Chapter 372: Walking into a Trap
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Mermaid Heel Headquarters.
June 3, x785.
Deciding she was not comfortable with being alone with Ritsu right now, Tsunade made her way back down to the first floor of the guild. Unfortunately for her, Ritsu decided to follow her. However, there was nothing she could do about that.
"Alfonzo, Wendy, and Carla should be here soon." Tsunade said as she stepped onto the first floor. "And according to Anko, they should be bringing Marin's replacement, Lucy Heartfilia, along with them to meet the members of our guild she hasn't met."
"Hopefully she'll be able to get along with the girls in our guild." Ritsu replied. "Luckily, Marin seemed to be very outgoing and was able to fit in with them quite easily."
"Yeah, I hope so, too." Tsunade said with a nod of agreement.
A few moments later, after Tsunade and Ritsu took a seat, the doors to the guild were opened. Standing in the doorway were Alfonzo, Wendy, Carla, and a young woman that no one recognized.
"That's not Lucy." Tsunade said with a slight frown.
"No, it's not." Ritsu replied with a gentle smile. Though, her aura was starting to turn dangerous.
As soon as Ritsu's aura changed, Alfonzo's head snapped in her direction with a wry smile on his face.
'Yeah, bringing an unfamiliar person with as much magic power as Virgo into another guild's guild hall without prior notice was probably a bad idea.' Alfonzo thought as he led the rest of his group towards Tsunade and Ritsu. 'But it's not my fault Lucy couldn't walk today.'
["Actually, it kinda is."] Bedlam replied.
["Yup, definitely is."] Riot added.
'Okay, fine. It may be partially my fault, but still...' Alfonzo replied while shrugging mentally. 'Still, since she came with us, there shouldn't be any reason to react like that, right?'
As Alfonzo's thoughts reached that point, he and the rest of the group arrived next to the table where Tsunade and Ritsu sat.
"Good morning, Master Tsunade, Master Unohana." Alfonzo said in a friendly tone. "How are you this morning?"
"Good morning, Master Tsunade, Master Unohana." Wendy and Carla greeted in unison.
"Good morning, you three." Tsunade replied casually. Then, she narrowed her eyes at Alfonzo as she continued. "So, would you mind introducing the new face? She's not the one you informed us about, after all."
"Sure." Alfonzo replied casually. "She's only here because Lucy isn't feeling well today. This is Virgo, one of the Celestial Spirits Lucy has a contract with."
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Tsunade, Master Unohana." Virgo said with a courtesy. "As Master Alfonzo said, I am a Celestial Spirit contracted to Princess Lucy Heartfilia."
"I see." Ritsu said as she retracted her pressure. "So, that girl Lucy was a [Celestial Spirit Wizard], huh? They are quite rare. I guess she is following in the footsteps of her mother."
"Anyway, like I said, Virgo will be here to take care of Wendy today because Lucy isn't feeling well." Alfonzo reiterated. "She should probably be here tomorrow, though."
"Very well." Tsunade said. "Well, now that the introductions are out of the way, Wendy, come with me. We'll start with sparring today. After that, we'll start our practical training in regard to healing."
'Does that mean she'll be doing the same stuff she had Sakura do in the anime?' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Like the shit with bringing the fish back to life?'
["That's not important right now."] Bedlam said, cutting off Alfonzo's train of thought. ["That woman looks so nervous that her breasts shrank by a cup size."]
Ignoring the part about her breasts shrinking, Alfonzo's gaze focused on Tsunade's face. And just as Bedlam said, although she was trying to hide it, Alfonzo could see in her micro-expressions that she was indeed nervous.
'Reading that book about reading people's expressions from the miscellaneous section in the guild's library was a good idea.' Alfonzo thought as his eyes narrowed. 'This is a skill I would have never been able to pick up in my past life.'
Meanwhile, upon feeling Alfonzo's gaze, Tsunade's nervousness grew. A moment later, however, she relaxed.
'Why am I so nervous?' Tsunade asked herself. 'Master Ritsu said she would take care of the payment, didn't she?'
A moment later, however, Tsunade's nerves returned in full force.
'But in return, I'll have to pay both her and the guild back.' Tsunade thought to herself as her face paled slightly. And as her thoughts continued, her face paled even further. 'On top of that, I'll have to train with her every night until she's satisfied with the discipline I've cultivated. What the hell does that even mean, anyway?'
'What the hell is wrong with her?' Alfonzo asked himself. 'At first, she seemed nervous. Then, when I glared at her, she got even more nervous. A moment later, she completely relaxed, though. And after that she got all afraid.'
["Maybe she drank too much."] Bedlam replied, sounding just as confused as Alfonzo.
["Who cares?"] Riot asked in an irritated tone. ["You just better hope she didn't gamble away all the money they were supposed to pay you."]
'Come on, Cuzz. Stop saying shit like that.' Alfonzo replied. 'You're raising flags, and I don't like it.'
If Alfonzo had known that Riot's words were correct, he would be handling this situation differently. Lucky for him, however, he had no idea. On top of that, he really wanted to believe in Tsunade. So, he was trying his best to push all Riot's speculations to the back of his mind.
Shaking his head to rid himself of the negative thoughts, Alfonzo patted Wendy on her head.
"Alright, Wendy. Work hard, and I'll see you after I finish working." Alfonzo said with a smile.
"Okay." Wendy replied while clenching her fists in front of her chest. "I won't let you and the guild down."
Hearing that, Alfonzo smiled brightly while Wendy, Carla, and Virgo followed Tsunade out to the training field.
Meanwhile, Ritsu watched the entire exchange with an amused smile on her face.
'It looks like Alfonzo must have known that Tsunade left the headquarters last night.' Ritsu mused. 'And considering that he had already gambled with Tsunade before and seen her abysmal talent, he probably guessed that she gambled away his money. Luckily, I've decided to take responsibility to not tarnish the guild's honor. I really didn't want anything to happen that could sour relations between our guilds any further after the mess Yoruichi caused.'
"Well..." Ritsu said as she stood from her seat. "I think we should get going, too. There's still a lot of work for you to do, right, Alfonzo?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Alfonzo replied as Ritsu's words pulled his attention away from Tsunade. "Let's go."
"Let's." Ritsu replied with a gentle smile. "And since you said Lucy isn't feeling well today, I would assume you plan to visit and check on her at some point during the day, correct."
"That's right." Alfonzo replied with a nod as he turned towards his work site. "When I break for lunch, I'll go check on her and make her something to eat."
"Well then, perhaps I should accompany you." Ritsu said, her gentle smile turning slightly mischievous. "I'm a pretty good healer in my own right, you know. Perhaps I could help her recover."
Hearing that, Alfonzo's eyes widened in surprise. Although he knew what Ritsu said was true, he could not let her see Lucy. Even though she could definitely help Lucy recover faster with her [Healing Kido].
"That won't be necessary, Master Unohana." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "It's only fatigue from that long drive she made yesterday. She said that was the first time she had ever driven that far. So, she just needs some time to rest."
'Now that I think about it, how does [Healing Kido] even work in this world?' Alfonzo wondered as he and Ritsu walked side by side. 'I mean, in Bleach, it was used to help restore spiritual power, which basically constituted a Soul Reaper's body. And with that, it would heal wounds... At least, I think that's how it worked. But let's assume it worked on the same principals in this world, restoring someone's magic power doesn't automatically heal their body.'
["Why do you even care?"] Riot asked in an irritated tone. ["As long as they can patch up an unwanted hole, does it really fucking matter?"]
["He's right, you know."] Bedlam added. ["Does the principal even matter?]
'Fuck off, you two.' Alfonzo replied. 'I was just curious. It's not like I was gonna dive in to all the details.'
"I see." Ritsu replied with a knowing smile. "Well, you should take good care of her, then. And tell her not to overdo it."
In response, Alfonzo turned his head to give Ritsu a reply. However, when he saw her smile, his own smile cramped slightly.
'Fuck, she knows.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'What am I talking about, of course she knows. It's not like none of the girls talked about their sex lives during the time she and the other four visited the guild. And there's no way they didn't hear them. It's not like they're as quiet as they think they are when they start their girl talk.'
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Shirotsume.
While Alfonzo and Wendy were getting to work for the day, Marin was walking out of town with the crew from Sorcerer Weekly for her photo shoot. And like most Fairy Tail wizards do while outside of Magnolia, she had her [Magic Power Detection] spread to monitor her surroundings. However, that's when she realized something was off about the newly hired make-up artist.
'That woman doesn't have a magic power signature. Marin thought to herself as she glanced at the make-up artist. 'I remember Fonzie telling us all to be careful about that. But for some reason, I can't remember why.'
While trying to remember what Alfonzo and Elicia told her about those without magic power signatures, she heard a voice in her head.
["Seriously, I'm starting to really think you're a moron."] An androgynous voice said from Marin's inner world. ["How do you forget something so important? Especially something that Fonzie told you?"]
"Whoa!" Marin exclaimed as she stumbled over her feet.
Naturally, that caused all the Sorcerer Weekly personnel to look in her direction.
"Sorry, sorry, I just lost my balance." Marin replied to the questioning stares.
'Hey, are you my [Armament Spirit]?' Marin replied excitedly. 'But I thought Fonzie said I probably wouldn't be able to hear you for a few more months.'
["You really don't listen to him when he says anything, do you?"] The [Armament Spirit] replied disdainfully. ["Seriously, you should stop everything when he starts talking."]
'OMG! You're just like his [Armament Spirit], Riot.' Marin replied. 'You're made from my feelings for Fonzie. Then, bumped up a few notches, right?'
["So? That doesn't change the fact that you should listen more closely."] The Armament Spirit] reiterated. ["He said you should be able to hear my voice BY the end of the summer. Not AT the end of the summer."]
'Yeah, I know that.' Marin replied. 'But I just changed you from an [Embryo] last month. ['Not even Fonzie heard his [Spirit's] voices that fast.'
["So what?"] The [Armament Spirit] asked. ["You're not Fonzie. Besides, he already told you, stop comparing yourself to everyone else. You're you, and you'll do things at your own pace."]
'Yeah, I guess you're right.' Marin replied with realization in her tone. 'Anyway, what did Alfonzo say about people with no magic power signatures.'
["He said you should be careful because only homunculi have no magic power signature."] The [Armament Spirit] replied in a solemn tone. ["In other words, they somehow knew you would be here. This is definitely a trap."]
Hearing that, it took all of Marin's will power to not let her eyes widen in surprise. She did, however, make the best possible choice in her current situation. Pretending to adjust one of the bracelets she was wearing, Marin injected a tiny amount of magic power into a crystal, which happened to be a lacrima, before continuing forward as if nothing happened.
The lacrima on Marin's bracelet was not just any lacrima. In fact, it was a communications lacrima. Though, it was not like other communications lacrima. Since its only function was to inform the lacrima connected to it of the sender's location. Meaning, it worked well as an emergency beacon.
Eventually, Marin and the Sorcerer Weekly crew reached their desired location for the shoot. And immediately, the photo team got to work setting up the necessary tents, umbrellas, and other things necessary for a successful photo shoot. And the make-up tent was one of the first tents they got set up.
"Alright, Miss Kitagawa, let's go and get you made up." The make-up artist, Lust in disguise, said with a smile. "By the time I'm done, the changing tent should be ready, as well."
Marin, however, did not move to follow Lust, which caused Lust to look at her in feigned confusion while the rest of the crew who noticed looked at her with genuine confusion.
Instead, Marin stood in place with her arms crossed while glaring at Lust. At the same time, she had placed herself between the homunculus and the rest of the crew.
"Miss Kitagawa, is there something wrong?" Lust asked.
"You can drop the act, homunculus." Marin said sternly as she separated her arms slowly. "Do you really think I had no idea who you are? You tried to kill Lici not that long ago, after all."
["Hmph!"] Marin's [Armament Spirit] Snorted. ["I was the one who knew who she was. You couldn't even remember why you should be wary, remember?"]
'Now's not the time for that.' Marin replied internally while continuing to glare at Lust.
At the same time, when Marin slid her arms apart, she hooked her fingers around the bracelets on her wrists. Then, they transformed into the two daggers Alfonzo created for her as she took her fighting stance.
["And why the hell aren't you using me?"] The [Armament Spirit] asked, sounding a bit jealous. ["Even though Fonzie created those, too. I'm better in every conceivable way."]
"Miss Kitagawa, what are you talking about?" The photographer for this photo shoot, a middle-aged man with slicked back dark green hair and a perpetually lecherous gaze, asked angrily. "Just because she's a new hire, doesn't mean I'll allow you to bully her like that."
In fact, the only reason Lust was able to join the crew of this particular photo shoot was because she seduced the photographer. Which did not take much effort. This photographer was well known for playing "the game" in the entertainment industry. His only saving graces were the fact that he was an amazing photographer and that he always kept his promises to the young women he slept with.
"*Sigh* Even though it's a little earlier than I had hoped, it would seem my identity has been revealed." Lust said with a malicious grin. "If you had just come with me obediently, no one else would have had to die. Unfortunately, you decided all their fates."
Hearing that, the rest of the crew was completely dumbfounded. Marin, on the other hand, did not reply. Instead, she pointed her daggers at Lust in preparation for the inevitable clash.
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