Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, Magnolia.
August 7, x791.
"Good, that's taken care of." Retsu said as she walked into the Mansion on the Lake's living room. "Hopefully, Tsunade will be back to have this issue taken care of by the end of the month. Though, I would not be surprised if things took a bit longer to get settled in her village."
After entering the living room, Retsu looked around and saw most of Alfonzo's wives and lovers playing with the children, reading, chatting, or drinking in Cana's case. However, there were a few exceptions.
For example, Irene was not currently at the mansion. Instead, she was at the guild hall chatting with Mavis. Lucy was also not in the living room. Instead, she was up in her own bedroom writing the manuscript of the book she has been writing for the past few years.
"Where is Yoruichi?" Retsu asked after identifying everyone present.
"She probably went to talk to Alfonzo." Cana said casually while sprawling across a couch.
"I see." Retsu replied as she took a seat on the floor next to Amar'e, Bianca, and Calvin, who were playing with their mothers, Sun, and Saeko.
"I wonder how that talk will go." Rika said while reading a copy of Sorcerer's Weekly from another couch. "Do you think he'll accept her?"
"That's between them." Mirajane replied. "But knowing Alfonzo..."
"As long as she doesn't want to be his only one, he'll probably accept her." Elicia said, picking up where Mirajane left off.
"Speaking of wanting to be his only one..." Ultear said with a contemplative expression on her face. "How is Laki doing with that guy from the Village Hidden in the Leaves? What was his name again? You know, the guy with the mask that always has one eye covered."
"Kakashi Hatake." Elicia answered. "And from what I've heard from Laki, they're doing pretty well. Though, she's having a tough time getting him to not read that smutty book he likes in public. Hehehe."
At the same time, somewhere in the Kingdom of Fiore, a white-haired, masked shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves sneezed. A moment later, he grimaced as the inside of his mask was covered in snot. Meanwhile, a man wearing a green jump suit laughed at his misfortune while doing one-handed, hand-stand push-ups.
Meanwhile, in the master bathroom of the Mansion on the Lake, Alfonzo was standing in front of the mirror and drying his hair with a towel, another towel wrapped around his waist as he just got out of the shower.
"Seriously... Fighting Unohana is such a mess." Alfonzo said in a disgruntled tone. "Even though I managed to evaporate most of that blood-like stuff with electricity, the vapor got in my hair anyway. And getting that shit out is such a pain in the ass."
*Knock!* *Knock!* *Knock!*
"Hmm? I guess she got all the girls' approval." Alfonzo muttered after expanding his [Magic Power Detection] to see who was knocking on his bedroom door. "Well, might as well let her in."
With that, Alfonzo draped the towel he was using to dry his hair over his shoulders. Then, he tightened the towel around his waist while making his way into the bedroom.
"Gimme a minute!" Alfonzo called out as he made his way to his closet.
"Okay." A voice replied from the other side of the door.
It did not take long for Alfonzo to get dressed, throwing on a pair of comfortable pants and a sleeveless shirt over his undergarments. Shortly after that, he made his way over to the door and pulled it open, revealing Yoruichi standing there in her usual attire, her form-fitting black Shihakusho and orange long-sleeved shirt combo.
"Hey... How's it going?" Yoruichi asked, sounding uncharacteristically nervous.
"Come on in." Alfonzo replied as he opened the door wide and stepped aside.
"Thanks." Yoruichi replied softly as she stepped into the room.
Upon stepping inside, Yoruichi took the chance to look around the room. When she did, she was surprised at how simplistic it was. The last time she was in Alfonzo's room, it had a lot more decoration, after all.
"I know what you're thinking." Alfonzo said with a chuckle. "But since I don't share a room with Lici anymore, the room has a lot more of my style. So, there aren't as many decorations. Instead, there's just a bunch of practical stuff in here. Anyway, go on and have a seat."
As he spoke his last sentence, Alfonzo gestured towards the foot of his massive bed. Meanwhile, he picked up the towel he was using to dry his hair before he got dressed and made his way into his workshop. Then, after a few seconds, he came out carrying a chair which he set up in front of the bed, where Yoruichi was sitting.
"Don't mind me." Alfonzo said as he took a seat and started drying his hair again. "I was just getting out of the shower when you knocked. So, my hair isn't dry yet."
"I could help you with that, if you don't mind." Yoruichi replied shyly.
"Sure." Alfonzo said with a shrug. "I wouldn't say no to the help."
With that, Yoruichi stood up once again. She then took a few steps before she arrived behind Alfonzo and took the towel from him. Then, with practiced hands, she began drying his hair.
"So...?" Alfonzo asked while leaning his head back and enjoying the feeling of someone drying his hair for him.
"Yeah, I know you know why I'm here." Yoruichi replied while continuing to dry Alfonz's hair. "But I guess you want me to say it myself, huh? Fine... I did it. I got hit in the face at least thirty times doing it. But I finally did it. I got the okay from all the women who were here when that... Um... accident happened between me, you, and Lici."
"Accident, huh?" Alfonzo asked casually. "Is that what you're telling yourself?"
"*Sigh* No..." Yoruichi replied, her tone dropping as she did so. "It's just... calling it an accident sounds a lot better than saying I tricked Lici into helping me take advantage of you while you were drunk."
"Well, I definitely agree with that." Alfonzo replied with a chuckle. A moment later, however, his chuckling stopped, and he spoke in a solemn tone. "But you shouldn't do that. Because if you tell yourself that it was only an accident enough times, even you'll start to believe that's how it really was. And the only way to grow when you mess up is to acknowledge it and not forget. That way, you won't make the same mistake again in the future."
"*Sigh* I know.' Yoruichi replied, her tone just as solemn as Alfonzo's.
"Anyway, you got all the girls' acknowledgement…?" Alfonzo said. Though, it was clear that he knew what was next. Even so, he asked his next question. "So, what now?"
"You really can't just make this easy for me, can you?" Yoruichi grumbled, drawing a quiet chuckle from Alfonzo, which made her more irritated than she would have liked to admit. She then took a deep breath and said everything she wanted to say in one go. "Fine, I'll just say it. Now that I have their permission, I want to be with you. I know you probably don't trust me all that much, and to be honest, I understand. I did that to myself. But if you'll give me the chance, I'll do anything to build that trust with you again."
Taking another deep breath after getting all of that off her chest, Yoruichi continued to dry Alfonzo's hair in silence. She wanted to bring up the point about being exiled from the Soul continent until she could convince Alfonzo to accept her and tell him not to worry about that. However, she knew that if she did, it would leap to the forefront of his mind. And that was not the reason she wanted him to accept her.
On top of that, she was sure that Alfonzo was already aware of that particular fact. She had told him about it the first time she met him after returning to Ishgar, after all. But if she knew him as well as she thought she did, Yoruichi was sure something like that would not sway Alfonzo's decision in the slightest.
As for Alfonzo, he was not in a rush to respond to Yoruichi. Seeing such a usually head-strong, confident woman squirming with nervousness was a rather novel sight. And to be honest, he could not get enough of it. Especially after the way she used to pursue getting into his and Elicia's bed so relentlessly every time, he saw her all those years ago.
But he knew he could not revel in this novel feeling for too long. Otherwise, he would end up making Yoruichi misunderstand. So, despite his desire to keep things the way they were for a little longer, he finally opened his mouth when he felt Yoruichi's hands slow down and subconsciously start putting more pressure on his head.
"To be honest with you, I more or less forgave you when you rushed off, grabbed Sui-Feng, and decided to go back to the Soul Continent for training." Alfonzo said. "I mean, before that, even though you reprimanded Sui-Feng for her actions, you never really took them seriously. But that moment was when you showed serious awareness of something being wrong."
By now, Yoruichi's hands had completely stopped moving as she listened to Alfonzo speak.
"I don't know if that was when you realized that all actions have consequences, or something else entirely." Alfonzo continued. "But that was the first time I saw you actually take action towards something that was wrong around you. Something that was more than likely your fault. You didn't even act this decisively when you apologized for what you and Lici did back then. That's not to say that your apology wasn't heartfelt. But... Well, I think you know what I mean."
At that moment, Alfonzo, based on the pressure on his head from Yoruichi's hands, could tell that she nodded her head, despite the fact that he could not see her from his current position. Also, he had no idea what exactly she was nodding at. But he had no intention of asking, either. He had seen and heard enough to make his decision by now. So, he continued to speak to let her know what that decision was.
"Now, don't get me wrong. I've made enough mistakes in the past that I really have no right to judge you." Alfonzo said, almost casually. "But I have made a decision about your request. And I am willing to accept you. But like you said, it will take some time before I can give you the same level of trust as the others. Because despite the fact that I want to say that I'm over what happened back then... I would be lying if I did so. Even so, I believe most people deserve second chances. And I'm willing to give you one."
With that, the room fell into silence. At the same time, Yoruichi's hands started to tremble. Then, after a few seconds without moving, Yoruichi repositioned the towel so that it was covering Alfonzo's forehead and eyes. After that, Alfonzo could hear her footsteps as she walked around to his front before stopping and standing still for a few seconds.
Eventually, Alfonzo felt Yoruichi's body heat approaching followed by the feeling of her breath tickling his face. Lastly, he felt a pleasant, warm feeling on his lips. Naturally, this was Yoruichi's kiss. A tender, lingering kiss that conveyed her emotions. Added to that, there was a somewhat salty taste, letting him know that she had been crying silently before she decided to kiss him.
"Thank you..." Yoruichi said, her volume so low that Alfonzo had to strain to hear her.
In response, Alfonzo smiled. Then, he reached up to take the towel off his face. However, before he could grab hold of it, he felt Yoruichi's hand wrap around his wrist.
"Don't... take it off... please..." Yoruichi said quietly. "At least, not right now."
Understanding that Yoruichi did not want him to see her crying, Alfonzo lowered his hand. Then he reached out and grabbed Yoruichi by the waist before pulling her to sit side saddle in his lap, eliciting a surprised yelp from Yoruichi in the process.
Then, once Yoruichi was seated in his lap, Alfonzo pulled her to lean against his chest before wrapping his arms around her, untying her ponytail, and combing his fingers through her hair in silence.
At first, Yoruichi struggled. But when she realized that Alfonzo, even with her in his lap, did not reach up to remove the towel, she relaxed. Then, after a few more seconds, she snuggled into Alfonzo's embrace and enjoyed the feeling of his fingers gliding through her hair and gently rubbing her scalp. And before long, she fell asleep in his arms after her taut nerves relaxed.