Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
May 8, x785.
"Now that the gift giving is done…" Erza said while standing up from her seat on the couch. Then, she shifted her gaze towards Yoruichi. "Yoruichi Shihouin, I challenge you to a duel."
*Sigh* x 8
"And here I thought she had forgotten about that." Mirajane said while placing her right hand on her forehead.
"Did you really?" Ultear asked in atone filled with disbelief.
"Seriously." Lucy said. "You know Erza has a one-track mind. There's no way she would have forgotten about that."
"*Sigh* I know." Mirajane replied while rubbing her temples. "I was just hoping that was the case."
Meanwhile, Sui-Feng clenched her fists and gritted her teeth after hearing Erza's challenge. However, just as she was about to step forward and challenge Erza in Yoruichi's stead, Yoruichi stood up.
"I accept your challenge." Yoruichi said in a determined tone. "And even though I know what I did was wrong, I won't make this easy for you. In fact, if you're not careful, you'll lose… and quite badly at that."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Erza replied with a nod. Then, she turned around and started walking towards the door leading to the mansion's backyard. "Follow me."
Before Yoruichi could take a step forward, the rest of Alfonzo's girls stood up and followed Erza, looking forward to the show. Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who was still seated and just watching the ongoing situation, turned his head to Yoruichi.
"You'd better take this seriously, Yoruichi." Alfonzo said in a solemn tone. "If not, this really won't end well for you."
"I know." Yoruichi replied before following the others outside.
With that, Alfonzo and Sui-Feng, who was left behind with a gob smacked expression on her face, were left alone in the living room. A moment later, Sui-Feng shifted her attention to Alfonzo with an enraged expression on her face.
"How could you allow them to disrespect Lady Yoruichi like that?" Sui-Feng questioned angrily.
"Why are you complaining when Yoruichi didn't say anything?" Alfonzo asked in a bored tone. "Or are you saying what she did to me was okay?"
As soon as Alfonzo finished speaking, Sui-Feng was ready to let her anger answer his question. However, before she could speak, Alfonzo continued.
"Keep in mind, your answer will determine the way you leave this room." Alfonzo said in a much colder tone while exuding a bit of his killing intent.
Immediately, Sui-Feng's mouth snapped shut and she only stared at Alfonzo angrily.
"Look, I know you respect Yoruichi above all else." Alfonzo said in a significantly gentler tone. "But not everyone sees her the same way you do. The fact of the matter is that she did something wrong. And those girls are not happy about it. Still, they are trying to get to know her, despite what it looks like."
"But Lady Yoruichi doesn't deserve to be treated this way.!" Sui-Feng shouted.
"In your mind, she doesn't." Alfonzo replied as he stood from the couch. "But she did something unforgivable in the minds of those girls. So, the fact that they haven't attacked her on sight is something you should be grateful for. Because no matter how strong Yoruichi is, she's not strong enough to fight six S-Class wizards and two A-Class wizards who can put up a fight against an S-Class. And that's not including me."
"Do you really think I would allow Lady Yoruichi to fight alone in a situation like that?" Sui-Feng asked while clutching the hilt of her wakizashi.
In the next instant, Alfonzo's magic power pressure and killing intent flooded the living room
"That's not the real question here." Alfonzo said coldly. "The question is, is there anything you could do about it?"
After feeling Alfonzo's pressure and killing intent, Sui-Feng's grip on her wakizashi loosened subconsciously. ON top of that, she felt her knees getting weak, as if she would kneel at any moment. However, before her knees could give out, Alfonzo retracted his pressure.
"Look, there's something I learned when I was very young. Perhaps you should think about it." Alfonzo said as he started walking towards the back door. Then, just before walking through it, he continued. "Respect is earned, not given. And Yoruichi has done nothing to earn those girls' respect. In fact, she actively destroyed any budding respect her reputation might have earned her."
With that, Alfonzo walked through the back door. Then, he flared his magic power to activate the sigils surrounding the training ground he built in the backyard.
Meanwhile, as soon as Alfonzo left the house, Sui-Feng's legs finally gave out and she slumped to the floor.
"How can someone so young have so much magic power?" Sui-Feng asked to no one in particular. "He's only a little weaker than Master Tsunade. But I wouldn't doubt it if he one day caught up to Captain Unohana."
A moment later, like a whisper on the wind, Sui-Feng heard Alfonzo's voice in her ears.
"Respect. Learn it. Earn it. And return it. That's something my mother used to say all the time before she was killed."
Meanwhile, as Alfonzo and Sui-Feng spoke in the living room, Erza led Yoruichi and the other girls out to the training grounds past the sports courts and the pool.
Here we are." Erza said as she stopped next to a number of poles impaling the ground.
All the poles were of different heights and thicknesses. Which made sense, since they were used for balance and coordination training. As for the area around the poles, it had been flattened long ago. And the reason was simple, Erza and Mirajane used to get into fights all the time. So, whenever they were visiting Alfonzo and Elicia, they would fight around the poles whenever they got into it.
But ever since Mirajane's change in attitude three years ago, the place had not been used for much more than light sparring. But today, it will be used for its intended purpose, once again.
"I see." Yoruichi said as she took off the long-sleeved orange shirt she usually wore, revealing a sleeveless, backless kimono style blouse, a yellow sash tied around her waist, and tight black pants.
"Well then, shall we begin?" Erza asked as she [Requipped] into her [Heart Kreuz Armor] with her [Soul Armament] sheathed on her hip.
"Let's." Yoruichi replied simply as she vanished from where she stood with a [Flash Step].
"Holy crap, she's fast." Marin exclaimed, barely able to keep up with Yoruichi's speed even with her [Magic Power Detection] expanded.
"She really is." Sun replied with a solemn expression on her face.
"Wel, that's not surprising." Elicia replied. "I wouldn't be surprised if she was the fastest wizard on Ishgar."
"Are you serious?" Cana asked, stopping her hand before the liquor bottle it was holding could reach her lips. "Will Erza be okay?"
As if to answer her question, Erza calmly unsheathed her [Soul Armament]. Then, she thrust it behind her at high-speed.
A moment later, Yoruichi appeared less than an inch away from the tip of the sword.
"I see, so you can keep up with my speed with that weird skill Alfonzo and Elicia use." Yoruichi said as she flicked the tip of Erza's sword. "So, he taught it to all of you, too?"
"Indeed." Erza replied as she stepped towards Yoruichi and thrust her sword once again.
"I see." Yoruichi replied while stepping out of the range of Erza's thrust.
"Well, it looks like she should be fine." Cana said in a relieved tone as she raised her bottle once again.
"If you think that's Yoruichi's top speed, you're wrong." Elicia said calmly. "She's just getting started."
*Spurt!*
"*Cough* *Cough* No way." Cana said while wiping her mouth with the back of her free hand. "You can't be serious."
A moment later, Yoruichi once again vanished from sight thanks to her speed, narrowly avoiding a slash from Erza's sword in the process, only to reappear on Erza's right with her right fist reeled back and her long ponytail trailing behind her.
Then, before the punch could land, a second Yoruichi appeared on Erza's right mirroring the first's posture.
"[Utsusemi]." Yoruichi chanted quietly as the two fists landed on Erza's abdomen simultaneously.
*Bang!*
"Gah!" Erza grunted as she was sent flying backwards. On top of that, she felt two impacts instead of one.
*Bang!*
A moment later, Erza slammed into the ground before rolling a short distance. Then, she pressed her left hand against the ground and forced herself up onto her feet. Still, she slid backwards for a few feet due to the momentum.
Meanwhile, all the other girls, other than Elicia, looked on with shocked expressions on their faces.
"What the hell was that?" Cana asked in a confused tone.
"Yeah, it was like he got hit by two Yoruichi's at the same time." Marin asked with her eyes opened wide.
"I guess that wasn't just hyperbole." Ultear muttered. "She really is that fast."
"She is." Elicia replied with a nod. "She's fast enough to leave tangible after-images. I'm not sure about her limit, though."
Hearing that, all the girls' expressions turned solemn as they continued to watch.
"*Cough* I guess it doesn't matter if I know where the attack is coming from if I'm too slow to do anything about it." Erza said with a cough.
"That's right." Yoruichi replied. Still, the fact that you were able to raised your left arm to block is impressive."
Hearing that, the girls looked at Erza's left arm instinctively. And what they saw were two fist shaped indents on her gauntlet near the wrist and elbow.
"Still, that won't be enough." Erza replied. "[Requip: Black Wing Armor]."
After the light of her magic shined for a moment, Erza was now seen donning her [Black Wing Armor]. Then, as soon as the light faded, her silhouette blurred as she dashed forward with the wings on her armor spread.
*Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!* *Swish!*
Once in range, Erza unleashed a flurry of precise sword strikes. However, like before, Yoruichi was able to dodge them. Though, the margin for error had been reduced significantly. On top of that, Erza's movements were speeding up with every strike.
"When did Erza get so fast?" Mirajane asked while following Erza's movements with her eyes and [Magic Power Detection].
"It probably has something to do with Astraia." Ultear replied. "I mean, you remember when she released her power to stop the fight in the guild a few weeks ago? Then, she slammed face first into a wall? I bet she started training intensively to control that kind of speed since then.'
"I see." Mirajane replied. "Makes sense."
At the same time, Mirajane clenched her fists.
'I won't fall behind her.' Mirajane thought. 'Just wait until my [Soul Armament] awakens, I'll finally surpass you, Erza.'
Meanwhile, Erza was getting closer and closer to landing a hit on Yoruichi. On top of that, she was able to evade, block, or parry any of the punches or kicks Yoruichi countered with.
Then, during one exchange, Yoruichi threw a front kick at Erza's abdomen, which Erza blocked with the flat of her sword. In response, Yoruichi added some extra force to her blocked kick to force herself away from the red-headed swordswoman. However, while Yoruichi's feet were off the ground, Erza's eyes glinted.
"[Black Wing: Moon Flash]." Erza chanted as the wings on her armor flapped strongly.
In the next instant, Erz's silhouette blurred once again. Then, she appeared behind Yoruichi having just slashed her sword. A moment later, a cross-shaped tear appeared on Yoruichi's blouse.
"Wow, she almost got her!" Marin exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah, she made me use my top-speed to evade that one." Yoruichi said as she appeared in front of Erza with her left arm extended to the side. "[Taketonbo]."
*Bang!*
Then, before anyone understood what was going on, Erza slammed onto the ground, back first.
"*Cough*" Upon impact, Erza coughed as the wind was knocked out of her.
At the same time, the Yoruichi with damage clothing faded away. And when the girls saw that, they could not help but gawk in amazement. Meanwhile, the real Yoruichi, who had just thrown Erza, stood over her while twirling her left side bang around her finger.
'Damn, that was a lot closer than I thought.' Yoruichi said as she made a small blade of magic power on one of her fingers to discreetly cut a small amount of hair from her bang. 'It's a good thing no one noticed that my bangs were uneven.'
"Yeah, trimming your bangs is probably a good idea, Yoruichi." Alfonzo said as if he had been waiting just to prove Yoruichi's thoughts wrong. "It would have looked pretty awkward if your side bangs were uneven, after all."
With that, Alfonzo drew everyone's attention as he walked towards the group watching the duel.
"*Sigh* It wouldn't have killed you to keep that to yourself, would it?" Yoruichi asked with a wry smile on her face.
"Nope, it sure wouldn't have." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "but no one would have known how close to losing you were if I didn't say it."
Then, Alfonzo's expression became serious as he continued.
"Like I told you before, you better take this seriously or you'll lose." Alfonzo said sternly. Then, he pointed towards Erza, who was picking herself up from the ground. "On top of that, as a warrior, she deserves that much respect."
Hearing that, Yoruichi turned her attention to Erza, who was still staring at her with fire in her eyes.
"You're right." Yoruichi said with a nod as her expression became serious, as well. "I'll show you all I've got then."
With that, Yoruichi's magic power flared as her arms were covered in arcs of white lightning. On top of that, a pair of wings, also formed from white lightning, appeared on her back.
"Finally, you're taking this seriously." Erza said with a smile. "Then, I'll do the same. [Deliver Justice as Swiftly as the Wind, Astraia]."
In the next instant, Erza's magic power spiked to five times its normal amount. On top of that, the two pairs of folded fairy wings that served as Astraia's handguard spread, as well.
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Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
May 8, x785.
Once Erza's [Soul Armament] was released, Yoruichi vanished in a burst of speed like before. Then, in the next instant, she appeared in front of Erza with her right arm drawn back to throw a punch.
Calmly, Erza readjusted the position of her sword. All the while, she maintained eye contact with Yoruichi as she did so.
*Zap!* *Boom!*
In the next instant, Erza's hair fluttered as a bolt of white lightning shot past the side of her head and crashed into the property wall a distance behind her.
"She's even faster now." Mirajane muttered while narrowing her eyes.
"Yeah, and Erza was able to redirect an attack at that speed." Ultear added.
"Well, there's a reason why Erza is considered the second strongest woman n Fairy Tail after Ur, ya know." Alfonzo said. "She---"
"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Marin interrupted. "Second strongest woman in Fairy Tail? Erza? Not Lici?"
Not only was Marin confused by Alfonzo's declaration. Sun and Lucy looked at him with confusion written on their faces, too.
"*Sigh* It doesn't surprise me that Lucy doesn't know, she's only been part of the guild for less than a year." Alfonzo said while shaking his head. "But Marin, Sun, how can the two of you not know this already?"
Marin and Sun still had metaphorical question marks floating above their heads.
"It's because of Lici's [Camouflage Magic]." Cana said. "Because of that, most people, other than the requester, never even know that Lici took a quest."
"Yeah, and since she fights more like an assassin in most cases, no one knows how strong she is, either." Mirajane added.
"Oh~~~! That makes sense." Marin replied with a nod of understanding.
"Uh huh." Sun added while nodding her head, as well. "Now, I get it."
Meanwhile, even though their conversation was not very long, Erza and Yoruichi, with their increased speed from tapping into the elements, had exchanged nearly a hundred blows by now. ON top of that, the sound of explosions rocked the mansion's backyard. Despite the sounds, however, the training ground had taken no damage what so ever.
"Activating the sigils around the area was a good idea." Alfonzo said while following the battle with not only his [Magic Power Detection], but his eyes, as well. Then, he reached out and flicked his left index finger in Marin's direction. "Otherwise, it would have been even worse than when Erza and Mira used to fight back in the day."
At the same time, a stray discharge of lightning was redirected upwards before it could hit Marin.
"We weren't that bad." Mirajane said in protest. However, when Elicia, Cana, and Ultear stared at her with blank expressions, she shrunk back slightly. "Were we really?"
Before anyone could answer, their attention was drawn into the sky, where Yoruichi was descending with lightning concentrated on her right fist. Meanwhile, standing on the top of the tallest pole on the training ground, Erza was looking up with her sword surrounded by the wind and ready to strike.
"[Lightning Magic: Raijin's Descent]." Yoruichi chanted as the lightning wings on her back pushed her speed even further.
"[Echo Step]." Erza also chanted as the wind swirled around her violently.
A moment later, Yoruichi's fist slammed into the pole Erza had been using as a foot hold. However, Erza was no longer standing in that location. Instead, she was hovering in the air an arm's length away from Yoruichi with her sword raised.
"[Hurricane]." Erza chanted as she slashed her sword downwards.
While Yoruichi was able to evade Erza's slash by slightly shifting her body, the wind surrounding the sword quickly created a twister of spinning wind blades around Yoruichi. Then, as soon as Erza withdrew her sword, the twister began to contract around its target.
"How did she even avoid that punch?" Lucy asked in a confused tone.
"I guess that was too fast for you, huh?" Elicia asked with a smile.
"It wasn't just her." Sun added. "I'm not sure what happened, either."
Surprisingly, Cana, Ultear, Mirajane, and Marin all nodded in agreement.
"It was that skill she chanted before Yoruichi's blow landed." Alfonzo said while
Before Alfonzo could continue his explanation, however, his words were forced to a stop when the wind blades started shredding Yoruichi's clothes. And although he would admit that he enjoyed the sight of Yoruichi's clothing disappearing slowly, that was not what stopped his explanation.
Instead, it was the fact that no matter what Yoruichi tried, she could not break the column of deadly wind blades.
"You should get ready to step in, Fonzie." Elicia, who had moved to Alfonzo's side during the battle, whispered so that only Alfonzo could hear her. "If Yoruichi uses one of those moves, Erza could be in real danger."
"I know." Alfonzo replied with a nod.
At that moment, Sui-Feng, who had been sitting alone in the living room, finally made her way out of the house.
"Is… Lady Yoruichi being pushed into a corner?" Sui-Feng asked in a disbelieving tone.
However, before anyone could respond, the situation on the battlefield changed. Before her magic power ran out and her defenses were breached, Yoruichi decided to break out of Erza's attack with brute force.
"[Lightning Magic: Shunkō: Raijū Senkei]." Yoruichi chanted as the lightning wings on her back formed a circle of electrical energy above her head.
In the next instant, a column of condensed lightning was fired towards Erza, ripping through the twister of wind blades and dispersing it in the process. Meanwhile, Erza had raise her sword with the wind swirling around its blade once again. On top of that, she was pushing her magic power to its limit.
"[Gale Cutter]." Erza chanted as she swung Astraia down at the incoming attack, intending to split it in half.
*Screech~~~~~!*
Although Erza's timing was perfect, Yoruichi's condensed lightning column was stronger than she expected. As a result, Erza's sword was halted while the collision of lightning and wind made a high-pitched grinding sound that echoed around the area.
"That sound is awful." Mirajane said while covering her ears with her hands.
'I can't stop it.' Erza thought to herself as she continued pushing against Yoruichi's attack.
["I told you to evade rather than face it head on."] Astraia replied. ["Although I'm certain you will get there, you are not at a level where you can destroy attacks of this caliber with your sword."]
'I understand that.' Erza said as she was slowly being force backwards by the column of lightning. 'But I wanted to see how far I had to go to reach her.'
["Your recklessness will get you killed someday."] Astraia said in an exasperated tone.
'You're wrong.' Erza replied while shaking her head internally. 'Had this been a battle to the death, I would have never tried something so reckless. Instead, I would have evaded as you suggested. But since it's not, I pushed myself to counterattack. Because I knew there was someone who could get me out of this situation.'
"Alright ladies, I think that's enough." Alfonzo said as he appeared next to Erza with his left hand touching Yoruichi's lightning column. "You're disturbing the neighbors."
With that, Alfonzo raised his left hand to the sky. And with that action, the column of lightning was redirected upwards, allowing Erza to disengage safely.
"Since I had to step in, I think we can all agree that Yoruichi is the winner of this duel." Alfonzo said as he slowly lowered himself to the ground.
"*Sigh* Indeed, I admit defeat." Erza added while lowering herself alongside Alfonzo.
"That was significantly more difficult than I expected." Yoruichi said as she dispersed the lightning of her [Shunkō] spell. Then, as she jumped down from the top of the pole she was standing on, she continued. "I guess I should go see Master Unohana and ask her to train me from the ground up. Underestimating one's opponent is not a habit I want to get into."
"Lady Yoruichi." Sui-Feng said as she approached Yoruichi with her discarded shirt. "Are you alright? Also, your hair seems to be a bit shorter. Did something happen?"
Hearing the last part of Sui-Feng's concerned questions, Yoruichi's left eyebrow began twitching involuntarily. However, when she heard the giggles from the other girls, the twitching became significantly more violent.
"Thanks, Bumble Bee." Yoruichi replied curtly as she took her shirt from Sui-Feng. Then, while putting it on, she continued. "I'm fine. But she was stronger than I expected."
"That's good to hear." Sui-Feng replied in a relieved tone. Then, she turned her attention to Erza. "Was she really that strong? Strong enough to make you use [Raijū Senkei]?"
"She is." Yoruichi replied.
At the same time, Erza was receiving the concern of the other girls.
"I think that's the first time I've ever seen you lose to anyone around our age other than Fonzie and Lici, Erza." Cana said in a slightly upset tone.
"That's not the first time she's lost to someone other than those two." Mirajane protested. However, she was completely ignored. "Seriously, I beat her once around five years ago… Hey, don't ignore me…"
"It's okay, Mira, I remember that fight." Alfonzo said with a wry smile as he started combing his fingers through Mirajane's hair.
*Tch!*
Several envious sounds of clicked tongues could be heard when Alfonzo consoled Mirajane. Still, the conversation continued.
"'I must admit, it's quite humbling." Erza replied while [Requipping] back into her casual clothes. "I pushed myself as far as I could. Yet I was unable to overcome her."
"Speaking of that, and what were you thinking trying to cut through an attack like that/" Ultear asked in a strict tone. "If Alfonzo wasn't here, you could have gotten yourself killed."
"I know." Erza replied. "And had Alfonzo not been here, I would have never tried such a thing. But I knew I could rely on him if things did not go the way I hoped they would."
"*Sigh* I want to be angry at you for putting yourself at risk like that unnecessarily." Ultear said in an exasperated tone. "But I can understand what you were thinking. I'd trust my life to any of you here, too."
"Nope, I'm still mad at her." Marin said with her hands resting on her hips. "Just because you know someone can get you out of a sticky situation, there's no reason to jump into one on your own volition."
"Yeah, Marin's right!" Sun shouted, sounding significantly more angry than Marin. "What if something happened and Alfonzo was a little too late? What would you have done then?"
Hearing Marin and Sun's scolding, Erza lowered her head in apology.
"You're right, I shouldn't be so reckless." Erza said in a sincere tone. "I promise, it will never happen again. Now, please hit me as recompense for my foolish actions."
"Um.. I really don't think that's---" Marin started to say while waving her hands.
*Bang!*
Before she could finish, however, Erza was blown away after Sun punched her in the face.
"What the…?" Marin exclaimed in surprise.
Not only Marin, but everyone in the backyard was surprised by what just happened.
"If you make us worry like that again, it won't be just one punch, ya see!" Sun shouted as tears overflowed from her eyes.
*Bang!*
On top of that, with Sun's shout, [Howling Voice] was activated, as well, thanks to her emotions being out of control. As a result, Erza was hit by a shockwave as she was thrown into the wall surrounding the property.
"Holy shit…" Cana muttered in disbelief.
"Calm down, Sun." Elicia said as she pulled Sun into a hug.
In response, Sun wrapped her arms around Elicia, as well while she buried her head in Elicia's chest and cried quietly.
"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Sun get so angry before." Marin said while she stared at Elicia and Sun blankly.
"Indeed." Erza replied as she strode back towards the rest of the group while rubbing the side of her face. "If I had to guess, she saw flashbacks of when Alfonzo lost his arm."
Hearing that, the other girls seemed to be enlightened. And although Sun had no deep feelings for Alfonzo back then, she certainly did now after more than four years. And she had developed similarly deep feelings with all those here, as well. So, the thought of Erza getting hurt made her lose it.
"Wait, what's this about Alfonzo losing an arm?" Yoruichi asked in surprise.
With that, Alfonzo and most of the girls turned In Yoruichi's direction to see her approaching with Sui-Feng in tow.
"*Sigh* Let's have this conversation inside." Alfonzo said. "There's no point standing out here to talk, after all."
IN response, everyone nodded in agreement with Alfonzo's suggestion.
"On top of that, I wanna crack open that bottle of cognac." Alfonzo said before licking his lips in anticipation.
Immediately afterward, Cana took out a card from her card pouch, stored the bottle of liquor she was holding inside the card, put the card back, ran up to Alfonzo and wrapped her arms and breasts around his left arm, and started pulling him towards the house.
"Yeah, let's talk over a drink." Cana said happily.
Meanwhile, the girls from Fairy Tail could only shake their heads while Yoruichi and Sui-Feng followed the rest of the group inside.
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Comments, Reviews, and Power Stones are always appreciated.
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