Wake Me Up In The Darkness || Yami Sukehiro X Reader

8 • Not So Bad? •

"Whew..." A sigh full of exhaustion escaped your lips. After having drained yourself off your mana, you sat down on a huge rock to rest. Next to you, there laid a basket that was half-filled with various ingredients. You looked down upon it to eye the contents of the basket. It was filled with edible fruits and mushrooms these woods had to offer. Even though you knew fully well where to find all those specific things in this wood, you actually had no idea just how big these woods were, because you had never wandered somewhere until you had reached a boarder that separated the many parts of the forest.
But today, you decided to go a little further, somewhere you hadn't been yet. That was why you were now heading to a direction full of unfamiliarity for you.

You had actually saved a bit of mana in case you were to get lost so you could comfortably wander with a part of your worry being taken off your mind. And so you walked on until you sensed a presence. Though, unlike the presence of a magic beast, this one wasn't very intimidating. You could also feel an incredible amount of mana. "But their mana isn't as strong as his..."

This time, you were hesitant to approach them and so you debated whether you should get closer or not. But before you could make a decision, you heard a voice coming from next to you. "Big sis?! We meet again!" You were surprised to hear a familiar voice and spot a familiar face when you turned to the side. "Asta?!" The young ash-haired boy smiled gleefully just like a brother would smile at his older sibling. "You're here again? Out here to train, I guess?" Asta nodded eagerly.

After hesitating for a second, you asked him, "Are you here with someone?", whereas the boy answered your question with a nod. "Yeah, I'm with another member from Black Bull! You should come and meet her!" Before you could fully process Asta's words, he had already grabbed you by your hand and pulled you towards an open field that wasn't obscured by monstrous trees. Upon stepping into the field, the light provided by the sun fell on your face, making you squint profusely.
Only when your eyes had accustomed themselves with the sudden brightness, could you clearly view your surroundings. Upon seeing the girl who was the source of the huge amount of mana you could feel, Asta was already steering towards her.
Her hair was a light-blue colour, which she wore in twin-tails and she sported a short dress. When you saw them standing so close to each other while they had a conversation, you noticed something. "They're wearing the same robe!" And now that you had noticed that fact, you had to think back about all the people who you had met until now. "Yami was the first one I met who wore it... And I think those two boys from a little while ago also wore the same robe..." Since the design of the robe was so conspicuous, it had burned itself into your mind without you realising it. "But what exactly is it?" You couldn't wrap your head around about what the robe was, but you were sure that it definitely held a meaning.

But your curiosity was short-lived. There was sudden chaos unfolding before you, startling you to the point of you being frozen on the spot. As you watched the scene that was playing out in front of your eyes, you couldn't do anything but just stand there for a moment.
Wild magic beasts had appeared out of nowhere, running totally wild the moment they arrived at this open spot. After a few seconds of finally realising what was happening, you backed away, not wanting to confront those beasts. And so you instinctively hid in the covers of the leaves in the crown of the nearest tree.
"You two! Watch out!" As you were shouting those words at them, the worry you felt disappeared when you had finished your sentence. With the use of their grimoires, Asta and his companion had defeated those beasts in an instant.

You climbed down from the tree and looked at them in amazement. "They're strong... Just like... Yami." The face of that particular man popped up in your head. You closed your eyes and shook your head. Suddenly, it was as if you had forgotten something. Something important. But you didn't have the time to think it through because Asta called you until he got your attention and so you looked at him. He then began to introduce the girl to you, so your eyes wandered from the boy to the girl next to him.
"This is Noelle! We're both in the same squad, the Black Bulls!" As he said the name of the squad they belonged to, he pointed at the golden symbol on his black robe. Upon him mentioning 'squad', you got curious and couldn't help but ask, "What is this squad you two belong to?" Both Asta and Noelle showed a surprised face when you asked that. "You don't know the Magic Knights?" You shook your head hesitantly. When hearing him ask that question, it became clear to you that the Magic Knights were something a normal citizen of the Clover Kingdom should know.
But even though you were officially a citizen from the Clover Kingdom too, there was no way for you to know since you had never lived somewhere near there like a village, let alone inside the walls of the kingdom, even though you did visit there once but that had only been a very short trip to receive your grimoire.

Asta and Noelle didn't question your lack of knowledge about the Magic Knights and began to explain to you. "The Magic Knights are members of the Clover Kingdom's nine squads of mages who serve as protectors of the country. And all of them are led by the Wizard King." And so they further explained to you about the Wizard King and everything about the different squads.
"... And we're from the Black Bulls, with our captain being Yami." Asta ended his explanation with a short introduction of the Black Bulls. Upon him mentioning Yami's name, you blinked in surprise. "Yami?", you asked, "Yami Sukehiro?" Asta nodded eagerly but showed a surprised expression again right after. "You know captain Yami?" You cocked your head to the side. "Kind of? I've met him a few times..." Then your mind wandered off to think about Yami. After everything you had heard about the Magic Knights, the role of a captain sounded like a pretty big deal for you now. But the way Yami had been acting the three times you had met him so far, you couldn't picture him to have such an important role. "There sure seem to be all kinds of people out there..."

It was as if something suddenly hit you when you whipped your head to look at Asta. The boy had noticed your sudden stare at him and so he cocked his head to the side with a questioning look in his eyes. The reason you were acting like that out of nowhere was, because you realized something. It was, that you couldn't feel an ounce of magic coming from Asta! Only now did you feel the stark contrast of Noelle, who was brimming with powerful mana coming from her and Asta next to her, who didn't have a drop of mana in him. "Asta, you..." You hesitantly started but stopped mid-sentence. You awkwardly looked away from him as you thought it inappropriate to ask him about it and so you remained quiet after throwing him a quick, "It's nothing."

As you now listened to the stories of their adventures since joining the Black Bulls, your mind wandered off somewhere at some point and you found yourself lost in your own thoughts.
"Being in the company of others... is not so bad after all..." As soon as you had thought that, an uncomfortable feeling spread through your stomach but you did your best to try to ignore it. So after directing your focus back to listening to their stories, that feeling gradually faded.
But it seemed that they were already finished with telling their stories, because they were now quiet. Once you returned to the here and now, you smiled at them and said, "It seems that you had quite the adventures. And I think that there will be many more adventures waiting for you even after you reach your goal. But I believe you'll be able to overcome everything if you just believe in yourself..." Your eyes wandered from Asta to Noelle and back before you completed your sentence. "... And your comrades." As soon as you finished your little speech, you pressed your lips together and looked away from them to the side before you put your head in your neck to gaze up into the sky.
"Oh my, look at the time. You kids shouldn't be out in these woods for much longer. You should head back." With this, you abruptly stood to your feet after having grabbed your basket, and began to stride away. With a hasty wave and without looking back again, you disappeared into the depths of the woods.

When you had left quite a distance between you and the two kids, your steps gradually slowed down and you now began to walk in an unhurried pace. As you strode towards your home, the events from before replayed in your head.  "... Believe in yourself? Who am I kidding? I don't have the right to say something like this..."
After you took a deep breath, your mind got clearer and all your previous thoughts gradually dissipated. Then you mumbled to yourself, "I seem to meet a lot of people recently... And that ever since I met him."
You didn't know how to feel about all that had been happening recently. All throughout the 20 years of your life, you had been alone. "... But... was I really alone all the time...?" Unease suddenly spread through your mind, almost causing you to feel sick.

You had now reached your home and once inside, you immediately threw yourself on your bed after having settled down the basket with ingredients onto the table. While laying on your back, you placed one of your arms over your closed eyes. Even though it was already dark, this position felt the most comfortable for you right now.
"Ugh. Enough thinking for today, let's just sleep." And so you tried to put all your swirling thoughts aside to relax and end your day.