Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Mermaid Heel Headquarters.
June 3, x785.
The next morning, Alfonzo slowly opened his eyes. And the first thing he noticed after waking up was the soft body he was spooning from behind, acting as the big spoon. Seeing the head of blond hair, he could not help but smile.
'I have to admit, this happened a lot sooner than I expected.' Alfonzo mused as he began playing with Lucy's hair.
["Yeah, she seemed like the type to make you wait for it."] Bedlam replied from Alfonzo's inner world.
'I was thinking the same thing.' Alfonzo replied with a grin. 'But once she got started, she was pretty wild. Especially that little kink of hers. I've never been with someone who gets so excited just because I'm looking at her. But sex in front of the mirror was pretty fun.'
["More importantly, did you notice that Tsunade left this little town last night?"] Bedlam asked, and Alfonzo could tell he was grinning like the Cheshire Cat.
["Hmph! She was probably just going out to get her gambling fix."] Riot replied disdainfully. ["I wonder how much money she lost and how much debt she put her guild in."]
'Come on, Riot.' Alfonzo replied while smiling wryly. 'I'm sure she won't go too far. The guild has to pay me, after all.'
["You won't be that optimistic when she calls you into her office to tell you that the guild can't pay you."] Riot shot back.
Immediately, Alfonzo froze with a mixture of terror and suspicion on his face. Before he could reply, however, he felt Lucy begin to stir.
"Hmm... Good morning." Lucy said in a sleepy tone. "What time is it?"
"It's actually just about time for us to get up." Alfonzo replied, deciding to think about Tsunade's gambling habits later. "More importantly, how are you feeling?"
Hearing that, though Alfonzo could not see it from his position behind Lucy, he could tell she smiled. And rather brightly at that. However, when she tried to turn around in his arms, Lucy winced rather noticeably.
"I can't feel my legs and moving even a little causes pain to shoot through my lower body." Lucy replied in a disgruntled tone.
"That's gonna make it hard for you to meet the members of Mermaid Heel today." Alfonzo replied with a wry smile.
"And just whose fault do you think that is?" Lucy shouted as she turned around quickly. "Ow! It hurts so much."
'You were the one who told me not to worry about it last night.' Alfonzo thought while deciding to keep that thought to himself.
"I'm sorry." Alfonzo replied before pecking Lucy on the forehead. "You can just rest at home. I'll make you breakfast before I leave and I'll come back to make you lunch, too."
"Damn right, you will." Lucy replied, sounding rather satisfied with Alfonzo's response.
In response, Alfonzo smiled wryly. At the same time, he unwrapped his arms from around Lucy and sat up.
"Anyway, we should take a shower and change the bedding." Alfonzo said as he climbed out of bed. Then, once he was standing, he scooped Lucy up in a princess carry. "I'm sure you don't wanna laze around in bed with the bed smelling like love juice, right?"
"Kya!" Lucy yelped when she was suddenly lifted out of bed.
However, when she properly registered what Alfonzo said, she could not help but bury her face in his chest to hide her fiercely blushing face.
Although she had squirted before when masturbating, it was rare. But when having sex with Alfonzo last night, she squirted every time she orgasmed. As a result, the entire bed was covered in her juices. Luckily, both she and Alfonzo were tired enough after they were done to ignore that fact.
"Go to my room and get my keys." Lucy said in a muffled voice while still hiding her face in Alfonzo's chest.
"Huh? Do you need something from your truck?" Alfonzo asked in feigned confusion.
"Not those keys." Lucy replied as she raised her head and slapped Alfonzo on the shoulder. "My [Celestial Keys]."
After raising her head, Lucy immediately saw the teasing smile on Alfonzo's face. Then, she slapped him on the shoulder again while a pout made it onto her face.
"Stop teasing me." Lucy whined.
"Alright, alright." Alfonzo replied with a chuckle. I'll stop."
With that, Alfonzo sat Lucy on the edge of the bed. Then, he quickly put on a pair of shorts and made his way to Lucy's bedroom. Along the way, he could hear Wendy and Carla chatting while the shower was running on the second floor, so he knew he was running out of time to get ready.
Quickly finding Lucy's [Celestial Keys], Alfonzo returned to the master bedroom. Then, once the door was closed, he handed the key pouch to Lucy.
Once the pouch was in her hands, Lucy wasted no time finding the key she wanted.
"[Open, Gate of the Maiden, Virgo]." Lucy chanted as she thrust the [Golden Celestial Key] in her hand into the empty space in front of her.
Then, with a turn of the key, a golden light flashed in front of the key. A moment later, the Celestial Spirit, Virgo appeared before curtseying towards Lucy with her head bowed.
"Good morning, Princess." Virgo said in greeting. "Have you call me to be punished?"
"No, of course not." Lucy replied in an exasperated tone.
Hearing the expected response, Virgo raised her head without letting her disappointment show. However, when she saw that Lucy was completely nude, her eyes widened in surprise.
"Princess, have you called me to sate your sexual urges?" Virgo asked with her eyes shining.
"*Sigh* Why are you always like this, Virgo?" Lucy asked while massaging her temples.
"At least, she's consistent." Alfonzo said while stifling a chuckle.
"Now is not the time, Alfonzo." Lucy said with frustration in her tone.
With that, Virgo finally realized that Lucy was not alone when she summoned her. So, very politely, she turned to Alfonzo, and once again, she curtsied while bowing her head.
"Ah, and a good morning to you, as well, Master Alfonzo." Virgo said politely.
"Come on, Virgo." Alfonzo said while smiling wryly. "How many times have I told you not to be so formal?"
"My apologies." Virgo replied. A moment later, she raised her head with expectation shining in her eyes once again. "Perhaps you would like to punish me for my oversight?"
In response, Alfonzo could only continue smiling wryly.
"Alright, that's enough, Virgo." Lucy said. "I need you to change the bedding in here while Alfonzo and I take a shower."
"Understood, Princess." Virgo replied with a bow. "Would you like my assistance in the bathroom?"
"No, that's not necessary." Lucy replied as she waved off Virgo's offer. "Just get the room cleaned up. And when Alfonzo, Wendy, and Carla leave, go with them and look after Wendy and Carla."
"As you wish, Princess." Virgo replied.
With that, Alfonzo picked up Lucy once again. Then, he carried her into the bathroom while Virgo got to work cleaning the bedroom.
At the same time, Tsunade, after a night of drinking and gambling, returned to the guild. And upon opening the guild hall's doors, she looked around the guild hall cautiously. Then, after not seeing the person she was afraid to see. She stepped inside.
With the coast clear, Tsunade quickly walked through the main hall and made her way to the stairs before climbing them without saying a word to any of her wizards.
Meanwhile, the ladies of Mermaid Heel watched her in exasperation.
"*Sigh* Master is at it again." Risley Law, a chubby, tan-skinned young woman appearing to be eighteen or nineteen years old with curly black hair, black eyes, and wearing clothing reminiscent of Polynesian attire consisting of a blue loincloth, with white accents and the Mermaid Heel emblem at its center, and a matching sleeveless top that exposed her midriff, said quietly after Tsunade disappeared up the stairs.
"Looks that way." Araña replied. "Sometimes I'm amazed that we haven't gone bankrupt yet."
"What do you mean?" Beth Vanderwood, a ten year old little girl with orangish-brown hair tied into two braided pigtails on either side of her head, very large, almost round, greyish-blue eyes, and freckled cheeks wearing a black, short-sleeve t-shirt under a pair of blue denim overalls and a pair of sandals, asked in a tone mixed with curiosity and innocence.
"You're still a little too young to be worrying about that kind of stuff, Beth." Risley said as she patted Beth on the head.
In response, Beth wore an adorable pout after being treated like the child she was.
"I'm sure Master knows not to go overboard." Kagura said in an emotionless tone. "We still have to pay Alfonzo for the new training facilities, after all."
"Yeah, and Alfie won't be happy if we can't pay him., meow." Millianna said with a shiver while remembering how badly Alfonzo beat up Jellal during the Tower of Heaven incident.
"Ooh!" Beth exclaimed as her eyes lit up. "Is that Alfonzo guy strong?"
Not only Beth, but Arana and Risley looked at Kagura and Millianna in interest, too.
"Well, I've only seen him fight once, meow." Millianna replied. "But from what I could see, he was really strong."
"Back when I went on that joint quest with Yoruichi, Alfonzo took on and defeated the two most powerful S-Class wizards we were sent to bring in."
While Arana, Risley, and Beth were listening to Millianna and Kagura talk about Alfonzo, Anko, who was sitting at the bar had also watched Tsunade enter the guild hall.
"I heard that Lady Tsunade left the Village Hidden in the Leaves because she lost her little brother and fiancé in the second Great Ninja War." Anko muttered to herself while staring blankly at the guild hall's staircase. "And that's when she started gambling and drinking so heavily."
Anko stopped her quiet monologue when a waitress brought over the breakfast she ordered. Then, after thanking the waitress and giving her a tip, she continued once the waitress walked away.
"Then, while traveling around Ishgar with Shizune, she ran into Master Unohana, who invited her into the guild." Anko continued while cutting the food on her plate. "And while she was a member of the guild, she slowly overcame her trauma. Hell, she even became the guild master. But she still over does it with the gambling and alcohol, every once in a while."
Getting to that point, Anko could only shake her head. Then, she decided to drop the matter and focus on eating breakfast before she started training.
Meanwhile, Tsunade had just arrived at the door to her office.
"*Sigh* I made it here without running into Master Ritsu." Tsunade said in a relieved tone as she opened the door to her office. "Now, I just have to figure out how to get back the money to pay the kid with and... everything... will... be... Aww, shit..."
As she took a step into her office, Tsunade's words trailed off while her face, which was flushed from a night of heavy drinking, paled rapidly as she noticed Ritsu, who was sitting in front of her desk with a cup of tea in her hands, smiling at her gently.
"Though you may be a skilled shinobi, Tsunade, did you really think I wouldn't notice when you snuck out last night?" Ritsu asked while maintaining her gentle smile.
Although Ritsu's smile was very gentle, the pressure it was putting on Tsunade was immense. In fact, it was to the point that Tsunade could feel herself sobering up in real-time. Most likely due to the fact that she was sweating out all the alcohol that was still in her bloodstream.
"Master Ritsu, good morning." Tsunade said with an awkward smile on her face. "You see... I was just..."
"And what was that you said about 'getting back the money to pay the kid?'" Ritsu asked, her smile becoming even more gentle while the pressure she was emitting increased proportionally. "Surely, you're not going to tell me that you gambled away the money for the work we commissioned, are you?"
"Um.. Well... You see.. There's an explanation for this..." Tsunade stammered out as her sweat started to drench her back.
"It would seem you need more discipline." Ritsu continued, not paying attention to anything Tsunade had to say. "Every evening after you finish your training with Wendy, you and I will train together until we've instilled the value of discipline within you."
'Holy shit..." Tsunade muttered internally as her expression was slowly filled with terror. 'She might actually kill me this time. '
However, when she remembered that Ritsu was a healer that was on par, if not surpassing her, Tsunade's expression was filled with terror in an instant.
'Even if she does kill me, I'm sure she'd be able to find a way to bring me back.' Tsunade thought as her face turned deathly pale.
"As for the money we have to pay Alfonzo, I'll take care of that." Ritsu said after taking a sip from her teacup. "But you will repay it."
"Yes, Ma'am." Tsunade replied with her back straight.
"Also, you will repay the guild for the money you lost." Ritsu added.
"Understood." Tsunade replied.
'Only if I live through your training, though.' Tsunade thought while fearing for her life.