Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh! nor any of the characters in this fanfiction. This story does not depict any real person of situation and is not related whatsoever to the original manga and/or anime. However, I do own this story so please, no stealing! Thank you very much.

Sakumi Kinoyuuki (c) 2008

KKM Project #16 – Magic

The rain was coming down hard in Shin Makoku and every horse and man were currently stranded in an abandoned stable. Conrad and Yozak were tending to the horse while the great sage was at the limit of his patience. He sighed deeply, lifted his body from the brick wall, and walked towards the crumpled shape of the youngest soldier. The Prince raised his head and questioned Murata with his powerful eyes.

"Sir von Bielefeld, may I speak with you?" Inquired the black-haired boy.

"Of course Geika. What is it?" Replied the ever so polite Prince.

"Would you mind telling your fiancé to stop playing with the Mateki? We've been stuck here for hours. We'll never get to our destination if it keeps raining like this!"

"Why me? I can't do anything about it! Why not ask Weller for his help?" Answered the flustered Mazoku.

"No, only you can do this. Sir Weller is busy with the horses so that leaves only you." Replied a very smug-looking young man.

Never in a million years would Wolfram admit that he actually liked it when the Maou played the recorder. Granted, it was always the same song but, to the Prince, his music was soothing and pure. The blonde glanced towards his fiancé and hung his head in defeat. Murata was right, if Yuuri didn't stop this now, all of Shin Makoku would soon be flooded. Wolfram gathered himself from the hard ground, brushed of his uniform and joined his King from out of the shelter.

"Yuuri! If you don't stop playing that darn thing, we'll never get anywhere!" Said the Prince as he sat next to his black-haired fiancé.

"Wolf! Ah, you're right ... sorry, I got carried away" Replied the Maou with a silly grin plastered on his face.

The Prince stared into Yuuri's innocent face and quickly got up from where he was sitting. Showing his back to Yuuri, he allowed a small shade of pink to cover his cheeks slightly. He heard Murata snicker from inside of the stable and kicked himself mentally for being so weak. The King rose from his sitting area and walked to where Wolfram was standing.

"Wolf? What's wrong?" Asked Yuuri, clueless as usual.

"Shibuya! I just think we're all relieved that we can finally get a move on! Right Sir von Bielefeld?" Called out the sage from the shadows, his glasses shining wildly in the newly emerged sunlight.

In fact, the clouds had begun to break up and the sun was starting to poke its head out, trying to dry up the mess caused by the magical water flute. Yuuri looked on bashfully upon the grounds surrounding the small group and rubbed the back of his head in an apologetic manner.

"Well, at least now we can go. Yozak! Get the horses ready. We're leaving immediately." Commanded Conrad.

"Right away taichou! Heika, you're horse is here please mount carefully." Replied the orange-headed muscular man while bringing Yuuri's horse, Ao, out in the open.

Yuuri smiled happily at the sight of his horse and moved excitedly towards the black animal. Ao, recognizing his master immediately, stomped the ground happily and moved towards the Maou. Conrad appeared from inside of the stable, holding on tightly to both his and Wolfram's horses.

"Heika, please be careful" Said the godfather to the young master.

"Daijoubou nazukeoya! If it's Ao, then it's fine! Ne Ao?"

Murata could have predicted the outcome of this event in the blink of an eye. He leaned against the wall and observed the inevitable to happen. Yuuri started of all right, placing his left foot in the harness then, came the hard part. As the Maou swung his leg over the saddle, his not-so stable foot slipped and resulted in him falling to the soggy ground in an undistinguished heap. Obviously, the whole cavalry yelled out the King's name in fear of him being hurt. Murata sighed deeply for the second time that day and let a small chuckle escape his lips as both Conrad and Wolfram literally threw themselves on Yuuri to break his fall. Yozak caught the horse by the neck before it could get to far away.

"Yuuri! You're such a wimp! How come you still can't mount your horse properly?" said the young Mazoku while helping up his useless fiancé.

"Ha ha ... gomen" Was all the King replied to his betrothed as he blushed deeply.

"That's it! You're riding with me you wimp! What if this happens again? Ah, you're hopeless! Come on, you first." Answered the Prince while leading Yuuri towards his own snow-white horse.

Yuuri tried the same thing again, first the foot in the harness, then the other leg around the saddle. This time, Wolfram stood guard beneath him, his hands firmly positioned on the King's slim waist. Once Yuuri was sitting properly, Wolfram jumped up in front of his fiancé and took control of the reins. The couple waited for the other riders to mount their own units and they finally departed for their mission, Yozak holding on firmly to his horse and Yuuri's.

Conrad rode first in line, followed closely by Wolfram and Yuuri, Murata and Yozak as the closing rider. The sun was shining brightly now and most of the magical rain had disappeared from the ground. The young King held on tightly to Wolfram as the horse swayed from one side to another. He felt the soldier's body stiffen between his arms and stared aimlessly at his strait back clothed in blue. The passage way became narrower the more the procession progressed. Soon enough, they were strutting, single-filed along a precautious road. Yuuri stared down slightly and gulped when he noticed the deathly fall next to him and his friends.

"Ano ... wasn't there another route? Isn't this a little bit dangerous?" Asked the Maou to no one in particular.

"Still complaining you wimp? This is the only road to get to where we're headed so, bear with it. As long as you hold on to me, then there's no problem." Replied Wolfram with a tone of impatience showing in his voice.

Yuuri took that as an opportunity to squeeze Wolfram even more than before, knocking the wind out of the Prince's body.

"Not that tight Yuuri! You're going to choke me!" Coughed out the blonde youth. "Wait, don't tell me you're scared of heights?"

"N-not really ... well, I don't really like them ..." Answered Yuuri softly into Wolfram's back.

Their conversation was cut short by a sudden announcement from Murata. "Yozak! Get ready!"

"Get ready? What do you mean Murata?" Asked the confused Maou.

No one had the time to respond to Yuuri's inquiry, a bunch of men had just jumped up out of nowhere and surrounded the small team. Conrad clenched his teeth tightly and stared angrily at the assaulters. They were obviously road bandits, by the way they were clothed. However, what troubled Conrad the most was their large number in comparison to the small Mazoku party. He quickly unsheathed his sword from his side and stood guard before Wolfram's horse. Yozak rapidly dismounted his own horse and prepared himself for a one-on-one combat with the largest of the men, while covering the back of the group. Murata moved closer to the Prince's horse and threw a sandy coloured shawl over Yuuri's head to hide his unique double-black feature. Wolfram drew out his sword and reached with his free hand for Yuuri's own. Once he found it, he squeezed lightly, withdrew and repositioned it at the front of his body.

"Hand us all of your goods and we'll let you live." Called out what seemed like the leader of the pack.

"I'm sorry but, we don't have anything to give." Replied Murata calmly.

"Don't mess around with us! You're clearly all Mazokus, which means you must be carrying precious cargo somewhere with you." Answered the already angry thief.

"I already told you. We don't have anything. We are Mazoku but we're only journeying across the land towards in search of a new town." Maintained Murata with all of the eloquence he could muster.

"Hey boss! Isn't that Soshoku? That boy! He's got black hair and eyes! He must be the Maou! This is our lucky day, if we can get our hands on him, the whole country will be ours!"

"You have it all wrong. I'm only a poor traveler!" Exclaimed Murata.

Obviously, words had no effect whatsoever upon the rogues and they fearlessly attacked the royal procession. Yozak quickly fought off the closer bandits and maintained his defence line. In the meantime, Conrad skilfully deflected a weak sword attack by one of the men at the front of the pack. Wolfram remained stiff on his horse, knowing very well that the 'precious cargo' was currently riding with him. As for Murata, he swiftly covered Yuuri with his arms, a serious frown appearing between his eyebrows. If only he had thought of covering his own head, they probably wouldn't be in this situation.

"Oi! Soshoku! What are you hiding over there?"

Both Murata and Wolfram stiffened even more. Furthermore, how impolite to call someone by that despicable name! Yuuri, not being able to withstand the weight of both the shawl and Murata, breathed loudly, causing the blanket to fall around him, revealing his presence to the bandits.

"Guys! There's another one with them! That's what they're trying to protect so much! Then, he must be the King! Get'em boys!" Yelled out one of the closer men.

"Not while I'm alive! You won't lay a finger on him!" Yelled out Wolfram, his sword fully drawn, flames starting to form at his fists.

"Wolf! You can't! There are too many of them!" Said Yuuri while shaking off what little was left of his disguise.

"Shut up you wimp! If you think I'm going to stay idle-by while you get roughed up, you've got something coming your way! I'll never let you get hurt!" Replied Wolfram, glowing with an orange hue.

Conrad turned his head towards the Maou and his youngest brother in time to realize that Wolfram was starting to lose what little cold-blood he had running in his veins. "Wolfram! Control your powers or else we'll all be roasted!" called out Conrad to his little brother. Yozak and Murata watched silently as Wolfram's usually gentle eyes turned wild and soon enough, both he and Yuuri were completely engulfed in the burning flames of maryoku. Yuuri was at loss of words to tell Wolfram and so, he did the only thing he could think of: he grabbed onto his fiancé's waist and pressed his face hard onto the other one's back.

"Yuuri ... Yuuri ... Yuuri is my responsibility! I have to protect him no matter what!" Said the Prince wildly, sending burning flames to anyone who dared come close to his horse. The terrified rogues felt it was time to take their leave and gracefully escaped the burning pit created by the young Prince.

"Wolfram! It's alright! I'm okay ... you can stop now !" Said Yuuri to the pig-headed blonde.

There was nothing to calm Wolfram from his fury. Conrad tried getting closer but was slightly singed at the mere contact of his brother's powerful fire. Even Murata's wise words had no effect at this time. Yuuri was thinking, and he was doing so the fastest he had ever done. What could he do to stop Wolfram from scorching everyone and everything? Then, it hit him: the Mateki could solve the problem! The young Maou pulled out the beaten up recorder from inside of his jacket and started playing the only tune he had ever learned.

The gentle sound of the flute escaped into the heated air and reached everyone beyond the fiery wall imposed by Wolfram. The pure and crystal-like notes reached the Prince's ears and entered his mind immediately, calming him body and soul. Soon, he realized that he was literally on fire ... and so was Yuuri. Wolfram stopped his rampage instantly as the light douse provoked by the Mateki killed off the remaining flames. Conrad, Yozak and Murata watched, soaked and wide-eyed, as the Maou manipulated the surrounding clouds and instilled peace within his fiancé's soul. Once all the flames had died out, Yuuri stopped playing his magical flute and stored it back inside of his shirt. Wolfram half-turned towards his King and looked at him through glassed eyes.

"Y-Yuuri ... I ... I'm sorry ..." Said the Prince softly before falling into his fiancé's lap, unconscious.

"Wolf!! Oi Wolf, wake up!" Replied the worried young man.

Wolfram opened his eyes slowly and focused on his surroundings. It was blood-pledge castle, of that much he could tell. He painfully tilted his head sideways to get a better view and caught glimpse of Yuuri, dozed-off on the side of his bed, looking tired and worn out. The Prince sat up in the bed and rubbed his eyes as he tried to remember what had happened. He remembered the journey, the attack by the bandits and then ... then what? It was all blank in the Mazoku's mind. He looked back at the Maou and wondered why he was the one being attended by Yuuri. The Prince winced at the growing pain in his limbs and, when he looked down, he noticed his arms and legs covered in bandages.

"What the ..." He spoke out loud.

"Um ... Wolf ... ? ... WOLF! You're awake ?!" Said a freshly woken Yuuri.

"Y-Yuuri ... what's going on?" Asked the confused Prince. "Why are we in blood-pledge castle? And why am I hurting all over?"

"You ... you don't remember? ... Gisela said you might suffer of memory lost, because of shock." Replied the Maou.

"What? I don't understand ..."

"Wolf ... there was an attack out on the road and, ... well, you were trying to protect me, I know but, ... oh Wolf!" exclaimed Yuuri as he threw his arms around the other boy's body. "Wolf, you've been unconscious for three weeks! Everyone thought you wouldn't wake up ... I was so ... so scared!" continued Yuuri as hot tears streamed down his face. "I thought I'd lost you!"

"Yuuri I ... I'm sorry." Replied the blonde-haired boy as he gently wrapped his arms around Yuuri's shoulders.

Soon after, Murata made his entrance, followed closely by both Conrad and Yozak. Conrad walked briskly towards his brother and Yuuri's crumpled form and encircled both of them in his strong arms.

"Thank goodness Wolf ... thank goodness. We were all so worried." Said the protective big brother to his youngest sibling.

Murata and Yozak joined the happy reunion and sat around the Prince and the King. After the sage had resumed the whole thing to Wolfram, everyone felt the weight being lifted from their chest. Before long, everyone had put aside the sad memories and were laughing gleefully together about various funny details such as, the way the bandits literally ran from Wolfram's awesome fire maryoku.

Yes, everyone was doing better now that the Prince was out of danger but mostly, Yuuri was doing much better than anyone would ever know. The three-week fear of losing the most precious person in his life had been lifted from him and now, he could enjoy with everyone else the happy reunion. Yuuri held on tenderly to Wolfram's hand, promising himself that he would never let go.

The End !

Author's note:

Yes !! My second fic for my KKM project ! I'm glad that's done with ! OMG, I'm soooooo tired right now, I could sleep for days ! So yeah, I hope you enjoyed this fic ! I liked giving a weaker side to Wolfram ... He's so much fun to torture ... (mwahahahaha ! XD) Sorry for the lack of YuuRam-ness in this one ... I wanted to keep the characters original personalities to give it more of a "realistic" feel ... however, it is hinted that Yuuri realized his feelings for Wolf. As for Wolf, it's clear from the start who he likes! ...

Please comment ! thanks !

Sakumi-chan

-xxx-