Chapter Text
Finral was minding his own business, deciding which beach-going cutie to chat up next, when he felt the spell. He tensed, eyes going wide. You're kidding me, he isn't going to- But before Finral could finish the thought, he was grabbed by a tendril of darkness and yanked along the beach. The magic shoved him into the ground- mostly harmlessly- but left him buried up to his neck in sand. The other Bulls were lined up beside him, having met the same fate.
Finral glared up at Yami, who was standing over the row of heads with amusement. Headhunter Technique? Really Yami? In the middle of a public beach?
Yami swore up and down that he hadn't come up with it himself. Said he'd copied the spell from the assassins and spies of his homeland. 'Ninja.' Because that didn't sound made up at all.
Most of Yami's mission briefing was probably for Asta's benefit, but Finral listened. It was a little shocking that Yami had actually done his own research for once. Completely unsurprising when Asta got a boot to the face for pointing it out, though.
After Yami was done, he released the spell. Finral yelped as he shot back out of the ground like a cork. Despite the layer of magic keeping them from being crushed or suffocated- the spell was for capture and interrogation rather than damage- Finral was covered in sand. Brushing it off with annoyance, Finral grumbled, “Did you really have to? There are a lot of other ways to get someone's attention, Yami.”
There was a long pause before Yami said, “Yeah, sure are.”
Finral blinked, surprised by both the easy agreement and the unfocused tone. He looked up at Yami. Yami was looking back, face impassive as ever, but there was something in the stillness that Finral couldn't read. Yami didn't speak, and the silence dragged between them. A little concerned, Finral waved at him.
“Yami? Clover to Yami?”
Yami blinked, then scowled. “I'm right here, aren't I? Don't have to get my attention when I'm looking right at you.”
“Got it, got it...” Wondering what had gotten into Yami, Finral glanced after the others. The Bulls had scattered across the beach again. Finral's eyes were drawn to Noelle, walking slowly along the surf, arms crossed like she was hugging herself. Finral watched her with sympathy. It wasn't easy to suddenly bear the weight of expectations when you'd gotten used to disappointing people.
Deciding he didn't want to pursue that depressing thought, Finral turned back to Yami. About to speak, he hesitated when he saw that Yami was still looking at him with that same, weirdly-intense-but-unreadable expression. Rather than get barked at again, however, Finral asked, “So, do the rest of us really have the week off then?”
“What?”
Finral was about to repeat himself when Yami shook his head, expression irritated, and said, “Yeah. Knock yourself out. Just keep handy in case we get really fucking unlucky and those bastards pull something elsewhere while we're here.”
Finral nodded. “Sure thing, Yami.”
There was a whole beach of lovely ladies and Finral was officially off duty. He couldn't quite stop himself from keeping half an eye on Yami anyway. Even when Finral reminded himself that, as a captain, even Yami was probably feeling the stress of the current situation. A little off behavior would be expected. It wouldn't last, Yami didn't let anything get him down.
So with resignation- and nothing else, Finral told himself- he waited for Yami to strip down to a loincloth, same as Magna, and enjoy the beach. Instead, Yami stayed both dressed and on his feet, leaning against a palm tree in the shade by Vanessa. He lit up another cigarette, looking out over the water. Finral couldn't shake the feeling that he was brooding.
Maybe something else is wrong. Frowning slightly, Finral went over to Asta. “That meeting you and Yami went to... Did something happen?”
Asta paused, then looked down. His voice was serious and uncharacteristically upset as he said, “Yeah. But the Wizard King said not to talk about it.”
Frown deepening, Finral looked over at Yami. Yami'd been a magic knight too long to get worked up as easily as Asta. Then again, something important had been discussed or decided if Julius had sworn everyone to secrecy.
Whether it was the meeting or something else, though, Yami was definitely off.
Unable to focus on more flirtatious pursuits, Finral took to the water instead. Tota had been landlocked, but there was a lake, and nobles' kids- those whose parents wanted them to be knights, anyway- had to know how to swim. You never knew when you were going to face a water mage powerful enough to drown the battlefield. Like everything else, Langris had been the stronger swimmer. But like the dancing, Finral hadn't minded the lessons themselves.
The coolness was refreshing in Raque's heat and the easy motions cleared his head. Finral got a little ways from shore, away from the crowds. He wasn't worried about drifting out too far when he could just portal back. Flipping onto his back, he floated for a bit.
Without knowing what was going on, Finral didn't have a solution to the actual problem. But he did know what had helped in the past: distraction. And as a bonus, Finral did have a score to settle. Headhunter's Technique aside, he still hadn't gotten Yami back for the cracks he'd made at Finral's expense in Nean. Asking him to port in take-out, honestly.
They had a week off, but Finral didn't want Yami to spend it brooding. So he ditched any ideas that would take too long to set up. Or anything that would require assistance from Henry, since they weren't staying at base.
But it wasn't until Charmy called everyone back to the beach house for lunch that Finral had the perfect idea. After all, making Yami eat his words was always the best revenge.