Heading Back to Fiore

Earth Land, Ishgar, Era.

March 15, x786.

"Seriously, this is taking way too long." Ur, who, along with Shizuka, had not been invited to see the proceedings in the meeting room or the following duel, was completely out of patience by now. "I don't give a damn if I'm not allowed into the meeting room, I'm going in there to see what the hell is going on."

With that, Ur stood up from her seat on the couch. Then, under Shizuka's curious gaze, she walked to the door of their waiting room. A moment later, she was standing in front of the door with her right hand gripping the doorknob tightly.

*Bang!*

Then, without hesitation, she turned the doorknob and flung the door open hard enough that it slammed into the adjoining wall. Amazingly, however, she did not damage either the wall or the door in the slightest.

After that, without paying attention to what was in front of her, Ur walked through the open door. However, before she could take more than a step, she bumped into something, completely halting her forward momentum.

"The hell?" Ur asked in surprise. And when she looked to see what was blocking the path, she scowled, her annoyance even more apparent. "It took you long enough. How long does it take to confer a title on someone?"

Hearing Ur grumbling, Alfonzo, the one who blocked her path out of the room, could only smile wryly while lowering the hand he was about to knock on the door with.

"Anyway, what are you waiting for?" Ur asked as she returned to her seat. "Come in and show me that fancy cloak."

Smiling wryly, Alfonzo, followed by Makarov, Jura, and Ritsu, made his way into the waiting room. However, before he could take more than two steps into the room, Shizuka, filled with positive energy, slammed into him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Congratulations, Fonzie!" Shizuka cheered as she looked up Alfonzo with a big smile on her face. "How does it feel to be one of the Wizard Saints?"

In response, Alfonzo, Makarov, and Jura smiled wryly at Shizuka's question. Meanwhile, Ritsu maintained her, usual, gentle smile. Ur, on the other hand, quickly noticed the others' wry smiles.

"What happened?" Ur asked with her eyes narrowed. "And now that I take a second to look, you're not wearing the Wizard Saint's cloak."

Hearing that, Shizuka put on a shocked expression. Then, she, with her hands on Alfonzo's waist, took a step back and inspected Alfonzo's body. A moment later, she tilted her head in confusion.

"Where's your cloak, Fonzie?" Shizuka asked.

"We can talk about that on Sixth Sense." Alfonzo replied while still smiling wryly. "For now, you two should go gather your stuff. I have a bad feeling about staying here any longer. I'll tell you about it while we're on the water."

With strange expressions on their faces, Ur and Shizuka only stared at Alfonzo blankly. A moment later, however, after some urging from Alfonzo, the two rushed out of the room and headed to the hotel where they had been staying for the last couple of days.

About an hour later, Alfonzo, Makarov, Ur, Jura, Ritsu, and Shizuka were gathered at the Magic Council's port. Then, after Alfonzo loaded Ur's Z3 into Sixth Sense's cargo hold, the group of six waited for the green light to set sail. And after receiving permission to set sail, they quickly left Era.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Open Seas.

"So, why was it so important for us to get out of Era so quickly?" Ur asked in an annoyed, yet concerned, tone.

Currently, Alfonzo, Makarov, Ur, Jura, and Ritsu were gathered in Sixth Sense's wheel house. And in response to Ur's question, Makarov, Jura, and Ritsu turned their attention to Alfonzo, as well. Meanwhile, Shizuka was below deck rifling through her luggage for the swimsuit she brought with her, intending to spend her time on the ship sun bathing.

On a side note, when Shizuka heard that Alfonzo would be coming to Era from Akane Beach, she had already decided that she would go back with Alfonzo and spend some time on the beach before returning to Magnolia with him. Though, she didn't think to tell anyone her plans ahead of time.

"*Sigh* Well, I'm sure you guessed it, but I didn't become one of the Wizard Saints." Alfonzo said, replying to Ur's question. Then, after receiving a nod in response, he continued. "When I was invited into the meeting room, I was somewhat expecting the invitation, though. However, as soon as my appointment was announced, that dickhead, Serena jumped up and started talking about how I needed to be tested while bringing my abilities into question."

Hearing that God Serena was present in the meeting room, Ur widened her eyes. However, she did not find it all that surprising, either. There were a few magic power signatures that were stronger than her. However, she did not recognize any of them. So, she had no idea that one of them was God Serena.

From there, Alfonzo went on to tell Ur about her back and forth with God Serena that led to the duel.

"So, you really did it, huh?" Ur muttered. "You really challenged him for his number one spot among the Wizard Saints."

"Yeah, I did." Alfonzo replied with a shrug and a smile.

"And how did the duel go?" Ur asked curiously. "Since you're not hurt, I assume it wasn't so bad."

"Oh, it was great." Alfonzo replied with a wide smile. "I kicked his ass."

Hearing that, Ur's eyes opened wide in surprise. Even Makarov, Jura, and Ritsu showed disbelieving expressions at just how easily Alfonzo handled God Serena during the duel.

"How is that possible?" Ur asked absent-mindedly.

"Well, like I told Gramps, that douche bag is weaker than Gildarts. And I can break even with Gildarts for quite a while as long as I don't clash directly with is [Crash Magic]." Alfonzo replied.

After Alfonzo's explanation, it took Ur nearly a minute before she was able to process what she heard. But when she did, she looked at Alfonzo quizzically.

"If you beat him, then why aren't you a Wizard Saint?" Ur asked once her brain finished rebooting.

"He told the Council that he didn't need the title to prove his strength." Makarov said while shaking his head. "And after seeing the way he fought today, I can't disagree."

"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a smug smile. "And to add insult to injury, I told the douche bag that he could keep his position."

"And that made him angry enough to cough up blood before fainting out of anger." Ritsu added while covering her smile with the sleeve of her kimono.

Once again, Ur was left dumbfounded. However, instead of thinking about it too hard, she shook it off. Then, she looked at Alfonzo again.

"Although that story was... unexpected... you still haven't told us why you rushed us out of Era." Ur said in a solemn tone.

"Oh, now that you mention it." Alfonzo replied. "It's because of how much power Serena output during that fight."

"What do you mean?" Ritsu asked curiously.

"Well, I'm sure you all know that Fairy Tail was attacked on Tenrou island a couple years ago." Alfonzo replied.

In response, Jura and Ritsu nodded. Meanwhile, Makarov and Ur continued to stare at Alfonzo.

"Well, the reason for that was the amount of [Dragon Slayer Magic] Laxus and the others had to use to fend off Grimoire Heart.

Immediately, Makarov, Ur, Jura, and Ritsu's eyes opened wide while they flashed with realization.

"So, you think Acnologia may show up because of God... *Cough* Serena's magic?" Makarov asked, correcting himself along the way.

"Honestly, I'm not sure." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head gently. "But having the big, black, fuck-off dragon show up unannounced just once is enough to make me haul ass if I think it's possible for a second time."

"*Sigh* I can't even argue with that logic." Makarov said in a tired tone.

Ur, Jura, and Ritsu nodded in response. Though, Ur's expression was a little awkward after remembering how she acted after Fairy Tail survived Acnologia's last attack.

Before the conversation could continue any further. Shizuka, wearing a purple bikini, that seemed to be holding onto her explosive curves for dear life, and carrying a bottle of sun tan oil skipped out onto the deck from the cabin. Then, once she was standing in the middle of the deck, she looked around. After not seeing anyone, she stopped to think with her head tilted cutely.

Then, with a proverbial light bulb over her head, she looked up toward the wheel house. And when she caught sight of Alfonzo, who was steering the ship, she smiled as she began waving vigorously.

Needless to say, when Alfonzo, Makarov, and even Jura, saw Shizuka's breasts bouncing along with her movements, they were mesmerized. Though, Alfonzo and Jura were able to come back to their senses quickly enough. On the other hand, Makarov's eyes widened as his mouth hung open and his nostrils flared excitedly.

*Smack!* x 2

*Bang!*

Then, after seeing Makarov's unsightly appearance, both Ur and Ritsu slapped him upside the head simultaneously. And because of the force they put into their slaps, Makarov was sent flying forward before slamming into the wall in front of him, face first.

"Hey, Alfonzo!" Shizuka shouted from the deck. "Can you help me put on sun tan oil?"

Hearing that, Makarov, while rubbing his red nose, glared back at Alfonzo with envy and bloody tears forming in his eyes.

In response to Makarov's glare, Alfonzo shot him a winning smile.

"Hey, Gramps, would you mind steering the ship for a while?" Alfonzo asked in a happy tone. "I need to help out one of my guild mates."

Then, without waiting for a reply, Alfonzo released the steering wheel and made his way out of the wheel house. Meanwhile, Makarov could only stare at the wheel house door blankly.

"Just give it up, Old Man." Ur said while holding back a laugh. "You'll never be as popular with the ladies as you imagined yourself to be."

"Master Ur is right." Ritsu replied. "Maybe if you acted more like a human than a dog in heat, when you see beautiful women, you would have better luck with the ladies. Though, I fear it is far too late to correct your dubious reputation.'

Makarov then shifted his blank gaze from the wheel house door to Ur and Ritsu. Then, once he came back to his senses, he gritted his teeth in frustration. However, he did accept Alfonzo's request and started steering the ship shortly afterward.

Jura, on the other hand, could only look at Makarov with a modicum of pity. Though, he had no intension of defending him.

A few minutes later on the deck, Alfonzo, now wearing a pair of black shorts with a Fairy Tail emblem stitched into the left leg, a white, unbuttoned, button down shirt, and a pair of white boat shoes, dragged a pair of deck chairs towards Shizuka, while carrying a couple of large towels over his shoulders.

Then, once Alfonzo arrived next to Shizuka, he set up the deck chairs, with the backs leaned all the way down, before spreading the towels over them. Once all that was done, he patted the towel on the chair closest to Shizuka, while smiling brightly at her.

Excitedly, Shizuka bounced over to the chair and handed Alfonzo the tanning oil. Then, without thinking, she began to untie her bikini top. However, before she could finish, Alfonzo frantically told her to turn around, since she was facing the wheel house.

"Damn it, Kid..." Makarov grumbled. "Why did you stop her."

Naturally, Makarov received a pair of scolding glares for his utterance. Glares that he completely ignored in favor of staring at Shizuka's plump backside.

After untying her bikini top, Shizuka laid down on the deck chair with her arms folded under her chin and her legs swinging happily. At that moment, Alfonzo glanced back at Makarov with a malicious smile on his face before mouthing a few words.

'You can watch this as payback for voting me in as a Wizard Saint.' Alfonzo mouthed. 'But you should know, you'll never, in your life, be able to touch.'

Able to read Alfonzo's lips, Makarov's eyes opened wide. Meanwhile, Ritsu covered her mouth with her kimono sleeve to hide her smile while Jura only shook his head before leaving the wheel house to find a place to meditate. Ur, on the other hand, wore a nervous expression.

'There's no way he knows I voted for him, too, right?' Ur thought to herself.

As soon as that thought passed through Ur's head, Alfonzo smiled at her with the same smile he just gave Makarov.

'Damn it, he knows.' Ur muttered internally after seeing that smile. 'And there's no way he won't get back at me, too. And the worst thing is... I don't know how I would be able to stop him when he does.'

At the same time, Ritsu had a rather bold idea to get under Makarov's skin.

"I think I'd like to sun bathe for a while, as well." Ritsu said as she turned towards the wheel house's door. "I wonder if Alfonzo would mind helping me apply sun tan oil, too."

Immediately, Makarov's expression fell. Then, he stared at Ritsu as she left the wheel house with disbelief swirling in his eyes.

"Ahn~~~~~!"

At that moment, a loud moan rang out over the deck, pulling Makarov and Ur from their thoughts. Looking in the moan's direction, they saw Shizuka squirming as Alfonzo rubbed the sun tan oil into her lower back.

The next few minutes in the wheel house passed in awkward silence. Because of all the moaning from Shizuka and the malicious smiles Makarov and Ur received from Alfonzo, neither of them knew what to say. So, when Ritsu finally arrived on the deck, both Makarov's and Ur's gazes were drawn to her.

"Alfonzo, would you mind helping me apply some sun tan oil, as well?" Ritsu asked just as Alfonzo finished with Shizuka, leaving her lying on her stomach with a sloppy smile on her face.

Like Makarov, Alfonzo was completely dumbfounded by Ritsu's request. However, he had no intension to refuse. Ritsu was one of the hotter characters in Bleach, after all.

"If, you're sure." Alfonzo said as he gestured towards the free deck chair. "I'd be happy to help."

With her gentle smile widening, Ritsu looked back over her shoulder, making eye contact with Makarov. And when she did, Makarov almost coughed up a mouthful of blood at the glint of mockery in Ritsu's eyes.

'She's trying to tell me that I will never be able to experience anything like this, isn't she?' Makarov asked himself with bloody tears pooling in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Ur was simply in awe at Alfonzo's luck with the ladies. Though, she was under no illusion that Ritsu was romantically interested in Alfonzo.

After briefly glancing at Makarov, Ritsu turned back towards Alfonzo. Then, she began to untie the sash around her waist. Once it was untied, she began to slowly lower the kimono from her shoulders, revealing a white, high-collared, one-piece swimsuit with camellia flowers dotting the front that did not reveal any cleavage.

However, Alfonzo was quite curious to see the back. And the reason for that was simple, from just below Ritsu's breasts and around her hips, he could see thin straps wrapping around to her back. On top of that, he had a sneaking suspicion that there would be quite a bit of side boob visible, as well.

'The rumor about her boobs being as big as Tsunade's was false. Still, they're fucking perfect.' Alfonzo thought while admiring Ritsu's swimsuit-clad figure.

Noticing Alfonzo's gaze, Ritsu felt a measure of pride. For a woman of her age, who was from the same generation as Makarov, to gain the attention of such a young man was a definite confidence boost for her.

Then, after deciding that Alfonzo had watched for long enough while making Makarov green with envy after seeing her back, Ritsu stepped towards the deck chair and lay face-down atop it.

Naturally, that gave Alfonzo a view of the back of Ritsu's suit, as well. And he saw exactly what he was expecting to see.

While the fabric covering Ritsu's butt was rather conservative, not showing off any of her butt cheeks, her back was nearly completely exposed, with the exception of a thin strap that ran across it from side to side. Also, the straps at the top of her suit wrapped around the back of her neck, as well.

After admiring Ritsu's fair-skinned back for a little longer, Alfonzo eventually picked up the bottle of sun tan oil and poured some into his hands. Then, after rubbing his hands to warm the oil, he placed his hands on Ritsu's shoulder blades. And as soon as he began rubbing the oil into her skin, she had a sudden thought.

'This might have been a really bad idea.' Ritsu thought to herself as her hands flew up to stifle a moan. 'I really didn't think through all the possible consequences when I thought to taunt that old pervert.'

A few minutes later, Alfonzo was done applying sun tan oil to Ritsu. Then, she stood up quickly, picked up her kimono, and speed walked back into the cabin. And when she showed herself again, she kept a noticeable distance from Alfonzo.

'That boy's hands are dangerous.' Ritsu thought to herself. 'Even I almost lost myself under his touch. But as long as he can't touch mee, there is no issue.'