fire flower; leopold vermillion x oc [Black Clover]

Chapter 2: Mission

It's been three days since the run-in with Leopold Vermillion, and so far I've collected two stars out of the four missions I went on. Yesterday, Captain Fuegoleon told me that he had a special team mission prepared in mind, and now I'm waiting anxiously in my room, killing time before I have to meet him and my mystery partner. What if Captain Fuegoleon sets me up with someone way above my level? Or someone way below? I shake my head. Don't be stupid! Captain Fuegoleon knows what he's doing! If he thinks you can work well with who he matches you up with, then you can!

Ten chimes, loud and clear, ring through my room, jolting me up and out. I burst into the hall, satchel and sword draped over me, broom in hand. Captain said to meet him at 10:15am, but I should get there early just to be safe.

I reach the main room in no time, slowing to a tentative walk as I approach the great doors. My heart is a big ball of nerves pounding in my chest, but I try to calm myself down, sitting on a bench just outside of the meeting spot.

Minutes crawl by excruciatingly slowly, but then the door to the meeting room opens, and one of the top ranking officers in the squad walks out. Meekly, I shuffle into the room. Red carpet covers the floor, and banners decorated with the squad's symbol adorn the walls. Captain Fuegoleon sits at a wooden desk in front of me, hunched over a document. A stack of papers rests at his right and pens and ink at his left. He scribbles something down before looking up and saying, "Ah, Ms. Ebonelle. Yes, I wanted to meet for the team mission. Your partner will show up sooner or later, so please, have a seat." He motions to the benches on the side, and I sit, clutching my satchel.

An eternity seems to pass as I sit on the bench, my body stiff and tense, soaking in anxiety. Ugh, who is my partner? And why are they this late? I look up at the gilded clock and see that it's already 10:20am. Don't they know how to be punctual?  All of a sudden, I hear the door click open, and I eagerly turn my head, only to see... Leopold Vermillion?!

Shock splashes across both of our faces as our eyes meet, but it only lasts for a second before we both turn away. This has to be some kind of mistake! Maybe he's only here to meet up with his brother over family matters! There's no way the Captain would put me with someone of his caliber! He's much more experienced and he hates commoners!

I will myself to stay still, telling myself over and over that Leopold isn't actually my partner and that maybe they are just super late. But everything falls apart when Captain Fuegoleon raises his head and says, "Look who's here. About time you showed up, Leo. Your partner's been waiting for you."

Oh boy. This mission is going to be so fun.