Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Crocus.
July 1, x790.
Alfonzo's duel with Orga left the crowd of the Domus Flau in shocked silence. Never did anyone think that Alfonzo would be able to handle someone able to qualify for the Grand Magic Games as easily as he did. But after feeling his magic pressure that shook the whole arena, they found themselves reassessing what it meant to be powerful.
Yet, Loli's words finally brought the crowd back to the here and now. By then, however, Alfonzo had already returned to his seat and was chatting casually with the rest of his team.
After a few more beats, Sting, Rogue, and Rufus, with nowhere to vent their frustration, picked up Orga and helped him out of the arena, taking him to the medical bay in the Domus Flau. Meanwhile, Minerva stared at Alfonzo with narrowed eyes for a while before leaving her seat to meet up with the rest of her team.
"Looks like Minerva has taken interest in you, Fonzie." Elicia said in a teasing tone while nudging Alfonzo with her elbow.
"Just so long as it only stays as interest, I won't have to do anything Sabertooth will regret. Alfonzo said while glancing at Minerva. He then turned his attention to Jiemma, who was sitting in Sabertooth's seating area and seething in anger. "But something tells me that I'll have to do something before the festival ends."
"Yeah, that guy looks like he's ready to go to any lengths to win." Marin said, a slight frown marring her face.
"Should we just get rid of him now?" Brandish asked while spinning her dagger, or rather her [Soul Armament], Hecatoncheires, between her fingers. "That way, we won't have to deal with something so tedious later."
"We can't do that." Sun said while shaking her head. "He hasn't done anything wrong."
"Sun's right." Alfonzo said as he reached over and started combing his fingers through Sun's hair. "But if he decides to fuck around, he'll definitely find out."
In response, Elicia, Marin, Sun, and Brandish, though she was annoyed at having to wait to deal with something she knew would be annoying, nodded their heads. Then, they turned their attention back to the other Battle Rounds. And they were just in time, as Loli had introduced the next match, Kagura versus Lyon.
Unfortunate for Lyon, although is mastery over [Ice-Make Magic] had improved significantly over the last couple years, he was still no match for Kagura, Retsu's disciple, as her [Gravity Magic] combined with her swordsmanship, was too much for the Ice Wizard to handle.
"Hmm... It looks like Lyon has been slacking." Ur said in an annoyed tone. "I think I'll have to talk to Ooba Babasama about giving Lyon some special training."
Hearing that, Gray, Ultear, Meredy, and Wendy, who were all seated around the woman who taught them how to be wizards, shuddered. A moment later, however, Gray snapped out of his painful recollections of Ur's training.
"Please tell me you'll be going to Lamia Scale for that, Master." Gray said, almost pleading for that to be the case.
"Of course not." Ur replied without even looking back. "I'm the master of Fairy Tail, I can't just leave for that long."
"Ugh!" Gray groaned.
"I think I understand why Gray is acting like that." Ultear said with a mischievous grin.
That caused Ur, who was staring at Gray when he groaned, to turn her attention to Ultear.
"Why? What's wrong with Gray?" Ur asked curiously.
"You remember when I went with Alfonzo and Juvia back when Alfonzo upgraded the Lamia Scale training facilities, right?" Ultear asked, her mischievous grin widening.
That question was enough to make Ur understand where her daughter was going with this.
"Well, Lyon kinda fell for Juvia at first sight." Ultear continued, despite the fact that she noticed the spark of realization in Ur's expression. "And he's just as obsessed with Juvia as she was with me, you, and Gray when she first saw us."
"Ugh!" Juvia groaned, partly in annoyance while the rest was from embarrassment after remembering how unbearable she was in the past.
"I see." Ur said with a smile while nodding her head. She then continued while throwing up her hands as if asking, "What can I do about it?" "Unfortunately, if I intend to train Lyon, he'll have to come to Magnolia for that. Ther's just no other way around it."
Meanwhile, Loli announced the next match, Tifa Lockhart of Final Fantasy versus another random wizard from Twilight Ogre. And there was no suspense to that match, as Tifa flattened him with a single punch.
And the final match of the day was between Karen of Blue Pegasus and Genma from Quatro Cerberus. And this match ended up being the longest of all the matches, ending just before the timer ran out with Karen as the winner. Though, she was covered in cuts and bruises from the intense battle.
"She ruined another one of my pieces." Elicia said in a menacing tone, her hair starting to float up from the magical pressure she was releasing.
"Calm down, Lici." Alfonzo said while pulling Elicia onto his lap and wrapping his arms around her to make sure she didn't do something she would regret. "I think that was on purpose. I mean, look at the way she's stealing glances over here. She was probably hoping you'd lose it and tie her up before kicking her ass."
Hearing that, Elicia calmed down enough to notice that Karen was blushing slightly, though she was trying to keep it in check, while glancing in her direction periodically.
"That sneaky..." Elicia grumbled.
"I think it would be an even bigger punishment if you acted like you didn't notice she ruined one of your outfits, Lici." Marin chimed in.
"But she might try even harder to get Lici's attention if she does that." Sun pointed out.
"Hmm... That could be possible, too." Marin replied with a nod. She then threw her hands up as she continued. "Well, I don't know what else to tell you."
"Just ignore her." Brandish said, throwing in her two jewels. "Anything else would be too bothersome."
"No... She'd probably get off on that, too." Elicia said in a huff. "She'd see it as neglect play, or something."
"I think you should just talk to her and tell her how disappointed you are in her." Alfonzo said with a shrug while hugging Elicia a little tighter. "I mean, that usually hurts a lot more than getting scolded."
"Yeah, I remember the last time my mom said that to me." Sun replied with a nod. "I almost cried while telling myself I would do better, so I didn't have to see that look on her face ever again."
The rest of team Fairy Tail all nodded in response while remembering the disappointed faces of their parents.
{"Well, everyone!"} Loli shouted after Karen and Genma were no longer in the arena. {"That ends the festivities for the firs day of the x790 Grand Magic Games. So, before we end the show, let's take a look at the scores after one day."}
With that, all the screens in the arena, which were showing Loli and Yajima in the broadcasting booth, switched to showing the overall scoreboard.
{Overall Scoreboard
Rank Team Score
Fairy Tail 20 Pts. Mermaid Heel 16 Pts. Final Fantasy 13 Pts. Blue Pegasus 11 Pts. Sabertooth 8 Pts. Quatro Cerberus 4 Pts. Lamia Scale 2 Pts. Twilight Ogre 0 Pts.}
{"After seeing scores like that, I'm not sure what to think>"} Loli said before turning to Yajima and continuing. {"Yajima, what do you make of this?"}
{"Honestly, it's too early to tell."} Yajima replied with a smile. {"But I'm sure that the rest of the Games will be filled with excitement. I'm sure we're in for some amazing days of magic."}
{"I know you're right about that, Yajima."} Loli said excitedly. {"Well then, we can only look forward to it. So, with that, the first day of the Grand Magic Games have come to an end. We'll see you back here, at the Domus Flau, for day two at the same time tomorrow. Until then, be safe and enjoy the festival atmosphere around Crocus."}
And with that, the audience started to get up from their seats and make their way to the arena's exits. Meanwhile, the contestants, having a different exit from the general crowd, made their way through the Domus Flau's interior.
"Oh, isn't that Final Fantasy's team?" Marin asked while she walked through the Domus Flau with the rest of her team.
Just as Marin said, walking a little ahead of Team Fairy Tail was Team Final Fantasy. And after hearing Marin's voice, Aerith turned around to see who was talking about them. Then, when she recognized who it was, she turned back to Squall and spoke quietly.
Shortly afterward, Team Final Fantasy stopped and turned around in unison, seemingly waiting for Team Fairy Tail to catch up.
"Hey." Sun, as energetic and friendly as ever, greeted the members of Team Fairy Tail. She then turned to Terra and continued. "That was a good fight in the event. It's too bad we couldn't have a proper sword fight, though."
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not really a swordsman." Terra replied. "I only use it to protect myself when the opponent gets too close for my magic to be effective."
In response, Sun tilted her head in confusion.
"But you rushed me with your sword before casting any magic at me, though." Sun said, not seeing why she would do that if she wasn't really a swordsman.
"That was because..." Terra said, sputtering a little after it was pointed out.
"it's because she just doesn't wanna admit being a bit of a battle junkie like the rest of us.' Tifa said with a giggle.
"Speak for yourself." Vivi, Terra, and Aerith said in unison.
"*Sigh* Why are they so loud?" Squall muttered to himself. "Well, at least Zell and Selphie aren't here. Otherwise, getting them to stop would be impossible."
Squall then shook his head before stepping forward with his hand extended for a handshake.
"It's nice to meet you." Squall said while looking Alfonzo in the eye. "I'm Squall Leonhart. I've been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. Unfortunately, thanks to training and missions, I've never had the chance to make it to Magnolia."
"I see." Alfonzo, said accepting the handshake. "Well, I'm Alfonzo Marcus. It's nice to meet you as well."
"Are you one of Fonzie's fans?" Elicia asked curiously while looking Squall and the rest of his team's outfits up and down with scrutiny.
"Although that's true, that's not why I wanted to meet him." Squall said as he retracted his hand.
"Squall wants Mr. Marcus to make him a new gunblade." Vivi said quietly.
"Should have known." Marin said with an understanding nod. "That happens much more often than one would think."
"I can imagine." Aerith said with a nod of her own. "He is the best magic item crafter in the world, after all."
Smiling at Aerith for the compliment, Alfonzo then turned his attention back to Squall, his smile having completely disappeared that fast.
"Well, I don't mind making something for you." Alfonzo said, having entered his business mode. He then raised his right hand and started rubbing his thumb and the tips of his other fingers together as he continued. "But it won't be cheap."
"I expected as much." Squall replied with a nod. "Hopefully, bringing my own materials will lower the price, though."
"Of course." Alfonzo said with a nod. "And since you said you're often short on time, why don't you come back to our hotel to discuss the details. You know, since we have the time right now."
Hearing that, Squall exchanged glances with the rest of his team. Then, after receiving nods from all of them, he turned back to Alfonzo.
"I don't see a problem with that." Squall said. "I'll just have to talk it over with Master Edea. But I'm sure she won't have a problem with it, either."
"She'll probably wanna come along, too." Tifa added.
"Maybe even bring the rest of the guild over to meet the renowned Fairy Tail." Aerith continued.
"Ugh! I hate crowded places." Terra groaned.
"I just hope their all nice." Vivi said in barely a whisper.
"Don't worry." Marin said, holding herself back from pulling the little cutie, Vivi, into a hug. "Everyone in our guild is nice. And since we're staying in the Sixth Sense Hotel, they probably won't even start a brawl."
Hearing that, the other four members of Team Fairy Tail looked at Marin with disbelieving expressions.
"Tempting Murphy, huh?" Alfonzo asked in an amused tone. "And it wasn't even Lici this time. This is new."
"Ah, crap!" Marin exclaimed. "You're totes right. I raised a flag, didn't I?"
"Hehehe." Tifa giggled. "I'm really looking forward to this. They seem like fun."
Wit that, the two teams chatted for a little longer before splitting up to go on their own way. While Team Final Fantasy went back to their hotel to talk to Edea Kramer, their guild master about visiting the Fairy Tail guild to discuss business and make friends, Team Fairy Tail returned to the Sixth Sense Hotel to celebrate their good showing on the first day of the Grand Magic Games.
On top of that, Alfonzo started preparing a feast for the guests that would arrive later. However, even if they did not show up, he was sure that his guild full of glutons and ruffians would be able to polish off the feast with no problem.