Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
June 6, x791.
Reaching the guild hall, Alfonzo and the ladies stopped outside of the sliding doors with somewhat dumbfounded expressions on their faces.
"Are you fucking shitting me?" Alfonzo asked with an eyebrow twitching.
"I'm actually more impressed that they even got it to stay up there." Elicia said with a giggle.
"Um… Why is there a bucket sticking to the wall above the doors?" Sun asked while tilting her head in confusion.
"Because someone's playing a prank." Marin said in an exasperated tone.
"Yeah, and I'll give you three guesses who it is." Alfonzo said while shaking his head.
As just mentioned, above the sliding doors that served as the Fairy Tail guild hall's front entrance, there was a bucket stuck to the wall. On top of that, there was a thin string tied to its handle that, when the door opened, would cause the bucket to be tipped over and pour its contents on the person who was walking through the doors.
"Not that I approve of such pranks." Erza said while tilting her head like Sun. "But would it not be more effective to have the bucket on the inside of the guild hall, rather than the outside? Especially at this time of day."
"That's exactly what I told you, Fū!" The sound of a young man whisper shouting could be heard from nearby.
"I know, I know." A young woman's voice was heard next. "But the little guild master was still inside. And if she caught us…"
"She wouldn't' have done anything at all." The first voice said. "Master Mavis is really nice. She might have even helped us if we asked."
Hearing that, Alfonzo and the rest of the ladies could all feel an eyebrow twitching as they turned their gazes away from the corner of the building where the two culprits were obviously hiding and looked up at the top floor of the guild hall.
"Damn it, Fonzie." Cana complained as she turned to look at Alfonzo again. "We can't see inside from down here. Why didn't you make the guild master's windows see through from both sides?"
"Windows are structural liabilities." Alfonzo replied with a shrug as he shifted his gaze back to where the two pranksters were hiding. "And we had just had our guild hall destroyed quite thoroughly. So, please excuse me for wanting to be safe."
"You sound like Legion." Elicia said while trying to hold back laughter.
Hearing Elicia say something completely incomprehensible, the other ladies completely ignored her, as this was a common occurrence. Alfonzo, on the other hand, only shook his head with a fond smile, as he was the only one who understood the reference.
"He's got a point there, you know?" Ultear replied.
"Even so, I can almost feel Mavis' watching us with amusement." Rika said while trying to stifle a laugh.
"Hey, Naruto, Fū." Alfonzo said with as his smile widened. "Come here for a minute. I wanna ask you something."
"I knew you were too loud." The female voice, Fū, said as she and Naruto walked out from around the corner.
"Me? It was definitely you." Naruto replied indignantly. "I'm sure you would have woken up the entire town by now."
"Hey! You take that back!" Fū shot back. "I'm definitely not that loud."
All the way until they were standing in front of Alfonzo and the ladies, Naruto and Fū bickered back and forth. However, they did stop to look up at Alfonzo when they were finally standing in front of him.
"What's up, Big Bro?" Naruto asked with is usual, innocent, goofy smile on his face. "Did you need something?"
"Not really." Alfonzo replied casually as he raised a hand for a fist bump. He then continued when Naruto reciprocated his fist bump. "I was just wondering when you, Jiraiya, and Sasuke would be heading back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
Naruto visibly deflated at that. However, he did not stay that way for long, perking up almost immediately after his shoulders slumped.
"We'll be heading back straight from Crocus once the Grand Magic Games are over." Naruto replied. "We'll be taking Fū with us, too."
"Yeah, Shibuki said he would pick me up from there." Fū said excitedly. "This will only be the second time I've ever seen another Hidden village. I'm really looking forward to it."
"Yeah! And I'll show you all the fun spots around the village, too." Naruto added energetically.
"Oh, Fū's going back with you, Naruto?" Elicia said with a mischievous hint in her tone. "Are you sure that's a good idea? What will little Hinata think when she sees you come back with another girl?"
Blushing both furiously and immediately, Naruto looked away. At the same time, Fū's eyes lit up. She had just heard something interesting. Something she could use to tease Naruto with.
Over the three years Naruto has been a member of Fairy Tail, Elicia, Cana, and some of the others who had stayed in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, had convinced him that Hinata liked him. And not as just a friend, but romantically. And ever since he realized it, Naruto had found himself liking the princess of the Hyuga Clan back. Though, he was quite embarrassed to admit it.
A moment later, Naruto finally process the rest of what Elicia said. As he did, his face paled. Then, he looked at Fū with panic. Yet, when he saw the mischievous glint in Fū's eyes, he paled even further.
"Oh, no!" Naruto exclaimed. "Hinata's gonna get the wrong idea, isn't she?"
"Probably." Fū replied with a smile. She then raised her chin and puffed out her chest proudly as she thumped her right fist on the left side of her chest. "But don't' worry, Naruto. As my best friend, I'd never do anything to get between you and your sweetheart. So, I'll explain everything to her so that she understands that I'm not trying to steal you away from her."
Hearing that, Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Though, he still could not help but worry for the day of his return.
As much as he trusted that Fū wouldn't do anything to hurt him, as she was just as kind as she was mischievous, he was still a bit scared. Especially since her thoughts were rather chaotic at times.
"Anyway, it's almost time to start training." Alfonzo said with a smile. "By the way, how is that new move coming, Naruto?"
"I think I almost got it." Naruto replied, completely forgetting his previous train of thought as he did so. "I just can't figure out how to throw it. From what Aunt Ren said, until I can use it from a distance, I shouldn't use it because it hurts me, too."
"Ah, yes. The [Wind-Style: Rasenshuriken]." Erza said, nodding in approval. "One the technique is complete; it will be quite the offensive boon."
"You've seen it, Erza?" Ultear asked in a curious tone. "I've only seen him use the regular [Rasengan]. And that was pretty powerful by itself. I can only imagine how strong it would be if you added [Wind Magic] to it."
With that, all the more combat oriented members of Alfonzo's harem started to discuss Naruto's new Jutsu, slightly embarrassing him in the process. Meanwhile, Alfonzo only smiled at Naruto with a hint of his own mischief swirling in the depths of his eyes. Though, neither Naruto nor Fū seemed to notice it.
"Well, how about this, Naruto." Alfonzo said, setting up his little prank while also trying to motivate the young shinobi. "If you can get the [Rasenshuriken] usable before we head to Crocus for the Grand Magic Games, I'll make as much ramen as you can eat as a reward. Oh, and it will all be free of charge."
Immediately, Naruto's eyes started to shine like torch lights. At the same time, he snapped his head in Alfonzo's direction.
"Big Bro, you're not joking, are you?" Naruto asked, his anticipation on full display. He then wiped away a bit of drool that leaked from his mouth as he continued. "You're really not joking, right?"
"Of course not." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head, the smile never leaving his face. "From the moment you met me, have I ever lied to you, Naruto?"
"No!" Naruto exclaimed as he jumped into the air in happiness. "Never. Everything you have told me is the truth. And you've helped me so much."
As he landed on the ground again, Naruto turned around to face the guild hall, turning Fū along with him.
"Come on, Fū, let's go." Naruto said, full of energy. "We gotta figure this out before the end of the month. If I can do it, I'll share my reward with you."
Although she did not need any extra incentives to help her best friend, Fū would never turn down any of Alfonzo's cooking. So, she energetically followed Naruto towards the guild hall when he started running.
*Splash!*
However, when the doors opened and the two shinobi were about to enter the guild hall, the bucket they hung over the door was flipped over. And just as they passed under it, they were both caught in the prank they, themselves, had set up.
With their momentum carrying them forward a few more steps, Naruto and Fū came to a stop just inside the guild hall, both completely soaked. Then, they both turned around slowly and looked back at Alfonzo, the desire for revenge shining in their eyes.
"Why are the two of you looking at me like that?" Alfonzo asked in the most innocent tone he could muster while imitating Sun and tilting his head cutely. "I didn't do anything."
Though it was true that Alfonzo was not the one who set up the prank, both Naruto and Fū had realized that he had distracted them so that he could direct them into tripping their own trap. And for that, they would definitely get him back.
"You two better get going." Alfonzo said, not too concerned with Naruto and Fū's retaliation. Their pranks were not too bad, after all. "Otherwise, you might not make the deadline."
With their attention once again diverted, Naruto and Fū's eyes widened. Then, they exchanged glances before turning around and running towards the elevator to reach their favorite training room, which just so happened to be the large one on the tenth floor. That was the only one large enough for them to practice with their Tail-Beast forms, after all.
"You've gotten way too good at this." Mirajane said with a smile as she leaned onto Alfonzo while watched Naruto and Fū move deeper into the guild hall. "Tricking them into forgetting what they were thinking so easily."
"I've had a lot of practice." Alfonzo replied with a shrug and a smile. "I mean, Naruto is a lot like Natsu. So, the same tricks work on him, too."
"Now that you mention it." Lucy said while tapping her right index finger against her lower lip. "They really are a lot alike. Except, instead of fighting, Naruto likes to play pranks."
"But they both are easily motivated by food." Sun said, picking up where Lucy left off as she clapped her hands happily.
"Exactly." Alfonzo replied with a nod. "Anyway, we should get going, too, Lici, Marin, Sun. We've got our own training to get to."
"Yeah, and we definitely don't wanna keep Ur waiting." Elicia added as she shivered while rubbing her butt.
Seeing Elicia's panic, most of the girls laughed at her. However, Ultear, who could empathize, looked at her with understanding.
And just like that, the group of wizards who lived at the Mansion on the lake made their way into the guild hall to start their training.
Meanwhile, on the top floor of the guild hall, Mavis, who had been watching the entrance from the one-way windows in her office ever since Naruto and Fū set up their prank, turned away from the window with a smile. She then skipped over to her desk before hopping into her seat.
"Well, that went about the way I expected it to." Mavis said to herself as she picked up the tablet-like magic item used to control the guild hall's functions and keep track of the guild's member roster. "Now, I really need to finish what I talked with Alfonzo and Lici a few months ago. I'll compare their achievements one more time today before making a decision."
And just like that, Mavis also got to work, and another typical, rowdy day at the Fairy Tail guild hall got underway.