IN HIS SHOES
Disclaimer: I do not own Kyou Kara Maou.
Pairing: Yuuri/Wolfram, temporary Shori/Wolfram and Conrad/Yuuri (by now these must be said)
Notes: Does my updated speed scare you? You probably think, "What is she? Unemployed? College dropout?! How come she keeps spamming us with updates?!" But actually, I am not a college dropout (graduated already) and I'm definitely employed so, heck, I don't even know why I can churn up new chapters so quickly. I'm not a miracle writer, truly, I'm not. And God knows I can hardly breathe at work with my hands full with stuff to do these days… so why the heck am I updating again?! That will remain a mystery, I'm afraid. Knowing how slow the pace of this fic (in terms of plot), I just know that the readers will appreciate a quick update and an answer to one of the puzzling questions from the last chapter. Bear with me? Yes, I ask of you again.
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to EskimoPieCake. Thank you for your long, hilarious reviews, overactive Shori/Wolf imaginations and contagious enthusiasm.
And, of course, to the 8 people who actually placed this pic among their favorites and the 17 who put this fic on alert. You don't know what this does to my confidence. THANK YOU.
Chapter IV: Confidence
There is plenty of room for kicking, punching and believing.
He stirred awake and gradually woke up feeling panicked when he realized that he was in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar environment. There was darkness around him although not so dark that he could not see what kind of place he was in. He blinked at the ornate ceiling above him and had a feeling that he was still back in his castle. But this was definitely not his room. The ceiling was too low for it to be his room.
Suddenly a sharp spasm shot up in his head. He grimaced with pain and brought his hands to his head. Breathing unevenly, he tried to make it stop but he simply couldn't. He bolted to a sitting position, gritted his teeth and just held on to his head. That definitely did not work. Not able to endure the headache any longer, he let out a whimper.
"Hm? Wolfram?" called a voice beside him.
That took the headache off his mind. Surprised to know that there was another person in the room with him, he turned to his right and… saw Shori Shibuya. A Shori Shibuya with bedroom hair and without his glasses. And his clothes. For this Shori Shibuya was bare-chested. That was when the headache left him for one blissful moment.
"W-wh-wha-what a-a-re…"
Shori squinted at Wolfram in the darkness. He sighed tiredly. "If you haven't got anything to say, just go back to bed."
Bed. He looked around him and suddenly realized that he was… in a bed. And so was Shori Shibuya. Shori was in Wolfram's bed. In his bed. The realization hit him with a vengeance. So did the headache. He snapped.
Kicking at Shori, apparently his biggest offender at the moment, Wolfram screamed, "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY BED!!!"
Pffft. The black-eyed and black-haired boy could not help but laugh. He did not make a habit out of laughing at other people's predicaments but, honestly, the blonde and the raven who had woken him up half an hour earlier with their noisy scuffle made a very, very interesting pair. He wondered why the two of them rarely interacted with each other before. They were quite the tag team.
"MURATA! STOP LAUGHING!" Shori snapped at Ken Murata, otherwise known as the Great Sage where Wolfram came from, with a tone that did not allow room for giggles and laughs anymore.
Murata quickly stifled his laughter and went back to nursing the bruise in Shori's arm. Wolfram's foot had found its victim in Shori's arm when he kicked the older Shibuya brother off their bed. Their bed. It took all Murata had not to laugh again. He just could not believe that Lord Von Bielefeld had managed to throw both Shibuya brothers off the bed successfully in two different dimensions. That blonde prince was something all right, Murata thought with amused admiration.
"Ouch!" Shori yelped at the feel of cotton on his bruise. "The hell… I'm going to kill that punk myself! He hit me TWICE! And now this! I swear to God I'm going to teach that kid a lesson!"
"Now, now, Yuuri's big brother," Murata teased lightly, "It's your own fault for telling him about the fight while being within punching range from him. And him kicking you out of bed… well, I can't exactly say that it was entirely your fault – I seriously don't know how your colleague managed to mix up the hotel reservations, booking a room with one bed instead of two twin beds – but I can say that you probably should not have molested him."
Shori looked up indignantly at Murata and snapped again, "I did NOT molest him! All I did was tell him to go back to bed!"
"Why did you force your way into his bed in the first place anyway?" Murata replied, applying band-aid now to the bruising.
The question was a teasing, of course, but due to emotional sensitivity Shori retorted, "Hey! That's my bed! I paid for this accommodation!"
Before Murata could reply, Wolfram walked out of the bathroom where Murata had shoved him in half an hour earlier to take a shower and he did so with a slamming of the door. He was in a bathrobe that was entirely too big for his petit stature, looking deliciously wet (although it was only Murata who noticed this because Shori was too busy worrying about his bruise) and smelling deliciously nice of mint soap. Murata smiled brightly at Wolfram.
The blonde, however, did not return the gesture. Instead he flailed a pair of boxer shorts with a print of a yellow duckling on it. Murata and Shori could not help but be drawn to the sight of the boxers. Wolfram asked then, "What the hell is this?"
"It's, ah, well… boxers," Murata answered. He noticed the duckling and knew he had seen it before in a certain bathhouse where he and his best friend once went to. "I believe it's Yuuri's."
"This… this… thing… it's ridiculous! And it's Yuuri's underwear! You expect me to wear Yuuri's ridiculous underwear?!" Wolfram demanded.
Shori raised his eyebrows. "I told you I was expecting him. So naturally I brought him his clothes. You volunteered to come here."
"You tricked me into coming here! Playing with my sympathy!"
"I only told you I needed a favor and you were eager to help! What's your problem?!"
As amusing as this pair was, Murata decided that his ears and his sanity could not take much more of this shouting. He decided to intervene and stepped between them to shout, "Will you two be quiet, please? You're going to wake up the whole building and it's not even 8 yet."
At that, Wolfram and Shori quieted. Pleased, Murata snatched the undergarments that Wolfram had been holding from his hands and pushed the blonde to sit down next to Shori in the plush sofa in front of them. Wolfram sat on it without further complaint but everyone noticed that he tried to avoid Shori by sitting as far away as possible from him. Murata sighed while Shori frowned.
"Now, Wolfram, please calm down while we explain," Murata said.
"Please do," Wolfram snarled. "I really would like to get to the bottom of this, especially after he tricked me into granting him a favor, which turned out to be a ridiculous hoax. And I would also like to know how you got involved in this ridiculous business, Ken Murata. And don't try to lie to me. I may not be able to use my fire magic here but I can still throw a punch!"
Shori looked like he wanted to snarl back at Wolfram but Murata raised his hands to calm him down. Murata smiled at Wolfram to placate the blonde and then said, "Yes, we do owe you a big explanation. But you have to promise not to use violence around here."
"How is that possible?!" Wolfram retorted. "He wants us to fight! What the hell does that mean?!"
"If you can let me explain now, I'll tell you what it means," Murata said patiently.
Wolfram quieted immediately. Shori had to hand it to Murata. The boy was not the Great Sage for nothing after all.
Now that Wolfram was quiet, Murata was pleased and he started his explanation.
Long after Murata finished his explanation, Wolfram continued to sit at the hotel suite's living room – the suite that Shori had booked at the expense of the company – and mused over what Murata had just told him. It took him a while to get the whole picture but now that he did he just had to reflect on it.
First of all, Murata explained how Wolfram ended up in the hotel with Shori. Apparently, right after Shori had told him that he wanted Wolfram and himself to fight, Wolfram threw a fit. He even punched Shori. Twice. The action initiated a quick get-out-of-this-damn-mess strategy on Shori's part so he saw it with to uncork two bottles of champagne which would be used to 'subdue' the mad prince in a drunken stupor so that they could have a peaceful flight back to Japan.
It was a dirty trick – one that Shori was not proud of, he admitted – but Shori decided that he had to do something… ANYTHING. Or his face would continue to be a punching bag for the blonde. Thus, the champagne. In a fit of rage, suspicion and indignation, Wolfram drank the whole thing and he was blissfully asleep for the next 24 hours.
Then Murata and Shori expounded on the meaning behind Shori's 'ridiculous favor'. He had asked Wolfram to fight. Fight who? Fight each other, Murata said. Why the bloody hell would he fight Shori, Wolfram questioned. And that was where Bob came in the picture.
"As he has no doubt told you, Shori is now working for Bob-san," Murata had said. "Shori's job is twofold. First, he does actual work for Bob-san's company as his assistant, and second, he is training under Bob-san on how to become a king of the Demon Tribe on Earth. The first job is easy and, as Shori is a capable, competent and hardworking employee, there is no doubt he has climbed the corporate ladder in a mind-boggling speed."
When Murata said that, Shori kept a straight expression. But Wolfram noticed that there was a faint blush on his cheeks.
Murata continued then, "The second job, preparing himself as an heir to Bob-san's throne, is a little bit harder. It's pretty much like how Lord Von Kleist tutors Yuuri, Lord Von Voltaire makes Yuuri sign documents and Lord Weller and yourself train Yuuri to fight with a sword. Except that it's done by just one mentor and one pupil. You can imagine how exhausting it is for Bob-san who is already at an advanced age. Luckily, Shori here is very smart so the part about ancestry, history, customs and documents was completed very early. The only thing that Shori still needs to work hard on is his Maryoku skill, which is the main lesson that Bob-san is teaching him."
He had paused to let Wolfram digest all this information, which Wolfram was thankful for because there was just so many things to comprehend. A moment later, Murata proceeded, "Recently Shori has been improving a lot but Bob-san is not easily convinced. He wants to test Shori in his Maryoku skill. Unfortunately, the only one who is able to use Maryoku on Earth is Bob-san himself. Since it would not be fair for the pupil to fight the mentor, Bob-san suggested that Shori find himself a worthy opponent and compete in front of Bob-san next week. Shori came to me, thinking that I actually have Maryoku, which I don't, and asked me to be his opponent. Because I can't, I suggested him to fight Yuuri instead."
Murata explained that it was more appropriate for Shori to fight Yuuri. Yuuri was the Demon King in Shin Makoku. Shori would one day be Demon King on Earth. They both came from the same family so their powers had the same potentials. A better solution did not exist and Bob agreed to it. He had let Shori travel to the other world to fetch Yuuri, which explained Shori's sudden arrival, and even gave the Shibuya brothers one week to prepare.
Except that Shori's brother was not there. Not wanting to waste any time, Shori decided to ask the first available Mazoku who was there who could become a worthy opponent for him. And Wolfram was it. The moment they spoke in the stables after Wolfram had stormed out of the dining hall, Shori knew that Wolfram was his worthy opponent. No, he was convinced that Wolfram was the most worthy opponent that he could have ever gotten.
Try as he might, though, Wolfram did not get what convinced Shori like that. Even if he was capable of using Maryoku, his fire magic, no Mazoku but Yuuri had ever managed to use Maryoku outside their environment. He could not even summon his fire magic in Human Territory in his own world – how the heck was he supposed to fight Shori on Earth? He was totally out of his element here!
He said as much to Shori and Murata in response to their explanation. He told them that, if what Shori wanted was a fight with an opponent who was as strong as Shori was, well… they got the wrong person.
Wolfram expected them to be disappointed. He expected them to tell him to go back home as soon as possible (which was what he actually kind of wanted now that he knew what favor Shori was asking of him). He expected them to rush to get someone else more worthy of being Shori's opponent.
But none of his expectations was materialized. Instead, much to his utter surprise, Shori had risen from his seat, walked over to Wolfram, stood in front of him, grabbed him by the shoulders and yanked him up until he was on his feet.
Shori shook him senseless and fiercely said, "Don't you ever underestimate yourself again. I will never forgive you if you do and I will never allow you to be near my brother again if you do. Cowards do not hang out with the king. So stop being one if you still want to be next to Yuuri!"
Those words slapped him on the face. It hurt like a son of a bitch. And as he stood there, reeling from the mental pain that Shori's words had done to him, the older man stomped away in exasperation and Murata followed. Wolfram could not leave his spot. He was stunned speechless. Because those words got him thinking.
That Shori would consider was a coward was one thing (that, he decided later on, was an inappropriate insult) but it was more of the fact that Shori was telling him to never underestimate himself again that rendered him speechless.
Was Shori actually showing faith in him?
It was bizarre. Astounding. Unthinkable. And yet… nice.
He had never had someone tell him that before. He had two brothers of his own but, growing up, he had never actually had them tell him something like that. Gwendal protected him (overly much sometimes) but kept himself at a distance due to their age gap and his responsibilities as a first son. Conrart was supportive but, after Wolfram had discovered the truth about his heritage and shunned him, Conrart never dared to cross the borders Wolfram set up for him and try to get himself close to Wolfram anymore. His brothers neither spoiled him nor did they punish him. There was only… distance. The three of them grew up on their own. It was as if Wolfram grew up as an only child.
And here was Shori Shibuya. Someone else's brother… an entirely different person from the people he knew all his life. Someone who was one day going to be a leader of the Mazoku. And he wanted Wolfram to stop being such a pathetic whiner. He wanted Wolfram to fight him because he believed Wolfram was worthy. That made Wolfram want to cry and jump in joy at the same time; Wolfram craved for approval… he got one now.
"Hey, Wolfram," Shori's deep voice called out. Wolfram was snapped out of his thoughts and turned to the door. Shori, already fully dressed, had reappeared in the living room.
"Look, I'm sorry," Shori suddenly apologized. "I know it's a hard time for you. I dragged you all the way here, got you drunk and invaded your privacy. Not to mention that uh, my brother rejected you."
Wolfram could only stare. Shori scratched the back of his head awkwardly in confusion at Wolfram's unresponsiveness. Clearing his throat a moment later, he said, "But I just want you to know that I have faith in you."
Wolfram's eyes widened. Shori was showing faith in him.
The dark-haired man continued, "I just think that there's more to you than a… a… pretty blonde boy." He got the words out in a rush. "You're much more capable than you think you are. Don't let my brother or anyone else let you think otherwise. Just because he didn't say goodbye you, just because he took Conrad instead of you, just because your brothers hold a higher position than you… they don't mean that you can't do anything. I'm sure you can. You just haven't tried it yet."
Still there was no response from Wolfram. Shori approached Wolfram on the sofa. Unlike before, however, he did not lay a hand on Wolfram. He just stared at him intently and the two of them locked gazes for the long time. Then Shori smiled. Just a little. But it was a smile nonetheless.
"I'm glad you're here," Shori blurted out.
Wolfram's eyes widened even more at that statement. It made him look even younger than he already looked. That was when Shori could not resist tousling the blonde locks on the prince's head. After that Shori removed his hand from Wolfram's head and moved back a step.
Bowing, Shori said, "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
Wolfram did not blink at that. He did not stare. He did not cry. But he did smile. For the first time in days after Yuuri had left him behind and never acknowledged his goodbye, Wolfram was able to smile.
With a firm voice, finally Wolfram said, "I'll do it."
Shori's head jerked up. His eyes were glinting with anticipation. Wolfram offered his hand for a shake, saying, "I'll fight you."
Grinning widely, Shori accepted Wolfram's hand and gripped it firmly. "I can't wait."
TO BE CONTINUED