After being pushed through the portal of which Finral created, Asta found himself in front of the Golden Dawns hideout. He was devastated... to leave as he did. The least he wanted to do was say goodbye; knowing, Yami he had his reasons.

The swordsman turned around as he made his way back to the Golden Dawn, walking casually with his head down, he couldn't help but think about what happened just now.

He was allowed entry and immediately set sights on his room. "haaaaah, I'm tried. Time to get some sleep."

Upon entering his room, he caught the glance of a familiar squadmate. The Girl had orange hair, with green eyes "Hey Mimosa, what's up!"

"Oh Asta, sorry I'm a little busy right now. I'll catch you later, ok."

"Oh, um... sure. I guess ill see you tomorrow then Mimosa."

Without hesitation, the flower mage turned her head and immediately exited the scene. Not a wave, not a goodbye, not even a smile was shaped from her lips. Every time the pair would meet, she would always have a spark in her eye. However, this time that fire was nowhere to be seen.

"Mimosa wait... is-is everything ok?" asked Asta.

"Of course, Asta, everything is wonderful... " she smiled "I heard you were accommodated at the Black Bulls after your battle. Glad that you're back."

"Yeah... it was a tough one. Thought I was a gonna for a sec" Asta laughed.

"Well, now you're here back at the Golden Dawn," clapping her two hands "Ill see you tomorrow Asta."

"Yeah... good night Mimosa."

"Good night."

The response was better, but there was still something not quite right. Whenever Asta was to get injured, Mimosa would always be the first, to ask for his injuries. She would not hesitate for a moment to go out of her way to heal him. But today was different, the flower mage didn't even bother looking around Asta for any damages what so ever. Asta saw through her smile, it was as if she was more eager to leave the swordsman's presence than to have a conversation, which is so unlike her.

"I don't know what's going, but I'm too tired to think about it. Time to hit the sheets."

The very next day, Asta prepping for his very next mission. Turns out there were some more bandits that needed to be taken care of.

"So are you sure you take another mission? Arent, you still recovering?"

"I told you I'm fine Yuno, honest. Let's teach those bandits a lesson."

"Whatever you say."

Asta and Yuno were just about to make their way out of the hideout.

"HEY, YUNO! WHY IS IT YOU ALWAYS ASK ASTA IF HE's OK! YOU NEVER ASK ABOUT MY WELL BEING!" shouted the wind sprite.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" pulling the wind mages cheek.

"Not now bell," sighed Yuno.

"It's because of this dumb arse here," shouted Bell as repeatedly tapped the Anti-magic users head.

"Ouch, ouch. Hey stop it, what did I do!" pleaded Asta.

"You were born, that's what."

"Will both of you, get a grip, I can't hear myself think!"

"Sorry Yuno," the pair apologised.

*sigh* "Let's just get this over with Asta."

As Yuno hopped on to his broom, he caught a familiar sight. "Morning Mimosa... fancy seeing you here."

"Yes good morning Yuno, um... before you go Captain vangance needed me to tell you to meet him straight after your mission."

"Oh, of course... what's it for?" he replied.

"Beats me," she shrugged "But he told me its extremely important that you see him later today."

"That's fine, ill see to it immediately."

"Wonderful... I'll see you around Yuno," waved the flower mage.

"Hey Mimosa!" jumped the swordsman "Do you wanna train with me when I get back! I found this really cool stop and..."

Mimosa clenched her fist and paused.

...

"Sorry Asta, but I made some plans at that time. Will try another day ok."

"Oh, Um... sure Mimosa," puzzled look on his face "What days best for you."

"I'll get back to you on that... later."

The flower mage turned her back as she walked away.

"Hmmm that was weird, normally Mimosa is always eager to train with you. Did something happen between you guys?"

"What no... nothing happened between us. I'm sure Mimosa will get over it."

"Get over what exactly," wondered Yuno.

"OH HEY LOOK AT THE TIME! Come on Yuno we don't wanna keep that village waiting, let's capture those ruthless bandits," pushing the wind user forward.

"Sure I guess, but are you not gonna tell me what going on?"

"Trust me its nothing, let's just save the village right now ok."

Between the pair, both knew something wasn't right. Mimosa would always seize the opportunity to spend time with Asta, and to tell him she was busy was so unlike her. Yuno didn't have the slightest clue what going on, but Asta did... he knew he had fix things between him and Mimosa as soon as possible.

"What's going on Mimosa. Why are you acting so cold all of a sudden? Did I do something wrong? Is it because I rejected you? I hope we can resolve this situation soon Mimosa."

5 hours later

"Well, that took longer than expected," said Yuno as he stretched his arms.

"Yeah, I wish they told us those guys had magic items."

"Absolutely... you were holding me in the process."

"I was not holding you back, Yuno" shouted Asta.

The wind mage rolled his eyes.

"Besides don't, you have somewhere to be? Didn't Captain vengeance say he wanted to meet you or something?"

"Oh yeah, that's right... guess I'll see you around then," bumping fists with the Anti-magic user.

"Yuno after your meeting, we can go on a date right!" said the eager wind sprit.

"Isn't it a bit late for that now, Bell?"

"You promised," aggressively stretching the cheek of the wind user.

The breezy duo walked away, leaving the swordsman all to himself. He was curious to find out why the Captain would invite Yuno all of a sudden, but Asta he had more important matters to attend to.

*growl* *growl*

"Hah... Better find out what chefs prepared today, I'm starving."

Without a second to spare Asta hopped gracefully towards the dining room. There he found a tremendous feast exclusive to Golden Dawn members... it was a beautiful sight to see.

"Alright, let's go!" rubbing his hands.

He eagerly grabbed his plate and placed everything he could on his dish. Some of his members even insisted on offering him a second plate.

"Ok, now that's done. Time to sit."

The swordsman scanned the room and unfortunately, everything seemed to be occupied.

"This place was never full before," he wondered.

Asta did further scan, and finally, he found something. Appeared to be a single table with two chairs and one was conveniently empty. The swordsman jumped towards the opportunity as he raced towards to chair, before resting his bottom.

"Hey sorry there... Umm... mind if sit down here?"

Asta looked up before setting his dish, only to find flower mage Mimosa vermilion on the other side.

"Oh, Mi-Mimosa hi... didn't see there. Mind if I sit here?"

"No, it's fine. You can sit here if you want to Asta," she replied.

"Nice one. I had a long day, you wouldn't believe what happened."

"Really..."

"Yeah, really! Bandits were attacking a village. Weren't just any bandits, they had magic items that amplified their mana. It was such a handful."

"Interesting," said Mimosa with a bored Look.

"Thanks to Yuno, we were able to snag one of the items. Then Yuno used it to amplify his own mana, and we were able to defeat those bandits. It was soo cool you should've been there!"

"That sounds very cool Asta, sounds like you had fun out there."

"It was..."

What was meant to be a joyous feast and a delightful chat couldn't be more further from the truth. The situation became awkward, very quickly. It was only Asta doing most of the talking whilst Mimosa was giving the bluntest responses.

It was already apparent in the swordsman mind, Mimosa wasn't being herself. The flower mages unsettled look said it all,

"So-so forget about me, what did you get up today Mimosa."

"Oh, nothing much," lightly scratching her fork against her plate.

"Nothing much? Didn't you say, you were busy today Mimosa?" said Asta scratching the back of his head.

The flower mage clenched her fist "Yeah, I was busy."

Things started to seem more inconsiderate, and there was a slight tension in the air.

"You don't seem like yourself today, Mimosa. Is everything, ok?"

"You told me this the other day and I told you Asta, everything is fine." getting up from her chair "Sorry, I just remembered I have something to do. I'll see you later, ok."

"You're leaving now?! But you barely even touched your food yet Mimosa," wondered Asta.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling that hungry today. You can have my food if you want to Asta," placing her dish on the table "Goodbye Asta Ill see you soon."

And just like that Mimosa left the anti-magic user all to himself. The swordsman was left jaw dropped, he was perplexed, he had no idea what to make of the situation at hand.

"Dam it Mimosa what's wrong with you."

Asta couldn't help but blame himself, there was one thing for sure, he knew he was the reason for this sudden change in mood.

The pattern continued for several days straight, Mimosa proceeded to shun Asta as she did. Escaping every opportunity to interact or to spend time with her former beloved. There would be the odd occasion where she would have no choice but to communicate with the swordsman, for example, a recent dungeon mission. But even then it was all just business for Mimosa; her responses were bland, personality was dull... even when Asta injured himself there was no look of urgency on her face. It was almost as if it was something she had to do, as opposed to something she wanted to do. Whenever Mimosa spent with Asta, there would always be a spark in her eye, but that spark had unfortunately diminished.

A day after the recent dungeon mission with Mimosa Asta was lying down on a hill grass. Having come from a recent mission all, he wanted was some alone time.

*Sigh*

"Its been over a week now, I understand Mimosa has lost interest in me. But this is just going way too far. She won't even look, let alone talk to me. She's busy when it's obvious she's just avoiding me. What do I do now?"

*bush rattling*

"Hey is anyone? Show yourself... I can sense your KI so, there's no point hiding."

A second later, blonde hair popped out of the bushes, and out came a familiar sight.

"Hah... You got me. Guess there's no hiding from you Asta is there."

"KING JULIUS! WH-WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" gasped Asta.

"Sh, Sh, Shhhhhhh. Quiet down, if you're any louder Marx might catch us."

"Are you escaping your duties as Wizard king again Julius?"

The time mage hurled himself as he placed both hands on the lips of the Anti-magic user. "Shhhhhh, can you be any louder?"

Asta mumbled.

*sigh*

"Look ill get straight to the point here. I need someone to do something very important mission for me, and you're the only one I can trust."

"What is it?" asked Asta.

"Its top secret, so will you do it."

Asta held a pouted look. He would always find it difficult to say no to any mission, especially since it was the wizard king handing the request.

He thought about it, but it seemed he had too much on his mind. "Sorry, Julius I just got other things I need to take care of right now. Probably best if you find someone else."

"Well, that's not the Asta I know. The Asta I know will always jump towards any mission. What happened is everything ok, are you not enjoying the time at the Golden Dawn."

The swordman stayed silent, allowing small dusk of wind to breeze his face. That same question Julius said, would be echoing inside Asta's head.

The time mage took note as he crouched down and eventually sat next to the Anti-magic user shoulder to shoulder.

"Sounds like to you me there are some issues, that you don't know how to fix, I'm I right in saying that?"

"Kinda... but I don't really wanna talk about right Julius."

"Of course you don't. That's why you're here all by yourself," he laughed "But that's fine, if you don't want to talk about then I'll do it for you."

Asta turned his attention to Julius.

"Well, you haven't lost any loved ones as far as I'm aware, and you're not one look depressed as you are. You hold your friends and squadmates dearly, so I'm guessing there is some form of dispute."

The swordsman shacked his head in disbelief "Wow, you're really good at this, aren't you Julius."

"Well, it's my job as the Wizard King to protect and serve our beautiful city. I have to help the people of the clover kingdom, both mentally and physically. One thing fighting with my fists but I think it's just as important to have compassion and understand people. That is where we will find true unity."

The short speech shed a small tear in the swordsman's eye, it reminded exactly what his goal was and the reason he fights. He had a lot to learn if he ever wanted to reach the level that the Time mage is at.

"Wow Julius that was beautiful."

"hahaha... Yes, I think rambled on a bit too much there. But anyway now that I caught your attention. Back to the topic at hand. Whenever there was a conflict or any issue, the main priority would be to communicate."

Suddenly Asta's optimism faded, just some more generic advice he was told before. He remembered having a similar conversation with Letollie.

"Communication... but if the person doesn't want to communicate. What if they don't want to talk to you at all."

The response sparked perplexed look on the time mage "Well... if they don't want to talk, then you make them talk. It's that simple," he smiled "Some people don't wanna talk when it's in public, so try to talk them privately. You'd be surprised once it's just you and the other person, they'll open themselves like a book."

In fairness, Asta did always try to interact with Mimosa in a public setting. Guess it was time for a different approach.

"But remember Asta, the most important thing is to try and have an understanding of one another. Try it to look at it from their shoes, show empathy, don't just assume they're the one in the wrong. It's one of the many treats of being the wizard king."

Just like that, Asta got up from his knees and immediately threw his fist in the air. "Yeah you're right Julius, I can't just give up now. Thanks for the advice! I'm gonna use it right now, I'll see you later," running down the hill.

"WAIT WAIT ASTA!"

"What is it, Julius?"

"So what about that favour?" sparking a troubled look on the swordsman.

The next day, Asta was found leaning against the wall of the main corridor. He had his arms crossed as he waited patiently for his target.

"Were gonna settle this today Mimosa whether you like it or not."

After roughly 10 more minutes, the swordsman found his target in a glance. The flower mage was in a group of mages, mostly people she got back from a mission with. She had a smile on her face and a spring in her step. From the normal eye, it looked like Mimosa was back to her best.

"Ok I'll see you guys around," said Mimosa as waved goodbye to her teammates.

"Bye Mimosa!" the group replied.

The flower mage proceeded to make her way through the corridor, she had a quick glance at Asta before rapidly turning her head away.

"Mimosa!"

The call for her voice paralyzed the flower mage, she turned her head again before immediately moving away from the Anti-magic user.

"Mimosa stop... Mimosa!" grabbing her wrist.

Asta gulped, he never once had to shout at Mimosa before. This would be the only time he would ever do. Not to mention this situation felt all too familiar, flashes of Noelle started to appear.

"What do you want Asta?" said Mimosa in a harsh tone.

"I wanna talk."

"Well if you wanted to talk to me, then you should've called me sooner. I extremely busy right now, so I don't have the time."

Asta's hand remained tightly gripped.

"Hey, what's the big idea, Asta. I said let go of me!" struggling to release herself from the tight grip. "Are you crazy! What's wrong with you Asta?!"

The swordman had a calm look about him, he knew he couldn't do anything rash. Remembering the encouraging words of Julius, he acknowledged Mimosa wasn't in the right straight of mind to talk.

"I'm sorry Mimosa I didn't mean to grab you like that," releasing his grip "Regardless if you don't have the time for me or not. I really need to speak to you... Later tonight can you see on the hill nearby the Golden Dawn?"

The flower mage looked away.

"Please Mimosa, just hear what I have to say. If you let me do this, I promise I'll never bother you again."

Mimosa was on the verge of rejecting, however looking at Asta's eyes made her realise how serious he was. She knew Asta wouldn't take no for an answer. Even if she did refuse, it would just be a never-ending cycle.

"Alright fine, but you better make it quick."

"Thanks, Mimosa!"