Title. Zillullah
Chapter Title. Falling into Place
Authour. ~sushisama~
Fandom. Magi
Main Pairings. Sinbad/Judal (more may show up later)
Warnings. None for this chapter.
Disclaimer. Magi does not belong to me, I'm just having fun with the characters.
Notes. Switch to Hakuei's point of view for this. Because it amused me? I always liked an outsider looking in type of thing.


Hakuei had not spent much time around the Kou Empire's Magi, but even she knew when something was off. It was not something she noticed instantly, however. She was in her homeland for a month away from the Plains, and it was during that time that certain things happened that would later fall into place.

The princess did not know which thing she noticed first, because it wasn't until one event happened that another became apparent. She had been used to the dark haired youth flitting between all the royal siblings, giving some sort of time to each - though it was clear how he favoured the younger Kougyouku and Hakuryuu - he was being more aloof than she had ever seen. He spent most of his time hiding in the palace gardens or nowhere to be found at all.

That part wasn't really that terribly odd, as the Magi had his run of mood swings that determined whether or not he tolerated other people. What caught her attention was any time she caught a glimpse of him, he was grounded. She didn't think she had ever seen him with his feet planted as much as she had then, and he looked pale - well, paler - than normal on top of it.

Some days, he wavered, and looked like he had been sick. She had seen him once leaned over a railing, voiding the contents of his stomach, what little there was from his small diet.

This was what had led her to realise how he avoided everyone. For she had gathered some herbs for a tea meant to ease the stomach, an excuse to see what was ailing the normally more active Magi, but her search for Judal turned up fruitless for many days. When she asked her brother if he had seen him, he just shrugged, and brought up the dark haired Oracle had been missing more than found lately. Even he hadn't seen him much, and he had come back to Kou a couple of weeks before Hakuei. Since Judal came back from Sindria, he mentioned without thought.

Hakuryuu then tried to recant the statement when Hakuei asked why the Magi would be in what was now considered an enemy territory, and the nervous youth excused himself quickly, rushing off for what he claimed was training.

She did not push it further right away, just keeping it to herself for the time being. After all, she had her own things to deal with, from the territory disputes to her own musings of how to handle Kou's growing nation and the machinations behind it. She was no fool, she knew exactly what her mother and uncle were up to, the expansion they aimed at and what it would mean for the world. And she knew what it meant to have Al-Tharmen as part of the plan.

Her return home was more meant as a breath to contemplate these things, to converse with Kouen and make solemn plans with Seisyun Ri without the distraction of the front lines. She had also come to see her little brother, bothered by his most recent state of being. His return from Sindria months ago had seen a drastic change in him, not just from his first dungeon capture or the lose of his arm, but there was something else.

Hakuryuu had his own plans, she knew. At night, when they were away from the battle, he muttered to himself when he thought no one was listening, wishing to change this and that. He tossed and turned in his sleep, and just the air around him was different. Paimon had commented once, how there were a few black Rukh around him now, but the Djinn was quick to ease her mind, telling her how her little brother seemed unfazed by them.

Hakuei's concern for her brother and the state of her country took precedence over any thoughts she had for the Magi, and her curiosity for Judal faded as she tended to preparations for her return to the Plains. She took her time when not spending it with Seisyun Ri to be with Hakuryuu, even training with him here and there. Some nights she even got him to play Go or Mahjong with her, like they did when they were younger.

Being so enraptured with her own pursuits, the princess had all but forgotten that anything had been wrong with the Oracle, aside from still catching him alone and in hiding there and again. It wasn't until a week before she was to leave that the thought returned to her, spurned on by something her mother said.

It was the first time since she had arrived back home that Judal had made himself present in front of more than one individual, gracing them with his presence with his usual arrogant attitude in the banquet hall. Kouen had made some comment a few days before how it was so rare that everyone in the family was together again, and made for a grand dinner with every sibling, demanding the Magi join them as well.

From what Hakuryuu had mentioned, Judal had tried to get out of it, but Kouen was insistent that the Oracle couldn't spend all of his time away. So he reluctantly came, but was good enough to put up a front of his usual demeanour. He seemed almost completely himself, how he teased Kougyouku and spoke with the other brothers, but Hakuei couldn't tell something was still uneased about him. He looked at any moment ready to flee, like the wrong word would set him off.

But once the first course was done, and a round of wine had been had, she turned her attention away, discussing with her step brothers more intentions of the Kou and their expansion. Everything seemed fine until the next course was brought to them, some appetisers before the main course. The smell was divine, and Hakuei was more than grateful for the meal. Away from home, she didn't get the dishes she had become so accustomed to, and any time back within her homeland, she was more than eager to taste all the foods she had missed.

Her enjoyment was interrupted with the sound of broken china. The whole family turned to Judal, who had one hand covering his mouth and nose, another holding his stomach. His brows were furrowed in disgust, and he was glaring at the fallen plate with its discarded pot stickers splattered on the floor.

"What is wrong with this!?" he spat out, his eyes turned to the servant who had brought him his food, his look dangerous.

There was a tense moment where no one said anything, and the servant was visibly frightened. "I-I am sorry, what is-?"

"It smells awful," he spat out, eyes still narrowed. "Just a sniff of it, and I feel the need to vomit. What were you thinking, serving us this filth?"

"Judal?" Kougyouku asked, her gaze full of concern. "What's wrong? They seem fine..."

The Oracle gave her a glance, turning then to see all the other stares on him. He snapped his head back, a scoff coming from him before he left with a quick step, not leaving any questions to ask or be answered. There was a moment more of silence as all royal eyes watched the way the Magi retreated. Hakuryuu looked like he wanted to follow, but after looking between the threshold and his family, he stayed still. He looked a little torn between going and waiting.

It was a light bit of laughter that caught the attention of all the siblings, and all heads turned to the empress. She lowered her hand when the bout was done, a large smile lingering on her lips.

"Mother?" Hakuei inquired.

"You know, I was like that once," she commented, taking up a pot sticker in her chopsticks. "What a strange thing, don't you think?" She snickered again.

One more thing for Hakuei to tuck away in her mind, something to revisit shortly.

Understandably, no one saw Judal for a few days after that. He had even escaped Al-Tharmen's eyes for the time, having gone somewhere beyond Kou's borders. No one questioned the disappearance, as it wasn't really that out of the ordinary for him to wander off without telling anyone, but his timing was odd, right after his outburst. Normally such a thing would have no concern to him, he didn't pay much mind to his mood swings and the servants he tormented during them, but something about this one had shaken him, it was obvious to see.

During his absence, Hakuei's curiosity resurfaced, prodded on by what her mother said during the dinner. When she had asked her later to elaborate, the empress had mentioned that when she was heavy with all of her children, she had found aversions to certain smells. She had found the incident during dinner particularly amusing, remembering how it was with Hakuryuu she had always gotten nauseous around the scent of cooked pork.

And then she laughed again, taking a long sip of tea, waving off the notion as anything more than an amusing comparison.

"After all," she said with a grin, "even if it were possible, who would have dared to touch our Magi?"

Hakuei had left it at that, her mother moving on to other conversations.

She waited until one of her games with Hakuryuu to bring the subject of the Oracle back up. She had waited for into their afternoon to make mention of it, trying to be as casual as possible with the question. It was when she was putting down a black tile that the question came, simply enough, how Hakuryuu had taken the most recent behaviour of their already notably odd Magi.

He didn't answer at first, surprised by the question, but his look turned to the white he was setting down, and the tile he took with it. His eyes concentrated on the board, contemplating his answer, and for a long moment, Hakuei figured she wasn't going to get anything from him, that he would just shut down like he had on so many other topics. But when his scarred gaze turned to his sister, she could he wanted to speak, but was just having troubles with the words.

"He, ah... it seems kind of strange, doesn't it?" Hakuryuu started. She made another move before realising he was waiting on her to continue the subject.

"More than usual, I'd say," she continued for him. "Not just dinner..."

He was quiet as he planned out the next move on the board.

"You said before that it's been like this since after he came back from Sindria."

Hakuryuu visibly stiffened. "I... said that, huh."

Hakuei nodded as she watched him put down another tile. "When was that?"

He was quiet for a moment, thinking once more, before he sighed in defeat. "A couple of days before you got back."

"And why was he there? He made that big deal about Sindria and Kou being enemies, you'd think he would avoid them... Unless he was planning something sinister, but then, you wouldn't be so quick to hide it, now would you?"

She was speaking casually, but she didn't have to look up from the tile she was placing to know he was growing nervous. The thing was, she still had no idea what he was really hiding other than the visit itself. The fact that Judal would sneak into enemy territory wasn't really that farfetched, he had done it before, but normally there was no implied secrecy with it. It was obvious he went to carry out some sort of mischief, and would brag about it upon his return. She didn't know how it tied into his most recent behaviours, but it was really the only thing she had to go with at the moment.

And there was this nagging in the back of her mind, that something else amiss, by the way her mother's words kept circling her thoughts.

"He, ah... he likes the celebrations there." Hakuryuu's mismatched gaze was once more on the board, his words careful.

"Celebrations?"

He nodded. "They had a lunar festival then, and he... went, that's all."

Hakuei rose a brow, studying her brother, though he was sure to keep his eyes from her. His hesitation on the outing called much suspicion. "That's all?"

Were she not a point with the conversation, she would have chuckled at how red his face had become. "Uh, right, that's..."

Hakuei hummed, tapping her chin with a tile before setting it down and taking another. "Feels like there's more to it than that, hmm?"

There was a stutter from her brother, and he made no move to put down another tile as he thought. She knew he was close to giving himself away, that shortly he would discuss whatever he was hiding. When they were younger, it was always easy for her to get him to announce his secrets, it just took some prodding. Now it was a little more difficult, how he was more closed off, but it didn't mean she shouldn't try. This, at least, seemed something she would get from him, she just had to ask the right questions.

Or maybe she was just out of practice, how they had not gotten to spend the same kind of quality time together as once before all the wars and expansions. If this were to work, maybe she could try later to try and get him to open up about other things...

One thing at a time, Hakuei, she thought to herself.

"There are celebrations in other countries, aren't there?" she went on when Hakuryuu wasn't as forth coming immediately. "Maybe ours aren't always the best, but we aren't the only ones, and of course we have others that we are actually on good terms with, that don't need such secrecy."

Hakuryuu flicked his eyes to his sister, and she could tell she was getting close.

"So, was the celebration really what he was going to?"

The shade of red Hakuryuu turned was something like the bright dragons they had during New Years.

"Well, that is..." He put down a tile uneasily, in a move that was far from thought out, as his sister quickly put down another black piece, that halted much more of his progress. He finally looked up at her, and she could tell how uncomfortable he was. And it led her mind to think of all the things that made him uncomfortable, which was quite a lot, but what could be in this conversation that had him so flustered, so bothered, that he bit the side of his lip, like the thought was awkward to think about, like when they would discuss that one girl, the Fanalis that made him flush every time it was brought up, and-

Oh. Oh.

"Hakuryuu," she said in a calm tone, trying to take out all the inquisitor edge to her voice. "He didn't just go to the celebration, now did he?"

He was quiet, trying his best to keep his gaze with his sister's, though his face did not lessen its colour.

"He was visiting someone."

It wasn't a question, more of an observation.

"I wonder who, though," she said with a hum.

"...does it matter?"

She tilted her head, regarding him with a thoughtful look. "Maybe it doesn't," she agreed. "But then again. Don't you think it does? After all, we're supposedly enemies with Sindria, if he's fraternising with one of them, even one of those generals, think of what it could mean, the information that could possibly be-"

"It isn't one of the generals," Hakuryuu interjected, but covered his mouth as soon as he said it. His eyes were wide for a moment, realising what he gave away. "I mean, it doesn't matter who it is, it's not like that's really a concern..."

A brow raised again, but she only smiled. "Not one of the generals, huh?" She clicked her tongue. "You know, that really only leaves..."

Hakuryuu's posture shifted suddenly, straightening completely, his eyes upset and worried. "Hakuei, please, don't tell anyone, if they-"

Hakuei held up a hand to quiet him. "If you think there's no need for me to tell, then I won't. Between all of us, you're the probably the closest thing to a friend to him, so if you trust that there is no threat in his... dalliance, then I trust you."

He fell back, resting on his hands as he let out a relieved breath. "Thank you." He ran a hand through his bangs. "Can... can we keep this between us?"

She smiled at her little brother. There were gears turning in her head, things that were clicking though it didn't make sense why, but she had no real time to think about it with the pleading look he was giving her.

"Of course," she answered, reaching out to pat the top of his head reassuredly.

There was a moment of quiet where the two siblings simply smiled at each other, while Hakuei let him fully regain his composure. After one more sigh, he sat back up, placing down the tile he held between his fingers.

They went for several turns in a comfortable silence, concentrating on the game. Hakuryuu seemed to be forgetting the whole thing, while Hakuei was trying to figure out how the information was relevant. It was interesting and certainly explained some little things in hindsight with disappearances and his particular attention to the island country. But it wasn't really an answer to the most recent incidents.

She hummed to herself, wondering for a moment, if she should prod just a little more, ask if Hakuryuu thought that something must have happened in Sindria, but after a moment more of consideration, she thought it might be better not to push it. He probably wouldn't be able to make a connection any different than she, maybe even less of one, with his aversion to anything that personal. So she turned her full attention to the game, leaving such musings for later.

Later that night, when the only light around the palace was from the candles lit along the halls, Hakuei found she was unable to sleep. Her thoughts were with the return to the battlefield, an outing that was only a couple of days away. She hadn't really the chance to discuss with Kouen some of the things she really wanted, or discuss a possibly different path for Hakuryuu. Being on the frontlines didn't seem to fit him, and she would do anything to ease his worried mind. But that wasn't something so easily handled, she knew, and pondering this and how to handle the growing empire had been the most of what she thought of in her return home.

The other part...

Her meandering around the palace had been aimless at first, tapping her chin with her fan. She had brought the metal vessel with her in case she needed the company of her Djinn. Sometimes when things were strained, she liked to converse with Paimon. Her manic behaviour and odd phrasing put an ease to the storm she fought, the order that was attempting to impose itself on the world, her chaotic musing a grand distraction.

Hakuei's attention diverted when she heard loud banging from the library. Concerned at the ruckus, she hurried to the entrance, fan at the ready. She was slow and quiet to open the door, though, sliding it only a bit to see who was inside before making any rush in. The noises continued, though she did not at first see anything. There was more clatter, and making her way slowly into the large room and among the aisles of parchment, she could hear a voice steeped in frustration and... desperation?

She inched further in, until she was close enough to recognise the voice muttering angrily. She was surprised to hear Judal's voice, the first she had heard it since the dinner a few nights ago. She hadn't overheard anyone mention his return, so he must have just gotten back to Kou, still keeping to himself.

Hakuei merely peeked around the corner of one of the tall shelves, just enough to confirm that it was the Oracle, but she was careful not to be seen by him. She could just tell by his presence that he was in a volatile mood, and she would rather not be on the other end of his unpredictable anger. So she settled for watching him for just a brief moment, glad he was too distracted by the scroll in his hands to notice her.

He was in the air, as common it was for him, at the top of the bookshelf, his gaze only barely visible by the orb of dimmed light he had hanging near his head. If it was possible, he seemed to be reading angrily, like he were about to burn a hole in it.

Which was probably why she wasn't too surprised when he ripped up the document and threw it to the ground, where there was already a pile of discarded books and scrolls.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot," he chanted as he ran a hand along the shelf, searching for only a moment before pulling out another book and rifling through its pages. He stopped, reading it quickly before letting out a long and agitated groan.

"This isn't right, how even..." Judal huffed at the book, throwing it down with the others. He curled in on himself, holding his shoulders as he continued to float, his braid almost touching the ground.

Hakuei could just barely make out his next words: "You idiot, this is all your fault."

Through the confusion at the scene, Hakuei hadn't noticed the waft of coiling air from her fan, and the little visage of Paimon coming to rest just beside her ear. The sound of the Djinn's jewellery was what alerted her to the presence, and before she could put a finger to silence her, the entity was making a questioning noise.

Hakuei was quick, hiding behind the bookshelf as she heard the jingle of Judal's bracelets. Paimon was giving her a strange look, but caught that she should be quiet, and they waited in a tense moment for something to happen.

There was a scoff before there was the sound of jewellery tinkling as the Magi left, his exit the opposite of Hakuei's direction, and within a few more moments, the library was silent again.

Sure that the Oracle was truly gone, Hakuei came from behind the shelf and made her way to the pile of discarded tomes. She couldn't really see much, the light from Judal's magic the only one in the library, the candles long extinguished as the evening had come on. She settled for picking up a few of the books and scrolls and heading back to her room.

Paimon hummed as she went, still swirling about as Hakuei slowly walked down the hallways, a thoughtful tone to her voice.

"What was that about, I wonder?" the Djinn pondered out loud.

"Not sure," Hakuei answered. Holding the books and fan was slightly awkward and made it impossible to read anything before getting back to her quarters. "He's been kind of off for a while, though."

Paimon made another thoughtful noise. "Did you notice?"

Hakuei turned an eye to her, brow raised. "Notice what?"

'"The reason I came out, what had me curious," she started, her tone curious and interested. "It was so familiar, but I knew it wasn't yours, so I had to find out..."

Hakuei stopped just outside her door. Her eyes were focused on the blue skinned entity as she slid the screen opened and closed, making her way to her bed as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"The Rukh," Paimon answered, an odd grin on her lips. "There was white Rukh around him. Just a few, but they were there, and they didn't feel like any I have ever felt from you or your family."

The princess regarded her Djinn for a long moment, trying to make sense of what that could mean. She knew Judal's Rukh were nothing but black, from years of Al-Tharmen and his own agenda. She set the fan down on her nightstand, the Djinn still floating just off it, watching her intently as she sat down on her bed, parchment in hand. Now in a room lit by candlelight, she opened up the book, eager to see what had angered the Magi so.

The first book was an abridged history of the known Magi, from long ago until the most recent generation, recanting of different magics and events that happened in their lives. It was a little strange to see, she had never really seen him care for anything to do with other Magi (other than maybe recently with Aladdin). So why would he have a history? What was he trying to figure out?

The scroll was the next thing, but that was even stranger. It was almost journal like in its writings, from various authours, little anecdotes of things they noticed, different stories of different symptoms, before finding out that...

Why would he be reading this? she thought. But then she remembered her mother's comment, and the gears were turning.

It was the last book that it all finally clicked. She skimmed through the contents, a simple text of human biology: specifically, one about female biology and during-

Despite how implausible it may be, it certainly explained some things. And the fact that the Magi himself seemed to be entertaining the thought, only added to the possibility.

"Paimon," Hakuei started, looking to her Djinn. The little entity regarded her with a hum of acknowledgement. "Did you get to see... besides the white Rukh, was there anything else?"

She grinned, that grin she did when some maniacal gears were turning in her head, when there was some chaotic event pleasing her. When she didn't respond right away, she asked a different way: "What exactly did you feel?"

Paimon chuckled as she answered:

"I felt two."


I love Paimon, you have no idea, if I could find more excuses to get her in here, I would. Eiiii.

Anyway! Shout-outs!

Tacitamura. Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy it. And playing with internal turmoil is a pleasure of me, it's just going to get worse, mwahahahaha. I mean. I hope you continue to enjoy! :D

Thank you to all the follows, everyone else. ^-^