DEFENSE MECHANISMS
By: Tenshi no Nanimo
Disclaimer: I do not own Kyou Kara Maou and its characters.
Chapter 1: Murata's Discovery
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"Defense mechanisms enable people to avoid dealing directly with sexual and aggressive implosives and to defend itself against the anxiety that accompanies them."
"Wow, this is heavy… But somehow interesting." Murata muttered as his eye glasses gave off a strange glint.
"Murata dear, it's almost time for dinner. Come hurry down!" Murata's mother shouted as the boy was placing back his textbook in its respective place in the bookshelf.
"Erm, no mom, I don't think that I'll be eating dinner right now. Shibuya's kind of expecting me so I have to go." Murata answered back.
"See you later then mom!" The bespectacled boy hollered as he trotted out of their house.
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Ding dong.
"Good evening, Mama- san." Murata greeted with a sheepish grin as soon as Yuuri's mother opened the door.
"Oh, it's you Ken- chan! Are you waiting for Yuu- chan? He's still taking a bath upstairs." Miko replied as Murata entered the house. "So, would you like to have some curry while waiting for Yuu- chan?"
"I would love to have some Mama- san, but I have to talk to Shibuya as soon as possible."
"But he's still taking a bath so you might get wet. You can wait in the living room."
"Oh it's all right Mama- san. I don't mind." Murata answered as he ran up the stairs of the Shibuya household, heading towards the bathroom where the maou, Yuuri Shibuya was taking his bath.
Slam!
"Woah!" The unsuspecting bather, Yuuri shouted as he saw the bathroom doors open wide, letting his friend enter.
"Hello, Shibuya!" Murata grinned as he saw Yuuri's flustered face.
"You know, you could have knocked or better yet, you could have waited downstairs until I finished bathing!" Yuuri shouted, but seeing that Murata was just grinning at his violent reaction, he continued shouting. "That's what normal visitors do Murata! They wait, they do not go barging in on their friends!"
"Oh shut it Shibuya. You don't have to get so flustered. I've seen you naked a lot of times so what's the difference?"
"Well…"
"Anyway, that's not what I came here for. We have to hurry back to Shin Makoku!"
"Why? Did someth—" Yuuri's sentence was cut short as Murata jumped into the bathtub. Before Yuuri could even regain his breathing, the portal to Shin Makoku was enabled. Thus, it was understandable that the last thought that Yuuri had was that whirlpools were the last thing he'd want to see whenever Murata comes to visit him.
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"What was that all about?" Yuuri interjected in between his spluttering.
"Sorry, Shibuya, but my idea just couldn't wait." Murata flashed the other soukoku an apologetic smile while he was drying his hair with the towel that was conveniently offered by one of the shrine maidens.
"So, what's this idea that you're talking about?" Yuuri asked as he was wrapping a towel in his waist.
"I think that we should head to Blood Pledge castle before I start talking about it. It's kind of long."
"Oh all right. By the way, where are Gunter and the others? They normally are here already whenever we come back."
"I guess they just did not know that we'd arrive today. After all, the decision itself was kind of impulsive on our part."
"Correction: it was just on your part, not 'our' part."
"Right, right Shibuya." Murata said as he found Yuuri's antics funny. "So, what do you say about heading back to Blood Pledge castle?"
"I'd say that it would be nice, but then, I don't think that it would be appropriate for me to go there while wearing this measly towel."
"Oh stop being so bitter." Murata smiled further as Yuuri continued ranting. 'Good, he's growing a back bone.' Murata thought.
"Besides, I'm sure that someone from Blood Pledge castle would chance upon coming here. Or if not, we could send someone from the shrine to inform Gwendal to come and pick us up." Even before Murata finished his sentence, horse hooves could be heard, nearing their precise location.
"Ah, just the person that I've been wanting to see and I'm sure that you share my sentiments. Nee, Shibuya?" Murata elbowed Yuuri as they faced the newcomer.
"Geika." Wolfram bowed. "Wimp, what are you two doing here?" Wolfram asked as he got down from his horse.
As soon as he got down, he saw that Yuuri was half naked, wearing only a towel. His eyes immediately widened in recognition. "You cheater! How dare you cheat on me? And, in such a holy place!"
"No, Wolfram! It's not what you think!" Yuuri yelled while dodging a lone fireball from the irate boy. "Tell him Murata!"
"Now, now, Lord von Bielefeld. There is more time for that later. We must head for Blood Pledge castle now before Shibuya here catches a nasty cold. I'm sure that you wouldn't want that to happen to your fiancé, am I right?"
"Fine then!" Wolfram frowned in indignation. "But before we leave, I must give this package to Ulrike."
"And, what pray tell is that?" Murata asked while Yuuri's ears perked up at the question.
"I-it's nothing!" The young prince stammered as he quickly attempted to hide the object behind his back. Behind the flushed face, Murata saw sad eyes. His smile suddenly turned into a frown. He recognized that look so he stopped interrogating the other boy to alleviate the other's discomfort.
"All right then. We'll just wait for you down here then."
"I understand. Then, please excuse me." Yuuri and Murata looked at Wolfram's retreating form. Somehow, the blond was kind of dejected and both the boys noticed, even Yuuri who was a little bit dense for most of the time.
"Ne, what do you think that was all about? That was kind of weird…"
"What are you talking about Shibuya?"
"Well, it's just a hunch Murata, but it seemed like he was hiding something…"
"Oh, that's a good deduction Shibuya if not for the fact that he was literally hiding something in his back, I wouldn't have noticed!"
"Stop being sarcastic! I know that it was kind of obvious, but I don't know… It's like there's just something wrong." Yuuri trailed off while looking kind of sad. This did not escape Murata's notice who in turn just gave off a big sigh.
"Look, Shibuya, if it's bothering you so much, why not just ask Wolfram directly?"
"Eeh?! It's like you're suggesting that I commit suicide!" Murata snickered at Yuuri's shocked face and an exaggerated one at that.
"You're just overreacting Shibuya. How hard could it be to talk to Wolfram?" Murata became amused as he saw Yuuri's incredulous face at his statement. Apparently, it was really hard to talk to the blond as suggested by the other soukoku. Thus, Murata started entertaining the idea of how to approach Wolfram who was the main player in his scheme.
"Speaking of the devil… Well, Murata, I guess you're in luck since Wolfram's already heading our way so why don't you try and find out?"
"So what were you two talking about? Is it about any wench you cheater?" Wolfram automatically assumed as he neared the two other boys. Murata turned to Yuuri and mouthed the words, 'I guess you're right Shibuya. I'll just try later.'
"Erm, shouldn't we head back first before interrogating Yuuri? He's been shuddering for a while now and I'm afraid that your fiancé might get sick." Murata tried to divert the focus of their conversation, but then, he saw Wolfram's eyes darken with sadness once again as he muttered the word 'fiance.'
'That's strange. Did something happen between these two again that I do not know?' Murata thought to himself. However, a quick glance at Yuuri who was wearing his usual naïve face quickly eliminated his theory. 'I guess the issue is just with von Bielefeld, which would make my idea more handy then.'
"Are you coming or not Geika?" Wolfram asked who was already on his white horse.
"Hai hai, Lord von Bielefeld. I'm coming with you." Murata said as he mounted a brown horse, which must have been lent to them by the maidens. With that, the trio headed back to Blood Pledge castle where Murata's idea was waiting to unfold.
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"So, Murata, what was it that you wanted to talk about?"
"Hmm?" Murata stared at Yuuri until he recognized what Yuuri meant. "Oh yeah! I guess I need to work up on my courage because I need to talk to your fiancé."
"He's not my fiancé!" Yuuri shouted as his face suddenly became red as a tomato. Whether from hate, disgust or shame, Murata did not know. All he knew was that it was entertaining to make fun of Yuuri.
"Well, fiancé or not, that has nothing to do with me. I just need to find him and talk to him about something."
"All right, I get your point that you need to talk to Wolfram, but can't you tell me too? After all, you dragged me here and it's kind of unfair to not tell me anything right?"
"I'd be happy to share it with you, but I don't think that you'd understand it."
"Are you underestimating me?" Yuuri asked, hurt evident in his voice.
"It's not that…" Murata was not able to finish his sentence when he met Yuuri's determined gaze.
"Try me then."
"All right."
'Here goes nothing.' Murata thought as he breathed in a deep sigh.
"Two words Shibuya. Defense mechanism." Seeing Yuuri's confused gaze, Murata knew that the other boy was a lost case.
'It's not my loss.' Murata thought while he shrugged.
"See, I told you. I guess, I'll be on my way now Shibuya. I need to find your fiery soul mate. Jaa ne!" Murata waved at Yuuri who still had a lost look on his face.
"Defense mechanism? Is it connected to the security system or something?" Little did the young monarch know that the foreign words he heard were not so foreign to his ears. After all, they were just discussed by his teacher just before he took the bath that transported him back to Shin Makoku.
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"Wait! Lord von Bielefeld!" Murata shouted as he spotted the prince at the end of the hallway. Wolfram in turn halted in his steps.
"What is it Geika?"
"Well, I was wondering whether you're interested with defense mechanisms?"
"Defense what?! Sorry to say this Geika, but I don't have time learning about foreign subjects when I'm about to meet my troop. IF this is all you had in mind, then please excuse me Geika." Murata didn't even had time to explain his concept before Wolfram rejected his proposition with a curt, but clear reply.
Murata frowned. He didn't want to use dirty tricks, but the mazoku prince was leaving him no choice. "What if I told you that this defense mechanism can help you in deciding about what to do with Yuuri?" Murata's voice sounded so strong and clear even to his own ears, which made him feel guilty when he saw that the other boy stiffened as a reaction to his words.
'I was right. Something DID happen for Wolfram to be affected like this.' Murata thought.
"Anyway, are you interested?"
Without turning to face him, Wolfram replied, "I'm listening."
"You see, to make things short, I think that I might be able to help you discover your feelings for Yuuri by helping you analyze yourself and uncovering the defense mechanisms that you use."
"And that would help me because?" Wolfram finally faced Murata and gave the other boy a questioning look.
"I guess it would make you see that you're in denial about a lot of things so it might make it easier for you to accept whatever might happen with your 'accidental' engagement as Yuuri would put it." Again, Murata saw the pained look in Wolfram's eyes.
"Look, Wolfram. You have nothing to lose. Just listen to me okay?"
After a short pause, he saw a tiny nod coming from the blond.
"Great, I guess we'll just have to meet again tomorrow. After all, dinner's almost ready." With that, Murata left Wolfram with thoughts of what might happen tomorrow.
"If Yuuri was able to cage Wolfram's heart, then I'm willing to give Wolfram the key to his freedom if Yuuri doesn't care about him." He mumbled to himself, unknowing that someone heard his private speech.
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Author's note:
How do you like the first chapter? Anyway, this was actually a spur of the moment kind of fanfic. I've had the idea for this fic for awhile during our discussion about Sigmund Freud, but I was only able to publish it now due to our sucky internet connection. So, do you like it? I hope that you'd drop comments or constructive criticisms to help me… And oh yeah, if you still don't have any idea about what defense mechanisms are, don't worry because I'll explain the concepts more on the next chapters. Also, forgive me for the grammatical errors because I don't have a beta reader and I'm already kind of groggy right now because it's around 2:30 a.m. already so please, just point out the mistakes and I'd correct it.
In addition, I'm sorry that I made another fanfic when I rarely update my fanfic 'Wrong.' I have already figured out the plot and the only thing that I have to do is to write it down so be assured that I haven't dropped my intention in finishing that fic.
See you next chapter (hopefully!), but let me leave you with questions to think about.
Why is Wolfram sad whenever Yuuri or the engagement is mentioned? Why does Murata want to help Wolfram? Who heard Murata's declaration of helping Wolfram? And how would the defense mechanisms help Wolfram?