Fairy Tail 1. Chapter 1

While in the cinemas at Divergent I had an epiphany and thus created this story. The overall concept is similar to Divergent though there will be different characters obviously, twists, endings, speech and the overall plot will branch off. I am not the best writer and criticism is always encouraged. I hope you enjoy.

**Hurricane**

_**Chapter one**_

When she was seven she saw the proles for the first time.

She was at her birthday party, that her foster mum and friends had organised, and she had gone for a walk with a boy she was smitten over. He was nine and being younger, she was awestruck by him and his actions. He told her, _'we will go play down by the gates and I'll give you your present.' _So they did just that, sneaking through the crowd of people at her party and digging under the fence at the back of her yard.

At the time she had lived in a farmhouse that was centered in three acres of grass. It was on the west of city 9, or how the rest of the city would call it, 'The Wasteland'_. _Unknown to her at the time, as she had spent her young life playing on the farm that was protected by electric fences.

She had been an obedient child, timid and wary of the world before her. So, digging and crawling under the fence that she had stared at longingly for as long as she could remember, was something completely and utterly crazy. It was the first time she had done anything against the word of her fosters, and for some strange reason it thrilled her.

The gates were beyond her farm, past a few more acreage of greenery and sealed off by an eight feet tall wall. From her house the wall looked like a small line and her foster parents had told her it was to keep out forbidden magic. She had only learnt about them from her home tutor, where she learnt the history of the eleven cities and the war. But as her blistered feet took her closer and closer to the wall, everything she knew had crumpled.

The wall itself was not impressive. For it was covered in holes, falling pricks and withering planks of wood. It looked like it had been put together in a hurry and had had no maintenance since. And as her blue eyes peeked through the holes of the crumpling wall, she would never look at the world the same.

The proles were depressing. And as she would learn in later years, they were everywhere. Forced and shoved into small spaces around each city, desperately trying to hide from superior eyes. They were always in groups, always lounging around and blankly staring at the sky or at each other, looking like life had been drained from them.

Beyond the wall of the west part of city 9, there were about fifty humans, all huddled together in worn out blankets under piles of debris to protect themselves from the elements. Their faces empty and words forgotten. They were each covered in a mix of dirt, filth and injuries and the lots in which they lived were worse.

She, who had been protected by innocent lies her entire life, was completely torn by the sight. The boy who she was temporarily smitten over just muttered the word proles under his breath and started screaming when she had vomited from complete shock and fear. And when her feet wouldn't move from her spot at the wall, the boy had to run back to her house and get her foster parents.

She was seven at the end of her innocent and happy farm life, and the start of her recruitment.

* * *

"Make sure to report any suspicious behavior and…"

Juvia Lockser groaned at the voice that rung out through the district office. It was a woman's voice, completely monotone and Juvia really hated the sound of it. _If only they had someone sing it, that would be better, _she thought.

Stepping out onto the platform and tugging her bag over her shoulder, she looked down at the piece of paper in her hands and frowned.

'Report to the east end of the district office, by noon.'

"Specific." She grumbled and looked up. Before her was the said east end of the district office, completely packed with people and filled with the sound of the city instructions and the commotion of the crowd.

_By noon? Juvia doesn't even know which way to go! _

The district offices were located in each city. They were the access regions to the trains and the places where you would have to pledge alliance annually. And unfortunately for anyone travelling, they were always packed and took hours to get through.

"Recruit 23O, Lockser!"

Half sighing, she turned her head and raised her closed fist to her forehead. Before her was a general, a plump man in the obligation uniform. With a frown on his face he grabbed her hand and stamped her with a small needle.

Ignoring the sting, she looked down and saw the small tag '23O' appear in red over her pale skin.

"Follow me. We're heading to the obligation rooms now." The general said and began to briskly walk off, followed by a bunch of recruits in identical attires.

Juvia's fingers traced the symbol on her hand as she followed silently behind. It was finally time for her. The biggest week and decision of her life was to be made the following day. She had been preparing since she was seven, but she still wasn't sure.

It was time for her to make her choice of who she wanted to be, but she didn't know herself.

And it frustrated her to no end. Everyone was so sure of their path, of who they were and what they wanted to do.

Selfless. Brave. Kind. Intelligent. Honest.

Everyone had something and Juvia wasn't even sure that she had any of those qualities. In her own eyes she was self-centered, a whimp, mean, ignorant and deceitful. She wasn't what they wanted and she didn't know if she could fake her way through it.

Her old foster mother had always said she would be in Lamia scale as she was always honest, while her foster father had always said she would be in Fairy Tail as she was brave.

Light hit her eyes and she came back to her senses. The group she had followed through one of the exit tunnels of the district office had reached the outside. They were in city 2 and it was Juvia's least favorite.

City 2 was the capital of trade and was infested with decaying buildings and structures that the citizens ignored. And although each city was like this, they didn't compare to city 2. Windows and walls were missing all over the city and there seemed to be more allies filled with proles than fully windowed buildings. Half the city was a forest that was constantly being logged and planted. There was a party gate that separated the habituated part of the city from the forests.

It also happened to be the city where recruits would make their final obligation choice.

Juvia and her group of recruits, group 23, were led to a small warehouse not far from the district office. It had a few missing bricks and windows that Juvia cringed at, they were currently in autumn and the nights were very cold.

As she looked around for her recruit mate, Gajeel, the plump general had begun his instruction speech.

"This is where you will all sleep for tonight. You will all report tomorrow at the obligation center at seventh hour sharp. You are expected to get there on your own." He grumbled, glaring at the group of 26.

"Now the city instructions."

Juvia mentally vomited, "City 2 is the capital of trade. Founded by Augustus Quain in 138. Always keep the streets clean. Always follow the expected obligations. Make sure to report any suspicious behavior and enjoy your days spent here."

The cities each had the same speech. The only difference was the start where the number would change depending on where you were.

As the general opened the doors and they began to enter the small building filled with blankets and pillows, Juvia caught sight of wild dark hair. Smiling, she pushed her way through the people and tugged on said wild hair.

"Ouch- who the fu- Ah. Rain woman." The man deadpanned. He was a fairly tall person, with harsh eyes and long hair.

"Gajeel. It's been what, six weeks? And that's all I get. Ah Rain woman." She imitated his voice in her last sentence which made the man before her grunt.

Deciding to ignore her, he grabbed an available blanket and laid it on the floor. Juvia gasped and did the same.

"So," She began as they both lay on the green colored blankets and adjusted their pillows, "Accommodation is impeccable."

They were each given another needle before the general left, which Juvia assumed was the liquid to strengthen their tracking tags, which tended to lose their effect after a few months. And each person, all aged eighteen, silently decided it was time to get some rest. They were a few whispers and it was strangely comforting to know that they were all on the same side.

"Gajeel." She whispered, staring at the warehouse ceiling, "Are you ready for tomorrow."

She waited around half a minute until she heard his reply. It was short and simple yet it had such an impact on her that she turned her head to look at him. His eyes were closed and she stared at him for a few seconds before returning her gaze at the roof and eventually closing her blue orbs.

"I have to be."

* * *

Well, there it is. I'll probably have the next few chapters up in the next week as I am holidaying currently and go back to school next week. Tell me your thoughts! By the way, this fic is all the cannon couples (NaLu, GruVia, GaLe, JerZa)


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you very much for the response!

**Hurricane**

_**Chapter two**_

Juvia woke the next morning with her face meeting the cold cement ground of the warehouse floor. Gajeel had taken it upon himself to wake her by filliping the blanket which she slept on. Grumbling, she sat up and punched him in the arm.

"We gotta go, Rain Woman." He yawned, throwing his blanket back where they had found them.

Rubbing her eyes, she got up and folded her the green material, "Juvia knows."

"Lose the third person, you know they hate that." He sneered and began to walk out of the warehouse.

Juvia gasped, half throwing her blanket back and running after him as she attempted to tie her hair up. The air was brisk and cold and she wished that they had been given their winter uniforms early.

The walk to the obligation center was quick yet agonizing. They had to pass three alleys which each had proles sleeping in them. Juvia winced and looked away each time, she hated seeing them. She hated the feeling of helplessness that overcame her.

She couldn't help, no matter how much she wanted to.

Juvia assumed that Gajeel somewhat shared the feeling. Although he had never mentioned anything about the proles, she never failed to notice the tightening of his jaw whenever they saw a prole on the street.

The proles were nothing. They didn't fit in any of the five traits of a human. They, in this world, weren't considered human.

At the door of the obligation center, which was surrounded by a metal gate, stood a small girl in a white uniform. She was the guide which would led them each to their testing rooms. The general had mentioned it yesterday during his second batch of needle work.

The obligation center was one of the few fully constructed buildings in city 2. It was about five stories high and completely white. It was a fairly basic building with heavy security. Each of the twenty six recruits in group 23, were put through the metal scanner and tracking tag tester. Another needle batch was given out and Juvia noticed that this one had hurt a lot more than the rest.

When they had been approved to enter the building, the guide had given them there test room number. Juvia looked down at the small yellow paper which, in messy writing, had the numbers '13' written. She glanced at Gajeel's. He was six.

The guide walked them down the hall and each person went to their designated room. Juvia's stomach flipped when Gajeel left, and she had the overbearing urge to vomit as she came face to face with door 13.

"23O, Lockser. Go in." The guide stated, continuing her walk down the hall.

Staring up at the number 13 which was plastered on the door, Juvia gulped. The test was something she was half terrified of and half relieved that it existed. The concept of the test was that you would you discover which Guild you belonged to.

Lamia Scale, the honest.

Twilight Ogre, the kind.

Blue Pegasus, the selfless.

Fairy Tail, the brave.

And Raven Tail, the intelligent.

You had to fit somewhere and by law, recruits of eighteen had the right to choose which one they wanted to enter. The test was supposed to confirm any suspicions and thoughts of which they wanted to enter. And for some, or maybe just Juvia, the test would tell her just which one to pick.

Opening the door, she was met with quite a beautiful face.

"Juvia Lockser!" The face bellowed, "Please come in. Sit."

Juvia nodded and silently walked inside. The room was very simple. In the center was an orange chair and beside it a bunch of weird looking machines. Looking to her left she saw that the entire left wall was a mirror. She quickly looked away.

The woman she was with was a fairly tall one, with long dark hair and equally dark large eyes.

"What is it with you all," The woman grunted, "Always looking away from the mirror."

Juvia followed the woman's gesture to sit, "We reject vanity."

The woman gave her another needle and attached a long white tube to her forehead, "I know. Okay, I'm Cana and this will be your obligation test. Now, you're gonna drink this," handing Juvia a small glass of blue liquid, she hesitantly took a sip, "And then you dream. They are basically hallucinations but they will determine what guild you suit. Good luck!"

And before Juvia could ask questions at the very straight ford and not very informative instructions, she felt a wave of tiredness fall upon her. Her eyelids were groggy and the room became blurry, and before she knew it she had fallen asleep.

* * *

She woke in the same room. But the chair and machines had been taken out and she was left staring at her reflection in the mirror. She never looked at herself. It was one of the city rules, to hardly look at your own reflection. To always be selfless.

So looking at herself was strange. Juvia didn't recognize the woman that looked back.

Suddenly she could see five small tables appear behind her in the reflection. Whipping her head around, she walked toward them. They were short white tables, each holding a different object. Soil, water, a knife, a piece of meat and a small brown bag.

Juvia frowned at them and hesitantly picked up the brown bag. It was rough and she recognized them as a trading bag that she had seen her foster father carry many times back on the farmhouse. Thinking of the farmhouse, her foster parents and the wall, she laid the brown paper bag on the floor and placed the piece of meat on top of it. She then took the knife and put it on one side of the meat, while putting the soil on the other side.

"Proles." She muttered before picking up the bowl in which the water sat and pouring it on top of her recently made artwork.

A sharp pain came to her neck and she found the room getting darker.

* * *

Juvia violently gasped for air as she woke up. Cana was standing over her and holding a needle to her neck. The needle was stinging and Juvia scrunched up her face to distract herself from the pain. She had received many needles before, given from the party, from obligation and from training. The pain was nothing new.

"Stand up."

Her blue eyes opened and obeying the command given, Juvia wobbly stood up. She felt a huge burst in energy and she guessed that that was the needles purpose.

"So," Juvia smiled, "What did Ju- I get?"

Cana was tapping on the one of the machines screens, "You don't remember it?"

Juvia shook her head. She could faintly remember her reflection, but it was more like waking up from a dream and wanting to remember it.

"Lamia Scale. That's what you got." Cana sighed and ran a hand through her hair, "That's what I put in."

Juvia sighed. At least she had something. She was afraid of- "What do you mean 'put in'?"

"I'm sure you've heard the stories. That the test doesn't work on some people-"

"What do you mean?!" Juvia half screamed, "The test didn't work on me?! That is impossible!"

Cana hushed her and tugged on her wrist, pulling her toward the back section of the room, "It isn't impossible, just very rare."

Juvia could feel her heartbeat in her chest and her nails pressing against her palms in her clenched fist. She blinked back her tears and thought of the proles. The people, with nothing left, who didn't fit into any of the guilds.

"So then I-I'm a p-prole?"

Cana sighed, "No Juvia. Proles don't fit into any of the guilds. You fit into all."

Wide blue eyes flicked upward, "What?!"

"It is rare. Sometimes you get someone who isn't just meant for one thing. You fit into all and luckily for you, you have the right to choose so it doesn't matter. But you have to listen when I say, do not tell anyone about this. Not family or anyone close to you. You can hide it if you try, but if you can't then… you're dead."

Juvia frowned, grapping onto Cana's hand, "What do you mean?! This is happening way too fast! Juvia doesn't understand!"

"You're too smart for them." Cana whispered, "You go against what they want. If anyone asks, your test result was Lamia Scale. You can choose whatever you want this afternoon Juvia, but if you want to live, you have to live by their rules."

Juvia could feel her back being pushed but didn't take much notice as she thought of the situation. It was too much to take in with so little time and before Juvia could even blink she had been pushed out into the back hall and the door of room 13 had closed behind her.

Her blue eyes stared speechless up at the number 13.

She felt like she was still dreaming. It couldn't be true, they didn't teach you about it. She didn't believe it. How could she trust someone so easily who had told her not to trust anyone?

"Juvia."

Said person almost fell over as she jumped back from surprise. She whipped her head around to meet Gajeel's harsh looking eyes. They were in the hall that was beyond the testing rooms and Juvia became aware of her entire groups presence.

"What did you get?" Gajeel leaned and whispered and Juvia was sure that many other recruits were discussing the same thing.

Her heart pounding and head throbbing she took a step back and regained her composure. She glanced up at Gajeel and Cana's harsh eyes came into her mind.

"La-Lamia Scale. What did you get?"

Gajeel sighed and leaned his back against the wall beside her, "Fairy Tail. I always had a feeling it would that, could never see myself in any of the other guilds."

Juvia leaned back onto the wall. If only he knew how lucky he was, to have a sense of belonging in a certain Guild. Juvia would give anything for that, to know that she was meant for one of them.

"So," Gajeel began and Juvia didn't notice how timid he was to speak, "We separate, huh?"

She was too deep in thought about her test result to reply and Gajeel assumed that she just didn't have anything to say.

They didn't have to wait long before their guide came back into the hallway and led them toward the preparation rooms.

* * *

I know that this chapter is verrrrrry fast paced and confusing. Criticism and suggestions are very welcome and I hope you are enjoying this so far. I'll probably have the next chapters up tonight after I get home. I don't have much to do this week so I want to get into this story before I lose all my ideas.


	3. Chapter 3

I hope you are enjoying it so far. I know it is taking a while to get into things and to introduce more characters but I'll get there.

**Hurricane**

_**Chapter three**_

Her curly and untamed hair had been put up in a slick lower bun. She hated it but all negative feelings vanished when she saw Gajeel, his own curly and untamed hair in the exact same hairstyle as hers.

He got angry at her and walked off after she had laughed and called them twins.

Preparation was long. Everyone had to dress in their parent's guild clothes, even If they didn't plan on choosing that certain guild. And for Juvia, this meant she had to wear her foster parents', who she hadn't seen in five years, guild clothes. Dressed in complete orange, she temporarily belonged to Twilight Ogre, the kind.

Gajeel's parents, who Juvia had met multiple times, were in Blue Pegasus and lived in city 8. Grey and orange walked down the hall side by side. Juvia was consumed by deep thought and nervously played with her sleeves while Gajeel looked almost worried at his teammate.

_It doesn't matter, _Juvia repeated in her head.

She would go and chose whatever she felt like. She would fit in. She would live happily. It didn't matter. She could fake it.

Juvia wondered who else had received the same test result that she had. It was rare, as Cana had said, but maybe there was someone else. She hoped that there was someone, who was just as confused and terrified as she.

"You will be called up by order. When you reach the stage pick up the knife and draw your own blood. Drop some of it into whichever table that represents your chosen guild. Remember that no changes can be made. Good luck." The tour guide instructed the group before she left to join the other staff at their seating area.

Group 23 were lined up by alphabetical order, separating Juvia and Gajeel. Gajeel was 23C, so he stood at the front while Juvia stood toward the end at O.

From behind the curtain where they stood, Juvia could see out and into the obligation room. The five guilds were seated in five different sections. They were filled with their leaders and representatives, with some members filling up the available seats.

Her blue eyes glanced at Lamia Scale. They were dressed in blue and all seated relatively nicely. Juvia could see the members and she shivered at their harsh eyes. It was recorded, as Juvia well knew, that her test result was Lamia Scale. It wasn't against any law to defy your test result but it might raise some eyebrows.

Beside Lamia Scale was Fairy Tail, who in comparison, seemed completely wild and lively. They were dressed in red and black.

Fairy Tail was in charge of the security and protection of every city. They were all completely insane and reckless, indeed earning their reputation as the brave. Lamia Scale was in charge of finding out the truth, recording history and bringing justice to cases. Twilight Ogre handled the gathering of foods and crops and were passionate about sustaining resources. Blue Pegasus, the selfless, were in charge of the distribution of all the cities food, water and supplies. They seemed to receive more controversy for their efforts than any other guild. And lastly, Raven Tail, which was in charge of science and discovering more facts about the universe.

Juvia knew that she would never fit into Raven Tail. She wasn't smart nor stupid, just an average mind. She also knew that she probably wouldn't do well in Fairy Tail. Gajeel definitely belonged there, he had always been protecting her. But Juvia, she wasn't confident in her ability to keep up with them. She had seen them before, running and jumping onto their personal train. Lamia Scale suited her, she was passionate about equality and law. She would have a happy and secure life there.

But for some reason, she felt that she didn't want it.

"23C, Redfox Gajeel." The spokesperson called out, gaining the attention of the bluenette.

Gajeel stepped onto the staged and raised his closed fist to his forehead, earning an applause from the audience and Juvia took note to do the same. He looked confident as he walked up to the five tables in the center of the stage. Juvia looked away as he cut his hand and chose his guild. She already knew.

"Gajeel Redfox of Fairy Tail!"

Fairy Tail cheered in their seats, clapping and congratulating Gajeel as he made his way to sit with them. Juvia smiled at the sight, they were so passionate about adopting a new trainee. Gajeel had been the first out of her group to choose Fairy Tail and Juvia noted that the four other guilds had received many more previous trainees before group 23.

"23D, Mashi Akna."

Juvia had met Akna when she first moved into group 23 and decided to befriend her as she was the first female seen. Akna was a small and stubborn girl, who Juvia had tried her best to get along with. She was very reserved and after a couple of years of rejection and insults, Juvia gave up her mission to befriend her.

Her blue eyes watched intently as Akna cut her hand and dripped her rose red blood into the bowl of water. It was so surreal to think that the seven year old girl who had always avoided her was now choosing her life.

"Akna Mashi of Lamia Scale!"

A noticeably quieter applause in comparison to the previous one resounded through the hall. Juvia watched as Akna walked down to the Lamia Scale section, the members moving to make a seat for her. No one patted her on the shoulder. No on congratulated her. There were a few smiles as Akna settled in and to Juvia it seemed rather lonely.

Her heartbeat pounded in her chest and Juvia looked down at her worn out shoes. She was nervous, more nervous than her foster mother had said she would be whenever Juvia talked about it. Her pale fingers trembled as she wrapped them around the hem of her sleeves for comfort.

She watched blankly as those before her went and made their choice and Juvia winced when 23N completed their choice.

"23O, Lockser Juvia."

She didn't think as her legs automatically responded and took her out onto the stage. The light hit her eyes and half way up she remembered to raise her closed fist to her forehead. The crowd applauded and laughed here and there but Juvia took no notice as she turned around to look at the five tables before her.

They were small and white and she had the feeling that she had seen them somewhere before. Soil to represent the honest. Water to represent the intelligent. A brown bag to represent the selfless. A piece of meat to represent the kind. A knife to represent the brave.

She quickly glanced behind her in hopes to meet Gajeel's harsh and comforting eyes, but the light of the spotlight blinded her and she winced. She turned back and grabbed the small blade laying on one of the tables. Sliding the blade across her pale hand and clenching her fist, she sighed.

_It doesn't matter._

She closed her eyes and thought of the proles. They didn't get the chance to choose. They didn't fit or were born into the prole life. Whereas she did fit, into all. It didn't matter.

_Father was always nicer to me. Juvia wants to stay with Gajeel and she would rather the applause. It doesn't matter anyway._

Red blood fell onto the steel surface of a blade. The words 'Juvia Lockser of Fairy Tail' filled her ears, accompanied by the loud roar of an applause from Fairy Tail. Her legs turned her around and fell down the stairs while her eyes were filled with the white from the spotlight.

She felt a hand clasp her shoulder and a loud 'Congratulations' fill her ears, and she met the soft surface of a seat. As her vision returned she could see the faces of equally scared yet thrilled trainees beside her and the face of a shocked Gajeel. Juvia smiled at him and stuck out her tongue. He stared at her for a couple seconds before shaking his head.

The rest of the obligation was a blur. She sat two seats away from Gajeel and she hoped that he wanted to talk to her as much as she did him. Relief washed over her as she processed the situation. She was in a guild. Juvia Lockser of Fairy Tail. She belonged even if she was still just a trainee and Juvia couldn't stop the smile that spread to her face.

And suddenly the obligation ceremony was over and she was pulled onto her feet. Fairy Tail was rushing out of the exit, half running and cheering as they pushed along their new recruits. Juvia looked around for Gajeel, wanting to see his expression.

When they reached the outside Juvia had to sprint in order to keep up with the fast moving Fairy Tail members. The group was running through the streets of city 2. As the wind clogged her vision and sent her perfect bun askew, Juvia couldn't stop the laughter from escaping her mouth. It had been awhile since she laughed with her full heart. Her feet and legs were throbbing from the sudden exercise and she decided that she would find Gajeel later. He was probably jogging beside her.

They stopped at a clearing and Juvia looked back to find Gajeel's eyes glaring at her. He just grunted and pulled at her hair while she smiled up at him. She looked ahead and saw the rails of the Fairy Tail train and it became clear to her when she heard the sound of a honk.

She had seen it; the Fairy Tail members running and jumping onto their personal train. Now it was time for her to live it.

The group began running the same direction that the train was heading and Juvia quickly followed. There were handles sticking out from the sides of the train along the entire structure, accompanied by a foot rest. She saw the first member jump and gulped.

Everyone began hopping off their feet and grabbing the handles, swinging into the open doors of the train. Juvia glanced behind her and with the little jumping opportunities left, she decided to go. Her shaking hand desperately clasped the metal handle as her body flung backward through the air. Her foot clumsily found the footrest after slipping and she let out a huge laugh. She swung her body against the wind and fell into the train, meeting the hard ground.

"Juvia. You idiot." Gajeel muttered from above her, she knew that he would have gotten inside easily.

She lay against the wall of the train and looked up to him, "At least now we won't be separated."

* * *

Third chapter doneee. In the next chapter many other characters will appear. I am really enjoying writing this. I hope you are all enjoying reading it.


	4. Chapter 4

I am sorry I have posted so much so soon, it's just that I have nothing else to do.

**Hurricane**

_**Chapter four**_

Gajeel sat, looking out the window on a chair opposite Juvia's spot on the floor. Beside her, about a meter away, sat a very pretty blonde girl who Juvia decided to get the courage to talk too.

"I'm Juvia Lockser, city 9." She smiled, hoping that the girl would respond.

The pretty blonde girl turned her head and looked up at Juvia. She had chocolate brown eyes that Juvia thought were very warm. The girl gasped and grabbed Juvia's hand, shaking it rather harshly.

"I am Lucy of city 1. Wait! Lucy Heartfillia, that's my last name." Lucy smiled back and the two laughed, "City 9? Isn't that a farming city?"

Juvia nodded her head, "Yeah, it's mainly just greenery. Most of the population is in Twilight Ogre."

The train titled from side to side as they passed through the city. Through the windows the famous decaying buildings of city 2 flashed. Everyone inside was chatting and occasionally cheering. Juvia felt strangely comfortable yet completely uncomfortable.

Lucy's eyes sparkled, "Oh! That sounds so nice! City 1 is just buildings and skyscrapers. I would have loved to live in the country."

Juvia smiled and inwardly sighed. The open spaces of city 9 were beautiful for sure, but were used for terrible ways. Proles were constantly forced to relocate into the countryside to be out of the way. It seemed that the guild people of the city had decided that proles shouldn't have the right to live beside them. Even so, many cities were hidden with multiple groups of proles who would scavenge for supplies.

"Alright! We are here!" A voice bellowed and the two girls looked up to meet the owner. He was a tall and tough looking man with blonde hair who was dressed in complete black.

The doors of the train opened and let in loud gushes of air. Juvia, Lucy and Gajeel stood up and joined the rest of confused trainees who looked out of the doors.

A girl jumped out of the train and landed rather harshly on a building rooftop. She was followed by a few more people who all barely landed on the building.

Juvia gasped and turned to the tall man, "We have to jump?!"

"If you can't do that then you shouldn't have chosen Fairy Tail." He yelled before jumping out himself and landing in a roll on the gravel roof.

"Just go." Gajeel rasped and wasted no time in jumping out himself. He too landed in a perfect roll.

The rest of the members had begun jumping out, followed by the first few recruits. The building wasn't too wide and there wasn't much space left. Juvia and Lucy's hearts were beating wildly in their chests.

Lucy turned to Juvia and yelled over the noise of the wind, "Together?"

Juvia nodded and they stepped backward before running forward and flinging themselves off the train. The wind was harsh and cold and Juvia closed her eyes as she felt herself meet the gravel of the building. She had landed on her knees and fell forward, her hands quickly shooting up to protect her head.

"Good job girls. Last ones."

Juvia looked up at the man wearing black, who had ordered them all too jump. She could see his smug face and the sarcasm which was practically dripping from his expression. The blue haired girl just snorted and helped her new friend to her feet.

"Now, as your first test of Fairy Tail. Were gonna see just how brave you all are." The blonde man spoke and gestured for the recruits to gather round the edge of the building.

Everyone looked down to where he pointed. It was a harsh forty foot drop down and at the bottom of the building was what looked like an old greenhouse with a huge hole in its side. The hole was completely black and one the side of where they all stood. Juvia frowned at looked back up at the man.

"Who wants to go first?" He smiled.

Silence fell over the recruits and the members all sniggered. Juvia looked to Gajeel who just shook his head back at her. Lucy, who stood beside her, looked at the ground. The blonde man who seemed to be the leader was looking through the recruits. Juvia glared at him.

"Me." Juvia spoke, ignoring Gajeel's look of anger and obvious rejection.

She pushed her way through the looks of admiration and nervousness toward the blonde man who just smiled at her.

"Don't question it. Just jump, it'll be easier that way." He nodded at her and took her hand, looking at her tag, "23O."

Juvia pulled her hand away and gulped, walking toward the edge. She peered over and winced, trying to face her head away from the group. Shakily, she grabbed the edge, which was tiled in black, and placed her foot upon it. She heaved herself up and wobbly stood up, her arms spread to even out her balance.

It was worse from her point of view. The drop was big and she couldn't see anything at all inside the black hole. Juvia closed her eyes. She was Fairy Tail, and they were brave.

Stepping forward and off the edge, she could hear the gasps of the group behind her. Wind sent her hair and legs flying as she tumbled downward. Unable to concentrate on anything and too scared to let out a scream, she fell silently as she scrunched her face together.

* * *

She landed on her back on something that slowed everything down. Letting out a screech, the sound of metal banging against metal filled her ears. She could feel herself fall down a little more before flinging upward. When everything went still she hesitantly opened her eyes and saw the tiny faces of the Fairy Tail members at the top of the building.

She groaned and rolled onto her side. Whatever she was laying on moved with her and she soon found herself at the edge. She looked beneath her and realised that there was a net placed right where she had fallen. Laughing, she sat up and turned her head around to examine the building. Only to be met with a pair of dark and narrowed eyes.

Juvia screamed and attempted to move backward in the net to no avail. Kicking her legs outward, she decided to roll away from the surprising and frightening eyes that watched her in disbelief.

"Were you pushed?"

Sensing the sarcasm in the voice, Juvia looked up and gasped at the owner. The eyes had belonged to a man of what she guess to be twenty. He had dark and spiky hair that almost covered his pretty scary dark eyes. She just stared at him for a while, completely baffled at his appearance.

He pushed his hand down on the net which sent her rolling toward him. Juvia sat up and glared at him, attempting to put enough weight on the net to lower herself safely to the ground.

"Did they push you?" He deadpanned, watching as she clumsily jumped to the ground.

She gasped and snapped her head up to him, "No! Why do you ask that?! More importantly, who are you and where is Ju- am I?!"

He frowned at her and grabbed her hand, his eyes darting down to read the red writing, startling her, "23O. You might want to step back."

She pulled her hand away and glared at him, yelling when he grabbed her shoulder and yanked her backward. She got into a fighting stance, expecting him to attack her when the sound of metal upon metal filled the room.

Juvia turned her confused eyes back to the next to see a flying Gajeel bounce into the air. She would have laughed if not for the strange man that stood beside her. When Gajeel groaned, Juvia ran toward him and pushed down on the next, sending the man toward her.

"Gajeel! You okay?" She half laughed, helping the said man sit up.

"What the fuck was that?! And where the fuck are we!" Gajeel shouted, easily jumping off the next and holding his throbbing forehead.

"Step back 23O and 23O's boyfriend." The mysterious man deadpanned making Juvia crack her knuckles in anger.

"He isn't my boyfriend!" She seethed, grabbing Gajeel's sleeve and placing him between her and the dark haired man.

"Juvia what's-"

"Laxus is testing the new recruits, aka you, to see how obedient you are when ordered to do something seemingly dangerous. Usually the toughest, like this new one here, would jump first. But this time we got a dainty little girl." The man said as another recruit fell into the net.

Juvia clenched her fists but suppressed her anger as she assumed that the guy was higher than her in authority. She didn't want to get into trouble in her first hour of being in Fairy Tail.

One by one the recruits and members fell into the net, and one by one Juvia and Gajeel got further away from the dark haired man. Gajeel stared bored at Juvia as she placed each new member between them.

When everyone had finally jumped, the blonde haired man dressed in black and the dark haired man, who Juvia noticed was also dressed in black, stood in front of the group.

"Well done." The blonde one spoke, "Surprisingly you all did okay. I'm Laxus and this is Gray. We will be one of the many trainers that you will work under. Training begins today. Welcome, all thirty six of you to the Fairy Tail base of city 2."

The group clapped and Juvia glared at the dark haired man who seemed like he didn't notice. _Gray. What kinda name is that? Is he a color?_

The said color spoke up, "I'll be your main trainer. All thirty six of you won't make it so make sure you give it your best. I look forward to working with… most of you."

Juvia narrowed her eyes at his last comment while Gajeel raised his hand.

"Whadya' mean we won't all make it?" Gajeel grunted, his glossy bun long gone.

"There are new rules. Protecting the city is one of the highest priorities so we have to have the best members available. Ten of you will be cut if you don't meet our standards. You, from this point, are all fighting against each other to get over the line. We decide your placement depending on your skill." Laxus instructed and everyone angrily whispered to one another.

Lucy and Juvia exchanged looks, while Gajeel, who seemed to be the only one brave enough to say anything audible, spoke up:

"Ten of us?! It's law to let anyone into whatever guild they choose! And it's not law to let anyone change guilds after they have chosen! Where do the ten go if they don't get in?!"

Gray shifted uncomfortably while Laxus chuckled at everyone's worried faces.

The blonde man smiled, "Where else would you go? Of course, to the proles."

* * *

Dun dun. I feel accomplished writing this far in. I am happy that more characters are coming and it will only continue from here on out. Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Hurricane**

_**Chapter five**_

The thirty six recruits walked in silence, following the dark haired man whom they had just met. Juvia looked up to Gajeel and she could tell that he was barely concealing his rage. She sighed, everyone seemed to be covering their anger from the information that Laxus had given.

He told them that it was a recently passed law and it existed in each guild. Only the best of the trainees could get in and they were now competing to get over the line. After Laxus had warned them not to question it, everyone fell silent and decided to follow his order.

Gray had ordered them to follow him for the tour of the base and Juvia noticed that the base did not have any windows.

Gray showed them the scoreboard, where they would be ranked and those below 26 would be out. The blue haired girl gulped. She already had her fears of not fitting into Fairy Tail but decided to go for it because it was the best option. She couldn't regret it now, after all she wouldn't get the opportunity to change. She either had to pass or become a prole.

Lucy stood quietly, trying her best to process the situation. She too did not have much confidence that she could beat ten other people. Glancing around, she noticed that almost everyone seemed to be tall and tough, apart from herself, Juvia and another blue haired girl. But she couldn't become a prole. For the sake of herself and her family's name, she had to make it.

The group stopped at a pathway that was sealed off by a metal rail on the right. Below, was a large and open room filled with tables and chairs. No one was in the room and Juvia half wondered where everyone had been.

"This is the guild hall," Gray spoke, ushering his head down, "It's basically the life of Fairy Tail and will probably be your favourite spot."

Juvia leaned over the rail to get a better look. The room just looked like a poorly lit and huge dining room. She turned her head to look up at Gray for their next instructions and he met her eyes. She curiously stared at him before he turned away and kept walking, telling the recruits to follow.

_What a weirdo, _Juvia thought as she jogged along to keep up.

The Fairy Tail base was big. It was filled with what seemed like endless corridors, hallways and staircases and Juvia hoped that they didn't need to remember it all. Juvia and Lucy guessed that it was underground as it didn't obtain any windows or sources of natural light.

"Are they bats?" Lucy whispered to Juvia who giggled.

The walls and floors seemed to be a light grey colour, or maybe in the sun they would have been white. The only room which seemed to be different was the training room. That was the room where they had fallen into on the net. It was large and open, with light pouring in from the hole in the roof. It was filled with boxing equipment, cut outs of orange targets in the shape of a man, weapons and sealed off arenas. Gray said that they would get to look at the training room as much as they wanted the following day.

"Alright," Gray said as he led them down yet another hallway and opened a large wooden door at the end, "This is where you will sleep."

The room was filled with forty or so beds, each had a black uniform placed upon it. It was dimly lit, like the rest of the base, and was fairly simple.

"The bathroom is through there," Gray pointed at a door in the back of the room and Juvia shuddered, knowing she would have to share with everyone, "Get changed into those uniforms and come to the guild hall in an hour. It's down the hall and on your right, you will probably hear it anyway."

And before anyone could ask any questions he left and slammed the door behind him. Juvia crinkled her nose at where he had left and turned back around to Lucy. They, with Gajeel, who Juvia introduced awkwardly to Lucy, found three suitable beds and picked up their uniforms.

"Ah," Juvia muttered as she examined the black material. It resembled a tracksuit and had a Fairy Tail symbol on the left pocket.

Still dressed in her orange attire, she careful changed the best she could so she would show minimal skin. Lucy helped her by holding up the blanket on her bed over Juvia's body while she changed and Juvia returned the favour.

The uniform was too big on the girls and the sleeves went past their hands. Lucy looked over to the other small blue haired girl from earlier, who was shorter then everyone, and sweat dropped. It was practically falling off of her small frame and she had to tie one of the shoelaces from a spare uniform, around her waist to keep it all together.

As Juvia slipped on her shoes, which were very basic black boots, a boy with pink hair approached the three and sat on the bed next to Gajeel. He sighed and ripped off his shirt, making Juvia and Lucy automatically turn their heads away. Once he was fully dressed once again, he turned and offered his hand to Lucy.

"I'm Natsu, 8O of city 10. Those bastards over there were dickheads so I decided to relocate." He smiled and Lucy hesitantly took his hand.

"Lucy, 19A of city 1." She laughed and Juvia and Gajeel rose an eyebrow as the two stared at each other for an awkward amount of time.

"I'm Gajeel and this is Juvia," Gajeel deadpanned as he tied his shoes, snapping the two out of their trance.

"23O of city 9." Juvia smiled from her spot on her bed.

The boys eyes sparkled and he shook Juvia's hand, "A fellow O, huh."

Juvia nodded and Natsu sat beside Lucy, who froze up as he did, and he started talking about city 1 and how he had never been there. And before Juvia or Gajeel could exchange skeptical looks, the pink haired boy and blonde girl were in deep conversation.

Juvia shrugged at Gajeel who just groaned and lay back in his bed, his arms behind his head and eyes closed. She decided to do the same and turned on her side, half joining into her two friends conversation on and off for the next hour.

* * *

An hour later, the recruits began to leave the room and take Gray's very vague instructions to the guild hall. And his 'you will probably hear it anyway' became quite clear as the group turned in the hallway. Loud crashes, music, yelling and laughter filled their ears and Juvia looked to Lucy who looked just as confused as she.

As they reached the rail, the dull room which no one occupied one hour earlier had become a lively, loud, bright and charismatic room filled with Fairy Tail members. Someone, who sounded female, was singing and everyone else was either eating, singing along, yelling or laughing.

Juvia, Natsu and Lucy all looked to each other and laughed while Gajeel groaned. They followed the rest of the group down a nearby staircase and as they stepped down onto the level of the guild hall, a tray was shoved into their hands.

"Go get your food and eat!" A cheery voice shouted at them, barely audible over the commotion of the room, "Food is over there!"

Juvia and Lucy both picked up a piece of bread and were given a slap of potato and peas. Juvia eyed the food warily as she followed behind Lucy to an available seat. When she looked up from inspecting her food, Lucy was sitting next to Natsu and across from Gajeel with a space beside her. Juvia smiled and slipped into the available seat, grabbing a fork and immediately digging into her food. She hadn't eaten all day and was defiantly planning on sneaking a second serving.

The four talked and ate and not long into their dinner Juvia felt the seat move beneath her. Looking to her side and frowning, she saw Gray sit in the space beside her, purposely sitting as far away from her as he could.

Lucy looked around and then leaned in to whisper in Juvia's ear, "There was nowhere else to sit."

The girl just huffed and turned back to furiously eat her remaining food. Lucy and Natsu were talking about their birthdays or someone's birthday and Gajeel was sitting across from them looking completely bored. Juvia turned her head subtly while still eating to catch a glimpse of the man beside her.

He didn't look very old and Juvia wondered how he gotten so high up in authority when he looked like he was there age. She decided that if she wanted to know, she would ask.

"Gray-sama," She began, half screaming so he could hear her and she continued when he snapped her vision to her, "When did you do your training? You don't look much older than us and-"

"What makes you think you can talk to me?" He muttered, frowning at her and she stared back at him.

She opened her mouth in surprise, a frown spreading across his face as she watched him return to eating his food. _That stupid! How rude! Juvia was just asking! _

"I- uh," Was all that came out of her mouth as she looked over to Gajeel, his eyes glaring at the man beside her. She ate a spoonful of potato while looking at him angrily. She could tell Gajeel was about to say something, so she beat him too it.

"Maybe because I have a voice and speak English." She yelled, "But don't worry because now I don't want to speak to you."

Gray didn't move and Juvia didn't look over at him to see his shocked eyes. She looked down at her food and finished what was left before standing up and getting seconds. While she stood by the food court getting her second serving, someone had taken the microphone from the signer and begun a speech.

"Okay, yes right. Welcome!" The man was very short and looked around seventy years old, the crowd roared with an applause at his presence, "I would personally like to congratulate and welcome all of our new recruits to Fairy Tail. From tomorrow onward, it's just going to get harder but I can promise you all it will be worth it. I wish you all luck, members of Fairy Tail!"

Everyone stood up and applauded and Juvia winced at the loud sound. She looked over to her table and saw Natsu cheering with Lucy clapping beside him. Gajeel and Gray were still sitting, though they both clapped.

Lucy looked over to Juvia and they both laughed.

* * *

This chapter took way longer to write then the previous ones. I hope you are all enjoying it!


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you for the support of this story!

**Hurricane**

_**Chapter six**_

Lucy yawned. She didn't particularly like mornings yet she couldn't complain when Gray had personally come into the recruit dorms and woke everyone up at five in the morning sharp. Apparently, as he had continuously repeated that morning, they had a lot of training to do.

So she stood next to a half-asleep Gajeel, a tousled looking Natsu and a muttering Juvia in the room that they had all fallen into the previous day.

Lucy quiet liked the look of the training room, contradicting Juvia who absolutely disliked it. Maybe that was because it was where she had first met Gray and where he had first been rude. She had resisted the immense urge to punch him in the jaw when he had, no so lightly, shook her awake with his foot that morning.

Gray was standing in front of the group of recruits who were all attentive and nervously glancing around the room. Juvia had been dreading her first day of training and her fears had intensified after yesterday's discovery of the recruiting system. But she couldn't let self-doubt stop her from succeeding and who knows, maybe she was a natural born fighter.

And maybe she wasn't.

Gray had started them with a warm up, which to Juvia was a workout, of ten laps around the training room and twenty push ups. The blue haired girl didn't even know that a push up was called a push up until she clumsily followed everyone around her and tried to look as energetic as possible. Lucy on the other hand did in fact know of push ups well. After all, she had been self-training in her room for five years now.

Trying her best to conceal her panting breath, Juvia ignored the shaking of her arms and the intense glare of the man above her as she pushed on. When they all rose everyone seemed to be unaffected and Juvia silently cursed them all for suddenly turning so quiet.

"Alright," Gray nodded, "Now we'll move onto the opponent training. These two weeks will focus on this and then you will have an exam. In this exam you get one minute to use your skills and impress three higher ups and convince them that you are worthy of Fairy Tail. Don't stuff it up or- you can figure that out."

Lucy tightened the grip around her sleeve and looked up to Juvia, who glanced down and briefly nodded at the blonde. Without words, they both knew how terrifying and important this was and just how scared they both were.

"We'll start with drills then get onto fight demonstrations." Gray shouted as he walked over to the available training mannequins, "Find a partner."

Juvia looked to Lucy and Gajeel. He just sighed and nodded at her before turning to Natsu, who looked completely excited and energetic.

"It's alright Rain Woman. But this isn't all fun, remember. You have to do your best." Gajeel whispered to Juvia before not so lightly shoving her toward Lucy's direction.

The two girls smiled at each other before turning their attention back to Gray.

"One of you will focus on blocking while the other attempts to land a hit. You will switch when I say and then we will demonstrate some of our skills with a spar." The man spoke and Juvia nodded her head as he went, trying to convince herself that she could to this well.

"So, for those," The two girls did not miss his eyes as they traveled to look over at them, "Who don't get it. Blocking," He muttered as he raised his arm in an L shape at the mannequin, "And hitting," his fist collided with the blank black surface of the mannequin, sending it shaking back and forth from the impact.

Juvia crinkled her nose at him, obviously taking the hint that he thought they were incapable and obviously returning it coldly. Lucy gulped at him, obviously taking the hint that he thought they were incapable and obviously returning it nervously.

All eighteen pairs spread out through the training hall and began their practice. Juvia and Lucy took to the darker side of the room and decided that Juvia would block while Lucy hit. They would switch roles when Gray told them to.

Juvia immediately noticed that Lucy was strong. Her fist was fast and rough and Juvia barely kept up with her movements. Her pale arm slammed against Lucy's closed fist as she clumsily attempted to protect herself. Her dark blue eyes glanced up at Lucy, who was in deep concentration. She was skilled with moving fast and Juvia could tell that she had practiced it many times before. Lucy moved so swiftly that it seemed effortless for her. And a few times Juvia couldn't reach her arm up in time to wherever Lucy was attacking from and her fist grazed against her attack point. Juvia could see Lucy immediately stop as soon as she didn't feel Juvia's arm to stop her. It was comforting.

"Lucy-san, you don't have to hold back. You can hit Juvia."

The blonde looked up at the girl and laughed, "It is alright. You don't have to earn a bruise for just practicing."

"You do if you can't defend yourself, then you earn them." The two girls stopped and looked up to meet the voice. Gray had been walking around all eighteen pairs and observing them and Juvia cringed at the fact that he had actually come to do so with them. She had assumed that he was completely trying to avoid them and specifically, her.

"Practicing or not, this is completely serious." He glared at the two, "Switch places now and don't hold back."

They nodded and followed his order. Juvia started throwing light punches toward Lucy's stomach so they could both adjust to their role. And much to the blue haired girl's annoyance, Gray lingered and watched as she attempted to attack the blonde. Each time, her fist would collide with Lucy's arm and Juvia was thankful that her friend was strong enough to defend herself and avoid giving Juvia the guilt of hitting her.

"Good." He grinned, "Now I know you aren't holding back, 23O. You're just not good."

Juvia gasped and snapped her head to look at him. He smirked at her and she suppressed the boiling fire that was forming in her stomach. Once he had watched them for another minute, he finally left and Juvia sighed inwardly. She looked over to him and watched his back as he walked toward the middle of the room.

"Juvia doesn't like him one bit." She seethed through her teeth while her blonde companion muffled a laugh.

They all practiced drills for a few more minutes and Juvia and Lucy whispered to each other about their thoughts on the other recruits. They both agreed that everyone looked tall and buff, except for a few girls and two boys. Everyone seemed that they had always wanted to choose Fairy Tail. That they all knew they were born for this and therefore had been preparing to fight. They all had previous experience in the way of physical activity and fighting. They all knew that they could make it into Fairy Tail.

"Alright!" Gray called from his place in the center of the building, "Gather round."

As the recruits did so, Juvia looked around to find Gajeel. She saw him waking lazily with Natsu beside him. He looked like the training was easy for him. Natsu looked just as good as Gajeel did, with an excited grin upon his face. The blue haired girl glanced to the left of the two boys. Beside them was another pair, a boy and a girl. The girl was tall with long black hair that had been tied up in two buns. She was talking to the boy beside her, who seemed uninterested in her. Juvia frowned at him. He looked intimidating with his dark eyes that were partially hidden by his bangs. He had red hair that she swore she had seen before. He looked around the same height of the girl. Juvia managed to tear her eyes away from the two when Lucy nudged her side.

"Now we are going to show some of our skills." The dark haired trainer spoke, "We'll have two of the same letters spar."

Juvia and Natsu looked to each other. The blue haired girl gulped at the idea of fighting her friend, who she did notice was quite strong. After all, he had lasted the entire time against Gajeel and still looked refreshed and excited afterward. The pink haired boy frowned, he didn't want to go against a friend who was also a girl. But he wouldn't be able to hold back. He couldn't afford too just like no other recruit could.

Juvia met Gajeel's narrowed eyes and she gave him a sheepish smile. She felt Lucy hold onto her sleeve of her uniform. She looked down at the ground and squeezed her eyes shut, the wall of her farmhouse coming to mind.

"So," Gray hummed as he picked up what looked like a small red chopping board to Juvia and began to examine it, "We will have… 2C and 23C."

Juvia's blue eyes snapped back open and she whipped her head around to Gajeel. He was frowning up at the stage where Gray stood. When she looked to Natsu he just shrugged and gave her a half smile.

"Please come on up," Gray said, "23C, Gajeel Redfox, and 2C, Levy McGarden."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave any reviews, criticism, ideas etc. :-)


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you to P. FullbusterBelieve (thanks for the criticism, I had to agree with you when I read the story back, there were a lot of errors! Sometimes you just don't find them, haha :)), NeverInUrWildestDreams (you will just have to wait ;)) and to bruwahahaha (you are super sweet, thank you very much!) I hope you are all enjoying the story!

* * *

**Hurricane**

_**Chapter Seven**_

The first thing that everyone seemed to notice about the pair was their size difference. Gajeel was pretty tall, but Juvia never really thought about it because there wasn't a dramatic height different between them. But against 2C, Levy McGarden, he looked really big. Levy was pretty small compared to Juvia, but compared to Gajeel she was tiny. And she looked really timid as she clumsily jumped into the arena.

Juvia winced. She knew Gajeel wouldn't want to fight.

The second thing that everyone seemed to notice about the pair was that Levy looked really slim and thin while Gajeel looked very muscly. Even Gray kind of let out this awkward sigh before telling them the rules. He stood at the corner of the arena, standing outside the ropes.

"Alright…" He muttered, "Just demonstrate a fight. Someone block and someone hit... First one to give up loses."

Juvia glared over at Gray before stopping herself and darting her eyes to the ground. Despite her retaliation to the fight and the obvious handicap that Levy had, she couldn't do anything. It wasn't her position to say anything against it and even though she desperately wanted to scream at them to stop, she had to stay quiet.

"You hit." Gajeel mumbled over to Levy, who kind of let out this small squeak and nodded her head furiously.

It wasn't surprising to Juvia at all that Gajeel would offer to block. But she still clenched her jaw together and didn't even glance up at the arena. When Levy started to throw punches, a few of the recruits murmured or giggled here and there and Juvia had to resist the urge of throwing herself at them. Beside her, Lucy was nervously shifting back and forth while watching the small blue girl desperately throw punches up at the man who didn't seem to be phased by them. And beside her, Natsu had turned around to glare at two recruits who were whispering.

The fight continued like that, with Levy hitting to no avail and Gajeel just effortlessly blocking her attacks with this expression on his face that Juvia couldn't quite pinpoint what exactly it was. Gray just stood at the side, watching them without saying anything and Juvia was thankful that he didn't ask for them to switch like he did with her and Lucy.

But the atmosphere in the room was heavy. Everyone knew that Levy wouldn't be able to make Gajeel give up and it was just a matter of minutes to pass before the roles had to reverse. But to Juvia, it seemed like Gray wasn't going to do it. He just kept watching with these cold eyes. She was staring up at him, watching him while he watched the two fight.

"Alright…" Gray began and Juvia just scrunched her eyes closed, "Switch roles."

Everything in the room seemed to go extra quiet. Juvia was glaring down at her feet, refusing to look up and missing Gajeel glare over at Gray. Gray just nodded at him and Gajeel winced. Levy gulped and nodded her head slightly, raising her arms up and preparing for defence. Lucy and Natsu exchanged looks and the boy just awkwardly smiled down at the blonde.

_The proles, _Juvia thought as she gripped onto her sleeve, _this is all to get out of the proles. _

Gajeel moved closer to Levy, who flinched at his nearness. He began circling her and glaring down at her, while she followed his movement with the corners of her eyes. Then he quickly dashed forward and she rose her arms up to her head but the pain never came. Instead, she felt his fist brush up against her arm and the quiet words 'give up' in her ear. Her eyes flung open and she looked up to her opponent, who just stared back down at her.

Slightly annoyed, Levy shook her head at him. She couldn't give up, just like he couldn't. She couldn't jeopardize her position and freedom just so he didn't have to beat her up. She knew she wouldn't last. But it was okay, as long as she didn't give up. Even if he knocked her out cold, she wouldn't do it. She had to stay here, in Fairy Tail.

Gajeel frowned at her and jumped forward, making the small girl jump back and glare at him through her arms, which she had placed up on her head. He gritted his teeth and glanced over at Gray, who was watching them intently with these solemn dark eyes. Then he looked down to Juvia and the others. Natsu was staring back at him and Lucy was looking over to Levy with this pained expression. Juvia wasn't looking at him, or at Levy or at anyone and he was thankful.

With no choice left, he made his first serious attack. And of course her arm didn't make it in time to block his fist, and even if it had Gajeel didn't think that she would have the force to stop him. And when he felt the uniform covering her stomach on his closed fist, he winced. He didn't use his full strength but the force that he did use was enough to send the little girl onto the ground. She let out this terrible cry of pain and Gajeel closed his eyes.

When the sound of the cry reached her ears, Juvia darted her head up toward the scene. Levy was on the ground, her hands firmly clasping her stomach while Gajeel stood over her with his eyes scrunched close. This was all too terrible. This wasn't what she had expected. To witness her best friend, who didn't have any choice but to do it, attack a girl half his size. It wasn't fair.

Levy wobbly stood up and Gajeel breathed heavily through his nose. The small blue haired girl was panting and holding her stomach with this expression that he had never seen before. He just wanted her to give up. But she rose her arms again and glared through them toward him.

"Gajeel." Juvia whispered to herself as she watched man attack his opponent again.

Levy muffled a cry as his fist hit her arm. She knew that he wasn't using his whole strength and that pissed her off even more. It was so patronizing, the whole situation. Everyone was watching them with these knowing eyes and her opponent just stood there, waiting. When she stopped making any noise, he rose his fist again and went for the side of her torso.

"Gajeel!" Juvia cried, loud enough for the recruits to all turn around and look at her.

Levy's arm was quick enough this time but it wasn't strong enough. His fist moved her arm in an awkward way that caused her to move backward. Her clumsy defence did slow down his hit, but it still hurt like hell. He collided with her just below the rib cage and Levy let out another cry, falling onto the ground and grasping her side.

"Gajeel!" Juvia screeched just as Levy fell to the ground. She was loud enough this time for everyone in the training hall to turn and look toward her, "Gajeel, stop!"

"23O!" Gray yelled and Juvia looked up to meet his eyes. He was glaring at her and she hadn't ever seen as much emotion in his eyes as now. But she looked away.

"This isn't your place to say stop, 23O." Gray ordered but Juvia didn't take any notice of him, or rather she was trying her best to ignore him.

"Juvia?" Lucy spoke as she watched the said girl push her way through a few recruits to reach the front of the crowd.

When Juvia reached the front, right in front of the arena, Gajeel was staring right at her. His eyes were wide and she could tell he was fuming. She didn't care though, she just stared at him the best she could to convey the message. Everyone was watching them and after a few seconds Gajeel sighed and nodded at her. He turned to Levy and offered her a hand to help her stand, which she curiously took. He heaved her up and she hesitantly bowed her head at him in gratitude.

"I guess I give up." He deadpanned, before jumping down from the arena and turning back to help Levy down.

Clapping echoed through the arena and everyone inside turned toward the direction of the source. Juvia immediately frowned at the sight of the source, Laxus, walking into the training hall with his arrogant smirk. His clapping got slower as he walked toward Gray.

"That was quite the performance," He smirked and once he had stopped with his clapping he turned to face Gajeel and Juvia, "You're so noble, 23O."

"Laxus." Gray muttered, "What do you want?"

"Ah. I just thought I'd stop by on the recruits first day… Now… how 'bout we have another fight? This time no roles or any of that preschool bullshit. Just a plain, traditional fight?"

Gray eyed the man beside him, "It is the first day, Laxus."

"Nah, its fine." Laxus waved Gray off, "How 'bout-"

He looked around at all the recruits, who were all staring back at him. Then his eyes rested on a boy at the front and Juvia half cheered on the inside.

"…the first jumper versus the last?"

Juvia felt her chest tighten remarkably. She felt Gajeel beside her completely tense up and suddenly the room became very still. Her eyes were probably on the verge of popping out of her eye sockets when she glanced over at Lucy and Natsu, who were both staring wide-eyed back.

"How 'bout it 16L and 23O?" Laxus spoke and Juvia felt like her body was on fire.

She looked back at the blonde man who was smirking down at her and she felt the immense urge to run away, back to her farm house and innocent life. Gray was staring at her also and when she looked over to him he gave her this slight nod. His eyes were the same as before, when she had yelled to Gajeel and she felt like he was trying to tell her to not protest. So she didn't.

The last jumper, 16L, was the boy that she had been looking at earlier. The one with red hair which looked so familiar to her. He didn't protest either and just jumped up into the arena pretty much just after Laxus had called him. Juvia followed him up, half afraid that her arms would give out and she would fall while trying to heave herself up into the arena. Her body felt so weak, like jelly.

She looked over to Gray when she stood up and now that they were both on the same level she could clearly see his face. He was just intently staring at her and it made her feel like she was exposed. But it was strangely supporting.

"Alright then," Laxus half chuckled, "First one to give up loses. Just try not to kill each other."

Juvia shook off the last comment, almost certain that Gajeel would be imagining ways to kill Laxus himself. She just eyed her opponent and took a few steps away from him. He was staring back at her and she couldn't help but feel weak under his intense gaze.

_Stay away from him and block, _she thought, _tire him out._

She wasn't too confident in that plan though, as she had gotten pretty tired herself from their warm up earlier. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the room staring into her back and she half wondered if Gajeel and Levy had felt as nervous as she did.

16L didn't waste time in his attacks. His first was to her side, which she managed to block and then avoid by falling onto the ground and rolling away. But half way of her getting up, he kicked her back from behind and sent her face first into the floor of the arena. She felt her nose and cheeks graze upon the ground. She probably had a nosebleed.

16L, for some reason- probably just to drag on the fight- let her stand up the second time without attacking her. Juvia's knees felt wobbly as she rose, but she ignored it. Then she leapt backward as her opponent sent another attack her way. He had tried to hit her shoulder or somewhere near and she dodged to the left just in time, quickly spinning around and kicking the back of his leg to send him off his balance. And it had worked, he awkwardly fell onto the ropes of the arena while Juvia moved backward to the other side.

But it was probably just luck and it didn't seem to faze him too much because he was back at her side within a few seconds, sending two punches to her stomach. The place where his fist had hit burned through her body and she let out a groan pain. Taking advantage of his weakened opponent, 16L sent another punch to her ribs. This one, Juvia noted, had hurt a lot more than the others. It hurt enough for her to fall onto her knees and let 16L kick her back once again. And once again she fell face first onto the ground. When 16L sent another kick to her side, Juvia attempted to curl up in a ball and roll away. Though that didn't seem to work when he sent another two kicks to her torso. Funnily enough, he never attacked her face.

"Juvia!" Gajeel had screeched and Juvia let out a small laugh at the familiar situation.

Trying for one last time to get away, she rolled toward him and ignored the pain of another direct kick to her stomach. She raised her leg and tried, the best she could from her position on the ground, to kick him between his legs. She must have done some kind of damage because she heard him let out a groan and felt his kicks stop. Quickly, the bluenette rolled to the opposite side of 16L and attempted to stand up. But she could only muster the strength of getting to her arms and knees when 16L recovered and kicked her in the middle of her back, sending her back to the ground.

The room was beginning to get darker, almost as if the natural light from the hole in the roof was slowly being plastered up. Juvia looked up, attempting to find what side of the arena her opponent was facing, only to meet the face of Laxus. She was on the arena floor, right before the corner of where Laxus was standing. She turned her head to look for Gray, but he wasn't standing there. She had half wondered if Laxus had been walking around to follow the fight.

"23O," Laxus spoke, his face suddenly turning very serious, "Nobody says stop. Ever."

Juvia just glared at him and with the little strength and courage she had left, rolled around so that she was laying on her back and facing her opponent, who stopped kicking her at her actions. She looked up and into his eyes. He had this sort of pity in them, Juvia noted. But she couldn't see his face too well, the lighting was changing too much in the room and she couldn't keep up.

"I give up." She squeaked.

And she suddenly wanted to see Gray's intense eyes, really badly. She didn't question it, she just moved her head to look at all the corners of the arena. But he wasn't standing where he was when the fight began. Maybe he had jumped down, not wanting to get possibly hit, Juvia wondered. But when she looked to her left to see Gajeel, who was yelling something that she couldn't hear, she saw him. He was standing at the back of the training room and for some reason, she had a perfect view of him. All the lighting in the room seemed to go directly at him, allowing her to see as he turned around and briefly met her eyes. But Juvia was too tired to do anything more than just stare at him as he left the room.

And before she could even think of why he had left, everything went black.

* * *

**I hope this chapter was pleasing! It took me awhile to write it and I think it's one of the longest chapters I've done. I hope my fighting scenes were written alright. I haven't really done fight scenes before. Feel free to leave any suggestions, criticism, etc. Thank you all!**


	8. Chapter 8

Thank you for all the supporters!

* * *

**Hurricane**

_**Chapter Eight**_

* * *

When her eyes opened once more, she was somewhere unfamiliar and poorly lit. But that didn't surprise her, she knew the whole Fairy Tail base had dim lighting. She blinked a few times to adjust to her surroundings and automatically winced at a burning feeling on her back. It didn't take her too long to remember: she had gotten her ass kicked.

She let out a small whimper as she attempted to sit up, to figure out where she was and how to meet up with the others. But she immediately stopped and tensed up when a hand touched her arm.

"Don't move yet, drink this first." Juvia knew the voice and she grunted at the tone. Turning her vision toward her arm, she became aware of his presence and her own surroundings.

She was in some room with many weird looking seats, identical to the seats that were in the test room. The walls were probably white, but they looked grey under the dim lighting. A fluorescent light hung in the centre of the room, sending out a spotlight to the middle of the room and leaving the rest dimly lit. She was laying in one of the, red, chairs and she brushed her fingers against it to feel its texture. Leather, she concluded.

Her eyes met with his and she was immediately curious at too why he was here, especially after he had walked out the door as she got her ass handed to her on a silver platter. Gray sat beside her, on a smaller chair with no back, and he was staring, too close for her comfort, right at her with his bored looking eyes.

"Ugh," Juvia winced and scrunched her eyes closed, "Juvia got her ass kicked, right?"

"Third person?" He half chuckled and handed her a small cup filled with a dark substance, "Drink this, you'll feel better."

Juvia hesitantly took the cup and glared at it, "It's an old habit, but I try to drop it. What is this? It looks gross."

"Ah." Gray nodded, "It is gross. But it'll allow you to move without feeling like you wanna vomit. That guy got your back really well, you're all bruised-"

Juvia's head popped up at his words and she felt her face burn up, "You looked at Juv- my back?"

Gray blinked at her then smirked, "Don't worry. I didn't, your blonde friend did. She said your back and ribs were pretty done in. Drink."

The blue haired girl gave the man beside her a quick glare before sceptically looking at the cup. She closed her eyes and gulped it down, immediately coughing at the taste that engulfed her mouth.

"It tastes like dirt!" She winced, scrunching her nose and shaking her head.

"It doesn't last long," Gray chuckled, "Besides, you needa be able to walk. Training won't stop for you just because you got beat up. But Laxus should have never done that, he's got a big ego and you go against it. A proud little girl, huh?"

Juvia glared at him and they held eyes for a couple seconds until the atmosphere got awkward and she spoke again, "Why are you helping me? No, actually answer this, why did you leave during my fight. I saw you walk out the door, you even looked back at me."

Gray didn't answer at first and Juvia thought that he just wouldn't and they would sit in awkward silence until one of them left. He looked at her for around a minute, with contradicting eyes that almost made him look like he was in pain. Then he broke eye contact and looked down at his hands, Juvia rose her eyebrow: he looked like a school girl.

"I don't like to see people, who I know are not yet capable, get beat up." He rose his eyes again and Juvia restrained herself at his comment only as he added in a 'yet', "And I'm helping you because of this reason. Even if you said stop, went against rules, no one deserves what you got."

Juvia ignored her probably red face and kept solid eye contact with him, "Sudden change of character?"

Gray let out a small breathless laugh, "Course not. Just helping you back on your feet so I can kick you back down again. You know you'll have to train tomorrow still."

"Don't underestimate me, you know I'm really strong." Juvia frowned, she was unconvincing to even herself.

"Riiiiight," Gray smirked, "As shown by your impeccable skills today… Look, I don't know your story and I'm not gonna assume too much but I'm pretty sure you haven't been training for Fairy Tail before your choice. So, if you don't mind me asking, why did you choose here?"

Juvia didn't really react to his question like she thought she would. She assumed she'd get nervous and scared, like he was suspicious of her and she'd been found out about the test result she didn't understand herself. But, under his gaze, she felt comfortable. He wasn't scaring her like he usually did. It was strange, but she didn't question it.

"Juvia didn't know where she wanted to go," She answered, looking away from him and at the wall in front of her, "So she followed Gajeel. He's born for Fairy Tail and he's Juvia's only friend, well not now. But Gajeel, he's like family and Juvia trusts him with her soul. Wherever he goes, she'll be safe if she follows. So she did."

It was silent for a minute and Juvia didn't dare look to the man beside her, who was processing her words. Finally, he broke the silence that drummed at Juvia's earlobes and she was glad.

"I see. It doesn't matter now anyway, you're here."

"Yeah…"

"Anyway," Gray spoke before the atmosphere of the room turned strange, like it had been when they trailed off, "You should be able to walk now and you kind of have to. The other trainees are waiting for you. It's time for your next test."

Juvia sweat dropped and openly blinked at the man, who was now standing and stretching, "Are you serious?! Juvia can't-"

"Don't worry, 23O," He cut in, "This one's not physical. It's a test to show your commitment. It shouldn't hurt… too much."

"What do I have to do?" Juvia questions, half afraid of her answer.

"Tattoo. You've gotta get something meaningful that links to Fairy Tail, to show your committed and serious. Everyone gets one."

Juvia let it sink in, she wasn't too shocked by it or too against it. It didn't really matter to her, she was more worried about thinking up something meaningful that would link to Fairy Tail than the actual ink that would be permanent on her body. After all, she had just told her trainer himself that only followed her friend here. There wasn't anything meaningful.

"The female recruits are waiting for you, in that next room out there. You can't miss it, it's got a big purple door. Remember to show me what tattoo you get, I'm curious to see what bullshit meaning you come up with," He smirked down at her, "I'll be going now. Cya tomorrow at training, 23O."

As he walked toward the door, Juvia stared at his back with words hanging at her lips, threatening to escape. And since she was new and 'brave' she decided to let them free and test her fate.

"I don't know what to think of you, Gray-sama."

He stopped at the door frame and stood still for a second. Juvia bit her tongue and once he turned around, she gulped.

"Then don't," He spoke in a neutral tone and Juvia just stared at him as he turned to leave once again but quickly turned his head, as if remembering something. He smirked, almost smiled Juvia noted, at her, "And by the way Lockser, the third person is much cuter."

And as he left the room, Juvia sat inside, red-faced and cursing his family name.

* * *

Once she found the purple door, which was as Gray said: outside the room and across the hall, she was met with the other female recruits and a worried Lucy and Levy. Apparently they had befriended each other in her absence and they filled her in about all her injuries as they were the ones that inspected her body, thank the lords. The three sat together in the room, waiting for their instructions and when Juvia asked about Gajeel, Levy spoke.

"He was super angry after you passed out and he refused to let anyone else carry you to the infirmary. He didn't wait outside, though. I think he left once he dropped you off. He told us to take of you and that's the last I saw of him. He's a bit scary, in a nice way?"

Nothing more on the topic was said as Juvia wanted to focus on something other than her aching back. She winced at the thought of sleeping that night, on her rock hard bed with a flimsy blanket.

Twenty minutes later a purple haired woman walked inside and announced that they all follow her. She told them of the task, which everyone seemed to already know about, and said she would lead them to the tattoo parlour in Fairy Tail. They walked past the guild hall, where a few people were already gathering, and Juvia caught sight of blonde hair on tall body. Her body reacted on its own and she reached out for Lucy's hand and gripped it tightly. The girl didn't say anything but squeezed the hand that clung to her as they walked past the room, where the blonde hair on a tall body was watching them with an unrecognisable look.

The tattoo parlour was pretty dark, darker than the rest of the already dark base. It was filled with pictures of previous works and smelt really strange to Juvia. One by one, the female recruits walked into a room and ten or so minutes later came out to reveal their fresh tattoos. Juvia still didn't know what she wanted, so she sat at the end of the line so she could think. But nothing came to mind so she decided that when the time came, she would know.

When Lucy emerged from the room, her eyes were red and Juvia half gulped at the thought of the pain. But she wore a large smile and proudly held up her right hand and showing a red flower that everyone looked at in awe.

"It's a Lily, my mother's favourite flower. It's for her, who wanted me in Fairy Tail," Lucy smiled, "She died when I was young, so this way, I can always have her by my side."

Levy came out following Lucy, and she looked unfazed by the pain. Her jacket was off and in her hands, leaving her in only a singlet. She turned around to show everyone her tattoo, which was placed on her left shoulder and was off an animal, which to Juvia looked like a cat. It was black and relatively small.

"It's a cougar," She explained at everyone's confused looks, "It's a symbol of personal power and strength. It's too guide me through my journey here."

Next to the cougar was a bruise. Juvia looked away.

When it was her turn, she still wasn't certain on what she would get. But she still got up, being the last recruit to go, and walked over to the door. Inside, the room was similar to the room outside: full of pictures of artwork and strange smells. There was a man of around thirty with brown hair standing beside a chair and he gestured for her to enter.

"What are we getting today, blue?" He asked and Juvia scoffed.

She looked around the room, searching for something that would pass as a meaningful message linked to Fairy Tail, only to be met with a pair of dark blue eyes. She jumped at the picture, quickly realising it wasn't another person, but her reflection. A convenient mirror, placed near the door frame.

She stared at her eyes and then at her hair. There was a small cut on her left cheek and she rose a finger to touch it. It was weird; staring at herself. It always was and probably always would be. Her eyes were pretty big, she noted, but they were weird looking to herself and she was glad that she didn't have mirrors to look into all day. She didn't want to worry about her appearance.

But suddenly something caught her eye in the mirror. Right next to her ear, on the opposite wall. She flicked her head and walked over to it, while the brown haired man stared at her bored. It was a picture, half hidden behind another one, of a previous tattoo that someone had gotten.

"We take pictures of everyone's, it's a way to remember the person I guess," The brown haired man spoke, "That one's… I can get this one, don't tell me- ah! This little girl, she was like four foot something, got it ages ago. She passed away a while ago too, didn't last too long here. It's not for everyone. Won't tell you how long or I'll give away my age but it was awhile."

"I'll get it."

* * *

When Juvia walked out, everyone seemed to be ready to leave. They were all leaning against the walls, looking out the exit of the parlour, most likely thinking on what was taking so long. Levy was the first to notice her and she excitedly asked to see her tattoo choice. Suddenly everyone was also interested.

"Erm," Juvia awkwardly pulled down her tracksuit pants, which thankfully underneath had another layer of small pants, to reveal a small black bird placed upon her left thigh, "It was the only place not really bruised or cut, so…"

"It's gorgeous!" Lucy beamed, "What is it?! What's the story?"

Juvia nodded and looked around at everyone's faces. She would carry it, that bird on her thigh for two reasons. The first being for that girl, whose name was never given, who could not make it in a world that Juvia was struggling to. She would do it, she would succeed in Fairy Tail for the both of them. For herself, for the proles and for the four foot something girl who she knew nothing about. And the second reason was selfish. It was all for herself:

"It's a Phoenix. It's too represent my new beginning here. My new chance."

* * *

**Yeah. Um. Please review and etc etc. I hope you are all enjoying this. I really do!**

**If you want to see what Juvia's tattoo looks like: **

**Levys: . **

**Lucys: **


	9. Chapter 9

Thankyou for all the support! :-)

* * *

**Hurricane**

_**Chapter Nine**_

When Juvia went to the guild hall that night for dinner, intent on seeing Gajeel, he was gone. Natsu told her that he, or any of the other male recruits, hadn't seen Gajeel since the whole incident that day. And it annoyed Juvia too no end as she furiously downed her meal. Gajeel wasn't one to avoid her. He didn't run away.

So she assumed that he was still super angry that she let herself get beat up and at the same time give up and that he was off somewhere in the base alone, trying to cool himself down. Maybe he was mad at himself also, for hurting Levy. Juvia decided on both.

Dinner was lively and chaotic. Levy, Juvia, Lucy and Natsu sat together as they ate, talking about their tattoos and everyone else's. Natsu decided on the character for endurance and got it done on his right shoulder and Juvia didn't fail to notice that Lucy lingered her eyes a little longer than everyone else.

Juvia also didn't fail to notice that Gray was sitting pretty far away, almost at the other side of the room. She didn't say anything, after all it would be a bit peculiar if she complained about their trainer not sitting with them, but it made her curious and kind of relieved. He looked back, probably sensing her staring at him, and she didn't look away when their eyes locked. She had already decided to be brave from now on. Then music started playing and everyone cheered and if Juvia hadn't been pulled up from her seat by Levy to dance, she would have noticed the small smirk appear on her trainers face.

So Levy and Juvia, both bruised, battered and harbouring cuts on their cheeks, danced and spun around the guild floor together while others did the same. A blonde with a pink, twirling and almost falling. A cougar with a phoenix, laughing at their aching bodies and pushing them around.

* * *

When Juvia heard the bed beside her creek, she snapped her eyes open and gulped. She didn't have to look to know who it was, after all they did choose beds beside each other. The person was muttering and Juvia assumed that he was having trouble taking his shoes off and was getting frustrated. Once she heard him lay completely flat, she turned her head.

"Avoiding people is annoying, Gajeel-kun." She muttered, aware of the fact that every other recruit was currently sleeping, or pretending, and that it was very early in the morning.

He grunted as a reply and Juvia hit him with her hand and she assumed she got his arm but she wasn't sure because it was so dark.

"Oi!" He hissed, trying to conceal his naturally loud voice, "Wanna wake up all these idiots?"

"Where did you go?" Juvia whispered, ignoring his attempt at provoking her.

"For a walk." He muttered and turned in his bed, probably away from her Juvia decided.

"Long walk."

They fell silent and Juvia wondered if Gajeel would just try to ignore her and fall asleep. But that wasn't like him so she waited, for him to be comfortable and for him to open up. She knew they had to talk, but she'd let him pick the subjects.

"How's Levy?" He whispered in a tone that made Juvia's eyebrow rise.

"She's… strong."

"Hm… and you?"

"Juvia's back is killing her. Also, she's a bit upset that Gajeel-kun just left when-"

"Alright, alright. I get it." He mumbled and Juvia smiled to herself, "Sorry."

"Hm." She smiled and he sighed, signalling to her that that was their conversation over and she was content with this. So she turned away from him also and with their backs turned from each other, they fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, before anyone else, Levy woke with a pain in her stomach and a limp at her leg. Probably from worsening her sore ankle from the dancing, she thought. But she knew she wasn't alone on this so she helped Juvia to the bathroom with Lucy so they could all shower. Juvia almost fell over on the way there but the two managed to catch her. She swayed in the shower and had to sit down after getting changed. Levy swallowed in her throat, she felt it too: everything seemed to be burning on her body. But Juvia was in the ring longer than her and her opponent wasn't some weird nice but scary dude who held back, Juvia got a real fight. And overnight, it seemed that they both felt worse, probably because the excitement from the guild hall had left and the real day after pain had set in.

Levy tied her spare shoe lace around her waist to ensure that her pants would stay up throughout the day. With Lucy, she helped dress Juvia in silence. Nothing needed to be said. It didn't feel right.

Juvia placed her head against the wall. Whatever Gray had given her to lessen the pain had really gone away through sleep. Her ribs were aching and her torso felt like it was melting. Her back was the worst of all, she could pinpoint every spot on it that he had kicked her. But she held in a complaint, only crying to herself inside. Here, there wasn't time to whine. Today she would have to face reality and the results from yesterday. She told herself that after a big breakfast, she would feel much better.

* * *

Training came straight away and they were back in the room lit by a hole in the roof. Juvia gazed up at the hole, where sunlight poured in and hurt her eyes which were now used to the low light of the base. That was a whole different time, she concluded. A different life where she harboured worries much different to the ones she carried now.

Lucy grabbed her hand and they kept walking to meet the rest of the recruits, who were gathered around the ring where Gray was standing, waiting to give the days instructions.

Gajeel walked ahead of the group. Refusing to look at Levy and Juvia, which annoyed them both.

"Give it time," Juvia offered Levy a smile. She knew that she was also aching and was also curious and slightly offended by Gajeel's actions.

"Mornin'," Gray spoke to the recruits as they clumped together, "Today we're gonna do something similar to yesterday. Strength training and sparring. We'll also incorporate some skills with weaponry later today and throughout the next two weeks. So you can use a variety of things during your test. For the rest of the two weeks, you'll be partnered with someone who has the same letter as you and if no one does, we'll go by the closest numbers. Also, based on yesterday… the scoreboard has ranked you guys and the lowest ten, at this point, will get kicked out of Fairy Tail at the end of your recruitment."

He pointed over to the far side of the room, where the orange lit scoreboard stood on the middle of the wall. Thirty six names were written across the glass, all in categorical order.

"Some of you are only where you are because of your recruit numbers… but because of yesterday… some of you moved." Gray muttered with this kind of annoyance in his voice that made Juvia curiously look at him. He was looking at the scoreboard, with his usual passive eyes.

She looked too and immediately guessed that she would be under the line. And she was right, more like '23O Juvia Lockser' was the last name on the board, number thirty six. Gajeel was one step ahead of her at thirty five and he looked back and actually met Juvia's eyes for the first time that day. He shrugged at her and she smiled back, knowing that that was his way of telling her that it really didn't matter. But she knew it did. To already have such a disadvantage. Juvia was worried enough about her placement and if she hadn't fought yesterday, right now she would be in the twenty third spot. She shook head, it was no use thinking of what could happen if she did something differently. She had to earn her place and she would move up, from thirty six to at least twenty five. For her, for the proles and for the phoenix on her leg.

* * *

Juvia was partnered with Natsu and she was glad that she had a friend to spar with for the next two weeks. Natsu was strong, she knew that much, and she could probably learn from him or at least copy what he did. Maybe that would be enough to impress the people at their first test.

She looked over to Levy who was paired with Gajeel and let out a sigh at the sight of them finally talking. Gajeel's eyes were on the ground, but Juvia could see his mouth moving and that was enough.

Lucy was with another girl, the same one who had been walking with yesterday's opponent 16L. Juvia wondered how the two would work together.

"Use the time how you want," Gray spoke from his place at the ring, "I'll tell you do to things now and then and introduce you to weaponry… but, it's your choice what you focus on."

Juvia nodded her head, pleased with the idea of picking what strengths to focus on. Granted, she hadn't exactly found her strength yet.

"You're alright?" Natsu asked, looking her up and down and causing her face to flare up.

"Yeah…" Juvia nodded her head, "Juvia thinks we should work really hard."

Natsu twisted his mouth and narrowed his eyes at her, before nodding and letting out a smile, "Yup! Let's work well together! I think we should start with sparring, since… well ya' know, you're not very good at it."

Juvia chuckled at his bluntness and was glad that it was a trait of his, she wouldn't want him to ignore the fact she wasn't a good fighter. She would rather him say it, so it wasn't awkward when they did fight.

"I think I can help you." He spoke and Juvia smiled at him, nodding her head, "I noticed a few things in your fight yesterday that you could change, wanna work on them first?"

"Yes! Thank you Natsu-kun, Juvia really appreciates it!"

"Sure. Besides I gotta have some competition to fight against for these weeks. I'll train you real good so you can train me real good in return, yeah? There'll be things you're real good at that I'm horse shit at."

Juvia nodded and they walked over to a corner of the training hall to get some privacy.

"Alright you block," Natsu gestured and rose his fists, "Watch your opponent's eyes, they usually look at the spot they'll hit a couple times before they do so they know where to go. So when you notice that, block that spot. Ready?"

Juvia nodded, ignoring the sting in her back. She studied Natsu's eyes and quickly blocked the left side of her stomach.

"Good!" He laughed and Juvia let out a shaky breath, "So you can use that trick against your opponent too. Find out where you'll aim for, then purposefully look at a different spot so they think you'll try for there. They'll block it but you won't hit it, you get me? You'll land your hit on them while they focus on blocking the spot you faked," Juvia nodded and Natsu stood back, "Alright, you try it."

Juvia gulped and clenched her fists, looking at Natsu's chest and thinking of aiming for his lower stomach. She didn't worry too much about hurting him if it actually worked, which it probably would because she knew Natsu would let her. She knew her strength was little and his was anything but. When he motioned to block his chest, she jumped forward and let a clumsy punch hit his stomach. He didn't even blink at it and Juvia was half disappointed, as she tried to put enough strength in to get a reaction.

"Right, that's perfect," He smiled his toothy grin, "I've been using that one for years, even got that Gajeel yesterday with it," At this Juvia laughed, "Right, what you did yesterday in your fight was good. The whole running away and tiring him out. If you know your good at that then use it. Aiming for the back of the leg was good too and when you got his dick I was cheering inside. Use that to your advantage but don't make it the only strength you have. If you battle a guy you can't just rely on hitting his balls and escaping. I mean, that's great for real life fights, but here they probably wouldn't let you protect the whole city if you only had that move. But use it while you train to get better, then you can just punch 'em and it'll have the same effect. Speaking of, your punch is weak as hell. So I think we should focus on strength training for this week, then sparring next week. Whatdya' think?"

Juvia blinked and quickly nodded her head, "Juv- I agree. But I don't want to burden you Natsu-kun."

He shook his head, "Nah, you won't. I was gonna do that with any partner I got, regardless of their strength. You know how to train right?"

"Uhh-"

"Well, you can just follow what I do but feel free to do any training you wanna do- like, I don't know, running or something. But if you got any questions or anything, I'd probably ask that Gray dude, he'd know more than me."

Juvia nodded, feeling as if she could start crying, "Thank you so much, Natsu-kun. Juvia has never-"

"Don't worry about it. Let's not worry on the thanking part of it and let's start the hard stuff. You sure you'll be alright?"

"I have to be." She smiled and thought of Gajeel, she'd make him proud of her.

"Right," Natsu grinned, "You'll take my place on the scoreboard in no time."

* * *

They started on practicing punches and kicks on the punching bags that hung across the left corner of the hall. Some other recruits had the same plan and Juvia was kind of intimidated by their powerful punches. Her arms were stinging and she had given up on trying to complain about her back because it was hurting so much that she couldn't think of a way to describe it. Her punches were much lighter than everyone else's and barely moved the bag, but her kicks were alright and Gray had even walked past and called them 'decent'. She didn't know if she was mad or happy about it.

Then the two O's did some laps of the hall and Juvia knew for sure that she needed to focus more on running and endurance as she was wheezing loud enough for the people standing on top of the building to hear. After running, her legs felt like jelly and she knew her body was about to give out. She felt numb, the pain she had felt from her fight yesterday was poking at every corner of her body and it make Juvia wonder how Levy was feeling.

Natsu showed her some exercises to target her abdominal area and her strength. She barely did a quarter of what he did and she knew that she was way too weak for them, so she decided to run some more. She jogged around, avoiding Gray's gaze which seemed to follow her, and stealing glances at Levy, who was throwing a lot of punches at one of the bags next to Gajeel. Her body looked tired and on the little bit of exposed flesh she had showing, Juvia could make out a bruise. But her face harboured a look of determination and Juvia now knew that the cougar on her back was perfect for her.

Lucy and her partner were sparring and when Juvia looked over, the blonde was in the middle of a very fancy looking roundhouse kick. Everyone was doing so well, Juvia thought as her legs got heavier. She gripped her hand on the wall and stopped her slow paced jogging, feeling like her stomach could fall out of her mouth. And she felt so tired, more tired than yesterday and more tired than she could ever remember. It hurt to do anything, even talk and her wheezing breath was making her head feel dizzy. She suspected she was drawing some attention to her and when she felt a hand on her shoulder she shook it off, attempting to run once more.

"23O."

She stopped at the voice and whipper her head around to the owner of the hand. Gray was standing over her, glaring at her and Juvia didn't have the energy to glare back.

"You alright?" He questioned with a hint of annoyance in his tone.

Juvia nodded and turned to keep running but stopped when the hand returned to her shoulder.

"You're swaying. Are you're wounds all alright? You didn't hit one did you?" He spoke, his voice louder than usual and Juvia would have cursed him if she could speak because she knew that everyone was probably watching them.

"You," Gray muttered, turning away from her and looking over at Natsu, who had come over to see if she was alright, "You're alright to train alone for the rest of today?"

Natsu nodded and gave Juvia a worried look. She focused her eyes on the ground, her face was probably the reddest it had ever been.

"Good, I'm gonna take her to the infirmary. I'll be back in a second." Gray said as he grabbed Juvia's shoulders and steered her toward the door before looking back at the recruits, who were all curiously observing them, "You all keep going."

And right before they left the room, Gray nodded at Gajeel, who looked as equally mad as Juvia.

* * *

"Take of the jacket." He spoke and Juvia mustered her strength to glare at him for his tone of voice. But she did as he said, slipping her shaking arms out of the sleeves and throwing the material down on the ground, "Pull the top up."

She widened her eyes at him, her face still red as ever and her breath still shaky. He gave her a stern look and she scrunched her eyes closed, turning her head and sliding the black singlet she wore up to her ribcage. The room fell silent enough for her to hear him breathe inward not so silently and she wondered how bad her wounds did look. Her face was burning on equal par with her back.

"That fucker got you pretty bad." He sneered and half pushed her down on one of the seats. Then he turned and opened a cabinet in the room, rummaging through it and returning with a bottle of dark liquid and a small container.

"Here," He passed her the bottle, "It's the same stuff from yesterday and it'll help you walk without feeling pain. And also this," He shoved the container in her hands, "Put that cream on your bruises, it'll help the swelling," He cleared his throat and Juvia rose her eyes to look at his face which one again looked like a schoolgirl. She let a laugh through her nose, "I'll get that blonde girl to put it on your back once we're done for today… But you can put in on where you can reach… Anyway, sleep, drink that and don't get up. You'll feel better when you wake up. This is the smaller infirmary so no-one will come in and I'll lock the door so-"

He stopped as Juvia rose her hand to grip his arm, she looked up at him, her eyes half lidded and filled with the desire to sleep, "Drink…. Lev…."

Gray took a step back by reflex, clearing his throat at the surprise she gave him, "What?"

"Levy," Juvia swallowed, "2C. Give her… a drink."

And once he pieced together her quiet words he nodded and helped her to lay down, "Yeah. I will. Sleep, alright? Don't come to the guild hall tonight and don't dance you idiot. I'll get someone to bring you food, so rest."

Juvia's eyes were closed and her body felt like she was in water with an anchor tied to her torso, but she fought to stay afloat, "Lev…y,"

Gray sighed, "I'll tell her the same and I'll make her come here when she's ready to. You two can sleep here tonight, these beds are better for you but all this is only for today, alright? I can't help you after this or Laxus'll have my head. I'll tell 2C to come after."

"Gray-sa… thank..y…"

Gray frowned at the figure before him, "Yeah. Whatever, Lockser."

He grabbed another bottle out of the cabinet and walked toward the door. Turning the light off and taking one last look at the blue haired girl before closing the door.

And inside, Juvia gave up her struggle to fight the anchor and sunk into the depths of the sea.

* * *

When she woke once again, she cursed herself at the familiar situation. There was no light in the room which she was thankful for, but she could see enough to make out the things inside the room. She sat up and looked around, now aware of the other person in the room, who was curled up on her side on the bed next to her and Juvia assumed that she was in a deep sleep.

She then noticed the box next to her, on the table that was next to her bed. She frowned and looked at it, it had no colour in the grey lighting and was around the same size as the cake boxes she always saw when her foster mother's sister came to their house. She reached over to it and opened it. The room was immediately filled with the scent of food and Juvia felt her mouth shamelessly water. She recalled Gray's words and felt her whole face heat up. She was ashamed and she was a burden.

Juvia guessed that it was around midnight as the base looked darker than usual and the food wasn't as hot as it would have been four hours ago when it was made. But it filled her stomach graciously and she enjoyed every bite of it, which she usually did at dinner.

The silence of the room bit at her ears and she wanted to get up to put the empty box in the bin across the room but stopped when she remembered Gray's words. So instead she put it back where she got it and laid back in her bed. The cream container, which she left on the table, was gone and Juvia lifted up her shirt, which had changed from a singlet to her pyjama top, and felt the cotton wrappings which hugged her torso. She bit her lip and turned to look at Levy, who was also in her pyjamas.

Levy was strong. Levy endured. Levy didn't leave the training because she swayed when she ran.

Juvia looked at the roof and she suddenly remembered the day when she discovered the proles existence. A time when everything was different but she felt the same as she did then: scared, weak and little. And for the first time in a long time, Juvia cried.

* * *

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Fairy Tail, Adventure, Romance