Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Kyo Kara Maoh, this is purely fan-made.

Note: Blegh, don't you hate it when you post something and THEN see all the spelling and grammar errors? Oh well, I'll fix them later when I get the chance. Anyway, I'm really surprised at the enthusiastic feedback for this story and I'm happy you all like it. So happy in fact that I made you guys a video on my YouTube channel, it took me two days to get right because my video-maker is dumb and likes to crash every two seconds. Regardless, I hope that you'll take the chance to take a look at it and the link for it is in my profile so that you can find it. Now, to 'Stregian' I was glad to hear your reaction to Conrad and Yuri's meeting in the garden and that you seemed pleased that I used Hube in the previous chapter; because you're right, he doesn't get to be in too many fanfic's and he's such a stoical character. And lastly, to 'salmon-head' I hope you really like a wild Conrad because it only gets better after this, especially since he doesn't feel the need to hide his feelings for Yuri anymore as a result of being partially hypnotized by Noir's power over him right now. By the way, is 'Noir' a good name for a black lion? I kinda feel like I should change it so if any of you have a suggestion I'd love to hear them! Now, without further ado, we continue our adventure in chapter 3! Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Into the Night and Firelight

Carefully lifting Yuri into his arms, Conrad waited patiently as Noir lowered himself to let him lift Yuri up onto his back. As he did, Conrad's eyes softened as he looked down at Yuri's sleeping face and brushed a lock of sleek black hair out of his eyes and tucked it behind Yuri's ear before preparing to mount himself on Noir's back as well.

However, it was just then that the others finally arrived at the scene after rejoining with Yosak and Hube and hearing from Gretta that Conrad had asked to meet Yuri there alone in the gardens. Even Wolfram-who was still visibly bleary eyed from his long trip-was there although he returned to the castle very late that night after settling matters back in his homeland. And some of those matters, despite what Gwendal had previously predicted, actually had nothing to do with Yuri or his uncle but regarded something else entirely. But that was hardly what they were thinking about now as the rain continued to fall and they saw what was happening...

Of course, even in the dim light of the storm-tossed skies, the first thing they noticed was Yuri slumped across the broad back of a gigantic black lion. Next they saw Conrad standing beside it with a dazed expression on his face and strangely glassy eyes. So it soon became apparent that he was being controlled by something; perhaps even the very beast standing beside him whose eyes had begun to glow a bloody red as its lips curled into a snarl and a low growl escaped his powerful jaws.

"Lord Weller..." Hube began calmly, preparing to draw his weapon and taking a cautious step forward, "What do you think you are doing? How could you let yourself be taken in by this creature? And what have you done to His Majesty?"

Swaying as he slowly turned towards them, Conrad replied in a hallow voice, "You won't be enough to protect him, not from what is coming. Only I can protect him. No one else can..."

"Protect him? From what?" Gwendal demanded, keeping his voice level and calm as usual despite the current situation.

"From the shadows that are fast approaching," Conrad explained simply, reaching towards his own sword as well and glaring up at them with a wildness gleaming in his eyes, "I couldn't save him from them before, but I will not fail him this time, no matter the cost. Do not try and stop me, or I will not hesitate to bring an end to you."

"Listen to yourself Conrad!" Wolfram said meaningfully, looking deeply concerned for his older brother as he stepped around Hube to face him, "You sound just like how you did when you joined Big Shimaron. Are you seriously going to betray us again? And why don't you think we can protect Yuri here? Answer me!"

Bewilderment filled Conrad's eyes and Wolfram was honestly taken aback by his expression; he looked so conflicted, like somewhere in his mind Conrad knew what Wolfram was trying to say while the other only wanted to believe what he was doing was for the best. And the pain that gripped Conrad then made him sway and clutch his head as he muttered-

"Betrayal...? No, I could never betray Yuri. But that betrayal... the reason that I did that before was only because I wanted-!" gritting his teeth, Conrad drew himself back up with one hand still clutching his head as he snarled and challenged, "Didn't you betray me first though, Wolfram? When you found out that I was part human, you turned your back on me and treated me as if I were less than nothing to you even though we're brothers. Only Yosak, who is the same as me, understood what that kind of isolation felt like-" briefly glancing at Yosak from behind the wall of soldiers, Conrad turned his attention back to his two brothers and then at Hube before stating bitterly, "You all left me to face my fate alone back then when those of us with human blood flowing through our veins were sent off to the frontlines. You did not care how it made me feel when not a single one of you-apart from Gunter-came to see me off before we left for battle. For we heard the whispers behind our backs that we were better off dead, and we heard how you mocked our willingness to forfeit our lives to prove our worth to the Demon Tribe. In fact, you Hube, you were the one who led me and over a hundred steadfast and good men down that path of certain destruction because of your arrogance! Then when I was with Belar, you truly believed that I abandoned Yuri. Yuri, whom I have devoted my entire life to! None of you had any faith in me! If it hadn't been for Yuri's existence...I would have remained dead inside after Julia died. I would have...stayed...empty..."

"Conrad-" Gwendal tried to reason as the soldiers began to circle Conrad and Noir, "-please listen to me. It's true that we all made mistakes back then and that we were cruel to you, but don't make this into something it isn't! Don't let these feelings take control of you. You are only being manipulated into feeling this way, Conrad, so you have to-?!"

Having heard enough of their meaningless prattle, Noir roared loudly and bore his fangs at them as he whirled at Conrad as if to say that their time was up. And upon meeting those eyes, Conrad's hand fell limply to his side and his eyes flared red as a sparkling black-blue mist engulfed both him, Noir, and Yuri, obscuring them from view.

"Wait!" Wolfram shouted, rushing forward at the same time as the rest of them did. But by the time one of them came close enough to brush the edge of the strange mist, they were gone. Swallowed by the darkness...

~Dreaming~

Tossing and turning in a fitful sleep, Yuri dreamt about that day that he and Conrad were reunited in Big Shimaron after the raid that changed his life forever. Yuri had never realized before then just how much he depended on Conrad, and how much safer just being by his side made him feel, which was why Yuri felt so confused right now...

Conrad had never touched him like that before or looked so afraid. He had honestly come to believe that Conrad had no weaknesses-except for his horrible jokes and occasional stubbornness-and that he had no fears. It turned out that Yuri was wrong about both. Conrad had fears just like everyone else but his greatest fear was of losing him.

But then...why did he hold onto Yuri so tightly and kiss him like that out of the blue? Did something happened to Conrad while he was gone on one of his patrols? Did someone say something to him? Or was there something else going on with him...?

In Yuri's dream, Conrad was dressed in Big Shimaron's uniform again as he slowly started walking away from him in the gently falling snow. Everything was an endless white around them except for Conrad himself, who seemed to be the only living thing for miles. And Yuri, shivering with cold, began running to try and catch up with his retreating figure. Both to keep himself warm, and to finally be reunited with Conrad at long last after what felt like an eternity of chasing after him.

But no matter how much Yuri ran, they came no closer to each other. In fact, Conrad was becoming further and further away as the snowfall grew thicker. Soon, it was no longer white outside but swiftly turning darker and darker as the blizzard raged and howled in his ears.

Afraid that he might lose sight of the soldier completely, Yuri shouted his name and reached out for Conrad. By then though, the cold remained, but everything else had turned black around them in the fierce storm. And before long the cold had became so painful in his chest that his lungs seemed to be burning with every breath Yuri took as though they were filled with needles of ice. But Yuri knew without a doubt that if he could just find Conrad, everything would be ok. That's all Yuri needed to know to keep running blindly into the storm, unsure of whether or not he would make it to Conrad before it defeated him.

After awhile, Yuri's legs began to tremble from exertion and he collapsed face first into the snow that stung his numb skin with brutal intensity. However, only moments later Yuri felt warmth seep back into his skin when Conrad came to his rescue and draped his uniform around Yuri's shivering body. And even though Yuri couldn't see him, he knew Conrad was smiling at him softly with relief as he pulled Yuri closer to himself to share his body heat.

Blushing, Yuri looked up as his vision blurred and the stormy darkness of the snow-tossed skies slowly turned into the red glow of firelight dancing across their faces. And when he could see Conrad's face with clarity and Yuri was shocked at how tender and open his expression was. Because most of the time, even behind his smile, Conrad was usually hiding something. But this time, Conrad only looked down at Yuri with unparalleled affection and held Yuri like he would break if he let go.

"...Y...ur...i..." Conrad whispered soothingly, kissing his brow as Yuri slowly eased his eyes open, "Are you awake now Yuri?"

"Conrad? What..." Yuri began when he noticed the vibrating sound of purring and glanced over to see that they were leaning against Noir's side as the lion slept to recover from transporting them so suddenly. Stiffening at the sight of the black lion, Yuri tried to sit up from Conrad's lap but his strong hands kept Yuri pinned down.

"There's no need to worry, he is not our enemy," Conrad explained lightly with a trusting smile, "Don't be alarmed."

"Alarmed? Conrad, you-" Yuri began unsurely, still disbelieving that Conrad actually hit him back at the castle, and continued with a great deal of hurt and confusion in his voice, "-you punched me in the stomach and knocked me out. Why the heck would you do something like that? I mean, if I really was in danger like you said then we could have told the others and..." trailing off a bit to wince when his ribs began to ache, Yuri rubbed the sore spot on his belly and laid there in silence for a moment, unsure of what to say to Conrad that wouldn't make him sound angry...

Because he wasn't really mad, just confused by Conrad's strange behavior and a little scared by it. Still, this was Conrad he was talking about so there must have been a reason for him doing this. Yuri just couldn't figure out what.

And oddly enough, Yuri didn't want to right now which surprised him. This was the first time in what seemed like ages that the two of them had ever truly been alone together. Besides, everything was just so peaceful right now and Noir's purring was almost hypnotic. There was also the warmth radiating from Conrad's skin and from the fire that made Yuri feel-

Wait, warmth? Burning...? Yuri blinked, half remembering something from just before he passed out. Then, berating himself for being so stupid, Yuri gasped and abruptly shot up as he exclaimed, "That's right! You have a fever don't you?!"

"Are you worried about me?" Conrad asked innocently, as if it wasn't already obvious from Yuri's distraught expression.

Lifting his hand from under the blanket Conrad had draped over them, Yuri laid it against his forehead and was alarmed that he seemed hotter then before. And worst, his skin still seemed to be wet from the rainstorm earlier. How long had he been unconscious for? And where were they anyway?

"Ah, Conrad you're still burning up," Yuri said with a troubled voice, also feeling odd about him being the reasonable one instead of Conrad this time.

Yuri blushed again when he noticed Conrad leaning into his touch and closing his eyes with an almost serene look on his face as he did so. He had never seen Conrad so relaxed before, even at the castle. There always seemed to be something on Conrad's mind and he was always acting so responsible. So seeing Conrad look so happy just being alone with him kinda made Yuri a little happy actually, though he wasn't sure why...

However, it was only when Conrad slumped forward completely and began to breath heavily that Yuri managed to catch him and realized that he wasn't feeling relaxed. Conrad had just fainted! Combined with his recent exhaustion on top of trying to reject Noir's presence from his mind and body, Conrad had worn himself out which only made his fever worsen.

And here Yuri thought that Conrad never got sick either.

At the sound of Yuri shouting Conrad's name and trying to shake him awake, Noir opened his eyes and looked at the pair of them when he noticed something was wrong. His host was in a great deal of pain. Realizing that he had pushed Conrad beyond his limits when he had already been weak after their escape from the castle, Noir rose to his feet and circled around to nudge Yuri on the shoulder.

Yuri turned, with tears of frustration and helplessness in his eyes and Noir gently licked his cheek to dry them before lowering his head beneath Conrad and helping Yuri lift him off the ground and pull him closer to the fire. It was the least Noir could do after abducting them both and forcing Conrad to confront his true feelings and the heartache that still lingered from his past in order to control him. But once Yuri was in a safe location, Noir planned on distancing himself for while to allow Conrad to recover and answer to those feelings willingly...

Because to Noir, there was nothing more tragic then unspoken feelings for the one you love. He had learned that lesson the hard way after discovering the price behind his transformation. His voice was lost; although that was to be expected after becoming a beast such as this. However, that also meant that his warning to that cherished person had gone unheard save for a roar of anguish as he watched his precious master perish that day.

That would not happen again. Conrad would become his voice and blade to protect Yuri from those vile spirits who had also taken to the power of the astral plane and abandoned their human forms. A secret long since lost to the mortal world save for a single place old enough to remember an age when their two planes merged and allowed such changes to happen. And soon, the equinox that marked the beginning of that ancient time was about to come again and a single wish could be granted to man by the spirits.

Though, not without surviving the dangers along the way first...

Great, now he's going cold...Yuri thought as he checked his temperature again while watching Conrad sleep with the blanket he had used on Yuri before now tucked around him instead and a damp cloth laid across his forehead.

Noir had left earlier to patrol the area but Yuri knew he would be back soon. After all, he had gone through all this trouble to make sure that Yuri understood that he was doing all this for his sake and seemed to honestly be trying to make up for pushing Conrad into this state. However, even with that being said, there was very little that Noir could actually do as far as the fever went. That was up to Yuri to deal with in the best way he knew how...

And so far the only thing Yuri had come up with was to snuggle with Conrad and try to keep him warm. The thought reminded him of Wolfram trying to pull the same thing once when they were looking for a cure for the miasma for one of their maids who had fallen ill. But that was nothing compared to this, and Yuri's face began to burn at the mere thought of taking that advice now and knowing what was behind the original suggestion.

Still, it was all that Yuri could do for now after having sparingly tried to use some healing magic to lower Conrad's dangerously high temperature. Yuri had used his powers like this before but he wasn't trained for it like Geisila was so Yuri was a little tired from using them but luckily Yuri managed to pace himself so that they both wouldn't end up sick. If that happened, who knows what danger they might end up in, even with Noir by their side.

After making sure the fire was going strong again, Yuri glanced back down at Conrad and couldn't help but notice his own heart racing at the mere sight of him. It honestly scared him to see Conrad like this, especially since he had almost died once before when Belar's men shot him with several arrows. He never wanted to lose Conrad again so finally Yuri sucked it up and began pulling his shirt off. After all, didn't Wolfram say that this would work better with bare skin against bare skin...?

Either way, once his uniform and undershirt had been removed, Yuri proceeded to do the same for Conrad. Though he still planned to use their cloths as insulation to keep the heat in once Conrad was warm enough. Yuri was shocked though once he reached Conrad's chest at how many scars decorated his skin; testaments of years of hardship, some old, and some new, but all of them glowing like white hot brands in the firelight.

Oh Conrad...I never realized... Yuri thought to himself sadly, feeling his eyes begin to burn with unshed tears, You've been hurting a lot recently haven't you? That's why you were acting so weird. I was just too stupid to notice it.

Without realizing why he was doing it, Yuri leaned down and kissed a scar just above Conrad's heart before easing himself under the blankets and their shirts and wrapping his arms around Conrad's broad chest. He felt the unsteady rise and fall of his Godfather's chest slowly even out as he warmed up a little after only a few minutes of being held in Yuri's warm embrace. And perhaps somehow Conrad sensed Yuri's concern because while still fast asleep, one of his arms lifted to fold over Yuri's hands as if to say...thank you.