There's One in Every Kingdom

by Shain-of-Ireland

A new obstacle has appeared on the horizon and the future of Shin Makoku may hang in the balance. Our heroes must face an age old prophecy head on...but they might need a little unexpected help to do it!

5. Chapter 4: Anything for a Quiet Life

I do not own KKM, Tomo Takabayashi owns the series, which sucks since Takabayashi deemed it a good decision to end the KKM series after the third season. Is a 4th season so much to ask for? Is it really?

Yes everyone, I have returned. I sincerely apologize for taking such a long hiatus on my writing without letting anyone know that I was putting my writing on hold at all. The summer I posted the last chapter (last summer) was the beginning of my final year of college. I wanted to focus on making that year the best and most memorable it could be in a positive manner. I am proud to say I accomplished those goals and am now a respectable graduate of a four year college! I suppose you are wondering why I still didn't write the next chapter after having graduated, what with a summer to fiddle around with it in. Well in order to get my degree, there were three more credits I needed for my minor that would require a summer course…so I figured if I have to take a summer course at all, why not go travel away from home and make an excursion of it? So I spent some time in Dublin and Tipperary to complete my degree and came back with some great memories (and a tattoo). I'm settled back in at home, out of college and preparing for the world of careers and finally have some down time to type in.

So the cat's out of the bag. Kimi is a girl, a very unshapely, flat-as-a-surfboard young girl. Not really the one you could peg as a prophecy fulfilling warrior, is she? I'm sure she doesn't think so either. I'm still looking for a beta to my chapters so if anyone knows of someone, point them my way. On with the show!

Chapter Four

Anything for a Quiet Life

'Ow, my head…' Yuuri woke up to a blindingly bright room and a killer headache. Groaning, the king of the demon world threw an arm across his face and rolled over into his pillow. His head gave another painful throb right across his forehead and around to his right temple, making him curl tighter into the pillow and release a muffled whimper. After a brief few moments of deep breathes and waiting for the pain to fade to a bearable level, he managed to pry his face off of the pillow and struggle into a sitting position to blearily look around the room. By the looks of it, it was somewhere around the late morning or early afternoon, the sunlight spilling in from the large, wide windows and pouring out across the floor to bathe the room in a bright warm glow. Yuuri was surprised he hadn't woke soon. Another sharp ache of his head, painfully reminded Yuuri why he had even woke up at all. "Ugh," he rubbed the side of his head tenderly, "what hit me?" he groaned. His eyes roved over to the other side of the bed. "Oh that's right", he muttered, "he did." Yuuri stared in half amused at young demon lying next to him clad in…Yuuri blinked. Where was Wolfram's frilly, pink nightgown?

The fire wielder lying face down in his pillow beside Yuuri was wearing his tailored blue uniform, only it was far less presentable than how Wolfram would usually allow himself to be seen in it. The collar was turned up rather than down and one of the edges was rolled back. There were wrinkles criss-crossing every which way across the back of the jacket and one of the pant legs had managed to get rolled up around the ankle. He only had one sock on, the other sticking out of the polished boot hanging precariously off the edge of the bed. Leaning over slightly, Yuuri could just make out the other boot lying on its side just off to the side of the bed.

'He must have slept in his uniform,' Yuuri glanced at his own black suited self. 'I guess I did too.' He was looking a little on the shabby side himself, wrinkles and all. Yuuri picked at the strange stain on the front of his own jacket. "What the?" It was more of a crusted over grime, whatever it was apparently was see through like water but had dried solid to the fabric. "Okay this is going to the maids to wash right away," Yuuri declared, "Why did I even wear this to bed last night? And Wolfram's a little too concerned with proper conduct to risk being seen so sloppy, so why would he have gone to bed without changing?" Yuuri frowned. "Come to think of it, why can't I remember even going to bed last night? And wait a minute!" Yuuri turned back to the sleeping blonde beside him. "Why haven't am I still in the bed and not on the floor?"

Strangely enough, Yuuri apparently managed a night's sleep without waking from a meeting with the hard, unforgiving floor. Usually Wolfram would have managed to gain a large sum of territory across the bed in his erratic sleeping patterns. More often than not this would result in the unceremonious expelling of his fiancé from the bed with a well place kick. This particular morning, however, Yuuri was in no such floor related predicament because, by the looks of things, Wolfram had barely moved at all. It was a welcome change of circumstances as such constant shoves over the side of the bed were always a bit painful to experience and with the headache Yuuri woke up with, the addition of a fall to the floor surely would have only made how he felt worse. But still, Wolfram's new sleeping behavior was odd. Wolfram was lying very still on the bed, his face hidden in his pillow. There appeared to even be a slight indent of his body pressed into the mattress around him from not moving from that position for quite awhile.

Yuuri leaned over the blonde and doubled check that he was actually breathing. "Geeze, he sleeps like he's dead…" he mused aloud.

The doors clicking closed sounded from the other side of the room. "That's because he was pretty exhausted from the excitement last night and getting to bed so late, Heika." Conrad stood just beyond the threshold of the doorway, smile present if not a tad more relaxed from tiredness. "As it is, he barely made it to bed last night before practically passing out." He strolled forward into the room and up to Yuuri's side of the bed, letting the doors swing closed behind him.

"It's Yuuri, Conrad," Yuuri reprimanded with small grin. "And I suppose that makes sense. Yesterday…er, last night was pretty eventful for us all wasn't it? But," he spared a side glance at Wolfram, "but, if Wolf was too tired to even move around in his sleep last night, then," he paused to wince at the ever present throbbing of his skull making itself known once more with a particularly hard flare of pain, "then how did his clothes get so messed up?" He rubbed at his head in an attempt to soothe the pain.

Conrad's look amused as the corners of his smile turned up a little more. "That would be because he got that way prior to reaching your room. In last night's…incident." The laughter in his eyes increased as Yuuri face turned bright red. "It's also how you got that headache, I imagine."

Yuuri grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, that…that was definitely not fun. I forgot Wolf can hit pretty hard when he wants to."

"Oh Wolfram didn't hit you, Heik-Yuuri," Conrad corrected himself. "He tried to, don't be mistaken, but I believe you got that headache from our guest, Miss Kim Lee throwing a medical one of healing books at you."

"Oh that's right," Yuuri recalled. "She threw quite a few things at me. So which book did she throw?" He was almost dreading the answer.

"The big one."

"Ah…so why can't I remember going to bed last night?"

"That book was what knocked you out, Yuuri."

"Wow." Yuuri was stunned. "And the stain on my shirt?"

Conrad inspected the crusty residue on said shirt. "I believe that is from the bottle of salve Miss Kim Lee tossed in your direction as well."

"Oh yeah. I remember that. That must have been before the book. She sure can throw, can't she?"

Conrad hummed in agreement, still amused.

Yuuri face changed from sheepish to one of embarrassment and shame. He looked down at his lap and picked at the lint on his pants, looking for all the world like a child caught disappointing their parents. "So…is she still mad?"

"She is still being kept in the healing wing with Gisela for now while her neck heals. I haven't been to see her personally yet, but from what I have gathered, she is still less than pleased."

Yuuri's shoulders slumped. He looked at Wolfram from the corner of his eye. "And I suppose he will still be mad at me when he wakes up too."

Conrad patted his Godson on the back in comfort. "Don't beat yourself up over this, Yuuri. I'm sure that everyone involved understands that you didn't mean to and won't hold it against you for very long," he reassured Yuuri. "You just need to consider how uncomfortable the whole mess was. It was, I must admit, a rather awkward moment for anyone to go through."

(Last night)

Yuuri rushed up to the ward doors and pushed them open with some effort, Wolfram and Murata at his heels. In the center of the room, a curtain had been drawn around the bed. "Sorry about this Gisela," he called out as he rushed over and pulled the fabric aside. "I just wanted to know if he was…"

Yuuri's brain shorted out.

Gisela was sitting on a stool that she had pulled up next to the bed. Face frozen in shock, she had been in the process of checking Kimi's breathing.

But that's not what Yuuri couldn't wrap his mind around.

On the bed sat Kimi, staring at Yuuri looking completely horrified. The hoodie had been removed and was lying on the mattress next to a white tank top Kimi must have been wearing under it.

But instead of Yuuri looking a bare back, he was looking at pale skin and the thin fabric of a training bra…

"Uh…" Yuuri stumbled back several steps hastily, his mouth hanging open.

"Oh my god!" Kimi screeched, snatching her tank top up and holding it against chest like a shield. "What the hell are you doing?"

Yuuri could hear the footsteps of Wolfram and Murata as caught up with him.

Wolfram came to a halt next to Yuuri. His eyes roamed over his slacked jawed fiancé and the young girl on the bed…girl on the bed…a girl, Kimi, half naked on the bed…And Wolfram's staring fiancé…

3…2…1…

"YUURI YOU CHEATER!"

"Wait, Wolf" Yuuri stuttered. "It's not what you think." He ducked out of the way of Wolfram's swinging fists. "Honest, Wolf."

Steam was steadily emanating from the fire wielder's clenched fists as he took another swing at Yuuri. "Hold still you unfaithful wimp!"

Murata chuckled. "Well I guess the cat's out of the bag now, eh Shibuya?"

"Cheating wimp!"

"Wait Wolfram, calm down," Yuuri placated his hands held out in front of him as he rushed to try and take shelter behind Murata over by the door. "Hang on," he turned on the Great Sage. "Murata, you knew she was a girl?" at his friends smirk he scowled heavily. "Why didn't you say anything sooner then? And—ouch! Take it easy, Wolfram. Let's be rational about this."

Wolfram was bearing down on Yuuri is flames coming from both hands.

"This isn't what it looks like," Yuuri continued. "I mean, I just got here a few seconds before you did. I'm just as surprised as you are. It's the truth—hey!" Yuuri managed to jumped out of the way of a glass jar flew past him. "What the?"

"Get out!" Kimi shrieked, tank top still pressed protectively to her chest. She reached for another object to throw at them from the selection of medical supplies laid out on the tray next to her bed. This time she grasped a box containing gauze bandages. "Get out of here!" she hurled it at Yuuri's, the box narrowly missing his face by a few inches. It grazed the side of Wolfram's shoulder, distracting him momentarily from his own rage at Yuuri.

"Hey!" he yelled. "Watch where you throw those things!"

"Get out, get out, get out!" Kimi snatched her pillow up from the bed and chucked at the trio in the doorway. It sailed through the air before smacking a still chuckling Murata in the head, effectively wiping that smug grin right off his face. "Go away!" She picked up a jar of smelling salts

"Whoa!" Yuuri step out of the way of the flying jar. It landed in the hallway behind them with a thud. "I'm sorry, Kimi. Just let me explain.!"

A salve bottle flew past his head to collide with the doorframe, bursting apart and splashing the front of Yuuri's shirt with the watery contents inside. "Get out!"

"Wait, just let me explain myself! This is all a big misunderstanding."

"Get out, get out, get out!"

"But—"

"GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!"

"Hang on, I—"

A large, heavy, leather clad tome connected with the side of Yuuri's head. The last thing he heard before everything went black was, "I said get out!"

(Presently)

"Ah man, that was a disaster," Yuuri sulked.

"It did not go over very well, yes," Conrad agreed. "but that doesn't mean it was a disaster. Once Miss Kim Lee has cooled down a bit, I'm sure you can clear the whole mess up."

"You sure?" Yuuri asked. Kimi certainly looked fit to be tied last night. Yuuri was doubtful she would be in a very talkative mood with him today. He'd be lucky if he could successfully convince her that he wasn't the Peeping Tom she probably pegged him to be (if he were to be perfectly honest, she had more to worry about as far as perversion when in the presence of the pervy sage).

Conrad gave Yuuri's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Positive. I imagine Miss Kim Lee was more embarrassed than anything. Being walked in upon in such a state of undress is awkward for anyone, and a young girl would especially find it upsetting. We'll stop by later and you can explain to her that it was an accident. I'm sure she'll understand."

"I guess you're right. So…what about him?" Yuuri pointed to the slumbering male besides him.

Said male snorted slightly into his pillow, causing a soft down feather to shoot up into the air and then lightly float back down onto the back of his head.

Yuuri and Conrad shared a smile before the latter sober up. "Wolfram rarely stays mad at you for long these days, Yuuri. He doesn't throw out accusations at you as often as he used to. It's just, well," Conrad looked torn being a smile and a cringe. "Well he used to accuse you of cheating many times in the past for just talking to a girl in the hallway. This time he found you in the same room as one who was undressed. It's the first time he's ever wandered into a situation that could understandably be misinterpreted for once."

"Yeah, I know it looked bad," Yuuri stammered. "But what Wolfram seemed to think was going on wasn't even possible. I only walked in a few seconds before him! Anything he could have possibly thought was happening or was going to happen wasn't physically possible in such short time." Yuuri paused and then gave Conrad a scandalous look. "And even if there had been time, I wouldn't have done anything!"

"Calm down, Yuuri." Conrad gave Yuuri another pat on the back. "Wolfram knows that, I'm sure. In fact," Conrad titled his head to the side in thought, "I would bet anything that if he is mad at all today, it'll probably be to cover up his embarrassment about having overreacted."

Yuuri sighed. "I hope so. Because believe me there is nothing I'd rather avoid more than a pissed off," a muffled yawn interrupted him. Yuuri hesitated and glanced over to his side with wide eyes. "…Wolfram," he finished.

With much groaning and rustling, Wolfram rolled over unto his back. He stretched his arms over his head and yawn, the muscles in his back popping as he worked out the stiffness in his arms and back.

Yuuri slapped on an innocent smile, the last thing he needed was for Wolfram to know he was talking about him behind his back. That would not go over well. "H-hey, Wolfram. Sleep well."

"Mmmph, more like I barely slept at all." Wolfram rubbed at his eyes and opened his mouth to let out another little yawn. It was almost kittenish in the way he rubbed his face and snuggled into the blankets more. Yuuri could almost imagine little fangs and furry ears on him.

Conrad could imagine it as well. Despite being well into his eighties, Wolfram was still one of the most adorable things Conrad could remember seeing. There was always this pouty little innocent boy reflected in his face and mannerisms whenever Conrad saw him. It was the same reason Gwendal didn't spend as much time with Wolfram anymore. His penchant for cute things was his greatest weakness and the last thing he needed was to be caught cooing over his baby brother. And it was very doubtful Wolfram would appreciate being fawned over in public by any member of his family anyway. He got enough of that from their mother as it was. He got enough of that from their mother as it was, coddling him in over dramatic displays of affection and praising his looks, how much he looked like her.

And he truly did. The entire kingdom was aware of the striking resemblance between Wolfram Von Bielefeld and the lovely former Demon Queen. Sometimes, Conrad found himself quite thankful that his baby brother was already engaged to someone as naïve and innocent as their King. It certainly cut off a great deal of the line of suitors that would wish to pursue his brother, often seeking to use his noble status to their advantage and carrying lecherous and impure thoughts for his beautiful and corruptible looks. "We did let you and his Majesty stay in today in order to catch up on your sleep, Wolfram," Conrad chided gently.

"Well it sure doesn't feel like it," Wolfram grumbled. He rolled over onto his side facing his brother and Yuuri. "Wimp, why were you chatting on about so loudly? Don't you know it's rude to disturb someone's sleep like that?" He tugged Yuuri's pillow over to him and curled up into it, muttering "wimp" again as he closed his eyes.

Yuuri let out a sigh of relief and smiled, it seemed Wolfram wasn't as upset as he was last night. He wasn't jumping right into another argument about it at least. "Sorry about that, Wolf. I was trying to keep it down. I was just telling Conrad about the headache I have." That shouldn't stir up any conflict, right? Just a casual conversation about a little headache.

Wolfram cracked one deep green eye open and peered at Yuuri curiously. "Must have taken quite a hit from that book last night, hm?" he asked.

Yuuri's smile slid right off his face. It seemed Wolfram was very much aware of the incident last night, even while being groggy from just waking up. Maybe Yuuri shouldn't have said anything at all. "Hah…so y-you remember that," he chuckled nervously.

Wolfram sat up and crossed his arms over his chest. "How could I forget?" he asked. He turned his head away from Yuuri and look over his opposite shoulder. "Cheater," he muttered.

'He's pouting,' Yuuri thought. 'Well, that's better than yelling or trying flambé me.' It appeared that Yuuri wouldn't have to deal with another yelling session and for that he was relieved, but still Yuuri couldn't help but feel bad that Wolfram seemed so upset about last night…though he couldn't imagine why. The whole thing was an accident and. It wasn't like Wolfram's reputation was at stake like all the other times he claimed it was by Yuuri being a so called 'flirt' (which he wasn't) in public. The only people who truly played witness to the whole incident were Wolfram, Gisela, Kimi and himself and they weren't going to go around gossiping about it. It had been so late at night that there was barely anyone up and there was no one in the hall to overhear. Conrad and the others must have come back to the room when they heard the screaming since Conrad seemed very well informed out what occurred, but they must have shown up after Yuuri was knocked out since he couldn't recall seeing them. And surely Kimi had covered up by then, right? So Wolfram had no reason to be worried or upset for how this would come off to the public. Still, Yuuri felt bad to see Wolfram so bothered by all this.

"Listen, Wolf," Yuuri began. "Wolfram, I…I'm sorry that I upset you. It honestly was an accident. I had no way of knowing that that would happen. I know it looked bad, but no one was around to see it but us for once. It was between shifts with the guards so none of them were around to know about. No guards mean no maids to cause any stir in the gossip." He reached out and placed a hand on Wolfram's shoulder. "You see? There's nothing to worry about. I know our engagement has reflection on aristocratic standing, but this time we're good. You're reputation is going to be affected by this 'cause no one knows about it. I'm sure Gwendal and the others will keep it just between all of us." He looked at his godfather for reassurance. "Right, Conrad?"

"I assure you we won't say a thing. Last thing we want is for Mother to get involved and cause more of a stir," Conrad replied with a nod.

"There, now," Yuuri said. "So there will be no gossip getting back to the nobles. Your reputation's safe Wolfram. No need to be worried."

"Yeah…" Wolfram said slowly, a far off look in his eyes. "My reputation. That's what I'm upset about." Wolfram closed his eyes for a moment and smiled at Yuuri. "Got to represent the Bielefeld title with the upmost dignity, right? I'm sorry I over reacted, Yuuri. Old habits die hard."

Conrad couldn't help but notice how Wolfram's smile seemed somewhat forced. He recognized that expression quite well. It was the one he made when thinking about his comrades from the Lütenburg platoon, the battle of Arnold that cost those men their lives. It was the face he wore when Yuuri would enquire about Suzanna Julia, who's soul resided in their young king, a soul he hand delivered after the gentlewoman's passing. It was a guise to mask pain, eyes closed so that no one would catch a glimpse of truth reflected in them. Wolfram wore it now, as Conrad had seen him do so in recent months. Yuuri seemed oblivious to the lack of sincerity in Wolfram's voice and Conrad was not sure if that was a good thing or not. "Wolfram…"

"I'm glad to hear that," Yuuri cut in, oblivious still of the slight tension in the air. "I've gotta say, Wolf, I like it better when we are on speaking terms. It's no fun when you're mad at me." He leaned forward a little with a grin. "Sooo," he prodded, "am I forgiven?"

Wolfram scooted away from him and stuck his nose up, acting more like his old self. "You're forgiven, for now," he sniffed. "I suppose I shouldn't have gotten so worked up." He smirked, "If I let myself get so worked up every time you flirt around with other men and women, I'd work myself into an early grave." He gave Yuuri a playful, but forceful shove and laughed when he fell over with an indignant squawk. "Cheating wimp."

"Woah!" Yuuri flailed his arms and attempted to steady himself, only to succeed in upsetting his balance more and falling right off the side of the bed. Conrad just managed catch him by the arm before he hit the floor and bring him to his feet.

"Geeze, Wolfram," Yuuri groaned at the blonde still on the bed. "I know you didn't get to kick me out of bed last night, but that doesn't mean you need to make up for it now. And how many times do I have to say it, I'm not a cheater!"

"I'll believe you when you stop flirting with everything with legs!" Wolfram declared heatedly, kneeling on the bed and placing his hands on his hips. "If you want me to stop calling you that then stop being a letcher!"

"I already told you, I'm not!" Yuuri fixed Wolfram with what he hoped was an intimidating glare. Wolfram glared back with just as much, if not more ire.

This staring contest would have continue for quite a while if the sound of the doors swinging open with a bang and the shrill cry of "Heika!" hadn't rung out through the air at that moment, causing them both to jump in shock and turn.

Gunter stood in the doorway, both arms stretched out holding the doors open. As with his usual dramatic entrance, he was panting heavily like he had run the entire length of the castle to get to the royal bedroom, a bit of sweat beading on his brow. His face was one of someone who had just been informed that their beloved pet had died and his lavender hair fell about his face in less than his usual standards of appearance.

"Oh, Heika!" the flamboyant man cried. He rushed forward in a flurry of white robes and swept Yuuri up into a crushing embrace. "Your Majesty, I sincerely apologize for not having come to you sooner. When we were all given permission to sleep in after last night's excitement, I, your ever faithful, diligent servant, naturally planned to wake up well before you so that I may come to wake you when you were properly rested, making sure that the first face you saw was that of your most devoted subject." He looked off into the distant over Yuuri's shoulder, a glazed look in his eyes. "I had it all planned out, your Majesty. I would go to the kitchens and arrange an absolutely delicious breakfast to be prepared for you. From there I would prepare your lesson plan for today, starting with a recap of the customary greetings for foreign dignitaries. Then I would come here to welcome you to brand new day! Oh, but I overslept well past the hour I intended to get up this morning. I have only now made it to you and you are already awake." He clutched Yuuri tighter to him and let out a sob. "I have neglected my duties as your trusted adviser. Oh can you ever forgive me, Heika?"

"Technically, your duties as an adviser to his Majesty do not included handling his breakfast menu or waking him each morning, Gunter," Conrad reminded him.

"There is nothing wrong with going to the extra mile for one's glorious king, Conrad," Gunter replied amidst his own wails. He turned to regard the double black in his arms. "But I have failed you, Heika! Please know that I never meant to leave to without my assistance." He hid his face against Yuuri's neck, his shoulders shaking as he wept dramatically.

"Gunter…" Yuuri croaked. "Gunter…can't…breathe…" He wriggled this way and that to try and escape the grasp of his teacher.

"Gunter!" Wolfram yelled, his cheeks turning red to see Gunter touching Yuuri so freely. "Gunter, you let go of him this instant. Do you hear me? Get your hands off him before I—," he trailed off looking between Gunter and his wimp of a fiancé, who was making very little effort to outright tell the man his embrace was not appreciated and was instead simply trying to get him to loosen his grip at this point. Wolfram took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm himself down. "You know what? Never mind this," he exclaimed, causing the other occupants of the room to look at him. "Just never mind. I have more important and productive things to do than stay here and be a part of such…insanity!" All eyes still on him, the demon prince got off of the bed and strode across the room to the bureau.

"W-where're you going, Wolf?" Yuuri managed to ask, still trapped suffocating in Gunter's hold, the lavender haired man no too distracted by the unusual outburst to realize he had yet to relinquish his hold on Yuuri, or that he was even still holding his beloved king at all.

Wolfram simply 'hmphed'. He went about gather one of his clean spare uniforms (to replace the one he slept in) as well as a towel or two from the linen drawers. "To the baths. I have no time for this stupid nonsense." He headed over to the doors and stood in the doorway momentarily, a hand on the wooden frame as he regarded Yuuri. "Try not to ruin 'ruin my reputation' while I'm gone," he stormed out of the room and down the hallway, the doors swinging closed behind him. "Wimp!"

"Wait," Yuuri finally managed to wrestle himself out of Gunter's grasp. He stumbled forward a bit and then rushed across the room. "Wolfram, wait. You just told me you weren't upset anymore. Don't get mad again!" He stopped by the bureau as well and scooped up a clean change of clothes and a towel of his own. "I'll go with you. Come on, let's talk about this. Don't give me the silent treatment."

"We'll have the maids bring some breakfast up to your room for when you two return, Heika," Conrad called after Yuuri's retreating back.

"Sounds good, Conrad," Yuuri replied hurriedly, waving a hand over his shoulder. "And it's 'Yuuri'!" He headed out into the hall after his fuming companion. "Wolfram, wait for me!"

Gunter chuckled. "My, it has certainly been a while since we've seen such a display from Little Lord Bra—I mean, Lord Von Bielefeld," he corrected himself. That was still a hard nickname to let go of, he had actually grown fond of calling Wolfram that over the years. One could say it was almost a term of endearment at this point to call the strong willed young prince.

"Yes," Conrad agreed as they walked out of room to prepare the boys late breakfast. "But did you notice that it seemed to lack the usual heat his fighting used to have?"

Gunter nodded his head. "I had noticed that, only a short time ago he would never tolerate me hugging his Majesty. And he used to lash out at every lord or lady who dared approach Yuuri in an overly friendly manner. But in just this last year, he has pulled back on that behavior quite a fair amount," he paused before turning to Conrad with a raise brow. "Well, except for last night."

"Well, I think Wolfram will always feel a bit insecure with trusting Yuuri around new people for the first time. Encounters with people like King Saralegi have given him a legitimate reason to be concerned." Gunter hummed in understanding at this. "But you're right," Conrad continued. "He has changed his behavior quite significantly as of late."

Gunter tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps he is growing up," he suggested. "He has matured quite a bit since first meeting his Majesty. In fact it has changed him quite for the better over the years. Perhaps this is just another way he is maturing."

"I would like to think that was the case," Conrad replied. "But I can't help but wonder if it is also because Wolfram is becoming a tad discouraged of where he stands with Heika. Their engagement has held for several years now and Yuuri has made no indication of either ending it."

You know there's very little we can do about that," Gunter reminded. "It is his Majesty's choice what to be done in his engagement and we are sworn to follow our King. From what I've heard in the past, Earth has many hang-ups with same sex marriages."

Conrad nodded. "I understand that and I do not wish to interfere with our Majesty's personal affairs if he does not wish it. I just wish that there was a way for those two to come to some sort of understanding. I do not wish to see either of them hurt by this. I only wish for their happiness."

"As do I," Gunter stated. "But it is for Heika as our king to decide. He made the proposal originally and therefore the power to end it or commit to it is in his hands. First he will have to come to terms with the biased teaching he learned on Earth and how their social norms do not apply here." Gunter slapped a hand to his forehead and swooned dramatically, "To think such backwards ways have been drilled into his Majesty's head since childhood. That a union between two men would be viewed with such disdain, I just can't bear it. If only his Majesty would toss aside such prejudice ideas, then he would be able to see that I, his humble servant, ask for nothing but his returned affections!"

"Really, Gunter, you're too much," Conrad chuckled. "Don't you think Heika might be a little too young for you? Besides," he teased, "is Yuuri really the one you're after? Are you sure this isn't someone else somewhere in the castle whose affections you crave? Hmmm?"

"I-well, I," Gunter sputtered, quickly turning a blushing shade of red. "I have absolutely no idea what you mean. My heart is utterly devoted to his Majesty. And you're one to talk!" he pointed accusingly at the other. "I happen to know for a fact that you've had your eye on a certain redhead!"

Conrad gave him one of his unreadable smiles as they headed to the kitchens. "Why, I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about, Gunter…"

Thisisaline

Thisisonetoo

Breakfast was a quiet event. Wolfram has successfully managed to go through his entire bath without speaking a word to Yuuri, ensuring the Maoh kept a distance of ten feet from him in the bath at all times with the silent threaten to roast him to a crisp if he dared try and come any closer. Yuuri had attempt several times to speak reason to Wolfram, but soon grew tired of talking to himself; with how thick and obscuring the steam in the royal baths was and how unresponsive Wolfram was being, it had truly felt like he was all alone in there and simply talking aloud to an empty room. Even the walk back to their room where their meals awaited them, Wolfram made no move to thaw out the cold shoulder he was giving Yuuri, instead choosing to glare at the boy when any attempts at reconciliation were made. When they made it back to their bedroom, Wolfram just walked straight to his the tray containing their breakfast, scooped up one of the plates off the tray and moved to the writing desk to enjoy his meal as far away from his fiancé as possible.

They were halfway through their breakfast before Yuuri once again took up his attempts to talk with a decidedly stoic fiancé. Yuuri was sitting on the edge of the bed with the tray to sample from the selection of pasties and jams and Wolfram was nibbling politely on some fruit at the desk. Yuuri had tried several times to catch Wolfram's eyes to no avail, whenever his eyes strayed over to the blonde, Wolfram would suddenly became quite interested with inspecting the patterns in the desk made by the grain of the Mahogany. Once or twice he had even whipped his around to stare up at one of the corners of the ceiling, an over exaggerated swing of his head as he feigned obliviousness to the fact that Yuuri wanted his attention at all. The whole routine was becoming annoying and Yuuri had had enough of it.

Yuuri set down the jam covered biscuit he had been eating and sighed. "Listen, Wolf, you can try and ignore me all you want, but we both know that you'll have to talk to me eventually." He received no response to this; big surprise there. "You know I'm right. We see each other every day, how do you expect to go about avoiding me?" Still nothing. Yuuri crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling. "Well I suppose we could ask Gwendal to relay anything worth say back and forth between us. I'm sure that will go over well," he added with a grin, "I'm sure playing messenger for his stubborn little brother won't be a problem at all, right?"

Wolfram delicately placed his fork down on the desk and pushed his bowl of fruit away from him. He took his time chewing and swallowing the bit of purple apple (1) he had bitten into, all the while watching out of the corner of his eye as Yuuri squirmed uncomfortably in the lingering silence between them. Finally Wolfram spoke. "And we all know who will be blamed for starting this whole mess, won't we?"

While Yuuri was relieved to have Wolfram speaking to him again, the satisfaction hidden in the blondes tone made him apprehensive. "No," he said slowly and hesitantly, "who?"

"Why, the wimp of course," Wolfram stated matter of factly. "The very same wimp who screwed up again of his own accord and has rightfully earned the scorn of Gwendal's 'stubborn little brother' and is yet again to much of a coward to solve his own problems, therefore opting to run and pester Lord von Voltaire into fighting his battles for him." Wolfram turned to smirk at Yuuri. "Yes," he added smugly, "I'm sure Gwendal will be very displeased with said wimp for bothering him."

"But you're the reason I would be bothering him!" Yuuri pointed out in irritation. "You started the whole mess, it's your faul—," Yuuri trailed off. Wolfram was grinning arrogantly at him. He wanted Yuuri to be the one flipping out for once; that was his intention. And Yuuri had played right into his hands. Yuuri slapped a hand over his face and dragged it down of his mouth and nose slowly, rolling his eyes. He sighed and lay back to sprawl across the bed. "Whatever," he muttered. "All that matters is you're talking to me again. Which is good," he stood from the bed and crossed the room to the desk Wolfram sat at, "because we need to go see Kimi and apologize for last night." He pointed to Wolfram's plate. "Are you finished?"

"Yes, I'm done," Wolfram snapped, throwing down his napkin onto his plate as he stood, "And I will not go and apologize. Why should? I'm not the one who did anything wrong." He jabbed Yuuri in the chest with a manicured finger. "You were the one who barged in on her without any warning. You are the one who needs to explain yourself."

"But Wolfram, you came in right after that," Yuuri pointed out. "As did Murata. I know you were more focused on yelling at me, but as far as Kimi is concerned there were three teenage boys who saw her with her shirt off," he held up a hand to quiet Wolfram when he went to protest. "She doesn't know about the demon age thing yet, to her you were a teenager. Anyway, can't you just come and make nice."

"I shouldn't have to," Wolfram insisted.

"Please, Wolf," Yuuri pleaded. "She's probably embarrassed. She was really upset last night. Think about how she feels," he reasoned, "She dragged from in own world and into one she has never heard of or even believed existed. She couldn't even understand us when she first got here. She's lost and scared and I don't think us walking in on her made things any easier to handle."

Wolfram seemed to be considered Yuuri's words, his brows furrowed and his eyes pointed at the floor. "I guess…"

"Wolfram, imagine how you would feel if people walked in on you while you were undressed?"

That got Wolfram thinking. Before becoming Yuuri's fiancé, Wolfram suffered from a severe overhaul of persistent male suitors, some more troublesome than others and all clamoring for a piece of his noble title and to bask in his beauty. One more than one occasion, a bold suitor would find their way into his bedroom and wait for his arrival when he came to prepare for bed. Two or three of these bold suitors had waited until he was changing to burst out and declare their love to him. This resulted in more than one case of gentleman caller flambé and Gwendal taking it upon himself to read through and reject just about all letters of marriages proposal to his baby brother from then on.

Wolfram shuddered; he was no doubt thinking about those times of courting chaos. "I see your point," he declared, stepping around Yuuri and walking out of the room.

Yuuri hasten after him. "Wolf?"

"You're right," Wolfram continued, heading in the direction of Gisela's Medic ward, "We should at least stop by to inform her that we meant no disrespect. As it is we should apologize on Murata's behalf. If we let him do it himself, that lecherous sage will no doubt just make her feel more uncomfortable." He grabbed Yuuri by the arm and tugged him along, moving a bit faster. "Shinou knows the last thing we need is Geika hitting on yet another girl in this castle."

"Oh come on, Wolfram," Yuuri interjected, "Murata's not that bad."

Wolfram stopped and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"…yeah, you're right," Yuuri relented.

Both stared at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Let's get going," Yuuri giggled.

The two set off again at a steady pace, chatting more much amiably along the way.

Halfway down the hall, they passed a pair of maids carrying a basket of dirty linens and whispering excitably. They bowed respectfully to the royal pair as they walked by and continued with their conversation.

"Did you see her eyes?" asked one of the maids. "They're like little obsidian stones."

"But not as nice as his majesty's," replied the other, "or Geika's. Their eyes shine like black pearls, so regal."

"Oh, of course. No contest. What about her hair?"

"It's so dark; it reminds me of a raven."

"Yes, definitely..."

They continued to whisper back and forth as they rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.

Yuuri laughed, "it sounds like those two have met our guest. They must have come from the hospital wing."

"Sounds like it," Wolfram snorted, "and I'll bet you anything that once it gets back to Sangria and the others, those four will most likely be snooping around the hospital wing themselves."

"No question. I have to admit it is a real relief to have Kimi here," Yuuri said. "I mean, if her arrival causes a big enough fuss that I am allowed a day off from signing and sorting paperwork with Gwendal, than I am more than grateful."

Wolfram rolled his eyes, "Wimp. You shouldn't neglect you duties as a King so often," he scolded. "Those forms and papers you go through each day are just as important as your work as keeping the peace and settling disputes. In fact, some of those forms help regulate many of the ins and outs of Shin Makoku, as well as settle and officiate many legal matters that would otherwise end in disputes." He waved his finger in front of him to dictate his point. "Your word is law, Yuuri and one of the main ways your word reaches the whole of Shin Makoku's citizens is through the decrees you sign and the proposals you approve."

"Anyway," Wolfram continued, "I for one am quite unhappy with how much our guest's arrival has disrupted my daily routine. My soldiers rarely train without my supervision. They've no doubt lost an entire morning's work session." He slapped his fist into the open palm of his other hand. "I'll have to double their training exercises for the afternoon session," he said resolutely.

"Can't you let them have one day off, Wolf," Yuuri asked. "They're out there every day working their butts off in technique exercises." He smiled wryly, "You're going to run them ragged."

"Hmph, if they can't handle my routines, then they're not fit to defend the kingdom."

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Yuuri implored. "They need some time to relax and have fun from time to time. You do too."

"I do not need any more leisure than I already have," Wolfram defended. "Besides, it is the duty of every soldier's abilities to be up to par. Only then can they guarantee-,"

"Guarantee the safety of the kingdom's subjects." The royal couple turned to find the bespectacled Great Sage making his way towards them. "That's what you were going to say, wasn't it, Lord von Bielefeld?" he asked with that same infuriating smile of his, the one that reads, 'I might know something you don't know, nyah-nyah!' (A.N/ Come on we all know that's what goes on in his head!)

"Murata," Yuuri exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I spent the night in the castle after we brought Kimi into Gisela's care," replied Murata, casually strolling up to them to join them on their walk. "Remember, Shibuya?"

"I know that," Yuuri said, rolling his eyes. "I mean what are you up to?"

"Yeah," Wolfram added, "I would have thought that you'd be preparing to return to the Temple of the Great One."

"Ah, but then I would miss out on getting to know our new arrival," Murata pointed out. "That is where you are headed now, correct. I think I will join you."

"Murata, you better not try anything with her," Yuuri warned. "She's had a rough night. I still don't think she trusts us very much yet. Everything's new to her here."

Wolfram nodded. "Yeah, the last thing she needs right now is someone like you leering at her."

Murata chuckled. "Give me a little credit Lord von Bielefeld," he chided. "I would never pursue someone so innocent. She may be sixteen, but she looks far too young for my tastes." He paused as if he were still considering it. His two companions continued on without him, looking back over their shoulders at him. "It would be like dating Ulrike," he stated, picking up the pace to catch back up with them. "She may be well past eligible age, but she still looks like a little girl. Intimacy would be awkward as I'm sure you could imagine."

Yuuri blanched. "Murata, that's something I definitely don't want to imagine and I could have done without you putting that thought in my head."

Next to him, Wolfram smiled to himself, rather relieved to hear the temple priestess wasn't Yuuri's type. He hooked arms with Yuuri and placed a hand on his fiancé's shoulder. "Really, Murata," he said, leaning across Yuuri to the sage, his hold on the Maoh not loosening, "the very idea."

Murata noticed the hidden traces of triumph in the blonde's smile that even Wolfram himself didn't seem to realize were even there. 'Someone's certainly feeling better,' he thought, 'nice to see some of that old confidence back.' "Exactly, the very idea is absurd."

"It sure is," Wolfram agreed a bit more hotly than was necessary, a bit surer of himself now that he knew at least one person was taken off his list of competitors for Yuuri's affections. "Why would you even bring it up?"

"Seriously," Yuuri looked thoroughly uncomfortable with the subject. "She looks like a little girl. She thinks a bit like one too." He grimaced. "She's too innocent and kind to be looked at that way." He gestured in front of him with his hand, trying to put how awkward the idea was into words. "I-it would be like…like—,"

"It would be like someone wanting to court Greta!" Wolfram stated, the very thought scandalizing him as the words left his mouth. "Anyone who would dare think such impure thoughts about our daughter will surely have to deal with me. If I have anything to say about it, she won't marry until she's my age!" he swore, shaking a fist menacingly at nothing in particular.

Murata grinned. 'Considering she's human, you might want to let her start dating long before she's in her eighty's,' he thought.

Yuuri gasped. "Greta! I completely forgot. We haven't told her about Kimi yet." He slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh, I'm sure she'd loved to meet her."

"Actually, Shibuya from what I heard she was informed by Conrad this morning," Murata said. "She's been in the hospital wing since this morning, getting to know our visitor."

"What?"

Thisisaline

Thisisonetoo

When the trio finally arrived at Gisela's medic ward, they found Greta kneeling behind Kimi on the hospital bed, chattering away merrily and playing with the black haired girl's thin braid, Kimi looking decidedly baffled and awkwardly throwing in a word or two whenever the it seemed appropriate.

"It's so nice to have another girl around the castle," Greta declared happily. "Oh, no offense, Gisela," she added quickly, turning to the green haired healer sitting on a chair nearby writing in one of her medical journals, "I didn't mean it like that. You're always fun to play with."

Gisela smiled warmly at the little girl. "It's quite alright, Greta. I'm not offended. It's nice having someone around closer to your age, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Greta agreed. "I mean, there's Beatrice," she leaned over Kimi's shoulder, "you'd like Beatrice. She's from Cavalcade. She's really, really nice!"

"I-I'm sure she is," Kimi mumbled.

"My daddy (2) once saved her and her father from pirates."

"That's…um…really cool."

Greta hummed, pleased with her response. "She is, trust me. Anyway, Beatrice and I have fun together whenever she comes to visit, but she lives so far away that we don't get to see each other as often as I would like." She unbraided Kimi's strip of long hair and began combing her fingers through it. "I could do this all day." She paused and regarded the sleek strands. "What do you call this hairstyle again?" she asked.

"It's…uh…a-a rattail."

"That's still so neat," Greta exclaimed. "I don't think I've ever heard of that style before. Maybe I'll do something like that with my hair!"

"Over my dead body," Wolfram muttered.

Greta and Kimi turned at the sound of Wolfram's voice. Kimi took in the three males standing at the door and fixed them with a glare, drawing in on herself a bit and crossing her arms over her chest. Yeah, she definitely had not forgotten about last night's mishap.

"Papa Wolfram!" Greta cried, leaping off the bed. "And daddy Yuuri!" she ran to them arms outstretched. She threw herself at Wolfram and latched her arms around his waist. She hugged him tightly before doing the same to Yuuri. "And Murata," she stepped back from Yuuri when she noticed the Great Sage. "It's good to see you back so soon."

"You too, Princess," Murata replied. "I see you've met Kimi."

Greta nodded, beaming. "Uh-huh." She ran back over to Kimi and hopped back onto the bed behind her. "She's so wonderful!" Greta stated, hugging Kimi around the neck. "You really are," she told her.

Kimi smiled awkwardly. "Thanks. You…too?"

Greta giggled. "We've been spending the whole morning together," she told her fathers and Murata. "We even had breakfast together. The moment Conrad told me that there was a new girl in Blood Pledge, I rushed right over."

"In her nightgown, no less," Gisela added with a laugh.

Greta blushed. "I had the maids bring me a change of clothes." She continued playing with Kimi's hair. "But Kimi and I have been having so much fun together," she said gesturing to where some toys lay out across the floor next to the bed. "We played with dolls, and those jacks you gave me, Yuuri, and I read to her one of Anissina's books. I read to her!" she cried, obviously excited over this reversal. "And I did all the voices and sounds that you make for me when you read, papa Wolf."

The look on Kimi's face showed that she was clearly quite embarrassed to have anyone know she had been playing with dolls with a twelve year old girl (3).

"That's great, Greta," Wolfram said dotingly to his daughter. "But we were wondering if we could talk to Kimi for a moment? There are some things we didn't get to discuss last night that we would like to take care of now. That is if you two don't mind?" he asked Greta and Kimi.

"Not at all," Greta unintentionally cut off whatever Kimi was going to say. The redhead slid off of the bed and skipped to the door. "Take your time," she said. "I'm just going to grab some of my stuffed animals." She paused at the door to wave at Kimi. "I'll be back soon Kimi, then we can play some more!"

Kimi plastered a smile on her face and waved back. "…Looking forward to it. I'll be here, I guess."

Greta smiled one more time before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

Once the princess was gone, Yuuri, Murata and Wolfram found themselves locked in an intense staring contest with Kimi. An uncomfortable, prolonged silence stretched on for several moments while Gisela busied herself with sorting through her medical supplies so as to not eavesdrop…whenever it was that they would actually start talking at least.

Yuuri broke the silence with one of his trademark nervous laughs and friendly grins. "Well, uh, Kimi," he began, scratching the back of his neck out of habit, "First of all I think we owe you an apology for last night. It was my fault. I shouldn't have barged in on you like that." He gestured to his two friends. "Wolfram and Murata were just following after me, but they're sorry too." He turned to them, "Right guys?"

Murata nodded. "Yes, very sorry," he agreed, the a glare catching on his glasses and hiding his eyes.

Wolfram flicked his ear, in scolding, earning a small 'ow' from the sage.

"Right, Wolfram," Yuuri reiterated, elbowing his fiancé sharply in the ribs.

Wolfram glared at Yuuri but nevertheless shook his head in affirmation. "Sorry," he grumbled.

"How sincere," Kimi deadpanned.

"In my defense," Wolfram protested, "I didn't really look at all. I have no interest in ogling strange women." That earned him another elbow to the ribs, "You know what I mean," he defended with a pout.

Kimi eyed him warily, before turning her attention back to Yuuri.

"So," Yuuri said, coming forward and extending his hand to her, "can you forgive us?"

Kimi titled her head to the side and regarded Yuuri and his friends carefully. With her eyes narrowed in thought and the way she jutted her chin out as she looked down her nose at them had her doing an almost perfect impression of Wolfram when he and Yuuri first met. The only difference was her much more masculine she looked than Wolfram did while doing it.

"Okay," Kimi said finally.

Yuuri was midway through a sigh of relief when she spoke again.

"Okay, let's get a few things straight here, first," she said, hopping off of the bed and standing before Yuuri. She was noticeably shorter than the young king, but she still managed to look him squarely in the eye. "Number one," she began, one finger held inches away from Yuuri's face for emphasis, "I don't know any you and I'm not sure if I even want to yet. Pull a stunt like last night again; there will be hell to pay." She turned to Wolfram and Murata, "Got that?"

Wolfram gritted his teeth in agitation and made to move forward with the sole intent of putting this woman in her place, but Murata pulled him back and slapped a hand over his mouth for good measure. "Got it," the sage said cheerfully, relishing the look of pure outrage on Wolfram's face at being silenced.

"Good," Kimi continued. Her hands went up to the sides of her head, like she was trying to frame her next thought between them, and they shook as she tried to contain her frustration. "Number two…do you have any," she threw her hands out in front of her, palms face up, it was a pleading gesture, "any idea how mortifying it was to be seen that way by a bunch of…random guys?" She clenched her fists. "I mean the embarrassment, the shame, th-the mental scarring," she stood on her toes and got in Yuuri's face, pointing at her head, "Mental scarring!"

Yuuri took a few steps back nervously and held his hands up in front of himself to try, hoping that not arguing with her would pacify her.

Kimi took a deep breath before continuing. "Seriously, Gisela here—it was Gisela, yes?" she asked sweetly over her shoulder, her behavior taking an abrupt 180.

The healer nodded kindly, "Yes Kimi, you said it right."

Kimi smiled at her and nodded her thanks, before whipping around to the Yuuri again, her eyes flashing. "Yes, Gisela," she pointed to her quickly, "was kind enough to have everyone leave the room with the sole intention of helping me avoid the embarrassment of being seen naked by a bunch of men, and you three manage to defeat the entire purpose of doing that by bursting in the second I have my shirt off!"

Gisela sat there pleasantly at her desk, watching the scene unfold with no small amount of satisfaction. The she saw it; Kimi had every right to be angry with them. Unintentional or not, they invaded the girl's privacy and gave her quite the upset. It was understandable that she would have a difficult time letting go of it. She was in a new place, scare and confused and the first real experience she has here is one of sheer humiliation and indignation. It was good for her to vent in order to better get over the whole ordeal.

It was when Kimi's voice began to rise in pitch that she started to get a little concerned.

"Number three," Kimi went on, "I have only in the past seven hours woken up from an apparently rather bad injury and have no idea how I got here, so forgive me if I have trouble accepting your explanation of 'it's Mazako magic' or whatever you call yourselves."

"Mazoku," Murata helpfully supplied.

"Whatever," Kimi cried. "The point is that the whole things sounded crazy last night, and it still sounds absolutely ape-shit now! And fourth," Kimi shrieked, "I'm tired AND I WANT TO GO HOME!"

"Oh dear," Gisela murmured, jumping up from her chair and hurrying forward. "Now, now Kimi," she soothed, wrapping her arms around the girls shoulders and guiding her back to the bed to lie down. "You mustn't get yourself worked up, remember? It's important you avoid any physical or emotional strain that would result in yelling. We can't have that scar on your neck opening up again, can we?"

Gisela tucked the blanket in around Kimi and smoothed a hand across the girl's forehead before turning to face Yuuri and his fiancé and friend. "Your Majesty," she addressed them each in turn, "Your Eminence, Lord von Bielefeld if you would all come with me for a moment? Out in the hall? My patient needs to constant bed rest and there are just a few things I would like to discuss with you all before I permit any more visiting with her."

"Sure thing, Gisela," Yuuri agreed, still casting concerned and slightly nervous glances at Kimi.

"After you then," Gisela held out her hand and gestured for them all to proceed to the doors. "Kimi, I'll be right back, alright?" she said to Kimi as they left.

Kimi said nothing, staring dazedly at the ceiling above her.

As Gisela and the group enter the hallway, Greta came scurrying up to them, her arms laden with some of her most favorite misidentified stuffed animals from Uncle Gwendal. "I'm back," she declared.

"Oh Greta," Gisela leaned down slightly in front of the princess. "I'm afraid Kimi is resting right now, so she isn't really up for playing at the moment."

Greta's smile slowly faded. "Oh…" she said sadly.

Seeing Greta so crestfallen, the sergeant's eyes softened. "If you promise to be real quiet and calm, you can go in and keep her company," she compromised. "Deal?"

"Deal," Greta was all smiles again. "Kimi can cuddle with Mr. Bear until she feels better," she stated, holding out a toy that greatly resembled a black pig.

Murata leaned over to Yuuri. "…That's a bear?" he whispered.

"Alright, Greta," Gisela said, opening the doll for the little girl, "you can go in now, but remember," she put her finger up to her lips, "shhh."

Greta mimicked the gesture, "shhh." She hurried inside.

Gisela closed the door after her. "Okay, I want you all to be careful around Kimi for the next few days," she began. "She's hurt and she scared and she so overwhelmed that she's making herself sick. I don't need that cut opening up and getting infected. She's my patient and I don't want anything happening to her."

"We'll be on our best behavior," Yuuri assured. He glanced at Wolfram and Murata, "All of us."

Murata pretended to look offended, but Wolfram visibly bristled. "What?" Wolfram cried. "I don't want her hurt either. I just think she was a bit bold in there."

"She's upset Wolfram," Gisela pointed out, "and confused. Remember how difficult it was for his majesty to adjust when he first got here?"

Wolfram frowned. "Yes, I remember. I guess this isn't very easy to get used to for someone from earth." He looked at Yuuri. "I'll behave," he relented.

"Thanks, Wolf," Yuuri said. His brow furrowed and he stared at the wall for a moment, thinking. "Hey, wait a minute, Gisela," he turned to her questioningly, "I have a question. Kimi said you asked us to leave during her examination last night because you knew it would be awkward for a girl to get her physical done in front of a group of men. If you knew that Kimi was a girl, why didn't you tell us?"

Gisela placed her hands on her hips. "With all due respect, your majesty," she replied, "my main priority last night was my patient and her wellbeing. If I had informed you that she was a girl while she was present, it would have just been calling attention to the fact that you couldn't tell she wasn't a boy." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe. "I didn't want to upset her more."

"Ooh…good point." Yuuri stared down at his feet in shame, "That would have been pretty bad, huh?"

"It would have been terrible for her," Gisela agreed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on Kimi." She opened the door, but hung back in the hall. "You can come see her after lunch if she's calm. Lord von Voltaire as well as my father will be stopping by then too. Sound good?"

"That's fine," Yuuri concurred. "See you after lunch."

Gisela nodded. "After lunch." She then disappeared through the hospital wing doors.

Yuuri and the others had just begun to walk back down the hall when they were stopped by a loud cry.

"Oh no!"

"Gisela," Wolfram yelled. With Yuuri and Murata in tow, he burst through the doors and into the hospital wing, his sword drawn and poised for attack. "What's wrong?"

"They're gone!" Gisela cried. "Kimi and Greta are gone!"

Thisisaline

Thisisonetoo

Concealed inside walls of thick, cold marble and hard stone, Kimi found herself wandering down a long, dark spiral stairway with Greta. They had been walking for about five minutes now. They had to move slowly for while the girl ahead of her ambled down the steps with little to know hassle, Kimi often had to pause to feel her way in front of her, trailing her fingers across the grooves and foliations in the cold, moist stone to keep balance and stretching one foot out at a time to lightly graze the surface of the next step before she felt sure enough to fully step on to it. Despite how being so careful, she still had the occasional slip-up, her toe catching on a loose, broken away rock or sliding on the slick surface of the stairs and nearly bouncing the several steps down on her rear. Greta had taken a hold of her hand and was steadily guiding her down, doing her best to keep Kimi from falling.

There were no light fixtures on along the walls to light the way; no light bulbs, no lamps. There weren't even any torches mounted to the walls and if this truly was a historical castle, than one would think that it would at least have some of those. The only thing that allowed the two girls to be able to see three feet in front of their faces was a large swarm of fireflies that curiously flittered about the passageway, casting their path in a dim, greenish glow.

"Thanks for helping me," Kimi began hesitantly, tilting her head back to avoid a few of the little lightning bugs that swooped too low, "I just really needed to get out of there."

"No problem," Greta replied, "It must have been getting tiring being cooped up in there all day."

"You have no idea," Kimi sighed. "So…you, uh, take this route often."

Greta hummed. "Uh-huh," she answered. "I was playing hide and seek with Beatrice. It was my turn to hide and I am a very good hider," she stated matter of factly. "I had been hiding behind door for ten minutes and Beatrice still hadn't found me. I tried to get to the safe zone we had picked—the doorknobs to Gwendal's office—when I heard her walking her coming down the hall so I ducked into one of the spare rooms." She glanced back at Kimi to make sure she was listening. "We have a lot of those on the second floor."

"This place is pretty big, huh?" Kimi mused. She batted away a cobweb hanging down in her face.

Greta nodded. "This castle is huge!" She waved her free hand around her, as thought it would make emphasis of that statement even though they were confined in a significantly narrow passageway. "Anyway, I was in the spare room and I needed a place to hide. The bed would be too easy, everyone looks there. And if I had tried to hide behind the curtains, she would have found me for sure. And the desk was too small to hide under safely, not at all like the one in Gwendal's office of the royal bedrooms; ones are much bigger. I was starting to worry when I noticed this big grandfather clock in the corner. I was just small enough to fit through the little door on the front of it, so I hopped inside as quickly as I could." She stopped with a small squeak as a beetle scurried over her foot. She laughed it off and continued. "The problem was, there was a little window in the door to the clock that lets you see that little stick thing that swings back and forth inside." She turned to Kimi and screwed up her face in thought. "Yuuri told me what that thing was before, but I can't remember what it's called."

"Pendulum," Kimi contributed, waiting for Greta to actually answer her original question. 'This kid's could be queen of the run-on sentences,' she thought.

"Yeah, that. Thanks," Greta said before venturing onward, Kimi in tow. "Well, I was worried Beatrice might see me through that window and then I would lose the game. So I tried to back up a bit and squeeze myself up against the very back of the clock and guess what happened next?" she pauses as though she expected Kimi to actually start guessing, only picking her story back up when the black haired girl said nothing. "The back pushed right out of the clock and I fell into this stairway! I was on a little landing and the stairs went both up and down. Down leads to one of the private gardens—that's where we're going now—but I chose to go up that day. I followed the stairs as high up as it would go and next thing I knew, I was coming out from under a loose title in the floor of the hospital wing, right up under one of the beds." She laughed. "I nearly scared Effee half to death while she was gathering the linens for washing!"

"Effee?"

"One of the maids that play with me." Greta counted off on her fingers. "There's Sangria, Lasagna, Doria and Effee. Effee's hasn't been working here as long as the other three. They're really fun. They play games with me and keep me company when they find the time. They've taught me how to bake some things too. Sometimes I hang out with them while they work around the castle whenever daddy Yuuri or papa Wolfram is too busy to see me." Greta came to a stop on a small landing. A section of the wall was a different color than the rest of the stone. "We're here," Greta pushed on the section until she felt it give. "It's a bit of a squeeze, but you should fit," with that, she slipped through the opening in the wall and disappeared from sight. "You coming?" she called.

"Uh…oh, yeah," Kimi crouched down and ducked into the small space. Greta hadn't been kidding; it really was a tight squeeze. Kimi took a huge breathe to try and suck in her ribcage as she flattened herself against one of the walls encasing her and slid out sideways. She stumbled as she emerged on the other side, dropping to her hands and knees.

Greta helped her to her feet. "Ta-da!" the redhead cried with a sweeping motion of her arm.

In front of Kimi lay a picturesque garden, complete with hedge borders and topiaries and laden with lush, green trees dangling off their branches strange fruit the likes of which she had never seen. They looked familiar in a sense to Kimi, but the colors were all mixed up. Apples were purple, bananas were pink, grapes were orange, none of it made sense.

"Do you like it," Greta asked. "Grandmother Celi had the trees planted a year or two ago."

Kimi didn't answer, she just kept on staring. A light, gentle breeze rustled through the foliage and swept across the yard, directing Kimi's eye to vast and beautiful display of flowers. Kimi stared in awe as she wandered dazedly forward, come to a stop a few feet away from one of the flowerbeds. Whoever had planted all of them, had arranged the plants by type and color, making the blossoms form patterns and designs all across the yard. The soft, fresh scent of pollen filled flora and grass clippings teased her nose, making her inhale deeply, relishing the moment…if only for a moment.

"These flowers," she began tentatively, moving closer to the blooming buds. "They're unlike anything I've ever seen before. The colors, the shapes…," she crouched down and cupped her hands around a single, vividly blue and white flower. "…they're unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's like something out of a painting." She trailed off, a far off look in her eyes. "Like a something from a dream…and those fruits!" Kimi jumped up and pointed around at the various unusual trees surrounding them, "There's no such thing as a purple apple. Not anywhere in the world."

"Not anywhere in your world, Kimi," Greta pointed out gently.

"You all keep saying that," Kimi complained. "Last night, they all kept going on and one about the human world and the demon world. Well let me tell you, I may not be the best at astronomy, but I know beyond a doubt that there are only nine planets—eight if you leave out Pluto—and none of them are a demon world." She kicked at an acorn on the ground and turned to stalk off across the yard. "That would mean that one of those planets was stable enough to house an entire ecosystem just like Earth's, and I am sure I would have heard about that in the news!"

"Kimi?" Greta followed after her confused.

"And so-so what," Kimi continued, waving her hands about her, trapped inside her own rant. "if it isn't one of the nine planets, does- does that mean that this so called demon world is in some kind of parallel universe? Ha! That's a laugh. I mean, is that even scientifically possible?"

The girls eventually wandered out of the garden, the soft grass being replaced by dirt and eventually a stone walkway.

"Someone, please explain it to me," Kimi pleaded to no one and nothing in particular. She seemed to just be talking to herself at this point. "I-I literally cannot wrap my mind around this. First I wake up surrounded by people who could only be described as the potential models for the pull out section of 'hot guys' magazine," she rubbed at the bandages wrapped securely around her neck. "My roller blades apparently tried to strangle me, then next thing I know, everyone is trying to tell me I'm in some other world and the next part, I had to be dreaming because that Wolfram guy pulls this crazy fire stunt like, like…" Kimi came to an abrupt halt, Greta bumping into her. Kimi's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and her jaw went slack. She pointed straight ahead of her. "…Just like that…"

About twenty feet away from where Greta and Kimi stood was a small courtyard with a large circular space of dirt, much like a sumo arena. A large group of young men stood in it, all of them wearing blue uniforms similar to Wolfram's. Small groups of twos had separated from the group and were facing off against one another. With a flick of the wrist, each of them would produce a ball of flame in the center of their outstretched hands, hurling them at their opponents and practicing dodging whenever a fireball was throw their way in return.

"Oh, those are Wolfram's men," Greta explained, oblivious to the state of shock etched into Kimi's face. "They must be getting in some extra practice so that Wolfram won't work them as hard later for getting the morning off. He's always giving them extra drills and…Kimi?" Next to her, Kimi had gone very pale.

"I wasn't dreaming…" Kimi murmured weakly, "It wasn't a dream. It actually happened. It's happening now…" she began backing up slowly. "B-but that would mean…that would mean that everything is true…that it's all rea—," Kimi bumped into something behind her. It made a rattling and clacking sound. Turning around, she found herself face to face with a flying, winged skeleton.

The creature's jaw clattered up and gazed at her with empty sockets.

Kimi stared at the thing…

And stared…

…And stared…

And then she screamed.

"Oh my god!" she fell back and began to scoot away from the skeleton, pointing at it in terror. "What the hell is that thing?"

The creature clattered some more and came a few inches closer to her.

"No, no, no, no!" Kimi shrieked. "St-stay away from me!" She jumped up and took off at a frantic run, the monster in fast pursuit.

"Kimi, wait!" Greta called after her.

"Princess Greta!"

Greta turned around to find Wolfram's squad hurrying towards her, drawn by Kimi's screams. "What's wrong?"

"It's my new friend, Kimi," Greta pointed after her friend's rapidly retreating back. "She's from Earth, like Yuuri was. She's never seen a Kohhi before; it doesn't know it's scaring her."

"Don't worry your highness," one of the soldiers, a brunette, assured. He turned to one of the other soldiers. "Go inform his majesty!" he barked. The soldier nodded and took off towards the castle.

Meanwhile, the other went with Greta to try and catch up to the panicked young woman.

Thisisaline

Thisisonetoo

"Okay, okay I believe it!" Kimi tore off through the grounds of Blood Pledge castle. "It's real! It's all real! I get it!" She scrambled over a set of hedges and flopped down on the other side, picking herself up and crashing through another row of shrubbery, scattering leaves and branches in her wake and getting twigs tangled in her hair. She risked a glance over her shoulder at the flying monstrosity hovering not far behind her. "Leave me alone!"

The thing paid her words no mind, intently following after her.

"Go, shoo! Don't follow me!" Kimi raced between a pair of maids feeding birds with bread crumbs, startling them both and sending the birds fluttering skyward in a flurry of feathers.

Up ahead of her, Kimi spied a large pillar inside a stone ring, water trickling from it.

"There," she cried. "That's it! A fountain!" She picked up speed and hurled herself towards the fountain with all her might. Reaching it she climbed into the water and took a moment to catch her breath. "They said I came here through a fountain. That means I can go back the same way, right?" She stood there in the water, waiting.

Nothing.

"So send me back," she commanded. Still the fountain did nothing.

Kimi turned around to see the animated pile of bones was still flying towards her. She frantically turned back to stare at the water around her feet. "Come on, already!" she banged her fist on her knees, "I don't want to be here. I want to go home." She kicked the water in frustration, tears springing to her eyes. "Do something, do something, do something!"

The water remained still around her.

Kimi let out a cry and dropped to her knees in the water. "Come on," she begged, becoming hysterical. "You stupid hocus-pocus magic or whatever you are, just send me back." She was crying freely now. "I don't want to be here. I don't want to be in the demon world, I don't want to be trapped here. I just want to go home to my quiet, normal life!"

The creature finally caught up and was bearing down on her.

Kimi whirled around, anguish and fury etched across her face. Barring her teeth she half sobbed, half screamed at the horrible thing. "GO AWAY!"

A strong gale of wind tore whipped across the castle grounds, blasting dirt and leaves everywhere and causing Kimi to shield her eyes. The wind howled in her ears and beat at her face. Then, as quickly as it came, the wind vanished.

"Kimi!' Greta cried, running out from between a row of flower bushes, the soldiers hot on her heels. "Don't be frightened. It's just a Kohhi—hey where'd it go?"

The Kohhi was gone.

"Kimi?" Greta approached the girl cautiously. "Are you okay?" she carefully stepped into the fountain and crouched down next to Kimi. "Hey," she prodded, placing her hands gently on Kimi's shoulders, noticing that she was shaking slightly, "hey, it's alright."

"Greta," Yuuri's voice rang out as he, Wolfram and Gisela came hurrying up to them, Murata and Conrad not far behind. "Greta, Kimi!"

"Oh, dear," Gisela fretted, sidestepping around Greta and pulling Kimi into her arms. The girl instantly began sobbing. "There, there," she cooed, patting the girl on the back. "Shh, it's okay, you're alright know."

Yuuri and Wolfram lifted Greta out of the fountain. "Greta what happened?" Yuuri asked. "Why did you two take off?"

"Well, Kimi said she wanting some fresh air and was hoping I could show her a way outside. So I did. Then she sort of started to have a little break down about not being back home and none of this being real. And then a Kohhi showed up," she grimaced, "…and that didn't go over too well. It chased her across the grounds and I guess they ended up here."

"Kimi certainly seems to be very high strung," Murata observed. "Right now her mood swings are unpredictable."

'Great,' Yuuri thought. 'She's like Wolfram.'

"I need to get her inside," Gisela stated, gingerly helping Kimi to her feet. "Help me get her up to the hospital wing," she ordered one of Wolfram's soldiers, waiting for him to nod and move forward to take Kimi's other arm before she turned to another soldier, "And you, go inform the maids that I will need a fresh change of clothes brought up to her and some herbal tea. Kimi needs a calm and relaxed environment right now."

Gisela and one of the soldiers began leading Kimi back towards the castle. "I'll leave you to sort everything out with Lord von Voltaire and my father, your majesty," she said to Yuuri as she passed. "If that is alright with you?"

"Of course," Yuuri replied. "You look after Kimi. I know she'll be in good hands with you."

Gisela nodded and led Kimi off.

"Well, Greta," Wolfram began, "I think it's time we head inside for lunch. You've had enough excitement for today I think." He took Greta by the hand and started walking back towards Blood Pledge. He briefly locked eyes with Yuuri and the anxiousness and concern ran through their minds. "We'll check on her later," he said, referring to Kimi. "Don't worry, Yuuri. Gisela will take good care of her."

"I hope so," Yuuri said, following after them. "I should probably go see Gwendal now, then. He's going to want to know what has been going on."

Murata lingered behind by the fountain. Glasses gleaming, he scanned the sky. "Hmmm…there's not a thing in the sky." He cupped a hand over his eyes. "Not even in the distant." He scratched his chin curiously. "So the question is: where did that Kohhi go?"

---

So another chapter down! Finally. I have to admit I am not as pleased with this one, but I really needed to get another chapter out there for you all.

And now footnotes (coincidentally, seemed to remove the numbers to my footnotes at the bottom last time so I'm going to have to do it differently this time.

One (1). Am I remembering this right? The apples were purple, weren't they? Or at least a fruit that resembled an apple was purple. I know the fruit in Shin Makoku can be odd colors.

Two (2). I know Greta calls Wolfram 'papa wolfram' but I am unsure as to what she calls Yuuri for father titles. Little help?

Three (3). How old was Greta when she first came to Yuuri? I'm trying to round up from that age for the time gap, but I don't know what her original age was.

Well that's it for now! Thanks for reading!

R and R please.

~Shain-The-Otaku-of-Ireland