Oblivion (A Black Clover Story)

Two

I'd hoped that walking through the streets of Kikka might jog my memory, but it was unfortunately not so. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed my time, looking at as many of the merchants' stalls as I could while also trying to keep pace with Asta and Yuno, who were making a B-Line for the stadium where the exam would be held.

This is it... I've trained my magical abilities as much as I could, both with my grimoire and without. Now is my chance to showcase what I can do, and maybe get recognized by someone... Whether that be for my magical talent so I can start a new life or because someone from my old life knows me, I don't really care. I just want to be a Magic Knight!

Once the shop stalls became scarcer, I began following very closely behind Asta. He was the one who I considered myself closest to, considering he alone found me. Because of that, I wanted to follow him to the ends of the earth in support of his dreams. Yuno on the other hand, was a little more cold-hearted, but he still had the right amount of spunk and drive just like Asta, even if he displayed it much differently than his childhood friend. I laughed as the two bickered about who was going to get the best offer to join a Magic Knights squad.

But as soon as the lines to register were in view, the two ran ahead of me to get their spots. I sighed with a soft smile on my face, taking a moment to acknowledge that there was a chance I couldn't have been here right now. I could be dead or severely disabled, at least more so than being blind on one side. For a moment, all I could do was look around at the people and structures around me, hoping that miraculously, I'd recognize somebody. Or maybe someone would recognize me. Anybody. Alas, as I'd suspected, no one came forward after I waited a short while, so I registered a few people after Asta and Yuno.

"My name is Iris," I told the young man behind the counter, handing him my grimoire for registration as all the people before me had done.

"Last name?" he inquired, casting a spell to complete the process.

Something about that struck a cord in me. "Tch. It's just Iris," I said firmly, holding my hand out to receive my grimoire back as I glared daggers at him. 

The man sighed. "Your number is 170."

What a prick.

As I walked into the arena where the testing would be held, I took notice of many people being in their own groups and cliques, while others were in pairs. A few stood alone, and that included Yuno. Above everyone flew dozens of small red, blue and white birds, each with fluffy tails and tufts of feathers atop their heads. Some of the birds flocked towards different mages, while some avoided others.

Doing my best to gauge the competition, I noticed Asta talking with a very tall, muscular man with unkempt black hair and... A Magic Knights robe? Wait a minute... Is he a- ?!

Before I could even finish my thoughts, the man lifted Asta off the ground with just one fist, letting out a tremendous amount of mana as he did so. I began to storm over to the two, "Hey!-" 

But I was interrupted by the voice of a young man with light brown hair. "Oh, there he is! What are you doing down here?" Behind him stood another interesting man with an extremely pale face and black circles around his eyes. It seemed like he was wearing makeup, but... Was he? As the conversation transpired, I discovered from the cries of the people around us that the large man was Yami Sukehiro, the Squad Captain of the Black Bulls. Wow... So that's what a captain looks like? Or maybe... That's just him...? I wasn't sure what to think of the burly captain just yet.

Just then, my hand was grabbed by the young man with brown hair. "Or maybe you'd like to have a drink with me sometime?" He brought the back of my hand to his lips, to which I recoiled quite quickly.