FIC: TAATS Chapter 11: Love and Friendship
Title: The Admirer and the Sage (Chapter 11: Love and Friendship)
Author: Batty_Gal a.k.a Tetra26
Rating: T+
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Pairing: Wolfram x Murata
Word Count: 1907
Fic Type: Ongoing
Summary: Wolfram gets his own counseling session from someone who just loves to meddle in people's affairs.
Prior chapters: 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8 ~ 9 ~ 10
Chapter 11: Love and Friendship
It had been three months in Shin Makoku since Wolfram had last seen Murata. He wondered if there was something wrong, especially considering that Yuuri had come and gone several times by himself without the other man.
He confronted Yuuri about it and asked if Murata was alright. Yuuri had smiled and assured him that he was, but that he was doing something important on Earth. Wolfram had almost asked to go back with Yuuri the last time he left, but refrained.
He desperately wanted to attempt to use his time apart from Murata to put his feelings in check, but the longer the other man stayed away, the worse they seemed to get. More than anything, Wolfram hated knowing that the other man (or, at least, part of him) potentially returned his feelings - but perhaps only because of his resemblance to his past lover.
Wolfram thought that maybe he was over-thinking things, and considered that he had become so used to brooding that it felt comfortable and safe to him. After all, Murata had given him no indication whatsoever that he still loved Shinou - and when he mentioned that past relationship, he had done so casually.
Wolfram supposed that he could ask Murata if he still did, but wondered just how he could bring that up without the Sage becoming suspicious as to why he was asking. Wolfram definitely couldn't tell him the answer to that.
Or could he?
Could he really tell Murata how he felt about him?
He thought about how brave the Sage had been when confiding in him that he had been the masked man, and wondered where he could find some of that courage on his own.
Not for the first time since he and Murata became closer friends, Wolfram found himself making his way to the same shrine garden where the Sage had first confided in him.
He often came there when he needed some time alone, and today was no different. Wolfram had taken a walk to get away from the questions directed his way from his brothers, whom had noticed that he seemed more tired than normal. He really had no explanations for them that weren't completely embarrassing, so he essentially avoided them whenever possible. He hadn't even meant to come to the shrine, he had simply done so unconsciously.
He would eventually claim that perhaps he hadn't come on his own will that day at all.
Wolfram laid on his back on one of the benches in the shrine garden with his hands behind his head, lost in his own world. He had his eyes closed, and was imagining all the possible scenarios of what would happen if he got up the nerve to tell Murata how he felt.
When he felt an abnormal presence near him, he didn't even have to open his eyes to recognize the being that he was so attuned to.
“Shinou,” Wolfram acknowledged the dead king.
“I must be losing my touch,” Shinou said. “You didn't even see me.”
“Let's just say I'm used to you now,” Wolfram said.
“Ah, I guess that can't be helped.”
Wolfram opened one eye to peek up at the translucent being. “Do you need anything?” he asked.
“Not really. I'm just here to marvel at how much you look like me,” Shinou said, his voice filled with what Wolfram suspected was amusement.
Wolfram opened the other eye, and stared at the man's form. He wondered just what he meant by that.
“Why are you doing that now, of all times?”
“No real reason. I was simply thinking about you and my Daikenja.”
Wolfram felt a chill go through his body at how Shinou had addressed Murata as his. The insecurities about his relationship with the Sage that he had temporarily pushed to the back of his mind rushed to the surface of it, and he angrily shot off his mouth.
“What about me and 'your Daikenja'?” he said. He sat up on the bench and looked at Shinou through narrowed eyes.
Shinou smirked at him. “I've just noticed how much closer you two are now since the whole 'masked man' incident.. I'm intrigued by it.”
“Why?” Wolfram asked, suspiciously. He wondered just what Shinou was trying to get at.
“Why not? Can't I be interested in my friend's life?” Shinou innocently asked.
“Friend, huh? Tell me, just how friendly are you two?” Wolfram asked before he could stop himself.
He mentally kicked himself for bringing it up, but a part of him wanted to get things out in the open for once, and for all. He braced himself for the answer that Shinou would give him.
“Well, as friendly as anyone can be for a few thousands of years,” the ghostly figure said with a shrug.
Wolfram's shoulders slumped. Shinou didn't quite answer in a way that clarified things, but he knew that if he pressed it any further the man would figure out just what he was thinking, if he didn't already know.
As luck would have it, Shinou didn't stop there.
“I suppose our friendship is a devoted one. I mean, he has subjected himself to many things for me - has essentially lived his lives for me. No. I take that back. As pompous as I'd like to be here, I know that Daikenja did all of that more for everyone, not simply me.”
“Still, he was loyal to you,” Wolfram said, quietly. “He must care deeply for you, maybe he even loves you.”
“Perhaps he does,” Shinou said, and shrugged again.
“Doesn't that... affect you? That the Sage may love you?”
Wolfram looked at Shinou, who raised his eyebrow at his remark.
“That depends on what type of love you're referring to. Is it brotherly love? The love a parent has for their child? The love of a friend? The love of lovers? There are many forms of love, Young von Bielefeld. For example, the love you have for your brothers Gwendal and Conrad, while strong, isn't the same as the love you have for the Sage.”
Wolfram's mouth dropped open. He was about to protest, but he knew it would pointless considering who the man in front of him was. He decided not to even address that part of Shinou's remark, and instead brought the subject back on the being in front of him.
“I was referring to romantic love,” Wolfram said. He paused for a moment, but decided to throw all caution to the wind. “Does the Sage love you?”
“You'll have to ask him, I don't know,” Shinou said.
“How can you not know if the Sage loves you when you know almost everything else?!” Wolfram asked in frustration, which prompted the other man to laugh.
“If you really want to know, you should ask him how he feels about me... or you.”
“I'm not you,” Wolfram said.
“No one ever said you were.”
“Then why did you tell me to ask him about you, and then say ask him about me as if you meant it like we're the same person?”
“You're reading into my words too much. That's not what I meant at all.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Instead of wasting your time asking about his feelings for me, ask him what you really want to know.”
“I won't be your substitution,” Wolfram said, quietly.
Shinou sighed. “Young von Bielefeld... when he went gallivanting about in a mask a year and a half ago, who was his main target?”
“Me, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“If he were interested in me, he could have easily stayed at the shrine bothering me instead of going out of his way to push you up against the closest hard surface to have his way with you.”
Wolfram turned bright red at the remark. “You were there? Why?!”
“When one sees their friend go into a trance and then essentially become someone else, they would follow them around to know what's going on, right? He couldn't even feel my presence like normal in that form... of course, he was too busy doing things with you to notice me.”
Wolfram's blush - and his embarrassment - deepened.
Shinou continued. “Now really, if he wanted me, he wouldn't have been harassing you.”
“Maybe he wanted someone more... solid?”
“Or maybe he simply wanted you. Why is it so hard for you to realize that his feelings for you are legit?"
Wolfram didn't answer, and instead looked at the ground.
Shinou sighed. “Alright, I'll end this game here since you refuse to get it.”
“Game?”
“Listen up closely, because I won't go over it again. Daikenja loved me, briefly - thousands of years ago. He got over me, the very same way you've gotten over the current Maou. Now he loves you.”
“How can you be so sure of that? How can you be sure that it isn't just some sort of infatuation with me because I look like you?”
“If that were the case, then perhaps I should be pursuing you as well. After all, you look exactly like Rufus, and I was with Rufus too,” Shinou said, sweetly.
“What?!”
“Yes, and you two look more alike than even we do. So how about it? “
“You don't have those sort of feelings for me!”
“According to your logic, I should.”
“No, no, no! That's not how I see things!”
“Perhaps I should possess the Sage's body and have my way with you.”
“You even attempt it and I'll kill you!”
“Is that even possible?”
“I don't know, but I'll try it!”
Shinou laughed at the other man's fearsome glare. “Don't worry, I'm just teasing you. I would never do something like that to him - or you. So quit worrying about it.
Wolfram realized that Shinou was aware of several of his nightmares and fears, and wondered if the other man had anything to do with them.
“No, though I did take a peek at them.”
Wolfram was more than a little spooked that Shinou could read his mind.
A loud splash in the distance interrupted their banter.
“Well, it looks as if my 'seduction' of you will have to continue another day,” Shinou said lightly.
Wolfram opened his mouth to protest Shinou's words, but the dead king cut him off.
“Remember what I said here. Happiness is right there, if only you'll let it happen,” Shinou said as he disappeared.
Wolfram stood there staring at the spot where the figure had been. The other man had debunked the worst of his fears and nightmares, but he was still afraid.
“Maybe if I fell and hit my head...” he trailed off. His face turned red at the memory of Murata's sexual innuendos and roaming hands while Wolfram had helped him recover.
“Or maybe not,” he said, shaking his head.
Author's Note: That's it for this chapter! One more to go, plus the Epilogue. Next chapter may warrant the fic being knocked into the “M” rating - or I may post a sanitized version on FF.net with the regular on my LJ. It will be up a few days later than normal as I decide (as well as rewrite it - it might not need to be in the M afterwards). Next chapter: Things change between Wolfram and Murata.
Next Chapter: 12
Author: Batty_Gal a.k.a Tetra26
Rating: T+
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Pairing: Wolfram x Murata
Word Count: 1907
Fic Type: Ongoing
Summary: Wolfram gets his own counseling session from someone who just loves to meddle in people's affairs.
Prior chapters: 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 ~ 5 ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8 ~ 9 ~ 10
Chapter 11: Love and Friendship
It had been three months in Shin Makoku since Wolfram had last seen Murata. He wondered if there was something wrong, especially considering that Yuuri had come and gone several times by himself without the other man.
He confronted Yuuri about it and asked if Murata was alright. Yuuri had smiled and assured him that he was, but that he was doing something important on Earth. Wolfram had almost asked to go back with Yuuri the last time he left, but refrained.
He desperately wanted to attempt to use his time apart from Murata to put his feelings in check, but the longer the other man stayed away, the worse they seemed to get. More than anything, Wolfram hated knowing that the other man (or, at least, part of him) potentially returned his feelings - but perhaps only because of his resemblance to his past lover.
Wolfram thought that maybe he was over-thinking things, and considered that he had become so used to brooding that it felt comfortable and safe to him. After all, Murata had given him no indication whatsoever that he still loved Shinou - and when he mentioned that past relationship, he had done so casually.
Wolfram supposed that he could ask Murata if he still did, but wondered just how he could bring that up without the Sage becoming suspicious as to why he was asking. Wolfram definitely couldn't tell him the answer to that.
Or could he?
Could he really tell Murata how he felt about him?
He thought about how brave the Sage had been when confiding in him that he had been the masked man, and wondered where he could find some of that courage on his own.
Not for the first time since he and Murata became closer friends, Wolfram found himself making his way to the same shrine garden where the Sage had first confided in him.
He often came there when he needed some time alone, and today was no different. Wolfram had taken a walk to get away from the questions directed his way from his brothers, whom had noticed that he seemed more tired than normal. He really had no explanations for them that weren't completely embarrassing, so he essentially avoided them whenever possible. He hadn't even meant to come to the shrine, he had simply done so unconsciously.
He would eventually claim that perhaps he hadn't come on his own will that day at all.
Wolfram laid on his back on one of the benches in the shrine garden with his hands behind his head, lost in his own world. He had his eyes closed, and was imagining all the possible scenarios of what would happen if he got up the nerve to tell Murata how he felt.
When he felt an abnormal presence near him, he didn't even have to open his eyes to recognize the being that he was so attuned to.
“Shinou,” Wolfram acknowledged the dead king.
“I must be losing my touch,” Shinou said. “You didn't even see me.”
“Let's just say I'm used to you now,” Wolfram said.
“Ah, I guess that can't be helped.”
Wolfram opened one eye to peek up at the translucent being. “Do you need anything?” he asked.
“Not really. I'm just here to marvel at how much you look like me,” Shinou said, his voice filled with what Wolfram suspected was amusement.
Wolfram opened the other eye, and stared at the man's form. He wondered just what he meant by that.
“Why are you doing that now, of all times?”
“No real reason. I was simply thinking about you and my Daikenja.”
Wolfram felt a chill go through his body at how Shinou had addressed Murata as his. The insecurities about his relationship with the Sage that he had temporarily pushed to the back of his mind rushed to the surface of it, and he angrily shot off his mouth.
“What about me and 'your Daikenja'?” he said. He sat up on the bench and looked at Shinou through narrowed eyes.
Shinou smirked at him. “I've just noticed how much closer you two are now since the whole 'masked man' incident.. I'm intrigued by it.”
“Why?” Wolfram asked, suspiciously. He wondered just what Shinou was trying to get at.
“Why not? Can't I be interested in my friend's life?” Shinou innocently asked.
“Friend, huh? Tell me, just how friendly are you two?” Wolfram asked before he could stop himself.
He mentally kicked himself for bringing it up, but a part of him wanted to get things out in the open for once, and for all. He braced himself for the answer that Shinou would give him.
“Well, as friendly as anyone can be for a few thousands of years,” the ghostly figure said with a shrug.
Wolfram's shoulders slumped. Shinou didn't quite answer in a way that clarified things, but he knew that if he pressed it any further the man would figure out just what he was thinking, if he didn't already know.
As luck would have it, Shinou didn't stop there.
“I suppose our friendship is a devoted one. I mean, he has subjected himself to many things for me - has essentially lived his lives for me. No. I take that back. As pompous as I'd like to be here, I know that Daikenja did all of that more for everyone, not simply me.”
“Still, he was loyal to you,” Wolfram said, quietly. “He must care deeply for you, maybe he even loves you.”
“Perhaps he does,” Shinou said, and shrugged again.
“Doesn't that... affect you? That the Sage may love you?”
Wolfram looked at Shinou, who raised his eyebrow at his remark.
“That depends on what type of love you're referring to. Is it brotherly love? The love a parent has for their child? The love of a friend? The love of lovers? There are many forms of love, Young von Bielefeld. For example, the love you have for your brothers Gwendal and Conrad, while strong, isn't the same as the love you have for the Sage.”
Wolfram's mouth dropped open. He was about to protest, but he knew it would pointless considering who the man in front of him was. He decided not to even address that part of Shinou's remark, and instead brought the subject back on the being in front of him.
“I was referring to romantic love,” Wolfram said. He paused for a moment, but decided to throw all caution to the wind. “Does the Sage love you?”
“You'll have to ask him, I don't know,” Shinou said.
“How can you not know if the Sage loves you when you know almost everything else?!” Wolfram asked in frustration, which prompted the other man to laugh.
“If you really want to know, you should ask him how he feels about me... or you.”
“I'm not you,” Wolfram said.
“No one ever said you were.”
“Then why did you tell me to ask him about you, and then say ask him about me as if you meant it like we're the same person?”
“You're reading into my words too much. That's not what I meant at all.”
“Then what did you mean?”
“Exactly what I said. Instead of wasting your time asking about his feelings for me, ask him what you really want to know.”
“I won't be your substitution,” Wolfram said, quietly.
Shinou sighed. “Young von Bielefeld... when he went gallivanting about in a mask a year and a half ago, who was his main target?”
“Me, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“If he were interested in me, he could have easily stayed at the shrine bothering me instead of going out of his way to push you up against the closest hard surface to have his way with you.”
Wolfram turned bright red at the remark. “You were there? Why?!”
“When one sees their friend go into a trance and then essentially become someone else, they would follow them around to know what's going on, right? He couldn't even feel my presence like normal in that form... of course, he was too busy doing things with you to notice me.”
Wolfram's blush - and his embarrassment - deepened.
Shinou continued. “Now really, if he wanted me, he wouldn't have been harassing you.”
“Maybe he wanted someone more... solid?”
“Or maybe he simply wanted you. Why is it so hard for you to realize that his feelings for you are legit?"
Wolfram didn't answer, and instead looked at the ground.
Shinou sighed. “Alright, I'll end this game here since you refuse to get it.”
“Game?”
“Listen up closely, because I won't go over it again. Daikenja loved me, briefly - thousands of years ago. He got over me, the very same way you've gotten over the current Maou. Now he loves you.”
“How can you be so sure of that? How can you be sure that it isn't just some sort of infatuation with me because I look like you?”
“If that were the case, then perhaps I should be pursuing you as well. After all, you look exactly like Rufus, and I was with Rufus too,” Shinou said, sweetly.
“What?!”
“Yes, and you two look more alike than even we do. So how about it? “
“You don't have those sort of feelings for me!”
“According to your logic, I should.”
“No, no, no! That's not how I see things!”
“Perhaps I should possess the Sage's body and have my way with you.”
“You even attempt it and I'll kill you!”
“Is that even possible?”
“I don't know, but I'll try it!”
Shinou laughed at the other man's fearsome glare. “Don't worry, I'm just teasing you. I would never do something like that to him - or you. So quit worrying about it.
Wolfram realized that Shinou was aware of several of his nightmares and fears, and wondered if the other man had anything to do with them.
“No, though I did take a peek at them.”
Wolfram was more than a little spooked that Shinou could read his mind.
A loud splash in the distance interrupted their banter.
“Well, it looks as if my 'seduction' of you will have to continue another day,” Shinou said lightly.
Wolfram opened his mouth to protest Shinou's words, but the dead king cut him off.
“Remember what I said here. Happiness is right there, if only you'll let it happen,” Shinou said as he disappeared.
Wolfram stood there staring at the spot where the figure had been. The other man had debunked the worst of his fears and nightmares, but he was still afraid.
“Maybe if I fell and hit my head...” he trailed off. His face turned red at the memory of Murata's sexual innuendos and roaming hands while Wolfram had helped him recover.
“Or maybe not,” he said, shaking his head.
Author's Note: That's it for this chapter! One more to go, plus the Epilogue. Next chapter may warrant the fic being knocked into the “M” rating - or I may post a sanitized version on FF.net with the regular on my LJ. It will be up a few days later than normal as I decide (as well as rewrite it - it might not need to be in the M afterwards). Next chapter: Things change between Wolfram and Murata.
Next Chapter: 12