A/N: Hi guys! Here's chapter 20 and I'm so sorry its been a while since I've posted anything, i swear the holidays are killing me ?! But i do have some things planned and half way written and they should be out soon hehe! Anyway here's some Astelle family fluff with Nozel and I hope you all enjoy!
—-
The Next Morning
The group of families woke up bright and early to begin their training, each one going in different directions. Some went deeper into the woods, and some went to a completely different location. All except for Asta, Noelle, and their 'daughters'. They decided they would stick around their temporary home and train there since no one else seemed to want to.
Asta and Brielle were enthusiastic and began jogging around the building to start off their training, shouting the enter time. Noelle couldn't help but find it slightly amusing that Brielle was the female version of Asta, especially when it came to being loud and shouting. She, Mizuki, and Kaiyo began to watch from the sidelines as it didn't seem like the two would be done anytime soon.
" Even here in the past they still act the same." Mizuki muttered as she watched her 'father' and older sister stretch and do some more exercises.
" So Asta hasn't changed even as he's gotten older." Noelle said under her breath, she was partially relieved to hear that he hadn't changed much as he got older, but another part of her was slightly hoping that he would shout less in the future.
" He's one of the few parents that haven't changed at all." Kaiyo said with a small giggle, Noelle frowned a bit and turned to look at her 'daughters'.
" Have," She began hesitantly, she wasn't sure if they would even be allowed to tell her if she had changed at all or not. But she decided to ask anyway. " Have I changed much?"
Noelle watched as the two young girls looked at each other thoughtfully, she knew she shouldn't have asked since it was probably against some cosmic rule or something but her curiosity was getting the best of her. The two girls softly muttered under their breaths before turning to look at their 'mother'.
" I would say you changed a lot, you're much nicer and warmer in the future." Mizuki said, Kaiyo nodded in agreement.
" Yeah! You're also much nicer to dad and to the squad!" Kaiyo added with a bright smile, Noelle felt her face heat up in embarrassment.
" H-Hey I'll have you know that I'm nice to DorkS-I mean, Asta and the Black Bulls!" Noelle almost shouted, the two young girls gave each other a knowing look before looking back at Noelle and giggling. " H-Hey stop laughing this instant!"
" What are you guys laughing about?" Asta asked as he and Brielle made their ways over to the small group. Noelle turned to look at him, her face still bright red.
" N-Nothing, it's just girl talk. It's something you wouldn't understand!" Noelle said louder than she had meant too, the young girls behind her only laughed more at their 'mothers' outburst.
" Ook," Asta said in a confused tone of voice, he looked over as the girls stopped giggling. " So I was thinking, how did you want to train them? Did you want to train them as a group first or one on one?" Asta asked. Noelle frowned in thought for a moment, training them one on one would help them see where the girls were at with their magic control.
" I think we should train them one on one first, just see where they're at with their magic control and then we can do a small group." Noelle said with a firm nod, Asta nodded as well before he looked at the girls with a bright and cheerful smile.
" Alright! So that means I'll work with Brielle and you can work with Mizuki and we'll see where we're at in an hour?" Asta asked cheerfully, when Noelle nodded in agreement they both began to walk away before they heard a small 'um'.
" Um da-I mean, Asta. W-Who will I be training with?" Kaiyo asked as she looked between her two 'parents', her magic type really didn't fit with either of theirs and, to top it off, she didn't have good control of her magic. She watched as Asta and Noelle looked at each other.
" Well," Asta made a humming sound for a moment with a confused look on his face before his face brightened and a wide smile crossed his face. " You can work with me and Brielle, I know Mercury magic isn't quite like Anti magic or Counter magic, but we can still work on your magic control and stuff!" He told her cheerfully, Kaiyo blushed a bright red before nodding and following behind Asta and Brielle.
—
Nozel let out a soft sigh as he began looking for this 'temporary headquarters' that Nebra had mentioned before. He hadn't seen his younger sister in a while and was beginning to grow curious, he was worried as well, especially since he heard from the Wizard King that his youngest sister Noelle was involved in this as well, but his curiosity was getting the best of him. At least that's what he would tell people if they asked him.
Nozel landed on the ground with a soft 'thud' and gave the area a look around; it was secluded yet was easily accessible to any of the Magic Knights Headquarters, it was covered by tall trees which meant it couldn't be easily seen from above, and the woods were so dense that you wouldn't see it very clearly from the ground either. It was the perfect Hideout for a secret operation such as this.
Nozel turned as he heard a loud shout from nearby that he easily recognized as Asta's and he let out a soft sigh, of course he would be here, anytime something major was happening with the kingdom Asta seemed to always be in the middle of it. Nozel followed the sound of his shouting and frowned as he began to feel a familiar mana, and some that were vaguely familiar. He frowned slightly as he tried to place them.
" Hey watch out!" Nozel was snapped out of his thoughts by the ashen haired boy's shout, he quickly made a shield out of his Mercury Magic and was able to block the attack. He moved the shield slightly out of his way and let out a soft gasp as an arrow also made of Mercury magic was stuck to it.
" I-I'm so sorry!" He heard a young girl shout as she came running towards him, he dropped his shield and looked at her. She had ash blonde hair as well, but her eyes were pink, a very familiar shade of pink. The young girl couldn't have been older than 8 years old if Nozel had to guess. He looked past the girl and saw Asta, Noelle, and two other young girls come running towards them.
" N-Nozel! What are you doing here?" Noelle asked in surprise as she came to stand in front of her eldest brother. He blinked in surprise as he looked from her, to the girls, and then lastly at Asta. Who had a surprised look on his face as well.
" I hadn't heard from either of my sisters in a while so I thought I would come and see what was going on," Nozel told Noelle seriously before crossing his arms. " The Wizard King briefly told us what was going on as far as the children and possible threat to the kingdom, but I had no idea that you were caught up in this along with Nebra and with him no less." Nozel added as he gave Asta a cold look.
" Hey what did I do?!" Asta shouted, Nozel made a 'hmphing' noise before turning away.
" It seems Uncle Nozel hasn't changed much either." The young girl with the pigtails whispered to the others, who nodded in agreement. Nozel frowned slightly as he studied them; two of them looked like Noelle but had Asta's hair color, while the other was the opposite. And from what he could tell from this brief meeting, the girl with pigtails radiated the same energy as Asta, while the one in the middle, Noelle, and the third one, the one with Mercury Magic, seemed to be a mixture.
" So, these are you children from the future?" He asked curiously, Noelle nodded and began to explain the situation to her brother.
" Brielle has no mana but she has a devil, Herz, just like Asta has Liebe. Mizuki has water magic like me and Solid. While Kaiyo has Mercury Magic like you and…our mom." Noelle finished softly, her eyes slightly saddened at the mention of their late mother. Nozel nodded sympathetically, he still had trouble talking about their mother and her death himself. Especially since a piece of him still blamed himself for it, and for treating Noelle the way he did for all those years. He turned slightly as he saw Kaiyo shuffle her feet.
" But I can't control it as well as you, no matter how hard I try I just…" Kaiyo mumbled as she looked down at the ground. Nozel frowned, she couldn't control it? Like Noelle couldn't control hers? He frowned thoughtfully for a moment.
" It's ok Kaiyo! I'm sure the more you practice and train the better you'll get at controlling it, look at Noelle, she used to have almost no control over it at all and now she can almost completely control it!" Asta said cheerfully as he tried to lift the young girl's spirits, Noelle blushed at his compliment and Kaiyo just continued staring at the ground with a slightly disbelieving look on her face.
" I'll train her." Nozel said firmly as he looked at Kaiyo, everyone let out a surprised shout, including Kaiyo, at his remark. " Neither of you have Mercury magic so you aren't able to help her properly learn how to use and control her magic." He added, he watched as Asta and Noelle gave each other a knowing look, they both knew that even if they tried their best to help her, it still wouldn't be what she needed.
" Besides, it's the least I can do since I'm not of much use to you with everything else going on." Nozel said as he looked from Kaiyo to Noelle. He could see the torn look on his youngest sister's face as she looked down in thought.
" I guess it's ok, as long as Kaiyo is alright with it." Noelle said as she turned to the young girl, whose head quickly turned towards her 'mother' before nodding enthusiastically.
" Yeah! I'm okay with Uncle Nozel training me!" The girl said with a bright smile, Nozel felt his cheeks turn a bright red.
" U-Uncle Nozel?" He stammered, Kaiyo nodded before she ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and began to drag him away from the others.
" H-Hey!" Asta suddenly shouted, apparently his brain just having caught up to what was happening. " You better be nice to her and she better not have a scratch on her ya hear me?!" He shouted louder than normal to Nozel, who only let out a small 'hmph' in response.
—
Nozel and Kaiyo walked a bit of ways away from the small group and found a tiny clearing close to a stream that was far enough no one would get hit with any rogue spells, but close enough they could still see the house. Kaiyo looked over towards her 'uncle' and smiled sheepishly.
" So, what do you want me to show you first?" Kaiyo asked a little sheepishly as she looked up at Nozel, he crossed his arms and moved slightly away from her.
" Just show me what you can do. You said you didn't have good control on your magic, so show me." He told her, he watched the girl nod before she stuck out both hands in front of her, closed her eyes, and furrowed her brow in concentration.
Three small spheres made of Mercury appeared before them and they slowly grew larger and larger in size, and as soon as Kaiyo opened her eyes the spheres, which were aimed at a nearby tree, suddenly shot off in completely different directions missing the tree completely and they were going at alarming speeds. Nozel quickly made a steel cage and was able to contain them.
" I-I'm so sorry! I was trying really really hard to control them too." Kaiyo muttered as she watched the spheres melt away along with the cage.
" It's alright Kaiyo, just try again, this time just focus on keeping the spheres in the air." Nozel instructed, the girl nodded and tried making another sphere.
A Few Moments Later
" Aw man! I'm never going to be able to control it at this rate!" The young girl cried before crouching down toward the ground and hugging her knees. She had made 12 spheres thus far and each one was more disastrous than the last. The last ones had actually destroyed her 'uncles' cage and ended up destroying a few trees before Nozel was able to stop it.
" It's alright," Nozel said with a soft sigh. " you'll learn how to control it eventually."
" Eventually?!" The girl shouted as she looked up towards him, tears welling up in her eyes. " I need to learn how to control it now! You guys are always the ones protecting me, keeping me safe. It's my turn to be the one to keep all of you safe, instead of always hurting you." She mumbled the last bit softly under her breath as she turned away from him. Nozel frowned a bit before walking towards her.
He stood awkwardly next to her, not sure how to approach or even comfort her. He would be the first one to admit he wasn't the best when it came to kids and always seemed to be awkward and almost unsure around them. He knelt down next to the young girl.
" But you haven't hurt me Kaiyo, not once."
" But I will! Don't you get it? I've hurt my parents before with my magic, I've hurt Brielle and I've almost hurt Mizuki too and if I don't learn how to control it now I'm going to hurt you too!" She shouted as more tears spilled onto her red cheeks. " I'm tired of hurting everyone, of being a burden, of bringing shame onto the House of Silva!"
It felt like a lightning bolt had shot through Nozel. Memories began to flash in front of his eyes, of a young girl no older than Kaiyo crying her eyes out, of her siblings and father berating her, telling her that she brought shame to the House of Silva, how she was the reason that the Steel Warrior Princess was dead. He shook his head, trying to clear away all of those terrible memories, but he could shake away the feelings of guilt and regret that washed over him.
He watched as the young girl's shoulder shook. Nozel reached a hand towards her but stopped short of just touching her shoulder. He had no idea how to comfort her, did he just wrap his arms around her and hold her while gently telling her everything would be alright? Or did he just sit here next to her silently as she tried to get all of her emotions out? His hand hung awkwardly in the air before he suddenly stood and turned away from her.
" Kaiyo, listen and listen well; you are not a burden. If anything I bet it's the complete opposite. You also do not bring shame onto House Silva, if anything, it is I, my siblings, and my father who do. The way we treated your mother, the awful things we said and did. You, on the other hand, bring nothing but pride to our family. You want to get better and stronger to protect those you love and care about, just like your mother and your grandmother."
" But," Kaiyo began to argue weakly. " but I still hurt everyone."
" Did you do it intentionally?" Nozel asked, when Kaiyo shook her head he continued. " Then you shouldn't feel guilty or blame yourself. It was accidental and beyond your control." He added with a shrug. The two sat silently for a few minutes as Kaiyo let Nozel's words sink in.
Nozel couldn't help but think of himself as a hypocrite for telling her that when he himself felt guilty for things that were beyond his control, such as his mothers death and her being cursed. If he had only been stronger, smarter, and more like how he was now back then, then maybe he could have saved her, and she would be the one here training Kaiyo in the woods instead of him. He could see it now; him, his mother, and Kaiyo all sitting here in the woods, his mothers kind voice echoing through the space, teaching Kaiyo how to control her magic and showing her all the different things she could do with it. He couldn't help but smile fondly at the unattainable dream.
" If ," Kaiyo started softly, pulling the Nozel out of his daydream. " If it wasn't my fault, then how do I stop blaming myself and feeling guilty about it?" She asked innocently, her wide eyes looking up at him with the faintest bit of hope that he would have the answer.
" I don't honestly know," Nozel admitted with a humorless laugh and a small shrug. " I'm still trying to figure out the answer that question myself." He added.
" Then, when you do figure it out, will you let me know please?" Kaiyo asked innocently, Nozel couldn't stop himself as he genuinely chuckled at her question.
" I'll let you know, I promise." He told her with a firm nod when suddenly, the girl held out her pinky towards him with a determined look in her eyes.
" You promise Uncle Nozel?" The Captain of the Silver Eagles felt a small blush cross his cheeks at her calling him 'Uncle Nozel' again. That was a title he wasn't sure that he'd be able to get used too. He watched as the girl grabbed his hand, moved his pinky, and wrapped hers around his.
" I-I promise Kaiyo, when I find the answer to that question, you'll be the first person I tell." He stammered slightly, Kaiyo smiled brightly at his answer before standing up.
" Good! Now c'mon it's getting late and everyones going to worry if I'm not back soon!" Kaiyo said as she began to cheerfully skip towards the house. Nozel blinked in surprise as he stood up himself.
How could she go from crying her eyes out one minute, to being bright and smiling ear to ear the next? It was almost like an emotional whiplash. But the more he thought about it, the more it kind of reminded him of Asta; how she was able to bounce back so quickly after being knocked down. It was really amazing. Nozel quickly followed the girl out of the woods and planned on asking Noelle if he could come back and train Kaiyo again tomorrow.