Youth!

Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Karakura.

November, x784.

A few minutes earlier, before Alfonzo, Mirajane, and Marin arrived outside the private room booked by the ladies of Mermaid Heel, Yoruichi and a beautiful, fair-skinned, young woman with waist length, purple-tinted, black hair styled in the typical hime-cut and hazel eyes, were sitting in the private room. Having just received their food from the wait staff, they engaged in a little conversation before the others arrived.

With a nearly emotionless expression, the young woman, Kagura Mikazuchi, wore a white blazer with an open, high collar that showed off a white collared dress shirt and a red tie. On top of that, her blazer's sleeves were tucked into a pair of white, elbow-high gloves.

On her lower body, Kagura wore a pair of black tights tucked into a pair of knee-high white boots under a short white skirt. And leaning against the side of her chair was a single, sheathed katana by the name of Archenemy.

"Have we received any more information about the targets?" Kagura asked as she picked up some of her food with a pair of chopsticks.

"No, not really." Yoruichi replied with a shrug. "Other than the names of a few of their underlings, We haven't gotten anything new."

"Less than ideal." Kagura said after chewing and swallowing her food.

"What can we do?" Yoruichi replied. "We'll just have to play it by ear."

"And what of the other guild wizards?" Kagura aske, her expression not changing in the slightest. "I assume you met with one of the groups when you went out earlier, right?"

"That's right." Yoruichi replied with a smile. "The Fairy Tail team has arrived."

"And who did they send?" Kagura asked.

"An A-Class wizard named Marin Kitagawa." Yoruichi replied with a smile. "And their S-Classes were the Demon Girl, Mirajane Strauss, and the Master of Metal, Alfonzo Marcus."

Though Kagura did not react to hearing either Mirajane or Marin's names, her eyebrow twitched when she heard Alfonzo's. And the reason for that was simple. Because of what she had heard about him from her brother, Simon.

A little over a month ago, while travelling with Wally, Shô, and Millianna, Simon happened to come across Kagura while she was on her way back from completing a quest. At first, Kagura did not believe Simon's claim to be her brother, as she had seen him being abducted years ago.

However, after proving his identity with a few facts that only the two of them would know, Kagura eventually accepted the fact that he was her brother.

And after finally convincing her of his identity, Simon asked her if they could be in the same guild. Unfortunately for him, he was mercilessly rejected when Kagura stated that she was a member of the all-female guild, Mermaid Heel.

Still, both Simon and Kagura were elated to see each other again. And for the first time in years, Kagura showed strong emotions in her expression. Though, she went back to her usual emotionless expression as soon as they separated.

Before they separated, however, Simon made sure to drive home the point that she should keep her distance from a certain wizard from the Fairy Tail guild. And that wizard's name was Alfonzo Marcus.

Over and over, Simon depicted Alfonzo as an irredeemable playboy who collected women as if they were trophies. Unbeknownst to Simon, however, all his slander did nothing more than make Kagura curious about the wizard named Alfonzo Marcus.

"But I bet your brother would be pissed if he knew Alfonzo would be on this quest with you, huh?" Yoruichi asked with a giggle. "He'd be terrified that his precious, little sister would fall into the hands of the big, bad playboy."

Hearing Yoruichi's mocking words directed at her brother, Kagura's brows furrowed slightly before returning to normal. Other than that, however, her expression really did not change much.

"I've only heard about this Alfonzo Marcus from Simon's tales." Kagura said, picking up a morsel of food as she spoke. "So, I have yet to form an opinion of this man."

"Well, I guess you can start forming your opinion now, then." Yoruichi said with a smile.

*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*

"Hey, Yoruichi, it's me." Alfonzo said as he knocked on the private room's door.

"Oh my, it's almost as if I predicted that they would arrive just at that moment." Yoruichi said playfully."

At the same time, Yoruichi stood from her seat. Then, she walked over to the door, glancing back at Kagura with a smile. IN response, Kagura only rolled her eyes before focusing back on her food. Unable to get a reaction out of Kagura, Yoruichi turned back to the door with a slight pout.

"It took you long enough." Yoruichi said as she opened the door to the private room. Then, she continued while ushering the trio into the room. "Anyway, come in, let me introduce you to the most talented up-and-coming wizard in Mermaid Heel, Kagura Mikazuchi."

As the trio of Fairy Tail wizards entered the room, they all quickly noticed the beautiful raven-hared beauty sitting at the table. At the same time, Kagura let her eyes scan over the new arrivals, as well. With her gaze lingering on Alfonzo for a beat longer than the other two.

"And Kagura, I already mentioned them by name, but let me introduce you to…" Yoruichi said, gesturing to the three wizards in turn. "… Marin Kitagawa, Mirajane Strauss, and Alfonzo Marcus."

"A pleasure." Kagura said without much change in her expression.

"Likewise." Alfonzo said, answering for the rest of his team.

With the introductions out of the way, Alfonzo, Mirajane, and Marin took seats around the table. Then, they each picked up the menu placed in front of their seats. While looking through the selection the hotel restaurant had to offer, the five engaged in small talk, deciding they could wait to discuss the details of the quest until the duo from Quatro Cerberus arrived.

During their conversation, Kagura observed her allies for this quest, especially Alfonzo. And although he talked about his harem, or rather the girls in his harem, whenever they came up in conversation, he did not seem to be the playboy that her brother made him out to be. He even rejected Yoruichi's advances casually.

Naturally, that surprised Kagura quite a bit, though she did not let it show on her face. Objectively, Yoruichi was one of the most beautiful women on Ishgar. Yet, Alfonzo, because she would not join his polygamous relationship, would not even consider her offer.

'It would seem that big brother was wrong.' Kagura thought to herself. 'Though it may only be an act, he does not seem to pick up just any pretty girl. In fact, he hasn't even shown any interest in having me join his harem.'

With that thought, Kagura's interest in Alfonzo rose slightly.

Just like that, another half an hour went by. And eventually, the atmosphere in the private room became rather harmonious. While Alfonzo, Mirajane, Marin, and Yoruichi engaged in lively conversation, Kagura would respond politely if a question was directed towards her.

Eventually, however, the harmonious mood was broken by two rather loud voices that echoed throughout the entire dining room.

"Wild!" A man shouted in a somewhat familiar, drunken slur. "Oh, I can't wait to see you, my darling Elicia. At least you'll be able to free yourself from that man of yours' control for the briefest of instants while we make eye contact."

"Now that's what I call youth, Bacchus!" A second, completely unfamiliar voice replied. "Romance is one of the staples of youth!"

"Well, it looks like the guys from Quatro Puppy are here." Yoruichi said as she stood up from her seat. "I doubt they know which room we're in, so I'll go get them."

'God damn it.' Alfonzo exclaimed internally. 'Why the hell hasn't Goldmine raised another S-Class wizard yet? I really don't wanna end up getting hunted down by the law if I lose it and accidentally kill that idiot. Wait… Is the guy with Bacchus shouting about youth? Why the fuck does that sound so familiar? Oh God, don't tell me… I'm still not sure what's up with this world, but this is fucking awesome.'

While Alfonzo was lost in thought, the other ladies noticed that his facial expression went through some brief changes in a rather short time. From annoyed, to angry, to confused, to excited. Yet, they had no idea what was going through his head. Though, after hearing someone, who was referred to as Bacchus, talking about Elicia, they could at least understand why he was annoyed and angry.

"It looks like we were the last to arrive, Bacchus." One of the new arrivals, a tall, standing at about 6', (1.84 m) young, fair-skinned man wearing a green, long-sleeved, tight-fitting jumpsuit, orange leg warmers, and a lighter green flak jacket with a shiny bowl-cut, bushy eyebrows, a strong jawline, a somewhat large nose, and a confident smile that seemed to sparkle for a moment, said as he scanned the room. "I told you we should have left a little earlier."

However, the young man's companion, Bacchus Groh, ace of Quatro cerberus, ignored his words as he also scanned the room. However, when he did not see the person he was looking for, he frowned. And when his eyes landed on Alfonzo, his frown deepened.

"Did you really force her to stay at home? To think, you would go this far to keep Elicia from meeting me, the man she truly loves." Bacchus said after making eye contact with Alfonzo. "I have even less respect for you, now."

At the same time, Alfonzo's excitement from seeing one of the most beloved characters from the Naruto franchise was completely obliterated by Bacchus' drunken idiocy. As a result, his face deadpanned before he replied.

"Bacchus, I beg you, don't make me kill you." Alfonzo said in a dry tone.

With that, the atmosphere in the room grew heavy. Before anything could come of it, however, it was broken… no shattered.

"Now, we're all on the same side here." The bowl-cut young man said with a wink, a thumbs up, and a winning smile. "We shouldn't fight amongst ourselves. By the way, I'm Might Guy. You can just call me Guy, though. It's nice to meet you all."

With just that, al the tension in the air vanished. Though, Alfonzo and Bacchus still continued to glare for a few more moments. However, they eventually both looked away, snorting simultaneously.

"Why did you stop them?" Yoruichi asked with a pout. "Watching them fight would have been fun."

"Indeed, seeing a fight on that level would be quite enjoyable as well as insightful." Guy said with a smile. "But we have a job to do. Perhaps we can have a round of youthful sparring after the quest is complete."

"Uh… sure." Yoruichi replied, shrugging her shoulders at Guy's enthusiasm. "Anyway, why don't you two have a seat and order something. We can start discussing the quest after the food arrives."

Taking Yoruichi's suggestion, both Bacchus and Guy sat down at the table. While Guy eagerly looked through the menu, Bacchus only pulled his wine gourd from his hip and took a few swigs while occasionally glaring at Alfonzo.

Eventually, Bacchus eyes landed on Kagura. Then, with his eyes lighting up slightly, he opened his mouth to speak.

"I've heard about you before, Bacchus Groh." Kagura said, cutting off Bacchus before he could even speak. "I'm not interested in you. And if you try hitting on me, I'll castrate you."

As she spoke the last part, Kagura tapped the katana leaning against the side of her chair. At the same time, Bacchus quickly shut his mouth. On topof that, the three men in the room subconsciously closed their legs after hearing Kagura's threat and feeling the bloodlust she was leaking.

"*Sniff* Kagura, you make me so proud." Yoruichi said, wiping away a nonexistent tear. "It seems like just yesterday that you were being bullied by a handsy pervert. Now, you're threatening them with punishments so harsh that no one would dare to take you lightly."

"That's because I was being harassed by a handsy pervert just yesterday, Yoruichi." Kagura said, turning her emotionless expression towards Yoruichi. "Or did you forget how you barged in on my bath claiming that you were there to check on my growth?"

Immediately, all the other gazes in the room, other than Guy's turned to Yoruichi. While Mirajane and Marin looked on warily, Alfonzo looked at Yoruichi with exasperation. Meanwhile, Bacchus looked at her with an approving smile while a bit of blood leaked out his left nostril. Meanwhile, Guy continued to look through the menu in his hands with gusto.

"Hmm…" Yoruichi hummed in thought as she raised her right hand to her chin. "Now that you mention it, that sounds kind of familiar. Eh, whatever, let's just finish our meals and talk about this raid we'll be doing on that lab."