The Day with Wolfram, Chapter Four
Puddle
…. …………….+
Yuuri became aware of a muffled sound in the next room. It sounded like two voices…one was calm, and the other excited and angry. The calm voice would say something incoherent and quiet, and the other would reply by shouting.
/Wolfram/
Yuuri strained his eyes, but he could only roughly make out what Wolfram was saying.
"Coward! How could you do a thing such as this?"
What was happening? Yuuri strained against the bonds that held his arms to the wall, hoping that they were as old as the room he was held in. The cuffs were rusted and scratched, but they were sturdy. He could feel the two sides of the lock grating together, and focused his energy on trying to break the cuffs that way against the pain that this caused.
"What—what are you doing—you—!"
The sudden cease in Wolfram's shouting made Yuuri lose concentration. He tried again, but the worry started to build up inside of him.
"Stop!"
The anger in Wolfram's voice had been replaced by fear. Yuuri knew from experience that this was rare, and he was terrified of what the cause may have been.
He continued to listen to the struggle in the next room, his heart beating painfully hard in his chest. Unwilling to rely on the Maou's power for help, he tried to think of a way out of the situation.
/The cuffs will HAVE to break if I keep doing this, right/ He thought. /Is Wolfram in the same situation? Is he trying to find a way out/
Wolfram's shouts had turned to angry sobs. The other voice was a little louder, but was still low and soft and Yuuri could not make out the words.
"What do you want?" Wolfram cried. Yuuri could not make out the response.
"How could you!" Silence for a few minutes, and then, "What have you done to Yuuri?"
Yuuri's heart skipped a beat then sank in his chest. He was safe, and he considered shouting that to Wolfram (though it wouldn't have done him much good, in the situation he was in) when the guard outside Yuuri's door laughed.
"What are they DOING in there?" he asked. "I mean, that's not how negotiations usually go…"
Yuuri's anger flared up. Why wouldn't the Maou come out? Had he really resorted to that—to relying on the Maou? No, surely if he talked it out…everyone was a person inside, even if they buried that part of them to protect themself. Even Wolfram, bratty, pissy Wolfram…as he listened to the cries in the next room, he next that that part of Wolfram had been unburied.
/Everyone can be talked to. This Balint person might just be doing this to scare me into negotiation with him./ Yuuri thought.
He gathered up his courage, and then shouted as loudly as he could, "Eh, Balint, sir, if you want to negotiate, I'm more than willing to talk to you."
"What the fuck would he want with you?" the guard outside his door asked.
The sounds in the next room had stopped momentarily, and then Yuuri heard the low voice laugh.
(In the next room)
Wolfram was chained to the wall in the same position as Yuuri. He had been awake for a while longer, though, when Balint had entered the room and made his blood freeze.
The other man looked a little older than Wolfram, and he was taller as well.
"Hello, Wolf," he said as if he had casually entered his parlor while entertaining guests.
Wolfram's eyes shot open and his throat tightened as he stared at his former guard member. "You…" he was overwhelmed by fear, not sure of what to think or do, and he unconsciously struggled against his cuffs. He tried to compose himself by looking away, closing his eyes, and summoning his courage.
/Even if I've been captured, my safety is not important. As a Mazoku soldier, I cannot be overcome by fear of captivity or torture. If I am killed, then it will be the end that I earned myself./
He steadied himself as best he could, and then remembered his duty.
"Where is Yuuri?" Wolfram asked as he glared at Balint with all of the rage he could gather.
Balint smiled. "Well, you've played with him enough, so I'm letting him sit out."
"What do you plan to do with him?"
The smile left Balint's face momentarily. He put his hand to his chin and looked thoughtful. "Well, I didn't really plan on capturing him, so I think that I'll sell him to Big Shimaron, or whoever else will play for him. I don't have any use for him."
/For him(?)/ Wolfram thought. /Nevermind, nevermind! Don't be afraid/ "Well, then did the Original King have anything to do with this? Why would you capture the Maou if you're not going to do anything with him?"
Balint smiled widely this time, and, to Wolfram's horror, began to close the distance between them. "Why do you think?"
Wolfram swallowed. /He still has a grudge against me…/ "I—I don't know." He swallowed again, and then shouted, "That's why I'm asking you!"
His captor frowned and clamped his hand painfully over Wolfram's mouth, making the blonde prince want to bite or spit or both. "I know how loud you like to be, but—" Wolfram glared at the insinuation "—it's rude to shout in another person's face."
His hand moved from Wolfram's mouth to his neck, and he started to stroke Wolfram's hair affectionately. Wolfram moved away as much as he could, but there was little he could do.
"Stop it!"
Balint smiled. "Maybe you were telling the truth when you said that you hadn't been with any of your soldiers, if this is feels too good—"
"Coward! How could you do a thing such as this?" Wolfram shouted. He wanted to keep those hands away from his body, if Balint had—no, Balint must have been lying, he was screwing with him, trying to get to him. /He has to be after Yuuri./ Wolfram thought. /If I get him mad at me, then he might just leave and go after Yuuri. Then, I can--/
His hands moved down to the top of Wolfram's chest, and Wolfram shouted, "What—what are you doing—you—!" and then he held his breath as Balint started to unbutton his green "disguise" overshirt. His throat tightened again, and his shame and fear began to overtake his anger.
"Stop! Take your hands off of me!"
Balint responded by slapping his face. Wolfram's eyes widened in shock as he realized the double meaning of the slap. "You—you bastard!"
"Why?" Balint leaned in to his ear and whispered, "It's just too bad that the Maou got to you before me. I wonder what he must have done to make you accept that…" the warm breath against Wolfram's ear disgusted him. There were so many sensations and feelings he could not escape, so many fights he wasn't allowed to participate in.
Wolfram was torn away from his thoughts when Balint kissed him on the cheek.
"AHHH!" Wolfram screamed, and this earned him another embarrassing slap across the face.
"Don't fight something that you've always wanted," Balint said as he started to rub Wolfram's chest again. "I guess that no one at the palace was man enough to pursue you like I did." He smiled and admired Wolfram for a moment, letting his eyes wander over Wolfram, and Wolfram started to feel sick to his stomach again.
"What do you want?" Wolfram asked, tears tracing the soft lines of his face. "What do you want from me? I don't love you. I never loved you, or felt anything for you besides pride! I have a fiancé, and I love him…" He lowered his head and closed his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at the hands on his body. "I love Yuuri so much…"
Balint pulled his hands away from Wolfram's chest and slammed them back down, knocking the wind out of Wolfram. As he gasped for breath, the other man pulled Wolfram's head up and hissed in his ear, "You don't know the meaning of love. To be so close to you, not able to touch you…" Balint touched Wolfram's face again, wiping away tears that were the sign of his pain and sadness, "…holding back, day after day, not being good enough for you."
Wolfram sobbed. /I know that pain all to well./ His captor misunderstood his sobs, though, and said, "I see that you're starting to understand. Don't worry, Wolfram, I'll give you a good home here. I'll show you how much my love means."
/Is this the disgust Yuuri feels/ Wolfram wondered. He hated the hands on his face, the breath on his ear…he even hated how the tears were wiped from his face. All of it disgusted him.
"I hate you…" Wolfram tried to say. His sobs made his voice inaudible, and he tried to scream, and he didn't care what the consequences were, he just needed to get that message across. While his attention was focused, Balint pulled his face up and kissed him on the lips.
Wolfram screamed into the kiss, tried to pull away, but his head was held in place. His fear had nearly swallowed him, but his disgust brought him back to his senses. As Balint pulled away, smiling and looking very pleased, Wolfram glared. "How could you…that was my first kiss…" He looked away at the ground and an explosion occurred inside of him.
/I'm dead already./ He thought. /When he releases me, whatever he wants to do with me, then I'll wait until I have an opening, corner him, and torch him with Majutsu. His guards will kill me then./
/I can't let Yuuri die, though. I'll have to work harder than that, but I…./
"Stunned?" Balint asked. He lifted Wolfram's chin and smiled at him. "Now you know how strong my love is. Wolfram…" he leaned in again, waiting for Wolfram to return the kiss.
"How could you…." Wolfram repeated before.
/How could you kiss me? Touch me? Expect me to love you/ He shook as he realized that he wanted Yuuri to reciprocate his own feelings.
/I would never do this to him, though…I know that he'll have to come to his senses…/ He stared at the lips in front of him. /That's all I can hope for, even if I can't admit that it's just hope, and that I don't know if he'll ever love me. But I would never do this…/
"How could you…HOW COULD YOU?" Wolfram shouted. Everyone called him a brat, and he knew that he always wanted his way (who didn't?) and would go to extreme measures to get it, but he wouldn't do this to someone he loved. He wouldn't do it to anyone. "How can you force your feelings on me?"
Balint glared at him and kissed him roughly, forcing his tongue in Wolfram's mouth this time. Tears spilled out of the prince's eyes and, in an act of courage, he bit Balint's lip as hard as he could.
His captor pulled away and punched him this time, sending Wolfram into a half-fallen, half-standing position that bruised his wrists as they were twisted in the cuffs. "You bastard…" he growled as he pulled Wolfram up to look at him. There was a small trail of blood leaving the corner of the prince's mouth, and Balint wiped this away. "You made me hurt you, even though I love you. You need to be careful from now on."
Wolfram sobbed as the hands touched his face again, oblivious to the pain they caused to the sensitive, bruising skin. /I'm dead now, and I know that. One way or another. If I can get back home, then…no, I need to get Yuuri home. Please be safe, Yuuri…/
He steeled himself. He was going to fight.
"What have you done to Yuuri?"
Balint glared at him, and released his chin. "He's being held in the next room." He said, adding, "Not that that will help you."
Wolfram's eyes shot open. "He could hear everything…" His face reddened in shame. /I wonder if Yuuri knows that another man kissed me…/
Yuuri did not know, but the pain in his heart grew as he listened to the rest of the conversation. Wolfram had become quiet again, and Yuuri heard soft whimpers coming from the next room.
The low voice became a little louder. "Now that I have you, you're going to stay here and you're going to learn to love me." This time, he couldn't hear Wolfram's response.
"That's right. It's time for you to forget about your fiancé, and to finally be happy."
"I was happy enough with Yuuri." Wolfram's voice was very soft.
"What? With that kid?" The low voice laughed. "How could a child like make you happy? How could he fulfill your desires? I know that you want to be touched, but you yourself said that you don't have any of that experience."
"Shut up! He'll hear you!"
Chuckling. "Did I strike a nerve?"
"Shut UP!"
"Well, then, how is this? Has he ever done this?"
Yuuri felt dirty for listening to their conversation. After all, whatever was going on in the next room wasn't something he really wanted to think about.
Wolfram whimpered and Yuuri found himself straining his ears. /I hope that he's not hurting him, at the very least./ He thought.
"How about this?"
Wolfram sobbed loudly. "Stop it! Why would you do this? He can probably hear you!"
"Embarrassed because you like it?"
"SHUT UP!"
The room was still for a few moments, and Yuuri could only hear two things: the sound of his own heartbeat and the sound of the water dripping.
/Water/
He heard Wolfram sob again. "Take your hands off me! What's wrong with you? How can you like doing this, because I said no?"
"I'd love it even if you said yes."
"What-what are you—" Yuuri heard the sound of tearing fabric.
"And I'll love it when you do say yes, Wolfram."
"Stop—stop it! Get off!"
Yuuri's heart pounded in his ears. Was the Maou not coming out because his life wasn't in danger? Because he was in a bad place?
He remembered the time that the Original King had put a spell on Yozak, Adelbert, and one of the Mazoku soldiers. He had been able to access his powers then without the Maou, so maybe, this time…
He stared at the puddle of water and concentrated.
"Get off! Take your hands off me! DON"T TOUCH ME!"
As Wolfram screamed, Yuuri felt himself change.
/No…/ He thought. /I'll do it. I want to do this myself./
Suddenly, Yuuri's familiar water dragons burst out of the pool of water. One bit on to each side of the cuff on his right hand, and they easily broke it and moved to the next one. Once free, Yuuri rubbed his wrists and stared at the dragons for a moment.
"You two aren't going to disappear on me, are you?"
The dragons stared back placidly. Yuuri saw his reflection in the dragons—he was surrounded by light. What was more, was that inside that light he saw himself.
Shibuya Yuuri.
Yuuri did not have the time or curiosity to wonder about his lack of transformation, though. Wolfram's cries ceased for a moment and the guard outside Yuuri's door barged in, shouting, "What the hell was that—"
Yuuri watched as one dragon head-butted the guard back into the hall. He followed it and saw, thankfully, that the man was still breathing.
He turned on his heel and ran for the next door. His dragons outpaced him and burst down the door, just in time for Yuuri to see Wolfram chained to the wall, green overshirt gone, white shirt pushed up past his stomach, with a dark-haired man holding his sides and kissing him as he struggled.
Yuuri was pissed.
Wolfram's eyes shot open as he heard the door break and he saw Yuuri standing in the doorway, glaring at the scene in front of him. His face reddened and more tears streaked down his cheeks as his captor turned to Yuuri, removing his hands from his body. "Yuuri, I—!"
Yuuri's attention was on Balint, though. "How dare you!" His dragons broke Wolfram's cuffs as Wolfram stared at his fiancé in fear.
If Yuuri had been the Maou, he would have given a 'justice' speech, punished Balint in a fantastic and gross manner, and passed out. However, Yuuri was not used to his power, so he simply directed his dragons to smash their heads into Balint.
"Yuuri…" Wolfram whispered as he watched the act of violence. /Has Yuuri changed so much, or his he just so angry…/
Wolfram's question was answered as he saw Yuuri panic and stop his dragons after they had crashed into Balint once and tried to move in again for more. "That's it, guys, ease up!" He walked over to Balint and said, "Oh, crap."
Wolfram was surprised to see his fiancé kneel down by their mutual captor and check his neck for a pulse. "Good, he's still alive…" Yuuri looked up at his dragons. "Can you two follow me and help me get out of here?"
More placid staring.
/What the hell/ Wolfram wondered. /Is Yuuri using magic without becoming the Maou/
Yuuri smiled at his dragons. "Thanks, guys." He turned to Wolfram, who was waiting, and had been waiting, to see Yuuri's reaction to the situation he'd found him in.
Yuuri smiled at him, too, and reached for his hand.
"Let's run."
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A/N: OMG y'all sorry for taking so long to update. Sorry for the cliffhanger, it wasn't meant to be a cliffhanger, I just got real busy and stuff, see? Also, I couldn't remember the name of the soldier who fought Wolfram when Shinou put Adelbert and Yozak under his spell. He DOES have a name, I just don't remember.