A/N: Omg have you guys seen the most recent kyo kara maoh episodes? They are awesome. I'm sorry to say that Sara/Yuri is starting to become one of my favorite pairings. I really hated him at first but he has grown on me. Nevertheless, it will not be affecting this story in any way. (not yet, at least)

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Chapter 5

CLANG

Steel clashed with steel. Morgif howled in protest as he was swung back and forth furiously, meeting Conrad's sword just before any damage could be done. Yuri panted, sweat dripping off his brow as he pulled back and slashed once more with Morgif. Conrad easily deflected it and used the chance to change to offensive. Yuri was flat on the dirt within seconds.

"I've never seen you this sloppy before, Your Majesty. Is something wrong?" Conrad asked as he helped Yuri to his feet.

"I'm sorry, Conrad. I guess I'm just a little distracted today." Yuri answered. Conrad nodded, as if he understood.

"It must have been a big decision to make." Conrad commented. Yuri wasn't sure if he was referring to his decision to marry Wolfram or his decision to go to the front lines.

"Yes, it was."

.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.

Yuri requested a private dinner that night. It was just him, Wolfram, and Greta. It wasn't that anyone else could have attended anyway. Cheri was no doubt on one of her "free love" cruises, Conrad and Gunter were preparing to leave to take care of something in Christ territory, and Gwendal never left his office nowadays.

For the first part of the dinner, Yuri and Wolfram listened to Greta talk about her studies. When they lapsed into silence again, Yuri asked how Wolfram's day had gone.

"It was quite uneventful," Wolfram answered. "The morning I spent in the city, doing a bunch of routine checks on prisons and stuff. It wasn't too bad, although, there was this bitch that was bad-mouthing you. I would have punched her if it hadn't been so damn hot out." Yuri chuckled.

"What was she saying?"

"She said that you were a coward and a fool for ever trusting humans in the first place."

"Isn't that what you say to me?" Yuri asked. Greta laughed and Wolfram blushed.

"Yes, well I say it in a good way," Wolfram said. Yuri joined in the laughing and soon Wolfram was laughing as well.

"Ne ne, Yuri, aren't you gonna tell Wolfram what you did today?" Greta said, clearly hinting that she knew something. Yuri set down his fork and looked at Wolfram.

"I asked you uncle if I could marry you."

"What?" replied Wolfram, looking surprised, "You mean last night…."

"It wasn't a dream, Wolfram. I meant what I said." He gazed into Wolfram's emerald eyes, where the longing was evident. It was quite obvious that Wolfram had believed Yuri's words too good to be true.

"I need to think about it." Wolfram answered after a moment, turning his eyes away. Yuri blinked in surprise, not expecting Wolfram to hesitate. Perhaps he was still in shock. After all, Yuri had finally proposed (in a sincere way), something that no one had any reason to believe he would actually go through with.

"Of course," said Yuri, putting his trademark smile back on his face.

"Well you'd better hurry up," Greta piped in happily, "Because I can't wait to go shopping with Cheri-sama for a beautiful dress for the wedding." She sighed. "Who knows, maybe I will meet my true love during the reception."

"I don't think so." Yuri said, while at the same time Wolfram had stated, "Absolutely not!"

Greta crossed her arms and huffed angrily. "Fathers," she grumbled.

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The following morning Wolfram stood in front of the stables and watched with a sinking expression as his mare, led by one of the stable hands, limped heavily as she walked.

"She was lame when I took her from her stall this morning, Your Excellency." The boy said. Wolfram scowled and wiped a few beads of perspiration from his forehead. Summer was nearing its end, but that was no excuse. The season seemed to be stubbornly tormenting Shin Makoku with weeks of unbearably hot days before yielding to fall. The war had begun in late spring. Already, a season had passed since its start and no progress had been made on either side. To Wolfram, it was troubling. "I can have your old horse ready for you today, Sir."

"No," growled a frustrated Wolfram. "I will not be seen on that old thing. Tack up Conrad's new colt for me."

"But Sir, that colt is hardly broke. He's far too green to entrust Your Excellency's safety to."

"I can handle him," snapped Wolfram, "Now hurry up. I have work to do."



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Wolfram and his men stood at the entrance to the city, sweating in their uniforms. The sun was high overhead. It had to be the hottest point of the day. Wolfram pulled at his collar, attempting to get some air to reach his neck. Insects buzzed annoyingly in his ears, rejoicing in the humidity. The horses had all fallen asleep beneath their riders, the heat having drained all of their energy. How much longer would they be waiting?

"I see a carriage, Sir." One of the men called. Wolfram lifted his eyes to the horizon and spotted it.

"That's them." Wolfram said. He and his men urged their horses forward to meet it. A blonde man leaned out the window and smiled at Wolfram.

"Wolfram Von Bielefield. It's good to see you." He exclaimed cheerfully.

"It's nice to see you well, Fanbalen-san. We're here to see you to the castle."

"Excellent. I'm very much looking forward to seeing the palace of the Maou." Fanbalen said, grinning broadly. Wolfram smiled pleasantly, but before he could say anything else he heard a strange whistling noise. He recognized the sound immediately and shoved the merchant back into the carriage. An arrow whizzed by and buried itself in the side of the carriage where Fanbalen's head had been moments before. Wolfram turned around and scanned the area. There! Someone was disappearing into the forest.

"Men!" Wolfram shouted. They came to attention, all of them having realized what just happened. "Get this carriage to the castle safely." Wolfram spurred his horse hard and took off after the 'would be' assassin.

Wolfram tore through the forest, every once in a while catching a glimpse of the hooded person. Tree branches hung low in his path, scraping up his hands and his face as he raced by. They went deeper and deeper into the forest, where sunlight was barely reaching the ground through the thick canopy.

Suddenly, Wolfram's horse skidded to a halt. They had reached the edge of a cliff. The furious rapids of the river were rushing hundreds of feet below them. The cloaked assassin was standing in front of Wolfram, his feet at the edge. Wolfram drew his sword.

"Who are you?" demanded Wolfram. The assassin did not answer. He moved his head slightly, glancing at the raging water below and then back at Wolfram. Wolfram noticed a strange looking emblem on the man's cloak. It looked a bit like a bird. A crow, perhaps? Wolfram took a step closer. The hooded man hesitated for a moment, then turned and leaped off the precipe. "Nooo!" cried Wolfram angrily. He dismounted his horse and ran to the edge. It was no use. The man had disappeared.

Wolfram swore loudly. He felt a few droplets of water land on his head and looked up. Black storm clouds were rolling in fast. Wolfram had been unable to see the sky through the trees so he had no way of knowing that a storm had been approaching. Thunder rumbled in the distance and Wolfram walked back over to his horse. The animal tossed its head and pawed the ground nervously. Being so young, it was easily frightened by things like thunderstorms. Wolfram mounted and reentered the forest where he was faced with an even bigger problem: he was completely lost.

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Rain pounded Wolfram from every direction. Trees were bowing under the fierce wind and their branches grabbed at him like hands reaching out. Wolfram was drenched, his hair and uniform plastered to his body. He had long since given up trying to control his mount. The frantic animal plowed through the mud, desperately trying to find the way back home. It was getting darker. Wolfram knew that soon it would be nightfall and he shuddered to think of trying to find his way in the dark AND in the storm.

A flash of lightning nearly blinded him for a moment. The thunder that followed was loud enough to split his eardrums. Wolfram's horse reared suddenly.

SNAP

The leather of the saddle broke and Wolfram was sent flying onto the muddy ground. He watched as the colt, which had not yet developed a sense of loyalty to its master, galloped away into the trees.

"I should have listened to the stable boy," cursed Wolfram.

A few miles (and many wrong turns) later, Wolfram found himself on a path that had finally taken him out of the forest. It had stopped raining now and the starlit sky was clear. Wolfram, recognizing where he was, realized that the closest place was Shinou's temple and that it would be best to spend the night there and head back to Covenant Castle in the morning.

Wolfram dragged his feet all the way to the doors of the shrine. The Great Sage was sitting on the steps, waiting for him, glasses glinting in the moonlight.

"Everyone's been worried about you, Bielefield-kyo. Where have you been?" he asked innocently, staring down at Wolfram's mud-caked body. Wolfram scowled.

"Don't play dumb. You know everything, don't you?"

"You presume too much of my powers."

"How did you know I was coming here, then?" Wolfram said. The Great Sage sighed.

"This temple does have guards, you know. How do you think you got through the gates?"

"Shut up," mumbled Wolfram as he climbed the stairs. He reached the top and swayed a bit. He was exhausted. Murata put an arm around Wolfram's shoulders to steady him as he led him into the building. As they walked, Wolfram felt the Sage's arm slide lower, lower, until- "Watch it, Sage, unless you want to be fried," barked Wolfram as they reached one of the spare rooms.

"Do you want me to stay and help you undress?" Murata asked. He was answered with a door slamming in his face.

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Murata smiled and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he walked down the corridor to his own bedroom. Inside he was met with a presence.

"I saw that." Shinou's voice purred in Murata's ear. Murata shook him off and went over to his bed. "So did you notice?" Shinou said as Murata began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Notice what? About Wolfram? Of course." Murata replied.

"Will you tell him?" Shinou asked. Murata took off his glasses and set them on the nightstand.

"I'm sure he will figure it out soon enough." Murata yawned and got into bed. "But perhaps I will inform him if I have time in the morning." Shinou stared at the tent between the sage's legs.

"Would you like me to help you with that?" Shinou said, smiling devilishly. Murata snorted.

"If you were alive, then I might just take you up on that offer." He replied. Shinou sighed, becoming serious.

"Reincarnation is a hellish road. You know better than anyone." Shinou said quietly. Murata's fingers clenched the sheets.

"Still… It's not too late, you know." He whispered, gazing up into Shinou's eyes. Shinou did not answer. Using a small amount of maryoku, he extinguished the remaining candles, letting everything fall into darkness.

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Well everything up until this point has been pre-written. That means that I will actually have to start thinking again and it could be a while before my next update.

Btw, I love when people add me to their alerts and stuff but I love reviews even more. Please, I don't care if its only two words long and says "this sucks" or "this is great"