Ephemeral Sakura, Eternal Love

Notes on Japanese culture:

Ryokan - traditional-style inn, originating from the Edo Period. Remember the "pillow battle" in the Loke Arc? That was at a ryokan!

Nakai - employee at a ryokan.

Yukata - casual summer kimono. Most ryokans provide guests with one to wear while on their visit.

Onsen - natural hot spring. Geothermal water is diverted into pools. Most are separated by gender, but some are mixed bathing.

Utaseyu - stream of water that falls into an onsen, used for bathers to have the hot water beat on their backs.

Chapter 2

Onsen

When their group got to the town who had hired them, the first thing they did was go to the ryokan where they left their supplies. They had rented two rooms, one for Lucy and Erza, one for Natsu, Happy, and Gray. However, they all gathered in the girls' room, worried about Erza. The warrior woman had gone sickly pale, and blood had dribbled past Gray's icy bandage.

"She lost a lot of blood," Loke frowned, looking down at the futon they laid her.

"She said something about it might have chipped her bone," Gray recalled, biting his knuckle in worry.

Lucy was kneeling by the futon and felt Erza's head. "She's fevered. We need to get her to a doctor."

"I'll ask the owner," Natsu volunteered, and before the others could decide, he ran out with Happy following in the air.

Erza moaned and rocked her head. "Don't like doctors."

"Too bad," Loke smiled. "Fairy Tail would fall apart in one large brawl if its Titania wasn't there to rule over the younger generation with her iron-clad fist. And we'd all miss the sunset of your hair."

She looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, and then Erza laughed softly. "Loke, you haven't changed since the first day we met."

"You mean the day you broke my jaw because I flirted with you?"

"Yes. Keep it up and you'll get worse. Now that I know you're a Celestial Spirit and can simply return to the Spirit World, I won't worry about holding back."

He chuckled at such pluck but moved aside. He had noticed Lucy watching their exchange with hard eyes. As he walked away, he stepped up to her side and whispered just for her to hear.

"Jealous?" he smirked. She turned at him, ready to yell, but he left. "I'll make some tea."

Natsu came back in a hurry. "Okay, I found a nakai who said she'll lead us to the village doctor. I'll get Erza this time. Loke, stay with Lucy."

"I can go, too," Lucy protested.

Natsu stared at her with a pout, and then he glanced below her neck. Lucy cringed at how he was staring at her chest, until she looked down and saw that most of her clothes were shredded and showed her underwear.

"Kyaaaa!" She tried to hide herself as best as possible.

Gray came up to her as Natsu prepared to carry Erza. "Heal your injuries and get some rest."

"Thanks, Gray," she pouted, unhappy that they were pampering her again.

The two boys left with Erza moaning that Natsu was not gentle in carrying her. Then all was silent. Lucy sputtered out a sigh.

"I guess I really shouldn't go walking around dressed like this," she decided, secretly glad she could rest after such a hard mission. "A wash and a soak in the onsen sounds good. Loke, stay here. I don't want you peeping in on me."

Instead of protesting, Loke nodded in agreement. After what she just went through, he did not want to harass her more with unwanted flirtations.

Lucy left to another room and spent nearly half an hour tending numerous scrapes and cuts. She finally came out looking cleaned up and wearing a yukata. Loke stayed by a window and watched her silently. He remembered that night at a ryokan like this, when he had rescued her from the two female-harassing wizards. She had been wearing a cute yukata then, too. He followed her with his eyes until she left without even a goodbye.

"Feel better, princess," he muttered with a light smile.

After a much-needed bath, Lucy stepped out to a patio with a massive onsen built amidst a rocky pool with streams of water pouring in, giving a gentle sound. She saw that this onsen had mixed bathing, which always made her timid at first. Luckily, the only people in it was a family: father, mother, two teenage girls, and a young boy who liked to hide in the water up to his nose and glare at everyone. Lucy chuckled at the sweet sight of a family vacation. How lucky they were!

She went to another area of the pool, cast aside her towel, and lowered herself in. The water was hot, so she went slowly for her skin to get used to it. Finally she was down to her neck. She hummed happily at how the steaming water loosened her muscles.

"This is the best!" she declared.

She was not even in there for ten minutes when a familiar exhibitionist walked out, not even bothering with a towel. The two teenage girls blushed and pointed secretly, hoping their father did not see how they stared. As Gray climbed in to Lucy's side of the large pool, she realized that seeing his finely-toned body had become less shocking and almost to the point of being commonplace. Seeing him butt naked was no longer embarrassing. In her opinion, he looked better this way, more at ease, as if his clothes were an uncomfortable costume he was forced to wear.

"Gray!" she smiled. "How's Erza?"

"Worse than she let on," he frowned, wading over to one of the utaseyu and sticking his head under the pouring water. He shook out his weariness, slicked back his raven hair, and let the small waterfall beat on his tense shoulders. "It cut to the bone and barely missed severing a major artery. She has to stay in the clinic overnight. Natsu was still with her when I left. I think he feels guilty since he was the one who picked the mission."

"It's not his fault," she pouted as she watched him unwind under the utaseyu. "Hey, does that really feel good?"

He smiled and waved her over. Lucy came up to him, and Gray moved aside so she could stand under the utaseyu. The hot stream of water poured onto her shoulders and made her muscles turn to jelly. Gray looked at her. Naked, he saw all the bruises, especially those rope-like welts that encircled her limbs, waist, throat, and breasts. He had asked her already how she got them, and the shamed look on her face had pained him to the core.

They were a team, but early on in their formation, both he and Natsu had privately agreed that they should watch over Lucy. Not that she was a weak wizard! As far as Celestial Spirit wizards went, she was one of the best, owner of ten Gold Keys, capable of force-closing gates, and able to call out multiple high-level Celestial Spirits.

Yes, she was magically strong! They knew she could stand her ground; however, unlike them, Lucy relied primarily on magic. Physically, she was rather weak. She was vicious with her whip, but she could only do so much with that weapon. The two of them liked the mood she set for their team, the voice of reason amidst their instinctive impulses, and they wanted her with them even when they tended to get too destructive or suckered into missions that were better fit for an S-class wizard. They watched her, both feeling like protective brothers, so whenever she got hurt they both felt responsible.

He began kneading out her neck with his thumbs, and Lucy hummed at the massage. She did not see how the vacationing family watched the two of them, with the parents smiling at how cute they were together, and jealous scowls from the teenagers. Gray stayed decent in his massaging touches, but he was a healthy young man. He could not help but eye Lucy's well-endowed chest. However, he cringed as he thought of just how she could have gotten an injury like that.

"There's a salve in my bag that helps with healing," he mentioned. "Use it for some of those bruises."

"Mm-hmm," she moaned sleepily.

"Hey," he laughed and stopped the massage. "You'll fall asleep and drown."

"Too hungry to sleep yet," she sighed. "But I probably should get out. I guess I get a room to myself this time." She waded over to the edge of the large pool. "It'll be nice not having you and Natsu snoring in my ears."

"Well, enjoy it, and be safe," Gray called to her. "Take care of those injuries. If you need some more ice, you just need to ask."

"Yeah, yeah," she waved as she wrapped herself in a towel. "I'll see you in the morning. Thanks for the back rub."

"Sweet dreams," Gray waved, and he moved back under the utaseyu to loosen up.

End of Chapter 2

A/N: Last chapter was pretty intense, ya? This time we relax and get a hint of my other fav shipping, GraLu … but only a peek! This is a LoLu story, after all!

We have an onsen, or natural hot spring, near where I live, clothing-optional and mixed bathing, which tends to scare away many prudish Americans. Not much can beat soaking in a steaming tub of water fresh out of a volcano, in the middle of a forest, while all around you it's snowing!