A Voyage Across The Stars - Chapter 1

Disclaimer - I don't own Fairy Tail ^^

Proof-read By - Nora57 (Thank you for the amazing job as always)

Thank you so much for the kind reviews! They are what drive me to continue writing, seriously! A big thanks to MISSCRAZYOTAKU035, ScarletClaw, Elee9497, Guest (hope that calmed you down haha ^^), Gracy-chan, PetalRoseX, XxMurasakiHimexX and Nora57!

I am so sorry for the late update. I promised I will do it within three weeks but I am over a month late... Just let me make it up by writing a bigger first chap. Hope you guys like it ^^

Mission I

The Two Meet

Deck. Check.

Mast. Check.

Helm. Check.

Everything was looking fine. Even the day was fine, the rays of shine were gentle, as the sky was overclouded. The captain stood at the ship deck, inhaling the rich sea air and exhaling it with the right timing. Even the bird's chirping was melody to ears, as he found his eyes stuck to the far off horizon. Then he spotted something, and his eyes gleamed.

For he could see their destination. A few minutes more, and they would reach it. He couldn't help but feel joyed at the very thought, as a smirk danced on his face.

"It's time, huh..."

"Captain, should we dock the ship there? " A person with a sailor uniform asked in a humble yet sharp tone, hands on the wheel as he skillfully maneuvered the ship towards a hidden spot with a handy amount of sandy space surrounded by a grove of trees farther back.

The captain closed his eyes specifically as he brought his hand upward and snapped his finger, hinting his permission.

"Aye aye captain!" the blue-uniformed sailor gave off a cheery response as he proceeded towards the golden area.

The captain was a young adult with spiky, raven-colored hair and ebony-colored eyes. He was of above average height and was the owner of a chiseled, well-trained body. His outfit consisted of a brown, embroidered hat and some baggy, grey pants. Normally, there was a burgundy waistcoat and a buttoned white shirt, too, but it was currently tossed aside... somewhere on the ship. Apparently, the captain was a self-proclaimed very heat-sensitive person, but the crew believed otherwise, as they thought he was just an exhibitionist (not that they would dare utter the truth) A couple of minutes in sunshine, and bingo; the clothes would come off neatly in a matter of milliseconds.

Nevertheless, he was a confident, yet easy-going and caring individual who somehow managed to have a trembling effect on his fellow seamen. His skills were unrivaled in the entire Fiore and the sea surrounding it, the"Braveyard Sea" Rumors were that he once single-handedly wrecked a ship on his own (and naked) earning the title "Killer Icicles" - All when he could barely even be counted as an adult. Some said that he disappeared on the Sundays and it was due to him serving in a host club. Others said, he was once a yeti residing in the northern mountains who somehow transformed into a human, all because he wanted to make a name of himself; and that magically explained his undressing habit... or so they believed.

There were other rumors, too; some interesting, others funny, but most of the them being outright nonsense.

For now, the ship was docked in the south-east of Fiore, a hidden spot near Akane Beach and Hargeon City. There were two reasons the pirates were in that particular area. First, and less important of the two: they had to refill their supplies, and being the feared pirates they were, porting the ship at a secret spot was a given. Second and the actual reason: they had to capture their target- a blonde girl. It was said that she held tremendous raw magical potential, but apparently, it was yet to be awakened. As a result, she was a wanted specimen all across the land. Many wanted to give her a place in their respective guilds so that she could prove a valuable asset to them. Particularly, the dark powers were a bit too into her- desperate even. Why? Gray had no idea, nor he wanted to know. He only cared about the stuff the job brought in, and the ship (and it's crew's) safety.

The ice mage got off the ship noncholantly, and ambled a short distance, a few of his men following him. He turned his face towards the ship, inhaling the fresh air, his hands tied behind his back

"Andy, Joe, you two come with me. Rest of you uh- play with sand or something." He ordered lazily, waving his hand towards his trusty men- Andy; a skinny, but stealthy brunette, and Joe; a well-built dark-haired men who had an obsession over torsos.

"But sir, we want to come too and we-" The mobs pleaded.

"Quiet! Make groups and go refill the supplies. Look how dirty the ship is, clean it. Also, make sure to sell the valuable stuff we've gathered. Got it?" He chided, only to earn murmuring noises. As he rose his eyebrow, the mumbles quickly unified into a high-pitched, "Yes Sir!" as the men segregated in small groups to perform their respective.

The icy captain signaled his men, and took a step. The trio was about to walk off, they really were about to. But their luck turned out to be horrible, as they saw a red thunder rushing with all its might towards them. Impulsively, they got into their defensive stance, the two men hiding behind the safer back of their captain.

"GRAY... ANSWER ME! Why did you leave me and went on your own?!" The redhead being thundered, as it got dangerously near the ice maker.

'I-i..." The captain mumbled, trying to figure out his excuse. After-all, the person standing in front of him was the fearsome vice-captain; the swordmaster "Erza Scarlet". And he was terrified of her to the extent that she was the source of his nightmares.

Then he glanced at his two subordinates, saw how they were looking at him with expecting eyes. He just had to do something.

So he breathed in and out, and went straight into his negotiation mode.

"Look Erza, I know I was wrong... But... I did it for you!" He gestured around, giving a phony smile.

"...Oh?" She glared, slowing down.

"So you see, I heard about this cake shop." He paused.

"And?" She raised an eyebrow.

"And that it has yummy cakes?" He answered as he carefully analyzed the vice-captain. She was staring at him dead-eyed, which made him him a bit self-conscious." So... I decided I was going to give you a nice... cake surprise or something!" He chortled, waving his hand freely in air, only to find the gaze getting stronger and firmer.

"This is so not going to work..."

"Really? You were going to?" She cheered, stars in her eyes.

"It can't be- she really fell for it?!" The two men yelled behind.

They immediately covered his mouth, as they saw their captain give them a "don't-mess-with-my-plan" look, followed by two quick slaps.

"Huh?" Erza raised the other eyebrow.

"Just ignore them Erza, such kids. Let's go visit our cake shop right away!" Gray said confidently, as he tramped.

"Mm, you are right. Let's march, men!" Erza roared, clearly pleased.

"I am sorry Gray. For doubting you." The swordmistress whispered as they walked in group.

"Don't worry..." He stated, turning his face to sigh in relief.

And then, the fearsome pirate found their steps magically entering into a famous cafe shop, automatically being (forced to) sit in the table at the corner, as the swordswoman ordered cakes after cakes with those big, dreamy eyes. And they could do nothing but watch.

Realizing the gravity of situation, Gray's circle of thought begin to speed up. He had to do something. Quick.

"E-erza... You think you'll be okay here?" The ice maker inquired awkwardly.

"Yeah. I could live around here and not regret it. Mm." Erza answered with a charming glint in her eyes, to which Gray could only facepalm.

"I meant, alone." He laid stress.

"... Huh?" She croaked, her voice deepening. She was obviously disappointed to hear this.

"A-ah never mind what I just said..." Gray sighed, pushing back on his seat. The two subordinates just gawked at their normally-cool-and-calm captain, but didn't dare mutter a word.

"Good."

And then the redhead continued munching her favorite strawberry cake, savoring the taste of the saccharine and oh-so-sweet strawberry.

The raven-haired captain just decided to observe around albeit boringly. The building was rather new, it was fancy and decorated with modern furniture. He saw the old shop manager at the counter, some waiters, waitresses gushing around as quickly as possible to serve their customers. It was a good place indeed, very family-oriented, no sign of any bad men around.

As he was busy inspecting, he noticed someone. The more he looked, the more he awed.

Blonde hair.

But they weren't anything ordinary. He had observed every blonde woman on his way to the cafe, and none shimmered and gleamed the same way. The eleqance, the grace, the straight back - it all added to his curiosity.

He grew suspicious with every passing second. Maybe, it was his target. He signaled his men momentarily, and made them aware of the situation. Satisfying Erza with an quick excuse, he stoop up. Moving near the woman, he smelled a mysterious yet soothing perfume, one he never smelt before. As he passed by her, he glanced at her, trying to take a good look at her face.

But failed.

Disappointed, he continued strolling coolly, took a curve and on his way back, tried the same trick again. But to no avail.

The woman wasn't turning and instead kept serving the customers and talking cheerfully with them. Well, at least she had a sweet, confident voice.

Taking a closer look, he couldn't help but be impressed. She really had brilliant hair- they weren't very long, but were smooth, shiny and golden, strands neatly tucked behind her ears. Even the angle at she tied her bows were perfect.

He had stooped ahead instinctively, his hair fetish awakening at the wrong place, wrong time and wrong job. But he couldn't help it, as he narrowed his eyebrows and put his hands in his pockets. It was when the waitress turned around, the glorious hair swaying in the air as he found his lips very close to hers, her sweet perfume alluring him more than ever.

His eyes moved up and noticed her big hazel-brown eyes, they were glinting with a strange charm. Her eyebrows were rolled up, and she was staring at him with a peculiar curiosity. For a moment, his heart sped up. She was pretty much his type, maybe even more than that as he considered her pretty damn cute. But no, he was on a job, and he was a pirate. Pirates aren't supposed to act uncool (or so he believed)

Coughing, he stood straight and tall, pretending to be as disinterested as he could.

It was just when he noticed the scowl on her face, she looked displeased. He hunched back only to notice the wry look replaced by a forced smile as she crooked ahead at him.

"Sir, I am sorry to say this... but..." She paused, adding to his anxiety.

"... But?" He repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Could you be... a pervert by any chance?" She beamed at him in a pissed off tone.

Normally the girls would be all over him. He had went to places, went to bars, and they pretty much threw themselves at him (not that he actually accepted their advances) This was the first for him, being remarked so rudely when he was sure that he looked pretty intimidating as always.

"This woman..." He didn't dislike her attitude at all. He liked that confidence, she really was his type. But he had his dignity on the other hand- the dignity of a pirate, and to protect that, he could go to any length.

He felt a bit sad that such a nice-looking woman was matching with the target details. Nonetheless, this woman might take him closer to his reward, and for it, he could do anything. And he knew just what to do- using his looks to seduce her.

He smiled charmingly, giving a gentlemanly aura. Everyone stared at him, as he held her soft hand within his masculine one, and bend down... to kiss it.

"Ah- hey- you-" She looked bewildered, and he was pleased at this particular reaction.

"Now, just what you might be talking about, my lady?" He uttered huskily as he lifted his head and gazed right through her brown orbs.

"Y-you... pervert..." She muttered quietly, looking away from him as she pulled back her hand.

"It is working. It always works. Good job, me."

"I just felt that if I looked at your face, I might fall for you. So I moved closer to take a better look... Is it that bad of a thing? " He whispered flamboyantly, even pouting a little.

"The blonde didn't reply, and instead, just kept gawking at him. She was blushing, but still standing on her ground, she wasn't giving up on her opinion. It was weird. He smirked at a woman and the woman in front of him didn't faint with embarrassment? That was the first for him.

It couldn't be helped, he had to resort to his final move... even if he wasn't very fond of it. But anything for job.

"Looks like, I wasn't wrong. I just did. I. fell. for. you."

And then he winked at her... and regretted it immensely. He didn't like acting flamboyant to that far of an extent. To his greatest of the surprise, she was avoiding his face now.

"No way? She disliked it that much?"

He looked around and it seemed like, everyone was... avoiding him. Even he, the fearsome pirate, couldn't take the emotional damage.

"F-fine but... wear some c-clothes..." She pinpointed, peeking at him through the space between her fingers.

And he couldn't help but curse this old habit. Curse himself. And oh yeah, curse everyone in the room (for not telling him)

"I am sorry, it's just an habit..." He laughed nervously, trying to cover the situation. The shirt was magically put on now.

"To hell with that habit! Do you even have any idea just how it feels... being confessed to by a s-s-s... stripper...?" She questioned him, breathing heavily as she stared at his face with eyes open. The audience was amused.

"I am sorry..."" The ice maker couldn't help but apologize sincerely. He had never been this ashamed in his life. Maybe he should really give up on this job...

"... Fine." She answered with a delay, her voice vibrating.

"What?" Gray couldn't believe his ears.

"I said fine!"

"Ah..."

He had to do it. He just had to gather all of his courage, his manliness and power to persuade her one more time.

"I am in no position to say this, but would you... like to talk with me outside?" He managed to finish it somehow. And then she gave him such a piercing gaze that he felt his gentlemanly persona shattering to pieces. He had no idea what he was doing anymore.

"..."

"Crap. She is quiet again."

"Okay..." She muttered.

"What?" He couldn't believe his ears once again.

"I said okay, mr. pervert!" She screamed on top of her lungs.

"Hey just who you-"

It was bad. He nearly slipped up and revealed his actual personality... It was in a gruff tone, too.

"Ahem. I meant, I am the luckiest man in the world!" He acted once again, laughing wholeheartedly.

He was going to commit suicide later for acting so out-of-character.

"I... see..." She mumbled, giving off a strange aura.

There was a shower of claps afterwards, and the two handled the embarrassing situation one way or another.

"I will see you later, then. For now, I am on table 22, waiting for you to finish... impatiently!""He gestured around as he laughed nervously.

He was caught off-guard as he found her getting nearer to him- his ear to be precise.

"You are acting weird." She whispered. And then she smiled. And smiled heartily.

He awed at her, the smile was killing him. Reluctantly, he moved towards his table as the scene played out in his mind. Feeling giddy (and ignoring his comrades... one of which was eyeing at him skeptically while the other two just gave him an admiring look) he plopped down on his seat.

A moment passed, and the guilt begin to dance in his heart.

"It was just me acting dammit dammit dammit-" The voice in his head reverberated, as he covered his eyes.

Until Erza shook him up, and shook so intensely that he felt the earth was coming to an end.

'Damn it! What is it, Erza?!" He yelled at her... and realized just what crime he had committed just as soon.

"Ahem. Captain, your manners." She gave him a furious look. He just had to give her multiple apologetic looks.

"Can't be helped... You have a plan, right? I can understand." The redhead stated in an understanding tone, as she lowered her eyes calmly.

"You... knew?" The ice maker gaped at her.

"Yeah, from the start."

The trio jawdropped.

"Seriously, you. Tell me properly from the start, I don't bite, you know. She said in an angry tone.

"Sorry..." He mumbled.

"It's... fine. You had a reason, right?" She beamed at him, and he felt the inclination to return it.

"Yeah..."

Even if she acts scary, she really was the most understanding at heart... even if she acted silly sometimes. As embarrassing as he still felt at himself, he wanted to open up with her.

"Erza, about Jellal-" He said in a gentle tone.

"Don't talk about that man!" She smacked the table, making Joe and Andy tremble.

"... So you guys still haven't patched up, have you?" He whispered calmly.

She didn't reply, just kept gritting her teeth as her eyebrows wrinkled.

"That guy... personally doesn't mean any harm, things just don't go his way. He's weak on his own... You are his strength, you know..." He gestured in a calm and collected manner.

Her eyebrows widened a little, and finally, a smile danced around the corners of her mouth.

"... I know that better than you." She said, smacking on his head teasingly... a bit too teasingly, as the ice mage felt immense a crushing pain in his head.

"Captain!"

"Gray!"

The trio looked at him in a worried manner.

"Ah... I am alright..." Gray reassured, but kept rubbing the spot where she hit him. Brute strength be brute, defined Erza at her best.

"If you say so..."

"And you are right... Guess, I will talk with him..." Erza beamed at him.

He returned the smile, and felt happy for his dear friend.

He looked around, and the restaurant was starting to get empty now. Seemed like it was the closing hour. He looked at the clock and it was striking five. He remembered about the meeting promise, and his senses jumped back into him.

"I need to go. Come later, will you." He said in a hurry as he stood up.

The two men thumbed up towards him, while Erza just eyed him. He gave them a signal, hinting that they should go outside to perform the task they were entrusted with.

He looked at the outside, looked at the setting sun, and couldn't help but put on a cocky smile. He was being a truly bad guy right now, but he had gotten used to it by now. He had killed people before, injured many and scarred them for a life; she was going to be just on of them. But she wasn't anyone ordinary, she showed the possibility to be the revolutionary girl, a truly dangerous subject. The blonde had him interested, be it for her looks or the variety of expressions she bore on her faces- regardless, she was a truly enticing being. But he was a pirate, and she was someone far more important.

"It's just a job, nothing more, nothing less." He assured himself.

Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, only to find the blonde again. She looked different. She had changed from her maid outfit to casual clothes- an orange tank top, and blue denim skirt. On top of it, her cleavage was really something. She looked so hot that he forgot to bat his eyes. Not until she coughed and tapped at his shoulder again.

"Mr pervert, shall we go?" She said mischievously. There was a strange glint in her eyes, an unreadable expression.

"There you go again, I was just amazed at your beauty." He smirked at her, offering her hand.

"Really, it was just that?" She looked straight through his eyes, flattered.

'Yes, my lady." He grabbed her hand, and she let him him do so, although she did look deep in thought. The two walked off, the ice maker matching the blonde's stride.

"So... where are we going?" She asked excitedly.

"Oh, just across that corner and you will know." He clenched his other fist as he answered. He was starting to feel guilty again.

It was a trap. Right across the corner, there was a palm-tree. The place was fairly uncrowded during the day, so it looked completely empty currently. So that was where he asked his three of his fellows to lay a trap. By the time they reached there, they had already finished, as none of them could be seen. Not that his eyes could witness the trap though.

"Maybe it's some kind of invisible trap? Knowing Erza, it can happen." He stressed on the possibility.

"Let's go near that tree, I want to give you something." He suggested pleasantly, scratching his cheek as if what he wanted to give her was a gift, or ring. She gave him a strange look, staring at him for a few moments but agreed regardless. He sighed with relief.

As their steps touched the grassy ground, she looked questioningly at him.

"Here?"

"Not a bit ahead. The spot is not... good enough." He tried to answer something decent, but it didn't come out right.

She gave him a suspicious look, and he felt it. Then, she put on an excited grin and moved cheerily towards the recommended spot. She eyed him, hinting him to come near her.

Before he could even step ahead, his comrades (who were sitting behind the bushes) came at the speed of lightening and quickly put the blonde in a sack.

A damned sack!

Didn't they know anything better? Then they gave their dear captain a thumbs up but he didn't return it. He just kept blaming himself for getting worried for the blonde, concerned if the woman wasn't feeling any difficulty or not. Him- the famous pirate, the pirate with all sorts of badass nicknames and whatnot. It was the first for him. All these firsts were starting to annoy him by now, frankly.

"Captain, what now?" The two men screamed on top of their lungs as they carried the sack.

"The trap was fantastically laid, so let's try not to gather attention, shall we?" The captain uttered sarcastically, facepalming.

"What Gray? You have a problem with my scheme, huh?" Erza asked in a dark tone.

"So it was you, Erza?! No way I would... Do I look like that kind of person." He mumbled in a hurry. He just wanted them to reach their ship already, they were way too suspicious here.

"I see. Let's move, men!" Erza ordered, as if she was the boss. Gray felt a bit displeased, but obeyed the vice-captain regardless.

The group ran on top of their heels, passing through bushes, trees and what not; just to make sure that they remained off of populated boundary. Throughout the journey, Gray noticed one thing- the girl they just captured didn't object one bit. This had him at a loss of words.

At first, he thought she was having some kind of oxygen problems, but that was clearly not the case. According to Erza, the sack was made with such a material that even a human being could breath inside it. This relieved him, but this wasn't the solution of the action problem- why did the blonde not force her way out of the sack? Even if she knew she had no chance of escaping, she should have at least tried. but she didn't.

She didn't look the damsel-in-distress type to him at all, she was way too confident for that. She did seem mysterious with the way she acted though. On top of it, she seemed pretty witty. He could swear she had caught him at some point. But then she would act dumb,and he would disregard the possibility.

"Honestly, things wents according to my plan way too easily." He thought.

That was the key word. And then he realized everything. He started to sweat as he looked at the sack anxiously.

"It can't be... That girl- did she on purpose... but for what reason?"

He was sure of it. It wasn't that he fooled her, it was her who had outwitted him and was making a fool of him instead. For what reason? He couldn't make out at all.

They were already near the ship so he decided to cut off the thought process. As the group hopped on the ship, the two of them put the sack on the floor. Even if they were used to harsh conditions, all that running had them breathing heavily. Andy and Joe were the most affected. Gray's clothes were already off, definitely not a good sign. Only, Erza looked as calm as always.

"Men, prepare to sail! Also, carry the gi- sack to the cabin!" Gray ordered in a thundering voice, and the men obeyed without any objection.

The preparations were made vigorously. As soon as the last of the crew jumped on the wooden floor, the ship sailed off to vast horizons.

The ice maker who was currently inside the cabin, had his eyes continuously stuck on the sack. The redhead who was standing cross-armed by a wall, noticed it, too. As soon as the ship reached a safe distance, he dashed to the sack and began to eye it curiously.

"Already missing her, I see." Erza said in a teasing tone.

"That's not it!" Gray replied curtly.

With trembling fingers, he untied the rope and loosened the sack. As the blonde emerged out of it, breathing heavily; for all his good luck (or bad luck) landing right on him.

As he was stuck under the weight of her mass and his sins all combined, he found her smiling cheekily at him as one of her hands stuck on his abdominal muscles. To his disappointment, one of the crew member happened to come in.

"I a-am sorry captain! Please continue...!" He muttered shyly, and went outside.

"Well, I should head outside, too. Good luck. Give it your all." Erza said in a straight tone, and he just couldn't take it seriously. Even the red head had abandoned him.

The scene was followed by silence which turned into a huge buzz as the news of their captain "having the time of his life with the new girl" spread around. The captain decided to leave it for later, he could always beat some sense into them.

To his disappointment, the blonde stood up and began to wipe the dust off her body. With this, he returned to reality. He stared at her for the umpteenth time. She really was a mystery. He saw her observing various objects very curiously as a huge grin danced on her face.

"Excuse me, but for once, you've been kidnapped. Please act more aware, miss." He wanted to say, but couldn't.

The ice maker sat on the floor, as he put on his shirt. When he finished, just coughed for five minutes. He had so much to ask from her, but he didn't where to start. Within the next two minutes, he gathered his courage. For the next three minutes, he breathed in and out.

"You knew everything, right?" He questioned loudly but sounding more impatient than he intended to.

And he watched the girl turning his attention to him, watched the grin on her face growing wider.

"You mean that gentleman facade?" She remarked in an disinterested tone.

"Ah so she really did..." He wasn't as surprised as he thought he would be.

There. The same glint in her eyes. The same curiosity. The same puzzling. She screamed trouble.

Even if she screamed trouble. Even if he felt like he stepped on a landmine. Having someone who easily busted his secret wasn't a bad feeling? He couldn't help but feel excited.

"You... Just who are you...?" He asked faintly as he watched her. Watched the grin on her face growing wider.

"To be continued..."

Rain corner

Ah this took so long.. This fic is off to a weird start. Lol what am I even doing... Is it even good? I don't know at all...

Please review, I need them. seriously. At this rate, I don't even know if I am continuing this fic...