Of Water and Ice: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser [Fairy Tail] - Part II
Title: Of Water and Ice: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser [Fairy Tail] - Part II
Author: x_darkhope_x
Fandom: Fairy Tail
Pairing: Gray Fullbuster x Juvia Lockser (Gruvia)
Spoilers: Chapters 1-416 (Current chapter as of 1/19/15)
This is Part II of the Gruvia Manifesto. See Part I for the introduction.
Part III is linked at the bottom.
Of Water and Ice: Gray Fullbuster/Juvia Lockser (Part II - Tenrou Island Arc [Part Two], Grand Magic Games Arc)
Tenrou Island Arc [Part Two]
Meredy explains that she has connected Juvia and Gray’s senses as one. She also says that if the targets of this magic don’t have strong feelings, they won’t connect. Because the magic worked and connected, that’s evidence Gray, and especially Juvia, have strong feelings for each other. Meaning Juvia’s feelings are not shallow, and Gray does care about her. Right away you can see the magic working as Juvia blushes thinking of her and Gray as one, because he is also blushing wondering why. Not only does this magic link emotion, but it shares pain. Whatever pain Juvia feels, Gray will feel too. Juvia attacks Meredy again for trying to hurt Gray. Meredy can’t believe how strong Juvia became and that her power is still growing. She then connects a sensory link to herself. Juvia’s attack was thrown back at her even though it hit Meredy. This is because Meredy attached herself to Juvia’s connection. Gray is feeling the attack as well, in extreme pain. Meredy continues to say she has put her life on the line for Ultear, and that now it doesn’t matter which one of them dies because Gray will too. The girl in love must find a way to save Gray, and herself.
Juvia looks at her in despair. Gray is seen wondering what the heck is going on, why he feels pain, what the link is on his wrist, and why his feet are cold. He relates it to someone’s feelings flowing into him. Back to the fight, the water mage looks saddened by Meredy’s actions because she understands it would mean that she too would die along with Gray and herself. Juvia feels a weight at her back, knowing it’s Gray. So she too, can feel him. Meredy says that now that she and Gray’s senses are connected, there’s no need to fight with anyone. She attempts to kill herself, while Juvia screams in protest to stop. Before the attack kills Meredy, Juvia thinks to herself for Gray to forgive her, as she attacks her own leg in order to stop Meredy’s attack. The Grimoire Heart member can’t believe what Juvia just did, and responds by telling her the only way to stop her is to kill her. The water mage says there is another option for them, and that is to live. Fairy Tail mages would never take their enemies lives. Meredy does not care for that, and screams that she will kill Gray for the sake of Ultear. Juvia screams back “As if I’d let you!” and attempts to render her incapable of fighting before that happens. She does this by hugging Meredy, reminding her of the reasons to live. We see a flashback of when Ultear first met Meredy. The pink haired girl becomes emotional just like Juvia, who continues on stating as she cries that she lives for the ones she loves. Meredy admits defeat, as she cannot compete with Juvia’s emotions. The sensory link disappears between all three of them. Gray wipes away the tears from his face that came from the battle between the two women. Ultear then finds him hiding behind the tree.
Ultear tells Gray a lie regarding her intentions. Gray vows to defeat Hadesas the two part ways. She then finds Meredy, who looks shocked that Ultear has Zeref in her possession. The older woman eyes Juvia, who is unconscious. She asks Meredy who the woman is. The younger woman replies by saying that’s Juvia; she is a friend of Gray’s and they are close. Ultear understands and raises a sword to kill her. Meredy looks shocked and has a look of sadness on her face. Ultear tells her that she will not let Gray have a hint of a future. No part of him will see the future. Before she can deliver the final blow, ice magic stops the attack and Juvia is carried away by someone. Gray is there looking beyond angry, holding Juvia close to him as he saves her. He tells Ultear he never believed a word she said, and puts Juvia down gently. He also tells her that he swore to never use Iced Shell again. That is because he wants to walk the path where he can live with his comrades. So much like Juvia, he chooses to live for those he loves. As he speaks, a sleeping Juvia is smiling. Gray attacks Ultear, but she tells Meredy to escape with Zeref. He immediately calls Juvia’s name, trying to get her to snap out of it. She wakes up at the sound of Gray’s voice calling out to her. Juvia has hearts in her eyes, thinking about how she was being woken up by Gray’s voice. Gray tells her to forget about that and go after Zeref. She obeys but instantly falls to the ground due to the pain in her leg. Gray looks at her and calls her name in concern, but she knows what to do. If it’s an order from Gray, pain means nothing. He stares at her, watching her crawl away. Once she leaves, Gray continues his battle with Ultear and ultimately wins.
Natsu, Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Lucy defeat Hades with the help of Laxus, Happy, Carla, and Lily. Once they reunite with the rest of the guild, everyone is celebrating and happy to be together. Gray suddenly snaps his head around looking for something. He asks how Juvia is, but learns that she never returned to the camp. After hearing that, Gray becomes worried and wonders if she’s alright, as well as what happened with Zeref. They are about to head back to camp, and we see Gray thinking about Juvia once more. His concern for her is being emphasized here. This is something that would not have been if it was the beginning of the series and their relationship. Gray has gradually progressed with Juvia. His feelings are growing, and this arc points that out multiple times. Notice that he is the one to ask about her. He is the one that realized she was missing. This is significant. Juvia finally makes her way back, crawling towards the group. Erza and Gray are the first ones to see her, as Gray shouts “You’re okay!?” This is more of a question than a statement, as supported by his previous worry of her well being. This pairing has a serious side and a comedic side. Long overdue for a light hearted moment, Juvia is apologizing for letting Zeref get away and asks Gray for punishment by sticking her butt towards him. He responds by saying he doesn’t have those kinds of hobbies.
Makarov makes the announcement that due to all that’s happened, the S-Class exam is cancelled. Many members are disappointed. Gray complains that he wanted to become S-level, while Juvia offers encouraging words telling him he will make it next time. The group is interrupted by an enormous magical power. Acnologia, the most powerful black dragon to ever exist, lands on Tenrou Island. Seeing its power, Fairy Tail members must run. Gray carries Juvia away with him. It’s interesting how they are constantly next to each other throughout all this, and that Gray felt the need to pick Juvia up and take her away to safety. As Makarov battles the dragon, Juvia is still seen being carried by Gray. The master tells his children to run. The ice mage never lets Juvia go as he runs with her on his shoulder. The guild attempts to help Makarov take down Acnologia. There looks to be no hope, so all they do is have faith and hold hands. In which, Gray and Juvia end up holding hands inside the circle.
Grand Magic Games Arc
7 years pass since the events at Tenrou Island. Fairy Tail had gone from the strongest guild to the weakest. Hope of finding those lost faded fast. However, it turns out that the first master of Fairy Tail, Mavis, was able to protect them from Acnologia’s blast. It just took 7 years for the magic to dispel. Those who were on Tenrou Island have not aged at all, and their power is still at the same level. With the return of their members, Fairy Tail celebrates like old times. During the celebration, members of the guild Lamia Scale drop by. This is the guild that Lyon, the childhood friend and rival of Gray resides in. Lyon spots Juvia, and automatically falls in love with her. Thus, a love triangle has been established. It’s clear the author has used Gray’s rival/childhood friend in the love triangle on purpose. Juvia comes up with some bizarre love chart in her head, to which Gray is annoyed by. Actually, he seems annoyed by the whole thing.
The group goes off to “train” at the beach. Juvia thinks a tanned Gray is cool. So we have constant reminders of her feelings for him, despite Lyon newly being introduced into the mix. The girls suspect the guys trying to peep at them, but Juvia defends Gray in saying he would never do that. Well, unfortunately she was wrong there. We see Gray and the other guys who attempted to peek. Nice to know Juvia thinks more of Gray, but he’s a guy after all. Nevertheless, at least this shows Gray is interested in girls and such. He doesn’t really show that side often. It's also confirmed in a volume (32) extra that Gray went to go peek on Juvia specifically. The group enters the celestial world for a celebration. Juvia is confronted by Aquarius, who asks her if she has a boyfriend. She doesn’t yet, but the author is making reference to her love life once again. Gray pats Lucy’s head, and Juvia is shown like a jealous girlfriend would; exclaiming “Hey! What are you doing!?” Even though she should know by now that Lucy is no threat nor rival in love, Juvia cannot help but dislike Gray giving attention to other females. This is something that she needs to work on, but it’s gotten better more recently. After they return, the group meets up with Jellal, Meredy, and Ultear. Before they meet up, you can see Juvia hanging onto Gray and he doesn't mind. (Thanks Shikax3 for pointing this out!) After they get the run down of what's going on, Juvia over hears Carla and Happy talking about how Erza left with Jellal alone. As a result, she wraps her arm around Gray’s and starts to drag him away, telling him that she wants that too (to be alone). Gray simply lets her drag him, not protesting at all. He does ask her what she wants though. Meredy witnesses the two, thinking that the relationship hasn’t really gone anywhere yet. The keyword here is “yet”. Though personally I’d disagree. I do think the relationship has progressed, though that’s from the beginning of the series. I guess it hasn’t really gone anywhere yet since Meredy met them. They just got back from Tenrou Island after all. Moreover, the fact that Meredy even sees them as a potential couple says something. And Gray, who just lets Juvia drag him away.
The team makes it to Crocus in order to prepare and participate in the Grand Magic Games. The team of five chosen includes Gray, Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Wendy. Elfman replaces Wendy after she is attacked by Raven Tail. The members are roaming the city, when Gray hears Juvia calling his name. He asks what she is going there, and she tells him that she’s not the only one there cheering for them. She also asks Gray to have lunch with her alone. Gray responds telling her that he’s feeling hungry. So it was his way of agreeing to go to lunch with her alone. They are interrupted by Lyon, who tells Juvia about a restaurant that’s pretty good on that very street. He starts to walk off with her, while Gray screams at him to not take away his member. Another translation has Gray saying not to take “what’s his”. Either way, Gray does not want Lyon to be walking off with Juvia. So at first he found everything annoying revolving this love triangle. He still does, but he’s showing a bit more possessiveness now. Lyon and Gray start to argue about the tournament. As a result, Lyon challenges Gray and makes a bet. The bet is that if Lamia Scale wins, Juvia must join their guild. Gray looks confused and annoyed. Hesitantly, he asks Lyon what about if Fairy Tail wins. He then tells Gray that they will give Juvia back. That doesn’t make sense to Gray, as he yells that she was theirs in the first place. It doesn’t look like Gray wants to agree to the bet. Lyon asks Gray if he’s afraid he will lose. All Gray says is “What did you say….?” He doesn’t give a direct answer. Juvia is in the middle of all this, not understanding completely what’s going. So she confronts Gray frantically about choosing her or Lyon. Gray sweat drops because he realizes she has no clue what was really happening.
Another interesting note is that after all this occurs, Gray, Juvia, and Lyon are in a restaurant. It's the 4th panel, you can see them through the window. The author didn't have to add this small piece of evidence in there, but he did anyway. You can clearly see the disappointed looks that both Gray and Juvia have on their faces. It's most likely because Lyon is there, ruining their alone time. Oh, and what Lyon did annoyed them in general, but the whole point was for Gray and Juvia to go alone, and that was shot to hell. (Credit to BonneyQ for pointing this out to me, as I missed it the first time around. She writes amazing Gruvia fanfiction, so check her stories out if you love this pairing!)
The games have finally begun. Lyon reminds Gray of the bet they made regarding Juvia. Gray tells Lyon he doesn’t remember ever agreeing to that. Basically, Gray didn’t agree with it at all. The logical reasons would be that first, Juvia is already in Fairy Tail, therefore Lamia Scale cannot “give her back”. Second, Juvia is not an object to be bet on. She is a human with feelings, and Gray obviously respects that. And third, if Gray did agree to the bet and Fairy Tail lost, he would probably never forgive himself. Evidently, Gray just doesn’t want to lose Juvia at all. He won’t take that risk. To Fairy Tail “A’s” surprise, five other members of Fairy Tail (the B team) have made it through the elimination round. Juvia is included in that other group. Gray is shown yelling Juvia’s name of all people. So Fairy Tail has two teams of five members competing in the games.
The first event is called “Hidden”. Seeing that Lyon is competing for his guild, Gray decides to do so as well. He gives Lyon a challenging look, in which Lyon returns. That leads to Juvia competing for Fairy Tail B, seeing that Gray was participating. So in the very first game of the tournament, the author pushes the love triangle. We see Juvia’s serious side, as she tells Gray she’s sorry but she doesn’t plan on losing to him. That earns her a smirk from him, as he tells her “Sure, bring it on”. The pair is then interrupted once again by Lyon, shouting he will do what he can for Juvia. The girl shivers, while Gray tells her to ignore him because stupidity is contagious. The game begins as everyone is left on their own in a deserted town. Gray calls Juvia’s (and Lyon’s) name, wondering where they and everyone else went. It turns out that clones of all participants are scattered everywhere. You must attack the real one. If you attack a clone, a point will be deducted. If you get attacked a point will be deducted as well. You earn points by landing successful attacks on real participants.
Juvia sees Gray clones everywhere. She is love struck, and goes to hug one, only to lose a point by “attacking” a clone. The Fairy Tail B team watches this. It’s pointed out this rule is very unfavorable to Juvia. They all know how she feels about Gray, and seeing a bunch of him everywhere would make her go crazy. Gray is constantly attacked by Raven Tail. Lyon and Gray finally run into each other. But before either one of them can attack, Juvia calls Gray’s name from above. Both men look up to see her flying down and her skirt riding up. Gray says her name, while Lyon makes a comment about her panties. She lands on Lyon with a kick, earning herself a point. It doesn’t seem like Lyon cares very much, as all he kept thinking of what a nice sight her panties were. And so, the love triangle starts up again. Gray tells Juvia that he doesn’t need her help, to which Juvia says that she knows. However, she promised the master that she would win. Gray questions her motive. It turns out that win Fairy Tail B wins, the losing Fairy Tail A team must do whatever they say for a day. Juvia already imagines what she would have Gray do, which implies intimacy/kissing. All Gray responds with is an angry “You’ve got to be kidding me!” He was more so annoyed that the master did not mention it to his team, and if that same rule allied if they won. That’s why Juvia won’t lose. And again, Gray agrees with her challenge. Unfortunately, both of them were caught off guard and attacked by Raven Tail. Gray was already attacked two-three times by the same person, and now Juvia has been attacked as well. It’s clear that Raven Tail is targeting Fairy Tail.
After the event, both Gray and Juvia watch the next battle from afar. They are both obviously depressed/feeling down. Though that night, the gang heads to a local bar to celebrate anyway. Lucy and Gray have not arrived yet. That gets Juvia worried. She imagines a farfetched scene with Gray and Lucy being alone together, and Lucy telling Gray she loves him. In Juvia’s imagination, Lucy attacks Gray intimately while Gray replies he already has Juvia. Of course, Juvia starts freaking out in real life while Gray and Lucy appear behind her. They both confirm this (what happened in Juvia’s mind) will never be the case. As the group continues to celebrate, Gray and Juvia are drawn close to each other, much like other times.
As Wendy, Natsu, Lucy, Happy, and Carla walk the streets, Happy wonders where Erza and Gray are. Carla responds to him with “Poor Gray”. It seems he was snatched away by Lyon, and Juvia tagged along because she wanted to make everything clear too. Following this comes the scene that suggests Gray possibly having feelings for Juvia. Gray finds Erza alone on the balcony. She’s thinking of Jellal, and her friend Milliana who hates him. Erza asks Gray what he’s doing alone. Gray tells her he was caught in some messy stuff between Lyon and Juvia. Erza asks him “Messy stuff?” She continues to tell him that she wasn’t there, but she could imagine what it was about. She smiles at Gray, while he gives a frown. Erza tells Gray that he should have sensed Juvia’s feelings for him by now. She asks him why can’t he be a little more resolute. She asks him “Why don’t you make everything clear?” To this question, Gray turns his face and blushes. This scene confirms that Gray does know about Juvia’s feelings for him and he’s not oblivious. So why is it that he never gives her a response? There’s a few possibilities. One could be that he doesn’t know how he feels and still figuring out if he likes her romantically, thus he waits to answer her. Another possibility is that he does have feelings for her, but just doesn’t know how to go about them. And the last possibility, which I have to address even if I don’t agree with it, is that he simply doesn’t like her that way and avoids the situation. The reason I see this being the least likely (although possible) is because Gray is not someone who avoids confrontation in that way. It’s as if he’s running away. He’s got no problem letting someone know he doesn’t like them. Consider this and the growing bond between him and Juvia. Their relationship has improved a great deal, and his feelings only become stronger. Also, if he didn’t have some sort of feelings he wouldn’t have blushed at the mention of making things clear. Erza is someone Gray has known for a long time. They have a great relationship. You can see the smirk she had on her face as if she knew something. It’s clear even she supports him and Juvia together. At the end of the scene, Erza leaves Gray pondering/thinking as he stares off into the distance. And lets face it, even if Gray doesn't harbor romantic feelings for Juvia just yet, this scene still adds to the growing list of evidence. Everything is a build up.
The group is celebrating once again for their victories. We are reminded again of Juvia’s feelings when she goes up to Gray and tells him he was wonderful today (even though he didn’t even do anything). We see her again swooning how awesome he is (in which Gray doesn’t mind) as he goes wine barrel surfing. The next event on day four is “Naval Battle”. Juvia is a participant because water is her specialty. She ends up taking out three people at once in the water. She also calls her wings of love, “Gray-sama love”. Juvia thinks “Did you get hot from watching Juvia, Gray-sama?” But she sees that he has a disgusted/shocked face on. That results in her falling out of the sphere. Gray looked more embarrassed than disgusted. Well, it could be embarrassing to have a girl announce her love for you in front of an audience. While her feelings for him make her strong, they can also be a distraction. Juvia does need to work on that, though it doesn’t take away from the fact that her feelings are more than a crush. Looking at back the night of day three, the author created a side story which shows the gang enjoying their time at a swimming pool and a summer leisure spot. Juvia tells Gray to ride the love slide with her. Gray asks her why it’s called that, to which Juvia responds by saying it’s a slide where people hug each other. She blushes while Gray also blushes yelling at her that he won’t go (an example of him being somewhat tsundere). Since Gray said that, Lyon interrupts and picks Juvia up, saying he would go with her. She looks shocked while Gray yells at him, asking him what he’s doing there. We see Gray and Lyon fighting with Juvia in the middle. Why should Gray fight with Lyon about this? Apparently, it does bother him. All three of them are now at the top of the slide. Juvia is still begging Gray to go with her. Lyon is telling her to forget about Gray and go with him. Gray still finds it annoying. Oddly enough, he blushes and refuses to go on the slide with Juvia, yet in the next scene with them you see him at the top of the slide anyway. If he didn't care, he wouldn't be there. Lyon and Gray end up falling and riding the love slide together. Gray asks “Why with you!?” (which is also Lyon’s question). That could suggest either why it was Lyon of all people he went on the slide with, or why it was Lyon instead of Juvia he ended up hugging on the slide. It could be both.
The second to last day of the tournament as arrived. Juvia has taken Natsu’s place (seeing as he went to save Lucy) on the team since Fairy Tail A and B teams combined. Gray fights Sabertooth’s Rufus. He determined that himself while Mavis was calculating the matches. When Gray told her that he wanted to fight him, Juvia looked at him in concern “Gray-sama…” While Gray is battling, he strips, showing the crowd he means business. That makes Juvia blush as she covers her face, saying his name, like an embarrassed girlfriend would. When Gray wins, Juvia is seen with hearts in her eyes. Everyone else is cheering and Mavis is relieved. It’s nice how the love interest is portrayed here. Juvia is fighting with Chelia. It looks like it’s a cat fight between two girls. Chelia blames Juvia for using feminine wiles on Lyon, while Juvia tells her that her heart only belongs to Gray. As if on cue, both Lyon and Gray show up at the sight. Lyon can’t believe Chelia is having a hard time, and thinks Juvia is amazing. By contrast, Gray thinks he doesn’t have time for this right now. He’s a serious fighter and doesn’t want to deal with cat fights. However, you see him and Lyon give challenging stares to each other. The girls shout out their loves names. Lyon comments that to Gray that he’s worn out and seen better days. Gray retorts with telling him it doesn’t matter because they will (Gray and Juvia) handle them (Lyon and Chelia) with ease/take care of them at once. This sends Juvia into dream land once again as she converts Gray’s “We’ll take care of you with ease” to “We’ll be together forever. I love you, Juvia”. She then gets that cute, chibi blush face on as she hugs Gray from the side and asks where he wants their honeymoon to be. Gray doesn’t push her away or reject her feelings. Instead he asks how many screws are loose in her head. So once again, his feelings are left vague. Lyon watches them, knowing Juvia loves Gray, and vows to make her realize who the right man for her is. Poor Chelia is right there. This battle was foreshadowed ever since Lyon tried to make that bet with Gray. In fact, you can argue it’s been foreshadowed ever since the love triangle was established when Lyon fell for Juvia right in front of Gray. A color page in the next chapter (317) shows the remaining fights for Fairy Tail. In Gray and Juvia’s panel, Juvia is hugging Gray with a smile on her face. Meanwhile, Gray has a sweat drop and annoyed look, but alas, he’s letting her hug him. The text reads “Their destined opponents are Lyon and Chelia. Will the power of their bond make the difference?!” or depending on the translation, another one reads “Fates hand has chosen Lyon and Chelia as their adversaries. Will their unspoken bond aid or hinder their efforts…” Either way, it refers to the strong bond between Gray and Juvia. Team work will be needed in this fight. We will see how well they work together and how compatible they are.
The fight begins as Lyon attempts to attack Gray. We see Gray avoid the attack and call out to Juvia, who already knows what to do without him saying anything else. They use a combination of water and ice attacks, which are cancelled out by Chelia. Lyon attacks Gray again, in which this time it actually hits him. Juvia yells his name, as Chelia tells Lyon to attack Juvia too. It turns out that Lyon doesn’t wish to attack Juvia after all. He tells Chelia to do that but not wound her. Juvia acknowledges Lyon’s strength. Gray tells her that Lyon and Chelia’s team work is not working, and that they (him and Juvia) have a chance. He is assuring Juvia that the power of their team work is superior. So Gray trusts her completely, and is putting a great amount of faith in their team work. We are seeing the power of their bond. Gray basically says that unlike Lyon/Chelia, him and Juvia are working in unison.
Gray and Juvia look extremely beaten up. Juvia is on the ground, panting and upset. Gray is standing, but bleeding. That's when Chelia tells Lyon to finish them off. He apologies to Juvia, while Gray speaks to her, calling her name. He puts his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. Juvia reaches up and returns his touch. They hold hands, as Gray tells her that Lyon and Chelia's weak spot is team work, and that they (Gray and Juvia) work together better than them. Still holding hands, Gray tells her that they will use their full (or combined, depending on the translation) magic power. She agrees with him, looking more determined than ever.
So a few things I liked about this scene. One was that Juvia stayed serious. She did not go into dream world when Gray touched her shoulder, or told her they would combine/use their full power. This is the serious side of the pairing. Another thing is that it was Gray who initiated the hand holding by placing his hand on her shoulder. This pairing has progressed a great deal. Back in the day, Gray wouldn't have done that. But seeing Juvia feeling down and knowing they had to win triggered it. He keeps emphasizing how well they work together; how they are better than Lyon and Chelia. He believes in himself and Juvia working together. He has never emphasized a bond with someone this much before. Of course he believes working together with his nakama will overcome anything, but he is heavily emphasizing his bond with Juvia. For arguments sake, I'm going to address this. While it's reasonable to hold hands for a unison raid to occur, it's not completely necessary. Aside from that. Gray put his hand on her shoulder to re-assure her, and make her feel better before he mentioned anything about magic. Juvia also held his hand before any talk of power. Moreover, holding hands isn't just for the potential unison raid. It's showing us how strong their bond is, and making the romantic side even more likely. What's also interesting per say, is that you can't see Gray's eyes when he's talking to her. While he's speaking to Juvia about their bond, his bangs cover his eyes as she can only respond with "Gray-sama..." This visual imagery portrayed the scene as deep. Gray isn't really the type of person to comfort someone else, and granted he probably isn't very good at it. But with Juvia, he tried and succeeded. From the panels, them holding hands in a loving way was shown more so than it was just for a unison raid. Hence why there is more meaning.
With determination, Gray and Juvia complete their "unison raid" which is actually titled by the author, their synchronized attack of love. Even though there was no love confession, the author/editor has labeled the bond that they share romantic. Gray's name was included in the attack. It wasn't just Juvia's attack (like her "wings of love, Gray-sama love") dedicated to him. It was mutual. This is the "unspoken bond" that the author conveys to his readers. He also chose to use the Gruvia combination attack for the color page, which is an excellent bonus. So, the two start their combined "love" attack on Lyon and Chelia. Lyon yells out to Gray, calling him a bastard for acting lovey-dovey in front of his eyes. Gray and Juvia are once again seen as being affectionate and lovey-dovey to someone else. It was first brought up by Alzack and Bisca back in the Edolas Arc, who also proclaimed the two as lovey-dovey. Interesting enough, it's Gray that Lyon is targeting in regards to being affectionate and not Juvia. Usually it's Juvia acting that way, but this time it was mostly Gray, which leads it to be mutual. Chelia sees how well the two work together, and is mesmerized. She also sees the love that Gray and Juvia share, and exclaims "Wonderful..." (Mangastream translation has her saying "So romantic...") The two put their full magic power and souls in the attack, as Chelia is still distracted. Gray and Juvia use a combination of ice geyser and water nebula to defeat their opponents. After the attack, you see them gazing at each other softly with pride and happiness.
(Admit it, they look like a couple here!)
Their fingers are still intertwined; hand in hand. This goes back to what I said previously about how Gray and Juvia holding hands was not only for the unison raid, because they did it before any talk of magic and are still doing it afterwards. If it was only for an attack, they would have let go by now. There's extreme emphasis on their physical contact through this entire scene/chapter. Gray asks Juvia while blushing when she would let go of his hand. Being who she is, Juvia replies "Never". (Could also mean she will never stop loving him) The author adds humor in there, making Gray think that she is scary. They start to walk off, still holding hands as Juvia leans against him. Note that Gray does not pull away from her, nor does he let go. He lets her lean on him. He asks when she would let go of his hand, yet at any point he could have tried/done so himself. But he didn't. Either he wanted her to do it so he wasn't the first one for some reason, or he really didn't mind holding hands with her. In fact, he probably liked it and wanted it. He was the one that initiated it after all. When Sting finally comes out of hiding, the five members of team Fairy Tail show up. Gray and Juvia are still extremely close. They are helping each other stand and walk. Gray's arm is over Juvia's shoulders, as she aids his support. When it's announced that Fairy Tail has won the Grand Magic Games, there are close ups at the mage's faces. It is made clear that once again, Gray and Juvia are looking at each other with proud looks. Another small and sneaky hint that the author threw in there was when Erza asked Sting why he didn't attack, Juvia is hugging Gray in the background as he lets her do it. Just a note, Gray is happy after they win against Lyon/Chelia, as well as overall. However, he specifically gives Juvia a genuine smile. Actually, he gave her multiple smiles in one chapter. For the most part, Gray isn't like that. He usually shows a grin or a smirk, and gives himself a pat on the back. But not this time. Oh no, this time his attention is completely on Juvia. Even after they beat Lyon/Chelia, Gray's attention went immediately to Juvia, and he didn't care about the fight anymore.
Gray wouldn't just hold hands with any girl and for that long either. He's also never held hands with anyone after winning a fight like that. The looks they give each other, the emphasis in physical contact (that's fairly intimate), all leads up to a high possibility that these two will be together if they aren't already (implied but not official). Overall this pairing has received gradual development since the beginning of the series. Gray and Juvia didn’t start off on the best terms, and you could tell he was more easily annoyed back then. I look forward to seeing what’s to come for these two. If Gray falls in love with Juvia it will be realistic, as his feelings progress more and more. Gray blushing and only "looking" annoyed, but letting Juvia have her way with him kind of makes you want to smack him in the head and tell him "Come on, Gray! Just tell her how you feel! Admit you like her! Stop denying it!" Of course, that might just be me. And this concludes the Grand Magic Games Arc.
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For Fun: Chapter Covers/Color Covers
View here.
Color Spreads
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I’ve included a section with counters to common arguments against Gruvia. View them here.
Fandom Works.
My history:
x_darkhope_x: To be honest, pairings didn’t interest me at all throughout the majority of the series. It wasn’t until I caught up with the manga did I finally realize them. Not only that, but I hated Juvia in the beginning. I found her obsession with Gray creepy. Maybe it was because I loved Gray and wanted him all to myself (hehe). Not being caught up with Fairy Tail yet, I looked up to see what the pairings were. I noticed Gray x Juvia was almost always listed and I couldn’t figure out why because it was so one sided. That was until I caught up with Fairy Tail and saw how much their relationship progressed since the beginning. Now the Gruvia pairing is just obvious to me. The author draws them together so frequently, and with Juvia’s feelings being constantly show cased I can’t see Gray with anyone else but her and vice versa. Of course I don’t expect Gray to be forced in a relationship with her. If that were the case, Gruvia would be canon already. If the pair becomes official (which I expect it to, and will be surprised if it doesn’t), Gray will be with Juvia because he wants to. Simple as that.
Water and ice go together. Without water, there wouldn’t be ice. :)
CONTINUED IN PART lll