Crime and Punishment:

"Laxus!" Romeo called as he entered the guild hall, a hand on both Montie and Sanjay's shoulders. Wendy trailed a few steps behind him, Isla on her hip and an umbrella in her hand. She closed it and shook off the extra raindrops before hanging it up.

Sanjay looked terrible. His face was swollen and he looked like he was missing a few teeth. Still, he was not off the hook yet. He and his brother still had Laxus to deal with.

Laxus was enjoying a nice conversation with the rest of the Thunder Legion when they arrived, but stood at the sight of them. He grabbed something and held them behind his back.

"Ah, yes, our two newest delinquents," he said as he strode towards them.

"Hey, Master Laxus…" Montie cringed.

"Hmph," was all Sanjay could muster. Bruised more than a peach and he was still smug and bitter.

"Doesn't look like you two had the best time," Laxus noted, seeing Sanjay's face. "I think you boys need some new team mates."

"New teammates?" Montie asked, stunned. That didn't sound like a punishment.

"Meet your new team mates, Mr. Mop and Mrs. Bucket," Laxus said, tossing the two cleaning utensils to the boys.

"Oh," Montie hung his head.

"WHAT!?" Sanjay shouted.

"There's a new guild coming to town, Willow Spirit," Laxus explained. "And we're having their welcoming party here. So I want this place to be spotless, from top to bottom."

"We have to clean this entire dump!?" Sanjay exclaimed.

"Yup, alone," Laxus nodded. "I've given the usual cleaning crew the weekend off. You got two days so chop-chop!"

Sanjay opened his mouth to say something else, but Montie grabbed his shoulder and dragged him off.

"C'mon, San, let's get started."

Laxus smirked as he watched them walk off. He then took his seat and sighed.

"Man, I don't know about that Sanjay kid," he told his friends.

"Well, neither do we," Evergreen said. "That little Montie seems to be quite the gentleman in the making, but Sanjay."

She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, I think he's gonna need more than a cleaning day," Bixlow sighed just as Lisanna raced up to him.

"Babe, I gotta help Mira in the kitchen, look after Vance!"

Bixlow smiled as he took his son and began lifting him into the air. "Vance!" he cheered. "Vancey! Who loves their Da-Da?"

Evergreen smiled as she watched them, thinking back to the days when Lorelle was a baby and how she'd play with her.

"Mama!"

Evergreen's smile widened as she turned to find Lorelle skipping to her.

"What is it, darling?" she asked.

"I'm thirsty, can I have one of the sodas out back?" Lorelle said, pointing to a hall leading to a dark storage area.

"Fine by me, but don't go outside," Evergreen said. "It's raining cats and dogs outside!"

"Alright!" Lorelle cheered as she skipped down the hall to claim her prize. She opened the door to the storage room, took one of the glass bottles, and began to head back to the main hall. She tripped over a loose floor board, dropped the bottle, and shattered it on the ground.

"Aw, darn it!" Lorelle pouted as she stood back up and began collecting the pieces.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" someone thundered.

Lorelle looked up to find Sanjay glaring down at her.

"Oh, please! It was an accident," she scoffed. "Not even that big of a mess. Gimme two minutes and it'll be good as new."

"Are you just trying to make my life harder, you little brat!?" Sanjay shouted.

"Did you not-" Lorelle stopped as she recognized the boy. This was one of the boys Uncle Laxus said he was going to make clean the whole guild hall. She narrowed her eyes. This could be fun. She dropped the glass shards back on the ground.

"Well, since you are already in trouble and want to get smart, maybe I won't clean it up after all."

She began to saunter off, expecting to get some pouting and shouts as usual.

Sadly that was not the case.

WHACK!

Lorelle fell over as a painful throb went though her back. She didn't have time to react or activate her magic when a barrage of other swats came over her.

"Ouch! Hey!" Lorelle screamed, rolling into a ball and covered her head with her hands.

"There. Serves you right," Sanjay sniffed as he began to walk off, the mop still in his hands. Lorelle slowly sat up.

"Ow!" she groaned as she looked down at herself. Think rows of bruises were already beginning to form on her arms. She gasped as she wrapped her arms around herself.

A million past warnings began ringing through her head.

"One of these days you're going to pop off to the wrong person, Lorelle."

"Someday you're going to run into someone who won't put up with your crap."

They were right… she thought to herself.

They. The others. No way this would happen to one of them! Though she'd never admit it she knew she was the weakest of the bunch. She was nowhere near the other kids power level. She couldn't let anyone see this! How horrible would that be, everyone knowing how weak she was.

She stood to her feet and ran to the front door of the guild hall. She yanked her raincoat off and threw it on. She let out a sigh of relief as she looked down over herself. The coat was enough to hide the bruises, now she'd just have to wait until they healed and keep her mouth-

"Lorelle?"

Lorelle gasped, someone had spotted her.

She whirled around to find Portia standing behind her, eyes wide.

"Lorelle, what hap-"

Portia gasped as Lorelle grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt.

"Say anything to anyone and I'll end you, got it!?" she hissed.

"I-uh-but, Lorelle. What-"

"Not a word to anyone, got it?" Lorelle shoved Portia away and started to stomp off.

"But...who..who did that to you?" Portia whispered.

Lorelle stopped midstep, then whirled around and shuffled back to Portia. "No one. It was an accident. I...fell down the stairs. Just please-"

"No you didn't," Portia said softly.

"Yes I did!"

"No. You didn't. Someone did that to you," Portia continued, voice still soft.

"Yout think you can-"

"I've seen those bruises before," Portia all but whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I've had those bruises before. Someone hit you with a broom, didn't they?"

Lorelle's frown faded as she looked down at her feet.

"Didn't they?" Portia asked.

"It was a mop," Lorelle muttered.

"Mop?"

"I dropped a mop on myself," Lorelle said, still trying to dodge the issue.

"Was it Sanjay?" Portia asked. "I saw him with a mop earlier. Is he the one who beat you?"

"He didn't beat me, okay?" Lorelle snapped. "He just caught me off guard. If I'd have known I could have won."

"Could have won!" Portia explained. "Lorelle, he beat you! This wasn't a spar, he beat you!"

"Could you stop saying that?" Lorelle hissed.

"But that's what it is," Portia said.

"Whatever, just don't tell anyone," Lorelle grumbled, tugging at her sleeve.

"I can't do that," Portia replied.

"What do you mean you can't do that!"

"Lorelle, this is bad," Portia said. "If we don't tell someone then he's gonna do it again."

"No he won't, because I'm going to be ready-"

"This isn't a game Lorelle," Portia whimpered. "It's just gonna get worse if someone doesn't stop him. My dad nearly killed my-"

"This isn't the same, Portia! This isn't like you!"

"He beat you. How is it going to-"

"Because you didn't ask for it, I did!" Lorelle hissed.

"Lorelle…" Portia gasped, holding her hands to her chest.

Lorelle stared at her toes.

"You guys always told me one day that my evil ways would catch up with me. You always said I was going to push someone too far. And I didn't believe you, but I did it! I finally did it, and I-" Lorelle held her hands to her face, sniffling.

"Oh, it's okay," Portia crooned, pulling Lorelle into a hug. "It's not your fault, Lorelle. It's not."

Lorelle stood stiff for a little while, but finally relented, returning the hug. She sniffled again as her bruises began to sting all the more.

"Hey, Por-what happened?" another voice called.

Lorelle looked to see Igneel approaching them.

"Nothing," she grumbled.

"No, something has to be wrong if you two are hugging," Igneel's eyes narrowed. "That's like me and Meeko holding hands."

"I said noth-"

"Sanjay beat her up," Portia said.

"What!?" Igneel exclaimed.

"Oh, shut up, both of you!" Lorelle snapped, tears still on her eyes. "You think I want the whole guild knowing about this?"

"Oh, sh," Portia said softly, setting an arm around Lorelle's shoulders. "C'mon. Let's go clean your face and get some cold rags on those bandages. That will help with the pain."

She began to lead Lorelle away, arm still around her. Igneel watched the two girls slip into the bathroom. He then lifted his head and sniffed at the air. Where had Sanjay gotten off to?

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"There," Portia said softly as she finished dabbing at the last of Lorelle's bruises.

"Thanks," Lorelle muttered as she headed to the door. Portai began gathering the rags and paper towels to clean up.

"I mean it," Lorelle said, stopping at the door. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Portia smiled, throwing the towels away.

Lorelle left and Portia hummed to herself as she kept cleaning around her.

"Psst!"

Portia turned to find Igneel poking his head in the door.

"Igneel! This is the girl's bathroom, you can't be in here!" she hissed.

"C'mere, I need your help," Igneel said.

Portia huffed as she walked out of the bathroom. "What?"

"Think you can patch me up?" Igneel asked, holding his hands out. Both of his knuckles were buried.

"What did you do!?" Portia exclaimed, taking his hands in hers.

"What do you think?" Igneel asked.

"You fought Sanjay!"

"Well, yeah!" Igneel stated. "He shouldn't be beating up on girls like that."

"Did he hurt you?" Portia began looking him over for other wounds.

"Nah! I'm too strong for him!"

"Igneel…"

"Alright, fine, my dad saw us and took care of him."

"Where is he now?" Portia asked as she led him to the kitchen.

"Locked in one of the extra rooms until Uncle Laxus decides what to do with him," Igneel answered as Portia sat him in a chair and began wetting another rag. She brought it over to him, took one of his hands in hers, and began dabbing at his knuckles.

"That's good, he should get in big trouble," Portia declared, frowning.

"Yeah," Igneel agreed. "How'd you even get Lorelle to tell you that he beat her up? You guys aren't exactly close. What'd you say to her?"

"Nothing really," Portia sighed. "I didn't have to. I already knew what happened."

"You saw it!?" Igneel's eyebrows raised. "He didn't try to hurt you, did he?"

"No, I didn't see it," Portia replied. "But I've seen bruises like that before."

"You have?" Igneel cocked his head to one side, curious. Then it dawned on him. "Oh. Oh! Oh, no! Portia, I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Portia whispered as she began dabbing at his other hand. "I'm just glad he didn't get her in the face."

"Is that what happened to you?" Igneel asked.

Portia hung her head. "Yeah. He got me pretty bad one time."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it happened a long time ago."

"It didn't mess you up bad, did it? Like, it doesn't still hurt, right?" Igneel asked, looking very worried.

"No...not exactly," Portia shuffled in place as she stood up, the rag now clutched behind her back.

"Exactly?" Igneel asked.

Portia sighed, running a hand under her bangs. She glanced up at Igneel, her one visible eye piercing through him. Now that he thought about it, Igneel was sure he'd ever seen her other eye. She always had her bangs cover the left side of her face.

"It...was my eye…" Portia said softly.

"You're eye?" Igneel asked, standing up to meet her.

"My dad hit me in the eye with a broom."

Igneel hissed. "That must have hurt!"

"Yeah, it did," Portia twirled her thumbs in front of her. "I was blind out of that eye for a long time until my mom took me to a healer."

"Did they fix it?" Igneel asked, concerned.

"Yeah, but...the color never came back…"

"Came back?"

"My eyes are supposed to be green, but after I got hit...my left eye turned gray. A little bit of the green came back after I was healed but...it's still not the right color…"

"Is that why you keep your hair in your face?" Igneel asked.

"Yeah," Portia hung her head. She shook it off, though, and then lifted her gaze. "Anyway, I'm glad they got Sanjay. And I'm glad Lorelle is going to be okay."

"Can I see it?" Igneel asked, pointing to the left side of Portia's face.

Portia just stared back at him.

"Your left eye. Can I see it?" Igneel asked again.

"Just don't laugh at it," Portia muttered, hanging her head.

"I won't," Igneel promised.

Portia stood very still, almost afraid to move as Igneel pushed her hair out of her face.

Igneel gasped. Just her left eye was, indeed, nowhere near the emerald brilliance her right eye was. It looked almost metallic, silvery gray with small flecks of green littering it.

"Pretty bad, right?" Portia asked softly.

"No," Igneel shook his head.

"No?" Portia was surprised.

"It's actually kinda pretty."

"It is?" Portia lips curled up just ever so slightly.

"Yeah. And it's cool that you've got two different colored eyes!"

"You really think so?"

"Yeah!"

"Hm…" Portia smiled, then hung her head again. "I'm not sure everyone would agree with you though."

"Well, screw them, they're idiots," Igneel shrugged as he began heading to the door. "You're one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen. Thanks again for the help!" he waved as he stepped back into the main room.

Portia gasped as she watched after him. One of the prettiest girls he'd ever seen? She rubbed at her bangs again, fingers lingering over her left eye. Her smile widened. She hadn't realized it until then but she really needed to hear that. Still, she pushed her bangs back into her face and went about cleaning up.

She'd meant what she said. She was glad Lorelle would be okay, even if she was still Lorelle.

And she would continue to be Lorelle. From that day on, however, there was a sort of agreement between her and Portia. Lorelle would still pick on Portia after that day, just like she did the other children. Unlike the other children, though, Lorelle would be darned if anyone other than herself said anything about Portia.

Though she had a funny way of showing it, Portia had finally earned her respect.

AN: What do you think Sanjay's punishment should be?