Chapitre 365: Movements in the Background

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.

May, x785.

Deep under the city of Crocus in a long-forgotten cave system, a group of five individuals were meeting. The most peculiar thing about the cave where they were meeting was the fact that there was an intact dragon skeleton on one side of the cave.

And sitting atop that dragon skeleton was a large, stone throne with a tall, broad-shouldered, middle-aged man with shoulder-length, golden blond, a long beard of the same color, and red eyes wearing a long white robe.

Meanwhile, the other four individuals, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, and the newest addition, Org, or rather Greed, who had been transformed into a homunculus after Bradley, or rather Wrath, introduced a Philosopher's Stone into his blood stream, were standing around the dragon skeleton.

"Has there been any news about Wrath's reappearance?" The golden-haired man asked in an eerily calm tone.

"No, Father." Lust replied respectfully. "Although we saw that he had been sent high into the air, we never witnessed him falling back to the surface."

"I say we catch that kid, Alfonzo Marcus, and force him to tell us where Wrath is." Envy said in an agitated tone. "And if that doesn't work, we can just grab one of his little girlfriends and threaten him with their life."

"That's an option worth considering." The golden-haired man, Father, replied while stroking his long beard. "But there are other pressing matters we need to consider, as well."

"What do you mean, Father?" Lust asked.

"It would seem that the information about you all has been revealed to the ruling bodies on the continent." Father replied. "To think that only two young people have disrupted our plans so much in such a short time."

"Then, what should we do about this, Pops?" Greed asked, sounding as if he could not care any less about the predicament the homunculi found themselves in.

"Just give the order." Envy growled. "And we'll wipe out those nuisances and their entire guild."

"We can worry about them later." Father replied. "If we're lucky, more than a few of them will be caught in the transmutation circle once we activate it."

Hearing that, Lust, Envy, and Greed nodded their heads in understanding. Gluttony, on the other hand, simply looked on with a blank expression on his face, leaving the others unsure if he was even able to follow the conversation.

"Speaking of which, how is the transmutation circle coming along?" Father asked. "According to the estimates, it should be almost complete."

In response, a shadow extended from one of the walls. However, unlike other shadows, on top of moving on its own, there were glowing red eyes and mouths lined with sharp teeth scattered throughout the shadow. And when those mouths moved, an androgynous young voice could be heard echoing through the cave.

"Father, there is a slight problem." The voice from the shadows said. "A part of the tunnel serving as the transmutation circle was collapse near Rosemary Village. However, it was filled with a seemingly living liquid metal."

"It was that boy again!" Envy shouted angrily.

"It seems that man, Lt. Colonel Hughes, really did figure out our plans." Father said. "Have Sloth clear it."

"Thats' the thing, Father." Pride replied. "No matter how much Sloth digs at the metal, it comes back together on its own."

Hearing that, Father's eyes began to glow subtly.

"It would seem something needs to be done about this boy, after all." Father said.

"Unfortunately, that's not all." Pride said, continuing to report. "Though, this issue is much harder to explain."

While Pride fell silent to compose this thoughts, all the homunculus in the cave waited to hear the report that even gave Pride pause.

"The section of the tunnel running under the village where Lust and Gluttony confronted Elicia Taylor has been closed as well."

"I would assume you have more to report, correct?" Father asked.

"Indeed." Pride replied. "In this case, it was as if the sides of the tunnel were pulled together... As if a hole was sewn shut."

"Sewn, you say?" Father asked in an intrigued tone.

"Yes, much like the way Gluttony's False Gate of Truth was sealed." Pride continued.

Once again, the cave fell into complete silence. However, that silence was broken before long.

"It would seem something, indeed, must be done about those two." Father said with a hint of irritation in his tone.

"Just give the word, and I'll go and rip his head off his neck." Envy growled in irritation. His irritation becoming more apparent, especially after hearing about the liquid metal that was injected into his body, almost rendering him immobile.

"Once they appear at a location inside the circle, I will have you all go and end their lives." Father said, bringing an end to the conversation.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Floating Cube Island.

"Damn that bitch!" Jackal shouted as he exited a device that recreated his body.

As Alfonzo and Elicia alluded to after the battle with Jackal and the homunculi in Crocus, just shredding Jackal apart with her threads was not enough to end his life. Like most Etherious, after being defeated, Jackal's consciousness was drawn back to Tartaros' base, the Cube, a floating island in the shape of a cube where the strongest Etherious reside.

"It would seem you failed your mission, Jackal." Said the voice of a young man. "To think you would have so much trouble with a bunch of humans."

Turning his head in the voice's direction, Jackal saw a young man with shoulder-length, dark purple hair tied into a large ponytail with messy bangs that obscured most of his face. However, his dark, malevolent eyes were completely visible. On top of that, he wore a disdainful smirk on his lips. As for clothing, he wore a black, tattered jacket trimmed with a white flame pattern over a frilly black shirt, a pair of white pants, and a simple pair of black boots.

"Those humans will pay for what they've done, Lord Mard Geer." Jackal growled angrily. "Just give me another chance. I'll bring in their heads."

"Pathetic." A female voice cut into the conversation before the young man, Mard Geer Tartaros, the leader of the Dark Guild, Tartaros could reply.

Snapping his head in the voice's direction with a scowl on his face, Jackal saw a woman with pale grey skin, an exceptionally large pair of breasts, and an hourglass figure wearing a tight leotard that emphasized her breasts even more, a striped jacket that covered her shoulders, arms, and most of her hands, that resembled talons, a pair of tight bands on her legs that extended down from her thighs to just above her bird-like feet, and an intricate helmet on her head that covered most of her face, excluding her mouth and eyes.

"You were defeated by humans." The woman continued. "You've brought shame to the name of the Nine Demon Gates."

"Grr!" Jackal growled angrily.

"But you were right." The woman said. "They will pay for what they've done. No human shall live to regret humiliating the Nine Demon Gates. I'll be sending Seilah, Keyes, Tempester, and Ezel to deal with them."

"What? Kyôka, are you serious?" Jackal bellowed in disbelief. "Those humans are my prey!"

"Someone who has already been defeated has no right to question my decisions." The woman, Kyôka, replied dismissively.

"Damn you!" Jackal shouted angrily as he glared at Kyôka.

"Actually, that won't be necessary." Mard Geer said, cutting into the conversation. "We have more pressing matters to attend to. We need to find the location of [Face], as well as the way to activate it."

"Understood." Kyôka replied with a respectful bow of her head.

And although Jackal's anger was not quelled, he calmed down enough to refrain from attacking Kyôka.

"I think we should contact that young woman." Mard Geer said while stroking his chin in contemplation. "What was her name again? Uh... Remembering the names of humans is so difficult. Ah, now I remember, it's Junko.... Junko Enoshima. She's the one that gave us the information about that ex-Magic Council chairman, after all."

"As you command, Lord Mard Geer." Kyôka replied respectfully. "I'll contact her, at once."

With that, Kyôka turned around and left the resurrection chamber without sparing Jackal a glance. Meanwhile, Jackal stared at Kyôka with wrath burning in his eyes. Even so, he dared not make a move on Kyôka for two reasons.

First, Kyôka was the leader of the Nine Demon Gates. In other words, in terms of power, she stood at the top among them. And second, Mard Geer was watching with an interested gaze. And Jackal was under no illusion that the most powerful of all Zeref's demons would stand by and watch an internal struggle take place among his forces.

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Pegasus Village.

In a village located near the Legal Guild, Blue Pegasus, there is an elegant hot spring enclosed by a bamboo building. This hot spring, owned by the Blue Pegasus guild is specifically used for the members of Blue Pegasus to relax.

At the moment, however, there are no members of Blue Pegasus in the area. Still, the hot spring was not unoccupied. Instead, there was a young blonde woman enjoying the hot spring all by herself.

"*Sigh* And it was such a good chance to have Zeref under my control." The blonde woman, Junko Enoshima, said to herself while letting all her stress melt away with a relaxed smile on her face. A moment later, however, her expression changed into something much more vicious. "And if it weren't for that bitch from Fairy Tail, this world would be wallowing in despair by now. It's too bad Acnologia wasn't able to wipe her and her guild mates off the face of the continent. Ooh~~~! The despair that would have brought to the rest of the guild would have been wonderful."

As she spoke of despair, Junko's expression changed once again. Now, instead of an expression filled with malice, she wore an expression filled with euphoria. On top of that, she began cupping one of her breasts while there was movement from her other hand below the water's surface. However, thanks to the milky color of the hot spring, it was unclear exactly what she was doing.

At that moment, one of the communications lacrima Junko kept with her at all times to communicate with her co-conspirators began blinking.

"Hmm..." Junko hummed after noticing the blinking lacrima. "I wonder who it could be."

Picking up the chain of communications lacrima with the hand that was previously cupping her breast, Junko looked at the blinking lacrima to ascertain the identity of the one trying to contact her. At the same time, the hand moving below the water's surface did not stop.

"Mmm~! It's Kyôka from Tartaros." Junko said in a sultry tone. "I wonder what she could possibly want."

With that, Junko injected a bit of her magic power into the lacrima. A moment later, an image of Kyôka, from the waist up was projected from the lacrima in Junko's hand.

"Kyôka, to what do I owe the... Mmm~! Pleasure?" Junko asked once the image was stabilized.

In response, Kyoka examined Junko's body. Then, she licked her lips.

"One day, I will turn you into a demon." Kyôka said with a sadistic glint in her eyes. "Oh, how I love transforming beautiful young women into demons."

"As despair inducing as that sounds, I doubt you contacted me for that." Junko replied with a radiant smile.

"Of course." Kyôka said with a nod. "I'm sure you are aware that Crawford Seam met his end before we could get the information about Face from him, are you not?"

"I am." Junko replied with a nod. "I would have loved to see the look on his face just before he died. The unwillingness... it must have been incredible."

"I'm sure it must have been." Kyôka replied. "However, because of his untimely demise, we were unable to get the information we wanted."

"And you're hoping that I can find out where Face is and what is needed to activate it, correct?" Junko asked.

"That's right." Kyoka replied. "And in return, we will gather the necessary humans for your little game."

Hearing that, Junko's eyes lit up with excitement.

"I'll be able to bring them to hope's peak, before dropping them to the pits of despair. The back stabbing, the accusations, the deaths... It will be nothing short of a trigger happy havoc."

"I assume that means we have a deal?" Kyôka asked with a smile, completely unconcerned with the fates of the humans who will be sacrificed in Junko's death game.

"Most definitely." Junko replied.

"Very good." Kyôka replied. "You will receive your humans after we get the information we want."

With that, Kyôka cut the communication.

"*Sigh* I can't wait." Junko replied as she placed the chain of lacrima back on the side of the hot spring. "But gathering the information Kyoka wants will be tedious if I do it by myself. I guess I should break Himiko out of prison again. Having her to assist me will make my job much easier. Oh, and I should really let Mukuro know, too. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to get the game started."

With that, Junko stood from her spot in the hot spring. Then, after picking up the chain of communications lacrima, she left for the changing rooms. And just like that, without anyone from Blue Pegasus knowing she was ever there, Junko left Pegasus Village to plan Himiko Toga's break out... again.

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Chapitre 366: Goodbye, Yoruichi

Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Mermaid Heel Headquarters.

May, x785.

After a day spent working on the first of Mermaid Heel's new training rooms, Alfonzo, closely followed by Ritsu, returned to the guild hall's main hall.

"Ah~~~! I'm hungry." Alfonzo said while stretching his arms over his head.

"I think you've earned a good meal after working nonstop for the whole day." Ritsu replied with a gentle smile. "So, what will you be making for dinner tonight?"

"Nice try, Master Unohana." Alfonzo said with a wry smile. "But I told you yesterday, I won't be cooking anymore… At least not for free."

"Tch!"

Hearing the sound of a clicked tongue, Alfonzo turned his head in its direction. More specifically, towards Ritsu.

"Master Unohana, did you just…?" Alfonzo asked in a tone of disbelief.

"Did I just… what?" Ritsu asked with a smile while tilting her head in confusion.

Although Ritsu was smiling, her smile gave off so much pressure that Alfonzo, although he was not intimidated, decided it was not worth it to push the woman in front of him any further.

"Nothing." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "I must have been hearing things because of hunger."

"I see." Ritsu replied with an approving nod. "Then, you should get something to eat. And while you do that, I'll let Tsunade know about the progress you made today."

"Sure." Alfonzo replied with a smile.

With that, Alfonzo and Ritsu separated. While Alfonzo moved towards the guild hall's bar to place an order for dinner, Ritsu moved upstairs to Tsunade's office.

A moment later, Alfonzo reached the bar. And when he did, he found Yoruichi sitting there with her left cheek resting in her left hand.

"Yo, Yoruichi, what's up?" Alfonzo asked casually while raising a hand to get the waitress' attention. "Hey, can I have a T-bone, medium rare, with a baked potato and green beans? Thanks."

"Sure thing." The waitress replied before taking the order back to the guild's chef.

"So, how's the work going?" Yoruichi replied while leaving her head resting against her palm.

"Just as I expected it to go." Alfonzo replied.

'Honestly, I could have this whole job finished in a few days if I wanted to.' Alfonzo mused. 'But if I did that, I wouldn't have the time or energy to work on my other project. So, I'll do this at a leisurely pace. Though, I'm sure Ritsu will report that to Tsunade, as well.'

And just as Alfonzo expected, Ritsu was currently reporting to Tsunade that he was not exerting himself fully. However, Tsunade casually dismissed it, stating that there was no hurry. Besides, the cost for the job would not change, either way.

A moment later, Alfonzo was pulled out of his musings by a rather intense glare. And when he looked to its source, he saw a beautiful young woman with long, honey blonde hair and pinkish-purple eyes wearing a white chef's uniform with a chef's hat staring at him with fire in her eyes.

'Is that Erina Nakiri?' Alfonzo thought to himself. {A/N: It's just a cameo. She won't get much many more, if any, appearances after this chapter.}

Breaking eye contact with the competitive chef, Alfonzo turned his attention back to Yoruichi.

"So, do you have any idea where Marin is?" Alfonzo asked. "I thought she'd be here by the time I was finished working."

"She took Wendy back to your house." Yoruichi replied. "Apparently training under Master Tsunade was more than she was ready for. She basically passed out on her feet after coming down the stairs a few minutes ago."

"Oh, got it." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "So, what's up with that bruise on your cheek?"

As he asked, Alfonzo pointed towards Yoruichi's left cheek, the one she was covering with her hand.

"*Sigh* That Marin has a hell of a right hook." Yoruichi said while rolling her eyes.

"So, I guess she told you the girls' decision, huh?" Alfonzo asked.

"Yeah." Yoruichi replied. "And she said I should probably expect a few more punches, too."

"Yeah, you probably should." Alfonzo said with a nod. Then, he continued in a much chillier tone. "Oh, and you should probably keep that little chihuahua of yours on a leash, too. Because if she turns rabid, I might have to put her down."

With that, Yoruichi lowered her left hand, revealing the large, swollen bruise on the left side of her face. Then, she pushed herself up from her seat at the bar.

"*Sigh* I know." Yoruichi said in an exasperated tone. "At first, I thought she was just watching her. But now, I can feel her killing intent from here. Marin was right, I really am going to have to cut her off if she doesn't get her shit together."

With that, Yoruichi vanished in a burst of speed. And somehow, she managed to leave the guild hall without the sound of any doors or windows opening.

"I gotta learn how to do that." Alfonzo muttered while waiting for his food to arrive.

"So, what happened between you and Yoruichi that's had her so mopey for the last two months?" A female voice asked from the seat next to Alfonzo.

"Hey, Anko, it's nice to see you, too." Alfonzo replied without even looking in Anko's direction.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure it is." Anko replied. "Of course, that would be more convincing if you were actually looking at me. Anyway, can you answer my question."

"Yoruichi hasn't' told you about it?" Alfonzo asked while glancing at Anko.

"Nope." Anko replied. "She always says that she'll tell me later. But later hasn't come yet."

"Then, if Yoruichi, someone you're clearly pretty close to, hasn't told you, why do you think I, who only met you yesterday, would?" Alfonzo asked curiously.

"Because I'm hot as hell." Anko replied cheekily.

"Yeah, you are." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "But I don't' see what that has to do with this."

"*Sigh* You're no fun." Anko replied in a deflated tone. "*Sigh* Yoruichi's my best friend. And I really don't like seeing her mope around like that. But if she doesn't tell me what's wrong, I can't help her with her problem."

"Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to help her with this problem." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "Trust me on that one. Besides, going behind her back to get information like this isn't exactly cool."

"Yeah, I know." Anko replied while leaning forward and resting her elbows on the bar. "I just didn't know what to do."

At that moment, the doors to the guild hall opened. And through them, Yoruichi walked in while carrying Sui-Feng by the scruff of her neck.

"And just what the hell were you thinking?" Yoruichi asked exasperatedly.

"Since that girl used her right hand to strike you, Lady Yoruichi, she no longer needs it." Sui-Feng replied defiantly. "For disrespecting you like she did, I think I'm being rather lenient."

"*Sigh* Marin was right." Yoruichi said in a tired tone. "I really should have disciplined you more in the past. You overstep your bounds far too often."

Hearing that, Sui-Feng opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"Lady Yoruichi, surely you are not serious?" Sui-Feng asked in a scared tone. "But I was only acting to protect your honor."

"Without any input from me." Yoruichi replied sternly. "The one you have sworn to serve."

In response, Sui-Feng could only lower her head.

"It's not like your little sneak attack would have worked, anyway." Alfonzo said, casually inserting himself into the conversation from his seat at the bar. "Marin started injecting her magic power into her weapon the moment you started leaking killing intent."

Hearing Alfonzo's words, both Yoruichi and Sui-Feng looked in his direction. While Yoruichi was just as amazed as always at Alfonzo's ability to detect magic power, Sui-Feng's anger started growing out of control.

"This is all your fault!" Sui-Feng shouted. "If you had just been grateful and---"

*Smack!*

Before Sui-Feng could finish her tirade, she was silenced by a slap across the face from Yoruichi.

"I've had enough, Sui-Feng." Yoruichi said angrily. "I don't know how you became such a fanatic, but the Shihouin Clan clearly did something wrong while educating you."

"Lady Yoruichi…" Sui-Feng whimpered with her eyes open wide in surprise while she covered her reddening cheek with her hand.

"We'll be returning home." Yoruichi said sternly. "I need to see that you are properly reeducated. And right now, I can't trust you to obediently return on your own. *Sigh* And I'll probably be punished for my stupid actions, as well."

With that, and without another word to anyone in the, now, silent guild hall, Yoruichi dragged Sui-Feng towards the stairs, undoubtedly headed to Tsunade's office to inform her of her decision to return home.

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Yoruichi get so angry with her little bumble bee before." Anko said with amazement in her tone. "You must really mean a lot to her for her to get so mad on your behalf."

"No, that's not it at all." Alfonzo replied. "But if you knew the whole story, you'd be pissed off at Sui-Feng, too."

"Damn it, now I'm getting even more curious." Anko muttered.

"Order up." A female voice said from in front of Alfonzo.

"Looking in the voice's direction, Alfonzo saw the young woman he had just identified as Erina Nakiri placing his order on the bar top in front of him.

"Please, enjoy your meal." Erina said while staring at Alfonzo with fire in her eyes.

'I think I lit a fire under the Queen of the Culinary world with what I showed last night.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he created a fork and knife with his magic.

Seeing Alfonzo creating his own cutlery, Erina could not help blushing slightly. In her bid to show Alfonzo who was the better cook, she completely forgot about silverware. Then, again, that's why waiters are the ones who usually serve customers, and not the chefs.

Even so, she watched as Alfonzo cut into the steak and took a bite.

'Hmm… It feels like I've been transported to a field of grazing cows and bulls.' Alfonzo thought to himself as he looked around the mental illusion. 'And they're all showing me such love, as if I was the one who had been taking care of them all their lives.'

As soon as Alfonzo finished chewing and swallowed the mouthful of food, the illusion ended.

"Damn, that's pretty good." Alfonzo muttered as he decided to try the baked potato next.

Meanwhile, Erina could only look at Alfonzo with mounting frustration. Even though it was clear he was affected by her cooking, his reaction was nowhere near as exaggerated as the reactions the girls of Mermaid Heel had to his cooking the night before.

And while Erina was brooding over her perceived defeat, Alfonzo had tried all the food on his plate. Then, he stopped to think for a moment. And once that was done, he shrugged his shoulders. Then he looked at Erina, who was about to return to the kitchen.

"You're really good at what you do." Alfonzo said with a smile. "Why don't you come work for me? I'll pay double… no triple whatever Mermaid Heel is paying you."

Immediately, Erina turned around with the flames of anger burning in her eyes. However, before she could say anything, someone else addressed him from the landing in the middle of the staircase.

"Hey, Kid. I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to poach my guild staff." Tsunade said as she, Ritsu, Yoruichi, and Sui-Feng climbed down the stairs.

"She's a fucking awesome cook." Alfonzo replied with a shrug as he turned towards Tsunade. "Can you blame me for trying?"

"Even if you're one of the richest men on the continent, do you really think she'll gain more prestige in the culinary world by becoming your personal chef than working as the head chef in a popular guild. Or were you trying to poach her for Fairy Tail?"

"Nope." Alfonzo replied with a smile. "But trust me, accepting my offer would get her much more prestige than working here."

"Oh really?" Tsunade asked while crossing her arms under her breasts, emphasizing them more than they already were. "And just what kind of offer is that?"

"That's a secret." Alfonzo replied as he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a business card.

Then, Alfonzo placed the business card on the bar top with its information pointed towards Erina. At the same time, he used his hand and [Metal Magic] to shield it from everyone else's eyes.

Scoffing at Alfonzo's attempt to be mysterious, Erina looked down at the business card, prepared to mock him publicly for trying to poach her. However, when she saw what was printed on it, her eyes widened in surprise.

'Sixth Sense Holdings. Alfonzo Marcus, Owner and CEO.' Erina read silently before raising her head and staring at Alfonzo in disbelief.

A moment later, Erina slowly walked back to the bar. Then, she picked up the business card with that same amazed expression on her face.

"You don't need to respond now." Alfonzo said with a smile. "But you should give it some consideration."

In response, Erina only nodded her head absent-mindedly before returning to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Tsunade could only stare at Alfonzo with an annoyed glare. At the same time, Yoruichi and Anko watched him with interest and curiosity. Ritsu, on the other hand, watched the entire exchange with an amused gaze. Then, there was Sui-Feng, who was leaking so much killing intent that the rest of the guild hall was completely silent.

"Could you get her to reel that shit in?" Alfonzo said as he returned to eating his dinner. "It's making the food taste bad."

Instead of responding, Yoruichi chopped Sui-Feng on the back of her neck, knocking her unconscious. Although Alfonzo did not say anything, it was clear that if she did not do something about Sui-Feng, he would have. And he had no intension of being so gentle.

"Anyway, I'll be taking her back home." Yoruichi said as she slung Sui-Feng over her shoulder. "I don't know when I'll be back, but I'll miss you, Alfonzo."

"Have a safe trip." Alfonzo replied without looking in Yoruichi's direction. "And for both of your sakes, I hope the two of you improve while you're away."

"Yeah, I'll do my best." Yoruichi replied with a sad smile.

A moment later, Yoruichi [Flash Stepped] next to Alfonzo, kissed him on the cheek, then [Flash Stepped] to the guild hall's main entrance.

"Goodbye for now, everyone." Yoruichi said with her back turned to the rest of the guild.

"And I really am sorry for what I did, Alfonzo."

Then, she pushed the guild's doors open and left without another word.

"Damn it, you never told me what happened!" Anko shouted as she stood from her seat at the bar and rushed after Yoruichi.

With Yoruichi and Sui-Feng's departure, Mermaid Heel would be weakened for a while. Losing two S-Class wizards, while one of them was their current ace, would do that to any guild. However, with talents like Kagura and the new training facilities Alfonzo was installing, Tsunade hoped it would not take long for Mermaid Heel to regain its strength. On top of that, when Yoruichi eventually returned, they would be even stronger than ever.