I have heard before that I do not need to put a disclaimer at the beginning of each chapter, but I really don't want to take risks so here we are again: I do not own KKM, Tomo Takabayashi owns the series, both in print and animation.

Now the last chapter of this story was posted right around Thanksgiving break, so I did not expect much in the way of views and critiques as most people would be preoccupied with more important things like spending time with family and friends and Black Friday shopping. I imagine by the time the holiday festivities are over my story will have dropped to the bottom of page one in the KKM updates and will probably be less noticeable there. I was hoping that getting this next chapter up as soon as possible after the winter holidays are over would bring in more readers this time around, but as you can all see I failed to get this out within a reasonable time limit. I am terribly sorry about all that. I got a horrible case of writers block and became very distracted by immersing myself in actually submitting old works of mine to deviantart, and suddenly found myself quite preoccupied with that. No excuse, I know, I really should have tried harder to get this chapter out.

Chapter Six

Settling In

And exhausted and weary Yuuri was just entering the royal bedchamber when the sound of hurried footsteps altered him to someone rounding the corner and into the room after him. He didn't need to turn around to know he would find an equally tired and bathrobe clad Wolfram panting in the doorway.

"They found her?"

Yuuri nodded, "Yeah, just a little while ago, actually. I sent one of the guards to find you as soon as we found her. Didn't he find you?"

"I met with the guard," Wolfram admitted. He crossed the and shrugged off his robe to hang up in the armoire before going to the bed, stepping out of his slippers as he climbed onto the mattress. "I just wanted to hear it from you. I wanted to be sure before I stopped looking," he looked at Yuuri with tired eyes, "And she was there this whole time?"

"Yeah," Yuuri replied with a slight sigh, "she was. I don't think she meant to scare us."

"Half the time you do something that scares the heck out of us, you don't mean to either," Wolfram quipped, "You were being a thoughtless wimp of a King."

"Hey!"

"But of course," Wolfram continued, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised how much Greta takes after you sometimes, she is your daughter."

After visiting with the bear-bees, dinner had gone off without a hitch. The meal had been a simple creamed soup of one of the vegetables from the garden that was similarly related to the Earth potato, apparently requested by Murata to ease Kimi into Shin Makoku's cuisine. Regardless of the reason, the meal was well received. As promised, Gisela had attended dinner with everyone in the main hall, allowing Kimi to join the others for a peaceful meal without Gisela having to worry about letting the girl out of her sight just yet. Without the meddling and overly zealous presence of Lady Celi dinner was a quiet affair. It probably wouldn't be beneficial for Kimi to find herself on the receiving end of a full bosomed hug while she was still recovering. The table was also one out of their mind redhead short that night. Anissina was not obligated to attend family meals with the Maou and often chose to eat in her lab in favor of focusing more on her blueprints and inventions. Thankfully this was one of those nights and she did not make an appearance. Unfortunately, one never knew if that was a good thing with Anissina. News of their latest visitor from Earth had surely reached her by now and that fact that she would make herself scarce instead of immediately appearing to badger Kimi with questions about Earth invention was rather concerning. It could mean a number of things, the worse being that she was already working on some new invention to "help" their new arrival that would inevitably cause mass damage to the castle…again.

Thoughts of mad inventors and meddling former Queens aside, dinner had been an enjoyable affair for the group and a rather peaceful, amiable way to bring a somewhat hectic day to a close. It wasn't long before everyone was biding each other good night's sleep and turning in for the night. After escorting Gisela and Kimi back to the hospital wing with assurances to the latter that they would see her for breakfast in the morning, Yuuri and Wolfram accompanied Greta back to her room for a quick story and a hug and a kiss before retiring to their own room. Unfortunately, what should have been a decent sleep for the pair was interrupted in the dead of night by the rapping of one of the guards on their door informing them that their daughter had apparently vanished from her room.

As was protocol with all the guards in the castle, the pair stationed outside of Greta's room had left their post to be replaced by a set of well rested guards, to ensure there would be no sleeping on the job. From what Yuuri and Wolfram understood, the guards instructed to replace the first pair were a bit late and the tired uniformed lookouts fell asleep during the wait. When the replacement guards showed up to take their post and stumbled upon the sleeping pair, they had checked upon the princess to ensure nothing had happened to her in the lapse of security, only to discover Greta wasn't there.

Everyone had rolled themselves out of bed and begun a search of the castle and the surrounding area, Yuuri and Wolfram going off in separate groups to cover more ground while searching Greta's most common hiding places. Gisela had conducted a thorough but quiet search of the medic ward while Kimi slept, having opted to let the girl rest, before sneaking out into the hall to search with his Majesty. Not ruling out the possibility of a kidnapping, Conrad himself had gone down to the stables and to check with the guards at the front gate to ensure no one had come through in the past few hours, coming or going, on horse or on foot. When efforts became fruitless, the search parties began checking the same places twice to ensure they hadn't missed anything. It was when Gisela returned to the medic ward with Yuuri to make sure nothing had been overlook, that she happened to get a closer look at Kimi's prone form under the covers of her bed and the strikingly familiar strands of red curls peeking out from under them. Upon pulling back the blankets Gisela and Yuuri were relieved to find the princess, curled up quite comfortably at Kimi's side, her head tucked up under the older girl's chin as Kimi cradle her in her sleep much like one would a favorite stuffed animal.

After deciding that Greta was safe enough staying in the medic ward with Gisela and Kim for the night and seeing as how it would be a shame to wake her, Yuuri had sent word to Wolfram through a nearby guard and returned to the royal bedchamber with hopes of getting another few hours of undisturbed sleep before morning came, beating Wolfram to the room by only a few minutes.

"I hope you know," Wolfram said as he climbed into bed, "that Greta is going to get an earful from me in the morning." He twisted around to fluff his pillow. "Sneaking off like that, sending everyone into a panic, waking us up so late at night." He gave his pillow one last good squeeze before slamming it back into place. "She can't be so impulsive and irresponsible."

Yuuri climbed into bed next to Wolfram with a sigh. "I think she just wanted to keep Kimi company," he insisted with a yawn, "She seems to have it in her head that the medic ward is this cold, and lonely, scary place at night. Greta was only trying to look out for a friend."

Wolfram huffed. "She bonds to easily with strangers," he said, "she thinks that anyone who spins a sad, sad story and has a kind looking face is instantly non-threatening and a new friend." He pulled the blankets up around his waist and tucked the corners into the underside of the mattress. "Just like, a certain naïve and gullible wimp we all know," he added, glancing at Yuuri from the corner of his eye.

Yuuri rolled his eyes, "Admit it, you just look for excuses to insult me," he mumbled, "Anyway there is nothing wrong with Greta being friends with Kimi. She's on our side, remember? Fate has dictated it or something."

"I have no doubt," Wolfram stated, "that Greta would have befriended Kimi even if she wasn't sent to us by the prophecy. Let's face it, Greta knows nothing about Kimi other than the bare few facts we ourselves have gathered. She likes Kimi for the sole fact that she is another girl to play with; and so far Kimi seems to only be humoring Greta's enthusiasm because Greta is younger. For all we know they could have very little in common."

Wolfram rolled his shoulders and rubbed his next, attempting to work a comfortable spot into the mattress for himself. "I am not treating this girl like an enemy because you do not wish me too and because I can generally understand how she must feel being somewhere strange and new; I remember how I felt when I first went to Earth. But prophecy or not, it would be unreasonable to expect us to accept her over night and make her a trusted ally. She is still a stranger to us. She may be a guess, but that doesn't automatically make her a friend, not yet anyway. She has to earn our trust first and I know Gwendal and Conrad feel the same. Now if only Greta would approach this cautiously too." He shook his head and sighed, "I understand that isn't always easy as a royal to make genuine friends who aren't after your social status, and I get that as far as finding actual friendly female faces among the nobility is few and far between, but Greta is too eager, too trusting when she does find another girl to talk to. What if Kimi had just been a random visitor from a noble house, or an opposing country, sent here to gather information. As long as she slapped on a smile and spun a tale of her hardships, Greta would have been like putty in her hands, desiring a new friend and viewing it a chance to help a 'poor unfortunate soul' (A.N. love that song!)." He turned to Yuuri, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that how you've been led into traps on more than one occasion?"

"Wolfram," Yuuri exasperated, "That's not—,"

"Saralegui," Wolfram reminded him knowingly.

"That wasn't my fault! He was a very convincing actor!" Yuuri exclaimed, "I mean, he took an arrow in the back just to get my complete trust. Anyone would have fallen for that."

Wolfram snorted.

"Besides," Yuuri continued on, a little softer, "I honestly believe there is some good in Saralegui."

"You do, do you?" Wolfram tried to keep his expression neutral, but twitching of his eyebrows gave away the battle he was fighting in an effort to keep from scowling. He rolled over suddenly and pulled the blankets up over his head, "Good night."

"Ah, come on, Wolfram," Yuuri chided, "Don't be like that."

Wolfram remained silent.

"Wolfram," Yuuri tried again, "Wolfe, Wolfram. Wolfraaaam." He poked the unmoving lump under the covers but got no response. He tried to tug up the edge of the blankets to peer under at the blonde, and nearly got an elbow in the eye for his efforts. "Come on Wolf, are you really going to stay mad at me a second night in a row? All because I said Saralegui was good?"

The lump of blankets shifted around into a tight ball as Wolfram rolled onto his stomach and tucked his knees and arms up under himself. The front of the blankets billowed out as he let out a large exhale of air. "I hardly think it is appropriate for my fiancé to be paying compliments to those who are not his betrothed."

"I wasn't paying him a compliment," Yuuri protested, still attempting to get a good look at his fuming, hiding fiance, "I was just saying that the guy can't be all bad."

Wolfram just 'hmphed', the blanket ball curling up a little more.

"Wolf," Yuuri sank into the mattress and lied down on his side up next to the pouting mass of blankets, his finger tapping out a staccato rhythm over the spot he assumed Wolfram's head might be as he continued to try and poke Wolfram into coming out. "You know I don't like to think badly of others. Surely everyone has some good in them somewhere, no matter who they are. Yes, Saralegui lied to us—,"

"-to you."

"And used us—,"

"just you."

"But," Yuuri pressed on, sending a glare the interrupting blonde's direction, "but he did what he did for his kingdom; because harnessing the power of the demon king would have helped him separate his country from the oppression of Big Cimaron. A guy that's that willing to go to the extremes for his people can't be all bad."

"He didn't want to break free from Big Cimaron," Wolfram cried, flinging off the covers and sitting up, "he wanted to rule Big Cimaron. And Shin Makoku too. He wanted to build up a-a super powered force so that he could take over as many kingdoms and empires as he wanted until there was nothing left! Am I the only who can see that?" he asked indignantly. "And if he would try and steal you away just to get his way, well then I have every right to not trust him. And I refused to find any good in him."

Yuuri's eyebrows knit together in bewilderment. "Steal me away from who?"

Wolfram faltered, a blush quickly rising to his face. He settled back into his pillows and crossed his arms over his chest, turning his head away in embarrassment. "From…from everyone," he said finally, nodding his head frantically as though trying to convince himself rather than Yuuri, "he'd be stealing you away from everybody here. Greta, Gwendal, (me), Conrad," he slipped himself in the list as casually as he could, trying to appear nonchalant, "Mother is certainly fond of you and Günter would inevitably be inconsolably aggrieved if he ever lost you. And I suppose the Great Sage would have some objections, and you can't forget Yozak. The whole castle relies on you, we would be lost if you ever left or were taken away," he said with finality. "Especially if you were stolen by some, girlish, deceitful, glasses wearing liar of a king like that untrustworthy Saralegui!"

Wolfram let out another 'hmphed' and rolled back over onto his side facing away from Yuuri.

"I told you, he isn't like that," Yuuri insisted.

Wolfram said nothing.

"Wolfram," Yuuri said, wiggling closer to the blonde to place a hand on his shoulder, "You know you have nothing to worry about, right? I'd never go off and leave everyone like that."

Wolfram turned over to face Yuuri, "you wouldn't leave me?" he asked softly.

"Especially not you," Yuuri assured him, "Wolfram, you're very important to me. I could never ask for a better friend." He grinned obliviously.

"Yeah, good friends," Wolfram muttered. "So just, to be clear," he propped himself up on one elbow, "you're saying you would never leave me for Saralegui?" he asked, poking Yuuri in the chest.

Yuuri scooted back away from Wolfram so that he would no longer be in his personal space, "um…yes?"

"Or for anyone else?" Wolfram persisted.

"T-that's right," Yuuri stammered.

"Ever? Not even in the unforeseeable future?"

"Yes already," Yuuri cried, "Wolfram, I promise you I will never abandon you like that for anyone. We've all been through too much together for me to do that. Okay?" He scratched his head in confusion. "Besides, how'd we even get so far off topic? I thought we were trying to have a conversation about Greta."

Wolfram studied Yuuri seriously for a moment. Suddenly his face cracked into a satisfied, almost innocent smile, "Okay, then!" He flopped happily back into bed and pulled the covers up under his chin, "Goodnight Yuuri."

"Uh…yeah," Yuuri said slowly, lying back and adjusting the blankets around him, "Night, Wolfram." He rolled over and stared off into the darkness. 'What just happened?' he wondered as his head sank comfortably into his pillow and he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

Wolfram remained awake for a while, staring up at the canopy of the bed with a hopeful Cheshire cat grin on his face. 'Take that, Saralegui,' he thought before snuggling into his pillow and finally falling asleep, 'I still stand a better chance at winning Yuuri's heart than you.'

ThisIsALineOfTransition

ThisIsOneToo

HereToo

The next morning found the group gathered around the dining room table enjoying a lovely breakfast as sunlight streamed through the large glass windows and bathed them in a warm glow. Kimi was once again joining them in what would hopefully be an ongoing thing for her. Having been given a clean bill of health for the time being, asides from her healing neck, she had been cleared by Gisela from having to continue staying in the medic ward and had been released into the care and guidance of Yuuri and his advisors, Gwendal and Günter.

At the moment, she was just finishing a plate of cut fruits soaked in thick syrup so sugary sweet it was hard to think of it as a breakfast item and not a dessert.

Yuuri smiled over the top of his glass of juice. Kimi seemed to be feeling better that morning than she had the day before. It was a good sign if they were to expect her to stay with them indefinitely. Yuuri put down his glass and scooped up another bite of fruit onto his fork, nodding and murmuring to Greta who was avidly chatting away between bites of a danish.

As the remains of the fruit and pastries were cleared away, the maids brought out an assortment of sausages and ham slices and eggs with fried diced potatoes and hash (A.N. as in corn beef hash, Royalty does not get high…before lunch).

"Cinnamon and brown sugar porridge, for you milady," one of the maids said as she set down a bowl in front of Kimi.

"Oh," Kimi said with a start, still not quite used to such luxurious treatment, "Thank you, uh…"

"Sangria," Greta supplied, flaky bits of cheese Danish stuck to her face, which Wolfram tutted about and handed Yuuri a napkin to wipe it off with.

"Right," Kimi nodded, "Thank you, Sangria."

Sangria smiled warmly at her. "Your quite welcome, Miss." She curtsied once and headed part to the cart to dole out the rest of the plates.

"So, Kimi," Yuuri said, "How do you like the food here so far?"

Kimi swallowed a mouthful of porridge before answering. "It's been pretty tasty," she replied, wiping at the corners of her mouth with her napkin, "Gisela wants me to try and stay away from solid food until my throat is less sore so I haven't been able to try too much of a selection yet but I like what I've had so far." She looked down at her bowl of porridge and stirred it around some with her spoon. "To be honest I don't do the whole 'balanced breakfast' thing at home. What with school and mom and dad always needing to get to work early, we don't do the big sit down with a cooked meal in the morning. We usually just did bagels and cold cereal."

"How unfortunate," Günter lamented, "A hearty breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Normally he would have added that any meal with Yuuri Heika was an important meal, but a quick glance at Gwendal had him reconsidering.

"Oh no, it's not that big a deal," Kimi insisted. "I actually like a simple breakfast, I don't have time for anything else with school. Besides, mom always makes sure to keep a book of Chocolate Sugar Honey Clusters around the house."

"Chocolate Sugar whats?" Wolfram asked.

"Sugar Honey Clusters," Kimi explained, "My favorite cereal. I have it every day back home."

"Sounds unhealthy," Murata mused with a smile, the Great Sage once again choosing to stay at the castle for another day, probably a giant relief to the Temple Maidens and not so much one to Ulrike.

"Very," Kimi agreed. "I love it though, can't get enough of the stuff. And it's a nice quick meal. I can just scarf it down and rush off to school." She laughed, "though mom usually gets mad at me for leaving a milk filled dish in the sink," she said rubbing the back of her neck, "She absolutely hates that."

Yuuri and the others (except Gwendal) laughed as well. "Well then, I'm sorry we don't have any of that cereal around the castle."

Kimi shook her head, "Oh no it's fine. This is great. It really is very delicious," she called out to the maids.

Sangria and the other maids paused on their way back to the kitchen. "Thank you, Miss," they said, curtsying.

"That's going to take some getting used to," Kimi said after Sangria and the rest of the maids had left.

Conrad chuckled, "You're not alone, I feel a little unused to such treatment from time to time when I report back from duty, not being a noble like my brothers are."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," Kimi began, pointing her spoon at him, oblivious to Wolfram's mutterings of how uncouth it was. "If you don't mind, that is."

"Not at all," Conrad assured her, "what would you like to ask?"

Kimi put her spoon down and looked towards the ceiling, her face screwed up in thought as she pondered how to put into words just what she wanted to say. "Well, it's like this: you three are brother's right?" She gestured at Conrad, Gwendal and Wolfram.

"That is correct."

"Well, it's just that," Kimi tilted her head to the side, "you don't look anything alike. And your last names are all different."

"That's because we share the same mother, but have different fathers," Conrad replied.

"Our mother has been married three times," Gwendal admitted begrudgingly.

Kimi blinked. "Oh…well, you just said you weren't a noble like your brothers, Conrad. Was your father a commoner? If that's okay to ask," she amended.

"Its fine," Conrad said, "and yes he was. My father was a human traveler and swordsman that our Mother fell in love with shortly after the end of her marriage to Gwendal's father."

"Wait, wait," Kimi said, "wasn't your mother like the demon Queen at some point? Didn't marrying someone so low below her status break some kind of rule or code of conduct or something? And if she was so in love with your dad, why did she marry Wolfram's father? Why'd she even divorce Gwendal's dad to begin with?"

"We find it less of a headache if we don't try to understand Mother's reasoning for anything she does," Gwendal muttered with a frown.

"Gwendal," Conrad admonished playfully. "Anyway, to answer some of your questions, Miss Kimi, Mother married my father knowing she was going against the wishes and beliefs of the court, but she did it anyway because she was in love and…well…"

"She didn't always uphold the teachings and discipline required of a monarch," Günter commented dryly, "as dedicated to her people as she was."

Conrad sighed, "Yes I suppose that's true," he admitted. "Now as for why my parent's marriage didn't last," he continued, turning back to Kimi, "I'm afraid Humans have shorter a lifespan than demons do, shorter than half demon's like myself have even, and our mother and my father went their separate ways at some point, not long before he died. Mother always held a special place for him in her heart, but the royal life was never for him."

"And she married my father because she is fickle," Wolfram stated, finishing up the last of his eggs.

"Wolfram," Yuuri scolded gently, "Don't talk about your mother that way." He looked at Kimi and laughed sheepishly, "Uh…Lady Celi has strong beliefs in, uh…sharing her love with the world…"

"...she does what?" Kimi asked.

"She's believes in free love," Greta explained casually, oblivious to the mature meaning behind that statement, "She's on one of her Free love cruises right now, that's why she couldn't be here to meet you yet."

'Sooooo,' Kimi thought, 'free love means…easy?' (1) "How, uh…nice for her," she said.

"Our mother is a bit eccentric in her lifestyle choices," Conrad explained, taking note of Kimi's discomfort of the subject, "but I honestly mean it when I say she is a kind, loving person who cared greatly for her Kingdom when she was Queen, and still does now."

Greta hummed as she scooped up some eggs on her fork, "I think you'll really like her, Kimi," she said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, much to the chagrin of Wolfram, "grandma Celi's really pretty and she always has the most amazing stories and gifts for us when she comes back from her cruises. I can't wait for you to meet her!"

"Just don't let her influence you," Wolfram muttered over the rim of his teacup.

Kimi looked up from blowing on a spoonful of porridge, "What was that," she asked.

"Nothing," Wolfram said, nonchalantly sipping his chamomile tea, "Just, take everything Mother says to you with a grain of salt. Her advice and guidance isn't the sort proper young ladies should be modeling themselves after," he said this part with a level stare directed at Greta, said daughter having the decency to look a bit guilty.

Yuuri cleared his thought awkwardly, "I think it's safe to say we don't have to worry about anything so…mature yet when it comes to any young lady here, right?"

The occupants of the dining room (sans Kimi) nodded in agreement. No one really needed someone as innocent as Greta, and presumably Kimi, acting anything like Lady Celi. That was behavior they fully intended to nip in the bud before it had a chance to start.

"Anyway," Greta said, sending a pout her parents' way, "Grandma Celi is great. She also has lots of time to spend with me when she visits and she loves having tea in the garden, and taking me on shopping trips into town with her, and-and she throws these great parties—,"

"Formal Balls," Günter corrected.

"Right," Greta nodded, "formal balls, whenever she visits. You should see it, Kimi," she threw her hands up in the air like she was holding the whole world in her hands, "She has the whole ballroom decorated with colorful streamers, and tapestries, and these big fancy glass ornaments that shine like sun-catchers when the lights from the chandeliers and candles hit them just right. And everyone comes in such beautiful outfits. Sometimes she has theme parties and everyone has to come in a mask."

"Lady Celi does throw some elaborate parties," Murata mused aloud, getting a nod of agreement from Yuuri and Wolfram.

"All of which were outrageously unnecessary," Gwendal muttered.

"And the music!" Greta exclaimed. She pushed back from the table and ran over to Kimi, tugging their girl up and out of her chair. "The music is so beautiful," she said, leading Kimi along in a sort of makeshift waltz, "the harps, the violins and flutes, people swaying around in the fanciest dresses and suits; it's all so wonderful. Beatrice and I would dance all around the room." They stopped and Greta looked up thoughtfully at Kimi. "Papa Wolfram never let me stay up too late for the parties in the past, but I think I am old enough this year to stay up past curfew just a few hours longer," she turned to Wolfram, "right Papa Wolf?" she asked.

Wolfram frowned, thinking it over. He glanced at Yuuri questioningly and after a moment of silence between them, he turned back their daughter. "I suppose so," he acquiesced.

"Yeah, alright!" Greta cheered, her arms held up like she scored a touchdown, "I hope we have a party soon," she added, dragging Kimi along in a more enthusiastic, uncoordinated dance across the floor.

"Ball, Princess," Günter corrected, "Formal ball."

"Greta, come back to the table," Wolfram called, "Breakfast isn't over yet and it's poor manners to dance at the table." He carefully picked up his saucer and brought his teacup to his lips for a polite, dignified sip. 'Besides, you'll upset your stomach moving around like that so soon after you eat."

"Oh," Greta dropped Kimi's hands and clasped her own in front of herself, grinning guiltily, "sorry Papa Wolf." She and Kimi quickly returned to their seats at the table, the legs of Greta's chair scraping against the floor as she scooted herself forward, causing everyone to wince.

"Now your Majesty," Gwendal said, redirecting the conversation to more pressing matters, "We were all given a small reprieve from our responsibilities yesterday, but the Kingdom must be run and as we cannot afford to lose another day, I expect you in the office promptly after lunch today."

"After lunch?" Yuuri groaned, his spoon stilling on the way to his mouth.

Gwendal nodded, "The paperwork is beginning to pile up and there are some pressing matters that must be attended to."

"There's always a pressing matter in Shin Makoku." Yuuri complained.

Gwendal nodded. "Correct, as is the cost of running a country. That is why we cannot have the leisure of continuous breaks and days off."

"Though Yuuri often gets them anyway," Greta whispered conspiratorially.

Wolfram tried to disguise his smirk into a frown of disapproval, "Wimp."

Yuuri sighed, shoulders sagging. "Ah well," he said, "At least it's after lunch and not breakfast."

"Actually, Heika," Günter interjected, "You'll be attending your lessons with me after breakfast today."

"What?" Yuuri groaned, slumping down onto the table in a most, as Wolfram would call it, improper way. "Not another history and etiquette lesson."

'Quite right," Günter said, "His Majesty has been excelling in our lessons quite magnificently." Gunter smiled proudly, pleased that his tutelage was having such a profoundly positive effect on Yuuri. "Today we will be having another review session to test what you've learned so far. I simply can't wait to see the progress my Heika has made!"

Yuuri sat there dismaying his fate with a look of utter defeat on his face. Wolfram smirked at him while Greta patted her black haired father on the back in an attempt to console him.

Kimi watched the scene with fond amusement. She ducked her head down like she was focused on her plate and snickered to herself.

"Oh, that reminds me," Günter caught Kimi's attention and turned to her with a smile. "Miss Kimi, it can't possibly be that entertaining sitting around in the Medical ward all day. I know you and Gisela have probably had loads to talk about and bond over in the past day or so that you have come to know each other, but I would assume she has quite a bit of distracting work to do," he counted off on his fingers, "reorganizing the medicine cabinets, taking inventory, mixing up the herbal treatments, rearranging the bandages and salves in the storage room, she's probably to busy to occupy your time for very long. And I imagine staring at the medical wing walls all day must get boring after a time."

Günter clapped his hands together and rubbed them in what would have seemed a sinister way if the flaky, hyper man hand a malevolent bone in his body (though who could say after all that time he spent in the clutches of Anissina and under the influence of Celi), "therefore I am extending the invitation to you to attend my lesson with Yuuri Heika."

"Uh," Kimi stared at him in confusion, "Lesson? You mean like school?"

"Yes, of course," Günter replied, still looking quite pleased with his idea. "One can never have too much of a good education. It is my understanding that on Earth, children are under rigorous training in many subjects at least five days a week if not more."

"He told you that, huh," Kimi shot Yuuri a glare, that the young king had the decency to look apologetic for.

Günter nodded vigorously.

Kimi awkwardly looked around to just about anywhere but Günter smiling face. "Listen," she said, "I appreciated the offer, but…I think I would just be better off sitting this one out. History isn't really my thing."

"Oh, but I insist," Günter persisted adamantly, "this could be quite beneficial to your stay here. I can better help you understand our culture and ways of life; all that has made Shin Makoku what it is and more!" He gestured for one of the maids to come and take his plate away. "Gwendal and I have already arranged for you to take several various sessions with me and other intellectual and skilled residents of the castle over the course of your stay, but there is no reason you shouldn't get a head start on your some of your tutelage with me. The sooner the better, even."

"Um…that's uh…well," Kimi stammered.

"You'll love it," Günter pushed back from the table as everyone's remaining dishes were cleared away. "There is no time like the present to strengthen one's mind." He clapped his hands again. "Let's get a move on then. Ah," he held his hands out towards the door with a sweeping gesture, "after you, your Majesty," he addressed Yuuri.

Yuuri sighed as he stood up from his chair, directing a sympathetic look at Kimi, "you might as well come on," he said apologetically, "there's no stopping Günter once he gets like this."

Murata smirked, "Yuuri knows best from anyone. There's no escaping Günter."

"But…I," Kimi tried to think of something to say, but came up a blank. "Fine," she sighed, sinking down into her chair in a slouch, "if I have to…"

"That's the spirit," Günter exclaimed, grabbing Kimi by the wrist and pulling her from her chair with little effort, "first lesson: proper posture is a must. You should never slouch. Oh what fun this will be! A new pupil, how exciting!" Without further ado, he swept out of the room in a flurry of lavender hair and white robes, Kimi and Yuuri in tow, the latter giving a curt nod to the servants who bowed as was custom when the monarch leaves or enters the room.

"Have fun, Shibuya," Murata called cheerily.

"Can it, Murata!" Yuuri yelled aback distractedly as Gunter dragged him and Kimi out of sight.

The remaining occupants of the table stare after them for a moment then began to stand and politely excuse themselves to go attend to their own responsibilities. Gwendal strongly suggested that Murata return to the temple to assure Ulrike that their guest was settling in nicely and promptly escorted the reluctant Sage out the door to have a carriage prepared for him.

"I don't have my lessons with Günter until later in the afternoon," Greta told Wolfram, hoping down from her chair and pushing her chair in, even as the maids moved forward to do it for her, "I should probably enjoy my freedom before then, huh?" she teased.

"Exactly," Wolfram agreed standing and adjusting the creases in his uniform with the dignified air of a soldier. "Günter has a tendency to hold your lessons longer than is planned as it is. I myself must return to running drills with my men. I'm sure they enjoyed yesterday's break, but it is time to return to work. It never bodes well to break away from a practiced regime and routine." He adjusted his belt and fixed the angle at which the sheath to his sword was placed.

Conrad smiled. "Don't go to hard on them, Wolfram," he said.

Wolfram huffed, "I hardly believe it is any of your business, Lord Weller, but they're my men to do with as I please." He bowed curtly to his brother, and then he and Greta exited the dining hall together, the doors swinging closed behind them.

ThisIsALineOfTransition

ThisIsOneToo

HereToo

"Now when greeting a Dignitary of that particular region, one must stand upright with the sides of their heels pressed firmly together and the tips of the shoes splayed slightly away from one another," Gunter wandered about the room animatedly, a large, rather heavy looking tome balanced with surprising ease in the cradle of one of his arms as the other hand waved freely about him, gesturing with no particular purpose other than to the rhythm of what he was saying.

Yuuri sat at the table in front of another dusty tome with his head resting in his hand, his eyes bored and heavy as he let out a sigh. Across the table, Kimi was doing no better. The young girl had original set out to occupy her time with doodling crude little stick figures with the quill and parchment she had been provided with at the start of the lesson, but her interest in mastering the use of the quill had quickly waned and she was now sinking lower and lower into her chair as time went on, her eyes closed and a small string of drool tickling from the corner of her mouth, her quill forgotten and steadily leaving a blotchy stain across the parchment from where it had fallen from her hand..

Gunter meanwhile continued to prattle on."Then you must execute a proper bow, bending at the waist with your right hand position just to the left of the center of your chest; it is very important to use your right hand, do not forget that. Then, you offer that same hand, once again very important which one, in an offering of a handshake." He extended his hand out in front of him to an imaginary person, "and grip them…" he paused and looked around before grabbing hold of Kimi's hand by the wrist, oblivious to the girls slow departure into the world of slumber, "like so, firmly at the wrist, letting them do the same," he adjusted Kimi's fingers to wrap, albeit loosely around his own wrist before moving their conjoined limbs in an exaggerated handshake, jostling Kimi awake with a loud snort, "And there you have it." He looked down on Kimi with a fond smile as he released her hand. "You may wish to write this down, my dear," he said to her, "you can't afford to lose any of this information."

Kimi wiped the drool from her mouth and sniffed, sitting up in her chair, "Uh, yeah," she stammered, running her quill over the ink blotched parchment in front of her absentmindedly, "the hand thing. Very important, got it."

Yuuri snorted out a laugh, earning a glare from Kimi and prompting him to clap a hand over his mouth to hide his smile.

"I'm pleased that you are enjoying today's lesson so much Your Majesty," Gunter beamed at his king upon hearing his laughter. "Yes today's lesson is quite a riveting one indeed! With this information our wonderful, Gracious Heika will be sure to impress and beguile even the most reserved and unfavorable dignitary of the farthest reaches of the land," He swept his hand out to gesture at the large window overlooking the vast hills and towns beyond the castle walls, the flowing fabric of his clothes making a soft swooshing as they whipped through the air.

"Ah, but we haven't forgotten about you, dear," Gunter said as he turned back to Kimi, prodding her out of her seat and moving her to a clear space on the floor uncluttered with books. He tugged Yuuri to the center of the room as well before turning his attention back to the young girl. "As," he began, patting her back until she stood up straight, "a guest of the Royal family," he kneeled down behind her and adjusted her legs and pressed her heels tight together, "you will be…expected," he came around to her front and wedged the toe of his shoe between her feet to push the tips of her shoes away from one another, "expected to carry yourself with an air of regal dignity. Now as far as anyone outside the castle is concerned, you—pardon me Your Majesty—" he apologized as he paused to adjust Yuuri's posture to mimic the same as Kimi's, "there we go. As I was saying, you," he pointed at Kimi, "are a distant relative of the noble house of von Voltaire; that's Gwendal's family," he reminded her, "that's the story as far as anyone needs to know. We hardly want the masses overwhelming you with their excitement at another double black." He gave her back another little pat as she began to slouch.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that," Kimi said, "what's with all this 'double black' talk? I've heard it at least twice now, I think. What's it all about and why is it such a big deal?"

"It's about your hair," Yuuri explained, as Gunter adjusted his posture, "and your eyes. They're both black like mine. It may be common over on Earth, especially in Japan, but here black is a sign of high nobility and Royalty. Having black hair and eyes around here is automatic celebrity status."

"A double black is a highly respected trait," Gunter added, correcting her poor posture yet again, "Only his Highness and the Great Sage bear such traits in our kingdom. And I don't believe a citizen of our country has ever seen a double black woman. You would create quite a stir at social gatherings. Not to worry though, you will be properly concealed when such a time comes.

"Wait, concealed?" Kimi exclaimed, "you're not going to like, hide me away in some tower or something are you?"

Gunter laughed, "Oh nothing of the sort, I assure you. We would simply dye your hair and his Majesty has brought over a variety of colored contacts from Earth for just such an occasion."

"I have to go incognito a lot," Yuuri explained.

"Now, just bend forward like so," Gunter pressed his hand to Kimi's pelvis and with his other hand at her upper back, he guided her into a proper bow. "Now Your Majesty, if you would please do the same. There!" He clapped his hands together, "you've both properly executed the bow, now you stand back up and offer your hand—right hand, Miss Kim," he gently admonished, "right hand, the same one you held to your chest during the bow."

Kimi quickly righted herself and held out her right hand.

"Excellent," Gunter praised, "now you and his Majesty, grip each other at the wrist," he adjusted their placement, "like so and shake your hand in greeting….perfect! And that's how it's done. Any questions?"

"If we say yes, you'll make us repeat the whole thing again, won't you?" Kimi asked.

"Of course!" Gunter chirped merrily, "practice makes perfect."

"Then we're fine!" Yuuri cut in, "we've got it down solid."

Gunter's smile was near blinding as he turned to his king, "I wouldn't expect our Glorious Heika to have any trouble learning such formalities. For someone with such brilliance and intelligence radiating behind their eyes as you do your Majesty, these customs should be a cinch to master." He hurled himself forward and wrapped Yuuri up in his arms tightly. Just because he was going to tone down his eccentric doting for Gwendal's sake didn't mean he couldn't coo over their adorable ruler when he wasn't around (would he really be the Gunter we know and love if he quit cold turkey?). "His Majesty is so astute and quick! It is always an honor to teach such a clever student."

"Gunter!" Yuuri's voice was muffled against a mouthful of fabric as the enthusiastic man unintentionally crushed his head against his chest, "Personal space, remember? We've talked about this!" He successfully managed to detangle himself from Gunter's grip and stumbled back a few feet, his hands held up warily in front of him to fend off any other suffocating affection Gunter might wish to bestow upon him.

Kimi was trying and failing to hide her amusement with a few forced coughs into her hand, looking anywhere but at the flustered king and his exuberant advisor.

Yuuri fixed her with an annoyed glare before a sneaky grin came over his face. "It's great to know that tutoring me means so much to Gunter," he began, "I know I couldn't think of a better teacher."

"Your Majesty!" Gunter cried, throwing his arms out wide in elation at Yuuri's praise.

"—But," Yuuri cut continued, a hand held in front of him to halt Gunter's next attempt at embracing him, "aren't today's lessons technically more for Kimi's benefit than anything else?"

Kimi's smile disappeared so fast it practically fell off her face. It was quickly replaced with a frown. "H-hey! Wait a minute—!"

"Oh Shinou!" Gunter exclaimed, "You're absolutely right!" He leapt forward and cradled Kimi's face between his hands, the girl not having been quick enough to side step him or back away in time. Squeezing her face like an overbearing aunt would to the niece or nephew unfortunate enough to not evade her grasp, Gunter fawned over his newest pupil. "How could anyone possibly forget our guest? It is truly a privileged for me to teach yet another bright mind from Heika's fascinating native land. Yes it is," he said, nodding vigorously and shaking Kimi's head up and down in agreement, the girl beginning to resemble a fish wither cheeks squished and her lips pursed together between his hands. She gave Yuuri a look that clearly read 'you traitor'.

Gunter released Kimi's head only drape an arm over her shoulder and urge her to the window. "You'll grow to love our kingdom during your stay here, Miss Kim," he said dreamily. "Shin Makoku has so much to offer; our inspiring history, the enriching culture, and our remarkable society. There's so much to learn, so much for me to teach you." Gunter cloistered Kimi closer to the window, encouraging the reluctance girl to lean against the sill. "Take a deep breath, my dear," he said, inhaling deeply, "That is the smell of discovery. That is the scent of uncovered knowledge. That, my girl, is the sensational aroma of—,"

"ENGIWARU!" A large blur of blue feathers shot abruptly past the windows at an angle and ascended rapidly into the sky.

"OH MY GOD!" Kimi shrieked, ducking out from under Gunter's arm and backtracking away from the window so fast she almost fell over, "What the hell was that and why were we smelling for it?" She backed into the table and braced herself against it half slumped, her nails digging into the wood.

"Calm down," Yuuri soothed, moving towards her cautiously with a reassuring smile on his face. "That was just a Bad Omen bird," he explained, leading her back towards one of the other windows for a better look.

"Bad omen?" Kimi asked worriedly, edging hesitantly towards the window. She peeked cautiously outside and peered up at the large bird now making lazy circles the sky, its sapphire feather and orange tail shinning bright and glossy in the sunlight. The only thing shinier than the creature's feathery body was the gleaming of the sun off its large bald head. The peculiar thing would be almost beautiful…if not for when it opened its mouth to release a loud, horrid squawk, "Engiwaru!'

"Don't worry," Yuuri said, "It's really just a name." 'I think,' he thought to himself. "We just call them that because it's really all they can say; 'Engiwaru', 'Bad Omen.' I almost can't believe you hadn't seen one before now; they're pretty noticeable. Their sound may be annoying, but they're really quite harmless. Right, Gunter?" He was met with silence, "Gunter?"

"Oh no," Gunter still stood stiff at the other window, hands gripping the windowsill in a panic and his eyes transfixed to the big bird flying overhead as several others joined it. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Gunter shook his head this way and that, "Bad omen, bad, bad omen!" He pushed back from the window and scurried over to one of the haphazardly splayed piles of books. "This is not good," he muttered to himself, sorting through the books and tomes distractedly.

Yuuri and Kimi watched on, one in amusement, the other in curious confusion. "Gunter sees himself as quite the soothsayer," Yuuri whispered, "or fortuneteller…or magician or something…I still haven't quite figured out what he hopes to accomplish with all the colored smokes and boiling vats and herbs and such. He takes the Bad Omen birds a bit more literally than the rest of us; seems to think they foretell some horrible happenings. Don't worry, they don't," he added as an afterthought at seeing the look of trepidation on Kimi's face. "Unless he finally snaps and starts singing that whole 'double bubble, toil and trouble' spiel, I don't think we should worry too much about it," he joked, giving Kimi a little nudge in the side with his elbow.

Kimi found herself laughing a bit at that, her earlier scare at the window seemingly forgotten.

"There must be something in here that I can use," Gunter continued to mutter frantically to himself. He scooped up a book and began to flip through the pages. "No…no," he murmured, "no…no…still no…not that one," he placed the book aside and picked up another, wandering around with his nose buried in the dusty, worn pages, "not that…no, that isn't right…maybe," he sighed and placed the book down on the table, "I'm truly sorry for the interruption Your Majesty, Miss Kim. I hate to cut our lesson short like this, but I really must attend to this. Perhaps we can reschedule…?" He trailed off and glanced around the now vacant room, "Your Majesty?" The only response was the sound of the door clicking shut. "Umm….Same time tomorrow then," he called out before turning back to his research.

"Finally," Yuuri breathed, sagging against the door in relief, "I was worried we'd never get out of there."

Across from him, Kimi was seating on the floor leaning against the wall, knees bent up against her chest. She draped an arm over one knee and stretched out the other leg along the floor. Rotating her foot in little circles, she tried to get the tingly 'foot's asleep' feeling to stop shooting up and down from her ankle to the back of her knee.

"Does he always talk so much?" Kimi asked with a groan, tipping her head back and thumping it against the wall, "he was beginning to bore me to death in there. I swear he's like an energizer bunny; he just keeps going and going and going. I didn't even think it was possible for a butt to fall asleep." She wiggled from side to side on her bottom and grimaced, "yep, definitely asleep."

Yuuri laughed, sliding down the door to sit in front of it, "Yeah I wanted to warn you about his lessons, but I never got the chance. But hey, at least that bird mixed things up a little."

"That bird just made it worst!" Kimi declared, waving her finger at Yuuri for emphasis, "the last thing I needed after being interrupted in my mid-class nap was to have the crap scared out of me!"

Yuuri only laughed harder, "Come on, it wasn't that bad. Like I said the birds are pretty interesting once you get used to them. And it provided us with the perfect way out of our lesson with Gunter."

"You've got a point there," Kimi said, standing up and stretching. She heard giggling coming from her left and spied some maids, the same ones who had served her breakfast that morning, wandering down the opposite end of the hall.

"Mm-hm," Yuuri agreed, closing his eyes and working the kinks out of his neck, "I'm actually afraid that Gunter's lessons wouldn't end if left alone. It seems like the only way to get out of them are when Gunter catches me sleeping and starts fretting over having 'exhausted me beyond my limitations', I slip out on my own, or there is a sudden emergency. More often than not, I have to slip out. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for a higher education, but Gunter doesn't really give you time to let anything sink in before he piles more facts on top of it. Well now that we're free, what do you want to do now, Kimi?" Yuuri opened his eyes and looked around, "Kimi?"

Turning slightly, he glimpsed Kimi standing by the other end of the hallway chatting with Doria, Sangria and Effe. The maids were giggling as they shifted around the laundry baskets they were carrying; placing one of the baskets in Kimi's outstretched hands. "See you later, Yuuri!" Kimi called as she adjusted the basket on her hip and began walking away with the maids.

"Uh…" Yuuri blinked, "later," he gave a feeble wave of his hand, not entirely sure what had just happened.

"I think Kimi prefers to hang out with girls around her own age," an amused voice called out to the right of him. Conrad was walking his way from the opposite end of the hall, "Or at least women who resemble human girls her own age."

"Conrad," Yuuri said, standing up to greet the brunette soldier.

"We never got to go for our daily jog this morning after staying up so late a second night in a row," Conrad reminded him, "Seeing as you usually escape from Gunter's lessons about this time, I thought you might like to fit a quick one in before Gunter and Gwendal start looking for you."

Yuuri nodded, smiling brightly, "Sounds good," he agreed. He went to head to his room to change and paused, "Do you think it is okay that we Kimi?"

"Sangria and the others tend to get into very little trouble on their own. It should be a nice peaceful change of pace for Kimi to spend some time with them. Better them than Anissina," he added.

Yuuri cringed, "Good point. Well if you are sure, let's go." The pair headed off to get ready for their jog, leaving Kimi to the care of the maids.

Sort of bleh for a chapter ending, I know but I wanted to try and give you a chapter sometime soon after dragging my feet so long on it and it would have taken me even longer to try and come up with a more interesting way to end this one.

Footnote time! It's going to be a short list this time, lucky you!

One (1). On Kimi's comment at breakfast about Celi's free love life style. To be perfectly clear, I do NOT think that a man or women being free with their body and having sex with multiple partners is a bad thing. Casual relationship and casual dating is not something to look down on as long as you are making it clear to your partner that you aren't looking for a long commitment and do not lead them on. Other than that, more power to you if you find yourself more comfortable with more casual sex. Kimi however, is young and a high schooler, surrounded by other teenagers. If anyone here remembers high school you should recall that there were plenty of classmates that were quick to call other classmates slut or cheap for even kissing someone else, even if the one pointing fingers and calling names was no longer a virgin themselves. Kids are catty and not the best influence when it comes to understand mature relationships and lifestyles. So this is how I figure a girl her age would perceive the way Celi behaves and be quite confused by it.

Hmm…that seems about it. Now once again, I do not have a beta and would greatly appreciate one. Until I get a beta, it would be nice if those reading my story could keep me updated on any errors I may have made in the chapters.

R and R please. Feedback welcome, constructive criticism greatly needed and appreciated.

Till next time!

~ Shain-The-Otaku-of-Ireland