Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Kyo Kara Maoh. Except this fanfic, of course.

The water trickling down the sides of the cell splashed over the stones embedded into the walls, pulling him out of his half-conscious state. What a waste. The country was in a drought and they didn't even realise that there was drinking water in the cells.

The cell was badly designed, there were gaps in half of the dulled grey bricks and cold draughts of air coming from them, though hard as he tried to twist his head round to look though them, he could see nothing but the endless black. The harder he strained himself to move, the more it pained him. The esoteric stones jutting out from the walls at odd angles made sure of that.

At least he was not completely deprived of light, for the esoteric stones emitted a soft light blue glow, granting him a small amount of visibility.

And now…I wait.

Wait for what? For death?

Why didn't he just resist them back there in the court room?

You know you wouldn't have been able to in a room with more esoteric stones than this goddamned cell…

But the road to the castle had had none of these in it, he could have simply resisted and got away with his life. Regardless of the fact that he was weakened at the time.

But the boy…would've been harmed.

The boy would've been harmed. What a stupid reason. Like he cared what happened to the king…

Did he?

When he'd first seen him, he'd been lost for words at first. After all, how was it possible that this brat, barely able to even ride a horse, could be his future king? He was disgusted. At the time, he didn't even need to search for any emotion, whenever his thoughts dwelled on him a feeling of great hatred would swell up in his chest and consume his every thought.

He had despised him.

But now…

He pulled back the sleeve of his jacket on his right arm, examining the raw flesh that had been rubbed away by the shackles that had bound them. What had made it different when they were forced to be with eachother?

-----

"GWENDAL!! Please help!!"

Bursting through the door of the small house in a panic, he observed the empty street. Where was he? Where the hell had they taken him?!

"Gwendal!!"

Running towards the sound of his voice, he bolted down a narrow side alley and flung open the door to the small room.

Upon entering the scene, the thugs who had taken hold of Yuri turned to face the intruder. He felt his anger swelling up inside. How dare they just grab him and attempt to kidnap the boy! To hell with them all!

"Out!!"

"Gwendal, help!" Yuri cried as he was pulled back, struggling futilely to get free.

"Ha! We thought so!" one of them declared.

"You thought so? Thought what?!" Yuri looked up at his captor dubiously. Another held out one of the sloppy posters they had seen earlier with the picture of the two people on it.

"This is you!" He shook it in the young king's face. "Well, isn't it?"

"You're wrong! Why would I be a candidate for an election here?" Yuri stated. The boy was absolutely clueless. No wonder Conrart had to rescue him so much…

"Don't play dumb, you look just like 'em!"

"…what?" he and Yuri both stared at the picture.

"How so?" he demanded.

The man continued, reading from the poster. "One is a tall man with grey hair from the demon tribe. He is travelling with a young girl. The girl is badly disguised as a human boy!"

"What?!" Yuri leapt forward as much as he could in the burly man's arms. "I'm not a girl!"

"A large reward is offered to anyone who catches the elopers!"

"What's an eloper?" Stupid child.

He gritted his teeth. "Are you implying that I would elope with it here?!"

The king leapt forward once more. "Hey don't call me it!! I mean, what does elope mean, anyway? You see, I'm a guy!! Oh geez…it's not true!! You've gotta believe me!!"

He bowed his head. He was mistaken for an eloper? With him?!

"Now unless you want her head bashed in…"

He snapped his attention to those in front of him.

"…you'll put these on yer arms!" The thug threw a pair of manacles onto the floor at his feet.

One or two months ago, he would have been delighted to hear somebody say that 'His Majesty' was about to get clobbered by a street thug, but now it made him furious to think of such a thing.

He willingly obliged.

-----

Why did he see him in such a different light now? What made a difference?

The memory stung at him like a thorn. After all, he had no way of knowing whether Yuri was alright…or perhaps they had simply killed him, they weren't hesitating to proceed with that action on him.

-----

"I'm sorry Gwendal, everything fell apart like you thought it would…" he bowed his head in embarrassment.

"You're a rather strange boy."

"Huh? Wha'd'ya mean?"

"Why do you choose to stick your royal nose into trouble some affairs? You're the king after all. You could simply leave the affairs of the country to your retainers and live a life of luxury back at the castle!" Maybe it was because he was childish, curious. But still--

"Man, I don't know the first thing about living a life of luxury…"

This kid was truly simple. "Don't you like anything decadent? Gold? Gourmet meals? Gorgeous women?"

Come to think of it, he didn't like any of those things either.

"Well, I haven't had any luck with girls in fifteen years." He lifted his arm to scratch his head. "Right now, I just like baseball more than anything."

Baseball?

"Well then you should just take it easy and do this 'baseball' to your hearts content!"

"I already have. For almost ten years."

"What? It this baseball a pastime that doesn't require the rank of demon king?" he could not imagine anything so simple. Come to think of it, hadn't Conrart been talking about that once…? Perhaps he should've paid more attention. Yuri continued to speak.

"All you really need is a passion for it!"

"Really. Then how about a more expensive diversion?" Not that his own hobbies were very expensive.

"What for? What would I do? Does being demon king automatically mean you live it up on everyone else's tax money?"

That was almost amusing. He even managed to give a small half-smile. "It's just that those who come into power usually tend to want to use it."

Yuri looked up to the wooden beams above them. "I just wouldn't be comfortable living the lifestyle of a king. And besides, the only example of a monarch I know is…"

He appeared to be extremely embarrassed all of a sudden. Glancing at him dubiously, he watched as Yuri's colour quickly changed to a bright red as he blushed. That must've been mother he was referring to, then.

"…but she's a grown-up lady and I'm just your average kid who hangs around the baseball field." Bingo. He knew it would be her. "You can't expect me to act the same way as someone who's used to power…all I can do is live my life as the king to the best of my abilities. And besides," he looked up at him.

"Huh?" did…this have something to do with him…?

"If I wind up on the verge of making a really stupid, dangerous mistake, you'll step in and stop me, won't you?"

He was actually struck speechless.

"…I…"

He didn't know what had possessed him in that moment, but he actually smiled. Very broadly. How many years had it been since he had smiled like this? Since, despite the fact that he was in extreme danger, he actually felt happy and light-hearted?

-----

He shifted the positioning of his arm, causing the stones to glow brightly again. They illuminated a small blue object poking out of the inner pocket of his jacket. Pulling it from its hiding place, he dangled it absentmindedly infront of him, the water from the ceiling dripping onto it.

-----

"Hey, why don't you stop being such a grouch and try communicating?!"

He stared down at the boy. But wasn't he just communicating with him? Hmm. Perhaps 'yes' was too simple an answer…he was about to open his mouth to speak when something in the firelight caught his eye.

"Huh?" The youth followed his line of sight to the dolphin key-chain hanging from his belt. Absentmindedly, he tugged on it. "My Bondo doll? You want it?"

He'd noticed. Oh boy. "No thanks. From what I see it appears to be…extremely valuable." What a reason. Extremely valuable. Excuses was one of his not-so-fine skills.

"I want you to have it." Yuri unhooked the dolphin and held it out to him. "It's yours."

Who was he to refuse? Slowly he reached out both hands and clasped it around the dolphin. After examining it further, he replied.

"…your question. I suppose I should answer it." Thankfully, Yuri didn't notice that he was skipping the topic. What was his question again? That sand-bear?

"The reason only you could see the sand-bear was probably due to the ineffectiveness of the esoteric skills used to delude us." He paused. Now he was seeming too affectionate. "…or perhaps you're just thick-headed by nature."

"Who's doing this deluding? More importantly, what are these esoteric skills I keep hearing about? Are they different from magic skills?"

He turned to the boy. "Magic skills can only be used by members of the demon tribe. You have to be born with a certain soul to use them. Esoteric skills are techniques that humans seek intensely. They have to be very committed in order to use them." It was almost as if the humans were jealous. They probably were for all he knew.

"Interesting…" Yuri mused.

Geez, he had probably never talked so much in his life! Willingly, at least. "Esoteric stones are mined in Svelera. The stones supplement many skills, giving power to those who formerly had none. The humans probably set many traps to prevent their precious stones from being exported."

Yuri looked up at him in amazement. "So…that panda was a trap! Amazing, those things are totally endangered on Earth…" he looked down suddenly and sneezed, then pulled his blanket closer around him. "Ah, it's so cold, I can't believe how freezing cold it gets in the desert at night!"

Putting out his arm, he grasped the boy's shoulder and pulled him closer until he was leaning against him.

"Come closer to keep warm. You'll feel better."

The boy mumbled something and relaxed. He asked more about the sand-bear before he quieted.

The silence seemed awfully tense, of course it was only later that Gwendal found out it was because Yuri was practically asleep. Probably all for the best, considering his next question.

"Do you like small animals? Like cats and little bunnies?"

God, what sort of a question was that? If Yuri were paying more attention, he would have realised what he had said. Gwendal, the army strategist, fumbling with what to say to continue a conversation. None the less, Yuri answered, mumbling again, this time about orange bunnies. Before he knew it, the young king was asleep against him.

-----

It had such a small, innocent face, very much like that child. That was probably what he liked most about small, cute things. They had a sweet, kind face that had no knowledge of pain or suffering. Yuri, though…he had seen more than he should have of grief, yet he was happy. Happy to have known him.

There wasn't a chance that he could escape from the cell. If he were to die, then at least he would still be with him in a way. He wondered if the boy would mourn for him, if he found out about what was to happen to him, anyway. Secretly in his heart he knew that he wanted to see the boy one more time, but that couldn't be helped. As long as he was fine, he could leave in peace.

More water trickled onto his face, running down his cheek.

Damn this cell, why are there so many leaks?

Of course he knew perfectly well that drinking water is not saltine.