Chapter 1: Extension

Jellal strolled in the alley. The houses on either side were covered in complete darkness of the night. There was not a soul to be found. But it was perfect, perfect for him at least because the tears that had welled up in his eyes were drowning him and with passing time it was becoming more and more difficult to control himself. He didn't know why he was there. The war was over. Long over. But it felt as if it had been yesterday. An year after the war he had been declared innocent of his crimes. The new council had acknowledged his help in the war and also the fact of him being manipulated. He was shocked on the verdict but he was tired. So much tired that he didn't care anymore. It already was becoming difficult to suppress the desire to live a normal life. He was tired of running. The Fairy tail guild had given a hearty party after the verdict and a little deliberation afterwards, he decided to join the guild along with melody, the rest went their own ways. He didn't care about them though.

But now he regretted joining the guild. He regretted it so much.

He looked up at the sky and saw it ablaze with stars. He always wondered where he would go. Heaven or Hell. But he knew the answer too well to ever bother answering it for himself. With a sigh he looked back again at the darkness of the alley, that seemed to stretch towards nothingness.

Or Hell, my final abode. But there was something different now. He narrowed his eyes to focus on the alien difference.

Orange light bathed a table, while a short man sat beside it. There was a nameplate on his table that spelled 'EXTENSION'. He was confused. He obviously wasn't there a moment ago or maybe he didn't notice him out of his own melancholy. Either way it was suspicious of him sitting here at this late hour in a deserted alley. With a quick decision he decided to avoid him and go straight to his hom-

"You look awfully troubled there, mister." Jellal stopped dead in his tracks. He didn't know what to say. Wiping his face, he turned to him. The man as if on a cue said" Your tears stained face forced me to speak."

Jellal looked suspiciously at the man, the table and the nameplate. 'EXTENSION' just what was this extension? And what was he doing here? He voiced the latter question.

"I sell 'extensions' to my customers."A smile spread on the man's face. "To those who need that is." And Jellal couldn't help but notice that there were a little too many teeth in his mouth.

"What 'extensions'?" He asked. There was a soft chuckle that followed that was filled with such evilness that made a chill run down his spine.

"All kinds of extensions, life extension, time extension, credit extension anything that can be extended. Even a 'LOVE' extension." Putting a slight emphasis on the word love. Now it was Jellal's turn to laugh. And he did. Heartily. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to venture out this late at night. This short man was saying some interesting stuff.

" I am not joking" the short man roared. It stopped Jellal's laugh abruptly. It wasn't just mere nerve of the man to raise his voice against him but it was the voice itself. It sounded so inhuman.

The short man continued, "You will see for yourself." The short man smiled and now Jellal also noticed that his teeth were pointy as well." But my service doesn't come free. You will have to sign a contract for which you need to give me your-"

"soul?" Jellal asked.

The short man looked at him with amusement then said, "No". "Money, hard cash. Jwells if you please."And now Jellal was sure that this man had escaped from a mental hospital. Possibly even a prison for clinically insane. He turned away from this man and started towards his house. So much for a pleasant night stroll. He won't stop even if the man said anything. Even if he said that he wasn't joking or even if he said he-

"Do you hate anyone, good sir."He stopped again. " You know, I would be more than happy to make this deal with you. But it needs the contractor to hate someone. A genuine Hate."

Jellal turned again and said, "On the contrary, you should ask for the people who genuinely hate me. I am sure you will find many." The short man laughed again. " Oh, but none would be as interesting as you." His demonic smile spread on his lips. He also seemed a bit taller.

"You know, they always say that revenge is a good motivator. Believe me sir, if you sign a contract with me I will remove whatever piece of trouble you have and replace it with happiness while giving the person you hate an appropriate punishment." Jellal studied the man's features for a while. And opened his mouth to speak of his disagreement.

"Could it be Natsu?" the man said with a knowing smirk. Jellal's mouth froze in it's partial open state. He stared at him dumbly."Vent it out, sir. Vent it all out"

Jellal wanted to protest but he didn't seem to find his voice. He knew that this man knew too much and hiding it from him was no longer an option. It no longer mattered to him that he was a stranger or he himsef was a member of fairy tail. His fairy tail mark glowed and faded. He didn't care anymore, the past events had really drowned him into grief. He gave out a sigh.

"It all started after the party. I was sitting beside the bar when I heard Natsu call me-