~CHAPTER 3 – SECOND MONTH~
~LUCY~
I pulled my arm out of the sling and gently stretched it out, testing its limits. So far, it was holding up pretty well. As for my left hand, well, let's just say I was solidly ambidextrous.
"How is it, Miss Lucy?" Capricorn spoke up after I spent a minute getting used to the feeling of having a functioning right hand.
"It's good. Great, actually." I rolled my wrist, feeling a tinge of soreness. "Time to get it back in shape." One-armed push-ups had been a bitch. Capricorn nodded solemnly and pulled out his stopwatch. I'd learned to hate that thing during the past few weeks.
"Go until your limit. You may begin." His finger on the button, Capricorn waited for me to get into the push-up position before starting the clock. I folded my left arm across my back and bent my right elbow. After twenty three repetitions my wrist began to ache and I stopped.
"Yeah. Lot's of work to do." I sighed, massaging the joint. He read the time and slipped the stopwatch into his coat pocket.
"Forty eight seconds, Miss Lucy. Try to reach a minute next time, but for now let us work on your magic. Summon Leo and Virgo." Carpricorn said with a slight bleat on my name, like he always did. I rose and pulled out the two keys, quickly calling out the spirits he'd requested.
"Open, Gate of the Lion: Loke! Open, Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!" I commanded, watching the spirits step out from the golden glow. The draining effect was immediate, but it wasn't nearly as bad as last week.
"Good work, Miss Lucy." Capricorn bowed his head in approval. "Leo, attack her. Miss Lucy, no offensive movements. Virgo, begin tunneling. You may begin."
Loke darted at me while Virgo disappeared into a hole, accompanied by the sound of a drill. I darted around, dodging Loke's attacks without beginning my own offensive. I blocked the occasional blow that came to close, but otherwise it was Loke who led this dance.
"Leo, use your magic. Miss Lucy, bring out your whip." Capricorn ordered. We both complied, the pull on my magic increasing as Loke's fists lit up with Regulus. We kept the battle up for a good twenty minutes before I collapsed, my magic at its limit. Immediately, Capricorn called Virgo back and Loke stood down while I took a nice, long breather. My wrist had developed an unpleasant ache and my right shoulder was very sore.
"That was pretty good for a freshly healed break, Lucy." Loke came over and offered me his hand. I slipped mine into his and he pulled me up, giving me a moment to stabilize myself before letting go.
"Yeah. Can you and Virgo go back for now? I need a break." I panted. He nodded and his gate closed, along with the maiden's. The power drain lessened considerably and my racing heart finally slowed.
"That was impressive, Miss Lucy. However, you have begun relying on your left hand." Capricorn pointed out, being the teacher that he was. "I will ask Virgo to provide you with a spare whip from the spirit world."
"Thanks." I replied. "Anything else for today?"
"Take a run and then stretch before going to bed." He said. "Until tomorrow, Miss Lucy."
I closed his gate and watched the spirit vanish, surrounded by golden light. Using a scrap from one of my old shirts, I pulled my hair up into a loose ponytail and set off in a fast jog, working off the soreness. I was getting stronger, but more snippets of memories kept bugging me. Pink, a blinding grin, heat. My dreams were haunted by faceless people that kept calling out my name. More than once I'd woken up covered in sweat, lying on my side and feeling like I was missing something important. On the rare occasion my hand would unconsciously grab at something on my waist, only to find empty air. Yesterday I nearly took a hit from Loke when my own voice had screeched, "GET OUT OF MY ROOM!" in my head, sending my ears and brain into oblivion. Oddly enough, those five words had seemed incredibly familiar to my tongue and I found myself repeating them mindlessly whenever I tried to remember whom I'd been yelling at. Once, I managed to return to the halls with the frames, only to find that two rooms had changed. Now, the once-empty frames held pictures of another world with floating rivers and a massive city. The people were all big blurs, giving me nothing to go on. When I told Loke about the latest development, he explained that the pictures were of Edolas, the place where I had heard about squeezing the magic out of tomorrow's. Each time I thought about them, a feeling of longing would settle in my chest and refused to go away until I focused on something else.
The run passed in a blur. Before I finally began paying attention to where I was going, I could see the outlines of my tent through the mist. Slowing to a stop, I went through Capricorn's favorite stretching routing before pulling my sleeping bag out of the tent and spreading in out on the grass. I couldn't see the sky for the mist, but it was really warm and I had no desire to overheat in the crummy little tent. My head touched the pillow and my eyes slammed shut, my mind already spiriting off to some other world. My dream-vision focused to reveal the room with the cherry-wood frame. It was as warm and inviting as ever, and I couldn't help but slide my fingers along its smooth surface. As I traced an intricate carving of a flame-spewing dragon, my fingers slipped and touched the wall within the frame. Instead of hitting solid stone, however, the tips simply slid through the grey like knives through butter. My hand followed my fingers and pretty soon my entire body had passed through the wall. Another room, this one incredibly long and both walls lined with frames. Each one was different, the ones closest to me starting out as plain, unadorned wood, and each gaining a smidge of detail. I walked down the hall, my bare feet slapping the stone with each step. Every single frame was absolutely empty, but every single one felt important and personal. My gut told me these once held portraits, priceless portraits. I neared the end to find the most intricate frames, three taking up the end wall. The center frame was the biggest, a mirror image of the cherry-wood frame I'd walked through to get here. The one to its right was made from white wood, jagged forms that reminded me of icicles poking over the edges and into the empty space that should've help a picture. The one on the left was made of steel, incredibly detailed swords scattered along the borders. I took the time to look them over, and to my great surprise I could name them all. Heaven's Wheel. Flame Empress. Morning Star. Nakagami. Sea Empress. Black Wing. Purgatory. Where did I even get these names from? A small headache began to take root in the back of my head and I left the matter alone before the pain got worse. I looked up, a small frame decorated with fish catching my eye. It was hanging right above the sword frame, nearly touching the cherry-wood one. Unbidden, words sprang to my mind and with a jerk I returned to the waking world.
"Aye, sir? What in the name of…" I muttered, rubbing my eyes in an attempt to shake off the dream. At the very least, no pain accompanied the two words. Goody.
~GRAY~
Even though I didn't really want to admit it, two months and we had fallen apart. Team missions had been shot to hell – we couldn't walk five steps without fighting. Erza began taking Wendy out on jobs instead, and she didn't bother breaking apart the fights that she was there to witness. I started going solo or with Juvia, and Natsu just sulked. Lisanna managed to pry him away from his corner every once in a while, but she was struggling. Most people just left Natsu alone.
"Gray, would you like to go on another job?" Juvia waltzed into my line of sight, a worried frown on her face. I nodded glumly and she led the way to the request board. I wanted something with action, so I reached for a monster-removal mission with a good reward. Juvia agreed with my choice and we checked in with Mira before leaving. To my surprise, the barmaid stopped me right before I turned away with a firm hand on my shoulder.
"Gray, look at Natsu." She said quietly. I did as ordered and saw him laughing at a joke Lisanna had made.
"He's getting over it, huh?" I replied in the same quiet tone. Juvia nodded.
"Yes. It seems to Juvia that we might be able to breathe a little this coming season." The water mage murmured. Her suggestion struck me as sensible and I glanced at Mira.
"Maybe. I wouldn't be too sure just yet." She said slowly. "I'll ask Gajeel when he gets back to be sure, so don't get your hopes up. Good luck on your job." The rag was back in her hands, signaling the end of the discussion. Juvia and I left the guild and set out towards the train station, both enjoying a relaxed pace and easy silence. We had just bought tickets when Juvia popped a question.
"Gray?" She asked, glancing at me.
"Eh?" My attention was focused on the tickets – I felt certain that the man had cheated a few Jewels out of us.
"What will Natsu act like during the season? Last time Lucy was here, but this time she isn't. Juvia thinks he won't act the same way this time." She said slowly, her fingers playing with her sleeve and her eyes unfocused. I stared at her, the flawless logic behind her words slamming into me.
"Damn, Juvia! You're right." I muttered. She blushed slightly, but I chose to ignore it. "We need to find ourselves a dragon slayer and interrogate them."
"After Gajeel returns, we could ask him." Her slender fingers adjusted her skirt as the train pulled into the station. "Gray, we should go."
I followed her into an empty compartment, dropping down on the opposite seat. She tucked her feet and pulled them up onto the bench, leaning her head against the window. She struck me as beautiful like that, not that I'd ever admit it. She would be my literate shadow until I died.
"Well, we can only hope that Natsu will at least try to hold himself together." She said softly. Despite her constant proclamations of Lucy being her Love Rival, I knew Juvia missed the blonde as much as anyone else.
"I doubt it." I said with a snort. "The retard hasn't been holding up at all lately, and there's still a month left before the season starts."
"Gray mustn't speak like that, even though Juvia completely agrees." She replied with a slight snap. I couldn't help but grin at her tone. I was definitely warming up to her, despite that never being part of the plan.
XXXXX
"That," Juvia spit out dirt and wiped her mouth with a torn sleeve, "was harder than the mayor had let on."
I had to agree, surveying the carnage. What had been described as a rogue lizard had turned out to be a massive reptile with a well-guarded weakness. It was just out luck that Juvia's body didn't respond to the poison that coated the thing's tongue, otherwise we never would've been able to get a decent shot the diamond on its forehead. It looked like a long-lost relative of a crocodile, but moved with the speed of a striking snake: hella fast.
"Yeah." I agreed, pushing dirty strands of hair out of my eyes. "You sure your arm's okay?"
"Juvia is sure. Juvia appreciates your concern." She said happily. We walked back to the town to report the successful job, bringing the lizard along with us. It turned out that the lizard was an important part of some weird ceremony, so we got an extra fifty thousand Jewel for bringing the thing back with us. After brushing off the mayor's many thanks and apologies, we scrambled to find a hotel to spend the night. A small inn caught Juvia's eye and we quickly paid at the front desk for a single room with two beds before trudging off to find our room. Removing the damn reptile had taken its toll, and I was looking forward to a good night's sleep.
"Does Gray want to take the shower first?" Juvia asked as we pushed the door open.
"Nah, go ahead. I'll shower tomorrow." I said, my shirt already long gone and my face flying towards the nearest pillow. I heard Juvia giggle quietly at my face plant onto the bed before stepping into the bathroom and closing the door with a solid snap. The shower turned on and the sound of the rushing water lulled me to sleep. I had enjoyed this job, far more than I let on.