Disclaimer: As stated before, don't own Black Clover.

Authoress' Note: After writing my last Asta x Noelle fanfic, I thought of a few more ideas. I hope you'll enjoy it!

This is a tougher one to write... I wanted to try and portray the rapidness of the situation, followed by the slow down of the aftermath. I do hope that comes across well enough!

Rescue

This wasn't supposed to happen, was Noelle Silva's thought as everything began to crumble around her.

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Captain Yami had assigned her – along with the hot-headed senior Magna and the Anti-Magic swordsman Asta – to go to a village on the outskirts of the Clover Kingdom and pick up some specific supplies he had requested. The village was small, nestled within a large forest on the cliffs above a large lake, but it was what was grown there that was of interest to the leader. Certain vegetation there grown in that region was rumored to have intense healing properties. Given the group's penchants for getting into mischief and pain, it was a rumor worth exploring and so he had made the order to request the plants in question, with the plans to take them to the kingdom to have it confirmed. Hence, he had sent the three mages to the village, as he trusted them to pick up the plants and transport them to an apothecary in the kingdom, safely and without too much distractions.

The trip to the village was easy enough – Crazy Cyclone was more than enough to bring the three of them there and back, even with the extra bit of cargo – and finding the apothecary that had the order plants was a simple task. It was when they were all about to leave that trouble had sparked... Despite how remote the village was in general considerations, the rumors of the vegetation that could heal even the deepest of wounds with the right mixture drew not only the Magic Knights, but other small groups that had no intentions on providing a fair deal to the people that helped grow these magical creations. One of these groups, the leader calling them the Phantom Dealers, had came into the village just as the trio were readying themselves to leave.

At first, it seemed as though, between the village's own set of offensive magic users and the Black Bulls, they were keeping the dark mages at bay, but then came the creature... a large creature created from their mana and the forest and rocks around the village, outfitted with quick, vine-like tentacles that prevented people from Asta from getting too close to cut at it with his blade, the ability to absorb the water balls Noelle would send at them, and with the members of the Phantom Dealers using their magic to keep Magna's flames at bay. Still, it didn't make any of them give up. There had to be a weakness, and there was. For a few moments, when a fireball did manage to get past the defenses and tentacles, hitting in a small area around the user that led the creature caused it to falter, pieces of it falling apart. Everyone focused their efforts on that spot, trying to hit it, trying to dispel the magic by causing the user to drop his guard and in turns the spell, but as the battle went on and on it seemed like nothing they were trying was working.

The villagers were scared, watching as their homes, their creations, their livelihoods were being ravished and destroyed... and it made Asta very angry. In his rashness, he tried everything he could to gain access to the controller, from crawling up the creature's body to running along the tentacles, even using Noelle's water to try and reach him, but each time he found himself reflected. That was when it happened... Noelle's eyes widened as one of the appendages grabbed onto Asta tightly, forcing him to drop his blade onto the sands below, followed by the creature tossing him harshly into the lake.

That's where she found herself now, her violet eyes scanning the lake, looking for any sign of the swordsman coming back up from its depths, screaming in her mind of how things could've gone so wrong, but saw nothing... it frightened her like no tomorrow. Was he knocked out? Was he drowning? Could Asta swim!? She was internally pleading, waiting for any signs, but after several agonizing seconds of nothing, she was finding herself sliding down the cliffside, much to Magna's own worry, and rushing towards the water.

"Asta!" she screamed loudly over the waves, "Asta, Asta!" 'Please... Asta, you have to come up! Please don't let something like this take you out!'

"Ellie! Ugh... back off, you asshole!" Magna yelled, his attention divided between his battles and his concern for his friend, "Anything?!"

"No! I'm going to find him!"

"Be careful!"

Noelle nodded, surrounding herself in a bubble to preserve her oxygen, then using her magic to try and propel herself through the water... although she had a lack of control of her mana, as long as she kept a hold of her wand, she could do this, she hoped... Doing something like this, something she had only read about but never practiced, was potentially beyond her current level of ability, but she had to do something. She had to find Asta, had to save him!

'Where are you!? Asta... you're too strong to let a band of nobodies bring you down. You're one of the strongest people I've ever known, ever met... There's no way I'm going to let you go down here!'

Finally, within the depths of the water, barely illuminated, she did find Asta, his body floating downward towards the bottom of the lake, his eyes closed and mouth partly agape. "Asta!" Noelle yelled, rushing towards him. She had found him! But now what... she contemplated her options quickly. She knew if she had dropped the bubble right now, she would have no way to surround them again with oxygen. Even releasing it slightly to allow for him to come in could quickly prove to be an issue. But she knew there would be no way to control on whether or not he'd be able to stay atop the bubble as she propelled them towards the surface... 'What do I do!?'

The more she kept thinking, the more she kept staring at Asta... This wasn't the time to start freaking out; she needed to do something! Taking in a deep breath and holding it, she dispelled the bubble around her, swimming the rest of the way towards Asta, grabbing him underneath his arms and wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders. With one hand helping to hold him and the other around her wand, Noelle aimed it down at the lake floor, sending her mana downward, the force of it helping to propel both them up towards the surface. Her eyes shut tight, trying to hold her breath just for a few seconds longer, her grip on Asta as strong as she could muster... this needed to work, she pleaded, it had to work!

The moment she felt the absence of water on her head was the moment of relief she needed. She gasped loudly, panting as she tried to catch her breath again, one eye opening to look down at Asta, him still leaning against her limply. Putting her wand away, Noelle tried to swim back to the shore with him in tow, using the waves of water to help push them closer to it. She was absolutely tired, but she knew she couldn't give up.

'Asta would never give up. I have to be strong for him right now. Just hang on for me, please...'

After a few long moments, they reached the shore, much to Noelle's relief, resting Asta's body upon the shore. She knelt beside him, her breathing still heavy, but she finally noticed for the first time that he wasn't... it was obvious on observation, but within her adrenaline and desire to save him, she didn't take in all of the details. She leaned over him, listening for any signs of breathing, hearing what she thought was very faint pants but it wasn't concise or normal. Now it made her panic... he couldn't be dying, right!? She didn't quite know what to do. She looked around rapidly for Magna or any of the villagers, but all of them were still busy dealing with the Phantom Dealers... it was only her and Asta right now. If this was any other situation, she would be beside herself – being alone with Asta often led to some very awkward moments, usually on her behalf because of her growing feelings for the brown-haired Magic Knight – but this wasn't one of those times.

'Oh God... Alright, Noelle, calm down and think. There has to be something that you can do... You're his only hope, so you need to think of something! Okay... how long has it been since he was thrown? Couldn't have been more than three or four minutes... He may even had still been breathing for a moment before he started to fall down into the depths. But that's enough time for damage to occur, isn't it? Damn it, Noelle, calm down! You need to figure out a way to get him to start breathing again, or else-'

Suddenly a thought occurred to her, a memory. It was just a few weeks ago, when she was looking for something to read, that she came across a medical textbook hidden within the small library of books the headquarters had. Even with magic, sometimes there was still a need for traditional healing, although she could tell that this book hadn't been read in quite a long time. Out of curiosity and boredom, Noelle decided to read it. She was fascinated by some of the techniques of eras gone by and some that were used today. The section she was recalling right now, however, was the one she was most fascinated with for an unknown reason... a section on a technique known as CPR.

It was a technique to use on those that had stopped breathing, much like Asta was now... The lightbulb went off in Noelle's head. That was it! This had to be the solution! Still, she was hesitant and scared... it wasn't something she had done, nor something she had seen done. The book had gone into great details and lengths on how to do the technique correctly, and she had memorized every step as carefully as possible, but still... it was something that, if she did it incorrectly, could also make things worse for Asta, and that terrified her.

Her eyes glanced at Asta's face and she took in a deep breath, her brows furrowing in determination. 'I have to do it. It may be the only way to try and save him. I won't let him go out like this, I won't!'

She leaned closer to his still form, leaning back his head slightly, positioning her hands one atop the other, resting them on his chest in position for a second before pressing down hard and in rapid concession. Her mind played over and over the words she read, the images she viewed... She counted the number of times she was pushing upon him, her eyes watching Asta's face and hands for a sign of movement or breathing. As she reached the number 100, she thought about the next step... Despite the situation, she couldn't help but blush slightly.

She needed to breathe into him, meaning her lips were to touch his... it was almost like a kiss, and that was something that made the young royal nearly lose her concentration. She had never kissed anyone, not that she had any urge to do so in the past, but this was Asta... He was different. She actually did envision kissing him once, although she quickly smacked herself for such a vision. Still, she couldn't deny her wonder on how it would've been like to kiss him... This wasn't the way she wanted to find that out!

She didn't let her embarrassment stop her; she needed to be strong, to keep this cycle going. Pushing back her hair out of the way, she pinched his nose and pressed her lips tightly against his own, her eyes watching his chest as she breathed in the first breath. His chest rose, much to her delight, and she did one more breath before removing herself and positioning herself again to push on his chest, continuing the cycle again.

'Asta... You have to pull through with this! You can't just call it quits here... You're the first commoner I've ever accepted. You're my first real friend. You're one of the strongest people I've ever known, in body and spirit. You never let anything get you down, never let a single person or insult make you feel like you're worthless. I admire that so much about you. Your will to never give up, to never surrender... It's something I could only wish I could have.'

Another cycle of compressions done, she moved back towards his head, administering another set of breaths.

'It's those things about you that made me start to fall for you, you know... I can only admit that privately like this, but it's true... You accept me and treat me like I'm somebody, like a friend, like someone important. Something no one has ever done, not even my own family. You're always by my side, making sure I'm safe, that I'm happy, you make sure that I feel like I belong. You even came and rescue me more than once... I don't think I could ever pay that back.'

Her face dripped with sweat, her teeth were gritted, and her chest was heaving as she continued another cycle. She stopped for a quick second to wipe the sweat from her brows, worried about them falling into her eyes and blurring her vision even more than it already was.

'You have to wake up. You have to continue fighting. You said you want to become the Wizard King. You said you were going to figure out my riddle. You said you were going to prove everyone wrong that ever tried to bring you down. I believe in you, in everything you stand for and want to do. I will always believe in you. We need you... I need you. So please...'

She leaned over, her lips sealing over his again, continuing the cycle of breaths.

'Wake up, Asta!'

As she moved back to continue the compressions, suddenly she was stopped by the sound of coughing. She gasped, her hands moving back as Asta jolted with each sound, grabbing at one of his hands and holding it tightly. "Asta! Asta!" she cried out, "Are you hearing me!?"

Slowly he opened his eyes, his vision blurred but clearing slowly to reveal Noelle lingering over him, her eyes widened and her face flushed red. "No...elle?" he croaked out, coughing again.

"Asta, oh thank God... you're awake!" Noelle replied, smiling as her eyes welled up with tears.

"Y-yeah... What happened?"

"You were thrown into the lake, and nearly drowned... I had to go in and rescue you. Magna and everyone else is still fighting the monster."

Asta didn't really say anything else, as he continued to cough as he tried to sit up. Noelle gasped, her arms wrapping around him to try and keep him steady. "You shouldn't be moving so much!" she screamed at him, "You need to stay still!"

"You know I can't do that, Noelle," he replied croakily, along with another cough, "If Magna and the villagers... ack!... Are still fighting, then I need to as well."

"You idiot, don't you understand what just happened to you!?" she replied, grabbing at his arm and trying to stop him, "You need to stay still. You almost di- eep!"

As Noelle tried to stop him, he lifted up his free arm and placed it upon her head, eliciting the little noise she made, while he gently pulled his other arm away from her grip. "Thank you, Noelle. But this is part of our mission now. I need to pull my weight," he stated, staggering a bit as he stood up and limping his way a bit towards his sword.

She watched with shocked and scared eyes as he grabbed the blade, putting it over his shoulder, and slowly began to move back towards the cliff in a jerked walk before turning into a staggered run. Magna noticed his return, dipping down on Crazy Cyclone to pick him up and bringing him back up to the mainland. She continued to sit there on her knees, her body quivering from upset and anger, her hands gripping the sand. She couldn't believe it... Asta nearly died and yet he got up as if nothing really happened. It really angered her; she was so fearful that he was gone, did everything she could to save him, and he acted like everything was normal.

She bit down a bit on her bottom lip, tears streaming down her face, finally standing up herself and grabbing at her wand and Grimoire. "Damn it!" she yelled out, running back towards the fight, using a spell to bring her back up into it.

After several grueling more minutes, whether through the enemy's tiredness or the persistence of the Black Bulls and the villagers, the battle was finally over, with the creature defeated and the members of the Phantom Dealers tied up and ready to be transported to the prison back in the kingdom. A member of the village with spacial magic offered the knightly trio an easy way there, with Magna promising to bring up the matter of helping with the rebuilding of the village to Captain Yami in return. After turning in the dark wizards to the proper authorities, they went towards the hospital, making sure that Asta could get a thorough check up after his near-death experience – much to Noelle's secret relief – before finally dropping off the plants with the arranged apothecary.

A few hours later, Asta was finished – with a clean bill of health, much to everyone's surprise – and they all returned back home where they were showered with praise for their work. However, for the royal lady of the house, none of this was enough to make her smile. Yes, she was happy that everything worked out alright, and that Asta suffered really no ill effect from his experience, but she was still felt uneasy and anger. When no one was looking, she decided to head up to the balcony area of the headquarters to be alone to think.

The breeze was calm, the sun setting providing a relaxing visual over the forest, but it didn't set her heart at rest. Everything today was wrong. It was supposed to be a simple mission, but it turned out to be anything but... and nearly losing Asta was the worst of it. Even now, she could feel her body shaking faintly. The massive amount of mana she used today definitely left her tired, but it was the entire instance with Asta that left her shaken like this. Seeing him float so still like in the water, him not breathing, all of the fear of her trying to figure out what to do, how to do anything to rescue him, if she could rescue him... it all attacked her core with strong emotions that she wasn't so sure she could handle.

There was also his reaction after she brought him back to life... that still angered her. Yes, she was beyond relieved knowing that she was alright, but still, the way he pushed himself after such an experience, with little regard to what happened to him, it frustrated her. She was scared as hell, and yet he acted as though everything was normal! Her hands tightened on the banister as she thought about it, her eyes starting to well up with tears again... Didn't he understand the fact that he almost died!? Didn't he understand how fearful she was!? How could he just act like everything was fine after he almost left her behind!?

"Hey, Noelle!"

That voice brought her out of her reverie, her turning around to face the owner of the voice. "Asta," she whispered.

Standing in the doorway with his usual goofy smile was the swordsman that captured her heart, waving one hand at her. "What are you doing up here? Everyone is downstairs about to eat dinner," he stated, stepping out onto the balcony and towards her, "I can tell you, after that mission today, I'm starving!"

She didn't move towards him or say anything at first, just stared as he rattled on. There he was, acting like everything was okay when it wasn't. Her hands balled up at her sides, her bottom lip quivering, her head lowering as she felt the anger build up in her chest. Asta seemed to take notice of her lack of enthusiasm and stopped, quirking up an eye brow, "What's up, Noelle? You seem off. Are you tired or something?"

She stomped over to the oblivious knight, raising her right hand and punching him in the chest. Asta yelled, grasping at the sore spot, but before he could question anything, her left hand delivered another punch. She kept doing the same motion over and over again, barely allowing him to react fast enough to block or stop her.

"Ow! Noelle, what – OW! – are you – OW!"

"You idiot! You big, stupid, dumb idiot!"

"OW! Noelle, stop! Damn, that hurts! What the- OW!"

Her head snapped up, her face wet with steady tears, "You idiot! How can you keep acting like everything is normal!? You almost DIED! I had to save you! I had to pull you from the water, I had to get you to breathe again, and you just acted like nothing happened! I was scared as hell that you were going to die and leave all of us!"

She kept punching at him as she yelled out her frustration, pushing them both across the balcony, not paying attention to how close they were to the railing before Asta hit it, causing them both to falter in reaction, Noelle falling backwards as he tried to keep them both from tilting over the edge, her back hitting the wall of the steeple while he braced himself with his hands on either side of her. She stopped after that happened, ignoring the position they were both in, her breath in pants but fists still balled up. "How could you act so damn calm when you could've left us for good... could've left me for good?" she said softly, but not without any of her previous bite, "It's not right... I was so terrified, and you act like everything was okay."

Her head fell as she choked back a few sobs, raising one arm to wipe away her tears, her other arm raising to rest her hand on her chest. Asta pushed himself away from the wall, but his gaze never leaving her form. He wanted to call out her name, but found the word unable to leave his lips. For a few moments, they just stood there, the only noises made between them were her cries and the gentle breeze of the wind rustling through the trees.

He had seen Noelle cry before, but he never saw her like this, and over him. Suddenly he did feel selfish... yes, he didn't think what happened was a huge deal – he was stabbed in the stomach and was perfectly alright from that, so why wouldn't this be different? – but obviously this was different. She risked her life to save his, she was obviously fearful and worried about him, she did everything she could to rescue him, and now he realized he never thanked her for that. He never regarded the pain, fear, and struggle she went through for him. Maybe he was an idiot... he may have felt like he was okay, but obviously nothing was okay for her.

Asta stepped forward just slightly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into an embrace. She made a tiny "eep" in response, freezing up; what was he thinking right now!?

"I'm sorry, Noelle."

She looked up through teary lashes, her lips slightly parted, but he didn't move to look at her. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize how freaked out you were," he continued, "I should've done more to calm you down."

Moving her head back down, her arms slowly wrapped around his torso, her eyes becoming half-lidded as she continued to cry softly. "Yeah... you should've noticed, you idiot," she said in a near whisper, trying to sound tough but knowing that was a futile effort.

"Thank you for saving me. I know I said it before, but you're pretty amazing."

"D-don't say such cheesy things."

"But it's true! You're a lifesaver, and that's amazing!"

Noelle felt her cheeks heat up and despite herself, she buried her face into his chest, trying to use his body to hide her embarrassment. Her hands gripped at his jacket as she mumbled out another "you idiot", making Asta laugh and hug her a little bit tighter. Feeling that extra tug around her form made her smile, her apprehension and anger melting away. Sure, he was an idiot that lived up to his "Dumb Asta" name, but at least he realized he was wrong, and him standing right here, right now, holding her just like this was enough for Noelle's heart to be placed at ease.

The sound of their stomachs growling broke up the calm moment, causing Noelle to jump back a bit flustered. "Haha, I guess we're both hungry! Come on, let's go downstairs and grab something to eat," Asta stated jovially, moving past Noelle and towards the door, herself nodding and turning around to follow him. Just short of entering the doorway, he stopped and opened his mouth with a small "Oh!", as if remembering something.

"I wanted to ask you, how did you save me exactly?"

"W-what!?"

"Like, I know you went into the water and pulled me out, but what else? I have no idea what happened before I woke up and saw you hovering over me. You said something about getting me to breathe again. What's that?"

Noelle froze, her face a bright red, "L-like I'd tell you! It's too complicated for your stupid mind to comprehend!"

Trying not to let her discomfort show too much, she stomped past him, heading down the stairs, Asta following close behind. "Hey, what if I need to use the same technique on you? I should at least know what it is!" he exclaimed.

"N-no way!" she yelled back, the image of him placing his lips on her in the same way that she had coming into her mind, causing her to rapidly shake her head to remove it.

"Come on, Noelle! Tell me! Tell me pretty please!"

"Ugh, you're so annoying sometimes!"

"Pretty please let me know!"

"Fine!" she finally screamed, stopping on the step she was on and turning around to face him.

The look on his face was excited, thinking he was about to learn something awesome. Noelle had a different idea in mind, something she was curious about for so long but never acted upon it. She moved up another step to get her closer to him, her hands resting on his shoulders, acting as her balance as she got up onto her tiptoes. His eyes widened as she brought her face closer to his, her lips pressing up against his in a soft kiss.

He was stilted, taken aback by the motion. His arms were slightly raised, hands splayed out but not making the move to either grab or push her away, his eyes watching her face... her eyes were shut, her cheeks were tinged pink, but yet she looked completely serene. The faint light of the corridor, combined with the sunset peeking through the doorway, gave her a glow that was almost magical within itself. He couldn't help himself as he started to blush; between the sudden kiss and her beauty in this moment he was simply stunned.

After several lingering seconds, although it felt like a long minute, Noelle pulled back, falling back on her heels but her hands still lingering on Asta's shoulders. Her eyes slowly fluttered opened, lavender orbs watching his onyx ones, his mouth agape and wanting to form words but couldn't find the ability to do so. She bit down on her bottom lip slightly, turning around and returning to her walk downstairs. "That's your hint. You need to figure it out from there," she stated calmly.

Asta made a few flabbergasted noises before finally shouting, "What is up with you and riddles!? Come ooooonnnn, that's not an answer!"

He continued to yell after Noelle, still blushing himself, but Noelle just ignored his blustering. She couldn't believe she just did that. She kissed him! She actually kissed him... Sure, it wasn't like the kiss in her dream, but it certainly felt like a dream... a really nice dream.

Unconsciously, she raised two fingers to her lips, faintly touching them. During her rush to save him earlier, she paid no attention to anything but what she needed to do, but this time she took in everything. His lips were a bit dry, but not unpleasant with a slight bit of softness to it, accompanied with the faint taste of salt she could only guess was from sweat. It wasn't a taste anyone would normally enjoy, yet there was something special about it, something she found she liked. It was just like him, with how hard he worked and fought, and that's why she liked it, she knew it.

She smiled to herself, unseen by the raging Asta, even as they turned the corner from the corridor and towards the stairwell that would lead down to the dining hall. After a few minutes of his yelling, he finally quieted down himself, also beginning to think about Noelle's action and how she felt to him, how beautiful she was looking to him at that moment. They both entered into their own thoughts, unaware of what the other was thinking and not knowing that, as they inched closer to the main hall, their thoughts were aligning with the exact same thought...

'… Amazing...'

-end-