"I'm so sorry about my tardiness." Mika said politely as she entered the throne room. "I had a…there was an incident."
Yuki, Shuichi, and K were gathered around her throne, and all three looked up immediately when they heard the Sultana's silky voice.
"Everything all right, milady?" K asked politely bowing his head. He stomped on Yuki's foot and he followed suit. Shuichi stuck out his tongue and glared at his stepmother. When she stepped towards him, he jumped behind Yuki for protection.
"Nothing I couldn't handle." Mika answered, smiling at K. If she weren't so attached to her platinum vizier, K would have made an excellent replacement.
"What's this about?" Shuichi shot at Mika, feeling more brave than usual due to Yuki's presence.
"Shuichi." Mika said darkly, ascending to her throne and raising her eyebrow at her stepson.
"Yes?"
"Behave…" Yuki whispered to Shuichi, grabbing him and pushing him towards the Sultana. "Go play nice."
Shuichi dug in his heels and latched onto Yuki's wrists, terrified to get within Mika's range.
"Alright, enough." Mika said, clapping her hands. Two guards entered and cracked their knuckles, looking tough. "Shuichi, don't make me use them."
"Whatever…" Shuichi hissed, rolling his eyes but ceasing his antics all the same.
"I called this conference to discuss your marriage." Mika said, getting right to the point. Shuichi looked like he might bite something and Prince Eiri looked like he could barely stand; he was covered in scratches and a few bruises.
"Marriage?" Yuki stuttered, taken aback. He knew that was what was expected, but he'd forgotten to fear it over the last few weeks. He'd been so happy with Shuichi that he'd stopped planning his imminent departure. For a while, he'd even considered staying.
"Yes, that's what you came here for isn't it?" Mika sniped, narrowing her eyes. She'd stuck up for him against Tohma, she'd arrested her vizier because of his crazy accusations, and she'd dismissed Nakano. If it turned out that he didn't even want to marry her insane stepson, she might have to kill someone.
"Well, yes, but…" Yuki stammered, unable to feel his tongue.
"What'd you do?" Mika shot at Shuichi, rising out of her throne.
"His majesty is just surprised at the suddenness of all of this. In our country, courtship lasts much longer…" K interjected, trying to smooth things over. Yuki was turning an odd shade of green and Mika looked like she was ten seconds away from strangling Shuichi.
"Oh really?" Mika asked, feigning interest. She said a prayer that Shuichi didn't bring up her ludicrous time limit. She had no idea how she'd recover from it.
K nodded enthusiastically and launched into a fifteen minute explanation of the courtship rituals in Yuki's fake country. Mika tried to interrupt his spiel, but once K got started, he was an unstoppable force.
Yuki spent the entire time shuffling around, trying to regain feeling in his extremities. He could sense the noose tightening around his neck, and he couldn't make himself calm down. Before this, he'd thought that he had ample time to get away, to leave the palace, but if he got engaged to Shuichi, he was stuck. He couldn't hurt him like that. It was better to disappear before he got his hopes up too high.
Shuichi, on the other hand, was dancing in place, thrilled with the idea of a lifetime of Yuki. He knew that he wasn't really a Prince, and that he probably hadn't come back for the sole purpose of winning his hand, but still. He had to hope, he could dream. He smiled up at Yuki, but the taller man's face was oddly vacant, and he kept twitching at random intervals. Shuichi backed up a few feet, unsure of what would happen next. He'd learned that Yuki could be quite unpredictable when he got like this.
"OK, OK, that was lovely, but we need to get his settled." Mika finally managed, patting K on the shoulder and clearing her throat. "Since Prince Eiri gave his consent when he arrived, Shuichi, this rests on your decision."
"Wait, what consent?" Yuki asked quickly, clapping a hand over Shuichi's mouth.
"You arrived here to court my stepson, no?" Mika questioned, confused. When K nodded in place of Yuki, she continued. "By doing so, you agreed to marry him if he chooses you. The entire point of your tenure here was to get to know Shuichi, and to see if he wanted you."
"You make it sound like it was my choice all along…" Shuichi muttered, snapping out of his giddy mode and glaring at Mika. Her little speech was a fabrication, and Shuichi knew it if no one else did.
"Right…" Yuki replied shakily, leaning against a pillar for support. He knew what Shuichi's answer would be, and then it was all over. He'd realized that he was cutting it awfully close by staying this long, but if they got engaged, he'd have no way out. He couldn't betray Shuichi like that. However, he couldn't give up the game in front of Mika or she'd have him killed. He couldn't decide which fate was worse.
"So, Shuichi, do you choose Prince Eiri? Or are you unhappy?" Mika asked Shuichi, ignoring the strange look on Prince Eiri's face. The faster she got her paperwork drawn up, the better.
"I'm not unhappy…" Shuichi said slowly, looking from Mika to Yuki. The latter looked like he was in intense amounts of pain, and Shuichi was afraid to answer Mika's question honestly. He had no idea if Yuki wanted to stay with him for that long, they'd never talked about it, and he looked so upset.
"Then it's a 'yes'?" Mika pressed, salivating.
"I don't know…" Shuichi stalled, staring fixedly at Yuki. "Eiri?"
Yuki shook his head and glanced up at Shuichi, a little startled by his answer and by the use of his real name.
"Yeah?" he replied slowly, unable to compose a sentence.
"What do you want?" Shuichi asked in a calm voice, walking over to his lover and putting his hands on his chest.
"Why are you wasting time? We already know what he wants!" Mika squalled, impatience getting the best of her manners. K raised an eyebrow and shot her a questioning look. She glared back at him, and he immediately started whistling and looking up at the ceiling.
"I don't." Shuichi responded, turning his attention back to Yuki. "Eiri?"
"I…" Yuki tried to reply, wishing that his brain wasn't failed him. He needed to find a way out of this, he needed to fix things, he needed to- he stopped himself before the hyperventilating commenced and gulped.
Shuichi's change in character had thrown him even more. He'd expected the selfish Shuichi to come right out and claim him. He didn't know what to think now. He weighed the choices, and they almost seemed to come up even. On the one hand, he could keep the palace lifestyle, the riches, basically, his lifelong dream, and be permanently attached to Shuichi, or he could run for it and go back to the streets.
The latter gave him freedom, but the first one gave him Shuichi. He could live without the riches, he had for most of his life, and he found the palace to be stuffy at times. He knew he'd be able to move on from that, but he wasn't sure if he could move on from Shuichi. His eyes scanned the room, taking in everyone's faces. Mika's head was about ready to pop off of her neck and explode, K was scratching himself surreptitiously, and Shuichi was staring at him with an expectantly worried look.
As soon as his eyes met Shuichi's, part of him decided without the rest's consent. He nodded involuntarily and instantly regretted it.
"Yes!" Shuichi shrieked, jumping up and throwing his arms around Yuki's neck. "I choose him!"
"Great…" Mika said through gritted teeth, her false enthusiasm long gone. "If you'll just sign here, Prince Eiri…"
Mika handed Yuki a few papers, and he robotically signed them. The majority of his brain had checked out when he'd nodded, and it had yet to respond to anything happening in the surrounding area.
"Now that that's taken care of, this meeting is dismissed. I'll arrange a formal announcement for this evening to introduce you to the council and a few other high-ranking officials." Mika told the other three in the room. The guards had sneaked out sometime during K's dating explanation, afraid of what would happen when Mika finally snapped.
"That sounds wonderful, we look forward to it milady." K returned politely, steering Yuki out of the room. Shuichi skipped after them, too happy to note how disconnected Yuki was. K closed the doors behind them and sighed, wishing that he didn't have to deal with the Sultana again. "Alright, you, snap out of it…"
K smacked Yuki in the face lightly, trying to jar him out of his stupor. One of his eyes was half-closed and he was leaning slightly to the left, relying on a wall to hold him up.
"I don't think I'll be of any use here…you try." K directed at Shuichi, patting him on the head and leaving for the suite. Ryuichi had had a pajama party with Tatsuha, and he was curious to see if he'd come back. If he had, then K was in trouble; the Rug Man would be the only thing standing between Ryuichi and world domination. "See you two later on then."
"Bye K!" Shuichi chirped, waving at K enthusiastically. When he turned to face Yuki, however, he immediately sobered up. "Yuki?"
Yuki didn't answer, and Shuichi started tugging on his sleeve, trying to elicit a response. He was starting to get worried.
"Eiri?" Shuichi whispered, unsure if he was allowed to use Yuki's real name but trying it anyway. Up until now, he'd always been limited to Yuki's nom de plume, and had been threatened with mortal wounding if he called his love anything else.
"What?" Yuki answered automatically, his eyes focusing and his posture relaxing. He was used to K breaking his name rule, but no one else dared to push that envelope. He looked down at Shuichi with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you alright?" Shuichi asked softly, wrapping his arms around Yuki's waist and looking up at him.
"No." Yuki replied, pushing Shuichi away. He could see that he was hurting Shuichi, but he knew that he'd hurt him more if he explained.
He couldn't possibly tell him that he'd made a mistake, that his body had acted independently of his brain, that he'd planned on leaving soon. Any of his thoughts would break Shuichi's heart, and he was becoming more unsure of his ability to do that by the minute.
"Why?" Shuichi pried, trying to find out what was wrong with his fiancé. "Let me help you…"
"You can't, Shuichi, just…"
"No, Yuki, don't tell me to leave…" Shuichi pleaded, sensing what was next. Yuki closed himself off every time something bothered him, and Shuichi was dying to be let in. "Please…"
"Shuichi, I'm sorry, I need to think." Yuki plowed on, pushing Shuichi away and striding across the hall.
"Eiri…" Shuichi whispered after Yuki's retreating back, wishing that Yuki could be as happy as he was about the engagement. Instead, he seemed miserable. "He said yes…he said he wanted me…"
Shuichi left the hall and made a beeline for Cinda, in need of some comfort.
"Finally…" Tohma muttered, stepping out from behind his column. "Thought they'd never leave."
He instinctively turned to silence Caspian's snarky response, but then he remembered that the green fiend was on his own mission. After he'd snapped out of his funk, he'd sent Caspian to watch the street rat's suite so that they could figure out a more subtle way of getting the lamp. They didn't have to kill Yuki as long as they had the lamp, and after some convincing, Caspian had agreed that no blood was better than no lamp.
Tohma sighed and walked over to his office to wait for Caspian. If nothing else, he could reflect on the meeting he'd just overheard. He couldn't believe that the street rat was taking things this far; he'd always come across as flighty. If he ended up married to Shuichi before they could steal the lamp, Tohma wasn't sure that Mika would allow him to live. Shuichi getting married was the first step in their plan, and they couldn't move on without the lamp.
Sure, Mika could always order Yuki to hand it over once he married Shuichi, but she was still under the impression that Tohma was a serial liar. She still didn't buy that her precious Prince Eiri had the lamp, and Tohma was certain that something terrible would happen if he tried to bring it up again. He groaned, and shut the office door behind him, deciding to do some dusting while he waited for the spying conure to come back. He kept telling himself that everything would work out, that Caspian would find something to help them, but a part of him couldn't stop worrying. He really didn't want to lose his head.
Yuki wandered the halls for a while, trying desperately to clear his head. He honestly had no idea what to do, even though he only saw two options. One, he could stay, marry Shuichi, and try to make things work, or two, he could run.
"That was the plan all along…" Yuki whispered to himself, trying to bolster support for the second option. Every time he saw himself staying and marrying Shuichi, his chest contracted and he saw spots dancing in front of his eyes.
He sighed and leaned against a wall, closing his eyes. It was times like this that made him wish for a friend, someone to talk him into or out of what he decided on. If K wasn't so homicidally inclined, he might fit the bill, and if Ryuichi wasn't clinically insane he might too. Yuki groaned and banged his head against the wall, wondering if he could knock some end-all answer loose.
He hated that he couldn't just make a decision and walk away like he used to, and he hated being split down the middle. Part of him just wanted the money and the palace like he always had, and part of him missed the freedom of his old life. He started musing about the streets, and his old house, and then memories of Ryuichi surfaced. Yuki immediately added him to the cons list for option two.
He stayed where he was for a little bit longer, squeezing every thought that he could out of his mind. At this point, he almost didn't care which option he chose, as long as he could choose one and not regret it. Once his mind went blank and he could no longer see straight, he pushed off of the wall and headed back for his old suite. He had it in his head that seeing Ryuichi would make the cons list all the more poignant, and could possibly force his troubled mind to pick a choice.
He reached the suite without incident, watching very carefully for Caspian and Tohma. If he did decide to stay, they'd be the first to go.
"Ryuichi?" Yuki called out, curious to see if his idea would work. "Where are you?"
He was met with silence, and was immediately worried. Ryuichi was only quiet when he was absent, up to something, or physically unable to speak. He did a quick search of the rooms, and came up empty-handed. He and Kuma were both missing, and the rug was snoozing peacefully in the corner, enjoying an early afternoon siesta.
"Damn…." Yuki said to himself, flopping into a couch to think some more. It was hopeless to search the palace, and he had to make a decision before K made him go to Mika's announcement that evening. Every second was a precious opportunity to sort out his life.
After a while, he found himself wishing that K or Ryuichi were there, just to break the monotony of it all. He sighed and burrowed into his couch, waiting for the answer to fall into his lap.
K whistled while he walked, his hands in his pockets, and his head held high. His plan was working, and Yuki's wish was being completely fulfilled and then some. He'd wished to be a Prince, and now he was going to be a Sultan. K sighed contentedly and did a little hop.
"Perfect…you're a genius. Who's a genius? You're a genius!" K gloated, patting himself on the back.
He was too busy celebrating his wonderfulness to notice that he was being stalked, and subsequently, never heard the vizier sneaking up behind him.
"You're mine, genie." Tohma whispered, pushing back his sleeves and preparing for the plunge. Caspian wouldn't approve, but he wasn't around to stop the carnage this time. Besides, he'd gotten bored with dusting three minutes after he'd started.
He continued to shadow the genie for a few steps, and then he lunged forward and tried to tackle the tall mythical creature. He slammed into K's solid back and bounced off, dazed.
"What the hell?" K asked, spinning around and pulling out his gun. He cocked it and aimed at Tohma, really despising the fact that genie's couldn't kill.
"No, no, no! This is backwards!" Tohma yelled, coming unglued again. He'd never had so many plans go so wrong in such a short amount of time. Before Prince Eiri, he'd never made so many terrible mistakes, and he was going to do his best to make this one succeed.
"It is?" K asked, putting his foot on Tohma's chest and grinning. "I'm not so sure."
"AHHHH!" Tohma screamed, shoving off K's foot and jumping up. "ARGH! YOU STUPID GENIE!"
"Whoa, man, breathe…" K suggested, staring at the lunatic in front of him. He had no idea how Tohma knew what he was, but if the cat was out of the bag, then so be it. "You can't handle this fight…"
"YES I CAN!" Tohma replied, screaming again and charging K. He hit him full-force, and when K stumbled slightly, Tohma pushed again and brought the strong genie down. "I win!"
"I'm still breathing." K told Tohma, patting him on the head with his gun and smiling. "Not over yet."
Tohma muttered something incomprehensible and proceeded to beat K's chest and face ferociously, working himself into a rage. K stayed where he was, occasionally shielding his face, waiting for Tohma to pucker out. The vizier kept up his attack for a few more minutes, and he leaned back, glaring at K.
"Just give it up."
"Can't."
"Really now?" Tohma asked slyly, a devious glint replacing the insane one currently residing in his eyes. A few of his spells flashed through his head, and he figured if he really, really concentrated, he might be able to unleash at least one of them properly.
"Oh, don't try that mess again…" K said to Tohma, rolling his eyes. He knew that he could easily blast the vizier halfway to China and back, but this was more fun. As long as he didn't try any funny business, K was content to stay right where he was. The rug could deal with Ryuichi on its own for a bit longer.
"Shh, I'm focusing."
K rolled his eyes again and started planning out the rest of his day, waiting for Tohma to get over himself.
"Alla ka ZAM!" Tohma yelled, his arms out and eyes squeezed shut. When nothing happened, he opened one and peeked to see what has happening.
"I think you meant 'zing'." K offered, feeling helpful. Tohma had no hope of hurting him.
"Thanks." Tohma said, smiling. He'd spent a few days researching ancient spells that were especially meant for use against genies, and most were so old that he was sure K wouldn't know about them.
"Alla ka ZING!" Tohma tried again.
The hall was silent for a few seconds, and then the ominous sound of rolling thunder started up. K looked at Tohma with a quizzical expression, pretty impressed that the vizier actually did something right.
"I DID IT!" Tohma yelled, getting off of K and dancing around the hallway.
"You made thunder, whoopee." K said, conjuring some confetti.
"Not just thunder, genie…"
"Alright, how the hell do you know about- OWW! OUCH! STOP IT!" K screamed, falling to his knees in agony. As soon as the thunder had stopped, he'd been struck with a lightning bolt, and he could feel the electricity coursing through his veins. "AHHHHH!"
"Gotcha!" Tohma crowed, crossing his arms and smiling at K's pain. He knew that he couldn't kill the genie without killing Mika's plan, but if he took him out for a few hours, he'd probably be able to finish off Prince Eiri or at least steal the lamp.
"Enough!" K pleaded, falling onto his face as the lightning ceased. He'd never felt such pain, he'd never been unable to help himself like that. He glared at Tohma's feet, panting and trying to regain his composure.
"Nope, I don't think so." Tohma replied, cracking his knuckles and preparing his next spell. K was back on his knees, trying to pull himself up, and Tohma was eager to get this over with.
Even though he was ready for the pain, the spell still knocked K back down to the floor. He screamed some more and writhed around, unable to focus long enough to use a counter-spell.
"Alright already, just conk out." Tohma sighed, exasperated. It'd been fun the first time around, but K's shrieks of pain were giving him a migraine. He put his hands over his ears until the spell ended, wishing he could remember how to silence someone.
"No…" K muttered, his eyes closed and his face covered in sweat beads. He desperately tried to rack his brain for a solution, but he was still reeling from the electric shock.
"This should do it…" Tohma said to himself, pulling out some notes and shaking back his sleeves. This spell was stronger than the last, and Tohma was certain that this would finish the genie off for a bit. "Say 'goodnight' genie…"
"KUMAGORO BEAM!" Ryuichi screamed, catapulting into the hallway and assaulting Tohma ferociously with his bunny companion. "LEAVE HIM ALONE, YOU BULLY!"
"Ahh!" Tohma yelled out, toppling over backwards. He rolled around on the floor, trying to dislodge Kumagoro from his boa.
"Ryuichi?" K asked weakly, finally pulling himself up and staggering towards his rescuer.
"It's okay, I got 'em." Ryuichi told K, narrowing his eyes at Tohma.
"Sure, sure, use the bunny, that won't save you…" Tohma muttered, dusting himself off and re-adjusting his boa. He tried to stuff the rabbit in his pocket, and when he'd succeeded, he started saying the right words to call on his next spell.
"Let's get out of here." K whispered, leaning heavily on Ryuichi.
"Not without Kuma." Ryuichi told K, gingerly helping him to the ground. He instantly adopted a crazed smile and started advancing on Tohma, his eyes locked on Kuma.
Tohma thought about rushing the spell, but if it failed, he would probably die. He'd never seen anyone have that look in their eyes, especially not over a stuffed animal. He backed up a few steps, but Ryuichi only increased his pace.
"Stay back!" Tohma warned, brandishing Kuma.
"Give me my Kuma." Ryuichi ordered quietly, his tone dangerous.
When Ryuichi kept coming, Tohma tried to zap him with a minor spell, but it backfired and got him instead.
"Yikes!" Tohma cried out, cringing.
"Not so funny now is it?" K quipped from the floor. His eyes were regaining their sharp edge, and he looked like his color was coming back.
Faced with an advancing Ryuichi and a recharged K, Tohma felt his advantage slipping away. He sighed and resigned himself to the inevitable conclusion.
"Alright, alright, just take it!" Tohma shrieked, all of his confidence giving way to panic. He tossed the rabbit at Ryuichi and ran for it, his boa blowing out behind him.
"Kuma." Ryuichi chirped happily, hugging the small bunny to his chest. "You OK?"
"I'll live." K answered, getting off of the floor again and stabilizing himself on the wall. "That vizier won't, though."
"He's a bully."
"Yeah, that's what he is…" K said under his breath, pushing off of the wall and heading for the suite. He figured that Yuki wouldn't have gone back to Shuichi's room after the scene in the throne room, and he had a huge bone to pick with him.
The Tohma attack had gotten the wheels turning in K's head. Sure, Tohma and Caspian had struck against Yuki plenty of times, but those attempts had always amused K as he stood on the sidelines. This time, it was personal, and he suddenly found himself tiring of the stupidity. Yuki was welcome to keep up the charade on his own, but K was done.
He'd already tried to talk to Yuki about using his third wish, with no success, but this time the conversation was going to go a lot differently. If he didn't wish him free that day, it could get ugly.
"Where you going?" Ryuichi asked, lost now that his purpose was complete. He'd heard K screaming as he left Tatsuha's room, and had come running to rescue the armed damsel in distress.
"Back to our rooms, I need to see if Yuki's there." K responded, trying to decide how he'd retaliate if Yuki didn't cooperate.
"YUKI!" Ryuichi squealed, dancing in place. With all of his Tatsuha plans and Yuki's natural hermit tendencies, he hadn't seen his friend for quite some time.
K sighed and watched Ryuichi peel out of the hall at full-speed, leaving clouds of dust behind him. He moved as fast as he could without cringing and eventually reached the suite. From the excited Ryuichi noises coming from within, he guessed that Yuki was indeed inside.
"Took you long enough." Yuki told K as the genie entered the suite. Ryuichi was bouncing up and down on his lap with the world's biggest grin in place.
"Don't start with me."
"Too late." Yuki sniped, feeling persnickety. Seeing Ryuichi again had had no affect on him, and the overwhelming panic was starting to return.
"Alright, wishing boy, behave." K said to Yuki, slamming the door behind him. He'd wanted to start out civil, but Yuki was clearing in need of an attitude adjustment. K channeled his frustration with Tohma and his anger for how Yuki was handling Shuichi and psyched himself up for a battle royal. "Ryuichi, give us a minute."
"But…"
"Now." K ordered, pointing to Ryuichi's room. He didn't want to tarnish Ryuichi's image of either of them, and he didn't want him getting stuck in the middle of the upcoming battle.
"Ah, K…" Ryuichi whined, trying to hug Yuki. "I wanna play too!"
"I'd listen if I were you…" Yuki whispered to Ryuichi, trying to push him off of his lap. He looked over Ryuichi's shoulder, and when he caught sight of K's face, he was a little taken aback. The genie looked genuinely angry.
Ryuichi glanced back at K and squeaked, terrified of what he saw. He leapt off of Yuki and ran for his room, not wanting to expose Kuma to any unnecessary danger.
"What the hell's wrong with you?" Yuki asked after the clicks and thumps from Ryuichi securing his door had subsided. He raised his chin slightly to stare at K's face, trying to read the genie. "Wake up on the wrong side of the lamp?"
"Make the third wish, set me free." K mandated, cutting right to the chase.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me, street rat, I'm done."
"Well I'm not." Yuki retorted, his feathers getting ruffled at K's use of 'street rat'.
"Really now? Then what was happening in that throne room? This is miserable for both of us, just end it now." K said to Yuki, attempting to reign himself in a little bit. If he wore Yuki down enough with the engagement fiasco, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't have to get violent.
"I nodded, didn't I?" Yuki answered, glaring daggers.
"Only because you lost control of your motor skills and your head fell forward. That was sheer dumb luck, and you know it."
"I planned that." Yuki replied quickly, trying to save some face. He could see exactly where K was going, and he was going to have to cut him off. He couldn't let the genie know how he really felt, and his earlier hopes of K as a confidant were fading fast.
He knew that this was a terrible situation, that was obvious, but he wasn't ready to handle things on his own. As long as he had K, he felt relatively safe, and he felt that he had an easy way out. All he had to do was wish to disappear, or to move faraway, something. Anything that would distance him from Shuichi once he left sounded absolutely perfect. He wouldn't be able to handle seeing him so broken, and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stay away once he was gone.
Even if he decided to stay, he'd need K. Until he'd actually married Shuichi, nothing was solid, and he needed the genie to back up his story and keep the spell going. Without K, he'd fail, and the Sultana would most likely have him executed. He took a deep breath and looked at K, wondering when the genie was going to make his retort. He'd been silent for a few minutes, and Yuki was afraid of the color that his face was turning.
"You did not plan that." K finally said, his teeth gritted. He couldn't believe that Yuki was so blatantly lying to him after all the help he'd given him. Besides, they'd agreed on this since the beginning.
"Yes I did."
"Oh please, I saw you in there. You looked like a fish out of water. Besides, you said you were leaving. So leave." K spat, getting pretty annoyed with his charge.
"I'm working on it…" Yuki muttered defensively, crossing his arms and glaring at K. His earlier thoughts started popping up in his head, and he had to work hard to silence them so that K didn't find some edge to the argument. He couldn't afford to set the genie free, and he wasn't going to give up without a serious fight. "It's none of your business."
"Oh yes it is! I made this! I made you! You are my business, you insolent thing!" K shouted, taking a step forward.
"Exactly! It's all your fault!" Yuki yelled back, getting out of his chair. His nerves had finally gotten the best of him, and K was the perfect outlet. He couldn't silence the unceasing voices in his head, and he felt completely panicked, completely out of his element. He had no idea what to do, and he had no conceivable way of reaching a decision before sunset.
"What? Don't even!"
"I didn't want any of this!" Yuki continued, gesturing to the suite. "I wished for money, for riches! Not to be a Prince!"
"Well I'm so sorry for giving you Shuichi!" K shouted, trying to land a blow to stop Yuki's rant.
"I didn't want him!"
"Yes you did!" K argued, in utter disbelief that Yuki would say such a thing. He'd never seen someone look so content as Yuki did when he was with the younger man, and he'd seemed pretty interested back in the oasis. "You would've wished for him if my rules allowed it!"
"Don't tell me what I wanted! I never wanted to be here, not like this, and now I'm trapped, I'm stuck, and it's your fault, you goddamn screw-up!" Yuki screamed, walking up and shoving K. "I didn't want him forever, and now I don't think I have a choice!"
"I'm a screw-up?" K questioned dangerously, shoving Yuki back. "I gave you the love of your life, I gave you your precious Prince, hell, I made you the Sultan!"
"Only if I give up everything and marry him!" Yuki shouted back, images of his hovel flashing up in his head. It was down-trodden, drafty, and small, but at least he had freedom there.
"He's worth more than that!" K replied, incensed. He hated that Yuki took Shuichi for granted so often, and it made him sick. "He's too good for you, you don't deserve him!"
"That's right, I don't! I never did, and I knew that, you're the one that made this happen!" Yuki snapped, resisting the urge to punch K. "And when I leave him and break his heart, that's your fault too."
"I…" K stuttered, his words jumbling up in his throat. He'd always blamed Yuki for the inevitable, but he'd never thought about the part he'd played. Yuki was right, if he'd ignored Ryuichi and done what he was told, none of this would've happened.
"You're an ass, you worthless genie." Yuki said to K, intending to wound.
"Fine. Whatever. Just wish me free and that'll be it." K conceded after a few tense minutes of silence. He didn't know what else to say to Yuki, and the defeatist attitude had taken him over. Now that the adrenaline from the Tohma encounter was starting to wear off, he just felt tired, and completely drained.
"No, are you crazy?" Yuki asked incredulously, shaking his head at K. He thought that his 'worthless' comment would've silence K for a few days at least, but he was clearly not ready to give up. "No, you got me into this mess, and you'll get me out of it."
"That wasn't the deal!" K replied, finding his second wind. Yuki was openly violating their agreement, and he wasn't about to let that happen. Every other master he'd served had done the same thing, and he'd told himself before he met Yuki and Ryuichi that he would never let that happen again.
"That deal was null and void the second you ignored my wish and listened to Ryuichi!"
"No it wasn't!"
"I have the power here, genie, you listen to me!" Yuki yelled, his eyes popping. He'd resented K and Ryuichi every time something had gone wrong in the palace, and now that he was supposed to get married and stay there forever, their hides were definitely on the menu. "I own you!"
"You own me?" K retorted, snorting at Yuki. "No one owns me!"
"Tell that to your lamp." Yuki replied snarkily, pulling out K's lamp and waving it at him. "Once I decide what to do about the engagement, I'll use my last wish to make sure things go smoothly."
"You can't do that!"
"I can do whatever I want!" Yuki told K, putting the lamp back in his pocket. K's responses were getting weaker and weaker, and Yuki noticed that the genie was barely standing up. Something had clearly happened to him, but Yuki was beyond caring. Anything that gave him the upper hand in the argument was fine with him. He sensed the opportunity to end things quickly, and took it. "That's that, this is over."
"It's not over until I say it is!" K shouted, desperate to regain some control.
Yuki had never exercised his power like this, and K had never expected him to. He'd thought about ways to force the street rat to see things his way, but even if he dissolved the Prince wish, K had the distinct feeling that Yuki would just wish for money and disappear into the sunset, happy as a clam. Even if he wanted to stay, he could use his last wish to get it all back. K sighed in frustration and glared at Yuki, regretting for the second time that day that genies couldn't kill.
"We done here?" Yuki asked, raising an eyebrow and flopping into his chair again. "Because I am, and I'm not wishing you free."
"We are most certainly not-"
"Enough."
"This is not over, Eiri, I'm not letting this one slide. You owe me my freedom!"
"I owe you nothing!" Yuki yelled, getting up again and practically frothing at the mouth. "You ruined my life!"
"That's how it is, then?" K asked quietly, watching Yuki's contorted face. He saw now that he had no chance of making Yuki do what he wanted, and if the fight continued, it would only get worse. "Really? After all I've done?"
"Especially after all you've done!"
K stopped and looked at Yuki, unsure of what to do. He'd never felt so betrayed, or so used, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. He and Yuki had never been bosom buddies, but they'd been through a lot together. He thought about using violence to convince Yuki, but for some reason, that didn't feel right. He couldn't guilt trip him, his last few replies had proven that, and he was incapable of being convinced. In the face of defeat, he only had one option, and that was to sever the connection entirely. If Yuki didn't value his companionship and previous loyalty, K would make him with his absence.
If he got attacked again, so be it. He'd have to use the third wish to save himself, no more freebies. If he needed advice, he'd have to ask Kumagoro. If he needed someone to occupy Ryuichi while he was with Shuichi, maybe he should go ask his old friend Tatsuha.
K sighed and looked Yuki in the eye, trying to determine if there was any wavering. When Yuk continued to glare, K gave up and moved forward with his last resort.
"Fine." K said, backing up and shaking his head at Yuki. "If that's what you want…master."
With that said, K snapped and disappeared, willingly entering his lamp for the first time in weeks.
"K?" Yuki asked after a few minutes of quiet. K had never done this before, and Yuki was completely shocked.
His question received no response, and Yuki instantly regretted his choices. He'd been much too hard on his friend, and he wasn't sure if K would ever forgive him. He groaned and leaned back, pushing those thoughts out of his head to focus on his engagement conundrum. Each second that ticked by felt like a stab wound, and he wasn't even close to reconciling himself to either choice.
He weighed the options over and over again for a while, until some strange noises in his vicinity grabbed his attention. K wasn't coming out anytime soon, and Shuichi knew better than to bother him when he was thinking. He heard the noise again and stood up cautiously, scanning the room for the source.
He couldn't see anything moving around, but he could still hear a distinct ruffling noise. He immediately thought of Tohma, but the vizier was too conspicuous to be well-hidden.
"Wait…Caspian?" Yuki asked, looking around the ceiling. There were several potted plants, and the high shelves would make an excellent vantage point for a pesky parrot.
"Yes?" Caspian called back, unable to pass up the tantalizing chance to screw with Yuki's head. He knew he had to tell Tohma what he'd overheard, but he still couldn't resist. He hadn't promised to be timely in his reporting, he'd only promised not to cause any mayhem or dismember anyone while Tohma wasn't there to supervise.
"What are you doing here?" Yuki asked suspiciously, his eyes going in circles trying to locate the cocky menace.
"Ah, that's the million dollar question, now isn't it?" Caspian chirped, edging around his shelf so that he could see the door. It was closed, but if he moved fast enough, he'd be able to swing off of the handle, open it, and fly for freedom.
"Bird."
"Well now, you do an excellent Tohma impression." Caspian informed Yuki, preparing for flight. "I'm just here to check up on things, see how you're genie is doing…"
"Genie?" Yuki repeated, horrorstruck. They weren't supposed to know who the genie was, even though they knew he had the lamp.
"Yeah, you're not nearly as sneaky as you think." Caspian replied, twittering with glee at the look on Yuki's face. His rapid movements gave him away however, and before he could flap for it, Yuki was hurling pillows at him.
"You devil bird!" Yuki screeched, throwing everything he could lay hands on at Caspian. "Get out!"
"If that's what you want…" Caspian replied, ruffling up and careening off of the shelf. He dodged a few more projectiles and alighted on the door handle, jumping up and down until it opened. Once the way was clear, he released the handle and went skidding into the hall, only taking flight when Yuki stopped pelting him with pillows. "Tohma will be thrilled…"
"Damn…" Yuki whispered to the empty room, very concerned about what Caspian was going to do with his new information. He had no idea when the dastardly duo had deduced that K was the genie, but it was not a good sign.
"Is the conure gone?" Ryuichi asked timidly, peeping out of his room with Kuma on his head. "Is it safe?"
"Yeah, it's safe…" Yuki mumbled, shutting the door again.
"Okay." Ryuichi said quietly, shuffling back out. "Yuki?"
"What now?"
"Where's K?"
"He…" Yuki paused, trying to find the right word. He wasn't sure how many pillows Ryuichi had piled up on his side of the door, and had no way of knowing how much of the fight he'd overheard. "He's taking a nap."
"You're just lying to everyone today, aren't you?" Ryuichi asked seriously, setting Kuma down and crossing his arms.
"Not you too…" Yuki murmured, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.
"You took it too far." Ryuichi told Yuki, upset at what had transpired between his two amigos.
"He started it."
"You didn't have to finish it."
"Listen, I don't need this from you!" Yuki yelled at Ryuichi, stomping off to his door.
"Then who do you need it from, I'll go and get them!" Ryuichi shouted back, angry with his long-time companion. Yuki had always had these tendencies, but he'd never acted on them so much in a single conversation.
"Stay out of it."
"Too late, I'm already in it. You need to apologize." Ryuichi told Yuki, trying to fix things.
"Not until hell freezes over."
"That's not nice, Yuki…Kuma doesn't like it when you do this…" Ryuichi mumbled, slipping back into his childlike state in the face of Yuki's worst glare.
"You and your stupid rabbit can bugger off, I don't give a damn!" Yuki shot back, walking into his room and slamming the door behind him.
"Yuki…" Ryuichi whispered, the anguish clear in his voice. He hated fighting with his friend, and this was one of the worst. He sniffed a few times, fighting to hold back his tears. When they got the best of him, he grabbed Kuma and ran for the door, setting out to find Tatsuha.
Yuki waited until Ryuichi's cries died down and eventually were out of hearing range. He sighed and rolled off of his bed, wondering why he couldn't control himself. In less than an hour, he'd lost the only person he'd ever fathomed calling a friend, and his wartime pal.
He shook his head again to clear his mind, and returned to his miserable reverie. He could see the blue sky out of his window, and he knew that it would soon turn red and doom him to his fate. He groaned and grabbed a pillow to cover his face with, wishing that he'd never agreed to go traipsing across a desert with a banana; decomposing in a jail cell would've been better than this.
This is a nice, long chapter to make up for the fact that I won't be updating next weekend. I'll be at Naka-Kon a week from right now, dancing the night away with Jareth the goblin king from the Labyrinth. I'm not taking my laptop with me, so no post. If you happen to be going, I'll be the Dante wandering around with a Vergil, a Mad Hatter, a Jareth, possibly a Tohma, and other insane people. Have a good weekend/next week peeps, I'm out.
-Amaya