Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
July 17, x790.
The days of relaxation passed quickly at the Edomae Hot Spring Inn. During that time, Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, Sun, and Brandish spent their time exploring Balsam Village, enjoying the hot springs, and trying out foods that were more or less exclusive to Balsam Village.
Not only that, Alfonzo had two more cooking challenges with the Nodding Chef. They even roped in a few customers, not including Elicia, Marin, Sun, and Brandish, to be their judges. And to no one's surprise, Alfonzo won both of them. The Nodding Chef even ended up letting the Super Express Restaurant join Sixth Sense Holdings. Unfortunately for the guests of Balsam Village, that ended with the restaurant being closed for a short time to be renovated to meet Sixth Sense Standards.
As for their time at the inn, the group took at least one bath in the mixed baths daily. Though, Brandish only joined them for their last dip on the last day of their trip. Even so, she was still a bit shy from being seen naked by Alfonzo. So, she wore a towel into the bath.
When it came to exploring the village, there was not much to say. The village was small. There were a few scenic spots, but other than that, there was not much to do. Though, they did spend some time at a foot bath, which was quite relaxing.
However, like all good things, the trip eventually came to an end. Meaning, at present, the group was driving through the streets of Magnolia in the Escalade, ready to stop by the guild hall before heading to their respective homes.
"I wonder if Gildarts is back yet." Elicia said while tapping her finger on the arm rest of the passenger seat. "It shouldn't take that long to get back from Desierto, right?"
"That's right." Marin replied. "But you know Gildarts, something probably went wrong along the way."
"I wouldn't be surprised if he managed to destroy a train or two on his way back." Brandish said dryly.
"*Sigh* I wish I could argue with that statement." Alfonzo muttered from behind the wheel. "But I don't like starting arguments I can't win."
Even Sun, who could usually find the good points about anything, only kept her silence on the subject while watching the people of Magnolia go about their business through the back window.
Eventually, the Escalade pulled up outside of the guild hall's front doors.
"We're home." Sun said happily as Alfonzo turned off the magic vehicle's engine. "I miss Mom, Dad, and Massa. It feels like forever since the last time I saw Maki, too."
"What about Fujishiro?" Alfonzo asked.
"Oh, he should be back at the house in Akane Beach." Sun said sheepishly. "He... Well... You know..."
As she stuttered to find the correct words, Sun glanced at Brandish, who did not seem to notice.
Unfortunately, because Brandish was not officially with Alfonzo, the fact that Sun and the rest of the Setos were merfolk had to be kept secret from her. But something told the other four wizards in the Escalade that would not last for much longer.
"Yeah, I get it." Alfonzo said, helping Sun with the conversation. "That guy tends to lose his cool around people. It's better to get him out of the town. Who knows when he'll have an accident."
As he said that, Alfonzo opened the driver's door and stepped out of the Escalade. He was followed closely by the ladies before the group walked towards the guild hall's automatic doors.
*Chirp~~~~~!*
"Naruto~~~~~~~!" Sasuke's shout and the sound of a thousand birds chirping could be heard as soon as the doors opened.
"Sasuke~~~~~~~!" Naruto's shout followed shortly afterwards.
When looking towards the sound of the two shouts, the group saw Naruto, with a [Rasengan] swirling in his right hand, and Sasuke, with [Chidori] coating his left hand, charging at each other.
"*Sigh* They fit in with the guild way~ too well." Elicia said in an exasperated tone.
"I'm gonna stop this." Alfonzo muttered. "That's enough power to cause both of them some serious injury."
With that said, Alfonzo vanished from where he stood with the use of [Shave]. In the next instant, he appeared between Naruto and Sasuke with a [Rasengan] held in his left hand and a [Chidori] held in his right, smashing them into Naruto's and Sasuke's Jutsu, respectively.
*Gasp!*
Seeing Alfonzo appeared between them with the same Jutsu held in each of his hands, the other Fairy Tail wizards, who were enjoying the show, gasped. Knowing how strong Alfonzo was, they expected both Naruto and Sasuke to be thrown away violently.
Even Naruto and Sasuke were expecting something similar, as their eyes widened when they saw Alfonzo appear between them out of nowhere. Unfortunately, they had no way of stopping their momentum at the moment.
*Smack!* x 2
*Boom!* x 2
However, things did not play out the way anyone expected. Instead of a violent explosion sending the two young shinobi flying, both their Jutsu were cancelled out, as Alfonzo's [Rasengan] spun exactly opposite the direction of Naruto's while his [Chidori] had an exactly opposite charge to Sasuke's, drawing the two [Lighting-Style Ninjutsu] together before Alfonzo completely overwhelmed Sasuke's and cancelled it out, as well.
After that, in one smooth motion, Alfonzo grabbed both boys by their wrists before flinging them upwards, causing them both to slam into the ceiling, knocking the wind out of them. Not long afterwards, they both fell to the floor while gasping for breath.
"Seriously, how many times have I told the two of you?" Alfonzo asked while looking down at the two Chunin from the Leaf Village. "It's fine if you have a fight in here, but only Taijutsu is allowed."
*Cough* Sorry, Big Bro." Naruto said sheepishly while coughing violently to. "I guess we got a little carried away."
"Hmph!" Sasuke snorted, not wanting to agree with Naruto. Still, he had the decency to look apologetic when he made eye contact with Alfonzo.
"You two are just lucky that Erza's not here.' Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "You know how she feels about guild mates fighting."
Immediately, both Naruto and Sasuke shuddered. Funny enough, Natsu and Gray also shuddered. All four rivals feeling terrified by Erza's retaliation after they were caught fighting after numerous run-ins with her.
"Alfonzo, Elicia, Marin, Sun, Brandish, welcome back." Ur said, as she exited the elevator, interrupting the conversation before it could go on any longer. "Good. Just wanted to let you know, I have an announcement to make. But it won't happen until everyone comes back. So, don't take any quests for the next few days. Erza, Tear, and the Thunder God Tribe are the only ones we're waiting for.'
Hearing that, Alfonzo narrowed his eyes as he turned his attention to Ur.
"You're not about to spring even more work on me right after I get back from my vacation, are you?" Alfonzo asked dryly.
"Not everything is about you, Kid." Ur said while waving off Alfonzo's suspicions. "Instead, this is about the whole guild. And it's quite important."
In response, Alfonzo narrowed his eyes even further while staring at Ur, who looked way more relaxed than usual, trying to see through her. However, she gave nothing away. Before Alfonzo could question her about what she wanted to announce, however, a soft body slammed into him and wrapped its arms around him.
"Welcome back, Fonzie!" Cana said cheerfully while hugging Alfonzo around his neck. "I missed you."
"Missed you, too, Cana." Alfonzo said as his expression softened. "You would have loved it in Balsam Village."
"Yeah, I know." Cana replied happily. "Dad and I went there once when I was a kid. I wanted to take you and Lici with us, but he was being a jerk about it."
"Can you blame me for wanting to spend some quality time with my little girl?" Gildarts said as he approached. He then focused on Alfonzo with a grin. "You missed a good show in Desierto, Kid. I got to use Calamity in an actual fight."
"Yeah, Ur told me." Alfonzo said with a grin of his own. "Too bad we can't go all out like that during the Battle of Fairy Tail tournament."
"Please don't." Ur said, dreading the outcome of such a collision. "If you do, there's a good chance that Magnolia will cease to exist."
"Again." Alfonzo tacked on.
"Ugh! And I remember how the Magic Council grilled us about that back then." Ur groaned.
"Well, look on the bright side." Alfonzo said as he squeezed Cana a little tighter. "At least they're not completely out for our heads anymore."
*Smack!*
"That's the spirit, Kid." Gildarts said with a twitching eyebrow as he clapped Alfonzo on the shoulder much harder than strictly necessary.
"Stop it, Dad." Cana said while nuzzling her face against Alfonzo's neck. "We're already married, don't you think it's time for you to stop?"
"Simultaneously hating and loving his son-in-law is a father's privilege. I won't let anyone take that away from me. Not even you, Sweetheart."
Cana and Ur rolled their eyes at Gildarts statement. Alfonzo, on the other hand, as the father of a girl, nodded in understanding.
"We're back, too." Elicia said as she led Marin, Sun, and Brandish over to Alfonzo, Cana, Gildarts, and Ur. "Don't any of us get hugs?"
On a side note, Naruto and Sasuke had left shortly after Ur started speaking to Alfonzo, bickering about every little thing along the way.
"Lici, welcome home!" Cana said excitedly as she let go of Alfonzo and threw herself at Elicia. She then pulled Marin and Sun into the hug, as well. "Did you have fun?"
"We did!" Sun said energetically. "And the hot springs were great."
"So was the room, if you know what I mean." Marin added with a wink.
"Yeah, I definitely need some of that." Cana muttered.
"Ugh! I didn't need to hear that." Gildarts groaned before throwing a sharp glare at Alfonzo.
"Don't look at me like that, Old Man." Alfonzo said with a shrug. "I don't insert myself into their girl talk... Ever."
"Fair enough." Gildarts grumbled.
"Anyway, we got souvenirs." Alfonzo said with a smile. "I didn't bring them in because I felt Naruto and Sasuke going at it. But I'll go out and get them."
With that, Alfonzo went outside to get the souvenirs he and the girls bought for everyone. Meanwhile, Mirajane, Lucy, Shizuka, Saeko, Rika, and Irene approached the group to hear about their vacation. And while the girls were talking, Alfonzo returned after a few minutes with a number of bags in his hands and hanging from his shoulders. He even had some of them sitting atop a floating plate of metal that followed behind him.
Then, without delay, Alfonzo started handing out souvenirs to every member of the guild. Naturally, they were all happy about the gifts. Though, Jiraiya seemed to be among the happiest when Alfonzo handed him a book of pin-up photos that were taken of willing female guests in Balsam Village. Yet, Naruto seemed to be a close second when Alfonzo gave him a pack of Balsam exclusive cups of instant ramen.
"And this is for you, Cana." Alfonzo said while holding a bottle of aged brandy.
Seeing that, Cana's eyes lit up while drool started to accumulate in her mouth. However, before she could reach out to take it from Alfonzo, Ur, in a burst of speed, appeared next to her and snatched it out of Alfonzo's hand.
"I'll take that." Ur said with a smug smile on her face. "This should make up for that bottle you took before they went on their trip."
Cana's expression, which was filled with joy and anticipation, changed instantly when the bottle disappeared from in front of her. And by the time she turned to look at Ur, her eyes were watering, clearly about to cry.
"Don't look at me like that, Little Girl." Ur said, no sympathy in her gaze. "You reap what you sew."
Hearing that, Cana's world looked as if it was about to end. She then turned towards her father with her eyes glistening with tears and an expression that would suit a kicked puppy on her face.
"Don't even think about it, Gildarts." Ur said before he could try and get her to return the bottle to his daughter. "I still have to settle things with you, too. Just how did that bottle get in your stash?"
Gildarts could only turn away sheepishly while giving Cana an apologetic smile.
With that, Cana's world turned grey, and the light slowly left her eyes. However, just before it was snuffed out completely, she turned her gaze in Alfonzo's direction with a last shred of hope.
"What, are you gonna stick up for her, Kid?" Ur asked as she crossed her arms while holding the bottle by its neck and raising a flat eyebrow in Alfonzo's direction. "I'd rethink that if I were you."
But was that enough to stop Alfonzo from speaking his mind? Of course not.
"Oh, so you're just gonna double dip, huh?" Alfonzo asked with a shrug. "Honestly, I thought better of you than that, Ur."
Hearing that, Ur's eyebrow twitched.
"What are you talking about?" Ur asked in an irritated tone. "I'm just making them pay for taking from me."
"Well, technically, Cana only took something from her father." Alfonzo pointed out. "It was Gildarts who took it from you. But considering how unreasonable you can be, I don't expect that to matter to you."
Over the years, Alfonzo had learned exactly what buttons to press when dealing with Ur... For the most part. His crotch still feels cold whenever he thinks about that time, he and Ultear dropped in on Ur unannounced several years ago. But in this particular situation, Alfonzo knew how to help his wife, Cana.
Although his words would undoubtedly piss off his mother-in-law, nothing he said was false. On top of that, Ur would actually think over what she was doing, just so she would not appear as unreasonable as Alfonzo was suggesting she was.
"Oi, Kid!" Gildarts barked. "You're just throwing me under the bus like that?"
"It's all for Cana." Alfonzo said seriously.
Gildarts fell silent immediately upon hearing that.
Like Ur, Alfonzo also knew what buttons to press with Gildarts after so many years. And if that didn't work, he only had to give Elicia a certain look. Then, once she glared at Gildarts' crotch, everything would be settled.
"Fine..." Ur muttered as she uncrossed her arms and held the bottle out towards Cana. "I guess you're right about that. *sigh* I was just really looking forward to that bottle of wine."
Reaching that point, Ur turned a fierce glare towards Gildarts.
"You'll just have to make up for her share, too." Ur said.
"Of course, Dear." Gildarts said, his shoulders slumping in defeat.
With that, the rest of the day passed in classic Fairy Tail fashion. And before long, a brawl broke out among the members of the guild. However, during that time, Alfonzo and the others got to meet the guest Gildarts brought back from Desierto, Fū. However, before anyone could really get to know her, Elicia whisked her away to start making clothes for her, leaving everyone else smiling wryly, as they all saw such a thing coming from miles away.