Patry woke up later that day drenched in a cold sweat, screaming. He shivered, looking around with wide, terrified eyes. The Light Mage soon realised that he was once again in the Church in Hage Village. He wrapped his arms around himself, memories of his nightmare assaulting him. "Patry, are you okay?" William asked tentatively. "I-" he rasped, before swallowing, and shuddering hard. He looked around again, "where's Yuno?" Patry asked, extremely worried. "I'm sure he's fine, this is his home, remember?" the human Teenager replied soothingly. "Yeah well, Zagred kidnapped me from my home in the past, despite the fact Licht was standing right next to me!" Patry said hotly, quickly climbing out of the bed, only for his legs to give out and causing him to nearly faceplant into the floor. "Why don't you try sensing his Mana? You know what it feels like because he was your Little Brother in your previous lives, right?" William suggested. The 17-year-old Elf paused in his crawl towards the door of the room, before face-palming himself, 'I am so stupid' he thought. "Heh, finally, something we agree on" Dark Patry snarked. Patry sniffed disdainfully, "yeah, yeah" he muttered. The Light Mage sighed, "on another note, I'm sorry for monopolising your body William. Since it is your body, I feel really bad that I've been in control for so long" he apologised, feeling guilty.
"It's fine, really. I can't really be mad at you after everything you've done for me, and everything you've been through in such a short amount of time. I promise that I don't mind, okay Patry? You're like a twin brother to me, and this body is just as much yours as it is mine. Besides, if you're going to be training to control your Dark Elf transformation and Demon Light Magic, you'll need to be in control, right? Then you have to say goodbye to Yuno when we leave to go home. You can give me control back then, since, after all, I am the one who became a Magic Knight" William replied. Patry smiled slightly, "thank you, really. If I were in your place, I'm not sure that I could be so calm and patient. Especially with how it feels to be stuck as a Spirit. I promise that I'll give you back control of your body as soon as I can, okay William?" he asked. "Now, let's get up so we can go check on Yuno!" the Elf exclaimed, fired up.
Black Clover
Patry clung to the wall, legs weak from disuse as he stumbled down the hallway. "Urgh, come on! I can use my Magic to damn-well float, but I can't walk down a hallway without feeling like my legs are gonna give out!?" the Elf groaned in annoyance. "Speaking of which, why don't you just use that now? You just said it yourself, you can float, so why are you wasting time walking so slowly? I thought you wanted to check on Yuno?" Dark Patry asked in boredom. 'My legs are weak from disuse. They won't get stronger again if I don't use them' Patry replied mentally. "He's right you know. Patry hasn't used his legs in who knows how long. That's why they're so weak. Unless he uses them- carefully of course- it'll take even longer for them to regain their strength" William replied. "Oh? And how do you know so much about it, huh?" the manifestation of hatred asked sarcastically. 'Books. We've been studying the human body in books that Dad has gotten me. He said that even though I have Recovery Magic, or rather, because I have Recovery Magic, I needed to learn about the human body, so I knew exactly what I was healing, otherwise, I might end up making a mistake and hurting my patient even more.
It seemed like a logical reason, so I started studying anatomy too. It's really complicated though, so far I can only heal wounds that are skin deep' Patry explained. "It's still really cool, maybe one day, you'll be as good at healing as Lemiel! Or even better. After all, from what you've told me, he was one of the strongest Mages in the Kingdom in your time. But you also have a Four-Leaf Clover Light Magic Grimoire. So there's no reason that you shouldn't be able to become as strong as he was, or maybe even stronger than him!" William exclaimed excitedly. Patry sweat-dropped, 'aha, I'm not really interested in anything like that. As long as I can become strong enough to protect the Land that we both love, and the people that are precious to both of us, then that's all that matters to me. Maybe the Kingdom is different now. Maybe the people have changed a lot, or have changed back to how they were before- it doesn't matter. The Clover Kingdom is still my home, and there are people here that I care about. Not to mention the Elves who were Reincarnated. I have to- no, I will become strong enough to protect all of them this time. I swear, as an Elf and your Older Brother, this time, nothing will stop me from protecting everyone I love. No matter what I have to go through, no matter if that bastard Devil tortures me again, I will never give up on the people that I love. Not this time' Patry thought, unwavering determination burning strongly in his eyes.
"Heh, I never thought I'd see the day when you became this strong Patry. You've always been so weak and fearful. Even when you refused to give up on the belief that your friends would come save you after Zagred kidnapped you, you were so scared and weak-hearted that even your best attempts to keep that monster out of your Soul were barely enough. You were so weak that you nearly let that Devil break you," Dark Patry said. "Wait, are you complimenting him, or mocking him, I can't tell?" William asked in confusion. "And yet, now, your Will actually seems to have gotten stronger after everything. Despite my initial feelings about you, I've been unsure about our training. Controlling all the feelings that comprise me without letting them consume you will be one of the hardest things you have ever attempted up to this point. But now, I think that maybe, just maybe, you might have the slimmest of chances to be able to control your hatred without going berserk," the manifestation of hatred said, ignoring the human's question in favour of continuing what he was saying.
'Wow Dark, you really think so?' the Light Mage asked in surprise. "Hey, what's with this whole 'Dark' crap?!" Dark Patry demanded. 'Well, you're my Dark self, my hatred and rage and everything. But calling you Dark Patry all the time was getting annoying, it was too long a name. So, now you're Dark' Patry explained. "I never said that you could call me that! My name is Patry, same as you, but since I'm your Dark emotions and I take the form of you as a Dark Elf, I accepted being called Dark Patry. I never said that you could give me a 'nickname'," the Dark Elf said with disgust, "we aren't friends here, got it? The only reason I'm working with you, is because you said that you'd acknowledge me more, and that we would destroy that Bastard Devil together. So don't go giving me some stupid sounding new name, you got it?!" the Dark Elf exclaimed, infuriated, but also slightly embarrassed, which was something he'd never felt before, 'what the hell am I feeling right now?!' he thought in utter confusion, his mental image blushing a dark black. 'Oh, would you rather I called you "Darky" instead?' Patry asked, the emotions he could feel from his Dark self registering as embarrassment.
"Hell no! Now shut up, or I might just change my mind and take over your body permanently!" Dark Patry yelled, flustered. 'Okay, okay. I can't believe that you can't take a little teasing, Mr Personification of Hatred' Patry thought, snickering quietly under his breath. Suddenly he saw Julius coming down the hall towards him. The man's eyes widened, "Patry! What are you doing out of bed, you look exhausted?!" he exclaimed, as he rushed towards him. The Teenage Elf sighed, leaning against the wall in relief, "Dad, it's you," he said with a tired smile. The Time Mage soon reached the Elf, reaching down to pick him up, "you need to get back to bed, just by looking at you I can tell that you need much more sleep, what-with how badly you're shaking" Julius said. "No, not yet. I have to see Yuno, to make sure he's okay. I'm his Big Brother, I have to at least do that much" Patry replied, shaking his head. "Patry he's fine, you know that-" Julius tried, but the Elf clenched his fists, "no I don't. What I saw may have just been a vision that Dark Patry created to try and break me, but until I see Yuno with my own eyes, I-" the Light Mage shook his head, "I just need to see him, okay. Please, will you help me?" Patry asked, looking up at the adult human. Julius sighed, knowing from experience that his Elven Son wouldn't compromise on this, "alright, but don't overdo it, okay?" he asked gently. Patry nodded, and the adult Magic Knight began helping the 17-year-old Elf along.
Soon the three, or four of them depending on how you wanted to look at it, had reached a plain looking door, "the children all sleep in the one room together here at the Church, but Sister Lilly graciously offered to let you use her own bed, so that you could get some privacy Patry" Julius explained. He reached up and knocked on the door. The teenage woman came and opened it. She smiled, "oh, Captain Julius, Patry, can I help you with something?" she asked. "My Son here was very worried about Yuno, and even left his bed on his own. He refused to go back to it without seeing how he was first" the Time Mage replied with an apologetic smile. Patry pouted, "I didn't refuse to go back to bed Dad. I'm not some brat, I was just worried about Yuno, that's all" he replied, looking away with a small blush on his face. Sister Lilly smiled softly, "well then, this is good timing, because Yuno was very concerned about you too, and had been asking about you before you knocked." She turned slightly, so that the two could see the room full of beds, with the 11-year-old black-haired boy sitting up in one of them, "Yuno, you have guests" Lilly said cheerfully, moving to leave the room, "I'll just leave you three alone then" she added.
Upon entering the room and closing the door, Yuno burst out: "Big Brother! You're okay. I was so worried about you!" he exclaimed, but he was shivering, and it wasn't from the cold. Julius walked over and gently placed Patry down on the chair arranged at the side of the bed. "I'm so sorry Yuno, I just- I can't-" the Teenager began before bowing his head in shame, "I- don't even know why I'm apologising, it's not like anything has happened to you, but still, I could have-" Patry choked on a sob as memories of the past resurfaced. Being trapped in a dark cage, iron lances piercing his body, so much pain- he shuddered deeply, bringing his hand up to his mouth, "I'm so sorry, *sob* Yuno" he whimpered, crying uncontrollably, but still trying to wipe the tears away. "Big Brother Patry," Yuno began, crawling over the bed towards him. The small boy climbed into the Elf's lap, causing him to gasp in surprise, "it's okay now, we're both okay. I don't know what you're upset about, or what happened to you to hurt you so bad, but I promise, I'll be here for you no matter what Big Brother."
Yuno sighed, "I just wish I was stronger, like you, or Mr Julius, or even Asta. If I was, then I wouldn't need everyone to protect me," he reached up with a hand and clenched it tightly around the Magic Stone hanging around his neck, "If I was stronger, then I could protect the people and things that I care about myself. I wish I could be a strong Magic Knight like you Big Brother" Yuno said softly, snuggling into his (unknown to him) Reincarnated Older Brother's chest. Patry sniffed, before he wrapped his arms around the younger boy, who was both so much like and so different from his Past Life, "you will be strong Yuno *sniff* I'm sure of it. One day you will be able to protect all the things that are precious to you. And I have to work hard for that too. I have a goal that I have to achieve, no matter what. People that I love are counting on me, and I refuse to let them down again. I will be strong. We both will. And when that day comes, all of us will work together to protect everything and everyone that is precious to us, oaky?" he asked, rubbing soothing circles into Yuno's small back, just like his Mother, Licht and Julius always did.
"Okay, thank you Patry. I'll work hard to became someone who can help you do that, I promise" the 11-year-old human boy promised softly. Patry smiled, feeling a weight that had been on his heart for years now lighten just a little, "thank you Yuno. I swear, that no matter what, I will always be there for you to protect you. Even if you hate me one day, I will always love you. Because I'm your Big Brother, and I love you more than anything else. Even if we're not related by blood, I don't care. You're my most precious person Yuno, my precious Little Brother" he replied, eyes closed as a powerful feeling of love welled within him. It was the same feeling that he'd gotten the first time he held the original Yuno as a baby, but even stronger. Because he absolutely refused to lose him again. 'I swear as your Older Brother, nothing in this world or beyond will stop me from keeping this promise again' Patry swore once again.
To Be Continued