A King's Trust
Kagura Kyo Shinra
Warning: This is a shounen-ai story. There's no hardcore action but plenty of groping.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Kyo Kara Maoh.
Part Three
Yuri sat alone in his castle office, staring at the surface of his desk. He'd become a hypocrite after his second encounter with Conrad and began avoiding him. He discovered that locking himself in his office with the excuse of work was the best way to keep everyone out, or maybe it was the little girl standing on the outside of the door, chasing away anyone who dared bother her father.
"You can't go in there," Greta said though the door.
"It's okay. I'm like family." Ken opened the door. "You don't mind if I come in, right, Shibuya?"
Yuri stared up at him with a blank expression on his face. He could see Ken and Greta standing in front of him, and he could hear Ken speaking to him, but everything was like an image below the smiling face of Conrad he saw in his mind.
"Shibuya?"
"Papa?"
"It's alright if he stays, Greta," Yuri said.
Greta nodded and shut the door again. Ken approached Yuri and stood beside him.
"You're becoming boring." Ken leaned against the desk and folded his arms across his chest.
"Sorry if I haven't entertained you lately."
Yuri looked back at his desk.
"Hey, have you noticed that Wolfram looks like a whore when he sleeps?"
Yuri snapped his head in Ken's direction. "What did you just say? How do you know that? Did you and him sleep together?"
Ken laughed. "I knew that would get your attention. I was just guessing. I didn't realize I was right. So, he really does look like a whore when he sleeps?"
Yuri nodded. "He looks like he's ready to be taken."
"Was that jealousy I sensed in your voice when you thought I'd slept with Wolfram?"
"No." Yuri shrugged. "I mean, I don't know. It's more like Wolfram's all I have."
"But you're in love with Conrad."
"I hate being friends with a wise man. It's like you can read my mind or something."
"I just know you really well, Shibuya."
"Well, then you don't have to ask to know that I'm crazy about Conrad. He's all I think about."
"Why haven't you told him that yet? Why do you push him away?"
"When he left us, I never thought I'd feel that much pain again. If he was to betray me again, even to help me in the long run, I couldn't take it."
"So, it's just that Wolfram's right, and you really are a wimp?"
Yuri gave him a look.
"No, you can't go in!" Greta said.
The door opened and Gunter rushed in. Latched onto his coat like a giant crab was Greta. She wobbled back and forth as if she was water skiing.
"Your majesty, it's terrible."
"What is it, Gunter?"
"It's Conrart, he's leaving. He said he's going to leave the castle forever."
"What?" Ken said. "That doesn't sound right. Maybe you heard it wrong. What d'you thin, Shibuya?"
Yuri didn't respond. He jumped from his seat and ran out of the office. Behind him, Gunter, Greta and Ken followed, but he quickly lost them by taking a side hallway. He had no intention of confronting Conrad with a audience.
Making sure to move as quietly as possible, he made it to Conrad's room and hurried inside before anyone saw him. Just as he shut the door, he thought he heard Gunter lamenting about Yuri's sudden disappearance and announcing that they would change tactics to finding Yuri instead. Their footsteps soon disappeared.
"Yuri?" Conrad held an armload of clothes.
He stared at Yuri as if he just announced his candidacy to become the next king of Big Cimaron. As far as Conrad was concerned, Yuri had no reason to be upset--like leaving the castle was nothing more than going on holiday for a day. But Conrad had no right to be surprised or confused. Those feelings were reserved entirely for Yuri.
"What do you think you're doing?" Yuri walked up to him and knocked the clothes Conrad was holding to the floor.
"What are you doing, Yuri? I'm trying to pack."
"You were just gonna run away and hide without telling me?"
"That wasn't the plan at all." He picked his clothes up and set them on the bed. "I was going to tell you that I was leaving. I'm going to visit human towns and teach them that the demon tribe is not as evil as they think. I believe it's a perfect time for this kind of pilgrimage now that you have already shown so many people."
"You can't just leave! You're supposed to be here."
"It's not like I'm abandoning the demon kingdom, Yuri."
"Yeah, you already did that." As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Yuri bit his lip, trying to pull them back.
A pained expression passed across Conrad's face, and for a moment, he couldn't reply.
"I wouldn't do that again," he said finally, "not for any reason."
"I'm sorry, Conrad. I shouldn't have said that. I just don't like the idea of you leaving."
"You'll still be able to write me. I'm just not going to be here at the castle with you. I think that would be for the best."
For the best--as if everything could be cleared up by Conrad's retreat. It would solve nothing. Yuri would continue to feel pain. He'd once again feel that abandonment.
Yuri crossed his arms across his chest and flopped against one of the bedposts. He turned his head to the side and grunted. Conrad stood still for a moment before continuing his packing.
"I didn't give you permission to go."
Conrad hesitated. "It's not like you to throw your position in my face."
"I don't want you to go."
"I don't understand you, Yuri. I'm trying to please you. You told me that you couldn't trust me as your guardian, but now you say you don't want me to leave."
Yuri stared at him. There was no way Conrad could have misconstrued the situation so badly. How could he think that after everything Yuri did and said, after how many times he chassed him when Conrad was gone that he didn't trust Conrad as his guardian--with his life?
"You misunderstood," Yuri said. "I could never distrust you with my life, Conrad. Even if you swung your sword at me right now, I wouldn't have fear because I'd know you would stop. When I said I couldn't trust you, I meant I couldn't trust you with my heart."
Conrad turned back to face Yuri and stepped closer to him. "Yuri."
Yuri gave a bittersweet smile and shut his eyes. "You don't understand the pain I felt when you stood on the opposite side. Even though I know you did it for me, even though I know you were being braver than everyone to become an enemy just to ultimately please me, it still hurt."
"I didn't mean to hurt you that way. I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to make you happy." Conrad reached out for Yuri but pulled back.
Yuri lowered his head to hide his eyes. "You made me believe that you would never abandon me, that you would never hurt me, and then you left. You kept everything from me, and even though I still trusted you, I couldn't help but feel as if you'd turned your back on me. I can't have that pain ever again, and every time I look at you, I'm afraid you'll do it again. Having you hold your heart out before me just to pull it back again made me want to die."
Conrad pulled Yuri into a hug, and this time, Yuri didn't force him away. It wasn't the same kind of hug as before. Yuri felt no desire in this embrace. Conrad simply wanted to let Yuri know he was sorry.
"Pleases forgive me, Yuri." Conrad squeezed him tighter. "I know I let you down. Everything became so confused, and I just wanted to make you happy."
Yuri stopped hiding his damp eyes. He looked at Conrad and frowned. "You don't know how much it burned when you said that I wasn't your master any more."
"You will forever be my master, Yuri." He held Yuri at arm's length to look at him properly. "I know there is nothing I can say to show you that I will never hurt you again, but please give me the chance to show you."
Yuri stared into Conrad's face, the same face that had smiled down at him and watched over him all his life. Every step Conrad took was to make Yuri smile. Inside, a bubble of warmth began, and it grew until it took over Yuri's entire body. It was like a voice, telling him that he could trust Conrad with his heart, his life and his soul, and even though Yuri was still afraid, he wanted to believe that voice.
"Don't go," Yuri said. "Stay here with me, and make me believe what Julia's telling me."
"Julia?"
Yuri smiled and embraced Conrad again. Conrad wrapped his arms around Yuri and pressed their lips together. He ran his tongue against Yuri's moistened lips until Yuri opened his mouth and invited Conrad inside.
"Yuri, I've waited so long to taste you."
"I'm sorry I've made you wait."
Conrad lowered his hand to Yuri's groin and gently massaged him through his pants. Sharp moans escaped Yuri's mouth through more kisses, and he moved his body closer to Conrad's hand to reach higher levels of pleasure.
"Let's take this too the bed, Yuri."
"Yes." Yuri pushed himself away from Conrad. "I mean, no."
"Yuri, I thought you were going to try."
"No, it's Wolfram. I can't do anything until I talk to him."
Conrad's shoulder's dropped. "Wolfram . . . I don't want to cause him pain."
"I'll go and talk to him now."
Yuri left Conrad's room and headed down the hallway. At the end of the hallway, he turned back to wave at Conrad, and his foot hit a loose stone on the floor. He stumbled forward into the courtyard and right into a fountain. The water turned into a small swirling portal, and before he could get out a single word, he was back on Earth.
TBC . . .
