I got my first mission from Captain Yami one week after joining. We were to go into a small town in the Forsaken Realm where two children had gone missing for this mission. They had been out playing, and parents suspected they may have gone into the forbidden forest. We would get more details about the case once we talked to the parents. For this mission, it would be me, Magna, and Asta. I was excited about working with Asta, and Magna seemed pretty cool too.

Later in the evening, I left my room for the living room to find Asta waiting for me in the hallway.

"Hey, Sayuri! Captain Yami gave us a mission! We have to meet Magna in the back. He has all the details," he said as he gave me a hug. I guess that's how we'll be saying hi. I loved it but felt a bit guilty because it was something Leo and I did.

"Hey, Asta! Thanks for waiting for me! Lead the way," I told him as I skipped behind him, excited for my first mission as a Magic Knight.

"Wait 'til you see his broom! It's so awesome!"

"Can't wait!"

He led me through the living room where most of the Black Bulls were lounging.

"Hi, Guys!"

I was going to say more, but he grabbed my hand and kept moving.

"Bye, Guys!"

We went through the front door and walked around the building. Magna was standing next to an odd-looking, modified broom. It looked like a bull skeleton wearing sunglasses and had a long saddle with dark fur at the end.

"Is this what we're taking? It's …interesting. Yeah…interesting" I looked at it. "Can it fit three people?"

"Can't you fly a broom?" Magna asked.

"Umm…I'd prefer not to. But if your broom can fit three people, doesn't it make sense to just take the one?"

"Yeah, Magna. Even that made sense to me. Plus, she's pretty tiny, so it's not like she'll be taking too much room," Asta said.

"I guess," he agreed

"So, what's the mission?"

"We're going up North into the Forsaken Realm. Two kids were missing, and their parents think they may have gone into a forbidden forest. The village chief requested Magic Knights since there might be dangerous, magical creatures or potentially bandits from the Diamond Kingdom."

"That sucks. Hoping it's a rescue, not a retrieve," I said somberly.

"How long is it going to take to get there?" I asked

"About two hours."

"Let's get moving!"

We all sat on the broom and began our journey. I had sat behind Magna, and Asta sat behind me, so he had to hold my waist.

That evening, we arrived in the village. The chief was there to welcome us and had us meet with the children's parents. They said the children were forbidden from going to the forest, but they could play in the fields. They would often carry food and spend all day there. That day, they were supposed to come back at the end of the day, but they didn't. The villagers searched but did not find them. The chief promptly requested the help of the Magic Knights.

Since it was already dark, we decided to find an inn for the night and would begin the search at daybreak. There was one inn in the village. Asta and Magna got one room, and I had another all to myself. We were served dinner then retired to bed. I felt it was still early, so I wanted to see if the guys wanted to hang out. I locked my door, headed over, and knocked on their door since they were right next door. Magna answered the door.

"Hey! Do you guys want to hang out? It's too early to sleep."

"Sure! Come on in" I walked in and decided to sit on Asta's bed.

"So, what's up?"

"Can we ask you about your magic?" Magna said.

"Sure. What do you want to know?"

"How did you get two magic types?"

"My mom. Her side of the family is from someplace further than Hino, and they all have two magics. We also get our grimoires when we're five."

"You've had your grimoire for that long?" Asta asked.

"Yup. Since I have composite magic, my grimoire starts off recording the metals I know how to use and anything with water that I have manipulated before. Most of the time, I don't really need my grimoire. But I also haven't had to fight, so I mostly use it for my water healing magic."

"Can we see it?"

"Sure. I'll go get it. Be right back". I ran back to my room and grabbed my grimoire, then ran back.

"One side is for metal, and if you flip it, it's the water."

"That's so awesome!"

"I barely use water magic. That's why I don't have too many spells. And I prefer using weapons instead of direct magic attacks, so most of my spells are weapon creation spells."

"How many weapons can you use?" Magna asked

"Throwing stars, throwing knives, katana, regular sword, arrows, and I also make little pellets that I can shoot out of my fingers."

"How come you know all that stuff?"

"My parents taught me all kinds of stuff since I was five so I can know how to survive on my own in case we got separated. My mom and I are probably the last of our people to survive. Most of them were hunted and taken back, so all the royals and nobles who took over could use them for experiments and stuff. I was sent here to be as far away from Hino as possible since there's probably a low chance of people knowing me. Since we are the last two of our people, we are worth a ton. If either of us gets captured, we'll get sold and probably drained of magic, used as weapons or experimented on."

"That's tough."

"Yeah. I'm going to get stronger to go back one day and help bring them here where it's safer. But anyway, I'd rather not think about all that stuff right now. What are your stories?"

"Well, I grew up in Rayaka, got into trouble a lot, a friend told me I should take the Magic Knight exam to put my magic to good use, and I came to the Black Bulls."

"Your friend was pretty smart. How about you, Asta?"

"I grew up in Hage Village at an orphanage. I didn't have magic, and I always knew I'd be a Magic Knight, but no one thought I could do it. Everyone would always say my brother was the only hope for the village, but I showed them I could do it. I'm going to become the Wizard King to prove to everyone that a peasant orphan from the forsaken realm with no magic can be Wizard King. I want to protect my family and everyone in the kingdom!"

"That's pretty fascinating, Asta. You're pretty amazing. What do you have in your grimoire?" I said and noticed a slight blush on his face.

"Anti-Magic swords," Asta said.

"Can I see?" He took out his grimoire and pulled out a sword.

"You probably shouldn't touch it, or it will drain your magic."

"I'll be fine" I reached for it and tried to pick it up.

"It's pretty heavy too."

"No kidding! We must train in sword fighting sometime! But practice swords. My swords are magic, so yours would cancel them," I said with a closed eyes smile.

"Sure"

"So, you don't feel it draining your magic?" Magna asked.

"I can. I just have enough that I'm not worried."

"How much magic do you have? Sounds like you have a lot. But then Luck didn't sense it. I don't get it."

"It's not a lot. I just know how to manage the mana in my body. Oh! Whenever you guys want me to show you the fighting stuff, let me know. If I'm free, I can definitely help out. I think I'm going to head to bed now. Long day tomorrow. Thanks for hanging out!" I said as I stood up.

"Goodnight Asta! Night Magna!"

"I'll walk you back."

"Sure," As he stood up too. He walked me to my door then gave me a hug.

"Thanks for walking me back. Did you just come for the hug?" I teased.

"Yeah. You said I give good hugs," he said

"So, is this going to be our thing then?" I said as I opened the door and started walking in.

"Sure"

"Oh, and Asta!" I called out from inside my door, hoping he would walk to me.

"Hmm?"

"I kind of like you. I figured I can't beat around the bush since it's just a waste of time. Goodnight, Asta!" I blushed and smiled, then slowly closed the door. I decided to take that new approach to guys as a Magic Knight.

Asta POV

Sayuri was pretty cool. She came to hang out with Magna and me because she said it was too early to sleep. She sat on my bed instead of Magna's, but maybe it's because she was my friend. Every time I looked at her, I felt my heart beating fast, faster than when I thought of Sister Lily. She also said she liked my hugs, so she lets me hug her when I see her. The first night, she kissed my cheek, and it was really close to my mouth. I forgot to ask Magna about that. She told us about all her magic and the weapons she uses. She talked about her parents and why she was sent here. She and her mom were getting hunted for their magic. I felt like I wanted to protect her. I thought she would say more, but she said she didn't want to think about that stuff anymore and asked Magna and me about our stories. She said my life was fascinating. I'm going to have to ask Magna what she meant, but she also said I'm amazing.

She decided to go to bed and got off my bed. No hug this time.

"I'll walk back with you," I said. Why did I say that? Magna was looking at me with a smile on his face, and my face felt hot again.

I took her to her door and hugged her. My heart was beating fast again. She asked if I just came for the hugs, and I told her yes because she said I give great hugs. I just really wanted to hug her again. When I was walking back to my room, she called me and told me she liked me and said she doesn't like beating around the bush. My face felt really hot, and my heart was beating really fast. I didn't know what to say. No girl had ever told me that before, and she was really pretty. I saw her face was kind of pink when she closed the door.

When I got back to our room, Magna said my face was pink and asked what happened.

"She said she liked me and that she didn't want to beat around the bush because it's a waste of time."

"Whoa! Asta Rasta! You lucky dog! I knew it! What did you say?"

"Uhhh…I didn't say anything. How did you know she liked me?"

"Didn't you notice she spent almost the whole time talking to you? Plus, she came in and sat next to you. And she looked way too happy to see you when she came back with the captain from the Magic Knights exam, asked you to show her around, and held your hand. Everyone was talking about it. Well, how do you feel about her?"

"I don't know. I think she's really pretty, and when I see her, my heart beats more than when it does when I see Sister Lily. And I really like it when she hugs me. And every time I talk to her, my heart beats fast. Does that mean I like her?"

"Totally! If she was living with the Vermillions, she's probably royalty or something. What are you going to do?"

"I'll ask Vanessa after the mission. On the first night, she kissed me on the cheek but really close to my mouth."

"Maybe she wanted you to kiss her. Well, don't take too long. She does talk about Leo a lot. He might be your love rival too. And you bet a bunch of Crimson Lions probably think she's cute. She WAS training with them and practically lived with them. And a couple of guys at the Base said she's gorgeous. Finral couldn't even bring himself to talk to her, and he hits on every girl. He was talking about how beautiful she was after she left. Gauche paid attention when she was talking instead of looking at those pictures of Marie. I'm pretty sure I saw him carving a statue of her. And once guys from the other squads see her, they'll definitely be interested. She is kinda royalty, so they might talk to her."

"Ok! I get it! No need to rub it in!"

"So, how much magic do you think she really has?"

"What?"

"Aren't you interested? She dodged that question when I asked. But I suppose you were probably too busy staring at her. And she could touch your sword without worrying about draining it."

"I didn't think it was a big deal. But then she did talk to Henry for a long time and was fine when she left. What does it matter? Luck has a lot of magic too. Maybe she just can't show it. And she's got two types of magic, so maybe she needs a lot."

"Way to defend your girlfriend. Fine. I won't ask. Maybe she'll tell us when she wants to. It's really weird that Luck didn't sense it, though."