Chapter 3:

In which things get more complicated.

.

.

.

When I left the school yard where Nagisa and I had been talking, I went straight for the D3 classroom. To my relief the only person there was Erza, sitting at the teacher's desk looking through students papers.

She wore a black, long sleeve top and a plaid skirt that flitted just above the knee. Her long scarlet hair was tied back into a high ponytail. I suppose I had been too distracted to notice earlier.

"Erza-san?" I knocked on the doorframe to let her know I was there.

"Hello Juvia." She looked up from the papers she was shuffling through, giving me her full attention. "I suppose you're here to ask how I ended up going undercover with you," she guessed.

"Yes," I said, stepping into the room fully.

"Master only told me this morning," she said. "He needed a person undercover with the staff as well."

We had wondered whether the staff was part of the problem with this school, but Master had decided they weren't. Had something occurred to change his mind?

"So if Erza-san is going to stay, why did she say she was just a substitute teacher? Where is the real teacher?" I asked.

"The real teacher just resigned last week. Master saw that as an opportunity for me to step in; I'm currently a substitute but if it goes well they may hire me as the full time teacher of this class," the older scarlet-haired woman explained.

"So what exactly is Erza-san's job here? Is she going to try and get closer to the teachers and Principal and get them to trust her?"

Erza nodded. "That's the gist of it. As you know, we suspect that the school might be bringing in delinquent students from other schools that don't want them as a way to 'increase the student population,' which would normally be a good thing—however they don't expand anything else and the students get out of control." Her face then turned serious and her voice lowered an octave. "We have to figure out how to put a stop to it. Not only will it save all of these kid's academic futures, but our team will receive a multitude of favors from the Academy; and we really could use them right now."

I nodded. Master had given me the full rundown of the job when he chose me. But I had a feeling that things were worse than we anticipated.

Just then the warning bell rang, and I quickly stepped away from Erza before anyone could walk in. We needed to avoid any sort of suspicion.

I had only just sat in my desk when the blue-haired boy from earlier walked in. Tomoya, I remembered.

His attention was apparently drawn to me—probably because I was the new girl, and the only student in the room at the moment. Now that I looked at him more closely, he reminded me of someone. Somehow it made me feel more comfortable.

"Uh… hi," I stammered out, feeling awkward. I tucked my hands into my lap, staring at him shyly.

"Hi," he said, sounding puzzled at first, then he seemed to realize I was trying to be friendly. "You just transferred here, right? Where from?"

I was facing this question on the first day? I guess I knew it would happen at some point.

"A school in the next town," I answered, being vague. I supposed it wasn't entirely a lie.

"The next town? Did you move?" he asked, approaching me and taking the seat beside me. I assumed he would move once the person who sat next to me arrived.

"No, Juvia still lives there," I answered. The next town, Magnolia, could barely even be separated from this town on a map. Sometimes people thought it was all the same place.

"Then why are you at a school all the way over here?"

I realized I was not convincing him in the slightest that there wasn't more to it.

"Hey, Okazaki!" a voice yelled from the doorway.

Standing there was a boy with blond hair who was slightly shorter than me. He wore the same uniform as the rest of us.

"Oh hey, is this that new girl?" He turned to me, and gave me a long look. "If you think about it, she kinda looks like the girl version of you Okazaki," he cackled. "That's a disturbing thought."

I wasn't sure whether to laugh or gag. So obnoxious guys like this really did exist.

"Sunohara, shouldn't you be getting to your own class?" Tomoya asked the boy.

"Who cares, they'll barely miss me," he scoffed. He apparently didn't notice Erza sitting there.

The scarlet-haired woman twitched with anger. "You!" she shouted. "Do you think you can just sacrifice your education like that?! Scoundrel!"

Sunohara flinched and squeaked, "N-n-no, ma'am!"

"That's what I thought," Erza said warningly. "Now get to your class this instant!"

He was out the door faster than a bolt of lightning. My mouth hung open. I knew part of this job was to put troublemakers in their place, but that was overdoing it.

The rest of the class began to arrive, probably from the courtyard or other areas of the school where they were eating lunch with friends. Tomoya stood and waved to me before heading to his own desk at the other side of the room.

The afternoon class continued much like the morning class had. Erza had proved to be a competent teacher despite being rather intimidating. Eventually we were dismissed for another break. I was planning on staying in class to write some notes in my journal, but I was surprised when Tomoya approached me once again.

"Hey," the blue-haired boy said, "if you want, I could give you a tour of the school. I don't have anything better to do right now."

"Thank you, Juvia would like that." I decided to take the offer. Was this how people made friends in a normal school? I was worried it wasn't just that; he probably wanted to ask me questions since we had been interrupted earlier.

I followed him out into the hallways, which were fairly empty as most of the students had gone out to the courtyard.

"So...," he began as we walked out to the main hall, "how did you end up coming to a school so far away from home? I didn't get to finish asking earlier."

My mind tried to come up with a believable reason, but the best I could do was mutter, "It's kind of complicated."

"Yeah, I get that," Tomoya said, scuffing his feet on the tile floor. "Complicated is pretty much my life right now," he chuckled.

I sighed. He didn't know that saying that only made me more hesitant to try to explain (which I could never do fully). I knew that if I brought him into the situation at all it would only cause more "complications" for the both of us.

However, for some odd reason, a need to have someone who knew about my strange situation washed over me like a wave. Suddenly, I didn't care, I just wanted to confide in someone.

"Well, Juvia is not exactly a normal student," I said, and there was no turning back now. "She's here on a job."

He blinked at me, confused. "What kind of job?"

I was about to tell him when suddenly there was a loud shout from somewhere within the school. I jumped at the sound, and Tomoya seemed to recognize whoever shouted, because his expression deadpanned and he muttered, "Not again…," taking off down the hallway and around a corner. I sighed, deciding to follow him. After all, if there was anything bad or suspicious going on, I was meant to record it in my journal to report to the master, and put a stop to what was going on.

On the other hand I couldn't believe what I had just been about to do. It was only the first day and I was already failing this mission and breaking the rules. Perhaps Master really had picked the wrong person for this job...

I shook these thoughts off and broke out into a jog to catch up with Tomoya. I followed him all the way out to the courtyard, where at least thirty students were crowded around something, watching intently. Some even whooped, chanting, "Fight! Fight! Fight!" I groaned. Trouble already.

Tomoya went straight to the center of the students and I was right behind him—I needed to stop this, whatever it was.

In the very center of the crowd I recognized the obnoxious kid from earlier, Sunohara. He was glaring at a silver-haired girl and she was staring back with the same intensity. I couldn't hear what they were saying over the shouts, but I was preparing myself to step in when he lashed out at her with a fast punch. My eyes widened with surprise. Was he really that much of a jerk? I was about to rush out and stop the fight when the silver-haired girl caught his arm mid punch and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying back onto the grass.

The crowd cheered loudly at this, and my mouth gaped. How could they cheer for a fight? They wanted people to get hurt? I would never understand "normal" people.

I shook those thoughts away when Sunohara stood up, pointing a finger accusingly at the silver-haired girl.

"You might have beat me but I'll get you next time damnit!" he shouted and ran away behind the back of the school. The silver-haired girl looked exasperated and appalled at the same time. She turned around and the crowd parted to make way for her, like she was some sort of queen.

"So she likes to intimidate them into leaving her alone, huh?" I muttered under my breath. "Just like Erza-san."

"What?" Tomoya asked from beside me, confusion riddled in his voice and expression.

"Oh, nothing" I answered quickly. I wasn't sure I could really explain it to him. Sometimes when Erza just needed to be alone she would shoot a death glare at anyone who tried to disturb her; it was something she had done as long as I'd know her. Everyone was used to it although we never really knew why she did it.

Then I turned to Tomoya. "Does Tomoya-kun know who that girl is?" I asked.

"Her name is Tomoyo Sakagami. I've never met her but I've seen her around—she has quite the reputation for beating up dumb guys like Sunohara," he answered.

I was admittedly curious about this girl. From what I could tell some of her techniques were similar to what we learned in training at Fairy Academy. Did she or other students end up in fights like that so often they had to learn how to defend themselves?

My main instinct was to follow her inside and observe her. I needed to see if my theory was correct, and stealth was one of my strong points after all.

"Juvia is… going to meet up with one of her friends, but it was nice talking to you, Tomoya-kun," I said, slowly slinking away in the general direction Tomoyo had gone.

Tomoya looked at me strangely, but nodded his head and shrugged. "Okay then. See you later, Juvia."

I entered through the front door of the building, and when I was inside I was careful to blend in with the rest of the students in the hall. I kept Tomoyo in my sight. I noticed her head over to the girls' bathroom, and debated whether I should follow her inside or wait.

I counted to ten and then carefully opened the door, finding her standing in front of the mirror looking at herself with scrutiny. I went to stand at a sink on the other side and casually started to wash my hands. She was examining her reflection with a sad look on her face. I couldn't tell if she was scrutinizing her appearance, or thinking of an unpleasant experience, or both. Then she looked at me like she had noticed I was staring the whole time.

"Can I help you?" she asked, not angrily, but she seemed annoyed.

"Sorry," I mumbled, "Juvia didn't mean to disturb you."

"Don't worry about it. Your name is Juvia right?" She turned fully towards me and I shut off the sink, grabbing a paper towel to dry my hands.

I nodded, looking her over curiously. There was something different about this girl that I couldn't quite pinpoint.

"I'm sorry you had to see that fight out there on your first day," she sounded so apologetic it almost made me feel guilty. I knew she thought she was talking to an innocent new student who didn't expect there to be a fight like that.

"It isn't Tomoyo-san's fault," I reassured her, not wanting her to think she was scaring me. Between Lucy and Erza, I had plenty of experience with scary women; she wasn't even close.

"How do you know my name?" she asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing.

"Juvia heard it from someone next to her when we were in the courtyard," I said quickly.

She sighed, looking away and turning back to her reflection in the mirror. "I should have known... Everyone at this school just knows me as the girl who beats people up."

"Juvia doesn't think of you that way—that guy was acting like an idiot."

"I suppose," she said quietly, as if lost in thought. Then she shook her head and made her way to the door. "It was nice talking to you, but I should go," she said. I could tell she wasn't very Interested in small talk.

"Goodbye," I called back, before I counted to ten and stepped back into the hall.

After I was finished helping out with cleaning at the school, I was on my way to catch the train back to Magnolia which would depart in fifteen minutes. It would take at least ten to walk to the station, so I was cutting it close again.

Erza ended up having to stop another fight that happened in the hallway later that day. She officially decided after it was over that we would have to bring in more students from the Academy.

"If we've already had more than one incident on the first day it's unlikely that we can do this alone; especially because most of it will be thrust on you—I'll be busy with the staff," she had said.

I figured Erza's team would be the best choice. They all worked so well together. I would ask Lucy when I got back.

When I reached the train station the train was already boarding passengers and I almost didn't make it on.

During the thirty minute train ride I had time to pull out my notebook and scribble down as many details of the day as I could recall. I needed to be more diligent about this and record my sightings once they happened, so I wouldn't forget later on. I was to turn in my journal to the Master for him to make copies of my notes once I got back.

By the time the train pulled into the station and I walked the rest of the way to Fairy Academy, I was exhausted. As I walked down the streets of our own little town (as we often referred it to), I noticed that the familiar faces I passed all looked sad and puzzled. I suddenly had the feeling that something was very wrong.

My heart skipped a beat at the implication. Magnolia was usually a very cheerful place, especially around harvest festival time. The mood of the people around me now was something like... mourning.

This had happened before—several years ago when a girl who lived here had died. The Whole town had mourned her death, but no one knew that it had been the Academy's fault.

Truthfully, Fairy Academy was Magnolia's biggest secret. In fact, not even the other townspeople knew about it.

I found Master's office quickly. I frowned when I didn't see the cheerful Mirajane at her desk. I slipped past anyway and to Master's door. I knocked gently.

"Come in," the Master said gruffly, and I slid open the door nervously. It was all too quiet. Something was definitely wrong.

"Juvia has her notebook for you," I said unsurly, taking a seat in front of his desk and placing the notebook in front of him. He took it carefully and opened to the first few pages and placed them in the copy machine to download the pages onto his computer.

The silence was unbearable. Every second that past made the atmosphere feel heavier. "Master… is something wrong?" I asked cautiously, almost fearing the answer.

Master blinked, as if coming out of deep thought, and nodded slowly. "Yes, my dear. However I feel as though I should not be the one to tell you. If you manage to find Natsu or Lucy, I would ask them."

I frowned. What could possibly have happened since this morning?

"Thank you for the notes, child. You are doing well." Master looked up at me to offer a soft smile, but I could still see the dazed look in his eyes.

"Thank you," I muttered and placed the notebook back in my bag. I stood and left the way I came in, hearing Master's deep sigh before the door closed behind me.

Once I reached the girls' dorm I immediately went upstairs to Lucy and I's room, hoping she would be there. There was no such luck, however, because I found a note from her on my bed.

Juvia, I'm going to be at Natu's tonight.

I hope you had a good day at your new job at the school. Also, be sure to call someone if you happen to have another nightmare.

-Lucy

From what she said, it seemed like everything was fine, but I still couldn't shake the bad feeling, and Master himself had said something was wrong. I decided to go talk to Lucy myself, and hopefully get some reassurance.

When I reached the boys' dorm room I knocked on Natsu and Gray's door. After a long moment, Lucy opened it. I noticed that Wendy was there too. My little hope vanished, because the mood of the small group in the room matched that of what I felt in the town.

"Juvia…," Lucy began, but she couldn't finish what she was saying. She started to cry, unable to hold her tears back.

This set off the rest of the group as Wendy burst into tears and hid her face in Gray's shoulder. Gray's eyes seemed to water but he kept his expression stoic, almost as if he was afraid to acknowledge whatever was wrong. Natsu cried the loudest with snot dripping grossly down his nose.

Without warning, Lucy wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace.

"What's going on here?" I asked, worried. This was very strange behavior coming from my usually chipper friends.

Lucy sniffed hard and squeezed me tighter before slightly pulling away to look at me. "Lisanna, she…"

My eyes widened, the beat of my heart increasing. "I-is Lisanna-san alright? Is she hurt?"

"She's… missing," Lucy said, almost choking on the words.

I stopped short, my mind racing, trying to comprehend what she meant.

"Missing...," I finally gulped, "how exactly?"

"She was doing a job in the town where your school is, and she just suddenly disappeared out of thin air," Lucy explained softly.

I felt tears well up in my eyes at this news. I quickly returned Lucy's embrace, breathing in deeply, trying to calm myself. My thoughts became scattered, but I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to tell them that they were to come to the school for backup. Now didn't feel like the right time.

So instead I pulled away from Lucy and wiped my eyes, offering her a small smile. "We will find Lisanna-san, don't worry. For now Juvia thinks we should rest for tonight and come up with a plan tomorrow."

Lucy nodded slowly. "You're right. We won't have any luck if we don't get some rest."

None of us liked it, but we decided just to hang around Natsu and Gray's room for the night and try to not get too caught up in worrying.

In the back of my mind, as I settled down with a blanket and pillow on the floor next to Wendy and her kitten, I knew tomorrow I would have no choice but to make things more complicated.

.

.

.

A/N: Hello, I apologize for taking so long to update this, but I do plan to continue it.

Also, you should check my friend CeeCee Dragneel's Fairy Tail fanfiction "Diary—Ehem, Journal—of a High School Outcast" and please leave a kind review for her :)