“Alright,” Asta stands up and stretches before walking over and picking up the used dishes, “I’ll wash these while you go over to the closest over there and pull out the mats,” he motioned with his head.

“Mats?” Noelle tilted her head.

“Well, we have to sleep, and I may have grown up more on the wild side but not even I like to sleep on the bare floor,” Asta remarks as he starts washing the dishes, “I know you’re more independent than most royals, but I know even you won’t want to sleep on the bare floor.”

“I was wondering where the beds were at?” Noelle looked around and saw the closet. “But looking at the floor plan of this place, it does make sense, now that I think about it,” Noelle said as she got up and went over to the closet, pulling out the sleeping mats. There was far more fluff to them than she’d expected, “Fluffy…”

“Yea,” Asta says as he dried his hands. “I didn’t want to rip up a whole section of forest, so I built this place in the small clearing that had already been here for the most part,” He chuckles as he walked over to her and took the blue mat. “Yea, they are quite fluffy, but that serves two purposes: One for bedding to keep us off the floor and two to keep us warm as the heat of the fire bleeds out of the house,”

He unrolls the mats on the other side of the fireplace, where he’d sat to heat, and then did the same for Noelle, where she’d eaten.

“Alright then,” Asta yawns, “Time for bed,” he added as he crawled into his mat, while Noelle cautiously did the same.

Asta lowered the shade that hung over the fire pit in order to reduce the amount of light the fire had been casting in the room, so the two of them could sleep a bit easier.

Noelle just stayed quiet as she was snuggled into the sleeping mat’s blanket. Though she was used to much more accommodating arrangements, such as an actual bed, she really didn’t mind this setup in the slightest. In fact, it was actually a lot more comfortable than she’d initially presumed.

‘A man and a woman sleeping in the same room, especially a royal and a commoner!’ Noelle mentally yells in her head. ’This is a scandal! I bet he’s gonna try and make some sort of move on me when I’m not suspecting it… No, he’s too smart for that. I bet he's gonna wait till I fall asleep to make his move! Yeah! That’s it! Ha, I figured you out, buster! Well, guess what? I’m not going to sleep at all, and as soon as I see you get up, I’ll blast you!’

About two hours passed as Noelle kept vigil on Asta. The fire had now died down to that of hot slow-burning coals, glowing with vibrant golden yellows and shining oranges and reds. All was quiet, except for the young water mage, who was a bit more ticked than worried at this point due to her somewhat boyfriend’s actions, or in this case, inactions.

“What the heck?” She whispers. “I know I may not be as filled out as Mimosa, let alone Twilight, but I expected him to at least try and peek at me in the bath. But he didn’t, and now, he’s not even trying to sleep next to me!”

She watched anxiously, “Maybe he doesn’t really see me as a girl,” she sighs as she turns to lay on her back and looks up at the ceiling. “I mean, not even an accidental slip up at the least!”

Asta suddenly started to move around, causing her to panic a bit.

She cowered under her blanket. ‘Mmmm… This is it!’ Asta steadily rolled over, ‘I CAN DO THIS! I CAN DO THIS! I‘LL PUSH PASSED MY LIMITS AND DO THIS!’

“Okay, I…” Noelle closed her eyes tightly and was ready for what was coming, but nothing did, except for a certain noise.

ZZZZZZ….

“What?!” Noelle's eyes shot open, only to see Asta steadily snoring with a snot bubble rising and falling from his nose. “You’ve got to be kidding?! He’s been asleep this whole time!”

*It is well known throughout the Magic Knight community! That all Black Bulls are notorious for not only their bad reputation but also for being the heaviest sleepers of any knight squad and hardest to get in contact with, especially during the nighttime hours!*

At this point, Noelle was just insulted and started to pull out her wand but stopped as soon as she heard him speak in his sleep.

“I… won’t let you… have any of … these girls… Noelle, Mimosa, Twilight, Rebecca… they’re the… most important… things in this… world to me!”

Noelle froze and then lowered her wand and gave a small smile. “Idiot,” she remarked as she snuggled back into her mat.

“No… I don’t wanna drink with you, Vanessa!”

That’s when Noelle suddenly changed her mind and blasted him out of the house with a stream of water.

Asta and Noelle returned back to the Black Bull’s Hideout the following day. Noelle had been quiet since their talk at Asta’s old home, something that Asta had fully expected from the young royal. To say she was in love with him wasn’t entirely true, but to say she did like him was like hitting a nail on the head. In all honesty, he’d hoped for this outcome the most, as this world still needs her and Mimosa, and in telling the latter, Asta also received the answers he’d wanted.

“I’m gonna head off for a while, alright?” Noelle said as she looked at Asta. “I… Ah… I need to think about some things. I’m not avoiding or ditching you,” she quickly added.

Her statement pulled him from his thoughts.

“It’s alright, Noelle,” Asta smiled as he held up a hand, “I understand. You need some time to yourself to mull things over. It’s perfectly understandable. But if things start to eat at you too much, be sure and come and tell me, or at least Raava. Okay?”

“Yes,” Raava appeared next to Asta out of nowhere. “I will be nearby if you need to speak with someone close to him, but not him or Twilight.”

“I don’t think I can speak to either of you about this,” Noelle looked away, “I’m sorry…”

“It's fine, but at least speak with Mimosa,” Asta suggested, “She’s in the same spot as you, after all.”

Noelle nodded once before walking away.

“Well,” came Yami’s voice from the treeline. Asta looked over to see his captain, “Looks like you two had a grand ole time and a good ole fashion meaningful chat.”

“That was the whole point of taking her out,” Asta gave a stern look at the captain.

“Well,” Yami walked out and looked at Asta with his own stern experience, showing that he wasn’t joking around this time. “Seeing as how you talked to her, how about we have a similar talk? More specifically, how about we chat about when and where you're from and about your past?”

“If you want to know, then ask,” Asta waved it off, “It doesn’t mean I’ll answer though.”

Yami grinned as he belted out his hardy laugh, “That’s one of the things I like about you kid. You don’t buckle under pressure, and you speak your mind.” He kept grinning as he pulled his katana out and pointed it at Asta, “Seeing as how much you love a good fight, how about a match?”

Asta grinned, “Now, you’re speaking my language.”

Asta stood across from Yami.

“You’re not really from the Land of the Rising Sun, kid,” Yami bluntly stated.

“To be fair,” Asta retorts, “I never said I was from your homeland, just somewhere like it.”

“Yeah, that is true,” Yami rubbed his chin with his left hand as his katana rested on his right shoulder, “But you can still do a lot of the stuff that’s taught there that I can, so you had to have been there at some point in your young life.”

He took up a battle stance.

“Nope,” Asta smirked as he drew his dark and light magic katanas.

‘[He didn’t even hesitate or stuttered with that response,]’ Yami mentally remarked as the two swordsmen started to feel each other out. “So, you know how to fight on and are willing to kill people without hesitation if need be. There’s no doubt you’re hiding a lot about yourself, kid. How are we supposed to trust you if you don’t trust us?!”

Yami leapt forward and brought his sword down hard. Asta shot out and crossed his own katana, catching his captain’s strike. The force of the impact caused a slight shockwave and a small crater to form around the two fighters.

“You’ve got that wrong idea,” Asta grunted as he looked right into Yami’s eyes, “Cause I’ve trusted every single one of you since we’ve met.” Light and dark magic started to waft off Asta's swords, while dark magic started to come from Yami’s blade as well.

In a flash of golden and purplish-black sparks, the two fighters separated as they stared at each other.

“Everything I’ve told you about myself is true captain,” Asta stared, “But I can’t tell everything about myself right now either.”

On the sidelines, the other Black Bulls stared on in amazement as Asta had not only caught the captain’s strike but also held him in place.

“What are they even talking about? More importantly, why the hell did we come out here to watch this again?” Vanessa asked, “We all know how strong Asta is, but that doesn't mean we need to watch him.”

“We’re here to support Captain Yami!” Finral sharply answered as tears streamed down his face, “Cause Asta needs a good spanking for stealing all the pretty ladies!”

“I’m here cause I wanna see the fight!” Luck laughed, “It’s rare to see the captain in action. To tell the truth, I’m pretty jealous it’s Asta out there and not me. I ask him all the time, and he always turns me down.”

“Oh, my darling angel Marie…” Gauche said as blood dripped from his nose as he stared at a picture of his little sister.

“Shooooooo….” Gray puffed out a stream of smoke.

_{"I hope they’ll be okay, and we can all stay friends…}” Gordon murmured.

“Yeah…” Magna raised an eyebrow, “Outside any personal reasons, I’m actually here for a similar reason to Luck, cause I want to see this fight play out.”

“Why?” Vanessa asked, “We all know the captain is gonna win.”

“I’m not so sure he can,” Magna said sharply as his eyes were hidden by his sunglasses, “Asta is strong, like really out there."

“We all know that, but he’s not as strong as Yami!” Finral raised a hand.

The two swordsmen clashed with a flurry of strikes on the battlefield, sending out shockwaves with each heavy strike against each others’ blades.

“No, I’m sure Captain Yami knows it, too,” Magna again cut off the idea of cheering, “It was when Yami and I spoke about Asta after the village incident. He said with his power, it might take the entirety of all the captains’ combined efforts just to try and stop him. This was before the dungeon he helped clear alongside Luck and Noelle alongside the Blue Rose and Golden Dawn.”

“In that fight, Asta went up against one of the shining generals of the Diamond Kingdom,” Luck tacked on. “If he hadn’t worried about his comrades and been injured, he would've been more than a match for any of us and would've given even the captain a hard time,” he laughed, “In that fight, I saw Asta do things I’d never thought a mage could do. “

Noelle knew exactly what Luck was talking about, so she chimed in as well.

“Not only does he have magic, but he also has the ability to nullify and convert magic into a sort of black anti-magic,” Noelle said, “On top of all that, his body is well beyond what any normal human would consider a peak physical condition. With his anti-magic, and swordsmanship alone, that is a very deadly combination for any mage. Asta also wields two distinct types of magic, and he can further push his body with special breathing techniques. When the capital was being invaded he was even able to contend with an exceedingly powerful mage that one-shotted Captain Fuegoleon through a building knocking him out. ”

“I shouldn’t be surprised you know so much about him, kiddo,” Vanessa chuckled, causing Noelle’s face to turn red.

The two Dark-type mages broke apart and jumped back a good way from each other. Both of their breathing was a bit labored but nothing too serious. The most noticeable feature about Asta and Yami was the big grins plastered on their faces.

(play during this part)

“Hmph...Hehehehehe,” Yami chuckled. “I can see why you were able to hold off that bastard who flung Fuegoleon through a building. Guess I better start taking this seriously then,” he held up his sword, “Dark magic: Dark Cloak Slash!”

Yami quickly waved his sword around and sent several purplish-black slashes straight for Asta.

Asta just stood there while his dark magic katana started to emit its own dark magic power from the blade.

“Whistling Crescents!” Asta said as he unleashed his own dark magic slashes into the air.

The two attacks collided in a burst of smoke. Yami immediately dodged to the right as several of Asta’s slashes cut through the debris and headed straight for him. The dark magic then sent a single slash at Asta, who again countered with his own, but Yami counted on this. He wanted to see why only his attack was canceled out. That’s when he saw it, the slashes collided but they didn’t. Asta’s slash actually cut through his own.

“Gotta say, I didn’t expect that,” Yami landed on his feet. “I figured you out a bit. You may be taking this seriously, but you haven’t actually been using attack magic at all. Hell, you haven’t even been using your own mana at all, you cheeky kid,” Yami pointed at Asta, “You cheeky bastard! HAHAHAHAHA! You were able to mimic the ability of those swords from your black grimoire on those katana.”

“Hehe… You’re right,” Asta chuckled with a shrug, “I forged these using my own mana, infusing my magic into each blade’s very core with light and dark magic. They take in and expel the mana in the air, allowing me to use it offensively or defensively without depleting my own power. Of course, I can do like you do and coat my weapons in their respective magics, but that’s just a waste of concentration.”

“So, having the excess power on hand allowed you to concentrate on the act and not waste power. That coupled with your fast reflexes along with using the focus on the attack allowed you to mimic my move, but with your’s being launched faster and without the strain of your spell it was made sharper, allowing it to easily cut through my slashes,” Yami laughed, “Gotta say, kid, you’re a hell of a lot more of a genius then everybody gives you credit for. I’m gonna have really push past my limits in this fight!”

(playing during this part of the fight)

The duo took off again and clashed, sending sparks to fly through the air.

“Then, I better step it up, too!” Asta vigorously smiled, ”Dark Magic: Dark Platforms!” As soon as he said this, purplish-black stepping boards appeared in mid-air all around them.

“This spell…” Yami remembered back to the entrance exams when he first met Asta, widening his stance and getting into a defensive form. “You’re gonna have to do better than-”

Asta jumped up and then started to randomly dart around the platforms before making a beeline for Yami. The Black Bulls captain readied for the boy's frontal assault but was quickly put off as Asta kicked to the right and darted to the left. He used his speed to snake around Yami coming at the captain from the back. Yami barely had time to react as he threw his katana up in front of his face, holding onto it with both hands as Asta’s light katana sliced past with a screech of metal, creating countless sparks.

Asta came to a grinding stop in the opposite direction, his breathing labored.

Yami hadn’t been in a much different state, his mind still in shock from how close the kid nearly came to cutting off his head. His block just narrowly caused Asta to barely miss his right eye, just shy of one eyelash. His cigarette had been sliced down to the butt before falling to the ground from its owner's mouth.

‘The kid is fighting like this is a life or death battle,’ Yami internally snickers. ‘I can see why holding back against him is never a good option for even Luck now. He faces every fight fully, sparring or not,’ he steadied himself and threw his blade out to the side before concentrating his dark magic on it. “...As if it’s a fight to the death. Guess I better fight as if I want to kill him, too, then,” Yami said as he turned around and looked Asta right in the eye as he brought his sword up and gripped it with both hands, “Round two starts now, Asta!”

Asta kept his eyes fixed on his captain and brought his own sword up. “Light magic: Swords of Damnation,” he said causing claymores of light to appear in mid-air behind him.

The blades immediately started to fly at Yami.

“Dark magic: Dark Cloaked, Light Consuming Eruption Slash!” Yami roared as he sent several dark slashes to collide with Asta’s volley of golden-light swords. Just as the name said, each time one of Yami’s slashes hit a sword, the attack would consume the blade and cause an explosion.

“Dark Magic: Dark Cloak Tatsumaki!” Yami called out and sent a massive dark magic tornado to tear through the field while also erasing Asta’s dark platforms. “That takes care of the platforms, effectively cutting off any route he could take to alter his course of an attack and his flying swords, for now,” Yami held his sword in front of him as did Asta.

The duo then blurred out of sight, moving too fast for any normal person to see. The Bulls could only occasionally catch momentary glimpses of sword strikes as they saw both Yami and Asta exchanging blows with each other. Sometimes, it would seem as if Asta had the advantage. Whereas at others, it looked like it was Yami.

Asta appeared in the sky suddenly, and Yami appeared on the ground below him.

Asta’s magic completely coated his sword’s blades and greatly extended them, to look as if he was wielding a pole in each hand. “Light/Dark Magic: Ōdachi. ,” he called out as the yin-yang symbol slowly swirled on his forehead while he raised the long swords.

Yami in turn took up a stance, spreading his feet apart and raising his sword level with his face, just above his nose but just below his eyes. “Dark Magic,” he recited as his magic coated his blade even thicker than before, “Jet Black Blade.” His blade was now solid black, with a purplish tinge to the edge and purple emissions in the air around it.

“Moon Breathing,” Asta said with a deathly chill as he controlled his breathing, and blood flowed throughout his body as he crossed his arms, causing his sword to temporarily switch sides as he did.

Yami in turn also controlled his own breathing as he calmed himself while also clearing his mind of any stray thoughts.

Asta shot forward like a rocket out of hell.

Yami remained calm while he steadily brought his blade above his head.

Asta tightened his grip on his own swords.

“Dark Magic,” Yami said with a smile as he opened his eyes. “Dark Cloaked, Midnight Slash!” he yells as he brought his sword down.

“Dark/light Magic!” Asta calls out, “BALANCE CROSS SLASH!”

The two fighters unleashed their attacks on each other just a foot apart, but the collision of the power and magic met first.

“I can’t believe this…” Magna says. “They’re emitting so much power on the same level that their attacks are even connecting! Are they really so into this fight that they want to try and kill each other?!””

“Of course, they are,” Luck says, “Even if it’s just a sparring match, Asta always comes at me like he really wants to kill me! That’s why fighting him is so much fun!”

Noelle looked on at Asta, more out of concern than anything.

Vanessa noticed it too, “Too bad Asta isn’t going all out.”

“No,” Noelle corrects her, “He’s been fighting at full strength this whole time, solely relying on his magic.”

“I haven’t seen him bust out his spirit friend yet, so I think it’s pretty safe to say he’s holding back,” Vanessa pointed out.

“No,” Noelle says, “He hasn’t, but he’s still relying on his own power, not Raava’s.”

“Really?” Finral asked.

“Yes,” came Raava’s voice from next to them. “Not once has he ever asked for my help this whole time,” her remark caused them to all look at her, “The only time he’s even used spirit magic was the spell in the capital. Outside that, you’re all seeing what he can do with magic alone. If Asta were to rely on his other power instead, then he’d have won some time ago.”

Back on the battlefield, Yami and Asta both pushed forward as hard as they could. With each step, it was like trying to walk through thick syrup while being weighed down with five-ton weights on each foot.

“Gotta say, kid,” Yami smirks, “You’re way more of a handful than I’d originally thought. I don’t think anyone has ever pushed me this far, not even the other captains went all out as you have, but enough talk.”

“I know I have my secrets, but the thing is, you can’t know them until it’s time, captain. But just know, I’ve always got your back. The other bulls as well,” Asta smiles, “And I agree, enough talk!”

“It's time to push past my limits!”/ "It's time to push past my limits!”

They poured as much magic into their bodies and weapons as they could muster; pushing hard in one final effort. In a flash, they passed each other. Asta now stood where Yami had been standing, and Yami now stood where Asta had been.

“Damn, it looks like I lost,” Yami says with a smirk as he turns to Asta and held up his Katana. “It looks like I’ll need a new katana,” he laughs as he reveals his sword’s blade had been cut in two.

Asta stuck his blades into the ground and steadied himself, as his breathing was staggered. “I think… we'll… call it… a draw…” he breathed out as blood dripped onto the ground. Asta steadily stood up and placed a hand on his collar, turning to reveal a rather deep gash, “You actually managed to break through my reflexive defense.”

“I think maybe you should call that healer girlfriend of yours,” Yami points and laughs then looks at his broken sword. “Looks like I’ll be needing a new one of these,” he then got an idea and looked at Asta, who was being shaken by the collar by none other than Noelle as she chewed him out.

“And another thing!” Noelle says as he hugs him, “Don’t be so reckless with every fight! I was really worried…”

“Excuse me, I really hate to break up this tender moment,” Noelle turned to see her captain and her face turned bright red as steam rose from her hair, “But I need to talk with our boy about the sword he destroyed.”

“Yeah, I’ll forge ya one like mine,” Asta says immediately. “But it’ll cost ya!” he snickers as Noelle promptly passed out on him, “Oh no… I have a bad feeling…”

"Yea," Yami agrees, "I got the same feeling in my wallet just now..." he rubs the back of his head.

Been a hassle to finish up the date arc but its done, technically only the first part of this chapter is the end but at the same time, sooooooo been wanting to have this chapter.