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*Juvia pov*
It was today. Juvia was going to tell him today. It was the perfect time after all. The king of Fiore was throwing a grand ball for all the wizards in the games to attend. After fighting wizards and dragons and facing life and death, now seemed like the perfect time to tell Gray-sama her feelings. She looked over herself in the mirror. Erza was putting on make-up behind her and For some odd reason Levy was insisting on just wearing a simple skirt and top instead of one of the many elegant dresses the palace had to offer.
Juvia stared at her reflection. She had finished getting dressed and looked quite cute. She was wearing a dress that was light blue on the bottom and dark blue at the top. Lines of lace separated the two halfs and also bordered the neckline and cuffs. She had a pink ribbon tied around her neck and had on a light blue bonnet to complete the look. It was all for Gray-sama.
Erza looked over and gave a small smile. “Well, someone looks cute.” she chirped as she turned towards Juvia. “Planning on impressing someone tonight?”
Juvia blushed and turned away. She liked Erza for supporting her relationship with Gray-sama. Sometimes it seemed like she was the only one in the guild that did. Her rival in love certainly didn’t support her and Gray being together. After composing herself, Juvia replied, “Yes! Juvia is finally going to tell Gray-sama how she feels!” Juvia brought her fists close to her chest and felt confident.
“Well, I hope everything goes alright.” Erza replied, placing a hand on Juvia’s shoulder. “But for now, let’s just enjoy the party alright.” and with that, she led Juvia outside the dressing room.
The party was simply grand. Wizards were everywhere, talking and eating and just having a good time. Juvia scanned the crowd for Gray but couldn’t seem to find him. Instead, she ran into Lyon.
“Why if it isn’t my sweet, sweet Juvia! How elighted I am to see you.” Lyon bowed and looked up to see Juvia’s face. Juvia was stunned and somewhat creeped out.
“L...Lyon-kun! What a pl...pleasant surprise. Juvia wasn’t expecting to see you.” She stuttered. Lyon got a twinkle in his eyes, clearly satisfied for making the water mage flustered.
“I must say Juvia, you look beautiful. Would you care to dance?” He said as he held out his hand. Juvia stared at it and cringed. She wanted Gray-sama not Lyon-kun.
“Umm.. Lyon-kun, Juvia’s flattered and all but… um...” Juvia took a pause, scanning the crowd to find some sort of inspiration for an excuse. Her eyes settled on littled Wendy who was staring longingly at the sweets. She then quickly turned back to Lyon and almost shouted, “Juvia promised to dance with Wendy first.” And with that she ran to the young mage, snatched her up, and ran with her to the opposite end of the dance hall, leaving a befuddled Lyon behind.
“Juvia! What are you doing?” Shrieked Wendy as Juvia put her down on the opposite side of the room. Juvia couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed, seeing that she caused a bit of a scene. Luckily she still didn’t see Gray so at least he didn’t see.
“Sorry Wendy.” Juvia said as she rubbed the back of her head. “Juvia is on a mission for love and just needed to lose a tiny obstacle in her mission.” Wendy smiled at that comment and took Juvia’s hands.
“Well, good luck Juvia!” and she gave a big smile. Juvia smiled back and the young wizard walked away, back towards the sweets. At last she saw him. Her Gray-sama. She ran up to the mage who was currently stuffing his face full of meat. ‘Wow he is so cute even when his mouth is full.’ She walked up behind him and prepared her confession. She was finally going to tell him that she loved him.
“Gray-sama…” Gray turned at Juvia’s voice and gave her a questioning expression. Juvia continued talking. “Juvia is entering a new era and has become version 2.0!” She said with a proud smile.
“What are you like a robot?”
“Juvia just wants to say…” Here it came “I love you Gray-sama!” and she leapt towards the ice mage, expecting a giant hug. Instead, she met with the floor.
“I don’t.” came from the wizard who had just move a few feet away from her. Juvia had never seen that look on his face. He looked completely un-Gray like. He was angry with her. He continued to speak. “I am also entering a new era. From now on I’m going to be brutally honest about things I don’t like.” Juvia was on her knees in front of the man she loved. He didn’t love her. He would never love her. The truth was finally setting in. He had to be so harsh with his words in order for her to understand. But why, why was this happening? Gray-sama was supposed to be different. He had shown her the sun. He was different…
She didn’t realise it as small tear drops began to form around her eyes. She was still on her hands and knees and Gray couldn’t see her face. She wanted to say something, say that he was dreamy and not give up, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“You… you were supposed to be different.” She said in an almost whisper. With that she slowly got up, keeping her eyes down and walked away. She pushed through the crowd of happy, dancing mages and up the stairs. She wiped streaks of tears from her face. They were coming down uncontrollably now as she face her reality of always being alone. She had walked back into the dressing room that she had, just a few minutes earlier, felt so happy in. It made her sick. How could she possibly ever be happy? She was the emotionless rain woman. Happy was not part of the equation. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. It was pathetic. She angrily grabbed the bonnet off her head and threw it to the ground. How dare she look pretty! She let out a yell and started ripping her dress to shreds. She hated it. She hated it! She flopped down on a couch and burst into tears. She couldn’t keep it inside of her anymore. Her dress was destroyed, she was all alone, and worst of all, she had a feeling in her gut that told her that Gray really did die. Not just die, but die for her. But for some reason, that future never happened. She wanted to talk about it but now he hated her. She continued to weep until a familiar sound perker her head up.
Rain.
The familiar, comforting sound of the rain that followed her everywhere had finally returned. Drip, drip, drop.
*Gray pov*
He wasn’t expecting her to walk away. For some odd reason, the sight of getting rid of her left a hollow feeling inside him. Sure he got what he wanted, but part of him was upset that she didn’t try to kling back onto him. Had he grown to like it? Gray wasn’t sure and tried to push the event from his mind. He was just going to enjoy the rest of this party. But then a feeling of guilt hit him as he tried to turn his back. What had she said? ‘You were supposed to be different. That was what she said’. Gray thought to himself. ‘Different. What about me is different. I’m nothing special, just an ice wizard who can’t seem to hang onto the people I love. Mom, dad, Ur…’ Gray had accidentally walked over to where Erza was pulling cats out of her breasts. Weird. Seemingly satisfied with her work, the redhead turned around and was face to face with Gray.
“Hello Gray.” She said with a smile. Then as she examined his face, her smile faded. “What’s wrong?” she said sternly.
Gray stared at her thinking of what to say. Had his confusion really shown through to his face? He quickly wiped the look off and thought of an excuse. “Huh? Oh um nothing’s wrong. I’ve just been drinking a it, thats all.” Erza studied him while Gray silently hoped she bought it.
At last, she spoke. “Oh. well if that’s all, I’m glad you are enjoying yourself.” She took a pause as if contemplating what to say next. “By the way Gray, have you seen Juvia yet?” She got him. For a moment the look he had on before appeared again on his face and Erza smirked. “Oh, so you have seen her. Good. What did you talk about?” Erza prodded with a grin.
“None of your business!” Gray snapped back. He didn’t care that he just showed attitude towards Erza. He didn’t want to think about Juvia or where she had run off to. He just walked away and made a vow to distract himself with the rest of the evening. He crossed to a window and looked out into the gardens that also held party-goers. The ball took place in both the ballroom and the connecting garden and that place seemed like the perfect place to go to clear his head. He was about to walk outside when it happened.
Rain.
It came so suddenly. The people outside quickly ran inside to shelter themselves from the sudden storm. The sky was cloudy even though it shown with stars just a few moments ago. The rain was so loud. The sound seemed to be working its way into his brain for some reason; driving him insane. What was wrong with him? It was just rain. He turned from the window and caught a glimpse of Erza running up the stairway and out of the ballroom.
*Juvia pov*
She was still hunched over the edge of the couch, silently weeping when someone came into the room. Juvia was all set to feel sorry for herself and silently leave the party. It wasn’t fun anyways. The rain seemed to keep coming down harder and harder with every tear Juvia shed. That was when someone opened the door.
“Juvia?” a strong voice spoke. Juvia slowly picked her head up, wiped the tears from her face and turned to see who came in the room.
“Erza-san…” she said quietly. Although she was happy to see her nakama, she still couldn’t smile. Nothing would ever get her to smile ever again. Instead she just turned back around and stared out the window.
“Juvia,” Erza spoke again “what happened to you and… oh my gosh! Your dress!” She rushed over to the bluenett and put her arm on hers. She was one of Juvia’s best friends in the guild. How could she not care. But even though Juvia wanted nothing more than to tell her friend what happened… she just... couldn’t. Something about the matter seemed more personal than her previous interactions with Gray. Instead she just got up, turned towards the door and began to leave.
“Juvia’s tired. She wants to get an early start on packing to go home, okay.” And with that she left the room, leaving Erza all alone.
She walked down a dimly lit hallway looking for an exit. At last she stumbled outside, still in her tattered gown and walked back to the inn she and the others were staying at. She collapsed on her bed and immediately fell asleep; ready to forget this day ever happened even though she knew deep in her heart, she would never be able to do that. She dreamed of heartbreak and of Gray. It was the worst nights sleep she had got in a long time and she ended up being incredibly thankful that Laxus came barging in to wake her up.
“Rise and shine princess!” He demanded in his stern voice. “We're hittin the road today!”
“Where were you at the party?” Gajeel questioned. Of course Gajeel would be the one to ask that. He was one of Juvia’s first friends. They had known each other longer than any other guild mate since they both came from Phantom Lord. Of course he would want to know where she went. He continued, noticing her dress, “And what the heck happened to your dress?” Damn. She forgot she was still wearing this piece of trash.
Quickly thinking up an excuse, Juvia replied while putting up her arms in defense, “Uh… Juvia kinda got a bit drunk last night so Erza told Juvia she should go home and rest. Juvia guesses she went through the section of town they’re still repairing after the games and her dress got caught on some rubble. That’s all.” She threw in a fake laugh just to look convincing: like she really was some sort of clumsy drunk. Gajeel didn’t seem to buy it but he didn’t prod any further. When it came to his close friends, Gajeel showed an odd amount of respect. It was nice to think that he cared but even he couldn’t bring her out of this state of depression. She yawned and looked around the room. “Juvia is going to get changed then she’ll meet you outside,” and she hopped down from her bed and walked towards the bathroom.
“What! Don’t make us wait outside! It’s frickin raining!” Laxus protested.
Juvia turned her head and gave him a look that would rival that of death’s and uttered, “Deal with it.” as she slammed the door to the bathroom. She didn’t care if that comment put her on Laxus’ “to kill” list. She didn’t want anyone talking bad about her rain. In a fit of rage, she angrily turned on the water and stepped into the bath. Being in water was just what she needed to clear her head.
*Gray pov*
Just a few minutes before he, Lucy, Natsu, Erza, and Wendy left, the rain cleared up. Just like that it was gone like it never happened. It was strange due to the fact that it had been raining all night. In fact it had begun to rain just after he spoke to… no. It had nothing to do with her. Rain occurs naturally all the time. He had to get the thought of her out of his head.
“Let’s move out! Laxus and his group already left a few minutes ago. We want to arrive back in Magnolia at the same time.” Erza shouted. She hurried us all inside and shut the door. Laxus’ group already left. Juvia was in that group. And the rain just now stopped… no. It was not connected with her in any way. It was just a weird coincidence.
The ride back to Magnolia was slow and annoying. Natsu of course got sick after only traveling three feet and Erza was talking nonstop about training. It was long and he was eager to get back to Magnolia. At last they made it and were greeted by a rain shower. The carriage came to a halt and everyone worked together to haul Natsu’s sick body out of the cart.
“Ugg! Why is it raining when we have to do this?” winned Lucy as she hauled Natsu along. Gray looked at the sky, and felt the delicate rain drops splatter against his face. It wasn’t raining as hard as last night but it was still coming down more than he wanted.
“Here Natsu.” Wendy chirped as she handed the dragon slayer an umbrella she got from the luggage. Gray snapped out of his thought and saw that everyone was now holding umbrellas.
‘Why?’ thought Gray. ‘It’s just rain.’ It was strange but he felt like using an umbrella wasn’t the right thing to do. He didn’t want one.
“Here Gray.” Said the sky maiden as she offered up a blue umbrella. “You don’t want to catch a cold.”
“No, I don’t need it.” Gray protested as he quickly turned around.
“We’d better go meet the other guild mates. They’re waiting for us on mainstreet so we can go out and greet everyone together.” Erza strictly informed. They all started walking and with each step, Gray felt the rain slap his face, as if it was trying to fight him. As if it hated him.
At last they met the others. Gray scanned the crowd and noticed how most of the other mages were also sheltering themselves from the rain. Of course some were claiming that they were too much of a real man to use an umbrella. All in all, it looked the way his guild always looked. But there was still something off. Then he saw it. Juvia was standing away, and off to the side. She was tightly clutching her pink umbrella and was staring ahead; not really looking at anything in particular. She had such a far our look in her eyes. Gray felt a strange tinge of guilt as he looked at her. He turned his head away to try to stop this feeling. Then, he heard the music. It was the ceremony music that the guild was supposed to start walking down main street to. He saw everyone start walking and heard people cheering even though it was raining. He began to walk alone. He didn’t wave or even smile. Gray was too deep in thought to do something like a parade. He looked up and saw that Juvia was only walking a few feet in front of him. He could go up to her… he could talk to her. But for some reason, he didn’t. Instead he found himself walking alone down the street while people cheered him on from both sides of the street. At last they reached where the mayor was standing. Natsu proudly held up the Grand Magic Games Cup for all to see and the mayor began his speech. It was mostly about how honored the town was to have a guild as marvelous as Fairy Tail but Gray didn’t pay much attention. Every so often, his eyes would drift to where Juvia was standing just a few feet away. At last the mayor said something that got his attention.
“...but it’s too bad we have to celebrate your return in this gloomy rain. It would have been much better if it was sunny like the forecast said.” Gray turned his head immediately and saw Juvia snap to attention. Then he saw her look around and whisper something to herself. I’m sorry… it seemed like she said “I’m sorry”. He could only watch as she turned and silently slipped out of the crowd. His face went blank like he couldn’t believe she would leave. Why would she leave. Only a few moments later, did the sky clear. After Juvia had walked a ways away from the ceremony. He stood baffled as everyone around him cheered and clapped. He was too shocked to move. Then everything changed when a hand touched his shoulder and spun him around. It was Erza.
“We need to talk.”
She lead him away from the rest of the crowd to a hill top that looked out over the town. He saw that the female dorms: Fairy Hills, had a dark cloud over them and rain was steadily coming down. No where else in the city was it raining. Erza faced him and spoke with her strong voice that could win over a crowd.
“What did you say to her?” Erza’s eyes shown with a look of both concern and power. Her eyes were staring right through Gray’s that only shone with guilt.
“W...What do you mean.” Gray challenged as he yanked his head away from her stare. Erza put a hand on his shoulder, but it was surprisingly gentle.
“You know what I mean. How could you possibly ignore this.”
Before he knew it, small tear drops were forming around his eyes. “I didn’t think any of this would happen…”
“Tell me Gray. Do you really want her to stay away?” She spoke soft and Gray wasn't sure how to respond. Did he really want Juvia to stay away? Sure she was a pain sometimes but he didn’t not want her to stay away. Gray realised that what he was expecting was for her to fling her arms around him and tell him that she would still love him. He didn’t want her to give up. But why didn’t he see this sooner?
He turned his head back towards Fairy Hills. “I have to fix this.”
“Then go….” and with those encouraging words from Erza, he took off towards the dorms.
*Juvia pov*
She ended up collapsing on her bed and was ready to stay in there the rest of her life. Then she would never have to see him again and be reminded of the pain. She stared at the window and felt a tinge of disgust as the rain drops rolled down the side of the glass. She wanted to stop the rain, but she couldn’t. it seemed like it was always going to be a part of her. As she sat in silence, other than the sound of the rain, a knock came from her door. She perked her head up, thinking that it might be Gray at the door. But it was the landlady reminding her of her rent. Her rent… of course! She could forget about him by spending all her time on jobs. Keeping busy was a sure way to keep her mind off of her loneliness.
She hopped out of her bed and opened the door to her room. She stepped outside to a rain filled sky and hurried down toward the guild hall. She would forget about him. She would find a good job she had to.
“Juvia! Glad to see you down here!” Mirajane said with her usual smile. “We have a bunch of new requests. Just take whichever one you want.”
Juvia scanned the paper filled request board. She wanted to find a good job that was sure to keep her busy, but not one that would be too hard. Finally her eyes laid sight on a particular request.
“Water mage wanted.” She read out loud. The job was perfect. The request stated that it was looking for a talented water mage with help around a busted harbor. It needed someone who could use their water talent to doc huge ships and help keep the tide down and basic stuff like that. She took the request from the board and approached Mira. “I’ll take this one she said.” Even though she was excited to be getting back to work, Juvia’s voice was void of any signs of it. It was as emotionless as she had been in phantom lord. Mira seemed to notice.
“Is everything alright Juvia?” She asked this as she took the request and logged it in the request book.
“Yes.” Juvia lied. “Everything is fine…” She took the paper back and walked out of the guild without saying a word. The job was in a town one hour away by train so she decided that she’d better get moving straight away. She would just keep moving towards her future. She would keep moving away from her pain. Away from everything.
*Gray pov*
He had run across town to be greeted by an empty room. As he made his way across town, he’d been preparing what he was going to say, though none of it was really any good. “I’m sorry Juvia… Please don’t be like this… Let me show you I love you…” They all seemed like pretty bad apologies/confessions. But he figured that once he saw her, the right words would just come out. But, now that he arrived… no one was there.
Juvia’s room was completely empty. She wasn’t in her bed or in the bathroom, or the kitchen. He was too late. In frustration he punched the door frame and hunched over. ‘Why the hell isn’t she here?’ he thought. Then it occurred to him. ‘The guild. Maybe she went down there!’ He quickly stood up and rushed out the door. He was so blind to reality that he didn’t even notice that it wasn’t raining at all around the guild. He was filled with too much hope that he was ignoring the obvious. He burst through the guild doors and quickly scanned the room. She wasn’t there. He checked the entire guild. He ran out to the pool, the gift shop, the upper floor, the archives. She wasn’t anywhere. His head turned to the she-devil.
“Hey, Mira!” He half shouted across the room. Then feeling embarrassed, he crossed the floor and approached her at the counter.
“What can I do for you Gray?”
“Was Juvia in here today? Do you know where she is.” Gray asked. His voice was full of pleading and you could almost see the shattered pain of longing in his eyes.
“As a matter of fact I do. She just left for a job a few minutes ago. Did you need her for something?” Mira could probably see the hurt in his face. “It’s an easy job. She’ll probably be back sometime later today.” She offered. Gray turned away and left the counter.
“Thanks Mira.” He took a seat at the front of the guild hall. He ordered a drink and prepared to wait for Juvia to come back.
***
But she didn’t.
One day later, Gray woke up in his chair. He apparently had fallen asleep in the guild and no one had bothered to wake him up. But, if no one woke him up…
“Mira.” He said as he walked over to the counter. “Did she come back yet?” Mira’s face changed from her normal cheery self, to one of worry.
“Actually no, which is strange. She really should be back by now.” Gray was spacing out. He didn’t know what to do. “Maybe her train got held up.” Mira offered. “Why don’t you wait a little longer… unless you have something important to say.” This news seemed to smack Gray in the face. How could he possibly wait longer? What was that going to accomplish? The longer he waited, the worse he felt. For some reason, he had a bad feeling about everything.
“Where did she go? I have this weird feeling.” Mira grabbed the logbook and check the list.
“Um… let’s see. It looks like she went to The next town over to Monridge town. It’s only about an hour away by train and they leave the station all the time.” Gray felt a tinge of hope as he jotted down the address and began to run out the guild.
“Oi, Gray!” Natsu’s voice rang. “Where the heck do you think you’re going right now? We promised we’d fight today!” Gray pushed past the fire mage and kept his eyes on the door. Natsu wasn’t going to take any of it. He grabbed Gray’s shoulder and yanked him back.
“Knock it off man! I have somewhere important I have to be!” Gray yelled as he shook Natsu off. Natsu held strong.
“No way man! We said we’d fight today and damn it, we are going to fight today.” And with one swell punch, Gray connected his fist with Natsu’s face.
“I’m not in the mood. Get that through your thick head.” He said with a snarl. He then face the door and the same look of worry and longing plagued his face. “I’m running out of time.”
*Juvia pov*
It was so cold. Why did the cold have to hurt her do much? So cold… S..so. c..col..d…
*Gray pov*
Within one hour, Gray arrived at the town where Juvia’s job was supposed to be. He looked around for the harbor. But something didn’t make sense. It was a small town and only had what looked like one boat house. That small shack didn’t look like much. It looked eery and abandoned. This only strengthened his bad feeling. The only thing that confirmed that Juvia was there was the rain that was falling all over town. It was coming down at a steady rate and had the familiar feel of Juvia’s rain that differed from natural rain. ‘Well, the job said that she would be working at a broken harbor…’ Gray thought to himself. It was one of the only things he could say to himself to make him feel more sure about all of this. He walked up to she shack and tried the door.
Locked. Great. He looked around and saw that there were no windows either. The building was made of bricks but the door was wood. He pressed his ear to the door and heard voices coming from inside.
“Hehe. It’s such a beautiful trophy. Looks like we got ourselves our own Grand Magic games cup!”
“How much do ya think it’ll sell.”
“Don’t know. All I know was that she was a crowd favorite and everyone was asking for one!”
“But we only got this one boss.”
“So we’ll give it to the highest bidder. Everyone wants a tribute to this grand magic games champion! Haha”
Gray felt his fist clench and his anger swelled up inside of him. That the hell were they talking about? He froze the door solid and punched it with all his might. Instantly the old wood shattered and he had a direct entrance into the room. Before him was a sight that was too horrible to comprehend fully. There were about seven thugs standing around a table in a room that looked like it belonged in the victorian era. The table was outlined in gold and was made of the finest wood. There were candles along the walls and red velvet couches. The whole room was so bright except for one thing. At the back stood a solid ice figure. It was Juvia.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing ya punk?” One of the men yelled.
“Shit Danny.” Another one yelled. “We’re not prepared to attack. We only had a trap sent for the girl! Who the hell is he?” Gray’s face became dark as he stepped into the room. The temperature dropped and he drew cold excalibur.
“Look out!” one of them yelled, but it was too late. With one slice of his maker magic, all seven of the men lay unconscious on the floor.
“Bastards.” Spat Gray. Then his mind turned back to Juvia. He quickly spun around and looked at the ice that held his dear friend. He ran over to her and laid his hands the ice. He had to melt it right now. He had to be there for her, the way he never was before. He would save her and stay with her…
He had to...
The ice melted around her body and in his arms now lay a limp Juvia. He examined her features, checking to make sure she was all right. Her face was pale but beautiful. Her breath… His eyes widened in panic. She wasn’t breathing! "Juvia!" He yelled, even though he knew it was hopeless. He pressed his lips to hers and tried to give her air. Her body was even colder than Gray's. He couldn't control the tears that were now streaming down his face. "Juvia! Please!" He yelled again, though his voice came out coarse. He clutched tight to Juvia's body and held on to her. He was determined not to let her go.
Outside, the rain finally stopped.
Juvia... She was dead.
***
Nothing in his life was fair…
His Mother…
His Father…
Ur…
Ultear…
Juvia………………. why?
He never even got to say… “I love you.”