There And Back Again [Black Clover x BNHA]

Third Intermission

"Hey Finral! Get your ass over here and make us a damn portal!"

"To where?! I just brought us here!!!"

"Are you ignoring a direct order?"

"N-no sir! Just, uh, wait one moment while I get it ready!"

"That's what I thought."

"Ooh! Look at that over there! Wonder if that town has any good booze in it?"

"We don't have all day. Get that portal going!"

"Wait! I need to go check out that town, see what they've got."

"I still don't know where I'm making this portal to!!!"

Yami grabbed onto Vanessa's robe, preventing the witch from running off towards the town while glaring at Finral who was creating a portal for them. He internally sighed, before dragging the pouting witch over to where the portal floated.

"Where's it going?" Yami asked, peering down at Finral.

"W-where?" Finral stuttered for a moment. "It's going to the edge of the forest line that I can see from here. I-I wasn't sure where to go to but-"

"Great. I don't think those other groups have gone that way yet. Good job."

"Uh... thanks?" The three proceeded to walk into the portal, coming out exactly where Finral had stated it would go. Yami released Vanessa once the portal closed behind them, knowing that there was no chance of her running off any longer. Taking out a cigarette, he began to walk forward, the other two mages quickly following behind.

"Mushroom Head said they disappeared from where we were, but I doubt those knights he sent out actually did their job correctly." Yami mused, taking a drag of his cigarette before pivoting to face Finral and Vanessa. "Clearly we are going to do a better job, so I expect both of you to surpass your limits and find signs of our missing kids."

"Yes sir!" Both shouted, anger flashing in their eyes at the thought of anyone hurting their dear Black Bulls. Yami grinned at this.

"Let's move out!"

For hours the three scavenged the woods, trying to find any trace of the missing mages. When night fell, they stopped at the edge of the tree line, plopping down onto the ground to go over everything they had found.

Which was nothing, obviously.

"I don't understand how they could just vanish into thin air." Vanessa complained, clutching her hat to her chest. "I mean, even a portal can't do that, can it?"

"Sadly yes, although I don't believe they could have gone very far." Finral answered, running his hand through his hair. "Based on everything I know about portal magic, they should theoretically still be within the surrounding area."

"Then why can't we find them?!" The witch cried, throwing herself onto the portal mage.

"I-I don't know."

Yami sighed, glancing at his two Black Bulls. As he went on to say something, a sudden shift in the air drew his attention away. The other two felt it as well, looking where their captain did. All three gasped as their eyes widened at the sight before them.

A portal flickered open about a dozen yards away. In it, the mages could clearly make out figures playing some sort of game, but that isn't what made them rise to their feet and start running towards it.

It was the sight of Asta and Noelle being surrounded by others while loud cheers rang out that made them bolt forwards. All three had their magic ready, grimoires floating next to them as they sprinted towards the portal to try and reunite with their lost Bulls. Just as Vanessa was about to cry out to them, the portal suddenly vanished, leaving as if it were never there before.

The witch collapsed to her knees where it once stood, tears cascading down her cheeks as sobs wracked her body. Finral staggered to a stop next to her, eyes wide and face pale. Even Yami was not unaffected, clenching his katana tightly in his hands as he stabbed the ground harshly with it.

Brokenly, Vanessa looked up at her captain, tears still dripping down her face. "Yami..." She whispered, her voice raw. "Yami... you know what to do, right?"

"O-of course he does..." Finral joined in, also gazing at his captain, tears pooling in his eyes.

And that's what hurt Yami the most.

He may appear gruff and cruel, but inside he cared deeply for all of his family which is what he considered the Black Bulls to be. Seeing them stare at him with such hopelessness in their eyes was like a knife to the heart because he knew that they trusted him wholly and believed that he could make things right. He had saved them once upon a time, so why shouldn't he be able to do anything now?

As he tried to think of what to say, the air shifted once again, this time surrounding the three mages. Multiple portals opened up around them, showing Asta, Noelle, Mimosa, and Yuno playing some kind of game. It was as if they were mocking them, disappearing whenever one of them came too close to it. After many attempts of trying to reach out to one and witnessing Vanessa and Finral becoming more hysterical with every failed attempt, Yami had had enough.

"DARK MAGIC: DARK CLOAKED DIMENSION SLASH!"

Some of the portals were unable to blink out of existence fast enough and so were caught in the magic's path. They split open, the shimmering around them dimming as they brokenly remained open, no longer dancing around. Yami grunted, placing his katana back into its sheath before running forward to one of the larger portals. Finral and Vanessa hot on his heels.

When they stood before one of the broken portals, Yami ducked his head into it, peering around. Further away on the sunny side he saw his mages still completely oblivious to their presence. Finral and Vanessa pushed him aside, leaning out into the portal as well.

Just as the witch was about to call out, tears still trickling down her cheeks, a force threw them all forward, the three mages tumbling out of the portal and into the land where their missing comrades were. The broken portal flickered briefly before disappearing.

Finral pushed himself out from the bottom of the dog pile, hand shooting out and grimoire glowing. He tried desperately to create a portal back home, but nothing appeared. With a strangled cry, he glanced at Yami and Vanessa, the other two realizing that there was no way back as well. Together, the three gazed over at the field where people were starting to become aware of their presence, slightly shocked from all that had just happened within a span of minutes.

Four figures broke out from the crowd that had amassed, running closer and closer towards them. In that moment though, Yami knew he had failed as he watched the joy and hope radiate in his Bulls' eyes because he couldn't bring them back home.There was no making portals to return to the Clover Kingdom. Nothing to slash away at with his sword.

They were all stuck here, and for that reason, he was a failure of a captain.

Yami is not an asshole all the time. He loves his Bulls more than anything else because they are outcasts like he is and he understands how they've been treated. He is soft and doesn't want to disappoint them inside.

I rest my case.

Also, thank you for follows, votes, reads, and comments! You guys are the best!

~Zelinith

PS: I am so close to chopping off my foot... fml.