Title: All the King's Men
Written: 3 October 2010
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou!
Pairings, Characters: Yuuri/Wolfram, Shouri + OC, OC + Yuuri, OC + Murata, Others TBD.
Warnings: Future Fic, WIP, Shounen-ai so far. Rating may increase and additional warnings will be added as the story progresses.
Spoilers: None.

Author Notes: This is one of two multi-part stories I'm working on. I was hoping to share the other one first, but things are a jumbled mess. I need to review and revise and all that good stuff before I start sharing it.

Disclaimer: Kyou Kara Maou!, including its characters and other items included in its universe, is the property of Tomo Takabayashi. I'm, as usual, just borrowing them for my personal entertainment and for no monetary gain.

Summary: An obsessed girl finds out about Yuuri's secret life, and the results of that knowledge threaten the lives of the young Maou and those he cares for the most.

Chapter 1

The university campus was alive with students, faculty and staff alike milling about, heading to classes, offices, even to the cafeteria. One of the few people who wasn't on the move was seated on a bench, engrossed in the history text book resting in his lap, ear buds planted in his ears, music going at just the right volume, his face hidden beneath a fringe of hair.

Yuuri Shibuya hadn't expected to find himself back on Earth at university, but the last six years in Shin Makoku had developed the discipline he didn't have when he first appeared in the kingdom, an awkward and naïve but kind-hearted fifteen-year-old with a love for baseball. His attitude towards his studies hadn't been the only thing that changed.

His face was now more angular, his eyes had a sharp edge to them, and gone was the scrawny body that belied his athletic abilities. It was more muscular, shoulders wider, torso tapering down to a trim waist, the product of his continued growth and constant physical conditioning. His hair had changed, too; he'd taken to keeping it shorter, much to the chagrin of his families in both places.

At the moment, a look of concentration was on Yuuri's face as he went through the histories of the wars that took place during the medieval period, a pen firmly planted between his lips and without a care in the world for who might have been watching.

Just off from the bench, someone leaned against a tree, smirking as he watched Yuuri studying, tuned out from the rest of his surroundings and none the wiser for what he was about to do. There was no need to sneak as the observer moved towards the bench, reaching out to touch the back of his victim's neck with a cold sweaty cup.

"Gyaa!"

Yuuri leapt as if the bench he'd been seated upon had caught fire all of a sudden, history text forgotten at his feet, ear buds dangling in front of his backpack, his MP3 player safely encased in the compartment he normally kept it. He turned around to face his attacker.

"Dammit, Murata!"

Ken Murata couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. It wasn't often he was able to sneak an attack in on his longtime friend. "Now is that the way to greet the person who went through all the trouble to get you a cold drink?" He held up the cup of iced coffee for emphasis.

Yuuri rolled his eyes, stooping down to pick up the text book, then his pen, which skittered out into the walkway in the midst of the commotion. Before he could reach to grasp the pen, a pair of sandal-clad feet stopped, their owner stooping to swipe the pen then standing.

Yuuri stood abruptly to voice his claim on the pen in question when the culprit turned to face him, a young woman.

"I believe this is yours," she said, holding the pen out to him.

"Um, yes," he stammered, momentarily forgetting the pen and what had occurred as his gaze locked onto her hazel eyes.

Murata, knowing when it was time to dive in to save his friend from certain social peril, spoke up. "Kubota-san, right?"

The young woman, whose surname now faintly rang a bell to Yuuri, turned her gaze to Murata and nodded. "Yes, yes it is. You're in Medieval Philosophy. You sit down in the front of the lecture hall."

"You got it in one," Murata replied, flashing a not-so-modest smile. Yuuri resisted the urge to roll his eyes in their presence as the two continued their conversation, forgetting about the iced coffee and the pen each respectively held in their possession.

"Shibuya here is studying the history of the Middle Ages," Murata added, attempting to lull Yuuri back into the conversation.

"Ah, really?" Kubota perked up at the mention of Yuuri's studies.

Yuuri scratched the back of his head, feeling self-conscious at the sudden albeit small bit of attention Kubota gave him. "Y-Yes," was all he could manage, which Kubota didn't seem to mind.

"We'll all have to get together and do group study sometime," she said, her eyes never leaving Yuuri's face.

Before Yuuri could respond, Murata chimed in with a "Yes, we'll have to", Yuuri nodding heartily in agreement.

"Good," Kubota said, taking a glance at her wrist. "I'd better get going. See you around?" She looked at Yuuri again.

"Ah, sure," he said as Kubota turned away. "Kubota-san?"

She turned back with a questioning gaze. "Hm?"

Yuuri gestured to the pen in her hand. "My pen?"

"Ah! Sorry about that," she said, handing Yuuri back his pen before turning way, waving over her shoulder.

Murata gave Yuuri's arm a punch. "Kubota-san's cute, eh?" He noted the blush on Yuuri's cheeks.

"Maybe," Yuuri replied, shrugging. "Cute or not, I wouldn't date her."

"That's a shame, you know," Murata continued. "It's not like you're married yet."

"I never said I couldn't date her," Yuuri countered with a sniff. "I just happen to be happy with how things are going right now."

Murata chuckled at Yuuri's protesting. "Ah, so things are well with von Bielefeld?"

"Yes," Yuuri said tersely. As far as he was concerned, Murata knew too much about his and Wolfram's relationship. If he could help it, he wasn't about to give details to boot.

"Spoken like a king, Shibuya," said Murata, smirking at how he could still make Yuuri sputter. Glancing at his watch, Murata mocked surprise. "My, my – look at the time! It's time for class."

Yuuri swore, grabbing his backpack and shoving his book and pen into it. "Sakaki-sensei will have my head if I'm late again," he yelled over his shoulder as he headed in the direction Kubota had only minutes earlier.

"See you later, Shibuya!"

Dr. Sakaki gave his concluding remarks for the day's class, appearing oblivious to the sighs of the students in the room.

"The next mid-term is coming up Monday, so focus on the topics we have discussed over the last three weeks. Have a good weekend, everyone."

Yuuri heaved a sigh of relief, shoving his books and pen into his backpack. "Yosh!" came out of his mouth before he realized it, prompting Sakaki to quirk an eyebrow and a few of his classmates to laugh.

"I hope you come in here just as excited on Monday, Shibuya-san."

Yuuri scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "I hope so, too, Sensei."

Bounding out of the room and down the stairs to the exit, Yuuri grabbed his phone from side pocket of his backpack. Flipping it open, he noticed no calls or texts from Wolfram. Wonder what he's up to? He flipped through the call log and punched the entry for Wolfram's number. His call was picked up on the third ring, which Yuuri didn't find so unusual; Wolfram was most likely working on a project.

"Oi! What're you doing?" Yuuri asked without greeting. "I'm on my way home, so be ready so we can get some food."

"Yuu-chan?"

Yuuri paled at sound of the voice on the other end. "Mom! Where's Wolfram? He didn't leave his phone with you again, did he?"

"It's 'Mama', Yuu-chan! 'Ma-ma'! And Wolf-chan's asleep. He's been out with me shopping and cooking, so he's taking a nap while I finish up dinner. You can come over so we can have dinner together. All that food from the convenience store is not good for you. And tell Ken-chan he's welcome to come!"

"Aa, I'll do that. See you soon," Yuuri promised before ending the call. He realized that no matter how old he'll become, he'll always be a baby in his mother's eyes. He would protest every time she insisted she be called "Mama" or that he and Wolfram have some of the food she'd prepared, but over time he'd learned to appreciate all she had to offer. After all, he would not always have her around.

He clicked through his phone again, choosing Murata's number.

"Murata! Are you free for dinner?"

"Mama-san," Murata said, raring back in his chair, "you've outdone yourself this time."

Miko Shibuya blushed, batting a hand at him. There was only so much one could do with curry. "You're too much, Ken-chan."

Yuuri resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the scene in front of him. Murata was ever the flatterer where his mother was concerned.

Shouma Shibuya, on the other hand, took Murata's praise of his wife's cooking in stride. "Makes me all the happier I married her," he said with a gentle smile. Miko's blush this time was more profound.

"Uma-chan!"

"It's true," he insisted, standing with her to help her gather the dishes from the evening meal.

"I can help," Wolfram offered.

"Thank you, Wolfram, but that's okay," Shouma replied for his wife. "I'll help her this evening."

As his parents headed into the kitchen, each of them having a bounce in their step, Yuuri hunched Wolfram in the side with his elbow and got a glare for his trouble. It was a good thing Wolfram couldn't use his maryoku on Earth, or he wouldn't have hesitated to burn Yuuri to a crisp, fiancé or not.

Shouri, in the meantime, found his cup of tea an interesting point of focus. He'd seen that look in their father's eyes before.

The brief but awkward silence at the table was broken by the ringtone that came from Shouri's mobile phone. Shouri blushed as the gazes of three young men fell on him; at his age, he still liked dating sims and idol singers, his current ringtone featuring the latest from his favorite.

"Excuse me," he mumbled before leaving the table and pulling out his phone, abandoning his now-cold tea.

Murata turned to Yuuri and Wolfram. "So, where to?"

Before either could open their mouths, girlish giggles wafted into the dining room.

"Uma-chan!"

Yuuri grabbed Wolfram's hand and stood as the latter eyed the kitchen door warily. "Let's leave now and decide later."

To Be Continued...