Heading Back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Valley of the End.

November 1, x787.

Around two and a half months have passed since Amar'e was born. And his birth brought a wave of positive feelings to the wizards of Fairy Tail. Everyone was excited to meet the newest member of their family and enjoyed playing with the little bundle of joy.

Especially Little Elicia. She had decided that she would be Amar'e's big sister. So, she tried her best to teach him everything she knew about everything.

Naturally, this put Maes on guard. However, since Amar'e was only an infant, there was nothing he could do. Besides, he knew if he let his overprotective nature get out of control, he would have to deal with Alfonzo and Elicia. And even worse than the two of them, he would have to deal with Gracia.

Meanwhile, while taking care of Amar'e, Elicia, during her recovery from child birth, began practicing the magic power control exercises from the Village hidden in the Leaves that Alfonzo had stolen and copied from Danzo's base. And when she found out how easy it was to walk on walls and water with the assistance of her magic power, she was completely dumbfounded.

As it turned out, she could have been doing that for years. Her magic power control was far more advanced than what was necessary. However, since she never equated magic power to chakra, she had never tried it.

Along with the magic power control, Alfonzo, Elicia, Ikaruga, and Irene also spent a lot of time working on the hand signs employed by the shinobi. However, instead of using them to cast the Jutsu they learned from the village, they studied how the magic power in their bodies moved when they performed each hand sign. That way, they would be able to cast Ninjutsu and Genjutsu without using the hand signs.

On a side note, even though he was not supposed to teach anyone other than the four who first traveled to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Alfonzo also taught Laki some of the stuff he learned from all the information in Danzo's record room. Namely, all the [Wood Style Ninjutsu] Danzo had records of.

And Alfonzo could not wait until Laki had mastered all of it. Though, she probably would not be able to use the [Sage Arts] the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, was known for, he could see her putting her own spin on all of his Jutsu. Especially since even before learning [Wood Style Ninjutsu], she had managed to use [Nativity of a World of Trees] on her own.

Training was not the only thing the wizards of Fairy Tail did after Amar'e's birth, however. The Harvest Festival had come and gone, as well. And like the year before, the Thunder God Tribe claimed victory in the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament. Also like the year before, they were not satisfied with their victory, as Team Steel Threads did not participate in the tournament.

The miss Fairy Tail Pageant also took place earlier in the day. And this time, perhaps thanks to her fame after winning the Miss Fiore Pageant, Mirajane won. And as soon as she did, she walked up to Alfonzo and told him that she wanted to get married soon.

However, Mirajane was not the only one. Ultear, Marin, Lucy, and even Shizuka, made the same request. So, it was decided that Alfonzo would hold a grand, five-way wedding with them next year.

On top of the Miss Fairy Tail Pageant and the Battle of Fairy Tail Tournament, the Fantasia Parade also occurred on the day of the Harvest Festival. And like every year, it was a great success. And this year, Alfonzo and Cana, who had gotten married at the end of last year, were chosen to be the King and Queen of the Fairies. And all the members of Fairy Tail were grateful for it.

With Cana acting as the Queen of the Fairies, she had much fewer opportunities to break anything. So, there was a lot less work for the rest of the guild during the parade prep stage.

Then, the day after the Harvest Festival, Alfonzo finally married Erza and Sun. And like his other two weddings, the ceremony and reception were held in the mansion. Also like other years, Alfonzo sang during the two first dances.

For Erza's dance, Alfonzo sang "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green. Though, that caused their first dance to be a little faster paced than usual. However, that did not seem to bother Erza, as she danced rather enthusiastically.

The highlight of the evening, however, was the song Alfonzo sang to, or rather, with Sun. The two, both accomplished singers, sang a duet during their first dance. And the song was "spend My Life With You" by Eric Benét and Tamia.

The reception went on for hours after that. And Amar'e was the life of the party. Everyone wanted a chance to hold him. And Amar'e seemed to enjoy the attention. However, as an infant who was only a few days older than two months, he eventually fell asleep and was put to bed and cared for by the maids.

After the reception, Alfonzo began preparing for his return to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And on the first of November, the day to return finally arrived. This time, instead of bringing Elicia, Ikaruga, and Irene, Alfonzo brought Wendy, Saeko, and Rika. And as his personal attendant, Miyuki was also allowed to come with them, as well.

Although Alfonzo was only allowed to bring three additional people with him due to the rules stipulated by the village, he was allowed to bring an additional person because Hiruzen had requested that Wendy come along. So, Miyuki was added to the roster. On top of that, Carla also came, as she went everywhere that Wendy went.

And now, the group of six were standing around the S 600 and waiting in the Valley of the End for their escort from the village. And the reason for that was simple. Despite the fact that Alfonzo knew the way to the village, Hiruzen still wanted to keep it a secret from the others. So, like last time, everyone other than Alfonzo would be blindfolded.

"Are you sure they asked me to work at the hospital, Alfonzo?" Wendy asked, a bit nervous because of the responsibility she would have during this trip. "I mean, I'm not that good at healing."

"Calm down, Wendy." Alfonzo said while smiling gently and rubbing Wendy's head. "You've been helping in the infirmary at the guild, haven't you? And we've all seen how much you've improved over the last two years, or so. You'll do fine."

Because of Alfonzo's head patting, Wendy lowered her head with a blush on her face. And despite what it looked like, Wendy had not developed romantic interest in Alfonzo. She was only blushing because Alfonzo was still treating her like a child.

In the last few years, Wendy had not grown much. From 4'11" when she was 12, Wendy, now fifteen, had grown to 5'1". And she was still as petite as ever. Though, she had filled out her frame a little more. She had also developed more feminine curves. She had also started wearing her long blue hair in twin tails. In all, she had grown into quite the beautiful young woman.

*Smack!*

Seeing how embarrassed Wendy was, Carla, who was still the same size as she had been since the day she met the wizards of Fairy Tail, flew up and slapped Alfonzo's hand away from Wendy's head before landing and standing in front of Wendy protectively.

"Alfonzo is right, Wendy." Carla said while glaring at Alfonzo like a mother lion protecting its cubs. "You've improved a lot. You just have to believe in yourself like the rest of the guild does."

After the slight falling out Wendy and Carla had at Mermaid Heel's Headquarters and the subsequent heart-to-heart, Carla had lessened her overprotective nature towards Wendy. However, she was still hellbent on keeping Wendy from getting too close to Alfonzo… except for during meal time, that is.

Carla, though not in stature, had also grown quite a bit in the last few years. She had taken it upon herself to learn [Transformation Magic from Panther Lily. With her new magic, Carla had gained the ability to take a human form. However, because of the limited space in the magic vehicle combined with the fact that it used quite a bit magic power, Carla remained in her little cat form most of the time.

Still, she had trained in magic power and magic power usage extensively. So, she was now able to help Wendy when she took quests without the rest of Team Natsu. And the two have become even closer than before thanks to their shared adventures and struggles as wizards.

"Carla's right." Saeko said with a smile. "There were a few times that I would have ended up seriously injured if you weren't at the guild when I came back from a quest. You have truly become quite the accomplished healer and magic doctor, Wendy."

"Yeah, you've helped my team more than a few times, too." Rika added. "I don't know if Kohta would still be alive if it weren't for all the times you've healed him."

Like Rika said, Wendy had healed Kohta more than a few times after he returned from quests with Alzack, Bisca, and Rika.

Over the years, Kohta and Rika had been accepted as part of Alzack and Bisca's team, as they were both skilled in the use of magic guns. However, Kohta often ended up injured because he had been training with Rika in the ways of a knight from the Special Forces Unit. Meaning, Rika had trained Kohta in weapons other than magic guns. So, he often fought on the front lines with a spear or sword. And due to his inexperience in real fights, he had been injured quite a few times, some of those injuries being rather serious.

On a ppositive note, Kohta had lost a lot of weight over the last two years. And although he was not as fit as someone like Gray or Natsu, he was much slimmer. Though, that did have a downside, as well. For example, he spent a lot of money on smaller clothes. Not to mention getting replacements for all the clothes that were damaged on quests.

Hearing the encouragement from the others, Wendy clenched her fists in front of her chest while putting on a determined expression.

"I'll do my best." Wendy said quietly. "I won't let the guild down."

Seeing that, Alfonzo, Saeko, and Rika smiled at the younger girl. Meanwhile, Carla nodded her head in approval. Miyuki, on the other hand, looked towards the forest.

"master Alfonzo…" Miyuki said. "There are four people approaching."

After hiring Miyuki and the other maids, Alfonzo had made a point of teaching them [Magic Power Detection]. And thanks to their training in magic power control and usage, they all learned it quickly. They were all adept in its usage, as well. And Miyuki, who had activated her [Magic Power Detection] ever since the group exited the S 600 had just picked up some unfamiliar magic power signatures.

"I know." Alfonzo replied, though he did not seem to be concerned at all.

Not only Miyuki and Alfonzo had noticed the approaching presences, but Wendy, Carla, Saeko, and Rika had also noticed them. However, like Alfonzo, none of them seemed to be concerned, either.

A moment later, Alfonzo stepped away from the rest of the group. Then, he raised his hand.

"[Dynamic Entry]!"

*Bang!*

In the next instant, the group heard a shout from the forest. Then, faster than everyone other than Alfonzo and Rika could comprehend, a foot slammed into Alfonzo's raised hand.

"Hey, Guy." Alfonzo said with a smile while holding the foot that slammed into his hand. "You've gotten a lot faster since I left. How much more weight have you been training with in these few months?"

Just like Alfonzo said, the one who had attacked Alfonzo was Might Guy of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And he was so fast that everyone under the very peak of A-Class reserves could not even see him move.

"Alfonzo, my friend!" Guy said happily. "It's good to see you again. And it looks like you've grown, as well. Your youth looks to be exploding splendidly!"