Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Caelum, the Village Hidden in the Mist.
January 7, x792.
In the Mizukage Tower, the tallest tower in the Village Hidden in the Mist, One of the Seven Ninja Swordsman of the Mist, Chojuro, jumped when he heard the angry shout coming from the door behind him.
"Lady Mei..." Chojuro muttered wistfully while looking back towards the door leading to the Mizukage's office. "Why is she so mad at Lord Ao? What could he have possibly done? He's not even here right now."
However, because she was shouting about melting Ao, Chojuro did not take it too seriously. Mei threatening to melt Ao was a common occurrence, after all.
Chojuro was not the only one confused by Mei's anger, either. In fact, the Anbu hiding in Mei's office were even more confused since they saw her go from calmly working on paperwork to absolutely furious at Ao in the blink of an eye. Then, after her roar ended, all the Anbu feared for the paperwork, as Mei was writing much harder than strictly necessary as she continued her work.
A few minutes later, Chojuro turned to look down the hall when he heard the sound of several sets of footsteps.
"Lord Ao, you've returned." Chojuro said after Alfonzo, Elicia, Cana, and Ao came into view.
"Yes." Ao replied calmly. "Is Lady Mizukage in? The guests from Fairy Tail have arrived."
"Yo!" Alfonzo said casually. "Long time no see, Chojuro. How's life been treating you?"
"Oh, he's the guy who fought Erza when they came to visit the guild hall, right?" Cana asked before Chojuro could respond to Alfonzo.
"Yeah." Elicia replied with a nod. "Erza wanted to come, too, when she found out we were coming to the Village Hidden in the Mist. But she had already accepted a quest with the rest of Team Natsu."
Reaching that point, Elicia turned her attention from Cana to Chojuro and continued.
"She really wanted to fight you again, Chojuro." Elicia said with a smile. "She's been training with Master Retsu Unohana, the former guild master of Mermaid Heel. And since you're the best swordsman she's fought that's not from our guild, she wanted to gauge her progress in a spar against you."
Hearing that Erza thought of him as a good swordsman caused Chojuro to blush slightly and turn away.
"Still shy as ever, huh?" Alfonzo asked while shaking his head with a smile. "Anyway, mind if we go inside? I wanna know exactly how much work I've been hired to do."
"Yeah, and why three wizards were needed, too." Elicia added.
"Because we certainly can't help Fonzie when it comes to upgrading the training grounds." Cana said with a shrug.
"Lady Mizukage will explain everything." Ao said calmly as he approached the door to the Mizukage's Office.
*Knock!* *Knock!*
"Lady Mizukage, the Fairy Tail wizards, led by Alfonzo Marcus, have arrived." Ao said, announcing the group's presence.
"Enter!" Mei ordered sharply from the other side of the door.
Hearin Mei's tone, Ao was thoroughly confused. However, he did not dwell on it for long. He would surely find out what troubled her once he was inside. He then reached for the doorknob, opening the door swiftly before gesturing for Alfonzo, Elicia, and Cana to enter.
However, because Ao was not looking at Chojuro, he missed the pitiful expression on the younger Shinobi's face. Alfonzo, Elicia, and Cana, on the other hand, did not. As a result, they were really curious to know what would happen once they entered. Thus, they did so with smiles on their faces.
Following Ao's gesture, the trio of Fairy Tail wizards stepped into Mei's office. When they saw the expression on Mei's face and the document she'd all but ruined in her anger, they knew there would be a bit of a show to see. So, after nodding to Mei, they quickly stepped aside so they could see the show.
Shortly afterwards, Ao stepped into the office, closing the door behind him. He then turned to bow respectfully to Mei. However, before he could even start bending his back, he made eye contact with the Mizukage. And when he did, he froze, fear making cold sweat breakout under his headband while his posture went rigid.
"Lady Mizukage... Is something the matter?" Ao asked in trepidation.
"Nothing." Mei replied sharply as her eyes narrowed. "It's just... for some reason, I feel like I should melt you. But I honestly have no idea why. Might you have any ideas?"
The sweat gathering under Ao's headband increased immediately. Yet, like every other situation where Mei threatened to melt him, he had no idea what could have made her so angry. So, his only response was to shake his head side to side at an impressive speed.
"I see..." Mei said while narrowing her eyes even further. "Very well then. I suppose I'll think it over on my own."
Mei then turned to look at Alfonzo, Elicia, and Cana, her expression changing into a radiant smile. She then stood up from her desk, took off her Mizukage hat and robes, and gestured for the Fairy Tail trio to take a seat on the guest couch.
"I'm glad you could come." Mei said cheerfully, her natural seductive tone mixing in, as well. "How was the trip from the mainland?"
"Not bad." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Actually, it was really good. Didn't run into a Leviathan this time, at least."
"Now that you said that, we'll probably run into one on the way back." Elicia said with a big smile.
"Don't put that evil on me, Elicia Marcus Taylor!" Alfonzo barked back.
"Besides, he's not you, Lici." Cana added. "No one raises flags quite like you do, after all."
"Hey! That's not fair!" Elicia cried indignantly.
"Well, in Lici's defense, that probably won't happen." Mei said as her smile widened. "Ao told me about the Leviathan that attacked you last time you came. Somehow, that information made it to Caelum's king, too. So, he commissioned the village to take care of any dangerous sea creatures that might have set up nests around the island."
"In other words, there shouldn't be any Leviathans or other big magical beasts in the waters around Caelum, right?" Elicia asked excitedly. She then planted her fists on her hips and turned to look at Alfonzo and Cana as she continued. "See, I don't always raise flags."
*Sigh!* x 2
"And now we're definitely gonna run into some big ass sea monster on the way back." Alfonzo muttered in a tired tone.
"Yeah..." Cana added. "It would have been fine if she didn't say anything. But now, it's pretty much a forgone conclusion."
Elicia could only stare at her husband and her sister-wife with her eyes wide, mouth opening and closing silently, and a finger accusingly pointing in their direction. Yet, despite all the things she wanted to say, she could not formulate an argument. A few moments later, she dropped her arm, closed her mouth, turned away from the two, and pouted viciously.
Seeing Elicia's reaction, Alfonzo, Cana, and Mei could not help laughing aloud, causing Elicia to pout even harder. Meanwhile, the Anbu stationed in Mei's office had to try their hardest to stifle their laughter. It would not do for them to reveal their positions so easily, after all.
Even if everyone in the office already knew where they were hidden...
The only one to react any differently was Ao. Thanks to his rigid personality, he had no idea what was so funny. However, since Mei was already upset with him, the reason still eluding him, he wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.
Alfonzo, Elicia, Cana, and Mei lightly bickered for a few more minutes while taking seats on the guest couch in the office before Mei's expression changed, and she got down to business. Seeing that, Alfonzo, Elicia, and Cana also shifted into wizarding mode and prepared to hear what Mei wanted from them.
"I'm sure you're wondering why, if the request was to upgrade the training grounds, I asked for two more wizards to accompany Alfonzo, correct?" Mei asked while steepling her fingers in front of her while her elbows rested on her desk.
"Yeah, I was actually wondering about that." Cana replied with a nod.
"It's quite simple." Mei replied. "Fairy Tail's S-Class wizards are some of the strongest wizards on Ishgar. On top of that, it's a well-known fact that you all have some of the best detection abilities, as well. And as it just so happens, the Shinobi of the Mist are specialized in assassination."
"Ah! I get it now." Elicia exclaimed. "So, you want us to be training partners for you ninjas, right? Like... Letting them try to assassinate us while we're in the village."
"Exactly." Mei replied with a smile and a nod. "It seems that not all the rumors about Fairy Tail's wizards are true. You figured it out with such a little hint."
"You're talking about Fairy Tail wizards being dumber than average, right?" Alfonzo asked while smiling wryly. "Unfortunately, that one's true. There are only a few of us who actually use their heads for anything more than headbutts... Unfortunately."
Hearing that, Mei's smile froze. Then, she slowly opened her mouth in surprise. And when she saw Cana turning away in embarrassment, she did not know what to say in response.
"Anyway, you're right about us being pretty good at detecting presences." Alfonzo added casually. A moment later, however, his eyes narrowed while he continued in a sharp tone. "But using us assassination targets is a bit much, isn't it? I wouldn't want to accidentally destroy the entire village if either Lici or Cana got hurt, you know?"
At the same time, Alfonzo flared his magic power in a show of dominance, causing Ao and the four Anbu to shudder. Mei, on the other hand, snapped out of her daze. She then began waving her hands frantically to calm Alfonzo down.
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Mei said quickly. "You know I would never let that happen. I've given strict orders for the Shinobi training with you all to refrain from inflicting any injuries. At the very most, you would only find a kunai or tanto pressed against your neck, back, or chest if they were able to succeed."
Despite being the Village Hidden in the Mist's most powerful ninja, Mei was under no illusion that she would be able to stop Alfonzo if he wanted to do something to the village. On top of that, just as she said, she never had any intention of bringing harm to any of the wizards she hired.
'He's really protective of his women.' Mei thought to herself while her cheeks were dusted pink as Alfonzo reeled in his magic power. 'He's definitely perfect husband material. He's strong, protective, knows how to cook, and rich. Yes, I have to seal the deal while he's in the village for the next few weeks.'
After having that thought, Mei shot a death glare at Ao, who was standing guard by the door, causing the veteran Jonin to shiver once again.
"I see." Alfonzo replied, nodding in understanding. He then exchanged glances with Elicia and Cana. And when he received nods in return, he turned back to Mei and continued. "Well, I guess that won't be a problem. The pay mentioned on the request is enough, too."
"Good." Mei replied with a smile. "Then, I look forward to working with you. I'm sure my Shinobi will improve tremendously, as well."
"Or... Spend weeks in the hospital." Elicia muttered.
"What do you mean?" Mei asked in a confused tone.
Instead of replying, Elicia turned to look at Alfonzo, who was sighing helplessly. Meanwhile, Cana was shivering excitedly while staring at Alfonzo, as well.
"*sigh* I assume you want us to be in our natural states during this training, right?" Alfonzo asked in a resigned tone.
"Yes?" Mei asked, her confusion not fading at all.
"I thought so." Alfonzo replied while slumping his shoulders. He then turned to Cana, his tone turning even more helpless. "Then... Though I'm really afraid to say this, Cana..."
"Go on, say it." Cana said with barely restrained excitement while reaching for her card holder.
"Do I have to?" Alfonzo asked in a defeated tone.
"I know how you feel, Fonzie." Elicia said while patting Alfonzo's shoulder sympathetically. "But it has to be done. We'll just have to deal with the consequences. Let's just hope Mei doesn't ban us from ever coming back."
Not following the conversation, Mei tilted her head in confusion, the gesture much cuter than either Alfonzo or Elicia expected. Meanwhile, Cana's hand was hovering over her card holder, twitching excitedly from time to time as she waited for Alfonzo to say the words she was waiting for.
"*Sigh* I guess you're right, Lici." Alfonzo said, his resignation reaching its peak. He then turned to Mei with a sad look in his eyes. "Just don't hate us if half the village is destroyed while we're here."
"What are you---?" Mei began to ask.
"Cana, since Mei wants us to be natural...." Alfonzo said, cutting off Mei's question.
"Yes!" Cana cheered, her eyes shining brightly in anticipation.
"You can drink on this quest." Alfonzo continued.
Immediately, Cana's hand, which was hovering near her card holder, shot into the holder and gripped a card... Her [Storage Card]. Then...
*Poof!*
*Gulp!* *Gulp!* *Gulp!* *Gulp!* *Gulp!*
... she summoned a bottle of tequila, popped the top, and began chugging from the bottle at an inhuman speed.
At the same time, Mei's confusion morphed into horror. Rumors about Cana's drunken state have traveled all over Ishgar. And as an organization who lives on information gathering, the Village Hidden in the Mist had heard all of the rumors and verified many of them. So, Mei knew exactly what this could mean for her village.
"Wait..." Mei said, regret heavily coloring her tone.
"Don't bother, Mei." Elicia said in a sympathetic tone. "It's too late. She won't stop drinking until it's time for her next quest. Just give up."
"At the very least, Cana has never accidentally killed anyone while she was drunk." Alfonzo added. "The village's buildings, though... All I can say is... My condolences."
*Bang!*
The only thing Mei could do after hearing that was let her head fall and slam into her desk.
"But as consolation, why don't you join us for dinner?" Alfonzo asked, feeling bad for Mei. "You can come by our lodgings every day after work. I'll make sure that you can unwind with a good meal every day we're here."
"*Sigh* I guess that's better than nothing." Mei said while shaking her head. She then recovered her demeanor as a Kage and continued. "Anyway, the quest will officially start tomorrow. For now, Ao will lead you to your lodgings. He'll also help you get familiar with the public parts of the village. I'll come by for dinner after I finish work for the day, as well."
Like that, the first day of Alfonzo's, Elicia's, and Cana's quest in the Village Hidden in the Mist began. Unfortunately, there was no telling how much damage the village would take before Alfonzo finished upgrading all their training grounds.