This is a side story from Stay Strong. It's my first attempt to write something with a heavy mood. I decide to put this as a separate oneshot. Please read and review! :)

Disclaimer: I still don't own Kyou Kara Maou...

Here with You

'Alone eh...' Yuuri muttered in his own mind, 'Since when does this feel strange?'

Wolfram had gone out for a mission for a whole day now. At first the blond prince tried to sneak his way out of his duty. Well, he might put a cover of I-don't-wanna-leave-my-flirty-fiancé, but actually he was just worried about Yuuri because Yuuri had just recently recuperated and was yet to be as energetic as how he used to be. However, the fortune god did not side with Wolfram and he had no choice but to leave the castle for his three-day trip.

Yuuri lay on his big bed; alone. To let Yuuri rest fully, Greta had slept in another room, leaving Yuuri really on his own. His bed seemed so strangely spacious and cold to him. He was kind of missing the usual warmth it had and the extra weight on it. The blanket felt so heavy now that he was the only one under it. Yuuri thought he wanted this freedom or privacy, but it felt so foreign when it finally happened.

Just when he was about to fall into the dreamland, there was a knock on his door which immediately awoken him. He was too lazy to open the door and it was not locked anyway; there were guards right in front of his door. So he just sat up and called for the person to come in.

"Come in," Yuuri said while looking at the door curiously.

Nobody came in.

'Strange...' Yuuri thought.

Oh maybe the person was shy or someone wanted to play a prank on him. He decided to play along with whoever it was and drag himself up from the bed.

Yuuri opened the door with a creak and to his surprise, there was nobody there, not even the guards. What happened to them? The corridor exuded an eerie vibe with its seemingly deeper darkness.

'Whoa... Since when does this castle become a haunted house?' Yuuri contemplated as he stepped outside his chamber.

'This is really weird. Guess I should just find someone. It would be good if Conrad is still awake.'

Yuuri walked down in the dark, footsteps echoing on the stone floor.

'This is really crazy! It's really like a haunted house!' Yuuri hurried his pace to Conrart's room as he grew more and more uneasy with the creepy atmosphere. He felt so silly because he was freaked out in his own home.

Near a turning, Yuuri saw a guard standing and intended to ask him why the castle was especially quiet tonight. He patted the soldier's shoulder and as he was going to speak...

Blood splattered on his face and the guard fell before his very own eyes.

Yuuri gasped, eyes widening in fear.

What happened? What did he do? Did the guard die because of him?

Yuuri staggered back and stared at his bloody hand. He began to shake uncontrollably.

"Heika..."

Yuuri turned around to see Gunter behind him. He wanted to feel relieved because there was finally someone talking to him. This loneliness was sickening him to his core. And then...

Invisible foe attacked Gunter as Yuuri reached out for him, fresh blood splashed on Yuuri as though it was an abundant stock of water. Gunter dropped face down, lavender hair flecked with crimson fluid.

Yuuri clasped his hands on his mouth, really frightened by what he saw. He slowly kneeled in front of Gunter only to be more horrified with the fact that Gunter was no longer breathing. He was scared, really scared.

"This... no..." Yuuri was stunned, unable to even shed tears at the death of his comrade.

Limping, Yuuri stood up and tried to move as fast as he could. The stench of blood, the image of people getting killed right in front of his eyes, his important friend some more, were making it harder for him to resist his urge to throw up as time passed by. Fast, he needed to get somewhere he could clear his mind and ensure the safety of his other friends as soon as possible, before he was overtaken by madness.

The torches were not burning bright; Yuuri could not see what was ahead of him. He just continued to run towards the direction he believed would lead him to Conrart. He did not even realise that he was actually running back to his room when he stumbled upon something.

Yuuri groaned as his jaw hit the ground hard. His hand touched something warm and soggy. Yuuri quickly withdrew his hand, afraid that his worst imagination might come true.

There was someone lying in front of him, a person with an all too familiar physique.

Gwendal.

"No... NO!" Yuuri screamed as he crawled backward, unable to withstand any longer the sight of his bloody friend.

'My presence... my presence is killing them...' Yuuri's mind was all hazy, 'I shouldn't go anywhere and get people killed. I should just lock myself... or even kill myself...'

Glancing up, Yuuri realised that he was back in front of his room. Perfect place, he thought. There was nobody besides him; he would not endanger anyone by being there. He should just stay there from the start.

Yuuri was practically on his hands and knees when he pushed the door leading to his bedroom. He was too weak to stand on his feet and all he wanted to do was to cover his eyes from anything, wishing that whatever happened was only a nightmare.

Closing the door, Yuuri leaned against it and brought his knees to his chest. Tears started to roll down his cheeks as he was really shaken from the cruelty of his fate.

He heard the sound of army boots ahead of him and he instantly looked up with fear.

"Con... rad..?"

"Yuuri? What happened?" Conrart was striding in Yuuri's direction with a troubled face.

"No... Don't come here!" Yuuri lifted his palms to prevent Conrart from coming, but Conrart kept moving closer to him.

Yuuri wanted to push Conrart – no, he could not get in contact with Conrart – or anything to make Conrart stay away from him. Of all people, he did not want to see Conrart suffer the most. However, there was a sudden force binding his movements. He could not move his limbs at all.

"NO!" Yuuri shouted as Conrart was getting nearer.

"NO! DON'T!" Yuuri was desperate, he yelled at the top of his voice.

Everything went to no avail as Yuuri was forced to witness his most trusted and loyal protector's life taken away in front of him.

Blood... There was so much blood everywhere that all Yuuri could see was a sickening red, everything was bathed with his comrades' blood.

"NO!" Yuuri clawed at his face which was wet with mixture of blood and tears.

"NO! LIES! ALL THESE ARE LIES! NO!"

"YUURI! YUURI, WAKE UP!"

Obsidian eyes wildly snapped open, leaking more and more tears. Yuuri was panting heavily.

"It's alright! It's only a dream!" Conrart released his hold on Yuuri's shaking wrists and pulled Yuuri who was sweating so much to his chest.

Yuuri was struggling hard in Conrart's arms. His body felt so hot like it was burning. He found Gwendal at the foot of his bed, pinning his legs so that he would not keep on kicking around. He tried to break free from them because he did not want them to be killed. Whatever he saw – foresight or hallucination – was all too real. He needed to stay away from them, lest they would die.

Conrart tightened his embrace, whispering soothing words in Yuuri's ears like a chant until Yuuri stopped fighting his hold. Gwendal finally let go of Yuuri's legs as Yuuri settled into Conrart's warm hug. Yuuri's trembling hands gripped at Conrart's jacket and his shoulders heaved as he cried effusively. Conrart caressed Yuuri's back, hoping that it would calm him down even more. It was long before Yuuri's sobs quietened into sniffs that Conrart and Gwendal were able to talk some sense into him.

Conrart and Gwendal were worried for Yuuri as this was the first night he was all alone. They met each other in front of Yuuri's chamber by chance, both quite amused that they have such similar thought. It was then they heard some noise from the room. As they entered the room, they saw Yuuri shifting restlessly on his bed before he started thrashing around and screaming. Both of them immediately pinned Yuuri's body down, afraid that he might injure himself again and tried to wake him up. Neither of them expected that Yuuri would have such a traumatising dream.

"Are you okay now?" Conrart gently asked Yuuri as he took the glass of water that Gwendal brought from Yuuri's hand.

Yuuri just weakly nodded, unable to talk even after sipping some water.

"Shall we go to sleep? You must be very tired," Conrart spoke again to convince Yuuri to get his much needed rest.

Yuuri did not answer, but he let Conrart help him to settle back on his pillow.

Suspecting that he would be left alone again, Yuuri grabbed Gwendal's hand. Gwendal who was standing beside him faced him with a rather surprised expression at the sudden gesture.

"Can... can you all stay... for a while?" Yuuri's soft voice sounded like a heart-wrenching plea from a frightened innocent child.

Gwendal slipped a gentle smile and replied, "Of course."

Gwendal sat on the bed, firmly holding the young Maou's hand. Conrart caressed Yuuri's head, carefully pushing clammy raven strands from Yuuri's forehead.

Yuuri looked so small in that form. Regardless of his behaviour and what he had done, they did not change the fact that Yuuri was still so young, still having many insecurities. Gwendal and Conrart stared at Yuuri, watching his breath steadying as he finally managed to get into a deep sleep. Sometimes, Yuuri jerked and the two brothers would be right there, assuring Yuuri that he was not alone.

To Conrart and Gwendal, Yuuri was like a precious family – a brother or even a son. He was more than just a well-respected King. He was someone so close to them, someone they wished to protect out of love and not duty.

'Sleep now, Yuuri. We are here with you.'

The End