Obligatory Disclaimer: I don't own KKM or any of the characters (except for the ones I locked in my room... mwahahaha!!)

Crown of Flowers

Chapter Five

By Dejiko Mew Mew

"Heika, hold still a moment," Konrad instructed. He began to squirm a bit, as if reaching for something. Yuuri blushed wildly.

"This feels weird..." he thought. "I can feel his every movement..." He paused a moment and shook his head out. "And I definitely shouldn't be thinking about that!!!!"

Konrad finally grasped his knife and slowly, steadily cut away at the ropes that bound them.

"Konrad... you're so great," Yuuri admired as he stood up and rubbed his sore arms. "I was worried for a moment that we were in real trouble."

"Had they used chains, we may have been," Konrad simply smiled. "Now... Shall we escape?" Yuuri nodded happily.

After that, there weren't many delays to keep them from arriving to the place where Wolfram was being held captive. Yuuri looked at it with slight apprehension. Would they have trouble getting Wolfram back? Or, more likely, when Wolfram saw that Yuuri was there, would he want to come back?

"Are you all right, Heika?" Konrad asked him. Yuuri quickly nodded and shook his hands as if to wave away any doubt from Konrad's... or his own mind.

"Konrad..." he spoke up then. "What if... What if they are really strong?"

"That is what I'm here for," Konrad smiled as he placed his hand upon his sword. Yuuri laughed and nodded. He decided he probably shouldn't mention the fact that Konrad had already lost once today...

They slowly approached the run-down little place. Yuuri pulled out the note and looked nervously, shifting his gaze back and forth from the paper to the door before him.

"Is this... really it?" he wondered aloud. Konrad knocked on the door. As it began to open, Yuuri jumped behind him and used him as a shield.

Three rather ordinary-looking guards stood in the doorway. Yuuri really began to wonder how strong they actually were.

"Have you brought the money?" one of them asked.

"Where's Wolfram!!??" Yuuri demanded to know. They stepped aside, and Yuuri could see him sitting there, chained to his chair. "W... Wolfram!!"

"Yuuri!!" the blonde cried back. The guards huddled together once more, yet again blocking Wolfram from Yuuri's view.

"The money," one of the guards persisted, outstretching a hand. Konrad placed a bag into the man's grungy hand. He fumbled with it a bit and counted the contents. He nodded to the others, and they nodded back.

"Then... Give Wolfram back!" Yuuri begged, pulling on the sleeve of the guard. He narrowed his eyes at Yuuri and kicked him in the stomach, sending him back a few yards.

"Heika!!" Konrad gasped. He quickly drew his sword, as did the guards.

What seemed to be the leader yelled to one of the lesser ranks, "Take care of the brat!! Kill him!!"

"NO!!" Yuuri shouted. "We fulfilled our part of the deal! Don't touch him!!"

"Yeah, we got our money," the guard laughed. "Now we have no use for any of you!"

"That's just..." Yuuri grumbled angrily, lowering his head and clenching his fists. "That's so... That's not...!!"

"Y-Yuuri...!" Wolfram gasped. "He's going to...!"

"It's coming out again..." Konrad realized.

"That's not right at all!!!" Yuuri screamed, his hair flailing wildly as a strong wind enveloped him.

"Maou..." Wolfram breathed quietly, amazed yet again at the incredible change in aura.

"Wh—What's going on!!??" the guards yelped, clinging to each other in fear. Their weapons had slipped from their hands and onto the ground.

"He's a demon!!!" one of them screeched. They bolted for the door and attempted to flee, but Konrad extended his leg and they tripped over it, tumbling to the floor in a tangled mess.

"Not only do you go about kidnapping for your own gain, you betray the trust that was placed in your hands. To kill, simply because one has no affect upon your life is simply not right!" the Maou lectured.

In the massive wind, Wolfram's chains snapped and flew towards the guards, where they reassembled and held all three of them together tightly... and... in a rather awkward position.

"JUSTICE!" he concluded, and the guards soon found themselves fastened to a tree with the word "justice" carved above them.

"Rest there a while and think about what you've done," the Maou laughed. "I will do the same..."

And with that, he passed out.

"Heika!" Konrad cried and quickly caught him before hitting the ground.

"Yuuri!" Wolfram added and ran to his side, taking him—perhaps by force—from Konrad's arms.

"My, my!" Cheri clapped as she reappeared at the scene. "That was indeed quite exciting! I knew those guys wouldn't play fair."

"M-Mother!!" Wolfram growled once more. "Don't tell me you hired real criminals!!??"

"Well, it's no fun if they're just acting," Cheri shrugged, as if it were an obvious decision.

"I couldn't move..." Wolfram explained quietly. "If Yuuri hadn't become the Maou again..."

"Huh...? What about me...?" Yuuri asked in a bit of a daze as he came to. "Ah!! Wolfram!!" He jumped to his feet and embraced him tightly. He then pulled away and looked into Wolfram's wide eyes. "Are you all right!?"

"I... I..." Wolfram stammered. "I didn't think... you'd come..."

"What are you talking about!? Of course I came!" Yuuri assured him. "I... I was... worried about you..."

"You..." Wolfram blushed madly. "You were...?"

"Let's go home, Wolfram..." Yuuri smiled warmly. "We can talk there?"

Wolfram, left speechless, simply nodded.

Yuuri and Wolfram sat now in Yuuri's bed. Both of them looked down at the ground, shifting occasional glances at one another, but quickly back at the floor again as soon as the other had realized it.

"You... You said we could talk...?" Wolfram reminded, as if Yuuri might have forgotten.

"Yeah..." Yuuri swallowed hard. This was more difficult than he had imagined. He knew everything that he should be saying now, but was he sure that those things properly described his feelings? He had done some serious reflecting on his reactions... his emotions about several past events. Thusly, he had come to the conclusion that he did have feelings for Wolfram. And yet...

"Yuuri..." Wolfram said now, a bit more sternly. Yuuri glanced over and noticed that Wolfram was pulling firmly at his pants, clinging the fabric tightly within his shaky grasp. "It's not a game... I'm not playing around, you know..."

"I—I know!" Yuuri assured him. "I just... I was... I was worried about you..."

"That doesn't really... mean anything..." Wolfram explained.

"I... know..." Yuuri sighed. "But... it wasn't just that... There have been many other times when... I find myself...... thinking of you."

"... And?" Wolfram asked eagerly. Yuuri's expression softened.

"In those times... I was... happy," he grinned. "Wolfram, I really... really think that I—"

He should have liked to have finished his sentence there, but perhaps his words were unnecessary then. Wolfram apparently thought so, for he was the interruption when he placed his lips upon Yuuri's, locking them tightly together.

This time, Yuuri closed his eyes and accepted the kiss happily. Wolfram slowly and surely pushed Yuuri down and the bed such that they were now parallel to it.

It was a deep, passionate kiss, and Yuuri knew now that this was what he wanted with Wolfram. He didn't know what part of that boy made him feel the way he did, but he was glad for it, and he was lost now in a wonderful happiness.

Suddenly, however, his eyes shot open and he pushed Wolfram away a bit.

"Wolfram—your t-t-tongue!!" he choked out. Wolfram rolled his eyes.

"Yuuri, do you know what 'making out' is!?" he sighed. Yuuri simply blushed.

"S-Sorry... It was just... so... sudden," he laughed nervously.

He was glad to know that things would remain as they were before. There still didn't need to be a dull moment. Things were good before, but they were definitely better now.

THE END (at last)