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

Chapter 1: Shadowed flame



What seemed like the entire body of personnel from the castle were currently positioned in Gwendal's office. Conrad was standing next to his older brother, with Gunter across from him, followed by Anissina, Cheri-sama, Yozak and Ulrike. This very odd reunion was because Yuuri, the current king, was verbally fighting his fiancé, Wolfram von Bielefeld. Even Murata was present and was acting as a mediator between both boys.

After a long journey across the continent, the Maou and his subjects had finally come back to the castle, only to find a very enraged prince. Yuuri had left the castle without telling Wolfram because he was on a mission in Sho Shimaron, where the youngest king, Saralegui, currently ruled. Yuuri knew perfectly well that bringing Wolfram would be a very bad idea, seeing as his fiancé had an awful temper. Even so, the storm could not be avoided and so, the Maou was faced with the prince's wrath once more.

"You cheater! How dare you leave me behind like some sort of disposable object?" inquired the blond.

"Wolf! Will you stop it? I didn't leave you! I just went to Sho Shimaron on my own!" replied a very exasperated Yuuri.

"Right! I forgot, you prefer that ... that ... fiancé stealer!" accused the prince.

"What? Have you gone of your mind?! I don't like Sara that way!" replied the undignified Maou.

"Oh sure ... 'Sara' means nothing to you right? Ha! Give me a break! I saw how you acted around him last time!"

"That's it! I've had enough of you and your jealousy! I'm breaking off this stupid engagement! I don't know why I didn't do it earlier!" answered an extremely angry king.

Wolfram's eyes widened and his jaw dropped open as the shock settled in. Everyone else who had remained silent during the heated exchange glanced quickly towards their king. Gwendal watched as his little brother's eyes welled up with angry tears as Conrad took a step forward to speak but was stopped by Murata's raised hand. The great sage placed himself between the couple and faced Yuuri with a serious look etched upon his face.

"Shibuya, are you sure about this?" he asked calmly to his long-time friend.

"I've never been so sure in my life! Besides, how many times must I say this ... We're both men! There's something fundamentally wrong with that!" replied the Maou while staring straight into his friend's eyes.

"So be it then. I officially declare this engagement annulled!" announced the Sage.

"Geika! You can't allow this to happen!" said Conrad angrily.

"I'm sorry Sir Weller but, His Majesty the Maou has made it very clear."

Murata then turned his back on Yuuri and stood in front Wolfram instead. The sage bore his powerful gaze into the prince's tear-streaked face and raised his hand against the blond's cheek. Wolfram stared, clueless, at the sage and did not expect the following stinging sensation in his left cheek. Everything happened so fast, Yuuri barely had the time to blink before Murata's hand came down hard upon his ex-fiancé's face. The Sage's unexpected action caused a wave of gasps to circulate amongst the witnesses. The young prince stared blankly at the infinitely wise boy before him when he finally snapped.

"I will NOT be treated like an object! I am NOT a toy that can be handed down from one hand to another! What gives you the right to treat me like that? You and that other human friend of yours! I WON'T stand for it!" screamed out the enraged Mazoku as flames started to appear around his balled fists.

"Murata! Are you insane?! Do you realize what you've just done?" said Yuuri as he walked out of the sage's shadow to stand next to the newly formed couple.

"I know very well Shibuya, I've just proposed to Sir von Bielefeld. What's the problem? Didn't you just break off your engagement to him? Then, that means I have every right to propose to him." replied the Sage calmly.

Yuuri stared at his friend as if he had just transformed into someone else. His eyes travelled from Murata to Wolfram's swollen face as an unreadable expression settled upon his own visage. The prince's face contorted into pure anger and he could no longer resist the urge to barbecue everything in sight. Even so, he mustered what little self-control remained inside of him and stormed off towards the exit, leaving both his ex and new fiancé behind.

"Wolfram! I'll be expecting you tonight in my quarters." said the Sage calmly.

The only response he got was the slamming of the massive oak doors, which resulted in a window shattering into a thousand pieces.

"My my ... such an ill-tempered young man. I'll have to find a way to tame that rebellious spirit of his." said Murata, his glasses shining evilly.

Everyone just gawked in silence at the sage and one thought commonly crossed all minds at once: 'What the hell is going on?'.

Wolfram stomped his way through the empty halls, fury wildly evident upon his pale features. Never, in his whole life, had he been so insulted - apart from when Yuuri slapped him - but that was another matter. The young prince didn't know what to think anymore. First off, it all seemed like a bad dream, Yuuri breaking off the engagement and then, there was the other proposal. What in the world was Murata thinking? No way would he agree to marry the Sage. The soldier's heart had always belonged to the Maou, no questions asked.

He scurried into his room - technically his ex's room - and flopped down onto the soft bed. Wolfram rubbed his eyes and thought hard 'Please, let this all be a dream. Go to bed wolf, sleep and tomorrow, everything is going to be all right'. Without realizing it, the young Mazoku fell into a deep sleep, still fully clothed in his uniform.

Sometime later that evening, Yuuri walked into his room, and unexpectedly found his first soldier profoundly sleeping upon his bed. The Maou sighed and walked over to the blond's unconscious body and decided against waking the obviously exhausted young man. He slipped into his usual blue PJs and crawled into bed next to his ex-fiancé.

The next morning, the castle was crawling with curiosity as to what had happened the night before. Conrad, Gwendal, Günter and Cecilie remained silent about the event. Murata, on the other hand, was another subject. Whoever asked him about the event would get a fully detailed report strait from the horse's mouth.

Wolfram walked down the corridor towards the dining area, not even feeling like eating so much his stomach was churned. It turned out that it wasn't a dream after all. That, the prince realized soon enough when he was followed around by soft whispers regarding his situation. He entered the dining hall, and nearly died when Murata grabbed him full around the chest.

"Good morning my dear! Where were you last night you naughty boy?" asked the Sage with his usual wink and lopsided smile.

"What the ... G-Geika! Let go of me! This is very improper!" replied the flustered prince as he tried to push Murata off of him.

"What are talking about? We're engaged now! There's nothing improper about a couple greeting each other in the morning!" replied the Sage as he slightly stood back.

"We're not a couple!"

"Of course we are, Wolf-chan!"

"What did you just call me?" asked the seriously aggravated Mazoku.

"Eh? Ah, Wolf-chan! Kawaii deshou? Besides, don't call me 'Geika' anymore. You can call me Ken!" answered what seemed like a very out of character Murata.

"No, it's not cute at all, Geika!" said the scarlet-faced prince.

Yuuri made his entrance in the hall and laid his eyes upon a very unfamiliar scene. Murata and Wolfram ... embracing?!

"Wolf?" asked the appalled king

"Yuuri! This isn't what you think! I -"

"Shibuya! If you don't mind me asking, would stop referring to my fiancé by his first name? It's very impolite you know." cut in Murata with an unreadable expression plastered upon his face.

"What? Don't be ridiculous Murata! I've known Wolf for the longest time, I'm not going to start calling him 'Sir von Bielefeld' just because he's your, err, fiancé !" replied Yuuri, feeling his anger rising.

"I'm sorry Shibuya, but, you don't have much of a choice in the matter. According to Shin Makoku's legal records, you, being his ex-fiancé, have no longer the right to refer to him on a personal level if, said person, is re-engaged to someone else, in this case, me. Furthermore, I would appreciate it if you no longer lured my fiancé into your quarters for the night."

"Murata! Have you gone of your mind? What's that stupid law got to do with anything? Wolfram is my friend for goodness sakes! Besides I didn't lure him to my room! We share the same room!" answered the now obviously angry Maou.

"Well, not anymore. As of tonight, Wolfram will be staying with me. I do not put any blame on my fiancé for last night ... it's not his fault if you manipulated him." replied Murata smugly.

"That's it! I can't deal with this anymore. If anyone wants me, I'll be out on the town. I advise you get your head fixed Murata, this is clearly an abuse of your powers!"

Yuuri stormed off towards the exit, followed closely by Conrad and Günter. Wolfram, who had remained silent during the ping-pong exchange, took a step towards the already shut door but was held back by a firm hand around his wrist.

"Let him be Sir von Bielefeld, those were the last words of a losing man." simply said the Sage to the blond boy.

Author's Note:

To all those who must be very confused by now -- PLEASE DON'T HATE MURATA !! Seriously, I know he was deviously evil in this chapter but ... I swear, he has an ulterior motive for this odd behaviour

Right so, about the story, I know I already have many projects on the way but ... I just couldn't resist trying my hand at a WolframXMurata pairing for once ... ; (don't shoot me) Kya There's alot of MuraWolf artwork out on the net but, not many fics so ... I decided to contribute to the expansion of the MuraWolf Fandom !!

Anyway, I don't know how long this story is going to last ... probably 2 or 3 chapters in total but, I'll try updating fast ... it's hard to balance scholl AND fics !! (especially that I have so many going at once XD). In any case, comments are very much welcomed !! See you in the next chapter !

S.K.