Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
January 18, x792.
"Hmm...?" Irene hummed in interest while reading a newspaper in Mavis' office.
"I know that hum." Mavis said while writing a reflection for the Magic Council. "Sounds like something interesting happened."
"Indeed." Irene replied with a nod without looking up from the newspaper. "Apparently, a former State Alchemist who was imprisoned for killing some scientists during a war was broken out of Fiore's maximum security prison."
"Oh..." Mavis said with a complicated expression on her face. "It's the one Alfonzo mentioned, isn't it? Solf J. Kimblee I think his name was."
"That's right." Irene replied as she finished reading the article. She then continued while folding the newspaper. "Alfonzo said he mentioned Kimblee, the Crimson Alchemist, to Zeref when he ran into him on New Year's Eve. I guess he took Alfonzo's suggestion seriously."
"Yes... That's true." Mavis said as she set her pen on the desk. "I really hope the idea you and Izumi came up about using [Seith Magic] to gather wandering human souls for the Philosopher Stone works. If it doesn't, Zeref's invasion will be even more ruthless than before."
"Theoretically, it should be fine." Irene said as she laid the newspaper on the coffee table. "But neither of us tested it. Messing with souls isn't something that either of us want to get into. Edward has done it before, but that was a drastic measure. He doesn't want to do it either."
"I see." Mavis replied in an uncertain tone. "Well, I guess the only thing we can do is wait and pray."
"Yes, that's all we can do." Irene replied while standing up from the couch. She then walked over to the wine cabinet in the corner of the office and began looking at the bottles on display. "Anyway, why don't we have a drink? It should help you relax."
"You're just making an excuse to raid my wine cabinet... again." Mavis said while rolling her eyes. "By this point, do you even need to make excuses? Just replace what you take and move on."
Irene only smiled in response before opening the wine cabinet and taking out a bottle she's had her eye on for a while. She then materialized a pair of wine glasses in her other hand, popped the cork, and poured a glass for herself and Mavis.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Caelum, the Village Hidden in the Mist.
January 18, x792.
"Still can't believe they actually broke that guy outta prison." Cana said while walking through the streets of the Village Hidden in the Mist with Elicia. "Hey, Lici, do you think they'll kill him like Fonzie suggested after they get what they want out of him?"
"Who knows." Elicia replied with a shrug. "But that guy's kind of a psychopath. He enjoys blowing things and people up. Not like that guy from the Akatsuki, but he's still pretty out of his mind."
"Hmm...? Are you talking about the blonde guy Mira fought?" Cana asked while raising a flask with her name on it, a gift she received from Gildarts several years ago. "The one with the mouths on his hands, right?"
*Ting!*
In the next instant, the tip of a kunai struck the flask in the small space between Cana's fingers. Though, had Cana not raised the flask, it would have struck her in the chest, just missing any major arteries or internal organs.
"Yeah, that's the one." Elicia replied, seemingly not reacting to the assassination attempt.
*Swish!*
Though it seemed as if Elicia did not react, she subtly flicked her fingers. At the same time, the kunai that struck Cana's flask, before it could fall to the ground, was flung back in the direction from which it came.
*Clatter!*
A moment later, the sound of kunai and shuriken falling on the roof of a nearby building could be heard as the Kunai Elicia returned to sender had destroyed the ninja tool pouch of the ninja who originally threw it.
*Gulp!* *Gulp!* *Gulp!* *Gulp!* *Burp!*
Meanwhile, Cana, having raised her flask, chugged down nearly half of its contents before unleashing a positively unlady-like burp.
"I always wondered if that guy did more than just mold clay with those hand mouths." Cana said while lowering her flask. "You know... I could think of a few things a lonely guy would do at night with those things."
As she spoke, Cana moved her free hand faster than the naked eye could follow, pulled a card from her card case, and held it over her shoulder with two fingers.
"Nice try." Cana said without looking back. "But you gotta do better than that if you wanna sneak up on us."
Standing behind Cana with a card sharpened by Cana's magic power held to her forehead, a kunoichi was raising a kunai, her hand frozen on the way to placing the blade against Cana's neck.
On top of that, several threads were lightly wrapped around her wrist while their tips were pointed at her throat.
"Yeah, you gotta find a way to suppress your magic power more." Elicia added with a smile.
Hearing that, the kunoichi let out a sigh. She then slowly lowered the hand holding the kunai. At the same time, Cana put the card away while Elicia retracted the threads. Then, once she was freed, the kunoichi bowed at the two Fairy Tail wizards' backs before vanishing from where she stood in a burst of speed.
Meanwhile, as all of this went down, not a single civilian in the area reacted. After seeing similar scenes for the last ten days, they were used to it.
"These people sure do adapt quickly." Elicia said while looking around at the people going about their business without a second glance at the assassination training.
"When you're used to seeing people jump from roof to roof on a daily basis, I guess stuff like this isn't that hard to get used to." Cana said with a shrug before taking another swig from her flask. "More surprising than that is how fast they got used to the destruction of property."
Elicia could only give Cana a side eye. Because, unsurprisingly, all the property damage that happened in the last ten days was caused by her, and her alone.
"Well, they do... I mean did have two of the Tailed Beasts in this village." Elicia replied with a shrug. "And every time one of them rampaged, I'm sure the destruction was on a much larger scale."
"Ah! That makes sense." Cana replied with a nod of understanding. "Speaking of that, how long do you think it will take for the Three Tails to come back?"
"Who knows." Elicia replied while shaking her head uncertainly. "From what I've heard, it can take anywhere from a few years to a few decades."
"That's a lot longer than I expected." Cana replied. "Hopefully none of the other villages will get any ideas about the Mist with them missing one."
"If they do, Mei will probably hire us." Elicia said with a smile. "But we would probably only step in if a Jinchuriki actually showed up. I bet Natsu would love to fight a Tailed Beast."
"Natsu would love to fight anyone." Cana said with a deadpan. "Anyone strong, anyway."
"Fair enough." Elicia replied with another shrug. "Anyway, I wonder what Fonzi's gonna make for dinner. We've had a lot of seafood since we got here. And to be honest, I'm getting kinda sick of it."
"Me, too." Cana replied. "Well, I'm tired of everything other than crab. I can't get enough of that stuff. Plus, it goes so well with beer."
Elicia's only response to Cana's completely predictable answer was to roll her eyes.
"Anyway, let's hurry." Elicia said while grabbing Cana's arm. "The new shipment of silk is supposed to show up today. I wanna get there early to get the first pick."
"Why can't you just go alone?" Cana asked with a helpless expression on her face. "I mean, I love the clothes you make. But seeing the materials they're made of do nothing for me."
"Because I can't afford to leave you alone." Elicia replied while dragging Cana along. "If I do, there's no telling how much worse the damage you cause will be. And if someone accidentally breaks a bottle of booze, I'm afraid the Hidden Mist will disappear altogether."
"Oh, come on!" Cana whined indignantly. "I'm not that bad. At most, only half of the village would be destroyed. I do have some restraint."
Hearing that, Elicia came to an immediate stop. She then turned back to look at Cana with the blankest expression the taller woman had ever seen on her usually vibrantly expressive face. And when she saw that blank expression, Cana could only look away.
"You at least have the decency to look sheepish after saying something like that out loud." Elicia said while shaking her head. She then turned back to the front, and continued to drag Cana along. "Anyway, let's go."
"*Sigh* Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Cana said while allowing herself to be dragged along.
At the same time, Alfonzo was working at one of the village's many training grounds. However, unlike when he worked on the training grounds in the Leaf Village, his work was going a lot smoother. And there was no other reason than the fact that he could now use [Bankai], making his reserves and control even better than before.
"*Sigh* I really gotta stop taking jobs like this." Alfonzo muttered to himself. "These tasks are so monotonous."
["Well, at least it won't take several years like it did last time."] Bedlam said from Alfonzo's inner world. ["Plus, look on the bright side, you're probably gonna get to knock down Mei before you leave, too."]
["I don't even understand why you would want or need anyone more than Lici."] Riot said in an irritated tone. ["Is she not enough for you?"]
'Don't act like you don't know how the whole harem thing started.' Alfonzo said internally. 'Or are you saying that Lici was wrong?'
That actually left Riot at a loss for words. On one hand, he wanted to keep berating Alfonzo for not focusing on Elicia alone. But on the other, because the harem was Elicia's idea, he could not physically bring himself to say it was a bad idea.
["Simp."] Bedlam said disdainfully. ["If you're gonna make a protest, be a man and stick to it."]
["Shut the hell up!"] Riot shot back explosively.
"*Sigh* having my own Bakugo in my head is a horrible experience." Alfonzo muttered to himself while continuing his work.
At the same time, Alfonzo tapped his heel on the ground. In the next instant, a metal barrier rose behind him and stopped the torrent of acidic mud that came flying from the distance.
"*Sigh* Please don't use that on the training grounds, Mei." Alfonzo said without even pausing his work. "You could mess up some of the work I've already finished if you're not careful."
"Tch! Your sensory abilities really are something else." Mei said as she used the [Body Flicker Jutsu] to flash next to Alfonzo. "I don't remember the last time someone detected me when I was trying to hide my presence."
"What can I say?" Alfonzo asked rhetorically in a playful tone. "I'm just good at what I do."
"If it was only you, I could accept that." Mei replied with a pout while crossing her arms and pushing up her breasts. "But it's not just you... Most of the people in your guild are amazing sensors, too. It's not fair."
'She looks remarkably cute when she pouts like a little girl.' Alfonzo thought to himself.
["I second that."] Bedlam added.
["Lici's way~ cuter."] Riot said.
["Ignore the simp."] Bedlam said while rubbing his hands together.
["Fuck you!"] Riot shouted back.
["Hey, Alfonzo."] Bedlam continued while ignoring Riot's outrage. ["Have you thought about giving Mei a [Soul Armament]? I bet it would make her the strongest of all five Kage."]
'Hmph! You only want me to give her one so that you can pop her [Armament Spirit] if it turns out to be a bad bitch.' Alfonzo replied internally.
["And?"] Bedlam asked shamelessly. ["This and that can both be true at the same time."]
At that moment, as if Mei could tell they were talking about [Soul Armaments], she stepped a bit closer and snuck a glance at Alfonzo's butt. However, that also made her realize that his tonfas, Riot and Bedlam, were missing from the strap on his lower back, nor were they in his hands.
"Hey, Alfonzo, where are your weapons?" Mei asked curiously. "I don't think I've ever seen you leave home without them."
Hearing Mei's question, both Alfonzo and Bedlam smiled while Riot snorted.
"Oh, I have them." Alfonzo said as he opened his palms wide. A moment later, Riot and Bedlam's weapon forms grew from his palms before he closed his fingers around their handles. "See. There right here."
Mei's eyes widened in surprise. A moment later, however, she narrowed her eyes while staring at Alfonzo's hands, whose palms rippled when the two tonfas grew from them.
"Why was your skin rippling like that?" Mei asked curiously.
"I could show you... But I don't really want to." Alfonzo replied.
"Why not?" Mei asked with her brows furrowing slightly.
"Because I'm not all that easy on the eyes when I take that form.
"That form...?" Mei asked, her curiosity completely piqued. "Show me!"
"*Sigh* Fine..." Alfonzo said as he shifted into Upheaval's form, surprising Mei even more than seeing two tonfas grow out of a man's hands.
However, before Mei could start barraging him with questions, Alfonzo explained the concept of [Soul Armaments]. He also made sure to tell her that he would not supply them to her village. Though, he would not mind making one for her.
After that, the two continued to chat until it was time for Alfonzo to quit for the evening. Though, Alfonzo did wonder how Mei managed to free up so much time that she could spend most of the afternoon with him. She would even be coming to his, Elicia's, and Cana's lodgings for dinner tonight.