We begin with a bit of Asta and Yuno private time. A little talk between friends. Following the story a bit further, a few chapters from now on the story will go in a different direction. Doing everything again would be a bit boring ;)

Also I have a new PC, which means I can write properly again. Like seriously, I had to restart my old one four times every day. That sucked.

Anyway enjoy the chapter


Asta felt confused. A few days had passes since the attack in the cave. Dad, after Mom basically talked his ear off, forbid him from fighting and training since then. He was sure that Dad just didn't want to face Mom's wrath if he hurt himself more.

So, instead of training he spent his days with Yuno. It was nice to do something else for once, he had to admit that. While he usually used all of his time to train, talking in peace was different.

There was no action to it. No adrenaline rushing through his body while he forced his body to keep moving. And yet, there was something in these meetings that caused his body to tingle.

Asta didn't know what it was, and he really didn't care about it. At first, he thought he was getting sick. But then it happened every time when he met the other. When he told his mother, she just laughed and dismissed it. Dad didn't even want to talk about it. Something about him finding out himself sooner or later.

But he didn't. Not yet. Asta didn't know what it was. All he knew was, that Yuno was stupidly attractive, and he made it a habit to remind the other of it in a laughable way.

The tiny smirks he would get from his own remarks tend to make his whole day. So, since it didn't seem to be anything bad because Mom would've done something about it, Asta chose to ignore it. It wasn't a bad feeling anyways.

Now here he was, sitting in Yuno's room again. Both of them talking about their latest missions. The taller teen was incredibly surprised when he saw the many patches covering his skin. And the bandage around his leg.

It didn't hurt much anymore. But he decided to leave the bandage on for another while.

"So, what did you do this time?" Yuno asked, sipping his tea.

Asta shrugged. "People just love to target me, I suppose. But it looks like they won't be attacking me anymore."

"So your father beat them up?" he asked.

Asta chuckled. Yes, he did. But that didn't mean that Asta felt any safer. He knew very well how much his parents would protect him. And he knew that something was different about him. The teen didn't know what it was, and he didn't want to know it.

But since that day in the woods, he knew that something must be different about him. People usually get their Grimoire's from a tower. But not Asta, he received it from a stranger outside his home. Whatever was different about him, that Licht guy had noticed it too.

"Yeah" he finally said. "And Mom did too. She was mad at Dad for the leg" he laughed, gesturing to his bandaged leg.

"You have good parents."

Asta's smile dropped. Yes, he did. But it used to be so much better. Mom used to live with them. Helping around the house when she didn't have to help her own squad. She was strong and independent. Asta liked to think that he got his stubbornness from her.

"They used to be different around each other. Now every time they see each other, it's nothing but bickering and yelling. Mostly about me" he shrugged.

"People change. It's not bad when they argue about you. Just means they care. You should be worried when they stop" Yuno meant.

Asta stifled a laugh. He couldn't imagine his parents not yelling at each other. How it would be when Mom came to visit, and she didn't yell at Dad the moment she saw his fresh wounds and scratches. She tended to overreact though.

Before he could answer though, there was a knock coming from the door. The teens looked at each other in surprise before Yuno went to open it. Asta followed, peeking over the taler teens shoulder.

It was Marx.

He cleared his throat. "The wizard king has asked me to fetch both of you."

Asta raised an eyebrow. For what? He didn't question it though. Both of them following the blue haired man. Asta still held onto Yuno for some support. Every wrong step caused his leg to sting again. And while his pain tolerance was high, he preferred to not feel it.

Yuno didn't seem to mind at all, hooking their arms together properly. A better support.

While Marx led them down into the dungeon of the kingdom, Asta couldn't help but wonder why they were asked to come. Sure, they helped capturing them, but that was it. What help would they be right now?

"You both must be confused" Marx said as if reading his mind. "After the attack in the city, suspicion had been rising. We can't explain how they got passed our defense so easily. We only see one possibility for this" he explained.

"A spy" Yuno answered, face hardening even more.

Marx nodded. "Yes, we suspect someone of high rank. Maybe even one of the Captains. And since we have two of them captive here, we can get that information. The problem is though that their mind is locked with a spell. I can't get access to their minds while it is active."

Now he understood. With his swords he could break the spell and they would know who betrayed them. Asta felt his grip harden. How could one of the Captains betray the kingdom like this? He imagined what it would be like if it were one of his parents.

No, they would never do such a thing. They were both a bit crazy in their own way, Dad way more than Mom, but they wouldn't even think about something like this. Never.

"Okay, but I don't have my Grimoire with me" he said.

Yuno looked down, noticing for the first time that he indeed had left his Grimoire at home. "Why?" he asked.

"Well….."

"Listen good young man. No fighting and no training until that leg is healed. And two weeks after that! If I catch you training, I will personally make sure that you are banned from missions for the rest of the year! And do me the favor and stay a few more feet away from Luck."

"I see. Well, your parents are there too, of course. They have it with them."

Asta hummed. Mom could be extreme, but she only meant good. He didn't know how she would do it, but the teen was sure that she would indeed find a way to banish him from mission.

When they finally reached the end of the stairs, everyone was waiting for them. Usually, Asta would be happy to see his mother, but right now he was nervous. Nervous that it could be her who had betrayed the kingdom, no matter how much he wanted to bury that thought.

Charlotte immediately went over to her son, looking at the healing leg. She hummed in satisfaction.

"Looks good" she smiled, handing him his Grimoire.

Asta forced a smile. He just couldn't shake that thought off. The thought that someone willingly betrayed their home so much. The possibility that it was one of his parents, or maybe even both.

Taking a deep breath, Asta took out the large broadsword. It only took one light touch for the spell to be broken. And he did just that, stepping back right after, allowing Marx to perform his own spell.

It was the first moment in his life where he wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible. On the other hand, he needed to know.

"Now then" Julius stepped forward. "Would you kindly tell me which one of these Captains is the traitor who aided the eye of the midnight sun?"

"It's…." both of them spoke at the same time.

Asta held his breath. He felt Yuno squeeze his hand, but he didn't dare to look away from them.

"The Captain of the purple Orcas, Gueldre Poizot."

And oh, Asta had never felt so relieved in his life. Looking over, the teen noticed how nervous the older man was getting.

He started to defend himself. Saying that it was a trick, that they were blaming this on him, when he knew it was impossible with Marx's magic.

He should've seen it coming when Gueldre took out his Grimoire, turning himself invisible. He heard the older man laugh.

"Well then, since my cover is blown there is no reason to keep any secrets anymore is there?" he laughed.

Asta was confused. But he saw the worried looks on his parents faces. Was this something about him? Did they know something? What did Gueldre know about it?

"Why, I am very sure that none of you have ever said the truth. And when I am going down, I will take you with me. Transparency creation magic: invisible troops"

One moment where he didn't pay attention and Asta felt a sharp string on his left cheek, warm blood slowly trailing down. Great, another wound.

No one spoke a word while they were getting rid of the soldiers. With his magic, none of them could hit Gueldre due to his spell. As long as he was invisible, all of their magic would go right through him.

Except for his own. Tightening his grip on his sword, Asta decided to take matters into his own hands. If Gueldre actually intended to say anything more about this, he didn't know. But he knew that he had left the room, taking the stairs to escape.

And he followed. No matter if he would get any answers or not, he would not let this guy escape.

"There you are!" he yelled, slashing the Captain with his sword.

The spell disappeared leaving a very confused Gueldre standing at the top of the stairs.

"Impossible! No spell should be able to hit me" he yelled in frustration.

Asta smirked. So he didn't even know about his magic? And he had though that Dad had been bragging around with his magic. If he was, then Gueldre hadn't been listening.

Without thinking much, Asta slashed the invisible soldiers, seconds after they appeared.

"Mr. Poizot" Asta heard a voice behind himself.

Colorful magic rushed past him, trapping Gueldre in a large painting in the ground. Asta wasn't even surprised when Rill came up the stairs, smiling in a childish manner. That was just his nature. A child at heart. Nothing wrong with that.

The other Captains followed quickly. And Asta chose to ignore the rest. It wasn't important to him. The rest was just locking the man away. And even if he was yelling at him that he knew some truth, Asta didn't want to hear it from him.

If he would tell the truth, the teen didn't know. But if there was something about himself, he had to know, he trusted his parents to tell him one day. No matter when that day would come.

Walking back down the stairs, he saw Mom and Dad talking with Yuno.

"Hey" he smiled, skipping over to the trio.

"Kid, we have a lot to discuss after today. And I don't really trust these maniacs to watch over you while you are still hurt. You wouldn't mind spending the night with him, would you?" Dad asked, gesturing to Yuno.

Asta smiled. "Of course not. If you don't mind."

"I don't" Yuno smiled back. "But I have to get some things first. You can go back to my room. I'll be there in an hour or so."

The blond nodded. "Okay. Then I'll grab Finral, get some stuff from my room and I'll see you tomorrow." He gave his mother a quick hug before leaving. Dad didn't need one, or want one, he knew that. Dad wasn't that type of person, which was okay for Asta.

In a quiet room Yuno, Yami, Charlotte and Julius were gathered. Yuno had his arms crossed, a frown on his face. He knew something was wrong. Something about the thing Gueldre had said. And he wanted to know.

Charlotte had her hands folded in front of her mouth, elbows on the table. Her own mother would scold her for sitting like this, but she couldn't care less right now. They had never told anyone about this.

"Now Yuno. Before we tell you this, we must be sure that no one else will hear about this. It is a secret that no one outside of the magic knight Captains and myself has even heard of" Julius said.

"Of course. I promise not to tell anyone, not even Asta" he answered.

"Very well" Julius smiled, nodding at Charlotte and Yami.

"You see" Charlotte started, hesitation clear in her voice. "Asta isn't really our son. He is not related to any of us" she said.

The teen felt his own eyes widen. Then who was he?

"About fifteen years ago we received a call for help from a small village somewhere at the end of the kingdom. When we arrived there, the place had been wrecked. A woman was lying on the ground at the brink of death. And then there was this thing" Yami explained.

"Thing?" Yuno raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Yes" Yami nodded. "A demon. It demanded for Asta. But vanished before it could find him. The woman, his mother, died that night. Since then, we have been taking care of him, making sure that he didn't know about the demon."

Yuno took in a deep breath. He had suspected for some time that something was off. There was no way that the child of two magic knight Captains was born without any magic. And when he thought about it, Asta didn't look much like any of them.

Asta had said that he got most of it from his grandparents, who he had never met because they died before his birth. It would make sense to say such a thing. If Asta didn't meet them, then he couldn't get suspicious. But now things changed.

"And why are you telling me this now?" he asked.

"We noticed how close you two have been getting" Charlotte said, making the teen blush a bit. "We won't be able to be there to protect him forever. That is why we're asking you to keep an eye on him as much as you can."

"There is more to this, right? Protect him from what?"

"That demon only came back once since that day. When Asta was six, it gave him his Grimoire. We know he will come back some day. And when Asta learns the truth, he will possibly be angry at us. He will need someone to catch him and support him" Charlotte stated.

And what else could Yuno do, but agree? When that day came, he would be there for him. And he would assure him that it was best like this. That he had gotten the love he deserved. Yuno didn't know if he believed in demons, but there was no reason for them to lie.

Later, Yuno went back to his room where Asta was already waiting for him. He had gotten dinner for both of them. Asta was a good person, Yuno knew that.

He couldn't imagine him being related in any way to a demon. How could someone like him have anything in common with a being that was literally born in hell?

It didn't matter. Because when the day came, he would be there to catch him.