Something stupid,
Something silly,
If you don't like this,
Don't blame me.
Warning: Read this at your own risk
Usual disclaimers apply
The act is done. There is no turning back. The current pendulum is stopped.
Wolfram opens his eyes. His surrounding is not as familiar as he initially thought it will be. Or is it because his mind is kind of muddy? Try as he might, he cannot remember this place let alone why he is here in the first place. He turns around, hoping to find some familiar faces. Fortunately, just behind him, Wolfram can see his brothers running towards him. Their faces register something akin to alarms. But why? Is something bad going to happen?
"Wolfram!" Conrart is the first person to reach him. His brother reaches out his hands and starts to examine him, checking whether Wolfram carries any wound or any physical anomalies.
Wolfram can feel his face starts to blush. He slaps away Conrart's hands. "What do you think you're doing to me?" He asks with his hands on his hips. He looks at his brother with a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance.
Conrart ignores the look Wolfram is giving him. That is not something new to him so it is easy to turn a blind eye. Wolfram's annoyance however grows when he sees that Conrart is still fusing over him.
"Stop it! What's wrong with you? I'm not hurt as you can obviously see unless by some twist of cruel fate you are now blind and need to grope me in order to ascertain it yourself."
Conrart stops himself. With that kind of attitude, it seems that Wolfram is fine. He sighs with relief. A moment later, Gwendal arrives with a frown on his face. He is closely followed by Günter, Yuuri and Murata, the latter still trying to find his breath.
"Conrart, how is he?" The eldest son of the 26th Maou looks hard at his youngest brother. From the naked eyes, there seems to be nothing wrong with the blond bishounen.
"As far as I can tell, he's fine, Gwendal," Conrart answers his brother, right hand busy sheathing his sword.
"Ahh…yokatta!" Yuuri exhales behind Conrart. "You've really scared us a bit, Wolf. Don't do that ever again, alright?" he pats the utterly bewildered youth on his left shoulder. Yuuri notices the change on Wolfram's expression. "What's wrong, Wolfram? Are you hurt somewhere?" Yuuri gives his fiancé a concerned look.
Wolfram shoots him a murderous look. "What's wrong with me, you asked? I should ask you the same thing. What's wrong wit YOU? Why are you acting like we know each other? Do you have any idea who I am?"
Everyone else gasps at Wolfram, not wanting to believe their eyes. How could Wolfram say that to Yuuri, the only person he ever loves in this world or other? There is no way Wolfram would act like that unless……
"Lord von Bielefeld. Do you know who I am?" Murata opens his mouth, trying to confirm some things that concerns him.
"Of course. You're the annoying Know-It-All Sage…..". 'OK, not exactly the answer I was looking for but…... ' Murata swallows his annoyance at the haughty prince in front of him.
"Alright, do you know these three gentlemen?" he asks, pointing at Conrart, Gwendal and Günter.
Wolfram looks at Murata as if the latter is insane and needs to be kept under heavy surveillance. "Of course! The two of them are my brothers and the other one is Günter. What are you getting at, Geika?" Wolfram can feel the muscle aches is creeping all over his body. He desperately needs a good soak and a good night sleep. He wishes he can just plug up the troublesome mouth in front of him with something nasty.
"Be patience. I'm not through with you yet. Do you know the current Maou?"
"Yes, of course. It's …it's …..," Wolfram scrunches his face in determination trying to find the right answer. Obviously, it is not his mother because she had resigned a few years back; that much he knows. But as of the current Maou, he has no idea, not even the slightest. How can that be possible? "I don't know," he admits, feeling a little dejected.
'Eh?' Yuuri is confused. "Wolfram! How can you not know? I'm….."
"Shibuya! Let me handle this," Murata interrupts Yuuri, not kindly. Sometimes, Yuuri can be so clueless. This is a delicate matters, it needs to be handled with care.
"So, I guess you don't know this man in front of you?" Murata points at the red-faced Yuuri.
"No. should I?" Wolfram asks back. This man looks weak and wimpy. Not the usual person Wolfram would befriend. He hates weakness and wimpiness.
Murata moves closer to the three stunned man behind him. Reluctantly, he explains to the confused older men what he thinks might have happened to Wolfram. Yuuri, who feels that he is left out, inches closer towards the group. Minutes later however, he wishes he hasn't listened to what Murata has to say. He feels his world is tumbling down.
"You're kidding me right? But why me? Why only me?" Yuuri bombards the other Soukoku with questions.
Murata looks at Yuuri, his face full of concern. Right at this moment, he doesn't have the full answer to that. All he has is speculation, a little bit of this and that. That is why he didn't tell Yuuri in the first place. Yuuri is known to be quick to panic.
Wolfram watches the scene unveils in front of him. He for once, doesn't truly understand why the fact that he doesn't know that wimpy teenage boy can become a problem. Quite a big one, from where he stands.
"When Lord von Bielefeld was struck by that lightning, it seems like he lost every memory that has you in it. I don't know why though. I have never heard of memory loss like this before. Maybe that lightning wasn't really a lightning at all," Murata tries to explain to Yuuri as kindly as possible.
Yuuri falls silent. Something clicks in his mind. With Wolfram doesn't remember him at all, not even as Maou, doesn't that mean he is free from the blonde's clutches? No more 'wimp' or 'cheater'. No more yelling if he happens to glance at pretty girls! Yuuri's mouth starts to form a smile but it stops midway. This just doesn't feel right. What triggers Wolfram to forget him entirely? Isn't he the centre of Wolfram's life? He thinks he is happy but at the same time there is this sadness tugging at his heart. He never knows that those two completely opposite emotions can exist side by side at the same time.
Yuuri is about to open his mouth when suddenly the surrounding is bathed in a harsh light. He quickly shields his eyes. A few seconds later, the light dims significantly and he dares himself to look. With his vision still blurry, he cannot see the cause of the blinding light but he can feel a new presence among them. Not scary, not unfriendly but a rather mischievous, with a dash of malicious presence.
"Heika, are you alright?" He can hear the footstep shuffling all around him. Conrart's voice sounds worried.
"I'm alright, Conrart. How about the others?" He replies back.
He receives a few mumbled replies; all stating the owner of the voice is fine. Exhaling a sigh of relief, he starts to walk forward towards the source of the light. When he is finally in front of the light, he politely inquired, "Who are you?"
What follows is a sound laughter that echoes throughout the field. A few passing people who are walking along the park, scatter when they hear the cackle. The remaining light starts to form a figure no higher than Yuuri's shoulder. Little by little, Yuuri is able to see his surrounding again. He is glad that all of his companions are fine except for dazed looks on their faces. He is sure if the other were to look at him, they would fine similar expression on his face.
The light boy in front of him is still laughing. Now Yuuri can see his features clearly. He has the bluest eyes Yuuri has ever seen. His hair is the colour of blood. He seems to be surrounded by a pale blue glow.
"Tee hee hee, do you like my present, Heika?" the boy enunciates the last word with a hint of sarcasm. "Oh, wait. I haven't answered your question. How rude of me. I'm Orion."
Yuuri looks confused. "What present?" beside him Conrart has already drawn his sword and now is standing guard in front of him. Gwendal quickly shields his baby brother behind his bulky build despite Wolfram's objections of 'I'm not a child anymore' while Günter pushes the curious Murata who keeps trying to look over his shoulders behind him.
"Ah… you know. The one you kept wishing."
"What are you talking about, imp?" Gwendal's voice booms, obviously annoyed.
Orion doesn't seem to be affected by Gwendal's voice nor his stern face. Instead , he merely shrugs and walks towards the stunned group.
"You know, I'm not talking to you, you troll," he points his finger to Gwendal. "I'm talking to him, so don't interrupt." He then turns his attention to Yuuri and Wolfram.
"I – I – I don't know what you're talking about."
Orion sneers. "Want me to refresh your memory, Heika?" He waits a while to wait for Yuuri's response. When the latter just stands there, mouth opens, he continues, "Two weeks ago….. shooting star….. wish?" The light boy moves in front of Wolfram. "Regarding him." He inclines his head towards the stunned prince.
Yuuri instantly pales when he hears the explanation. 'But that is impossible.'
"Regarding me? What?" Wolfram looks at Yuuri. He tries to remember the boy in front of him, but he can't. It is like something is blocking his memory. The last thing he remembers is the fight near Blood Pledge Castle. He remembers parrying a blow from a bandit who tried to kidnap Greta and used her as bait. He remembers chasing the band of outlaws into the city's outskirt. He remembers his brother screaming at him. Then all goes black.
'No, please don't,' Yuuri looks at the light boy and frantically shakes his head. Orion just looks at him and smiles sweetly. 'I'm sorry, Heika. I can't do that'. His look seems to convey that message.
"What is he talking about, Heika?" Gwendal, who still has his sword aimed at Orion, turns and fixes Yuuri with a look that could turn him into stone.
Yuuri just stares at Gwendal, unable to find his voice. He still finds it quite difficult to believe that his wish has come true.
Flashback: 2 Weeks Ago
"Yuuri, how could you do this to me? How could you cheat on me with that big-breasted woman?" Wolfram was yelling at Yuuri at the top of his lungs, while at the same time chasing the poor monarch along the corridor and hurtling one or two fireballs at him.
Yuuri, who was busy evading the fireballs, screamed back at Wolfram, "Come on, Wolfram. I wasn't exactly cheating on you. I merely offered her a ride in the carriage. She was obviously tired from carrying all that things. Was it wrong for me to be a kind king?" Another fireball flew just inches from Yuuri's head.
"Oh… be a kind king, huh? How about you learn how to be a kind fiancé, first? How about you learn how to be a better king by doing your paperwork instead of running away? How about you learn how not to be a wimp and a cheater?" Wolfram had had enough of Yuuri's antics.
How could someone be kind to a person but not to the other? How could Yuuri learn how to love his subject and even his enemies but not his fiancé? Was he a bad enough person that he wasn't entitled to any of Yuuri's grace? Was he really a 'Little Lord Brat' just like Günter called him, incapable of being nice to other and could only think of himself? Was he really that bad?
Wolfram stopped chasing Yuuri. He just stared ahead at the back of his escaping fiancé. Somehow, he could understand why Yuuri didn't feel the need to treat him as nice as he treated the others. It was because he was Yuuri's fiancé AND a man. These two things shouldn't mix together in Yuuri's book.
Wolfram rested one of his arms against the wall. 'That's not fair, Yuuri. You want me to be something that I could never be, even if I wanted to, even if I tried my whole life. I could never be a woman for you. But trust me, if I could, I would. Because I know that would make you happy.' Wolfram sighed. He silently cursed the fact that Yuuri was brought up on Earth where prejudices such as that still existed. Why couldn't the Earthlings just accept the fact that you couldn't make your heart chose whom to love? That loving someone only from the opposite sex was overrated? That love could exist beyond anything including gender?
'I know by being a woman, it would make you happy. But would it make me happy? No, Yuuri, it wouldn't. Because you don't love me for who I am. And I don't want that. I wish I could tell my heart to stop loving you so that the both of us would be happy.' Silently, Wolfram let Yuuri escaped and returned to his own chamber.
Yuuri, meanwhile, kept running until he finally came to the highest tower in the castle. Carefully, he turned around to see whether a certain fierce, fiery and temperamental blonde was still on his heels.
"Huh, thank God that fire dragon isn't chasing me anymore. I swear he intends to kill me with all his smoldering and fire-throwing attitudes. Why is he like that?" Yuuri still tried to catch his breath. Even with his daily morning run with Conrart, when it came to being chased by Wolfram, he would always lose his breath.
Yuuri sat himself on the parapet, looking at his kingdom. The sun had already set almost an hour ago but there was still a hint of the reddish sunlight, making the lower part of the sky appeared to be purplish. 'Very pretty,' he thought. 'Very soothing for a weary heart.' Truth be told, he was tired of constantly trying to avoid Wolfram. He needed to tell Wolfram that there was no way in this world that he would marry the blonde. He wanted heirs, his own flesh and blood, the patters of little feet, the crying in the middle of the night, the simple joy of being a parent. Wolfram could never provided him with all that.
"This is just too complicated," Yuuri scratched his not-itching head. He wished that thing would be simpler and easier. He wished that he had never slapped Wolfram. He wished that Wolfram was never rude to his mother. He wished that Wolfram didn't fall in love with him. He wished that Wolfram would just forget about him and move on with his life.
"Ahh…a shooting star!" Yuuri exclaimed when he looked up to the sky. "Very pretty!"
Maybe it was a cruel twist of fate. Maybe someone higher up wanted to show them something, wanted to teach them something. Wolfram and Yuuri made their last wishes at the exact same time, at the exact same moment. And the shooting star heard their wishes.
End of Flashback
"So are you trying to tell me that you're THE shooting star?" Murata is drop dead impressed. This new revelation is beyond his comprehension. How could a shooting star really grant a wish? More importantly, how could a shooting star become a boy?
"Yes, to your question. And for your second and third questions, I would prefer to keep it confidential. You know for safety reason," he winks at Murata. "Let's just say, they come with the job."
'I thought shooting star is just a meteor,' Murata's logic betrays him.
'We're not on Earth, Geika,' comes a reply in his head.
Gwendal, who is staring at the little boy since the first time he launched into his story telling, grabs the boy by the scruff of his neck. "You undo all of these now," he demands of the boy.
The boy just shrugs, "You can skin or roast me alive. Anything, really, that crosses your mind. But there is no way in heaven, or hell for that matter, that I could undo this."
Yuuri's jaws drops. "This can't be happening. You literally wiped out my whole existence off his entire mind. That's not fair," Yuuri yells. He is furious. He can feel the Maou inside him stirs.
Orion looks hard at Yuuri, his blue eyes turn dark gray. "Which part of this whole fiasco appeared to be unfair to you? You were the ones who wished for all of these to happen. The both of you. Although I might say that yours was the worst of the two," he points at Yuuri.
Yuuri can no longer contain his anger when he hears Orion's answer. "How dare you did this to us? Sometimes people wish for something they don't mean when they are confused or angry. How dare you take advantage of that moment of weakness? I do not intend to shed blood but I have no choice. I will crush you. Judgment!" There is an angry blue glow surrounding Yuuri. The rest of them can feel the aura of wrath being emitted from the Maou.
The young boy however seems unperturbed. He still stands at the same exact place, not budging even an inch. He doesn't even blink once when the blue aura from Yuuri engulfs him.
"That's what mistakes are for, Heika. You made mistake in life that you never intended to happen but it happened anyway. You wished you could turn back the hands of time but you couldn't. So stand up again. Learn from your mistakes. Make the best of out of it. If necessary, start over. From my point of view, this is not a matter of fair or unfair. This is a matter of acceptance and learning," With that, Orion holds his hands up and absorbs Yuuri's entire blue glow.
The rest of them can only watch in wonder when Yuuri finally falls down as all his power is sucked away. Luckily for him, Conrart is standing behind him so before his buttocks reach the hard ground, he is stopped by Conrart's strong hands. He can see everything around him spins wildly. 'Ughh, I feel nauseated.'
Orion slowly walks towards Yuuri and extends his hands. He has no use for Yuuri's power. In fact the extra power overwhelms him. He sucked Yuuri's power only to subdue him. Slowly, he channels the power back to its rightful owner.
Wolfram, who keeps his silence through all the commotion, steps forward when Orion has finished giving back Yuuri his power. There are a lot of things he can't understand and he intends to solve all of them right now.
"Wait a second!" He starts. "So you're telling me that I used to know this wimp?" Yuuri looks at Wolfram, obviously surprised at the word wimp. 'At least he hasn't changed that much.' "And that I used to love him to the point of sacrificing my own happiness? This is ridiculous! Right, Aniue? Right, Conrart?" Wolfram searches his older brothers' faces for any hint of truth. Gwendal's left eye twitches, Conrart averts his gaze altogether. "Oh, Shinou! So it is true! All of it?" He turns his face towards the cause of all the trouble. "How could you? You've practically destroyed our lives!" Wolfram mentally cursed the boy to perdition.
Orion just smiles. "It's about time for me to go!" He announces suddenly. "But before I go, let me ask you one thing. If you were given one more chance to change this, would you take it?" He fixes his stare on Yuuri and Wolfram.
"Of course!" comes the simultaneously answers.
"Of course we would. What kind of a question was that?" Wolfram spits out.
Orion smirks. "And let me tell you, I don't believe the result would be different."
"Why not? There's no way we would want the same thing to happen twice," Yuuri objects heatedly.
"That's my point. You want to change all of these because you've already seen the consequences. You've already learnt from your mistakes. You've gained experience. You've became wiser. But if time was to repeat itself, you would turn back into the same immature, inexperience, and unwise version of yourself. Do you think you would choose differently, not knowing what will happen in the future? I'm not thinking less of you, but honestly, I don't think so," Orion explains sadly.
Wolfram is getting angrier by the minute. "Alright, then. Let's bet. You undo all these and let's see how we'll choose."
The lightning just shakes his head. "I've already told you that I can't change what had happened even if I wanted to. I do not possess such power and those who do, don't what to undo it at all. You're stuck with your choices. You just have to learn to accept."
Yuuri looks sadly at Orion. "Will Wolfram ever remember things about me? Will he ever fall in love with me again?" Yuuri asks softly so that only Orion can hear him, his voice shaking. He never thought that the moment Wolfram isn't in love with him anymore is the hardest moment in his life. 'I guess they were right when they said you'll never know what you got until it's gone'.
"No, Heika, he won't. There will always be a void in his life where you should've been. As for your second question, you can always start your friendship all over again. He may or may not fall in love with you. Things can never be the same as it was before." Orion quickly retreats back a few steps and a bright light starts to engulf him once more. "I'm sorry," is his last words before a bright light illuminates the whole area, blinding them all again.
When they finally open their eyes, there is no more 5 ft trouble standing in front of him. There isn't even a slight evidence that indicates there was a talking shooting star wreaking havoc in Yuuri's and Wolfram's lives. Yuuri is desperately hoping that the unpleasant experience he had just gone through is merely some unpleasant dreams. But the voice in his head says otherwise. Wolfram still looks at him as if Yuuri had just punched him. Right now, there is only one thing to do.
"Wolfram, I'm so sorry for all these. I've never meant for this to happen," Yuuri looks at Wolfram, eyes beseeching him.
Wolfram just stares at the young monarch in front of him. He isn't exactly angry. As much as this whole incident affects him, he knows Yuuri suffers more. At least, he has no memory of all the time they've spent together nor will he ever remember them. What you never know won't hurt you. But Yuuri, on the opposite, carries all the memories for the rest of his life. "It's alright…. urmm…. what was your name again?"
Yuuri smiles at the beautiful blond. He holds out his hand. "It's Shibuya Yuuri. Please to make your acquaintance, Lord von Bielefeld."
Wolfram takes the hand in firm grip. "Am I right to assume you're the current Maou?"
"Err… yeah!" Yuuri blushes a bit.
The rest of them just watch as the scene unfolds. There will be a lot of changes in their lives but nothing that they can't handle. One thing for sure, this experience teaches them a lot of things. They will definitely be more careful of what they wish for in the future.
Yuuri is engaging Wolfram in an animated conversation. The sun has set and the both of them have already left the rest of the group, heading towards the castle. Maybe, this is the start of a beautiful friendship between these two. Maybe, this is for the best for the both of them. Maybe, and just maybe, one day, those that have the power to undo things will see how far they've gone and give them a second chance.
In the sky, a shooting star passes by.
A/N: I know I should be updating Fire and Ice but I have this nagging idea about shooting star and granting wishes that I just couldn't ignore. It just fascinates me how people can actually build a connection between shooting stars and wishes. Is it because shooting star is beautiful and having your wish granted is also a beautiful thing? The logic just escapes me. For the ending, you can create your own scenario on whether Yuuri and Wolfram will fall in love or not. But at least this time, no one will get hurt. As usual, review is much appreciated.