7th Chapter

Gray Fullbuster awoke to the sound of Deliora's last roar. He sat up and looked around, catching sight of a group of mages who stood in a lose circle. Somewhere behind him, someone coughed and he looked over his shoulder to see a young woman with long brown hair that fell over her shoulder. She got up and dusted her warm clothes off before she stumbled through the ruins of the destroyed city, uttering curses under her breath.

"You okay, kid?" she asked as she reached him. "Did that demon hurt you?"

"Talking of being okay, Conny," a tall man with reddish brown hair started, "what about you? You took quite a fall after you used that spell, didn't you?"

"Don't worry about me," she said with a carefree smile. "I am just fine, really. How are you?"

"Well, it was one of my better ides to bring the masters," he admitted before he looked at Gray. "I hope you are fine, boy," he said calmly.

"Y-yes," Gray stuttered as he dusted off his clothes. "B-but … U-Ur? Is-is she okay?"

"Milkovich-san will need treatment but she will recover," a blond woman said as she brushed back a strand of her hair. "Cornelia, I would advise that you transfer her over to our guild. According to the last status, our healer should be in and capable of stabilising her."

"W-who are you guys?" Gray asked as he stared at them with wide eyes.

"We are members of three different guilds. Gildarts is an S-class mage of Fairy Tail, Cornelia and I are members of Mermaid Heel and Philippe over there is the master of Zephyr Heart," the woman explained. "My name is Serena Alen, pleased to meet you."

"We are here because Gildarts heard that a demon was active in this area," the black-haired man who carried an unconscious with one arm and an equally unconscious Ur with another stated drily. "Alright, Cornelia, Serena and I will bring this boy and Milkovich-san back to the guild … because they need medical treatment. You can finish off everything here and deal with the officials. Cornelia, if you'd maybe transfer us…"

The brunette woman bit her lip. "Be happy that my magical power just returned far enough for me to use that spell," she sighed before she sent three cards flying and within a flash of light, the four people vanished.

"Don't overdo things, Conny," the man called Gildarts said as he shook his head. "It's a long way back to Magnolia … I guess you wanted to check on the girls before you leave for the next job?"

She smiled before she knelt down in front of Gray. "Say, boy, what's your name?" she asked.

"G-Gray," he replied. "Gray Fullbuster."

"Milkovich-san is your teacher, right?" she continued, purpleish eyes full of wisdom. "Well, I don't want to scare you but … you will have to do a while without her. I am no expert but to me it looked like she lost a generous amount of blood … her leg was always gone, right? She might be in a coma for the next few months or so. Do you have a place to stay for the timebeing?"

"Ur … in a coma?" he asked, pale with terror. "T-that's my fault … I ran off to challenge Deliora."

"Don't sweat it, brat," Gildarts said as he ruffled the boy's hair. "Here goes the deal: you need a place to stay. I guess that Conny can organise you a place in Zephyr Heart because she's on good terms with the master … or I can organise you a place in Fairy Tail."

"Personally, I would say that you might be better off with Fairy Tail," Cornelia said calmly as she patted his shoulder. "This is the guild where our daughters are … and there are more children in general. Zephyr Heart, at the moment, has only a few kids … snobbish ones."

"What … what about Lyon? Where will he be staying at?" the black-haired boy asked.

"Well, Master Philippe won't throw him out. He will surely offer him a place in his guild. He will be taken care off. Guilds are the better options compared to orphanages," the card mage said softly. "I guess … your parents are dead and Ur-san is your guardian?"

He nodded. "Y-yes…"

"I can assure you that our healers will do their very best to make sure that she will recover fast," she said as she rose. "So, um, we should try to catch the next train. Gildarts, be a sweetheart and carry Gray-kun. He looks like he can hardly walk and he played hero enough for today."

Cana was sulking and no one knew why. She had been sitting on her bench all day, had glared at everyone who had approached her and even Mirajane who was usually the one who always picked a fight had backed away after encountering the piercing glare and was currently trying to talk Lisanna into outgrowing her rather short hair.

Juvia who knew her sister better than most people with the exception of maybe Laxus sat on a nearby chair and watched the way Cana glared at the wall. She knew what had upset the brunette girl but she would not share this insight as long as Cana firmly denied that something was wrong in the first place. It had upset the young card mage greatly that Laxus had left for a small solo mission earlier and that he was not back yet.

"Juvia-chan."

The young water mage flinched as Lisanna Strauss approached her, visibly happy about having escaped her slightly overbearing sister. The white-haired girl smiled shyly and wipped back and forth on her toes before she continued to speak. "I … I … would you like to play cards with me?"

For a second, deep blue eyes looked at the still sulking brunette for guidance before Juvia sighed dejected. "Sure, Lisanna-chan," she said. "Juvia would love to play cards with you."

Cana crossed her arms and looked back at the door before she closed her eyes for a moment. This was not like her, this was not like her at all. Usually, she would never complain or sulk when Laxus left for a job but this time, he had forgotten to say goodbye before he her left.

"Cana-san?" Elfman Strauss sat down next to her. "I was … I was thinking that you might want to go on this job with me. It's an easy one, just to deliver a bunch of letters to another village. If we would leave now, we might be back this evening."

"Don't you usually work with your sister?" she asked as she frowned. She could stand him a lot more than she could tolerate his older sister but usually, she worked with Laxus and he worked with Mirajane. "I really have no interest in staring a fight with her to be honest."

"She does not feel like working today," he admitted.

"Well, in that case, we can do this together," she said as she got up and grabbed her bag. "Master! Elfman and I are doing that letter job, okay?"

The old man nodded. "Have fun and take care, brats!"

Laxus Dreyar was smiling to himself as he walked down the street. His solo job had been successful and he had remembered to get some sweets for Cana and Juvia. The trio shared a big flat because Gildarts had not trusted Fairy Hills with his precious children – and because technically, it had been his own flat and because he was hardly there, he had decided to give it up for his children – and Laxus had moved in after spending most of the time over there with Cana instead of going home to his grandfather.

He had nearly reached the guild when he stopped, his facial expression betraying his surprise. Little, innocent, dolllike Juvia was fighting in the mud with Lisanna, original hair colours impossible to recognise. The takeover mage switched from one form to another but it was obvious that this – as it was water-based – was Juvia's game. He smiled a little wider before he crossed the yard. "Oi, Ju, how about stopping now? Cana will throw a fit and I don't want to have to clean the apartment," he said with a laugh. "By the way, where's she?"

"Cana-chan is on a job with Elf-nii," Lisanna said as she wiped the mud from her cheek. "They left about two hours ago. Cana-chan was unhappy because you haven't asked her whether she wanted to come with her," she added with a grin that reminded him of her sister's smirk.

"Well, I bought her a birthday present so she hardly could come with me," he shrugged. "And she really went on a job with Elfman? Well, that means our rent will be paid without any money from Gildarts and Cornelia-san this month. That's quite alright with me."

Juvia laughed as she skipped over to him. She liked Laxus a lot because he always told her awesome stories about the jobs he had completed so far and this was mostly more interesting than her mother's teachings over battle strategy because as scatterbrained as Cornelia frequently was, she was – if she focused properly – an extremely skilled strategician. "Say, Laxus-kun, can you take Juvia to another town so that she can buy a present for Cana-nee as well?" she asked.

"Sure," he said as he ruffled her muddy hair. "But now, get you and Lisanna cleaned up so that we can go home. Since Cana isn't here, you can choose dinner today."

The young water mage turned around just in time to see the handful of mud flying. A few years later, with better magical control, she might have been able to stop the water part in midair but at this point, she could only gasp as it hit Laxus' face.

The lightening mage slowly wiped it away but the rage in his eyes was barely concealed as he turned his head. "Mirajane," he growled. "You are seriously pissing me off right now."

Magnolia was not the way Gray Fullbuster had expected it. After a full day at the train and countless stories of Gildarts who had protested against an honorific and Cornelia-san who had gratefully accepted it, he had expected that he had a certain idea of the town but to him who had only known the small villages of the North, Magnalio was the biggest thing.

"We are now heading over to the guildhall," Gildarts explained as they walked through a large crowd. "Fairy Tail's a really popular guild so most people worry that they might not get in but usually, if you have a good reason, you can count on being accepted. You will get in because I bring you over and the master owes me big time."

Gray nodded. "Your daughters," he started. "What are they like? I never lived with girls before."

Cornelia had decided (and Gildarts was really happy about this because otherwise, he would have had to come up with complicate plans) that Gray would stay at the apartment that Cana and Juvia currently shared with Laxus. At the beginning, she had been against Cana living on her own at only six but then, Gildarts had pointed out that Laxus would permanently be over anyway and that Cana would eat – like most people – at the guild.

"Juvia-chan is a real sweetheart and is probably running the show," Cornelia said with a fond smile. "She is a little younger than you but in terms of household managing, she is a real pro. She is also a pretty good water mage. Cana-chan is short-tempered and emotional at times. She is a little messier but a pretty good cook. She has your age even though she often acts like she is far older. And your third roommate is Laxus-kun, the guild master's grandson. He and Cana are really good friends. He is a good deal older but he takes care of them."

Gray nodded. "That sounds … nice," he said as he looked around. "Wait – is that the guild?"

"That's the guild, Gray," Gildarts confirmed with a proud smile before a frown appeared on his face. "And it looks like some of your nakama have decided to have a mud battle today," he sighed before he raised his voice. "JUVIA, LAXUS, MIRAJANE AND LISANNA!" he yelled. "I don't care who started but you will stop throwing mud at each other, now!"

"Oi, Gildarts, Juvia and I are winning!" the only boy called back. "Also, Juvia and I were nearly gone when Mira started to throw mud at me. This is merely revenge so stay out of this."

"That's Laxus-kun," Cornelia chuckled as she took a step into the direction of the fighting children and grabbed the taller girl by her arm and pulled her away. "You shouldn't do this, Mirajane-chan," she said calmly, unfazed by the murderous glare. "While mud is good for the skin, it will be a pain to get all of those stains out of your clothes. You should stop fighting now."

The girl who had been fighting alongside Laxus chuckled as she conjured a ray of water and cleaned both her and her partner-in-crime before the water evaporated. "Mom! Dad!" she beamed as she approached the adults. "You have returned already? Cana-nee-chan will be – who's that?" she asked as she interrupted herself. "Juvia has never seen him … and where's his shirt?" she added as an afterthought.

And this was how Juvia Lockser met Gray Fullbuster.

Cana was happily munching an apple as she strolled down the street that would lead her back home. Elfman had been a decent partner – a little more silent than Laxus – and she had returned sooner than she had expected to. She unlocked the front door and skipped up the the stairs before she froze as she saw Juvia and Laxus sitting on the stairs, obviously in deep thoughts.

"Cana," Laxus said with a short nod as he noticed her. He had dropped the honorific a few years back because their degree of familiarity no longer required the use of a –chan. She had been quite happy because usually, only people who had earned his respect in one way or another had the honour of being addressed by their given names. Her mother who had definitively his greatest respect was an exception because everyone called her Cornelia-san – even Master Makarov.

"What happened, Juvia-nee-chan, Laxus…" the brunette whispered as she sat down with them.

"We got another roommate," Laxus said with a sigh. "From what I understood, Cornelia-san and Gildarts took out that demon called Deliora in the Northern Areas … a woman got hurt during the fight and one of her students joined Fairy Tail today and Gildarts decided that he can have our spare guest room. The upside is that we will have it even easier when it comes to paying the rent without Gildarts' help. Plus, the boy seemed pretty much alright."

"He stripped," Juvia said in dismay. "Juvia was just asking who he is when he was suddenly standing there without his shirt. That has to be a nightmare, Juvia thinks."

"Don't sweat it, Ju," Laxus chuckled. "There might be a time when you will appreciate this … gift."

She snorted in disgust. "Juvia doesn't think that anyone would ever appreciate a boy who strips all of a sudden," she declared. "Well, mom cooked dinner so we can go and eat dinner so that you meet him as well, Cana-nee," she added. "Maybe you can make him stop losing his clothes all the time … your shuriken cards should be able to keep his clothes in place, right?"

"Ju, we do not do pointless violence," Laxus scolded gently as he got up. "Anyway, we should get some food now … tomorrow, we will leave for that mission after all and we cannot afford to have a water mage who can barely walk because she didn't eat enough."

"Laxus-kun, will we continue training for the S-class exams soon?" Juvia asked as they headed for the door. "Juvia … I want to help Laxus-kun to prepare for the exam – and Cana-nee want the same. We know that you can do this, Laxus-kun!"

He smiled as he ruffled her hair. "Thanks for that vote of confidence, Ju," he said. "But it seems like Cana doesn't share your faith. What's the matter, Cana?"

She rolled her eyes. "I saw the end of the path," she said. "There is no reason to have faith if you know for a fact that you will pass in your first attempt."