Fic: Three Worlds Apart, Chapter 1
Okay this is long over do, but the idea hit me, and I felt like it would be fun to try. It's been along time since I posted anything on any boards, and I'm curious to know if I can still capture the characters. So here it goes, and if you like it please comment. And if you don't throw me some suggestions on how to make it better. All comments except for flames are welcome.
Author: kuromori
Title: Three Worlds Apart
Rating: R (adult situations)
Warnings: Angst, romance, fighting, BL
Summary: Strange things are happening on Earth and in Shin Makoku. Who could be causing this destruction and what are they after? Can the group solve these mysteries before both worlds are torn apart? Yuuri has to find the ancient answers, before he's faced with the ultimate separation.
Pairing: Yuuram
Beta: angstchan
Wind blew at her long silver hair, pulling with it a haunting melody. It curled inside the breeze, becoming alive in its cradle. It danced up and around the smoldering remains of a once prosperous and lively city. Every note carried with it the cries of pain combined with a chorus of chaos. All of it a sweet melody to the minstrel's apathetic ears. She was not one who bothered to take note of those crying in the streets or of the mothers clutching their dying children. There was only a smile upon mordant lips, hidden within the shadow of a flute.
Those who lived on the outskirts could only watch as homes went up in smoke and businesses shattered to the ground. There was little that could be done for this city. This was the first step in many. Soon many more would share this one's fate. The kingdom of Shadow would no longer be repressed by the light. Their great Lord had come back to them after thousands of years in silence. He would finish what was started all those years ago, and this world and the next would belong to them.
The girl from the shadow lands shivered as a wave of pleasure washed through her. This land was going to suffer for all they had done. They took them from their homes, divided up their families, and forced them into lands where famine spread, and all one could hear at night were the cries of children with starved and swollen bellies.
The return of her Lord had brought with it hope and the fruition of a grudge that had millennia to grow. The smile on her lips glinted coldly in her eyes as she watched the destruction she wrought upon this Earth. Phase one was almost complete; now all they had to do was wait.
**********************************
Arms lifted into the air to hear the ever satisfying crack of the morning first stretch: it had been a good night’s sleep on his own bed. Yuuri Shibuya always enjoyed these little comforts of coming home. He'd grown so used to sharing his bed with a certain blond prince that he had forgotten how it felt to sleep alone and not have a acute awareness of a presence next to you.
Well there was enough thinking about that, for now he was on a vacation from all that Maou stuff, and he wouldn't have to worry about that for a few days. Gunter had granted the overly stressed demon king a leave of absence, and he was going to make the most of it. However, he wasn't going to laze about his house: that wasn't Yuuri's style. Instead he had taken up a little side job. He had decided to coach for the local little league team. Something about it seemed far more rewarding than playing for himself. He enjoyed teaching these kids about the game he loved. He would tell them stories about the American baseball greats and just watch as their little eyes became wide saucers of amazement.
Filled with a renewed vigor for the day, he quickly showered and dressed. Today was the kids’ last practice before their first game, and there was a lot of work to be done, so he stopped into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of toast, already waiting him, from the toaster.
“Oh Yuuchan!” The boy stopped with his hand on the door, a sigh escaping his lips. He thought he was in the clear; he hadn't even made a single sound, but he should never underestimate the powers of woman who gave birth to two Maous.
“Yes, Kaasan?” He turned around and blinked, noting that the woman hadn't even turned her attention away from TV, and who could blame her, the sights that were flashing before their eyes were kind of gruesome. Another earthquake: they had been happening a lot recently and Yuuri had taken a brief moment to mentally give out his sympathy for those affected.
“Isn't it suppose to be Mama?”
“Eeeh? Murata!?” Yuuri looked over at the hand that waved from the couch. Ken Murata had a very sneaky way about him. Every thing he did seemed veiled in mystery, but Yuuri believed in him despite everything. He knew that no matter what this guy said or did, he always had Yuuri's best interests at heart, and his quick wit has gotten him out of more jams than he could possibly count. Murata was surely just as great of a man as the Sage whose soul dwelled within his body. “What are you doing here!?”
“I came here to pick you up!” Yuuri blinked at that. While he was in baseball Murata had been the manager of his team, but as far as little league went, he had been appointed one. That worked out fine. Murata had his own life to live, just like Yuuri had his, and while he never saw them, he was sure the boy had a family he had to spend time with as well. He couldn't expect Murata to sacrifice too much of his life for his sake.
“Ah, we're running late enough as it is.” It took Yuuri just a few more seconds to register what the Sage had been talking about before it clicked, and he gave Murata an understanding nod.
“Ah so you two will be leaving again!? I packed up some things for you for the other side, and I sealed them all in water proof containers! Yuuchan can never be too safe, so I threw in a flashlight and a few goodies just in case you miss Mama's cooking!”
“Eehe!? Kaassan...”
“Mama.” Both Murata and Jen scolded at the same time.
“You don't have to fuss that much...” He still wasn't used to the idea that his parents knew of his title on Shin Makoku. It took away part of the fun. Not that secrets were fun, but Superman never revealed himself to any one except Lois Lane, but they were lovers, and as far as Yuuri was concerned he didn't have any of those. The more he thought about it, though, Clark's parents knew, so using Superman was kind of a moot point. Perhaps Batman. Yeah no one really knew who Batman was.
The boy king was ripped out of mindless pondering by a firm pull to his hand followed by Murata throwing a packed bag to his chest. “The pool is all set up for you two in back! Be safe!!”
“Hai hai!!” Yuuri yelled back to his mother. The woman was starting to treat these world jumps as if the two of them were just going to go for a walk in the park. Though, for her, her son would be back in just minutes. The time thing worked out way too conveniently. He never had to worry about missing school or forgetting about missing out on Earth life. It was almost as if he were caught up in a dream while he was gone. So many things happened in just seconds that Yuuri was afraid that one day he might actually wake up. Everything he had learned, all the people he had met would just vanish. It was a terrifying thought.
As they stepped outside, Yuuri stared down into the kiddy pool. “Your little vacation got cut short...” Coal colored eyes focused up at his best friend, who seemed a bit more amused then he did sympathetic.
“A king isn't really free to have vacations. Time goes a lot faster there then it does here. Who knows how long I've been really gone. It would be selfish to want to stay.” Yuuri's response seemed to please the other boy.
“You just don't want to be scolded. The longer you're gone the worse it will be.” There came that knowing smirk, but despite all of normal gags and jokes Murata jabbed in his direction something wasn't sitting right inside Yuuri. There was something in those glasses-protected depths of the Sage’s eyes that struck a chord deep down within the boy king. This wasn't a planned trip. Something was bothering Murata, and in turn it was bothering Yuuri, but like always he couldn't ask. Murata had his own way of doing things, and generally they worked out for the best. At least he thought so as he placed his foot inside the pool; he hoped that was the case.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While he had gained the power the travel between the worlds of his volition, Yuuri still didn't have the landing quite right. Nine times out of ten he would land in the temple fountain, the tenth time sometimes came up with embarrassing consequences. Popping up in the ladies washroom was not something he wanted to relive any time soon. If not for the sheer embarrassment, it was the verbal thrashing he received from his would be fiancé that urged him not to make the same mistake twice. So far so good.
He gripped the edge of pool and looked around, this wasn't where he intended to go. It surely wasn't the temple. He was in a city: a devastated city. Buildings all around him had crumbled to the ground. He could see billowing smoke stacks darken the afternoon sky, while its smell poisoned the air he breathed. A part of him knew this city, but it was that same part of him that didn't wish to believe it was true.
This was Shin Makoku. In the distance he could see Blood Pledge Castle, but all around him were nothing but cries of desperation. What had happened here? He surely had not left things this way. This looked more like the after-effects of an earthquake. The people were busying themselves trying to remove rubble and put out any fires that they could. “Murata?”
“I don't know...” For once the Sage's voice seemed as shaken as the king's own. Yuuri wasn't sure what Murata had been expecting, but he was sure it wasn't this. No one could have seen this. Yuuri had been practicing for earthquakes all his life, but this place. As far as he knew the ground was peaceful here, the nearest fault line couldn't have been for miles, so what had caused this?
The boys crawled their way out of the pool, people far too busy with their own lives to even take note of their king or the Sage wondering their broken streets. Yuuri felt torn. Every person he saw he wanted to help, but despite his title, he was just one boy.
“Over here! We found another one!” He blinked at that familiar voice.
“Conrad?” Yuuri turned his head, blinking a few times to see through a haze of smoke, but there was no question about the form he saw amidst the rubble. He was standing with a group of soldiers, working quickly to remove debris, and before Yuuri could even make it over there to ask he had already witnessed the rescue. An old man stood up with a crack of his bent back, his family rushing around him to let him sit upon the very stone that held him prisoner.
Yuuri sighed with a smile. There was relief there for the old man, but the sigh seemed incredulous. Could Conrad do anything that wasn't heroic? Yuuri had given up his perfect vision of Conrad long ago. There was a darkness within that mild mannered form. He'd seen it several times in their journeys together, and Yuuri learned that a pedestal is not where this man belonged. Conrad didn't wish to be any one's hero; he just wanted to do what he could with what he had. If people were happy with that, it was them who turned him into a hero. No, Yuuri didn't want to look at him that way any more: down here, looking way up there. It wasn't fair to a man who really didn't want anything special out life. Conrad belonged down here with him and his brothers.
“Conrad!” Yuuri jumped and waved his hand in the air, Murata stopping beside him, his wave far more polite.
“Yuuri?” The second brother lifted his head and blinked, startled eyes looking over at the two boys.
“Heika... Geika... You have amazing timing...” Conrad walked over to the rubble, brushing off the arm of his uniform. “Any earlier and I'm not sure if I could have guaranteed your safety. Let’s get the both of you back to the castle.”
He stepped a head of them, silently commanding the two double blacks to follow suit, which they did without question. “What happened around here?” Yuuri asked, his eyes focusing on the back of the elder man's head.
“I do not know. We were out patrolling the streets, nothing seemed out of place... and then the earth just began to shake and sink. In seconds it was able to do more damage to this city than any war I have seen.” As Weller spoke Yuuri noticed his fist clenching at his side. It must have been hard watching this city start to crumble while there was no enemy around to fight. Conrad must have felt helpless: a feeling alien to the swordsmen.
Yuuri didn't feel the urge to press the issue any further, anything more could be discussed at the castle, and for now he was content to follow the man in silence. It worked out better that way; in his silence he was able to take a better survey of the damage, knowing that Gunter would want him to address this as soon as possible. It would seem that the most aid would have to be sent to the outer city. They had been, for some reason, struck the hardest. The inner city had a few buildings down at the most, and from here he only noticed the absence of one of Blood Pledges smaller towers. It was not a huge loss for the castle. If he remembered correctly it was one that was used for storage, and as far as he knew, stood empty. It would not be missed.
His suspicions about the tower were found to be correct as they walked into the gate. There was very little damage aside from that: a few cracks in walls, a few upset horses, but nothing that seemed too bad. He had to wonder what was with all these people rushing over to the tower. Had some one been hurt in its collapse? Oh, that would have been horrible.
Yuuri broke step from behind Conrad and ran off to join the crowd, ignoring Murata's cry. If it was one of his servants under there, he would have to help, but as he drew close he could make out something from within that gray rubble. A pale hand reached out from within, a gentle looking hand that was marred by blood and dirt. A hand that was framed by a stained white and blue cuff. An unmoving hand.
“Wolfram...” The name caught in his throat.
TBC
So there you have it, my first atempt in almost two years! I hope you enjoy it.
And like before, thank you Seme for beta.
Author: kuromori
Title: Three Worlds Apart
Rating: R (adult situations)
Warnings: Angst, romance, fighting, BL
Summary: Strange things are happening on Earth and in Shin Makoku. Who could be causing this destruction and what are they after? Can the group solve these mysteries before both worlds are torn apart? Yuuri has to find the ancient answers, before he's faced with the ultimate separation.
Pairing: Yuuram
Beta: angstchan
Wind blew at her long silver hair, pulling with it a haunting melody. It curled inside the breeze, becoming alive in its cradle. It danced up and around the smoldering remains of a once prosperous and lively city. Every note carried with it the cries of pain combined with a chorus of chaos. All of it a sweet melody to the minstrel's apathetic ears. She was not one who bothered to take note of those crying in the streets or of the mothers clutching their dying children. There was only a smile upon mordant lips, hidden within the shadow of a flute.
Those who lived on the outskirts could only watch as homes went up in smoke and businesses shattered to the ground. There was little that could be done for this city. This was the first step in many. Soon many more would share this one's fate. The kingdom of Shadow would no longer be repressed by the light. Their great Lord had come back to them after thousands of years in silence. He would finish what was started all those years ago, and this world and the next would belong to them.
The girl from the shadow lands shivered as a wave of pleasure washed through her. This land was going to suffer for all they had done. They took them from their homes, divided up their families, and forced them into lands where famine spread, and all one could hear at night were the cries of children with starved and swollen bellies.
The return of her Lord had brought with it hope and the fruition of a grudge that had millennia to grow. The smile on her lips glinted coldly in her eyes as she watched the destruction she wrought upon this Earth. Phase one was almost complete; now all they had to do was wait.
**********************************
Arms lifted into the air to hear the ever satisfying crack of the morning first stretch: it had been a good night’s sleep on his own bed. Yuuri Shibuya always enjoyed these little comforts of coming home. He'd grown so used to sharing his bed with a certain blond prince that he had forgotten how it felt to sleep alone and not have a acute awareness of a presence next to you.
Well there was enough thinking about that, for now he was on a vacation from all that Maou stuff, and he wouldn't have to worry about that for a few days. Gunter had granted the overly stressed demon king a leave of absence, and he was going to make the most of it. However, he wasn't going to laze about his house: that wasn't Yuuri's style. Instead he had taken up a little side job. He had decided to coach for the local little league team. Something about it seemed far more rewarding than playing for himself. He enjoyed teaching these kids about the game he loved. He would tell them stories about the American baseball greats and just watch as their little eyes became wide saucers of amazement.
Filled with a renewed vigor for the day, he quickly showered and dressed. Today was the kids’ last practice before their first game, and there was a lot of work to be done, so he stopped into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of toast, already waiting him, from the toaster.
“Oh Yuuchan!” The boy stopped with his hand on the door, a sigh escaping his lips. He thought he was in the clear; he hadn't even made a single sound, but he should never underestimate the powers of woman who gave birth to two Maous.
“Yes, Kaasan?” He turned around and blinked, noting that the woman hadn't even turned her attention away from TV, and who could blame her, the sights that were flashing before their eyes were kind of gruesome. Another earthquake: they had been happening a lot recently and Yuuri had taken a brief moment to mentally give out his sympathy for those affected.
“Isn't it suppose to be Mama?”
“Eeeh? Murata!?” Yuuri looked over at the hand that waved from the couch. Ken Murata had a very sneaky way about him. Every thing he did seemed veiled in mystery, but Yuuri believed in him despite everything. He knew that no matter what this guy said or did, he always had Yuuri's best interests at heart, and his quick wit has gotten him out of more jams than he could possibly count. Murata was surely just as great of a man as the Sage whose soul dwelled within his body. “What are you doing here!?”
“I came here to pick you up!” Yuuri blinked at that. While he was in baseball Murata had been the manager of his team, but as far as little league went, he had been appointed one. That worked out fine. Murata had his own life to live, just like Yuuri had his, and while he never saw them, he was sure the boy had a family he had to spend time with as well. He couldn't expect Murata to sacrifice too much of his life for his sake.
“Ah, we're running late enough as it is.” It took Yuuri just a few more seconds to register what the Sage had been talking about before it clicked, and he gave Murata an understanding nod.
“Ah so you two will be leaving again!? I packed up some things for you for the other side, and I sealed them all in water proof containers! Yuuchan can never be too safe, so I threw in a flashlight and a few goodies just in case you miss Mama's cooking!”
“Eehe!? Kaassan...”
“Mama.” Both Murata and Jen scolded at the same time.
“You don't have to fuss that much...” He still wasn't used to the idea that his parents knew of his title on Shin Makoku. It took away part of the fun. Not that secrets were fun, but Superman never revealed himself to any one except Lois Lane, but they were lovers, and as far as Yuuri was concerned he didn't have any of those. The more he thought about it, though, Clark's parents knew, so using Superman was kind of a moot point. Perhaps Batman. Yeah no one really knew who Batman was.
The boy king was ripped out of mindless pondering by a firm pull to his hand followed by Murata throwing a packed bag to his chest. “The pool is all set up for you two in back! Be safe!!”
“Hai hai!!” Yuuri yelled back to his mother. The woman was starting to treat these world jumps as if the two of them were just going to go for a walk in the park. Though, for her, her son would be back in just minutes. The time thing worked out way too conveniently. He never had to worry about missing school or forgetting about missing out on Earth life. It was almost as if he were caught up in a dream while he was gone. So many things happened in just seconds that Yuuri was afraid that one day he might actually wake up. Everything he had learned, all the people he had met would just vanish. It was a terrifying thought.
As they stepped outside, Yuuri stared down into the kiddy pool. “Your little vacation got cut short...” Coal colored eyes focused up at his best friend, who seemed a bit more amused then he did sympathetic.
“A king isn't really free to have vacations. Time goes a lot faster there then it does here. Who knows how long I've been really gone. It would be selfish to want to stay.” Yuuri's response seemed to please the other boy.
“You just don't want to be scolded. The longer you're gone the worse it will be.” There came that knowing smirk, but despite all of normal gags and jokes Murata jabbed in his direction something wasn't sitting right inside Yuuri. There was something in those glasses-protected depths of the Sage’s eyes that struck a chord deep down within the boy king. This wasn't a planned trip. Something was bothering Murata, and in turn it was bothering Yuuri, but like always he couldn't ask. Murata had his own way of doing things, and generally they worked out for the best. At least he thought so as he placed his foot inside the pool; he hoped that was the case.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While he had gained the power the travel between the worlds of his volition, Yuuri still didn't have the landing quite right. Nine times out of ten he would land in the temple fountain, the tenth time sometimes came up with embarrassing consequences. Popping up in the ladies washroom was not something he wanted to relive any time soon. If not for the sheer embarrassment, it was the verbal thrashing he received from his would be fiancé that urged him not to make the same mistake twice. So far so good.
He gripped the edge of pool and looked around, this wasn't where he intended to go. It surely wasn't the temple. He was in a city: a devastated city. Buildings all around him had crumbled to the ground. He could see billowing smoke stacks darken the afternoon sky, while its smell poisoned the air he breathed. A part of him knew this city, but it was that same part of him that didn't wish to believe it was true.
This was Shin Makoku. In the distance he could see Blood Pledge Castle, but all around him were nothing but cries of desperation. What had happened here? He surely had not left things this way. This looked more like the after-effects of an earthquake. The people were busying themselves trying to remove rubble and put out any fires that they could. “Murata?”
“I don't know...” For once the Sage's voice seemed as shaken as the king's own. Yuuri wasn't sure what Murata had been expecting, but he was sure it wasn't this. No one could have seen this. Yuuri had been practicing for earthquakes all his life, but this place. As far as he knew the ground was peaceful here, the nearest fault line couldn't have been for miles, so what had caused this?
The boys crawled their way out of the pool, people far too busy with their own lives to even take note of their king or the Sage wondering their broken streets. Yuuri felt torn. Every person he saw he wanted to help, but despite his title, he was just one boy.
“Over here! We found another one!” He blinked at that familiar voice.
“Conrad?” Yuuri turned his head, blinking a few times to see through a haze of smoke, but there was no question about the form he saw amidst the rubble. He was standing with a group of soldiers, working quickly to remove debris, and before Yuuri could even make it over there to ask he had already witnessed the rescue. An old man stood up with a crack of his bent back, his family rushing around him to let him sit upon the very stone that held him prisoner.
Yuuri sighed with a smile. There was relief there for the old man, but the sigh seemed incredulous. Could Conrad do anything that wasn't heroic? Yuuri had given up his perfect vision of Conrad long ago. There was a darkness within that mild mannered form. He'd seen it several times in their journeys together, and Yuuri learned that a pedestal is not where this man belonged. Conrad didn't wish to be any one's hero; he just wanted to do what he could with what he had. If people were happy with that, it was them who turned him into a hero. No, Yuuri didn't want to look at him that way any more: down here, looking way up there. It wasn't fair to a man who really didn't want anything special out life. Conrad belonged down here with him and his brothers.
“Conrad!” Yuuri jumped and waved his hand in the air, Murata stopping beside him, his wave far more polite.
“Yuuri?” The second brother lifted his head and blinked, startled eyes looking over at the two boys.
“Heika... Geika... You have amazing timing...” Conrad walked over to the rubble, brushing off the arm of his uniform. “Any earlier and I'm not sure if I could have guaranteed your safety. Let’s get the both of you back to the castle.”
He stepped a head of them, silently commanding the two double blacks to follow suit, which they did without question. “What happened around here?” Yuuri asked, his eyes focusing on the back of the elder man's head.
“I do not know. We were out patrolling the streets, nothing seemed out of place... and then the earth just began to shake and sink. In seconds it was able to do more damage to this city than any war I have seen.” As Weller spoke Yuuri noticed his fist clenching at his side. It must have been hard watching this city start to crumble while there was no enemy around to fight. Conrad must have felt helpless: a feeling alien to the swordsmen.
Yuuri didn't feel the urge to press the issue any further, anything more could be discussed at the castle, and for now he was content to follow the man in silence. It worked out better that way; in his silence he was able to take a better survey of the damage, knowing that Gunter would want him to address this as soon as possible. It would seem that the most aid would have to be sent to the outer city. They had been, for some reason, struck the hardest. The inner city had a few buildings down at the most, and from here he only noticed the absence of one of Blood Pledges smaller towers. It was not a huge loss for the castle. If he remembered correctly it was one that was used for storage, and as far as he knew, stood empty. It would not be missed.
His suspicions about the tower were found to be correct as they walked into the gate. There was very little damage aside from that: a few cracks in walls, a few upset horses, but nothing that seemed too bad. He had to wonder what was with all these people rushing over to the tower. Had some one been hurt in its collapse? Oh, that would have been horrible.
Yuuri broke step from behind Conrad and ran off to join the crowd, ignoring Murata's cry. If it was one of his servants under there, he would have to help, but as he drew close he could make out something from within that gray rubble. A pale hand reached out from within, a gentle looking hand that was marred by blood and dirt. A hand that was framed by a stained white and blue cuff. An unmoving hand.
“Wolfram...” The name caught in his throat.
TBC
So there you have it, my first atempt in almost two years! I hope you enjoy it.
And like before, thank you Seme for beta.