disclaimer:/ I don't own Magi in any way, shape, or form. I still want to though. But I don't.

"Hey, Sharr?"

The white-haired swordsman paused in his practice swings at the air, and turned to his lounging protégée, head tilted slightly.

"Whatcha need?" Sharrkan prompted.

While he was fitting in a little more practice, Alibaba had opted to take a break. While he opposed to the idea of slacking off, Sharrkan decided that he should let his student off for a while, seeing as he had just returned from Magnostadt.

Alibaba looked up, arms crossed behind his head, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I was just thinking…" He said. "While we were in Magnostadt, Aladdin introduced us to some of his new friends."

"Oh, so you made friends with those magic geeks, huh?"

Alibaba shrugged, knowing that his master wasn't very fond of the magic users. "Yeah, I guess. But, besides that," he continued, "one of them kinda looked like you. He's a Heliohaptian, I think."

Sharrkan took a glance at the blonde boy, sheathing his sword. "Great." He drawled.

Ignoring him, Alibaba went on. "He had a snake around his neck, which was kinda weird 'cause he didn't mind it at all." Alibaba remarked. "And when I asked him about it, he said that all of the higher class Heliohaptians wore snakes to let others know of their nobility."

Sharrkan placed his hands on his hips, a curious look on his face. "Yeah, and?"

Scratching the back of his head almost guiltily, the former Balbadd prince directed his gaze downwards. "Well uh, I kinda overheard from Sinbad that you were a prince, and I know you don't like to talk about your childhood and all but please, just let me ask a question." He cut the older man off, hands automatically rising to placate any oncoming anger, as he sensed the stream of discomfort radiate off of him.

Sharrkan narrowed his eyes. "Depends. What's your question?"

Alibaba hesitated, his pupils locked onto the grass below him. "Uh… Well…" He started, his reluctance painfully obvious. "Where's your snake?"

There was a pause.

His student's eyebrows furrowed, noticing that the older swordsman blanked. "Uh, Sharr?" He called. "Sharr?"

Sharrkan didn't respond, and was instead gazing off into the distance, almost as if he was in a trance.

Alibaba tilted his head slightly. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, you know. I mean, I'm curious and all, but it's cool, haha..." He laughed weakly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"..." The former Heliohapt prince didn't respond. His green eyes were unmoving as he stared off into space, and was quite frankly, freaking him out.

"Sharr?" Alibaba called, concern beginning to surface. "Sharrkan? Hey, Sharrkan!"

::Years ago::

"Aphiuheikus?"" A boyish voice piped. The snake hissed violently away from the boy's inching finger. "Aphiuheikus? Come on, tell me what's wrong."

Another voice, one that was more feminine and annoyed than the first, sighed exasperatedly. "Oh just give it a rest already, Sharrkan." The blue haired girl said from on top of one of the tree stumps. "It's not like it could talk back to you."

"But something's wrong with him, Yamu!" The young Sharrkan protested. "As his friend, it's my duty to find out what's his problem!" He puffed his chest out, a fist clenched over his heart.

"Its problem is you!" Yamuraiha snapped, as Sharrkan deflated dejectedly. "Obviously, it doesn't like you!" She narrowed her eyes at the affection the other child was showing to the snake. Huffing, she turned her nose up.

Sharrkan glared at the asinine comment. "As if!" was his retort. "Of course Aphiuheikus likes me! Our friendship runs deeper than the sea!"

"Is that the reason why it's running away from you?" Yamuraiha remarked snidely. "Face it, you fencing freak, it can't stand you!" As if on cue, the snake hissed slithering away from the outstretched hand of the exiled prince.

Sharrkan pouted, reaching out for the snake once more. "That's not true!" He argued. "He's just having a bad day. Right Aphiuheikus?" The cobra snapped his jaw down in response, barely missing the tan fingers of the young swordsman.

Yamuraiha crossed her arms, a disbelieving look plastered onto her face. "Right, it's had a bad day." She repeated, tone laced with sarcasm. Aphiuheikus hissed, which she responded with a glare.

Puffing up his cheeks, Sharrkan huffed, then, "Aphiuheikus doesn't not like me." He insisted. "Right, Masrur?"

The Fanalis, who had been lounging in the branches of a nearby tree, grunted. "I don't wish to be involved in any of your problems."

Tearing up, Sharrkan's lower lip quivered. "Wah! You're so mean, Masrur!" He cried out.

Rolling her eyes as the childish insult, Yamuraiha glanced back at the snake. It was facing her, its eyes narrowed and its tongue flicking erratically. Scowling, Yamuraiha reached out to grab the snake while its owner had his sights another topic. She examined the scales of the reptile, a grin forming on her face. I have the perfect use for you, little guy. Pushing herself off the stump, she turned on her heels, making herself ready to walk back to her small laboratory. "You know what, I'll just find out what's wrong myself then, since you're so intent on figuring out this mystery."

Sharrkan's head snapped towards the smiling blunette, eyes widened. "No wait!" He yelped in protest.

"What's wrong?" She smiled mischievously. "It's obvious that rather than listening to your attempts of getting a snake to talk to you, I need to step in."

The swordsman narrowed his eyes. "You're gonna do something to him, aren't you!" He accused viciously.

"Oh, how dare you accuse me of such a thing!" She tutted, hand squeezing the cobra tightly. "I would never!"

"Yeah you would!" Sharrkan hissed. "I wonder what happened to that frog you brought to your lab just a week ago!"

Yamuraiha tsked, hair flying slightly as she stuck her nose into the air. That frog had indeed been tested on, and the result was rather tiny but as if she'd tell him that. "Is it so wrong to keep pets in my workspace?" She inquired rhetorically, beginning to stroll towards the castle. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go research this snake here."

Sharrkan cried out, hands flailing wildly as he attempted to grab hold of his snake. His attempts were proven to fail, as Yamuraiha only laughed. With tears building up in the corners of his eyes, the Heliohaptian swordsman yelled out as he tried to catch up with her.

"No wait, come back, Masrur, help!"

::Present Day::

He blinked his eyes, shaking himself out of his little reverie. Scratching the back of his head with a sigh, he remained silent as he recalled his snake.

"Sharrkan?" Alibaba was still calling out to him, he realized. Still waiting for an answer.

Blinking away the tears that were building up, he took a deep breath and looked straight into his pupil's eyes.

"It ran away."

Sunlight peeked through the blinds, pouring into the room. A blue haired woman was seated at the wooden desk, a plate in front of her as she worked.

She broke off a piece of her snack, several crackers and cheese, and flicked it into the small cage that held a certain rodent.

"I know I've said this many times before already, but I'm sorry for turning you into a rat." Yamuraiha said, as the rat nibbled on the small cracker she threw to him, "You know, maybe I'll change you back someday." She smiled as the rat infinitesimally paused, before returning to his food. She chuckled, rubbing her finger against the cheeks of the rodent. "No, you're too sweet to let go so soon. Sharrkan's attention would only be on you if he ever gets you back. That's not acceptable now, is it? He'd be distracted by you, even in the most important situations." Her hand retreated from out of the cage, taking its place on top of the desk. "It's best if you stay out of that idiot's sight." Her smile widened.

"Right Aphiuheikus?"

an:/ Let me just say, holy shizzle thanks to sachiko haruki, I probably wouldn't have had another one-shot idea in my head for a long time. Or a name for Sharrkan's snake. SO, I wanna thank her for giving me the idea of using Sharrkan's snake in a one-shot! As for the reason for Aphiuheikus' hostility, that's up to you. And Yamu be jealous of a snake! Haha, anyways, as always, feel free to give me some ideas, especially days like these when along with the rest of my body, my brain is on vacation!

M'kay baii.

-Suka-chan