AN: Hi everybody! Thank you soooo much for all the reviews, faves, and follows. I really appreciate all your support, and I'm so glad that people are excited about the Rogura. I agree, there is not nearly enough of this pairing, and it's been hard for me to find many decent fics on the internet. Just an FYI, I tend to update really fast when I'm inspired at the beginning of a fic and then gradually slow down. Hopefully I can keep cranking out a chapter every couple days or so. Without further ado, I give you chapter 2!

Notice: I own nothing, for I am not Hiro Mashima. Amen.

Chapter 2: Where There Once was Hatred

Mermaid Heel's guildhall was having a fairly quiet day. It wasn't so much there were less people there (although the Master was gone on a business trip), but for some reason a melancholy air hung over the hall. It tended to get that way whenever Kagura got back from one of her missions. Everybody picked up the mood of the strongest woman in the room.

Kagura sat down at a table with a couple of her teammates from the Grand Magic Games and crossed her arms. "Oh, hi, Kagura!" Millianna exclaimed. "Back from your mission, huh? That was a long one!"

"So were you able to take out those monsters?" gushed Arania Webb. Kagura nodded curtly. "Wow, I still can't believe you went on that one by yourself! The job description said they expected at least two S-class mages to be necessary! Why don't you let anyone else come on your missions, Kagura?"

"Yeah, why don't you let us come, Kagura?" Millianna chimed in.

Kagura wasn't listening to them. She was deep in her own thoughts. Ever since her early childhood, she'd spent her entire life searching for her brother, Simon, who'd been taken from her when they were little. Later, she found out that Simon had been killed by a heartless, cruel tyrant- a man named Jellal, who'd spent his life lying to and manipulating his former fellow inmates. After that, she'd lived driven by hatred and blinded by rage. Her one sole purpose became to make Jellal pay dearly for taking her brother's life. When the Master gave her a magic sword as a reward for making S-class, Kagura trained for countless hours perfecting an art of swordplay that allowed her to fight with the sword kept sheathed, so that Archenemy could be saved exclusively for Jellal's blood.

But on the final day of the Grand Magic Games, Kagura had fought Erza Scarlet. Erza had explained a part of the story that Kagura did not understand: it wasn't Jellal's fault because he was under the control of an evil force; rather, it was Erza's for not being strong enough to protect Simon. All of Kagura's rage and pain was suddenly torn away from its source of power, and with nowhere left to turn, attacked Erza. Kagura soon came to realize that it wasn't Erza's fault, either. It wasn't anybody's fault, and therefore a life of single-minded revenge was unfounded and pointless.

It had taken Kagura months to adjust to no longer being angry. So much of her soul had been taken up by rage that when all of that rage disappeared, it left most of her soul a gaping void. She had often gone weeks without eating. She had often done things like stub her toe on purpose just to give herself a reason to be angry.

She was mostly over that now, but Kagura still had no idea what purpose she had left in life. What was the point of living when Simon was gone, and the pain in her heart could no longer be masked by rage? She'd managed to forget the pain through lots of work; the frequency and intensity of the missions she completed had doubled over the last month. She hadn't taken any of her guild members with her because it was too dangerous, and besides, they kept interrupting her thoughts.

"Hellooooo? Earth to Kagura?" Millianna's hand waved in front of Kagura's face.

Kagura snapped out of her space out. "Oh, sorry. What were you saying, Millianna?"

Millianna made a sound that was half-sigh, half-meow. "I was saying, that hot guy at the coffee shop in town was asking about you!"

"Isn't that great, Kagura?" Arania exclaimed. "He's like the dreamiest man in all of Northport! Oh, actually, about the cute guy who runs the post office-"

Kagura narrowed her eyes. "Not interested."

"Oh, come on, Kagura!" Millianna mewled. "Don't you think it's time you got a boyfriend? We think it would really be good for you!"

Kagura's eyes narrowed even more. "Good for me?"

Millianna and Arania laughed nervously. "Oh, you know… you've been sad ever since the Grand Magic Games," said Millianna. "I mean, trust me, Kagura, I know, coming to terms with forgiving Jellal is hard. But you have to at least try! You can't let hatred define you like that anymore! Even though you don't have it anymore, you're still defined by the lack thereof!"

Arania chimed in. "So… we thought a nice, good-looking guy would cheer you up. I mean, come on, Kagura, isn't there anyone you'd be interested in seeing?"

Images flashed through Kagura's mind: shaggy black hair, dark red eyes full of mystery and brooding. Strong, toned muscles, the result of many years' training and discipline. A strong, kind bond of friendship and fraternity with an adorable Exceed.

Kagura shook her head vigorously. Why was she thinking of him now? Why couldn't she get him out her head the last few days?

"I-I'll think about it," she stammered and walked briskly out of the guildhall. Millianna and Arania were astounded. Kagura had just stuttered.

There was a very light drizzle hovering through the air of the seaside town of Northport, the home of the Mermaid Heel guild. Kagura didn't mind. As long as she got some peace and quiet, she didn't care how wet she got.

Kagura's secret thinking place was empty as always. It was a hidden cove etched into the face of a nearby cliff that looked out over the sea. Kagura sat on one of her makeshift stools and watched the sun drop down over the water.

Rogue stared in apprehension up the face of the cliff. Yeah, this must be where they said to go. Man, it was hard for him to make out what those two Mermaid Heel mages were saying through all that giggling. The only thing left to do now would be to climb. "Hop on my shoulder, Frosch, and hold on tight," he instructed the little Exceed.

The cliff was wet and slippery. Rogue almost lost his grip multiple times. He periodically took breaks to rest and recover his strength, smiling at Frosch's mumblings of encouragement. How this lady did this every day, he would never know.

Rogue sighed in relief as he pulled himself over the top. He jumped and almost fell off the edge when he looked up and saw the sword pointed at his face. When Kagura saw who'd climbed the cliff to reach her secret spot, her face registered for a moment surprise, and then a look of suspicion. She lowered her sword. "What are you doing here, Rogue? How did you find me?"

Rogue stood up and nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I… uh…"

Frosch spoke up. "Rogue loves you!"

Kagura sweatdropped; Rogue cried out and collapsed on the floor in surprise. "Why, hello, Frosch," she cuddled the little Exceed as Rogue picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"He must be tired," Rogue said. "Spouting nonsense."

"Fro thinks so too!"

Kagura allowed herself to smile a bit. This cat made her feel the happiest she had in a long while. "So, Rogue… care to answer my questions, then?"

"Oh! Of course. Your two friends told me you were probably up here, so I came looking for you. And as for why I'm here…"

Rogue reached inside his cloak and pulled out a tattered bouquet of about five flowers. They were lilacs. "I picked you these," he mumbled without looking at her. "As thanks for finding Frosch. They're the same color as your hair. Made me think of you."

Kagura accepted the flowers. She felt a strange feeling in her heart. Despite the lack of many flowers, their poor condition, and their color being a few shades lighter than her hair, she was strangely… touched.

"Th-thank you, Rogue. But this isn't necessary. I'd be more than happy to look after Frosch for you anytime if you need me to."

Rogue cleared his throat. "Well, um, there's actually something else I wanted to ask you. Would you like to… get lunch or something sometime next week? Or do something else?"

Kagura raised an eyebrow. "Yes, next week, I would like to do something else besides get lunch."

Rogue slapped his forehead. "No, no, I mean… let's just get lunch, okay?" He was so not good at this. Sting would've already been heading to the date right now.

Kagura crossed her arms. "Sorry, but I'm busy. I just took a mission that will likely take up all my time next week."

Frosch chimed in. "Fro wants to come!"

Kagura's reflex should've been to automatically deny anyone tagging along. After all, this mission was the most dangerous one yet, and certainly not fit for someone as weak as Frosch. But because she liked Frosch so much, she actually really wanted him to come. And for some reason she couldn't understand, she wanted Frosch's best friend to come even more.

Rogue smiled wryly and looked at Kagura's eyes instead of the floor for the first time. "Perhaps Frosch and I could assist you on your mission."

Say no. Say no, you idiot. Missions are for alone time. "Sure," she found herself saying. "Let's meet at the train station tomorrow at seven sharp."

"It's a deal," said Rogue, and held out his hand to shake. Kagura stepped forward to take his hand, but slipped on a wet patch of floor and toppled face-first. Rogue caught her without thinking. Strange, she felt oddly petite and fragile, even though Rogue knew she could kick his ass.

Kagura was leaning against Rogue with her hands at his shoulders, and looked up at his eye, their faces only inches apart. "Oh… thanks for catching me," she said distractedly. Wow, his shoulders feel so nice, she thought. Wait, what?

"Don't mention it," Rogue said quickly. His thoughts were hazy. Kagura's eyes were a light shade of creamy hazel. They were very nice to look at. Rogue felt something soft pressing against his chest. He looked down. His eyes widened, frozen in place. Exerting the greatest amount of willpower possible, he tore his eyes away back to her face, at the same time Kagura looked back towards his. They both simply stared for some indeterminate, irrelevant amount of time. Rogue opened his mouth-

Frosch yawned. "Fro is hungry," he complained. "Can we go get something to eat, Rogue?"

Rogue and Kagura both suddenly realized the position they were in and jumped backwards in surprise. "Y-yeah, Frosch," Rogue stammered. "Some food does sound good right about now."

"Fro thinks so too!"

Kagura, alarmed, notice that the sun had almost finished setting. Just how long had she and Rogue been standing there like that? Kagura was not so dim that she didn't notice the prominent blush on Rogue's cheeks, and she was sure he wasn't either.

"…See you tomorrow," Kagura said to Rogue without meeting his eyes. "Remember, seven sharp."

"Of course," Rogue said. "Come on, Frosch, let's go." He walked out of the cave. He was so distracted that he didn't realize he walking right over the edge of a cliff.

Rogue screamed the whole twenty feet down to the ocean waves. Kagura cringed when he hit the bottom. "He'll be alright, won't he?" she asked kind of worried.

"Fro thinks so too!"

I gave Rogue a very Natsu-like moment to indicate how flustered he gets around Kagura. Hopefully that wasn't too OOC! Oh, random disclaimer- I am choosing to interpret Frosch as a boy. On the official wiki, his gender is currently listed as "unknown." So, if anyone in the future reads this, I'm sorry if Frosch turns out to be a girl. Now, don't forget to rate and review! Let me know your thoughts, and also you get free advertising for your account! I promise I'll go check out your stories. It's a win-win! So, I will see you guys next time. Have a sicktastic day, broskis.