The Art of Trouble

Chapter 28: Expect the Unexpected

It had been half an hour since Gray and Juvia wandered around the lake, and they weren't able to find Lucy. Gray began to feel worried. Even Lameria could not find her. The latter asked some of her trusted Kanians to go look for the mage.

"Where did you go, Lucy?"
The man had now conflictiing thoughts about his partner's whereabouts, he thought that, if Lucy's momentary disappearance had something to do with their mission, now would not be the right time for it. Meanwhile, the water-mage noticed the man beside her who seemed have a mind that drifted somewhere. She paused for a moment, letting him realize that his absent-mindedness did not go unnoticed by her.

"Is Gray-sama thinking about Lucy?"
This simple question had shocked the man a bit, although, such question may not mean anything else, as they are all friends after all. Besides, Fairy tail had already shared a deep bond that thinking of amorous thoughts at times such as now would be too foreign and inappropriate. Gray initially did not give out any response. He was careful on what would possibly come out from his mouth, though he knew that overthinking would be unnecessary. Not long after, Juvia broke the silence.

"We had been around this lake, trudging along these huge willow roots, as much as Juvia would want to find Lucy, she would also like to have some rest. Lucy is a strong woman,  Juvia is positive that she's fine."
Juvia meant to share her sentiments as of the moment. She, then, recalled of Gray's advice. During those times when they were still together, there have been moments, which Gray told Juvia to avoid speaking her own name, especially when she wants to express herself. In that way, the person who would listen to her would take her feelings seriously. Then, it turned out to be quite effective when she tried it to each of her friends at the guild. Some of them were amazed of how Juvia had changed when she was with Gray. A change she found to be positive. However, up until today, she could not figure out why the man she fell in love with became detached.

"I'm sorry to drag you into this. But, you may go back to the clebration. You know the way, right?"

Juvia's thoughts were inexplicably in battle with Gray's reply. Is he really that worried? It's not like Lucy is truly in danger, is she?

"Ofcourse I'm worried about her too... It' s just that, you should have seen her trained, Gray-sama, that woman... I don't think she doesn't even know how to give-up. She's..."

"like a war machine?" Gray interrupted her, talking about their friend. He couldn't help being amused with the thought of members chatting about their co-members' peculiar bearing. It reminded him of themselves, as they used to hang-out back at the guild, and for a bit, it lighten his mood. Juvia felt relieved by it. She wanted to continue their conversation, as she saw it had released the atmosphere's tension.

"You've seen Lucy trained?"

"Tell me about it. I'm not surprised anymore thinking about that fire-breath when I see her trained. She became like a maniac." Gray chuckled a bit.

"Oh my goodness, that's what I thought the first time I witness one of her training sessions. Sheesh... Maybe the two are really meant for each other."

The last sentence made the ice-mage froze. He can hardly explain how he felt when Juvia mentioned the last part. It was like, he had heard the worst news of all time, or it was like, a boulder was surprisingly thrown out at him. It was utterly disturbing for him.
It took seconds for Juvia to make out the change in his mood, then she immediately stopped laughing.
"Is there something wrong? ..."

"Raven! Edzina..."
It was one of the Kanians who had searched for Lucy. He was instantly told by Lameria to inform Gray that they were able to find Lucy.
"What do you mean?" Gray had still difficulty in understanding Kanian language despite having stayed the island for a long time.
"Luna, Tuum... We found her, " said the man while catching his breath.
Upon hearing so, Gray's feeling become mitigated. He inhaled a breath and further inquired about his supposed missing partner.
"Where's she now?"
"Edzina came back to the celebration. You two can come back as well, Lameria commanded me to tell you so."