Chapter Text
The words "Oh god" and "Oh no" were switching rapidly flooding through Finral's frenzied thoughts, echoing louder and louder as his heartbeat grew with them. Rapidly pacing around the expansive stone room known as the Black Bulls living area, arms tightly crossed against himself, he was only partially aware of the stares following him. Personally, he thought he was handling everything in a perfectly reasonable manner. That was to say, he hadn't chucked a plate at someone's head, so perhaps it was a lower bar than he'd thought.
"Come on, it's gonna be fine!" Vanessa finally called out, holding a cup of water, paused on its journey to her mouth, "It's a small hiccup, nothing we can't handle."
"Nothing we can't handle?!" Finral repeated, whipping around to face her with an indignant look on his face, "There are many things we can't handle! This being one of them!"
"I strongly object to that statement!" Vanessa replied, leaning back to stretch out on the couch, "We're nothing if not adaptable."
"By 'adaptable' you mean 'just bumble our way through it and hope it turns out fine'!" he screeched, his stance was firm, tense as his face pinched with panic.
"I'm pretty sure that's the definition." Vanessa said, pointing at him.
"It's not!" he groaned, throwing his hands out.
"Jeez, keep it down!" Noelle sighed, rubbing her temples, "And I thought Dorksta was loud!"
"Noelle!" Asta said, looking almost hurt.
"Well, it's true!" she defended, crossing her arms.
"Can you two be quiet?!" Finral chastised, frantically hissing as his hands tensed up into claws around his face.
They were taken aback, eyes wide as they watched their senior continue to breathe heavily.
Finral swallowed, the moisture in his mouth vanishing the moment he saw the frightened looks on their faces.
"Sorry... I... I shouldn't have yelled like that." he stood up straighter, "You didn't deserve that."
Noelle crossed her arms. "It's insulting you think that bothered me."
Her voice was taught and her posture was tense, shaky in a way that was all too familiar. Finral felt the pit in his stomach deepen and the urge to apologize again rose.
"Are you okay?" Asta asked with wide eyes, oblivious as usual.
"Just stressed," he spoke, clipped and looking away.
"You realize you're gonna have to tell Yami about this. Right?" Vanessa piped up from the couch.
He groaned in defeat, "That's if Captain Vangeance hasn't already."
"Tell Yami about what?" Asta pressed, practically vibrating with curiosity.
"Nothing—" Finral tried to insist.
"That our resident flirt accidentally invited the entire Golden Dawn to train instead of his boyfriend." Vanessa smirked, watching mirthfully as said flirt sputtered in protest.
"Okay, first of all—" He pointed at her, scowl affixed to his face. "—I'm not flirt anymore! So jot that down! And second…" Finral struggled to come up with another criticism.
"You did what?" Noelle almost shrieked, turning to Finral.
"It was a mistake! And not at all my fault so stop giving me that look!"
"This is absolutely your fault!" she glared.
"If you want to blame someone, blame Klaus!"
Vanessa whistled. "Throwing your boyfriend under the carriage, low."
"Shut up!" he hissed. "I didn't mean it, I'm just stressed!"
"Wait until I tell him that." she smirked. "Bet he'll be real happy about it."
He turned to look at her, evident shock screwing up his features. "You wouldn't dare."
"Oh?" Vanessa leaned in, wicked grin playing on her reddened lips. "You want to test that?"
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay, usually, I at least semi-enjoy our banter, but I'm, like, legitimately freaking out over here."
She threw back her head as easy laughter peeled out from her heaving chest. "Listen, it's not a big deal! His squad isn't expecting much, so, like, go with the flow! We can help!"
Finral looked over at Noelle and Asta with absolute defeat in his eyes as desperation clung to his every word. "Would you guys do that?"
They looked at each other hesitantly, Noelle shifted her crossed arms as Asta awkwardly chuckled.
"Well…"
"Oh, thank god!" Finral threw his hands up in relief, almost hysterical in his jubilance. "I just need you two for some matches, so, you know, easy!"
"You want us to fight some extras from the Golden Dawn?" Noelle indignantly replied, thin eyebrows shooting up towards her hairline.
"Yes! If you could, please?" Finral's hands clasped in front of his face, eyes wide so he could silently plead.
Noelle rolled her eyes, "I might be busy, you know?"
"But you're not, Noelle!" Asta looked at with his face quirked up in confusion.
"But he didn't know that!" she chastised.
"Well, I do now." Finral crossed his arms, "And I really do need help, Noelle. It's just for today!"
"Ugh, fine. But you and your stupid boyfriend owe me!" she pointed at him as menacingly as she could.
"Ah! Thank you, you won't regret this!" Finral stopped. "Actually, I can't promise that."
"Wonderful." Noelle rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry, you won't be alone." Asta nudged her with his shoulder. "I'll be there too!"
"You're both lifesavers!" Finral cheered, tearing up.
"Don't cry!" Noelle ordered, looking almost scandalized. "It's weird, and I don't wanna deal with it!"
"You can't say that!" Asta frowned. "People need to express emotions."
"Do they?" Vanessa chimed in from her spot on the couch.
"Yes!" Finral shouted as he ran a hand over his face. "Actually, we really don't have time to argue about this right now, considering we have to host about ten other people!"
"Oh, shush!" Vanessa waved her hand at him. "I'll take care of it!"
"W-What?" Finral sputtered, freezing in place.
"You heard me." She laughed, light, and airy, a familiar and warm sound. "I'll get Charmy to make something and then I’ll go wrangle the others. You look like you could use a break."
"Vanessa…" He said very seriously, staring her down with hardened eyes. "I would kiss you if I wasn't unavailable."
Howling laughter filled the room. "As if you could get all this!"
"Haha. Laugh it up," he mocked. "But only one of us here is in a relationship."
"Ah, my friend, you think I'm single unwillingly?" Vanessa cocked an eyebrow. "Really?"
Finral leaned back, pouting mildly as he refused to meet her teasing gaze.
"Great!" she slammed her hands on the table, pushing off of it at the same time. "Now that we have that resolved, I'll go grab the brats. You come up with, uh, something passable."
"Right." Finral swallowed, a colder feeling sticking in his throat.
Vanessa stepped over to him, smiling slightly, and clapped his shoulder. "Good luck. I don't envy you." she faced the two teenagers that stood off to the side. "Come on you two, let's go find everyone and leave the planning to the idiot."
"I resent that."
"I know." she gave his cheek a firm pat. "That's why I say it. Good luck."
She gestured for Noelle and Asta to follow, and they did without complaint, jealousy briefly streaked through his muddled mind at that. But the living room was vacant, a rarity, and he had an hour to come up with a workable training idea for the Golden Dawn's members. He sighed, sagging his way over to the couch. Life really didn't care for him.
Mimosa was staring at him, too amused to be hidden by a false indifference. Yuno was as well. His indifference, however, was most likely real, the annoyance on his face definitely was. Klaus refused to give them the satisfaction of acknowledgment.
Though their mischievous and impish tendencies were almost preferable to the cold glares most of his squad had been shooting him. Alecdora, especially. But he didn't care for anyone connected to Yuno, so that wasn't entirely unusual.
Still, he felt himself under the intense scrutiny of the confused to the outright angered, Klaus was already embarrassed, but the looks only made it worse. He really hadn't meant to drag them all along with him, Captain Vangeance was just… hard to say no to.
He had tried to explain that it was an offer that extended only to him and his small squad of three, but Captain Vangeance had already gone and called for the others, too taken up with the idea of joint training. Especially with the Black Bulls.
It was no secret that Captain Vangeance felt an extraordinary amount of guilt for the incident months prior, he had, after all, let Licht (now Patri?) go through with his plan to destroy the Clover Kingdom, conscripting his own squad to be unwilling soldiers along the way. Their captain was eager to make up for it.
Klaus was unsure how to view it. He had admired the man, looked up to him for years, but he had been planning on using him the entire time, to use the knights that had dedicated their lives to the protection and safety of others, and force them to destroy everything they had sacrificed to keep. It was horrifying. What if they had succeeded? It didn’t help that the elves themselves were unwitting pawns, playing to the whims of a greater, more malevolent being. If anything, it made it so much worse.
If Asta and the Captains hadn’t been there, they would’ve all died, the world would’ve been lost. Captain Vangeance recognized that, and shouldered the guilt for it all. Klaus was sure he deserved that, at least. But as long as his captain was going to improve, going to try and be better for the sake of the kingdom he had once been complicit in helping to destroy, then maybe the respect that had been there would slowly come back. Maybe he could forgive him for lying. Maybe.
But this... eagerness to try and help led to oversights, rash decisions which created less than optimal situations, like the one they were currently in. Their Captain was also looking to mend the relations between squads, which had already been strained before the elves had attacked. The Black Bulls had been integral in protecting the kingdom, despite the many obstacles placed in their path, most of which had been created by the possessed Golden Dawn.
Really, Klaus should’ve seen this coming. Unfortunately, he thought that he would’ve been able to get away with it like he had in getting days off, but he had grown complacent. Then he only had a mere hour before he, and nine others, were to be at the Black Bull’s base. Though, the conversation with Finral had been awkward, and full of apologies as he warned him about what was coming. And it had started off so well…
“Klaus!” Finral’s ecstatic form had filled the caller with a blue light. “How’d it go? Did it work? Are you coming over?”
Klaus looked away. “Uh, the training idea worked, yes.”
"That’s great!” Finral cheered, grinning broadly. “Vanessa’s gonna be stoked!”
“Right.” Klaus swallowed, words becoming lodged in his throat.
“Huh? What’s wrong?” Finral’s face fell.
“The idea might have worked… too well.” he winced.
His projected face screwed up in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Captain Vangeance may have thought it was such a good idea that he turned it into a team building exercise with more people than we wanted?” Klaus let the words rush out in an almost incoherent sentence.
“...what?!” Finral squeaked, looking frantic.
“I’m sorry! I don’t know what happened, he just got so excited and started talking over me! Before I knew it, he recruited everyone else!” Klaus ran a hand through his fringed hair. “I just thought I should warn you!”
“Oh my god.” Finral muttered, hand over his face. “We’re screwed. We’re so screwed.”
“I know, I know!” Klaus sighed. “But we can figure it out! They’re not expecting much, so it should be fine!”
“They’re not expecting much?” Finral repeated indignantly .
Klaus paused. “That’s not what I meant.”
Finral sighed. “Yeah… sorry, just… UGH!”
“That’s just our luck, huh?” Klaus softly muttered, shaking his head.
"It really is." Finral groaned with a smile. "I'm surprised it took so long for something bad to happen."
"At least we're not waiting in anticipation anymore," Klaus agreed.
"No. I guess not." Finral paused for a second. "Still sucks our day got ruined."
Klaus laughed, short and mild but still filled with humor. "You wanted to see Yuno and Asta endlessly bicker for hours at a time?"
Finral snorted. "No! But it would've been nice to see Mimosa try and put them both in their places."
"You want her to start being scary again?" he teased, grinning broadly.
Finral shuddered. "It's funny when it's not you."
"I suppose. It would've been nice, training together I mean."
"Yeah. It would've." Finral took a beat, smiling with a mischievous edge. "Although Asta would've challenged you to a strength contest, just for kicks."
He shook his head fondly. "Most likely. I'll… I'll see you there. I'm going to stall, as long as I can."
Finral stiffened. "Okay. Right. That."
"I really am sorry," Klaus offered. "I think Captain Vangeance was just excited about our squads hanging out."
"A weird way to put it." Finral tried to laugh, but the furious darting of his eyes gave away his panic. "Bye, Klaus."
"See you in a bit."
He flipped the top closed and his heart gave a funny little twist. Klaus would make it up to him later, hopefully.
Still, even as he was hundreds of feet up in the sky, riding towards a place where he had to put on another persona, Finral's panic took up most of the space in his mind. It was disconcerting, how something so seemingly insignificant and mild about someone else could be something to agonize and ponder over. How he wanted nothing more than to reach over the miles that kept them apart and—
"Klaus!"
He startled, whipping his head around to catch who'd been calling his name. Eventually he landed on Mimosa's impatient face, cheeks slightly puffed in an indignant show of annoyance.
"Yes?"
"I've been calling your name." she said, glaring with a serene smile and angelic grace. "Some people have, um, questions about today."
he stilled. "Right, of course they would."
He turned to the mass of broomsticks following him, each dotted with their own uniformed figures, ranging from disinterested to staring at him expectantly. At the front was Alecdora, sharply waiting for an explanation, flanking him were Siren and Hamon, and Klaus silently thanked whatever god there was for bestowing mercy upon him. Alecdora was painful on his own, but Siren and his constant, thinking silence partnered with Hamon's endless amusement and cheer balanced him out. Their friendship was certainly odd considering their personalities but he couldn't really judge them.
Letoile and David sat somewhere in the middle, always next to each other despite the exasperation that seemed to follow the bespectacled woman whenever she dealt with him. David, as always, was teasing her, asking her to gamble. It was familiar, fond even, as she admonished him with a simple repeating of his name.
Gris sat alone, silently facing away from the chattering conversations, his nose turned up and shoulders set back. The man was disagreeable on his best days, but there was an undeniable similarity between the two of them, at least with Klaus' past self. Gris would violently deny any sort of camaraderie he felt, despite obviously partaking in it.
Still, he was easier to get along with now, especially since Asta's visit during the squad exchange months ago. His stubbornness remained persistent despite that, but Klaus had long grown used to it.
"Okay!" Mimosa clapped, her hands next to her titled head. "Who wants to go first?"
Hands shot up almost immediately, before being pulled back down and a uniform look of shame was shared. A bad habit from their schooling that was hard to break.
"I'll start." Alecdora cleared his throat. "Why did our illustrious, talented Captain decide to send us to one of the lowest ranked squads in the kingdom?"
"They did get second place in the Star Festival," Hamon reminded him, leaning over with a wink.
Siren nodded and Alecdora scowled at them both.
Klaus swallowed. "I mentioned in passing that the Black Bulls offered to do joint training with my squad, and Captain Vangeance believed it would be best if more of us went along to, uh, make amends if need be."
"Make amends?" he repeated, almost indignantly.
"We did attack them, when we weren't… ourselves." Letoile coughed into her fist, obviously uncomfortable with whatever memories the possession had left her with.
Alecdora crossed his arms, but didn't say anything more.
"Excellent." Mimosa easily smiled. "Anything else?"
"Over here!" David enthusiastically waved as he teetered dangerously off his broomstick.
Letoile glared at the display. Mimosa nodded at him, giving permission for him to continue.
"Okay, so! What can we expect, like, personality wise?" David tilted his head.
"That's…" Klaus glanced over at Yuno and Mimosa with a small grimace. "Do we have enough time for that?"
She looked uneasy, turning away from him to avoid giving an answer. Yuno raised an eyebrow. They were no help at all.
"Thank you both," he sighed, looking over his shoulder, back to David's expectant gaze. "How do you feel about loud noises and possible bodily harm?"
"Shit, shit, shit!" Finral paced across the wide open yard surrounding the front of the base, cursing under his breath.
"Come on Finral, it's fine!" Asta cheered. "We have a plan, and we're ready to help! One hundred percent!"
"You don't speak for me," Gauche spit venomously, glaring out from under his long bangs.
"It's a good thing he doesn't." Noelle rolled her eyes, fidgeting in place next to Asta. "I'm not sure if I could stand it."
"Tch." he clicked his tongue, going back to staring off in the distance with his hands tucked deep into his pocket.
"Where's Vanessa?! She said she was getting Charmy!" Finral stopped pacing to direct the frantic question at the small group.
"I-It's f-fine! I'm s-sure she'll be here s-soon!" Grey tried to assure him from the spot where she huddled next to Gordon, who nodded along with her.
He whimpered miserably as a response and Magna tried to pat his shoulder with as much schooled sympathy as he could summon. It came off awkward and stilted and Luck snorted with laughter.
"Sh-Shut up!" Magna hissed, flushing red. "You try and do this!"
"Don't encourage him!" Finral snapped, turning to look at him with a glare. "You know what he'll do!"
Luck giggled. Magna nervously scratched at the back of his head, avoiding his carefully styled mohawk.
“Hey! I’m baaaack!” A familiar voice sung out across the yard.
Vanessa stood smiling, airily ignorant, if not willfully so, of her friend’s panicked disposition.
"Vanessa!" Finral shrieked. "Where have you been?!"
"Chill." she rolled her eyes. "Always with the dramatics. I was just grabbing some things."
"I'm not a "thing"!" A voice protested, the figure behind it stepping into view.
The familiar open-chested outfit was as gaudy as always, studded with metal spikes, the striking red hair contrasting heavily with the leathered black wrapped around his face. Zora had finally deemed them worthy of an appearance. Joy.
Charmy popped out from behind him, nibbling on something. With a quick shoo motion, Vanessa encouraged her to go inside, hopefully to make food. They could at least pretend to have basic manners.
Finral pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Vanessa…" he began with a heavy sigh.
"Come on! You can't tell me that his trap magic won't pose an interesting challenge." she grabbed onto the ash mage's arm, proudly showing him off. "Sure he has a mouthy streak but who doesn't? And don't you need someone to draw ire besides you and your beloved, dear—"
"Okay! Okay! I get it!" he held his hand up to her smug visage. "Fine, he can stay."
"Don't I get a say in this?" Zora testily interjected, hands on his hips.
"Oh, absolutely not." Vanessa patted his cheek. "Welcome to the Black Bulls."
He gave her a salacious grin. "I hate it already."
"That's the spirit!"
Finral covered his face with one hand. "I'm too tired for this."
“Hope you’re not too tired to act,” Vanessa called with an underlying tone of mischief, when he met her eyes, she gave him a quick wink. “Looks like our guests are here.”
Her pointed hand was raised towards the horizon, just above the treetops that were scattered around them all. He, with great anguish, followed her extended finger to the sight of far off dots, moving towards them with all the speed and manner of a funeral procession.
With one quick breath, Finral spun around to face the disjointed, bored group of magic knights.
“Okay! I know no one wanted to do this today, least of all me, but please, for the love of god, just go with the plan?”
The silence he was met with was not inspiring.
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
"Don't worry, we'll do our best!" Asta cheered, too bright for the atmosphere that had deeply settled.
Finral looked at him. "Asta. You're my favorite."
Noelle sputtered, indignantly growing red in the face.
"You're okay too, Noelle," Finral assuaged her nonsensical mutterings, albeit slightly dazed and without much presence. "Asta's just so positive, y'know?"
She huffed, glaring at the ground.
"Whatever…"
"Awww, jealous?" Zora mockingly cooed, hunching over with his hands in his pockets.
"Shut up!" she snapped.
"Don't worry Noelle, you'll go back to being his favorite tomorrow," Vanessa said, smiling.
She rolled them, but the smug gleam in her violet eyes was hard to miss.
"Incorrect. I have no favorites. Usually." Finral paused, thinking on it. "Actually… do I?"
"You do." Vanessa nodded.
Everyone else made slight sounds of acknowledgement.
"Okay, quiet!" Finral shushed them while waving his hand around. "Just… try and act normal, alright? They'll be here any minute…"
As soon as they set down, the air had become electrified, brimming with awkward silence, simmering animosity, and mutual ignoring of the fact that most of the Golden Dawn had tried to kill the Black Bulls while possessed.
Klaus wasn't happy about being put in charge of it all.
Still, he did what he'd been trained for, and stepped forward as their temporary leader. Others had seniority, but he had been the one to get the "mission" directly from the Captain, it only made sense.
"Hello everyone. I'm sure some of you know me already but my name is Klaus Lunettes. And those behind me are a few members of the Golden Dawn we brought along for joint training today." Stepping back he gestured broadly, trying not to grimace with a silent apology. "I hope we can have a productive day."
There was silence. Choking, awkward, awful silence. The Golden Dawn shifted behind him, he could just picture their varying stances, some looking defiantly down on the Black Bulls while others refused to meet anyone's eyes, the guilt too overwhelming. And the Black Bulls… looked way too pleased with themselves.
Finally, he allowed himself to look over at Finral. He was looking firmly away, one arm crossed over his body and tightly gripping the other, styled hair flopping over his forehead. Such a familiar sight yet exhilarating with its newness; the way his forehead creased with thought, features folding together into a new symposium of emotion, the gentle light creeping over skin that illuminated him, the very air was charged with his presence and Klaus could not help the breath that caught in his throat.
Finral looked up.
With the way his eyes widened and the new flush dusting his cheeks, Finral was having very similar thoughts. The very idea made Klaus giddy, the rising excitement was almost dizzying. Had they been alone…
"Klaus, dear, no need to be so formal! You're practically family after all!"
Vanessa's teasing, exuberant voice tore him away from Finral. She was standing at the forefront of the Black Bulls, one hand on her hip, the other fiddling with a piece of her hair. She looked casual, resting all her weight to one side. A tactic to make them more relaxed. Smart.
"Oh! Mimosa and Yuno too!" she waved at them.
"Hello, Ms. Vanessa!" Mimosa chirped, excitedly waving back.
Yuno nodded once.
The rest of the Golden Dawn looked on with moderate confusion, understandable given the situation.
"Well, Vanessa, I thought it was pertinent to get the professional bits out of the way." Klaus allowed himself a smile as he pushed up his glasses. "It's nice to see you as well."
"Aw, get over here!" she threw her arms open.
Despite the embarrassment that tinged his skin with obvious pink, he stepped forward to meet her in the middle. Throwing her arms around him, she laughed easily. Not all of it was for show, she did seem genuinely happy to see him. The feeling was mutual.
Pulling back, she gave him pat on the face, before setting her sights on his two subordinates.
"You two are next!" she called out.
"Come on, Vanessa!" Asta ran up next to her. "You can't hog them all!"
Luck trailed after, ignoring Asta. "Hey Klaus! I hear we're fighting, right? Right?!"
Klaus winced. "Well—"
Magna popped up next to Luck, putting a hand on his shoulder to ground him. "Sorry, man, he's just excited."
"Yeah, I am!"
Noelle stumbled next to Asta, speaking distantly. "Hey, Four-Eyes."
"...hello, Noelle."
"YUNO, YOU JERK!" Asta shrieked, startling them all.
He had gravitated towards the sullen boy, Mimosa just happened to be next to him, and had his hand raised up to the top of Yuno's head.
"YOU GOT TALLER!"
"Or you shrunk."
Asta opened his mouth, and Klaus prepared his eardrums for another verbal beating.
"Asta. Please." Mimosa put her hand on his arm. "Later."
He visibly deflated.
"Sorry, Mimosa."
Klaus finally turned back to get a good reading on his squad.
They were certainly… surprised. Some stared in revulsion, horror at the sights of familiarity and friendship with such a supposedly lowly group happening before them. Others were uncomfortable, shooting odd looks towards him, trying not to look like they were paying too much attention. Understandable, truly.
Something light tapped his shoulder. He turned.
Open, deep lilac eyes met his. Familiar with the sight, he let the edges of his vision darken, something easy twisted the edge of his mouth up. Finral looked nervous, his fingers twisted at each other. Klaus smothered the need to reach out and knit them with his own.
"Hello, Finral."
"Hey, Klaus. Good to see you."
Klaus stuck his hand out. The interaction wouldn't look too odd to any outsiders. Carefully, Finral lifted his and they met in the middle. One careful, not quite extended shake later, they parted. Immediately, he missed the contact, the warmth, the brushing of Finral's thumb against the back of his hand, a reassuring, quick thing that ghosted on the edge of his memory.
Trying not to melt into a puddle, Klaus wondered how the hell they were going to survive an entire day of this. Well, they'd done it once before, surely it wouldn't be so difficult the second time. Right?
Finral smiled and he felt himself immediately go red.
Oh, today was going to be no fun at all.
Chapter 2
Notes:
Not me posting this months late, ahaha... anyways... hope you enjoy. My Tumblr is @Innogens-breadsticks so feel free to pop in over or whatever.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The exhausting anxiety that had been playing at his nerves all day was finally quieting. Finral knew it was almost embarrassing how much that particular reaction depended on Klaus' presence, on the solemn air he managed to bring with him almost constantly, and, of course, the underlying current of warmth waiting just beneath it.
But Klaus was reassuring, an almost constant source of support, radiating muted affection through minute little ways; fragile bits of stuttered love that came through in actions, and almost never in words.
Even now as the bespectacled knight surveyed his hesitating squad with an awkward sweep of his head, Finral could see the genuine concern resting primly behind the firm set of his face. Klaus obviously wanted this to go well, the nervousness etched into the twitching of his fingers as they fiddled with his glasses.
And Finral, well, he just wanted to not completely embarrass himself. And staring would definitely do that, he woefully reminded himself. With great hesitation, he tore his eyes away.
Really, how no one had figured them out sooner was mind blowing. Besides the half dozen or so nosy teenagers, but they were already supernaturally predisposed for falling into the weirdest situations, so they were definitely outliers, to him at least.
Vanessa's side eye was enough to let him know that he wasn't being nearly as subtle as he thought. But really, subtlety and Finral were like oil and water, always skimming off the other tempestuously. Wasn't the loudness of his aesthetic and personality telling enough? And yet he still tried, desperately.
Unconsciously, he ran a hand through his gelled hair, a time-consuming project that was more work than it was worth at times but still, the modicum of joy he managed to get was worth it. It was tacky and hardened to the touch, and he was probably going to have to fix it later, but it was a distraction nonetheless.
The greetings had died down, leaving the two groups awkwardly silent as they muttered at each other with forced politeness. Most of the Golden Dawn glanced toward Vanessa, looking to her as the de facto leader. But she pretended not to notice, silently preening as she sent a wink Finral's way. Well, let it be known that she was still probably one of his best friends despite the tendency to throw him to the wolves.
"H-Hey everyone!"
His voice fell flat, dying out on the open ground stretched between the Golden Dawn and the Black Bulls. They all turned, some with only mild snickering, the others with moderate contempt and confusion. Any confidence that had existed, barely forming to begin with, was promptly sucked out into the judging cluster and smothered with each passing second.
He quickly shook his head, swallowing deeply, "So, uh, I thought we'd start off with a team building exercise!"
The deafening silence was almost enough to make him curl in on himself, and it was hard not to, but somehow he managed to keep up his slightly pained smile.
"It's like a scavenger hunt! Teams of four will compete against each other to find three magically powered disks that'll be hidden somewhere in the forest, all within a twenty minute time limit. The winner gets first pick of Charmy's food once she's done cooking!"
The only real reaction seemed to come from the Black Bulls, who jostled each other with vicious grins. Most of the Golden Dawn pulled faces, bitter visages of confusion and hesitance. They certainly had never tasted mana replenishing cuisine before. At the very least, Hamon and the trio had the good manner to look moderately interested.
"So, uh, first things first—teams!" The false excitement was grating even to his own ears. "Since the goal for today is squad cooperation, we're going to mix groups!"
Finally, his words were met with a reaction. Was it a good reaction? No. But it was one nonetheless, so some satisfaction was gleaned from it despite the raucous groaning from his squad and the queasy looks from the other. The rushing whispers from the Golden Dawn were beginning to mount and build as the rest of the Black Bulls collectively rolled their eyes.
Klaus, at least, looked somewhat excited. Finral couldn't resist sending the quickest wink his way, heavily enjoying the rampant blush that sprouted on the other knight's face as he forcefully looked away.
Mimosa and Yuno glanced at each other and their superior, rolling their eyes in a sort of exasperated tandem. Finral forced himself away before they could catch his eyes and glare. They were surprisingly protective when they wanted to be.
That unfortunately meant he had to focus on the new conversation sprouting around him, the harsh words muttered through gritted teeth, the judging, cutting glares. He had grown used to them, of course, but to have them happen here, at his home, his base...
"That's enough!" Klaus' voice rang out, snapping him back just as quickly.
Gone was the flustered man of only a few seconds ago, replaced by the soldier who'd trained for years; the set of his shoulders and mouth made him threatening, a fearsome figure that demanded utter focus. Finral blinked, taking in a shuddering breath. This was new.
"We're here because Captain Vangeance decided to make amends, to build bridges with other squads. Our job is to protect the kingdom and the best way to do that is with the help of other magic knights. We can no longer continue shunning them and putting ourselves on pedestals, that behavior is what led to our downfall, the Eye of the Midnight Sun preyed on our arrogance to their advantage. It is uncomfortable to admit it, I understand that, truly, but that is no excuse to deny the parts we played, even unknowingly. Now, we will treat the Black Bulls, who've proved themselves over and over again for basic respect they should've already been given, like the accomplished group they are and participate graciously in this exercise. Am I clear?"
Silence of both groups reigned in the aftermath of his words, the swelling of leaves and the rustling of grass the only noise that dared to be heard.
"Am I clear?" He repeated with force.
Slowly, most of the Golden Dawn nodded, and those who didn't averted their eyes and didn't dare defy more than gritting their teeth. And in that regard, it was only Alecdora.
"Good." Klaus turned away from his group, tightening his crossed arms uncomfortably as he looked back at Finral, "Please, continue."
Finral swallowed, feeling something lodge in his throat. Jerkily, he nodded.
"Right, of course." Had his tongue always been so dry and heavy? "So, um, the first thing we'll be doing is separating randomly into groups—"
"Oh fearless leader, aren't you forgetting something?" Vanessa sang out.
Finral glared at her as she grinned with a smug tilt, hands on hips as she swayed in place.
"What do you mean, Vanessa?"
"Well it's not like you've set anything up yet, right?"
He stilled, very visibly glaring at her as he spoke through faltering annoyance, "No. I have not. And you brought this up because…?"
"I'm just suggesting you go take care of it and leave the sorting to us, y'know?" She winked.
Clenching his fists, his jaw tensing with them, he very calmly replied, "Well. Since you're so clearly insisting upon it…"
"Excellent!" She cheered, propping herself up on Zora, who only rolled his eyes as she rested an elbow on top of his shoulder, before shooting a sly glance at the trio, "Klaus, why don't you go give him a hand? He could probably use someone smart."
Finral blinked for a moment. Oh. His face split into a wide smile as Vanessa rolled her eyes.
Klaus, on the other hand, had immediately started spluttering nonsense. Mimosa sighed as she pushed him forward, waving him off as Yuno stared on with piercing judgement.
Finral didn't hesitate opening a portal, blinking one into existence almost immediately as Klaus came up behind him.
"Yuno, Mimosa, please keep everything under control for a little bit." The tension underlying the request was faint, but still noticeable.
Yuno scoffed, "Like it'll be hard."
Klaus stiffly nodded, hesitating briefly before finally stepping through the shimmering pool of magic that Finral had conjured up.
Finral looked toward Vanessa, "Think you can handle it?"
She shooed him on, "Go, go, I'm more than capable."
Shaking his head, he looked back toward the portal. Finral, with bated breath, followed Klaus, sealing the way behind them.
Klaus hadn't had much time to consider what to do once he'd crossed through the familiar threshold, the lurch of magic on his body more than familiar as new surroundings rushed to form around him.
The natural light was abundant, streaming in through the windows and hitting the bricked walls with a hazy, bright tint that washed over everything. It was a bedroom, he had time to realize that as he caught sight of a bed with its headboard pushed against the middle of the wall, his eyes trailing the moderate mess of papers from the nightstand to the desk next to the bookcase wedged in the corner. A quick revolution confirmed the room to be relatively small despite the furniture, and that was the last coherent thought he had as he turned and warm hands suddenly clutched his shoulders.
The buzzing of words and lines of reasoning fizzled out as an eager mouth met his own, the force behind it enough to send him stumbling back into the wall. The surprise of the kiss was enough to keep him still for a moment.
But the added presence of Finral's arm shooting out next to his head and the continued weight of his body pressing against him spurred Klaus on. Tilting his head to accommodate, he pushed back as he steadied his hands on Finral's chest.
His lungs ached, deep and heavy as a hot spark jumped back and forth with the ebb and flow of their familiar rhythm. Frissons of heat shot up from the base of his spine, buzzing just underneath his skin, desperately waiting, wanting.
With great pain to himself, Klaus pulled away, leaning the back of his head against the wall as he caught his breath.
Finral sighed, letting his head drop to Klaus' shoulder.
"Not that I don't enjoy this…" Klaus admitted with only a minor change in color, "but is it really wise to do this now?"
Finral brought his head back up for a glare.
"It's not like I can pop us anywhere more private, and going to my room conserves mana." Finral looked away, "Besides, you know this is what Vanessa probably meant, and actually setting up should only take a couple of minutes. And… I just… I wanted to salvage a bit of our day, ya know?"
Klaus stopped, completely and utterly, as something shuddered inside of him. Icy little bits of emotion built on his breath, curling so effortlessly as it sharpened the burning need already there.
He swallowed, "Well… I wouldn't be… opposed if we were to continue…"
Finral grinned, leaning in.
"But." Finral stopped with a frown as Klaus continued, "We're not going any further while we're here."
There was only a mild pout at that, "Are you sure? I mean, not to be that guy, but this really wouldn't be the first time someone's brought a person here to… have fun with. So if that's what you're worried about..."
Klaus shook his head, "No, it just… would feel too weird." He paused, considering something before horror flashed over his features, "Isn't the base connected to Henry?"
Finral's face broke apart, his eyes widening in utter shock as practically jumped away from Klaus.
"Oh. Oh no." He clasped a hand over his mouth as he began pacing back and forth, "Oh god, I'm going to have to make Vanessa apologize for hours straight."
Klaus slumped back, "That's probably a good idea."
Finral groaned, stopping in the middle of the room, "Ugh, I can't believe I almost listened to her."
Klaus cocked his head, "She wasn't exactly wrong. I do want to have some time with you."
Finral flushed.
"But perhaps not in the way she meant."
He nodded, not meeting his eyes. "She has no shame."
"It's impressive, really." Klaus considered thoughtfully, "She has such little regard for propriety, I must admit, I'm… envious of that at times."
Finral stuck his tongue out, "That may be true, and Vanessa wouldn't be Vanessa without her carelessness for rules, but I like you. Stick in the mud and all."
Klaus rolled his eyes, "I said I was envious at times, but trust me, I have no plans for a drastic change in personality in the near future."
"Wonderful." Finral dramatically sighed, wiping a false tear away from his eye, "I'm so happy."
Klaus rolled his eyes, but not without affection, "You are utterly ridiculous."
"And you like it." Finral teased.
"Perhaps. Perhaps not." He cocked his head, "But I'm certain you could convince me of its merits."
"Okay, okay, enough of that." Finral scoffed, "We can flirt after I'm done thoroughly digesting this new piece of traumatizing information."
"Just another day in the Magic Knights." Klaus sighed, crossing his arms.
"You said it." Finral scoffed. He paused, before looking back at the other knight, "You know... Langris wants to meet with me today."
Klaus choked on nothing. "What?"
Finral chuckled, "I know, right? It was… weird."
"You didn't think to tell me about this until now?" Klaus indignantly questioned.
"Well it wasn't something I was really, like, considering! I love him but he can be… hard to deal with, you know?"
"I know perfectly well! He was my boss for three years!"
Finral blanched. "Right… sorry."
Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose. "No… don't be, I just… it's worrying, that's all."
"Hey, trust me, Langris is… difficult, but he's not gonna cause trouble. He's not your Vice Captain anymore at least, and he doesn't really talk to my dad now."
"Wonderful. That makes up for almost killing you."
"Klaus…" Finral sighed, stepping forward, "I can't… I've forgiven him for that, really."
"Forgive me for being apprehensive when he, again, almost killed you in front of a crowd. One that I, and the rest of your squad for the matter, were in."
"He wasn't in a good place mentally!"
Klaus raised an eyebrow. Finral took another step towards him, grabbing his crossed forearms and drawing them to him. A familiar, wondrous gesture that he had taken so long to get used to. Even now, it went a thrill up his spine. His arms ended up splayed outwards, Finral's laying on top of his own.
“I know he’s your brother and that you really want to make amends, but that doesn’t excuse years of belittling you, insulting you. I just…” Klaus sighed, looking off. “I don’t want to see you hurt again.”
Finral squeezed his upper arm gently, “Okay, I get that, I do. But… he was alone with them for so long. Their standards were… impossible, it’s no wonder he broke under the sheer pressure. And it seems like he wants to reconnect now, and I just… I wish we could’ve been normal siblings, you know? Without all those expectations getting in the way. I wish I could’ve helped him more.”
Klaus uncomfortably shifted his weight, “I do know what it’s like to live with impossible expectations… but I’m very much a different person than Langris.”
“You still changed. Why can’t he?” Finral pleaded.
Klaus pointedly didn’t meet his eyes. “I… oh, fine, fine! You didn’t ever need my permission, but have it nonetheless.”
Finral grinned, “You’re right. But I wanted to have your understanding.”
“That one’s a bit more difficult.” Klaus grumbled, before the crease between his eyebrows smoothed out. “Just… be careful, alright?”
“Of course.” Finral agreed wholeheartedly, leaning in, “Don’t worry, it’s just a quick lunch. I’m sure we’ll be able to finish the team exercises first.”
‘Oh, I’d doubt that. I believe our Captain wanted us to spend the entire day here.” Klaus muttered, exasperation obvious in his voice, unconsciously shifting closer as well, “But don’t worry, I’m sure we can figure something out. How does your squad feel about trust falls?”
Finral snickered, “Oh, I’m sure they’d love that.”
“Wouldn’t they?” Klaus smiled, tilting his head forward, noses barely an inch away from brushing.
Finral closed the gap with an easy, soft kiss. It was a sigh on a warm summer’s day, deeply familiar and achingly affectionate in all regards. A melodramatic way of thinking about it, but he could not deny the bloom of balmy comfortability surging in his chest; curling out to his extremities with a sort of careful gentleness. Klaus pulled away, forehead resting on Finral’s, another irresistible support.
“Make sure to be careful in the very least.” Klaus warned, “You two are still competing for inheritance, it’s led better people to do terrible things.”
“I doubt he’s going to poison my tea.” Finral joked, “I thought we established that if he really wanted me out of the way he’d do something much more drastic.”
Klaus frowned as Finral quietly chuckled.
“It’s not funny.” He chastised, “I’m being serious!”
“Sorry, sorry. I know you’re just worried. But, I promise, I’ll be fine. I’ll call you if it all goes to hell, okay?”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but alright.” Klaus agreed.
“Now,” Finral stepped back, still clinging to the other man’s arms, “should we go set up one of the worst plans we’ve ever come up with?”
Klaus sighed, “If we must.”
“Wow, loving the excitement.’ Finral noted with a deadpan.
Klaus rolled his eyes, dropping his arms, “Do you want to go patch the holes in our story or not?”
“Alright, alright!” Finral raised his arms in mock defense. “Off we go! I just gotta portal around for a bit and drop these things off.” He gestured to a corner where the disks were haphazardly stacked on top of each other.
“I’ll grab them.” Klaus stepped away, quickly running over to scoop them up.
“You know…” Finral said, flexing his hands to open a portal, “I don’t think Henry’s magic extends into the forest.”
Klaus snorted, walking back with the disks piled in arms, “Maybe some other time, but we really do need to focus for now.”
Finral laughed, “I think you and I have very different ideas of what focuses us.”
Klaus swatted at his hand, shaking his head with a playful smirk, “There’s a time and a place.”
With that, he stepped through the glimmering pool of mana. The world lurched and melded into a new landscape, spitting him out into some random, isolated part of the woods. The warbling of the portal ceased, and he turned to see that Finral had undoubtedly followed. With that, basking in the silence of the day, they set off.
When Finral got back, hair definitely more mussed and sporting a reddened face, he had expected pandemonium, absolute chaos. Not that he didn’t trust Vanessa, but she—and the rest of the Black Bulls for that matter—did not have a particularly fantastic track record. Still, to see everything relatively calm, though still tense, was a wave of relief.
When the eyes of two squads turned to him expectantly, however, was an entirely different story. He felt them digging into his appearance, his composure. What had they noticed? Was he obvious? What kind of damage control would he have to run?
Then Klaus came up next to him, calm as ever, and with a brief nod of acknowledgement to Mimosa and Yuno, stayed perfectly collected. Finral almost felt offended. How in the world could he act so nonchalant after—
“Hey Finral!” Vanessa called out, breaking his train of thought, “You got everything cleared up?”
“Oh, um, yeah!” He weakly replied, scratching the back of his head.
“Wonderful.” She gave him a wink of all things, and turned back to the groups, “We’ve got everything set up here too!”
“Oh, that’s great!” He tried to sound excited. It fell flat even to him.
Klaus shrugged, and began to step away, back to his own squad. Finral didn’t turn, though the lack of him stung.
“You ready?” Vanessa continued, eyeing him with her usual piercing awareness.
He smiled, however falsely, “Yep. Let’s get started.”
Notes:
Sjsjjsksks I'm so sorry this took so long but writers block, you know? I enjoy these idiots so much tho. At least we're getting places, setting up some drama. Hope you enjoyed.
Chapter 3
Summary:
Brackets and insecurities are discussed
Notes:
Oof. Um. Four month accident hiatus check? Anyways, have this. My Tumblr is @Innogens-breadsticks if y'all wanna talk or anything.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“So,” Finral started, addressing the group at large. “have you all sorted out the group situation?”
“Of course we did!” Vanessa shook her head from beside him, arms crossed in front of her chest as she rolled her eyes. “We’re not incompetent, you know.”
“I never said that you were!”
Noises of tentative disagreement swelled from behind him, the Black Bulls more than willing to throw themselves under the bus in order to spite their stand-in leader.
“...except for a few, very unique, situations.” he begrudgingly amended.
“Regardless—” Mimosa stepped up from her squad, hand raised outward to placate the blooming disagreement. “—it’s already been solved. We have everyone split up into groups of four, as you requested. Though there was an odd number, since Charmy is busy cooking, so one group of three had to be formed.”
“We weren’t sure if you’d like that or not,” Asta piped up from his spot among his squad. “Since you planned it for four and everything.”
“A group of three seems kind of unfair…” Finral put his hand up to his chin, mulling over the problem.
“It’s not as if normal battles are fair though. You don’t always know the number of opponents or whether you’re suitably matched in terms of magic type or amount.” One of the members of the Golden Dawn—Letoile, if Finral remembered right—spoke up.
“Yeah, yeah!” David piped up from next to her, leaning into her space and throwing an arm over her shoulder. “She has a point! And this is supposed to be training, right? It can be an extra challenge for that group!”
She rolled her eyes but made no move to push him away, keeping her neutral face trained on Finral.
“I suppose that makes sense, and it would provide a bigger obstacle…” he trailed off, squinting in concentration. “Okay! It’s decided. The groups will stay as they are!”
“Excellent!” Vanessa cheered, clapping her hands together. “So then, Team One is Siren, Gordon, Magna, and our illustrious planner, Finral!”
Finral rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything more. It was a decent line up, all individuals with solidly average magic, nothing special. But perhaps there was a possibility for more, one didn’t need flashy magic to be strong. As for personalities, Magna would be difficult to corral and Gordon posed some communication difficulties, but nothing Finral wasn’t used to dealing with. As for the unknown factor, well, Siren seemed to be a decent teammate when he wanted to be.
“Okay, and the next team?” Finral muttered, mind still half-forming new strategies.
“Team Two is Hamon, Gauche, Yuno, and Letoile,” she said with a grin, tilting up her head as faked a weak memory. “Team Three is… hmm, Alecdora, Zora, Asta, and Noelle!”
Finral tried to hide his wince. Hopefully they wouldn’t kill each other. Key word: hopefully.
“So then Team Four is Grey, Mimosa, David, and the most beautiful witch ever known to grace humankind,” she placed a humble hand on her chest. “me.”
“I’m glad to see you’re as egotistical as always.” he huffed out a tired laugh as she gave him a half-bow.
“Aww, you know you love it,” she teased, winking.
“Please stop your flirting and continue on with it.”
They froze, turning to the now semi-familiar voice. Looking on with a vague air of disinterest, Letoile stared them down, almost waiting for them to challenge her.
Finral opened and closed his mouth, words building and breaking into useless syllables. Panic flooded his system and made him useless a way it hadn’t for months; one sentence was all it took to make all his progress crumble into weak ash. The response on his tongue rested heavy, sucking out all moisture, trapped behind an iron wall of fear. We’re not flirting, he wanted to rebuke, I’m dating your squadmate!
His eyes flicked over to Klaus, whose shoulders had stiffened and gone rigid in a way that had Finral longing to smooth them out with an easy touch. Once, and only once, had Klaus ever confessed that he had thought Vanessa and Finral were “partners of a romantic nature”. The phrasing had made him burst into laughter at the time, but he had been just as quick to assure him that it had never quite been like that.
“I may have had a small crush when I first met her,” Finral had admitted, tucked into the starched comforter that all Capital inns seemed to have, turning his head halfway into his cheap pillow. “But when you’re that age and a pretty girl flirts with you, joking or not, it’s kind of flattering. Of course, it went away after a couple of weeks, when we got to know each other better. We were great friends, we clicked pretty easily, and those feelings never came back—not for either of us.”
The inn room had been cold that night, barely lit up by a wavering candle that danced with the breeze coming through the poorly installed window. If they could, they never went to the same inn twice. The Capital was flush with new business, so it wasn’t ever an issue. Timing proved to be much more difficult, having a collective day or night away from their squads to spend time together was a continuous problem.
“I don’t really know if I can relate to that,” Klaus murmured next to him, muffled by the sheets, causing Finral to glance up. “Crushes were something I never really… got, uh, before.”
“Oh…” Finral muttered, tired eyes fluttering closed as the midnight air settled over them in a comforting embrace. “I guess I’m pretty flattered then.”
“You should be,” Klaus yawned, slowly inching closer before taking a hesitating breath. “But… I’m glad it was you.”
Finral blinked, dizzy from the implications. He was intimately familiar with the buzz of infatuation, the way the slant of someone's eyes and the tilt of their mouth could send an intoxicating rush of heat to his stomach. It was there as soon as he could feel the new perspective the early stages of puberty had given him, the awkward way his eyes lingered on the pretty face of a laughing girl, and even more confusing, the way an arrogant grin from a handsome guy could make blood rush to his face.
This was different. Sure, it had started that way with Klaus, the easy warmth of friendship taking a traitorous turn into embarrassing fantasies and unrepentant longing. But… it was stronger, deeper than yearning for a brush of skin or a brief, but ultimately fragile, connection. The feelings transitioned from stunted attraction and into a stronger, sturdier tether. It felt different than wanting to hang out or spend a night together, it was ever present, ever constant. He wanted to make him happy, he wanted something permanent with him.
It was in that questionably cheap room—bare as the day he was born, with sweat condensing on his scalp as his tired limbs ached for relief—that he finally came to a realization. Holy shit, Finral thought, I think I’m in love.
“Finral?” Klaus’ worried tone brought him out of his panicked spiral, his sharp features softened by the warm candlelight.
“Oh, sorry,” he apologized, smiling widely despite the aching need to sleep. The marks under his eyes burned in retribution, but it was nothing in the face of what he wantede to say. This was more important. Klaus was more important. “Just thinking about how lucky I am. I’m so happy to have you, I want you to know that.”
Wrapped in the comfort of an unfamiliar bed, the smell of fresh linen overpowering his senses, he watched as Klaus dumbly blinked at him—glasses long since discarded to the night stand—utterly lost for words. Immediately, fear struck him with a shattering blow, and he pulled away.
“Oh, sorry, was that too much? I really didn’t mean to make it weird—” His words, despite his best efforts, were tinged with unmistakable hysteria.
“Finral,” Klaus said, cutting him off. “Shut up.”
With that order replaying in his mind, Finral was completely caught off-guard by the renewed vigor in which Klaus kissed him; a hand possessively crading the nape of his neck, fingers eagerly curling into his messy hair as they tugged him closer. He was even more stunned at the loss of it.
Pulling away, and with the stern confidence of the soldier he was trained to be, Klaus said, “I love you.”
With the words swimming in his ears, reverberating in his chest until the pressure was almost unbearable, Finral grinned stupidly in response.
“You always have to outdo me, don’t you?” he laughed, letting the sound ground him. "I love you too, of course."
“Even you like a challenge once in a while.” Klaus said, tilting their foreheads together before grinning with uncharacteristic lasciviousness. “You know… we don’t have to check out early this time…”
“And everyone thinks I’m the bad influence,” Finral murmured as their mouths gently met once more.
That had been a good night, with some truly fantastic memories attached to it. But it was also one of the only times Klaus had voiced any insecurities about their relationship, something the knight had a tendency to smother and resolutely ignore. Finral knew they existed, he saw each little twitch at the mention of a possible betrothal to Finesse, and he wanted every opportunity to convince Klaus of his devotion.
He was still searching for the right words when Vanessa, in all her infinite smoothness, spoke for them.
“Flirting?” she repeated indignantly, almost giggling. “Please, if anything, Finral is a parasitic little sibling and I’m his ever gracious senior.”
“Yeah!” he agreed eagerly before the words had been fully processed. After another second his face went red as he turned to his smug squadmate. “Vanessa!”
“What?” she looked at him, eyes sparkling with false innocence. “You agreed.”
“I only meant the part where we weren’t flirting, since—” he stopped, clapping a hand over his mouth before the damage could be unleashed.
“Since what?” Asta prompted, oblivious.
Noelle whipped her head to face him, pigtails slapping her own forehead as she socked him in the shoulder. His yelp went largely ignored by the crowd as they focused their intention back on Vanessa and Finral.
“Since I’m actually seeing someone,” Vanessa chirped, lying easily. “I told Finral not to say anything since it was still new, but there’s really no point if everyone’s so curious.”
“Y-Yeah,” he laughed, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry, Vanessa.”
“Oh,” Letoile said, struck almost silent. “My apologies then, I was simply eager to move the conversation along.”
“Oh, no big deal!” Vanessa waved her hand. “I’m not even offended that you insinuated Finral could get someone so out of his league.”
Finral let his eye twitch but he said nothing in response, he wasn't eager to dig himself into another hole.
“It kinda sounds like you are,” Magna muttered, crossing his arms as Luck giggled next to him.
Finral sighed as he let his vision drift back over to Klaus, trying to catch his eye. He seemed utterly impassive, sincerely disinterested in the turn of conversation. It was a good front. Still, once their gazes met, all it took was one imploring eyebrow before his steely visage cracked and Finral was gifted with a mildly relieved nod.
“Let’s move on, shall we?” he forcefully suggested, turning back to Vanessa. “I think we still had another team to get to?”
“Oh, yeah!” she agreed, tilting her head. “Hmm, let me think. Team Five was Luck, Gris, and Klaus! The three person one!”
Finral somewhat regretted his decision to keep the three person team. Perhaps it was biased, and it most certainly was, but his first instinct was to protect the people he cared about. Of course, as soon as he even considered voicing a new and sudden opposition to the plan, he felt a flinty glare bore into the back of his head.
Klaus would never forgive him if he let his decision making become so compromised, in fact, he’d probably take it as an insult to his skills. Finral sighed, even as a part of him wanted to desperately go forward with his doubts, and simply tilted his head in agreement
“Sounds good,” he managed to say, refusing to look behind him. “Luck, Klaus, are you guys okay with this?’
“Of course! It means I get to fight more, right?” Luck waved his hand excitedly.
“It’ll be a good test of my skills, so of course,” Klaus answered from behind Finral.
Gris scoffed, loud enough to catch the attention of everyone else.
“Are you ignoring the third person on the team?”
“My apologies,” Finral said, awkwardly trying to smile. “I just got a little caught up in everything. So, um, Gris, do you have any objections?”
“Of course not!” he snapped, glaring with unrestrained spite. “I’m a member of the Golden Dawn, aren’t I?”
“R-Right…” Finral sighed, glancing away. He’d forgotten how prideful some of them were about their status.
“So now that the teams have all been sorted, should we get into the brackets?” Vanessa leaned forward, waving a hand in front of Finral’s face.
“Of-Of course!” he yelped, jumping away from the sudden intrusion.
“Alright then!” A violent smile plastered across her usually relaxed face. “Let’s get into it.”
The forest near the Black Bulls base had been the backdrop to many of their shenanigans, the dense area littered with scorched earth and uprooted trees from training gone awry. Still, it was versatile, indomitable, and truly able to stand up to their worst. Eventually each tree had been replanted by whimpering squadmates under the threat of death by their captain, and the area was perfectly situated away from society so as to limit the worst of Henry’s curse.
Finral had grown used to it, to say the least. The smell of pine and early morning rain had become synonymous with the feeling of home he got at the base, surrounded by people who genuinely supported him. So, understandably, the boom of magic from miles away—surely flattening several hundred square feet of forest in the process—made him wince.
“I should’ve told them to take it easy on their surroundings,” he muttered to himself.
“Well, Team Three is filled with some excitable monsters, and Team Four has David and Vanessa on it. They’re going to cause some damage in the name of winning.” Yuno grumbled in response.
"You forgot to mention Mimosa's competitive streak," Klaus added, eyes flicking over to his subordinate. "It doesn't matter if she's fighting against Asta or Noelle, if anything, that'll make her want to win more."
"Don't remind me," Yuno muttered, his face momentarily scrunching up. "I don't think I've fully recovered from playing poker with her. She truly is devious when she wants to be."
"Royalty isn't all about being powerful and condescending, they have to back up their titles somehow," Klaus said.
"...except for Kirsch," Yuno said under his breath.
"And the King," Finral added.
"You two—" Klaus sighed, cutting himself off. "Just don't let anyone else hear you say that."
"Not a chance," Yuno airily replied, sharing an imploring look with Finral.
"We wouldn't dare insult them so brazenly… within hearing distance," Finral smiled as Klaus rolled his eyes.
Another resounding boom cut off the bespectacled knight before he could open his mouth and manage a retort.
"Are you sure the disks can stand up to this? At this rate, they might be accidentally destroyed in the chaos." Klaus grimaced, pushing on the bridge of his glasses.
"Well, they're magic items, so they're made to stand up to stuff like this. They don't just hold mana, they use it to protect themselves too," Finral explained, gesturing broadly to the area in front of them. "These ones are supposed to imitate the magic fluctuations of most people, so it's not just a combat exercise, it's also meant to help with mana sensing."
Klaus grimaced. "I suppose that's fair. I'm not very skilled in that regard, but I know Luck is."
"Stop discussing your weaknesses with competition," Yuno chastised, shooting a glare towards his senior.
"We aren't on the same team this time, Yuno," Klaus gently reminded him.
"That doesn't stop it from being a stupid thing to do." Yuno crossed his arms.
"He does have a point," Finral admitted, smiling awkwardly. "We might be pitted against each other and it's probably for the best that we don't know much about each other's plans."
"I suppose so," Klaus sighed before setting a resolute look upon Finral. "I hope you know I won't be going easy on you if it happens that way."
Finral let his eyes go half-lidded, his voice slightly rougher. "I'd hope so, it wouldn't be any fun otherwise."
Almost on cue, a flush crawled up Klaus' neck.
"I am right here," Yuno hissed, his shoulders bunching up to his ears.
Klaus was the closest to scandalized that Finral had ever seen him. "Not in front of my juniors!"
Feeling his ears burn at the reminder, Finral looked away, laughing forcefully. "Right, right."
Less than thirty minutes later, Team Four came out victorious, to the surprise of many. The two teams emerged from the woods, spent magic practically wafting off of them like steam as they trudged into the clearing. It would be a short break before another duel was to be had.
"I thought Asta and Zora would've carried them for sure," Klaus muttered, curiosity glinting in his bright eyes. "Not that Noelle's power is anything to disregard either, but those two have a habit of coming up with some… interesting dual attacks."
"I mean, if I had to wager a guess, Alecdora probably threw a wrench into their otherwise decent dynamic," Finral forced down a grimace. "No offense."
"It's alright," Yuno deadpanned. "He's a difficult person."
"Yeah, and Zora doesn't take kindly to most Nobles…" Finral bit his lip. "Asta was probably busy trying to make sure they didn't kill each other, leaving Noelle to solely manage offense and defense."
Klaus winced. "Poor girl. Still, she managed to hold her own against four magic knights, that's rather impressive."
"I've fought with her before, of course she's impressive," Yuno earnestly interjected.
"Oh?" Finral began to grin, eyebrows rising. "Does someone have a strong admiration, perhaps even a… crush?"
The horror at which Yuno turned to stare at him sent Finral into a shrieking fit of laughter. Bent over at the waist as gales of smothered giggles wracked his form, his lungs left wanting for air, made him feel almost light for the first time that day.
Klaus awkwardly patted his back as he took in choking breaths, still half-hysterical from the look on Yuno's face.
"I take back every nice thing I've ever said about you, vague or direct," Yuno darkly informed him. "From this point onward, watch your back."
Turning on his heel, cape whipping behind him with an air of finality, Yuno stalked off, boot heels clicking on the dirt-packed ground.
“I hope that was worth it,” Klaus sighed, still absent-mindedly tapping the spot between his shoulder-blades as he watched his junior stomp off towards Mimosa. “I don’t think Yuno’s ever going to forgive you.”
“Well… at least… Mimosa still… tolerates me,” Finral heaved, standing up suddenly and stretching back, tears dotting the start of his lash line.
“Hmmm, not for long,” Klaus murmured, eyeline still set on his subordinates. “You underestimate how… protective those two are of each other. It'd be sweet if they weren't so dangerous."
“It’s not that big of a deal! He’s just a teenager, why can’t I tease him a bit?” Finral chuckled as his breaths returned to normal. “I don’t remember being that sensitive.”
“I think you two have had very different experiences as teenagers,” Klaus mused, the serious tone of his voice giving way to amusement. “He’s a very reserved person, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him express romantic interest in anyone.”
“All the more reason to knock him down a peg or two. Everyone gets to have an embarrassing event or two at that age, why not get a head start?” Finral turned to give him a smug grin.
Klaus exhaled deeply, but the corners of his mouth turned up despite himself. “Perhaps. But Yuno’s well on his way to becoming Vice Captain, regardless of his age.”
“If the kid has that much on his shoulders, then isn’t it my duty to make sure he has semi-normal adolescent experience?” Finral raised an eyebrow.
Klaus rolled his eyes, crossing his arms in the process. “I can’t believe you.”
“Yes, you can.” Finral solemnly nodded.
Klaus opened his mouth, presumably for another show of exasperated affection, before a voice cut him off.
“Hey.”
Immediately they both stiffened, all good humor and familiarity sucked out of the atmosphere. Finral straightened up, pulling away from Klaus’ space, plastering over his smile with a mask of utter indifference. Klaus did the same, pulling his arms around himself, burying it all under layers of professionalism. Turning towards the inadvertent intruder, and ignoring the hammering of his heart as a sticky layer of fear stuck to his skin, Finral willed himself to be completely normal.
Gris stood there, arms crossed and dark eyes set in an angry glare, impatiently waiting for Klaus’ response.
“Oh, Gris,” Klaus said, only slightly strained. “What is it?”
“We’re up next. We need to have a plan, or have you forgotten the basics of a competition. I wouldn’t doubt it, being here and all,” he drawled, feigning boredom.
Finral barely hid his wince. It was normal, this level of derision. An emotional callous had built up over time, thick enough to disregard the poorly hidden barbs and swipes at the Black Bulls standing and credibility. Hell, Finral had bought into it more often than not. They were an improper squad, taking on the worst missions and causing the most wanton destruction, they really weren’t suited to be Magic Knights.
Maybe that was true, maybe they were embarrassments, they had criminals and murderers and outcasts compiled in their ranks after all. But they were still dedicated to the protection of the Kingdom above all else, so who cared about how they acted off the clock? They were still strong enough to match up with any enemy, and strong enough to grow.
“Gris, unless you’ve already forgotten what happened during the squad exchange, I don’t believe you have room to insult our gracious hosts,” Klaus sternly reminded his squadmate.
The effect was immediate. Gris’ eyes went wide and his mouth was pressed into a firm line, the barest hints of red creeping up his face.
“Ugh, that damn peasant…” he muttered, turning on his heel before pausing midway. “W-Whatever! Just get over here! I can’t stand that electric bastard!”
Klaus sighed, pushing up his glasses as he took a step forward to go after Gris. He tilted his head, glancing back at Finral.
“Sorry, it sounds like my team needs me,” The apology was unsaid, but still accepted. “I’ll, um, talk to you later, then.”
Finral nodded. “Sure. Do you know which team you’re fighting against?”
Klaus’ eyes flicked upward as he briefly got lost in thought. “No, I don’t believe Vanessa has told us that yet.”
“I should probably go see my team then, just in case.” Finral shrugged, starting off in the same direction.
Klaus stumbled before very quickly righting himself. “R-Right. That’s some, uh, very responsible thinking.
Finral hid his self-satisfied grin, and simply chose to nod in response. “Of course, what are we but the very epitome of responsible leaders?”
“You probably shouldn’t claim that title until you find out if Vanessa has us organized to fight against each other in the bracket or not,” Klaus pointed out, desperately trying to move past his break in composure.
“But not you?” Finral prodded with a smile.
“I think I have a better track record in that regard,” Klaus deadpanned before walking off towards his team, leaving a stunned Finral behind.
Open-mouthed and in mild shock, Finral sputtered. “H-Hey! Wait up! That’s unfair, you know? I forgot you could be mean!”
Notes:
So, fun fact, Gris is a character in the light novel, and if you think Noelle is a tsundere, well you ain't seen nothing yet. He's a dick and also kind of an insecure moron who refuses to admit he respects Asta, and only wants to say it when he gets strong enough to stand next to him. I'm not kidding, that's how it was translated.
Anywho, I've been thinking of going back and rewriting some parts of the series. Nothing major, just polishing a lot of the early stuff up and making it more coherent. Uh, that's all. Bye!
Chapter 4
Summary:
The next bracket is set up and strategic problems soon arise.
Notes:
Sorry for the delay, but AP tests came up this month and it was nightmare. If you took the AP Physics 1 exam like I did, I am truly sorry for everything you had to experience. I was also busy re-writing the initial parts of Chance Encounters, not re-writing so much as updating the style and making it more cohesive, but still. I've also been considering re-writing some sections of Love and Mana as well, just to add some more character development in some regards. So, who knows.
Also, this is probably the ~spiciest~ chapter there's ever gonna be in this series, but it's not anything terribly NSFW, literally just making out, and it's only about two or three paragraphs in the last half. So just be warned.
As usual, my Tumblr is @innogens-breadsticks, and I hope you all enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“So, does our illustrious leader have a plan or have you lost all your brain cells talking to these black-robed dolts?” Gris asked, eyes narrowing in thinly veiled curiosity.
Gris couldn’t fool Klaus. His teammate’s attitude was undermined by the way his attentive glare was caught by each raucous bout of laughter that spilled from Asta and the flash of jealousy that always followed. For as guarded as Gris was, the look in his eyes always blatantly said I want to be there next to him. It was a common enough trait amongst the people that the young magic knight interacted with.
Still, for whatever reason, Gris had decided to cordon himself off from the possibility of making his admiration known. To everyone else, however, it simply seemed like the man was a classist jerk with a peculiar obsession about insulting their loudest and most empathetic knight. Klaus couldn’t exactly deny them that observation.
Klaus merely sighed as he felt Luck’s magic swell up, prickling on the surface of his hands as he waited for the lightning mage to speak.
“Wow, this guy never shuts up, does he?” Luck said, blinking as he titled his head. “How can you stand being around him, Klaus?”
“He’s my senior,” Klaus answered easily. “That’s all there is to it.”
Gris stiffened under the remark, ears saturated with a bright crimson as strands of his lavender hair fell in front of his misty grey eyes. “Why, you—”
“Eh? You really are boring, Klaus,” Luck laughed, crossing his arms as he ignored the sputtering from the man he’d cut off. “But you’re not so bad sometimes. At least you don’t get mad as easily as Magna does, though it’s funny to see his face like that.”
“Thank you for your high praise.”
“I mean, you used to be way more uptight, like back when we first met on that dungeon mission! You yelled so much,” Luck giggled as he saw Klaus’ wince. “But you don’t do it as much now, except for when we’re teamed up. But then you always have good ideas for fighting, so I don’t mind.”
“Well, Luck, I do believe we are… friends now,” Klaus said, mulling over the word as he carefully watched the other boy’s reaction to his declaration. “For better or worse. And I do try and treat my friends with a certain level of, uh, patience when we’re outside of combat.”
“Well, I don’t mind fighting bad guys with you, and I’d be pretty mad if you got hurt.” Luck smiled. “So I guess we are friends. It’d be pretty awkward if we weren’t.”
“Can you two sort this out at a different time?” Gris hissed, rolling his eyes at their display.
“I don’t remember asking your opinion?” Luck said, deadly serious as he turned to Gris.
“Luck,” Klaus warned, sighing.
“Fine, fine. I’ll leave your stupid squadmate alone,” Luck begrudginly agreed. “But only if his magic isn’t entirely useless.”
“I’ll show you useless, bastard—” Gris swore, vein throbbing in his forehead.
“That’s enough,” Klaus said, stern. “Both of you.”
“Sure,” Luck trilled, petulantly sticking his hands in his pockets as he rocked back on his heels. “So, which teams are up next anyways?”
“Well, Vanessa hasn’t made the announcement yet, so I’m not quite sure,” Klaus mumbled, before briefly pausing to look at Luck with a suspicious glare. “Weren’t you here when the brackets were made?”
“Yeah, but Vanessa and Mimosa took care of it for the most part, so everyone else just kinda hung out.” Luck shrugged. “They seemed to have a good handle on it.”
Klaus sighed. “I guess it’ll be a surprise then.”
“I know,” Luck grinned maniacally. “Isn’t that fun?”
Klaus raised an eyebrow. “If you want to go in without a plan, then sure.”
“Well, if Team Three and Team Four have already gone, then there’s only three teams left for the next matchup. So that leaves us, and then Team One and Team Two. So there’s a two-thirds possibility that we’ll be selected, and if we are, then we’ll be going up against one of those two. And being honest, I think they’re more than manageable.”
“Team Two has Yuno, Gauche, and Letoile,” Klaus grimaced. “I think calling them manageable is a bit… hasty.”
“And Hamon is nothing to sneer at either,” Gris muttered, albeit a bit forced. “He may act ridiculous but he can be scary when he wants to be.”
Klaus nodded along. “That is true, but when considering strategy, any team with a defensive mage like Letoile and an offensive mage like Yuno is more than set to win.”
“Eh? Are you really doubting us that much?” Luck raised his eyebrows, drawing out his voice into a near whine.
“I’ve personally overseen Yuno’s growth, and I can tell you that in terms of pure power, we’re entirely outmatched,” Klaus said blandly. “When he began, he already possessed more mana and control than I could ever hope to have, and that was when I was an intermediate magic knight. Now he’s at a near Captain level.”
Luck blinked.
“And then there’s Letoile, and while she’s not quite as powerful as her elven counterpart was, Another Atlas is still a problem in close range and her True North is hard to counter without a strong defense. You know Gauche, his mirror magic is decently strong and he is a powerful opponent when properly motivated. Now, Hamon could fill in the gaps where necessary, he’s rather flexible like that,” Klaus sighed. “So believe me, it’s not doubt that has me concerned, merely realistic expectations.”
“Well, that’s just one team, even if they are decently built up,” Gris said, rolling his eyes. “There’s still the other.”
“Team One isn’t exactly weak either,” Klaus said, pointing at Gris. “They might be overlooked since they’re not as flashy, but Siren and Finral are incredibly reliable when it comes to combat, and Magna isn’t exactly the reckless delinquent he sets himself up to be. To be honest, I don’t know a lot about Gordon’s capabilities, but considering he had a large role in defending the capital, I’d have to imagine that they’re up to par.”
“Well, it’s Poison Magic, so if you’re not aware, it could pose a bit of a problem.” Luck mulled it over before clapping his hands together and laughing. “But honestly, only the weakest of the weak would allow themselves to succumb to that type of magic.”
Klaus and Gris shared a look of mutual concern.
“Right…” Klaus said, hiding a wince.
“Don’t worry, your steel will be more than enough to defend against his poison!” Luck said, waving it off.
“The point is that if we’re up next, we’re going to have trouble with either team,” Klaus muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “We can’t afford to be reckless, not if we want to win.”
“And we will win,” Luck said, his smile widening until almost all of his teeth were on display, an unnerving sign of his slipping control. “No matter what.”
“Luck, I feel the need to remind you that this meant to be a camaraderie building activity.” Klaus had his hands clasped in front of his mouth, heart sinking down to his freshly polished boots.
“Eh? I just said that I enjoyed fighting with you? Isn’t that what you meant?” Luck mumbled, the ends of his hair slightly lowering as the building static around him lessened.
“I also meant that in general, so that way our squads could have better, ah, professional relations,” Klaus winced at his own wording.
Luck snorted. “That’s a little funny coming from you.”
“Luck!” Klaus hissed.
“What? Just saying! You’re like some weird extension of the Black Bulls now; a distant rich cousin! Except better because we actually like you.”
Klaus had to make an effort not to let his face flush as Luck’s earnest words settled in his chest.
“It’s funny because you and your little trio have done more for our squad relations than anyone else. Except Asta maybe.”
“Asta’s in a different league,” Klaus agreed, nodding along as he let the warmth remain close to his heart, staunchly refusing to let it spread.
“Okay, can we move on?” Gris prompted, rubbing at his temples. “We do need to actually come up with strategies.”
“Fine, fine!” Luck sighed, letting his head roll to the side. “Why don’t we start off with our magic and our strengths. I can go first.”
“Alright,” Gris begrudgingly agreed, crossing his arms. “Let’s hear it, Cheery Berserker.”
“Goody! Well, my name is Luck Voltia, as I’m sure you’re aware, and I have Lightning Magic! I’m particularly adept at sensing mana, and adapting to combative situations. I’d much rather be on offense if we’re planning any attacks.” Luck grinned.
“Uh, very well,” Klaus said, pushing on his glasses. “I suppose I’ll go next. As you all know, I am Klaus Lunettes, and I have Steel Magic. I’m good at defense and strategy, but as for my actual magic, my mana control and amount is relatively average for the magic knights. But steel is surprisingly compatible with lightning, so perhaps Luck and I could combine a few attacks.”
“Hell yeah!” Luck cheered, bouncing on his heels while throwing his hands in the air.
“Well, I hate to lower myself like this, but if I have to…” Gris bemoaned his self-importance. “My name is Gris Albrecht, and I have Flame Magic. I specialize more in defense than anything else, but I’m not weak either, I can still put you in your place, peasant.”
Luck snickered and raised an eyebrow. “Flame magic? Isn’t that a bit on the nose with your terrible personality?”
Gris’ face flushed violently. “Sh—Shut up!”
Luck stopped laughing out of nowhere, going deadly silent as he titled his head, obviously considering something deeply as electricity started to flicker between the tufts of his hair. “Say… how much outside mana can your Flame Magic hold?”
Gris’ eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a mere second before his face split into a grin savage enough to rival Luck’s. “Oh, I see what you mean.”
Klaus gulped silently, praying to whatever deity was foolish enough to listen for some sort of divine protection. It would probably go ignored. Still he had some time before the discs were set up again—this time sans Finral and himself—so maybe some ethereal being would take pity. Probably not.
Finral had to give Vanessa credit, she certainly knew how to manipulate the hell out of him. Of course she’d pit him against Klaus’ team, even if they were one person short. Some innate part of her craved conflict that involved her safely sitting on the outskirts, still bearing witness to the chaos she’d had a direct hand in.
Not that he could exactly discount Mimosa’s role in planning the bracket either, but she had slightly less of a sadistic streak than his teammate. At least when it came to Klaus, that is.
“So, what’s the plan here?” Magna asked, cocking his head and cracking his knuckles, flames rolling off his gloved hands.
His team had taken their place on the opposite side of the designated section of forest; they had a couple minutes to prepare a strategy before some signal was to be launched. They encircled each other, the others looking to Finral for a strategy right off the bat. Finral quelled the immediate inner protest of his appointed position as leader and took a deep breath, pushing all personal objections from his mind.
“Our opponents are Klaus, Luck, and Gris,” Finral said, half-muttering to himself. “The good thing here is that most of us here know Klaus and Luck particularly well, especially their limits regarding combat. Unfortunately, that means they also know ours.”
“We don’t know anything about this Gris guy though,” Magna pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
“Which is why we should ask Siren, Magna,” Finral sighed, shaking his head as he turned to the stoic mage. “Siren? Anything we should know?”
Siren seemed to consider this deeply. “Gris possesses Flame Magic, which is in line with his rather… intense personality, but he can utilize it surprisingly well in the right conditions. But it’s mostly used for defensive purposes. Any attacks are relatively ineffective without a great amount of effort.”
“Flame Magic, huh?” Finral mused, eyes flicking over to their one silent member. “Gordon, Magna, do you think you can work with that?”
Gordon looked him dead in the eyes, nodding once.
Magna scoffed. “‘Course I can! I’m about to show this asshole who the superior flame user is!”
Finral grinned widely, adrenaline ebbing into the small nervous movements of his fingers. “Excellent.”
“But I do hate to break this to ya, especially since you’re in the zone and all, but knowing them doesn’t mean shit if they can kick our asses regardless.” Magna pointed at him, using his other hand to pull his glasses down to the tip of his nose.
“True, you do have a point,” Finral agreed, nodding along. “But I don’t think there’s anyone that knows how to piss off Luck more than you do—I’ve been witness to enough destroyed rooms to know that much.”
Magna paled slightly. “Listen, I enjoy needling the bastard when I get a chance, but pissing him off deliberately—in the middle of combat—is a whole other ball game.”
“Which is where Klaus comes in.” Finral grinned, ignoring the flushed sheen he knew was settling on his features. “Listen, the guy and his trio are practically honorary members of the Black Bulls at this point, but as far as he’s come in terms of attitude, he still gets… a little obsessive when commanding a team in combat.”
“So if Luck goes on a mindless rampage, he’d be too distracted trying to get him back on track,” Magna muttered, eyes widening.
“Which means a majority of the actual mission would fall to Gris,” Siren continued, staring at the ground as his deep-set eyes widened. “Who, as we’ve established, has a particular weakness regarding attacking.”
“So if some of us were to distract him with magic well-suited to take on his specific element—” Finral gestured to Magna and Gordon. “—then Siren could find the discs.”
Magna swallowed, his face beaded with sweat and tinged with the varying shades of seafoam. “Hell, I don’t think this is a good idea, but screw it, I’m on board. You better not fuck this up, man.”
Finral let out a snort. “I give no promises other than trying my best.”
Magna shook his head, laughing shakily as his normal inhumane determination set in. “Ugh, damn you. I’ll take it.”
The forest wasn’t as easy to traverse as Klaus had thought. The roots were overgrown and the towering trees grew together in a sort of natural canopy, blotting out most of the sunlight. It took most of his concentration to run without tripping, and that was without looking for the discs as well.
He had to leave that to Luck and Gris, whose sensitive magics were better suited for searching and recovering the objects. His goal was to keep up with them from the sidelines, reading to defend and attack when needed. At the very least, Luck’s rampaging mana swarmed his own signature, rendering him practically invisible to the enemy as long as he stuck close.
“I think it’s only a few hundred feet that way!”
“I can tell! I’m not incompetent!”
“You sound pretty mad. Wanna fight?”
“Wha—no! We’re in the middle of an exercise!”
Klaus exhaled in increments, reigning in his temper as he tried to keep calm. It would do no good to micromanage them at this point, he just had to trust that they would do their jobs.
“Did you just stick your tongue out at me?! How old are you?!”
“Who cares, but did it piss you off enough to fight me?”
Klaus felt the last of his hope ebb out. They were doomed. Entirely and utterly.
“You Black Bulls are insane.”
“In a good way?”
“...no. Not in a good way.”
“Booooo!”
...was it really so important that he stay hidden? Surely he could leave his spot trailing them if it ensured the future of the mission. Besides, if he left them to their own devices any longer, one of them was sure to commit homicide.
A surge of new magic stopped him before he could even think of acting on his worried thoughts. Throwing an arm in front of his face to protect from flying debris, Klaus crouched down, refusing to let his mana spike in any obvious way. He was their strategist, he had to keep a cool head.
Squinting through scratched lenses—which he was somewhat annoyed about after splurging on dirt-resistant glasses—he could make out moving forms through the sea of thick trunks. From what he could tell, one of them had a partially dyed mohawk that weaved as they jumped around, flames dancing around their outstretched hands. That meant Magna was one of their direct opponents.
The other had a dark uniform cloaking their form, clouds of dark intent chasing their heels as they pulled the brim of their hat over their pale face. So Finral had also sent Gordon towards them.
Klaus took refuge next to a large section of gnarled roots. Twisting several feet off the ground, they allowed him enough cover to remain relatively hidden without obscuring too much of his vision. He had yet to see Finral himself on the battlefield, though he had to be near enough to be able to drop Gordon and Magna on their heads with such accuracy. Siren wasn’t there—the stone mage was probably sent off to find the discs.
There was no reason for him to interfere yet. There was no danger his teammates were facing nor was there a need for a distraction. They couldn’t afford to split up to search like the other teams, so they had to be very careful with how they handled this.
“Hey, Luck! You electric bastard, you too scared to fight me or something?! Didn’t know you were such a coward!”
Klaus’ grip on the top of the gnarled roots tightened, wood splinters digging into the meat of his palm. Was Magna trying to set Luck off—
Klaus stilled before throwing back his head and letting out a pained groan. Of course Magna was trying to send Luck on a mindless rampage. Finral probably stuck the idea in his head. That beautiful, terrible, amazing moron of a man.
Usually, it would’ve worked. But thank whatever deity existed—probably the one that had answered his pleas—that Gris chose that moment to be a reasonable, decent squadmate.
“You need to shut the hell up, delinquent! Flame Magic: General Blaze!” Gris shouted, cutting Magna off with a wall of intense fire that fanned around the area as he turned to his wrathful companion. “Luck, get your shit together! We’ll only be able kick their asses and win this entire thing if we stick together!”
Klaus sighed, the relief a somewhat effective balm for his nerves. Quietly, he stood up, hunching over so his dark cloak draped over the blinding white of his uniform. Honestly, there was no real reason for their uniforms to be white, of all the colors to choose.
As he bounded over, keeping to the ground and near the denser patches of foliage, Klaus caught glimpses of Luck and Gris darting away from their pursuers. Well, it was mostly Luck, who’d activated some advanced version of his lightning boots.
Gris could barely keep up; he was darting around, roiling little bursts of fire carrying him forward, but it wasn’t nearly to Luck’s speed. Klaus was about to finally intervene, to conjure up his chariot to protect and carry them both, before the near unthinkable happened.
Luck purposely slowed, only for a split second, but just enough to fall a few steps behind Gris. In a flash of light and mana, he threw a wide barrage of attacks behind them, shooting up dirt and debris in the paths of Magna and Gordon. Just as quickly, he darted forward again, this time taking the effort to latch onto Gris, stopping the man just enough so that Luck could lean down and sweep his legs off the ground to carry him.
Klaus very nearly face planted as he stumbled over an unnoticed system of roots. Had Luck really just—
“Wh—What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Gris demanded, raising his fist up as Luck picked up speed again, not even hindered by the additional weight as he carried the magic knight bridal style.
“You can’t keep up with me. And if I use mana to reinforce my body, I can pretty much pick anyone up, even Captain Yami if I tried!” Luck threw his head back and laughed. “It’s the fastest way to get where we need to go, so just hold on!”
“F—Fine! I’ll let you carry me, just this once, peasant!” Gris snapped as his face exploded with rouge color, nearing the deep violet of his hair.
Klaus fought the urge to roll his eyes. Had he been that bad?
With a new burst of energy, Luck took off, even faster than before, nothing more than a vague streak of light darting in a zig-zag pattern across the trees with Gris’ shouts trailing after it. Klaus forced down a bubbling desire to laugh. It was unprofessional to take joy in another’s suffering—even if it was incredibly amusing.
Shaking his head, he followed along, still keeping an eye on the slow progress Magna and Gordon were making in trailing them. Still, something pressed at the forefront of his thoughts. Why hadn’t Finral intervened?
Shaking his head, Klaus forged on. If Finral hadn’t intervened during Magna and Gordon’s chase, then he was with Siren. It would make sense to have the spatial mage search for the discs, he could transport them to near any location in the area. But something about it didn’t seem right.
Klaus considered it as he turned to dart towards where his teammates had run off to. Even without scorch marks lining Luck’s path, the ringing of hysterical yelps—courtesy of Klaus’ senior—was more than enough to make him aware of their direction.
Disregarding the need for stealth, since the match had already started and no one had targeted him yet, Kaus picked up speed, much more concerned about staying in range of his teammates. At the very least, he doubted they would maim each other anymore. Luck seemed to have grown fond of Gris’ reactions and Gris probably begrudgingly respected the lightning mage. They wouldn’t be friends anytime soon, but they would work together well enough.
“Got it!” Luck’s voice called, only a hundred feet ahead or so.
“Don’t be so loud! Do you want them to find us?”
“If I answer that honestly, you’re going to yell again.”
“...how in the world are you a Magic Knight?”
“Captain Yami.”
“Ah. Fair enough.”
Klaus sprinted the last stretch, leaping over roots and easily dodging trees. Working out really had done wonders for him. Heaving, he slowed down as the dense vegetation gave way to a clearer view of Luck and Gris. Finally, he came to a stop before them, his hand resting on a thick trunk as his two teammates finally caught sight of him.
“Hey, Klaus!” Luck waved at him with his other hand cradling the disc, grinning widely as bits of electricity fluttered about his body. “What’s up?”
“I thought you were supposed to stay hidden unless we needed a distraction or some extra defense?” Gris questioned, crossing his arms.
“That was the plan.” Klaus grimaced. “But I have a feeling that the other team is up to something, so it might be more prudent to stick closer together. I’m pretty sure their goal is to separate us, or at the very least disrupt our teamwork. I can’t think of any other reason why Magna would try and purposely set Luck off.”
“Yeah!” Luck agreed, nodding along. “Usually I’m the one trying to piss him off.”
“And in that case, having more of us together to prevent Luck from getting distracted would be better.”
Luck rolled his eyes. “You two really do have no faith in me.”
“So you’re saying that if Gris wasn’t there, you wouldn’t have fallen for Magna’s taunts?” Klaus raised an imploring brow.
“Well, it would’ve only taken a few minutes to beat him…” Luck trailed off.
“That is not helping your case.”
“Whatever! Let’s just do our best to win, okay?” Luck waved him off.
Before Klaus could open his mouth to properly reply, Luck violently turned, grin falling away to a look of intense concentration as he sent off a spiraling attack. Mere feet away, stone exploded with a violent force—they hadn’t even sensed Siren’s attack.
Klaus grabbed Gris’ sleeve, pulling him away from the surprise attack to let Luck have more room, but was cut off by a barrage of flame attacks targeting them.
“Flame Magic: Exploding Buckshot!”
Klaus cursed, ducking as fire whizzed past his head. Gris crouched next to him, stormy eyes narrowing in concentration as he pulled out his grimoire.
“I have an idea to take care of this commoner—” Klaus winced at that. “—but it’s risky.”
“First, don’t call Magna that, it’s rude—” Klaus shoved a finger into Gris’ shoulder. “—second, go for it!”
Gris made a face but stuck his hand out nonetheless, his grimoire floating next to him as it’s pages fluttered. Exhaling once, Gris watched the sky, Magna floating above them as he drifted in and out of various portals. It was only when a new barrage of attacks came towards them that Gris activated his defense.
“Flame Magic: Exploding Buckshot!”
Gris smirked. “Flame Magic: Whirlpool Seeker!”
Fire rushed forward, spurred on by eager mana that poured from Gris, forming a growing wall that curved out in front of them, protecting them both. Klaus thought it was a relatively average defensive measure, until the first burst of Magna’s attack struck it. Greedily, it absorbed his attack, seemingly growing stronger because of it.
“Oh,” Klaus exhaled, eyes widening.
“That’s not even the full extent,” Gris replied, flexing his fingers.
Even more of Magna’s stray fireballs struck it, and as the wall absorbed their power and mana, it also began to detach itself from the ground, honing in on the other flame mage dancing around in the sky.
“Not only does it absorb attacks, it uses the mana from them to track down the original attacker. It doubles as a defensive and offensive spell.” Gris’ face split into a sadistic grin. “It only appeared after I got possessed by that damn elf, but I’ve been making good progress mastering it.”
Klaus blinked, turning wide-eyed to his squadmate. Had Gris really been holding on to something that powerful without bragging about it?
“With this, I’ll be able to take care of that delinquent, and then Luck has no reason to stray from the plan.”
Klaus had to admit it—Gris wasn’t a bad teammate to have on his side. He shook his head, centering himself back on the battle.
“While you’re taking care of Magna, I’ll track down Finral. If I take care of him, that’ll limit their mobility.” Klaus glanced over at Luck, who was busy wearing down Siren’s stone defenses. “Gordon is probably with him, but seeing as my steel element has an advantage, it should be no problem.”
“Just get it done, you cocky bastard,” Gris spit through gritted teeth.
Klaus suppressed an exasperated sigh and nodded once, darting away with as much speed as he could muster. He could sense a new attack blazing towards him, ignoring the urge to whip out his grimoire, he let the reassuring heat of Gris’ spell stretch towards him, protecting his back as he raced away.
“Eyes on me!” Gris shouted. “Time to show you what real flame magic looks like!”
Klaus shook his head, scoffing as he ducked behind a thicker tree, far enough away from the skirmish to be ignored. Quietly, he took off his glasses, using the hem of his shirt to wipe away the soot that had collected on the lenses. Placing them back on his face, vision no longer dangerously impaired, Klaus closed his eyes, gently breathing out.
Mana sensing had always been his weakness. His magic, hard and indomitable, had no use for such a subtle subset of his talent. Still, even though he wasn’t even close to being adept at it, it had its uses. And Finral’s magic, the gentle sort of buzz it gave off when used, was more than familiar to his drifting mana. Even now, he had to stop his own magic from unconsciously stretching towards it and calling to him.
Klaus’ eyes opened, and his head turned swiftly to the side. He could feel it, Finral was only a few hundred feet away. Even with Gordon protecting him, Klaus was assured of his victory. They’d promised not to take it easy on each other, and that was a vow he was intending to keep.
“Holy shit,” Finral exhaled, watching in awe as the massive blockade of flame converged on Magna.
“Get me the hell out of here, Finral!” His teammate shrieked, falling into a new portal.
Finral’s hands were aching, his mana reserves were being depleted with the constant portaling that Magna’s attacks required. That, and he also had to ensure none of Luck’s attacks hit Siren, along with allowing some of Gordon’s spells to be directed towards the lightning mage. Sweat poured down his hands, his body begging for relief.
Finral’s hand flexed, and a swirling silvery pool caught Magna’s flailing form, allowing him the respite of being dropped to the ground, a few hundred feet away from where Klaus’ team seemed to be located, much closer to where Finral was. To his mounting surprise, the direction of the massive conglomeration of flame immediately honed in on Magna’s new location.
“It’s a tracking spell!” Finral shouted above the cacophonous noise of battle. “It’s not going to stop unless you take out the mage responsible!”
“And how the hell am I supposed to get close enough to do that?!” Magna replied, panting as he darted away from the spell. “I think our strategy has gone out the window!”
“You think I don’t know that?!”
“Shut up! I’m panicking here!” Magna shrieked as a section of the fiery spell split off and rushed towards him.
Finral rolled his eyes, and stuck out his other hand, letting the portal open and absorb it while depositing it towards Luck’s most recent location.
“I think we underestimated this Gris guy,” Finral muttered to the silent poison mage. “Any chance you could sneak around and knock him out?”
Gordon’s eyes flickered the source of the overwhelming flame magic. “I could, but I’d be leaving you, one of my dearest friends, without any protection
“I’ll be okay, Gordon,” Finral sighed. “Besides, we’re so close to winning. Siren and I have already found two of the three discs, and the last one is stuck with Luck. We just need to neutralize Gris and Klaus, and then we’ll be able to win this.”
“If you’re really okay with this,” Gordon whispered, just barely audible enough to be heard. “Please take care of yourself.”
Finral tiredly smiled, hair sticking to his forehead as he opened and closed portals with a flick of his hands. “I’ll be alright, Gordon.”
Nodding, his teammate took off, leaving Finral to focus on making sure Magna didn’t get roasted by the relentless blob of magic following him incessantly. Finral’s arms shook with concerted effort, another close call as a tendril of fire leapt towards the shouting Black Bull, but his magic remained steadfast and reliable.
Finral was confident in his team, so entirely sure of their victory, that he didn’t notice the oncoming swarm of violent mana until it had almost struck him. Swiftly dodging—which mostly involved him falling to the side—Finral turned on his heel, boot digging into the patch of rough gravel he’d decided was his vantage point. There was an explosion of dirt where he’d been standing, a rotating spear driven into the ground through sheer stubborn force.
There stood Klaus—decidedly not stuck with Gris—with his hand extended, grimoire fluttering next to him, pristine uniform stained with ash, dirt, and sweat. The look on his face was one of unyielding concentration, not even flinching as he stared down Finral through his scratched glasses. The sight was enough to make Finral fall in love all over again.
“Found you.”
Finral, exhausted and wrought with aches, sighed. “I don’t suppose you’d want to renege on our promise?”
“Absolutely not.” Klaus cracked a small smile regardless.
“I’ll give it my all, then,” Finral replied, before turning to where he’d last deposited Magna. “I’ve been found! You’re on your own for now!”
Before he could turn back, another attack was volleyed his way.
“Steel Magic: Violent Rotating Lance!”
Finral fell through the earth, the portal he’d opened beneath his feet spitting him out above and behind Klaus. Even before he could get his bearings, Klaus had already spun to a kneeling position and the ground was splitting open to make way for a new attack.
“You’re too predictable!” the bespectacled knight shouted as steel forced its way through the air.
Finral let himself free fall, opening a new portal in front of him. At the same time the lance went through the pool of magic, Finral stretched one hand towards the ground, pulling forth from his dwindling reserve of magic for a second portal.
The lance appeared from behind Klaus, redirected by Finral’s efforts, quick enough that he could only dodge to the side as his own attack turned against him. With a flash of light, Klaus only had enough time to look up as another form collided with his, pushing him flat against the ground.
Deftly, Finral braced for landing with either knee on the side of Klaus’ waist, his hands grasping his wrists and holding them tightly above his head, palms unable to touch the earth and draw forth any new support.
“You’re pretty predictable too,” Finral panted, pushing Klaus’ trapped hands against the ground, leaning in close, their faces only inches apart.
Klaus blinked—glasses fogging up from their shared breath—his mouth open in a sort of blank shock.
“So it seems I am,” he eventually said, exhaling as he shifted under Finral’s weight.
Klaus’ bangs were matted to his forehead, his face flushed from both embarrassment and exertion, eyes looking everywhere but Finral’s face. Energy, unrestrained and with no outlet, rolled off of Finral in desperate waves. It only took one more glance at his lover’s gasping mouth before he made his decision.
In an instant, he’d closed the gap, eagerly slotting his mouth against Klaus’, feeling the bottom of his glasses dig into the sensitive flesh of his face. There was grit on his tongue, dust stuck to their damp lips, and the residuals of mana burned in the back of his throat like dying embers.
Klaus' eyes fluttered shut as he arched his neck, lips soft and pliant against Finral's. Almost teasingly, Finral ran his tongue over the seam of his mouth with no regard for the sudden inhale from the pinned knight, flushing as each new point of contact sent a fierce thrill down the base of his spine.
As Klaus parted his bruising lips, easing into his temporary opponent's frantic touch, Finral trailed the edges of his mouth, relishing each little quiver he got in response. It was enough that Klaus started to writhe under him; Finral kept him firmly in place as he slowly, maddeningly traced the roof of Klaus' mouth with languid, deliberate effort. To his shivering delight, Klaus moaned, the shared vibration nearly scalding the tip of his tongue, burning all the way down his throat.
Finral was considering releasing one of his hands from their hold on Klaus' wrists and trailing it down, fingertips trembling with building anticipation, when an explosive whirlwind of mana and magic stopped him in his tracks.
Freezing, he turned to see a hurricane of swirling flames and crackling lightning towering over the treetops, expanding vastly with each wasted second. Kicking up the dirt and foliage around it into a violent storm, the rotating vortex looked more like an act of god than any sort of reasonable magic spell. It was nearly half a mile away—right where he’d left the majority of his team.
“...shit,” Finral exhaled, blinking as the air began to sting, whipping at his face.
“Indeed,” Klaus hummed, only sounding mildly surprised. “I can’t believe Luck’s idea worked.”
“He has a penchant for good combo attacks,” Finral muttered in broken disbelief.
“Even with someone like Gris,” Klaus sighed from under him.
Finral shook his head, looking down at Klaus through matted bangs. “Aren’t we supposed to be fighting, not talking about your teammate’s strength?”
“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Klaus raised an eyebrow.
Finral violently flushed. “I suppose that’s a fair point.”
“All jokes aside, it really would be prudent to get back to combat.”
“You’re right.” Finral nodded, contemplative. “It would.”
“...and I do mean actual combat this time.”
Finral gulped. “Sorry, my bad.”
After a few more minutes of genuine struggle, Klaus had to thoroughly admit his defeat. Though his magic was geared more towards direct combat than Finral’s, having an opponent who thoroughly recognized his weaknesses and had no hesitation in using them proved to be tough to overcome. Of course, once Finral used Fallen Angel’s Flapping, it was truly over.
The tracking spell wouldn't let up until it had caught him, and by the time he’d realized how hopeless it was, he’d already been spit back out at the clearing with the rest of the waiting Magic Knights.
It hadn’t been a gentle landing—not that he’d been expecting one—but it could have been worse. Still, it got on his nerves as he brushed even more grit from the seat of his pants, which he’d landed on after being spit out several feet above ground.
“I guess you guys lost.”
Vanessa stood before him, hands on hips as she looked down with a smug smile twisting up the edges of her painted mouth. Locks of soft pink hair spilled over her shoulder as she tilted her head, raising a challenging brow.
“Not yet, at least,” Klaus muttered as he stood up, wincing all the while.
“Luck’s still putting up a fight,” Vanessa said, nodding slightly as she glanced through the thicketed miles between them and the battle. “But I can’t sense your other teammate’s spell anymore.”
“I suppose Gordon got the jump on Gris then,” Klaus sighed, shaking his head. “That leaves Luck alone with our disc.”
“Which doesn’t bode well for anyone involved.”
“You could say that.” Klaus shook his head. “It was still a needed experience, regardless of the outcome.”
“Spoken like a true stickler,” Vanessa snorted, shaking her head as she took a step back towards her team. “You better have actually tried to win.”
“When have I not?” Klaus said, raising both of his eyebrows as she turned, waving him off.
Klaus scoffed under his breath as he readjusted his glasses, searching for his own squad as he estimated the remaining time of the match. It would only be another minute or two at most, not nearly enough time to try and jump back in the fray, not with how far he’d been transported.
“Klaus!” Mimosa waved him down, jogging towards him with Yuno trailing just behind her. “Did you get sent back?”
He begrudgingly nodded. “As it turns out, Fallen Angel’s Flapping is a truly formidable spell. Just because something isn’t traditionally considered impressive, doesn’t negate its actual worth.”
Mimosa giggled. “We’re well aware of that, sir.”
Yuno rolled his eyes; a small, quick thing. “He still lost. That’s embarrassing for everyone.”
Mimosa ignored her comrade. “I could see the combo spell from here! Tell me, was that really Gris and Luck?”
Klaus grimaced at the two of them. He still had trouble dealing with them even after all this time. “I knew they were planning something like that, but I had no idea it’d be so…”
“Powerful?” Mimosa supplied eagerly.
“Reckless,” Yuno interjected with crossed arms.
“...destructive.”
Mimosa shrugged. “That too.”
“Their magics were surprisingly compatible given their elemental differences.” Yuno shifted his weight. “But I guess Luck would have experience dealing with Flame Magic.”
“It doesn’t hurt that their personalities are somewhat… complementary, though I use the term loosely.” Klaus waved it off. “I’d more describe it as Luck enjoying having a new target to tease.”
“I almost feel bad for Gris.”
“Yuno!” Mimosa hissed.
“What? He’s a jealous bastard. Or have you forgotten what went down at the Squad Exchange Event?” Yuno raised a thin brow.
“You weren’t even there,” Mimosa huffed. “So what do you know?”
“That Captain Vangeance and the elite squad had to save you all after Gris’ actions got you trapped by the Diamond Kingdom in Kiten?” Yuno deadpanned.
Mimosa winced.
“That wasn’t only Gris!” Klaus reprimanded. “We knew the risks when we broke from formation to go after him. If anything, it was on all of us.”
“But it wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t insecure about Asta’s position in the Magic Knights compared to his own.”
“Yuno, Gris is as much your senior as I am. In fact, he’s been a Magic Knight longer than I have, so by seniority rule, he outranks all of us. It’s disrespectful to show such contempt.”
“I’m going to be Vice Captain soon enough,” Yuno groused. “I don’t have to acknowledge him for anything.”
“Yuno…” Klaus sighed.
“I hate to interrupt this scolding—” Mimosa’s thin smile said otherwise. “—but Klaus, I believe the battle has come to an end.”
Klaus stiffened, turning away from Yuno’s annoyed visage to the center of the clearing, where a vortex of silver tones was waiting above them all.
“Wow. Finral really has gotten better at making them bigger.” Mimosa grinned, almost genuine.
“Oh yes, the bare minimum,” Yuno snarked.
“Yuno!” Klaus said, exhausted.
Yuno glared at him but didn’t say anything more. That was as good as it was going to get. Shaking his head, Klaus glanced back at the waiting portal, watching for ripples. As he blinked, there was a flash of light, and two forms fell out of the spinning pool of magic.
Gris landed first, obviously knocked out and marked with purple wisps that settled heavily on the open skin of his hands and face. Luck came soon after, still smoking and covered in soot but conscious nonetheless. They were also very obviously lacking in any discs.
Klaus couldn’t stop the wave of disappointment; it was upsetting to lose, even if he had predicted it. But he’d been their leader, so their failings fell to him. He inhaled deeply, rolling back his shoulders, and set off at a brisk pace towards his fallen teammates.
“There you are Klaus!” Luck cheerily waved at him from his position on the ground. “You disappeared near the end, so I figured Finral got you.”
“It seems he got you too.”
“Yeah, but the others did most of the work for him.” Luck scowled. “Gordon took out Gris and Magna pissed me off. I got a bit distracted”
Klaus sighed. “I figured.”
“At least we had fun!” Luck’s smile returned. “Fighting with you was better than I thought it would be! Especially with Gris, but don’t tell him that.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I’m almost positive that Gris had fun fighting with you as well.”
Luck’s grin widened. “We’ll have to meet up soon then.”
“I’ll try and arrange that,” Klaus agreed.
Right as Luck opened his mouth to continue, there was a new surge of magic from the spell floating above them. Through the portal, and with a much more gentle landing Klaus noted, came the members of Finral’s team.
Magna, Gordon, and Siren landed on their feet; each of them carrying a single disc. Finral landed last, pale and pallid as he released his hand, letting the spell dissipate. The knight was unsteady, barely able to stand upright. He had used quite a bit of mana after all.
“Team One wins!” Vanessa cheered to the group as she bounded after, grabbing on to Finral’s shoulders to steady him before Klaus could even think to move.
Smothering every instinct he had, Klaus remained still, crossing his arms as he watched Finral sway into Vanessa’s touch. Shaking his head, he bent at the knees to offer his hand to Luck, who grasped it with only a mild static shock shared between them. He pulled the mage up, and turned to look at Gris, who was still knocked out.
“I should probably take him to see Mimosa.”
“That’s a good idea.” Luck nodded. “He wouldn’t be much fun dead.”
Klaus raised an eyebrow. “I… will take that as a show of concern.”
Luck hummed noncommittally.
Klaus waved an unsurprised Mimosa over, watching carefully as she pulled out her grimoire and activated one of her healing spells. Vines crept over Gris’ collapsed form, gently glowing as the worst of his scratches began to fade.
“At the very least, it was an educational exercise,” Klaus muttered half to himself.
“True, true,” Luck readily agreed, nodding his head. “It’s reassuring to know I can combine attacks with people outside of my squad, especially with how often we all seem to fight the same people!”
Klaus let the edge of his mouth tip up in a show of bemusement. “You aren’t incorrect. At the very least, it does seem to actually be improving squad relations.”
“The Golden Dawn and the Black Bulls,” Luck muttered, shaking his head. “Who would’ve thought?”
“Yeah,” Klaus softly agreed, tilting his gaze up to look at the clear cerulean sky, thoughts flickering to glimpses of lilac irises and soft brown hair. “Who would’ve thought.”
Notes:
Okay! So, reminder! Gris is a canon character, technically, if you consider the Light Novels canon. He was introduced during the squad exchange where Yuno and Asta got swapped for a day, and the novel was pretty much just Asta bonding with Klaus and Mimosa while training and then going to fight in Kiten, where Gris fucked things up because he's a petty moron. So that's where the mentions of the squad exchange come from. There's a translation of the novel somewhere on Tumblr if y'all are interested, I believe the account is blackcloverdatabase.
Also, while Gris was introduced as minor antagonist in the novels, there's not much info about him beyond the fact that he has flame magic, is Klaus' senior, and apparently his parents nearly killed him with all the training he received to join the Golden Dawn. So all the stuff about his appearance and last name, I took some liberties with. (Listen, purple and grey eyes are fucking baller, and Albrecht kind of fits with what we do know about him) Unfortunately, I got attached, and thus have decided that he must be forcefully bonded with at least (1) Black Bull, that happening to be Luck.
Also, as usual, the winner of the battle was decided by a coin toss, so RIP Klaus' team. I really don't think they stood a chance anyways. Anyways, next chapter is when we finally get into some drama, so look forward to that! Langris and his character development are gonna be hard to tackle, but boy am I excited. Anyways, thank you all for reading and I hope you have a good day!
Chapter 5
Summary:
Finral has a much-needed talk with Langris. It doesn't really solve much.
Notes:
Langris. What a pain in the ass to write and I'm still not satisfied with him. Well, as always, my Tumblr is @innogens-breadsticks and I hope you all enjoy reading.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Finral put his forehead against Vanessa’s offered shoulder; whimpering in unadulterated pain and exhaustion.
“Oh, you big baby, it’s not that bad.” Vanessa flicked his forehead.
“I know, I know… I just… used too much mana. I really want to lay down on the ground right now and pass out.”
“I’m pretty sure that’d leave a bad impression on our guests,” she said.
“Which is why I’m settling for leaning on you,” he muttered through a yawn. “At least I’m not going again, right?”
“No, we’re actually taking a scheduled break right now,” Vanessa explained with a mirthful grin. “I figured everyone would like that.”
“Isn’t there still one more team that has to go?” Finral asked, lifting his head.
“Yeah, but since everyone else has fought, we need some time to recharge before any other team can actually fight again. We are trying to institute some level of fairness.”
“Liar. You made me fight Klaus,” Finral hissed under his breath.
“Actually, that was a product of randomized selection. I had nothing to do with that.” Vanessa raised a carefully shaped brow.
“But you enjoyed the outcome nonetheless.”
“That I did.” Vanessa nodded. “It wasn’t as if you two held back.”
“You could say that…” Finral muttered, mostly to himself. He heaved a weary sigh, standing up straight and rubbing at his eyes. “How long is this break, anyway?”
“About an hour or so.” Vanessa shrugged. “That’s how long it should take for everyone’s magic to replenish.”
Finral’s eyes suddenly widened; panic spiking adrenaline into his veins. “What time is it?”
“Around noon-ish, at least that’s what it was the last time I checked.” Vanessa’s attention snapped to him. “Why do you need to know?”
“I told you that Langris contacted me, right? With an offer to go to lunch?” Finral said, rubbing the back of his head.
“Don’t tell me that was today, you dumbass!” she hissed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“I won’t tell you then, but you can see how I have a problem here, right? I want to see him, I really do—I mean, I already told Klaus about it too—but we… it’s not bad of me to feel a little hesitant about it, right?” Finral said, looking at the ground.
Vanessa brought her hands up to her face, loudly groaning into them. “You are one of my best friends but you frustrate the hell out of me.”
Finral frowned. “That wasn’t an actual answer.”
She sighed deeply. “Finral, I’d be more worried if you weren’t at least a little bit hesitant about meeting him. He may be your brother and you may love him, but he hurt you, badly. Not to mention, his personality beforehand was… questionable, at best.”
“Which isn’t—” Finral began.
“—entirely his fault, I know.” Vanessa rolled her eyes. “My opinions on that aside, if you really think it’d be good for you… then I guess it’s entirely up to you.”
“The only problem is that he’s been wanting to talk ever since I told him I’d become the heir without marrying Finesse…” Finral trailed off, hunching his shoulders.
“Well, you used to be in love with her, right?” Vanessa crossed her arms. “Of course he’s gonna be curious about that.”
“I really wouldn’t call it love,” Finral said softly; glancing at the ground, tracing the patches of sparse grass with his eyes. “Thinking back on it, she was more like… my first crush? I really only talked with her once, and she complimented me, praised me—which not many people did back then—so it really only made sense that I… kind of developed feelings from that.”
“Aww, baby love!” Vanessa teased, putting her hands on her cheeks.
“Shut up!” Finral hissed, flushing a bright scarlet.
“Still, the point is that he was at least aware of that.” Vanessa pointed at Finral. “And with your reputation, it seems… odd that you didn’t jump on the first chance to marry her.”
“My reputation isn’t that bad,” Finral defended, crossing his arms.
“Yes, it is,” she sighed deeply. “I remember when you finally stopped flirting with every vaguely girl-shaped creature with legs. Do you recall what I asked you?”
“If I suddenly decided to become a monk and took a vow of celibacy…” Finral added, letting his head droop.
“That’s how weird it was to me, and I’d like to think I know you bit a better than your estranged brother who tried to murder you.” Vanessa crossed her arms.
“Do you have to put it like that?” Finral whined.
“For my sake, yes.” Vanessa nodded once. “I’m just saying, it was just such an integral part of your personality, even if you exaggerated it.”
“...I didn’t exaggerate it.”
“Let’s not lie to each other, okay?”
“Why am I friends with you?” Finral muttered, glaring at her.
“Because we’re the most functional adults in this squad, which is kind of horrifying in its own right, but still.”
“Ugh! Fine! I may have… played my flirting up a little, okay?” he huffed, throwing his hands out. “It’s not like it was a big deal—I was still pretty serious about it! It just… made me feel like I was actually free from my parents, from their expectations. And if I got a date with a pretty girl out of it, well, I wasn’t going to complain...”
“So it was a tactic to distract you from your own problems.” Vanessa gave him a victorious grin. “I knew it!”
“That was only part of it!”
“That might be true, but it was still the part of yourself you showed most to the world. It wasn’t until you-know-who that you cut back.”
“Honestly, it wasn’t even a conscious decision. Flirting just seemed… less fun, all of a sudden.”
“Unless it was with him.”
“...not that he realized it,” Finral muttered.
Vanessa snorted. “He may be a good tactician but when it comes to personal things, he’s really oblivious, isn’t he?”
“He is!” Finral shook his head. “Ugh, we got off track.”
“You always do when you talk about—”
“Shh!” Finral whipped his head around, watching out for any listening ears. “Do you want people to know?”
“I should be asking you that.” Vanessa raised an eyebrow. “Don’t think I can’t tell when someone’s fooled around.”
“Speaking of, we need to actually have a talk about that,” Finral said, running a hand through his loose hair. “But that can wait.”
“Way to deflect.” Vanessa brushed her hair off her shoulder. “I’m just saying, for someone so concerned about the risks, you seem to be playing it awfully close.”
“I know, I know, okay?” he hissed, tightly crossing his arms over his chest. “It’s… stupid, I know that. But he’s right there, and I feel… I hate acting like I don’t really care about him. I mean, it’s bad enough that our “dates” consist of going to the capitol at night or hanging out here—not that I don’t love you guys, but you all make really shitty third wheels—I just get so annoyed that even though there’s technically nothing stopping us now, we still can’t…”
“You love him and you hate hiding it.” Vanessa shrugged. “That’s more than understandable. You’re only human.”
“Thanks, Vanessa,” Finral sighed. “I’ll pop out for a bit, okay? If anyone asks where I am, just tell them I have to take care of some bureaucratic nonsense, alright?”
“Fine, fine!” Vanessa waved him off. “Do you want me to call Klaus over so you two can say goodbye?”
Finral glanced over at the man in question; watching him as he fretted over his team. He was hastily ordering around Mimosa, watching Gris for any signs of consciousness and trying to keep Luck from shocking him. The beginnings of a fond smile tugged at the edges of his mouth, heart fluttering in his chest as warmth sparked in his fingertips.
“Nah, let him be.” Finral turned back to Vanessa. “I’ve already told him about it.”
“If you insist, loverboy,” she said, raising her eyebrows. “Well, just be safe. Don’t get killed.”
“What is with everyone saying that?” Finral muttered, shaking his head as he readied his last reserves of magic.
“The track record you have with him is not great,” Vanessa said with an amused smile. “Come back within the hour.”
“It shouldn’t take that long.” Finral winced. “He probably just wants to pry a bit. He’ll lose interest once his curiosity is satiated.”
“If you’re sure.” Vanessa shrugged, still in disbelief. “See you later, then!”
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll miss you, too.” Finral rolled his eyes.
Exhaling, he focused intensely on the bitter remnants of mana still barely clinging to him, willing them to conglomerate one more time. Langris had said noon in the capital—and had given no other instructions. Probably some sort of test to see how Finral’s capabilities had grown. Lucky for him, his magic focused better with an emotional anchor.
And Langris always prompted one hell of an emotional reaction.
With that pulsing, swirling conglomeration of familiarity—love, hate, jealousy, anger, resentment, guilt—Finral forced the last of his magic to build a single, strained portal, the silver flickering dangerously in the mid-day sun. Exhaling carefully, taking a single second to brush the remaining dirt off his shirt and fix what remained of his hairstyle, Finral stepped through the portal.
The world fell away. The warm feeling of the forest disappeared, taking the familiarity of the Black Bulls’ base with it, along with the reassuring scent of earthy bark and clean air.
Sun flashed in his eyes, half-blinding him to his new surroundings. Raising a hand in front of his eyes, Finral blinked, waiting for his vision to clear.
“You’re late.”
The voice was disapproving; not quite harsh enough to be angry, but certainly not kind either. Turning around, Finral was met with the sight of his half-brother staring him down, leaning back in a chair, a steaming cup of tea on the table in front of him. It was odd seeing home without a Golden Dawn uniform, but with his expulsion from the Magic Knights, it only made sense that he’d be without it. That didn’t mean it ever stopped Finral from having to do a double-take each time.
Langris had taken to wearing a dark tunic, dotted with little white diamonds that ran up and down in neat lines. The short, wide sleeves cut off around the elbow to make way for the white shirt underneath that hung loose at his wrists. The tunic was hemmed at mid-thigh, pairing with black trousers that fell to his ankles. His new grimoire belt was stark white, matching the brightness of the diamonds, and was eagerly displayed on his waist. His cloak, velvet grey and trimmed with expensive decals, was left hanging on the back of his chair.
Quickly, he scanned the rest of the area. They were in a tea shop; an upper-end one, nothing like the cheaper cafés Finral was so used to frequenting. In fact, it was mostly empty, the only other person being a singular server who hadn’t even glanced up at his entrance, still choosing to relentlessly clean a table on the far corner of the room.
“I had to get away from my squad first,” Finral answered, slowly turning his head back to Langris.
“Oh, yes, how could I forget?” he rolled his eyes, reaching forward to grab his cup. “Your all-important role as a pack mule.”
“It is important, however poorly you might think of it.” Finral narrowed his eyes, swiftly taking the seat opposite of Langris’. “But that’s not what we’re here to talk about, is it?”
“No, it’s not,” Langris replied, lifting his eyebrow slowly.
“Is it too much to hope that you just want to catch up?” Finral offered, crossing his arms.
“Ever the optimist, aren’t you?” Langris shook his head, silently downing his scalding drink. He placed it back on the saucer without so much as a sound. “In case you’ve forgotten, we’re competing for the mantle of heir now.”
“We always were.” Finral shrugged.
“Not really. From the day I was born, it was an unquestionable fact. I was destined to lead the House of Vaude,” Langris said blankly, carefully studying his reaction.
Finral didn’t change his cavalier expression. “Maybe it’s not so unquestionable. And I don’t see a reason why it can’t be more… friendly now.”
“You really are a fool, brother.” Langris shook his head.
“Maybe. But it’s better than being resigned to father’s way of doing things.” Finral made a face.
“Perhaps.”
Finral looked up; raw surprise peaking through his features. Langris looked away, refusing to make eye contact.
“I’m not going to pretend that I don’t find your declaration insulting, and downright infuriating. You cut yourself away from us—sheared us away like we were the rot on the family tree—and threw away your own name.”
“Roulacase is my mother’s maiden name. It’s just as much mine as Vaude is.” Finral leaned forward on the table, mouth set in a firm line.
“Anyone who’s ashamed of the name Vaude shouldn’t be leading us.”
“Maybe a bit of shame is needed. It’s certainly worth more than an inflated sense of pride.”
“Hmph,” Langris hummed, lifting his teacup once again. “I can’t argue with a delusional man.”
“If that’s how you want to concede this, I won’t complain.”
Langris scoffed. “The point I was trying to make here, brother—” he spit the title out like an insult. “—is despite the fact I have many problems with you and your attitude, I can recognize that my position… also has its own flaws. Father was wrong to disregard you, as… as was I. As useless as your magic may be on its own, you managed to make something partly decent out of it.”
Finral blinked. “Oh… that’s… th—thank you?”
Langris glared at him. “Be grateful I decided to acknowledge that much.”
“I am, I am!” Finral insisted, putting up his hands. “I’m just surprised is all!”
“Don’t be such an idiot.” Langris shook his head. “But what else should I expect from a man who turned down the King’s offer to marry his grand-niece.”
“I told you before, I can become the next heir without resorting to marriage.” Finral swallowed. “I’ll do it because of my accomplishments and hard work, nothing else.”
“The brother I remember would be jumping for joy at a chance with Finesse Calmreich.” Langris tilted his head, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, you were right about one thing. The brother you knew was a moron.”
“And you’re still one if you think you can get out of a marriage arranged by the royal family. This has been slated for years. Even if you protest it, it’s not as if they’ll decide to listen to a disgraced noble.” Langris took a spoonful of sugar from the center of the table, dumping it into his tea and stirring as he spoke. “If anything, your refusal hurts your chances at becoming the heir. Given your reputation, it’ll be taken as a sign that you’d rather remain single to flirt with women than marry someone like Finesse.”
Finral reeled back, almost appalled. “Finesse is a wonderful woman! She deserves the world, but that doesn’t mean I want to marry her, especially not now!”
“So it’s not her, it’s you?” Langris rolled his eyes. “How original.”
“This isn’t some stupid break-up line, Langris!” Finral hissed. “I really can’t marry her!”
“Then you’re saying I should?” Langris took another sip of his now-sweetened tea.
“No, that’s not—” Finral put his head in his hands. “Has anyone even asked her opinion about all this? About what she wants to do?”
“She’ll go along with whatever we decide.” Langris waved him off.
“Has she told you that or are you just assuming?”
“Have you met her? Finesse will do whatever it takes to please her family; she thinks she’s useless to them.”
“And that makes it okay to ignore her wants?” Finral groaned, running a hand through his tacky hair. “She’s still a person, Langris—not a bargaining chip. Arranged marriages only work if both sides consent.”
“Are you serious?” Langris said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.
Finral threw out his hands in complete exasperation. “Of course I am! I’ve really been thinking about this, Langris, and I don’t want to be trapped in some loveless marriage as a way to retain power! She probably doesn’t either, but all she wants is to help her family in any way she can! When she met me, the first thing she did was apologize for being older and sickly—it’s obvious she doesn’t regard herself very highly! And preying upon that to earn good graces with the King… I don’t want to be like that, Langris.”
“You said loveless,” Langris repeated, almost curiously.
“That’s the part you’re focusing on?” Finral said indignantly.
“That means you aren’t in love with her anymore. Unlike when we were kids. And knowing you, that probably means you’re in love with someone else. That’s why you don’t want to marry her.” The grin on Langris’ face was wide, almost vicious with its gleam.
Finral swallowed, paling instantly. “Th—That’s not it.”
“Oh, you selfish little phony, I nearly believed you there. Acting like you cared about her autonomy and whatnot. You just don’t want her anymore.”
“And why can’t it be both? Huh?” Finral shot back, sickness churning in his gut.
“So you admit it; you’re in love with someone else.” Langris’s smile remained.
“No! I’m just saying that it might not be a black and white issue! There can be multiple reasons,” Finral insisted, pointing at him.
He ignored the frantic edge to his tone, focusing more on getting his thundering heartbeat under control. Fuck, he thought. Langris wasn’t going to let this go, not when he found something that so obviously got under his skin.
“You’re not a very good liar when it comes down to it, brother,” Langris easily replied, leaning back into his chair.
Finral forced his mouth shut before anything else could slip out. With great restraint, he forced himself to sit back against the chair, curling his hands into shaking fists.
“I don’t see how it’s any of your business, Langris.”
“What? I can’t be curious about the woman who has so stubbornly captured my philandering brother’s heart?” Langris said with an amused smirk.
Finral drummed his fingers on the armrest, pointedly denying himself a satisfying—but ultimately destructive—reply.
“Really? Nothing?” Langris prompted. “She must not be that special then.”
“Langris. It really is none of your concern. I promise you, it won’t impact my ability to become the heir.”
“I already told you that you’re terrible at lying. I’m not sure why you insist on giving repeat performances.” Langris shrugged.
Finral made a face. He debated his options; leaving would be conceding defeat regarding the argument, but staying risked Langris digging deeper. He couldn’t afford to be selfish this time, as much as he wanted to stay, it wasn’t only his reputation at risk. Sighing, he pushed away from the table, standing up.
“Okay, Langris, you’ve asked all your questions, right? I’ve got to go. The Black Bulls are in the middle of a training session and I can’t leave them alone for very long,” Finral said, taking a step back from the table.
Langris looked up; muted surprise on his features. “Eh? Leaving so soon, brother?”
“I do have to do my job. I might not be the Vice-Captain of the Black Bulls but I still have duties to carry out.”
Langris’s smile went taught and cold. “Low blow, Finral.”
Finral winced, feeling his stomach drop. “Langris, I didn’t mean it like—”
“I truly didn’t think you’d have the gall to go there. Attacking a man’s former position? No shame at all.” Langris shook his head. “It’s almost impressive.”
“I’m sorry you got removed from your spot on the Golden Dawn—” Finral crossed his arms. “—but that’s not my fault.”
“Arguably, it is,” Langris muttered into the rim of his porcelain.
Finral was struck silent, mouth hanging open; until the words came pouring out. “I’m sorry for stopping the possessed version of you from killing the King?!” Finral hysterically replied with his hands splayed outward. “But I really didn’t think you’d want that pinned on you?”
“Well, I didn’t. But a lot of good that did, I was still removed from my post.”
“Langris, you’re my brother, and I really want our relationship to not be so antagonistic, but to be fair… you did try to murder people.” Finral clasped his hands together, letting them fall forward in a hesitant point.
Langris scowled, looking away. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I was in a coma, Langris—from the first murder attempt.”
“I didn’t—that wasn’t…” Langris trailed off, shifting uncomfortably in his seat. “That… wasn’t supposed to happen.”
Finral sighed, his shoulders going slack. “I know, okay? I do. You might be different than I remember but you wouldn’t have done something like that when we were younger. There was something wrong with your magic then, something inhuman.”
“What do you know about what I would do?” Langris rolled his eyes, his voice attempting to replicate his cold personality as he ignored the last sentence. “You left.”
“And I don’t regret it,” Finral said, crossing his arms. “I was miserable, constantly. If I hadn’t left, I wouldn’t have become any stronger. I would have stagnated, rotted from the inside out because of my own self-hatred. If I could go back, the only part I would change is that I would offer to take you with me.”
Langris froze. “You… really are one hell of an idiot.”
“You didn’t deserve that, okay? Being left there with our father and Liliane.” Finral shook his head. “They… I don’t think they’re the type of people who should ever have children.”
“Would your mother have been any different?” Langris snapped.
Finral looked away. “I don’t know, Langris. I like to believe she would have, but who knows. She was a lower noble anyways, so maybe she wouldn’t have cared so much about that stupid competition we were put through. But then, if she hadn’t died…”
“Then father wouldn’t have married my mother and had me.” Langris shrugged. “Don’t tell me you’re struggling to decide between which one you’d want?”
“That’s a rather cruel thing to ask, isn’t it?”
“I’m a cruel person.”
“Maybe you are,” Finral sighed. “But I can’t give you an actual answer. I never knew her, I only have my expectations of what she could have been like. But I grew up with you. And it’s not like it matters; at the end of the day, she’s gone and you’re here.”
“So I am.” Langris tilted his head back. “You and your bleeding sentimentality.”
“I’ve actually been told that’s a plus.”
“For your useless, destructive squad, maybe.” Langris rolled his eyes.
“Langris, leave them out of this. They’re… rough around the edges, but they’re still my friends.”
Really, they were more like family to him at this point, but he didn’t want to chance Langris’ reaction to that.
“And I assume you know that blatantly referring to them as such will also hurt your chances at becoming heir?” Langris raised an eyebrow.
“If father has a problem with it, he can talk to them about it,” Finral replied with a smile. “I’d actually love to see what Captain Yami would do to him.”
“That would be… entertaining,” Langris admitted with a smothered grin. “And mother… how scandalized would she be, do you think?”
“Oh, Liliane would hate him, if she doesn’t already. You know, he called her “old lady” during our battle with the possessed version of you. The look on her face…”
Langris hid a snort behind his hand. “That’s one way to earn her ire.”
“Honestly, Captain Yami does seem to dislike father and Liliane. He wouldn’t hesitate chewing them out if they decided to give the Black Bulls any trouble.” Finral hummed absentmindedly.
“So you plan to… remain how you are, no sucking up to them or anything of the sort?” Langris asked finally, glancing up with earnest confusion.
“Yep! If you wanted to figure out my strategy or something, I’m afraid you’re out of luck. I don’t really have one,” Finral laughed, rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry.”
“And what do you plan to do if I remain the heir?”
“Well, I guess… I’d try and help you. Just because I’m not leading doesn’t mean I won’t still be your brother. And… I don’t really want what happened to us to be repeated, you know?”
“You think I would do that to my own children?”
“Do you even want kids?”
“Do you?” Langris shot right back.
Finral opened his mouth, and closed it again, tilting his head up to the ceiling as he tapped his foot. “Honestly, I’ve never really considered it.”
Thinking about it, honestly and earnestly, it didn’t sound… bad. He was still a Magic Knight, which posed unimaginable dangers, but there were still those who retired after their magic began withering. Perhaps…
Finral shook his head, willing away a flush. He could think about it later.
“Another key part to becoming heir is being willing to produce one.” Langris shook his head.
“Yeah… okay, that’s not happening.” Finral shuddered. “Not now, at least.”
“It’s not as if I’m excited about that either.” Langris made a face. “But what must be done is what must be done.”
“You know, if I’m the worst candidate out of us both and I still refuse to produce any “heirs”, then you could… you know, not go along with everything they want?”
“So I’ll look better by comparison?” Langris raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m still looking to win! But there’s no reason to force yourself to be miserable when there’s no need to!” Finral muttered. “Why play by their rules when we can make up our own?”
Langris blinked. “I take it back, you’re not stupid, you’re actually certifiably insane.”
“Eh, just consider it, alright?” Finral took a step back from the table. “I actually have to go now, the break is probably close to being over.”
“Break?” Langris titled his head.
“Yeah, I told you we were in the middle of training. I can’t miss the next round.” Finral cracked his knuckles, linking his hands together and pushing his palms outward.
“You’re supervising it?” Langris said, amusement pushing the edges of his mouth upward. “I guess that explains your… appearance…”
Finral frowned, looking up as the remains of his green-tinted bangs drifted over his forehead. “Even Vanessa’s hair products don’t last forever…”
“Say, brother, would you consider sating my curiosity by allowing me to sit in on this… training session of yours?” Langris looked up.
Finral’s breath hitched. He wanted to say yes, he wanted to do something that would allow them to have any sort of positive interaction; even if it was just Langris making pointed comments about his leadership style. But with the Golden Dawn there…
“Sorry,” he said with a pained smile. “Not today, Langris.”
“Oh?” Langris replied with a widening grin. “Is there something you don’t want me to know?”
Finral kept his face still; willing it to have no change, however small. Curse his brother for being so damn perceptive. Did he have time to step away to call Klaus and warn him?
“Langris, just not today. You can come over almost any other time—as long as you give me some warning so I can prepare the others.”
“You aren’t deterring me very much.” Langris leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table.
“Listen, it’d be distracting for everyone else. They still aren’t over the whole tournament thing, and I’d rather not deal with any more attempted murder.” Finral waved him off. “There’s just not enough time for them to warm up to the idea.”
“And you’re sure it’s not because the mystery woman is there?” Langris prompted blankly.
Finral stiffened, hand frozen in mid-air. Shit.
“Hmm, that’s what I thought, brother.” Langris stood up from the table, extravagant cloak fluttering behind him as he pulled it on, the fabric swathing the rest of his dark outfit. “It’s not as if you can stop me now.”
“Langris, seriously, you don’t want to be there.”
“I can make my own decisions, Finral.” Langris shrugged away from his desperate hands, choosing to pull down his sleeves. “And I’ve decided to tag along. Consider it a sort of… trial period.”
“A trial period of what?”
“Of if I want to be involved in your life.” Langris looked up at him with a cold smile.
“...you’re something else, you know that?” Finral’s eye twitched. “I could decide to just not transport you back, you know.”
“Would you do that?” Langris paused in the midst adjusting his cloak to look at Finral with a stare that seemed to deconstruct him at every level.
“...you really have no right doing that,” Finral muttered, rolling his neck to relieve the painful pressure that had built in his aching muscles. “I warned you, I just want you to remember that.”
“Fine, if I truly do regret this—” Langris rolled his eyes at the mere suggestion. “—then you get exclusive, “I told you so” rights. Is that satisfactory?”
Finral grimaced. “You say that now…”
Shaking his head, dread curling heavy in his gut, Finral centered himself on the marginally replenished remains of his mana. There were many emotional anchors to choose from; all different variants of people he depended on to remain the person he was. Though, he noted with a tinge of embarrassed glee, that some seemed to resonate stronger than others.
Shaking his head, he focused in on the one which bathed the back of his eyelids in a brilliant pink—Vanessa’s obsession with the color had always eluded him—and let that pull his spell across space. That was a good, neutral choice; no questions to be had there. He could feel the warmth of the silvery pool before he could fully sense its presence in front of him.
“That took longer than I thought it would’ve.”
Finral skewed a tired look over to his apathetic brother. “It’s been an exhausting day.”
“Hmph.”
With that, Langris pushed past him, not quite ungently, and didn’t look back as he disappeared into the waiting portal. Finral winced, preparing himself for the inevitable onslaught from both his squad and the Golden Dawn. Today really was not his day.
Sighing, exhaustion draining what little will he had, Finral followed after Langris. His ears already seemed to be ringing in preparation.
“Are you on drugs? Huh, is that what this is?” Vanessa harshly whispered, leaning in to jab a finger into his chest.
Finral hissed, pushing her hand away to rub at the sore spot her nail had nearly carved out. “Those things should be classified as weapons!”
“Your pure unadulterated dumbassness should be classified as a weapon!”
Finral stopped, looking at her with furrowed brows. “That doesn’t even make sense.”
“Neither does bringing your brother—who we all severely dislike, if not straight-up hate—to a joint training session, with the squad who kicked him out of the Magic Knights!”
Finral winced. Yeah, that one might not be uncalled for.
“I tried to tell him not to come, but you know how he is!” Finral let his gaze wander over to the relative in question.
Langris, at the very least, did look somewhat regretful for showing up. He was standing off to the side, near the entrance to the Black Bulls hideout, with a vague look of uncomfortable disgust adorning his features. Though that might’ve actually been his normal face—or it would have been, had he not also been nursing the beginnings of a nasty bruise.
What was worse was the new air of tension spread over both of the squads. Well, nothing bonded people like a mutually disliked target—who just so happened to be Finral’s brother. Joy. And that was ignoring the brimming looks of disappointment and incredulity that Klaus kept periodically shooting him.
“On the bright side, I think he’ll be more amenable to leaving now,” he rushed out in hasty breaths as Vanessa’s face screwed up in further anger.
“He better be.” Vanessa pinched the bridge of her nose, throwing her other hand out. “You need to warn a girl before you do something like this! The fact that I had to stop both Noelle and Luck from marching over, presumably to commit a felony, only to have Asta go up and deck him, is unreasonable!”
“Okay, okay, I see your point!” Finral gave in, raising his hands.
“Unless you want to deescalate a whole new can of violent, flesh-eating worms—” Finral’s face twisted at the analogy. “then this needs to be fixed, pronto!”
With that, Vanessa turned away, stomping off to presumably prevent a repeat of the tournament as Magna glowered menacingly in Langris’ general direction. It didn’t help that Zora was standing behind him, arms crossed as he stared down the other spatial mage with narrowed eyes.
Inhaling, he took measured steps to Langris’ location, ignoring the wandering gazes of the Golden Dawn and his own squad. He stopped in front of his brother, offering what he hoped was an apologetic smile.
“I’m really sorry about that, I didn’t know Asta was still… so, uh, passionate about your previous encounter.”
“You can say angry, brother. I won’t be offended.” Langris glanced up at him through lowered eyes, brows darkly furrowing. “I would appreciate some honesty from you—for once.”
“Langris… I did tell you that you wouldn’t want to be here,” Finral sighed.
“I thought it was some imbecilic move to hide your apparent lover, and not because you had organized a joint training session with my former squad!” Langris hissed.
“Well, you know what they say about assuming…”
Disgust quickly won out over betrayal on Langris’ face. “Ugh, I can’t even look at you right now. Who says that other than parents with no real will to live?”
“If you think about it, I do kind of provide a guiding perspective to the rest of my squad, so you could technically say that I am somewhat of a parental figure.” Finral tilted his head. “I wonder if I could adopt one of my subordinates and name them as my heir. Which do you think father would dislike more, Luck or Asta?”
“The one dressed in leather sex gear, and no, don’t think this excuses you from giving me real answers.” Langris raised an eyebrow, before wincing. Apparently, Asta hadn’t held back.
“Shit, are you really not okay? I mean, I can go grab Mimosa—no, actually, wait, bad idea—oh, ice! We have that! Do you need me to get some?” Finral leaned forward, reaching out to inspect Langris’ face.
His brother pulled away, using his free arm to push away Finral’s hands. “It’s nothing that can’t be handled on my own.”
“Langris…” Finral sighed, stepping back. “Okay, fine. But now that you’ve seen it, do you want to leave? Not that I want you to, but it might not be the best day for a visit…”
“Do you take me for a coward, brother?” Langris coolly replied. “I’m interested to see how my squad has changed without me, and with how you… “guide” your own.”
Finral felt his heart drop. Of course. Of course the one time he wanted Langris to leave would be the one time his brother wanted to stay. Couldn’t anything ever be simple with them? And if Langris was staying, his whole endeavor to figure out what Finral was supposedly hiding could only end in disaster.
He needed to talk to Klaus.
“Alright, but if you stay, I’m going to get you some ice. Stay right here, and try not to antagonize anyone, okay?” Finral said, stepping past his brother to the entrance of the base.
“Do you take me for a moron?” Langris replied indignantly. “I can be civilized for a few minutes.”
Finral chuckled mirthlessly, turning away from him to open the door to the base, shuffling inside. Quickly, he shut it behind him, sagging against solid oak with an audible groan. Knowing Klaus—who had most definitely been watching—he would split off from his squad at the nearest opportunity to demand an explanation. All Finral had to do was wait.
Finral put his head in his hands, slowly breathing in and out. All they’d wanted was one good day, and look what had happened. Knocking the back of his head against wood, Finral exhaled a quiet laugh. Well, it’s not as if things could get any worse.
...could they?
Notes:
Langris: I have never been worried for Finral in my life, ever, and that's not going to change
Finral: *doesn't want to marry Finesse*
Langris, breathing heavily, whispering to himself: What the fuck
Ahaha, that being said, let's get into some of the changes from canon!
Langris is a... complex, complex man. And while the impacts of a childhood where affection, stability, and love was wholly dependent on his ability to outshine his brother instead of him, you know, being a child and all that, shouldn't be disregarded, he also had an unhealthy penchant for violence. His literal introduction was him being like "oh, well, if there's really no other choice but to kill these civilians trapped in this spell then I guess I just have to", when, in all honesty, there were so many other ways around it other than Asta's anti-magic. He shouldn't have been in the magic knights in the first place—many people in the magic knights shouldn't have been accepted in the first place, but if it worked like that, Black Clover probably wouldn't have as many problems.
I never really understand why most of his actions were kind of automatically forgotten after the whole elf-possession thing. Like, Finral forgave him, and yeah that makes sense with his character and guilt complex thing going on, but he was given his position back, with no consequences? With all the trouble, and bad press too, Langris gave the magic knights, it's not a smart political decision to reinstate him, which is why here, they decided to boot him instead. I also feel like this is more in line with his character that he would be forced out instead of somewhat willingly giving the position up to Yuno later on. It really feels like he did a 180 personality turn out of almost nowhere after he woke up again, and I figured that it's honestly more interesting, and a tad more realistic, that he holds on to his bastardry for a little bit longer.
(Also because this was planned before the release of the filler arc, and all I knew was that Yuno would become VC from the manga and that Langris wasn't around anymore, so I had to extrapolate). It also boggles my mind that they still let William be a captain—he shouldn't be in a high-ranking position either—but the entire kingdom witnessed him saving everyone with his magic, so making him step down would be a massive blow to the kingdom's morale. So, I guess that one does make sense, even if I don't like it either.
And urgh, addressing the whole Finesse thing gives me the creeps sometimes. I honestly think she could be really interesting as a person, what with being from a royal family but only considered useful as a bargaining chip in terms of marriage because of her chronic illness, but she's really only used to prop up the rivalry between Langris and Finral? And we know the bare minimum about her? Just, the complete lack of her actually... having an opinion about her own future just irks me? Arranged marriage isn't inherently flawed, in fact, when done right with both parties consent to be arranged, there are rather high success rates. But in a system of nobility, especially ones as toxic as this, it really disrespects a lot of people's autonomy—but mostly women's. Maybe I could include something later with her... she'd be fun.
With that out of the way, Finral is in some trouble next chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it, and see you next time, which is hopefully soon!
Chapter 6
Summary:
Several discussions are had; some more important than others
Notes:
Jeez. Sorry this took so long, but medication mishaps and all. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“This better be some elaborate prank, or so help me—”
Finral winced at the incoming rant, not even fully turning around as an apology began building in his sternum.
“—I can’t believe you brought your brother, my former boss, to our training session! There’s recklessness, and then there’s whatever this is!”
Klaus appeared from the hall, most likely having been brought in by one of the many side doors that would appear along the outside of the base. Henry was accommodating, as always.
Klaus was irate, truly at his wit's end, judging by how his glasses were set askew on his nose. His hair was already mussed—most likely from his own frantic fingers tugging on it as he tried to cope with Langris’ appearance—and his posture was tense, nearing rigid. Everything about him was on edge, thrumming with unadulterated nervous energy.
Finral felt his own heart sink as his fingers began tangling with each other, silently picking at his nails as he waited for Klaus to finish.
“Finral, you’ve truly done some insane things in the course of our time together—complete feats of utter lunacy that have made me question my own decision-making skills—but I truly think you’ve outdone yourself!” Klaus hissed, screwing his eyes shut as his fingers harshly pinched the bridge of his nose—Finral would be surprised if it didn’t bruise. “I don’t even have the words to say it! I’ll endeavor to try and come up with them, but it really is a struggle, simply because I have no idea what the hell you were thinking!”
It was silent as Klaus’ voice petered off against the clammy stone interior, the only thing left to fill the air was his heaving breaths, which slowly began to reign themselves in.
“So,” Finral began, steepling his hands and letting them fall forward in an exaggerated point. “Getting lunch may have introduced some minor complications to our plans.”
Klaus groaned loudly, running a hand down his face as his shoulders collapsed forward.
“Okay, okay, I know this looks bad, but I swear I didn’t mean to do it!” Finral raised his hands in surrender. “We were just talking and then all of a sudden he wants to join me because he thinks I have a secret lover stashed away somewhere!”
“Because you do!”
“But how is he supposed to guess that?” Finral rejoined indignantly.
“As much as I hate to admit it, Langris was Vice Captain for a good reason! He may be arrogant, but he is no fool,” Klaus said through gritted teeth. “You really couldn’t come up with one good reason to throw him off?”
“I tried, but I must’ve panicked or something because he refused to let go of it!”
“If you reacted anything like you are now, then it’s no wonder he caught on so quickly!” Klaus threw his hands in the air. “I knew this was a terrible idea, I knew it!”
“Seriously? That’s what you’re going with right now? What happened to trying to figure something out?” Finral reeled back, eye twitching as Klaus lost himself to stress.
Finral hadn’t screwed up that badly—had he? Well, maybe the situation wasn’t great, but there was no need to be so dramatic about it, right? Fuck—bad Finral, no blaming Klaus for understandably emotional reactions.
“Can I just have this? Please?” Klaus bit out, eyes wide as his pupils shrunk to pinpricks. “I just need to get this out of my system, and then I’ll be functional, alright?”
Finral stopped, pulling his outstretched hand back to his chest. Right, he thought, Klaus would always help him, even when he was stressed…
Even when Finral messed up, he still…
“Of course,” Finral said softly. “I’m sorry, Klaus, I really am. I should’ve done more to prevent this.”
“It’s… well, it’s not fine, but… I know you only had good intentions.” Klaus sighs, the manic energy seeping out of his stance. “You always do.”
Finral winced; his chest heavy with burdened guilt. “Klaus…”
“No, no, I know that tone, and self-pitying can be saved until after we salvage this, alright?” Klaus looked at him resolutely, nodding once. “Our priority should be damage control.”
Finral sighed. He was back to normal, with all plans and objective reasoning. Well, most of the time.
“Have I ever told you that you’re the most wonderful person I know?” Finral said genuinely, watching in partial awe as Klaus smoothed out the wrinkles on his sleeve with apathetic precision.
“Not nearly enough as you probably should,” Klaus said with suppressed humor, looking Finral dead in the eyes as he shrugged.
“I’ll have to start doing that more.” Finral nodded.
Crossing his arms, Klaus raised an eyebrow, tilting his head with suspicious apprehension. “I’m sure you will.”
Finral balked. “I’m serious!”
“Do you really want to start this now?” Klaus asked incredulously.
“But it’s true! You’re great, and I want you to know that,” Finral insisted. “It might be the rush of adrenaline finally leaving my body, but I genuinely believe that you’re quite possibly the greatest person in the world.”
“Enough of that,” Klaus said with an air of finality. “Can you please focus?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m here and ready for action!” Finral gave him an eager thumbs-up.
Klaus stared. Finally, he shook his head. “I love you, but you are the most ridiculous man I’ve ever met.”
Finral crossed his arms. “Am I supposed to be insulted or endeared?”
“Whichever.” Klaus shrugged. “Or maybe neither. But we’re getting off track. What does Langris know about your “mysterious” lover?”
Finral looked away, embarrassment rooting itself in his chest. “Not much. He thinks it’s a woman.”
Klaus tilted his head. “All things considered, it’s probably good that he’s made that assumption.”
“Yeah, I know, but it still feels weird whenever he says it.” Finral shook his head. “That’s not important right now.”
Klaus paused, face twisting briefly into an unpleasant expression before it was immediately smoothed over. “You’re right. So, he thinks it’s a woman, and he blames her for your reluctance to marry Finesse Calmreich.”
Something about Klaus’ words struck Finral as odd, the way he phrased it… like he thought his opposition to marriage was a passing phase.
“It’s not reluctance, Klaus,” Finral said, tilting his head as his voice took on a somber tone. “I truly don’t plan on marrying her, even if it secures my position as the head of the House of Vaude.”
Klaus blanched. “Of course. That’s not what I…”
“Klaus… don’t tell me you think I’m having second thoughts about this…” Finral continued, dread rising in his throat.
“I’m not!” Klaus insisted, crossing his arms defensively. “We don’t have time for this anyways, Finral.”
“Don’t use that excuse! I know you’re going to say it can wait until later, but then if I wait to bring it up, you’ll refuse to talk about it!” Finral narrowed his eyes.
“Finral, I swear, we can discuss this any other time,” Klaus almost pleaded, eyes wide. “But there’s a legitimate reason we can’t do this now.”
Finral sighed, the tension seeping out of his posture. “I know, I know. But I’m holding you to that. No weaseling out of it, alright? Even if it’s going to be a tough talk.”
Klaus looked away. “Fine.”
Finral still felt uneasy, but Klaus was right. They didn’t have time to get into it now. It wasn’t like they hadn’t fought before, that was a nearly unavoidable part of any relationship, but this was different. It was charged, like it’d been building and cresting for the entire time they’d known each other. It wasn’t petty or inane, simply built out of frustration; this was real, dangerous even.
Finral moved on, shoving any and all nervous thoughts to the back of his mind. “Langris also thinks that the reason I didn’t want him to show up here was because the mystery woman was here as well.”
“Does he still think that?” Klaus asked, swallowing as he shifted his stance.
“I’m not sure,” Finral answered, tilting his head up. “I think he’s still a bit in shock about Asta decking him in the face.”
Klaus’ face barely suppressed a pleased smile at the reminder. “I suppose that does help.”
“I said I was going to get ice, so he’ll probably be wondering where I am.” Finral impatiently tapped his foot. “But I do think I can convince him that the reason I didn’t want him here was because the Golden Dawn was training at the base today.”
Klaus nodded. “Okay, good. Then the only problem will be making sure he keeps thinking that way, at least for today.”
“Hopefully, it won’t be too difficult. He’ll probably be too distracted by, you know, everything.” Finral shrugged.
“Alright. Well, there’s one more match, and then the winners from the previous ones are going to be pitted against each other. It shouldn’t take more than another few hours, including the banquet lunch afterward.”
“If we relegate him to the sidelines, like asking him for comments and such, I think he’ll be too caught up in keeping up with the fights to investigate any further.” Finral touched his chin with his thumb and forefinger. “The best way to distract him, in this case, is to stroke his ego.”
Klaus rolled his eyes. “Anyone could’ve told you that.”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Finral raised a hand. “But can we—”
The heavy wooden door creaked open. Finral and Klaus stiffened at the same time, heads whipping to the entrance as slivers of outside light splashed on the darkened stone floor.
“Brother?”
Klaus took a quick step back as Langris came into view, almost shyly peeking around the door. At the sight of the two magic knights, any hesitancy on Langris’ face was wiped away, his intense posture returning full force.
“Oh, Langris!” Finral said, hoping his voice didn’t sound as strained as he felt. “Sorry, was I taking too long?”
Langris huffed, eyes flickering back and forth between his brother and his former subordinate. “Obviously. Why else would I bother setting foot in this dump?”
Finral ignored the twitch in his eye. “Ah, I wouldn’t say that. Henry takes stuff like that kind of personally. It is his house after all.”
“Henry?” Langris tilted his head, narrowing his eyes.
Finral blinked. Right, not everyone knew… “Henry Legolant.”
Langris froze. “As in the House of Legolant? I thought that they didn’t have an heir...”
Finral looked away. “Ah, well, it seems that bit isn’t quite true… he’s just cursed.”
“Cursed,” Langris repeated in disbelief.
Finral grimaced. “Very cursed.”
Klaus rolled back his shoulders, obviously preparing to step in. “Well, if that’ll be all… farewell, Finral.” he turned to Langris, tilting his head. “...Langris.”
“See you, Klaus.” Finral waved as the other knight made his way to the open door, quickly side-stepping the former Vice-Captain.
Langris warily watched as the bespectacled man left, closing the large wooden doors behind him. Slowly, in nervous increments, Langris turned back to his brother, a snide grin taking up residence on his face.
“Getting ice, brother?”
Finral froze. “I was, actually. Klaus just needed to talk to me about the schedule.”
Langris waited a moment before he turned and scoffed. “Typical. That bastard gets hung up about the most inane things.”
A flare of defensive anger quickly rose. “Yeah, well, it’s a good thing for everyone under him. A leader who cares about stuff isn’t anything to laugh at.”
Langris openly glared back at him. “Do you really want to throw muck at each other so early in the day?”
“It’s afternoon,” Finral replied.
“My point still stands.” Langris raised an eyebrow.
Finral took a decisive step towards the kitchen. “Yeah, yeah. Stay there and I’ll get your ice. Hopefully, your face doesn’t swell too badly before then.”
Finral only felt slightly guilty as Langris stiffened and not so subtly put his hand up to his cheek to gently prod at it. It was overdue retribution for the coma, Finral decided stiffly. Hands tightly clenching at his sides, he ignored the swell of discomfort in his gut. Something was bound to go wrong at this rate.
“Okay, everyone! I know you’ve all been waiting for it, so let’s get this over with!” Vanessa called out, standing with her chin tilted upward and her chest puffed. “The group going up against Team Two is…” Vanessa paused, staring them down in hopes of building anticipation. “Team Four!”
Finral blinked. It made sense, he supposed. Pitting Team Two against an already victorious group meant that the winner would be narrowed down much quicker. Still, it didn’t quite seem like a fair battle…
He shook his head. Underestimating Vanessa and her team was a mistake. They weren’t the best in terms of sheer power, but they were sharp enough to make up for it. At the very least, it would be an interesting match-up. Brute force versus strategy; a timeless rivalry.
“Care to enlighten me about what’s going through your empty little head, brother?”
Finral suppressed a weary sigh. Inclining his head towards Langris, Finral raised an eyebrow. “If something’s going through my head, doesn’t that ruin your point about it being empty?”
Langris huffed. “Stop being difficult.”
Finral raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t look at me like that!”
“You could ask nicely, you know,” Finral replied, turning back around and crossing his arms.
“And I could also just leave,” Langris said.
“You could also do that.” Finral shrugged.
Langris sent him a scathing glare and Finral decided that he’d had enough fun at his brother’s expense.
“I’m just thinking about the match-up. It seems a little unbalanced at first glance, that’s all.” Finral turned away, ignoring the curious way Langris’ eyes seemed to light up.
“In what way?” Langris’ attempt at a nonchalance fell flat as his tone grew noticeably more interested.
Finral looked away. Guess it didn’t take much to distract him after all.
“Well, the thing is, Team Two has Yuno, Letoile, Gauche, and Hamon on it. So, you know, a bunch of well-rounded powerhouses. But Team Four’s got Mimosa, David, Vanessa, and Grey, and while they might not be as evenly matched in terms of sheer force, David’s magic and Vanessa’s red string pose a challenge. They might have to get creative.” Finral glanced over at his enraptured brother.
“Oh, Gauche is the unpleasant one with sister issues, correct?” Langris glanced over, hand on his chin.
Finral sighed, feeling his shoulders droop. “Yeah, that’s the one.” After one more moment of consideration, Finral decided to take the initiative. “So, how do you think this’ll turn out?”
Judging by the way Langris turned to him, a million things already spilling out of his mouth, Finral had made the right call in distracting him.
To the surprise of very few, Team Two had ended up victorious. Not that it had been an easy battle by any means, but it had still been a near undeniable win. Vanessa’s magic could only do so much for such an extended period of time, and David’s dice relied more on luck than anything else. Not that Grey and Gauche didn’t pull their weight, but transformation magic didn’t have many combat-related uses, and Gauche was… prickly, to put it lightly. He wasn’t a team player on the best of days.
Finral sighed. Langris was smug, nearly smiling while the results were officially announced. He had predicted the win, of course, down to which people were left standing. Being a genius didn’t only extend to his own magical prowess.
“Well, it’s only natural that the team populated mostly by the Golden Dawn would win.” Langris shrugged. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Finral raised an eyebrow. “I thought you disliked them now.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t expect them to be strong. I don’t have to like them in order to have an objective opinion about their skills.”
Shaking his head, Finral held back a scoff. His brother was certainly something. At the very least, he was properly distracted—
“Is it Letoile?”
Finral froze, turning his stiff neck in slow increments. What? “What?”
“The woman. Is it her?” Langris’ face betrayed no emotion as he met his brother’s incredulous gaze. “It was obvious that the discussion with Klaus wasn’t solely about the schedule. And, if I remember my family trees correctly, they are related. It’s either second cousins or first cousins once removed.”
“It’s second cousins and no.” Finral crossed his arms sternly. “It’s none of your concern, Langris. Besides, I’m pretty sure she has some sort of thing going on with David.”
“Ah, that.” Langris wrinkled his nose. “I forgot about their incessant flirting.”
“It’s frustrating, I know.” Finral scowled as he recalled Letoile’s somewhat hypocritical earlier accusation. “If you’re gonna dig into my business, I should let you know that Klaus and I were arguing about your presence and its impact on his squad.”
Langris stiffened and Finral ignored the first tendril of guilt growing in his stomach. It was a necessary lie, he tried to convince himself.
“I didn’t know you two were friends,” Langris chose to say after some time.
“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Well, Yuno and Mimosa like hanging out with Asta, and since we’re the go-to chaperones, we kind of bonded.” Finral forced a casual smile onto his face. “No big deal.”
Langris turned away after humming in reply—nothing telling in his reaction. “Is that so?”
“Yeah. You should see those kids though, they get along like a house on fire. Which is, unfortunately, usually what their joint missions end up causing. The sheer amount of damage relief that’s been taken out of their paychecks…” Finral shuddered.
“You two aren’t particularly good chaperones in that case.” Langris pointed out.
“It’s worse when other people are left in charge.”
“That’s not a good thing, either.”
“I know that,” Finral said. “But that’s just how they are.”
Langris chose to move on. “So, what’s next?”
Finral blinked. “Well, I’d assume that the winners from the previous matches are going to be pitted against each other. So, that’ll be my team at some point. And then there’ll be a banquet once Charmy’s finished cooking. I assume Henry is helping her. I still don’t know where Captain Yami is but he probably won’t be back anytime soon.” Finral tried to hide his utter relief at that fact.
“That’s all? A poor rip-off of the tournament and some food? That was your grand plan for the day?” Langris indignantly questioned.
“Listen! It was short notice, and everyone else seems to be fine with it. So—back off!” Finral felt an uncomfortable heat crawl up his neck.
Langris rolled his eyes. “No need to get hysterical, brother. I was just making an observation.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s what it was.”
“Do you want me to continue?” Langris threatened.
Finral turned away, silent as he gritted his teeth. He loved his brother. That meant maiming him was out of the question. Not like he’d get far anyways, but that wasn’t the point.
“What do you think the next matchup will be?” Langris said, in lieu of apologizing.
“Considering one of the previous winners was just disqualified, there are only two teams left. Team Two’s and my own.” Finral winced. “So, after a rest period, I’m assuming that I’ll be up next.”
“Oh?” Langris tilted his head, genuine interest in his deceptively innocent features. “I look forward to watching you fight, brother.”
Finral grimaced. “I’m sure you will.”
“At the very least, you best put up a decent fight. It’d reflect badly on me if you didn’t.”
Finral scoffed. “I’ll do my best not to sully the family name more than I already have.”
“Good.” Langris nodded. “I’d say good luck, but I feel that we both know I wouldn’t mean it.”
Finral laughed, short and resigned. “At least I can always count on you to never pull your punches.”
Langris turned, the edges of his mouth tipped upward in the barest hint of a smile. “What are brothers for, after all?”
Notes:
Anyways, there are only a few more chapters left, probably about 3 or 4 max, but knowing me, it'll take another year. In other news, I'm living for awkward/brutally honest Langris and Finral sibling bonding. I think it's wonderful. Why did this take a month to write? I don't know but writer's block is a bitch and time isn't real anymore. I have less than a month until senior year and college applications. Yikes. See you all next time.
IAmStoryteller on Chapter 1 Wed 28 Oct 2020 01:19PM UTC
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InnogenRenz on Chapter 1 Tue 01 Dec 2020 05:50AM UTC
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InnogenRenz on Chapter 1 Tue 01 Dec 2020 05:52AM UTC
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dead_oleander on Chapter 1 Sun 08 Nov 2020 09:26AM UTC
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InnogenRenz on Chapter 1 Tue 01 Dec 2020 05:53AM UTC
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