Update 3! Enjoy!
Title: Into the Indefinite Sky
Author: S.P. Kathrine
Anime: Kyou Kara Maou
Genre: AU, Angst/Drama, Romance
Pairing: YuurixWolfram
Rating: M-MA (R-NC17)
Chapter: Chapter 16 16?
Warnings: Angst, Non-Consensual Sexual themes (referenced/implied), AU, OOC Wolfram, possibly OOC everyone else, Mpreg, UNBETAED
Summary:
Wolf had spent his life believing that he was meant for servitude. His master was strict, and often cruel, but he never thought he could be anything more than what he was. One night changes everything and he is thrown into a world that he knows nothing about and given a life he never thought he could have. But a secret he keeps could only throw his life into further turmoil and not to mention the Demon King…
Chapter 16 - Discoveries
When they finally docked back in Shin Makoku, Günter had been at the dock to greet them. It was only a horse ride back to Blood Pledge Castle from there-although Wolf had argued with Yuuri over his capability to ride with the wound on his thigh. Everything had gone smoothly until Conrad had 'requested' that Yosak 'travel with' Wolf back to the castle while he, Murata, and Yuuri went on to the Palace of Shinou to speak to Ulrike.
The blonde had wanted to argue with the captain's order, but it was obvious from the way he spoke that his amenable tone was only for the Maou's benefit. He would make it an order-as if Wolf were a mere soldier under his command-should it be necessary. And so he had conceded and turned down the opposing road towards the city and the castle, away from the Palace. Yosak waved goodbye and followed after him. If he was irritated by being volunteered to play nanny, the red-haired man did not show it.
The cut on his thigh ached with a burning sensation, which Wolf thought he could attribute to it being reopened after its initial mending. He ignored it. He had dealt with far worse before.
"You need not follow after me like my caretaker, Yosak," he told him, his words resigned rather than bitter. "I'm capable of returning to the castle on my own. Conrad's patronizing of me should not affect you as well."
"Oh it's not," the man replied, flicking his hand in the air as if to wave away the suggestion. "I have to see von Voltaire-kyo. He's expects me to be rather 'prompt' with reporting to him after a mission. Think of it as two people simply traveling to the same destination if you like."
"And you don't find it offensive that he all but ordered you to make sure I arrive at Blood Pledge?" the blonde inquired. "You two seem to have known each other for a very long time. I do not understand why you would allow a friend to push you around in such a way."
Yosak gave a small laugh. "You really shouldn't take his behavior personally. He's like that with everyone, save Heika and Cheri-sama."
"So he talks to Gwendal and Gunter as if they can't even put on their own boots without someone he personally puts there to help them?"
"Umm…no I guess that part's just you." The smile did not fall from his face. For some reason, it seemed greatly reminiscent of the grin Murata had bestowed upon him only an hour or so ago.
Wolf gave a small snort, turning his eyes back to the road they were traveling on. It was not even sunrise yet, although the sky had brightened considerably. The town seemed as if it had not even awakened from its nightly suspension. "And he often speaks to you as if you are more his subordinate than his friend."
"He is both my captain and my friend," the fiery-haired Half-Mazoku replied. "Do not mistake one to be completely separate from the other in his eyes. He creates a bond with each of the soldiers that serve under him, he knows each by name, birth date, and their families. Of course, I've known him since we were children and he was the cute little kid that aunts like to pinch on the arm. No one ever thought of pinching him on the cheek."
Wolf still didn't fully understand the strangeness that was Mazoku traditions. Such as the habit of elderly women to pinch children they thought were cute on the arm until they cried, before crushing them to their breasts. To pinch a child on the cheek was to imply to the parents that the child was either too skinny, or overweight. The Karennikov-the same family as the crazed scientist woman, Anissina-were said to do it only to children they thought were too pale and needed the color it brought to their cheeks. Needless to say, a pinch on the cheek was an insult, to both the parents and the child.
"And he was the most adorable kid, too," Yosak went on, a hand to his cheek in a rather feminine manner. "All lanky limbs and these big brown eyes…"
"How long have you known each other?" Wolf found himself asking.
The spy was quiet for a moment, as if thinking back as far as he could. From the amount of thought it took, Wolf could tell that it had indeed been quite a long time. Finally he answered, "Seventy-seven years." Wolf took in this information, calculating what he knew of the older Mazoku's age. Conrad would have been only twenty-five.
"So you knew him before…" he left the statement open-ended, leaving the other man to come to the correct conclusion. "They keep telling me that…things changed after what happened."
"They did," Yosak nodded. "It was sudden, unexpected, and tragic for the Royal Family at the time. Cheri-sama was a mess, Gwendal withdrew from everyone and Conrad was left to hold his family together as best he could."
The man's words were open, honest, holding nothing back. To be spoken to with such equality-without the omissions and deception-was refreshing and Wolf wanted to soak up as much of it as he could, while the other man was still willing.
"No one wants to tell me what happened," he frowned. "They constantly remind me of it and yet no one wants to explain exactly what happened. They always skirt the subject."
"No one likes to remember things that hurt them," Yosak replied. Wolf almost flinched at the comment, but managed to keep his composure. "I wasn't actually here during the brunt of the aftermath. I came to see the results after Conrad's father, Sir Dan Hiri Weller, got word of it weeks later. He had been in my village at the time and I asked him if I could travel with him. He wasn't even going to come to the Castle at first."
"But you convinced him?"
"No, Conrad did," the red-haired man corrected him. "He sent a letter to his father about how badly his mother needed him. It was something that he had never done before. The Castle was rather chaotic when we arrived. Cheri Heika's brother, Stoffel had taken over many of her duties and she was in no condition to contradict his decisions."
"Was he really that important?" The question was curious, leaving no doubt to who 'he' was.
Yosak shrugged, "Never even met him, but Conrad talked about him all the time. Afterwards, he never even mentioned his name unless it was to comfort Cheri-sama. He was important to them, and that was all that mattered."
"Why are you telling me this?" Wolf couldn't hold in the question any longer. "Why are you so willing to tell me these things when it's obvious that they don't want me to know?"
"You're a tough kid," he stated. "It's not like you can't handle it. Why should I keep it from you?"
Wolf turned to look at him, seeing the gentle smile on his face. Often, he simply saw the man as an eccentric, someone who was good at his profession, but too odd to take seriously in anything else. He was gone most of the two months he had been there, never truly at the Castle for too long. Once, he had even caught him slaving over a torn maid's uniform that needed intense mending to be usable for anything more than a dusting rag. He didn't ask why he seemed so determined to fix it, or why he had not asked any of the tailors for help, as it seemed rather personal and rude to do so.
He is not so much a madman as simply…'unconventional', the blonde realized.
"Thank you," he said in a quiet, but audible voice.
Yosak grinned. "Don't mention it." At the blonde's small smile, he said. "No really don't. I might not mind telling you, but if Gwendal or Conrad find out…I'm just not up for the hours of reprimands. Gwendal might even make me clean toilets or something. He's great at long menial punishments."
"I shall take it to my grave," Wolf assured him, his tone somewhat playful.
"See that you do."
They traveled silently for some time, the air between them light and comfortable. There was not the air of tension that usually followed whatever company Wolf was in. Yosak was not someone who felt the lost of 'Wolfram' as so many at the Castle did and, while he seemed no stranger to loss and tribulations, it did not seem as if those acts were weighted on him, as it did with Conrad, Gwendal, or even Cheri-sama. It reminded him almost of the quiet hours he and Hilde would sometimes spend on the Day of Worship when the inn was closed and they spent much of the day in quiet contemplation together. Soothing, to know that the person he was with expected nothing of him in any way.
And yet it was broken by the pressure and nauseous feelings that seemed to overtake him without warning. He brought one hand to his stomach reflexively, while his horse seemed to slow itself to a stop. No! He tried to hold the sickness within him, but he could feel the bile at the back of his throat. There was no way to push it back. Just trying to left him feeling weak and dizzy.
"Everything okay, kiddo?"
He was falling off of his horse faster than a rabbit fleeing a starving wolf and ignoring the sting-akin to the pain of being clawed by a rabid sand bear-in his leg and he pushed himself into the bushes on the roadside. There he retched what little bit of food he had left within him as well as whatever else his body decided to expel. His body shook and he couldn't stop. It was as if his 'passenger' had decided to make up for his lack of illness the morning before.
"Are you dying, kid?" Yosak asked him, having gotten down from his own horse and pulling both mounts towards the edge of the road.
The heaving finally passed, although his chest still shook with the effort to breathe and the nausea did not abate. He scooted backwards, away from the mess he'd made, and allowed his body to catch up with the rest of him.
"Wolf?" Yosak moved closer, eyes concerned.
He saw me! the blonde's mind screamed. How do I explain this! He wiped his face on the sleeve of his borrowed shirt-loaned from one of the young boys in Adelbert's village-and then spat to the side, trying to remove the foul taste from his mouth. For a minute or so his senses seemed more acute: the smells around him stronger, the light brighter to his eyes, taste in his mouth almost cause for him to bend over and lose anything else he had left, the sounds of the birds far too close and aggravating, and dankness of the ground beneath him from the morning dew sticky and cold-though his trousers were barely even damp.
"Kiddo?" A hand touched his shoulder, but he jerked away immediately, barely remembering that Yosak was in the vicinity.
"I…I'm fine," he said, although his voice sounded hoarse and low to his ears. "I-It's just something I ate."
Yosak didn't try to contradict his weak excuse, whether because he believed it, or to preserve what little amount of dignity the blonde was clinging to. Instead he said, "Think you'll be okay to ride soon? We're only a few minutes away from the gates."
"Yes…I'll be fine," Wolf told him. "Nothing to worry about." He then gave a cutting glance to his companion, eyes saying more than his words. "Nothing." Nothing's wrong so don't say anything to anyone about it.
"All right, kiddo," Yosak agreed backing away and returning to the horses. Wolf took a few moments to settle himself-and his stomach-before standing and leaving the brush, his limp more pronounced from his abrupt dismount. He took the reigns of his mare from the red-haired man without a word and ignored the pain he felt as his pushed up and swung his leg over onto the other side of the horse and saddle.
"Let's go," he said after Yosak had settled himself again.
"Whatever you say, kiddo," the man didn't even give him a suspicious look. Wolf wouldn't glance at him long enough to know.
His return had been filled with smiles, tears, and attempted suffocation-all courtesy of Cheri-sama's response. Greta-who he knew had only awakened recently due to her still being in her nightgown-had tried to jump into his arms, but Gisela saw the wound on his leg and immediately ordered him to be sequestered-rather forcefully-to his room for medical treatment. He promised Greta that he would spend time with her as soon he could get a nice bath and some fresh clothes.
Gwendal had been there as well. He stood, eyes watching him intently, as if searching his body for anything that could possibly be wrong with him. He didn't speak, although Wolf had no idea what he might say if he did, or how he might respond. Unlike Conrad's invasive protectiveness, Gwendal kept his distance, reminding him of his duties as the Maou's fiancé and guiding him through said duties, but still maintaining an stoic barrier between them that neither was willing to cross.
Greta was returned to her room so that she could sleep for a little while longer while Wolf was whisked away to his own chambers, Cheri-sama on one arm while Gisela 'helped' him along with the other. As soon as the door was shut and locked, both women were on his like angry, clucking hens.
"You've been walking on that leg!" Gisela let into him. "You could have ripped the wound open even more and needed stitches! It might be infected!"
"Oh my baby!" Cheri-sama cried out once more and she pulled him to her, a hand going through his somewhat tangled hair-although her fingers never snagged. She didn't say anything more, unlike her overbearing display in the courtyard. Instead she held him close, her arms wrapped tightly around him as if she never wanted to let go. The close contact disturbed Wolf, especially since Cheri-sama had even forgone her habitual request to touch him.
"Cheri-sama…" Gisela reasoned with her. "I cannot check him over unless you let him go."
"Oh, yes…" she did let go then, although her hand was reluctant to remove itself from Wolf's hair.
"Is there anything wrong besides your leg?" Gisela asked. "Have you been feeling sick at all?"
The former slave didn't answer immediately. "…yes," he finally replied, "but it's not from any injury."
Gisela's eyes were somewhat shaded, taking in the information. "I'll see if there is something I can do about that. I still have enough ingredients to make the potion, and you still have at least three days but no more than five."
"Will it still take you a few hours to brew?"
"Yes, just as the first time," she nodded.
The blonde took a deep breath, and let it out in relief. "But I still have time," he stated. "This will all be over soon."
Gisela didn't comment and neither did Cheri-sama. "I need to clean the wound on your leg before I heal it and I should give you a full physical to make sure you were not injured in any other way."
"Meaning?"
"That you need to remove your clothes," she stated firmly. "Now, up to it."
"What!" he exclaimed. "You want to bare myself to you!"
She frowned at him, a dark look in her eyes, but then she seemed to accept something as she gave him a small nod, although the pensive look did not leave her face. "Would you prefer that I just cut the leg off of your pants?"
"YES!" He would bare himself to no one! He wouldn't even allow Conrad to remove his pants to bandage his wound, and had forced him to work over it instead. Yuuri had offered to heal him, but he had absolutely refused to allow the Maou to do so. It was far too irresponsible when it was such a small injury-at least in his opinion.
Gisela gave a smile then, as if she was patronizing a child. "All right then," she told him.
And so she sent Cheri-sama to get a warm basin of water so that she could soak the pants leg and bandages in. Wolf would have rather she just pulled it off. He was no stranger to pain. But she would have none of it-berating him with the facts of preventable scarring-and followed her steps methodically until the cloths had been dampened enough to be removed with the smallest amount of discomfort.
"You don't have any protest against removing your necklace once more, do you?" she inquired.
Wolf gave a small shake of his head. His vow had already been broken and he had taken some thought into the purpose of that promise. His mother had wanted to protect him from the effects that Houseki could have on a full-blooded Mazoku, and hide his true heritage from him. The request both selfless and selfish at once. He had juggled with his angry thoughts at one time, feeling betrayed by the woman he had trusted, loved, and mourned for so long, but he could never come to hate her for what she had done. No matter his true parentage, she would always be his mother. That was the only reason why he continued to bear the necklace, refusing to remove it even though he knew its true purpose.
Now it's a matter of practicality, he told himself. The vow has been broken and to refuse to remove it now, when it's obviously in my best interests to do so is simply foolish.
"There's no conflict," he replied.
"Good," Cheri-sama smiled. "So you won't mind removing your shirt either?"
"What?" his eyes widened.
The blonde woman shrugged, "It's obvious that you must have some bruises from all the fighting you've done. If you just take off your shirt as well, Gisela will be able to heal everything at once. It's only sensible."
Of course she would play on his own logic. With a sigh that came out more as a huff, he grudgingly undid the buttons on his shirt. With a glance towards Cheri-sama, who didn't seem to be bothered by his coyness, he opened the shirt, allowing it to fall from his shoulders.
A gasp went up and Wolf felt as if his someone had left stones in his stomach. "What is it?" He looked down and checked himself over, something he hadn't bothered to do earlier, seeing as his room in the ship had been without a mirror. There was indeed light bruising, nothing that he hadn't knew of and ignored, one particular at his side where Kenan had elbowed him.
The anomaly was the object hanging about his neck that couldn't possibly have been the necklace his mother had given him. Rather than the familiar pink stone that would sparkle if sunlight struck it, there was a glaring red-orange jewel that looked as if it should have been giving off heat. It was much darker than the stone he remembered and had no idea where it came from.
"Maseki…" Gisela whispered, her wide eyes trained on the gemstone. "It's not Houseki at all."
Wolf didn't care what it was as he quickly removed it from around his neck and dropped it unceremoniously on the bed, moving away from it as soon as it touched the blanket.
"Why…?" he started. "It's not…?"
"Did anything happen to you while you were gone, Wolf-chan?" Cheri-sama finally spoke. "Something you couldn't explain, that you never expected to happen?"
He turned confused eyes to her, "What do you mean?"
"Did a fire start and no one could explain why it happened?" she asked. "Did you have any injuries that suddenly disappeared?"
"No!" he shook his head quickly. "We were attacked by someone using Majutsu! They destroyed the village and people were injured everywhere, but I wasn't harmed more than a few cuts and bruises. I even helped take care of-"
His words caught in his throat as the events came back to him. Ever since what had transpired in the castle in Dai Shimaron he hadn't given thought to the boy from the village. He had been so sure that the child would die from internal injuries, but somehow he had lived…his broken ribs had disappeared as if they had never been harmed in the first place.
"What happened?" Gisela asked of him, taking in the sudden pallor of his already pale skin. "It's obvious that something did occur."
He shook his head. "There was boy. He was dying. His ribs had punctured his lung and he was…choking on his own blood. I…I couldn't save him…. But then something happened. He wasn't dying anymore."
He looked down at his hands, which he could still recall being covered with the blood of the countless people he had attended that night. The little boy included. It was not as if he had never seen death before-he had been by Lady Baborone's bedside during her last hours-he had just never seen so much of it at once, felt the blood and bones of broken bodies of people he was too late to save, felt the blood that drained from their veins or their hearts as they stopped beating.
Everything had gone so quickly that he hadn't even thought about it before-and he had refused to think back on it during the trip home-but now that the seed had been planted, he could feel his hands shaking and the bile rising in his throat. He not-so-gently moved both women aside in his rush to his washbasin, once again retching, although there was nothing left in him to lose save the acids of his stomach.
The spasms passed through his entire body, leaving him tired and unstable. His balance faltered and he would have fallen to the stone floor had it not been for Gisela's presence steadying him.
"Wolf!" she exclaimed, leading him back towards the bed. Cheri-sama had removed the necklace, holding it up by its leathery rope. Gisela then pushed him into lying down, although making sure not to jar the leg she had yet to heal. Wolf was pliant, willingly moving in whatever way asked of him.
"It seems that everything was just too much for you," she told him. "You shouldn't push yourself so." She then moved downwards to the gash on his leg, hands extending so she could release her own maryoku. The skin began to re-grow, stitching itself to the existing cells like the threads on a loom, binding to each other until there was barely even a scar left.
The energy was soothing, sending a warm sensation throughout his body that eased his upset stomach and relieved much of the stress he felt. It was like a blanket that had been warmed by the fire had just been draped across him entire body, and yet also light enough that he almost felt the desire to float away. The fatigue that had been dogging his steps seemed to come back then, his body sinking further into the soft mattress of his bed. His eyelids drooped and he didn't bother fighting the pull of sleep that lured him into oblivion. On the contrary, he welcomed it with as much fervor as a starving man would a loaf of molding bread.
He awoke covered in sweat, the sheets soaked with dampness and his heart pounding in his chest. It had been the crying again. The sounds of a baby crying that had plague more than one night's rest since he had discovered his 'condition.' He immediately got up and went to wash basin, not surprised to find that the water had been replaced. The window gleamed with the golden reds and violets of sunset, proving to Wolf that he had been sleep for the entire day.
Sighing, he washed his face and then went to his wardrobe, looking through the clothes for something suitable to wear for dinner. His stomach lurched at the thought of food, giving an almost painful grumble. I'm so hungry I don't even care if I toss it all back up on Gwendal's lap. The unbidden thought was horrifying and hilarious at the same time. He preferred to focus on the humor of it as he changed his clothes, brushed his hair into some form of order, and then left for dinner, which he knew would be served in an hour at the most.
He exited his room and found the halls empty and quiet. They must either already be at dinner, or tucked away in Yuuri's study, he reasoned. Rather than risk a questions and inquiries into his welfare while trapped in Yuuri's study, he moved onto the dining hall, where none-save Yuuri and Cheri-sama-would dare ask such private questions where 'others' could hear. The two guards at the great doors gave him respectful bows before one opened the left door and allowed him to enter. As he had first suspected, dinner was just being served and everyone else had already settled down to wait their portions.
"Wolf!" Greta called out in greeting, getting up from her seat to go to him. He kneeled down and embraced her, allowing her to wrap her arms tightly around her neck.
"Good evening," he told her. "I am sorry I did not attend to you as I had promised."
"It's okay," she assured him. "You look a lot better now. Sleeping so long helped you to feel better."
"I do feel much better," he agreed. "Although I fear my stomach shall collapse from lack of nourishment. What's for the main course tonight?"
"It's Roast Night. Roasted boar with roasted potatoes, roasted zucchini, roasted carrots, roasted apples dipped in cinnamon and brown sugar, and toasted cherry tarts for dessert."
Now accustomed to the odd menus of Mazoku menus, all Wolf could do was smile at her. "That sounds delicious. Perhaps we should take our seats." He took her hand and led her back to her seat beside Yuuri before moving to his own beside Cheri-sama.
"Oh Wolf-chan, if you had slept any longer you would have missed everything," she told him, her voice filled with a playful reproach.
"And what is the 'everything' that I would have been missing?" he asked her as his plate was filled with pork and vegetables and sat back down before him.
"Why, the plans for the trip," she replied, the excitement in her tone undeniable.
"What trip?" he inquired further as he lifted his spork. There was a tenseness in the air that he knew had not been there before. Gwendal opened his mouth to speak, but Cheri-sama answered first.
"To Earth! Yuuri Heika's home world!"
There was a clang as his silverware felt back to the table, Wolf uncaring in his shock. "What? We're going to Earth?" He couldn't believe it. What could possibly be in this other world that would lead everyone to journeying there? Was not the fact that Yuuri spent so much of his time there enough?
"No," Gwendal finally spoke to him before the former Maou. "Only a small group of us will be journeying to Earth. You are not one of them."
The firm, unshakable tone that the dark-haired Mazoku used was enough to halt Wolf's former thoughts instantly. Of course, he thought, suddenly bitter and saddened. There is no 'we', only them.
"I see," he gave a nod, picking up his spork and returning to his meal. He would not ignore another one to simply hide away from those who looked down upon him. Gwendal's words were enough for him. He might not have been a true noble, but he would act like one. The blonde would not allow them to see the tears that threatened to run down his cheeks. They would remain invisible to all but him.
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Next update will be on Friday!