HEELS OVER HEAD

Chapter Twelve

A ConYuu Fan-fiction

By: Ami

Beta-reader: ProudSnapist a.k.a Sherlockian Slytherin

Alternate Universe. No spoilers.

Standard disclaimers apply.

XXX

Murata was happily browsing the pictures he had taken with his digital camera when Yuuri entered the room quietly. With a soft 'poof' the camera was transferred back in to his bag, and he turned to the frowning boy with his usual innocent smile.

"…What were you doing?" Yuuri asked, looking suspicious and wary.

"I was reading the letter from fairy messenger about the 'holes of no return'. I think I have to learn more about it so I can direct you to safe places." He replied swiftly. If only Yuuri hadn't had the ability to read his holy ring, perhaps he would have been fooled. That fairy made a wonderful actor. But Yuuri didn't plan to scold him, or try to find out what Murata was hiding. He had a more important issue to be worried about.

"How about you? You look troubled." Murata commented as he moved to his side, giving away his previous space for Yuuri who complied with his offer. "How was the laxative plan? Did it work?"

Yuuri shook his head, "No. Conrad didn't have the soup at all. We failed."

"I see…" The fairy's smile still looked sweet, but his holy ring was now sparkling with yellow and light pink glows. Yellow meant happiness, and light pink meant untruth. Yuuri could only assume that whether Conrad had had his soup or not, they would still have failed.

"What else? You just got your second kiss of the day?"

"How did you know that!"

"…It was just a lucky guess."

"Oh…" Yuuri shrank back down sheepishly, "I… well… since we're engaged here… it would be strange to refuse, so I…"

"Seriously, you can establish a happy family with him." Murata chuckled, "You two already look like newly-weds."

"We do?" Yuuri made a thinking face, "Umm… well… perhaps it's because he often puts his arm around my shoulders, he likes to brush my cheek, sometimes he also plays with my hair and… Hey, what are you snickering about?"

"No…" Murata replied in between his laughter, "It's just that… actually I expected something like 'No way! There's no way I'll build a happy family with another man!', not you explaining about how intimate the two of you have become."

The king had never felt so red in his life.

Murata could have sworn that he saw cute tiny flying pink hearts above Yuuri's head. Since it was a dream, nothing was impossible, was it? The hearts might really exist. But Murata still wanted to confirm his guess.

"The plan has failed. What are you going to do now?" He asked.

"I… don't know." Yuuri shrugged, "I just… uh… perhaps we can leave it alone? I mean…"

"…You want to sleep with him?"

"No! No! No! It's not like that!" The king looked like he wanted to escape reality---I mean, the dream, by plugging both of his ears. The voice still penetrated through, though. "I just think that I can discuss this with him. Conrad will definitely understand. We don't have to plot anything dirty."

The fairy held back a wide, wide grin, "I think that's the best solution."

Yuuri nodded weakly. His body was right there, but it seemed that his mind was somewhere else far away. Common symptom of lovesickness.

Murata didn't know if it was just another dream-delusion, but he was almost positive that he had seen a glint of regret in the king's eyes. The power of love never failed to amaze him. It could cause so many changes in one's heart within an amazingly short period of time.

"Yuuri, you're not asleep yet?"

The raven-haired boy could feel his heart jumping at the familiar voice, but he managed to stay calm and did not lose the smile on his face. Murata quickly transformed in to Chibi Murata and floated into the air.

"You're back. It's late."

"Mother forced me to stay in her room a bit longer." The brunet returned his smile, sitting next to him on the bed a bit closer than usual. But for some reason, it made Yuuri feel happy.

"I hope you're not going to tell me what she told you." The king chuckled.

"Only if you wish it, Your Majesty."

"I told you not to call me that again!" Yuuri pouted.

"I'm sorry. Getting rid of a habit is harder than you think." Conrad didn't really look like he meant it.

"YOU purposely made it into a habit in the first place!"

"It's just normal for an inferior to call his king with more respect."

"Then I'm going to call you 'Nazukeoya' too!"

"Only if you wish it, Your Majesty."

"Conrad!"

Now Murata really felt like going out of the scene. Being a third person between a couple during their private moment was really a violation, even in fairy world. Besides, the level of mushiness in the atmosphere was getting more than he could bear.

Then his eyes fell on the digital camera he had been holding inside his bag. It was probably the perfect time to develop the pictures.

XXX

Yuuri wondered where Murata was. A moment ago, he had still been floating behind him, but now he had disappeared from the room. Really, the fairy was never with him when he needed him the most!

"What were you muttering about?"

"Oh, nothing." Had he just said it outloud? "By the way, what did you just say before?"

"It's… this."

Yuuri was momentarily paralyzed as he saw the pendant Conrad was holding. It was the blue pendant Conrad had given to him on his first day in Shin Makoku. The king frantically searched for the necklace around his neck. It was missing.

"How could you…"

"It's not the same as the previous one." Conrad explained calmly as he gently held Yuuri's hand and placed the pendant in the bewildered king's hold, "It's sapphire. I looked at the gemstone very intensely at the workshop so that the owner told me that if I could make a pendant with it, he'd give it to me. I was about to pick another stone, but I thought you liked blue the most, so I chose this one. It looks quite similar to the previous one. I hope you don't mind."

"Oh… okay…" Yuuri glanced at the pendant in confusion. He wanted to ask Conrad what had happened with the previous pendant, but changed his mind a second later. It would be suspicious to be asking about something that he should already have known.

"You don't like it?" Seeing his unhappy expression, Conrad asked. "I will replace it with another one if you…"

"No, no. I like it. I like this very much." Yuuri quickly said, "Thank you. You've brought so many gifts for me today. I can't decide which I like the most."

Yuuri flushed and bowed his head down at his own thoughts. Was it just his imagination or had Conrad really given him an 'I'm one of the gifts, do whatever you please with me' look just now?

"Then, I'll make it a necklace again so I can bring it everywhere with me." He ran a finger on the pendant. It felt cold under his touch, but strangely, it also made him feel so warm inside.

"I'll never lose this again. I promise, I'll take better care of it this time…" Yuuri looked up to thank the older man once more, only to receive his third kiss of the day. He had promised to take better care of the pendant, but he dropped it anyway. With his arms around Conrad's body, he could hardly feel anything else but the wonderful sensation he was experiencing.

A moment after they separated, Yuuri felt a tinge of disappointment. But he also liked it when Conrad brushed his face with his hand after they kissed. Conrad's fingers were not soft, but they were also the most comforting ones he had ever felt. They made him feel like he could overcome anything.

Did I just wish for time to stop?

"I love you, Yuuri."

The three sacred words made Yuuri's heart jump. How was he supposed to reply? He wasn't even sure about his own feelings yet. Telling the truth would only hurt him, since they were just a step away from marriage. But telling a lie was not one of Yuuri's specialties.

"I… I…"

Conrad waited patiently, keeping the loving smile on his handsome face.

"I… I… I… I'm going to ask Anissina-san to get this pendant attached! I--I'll be back in a moment!"

With those words, he grabbed the abandoned pendant on the floor and dashed out of the room.

After the disappearance of his fiancé, all Conrad did was sigh.

"I'll have to wait just a little longer…"

XXX

"There you are." Anissina, who was still wearing her lab coat, handed over the new necklace to him.

"Thanks. It looks just the same as the previous one." Yuuri looked at the gift happily. Now he would feel like he had never lost the previous one.

"Really?"

Anissina's unusual tone caused Yuuri to turn his eyes toward her face. It was still her usual confident face, but for some reason, it looked a bit different. It looked… more cheerful than usual.

"I think it's even better than the previous one," the inventor remarked with a smile, "I really do."

Yuuri blinked at her in confusion before turning his eyes back to the pendant. To him, it still looked the same. It was just as beautiful as its forerunner. What made it different, anyway?

Sensing the king's puzzlement, Anissina clarified her statement, "Well, sometimes it's necessary to have more than two ears."

Yuuri was still standing there, looking at her with a big question tag above his head.

"Then, if you will excuse me, I'll return to my laboratory now."

"O… okay."

XXX

"Sometimes it's necessary to have more than two ears? Did she pick up the line from a poem or something?" Yuuri muttered as he made his way back to his room. Glancing at the pendant once more, he wondered what made it special, since he couldn't see it yet.

Before he realized it, he had reached his room. There was no guard in front of the room at the time, and he thought he knew why.

Then suddenly a realization hit him.

Something that made the pendant special.

XXX

"Conrad, I think…"

Still holding on the doorknob, Yuuri had to use some time to adjust his eyes to the sudden darkness. He could hardly see a thing with the lamps off. Fortunately, the moon shone quite brightly that night. At least, it was bright enough to make sure that he wouldn't trip over the carpet or something else.

"Conrad?" He called again as he closed the door.

"Conrad, are you…"

A pat on his shoulder almost made Yuuri jump in surprise. Before a gasp escaped from his lips, he could feel someone's hand covering them up, gently, but also firmly.

"Don't be too loud. You'll wake him up." Came the familiar voice. As Yuuri turned around, he could see the smiling face of his best friend.

"Murata, what did you…"

"It's actually a noncompliance, but I had no choice. I put him to sleep." The fairy transformed back in to his chibi version. "Because you and I need to do something at this moment."

Yuuri nodded, "What is it?"

"I'm going to show you some dangerous spots. Holes of no return have infiltrated this castle." Murata said as he floated to the door, "There aren't any in this room, but some of them are scattered close by. Come with me."

"A… all right." It seemed that the story about the mysterious black holes wasn't just something Murata had used as an excuse to confine him in the castle.

Still holding onto the pendant tightly, Yuuri threw his room one more glance before turning around and exiting.

XXX

After going around the castle for a few hours, Yuuri was finally allowed to return to his room. He was quite exhausted, and it was so disappointing to think that he couldn't sleep to compensate the energy he had spent for the day's activities.

"It's just in my mind… it's just in my mind… I'm sleeping all day long anyway… even at this moment…"

Repeating the words in his mind infinitely, he approached his dresser to get dressed for sleep. Although he wouldn't be able to sleep, he still needed to be there and feign it when Conrad woke up in the morning.

It would probably be harder to stay awake that night, since Murata had gone to find out more about the holes of no return. The fairy had said that he would have been back in a few hours, and had taught him some weird spells to maintain his health, but it wasn't enough for Yuuri to survive. Without someone to talk to, and someone else sleeping so peacefully next to him, it would probably be his very last night.

Sighing quietly, he made his way to the bed. Little he knew that what he was about to see would save his life and keep him awake for the whole night. Yuuri just couldn't hold back his gasp at the time.

Murata had said that he had put Conrad to sleep, but… he had never mentioned about stripping the man!

Yuuri just found it hard to believe that he couldn't take his eyes off Conrad's naked form although he knew that he should be rushing to find a blanket or any clothes to save the man from catching a cold. And it became more unbelievable for him that his body was actually reacting to what his eyes were witnessing.

A moment after some sense of rationality came back to him, he quickly jumped onto the bed, grabbed the neatly folded blanket and covered his whole body up with it.

I'm getting turned on by a man's naked body?

Yuuri closed his eyes tightly, still clutching onto his blanket. How did this happen? He hadn't even experienced a wet dream yet!

Right. It WAS a wet dream.

He stayed in that position for the whole night. He only came out once to place a blanket over Conrad.

Murata didn't return until four in the morning and Yuuri refused to look or listen to him.

XXX

As Conrad slowly came to his senses, he could feel nothing else but the fuzzy warmth around him. He had never had such a nice and long sleep before, so he decided to give in and keep his eyes closed a little longer. As he turned to his side and felt the heat of sunny morning, it occurred to him that he was late in waking Yuuri up. The thought alone was enough to remind him of his whereabouts, and what he should be doing. He immediately opened his eyes, sat up and looked around, still looking a bit dazed.

"Are you awake?"

Conrad turned his eyes to the window and saw the slender figure of his beloved standing there, fully dressed, looking at him with an unusual calm on his face. He was struck speechless.

"Good morning." Yuuri approached him, smiling, "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes…" The brunet finally managed to answer, "Is it late?"

"No. It's still early. You can continue to sleep if you want." The king sat on the bed, never breaking the eye contact. "How did you fall asleep anyway? When I returned, you were already in bed."

"Well… actually, I can't remember…" Conrad smiled sheepishly, "Maybe I was too tired, so I accidentally fell asleep."

"I see." Yuuri looked relieved. "Umm… I've prepared your clothes… I'll be waiting for you outside… while you get dressed… okay?"

The king never stayed to wait for his answer. He rushed out of the room and shut the door behind him noisily.

Conrad turned to his side to find a set of clothes, with his underwear on the top.

He was astonished.

After remaining immobile for a short moment, he yanked his blanket away.

What did I do last night?

XXX

"Are you still mad at me?"

Yuuri was making his way to the backyard, where he and Conrad usually did their morning exercises. He knew that it was useless to exercise in his dream, but he really needed it at the time. At least, he needed the feeling.

Murata, who had been transformed in to his human-sized form, was following him from behind. He hadn't been able to make Yuuri talk to him since he had gotten back home at dawn. He was sure that the king was mad at him for displaying a naked Conrad in his bed the night before.

"I apologize if you think I was too careless last night. I only did it to keep you awake. You knew how dangerous the situation was, didn't you?"

"I'm not mad at you."

Murata had never felt so relieved as he heard the weak reply from his master.

"I just needed some time to think. That's all."

They finally reached the yard. Yuuri didn't waste anymore time. He started to jog. Murata was still following him from behind.

"What were you thinking about?" He asked.

"A lot of things." Yuuri sped up, "I might have gone insane."

"Insane?"

Murata decided that his chibi form was more suitable to follow his master, who was now running with all of his might. He transformed and caught up soon.

"I know how you're feeling at this moment… I want to let you know that I don't think that it's a bad thing."

Yuuri didn't answer and kept his pace. He wouldn't have been able to run this fast in the real world. He was enjoying his new strength.

"Don't you think so too?"

"…I don't know." He stopped after the tenth lap. It was amazing that his breathing were still regular. "Being different is scary. Somehow."

Murata hopped on his shoulder. Yuuri could feel his warm aura and it soothed his nerves down. "You're not ready for this. After some time, you'll feel a lot better."

"It's unfortunate that I don't have the chance to prepare myself." Yuuri started to jog again, slowly this time. "I don't know what kind of face I'm going to show Conrad when I wake up. I don't think I'll be able to look at him in the eye anymore. I'll hurt so many people around me."

"…I need to remind you that… no matter how real it feels, this is still a mere dream."

Yuuri paused again, trying to look at Murata on his left shoulder. But the fairy had floated away. A moment later, he was standing face-to-face with the big Murata. Looking at Murata's face, Yuuri was sure that he wouldn't be able to stay mad at the fairy for too long; as long as he still had his best friend's figure.

"You will forget everything you've experienced here when you wake up."

Time stopped for Yuuri for a moment.

"…You could have told me that earlier."

"You mean I haven't?"

Yuuri didn't know if he should be laughing or crying. Part of him regretted that he would forget about all the good things he had experienced; but another part was ultimately relieved that he wasn't going to bring home these confusing feelings. He would be able to open his eyes with ease, and everything would return to normal. Wasn't that a good thing? Strangely, he couldn't feel completely stress-free.

"How many laps?"

Conrad was definitely the very person he wanted to avoid the most at this time, but the meeting was inescapable. Strangely, it also made Yuuri feel happy just to see him again.

"Ten." Yuuri replied, smiling cheerfully at him, "This time, I don't think you can beat my record."

"I see. Then, ninety and one more laps left to beat your own record, Your Majesty."

Unaware of Yuuri's shocked look, the older man started to run ahead.

Yuuri took one deep breath before making his own move. One hundred laps! It was quite a brilliant record. He began to wonder if he was still human.

XXX

Laying on his back on the cold floor had never felt so nice before. If it was truly a dream, then it had to be the best kind to make him to be able to feel this way. Working out had never been better before.

"Are you okay?"

Yuuri opened his eyes to see the peaceful, smiling face of his fiancé. The man's vigor was truly unbelievable. No common mazoku would have been able to stand and breathe so steadily after the 120th lap. He had been beaten by one lap; his own record had expanded by nineteen laps. Yuuri could have insisted that he would have won if he hadn't started to run first, but judging from his disheveled look and the other's healthy one by now, he knew that Conrad would always beat him by that magical one lap.

"I'm fine. Just let me stay here a little longer…" The king moaned as he tried to move his numb legs, inhaling the fresh air around him deeply.

"Let me help you."

Yuuri yelped as the half-mazoku sat on the floor next to him, lifted one of his legs up onto his lap, removed his shoes and socks, and then folded the trousers up to his knees.

"Stay still. It's not going to be painful," Conrad spoke calmly at the king's terrified expression. He started to run his fingers on the pale skin beneath, trying to find the aching spots.

Yuuri was ready to beg him to let him go right away, but he swallowed it back for his pride as a man. Besides, Conrad would never try to do anything that would hurt him. At least, that's what he had always believed.

He held back another gasp as Conrad started to press harder on one aching spot. Giving him another reassuring look, the man started to knead the sore muscles, very gently.

Since it wasn't as painful as he had expected, Yuuri started to relax, and Conrad began to intensify the pressure and the speed. Even so, the king didn't feel any pain. Instead, it felt quite good in a way that he couldn't express. He was almost disappointed when Conrad was finished with both of his legs.

"How do you feel now?" He asked.

"A lot better." Yuuri tried to move his legs and stood up. It didn't feel as painful as before. "Thanks. Where did you learn that?"

Conrad threw him a puzzled look. "I don't have any magical power like other mazokus so I have to learn how to cure in conventional ways. I thought I had told you about this before."

"Oh, really? Then I must have forgotten about it." Yuuri put on an innocent smile before turning around and starting to walk away. "Being conventional is good. It feels better than cures using magic."

"By the way, Yuuri…"

The king paused his steps and turned back to Conrad with a questioning look.

"Yes?"

"I… did something happen last night? I'm sure that I wasn't drunk or anything, but I can't remember anything, and I have never slept naked before, so…"

Yuuri shrugged and threw him a playful smile, "Then try to remember."

With that, he turned around and ran away, leaving the shaken man alone in his own swirling thoughts.

XXX

When Yuuri had hastily made the decision to bring the pendant to Anissina, he should have known that the name was also the exact synonym for 'trouble'. And he should also have told Conrad about his suspicions at the first place, or at least he should have been smart enough to not bring that pendant everywhere with him until it had been confirmed that it had been safe.

Yuuri could have made about twenty more statements using the phrase 'should have', but he didn't. Because he knew that the problem he was facing at the moment needed more of his attention.

It started when Yuuri entered the main hall after breakfast. All of his friends were there, and were suspiciously whispering about something that sounded important. They had held the meeting without him, which meant that it might be something that they were trying to hide from him.

What are they talking about anyway? Why should they hide it from me? Yuuri stepped back out before casting some spells Murata had taught him to make him become invisible anytime. After making sure that he could not be seen, he reentered the room and stepped closer to his friends, trying to grasp the secret topic of their morning meeting.

"…Talking to himself…" Anissina ended her explanation, "As you've heard in the record."

"I still can't believe that His Majesty did this…" Gunter looked both desperate and exasperated, "What are we going to do?"

Yuuri was sure that they were definitely talking about him, although he didn't really understand the entire circumstance.

"I'm really concerned about this… Gwendal, what do you think?" Cheri moaned.

"…I think we have to talk to His Majesty. We should also include Conrad in this conversation. We can't keep this to ourselves." Gwendal replied firmly, "We're not going to judge His Majesty. We'll share our concerns with him and ask for his opinion."

Gwendal's words made Yuuri even more nervous. It sounded like a big, nation-wide problem that was concerning him as the big star!

Stumbling for reasons, Yuuri's eyes fell on a suspicious looking device on the small coffee table in the middle of the room. It looked like a conventional music player to him, but since Shin Makoku was a home nation of weird, peculiar things, he decided to take a better look before making the decision.

His suspicions were confirmed as he saw a cassette inside the device. But it didn't conclude his whole problem. He still wanted to listen to the cassette.

Without a second thought, he pushed the rewind button. It was quite easy to guess which button it was, since Anissina had placed obvious icons for each function. Fortunately, Anissina, who was standing next to the table, was too busy talking with the others to notice the faint sound of her own device.

Yuuri didn't wait until the cassette was fully restarted. After waiting for several minutes, he pushed the stop button, which caused a fairly louder sound than the previous button. Everyone's attention was immediately turned to the innocent machine.

"Did something happen with it?" Wolfram asked.

Anissina looked closer to her machine and shook her head. "No. It's okay. I'll recheck it later."

Then they returned to their intense conversation, which could hardly be comprehended by the sweating, invisible Yuuri.

Maybe I should take this thing outside, he thought to himself as he glanced at the PLAY button. How he wanted to push it, but with all these people in the room, it would be impossible to listen to it properly.

Murata really did look like a shiny angel when he appeared from outside the door, giving him a thumbs up and nodding positively. A moment later, Murata had been transformed in to a perfect duplicate of Yuuri. Yuuri didn't like the way the fairy lamely imitated his attitudes, but it was quite amusing to see another him. It was probably the first time he noticed his truly built figure.

"Howdy, everybody! Good day!" Murata exclaimed, much to Yuuri's embarrassment.

All the people in the room looked shocked at the sudden, noisy appearance of their king.

"What are you doing here? I was about to gather everyone in the backyard to show you my newest magic!"

"Ooh, is that true, Your Majesty? You've gained a new magical ability?" Gunter looked so thrilled.

"Of course! I'd like to show the beautiful side of my magic! I can even do it without being Maou!" Murata looked quite confident, but Yuuri was getting more and more nervous. What on earth was the fairy planning to do? He had a bad, bad feeling about it. But the people were tricked by the cheap performance. He guessed that he still needed to thank the fairy later.

After making sure that everyone had gotten out, Yuuri finally pushed the play button. What he was about to hear was not any less shocking than the other previous incidents that had happened since the time he had arrived here.

"…So this is the hole of no return?"

It was his voice. And he had been talking about the hole of no return!

"It's quite small, how is it going to… WHOA! What are you doing?"

There was a moment of silence after that, and Yuuri remembered that it was Murata's line. At the time, he had tried to approach the small dot-shaped black hole, and Murata had forcefully pulled him back before telling him that the hole could have sucked somebody within the radius of three feet or less. Fairy's voice could have not been recorded, Yuuri guessed.

"It's going to be hard to notice these. It's smaller than I expected."

After that line, Murata had told him that he would have to always stay by his side to guarantee his safety. Murata had also told him that each hole could only try to catch one person at a time.

Yuuri pushed the stop button in panic. It was the pendant. Anissina had placed a microphone somewhere on his pendant and recorded everything that night. She had probably done it at the request of Cheri who had intended to mess with him and Conrad about it later. When he had seen the guards absent from in front of his room that night, Yuuri had sensed it, but he had had no chance to speak it out to anybody.

Not wasting more time, Yuuri quickly took off his necklace and studied it carefully. He moaned mentally as he spotted the microphone attached on the back of the pendant. He instantly tore it off, threw it on the floor and stepped on it, almost viciously. They couldn't hear more than they already did.

XXX

Half an hour after the hidden microphone incident, Murata's show was finally done, and everybody returned to their respective activities. Yuuri didn't watch the show himself because he had been busy plotting something to escape everyone's suspicions. He hadn't come up with the slightest idea how to do it yet, but he was sure that his brilliant fairy would become sort of an inspiration. So he waited for him on one of the benches near the backyard.

Everyone who passed by were all talking about the greatness of the Maou's new magic. Yuuri could only smile dryly as he heard about how Murata had produced a pigeon from an old hat, the old handkerchief trick, and how the fairy had made a coin disappear from inside of a glass.

"If he was going to save my reputation, at least he should have performed something better; like stealing one of the towers or floating in the air." He muttered.

"I like old tricks because they are more honest, Shibuya." There came an answer from his back. Yuuri turned around to find his smiling self. He still wasn't used to seeing himself in anything other than a mirror, that he had reflexively stood up and took a step backward.

"Murata!" Exclaimed the bewildered king.

"If I do something more than that, I'm afraid that you'll be very troubled if they ask you to repeat it at dinner tonight." The fairy explained as he transformed back in to his current legal identity. "You need to learn the tricks soon. They want you to repeat the performance tonight."

"It's okay. It's not like my reputation hasn't been damaged by your performance back there…" Yuuri sighed, "By the way, there's a problem. It seems that our conversation about the holes of no return last night was recorded. They placed a microphone on my pendant."

Murata's unchanging expression made Yuuri feel more confident about the unimportance of the problem.

"They can't record my voice." The fairy finally spoke after a moment of silence.

"Yes, they can't. But my voice is on the footage. They must feel very suspicious at this moment." Yuuri explained calmly, "I didn't speak a lot last night; fortunately. But still, I need to plan something that would calm them down. Can you help me?"

Murata made another thinking face and nodded, "I have an effective plan… but it will damage your reputation. Is it okay?"

Yuuri inhaled again, deeper than ever, "…It's already been crushed…"

XXX

Murata's plan was clean and simple: sleepwalking.

"The guards weren't there and Sir Conrad was sound asleep that night. Nobody is going to doubt this theory."

"But I've never done it before. Wouldn't they be suspicious of why it just started happening recently?" Yuuri asked.

"You can tell them that you have been feeling nervous about your engagement with Sir Conrad since it became officially recognized." The fairy's ability to create reasons (in other words, tell untruths) was beyond good. It was probably somewhere between very good and excellent. "Everybody knows how it feels like to prepare a marriage. They'll just ask a psychiatrist to check on you, you'll comply with whatever therapy they'll offer, then after a few days, tell them that you've been cured."

"It means that I have to feign sleepwalking for a few days?" Yuuri seemed to take it as a bigger problem, "…Okay. It'd be nice to be able to sleep for real."

"You ARE sleeping." Murata's smile remained.

XXX

Although the plan had been plotted quite well, there was still one thing that had been bothering Yuuri. It was the same old, classic problem: Conrad.

Since the time he had left the stunned man in the backyard in the morning, Conrad had become a lot quieter. He looked dazed, all the time. Even Gwendal had to raise his voice to try to get his attention, and Cheri's teasing peck on his cheek wasn't able to bring him back to his senses. Everybody was worried about him.

Despite his unfit condition, Conrad still went on with his work as usual and trained the soldiers. Driven by his levelheaded concern, Yuuri followed him, and saw no improvement. He looked even worse than ever. A level-one soldier was able to bring him down in one swing. The soldier looked awfully proud of his (probably very first) victory; especially since the one he had beaten was the strongest swordsman in Shin Makoku. But the other soldiers who knew about Conrad's strength were very worried about their commander's condition. They asked him to take a break for the day. Yuuri specifically went to him and asked him to get some rest in their room. Looking regretful about the mess he had just caused, Conrad complied. On his way back to their shared room, Conrad almost tripped over the carpet two times, and nearly knocked down a random vase three times. He had broken Yuuri's own record of clumsiness.

Seeing Conrad's worsened condition, Yuuri requested the kitchen to send Conrad's lunch to his room. Two minutes after having his first bite, a maid came running to him and reported that Conrad had knocked his tray over and had insisted having lunch in the dining room while the bed was being cleaned.

Everyone moaned at the breaking news, some obviously, some mentally.

A moment later, Conrad was there among them. He still looked a bit dazed, but his appearance definitely seemed better. After apologizing for the ruckus he had caused, he still created another one by knocking his glass over and drenching Gwendal's lap.

Gwendal never blamed him, but Conrad looked quite depressed about his condition, and Yuuri was even worse. He was very sad to see Conrad's desperate expression. The others might have been wondering what was happening with the man, but Yuuri had an idea of what it was, and felt guilty for being the cause of Conrad's condition.

"Listen, Conrad." Yuuri spoke very carefully, as if he was trying to tell a three-year-old how dangerous to climb a chair was. "I apologize for making you think that something happened last night."

Conrad didn't answer. His eyes were screaming out his confusion.

"Actually, nothing happened. When I returned, you were already sprawled naked in bed. All I did was place a blanket on you before going to sleep, and…" The king took another deep breath before resuming his statement, "I wish I knew why you stripped… But… well, at least I can tell you that nothing has happened. Once more, I'm sorry."

The explanation sounded clear enough, but the man still looked as confused as before. He even looked more, and more puzzled after Yuuri left him alone in the room.

Touching the soft mattress beneath him, Conrad quickly noticed that they had gotten the bed sheet replaced.

His body felt so exhausted; the same thing applied to his mind, but strangely… he had a feeling that he shouldn't sleep at the moment.

XXX

That night, long after exchanging 'good night' with Conrad, Yuuri's eyes snapped back open. His fairy had been waiting beside him and gave him a signal that their route was clear.

Conrad was actually not in the room at the time. A moment before, he had excused himself to leave to pack some of his things in his own room. That made Yuuri's plan even better. Yuuri wasn't sure that he could fool Conrad, of all people. The man seemed to always be able to see through him.

"Everyone's not asleep yet. It's the best time to show them that you've been sleepwalking." Murata told him, "Remember our practice today. Close your eyes while walking. I will guide your way."

Yuuri nodded.

XXX

Conrad had been standing in front of the room for several minutes, hesitating on whether he should enter or not. Every time he felt the coldness of the doorknob, he would retreat and take another deep breath, before trying again, over and over. He had been standing there for fifteen minutes now. Nothing had changed. And he had felt really, really stupid for not being able to make a move.

When the doorknob suddenly moved on its own, Conrad was almost convinced that Shin Maou had been fed up with his indecision and had decided to help him with the job.

But then, an unexpected person came out from the room. Conrad could only gape in his place, staring at the scene disbelievingly.

"…Yuuri?"

His voice was ignored. The king, still with his eyes closed, slowly made his way out of the room, to the long corridor, which connected the place to the backyard.

Conrad was momentarily paralyzed, trying to comprehend what was happening. Then it came to his mind that Yuuri's safety was number one priority. Looking at the way he unsteadily walked, Conrad was sure that Yuuri was not conscious of what he was doing.

"Yuu--- Your Majesty!" He called again as he ran to him. But every time he almost reached Yuuri, an invisible kekkai would get in his way and send him a few feet backwards.

After his tenth try, Conrad was desperate, but he wasn't planning to give up. There was no finale point in protecting his king, not until he was dead.

XXX

"He's still following us." Murata told the sweating king beside him, who was still trying to keep up the act, "So stubborn. If he reaches you, our plan will definitely be ruined."

"Do something," Yuuri whispered, still closing his eyes. "Conrad is not someone who's going to give up at the threat of violence on his person. Try something gentler."

"Like a pat on his head?"

"Anything!"

The fairy inhaled deeply as the man stubbornly strove forward. This time, he decided not to use the kekkai.

"Keep sleeping no matter what. He'll give it up sooner or later."

"Just when exactly is 'sooner or later'!" The king didn't have much time to complain. Soon, Conrad was a step ahead of him. Yuuri could hardly hold back a yelp as he felt his strong grasps on his shoulders.

"Yuuri! Wake up! What's happening with you?"

Yuuri tried to look calm. It was sooooo hard to keep 'sleeping' when someone was yelling in your ear; especially when that someone was the one who could make your heart pound three times faster just by his presence alone.

"Yuuri!" Conrad tried again, gripping on the king's arm rough enough that it hurt. "Yuuri, please talk to me!"

Murata knew that the king must have been very troubled at the time. But there was always plan B in his 'evil plot book'. And as he had foretold, people were soon gathering outside due to the noise Conrad was making. Soon, all the people they needed as witnesses would be assembled.

Yuuri took a deep, relieved breath as he felt Murata's hand on his shoulder, which signaled him to stop the charade. He opened his eyes and saw the concerned face of his fiancé. As he looked around, he could also see the rest of his "family". Wolfram, who still looked sleepy, Gwendal who was still holding onto his handmade teddy-bear doll, Gunter, whose hands were clamped together in 'praying mode', Cheri, who was holding a bucket of water, and Anissina, still in her lab coat, who was holding a screwdriver in one of her hands. Murata held back the urge to get his digital camera.

"…Uh… what's happening here?" It was the line he had practiced numerous times, but it was still hard to get the right tone.

"You were sleepwalking." Conrad's consideration had never disappointed him. "I was so worried. Can't you remember how you walked out of the room?"

"Sleepwalking?" Gwendal raised an eyebrow, "…When did it start?"

Yuuri shook his head in confusion, "I'm sure that I was sleeping in my room."

"I guess the pre-marriage pressure is getting to him." Cheri looked relieved, "It explains what we heard on the footage too."

"What footage?" Yuuri and Conrad spoke at the same time.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow." Gunter also looked happy, "For now, Conrad, please lock the door and watch over His Majesty to make sure that he won't get out again. We'll treat this problem tomorrow."

"…Can I go back to my room now…?" Wolfram yawned.

XXX

There was only silence in Yuuri and Conrad's way back to their room. Yuuri tried to think of something, but nothing came to his mind. Conrad also seemed to be in a quiet mood at the time. His face had calmed down, but he still looked very troubled.

"I'm sorry… for today. For making you worried." Yuuri tried, although Conrad's sad expression made him feel really bad. "I… I'm just nervous… it's getting closer to our marriage, and I… well… you know…"

"…Getting married to you…" Conrad suddenly muttered, "…I couldn't even imagine it before…"

"Huh?"

The man looked down to him and smiled, "…Thank you, Yuuri. For having someone like me around."

Yuuri was glad that the place was dark enough to hide the flaming blush on his cheeks; although it was also quiet enough that he was so afraid that Conrad might be able to hear the pounding sound coming from the inside of his chest. He replied the sincere words with a kiss. It was probably the very first kiss he had ever attempted on his own.

As he watched Conrad's gaping expression after he released him, Yuuri made a mental note to do it more often.

"By the way, did I show this to you yet?" Yuuri pulled the necklace out of his pocket. He hadn't put it on yet. "I've made it a necklace. It looks exactly the same as the previous one, don't you…"

Yuuri yelped as the seal between the pendant and the necklace fell apart. The pendant rolled, fell, and landed right next to Conrad's right foot.

"Let me get that for you." The brunet smiled as he bent down to reach the jewel. Then something strange happened. The jewel suddenly moved and rolled again further on the floor, as if it was trying to avoid Conrad's hand.

Conrad followed it and tried to reach it again. And once more, it rolled away from him.

"What's wrong?" Yuuri glanced at the scene in confusion.

"Maybe he's just too nervous before your first night together." Murata commented cheerfully from behind.

Yuuri flushed, "We're not going to do it."

"Nothing gets in your way tonight. You'll have no reason to refuse." The fairy teased him.

Yuuri opened his mouth to protest, but he was stopped by Murata's sudden, tense expression.

"What…"

"Shibuya, stop him!" Murata suddenly exclaimed, "Stop him right now!"

"But, why…"

"The hole!" The fairy clarified impatiently, "It's luring him to its place!"

XXX

Conrad had never encountered such a stubborn pendant before. Every time he almost reached it, it would dodge him and roll ever further (and pendants aren't supposed to roll like a ball!). He kept chasing it, but it was almost as agile as a hamster.

As the pendant finally stopped by the wall, Conrad sighed in relief and approached it quickly. He was unaware of the floating tennis-ball-sized black hole that had been waiting for him above the pendant.

Yuuri tried to yell and warn him, but his voice sounded so distant. All he had in his mind was retrieving the pendant for his king.

XXX

"Holes aren't supposed to swallow a non-owner character in a dream, right!" Yuuri demanded as he ran with all of his might to Conrad's place. Unfortunately, the sore feeling from his morning exercise was making him stiff still.

"I don't know," was all Murata could muster out, "…I really have no idea what's happening now. Even fairies are helpless against the holes."

Yuuri bit his bottom lip and raised his speed. Conrad was actually not very far from his place, but a millisecond was going to determine his fate. As the brunet's figure became closer and closer, Yuuri could hardly feel a thing. Murata had told him to pull Conrad away to save both of them, but he had a much more practical, less time-consuming solution in his mind. He'd push him away, even if it would place him in the dangerous situation instead.

Although Murata had also warned him about the hole's ability to recognize owners and capture them with its magnetic force, Yuuri was surprised to think that he didn't care about it at all. As long as he could save Conrad, he would never regret the Russian roulette. Although it was thin, there was still a chance to win. And he had always believed that he had better luck than most others. Gambling wasn't a big deal… right?

Yuuri closed his eyes and held his breath as he felt the warmth of Conrad's body with his hands as he forcefully pushed him away.

Then the world around him spun, and everything went black.

XXX

TBC