Disclaimer:I don't own anything! Kyo Kara Maoh is not mine and neither is Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. As always, I am only a huge fan. No profit is made except the pure enjoyment of both series.
Yuri panics when he sees Conrad standing in the same room as him and retreats against a wall. He thinks it's a trick so when Conrad tries to comfort him, Yuri tries to hit him, screaming that this was a sick joke and a lie. Conrad obvious doesn't know the whole story yet. And even now, Murata isn't sure what to make of things either. Still, after sobbing and becoming overwhelmed with joy just being held by his father again, not caring anymore that it's a lie, Yuri breaks free of his grip and clings to Conrad like a frightened child. Just happy being with him. After putting the troubled young man into a sleep with his magic, Gunter and the rest of them return to the castle, where Murata and the Great One explain the best they can what happened. Basically saying that they need to help this Yuri get home before they could allow theirs to return to this world. Risking the very existences of any and all 'Yuri's' to be lost to oblivion. And lastly after waking up and realizing the truth, Yuri says that even though he doesn't want to go back to his lonely world, that he would go, knowing it was the right thing to do. He tells this to Conrad as well, who came to explain the situation to him since the others thought out of all of them, this Yuri would listen to him. Which he does, and Yuri thanks him for helping him recall more clearly his fathers face. That over his long years of captivity, had begun to fade in the shadows of his heart, becoming less clear and blurred with tears at the thought of his father. So Yuri promises, to help find a way to get back to his world, so that this other Yuri, the true Yuri of this world, would not share his fate of being away from the people he loved. Some of them, he had yet to meet in his own world. And maybe by knowing them here, it will be easier to meet them back in his own world, thus ending his loneliness.
Note: Thank you 'Hikari-Hikaru-Hikari' for your review. You made some really good points about Conrad's relationship to Yuri as opposed to Yuri's and Wolfram's. Of course, you're right about Wolfram being devoted to Yuri so he'll prefer HIS real Yuri rather then this new one who doesn't stand for his rude accusations. (No offense to you Wolfram! I still love ya for your passionate and childlike nature!) So anyway, Conyuu it is then. Which is probably good since two of my stories already star Sara with an original character of my own. Besides, I'm a total Conyuu fan too. Therefore, I'll see what I can do in paring these two. Oh, and one more thing, I was thinking about setting this during the time, if you've read/seen the anime and or manga of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles, when the Clone Syaoran is still seeking the feathers and Fei Wong is still at large. Or have it be after, so that they can meet Kurogane, Fai, the original Syaoran and Mokona, who can explain the power of 'Tsubasa'. If any of you readers have a preference, please let me know. Oh and by the way, I may have a brief chapter with Sara, Adelbert, and Shori trying to gather the rest of the Mirror fragments before Edur, you know, as a gap filler later on in 'The Ice King'. Which I AM working on by the way, editing the chapters in hopes of figuring out what to do next with their journey. Well, with all that in mind, please enjoy Chapter 3!
Chapter 3
"Motivation and sincerity are needed to achieve one's goal. To pursue a thing even if the present world is lost. Even when comfort is abandoned, knowing the importance of the thing to be lost and the pain it brings though. Still yearning for it, existing for it. That is true determination." XXXHolic
His eyes widened as Yuri turned slowly around to see the man standing in the doorway. Yuri's heart seemed to flash between hot and cold. He wasn't sure what to think or to feel at the moment. But seeing him, his father, alive, was enough to cause tears to run freely down his face. Or rage or delight, he didn't know.
Yuri backed away in fear until his back hit the wall, soaking his clothes as the water which ran down them bathed his shoulders. He was so confused. His father was dead, Yuri knew that without a doubt. So who was this who stood before him now at the end of the hall?
Conrad obviously didn't know what was going on, in fact, even the other three still weren't sure, and he did what he always did. He rushed over to Yuri's side and knelt next to him, comforting the confused boy, "It's alright. I know you're confused, but we're your friends." Conrad reached forward and put his hand on Yuri's head, shuffling his hair, smiling.
"No..." Yuri whimpered quietly, his body convulsing with sobs, "This isn't real. It's another one of their tricks..." he hugged himself to try and contain the shaking, "You can't be here. You can't be here after all this time, no matter how much I miss you..."
"Wait...You know him?" Gunter asked. Still not processing what Murata had just told them. As he hadn't really fully explained it anyway. That this wasn't their 'Yuri'.
Yuri's body felt it would shatter from all these confusing emotions rushing through it. He couldn't breathe properly as he stared at the ghost of his father before him. The words seemed to choke Yuri as he whimpered between sobs, "...he's my...my..." Yuri began to say before he hugged himself all the tighter and curled in on himself as much as he could, hiding his face in his knees. Yuri let out a muffled curse, "The dead never come back. Never. There is no power, even with those beings we call our Gods, to bring back that which was lost. You yourself told me that after mom passed away..."
"Your mother? She's fine Yuri. Don't you remember? Her name is Miko Shibuya, and she's very much alive." Conrad told him, still unaware that Yuri's mother, this one's at least, had been another person. Which was to be expected since he had only just arrived and Murata hadn't been able to explain things in time. Which to be honest, even HE was having a hard time believing.
"Uh, Lord Weller, he's..." Murata began when Yuri suddenly shouted-
"Get away from me! You're not real! You're not him!" he screamed, and Yuri tried to hit Conrad, but instinctively, the trained soldier caught his arms mid-strike. Keeping a firm grip on his confused King's arms, making sure to be as gentle as he could without letting Yuri hit him. Confused or not, Conrad was sure that once Yuri remembered, he'd regret hitting him.
"Yuri..." Conrad blinked with deep concern.
Yuri struggled a lot, but it hurt his ribs and so he quickly gave up, sobbing like a little child and whispering in a small voice, "You said I'd never be alone as long as you were with me. I wanted to give up so many times and just go where you go when you die. But I didn't give up, because you also said, 'one must live, to truly protect what matters'. So I...I..." he swallowed hard, his breathing shallow and ragged.
Then Yuri couldn't breath at all past the hard lump in his throat and lost his voice completely. His wrists felt hot under the familiar touch of his father's large hands. He knew this person wasn't dead. Conrad was flesh and blood. His hands were so warm and kind, just like Yuri remembered them from his childhood. And he was right here, really here and not just a dream taunting Yuri's tortured soul. So why couldn't Yuri be happy about that? Why did the thing Yuri always wished for hurt so much? Seeing his father just once more?
Breaking down at last, Yuri wrenched his hands free and clutched the back of Conrad's uniform with a vice like desperation. His soul overflowing with bottled up emotions from the last few years. Yuri had been so alone. So he let his feeling pour out over the brim of his soul in the form of tears which Yuri could not find the strength to contain any longer.
These arms...this warmth...Yuri felt he could just melt into this embrace. Feeling safer and more secure then he had since the day he died. Yuri no longer cared if this was a sick joke or a vivid dream, he held fast to Conrad. Never wanting to leave his side ever again...
Conrad was both delighted and confused himself about Yuri's strong reaction to him.
When they left the tomb, Yuri refused to release Conrad, holding onto him as though the instant he let go, his father would disappear again from his life. He held onto Conrad in a child like manner, shivering violently from getting soaked in the waters from the Tomb.
Therefore, unable to get Yuri to release him, Conrad picked him up awkwardly, bridal style, and carried him out to the carriage. Telling Murata he'd like to hear the rest of his explanation back at the castle.
So the troubled band of men headed outside and followed after Conrad. However, not wanting Yuri to make himself sick again, Gunter came forward and used his magic to put the poor boy to sleep. Tears and water glistening on his dark eyelashes, making Gunter blush despite himself as he carefully laid a blanket on the young man's lithe form.
Once inside the carriage, with Gwendal riding outside since there was no more room, they watched Yuri as his eyes moved blindly under his eyelids. Searching aimlessly for a father who would never come back as the same man again.
Those inside the carriage watched Yuri in a tense silence. While Murata tried to think of way to explain this. Because having this Yuri meant that their own couldn't return here. Not only that, but there was something far worse then just being unable to return to the Great Demon Kingdom. But, he would have to explain once they returned to the castle. With the Great One's help of course.
When they returned, unfortunately, as they feared, little Gretta and Anissina had returned as well. The little girl ran up, worried about her fathers, and tugged Wolfram's uniform, "Wolfram, what's wrong with Yuri? Why is he all wet? Did he come back early? Is he sick?" she asked so many questions, looking up at Wolfram and expecting an answer.
But this time, Wolfram didn't have one and shook his head, "I don't know yet Gretta. But don't worry. I'll find out what's going on and help him get better. Ok?" he asked warmly.
Gretta nodded slowly before running over to Conrad, who was holding Yuri, and grabbed Yuri's limp hand from under the blanket, "Yuri. When you wake up, I wanna tell you all about my adventures with Rinji and Anissina. You'll listen right?" Unconsciously, Yuri's hand twitched in response. Encouraging Gretta that he'd be alright just like her Yuri would have.
"So, now will you explain what in the world is going on around here? What's all this about Yuri not being Yuri?" Wolfram asked, keeping his voice level.
Murata put his hands under his chin and sighed, "Even I don't know the whole story, but, this what happened according to Ulrike and the Great One. Ulrike was meditating when she suddenly saw Shibuya's light blink out for just a split second. Just as a second light crossed into the same space. The two lights were exactly the same presence. But they couldn't stay in the same time-space, so one of them was repelled. And that was our Shibuya." he looked up and continued, "I was on my way here, with Shibuya next to me when he was suddenly yanked back to Earth and I arrived here alone."
"What does it mean though?" Gunter asked, clasping his hands against his troubled heart, "What happened to his Majesty then? Is he alright?"
Murata unfolded his hands from his chin and asked seriously, "Depends on which one you're asking about. Cause they're both the same."
"'Which one', 'both', you mean, this Yuri here is a replica? Like Janis was?" Gwendal concluded.
Murata shook his head, "No, he's something much more profound. From what the Great One explained to me, this Shibuya here with us right now, is an alternate reality of the Shibuya we know. He has the same face, same presence, but a different heart. The only thing that is exactly the same is the soul."
They gasped in shock, but, that made more sense. "So you're saying," Wolfram blinked, "That this Yuri in the castle right now, is nothing but a parallel of ours?"
The Great One, in his mini form, explained, "That's correct. You see, there are countless realities and countless world that are parallel to one another. With limitless possibilities beyond even my understanding. Where there are mirror images of ourselves leading completely different lives on those worlds. Doing different things and being different people entirely. I only know this because of the things I did while searching for suitable souls to become the next Demon Kings or Queens throughout the years while possessed by the Originators. A number of times, I stumbled upon the same person but within another universe. Namely people I knew from my own past. All those people had the same faces and similar personalities, but only their souls remain unchanged. It's the same with this Yuri. Who it seems to me," he glanced at Conrad, "Was raised by an alternate version of you, Conrad. From what this Yuri was shouting though, its seems as though in his world, you've already died. I can imagine that's very traumatic for him. Seeing his father alive..."
Conrad's eyes widened in shock, "I'm his...father?"
"It appears so. Although we may never know the whole story because, I'm afraid, we need to find out why he was brought here in the first place and send this 'Yuri' back before Shibuya figures out how to get past the Great One's blockade." Murata explained.
"What will happen if he does?" Gwendal asked.
Murata and the Great One exchanged a worried look before stating clearly, "You know what Albert Einstein meant when he said: "Two solid objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time."? Well, lets put it this way..." he gestured with his two index fingers and crossed them, "...the same existence can't occupy the same space at the same time. There are exceptions though. Such as the same being meeting in dreams or actually being another person or a copy. As the case was with Shibuya meeting Julia in the past with the power of the Demon Mirror. And with Janis being a replica of a person that I once was. That being said, according to how this works, Shibuya can't come here while this other 'Yuri' is. If they met, then the fabric of their souls, since they're the same, could cause a paradox. This is deadly serious. There are countless possibilities for what could go wrong. The worst of them being this..." he nodded to the Great One for him to finish his thoughts.
The Great One jumped off Murata's shoulder and onto the desk, gesturing for them all to come closer, and he told them, "In the worst case scenario, every single 'Yuri' there ever was or will ever be in any world, could be erased from existence entirely. As if there never had been one. Our history would be rewritten as well, and it's possible, that all the things that happened thanks to Yuri, could end up having never happened at all. Bringing everything back to when Julia became a blank soul without it's own heart yet. That's how serious this is. And why we must return this Yuri to his own reality. While the Laws of Nature on top of my closing the passage should prevent this from happening, nothing is certain. Because the fact is, he shouldn't have been able to get into our world from the beginning. He was brought here by an incredible power..."
"And if you are thinking we can just use our power to traverse using water, think again." Murata said before they could suggest it, "While we're taking extra care to make sure Shibuya is safe, even if it's to help this one get home, we can't risk them crossing paths at all. Not even in passing in opposite directions. We need to help resolve whatever it is that this alternate one was brought here for. I believe that another path will open if we do that. Since this 'Yuri', like our own, happens to have the same power to cross dimensions. We are in luck in that respect at least. Even if the magic works under another system, he might be able to make his way back once he's done what he needs to do."
"Are you sure he even knows?" Conrad asked, crossing his arms and looking out the window with a troubled expression, "This Yuri seems to have been through a lot. I doubt he knows much of anything. From what the others told me, after his 'Conrad' died, he was held captive for at least nine years. Whoever did that was waiting for something. And for all we know, it was this. Before we do anything, we need to see where he stands in all this..." he closed his eyes and chuckled at the irony, "...I can't imagine it, as close as we are, being His Majesties father in another world. I have to wonder, out of curiosity, just what kind of a man I was to this Yuri. And what happened to his father that left him alone..."
"Conrad..." Gunter sighed, placing a comforting hand on his shoulders. "I'm sure that in whatever world you are born or exist in, you are no less of a man then you are here in ours. You saw how he acted didn't you? This other Yuri." Conrad opened his eyes and listened quietly, "You were someone special to him and he respected you, or rather, the other you...I suppose." Gunter laughed quietly and glanced at Murata, "You're right Your Eminence, this is rather confusing." then he turned back to the troubled swordsman, "I think, though it may be hard for you both, that you should go see him Conrad. He seems far more likely to listen to you then to any of us. I'm not sure if he even knew the rest of us in the other world."
"Hmph, I'm sure he did even it wasn't yet." Wolfram proclaimed, his hands on his hips, "No matter what world he's in or what life he's led, love surpasses all worlds no matter what! I'm sure that when we get this Yuri back to his world, he'll meet us someday if he hasn't already. Because we are connected. So that's why we'll always meet."
Gwendal and the rest of them smiled at the thought. Always meeting, always together even while living other lives. He had said something like that before, but only this time, did Wolfram's words seem more profound. His oldest brother couldn't help but smile, "When did you get so sentimental Wolfram?"
Wolfram blushed and scratched the tip of his nose, "I-I've always thought that way."
"No you didn't Wolfram. As I recall, you never acted so romantically until you..." Gunter trailed off, smiling nervously, "...met King Yuri. Oh dear, what are we going to tell the Kingdom Gwendal? We can't tell them this isn't their King..."
Gwendal nodded, "Even if we did, no one would believe us and would cause unneeded chaos. Therefore, for the time being, Gunter and I will handle the affairs of state as we always do when His Majesty is away. We have no other choice but to tell the Kingdom that he's ill and cannot see anyone until we can get our Yuri back safely. Before we do anything else though, Conrad is right, we need to talk with Yuri and explain what's going on. I think he may understand a little already but still, he deserves an explanation and an apology for how we've treated him. I'm sure that he'll understand since anyone can make an honest mistake."
Conrad smiled, "I think so too. Because no matter what, Yuri is Yuri at heart. Some things about him will never change. I only hope that our Yuri is doing alright..."
All during their meeting, Yuri sat on the edge of his bed, running through what happened. Trying to see the logic in it. Yuri knew for a fact that his father was dead. Yet he was here. How was that possible?
Yuri covered his face in both hands, failing to contain his tears again.
I want to get away from this place...Yuri wished to himself, It hurts too much to see him. When I realize he's not the man I knew but a mirroring image of him. That's all he could be! And I can't take the place of the King here, even if it means I get to be with him again. That's selfish of me...
He looked at the floor through the gaps in his fingers, still blurry with tears, and said out loud, "I wonder how their Yuri is doing? Is he lonely?" Yuri sighed, closing his eyes again, "If this really is just a mirroring world, then I have no right to be here. Nor to see the face of the man I once called father..." more tears spilled across his hands, "...I don't want to go back to my world, still, I can't stay here."
Suddenly, Yuri's entire body began to glow from within, and a magic circle formed underneath his feet, Please, I ask whatever powers sleeping within me, take me to someone who can bring me home, so that their Yuri can do the same... he smiled with contentment, It was enough, just to see him alive again.
However, before anything could happen, a knock came on the door and the circle vanished. Yuri opened his eyes and uncovered his face, replying "Come in..."
When Yuri saw that it was Conrad entering the room, he shot upright and clutched his hands in his lap, avoiding his gaze. Conrad noticed and smiled at him kindly, "There's no reason to be so guarded. We're not going to hurt you."
"I know that," Yuri glanced up at him then away, "But, I shouldn't be here. I realize that. Although I know about as much as any of you about the real reason that I am here." his eyes were still glossy with tears threatening to flow again. "I'm sorry for trying to hit you. I thought you were another of their tricks..."
"Of the men who killed your father." Conrad concluded.
Yuri sighed, "So you heard about that huh?" he stared at his tear sodden hands, "I heard what that other boy said. As long as I'm here, your Yuri can't return. Therefore, even if I don't want to, I have to go back to Syris. I'm a reflection of your Yuri. Just like you are reflective of my father. We can't both be with the person we miss, so I can at least be satisfied that I got to see you again." Yuri stood up and placed his hands on Conrad's face, something the Yuri he knew would have been too bashful to do, and said, "Over the years, I had almost forgotten what his face looked like. So in return for helping remember that face, I'll do what I can to bring your Yuri back." he smiled. "I promise."