It was evening when Juvia and Gray stopped by the river. The crazy carriage ride across the forest had left them weary and hungry, so they decided to have an evening picnic before heading back to the castle, using the food they bought at the shops. After they were done eating, Gray noticed a dock downstream with a couple of rowboats. Gray decided it was the proper time to let Juvia enjoy a nice trip across the river. Juvia's only comply was a blush and a smile.

As they rowed their boat through the river, they passed a giant tree. Not too far away from the tree, Happy and Lucy bobbed in the water, watching Juvia and Gray.

"So what's happening now?" Lucy asked.

"Same as before… absolutely nothing," Happy sighed in frustration. "This is getting frustrating. Only one day left, and those two haven't puckered up once! How is she—"

"Psst! You guys here?" a voice whispered. It came from Natsu, who was standing on the side of the rowboat. "It's me, Natsu."

Happy cheered, "Hey, Natsu. Nice of you to join us. How were things?"

Natsu shook his head, "Nothing, really. I've been inside Juvia's pocket for a long time, and there's still no kissing yet."

"Eh, no biggie. They just had a rough getaway," Happy shrugged, and then he came up with an idea. "Leave this one to me! If all else fails, the Love Doctor's here to brighten the atmosphere. This calls for a little romantic stimulation." Standing on a tree branch, Happy cleared his throat and began his irritating meow-singing, which is loud enough for Gray, Juvia, and Natsu to hear.

Gray commented on Happy's not-so-romantic voice, "Wow. Some animals have no taste in song. Somebody should find it and put it out of its misery."

Happy's meow-singing increased, and he winked at Juvia. She smacked her head in annoyance, thinking that his awful voice was ruining the atmosphere. Natsu, on the other hand, clamped his claws to his head, having heard enough.

"Ah, geez! I'm surrounded by amateurs!" Natsu muttered under his breath. Diving into the sea, he grabbed a piece of sea leaves, "If you want something done, you've got to do it yourself." He gathered a group of animals, "First, we've got to create… the mood." The animals all smiled, eager to help. "Percussion?"

Natsu used the sea leaf as a baton. A few baby turtles settled themselves, allowing some ducks to drum on their shells.

"Strings?"

A group of crickets curled the ends of their legs, creating sounds like violins.

"Winds?"

On cue, the winds blew on the broken bamboo leaves, creating majestic sounds.

"Words."

Leaning closer to Gray's ear on a flower, Natsu began to sing.

Natsu: There you see her
Sitting there across the way
She don't got a lot to say
But there's something about her

Gray was suddenly surprised. Why would someone come out here just to sing for them?

And you don't know why
But you're dyin' to try
You wanna kiss the girl

"Did you hear something?" Gray asked, hoping it wasn't just his imagination. Juvia also noticed Natsu's singing, but simply looked over her shoulder and shook her head with a smile. Natsu continued his song, with the animals joining in.

Natsu: Yes, you want her
Look at her, you know you do

Every time Gray heard those strange voices, he couldn't get his eyes off her. Strange as it was, it was beginning to seem like she got more and more beautiful every time he looked at her.

Possible she wants you to
There is one way to ask her

It don't take a word
Not a single word
Go on and kiss the girl

Clinging to the edge of the rowboat with one claw, Natsu beckoned to the small crowd of animals listening in below, "Sing with me now." With that, a group of frog vocalized standing on the oar.

Natsu and Animals: Sha-la-la-la-la-la, my, oh, my
Look at the boy too shy
Ain't gonna kiss the girl

Gray sighed softly, knowing the voices in his head were right. He was fond of her for certain, but he simply didn't have the guts to take such a big risk.

Sha-la-la-la-la-la, ain't that sad?
Ain't it a shame? Too bad
He gonna miss the girl

Juvia and Gray listened to the music and were starting to relax.

"You know, I feel really bad not knowing your name," Gray admitted. It was true; it felt so strange just calling her the 'mysterious sapphire-haired girl' or the 'silent beauty.'

"Maybe I can guess…" Gray rubbed his chin, "Is it Mildred?" Moments later, he bursts out laughing as Juvia made a face of utter disgust, "Okay, no! How about, Rachel? Melina?" Juvia shook her head a few times, and Gray began thinking for another suggestion.

"Juvia. Her name is Juvia," the strange voice whispered urgently.

"Juvia…?" Gray mumbled to himself. Where did that come from? Was that even a real name? Apparently it was, because the silent beauty in front of him lit up and nodded her head with a smile.

"Juvia?" Gray repeated hopefully. Receiving another confirming nod, he smiled, saying the name over in his mind. That's a very unusual name, but that was part of why it suited her. It had a beautifully mystical quality about it, which fit perfectly with her adventurous spirit, her undeniable beauty, and her child-like naivety of the human world. He confirmed, "Huh, that's a pretty good name." He held Juvia's hands in his, "Okay… Juvia."

Natsu grinned, knowing his plan had gone smoothly. He motioned the animals to slowly guide the rowboat into a marsh underneath a large willow tree. The song continued.

Natsu and Animals: Now's your moment
Floating in a blue lagoon
Boy, you'd better do it soon
No time will be better

A swarm of tadpoles jumped around the water and vocalized.

She don't say a word
And she won't say a word
Until you kiss the girl

Once again, the animals joined in and surrounded the boat to increase the mood.

Natsu and Animals: Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don't be scared
You got the mood prepared
Go on and kiss the girl

Sha-la-la-la-la-la, don't stop now
Don't try to hide it how
You wanna kiss the girl

At one time, Happy tried to butt in and add to the song with his annoying meow-singing, but the flamingos quickly silenced him.

Sha-la-la-la-la-la, float along
And listen to this song
The song say "kiss the girl"

Sha-la-la-la-la-la, music play
Do what the music say
You gotta kiss the girl

Taking a deep breath, Gray reached out and took her soft hand, when the voices echoing and urging him, "Kiss her! Come on, do it! Kiss her! Kiss her!"

You've gotta kiss the girl

Gray slowly leaned towards Juvia.

You wanna kiss the girl

Juvia felt her heart beat faster and held Gray's hand tighter as she leaned towards him.

You've gotta kiss the girl

Natsu grinned, shouting a little too eagerly, "GO ON AND—"

Kiss the girl…

Juvia and Gray closed their eyes and tilted their heads slightly towards each other, their lips about to meet for the first time…

Just then, something struck the rowboat and toppled the whole thing toppled over, flinging both of them into the water. Natsu smacked a claw against his forehead as the animals below scattered, and Lucy and Happy watched with their mouths hang open.

As the two resurfaced with their clothes wet, Gray stood up and proceeded to help Juvia up. "Hold on, Juvia. I've got ya."

A short distance away, the evil eels Jackal and Franmalth were giving themselves hi-fives with their tails as they snickered to each other.

Jackal cackled, "Ha! The little princess may have legs, but her love affair doesn't!"

Franmalth nodded, "Good thing, too. That was a real close one back there. If she had succeeded, a whole amount of debt is upon us."

Jackal shook his head, "It doesn't matter how close it was. By sunset tomorrow, Juvia will be in Mistress Kyôka's clutches!"

Franmalth said sarcastically, "Oh, what's a poor child to do? She's so close and yet so far, and now her second sun has set! Her human form costs only three days!"

The two eels laughed hysterically to themselves and headed back down to report to their mistress.

Back at Kyôka's lair, the Sea Witch heard the report from her eels… and was not taking the news lightly.

"Nice work, boys," Kyôka praised, before she turned to her magical seeing bubble and disdainfully watched as Juvia and Gray hauled themselves back into the rowboat. She clenched a fist in frustration and growled, "That was a close one… Too close! The little tramp!"

Jackal reported, "And that's not the only piece of bad news. King Makarov has involved the whole kingdom in their search for the royal brat."

"There's been speculation of our involvement," Franmalth added worriedly. "They're now talking about going to our place and arrest us for questioning! If they ever find out, a huge cost is upon us! Game over, everyone! Game over!"

"No!" Kyôka screeched angrily. "They will not get that far! Not unless we act quickly…" She then turned away, trying to form a new plan. "Ugh, that girl's better than I thought. At this rate, he'll be kissing her by sunset for sure!" Just then, she stopped as a wicked idea came to her. "Unless…"

Jackal asked, "Um, Mistress Kyôka?"

A wicked smirk formed on Kyôka's face, "A change of plans, darlings." Pushing herself up, the Sea Witch swam up to the cupboard, grabbing a range of different ingredients. She instructed her eels, "You two! Keep an eye on Makarov until I return. Monitor his every move. And make sure no one comes near our lair."

Franmalth asked, "But what about you, Mistress?"

Swimming back to her cauldron, Kyôka answered, "I'll deal with Juvia myself. It's time Kyôka took matters into her own tentacles…" She dumped the ingredients into the cauldron and stirred them together, "Makarov's daughter will be mine! And then I'll make him writhe. I'll see him wriggle like a worm on hook!"

Kyôka cackled evilly as the spell took hold and slowly engulfed her, the large gem on her helmet glowing brightly…