A/N: Hello guys! I am back and so is my computer! I am so happy about it! (jump happily all over the place!) I wanna thank for reading my story:
Youpla
Ushiio
MissForgetfulMe
Rainbowcastle
Omniknight
Meow98superduperizee
Guest
for reviewing! Thank you so much guys! Your support give so much inspiration! I also wanna thank those people who favorited and alerted and all those silent readers who just wanna read it and enjoy it! Now that I am finished, I will let you enjoy my chapter. Disclaimer: I think you already know ;)
Juvia was into dark shadows. Everything seemed covered by a mysterious veil of fog. Juvia, don't panic! She said to herself but it didn't seem to work. How did she end up in a mysterious and creepy place like this? She tried to remember her last thoughts and then caught up to the past. Her body into Gray's arms, their lips being apart a few inches, Jose's crazy rampage, his attempt of murdering Gray, her body being used as a shield, the knife penetrating her flesh, her life abandoning her body, Gray's tears and screams. She had died and now she went to the afterlife.
"Juvia is dead!" she yelled crying loudly. After letting all her tears get spilled, after crying her heart out, after letting all the emotions bottled up inside of her get out, after hitting the foggy ground, after stomping over her shadow, Juvia composed herself and wiped away the tears that had stained her rosy pink cheeks. "It doesn't matter that Juvia is dead." She thought at last. "The only thing that matters is that Gray-sama and the rest of Fairy Tail are safe." She tried to break a smile but it was too difficult and she ended up forming a grimace of pain onto her delicate face. She was happy that her loved ones are safe, she felt proud that she had the strength to sacrifice her own life for her love, but the pain of not seeing them again was too damn big! She stood up and lifted herself off the ground and tried to understand what she was supposed to do now.
"And n-now wh-what?" she stuttered feeling uncomfortable with the whole situation.
She started walking around, trying to find a way out or a way in, an exit or an entrance. Something that would lead her to somewhere. After several minutes of walking (she had lost track of time) she saw a faint light sticking up the shadows. She approached eagerly the light and when she was close enough and about to touch it, she saw the light transforming into a female figure. She stepped back a few steps as a simple precaution (she wasn't sure why, she was already dead) and examined the woman that was standing opposite her. She got shocked when she realized that she had so many similarities with the said woman. They were practically the same.
"Is Juvia dead?" she asked the woman, even though she knew the answer.
"No Juvia. You are alive again. You got spared." She answered smiling.
Juvia got shocked once more because she absolutely believed that she was dead. She felt her lips curl into a smile and thought of Gray's face. She wasn't dead? She touched her chest and felt her heart beating and she felt relieved. She would see him again. She would touch his skin again. She would eventually get her kiss.
"That's a relief." The woman nodded. "If Juvia isn't dead what is she doing here? Why she's not with her friends and with Gray-sama?" she asked suspiciously.
"At the moment, you are in some kind of a comma. You are alive but your brain is asleep. There are some things that need to be done before you go back to your loved ones Juvia. You will re-live some memories of the past, fill in the blanks of your childhood and complete your background as a person. Finally, when you trip will be complete you will be able to return to where you belong."
"And why Juvia has to do that?"
"Because everyone deserves to know of his past." The woman said but Juvia didn't seem convinced. She felt like something entirely different was displayed behind the scenes and she didn't want to fall into another trap.
"Who are you?" Juvia finally voiced the question that tormented her since the woman appeared.
"I am your mother Juvia. I am Aquamarina." She answered and Juvia felt her heart tighten.
"Juvia fought… you?" she pointed towards the woman that suddenly felt so familiar yet so foreign and distant.
"Yes. And I want to apologize for that. I didn't want to harm you in any way but Jose was controlling me by drinking your blood. You see, calling ceremonies including blood are very tough to break, even for a dragon." She explained.
"It's ok. Juvia doesn't hold any bad feelings."
"I am glad to know that because I am gonna guide you through your memories. I am going to show you what need to be shown for you to understand your past and I didn't want to do that with my daughter hating me."
"Juvia doesn't hate so easily." Aquamarina just smiled and put out her hand.
"Shall we begin?" she asked and Juvia took voluntarily the extended hand.
Gray felt like he was in a deadlock. On the one hand he felt relieved that Juvia's heart had started beating again (even though he didn't like the fact that her supposed mother that had hurt her that much gave her life back) but on the other hand he felt anxious about her safe return. Would she find her way home? Would she come back to him? Were her feelings strong enough to lead her back to her family? WHAT? WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST THINK? He wanted to punch himself for even questioning Juvia's feelings, but he was too scared. He seriously believed that Juvia might not wake up again. He felt a tight squeeze onto his heart, like he was about to explode or faint or both. His hands were trembling so he clenched them into fists so as not worry the others. He didn't want to make the rest of the guild worry about him too. They were already worried enough about Juvia. He should be happy that she was alive at least, but he felt empty at the thought of her clouded brain. As Aquamarina had explained it was like her brain had rebooted and her life had been resumed. What if with that clean start got her brain wiped clean as well? What if she had lost her memory and she didn't remember him? What if she had forgotten how to love him?
He was watching her chest pulsating rhythmically and her eyelashes being closed shut and he felt his whole world transforming, the center of it become Juvia's beating heart. He felt like a satellite that was moving around Juvia (or rather sitting tight next to Juvia) and he didn't even consider leaving her side.
Juvia landed onto the wet ground, the drizzling rain washing down her hair. She raised her hands embracing the familiar droplets and let herself enjoy the refreshing feeling of the rain. Distracted by the relief she felt being into the rain once more, she got surprised by the appearance of her younger self into the rainy field. She hurried behind a tree and watched her baby self dance into the rain. She was watching every move of the little girl in front of her and she could see that the girl seemed… happy. It seemed pain-proof, with no worries into her mind. How old would she be in that memory? She seemed pretty young, approximately five years old. She couldn't even imagine herself being so happy. Ever since she remembered herself, she remembered being sad, unhappy. She remembered feeling pain since day one. Since she got adopted when she was twelve years old, she felt unwanted; she felt that everybody hated her and wanted her to disappear. But then she got happy again when she met Gray and Fairy Tail –her family. She was watching carefully the little girl when she heard a voice coming from a distance.
"Juvia where are you?" she heard a male voice sounding from a distance.
She turned around her gaze and saw a beautiful young man approaching her younger self. His dark hair was wet and his dark blues eyes were scrutinizing the little girl. The man was really handsome and seemed very concerned of the girl. Did Juvia know him?
"Daddy!" the little girl shouted and smiled with all her heart. Juvia got shocked once again by the discovery. Her mouth stood agape as she was witnessing the interaction between her and… her father?
"You made me worried for a moment Juvia. Please don't leave my side again." The man said with concern and love. He seemed that he really cared for the girl and he didn't want her to get hurt.
"I am sorry daddy." The little girl frowned and the man started to laugh.
"It's ok. Let's play some more in the rain." He suggested and started forming water shapes with his fingers. The little girl started smiling again and her eyes glowed with a familiar light, the light of happiness. So he was a water mage, Juvia thought and got out of the tree. What if she could talk to her real father? She started walking towards the happy family when her vision darkened and she fell back to the shadows.
"What happened?" Juvia asked her mother that stood in front of her once again.
"You saw what you had to see so I got you out of there. I wanted to show you how happy you was when you were a child. You weren't always unhappy Juvia. When you were with me and Thunderbolt, your father, you were utterly happy. You were safe with us, protected by the dangers life could unleash towards you." Aquamarina waved her hand and before Juvia could argue, she got thrown into another memory.
Juvia found herself into a room she couldn't recognize. She started witnessing carefully the room, trying to memorize every little detail. The curtains were blue and flowed to the ground like waves, the walls were painted a light blue that made you calm as your eyes deepened into them, the floor was painted navy blue and the bed had blue covers that lay casually onto the mattress. Juvia approached the bed and caressed the soft mattress indolently. That was her room? The room of her childhood?
Before she could respond to her own speculations she heard the door open and hurried herself into the wardrobe. She didn't know if she could be seen, but she didn't want to cause any problems in case she could. She left the door hanging a little open and saw a female figure carrying a child into her delicate arms. She placed gently the already asleep child that Juvia recognized immediately as her younger self onto the soft mattress and planted a kiss on the kid'd forehead. When the woman turned her gaze towards the wardrobe, Juvia recognized her mother –Aquamarina- standing above her younger self's head. She seemed like something bothered her but she didn't want to show it in front of the child. Aquamarina was watching her child's face with the love being evident into her sweet face. On the other hand, young Juvia seemed at peace. Juvia felt her eyelids become heavy and she let the darkness engulf her brain.
"You can see that we were a happy family, don't you?" Aquamarina questioned her daughter.
"Juvia is not sure yet. But even if this was true, why did you give her away? You were supposed to love her with all your heart and protect her! Why did you let her all alone suffer and feel unwanted?" Juvia felt her moisture stiffen and her fists clench.
"I know Juvia that it seems a little hypocritical, but you were our life. We loved you with all our hearts. But we couldn't back away and watch Acnologia and Zeref destroy the world. I and your father had to act quickly and sacrifice our lives so as to save the world. We wanted to save you. And even if we didn't want to go, we had to. The water dragon was the only that could stop Acnologia. But I can assure you that our motives were seriously egotistical; we wanted a better life for you, a life with no dangerous dragons that threatened to destroy the world even if that meant that we couldn't be with you. We thought that we gave you to entrusted people but we proved wrong. Now that I had the chance to correct my mistakes, I made Jose pay for hurting you." Her eyes darkened and her face twitched from agony.
"What do you mean? What did you do to him?" but before she could get an answer she got into another memory.
Juvia was watching her parents argue behind the curtains of her bedroom.
"We can't let this continue." Thunderbolt said angrily to Aquamarina.
"What can we do?"
"We should get some action and fight Zeref and Acnologia." Thunderbolt punched his fist into the blue wall.
"I can't let Juvia alone. I don't want her to be protectless." Aquamarina stated.
"I wouldn't let my daughter get hurt Aquamarina. I will protect her even with my own life. But we cannot sit restless and do nothing as they slay innocent lives."
"You are right but I cannot accept that. I cannot leave her alone." A tear escaped her eye and Thunderbolt hugged his wife to comfort her.
"I know my love. I know it's hard but we are obligated to do that. Don't forget our contract." He caressed her cheek and gave her a light peck on the lips.
Juvia felt her heart get squeezed and her eyes sting from the tears that were ready to flood out of them. She felt all her memories come back, the scenes from her past filling the blanks. She now knew that her parents loved her with all her heart and that they didn't want to abandon her. She felt their despair and sadness as they decided to wipe her memory clean and give her away to people they thought that they would care for her and take after her. She could feel their love for her, their undying and unconditional love for her. But she couldn't return the feeling. Even though she was sure that they loved her, she didn't remember how to love them. Her new family was Fairy Tail. She belonged with the guild and her friends. She certainly belonged with Gray.
"Before we leave I wanna delete her memory." Aquamarina said as she buried her head into Thunderbolt's chest.
"Why we should do that?" Thunderbolt asked her quizzically.
"Because I want her to start her life from scratch, forget all the pain of getting away from her parents and live as normally as possible."
Thunderbolt agreed silently and let his wife out of his arms. "Do you want me to do it?" he asked.
"No. I want to be the one that will give her a clean start."
"As you wish." Thunderbolt sighed. As he got out of the room Juvia felt the darkness engulf her once more.
"Did you confirm my true feelings for you? Did you understand why I did what I did?" Aquamarina asked and Juvia could do nothing but nod.
"I didn't want to give you away. I didn't want to erase your memory on purpose. I just wanted to protect you." Juvia remained silent as Aquamarina spoke.
"Did your full memory come back?" her mother asked and Juvia finally found the voice to speak.
"Yes, I remember now. Everything is crystal clear."
"And how do you feel?"
"Honestly Juvia feels relieved that she found out about her family and she's happy that she had such good, caring and loving biological parents."
"But…" Aquamarina detected a hesitation in Juvia's voice.
"But Juvia cannot understand what your purpose is. Why you wanted to show her this now?" she voiced her doubts.
"Because I want you to join me." Aquamarina stated like it was something normal. "I want our family to reunite again. I know that your father is dead, but I would like to have you back. I want to feel my beloved daughter close to me again."
"That's not possible." Juvia said and fought the urge to let her eyes pop out from the shock.
"What do you mean?" Aquamarina didn't seem to like the answer.
"I mean that I can't abandon my life so as to join you. I feel proud of you and I would follow you if I was the same girl I was when I joined Phantom Lord. But I have changed and now I have a family. I have Fairy Tail." Juvia was too upset to speak in third person so she let go off her habit temporarily.
"You will abandon me for a puny guild?"
"They are my family. I love every single one of them. They guided me to the light when I was consumed by darkness. They showed me how to be good when I have only learned how to be evil. They helped me when I needed help, they saved when I needed to be saved." Juvia felt her heart beat fast as she spoke about her friends and instantly she thought of Gray.
"You don't want to join me because of this ice-mage, do you?"
"Gray is the love of my life and I won't leave him alone as long as I live. I have promised that I always be there to protect him."
"You choose him over your own mother?" Aquamarina hissed angrily.
"It's not a choice mother. I never got to choose. From the first time I saw him, I fell in love with him. I fell hard in the point of losing my reason. My heart is beating only for him, my mind is filled with his face, my eyes only see him, my legs lead me to him. Everything seems like turning around him." Juvia revealed her true feelings but her mother didn't seem convinced so she continued speaking about her love of her life. "We started as enemies but he saved me during our fight without a second thought. He helped me whenever I needed help, he took the depressing rain away. He made me laugh and smile. He made my heart beat again. He became the purpose of my life."
"You seem very in love with him." Aquamarina admitted looking defeated but she surely made clear with her tone that she didn't like the idea.
"Wasn't the same with you and dad?" Juvia asked but that seemed to enrage her mother.
"It's clearly not the same because he loved me back!" she took a deep breath to calm down herself and then continued "I got some time to check the rest of your memories Juvia and I didn't see him return any of your feelings. He was always so dense and immature. Why choosing him over me? Why do you want to suffer more? He doesn't deserve it!"
"Even if he doesn't return my feelings back, I am only pleased with his friendship. Just with him being into my life I feel complete. I may suffer because he doesn't seem to love me back but I am determined to wait as long as it takes. I am prepared to sacrifice my life for him. My love is so deep I am prepared to wait. If I would abandon my hope so easily this would mean that I didn't love him."
"But I love you Juvia and I care for you. You would be safe with me."
"It's not the same mother. I can't control my feelings and the only thing I know is that he is my purpose to live. I don't expect you to understand me, I just want you to let me go back to him."
"So this is your final decision?" Aquamarina did a last attempt at changing her mind.
"My one and only." Juvia admitted smiling.
"At least I had to try." Aquamarina sighed and approached her daughter to hug her. "I want you to know that I will always love you and I will be with you whenever you need me."
"Thanks mother. I am happy that I know that."
"Now go back to your family and friends. Go back to Gray." Aquamarina said while she wiped the tears that fell from her eyes.
"Thank you for giving my past back. Until we meet again." Juvia turned and a white door appeared into the darkness. She walked to the door and started to turn the knob when she heard her mother speak once more. "I am sure you will be safe. Gray will take care of you. And I believe that he is gonna make a move soon."
"What do you mean?" Juvia asked but she had been already consumed by light.
A/N: How did you find it? Let me know with a review! Next chapter will be a fluffy part! I think. I dunno! I guess we'll see next week. This arc of the story comes soon to an end. I so don't want to end this and when I thought how much I loved my story, I came up with another idea to continue it for a little more. Do you want the new arc? Let me know your opinion :) Until next week :D
