It had been almost a month since the incident in Hosenka. The others had all done their best to comfort me, but I was still a little depressed at how miserably I had failed the organization. With the help of Wendy's strange dragon slayer abilities, I was back to perfect health. Even my broken arm was completely healed.

"Listen up," Master Makarov said, interrupting everyone's lunches. He stood on the banister of the second level, and stared down at all of us with a serious expression.

"I wonder what it is?" My best friend, Lucy Heartfilia, murmured. I shrugged, looking up at Master while everyone quieted down.

"I'd like to announce a new member to our organization," he said. He looked behind him, motioning for someone to come forward. The room went dead quiet, the only sound coming from the clatter of my fork hitting my plate. "This is Gajeel Redfox."

At the sound of his name, my muscles instantly tensed, and fear shot down my spine. His appearance had changed quite a lot from when I had fought him just a month ago. His once all-white eyes now looked normal, and his irises were a brilliant red color. He no longer wore tattered clothing, but a long black coat that was sleeveless, and white pants. The coat was trimmed in what looked like iron, matching the piercings on his face and arms. I noticed the organization's symbol tattooed onto his arm in black.

So, this isn't a joke. If Master gave him the mark, he's really a member. What changed? He was so adamant in his refusal when I had begged him to join.

"NO WAY!" Jet shouted, finally breaking the silence. "Master, you can't be serious!"

"There's no way we'll let him join Fairy Tail!" Droy added. "That bastard doesn't—"

"Enough, both of you!" Master commanded, sending the room into silence once more. "I've made this decision, and whether you like it or not, he's a member of the organization now. I won't hear another word about it."

I hadn't realized I was shaking until Lucy's hand rested on my shoulder in a comforting gesture. I stood and left the building as soon as Master dismissed us. I couldn't believe it. Why did Master let him join?!

"Hey," a rough voice said as a large hand clamped down on my shoulder.

I shrieked, swinging my harm as I turned. My hand met Gajeel's face hard, and I froze, my hand against his cheek. He had released my shoulder, but hadn't tried to dodge my hand—which I knew would have been easy for him to do.

"I deserved that," he said, not meeting my eyes.

"W-what do you want?" I asked, pulling my hand away and taking a step back.

"I wanted to apologize," he said, "for before. You look all healed now, though, so I guess that's good."

"No thanks to you," I snapped.

"Yeah, sorry," he frowned. "I didn't mean to rough you guys up that much."

Without thinking, I slapped him again. This time on purpose. Like before, he took it, merely closing his eyes as my hand left a red mark on his cheek. "You didn't mean to?" I laughed, incredulous. "You did more than rough us up! You—you completely destroyed us. Like we were nothing more than children." My voice caught in my throat, so I turned on my heal and sprinted away. "Stay away from me!"

I didn't stop running until I had reached my room in Fairy Hills. I was furious at his nerve. "What the hell kind of apology was that?!" I cursed, throwing a pillow across my bedroom. "He hadn't meant to rough us up that badly?! UGH! If he was truly sorry, he wouldn't have come here to rub it in my face." I fell onto my bed with a sigh of defeat. "Damn him."

The smell of paper and ink coming from the rows of bookshelves throughout my room helped to calm me. "I can't let him get me worked up. I'll just ignore him and put more time into training. I won't be beaten like that again. If I ever hope to defeat the demon that killed my parents, I can't be beaten like that again."

Although it had been twenty years since their deaths, and I had been tirelessly searching since joining Fairy Tail, I hadn't been able to track down the demon responsible. My sole purpose in becoming a hunter was to avenge their deaths, and finally get some closure. Once I did that, I could finally stop fighting. While I loved being a hunter and everyone at the organization, I was so tired of all the fighting. I looked forward to the day I could stop and finally get to live a normal life. I'll even be able to settle down and start a family.

It wasn't out of the question for hunters to get married and have children, but that usually only happened between two hunters. If a hunter met someone who wasn't, they either quit in order to be with them, or the relationship didn't last long. I knew first-hand how consuming the life of a hunter could be, not to mention how dangerous it was, so I didn't want to commit to another person until that responsibility and danger was gone. It wouldn't be fair to the other person to put them through that worry all the time. Especially when there's a chance on every assignment that I may not come back.

Hoping it would help me get Gajeel out of my head, I went to the library in Magnolia. "I'll just drown myself in a good book until tomorrow." I couldn't return to Fairy Tail until then, afraid Gajeel would still be there. I need at least a day to work myself up to see him again. Until then, I should just avoid Fairy Tail.

~Gajeel~

I watched Levy run away, and sighed. My face hurt like hell. "She may be small, but she's got an arm on her," I grumbled, rubbing my cheek. For a kid, she was pretty tough.

I returned to the cafeteria, slightly dejected. I hadn't expected her to accept my apology, but I hadn't expected it would make things worse. "Damn little kid," I sighed, sitting at the far end of the bar alone. I could practically feel the daggers the other hunters were sending into my back with their eyes as they glared at me.

"They'll get over it eventually," a sweet voice told me. A silver-haired woman stood behind the bar, smiling at me. Her blue eyes met mine before she asked, "are you hungry?"

"Not really," I frowned, propping my head on my hand.

"You're Gajeel Redfox, the iron dragon slayer, right?" She asked.

"Yeah."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mirajane Strauss." She held out her hand, waiting until I shook it.

"So, why are you being so nice?" I asked, curious.

"I trust Master Makarov's judgment. If he has invited you to join Fairy Tail, even after what happened, I will respect his decision. Don't get me wrong, I don't like you at all," she smiled, something in her voice sounding extremely threatening, "but I won't make a fuss about you being here." With that, she walked off to serve someone at the other end of the bar.

"Creepy woman," I grumbled.

"Hey you."

"Yeah, what?" I asked, turning on the bar stool. A pink-haired boy was standing behind me, his arms crossed.

"Did gramps say you're a dragon slayer?" He asked.

"What's it to ya?" I frowned.

"Because I want to fight you," he grinned. "Not only as payback for Shadow Gear, but to see if you're as tough as you look."

"One-on-one?" I asked, shocked at this guy's nerve. "You wouldn't last a minute."

"I don't think so," a blonde girl said, patting the pink-haired guy on the back. "Natsu's the fire dragon slayer, so I bet he can take you on just fine."

"You're the Salamander?" He didn't look anything like I had imagined.

"And you're Black Steel Gajeel," he said. "Come on, fight me!"

"Natsu, leave him alone," Makarov said. "Let him get settled in before you go picking a fight."

"AH, come on, gramps!" Natsu sighed. I couldn't believe how casual he was being towards Makarov. I was still scared senseless of the guy, and Salamander was calling him gramps.

"No! This isn't right!" A man with a weird haircut shouted, slamming his hands against a table. I recognized him as one of Levy's teammates.

"Droy, try to calm down," Mirajane was saying, but he ignored her.

"I don't care what Master said! I can't accept this!" He stormed from the cafeteria, followed by his teammate.

Makarov sighed. "Those two are going to be the most resistant to this. I'm not as worried about Levy, but—"

"She seemed pretty resistant to me," I frowned, rubbing my cheek.

"With good reason," the blonde shot at me. "I'd hate you, too."

"Lucy, that's enough," Makarov told her. "Although his past sins are great, we must now accept him as a fellow hunter. Everyone deserves a second chance, so it is our duty to guide him."

"I'm still going to fight him one day," Natsu grinned.

"Yes, but not now," Makarov said. "Shouldn't you two be leaving with the others for an assignment in a few minutes?"

"Oh, crap! C'mon, Luce!" Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and ran from the cafeteria, dragging her behind him.

Once alone again, I sighed. "Damned noisy hunters." I had to remind myself that I was a hunter now, too. It had been so long since I had fought for hunters instead of against them that I wasn't sure I'd be any good at it anymore.

"Well, no better way to see than to take a job," I said. I grabbed a job off the request board, told Makarov, and left. "I should probably stay away from Fairy Tail until things calm down. Everyone's still pissed about me joining. Not like I had any choice." I shivered at the memory, Makarov's threat still fresh in my mind.

~~~Three Days Before~~~

I was eating the iron support beams of an old abandoned building that had collapsed about a week before when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned my arm to iron, swinging it at whomever had been unfortunate enough to stumble upon me. A tiny old man stopped my attack with one hand, not even budging from where he stood just inside the building. I pulled my arm away, glaring at the old man.

"What do you want?" I growled.

"My name is Makarov," he said, calmly.

"Makarov?" Where had I heard that name before? It sounded so familiar. The answer suddenly hit me. He's the leader of Fairy Tail, the organization that blue-haired girl had come from. "Damn," I mumbled, figuring he had come for revenge.

"I'm not here to fight you," he said, dismissing my assumptions immediately. "I came to invite you one last time to join Fairy Tail."

"What?" I gaped at him, shocked.

"It is my duty as a guild master to put an end to you, Black Steel Gajeel," he told me. "I would much rather do that by accepting you into Fairy Tail than by killing you."

"You...want me to join Fairy Tail?" I asked. "After what I did?"

"Listen closely, boy," he said, stepping closer. So much power radiated off him that I actually backed away. I hadn't felt fear in a long time, and had begun to forget what it felt like, but this tiny old man easily refreshed my memory. "I am not forgiving you for what you did to my children, nor will I ever. But, I want to give you the chance to make amends to those you have caused pain. Instead of killing you as punishment, I want you to spend the rest of your life as a hunter in Fairy Tail, and dedicate yourself to making things right. Live for your comrades instead of yourself, and help those in need by killing demons alongside them."

"If I refuse?"

"This isn't a request, boy!" He snapped, suddenly throwing me to the ground. He stood beside my head, glaring down at me as I stared up at him in shock. "You will join Fairy Tail, or I will kill you here and now. Honestly, I'm fine with either of your choices."

"Fine, I'll join your damned organization," I frowned.

"Good," he said, stepping back so I could get to my feet. "I'll expect you to meet me at Fairy Tail by the end of the week."

"Whatever," I frowned.

"And, if you ever raise your fists against any of my children again, I will not hesitate to end you," he warned, more power than before radiating off him with his threat.

~~~Current Day~~~

"G-Gajeel?" I heard a small voice ask, bringing me from my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, looking down to see a small bluenette looking up at me. A white Exceed demon stood close beside her, protectively.

"Hi," she said, "I'm Wendy Marvel. I'm Fairy Tail's sky dragon slayer."

"You? But, you're just a kid!" I said, rather shocked.

"I'm almost fifteen, so I'm not a kid!" She snapped. She must be only a couple years younger than Levy, then. I pondered, noticing she was only a few inches shorter than the other bluenette.

"So, what do you want?" I asked, shaking myself. Why the hell do I keep thinking about her?

"I just wanted to introduce myself, and to welcome you to the organization. The others will take a while to get used to you, but they're all incredible people once you get to know them."

"I don't plan to," I frowned, walking passed her.

"How rude," the Exceed snapped. "Come, Wendy, don't waste your time with that brute of a man."

"Alright," she sighed, following after the Exceed.

I didn't want to get friendly with these hunters, so I wasn't planning on getting to know any of them. I'm going to focus on jobs, and that's it.