Asta & Yuno: Origin

"...997! ...998! ...999! ...1000!" A muscular teen with messy ash blonde hair and a pair of green eyes exclaimed excitedly as he got up after finishing a set of thousand one-handed push-ups in thirty minutes. With his whole body covered in sweat, he yelled at the top of his lungs for all the world to hear, "YES! I've managed to beat my last record of 33 minutes!" "Tone down your voice a bit, Asta." "Wah! You scared me Yuno!" Well, the one who scared the now named muscular boy "Asta", was Yuno who had a lean build but with a very handsome face, black messy hair, and a pair of golden eyes while wearing a turtle-neck shirt and a necklace that had a beautiful blue stone attached to it. His face was nonchalant, but he was grinning inside for jump-scaring Asta. "Well, it wasn't me whose screams were coming all the way to the other side of the village," Yuno bluntly replied. "H-hey! you know I have to go all-out with my training, right?!" Asta blushed a little out of embarrassment. "But it doesn't change the fact that you were unnecessarily screaming. Anyway, congrats on breaking your record once again." "Thanks, Yuno! you're the best brother anyone could ask for!" Asta ignored Yuno's first remark as if he didn't hear it. He was grinning now that his brother- foster brother to be precise, congratulated him. Asta and Yuno were part of the Gushiken (strong-willed) siblings. The two of them were with each other since the beginning due to the Priest residing within the Church, found both of them in front of the Church's door crying. Since then, they were raised with one another as if they were real blood-related siblings. Their bond was so strong that even the strongest weapon wouldn't even make a dent in their relationship. However, you'd be a fool if you didn't notice there were huge differences between the two brothers; and there were a lot of them. "Say, Asta. You know today's the day, right?" Yuno asked with a serious face. Asta got determined as he smirked and said, "Yeah, today's the entrance exam for the First High Magic School; both the written and the practical," "Mhm. Good luck Asta, because you seriously gonna need it," Yuno said with a faint, mocking smirk. "Who needs luck when I can finally try using magic?! Hiya!" Asta let out a battle cry as he tried using magic. Keyword being: 'tried'. WOOOSH! Nothing came up other than his sweat from training, though the palm strike he let out shook the wind violently. "Sigh... I wonder how you'll even be able to pass the practical without any magic," Yuno sighed as he facepalmed while saying with annoyance. Don't get him wrong, he really did want Asta to pass the exam, but him not having any magic, nor being able to resonate with it, would decrease the chances of him passing the exam below one percent. "Don't worry Yuno. You never know what'll happen unless you try it! Besides, my academics are slightly above average, and I'm sure my physique is the best among my peers; I'll definitely pass the exam, even if I don't have any magic..." Asta tried to be optimistic, but his pure smile stained a little when he said the last part. Many people wouldn't notice it, but being Asta's brother since they were newborns, Yuno knew Asta is still hurt because of his magicless body. He frowned a little as he sternly said to Asta, "Who said "My magic is never giving up!", Asta? Don't quit on me now that our real rivalry will start after the exam. If you can't even pass a measly test, then how do you expect to become the 'Wizard King'?" "Hah... you really know how to boost me up, Yuno! As if I would let my rival surpass me in becoming the Wizard King!" Asta regained his energy after Yuno's short pep talk. "Not if I beat you to it, first." "I'll become the Wizard King, and you know it!" "Hah! Then prove it to me in the exam that you can pass it, even with all the odds stacked against you," "Just wait and see! I'll pass it without any magic and become the first magicless student of First High," "Hmph, big words coming from you, Asta. Anyway, let's go and meet back with father Orsi, he wanted me to call you home; looks like he's planning on giving something to us." "All right! to home it is then." After twenty minutes of walking, the both of them were in front of a small Church that seemed pretty cozy to live in. They then entered the Church to see an elderly man wearing a Priest's outfit, mopping the floor. Upon seeing both of them, the old man dropped the mop and started crying. "Asta! you had me worried sick! Don't leave me like that ever again!" "Woah! stop crying father Orci, I was just training like always." Asta tried to calm down his foster father by hugging him. "I know! but when you go out without informing me, I can't help it...*sniff." Asta & Yuno both had a soft smile on their faces as they hugged their father. Orsi was a very caring old man and he did his best to make sure that these two would have the best time of their lives in here with what little they had. Not gonna lie, Asta's tenacity was contagious, and was only because of him that he gained the strength to push himself through the limits. "*Sniff... Anyway, I wanted to give you two boys something before you left; consider it as a gift for being wonderful children all these years," Father Orci wiped his tears as he let go of them and headed towards the attic. "Hmph!" The duo also nodded at each other and followed Orci afterward. "Let's see... where did I put those? I remember taking care of them a while back," Orci narrowed his eyes as he was searching through many cupboards, shelfs, and etc. Until he found what he was looking for. "Aha! finally, found them!" He exclaimed happily as he brought out five of what appeared to be very old books. "Ettoo... father, I can't see how a bunch of old books would help us," Asta was a bit unsure as he said. "I would've ate my words if I were you, Asta," "Eh? what do you mean by that Yuno?" "Fools! These are no ordinary books! they're Grimoires from the Golden Age of Magic." "EHHH?!/Eh?" The duo were shocked indeed, but the amount varied. "Grimoires? Father, you know how much rich you would've been just by selling just one of them?" Yuno asked with a raised eyebrow. Of course he wasn't suspicious per say, but he wanted to know why Orci held onto these for so long. "Heh... To be honest, I would've sold them, until I saw you two; two boys with such pure determination to become the Wizard King. So that's why I held onto these till now," He was about to start tearing up again. "Father! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I don't even know how should I repay you..." Asta then repeatedly bowed while thanking his adopted father. This could be his last and only chance for him to use magic. Now you guys are asking, "Why in the hell Grimoires are such favored in this world?" That's simple. Magic in this world is divided into two categories: Modern Magic, and Ancient Magic. Ancient Magic is basically the fantasy magic as we all know it, used in many different myths and religions as means of defense against mythical creatures or reaching for immortality; although, sometimes it does have more firepower than Modern Magic, but its slow casting process makes it way unpractical against Modern Magic- which is way easier to use if you've got the brains and the talent to use it. BUT! Here's what makes the difference by having a Grimoire. A Grimoire stores all of the spells of the magician inside it, and lets the magician use their spells with only a single mental command; essentially, makin them miles faster than Ancient practitioners and decent Modern mages. However, there are downsides to it as well: 1) The amount of them that are left is shockingly low, so selling even one of them could make your whole living expenses till next generations. 2) Not anyone can use them, because even if you have a Grimoire, only the Grimoire itself can choose its owner. 3) The quality of the Grimoire is directly linked to your own potential and talent, on what type of spells it would have, the potential of the Grimoire's growth, and etc. There are more to them, but that would be for another time. ;) "That's enough, boys. Let's see which one of these will choose you." Orci stopped the situation before it could've escalated any further as he put the Grimoires on the table. There were five Grimoires on the table, starting from left-to-right: the first had icy cover with a spade at the middle, the second had a fiery heart at its middle with a red cover, the third one, however, had a very elegant- almost Holy design with a four-leaf clover on its center. Woosh~ Yuno heard a faint sound of the breeze coming from the third Grimoire, as if it was calling him to grab it and become its owner. Yuno's face got determined as he walked toward it with firm steps. Then grabbed it and brought in front of his face as he said, "I hope you'll serve me well," WOOOOSSSHHH! The four-leaf Grimoire suddenly opened up, as violent winds came out of it and were turning everything into a mess while the Grimoire itself was rapidly turning around pages mid-air; all the while Yuno not being even fazed this as his hair was fluttering. "AHHH! WHERE DID THESE WINDS EVEN COME FROM?!" "YUNO! STOP! PLEASE! FOR ME AND ASTA STOP IT!" Asta and father Orci were both screaming as they were barely holding on from grabbing onto pillars as to not get sent flying by Yuno's winds. "Hmm?" THUD! The winds stopped moving the moment Yuno shifted his focus toward Asta who fell but picked up Orci before he could've fallen. 'Did I really do all this?' Yuno questioned himself now that he had a good look at his surroundings. The once squeaky clean room turned into one huge mess; with everything being all over the place. He then took a look outside to see even the outside wasn't even spared by him with almost all trees were naked. "Heh... with you, I'm sure I'll definitely become the Wizard King." Yuno had an almost unnoticeable smirk as he said to himself. Pat Pat Pat "Ehem... Congratulations, Yuno. I'm sure that with this potential you have the chance of becoming a very strong magician." Father Orci said after he patted himself from all the dirt with a fatherly smile as if he was blinded to his surrounding. "Thanks, father; but if it weren't for you keeping this Grimoire, I doubt I would've had the chance to become one. So thank you, father," Yuno replied with a very small, genuine smile. "Now's my turn!" Asta shouted interrupting the moment, but the other two were happy to see Asta this enthusiastic after such a long time; seeing him smile this brightly always brightned their mood. "Sure, go ahead Asta. I'm sure yours will also be as strong as mine," Yuno had cheeky smirk that would've been unnoticeable to anyone other than Asta. "Hah! just wait and see, Yuno! My Grimoire will come right at me!" Asta grinned as he closed his eyes, waiting for his Grimoire to call him or come to him. . . . . . "...Okay, when is my going to come, father Orci?" Asta asked his foster father as to why there were no signs of his Grimoire after ten minutes passed. Orci himself was shaking, dreading at the thought of seeing his precious son breaking down once again. But he braced himself as he was about to say the reason why. "Asta... I thin-" Before he could've say anymore though, a booming sound interrupted him. FWOOOSH! "EHHH-!?" Asta couldn't say anymore when something slammed into his stomach. BAAAMMM! "Blegh-!" His saliva came out of his mouth as the thing dragged him to the wall. BAAAAMMM! THUD! "Ugh... that did not totally feel good... Eh?!" The magicless boy held his stomach, but was met with touching something akin to a book. BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP! BA-DUMP! His heart was beating fast, the thought of holding 'it' excited him to no end. He could feel that he was sweating profusely while having bated breaths. Asta couldn't wait a second anymore as his impatience took over and brought out his hand to see the Grimoire. However, he didn't expect this kind of a Grimoire. "Eh?" Was the only thing he could mutter. It was a very rusty black Grimoire with a very eerie five-leaf clover design at its center; it was as if Yuno's opposite, a Demonic Grimoire that was oozing complete eeriness. "Ho? I didn't expect the Grimoire to 'come right at you'," Yuno bluntly said with a blank face as he was grinning ear-to-ear inside. "W-well, at least I didn't make a mess out of everything!" Asta retorted as he blushed out of embarrassment due to Yuno's teasing. "Hmmm..." Orci was deep in thought as he focused all of his attention on Asta's Grimoire while the two brothers were bickering. He thought, 'That Grimoire, I remember picking it up a year or two after these two little buggers came in. Though I couldn't even touch it because it would suck me out dry. Then how in God's name can he...Unless...!' Orci's eyes widened as he came to the conclusion why, then finished his thoughts with a grin, '...He's magicless, so that's why!' Orci once again teared up, because he remembered the first moments he saw them. The two little boys which were crying in front of his Church, now turned into two handsome young men with unlimited potential in their future. "Hey, father Orci? are you okay?" Asta asked with a concerned face after he stopped bickering with his brother. "Yeah, if there's anything going on, you can tell us, father." Yuno added with a affirming nod. "N-no...*sniff... I'm just proud of you two. Go out there, become strong magicians and make me the happiest father ever!" "Definitely!/Definitely." a few minutes later... The brothers quickly packed their bags and went towards the bus station so they won't miss the bus for the Tokyo. Before they left, father Orci gave them the money that was gathered by the villagers of the Hage village in order to help Yuno in his school years. Asta wasn't bothered by this because he knew the others greatly admired Yuno; though he can't say he wasn't hurt... A few steps away from the station, Asta stopped for a moment, as Yuno went ahead of him for a little before the latter was stopped by the former's question, "Yuno, do you really think I'm worthy of being your rival...?" There was a very deep sadness in his cheery voice, that only Yuno would notice. "Asta, do you really doubt me that much? I'm really disappointed, you know?" Yuno replied without even turning back as his back faced Asta. "Then... why do I feel as if this is only out of pity?" "Asta," This time, Yuno faced his brother and continued, "Do you remember the one snowy night when somebody tried to steal my necklace?" "Yeah, I do..!" He remembered fighting off a drunk adult with his fists alone as a baby, and giving pep talk to a crying Yuno while giving back his necklace. "Say, what was your magic again, Asta?" Yuno had a small smirk. "My magic is never giving up!" Asta smirked back. "So, Asta..." "Right, Yuno..!" They both went for a fist bump. "Let's see who can become the Wizard King!/Let's see who can become the Wizard King." ...

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