"...Why is no one here?"
Despite coming back home at the ripe hour of noon, Finral and Nalé found their base dark and devoid of life, floor strewn in alcoholic bottles.
The latter was to be expected, the Black Bulls were raging alcoholics after all, but they had expected their friends to accompany those bottles, at least.
They were dissapointed.
They had anticipated coming home to cheers and hugs.
They received silence instead.
Nalé turned to Finral.
"Wanna go looking for them?" she whispered tugging him along with her.
"Sure." he said as he stumbled behind the enthusiastic woman.
The searched through the sleeping quarters, the bath, the kitchen and library, and still found no one.
"Hmph" Nalé grunted, looking around.
"Where have we not looked so far, Finral?"
Finral who was panting on the wall beside the woman spoke up. "We haven't been to the rooms that mostly stay at the top of the building, nor have we been to the rooms in the basement."
"Let's head up top," she says, determined to find them.
She marched up the steps to the 3rd highest level of the base.
Someone must be here, she thought. There hasn't been a mission that has required all of the Black Bulls to leave the base thus far, so she was sure at least one person could still be going on and about in the hideout.
"This hall seems interesting" Nalé says as she steps up into the hallway full of undiscovered rooms. She points to a room that had some sort of alchemy symbol on a sign at the top of its door.
They opened the door and peeked inside...it was dark.
They stepped in, sticking their hands to the wall trying to find a switch to turn on the light.
"Aha! Found it" she shrieked, flipping the switch on, only to be attacked with a sudden tackle by the ladies of the squad.
"Surprise!" They screamed.
Confetti clouded Nalé's eyes, disorienting her for a bit. She's confused by the tackle but happy she finally found someone else here.
The confetti settles down and she finally sees the reason for all of the commotion.
In this room is an array of tools and cabinets, each labeled with their appropriate names. There are workbenches, and partitioned sections built for specific purposes. What really got to her though is the bright sign on the wall she was facing titled "Nalé's Workshop."
Her face was marred in shock, her eyes twinkling with joy, and mouth open in wonder.
She turned to the girls, and found the rest of the squad had joined them.
"This is for me?" she asked excitedly, jaw seemingly open permanently, in awe at the new space and all the tools.
They all nodded, smiles on their faces.
Vanessa stepped forward to announce the reason for this room.
"When were heard about the extent of your injuries we decided we'd build this room to show you how much we appreciate you, and to congratulate you for your good work. You guys even earned a star from the wizard King! "
Charmy decided to speak up next.
"Welcome back La! Captain Yami, Magna and Luck worked on building the workbenches an cabinets. Vanessa worked on creating extra magical storage! Grey and Gauche spent time in the library looking up the tools, herbs, materials. And I Charmy Pappitson went on an expedition for the materials. You're welcome!"
"Aw, thank you charmy" she said softly, hugging the younger woman to her chest.
"You're welcome again Nalé La!" Charmy said, closing her eyes and holding on to the bigger woman.
After the hug, Nalé tried to let Charmy go, but she stayed stuck to her chest, and slept, finding it very comfortable there.
Nalé went to Vanessa next, leaving the little sleeping lady alone on her chest.
"Thank you Vanessa!" she said as she hugged her softly, careful to not crush Charmy.
"You're welcome dear, meet me a little later so we can talk ok?" The purple haired woman said as she winked at the taller woman.
"Alright."
Then she went around the room hugging all the members in thanks.
First to Yami, who only allowed her to hug him for 5 seconds before he said "enough" and went back to smoking.
Then came Gauche, who didn't bother to acknowledge her as he stared at Marie's picture.
Grey only let out smoke...as always.
Luck giggled, and jumped around asking her to fight as she hugged him, which she promptly declined.
Magna blushed.
Then came Gordon.
"Hi Gordon," She wiggled her eyebrows at the man, "I missed ya."
He gives her his signature smile, his eyes teary at the thought of his friends suffering.
"Hi Nalé, I missed you too," he whispers, pulling out a gothic doll from under his cape and laying it on Charmy's head.
"Oh," she whispered in awe. "You shouldn't have, Thank you!"
Meanwhile the rest of the team look on at the two confused as to how they're communicating when they can barely hear them.
She gives Gordon, a soft hug, comforting her friend, before letting go.
"Now that the love fest is over, let's go check out Finral's room." Yami says in his husky voice, alerting the rest of the members.
"I get a room?!" Finral exclaims.
"Yea, we didn't forget about you, you little shit."
Finral smiles and runs to the taller man to give him a hug, only to be stopped by his head as Yami holds on to it. Yami stares at the younger man for a second.
This kid almost died, might as well let him indulge for a second.
He lets go and Finral barrels into him, Yami pats his head, comforting him. "There there kid, It's gonna be ok. We still have to go see your room though so let's go."
The black bulls drifted out of Nalé's newly built workshop and into Finral's.
As they streamed into his room, the captain announced new information to the rest of the members.
"I know I always say surpass your limits a lot , but I don't want you all to kill yourselves on the missions you go to. I've decided to be more careful in the missions I give to each one of you. From now on, they'll depend on your power level and experience.
Still, I won't baby you. If the mission is dangerous I'll just send more of you out to it, understand?"
"Yes Captain!"
Finral's room mostly consisted of books about magic specific to portals and maps. There was a table strewn with chairs at the center, with figures resembling nature and monsters so that he could strategize his portals.
While Finral is busy fanboying over the variety of items in his room , Nalé hobbles over to Yami, tapping his shoulder.
Yami turns to face her, raising his eyebrows.
"What is it?" he asks, smoothly blowing out his smoke to the side.
"You told me we were going to talk last time you came to visit us."
"Yea" he grunted out.
"Might as well do it now. Follow me."
They signal their leave to the rest of the group and go to the room next door for some privacy.
____________________________________________________________________
"Cough!"
Nalé and Yami sat at a a round table, just staring at each other...
"I understand that whatever happened in that room was not a pleasant experience, so I will not ask you for any specifics." he said slowly, trying to navigate this sensitive subject in the best way he could.
"There might be magical operations to make sure you didn't get any diseases or any lasting side effects from what occurred"
Yami tried his best to be professional and stoic, but being cautious was not his thing and this topic not something he's had to speak on before.
Nalé's eyebrows furrowed.
"Diseases, what do you mean by that?"
"Owen told me that you had bruising in some private places, so I assumed that bastard did something."
"Oh" she whispered, finally getting what he was hinting at.
"It didn't get that far, I killed him before it could."
"Good." He visibly relaxes in his chair.
"I do have a question though."
"Ask away"
"Do you have therapy in this world?"
His piercing eyes stared her down as he answered "There's magical therapy, where you can ask people to wipe your memory or something like that."
"But no place, where you can talk about your problems with a professional?"
"No."
"Hm, weird."
____________________________________________________________________
Today was the day Nalé would get her grimoire.
After almost a month of coming to this world and going through a number of trials and tribulations, she was finally going to figure out what magic affinity she had.
She looked up at the towering building in front of her, teeth gnawing in impatience.
She felt a hand lay softly on her shoulder and looked back at its owner.
"Don't be nervous." Gordon whispered, sporting the usual all teeth smile on his face.
She smiled back at him, her nerves cooling down a bit, and entered the building.
Almost immediately she was knocked back by the sensation of an extreme chill flowing throughout her body.
She regained her footing and marched forward despite the sensation. It hurt, but she's felt worse.
She walked until she stood at the center of the Grimoire tower, eyes scanning through the books, trying to decipher where the familiar aura she's feeling in her body is coming from.
Her book decides to make a flashy appearance, shining from the top of the tower, speeding towards her as if it had been waiting centuries for this moment.
She catches it with ease, but body seizing up as the feeling of pins and needles increases throughout her body.
Shit, she thinks. If I wasn't already used to Luck shocking me on the daily, I would've already been on my knees right now.
The feeling gets stronger, the book pulsates and brightens as if testing her, she does not wield.
She remembers the feelings she felt when she was watching black clover, Asta's unyielding determination powered her through many moments in her life, this was nothing compared to what she's experienced so far.
After a minute or so of the grimoire testing her, it stops pulsing all at once, and the pins and needles fade. The book finally lets itself be handled, choosing its new owner.
"Whew" she whistles and turns to Gordon, lifting the hefty book , wiggling it in excitement.
"Look! Doesn't it look so cool?" she says running up to him.
Gordon having witnessed the interesting sight, is amused by his friend's sudden change of disposition.
He nods as he meets her halfway.
She carefully studies her book's exterior.
It's color is dark green with golden vines adorning the exterior and at the center is a...snowflake?
"A snowflake?" she says in question.
Nalé looks up at Gordon, and presents the book to him, What does this mean?
"Maybe it's because you're not from the clover Kingdom?
"Hm, maybe."
Her book is a decent size but it's endless pages make it weigh as much as a old encyclopedia.
"I have the book, and I feel something within me, something cold and sharp, but I have no idea how to use it... I'll check it out later."
"Let's go shopping, Gordon." She leaps and runs out of the tower with a blinding smile, heading to the nearby common marketplace.
"Wait for me, Nalé" he whispers as he speed walks after her.
____________________________________________________________________
It had been a few hours since the two started shopping together.
Nalé had racked up a lot of money from her last mission, so she was going all out.
She bought materials for her workshop, new clothes and bought each of the black bulls gifts to show her appreciation.
All was going well until she felt a cramp in her lower back.
She stumbled a little.
"Nalé, is something wrong?" Gordon asked, as he carried his two shopping bags of doll making materials.
She walked up to him, and touched his arm , pulling him aside from the bustle of the market.
Her eyes twitched as she tried to act normal, and maintain some semblance of normalcy.
She gestured for him to lean down, and whispered against his ear, "I'm on my period."
Goddamn! She thought, they never mentioned this in all the fanfiction I read, I thought it magically went away when you came to a new world. I still have to suffer from this shit?
Fuck this!
Gordon leaned back, sputtering at the suddenness of her announcement, quickly attempting to compose himself.
She pulled him softly back to her and continued whispering "I have an important mission for you, friend. I need new pants, pads and...underwear... and it'd be nice of you if you could point me to the nearest restroom."
His face turned impossibly red, and he stayed gaping for multiple seconds as Nalé only stared at him to get over it, so that this all could be over already.
"You good now?" she said, her feet tapping onto the stone floor impatiently.
"Yea," he whispered.
"Ok, so where's the nearest restroom?"
Gordon gestures to the alleyway to their right. "It's that way."
"Ok, Thank you so much Gordon."
Before she turns to the alleyway, she gives Gordon a sack of coins, and says "Please buy them as soon as possible and get back to me please."
She gives him a quick hug for encouragement and runs to the bathroom.
Gordon steels himself and faces the marketplace.
He gulps, and walks into the chaos.
____________________________________________________________________
"What do you need this for boy?"
Gordon had just finished buying a variety of pads for Nalé and now he was in the Women's underwear section of a nearby shop.
"A-a friend." He whispers, face flushed.
The elderly merchant of the store did not understand one word of what the customer in front of her said but she decides to move on and trades the black underwear for a couple of coins, ignoring his constipated look.
The pants were easy to buy, he decided to buy something a size larger than the size he thought she was, for comfort, and left to return back to the lady in the restroom.
He hurried to the bathroom, sweat coating his face blatantly showing the extent of the stress his shopping escapade had cost him.
____________________________________________________________________
Nalé and Gordon are currently walking side by side, the marketplace long gone behind them.
Ever since the period incident, the awkwardness between them was palpable.
They walked on, stealing unsure glances at each other before Nalé suddenly decided she's had enough.
She abruptly stopped, Gordon following her example, stopped as well, looking back at her, eyebrows raised as if to ask "What is it?..."
She puts her hands on her hips and marches up to him.
"This," she says, gesturing heavily at the space between them, "is awkward."
"I don't want it to be awkward between us. As an advocate and a believer of solving your problems as soon as they appear, I think we should talk about this. "
She looks around for a bit and spots an ice-cream shop.
Perfect, she thinks.
"Let's go get some ice cream!"
She pokes at his hand, looking up at him with her sharp striking eyes.
"May I, Mr. Gordon?"
A blush colors his face , but he quickly takes hold of her hand, before the opportunity passes and runs to the ice cream shop with her in tow.
____________________________________________________________________
"I've just realized something..." she points her spoon towards the man sitting opposite of her.
His eyes are unblinking, fixated on her swarthy complexion, and how her eyes looked full of joy to be speaking to him out of all people.
His eyes trailed down becoming enraptured in the way her buxom lips shifted in the most delicate way, pronouncing ordinary words in the most sumptuous voice he's ever heard.
He began to reminisce on their interactions thus far. From the moment he found her in that forest laying gently, unguarded, as if there were no dangers lurking around.
He found it all so odd, that she's been so casual with him from the beginning, and how she was able to understand him so quickly, unlike anyone he's ever met before.
For the first time, he's met someone who didn't flinch at his smile, who's never called him creepy or odd.
Accepting him came easy to her...like breathing.
Yet here he was, still unable to accept himself when she had done it so easily. He was envious of her of for that, but relieved as well.
Meanwhile Nalé had long stopped talking, once she figured out that her friend had been lost in his mind.
She took another bite out of the cold delicious desert, taking this opportunity to study the man in front of her further.
He had taken off his hat when he walked into the establishment. It lay on the table next to his slowly melting blueberry ice cream.
The hat had ruffled his usually slicked back hair, and a couple of strands dangled in front of his magenta eyes, giving him a different look than usual.
Nalé sighed relaxing into the comfortable atmosphere of their silence.
He elbow rested against the table, cheek in hand as she leaned forward to admire the man.
"You are a captivating man, Gordon Agrippa," she whispered absently, mind already swimming in the calming vibe she felt in his presence.
That snapped him out of his mind.
"Thank you," he answered softly, gulping down a giant spoonful of his ice-cream trying to devour his embarrassment which happened to be brightly evident on his once pale cheeks .
She coughed and mumbled out a small "You're welcome."
She had forgotten what she had meant to say earlier but she did remember the reason she came to the ice cream shop.
"Earlier," she started, fingers drumming on the table, "Why did you become so awkward after I had the incident with my menstrual cycle, is it a taboo subject in the clover Kingdom?"
"No," he answered with ease. "I was simply not expecting that. I'm already not great at communicating. I assumed you'd feel awkward talking about it so I didn't pry any further. Plus, It was the first time I had ever gone to the store to buy feminine products and the owner was not really an easygoing person." He sighed, sorry that his miscommunication had caused her to feel awkward.
She smiled, glad to know that it was nothing serious.
"I see. I was embarrassed that it came at an unexpected time, sorry to dump all of that on you so fast."
"It's alright" he answered leaning back into his chair.
"If anything like that ever comes up again, tell me, I'll be more prepared next time."
"Got it... And if you ever start bleeding out of your... you know," she gestures down at him. "Tell me so that I can- I don't know what I'd do exactly..."
An abrupt chuckle escapes out her mouth at the absurdity of her statement. He shakes his head in amusement, chuckling as well and answering "I'll be sure to let you know , when it happens."
She nods, grinning mischievously shifting the topic unto his dolls and crafting skills, interesting and possibly disturbing concepts are mentioned, but it's all in good fun.
They're in their own little world now.
They spend the rest of the day there, laughing at each other's absurdity and basking in the warmth of their friendship, until night falls.