Hello Everyone! Thank you for reading my story and a special thanks to:
Neko Maji Juvia
Fullbuster911
Rainbowcastle
Tsukushi Tomoi
xDreamingHeartx
Gray-Mochi
GraLyVia
EternalLoveHitsuHina
Thale's Folly
I'm so proud my very first fanfic is doing so well and you like it:) Hope you like it until the end. I have a lot of surprises in store for you. Please don't hate me because I made Juvia a little harsh in this chapter. I think it's completely OOC but I love it because I wanted to show a different aspect of Juvia. Read and review:)))))))) Enjoy! Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail (unfortunately)
He thought that he suddenly became deaf. Or maybe he spoke a different language and he couldn't understand what Juvia had just said. Is there a possibility she said that she hated him? The woman who since one month ago was stalking him and had reached the limits of insanity? His eyes were ready to pop out as he examined Juvia's cold and deadly serious face.
"What did you just say?" he just couldn't believe his own ears.
"Don't make this more difficult to Juvia than it already is, Gray. Please leave." He might have a problem with his ears, that's all. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Not only she had told him to leave, but she said that she hated him as well. She dropped the honorific of his name too. That woman that was standing opposite him wasn't his Juvia.
"Who are you?" he asked approaching her fragile form slowly.
"What do you mean?" Juvia sounded offended.
"You don't seem like the Juvia I know. The Juvia I knew wouldn't speak to me so coldly." He approached her a little more, making her shiver.
"Don't come near me. Please leave." She had started to lose control over her heart, her mind, even her own body. So close to her Gray-sama and yet so far. She knew that it would be difficult to say to him that she hated him, but now it seemed intolerable. His scent was entering her mouth while she was breathing, making her feel a little dizzy. His muscular body was closing the distance between them and his dark blue eyes were searching thoroughly her face with suspicion. Not only he was too close to her, but he was almost naked as well. She wouldn't restrain herself for long, so she had to do something. She knew she would break, if she didn't make him go away. When he stood only few inches away from her, he took his hand and landed it gently onto her arm. That was her break point. His smooth touch had made her crack.
Juvia burst into tears and shook Gray's hand off of her shoulder. Before Gray could regain his composure and understand what just happened, he heard a loud thunder and noticed the outburst of the heavy downpour outside of the window. There weren't any clouds before. There was only the clear sky. So this sudden heavy rain meant one thing. Only one person he knew could control the rain like this. And he was standing next to her. He felt such an idiot he thought even for a second that Juvia was lying, but he was too confused about her complete change of emotions. Without wasting another second, he got out of the room leaving Juvia and her waterfalls of tears behind.
After Gray's departure, Juvia collapsed onto her bed clearly exhausted, but she didn't care about that. She cared more about her mental state. Her heart was about to get casted off her body, her typhoon of emotions couldn't be controlled by her mind and this was obvious in the power of the rain. If someone was outside without an umbrella with this weather, he would definitely end up with some serious injuries. She wished she could hurt herself with the rain. She would finish her torment sooner. But no, she couldn't be so selfish. She had a job to do and she would manage to succeed it no matter what.
She tried to calm herself down, but this wasn't an easy task. She started to play with the water, her little pale fingers making watery shapes of all the kind of things she could think of. While making a water dragon with her right hand, a memory of her childhood was brought up from the past.
She remembered a pair of soft hands hugging her petit body, while she was playing with the rain and a young voice calling out her name. She seemed to be approximately seven years old with her blue locks falling gracefully onto her shoulders and her ocean blue eyes watching adoringly the water. She was watching her own memory, pretty amazed that she was enjoying the rain. Juvia would have never thought that she would do such a thing, because this was also the reason that made her so depressed. She was also surprised she saw her young self smiling and laughing. She never remembered herself being happy before joining Fairy Tail.
This little flashback was pretty strange because she hadn't had a memory of her childhood before. She had lost her memory and she couldn't remember a thing about her early childhood or her real parents. Her memories began a little before she got adopted by a human couple. She knew from the beginning she was adopted because she was old enough to remember it. She was almost twelve and she felt like she had just been born. She had a void in her mind about her previous years of life and she couldn't understand why that had happened. Fortunately, her foster-parents were very nice people and had tried to make her feel comfortable and happy, but she just couldn't do it. She was always being followed by her depressing rain. Finally, like the other people that surrounded her, her parents abandoned her because she was too depressing and catatonic with the rain always following her. And that's when Jose Porla found her and persuaded her to join Phantom Lord.
This newfound memory brought back some new tears to her eyes. She would finally regain her past and find out her true parent's identity? Even if this was true, it was already too late. Eventually, she closed her watery eyes and let the exhaustion drive her into the black abyss.
Gray was wandering around Magnolia with the heavy rain hitting hard his head and body, but he didn't care at all. His mind was racing miles away, into the ocean where his teacher and mentor, Ul, was liquefied. She would know what to tell him, to advise him how he should react. This whole mess that had been created made him feel an emotional rag. He cared for Juvia and he didn't want to see her like this. He didn't want to see her depressed. He was the one who took the rain away. Why he had to be the one who brought it back? He might was a little harsh to her, but he was pretty shocked with her expression of emotions as well. Why the hell did she say that she hated him? What had happened to her to this horrible mission she went to? Why she changed so much? Even though she said that her feelings had changed, her eyes couldn't lie. She was hiding something and he had decided to find out. He was determined to protect his friends no matter what. And he was sure Juvia needed his help, even if she wouldn't admit it.
A week had passed and Juvia had finally returned to the guild as an active member. She hadn't talked with Gray since that incident in the infirmary room and she was kind of relieved that she didn't run into him yet. She knew she would have to face him again but she would be among a lot of people in the guild so this would be easier. She didn't have a lot of time before the end of the deadline, so she had to act quickly and complete her cover.
She walked past her friends and sat to the bar, where Mira was washing the glasses and the dishes. She saw the perfect opportunity, the opening she was waiting for and she started to approach her silver-haired friend. Juvia sat opposite to Mirajane and waited for the right time to start talking. She pretended to be depressed and troubled, using her behavior as bate for her trouble-solver/match-maker fellow mage. Of course Mirajane noticed her weird behavior almost immediately and rushed to her side.
"Good morning Juvia." Mirajane cheered to the bluenette.
"Hello Mira-chan." Juvia retaliated simply.
Mirajane examined Juvia's face and saw that she was a little depressed. She had to do something to cheer her up. And what would be better than a plan to match-make her and a certain ice mage?
"Well, how the things are going with Gray?" Mirajane asked with a whisper and Juvia thought that the take-over mage fell into the trap.
"Juvia doesn't want to talk about this Mira-chan."
"Did something happen with him?" Mira looked the water mage suspiciously.
"Please drop this subject Mirajane. It doesn't worth it." Mirajane couldn't believe in her ears. What had happened to Juvia and she had changed like that?
"What do you mean by that? You mean that you don't care about Gray anymore?"
Juvia chocked by her question. She knew she might have to answer to this question, but she wasn't totally ready. "No, I don't." Juvia answered with a trembling voice, leaving Mirajane shocked. Juvia was ready to cry and let her tears flood the whole guild, but fortunately she contained herself and tried to behave as normally as possible.
"Why is that, Juvia? What happened?"
"Why don't you just leave Juvia alone, Mirajane? Juvia doesn't want you or anybody else to mess up with her love life. She just needs some peace."
"Juvia, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Mirajane tried to say, but Juvia cut her abruptly.
"Juvia doesn't care if you meant it or not. Leave her alone." She yelled and left the guild. Before leaving completely the room, Juvia glanced behind her back and saw Mirajane staring at her intensely. Her gaze was full of pain, making Juvia feel much more horrible.
"Gomene Mira-chan. But Juvia had to do it for your sake." Juvia murmured to herself and left completely the guild letting a tear escaping her eyes at her way home. She whipped her eyes before shedding more tears. "No rain today." She said smiling and disappeared behind the buildings.
After ten minutes walking around Magnolia, she reached her apartment. "Two down, one more to go." Juvia said to herself. "After I finish with them, I will close up the house and I will leave immediately. I can't waste a second." She said and entered her home.
Gray was stalking Juvia the whole week and he luckily hadn't been caught yet. The tables have turned. Gray had become the stalker and Juvia the stalked one. He wanted so badly to find out what was wrong with her and try to help her. But he was starting to be afraid of himself because he did the stalking with a lot of talent. He didn't know that he was that good with this particular skill. Fortunately, the fire head and his team (Lucy, Happy and Erza) had gone to a mission this week and didn't cause him any problems screwing with his plans. During the past week, Gray didn't see anything suspicious and that was bothering him a lot. If Juvia was in trouble, how did she manage to hide it so well? Perhaps he was imagining things and Juvia was safe. He maybe was going overboard because of Juvia's hatred towards him. Maybe he couldn't accept that Juvia's feelings had changed.
The first day Juvia got back to the guild as an active member, the ice mage followed her from her house to Fairy Tail. He almost exposed himself one time or two, but he got back to stealth mode soon enough before the water mage could realize what was happening. When she reached the guild, he decided to stay outside and watch everything from an open window. And that's how Gray saw what happened in the Guild without being seen and lost completely his mind. Juvia wouldn't talk that way to Mirajane before. What would be the reason for her behavior? He would try to understand her behavior towards him, but why she would talk that way to her beloved friend? After Juvia's departure, Gray approached the bar and saw Mirajane crying quietly while she was polishing the dishes.
"Mirajane I saw what happened with Juvia. Are you ok?"
"Yes I'm fine, Gray. Don't worry about me." Mirajane quickly swept away her tears.
"I cannot understand her reaction. You are one of her best friends. Why she would yell at you like that? I may will go and talk to her. I have to find what's wrong with her…" Gray said but Mirajane cut him off.
"No Gray, don't do that. She does need a little time on her own. She had gone through a lot lately. Don't forget that." Mirajane grinned, leaving Gray dumbfounded once more. He thought he knew very well his guildmates, but they always surprised him with their reactions. And Mirajane had just done so. She was always so kind-hearted and eager to help everyone around, so no one would think what her magic would be. With Mira's reaction, Gray realized once more why he loved so much Fairy Tail and its members. He loved them so much because they were his family and they cared for each other more than their own lives and happiness. He would let this past that time for the sake of Mirajane. But if he caught Juvia behaving like that again, he would definitely make her see she's wrong. He thought he should continue with his research, but instead he went home. He had to charge his energy batteries because he was pretty exhausted with this entire stalking thing. It wouldn't hurt if he didn't follow her for one day. Probably, it would be better if he stayed away from her for a while.
The next day Juvia woke with a headache. She knew that she had only two days before the enemy fulfill his threat and come after her fairy family, so she had to be quick. If she would not find the time to leave without her absence being noticed in time, it would become a slaughter with her friends' lives at risk. Suddenly, the image of her beloved raven-haired mage penetrated her mind, making her feel depressed. "I guess Gray-sama hates Juvia by now. But that's ok. Juvia does what she does with only purpose their safety and their happiness. Juvia loves Fairy Tail. Juvia loves her Gray-sama." she finished her little inner monologue and she started to get dressed with tears in her eyes.
Gajeel had just come back from a mission and he just wasn't in a mood. The mission was a piece of cake, but he had destroyed a lot of houses in the process and he had to give his payment for the houses' repairs. He got so mad that he wouldn't get eventually paid that he destroyed accidentally another house and he had to pay for its repair by his own pocket. So everyone can understand that Gajeel was in a very crappy mood. He got back to the guild and his mood became crappier when he realized that Levy had gone with Jet and Droy to a mission. His little bookworm knew how to cheer him up, but now she was gone.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck." He murmured to himself while he was sitting lazy to a table inside the guild. His little cat, Panther Lilly, was training outside with Elfman leaving him all alone to 'enjoy' his drink. While he was letting the liquid to flow into his esophagus, he heard the door in the entrance opening and saw his close friend, Juvia, entering the guild.
Juvia was determined to finish this off this particular day. She couldn't wait more. She had stepped into the guild and noticed her friend Gajeel sitting alone in a corner. She didn't bother to say hello because she had witnessed Cana sitting on the bar and master Makarov chatting casually with Macao and Laki. She forced herself to walk through the room and then she noticed Gray watching her suspiciously. Cold sweat started to roll along her temples but she didn't hesitate. She sat beside her friend with her back to the ice mage, trying to avoid his stare.
"Good morning Juvia." Cana gestured to her beloved nakama.
"Good morning Cana-chan."
"How are you? I haven't seen you in a while." Cana sucked a sip from her barrel, her loyal friend since forever.
"I'm fine, I guess."
"What do you mean by that?" Cana asked turning her head to face Juvia.
"Nothing to concern you, Cana-chan. Juvia is fine." She said plainly.
"You don't seem too well. Has something to do with Gray?"
"Why does everyone think that Juvia is concerned about Gray? Juvia doesn't get that. There are more important things than love." She snapped, pretending to get angry and out of control. Cana had never seen Juvia talk that way about Gray. She knew since the first time she saw her that Juvia was in love with the ice mage, she've seen her stalking him and threatening every girl that surrounding him. This behavior was so strange for Juvia.
Juvia caught a glimpse of Cana's eyes and she knew that her plan had started to work.
"Why do you talk about him like that Juvia?"
"Why do you care Cana? Do you love him too?" Juvia startled Cana with her question.
"I love him as my brother, that's all." She answered sincerely
"I don't care what you say. I want you and Mira to stay out of this. You always mess with my love life without asking."
"We do that because we care about you Juvia. We didn't know that we annoyed you so much."
"You know nothing about me so stay out of it." Juvia watched for a second behind Cana's back and saw Master Makarov staring their arguing forms. She saw interest and concern in his eyes and she suddenly knew that her plan would work. He just needed another push. She thought for a moment what she would say to Cana when a cold hand touched her arm. She flinched from the touch and she turned around to see Gray who had joined their company. What he was doing there? Why he had to mess with her plans? Any other day, she would be thrilled and happy if he bothered to talk to her, let alone when he touched her. But this particular day, she didn't want to do anything that would distract her.
"What do you want Gray?" Juvia asked with a menacing tone. Cana's jaw dropped while watching the two of them exchanging weird stares.
"Why do you talk to Cana that way? What's wrong with you?"
"It's none of your business. Now leave Juvia alone." She turned her back to face Cana again, but the hand on her arm hardened his grip. Gray wouldn't let her go and she subconsciously knew that. Maybe it was better this way. If she argued with Gray as well, master Makarov would certainly understand her distress.
"Take your hand away from Juvia or…"
"Or you'll do what Juvia?" He asked with a little bit of irony in his voice and he took an unexpected answer. Suddenly, a jolt of boiling water hit him in the face pushing him several feet away from Juvia. All the other members that were inside the room at the moment were shocked when they saw Juvia's reaction. Even the Master stopped his conversation with his 'children', so as to watch the fight. The fights were a casual event between the members of the guild, but this fight was certainly weird. Everyone knew that Juvia adored Gray and she would never harm him. Why she was acting like that all of a sudden? Juvia's reaction was the most shocking thing they've seen since Acnologia. Only Gajeel seemed to enjoy the scene unfolding in front of him because he wanted to see eventually his best friend kick stripper's ass. She always held back herself because of that ridiculous love of hers, he thought. She could beat the crap out of him and Gajeel knew it.
"Oi! What the hell did you just do?" Gray yelled from the other side of the room. He was as shocked as the rest of his nakamas, but he couldn't just back away. All the times he joined a battle (especially with this pink-haired idiot Natsu) he knew that he joined them mainly for fun, but this time Juvia's face indicated that she was serious. She reminded him the time he confronted her when she was still in Phantom Lord. He thought that he should back off because Juvia was a girl after all, but she started it. He was too selfish to back off. She wanted a battle and he would give it to her. He saw Juvia laughing ironically towards him and that made him angry. Very angry. He threw his shirt away and got up from the floor.
"If you want a battle, you'll have it." He stated with excitement.
And that's how the most anticipated battle of Fairy Tail began. Juvia launched her Water Slicer towards Gray, while he was trying to attack her with his Ice Make Hummer. But Juvia could turn her body into water and he couldn't harm her with physical attacks. She had the advantage and he knew it. He had to do something that would catch her off guard. He used his Ice Make Lance trying to impale Juvia, just to stall her and think something more useful. But Juvia was faster and she used her Water Cane to hit him. He missed narrowly her attack and he freezed the floor making her slip. As expected from her, she slipped but she managed to get back up right before he hit her with his Ice Make Battle Axe. She avoided his sharp blade and used her Sierra to melt the icy floor. Everyone was watching the fight with bated breath and eyes that were ready to pop out. The battle was continuously even with the two of them using almost all of their skills. Juvia attacked with her Water Nebula and Gray used his Ice Make Shield to protect himself from the attack. While Juvia attacked using her water Slicer once again, Gray saw an opening and tried to counterattack. He made an ice copy of himself confusing Juvia about his whereabouts and then targeted Juvia with his Ice Make Arrows which penetrated her ribs. Juvia was so focused with her attack that she didn't turn her body into water quickly enough and the ice arrows wounded her ribs. She had a small bleeding but nothing serious enough to make her stop the battle. She needed a little more time before Master stepped in and stopped the fight.
Gray saw her bleeding but he was too blind to stop. The thirst of victory had consumed him and made him continue this fight until she was down. Juvia was distracted with her wound not watching Gray who had his Ice Make Death Scythe in his hands and ran towards her with a crazy look in his eyes. Everything happened in a matter of seconds, with no time for the rest of the guild to react. When she saw Gray approaching, she thought that it was too late for her to do anything, but she didn't waste her chance. She focused using all her magic energy left so as to take her Sierra form before Gray would something he would regret. But Gray was too quick and he tried to attack with his Death Scythe before Juvia manage to turn into her Sierra form. She thought that she didn't want to let him hurt her, not because she was afraid of her life, but because she knew that he would regret for the rest of his existence if he hurt her on purpose and she didn't want him to suffer. Before doing another thought in her mind she saw a large iron extended arm blocking the attack. That's when she noticed Gajeel standing in front of her and blocking Gray's attack.
"Lay one more finger on her and I will kill you, stripper." He hissed with a deadly serious stare at the young man standing opposite to him. When he saw that Gray was still a little crazy he prepared himself to attack. He would not let this asshole hurt Juvia anymore. He knew that she shouldn't have started the fight. This situation was totally out of her character. But this wasn't a time for preaching. Even if she killed someone, he would defend and protect her, just as she had done so many times for him when they were at Phantom Lord. He was ready to attack when he felt a hand touching his arm. He turned his gaze and saw Juvia's reassuring look. With this look, he knew she was fine and that's why he lowered his arm.
"Enough." Master Makarov yelled with a severe voice. "This battle has gone too far. Behave yourselves or I'll punish you." He ordered and Gray snapped out of it eventually. When he was back to his normal cool state, he saw that he wounded Juvia and she was bleeding.
"I did that to her?" asked Gajeel like he couldn't believe it.
"Yeah, you did that to her idiot."
"No, it's ok. I'm fine…" Juvia trailed off. She couldn't blow up her cover now; she had to let it be.
Gray tried to approach her to see if she was fine, but Gajeel stood in the way.
"You will not come near her ice-pants."
Before Gray could say anything to protest, Master Makarov undertook to speak again.
"Juvia go home. You need some rest. Take the rest of the week off. It seems that you need some more time by yourself."
"Ok, Master." It was her only answer. She had accomplished her purpose even though she ended up wounded. She didn't blame Gray for that. This was totally her fault because she provoked him to a battle. But she had to do it. She had to hurry before the end of the deadline and she had to take drastic measures. The only thing she was sorry for was that she had worried all the members of the guild with her behavior. She didn't want them to remember her as a bad person, but what other choice she had?
Juvia left without another word the guild. Gray caught a glimpse of her before she completely disappeared behind the buildings and thought he saw a smile. He dismissed the thought right away and he started to think that he was crazy. Why the fuck he lost control? It was supposed to be a battle with limits like all the battles in the guild. When he fought with his other nakamas, he might end up with small injuries and wounds but he always fought with guys. Things were different with them. Why he lost his temper with Juvia? An idea came through his mind, but he dismissed it quickly. It couldn't be that. Did he let Juvia's hatred towards him drive him crazy? No, he couldn't fall so low. He felt like an ass, like a miserable idiot. Why did he hurt her?
"I have to see her. To check if she's alright." He said and tried to leave the guild as well, but Gajeel stepped again in the way.
"I'll fucking kill you if you go near her, do you understand me ice cube?" Gajeel's angry voice showed that he wasn't joking. His hand was on Gray's arm and didn't let him go. Gray shoved off his hand and left quickly from the guild as well. Even though he wanted to see Juvia, he thought too that it wasn't the right time. She needed some time for herself before he would go and talk to her.
Back to the guild, everything was back to normal. All the members have returned to their previous occupations and Master Makarov was calm again. Only Cana was worried about her friend and the Master approached her to see if she was alright.
"How are you Cana?"
"I'm personally fine, Gramps. I'm just a little worried about Juvia. This isn't herself."
"Don't worry about her, child. She is fine. This was just an unfortunate event. Both of them will be fine." He said referring to Gray as well.
When he saw that Cana was a little better, the Master left for his room.
"Silly little kids." He murmured to himself while he was walking through the tables.
Juvia had just come back from the pharmacy with the first aid kit in hand. She entered her house and went to the bathroom where she treated she wounds. After finishing with her injuries, she reached her desk and took a piece of paper. She had decided to write a letter and leave it onto her bed, for her friends. She knew that when they found out her absence, the first place they would search was her place. And she wanted to leave a letter behind to let them know the whole truth, to let them know why she acted so weird, to let them know that she loved them so much she had decided to give up her own life for them. She started to write with tears in her eyes, firstly writing the truth about her last mission, her near to death experience, her weird behavior, her reason of leaving and she closed her letter with her expression of real feelings. She stamped the envelope with the seal which had her initials on it and let the letter onto her bed. She shot one last look to her pretty and cozy apartment before leaving completely and leaving everything behind. The only thing she needed was some money, so as not to starve to death before reaching her destination.
Two days have passed and Juvia finally reached her destination. She saw the crumbliness building standing in front of her and she reached the wooden door. At first she hesitated, but then she thought that she didn't have other choice. She opened it carefully and entered a huge dusty room. She was wandering around the room waiting for some sign of life, when someone emerged from the shadows and launched himself in front of her.
"Hello Juvia." He said with a smirk on his face.
"I am here only because of our deal. You said that if Juvia came to you until the end of the deadline, you wouldn't hurt Fairy Tail."
"Don't worry Juvia. I will keep my promise. Your little fairies are safe." He said ironically. "Now let's go to make the preparations for the ritual." He stated and led her into the shadows.
Gray was so angry with himself. He couldn't understand why he reacted like that. Two days had passed since the incident in the guild and he was still upset with himself. He thought he should go to check on Juvia and see if she's fine. He had to apologize to her about her behavior. He had given her a lot of time to calm down and he needed to talk to her desperately.
He walked to her apartment and knocked on the door but no answer came from the inside. He knocked on the door again and still no answer from the interior of the apartment. He started to get worried because Juvia was always at home this late at night. He reached the secret key under her carpet (he had noticed this key while he was stalking her) and opened quietly the door. The lights were off and the apartment was consumed by darkness. Gray couldn't see a thing and accidentally slipped onto a small carpet. He cursed heavily and walked more slowly and carefully, because he didn't want to slip again. He opened the lights and saw an empty living room. The bedroom must be down the hall, he thought and proceeded to the end of the hall, passing outside of the empty kitchen. He saw a closed door and hesitated before opening it. He turned the knob slowly and noticed that the bedroom was also empty. Juvia was nowhere to be found. He was ready to leave the room when a red stamp caught his eye. He reached Juvia's bed and saw a letter on it. He caught it carefully into his hands and recognized Juvia's letters onto the envelope. "To my beloved Fairy Family", Gray read not understanding a single word. This letter was written by Juvia and was destined for Fairy Tail? What was the meaning of this? He thought he could open since he belonged to Fairy Tail as well. He was curious to see what was written in it. He opened it carefully and extracted the letter from the inside of the envelope and he started reading. Even with the few words he read he thought he would explode. Without finishing reading the letter, he took it with him and ran to the guild. He had to run as fastas he could because Juvia's life depended on it. Juvia's life depended on him.
So, how did you find it? Juvia attacked Gray! OMG! When I wrote I was so excited! And what about Juvia's mission? And the man she met? Who is he? And Gray foun a letter. What is written in the letter? Review :)))))) Thank you a lot :))))))))))
