Earth Land, Ishgar, Bosco, Undisclosed Location.
August 12, x787.
"Cucucu!" A man with snake-like features laughed after hearing a report from his most useful subordinate. "So, you're telling me that one of the coming Chunin Exams will be held in the Village Hidden in the Leaves? And it will be held jointly with the Village Hidden in the Sand?"
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru." The snake-like man's, Orochimaru's, subordinate, Kabuto Yakushi replied while bowing politely.
"Excellent." Orochimaru replied with a devious smile on his face. "This will be the perfect opportunity to get my revenge on both Sensei and the village. Cucucu."
After they were freed from prison by Junko, along with Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Nemu, Orochimaru and Kabuto fled the Kingdom of Fiore. And while Mayuri and Nemu returned to their home continent, the two rogue ninja set up a series of hideouts in Bosco, a country bordering Fiore to the north. On top of that, Orochimaru has been recruiting subordinates, mostly missing nin from the different Hidden Villages, along with the occasional traditional wizard, as well.
"What are your orders, Lord Orochimaru?" Kabuto asked respectfully.
"I want you to send a message to the Kazekage." Orochimaru replied. "Tell him I'd like to meet and discuss an alliance against the Leaf."
"Are you sure they will accept?" Kabuto asked skeptically. "The Leaf and the Sand are supposed to be Allies, after all."
In response, Orochimaru scoffed before looking away.
"The only reason the Sand signed an alliance treaty with the Leaf was because if they didn't, they would have been completely wiped out in the last war." Orochimaru said disdainfully. "So, I'm sure they would be interested in returning the favor. And with that arrogant fool, Rasa as the new Kazekage, I'm sure it won't take much in the way of convincing to get him to agree with my plan."
"Understood." kabuto said, still speaking in a respectful tone.
With that, kabuto finally straightened up. Then, he turned around, preparing to leave and draft the message to send to the Village Hidden in the Sand. However, just before he left the room, he heard Orochimaru speak once again.
"It's too bad Kimimaro and Guren were lost back then." Orochimaru said in a wistful tone. "They would have been quite useful in killing Rasa. *Sigh* Now I'll have to come up with another way to do it without being discovered."
Although his tone said that he regretted the loss of two of his subordinates, Kabuto knew Orochimaru well enough to know that he was only regretting the fact that he could no longer use them.
"Perhaps, I might have a suggestion to solve that issue, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto replied, stopping before he left the room.
"Hmm?" Orochimaru intoned, his eyes urging Kabuto to continue.
"Perhaps we should contact the woman who aided our escape from prison." kabuto said. "Though it may cost us, I'm sure she would relish in the opportunity to cause chaos and despair."
Hearing that, Orochimaru's devious smile widened. Then, he shot an approving gaze in Kabuto's direction.
"I truly am grateful that you were brought in alive, Kabuto." Orochimaru said. "Cucucu. It truly would have been a shame if I had lost you."
"You honor me with your praise, Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto said, once again bowing respectfully as he did so.
With that, Kabuto was finally allowed to leave the room, leaving Orochimaru alone.
"I'll be able to complete more than one goal with this plan." Orochimaru said to himself. "Not only will I be able to kill Sensei and destroy the village, but I'll be able to get my hands on the perfect vessel, as well. I may have failed to get my hands on you, Itachi, but you left an even better vessel in the village for me. And once he is marked with my [Cursed Seal of Heaven], it will only be a matter of time before he comes to me of his own volition. Cucucu."
Earth land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
At the same time, Alfonzo, Elicia, Shizuka, Ikaruga, and Miyuki were at the hospital in Magnolia. Porlyusica had also come to the hospital, as well. Currently, they were in the maternity wing of the hospital, as Elicia would be giving birth today. However, she would not be giving birth by natural means. Instead, she would be having a C-Section.
And although Elicia really wanted to give birth naturally, she was advised not to do so by both Porlyusica and Shizuka. The reason? Alfonzo and Elicia's baby was expected to be more than eleven pounds at birth. And once Elicia heard that, she stopped protesting immediately.
So, Elicia was currently in a delivery room with Porlyusica and Shizuka while Porlyusica performed the C-Section and Shizuka assisted her. Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who had been thrown out of the room, was sitting with the two maids and waiting to hear the cry of his first born child.
"Are you okay, Master Alfonzo?" Miyuki asked after seeing Alfonzo sitting in the waiting area with his head lowered. "There is no need to worry, with Miss Porlyusica and Miss Shizuka in there, Mistress Elicia will be fine."
"Yeah, I'm alright." Alfonzo replied while trying to calm himself down. "I'm just really fucking excited."
With that said, Alfonzo raised his head while smiling brightly.
When they saw Alfonzo's smile, Ikaruga and Miyuki were both taken aback. They expected Alfonzo to be a bundle of nerves from having to wait. But he was so excited, neither young woman knew what to think.
Seeing Ikaruga and Miyuki's shocked expressions, Alfonzo dialed back his excitement a bit.
"I know what the two of you are thinking." Alfonzo said while still smiling, though not quite as brightly. "Yeah, I'm nervous. I mean, I'm about to be a father. I have no idea how I'll do. But I'm not scared. I know Lici will be fine. I mean, the best doctor in the world is performing the procedure. So, what is there to worry about?"
Seeing how much Alfonzo trusted Porlyusica, Ikaruga and Miyuki could only nod their heads in understanding. However, before the two maids could respond to Alfonzo's speech, the quiet atmosphere of the hospital was broken.
"Fonzie! We're not too late, are we?" Cana, who had been reporting a completed quest to Ur when she got the call that Alfonzo had taken Elicia to the hospital, shouted as she came running down the hall.
"No, you're not late. Alfonzo replied with an awkward smile. "You should probably keep your voice down and stop running in the hospital, though."
When Alfonzo gave his advice, it was not only meant for Cana. Because Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Marin, Sun, and Lucy were following her quickly. However, it was not just his fiancées who were storming through the halls of the hospital, either. Accompanying them were Gildarts, Ur, and all of their friends from the guild who were not away on quests.
Meanwhile, there were several nurses chasing the wizards of Fairy Tail while repeatedly asking them to be quiet and not to run. Naturally, they were completely ignored.
"Oh, yeah, I guess we should be quiet in a hospital." Ultear muttered in an embarrassed tone.
"Anyway, where is Lici?" Marin asked curiously. "And why aren't you in the delivery room with her?"
"Because she's having a C-Section." Alfonzo replied. "And Porlyusica kicked me out."
"Seriously?" Ur asked in a shocked tone. "Just how big is your baby gonna be?"
"Well, Porlyusica said it would weigh more than eleven pounds."
Hearing that, all the parents in the guild were dumbfounded. Those without children, however, were also amazed. Though, not nearly as much as the wizards with children.
"That's insane." Macao muttered. "Romeo only weight 7 and a half pounds when he was born. Yet, Enno said she felt like she was carrying a-whole-nother person for months. I can only imagine how Elicia must have felt."
"Yeah, and I haven't heard her complain even once.' Mirajane added. "She never really had any mood swings or morning sickness, either."
"And that just proves that Lici is built different.' Cana said, sounding proud of her best friend.
"Yeah, she didn't even scream when she got hit with Cana's [Super Nova] spell two years ago." Ultear added.
"Now that you mention it..." Cana muttered, stopping to remember that fight.
"It's true." Erza added with a nod. "Elicia truly is strong in both body and heart."
"Wahh~~~~~~~~~~~!"
Before the conversation could go on any longer, however, the sound of a crying newborn could be heard from behind the door opposite the crowd of Fairy Tail wizards. And before anyone could react, Alfonzo was covered in violet arcs of electricity before he vanished from in front of everyone and reappeared in front of the delivery room door.
Despite his eagerness to slam the door open and enter the delivery room, Alfonzo somehow managed to keep himself in control and waited for either Porlyusica or Shizuka to open the door and let him in. Unfortunately, the wait took longer than he expected. And that was because Porlyusica was stitching up the incision from the C-Section.
But the door was eventually opened before too long. And when it was, Porlyusica was standing in the doorway with her ever-present scowl. However, when she saw Alfonzo's expression filled with anticipation, she let a small smile make it onto her lips.
"Congratulations, Alfonzo, you're the father of a healthy baby boy."
Alfonzo smiled brightly at Porlyusica's announcement. A moment later, she stepped aside, allowing him into the delivery room to see his wife and son. Naturally, the members of the guild tried to follow him inside, as well. However, before they could enter, Porlyusica, with her usual scowl back on her face, stepped forward to block their path.
"Hey, we wanna see the baby, too!" Natsu shouted.
Immediately after his shout, Natsu ducked his head when Porlyusica glared in his direction. Then, Porlyusica let her glare sweep over the rest of the wizards, causing the others to duck their heads, as well.
Eventually, Porlyusica raised her hand. Then she pointed at a few of the wizards present.
"You, you, you, you, and you." Porlyusica said, pointing at Cana, Marin, Sun, Ur, and finally Gildarts as she spoke. "You five may enter. But the girl needs rest. So, you can't stay for long."
Hearing that, Cana, Gildarts, Ur, Marin, and Sun all nodded their heads in understanding. Meanwhile, the rest of the guild, especially the rest of Elicia's harem sisters, were disappointed. However, they did understand that Elicia had to be tired after just giving birth.
However, before Porlyusica allowed the five to enter, she glared at Gildarts as hard as she possibly could.
"As for you." Porlyusica said in a stern tone while continuing to glare at Gildarts. "I know you were friends with those two's parents. That's the only reason I'm letting you in, despite your habit of breaking anything and everything you come in contact with. But if you break anything in this room or do anything to cause the girl any undue stress, you won't like the consequences."
In response, Gildarts shuddered. He knew that was not an idle threat. And it scared him. For some reason, despite the passive amount of magic power he releases, not one of Porlyusica's brooms has ever been destroyed when she swung it at him. On top of that, they've always hurt much more than the worst pain he's ever felt. Even when he lost an arm, leg, and had his stomach ripped apart by Acnologia could not compare.
"I understand, Miss Porlyusica." Gildarts said with his back straight as an arrow.
Porlyusica continued to glare at Gildarts skeptically. However, she did eventually let him and the other ladies into the room. And when they eventually entered, what they saw was Shizuka smiling at Alfonzo and Elicia. Meanwhile, Elicia, who was barely conscious thanks to the anesthesia, was smiling up at Alfonzo, who was holding the newborn baby with a smile on his face and tears in his eyes.
The new born was small, especially when compared to Alfonzo. Yet, he had features that favored both Alfonzo and Elica. However, since his eyes were still closed, it was impossible to tell whose eye color he inherited. Still, that did not take away from the newborn's cuteness.
"Thank you... Thank you, Lici.... Thank you so much." Alfonzo muttered over and over while looking into his son's face.
Seeing how excited Alfonzo was about his first born, Cana, Gildarts, Ur, Marin, and Sun could not help but be happy for him. Sun even started crying along with Alfonzo. Then, they approached the new parents.
"Elicia, how are you feeling?' Ur asked as she reached Elicia's bedside and took Elicia's hand gently.
"Tired..." Elicia replied without taking her eyes off her husband and son. "Tired.... but oh so blessed."
"O.M.G. He's, like, super-duper cute!" Marin squealed as she approached Alfonzo and the baby.
"Uh huh!" Sun intoned while nodding emphatically. He looks just like the two of you."
"Yeah, the kid is probably gonna be a heart breaker just like his old man when he grows up." Gildarts added with a grin. "I bet Hughes is gonna be really wary of the kid when he gets older, despite the fact that little Elicia is, like, eight hears older than he is."
Hearing that, Alfonzo, Elicia, Cana, Ur, Marin, and Sun could not help but giggle.
"I want a baby, too." Shizuka muttered while continuing to stare at the newborn in Alfonzo's arms.
That caused the room to fall silent. However, Cana, Marin, and Sun were all thinking the same thing after seeing Alfonzo and the baby. Even Ur glanced at Gildarts for a moment.
"Well, at least her baby will never go hungry." Cana muttered while staring at Shizuka's breasts. A moment later, she shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts, then she turned her attention to Alfonzo and Elicia as she continued. "Anyway, what's his name?"
"Now that you mention it, you never told us what you would name him." Marin added.
"That's because they never found out if it would be a boy or a girl." Gildarts said.
"So, now that you know, what's his name?" Sun asked excitedly.
"I wanna know, too." Shizuka added after snapping out of her daze and starting to clean up the tools used for the C-Section procedure.
Even Porlyusica looked at the new parents in curiosity.
Hearing their questions, Alfonzo finally looked away from his son's face. Then, he turned his attention to Elicia.
"Well, what's his name, Lici?" Alfonzo asked, sounding just as curious as everyone else. "We agreed that if it was a girl I would name her and you would name a boy, right? So, what you got?"
For a moment, Elicia's exhaustion seemed to be blown away. Then, with the brightest smile anyone had ever seen, and considering how often Elicia smiled, that was saying something, she opened her mouth to reply.
"His name is Amar'e... Amar'e Marcus." Elicia said proudly. "Now, let me hold my baby."
Smiling in return, Alfonzo once again looked at his son, Amar'e.
"Well, Mommy has spoken." Alfonzo said gently.
Then, he carefully handed Amar'e to Elicia, who, despite her exhaustion, held him steadily.
With that, they continued to chat for a short while. However, Cana, Gildarts, Ur, Marin, and Sun were eventually asked... or rather, ordered to leave by Porlyusica so that Elicia could get some rest. Alfonzo stayed for a while longer. However, visiting hours eventually ended, and Alfonzo was asked to leave as well. Meanwhile, Amar'e had already fallen asleep in Elicia's arms after being fed. And Elicia, after letting Porlyusica put Amar'e in a bassinette, fell asleep as well.