No Rest for the Weary

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Tatsumi Port Island. 

June 23, x788. 

The next morning, Alfonzo, Elicia, Alzack, Bisca, Takeharu, Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Yukari were gathered at the island's port in front of Sixth Sense.. Currently, the four Fairy Tail wizards were ready to go back to the mainland and the others were there to send them off. 

The night before, Mitsuru had finished summarizing the experiences of the Tartarus exploration to Takeharu. And with her meticulous personality, Takeharu did not feel it necessary to hear the story from the Fairy Tail wizards. So… 

"Just as Mitsuru promised, here is the letter of completion and the payment for your services." Takeharu said as he handed a rather thick envelope to Alfonzo. "we truly appreciate everything you've done for the Kirijo Group. There's even a bonus for all of you for dealing with Ikutsuki." 

"Don't worry about it." Alfonzo said with a smile while accepting the envelope. "It's our job. As for that Ikutsuki guy…" 

"We can't let bad guys like that do whatever they want." Elicia added, finishing Alfonzo's sentence for him. 

"Yeah, it's even worse because he was pretending to be such a good person." Alzack said with a slight frown., 

"Yeah, even with all our experience dealing with people, Alzack and I didn't even notice." Bisca said with a nod. "If it wasn't for Alfonzo and Lici, he would have been free to do whatever he wanted." 

"I'm just glad you were able to find out what he was planning before it's too late." Takeharu said solemnly. "Every time I think about what he had in store for me and the others, I can't help but get nervous." 

Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Yukari nodded in response. A moment later, Akihiko's expression turned into one filled with disappointment. 

"*Sigh* It's too bad I didn't get a chance to fight any of you." Akihiko said in a disappointed tone. 

"Akihiko, just let it go." Mitsuru said exasperatedly. 

"But this would have been a great chance to see just how strong I am." Akihiko protested. 

Yukari could only shake her had at Akihiko's antics. Meanwhile, Mitsuru glared at Akihiko with a hint of helplessness. 

"By the way, will Fairy Tail be participating in this year's Grand Magic Games?" Yukari asked in an attempt to change the subject. 

"Of course." Elicia replied with a nod. "We've got a championship to defend, after all." 

"Sigh* I really wish I could go." Yukari said disappointedly. "but school wont' be stopping just because the Grand Magic Games is going on." 

"Will any of you be on Fairy Tail's team this year?" Akihiko asked curiously. 

"No, not this year." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "Laxus can handle it." 

"Oh, that's right." Akihiko replied. "He uses lightning, doesn't he? I wonder how it compares to Polydeuces' lightning." 

"Don't be foolish, Akihiko." Mitsuru said sternly. "Laxus Dreyar, the grandson of the third master of Fairy Tail, is a Lightning Dragon Slayer. Your lightning won't even be able to touch him." 

"But Polydeuces was the son of a Sky God who wielded lightning in the old myths." Akihiko countered. "So, maybe his lightning could be special, right?" 

"That's only a legend." Mitsuru said. "Stop acting so childish." 

Hearing that, Alfonzo and Elicia each raised an eyebrow. Then, they exchanged glances. 

The reason for their behavior was the fact that a myth from Greek Mythology back on Earth was told in earth Land in some form. But they had no idea how true it was in this world. Even so, they were both thinking that it might be possible that because of Akihiko's Persona, he might have the chance to wield special lightning, like God Slayer lightning, or something. 

"Well, I've attended the Grand Magic Games every year since its inception." Takeharu said. "So, I'll be going again this year. And if you three would like, I can take you with me. I can even have a conversation with the school so that you won't be punished for missing class." 

Akihiko's and Yukari's eyes lit up when they heard that, before nodding excitedly. Mitsuru, on the other hand, only nodded calmly. Her father had made this offer to her in the past, as well. However, she did not accept. But since she now knew a few members of one of the participating guilds, she decided to accept the offer this year. 

"Then, I guess we'll see you in Crocus in a few days." Bisca said with a smile. "If you have some free time, you can come to the hotel we'll be staying at to say hi." 

Then, they told the four Tatsumi Port Island natives about the hotel, which was actually owned by Sixth Sense Holdings, and welcomed them to come over to see. They even promised to introduce them to the other members of the guild, which included the team participating in the Games. 

"I'll introduce you to my Mar'e, too!" Elicia said excitedly. "I'm sure he'll be happy to meet you, too." 

"Mar'e?" Yukari asked curiously. "is that a pet, or something?" 

"No, he's me and Lici's son, Amar'e." Alfonzo replied with a smile. 

"And he's super cute!" Elicia added excitedly. 

Bisca immediately nodded along. Then, she stared at Alzack with an intense gaze. And Alzack knew exactly what that gaze meant. However, there was nothing he could say. He had been trying extremely hard recently. And only the heavens could grant their wish now. 

After that, the group said their farewells and promised to meet at the Grand Magic Games in Crocus. Then, Alfonzo, Elicia, Alzack, and Bisca boarded Sixth Sense before setting sail. 

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. 

June 27, x788. 

"*Sigh* I'm here again." Alfonzo said as he landed in front of the Leaf Village's gate. "But I can't even stop to rest. After talking to Hiruzen, I have to run back to Magnolia, gather up all the people coming with me to see the Chunin Exam Finals, and rush right the fuck back. God damn it, I just wanna get some fucking rest." 

As Alfonzo said, ever since he left Tatsumi Port Island with the others, he has not had a chance to rest for more than a few hours. First, he spent a day on the ocean. Then, he immediately drove back to Magnolia after docking the ship at his villa in Akane Beach. Arriving in Magnolia around noon on the twenty-fourth, He then had to report on the quest to Ur, which took longer than he expected because of the strangeness of the quest. 

Still, he would have had enough time to go home and rest after that… If Mavis had not been present when he gave his report. As interested as she is in most magic phenomena, getting her to let him rest was a quest in and of itself. 

So, because of Mavis' enthusiasm, Alfonzo made it home around two in the morning. Then, he was forced to wake up at just after sunrise because Amar'e was being fussy and would not calm down until Alfonzo held him. 

Then, after putting Amar'e down for his nap, Alfonzo had to rush to Crocus to make sure all the Sixth Sense Holding Shops were adequately prepared for the Grand Magic Games. And after that, on the morning of the twenty-seventh, today, he flew from Crocus to the Village Hidden in the Leaves for his last errand before the Chunin Exam Finals. 

As Alfonzo grumbled, he walked through the gates of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And when he did, the gate guards, a pair of Chunin named Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane overheard him. And because Alfonzo had been coming and going form the village for so long, they recognized his voice immediately. 

"Alfonzo, haven't seen you for a while." Kotetsu, a man of slightly below-average height with long, spiky black hair and black eyes with a bandage wrapped across the bridge of his nose and wearing the Hidden Leaf's standard Chunin attire, said with a smile after recognizing Alfonzo. "I didn't think you were gonna make it for the Chunin Exam Finals." 

Hearing Kotetsu's voice, Alfonzo was pulled out of his thoughts. Then, he looked up with a smile. 

"Nah, no way in hell I'm missing that." Alfonzo replied. "If I did, Naruto and the others would be pissed way the hell off at me." 

"Hahaha! You really take good care of those kids, huh?" Izumo, a man of average height with brown hair combed down and covering the right side of his face and black eyes wearing the standard Leaf Chunin attire with a turtleneck that reaches his chin and his forehead protector worn like a bandana, said with a smile. However, he frowned slightly as he continued. "Even Naruto… Honestly, I don't' know why you waste so much time on that kid. Haven't you heard the rumors about him?" 

Kotetsu seemed to agree with what Izumo said. And that caused Alfonzo to shake his head at their ignorance. 

"It's because my first wife and I were orphans, too." Alfonzo explained. "In fact, most of my wives were orphaned, as well. So, if we can help someone in a similar situation to ours, we will." 

Hearing that, Izumo and Kotetsu opened their eyes wide in shock. Then, they tried to stammer out an apology. However, Alfonzo was not looking for one. So, he told them not to worry about it as he walked deeper into the village. 

Not long after Alfonzo passed the guard station, Yamato appeared next to him in a whirl of leaves. 

"Welcome back, Alfonzo." Yamato said with a smile. "How have you been? And congratulations on your marriage." 

"Oh, hey, Yamato." Alfonzo said with a smile of his own. "Long time, no see. And thanks. I'm sure my wives would appreciate your congratulations, too. It's just too bad you couldn't come to attend." 

When Yamato heard Alfonzo mention his wives, his eye brow started to twitch violently. While Alfonzo was marrying multiple women at the same time, he was single, and had been since the day he was born. Life just seemed so unfair. 

"Anyway, are you going to be here until the Chunin Exam ends?" Yamato asked, changing the subject before his jealousy made him say something he would regret. 

"*Sigh* No, I'll be heading back out as soon as I talk to the Hokage." Alfonzo said in a tired tone. "I'll be stopping by to see Wendy and Carla before I go, though." 

"Oh, does that mean you're gonna miss the Chunin Exam Finals?" Yamato asked. 

Alfonzo then explained the reason for his short visit. Meanwhile, Yamato accompanied him to the Hokage's office while they chatted casually about things that have been happening in their daily lives. 

"Seriously, you did a quest on an island where time stops for an hour every night at midnight?" Yamato asked with his eyes opened wide in chock. "I would like to see something like that." 

"Unfortunately, most people wouldn't even be aware of the change." Alfonzo replied with a shrug. "Unless you can use a special kind of magic, you'll be stopped with the rest of the island." 

"Oh, that's too bad." Yamato replied in a slightly disappointed tone. "Not that I could just go because I wanted to, anyway. I'd have to get permission, or have a mission on the island for me to go there." 

In response, Alfonzo patted Yamato on the shoulder. 

"Honestly, it's a lot more trouble than you think." Alfonzo said consolingly. "Just operating during that time put some serious strain on your stamina. I mean, I only had to fight at full power once for about five minutes on that quest. But I couldn't even get out of bed until past noon the next day." 

"Is it really that bad?" Yamato asked in a tone filled with disbelief. "Actually, now that you mention it, I'm kinda curious to see how strong you are at full power. I've heard Guy and Kakashi talk about sparring with you. But none of you ever used full power when you did." 

"Oh, we're here." Alfonzo said as the two arrived outside of Hiruzen's office. Then, Alfonzo turned to Hiruzen's secretary and continued. "Hey, can you let Lord Hokage know that Alfonzo Marcus is here to see him?" 

Nodding in reply, the man sitting at the secretary's desk stood up and politely knocked on the door. Then, when Hiruzen replied, he entered the office and closed the door behind him. 

Not long later, the door to Hiruzen's office opened once again and the secretary came out. 

"Lord Hokage has agreed to see you." The secretary said politely as he held the door open for Alfonzo and Yamato to enter. 

"Thanks." Alfonzo said with a smile as he and Yamato entered the office. 

After that, the secretary closed the door and returned to his desk to continue his work. 

"Alfonzo, it's good to see you." Hiruzen said with a grandfatherly smile on his face. "Congratulations on your marriage, as well. If it wasn't for the Chunin Exams and needing to be careful while all these representatives from the other villages were here, I would have come in person to witness your unions." 

WhenHiruzen said the word, "unions," like Yamato, his eyebrow started twitching. Although he was not a single dog like Yamato, as he had been married in the past, he only had one wife. And there was no way she would have let him marry another woman, let alone eight. 

"Thanks." Alfonzo replied with an amused smile on his face after seeing Hiruzen holding in his envy. "but I have a question to ask you. After that, I have to head back to Magnolia right away." 

Hearing that, Hiruzen as surprised. Even so, he gestured for Alfonzo to ask his question. 

"So, it's like this…" Alfonzo said as he leaned forward, rested his elbows on Hiruzen's desk, and crossed his fingers below his chin. "You originally told me that I could only bring three people with me into the village. But since it's time for the Chunin Exam Finals, I was wondering if I could bring some more. I mean, there were other people that helped train those kids. And they all wanna see them perform on their big day. So, I was wondering if I could bring them along, too." 

At first, Hiruzen was worried that Alfonzo would ask for something hard to do. However, when he heard that he only wanted to bring more people to watch the Chunin Exam Finals, he breathed easy. 

"That's not a problem." Hiruzen replied with a laugh. "During the Chunin Exams, the restrictions on outsiders visiting are lightened considerably. So, as long as they aren't criminals to the kingdom or the village, I don't see why they can't come." 

"Great. There will be a lot of happy people back in Magnolia." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "In that case, we'll be back tomorrow afternoon. I don't' know if you'll have to arrange an escort for us. But I'll leave that up to you." 

"I will." Hiruzen replied with a nod. "About what time in the afternoon do you think you'll show up?" 

"Around three or four, I guess." Alfonzo replied. 

"Then, I'll tell them to wait for you around that time at the Valley of the End." Hiruzen replied. "But if you're late, you'll have to come into the village and get them. Then, you'll have to go back to the valley and do the usual." 

"Got it." Alfonzo replied as he got ready to leave. "Then, I'll go see Wendy and Carla before heading out to get the ones coming with me tomorrow." 

"Alright." Hiruzen replied. "Then, I'll see you again when you come back. At the Chunin Exam Finals, at the very least." 

Alfonzo nodded his head before turning to leave, with Yamato following him. After that, Alfonzo went to the market to buy some ingredients. Then, he headed to the residence where he always stayed and cooked a couple of meals for Wendy and Carla before bringing one of them to the hospital. 

After giving Wendy and Carla the food, letting them know there was more at the house, and chatting with them for a while to see how they've been since he left, Alfonzo finally left the Village Hidden in the Leaves before flying back to Magnolia so he could let those who planned on coming with him know to start getting ready. 

"Damn it, I'm only gonna be able to get a few hours of sleep before I have to leave again if I wanna make it to the Valley of the end on time to meet the escort team." Alfonzo grumbled while flying through the skies of Fiore. "I'm so fucking tired."