juvia's shoulder. Cobra drew his poison dragon claw and placed it inches in front of the village's chief's face. "You weren't so keen on telling Juvia what the perp looked liked while we were out in the open. I figure you were scared of someone overhearing us and finding out the 'rogue mage' was a female terrorizing your male dominated village. Shit, I would go as far to say you told them that the mage was a male."
"WHAT IS YOUR POINT?" The village master screamed seething with rage, glaring at Cobra. Erik matched his glare with a more fearsome scowl. Another mental note for Juvia, Erik could rival a pissed off Aquarius any day of the week.
"My point is if you don't want us to expose you for the liar you are and rip you a new one," To further his stance on the situation, Erik's claw started dissolving the master's clothes. "I suggest you hand over the money and forget the execution."
The smell of urine was present in the area suddenly. Fearing for his life, the reward money was placed into Erik's good hand. Erik released the spell on his arm and patted the man on the head.
"That's a good choice." He smiled, never wavering through either sentence. "If all the money isn't here, I'm coming back with a vengeance."
"U-Um, let's us go Kyushu." Juvia stuttered, releasing the former menace from Juvia's Water Lock. "Juvia will show you to the guild, so you can get your guild mark."
"Guild mark? Oh, like that thang on your thigh?" She pointed at Juvia's upper thigh. Juvia nodded as the three of them started making their way back.
"I would say the mission was a success." Cobra grinned wildly as he counted the profit. "A new teammate and three hundred thousand jewels."
"Juvia would say it was more chaotic than anything else," She sighed. Were all the missions going to end like this? Juvia might need to rethink leaving if so.
"Nah, I saw a chance to fuck with the man." Erik snickered as he played with the money. Juvia and Kyushu sweatdropped. "Oh don't give me that look. Especially you Rogue! I saved your life back there."
"I am mighty grateful for that." She smiled for the first time during this whole mess. Juvia had to admit, Kyushu's smile was a peaceful one.
"Cobra, you threatened the man who hired us." Juvia held back screaming at the man. True, he defused the situation, but wizards on the good side don't threaten their clients. "There are so many things wrong with what Erik did."
"Ugh, you sound like Jellal." He groaned, tying the bag up.
"Juvia realized now what Jellal goes through." Juvia sweatdropped. "Erik, you are a handful."
That was the overall topic for the walk retreating to the guild. Juvia and Erik would go back and forth with Kyushu occasionally jump a comment. Somehow Jellal never woke up with how much yelling went on between the two of us. There was a part of Juvia wondering if he was coma actually and not knocked out.
"Bless my heart, you two are a colorful duo." Kyushu sounded almost surprised by Juvia and Erik's antics. "Is Fairy Tail like this?"
"Oh, they're worse than us." Erik laughed at Kyushu's frightened face. With nothing holding him back, the poison dragon slayer pushed opened the door. Not surprisingly, the guild had plunged into a chaotic fray of the most common fighters. To make the whole fight worse, Juvia and the other were really only gone for four hours.
"It's a full on battle royale!" Kyushu screamed. Erik blocked the entrance to keep her from escaping. His laugh fell onto Kinana's ears.
"Welcome back Erik!" That girl was a sweetheart from what Juvia could tell. She never said anything rude or outrageous to anyone when the occasion called for it. Kinana possibility was more generous than Mira if it was a good day for the woman.
Erik, grinning all the way, smooth walked himself towards his girl leaving Juvia to handle the rest. Yes Cobra, you can leave an unconscious Jellal and a newbie with Juvia. No, Juvia clearly didn't need any help organizing the mess you caused. Erik, you can spend your free time with a woman you clearly don't deserve. No, Juvia isn't bitter.
"Er, what we supposed to do now?" Rogue asked, eyeing the guild and the mass destruction erupting from every corner.
"Juvia suggest we put Jellal in the infirmary as of the moment." Juvia readjusted his body on her shoulder. "Jellal is quite heavy."
"You mean that room." The amnesiac pointed up at the second floor. Juvia shook her while hiding her disappointment. Instead, she directed Kyushu to the white room in the corner of the guild.
After putting Jellal to bed and checking his vitals, Juvia closed the door behind her and Kyushu. It was nice of Master to make the infirmary the only soundproof room in the guild. It gave anyone who needed a moment to collect themselves an actual chance to do so.
"Is it always this hectic?" Kyushu asked with her southern accent at full effect. Jellal was no longer present in her personality. Juvia gestured to the second floor, so they can get a word with Master. After all, he might know what Kyushu has or at least know how to control it. If Rogue was going to be a Fairy, she was gonna have to be a little physical.
"It's something new members get used to," Juvia sighed. This guild could be hell if you're a loner, or the guild can be all sunshine and rainbow if you're a social butterfly. It's what's you make from what Juvia noticed. "Just don't avoid getting dragged into the fight every day."
Before Kyushu could answer or ask a question, Juvia knocked on the Master's door. A moment later, he opened the door for us.
"Ah yes Juvia," Master Makarov smile was enough to warm the coldest of hearts. He was the father figure of the guild for the majority of the people here today. His smile beamed onto Kyushu. "who have you brought with today?"
"Um, my name is Kyushu, but Erik likes to call me Rogue." She fiddled with the hem of her dress nervously.
"Kyushu, what brings you here today? Anything I can do for you?"
Master signaled for us to take a seat in his office.
"Actually, Juvia brought me up here. I have no clue why I'm sitting here." This woman was indeed something beyond Juvia's comprehension. You come to find you have amnesia which is a major deal, but it doesn't cross your mind to lead with that.
"Juvia brought Kyushu here because she has magic no one has ever seen before." Juvia started to explain. She went over how the three of them met Kyushu, the amnesia, and Jellal passing out. However, Juvia might've left out Cobra threatening the client because well that might get him kicked out. She definitely didn't do it for his sake. No, Kinana didn't need to suffer her boyfriend leaving the guild. "And that's why Juvia and Erik brought her here."
"I see..." Master sat back in his wheelchair, thinking and calculating a possible answer. "I believe I know what magic you have Kyushu."
"Really?" Her eyes sparkled brightly. "What is it?"
"It's a Lost Magic called Absorbing Magic. From what I can deduct, you can momentarily absorb another person's magic, memory, and skills at the cost of the original user being rendered unconscious." Master sat forward in his wheelchair, professionalism radiating from his body. He pulled a thick black bracelet from his dresser. "If you so choose to stay, I can give you this magic limiter. It will stop you from uncontrollably absorbing someone's power, but it's up to you to master your powers. With this, Kyushu, you, have to willingly accept the magic transfer. You're more than welcome to become a member of Fairy Tail."
"...how does it work?" Kyushu asked. Master already did an excellent job at explaining it, but Juvia guesses she wanted a simpler one.
"Think of it as a bracelet that creates this harmless invisible skin tight bubble around your body." He simplified his previous statement. Master Makarov dangled the magic objects in the air. "Do you wish to join Fairy Tail?"
"Yeah, Erik already said I could be on his team."
"Very well my children, Juvia will show you to Mirajane, so you can get your guild mark." He smiled as Kyushu placed the bracelet on her wrist. "Welcome to Fairy Tail!"
"Wait! I'm your child?!" She fell out of her seat. Juvia and Master Makarov sweatdropped. The water mage helped her up and escorted her out the room. Master told Juvia the celebration will commence shortly, so prepare her for the wildest party of her life.
Juvia brought her back to Erik and, how does Juvia put this lightly, placed her in Kinana's care while Juvia ran to her apartment. She knew Kinana needed a change of clothes, so she collected an outfit that would compliment Kyushu. The two of them were about the same size and shape, so Juvia didn't worry much about the clothes being too tight or too loose.
Juvia assembled the outfit in about ten minutes. Juvia took the extra pair of combat boots she had lying around, a black long sleeve shirt that had the sleeve see-through, and a long skirt. Of course, Juvia remembered to grab some undergarments for Rogue. It was quite obvious that the woman had no bra, so she might not have underwear either. Not to show the whole world her choice of personal gear, she hid the bra and panties underneath the shirt.
"Oh Juvia, you came back from your mission?" A dreadful shiver went down Juvia's spine as she locked her door. It should be impossible that she heard that voice. She remembered the five of them going on a mission before Juvia. So why in Mavis's name did she hear Erza's voice?
"Er-Erza?" The water mage slowly turned around and saw the scarlet warrior standing behind her. Just her luck, when she's preoccupied and busy, one of the few people Juvia didn't want to see was here. Scared, Juvia preceded with caution. "What is Erza doing here? Wasn't Team Natsu on a mission?"
"Yes but," She sighed, possibly remembering some unforeseen problems. "Sabertooth had already accepted the request. However, when we offered our assistance, Rogue, Yukino, and Minerva, for some odd reason, declined."
Juvia held back her desire to sweatdrop. Of course, that would happen to the most destructive team ever to exist. No one in their right mind would risk the reward to work with those people. Yes, they all had morally good hearts, but Juvia has heard stories of how ruinous those five are together. While Lucy and Wendy knew what holding back meant, the others were... not so understanding.
"Juvia's... sorry for the inconvenience... ?" What could Juvia say? She had no direct involvement in the matter, but social conditions forced her to give some type of condolence.
"Think nothing of it," Erza smirked. She must've been thinking about something fondly. Juvia silently thanked herself for Erza not noticing Juvia's hesitation. "May I ask why you have a change of clothes?"
"Oh, Juvia was loaning all of this to a friend," Juvia nervously laughed. She was internally praying that Erza could take the hint and go on her merry way. "Juvia must be going. Juvia is in a rush to the guild. Juvia will see Erza later."
"Nonsense Juvia," Erza transformed into her cheetah print armor. Juvia was not liking where this was going. "There's no need to be shy around me. I will take you to the guild in record time."
"Uh no Erza, Ju-" It was too late. Erza dismissed Juvia's pleads completely when she dashed out of Fairy Hills with Juvia in tow. The trip was horrifying. There were no existing words that could describe how terrifyingly reckless Erza could be. Mavis forbid she tried that stunt with a child... Oh dear lord, that poor child won't make it past the age of three with Erza as a mother.
Juvia and Erza entered the guild just as the party began. Surprisingly, there were only a few people crowding around Rogue, Erik, and Kinana. Juvia almost approached them, but she saw Gray, Natsu, Wendy, and Lucy chatting up a storm with the trio... Why did karma want to pay Juvia back all at once? Juvia might've done some wrong in her life, but she didn't deserve this. The water mage wasn't ready to face Gray, let alone converse with the man. Scatter brained, Juvia pushed the clothes on Erza and directed her to Rogue and the other. Giving her instructions, Juvia ran to the infirmary, and Juvia made sure to leave Erza before the scarlet woman could react.
She slammed the door herself and pressed her back against the door. Slowing her breath, Juvia began to calm down. Was Juvia being irrational? Probably, but she couldn't face her crush. Not like most people could do so either. Actually, Juvia would love to meet someone who talked their crush right after they rejected them.
"Juvia?" Jellal had finally woken up after about four hours. He sat up in his hospital bed, clutching his head. "What happened back there?"
"Oh Jellal, you're awake!" Juvia rushed to his side, occupying the stool next to his bed.
"Yeah, where am I? I thought we were in a forest." The Heavenly Body wizard looked around, trying to find a clue.
"Juvia carried you back to the guild after the mission was over," Juvia mentioned, but she kept out the part of arguing with Erik. He doesn't need to know that. "Jellal is in the infirmary."
"What happened when I was out? How long have I been out?"
"Er, Juvia would say about four hours." She giggled. Juvia remembered how much of peaceful sleeper Jellal was. "Juvia and Erik managed to finish the mission. We got the full reward too!"
"That's nice, but what happened to that woman? Where is she?" Jellal pulled the cover off of himself.
"Rogue is in the guild hall right now. Erik and Juvia might have invited her back to the guild." Juvia nervously chuckled as she avoided looking Jellal in the eyes.
"You two did what?! We were supposed to catch her and bring her to justice." Jellal frowned and narrowed his eyes. Juvia didn't have the courage to look at this man. He sounded pissed.
"True, but Rogue isn't a bad person. Juvia promises. Besides, Master already accepted her as a member..." Juvia took a great interest in the paint on the wall. Perhaps she should repaint it one day.
"What about the chief? Was he okay with this?" Jellal groaned. Juvia could guess he was regretting passing out even without looking at him.
"...No, Cobra had to convince him otherwise. He's the one who offered the idea of Kyushu joining the team." Juvia did a lot of sweatdropping today goodness.
"Kyushu is Rogue?" Jellal asked, and Juvia nodded. She went on to explain Kyushu's whole situation and just what's wrong with her. Juvia avoided the whole Erik threatening the chief area of the story. And leaving that out wasn't technically a lie. "So should I go over and meet her?"
"Um, Juvia wouldn't suggest it. Team Natsu is with her right now." Juvia's mood dropped through the floor. "That's why Juvia came in here."
Juvia saw the 'Jura sucker punch' scribbled across his face, but he managed to brave through it.
"So you didn't come to see me?" He gripped his heart dramatically.
"Juvia isn't allowed to lie remember?" Juvia held her hand to her mouth to keep herself from giggling.
"Oh, that's just wrong, and you know you're wrong for it." Jellal playfully scowled her. It was nice that Juvia had someone who looked past her previous choices. Jellal didn't remind Juvia that she was stalker constantly, nor did Jellal shun her for what she did the past nine years. Jellal treated like a human being, and Juvia glad she had a friend to lean on.
"Juvia knows." Her restful smile had a calming sensation run through Juvia. "Jellal, what is the name of our team? We never decided."
"The Unfortunates!" Erik cockily grinned with Rouge and Kinana behind him.
"No," Jellal and Juvia said flatly. Juvia wasn't about to add 'unfortunate' to description list.
"How about Criminals for Hire?"
"No," Juvia wasn't even a real criminal. What was he thinking?
"S.S.M.T.T.?"
"What does that even mean?" Rogue scratched her head. Juvia made a mental note of how good Kyushu looked in her new outfit.
"A Stalker, A Snake, A Murderer, and A Thief Team." Erik just fucking with Juvia and the others at this point.
"No Cobra," Jellal said sternly. He was the team leader, and if he wasn't, Juvia will nominate him. Jellal knew how to keep Erik already, and most of the team already respected him. Rogue was still relatively new, it wasn't surprising that Jellal didn't earn her respect just yet.
"Why not the Neo-Crime Sorciere?" Kinana's voice was very gentle and had a hint of shyness hidden in her words. "You're still technically fighting crimes with the requests, but you're just following the guild's rules now."
Some of us were wavering on the line of right and wrong after that last mission, but Juvia wouldn't point fingers.
"True, but the Crime Sorciere was made to defeat Zeref," Jellal recalled. "Zeref is dead."
Yes, technically, Zeref was dead, but Juvia did see someone who highly resembled the dark wizard. It's amazing how even ancient people can be reborn into innocent writers. Actually, no one truly dies when Fairy Tail is involved. There's a whole list of people who should be dead, including Juvia and Jellal. Hold on, half the guild should be dead.
"Why not the Rogues?" Kyushu tilted her head to the side.
"You lost all your speaking right for the day when you came out the bathroom with your bra and panties over your clothes." Cobra, truthfully, said that sentence with a straight face. Juvia and Jellal were completely mortified. With how oblivious Kyushu can be, Juvia couldn't outright call Erik a liar. "Kinana had to redress you."
"How was I suppose to know some clothes were supposed to be hidden!" She certified Erik's claim! Rogue really did embarrass herself. Oh dear lord, who knows how many people saw Juvia's undergarments?!
With Juvia despairing in a corner, Erik and Rogue arguing over a name, the hospitalization room quickly fell into shambles. Jellal and Kinana realized what they got pulled into. The five of us never picked a name that night. This team was doomed.
Author Note: So Kyushu means 'absorb' in Japanese. The more you know! If you have a team name for this band of mischiefs, I'm more than glad to hear what y'all got. I hope you think of a specific person when you think of Kyushu.