(Asta's p.o.v.)
It's been a month since Liebe and I completed our first assignment, with the help of Alice and Leafa of course. It's also been a month since Leafa and I had become a couple, and believe me when I say it was the happiest moment of my life to date. My only complaint was that Alice and Liebe continued to tease us when they found out. That aside, currently, we almost arrive back at the Makai Order. Along the way, Leafa and I noticed that her roommate and my devil partner were becoming rather close. When I sensed their Ki, I could tell that the two of them were developing feelings for each other, just like my elf girl was expecting. This meant that it was about time to get our payback on them for messing with us.
When we had arrived at the city gates, we were greeted by the guards. "Welcome back, kids. How did your mission go?" One of them asked. Leafa responded, "It went better than expected. By the way, have you guys seen my brother and his group while we were gone?" The other guard answered, "Yeah, they came back a week ago. Kazuto and his group had been on another job while you guys were gone, and he was called in by the Watch Dogs just yesterday. They've been so impressed by his progress that they decide to Knight him." All four of us were surprised and happy for Leafa's brother, especially her. "Really?! That's amazing!! I can't wait to see him!" She said gleefully. I suggested, "After we report in to the Headmaster, why don't we go find him and congratulate him, Leafa? I bet he would love it." She smiled and replied, "Good idea, but remember what you said back in Heart?" I knew exactly what she meant and said, "Oh don't worry, I won't. I'd never forget about I promise I make. Especially with you."
Her smile brightened more and the guards looked surprised, but quickly they adopted a smirk on their faces. We noticed this and Leafa asked, "What are you two looking at us like that for?" "Oh nothing, just impressed that the new kid was able to get a good woman so quickly after joining the Order." The first guard commented. I replied, "What? Did you think I was gonna be single all my life?" The second responded, "No, we meant what we said. Though, may I give you a word of advice?" I asked, "What might that be?" "Just don't start having kids until after you graduate, ok?" That made the two guards, Liebe, and Alice burst out laughing while me and Leafa turned as a red as tomatoes from embarrassment. Liebe walked over to the guards and gave them a high-five as they all continued laughing. Our embarrassment turned to anger and we shouted, "GO TO HELL, ALL OF YOU!!"
Timeskip - half an hour
After the two comedians had finished at us, we made our way back to the Academy to report back to the Headmaster. On the way there, Alice and Liebe started to do something friend small talk with us, which we ignored due to our being upset at them. "Still, I have to admit, I'm happy for the both of you. I was honestly surprised when you two met up with us that morning while holding hands." Alice said. Liebe added, "Truth be told, I was expecting you to get together in another month or two before we really started enjoying teasing you lovebirds." This was when Leafa replied, "Speaking of which, when are you two going to start dating?" The two of them blushed before Alice asked with a stutter, "W-w-what are y-you talking about?!" Liebe also stuttered his replied, "Y-yeah, there's n-nothing going on between us. We're just good friends!" We cheekily smirked and I asked, "Oh really? So nothing happened between you two when you were alone at night?" "You both were having a romantic stroll through the city at night after all." Leafa added which made the two of them turn redder. "Can't we talk about something else, please?!" Alice begged. I decided to play along for a bit and said, "Alright, instead of talking about what you two were doing on patrol............How about we talk about what you two were doing while you waited for us? You two Devils didn't do the forbidden, did you?" Steam began to emit from their burning red faces and they shouted, "SHUT THE HELL UP AND LEAVE US ALONE?!!!!" Leafa and I bursted out laughing as we continued walking to Gakuganji's office. 'Not so funny when the tables turn on you, is it?' I thought.
We eventually made it to the headmaster's office and I knocked on the door. Gakuganji's voice said from in the room, "Come in." I opened the door to see the Headmaster and two other men, one was an elf about my age with black hair and eyes, wearing black overcoat, and had two swords on his back.
The other was a human who looked a few years older with red eyes and hair with the bangs covering his right eye, wearing a white overcoat.
The headmaster greeted us by saying, "Ah, good to see that you made it back." Leafa looked inside and saw the black haired elf before saying, "Hey big brother, welcome back!" I then knew that he was Leafa's brother, Kazuto. He replied with a smile, "Hey Leafa, I heard you went on your first mission, how'd it go?" Liebe replied, "Better than she expected I'll say." Kazuto looked in our direction and asked, "Who are you two?" Remembering that we never met before, we introduced ourselves. "I'm Asta and this is Liebe. We just enrolled in the Academy more than 2 months ago, and we went on our first mission with Leafa and Alice here." I said. He replied, "Oh, I see. My name is Kazuto, Leafa's older brother. I appreciate you looking out for her out there."
We thanked him and he asked, "So, what did you mean your mission went better than expected?" Liebe chuckled and replied, much to mine and Leafa's chagrin, "Your sister and Asta official became a couple." Kazuto was surprised by that and looked at the two of us as we chuckled nervously. "Well it was bound to happen eventually, my friend." The red head commented with a chuckle. "By the way, who are you?" I asked and Gakuganji answered, "This young man is Leon Luis, the current bearer of the title of Garo the Golden Knight." The four of us were surprised to hear that the most famous lineage of Makai Knights is standing before us. I said to Leon, "It's a pleasure to meet you." He replied, "The pleasure is mine. Congratulations on winning the heart of the Academy's top Priestess, by the way." I answered shyly, "Thanks."
"Leon?" A voice called to the Golden Knight, which the latter raised his left hand to show a ring with a demonic face.
"What is it, Zaruba?" Leon asked. "I smell a Devil." The Mado Ring named Zaruba replied. Everyone looked surprised, except me, Leafa, and Liebe who were worried, while the Headmaster stayed calm. Leon asked, "Can you tell where it's coming from?" Before Zaruba could answer, Headmaster Gakuganji spoke, "You're probably smelling Asta, because he is a Devil Host." Everyone looked at him and than at me. The Headmaster continued, "Iska was sent on a mission a couple of months ago and found Asta fighting the horde he was assigned to eliminate. We questioned Asta and learned that he is not in control of his Devil nor it controls him. If anything, their relationship is akin to your's and Zaruba's, Leon. Granted his Devil does still harbor some resentment towards humans, he still chooses to assist the boy."
Kazuto asked me, "You fought a horde of Horrors by yourself?" I nodded and Leon asked, "Were you able to kill any of them?" I replied, "Yeah, 150 if I remember right, but that was only half the horde. Iska finished off the rest." The two Knights looked at me slack jawed and Kazuto grabbed a hold of my shoulders before saying in disbelief, "You seriously took on and defeated that many? And you weren't even aware of Makai Knights at the time?!" Gakuganji answered, "Indeed, I was just as surprised when I learned of this. In fact, it impressed Iska so much he invited Asta into the Makai Order." They were surprised again, as apparently, I was the first to ever be invited to join the Order.
"I'm interested in seeing how skilled you are, Asta. Why don't we have a sparring match tomorrow during combat class?" Kazuto asked me. I replied, "I accept. Oh by the way, I heard that from the guards that you were made an official Makai Knight recently, congratulations." He smiled and said, "Thanks, and I can't say I'm all too thrilled about you taking my sister without my permission." His tone turned serious after saying thanks. Leafa was about to tell her brother off but I stopped her and asked, "I need your permission to date your sister?" He replied, "If you're anywhere near as capable of protecting Leafa as you and the Headmaster claim, I hardly have any complaints. However, having the skills to protect her isn't enough, what I need to know is whether or not you truly care for her and whether or not you can truly make her happy. Leafa's my only sister, the last thing I want is for her heart to break." I could feel his Ki and he was genuinely concerned for his sister. I respected him for that.
I said, "I can tell from your Ki that you really care about Leafa and I respect you for that, but you need to remember that she's not a little kid anymore. She's old enough to make her own choices and she's allowed to love who she wants to love. And let me make this clear, the one thing I hate most is seeing her cry. During our mission, I suffered a mortal wound that would've killed me if I continued fighting, but I refused to stay down. The Horror we fought threatened to eat her alive right in front of me, I refused to let it do that. I used my power to close up the wound for a little while and stood back up to fight. Leafa had tears in her eyes as she looked at me with fear and worry that I would make my injury worse and die in front of her. I hated seeing her like that, but I refused to stay down while she was in danger. I swore to myself, that I would never make her cry again and that I would protect her no matter what. Even if I lose my arms and legs, as long as I draw breath, I WON'T GIVE UP!!"
(Kazuto's p.o.v.)
I was shocked and in awe when I saw the fire in Asta's eyes as he gave his speech. I saw a man who would give his life to make sure that my sister would remain safe. I was so impressed that I couldn't help but burst out laughing. When I stopped, I looked at Leafa and said, "Now I see why you love this guy, sis. He's got the heart of a lion, and if you two ever decide to get married, I have no complaints." Asta and Leafa gained a blush and I turned back to Asta before saying, "Treat my sister well, Asta." He nodded with a smile.
"I like this one, he's more of a knight than most I know of. I'm honestly surprised the Watch Dogs haven't knighted him already." We turned to see that it was Zaruba who said it. Leon then said, "Speaking of, that reminds me." He looked at Asta and said, "Asta, have you wondered why I'm here yet?" He asked a good question. Truth is, I had been called to the Headmaster's office and Leon was there when I arrived. I didn't get to ask him why he was there because a minute after I walked in, Leafa's group appeared.
Asta shook his head while saying, "No, I haven't asked myself that yet." Leon said, "Well, I've been sent here by the Watch Dogs to test you. They want to know if you're worth of an ancient Makai Armor that had been sealed away 700 years ago." I soon pieced together what he meant. I asked shocked, "Wait, you don't mean?!" The Golden Knight nodded and replied, "Yes, The Dark Knight, Kiba."