~Levy~

I returned my gun to its holster with a sigh. That wasn't the first time a vengeful demon had come after me, nor would it be the last. I thought I had sensed another demon, but it was no longer there. Shrugging, I turned to continue towards Fairy Hills and walked into something.

"That's another death we'll have to avenge." A low chuckle came from the demon in front of me, and I immediately reached for my gun.

"Ah-ah," another voice said as a hand caught my wrist.

"She'll be harder to restrain than we thought."

"But she's so tiny. I can't believe she's killed two of us already."

"You just saw her take out brother. This is the hunter."

I counted five different voices. These demons had the ability to take a human form and hide most of their presence, so I doubted if any back-up would be coming. I'll have to kill them myself. Using the demon who held my wrist as leverage, I kicked the demon in front of me in the face, sending him to the ground.

My attack seemed to set the other four off all at once, though, and I was suddenly being dragged into the cover of the dark forest. If I managed to free myself from one's hold, another quickly replaced it. I rammed the back of my head into my current captor's nose, earning a yelp. I jumped from their arms and drew my gun, pointing it at the first demon I saw. Unfortunately, that meant I wasn't focused on the demon behind me, whom had grabbed a large rock and used it to hit me in the head just as I turned to face them. Blood began gushing down the left side of my face, making it hard to see out of my left eye. I had dropped my gun as I fell to my knees, and was being dragged further into the trees before I could try to get it.

"Damn you!" I growled. There was a demon on each side of me, so it would be difficult to escape again. "What are you planning?" I asked.

"You have shamed our family by killing two of our brothers," the demon to my right said.

"And now we will return the favor," the demon to my left chuckled.

"Here is fine." I recognized the demon I had kicked in the face as he directed the others, and I guessed he was their leader.

"Even if you kill me, the other hunters will hunt all of you down," I spat as four of them held me down.

"Don't worry, we won't kill you," the fifth smirked, his red skin disgustingly bright despite the near pitch black of the forest around us.

"Brother is going to mark you," one told me. It felt as though there was ice running through my veins at his words.

Many species of demons that were able to take human forms were also known for "marking" human women. They would seduce and impregnate them, and then wait for the half-demon offspring to be born. Once it was, the demon would return and steal the child from the mother. Women who become pregnant with a demon's child develop a mark on their wrist that resembles a blood red full moon. It cannot be removed no matter the method, and signifies that they have been tainted by a demon. Such women were ostracized, and looked down on by everyone.

As a hunter, being marked was as good as being given a death sentence. Every hunter took an oath to never allow themselves to be seduced by these demons, and to instead hunt them down and kill them. No matter the conditions under which a hunter becomes marked, they are expelled from their organization, and banned from ever joining another.

I struggled as hard as I could against the four sets of hands holding me down, but they wouldn't budge. The leader of the group grabbed the hem of my dress and yanked, ripping it up the middle to expose my underwear and bra. He took one of his claws and sliced down the middle of my chest, cutting my bra and leaving a small scratch between my breasts. I closed my eyes as he leaned down to lick the blood from my skin, but heard him instead give a pained curse before he was no longer on top of me.

"Brother!" The demons around me shouted, releasing me in order to attack whatever had attacked their leader. More shouts caused me to open my eyes and sit up. I attempted to wrap my dress around myself as I stood on wobbly legs.

I shrieked when one of the demons crashed onto the tree beside me before turning to dust. In a matter of seconds, all of them had been defeated. A large form approached me from the shadows, but I ran for it before I could see what it was. If it took out five of those guys in less than a minute, I don't want to stick around. I joyously grabbed my gun off the ground as I passed it, and knew I was close to the path leading to Fairy Hills.

Right before I reached the edge of the forest, a hand wrapped around my wrist, forcing me to a stop. I let go of the shredded dress I was attempting to hold together and used my free hand to shoot at whatever was behind me. I fired three shots before realizing I had heard that same ringing noise before. I turned and watched as three flattened bullets fell from Gajeel's chest.

He looked as though iron scales were covering his entire body, giving him the same appearance he had had the first time we fought. This time, however, his eyes were red instead of white, and he looked concerned.

"Are you alright?" He asked, ignoring the fact that I had just tried to shoot him three times.

I quickly holstered my gun, pulled my hand from his grasp, and wrapped the fabric of my dress around myself with both hands. I could feel the heat burning in my cheeks as they turned scarlet, but I tried to ignore it, turning quickly so my back was facing him. "Y-yeah," I said.

"Here." Something draped over me, and I realized it was his shirt. The black vest went nearly all the way to my knees when I put my small frame inside of it. I tore off a piece of my already ruined dress and wrapped it around my head. I wasn't sure it would stop the bleeding, but at least it would keep the blood out of my eyes. I noticed that sometime during the fight I had lost my headband, so my bangs were soaked with blood and stuck to my forehead.

"Thanks," I mumbled, trying not to notice how wonderful his shirt smelled.

"You should go to the infirmary—"

"I can take care of wounds like these myself," I told him. I didn't want to go to the organization in my current condition. I turned to leave, but he grabbed my wrist again. Involuntarily, I recoiled, jerking my arm away from him. "I'd like to go home."

The next time I tried to leave he didn't stop me. Instead, he silently walked beside me. Although he said nothing, I'm sure he wanted to. It was hard not to notice the worried glances he kept sending in my direction.

"I'm fine," I sighed, taking all the pity I could. "I'm not some porcelain doll that's going to shatter on the ground. I can walk myself home."

"You were almost—"

"Yeah, but I wasn't," I said. "Thank you for that," I added, "but you don't need to babysit me now. I'm fine."

"I'm walking you home," he frowned. "I'm not babysitting you."

"I don't need you to walk me home," I told him, stubbornly.

"I know. I just want to."

"How did you even know about any of that?" I asked, knowing he was walking me home whether I wanted him to or not.

"Coincidence," he shrugged.

"You're a terrible liar," I giggled, looking up at him. I instantly regretted it because my eyes fell on his bare chest, and the laugh caught in my throat. My God. He's actually kind of beautiful. Okay... really beautiful. More than beautiful.

"What?" He snapped. I jumped, my face turning scarlet once again.

"I-It's indecent to go half-naked around a girl you barely know," I scolded, staring at the ground as we continued walking.

"Fine then, give me back my shirt," he said.

"No!" I gasped, wrapping my arms around myself. "Y-you're off the hook th-this time because you were doing me a favor."

"Gihihi," he chuckled, patting me on the top of the head. The action of affection caught me off guard, and my muscles stiffened. He pulled his hand away, joining me in frowning at the ground as we walked in silence once more.

"Sorry for shooting you," I said as we reached the gates of Fairy Hills.

He shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Not like I'm hurt or anything."

"I should probably get stronger bullets," I chuckled, jokingly.

"Wouldn't blame ya," he grinned.

"Well, thanks for earlier," I said, unlocking the gates and stepping inside. "Um, Gajeel?" I asked as he turned to leave.

"What?"

"I accept your apology," I smiled. It was obvious that he regretted what had happened between Shadow Gear and himself, so taking some of the guilt off his chest was the least I could do after he had helped me. I went inside the dorms before he could respond. Once in my room, the reality of what had nearly happened hit me.

I stumbled to the bathroom and fell to my knees in front of the toilet, getting sick. Although I had been a hunter for so long, I had never faced the threat of being marked by a demon. Usually, they just tried to kill me. Perhaps it was because I looked so young; I wasn't sure of the reason. I had heard of Lucy being threatened several times, to which Natsu always burned them to a crisp. Erza had once a few years ago, but after what she did to the demon that had threatened her, none dared to ever make that mistake again.

They all actually look their ages, though. It isn't surprising they've been threatened because of how beautiful they are. I had always secretly hoped I would never be faced with that, and had truly believed I never would be. I'm not particularly pretty, so I think this all caught me off guard. I knew looks had nothing to do with what had just happened. They were being vengeful, and trying to find the most effective way to completely destroy me. If they had succeeded, they would have.

With a sigh, I pulled myself off the floor and made my way around my bookshelves to get to my bedroom. I fell onto my bed and breathed in the smell of Gajeel's shirt. I hadn't noticed before because I had never been very close to him for an extended amount of time, but he smelled really good. The material smelled of Iron, soap, and something that I'm guessing was just Gajeel's scent. Taking deep breaths of the calming mixture, I fell asleep.

~Gajeel~

"Um, Gajeel?" I heard as I was leaving Fairy Hills. I turned to look at Levy, wondering what she could want.

"What?" I asked.

"I accept your apology," she said, smiling at me. Before I could say anything, she rushed inside, leaving me alone in front of Fairy Hills' closing gates.

I couldn't help but smile to myself as I walked back to the small house Makarov had purchased for me. It was outside of Magnolia, so I'd have my privacy, and sat just between Fairy Tail and Fairy Hills. Actually, it only took about five minutes to walk back to my house after I had convinced my legs to move.

I hadn't ever expected Levy to forgive me-especially not so soon. Just a few hours before, she had told me off, so it wasn't surprising her words had caught me off guard. It's probably just because I helped her get away from those demons.

Just thinking about them made me want to rip something apart. Those bastards were going to mark her, weren't they?! I knew what it meant for a hunter to get marked. They practically had to start their lives over, and were forever branded as some vile being. I had no sympathy for the women who willingly chose to have sex with a demon, but to be forcibly marked- I growled. I can't really talk, though, considering I'm a demon.

Levy had looked so fragile, laying on the ground beneath that demon as he had ripped her clothes. I had attacked them before I had even the chance to think twice about it. As I had killed them, the only thought that kept replaying in my head was "mine."

"That's ridiculous," I grumbled to myself. There was no reason for me to have those kinds of thoughts. After how badly I had hurt her, I had no right to have those kinds of thoughts. I told myself it was just my desire to protect her. I had to make up for what I had done, so I felt a sort of obligation to her. That's all it was. Just an obligation.

~Levy~

When I awoke the next morning, I was immediately greeted with a wonderful scent. I remembered I was still wearing Gajeel's shirt as I sat up. The black material hung loosely over my small body, showing just how different Gajeel and I were in size. Reluctantly, I removed the shirt and my ruined dress before going to my bathroom. Not taking a shower the night before had been a mistake, because now dried blood crusted my face and hair.

Taking off the rest of my clothes, I stepped into the shower. I let the warm water wash away the blood, and I breathed in the steam beginning to fill the air of my bathroom. I gently scrubbed the gash on my forehead, wincing slightly as I did so. Next, I washed the scratch between my breasts, trying not to remember why it was there.

I don't know what I would have done if Gajeel hadn't arrived when he did. I sighed, sitting on the floor of my shower and pulling my knees to my chest. Once again, I proved how weak I am. I should have been able to handle petty demons like those! I've killed more powerful demons than that before, so that should have been easy.

I was even more humiliated that Gajeel had been witness-yet again-to my weakness. Not to mention the fact that I had been half-naked when he showed up. I groaned, resting my head on my knees. "I need to dedicate more time to building up my physical strength. Yesterday proved that being a good shot isn't enough. I need to improve my hand-to-hand combat skills." I lectured myself as I sat there, letting the water run over me.

Feeling a new sense of determination, I finished showering and got ready for the day. I threw on a pair of beige shorts and an orange tank top, tied my bangs back with an orange ribbon, and put on a pair of sandals. I quickly bandaged the cut on my forehead and adjusted my top so the scratch between my breasts wouldn't be visible.

"Oh, right!" I said, remembering Gajeel's shirt. I decided to wash it before returning it to him, so I waited around my dorm room while it washed and dried. I went over my plans for the day in my head as I waited. If Master didn't assign Shadow Gear a job, I would spend the entire day at the gym. If Gray wasn't busy, I'd ask him for help. Gray will be a good choice because he's nearly as strong as Natsu, but he won't go overboard. I'd ask Erza, but I'm afraid she'd kill me. If I asked Lu-chan, Natsu would undoubtedly tag a long, so that's also a no-go.

I heard the familiar beeping of my dryer, and rushed to grab Gajeel's shirt. I folded it neatly and placed it in a small bag before running to Fairy Tail. I don't want anyone to see I had his shirt. It might bring up awkward questions.

I spotted Gajeel immediately at a table on the farthest end of the cafeteria, away from everyone else. I slowly approached his table, clearing my throat when I got there.

"Yeah, what?" He asked, shoving something silver into his mouth. Is that iron?! I knew dragon slayers could eat their element to gain power, but I never thought it was possible for someone to eat iron. I shouldn't be surprised...Natsu eats fire.

"Here," I said, handing him the bag.

"What's this?" He raised an iron-studded eyebrow at me as he peered at it.

"Your shirt," I told him. "Thanks for letting me borrow it." I walked away from his table as soon as I had thanked him.

"Levy!" Lucy shouted, frowning as she ran over to me from the entrance of the building. "What happened to your face?"

"Nothing," I reassured her, grabbing her worried hands, "I ran into a pesky demon last night and got a cut. No big deal." Sorry, Lu-chan, but I'm not ready to give the full details.

"You sure you're alright?" She asked.

I smiled at her, "I'm sure. Now, enough about my problems. I'd rather hear about you and Natsu."

She blushed, moving blonde bangs from her face as she avoided eye-contact with me. "W-what about us?"

"Lu-chan," I grinned, "it's not really a secret that you two have been dating behind Master's back for a while now. I'm pretty sure even he knows."

"Th-that's just a stupid rumor!" She waved her hands, the blush darkening on her cheeks.

"Hey Luce!" Natsu smiled, draping his arm over Lucy's shoulder as soon as he found her. "Where did you want to go tonight for our da-"

Lucy slapped her hand over his mouth, giving him a warning glare. "Later," she said.

"Date tonight?" I chuckled.

"Yeah," Happy giggled, flying above them, "those two are in loooove."

"Stupid cat!" Lucy groaned.

"Like I said," I winked, nudging her in the side, "everyone already knows."

"Yeah, well, I'd like to not advertise it to the world like these two," she sighed. "Dragon slayers are still on the council's 'trouble makers' list, so I want to keep it hushed. Since they're still considered demons, it's technically illegal to be involved with them like that."

"So, you two are-"

"I-I didn't say that!" She denied, though her face told me otherwise, as did Natsu's mischievous grin.

"Whatever you say," I shrugged. "As long as you're careful, that's all that matters. Besides, you two are kind of cute together."

"Thanks Levy," Natsu smiled.

"Don't encourage him," Lucy sighed, but she smiled as well.

"I'm off to see Master Makarov, so I'll catch you guys later," I told them, excusing myself. I met up with Jet and Droy at our usual table, then went with them to Master's office.

"Master? It's Shadow Gear," I said, knocking.

"Come in," he answered. When we entered the room, he put down a file he had been looking at and smiled at us. "What can I do for you?"

"We were wondering if you had any specific assignments planned for us, or if we were free to choose one off the request board?" Jet asked.

"Things are fairly calm," he said. "Other than this stack of paperwork I have to fill out for the council, I haven't heard from them lately. You're free for a few days, so do whatever you'd like."

"Right. Thanks, Master," Droy told him as we left.

"So, Levy, what do you want to do?" Jet asked me. "Should we go pick a job off the request board?"

"Actually, I think I'm heading over to the training facility again today," I said. "There was some more stuff I wanted to work on, and I'd like to take advantage of the time off to do it."

"Great idea," Droy nodded. "I could use some weapons practice, so I'll head over there with you."

"Same here," Jet added. "Let's all go together." We all walked to the training facility, then went our separate ways.

I went to the combat building and changed into the work-out clothes I kept in my assigned locker inside the girls' locker room. I tied the laces of my black sneakers tightly before pulling my hair into a ponytail with the ribbon already holding back my bangs. I then stretched, not really wanting to pull anything and have to stop training. My black shorts went to my upper thigh, enabling me to move freely. My white tank top didn't really hide the scratch on my chest as much as I would have liked it to, so I applied some cover-up to it. Lu-chan had given me some a few months ago, but I only ever used it to cover up injuries like these.

I realized I had completely forgotten about asking Gray for help as I finished getting ready and stretching. Oh well. I'm already here, so I might as well just work by myself. If Master doesn't assign us a job tomorrow, I can always ask him for help then. I planned to spend every day off training. Shadow Gear had taken a few big jobs recently, so I had plenty of money for a while. I wouldn't need to work until Master gave us an assignment.

After putting my supplies and gun in my locker, I grabbed the empty bottle I kept in there, filled it with water, and went to the training room. I sighed in relief when I didn't run into anyone. The place was pretty much deserted, except for Elfman and his younger sister Lisanna. They were testing their martial arts against each other on one of the mats at the other end of the room. Good. I can train alone. I wasn't very strong, so I hated lifting weights or going head-to-head with other hunters.

I sat my water bottle down, then began punching one of the weighted bags which hung from the ceiling. I found a rhythm of punching and kicking, and went on like that for several minutes. In the midst of kicking the bag with my right foot, I felt someone coming up behind me. The presence wasn't friendly, so I spun on my heel, swinging my right leg towards whoever was sneaking up on me.

"Nice try, Shrimp," Gajeel smirked, catching my ankle before my foot met his chest.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people," I panted, straightening as my foot returned to the ground.

"I didn't," he shrugged. "I came here to workout, same as you. I saw you over here, and came to ask if you were sure you should be pushing yourself so hard after what happened yesterday."

"Nothing happened yesterday that would prevent me from training," I frowned.

"You're a tough little thing, aren't ya?" He chuckled, patting me on the head.

"Will you stop that?" I snapped, smacking his hand away. "I know I'm short, but you don't have to treat me like a child. I've been a hunter my entire life. Something like what happened last night isn't going to keep me from doing my job."

"Why did you look so pissed, then?" He asked. "Before I interrupted, you looked like you were trying to kill that poor bag."

"I'm just training. You shouldn't be concerned about what I look like."

"How about I train you?" He offered.

"Absolutely not," I said, immediately. "I'm fine, thanks."

"You aren't going to get anywhere with that bag," Gajeel sighed. "The most effective way of improving your fighting skills is to actually fight another person. You're too dependent on that gun of yours, so you need practice attacking others and defending yourself without it."

"You-"

"But you already know that," he said, quietly, "and that's why you're in here, isn't it? Because of last night, you want to get better at fighting hand-to-hand instead of with your gun. I've seen you use that thing, and I'll be the first to admit you don't need anymore practice with it. You're one hell of a shot, but not much of a fighter."

"I do know that," I sighed, crossing my arms over the scratch on my chest. "I'm not going to get help from you, though."

"Why not?" He frowned.

He doesn't get it. I can't bring myself to fight him again. I already know how much stronger he is, so I'd just look like a weakling if I let him help me. "Because I can train by myself."

"I'll make you a deal," he said, stealing the ribbon from my hair in less than a second. "If you can get back your ribbon, I'll leave you alone. If not, you'll agree to training with me."

"Why are you so eager to help me?" I frowned, moving blue bangs from my eyes.

"I just feel like it," he shrugged. "The old man isn't letting me go on jobs yet, so I have nothing better to do."

"Then find some other source of entertainment!" I snapped, trying to grab the ribbon from his hand.

He quickly lifted it just out of my reach, stepping back. I watched in anger as he tied it around his left forearm before smirking down at me. "Like I said, try to get it back."

"Gajeel, I'm not messing around!" I said, kicking him in the gut.

He exhaled with a curse, bending over. Just as I reached for the ribbon once more, he grabbed my arm and flipped me over his shoulder. I cried out as my back met the hard floor. "Nice try," he chuckled.

"Hey, man, not cool!" Elfman said, seeing what Gajeel had done. He and Lisanna rushed towards us, probably thinking Gajeel had attacked me.

"It's alright," I told him, getting to my feet. "Sorry to have interrupted you and Lisanna."

"Geez, don't be so rough," Lisanna warned Gajeel, "especially when you two aren't on the training mats."

"Tch," he frowned, crossing his arms.

After they returned to their own training, I turned to Gajeel. "You shouldn't be so reckless like that. I knew you weren't being serious, but they didn't. Most of the hunters here don't completely trust you yet, so they might have tried to fight you if I hadn't told them it was fine."

"Let 'em," he shrugged. "I can take on weaklings like that no problem."

"I know," I sighed, "that's what I'm saying. You should be trying to get along with everyone, not fighting with them."

"Why should I? It's not like I want to be friends with weaklings like them anyways," he scoffed.

"You belong to an organization now. I don't know how organizations were in the past that you have been involved with, but Fairy Tail is special. We treat our comrades like family, and protect them with our lives. If you want to fit in here, you need to start doing the same."

"Who says I want to fit in?"

I sighed again, giving up. "Do whatever you want. I can't stop you. I'm merely giving you some advice."

"I don't care about any of that," he said, waving me off. "I want an answer."

"No," I told him, flatly.

"Why?"

"I can train by myself. Will you please give me my headband and go away? You're wasting time by just standing there."

"I think I'll keep it," he told me, walking off.

Damn him! He's so arrogant, and rude, and- "Fine," I grumbled.

"Hm?" He stopped walking and turned to look at me. I knew he had heard what I said, but was going to make me actually say it.

Bastard. "Fine. I'll train with you."