~.~.~

Title: Maoh, A Day Late

Summary: Yuri arrives in the other world late, and the race for the Boxes has already begun.

Notes: Murata Explains All. Or rather, because he's Murata, he explains a little and leaves out all the most important parts.

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Part III, Chapter 9

Sharing pain and joy

~.~.~

"Thank you so much, my dear Fanfan," Celi murmured, her tight embrace conveying more than words ever could.

Fanberlain stroked her golden curls, his smile gentle and fond. "Think nothing of it, Cecilie," he replied. "Why, I'm the one who's honored to have such distinguished passengers on one of my humble vessels."

Indeed, one of his smaller trading ships had picked them up, right under Big Cimaron's nose. Loaded in with the cargo, most of the group had simply collapsed and gone to sleep, with only Yuri remaining awake long enough to provide at least a bare-bones explanation to Celi.

Now, out in the open waters and far from danger, Celi finally allowed herself to relax and lean against her friend's subtle but unwavering strength.

"Don't worry, I will get them all home safely," Fanberlain said. "Leave it to me. Go. I know you want to be with them."

Celi smiled, running a delicate hand over his shoulder, as if smoothing away some invisible wrinkle. That gentlemanly charm under his roguish manner was what attracted her to him the most.

Patting him gently on the cheek, she left him to his business and descended into the cargo hold.

It was only partially lit by a lantern swaying overhead. An area in the center had been cleared out, with blankets spread out to make something that almost resembled a camp or a child's play fort, encircled by crates and barrels.

The Demon Kingdom's delegation to Big Cimaron (plus one) sat in a rough circle, now awake and beginning to chew their way through the rations that had been left for them.

"Is this really food?" Yuri grumbled around a piece of what might have once been meat. "Or just someone's old boots?"

Wolfram moaned. "Don't say that word," he complained, turning a green pronounced enough to be visible in the low light.

"Seasick again, Wolfie?" Celi cooed, kneeling beside her youngest and smoothing back his hair. He shuddered, forcing down rising bile.

"If you're not eating, then I'm gonna take your portion of the, uh, dried fruit or whatever," Yuri decided. Turning to the man next to him, he added, "Can I have yours too, Conrad? I'll trade you my, um, meat for it."

Startled at being addressed directly, Conrart appeared discomfited. He had studiously avoided meeting anyone's gaze and remained silent enough to almost let everyone forget his presence. Celi sadly watched him hesitate before offering Yuri a small smile.

"Of course, Your Majesty," he said, pushing his untouched rations toward Yuri.

For all his obliviousness, Yuri could be observant at the most inconvenient times. "No appetite? Are you seasick too?" he asked, picking out the parts he wanted and swapping in the ones he disliked.

Conrart didn't answer, but fortunately, Yuri didn't press, his attention drawn by something else. "Oh, by the way, my name is actually Yuri. Yuri Shibuya. Sorry about lying before," he said, smiling sheepishly.

"He knows," Wolfram grumbled, sitting up with an effort of will, though Celi urged him to lean against her. "Which, by the way, I'd like an explanation for. Among other things."

"I guess there's a lot we need to explain," Yuri said, chewing thoughtfully. "But there's stuff I don't get either. So where do we start?" He shared a look with Murata.

Murata sighed and pushed up his glasses. "Well, let's start at the beginning," he said.

He and Yuri exchanged another look. "That would be three years ago, right?" Yuri said, and Murata nodded.

He paused, staring into the shadows as he gathered his thoughts.

"As you know, Shibuya and I came here from another world, Earth," Murata began. "There, we're just ordinary kids. We met in middle school, three years ago. We were in the same class, but we weren't close. Then..."

Hesitating for a moment, he saw that every pair of eyes was firmly fixed on him, waiting.

"One day, I got cornered by some bullies. Shibuya tried to help me, but..." Murata pushed up his glasses, hiding his expression. "But, they ganged up on him and tossed him in the river. He hit his head and... by the time I pulled him out, Shibuya wasn't breathing."

There was a sudden clatter as Conrart reached, reflexively, for his sword, which no one had bothered relieving him of. He wasn't the only one. "That... that's... Earth is supposed to be safe," he said, somewhere between demanding and pleading.

Yuri smiled comfortingly, laying a hand on his arm. "It's okay. I'm fine, see? Murata called an ambulance and everything."

Murata nodded slowly. "Yes, but that wasn't what saved Shibuya. It was magic. I felt it... The Great One's magic. He had reached between worlds and..." His lips pursed, and Murata shook his head.

"When I came to see him in the hospital," he continued, moving on, "Shibuya told me he remembered another life, in another world. The old memories of his soul had become awakened."

"That's right," Yuri said, picking up the story. "It was a little weird, but I could suddenly remember a little bit of the person I had been before I was born. Most of those memories faded away, and I can't remember them now, but I still kept some things, like being able to speak the language and the same pact with the spirits. And in return, Murata told me about his own past lives."

"As the Great Wiseman, I can remember all my past lives, back four thousand years," Murata said. He shrugged. "Well, those memories are more distant for me, like something out of a book I read."

"The Demon Kingdom was a secret we shared for three years," Yuri said, smiling nostalgically. Ducking his head, Murata turned away. "We compared notes and made some plans. I started practicing magic, just a little. We thought... we'd have a lot of time, you know?"

"I haven't been back in the Demon Kingdom for a few lifetimes," Murata said, "so I didn't know the situation here very well. I had expected Shibuya to grow up on Earth until the Great One summoned him. But then, a little while ago, both of us felt it... that something had gone wrong."

"The Boxes," Wolfram muttered, his nausea forgotten as he focused his attention on their story. His narrow-eyed look was unreadable.

"I knew we needed to find out what had happened," Murata explained. "But the gate between worlds needs to be opened from both sides, and it takes a great deal of power. When I tried to reach out to the Great One, I couldn't feel him."

"We wondered why the new Demon King could not be summoned," Celi murmured. "Ulrike said even she couldn't hear the Great One's voice."

Murata glanced at her for a moment, then nodded. "Ultimately, Shibuya and I had to take a gamble," he said. "We plunged into the gap between worlds from a place where the boundary was thin. If I hadn't been able to reach Ulrike and guide us out again, we could've easily been lost forever beyond the edge of the worlds. Currently, there's no way for us to return to Earth."

Pulling his knees to his chest, Yuri curled up and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. Wolfram shot him a quick look, lips pursing in a frown. Beside Yuri, Conrart appeared lost in thought, his brow furrowed deeply.

"But what happened to the Great One?" Josak finally asked.

Murata hesitated. "I suppose" he finally said, "he might have exhausted his power by reaching across world like that and saving Shibuya. Even the Great One has limits."

Yuri's eyes darted to him, but he didn't say anything.

"Which is why I'd like to hear more about what happened with you, Lord Weller," Murata said, turning to Conrart. Wolfram followed his gaze with narrowed eyes, what Murata had revealed before clearly on his mind.

Surprised to suddenly find himself the center of attention, Conrart glanced around quickly. "...Yes. I'll explain everything," he said quietly. "To the first issue, I know His Majesty's name because I was the one charged with taking his soul to Earth in preparation for his birth. I had made sure he was well before returning to the Demon Kingdom, and I found out the name his parents chose for him at that time." His expression darkened. "Earth... was supposed to be safe..."

"Wait a minute," Yuri said suddenly, his eyes narrowing. "Wait a minute. If you, a Demon Tribesmen, were around for my birth... does that mean you're the guy that told Mom what July is called in this language? The super handsome, super nice fencer who shared a cab with her?"

When Conrart hesitated, Yuri leaned in, almost knocking their foreheads together as he tried to stare the man down.

"Um, yes," Conrart stumbled over his words uncharacteristically, probably unnerved by Yuri's sudden proximity and focused attention. "I didn't expect her to use that name..."

"That makes you my godfather!" Yuri beamed, sidling up to Conrart. "That's so cool."

"That's really a Japanese thing, Shibuya," Murata reminded him. "Don't dump responsibility on him like that. He just said something Mama really liked, that's all."

Yuri sulked while Conrart took a moment to work through his surprise. "No, I'd be happy to, um, be your godfather," he said, smiling a little. "It's an honor, Your Majesty."

He received a very flat look. "You're responsible for this weird name," Yuri told him. "So you better use it."

"As you wish... Yuri."

The smile Yuri gave him was bright and honest, and Conrart couldn't help smiling in return.

"Setting that aside," Wolfram said, huffing in annoyance while Murata tried to hide a smirk, "explain what you two were talking about back in Big Cimaron. What did you mean about the Great One giving you orders?"

Celi and Josak both started, their eyes darting to Conrart. The faint beginnings of hope and relief flickered in their expressions.

Conrart looked away, but Murata took up the explanation. "It's pretty easy to deduce if you think about it," he said. "Lord Weller's arm was the Key to the End of the Wind. It was cut off, but here he is, with two arms again. Something like regrowing an arm or even attaching another is so difficult it's almost purely theoretical, no matter how advanced your magic skills."

He paused, letting them absorb his words.

"The only one who could have accomplished something like that is the Great One," Murata concluded.

"Wait, that doesn't make sense," Wolfram protested. "You just said that the Great One exhausted his power! If he could do something like that, then why not bring Yuri to this world?"

"Keep in mind the sequence of events," Murata said reasonably. "The Box was only opened afterwards. Perhaps whatever power he recovered was used by this act." He appeared to think for a moment. "Furthermore, Lord Weller was on the verge of death. In that state, between life and death, it would be easy to communicate with him, especially considering the connection they share through the pact of the Keys. It would be something different from magic as you know it. And in this case, I believe the Great One transferred ownership of another Key to him."

Even Yuri was watching Murata closely, hearing this explanation for the first time. His expression was slightly dubious, or perhaps simply confused.

"Then... Conrart was acting on the Great One's orders?" Celi ventured to ask, her arm tightening around Wolfram's shoulders. If that was the case, then Conrart would be exonerated, his apparent betrayal of the Demon Kingdom forgiven.

Conrart looked away from her hopeful gaze. He nodded slowly. "After that battle, I saw a vision of the Great One. He ordered me to collect the four Forbidden Boxes and bring them to the Demon Kingdom," he explained quietly. "He gave me this arm and left me in Big Cimaron."

From that moment, his mission had been clear. It had been something only he could do. And... the Great One had known that Conrart would not act for his sake or for his orders alone. He had asked him to throw away everything for...

Conrart shook his head, pushing the thoughts the away.

"Belar realized from the start that I possessed a Key and allowed me into his ranks," he continued. "I was sent to pursue the Box that had passed through Svelera first, though it had already been moved to Caloria. Then, to Francia, after the Box in their possession."

Next to him Yuri nodded, knowing this part of the story. "And that's where we met," he concluded. The fact that their meeting had included him being imprisoned didn't seem to bother him, for all that the thought of it made Conrart feel by turns cold and strangely warmed. At least he knew that Yuri hadn't suffered anything worse than boredom and a bit of chilliness.

"Conrad," Yuri began tentatively, looking up at the man, "when he talked to you... did the Great One look okay?"

It was a strange question, and clearly caught not only Conrart but also everyone else off guard. As the others stared at Yuri in surprise, Murata pushed up his glasses. 'You can be very intuitive, Shibuya,' he mused, 'at all the most inconvenient times.'

"...I suppose so," Conrart finally said. "I did not get the impression of strain from him, but perhaps I was simply unable to judge something like that correctly. After all, I can't use magic."

Silence fell over the group, everyone focused on processing what they had learned.

"Well," Murata said finally, "is there anything else anyone wants to discuss?"

There was, clearly. Conrart glanced at Yuri, thinking of what Yuri might have wanted with Adalbert and all that him knowing of Julia implied. But Yuri had avoided mentioning just who his prior life had been, and Conrart would take his cue from that. He remained silent as Yuri smiled at him again.

Wolfram's gaze darted toward them, but he too said nothing, only frowning to himself.

"If not, I'm going to get some water and some fresh air," Murata said, standing slowly and groaning a little, like an old man. "All that talking wore me out."

Waving over his shoulder, he climbed up the stairs to the deck. Yuri watched him go as he nibbled half-heartedly on a piece of dried fruit. The atmosphere in the cargo hold was just too heavy, and Yuri wished he could just follow Murata out.

The first one to move was Celi. Standing, she moved to crouch in front of Yuri and Conrart. Slowly, she reached out to lay a tentative hand on Conrart's arm, as if afraid that he might pull away or vanish altogether.

"Your Majesty..." Celi began, hesitating. "About Conrart..."

"Hm?" Yuri looked up at her, then at Conrart. "About his mission? Well, I get that the Great One's orders are very important, but Murata said the last Box is on Earth. So no one can get to it, right? The only way we can travel back there is to wait until the Great One can help us open the gate between worlds." He shrugged. "When it's time, we'll all go together. As long as we get it done, how we do it shouldn't matter much, right?"

His reasoning seemed perfectly sound to Yuri, but both Celi and Conrart only stared at him. "...Leaving such an important mission hanging feels a bit weird, but there's nothing else we can do, right?" he tried, smiling sheepishly.

"Kiddo," Josak said flatly, when he realized no one else would do it, "they're asking you what Captain's punishment is going to be and if you're going to pardon him."

'Punishment? Pardon? For what?' Yuri wondered. "I told you already that, as the Demon King, I would definitely forgive you," he said, meeting Conrart's gaze squarely. "I've heard out your reasons, and they make sense, even if I think it was stupid of you not to tell anyone. What else is there to say? Now, let's keep our promise, okay?"

Looking into Yuri's dark, determined eyes, Conrart could only bow his head. He really was completely helpless against this boy. "As you wish, Your Majesty," he murmured.

Yuri huffed, frustrated, and thought of his mother. How did she go about forcing to call her "Mama" (since Shori certainly never succeeded in his quest to be called "Big Brother" again)? Miko Shibuya had employed a number of tactics, some more effective than others.

He decided to start with good old-fashioned guilt-tripping. "Eh," Yuri drew out, "so I'm just Your Majesty again? Is it because you don't like me?" 'Don't you love Mama, Yuu-chan?' Miko would cry crocodile tears. There was no winning against that.

The same was true for Conrart. He flailed, subtly, and held out his hands as if to comfort Yuri. "Of course not, Your... Yuri!" he assured the boy.

"Really? I'm so glad!" Yuri beamed, losing all signs of his prior sadness. Nearby, Josak snickered, and Celi hid a smile behind one hand. Grumbling something under his breath, Wolfram flopped down on the floor and covered his eyes with one arm. Now that things had settled, he was starting to look green again.

Yuri smiled. "I'm gonna get some fresh air too, okay?" he said. "You guys probably have a lot to catch up on."

Briefly resting one hand on Conrart's shoulder as he stood, Yuri quietly departed.

~.~.~

Yuri found Murata easily enough, standing next to the railings on deck and looking out across the calm sea. The sea breeze ruffled his short dark hair, but Murata didn't seem to notice, lost in thought.

Leaning over the railing, Yuri peered into the water. Despite his experience three years before, he had never been afraid of water or swimming.

"I was thinking," Yuri began, "back then, I really did drown. So wasn't I the same as Conrad? On the boundary between life and death?"

"Yeah," Murata agreed. "That's probably the reason why he was able to reach you like that."

Yuri nodded slowly. "But... I always thought that what saved me were Miss Julia's memories and her power," he mused.

"That's true," Murata said. "You reached deep into your soul and drew power from its previous lives. That strength helped you pull through when your own strength wasn't enough."

"I suppose there was also that other thing," Yuri continued. "But, would the Great One's power really have been exhausted from that? And if he knew it would be, then why do something like that? It wasn't necessary, was it?"

"It probably wasn't. But then, even I don't know what he's thinking," Murata replied, smiling strangely, his gaze still unwaveringly fixed somewhere in the distance. "In any case, even if that magic is beyond any living being, it still wouldn't have exhausted him, not to that point."

Yuri didn't appear surprised. He just looked annoyed at Murata's unhelpful response and waited, trying to stare his friend into clarifying faster.

"It wasn't that his power was completely drained. It was just the final act he chose to make. He must have know that it was already too late then. You noticed it, didn't you, Shibuya?" Murata said, sighing. "That's why you asked Lord Weller about him."

Slowly, Yuri nodded. "He didn't look well at all," he said quietly. "And he apologized to me. He said... he'd run out of time. He said he wasn't be able to do anything anymore. That I shouldn't trust him, after this." His mouth twisted, sadness filing his expression. His hands clenched, digging into the wood of the railing. "But he was still trying to help me."

Murata smiled bitterly. "He's a lot like you, in some respects. Just as stubborn, I'd say," he murmured. 'And just as kind, in his own way.' "After all, he was able to resist the taint of the Originator for four thousand years. Even if in the end... it proved too much for him."

"The Originators...? Is that what it was?" Yuri wondered, his eyes widening.

"Yeah," Murata said, closing his eyes tiredly. "He has probably been completely taken over. It was too soon... He sealed himself away, so they couldn't act through him to influence the world in their favor. He kept fighting as long as he could, but at this point he must already be... completely gone."

"Then you think the Originators were the ones to give Conrad those orders?" Yuri said, frowning.

"Purposefully placing a Key as near as possible to its Box? All in the hands of a madman like Belar?" Murata said cynically. "That's the likeliest explanation." His shoulders slumped. "It looks like... we're on our own. We're alone."

"You're wrong. We're all in this together."

Slowly, Murata looked up, his gaze drawn unerringly to Yuri, who had turned his face to the sky, the sea breeze and the gentle morning sun.

Anyone else, he thought, would have been panicked or at least unsettled by the revelation that the Great One himself was likely to become their enemy. But Yuri didn't look frightened or uneasy.

He smiled sheepishly, turning to Murata. "It might have been my fault that he decided to do that. I told him to stop fighting already," Yuri said. "He was trying so hard to help me, even though it must have hurt him so much. So I said, 'I don't need your help. I can do this myself. Leave the rest to me, to everyone. It'll be okay. You'll see, we'll make it.'"

'He looked so surprised. But the he smiled,' Yuri thought, 'and agreed. I wonder why he insisted on doing that one last thing, though.'

"...It must have been a relief to him," Murata mused. "That stubborn idiot..."

"I know that I'm just some kid," Yuri continued. "I can't do something as amazing as defeat the Originators. But I can do my part. And together, we won't lose. We'll finish this four thousand year old quest. With our strength, wisdom and courage, we'll triumph over the Originators and bring peace to the world! ...Isn't that how it goes?"

'I see,' Murata thought. 'So he believed in your promise and finally allowed himself to rest. Then, I'll believe in you too.' He blinked, realizing something. 'Heh, I guess it's too late for that. I've believed in you all along...'

"...Shibuya, you're really something else," Murata murmured. "But, I'll definitely support you. I'll help you fulfill that promise."

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((Apparently, in canon, Yuri and Murata were in the same class only in second and third years of middle school, so uhhhh divergence...?))

((A chapter of nothing but blah-blah-blah explanations. Great. The most important point is actually which characters know what, and that Yuri and Murata are hiding stuff from everyone else.))

((Most of this has already been mentioned or implied, but now it's all laid out. If you have any questions, go ahead and ask. There is only a little bit left to be discussed next chapter.))