Grass-green eyes stared out of the window, taking in the dark clouds that covered the evening sky. Small flakes of white softly rained down constantly, covering the ground below in a cold yet gentle embrace. It would probably snow throughout the entire night and maybe even tomorrow morning. Sleep would be quite a burden today, but they would manage. It wouldn't be the first time all of them clogged together in a huge ball of heads and limbs sticking out in every direction. It might look awkward for others, but for Asta, it felt like a dream come true.
Asta enjoyed moments like these, moments where his family relied on each other without a second's hesitation. They were not related by blood, but it didn't matter. All of them were orphans, bearers of the same burden and thus, they were family, siblings with ties forged by nothing but love even though he had never voiced that thought to anyone but himself in moments of repose where he was on his own. The best thing of all was that he was among the oldest siblings which meant his younger sisters and brothers relied heavily on him even though some of them had trouble admitting that properly. It was a role Asta gladly and happily accepted, always trying his best to cast smiles on the people closest to him.
Of course, there was Yuno as well, the same age as him but who was the older one between them remained a mystery. They were orphans, so no one knew when their actual birthdays were. To fill the empty date, Father Orsi simply decided that the fourth of October would be their birthday, the very day he found Yuno and Asta at the doorstep of the church. It was good enough for the ash-blond boy. He liked the idea that he and Yuno had a shared birthday. It served to deepen their already tight bond even further.
Speaking of Yuno, he had yet to return from the mission Father Orsi had bestowed upon him. It was a simple delivery, nothing fancy or extraordinarily difficult but the wind mage was surely taking his merry time. Asta's tummy growled like a feral predator at that reminder, ravenous to dig in and be filled to the utmost limit. Sister Lily was adamant that they would only start eating once Yuno had returned though. Therefore, Asta was fated to stare at the delicious food right in front of him, not even an arm's length away from him and taunted by the rising pillars of steamy heat emitting. He just hoped Yuno would hurry so that Asta didn't have to wait that much longer.
Returning his attention back to the window, the sky had clearly darkened a lot, indicating that the sun had kissed the world goodbye and would only return in the late morning of the following day. Asta grumbled silently to himself because there was still no sign of Yuno. Ever so slightly, the ash-blond-haired boy also grew worried and nervous about his brother's absence. One look around the table told him that he was not the only one thinking that, but there was nothing they could do other than wait and hope.
Suddenly though, there was a strong pull at his heart, his pulse immediately increasing tenfold as it pounded against his ribcage. For a moment, Asta feared it would burst out of his chest. It made him uncomfortable and it hurt and he had no clue what was happening to him. Then there was a silent scream, a plea of help, the whispering of wind brushing against his ear. Asta stood up a second later, his chair screeching across the wooden ground, effectively catching the attention of every occupant in the dining room.
Asta scratched the back of his head before he answered the question all of them wanted to ask. "Sorry about that. I just need to go to the toilet real quick." Of course, it was a lie on his part, but seemingly it was enough because the sudden noise he had created was discarded as unimportant.
He walked out of the room and closed the door behind him, but his bare feet didn't carry him to the toilet. He went in the opposite direction towards the front door leading outside into the bitter cold. Slipping his shoes on, he was ready to go, not bothering to pull on some warmer clothes. The wind had stopped whispering into his ear and was now tugging at his fingers with urgency.
Once he was outside, already shivering from the freezing temperatures, Asta didn't waste any time and began running immediately, always chasing behind the swirls of wind ahead of him. He had no idea what they were, but he knew that they were a part of Yuno, they had to because when they brushed his fingers they felt the same as if Yuno was holding his hand.
The already deep snow made it difficult to keep up his tempo, but he forced his legs to cope with the loss of space to move freely. They were already burning from overuse, hurting like they were on fire, but Asta pushed through the sensations. His only attention was on the path in front of him.
Soon enough, he arrived at the neighbouring town of his home village, Hage. Festa was way larger than Hage, looking way more like a small city than a village as it was common for the Forsaken Realm. Yet, Asta had no time to stop and stare in marvel at the size. The wind was leading him deeper into the heart of the town, through the countless narrow streets that lead through the town.
He heard Yuno before he saw him. Desperate sobs and "pendant" were the only things he could pick up before it was tuned out by a bellow of laughter. It was enough to tell him everything he needed to know though. Rounding yet another corner he finally saw Yuno with his own eyes, the tears streaming down his face and the already reddening bruise.
"YUNO!" Astra screamed with every ounce of power he possessed, racing towards the brute responsible for the wind mage's suffering. He tackled the tall man and was punched across the face. It hurt like hell, his vision becoming blurry for a second but it was by far not enough to stop him. Nothing could stop him anymore. Again and again, he charged and was beaten every time in response, but no matter how often he failed, he stood up again and tried once more. Asta wouldn't allow Yuno's precious pendant would be stolen right in front of his eyes, not when he had the strength to prevent that.
"Give it back! This pendant is important to Yuno and I will never allow a jerk like you to steal it!" Asta roared as he clung to the man's leg, clutching the fabric of the man's pants so tightly that his knuckles turned white. This time there was no punch, only a scared look the man was giving him before he dropped the pendant on the snowy ground.
When Asta saw this he let go and the man walked away, swaying from side to side until he was out of their sight. The magicless boy picked up the pendant and only when he felt the gem inside his palm did he give in to his body's desire. In less than a second, he dropped to the ground, tired and beaten up from the events that had taken place over the last few minutes. But even then he still had the strength to shift his head to Yuno and smiled as wide as he could while he presented the precious pendant to the wind mage.
In response, Yuno fell to his knees right next to Asta, hot tears still flowing down his face. "Why?" was the only thing he managed to ask before his sobs became too strong to form proper words. Asta's smile became even brighter.
"Because you're are important to me, Yuno."
"I am?" the wind mage asked, disbelief more than evident in his voice. "Of course you are!" Asta confirmed eagerly, reaching with his hand for Yuno's where he placed the pendant. "And that's why I have decided something. To protect all of you I will prove to everyone that no matter if you're poor or an orphan you can still become the Wizard King and make this place better so that all of you can live happily."
When Asta looked back to Yuno, he was greeted by a marvelled expression plastered all over his face. There were sparks in the wind mage's honeyed eyes, something that Asta had not seen until now. He smiled again at the sight and it only amplified his wish to become the wizard king to protect all of them because, for Asta, Yuno was so much more than a best friend. The magicless boy thought of Yuno and him as Brothers and nothing would ever change that belief.