Chapter 9: Enter the Black Bulls

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It was morning

Dean was sleeping on his bed which was near the wall inside a small room that had a shelf above the bed and a nightstand with a jag of water and a bowl on it while, on the other edge of the room, was a table with a light and near was a self filled with books.

"Yawn."

Dean woke up after a night of good sleep and then stood up, opening the window to fill the room with fresh air "This is my first day as a Magic Knight of the Black Bulls." he said to himself excited and then realized "I must go get the girls ready." he said as he closed the window and prepared to get dressed.

After getting dressed, he went out to the hallway and firstly knocked on the door at his left "Serena, are you awake?" he asked as he knocked on the door which then opened. Serena then greeted him while already dressed up.

"Good morning Dean. Thank you for thinking about me." she said happy and thankful, with him smiling.

"Let's go pick up Helen too." suggested Dean and both went to the room that was the one at the right of his own and he knocked, but no response came after a minute. "Helen, are you awake?" he asked but still no answer came "Do you think she overslept? Should we enter?" he asked Serena whispering, with her nodding, "Excuse us for-," he said but then froze.

In front of them was Helen who was wearing her pants and shoes but she was on the floor with her unworn bra beneath her, with Dean and Serena seeing her naked back and getting a glimpse of side boobs much to their embarrassment and Helen's own who snapped out of her half sleepy state "GYAHHH!!!" she shouted "HOW DARE YOY ENTER A MAIDEN'S ROOM WITHOUT PERMISSION!" she shouted in a mix of embarrassment and anger. Dean was left in ecstasy from what he saw, only for Helen's pillow to be thrown at his face "GET OUT!" she demanded.

Five minutes later

Helen went out in the hallway where Dean and Serena were waiting and they saw her, with both looking at the ground embarrassed "ekhem" coughed Helen to get their attention "I have to apologize. You two got worried about me and I acted like that." she said apologetic, with them having a warm smile on them.

"It's ok" said Dean.

"To be honest, I'm not so tidy and organized as a girl, but I made a vow to become better!" she ended up saying with a passionate determination as if it was a matter of life and death, with Dean and Serena not knowing how to respond.

"A-Anyway, shouldn't we go downstairs?" asked Serena, with them doing that only to see Kai waiting for them while leaning on the wall.

Kai had his right foot, back, and head against the wall. He looked over at the newest recruits end shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like you three got the Black Bulls attitude under lock and key." He then walked towards the trio, "Alright, you three aren't the only recruits we got recently. Let's head down and meet everyone else."

The trio got confused and Helen then spoke up "Um, yesterday it was the three of us only, how come we have new ones?" she asked Kai confused.

"Hm? The captain doesn't stick to just recruiting people through exams. Some of us were recruited by different methods. For example, a protege of mine was recruited by my recommendation. We also have our more seasoned members here too."

Dean and the girls were amazed by what they heard "Captain does something like that instead of only gambling and drinking huh? However, we would love to meet them sir Kai!" said Dean whose enthusiasm was shared by the girls.

"You wouldn't think someone like me would just follow some drunk, right? Ha!" Kai then turned around and led the way, "Why don't you guys tell me a bit about yourselves? Like, your magic affinities?"

"I'm using Beast Magic sir." replied Dean "I have only four close combat spells at the moment, however, I aspire to obtain spells for different situations" he ended up say determined and excited.

"I'm using Scan Magic," said Serena next "I can for the moment create drones and scan for weaknesses, but I can naturally see through objects if I like." she replied proudly.

"I'm using Forge Magic, sir Kai." said Helen "I have created a halberd of thunder, my armor, two swords of fire and light and one..." she tried to say but then stopped and looked down a little bit sad, much to the curiosity of Dean, Serena and especially Kai who then looked forward and had a kind smile on his face.

Kai walked over to Helen and kindly asked, "What's the matter? Something bothering ya?"

"Ν-Νο sir, I'm fine. It's just...this one was created in a moment in which I simply can't recognize myself the more I recall it in my memory. When compared to my other swords, it surely is the most destructive....and one I swore to never use but for one reason only, one which I hope never has to come." she explained, with the three of them feeling the sadness, bitterness, and the anger in her voice. She then raised her head which was smiling "Anyway, it's my first day as a Magic Knight so I won't let anything ruin it!" she exclaimed happily and fired up, with the other sighing in relief. They then almost reached the main hall from which intense noise was heard, with the reason being shocking for Dean and the girls while Kai simply facepalmed and shook his head in disappointment.

"Grahhh! Get back here! You're dead, you hear me!? Dead!" A voice of a young girl shouted and could be heard through the hallway to where they were. Once they arrived at the main room at the entrance of the base which also serves as the gathering room for its members. The room was littered with trash, dirty clothes, and junk scattered all over the place and had various furniture toppled over. The walls were covered in stains and scorch marks and even had crumbling holes in them. It was reeking of booze, various odor, and smoke and was an all-out mess as far as the eye could see. Within that room, various two young girls and a young man were in the middle of a dispute.

A young girl with glossy pink hair tied into pigtails wearing less than revealing clothes was in the midst of charging at the young man with unruly black hair tied back in a low messy ponytail at the base of his neck wearing a nice suit and tie but managed to dodge it. "Stop running like a scared little girl, Takato. If you think I'm going to let you get away with that stupid comment, you got another thing coming."

"My comment wasn't that bad to make you all mad like this, but I do dress better after all. Look at what you are wearing, you look like a slut Coco." Takato looked a Coco with a smile on his face as he dodged a hit from the younger girl. "Also, I'm not running, I'm just moving out of the way of your big gorilla hands."

The veins on Coco's forehead seemed ready to pop from anger at Takato's words “WHAT?!” She cried furiously. “You think you're so perfect, don’t you? Do you seriously think your looks make you smarter than me? How about I rearrange your ugly face so you look stupider than you actually are!” She threatened, colliding her fist with her other getting ready to attack.

"Now you are putting words in my mouth, all I said was that I dressed better. That has nothing to do with smarts, little captain, but if you want a fight, I'm more than ready." Takato said as he started to unsheathe his sword. "Get ready, little captain."

Coco was growling even more irritated "Grrr! Stop calling me little captain!" She cried out in anger.

"Can you two please stop flirting for a moment? We have guests." A girl with long pink hair tied into a side pigtail said as she gripped the edge of her white dress showing how nervous she was to meet the people at the entrance.

Hearing Yurie speak out caused even more veins to appear as she was about ready to burst from anger with blushing cheeks. "You want to say that again, Yurie? Don't you ever pin me with a guy like that!" She shouted while pointing at him.

As all that fighting was happening, Dean and the girls were looking at all that completely stupefied "*Where in the world did we come*?" they thought collectively, but then they smiled "It sure is lively here." whispered Dean.

"Yes." replied Helen smiling.

"They say the more people bicker and fight among themselves, then the more they love and care for each other. It's such a good and sweet thing." commented Serena to the others' agreement as they were watching the scene.

Viviana couldn't have cared less about the newcomers, leaning against one of the many pillars that held up the dingy castle, a decadent silver wand twirled one of her pigtails as she sat and digested the events. It wasn't so long ago that she was the newcomer and all the attention was on her! Unfair how the spotlight shifts so quickly.

The young girl looked all around, seeing the argument she could only scoff. "God, everyone here is so childish." She huffed. The irony in this statement was that Viviana herself had been involved in many of those skirmishes herself, and caused even more of them.

Instead, Viviana scratched her head, her way of lighting up the bulb and turning those gears in an attempt to find her way back into the center of attention, where she believes she always belonged.

Coco's ear twitched at the sound of Viviana from across the room and turned to face her with an angry expression. "Huh, did you say something, Viviana?" She cried out.

Viviana was especially close to Coco, being close friends that are always competing with each other. As a high strong and danger-loving girl, Coco is commonly feared by other members, but Viviana never felt the need. In fact, the two had a lot in common, so much so they were grouped as friends or buddies by many others.

"Well not that it's really any of your business, but as a matter of fact, I did." Viviana flipped a pigtail behind her before putting her hands on her hips and taking an 'im better than you in every way' type stance. "I can't believe you guys are getting so worked up for a petty reason like that. An elegant maiden such as myself would never get worked up like brutes like you." The arrogant black bull added a humph for extra measure.

"Oh, is that right!?" Coco shouted angrily.

"Now now, Coco just settle down." A woman spoke behind her. A slim, young woman of above-average height with long, slightly wavy waist-length pink hair wearing a gallant dress that would be befitting of a noble was seen attempting to clean up the mess in the room. "You shouldn't be so violent to your friends like that." The woman said calmly, her voice speaking with a soft and gentle tone.

Coco slid over to her, pointing and waving her hand over to Takato. "But Juno! That idiot over there started it!" She whined and complained.

Takato put his hand over his heart as he took offense to the word idiot. "How am I an idiot, you little brat plus you should listen to your sister, you might be likable then."

"Grrr, oh shut up!" Coco shouted at Takato. "The only thing you are to me is my personal punching bag!" She held up her trembling fist, eagerly prepared to charge over and punch him in the face but was being held back by Juno.

"Stop it Coco!" Juno struggled to hold her back, slowly being dragged.

"Lemme go! Lemme at em!" Coco frantically cried out more.

During all the commotion, footsteps were heard marching from the hallway as the captain made his way to the main room as he approached Kai and the rookies from behind. He let out a loud yawn before he took in a huge breath. "Damn it, will you keep it down!" He yelled out. His voice echoed throughout the entire room, instantly grabbing everyone's attention, stopping their argument on the spot. Amidst the now silent room, the captain scratched the back of his head. "Sheesh, I was having such a nice sleep." He yawned again exhausted.

Everyone turned towards him and greeted the captain a good morning. "Oh hey daddy!" Coco called out in excitement.

"Good morning, father." Juno politely bowed like a noble greeting their superior.

Alana came out from the back in response to the captains entrance, as she has been watching over them this whole time.

Korag walked over to a part of the room and grabbed a bottle of booze from his stash and began chugging it. "Gahhh. Alright, gather around, all of you." He announced to his squad members as they dropped what they were doing and gathered around him as he stood next to the new recruits. "Starting today, these three here are our newest squad members. Show them some hospitality." Korag looked over to his Vice Captain. "Hey Kai, go ahead and introduce everyone." He said as he made his way the couch and took a seat to watch as he chugged from his bottle even more, laying his responsibility onto him like always. "Gahhh."

"But I was gonna catch up to paperwork." Kai argued before he saw Korag take a seat. He then sighed and thought to himself, "*I sometimes question my life decisions...*" Kai walked over to the new recruits.

"Listen up!" He ordered for the rest of the bulls' attention. His usual kind voice replaced with a much more stern one. The sound of his shoes echoed through the now silent base as he looked at everyone. Miniature suns appeared over each of the members head's, casting a spotlight on each individual member.

"We have Coco, youngest daughter of our dru- I mean our captain. She's wild and rather loud." Kai announced before the sun casted over the young mage dissipated. "Next, we have her cru- mean we have Takato he's wild and has a temper." The sun above his head also vanished.

"We do have Viviana as well. She's pretty wild when need be but is usually nice. Just don't piss her off." The sun over Viviana's head vanished. "Yurie here is wild but is also pretty crafty when need be." The sun over her head disappears.

"You've met our resident spatial mage, Alana, she can be wild but is almost always calm." The sun then vanished from above her head. "Next we have Juno..." Kai briefly paused almost as though he held something back. "She's uh, anyway, she's the eldest daughter of our Captain. She's dependable and acts as everyone's older sister." The sun vanished from above her.

"For example, we have our sleeping ogre here who should have been maintaining order while I'm gone, Kentaro. Lastly, of course, we have our dru- Captain of the Black Bulls, he who can out drink a bar full of alcoholics, Korag!"

"We do have other members of the squad that are either not here or out doing something." Kai finished his brief descriptions over the rest of the squad while walking towards a desk with a few files with papers in them. "Now of course you know me already, but if you all will excuse me, I have paperwork to catch up on."

Nice to meet, you everyone!" shouted the trio excited while bowing "Thank you for your hard work, sir Kai!" they said thankful. "I'm, Dean, Serena, Helen" they said while introducing themselves "Thank you all for having us!" they said excited while bowing again much to Juno's and Coco's excitement while Viviana gave a warm smile but Takato seemed indifferent.

Coco stood up and got up close to their faces, examining them up close, "So, you guys are like, the noobs?" She asked curiously. "Wow, I totally didn't even notice you until now." She said with an excited grin, not realizing how rude she was being. She jumped up and landed in between the girls, putting her arms around them and using her strength to shove them close into a form of a welcoming hug, almost chocking them. "This is awesome! We'll get along great!" She cried out excitedly, clutching them even tighter in her arms. "We'll go on lots of missions and beat up bad guys into a huge bloody mess that they'll be begging us to spare their miserable lives." She explained with a happy tone while paused for a bit. "Doesn't that sound like fun?" She cheered once again, tightening her hold on the new girls.

"Agh..too..too tight..can't breathe!" said the girls while under her hold, with her then having a realized look and let them go immediately  and Helen began relieving her neck along with Serena "I believe we will really get along great, Coco" said Helen while having a warm smile along with Serena and extended her hand to her.

Coco grabbed her hand with both of hers and excitedly shaked it at a fast pace. "Thats the spirit! Welcome to the squad!"

"Thats enough Coco, give them a break!" Juno said pushing her back. "My apologies, she can get carried away a lot." She informed bowing her head in show of her manners.

"It's ok, Miss Juno, the girls are really understanding, me too." explained Dean relaxed while the girls nodded in agreement.

“Alright so, before we move on, there's someone else I want you to meet.” Korag scanned the room. “Hmm, though they appear to to be missing. Alana, do your thing.” He insisted.

“Right away Captain.” She then took out her grimoire and flipped over to a specific page as it glew. A portal opened up above them as a large woman came falling through and dropped to the floor covered in a bed sheet.

"Ugah! Ugh, damn it bitch, would you stop doing that? I was having a such a good sleep." The woman said attempting to get out of the sheet. Once she got up she let out a big yawn as the sheet fell off her revealed a muscular woman whos torso completely lacking of any clothes and her hair a wild mess. "So what do you want this time old man? I'm busy with important work." She asked Korag, making up an excuse. She said and saw the new recruits and turned to face them. "Who the hell are these twerps?" She asked in a completely unimpressed manner.

The trio was dumbstruck, being with their mouths wide open from shock, shock from both how stacked and muscular she was and the carefree nature that didn't make her shy at all for being seen naked and the girls covered Dean's eyes "W-We are Dean, Helen, Serena, nice to meet you, ma'am!" they ended up shouting after their introduction while bowing before her, with them still being nervous due to the visage and looking at the ground.

"Ok...sup...Do ya need something?" She asked them in a mediocre tone.

Korag took a gulp from his bottle “Gahh. Kids, I'd like you to meet Rhea, she's the second vice captain we've got here. Rhea, these guys are the new recruits. Their anxious to become members of the Black Bull Squad.” He spoke out behind her with a devious smirk.

Rhea tilted her head down. "Oh, really?" She wondered calmly. She leaned backwards taking a deep breath. "WELL, TOO DAMN BAD!" She shouted loudly, her screams echoing out past the castle. She slammed her hand to the ground creating a shockwave that blew them threw the exit door to outside taking out parts of the wall in the process.

"You honestly expect me to accept you as Black Bulls, newbies? You twerps wouldn't even pass for Magic Knights." She said as she made her way outside, pulling out a cloth from her pocket and opening up into a black worn and torn coat that she put on, covering her chest. She also reached back and pulled out a torn hat that she put on as well. "What reason do you have to be Magic knights, huh? So you can goof off and relax? Or maybe you have some big dream or ambition you want to fulfil? Magic Knights risk their lives to protect the lives of the citizens, we live in constant danger each time we put our robes on, one mistake can and will result in lives lost either your own or the comrades beside you. It isn't fun and games for children like you to be a part of. A person's true nature is exposed during crisis that we deal with some are ordinary some are just unpleasant to see." She pulled out a Black Bull's robe. "You honestly think you're capable of wearing the robes of the Black Bulls?" She reached into her pouch on her hip and pulled out her grimoire. "Then, you need to prove your worth by taking this book out of my hands. But, don't think this is just a test to prove your worth or anything stupid like that. If you let up, show hesitation, or make any mistakes, I will kill you." She said in a cold and serious tone. "Lets see you fight for your lives rookies!" She shouted at them with a commanding attitude

"Hey Ma'am ... you surely have a harsh way with words...and temper." commented Dean in complain from the pain of being sent flying, but then got up with a serious look "But, if doing your test can make you accept us, then let's get this thing going!" he said  while pumping his fists fired up, with the girls giving a determined look.