A/N: Thank you to my beta xXLiquidSugarXx

~11~

The sickly sweet smell of fruit cooking invaded Yuri's hazy dreams. His consciousness slowly waded its way out of the curving, dark corridors, and the overwhelming sense of being lost. Yuri cracked open his sluggish eyes to see a dusty room and sheet covered furniture. His neck and back were sore, and he had a headache. He lifted his hand to his face, only to be unpleasantly reminded that he was still wearing armor. No wonder he felt like shit. Yuri couldn't believe he'd let himself fall asleep last night. He was supposed to have left the city in the cover of darkness. Not in the middle of the day, if the light streaming in from the curtains was anything to go on. Yuri could hear the noises of the city leaking into the house, a stark contrast to the silence of the previous night.

The smell of cooking was only growing stronger. Yuri forced himself to stand up on stiff legs. Neither Repede nor Karol were anywhere in sight, and so he wandered out of the living room and into the main foyer of the house. Yuri almost tripped over a box that was sitting in the middle of the foyer. He swore and went to kick it aside but stopped short when he saw what lay inside of it. A red scarf was lying innocuously amongst new black clothes, and his black and red sword was sticking out of the box. Yuri kneeled down and picked the scarf up to check it over. He saw familiar tears and warn patches and couldn't keep a smile from breaking across his face. He had never thought that he'd get Clay's scarf back.

His smile wavered when he remembered the words he'd spoken to Karol the night before. He looked back at the now bright and empty stairs and felt the weight of his own words bearing down on him. Everything he'd told Karol last night was true. He could dress it up as much as he wanted to, but in the end he'd always known he was following in Clay's footsteps more for himself that anyone else. His grip on the scarf tightened for a moment before he let it go. The soft fabric slipped through his fingers like a caress before gently landing back in the box. He stared down at the crimson amongst the black and remembered Clay's letter, as he had a thousand times before.

I know that soon you will move past this and begin to rage at the many injustices in this world again.

Yuri shook his head. Sometimes he wondered if Clay had known him better than he'd known himself. Regardless of the base reasons for why he had killed Ragou, and sought to kill Dilan, he would still feel fury when faced with injustice. The next bastard who inspired such all-consuming anger in him would taste the edge of his blade, of that he was sure. He just had to make sure Karol didn't decide to follow him as Yuri had followed Clay. Yuri had signed away his chance at being truly good the moment he'd beaten Terrence bloody on the floor of his office, but Karol was a different story.

"Hey, you're awake!" Karol appeared in a doorway in the hall to Yuri's right. His grin was so large it looked like it might split his face in two. "I made breakfast! You should come eat."

Karol disappeared through the doorway before Yuri could say a word. Yuri sighed and reluctantly left the foyer. The doorway Karol had gone through led to a small kitchen that was painted in pale green and white. Repede was lying by what appeared to be a back door and set his good eye on Yuri the moment he walked through the doorway. Repede's gaze was knowing, and Yuri quickly looked away. A wooden and glass table set sat off to the side, and two bowls of roasted cherries and cream sat invitingly on it.

"You make this by yourself, Captain?" Yuri asked with a small smirk.

"A-almost," Karol said as he sat down at the table. "I had a little help. Raven showed up early this morning!"

Yuri's stomach lurched.

"He had a package and some food, and he looked kinda weird 'cause his hair was down and he was dressed really nice. He said he had to go in disguise like you," Karol motioned to Yuri's armor with his spoon. "He helped me get started, but then he had to go. He was really surprised we were still here, but I think he was a little happy, too." Karol took a bite. "This is good!" he exclaimed before digging in with gusto.

Yuri just watched him eat for a couple moments and felt terrible. Karol still didn't know anything about who Raven was, and it appeared Raven had no qualms about keeping up the charade. A flash of anger almost made Yuri blurt out the whole story right there, but Karol was so upbeat that he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Dahngrest. Yuri told himself. I'll tell him once we get to Dahngrest.

"Y-you okay?" Karol asked after gulping down another mouthful.

Yuri forced himself to go and sit at the table. "I'm just wondering why you didn't wake me up last night. We were supposed to leave right away."

Karol looked down at his bowl guiltily before taking a deep breath and pointing his spoon at Yuri accusingly, spraying pieces of fruit and milk across the table. "You needed to sleep! You looked terrible last night, and b-besides Raven agreed with me that you needed the rest."

Yuri started eating to distract himself from Karol's determined face. He supposed he had been exhausted, or he wouldn't have fallen asleep on a dusty couch, still dressed in armor.

"Are you and Raven still fighting?" Karol suddenly asked, and Yuri looked up sharply.

"Of course not," he lied. "What makes you say that?"

"When I told you he was here you looked really upset. He really didn't want to be here when you woke up, either. I mean, he said he had work to do, but I could tell he was just trying to leave sooner." Karol's bowl was empty, but he still held his spoon in a tight grip.

Yuri sighed. Maybe he should tell Karol the truth now. He opened his mouth to say it, but found himself at a loss for words. The betrayal he'd felt last night still gripped his heart in an unyielding fist, and he realized that he couldn't talk about it. Not until he settled things with that bastard.

"Y-yuri?" Karol asked, his eyes widening in worry.

Yuri put down his own spoon. "We had a disagreement last night. We'll sort things out in Dahngrest. Don't worry about it, Captain." Yuri waved one of his hands nonchalantly.

Karol bit his lip. "Fine, but I still don't get why you guys are always mad at each other," he mumbled as he got up from the table, taking his dishes with him. He dropped the dishes in the sink and turned to leave the kitchen.

"I'm ready to go when you are," he said before leaving.

Yuri went back to eating. The only sound in the kitchen was his spoon smacking against the side of the bowl and Repede's quiet breathing.

He didn't know what to think about the fact that Raven was the one that had brought him back Clay's scarf.

~11~

The wind in the trees was rhythmic, and it mixed with the sounds of wildlife to create a peaceful harmony that should have been able to lull anyone to sleep. The gentle sounds had worked wonderfully on Karol, whose snoring mixed with the night chorus, and Repede, who slept comfortably by the fire. The sounds had little effect on Yuri, who paced around the camp. After his long overdue rest the night before, Yuri could hardly hope to find sleep again tonight. The chain he used to carry his sword was clenched in a tense grip, and he wore the new set of clothes that had been in the package Raven had left. He'd almost kept wearing the stolen armor out of spite, but the clothes fit better than expected. He had to begrudgingly admit that they were just his style, as well.

With every rub of new cotton on his skin, his dread at their impending arrival to Dahngrest grew. They would be at the city by tomorrow night. In few short days, the week Raven had given him to decide would be up. Yuri was more tempted by the hour to simply not go. He could get over his stupid crush, or whatever it was, and let Raven lie to someone else. He could tell Karol the damn truth so the boy would stop talking about Raven like he was the greatest thing since the discovery of barrier blastia.

Yuri's gaze fell on a white form walking through the woods just outside of the camp, and his brooding screeched to a halt. He was vividly reminded of the wraith-like man moving through the woods outside of Zaphias. The same man quietly telling Yuri that they were standing in front of his metaphorical grave.

"Duke," he whispered.

The form stopped moving and turned around at the sound of his name, though Yuri couldn't understand how he had heard. Yuri's heart stuttered in fear as two red eyes, which glowed slightly in the dark, stared right at him. Repede and Karol were still fast asleep. Yuri stood and walked across the camp and into the trees, his curiosity outweighing his trepidation. Just as he neared where Duke stood, the man turned again and continued walking.

"Hey, wait!" Yuri called.

He sped up and soon overtook the willowy man. Duke continued to walk at a steady pace, and Yuri followed along beside him. Duke was still as unnerving as ever, but as they walked further from camp, Yuri felt his thoughts evening out. The worries that had nagged him for days fell away, and instead he felt wonder at the strange person walking calmly beside him.

"Where are we going?" he asked after what seemed like hours of silence.

"I do not know where you are going," Duke replied in that familiar monotone. His voice was still as shockingly deep as ever. "As for myself, I go to speak with an ally."

"Oh, so there's going to be a dragon this time? Why am I not surprised?"

Duke hummed in reply, and Yuri wondered if he should be more concerned than he was. He didn't want to become dragon food, after all.

"You remind me of someone I once knew," Duke intoned as they reached a break in the trees. They stepped out onto a flat plain of grass that ended abruptly at a cliff. Duke continued walking steadily towards the edge.

"Really? You're not like anyone I've ever met."

Duke let out a puff of air that Yuri could only assume was amusement. Duke stopped a few feet from the edge of the cliff, and Yuri followed suit. The night sky was bright with stars, but the forest that stretched out before them was an unbreakable mass of black. Yuri could see Dahngrest lit up like an orange beacon on the horizon, and the sight of the city reminded him of all he'd managed to forget for a few precious minutes.

"He was also a young fool who insisted on sticking his nose in my business."

"Young fool, huh? Glad to see I've made such a great impression," Yuri replied dryly, trying his best to forget again. "I'm not sticking my nose into your business. You're the one who keeps showing up everywhere I camp. You're not stalking me, are you?"

"I would never stoop to such a disgraceful act. Our meetings are nothing more than coincidence."

Yuri's reply was drowned out by an earsplitting cry, and the same dragon that he'd seen swoop down at Ehmead Hill landed heavily to their right. Sitting atop its back was a warrior dressed head to toe in bone white armor with a wicked black spear was strapped to their back. Yuri supposed he really shouldn't be surprised that some crazy bastard with a penchant for blowing up blastia was friends with someone like Duke.

"It's not often I find you in another human's company, especially one so handsome," the warrior spoke, and the gentle pitch of a woman's voice filled the night. "Who is this, Duke? I doubt he's a friend of yours."

"He is of little importance." Duke gave Yuri a pointed glance before he began approaching his companion. "We have much to discuss. The tower of Ghasfarost only grows more troublesome each day that is it left unchecked."

Yuri put his hand on his hip, a bit miffed at being so easily disregarded. "I thought I was a young fool sticking his nose in your business. Which seems to be consorting with crazies who go around blowing up blastia."

Duke stopped walking but didn't turn around. A small flash of red energy flickered at his fingertips. Yuri felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up, and the calm that had settled over him shattered. He had the feeling he'd overstayed his welcome.

"Oh?" the woman spoke up, gracefully jumping down from her dragon mount. She rested an armor clad hand on the creature's side. "Are you one of my adoring fans? I have so many of them. They all shout at me to 'Come back!' and 'Face justice like a man!'" She let out a low chuckle, and slowly pulled the spear from her back. "If only they knew."

She took a few steps towards Yuri, her spear poised to attack. Yuri quickly drew his own sword and braced for a fight.

"Judith," Duke cut in-between them, the red magic from earlier dancing freely across his knuckles. The light made both the woman's armor and Duke's hair glow crimson in the darkness. "Now is not the time."

Judith huffed and slowly pulled herself from her fighting stance. "You always ruin all my fun." She set her spear upright and leaned on it. "Well, either way, he needs to go. No matter how big of a fan he is, he can't hear all of my trade secrets."

Duke looked over at Yuri, his red eyes glowing with the same light that danced at his hands. Yuri felt his grip on his sword tighten and wondered vaguely if this was all just a nightmare. Duke closed his eyes, and the magic slowly dissipated from his hands.

"She is correct. It is time for you to leave." He opened his eyes, and they had returned to their usual hue.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Yuri sheathed his sword and did his best to ignore how his hand was shaking. He turned from the scene with unsteady steps, and make his way back towards the distant firelight that marked the camp.

Yuri was tense until he broke through the trees. He kept expecting a spear or a ball of red magic to come flying after his retreating form. He stood at the edge of camp, and saw that nothing had changed during his departure. He sat down heavily and sighed. He had chased after a curiosity to distract himself, but now he only had more to keep him from sleep. He must have been cursed. It was only explanation for how he always managed to run into trouble.

A snap of nearby twig had Yuri's head spinning towards the noise, but there was nothing there. He finally let himself look over his shoulder, but no red eyes stared back him.

Judith had called Duke human, but somehow Yuri seriously doubted that was the case.