God(?) Save Our King! / Kyo Kara Maou!:
"When the Shadows Move"
~~~CHAPTER III~~~
Scars of Unknown Origins & Memories Left Out of Place
After bidding a farewell to Ulrike and Murata, the rest of the group got outside of the temple and prepared their horses to return to Blood Pledge Castle.
Among those horses was Ao, Yuuri's stallion.
"Onii-chan," Yuuri called with a smile, "you'll ride with me. This is Ao, my horse."
At the introduction, Sainan and Ao were absorbed into a staring contest as they instinctively sized each other up.
"He's a beautiful horse, one of the strongest Arabic Stallions I've ever seen. Well, at least he looks like an Arabic Stallion to me." Sainan thought.
Getting impatient with them, Wolfram snapped and broke the uncomfortable silence.
"Oi, Girlish Curls...!" he yelled, "Did you fall for the horse or something?! Get on the damn saddle already! You're wasting time."
The stare-off broke and Yuuri petted Ao's mane while Sainan glared daggers at the young Bielefeld that clearly stated: "I don't give two shits and a flying fuck about what you tell me to do."
"Shut the fuck up, Blondie!" Sainan said aloud.
The Maou laughed nervously and tried to diffuse the tension.
"Ahaha...Onii-chan, please get on Ao now."
Sainan nodded as he walked over to the dark stallion which seems to be welcoming him after confirming that he was not a threat.
Then, with both hands holding onto the edges of the saddle, Sainan tried to get onto Ao.
Keyword: 'tried'.
The young man was too small to boost himself up on his own. It is also safe to say that Sainan has never ridden a horse before which is one of the things he is pissed about himself. Ao threw back his head—which caused his mane to sway—and stomped one of his front hooves slightly, but it was not out of impatience.
Sainan's eye twitched, "The damn horse is laughing at me and mocking me!"
At that point, Yuuri decided to walk over and help him, but he strongly protested as he kicked out slightly at his cousin.
"Y-Yuuri, I can get on my own!"
The young Maou spotted a faint crimson hue on his cousin's ears but wisely chose not to point it out as he chuckled.
"Come on, Onii-chan. Let me help you!"
"No...!"
"Please~!"
"NO, YOU JUST WANT TO TOUCH MY BUTT!"
"W-WHAT?! OF COURSE NOT!"
Sainan looked over his shoulder when he managed to at least get his torso on the saddle with his right foot on the hanging rail. His keen sight gave him view of Yuuri's bright red face which distantly reminded him of a tomato.
He pointed with mock outrage and offense at his cousin.
"Ah...!" he exclaimed scandalously, "You're blushing guiltily, so I was right!"
"Damn it, Onii-chan!"
Yuuri got things over with and held his cousin by the waist as he lifted the other onto the saddle. Sainan just smirked at him and acted like nothing happened. Ao just snorted and shook his head at both of them before neighing softly.
Meanwhile, four pairs of eyes watched amusedly at the little show. Gwendal, Conrad, Günter, and Wolfram were all seated on their horses already as they waited for the two cousins to do the same.
Gwendal pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling the incoming migraine due to the chaos that would be caused in the castle.
Conrad smiled gently as he closed his eyes, aware that the castle will become ever rowdier than usual.
Günter gushed at the sight of the brotherly love between Sainan and Yuuri, even blushing and flying hearts coming out of him.
Wolfram huffed slightly at the sight of his fiancé being too touchy with another man, though his eyes did shine with amusement at their close relationship.
Despite all these, they also cannot help but find it entertaining how their beloved king treats the cousin he calls 'Big Brother' like how a mother fusses over her child. It both amazed and made them proud to see their usually chidishly naive king to be so mature this time around.
With Sainan finally on the horse and Yuuri following soon after, the group headed away from the Temple of Shinou and towards Blood Pledge Castle.
Ao carried the Shibuya Cousins and was at the front. Conrad and Wolfram were on either sides as they rode on their own horses, while Gwendal and Günter guarded the rear also on their own horses. The five horses, as guided by their riders, marched in a window formation.
Almost immediately along the short trip, Sainan slacked as his head fell on Yuuri's back while his arms were loosely wrapped around the latter's waist. He was now dead asleep and Yuuri smiled sweetly over his shoulder as he heard soft snores from his cousin's slightly parted lips.
The others were witnesses to the heart-warming scene and tried to be silent in order to not disturb either of them.
However, Wolfram could not hold back his curiosity and was especially intrigued after Sainan revealed that it was he, who had given the blonde a passage to awaken his powers when he was young...even if it was a fleeting memory to both of them.
He smoothly directed Nemesis, his white horse, to march closer to Ao so he could speak to Yuuri softly and still be in hearing volume.
"Oi, Wimp..." he called out.
His emerald eyes glanced at Sainan's slumbering form to make sure his voice did not disturb the other.
Yuuri looked at him with a slight tilt of the head which is an action that Wolfram came to find as endearing.
"What is it, Wolfram?"
"Is he really your cousin?"
The Double Black smiled warmly which brought a blush to Wolfram's cheeks.
"Yeah," he replied, "he's like my big brother. I've known him since I was in my mother's womb since our fathers are brothers. From what I know, Uncle died before Sainan's birth so Auntie had to stay in our home for a while. While she was on the job, Ofukuro looked after Sainan which made her fond of him. He's only three months older than me actually."
"Oh, I see..."
The slight revelation gave Wolfram a whole new perspective of Sainan and made him feel a sort of empathy since they both lost their fathers at a young age, only Sainan never met his father personally at all. The young Bielefeld glanced at the sleeping boy and subconsciously softened his expression.
Gwendal, Günter, and Conrad were silently listening to the conversation as well. They also felt albeit sympathetic but made sure to note that they should not act too differently once Sainan awakens.
A strong person like that would not take well to pity.
However, they also made a note to treat him more nicely than they did in their first meeting at least...especially now that they were made aware how important he is to Yuuri and how crucial his role is in Shin Makoku.
When they arrived at the castle, Sainan was still asleep. Everyone except Yuuri got down from their horses since someone needs to help him get his cousin down first before he gets off.
Conrad, always ready to serve his charge, was about to walk to their direction after he handed the reins of his own horse to a stable boy. However, he had to pause in his tracks as he saw Wolfram already holding his arms out to carefully carry Sainan off Ao.
Yuuri blinked in puzzlement but did not decline Wolfram's aid.
Conrad watched with wide blinking eyes before smiling softly in understanding. As an elder brother himself, he knew how Wolfram's mind is currently working at the moment and it was a bonus factor that he is Wolfram's elder brother.
Shaking his head slightly, Conrad moved to at least help lead Ao to the stables together with the other horses as some of the stable workers did as well.
Gwendal already left for his office before Anissina could find out that he returned and spotted him. Günter also left for the same reason but headed towards the kitchen to tell the maids to prepare more meals for Sainan's homecoming.
"He sleeps like a log." Wolfram muttered.
Sainan's head rested on his right shoulder as Wolfram opted to carry him in his arms instead of on his back. The slumbering young man had his arms tucked over his torso as he slightly nuzzled Wolfram's neck for warmth.
Yuuri giggled at the sight of the blonde's flustered expression.
"You should take him to our bed chambers." he stated seriously after, "He's my cousin and I don't want a repeat of what happened at the temple. Since our room is private, no one could get in there without permission."
Wolfram could only stare blankly at his fiancé in response, a mix of surprise and happiness stirring within his chest when Yuuri said 'our room'. That little acknowledgment gave him enough motivation to do as Yuuri said without complaints.
After a short walk, Yuuri and Wolfram wasted no time in entering their chambers once they have arrived.
The Soukoku Maou held the door open for Wolfram as they came inside. The blonde walked over to the bed and gently placed Sainan on it. Before he could pull the covers over the sleeping boy, he heard Yuuri rummaging in the closet and looked over his shoulder to see his fiancé holding up his blue pajamas with a smile.
"Wolfram," Yuuri whispered, "help me get Onii-chan dressed into my pajamas."
The blonde shrugged, "Alright, Wimp..."
"I AM NOT—!"
Yuuri cut his own shout off when he remembered his cousin was still sleeping. As he glanced at Sainan, he saw that he just slightly stirred but did not wake up so he finished his sentence in a softer but just as firm tone.
"—a wimp."
"Whatever..." Wolfram smirked, "...Wimp."
Yuuri pouted and walked past the blonde towards the bed to start dressing his cousin into pajamas. Wolfram rolled his eyes and followed him to help.
When they managed to unbutton Sainan's shirt and strip it off without waking him, both Yuuri and Wolfram were dumbfounded to find various scars on the boy's body. The scars did not seem to be deep enough to be visible—or it could be because the scars were old—and seemed to camouflage on the creamy skin. One scar which seems to be caused by a knife was more visible than others.
The Maou within Yuuri was stirring into awakening as his blood boiled in anger.
"Who the hell dared to touch my Onii-chan this way?! Justice must be done!"
Unlike Yuuri, Wolfram was determined to keep calm even though a part of him is already screaming and snarling with extreme protectiveness over Sainan. Deep within his heart, he felt great empathy with the other man in a brotherly way and some memories seem to be urging these feelings further to the surface.
The catch was that it was not his own memories, but Shinou's.
When Shinou took over his body, there were flashes of the First King's memories from time to time but they were not so strong and only came to him in dreams.
This was not the current case, it seems.
.
"Oi, Seirike...! I'm here! Come out and play with me."
.
That was definitely Shinou's voice, only it sounded much younger than the other times when he dreamed of the previous memories.
.
"Haha~ I'm here too, Shin. Sorry, I was escaping from my sister."
.
The other voice is something that he did not recognize at all. It was much softer yet still very energetic and active.
.
"H-Heika, t-this is n-not the place to—ah!"
"Calm yourself, my Sage. Allow me to indulge mine and your desires tonight."
.
"Holy shit, I did not just see that!" Wolfram cursed internally with a blush.
He closed his eyes and concentrated to send that one memory away from his mind before focusing on the unfamiliar one where Shinou was playing with the currently nameless child.
As he looked closely, the child seems to a beautiful girl with long curly hair and wears clothes that look similar to the ensemble that the Daikenja used in the past.
.
"Again...? Haha...! Oh well...let's go, Seirike! I have some good pranks in mind."
"That's the spirit! Alright, let's go!"
.
Wolfram tried very hard to clear his sight to see that blurred image of the child even more, but he only managed to make out most of it.
"Wait, the beautiful girl is actually a boy?!"
That was the last thing he could think of before the flashes finally stopped.
He then felt an overwhelming pressure beside him and turned to see Yuuri on the verge of transforming into 'Maou Mode' as he calls it. He placed a gentle but strong hand on his fiancé's shoulder which seemed to have calmed the other slightly, much to Wolfram's relief.
"Calm down, Yuuri." he soothed, "Those scars look old so it might have been left in the past and you didn't know about it. You can ask Girlish Curls about them when he wakes up."
Carefully taking the pajamas from Yuuri, Wolfram took it upon himself to finish getting Sainan dressed while the young Maou tries to calm himself. His efforts were presently in vain, especially when they saw more scars on Seirike's legs.
"But," Yuuri said menacingly, "who are the bastards that did this? When I find out who did it, I will make them pay."
By the time Yuuri finished his statement, Wolfram was already pulling the covers over Sainan.
The young Bielefeld was not too surprised with those words as he felt the same way, but he could not help the widening of his eyes and the hitching of his breath nonentheless.
He turned to Yuuri again, "Look, Wimp...I'm your fiancé so I understand you well, but you have to keep yourself together right now."
Yuuri stared back at him before sighing in defeat and nodded. He gazed at his cousin sleeping peacefully on the bed and chuckled.
Wolfram raised a brow, "Are you a pervert or something? That's your cousin, y'know. In fact, you can only be a pervert with me since I'm your fiancé."
"W-What?! No, that's not it! I'm not a pervert. I just...remembered something funny."
"Oh, really...? What is that funny thing you remembered?"
"Umm...it's an Earth joke. You might not understand."
"That's a big 'might'. Besides, I'll try my best so tell me now."
Yuuri turned his head away and scratched his head nervously.
"Ahaha, I forgot...?"
"Why you, Wimp...!" Wolfram yelled, forgetting about the sleeping Sainan, "You just told me that you remembered it! You lying cheater...! Wimpy lying cheater...!"
Yuuri yelled back in defense, "I am not a wimp! I'm not a cheater either!"
"Then, tell me the damn joke already, Wimp!"
"Stop calling me a wimp! Besides, why should I tell you?!"
"BECAUSE I AM YOUR FIANCÉ...!"
While Yuuri and Wolfram were 'discussing', they failed to notice that Sainan had been awakened by their obnoxious shouting. After a while, both contenders stopped arguing as they felt a murderous aura looming over them.
The cause...?
It was Sainan, of course.
The furious young man sat up and rose from the bed like a zombie lethargically pulling up its own body. His head was slumped so his bangs caused a shadow that hid his face from view.
"Who are the fucking bastards that dared to wake me up?''
Yuuri and Wolfram gulped as they stepped back in fear, especially when a pair of golden eyes looked up with the promise of death within them.
"Crap...!" they thought.
"What is all this, Yuuri? Blondie is your fiancé...?"
"Y-Yes, Onii-chan..." Yuuri answered shakily, "Wolfram is technically my fiancé. It's a long story. S-Sorry for not t-telling you..."
At that point, Sainan's smirk disappeared.
Wolfram and Yuuri did not know whether to be glad or terrified about that.
However, when Sainan started to cackle, they decided that they should feel the second.
"I knew it!" he exclaimed smugly, "You're gay! Hahahaha...!
Wolfram could not decide whether he should be horrified with the fact that he found Sainan's sudden 180 degree turn to be scarier than him getting pissed after all, or just be grateful to the Creator that they were spared from Sainan's wrath for accidentally waking him up.
"Either way, note to self: never wake Sainan up deliberately or accidentally."
He shook his head, "Scratch that, just stay the hell away from him when he's sleeping; and run for the hills when he does get woken up."
"I AM NOT GAY!" Yuuri yelled, jolting Wolfram out of his thoughts.
Sainan was still cackling hysterically as he stood up from the bed with his right hand on his hip, transferring his whole weight onto his left foot with a tilt of the hip in a sassy manner.
"Yes, you are! Come on, Yuu-chan! Get out of the damn closet already!" he said with fake girl voice.
"Sainan-oniichan...!"
"What...?" he raised a brow as his laughter calmed, "As I told you, I don't care if you're gay. It's better than you marrying a woman."
"How is that better?!"
Sainan fell quiet as he looked at Yuuri closely. His golden orbs glanced at Wolfram before turning back to Yuuri. He walked closer to both of them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders.
With a shadow over his eyes, he spoke with a serious and firm tone as if telling them that Doomsday had come.
"Because women are scary..."
"..."
"..."
To be honest, Shibuya Yuuri and Wolfram von Bielefeld could actually agree with that so they could not find anything else to say.
CREDITS
Written by: Sainan01
Edited by: AstridClaire
Characterization of OCs: Sainan01 & AstridClaire
Directed/Revised by: EmSAh
Banner Artist: AstridClaire
Produced by: Sainan01
*DISCLAIMER*
Sainan01, AstridClaire, and EmSAh do not own "God(?) Save Our King!" / "Kyo Kara Maou!"
AUTHORS' NOTES
Sainan01: Holy cheese, I finished it! :'D Yay...! I hope you like it. Please leave reviews, my dear readers. Thanks to all my reviewers, especially to wallxflower I have saw you in my other story that was in my old account Sainan00 'a forbidden love' thank you.
AstridClaire: Well, this is the newest chapter. This had the least changes in my opinion. Everyone, please keep supporting us. It would certainly help all of us improve our writing, especially Sainan01's. Stay beautiful and God bless you all!
EmSAh: I spy a little yaoi somewhere in there. Ah~ what a relief to my shounen-ai and yaoi-loving heart! Here are the updated pairings so far!
Wolfram/Yuuri,Gwendal/Günter, Yozak/Conrad, Sainan/Secret!OC, Past Shinou/Daikenja or Shinou/Murata, and more to come...
Thank you for everyone's love and support! We love you! Mwah~!