YOSHIKO AND YUNO stood together, holding hands as birds flew around pecking other people. She wanted to pet them but they were running away from her. So she held Yuno's hand to somehow cope with her depressed state.
"It's okay, Yoshiko, you'll be fine," Yuno reassured her. She gave him a nod and smile. He too, smiled slightly at her.
"Aw man, I'm getting nervous,"
"Why are these birds pecking us? So annoying!"
"They're the exams venues, anti-magic birds! The less mana you have, the more they peck you!"
"Hey look! Those two don't have any,"
"Those are... The ones are chosen by the four-leaf and Blizzard!"
"They look like a couple..."
"Hehehehe... One of us is going to be the Wizard King. Our legend starts here, Yoshiko, Yuno," Asta says to them. Of course, he doesn't look serious due to all the birds pecking and pulling him.
"I'll show you the results of my six months training with Yoshiko... Ow ow ow ow!!!" Asta started yelling and running around.
"What the heck is up with these birds!?" He asked trying to get rid of them. Yoshiko gave chase too, trying to help Asta and at least pet one of them.
Asta ended up bumping into a much older man with Yoshiko accidentally hitting Asta who once again bumped into the man. Yoshiko bowed with an apology. Asta rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry about that," He said.
The man much older than them (well to Yoshiko and not Asta), glared at them.
"Do you runts want to die?" He asked. But after looking at Yoshiko, he blinked a few times.
She looked so familiar. Her eyes, her face, most importantly, the way she smiled. All of them resembled that woman.
"Wow, you look really old for a kid! You must have it really rough on you!" Asta said trying to be friendly.
Silence.
The man grabbed Asta's head. "Looks like you're ready to die," He declared. "Gwaaaaaa!!! Yoshiko, please help me!!!" Asta yelled.
The man blinked again.
Yoshiko? Then it's no coincidence. Eh, if she comes here then I'll kill her too.
"Come over here brat and I'll kill you," The elder man threatened. But Yoshiko wasn't intimidated in the slightest. She walked up to him and huffed.
Let go of Asta! He still owes me tatoes!
"Ah, there you are Mister Yami! What are you doing down here? Sheesh," An older boy with brown hair asked.
"Huh? I'm about to wring his neck and then the girl's," Yami said casually.
"Uh, please don't do that. As a magic knight captain, you shouldn't be killing the examines," The boy says. "What are you doing down here anyway?"
"I went to take a dump and got lost," Yami explained.
Captain...? For some reason, I want to be in his squad... He seems familiar.
"Hey is that?"
"Finral Roulacase? The rare spatial magic user! Famous for hitting on women som much it's a hindrance to his duties!"
"Hey there," He said winking at Yoshiko who tilted his head cutely at his sudden action. The boy's eyes slightly widened as he looked at her familiar silver hair.
Then another older-looking boy with black marks around his with dark lips and really pale skin came. He was mumbling something that you couldn't really understand.
"And that's Gordon Agrippa! The incarnation expert! But he's impossible to talk to. Plus he's scary!"
He doesn't look very scary...
"Then he's the one in charge of them! The lord of destruction, Yami Sukehiro! The captain of the magic knight squad, the Black Bulls!"
"The Black Bulls the cost of the damage they cause exceeds the military exploits... That group is full of scoundrels!"
"I heard not one of them is decent!"
"That's the one magic knight squad I wouldn't want to be in,"
If it's true of what Mr. Revchi said then... He has dark magic. Oh! I have it too! So I have to really stand out if I want to join his squad!
That's when the birds started flying away. Yoshiko couldn't pet one so she internally sobbed. But it was soon replaced by curiosity when she saw a bunch of people at the top. Her eyes lingered to the one in the middle, a masked man. Suddenly, she felt nostalgic from seeing him.
What do I feel like I know him...?
"Thank you for waiting, invited examinees..." The masked man said. His voice was gentle, not a single hint of hatred coming from it.
And yet, Yoshiko could sense some intense hatred. Disgust. Coming deep inside him.
"All the magic knight captains together!"
"Argh! They started without us!" Finral complained.
Yami let go of Asta's head and started walking away. "You're in luck runts. You better appreciate your lives saved. Or else I'm going to kill you," He waved to them. Yoshiko waved back while Asta stood there shocked.
"I'm in charge of this year's exams," The gentle voice said again.
"It's the captain of the Golden Dawn! William Vangence!"
"The top candidate to become the next Wizard King!"
"I heard he took out the general's head in the last battle!" "He's respected by all his comrades!"
"Man I hope I can join the Golden Dawn!"
"No way, only elite aristocrats can join!"
Yoshiko stared at him. His enigmatic violet eyes met with her innocent silver ones. They widen in shock. It hopefully wasn't some pure coincidence.
That girl... I'm sure she's around the same age as...
"Oi, Goldie. Stop staring at her like a pedo and start already," Yami said. Glares from William's squad were shot at him but Yami ignored them.
"Right," William coughed, looking away, blushing.
Flipping open his grimoire, William let out a beautiful spell.
[Magic Tree Descend]
A large tree came out of the sky. it scared a lot of people but Yoshiko's eyes sparkled with amazement. Maybe she could do something similar like that too? But with her ice, of course.
Eventually, a broom came into her hand and she held it staring at it.
Closing his grimoire, William gave them a smile. "We shall now begin the exams,"
-&-
"We're going to have you go through a number of tests. The nine captains will be judging your progress. We shall then select the candidates we want in our squads. Those who do not get chosen by any of the captains lack the need to join the magic knights," William said.
I will get into one! Hopefully the Black Bulls!
"The first test is flying broomsticks," William said.
Bingo! I've seen father do this a hundred times! I even flew with him!
Yoshiko watched as one of William's subordinates begin to fly one shocking everyone.
"Any mage who can control their magic can do this instinctively. It's the most basic method of movement for mages. So if you can't do it, there's no need for you to be here!" William said as the pressure increased.
-&-
"Judging on the way a person can fly their brooms, we can get a good understanding of a person's level. This year, we have a good number of candidates," William said.
He looked at Yuno. All the captains did. He was flying perfectly. Yoshiko was still standing there with her broom in her hands. She stood on the broom and flew up a bit. Once she was comfortable, she went all the way to Yuno.
"Hm!" She said.
"Good job," Yuno said.
She gave him a thumbs up. Then she descended to Asta who was still struggling. She couldn't help since he had no magic. But she gave him encouraging noises which boosted his motivation.
"Huh-ha! You're a funny guy!" A boy suddenly appeared. Yoshiko narrowed her eyes at him. She could smell the fake kindness radiating off him.
"I'm Sekke!" The boy introduced.
"Hey I'm Asta," Asta said. Yoshiko could definitely smell the fakeness. It was intoxicating her nostrils. She grabbed Asta and dragged him away while she had a hand on her nose.
From Yami's eyes, he stared down at her silliness.
She's definitely a strange one... Then again, everyone in her family is like this.
"Interesting..." William muttered as he looked at Yoshiko.
The more she shows, the more hope I have that she is in fact...
Yoshiko could be seen waving to them while Asta tried to fly his broom. They all were stunned that Yoshiko could see them from such a distance. William and Rill both waved back at her which she returned with a cute smile.
But then, the same things that happened in the Grimoire tower happened again. The voices and scents disappeared and were replaced by new people. Yoshiko looked for the silver-haired girl. She wanted to call out to her this time. But instead, it was a blue-haired boy. She couldn't see his eyes.
He stood in front of a nobleman from the Clover Kingdom. The noble had a smug look on his face while the boy had a normal look on.
[Flame Magic: Incineration]
The noble struck out a tornado of flames towards the boy. However, the boy stood in place. Yoshiko's eyes widen to see what happened next. The male had his hand out as the flames consumed him. The noble flipped his hair smugly. But when the flames died down, it was replaced by a look of shock.
The boy hadn't had the tiniest burnt mark on him. Not even his clothes were ripped. But that didn't surprise Yoshiko. What did was the fact that he too, had blue flames. And in a blur, the noble was struck down and slammed into the wall.
"You don't seem to want to call out to him. Are you afraid?" The voice asked.
No.
"Then call out to him. Maybe if it's strong enough, you'll be able to ask him,"
As Yoshiko tried to call out to the boy, the scene faded away and was replaced by her timeline. She watched as Sekke give 'advice' to Asta but she knew that he wasn't. So she dragged Asta away glaring at him.
Her mind wondered why she was seeing those two. She wanted to know more. Who were they and...
Why did they seem so familiar...?