By the time Gray had reached his house, the weather had cooled considerably, letting him know the sun was setting. It would only be a matter of time before every rainbow sakura tree in the region would change their colors for this one night out of the whole year. He certainly hoped all of his friends were in a position to witness the splendor, regardless of where they'd find themselves at the time.

Despite all the unexpected delays and obstacles, he really couldn't say he was disappointed with today. The original plan may have been to spend the day with everyone together, but he'd enjoyed his brief time with Juvia today. It's been a while since he'd hung out with someone outside of his usual circle. He's gotten far too comfortable being around just Lyon and his team, who knew of all his needs and quirks and mannerisms. This day had proven, to him at least, that he was ready to venture beyond the safe familiarity of his closest friends.

He couldn't deny there'd been some tension in the beginning, mostly from his own worries of the position he was putting Juvia in, should something trigger one of his anxiety responses. Keeping their focus on an important objective had certainly helped. There was no occasion for awkward silence, nor mindless chatter; but a single-minded purpose, a goal to seek after. He'd had no time to worry or fear. Then, when his sight had left him, she had been surprisingly patient as he'd instructed her in being a guide, and very receptive to his occasional need for distance, and for silence so he could stay oriented.

It was nice learning he could have such a connection with someone, without them having to know every sordid detail of his recent past to understand how to interact with him. It gave him hope that he really could return to a normal life one day.

Bypassing the front porch, he made his way to the arbor, shuffling along the gravel path towards the sounds of the koi pond. Finding his usual spot with no problem, he gratefully sat beneath the tree, leaning against its sturdy support, releasing barely a hiss as the movements pulled against the burns. He may come to regret this choice of seating later, depending on how difficult rising again may be. Too late now. He was more than ready to sit and relax for a bit. This really has been a taxing day.

As he leaned back against the tree, he felt as Joy scrambled off his shoulder. She probably couldn't resist finally being able to run about in a wide open space. He'd have to remember to reward her for all her good behavior today.

For now, he simply wanted to relax to the sounds of flowing water. There were some new aromas in the air tonight. Lyon and he had recently been making a game of whether he could tell what flowers were blooming through scent alone. With so much variety, there seemed to be something new every couple of weeks. The soft breeze wafting through the leaves brought the scent of the blossoms to him, along with a refreshing coolness that he would miss in the later months. He smiled as he heard a soft chirp nearby. It seemed the frogs and toads were finally returning, and had found his pond to be a welcoming retreat. As in times past, so long as they left his fish alone, he'd leave them be.

He soon detected a very faint purr nearby, followed by a low, barely discernible snore. Seems like Joy had bedded down for another nap. That was kind of a let down. Usually she'd crawl into his lap and let him cuddle with her as she dosed. He hoped she wasn't outgrowing that. Did cats go through a rebellious teenage phase? He just hoped she wouldn't want to start wandering off on her own, staying away for days at a time, making him worry.

…

Great. He's become one of those parents.

To his delight, she gave a much louder purr, before rubbing against his thigh, pawing at him before leaping into his lap, nudging his hand incessantly as he tried to pet her. She meowed a few times, demanding some kind of attention. Was she hungry? He probably still had some treats in one of his pockets. That should tie her over until Lyon comes home.

In all the distractions around him, the sounds, the smells, the non stop purring, it took him a while to notice the soft snoring sound hadn't stopped, and that it was decidedly not coming from Joy, who was still on his lap, but from slightly to his right, within the herb garden.

What?!

There was someone sleeping in the garden?!

'Maybe that's why Joy's so agitated.'

"Who's there?"

No answer, other than more of those barely audible snores. He didn't feel threatened. Having gone without sight for the last few hours, he probably had enough ethernano stored away for at least a lance or two. If he really needed to move, he was sure he could force himself, and would suffer a berating from both Wendy and Porlyusica later for the attempt. At least he will have put up a decent enough fight to earn their rebuke.

But if he could cast a spell, that meant he could see as well. He just wasn't sure if he had enough juice to do both. He knew a full night in darkness allowed him a few hours worth of magic, but it hasn't been that long since he started building up his reserves again. What a decision: To see, or to fight? His instincts, however, weren't telling him to gear up for battle, and Joy didn't seem afraid at all. She's always been a good judge of character.

Decision made, he removed his sunglasses, pocketing them as he opened his eyes. After a few seconds, he felt no sudden pull of magic into his eyes. It was too dark where he was to activate them. That was something no one had considered yet. He'd have to see about installing some solar powered lights back here or something. Sighing in resignation, he mulled over all his other choices. For all he knew, a drunk had wandered into his backyard and passed out in his garden. Or maybe it was a stray animal, a dog or another cat. He wouldn't be adverse to that at all. But he was never going to be able to rest easy until he figured out what was sleeping just a few paces from him.

Mind made up, he braced himself for a painful rise, and used the tree to pull himself up the best he could. As soon as he was able to get on his knees, the task grew easier, and he was able to climb to his feet after a few minutes. Breathing heavily, he prayed silently that he'd not have another reason to do that again, at least for tonight. At least he was ready to face whatever was there on his own two feet.

Pulling his cane out of a pocket, he used it to pick his way forward, shuffling across the gravel path which separated the pond from the garden. Joy followed along, beating him to his target, sniffing at the strange yet familiar creature. Gray used his cane to gently tap the still slumbering being, moving it softly along its contours to try to divine who or what it was. He could tell right away it was too small to be a human. An animal then.

Breathing a slow, steady breath in and out, he readied himself to crouch down, hoping he wasn't about to prod at a rabid dog with no way to evade it quickly. He still had his ice, though, so…

Grimacing as he kneeled, he reached a hand out, tentatively feeling along the ground until he came upon a long, furry tail. It twitched but remained still. Feeling along the tail, he found the body, gently prodding it, finding his way to the head. He stopped, perplexed to find what felt like a seam… with a zipper.

No way! It couldn't be!

Finding the creature's head, he very quickly confirmed who was here, to his great delight.

He stifled a giggle, mostly because it hurt to laugh at that point, but also so as not to startle the little guy. Softly petting his fur, he smiled as he whispered, "Frosch."

Sure enough, the cute frog-pajama-garbed exceed from Sabertooth had fallen asleep in, of all places, Gray's backyard. But why was he here, and how had he even found his house? No one from Sabertooth had ever been here before.

The young cat snorted, murmured something unintelligible, and rolled onto his back, kicking his feet a little as he got more comfortable.

Gray smiled brightly as he carefully maneuvered around to take a seat next to him. Finding the patch of leaves he was sitting on rather soft, he chose to surrender to his fatigue and laid down, figuring Lyon could help him up as soon as he got home. At least the wait wouldn't be too long, now that their missing quarry has been found. As soon as he'd call them, he was sure the whole crew would race all the way here. He should have them stop for take out on the way.

Feeling along his side, he easily found Frosch again, still sleeping. He never realized the cat was such a heavy sleeper, but he'd had a long day of walking all over the countryside. No wonder he was so tired.

Joy brushed against his hand as he was still petting him, nudging him a little, purring and rubbing against both his hand and Frosch's head. At least she was happy to share. They heard him give a hushed snort, and Gray paused in stroking his fur, wondering if they'd woken him.

"Frosch, you awake, buddy?" he whispered.

Frosch blinked his eyes open, yawned, stretched, kicked his feet a little, and rubbed his eyes as he said, "Rogue sounds funny."

Snickering a little, Gray replied, "You got the wrong guy. It's Gray. You're at my house. Rogue's been looking for you."

"It's not gray."

"Pardon?"

"Rogue's house. It isn't gray."

"*snicker* No, I'm Gray. Guess you can't see me either."

"Fro thinks so, too."

"How'd you end up here, anyway? Everyone figured you'd stick around the festival."

"Festival?"

"The Hanami Festival. When all the rainbow sakura blossoms change color? That's what all the excitement's about."

"Fro likes rainbows."

"Yeah. Rainbows are nice," he replied wistfully, "So if you didn't go to the festival, what'd you do all day?"

Gray heard as the young exceed rolled over, climbing to his feet, and stumbling as he found his way in the dark to his position. He felt as he shuffled his feet and paws, finding it hard to climb into his lap, which he found both endearing and curious, since he was usually quite agile. Grinning softly, he picked the cat up from the scruff of his pajamas, much like he'd do with Joy, and placed him on his chest, away from the burns. Frosch plopped himself down, lying face up, staring at the few stars which now lit the night sky.

They both laid there, one atop the other, staring off into the cool darkness, listening to the far off sounds of music and excited chatter in the distance. Gray heard Joy as she pounced about whatever herbs they'd all found themselves in. She was really enjoying herself tonight, skittering to and fro, batting at the foliage, rolling in the bed of soft plants. Gray would swear she was trying to show off for their surprise guest. It wasn't often she got to hang out with her brother. Or cousin? Hmm.

He brought a hand up to lay it beneath his head, trying to get comfortable, and used his other to softly pat Frosch's belly, receiving a little giggle in return. He paused when soft paws grasped his hand, seemingly playing with the fingers, as if they were something new and interesting to him. This was no bother, as it's long been established that children and animals were not perceived as threats to him, and Frosch pretty much fulfilled both categories. Still, this was an odd fascination he was showing. It was still pitch black out, so there's no way he could see the scars, nor could he feel them through the material which covered his own paws. He wondered if he did this with Rogue, too. Deciding to ask the slayer later on, he smiled before repeating his question from before.

"So what did you do all day?"

"Fro protected his friend."

"...?"

"... Your friend?"

"Mmm hmm. And followed him home."

"You followed your friend home… to my house?"

"All the way here… Your house isn't gray, either."

Gray furrowed his brow, wondering why Frosch kept confusing the concept of his name versus a color. Did he even know who he was talking to? Did he not recognize his voice? He understood very well how difficult it could be to identify people in the dark. He'd known Frosch was very trusting, but to make himself so comfortable in the presence of a person he hadn't yet identified? And who was this "friend" he was talking about? He didn't lead some stranger to his house, did he? But Frosch couldn't have known where he lived.

"Wooooow! It's so pretty!"

"…?"

"What are you—"

Before he could get the question out, he felt that sudden influx of power, averting his eyes just in time. Everything around him was now visible, revealed under the soft glow of multitudes of colors.

The blossoms of his young rainbow sakura tree had finally changed, and what a sight to behold. Gray gingerly lowered his hand, blinking his eyes as they adapted to the dim lights, and looked all around. The whole backyard was awash in so many colors. Joy had come to a stop, plopping down in a patch of herbs to his side, gazing at the tree in wonderment.

Gray, finding the pain worth it, forced his body up so he leaned on his forearms, Frosch being very cooperative in sliding into his lap, and looked at the koi pond. The small grin on his face broadened as he took in the many colors reflected in the pool of water underneath the tree. It was breathtaking, a masterpiece even Reedus would be hard pressed to capture so perfectly.

In the back of his mind, he was now grateful he'd chosen to come home. This one lone tree, with its small expanse of foliage, was easy to take in compared to that massive conflagration of confusion from before. That had only been a pretender, covered in bits of metal and glass. He couldn't imagine how being surrounded by massive examples of the real thing would have affected him.

But this was something he could easily handle, and he was especially pleased to have someone to share it with. He was awestruck, and excited to be able to experience what he'd long been resigned to never seeing again. He'd have to tell Wendy all about this when she came over with the others. She's been especially eager for him to see the blossoms change this year.

That reminded him. He really needed to call the others to let them know Frosch was safe.

"Why is Gray here?"

'So Frosch finally figured out who I was?'

With just a small struggle to pull his attention away from the beautiful sights above, he faced his companion to answer… and dropped in shock and surprise by what he saw.

As he tried to catch his breath after having it knocked out of him, all he could get out was, "Holy crap, what the Hell is wrong with your eyes?!!"

While he continued to recover from the pain and shock from the sudden drop, Frosch just sat on top of him, not fazed at all by the outburst, and continued to stare with his head tilted a bit to the side, looking at Gray as if nothing else in the world could hold his attention.

With eyes black as the deepest pit, no white to be seen.

Gray turned his head to the side, finding Joy had curled into a tight ball, sound asleep. He tried to nudge her, but she wouldn't respond. She was out cold.

Looking around, he set his analytical mind to work, remembering every detail of this strange encounter. In mere seconds, he knew what was going on, and he laid his head back, closing his eyes in defeat. With how exhausted he already was, all he could do was call his friends and hope they could deal with the situation. As much as he's preferred the darkness recently, he would have known right away what was going on had he had sight from the beginning.

Joy's sudden incapacitation, likely due to the same thing which has befallen their exceed companion; Frosch's odd behavior; his confusing his name from the start; his inability to recall how he'd gotten there, save for having led his "friend" here; and the friend, the one he could now recall having sensed its presence when he first arrived, one he hadn't encountered since before he'd lost his sight; and his eyes, so black and deep and mesmerizing. Everything came together in perfect clarity.

"Oh my God… you are so freakin high."

Yes. Looking around, Gray had finally realized where exactly they'd been lying this whole time: In Joy's catnip bed.

Heaving a heavy sigh, he felt as Frosch shifted around, having lost interest in the conversation. He still sat on his lap, body noticeably swaying with the soft breeze, which rustled through the tree, causing loose petals to fall into the pond. Frosch had his arms raised now, trying to catch the errant blossoms, not understanding he was too far away to reach them.

Pulling out his com lacrima, he found Lyon's contact with ease, and proceeded to pat Frosch's head as he waited for his brother to answer. The little frog wannabe started purring. That was something at least.

"Gray, is everything alright? Did you make it home okay? I didn't realize how late it was getting. Are you hungry? You may have to get takeout after all."

"You can call off the search. Frosch is fine… relatively speaking. He's here with me, by the koi pond."

"With you? Did you find him on the way home?"

"No, he was just here, sleeping in the garden."

"Huh. Well, Rogue will be relieved. So Frosch must have realized he was lost, and thought it best to go someplace familiar and wait to be found."

"Hmph! Not even close. He's never even been here before. Best I can tell, he found a frog at some point and followed the damn thing all the way to my house. It lead him to the koi pond. He's been hanging out here ever since."

"*chuckle* At least he's alright. I'll call everyone to let them know."

"Call Wendy first, and have her come right away. Frosch got a bit carried away with the catnip."

"Oh no. How bad is it?"

"His pupils are so freakin blown, his eyes are doorways to the netherworld—" he paused as Frosch rose, stumbling along the grass has he still tried to catch the falling petals, "—and now he thinks he's chasing butterflies or something. You better hurry. If he falls in the pond, he's on his own."

Lyon easily understood what he was implying.

"You can't get up, can you?"

"Some help would be appreciated."

"You could have sat in a deck chair."

"The view's better from here."

Gray could hear the smile in his voice when he replied, "Your sight's returned."

"Yeah… It's so beautiful, Lyon."

Lyon was overjoyed for his brother. There had been so much doubt and heartache these last few days, that hearing such rapturous wonder in his voice was enough to cause him to choke up. He answered, "It sounds amazing. I'm sure all my friends would also like to see it, and since we can call the search off, there's no reason we can't enjoy the rest of the evening as planned, that is if you're up for it."

Gray's first instinct was to encourage Lyon to go back to the Rainbow Sakura Gardens with the rest of the guild and watch the viewing with everyone else. No doubt the great number of trees all aglow must be magnificent. But he knew him well enough to know where he'd much rather be. Celebrations were meant to be spent with loved ones after all.

"It's too late to cook. Bring back some Sevenese for me. The usual is fine. Anyone who wants to come is welcome."

"Okay. We won't be long, so don't hurt yourself trying to get up on your own. Just relax and enjoy the evening. See you soon."

"See ya."

Laying the lacrima aside, he glanced towards Frosch, who had found a perch at the water's edge, and was apparently holding an animated discussion with either the frog he could now see, or the stone cat statue it was sitting on. Likely both. Frosch is always quick to make friends.

Clasping both hands back behind his head, he took Lyon's advice, lying back as he gazed through the shimmering colors of all the branches, seeing the dark sky above. It was very peaceful here, a far cry from the busy noises and shouts of amazement and laughter he'd no doubt find in the Gardens. Soon, Lyon would return with his friends, ALL of his friends, from both of their guilds, he was sure.

He knew the noise would ascend to great heights thanks to Natsu and Toby; and having so many exceeds in the house, along with Joy and a hopefully sobered Frosch, would leave his house in disarray. Erza could certainly do her fair share of chaos, especially if anyone dared come between her and desserts. He debated with himself whether to let the Lamia Scale team know beforehand. Maybe he'd wait and see.

He wasn't sure how long his sight would last. It could even be gone before his friends would arrive. He didn't know how much stamina he still had, but surely a warm meal and some good company would revitalize him. Or maybe the warmth in his belly, coupled by the cheer of his friends, would lull him into a sense of calm and serenity, which tended to bring slumber to him in a way no sleep aid ever could. That was also fine with him. He was looking forward to a good night's sleep.

All in all, it's been a pretty nice day.

SPLASH!!!

…

…

A nice day indeed.

PLEASE READ! -- The first part of this series, "Rescue", was nominated for The Guild Awards on Tumblr for best Action/Adventure. Voting ends after this Monday, August 1st. I'm not sure if you even need a tumblr account to vote, but I'd really appreciate your support nonetheless. You'd have to sign into your Google account to cast a vote, and can do so anonymously. It only takes a second! My category is at the very top.

I'd really appreciate your vote!

And look, we finally found Frosch. Who doesn't like a little visit from our favorite froggy exceed?

Next Chapter: Loren pays a visit, and Gray tries a new therapy.