Chapter 4: First Time?
Review Replies
IsseixAtalanta777: Add Nero Mereleona Kisame Elf Fana Fem Liebe Mariella to Asta harem.
ThermalsniperN7: We've already established that Kisame and Mereleona aren't going to be with Asta. Pay attention.
Dragon Emperor0: And please stop saying it.
Darkillion: Great chapter, I was looking forward to this chapter. Well done.
Dragon Emperor0: Glad to hear it.
-Crimson Lion Kings' Castle-
In the castle of the third most successful Magic Knight Squad in the Clover Kingdom, the newest recruit–Kisame Hoshigaki–was currently standing in front of her captain, Fuegoleon Vermillion, who had a stern look on his face.
Why was this? It was because of the Shark Magic user's day of causing havoc in the castle while he was in the capital.
Granted, he knew the circumstances, but still, as a captain–he had to make sure that discipline was admonished amongst his Knights.
"Whilst I understand what you did, that doesn't mean I'll let you off with a slap on the wrist." He began. "That being said, you'll be doing some menial work around the castle with Leopold overseeing you." He added.
"You've gotta be kidding me." Kisame groaned, a trio of gloom marks appearing on her head as her shoulders slumped. 'I try to refill my mana reserves the only way I know how, and this is the consequences? What's next? Taking the trash out before I'm allowed to eat after getting a snack?' She thought.
"Additionally, I've talked it over with my sister…" The Captain of the squad continued, sparing his older sister a glance as she stood in a corner, arms crossed. Her face was painted with disapproval of her brother's negligence. "And she's agreed to take on the responsibility of making sure your mana doesn't get low again." He continued. "As have Leopold and I." He added.
"Uh… Thanks, I guess?" The Maneater uttered with a raised eyebrow.
Definitely not what she expected to hear, but if it meant never going hungry again, she wouldn't complain.
(Two days later)
Kisame sighed as she worked on cleaning up some dishes the old fashion way. She didn't want to waste mana on something basic, so she went with standard handwashing. She also noted that she was the only one to do so, which told her that everyone in the squad was a tad lazy when it came to cleaning.
Then again, most were nobles, so it made sense… either that, or they were explicitly instructed not to help her as terms of her punishment…
Either way, it really, really, really fucking sucked.
'Lazy pricks, the lot of these people…' She grumbled in her head, her scrubbing getting progressively more and more aggressive and agitated.
"If you're thinking that we're lazy, you got the absolute wrong idea." A voice stated beside her. This caused her to turn and see Natsuo. "Trust me, I joined the squad a couple years ago, and I had to do stuff like that when I caused trouble too." He added. "Captain Fuegoleon made it explicitly clear that no one was to help me during my chores. It was a sucky situation. But I kinda deserved it, in all honesty."
"Taking mana from other people the way I did was literally the only method I had." Kisame told him, understanding that he was implying she deserved what was happening to her.
"So? Are you saying that excuses what you did?" The salmon haired teen questioned.
"... No." The girl admitted, deflating. "But nobody else really thought up a solution before…" She trailed off.
"I think I kinda get it. It's hard to think of another method when you use an effective one for as long as you have." Natsuo shrugged as Kisame finished up.
"Yeah…" She nodded, drying her hands before her nose picked up a familiar scent. "Oh, hey Leo." She said, as the redhead approached them.
"Ah good, you're done." The boy nodded. "Now all you have to do is finish drying the dishes, and then you'll be free to go about your business."
"Are you serious?" Kisame sighed as she deflated again, sweatdropping.
(Later)
It was late afternoon now and the girl with the Shark Grimoire was walking down the hall towards the doors of the castle, a towel folded over her shoulder.
As she walked to the door, Leopold noticed her leaving. "Where're you going?" He questioned, as he was still in charge of keeping an eye on her.
"I'm going to take a bath. You can try and find me if anything comes up." The girl responded as she exited the castle…
(A short while later)
Kisame sighed in bliss as she swam through the water of a pond. It was decently sized, deep enough for her to dive under, and was pretty isolated. This made it an ideal place for her to strip herself nude and just relax on the shore for a bit before she dove in for a swim whenever she felt like it.
As she swam through this small pond just under the surface of the water, the shark girl failed to notice another person coming to the same water source. This person was also devoid of clothes, but was covered by a simple towel.
Minutes later though, Kisame burst out of the water, causing it to splash everywhere as she pushed herself up on a rock at the bank near the waterfall of the watering hole, her hair flopping to the side as she whipped it. As well as her breasts bouncing and skin glistening in the sun due to the water–almost like a scene from the little mermaid.
"Ah, that was nice." The shark girl sighed, feeling very relaxed right now.
"Yes, very nice indeed." A familiar voice said in agreement, causing Kisame to whip her head around and see a towel-clad Mereleona grinning at her.
"M-M-Mereoleona? What're you doing here?" The shark girl gasped nervously, quickly covering her chest and diving back down into the portion of the water she was in. Embarrassed that the Noble woman saw her naked.
"Came here for a bath since I was due for one, and this is usually my go-to spot since it's isolated." The feline themed woman shrugged, her rack bouncing from the action. "I didn't think you'd already found this place, honestly." She added.
"W-Well, c-c-could you give me time t-to-" Kisame stuttered before she was cut off.
"Relax, kiddo. Stuttering like that won't do you any favors." The woman told her before she dropped her towel without hesitation, leaving her mature figure open for Kisame to stare at.
Then she walked into the water and picked the shark girl up. "Does me being naked like you make you feel a bit better?" She asked, holding the shark girl flush against her body.
Despite her embarrassment, Kisame found herself relaxing into the older woman's arms and smiling as she started humming as her arms fell to her sides, causing Mereleona to smile at her approach to getting the shark girl to relax working like a charm.
As the two continued to bathe, Mereoleona slowly made her way to Kisame while the shark girl was washing herself, humming as she did so. The red haired lioness then grinned as she wrapped her arms around the navy haired girl's waist from behind, her breasts touching the younger's back.
"Mmmm, you're so cute, Kisame. Even your humming makes you seem even more adorable." The uncrowned, unbeaten lioness purred as she rested her chin on the shark girl's shoulder in between the nape of her neck. All while the Maneater of Port Clovis was scrubbing her own perky and ample bosom clean.
"Oh hush." Kisame told her with a small blush. "I'm not that adorable." She added.
"Forgive me for disagreeing." The Noble woman told her, kissing her palish-blue cheek, which made her blush grow. "See? You make the cutest faces when you're flustered." She smiled before she slid her hands up and took her subordinate's breasts into her hands. "And your body is so sexy. Ohh, I'm getting aroused just by groping you." She added, all the while grinding her pussy against Kisame's leg.
"Ah~! Y-You horny cat, are you trying to sink your teeth into this fish?" Kisame moaned, panting as her face turned purple from arousal.
"Oh, I am. This cat's hungry, and she has her eyes on a very tasty specimen." Mereleona grinned before turning Kisame around and kissed her on the lips.
The shark magic mage's eyes widened as the kiss was initiated, but slowly melted into it as she turned to liquid in the flame magic mage's hands, falling into her arms as she wrapped a leg around Mereleona waist–while she slid her tongue into Kisame's mouth.
The both of them were moaning in untamed passion as they expressed what the outside observer would be correct in assuming was nothing but requited love between two pining lovers.
As the two women made out with each other, the taller of the two carried her smaller charge over to a rock and pinned her against it, their breasts pressing against each other's.
"I think I've waited long enough. It's time I did what I've wanted to do for a while now." Mereleona growled lustily, her hot breath causing goosebumps to form on Kisame's shark-like skin, making her moan.
"W-What's that?" The girl gasped as the woman tweaked her nipples.
"To make you mine." The woman snarled as she kissed Kisame again causing the two to embrace once more.
The Maneater tried to fight back, but that notion was destroyed almost immediately as Mereleona won their brief tongue fight, and proceeded to explore every nook and cranny of Kisame's mouth. Fittingly enough, she tasted like fish.
As the two separated, a string of saliva clung to their bottom lips, connecting their mouths despite being parted. The aquatic girl's eyes were half lidded from bliss while Mereoleona was purring with every grinning breath.
"I'm going to make you mine, Hoshigaki. So you might as well accept it." The woman purred like a lioness to her mate, stroking the girl's hair with her free hand.
"T…Then what are you waiting for?!" Kisame panted as the mana pouring off from her partner drove her senses mad. "Get on with it already!" She demanded, wanting to feel herself get ravaged already.
"Since you want it so badly…" Mereleona trailed off before shoving a finger into the younger shark girl's pussy, causing her to gasp in surprise and pleasure.
"Oh God! Yes! Oh yes! More! More!" Kisame gasped as she threw her head back, euphoria burst through her body.
Mereleona grinned as she kept pumping her fingers in and out of the shark girl, her moans sounding like music to her ears… as cliche as that was. As she kept pleasing her younger partner, she watched her face practically turn into a plumb with the shade of purple it was turning.
"Oh, I'm cumming! I'm cumming! I'm cumming! I'm cumming!" The shark girl moaned before she came all over the redhead's hand, allowing her to flip the bluenette over on her back, and bury her face in her cunt.
KIsame moaned loudly as she felt her lover start lapping up her juices, even grazing her clit, which made her gasp and instinctively hold the fire mage's head where it was. She didn't mind, though, since it got her even deeper than she already was.
The girl couldn't stop herself from screaming as she came again even quicker than before, the lioness greedily drinking her essence all the while.
With a sigh, the shark magic mage fell on her back on the smooth flat stone, and then slowly noticed Mereleona starting to sit on her face.
"Start licking, little cub." The redhead told her. Kisame obliged, digging into her older lover's snatch with gusto. This display of hunger elicited a surprised moan from the Noble woman, who started gyrating her hips on the shark girl's face. "Oh yeah, that's right baby, give it to me! Lick me you hungry beast!" She moaned in bliss.
Kisame obliged and shoved her tongue as deep in her as she could get it, and she would forever proclaim that she loved the way Mereleona tasted. She tasted like the best curry ever, one that she would never forget the taste of and always want more of it.
Mereleona felt like she was being assaulted by a lashing whip, one that was tearing at her womanhood with the ferocity of a frenzy of hungry sharks–and it made her want to orgasm on the spot, thrice over.
"Oh shit, I-I-I-I-I'M CUMMING!" She yelled as she climaxed on the shark girl's face, her juices being lapped up eagerly by her.
The Noble woman panted as she got off her younger lover's face and sat in the water, her body burning intensely from what she'd just felt. Kisame joined her seconds later, sitting in her lap.
"That…. Was amazing." The bluenette breathed, resting her head on Mereleona's chest.
"But we're not done just yet." The flame mage told her before she set Kisame on the rock again before positioning her pussy against hers. "We still need to do this one last thing." She added before she started grinding against the shark girl's pussy, both of them moaning from the friction generated by the act.
"Ah! Oh M-Me-Mi-Mistress! Oh fuck this feels so good! Yes! Fuck me, make me yours! Love me and make love to me!" Kisame moaned in passionate bliss.
"That's right! Moan for your mistress!" Mereleona moaned as she kept scissoring against her shark themed lover.
Twenty minutes later, both ladies let out screams as they climaxed against each other's pussies. They both panted in exhaustion from the constant sexual stimulation before the lioness got both of them back into the water.
"Mmmmm…" Kisame moaned as she snuggled into her mistress.
The woman grinned as she conjured her grimoire, and turned it to a page. Moments later, a bit of flame magic wrapped around Kisame's neck, in the form of a flame magic rune collar, one with the face of a lion at the center: the symbol of house Vermillion.
"You're mine now, Hoshigaki. Heh, you know, as a girl, I always wanted a pet." The redhead told her new pet shark with a chuckle, who simply nuzzled against her.
"And now I'm your pet shark… mistress." She purred in reply as she snuggled into the redhead, much to the woman's approval.
"Good to hear." She smiled as the two of them enjoyed the water, the shark girl resting her head in her mistress's bosom, and sucking out her mana through her teat–like an infant would their mother's milk. "That's right, Kisame. Drink up." She said softly, stroking her hair and cradling her like an actual infant.
Unknown to her, the shark girl was relishing in the feeling and wouldn't stop relishing in it.
She was the docile and loving pet of Mereleona of house Vermillion now, and she would love her for the rest of her days, always and forever.
And as for her mistress… The feelings were very much mutual. She would love, nourish and protect her pet with her every fiber. That she would promise.
Kisame slowly let go of the redhead's chest, and slowly fell asleep in her lover's arms.
"Good night, my darling." The lioness purred, kissing the girl's forehead. "Sleep well." She added, laying there with her, sleeping on the bank of the pond in a loving embrace.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, at the Black Bulls Hideout, Asta was currently trying to work on his own chores that his captain, Yami Sukihiro, had put him with after he joined the squad.
That included, dusting, laundry, feeding the beasts, and trying to wake up Yami…
This last job proved to be particularly difficult. Case in point…
"Don't bother me or I'll kill you!" The squad captain barked from his room.
"Sorry sir!" The blonde yelped before running off. "Dang it, you were the one who wanted me to wake you up!" He groaned.
As he went to the dining hall, he sat next to his squad mates, and suddenly felt a realization hit him.
"Hang on! How is any of this different from what I did at the church?!" He exclaimed as he banged his head on the table.
Noelle, ignoring his ranting, looked over her food options… which was nothing but meat. No sign of much else. Resigning herself to living like this, she started eating.
"What're you complaining about, Asta?" Magna questioned as he too was eating.
"Magna, what does a Magic Knight Squad even do, anyway?" The blonde questioned, his face still on the table. "Because it just seems like all I do is,chores." He added.
"Wha–! Are you serious?!" The punk boy gasped in disbelief. "Are you legit being serious right now?! Are you really asking me that?!" He added as he got up and stormed to Asta's side of the table and hoisted him up by his collar.
"Wow, taking a bit far, much?" Finral said as he slid away from the confrontation.
"Jeez. Guys, can someone please explain what it is we do here before I blow something?" Magna growled. "How bout you, wineno?" He questioned, gesturing at .Vanessa
"Well… We Magic Knights keep the people safe, and all that." The alcoholic woman said shortly as she emptied her wine glass and poured herself some more.
"If you ask me, it's all the bad guys you can fight." Luck added. "You can spend hours beating up a criminal and no one will think twice about it. Haha!" He continued, shadow boxing a bit.
"Not to mention that you can pick up some lovely ladies left and right." Finral nodded with a grin, causing Noelle to groan.
"Not to mention we get to eat all kinds of yummy food!" The smallest in the group, Charmy, chirped as she bit down on a drumstick.
"More than anything it's a wonderful career, one that makes my sister very proud." Gouache chimed in.
Gordon started to say something, but due to him only speaking in whispers, no one could really understand him.
Grey walked up behind Asta and Noelle, getting their attention before using a spell in his grimoire… and turned into a replica of Asta, much to his surprise.
"What the–!" The five leaf grimoire bearer yelped in surprise.
"There's a lot for you to learn here. Can't wait to see how you'll surprise us." Grey said in a perfect imitation of Asta's voice before turning back to normal and retaking his seat.
"Uh… Sure." Asta nodded. "Wow, there are some serious weirdos here.. " He added.
It was then that Yami walked into the room with a serious look on his face. "Magna, get your things. We got a mission." The man told his chief subordinate.
"Way ahead of ya." The flame user nodded, his face just as serious as he got up.
"What's going on? What kind of mission do you guys even have?" Asta asked. "Can I join in too?!" He added excitedly.
"No. This is something that we gotta do, alone." Magna stated as he and Yami left, leaving everyone else confused.
"That was… Pretty intense." The boy gulped.
"Yeah…" Noelle nodded, slightly intimidated by the intensity as well.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Kisame gasped as Mereleona yanked her towards her as she woke up after getting her brains fucked out by the Uncrowned, Unbeaten Lioness.
"This collar here is the "method" that my brother mentioned, the one I'll be using to keep that appetite of yours in check." The redhead told her, yanking the shark girl to her chest with a flame magic leash. Their naked bodies pressing against each other..
"Let me guess: Mana flows through it and into my body?" The shark girl groaned as she snuggled against her mistress.
"Yep, though when it's just us…" The woman trailed off as she placed Kisame's mouth on one of her nipples. "I can feed you however I want." She finished with a grin as she felt her shark pet start sucking.
"I think I'm going to like this arrangement." The girl smiled as she continued to rest herself in the warm bosom of her mistress, feeding off of her mana.
(Elsewhere)
-Black Bulls Hideout-
Later on, Asta was again feeding the beasts, with Noelle acting as either a spectator or supervisor, but really she hadn't gotten over herself yet.
"Easy now…" Asta gulped as he moved in to feed the large Cerberus in the cage (since there appeared to be more than one set of eyes inside)… only for its center head to bite down on him. "OH COME ON!" He yelled as he comically tried to get free. "Noelle, a little help here please!" He pleaded.
"I'm royalty. I don't need to help with things like this." The silver haired girl scoffed.
"You're still on about that?!" The swordsman yelled as he forced the dog's jaws open and got himself out. "Man, I thought I was gonna die for a second." He gasped.
'Wow, he really is quite strong.' The Noble girl thought before she noticed something lodged in the boy's arm of his shirt. "What's this?" She asked as she plucked it off.
It was a tooth, it was large and triangle shaped with serrations on both sides. It looked like… an oversized Shark's tooth.
"What the– Hey! Gimme that!" Asta snapped, taking the item back from a surprised Noelle. "Kisame made charms like this for me and Yuno when we left Hage!" He added.
"And apparently lodged it in your shoulder." The water mage noted as she looked at the trinket. 'There's that name again. Just who is this Kisame, anyway?' She wondered mentally.
"Huh? Nah I just slept on it by mistake." The boy shrugged, putting the tooth away. It was then that both of them turned away and saw that Magna and Yami were back. There was something majorly different about them, though.
Namely that, aside from their squad cloaks, and their grimoire satchels, they were naked.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Asta yelled in surprise while Noelle looked away with an embarrassed blush on her face.
"Hahaha! Aw man, that old man, he actually pulled out a royal flush!" The Hina County native laughed as they walked down the hall.
"Yeah, we definitely didn't stand a chance against old Sehe." Magna nodded.
"Yeah! He was determined to beat us today, that's for sure!" Yami laughed before the two stopped in front of the new recruits.
"Uh, wh-what happened?" Noelle asked, still looking away.
"Oh hey Asta, Nono." Magna chuckled. "Come on, we'll tell ya." He added.
(Later)
"We lost to the chief of Saussy village, now we gotta pay the price." The Captain of the squad stated.
"Wait, he beat you guys in a fight?" Noelle gasped.
"No! He beat us at poker. Took us for everything we had." Magna corrected with a hearty laugh.
'Seriously?' The two young mages thought flatly.
"Anyway, after doing some thinking, I've decided to send you two on a mission." Yami told them, getting their attention.
(Meanwhile)
"Wait, seriously? You're sending me on my first mission?" Kisame asked in surprise as she stood in front of her captain.
"That's correct. Mereleona informed me that she was able to… tame your appetite for the time being and help us avoid another incident. So I believe that after a week's worth of menial work, you've earned a chance to go on a mission." Fuegoleon nodded. It was then that both Natsuo and Leopold stepped through the door. "Ah, you're here, good." The man nodded.
"We came as soon as you summoned us, brother." Leopold nodded.
"What's the plan, chief?" Natsuo asked.
"There's a village in the Common realm requesting aid in dealing with bandits that have been plaguing their area." Fuegoleon began. "They've been attacking caravans and stealing their money. They want them dealt with, so I'm sending you three." He added before looking directly at Kisame. "I trust that this will be trivial for you, based on your performance in the exam?" He inquired.
"You know it. I'll turn them into fish food." Kisame nodded with a toothy grin.
"But it'll be a good warm up." Natsuo nodded, stretching.
"Then I suggest you get to work." The Lion Kings captain told them.
"Yes sir!" The two boys nodded, making a gesture across their chests, holding their arms parallel and holding out three fingers.
"What're you two doing?" The Maneater questioned in confusion.
"Did no one teach you our squad's salute?" Leopold blinked.
"Uh… No?" Kisame replied, still confused.
'Oh dear…' Fuegoleon groaned mentally, realizing he had to teach the girl his squad's salute.
(Elsewhere)
-Black Bulls Hideout-
Now Asta and Noelle were going with Magna to Saussy village, where the three had to ride on Magna's broom.
It was called Crazy Cyclone, and they had to do this because Noelle couldn't control her magic all that well yet–even with Asta's help–and Asta had no mana so he couldn't fly on a broom either.
Crazy Cyclone did look really cool, however. It was customized with a horned skull, some ribs and a saddle. All in all, an impressive ride.
Well, to most people anyway…
"Man, this is harder than I thought…" Magna growled as he flew through the air on his broom with a decent amount of effort.
"WOOOOO! THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER! It's like we're one with the wind up here!" Asta yelled in excitement.
"Hey, cool it, Asta! Do you wanna die?!" Magna barked at the magic-less teen.
"Oh, right!" The boy chuckled sheepishly as he awkwardly wrapped his arms around Noelle's midsection, much to her embarrassment.
"Hey! Watch where you're putting those hands, insect!" The girl yelped, elbowing him in the face.
"Waaaaah!" Asta yelled as he fell off the broom and started plummeting to the ground.
"Damn it, Noelle!" Magna barked as he quickly made the broom dash after the falling boy, narrowly catching him on the right horn by his cloak. Oh, and Asta was out cold from shock. "What the hell possessed you to do that?!" He barked irritably.
"It's his fault for grabbing me like that!" The girl huffed.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Kisame was flying with her team on the way to a town in the Common realm known as Misty Valley, which was at the very edge of the realm.
"I'm still not sure if this job really needs all three of us." Natsuo sighed, laying down on his broom as they flew.
"You never know, these bandits could outnumber us." Kisame shrugged.
"Possibly." Leopold shrugged.
A short while later, the trio found themselves in Misty Valley, and from what Kisame could tell from the air, it had a river running through the center of the place.
Flying down to the ground, they landed in front of the entrance where some of the villagers stood watch.
"Well, looks like this is it…" Kisame noted as they walked up to the village entrance.
"Certainly a small place." Leopold nodded.
"Small or not, it needs our help." Natsuo added as they approached the villagers.
"Members of the Crimson Lion Kings?" One of them, an elderly man, noted upon seeing their cloaks. "Thank you for responding to our request for aid." He said gratefully.
"No problem." Kisame nodded. "So, where are the bandits at?" She asked.
"They aren't here right now, but they have been attacking us by coming from the south end of the river." A younger man explained, pointing in that direction. "Almost like they came from the water itself." He added.
"From the water, huh?" Natsuo smirked. "Sounds like they're trespassing in your domain, Kisame." He added with a grin.
"That'll be their last mistake." The girl grinned wildly, cracking her knuckles.
(Elsewhere)
With Asta, Magna and Noelle, the trio had just finished their boar hunt. The short blonde was showboating his strength by carrying most of the boars while Magna only carried one. Noelle refused to carry any of them, using her being royalty as an excuse yet again.
"Oh yeah! Big piggy party tonight!" Magna laughed.
"So Magna, this man, Sehe. I take it you two know each other?" Noelle asked.
"Oh yeah me and Sehe go way back. In fact, he's part of the reason why I joined the magic knights!" The punk nodded.
"Wow! Really?" Asta asked, sounding barely winded by the literal weight on his shoulders. "What'd he say to you to get you to join up?" He asked.
"Oh he said a lot of stuff, but part of the reason was because he'd beaten my ass more times than I can count!" Magna laughed. "When I got my Grimoire the power totally went to my head so I terrorized everywhere I could. Least till Sehe put me in my place." He added with a chuckle.
"He sounds like a good person." Noelle mused as they kept walking.
"Oh yeah. One of the best people I've ever known." Magna nodded in confirmation.
However, as they reached the village, it became apparent that something wasn't right. Namely because there was a massive cloud of mist surrounding the entire village, and it didn't look the least bit normal.
"Oh crap!" Magna hissed as he dropped his boar on the ground, Asta dropping the rest.
"Mist in the shape of a dome?" The blonde noted, assessing what he was seeing. "No doubt about it: There's a mage casting that over the village." He nodded to himself with narrowed eyes. "For a minute there I thought it was just weird weather."
This caused the two to facepalm. "Asta, just pull your sword out and stop chopping." Magna sighed.
"Huh? I can't cut through mist with a–." The swordsman said before he realized what he meant. "Oh yeah…!" He nodded as he pulled out his sword and started slashing away.
(Meanwhile)
With Kisame, Leopold and Natsuo, the trio were heading south along the river to see if they could find where the bandits were hiding out. Though that was to see if they even had one to speak of, since they couldn't find any traces.
"This is definitely not easy…" Natsuo sighed as he looked around.
"By the way, Natsu, what kind of Magic do you have, anyway?" The shark girl asked.
"Well, I use flame magic, but specifically I use a version of it called Fire Dragon Slayer magic." The salmon haired teen replied. "It's flame magic meant to kill dragons. And I've trained myself to be able to even eat fire to replenish my mana." He added.
"Huh. Kinda like me, but you're limited to just fire." Kisame noted. "Meanwhile, I literally take mana from anybody." She added.
"Yeah, that's pretty much it." Natsuo shrugged before he realized something. "Wait…" He trailed off, looking at the river. "The villagers said the bandits came from the water. Do you think they might have an underwater hideout?" He wondered, causing his companions to look at the river as well.
"Well, the villagers did report them coming out of the water. It's possible…" Leopold nodded, stroking his chin before both of them turned to face Kisame.
"... Why're you looking at me like that?" She questioned.
(Not even a minute later)
Kisame had a grumpy look on her face as she swam in the river in just her underwear. Leopold and Natsuo had somehow managed to convince her to take to the water, which wasn't the problem. If anything, she was glad to give her gills a chance to be used in water again.
The problem was that they told her that her clothes would just weigh her down, and so she had been reduced to just her underwear and her satchel with her grimoire. The most annoying part was that she'd be going in alone when she found the river bandit cave.
'They owe me for this…' She grumbled mentally as she kept swimming along. There had been a few fish she was tempted to bite down on, but she had work to do.
"You think she'll be okay down there?" Natsuo asked.
"Probably." Leopold nodded.
"Raaaaawr!" A deep roar caused the two to jump and topple over each other… only for them to realize that it was just Bosco.
"Really, Bosco?" The salmon haired teen sighed in exasperation, but ended up smiling when the bear gave him a gentle nudge.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back with Asta, Magna and Noelle, the three of them weren't really looking so good.
They'd just found the villagers and discovered that they were being attacked by a team of rogue mages, a group who's leader–a man ironically named Heat–was attacking them with ice magic
The man had a scar across his face, icy hair, and was particularly obsessed with time, constantly referring back to it mid sentence amidst constant checks of his watch and admonishment of common folk.
As Asta and Magna tried to fight him off, getting injured in the process, one of the children grabbed onto Noelle's skirt in fear.
"Miss, you have to help us! Please!" She begged, looking right into the silver haired girl's eyes. This seemed to stir something in the royal teen's soul.
'This little girl…' The royal gasped mentally, before a flash replaced her with a younger Noelle. 'I… I have to protect her. Here and now!' She thought as her grimoire started to glow.
Then it opened up to a blank page, and before Noelle's eyes, a new spell was written on it. The girl looked it over, and saw that it was a defensive type. Her eyes hardened before she started channeling her magic into it.
"Water Creation Magic! SEA DRAGON'S LAIR!" Noelle yelled as a giant dome of powerful water magic formed around her and the villagers. Heat tried to send ice spikes at them, but the dome held strong.
"Not bad, Nono!" Magna whistled, impressed by the feat of magic.
"You should count yourself lucky right now." She scoffed, though in her head… 'I actually managed to control my magic on a mission!' She gushed, clearly pleased with her feat.
"Thanks, Noelle, this'll give me the moment I need to take this guy down…" Asta growled as he got up, gripping his sword tightly. "Bring it on!" He yelled as he blasted forward out of the dome of water.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back under water, Kisame was currently blasting through the depths of the river surrounded by a water shark construct.
"Water Shark Magic: Torpedo Shark Bomb!" She yelled as a cone of air formed around her due to her speed.
After a while, she came across a barricaded cave with two waterbreathing bandits standing guard. Deciding to make an explosive entrance, she crashed into the barricade faster than the bandits could react, killing them in the explosion.
Unmoved by the force she crashed into the barricade with, she swam into the cave and saw that there were several dead bodies in the water and noticed several torches on the surface. She knew how to scare them.
"Bone Shark Magic: Great White FRENZY!" She yelled as eight Bone Sharks formed around her. Then she sicced the eight constructs on the bandits that were panicking in their camp, some futilely trying to fight off the sharks to no avail.
As this happened, Kisame walked ashore and casually walked through the camp, snapping the neck of any bandits that got too close to her. After a short walk, she came upon the leader, who looked ready to kill somebody.
"Alright, who's the buzz–" He started to say before he was suddenly stopped mid sentence by Kisame tackling him and chomping down on his neck with bone crushing force.
'Bone Shark Magic: Megalodon Jaws!' She thought as she used her bone armor teeth to crush the man's windpipe… and unintentionally tasted some of his blood.
This caused her eyes to roll in the back of her head as a membrane covered them. She knew this feeling… It was her craving for human flesh.
Time to feast.
(Meanwhile)
Back with Leo, Natsu and Bosco, the two were currently taking a nap under a tree, when Leo noticed something odd happening in the river.
The water was turning red.
"What the hell…?" Leopold muttered in confusion, which turned into concern when body parts started floating up to the surface.
"What the fuck is going on down there?!" Natsuo yelped in shock and disgust.
Seconds later, Kisame came up to the surface, absolutely drenched in blood and covered in viscera and debris from human remains. The situation was clear: she didn't just beat the bandits, she mauled them.
She looked at them, and the two boys paled when they saw her eyes. It was like her mind was in a frenzy state, and it made them fear that she would attack them. This fear nearly came to fruition when she got ready to lunge at them, had Bosco not intervened and gave her a nudge with his paw, snapping her out of her funk.
"Wha…?" The shark girl uttered in confusion before she started feeling drowsy. "Sleep is awesome…" She groaned before she collapsed to the ground, too tired for anything else.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back with Asta and his team, the three were still in the fight of their lives, and just like usual, the shortstack refused to go down.
"I'm not done yet!" He yelled as he charged.
"Pathetic." Heat scoffed as he got ready to attack Asta with an ice attack, but was stopped when Noelle's water magic went straight for him–and actually hit!
"Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon Water Pulse!" The girl yelled as the giant water ball sent the man flying back.
"Haha! Nice!" Magna laughed with a grin as he got ready to deliver one last attack to finish things off. "This is the last of my mana! So I'm making this count! Fire magic: Burning scatter shot!" He yelled, sending a fireball at Heat that broke apart into dozens more.
The ice mage readied a defensive spell as he got up. "That was your pathetic last ditch effort…?" He said before his eyes tracked the spell and saw Asta behind him. "Impossible!" He exclaimed.
"I said I'm not done! Take this!" The boy yelled as he sent the fire spell back with the flat of his blade.
"It was a diversion?!" Heat gasped as he and his minions were hit by the fireballs. The man groaned as he got to his feet and noticed the fire wasn't going out. "This fire, it's not going out…" He groaned as he struggled to stay standing.
"YOU'RE FINISHED!" Asta roared as he slammed his sword down on the ice mage, taking him down for the count.
"I can't believe it… he actually did it!" Noelle gasped as she watched the fight conclude.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile back with Kisame and her team, the Shark girl slowly started to wake up and soon found that she had a pounding headache.
"Oh, fuck me… What kind of booze did I drink…?" She groaned, holding a hand to her head.
"We were hoping you'd tell us." Leopold spoke up, getting her attention and making her notice she was in a house, probably still in Misty Valley.
"You came out of the river covered in red and who knows what, painted the water red with blood and scattered body parts everywhere." Natsuo nodded. "It was honestly kinda scary." He added with a shiver.
"Oh fuck…" Kisame groaned as she put her face in her webbed hands. "I was trying really hard to avoid that…" She whimpered as tears started to well in her eyes.
"Huh?" Leopold uttered, looking confused and worried.
"What you saw… That's what happens when I taste the slightest whiff of human blood." The girl explained. "It's… kind of the reason why I lived alone for so long." She added, her hands shaking.
"I was wondering about that…" Natsuo muttered.
"Whenever it happens, I… I… I always lose myself… When I come to, there's… there's…" She gasped before she started hyperventilating, her eyes dilating as she started having an anxiety attack.
"Oh, fuck!" Leopold cursed, realizing what was happening as he quickly pulled his distressed partner into a hug. "Hey, easy. Breathe, Kisame. Breath. Deep breaths…" He told her softly. As Kisame calmed down, and her breathing returned to normal, she started to cry.
"I'm sorry, I just… It's so painful, having that side of me exist…" She whimpered remorsefully as she hugged Leopold, who rubbed circles along her back.
"It's okay, Kisame. We're not turning our backs on you for this." The boy told her softly, trying to ease her nerves.
The shark gal let out a shaky sight as she slowly pulled away, and quickly noticed that she was only dressed in her dark blue bra and panties, allowing the boys to see her body, scars and the flame magic rune collar on her neck.
"... I'm not even in the mood to be embarrassed…" She sighed, not even bothering to try and cover herself up.
"We aren't even in the mood to ask questions right now, either." Natsuo sighed. He wanted to ask about the scars on her body, but knew that this was not the time or place.
Leopold, meanwhile, kept his mouth shut for a different reason, mainly because he recognized the rune collar around Kisame's neck.
Deciding to quickly change the subject, Natsuo took something off the table. "Anyway, we went down to the cave and found a lot of different stuff. Check it out." He told her, placing a ring on the bed and a stone.
The ring looked to be a thick banded ring like a class ring or men's ring, with a really old looking Juel coin in the center. The stone, meanwhile, looked to be an oval shape and was white with several stars on it.
Kisame's eyes lit up at the sight of the ring. "Dibs!" She exclaimed, taking the piece of jewelry and slipping it on her right ring finger.
"Well she certainly bounced back." Leo chuckled, Natsuo letting out a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, outside the village, a trio of shadowy figures watched the entire ordeal with calculating
"The stone is now in the hands of the Crimson Lion Kings… This complicates matters greatly." One of them muttered.
"What shall we do, sir?" Another asked the apparent leader of the group.
"We wait, they'll trip up eventually." The leader stated, a leaf floating down from a tree and into his hand. "And when they do, we'll crush them." He added, crushing the leaf in his fist before the three disappeared.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back with Asta and company, the three were now leaving Saucy village after attending a funeral for Sehe, and witnessing Heat and his men–save one–kill themselves.
In all honesty, it was a real ringer of a first mission.
"Not how I expected my first mission to go…" Asta sighed, feeling drained physically, mentally and emotionally at what had transpired.
"The first mission usually feels that way, and destroys whatever illusions you had of what you thought being a Magic Knight was about." Magna nodded knowingly. "Happened to me, happened to Yami, happened to all of us." He added.
"Regardless, I don't think I can be glad that we won at this point…" Noelle sighed, her body slouching.
(Elsewhere)
-Crimson Lion Kings' castle, later that day-
"Alright you three, report." Fuegoleon ordered as he stood before the three returning magic knights, having been presented with the odd stone they found.
"Upon arrival, we decided to get down to business and asked the villagers for anything they knew about the bandits." Leopold began. "They said they were coming from the water, and figured they were just swimming in from the south of the river." He continued.
"We tried looking around for a hideout, but found no trace of it." Natsuo picked up. "On the surface, at least. We realized that they may have had an underwater den, and sent Kisame in alone since we figured some bandits would be easy for her." He added further.
"And our hunch was right on the money." Kisame picked up. "It wasn't an exaggeration that they were a joke, since I picked them off one by one…" She trailed off before gulping. "And if you know how I am as well as you think you do… then you'll understand what I mean when I say that things got ugly when I accidentally tasted the blood of the bandit leader…" She said nervously, even as Leopold put a hand on her shoulder.
"I think I do, based on what my sister has informed me of." The squad captain sighed softly. "Regardless, you all did well. And as such have earned the next three days off." He added.
This caused the trio to light up as they smiled at each other before saluting their captain. "Thank you, sir!" They exclaimed.
As Leo and Natsuo turned to leave, Kisame did the same, but was stopped by Fuegoleon.
"Wait a moment, Kisame." He told her as he made her sit down with him. "Are you sure that you're alright? I can't imagine what that frenzy may have done to you, but I know it must have taken a great toll." He continued, his hand stroking the girl's cheek. "Please tell me, is there anything you need?" He asked, his eyes firm and stern, but full of concern. "Do you need mana again?"
"No. Thank you." The shark gal replied, leaning into his hand like a shark pup would its handler. "You aren't wrong about the frenzy taking a toll on me." Kisame sighed, appreciating the sibling level affection coming from the man. "Just give me some time to relax, and I should be over it by the time three days go by." She finished.
"I understand." Fuegoleon nodded before letting Kisame leave; When she was gone, he sighed to himself. "She's such a sweet young girl when she's not hungry. The aftermath of her frenzies is something I don't think I can get used to…" He mused softly.
(The next day)
Outside the castle, Kisame exited the building to go take another relaxing bath in her usual pond when a cord of flame magic suddenly shot from her collar as soon as she left the ground, causing her to feel like she was tugging on a tether.
Turning around, she soon saw that holding the other end of the leash that was holding her was none other than her mistress, Mereoleona.
"Leopold told me about what happened on your mission." The woman said with a concerned frown. "Come on. Let's go for a soak so you can just forget about it." She added, leading the girl in the direction of the pond.
Kisame's eyes watered as her tear ducts filled to the point of overflowing, before she ran headlong into her mistress's arms, burying her head in the woman's chest. She didn't even try to stop her distraught wails from escaping her mouth.
"Sshhhh. It's okay, Kisame. I'm here." The noblewoman cooed gently as she rubbed the shark girl's hair, carrying her to the pond.
The girl only looked up at her lioness lover and kissed her hard on the lips, the two of them melting into a passionate and comforting kiss as they shed their clothes off at the bank of their woodland bathing pool.
It's said that the perfect cure for a distraught mind is a lover's touch. Hopefully in this case it's true.
ThermalsniperN7: *Sigh* … I knew there was no way Kisame's new self would be totally unaffected by certain parts of her original animal instinct. Anxiety attacks are no joke. I know damn well what I'm saying when I say they are never pretty.
Dragon Emperor0: These kinds of moments are the things one would logically expect when you consider the implications of animal instinct and human intelligence, and emotions are working in the same mind.
ThermalsniperN7: Yeah. One would think they'd work seamlessly, but no. That's not how it works, and Kisame just showed it. She is really lucky she has a mistress like Mereoleona, or things would be uglier.
Dragon Emperor0: These two fit so well together because they have so much in common with each other. But while Mereoleona is a dominant and commanding leader who sees strength and character as the true measure of a person. Kisame is the same, but is much more submissive in comparison to her mistress. And on top of that, it's quite obvious that this kindred spirit and opposition attraction easily blossomed into a deep affection between the two.
ThermalsniperN7: In a pond, no less. Hopefully, Kisame will be more emotionally stable from here on out… Or as much as possible, at least. Anyway, see you guys next time.