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Title: Maoh, A Day Late
Summary: Yuri arrives in the other world late, and the race for the Boxes has already begun.
Notes: The past, part 2. Yuri sees some familiar people and disagrees with Julia.
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Part III, Chapter 6
I laughed and lived (II)
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"W... woah!" Yuri drew out, craning his head back to stare up at the castle. Leaning too far backward, he almost tumbled over, only just righting himself by pinwheeling his arms.
"This is Covenant Castle. It's where our ruler, the Demon Queen, lives," Julia explained, smiling again. "It's impressive, isn't it?"
"Yeah! It looks amazing," Yuri exclaimed, only to pause. "But you..."
Julia shook her head. "I don't need to see it to know how impressive it is. I've walked along all the towers and walls."
"Really? You've been there? Then have you met the Demon Queen? I bet she's really pretty! Oh..." Yuri trailed off, again putting his foot in his mouth.
"We're going to castle right now," Julia explained, her lips quirking in amusement. "I'm good friends with the Demon Queen. And she's the winner of the Demon Kingdom beauty pageant eighty years running."
"E-eighty?!"
The guards at the castle gate bowed to Julia, letting her through without question. Knowing the way well, she took the lead and dragged the gawking Yuri behind her.
Slowly, his excitement waned, turning again to concern. The castle was amazing, of course, but Yuri couldn't miss the way certain things had been neglected. Even the expansive flower beds had been left to wither.
Making her way through the empty castle halls, Yuri in tow, Julia paused outside the main audience chamber. She could raised voices from inside. Looking up at her, Yuri could see the same bitter sadness begin to cloud her expression.
"...wait a little longer," a cultured male voice was saying beyond the archway. The tone of it struggled to remain even, but still desperation crept through. "Just a few more days until the next supply shipment arrives."
Leaning around Julia to peek inside, Yuri could see it belonged to a tall man with long pale hair, dressed in all white. He and the others stood at the other end of the large chamber, around the centerpiece of the room - an ornate throne, upon which sat a beautiful woman.
"There's no point, is there?" another man said, his voice low and cold. Unlike the first, he wore what was clearly a military uniform, his dark hair cut much shorter, though still long to Yuri's eyes. "The outcome won't change. Those supplies would be better put to use by my men."
"The area where your squad will be deployed isn't expected to see battle," the first man protested. "These supplies could save their lives! If even just one can make it back..." He looked away, and even Yuri could see his shoulders tremble slightly.
The second man snorted. "Even the Great One couldn't grant such a miracle," he muttered, the sound carrying easily through the great hall. The woman on the throne drew a quiet, stuttering breath, as if fighting down a sob.
"Now, now," an older man beside her said, in a falsely consoling voice. "Your concern for your students does you credit, Lord Von Crist! But there is no need to grieve for them! We should rejoice! They will clear their names and do their country a great service! There is no greater honor!"
'...What is he saying?' Yuri thought numbly. The words were all clear, but somehow the meaning wouldn't reach him. A shiver crawled down his spine. Somehow, he already knew... it was something terrible. Julia's hands had fallen to his shoulders, squeezing tightly until the knuckles turned white. He could feel her trembling faintly behind him.
"There's certainly no need to mourn for that trash," the dark-haired man agreed, disgust clear in his voice.
Yuri still didn't understand - he was afraid to understand - but he knew that man had just said something he couldn't allow. Something unjust.
The vases that stood along the corridor suddenly trembled, the dried up flowers shedding their last petals, and the water inside exploded upward in small but furious geysers. Hitting the ceiling, it flowed toward the space above him and swirled together.
Julia's hands clamped down on his shoulders, shaking Yuri out of his trance. Falling down abruptly, the water drenched them both and soaked the expensive carpet. Yuri blinked, coming back to himself, and looked around the hall, which had become a scene of catastrophe.
"...What was that?" Yuri wondered, shaking a little as the cold water soaked into his borrowed cloak.
"Magic," Julia said quietly. "I guess you now have the same pact as I do, with the spirits of water."
He looked up at her, about to ask more questions, but hurried footsteps echoed through the audience chamber archway, and a man's figure burst through. It was the same dark haired man Yuri had become so angry with, his hand on his sword and an angry, searching expression on his face.
"What was that?" he demanded, his cold eyes falling on Yuri and Julia.
"Training accident," Julia said, completely calmly. "We were working on our magic, but it got a bit out of control."
"I'll say," the man snarled, looking around the hallway. Even if he realized she was just making things up, he didn't call her on it. He appeared almost disappointed that there were no enemies for him to fight. Behind him, the pale-haired man had also come to investigate, but he stepped aside easily as Julia made her way into the audience chamber.
Seeing the pair enter, the woman on the throne jumped to her feet and raced toward them. Her arms wrapped around Julia and embraced her tightly, almost clinging to the younger woman.
"Julia," she murmured, "it's so good to see you, my friend."
Peering around Julia, Yuri could see her smile kindly. "Shh, it's alright, Celi. It'll be alright," Julia whispered, gathering healing magic in her palm.
In truth, even Julia couldn't simply heal the wounds of the heart, but she could ease the physical strain that had built up within her friend. Under Julia's healing touch, the marks of countless sleepless nights and the tension of deep grief melted away. With a soft sigh, Celi slid to her knees, still holding on to Julia.
Cautiously, Yuri peeked around Julia's form. The men had departed, turning their faces away from Celi's grief, and only the two women and Yuri remained in the audience chamber. His dark eyes met Celi's as she finally looked up, and the two stared at each other for a long moment.
Celi smiled, gently but lacking its usual exuberance.
"And who might you be, honey?" she asked.
"Ah, um..." Yuri stammered, realizing for the first time just how beautiful the woman in front of him was. This had to be the Demon Queen! There was no way anyone could be prettier than her!
As if sensing all the flattering things he was thinking, Celi's smile widened.
"Oh, but look at you two! You're soaked! I'll get you a change of clothes," Celi decided, clapping her hands together. Her eyes were quickly gaining a certain sparkle that felt all too familiar to Yuri. "I think," Celi said brightly, "some of Wolfie's clothes will suit you just fine!"
A shiver went down his spine.
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Yuri sputtered.
Seeing his unhappy expression, Celi glanced at the garment in her hands. "Too plain?" she wondered.
"Too frilly!" Yuri snapped.
Changed out of her uniform into a simple white dress, Julia tried to hide her smile behind one pale hand. She didn't need to see the thing Celi was holding up to understand what was happening - and to find a great deal of amusement in it.
"Oh, come now! At least try it on!" Celi cajoled.
"No!" Yuri exclaimed, grabbing on to his hood and cloak as if to stop it from getting ripped away. "Never! I'm never wearing a dress again!"
"But dresses are so much fun!" Celi protested.
"I'm a boy! Why are you even giving me a dress in the first place?!" Yuri all but wailed. He was cursed. Cursed!
"Oh," Julia said, in a tone of startled surprise. "You're a boy?"
It was the last straw. "I-I-I..." Yuri stammered. "But you-you, at that shrine..." Finally giving up, he could only keen softly and hide his face in his hands. His shoulders shook as his male pride was cruelly shattered. "You're evil! Absolutely evil!" Yuri exclaimed, pointing at her angrily.
For a moment, Julia tried to maintain an even, peaceful poker face, but a very unladylike smirk kept tugging at the edges of her lips. He was just so indignant! She could imagine him puffing out like an angry kitten. It was too much.
Peals of happy laughter rang through the room as Julia gave in. Her whole body shook as she laughed whole-heartedly, clutching at her stomach.
"Don't laugh! You're terrible! You're just like my mom!" Yuri protested, shoving at her shoulder. It just made Julia laugh more. Even Celi had begun to giggle behind her hand.
"It's just too easy! You make it too easy to tease you!" Julia said, trying to calm herself with deep breaths. Now and then, her shoulders would shake as she tried to swallow another chuckle. "It's been such a long time since I laughed like that..."
Reaching out, Celi pulled them both into a tight embrace. "Thank you," she murmured, burying her face in their shoulders. "Thank you both..."
Yuri squirmed a little, but all he could really do was pat her gently on the back. It seemed terribly wrong that such a beautiful woman would be so sad. He couldn't help but wonder what she would look like filled with happiness.
"You should rest, Celi," Julia told her gently. "Try to get some sleep."
"You know I can't, not when... at dawn, he'll be..." Celi tried to say, unable to even force the words out. Stroking her hair, Julia guided her to the couch and settled her down on it. All of her grief and exhaustion seemed to be finally catching up with her, and unwillingly Celi's eyes drifted shut. For several long moments, Julia remained beside her, humming a gentle tune.
"Come on," she whispered, reaching out tentatively to lay a hand on Yuri's shoulder. Feeling the damp fabric under her fingertips, she paused. "Ah, we still have to get you changed..."
"...I'm fine like this," Yuri muttered, taking her hand and pulling her toward the door.
"I suppose so. You won't get sick, after all," Julia mused.
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Making their way through the empty, almost abandoned halls, the two of them wandered out into the garden. Among the silence, broken only by the distant sounds of barked orders and the clinking of armor, a grey, depressed mood had settled over the pair.
Julia settled on the dusty lip of the fountain, dipping her hand into the still water of the basin. Yuri crouched beside the withered flower bed, letting his hands run through the dry brown stalks.
"It's all so sad," he muttered. He frowned, but his unhappiness and confusion wasn't directed at the wilted blossoms. "Miss Julia... I don't understand. What's going on? Is this what war is like? It doesn't feel you're just going through hard times. It's like no one even knows how to smile anymore, like you'll all never smile again. I can't imagine how hard it must be for all of you, but it'll end one day! And then, you can be happy again, right? So why...?"
Julia's expression was heartbreakingly sad as she turned toward him.
"It's because even when the war ends, we will have lost many irreplaceable things," she explained gently. "So many of our comrades, our friends, families, will be gone. And..."
"Did you... lose a friend?" Yuri ventured, watching her tremble in grief.
"I've lost many friends," Julia said quietly. "We all have. And I'm about to lose another."
"D-don't be like that!" Yuri protested, shaking his head. "Don't cry yet! He'll make it back!"
"No," Julia said, with pained surety. "He won't. None of them will. This is what they were speaking about in the audience hall. The Luttenberg division... it is made up of soldiers who are half-human. Because of rumors that they were aiding the enemy, they volunteered to fight a battle that can't be won. Against an overwhelming enemy, with insufficient supplies..."
Unable to continue, Julia fell silent, her clasped hands clenched together painfully in her lap. For a moment, Yuri thought she would cry, but her eyes remained painfully dry, as if she had run out of tears.
"But that's-! That's not right!" Yuri protested, jumping to his feet. "Why would they do that? Why is everyone just letting them?!"
"This... is the meaningful battle Adalbert spoke of," Julia said, almost to herself. "I understand now. Some things... some things are worth dying for."
For a moment, Yuri could only stare at her, his dark eyes wide.
"There's nothing worth dying for!" he yelled suddenly, bristling. "It's one thing... It's one thing to risk your life, but to just decide you're going to die?! To just give and say it'll be enough?" His shoulders shook, angry tears welling up in his eyes. "That's not right! You... You have to keep going!"
He couldn't hold back the heavy sobs that tore out of his chest, thick tears sliding down his cheeks. Reaching out, Julia ran a soft hand across his heaving back and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. His tears soaked into her blue cloak as she hummed a gently tune, trying to soothe him.
"Don't give up," he sobbed, voice muffled against her shoulder. "You... you have to believe in your friend. If he knows you're waiting for him, he'll fight twice as hard to come back to you!"
For a moment, Julia's hand stilled, before resuming its comforting motions.
"Giving up..." she murmured. "I wonder if perhaps I had given up. I wished for peace, for the Demon Tribe and the humans. I still believed that the time will come when we will be at peace. But... I couldn't imagine it. What would that peaceful world be like? Could it ever truly be real?"
Her hand rested over his hooded head, patting softly. Looking up, Yuri was surprised to see her smile. No one except his parents had ever looked at him like that, like he was everything they had ever hoped for, their every dream realized.
"But now I know, such a world can exist," Julia said. "It will exist. One day... the bloodshed will end. Everything that has been lost and sacrificed will no longer be a burden, but a foundation for that future."
Slowly, Yuri rubbed away his tears. "...I don't know anything about world peace," he said. "It sounds like something one person can't do on their own. Maybe you should start a little smaller. I think... you should see your friend off. He's leaving at dawn, right? That way, he'll..."
He trailed off, seeing the expression on Julia's face. She was still smiling at him kindly, as if he was something precious. But it was clear his words were only hurting her.
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Fine be that way and don't review, see if I care! Just so you know, I finished Part III, and now I'm not gonna write anymore because I'm not motivated. ;_;
((Interestingly, the manga says that Luttenberg is not the place where the Luttenberg division fought. Rather, it's an area of the Demon Kingdom where many half-breeds live (segregation?) and also where Conrad was born. Probably most of the Luttenberg division soldiers were born there.
The defining battle of their division took place in Arnold. Which is a town, I think.
For the record, the song Julia hums is, in my mind, Fake Wings from .hack-SIGN. It's really great, and kinda fits next chapter in a way. Check it out!))