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The contrast between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord surprised Juvia even before she switched guilds. For many years, Phantom Lord was the only home she had. The only place where Juvia was accepted and appreciated for her magic. But Phantom was a place filled with anger.
In Phantom, you had to earn your rank; had to fight for your place in the guild. Jose didn’t tolerate weakness or failure. A member of Phantom Lord needed to constantly prove to their guildmates and Master Jose that they belonged there.
For Juvia, someone who had nothing and knew nothing of how a proper family operated, thought Phantom Lord would be the closest she ever came to having a family of her own.
Looking back, now coupled with her acceptance into Fairy Tail, that belief seems so depressingly foolish. Guilds shouldn’t feel like constant pits of despair. The members shouldn’t need to fight one another for missions or their right to belong.
Or maybe Fairy Tail is the outlier and all other guilds function similarly to how Phantom Lord had.
That is to say, the love Fairy Tail has for its members, the love Juvia so desperately craved for herself, seemed too good to be true. She even briefly wondered if Fairy Tail just put on a convincing act for the public. Any doubts she had, Juvia cast away at the Tower of Heaven.
Joining Fairy Tail had been a simple enough endeavor. Juvia expected resistance or old rivalries to rear back up. But Mirajane welcomed her in with open arms and Master Makarov was quick to accept her presence. Even the other guild members, who only knew her as her role as part of Phantom’s Element Four never held her past against her.
Even her beloved Gray, with whom she harmed the most outside of Lucy, was glad to see her join their ranks. And Lucy, for all her attempts at stealing Gray away, never made Juvia feel out of place or unwelcomed.
In fact, the celestial mage was quickly becoming one of her closest friends. Not that she would ever admit that to her love rival. Keep your friends close and your potential love rivals closer and all that….
She knew Gajeel’s presence would ruffle some feathers. Her dearest friend had not only destroyed the previous guildhall but had strung up several Fairy Tail members after he brutalized them. She expected the rest of her guildmates would either warm up to Gajeel or become used to his antics.
Not that the iron dragon slayer made any efforts to improve his image in the eyes of Fairy Tail. Juvia understands what it’s like to be viewed and judged by a single defining moment. The orphans judged her for the magic she couldn’t control. After so many times of their judgmental stares and harsh whispers, Juvia conceded to being the dreary rain woman they all viewed her as.
In Gajeel’s case, Master Jose wanted a violent attack dog for Phantom Lord. Someone as very name struck fear into the heart of all who heard it. Something to compete with the growing powerhouses of Fairy Tail. Gajeel, and by extension the Element Four, fit that description nicely.
Juvia doesn’t know much about Gajeel’s life before Jose came along and recruited him. But if it’s anything like hers, then Phantom was probably the best option in a sea of horrible choices. At least they belonged there. At least people needed them, even if they were never a proper family or doing good deeds.
Juvia and Gajeel had formed a tight bond during their time at Phantom. Juvia was most likely the only person in a long while to see the good buried deep inside Gajeel. It’s why she fought so hard for Gajeel to join Fairy Tail. It’s why she begged the dragon slayer to join her here.
They could be so much more than Phantom’s lapdogs. They could gain a family here.
Gajeel joined and despite the rocky start, Levy’s allowance of his presence stopped most of the friction. If the person Gajeel hurt most could tolerate him in Fairy Tail, the rest of her guildmates would follow. And they had made some progress.
Mira and Erza regarded Gajeel with interest not disdain. Gray kept his emotions to himself, but Juvia knew him well enough to see his rage at Gajeel’s admittance fade with Levy’s approval and Juvia’s own defense of the dragon slayer. And Natsu still tried to fight Gajeel, but from Juvia’s understanding, Natsu does that to anyone willing to fight.
Which is why the Thunder Legion’s intense hatred of both her and Gajeel cuts so deep. Juvia could understand if they were close to either Levy or Lucy, in the same way she understands why Jet and Droy haven’t forgiven Gajeel. But the Thunder Legion regarded Levy as weak for falling victim to Phantom in the first place. In fact, they seem to view anyone not in their team as lesser than.
The whole thing reminds Juvia of Phantom Lord. She keeps that tidbit of information to herself, Laxus would strike her down on the spot just for insinuating it and water bodies don’t really hold up well against lighting.
She never thought Fairy Tail would ever remind of her time with Phantom Lord or even the time before all of that. The way the Thunder Legion looks at her reminds her so much of the orphanage. Juvia is truly surprised no dark clouds have caused a downpour yet. Hopefully Gray truly did keep her rainy days away.
Still listening to Freed reveal the truth of his magic, of how the only way out is for Juvia to strike Cana down or vice versa. It’s the confidence in which Freed speaks, like he has no doubt Juvia would backstab her guildmate; like Juvia’s been tainted by her time in Phantom Lord.
Is this how the rest of Fairy Tail feels? Are the rest of her guildmates just pretending to trust her and are biding their time for when her betrayal will come?
Juvia can feel the tears that threaten to spill in her eyes. She tries to keep her face passive in an attempt to stop Freed from seeing just how much his words hurt her. Juvia is so caught up in her thoughts, hearing gloomy whispered over and over in her head, that she almost misses Cana defending her.
How can two people with opposite opinions be so assured they’re right about the same thing? Will Cana sway Freed with her words or will Cana be moved by his? Juvia would rather lay down her own life than strike a friend.
It’s not fair! She’s finally found people who love her, people who want her for more than just her magic and someone who doesn’t even know her wants to rip it all away. There has to be another way out. A back door of some kind? But there’s nothing of note. The box around them goes all the way up to the clear blue sky… where a shiny lighting lacrima floats patiently waiting to be activated.
Juvia can barely hear Freed yell, “Everybody will end up despising you!”
Or maybe it’s her own subconscious screaming at her. It’s hard to tell. Either way, Juvia ignores it as she focuses on calculating her path to the sphere. If she propels her water body just right, she can strike the lighting lacrima with all her might.
She trusts Cana will handle Freed and any other threats to their guild.
Her face hardens as she shoots forward. Her body bounces across the walls of their prison but Juvia reaches the top with ease. Cana begs for Juvia to return down; to not injure herself like this. From the corner of her eye, Juvia can see Freed standing frozen in place and watching her with confusion.
‘You misjudged me’ Juvia thinks just as she hits the lacrima.
The pain is completely worth protecting Cana.