Spoiler Warning: If you haven't seen the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica, then prepared to be spoiled.
I own neither Puella Magi Madoka Magica nor Black Clover. They belong to their respective owners. For entertainment purposes.
"I can grant anything you want, even if it's a miracle!"
"In exchange, you'll become a Magical Knight!"
As Asta walked home, his mind reeled from his conversation with Charmy, who did end up being a senior at his high school. Magical Knights are born from desires for miracle. In exchange for their wish, they fight Demons and their underlings, the dangerous creatures created from hatred. It was their duty to ensure those monsters would never succeed in killing humanity. The source of a Magical Knight's power came from their soul gem, the necklace rock both Charmy and Yuno had. Their soul gems would transform them into Magical Knights and grant them grimoires to fight. Every Magical Knight's form and magic was different as it all depended on the person's contracted desire. The amount of power a Magical Knight could obtain was decided by the amount needed to grant said wish as well as how much fated potential the person held. And apparently Asta had a high amount of that potential, whatever that meant. But it was what attracted Nero to him in the first place. Even though the bird wanted to make the contract that day, Charmy, recognizing that it's a dangerous offer to ask, had told Noelle and him that they could join her on a couple Demon hunts to decide whether or not to take the bird on his deal. "Think of it as Magical Knight boot camp~"
As Asta opened the door to the church, he nearly had a heart attack. There in the room was Yuno, sitting at the dining room table, chatting with Sister Lily and Father Ofai. Rushing into the dining room, Asta pointed a finger at him and said in his normal, loud voice, "What are you doing here?"
Sister Lily slapped Asta's hand lightly, making him retract it. "Asta," She scolded, "I've told you a hundred times all month that we were going to be hosting a transfer student for a rest of the school year." Asta's brain wanted to shut down. That was a couple months. And with, of all the people, Yuno. Why did fate hate him?
Remembering that both Sister Lily and Father Ofai were watching, Asta asked them in the politest tone he could manage at the time, "And where will he be staying?" Sister Lily moved to the kitchen, most likely to give Yuno a refreshment as an apology for Asta's behavior. Father Ofai just shook his head and grumbled an actual apology to Yuno when Asta didn't seem to be offering any.
"In the extra room that we were using as storage," Sister Lily answered from the kitchen, "We just finished getting it ready today." Great. The room right across from his. Peachy. She returned with a glass of water and held it out to Yuno, who accepted it with a quiet "Thanks." At least he had manners, not that Asta could judge. Sister Lily clapped her hands together. "How about you show him where he'll be staying, Asta?" she asked softly in her subtle way of saying make a better first impression, he's living here whether you like it or not. "He just got here a little bit ago, so we haven't had a chance to show him it yet," she added at the doubtful look Asta sent her way.
"Fine," Asta finally caved, unable to resist any task Sister Lily gave him since he was a child. Motioning at Yuno to follow, he went towards the doorway near the stairwell. He listened as Yuno bid Father Ofai and Sister Lily goodnight. Asta didn't look to see if Yuno was trailing behind him, he could pretty much sense it with how hard the other was staring at him. As soon as they reached the top of the stairs and after a quick glance that assured Asta they were indeed alone, Asta whirled around to face him. "Why did you attack Nero?" he asked bluntly, getting to the point.
Yuno glanced away for a moment in thought before meeting his eyes neutrally. "I was hoping to prevent this very situation," He admitted after a brief pause. He sighed, somewhat frustrated. "I failed," He bit out almost sarcastically, though Asta didn't think his harsh tone was directed at him, "So here we are." Steeling his gaze, Asta felt that Yuno was looking into his very soul. "I'll say this again," Yuno said slowly, almost as if he wanted Asta to absorb every word, "If you don't want to lose everything you hold dear, then don't become a Magical Knight."
As Yuno moved to go past him, down the hall towards his room despite not being told where it was, Asta couldn't help but blurt out, "What was your wish, then? Why did you become a Magical Knight?" Of all the times Asta had seen Yuno, nothing had fazed the other. But what seemed like a just simple question to Asta appeared like it shook Yuno to his very core. He froze for a few seconds, his face masked in an unidentifiable emotion. When Yuno glanced at Asta, whatever spell that was on him broke, and he clicked his tongue before rushing down the hall without answering. "Handsome jerk!" Asta called out after him, saying the first insult that popped into his mind – even if it wasn't a good one. Asta's head stung, something coming undone in his mind.
"Sorry about that," Asta said over his shoulder as he led Yuno towards the nurse's office, "Magna doesn't mean any harm, even if it doesn't seem like it." While Magna Swing probably hadn't meant to, when the classmate had gone to slap his hands on Yuno's desk to intimidate the newbie, he had ended up also hitting one of Yuno's wrists in the process as well. Even though that wasn't severe enough for the other to have to go to the nurse's office, Asta took pity on the boy who seemed overwhelmed by all their classmates' attention.
As they moved down the various hallways and passed several classrooms, Asta turned around and began walking backwards so he could face Yuno while talking to him. The other still couldn't meet his eye but looked less nervous with just Asta to talk to. "They always pick on newbies," Asta explained, "Happened to me when the school year started." He tried to give Yuno an assuring smile. "So, don't take it too much to heart, okay?" Asta soothed.
Yuno stuttered for a moment as he tried to meet Asta's gaze before darting his eyes away. "Thank you very much," he managed to say after a few seconds. Ah, maybe it was the fact Asta was talking in a volume that others considered 'loud' or 'yelling' that was making Yuno so anxious. Whoops.
"You don't have to be so nervous," Asta beamed, "We're classmates, after all. Doesn't matter if its temporary." He pointed a thumb at his chest and grinned. "I'm Asta Kaname," he introduced.
Yuno looked at him in surprise for a moment before he said, "It's n-nice to meet you, Mister Kaname."
"What's with the formality? We're the same age so you can just call me 'Asta' if you want to! I don't mind."
"I-I'm…not used to calling people by their first name."
"Oh. Do you mind if I call you 'Yuno?'"
Yuno brought a hand to adjust his blazer jacket as he stared at his shoes. He stuttered slightly as he spoke, "I-I don't get called by my first name very much." Clutching his jacket sleeve, he added, "It's such a weird name too…"
"What?" Asta said in disbelief, "Your name's awesome!" His arms flailed as his words grew more animated. "Plus, I bet it adds a bit of mystery to your character," Asta joked, "Like you're now the mysterious transfer student. You know, like the ones from the TV shows and books Noelle tells me about."
"I-I don't think I fit that description at all."
"Please," Asta said cheerfully, "You match the cool transfer student profile to a tee." Holding up one finger, Asta began by saying, "First off, you're supposed in to be Professor Vangeance class which means you're really talented." Putting up another, Asta continued with, "Second, you've got the cool name, and you're the silent type." Counting up a one more, Asta finished by saying, "Third, you're really pretty and handsome to boot! I bet half the class is already gearing to ask you out!"
Asta would have said more but by then his brain had caught up to his mouth and told him to stop and look at Yuno's reaction. Sure enough, Yuno's face could rival a tomato. He was looking at Asta with an expression of slight shock written on his face, obviously not knowing how to reply to his comments. Crap, Sister Lily was right – he should learn to be more tactful and when to keep his mouth shut.
And now, Asta could feel his own face starting to heat up. Thankfully, the two of them were in the empty walkway between the student and faculty buildings. No one else was around, hopefully, to hear Asta figuratively shoot himself in the foot. Still, he continued to give Yuno a smile, determined to not let the other see how flustered he was. Which for sure stayed that way, even when he totally-did-not nearly trip over one of the padded benches in the walkway as his brain nearly shut down in embarrassment.
It came as a shock to both of them when they were walking the same way back home. Turns outs, Yuno was the transfer student his family was going to be hosting for the semester. Which made his previous impression at school to the boy just greater. Still, Asta wasn't in the Black Bulls for nothing. When faced with a difficult situation, it was best to not give up and keep charging through. Grabbing Yuno's wrist, he excitedly dragged him up the stairs to show him where he would be staying.
The next day, after doing everything in his power to avoid Yuno (thankfully they were in different classes now), when Noelle and Asta joined Charmy on her "Magical Knight Boot Camp" and helped save a woman's life from a demon, Asta didn't see what Yuno meant by the dangers of becoming a Magical Knight. As Charmy explained about the chaos jewels that came from Demons and how to purify soul charms with them, Asta couldn't help but think Yuno was wrong. After all, being a Magical Knight meant having the power to protect everything you hold dear. His head buzzed as another memory played through his mind.
"Mister Kaname . . . Do you always fight those things…?"
"Always?" Asta pondered as he took a chunk of the cake and ate it. Shaking his head, he pointed towards Charmy who was busy inhaling her own sweet. It didn't matter that she had guests over in her apartment, food was food. "Charmy's the real veteran here," he explained, "I just got my contract with Nero this past week."
Charmy swallowed and chimed in. "But your performance was a big improvement from before," she said, "And thanks to you, I have more time to eat delicious treats~" She demonstrated that fact by eating another piece of cake. Asta grinned at her reaction. It was nice to hear he had been better despite such a short amount of time.
"You're really okay with it? It doesn't…scare you?"
"It's not that it doesn't bother me or that I don't get scared," Asta explained, "But the more demons we slay, the more people we save." Giving a thumb's up, he added, "So it's worth the effort!" His companions smiled back at him at his declaration.