This Time [Fairytail Fanfic]

11: Lost in an unknown forest

Juvia is... lost.

No matter how much she want to decline it, she's still lost. And earlier, after hearing the howling noise, a forceful gust came and blew away her one and only map.

And even if she did have the map, she still doesn't know where on earth is she. She tried remembering the trails that she past, and yet, she cried internally when she notice how similar the other trails to each other, and also the fact that she was aimlessly walking without even looking away from the map.

So, remembering was useless..

Honestly, she never knew that she was lost, until she took her eyes off the wretched map. Great..

Seeing that there's no point on moping around and self-blaming, she decided to continue her search.

Hey, at least she still have the book :D

She, once again, continue on walking aimlessly while humming a jolly tune, completely oblivious by the pairs of glowing red eyes that was eyeing her intensely from the shadows of the forest.

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"Okay, this is getting old. Where is Juvia?!"

Apparently, walking aimlessly can lead you to the top of a snow-covered hill... who knew.

Deciding that she need a break, Juvia sat on a large flat rock and opened the book that Asahi gave.

And true to his word, the word 'hidden treasure' was indeed been mentioned a couple of times, yet she still couldn't find any possible hints.

As she unconsciously lay down, she brought up the book and stared intensely at it. After a few staring, Juvia sighed loudly and allow the book to fall on top of her face.

Juvia huffed and puffed a couple of time before rising up, and momentarily forgot the laying book on her face, causing it to fall in a not-so decently way.

Her eyes widen a bit when she saw something fall down as she picked it up, slowly reaching out to it, she gently scoop it up.

"A picture?"

Silently examining it, she notice how old it was, seeing that it was now brownish and have a few dust.

It was a picture of 2 people- a man and a woman, a small treasure chest between them, and a small tree behind them.

Her eyes landed on the person on the left side, finding him a bit familiar. She squinted her eyes a bit to have a closer look, before widening it in surprise.

"I-It looks like Asahi-san!!"

Smiling brightly, Juvia cheered as she got up. "But who is the other one?" She mumbled quietly.

'Who is she?'

A sound of a twig snapping caught her attention, as she allows her eyes to aimlessly scan the surrounding, pinpointing the location of the sound.

She carefully picked up the fallen book, then gently putting the picture back. Eyes continue to search as she put on a defensive stance.

Keeping her guard up, she cautiously stepped forward. She slowly active her magic. Her right hand slowly liquefied, while the other holds the book tightly.

A pair of bunny ears abruptly sprouts out of a nearby bush, startling her slightly. Identifying it, she heave out a sigh in relief.

"Hey there little guy.. for a second there, Juvia thought that you might be a wild beast."

Slowly, the bunny ears descends, as Juvia's eyes slowly widen at the sight.

There, stands a large beast, which is a mixture of a bear and a bunny. Eyes glowing dangerously, as it pant loudly, drools one by one fall from the each sides of its mouth.

"N-Nice Mr. Bear-Bunny.. hahaha..."

Cracking up a stiff smile, Juvia slowly took a step back. She glance at the area behind her, and cursed silently.

Apparently, they're at the side of the hill, where pointy rocks and tall trees are below them.

'Would Juvia still live if she jump from this height?'

-----

Panting in exhaustion, Gray successfully took down the last beast. He eyed his surrounding, mobs of beast were laying motionless around him.

Earlier, when he entered the forest, a large group of Bear-Bunny beasts ambushed him out of nowhere.

They weren't hard to defeat, they were just annoyingly too many to dealt with in a short period of time.

He eyed his surrounding; large amount of tall trees surrounds him, as an occasional pointy stones.

Groaning in frustration at the fact that he still couldnt find the bluenette, he ruffled his hair harshly.

"Where is she?"

An echo of yell caught his attention. He examine his surrounding before looking up.

His eyes slowly widen as a figure slowly neared him, it's shadow slowly getting bigger and bigger by a second.

"...Move out of the wayy!!"

Recognizing the voice, Gray quickly spread out both of his arm, attempting on catching the falling bluenette.

"Oof!!"

After catching her, Gray's legs couldn't handle the sudden weight and gave up, causing the two to fall down.

"..huh.. Juvia lived..." Juvia mumbled, while attempting to stand up.

She looked below her, and quickly panicked when she recognize Gray. Yelling an apology, Juvia blushed lightly in embarrassment.

"Juvia's so sorry, Gray. She didn't mean to crush you from her fall."

Gray let out a chuckle, before standing up as well. "It's alright, Juvia. Though, I'm a bit curious on why were you falling earlier."

At that question, Juvia immediately told him what happened earlier, and chuckled lightly at the sight of a gaping Gray.

He pinched the end of his nose, as he shake his head. "So.. you're telling me that a beast suddenly appeared in front of you, and jumping off the cliff is your only solution?"

Looking back, Juvia facepalm at the thought of her action. She quickly averted her eyes when she felt Gray's pointing glare.

"Juvia regrets her decision.." she mumbled out. She side-glance at the sighing Gray before asking out, "Wait.. why are you here anyway, Gray?"

Gray flinched slightly, as Juvia crossed both of her arms. "W-Well, seeing that you're alone and all, I thought that I should help you with your quest. Besides, Natsu and the others can handle the job."

Nodding in understatement, Juvia quickly dismissed her accusing thought and smile at him. "Is that so. Well, Juvia doesn't mind."

Gray let out a inaudible sigh, while looking away at the nodding bluenette. "A-Anyway. What were you looking for again?" He asked.

Juvia quickly showed him the book, "Unfortunately, Juvia haven't got a clue on where can she find the treasure.."

She frantically fished out the picture, before showing it. "But, according to the picture.. perhaps, it might be hidden somewhere near this little tree" she said, while pointing at the said tree.

Gray thought for a bit, eyeing the picture intensely, he nodded, "Okay, so we need to find this tree?"

He briefly noticed the small clover engraved on the tree's trunk. Taking a mental note on it, the two decided to wander around the forest.