Fairy Tail: Vector Manipulation

"Shut up, Gray. He isn't the guild's babysitter. You have to take responsibility for the mistakes you make." Makarov opened his eyes and said;

"But, Master..." Mira spoke up as well, but Makarov raised a hand to cut her off before she could finish.

"Let me out! Let me out!" a little lizard shouted from inside a small bottle;

"If I let you out, you'll definitely go cause trouble, won't you?" Makarov said;

"But we've done so many things before, and Boss Chen Fan always smoothed them over for us. Even if Boss Chen Fan isn't speaking up for us anymore, they couldn't have set their sights on Fairy Tail this quickly, could they?" Elfman analyzed from the side. It was clear just how much smarter the guy had become;

"There's definitely, definitely something fishy going on." Lucy said, lying across the table;

"Let me out! Let me out!" the little lizard continued shouting;

"Are you sure you want me to let you out?" Makarov asked, looking at him with amusement;

"Uh..." The little lizard was speechless.

Suddenly, Makarov waved his hand. A flash of light streaked by, and the bottle shattered. With a bang!, Macao landed on the floor.

"Sorry, I owe Natsu one." Macao scratched his head sheepishly;

Everyone was somewhat surprised. They had never expected it not to be Natsu. So where had Natsu gone?

Just then, Erza and that toad-faced man were walking down the corridor toward the trial. Suddenly, Erza spotted someone standing beside a pillar. She jumped in fright and cried, "Jigrein!" while taking up a guarded stance. The frog-faced man had already fallen to his knees.

"Yo, long time no see, Erza. Don't get so worked up. This is only a Thought Body; my real body is still in Era. Everyone behind that door is a Thought Body too. There's no need for everyone to come out in person for such a minor case." Jigrein said to Erza;

Erza stared at Jigrein with a stern expression. "Is that so? Was this all your doing?"

"It pains me that you would say that. I'm defending Fairy Tail, you know. But those old men are afraid that the question of responsibility will implicate them, so they have no choice but to find someone to bear all the blame. So—" Before he could finish, Erza cut him off.

"Shut up!" Erza said, turning her head away;

"Fine. I didn't come to see you before the trial for any other reason." As Jigrein spoke, he reached toward Erza's face.

Suddenly, an icy voice rang out beside Jigrein's ear. "Try touching Erza." The tone was so cold that even the air seemed to freeze.

Jigrein's body trembled, and his form wavered slightly. Though his expression was somewhat humiliated, he stopped his hand.

Erza had no idea what was wrong with Jigrein or why he wore that expression. She looked at him in confusion.

Jigrein came back to his senses and headed straight for the door. With his back to Erza, he said, "Then I'll wait for you behind that door, as one of the Magic Council members." With that, his figure vanished.

"I never thought you knew such an incredible person." the frog-faced man said to Erza, fear evident on his face;

"He's just an evil man." With that, she took the lead toward the courtroom, leaving the toad-faced man behind with a confused expression.

Arrogance

Erza stepped forward and pushed open the door. The members of the Magic Council were seated in their council seats, looking down at her, making her feel deeply uncomfortable. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure. She felt happy, but also somewhat angry. She shot Chen Fan a fierce glare before walking to the defendant's stand.

"Yo, Erza, I came too." Chen Fan raised a hand to greet Erza, but Erza turned her head away and ignored him.

Bang, bang. The sound rang out as a frog-faced man struck his gavel and said, "Silence. No disturbances. The magic trial is now in session. Defendant Erza Scarlet, step up to the witness stand."

"Defendant Erza Scarlet, regarding the Curse Song incident caused by the Forest of Iron the day before yesterday, you are suspected of committing acts of destruction, including damaging part of Obana Station and destroying the Thornwood Canyon Railway. According to eyewitness testimony, the culprit was a female mage wearing armor." Before the frog-faced man could finish reading, Chen Fan interrupted him.

"I have something to say." Chen Fan said, raising his hand. The people in the courtroom were startled, not knowing what Chen Fan was up to.