Preface: This arc takes place during the Heart Kingdom Training Arc. This is before Asta gets his demon arm, and before he meets Liebe. The timeline will deviate from there compared to the manga/anime. Unlike the original, this rewrite takes the canon future arcs into consideration (since they are technically canon here too) and also contains higher quality writing. Thank you for your support.

It was an ordinary night at the Black Bulls' hideout. Asta, Gauche, Grey, and Charmy were gathered around the table, devouring their meals after a grueling day of training. From the corner of her eye, Noelle occasionally shot disapproving glances at Asta's atrocious table manners. Zora was nowhere to be seen, though knowing him, he was likely lurking nearby. Nero, exhausted from a day of practicing her sealing magic, was fast asleep in Asta's room. Gordon, as usual, was off in the corner, quietly scribbling in his diary. Yami was in the bathroom… as usual, with Finral teleporting him extra toilet paper… also as usual. Meanwhile, Vanessa was indulging in a 25-year vintage wine she had recently acquired, savoring every drop—at least until Magna came barreling down the stairs from the second floor.

Out of breath, Magna blurted out, "Vanessa, have you seen Luck anywhere?"

Vanessa, taking another swig of her wine, shrugged. "Nope. Do you expect me to keep tabs on him? You know how he is… wait, are you trying out a new look? It's… refreshing." She was referring to Magna's current lack of sunglasses, a fact that clearly irked him.

Magna's face contorted in frustration. "AHHHHHH! THAT LITTLE BASTARD TOOK MY SUNGLASSES! AHHHHHHH!"

…Well, it was as normal a night as it could be, considering the looming threat of the Spade Kingdom.

"Look at that idiot," Noelle muttered, exasperated, as she took a seat next to Asta. Magna was pacing the room with his hands in his pockets, clearly fuming. Asta paused mid-bite and responded bluntly, "But that's pretty normal, right?"

Noelle's expression soured at his nonchalance. The rest of the group chuckled softly between bites, except for Charmy, who continued eating as if nothing had happened.

"Where the hell is THAT considered normal?" Noelle pressed, unable to let it go.

"Here, obviously," Asta replied, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. This earned him more chuckles from the group, now including Vanessa, who had decided to save her wine for a quieter moment. Noelle leaned back in her chair, letting out a deep sigh. As much as she hated to admit it, Asta was right—this chaos was their normal. And she was the one who needed to adjust.

Steeling herself to endure the Black Bulls' antics, Noelle straightened up and shot a glance at Asta, who had resumed eating with alarming speed—and messiness. This, while technically normal, would not stand.

"Stupidsta, could you maybe eat a bit slower? Your food is getting everywhere."

"Oh, okay," Asta mumbled, his mouth full of food.

"And don't talk with your mouth full!" Noelle added, facepalming in exasperation.

"Sorry," Asta replied, this time after swallowing.

Vanessa laughed. "I swear, you're like his mom or something!"

Gauche, who was suppressing a nosebleed at the thought of his sister, chuckled. "Nah, she's more like me when I'm with my little sister…"

Grey smiled quietly at the exchange.

"No…," Noelle responded immediately, squinting at Vanessa, her irritation evident.

"Then what are you?" Vanessa inquired with a teasing smirk.

When Noelle didn't respond, Vanessa pressed on. "Would you have preferred I said you're almost like lo—"

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Noelle's face flushed bright red as she cut Vanessa off, her outburst making Vanessa laugh even harder.

Asta, oblivious to the conversation around him, looked up at Noelle. "Huh? Did you eat something spicy? Your face is as red as a tomato."

The room fell silent for a moment, everyone bracing for the inevitable.

"AHHHHH, STUPIDSTA!" Noelle shouted, blasting Asta with a water jet that sent him crashing into the wall. Vanessa's laughter echoed even louder as the others resumed their activities, unfazed. Noelle's inability to express her feelings was, after all, business as usual.

Just then, the front door flew open with a thud.

"Ah, Luck's back," Charmy noted nonchalantly, still focused on her food. Magna bolted to the door.

"Where the hell are my sunglasses?!"

Luck winked playfully. "Those? I lost them."

"YOU WHAT?!"

Magna's face twisted in rage as he summoned a flaming baseball bat from his grimoire. Luck grinned, his own grimoire at the ready, blue electricity crackling around him.

It looked like a fight was imminent—until Yami strolled into the room, fresh from the bathroom, with Finral in tow.

"What's going on here? Can I join?" Yami asked, pulling out his grimoire, which emanated a menacing black aura that matched his terrifying expression.

"…Nothing, sir," Magna muttered, quickly dispelling his magic.

"Aww…" Luck pouted, reluctantly putting away his grimoire as well. Yami glanced at the group and immediately noticed Asta, drenched and unconscious.

"And why the hell is the kid so wet… and knocked out…? Eh, never mind, I can guess. Magna, go dry him off and clean his seat. We can't keep making Henry clean up after us."

"Uh… yes, sir," Magna replied, hurrying over to Asta to dry him off.

Yami sighed, put away his grimoire, and sat down at the bar, with Finral taking the seat next to him. The silence between them grew awkward until Yami broke it.

"Finral, why are you still here? Go hang out with the others. I'll join you after this drink," Yami said, pouring himself a glass from a half-empty wine bottle.

Finral leaned in, whispering, "Uh, Captain… isn't that Vanessa's wine? The one she's been talking about for days?"

Yami froze. "Oh… shit. Uh, Captain's privilege?"

"So I can tell her?"

"No, I beg you, please don't."

Finral smirked. "Let me off toilet paper duty for a week, and I won't say a word."

"A week? Fine, deal." Yami agreed, relieved but still tense.

Finral grinned, feeling victorious. "Great! Enjoy your wine, Captain!" he said, dashing over to join the others, a spring in his step.

Vanessa noticed his unusually cheerful demeanor. "What's got you in such a good mood, Finral? You're never like this after toilet paper duty."

"Oh, you know, the Captain let me off for a whole week!" Finral beamed.

"A week? Just a week? And you're this happy?" Vanessa laughed.

"Hey, you don't know what it's like! The things Yami says when he's on the toilet… he's terrifying!"

Vanessa chuckled, cutting him off. "And there's the complaining I know so well!"

"Well, sorry for wanting to vent a little! You'd complain too if you were in my shoes!" Finral shot back, his expression a mix of playful annoyance and genuine relief. Vanessa smiled, giving him a friendly pat on the back.

"Maybe, maybe not," she teased, unaware of how her words struck a chord with Noelle, who was eavesdropping and smirking to herself.

Finral, oblivious to Vanessa's inner thoughts, continued, "Anyway, I'm just glad to have a break. I can finally enjoy my meals without those… images."

Vanessa smirked, still playful. "So, why did the Captain agree to let you off duty?"

Finral began to sweat. "Oh… uh… Yami told me not to say. It's… embarrassing… for him."

Vanessa raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical, but decided to let it go. Finral was a terrible liar, but she wasn't in the mood to press him.

"Yeah, hahaha…" Finral laughed nervously, thinking he'd dodged a bullet. He quickly changed the subject. "Magna, how's it going with the menial tasks?"

"It's fine, you… toilet paper dispenser," Magna grumbled, the ball of mana in his hand glowing brighter as his irritation grew.

"Could you turn that down a bit?" Asta winced as the heat from Magna's magic singed his hair.

"Oh, sorry…" Magna muttered, refocusing his magic.

Finral chuckled. "If I'm a toilet paper dispenser, you're a glorified hair dryer."

Magna's magic flared in anger. "So what if I am?! At least I'm not the Captain's ass-wiper!"

Asta yelped as the heat intensified. "Ow! Magna, turn it down! And Finral, stop bullying Magna. Hair dryers are cool."

Magna nodded, then paused. "Wait, did you just call me a hair dryer?"

"Well, that's what you're doing, right?" Asta replied innocently, earning a burst of laughter from Finral.

Magna was about to shout again but stopped, realizing this was just Asta being Asta.

"Whatever…" he grumbled, continuing to dry Asta off.

"Thanks, Magna! Whatever Finral says, hair dryers are cool! I really respect you!" Asta said earnestly.

"Thanks… I guess…" Magna replied, torn

between frustration and gratitude.

The front door suddenly slammed open with a loud crack, silencing the room. Everyone turned to see who had entered. The man who stepped through the doorway was a stranger, not a member of the Bulls.

He muttered three words under his breath, "Oh, it worked."

The man appeared to be in his twenties, towering over everyone in the room, even larger and more muscular than Yami. He wore a pitch-black cloak that reached his shins, with an unfamiliar silver insignia sewn onto his shoulder. A grimoire, its cover obscured, was strapped to his hip, alongside a black katana on his back and a small dagger at his side. His most striking features were his stark white hair and piercing grass-green eyes. But what truly unsettled the Bulls was the aura of profound emptiness that clung to him, as if he carried the weight of a great tragedy.

Without a word, the man walked inside and sat down at the dining table, directly across from Asta.

Author's notes: Thanks for reading the rewrite! Rewriting chapters is waaaay easier than writing them from scratch, so expect updates to come pretty swiftly. I sorta wrote myself into a corner in the original story, so hopefully I can fix that with this one.