(Third Person POV)
[Year X777, Somewhere in Fiore]
A young girl with blue hair was sitting by the flowing river in front of her, hugging her knees as she looked at the water with a somber expression. Above her, the sky was darkened, thunder was heard, and a few drops of rain were beginning to fall.
She sniffed, "Juvia is sad....." She said softly, "Why is Juvia sad.....?"
As she said this, she heard the splashing of water behind her. She then jumped up in surprise, looking back to see a young boy standing behind her, looking from side to side. He had red hair and brown eyes, a serious scowl on his face. He was wearing jeans and a black shirt as a katana was strapped to his back.
"Where did it go.....?" He said seriously, "That damn rabbit..."
Juvia sniffed again, wiping a tear that had formed in her eye, "W-Who are you?"
The young boy looked at her, a bit taken aback by her presence, "Oh." He said, "I didn't see you there. I am Julian, I am looking for a rabbit that I was chasing. It is part of my training. This rabbit, you see...it is a crafty one. It can hide very well....."
Juvia stood up and looked at the boy, "Julian...." She said, "Juvia wants to be your friend!"
Julian frowned, seeing the surprising determination on the girl's face, "Oh." He said, "How old are you?"
"T-Ten....!" She said as she took a step forward
"Kinda strange...." Julian said with a frown, "That you want to be friends with a stranger like me."
"Juvia needs friends...." She said as Julian stepped to the side, "Would you be her friend?"
"You will one day have a lot of friends, I am sure." Julian said as he looked around, "Now, where to find that rabbit....."
"If Juvia helps, would you become her friend?" Juvia asked, "Juvia.....just....."
Julian looked at her, "Hm." He said, "I suppose that is a fair offer. Sure. If you help me find the rabbit, I'll become your friend."
Juvia smiled, "Thank you!"
"I must warn you." Julian said, "Not only is this rabbit quite difficult to locate, I am not long to stay in this land. So if we do become friends, you best enjoy our time, alright?"
Juvia nodded excitedly, "Thank you!!" She repeated, "Juvia will do her best!!"
****************
"Juvia found it!" She said as she pulled a rabbit out of the bush, "The rabbit!"
Julian looked at her with surprise, "Oh, you did??" He said, "That's impressive."
He walked over to Juvia, who was holding the rabbit in her arms. The young girl's smile was wide and bright, something that took him off guard.
"You are Juvia's friend now!" She said with a smile
"Yes." Julian crossed his arms, "I suppose I am."
Juvia hands him the rabbit, "Here."
Julian took the rabbit, "I have much to improve." He muttered, looking at the rabbit in his hands, "It is unacceptable....."
Juvia smiled, "What games can we play?"
Julian looked at her, "I don't know." He said, "I don't know any games to play. I only know training....."
"Juvia knows many games." Juvia said with a smile,
"I shall teach you many!"
***************
[X791, Magnolia]
"Hey, Juvia." Lucy called out to a sleeping Juvia, "You alright?"
Juvia opened her eyes, "Hm?"
She was lying down on the booth, Lucy and Levy were across from the table as they had concerned looks on their faces.
"You've been asleep for an hour." Levy said with a frown, "And you started muttering in your sleep. Everything okay?"
Juvia sat up, rubbing her eyes, "Sorry." She said, "Juvia has been quite tired as of late."
"Sounded like you were having some dream." Lucy said, "What was it about?"
"Oh....." Juvia looked down, a sad frown formed on her face, "It was a memory of Juvia's....a distant one....."
"Ah...." Lucy said with a flustered expression, "I shouldn't have pried."
"It is okay." Juvia said, "It is fine. Juvia remembered the time she was a child. She had a friend...a good one...even if it was brief."
"What happened?" Levy said while tilting her head, "You're not friends anymore?"
"He left." Juvia said softly, "And he didn't come back."
Before any of them could say anything else, there was a loud commotion that they could hear. They looked over to see that Natsu was shouting something at Makarov, who had his eyes closed with annoyance.
"Come on, Gramps, help the guy out!!" He exclaimed, "He came all this way!!"
"I'm telling you....." Makarov said, "He should go and look for Galein himself! It's not that difficult to locate him!"
Gray was standing a few feet away, "What's the deal?" He said, "Wasn't Galein a member of Fairy Tail before? Why is the Old Man acting so cold about it?"
Laxus was next to him, "From what I understand, Gramps is still sour about an altercation that happened a long time ago." He said as his arms were crossed, "I remember Galein; he and Gildarts were rivals."
Natsu pointed to the side, "He came all the way to ask if you know where he is!" He said, "And you're saying yer not going to help?!"
He was pointing at a young man who was standing a few feet away. He had short blonde hair with a few dark streaks. His eyes were an icy blue, with his left one having some sort of bruise, marking it. The young man was wearing a white shirt with grey pants, a black cloak over his clothes, which was open in order to reveal them.
"I'm....." He said, "I just need to be pointed in his general direction.....that is all..... "
"Try going near Crocus." Makarov said as he opened his eyes and looked at him, "I hear he's holed up somewhere there."
The Young Man nodded and bowed, "Thank you."
Natsu looked at him, "Hey, what's yer name anyways?"
As he said this, Juvia and Lucy approached, tempted by curiosity.
"What's going on?" Lucy asked with a raised eyebrow
"This guy came out of nowhere and asked Natsu if he knew where Galein is." Gray said with his arms crossed, "Apparently, he's being chased by some people and he needs help. Master Makarov seems to be sour at this Galein, who used to be a Fairy Tail mage."
Makarov frowned, "You brats know nothing of what happened...." He said, "Boy, what is your name? And what's your relationship with Galein."
The Young Man straightened up, "I am Haru." He said, "I am Galein's nephew. I need to find where he is. It is important. The only lead I had about him was that he was a Fairy Tail Mage."
"Galein's nephew?" Makarov frowned, "I didn't know he had any siblings."
Haru nodded, "He does. My Father is his Elder Brother." He said, "Uncle Galein is the second child of four."
"Who's following you?" Natsu said, "I'll beat them up for ya!"
Haru's expression hardened, "It's not.....as easy as you'd think...." He said seriously, "I'm being followed by many individuals...."
"Oh?" Gray said
Juvia looked at Haru, "Haru, was it?" She said, "Why do you look familiar?"
Haru looked at her, "I...I don't know." He said, "I don't recognize you."
Juvia looked at him with a focused expression, as if she was scanning his features carefully.
"Haru." Makarov said suddenly, "If you find Galein, make sure he deals with whatever situation you have. If you are his Family, I can only assume that you also have a connection to the Holy Bring."
Haru nodded, "Yes."
"Another question." Makarov said, "How long has it been since you've seen Galein?"
"Never." Haru said, "Never met him in my life."
Makarov frowned, "That is strange." He said, "Oh well...good luck. He's quite something else, I must admit."
Haru nodded and bowed, "Thank you so much." He said, "I appreciate it."
"Shouldn't we help him, Gramps?" Natsu asked, "Come on, don't be an ass. Besides, I hear Galein was a powerful mage! I wanna go meet him!"
"Galein..." Makarov looked down, "He is a formidable individual."
"I appreciate the offer." Haru spoke up, "But it is best if I travel alone. If any Fairy Tail Mage accompanies me, it will only make things complicated. After all....one of the people chasing me is someone with great power."
"And who is that?" Makarov asked
"My very own brother." Haru said with a serious expression,
"Julian Glory, The Dark Sword."