Chapter 2

"Then you don't know what causes this in the first place?" Murata asked, his eyebrows drawn together. Yuuri hadn't thought about asking it since there were other things he wanted to know, but now that Murata said it he was interested to hear the answer as well.

Gisela nodded her head. "No, we had no chance to study it in depth. Every able man who was not sick was helping around the clock to tend to the sick people. There are no hands to spare at the moment since as you can see, when people are not working they are so tired that they catch whatever sleep they can," Gisela answered, motioning towards Doria and her father.

"What are the symptoms of this disease?" Yuuri asked, somewhat subdued in face of such an enemy. This was an enemy the Maou mode could not frighten away.

"They are little, but severe: extreme headache, to the point of blurred vision, nausea and dehydration, numbness in your extremities and a great weakness that eventually causes internal organ failure. It's as if your heart and lungs don't have the power to work anymore. Also, it seemed to affect only those with Mazoku blood," Gisela said.

Yuuri thought about it. When Soushu had taken over Shinou's soul and took the keys from their owners, one of the keys was Wolfram's heart. They thought that he was dead, but Anissina had said that it was only lacking the power to beat. But these people were not keys. They could not regain that power. That meant that some of them had…

"Died. H-how many have… died… from this disease?" Yuuri asked in a small voice, his throat contrasting sharply and his gaze downcast. It was painful to think about the people who died but he must, it was his duty to them as the Maou.

"So far ninety have died in the Blood Pledge Castle alone," Gwendal said with the same heavy voice he seemed to use since their arrival back to Shin Makoku. "Amongst them are Dorcas and Odell von Wincott," he added quietly, but Yuuri caught the words. Dorcas is… dead? And Odell-san, that gentle old man who was Julia-san's father? Yuuri felt like he should mourn him in her stead, but the pain of the lost of ninety people was too much to allow anything else. He had to rein in his emotions, because he knew that in situations like this the Maou tended to take over, and right now Yuuri couldn't think of something he would be useful for except in creating more worry for his well-being. But reining in his emotions was hard, and he had to squeeze his eyes shut to rid them of the threatening tears.

"This is worse than I've imagined," Murata said from Yuuri's side. Yuuri turned to him in wonder, welcoming the distraction.

"Murata?" he asked, but Murata seemed deep in thoughts. The more he pondered over… well, whatever it was he was pondering, it seemed to Yuuri that his face grew darker and more tense. "By the way," Yuuri suddenly remembered. "You don't remember anything like this from your time as Great Sage?" he added.

"Not quite, and it concerns me that we were brought here now, of all times," Murata said.

"Brought here? What does that means?"

"Do you remember the crude way we got here?" Murata asked, and Yuuri frowned at him.

"Like I could forget! I have mud in places I had no idea it could get into," he complained, rubbing the end of his nose absently and then stopping once he noticed the small pieces of dried mud that fell onto the clean table. Luckily Gwendal hadn't noticed so Yuuri tried to wipe them away with his sleeve, resulting in an even larger brown smear.

"I think Shino brought us here in such a way because his mind was otherwise distracted with healing. Not only that, I think he brought us here for two main reasons. The first is that Shibuya is the best person to channel Shinou's powers since their Maryoku is compatible, and the second," Murata paused to push his glasses up his nose. He gave everyone in the room a sharp look. "The second is because Shibuya is the only person in history to have defeated Soushu," he said, and Yuuri bolted from his chair in alarm.

"There's no way that is true!" he said loudly even as Gwendal got up and automatically reached for his sword. Doria woke up with a cry, Gisela put a hand to her mouth and Günter became alert and sharp in a matter of milliseconds. "He's gone! I know he's gone!" Yuuri insisted.

"We all saw that," Gwendal reinforced Yuuri's claims.

"Yes, but such an unexpected and violent plague could be contributed only to him," Murata explained helplessly. Yuuri shuddered, thinking of the foul presence in his heart. He had no wish to have it in his heart once more, it was crowded enough as it were with Wolfram and Conrad and the whole of Shin Makoku to love.

"I saw similar things happen when Soushu was in power, before Shinou has defeated him, I'm afraid. We have to be prepared for that possibility as well. Evil, even if you don't like to imagine it, comes in a great many shapes and sizes and a disease is only the smallest of them," he said gently to Yuuri.

"I refuse! I refuse to believe that this is really so!" Yuuri shook his head violently from side to side, clenching his fists.

"And a wise decision that would turn out to be, your majesty," said a new voice from the door. Yuuri turned to look sullenly at the newcomer, only to be greeted with a shock of orange hair and a smile that seemed so out of place in the sick house the Blood Pledge Castle had turned into.

"Explain yourself, Yozak!" Gwendal demanded, obviously strained.

"I went to the forest where our troops were patrolling when they were infected as you've ordered, your Excellency," Yozak moved into the room and surveyed its occupants. His eyes lingered on Murata. "I've found this, inside a makeshift temple on the ground," he gave Murata a bowl made from the same shining stones that Yuuri once helped mine in Suberera at the Houjetsu mines. The stone was clear and clean. "It had this inside, although I would recommend keeping these two separated." Yozak said at Murata's sharp gaze. He held an open bag with some sort of white powder in it.

"How did they interact?" Gwendal asked, keeping his distance and hauling Günter close to him and away from that powder.

"Simple. When put into the bowl-like stone it began glowing an angry red and spin in the air like a small hurricane, a Houje-Chemical reaction actually, slowly drifting towards the cities of Shin Makoku," Yozak explained.

"But who would want to do this?" Yuuri asked, peering with dislike at the powder. Günter tried to pull him away from the dangerous powder but Gwendal was keeping an iron grip on his shoulder and he soon slumped against the other's bigger frame.

"Well kiddo, not everyone is as good a person as you. And ever since Belal's madness overtook him, his country has been in serious trouble. I've heard that they have trouble keeping a group of Houjetsu outlaw users from making trouble. If my information is correct then instead of putting a stop to their actions they recruited them to execute revenge on the Mazoku nation. The fall and defeat of Big Shimaron was a hard blow to its proud people," Yozak said, now completely serious. There were no traces of his easygoing persona left.

"Then that means that if we got rid of this then everyone should get better, doesn't it?" Yuuri asked with hope shining in his eyes.

"Its not that simple, I'm afraid. The people who got infected are not cured just because we removed what caused them to be sick. If you kill a spider that bit you, would it make the bite any less painful? Or would it prevent the spider's poison from spreading to other places in your body?" Gisela shook her head sadly.

"And I would wager that more of these little 'presents' were left in other populated areas," Günter said tiredly, speaking for the first time.

"Then it's settled. I'll take a group of men with me and we'll go scan the country for any other signs of the powder," Yozak said and with a lazy wink was off.

Yuuri's head was hurting. How could it be that it was so easy to find the cause for this utterly rotten situation but still so much more left to do? Catching the culprits, helping the people who were already sick, scanning the country for more of those Houjetsu things… Yuuri wondered why things could never be as simple as they appeared. On the other hand, he was happy that no more people would get sick and that it wasn't Soushu's fault. He shuddered once again at the mere thought.

"I'll go and see if Lady von Karbelnikoff and I can work on an antidote based on this powder. If we can, we will start administrating it immediately," Gisela sounded, more alert than before and was already out of the door when Günter called a plea for her to be careful.

"Good! And I'll go and help the sick people!" Yuuri said with the same enthusiasm that caught Yozak and Gisela.

"You will do no such thing," Gwendal said harshly before Yuuri could even take one step out of the room. "Our allies have sent us letter of condolences and some much needed supplies of food and medicine, not to mention that Cavalcade has agreed to host Greta when we had to send her away for her own safety. As the Maou of Shin Makoku its up to you to write them all back and thank them properly," Gwendal explained, finally leaving Günter to hover over Yuuri , who could only mutter under his breath about the unfairness of it.

Yuuri opened his mouth to argue, but stopped to think. Gwendal would definitely not respond well to a simple 'no'. Yuuri wanted to help the sick people, but he needed to persuade Gwendal that this was the best course of action.

"I will go and tend to the sick people because my Maryoku is stronger then yours and because I still haven't exhausted myself. If I'll be put in charge of writing back to our allies chances are that I'll accidentally declare war on some of them and deeply insult the others," Yuuri said decisively. He had already learned that Gwendal usually listened to the voice of reason (unless it was Anissina's, in which case he would not have stayed in his place long enough for her to open her mouth).

"Shibuya is right, Sir von Voltaire, the best person to tend to the sick people right now is him. Beside, we wouldn't want a diplomatic incident on our hands with everything else that's happened, now would we?" Murata interfered calmly, smiling at the grateful look in his friend's eyes as they turned to him.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me that you two support each other," Gwendal muttered and then sighed. "Fine, I'll write the letters," he said heavily.

"Really?! Good! I'm off, get some rest, Gwendal!" Yuuri abandoned all pretence of appearing dignified or Maou-like and smiled joyously at Gwendal before he ran out of the room…

"Shibuya!"

"Oi!"

"Your Majesty!"

…only to be called back.

"I don't think it would be the best thing for our patients if you go to them like this, Shibuya," Murata said with faint amusement, pushing his glasses up his nose and pointing at Yuuri's drenched, muddied and soiled uniforms. Yuuri simply smiled sheepishly before changing direction and running to take a bath.

Yuuri made a quick work with scrubbing himself clean in the company of Murata, who even helped scrub his back of all the remaining mud. It was weird to have a peaceful, even if hasty, bath with someone without having Wolfram barge into the room in a frenzy of jealousy, accusing Yuuri of being an immoral cheater, etc., etc.

Günter, who attended them, was so tired he forgot to have insolent thoughts about Yuuri, and Yuuri was lucky enough to receive the rarity of a clean and bloodless towel from him. As soon as they were done Yuuri instructed Günter to go to sleep and gather back his strength, mostly because he was too afraid that if Günter would keep this up his desk would break from the strain of all the papers waiting for his signature.

As he and Murata walked towards the East wing Yuuri was brooding over something Gisela had not said. Gisela had said that the disease affected Mazoku only, but what about half-Mazoku? Yozac was half-Mazoku and he seemed fine, but Yuuri wasn't sure it wasn't because he wasn't affected. The disease might be taking some time to break and Yozac was near that Hujetsu powder thingy. Not to mention that Conrad was half-Mazoku as well, and from what Yuuri gathered from a sleepy Günter he was off helping the sick. He would have to ask Gisela about it when…

The door to one of the rooms opened just as Yuuri and Murata passed it on their way to the main chamber where the worst cases were being held, and out stepped the man who occupied Yuuri's mind.

"Your majesty!" Conrad exclaimed, surprise registering on his tired face. The first thing Yuuri thought when he saw Conrad's state was that he should offer Conrad his shoulder to sleep on, just like Günter had done before. He looked so tired and worn that Yuuri felt a pang in his heart for him.

He tried not to smile but knew it was a lost battle. "You should know better then to call me 'your majesty', Nazukeoya," Yuuri chided with a smile, and Conrad's brown eyes were immediately flooded with warmth that seemed to worm its way into Yuuri's belly and settle there.

"I'm sorry," the other man murmured, as was his custom whenever Yuuri would chide him about the name thing. "I had no idea you were about to come," he said, including Murata in his query.

"That's because our trip was somewhat… unexpected, Sir Weller. I think even Ulrike would be in for a surprise if she saw us here," Murata supplied cheerfully.

Yuuri looked at Conrad, for the first time hearing the gasps and strained breathing from the room Conrad had just left. "How are things in there?" Yuuri asked quietly, and Conrad's face seemed old and weary once more.

"I would've liked to say that it gets better but in truth it only gets worse. I don't know how much longer we can keep this up," Conrad said, and Yuuri nodded grimly. He rolled up his sleeves and turned to his protector.

"Will you come with me?" he asked, because he found that he missed the other man terribly. He didn't want to leave when they only just met each other. Conrad just smiled a small smile at him and escorted Yuuri to the main chamber, and Yuuri felt that together there was no chance of them not succeeding.

The minutes blurred into hours and the hours blurred until the day was over. Yuuri had no idea how long he had been doing this, but whenever he thought that he had exhausted his powers he would discover some hidden reserve in him and would get back to work with renewed vigor. He had passed the beds of men and women, from children to old and wrinkled Mazoku who took his hand in their trembling one. He had cured and struggled for every single life he had helped, struggled in their stead against death, refusing to believe that sometimes it was a fruitless battle. The disease had spared no one, from noblemen and women to the merchants from the streets.

The first man who died under his care was a young man, a man who reminded him of Wolfram a little. He was once handsome, but as his end neared his face aged and was lined with pain and worry. Yuuri had struggled for him, had took out nearly everything he had, nearly causing himself to get Maryoku exhaustion, but it was fruitless. When the man stopped breathing Yuuri screamed and pushed himself nearly over his own limit. He refused to accept the fact that there was no helping him; that there was no one to help anymore.

Conrad had to forcefully remove him from the bed, embracing him to his broad chest while he told Yuuri in a stern but somewhat choked voice that there were other people who needed his power. His hand kept combing through Yuuri's black hair until he had calmed down a little. However, it hadn't stopped his resolve, quite the opposite. Yuuri was determined to make everything in his power to prevent others from dying.

True to that case, the only one who seemed to be able to make Yuuri stop, even for a moment, was Conrad. If the man had thought he would soon be able to get some much needed rest, he found that he was wrong and had a more important duty; to protect Yuuri from himself. Conrad had no doubt that the only thing that kept Yuuri on his feet was his Maryoku, the same faint blue aura that surrounded his body now constantly. Murata often cast worried looks in Yuuri's direction and between him and Conrad were entire conversations consisting of nods and flicks of the eye.

Yuuri had no idea of how much he was straining himself; he had no idea how frightening he was, with his Maryoku enveloping him and a grim determination on his face. Even Wolfram was wary of getting near him, in this half-Maou half-Yuuri state that he was in. It began with Wolfram, exhausted and half asleep on his feet, passing Yuuri by and muttering "Wimp!" out of habit alone. However, as he registered who he was passing he became alert once more, but stepped back instead of forward. Wolfram didn't greet his fiancé, and didn't even comment on the fact that Conrad just pulled a very frustrated Yuuri into a tight embrace as Yuuri lost another battle against the looming death that seemed to have taken residence everywhere in the castle.

Yuuri registered little of those hours. He did remember that time when Wolfram saw Conrad pulling him into a hug, remembered himself holding back nearly as forcefully as Conrad was holding him, remembered himself biting his lips to keep his control, to keep from crying and losing the battle to the Maou. He remembered listening to Conrad's voice as the other man murmured soothingly into his ear, remembered with strange clarity the feel of his warm breath against Yuuri's ear and Conrad's unique scent. But more than anything he remembered the thing he saw in every face he looked into: despair, fear and pain.

The day blurred into a night but it had little effect on Yuuri. His powers seemed to be ever growing, and his advisors were beginning to grow concerned. Yuuri was keeping a steady flow of healing Majutsu from himself for nearly twenty four hours straight by the next noon, with only Conrad to forcibly remove him from the presence of the sick so that he may eat and drink something. As Murata had explained (in the face of Wolfram's wrath that had much to do with the fact that Conrad was with Yuuri and he was not, and even more with the fact that Yuuri was quite frightening in his current state) it was not only Yuuri's powers that Yuuri was using, but Shinou's as well.

Gisela and Anissina came and went as well, measuring this and that before hurrying back to their lab to continue their research. Gisela was also checking Yuuri whenever Conrad managed to pry him from the sick beds for long enough, to make sure that he wasn't overdoing himself. Surprisingly Yuuri was well enough, his steady flow of power keeping him on his feet. None of them had known, although Murata and Conrad could guess, that Yuuri took it to heart that the disease was trying to kill his people. It turned from serving help to those who needed it to a personal fight. At some point Conrad was afraid to allow Yuuri to hear that the perpetuators got away from Yozak's (admittedly very long) reach for the time being, fearing Yuuri would be angry enough to undergo the entire transformation and allow the Maou persona out to take his revenge on the surrounding innocent people.

At night, when Yuuri seemed to be at the end of his powers, Gwendal snapped. It seemed that after resting and with the return of his strength was the return of his infamous testiness as well. He pulled Yuuri away from Conrad's protective grasp and out of the room. At first Yuuri had made no attempt to object since Conrad had done this often enough to get him fed and rested, but as Gwendal passed the area that was defined as the temporary kitchenette he started thrashing in Gwendal's iron hold. Gwendal (with much protests from his jealous and angry little brother) lifted Yuuri by the hips and carried him to his room, something that earned him the respect of all the courtiers since Yuuri was also rather strong when in this mid-transformational state.

As Yuuri was put down on the bed he bolted upright, his pupils dangerously slanted, a sign that the Maou was closer to the surface then ever. "You dare interfere with my work?! These people need me!" Yuuri exclaimed.

Gwendal regarded him calmly. "Yes, they need you, but not half dead. That's what you'll be if you won't stop and rest, even for a little while," Gwendal said in a hard voice.

Yuuri regarded him, furious. "Get out of my way," he said lowly, threateningly, but Gwendal didn't budge. When Yuuri got up and resolutely tried to go back, he was caught around the waist and was thrown onto the bed ("Brother!" Wolfram had cried out while Conrad tried his hardest to keep a straight face) and was kept still in Gwendal's tight embrace. As he squirmed Gwendal simply put his palm on Yuuri's cheek, efficiently lowering Yuuri's head to his broad chest. And much as Yuuri claimed he wanted to go back before, now he was cuddling close to Gwendal's warm bulk, sound asleep.

A/N:
Nazukeoya: literally means "man who named me".