a/n: i have never been to court before so i kind of winged how the session would go and used a little bit of google to help ( i still failed but here we go )

Touch

Chapter One

"Please be seated." The judge slammed his mallet down against his desk to silence the room. Once the room was silence and everyone in presence were seated, he sat down himself and got situated as a few police men walked up to edge of his desk to set the reports in front of him. He opened the files and read the name of the man that will be seated before him before assuring for him to be brought in. After he did so, the doors in the back of the court room where pulled open and cuffed salmon-haired man in a prison uniform was walked in. He was moved to the front of the room directly in front of the judge—his gaze hardening to a glare upon meeting eye contact.

"Natsu Dragneel, you stand before me in this court accused with charges of voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault." The judge sighed and set the folder down and sent the man a glance as he removed the glasses that were set upon his eyes, "How do you view yourself?"

"Innocent." Natsu hissed.

"May I ask why?"

"I'm being framed, old man!" Natsu spat, clutching his hands in the metal cuffs that were locked around his wrist, "I didn't kill anybody!" Three officers came up behind him and grabbed him by the shoulders, roughly tugging him back to get him to take a seat. He just spent three days in jail for no reason, he was pissed.

The judge slammed his mallet against the wood on his desk, "Silence! You have the right to remain quiet and seated. Now, I would like Miss. Scarlet to begin."

Next to Natsu was his lawyer, Erza Scarlet, who stood from her seat and cleared her throat, "Thank you, your honor." She titled her head in respect as she walked around the table to stand in front of the man to hand him her report, "Mr. Dragneel—as you know—claims he is innocent and did no wrong—"

"I didn't." Natsu muttered, fumbling with the cuffs in his lap.

"—we unfortunately have no evidence to prove this—but," She quickly added, seeing the Judge stiffen before her and Natsu shift from the corner of her eye, "there is also no physical or claiming evidence that he is guilty and that he did commit the crime."

The elder man sighed and leaned back in his seat and massaged the bridge of his nose, and she took this urge to continue.

"Mr. Dragneel claims he stumbled across the real crime scene on his way home from work." Erza said carefully, glancing over to the tensed man behind her, "He said there was a woman being assaulted in the valley aside from his work building and stepped in to help her. He threw a punch and knocked the criminal out cold—but we have reason to believe that the death of that man was not my clients fault."

"And the reason for this is?" The judge urged her to go on.

The scarlet-haired woman paused for a moment, "Health issue? Internal damage that was there before Mr. Dragneel hit him? I would recommend testing and searching the body before you assume such things." The judge and a few people around the room, including the jury, nodded in agreement.

"So what I am getting here is that there is no evidence to prove that Natsu Dragneel is either innocent or guilty—in other words, we barely have a case here for me to resolve or set a rightful punishment down on him." Erza nodded along with the jury, "What else would you suggest I do in this case, Miss. Scarlet? Until we figure out this case and get more information on this, he is either going to be sitting in jail or on house arrest."

"WHAT?!" Natsu shot up, causing his chair to skid back and slam into the wooden booths that were behind him, "I have a full-time job! I cannot be in jail or on probation!"

"I know very well of your job, Mr. Dragneel. Your duties as a fireman are well appreciated and known by the city." The Judge said, nearly complementing him, oddly, "But this case is not settled and I cannot overlook it."

"I'm innocent! It was a defense! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Now, Miss. Scarlet, about my previous question." The man turned his attention back to the lawyer, ignoring Natsu's shouts of protest.

"Your honor, the best I can think of is community service, perhaps on a single citizen?" Erza enquired, "For the time being, we can have Natsu on a close watch on house arrest and still allow him to go to work in the city as he pleases. Throwing him in jail when you don't know his official charges would have no meaning and could end up staining his record for the wrong reason in the end."

The judge nodded in understanding, acknowledging that they indeed don't have any evidence to throw the man in jail, "For the citizen service, do you have the identity of the woman who was assaulted in the valley? Is she here?"

"She is not here, sir, but we have her name and address of living." Erza said, walking back over to her seat with Natsu to grab a certain folder from her briefcase, "Lucy Heartfilia, a nurse working at Magnolia Hospital, and is 20 years-old."

The room fell silent as Erza took back her seat next to Natsu to allow the judge and jury to think of her suggestion. It was only several minutes later that they finally came up with a decision, "Please rise." The judge asked, picking up his mallet as all in the room stood from their seats to await the sentencing. "Mr. Dragneel, until we get enough information to bring you back before me in this courtroom, I am sentencing you to probation—"

"What!" Natsu sputtered, looking at the man like he had just grown three more heads, "What for?!"

"—I will be contacting Lucy Heartfilia to inform her of this since she is involved in this case. You will be under house arrest with her and you are to do everything she says." Natsu's jaw fell slack. He was basically becoming this woman's slave! "If you so much as lay a hand on her without her command, the case will be closed and you will be spending the classified five to ten years behind bars. You will be regularly phone called and checked up on so long as this case is still open. Do I make myself clear?"

"I—" Natsu didn't so much as get a word out before the mallet was slammed down and he found himself being escorted out of the room.