Changing Tides
Chapter 4 - The Next Step
by Contrail
Summary: Juvia ponders what to do with herself after Phantom Lord is disbanded. Sequel to 'Phantom's End Is A Beginning'.
Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, and is being used without permission. No profit is being made from this story.
A week had passed since the Rune Knights had arrested all involved in the battle between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord. Over the days that followed, they'd been questioned repeatedly about the battle and the events leading up to it. Juvia spent most of the time she wasn't being questioned looking up at the sky, watching puffs of white drift through the blue expanse or marveling at how many stars were scattered across its blackness, depending on the time of day. She'd discovered that looking into the sun too long was a bad idea (she'd looked away once it started to kind of hurt to look at it) and watched the moon change little by little.
She supposed she should've been more concerned about what the Magic Council would decide to do with Phantom Lord, but she thought it unlikely that any of them other than the Master would be punished. The rest of them had mostly just been following his orders. And she didn't think it was wrong for her to enjoy these new experiences, after so many years of seeing nothing but gray clouds when she looked up. It's not like worrying about the outcome would've changed anything, anyway.
But now the questioning was over and the Council had reached some preliminary conclusions. While they were still considering what punishment to levy on Fairy Tail for their role in the conflict, Phantom Lord's culpability in starting and escalating it was clear, which made things easier to decide upon. Their Master, Jose Porla, was going to be tried and sentenced for his role in those events, and Phantom Lord was to disband permanently. None of its other members were going to be charged with any crimes, though apparently it had been a close call for Gajeel.
With Phantom Lord disbanding, all of its members would have to join another guild if they wished to continue to be able to take jobs as mages. Juvia was confident that she wouldn't have much trouble getting some guild to take her - while Phantom Lord's reputation as a guild had been irreparably damaged by their war with Fairy Tail, her strength as a member of Element Four was well-known and unlike some other members, she didn't have much of a history of getting into trouble with the Council. She intended to take care when choosing her next guild, though. She had enough savings to not need to work for a while, and she wanted to be part of a guild that would actually accept her as a person instead of only valuing her for her strength.
Juvia wondered if all members of Fairy Tail were as dedicated to their comrades as the man she'd fought had been. They had found the strength to defeat even the strongest of Phantom Lord's members from somewhere… Was that where it came from? She'd have to observe them, find out more about them. And she might even see the one who had defeated her again… Ah, just the thought of that happening made her cheeks heat and her heart pound!
She shook her head to clear it of such thoughts. Wonderful as they might be to dwell on, they wouldn't help her decide what to do now that she'd been released from questioning. She wasn't too concerned about what would happen to most of Phantom Lord's members - the rank and file had respected her strength but had wanted nothing to do with the rain she'd once carried with her. Of those she was more familiar with, she didn't think the rest of Element Four would find it difficult to land on their feet, either, and their association while in Phantom Lord had been purely business. She doubted any of the others would feel any more remorse about going their separate ways than she would.
But Gajeel… Between the missions they'd gone on together, and her lack of fear of him, and his tolerance of her rain, an unspoken bond had formed between them. She cared about what would happen to him. And Gajeel had gotten in trouble with the Council many times, which along with his dark reputation would make it difficult for him to find a guild that would be willing to let him join. If he wasn't able to join another guild and go on jobs, she worried about what he might be driven to to make a living.
Turning, she started to make her way towards the train station. He wouldn't want to stay in Magnolia any longer now that the questioning was over, and the train was the quickest way to get to wherever he planned to go next. After a few minutes of walking, she spotted his distinctive mane of hair and hurried to catch up to him. Falling into step beside him, she greeted him with a "Gajeel-kun."
He gave her a brief glance before answering her with a grunt. It looked like he was in a foul mood, which wasn't exactly surprising. Still, she persisted. "Where are you headed to?"
"Back to where Jose found me. Not like I got any place else to go."
Juvia frowned. She'd learned over the course of their acquaintanceship that he'd been living in a junkyard prior to joining Phantom Lord, and it was located in some sort of slum from what she'd gathered. He'd kept himself alive by eating scavenged metal from the junkyard and taking money from whoever was foolish enough to try to fight him. Did he really want to go back to living like that. "Aren't you going to even try to find another guild?"
He snorted at that. "You and I both know no one is going to want to take me now. Why should I waste my time?"
She sighed and looked down. She wanted to argue with him, tell him he shouldn't just give up, but she couldn't honestly say that there was much hope.
Frowning at her downcast expression, he continued, "I ain't some weakling you need to worry about. I made it on my own before, and I'll do it again. So quit being so gloomy and start thinking about what you're gonna do."
Juvia managed a small smile at his usual rough demeanor, though her worries didn't lessen one bit. "Juvia has already decided what she wants to do."
"Then get to doing that stuff instead of bugging me," he told her as they reached the entrance of the train station. She stopped there and he continued walking forward, leaving her without any sort of proper goodbye even though neither of them knew when they'd see the other one again. His large form receded farther into the distance with each step he took while she watched him go.
But then he stopped and turned back towards her, calling out, "Don't go getting hurt now that I won't be there to save your ass anymore!"
A true smile crossed her face as she called back, "Juvia will be careful, and Gajeel-kun should be too!"
He made a irritated noise and turned around, but she knew that he was happier about her response than he seemed. He liked to act like his heart was as hard as the iron he wielded, but Juvia knew better. And while he pretended he'd be fine, her concern about his fate hadn't dimmed at all. She needed to figure out a way to help him. Maybe she could convince whatever guild she ended up joining to take him, too…
Filled with a new resolve, she turned to purchase herself a ticket as well. She'd go back to Oak Town to settle her affairs there, and then she'd start hunting for another guild. One that could be a home for her and Gajeel…
Sorry, it's been much longer since I wrote another one of these than I intended! ^^; At least this is a nice long one?
