Roman's First Job:

"Gosh darn flippin' tarnation! That monster done stuck again!" a farmer whose farm was located just outside of Magnolia spat as he kicked at a crumpled beanstalk that had been picked clean.

"Where are them wizards I called for a week ago? If they don't get rid of these pests I'm gonna lose everything!"

"You called?" a woman's voice asked from behind the farmer. He turned to find a woman with brilliant scarlet hair dressed in armor. Walking alongside her was a purple-haired young boy dressed in a black turtleneck tank top, black pants, black boots, and black fingerless gloves.

"Nah, I'm waiting for some wizards to come and help me," the farmer grumbled. "Though I gotta say, ain't seen y'all around here before, y'all new?"

"I believe there's been a misunderstanding," Erza said as she removed her pauldron to expose her guild mark. "We're the wizards you called for."

Roman, still standing next to his mother, lifted his shirt to show the mark in the center of his chest.

"What!?" the farmer exclaimed. "I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but this job here involves monster killin'. I wasn't expecting a woman and little kid to come a'calling."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Roman finally spoke up, crossing his arms.

"I'm one of Fairy Tail's S class wizards, and my son has fought his fair share of monsters. I assure you we're more than capable of handling this job," Erza assured the farmer.

"Well, alrighty, if you say so," the farmer shrugged. "Lookee here."

He lifted the shriveled beanstalk he'd been kicking at up for Erza and Roman to see.

"This used to be a healthy beanstalk, full of beans ripe for picking. But every night for the past month some monsters have been comin' in and destroying my crops! This keeps up for much longer I won't have anything to sell come harvest time!"

"Hm," Roman thought as he approached the farmer and took the stalk from him.

"What does this monster look like?" Erza asked.

"Dunno," the farmer shrugged. "It's fast! I can't never get a good look at 'em. And they're smart too! I've tried putting traps up for 'em but they always get out."

"So definitely not a vulcan," Roman muttered as he kept looking over the stalk.

Erza chuckled at her son as she nodded in agreement. "No, those beasts are dangerous and fast, but not exactly bright."

"I don't care what it is! Just get'em outta here!" the farmer fumed.

"Are there any patterns in these monster attacks?" Erza asked.

"Sure thing! They always come at night."

"At night, huh?" Erza stroked her chin as she thought.

Roman, still looking over the discarded beanstalk, suddenly found something interesting. He brought the stalk closer to get a better look.

"Hey, Mommy, look!" he called as he tugged on Erza's arm.

Erza took the stalk from him, examining it. "...interesting…"

"What?" the farmer asked.

"It's not a monster," Roman explained.

"What you talkin' about boy? I've been farming' this here land for thirty-one years! I know a monster when I see it!"

"But the claw marks on that stalk are too small to be a monster," Roman said. "They're not monster marks. But I've seen them before, and they belong to a-"

"Don't try to talk over me, boy! I know a monster when I see one!"

"But-"

"Roman, that's enough," Erza said, setting a hand on her son's shoulder.

"But-"

"Where do you think these monsters are coming from?" Erza asked.

"Probably from the woods back yonder," the farmer said, gesturing his thumb in the indicated direction.

"Come on, Roman, let's go investigate," Erza said, leading her son off towards the woods.

"Mommy, you saw those claw marks, right?" Roman asked.

"I did," Erza answered.

"So you know it's not a monster too, right?"

"I do, but it will do no good arguing that to our client," Erza explained. "He's convinced himself there's a monster attacking his harvest, and there's no telling him otherwise."

"So, what do we do?" Roman asked.

"Remember what I always told you children after I made you apologize for something?"

"That saying sorry is all fine and good but we had to show that we were truly remorseful."

"And why is that?"

"Because actions speak louder than words."

"Exactly, so rather than wasting time trying to tell him there are no monsters, we'll simply show him."

"Oh…" Roman nodded his head as he understood.

"You'll soon find that many clients can be difficult," Erza answered. "In those cases it's best to just do your job to the best of your ability, collect your payment, and move along."

Roman sighed. "I guess. But...I'm a bit worried."

"Why is that?" Erza asked.

"Well…" Roman shuffled in place, uneasy. "From the way the farmer was talking, it sounds like he wants us to 'get rid' of them. But if what I'm thinking is right, then it's not a monster, just someone in some kind of trouble, so we can't just 'get rid' of them. It wouldn't be right."

Erza smiled softly as she set her hand on top of Roman's head. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. First thing's first, though, we need to get to the bottom of everything."

"I guess so," Roman sighed.

"Come, I think we're almost there," Erza said as she beckoned her son to follow her.

Roman nodded as he trailed along behind his mother.

They soon reached the forest the farmer had told them about. It didn't take them long to find a series of tracks going from the bean fields to the edge of the woods.

"Stay close," Erza told Roman as she began to follow the tracks. Roman nodded as he trailed after his mother. The two followed the trail along a beaten, overgrown path that led deep into the forest. After a short while, though, the tracks disappeared.

"Hm," Erza pondered as she kneeled down to take a closer look at the end of the trail, Roman following her example.

"Looks like they started flying," Roman said.

"That's exactly what they did," Erza confirmed. "It will do no good for us to try and follow them. There's no telling which direction they flew in. We'll have to wait until they come back tonight. Come, let's go tell our client of our plan, and then go take a nap at the inn. We'll need it for tonight."

Erza stood to her feet and began to walk off. Roman stood as well, but he didn't immediately follow after his mother. He stared up at the sky, a thoughtful scowl on his face. A part of him worried about the poor creatures, and hoped they wouldn't return that night.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Roman stared out the window of his and Erza's hotel room at the sunset. She was still asleep, but Roman had already woken up and was waiting anxiously for darkness to come so he and his mother could go back to the farm.

As he waited Erza's lacrima began bussing on the table. Roman peaked at it and saw the name "Jellal" appear on it. He picked it up and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Is that you Roman?" Jellal's voice asked from the other end.

"Yeah, it's me."

"How are you, my boy?" Jellal asked.

"Okay, I guess…"

"You guess?"

"Yeah…" Roman sighed.

"What's bothering you, my boy?"

"It's this job," Roman said. "The request poster said we were going to come fight a monster. But I don't think it's actually a monster, just someone in trouble. And I'm worried because…well...it wouldn't be right to hurt someone in trouble. Even if they were stealing a few crops. Right?"

"Hm…" Jellal replied as he thought. "Well, regardless of whether these are monsters or not, you still have to find them, right?"

"Well, yeah, I guess so…" roman answered.

"So, for the moment at least, nothing's changed. Wait until you find out whoever is behind this and then decide what to do from there."

Roman drew his knees to his chest and sighed deeply. "I guess so."

"You're a smart young man, Roman," Jellal assured his son. "And you have a good heart. You'll know what to do once you find out who's behind this."

"I'm just worried about the farmer who hired us," Roman said. "He didn't seem to want to listen to anyone but himself. Even if it's not a monster behind this, he might still go after the ones behind this."

"I have a hard time believing he'd get past you and your mother," Jellal chuckled. "Don't worry, Roman. I have faith you'll do the right thing when the time comes."

"Roman…" Erza grumbled as she sat up. "Who is that?"

"Daddy," Roman answered, handing the lacrima to his mother.

Erza took it from him and placed it to her ear. "Hello, my love."

"Hello," Jellal's warm voice answered. "How are you darling?"

"Fine," Erza answered. "I assume Roman caught you up to speed."

"He did. And he seems a bit worried about it all."

"Well," Erza smiled softly. "I guess we can't be surprised. He's always been a thoughtful one. Don't worry, we have it under control."

"Oh, I'm not worried about that. I just hope this helps boost his confidence a bit."

"I'm sure it will," Erza said. "Once he's proved he can successfully complete a job he'll start feeling more secure about his abilities."

"I certainly hope so. Well, I assume you have to get ready to head back out there. I just wanted to check in on you."

"Thank you. We'll see you soon. I love you."

"I love you t-" Jellal's voice suddenly cut off.

"Jellal?" Erza asked.

"Minette, put your brother down!" Jellal shouted from the other end. "You're trying to get what down from the top of the wardrobe? WHY IS EVA ON TOP OF THE WARDROBE!?"

"Good luck with that," Erza chuckled.

"Thank you," Jellal grumbled. "NO! THE LAUNDRY BASKET WILL NOT HELP! PUT IT BACK! And...now Minette's stuck in the laundry basket. Alright, Von, step away before you get stuck in something too! Alright, I've got to go, love you Erza."

"Love you too," Erza said as Jellal hung up.

"What did the triplets do this time?" Roman asked from where he was still sitting next to the window.

"What did they not do would be the better question," Erza sighed as she stood up. "Get ready, we need to head out soon."

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Roman slowly peaked out from behind the wagon he was ducked behind. He glanced at the stack of farming tools his mother was hiding behind. No signal yet, so she hadn't found anything yet either.

He sighed and slumped back down tugged at the mask covering his mouth and nose as a part of his stealth armor, a full black ensemble complete with a face mask and hood.

They'd been out here for close to an hour and no sign of any crop thieves. Maybe they'd moved on to somewhere else? Roman hoped so.

Just then he heard a rustling noise. He peaked over the wagon again. A small figure appeared out of the brush, skipping its way towards the bean field. Roman pulled out the katana he had strapped to his side, reflecting the moonlight in it to send a signal to Erza.

A few seconds later white, moonlike light reflected back to him. Roman carefully crawled out of his hiding place and made his way towards the thief. Erza did the same from her hiding place.

The thief selected a stalk and began butting at the bottom with a set of claws sticking out of it's fingers. As Roman and Erza drew nearer though, the thief stopped it's work, and turned to look behind him.

"EEK!" it cried at the sight of the two wizards drawing closer to him, and took off into the crop field.

"Roman, go after-"

"REQUIP!"

Before Erza could finish her sentence Roman requipped into a pair of bright green shorts with a cheetah print vest and took off running at extreme speeds. Roman soon caught up with the thief but, realizing he was about to be caught, the thief suddenly turned on their heel and took off in the opposite direction. Sliding under Roman's legs.

At least, that seemed to be the plan.

Unfortunately for the thief, upon seeing what his prey was doing, Roman stopped and did a back handspring, catching the thief by the arm as he landed on his hands.

The thief squeaked as Roman kicked over his head and landed on his feet.

"Gotcha-OUCH!" Roman cringed as the thief cut him across his nose with a set of sharp claws. The sudden attack shocked him enough to loosen his grip, allowing the thief to get away.

"Roman!" Erza called as she reached his side and knelt next to him. "Are you alr-"

Roman jumped to his feet and took off after the thief without letting his mother finish her question.

He raced after the thief, following them into the forest. The thief ran for a little bit longer before sprouting a pair of white wings from his back and taking off into the air.

"Requip!" Roman called as he darted up a nearby tree. As he reached a large, upper branch, his clothing transformed into a bright white suit complete with a long, flowing cape lined in gold. Roman jumped off the tree branch and spread his cape out, using it as a hand glider to fly after the thief. This time he grabbed the thief by both of his arms to keep him from scratching as he landed on the ground.

"Ha! I was right!" Roman cheered as he found the thief he'd caught was actually a yellow exceed.

"Please, let me go!" the exceed begged. "I didn't mean any harm! I just wanted some food for me and my sisters, that's all!"

The sound of footsteps came from behind Roman. He turned to find Erza racing towards him. She sighed in relief at seeing her son's face, and smiled when she saw he'd successfully caught the thief.

"Good job, Roman," she smiled.

"Please, let me go!" the exceed cried again. "I tried to get a job, okay? But they don't like our kind around here! The old lady who ran the sewing shop was the only one who cared about us. After she died it was impossible for me and my sisters to get work! We've run out of money. We were starving! That's why I started taking the beans! Please don't hurt me!"

"We're not gonna hurt you," Roman said.

"Y-you're not?" the exceed sniffed.

"No," Roman smiled. "We're gonna try to help you."

"You are?"

"Yeah," Roman said as he set the exceed down and knelt next to him. "What if I told you that there's an entire village of your kind."

"Not possible," the exceed sniffled. "Our parents told us we were the only ones. That they hatched from eggs and were never able to find more like us."

"But there are more of you," Roman explained. "I don't remember all the details, it happened before I was born, but from what I remember my parents telling me exceeds were sent here from another dimension, but a lot of you got separated on the way over."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and now that we've found you we can take you to the rest of the exceeds. I'm sure they'd help you and your sisters out."

"You'd do that?"

"Of course."

The little exceed sniffled again as he threw his arms around Roman's neck. "Thank you!"

Erza just smiled as she watched on. Just as she and Jellal had suspected, Roman had done the right thing when the time came. He'd chosen to help rather than harm. Now to deal with the farmer…

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"AND YOU LET HIM GO!?" the farmer screeched as Erza and Roman told him what had happened.

"He's going to get his sister, and then we'll take them to the exceed village." Erza explained with a sigh. She should have known he wouldn't be happy with the results. "They'll be out of your hair, and they'll be able to find a job and take care of themselves."

"THAT'S IT? AFTER THEY'VE BEEN TEARING MY CROPS APART! NO! I WANT THEM MONSTERS DEAD!"

"But they're not monsters!" Roman said. "They're exceeds."

"They're talking cats! That just ain't natural! Or right! They don't belong in these here parts and that's the end of that!"

"Sir, please calm down," Erza said in a firm, warning voice.

Unfortunately the farmer didn't catch on.

"I want them punished for stealing my crops! We should'a done away with them years ago, anyways!"

"That's not fair!" Roman shouted. "It's not their fault they're talking cats! And the only reason they stole from you in the first place is because they were starving because you and the other people in this village wouldn't give them a job or help them!"

"Why would I want a trio of little monsters helpin' out on my farm?"

"None of this would have happened if you hadn't been so hateful!"

"You better watch your tongue when you talk to yer elders, boy!"

"This is your fault and you dare blame it on them! They were just trying to survive!"

"Boy, if you don't-"

"ENOUGH!" Erza thundered.

Roman flinched as the farmer sniffed in approval. "Yeah, that's right, get your youngin' under control."

"I was talking to you," Erza said, eyes narrowing at the farmer.

"Wha-ME!?"

"Your job request specified that we find out who was stealing your crops and come to a solution. We've done just that. You did not say you wanted the thieves dead. If you had your job request would have never been accepted as that would make it an assasination request, which are strictly forbidden."

"Hmph," the farmer sniffed. "Thought y'all could read between the lines."

"Afraid not," Erza said coldly. "Unlike you, my son and I actually possess hearts."

"What'd you-"

"We've completed the job you requested. We will be relocating the exceeds, thus saving your crops. Now, kindly give my son and I the payment you promised so we can be on our way."

"Hmph," the farmer sniffed as he tossed a bag of jewel towards Erza. Erza opened it, checking to make sure it was the amount promised, she then slipped it into her pocket and turned on her heel.

"Come along, Roman. Our work here is done," she said as she opened the door. Roman followed his mother out of the farm house.

Erza closed the door behind them and Roman hung his head.

"Sorry I-"

"No need to apologize," Erza said. "You were correct in everything you said."

Roman let out a small sigh of relief, though he still wore a frown.

"Roman?" Erza asked when he remained silent for a while. "Are you alright?"

"I just don't get it," Roman said. "Had he just given them a job, or even just something to eat, none of this would have happened. Everyone would have been better off. So...why'd he keep being so cruel? He ended up hurting himself, but he still blamed it on the exceeds. I...I don't understand it…"

"Hate can be a powerful thing," Erza sighed. "The most hateful people are often the blindest. They are so clouded by their hatred that they fail to see the harm they're doing, even if that harm is inflicted on themselves."

"But why? It makes no sense," Roman said.

"It doesn't," Erza agreed. "You'll find that a lot of things in this world don't make sense. There's little we can do to change people's minds, though. So we just try to kind to those who will accept it."

Roman hung his head, still not understanding.

Erza smiled softly at him as she approached him and set a hand on his shoulder. "I'm very proud of you, though. You handled this job extremely well. I'm sorry it was such a depressing one. First jobs should make you smile in pride at your accomplishments, not make you sad."

"It's not your fault," Roman muttered. "I just wish I could have done more."

"Done more? Roman, you're helping three exceeds find a new and better life. That's quite a bit of good you've done."

A small smile crept onto Roman's face. "I guess…"

"Well, I know," Erza said as she ruffled his hair. "Now come, let's go get the exceeds so we can head home."

AN: Cato's will be next.