Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
September 17, x785.
"Alright, that's all I have to say." Elicia said, her smile turning bright and cheerful in an instant. "Now, let's do this. Good luck, everyone!"
With that, Elicia turned her back on the gathered women and flared her magic power. At the same time, Alfonzo tapped his heal on the lawn, activating the sigils that were carved on the layer of metal under the grass. After that, a translucent barrier sprung up from the ground between the spectators and the participants.
Then, just as the barrier was fully erected, Elicia flung the bouquet in her hands upwards with great force.
"Sorry, girls, but I'll be taking the bouquet, this time." Mirajane said with a smile as she leapt into the air.
Like Mirajane, those with greater physical strength also leapt. However, before Mirajane reached the peak of her jump, she was covered in the light of her [Take Over Magic].
"[Take Over Magic: Satan Soul: Sitri]," Mirajane chanted.
In the next instant, after her transformation was complete, Mirajane used the flames on her legs as boosters to propel herself upwards even faster.
"Wow, Mira's going all out from the very beginning." Alfonzo said as he watched the airborne women.
"Yeah, but if she thinks it's gonna be that easy, she's thinking too lightly of the others." Elicia replied with a smile as she wrapped her arms around Alfonzo's right arm.
"Sorry, Mira, but that bouquet is mine." Lucy shouted as she pulled her [Soul Armament], which took the form of a whip, from under her dress, revealing everything underneath in the process.
In the next instant, with a high level of control, Lucy swung her whip, causing it to pass between all the others vying for the bouquet, without touching any of them. Then, just before Mirajane could leave the whip's range, it curled around her flaming left ankle.
"Huh?" Mirajane exclaimed in surprise as she looked down. "Kya~~~~!"
Before Mirajane could fully register what was happening, however, Lucy used all her strength to yank her out of the air, resulting in Mirajane yelping in surprise.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, most likely the woman among the participants with the best bodily control, used the other participants, Anko, Shizune, Ultear, and Sun, to name a few, as footholds to rise even faster.
"Haha! Looks like I'm the winner, girls." Tsunade shouted smugly as she reached out for the bouquet.
Just before Tsunade's fingertips could come in contact with the bouquet, however, a wrench came flying from below and knocked the bouquet out of her grasp.
Then, with an astonished expression on her face, Tsunade let her eyes trail back along the wrench's flight path. And at the end of her sight was Winry, still in the posture of having just thrown something.
"Damn it…" Tsunade muttered. "She's not even a wizard. I completely overlooked her. Master Ritsu is gonna make me pay for this in training."
"Maybe I didn't think this through when I joined." Winry muttered. "I mean, I should have expected that they'd be allowed to use magic. Even so, although I'm probably not gonna win, I'm not gonna make this easy for whoever does."
"Where the hell did she even get that wrench from?" Edward, who was watching with the rest of the spectators, asked while shuddering. "Still, I know her wrench throw is strong enough to hurt even the strongest wizard."
"Hmm…. Getting hit in the head by Winry's wrenches one too many times is probably why you're still so short, Ed." Pinako, after taking a puff from her pipe, said while watching the ongoing competition.
"Shut up, Micro Hag!" Edward shouted in return.
*Bang!*
Meanwhile, like Mirajane, Erza had also decided to use her magic to gain an advantage over the others. Before she could do so, however, she was blown away while simultaneously being wrapped in a net.
"What is this?" Erza asked in a confused tone as she fell from the air. "A net? But why can't I use my magic?"
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
Not only Erza, but many of the other women aiming for the bouquet also found themselves being blown away before having their magic power sealed.
"Wow! Bisca really looks determined." Elicia said with a shocked expression on her face.
"Yeah, and I didn't expect her to test the new bullets I developed in a situation like this." Alfonzo added. "But I guess it makes sense."
A moment later, Alfonzo turned towards Alzack with a playful grin on his face.
"I think she's trying to send you a message, Alzack." Alfonzo said while waggling his eyebrows.
In response, Alzack could not help but blush. However, he was more interested in hearing about the new bullets, if only to avoid the embarrassment from Alfonzo's teasing.
"What are these new bullets?" Alzack asked with his face completely red.
"Oh, they're…" Alfonzo began to say.
"[Guns Magic: Magic Restraining Net Shot]." Bisca said after firing on all the other participants.
With his explanation interrupted, Alfonzo looked back towards the battleground, so to speak. And when he did, the only thing he saw was Bisca, with a pair of magic revolvers in hand, standing in the middle of all the other participants, who were wrapped up in metallic nets, with an absurd number of miniscule sigils carved into them, and laying on the ground.
A moment later, Bisca used [Requip] to store her revolvers. Then, she adjusted her cowboy hat as she looked up into the sky. Locating the bouquet, which had yet to come down, she calmly walked towards its landing point before catching it effortlessly.
"Looks like Bisca will be the next to get married." Elicia said happily after the competition for the bouquet was over. Then, like Alfonzo had done before, she turned towards Alzack with a playful grin. "I wonder who the lucky guy is."
Once again, Alzack blushed in embarrassment. Then, in order to avoid all the teasing, for a little while, at least, he walked away, returning to his seat in the banquet area.
"Damn!" Cana shouted in protest. "How is this fair? I mean, she has bullets like that, now? How is anyone supposed to fight against that?'
"Stop complaining, Cana." Ultear said while struggling to free herself from the net. "This only worked because none of us knew she had bullets like that."
"Tear's right." Ur said, not seeming to mind the fact that she lost too much. "She chose the perfect time to reveal them. I guess she's been planning for this ever since Alfonzo and Lici sent out invitations."
"Still, this is totally unfair!" Cana shouted. "Ugh.! I really need a drink!"
Meanwhile, Gildarts and Gozaburo, who were still overly doting parents, gave Bisca stealthy thumbs ups as she walked away from the battleground. At the same time, Alfonzo used his magic to unwrap all the women who Bisca left lying on the ground.
"I know she wanted to go see Alzack, but she could have at least set them free first." Alfonzo said with a wry smile.
"Yeah, but that's what makes those two adorable." Elicia replied. "I mean, look at them. Even though they're sitting so close to each other, they can't even look each other in the eyes while they talk."
Following Elicia's line of sight, Alfonzo saw that what she said was true. Although it was clear that Alzack and Bisca were speaking to each other, they were looking away from each other with reddened cheeks while doing so.
"Anyway, I guess it's time to get the last little thing out of the way before the party can begin properly." Alfonzo said with a smile while watching his two awkward friends. Then, he turned back to the people gathered to watch the bouquet competition. "Now, for the last of these little events, could I get all the single guys to change places with the single ladies over there?"
By now, all the single women had been freed from Bisca's nets and were standing on their feet again. Then, after hearing Alfonzo's request, all the remaining single men in the crowd stepped forward onto the battleground while the women joined the crowd of onlookers.
Then, once everyone was in place, Alfonzo dropped to one knee in front of the smiling Elicia and slowly raised her dress. Eventually, the dress was raised high enough that the garters holding up Elicia's stockings could be seen.
A moment later, Alfonzo removed a garter from Elicia's left leg, which was perfectly concealing a second one, before letting Elicia's dress fall again.
"Alright, like with the bouquet, I'm gonna throw this into the crowd." Alfonzo said, holding up the garter as he spoke. "And the lucky man who catches it will be the next one to get married."
Hearing that, most of the men's eyes sharpened. However, not for the same reason as the women. Instead, they were thinking they would do all they could to avoid it. There was one exception, though.
"Now, I don't think things will be as intense as with the ladies." Alfonzo said with a wry smile, though there was a bit of mischief swirling in his eyes. "So, I won't raise the barrier again. But I will put my foot up the ass of anyone who damage's my house."
With an understanding nod, most of the single men readied themselves to move once Alfonzo threw the garter.
"And here we go." Alfonzo said as he, almost lazily, tossed the garter into the group of men.
As soon as the garter left Alfonzo's hand, as if they had been practicing for years, all the men gathered stepped away from the garter's landing point in unison. However, as previously mentioned, there was one man who lunged towards the garter.
And to everyone's surprise, that man was Gajeel. Though, the reason was different than wanting to get married. Instead, it was because this whole part of the event was meant to be a prank that Alfonzo and Elicia discussed beforehand.
As previously mentioned, Alfonzo removed a garter that concealed a second underneath. And while they both looked identical, the one Alfonzo removed was made of a lightweight, flexible metal. So, when he threw it, Gajeel was attracted to it by instinct.
"Well, there you have it." Alfonzo said with a smile.
"It looks like Gajeel will be the next groom." Elicia continued. "I wonder who the lucky lady is?"
With that, Alfonso and Elicia both turned towards Levy simultaneously with mischievous smiles on their faces.
Meanwhile, Levy could only stare blankly with a furious blush covering her face, ears, and neck. At the same time, Gajeel, who had immediately started eating the metal garter, turned his head in Alfonzo and Elicia's direction with a confused expression.
"Damn it!" Gajeel bellowed a moment later. "You tricked me into catching it, didn't you?"
With that, the entire group burst into loud, uncontrolled laughter. At the same time, Levy and Gajeel made eye contact briefly before turning their heads away just as quickly.
"Alright, let's go back to the other side of the yard." Alfonzo said as he took Elicia by the hand. "It's time to party the rest of the day away!"
Like that, the entire group shifted back to the other side of the yard. At the same time, Alfonzo started the music. Then, those who wanted to dance, danced. Those who wanted to chat, chatted. And those who wanted to drink, drank. And there were no small number of people who ended up doing all three.
"Come on, Natsu, dance with me!" Lisanna said while dragging Natsu onto the dance floor.
"But I already told you, Lisanna, I don't' know how to dance." Natsu protested weakly.
"And like I already told you, I'll teach you." Lisanna said, not hearing any of Natsu's protests.
"For some reason I don't think this is gonna end well." Alfonzo muttered while he danced with Cana.
"What do you mean' Cana asked while holding Alfonzo's hands.
"Just watch and you'll understand." Alfonzo replied while smiling wryly.
{BGM: Chris Brown – "Gimme That"}
While continuing to move in rhythm with the music, Alfonzo and Cana focused their gazes on Lisanna and Natsu. At the same time, the song changed to a rather upbeat one. Then, Lisanna, with Natsu's hands in her own, began rocking and bouncing with the rhythm. And after seeing what Lisanna was doing, Natsu did his best to copy her.
"I still don't understand why you seemed so worried, Fonzie." Cana said as she drew nearer to Alfonzo. "She's only teaching him how to dance."
Instead of responding, Alfonzo only continued to watch. Then, just as Alfonzo expected, once Natsu started getting comfortable with those movements, Lisanna began to speed up her movements. On top of that, she started swinging Natsu around with her. By the end, the two were spinning around like a cyclone. Though, to Alfonzo's surprise, Lisanna's movements were still perfectly in tune with the beat.
"Holy shit…" Cana muttered after seeing Lisanna step on the gas, so to speak.
Eventually, around the time the song ended, Lisanna finally let Natsu go. Unfortunately, after that, there was a pretty good chance that Natsu would never dance with her again. Especially since all the spinning had triggered Natsu's motion sickness, and he currently looked like he would throw up at any second.
{BGM: Full Force – "Ain't My Type Of Hype"}
A moment later, the next song began to play. And while Alfonzo was on the dance floor with Cana, Elicia was sitting with t eh other girls and chatting animatedly, they both froze when they recognized the song. Then, they both slowly turned their heads and made eye contact with each other.
"Fonzie, is everything okay?" Cana asked after noticing Alfonzo's strange behavior.
"Everything's fine." Alfonzo replied without averting his gaze from Elicia. "But right now, Lici and I need to settle something, once and for all."
Naturally, Cana was utterly confused by what Alfonzo said. Yet, Alfonzo paid her no mind.
At the same time, a similar conversation was happening between Elicia and the other girls. And just like Cana, the other girls were left thoroughly confused when Elicia stood up and started walking towards the dance floor without a proper explanation.
Eventually, more and more of those attending the reception noticed the strange atmosphere and turned their attention towards the newlyweds. And when Alfonzo and Elicia finally stood in front of each other, no more than five feet apart, the tension in the air was palpable.
"It's time for us to end this feud, Fonzie." Elicia said in a serious tone.
"Yeah, let's put this to bed." Alfonzo replied. Then, he gestured to Elicia. "After you. I wouldn't want you to lose your will if I went first."
"You'll regret those words, Fonzie." Elicia said with her eyes narrowed.
Everyone who heard this conversation was even more confused than before. What kind of disagreement could those two have that would result in an atmosphere like this. However, they would not have to wait long to find out.
In the next instant, Elicia took a deep breath. Then, she started moving to the music. And as she did, her dance moves became more and more flashy, drawing oohs and awes from the crowd. At some point, she even danced out of her high heels while simultaneously creating a slit in her dress to make it easier to dance.
Close to a minute and a half later, Elicia had finally come to a stop in a B-Boy stance while glaring at Alfonzo smugly while the crowd cheered enthusiastically.
Alfonzo, on the other hand, looked impressed, but not overly so. Then, when the cheering died down, he started to move. Though he moved slowly at first, he did keep the rhythm. And like Elicia, he also danced out of his leather shoes. On top of that, he took off the jacket to his tuxedo as well. Then, he created a clothes hanger before hanging the jacket on it and proceeding to dance with it like it were another person.
Eventually, Alfonzo sent his jacket away over the crowd. Then, once his jacket was gone, Alfonzo spun himself until he was spinning on his back, breakdancing. And like Elicia, he came to a stop about a minute and a half after he started while sprawled out on the floor and looking at his new wife smugly.
Once again, the crowd burst into enthusiastic cheers. However, instead of helping to decide a winner in this dance battle, they all started dancing, caught up in the atmosphere Alfonzo and Elicia created.
However, because this was a Fairy Tail event, the night did not end until there was a brawl over the outcome of another dance battle. A brawl that Alfonzo eventually ended because someone got dangerously close to damaging his new home.
Either way, after partying for nearly ten hours, the reception came to an end. And while most people went home at the end, there were a few people, namely Alfonzo and Elicia's closest friends, that stayed the night in the new mansion.