I do not own KKM. I do own this version of that universe though, the KKM characters just happen to be making guest appearances ;)

NO FLAMING WILL BE PERMITTED! IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THE FACT THAT I HAVE AN IMAGINATION THEN I WILL FLIP *&^% RIGHT BACK AT YOU -_-

I guess I've also got to mention that my characters are PURPOSEFUL MARY SUES! I DON'T GIVE A (*^# OKAY? I have fun writing them, I mainly just have the storyline edited with my character in it. Whoopty *$&*# Do. GET OVER IT!

She was on her way back to her room after an evening walk in the courtyard garden. it had been a lovely night, the full moon was out. She started to pass an office whose door was slightly ajar. Voices could be heard coming from inside. She stopped to listen, noting that the two voices were ones she'd recognize anywhere.

"Please, Your Majesty. You have to at least tell her."

"No. I've made up my mind. No one other than you knows. Nor do they need to."

A frustrated sigh.

"Your Majesty, Ple-"

"No." The second voice cut the first off. She felt her chest tighten as fear suddenly gripped her, they were talking about her. What did he need to tell her? She heard a sigh of defeat.

"Very well," a pause, "You are aware that she's probably the one who cares about you the most? You should tell her."

'Tell me what?' she screamed in her head, growing even more anxious. She heard a grunt.

"I am aware of this. And I know she'll be less than thrilled. Even with part of the truth. Don't tell her EVERYTHING."

"That'll make her even MORE angry."

The voices continued on after that butr she'd heard enough. She padded quickly and quietly past the door and back to her room, her head racing with questions as she changed and climbed into bed.

Something was wrong. Just walking around the castle she could tell that something was wrong. The answer hit her like a smack in the face when she entered the throne room.

He's gone. She looked around at downcast faces, finally meeting eyes as black as hers. This couldn't have been what he'd wanted his majesty to tell her? There was more, there had to be more, she blinked as she felt tears sting her eyes. No, she hadn't cried in decades, she couldn't break down now. That couldn't be everything, he couldn't just be... gone. There was more, a definite reason, one that made sense, but her emotions got the better of her. She felt her knees buckle and she fell to the floor as tears made it past her defenses and started rolling down her cheeks, she fell forward onto her hands and started full out sobbing. Only one person standing around in the throne room made a move towards her. She felt gentle arms wrap themselves around her shoulders and she knew who was hugging her.

"Hey now, it's all right." She heard a whisper into her ear. She tried to ask the woman holding her if she knew what happened but couldn't get the tears to stop long enough to get the question out, instead she threw her arms around her shoulders and cried. Looking over her shoulder she noticed that there was only one who was holding himself slightly different from the rest. She narrowed tear filled eyes at him, while at the same time asking her questions with them. He just looked away. Closing her eyes she resolved that he and His Majesty were up to something and she'd get to the bottom of it. Figure out why exactly they had put her through so much hurt and pain...

I sat up in my bed with a jolt, tears running down my face. I let out a strangled sob as I threw off my covers and climbed out of the giant bed in the room that I called mine in Blood Pledge Castle. I didn't bother to put any sort of shoes or slippers on as I bolted out the door and ran for the courtyard I'd seen in my dream. I came to a stop in front of a rather large gardening spot, filled with all sorts of different colored flowers and fell to my knees.

Champion? What was that? I asked, referring to my dream. It didn't help that she didn't answer. She hadn't answered any of my mental callings for a while lately. I now had so many questions to ask her. I knew that I'd seen some sort of memory that was hers. From when SHE was alive. The voices she'd heard in that office were those belonging to His Majesty Shinnou and the Daikenja. The people in the throne room were the Ten Aristocrats, the one who'd hugged her, tried to comfort her, was Lady Celi's ancestor. The one she'd glared at, the Daikenja, had been hiding something with Shinnou. Although the soukoku man had tried to convince Shinnou to tell her. The reason behind why he was gone. Something else was afoot.

And I knew it was up to me to help her figure it out. I wiped at my eyes, slightly surprised by the fact that I was still crying. I didn't know that a dream could affect me so much in such a way. I laughed humorlessly, how long had it been since I last 'bawled my eyes out' (so I called it). I couldn't remember. I was so preoccupied with my crying that I hadn't heard the footsteps coming up behind me.

"Miss Yuki? What are you doing here so late?" I nearly jumped out of my skin. I whipped around to find Conrad standing behind me. He frowned as he noticed my tears and knelt down to my level. "What's wrong?" he asked. I guess I was still startled from him showing up out of nowhere, or it was still the effects of the dream that I'd just woken up from, but I did the first thing that popped into my head.

I threw my arms around his waist and hugged him. Crying into his jacket. I must've surprised him by doing so because he almost fell over backwards. I felt him put down the lantern he'd been carrying as he hugged me back, putting one hand around my shoulders and one on the back of my head. I could vaguely hear him trying to calm me down, shushing me like one would a crying baby, trying to figure out what was wrong, even though I couldn't (or somehow didn't want to) answer him.

He finally gave up on asking me what was the matter. I was still crying into his jacket when he suddenly started to sing. I was mildly surprised, he had a very nice singing voice. What surprised me even more was the actual song that he was singing. It was an English song that had been one of my favorites when I was younger. 'Love Me Tender' by the American widely known as Elvis Presley. I wanted to ask him how and why he knew this song, but I was a little to distraught at the moment, still crying into his jacket. I knew I had to stop. Had to calm down, he wouldn't have a scrap of dry clothing left if... I... didn't... stop... soon... I felt my eyes closing slowly as I drifted back off to sleep, finally feeling slightly embarassed that I, a grown woman, was being sung to sleep like a baby.

She was falling asleep, Conrad could feel it. He moved into a more comfortable sitting position (rather than partially kneeling) and let her adjust herself as he kept singing the song. He wondered if she knew the song. He'd learned it back when he was on Earth, before he'd come back to Shin Makoku.

Now the bigger question was, 'What was she doing out here?', as well as why she was crying. Miss Yuki was the last person he'd expect to find crying in the castle courtyard in the middle of the night. The impressions he'd had of her since she first shown up had been quite the opposite of one who'd cry without being able to stop. How she'd tackled Yuuri when Wolfram's fire almost hit him. The way she'd boldly stood when she appeared in the bath at Gwendal's castle, despite being naked. He felt himself turn red at the memory. Of course she hadn't noticed that for a while and had almost drowned everyone in the bath with her water maryoku when she did, stopping once he'd offered her his jacket.

Conrad's thoughts were cut short as he felt her fall asleep completely, squeezing closer to his body as she did so. He decided to wait a few more minutes to let her fall deeper into sleep before he'd move and take her back to her room. He felt her move, laying down completely with her head on his lap. He looked down. She smiled in her sleep.

"My don't you two look comfortable." It was his turn to nearly jump out of his skin. He turned his head, sighing when he saw the familiar green eyes of his mother.

"Mother. What are you doing out here so late?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow.

"I could ask you that same question Conrart dear." she gestured to the sleeping girl on his lap, smiling to herself as she saw her son's face turn slightly red as he answered her.

"I was making my usual round of the castle when I heard her run out of her room. I followed her here and found her crying." he answered, "I don't know why she was crying," he added before Lady Celi could ask, "All I know is I asked, and suddenly she had attached herself to my waist." He looked at his mother quizzically when she smiled knowingly.

"She 'attached' herself to you because she finds comfort in you my dear." she said, answering his look, "She must've had one really bad nightmare, I'd assume. Usually one can't speak of the nightmare until one finds comfort after awakening from it." she smiled, another answer dawning in her mind, "She likes you Conrart. More than just as a friend, and I think everyone knows it to." her smile widened as he turned red, "And you like her back, don't you?"

"I-uh." Conrad couldn't answer her. It's true, he liked her, but he'd always figured it was the same sort of 'like' he shared with Yuuri. He cleared his throat, adding a little bit of an eyeroll and head shake, "Um. Whatever you say mother." He figured Yuki was in a deep enough sleep that he could move her without waking, he stood up, holding her cradle style in his arms, "I'll just take her back to her room now." He walked off quickly, wanting to leave before she could say anything else. He made his way to the room Yuki called her own, noting that she'd left the door wide open in her hasty retreat from her bed. Walking over to the large four-poster bed in the room he set her down and pulled the covers up to her chest. He turned to leave but was stopped short when something pulled on the arm of his jacket. Yuki had grabbed his sleeve in her sleep. Gently he pried her fingers off and laid her hand across her chest, she smiled up at him in her sleep and he found himself smiling back. Maybe Mother was right he thought as he left the room, closing the door quietly behind him.

*squee* ^o^ this one actually made me start crying with Yuki as I was writing it. And yes, I took the Conrad singing "Love Me Tender" from the novels, because he sings it to Yuuri from what I've heard... if not, well it's one of his character songs and it would make sense that he'd learned it when he was on Earth and in the UNITED STATES! ^o^ So yeah. HELLZ yeah! ^^ I hope I didn't get him TO out of character ^^;; I'm not good at writing character's whose personalities are already laid out for everone to know.

Yup! Two updates in one day ;) to be honest, this one was already typed out and ready. I just needed the perfect time to throw it in there... . and I thought after Ulrike and during that little mini-arc that is of no great importance would be a perfect spot... ^o^