Black Clover - The Three Brothers

Alright, this is gonna take a while.

Blake found Grey to be even more easily embarrassed than he assumed. Maybe it had to do with what he said last night. She could barely look at him and would hide herself in whatever she could find if anything looked at her.

Blankets, underneath the bed, he had to pull her out from inside his desk drawer at one point.

How she even got herself to fit in there in such a short time is anyone's guess.

She even had a hard time speaking to Nero of all things, the bird makes one noise and she's off scampering to some corner of the room.

"Man, Nero, you really need to learn to be more approachable. You're small but very intimidating."

The bird pokes him in the eye.

"Agh! Case in point..." Blake grumbled, rubbing his irritated eye. The bird is lucky it's cute.

"I-I-I-I'm sorry." Grey mumbled, her voice shaky as usual. She sat on the bed, knees tucked to her chest, holding one of Blake's pillows.

"No no no, don't apologize, it's fine!" Blake tried to soothe. "It's always rough at the start, but it'll get better!"

Grey looked unsure but nodded. "O-Okay."

It was still rather early into the morning, which was figured to be the best time to do this.

"So...confidence...confidence...confidence." Blake mumbled to himself as he went to pace around his room.

Her biggest problem is not being able to directly face people from the looks of it. So how can we work on that... The gears in his mind began to turn.

He thought for a little longer, then it clicked.

"It's like strength training!" He palmed his fist on the realization.

"It...is?" She asked, confused.

"Think of it like this, you trying to talk to others as you are would be like me trying to...lift up the Black Bulls base! Jumping into something super difficult like that from the jump wouldn't work out too well. However, just as I would gradually build up to lifting stronger things time after time, you can gradually work your way to interacting with others without your shyness getting in the way!" Blake did his best in explaining.

"I...I think I understand." She was speaking to the pillow she was holding more than to Blake.

"Soooo, hmm, hold on a minute." Blake went digging around in the boxes of junk that still occupied the room. "There was definitely one in...Aha!" He pulled out a handheld mirror. This'll work.

He blew and wiped the dust away off the old thing before approaching Grey with it. "Alrighty, Grey, I've got a mirror in my hand I'll put in front of me. I want you to look at it."

Grey did as she was asked. Sure enough, she looked in the mirror instead of Blake.

Blake didn't hear any whimpering or gasps of embarrassment. "So you can look at yourself just fine?"

"I...Y-Yes, that's okay."

"Alright!" Blake threw the mirror off to the side.

Grey yelped, hiding behind the pillow.

Whoops. "Sorry bout the jumpscare...but I think I got an idea!"

Grey felt herself pick up a little, she even almost looked at Blake. "R-Really?"

"If speaking to others is the hardest to do, then maybe..." Blake's grimoire glowed. A puff of smoke appeared.

Grey looked up and in front of her was...herself.

"Soooo, are we okay? You can look at me?" Blake-Grey asked, holding the same meekness that he'd seen from Grey, but without a majority of the easily-induced embarrassment.

"I...I think so..."

Grey stood up from Blake's bed. She knew that this was Blake, in reality, but...it was still herself she was looking at. Her likeness, her appearance. But, without the shyness holding her down. The person she wanted to be.

"I...I don't feel like hiding myself."

"Yay!" Blake-Grey cheered with a smile. "This is great! You can learn to talk and look at someone! It may be a glorified reflection, but it's a start!" Blake-Grey beamed. "You'll become sociable in no time!" He gave her a double thumbs-up.

It's...there again. A warm feeling spread through Grey, just as it did when Blake first confronted her, then when he saw her face, and last night...

He's...so happy to help me. Is...that what my smile looks like?

"So with this we should—" Blake-Grey stopped as he felt a mana signature moving sporadically throughout the halls, it felt like...Lightning Magic!

"He's coming." Blake poofed out of his transformation, scaring Grey.

He's up already? How badly does he want that spar?

"Grey, quick!"

...

*WHAM*

The door slammed open, burn marks on it from the lightning.

"Blake!" Luck called out.

"Holy fucking hell!" Blake jumped from his bed, holding a book in his hands. "What's going on Luck?"

"I can't sleep anymore! I need this spar right now! Like, right right now! I'm too excited!" Luck was jittery, he was this close to bouncing around the walls in Blake's room.

"Yeah, clearly..." Blake mumbled. He sat up. "Alright, let's get it going then."

"Hell yeah!"

Blake opened a small spatial portal, dropping the book in it.

Luck cocked his head with a smile. "What's up with that?"

"I borrowed a book from the library, just dropping it back off."

At the start of the woman's hallway opened up a portal where a book was dropped through, quickly transforming into a big smoky person.

That was close.

Luck shrugged. "Hm, 'kay! So where we duking it out?"

"The grounds in front of the base should have enough room."

As Luck and Blake made their way out, they ran into Asta and Magna, their slightly damped hair indicating they just finished bathing. They wore their usual attire.

Magna threw a wave. "Sup Blake, whatcha doing with the battle freak?"

"We're heading out to have the spar I promised him. Feel like coming along?"

Asta got excited. "Sure do!" He hadn't got to see a lot of Luck's fighting capability besides the little scraps he and Magna got into, so this would be cool to see!

"Now that I think about it, Blake, I really haven't gotten to see you fight much." Magna smiled and nodded. "So yeah, count me in!"

"Just don't end up as collateral damage, 'kay?" Luck teased.

"Shut it, Luck!" Magna responded.

"Come on, follow the leaders!" Blake waves them over to follow.

As they made their way out to the forest, Blake gave another look at Magna while collecting his hair together into a ponytail, reaching past his shoulders in length.

"If I'm being honest, Magna, you look better when your hair's down."

"Whaaaat? No way." Magna ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back. "The mohawk is where it's at!"

And like that, your attraction has been cut in half. A tragedy indeed.

"Alright, Luck, you ready?" Blake asked as he stretched out his muscles, warming them up. He was wearing his sleeveless white shirt and pants.

"I was born ready!" Luck shouted, already readying his Lightning Magic.

"Give it your all, guys!" Asta encouraged.

"Knock that little shit's lights out, Blake! That's an order!" Magna spoke with a laugh.

"Little? You guys are the same height."

Magna shoved a finger at Asta. "Hush, short-sta!"

"It's just Asta!"

"Here I come!" Blake enhanced himself with Reinforcement Magic and launched towards Luck, aiming a punch directly to the face!

To Blake's surprise, Luck was quick enough to dodge to the side and was even able to perform a quick twist before sending a kick into his ribs.

Blake took the hit so he could grab ahold of Luck's leg and drive his elbow into Luck's tibia, but Luck deflected the attack with another kick. Luck held himself up with his fingers, then sprung forward, aiming a double kick at Blake's face.

Blake bent back to dodge the attack. As Luck passed by, Blake grab ahold of the boy's left arm, using the movement against him as he spun Luck before throwing him at a nearby tree.

"Woah! It's intense off the bat!" Asta announced.

"[Lightning Creation Magic: Thunder God's Boots]!"
"[LIghtning Creation Magic: Thunder God's Gloves]!"

Lightning boots and gauntlets formed around Luck's feet and arms respectively. He dug the claws of the gauntlets into the dirt to slow his motion just a bit before he leaped forward into the tree and just as he touched the side of the tree, he twisted and pushed himself off it, leaping at Blake!

He's a quick thinker!

"[Copy Magic: Knight's Twin Blades]!"

Blake quickly manifested his blades, he would attempt to parry Luck's gauntlet attack. However, as his blades came in contact with Luck's gauntlets, his body jolted in an instant, feeling the intense electricity coming from them.

Agh! What the hell?!

"That was a bad choice. Lightning Magic has the advantage against Steel Magic." Magna commented.

"Really? I never knew..." Asta cupped his hands around his mouth. "Blake! Steel's weak against Lightning!"

Now I'm told this!

"Gotcha!" Luck gleamed.

Stunning Blake for just a moment gave Luck plenty of opportunity. He sent a shocking barrage of jabs and uppercuts at Blake, pushing him back. Each attack landed allowing him to stun Blake for another moment, again and again, essentially stacking it.

Blake could hold up a defense, but the attacks one after another didn't give him a chance to recover or cast another spell, increasing his durability with reinforcement magic would have to hold him over.

After one more electrifying jab, Luck sent a high kick to Blake's chin, then a low kick to Blake's stomach, sending him flying.

Luck raised his gauntlets, forming orbs of concentrated lightning in his palms.

"[Lightning Magic: Thunderbolt Destruction]!"

Luck shot off dozens of Lightning orbs in the general area where he kicked Blake over to.

"That's a lot of lightning!" Asta duly noted.

"What does Blake have that could counter it?" Magna wondered.

Fortunately, Blake getting sent flying gave him time to recover it. As he witnesses the many orbs of Lightning coming towards him, he readies his grimoire, forming a black and blue fireball about the size of a globe.

"[Copy Magic: Exploding Buckshot]!"

Blake sent the fireball forward, splintering it into many fireballs to counter the orbs of Lightning as it matched their destructive power.

Magna stared on in disbelief. "That was the spell I used against him." His expression soon became ecstatic. "Alright! My spell friggin rocks!"

"This is almost as intense as back when Blake fought Captain Yami at the exams." Asta said.

"HE FUCKING WHAT?!" Magna's eyes were about to pop out of his skull.

Blake and Luck stared at each other, slightly panting.

"This...is some of the most fun I've had in a while!" Luck declared, his smile growing.

"It's weird. Maybe it's because I didn't get to have many spars with people on a relatively equal level to me..." Blake's fists shook with excitement. "But I can't believe how fun sparring is!"

"Yes! Yes! It's the best isn't it?!" Luck hopped around in place.

Oh god, he's turning. Magna thought.

"What's all this ruckus so early in the morning?" Asked a new voice.

Asta turned to see who it was and grew a smile. "Oh, morning Noelle!" He pointed at the scene of Blake and Luck. "Those two are sparring. It's been awesome!"

"Yeah, come take a seat. Enjoy the show." Magna offered, there being plenty of room on the couch they brought out.

Noelle hummed. "I really do have better things to do." Her eyes drifted to an open spot by Asta. "But I suppose if you insist, I'll watch along." She responded, making her way to sit by the boy.

"Alright, glad to have you!" Asta nudged her shoulder with his arm.

"W-Watch it, dorksta!" Noelle tried to sound annoyed. She was turned away so the pinkness in her face wouldn't be seen.

"Oh, sorry, wasn't trying to upset you." Asta apologized.

"It's...It's fine."

"Let's keep it going!" Luck sent out another barrage of Lightning Orbs to attack Blake.

"[Copy Magic: Black Cocoon]."

A sphere of blackness surrounded Blake, defending against the Lightning.

"Aw, come on, don't go hiding now!" Luck taunted, dashing forward to launch an assault on the cocoon. He shifted the Lightning Boots into a form with claws, like his gauntlets, using his barrage of attacks to tear away at the darkness.

Man, I can't imagine what it'd be like to be against him on a battlefield. Blake thought as he used Water Recovery Magic. This won't do a lot, but it's still enough.

Blake strategized. If I had more Wind spells, I'd be able to counter him more effectively, but that's not the case. I'm not trying to cause a forest fire, so Flame Magic is probably out of the question. Lightning probably has an advantage against Water. I've seen how Vine Magic works out.

He looked at his grimoire. "I'm not a big fan of this, but..."

As Luck continued to tear away at the darkness, it began to dissipate on its own. He ripped it apart to find that...Blake wasn't inside it. There's a portal?

"[Copy Magic: Thunder God's Boots]!"

His eyes shot up instantly, crossing his gauntlets to block Blake's lightning kick slam. The power behind it caused the ground beneath Luck to break, cratering it. Black lightning tangled with electric blue as Blake tried to push further.

"A mirror match it is!" Blake announced with a hungry smile.

Luck laughed gleefully. "This is what I'm talking about!"

"That was a hell of a kick!" Asta shouted, ecstatically.

"This spar is getting crazy!" Magna shouted.

"So, he really can copy others' magic just by seeing it?." Noelle spoke in amazement.

Blake pushed off Luck as he generated lightning along his arms.

"[Copy Magic: Thunder God's Gloves]!"

Large gauntlets made of black lightning formed before Blake launched toward Luck to attack. With each strike Luck block, dodge, or redirected, Blake's respect for the Cheery Berserker grew. Luck held himself well.

It's almost like he can predict my attacks. His mana sensitivity must be pretty strong for that to be the case, he could be on my level. Not just that, he can adapt quickly to the power and speed of my blows.

He gets stronger the longer he's in battle. I'll need to end this quickly.

Blake threw a straight attack at Luck. It would've been easily dodged but at the last second, Blake redirected, aiming for the ground.

"Gah!" Luck felt a surge of Lightning hit his back, electrifying him. H-How did— Luck looked behind to see one of Blake's Lightning Gauntlets coming through a small portal.

Luck chuckled. That's why he aimed for the ground, he had formed a portal there as well!

Just as Luck did, Blake took hold of the opportunity of stunning Luck. He drove up his gauntlet, delivering a powerful uppercut to Luck that was enough to take him off the ground. He jumped and twisted, slamming a kick into the boy's chest to send him back to the ground.

I'm not finished! Blake used a boost of wind magic to send him to where Luck would land.

Let's try this again. Just as he would slam into the dirt, Blake grab ahold of Luck by the back of his shirt before spinning and tossing the lightweight into one of the trees.

This time, it had been successful, Luck got slammed into one of the many large trees, damn near ripping the tree's roots out of the ground.

"Fucking hell!" Cursed Magna.

"For being a newbie alongside us, Blake's power is incredible." Noelle was captivated by the older boy's strength.

"That's big bro for you!"

Luck pulled himself out of the dent in the tree, laughing still with a maniacal smile. "Haha! Let's have a final blowout!" He generated as much concentrated lightning as he could into the palms of his gauntlets, bringing them together to fire one massive, powerful beam of lightning.

"Alright, hope you can handle it!" Blake yelled as an orb of black lightning with a dark blue glow manifested in front of him

"[Lightning Magic: Thunderbolt Destruction]!"

"[Copy Magic: Raiden's Lightning Bolt]!"

Luck and Blake fired their attacks. It was a relative stalemate as the beams of lightning pushed back and forth.

Blake placed his hands around the area of his lightning bolt, recalling what happened back in the exams against Yami with the water spell as well as what he remembered from when he first got his grimoire. If I could learn to keep ahold of the magic that comes from that...

Blake focused on the mana produced by the beam of lightning. As he deepened his mana sensory, he came across something he hadn't felt before.

A string?

Or at least, Mana that resembled a string, it was...a link? To the spell he cast and his body, his body's mana more specifically.

Huh. This is new.

"What is he doing?" Asked Noelle, seeing that Blake's spell was now beginning to weaken, Luck's spell pushing through it.

"Not quite sure, but if he doesn't do something, he'll be fried like chicken." Magna responded.

Don't let Charmy hear that. Noelle thought.

"I'll make sure to step in before it gets to him!" Asta assured.

Luck forced himself to wait, he'd only make a move once the Lightning clash had finished.

If this string acts as a link, then...

Blake tried to...push the magic from within him through the string, into his magic spell. He went into a slight panic as he felt way too much mana trying to go through at once. Pull back! Pull back!

He realized. That's what was happening back at the exams. I didn't know how it worked and was pouring my mana through the link without restraint. The lack of control is the problem.

Blake tried it again, this time trying to keep the mana on a much tighter leash than before. He's going for a liter, not a gallon.

"It's almost completely gone." Magna noted Blake's spell continue to lose out.

Come on, you have a 4-leaf grimoire, you can do better than this! Noelle cheered internally, even if this was just a spar.

Asta placed a hand on his grimoire, just in case.

It's...It's almost there! It took quite a bit of willpower, but sure enough, Blake had taken hold of the amount of mana he wanted to push out. Aha! I got you, motherfucker!

Unheard by Blake, a pair of voices hummed.

Not bad.

Impressive.

Blake's eyes shot open and only for an instant, his eyes flashed blue and his hair black.

"[Magic Amplification: 20%]!"

Blake's lightning beam enlarged in an instant, becoming much bigger and stronger than before. The tides had turned and Luck's spell was torn asunder in mere moments.

"Woah!" That was all Luck said before he braced himself as the spell impacted, knocking him back dozens of feet, his body slamming through many trees into the deepness of the forest.

Blake sweatdropped. Even that was quite a lot...

Suddenly, he felt something akin to a sting affect his body. He did his best to shake it off. I guess being jittery is a side effect. Man, what would've happened if I used more?

A silence fell upon the three spectators, who all stared at the scene in absolute disbelief.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" Magna shouted. He was this close to slamming his glasses into the ground to let off some energy.

"That...how did...What did he do to make the spell that strong?!" Noelle questioned.

"I can't sense magic but damn did that look insane!" Asta spoke, stars in his eyes.

"Hey, uh...you still alive, Luck?" Blake called out, using Communication Magic to amplify his vocals.

His bit of worry became non-existent as he saw a blond-haired creature running on all fours with lightning armor, laughing gleefully.

"OH FUCK, HE'S GONE FERAL!"

The battle-fiend that was Luck leaped forward to Blake, looking absolutely joyful. "That was so much fun!" Luck became a bit woozy as fatigue set in. "Let's...do that aga—" He'd be unable to finish that sentence as he conked the fuck out, snoozing with a smile.

Blake stood over the unconscious boy, blinking a few times, giving him a slight nudge with his boot. "Nope, he's out like a light."

He scooped up Luck before heading over to Magna and Asta. He then noticed Noelle. "Ellie! When'd you get here?"

Noelle had to snap out of the daze the last part of that fight put her in. "H-Huh? Oh, I got here about halfway through the spar."

"Before anything else!" Magna shouted, before stepping up to Blake. "How the hell did you do that?! That whole "Ampliflicating" crap?!"

"Amplification." Noelle corrected.

"Whatever!"

"I guess I'll try to explain." Blake went on to talk about how he felt the string of mana connecting his body's mana to the spell and how he used that to increase the power of the spell.

"A string? What the hell are you talking about?" Magna didn't get it.

"I've never heard of something like that before." Noelle pondered, trying to remember if anything she read about magic control before had mentioned that.

"Oh, wait!" Asta raised a hand. "Is that what happened back at the exams with Sister Lily's spell?"

Blake snapped a finger at Asta. "Bingo! That was when I didn't know what it was and it kinda got out of hand." Blake scratched his head, a little embarrassed. I damn near drowned the Colosseum.

The mention of the exams got Magna fired up. "And another thing!" He grabbed Blake by his coat's collar and tried to shake him. "You had a fight against Captain Yami and you never told me?!"

Noelle's eyes widen at what she heard. "You what?!" She wasn't aware of this either.

"Oh, you should've seen it, Noelle! It was awesome!" Asta began to gush about what happened to Noelle.

"I don't know, it didn't feel like something I needed to bring up!" Blake held up his hands defensively.

"Well, it totally was bro!" Magna threw an arm around Blake's shoulder. "Your manliness just went up like...10x in my book! Maybe I didn't need to put you through the baptism after all!"

Blake chortled. "So how close does that get me to Captain Yami?"

"Slow your role there bro, you're still only in third place! You got a long way to go!"

Blake faked an offended gasp. "Third?! Who beats me out?"

"Well, I got you and me tied at third as of now..." Magna started.

Blake rolled his eyes with a smile. Tied, he says.

"Hey, where am I at?!" Asta asked anxiously.

Magna pointed dramatically at his junior. "Right behind us at number four!"

"Woohoo! Top 5!" Asta cheered.

Noelle smiled. He's always so excitable. She stopped abruptly as she caught herself. No! No! No! What am I thinking?!

"Number one is Captain Yami, duh-doy!"

Blake nodded. "Figured."

"And number two is...was...is Seihi." Magna confirmed, remembering the old man wasn't...around anymore.

The mention of the old man brought silence over the four.

"You know what, third place is perfect." Blake spoke.

Magna gave him a small nod and smile, he appreciated it.

"Hell of a light show you guys put on." Spoke in the gruff tone they'd recognize instantly.

"Captain Yami sir! Morning, Captain Yami sir!" Magna greeted, performing the Magic Knight salute. Asta and Noelle followed after, then Blake.

"Mhm, yeah, morning." Yami took notice of the unconscious Luck, being held around his core in Blake's arm. "Got the better of him, huh? Not bad."

"This guy is insane." Blake shook around Luck by the grip on his shirt. "In a good way, dude got stronger throughout the fight, you gotta put him on more missions."

Yami chuckled. "You think I don't know that, genius? He's pretty much the go-to guy."

"So am I!" Magna added

"Yes, so are you." Yami confirmed.

"Yeah!" Magna whispered happily.

Yami took a drag of his cigarette. "I'll need the four of you in a couple hours. I sent out Finral and Vanessa to get an update from the Magic Investigation Department and I want you there when they get back with the update."

"Got it!" Magna responded, the rest nodding.

"Alright. Do whatever till then, it's time for one of my daily bathroom trips." Yami said, going back inside.

"There's gotta be something wrong with his stomach, right?" Blake whispered, making sure Yami was out of range.

"There has to be..." Noelle agreed.

"Nah, man. A trip to the bathroom is more than just to relieve himself. It helps him get his best ideas!" Magna explained.

"Is that so..." Blake took in what Magna said.

"Man, seeing that whole battle you guys had got me pumped!" Asta did dozens of pushups and crunches in seconds, but of course that wasn't enough to appease him. "I want to get some sparring done too!"

Magna cracked a grin. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel like that too. You and me, Asta, let's go!"

"What about you, Noelle?" Asta asked, getting rather up close. "The more you train, the more you'll get that awesome magic of yours under control!"

"Uh...w-well...I—"

"Too close, Asta." Blake noticed what that was doing to her and picked up his brother and moved him a bit away. "Give her some room, you dork."

"Oh, s-sorry." He said sheepishly, scratching his head.

Noelle...she didn't like the idea of training alongside others who would see her struggle with her magic, who would see a royal fail and ridic—

No. That wasn't right, they wouldn't do that. This brigade...they're supportive, they want to help her.

...More than her family ever wanted to.

Noelle flipped a pigtail. "In the interest of becoming stronger, I suppose I could show you what someone of royalty can do." She spoke, trying to sound cool as she often did.

"Alright! Come on!" Asta and Magna ran out to start their sparring.

She would follow, but after she asked Blake something first. "So...who's Sister Lily?" She didn't want to look at Blake. He definitely had that dumb, knowing smirk. He didn't know anything!

The question made Blake chuckle. She didn't like that.

"She's a nun that took care of us at the church we grew up at. Asta had the biggest crush, he'd always ask her to marry him."

"W-What?!" Before Noelle could continue, Blake placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't you worry, Ellie, he's gotten past that."

Blake went closer and whispered. "He's all yours."

Those three words sent Noelle into a furiously red, stuttering mess. Blake took off running with Luck in tow before she could blast him away.

He could hear her screaming at him to get back there.

"You're so annoying!" Noelle yelled out in a whiny tone.

"Have fun with training!"

Black Clover - The Three Brothers

A/N: Noelle wasn't present at the Magic Knight Exams in the manga, that's an anime exclusive, which I decided to forego. It feels kind of weird too cause she wasn't with the rest of them when they left for the base, so yeah.

A/N 2: Upon further consideration, I've decided to remove Elf Fana from the harem. Apologies to the Fana lovers, whoever you are(me). I just don't think I could incorporate her with Blake all that well after all. That's not a romance for Blake to have.

On a side note though, the idea of putting Mereoleona in has been crossing my mind more and more often.

A/N 3: Next chapter will be when we go deeper into the romance/harem part of the story. So...we'll see how it goes!

A/N 4: Feedback is always appreciated!