Teru-Teru Bozu (Gruvia One Shot)

Teru-Teru Bozu

Teru-Teru Bozu.

A Japanese doll made using paper or cloth by people of all ages.

'Teru' means sunshine. 'Bozu' means monk, or little boy.

If hung upright, it is a prayer for there to be no more rain.

However, if hung upside-down, it is a prayer for rain to fall.

~{ Juvia }~

Juvia had always loved the rain.

She loved the way it gracefully fell from the sky onto the ground. She loved how it never complained even after the impact.

She loved the noises, the soft 'pit pat' of it when it fell, it was calming. She loved the way it splashed against a solid object, or against another body of water.

Yet, others never seemed to appreciate it like her.

Everyday, she'd go to her mailbox and find an upright teru-teru bozu sitting there.

A smile on its face, taunting her, mocking her.

It was undoubtedly placed there by someone new everyday. Everyone in her village had placed one in her mailbox at least once.

As many as she had collected, the rain never stopped. It always followed her.

She didn't know why, but she never complained.

She always wondered, if she didn't make a fuss about it, couldn't everyone else learn how to deal with it too?

Every morning after checking her mailbox, she'd walk back into her house, the teru-teru bozu in hand, and she'd put it in a big box she'd hidden under her bed.

As much as she loved the rain, she wanted it to stop.

Not forever, no, Mavis forbid. Just for a week. Heck, she'd even take a day, maybe even a minute.

She just wished it'd stop.

She wasn't getting sick of the rain, she would never. She was just getting sick of the teasing.

So she kept all her teru-teru bozu dolls, all of them under her bed to keep them close by.

She just wanted to see the blue sky, even if just for a second.

~{ Gray }~

Gray didn't love the rain, but he found it good company.

When he was bored, watching raindrops roll down his window was always good entertainment.

Those days he lay in his bed, tired but awake, the sound of the rain would gently lull him to sleep.

It was comforting in a strange way.

Most people he knew hated the rain, he didn't really know why. He didn't really love it, but he didn't hate it either. He just enjoyed it, yet because of that, people distanced themselves from him. It was strange.