I'm sorry it's been so long, but I'm back! I don't usually ever abandon things, it just takes me some time to circle back. And I've circled back to KKM once again. Please forgive me if this is a little rough. I'm trying to find the character's voices again.

Conrart was jerked roughly out of the half-aware state perfected on countless nights on watch by the sound of a cry from across the room. His sword was in his hand and he was across the room, eyes scanning desperately for a foe but finding none. In the pale glow of the moonlight, he instead found Yuuri sitting straight up in bed, clutching at his chest in pain.

Conrart shoved his sword into its scabbard as he sprinted across the room, one hand falling to Yuuri's shoulder as he fell to one knee beside the bed.

"Yuuri!" Conrart said, desperately searching for some sign of injury. "Yuuri, what's wrong?"

There was no blood that Conrart could see, or any evidence of any injury. But the agony in his eyes made it obvious that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

"Conrad..." Yuuri croaked, his voice choked with pain.

One of the hands clenched in front of his chest reached out, trembling, and Conrart found himself reaching back without thought, taking Yuuri's hand within his own. The delicate fingers with unfamiliar callouses wrapped around his hand, squeezing tightly in a search for reassurance. Conrart held firm.

A faint glow, somewhere between blue and purple began to seep from Yuuri's skin, most of it centered around his chest, and as Conrart felt his hairs stand on end, he suddenly understood.

Majustu. Yuuri's Majitsu, no doubt seeking out whatever it was that pained him so.

There was nothing Conrart could do to help. He was powerless in this, in every sense of the word. So he held Yuuri's hand as firmly as he dared, desperate to offer what little support he could, helpless to do anything else. Until at last the glow faded, and he could see Yuuri once more, panting hard, eyes still clouded with pain.

"What's wrong?" Conrart said again, making sure to keep his desperate worry from his voice, though unable to hide the depth of his concern.

"I don't know," Yuuri said, his face clouded with worry. "It just...it hurts."

"What hurts?" Conrart pressed him. He'd seen no serious cuts save the one on Yuuri's back, and the bruises had all seemed minor. But that had been hours ago. There could be some internal injury that he hadn't seen upon first inspection. If his carelessness cost Yuuri his life...

"My...my soul," he said, frowning, before shaking his head. "No. This is more like...my maryoku?" he said, a puzzled expression on his face. "But that makes no sense."

Conrart froze, horrified. It made perfect sense to him. He'd heard those complaints before, while in training. Had seen this same desperate pain on the faces of fellow soldiers in the academy. Those of pure Demon Tribe blood. The ones with elemental pacts, when they were exposed to houseki.

"The people who attacked you," Conrart said. "You said you weren't certain if they used Majustu or Hojustu," he said, his mind already flying through the problem.

Yuuri gave him a wry smile, though Conrart could see his exhaustion in the edges of it.

"I have enemies. Mazoku and human both," he said.

"Tell me about what happened," Conrart said, shifting so that he could perch beside Yuuri on the bed. "As much detail as you can remember."

Yuuri nodded once before he closed his eyes, face scrunching up in concentration.

"We were in Caloria," Yuuri said slowly, "visiting a friend."

Conrart kept his face blank, but the name of the human territory surprised him. Three were very few mazou who were willing to travel to human lands. Those in Shimaron even more so. Mazoku were notorious for their views of superiority to humans. Conrart rarely met one who had traveled beyond their borders, except for those in the armed forces. With tensions between Shimaron and Shin Makoko rising, travel to human territories on that continent had become more dangerous. Most Mazuku would be arrested on sight.

That, perhaps, explained the disguise. But not what Yuuri had been doing in Caloria in the first place.

"We stopped in a town along the way to resupply," Yuuri said, staring down at his lap. "But someone had found out about our travel plans."

"An ambush?" Conrart asked.

"Yeah," Yuuri said, eyes downcast.

Conrart squeezed the hand that was still within his own gently, trying to reassure the man before him. He was rewarded for his efforts with a small, pain-filled smile, and Conrart felt himself softening.

It had been a long time since his touch had offered anyone comfort. Not since Wolfram had discovered his heritage and had turned away from him in disgust had he been able to calm someone with only the comfort of contact.

Still, Yuuri was able to read him almost distressingly well, for how little time they had spent together. Conrart could tell that his touch had provided comfort, yes. But the smile was just as much for his sake as it was for Yuuri's. The young man had no doubt sensed his concern, and, even in the face of his own discomfort, was trying to alleviate it.

Yuuri, it seemed, was the kind to put the needs of others before his own. Even strangers he had only just met. Conrart would have to watch him closely to ensure that he kept nothing hidden, thinking it would only trouble those around him.

"Their faces were covered," Yuuri said, and his gaze had dropped to his lap once more. His grip, though, was tight. Clinging to Conrart, as if he was the only thing anchoring him. "But there were nearly a dozen of them. I had been walking with..." he stumbled over the names, biting his lip as he cast Conrart a nervous glance, "my godfather," he settled on at last. "My godfather and his brother. I wanted to explore the market while we resupplied, and a merchant there took me into a back room. It seemed harmless enough," Yuuri told him, giving Conrart an arch look as if he somehow sensed his disapproval. "Even when I'm like this," he said, gesturing at his face, "it's obvious I have money. People try to sell me things. I thought that's all this was."

His face turned even sadder.

"I wanted to buy a present for my daughter," he said at last. "She was sick, so she couldn't travel with us. I promised I would bring her something to make up for it."

He closed his eyes in obvious pain, and Conrart was grateful for it. It allowed him a moment to shore up his defenses once more. Foolish, to have hoped in the first place. A man like Yuuri would never be interested in a half-breed like him. He had known better than to hope. At least he thought he had. But the pain the mention of Yuuri's daughter caused showed otherwise.

"Thank god," Yuuri said, his face filled with a desperate relief. "Thank god she was sick. If Greta had been there..." he trailed off a truly anguished expression on his face, but he quick shook his head, as if shaking off the thought.

"They took me to a back room to show me a display," he said again. "And then there were men everywhere, in masks. Attacking. When my friends were distracted, the shopkeeper..." Yuuri reached up and touched his shoulder, wincing with remembered pain. "He stabbed me."

"With a sword?" Conrart asked, eyes narrowed as he realized they'd come to the part of the tale that held the information he needed.

Yuuri shook his head.

"A knife."

"What was it made of?" Conrart demanded.

Yuuri gave him an odd look but he answered. "It was just a regular knife. "They told me to run," Yuuri said. "My friends. They told me to run, and I did. But only to go get help. There were other people around who would have helped us. But before I could..."

He trailed off, an odd look on his face.

"They herded me into a blind alley," he said. "And then one of them threw something at me. A vial, with something inside it. It shattered on me, and some of it got on the people who were closest to me. And then I was here."

He had a deep frown on his face.

"I just don't understand why," he said. "There were easier ways to kill me. I was all alone at that point. This seems like a lot of trouble for something so simple."

Conrart agreed. A great deal of trouble, if all they wanted was the man before him dead. But it was also clear to him that Yuuri couldn't be trusted to assess a situation accurately. Not when it came to strategy. After all, what kind of person called his guards his friends? Yuuri clearly didn't see himself the way others did.

"Do you know what was in the vial?" Conrart asked him.

Yuuri shook his head.

"No. I just assumed that it was what brought me here."

Conrart closed his eyes for a moment, considering everything that Yuuri had told him from all the angles. Some kind of potion, made using Hoseki? It would explain Yuuri's reaction to it, even now. Wounds from the vial would have given the potion access to his bloodstream. It wouldn't take much to cause discomfort. But there was something still missing, a piece he still needed.

"You were in human lands," he said, landing on what had bothered him so much. "Why do you think it could have been Majustu? It can't be used on human lands. Not easily."

"The thing in the shop," Yuuri said. "What made me go in in the first place. It was a demon stone."

Conrart cast a sharp look at Yuuri at that. A demon stone in human lands? It was true that under normal circumstances it was nearly impossible for Mazoku to use majustu outside of Shin Makoku, but a demon stone could have changed that. He'd seen other demon artifacts used on human lands before, after all.

Whatever it was that had happened, Conrart needed more information. And the only people who could have provided it he'd left dead in an alleyway.

He would investigate himself, but Yuuri needed protecting, and Conrart had made himself a promise. Until the man's other protectors could be found, Conrart would keep him safe. Yuuri had trusted him, and it was a trust he didn't intend to betray.

But Yuuri needed help. The kind of help that Conrart was ill-equipped to provide. There was something wrong with his magic, which meant that he needed to be seen by those with magic to heal him.

It seemed that he would be traveling to the Wincott estate after all.

Which meant he would have to leave the information gathering in the hands of someone else. And as far as Conrart was concerned, there was only one man for the job.

"It'll be alright, Yuuri," Conrart told the young man who still clung to his hand, his shoulders shaking with barely there tremors. Without meaning to, he found himself releasing Yuuri's hand in favor of pulling the other man against him once more.

Yuuri had found solace in his arms before. He had taken comfort in just the grasp of his hand. Perhaps this would soothe him more.

Conrart ignored the way something within him settled at having the young man close, within the shelter of his arms. The way he seemed to fit against his side, almost as if he were made for the space. This was for Yuuri's sake and his sake alone.

"I know," Yuuri said, staring up at Conrart with a smile on his face. For all that it was fragile, it was real, full of warmth and trust. "I'm with you, after all."