A/N: Who would've thought that I'll update today? No one? Well, neither have I~! XD anyways, I just want to say sorry for the lateness. You see, my graylu blood isn't working properly these past few days and I really needed inspiration for my stories. So in order for me to have some, I thought of drawing some GrayLu would revive it. well, it eventually did but, I'm afraid I'm not in my fullest yet. So pardon this chapter, because I really did rush this today. Oh! Before I forgot, thanks to all that read, reviewed and listed 'The Confrontation' on their favorites. Honto ni Arigatou guzaimasu~! Orz
Replies~
WolfieANNE: GOMEN~! I still haven't reviewed yet! , but before that, kyaaaa~! Jellal, can I marry him? Puh-leas~! XD I should do this the proper way and review on your story but just thinking about what happened in your story just make me want to marry Jellal! Hahaha, anyways, here's the (not so good) chapter. I hope you'll enjoy the rantings.. =_= hehehe, thanks for the review! ^^
QuietDemise13: yay~! You enjoyed last chapter. Hehe, but I'm afraid there aren't enough fluff here but I promise to do more in the later chapter, (especially the chapter after the next, chap30…hihihi) thanks for reviewing! ^^
Loveprincess: haha, you'll have to wait for it. it's gonna be on the later chapters. Hihihi, I'm afraid it's too early for her to sing. ^^ thanks a lot for the review!
pluethedog: oh, he will! Haha,, you'll know why Natsu left her and who that scary man is.. hihi just scroll down! ^^ thanks for the review!
pikaqueen: yay~! Glad you liked it! you'll know soon! Kukuku~ oh! I see you've updated your stories! Sorry for not reviewing! *bows* thanks for the review!^^
Hachibukai: Joy-chan! Kung nagbabasa ka pa ng ff magparamdam ka! Haha, IMISHUU~! Ndi na kita nakakausap! , hehe, don't worry about it, nakarecover na ko dun! Haha, akala ko nga corny un ee, it felt like he wasn't Gray at all! XD haha, I'm done re-typing three wishes but I still don't have the courage to update it, nakukulangan pa ko ee,, hehe, thanks for reviewing. (speaking of reviews, ndi ko pa pala narereview mga stories mo,, :( sorry…DX)
Le' CarolinnaXannej421: Rin-chan! Maraming maraming maraming tenchuu sayo! Hahaha, I see you published another story, was it he gender bend lucy one, where she pretended to be a guy to be gray's butler? Tama ba? Yan kasi pagkakaintindi ko sa summary ee,, haha, sorry for the lateness! Hope you'll enjoy! :) thanks for reviewing! ^^
Princesx Mystery: ne! did my review got posted? Sorry if ever I was late in reviewing! , oh, you shouldn't idolize the likes of me, I'm a bad example of a lazy author. But I truly am flattered by what you said, I very happy to hear it! *cries* really, I'm crying. T.T thanks for the review! ^^
DebbieKun3: hahha! Yea! It should be FOREVER! Oh, how I wish he was true! , thanks for reviewing! ^^
FuzzyPeach12: thanks a bunch! ^^
SpiritFrozenInTime: waaah~! Gomen! Did you really? O.O I'm really sorry! Hahhaha! I really can't believe someone would like that! hahaha, I really thought it was corny! (well, it is if Gray was the one who said it! XD) waaah~! Yes about Ultear and Seig. Well, Ultear is practically Gray's cousin from his Father side and Seig was his cousin from his Mother side so basically its not that daring as you said? Hehehe no, its okay. I love it when people started asking me questions about my stories! Hihi, thanks for the review! ^^
Nimra: Thank you~! Waaah~! That's so flattering! I truly appreciate your comment! ^^
petitewinsy: sorry for the lateness! Here you go! ^^ thanks a lot!
Kira no Baka: waaah~! Glad you liked it! hihi, here's the next chap, hope you'll like it! thanks for reviewing! ^^
Secret: hahah, yea, I'm a kapuso. Marami din akong ABS na cm8 ee, ndi tuloy ako makusod sa kanila pagnaguusap sila tungkol sa mga palabas dun,, haha, thanks for reviewing! ^^
officialalexanderludwig: kyaa~! I didn't expect this! XD I would really love a beta reader! (and I'm sorry for only replying to you now! I really forgot to check the reviews I got from time to time) but even if I wanted to I don't know how. Could you explain to me how? If you still wanted to, that is. *now I feel ashamed of myself!* I've been here in ffn for over a year yet here I am, still don't know how beta works. , thanks for your offer and review! ^^
Fullbusterrulesmyheart: waaah~! Don't worry about it! its fine! My lateness is far more upsetting for my readers! , and I'm really sorry for that! hahha you're the only person that noticed that! haha, thanks for reviewing! ^^
Lost Canvas: hahaha, glad you liked it! yea, we would reach the climax sooner or later…depends on how fast I update. Haha, thanks for your comment! I really love it when people give me advices! ^^
anja: haha, sorry for keeping you hanging there! Waah~! Thanks a bunch! XD hahha, that's an exaggerated compliment! I'm not a goddess! Hahaha, I'm just a plain old writer-wannabe. Hahaha, thanks for reviewing! ^^
AKatsinTcups: waah~! Thank youuuu~! Hahha, I should follow your advice! XD thanks for reviewing and glad you liked it! ^^
98: waah~! Gomen! I'm deeply sorry for updating late! , no, that okay. I'm open for criticisms! Hahaha, thanks for being true to me, but I'm going to apologize in advance because my updates would be really slow…I have my OJT this semester so I'm gonna get busier. , but thanks for reading this not-so-good of a story! Thanks for reviewing! ^^
guest (9/30/12): waaah~! Sorry for being late! Here's the next chapter! Hope you'll like it! ^^
BiteChocolate101: waah~! I will, don't worry! But it gonna take a long time for me to finish this! Haha, ^^ *now I'm pressured! Hahaha*
Jaz-147: I saw your reviews on one of Hakuouki's story achive. Yiee~! Glad there's someone out there that likes Hakuouki as well, hihih, sorry for being late! But please snjoy the chapter! Thanks for reviewing! ^^
WHEW! That was unexpectedly long! My back hurts! XD
Warning: I did not proofread this.
Again, English is my second language and I'm not that good of a writer so I beg for forgiveness if there are wrong spellings or grammar…thank you.
Genre: Drama, Family, Friendshio, Romance, some Humor, Hurt/Comfort.
Main Pairing: GrayXLucy
Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its Characters. I am NOT Hiro Mashima!
Please enjoy this not-so-good chapter.
CHAPTER 29: Different Prize
"Great job, Natsu!" a white headed girl said as she went out of her hiding spot (the bushes) and patted the said boy on the back as soon as she approached him. The salmon-headed boy sighed while taking the gruesome prosthetics — that was put hastily for a reason —off of his face. He looked at the girl and sighed once again.
"Mira, I feel terrible." He said, but Mira just smiled up at him. "Don't worry you did wonderful! You scared her!"
"That's the main reason why!"
Apparently, Natsu was, again, overpowered by Mira; with the latter bringing her condition up and, at the same time, threatening the poor boy who doesn't have any choice but obey for the sake of his kitty. The plan was to drag Lucy inside the woods and intentionally leave her for Natsu to have enough time to be able to put the prosthetics on. After that, he just needs to scare her for a certain someone to look for her. When did Mira tell him this? It's when she handed the papers to Natsu. That's the main reason why he's hasty to finish the activity; because he wants to get this over with— not to mention he was threatened.
Mira's plans always work, but this time Natsu could tell that she's having doubts in her so-called 'special ability'. She was forcing herself to be calm and wait for the result of her plan but her quick pacing tells otherwise.
"Oh, I said don't worry! Now, all we have to do is wait for something to happen." Mira said. She looked at her phone that started ringing before she smiled in satisfaction. "Looks like HE's on his way." She said and giggled behind her hand, her turbulence long gone.
"What?" Natsu asked, confused.
Mira faced Natsu and shoved her phone 2 inches away from his face. "Lisanna said Gray's on his way."
"What if he never finds her?"
Mira placed her phone inside her pockets and sighed, she lost her smile and the turmoil she felt earlier started swarming inside her once again. "Honestly, I'm worried myself. I don't know if Gray will find her or not. Even more, I'm scared that Lucy will get hurt."
"If you were scared, then why the hell did we do this in the first place? And what if someone, other than Gray, will find her before he does?"
Mira started mincing, not answering the question. She was really worried that, for the first time, her plan won't work. Natsu followed silently behind her, carrying the prosthetics on his hands when he suddenly heard his companion mumbled something, almost inaudible. "Let's just hope for the best."
They were almost at the exit of the forest, the end point of the activity, when Mira's phone started ringing again. She stopped along with Natsu and fished her phone from her pocket again. "It's Lisanna." She said, reading the name displayed on her screen.
The two of them scooted closer to read the text together. "Success! v(^o^)v" it says. Natsu grinned, and almost throw his hands to the air when he heard Mira sniffing. He looked at her and saw tears. "Mi-Mira! W-w-what's the matter?" he panicky said.
The faired haired lady wiped her tears and beamed at Natsu. "I'm just happy for Lucy! And my plan worked!" she cried.
Natsu held his right hand up and grinned once again. "You did great, Mira!"
Mira nodded and high-fived with Natsu. She looked at her phone again and typed her reply, 'Tell me all about it later! Good job~! ;D"
..ooOoo..
A chilly wind blew past the two teens sitting on the soft grass in front of a cabin. The blonde hissed as the cold got to her skin that made her shiver to the bones while the raven haired lad tends the nasty gash that the blonde gained while running in haste earlier in the woods for reasons he still doesn't know, but will sooner or later discern. Gray looked up as he noticed his companion shivering while rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm herself up. He sighed and took his jacket off; placing it on Lucy's shoulders after, lessening the numbness she feels because of the cold.
"How are you feeling?" Gray asked while tending Lucy's gash on her knee. The blonde forced a smiled as she speaks, "I'm fine now…just a little shaky."
After applying first aid and covering the wound, Gray made his way to sit beside Lucy who was spacing out once again. The raven haired lad sighed and leaned backwards, his back meeting the soft grass.
After what happened, Gray and Lucy settled themselves on ground in front of Lucy's cabin after Gray shyly went inside to look for the first aid kit that Lucy had inside her cabinet— where he found lots of stuff, including her undies. Gray blushed remembering this. This is why you're called a pervert! Stop imagining those kinds of things! He mentally cursed.
Gray sighed to calm himself and to ease the tingling feeling on his nose. He then looked up to see the moon in its full glory just above them. The raven haired lad smiled as he noticed the stars shining brightly around the moon, glinting beautifully and was like competing with the others, even trying to outshine the moon itself. He looked at his companion to see if she was admiring the sky as well, but he scowled at what he saw— Lucy was facing the ground.
"You should look up. Or you'll lose this opportunity to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime, front-seat-worthy Milky Way view." He said, propping his head with his hands. Lucy looked at him in confusion and Gray nodded his head upwards. The blonde followed Gray's gaze and was astounded by what she saw. Her sullen look was transformed to that of an amazed one, and, before she notices it, she was smiling, leaving her experience earlier falter after seeing the stars.
Gray smiled, contented. At least he could do this much for her. He wanted this moment to last a little longer but there's a question that he really wanted answers from. So he broke the wonderful moment with a fake cough to caught Lucy's attention.
"So," he started. "Why are you alone again?"
Lucy sighed and lied on her back as well before answering. "Natsu was so eager to finish the activity before anyone else does so he…"
"Sped up and forgot he have a partner." Gray intervened.
Lucy nodded. "Yea. But I tried my best and keep up with his pace but…"
"You lose sight of him because of your poor stamina." Gray cut off again, this time smirking. Lucy punched his shoulder playfully and pouted. "You don't have to rub it in, you know."
Gray kept himself from chuckling and just rolled his eyes. "Then, what happened? Why are you in that state when I found you? And why did you scream?"
Lucy flinched, indicating that Gray touched an undesirable subject. "Gray, I'm scared." She said, tear started gathering in the corners of her eyes. The said boy stayed silent as he kept on listening to what the blonde is saying.
"I saw a man with a pale face that's full of wounds and bruises all over. Then there's blood on his body. He walked closer to me before saying my name." she said and started trembling again. Gray faced her and his eyes knitted together. "Any other features you may add?" he asked her, getting suspicious at this "man".
"He has pink hair."
Gray face palmed. He knew it. "Stupid Natsu." He mumbled but Lucy caught what he said. "What?"
"You know Lucy, this is really hard for me to explain but, you're probably an idiot for not noticing it was Natsu." He sighed and shook his head.
"Excuse me?!" she said, incredulously, halting her tears from flowing. She stared wide-eyed at Gray who sat up and kept on shaking his head from side to side.
"I said, you're an idiot for not noticing it was Natsu."
Lucy sat up and punched his arm in anger, offended at his comment. "Well, I'm sorry for being an idiot and not noticing it was…" She was about to stand up walk and away but stopped when realization started to sink in. "N-natsu?" she asked Gray who was rubbing his sore arm.
"Who else could it be?! Dammit! That's hurts!" he hissed.
"But why would he do that?"
"Why are you asking me?" he growled. "I shouldn't have left my partner to help you if you're just gonna punch me like this."
Lucy took quite a while to process the information she just gained before sighing in relief, not minding the offensive remark she just got. It somewhat eased her nerves after knowing that the man she saw was in fact Natsu. Wait till I see him. I kill him, for sure! She thought as her brain started scheming some plots for vengeance.
"Thanks for helping me, by the way." She said sincerely and smiled, noticing what Gray was implying by what he said a while ago. "I'm really happy you were there to help me. I really don't know what to do if you hadn't come."
Gray looked away after seeing her earnest face. He really hated himself for being so forgiving towards Lucy when she's giving off this kind of expression. She is, indeed, one special girl. "It's no problem. But you're really a scaredy-cat, aren't you?" he teased which earned him another playful punch on his arm.
"You know Gray, I really thought you're avoiding me." Lucy said. "Though, I couldn't point a finger why." She looked at the moon again and hugged her knees to her chest before continuing. "If…if you're gonna avoid me, please tell me the reason, so that I won't be having trouble of figuring out why."
Gray stared at her and smiled. He didn't know she's going to be affected by it. "But if ever I started avoiding you without telling you why, please don't smack me hard on the head?" He said and earned him a light chuckle from Lucy.
"If you don't want to receive a smack from me, then don't do it in the first place." Lucy said and sends a side-long glance at Gray. She saw how he flinched. She wondered if he really is avoiding her. The sorrow she felt earlier that day came haunting her once again. She never really want Gray to avoid her even if she kept on insisting herself that it'll be for the best. Now that she and Gray became this close in a short span of time, she doesn't want to forget about it and pretend that their supposed friendship didn't happen.
Gray, on the other hand, couldn't say a thing. Loke's, Alzack's and Natsu's words still linger in his head. He was supposed to avoid her but hearing her scream like that, it's as if he forgot everything he was ought to do and was replaced by the lone thought of seeing Lucy.
"So you were avoiding me." this statement happened to snap Gray from his trance. He looked at Lucy and saw the sadness her eyes reflect. He felt his stomach scrunch up as a familiar feeling take over him; the feeling of guilt.
"I just got some things going on inside my head that I need to sort out." He started, wanting the current atmosphere between them to subside. Remembering his friends' words really did stop his gears from turning. Even if he tried his best to understand them, in the end, the only thing that comes to mind was Lucy and how their relationship is turning out.
What is Lucy to him? This question bothers him a lot. Yes, he knows that she's a friend that he gained unexpectedly— not to mention that they met in a very spontaneous way. He can't even believe that they will reach to the point where he thought they will not attain; being friends. And he did not regret anything. Being friends with her brought some of his old self back that he didn't notice until now. Even if he wants to ignore it, he can't change the fact that Lucy really looked like her.But it wasn't the reason why he changed; it was because of Lucy herself. Her presence made him at ease and, for some reason, happy. And never in his life would he want to change that.
Lucy turned her eyes fully at him, seeing him smiling as she listened wistfully. "Thank you." He said, ending his speech in his mind. Lucy looked confused and really wanted to get some kind of explanation but Gray stood up. He dusted his self before turning to Lucy and offered his hand.
Lucy gratefully took it and used it as support to stand up. Gray assisted Lucy as they walk back to the campfire where the teachers are settled and were laughing their hearts out with the screams that they were hearing.
"By the way, Gray, who's your partner?" she asked, tilting her head to the sides.
"Lisanna." He answered nonchalantly. Gray noticed how his companion froze on her spot. He looked at Lucy and took notice of her mouth hanging open and her stern eyes. "What?" he asked.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"YOU IDIOT~!"
..ooOoo..
"I'm VERY sorry, Lucy~!" Natsu said as he bowed on his fours. Well, he was the only one asking for forgiveness because he can't bring Mira or Lisanna into this from keeping Lucy, Gray and everyone, for that matter, to know their 'plan'.
If it weren't for them being the center of attention, Lucy wouldn't forgive him and perform her evil plots immediately after seeing him. But Natsu putting all these efforts just for her forgiveness made it a little more easy to let the case off.
She sighed and patted Natsu on the head. "Apology accepted." She said and smiled when the rose-headed guy lifted his head. He smiled and almost cried in relief. Natsu stood up when Lucy helped him up; he noticed her limping as she did so. "I'm really sorry Lucy." he said again but the girl dismissed it and smiled.
"If I were you, I would kill him right off the bat." Someone said. Lucy and Natsu turned their head towards the voice and saw it was Gray. Natsu was gonna retort back but the blonde beat him to it.
"If I were to kill someone, that someone would be you." Lucy snapped, still irritated by the fact that Gray left Lisanna.
A tick mark appeared on his forehead as he kept himself from exploding. "Hey, who was the one that screamed to death when she saw someone and never even think that it could be her partner and ended up running aimlessly, tripping, and gaining a gash on her knee? Then helplessly praying to God that someone would save her?" he snapped back.
"Well, who wouldn't run in that kind of situation?!"
"Probably someone smart enough!"
"Wha-?! Hey, I didn't ask for your help, Mr.-you-think-you-know-everything!"
Everyone that was present shifted their eyes from Lucy to Gray as the two exchanged words.
"Is it really that bad to get worried, huh?" all eyes landed on Gray as he uttered that sentence before they moved them to Lucy who looked stunned. Everyone didn't expect that.
"I-I…"
"Well, I'm sorry then. Geez," Gray said, putting his hands on his pockets. "So much for helping you,"
Lisanna made her way toward Lucy. She can't help but butt in when she knows she's the reason why her friends are fighting. The fair haired maiden began whispering. "Ne, Lucy. You should forgive Gray. Nothing happened to me. See? And besides, he really did get worried." She looked at Gray and saw how he tapped his foot on the ground impatiently, still mumbling something. "If only you were there, you'll see the look on his face when he recognized your scream."
Lucy looked down and started thinking to herself, ashamed. How could she accuse her savior?
"Gray," she called. The brunette turned his angry and disappointed eyes at her. "What?"
"I-I guess…I'm…I," Lucy said, trying to figure out how to apologize and sighed. "I'm sorry. I was just really worried for Lisanna."
He sighed and ruffled his locks. "This is why anyone would think that you're incapable of taking care of yourself. Because you're always minding others."
"Okay, enough with the drama." Gildarts said. This teacher really doesn't really care on what's happening around him. Everyone thought and shook their heads. Gray and Lucy haven't even reconciled yet.
"Since the activity used up the whole night and because I promised everyone that I'm gonna announced the winner today, I won't waste any more time and say it before the sun rises." Gildarts proclaimed.
"The winner is Erza's team. Congratulations."
Many sweat dropped and face palmed when they heard the lack of thrill and eagerness that their teacher expressed. But the winning team, of course, didn't mind it and cheered triumphantly.
Erza's ego boosted up as she looked at her team in satisfaction. "Congratulations, team! You all did a great job! Now you can enjoy the prize whenever you like." She said, smiling in victory as she looked at the others, full of pride.
"Gaah~! I knew they would win~!" Natsu said and ruffled his hair in discontentment.
Lucy looked at Gray and saw him sigh. "Gray, I-I…"
"Yea, yea." He said, dismissing her immediately, obviously trying to avoid her again. "And you ask why you're avoided. Tch."
"I said I was sorry. But if you're gonna avoid me because of that…I guess, I don't have a choice, do I?" she said dejectedly. Gray looked at her and saw her eyes brimming with tears.
Why? Why is it that with Lucy, he's so powerless? Why can't he stand getting angry with her for a long time? Why is it that when he see her tears, he just wanted to wipe it with his hands, hug her in his arms and protect her in harms' way?
Before he knew it, his hands moved on its own accord and cupped Lucy's face, wiping her tears before it falls from her eyes.
Have you fallen for her? He remembered Loke's question. Have I really? He asked himself without knowing what's he's doing.
Lucy on the other hand was taken aback by Gray's actions. He just suddenly cupped her face having those pained obsidian eyes directed on her brown ones. What's he thinking? Is he hurt? Why?
Lucy was going to say something when she was cut off by Erza's sudden outburst.
"NO!" she said, balling her hands into fists while glared daggers at the blonde man leaning his back on one of the trees, who's been doing the same. Lucy and Gray's moment was cut short and the two of them looked at each other one more time before seeing what's happening.
Erza was apparently holding the prize on her one hand causing it to be crumpled. She gained everyone's attention but it seemed that she doesn't care.
"I told you, I don't need those things." Said the blonde lad, growling while he crossed her arms in front of his chest.
"And I told you that I won't allow anything that you ask!" Erza retorted.
"I won't do anything. I just need to talk to her."
"I said NO!" Erza yelled.
Mira rushed to Erza side and calmed her down. "Erza," she said and placed her hand on the redhead's back. "What happened?" she asked.
"This jerk is asking something I forbid." The red haired lady said, not letting the sight of the blonde man leave her eyes. Mira looked at the man and send him a look as if asking him what he wants. But the man never falter from her gaze and didn't give her the answer she wanted.
"Laxus!" she demanded. Laxus sighed and rubbed his temples. He lifted his head and looked around, looking for a certain someone. His eyes stopped at Lucy who flinched at the look Laxus was giving her. Gray, who was standing beside her, glared at the blonde lad once he noticed where he was looking at. Gray stood in front of Lucy, protectively hiding her from the Laxus' view.
"As for my prize," Laxus started, still staring seriously at her blonde prey. "I want to speak with Lucy…alone."
..ooOoo..
Well, there you go folks. I know, I'm really getting rusty… =_=
Anyways, do you mind if I rant here?
If you don't want to, don't read it. You've been warned.(hehe, I really wanted to use that line,, hahha)
I'm sooooo afraid of Gruvia becoming canon that I took my time reading/watching anime/manga and, to be honest, I really lost my interest for Graylu for a few weeks. (darn you Yoshida Haru! XD) I'm very upset with the ship war that's happening between graylu and gruvia fans that I thought no one would support graylu anymore because of what other people are saying about us fans, so it would really mean a lot to me if you review and tell me you still support our OTP~! Saying 'I love GrayLu' or anything of that sort would make me feel happy. I need to see that there are still people out there who ships GrayLu. Even if you PM me, I would really be the happiest person alive, believe me!
Well, not really ranting but that's how I describe rant in my own words. XD
Thanks for reading, and review~! ^^
Ja'ne
