Heya, me again. Time for updates! I'm going shopping today, so I'm in an abnormally cheerful mood. Bear with me.
I was told that I should do longer updates. So I am. At least, I think this is longer than the last two – I'll have to check the word count.
But anyway. Enjoy the new chapter!
Lie, not for saving the truth, but for saving a true person. -Vishnu Rajan
Gray sighed and collapsed into a seat. How could he be this tired after a few minor jobs? He should have still had plenty of energy, but instead he was wiped. "Hey, Gray," Lucy said, sitting across from him. Erza slid onto the bench next to her with a plate of cake.
"Did you go on any jobs today?" she asked, stabbing a forkful.
"Unfortunately," he groaned. "What about you two?"
"We went to exorcise a ghost in Acalypha," Lucy said. "But it turned out to be just a couple of kids trying to scare their friends. What a waste of time." She stretched and leaned her elbows on the table. "So, did Juvia come to the guild today? She was acting weird yesterday, right?"
Gray shrugged indifferently. "She was here in the morning, but then the master dragged her off somewhere. He said something about an errand."
"Hmm," Lucy said thoughtfully. "Something's weird. I'm worried about her."
"What for?" Gray asked, closing his eyes. "I'm sure she's fine. If it were anything to worry about, she'd tell us."
"Really? You think so?" Lucy asked. Gray cracked an eye to see her giving him a meaningful look. He glanced at Erza for backup, but she was staring intently at her empty plate.
"Lucy's right. Something's off about this."
Gray threw up his hands. "Not you too." He looked between them. "Guys. Come on. We're a family. If there was something wrong, Juvia would tell us what's going on. And since she hasn't said anything, it means nothing's wrong. You two are just bored."
Lucy frowned. "I don't think so."
"Gray, think about this for a minute," Erza said, leaning forward. "Do you really believe that Juvia would come straight out and tell everyone something was wrong with her if she thought all it would do is make us worried and upset." No, he didn't. That didn't sound a bit like Juvia, and they both knew it. Erza saw the change in his expression and pressed on. "And hasn't she been acting strange these past few days? There's got to be something going on."
Gray growled in frustration. "And what if you two are right? What if there is something wrong with her? Are you planning to force her to tell you? Because, for your information, I already tried asking her, and she completely shut me out. So good luck getting her to talk to you when she won't even tell me what the problem is."
Lucy and Erza leaned forward simultaneously, matching sly smiles wreathing their faces. "Oh," Erza murmured, drawing the word out. "I see now."
Gray blinked, bewildered. "See what?"
"You're sulking because she wouldn't tell you what was wrong," Lucy crowed triumphantly. "You're actually really worried, aren't you?"
"Wha– That's ridiculous," Gray scoffed. "She's probably just upset because something stupid, like…" He trailed off, unsure of what she would get upset about. "I don't know, but it must have been something silly. Maybe her cat died. Anyway, there's nothing to worry about. Just give it a few days and she'll be fine."
He got up, stuffing his hands in his pockets, and slouched away from the table. Lucy and Erza watched him go quietly. "If he's so sure about it, I guess we should just let him be for now," Lucy mused. Erza nodded her agreement, and the two turned to a different topic of conversation.
Gray, meanwhile, had resettled at the bar and was glowering at the counter. "What's the matter, Gray?" Mira asked, looking down at him in mild concern.
"Nothing," he muttered. "I think I'll go home and take a nap." Just as he got up, he bumped into someone approaching the bar. "Ah, sorry–" Gray broke off mid sentence, surprised. He didn't recognize the guy standing in front of him, which was fairly unusual, but there was something familiar about his face.
"My bad," he said good-naturedly, flashing white teeth in a brief smile. He stuck out his hand. "I'm Jace. Nice to meet you." Gray shook his hand, trying to subtly give him a once-over. He had short blue hair that was so light it was almost white. His eyes were dark and friendly, a heavy contrast to his pale skin, and he wore jeans and a plain white t-shirt.
"I'm Gray," he said. "Sorry about that." He paused. "I haven't seen you around before." Jace smiled again, making Gray stare. His teeth really were white, and straight. Gray wondered how you got teeth that perfect.
"Yeah, I'm just looking for someone. Maybe you know–"
"Hey, Ice Princess! Let's have a fight!" Natsu roared across the guild, interrupting Jace. Gray gritted his teeth.
"Sorry, I have to go bash that idiot's skull in," he growled, already walking away. As he went he shed his shirt. "You damn Flame Brain! I'm going to crush you!"
Mira watched from behind the bar, amused. "Sorry about them," she said to Jace. "They're a bit hot-headed. Can I help you?"
Porlyusica watched Juvia gravely, not missing the way her hands were twisted together nervously in her lap or the sad distance in her dark eyes. "Actually, it's Juvia's fault," she explained, with a short, self-deprecating laugh. "Juvia is disappearing because the rain stopped."
"What rain?"
"The rain produced by Juvia's magic. That's why Juvia is known as the Rain Woman." A faint sort of nostalgia crept stealthily into her voice. "Before Juvia joined Fairy Tail, she was very, very alone. Except for the rain. It always rained around Juvia. Did you know, before Juvia met Gray-sama, she didn't know what sunlight looked like? Because all she had ever seen were cloudy skies and rain, always the rain. Her magic produced some sort of side effect, and so she was kept safe by the magic rain."
"So you have to be constantly rained on by this 'side effect'?" Porlyusica asked, leaning forward. Juvia shook her head.
"Juvia probably would have gotten sick and died if that were true. Occasionally stepping out into the rain is enough to replenish Juvia's body." A pregnant silence filled the hollow tree. Porlyusica closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead tiredly.
"So?" she said finally. "What's the problem?"
"You see… Juvia is too happy to make the rain fall." Juvia bit her lip, begging her tears to stay put. Why cry over something that had brought her so much joy?
Intense red eyes opened and stared into deep blue ones. "I was afraid it was something like that," the old woman sighed. "You won't make it rain, not even to save your life? There's no Fairy Tail in the afterlife, you know."
"It's not a matter of will or will not. Juvia has tried, once, to bring the rain," the girl mumbled, dropping her gaze to her feet. "Around the time of the Grand Magic Games, she thought it might be helpful to be able to call the rain at will, so she tried. And it wouldn't come. She spent hours, sitting on the grass behind Fairy Hills, attempting to make it rain." A bitter smile snaked across her lips. "In the end, Juvia couldn't summon even a wisp of a cloud."
Porlyusica stared again at the girl sitting across from her. She was born with water magic that guaranteed you either a long life of misery or a short one of joy. "What a curse the gods have bestowed upon you," she whispered, too softly for Juvia to hear. Silence fell between them once again.
"Well," she said, louder, "I'll–"
"Porlyusica-san…" Juvia interrupted, "Juvia is deeply grateful that you have offered to help Juvia, but…" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly, her eyes opened and she spoke. "Juvia doesn't want to worry about this. You see, the time Juvia has spent with Fairy Tail – with Gray-sama – is the greatest happiness Juvia has ever felt in her whole life. She wouldn't trade it for a thousand years of life if it meant living it alone." As the words spilled out of her mouth, her eyes lifted to meet Porlyusica's steadily. "Juvia doesn't think she is cursed. In fact, she believes she was blessed. Juvia has gotten so much time with the people she loves more than anything else in the world. To Juvia, that is what matters the most."
Porlyusica's stern, uptight expression softened into one that could almost be described as compassionate. "You say that, but why are you crying?"
"What?" Juvia lifted her fingertips to her cheeks. They came away wet. "Juvia is… Why?" Her vision began to blur, and she let out a weak chuckle. "That's strange… Juvia never meant to cry… How is it that she is? Juvia really…really…meant what she said."
"Sometimes, your body will tell you things your mind cannot," Porlyusica mused, almost talking to herself. "Even if you really think that this is okay the way it is, that you're ready to let go, part of you isn't." The woman in front of her faded to patches of color. Juvia wiped her eyes, but the tears wouldn't stop. She sniffled and buried her face in her hands.
Humans, Porlyusica thought to herself. Always so emotional. It's disgusting.
Hesitantly, she reached out and gave Juvia's back a sharp pat. "What…" Juvia looked up to see Porlyusica pointedly turn her gaze away, looking almost guilty. This simple gesture only made Juvia cry harder. Huge tears slid down her cheeks and pooled at her chin, dripping from there to the floor. A puddle formed between her feet. "Juvia really wanted…to stay with Gray-sama a little longer," she sobbed. "One week…one day…even one minute more than this!"
"Don't give up just yet, girl," Porlyusica commanded, standing so abruptly her stump tipped over. "I won't let you vanish so easily!" She turned her back on the bawling Juvia and paused. Her lips pressed together into a thin, nearly invisible line. Her shoulders pulled back and taught, and she swept to her table. "I'm going to save you, so stop crying," she snapped, sorting through the herbs she had already picked to pieces in hopes of an answer. She brushed them all to the floor in one quick motion and pulled a stack of thick books toward her. "Honestly, humans are such pathetic creatures."
By the time Gray and Natsu's fight had ended in their 3,874th tie, the sun was beginning to set and the guild was mostly empty. Jace had left too, Gray noticed as he looked around. He wondered absent-mindedly if he had managed to find the person he was looking for. Bored, Gray decided to go home.
Not looking where he was going, he ran right into Juvia on her way into the guild. That seemed to be happening a lot lately. Her chin jabbed his shoulder, and he winced. "Sorry," he said. "I wasn't paying attention." His brow furrowed as he looked down at Juvia's pale face. "Are you okay?"
"What?" Juvia mumbled dully. Her eyes seemed to focus and she blinked. "Gray-sama! Juvia is so sorry! She was distracted!" There was definitely something weird going on for her to not have noticed him right in front of her. And her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, as though she had been crying. Her cheeks were flushed, which was unusual too. Her skin was always so white, any color was odd. But recently, her skin had been red a lot.
"Juvia, are you sure everything's okay? If there's something wrong, I'll listen." If she had had any tears left to cry, Juvia would have broken into a fresh round of bawling. Her beloved Gray-sama was worried about her. He was even offering to listen to her problems.
"Ah, but, Juvia is just fine! There's nothing wrong."
"Then why do you look like you've been crying?" Gray asked tensely, grabbing her wrist as she tried to back away.
"Well, Juvia… Um, that is… Earlier, you see, Juvia ate a…a chili pepper."
"A chili pepper," Gray repeated flatly.
"Yes! It was so spicy, her eyes began to water and before she knew it, Juvia was crying," she ad-libbed. "But Juvia is fine now, so Gray-sama doesn't need to worry." She smiled brightly at him.
Gray wanted to punch a wall. She was such a terrible liar, it was almost painful to watch. A part of him was tempted to force her to tell him, but he got the feeling that wouldn't budge her on this. And besides, she'd probably twist it into something weird.
"Well, it's getting late, so you should go home," Gray muttered, brushing a hand over his face. "Want me to walk you?" Juvia nodded eagerly, grabbing his arm and dragging him out the door.
"Juvia would love that!"
The sun had nearly disappeared entirely by then, and the clouds above the horizon were stained red and orange. Juvia watched the ground ahead of her carefully, avoiding spots of fading sunlight. Gray was too preoccupied by counting the many injuries he had received from Natsu to notice. He was sure he had given the pink-haired dimwit more than he had gotten.
The path to Fairy Hills was short, and they arrived at the dorm much faster than Juvia would have liked. Standing at the entrance, Gray yawned as he waved Juvia off, wincing when it pulled on a sore spot. His job done, he turned and started on his way home, thinking about Juvia's face when he ran into her. Her eyes were so empty, like someone had dug around inside and pulled out the hope.
How was that? I was rereading and honestly, I really want to write the whole thing over from scratch. But who knows, maybe that's just me.
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