Asta looked dumbstruck, shaking slightly. His lips trembled, before he gulped, steadying himself. "To be honest…I don't care if I don't get chosen today, no matter how many times I screw up and fail, no matter how many times people put me down and call me names, one day I will achieve my goal – I WILL become the Sorcery Emperor!"
Yuno and Hellen smiled at this, blocking out the murmurs of disbelief and mockery being exchanged around them. Yami lit another cigarette, lit it, and took a drag before pointing at Asta. "You're…" Asta gulped. "…Funny! Come to the Black Sheep's Brook."
Asta's expression went blank, clearly shocked by the captain's words. "…What?"
Yami grabbed Asta's head, the smothering atmosphere returning full force. "By the way, you have no say in the matter…"
'WHAAAAT?'
"Be prepared to go through Hell and back, in the Black Sheep's Crook!"
'WHAAAAAAAT?'
"And one day, become the Sorcery Emperor."
Asta perked slightly, looking at the (much) taller man in surprise. None of them had believed in him…
'There's no way in Hell you'll be the Emperor!' 'Haha! As if! Keep dreaming!'
But this man…Hellen…Yuno…but this man…
Someone he had only met today…
"YES SIR!" Asta shouted, and stepped out from the center of the circle. He felt a pat on his shoulder, and turned to see Hellen and Yuno, smiling at him.
She nodded proudly, before her number was called and she was about to step forward when Yuno whispered something in her ear. Hellen glanced at him hesitantly before nodding, walking into the circle.
Once again, all the captains raised their hands. Hellen closed her eyes and sucked in a breath.
"I choose…"
"Look after Asta for me, please?"
"Black Sheep's Crook."
Not a sound was heard for a moment before Yami turned to the green haired girl, whom had her eyes shut tightly, her lips pursed, her fists shaking.
"…Why us?" He asked her, startling the other captains. Any of them would be glad to have her, without question.
"I…" She hesitated for a moment, gripping the hem of her jacket. "Personal reasons," she whispered, and he stared at her before nodding, accepting the answer.
As the atmosphere became more settled (since the selections had ended), Asta was quickly running off, claiming that 'he had to go to the bathroom.' Hellen noted that Zeke had gone to follow the ash blond and she met eyes with Yuno, who nodded, showing he had noticed as well, before walking after the two. After a moment, Zeke came walking out in a hurried fashion, a scared expression on his face.
Hellen smiled, giggling slightly under her hand before seeing Asta and Yuno, the former leaving before the latter. She run up to her fiancé and hugged him, digging her face into his chest.
He held her tightly, before letting go, smiling at her. "I'll see you again soon, I promise," he whispered, and she nodded, pulling him into another hug before parting with him, running to Asta.
"Poor couple, being separated…" "Well, she had the choice to be with him, didn't she? Why'd she choose to leave?" "I don't know…"
"Hey, Hellen, why're you coming to Black Sheep's Crook?" Asta asked, running alongside her to meet up with Yami. She glanced over her shoulder to Yuno, before looking straight ahead. "…Secret."
"Aw, no fair! Tell me!"
"No."
When they finally found the captain, the first the he said was "You have some balls, makin' me wait this damn long for you. How damn long d'you take on the toilet?"
"S-Sorry, I—"
"Who the _ told you to give us the _ing details on your _?" Yami growled, grabbing Asta's head.
Hellen let out a small sigh, gently placing a hand on Yami's arm and giving him a look. The two had a small staring match before he grunted, letting go of Asta. "Finral, let's go," he commanded, turning to the blond boy.
"Yessir," he almost sighed, opening his Grimoire. He held out his hands, his fingers pinched, slowly spreading them, splotches of a black portal forming slowly. It suddenly grew until it was about Yami's height, and Asta gazed at it in awe. "Whoa! What is that thing?" He exclaimed, Hellen nodding.
"Since you can't fly, you're gonna have to learn some other kind of Movement Magic. Oh wait, that's right, you can't use magic can you?"
"Um…sorry to bother you, Captain, but it's kinda hard to maintain a portal this big, so could you please enter?"
"Who the _ do you think you're giving orders to, jackass? Why don't you try to surpass your limits here?"
'What did I do?!' Finral thought, before Hellen stepped through, blinking slightly as new sunlight hit her eyes. She looked around, seeing that she was on a dirt path in a forest, and before her was a rather large, stone building with several parts, chimneys, balconies and windows.
"Get in." "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Hellen was knocked forward, her face scraping against the dirt and stone on the ground. She winced, feeling Asta slowly recover from on her back. "Ah! I'm sorry Hellen! Are you okay?!"
She nodded, taking the blonde's offered hand and standing. "Wow…" Asta murmured, seeing the Order's home base. "This is the Black Sheep's Crook..?" He murmured.
The quiet moment was interrupted when an explosion set off. "What…" Hellen was at a slight loss for words.
There was tons of chatter and arguments. 'Sounds like a fight,' Hellen mused to herself, before turning to Yami, who grinned. "Welcome…"
"DIE-DIE-DIE-DIE-DIE!"
"You're as cute as ever today too, little sister…WOULD YOU GUYS SHUT UP?!"
"Ugh, this hangover is insane…"
"I still bet I'm stronger than you!"
"They're at it again…" Finral murmured casually, as if it happened every day (which it probably did).
Yami threw his cigarette down. "…to the lowest ranked and worst Order of Magic Knights, the Black Sheep's Crook."
"Loud…" Hellen murmured, patting down her blouse and jacket. Asta took a deep breath, before looking up again, shouting: "My name is Asta, I'm from Hadge Village! As of today, I am a fellow member of the Black Sheep's Crook! I look forward to working with you all!"
"The pudding you make is always delicious!" A cheerful one said, casually dodging shots of Magic another was sending, who was muttering: "I can remember doing a shot challenge with a guy at the bar but after that…" And so on.
"Would you guys give it a rest?! How are you going to repay my little sister if she hears you jackasses?!" Another shouted. He had wavy white hair, covering his left eye, a mirror floating behind him.
'It must have something to do with his Magic,' she thought, before turning to Asta, who was frozen.
"They…didn't hear a word…" He mumbled, before Hellen spotted a ball of fire heading their way. She grabbed Asta and pulled him out of the way, just as the fireball hit the wall behind them. "REVENGE FOR MY PUDDING!" And laughter followed.
More bickering followed, and Yami's aura slowly increased, making Hellen hold Asta's arm a bit closer to her. "You guys…" He slammed his fist into wall, ultimately shattering it like glass. "STOP DESTROYING THE PLACE!"
Year One: First Spring - Second Stages, Step Four
'YOU'RE JUST AS BAD!' Asta screamed in his mind. Hellen perked slightly as the fighting stopped, and the group of people was suddenly mobbing Yami, shouting things she'd rather not try to understand. Yami smiled. "Is that right? Y'all like me a lot, huh? But…" His expression darkened. "Shut the Hell up!" Which drew out a chorus of apologies.
After the group had settled down, Yami placed a hand on Hellen and Asta's shoulders. "These are our newest members. Show 'em the ropes without actually killin' 'em, got it?"
"…Hellen," Hellen introduced, holding up her hand slightly, trying not to make eye contact with any of them. But the one with the glasses caught her attention and they stared at each other for a few seconds before Hellen averted her gaze to Asta.
"MY NAME IS ASTA, I'M FROM HADGE VILLAGE! AS OF TODAY, I AM A FELLOW MEMBER OF THE BLACK SHEEP'S CROOK! I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU ALL!"
