[Fic] [Round 20] Ohana Means Family, G
Author/Artist: (seamusog)
Characters/Pairings: no pairings, KKM cast focused on Yuuri, Conrart, Wolfram, Gwendal
Word Count: 5405
Rating: G
Any Warnings: none
Theme/Prompt being used: What if Yuuri had grown up in Shin Makoku?
Ohana Means Family
It had been five years since the war and a few months since he'd accomplish the mission of his life. He was back on Earth to pick up the little child he had left behind. It had been a tragic accident that took the future Maou's family away leaving him alone.
It would have been easier perhaps to just let Miko's or Shouma's relatives take care of the baby. But in the end, everyone had felt a little uneasy at the prospect.
She had agreed easily enough to the request. It came directly from Shinou which had been a big surprise. It had been eight hundred years since she had had the privilege to hear him directly.
When Conrart handed her the little bundle, Ondine had been amazed at his coloring. Black hair and black eyes. He was certainly going to look out of place among her lavender-eyed people.
The village in the forest by the lake may not have been the best place to raise a future king. It was too rural. Too low. But with the constant danger of impending war, everyone felt a little better that the future Maou was hidden. After all, the last place any human would guess to search would be there.
She looked at the little yellow toy that Conrart had left behind wondering what it was. She turned it this way and that until one of her companions said it looked a bit like a bird. She thought, “what a funny looking bird.”
He had not wanted to leave home, but Conrart had insisted and, except for his foster mother, he trusted Conrart more than anyone in Shin Makoku. They traveled a good distance stopping at this small human village. He had never been so far away from the lake and he missed his family.
He met the long haired man with the eyes of the lake people in the large house they stayed in. He was handsome and seemed very nice. Looking at the lavender eyes made Yuuri felt better. However, the man seemed to have a tendency to be long winded and overprotective.
When Günter finally gave him the permission to go outside, he found Conrart playing baseball with children his own age. Yuuri couldn't remember when he learned to play, it seemed he's known how to play since he had been able to walk. He used to set up games with his playmates and they had regularly gotten into trouble with the adults with their wayward balls.
He had been enjoying the game when it was cut short when the adults pulled their children into their respective homes and scolded them for playing with the demon monster. Yuuri did not understand.
“Conrart,” he asked, “why did they...? What do they mean?”
Yuuri had never encountered humans in his life, not since he started living at the village by the lake. He had always assumed that they were like him.
“Humans do not understand the Mazoku and unknown things are scary,” Conrart explained.
“But humans and Mazoku should live together in harmony. I don't understand why they would be angry with us... I mean, you and I, were both human and Mazoku... The place I am from. The Earth you tell me about, you said they lived together in peace and there is no fighting and no war...”
“Even on Earth, there is war Yuuri. But you are right, there is no hatred between humans and Mazoku. That may be because humans there are not aware of the existence of Mazokus.”
“But how can that be possible? Are humans there blind or stupid? But at any rate, if humans and Mazoku can live there peacefully, then they can live peacefully here as well.”
“Yuuri, that is an admirable wish,” Conrart said giving him a gentle smile.
He was not happy that his Mother was abdicating. He was not happy that the future ruler was still a child. He was not happy that this aforementioned child was a half-Mazoku. He was not happy that he had to answer to the little runt dressed in commoner's clothing who couldn't even keep his seat on a horse and was now looking at him with mouth unsophisticatedly opened wide. Sure he had the unusual black hair and black eyes. But the third son of the future ex-Maou was not happy at all.
And he made sure to let the little kid know how unhappy he was.
He had never been in a building as large as this one. The largest place he had ever been in was a manor house belonging to an aristocrat of the lower nobility. And even then he had been impressed.
He was used to the treehouses of the lake people. The freedom of the sky. The scent of the lake. The rustle of the leaves. This terrible looking castle with the terrible name was too... terrible for him.
It didn't help that he was being frowned upon by a very tall man with a grumpy face and a short blond with an angelic face. He was comforted that he had two friends with him: the godfather who had visited him regularly as he grew up and who taught him how to play baseball, and the beautiful long-haired man who had the blood of the lake people running in his veins. He probably would not have agreed to live here if it wasn't for them.
After the encounter with the boy in the Maou's bath, she had been in a very happy mood. The young boy had run away as soon as he saw her, but she saw in him a spirit strong enough to take over. The queen wanted freedom and she could almost taste it. Dinner was going to be an interesting affair.
She hugged her oldest child and scolded him about his frown. She hugged her second child and was again amazed how much he resembled his father. She hugged her third child and teased him about being pursued by gentlemen.
“Mother, I am not happy to be pursued by men,” her third son replied.
“Aren't you being prejudiced?” the future Maou said.
Ah, yes, the little one has spirit, she thought satisfied.
“What are you talking about little kid?” her son huffed.
“I'm not a little kid. I'm almost an adult. And you shouldn't be saying that only women are good enough to pursue you. You should be more open. People shouldn't be judged by their race or gender.”
“Don't interrupt adult conversation until you're an actual adult.”
He was mad. He was livid. How can such filthy language come out of an angelic face. Insulting the mother whose touch he hadn't felt in the past fifteen years. Before he knew it, the future Maou had launched himself against the blond and they crashed onto the floor.
He sat on him and punched the blond repeatedly on the chest. He could not find relief for his anger because the man just looked at him apathetically. He felt useless because he was crying and his weak punches were being ignored. So he did the one thing he thought would get a rise out of his victim; he slapped him on the face.
“Yuur-Your Majesty, take it back!” Conrart commanded.
“No, I will not take it back! He said bad things about my mother whom he has never met. And whom even I don't remember,” the king sniffed. “How would you like it if I insulted your mother? Even I who was raised by the lake know better. And the prejudice that you hold, I will teach you. Brat!”
“Your Majesty, are you sure you don't want to take it back?” Cheri asked.
“Your Majesty, you are too young!” cried the horrified Günter.
“I don't care. I'm the king and I can do whatever.” He was now bawling. Damn! He was almost an adult and he was suppose to be a king. He shouldn't be getting upset by what a stupid, ignorant soon-to-be-ex-prince said.
“Then it's a match!” said the queen happily.
“Brother, you can't be serious!” he exclaimed. The proposal had been humiliating. The duel, if you could call it that, was even worse. He could not believe his life was being turned upside down by such a wimpy little runt. “I am not a babysitter! That's what Lord Weller is for.”
“You're his fiancé, get used to it.”
“But he's just a child. He's not even sixteen yet. If his aging had been that of a human and he had the maturity then it would be different. Not that I'd ever do anything as blasphemous as marry a human.”
“Are you going to turn down His Majesty's proposal?”
“...no,” Wolfram said defeated.
His dignity was held ransom for a ride to the human village so the little wimp could see his beloved godfather. He must be getting too soft to let himself be manipulated so easily. But, in all honesty, whenever the Maou pulled the big-eyed teary look, Wolfram hadn't been able to say no.
At least, the day didn't end in complete catastrophe. His brother was angry with him. So was Lord Weller. He was angry with himself. The kid almost met his doom in the hands of the traitor Adelbert. Then almost met his doom again in the hands of a filthy human. But for some reason, Wolfram felt unreasonably happy. He had witnessed the power and the strong determination housed in the small body of the little wimp and for the first time felt the anxiety about the future of Shin Makoku lift a little.
Now he just needed to educate Yuuri about the realities of human/demon relations. The wimp, for all that he grew up in Shin Makoku, had some weird idealistic view of the world.
Wolfram sat in the the Maou's bed with his arms crossed, his legs crossed and looked very cross. The Maou gets kidnapped once while sleeping and the ex-prince not only had babysitting duties during the day but was now assigned babysitting duties at night. Honestly, why couldn't Lord Weller bring a cot inside the king's bedchamber and sleep here.
It was bad enough that the engagement with the king practically drove any chance of dalliance, having to be nighttime nanny pretty much sentenced him to a life of celibacy. At least, until the kid had had enough of this engagement game.
He swore he'll make Stoffel pay for this somehow! The idiot man couldn't leave well enough alone and had to go and kidnap the king and try to start a civil war.
Of course, he had his mother to thank for this setup. And Gwendal and Conrart for agreeing. The only one who seemed to think it was a bad idea was Günter. However, it didn't help as it made Wolfram almost catatonic with fury from the insinuation and he found himself screaming loudly that he was not an old pervert like the silver-haired advisor. That display of indignation pretty much sealed up his fate.
Yuuri screeched like a little twit when he walked in. Wolfram wanted to bodily dump the boy in the nearest body of water when he started pointing and giggling.
“What's so funny?” the ex-prince asked irritated.
“You look like a girl,” answered the boy. “That's the silliest nightgown I've ever seen.”
“Hmph! What do you know, you rustic, uncouth little man. Just go to bed, I don't want to hear any of your nonsense.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh, they haven't told you? You're too much of a scaredy-cat so they had to have someone protect you. And lucky me, being your fiancé, I got volunteered.”
“I'm not a scaredy-cat,” pouted the king. “I don't need protection!”
“Good, why don't you order Gwendal that.”
Yuuri, Maou, sovereign of Shin Makoku, most powerful person in the kingdom, was terrified of Gwendal. He was not about to order the tall, grumpy man with the permafrown anything if he could help it.
“I guess it wouldn't be so bad...”
Wolfram got under the covers and turned away from the boy and was about to start snoring when he felt a little body snuggle up to him. He jumped up and started yelling.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“You told me to go to bed, I'm going to bed.”
“Well, sleep over there on that side! Far away from me.”
Yuuri looked to the end of the bed. He couldn't understand why Wolfram was throwing a fit. Back home, he was used to sleeping with other people. He always slept with his mother and sometimes he would sleep with his 'cousins' or other assorted relatives. Treehouses were not known for spaciousness so he thought it strange when he first came to the castle that each person slept alone. He had not liked being alone in the large bed in the large room in the large castle.
“But you smell nice and you're soft...”
“Little wimp, what do you think I am? A stuffed animal?”
“No... but... I hate sleeping by myself,” his black eyes started getting misty and he was fingering the blue pendant that he had worn since he was a baby. Wolfram hated this. Because whenever Yuuri gets like this, Wolfram was putty in his hands.
“It's lonely,” continued the Maou, “I miss my family. Mother, Delphine, Gilbert, Reinhart (sniff), Helga, Kat (sniff), Uncle George... in the village, people don't sleep by themselves (sniff)...”
Wolfram rolled his eyes. What did he ever do to deserve this? He was a soldier for Shinou's sake!
“Fine, fine. But I warn you now, I kick in bed so I don't want to hear any whining in the morning.”
Wolfram lied back down and felt the small warm body on his back.
“Ah, this feels so much more like home,” Yuuri sighed contentedly. “You're like my mother away from home.”
That made Wolfram sit up. “What?! Why mother?!” He wasn't sure which was worse, being a mother or fiancé to the prepubescent Maou.
“Why not father?” he demanded.
“But Conrart's the father so you'll have to be the mother.”
“Why don't you just have my mother be your mother away from home? Don't worry, I can share.”
“No, she's more like a... uh... um... a sexy older sister.”
Wolfram's hand met his forehead; he couldn't argue with that. His mother was not one would call motherly.
He said, “Fine, do what you want. I don't have the energy to argue with you all night. Just go to bed.”
Between Gwendal who was a sucker for anything cute to Lord Weller who was a pushover and him, there wasn't a single backbone among Cheri's son that could stand up against any child's adorableness much less the Maou's.
He was not amused. Some may say he was never amused. The frown on Gwendal's forehead deepened when he saw his brothers with the Maou in tow. He told them to take him home, they refused. Or, more accurately, the boy refused and Conrart went along with him and Wolfram merely gave him a martyred look that said 'I would rather be fighting a hundred humans with esoteric stones than be here, but it's your fault that I'm on a permanent nanny assignment'.
They were in the middle of the desert when the king freaked out because his friend sank down into a sand trap. The boy begged his godfather to go save Wolfram even though the soldier was quite capable of getting himself out of the trap. Conrart quickly complied. It was how Gwendal found himself left alone taking care of him.
Yuuri was undeniably cute which was why Gwendal was trying to frown with a vengeance. He cannot afford to fawn over the cuteness as they need to raise the boy into a semblance of a capable ruler.
After a few more unfortunate incidents that included inadvertently stopping a wedding, and getting mistaken for a child-napper, the duo found themselves being carted away to prison. When he saw the king looking dejected, he couldn't help himself from consoling him.
“It'll be alright, Your Majesty.”
Yuuri sighed, “I don't know anything except baseball and swimming and climbing trees... I'm being a bad Maou, aren't I? That's why you're always angry.”
Gwendal was taken aback. “Your Majesty, you're doing fine. You've already been able to stop a war with Cavalcade, brought back the demon sword Morgif, and stopped a civil war from happening. Those are pretty big accomplishments for one so young.”
And he gave Yuuri one of his rare smiles. The boy brightened.
“You know, I can see now that you, Conrart and Wolfram are brothers. You have the same smile... and since they're my family away from home, that must mean you're my family too.”
“I am honored, Your Majesty,” Gwendal answered with sincerity.
“You can be my crazy uncle who only visits during family occasions and whom no one wants to claim!” Yuuri exclaimed happily.
The frown went back immediately.
Wolfram's troubles were multiplying. There were now two kids on the large bed. A fifteen year old Mazoku and a ten year old human girl. He had a feeling that Shinou was playing a big joke on him.
He had never expected to be engaged at the tender age of eighty-two. And he certainly didn't expect to be engaged to a child.
He had never expected to be a father at the tender age of eighty-two. And he definitely did not expect to be the father to a human.
No pretty girl or handsome young man will ever want him now... Wait! What am I thinking, of course they'll still want me!
At least Greta was not whiny like Yuuri. Where Yuuri cried, she acted. The little girl had spunk. You'd have to to come into Blood Pledge Castle to assassinate the Maou.
Unfortunately for Greta, her plan to pose as the king's daughter didn't quite work out. When she had seen the king, who is only a couple inches taller than her, she went for Wolfram instead. That is, she claimed to be Wolfram's daughter instead. The chaos that ensued was amusing in retrospect but irritating at the time. He ended up with a sprained ankle then having to travel by boat because the king thought the idea of recuperating in baths in human territory was a splendid idea.
He sighed and watched the two have a sleeping battle for the covers. They were about the same age physically. In a year, Wolfram was sure that Greta would be taller. She was certainly more mature now. It was the reason that even Günter disagreed when the Maou had the brilliant idea of adopting her. When the king ordered Wolfram to adopt her instead, the blond took one look at the girl's big brown eyes and said yes. After which, he and Greta spent the whole day clothes shopping.
Wolfram was getting stranger and stranger. Since the Maou had showed up in his life, his outlook had started changing. Though he still didn't trust humans completely, and still didn't think that war was completely unavoidable and unnecessary, he had started seeing Yuuri's childish wisdom.
If he was to be completely honest with himself, he would admit he was happy with his odd little family. Even if they couldn't get their roles straight. Wolfram was fiancé/mother to Yuuri who was brother/father to Greta who was Wolfram's daughter...
Well, Wolfram wasn't going to think about it anymore. And within a blink of an eye, he was snoring along with the other two.
His godfather slammed the double doors shut and barred it. The chaos that had greeted them on what was suppose to be a peaceful visit to an outlying town, an early birthday present from his godfather, had shaken him. Tears were flowing on his cheeks and he clenched Greta's hand tightly as he screamed about Günter dying and how it was all his fault.
“Yuuri, he's okay. He's fine. He's alive,” Conrart said trying to console the child. “He'll want you to be safe so listen to me and don't panic.”
“The arrow was suppose to be for me...” he sniffed. “I shouldn't have asked to come here. It's all my fault...”
Conrart went down on one knee, took his hand and Greta's and looked him in the eyes.
“Yuuri, you need to be strong for me. You and Greta hide, I will protect you. You know that I will give my arm, my chest and my life for you.
He had heard this mantra all his life and for the first time, it did not make him feel better. For the first time, he understood what it meant. It was different when he was playing with his friends imagining how it would be like to be king. With danger so far away, the words that Conrart spoke gave credence to their play. But with danger literally knocking at the door, the sudden realization of the offered sacrifice horrified him.
His brain was racing but he couldn't catch any of his thoughts. It was Greta that found the hiding place and the one that pulled and directed him. They had a good view of the atrium and she was scanning the place. His gaze was frozen on the large double doors and the lone soldier standing in front of them. They needed an escape. They needed to get out of here. Somewhere safe.
“I found an escape,” whispered Greta.
With those words, the thought crystallized in his head. He had never done the spell himself but he had watched his foster mother do it often enough. Travel using water was not an easy feat, but he knew he should have enough power. The lake by the village. The place was stamped permanently in his heart. He should be able to take the three of them to it.
The doors burst open and masked men with cloaks and hand-held cannons rushed in attacking his godfather. He heard Greta yell over the noise, “Come on!” He thought he was following her, but she had gone through a door that eventually led outside while he headed for the mirror at the altar.
He summoned his water element and aimed it at the mirror. When he heard Conrart's voice telling him to escape, he turned around. The blue glow from the mirror and the angry red sparks from the incendiaries highlighted the pain in Conrart's face and the cleaved arm in the air. He was screaming even before the explosion that pushed him towards the mirror happened.
For a long time, his heart kept on screaming.
He frowned at the strange looking man with the weird blond hair and strange glasses, wearing only an apron and green patterned underwear. Wolfram and Günter had warned him about talking to strangers when he was by himself so he just stared and gave the man the most fearsome look he could muster which was not fearsome at all. In fact, it was quite adorable. The man couldn't help adore the look.
They had both been thrown ashore by the waves and Yuuri had determined that he did not land at the lake. He didn't know where the other one came from and he didn't want to find out. He just wanted to go home.
“Well, what have we here,” said the strange man.
Yuuri crossed his arms and tried to do a Wolfram imitation, flicking his bangs and saying hmph.
“What's a double-black Mazoku doing here? Of course, I'm not exactly sure where here is. But I doubt this is where you belong.”
“I'm not suppose to talk to strangers or to strange people.”
The man gave him a friendly smile. “Well, if that's so, let me introduce myself. My name is Murata Ken. And I'm not so strange. Even though I'm kinda dressed strangely right now. I was working at a beach when I suddenly got swept away.”
“Who would work wearing something like that?”
“Where I'm from, it's not so weird. Earth is a bit different.”
Yuuri's jaw dropped and his eyes widened in shock. There was only one person in the world who knew and talked about that place. And with that thought, a pain stabbed him in the heart. Wolfram said it wasn't manly to cry so he didn't.
“I don't believe you,” he yelled. “You're a liar. And a lousy one at that!”
“What would a child like you know anything about who I am and where I'm from?”
“I'm not a child. Or I won't be in a couple of weeks. And what would you know about Earth.”
“You know of Earth?”
“I was born there. But I had to come to Shin Makoku when my parents died.”
“Oh,” the man said a little disconcerted with the confession, “I'm sorry.”
“You don't need to be. It happened a long time ago. I don't even remember what they looked like. I was just a baby when it happened.”
There was a few moments of awkward silence. The man named Murata Ken removed his hat and placed it on the boy's head. He did the same for the tinted glasses he wore.
“I may be from Earth, but I do know a little about this place. This seems to be human territory and it's not safe for you to be walking around like that,” he smiled at the boy and made conciliatory hand motions. “Look, how about we agree to be friends for a bit. What's your name?”
“I don't know if I should tell you. I think you should prove yourself first. Tell me what you know about Earth.”
Once the conversation turned to baseball, the young king decided to change the label for Murata Ken from strange stranger to friend. He would have liked Murata even more if the man had liked baseball as much as Yuuri did instead of that other game he called football or soccer. Why it had two names, he didn't know. He didn't understand Murata's explanation, but from the gist of it, Yuuri got the impression that Earth was a big big place that had lots of kingdoms.
“You keep mentioning Conrart and Wolfram, are they family?”
“Yes. Conrart is my godfather. He helped raise me. Well, somewhat raise me. But he could never stay long when he came for a visit. I mean I wasn't lonely when he was gone. But it just felt like something was missing. Mother is a priestess so she wasn't really prepared or planned on having a child. Other kids' mothers are so different from mine. But Conrart felt more like how the other kids' fathers are.”
Yuuri fell into silence with the thoughts of Conrart. He fingered his blue pendant as he was wont to do when something troubled him.
“And Wolfram?”
Yuuri looked up. “Wolfram? Oh, he's my fiancé.”
“Aren't you a bit young to have a fiancé?” Murata asked masking his surprise.
“I'm almost an adult, you know. I'll be sixteen in a couple of weeks.”
“You still look like a child. You haven't even hit puberty yet. Well, I guess there's no harm in you and your little friend pretending.”
“I'm not pretending and Wolfram is not little. He's about your age, he's eighty-two.”
“I'm actually your age, not quite sixteen.”
“What?!!... You must be a human then.”
“Earth Mazoku age the same as Earth humans.”
“Oh...” Yuuri didn't know that. “So if I had lived there, I would be as grown up as you and Wolfram...”
“Yes, I suppose you would be. This Wolfram must be some kind of pedo...weirdo to be proposing to someone your age.”
“He's not weird. He's pretty. And he didn't propose. I did. I wanted to punish him for being a butthead.”
“Of course, what was I thinking? I often punish my friends by proposing to them,” Murata smiled mischievously. “So, are you going to end this punishment or has this Wolfram not learn his lesson yet?”
Murata waited patiently for the boy to arrange the thoughts inside his head. He had a feeling that the little Mazoku never even thought of the reasons why he was engaged.
“Well,” Yuuri started with a faraway look in his eyes, “I don't want to end it. If he wasn't my fiancé, he would leave. He's family and family should stay together. But he's stupid so I have to teach him.”
“Do you even understand what an engagement is?”
“Of course, I do. I'm not stupid. And anyways, Wolfram says I shouldn't get married until I'm a hundred.”
“And you understand what marriage means...”
“I told you I'm not stupid. I may look little to you, but I'm not that immature. Marriage means making a family.”
“Being the mature person you are, I'm sure you know how to make babies.”
Yuuri's whole body turned red. Oh, yes, Murata was enjoying this.
“Ye-yes, of course, I do. It involves kissing and hugging. But since Wolfram and I are both boys, we can't have babies that way anyway so Wolfram won't mind not kissing. Besides we already have a daughter.”
Murata was learning that the boy was truly entertaining. So much obliviousness in one small body. And the surprises he came up with. Oh Shinou! What gift is this?! He almost felt bad for the Wolfram that was stuck being the permanent companion of the little king.
Wolfram held on to the little arm with all his strength. The young face looked up, the eyes registered the surprise and relief of seeing the ex-prince.
“Wolfram, what are you doing here?” Yuuri asked, his voice breaking.
“Silly, I'm your fiancé. I came to save you.” Wolfram smiled at him.
“But you said, I was getting too heavy for you to carry? Won't you slip and fall?”
“Do you doubt my strength, Yuuri?”
“No.”
“Besides if you fall, I'll jump and follow you.”
“You would?”
“Yes, I'll fall with you.”
Once Yuuri was brought up to the edge of the precipice, his eyes started tearing no matter how hard he tried to stop. All the time that he was with Murata and Flynn and Yozak, he didn't cry. Even through all the trouble of being captured, of his life being threatened and the terrible box being opened, he had not cried. But once Wolfram was there, he couldn't help himself. And it was ironic because it was Wolfram who taught him not to cry.
“You can cry, Yuuri,” his friend said.
“But, it's not manly,” Yuuri sniffed.
“I won't think any less of you. It's not always good to cry, but there are times when you should. This is one of those times,” Wolfram explained gently.
Yuuri grabbed Wolfram's shirt with his one free hand and started bawling into the man's chest. Wolfram wrapped his arms around the boy and let him pour his emotions out.
Once Yuuri was done, he hugged the arm he was carrying and started hiccuping.
“Wolfram,” he said through the hiccups, “I'm sorry for not breaking the engagement. Conrart is gone and I don't want to lose you.”
Wolfram sat in front of the boy and raised the little chin so he could look into the dark pupils.
“Hear this now Yuuri. Whether the engagement is broken, or when I marry, or when you marry, I will always be by your side. You are very important to me and not because you're the Maou. But because you are Yuuri. And we will find Conrart. The rest of him has to be here somewhere, okay?”
And Wolfram meant it. He wasn't sure how or when the king had held such an important place in his heart. The king had changed him as surely as he had changed the world. The world was still changing and he himself was still changing. He didn't know what the future held or where Conrart was. But he was sure of this one thing, that as long as Yuuri needed him, he would be there.
Characters/Pairings: no pairings, KKM cast focused on Yuuri, Conrart, Wolfram, Gwendal
Word Count: 5405
Rating: G
Any Warnings: none
Theme/Prompt being used: What if Yuuri had grown up in Shin Makoku?
Ohana Means Family
It had been five years since the war and a few months since he'd accomplish the mission of his life. He was back on Earth to pick up the little child he had left behind. It had been a tragic accident that took the future Maou's family away leaving him alone.
It would have been easier perhaps to just let Miko's or Shouma's relatives take care of the baby. But in the end, everyone had felt a little uneasy at the prospect.
She had agreed easily enough to the request. It came directly from Shinou which had been a big surprise. It had been eight hundred years since she had had the privilege to hear him directly.
When Conrart handed her the little bundle, Ondine had been amazed at his coloring. Black hair and black eyes. He was certainly going to look out of place among her lavender-eyed people.
The village in the forest by the lake may not have been the best place to raise a future king. It was too rural. Too low. But with the constant danger of impending war, everyone felt a little better that the future Maou was hidden. After all, the last place any human would guess to search would be there.
She looked at the little yellow toy that Conrart had left behind wondering what it was. She turned it this way and that until one of her companions said it looked a bit like a bird. She thought, “what a funny looking bird.”
He had not wanted to leave home, but Conrart had insisted and, except for his foster mother, he trusted Conrart more than anyone in Shin Makoku. They traveled a good distance stopping at this small human village. He had never been so far away from the lake and he missed his family.
He met the long haired man with the eyes of the lake people in the large house they stayed in. He was handsome and seemed very nice. Looking at the lavender eyes made Yuuri felt better. However, the man seemed to have a tendency to be long winded and overprotective.
When Günter finally gave him the permission to go outside, he found Conrart playing baseball with children his own age. Yuuri couldn't remember when he learned to play, it seemed he's known how to play since he had been able to walk. He used to set up games with his playmates and they had regularly gotten into trouble with the adults with their wayward balls.
He had been enjoying the game when it was cut short when the adults pulled their children into their respective homes and scolded them for playing with the demon monster. Yuuri did not understand.
“Conrart,” he asked, “why did they...? What do they mean?”
Yuuri had never encountered humans in his life, not since he started living at the village by the lake. He had always assumed that they were like him.
“Humans do not understand the Mazoku and unknown things are scary,” Conrart explained.
“But humans and Mazoku should live together in harmony. I don't understand why they would be angry with us... I mean, you and I, were both human and Mazoku... The place I am from. The Earth you tell me about, you said they lived together in peace and there is no fighting and no war...”
“Even on Earth, there is war Yuuri. But you are right, there is no hatred between humans and Mazoku. That may be because humans there are not aware of the existence of Mazokus.”
“But how can that be possible? Are humans there blind or stupid? But at any rate, if humans and Mazoku can live there peacefully, then they can live peacefully here as well.”
“Yuuri, that is an admirable wish,” Conrart said giving him a gentle smile.
He was not happy that his Mother was abdicating. He was not happy that the future ruler was still a child. He was not happy that this aforementioned child was a half-Mazoku. He was not happy that he had to answer to the little runt dressed in commoner's clothing who couldn't even keep his seat on a horse and was now looking at him with mouth unsophisticatedly opened wide. Sure he had the unusual black hair and black eyes. But the third son of the future ex-Maou was not happy at all.
And he made sure to let the little kid know how unhappy he was.
He had never been in a building as large as this one. The largest place he had ever been in was a manor house belonging to an aristocrat of the lower nobility. And even then he had been impressed.
He was used to the treehouses of the lake people. The freedom of the sky. The scent of the lake. The rustle of the leaves. This terrible looking castle with the terrible name was too... terrible for him.
It didn't help that he was being frowned upon by a very tall man with a grumpy face and a short blond with an angelic face. He was comforted that he had two friends with him: the godfather who had visited him regularly as he grew up and who taught him how to play baseball, and the beautiful long-haired man who had the blood of the lake people running in his veins. He probably would not have agreed to live here if it wasn't for them.
After the encounter with the boy in the Maou's bath, she had been in a very happy mood. The young boy had run away as soon as he saw her, but she saw in him a spirit strong enough to take over. The queen wanted freedom and she could almost taste it. Dinner was going to be an interesting affair.
She hugged her oldest child and scolded him about his frown. She hugged her second child and was again amazed how much he resembled his father. She hugged her third child and teased him about being pursued by gentlemen.
“Mother, I am not happy to be pursued by men,” her third son replied.
“Aren't you being prejudiced?” the future Maou said.
Ah, yes, the little one has spirit, she thought satisfied.
“What are you talking about little kid?” her son huffed.
“I'm not a little kid. I'm almost an adult. And you shouldn't be saying that only women are good enough to pursue you. You should be more open. People shouldn't be judged by their race or gender.”
“Don't interrupt adult conversation until you're an actual adult.”
He was mad. He was livid. How can such filthy language come out of an angelic face. Insulting the mother whose touch he hadn't felt in the past fifteen years. Before he knew it, the future Maou had launched himself against the blond and they crashed onto the floor.
He sat on him and punched the blond repeatedly on the chest. He could not find relief for his anger because the man just looked at him apathetically. He felt useless because he was crying and his weak punches were being ignored. So he did the one thing he thought would get a rise out of his victim; he slapped him on the face.
“Yuur-Your Majesty, take it back!” Conrart commanded.
“No, I will not take it back! He said bad things about my mother whom he has never met. And whom even I don't remember,” the king sniffed. “How would you like it if I insulted your mother? Even I who was raised by the lake know better. And the prejudice that you hold, I will teach you. Brat!”
“Your Majesty, are you sure you don't want to take it back?” Cheri asked.
“Your Majesty, you are too young!” cried the horrified Günter.
“I don't care. I'm the king and I can do whatever.” He was now bawling. Damn! He was almost an adult and he was suppose to be a king. He shouldn't be getting upset by what a stupid, ignorant soon-to-be-ex-prince said.
“Then it's a match!” said the queen happily.
“Brother, you can't be serious!” he exclaimed. The proposal had been humiliating. The duel, if you could call it that, was even worse. He could not believe his life was being turned upside down by such a wimpy little runt. “I am not a babysitter! That's what Lord Weller is for.”
“You're his fiancé, get used to it.”
“But he's just a child. He's not even sixteen yet. If his aging had been that of a human and he had the maturity then it would be different. Not that I'd ever do anything as blasphemous as marry a human.”
“Are you going to turn down His Majesty's proposal?”
“...no,” Wolfram said defeated.
His dignity was held ransom for a ride to the human village so the little wimp could see his beloved godfather. He must be getting too soft to let himself be manipulated so easily. But, in all honesty, whenever the Maou pulled the big-eyed teary look, Wolfram hadn't been able to say no.
At least, the day didn't end in complete catastrophe. His brother was angry with him. So was Lord Weller. He was angry with himself. The kid almost met his doom in the hands of the traitor Adelbert. Then almost met his doom again in the hands of a filthy human. But for some reason, Wolfram felt unreasonably happy. He had witnessed the power and the strong determination housed in the small body of the little wimp and for the first time felt the anxiety about the future of Shin Makoku lift a little.
Now he just needed to educate Yuuri about the realities of human/demon relations. The wimp, for all that he grew up in Shin Makoku, had some weird idealistic view of the world.
Wolfram sat in the the Maou's bed with his arms crossed, his legs crossed and looked very cross. The Maou gets kidnapped once while sleeping and the ex-prince not only had babysitting duties during the day but was now assigned babysitting duties at night. Honestly, why couldn't Lord Weller bring a cot inside the king's bedchamber and sleep here.
It was bad enough that the engagement with the king practically drove any chance of dalliance, having to be nighttime nanny pretty much sentenced him to a life of celibacy. At least, until the kid had had enough of this engagement game.
He swore he'll make Stoffel pay for this somehow! The idiot man couldn't leave well enough alone and had to go and kidnap the king and try to start a civil war.
Of course, he had his mother to thank for this setup. And Gwendal and Conrart for agreeing. The only one who seemed to think it was a bad idea was Günter. However, it didn't help as it made Wolfram almost catatonic with fury from the insinuation and he found himself screaming loudly that he was not an old pervert like the silver-haired advisor. That display of indignation pretty much sealed up his fate.
Yuuri screeched like a little twit when he walked in. Wolfram wanted to bodily dump the boy in the nearest body of water when he started pointing and giggling.
“What's so funny?” the ex-prince asked irritated.
“You look like a girl,” answered the boy. “That's the silliest nightgown I've ever seen.”
“Hmph! What do you know, you rustic, uncouth little man. Just go to bed, I don't want to hear any of your nonsense.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Oh, they haven't told you? You're too much of a scaredy-cat so they had to have someone protect you. And lucky me, being your fiancé, I got volunteered.”
“I'm not a scaredy-cat,” pouted the king. “I don't need protection!”
“Good, why don't you order Gwendal that.”
Yuuri, Maou, sovereign of Shin Makoku, most powerful person in the kingdom, was terrified of Gwendal. He was not about to order the tall, grumpy man with the permafrown anything if he could help it.
“I guess it wouldn't be so bad...”
Wolfram got under the covers and turned away from the boy and was about to start snoring when he felt a little body snuggle up to him. He jumped up and started yelling.
“What the hell are you doing?!”
“You told me to go to bed, I'm going to bed.”
“Well, sleep over there on that side! Far away from me.”
Yuuri looked to the end of the bed. He couldn't understand why Wolfram was throwing a fit. Back home, he was used to sleeping with other people. He always slept with his mother and sometimes he would sleep with his 'cousins' or other assorted relatives. Treehouses were not known for spaciousness so he thought it strange when he first came to the castle that each person slept alone. He had not liked being alone in the large bed in the large room in the large castle.
“But you smell nice and you're soft...”
“Little wimp, what do you think I am? A stuffed animal?”
“No... but... I hate sleeping by myself,” his black eyes started getting misty and he was fingering the blue pendant that he had worn since he was a baby. Wolfram hated this. Because whenever Yuuri gets like this, Wolfram was putty in his hands.
“It's lonely,” continued the Maou, “I miss my family. Mother, Delphine, Gilbert, Reinhart (sniff), Helga, Kat (sniff), Uncle George... in the village, people don't sleep by themselves (sniff)...”
Wolfram rolled his eyes. What did he ever do to deserve this? He was a soldier for Shinou's sake!
“Fine, fine. But I warn you now, I kick in bed so I don't want to hear any whining in the morning.”
Wolfram lied back down and felt the small warm body on his back.
“Ah, this feels so much more like home,” Yuuri sighed contentedly. “You're like my mother away from home.”
That made Wolfram sit up. “What?! Why mother?!” He wasn't sure which was worse, being a mother or fiancé to the prepubescent Maou.
“Why not father?” he demanded.
“But Conrart's the father so you'll have to be the mother.”
“Why don't you just have my mother be your mother away from home? Don't worry, I can share.”
“No, she's more like a... uh... um... a sexy older sister.”
Wolfram's hand met his forehead; he couldn't argue with that. His mother was not one would call motherly.
He said, “Fine, do what you want. I don't have the energy to argue with you all night. Just go to bed.”
Between Gwendal who was a sucker for anything cute to Lord Weller who was a pushover and him, there wasn't a single backbone among Cheri's son that could stand up against any child's adorableness much less the Maou's.
He was not amused. Some may say he was never amused. The frown on Gwendal's forehead deepened when he saw his brothers with the Maou in tow. He told them to take him home, they refused. Or, more accurately, the boy refused and Conrart went along with him and Wolfram merely gave him a martyred look that said 'I would rather be fighting a hundred humans with esoteric stones than be here, but it's your fault that I'm on a permanent nanny assignment'.
They were in the middle of the desert when the king freaked out because his friend sank down into a sand trap. The boy begged his godfather to go save Wolfram even though the soldier was quite capable of getting himself out of the trap. Conrart quickly complied. It was how Gwendal found himself left alone taking care of him.
Yuuri was undeniably cute which was why Gwendal was trying to frown with a vengeance. He cannot afford to fawn over the cuteness as they need to raise the boy into a semblance of a capable ruler.
After a few more unfortunate incidents that included inadvertently stopping a wedding, and getting mistaken for a child-napper, the duo found themselves being carted away to prison. When he saw the king looking dejected, he couldn't help himself from consoling him.
“It'll be alright, Your Majesty.”
Yuuri sighed, “I don't know anything except baseball and swimming and climbing trees... I'm being a bad Maou, aren't I? That's why you're always angry.”
Gwendal was taken aback. “Your Majesty, you're doing fine. You've already been able to stop a war with Cavalcade, brought back the demon sword Morgif, and stopped a civil war from happening. Those are pretty big accomplishments for one so young.”
And he gave Yuuri one of his rare smiles. The boy brightened.
“You know, I can see now that you, Conrart and Wolfram are brothers. You have the same smile... and since they're my family away from home, that must mean you're my family too.”
“I am honored, Your Majesty,” Gwendal answered with sincerity.
“You can be my crazy uncle who only visits during family occasions and whom no one wants to claim!” Yuuri exclaimed happily.
The frown went back immediately.
Wolfram's troubles were multiplying. There were now two kids on the large bed. A fifteen year old Mazoku and a ten year old human girl. He had a feeling that Shinou was playing a big joke on him.
He had never expected to be engaged at the tender age of eighty-two. And he certainly didn't expect to be engaged to a child.
He had never expected to be a father at the tender age of eighty-two. And he definitely did not expect to be the father to a human.
No pretty girl or handsome young man will ever want him now... Wait! What am I thinking, of course they'll still want me!
At least Greta was not whiny like Yuuri. Where Yuuri cried, she acted. The little girl had spunk. You'd have to to come into Blood Pledge Castle to assassinate the Maou.
Unfortunately for Greta, her plan to pose as the king's daughter didn't quite work out. When she had seen the king, who is only a couple inches taller than her, she went for Wolfram instead. That is, she claimed to be Wolfram's daughter instead. The chaos that ensued was amusing in retrospect but irritating at the time. He ended up with a sprained ankle then having to travel by boat because the king thought the idea of recuperating in baths in human territory was a splendid idea.
He sighed and watched the two have a sleeping battle for the covers. They were about the same age physically. In a year, Wolfram was sure that Greta would be taller. She was certainly more mature now. It was the reason that even Günter disagreed when the Maou had the brilliant idea of adopting her. When the king ordered Wolfram to adopt her instead, the blond took one look at the girl's big brown eyes and said yes. After which, he and Greta spent the whole day clothes shopping.
Wolfram was getting stranger and stranger. Since the Maou had showed up in his life, his outlook had started changing. Though he still didn't trust humans completely, and still didn't think that war was completely unavoidable and unnecessary, he had started seeing Yuuri's childish wisdom.
If he was to be completely honest with himself, he would admit he was happy with his odd little family. Even if they couldn't get their roles straight. Wolfram was fiancé/mother to Yuuri who was brother/father to Greta who was Wolfram's daughter...
Well, Wolfram wasn't going to think about it anymore. And within a blink of an eye, he was snoring along with the other two.
His godfather slammed the double doors shut and barred it. The chaos that had greeted them on what was suppose to be a peaceful visit to an outlying town, an early birthday present from his godfather, had shaken him. Tears were flowing on his cheeks and he clenched Greta's hand tightly as he screamed about Günter dying and how it was all his fault.
“Yuuri, he's okay. He's fine. He's alive,” Conrart said trying to console the child. “He'll want you to be safe so listen to me and don't panic.”
“The arrow was suppose to be for me...” he sniffed. “I shouldn't have asked to come here. It's all my fault...”
Conrart went down on one knee, took his hand and Greta's and looked him in the eyes.
“Yuuri, you need to be strong for me. You and Greta hide, I will protect you. You know that I will give my arm, my chest and my life for you.
He had heard this mantra all his life and for the first time, it did not make him feel better. For the first time, he understood what it meant. It was different when he was playing with his friends imagining how it would be like to be king. With danger so far away, the words that Conrart spoke gave credence to their play. But with danger literally knocking at the door, the sudden realization of the offered sacrifice horrified him.
His brain was racing but he couldn't catch any of his thoughts. It was Greta that found the hiding place and the one that pulled and directed him. They had a good view of the atrium and she was scanning the place. His gaze was frozen on the large double doors and the lone soldier standing in front of them. They needed an escape. They needed to get out of here. Somewhere safe.
“I found an escape,” whispered Greta.
With those words, the thought crystallized in his head. He had never done the spell himself but he had watched his foster mother do it often enough. Travel using water was not an easy feat, but he knew he should have enough power. The lake by the village. The place was stamped permanently in his heart. He should be able to take the three of them to it.
The doors burst open and masked men with cloaks and hand-held cannons rushed in attacking his godfather. He heard Greta yell over the noise, “Come on!” He thought he was following her, but she had gone through a door that eventually led outside while he headed for the mirror at the altar.
He summoned his water element and aimed it at the mirror. When he heard Conrart's voice telling him to escape, he turned around. The blue glow from the mirror and the angry red sparks from the incendiaries highlighted the pain in Conrart's face and the cleaved arm in the air. He was screaming even before the explosion that pushed him towards the mirror happened.
For a long time, his heart kept on screaming.
He frowned at the strange looking man with the weird blond hair and strange glasses, wearing only an apron and green patterned underwear. Wolfram and Günter had warned him about talking to strangers when he was by himself so he just stared and gave the man the most fearsome look he could muster which was not fearsome at all. In fact, it was quite adorable. The man couldn't help adore the look.
They had both been thrown ashore by the waves and Yuuri had determined that he did not land at the lake. He didn't know where the other one came from and he didn't want to find out. He just wanted to go home.
“Well, what have we here,” said the strange man.
Yuuri crossed his arms and tried to do a Wolfram imitation, flicking his bangs and saying hmph.
“What's a double-black Mazoku doing here? Of course, I'm not exactly sure where here is. But I doubt this is where you belong.”
“I'm not suppose to talk to strangers or to strange people.”
The man gave him a friendly smile. “Well, if that's so, let me introduce myself. My name is Murata Ken. And I'm not so strange. Even though I'm kinda dressed strangely right now. I was working at a beach when I suddenly got swept away.”
“Who would work wearing something like that?”
“Where I'm from, it's not so weird. Earth is a bit different.”
Yuuri's jaw dropped and his eyes widened in shock. There was only one person in the world who knew and talked about that place. And with that thought, a pain stabbed him in the heart. Wolfram said it wasn't manly to cry so he didn't.
“I don't believe you,” he yelled. “You're a liar. And a lousy one at that!”
“What would a child like you know anything about who I am and where I'm from?”
“I'm not a child. Or I won't be in a couple of weeks. And what would you know about Earth.”
“You know of Earth?”
“I was born there. But I had to come to Shin Makoku when my parents died.”
“Oh,” the man said a little disconcerted with the confession, “I'm sorry.”
“You don't need to be. It happened a long time ago. I don't even remember what they looked like. I was just a baby when it happened.”
There was a few moments of awkward silence. The man named Murata Ken removed his hat and placed it on the boy's head. He did the same for the tinted glasses he wore.
“I may be from Earth, but I do know a little about this place. This seems to be human territory and it's not safe for you to be walking around like that,” he smiled at the boy and made conciliatory hand motions. “Look, how about we agree to be friends for a bit. What's your name?”
“I don't know if I should tell you. I think you should prove yourself first. Tell me what you know about Earth.”
Once the conversation turned to baseball, the young king decided to change the label for Murata Ken from strange stranger to friend. He would have liked Murata even more if the man had liked baseball as much as Yuuri did instead of that other game he called football or soccer. Why it had two names, he didn't know. He didn't understand Murata's explanation, but from the gist of it, Yuuri got the impression that Earth was a big big place that had lots of kingdoms.
“You keep mentioning Conrart and Wolfram, are they family?”
“Yes. Conrart is my godfather. He helped raise me. Well, somewhat raise me. But he could never stay long when he came for a visit. I mean I wasn't lonely when he was gone. But it just felt like something was missing. Mother is a priestess so she wasn't really prepared or planned on having a child. Other kids' mothers are so different from mine. But Conrart felt more like how the other kids' fathers are.”
Yuuri fell into silence with the thoughts of Conrart. He fingered his blue pendant as he was wont to do when something troubled him.
“And Wolfram?”
Yuuri looked up. “Wolfram? Oh, he's my fiancé.”
“Aren't you a bit young to have a fiancé?” Murata asked masking his surprise.
“I'm almost an adult, you know. I'll be sixteen in a couple of weeks.”
“You still look like a child. You haven't even hit puberty yet. Well, I guess there's no harm in you and your little friend pretending.”
“I'm not pretending and Wolfram is not little. He's about your age, he's eighty-two.”
“I'm actually your age, not quite sixteen.”
“What?!!... You must be a human then.”
“Earth Mazoku age the same as Earth humans.”
“Oh...” Yuuri didn't know that. “So if I had lived there, I would be as grown up as you and Wolfram...”
“Yes, I suppose you would be. This Wolfram must be some kind of pedo...weirdo to be proposing to someone your age.”
“He's not weird. He's pretty. And he didn't propose. I did. I wanted to punish him for being a butthead.”
“Of course, what was I thinking? I often punish my friends by proposing to them,” Murata smiled mischievously. “So, are you going to end this punishment or has this Wolfram not learn his lesson yet?”
Murata waited patiently for the boy to arrange the thoughts inside his head. He had a feeling that the little Mazoku never even thought of the reasons why he was engaged.
“Well,” Yuuri started with a faraway look in his eyes, “I don't want to end it. If he wasn't my fiancé, he would leave. He's family and family should stay together. But he's stupid so I have to teach him.”
“Do you even understand what an engagement is?”
“Of course, I do. I'm not stupid. And anyways, Wolfram says I shouldn't get married until I'm a hundred.”
“And you understand what marriage means...”
“I told you I'm not stupid. I may look little to you, but I'm not that immature. Marriage means making a family.”
“Being the mature person you are, I'm sure you know how to make babies.”
Yuuri's whole body turned red. Oh, yes, Murata was enjoying this.
“Ye-yes, of course, I do. It involves kissing and hugging. But since Wolfram and I are both boys, we can't have babies that way anyway so Wolfram won't mind not kissing. Besides we already have a daughter.”
Murata was learning that the boy was truly entertaining. So much obliviousness in one small body. And the surprises he came up with. Oh Shinou! What gift is this?! He almost felt bad for the Wolfram that was stuck being the permanent companion of the little king.
Wolfram held on to the little arm with all his strength. The young face looked up, the eyes registered the surprise and relief of seeing the ex-prince.
“Wolfram, what are you doing here?” Yuuri asked, his voice breaking.
“Silly, I'm your fiancé. I came to save you.” Wolfram smiled at him.
“But you said, I was getting too heavy for you to carry? Won't you slip and fall?”
“Do you doubt my strength, Yuuri?”
“No.”
“Besides if you fall, I'll jump and follow you.”
“You would?”
“Yes, I'll fall with you.”
Once Yuuri was brought up to the edge of the precipice, his eyes started tearing no matter how hard he tried to stop. All the time that he was with Murata and Flynn and Yozak, he didn't cry. Even through all the trouble of being captured, of his life being threatened and the terrible box being opened, he had not cried. But once Wolfram was there, he couldn't help himself. And it was ironic because it was Wolfram who taught him not to cry.
“You can cry, Yuuri,” his friend said.
“But, it's not manly,” Yuuri sniffed.
“I won't think any less of you. It's not always good to cry, but there are times when you should. This is one of those times,” Wolfram explained gently.
Yuuri grabbed Wolfram's shirt with his one free hand and started bawling into the man's chest. Wolfram wrapped his arms around the boy and let him pour his emotions out.
Once Yuuri was done, he hugged the arm he was carrying and started hiccuping.
“Wolfram,” he said through the hiccups, “I'm sorry for not breaking the engagement. Conrart is gone and I don't want to lose you.”
Wolfram sat in front of the boy and raised the little chin so he could look into the dark pupils.
“Hear this now Yuuri. Whether the engagement is broken, or when I marry, or when you marry, I will always be by your side. You are very important to me and not because you're the Maou. But because you are Yuuri. And we will find Conrart. The rest of him has to be here somewhere, okay?”
And Wolfram meant it. He wasn't sure how or when the king had held such an important place in his heart. The king had changed him as surely as he had changed the world. The world was still changing and he himself was still changing. He didn't know what the future held or where Conrart was. But he was sure of this one thing, that as long as Yuuri needed him, he would be there.