The Three Brothers | Black Clover x Male OC[Harem]

Page 11 - Familiar Faces

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Black Clover - The Three Brothers

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"You feeling ready?"

Grey hummed, nervous, adjusting herself in the chair. She took deep breaths, preparing herself for the hurdle she'll face this morning.

"I'm...I'm ready, I...I can do this!"

"Alright! Open your eyes!" Blake encouraged.

Her eyes shot open, holding eye contact with...Nero, perched on Blake's desk, giving her its signature blank look.

Instinctually, Grey's arms tensed up, ready to protect herself from the avian's gaze, and she almost did so, but, not without difficulty, she pushed past that need and did something that surprised her. Initiating a conversation.

"G-Good morning, N-Nero. Are you doing o-okay?"

The bird closed its eyes for a moment, giving Grey a small breather, before it raised its right wing.

A-Ah, that means yes!

"T-That's good to hear. Uhm..." Grey was unsure of how to continue the conversation, just choosing to say whatever came to her next. "D-Do you like mornings, Nero?"

The bird raised its right wing.

"I see. I think...night-time is what I like more."

Nero cocked its head, signaling some form of interest in wanting her to explain.

"W-Well, when it's night, it's easier to hide myself when I have to be out, you know? When people can't see me, I feel more at ease...and I really like how pretty the moon looks!"

Nero nodded along, allowing Grey to speak at her own pace. It's not like it was in a rush to do anything and patience was one of its best qualities.

"A-And, when I'm here...I get to be beside all my squadmates, surrounded by all their...excitement and cheerfulness and..." Grey had a small smile. "Being with them all makes me really happy inside. The happiest I could ever be."

Blake watched on in silence, sitting back against his bedside wall, holding a soft expression towards Grey's effort. Grey had an easier time speaking to Blake—transformed as her—and so he thought this would be the next right step in her social progression.

The conversation between Grey and Nero would only go on for a couple more minutes before Grey reached her limits of eye contact, whispering to herself how she couldn't get through more of it. 

"Well, guess we can conclude this then, for the moment," Blake spoke, the soft expression he had was given to Nero as it flew to his knee, petting the bird's head. "Thanks for the assistance again, little buddy, you've been a real help."

The bird looked away, simply humming in response.

Mhm, same as ever. Blake lightly chuckled, it was rather humorous to him how shy Nero became when they were given thanks or praised for something.

Grey sighed, feeling disappointed in herself, just a bit, letting herself lay forward on the desk. "It's been weeks since we started this and yet, this is all the progress I've made..."

"Hey!" Blake pointed towards Grey, grabbing her attention. "I don't want to hear you putting yourself down!"

"B-But..."

"Progress is progress, no matter how big or small the improvement is." 

He knew how Grey was feeling, he'd felt it plenty of times growing up when he had reached a point in his training where he felt like he couldn't overcome it and it made him infuriated. But, the more that it occurred, the more he realized what really mattered.