~Levy~

After I awoke from a restless sleep, I took a long shower. I stood under the steaming stream of water for nearly an hour before I could force myself to get ready and go out to face the real world. I had cowardly thought about just quitting Fairy Tail and running away altogether. Honestly, the thought crossed my mind a second time as I brushed my dripping hair.

"I'll just go with Jet and Droy on a lot of jobs until things calm down," I told myself. I put on a short orange dress that tied around my neck with a white ribbon. The separate orange sleeves went on next, followed by a pair of sandals. I tied my bangs back with a yellow-orange ribbon and took a deep breath while looking at myself in the mirror.

I was extremely short, and had a petite frame. My chest was seriously lacking anything interesting, but my waist wasn't too bad. Unfortunately, my mixture of height problems and chest deficiency made me look much younger than I actually was. I would be turning twenty-five in six months.

"That means it will be twenty-one years since their deaths," I sighed, turning away from the mirror and leaving the bathroom. My parents were murdered four months before my fifth birthday. I joined Fairy Tail the day after their funeral, and had spent my time since then trying to find the demon responsible. Although I had witnessed their murder, I had no idea what the demon looked like. My parents had made me stay hidden in their bedroom underneath the bed while they fought it. Both of them had been skilled hunters earlier in life, but retired and got married when they found out my mother was pregnant with me.

The night it had all happened, I couldn't understand why. Being only four at the time, I didn't realize being retired hunters meant they had countless enemies in the demon world. They had moved far from their organization's town and had even changed their names, but one of their enemies had still managed to find them.

I could still remember being pulled from bed in the middle of night and told not to make a sound—no matter what happened—as I was shoved under their bed. Nor would I ever forget the horrible purple color their blue carpet had turned as blood had soaked it. My father's severed head had rolled under the bed, and had stared into my horrified face as I watched my mother's arms being ripped off. Whatever demon had done it had had a grudge, because it took its time torturing them before they were finally killed. Luckily, it hadn't realized I was there, and the smell of my parents' blood throughout the room had masked my scent. After they were both dead, it simply left. It went away as if it hadn't murdered two people and forever changed the life of a four-year-old child.

I slowly opened the front doors to Fairy Tail's headquarters. I hoped Gajeel wouldn't come until later (or not at all), but I knew I'd have to get used to his presence eventually. He was a member of Fairy Tail, so I'd be seeing a lot more of him.

"Levy!" Jet and Droy greeted me, waving from our usual table near the back of the cafeteria.

"Good morning," I yawned, joining them. "Where are Lucy, Natsu, and Happy? They're usually here by now."

"Master sent them on a job as soon as they arrived this morning," Droy said. "Erza and Gray went along, too."

"Yeah, so it looks like it's going to be a peaceful morning," Jet chuckled.

"Where did you disappear to yesterday? We looked around after he was introduced to everyone, but you were gone," Droy frowned. "We noticed he was gone, too, and got worried."

"I went back to Fairy Hills," I sighed. "Sorry for worrying you." I didn't want them to know about my conversation with Gajeel. I was known for being one of the most level-headed people in the organization, so it would probably be a shock if anyone found out about my little explosion. I slapped Gajeel in the face—twice! I can't believe I did that. I had been so angry that I hadn't thought twice before doing it. He had been so casual about nearly killing us that it had sent me over the edge a little.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen him since yesterday," Jet pondered, looking around. "I wonder where he went."

"Don't do anything stupid," I warned, not liking the hint of anger in his eyes.

"I won't," he told me, "but I am going to keep tabs on him. I don't trust him."

"I don't either, but we should just leave him alone," I said. "Stay out of his way, and he'll stay out of ours."

"You're probably right," he sighed, picking at the plate of eggs Mira had placed in front of him. The three of us always ordered the same thing for breakfast, so it never took long for Mira to bring us our eggs, toast, and bacon.

I dug into my breakfast, nodding. "Has Master spoke with either of you about a job?" I asked.

They both shook their head. "No," Droy said. "He told Jet and I yesterday after you had left that we should take today off."

"I wish he would stop babying us," Jet frowned.

"He's just trying to look out for us," I said. "Although I agree with you, I understand that he worries a lot. We'll just spend the day training. I haven't gone to the shooting range lately, so I think I'll go there after breakfast."

"We'll train hard, too, then," Droy smiled.

I quickly finished the rest of my food, wanting to get to the shooting range soon. I had been hoping for the distraction of a job, but training would be just as affective at getting my mind off everything. It would also give me more practice. Natsu had once offered to train me in some hand-to-hand combat fighting, but I immediately dismissed him. That idiot would burn me alive. He has no self control at all! He would forget he was training me, and end up destroying the training hall most likely.

I fired at targets for several hours, lost in the feel of the gun in my hands. Every target I shot I imagined a different type of demon. I went over every species I knew, thinking of which one could have literally ripped two people apart with such ease. Every year around the anniversary of my parents' deaths, I became obsessed with finding their killer. I was driven by that motive every day, but it grew particularly strong in the months leading up to the anniversary.

I finally stopped practicing after my hands began to ache from the repeated firing for so long. I carefully cleaned my gun and returned it to the holster I kept strapped to my right thigh. Even on my days off I carried it with me. It had become a habit, and I felt naked when I wasn't wearing it.

The sun was beginning to set as I left Fairy Tail's training building. Being early Spring, the days were beginning to lengthen, but were still fairly short. It was nearly seven, judging by the placement of the sun on the horizon, which meant I had missed both lunch and dinner. My stomach growled loudly in protest, reminding me just how long ago breakfast had been. I wasn't in the mood to return to Fairy Tail, so instead I went into Magnolia. There was a small bar that had amazing food—not to mention the best beer in Fiore—so I went straight there.

Marley, the owner of the bar, was a former client of mine, so he was always happy when I stopped by. Seven years before, I had killed a small demon which had been hassling his customers, injuring a few people. After that, he had given me a lifelong pass to come and eat or drink whenever I wanted. Since I loved their food, I visited the small place at least once a week when I was in Magnolia.

The bar was a small, square, brick building with a large white sign above the front door reading "Marley's Bar & Grill" in bold black letters. The inside was dimly lit, with only about six small, round tables spread around one half of the floor. The other half was dedicated to a pool table and a dart board. The bar was my favorite part of the place, though. It went from one end of the building to the other, and had every drink imaginable behind it. Marley was the bartender, too, so I always shared in a nice conversation when I came. It was usually occupied by a tougher crowd, but that didn't deter me from enjoying a cold beer and a hot burger with fries.

"Levy!" Marley smiled, leaning against the bar as I climbed onto a bar stool. "It's been over a month since your last visit! I was beginning to think something had happened to my most valued customer." Marley was a rather scary-looking man of about forty. He was missing a tooth, had several tattoos, and had his hair cropped short. That wasn't what gave him the scary look, though. It was the scars. They covered his face and arms. One scar went over his mouth, pulling the left side down in what looked like a permanent frown. He once told me he had been a hunter when he was younger, and had earned the scars in battle.

Add the fact that he always had on leather and carried a handgun to the pile, and people generally stayed away from him. However, I was quite fond of him. He was one of the kindest people I knew, and shared my love of books. Besides Makarov, he was the closest thing I had found to a father, and I appreciated his kindness.

"Sorry," I said, returning his smile. "I got beat up a while ago, so I've been taking some time to recover."

His bright blue eyes darkened as he frowned at me. "Sounds like you got more'n beat up if it took ya a month to get better," he said.

"Don't worry, I'm fine now," I told him, patting his hand. "Tell me, how many brawls did I miss?"

He straightened, laughing as he poured my beer. "Three. Two hot shots from out of town were the most entertaining fight, though. They both got drunk, then started wailing on each other over some girl from back in their hometown. To be honest, I didn't hear most of it. I was too busy laughing my ass off."

"Sounds like it was funny," I chuckled, gladly accepting the beer.

He nodded. "I'm sure there'll be more, though. I'm just glad to see your pretty face back in this old dump. It gets boring, only having these trouble-makers to keep me company."

I giggled, drinking my beer as he disappeared into the kitchen in the back of the building. Although he refused my money, I always managed to sneak him some sort of payment every time I visited. This time, I slipped two week-long passes to a spa in Hosenka inside his duffel bag. I was climbing back over the bar when he returned from the kitchen with my burger and fries.

"Here ya go, Sunshine," he said, putting the plate onto the counter in front of me. "Eat up. I'll be back in a minute."

My growling stomach was so distracting that I simply nodded before digging in. I moaned quietly as the hot food hit my stomach. It was delicious as usual, and went perfectly with my beer. I should make more of an effort to get more people to come here. Marley deserves it, and the food is amazing!

"Hey."

My hand stopped halfway to my mouth with a french fry, and my entire body went stiff. I couldn't even bring myself to turn my head as I sat there in silence, curses running through my mind on repeat. After several awkward seconds of this, my muscles relaxed enough for me to return my hand to my plate and to turn my head to look at who had spoken.

Gajeel sat on the stool to my right, staring at me with a look of interest in his red eyes. His long black hair was slightly damp, as if he had just taken a shower. I noticed the freshly treated scratches and clean clothes, and knew that's what he had done. He must have just got back from a job. Why did he come here of all places, though?! He's only been in town for a couple of days, so he shouldn't even know about this place!

"What can I get ya?" Marley asked, causing me to relax and return to my food. He looked at me questioningly, but I ignored him, not wanting to have to explain that this was the the man who had beaten me so badly I couldn't come to his bar for a month.

"I'll have what she's having," Gajeel answered, pointing to my plate, "only triple it."

"Will you be payin' now, or do you want to start a tab?"

"Tab,"Gajeel said.

Marley nodded, pouring a glass of beer and handing it to Gajeel. He then went to the kitchen, where he would most likely be for a while, considering how much food Gajeel had ordered.

"Aren't you a little young to be in a place like this drinking?" Gajeel asked, smirking.

I ignored him and continued eating. I told him to stay away from me, so why is he here? Why is he sitting right next to me? And why the hell does he keep talking to me?! I wanted to slap him again, just for his arrogance, but I restrained myself.

"Hey, Shrimp, are you going to ignore me for the rest of your life?"

"Planning on it," I snapped, never taking my eyes off my burger as I ripped pieces off of it with my teeth.

"Listen—"

"No, you listen." I put my burger down and turned to him. "I told you to stay away from me yesterday. I would have thought the two slaps to the face you received from me would have been enough to convince you to do that. However, it seems that you enjoy rubbing the fact that you beat the crap out of me in my face. What are you trying to prove? That I can't do anything about it, even if I wanted to? Well, you're right. I know full well that I could never forcefully make you stay away because you're a lot stronger than I am. I also know that I can never repay you for the pain you caused my teammates and I. All I can do is tolerate your presence, and you know that."

"I'm not tryin' to start anything, alright?" He said, looking almost regretful. "I came here because I could smell the grill. I didn't know you were here until I had already come inside. Since you were here, I thought I'd try to talk to you again now that the shock of me joining Fairy Tail has worn off. I wanted to apologize again."

"I don't want your apologies," I frowned. "Words mean nothing. In the world I have lived in, the only true meaning comes from the actions of others. I won't be ready to forgive you until you've proven you deserve to be forgiven."

Marley returned from the kitchen before Gajeel could respond. He gave Gajeel his mountain of food, and watched in awe as he devoured every last bite. I was just finishing mine as he finished his second order.

"What's your name, son?" Marley asked, eying Gajeel curiously.

"Gajeel Redfox," he answered.

Marley's eyes widened slightly. I knew he would recognize Gajeel's name instantly thanks to his hunter past. He shot me another questioning look, probably wondering why I was so calm.

"I joined Fairy Tail yesterday," Gajeel told him, sounding annoyed.

~Gajeel~

What the hell is with this old guy? He kept staring at me as though he were trying to peer into me, yet every time his gaze turned back to Levy, his face instantly softened. Is this old geezer her grandpa or somethin'?

"So, you joined Sunshine's organization," he murmured.

"Who the hell is Sunshine?" I snickered, thinking how stupid the nickname was.

"You're sharin' a bar with her," he frowned, pointing to Levy. "Sunshine here has been brightening my old bar with her gorgeous smile for a little over seven years now. She's my best customer, and the sweetest young woman I ever met."

"Marley," she smiled, chuckling. I caught myself staring at her as she smiled at him, remembering the night I had met her and she had smiled so kindly at me. And then I put her in the hospital. A pang of guilt stabbed me in the chest, so I looked back to the burly man she had called Marley.

"I can't imagine someone so young in a place like this," I said, drinking my beer. She had to have been around eleven or twelve seven years ago, so that's kinda young to become a regular at a bar.

"I'm twenty-four," she said, quietly.

I couldn't hide the look of pure shock on my face as I gaped at her, open-mouthed. Marley laughed loudly, patting me on the shoulder. "She gets a lot of people with that one," he told me. "I bet ya were startin' to feel like a creep there for a while, weren't ya?"

"M-Marley!" Levy exclaimed, a horrified look of embarrassment on her face, which only made the old man laugh harder.

"I can't believe you're only a year younger than me," I said, still in shock. All that time, I had thought she was just a teenager. Knowing she was my age, I suddenly felt an odd awareness of how close our stools were sitting to each other.

"I need to get goin'," I said, wanting to get away from Marley's scrutinizing gaze. "How much was the food?"

"I'll make ya a deal," he said, leaning close to me.

"What?" I asked, uncomfortable with his proximity.

"You promise me that you'll take care'a Sunshine for me, and I'll make this one on the house. Deal?" He spoke quietly, staring into my red eyes with the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen. I found myself nodding before I could think about it, and cursed inwardly. "Good," he grinned. "You come back now, ya hear?"

I nodded again, rushing from the bar. I took several deep breaths of the cold night air once I had gotten onto the street. Did I really just agree to that? How am I supposed to take care of her? She doesn't even want me around her! "Tch. Well, I got a free meal, anyways. Gihihi."

Although I thought that, I ended up lingering around the bar for over an hour as I waited for the Shrimp to leave. Not wanting to push my luck with her, I followed her down the street instead of walking with her. I stayed far enough away that she couldn't sense me, but close enough that I could still see her blue hair. There were still quite a few people out and about, despite the cold and darkness. It was around nine at night, so I was surprised at the amount of people still outside.

We soon left Magnolia in the direction of Fairy Tail. I assumed she lived in the all-girls dorms I had heard about, so figured that's where she was headed. Once we reached a deserted piece of sidewalk, she stopped walking. I ducked behind a tree, wondering what she was doing.

"I know you're there," she said, "so come out." Damn. I thought I had stayed back far enough. As I was about to step out from behind my tree, a voice caused me to stop.

"So clever. I was sure you wouldn't sense me, but it seems you're just as skilled as the rumors say." A muscular man stepped onto the sidewalk from a tree only a few feet behind her.

"What do you want?" She asked, moving her hand to her right thigh. I remembered from our fight that that's the leg she kept her gun fastened to. Is she going to shoot this guy? I thought hunters only shot demons?

"You look delicious," he grinned, exposing a mouthful of pointed teeth. Okay, he's definitely not human. "I was told you killed my brother, so I have come to avenge him."

"It doesn't matter to me who he was to you," she said, surprisingly cold. "He killed three innocent people, so he was a threat."

"And you have killed many more demons than that, so the same could be said about you." I watched as the man grew another two feet, and his skin turned a rusty red color. Horns stuck out of his brown hair, and a tail stuck out of his pants. He grinned at Levy again before raising a clawed hand and lunging at her.

I watched as she kicked him to the ground, drew her gun, and shot him three times in the head. All within five seconds. The demon shrieked in defeat before disappearing as no more than a cloud of dust. She's good. I never would have guessed someone so small would be that skilled.

I turned and sneaked back the way we had come, not coming out of the shadows until I was back in Magnolia. I don't know why that old man made me make that stupid deal. She can obviously take care of herself.

I had walked two blocks when a familiar smell suddenly caught my attention. "That smells like the Shrimp's blood." That confused me, because she had already killed the demon that had been following her. She should have been almost to Fairy Hills already, which is why I turned around. The smell of her blood was coming from the same place I had left her a few minutes before. Meaning, she had been attacked as soon as I had left her. I didn't sense another demon. I should have sensed one that close! I had no idea why I was rushing back to help her. I had no real obligation to, but I still found myself running along the path out of Magnolia.

When I reached the area I had left her, I came upon an empty sidewalk. I followed her scent into the trees, and had a bad feeling she had been dragged into them. I found her gun a few feet into the forest, concern washing over me. When I finally found her, my blood instantly boiled, and I felt myself revert momentarily back to my more violent self, where the demon was in control. The only thought on my rage-filled mind was to protect Levy.