Scarlet

Scarlet infused with scarlet. That was all he could see. Scarlet was everywhere, seeping into the ground, soaking into her pale, lifeless skin, drenching her clothes, covering her scarlet red hair, everywhere. –Everyone makes mistakes, but this mistake cost much more than he had anticipated. One-shot. Character death.

(I had no summary for this story :p) In honor of my month belated birthday (April 3rd), Hiro Mashima's birthday (May 3rd) and the return of Fairy Tail to our computer screens, I bring you this one shot, along with whatever else I'm publishing today! So sit back, relax, read and enjoy! Though I must say, this fic will probably depress you. I hope you can find it interesting though.

Happy: Aye! Af1-chan doesn't own Fairy Tail or any other anime. She does own a bubbling stomach due to bad decisions involving ice cream.

Af1-chan: TMI, Happy. TMI.

Happy: *sticks tongue out at Af1-chan* Enjoy!

Scarlet infused with scarlet.

That was all he could see. Scarlet was everywhere, seeping into the ground, soaking into her pale, lifeless skin, drenching her clothes, covering her scarlet red hair, everywhere.

He looked down hesitantly, ever so hesitantly—as if his very mind would snap if he continued to ease his gaze downwards—to where his arms were stretched out open. Scarlet drenched his hands. It dotted his blue hair. How did this happen? This wasn't supposed to happen. He hadn't meant her harm. He only wanted to spend time with her. So how did this happen?!

A violent cough erupted from her pale, porcelain face, along with more of that liquid the color of crimson, which danced through the air before scattering on the ground. His eyes widened in a panic as tears leaked down his face.

"Jellal…" the red head said with a cheery smile, interrupting his daydream.

"H-Hey Erza…" He stuttered, shocked by her sudden appearance. He had been perched on top of a rock just outside of a forest on the outskirts of Magnolia, deep in thought—at least until she had startled him. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." She replied, taking a seat next to him.

"I asked you first." Jellal replied, shifting nervously. His heart began to flutter no sooner than she'd sat down, and he felt his face began to heat. He couldn't let this conversation last too long.

"I was just on my way back from a mission in a village just outside neighboring town." She said.

"Oh really? How'd it go?" The blue haired mage inquired curiously.

"Well, it went along pretty smoothly. I slayed 5 giant hydras and defeated the twin mega vulcans that had been terrorizing the residents for months now."

"Woah…" He gasped, noting what appeared to be a shark tooth necklace with unusually skinny teeth dangling around her neck. Images of the scarlet beauty single handedly cutting down monsters flashed through his head, long, beautiful hair fluttering in the wind, sweat glistening like diamonds off her forehead as she conquered monster after monster…

His eyes widened slightly as he realized what he had just thought and began to panic. This was very bad. He knew the agreement—he couldn't walk with anyone of the light. Yet, with her so close to him right now, it was so, so hard to remember this oath.

"Yep. They threw a ceremony using the Vulcan's blood and gave me this homemade necklace made of the hydras' teeth as a token of gratitude." Erza continued.

"What exactly did this ceremony entail…?" The blue haired man asked hesitantly.

"Well, in a short version, they bathed in the beast's blood. Some of them even drunk it. They invited me to join in, but I politely refused."

How could she say something so abnormal with such a straight face? Jellal thought. "That's… cool."

"Yeah. Well I've answered your question, now you answer mine."

"Oh… I'm just passing through the area." Jellal replied blandly. Though she was definitely entertaining, he was hoping she'd go away; if she stuck along any longer he might just crack and do something he'd regret.

"Only passing through?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, I'm very busy these days. I always have to worry about staying hidden, and it has gotten much more difficult ever since Ultear…" He stopped short of completing the sentence.

"I understand." Erza said, rubbing his back consolingly.

An awkward silence engulfed them, and it drove Jellal mad. Now, he was left in his own thoughts. The thought of her touch. As crazy as it sounds, the back rub was the straw that broke the camel's back. Rather than consoling him, it tantalized his deepest desires. The feel of her fingers on his back was so foreign, delightful and magical, and he wished to have it every day.

"I guess I should be leaving now." Erza said with a hint of sadness, standing up and dusting herself off. "It was nice seeing you, Jellal."

"Yeah… you too…" He said sadly, watching her walk away. There she goes again; that elusive red headed vixen he never could catch. Even when she was right in his grasp, she was untouchable.

He sat in maddening silence once more, staring down her retreating figure as she was halfway down the trail. If just for one day, one day, he could at the very least be in her presence, it would mean the world to him. It shouldn't be like this. Only words would fix this—words he shouldn't say—but before he knew it, he found his mouth forming accursed syllables poised to speak.

"Wait!" He shouted before he could stop himself, standing up abruptly. The woman froze in her tracks and turned around with an eyebrow raised. For a moment, Jellal said nothing, contemplating whether or not to continue on with his statement. Realizing there was no turning back, he continued on, "I can take a break from my duties if you'd like to hang out today…?"

For several seconds, Erza said nothing, both quelling the internal struggle resulting from nearly violating the creed and stirring up bitter, pained emotions within the blue haired mage. Jellal let out a sigh, preparing to tell her to forget he had ever asked, but before he had the chance, beautiful words reached his ears.

"I'd love to." She replied with a smile.

Erza's wheezy breathing was getting fainter and fainter by the second, and yet he couldn't bring himself to do anything for her. He was frozen in shock. He knew no healing magic, and they were so far from the city now. By the time he could get her there, it'd probably be too late. He attempted to pick her up and carry her, making sure to be careful of the lesions on her body, but even still she reacted in anguish. She was still bleeding profusely on the outside, and more than likely internally too.

How could this be happening to his scarlet beauty? It was all his fault. All his fault. He should have done more to protect her. If only he hadn't asked her to spend the day with him, if only he had kept his promise not to walk with someone of the light, if only Erza had just refused him, perhaps this tragedy would not be happening right now.

The two started down the path to the town three miles from the foot of the mountain, laughing and talking as if they did this every day. Jellal suppressed the guilty feeling bubbling in his stomach with the feeling of happiness that he had right now. Besides, this was just friendly interaction, no more, no less.

"Then I shouted, 'Have you no shame?!' and sent Natsu and Gray flying out of the girl's bath." Erza laughed.

"They should know better than to do something so vile!"

"Exactly! They're just lucky they didn't get a total beating!"

The two burst into laughter again.

"So, what exactly will we be doing today?" Erza asked curiously.

"I'm not exactly sure myself. We could see a movie, have lunch, go fishing, you name it." Jellal replied, folding his arms behind his head.

"Going fishing sounds fun." The red head said.

"Fishing it is. We'll have to get some bait and stuff though."

"Never fear." Erza said, ex-quipping into a fishing outfit complete with two fishing poles, bait, and a cooler. "I'm prepared for anything."

"I can see…" Jellal said with a sweat drop.

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Erza inquired.

"Sure." The male said. By this time, they had now reached the base of the mountain and were now walking through a rocky, canyon like area.

"Is this a… um… y'know… a d-d-d-date?" She said nervously, blushing as red as the hair on her head.

"W-Well…" Jellal stuttered. He was already taking chances by hanging out with her, why not take one more? Just for today. Then he could disappear from her life forever. "It is."

Erza somehow turned an even deeper shade of red. "But what about your fiancé?" She asked quietly.

Oops. He kind of forgot he had told her that. "We aren't engaged anymore…" He explained.

"Oh wow… I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I realized that she really wasn't right for me." He said with a smile.

He extended his hand nervously, and Erza took it delicately, sending tingles up his arm. They walked in comfortable silence for what seemed like an eternity, just enjoying each other's company.

After a long while, Jellal decided to speak. "It's strange, Erza. You'd think this wouldn't even be possible, and yet it feels as if it'd been this way all along."

Erza opened her mouth to reply, but instead grabbed him and leapt wildly away from where they had been standing. The two regained their senses in just enough time to witness a grenade like ball landing on the spot where they had previously been standing, instantly exploding into a mess of fire, electricity and shards of metal. Some of the heated shards managed to scratch them, but thankfully they managed to dodge the brunt of the blast.

The two hopped to their feet and surveyed the area for any sign of the intruder, but to no avail.

"Show yourself!" Erza commanded.

Rather than a response, a barrage of the circular bombs came raining down on the area. Jellal spawned a gigantic shield around them just in the nick of time, protecting them from the bombs that rained down around them. The blue haired mage knew these had to be bounty hunters after his head, and if Erza got hurt, it'd be all his fault.

"Erza, you have to go." He said, making the shield around them disappear.

"But Jellal!" She protested.

"No buts Erza! I shouldn't even be with you right now!" He shouted.

Everything that happened next was in slow motion.

He looked away from her briefly, but that proved to be his biggest mistake. Before he could react, he found himself being shoved to the side harshly, just before one of those horrible black balls could strike him directly.

It landed right next to Erza and exploded, sending the explosive elements and metallic shards in every direction. The red headed mage cried out in pain and flew backwards to the ground with a loud thud. Jellal jumped to his feet as quickly as he could and ran to her side, eyes as wide as saucers. The bombs stopped firing and in the back of his mind, he heard the assailant curse and mutter something about hitting the wrong one, but none of that mattered to him. Erza's blood was spilling everywhere, and there was nothing he could do about it.

How did this happen? He had not meant her harm. He had not meant her harm. This was all an accident… This was a bad dream. This couldn't be happening. He had no place being anywhere near her. If only he hadn't defied the creed, if only he hadn't told her to go away, if only he hadn't looked away, if only he had never stopped to think at that stupid rock in the first place…

She gave him a sad, soft smile before violently coughing up blood once more.

Af1-chan: I've never written a Jerza story before, and look I've gone and made it all sad and morbid... I really don't know… Let me know what you think of this! ^.^