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Black Clover - The Three Brothers
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Yami called the four to hang around the lounging area of the base, Vanessa and Finral should be back soon he said.
"Oh, I guess I didn't get around to talking to you three about the mission." Yami noted, speaking to Magna and the two newbies.
Blake was nearby on the couch, to the right of the leather chair Yami sat in, attempting to do some sketching. He'd done it alongside Asta and Yuno when they were kids and felt a spark to want to get back into it. He'd figured doing one of his family at his church would be a good start.
It was...eh. He'll get better.
"You guys had a rough time, but you pushed past your limits and manage to protect the village, so be proud. You weren't able to keep everyone alive, but sadness isn't bringing the old man back. Just focus on growing stronger so that something like that doesn't happen again." Yami ordered, with a rather subtle note of softness in his voice.
The three of them performed the salute.
"Yes, Sir!" Asta and Magna shouted.
"Thank you." Noelle spoke. I've been praised. Yay!
"And then you, Blake,"
The late-teen looked up from his paper.
"Though it wasn't done how it was supposed to, you did a good job of handling it when it went south. Plus, you saved them the extra work of assembling a whole team of magic knights to deal with it, good work."
Blake gave him a nod and the salute. "Appreciate it, thanks, Captain."
"We're back!" Announced the brown-haired sweet-talker. Finral and Vanessa had returned, walking through his portal.
"We heard about what happened at Saussy Village, nice work out there!" Vanessa congratulated.
Asta smiled. "Thank you! It was tough but we pulled through!"
She walked over to the couch and sat next to Blake, crossing one leg over the other and resting her head on her palm. "I also heard you were able to bring down a whole group of bandits on your own. Very impressive work."
The emphasis made her voice sound rather sultry and caused Blake's ears to flush red. He twirled the pen around in his hands to steady himself. "All in a day's work, you know? I aim to please."
A smile graced Vanessa's lips, with a subtle glint in her eyes. "Good to know."
"So, did you learn anything?" Yami asked.
Finral shrugged. "Not much, honestly. They check around the area for any items they left behind, but no dice so far, besides the leader's pocket watch."
"This is bullshit! What good are they then?!" Magna grew irritated and attempted to throw a fireball at the wall out of anger.
With a flick of his wrist, Blake opened a small portal in front of the fireball, where it would end up in the sky before it dissipated. "Destroying the base isn't gonna help." If that happened, Yami would cuss them out and break even more stuff, better to not let it start.
Magna sighed. "Alright, yeah, you're right. Good looking out, Blake."
Vanessa leaned back, crossing her arms. "It was a rather nice pocket watch. Along with how they behaved, it's likely they're either noble extremists or dissidents." She added.
Blake's eyes narrowed, and his pencil snapped as he put too much pressure on the poor device. Nobles. Should've fucking known.
Without the device, he couldn't do anything for his sketch, leaving his wandering eyes to take glances at Vanessa's attire.
She adorned herself in red-maroon clothing and while it may cover up much more than she usually did, it still allowed her to emphasize the places of importance. Her top had a v-shape opening, baring her cleavage and midriff. And now, the way she had her arms crossed, was pushing up and accentuating her voluptuous breasts.
That wasn't even the worse part. What Blake couldn't take his glance away from was how snug the stockings and garter belt were around her thighs.
Her. Very. Plump. Thighs.
Fuck, and the cuts on the side of her skirt that showed just a bit more?
Oh fuck...It's doing things...
"Well, that's up to them to figure out." Yami rose from his chair, before smiling. "Now then, I've got some good news for us."
"Ooh! Tell us! Tell us! Please!" Asta asked.
That was enough to snap Blake out of his "bewitchment".
However, his heart stopped as he locked eyes with Noelle, staring at him with a look of disapproval but soon became a knowing grin he was familiar with.
...Being on the receiving end is not fun! Very not fun!
He subtly shook his head, mentally begging for her to be quiet.
Thankfully, she was merciful and moved her attention to what Yami was going to announce.
Blake released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and did the same.
"For the trio's work at Saussy village and Blake's handling of the bandits..." Yami rustled around in his pockets before revealing two 5-pointed, golden stars. "The Wizard King has recognized your efforts and given us two stars!" He spoke with pride.
"Woah! Stars!" The golden stars would never shine as brightly as Asta's eyes did sometimes, such as now.
"Hell yeah! That's how you do it!" Magna cheered.
Noelle nodded with a smile, she was all giddy on the inside.
"So, what do the stars mean?" Blake asked, sitting up from the couch and walking over to the other three.
Finral offered up an explanation. "They're an indicator, used to represent how successful a brigade is. The ones with the most stars are regarded as the best."
"So with that, it ends up as a competition between the nine brigades," Vanessa said. "There's a whole festival at the end of March to show off the rankings and who contributed the most."
"As you may have guessed, The Golden Dawn is at the top of the list so far, with 70 stars." Finral added.
Golden Dawn, that's Yuno squad... Blake turned to face Yami. "I'm afraid to ask the question, but...how many stars do we have?"
Yami chuckled. "How many do we have?" He brought the pair of stars over to a board on the wall with star markings. The golden stars floated up and covered two of them, making them disappear.
"With this, we're at -29 stars. 99 stars away from reaching the Golden Dawn. We'll get there in no time!" Yami belted out a hearty laugh.
"-29 Stars?! Seriously?!" Asta couldn't believe the words that came out of his captain's mouth. A vision of Yuno with a smug grin was engraved in Asta's mind as he realized how far away his team was from his rivals.
"H-How do you even get negative stars?!" Noelle spoke in exasperation.
Blake shrugged. "We're the worst of the worst, remember?"
"That's not all." Yami picked up a basket that Finral and Vanessa had brought back with them.
After a few minutes, the members present had been handed heavy pouches.
"Payday's arrived! Your wages for the month."
Asta and Blake's eyes widened at the amount of money they held in their hands.
"There's like 200,000 Yul here!"
"We're not poor...We're not poor!"
The Hage brothers locked arms as they skipped merrily in a circle. "We're not poor anymore, hey! We're not poor anymore, hey! We're not poor anymore, hey!" The two sing-sung in unison.
"Knuckleheads." Yami said with an amused grin.
"Such brotherly affection, how manly!" Magna respected the display.
"Yeah, it's...nice to see." Finral had a smile, though it felt rather...melancholic.
Vanessa giggled, finding it kinda cute.
Noelle felt similarly but didn't get the excitement over such an amount. "This is barely pocket change." She remarked.
"POCKET CHANGE?!"
"POCKET CHANGE?!"
Asta and Blake stopped dead in their tracks.
"It's just pocket change, you rambunctious peasants." Blake mocked Noelle, even flipping his hair back for authenticity. "A royal ain't got no room in the discussion on the value of a yul!" He pointed at the girl who stared blankly at him in return.
"We could buy over 2000 pot potatoes each with this amount!"
"That's one way to boil it down..." Blake mumbled at Asta's calculation.
"That's all I got to tell you, for now. Have some fun, do with it as you see fit but don't be dumb and use up all your wages." Yami advised, before heading off to his quarters.
"Beautiful ladies, here I come!" Finral cheered as he opened a portal to Castle Town.
Magna followed before Finral closed the portal. "I'll make this payday even better when I win over 100x it!"
Noelle looked over at where the portal was with disappointment. What did the captain just say...
Blake glanced over at Vanessa. "Does he get any?"
She cocked an eyebrow. "Finral with the ladies or Magna with the winnings?"
Blake chuckled. "Both, I suppose."
"Hmm, Finral can usually land a date but it never ends up working in the long-term, poor guy. As for Magna...we should probably have some spare clothing ready for him."
"Noted."
"But, hey, congrats on having your first payday you three!" She said, addressing Asta and Noelle as well. "Got any plans on what to spend it on?"
"Not particularly." Noelle admitted.
"Honestly, I was planning on just sending a bunch back to the church." Asta said.
"What about you, big guy?" Vanessa tilted her head to Blake.
How does something as simple as wearing a hat make her cuter?
Moving on from that, Blake had a similar train of thought to Asta. "I wanted to get all the little ones a bunch of gifts and toys, and maybe some tools that can help Pops and Sister run the church."
"Oh! Good idea!" Asta responded.
"Aw. The two of you are just a pair of sweethearts, aren't you?" Vanessa cooed. She raised a finger. "Helping out the people you care about is important, but self-care is just as important, so make sure to save some for yourselves!"
Asta looked at his pouch. "Yeah, okay, but what should I spend it on?"
Vanessa grew a little excited. "Let's find out! Today's a free day, after all, we should go do some shopping at Castle Town!"
"Shopping..." Noelle spoke to herself.
"You've never gone shopping before, Noelle?" Vanessa asked.
"I...no, I can't say I have."
Noelle recalled how she always saw her older sister coming back to their household with dozens of bags of various clothes and jewelry carried by their servants on her days off. She...never offered to take Noelle with her.
And when she asked? Nebra just...scoffed and walk away.
She never would've wanted to be seen with her.
"Well, don't you worry!" Vanessa wrapped an arm over Noelle's shoulder with affection. "I'll show you all the wonders of it, I know a place with a ton of outfits you'd look absolutely stunning in!"
That cheered Noelle up a bit...until her mind began to wander over to fantasies of Asta complimenting the way she looked and how the dresses fit her perfectly.
"Hmmm, Asta, what do you think fits Noelle?" Blake asked, feigning it as an innocent question but Noelle saw the teasing look he had, the bastard.
No! No! No! I showed you mercy!
Sorry, but that was a mistake.
It was like the two could read each other's thoughts.
"Huh? Why are you asking me that?" Asta questioned.
Blake shrugged. "Just getting another opinion."
Asta looked at Noelle innocently enough, but it still caused her to clam up and become frozen under his gaze.
"I mean...I think what she's wearing right now suits her perfectly." Asta admitted. "But I'm sure she could pull off anything she wanted to wear!" He wanted to be encouraging.
Noelle couldn't handle this. Curse you, you short, reckless, loud, muscle-bound, endearing peasant! Why do you always have to be so...so... S
"It's not just that we can do." Vanessa brought Noelle back to reality, putting Noelle's attention on her. "We could also look for magic items that can help you control your magic!" She offered.
Now that really got Noelle's attention.
"That's a great idea." Blake turned off his teasing mode and went back to helpful mode. "If you have something to act as the medium between outputting your magic and manipulating it to do as you need it to, that should increase your capabilities by quite a bit!"
Noelle pondered on it. "Would it be...similar to what you said about the string?"
Blake thought on it for a moment. "Actually, yeah, in a way."
"The string? What string?" Vanessa asked.
"It's nothing important." Blake waved it off.
"Well, how about we go head out now? Blake, have you been around Castle Town before?"
"I think so, yeah, when we came up for the exams." Blake made the connection and opened his grimoire, casting the Spatial Magic spell.
Vanessa clapped. "Perfect! Saves us on time and a broom trip!"
"Alright, let's get it going!" Asta was the first to go through.
"Hey, wait up dorksta!" Noelle followed after, but not before sending what was an attempted harsh glare at Blake that ended up more like a pout.
Vanessa stood next to Blake. "So, is it like that?" She asked after Noelle went through.
Blake nodded. "For her? Absolutely. For him? He probably doesn't see it."
"Shall the two of us attempt to play matchmaker then?"
Blake gave her a grin. "You read my mind."
"You are rather relentless when it comes to teasing the poor girl though."
Blake shrugged. "I can't help it, it's too easy to get to her."
"Oh?" Vanessa said with a dangerous tone.
A shiver went down Blake's spine as he felt her hug him from behind, her gloved hands placed on his torso.
A giggle escaped her as she could feel the well-defined abdominals underneath his shirt.
A shaky breath escaped him when she ran her hands up and down them.
Vanessa lifted her heels, having to stand tip-toe to reach Blake's ear to whisper, who let out a restrained hum feeling her pressed breasts slide up his back.
"I could say the same thing about you~"
Oh fuuuuck, I'm in danger.
Vanessa slid her way in front of him, keeping their bodies in contact to "torture" Blake even more, then pulled him along by his arm to the portal.
"Now come on, handsome. We got shopping to do!"
This woman's gonna be the death of me...
―
Asta and Blake split off from Noelle and Vanessa, letting them do their clothes shopping while the boys checked out what interested them.
They reacted to the bustling area of Castle Town just as they did when they first arrived, with oohs and aahs galore. This time, however, they could do more than just window shopping. One of their stops was at a popular children's shop.
"Woah! I didn't know they made Magic Knight action figures!" Asta stared amazed at how detailed the figures were.
"Good find, Asta! Nash would definitely enjoy some of those." Blake picked up a bundle of random ones but made sure to grab a couple more of the Crimson Lion ones. He figured Nash would have a preference for them. Fire and all that.
"I'm getting some of these for myself!" Asta scooped out some figures happily, as well.
What else...rattling toys and plushies for the little ones sounds good. Hmm, these are some cool blocks. Wait a minute, they go together?! You can use the blocks to build stuff?! That's a must! They'll be busy for hours! Blake practically bought out the owner's entire stock of "Legablocks". What should I get for the girls?
They visited a couple more shops. Asta was quick to pick up any random item that piqued his interest and Blake bought something here and there. After a while, they decided to head over to whichever store Blake felt Vanessa and Noelle were at, they were probably wrapping up their shopping by now.
...
"What do you mean you're barely halfway done?!" Blake spoke in disbelief.
Vanessa shushed him. "Blake, Blake, Blake. Shopping is a very important event, we have to make sure our sweet little royal gets the options that really show her at her best!" She explained.
Blake was annoyed, but not by much. He had to admit, he liked seeing Vanessa acting like an older sister to Noelle. It gave them something in common, he supposed.
"What about you two?" Vanessa asked, noticing the brothers' lack of bags.
Blake grinned. "Anything I bought, I put through a portal to my room, same with Asta."
He looked back at his brother who was currently occupying himself with some of the action figures he bought, acting out an intense battle and doing some rather well-performed sound effects and voices. "Besides that. Spatial Magic is, like, the definition of convenience."
Vanessa whistled. "Indeed it is."
Blake took a look around at the store. "Could you do me a favor, Vanessa?"
She was ready with it. "Want me to try some stuff on, give you a little show?" She spoke with a shake of her hips, that flirtatious smile on her lips yet again.
Fucking hell. Show some mercy!
"No! ...Maybe...That's not what I was asking!" Blake groaned, feeling the heat rise to his face.
"I got two little sisters back at the church, Recca and Arlu, 13 and 5. I was thinking...maybe I could buy them some nicer clothes. But frankly, I don't have a clue what to get them so...I wanted to ask for your help."
Vanessa's teasing smile soon turned into one of flattery, then delight. "Of course, I'll help! Let's have a walk around and see what we like."
It took them another hour or two to finish up Noelle's dress-up alongside Vanessa helping Blake pick out some nice, appropriate dresses for the two young girls. If he counted right, he got about five different outfits for the two girls each.
―
"How do you spend all that time going through so many outfits and only pick up, like, three?" Blake questioned as the four of them continued their stroll through Castle Town.
"It's quality over quantity, Blake." Vanessa reasoned.
"And I only wear the best. I am royalty, after all." Noelle said, in her usual haughty voice.
"Whatever you say, princess." Blake mumbled, patting the girl's head. It was an easy way to break down that would-be icy exterior.
Murmurs among the citizens continued as the quartet made their way to wherever Vanessa was planning to take them. Somewhere special, she said.
"Hey, those are Magic Knights, right?"
"They have the robes...ah shit, it's the Black Bulls."
"Looks like they got some new members."
"Even the little kid has one? Standards really are low with that brigade."
Prick.
"Woah, that's the Black Bull's witch, Vanessa!"
"She's way hotter in person!"
"So the cutie next to her is a Black Bull too?!"
...The fuck? Blake looked in the direction of where the last voice came from and gave the obviously older man a very pointed glare.
To the man, the glare was equivalent to several dozen knives being embedded deep into his chest. He froze momentarily, before quickly shuffling his way to somewhere else. Anywhere else.
Blake hummed proudly. Guy had to have been double Noelle's age at least,
Just...ew.
"There's a lot of commotion because of us." Noelle noted.
"Don't worry about it, they know Magic Knights being around helps deter criminals away." Vanessa waved her hand to the side, allowing it to brush by Blake's. "And we might have the luck of a gentleman coming to court one of us lovely gals."
You... Blake sighed. Is this the game we're playing?
Fine then.
A small gasp escaped Vanessa as she felt a hand placed on her hip. Blake pulled her closer to his side, having their bodies in contact.
"Well then, they'll have to court elsewhere, won't they?"
Blake spoke in a whisper, low and husky.
Vanessa's surprise soon became...satisfaction. She liked it.
"Yes, I guess they will." Vanessa giggled. She leaned her head into the white-haired man's chest.
His breath stumbled and Vanessa hummed, looks like he was still easy to get to.
A-Are they really...? Noelle wasn't expecting them to—
"Why are you two so close together?" Asta asked, as blunt as he usually is.
Blake would've responded, but Vanessa spoke first. "The streets can be crowded, it's good to stay close so we don't get lost, be safe and all that." She explained.
"Ohhhh, I see." The boy nodded.
Noelle squinted her eyes at the older woman. What kind of explanation is that? The streets aren't crowded—
"Ah!" Noelle yelped as Asta did the same as his older brother.
"Alright, stay close, Noelle!" Asta spoke.
"W-W-W-W-What are you doing?!" She almost screeched, pushing Asta away with a slap.
"What do you mean?! I'm trying to keep us close!"
Noelle could barely turn to speak. "W-Well that's too close, especially around someone of royalty!"
A traitorous voice in her told her how much of a lie that was, how it would've been nice to keep him closer, and she did her best to stomp it back down into the deepest parts of her subconscious.
"Well, okay, fine." Asta wasn't going to argue about her right to personal space. "You could've just said so."
Oh, darn it! He's always so stubborn but why's he so accepting too?!
It was a sudden action, she wasn't even sure how she got herself to do it, but she reached back and gripped Asta by his robe, bringing him just a bit closer to her than before.
"Noelle?" Asta questioned.
"This..." She couldn't even open her eyes. "This is fine."
Asta was confused by the royal's actions, but shrugged and went along with it. If it meant she felt safe, then sure.
Blake looked at Vanessa with intrigue. "Is that why you gave him that explanation?"
She smiled. "Got to give them a push in some way, don't we?"
Blake chuckled.
"Not bad, there's hope for them yet."
―
They didn't take much longer to reach the place Vanessa labeled special.
"An alley..." Asta leaned a little closer to Noelle. "What's special about it?"
"How would I know?"
Asta shrugged. "Cause you're royalty?"
"That only explains so much, dork-sta." She mumbled.
"What about you, Blake?" Vanessa spoke with a knowing tone. "What's special about it?"
It didn't take long for Blake to keen in on what was peculiar with this alley. "Oh!"
He moved away from Vanessa and the others to stand in front of the wall on the left side of the alley. He shoved a hand into the wall and rather than hurting his hand or cracking the wall, it went right through the wall, to the shock of Noelle and Asta.
"Some sort of illusion magic or something?" Blake went in further and put his head through the wall for a second before popping back out, looking back at the pinkette. "This some sort of shop?"
Vanessa nodded as she and the two younger members came over.
Blake moved to the side, placing one hand behind his back and gesturing the other to the wall with a playful grin. "Ladies first?"
Vanessa tittered. On her way through the wall, she swiftly lifted her hand to trace his sharp jawline with her index finger. "Always a gentleman." She spoke as she passed through.
Blake stood blank for a moment, absent-minded as he retraced where she touched his jaw, not paying attention to the tired and confused looks given to him by Noelle and Asta respectively. He regained his attention, clearing his throat, before going through as well.
―
"What just—How did you—For the fifth—Dang it!" Sekke could barely speak, knocking over the chair he sat in as he stood and threw his cards onto the table.
The old woman he had been playing against merely giggled. "I can see into the future, dearie!"
Sekke didn't pay attention to whatever she said, rummaging through his pockets for anything. Alas, he had nothing. "I'm all cleaned out, you've bested me..." He bah-ha'd sadly before leaving the table, wanting to leave this waste of a trip.
What the hell am I doing? Magic Knights are supposed to do important and badass missions, yet all I'm stuck with are odd jobs and being used as bait! I can't even think to deny them, else that maniac of a captain would probably hang my head on a banister to be a lesson for others. I'm plenty of things, but a martyr? Absolutely not!
Sekke held a hand to his stomach as it grumbled, hurting a little. I shouldn't have eaten that grilled snake crap the old bat offered, no matter how hungry I was, now I feel constipated...
Sekke scratched the back of his head and stiffen at feeling the loose strands of hair coming off. And all this stress is making my hair fall out! I'll be lucky if I make it to 30 without going bald!
This is all that little brat's fault! I was stuck with these Preying Mantis losers because of him! I'm stuck with these jokes of missions because of him! He's the worst! Not to mention that psycho of a brother who nearly killed me!
Sekke would've continued to wallow in self-pity, had his eyes not caught the figures of two very attractive women, standing near one of the black market's shops discussing...something or other.
He cracked a grin. It looks like my luck may have turned for the better, bah-ha! Time to work my magic...
"What about this one?" Vanessa displayed some sort of necklace with the purpose of magic control. The Black Market had plenty of options when it came to rare and useful items, it's why she took Noelle here.
Noelle looked upon it with uncertainty. "Maybe if it wasn't so ugly and oversized."
"You don't mince your words do you?" Vanessa spoke with a small laugh.
"Well, well. What could two beauties such as yourselves be doing in a place like this?" Spoke the frazzled young man in the mantis robes as he approached the two.
He leaned against the wall, attempting a flirty smile and wink. "Could you have gotten lost? I'm a Magic Knight, you know. I'll gladly escort you o—"
"Get lost, insect." Spoke Noelle. Meanwhile, Vanessa couldn't even bother with a response and only yawned at the man's attempt.
And like that, another part of Sekke's pride came crumbling down.
"Noelle! Vanessa! You won't believe what I found! It was so cheap too!" Came the ecstatic voice of Asta, running up to the girls to show off the alien toy he got, mainly Noelle. "Look! Look! It speaks and everything!"
Sekke stood agasp. No. Goddamn it, no! Why is that little brat here?! Where'd he get these two babes from?!
"Magic gloves that keep your hands steady, allowing you perfect shaping of what you're drawing, pretty cool." Spoke a calm voice from behind Sekke.
Sekke grew stiff with fear. If that little brat is here, then that means...!
Asta finally took notice of the bronze-magic user. "You look familiar...Oh right, you're—!"
"Sekke."
He really didn't want to turn around. He could already feel the malicious intent with just a single word alone!
"A-Asta...B-Blake...Long time, no see guys..." He chuckled fearfully, giving a glance in each direction without opening his eyes.
"You two know him?" Noelle questioned.
"He took the entrance exams with us." Asta explained.
Blake let out an eery laugh. Well, eery to Sekke at least. It didn't help that he roughly threw an arm around the scared man's shoulder. "Yeah, these two were actually the first match of the exams. Asta took him down in one hit!"
"Is that so?" Noelle glanced at Asta.
He wore a proud smile, rubbing his nose. "Yup, I sure did!"
"Impressive, kiddo." Vanessa complimented.
"I-It was more than one—"
"No one wants to hear your bullshit," Blake muttered. He turned the two around, facing away from the rest of them. "I'll give you to the count of 5 to get out of my sight, think you can do that?"
Sekke nodded with fervor. "Y-Yes sir, Blake s-sir, I sure can!"
"Good! Get ready." He let go of the man.
Sekke takes a step.
"4."
HE WANTS ME DEAD!!!
"Stop! Someone, help! Thief!" Cried the voice of a very old woman, the same one Sekke had gambled.
The five Magic Knights turned to the direction of the voice. Sure enough, there was a retreating figure running to one of the other exit ways throughout the Black Market.
Asta was on it, running towards the figure the moment he realized it.
"Look at him go." Vanessa said.
"[Bronze Creation Magic: Sekke's Shooting Star]!"
A copper-green magic scooter was manifested by the man with the signature laugh, with a...statue ornament of him with wings?
I won't let you either have the glory for this, you crappy Black Bulls! Sekke flashed another smile at Noelle and Vanessa. "I'll handle this, beauties! Relax and leave it to me."
"Creepy!" Noelle blurted out.
"Lame!" Vanessa did much the same.
Sekke had paid no attention as he took off.
Blake reached for his grimoire, looking through the pages in a panic before relaxing. "Thank god, I almost thought I copied the spell."
The grimoire glowed as he used it to open a portal to walk through, while Noelle and Vanessa went to help the old lady.
―
Ha, better luck next time granny. Don't leave your winnings so easy for the taking! The man gloated to himself, flying away on his cloud of wind. Ain't no way they're gonna catch up to me on this!
"Beautiful day, isn't it?"
The man freaked out on hearing the sudden voice, turning to his side to see some guy with long white hair...relaxing on a black hawk made of wind?! He's got Wind Magic like me?! "When the hell did you get here?!"
Blake waved off the man, unbothered. "Irrelevant question. But seriously? Stealing from some oldie?" Blake whistled. "Pre-tty pa-thetic, honestly."
"Shut the hell up!"
Blake smirked. "What's next, taking candy from a baby? Spilling a girl's ice cream?"
He thinks I'm just a joke!
The bandit unsheathed and pointed his dagger at Blake. "I'm getting sick of you! You better run your pockets before you get hurt. Or worse!"
Blake took one glance at the man from the corner of his eye, before releasing a small bit of laughter. "You hear that, Neven? Guy thinks he's actually intimidating."
A small puff of wind released from the black hawk's mouth.
"That's what I'm saying!"
"You motherfu—!"
Blake waved his hand at the man again. "Why are you so hung up on me anyways? I'm just the distraction."
"You're what?!"
The robber wouldn't have any time to comprehend that as he soon felt the cloud dissipate underneath, a large rusted metal sword going through it, forcing him to plummet.
My magic! It was cut through?!
Just as he landed on his feet, the wind got knocked out of his own body as a green scooter rammed into his chest.
Sekke chuckled. "Bah-ha! You're thieving days are done!" I look so cool right now.
"That's so cool!" Asta beamed at seeing Sekke's Shooting Star spell.
"The design for that should've never left the drafting stage." Blake mumbled, looking down from his hawk.
Sekke gloated over the stunned thief. "Bah-ha! I've caught you and all the glory will go to me!"
In the midst of his laughing, he failed to realize the bandit had stabbed him in the foot with the dagger he threatened Blake with.
"...Bah...ha?"
"You...suck. See you in hell." The bandit muttered before passing out.
Sekke belted out a cry of agonizing pain, falling to the ground. The sound allowed the witch and royal of the Black Bulls, with the old lady in tow, to locate the boys.
"Bah! Are you okay?!" Asta ran over to his side.
"Poison! I've been poisoned! I can't get up!" He cried.
So...this is how I end up going out, huh? Sekke gripped Asta by his robe. I don't want to entrust my will to him, but...
"You've bested me, Asta. Go...make it to the top! For the both of us! Don't let my dream...just be that."
Sekke let go of the boy, closing his eyes, quickly accepting the end life has decided for him. I guess...this isn't so bad.
...
Huh? Why am I still—
WHAM!
"Aghf!" Sekke's hands shot to his face to soothe the red mark Asta had left him with. "Hey, what was that for?" He whined.
"What are you talking about?! Your dreams are your own to make real, no one else's! Don't you dare give up, idiot!" Asta yelled at the man.
"I..."
"You are such a drama queen." Blake stood over the pathetic sight of Sekke, holding the knife that he was stabbed with. "It's a weak magic item, you'd recover just fine on your own."
"But this shique ointment I bought will get you back up in no time." Vanessa assured, rubbing it on the infected spot.
"Ah...Ha..."
―
As soon as the ointment did its job, Sekke took off, taking the bandit off to be imprisoned, telling Asta to train hard for their next meeting.
"See you around, Bah!" Asta waved happily at the Preying Mantis.
"You give that guy way too much credit, Asta." Noelle voiced.
"Huh, what do you mean?"
Blake sighed, he definitely agreed with Ellie in that aspect, but...
"That's one of your good traits. Always trying to see the best in others. Never let that change." He smiled at his brother.
"Uh, sure. No problem! Oh, the earnings!" Asta quickly went over, gathering up any currency that spilled from the bag before tying it tightly and handing it over to the old lady. "Here you go, grandma! That's a hell of a win, keep it safe!"
Blake felt something...peculiar about this oldie but didn't think much about it. "Yeah, you could teach one of our teammates a thing or two." He joked. He could've sworn he heard Magna in that casino section of the market.
"I won't, I won't. Thank you so much, again!"
The four waved goodbye to the old lady, heading out of the alley.
Once they were out of sight, she exhaled a sigh of satisfaction. "Getting to see those kids' magic at work will never get boring, that's for sure!"
She spoke, undoing the transformation and revealing...Julius?!
"Julius!" Shouted Marx, using the Communication Magic display once again. "For the love of all that is holy...Can't you stay at your desk for just one day to get work done?!"
"You're asking way too much of me, Marx! Especially when there are so many different types of magic developing!"
"You can't go out and about gallivanting every single day! Besides, there's a—"
The man with the title of Wizard King cut his assistant off. "A sudden abnormal situation, am I correct?"
"How did...?"
Julius smiled. "Don't worry, the matter will be resolved. Bye for now!"
He waved away Marx's spell.
The man's purple-colored eyes widened as he felt magic radiating from beside him. Spatial Magic?
...
Blake poked his head through the portal, taking a look around to see the supposed old lady having left the area.
"Sketchy old bat."
He mumbled, before pulling his head out of the portal and closing it.
Up atop one of the rooftops, Julius gazed at the alley he stood in only seconds ago with a smile.
"He sure is perceptive."
He then took notice of three figures flying high in the sky.
"Ah! One of them's the Golden Dawn newbie with the powerful Wind Magic! I have to see what happens with them!"
Julius vanished in the blink of an eye, following Klaus, Mimosa, and Yuno on their mission from afar.
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Black Clover - The Three Brothers
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A/N: Page 9 will be uploaded on Friday. It's a chapter focusing on Blake and Vanessa...and includes smut, so you know.
A/N 2: Feedback is always appreciated.