Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
May, x771
The next morning, Evergreen, who had been waiting for Elicia near the entrance to Fairy Hills, Fairy Tail's female dormitory, was currently stomping through the halls toward Elicia's dorm room.
"It's already seven in the morning, because of this new girl, I'm gonna be late for training with the others." Evergreen said, clearly annoyed by her tone.
When she finally arrived near Elicia's room, she did not even waste time knocking on the door. Instead, she turned the doorknob and flung the door open with force.
*Bang!*
After the door was stopped by the wall, Evergreen could see into the room. And when she saw Elicia, still sleeping in her bed with her thumb in her mouth, a vein on her forehead almost popped.
"Wake up!" Evergreen shouted angrily. "If I'm late because of you…!"
Evergreen stopped yelling immediately when she noticed that Elicia did not react in the slightest to her shouting. Then, she remembered something that the new boy, Alfonzo, told her last night before she and Elicia parted with the rest of the group.
So, she walked to the side of Elicia's bed and leaned forward so that she could speak directly into Elicia's ear.
"If you're not up and ready to go in the next ten minutes, I'll tell Alfonzo not to make any breakfast for you because you were slacking off." Evergreen said, unsure if this would work.
However, to her surprise, Elicia's eyes opened wide, and she shot up as if she had just heard that the world was going to end. Naturally, Evergreen was dumbfounded when she saw the vigor with which Elicia got herself ready for the day.
"Come on, Ever, we have to go." Elicia said after only four minutes. "If we're late, we won't get any of Alfonzo's food."
What shocked Evergreen even more than how fast Elicia went from asleep to fully awake was how quickly she got ready. Elicia somehow managed to wash herself, brush her teeth, get dressed, and fix her hair in four minutes, something Evergreen would have never thought possible. So, Evergreen just stared at Elicia as if she were a freak of nature.
"Ever, what are you waiting for?" Elicia said, grabbing Evergreen by the hand and pulling her out of the dorm room. "Let's go, let's go!"
After being dragged down the hall until the entrance, Evergreen finally snapped out of her daze.
"Don't call me Ever." Evergreen said in protest.
Naturally, as she acted at her own pace, Elicia completely ignored Evergreen's complaint. Then, when they made it out the front door of the dormitory, she began to run toward the guild hall, while still dragging Evergreen along with her.
Meanwhile, at the guild hall, Alfonzo was I the kitchen behind the bar. AS Makarov had already tasted his food, Makarov offered him a job in the kitchen. That way, even before he could start taking quests, he could save some money. Though, because of that, he would have to start paying rent for his dorm room earlier than expected as well.
"Order up!" Alfonzo shouted as he placed an egg and bacon set meal on the counter for one of the waitresses to pick up.
A moment later, a waitress that was hired for this very purpose by the guild picked up the plate of food and brought it to the table that Laxus and his group usually occupied.
Already sitting at the table were Laxus, Bickslow, and Fried. Laxus and Fried, who had already received their orders a few minutes ago, were eating as if they had not eaten in days. Meanwhile, until his plate arrived, Bickslow could only stare at them in wonder.
'Could it really be that good?' Bickslow wondered, a bit of anticipation building in his mind.
Finally, his food arrived. When it did, Bickslow quickly picked up his fork and looked at what was on his plate. Two eggs, over easy, three strips of bacon, two pieces of toast, and a glass of orange juice. After seeing it, Bickslow did not think it looked any different than anything he had ordered in the past. But for some reason, it smelled much better, succeeding in whetting his appetite.
A moment later, Bickslow used his fork to slice into the egg, causing the yoke to spread out over the plate. Then, he scooped up some of the egg white that he cut off and put it in his mouth. A moment later, his dark red eyes opened wide, and he began to eat with the same ferocity that Laxus and Fried were eating at.
'Damn, it's so good.' Bickslow thought while he was stuffing food into his mouth. 'But even if his food is good, I'm still gonna get Elicia's attention for myself.'
By the time the three boys were finished eating, Elicia and Evergreen burst through the guild hall's entrance while panting in exhaustion.
"*Pant* Fonzie, *Pant* I want pancakes *Pant* with strawberries and whipped cream!" Elicia shouted between pants.
"Me, *Pant* too. *Pant*" Evergreen said, too tired to think of her own order.
"Two orders of pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream, coming right up." Alfonzo shouted from the kitchen, acknowledging that he received the order.
Then, after making their orders and getting their breathing under control, Elicia and Evergreen made their way over to the table where Laxus, Bickslow, and Fried were sitting. Then, Evergreen flopped down in her usual seat before letting out a huge sigh.
"Why were you so late?" Laxus asked with a slight frown on his face.
"Because she overslept." Evergreen replied immediately while pointing at Elicia.
"Sorry, sorry." Elicia said with a sheepish smile on her face. "I've always been bad at waking up in the morning. Fonzie always woke me up at the orphanage. Even before that, too, when our parents were..."
As she spoke, Elicia's mood soured, and tears began to form in her eyes.
Seeing that Elicia was about to cry, none of the children knew what to do. So, all they could do was stare at Elicia awkwardly. However, before she could start crying, a tray, with three plates on top of it, was placed on the table. Then, two of the plates, with pancakes covered in whipped cream and topped with strawberries, were placed in front of Elicia and Evergreen.
Looking up, everyone saw Alfonzo, placing the last plate, with a ham, egg, and cheese omelet and toast, in front of the seat next to Elicia's seat. Then, he began combing his fingers though her hair with a gentle smile on his face.
"Don't worry, Lici." Alfonzo said with a gently. "When we're strong enough, we'll make the dark guild who killed our parents pay."
Holding back her tears, Elicia nodded her head before hugging Alfonzo tightly, a hug that Alfonzo returned. After a few moments, Elicia released Alfonzo. Then, she turned her attention to her breakfast. Although there was still some sadness on her face, when she put the first slice of her pancakes in her mouth, her expression melted, and she began humming happily.
Seeing this reaction, Laxus, Bickslow, and Fried, who had already tasted Alfonzo's cooking were only a little surprised to see how quickly Elicia's sadness changed into happiness. Evergreen, on the other hand, was completely gob smacked by Elicia's change. After seeing that her mood had changed for the better, however, Evergreen put those thoughts to the back of her mind and began to eat her own breakfast.
"Mmm~!" Evergreen moaned in ecstasy after tasting the food.
Luckily, all the kids were still rather young. Otherwise, Evergreen would have probably been embarrassed at her reaction. Either way, the six children finished their breakfasts quickly. Then, they headed to the backyard of the guild hall where they would begin their training.
When they arrived in the backyard, Macao and Wakaba were waiting for them. While Laxus, Bickslow, Fried, and Evergreen left to do their own training, Alfonzo and Elicia approached the two men to learn about magic and how to use it from them.
"Alright, Kiddos." Wakaba said, taking a drag from a cigarette shortly after he finished speaking. Then, after he exhaled the smoke, he began speaking again. "So, we'll give you the run down about magic, and all that jazz."
"After that, it's better you experiment on your own." Macao followed up. "It's your magic, after all. And the only thing that can limit you is your imagination."
With solemn expressions on their faces, Alfonzo and Elicia nodded their heads. Macao and Wakaba then took turns explaining about the magic power container every wizard has near their heart. How it will drain as magic is used. Also, they warned them that there is a chance of fainting if it is drained completely.
They then explained that over time, after using their magic, a wizard will begin absorbing the Ethernano, the source of every wizard's magic power, in the atmosphere to refill their magic power container. They also explained that the source of magic is the emotion of love, something Alfonzo doubted, considering how many dark wizards there were running around in the world.
"Also, here's a little hint for you." Macao said with a smile. "Doing physical training after exhausting your magic is a good way to make your magic container grow."
"But even if you're not that into physical training, it will grow over time." Wakaba continued. "But when you reach maturity, it will stop growing as well."
"Okay~!" Elicia answered energetically with a hand raised.
At the same time, Alfonzo nodded in understanding.
"Good." Wakaba aid after exhaling another cloud of smoke. "Now, you two get to training. If you have any questions, you can ask us, or any of the other guild members."
"And don't forget to experiment with your magic." Macao said. "Try out anything you can think of. Because your magic relies on your imagination."
After that, Macao and Wakaba smiled at the newest members of the guild. Then, they walked off to the side so that they could observe all the kids while they trained.
Wasting no time, Alfonzo and Elicia tried everything they could think of from the vast number of anime and manga they had consumed over the years. Alfonzo tried everything from creating weapons and armor, to controlling metals like Magneto. Meanwhile, Elicia tried making her threads sticky, raising their toughness, and even weaving them together to make her own clothes.
Before long, Alfonzo and Elicia used up all their available magic power. Then, they both started jogging around the backyard, to increase their stamina. Although they both planned to train their physiques so that they would be stronger, they both thought six years old was a bit too early for weight training. So, instead, they did push-ups, sit ups, and squats. Then, Alfonzo practiced his Eskrima forms barehanded, while Elicia started practicing her gymnastics.
Once they felt that their magic power was full again, Alfonzo and Elica repeated the process another three times, until they were too tired to keep going. At that point, Macao and Wakaba carried them into the guild hall so they could eat something. Then, they approached Makarov, who was sitting on top of the bar, and reported about Alfonzo and Elicia's training.
"So, how did it go?" Makarov asked while holding a mug of beer.
"Those kids are hard workers." Macao said.
"Yeah, they train like they have a chip on their shoulder, or something." Wakaba said.
Hearing that, Makarov and Macao exchanged glances.
"Well, after losing everything they knew and cared about, that makes sense." Makarov said solemnly. "Just make sure they don't overdo it."
This time, Macao exchanged glances with Wakaba.
"Actually, that's what we planned while we were watching them." Macao said while scratching the back of his head.
"But every time we thought it was time for them to stop, they did it before we could tell them." Wakaba said, finishing Macao's thought.
"Watching them was like watching people who had trained for years." Macao said with a bit of amazement in his tone.
"Yeah, it was like they knew exactly how far they could push their bodies." Wakaba said, mimicking Macao's action of scratching his head. "And then, they would stop on their own with no input from either of us."
"I guess their parents started training them early." Makarov said before taking a swig from his mug. "I guess I should have expected that from them."
Once again, Macao and Wakaba exchanged glances.
"Did you know their parents, master?" Macao asked curiously.
"Yeah, they were former members of the guild, after all." Makarov said.
"What?" Macao explained in surprise.
"Seriously?" Wakaba asked, equally as surprised.
"Well, I'm not surprised that you don't know them." Makarov said. "They were always out on quests. They were S-Class wizards, after all. So, they didn't spend much time in the guild. But you should remember their names."
Macao and Wakaba fell into contemplation after that. But before they could recall anyone, they were interrupted by Makarov revealing the answer.
"Orlando Taylor and Bianca Rollen." Makarov said. "Elicia's father and Alfonzo's mother. After a tough quest that they took together, they both returned with injuries that ended their careers as wizards. So, they moved to a village near Hargeon, they each found a spouse, and they each had a child."
Once again, Macao and Wakaba were gob smacked.
"This really must be fate." Makarov said, after finishing his beer. "But it looks like they never told the kids what guild they were a part of. So, we'll keep that a secret, for now."
1/2
let me know what you think of the first ineraction witht he members of the Thunder Legion in the comments, please.
Also, If you're interested, check out my ohter story, High School DxD: Scattered Cherry Blossoms.
Thanks for reading, I hopeyou enjoy the story.
Comments and Power Stones are always appreciated.
I think it might be a little too early for reviews, though.
Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
November, x771
Half a year has passed since Alfonzo and Elicia began training with Laxus, Bickslow, Fried, and Evergreen under the supervision of the more senior members of Fairy Tail. In that time, neither Alfonzo nor Elicia had started creating special moves or a special fighting style with their magic. Instead, they have been strengthening their bodies and magic power reserves to an almost insane degree.
Most days, their days began with Alfonzo waking up and heading to the guild hall to do his job as the chef in the mornings. Meanwhile, Elicia was still struggling to wake up on her own, driving Evergreen crazy to no end.
After Elicia and evergreen arrive at the guild each morning, they would order breakfast and join Laxus, Bickslow, and Fried at their usual table before eventually being joined by Alfonzo.
After breakfast, the group of six would head to the guild's back yard to begin their training. While Laxus, Bickslow, Fried, and evergreen would do their own thing, Alfonzo and Elicia would start out by experimenting with their magic to see exactly what they could and could not do. Then when their magic power was exhausted to just before the point they would faint, they would begin their physical training which consisted of push-ups, sit ups, squats, and running. Then, when their magic power reserves refilled, they would begin the process all over again.
One thing to take note of is that Elicia tried to get Nab to join them for training. Unfortunately, Nab was too preoccupied with finding the perfect quest for himself. A quest that he would not be able to take for some years to come. So, he always gave her a rain check. Eventually, even the ever-energetic Elicia gave up on helping Nab become stronger.
This routine lasted for approximately three months. At that point, Alfonzo and Elicia were able to repeat the process of exhausting their magic power and refilling it five times with little in the way of physical fatigue. So, Alfonzo came up with a way to make their physical workouts more taxing.
Using his [Metal Magic], Alfonzo created thin metal wrappings that he and Elicia would wrap around their hands, wrists, and forearms as well as their feet, ankles, and calves, looking like Muay Thai wraps. Naturally, these metals added weight to their limbs, making their workouts more difficult. And over the three months since they started using them, Alfonzo has been increasing the density of the wrappings, which in turn increases their weight.
In these three months, not only has Alfonzo and Elicia's physical abilities in creased dramatically, Alfonzo's control over his [Metal Magic] has also increased. The difficulty of making metal strips heavy enough that they add some weight to their training regimen, yet flexible enough that they react like cloth is difficult work.
Towards the end of that period of time, Elicia had the idea of creating metal training clothing for them. On top of that, her brilliant idea would test not only Alfonzo's control over his magic but her own as well. Elicia's idea consisted of Alfonzo using his magic to create metal threads that she would weave together into rolls of cloth using her own magic. Then, using more of the same threads, she would sew them into the training gear she mentioned.
Naturally, Alfonzo agreed to this idea. They would begin experimenting with it as soon as they no longer felt any benefits from working out with their current arm and leg wrappings.
As the sixth month since Alfonzo and Elicia joined the Fairy Tail family drew near, Laxus was the first of the other children to notice the wrappings that Alfonzo and Elicia were using. After getting an explanation about them, he, with his usual authoritative tone, demanded that Alfonzo make a set for him too. Hearing that demand, it took all Alfonzo had to not hit the older boy in his nose.
Eventually, exactly six months after coming to Fairy Tail, Alfonzo agreed to Laxus' request with some urging from Elicia. The smug expression Laxus wore when he got his wraps irritated Alfonzo to no end, but because Elicia gave him the puppy eyes, he was able to keep his temper in check.
"Damn it, I'm gonna beat that guy to a pulp one of these days." Alfonzo muttered while walking through the streets of Magnolia not long after he made Laxus' wrappings.
"Come on, Fonzie, calm down." Elicia said with her usual cheerful tone. "He just wants to get stronger."
"That's all fine and good." Alfonzo said, still steaming because of Laxus. "But I don't owe him a god damn thing. Would it kill that little bastard to ask nicely? I mean, he's asking me for something, not the other way around."
"Fonzie, language." Elicia said sternly.
When Alfonzo glanced at the clearly upset Elicia, he was sure that she was doing her best to look intimidating while she glared at him sternly. Unfortunately, all Alfonzo could see was a cute little girl with a pouty face staring at him with watery eyes.
'Her attempts at being intimidating are gonna make me laugh.' Alfonzo thought as he looked away.
Seeing Alfonzo break eye contact with her, Elicia nodded in satisfaction. Then, she smiled brightly and began consoling him.
"Anyway, I know. He's not being very nice." Elicia said with a bright smile while grabbing Alfonzo's hand with both of her own. "But you know he'll redeem himself later."
"That doesn't make this any easier." Alfonzo said, looking away from Elicia smile that was as bright as a ray of sunshine.
'*Sigh* It's so hard to stay mad when she smiles at me like that.' Alfonzo thought, feeling his anger slipping away.
"Anyway, where are we going?" Alfonzo asked, trying to change the subject. "What did you want me to buy for you again?"
"A fabric store!" Elicia exclaimed excitedly. "Now that you can spare some money, we'll buy the materials then I'll make all of our clothes from now on. Then, we'll be able to have more luxurious clothes without spending a stack on them every time."
"Okay, that makes sense." Alfonzo said with a nod. "Although clothes for kids isn't expensive, the stuff I can afford isn't exactly the best in quality."
"Exactly!" Elicia exclaimed once again. "This way, we can spend the same amount we usually would for cheap clothes on nice materials. Then, I can make us some really nice clothes."
"Right." Alfonzo replied with a smile at Elicia's enthusiasm.
As they chatted, Alfonzo and Elicia eventually made their way toward the shopping street west of the train station. After walking for a few more minutes, they found the store they were looking for.
"Snitches Get Stitches." Alfonzo said, reading the shop sign aloud. "That's... one hell of a name."
"Fonzie, watch your language." Elicia said with a pout on her face.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. "I know you don't like it when I swear, but you know I can't help it."
"Whatever." Elicia said, rolling her eyes at Alfonzo's excuse. "Let's just go inside and see if they have what we want."
Instead of trying to argue his innocence any further, Alfonzo nodded his head and pulled the door to the shop open. Then, he held it for Elicia to enter. Once Elicia was inside, Alfonzo followed her in.
*Ring!*
As they entered, a chime sounded, alerting those working in the shop that there were new customers. Then, from the back of the shop, a pretty, mature woman stepped onto the sales area.
"Good after--- Oh, a couple of children?" The shop owner asked, a little confused.
"Good afternoon, ma'am." Elicia said energetically while raising her left hand high over her head. "We're here to buy some fabric and threads."
Alfonzo simply nodded along with what Elicia had to say. He knew she was much better at dealing with people than he was. In fact, in their past life, people's good first impressions of him usually came because Elicia introduced him.
"Oh, running errands for your parents?" The shop owner asked. "Aren't you two good kids."
Instead of correcting the misunderstanding, Elicia smiled. Then, she dragged Alfonzo along to look at the fabrics on display. Meanwhile, the shop owner just watched them with a smile.
As Elicia dragged Alfonzo around, she looked at cloth in the six primary colors she and Alfonzo liked to wear the most. In her case, sky blue, baby pink, and grey the same color as Alfonzo's eyes. Alfonzo, on the other hand, liked to wear white, black, and royal blue. So, she picked up a roll. Of cotton and satin in each color. Then, she picked up some threads that would match the clothes she intended to create.
After everything was picked out, Alfonzo and Elicia hauled everything to the counter so they could pay.
"Did you find everything you were looking for?" The shop owner asked with a smile.
"Yup!" Elicia exclaimed energetically. "Thanks for asking."
"Good. Now, let's see what you've got here." The shop owner said, beginning to total up the children's selections. "Three rolls of cotton, 999 Jewels each. Three rolls of satin, 1,799 Jewels each. Five spools of thread, 699 Jewels each. So, your total is."
The shop owner then took out a device that looked like an abacus and began to calculate the total.
Seeing the old calculation device, Alfonzo began to think.
'I wonder how hard it would be to make a lacrima calculator.' Alfonzo thought to himself. 'Then, again, I don't know if they even exist here. What if she just doesn't have one? I'll have to do some research.'
A few moments later, the shop owner was done with her calculations.
"Your total is 11,889 Jewels." The shop owner said, looking at the kids in front of her with worry.
Unconcerned with the shop owner's worried gaze, Elicia looked at Alfonzo. In return, Alfonzo put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a wad of paper bills folded together with a money clip he created with his [Metal Magic].
After unclipping the money, Alfonzo counted out 11,900 Jewels before handing it to the shocked shop owner.
Over the past six months, Alfonzo, who had been working as a chef at the guild, had saved up quite a bit of money. To Makarov's surprise, Alfonzo had, somehow, negotiated a deal that he would get an eight percent. Cut from every dish he made. With each dish costing about 850 Jewels and at least 70 dishes sold each morning, Alfonzo made over 850,000 Jewels in six months.
And with his 80,000 Jewels a month rent, Alfonzo still had almost half of the money he made remaining. Even after buying daily necessities for six months.
Meanwhile, after the shop owner accepted the money and handed Alfonzo his change, Alfonzo and Elicia bid her goodbye and promised to come back next time they needed cloth and thread before leaving.
"Okay, we've got everything we need for now." Elicia said happily. "We'll have to buy shoes and boots, though. I don't think I can make those with my magic."
"Well, as long as you don't mind metal soles, I can take care of that." Alfonzo said, carrying the things they bought over his shoulder. "I mean, I think I can make metal that will flex along with each step. But I'll probably have to experiment for that."
Instead of saying anything, Elicia hugged Alfonzo with a big smile on her face. Then, once she was satisfied, she grabbed Alfonzo's free hand and dragged him back toward the guild.
"Come on, Fonzie." Elicia said energetically. "I wanna get started. Let's go, let's go!"
Allowing himself to be dragged along, Alfonzo smiled, happy that Elicia was once again able to do what she loved.
Once they returned to the guild, Elicia dragged Alfonzo to the spot where they usually sat with Laxus and the others. However, when they sat down, Elicia realized something very important.
"Fonzie~~~!" Elicia whined with tears in her eyes after her realization. "I forgot to get paper and some pencils so that I could sketch out the designs."
Smiling reassuringly, Alfonzo combed his fingers through Elicia's hair before standing up.
"Leave it to me." Alfonzo said as he began to walk away. "Don't forget them next time we go out shopping, though."
With that, Alfonzo walked toward a corner of the guild hall. There, in front of a canvas with a color pallet in one hand and a paint brush in the other, sat a teenage boy, looking to be about fourteen years old. He had curly orange shoulder length hair and wore a white smock while painting on the canvas.
"Hey, Reedus." Alfonzo said quietly, trying not to disturb the painter too much.
"Oh, Alfonzo, what can I do for you?" The painter, Reedus Jonah, said, placing his paint brush on the table next to him.
"Well, Lici and I went out shopping not long ago." Alfonzo said, explaining the situation. "And she forgot to buy a sketch book and some pencils..."
Before Alfonzo could finish, Reedus reached his hand into the bag next to him and pulled out a brand new sketch book. Then, he reached in again and pulled out a pencil. Without hesitation, he handed them to Alfonzo with a smile.
"If that's all you need, here. Take it." Reedus said happily. "I've got tons."
"Thanks, Reedus." Alfonzo replied with a smile of his own. "The next time you come for breakfast is on me."
"Haha!" Reedus laughed. "I couldn't possibly turn down that offer."
After that, Alfonzo thanked Reedus once again. Then, he returned to Elicia with the sketch book and pencil. After dropping them off, he asked Makarov if he could take another shift in the kitchen. Seeing Elicia do what she loves, he also felt the urge to cook.
2/2
I'll be back with 2 more chapters tomorrow.
If you're interested, check out my other story, High School DxD: Scattered Cherry Blossoms.
Thanks for reading, I hope yo enjoy the story.
Comments and Power Stones are always appreciated.
I think it's a little too early for Reviews, though.