Author's Notes: This is the final chapter. Thank you everyone who has stuck with this story. Special thanks for all the readers who reviewed and put this on their favorite/alerts. Isn't it kinda scary but flattering when canon starts following your fanfic? Final chapter: back in Shin Makoku, Yuuri and Wolfram face their fears...some of them. All your questions may not be answered.

There are more A/N notes at the end.

Chapter 10

--Yuuri--

Conrad was sitting on our bed in his pajamas reading a story to Greta. I was barely paying attention, but I was sure it was about Poison Lady Anissina. Probably beating up a kraken or some other malevolent monster. Most likely male. Because if it were female, the Poison Lady Anissina would have recruited her into her 'Advancing Women Everywhere Using Reason' agenda.

"And so Poison Lady Anissina rode into the sunset in her Take-Me-Anywhere-kun because we all know horses deserve vacations some time," Conrad read.

"I can't wait to grow up," Greta chatted with excitement, "I will be exactly like Poison Lady Anissina, righting wrongs, defending justice, spreading wisdom throughout the land!"

"Well, let's not be too hasty Greta," I started but she was already asleep. "Wow, so fast. I don't know if she's trying to beat Wolfram on how quickly she can fall asleep."

"Growing children do need their sleep, Yuuri," Conrart said giving me a warm smile. "I am sorry for causing you to worry," he added when he saw the surprise on my face. "It was not my intent for you to witness such terrible things."

"No, Conrad, I need to know these things. I am the king after all."

My thoughts wandered to the meeting earlier in Conrad's room. I would have gone directly there from the fountain if Wolfram had not ordered me to get dressed properly. My advisor and tutor, knowing my stubbornness, had thought it better to bring my paperwork there instead of trying to extricate me from my seat by Conrad's bed. Wolfram didn't point out that Conrad was well enough for me not to carry a vigil. He merely instructed the maids to bring food for me and brought Greta to me at one point.

The meeting had been one of the worst I've ever had the misfortune to attend. Gwendal had been blunt about the damage and the casualties of the skirmish. What shocked me the most was that it had been merely a skirmish. Not a full blown war or even a proper battle. It almost sounded as casual as going out to dinner, 'hey you wanna go out and catch a movie and perhaps have a little skirmish afterwards?'

Perhaps it was this or maybe it was a sense of self-preservation that I listened to Gwendal with a clinical sort of detachment as he listed the number of soldiers dead, the number injured, the number of prisoners, the number of civilians, men, women and children who died, were injured or lost their home and livelihood, the extent of the damage on the farms, on the village, on the land itself. They were all just numbers with no meaning behind them. And it was because of this detachment that I noticed the internal dispute going on between Günter, Gwendal and Wolfram. It was as if they were carrying an argument that they had been having before the meeting except instead of debating with their voices, they were debating with their eyes. When I gazed towards Conrad to see what he thought of this, he and Josak, who had carried in a report to Gwendal and whom no one had the temerity to dismiss, were also locked into their own battle. Josak was giving Conrad the same look that Wolfram gave me when he deemed I was doing something stupid. It was as if someone had forgotten to tell my advisors the objective of the meeting and they were just going all over the place on their own.

If Murata had been here, there would have been a greater sense of unity... and that was the problem. My problem.

Murata had elected to stay on Earth. He wouldn't tell me why exactly, he just said he had an errand to run. I couldn't imagine what errand was important enough. It wasn't time for finals, there were no school festivities anytime soon. I almost laughed out loud at the absurdity that I should ever worry about a school test or winning in the sports fest when there were people who were dying because of my impotence.

Conrad had put away the book and tucked Greta in under the blankets. I was sure he was about to give me some more consoling words of wisdom when there was a knock. There was an almost unbelievably guilty and fearful look that passed on his face as the door opened to let in Gisela.

"I know, I know," he said cutting off whatever admonishment was on the healer's lips, "I should be in bed. Though I should point out that I am still in my pajamas and have not even deigned to look at my uniform."

Gisela's countenance would have made a platoon of soldiers quake in fear. "I am not going to tell you again. I expected a little bit more from you Lord Weller."

"Yes, yes, I'm heading to bed now. Good night, Your Majesty, Gisela."

He went out the door and I heard Josak's voice, "See, I told you. I did try to keep her away, but even I, Josak Gurrier, will not get in the way when Gisela-chan is on the war-path."

The door closed leaving me with the healer and a sleeping Greta.

"I've checked on His Excellency Wolfram and he is one hundred percent healthy. I am not sure what caused the symptoms from several days ago, but he is quite back to his old self."

"Thank you Gisela. Do you happen to know where he is?" Wolfram should have been done dressing by now and should have been in bed already. He normally dressed in our room, but there were times, either when he was late or when he was fulfilling other responsibilities, that he would change in his room. And he always informed me if he was not planning on joining me to bed. It was one of those things that had become normal.

"No, Your Majesty, I have not seen him since his checkup. By the way, Dakaskos asked me to hand you these," she handed me several white cards that had seen better days. I recognized them as the fortunes I got from the fortune telling machine. "The maids had found them in your clothes while they were doing laundry, they asked him to give them to you, but since I was on my way here already."

"Thanks," I said taking the cards.

"Good night, Your Majesty," she said as she left.

It wasn't as if I couldn't sleep without my fiancé. I did it all the time on Earth and had done it several times in Shin Makoku. It wasn't as if he was some sort of sleeping potion, and I wasn't so addicted to his scent that I would become an insomniac without him. But I knew I wouldn't be able to rest that night without at least talking to him. I barely saw him the rest of the day since we got back. He was there for the meeting and he spent some time with me when he and Greta came to visit Conrad. Otherwise, he had been fairly occupied.

I found him in his bedroom sitting by the window with a faraway look on his face. He turned casually to me when he heard my footsteps and said, "Oh hey wimp, what are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you."

"You could have just ordered a guard to get me. Where's Greta?"

"She's asleep already, we waited a bit for you but you didn't come."

"Is it that late already?"

I sat on the bed and watched him gaze outside again. I answered absentmindedly playing with the cards Gisela handed earlier, "yeah, it's that late already."

He walked away from the window and sat beside me. "You know," he said, "I'm your fiancé. If something is bothering you... that's what I'm here for."

It had been easy to keep it all bottled up while we were on Earth. But even here at the castle, I was able to keep a distance from it. But once he was there by my side, I couldn't help but let it all out. I would have covered my face with my hands, but he had wrapped his arms around me in that familiar way that he did whenever I had these rare breakdowns. I crumpled the white cards in my hand as I clutched at the pink fabric of his nightgown and cried in his chest. He was really the only one who saw me for what I was, a wimp. He did not see me as the savior of the universe, an exalted being wise and perfect. He did not give me the grudging respect that Gwendal and Josak gave nor the unconditional love and understanding from Conrad that was both comforting and unnerving.

No, Wolfram demanded things from me. He demanded that I be a better king, a better student, a better father, a better everything else. When everyone was celebrating the victories of the Maou, he would be pointing out the things I could have done better. 'Yes, that was impressive Majutsu and you did manage to save those people. But couldn't you find a less disgusting way to summon your Maryoku?'

"Yuuri, no one with any sort of intelligence expects you to solve all of the world's problems in a few short years let alone a few short months," he said quietly. "One lifetime is not enough. Several lifetimes are not enough. No matter how powerful you are."

"But they did, that village, they expected that I would be able to protect them. I failed."

"Some of them will understand and some of them won't. It is useless to look to the past, you can't go back in time and undo your mistakes. The only thing you could do is go forward and find solutions in the present and the future," he paused as he rubbed my back with comforting caresses. "What are you so afraid of?"

"What if there are no solutions? What if... what if..." I sighed. I didn't really know how to say it.

"Spit it out wimp!" he chided.

"What if I lose my powers?" I snivelled, "What if tomorrow, I wake up and I no longer have the power of the Maou? What if I'm just me, the wimpy Yuuri who's just a high school kid? What happens then?"

"Gods, you're such an idiot."

Somehow those words actually made me felt better. I looked up at him and gave him a pitiful smile, "I know. That's it. I am an idiot. We keep having the same conversation... I keep thinking when I make a big resolution that, yes, I am king, I will handle these responsibilities. But then something stupid thing like this comes up and I'm questioning myself again."

"It's a sign of a terrible leader not to question one's self. It's a sign of a despot."

"But what if I did lose my powers? How am I supposed to lead this kingdom? I have been lucky all this time because I have insane powers..."

"Do you think we follow you because of those?"

"Don't you?"

"No, wimp. In the beginning, we followed you because Shinou told us to. He picked you as Maou and we had no choice but to comply. However, we kept following you not because you had, as you call them, insane powers. It's not the Maou's powers that have created the peace we are now enjoying. It's not because of those powers that other nations have aligned with us."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Look, this might be a bit blasphemous, but even the great Shinou could not hold on to the peace that you have brought. Sure there were other things that destabilized the world at the time, but there are no magical solutions Yuuri. If there were, we would have had peace a long time ago. All we have and what you have a lot of is perseverance. You never gave up on your ideals. Even in the face of a whole country, a whole world, that said otherwise. We followed you because Shinou told us, but we kept following you because we saw the wisdom in your ideals."

"And what would have happened if the Maou's powers weren't there to establish those victories?"

"Then we would have done it for you. The demon kingdom's army is not just there for looks, you know. It might have taken us longer, but we would have accomplished it eventually.... What you don't believe in us?"

"I-I... I do. I just feel sometimes that you guys shouldn't believe in me that much..."

He smacked me!

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You're the leader. You know what leaders do?"

"..."

"They lead!"

This guy! Just when I think he was about to spout some words of wisdom, he tells me the most obvious things. "Of course they lead!" I replied.

"Then how come you can't get that through that thick head of yours. One would think it's the most obvious thing."

I gave him a questioning look. And he gave me a big sigh.

"What kind of leader would want his followers not to believe in him? You lead. That means you'll be at the front. You can't always be looking back to make sure that everyone is behind you. Or else you'll always be stumbling. A good leader has to put faith in his followers that they would follow. So that you," he said as he poked me on the forehead, "can concentrate on where you're taking us."

"Ow," I complained rubbing my forehead.

"And don't think for one second that all we're doing is following and expecting you to do everything. That's not your job. Our job is to accomplish what you tell us to. A leader does not fulfill the tasks himself. It's called de-le-ga-tion. Learn it. You're worried about being able to lead. Tell you what, if you're so afraid you would be nothing without the Maou, why don't you try improving yourself. Try and study more with Günter instead of running off playing baseball or gods know what else. Brains have solved more problems than sheer physical strength."

"You, Wolfram, are saying that?"

"What are you trying to insinuate?"

"Nothing," I laid on the bed and stared at the canopy quietly crumpling the cards in my hand over and over. I didn't know why arguing with him made me feel better, made me more sure of myself. I supposed in the face of my biggest critic, if he believed in me, then I should also believe in myself.

"Come on, let's go to bed," he said.

"Let's stay here," I replied. "I don't want to bother Greta. She's probably taking up more than half of the bed. I don't want to try and move her. She's getting pretty heavy."

"Yeah... Fine. Let's just go to sleep. I'm tired."

"Hey, what are you doing?" I cried out when he took off his nightgown.

"What?! You expect me to sleep in this after you've blown your nose on it? If you don't want to sleep here, feel free to go to your own room."

It should have been strange lying in bed with an almost naked boy. But then, I didn't even know when sleeping with a fully clothed Wolfram became natural.

"Hey, Wolf," I muttered when I didn't hear the familiar snores coming from his prone figure, "didn't you just say that if something was bothering me I should tell you because you're my fiancé?"

"Yeah, what of it?" he said dismissively.

"Shouldn't that go both ways?"

"Huh?"

"If something is bothering you, shouldn't you tell me?"

He didn't answer. In fact he pretended to snore. I transferred the ball of crumpled cardboard to my left hand, lifted the right one and whacked him on his bottom. He shot up and shot me with an evil glare that evolved into an evilly seductive glare, "Is that slap on the cheek suppose to mean something?"

"Don't try and change the subject. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing is bothering me."

"Are you sure you're not possessed?"

"If I were possessed, do you think I would tell you?"

"Are you angry about Hashimoto?"

"I..."

We sat in silence staring at each other for several long moments. Then he started talking about my school and my friends and what he did on his day there. Starting with small steps was good. I knew he faced fears that I had no answers to. At least, not yet. It was selfish of me to hold on to him without making any promises, but I couldn't let go of him.

If someone were to ask me, 'if you had a chance to go back, knowing what you know now, would you take back the slap?' Most likely no. I was still the same temperamental, stubborn person I was back then. I would have certainly not stand for his rudeness even knowing how much I would care for him later on. And I expect, I still wouldn't want to punch his beautiful face. Had I not engaged him to me, where would we be now? He would have gone back to Bielefeld after making his unpleasant opinions known and I would have ruled Shin Makoku. Perhaps, I would be as successful a king without him. Perhaps not. But I was certain, life would have certainly been duller. And probably more difficult. I didn't even want to imagine how I would have survived. So if someone were to ask that fateful question. Yes, I would probably slap him again. In fact, I might not even wait until dinner. I might slap him the first time I lay eyes on him.

So what exactly is bothering you Wolfram von Bielefeld?

"...so in the end what you have on the form is Politician first, baseball player second and judge as third choice," he related. "I hope those choices were okay. If not, maybe you can talk to the school administrators about correcting it."

"That really doesn't matter, Wolf," I stated.

"What do you mean? This is your future we're talking about."

"I have no future on Earth."

"What are you saying?" he asked disconcerted. "You have a life there and friends that care for you. And a bright future, as long as you study hard of course." Then I understood. The faraway looks, the lack of jealousy, the introspection. I got my wish didn't I? Wolfram understood what my life on Earth was like. For someone as obsessive and possessive as he was, to learn that there was a place in my life he didn't belong to must have been to say the least vexing.

"Wolf, my future is here in Shin Makoku with my kingdom, with my people, with my family, with you and Greta. I will always visit Mom and Dad and Shouri and perhaps see my friends, but I have no future there. What kind of a king would I be if I did not give my full attention to the kingdom? I won't ever go to college there because I won't work there. In fact, I had been thinking about quitting high school altogether-- Ow! Now what was that for."

"Don't be a fool, Yuuri. You need to finish school."

"Earth school?"

He crossed his arms in that stubborn way of his. "I hate to say it, but you shouldn't quit. I forget because we look to be the same age that you're still only a child. That place you go to, that high school, it's not just a place to learn. It would be wrong of me, your beloved fiancé, to stop you from experiencing life to the fullest. I just think you might regret not spending your youth with your friends. Childhood passes away quickly and you can't get it back again..."

I reached out to rub his upper arm when I noted I still had those cards from the fortune telling machines. I put my hand back down and having nothing else to do fiddled with them.

"Hashimoto Asami," he said the name without bitterness. "I know there is nothing between you and her. But... you know, she knows how to cook. And she is a double-black, she goes to a prestigious school so she must be intelligent and wealthy. I don't know what else is valued over there in that world of yours... I understand why you keep your options opened. That's all."

I absentmindedly reread the fortunes: "Perseverance pays off. To lift a heavy object, brains are more useful than brawns. Big jobs are not done by the work of one big person but by the hard work of many regular persons. Don't be a fool, stay in school. There are no magical solutions."

For the first time, a puzzle piece clicked in perfectly.

For the first time in my life, things were crystal clear and I knew exactly what I wanted...

~~Maou~~

... I would not normally be able to force control over my actions unless my other self and I become one in our intent. This was the first time that I was completely whole. Questions would arise in the morrow, but I would be remiss not to take advantage. My beloved had made a promise and collecting on that promise was a duty. Nay, it would be an injustice of the highest degree if I failed to fulfill what he and I desired the most.

It was fate. It was destiny. For my angel possessed the semblance of being ready for me, the nightgown was already disposed of, his lips were moist with desire, his eyes held a slight confusion, a question, a disbelief.

"Wolf, I have no future on Earth. You are my future." I reached and touched his face, "C-Can we?" Should I be guilty of a little deceit? In my mind, 'twas not dishonesty. I was myself after all and whether I should speak in this manner or that manner was not misrepresentation. Did Wolfram not request that he would only have me when I was all of myself? And was I not wholly myself at the moment? Nay, it was not deceit.

"Yuuri, what the!!! Hey, where are you putting... gyah! Wimp!"

Yes, my other self and I agreed at this very moment, we had no use for innocence.

Tomorrow would be something else entirely.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~~Yuuri~~

I woke up to Günter crying.

"Your Majesty," he wailed. "Your Maaaajesty..."

"Günter," I said standing up. I immediately sat back down. My whole body hurt. "Günter what's wrong?"

"Yoouuur Maajeeestyyy..." he cried again.

I didn't know what to do with a grown man crying so I turned to my bedmate to see if he could help. He must have gotten cold sometime in the night as he was wearing a thick bathrobe. I was thankful that he had been clothed for who knows how badly Günter would have taken it.

"Wolf," I shook him, "wake up."

The only answer was a grunt followed by growling and then snoring. I gave up and returned my attention to my histrionic tutor.

"Günter, what's wrong? I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong?"

I never did find out what was wrong with Günter. Gwendal had come in the room, growled once and dragged my handsome teacher away.

Epilogue

--Murata--

She was really lovely if the heads that automatically turned her way as she passed were any indications. Tall, long legged, slender with a face that literally belonged to another world. Her red hair cascaded in silky waves as she turned to look excitedly at some of the gadgets in the restaurant, a cell phone, a Blueberry, an iPod. I could almost hear the gears clicking in her beautiful head.

"Well the experiment is a failure," she said turning her attention back to me "but I have a few seedlings from Audrey. I decided they might make good pets. I am going to give one to Greta for her birthday."

"Would you give me the honor of naming it?"

"Of course, Your Eminence."

"Can you call me Ken? At least, while on Earth. People might think it odd for me to be addressed by such an exalted title."

"Sure... Ken."

End.

Author's Notes: I have an epilogue-ish story after this called "My Not-So-First Time". It's a one-shot PWP that would have completed a story that I didn't bother writing. I'll be posting it shortly. It's rated M so you won't see it on the fic list unless you change your settings to include M-rated stories. But you can just follow the link to my profile and you'll see it there.

My Not-So-First-Time Summary: Yuuri takes charge of his sex life after learning from a talking plant that the Maou and Wolfram have been having sex for many months and he had been blocking the truth from his memories. This scene would have been the final scene if I actually wrote the freudian-plant-maouram-clueless-Yuuri story. But that scenario (at least the maouram-clueless-Yuuri part) has been overdone.
This happens several months after "Kyou Kara Wagamama Pu" ends.