Honestly wasn't sure anyone would read this Julius/OC story, so thanks for giving it a chance ^_^ ~pixelephant

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Part II

If she had known this would be the outcome, she would have skipped setting up her booth at the Star Festival. Because since that cursed day, she had an annoying pest buzzing around.

"Oh, Mary Sue, fancy meeting you here." Julius waved as he casually strolled over to her. In her backyard. Did she have to point that out? There was no gate, but it was still private property.

"No," she answered, not bothering to let him ask the same question she had heard too many times before during their previous encounters.

"No?" He repeated, purple eyes feigning confusion as he looked down at her. Mary Sue closed her eyes before snuggling up further to the base of the tree trunk she was leaning against. She patted the grimoire on her lap.

"I would not survive a day as a magic knight. No, Julius."

"Oh?" He laughed, a little too over the top and fake for her liking. "I didn't come here to ask you that," he baited her. She was conflicted if she was pleased or intrigued by this change in their usual exchanges. He would intercept her during her strolls around the kingdom, pop by for an unexpected visit at the manor or just really show up into her life when he damn well pleased. All with the same agenda. Wasn't he supposed to be busy as a magic knight?

"Well then, why are you here?" She asked.

"To request some assistance with your luck magic."

She couldn't help but open her eyes to assess his sincerity. Surely, he was mocking her. But she failed to read anything disingenuous from his face. His stare was unwavering as was his damn pleasant smile.

"Have you not met your next love yet?" She could not deny her interest was piqued with the outcome of her spell.

His mouth twitched. "I'll let you know if you lend me your help." He bent over and offered his hand.

"Julius, you don't need my help." Mary Sue slapped his hand away. "You're the most powerful magic user I know."

"You're too kind. But I do." For a second time he extended his hand. Mary Sue studied the callouses on his palm outstretched to her. His determination to constantly seek her out as his little pet project irked her. But she suspected her constant rejection only motivated him further. However, this was not his usual request. This was different, so she would hear him out at least.

"I'll bite." Without thinking, Mary Sue accepted his hand. "What is it you need my help with?" She stood up with one hand on her grimoire and the other hand in Julius's possession. His touch offered a warmth she had not felt before. But that was because she had refused most human contact since realizing her unnatural good luck shortly after awakening in this world. Anyone getting too close bothered her because she could never believe it was under their own volition and not the Mary Sue nature surrounding her.

Not one to let this stirring up of memories affect her, she shook her hand from his grasp. Julius's mouth quirked to the side before he placed that same hand in the pocket of his dark pants.

"One of my soldiers in great pain is on the verge of…" Julius stopped, and Mary Sue inferred by his ominous tone that he omitted saying death. "We are out of options."

Mary Sue scoffed. "And you think I can do what a healer cannot?"

"No. But, you could grant him peace in his final moments." The softness in his voice grated against her heart, eliciting sympathy. A feeling that Mary Sue had shunned allowing herself to connect with too long ago.

"Julius, my luck magic doesn't happen instantly. It works in whatever mysterious ways it chooses to. I have no control over its method. I am just a vessel that starts the chain reaction."

Julius raised his eyebrows and offered her a questioning gaze. "Is it not worth trying?"

Mary Sue sighed. "I didn't say that. I just…" hate the thought of disappointing you, she left unspoken. As much as he annoyed her, she respected his ideals and the man he was destined to become.

"Sure, I will try," she relented.

"Thank you."

Mary Sue followed Julius as he led her through the kingdom to a small house bustling with Gray Deer Magic Knights.

"Put your hood up," he requested before pulling her through the crowd. He spoke to his men, requesting them to step outside the room that was their destination. A pale man was laying on a single cot in the tiny room. The white bed sheets clinging to his body were soaked with sweat. He tossed and turned, and Mary Sue was concerned that her magic would finally fail her for its greatest test to come.

"Proceed as you wish." Julius stepped back to block the closed door and Mary Sue kept her eyes on the knight close to death. He looked close to her age. She had not asked what ailed him. It did not matter though because she was not a healer. Just a luck caster.

It was simple what Julius had asked for. He wanted her to grant his knight peace. But what peace could she offer to someone dying too young?

A warm hand covered her own as it hovered over her grimoire. "Are you nervous?" Julius inquired.

"Of course not."

Her stomach squirmed with her lie. She had never been sick a day in her life since becoming Mary Sue. To reflect on her past life to connect to this moment seemed impossible. Like that life had occurred eons ago. It was then she grasped another level of her disconnect to others due to her current life of ease. Little lessons she learned all too often when she was with Julius. Would peace be enough for him?

She moved her hand from Julius's grasp and opened her grimoire. She had suspected she knew which spell to cast, but it was untested on a scale of this magnitude. And the results were applied on the mentality of the customer receiving her magic, not the physicality. She was not a healer. But even a mental reprieve from his pain would surely be a welcomed one, right? She was certain her peace spell would guarantee that, but she felt compelled to try her newest spell.

Listening to her senses she casted, "Luck magic: fortune favors healing." Rainbow light cascaded from her hands to the stomach area of the patient. Mary Sue bowed her head with her eyes closed and offered a moment of silence to pass as she waited to see if her magic would offer any help.

A few minutes had passed in the moment of silence before it was interrupted by, "I found it!" A magic knight burst through the door, holding up a small glass vial, smaller than the palm of his hand, with a golden yellow liquid sloshing inside.

Startled, Mary Sue allowed Julius to pull her away from bedside and let the man rush forward. Had he discovered some rare medical potion to heal this dying man?!

"Garth, you bastard, this will cure your food poisoning in no time. The herbalist swore up and down nothing was left of this stuff when someone pops from the back and says they found the last one they had in stock. No getting out of training for you tomorrow anymore!"

Mary Sue spun on her heel to face Julius. "Food poisoning?!" She shrieked. "I thought he was dying!"

"I never said he was." Julius offered her an impish grin. "And your magic took effect, healing him at a faster rate rather than expected. Imagine if no more medicine was left. He would suffer longer until some was made."

"You…you-" Mary Sue shut her mouth when she noticed a congregated group of men in gray cloaks in the open doorway staring at her and their Captain. This was not a favorable spot to express her annoyance at Julius.

Instead, she huffed and rushed to her exit. She pushed past the brutes blocking her path and exited the house full of lies.

"You may be mad, but did you see what you did? You changed fate. You allowed him to be healed faster with that spell. You could provide great assistance to the magic knights. Please try out. I promise to never bother you again if you do," he called after her, keeping pace as she walked at a brisk pace back home.

"How can I believe you when I was just misled by you?" she questioned in a sharp tone.

"I swear on my honor as the Captain of the Gray Deer."

Mary Sue stopped. He now had her attention.

"You do?"

"I do." As a magic knight captain, she knew in this instance his word was good.

"Deal. When is it?"

"Next week. You know, it's common belief that you make your own luck in this world. That's not the case for you. You were born with luck magic. I believe the world can become a better place with you taking a place on the main stage."

"Why is that?" She knew he heard the light sarcasm.

"Sometimes…luck comes too late or doesn't come at all. You can change that for others that are deserving, don't you think?"

Mary Sue wavered as she considered his words.

"If you can do good in small ways, imagine the bigger ways when you expand on your magic use? You have four-leaf grimoire. You know what that foretells in your capabilities."

Mary Sue understood what he was saying. He was the one though who did not understand what he was truly asking. Her presence was a fluke here. The real heroes were not taking the stage yet. She did not want to have the luck and ease for a story that rewarded hard work and dedication, pushing pass limits. Everything dropped into her lap without understanding she was undeserving. She would be doing a disservice to this world by even entertaining the idea to embrace this role until Asta and Yuno arrive.

"I'll participate and you'll drop the act when no squad wants me."

"Agreed."

And she left Julius standing in the middle of the street without a second thought, not bothering to notice the small smile on his face before she turned away from him.

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Mary Sue grew uneasy. A rather foreign feeling for her. A part of her wondered if this decision was reckless and perhaps her natural luck ran out. What she always had wanted. Except in the middle of a magic knight's exam. Worst timing ever to grant her long standing wish.

Without thinking it through, she directed her middle finger at Julius, looking down at her with the other magic knight captains. It did not take on the same connotation in this world but was relieving to express her heightened disdain for him in the moment with a secretive 'fuck you'.

Her opponent cast her a menacing smile before casting, "Ice magic: birds of flight."

Mary Sue didn't have a moment to spare when she watched the ice forming out of thin air take shape of tiny birds with extended talons and beaks bearing fangs. They wheeled in fast, vicious circles in the sky. Mary Sue did not need to do the math of the closing distance to know they would be attacking her within seconds. Her arm hair raised as she fumbled through her mind, grasping for a decent spell to pull off her survival at least. She had no reason to believe she could win.

"Luck magic: fortune favors love," she blurted out in a panic. She realized her blunder and covered her eyes, bracing herself for the impact of the attack.

After a few seconds passed with a silent audience and no painful puncture wounds, Mary Sue opened her eyes.

Her spell had worked…in the most bizarre way. Her eyes fluttered in disbelief of the scene unfolding in front of her. The frightening looking ice birds were paired up and snuggling one another. Magic ice birds in love. In everyone's awe struck stupor over the most ridiculous magic scene, Mary Sue decided to take the advantage.

"Luck magic: fortune favors peace."

In that very moment, the sun peaked through the cloudy sky, shining strong rays of light into the battle arena. In an instant, the birds melted into puddles, reflecting rainbows in the air to Mary Sue, her opponent, and the audience.

"You…you witch! What the hell was that?"

Perhaps the peace spell was not the right one to cast after all. But she had no fighting spells in her grimoire and only took part in this trial to get Julius off her back.

"Alright, no more mister nice guy. You're finished for making a mockery of my magic." Mary Sue's eyebrows raised. That attack spell was considered 'nice'? The fire raging in her opponent's eyes convinced Mary Sue he could backup his threat.

"Ice magic: chaos-"

Mary Sue stopped listening as her focus was drawn to the glowing light emanating from her grimoire. Words etched onto the flapping pages. She could not even pretend to be surprised a new spell worked out this way for her. She wasn't going to read it, committed to failing this exam. But another sliver of her wanted to not be on the receiving wrath of this spell her opponent was brewing up for her.

Choosing to work with her good luck rather than against it, she casted, "Luck magic: miss your target."

Several minutes later after her opponent grew exhausted from throwing out ice magic that missed hitting Mary Sue every time, the exasperated captain of the Crimson Lions called it a draw. Which would turn out to be the only draw of the day. Mary Sue was pleased she didn't win by a landslide and managed to do enough to not embarrass herself to a new level of low. She could depart from today's exam with a head held high, very pleased Julius knew she at least tried when no one picked her.

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"77!"

Mary Sue stepped forward, suppressing a smile. Instead, she schooled her expression to appear meek, accepting.

When five seconds had passed and no captains raised their hand, Mary Sue dipped her head in thanks. Mid-turn to make her exit, she caught the flash of a hand raise into the air. Her eyes widened in horror and her mouth fell open as Julius was owner of that foolish hand.

"Mary Sue, Grey Deer," was announced to the crowd.

Julius winked at her before she was dragged away by her new squad mates referring to her as Lady Luck.

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Everything since being accepted into the Gray Deers had blurred together for Mary Sue. Once again, she had been duped by him, but she could admit this time it was on her own fault. How could she not see that he would choose her? Was she losing brain cells with every spell she cast that she could not see this obvious trap? Although her magic did not seem magic knight status worthy, his persistence should have been a dead giveaway.

Her thoughts agonizing over her stupidity were interrupted from her squad mate that seemed to have no off button when it came to talking. However, he was starting to talk about something that inspired her to pay attention.

"Captain Julius has been raving about you for months. He's been waiting for this day for a while." Whatever his name was mentioned across the table at some pub they forced her into.

"He has?" Mary Sue asked, bewilderment obvious. "You watched the same battle, right? I just barely survived." She was clueless as to what he would brag on for her magic casting skills.

"But you did survive! It's your magic, luck. And you got a new spell, right? In the middle of the battle? Just think of what more you could learn! Sometimes you can all have the skill in the world, but luck makes the difference. And you, dearest Mary Sue, you command luck!"

"Okay," Mary Sue drew out her response, collecting her thoughts. "If my magic is so impressive, why did no other squads want me?"

"They couldn't see your potential." The genuine smile on his face Mary Sue found disturbing to say the least. She decided then to take the first sip of the alcohol in front of her.

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Mary Sue was forced to take a step back as someone tugged on her cloak, interrupting her stumbling steps back towards the party. They had been at the same pub for hours and she was rocking a buzz as the only way to endure the rest of this day.

"Welcome to the Gray Deer, Mary Sue," Julius greeted her while spinning her around.

"Captain," Mary Sue slurred before offering him a curt nod.

"Ah, come on, you can do better than that." Julius grinned ear to ear and smoothed out the edges of her new cloak along her shoulders with his hands. "Even if you didn't learn that new spell, I was still selecting you."

"What? Why?" Mary Sue sputtered despite finding a logical conclusion to these questions an hour or so ago. But hearing his answer seemed more pressing in the moment and she tapped into some form of sobriety thanks to her curiosity.

"I wanted others to see what you could do as well as yourself."

"Julius, no sorry- Captain Julius, I showed nothing capable of fighting. At best, you can call what I did defense."

"For now. Training begins tomorrow." He patted her shoulders. Mary Sue eyed the hands still on her shoulders, lingering.

"I am proud of what you did today. Well done."

Julius spun her around again and pushed her forward, escorting her back to the table brimming with rowdy Gray Deer magic knights.

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The party had to be nearing its end. Only one of the names of her fellow Gray Deer comrades had stuck in her head thus far. Dreggo. And this was because of the nasty glances he had been casting at her most of the night. She could not help but be curious because of this and the fact she was always a sucker for a handsome man with dark hair and blue eyes.

"I despise the idea that fate is not in our own hands," Dreggo spurned as he threw Mary Sue a disgusted look across from the crowd circling around the exit of the pub. Mary Sue lunged forward, clasping his hands within her own and ignoring the looks from the other magic knights. She shook his hands up and down fervently.

Finally, it was confirmed. Someone to hate her in this squad. Now this was a true stroke of luck for her own benefit.

"I respect that," she said while dropping his hands, realizing she was being a tad overzealous.

Mary Sue repressed her joy as Dreggo's frown deepened.

"You're ugly and untalented. The captain is a fool for thinking you add value to our squad."

I don't think beauty correlates to talent, but…Mary Sue wasn't going to bother to point that out. In order to maintain his loathing towards her, the perfect path of continuity was to avoid and ignore him to never let her luck sway him otherwise.

She merely nodded and turned away, ignoring the excitement bubbling in her stomach. She had not felt this giddy…possibly ever since being in the Clover Kingdom.

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Casual Note:

I mean…there are skips in time because I feel like hahah