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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. Season 2.

Notes: Yuri catches up on what happened while he was away.

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Part V, Chapter 1

The color black

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Taking a deep breath, Wolfram raised his hand and knocked on the great double doors of the Demon King's chambers. For several moments, he stood, waiting silently, but there was no response.

Thinking he had been too timid and feeling angry and embarrassed, he raised his fist and pounded on the wood.

"Yuri! Hey, I know you're back!" Wolfram yelled. "Open up!"

A door opened. But to his surprise, it wasn't the one he was knocking on. Rather, the door of the rooms next to the Demon King's had opened and Yuri's familiar dark head peeked out.

"Wolfram!" Yuri greeted cheerfully. "Hey, what's up?"

For a moment, Wolfram simply stared. "What... what are you doing? Why are you over there?" he wondered. Flushing a little, he wondered, 'Did I get the wrong room? That's not possible!'

"Oh, I'm helping Conrad settle in!" Yuri said brightly, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"What?" Wolfram repeated, dumbfounded. 'What are you helping him with? I doubt he's got much, and you've been back for a while. And for that matter, why is he moving in next to you?!'

"The room next to mine was empty, so I thought it was a good solution, right?" Yuri explained, beaming proudly. "Gwendal agreed too."

"Well, I suppose it's not bad to have someone nearby to protect you," Wolfram conceded, getting pulled along by Yuri's reasoning. He shook his head. "Anyway, it's convenient. I wanted to talk to Weller."

Taking his cue, Conrart stepped out of his new room as well and regarded Wolfram neutrally.

"Come with me," Wolfram demanded, covering his nervousness with bluster. When Conrart hesitated, Wolfram snapped, "Well, what's the problem? You're off-duty, aren't you?"

"I'll come too," Yuri decided, looking entirely too anticipatory.

"...If you don't mind me asking," Conrart said, still hesitating at the door, "what's this about?"

"Sword training," Wolfram said succinctly. He shifted the two training swords under his arm. He could feel himself flushing as his resolve wavered under the press of his embarrassment and uncertainty. What was he doing? This was stupid. He-

Wolfram shook his head again and, reaching out suddenly, grabbed Conrart's arm. Tugging sharply, he began to unceremoniously drag his brother down the hall.

"Wait for me!" Yuri yelled, jogging after them. He only smiled brightly as Conrart shot him a startled, helpless look.

"Don't misunderstand!" Wolfram called back over his shoulder. "I just need someone to take my strikes! Everyone else is too pathetic. They keep giving up too fast!"

"So he's just a training dummy?" Yuri wondered under his breath.

Dragging his brother out into the courtyard, Wolfram quickly let go and hurried to take up position across from him. "Here," he called, tossing Conrart one of the practice swords he had brought. "Let's get started!"

Despite his surprise, Conrart somehow managed to not fumble, catching the practice sword and bringing it into position. Nodding once, Wolfram went on the attack.

Watching them, Yuri smiled and shook his head. Despite his mother's best efforts, he didn't have much interests or understanding of swordsmanship. Wolfram had brought them to the familiar area next to the fountain, and Yuri instead wandered over to the flowerbed. Reaching out, he noted with some surprise that the blue flowers he liked were blooming again.

He looked up as a shadow fell across his back.

"Hey, Murata," Yuri greeted, waving. "What's up?" Taking the hand his friend offered, he stood up.

"Welcome back," Murata replied. "Sorry it took me so long to drop by."

"Did something happen?" Yuri asked. "I mean, with..."

Murata hesitated before shaking his head. "...I don't think so," he said, unusually uncertain. "The seal is getting weaker though, so we've been having trouble containing the leaking miasma. And then that blowhard came barging in... Honestly."

It was rare for Murata to speak so negatively. Usually he was the sort to give backhanded compliments and disguise his insults. More than anything else, that gave Yuri some idea of how stressed the Great Wiseman really was.

'Even though I declared we would put an end to the threat of the Originators, I've got no idea what to do from here,' Yuri thought glumly. 'We gathered three of the Boxes, but the fourth is probably on Earth. But we don't even know how to travel to Earth without the Great One's help, and he's...'

Yuri was startled out of his increasingly depressing thoughts as Wolfram was suddenly sent flying. The young lord hit the ground hard, groaning, though he at least managed to keep hold of his practice sword.

"Way to go," Murata sighed, pushing up his glasses.

"What happened?" Yuri asked, glancing between and the two brothers.

Murata shook his head. "Young Lord Von Bielefelt took Lord Weller by surprise. I guess he improved while Lord Weller wasn't looking..." Murata mused. "Lord Weller reacted instinctively and... well, you see."

'Oh, I've seen that in historical dramas,' Yuri thought, nodding.

"Wolfram! Are you alright?" Conrart called out, moving tentatively toward his younger brother.

But Wolfram appeared to be just fine. He sat up abruptly, shaking off his surprise. "One more time!" he declared, climbing to his feet. "And don't hold back this time!"

"...Of course," Conrart agreed after a moment, holding his sword up again. He hesitated before adding, "Perhaps this time you can try putting a little more of your weight forward..."

Wolfram nodded sharply, shifting his stance, and launched into another attack.

~.~.~

"Oh, I never did get around to asking," Yuri remembered suddenly. "How did your trip go?"

"Huh?" Wolfram looked up before giving up and letting his head drop again. His shoulders were heaving, and he was covered in sweat, more from his own fervent attacks than from anything Conrart had done.

"Are you okay?" Yuri wondered, leaning in to look at Wolfram's face.

The young nobleman shoved him away weakly. "Cut it out. I'm fine," he grumbled. Taking a deep breath, he tried to get his thoughts together. "It went okay," he answered finally. "My uncle is loyal to the Demon Kingdom. He agreed to at least wait and see. Well, I wasn't really worried."

"Oh, so you went to visit because you missed him?" Yuri asked.

Wolfram glared, refusing to even dignify that with an answer. "...He told me I had grown up well," Wolfram muttered finally. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm not a kid."

Footsteps behind them made the two boys turn. A dark-haired man approached them, smiling faintly.

"Lord Von Bielefelt is right," the man said. "You've grown up well, Wolfram."

"Raven," Wolfram muttered, staring at the man in surprise. "Why are you here?"

Stopping in front of them, Raven bowed. "I'm glad to see you are well. I heard you had gone back to the Von Bielefelt lands after the coronation," he said.

"It's good to see you too," Wolfram agreed. Glancing at Yuri, he added, "This is Raven. He's the closest subordinate of Mother's brother, Stoffel Von Spitzweg. You probably met him at your coronation."

"Um, right," Yuri said. "Nice to meet you." He didn't remember Raven, but then, he had been in a hurry to get away from Stoffel.

"Actually, I have something I need to discuss with the Demon King," Raven said.

Taking the hint, Wolfram stood and stretched. "Very well," he said.

Yuri watched him go for a moment before turning back to Raven. "So what is it?"

Strangely, Raven hesitated. "Walk with me, Your Majesty?" he asked.

As they walked through the courtyard, into an isolated part of the garden, Yuri watched Raven carefully. The man seemed to be uncertain how to proceed, which really peaked Yuri's curiosity. But Yuri could relate to not knowing how to say something.

'I guess I should try to break the ice,' Yuri thought.

"Um, so..." he tried to find some topic. "You know, this is the first time I've seen someone with black hair here in the Demon Kingdom!" It was true. Even Gwendal's dark hair was only gunmetal grey, not the true black Raven had. However, his eyes were a pale blue, unlike Yuri and Murata's double-black. "I thought it was a royal color or something, so does that mean you're from some super noble family?"

"No... nothing like that," Raven admitted. "I'm common-born. But because I was blessed with this coloring, I was able to become My Lord and Lady's playmate. I was... truly fortunate."

"Miss Celi and Stoffel's childhood friend, huh? So you've been with them for a long time?" Yuri mused.

Raven smiled, the same half-hearted quirk of the lips that made it seem like he didn't remember how to be truly happy. "Yes, I have been able to remain with them and watch over them all this time..."

Something about his deferential manner was annoyingly familiar to Yuri. He could see the way Raven reflexively tried to fall back, a step behind Yuri, despite the fact that the two were having a conversation. Yuri himself kept having to slow down to match Raven.

'Haven't I seen this somewhere before?' he thought. 'It was... "Don't call me Your Majesty," wasn't it?'

"Well, I'm sure they were happy to always have you beside them," Yuri said, though something about the words made Raven look away.

"Yes..." Trailing off, Raven suddenly drew to a stop. "That... is part of why I wanted to speak with you. It concerns Lord Von Spitzweg."

Yuri stopped as well, turning to face Raven. It was clear that even admitting to his concerns was difficult for someone as loyal as Raven.

"You are probably not aware of this, but Lord Von Spitzweg came to Covenant Castle to seek an audience with you," Raven explained quietly. "However, you and your retenue were away at the peace conference, and Lord Von Crist refused to meet with him."

Blinking a little at having his companion described that way, Yuri tried to imagine the situation. He, Gwendal, Conrart and Josak had all been at Van Da Via, while Wolfram had left for his family's lands, and Murata had gone to the Tomb. Gunter had been the only one left at the castle. But given the frigid, cutting way he and Stoffel had spoken at Yuri's coronation, he could easily imagine Gunter snubbing Lord Von Spitzweg.

"So Lord Von Spitzweg sought an audience at the Tomb of the Great One," Raven continued.

"Wait, I thought people weren't normally allowed to enter," Yuri said. "And they've been really busy, haven't they? ...Wait, is he the blowhard Murata said barged in?"

Raven looked pained, and Yuri winced, realizing what he had just said and to whom.

"...Yes," Raven said with an effort, "His Excellency... made his way into the shrine... without express permission from Lady Ulrike..."

'Don't strain yourself, I get it,' Yuri thought, seeing the difficulty Raven had just admitting his lord's misconduct.

"I see," Yuri assured him quickly. "But that's not what you wanted to tell me about, right?"

Raven nodded, his shoulders, under his thick black cloak, slumping. "...After that, His Excellency... changed. He started acting more and more strangely," he said, bowing his head. "I would find him speaking to himself in empty rooms and corridors. He began to distrust the soldiers and staff. Eventually, he chased out the servants and... he finally ordered even me to leave."

Wide-eyed, Yuri stared at Raven in surprise. Though Raven's face remained stoic, his pain at being dismissed by his lord was clear.

'So he came to tell me as a last resort, because he's worried about Stoffel,' Yuri thought. 'But what's Stoffel thinking? Chasing out his staff and even his closest retainer? Why suddenly distrust everyone?...'

And suddenly it clicked.

"Miasma," Yuri said, one fist hitting the other palm.

"Miasma?" Raven repeated, understanding dawning on his face. "He must have into contact with it at the Tomb of the Great One."

Yuri nodded. "Murata said they've been struggling to contain it," he said. "The biggest symptom is becoming unable to trust anyone, right? ...We're going to have to let at least Murata know. And probably the others too."

Raven bowed his head. "I understand. I will do whatever it takes to help His Excellency," he said.

'...I guess even a guy like Stoffel has people who care about him,' Yuri thought. 'He's luckier than he knows. Well, I guess I'm pretty lucky, too.'

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"...And that's the situation," Yuri concluded his explanation.

He looked around at the people who had been assembled in his office. Gwendal and Wolfram both looked annoyed, while Murata looked thoughtful, Gunter wrung his hands, and Conrart simply leaned against a bookcase, waiting patiently. Standing behind Yuri, Raven was a silent, morose presence.

"I am deeply sorry, Your Majesty," Gunter all but wailed. "It was my oversight that allowed this! I was just so busy with matters of state..."

"No, no, it's my fault for dumping all the work on you," Yuri assured him, knowing that "busy" didn't even begin to describe what Gunter had put up with while they were gone. Stacks of paperwork still occupied almost his entire office.

Gwendal sighed heavily, almost growling. "Just what we need," he grumbled under his breath. To the room at large, he announced, "I had heard some rumors regarding this and dispatched Josak to check on the situation."

"Wow, really? That's so efficient," Yuri marveled.

"Of course. If something untoward starts happening in one of our territories, we have to act quickly," Gwendal huffed, giving Yuri another piercing, displeased stare. He continued, "Josak reported that all the staff had been chased out and... hm, that Stoffel commissioned large number of life-size puppets." He paused, still not quite sure what to make of that information.

"...That is correct," Raven said quietly. "His Excellency... dressed them as servants and posed them around the castle, after everyone was gone."

"Eh?" Yuri turned to stare over his shoulder. "That's... really creepy! Like a horror movie!" Although no one else freaked out as visibly as Yuri, everyone seemed to share that impression. Wolfram in particular had to fight down a shiver. It was unsettling to imagine Stoffel coming apart in such a short period of time.

Raven nodded, his expression growing even more miserable. 'It wasn't just the maids and guards that His Excellency had puppets of,' he thought, unease churning in his gut. 'It was also... the king. I wanted to warn His Majesty, but I don't want to speak ill of His Excellency either...'

"What a mess," Murata said, sighing. He pushed up his glasses, and suddenly it was the Great Wiseman speaking instead of Yuri's old friend. "We'll have to move quickly to deal with this. Have Gurrier check whether any of the staff show signs of miasma poisoning," he instructed Gwendal. "They might have picked it up while at the castle. Also, make sure no one else goes there in the meantime."

Gwendal nodded sharply, but Yuri wondered, "That's great and all, but how are we going to help Stoffel? Are we just going to wait until the miasma fades?"

"Yeah, I don't think we can count on that," Murata said, shaking his head. "Miasma doesn't fade, it gets stronger by feeding on the host's negative emotions. In the first place, it's only really possible to resist getting infected, not fight it off once it's gotten this bad." He sighed again. "Well, you'd need to be very strong-willed to pull off even that much."

The depressed aura around Raven thickened, but he did not deny the implied insult. 'Ouch, that's too harsh, Murata!' Yuri thought, feeling suddenly awkward. 'You're really that mad about him causing trouble?'

"I-it's a good thing he managed to send everyone away, where they'd be safe, right?" Yuri offered, spreading his hands in a pacifying gesture.

"...Right," Murata agreed, seemingly pulled out of his thoughts. "Well, in any case, purifying someone of miasma is always difficult. Miasma is a form of spiritual taint, caused by the Originator. It weakens people and reduces their ability to resist the darkness."

His expression had again taken on a faraway look as he searched through his memories.

"To counter it... all you can really do is siphon it off. For that, we'll need a special plant. If I remember correctly... it's called the Minadina Leaf. It grows on Mount Makadina. Miasma is very thick there, so this plant is able to absorb it as a natural adaptation. If you make a brew out of it, it will drain the miasma from a person as well," Murata explained.

"Okay! Then we'll have to get some of this plant!" Yuri decided, brightening now that he had something to focus on. "Who'll be going?"

Murata sighed once more. "Were you listening at all, Shibuya? I told you, Mount Makadina is covered in miasma. Anyone who goes there is liable to end up the same as Lord Von Spitzweg."

"Okay," Yuri nodded decisively, "I'll go by myself."

For obvious reasons, that was not acceptable.

"For His Excellency's sake, I will come as well," Raven said quietly. "It's the least I can do."

That was also not acceptable.

This... was going to take a while.

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((Is it just me or does the anime have a fetish for giving people dark-haired, stoic super-loyal attendants? First we had Raven, then Berias/Belius...))