358 Before Departure

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.

May, x785.

A few days have passed since the attack at Crawford Seam and Org's execution. And during that time, Alfonzo and Elicia reported what happened to the three rulers who were present. However, after giving their reports, not much came of it. Not because the rulers did not believe them. Instead, it was because they wanted to discuss the incident with the new Magic Council.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo and Elicia, with nothing left to do in Crocus, decided they would return to Magnolia. While Elicia would return to normal wizarding work along with tending to her clothing business, Alfonzo prepared to make his way to Mermaid Heel to construct their new training facilities.

And today, the day before Alfonzo's departure, Alfonzo was seated in Ur's office and discussing the arrangements.

"Just to make sure, you'll be taking Wendy with you when you leave tomorrow, right?" Ur asked calmly. Though, the concern in her eyes could not be hidden.

"Yeah." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "But you don't have to worry. I'll keep my [Magic Power Detection] active at all times. And with my speed, I'll be able to show up before anything can happen to her."

"That's not what I'm worried about, actually." Ur said with a wry smile. "I'm just afraid that Wendy will pick up some of that Tsunade's bad habits."

"Oh..." Alfonzo replied with a wry smile. "I don't think my [MPD] can tell if she's drinking or gambling."

"*Sigh* And that's what I'm worried about." Ur replied while shaking her head.

"But I don't think you have anything to worry about." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "I mean, as much as you drink..."

Before Alfonzo could finish, Ur turned a sharp glare in his direction, causing his words to come to a halt.

"Are you trying to say I'm an alcoholic?" Ur asked in a menacing tone.

"Nope." Alfonzo replied quickly. "But you're quite the heavy drinker. Not on the same level as Cana or Master Tsunade, but still..."

"Anyway, just take care of her while she's with you." Ur said, cutting of Alfonzo once again.

"I will." Alfonzo replied solemnly. "Besides, there will always be at least one of the girls with us, too."

"Really? Why?" Ur asked in a confused tone.

In response, Alfonzo went on to tell Ur about the decision the girls came to regarding Yoruichi.

"*Sigh* Why are they trying so hard to accept her after what she did?" Ur asked while shaking her head. "In my opinion, you should just let her be and move on."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Alfonzo replied. "But I don't know... They think I developed feelings for her before all that happened... And they haven't actually asked my opinion on the matter."

"Then, why don't you tell them?" Ur asked curiously.

"Because Lici really seems to still like her." Alfonzo replied with a wry smile. "And you know how hard it is for me to say no to her."

"*Sigh* You're too soft on her." Ur replied in exasperation.

"I'm fully aware." Alfonzo replied. "But I can't help it."

"*Sigh* You're just lucky that she would never hurt you... Intentionally, anyway." Ur replied.

"I know." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "Anyway, I'm gonna go make sure that everything is ready for tomorrow."

"Alright, go." Er said while waving Alfonzo away. "Just make sure you don't bring shame to Fairy Tail."

"Just who do you think you're talking to, Ur?" Alfonzo said, sounding a bit offended.

In response, Ur only smiled as she watched Alfonzo stand from the sofa and make his way towards the elevator. Then, when Alfonzo eventually left, Ur's expression changed drastically.

"What are those girls thinking not talking to Alfonzo about what he thinks of Yoruichi?" Ur muttered. "Even if Alfonzo left it to them, doesn't mean he's interested in a relationship with her. More than likely, he just wanted to squash any bad feelings they may be holding onto."

With that, Ur stood from behind her desk and walked over to her liquor cabinet. Then, after opening it, she reached for a bottle of wine. However, just before touching it with her fingertips, she stopped.

"Drinking alone like this really does make me look like an alcoholic." Ur muttered as she pulled her hand back and closed the cabinet. "Damn you, Alfonzo..."

A moment later, Ur was seated at her desk again with a frown on her face. Then, she spent the next fifteen minutes contemplating her drinking habits. Eventually, she shook her head and decided to move on.

"I'll think about that later." Ur muttered to herself. "For now, I should talk to those girls."

In the next instant, Ur spread her [Magic Power Detection] to see who was in the guild hall. Then, after feeling Cana, Mirajane, Marin, and Sun's aura's on the first floor, she pressed a button on the tablet like device that controlled the guild halls functions and broadcast her voice into the main hall.

"Cana Alberona, Mirajane Strauss, Marin Kitagawa, and Sun Seto, please see me in my office." Ur announced over the guild hall's announcement system.

A few minutes later, Cana, Mirajane, Marin, and Sun arrived on the top floor. And when they did, they saw Ur sitting behind her desk with a solemn expression on her face. Exchanging glances, the four girls stepped forward before stopping in front of Ur's desk.

"What's up, Master?" Cana asked casually.

"I heard from Alfonzo that you and the other girls would be taking turns visiting him while he's working on the Mermaid Heel guild hall." Ur said after placing her elbows on the desk and interlocking her fingers.

"That's right." Marin replied.

"Is that a problem?" Mirajane asked cautiously.

"Not a problem, per se." Ur replied. "I just wanted to know... Why?"

In response, the girls fell silent. Then, they once again exchanged glances. However, the silence did not last long.

"To see if there's more to Yoruichi than just being a scheming bitch." Cana replied with wrath in her tone.

"What Cana meant to say is, to see if Yoruichi was suitable to join Alfonzo's harem." Mirajane corrected.

"I meant exactly what I said." Cana said defiantly.

"*Sigh* Cana..." Mirajane said while shaking his head.

"Is that a problem?" Sun asked Ur. "Alfonzo said he would leave it up to us, after all."

"And what makes you think that Alfonzo wants that?" Ur asked in return.

Once again, the girls fell silent. And once again, the silence was broken quickly.

"Because he let us decide?" Marin said. Though, it was more of a question than an answer.

"And did you ask him what he thought about it?" Ur asked.

In response, all four girls shook their heads.

"But since he left it to us instead of rejecting her outright, that should mean that he wants to be with her, right?" Sun asked while tilting her head in confusion.

"Do you really think so?" Ur asked in return. "Especially after she betrayed his trust?"

None of the girls knew how to answer that question. So, the office once again fell into silence.

"Then, why would he tell us to decide?" Mirajane asked in atone filled with uncertainty.

"Yeah, and why didn't he say anything about our plan?" Marin added.

"If I had to guess..." Ur replied, pausing for a moment to structure her next sentence. "It was probably for you all to let go of your hostility."

"What do you mean?" Sun asked.

"It's painfully obvious." Ur said while shaking her head. "Other than Cana, all of you are holding in your anger over what she did. Well, Erza may be the exception. But that's only because of her duel."

To that, Mirajane, Marin, and Sun were unable to refute Ur's analysis.

"And here's another thing to think about." Ur added. "Despite the fact that he dotes on Elicia so much, why didn't he let her join you in the decision about Yoruichi, who she clearly likes a lot. Well... Probably not as much as she used to, though."

"Because Elicia helped her do what she did." Cana replied with her fists clenched.

"That's probably part of it." Ur replied with a nod. "But I doubt it's all of it."

"So that she wouldn't be able to sway our decisions." Mirajane said.

"I was thinking the same thing." Ur said with a nod. "From what I can see, Alfonzo still treats Yoruichi as a friend. Though, not a close one. But he still probably doesn't trust her all that much. But because he sees her as a friend, he doesn't want you all to be hostile with her. So, the reason he agreed with your plan is to let you bleed off some of that hostility. Mostly because he didn't think you would actually accept her among your ranks."

"Well, I never had any intention of accepting her, anyway." Cana said with a shrug. "I mean, anyone who would do something like that just because they didn't get their way isn't someone I'd want to call my sister."

While Cana voiced her opinion, the other three girls fell into contemplation, thinking about Ur's analysis of the situation.

At that moment, Ur sneezed. Then, she put on an annoyed expression.

A few moments earlier, Alfonzo was in the master bedroom of his mansion, checking through his luggage to make sure he had packed everything he would need for his month long trip to Mermaid Heel's headquarters.

"Alright, I have all my clothes... I have my toiletries... I have a way for the managers at all the Sixth Sense shops to contact me in case of emergency... Is there anything else I need?" Alfonzo asked himself as he closed all the bags he planned to bring with him. "Well, I guess I can buy anything I might have forgotten once I get out there."

With that, Alfonzo stood up before sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Anyway, it's kind of amazing how easily Ur saw through what was going on with the whole Yoruichi situation." Alfonzo said with a wry smile. "I hope I'm as perceptive as she is when I'm that old."

As soon as those words left his mouth, Alfonzo shuddered subtly.

"If Ur ever heard me say something like that, she would freeze my balls off." Alfonzo muttered while trying to shake off the cold feeling that just hit him.

"Hey, Fonzie! I'm home!" Elicia, who had taken a quest as soon as she and Alfonzo returned from Crocus, shouted as soon as she entered the house.

"Hey, Lici, welcome back!" Alfonzo shouted in return. "How did the quest go?"

As he asked his question, Alfonzo heard the sound of footsteps racing through the house. A moment later, the door to the master bedroom burst open and Elicia rushed through it. Then, she leapt at Alfonzo with a smile.

"Nothing special." Elicia replied as Alfonzo caught her in his arms. "Just a magical beast subjugation. And with the new threads, it was much easier than usual."

"Yeah, I saw how easily they delt with Jackal." Alfonzo replied with a smile.

"Too bad he's not gone for good, though." Elicia said in a frustrated tone.

"We'll have to find and destroy Tartaros' base for that." Alfonzo said with a wry smile. "But don't worry, we will."

"I know." Elicia replied with a smile. "And with that airship you've been building, they'll have nowhere to run."

"*Sigh* That's still a work in progress." Alfonzo replied.

"Yeah, but I can't wait 'til it's done." Elicia said excitedly.

After that, the two fell into a comfortable silence. However, Elicia felt like something seemed off about Alfonzo.

"Fonzie." Elicia said tenderly while looking up, into Alfonzo's eyes as she spoke. "Is something bothering you?"

"I wouldn't say that something is bothering me, exactly." Alfonzo replied with a wry smile. "It's just Ur made me think of something... unsettling today."

"What was it?" Elicia asked curiously.

"Well, she asked me to keep an eye on Wendy while we're at Mermaid Heel's guild hall." Alfonzo replied.

"That's not weird, is it?" Elicia asked as she tilted her head in confusion.

"Nah, not at all." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "It's why she wanted me to look after her, though."

"What do you mean?" Elicia asked curiously.

"Well, she was afraid that while learning under Tsunade, Wendy would pick up her bad habits." Alfonzo said with a wry smile.

Hearing that, Elicia imagined Wendy with her hair in two ponytails wearing a hoari with the kanji for gamble on the back, smashing her way out of a gambling den with a bottle of sake in her hand and shouting at the top of her lungs about how the games must have been rigged, after losing all her money, of course.

"Ahahahahahaha!" Elicia started laughing uproariously after that image appeared in her head. "Oh my God! Hahaha! I wanna see that!"

In response, Alfonzo could only shake his head with a smile on his face.

"But seriously... Ha... ha... I don't think you have to worry about that." Elicia said while getting her laughter under control. "I mean, look at Useless... *Cough* I mean Sakura. She never picked up any of Tsunade's bad habits, right?"

"I guess." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly at Elicia's distaste for Sakura in the Naruto series. "I just hope the same holds true for Wendy. Also, if Sakura actually exists in this world, please don't call her that."

"I know..." Elicia said while waving off Alfonzo's concerns. "I know better than that."

"Yeah, but your mouth has a tendency to move before your brain can process what its saying." Alfonzo replied with a chuckle.

"Whatever." Elicia said in a huff.

And like that, Alfonzo and Elicia continued their meaningless conversation until the other girls returned home. Then, Alfonzo made dinner for the last time before he left for at least a month to work on Mermaid Heel's new training facilities.