Forgiveness

One-Shot

KABOOM! A long steel rod collided against the wooden wall, causing debris to rain down and screaming inhabitants to run outside as it caved inwards. The metal weapon was attached to the arm of none other than Gajeel Redfox. He threw another punch while the last person escaped, bringing down the entire building.

He wore a black shirt with tan trousers, a white coat haphazardly thrown over his shoulders. It bore the emblem of a captain of the Magic Council—a golden shield with a black cross in the middle. With a grin plastered on his face, he watched the destruction from his own power unfold before him. Preparing for overkill, he was stopped short as a hand came to rest on his side, prompting him to halt.

"That's enough, Gajeel." A short blue-haired girl sporting the same uniform as him said sternly.

He looked down at her, retracting his steel extension. "Tch," he scoffed, crossing his arms. "You're no fun, Levy."

She simply rolled her eyes and playfully flicked him on the arm as they continued with their fellow Council mates towards the wreckage. They had been sent on a mission to investigate a guild that had recently popped up in the town of Shirotsume. Its residents had reported a severe spike in crimes since the group had appeared, and it was their job to get to the bottom of the matter.

As soon as they had arrived, however, they found that not a single citizen would cooperate with them, refusing even to listen to their inquiries. This was presumably caused by a fear of the new guild, which led the group of Council members to seek out the guild hall. They were greeted with hostility, which Gajeel found extremely irritating. Resisting the Council was punishable by law, and he was therefore given the excuse needed to react with force.

When the ragtag group of amateur mages was rounded up, a section of the official party began interrogating the leader while Gajeel and the others searched through the rubble.

"We would really have an easier time searching the place if someone hadn't smashed it to pieces," Panther Lily—the dragon slayer's Exceed companion—frowned. This warranted a small chuckle from Levy and a scowl from Gajeel.

"What would have made it easy—" he trailed off as he spotted something while sifting through the debris. Squatting down and lifting it from the ground, he turned it over in his hands in disbelief. Etched onto the tattered piece of black cloth was a purple insignia resembling an eye with a tail.

It was the Phantom Lord guild symbol—the very one that Gajeel himself had once been apart of. Memories of the things he had done, ones he had pushed to the back of his mind began bubbling to the surface once again, leaving him in an utter state of shock.

Noticing his quietness, Levy looked over to check on him. "Ga—" she started, but stopped herself when she saw the look on his face. She silently made her way over to him and put a tentative hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

He stuffed the fabric into his coat pocket and got up with a start. "Yeah." he said curtly, continuing through the wreckage. She gave him one last dubious glance then did the same.

•·················•·················•

Later that evening, the council troop had set up tents in a clearing found during their journey out of town. They had detained the members of the suspected guild, and since they hadn't gotten much as far as answers out of them, they were to be taken back for further questioning. With their mission nearly complete, the members of the Custody Enforcement Unit found themselves relaxing. Sitting in groups around the fires lit in the makeshift camp, many were drinking and chatting loudly amongst themselves.

The head of the faction was often found among the ranks, partaking in the festivity with his subordinates. However, he was nowhere to be found. Levy noticed this while politely refusing the many beverages being offered to her. Since the duo had joined the council, they had become close friends, and the bluenette had become better at reading his emotions. With his strange behavior earlier in the day and now this, she sensed something was up.