Fairy Tail Furious

Chapter 42

Gajeel Redfox woke up to the feeling of a pillow falling on his head.

Cracking his rusty-colored eyes open, the twenty-seven year old grabbed the pillow off of his face and sat up from his makeshift bed on the floor of his bedroom. Looking to his left side, Gajeel grumbled at the sight of his step sister still sleeping on the small bed; her blue hair wrapped in a messy bun and wearing a large t-shirt and soft shorts, the young woman pulled her blanket over her head and made a soft whine in her sleep.

Their bedroom was still dark for early morning and Gajeel didn't feel like checking his clock to see the exact time. In their tiny, tiny sized apartment, it was dark and cramped with the bed shoved in one corner and the dresser against the wall on the other side while Gajeel took the floor with extra blankets and sheets to make his own bed. Plain white walls and worn down furniture, it was the usual sight he and his sister woke up to every morning since he was fourteen and she was just seven.

It was thanks to his early growth spurt that he abandoned the single-sized bed to his tiny sibling and make use of the floor.

Seeing her roll towards the wall and make another noise, Gajeel rolled his eyes and nudged Juvia gently. "Hey, squirt. Move your head," he ordered quietly. It wasn't enough to wake her up, but Juvia blindly raised her head from the mattress, letting Gajeel slip the pillow back under to support her head. "Okay, all done, kid."

Juvia's head fell like a pile of lead, sighing sweetly and burrowing her face into the feathery content of her pillow. She made an odd noise that he took as thanks and lightly pat her head. Fixing the blanket to clear her nose and mouth for her to breathe, Gajeel stood up and quietly left the bedroom, closing the door quietly so he didn't wake Juvia up.

After using the bathroom and scrubbing his face to get rid of the sleep, Gajeel stumbled downstairs into the empty bar. Roaming into the kitchen behind the curtain, the muscular man went instantly to the pantry and fridge, opening drawers and the metal door to look for something to eat. After being able to get a couple hours of shut-eye after taking care of Jose and Hades' dirty work of delivering packages the other night and then instantly put to a one-on-one race with an unwanted goon trying to get into town, Gajeel and his sister haven't eaten, slept or took a break for the past forty-eight hours or more. He lost count.

Not wanting to bother Totomaru so early in the morning, Gajeel took the liberty of his pride to find ham and eggs in the fridge and a clean pan on the racks. He really didn't mind making food for himself and his sister, since he used to do it back in the day before joining Phantom Lord and his folks were out and about. Before Juvia's mother passed away when her daughter was three, Gajeel liked it when the only mother-figure in his life took the time to teach him little things that would help him in the future.

Cooking the two slices of ham before cracking the eggs, he faintly heard feet coming down the wooden stairs and approach the kitchen. The curtain being pushed aside, Gajeel was met with the sight of Juvia with half-lidded eyes and pouting lips with a familiar cell phone to her ear.

Gajeel made a soft growl and leaned away from the stove in irritation. However, Juvia gave him a tired smile before turning her attention back to the phone.

"No, Jose," Juvia said seriously, rubbing her eye with her free hand. Gajeel's stare hardened to a dark expression. "No, we have this covered... Yes, he is awake, too. Yes, Jose."

Jose must have cut from Juvia, since she removed the phone from her ear and shut the device off from the call. Sighing tiredly, Juvia leaned her head to the doorframe of the kitchen before looking to Gajeel. "Hades called again. His boss wants us to take out a client of his who was working behind his back with shipments and taking money."

"I should've brought my phone with me," Gajeel grunted sourly. "Sorry about waking you up like that, kid."

"Juvia doesn't mind it."

"What time is it?" Gajeel asked her, crossing his arms with the spatula in one hand.

Juvia peeked to the phone before holding up four fingers, making the taller man growl darkly and mutter curses under his breath. The blue haired racer offered him a small smile. "Nii-chan, it's not that big of a deal. Jose told Juvia that it's just a quick hit and run, and they have a tracker on the car he's trying to escape in. It's all going to be sent to your phone in a minute."

"Feel like the asshat boss of his is just keeping us on our feet all the damn time," Gajeel scowled at her looking at the 'better' of things. "When was the last time you've taken your medication, huh? Or slept longer than six hours? If you keep that up any longer, you're going to break down and probably have a grand mal."

"Juvia feels fine, Nii-chan," she assured him, standing up from her spot at the door and step further into the kitchen, a sleepy smile on her face. Reaching up, Juvia looped her arms with Gajeel's muscular bicep, snuggling her head against his arm. "Nii-chan can finish making food while Juvia gets the car ready, okay? Afterwards, we can come back and make pancakes for everyone."

"You and your pancakes," Gajeel huffed, checking the ham and eggs before adding pepper to them. "You're going to sleep when we get back. Sue will take your shift at bar tonight so you can rest up."

"Toto-sensei has a test for Sue-chan to take, and she still needs to study," Juvia reminded him before letting him go. "Juvia doesn't mind, Nii-chan. It's just for tonight, and Juvia will take longer breaks."

"Tch, it's not gonna do ya any good like that, squirt." Gajeel pulled out a plate and set the bread in the toaster. "I'm gonna talk to Jose and Sol 'bout giving you time off for a while. This is too much for you to take in without respecting your condition."

"They don't care for Juvia's condition. Nii-chan knows that," Juvia frowned and wacked her brother lightly with the back of her hand on his arm. "And remember that we need to impress Hades and his boss together.Nii-chan is not doing things without Juvia anymore, remember? You promised Juvia not to leave her behind."

Knowing that it was pointless to argue with her any more, Gajeel huffed once more and faced his cooking. "I remember."

"Juvia is going to get dressed and bring Nii-chan a shirt," she told him softly and he listened as she went back to the entrance of the kitchen. "The car will be ready in ten minutes, so bring breakfast on paper towels. Toto-sensei is getting suspicious why his good plates are disappearing."

"Who's the guy we're gettin', squirt?" Gajeel asked quickly before she left. Juvia stopped to think of what Jose told her on the phone.

"Uhm...Jose said that his name was Zancrow?" Juvia shrugged lightly. "Juvia's never heard of him before, so he must be someone from out of the city."

Juvia left the kitchen to go back upstairs, missing her brother's reaction of his back stiffening and his hands freezing midair from finishing breakfast. The toaster popped and the scent of burning ham made Gajeel quickly shut off the stove and remove the pan quickly to reduce the chance of fire as vivid memories flashed through his mind.

Once he figured heard Juvia's steps on the floor above him, the racer let out a strangled breath before shaking his head. He had heard of Jose's plan of an upcoming pack of races Jason was organizing with a private investor, wanting him and Juvia to take part, but with Sue, Boze and Totomaru to get involved in it, too...

"Can't be Acnologia," he growled under his breath. "Jose wouldn't work for Acnologia, even if he had him hanging by the neck. The fuck is Zancrow doin' here?"