Disclaimer: I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh or its characters, and I am not making a profit from this fanfiction.

KKM - Speaking

KKM - Thoughts

KKM - Flashbacks

KKM - Thoughts in Flashbacks

Chapter 8

Wolfram grumbled as he fought with fixing his tie. Yuri would be over in half an hour to pick him up for the dance. He had hoped to be ready by now, but the dang tie was being difficult. Wolfram gave another frustrated sigh and had half a mind to just throw the thing away when there was a light knock on his door. Wolfram called out a greeting without looking away from the mirror.

"You having troubles there, Wolfram?"

Wolfram looked up from his task, and a bright smile crossed his face when his brothers face suddenly appeared in the mirror next to his own.

"Conrad!"

Wolfram whirled around and hugged his older brother.

"Wolf, you're going to wrinkle your suit," Conrad chuckled, but returned his younger brother's hug.

"What are you doing here so early? Mom said it would be a little after six by the time you get here," Wolfram asked.

"My supervisor let me leave early today," Conrad answered.

"Hmph, he must be working you too hard. I hardly get to see you these days," Wolfram stated with a frown.

"I know, I'm sorry. There's a big case I've been working on," Conrad answered with a sheepish smile.

At those words Wolfram's eyebrows shot up, and his eyes twinkled in curiosity.
"Oooh, what kind of case? Murder? Treason? Mafia? Conspiracy? What are your leads?"

Wolfram's eagerness brought a small smile to Conrad's face. He shook his head as a silent laugh passed through his lips.

"Wolf, you know I can't talk about my cases. Even if I could, I still wouldn't share any details. It's much too dangerous," Conrad stated.

"Oh, come on! I'm not scared," Wolfram stated as he crossed his arms and tilt his chin up.

"That's what worries me," Conrad commented dryly. "Besides, you're still in high school. Your biggest concern should be homework," Conrad glanced down at Wolfram's chest and couldn't stop another laugh coming through, "and how to wear a tie apparently," Conrad stated, shaking his head. Wolfram blushed and decided to stare down at his shoes, but didn't stop Conrad when he began to tighten the tie.

"There. That's better," Conrad took a step back to double check the tie wasn't crooked.

Wolfram turned back towards the mirror and started to smooth his hands over any wrinkles on his shirt or suit. Through the mirror, Wolf noticed Conrad have a seat on the bed behind them… and began to fidget. Conrad first started to brush away imaginary dust on his pants, then twiddled his thumbs before moving on to rubbing his jaw. Uh oh, Wolfram thought. He knew that behavior. That was Conrad gearing up for one of his big brother talks. Wolfram restrained himself from rolling his eyes. Gee, I wonder what this is about, Wolfram thought.

"I heard you got to spend the day with Mom the other day. She mentioned you two were shopping for your suit," Conrad stated, trying (and failing) to sound casual.

Ah, imagine that, was Wolfram's next thought, this time restraining a frustrated sigh. Wolfram instead glance down and began to smooth his hand down his suit again, this time over imaginary wrinkles. He shouldn't be surprise though. Their Mom always sent Conrad for these types of talks.

"Mom, mentioned the talk you two had. In particular, she mentioned some comments you made that concerned her."

"I apologized for that," Wolfram stated with the smallest hint of a defensive tone.

"I know, Wolf. No one is angry, we're just worried," Conrad assured. After a moment of silence, Conrad continued on. "Some of those comments sounded specific," Conrad suggested, his tone hinting that he wanted Wolfram confirm. Wolfram instead decided to stare down at his feet as he scuffed them against the carpet. Conrad waited for a moment, but when it was clear that Wolfram wasn't going to say anything, Conrad sighed. "Wolf, have you heard some of those comments before?"

Wolfram sighed, resigning to the fact that Conrad wasn't going to let this go. He slowly turned around, but still refused to look up at his brother, giving Conrad the answer he needed without saying anything. "Did a classmate say those things to you?" Conrad asked gently. Wolfram bit his lip, but gave a single confirming nod without glancing up at Conrad.

"Will you tell me the student's name?" Conrad asked, his voice remaining gentle.

"No," Wolfram stated firmly, still without looking up at the brother he looked up to so much.

There was awkward moment of silence between the two brothers before it was finally broken by a small chuckle coming from Conrad. Wolfram's head shot up to finally look at Conrad, confused by the odd laughter coming from his brother. Wolfram frowned when he noticed the small smile and far-away look in his brother's eyes, as if Conrad was remembering a fond memory.

"I was remembering a time when you were in the 5th grade. You had got into trouble at school. I was in college at the time, and I had to leave campus to come get you."

Wolfram flushed and subconsciously rubbed at the back of his head.

"There was quite a bit of instances like that during those days," Wolfram admitted. He was a bit of a handful when he was kid.

Conrad laughed and nodded, "Yes, indeed there were. But there was one particular instance that was truly remarkable." Wolfram raised an eyebrow at that. Remarkable isn't exactly the word Wolfram would use to describe his behavior when he was that age.

"You were quite the sight when I arrived at the school. A busted lip, black eye, and scraped cheeks were a few of the injuries you had. Turns out you had got into a fight with a bully to defend a fellow classmate. By the time I got there, the bully had already been sent home for the day with a warning. You were still in trouble because you refused to, in the principle's words, to apologize to the bully, or something like that. The principle was ridiculous really. Anyways, you wound up with a two-week's suspension. The kid you were defending felt awful. He started to blame himself and was calling himself useless, weak, worthless; just saying some truly demeaning things about himself. Up until then, you hadn't said a word, not even when you were told you were being suspended; but hearing that boy say those things about himself was liking turning a switch on in your head. You finally yelled for the boy to be quiet and listen up, and proceeded to change the way the boy saw himself. While it wasn't a drastic change, I could that he was taking in what you were saying: that he mattered, that he was worthy, that he was braver then he thought. I was so proud of you in that moment because you helped him remember how amazing he truly was."

Wolfram smiled as that memory replayed in his mind. That day had a big part in inspiring him to start the anti-bullying club. Wolfram was confused though as to why Conrad was bringing it up now.

"In regards to what was said to you by that student the other day… I wonder, Wolfram, what you would do if the situation was reversed a little bit. If you were hearing about this from a student you were supporting, and they were feeling like those words were true, what would you say to them?"

Wolfram smiled as he understood what his brother was hinting at. "I would say that they do matter, that they are strong and brave, and whatever things a bully says does not define who they are. The same things I said to that boy that day."

Conrad nodded as he gave Wolfram's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "I would agree with you. I would also add that the only person who gets to decide who you are, is you. No one else," Conrad stated, giving Wolfram a gentle smile. Wolfram leaned forward and hugged Conrad, as he pulled back he said, "Thank you, Conrad." Conrad responded by smiling and ruffling his hair. Wolfram groaned and leaned away, "Conrad! You'll mess up my hair." Before Conrad could respond, their mother's voice carried up from down stairs.

"Wolfie-chan! Your darling date is here! You didn't tell me how handsome he is!"

Conrad burst out laughing as Wolfram groaned as he flushed an impressive red.

"Ugh, I knew I should have just met Yuri there," Wolfram grumbled.

Conrad shook his head as he headed towards the bedroom door.

"Well, that's my que to go down stairs and keep Gwen from murdering your date with his eyes. Finish getting ready, but don't take too long. I couldn't convince Gwen to not bring his service weapon inside the house," Conrad stated, clearly amused by the situation as he step out of the door.

Wolfram rolled his eyes upward as he gave another mortified groan. Why must my family be so embarrassing, was Wolfram's final thought before he began to finish getting ready.