schnickledooger

I Choose You, Subachu!

2009-12-14T23:20:52Z

Title: I Choose You, Subachu!
Author: Schnickledooger
Genre: Humor/Adventure
Rating: T
Characters: Kamui, Fuuma, Yuzuhira, Sorata, Arashi, Seishirou, Subaru, Inukie, Nataku, (others in background)
Summary: It’s just another trashy day in the life of Trainer Kamui. His pokedex is a bully, his companions are annoying, his pokemon Seishiroselia loathes him and is far more interested in the Subachu owned by Rocket Fuuma who seems to be obsessed with him.
Warnings: You'll never look at Pokemon the same way again. Or X/1999 characters for that matter...

Disclaimer: I do not own X/1999. It is owned by the evil mangakas CLAMP. I do not own Pokemon. It is owned by Nintendo, created by Satoshi Tajiri, and unfortunately licensed by the North American mind-raping company that is 4Kids. I am merely using the characters and twisting the plot settings to fit my own devious purposes and reaping no profit. (So in other words, be afraid. Be very afraid).

I Choose You, Subachu!

Greetings, fellow travelers! Come, sit and make yourselves comfortable as the story of our young hero’s adventures is further revealed! Kamui Shirou, recently of Pallet Town, is trekking deep through the Viridian Forest, undergoing various feats of strength and overcoming terrible dangers as he journeys on his quest to become the world’s greatest Pokemon Master! Yes, our young hero is strong, dauntless and brave. His determination at reaching his goal can be stopped at nothing! Nothing except maybe for…

“Seiiiiiiiiiii…shiroselia!!!”

“OW, DAMMIT!!!”

“You know, Kamui-chan, I don’t think threatening to rip off your pokemon’s body parts if they don’t do what you command them to will make them obey you any better,” Sorata, one of Kamui’s traveling companions (unfortunately), said as he observed the dark-haired boy picking himself up from the forest floor wincing in pain as he gingerly plucked out the thorns impeded in his arm from Seishiroselia’s Pin Missile attack.

Kamui glared daggers at the tiny green sprite of a Pokemon who was scowling equally as fiercely at him in a sullen manner as if disgusted it had been disgraced so by being given to a pokemon trainer as inept as him.

“It’s my pokemon! It’s supposed to listen to me!” Kamui protested angrily.

It had been a whole week since he had left his hometown chasing his dream. He had thought he would have captured at least one wild pokemon by now. But he had discovered his Seishiroselia to be surprisingly obstinate, ignoring his commands, refusing to remain inside his pokeball and randomly attacking him if it grew annoyed (or just bored). For a plant pokemon, who were renown for being docile and passive, it had a very bad temper and appeared rather vain, taking great pride and care of the twin pink sakura blossoms that it held in each of its hands.

Kamui had a feeling he’d been gypped. The boy pulled out his pokedex for the first time to see what data it held on the pokemon.

“Pokemon Observation Unit now activated,” the pokedex stated in a crisp, electrical voice. “My function: to monitor pokemon activity to better understand the behavioral patterns of pokemon in their surrounding environment.”

“Yeah, ok, tell me why this Seishiroselia’s such a little prick,” Kamui said, glowering resentfully at the three thorns which grew out of the top of its head.

“Seishiroselia are usually peaceful pokemon, however they will attack viciously upon sensing danger…,” there was a long pause before the pokedex continued with a slight lilt in its monotone voice, which if Kamui didn’t know better he would have sworn the electrical device sounded amused. “If, for example an extremely foolish person were to say attempt to pluck its petals, it will guard them most jealously. However, even the most least intelligent of pokemon retain enough common sense not to do this.”

Kamui stared at the pokedex. He wasn’t sure, but he thought perhaps he had just been insulted by a talking encyclopedia.

“How can I get it to obey me?” he asked.

“Seishiroselia are notorious for holding grudges. If they feel slighted in the smallest amount, they will be most uncooperative. It would be beneficiary for whoever is seeking their aid to grovel before them and submit to their whims as they tend to like being the dominant party,” the pokedex said, ending its suggestion with a quivering beep as if it had just cut off a hysterical robotic giggle.

“I’m the trainer! It’s the pokemon! Not the other way around!” Kamui yelled at the device. “I’m the one in charge!”

“Shiroselia!” the plant pokemon snorted, turning its face away in defiance.

Kamui didn’t understand, but he was certain that was pokemon for In your dreams!

“Kamui-chan should become friends with Seishiroselia then it will love you and you will be together forever!” Yuzuhira, the other traveling companion of the unfortunate Kamui, cheered in her usual chirpy brightness.

“I don’t want to become friends with it!” Kamui burst out. “I just want it to obey me one freaking time so I can catch another pokemon, then I’m transferring its little green butt back to the lab in Pallet Town so I never have to look at it again!”

“Become friends!” Yuzuriha urged. “Friendship solves all problems!”

“What was Professor Satsuki thinking when she gave it to me?” Kamui wondered out loud, effectively cutting off Yuzuriha before she could launch into another friendship speech. “It’s like she wanted to screw me over! She can’t still be at me for breaking her super-computer is she? That was a total accident and not really my fault. I was just running from her stupid Yuutorygon that had escaped its containment and had to dodge its attacks, so they hit the computer instead. She wouldn’t ruin my chances at a career in the pokemon field for something as shallow as that, would she?”

“Ha, ha, ha,” the pokedex laughed dryly in a steady, rhythmic manner no longer able to hold back its electronic glee.

“She’s also programmed you against me, hasn’t she, the evil, psycho bitch!” Kamui swore.

“Affirmative,” the pokedex stated before blowing a whistling raspberry.

Kamui resisted the urge to dash the device headlong into a tree. A bad pokedex was better than no pokedex at all. He just had to accept it. It was official. Someone up there hated his guts and had it out for him.

Fine then. All he needed to do was find an alternative means to reach his end if he couldn’t do it by his intended path.

“Let me borrow one of your pokemon,” he demanded, turning to his companions with an outstretched hand.

“Whoa there! Why?” Sorata asked.

“It’ll make things easier,” Kamui explained. “I’ll just use one of yours to battle and capture one, and then I’ll have a pokemon that will actually work with me and I can drop off Seishiroselia at the nearest Safari Zone and be free of the little cretin.”

“I think you just misunderstand its intentions. I mean Seishiroselia gets along perfectly well with me,” Yuzuriha said smiling as the sprite-like pokemon quickly snatched the strawberry pocky from her hands in a peace offering and settled on her shoulder to munch on it happily.

“That’s because you feed it sweets all the time! It doesn’t like you—just the food!” Kamui shouted irritated. “Now would one of you please loan me your pokemon?! I’m desperate here!”

“I’m a Pokemon Researcher, remember Kamui-chan? I don’t keep pokemon. I merely observe and analyze from a distance,” Sorata said.

“But I saw you come out of the Pokemon Center! If you don’t have any pokemon, what were you doing in there?” Kamui asked.

Sorata turned red and rubbed the back of his head with his hand sheepishly.

“Omigawd, were you stalking Nurse Karen?! She’s twice your age, pervert!” Kamui exclaimed.

“I thought you liked Officer Arashi, Sorata-kun,” Yuzuhira said.

“Heehee, Nee-san is so cute riding that moped in her uniform!” Sorata gushed, his face taking on a dreamy expression. “If only she wore her skirt shorter…still, you have to admit, Nurse Karen is pretty hot in that little red number she wears. Nee-san, forgive my weakness!”

“I don’t have time for this,” Kamui said in disbelief, leaving Sorata to wallow in his guilt-ridden fantasies and turned to Yuzuriha. “Don’t pretend you don’t have one. I’ve seen it come and go every now and again.”

As if on cue, the air next to the girl shimmered as if someone had taken a mirror and bent it so its reflection had distorted, before a grayish-blue dog pokemon appeared with an inquisitive bark as if to say, You called?

“Great, thanks!” Kamui cried, reaching one hand towards it. “Now let’s go and—”

With a flash the dog pokemon disappeared then reappeared a couple of feet away where it sat grinning lopsidedly at him wolfishly.

“Inukanine doesn’t follow anyone’s orders except mine,” Yuzuhira said apologetically. “I don’t really own him. It’s more like we’re equals, partners. Friends! Learn from our example, Kamui-kun!”

Kamui walked a few yards away to let out a muffled scream of frustration into a tree trunk. As a result, he was rewarded with tree sap to the face and a present of Pidgey droppings to the hair.

Yep. Someone up there definitely had him on their Torture List.

“Seishiroseliahahahaha!” his poor excuse for a pokemon laughed vindictively at him.

oOoOoOo

Meanwhile, in another part of the Viridian Forest, our antagonist makes his entrance, cutting through foliage, crashing through the underbrush, trekking through the darkest part of the woods with effortless ease, fearless, and absolutely…

“Lost,” Fuuma swore, cursing his bad luck. “I’m so lost it isn’t funny.”

It had been a really lousy week for him. He hadn’t caught a good haul at all and had narrowly been dodging numerous Officer Arashis chasing his tail leading way back to Saffron City, something that would usually make any normal guy elated that so many hot chicks were after him, except that Fuuma wasn’t ordinary at all. He was a Rocket, a member of the titan-sized organization whose goal it was to steal every rare and valuable pokemon that existed, and a newly-initiated one at that. It didn’t look good on his resume that he had failed to successfully filch at least one pokemon, no matter how common.

Of course, there was the solid gold truth that he was lost at the moment, but he doubted that would go over his boss’s head well. Lady Hinoto, or Princess Hinoto as she liked to be addressed as, did not enjoy slip-ups. She was perfectly calm and demure most of the time, but if things didn’t go as she planned, her temper flared like the rising sun and a different side of her came out. Her alter ego was terrifyingly insane. If he called her on the emergency phone she had given him and told her he was lost, he’d probably get fired or killed…or worse, she would seek her pet Kanoynx on him and Fuuma had been victim to the pokemon’s Cleavage Glomp before. He had very nearly suffocated. The memory wasn’t pretty. He might not be lucky enough to escape its Lovely Kiss this time. No, it was far better to find his own way out of this forest than get his boss involved. But how long would that take?

“Come on, everybody! Let’s help Kamui and Seishiroselia to get along by singing a song!” came a girl’s voice through the dense foliage suddenly. “Mmmmm, you two, you’re friends to the end, ain’t you, my friends? You kinda blend together! Coffee and cream, boy, what a team!”

“Ooh, I know this one!” came a deeper voice, male by the sound of it, as it joined in. “You’ll never find two other guys, compatible as steak and fries!”

“They’re two of kind, much of a mind!” the two voices sang in harmony now. “They find their way together, thinking as one, searching for sunny skies! Here’s what we recommeeeeeeeeend...”

A long, drawn out howl accompanied the duo as they hit a high note.

“Ok, guys, you can cut it out now,” said a third voice, also male, in an annoyed tone.

“The greatest gift in life’s a friend! Pays a daily di-vi-dend! Be like us and start a trend! Be friends to the end!” (1)

“Dear God, did I offend you in another life?” moaned the third voice desperately.

Fuuma’s mind raced wildly. They were others in the woods besides him and they didn’t appear to be overly concerned about their surroundings so that must mean they weren’t lost. He could follow them out of here with them being none the wiser of his presence! But wait, the girl’s voice had mentioned a Seishiroselia. That was a valuable pokemon. If he could capture it, that might impress Princess Hinoto enough to promote him to one of the Rocket Leaders! Then he’d be able to go on exotic, dangerous missions like party-crashing a Pokemon Tournament in high-class style…like in a Meoweth hot-air balloon or something. That sounded cool.

“Let’s sing it again!”

“You do and you’re dead.”

The voices were getting closer. He had better hide until an ample opportunity presented itself where he could make his grand entrance. Quickly, Fuuma clambered up the nearest tree where he had a good layout of the ground below.

From the shadows, three people appeared: a tall, brown-haired youth with an athletic build holding his hands behind his head in a relaxed, carefree manner; a girl of short stature donned in a school uniform fairly skipping as she walked as she devoured stick after stick of what looked like pocky; and finally, a black-haired boy, hands shoved in his pockets and shoulders hunched as he slouched forward in an irritated manner. And accompanying the trio, were an Inukanine and a Seishiroselia.

Kaching! Jackpot.

Fuuma couldn’t hold back any longer. The sight of two desirable pokemon was just too big of a temptation to resist. With a leap, he flung himself out of the tree to land directly in front of the group and struck a dramatic pose as he recited the standard Rocket motto he had diligently memorized from the Rocket Manual: How To Be A Superb Thief And Villain, page 2, paragraph 1.

Or at least he tried to anyway. However, in his haste to make his appearance, his balance became a little off, so upon hitting the forest floor, he only had time to shout, “Prepare for trouble—!” before tripping over his own two feet and stumbling headfirst into the black-haired boy’s chest, sending them both crashing into to the ground.

“What the hell?! Get off!” Kamui cried, violently shoving the weirdo who had dropped out of nowhere on top of him away.

It didn’t go very well as it appeared the two boys’ belt buckles had somehow connected with their collision so all Kamui managed to cause was for him and his assailant to roll around in the dirt in a tangle of limbs.

“Kamui?” Sorata asked hesitantly, shielding Yuzuhira’s tender eyes. “Should we, you know, give you some alone time?”

“HURRY UP AND HELP ME, YOU IDIOT!” Kamui roared, spitting blue fury as he struggled in vain to extricate himself.

A few minutes later, after several yanks on either side and with a few twists and turns, which from Yuzuhira’s viewpoint looked like a vivacious groin-dance, the buckles seemed to reluctantly relinquish their hold on each other and fell apart.

Backing as swiftly as he could away from the stranger, a red-faced, humiliated Kamui eyed the person who had unwillingly thrust their familiarity upon him with distrust and suspicion.

“Who are you?” he inquired.

The spiky-haired young man gaped at him as if he were stupid then pointed at the big red “R” emblazoned on his black jumpsuit as if that explained everything.

“What? Does that actually stand for something?” Kamui asked.

“Ooh, I read a book called The Scarlet Letter once and the main character was branded with an ‘A’ for adulteress! Is it something like that?” Yuzuhira exclaimed excitedly.

“Hey, let me try and guess! This looks like fun! Ummmm, rancher!” Sorata threw out.

“Radio talk-show host!” Yuzuhira cried.

“Rodeo-driver!”

“Rolling Stones fan!”

“Rap singer!”

“Reader’s Digest subscriber!”

“FOOLS!” Fuuma yelled in an indignant furor, unable to believe he had crossed paths with anyone as dumb before. “I AM FROM TEAM ROCKET AND I AM HERE TO STEAL YOUR POKEMON!!!”

Whipping out a pokeball from behind his back, Fuuma pressed the button to enlarge it then hurled high into the air with a refined art as he cried, “GO, NATAKLEFAIRY!”

A swirling mass of pulsing red light shone briefly before forming into a small, round pink pokemon with pointed ears, a miniaturized pair of wings and a small curved tail on its back.

“Nataklefairy,” the pokemon said blinking its beady eyes at its audience a few times.

“Go, Nataklefairy! Attack those who doubt Team Rocket’s sheer magnanimousness! Use Sing!” Fuuma ordered, a rage of injustice building within him.

The pokemon’s ears perked up and twitched as it recognized the sound of its trainer’s voice and whirling around with a less than three bounds, it attached itself to Fuuma’s leg where it looked up at him in pure adoration and chanted its name to show its happiness.

“Natakle, Natakle, Nataklefairy!” it cried, nuzzling its face into Fuuma’s upper calf as it clung to its owner like a little, fat pink leech.

“That’s so cuuuuuuuuute!!!” Yuzuhira squealed, clasping her hands together in ecstasy.

Sorata scratched his head puzzled, Inukanine cocked its head to one side curiously, Seishiroselia yawned widely, and Kamui stared quite unimpressed.

Fuuma stifled a groan as he tried unsuccessfully to pull the pokemon off his pant leg. Nataklefairy was his first pokemon and was quite powerful despite its docile appearance, however, it had formed an unhealthy attachment to him due to his spoiling and doting on it in his first days in his care—so elated that he had been to receive a pokemon. It was something Fuuma regretted, because now whenever he tried to get the pokemon to fight, it only wanted pets and coddles. He had been forced to admit his mistake and ask for another one and had only received it just before he had set on out his current quest. He hadn’t tried that one out yet, but now was as good a time as ever as Nataklefairy certainly wasn’t going to be of any help as he had hoped.

“I CHOOSE YOU! GO, SUBACHU!!!” Fuuma shouted, flinging another pokeball in the air.

There was another flash of red light which quickly transformed into a yellow mouse-like pokemon with black stripes and a lightning bolt tail. The pokemon sat up on its small hind-legs and took in its surroundings with wide green eyes.

“Suba?” it questioned timidly.

“Subachu, go! Use your Thunder Wave and paralyze the enemy!” Fuuma commanded.

“Chuuuuuuu,” the Subachu whimpered in distress, ears drooping, obviously not wanting to fight.

“What’s wrong with you?! Attack now!” Fuuma yelled.

“Subachu,” the mouse pokemon cried pitifully, shaking its head.

Well that was just great, Fuuma thought. He had one pokemon who was an attention whore and another who was a pathetic weakling. He wondered briefly if Team Rocket had screwed him over.

“Nataklefairy!” came the war-cry of the tiny pixie pokemon in an enraged, high-pitched shriek as it realized it had a rival for its master’s affection and before Fuuma had time to return it to its pokeball, it had dealt out a wicked Mega Punch to its poor, unsuspecting teammate.

“Subachuuuuu!” Subachu wailed in shock as the surprise hit caused it to be thrown backwards several feet straight into Seishiroselia who had been pointedly ignoring everything up to then with extreme indifference.

The two pokemon smacked painfully into the dirt with the forceful collision; Subachu, a bit dazed and Seishiroselia was not amused in the slightest.

“Shiroseliaaaaaaaaaaa—,” Seishiroselia started to growl as it prepared to launch the thorns on its head at the one who had invaded its personal space.

“Subachu, Suba!” Subachu cried almost sheepishly, as if to apologize. The red sacs on its cheeks gave it the appearance that it was blushing in embarrassment.

“Roselia?” Seishiroselia said as it stared at the yellow pokemon with piqued interest before narrowing its eyes and suddenly starting to spin circles around it in a frenzy, like a predator stalking its prey.

“Seishiroselia!” it shouted triumphantly with a smug smirk at the very confused Subachu, darting in front of it when the other tried to get away.

“Hey, what’s your pokemon doing to mine?” Fuuma asked, a bit bemused himself.

“It’s finally going to fight? It’s about time,” Kamui said, crossing his arms.

“No, that doesn’t look like standard pokemon behavior for fighting, although Seishiroselia is exhibiting some aggressive traits,” Sorata the Pokemon Researcher voiced his opinion.

Kamui grudgingly pulled out his brain-washed pokedex and held it up so it could see what was happening.

“What’s going on here?” the trainer asked, bracing himself for whatever branded, veiled insult would fly his way.

“Seishiroselia’s Petal Dance,” the pokedex explained as Seishiroselia lifted its twin sakura blossoms above its head and began twirling in midair sending out a storm of pink petals which surrounded it, forging into several variations of eccentric patterns. “Although rarely seen outside of battle, this move can be used by plant-type pokemon in a display to attract its mate with its enticing fragrance and masterful beauty.”

Kamui stared in at the pokedex after it had finished its speech then at his pokemon who was practically a blur in its whirling movements while the sakura petals fluttered down below to gently swirl about and caress the Subachu who was gazing at the display completely enthralled.

“Are you saying that—that my pokemon is in the middle of some kind of mating ritual dance and it’s chosen that little yellow rat as its partner?” Kamui choked out.

“I am sorry. I forgot to downplay my sophisticated vocabulary into your uneducated lingo so you would comprehend,” the pokedex said. “Translation: Seishiroselia and Subachu will soon be getting their game on, yo.”

Before Kamui could throw the pokedex onto the ground and stomp on it to his satisfaction, the black-clothed Rocket weirdo gave an elated cry.

“YES, WONDERFUL! THIS IS PERFECT!” Fuuma shrieked insanely. “GO, SUBACHU! USE ATTRACT ON SEISHIROSELIA! CHARM THAT POKEMON INTO SUBMISSION!!!”

Two can play at that game, Kamui thought before yelling, “GO, SEISHIROSELIA! USE SWEET SCENT! LOWER SUBACHU’S EVASION!!!”

Whether or not the two pokemon actually listened to their trainers for once or if they were completely enraptured with each other and merely acted on their primal instincts, the group would never know. For they had forgotten one important factor that would soon change the entire tide of battle.

“Nataklefairyyyyyyy…” came a dangerous, menacing growl so loud it was heard over the shouted commands and everyone slowly turned to see the small pixie pokemon smoldering in a fit of unbridled fury at its master’s attention so focused on something other than it for so long and glowing with a strange, eerie-looking blue aura…

“HOLY METAPOD!” Fuuma screeched in recognition at the sight. “RUUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!”

Kamui had a really bad feeling when the Rocket took off in a mad dash along the forest path, not giving a backwards glance at the pokemon he had left behind.

“Nataklefairy’s Metronome Attack,” the pokedex supplied helpfully. “Capable of executing any move at random, and judging by the appearance of its glowing light growing stronger every second, I would estimate this to be Selfdestruct.”

The trio and Inukanine, minus Seishiroselia and Subachu who were still off in their own little world at the moment, gaped bug-eyed in horror at the pixie pokemon glaring at them and wiggling it fingers back and forth as it summoned the monstrous attack forth.

Kamui only had time to hear the pokedex laugh at him in a sing-song electronic voice, “So long and thanks for all the data collection!” before the ground beneath his feet erupted and the world was consumed in a white hot flash of light.

oOoOoOo

Looking at it in a positive light, they all made good time getting to Pewter City. As it would turn out, getting hurled leagues into the air by a tremendous power-blast was a very quick way of transportation and cut down on traveling expenses. The downside to it was you never knew where you were going to land, and so acquiring numerous scrapes, cuts and bruises after crashing through the rooftop of a house had to be taken into account. That and apparently since you had dropped into said house uninvited, you would be charged with breaking and entering and hauled off to the nearest PokeJail for questioning. Being in the company of a Rocket didn’t do much for your credit and reputation either.

There was no denying it now, Kamui thought, sitting on the metal slab of a bench in his cell. Someone up there didn’t hate him—they loathed his very existence.

“So, uh, since we’re on the same side now, how about giving me your name?” asked the Rocket seated next to him to cover the awkward silence.

Kamui sulked quietly, giving him the good ole silent treatment.

“And while I’m on the subject, how about your phone number? You’re actually pretty cute up close,” the Rocket continued, not realizing he was an inch from death.

“Make friends, Kamui-kun!” Yuzuhira chirped from her cell across from him, waving her box of pocky sticks religiously at him. “Friendship makes the world go round!”

“Yeah, Kamui-kun,” the Rocket said leaning close to the boy’s face. “We can start by being friends.”

The “with benefits” was whispered a few seconds later.

Officer Arashi had to be called in to pry Kamui’s hands from around Fuuma’s neck who didn’t help the situation by proclaiming they were only engaging in a friendly tussle and never mind, he would discipline his friend himself later in private. Due to Kamui’s second attempt to viciously try and murder his cell-mate with his bare hands, Office Arashi was forced to handcuff each boy on opposite sides of their cell to the wall.

“Nee-san, Nee-san! Handcuff me too, pleeeeease?!” Sorata begged, utmost devotion and hero-worship shining in his eyes. He had been the only one in the group thrilled at the prospect of being arrested by his idol and crush. “I’ve been a very naughty boy!”

Officer Arashi didn’t dignify him with a response and only paused for a moment to glance puzzled at the glass containment in the corner which held all the trainers’ pokemon safe inside their pokeballs…all except for two.

She wasn’t sure how they had managed to escape from their pokeballs by themselves, but there was no deceiving her own eyes. There they lay: a Seishiroselia and a Subachu, curled tight around one another, a picture of content, dozing peacefully on a bed of scattered sakura petals, one of Seishiroselia’s slender appendages draped over Subachu possessively and a pale, pink blossom clutched firmly between the Subachu’s tiny paws.

And thus ends this chapter in our young heroes’ journey as we adjourn for the day, dear listeners. Who knows what marvelous adventures are in store for them next? One thing we have learned is certain though: All you need is looooooove—!

Zzt! Zzt! Zzt! KER-THUNK!

KFFFFFFTTTT. Static crinkles.

“Greetings, you fine audience out there. It appears that our omniscient narrator has been mysteriously embedded with a volley of Toxic Spikes and has been rendered immobile and voiceless. I, the ever-so helpful, benign pokedex shall now proceed to finish this disgraceful rendition to the world of literature and announce its moral with as much clarity as possible:

…

…

…

“There is no moral to this sham of a tale it seems. Cannot believe—illogical plot device—sense incomprehensible—computer overload—data input at maximum capacity—”

KAPUTEY!

Seishiroselia nodded at the now-destroyed, smoking pokedex which lay on the table outside the pokemon’s containment pen along with the rest of the humans’ belongings and gave an impressed look at Subachu whose electricity was retreating back inside its red cheek sacs. All the pokedex had needed was a few nudges of an electrical current to get its robotic mind moving too quickly to process its own thoughts and it had fried itself. Seishiroselia had dealt with the first annoying voice; Subachu had dealt with the second. Now finally, they could get back to sleep without anymore interruptions. Seishiroselia was rather proud of its mate. It had more spirit in it than it let known—it would make a fine protégé one day.

The End

A/N: (waves sheepishly at readers) So, I know you are all wondering by now, “Dear God, whatever made her think of parodying X into Pokemon?!” Precisely! It was a personal challenge to myself you see. I was scrimmaging around the net for a creative plot bunny and I stumbled across one with the guidelines: “Transform any category of your choosing into the Pokemon universe. Keep the characters’ personalities from their original series true and intact but make their roles believable in the Poke-verse.” It sounded like fun, so I did what any author would do. I dropped my current projects of serious chapter potential and scurried off to delve in writing some glorious CRACK. Do forgive the cheesy narrator lines but it just didn’t feel like Pokemon without that intrusive annoying voice popping in every now and then. XD And I’m afraid my knowledge of Pokemon only extends to the 250 from my old Yellow and Silver games. I only knew about Roselia because I saw a couple of episodes with it a few years back on CN. I’m old school in the poke-verse, so I used Bulbapedia as a reference source to their appearance and attacks. I hope everyone realized which character got turned into which pokemon. I found the play on their names amusing.

(1) “Friends To the End” was written and composed by Henry Mancini and the song comes from Tom and Jerry: The Movie. I recommend watching the clip on Youtube to hear the whole thing. I think it’s cute and it’s one of my favorite childhood memories.

Well, I hoped you enjoyed it! See, it wasn’t so bad, now was it? Please share your favorite lines and scenes—I love hearing what you liked about it!

Writing Meme

2009-11-18T05:20:00Z

Kekeke, followed leeayre's example who followed jeldi's. "I just couldn't resist, mate!"

Writing Meme

If you happen to be working on some creative writing project, fanfiction or what have you, post one sentence/paragraph/whatever from each of your current work(s) in progress in your journal. It should probably be your favourite or most intriguing sentence so far, but what you choose is entirely your discretion. Mention the title (and genre) if you like, but don't mention anything else--this is merely to whet the general appetite for your forthcoming work(s).

You Are Cordially Invited Ch.1 (Humor, Adventure, Tsubasa Chronicle)

“My onii-chan is under some sort of spell from your pervert brother, that’s all! He’s been bewitched!” Kamui exclaimed, pounding the earth frustrated with his bare fists. “Besides, there’s no way that man would agree to marry my brother, not when he cowers in fear at the very mention of the M-word! This is all a plot to take advantage of my onii-chan because he won’t put out any other way and your pervert brother has the sex drive of a pent up bull!"

Note: This is a sequel to "Stuck In the Middle With You". Rejoice fans!

Play Date (Humor, Dragon Knights, One-shot)

Lord Nadil supposed in hindsight he should have realized how volatile the situation was when the old witch, with whom he had entrusted with Cesia’s upbringing, shipped the young girl back to him swathed in a large dirty-tattered ribbon and a tag looped around her neck which read “Return to Sender” in big letters.

Untitled TRC Sequel to "Addicted To You" (Humor, Angst, Adventure, Tsubasa Chronicle)

Seishirou cocked a half-grin at the sight. This Subaru was rather adorable when he wanted to be (in a scarily psychotic kind of way). At least he didn’t jump universes away when he suggested something intimate. Perhaps if Subaru was still with him when he caught up with his own cute vampire, he could teach his other self how not to be so terminally shy, although according to Fuuma, his Subaru wasn’t so gentle and naïve as he would have Seishirou believe. (And there had better be another explanation behind that statement besides what it sounded like or he was going to kill his brother next time he saw him). In any case, maybe the idea of having a small Subaru harem—ah, collection—wasn’t so far out to sea just yet.

He had learned his lesson after all last time: never pick up a stray Subaru that has a Seishirou owner still living

A Very Harry Disastrous Camping Scenario (Humor, Harry Potter)

The door to the upstairs loft opened as a girl with a mop of bright red hair entered, smiling broadly when she saw the room’s occupants.

“Oh good, Harry, you are here! I came to let you know that your Dad just fire-messaged Mum at the Burrow. Apparently, since you haven’t been home all day or notified him of where you were, he is convinced that you have become kidnapped by some rouge Death Eaters and are currently being tortured. He’s trying to round up recruits to swarm Malfoy Manor where he assumes you’re being held. Dad’s trying to convince him not to do anything drastic at the moment and that he can’t legally act upon what he does not have evidence of, but your dad keeps proclaiming he isn’t afraid of ‘gutless beaurocratical idiots and their scheming political agendas’. Sorry, Harry, but you better go show yourself safe and sound to him before he winds himself up for a long stay in the Ministry’s holding cells.”

What Goes Wrong When Things Go Right (Humor, Dragon Knights)

He had always suspected that Dr. Avis Rara had some sort of freakish obsession/fixation on him with the way he stared at him and not-so subtly stalked him everywhere he went, however he had never taken his suspicions seriously. After all, he already had someone who pursued him relentlessly determined to make him their “Beloved”. How bizarre and unrealistic would it be to have two admirers? He could understand the situation if it had been Rune instead of him. Heck, he and Thatz agreed that Rune had some weird bishounen pherome seeping out of his skin that aroused every animate being regardless their gender since the elf was continuously getting molested.

Note: This is a fic Leeayre requested nearly a year ago for her birthday which sits woefully unfinished as of the moment.

Body Switching Is Fun! Ch.4 (Humor, Dragon Knights)

“You all might have wondered why my actions of late have been less than normal of your usual goody-goody elf. You may have thought that perhaps something was not quite right about me. Well, all your assumptions were correct. By perchance of an unfortunate event which neither the elf and I can determine just how, we have both switched places with each other. Yes, I am His Supreme Nastiness, Almighty Evilness, the Great Demon Lord, Nadil! Please, keep all cries of revenge, gasps of shock, screams of horror, and wailings of despair to a minimum. I have a slight headache already.”

Counseling Sessions Ch.8 (Humor, Dragon Knights)

“If you want to know who I am,” spoke a deep, sort-of gangster sounding voice from the figure leaning against the wall, “I was introduced in Dragon Knights, Volume 22 as Roobal. I was actually in Volume 2 as my debut in the manga, however my face did not make an appearance until recently. Nothing much is known about me other than that I was an old friend of Bierrez, with whom I hold striking similarities to, whether intentional of Mineko Ohkami or not, we’ll probably never know. You can be the judges of whether I am Bierrez’s father, older brother, second cousin twice removed or merely another random person with the same popular hair-style as a main character.”

Looks like there's more DK than X/Tsubasa, heh. My beta writes enough Tsubasa/X for us all though, don't worry. Well, some should be happy and maybe I've drawn some new fans to look into a new series^w^ Which snippet sounds most intriguing? I'd like to hear your thoughts.

The Little Fruit Bat and the Big Bad Vampire Bat (Part 2)

2009-11-10T04:12:23Z

Author: Schnickledooger
Title: The Little Fruit Bat and the Big Bad Vampire Bat
Rating: T
Genre: Angst/Drama/Horror/Suspense... did I reel you in with enough sad sap yet?
Characters: Seishirou, Subaru (a few surprise others)
Summary: A retelling of Tokyo Babylon and Silverwing hashed together in an epic proportion. Epic meaning unbelievable. Seishirou and Subaru in the starring roles as bats. Yes, bats.
Warnings: This second installment contains angst in a lethal dosage. Flee for your lives. Oh wait, you people love angst.

Part 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Babylon, X, or Tsubasa Chronicle. CLAMP does. I do not own Silverwing. Kenneth Oppel does.

The Little Fruit Bat and the Big Bad Vampire Bat

Part 2

Subaru devotedly visited that particular plum tree in the orchard every night upon meeting Seishirou but he never once saw the vampire bat again since their first encounter. The little fruit bat grew dispirited wondering what could have happened to his friend. He hadn’t been eaten, had he? He couldn’t have, not with his great size and stature and…his wicked set of teeth. Any predator would think twice upon attacking him surely. But what if Seishirou had gotten lost or forgotten the way there? What if he had been injured in a storm and had hurt his wing so he couldn’t fly? What if Subaru’s character had so thoroughly disgusted Seishirou with his abhorrent, timid weakness that the larger bat was simply avoiding him? It was a thought so utterly disheartening that Subaru stopped going to the plum orchard and instead roosted in the outskirts of the forest nearby to keep a covert vigilance on the meeting place incase Seishirou decided to drop by once he saw the annoying little nuisance who had been looking for him was finally gone. But still, the larger bat did not show up and slowly Subaru began to wonder if he had hallucinated the entire scenario as a result of eating too much plum.

His sister certainly seemed to think so anyway.

Hokuto had flown back into his and their grandmother’s life one day as swiftly as she had left it, filling up that bleak gaping hole with bright sunshine as she shrieked happily at being reunited with her family again in her piercing “OHOHOHOHO!” laughter which Subaru had missed more than he realized.

Obaa-chan had seemed displeased that a few months absence on what she believed to be a “soul-searching mission” had not toned down her granddaughter’s vibrant and boisterous personality one bit, but Subaru was glad she was safe and hadn’t changed and questioned her persistently on the adventures she had had.

“I saw many wondrous things, Subaru!” Hokuto had exclaimed, doing loop-de-loops in mid-air in her excitement. “I saw the human city at night and it looks like a valley decorated with thousands and thousands of twinkling fireflies! I saw a huge tower with a bell that tolled such beautiful music! And I saw the huge, stone bats that guard it! I saw the ocean—a body of water so large and vast, your eyes can not see the end of it! And it moves, Subaru! The ocean moves on its own; not little ripples like in the lake here but in large rolling waves that crash like thunder!”

And while Subaru was staring at her with eyes filled with hero-worship and awe for doing such daring things while the visions of what she described danced vividly across his mind, Hokuto had leaned forward and whispered in a sudden somber and hushed tone so their grandmother couldn’t hear, “And Subaru…I saw the sun.”

Subaru had gasped horrified and could not help but cry softly in dismay, “But Hokuto-chan, that’s—that’s forbidden!”

Hokuto had given a discreet inclination of her head that he should follow her and had taken off and Subaru had no choice but to do so if he wanted answers.

A good enough distance away from Obaa-chan’s hearing range, the two fruit bats had settled in a giant fir tree where Subaru could not help but repeat brokenly, “Hokuto-chan, it’s forbidden. If you were seen by the owls—”

“Oh, I was seen alright, but I still out-flew them,” Hokuto boasted proudly. “And it was worth the risk of getting caught. Oh, Subaru…you have no idea. I can’t even describe how…”

Hokuto’s voice trailed off as her eyes glazed over, no doubt reliving the spectacular sight in her mind. She gave a tiny shiver of exhilaration as she turned to her brother, her eyes now focused and gleaming wildly and her face twisted in a kind of desperate longing as she breathed, “It was so…bright…so dazzling. It sucks the air right out of your chest—that’s how powerful it is. It turns everything golden and it’s so warm…so wonderfully warm inside and out…I want to see it again.”

The last part was spoken with a quiet, grim determination and Subaru’s heart pounded in fear.

“Hokuto-chan, you…you can’t—” he said, trying to make her see reason.

“Why can’t I?” Hokuto demanded, whirling on him suddenly, anger laced thickly throughout her words. “Why is it wrong for any bat to see the sun? Why must we suffer in this horrible darkness?”

“The War of the Birds and Beasts,” Subaru said as if she had forgotten. “We did not take sides and so we were banished to the night. It is our punishment.”

“It isn’t fair!” Hokuto shouted. “And that was so long ago! How do we know that story’s even true? That’s what the birds tell us. When have they ever been truthful to us? Owls ate our parents, remember? Even when we have a treaty with them that they won’t harm us if we keep to the night where we belong. They break their word all the time and we can do nothing!”

Subaru was silent. He did not like his sister’s train of thought at all. It was too rebellious, too dangerous. He was fine living in the darkness. It had never bothered him—he wished Hokuto wasn’t so headstrong. Obaa-chan often said the headstrong ones were the most likely to be eaten, given their reckless disregard for rules.

“Subaru, would you like to see the sun too?” Hokuto asked and Subaru looked up at her quickly in alarm.

“N-No!” he burst out terrified. “H-Hokuto-chan, you aren’t going to do it again, are you? Please don’t!”

Hokuto turned her gaze on the forest floor below and did not offer a reply.

“Please, Hokuto-chan,” Subaru pleaded. “You were lucky once but the owls will surely be looking for you now. I don’t want to lose you!”

“Will you make me promise to never look at the sun again then?” Hokuto questioned blankly.

Subaru hesitated. He never forced his will upon others and to ask something like that would be so selfish and yet if he didn’t…

“Subaru, tell me to never look at the sun again,” Hokuto ordered, her emerald eyes wide and glittering sharply as she stared at him as if he alone held the power to keep her from falling to an ill fate. “If you tell me not to do it, I won’t. I keep my promises.”

“Hokuto-chan,” Subaru whispered in a trembling tone, “Don’t ever look at the sun again…please.”

Hokuto lifted her head up to view the numerous stars littered across the night sky and the glowing moon and gazed at them for several seconds as if trying to glimpse some of the radiance she had seen in the sun and finding them pale in comparison.

“I promise,” she said softly with a wilting droop of her wings.

Subaru found no relief it her words, just an overwhelming sense of guilt that he had been the cause of denying her something she had loved and vowed never to do so again.

It was an oath that would be tested more quickly and in a way that even he had never imagined.

oOoOoOo

Subaru’s first impression of Kakyou was that he rather resembled the sheep that the humans let graze in the meadow. His fur was as white as a spider’s egg sac and bunched thickly around him like that of a dandelion spore. His wings and face were an almost translucent pink pigment and his eyes changed colors from red to black depending on the light fluctuation. And he was small. Even smaller than him and Subaru had often been teased by other bats for being runt-sized. He had no colony but lived alone in the rafters of a storage building humans had long since abandoned.

Subaru watched in trepidation as Hokuto slung her right wing across Kakyou’s slight figure covering him almost completely and nuzzled her snout into his cheek in affection as she introduced them to each other.

“Subaru, this is Kakyou. He’s an albino bat. I met him when I flew in here to take refuge from a storm. He gave me such a fright—I thought he was a ghost! OHOHOHOHO! Kakyou, this is my little brother Subaru I’ve told you about. Don’t we look scarily alike? I wonder if you could one day mistake him for me,” Hokuto giggled.

“I could never mistake him for you, Hokuto” Kakyou said seriously in a voice that reminded Subaru of silken strands of a spider’s web rasping over a tree’s bark. “Your very aura shimmers differently than his. You smell of honeysuckle, pine, the salt of the ocean and the scent of the wind is wrapped all around you.”

“OHOHOHOHO! Is that your way of saying you think I’m beautiful?” Hokuto laughed, cuddling closer in her embrace.

Subaru supposed Kakyou could have been blushing but it was really hard to tell underneath the already pink pigment of his skin.

“Ne, ne, Kakyou, what does Subaru smell like? Tell me,” Hokuto demanded, still chuckling.

Kakyou fixed his odd-colored red eyes upon Subaru and the little fruit bat couldn’t stop a prickle of unease from shooting down his spine as the albino bat’s eyes abruptly darkened to black.

“He smells of plum blossoms…and death,” Kakyou said.

Subaru’s mouth felt suddenly very dry and his chest constricted tightly as if his heart had stopped beating…

“What do you mean, Kakyou-chan?” Hokuto asked, her merriment gone as she looked in concern at her brother. “Is Subaru going to die?”

“Not unless he lets the plum blossoms steal him away,” Kakyou stated cryptically before turning to Hokuto and saying imploringly to her, “And you, Hokuto, please do not fall sway to the darkness or your light will be extinguished forever.”

It was in that moment, when Hokuto forgot completely about Subaru and saw only Kakyou before her, as if the two were the only bats in existence, as they cuddled and whispered soft sayings and sweet nothings, that Subaru felt the first stirrings of a strange unrecognizable emotion rise from the pits of his stomach and worm and writhe its way up until it flared into a scorching wave across his chest. A feeling like that of a dozen angry ant bites prickling all over his body.

Subaru was unsure of what it was, but it frightened him.

oOoOoOo

Hokuto enjoyed teasing him about Seishirou or as she had begun to call him, “Subaru’s Dream Prince Charming”. Subaru hadn’t told anyone of his meeting with Seishirou that night so long ago, not even Obaa-chan. It had been his cherished secret, something that he had kept locked and hidden away from the world to take out and look at just to marvel at the pretty shininess of it whenever the world seemed too dim, too empty. But like all secrets, it had grown until it had become too large to fit in the cache he had placed it in until it had threatened to explode into nothing and fade away from memory, unless it would be shared with someone. So Subaru had finally let Hokuto in on his secret, wanting another’s affirmation that it all had been real.

However, Hokuto seemed to be of the opinion that this “fateful meeting betwixt two fated lovers in the plum blossom tree under the stars” was all a dream stemmed from his subconscious desire to interact sociably—something he rarely did for he was far too shy.

“It’s alright, Subaru,” Hokuto had laughed at him when he had protested that Seishirou was not some figment of his imagination. “I’m sure you’ll meet some dashing, debonair bat like him that will swoop you up in his wings one day, but in the mean time, make sure you take looooooong, snoozy naps so you can visit Sei-chan as much as you want! OHOHOHOHO!”

Subaru refrained from telling her that Seishirou had already “swooped him up in his wings” when he had caught him after he had fainted from eating too much plum. No doubt she’d probably take that the wrong way as he steadily kept ignoring the fact that Seishirou was his “friend” and insisting on labeling him as his boyfriend. Hokuto embarrassed him at times. Really, he and Seishirou were both males! If Obaa-chan ever overheard her exaggerated tales surrounding them, the old bat would probably drop from her roost and die of shock.

It was on one night after a particularly hard ribbing from Hokuto that Subaru decided to venture to the plum orchard again after a long absence from it. It was there in the boughs of the tree, nestled between the white petals of the blossoms and the purple fruit that the little fruit bat tried in vain to sort out the bundle of emotions twisted in a knot within him that left him so confused.

He didn’t understand why he tensed up and felt like gnashing his teeth whenever Hokuto spoke of visiting Kakyou. Indeed, that’s where she had gone this very evening. She had offered to take him along, but Subaru had declined. He knew a polite gesture when he saw one. His sister wanted to be alone with the albino bat so he had given her the unspoken wish. He wondered how soon it would be before Hokuto asked Kakyou to be her mate and for them to fly off together to start a colony of their own.

That horrible squeamish feeling in his belly was back tenfold now and Subaru twisted uncomfortably from his roost trying to rid himself of it. But it was no use—the more he thought of Hokuto and Kakyou together, the more intense the slithering sensation felt as if his insides were burning up. He had lost Hokuto for a short while to her adventures and now when he finally had her back, some other bat entered the picture to take her away again. No, not just any other bat—an ugly, sheep-faced bat he wished would disappear!

Subaru gasped at his train of thought and buried himself in his wings in shame. He had no right to think of Kakyou that way. Kayou had made Hokuto happy. Wasn’t that good enough? Subaru had taken the sun from her; he would not do the same with her new love.

Now the slithering, squeamish feeling had been replaced with another—as if an icy cold claw had wrapped itself around his gut and was squeezing mercilessly. Subaru shut his eyes and whimpered, wondering what was worse: being assaulted by these cruel, illusive feelings or not knowing what they stood for.

“Good evening, Subaru-kun. It’s so nice to see you again,” a deep baritone voice said in a lilting purr.

Subaru lifted his head from within his wings to see the familiar figure of a large bat with pointed ears and a horned snout perched in the limb above, smiling down at him with rows of sharp, glistening teeth.

“Seishirou-san!” Subaru cried elatedly, flinging himself from his roost in a manner so swiftly, it left him dizzy. Indeed, his head felt that it was swimming through the sweet sap that often leaked from the maple trees. This feeling…Subaru liked this feeling.

Subaru resisted the insane urge to fling himself snout-first into the larger bat’s chest and wrap his wings around him in the same manner that Hokuto had done to Kakyou. Settling closely nearby, Subaru gazed at Seishirou for several seconds and lifted a hesitant wing so that he could touch the larger bat with his fore-claw.

“You’re…you’re real,” he breathed as his fore-claw met the fur of the other.

“Has my Subaru-kun perhaps been thinking that I was a mere dream?” Seishirou inquired, the folds around his golden eyes crinkling up in amusement.

My Subaru-kun. Subaru flushed at those words.

“Ah, no,” the little fruit bat stammered. “At least not at first. But Hokuto-chan kept saying you were so I guess I—”

“Hokuto-chan?” Seishirou echoed, tilting his head curiously. “Isn’t she the sister whom you said left on an adventure?”

“Yes, she’s back,” Subaru said happily, though he did not tell the larger bat the other things Hokuto had said about him. No need for Seishirou to get embarrassed as well. “She doesn’t believe you’re real though. She thinks I imagined you.”

“You should bring your sister here to meet me then,” Seishirou suggested. “I think seeing me with her own eyes would change her mind, don’t you agree?”

“She probably won’t come. She’s busy,” Subaru said, shifting his weight from one foot-claw to the other restlessly.

“Busy? With what?” Seishirou questioned.

“Kakyou,” Subaru bit out feeling as if he had a mouthful of dirt in his mouth.

Seishirou raised both eyebrows at the little fruit bat’s tone and waited expectantly for him to continue. So Subaru found himself explaining how Hokuto had introduced him to the albino bat and the odd feelings that were aroused within him whenever he thought of the two together.

“I don’t know what it is, Seishirou-san," Subaru said worriedly. “It feels icky and it hurts…like I’ve swallowed a whole thorn bush and it’s sticking me from the inside tearing through.”

“Hmmm, interesting,” Seishirou said thoughtfully. “It sounds like you’re experiencing jealousy, Subaru-kun.”

“Jealousy?” Subaru repeated blinking at him, the word rolling off his tongue foreign.

“Yes, it appears that you have all the symptoms: negative thoughts, insecurity, anxiety, and fear of losing something precious to you. Well, that’s what I’ve heard jealousy described as, Subaru-kun. I’ve never experienced it myself,” Seishirou said, a light smile playing around the corners of his lips.

“I—I’m jealous of Hokuto?” Subaru asked out loud not sure of what that implied.

“Hokuto?” Seishirou said, “or Kakyou?”

Subaru perched in silence, this new revelation unsettling him.

“It is only natural to be jealous, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou stated. “You had your sister to yourself for all your life and now someone else has entered the picture and drawn her attention away from you and you feel alone. It can not be helped.”

“But I don’t like this feeling! I don’t want to feel this way!” Subaru cried. “I should be glad that Hokuto’s happy!”

“And yet the fact that she is makes you…unhappy?” Seishirou assessed shrewdly.

Subaru wilted visibly and could only nod miserably.

“So strange these emotions; each one connected so closely to the next and leading to different paths depending on which factor rises and falls,” Seishirou murmured in such a low voice that Subaru barely caught it.

“Seishirou-san?”

Seishirou looked at him as if fully noticing he was there and beamed at him.

“Subaru-kun is much too cute to be troubled by such petty things,” the larger bat said. “He needs a distraction. I wonder if he would like to fly with me.”

“Fly with you? We could go flying together?” Subaru asked perking up from his melancholy state of mind.

It had been a desire of his since first meeting Seishirou that one day he would able to fly alongside the larger bat, his wings beating in time for every stroke of the other’s in a perfect harmonized rhythm.

Seishirou chuckled deeply within his throat and spread his giant wings, lifting himself into the air with a quick leap from the branch. Subaru followed in his wake, trying to copy his movements and be just as elegant as the larger bat in the way he flew, however his tiny size proved this task difficult and he only succeeded in tumbling head over tail in mid-air from pumping his wings too hastily. The little fruit bat squeaked in dismay as he flapped frantically trying to regain his balance and slammed hard into Seishirou’s back. Then rather dazed, Subaru could only wearily clutch at the larger bat’s fur so he wouldn’t topple to the forest floor below in a very undignified manner.

“Subaru-kun is so forward tonight; I fear my chastity may be at stake. I had no idea little fruit bats could be so bold,” Seishirou said, turning his head at an angle so he could view the startled expression on Subaru’s face.

“W-w-what?” Subaru stuttered, feeling heat blossom in his cheeks.

Surely Seishirou didn’t really think he had tried to take advantage of him? Because if he did, then all of Hokuto’s banter would actually be true…

“Subaru-kun is far too fun to tease,” Seishirou smirked.

“S-S-Seishirou-san!” was all Subaru could say in his embarrassment, wishing he wasn’t so gullible.

“If you wanted to ride on my back, all you needed to do was ask,” Seishirou said before quickening his velocity and soaring to a higher altitude than Subaru had ever been.

Subaru could not help but marvel at how close the stars seemed at this height, as if he could reach out and pluck them from the sky and how the fine grey mists that were clouds wisped around them; at how the cool night breeze wafted over them gently and how warm Seishirou’s body heat so easily soaked into his own…

“This is why those gifted with flight are scorned and envied, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou said. “Everyone desires to be as free as us. Up here there are no worries or troubles. Such things only exist as a plague on the ground below.”

“But when I land, those feelings will come back,” Subaru said not looking forward to the inevitable.

“I will help you, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou promised. “I will cure you of all unwanted emotions.”

Subaru didn’t ask how Seishirou planned to do this. He just wanted to enjoy the larger bat’s company. Sliding off Seishirou’s back, he gave another try at keeping his flying pace evenly matched with the other’s, drinking in the soothing melancholy of the night.

For the first time in a long while now, Subaru felt at peace.

Then the blissful euphoria was broken by a piercing shriek and Subaru’s vision was suddenly filled with the image of great-horned owl plunging towards him, claws outstretched, and he didn’t even have time to fling himself clear…

Then Seishirou was in front of him, his form looming large and terrible and spread his wings wide, baring his teeth and hissing threateningly.

The owl was taken by surprise at the appearance of such a monstrous bat—one the same size as him and possessing deadly assets—and halted dead in his dive towards his intended prey.

“There is a treaty, remember owl?” Seishirou said, his golden eyes narrowed into slits. “We bats have the night. You have no call to attack us. Be off, you are breaking the law!”

“I am not breaking it—it has already been broken!” the owl cried indignantly. “I demand justice! Give me that bat! He has seen the sun and thus his life is forfeit!”

Subaru felt as if there was a gigantic boulder weighing heavily in his stomach as he realized the implications of the owl’s words and actions. Hokuto…he must have seen Hokuto when she had dared to look upon the sun, and now due to their uncanny similar appearance, he had been mistaken for her.

“Subaru-kun?” Seishirou spoke and genuine surprise was evident on his face as he asked, “Did you really see the sun?”

“I…I…ah,” Subaru could only stammer at a loss for what to do.

“I believe you are lying, owl,” Seishirou stated, turning back to the adversary. “I think you merely are longing for the taste of bat-flesh. One does grow fond of it…I imagine.”

“Insubordinate!” the owl bellowed in fury at being denied what was his. “If you do not hand him over, then your life shall be forfeit as well!”

“I did see it! I did look at the sun!” Subaru exclaimed abruptly. He had to protect Hokuto and Seishirou! His own life didn’t matter if it meant losing them.

“You see? He admits his own violation!” the owl hooted triumphantly. “Now stand aside!”

“So he does,” Seishirou murmured giving Subaru an inquisitive glance before asking the owl in a dangerously soft tone, “Tell me…were you the only one who saw him look at the sun?”

“No, there were others with me and they too have shared their accounts so there shall be no mistake: the one who broke the sacred law was a fruit bat with fur black as ebony and eyes as green as the treetops—that one who hides behind you! He eluded us once before but no longer! And no bat shall be safe or let rest until the traitor’s body is laid out before us prone and lifeless!” the owl swore with a solemn vow.

“Ah, a pity then,” Seishirou said lazily. “If it had just been you, it would have made things a lot easier.”

Then without warning, the vampire bat lashed out at the owl with bruising force of his wings and as the bird floundered clumsily in the sky, Seishirou seized him in his long, curved foot-claws and drew him in close to clamp down on his neck with one bite of his powerful jaws.

“Y-You!” the owl cried, horror dawning on his face as he seemed to realize something. Flailing his wings futilely against the huge bat and scratching desperately at his eyes with his claws, he choked out, “The blood-thirs—!”

There was a sickening crack and the owl’s sentence was abruptly cut off as he slumped over limply then sank down to the earth like a stone where he lay unmoving when Seishirou unfastened his iron-jaws.

“So full of pride and arrogance. Disgusting,” Seishirou stated, curling back his lips in distaste and grimacing, exhibiting his now red-stained teeth for the entire world to see.

But that was nothing compared to the crimson river dripping steadily out of his right eye socket, once a magnificent gold, now a bleeding, gouged, hideous wound.

Subaru stared wide-eyed at him, frozen in shock with a myriad of emotions swelling up within him from guilt to fear, the first glimmerings of comprehension starting to appear on his face.

“Ah, Subaru-kun, I’m sorry you had to see that. I hadn’t planned for it to come out this way,” Seishirou said apologetically, flicking out his tongue at the corner of his mouth to catch some of his own blood that had oozed out of the gaping socket, before sighing almost regretfully. “Still as bland as ever.”

“Seishirou-san, y-your eye!” Subaru shouted, dimly realizing that that wasn’t what he should be mostly concerned about at the moment, but everything was reeling out of focus and he felt as if a thick fog was enshrouding his senses…a familiar fog…

“Go to sleep, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou crooned, wrapping his wings around him ever so gently. “Go to sleep and when you wake up, this will all have been just a nightmare.”

The sky tilted dizzily and his mind was growing fuzzy. He didn’t know where he was; he didn’t know who he was…but someone was hugging him close to their chest and it was warm, so warm, like the humid summer nights and the scent of plum blossoms lingered all around.

oOoOoOo

Hokuto pumped her wings furiously as she vigorously scoured the skies for any sight of her brother. She had returned to her home in the hollow oak tree after visiting Kakyou to find her distraught grandmother and Subaru missing. It was now only an hour until sunrise. Where could he be? She had to find him before the sun cast its light upon the earth once more. She may have had no qualms about breaking an age-old law, however Subaru was dutifully obedient. If he hadn’t come back by now, then he must have been detained or was hurt by something. But where could she possibly start looking? She had been gone for a while and no longer knew her brother’s favorite haunts. Wait, that wasn’t true. He was forever talking about that plum orchard across the valley and his “friend”. Could he have gone there?

Hokuto set out on her new destination, trying to ignore the wave of uneasiness that rushed over her. The night was serene and beautiful; there was nothing that should have made her feel like this. Perhaps it was what Kakyou had said before she had left him that unnerved her.

“Hokuto, please don’t go tonight. Stay here,” Kakyou pleaded, his features contorted in anguish. “The darkness has cast its shadow over the night in a suffocating spell. You won’t be safe.”

Hokuto had long grown used to the albino bat speaking in such cryptic riddles and often took delight in trying to unravel their meaning, but even she was at a loss at how to decipher this.

“Don’t be silly, Kakyou, I’ll be fine!” she chirped, trying to lighten the mood. “I’ll come visit you tomorrow as soon as twilight falls! Then we’re going to go exploring outside—even if I have to drag you out of this place myself. There’s no reason for you to be such a worm-in-the-hole, OHOHOHO!”

But Kakyou had only gazed at her with resigned eyes and said softly, “Yes, Hokuto. I’d like that.”

Nuzzling his cheek in farewell, Hokuto had whispered into the albino bat’s ear, “Ne, Kakyou, do you know what you smell like? Like the scent of fresh morning dew and the soil after a heavy rain.”

Kakyou was silent as she bid him goodnight and she wondered maybe if he was sulking—an act which would be quite uncharacteristic of him, but as she flew through an opening in the storage shed’s roof, she heard his soft voice say quietly behind her, “Goodbye, Hokuto.”

Hokuto, reflecting back on it, pondered why he had sounded so sad. But there was time more time to dwell on it: the plum orchard was in her line of vision now and she hastened her flight. Weaving through the numerous trees laden heavily with fruit, Hokuto cast her sight everywhere, calling her brother’s name.

But the one who answered was not Subaru.

“Hokuto-chan, I presume?” came a deep voice from within the top of a nearby tree.

Hokuto whirled in mid-air to scan the trees around her until her eyes finally landed on the sight of a huge, hulking figure of a bat hanging precariously upside-down from a slender branch. Even with his elongated, triangle ears and upturned, horn snout, he could have been labeled as handsome…if not for the gaping, insidious crevice, crusted over with dried blood, which had once held a golden eye to match his intact left one. But that ghastly visage was not what made Hokuto’s heart skip a beat in fear.

It was the sight of Subaru enswathed tightly within the other’s massive wings, eyes closed and seemingly lifeless.

“Subaru-kun!” she cried, falling in closer but hovering just out of reach of the larger bat. “What have you done to him?!”

“It is not what I have done to him, Hokuto-chan. It is what you have done,” the large bat stated coolly.

And suddenly, Hokuto knew who he was.

“You’re Seishirou-san, aren’t you?” she asked. “Subaru didn’t imagine you.”

“You should believe your brother more often, Hokuto-chan, especially since you ought to know he doesn’t lie…at least, not without good cause,” Seishirou said, his sole eye glinting dangerously as it focused on her.

“What…what are your intentions towards my brother?” Hokuto asked warily, hoping the larger bat didn’t intend Subaru harm. Subaru had proclaimed he was his friend after all…but she didn’t like the look of his friend one bit.

“My goals are far and few and yet too many,” Seishirou said elusively. “But for right now, my first and foremost is to keep my promise to Subaru…I will cure him of these abhorrent feelings that cause him so much distress and grief.”

“What are you talking about?” Hokuto snapped. She didn’t like how he was speaking in riddles…riddles like Kakyou…

“The darkness has cast its shadow over the night in a suffocating spell.”

Is this what he had meant?

“You are at fault for what has happened, Hokuto-chan,” Seishirou said. “Subaru-kun would still be happy, still be safe, if not for your misdemeanors.”

“How dare you—”

“The owls are looking for you, Hokuto-chan. They seek your life-blood,” Seishirou interrupted, sealing off her words of protest.

Hokuto felt a cold shill spread throughout her body. She knew she had been seen by the owls upon looking at the sun, but stupidly, she thought once she had out-flown them that would be the end of the pursuit. But if they had continued searching relentlessly…and Subaru looked just like her…

“He lied for you, you know,” Seishirou said, breaking her out of her reminiscing. “When the owl I killed accused him of looking at the sun, he claimed he did do it. I wonder how it must feel like: to care for another so deeply they’d give up their life for them without a second thought.”

“You…you saved him?” Hokuto voiced hoarsely.

“Subaru-kun’s life is mine to take, Hokuto-chan. I won’t have my prize stolen from me by some feather-brained owl,” Seishirou stated, baring his teeth in a sullen scowl. “I will be the only one to taste the sweet, bitter emotions that runs through his veins.”

Hokuto started as if a bolt of lightning had hit her.

“The traitorous blood-thirsty assassin!” she exclaimed gazing at the large bat wide-eyed in alarm.

“Traitorous is pushing it a bit too far. I think that title should be presented to you, don’t you agree, Hokuto-chan?” Seishirou said smiling, a truly terrifying and atrocious smile. “You’ve shamelessly endangered your brother’s life as well as that of every bat in existence. The owls demand retribution. Are you too much a coward to try and make amends?”

“What…what can I do?” Hokuto uttered bleakly.

“Repent, Hokuto-chan,” Seishirou whispered, his remaining golden eye glowing savagely. “Repent and atone for your sins. Offer me your life and I will drink your blood and give your body to the owls as proof that justice has been dealt, and Subaru will be spared.”

“From them…but not from you,” Hokuto concluded. She had no qualms about giving up her life if it meant saving Subaru’s, but she knew that even is she saved him from death at the cruel claws of owls, a darker, more sinister fate awaited him still. “You’re going to kill him anyway, aren’t you?”

“Yes, but you could give all your time to his rapidly-dwindling supply,” Seishirou proposed benevolently. “He has only experienced jealousy and thus has not reached full completion. If I kill you, however, I could postpone his imminent doom for a while longer. I can only imagine how such hatred would explode—how delicious that fruit would taste if let grow into full ripeness, mmm.”

The vampire bat’s face scrunched up in a pleasant expression as if he was fantasizing about drinking Subaru’s blood that very moment. It sickened Hokuto.

“Very well, I accept those terms, but on one condition,” Hokuto declared resolutely. “When you drink my blood, I want you to look closely at one emotion in particular called love.”

“Love?” Seishirou looked extremely amused by the concept. “You are trying in some valiant way to make me understand it and hoping thusly that I recognize it for what I feel towards your brother, is that it?”

“You care for Subaru, you must,” Hokuto insisted. “Otherwise you would have just let the owl have him regardless of your earlier explanation. You wouldn’t have made a deal with me to lengthen his life either if you didn’t. You would have simply killed us both.”

“You assume too much, little fruit bat,” Seishirou said. “I know what ‘love’ is. I’ve tasted it in others whose blood I’ve spilled. It’s merely a tool—something platonic and breakable. It brings joy and causes pain. It is both beautiful and terrible…and merely enslavement to another. There is nothing further I could possibly glean from such a twisted emotion.”

“Think of it as an experiment then, a game. That should suit your taste,” Hokuto challenged.

Seishirou chuckled eerily, “I’m impressed. You know how to pique my interest. Fine, I conduct your final wish. Think of it as last rites.”

Unwrapping his wings, the vampire bat laid the unconscious Subaru in the small crook of the tree where the limb and trunk connected. Then moving faster than Hokuto’s eyes could follow, Seishirou was in front of her, a monolithic and menacing figure.

“Prepare yourself,” were the spoken words.

Hokuto looked at Subaru, sleeping peacefully, unaware of the danger that he lay enshrouded in. She wished she could see him open his eyes just one more time and to gaze into those eyes—a mirror copy of hers. She wished she could have teased him one more time about his “Dream Prince Charming” and for everything to really have been a dream. She wished she had made her grandmother more proud of her. She wished she could apologize to Kakyou for all the grief she was going to cause him.

Kakyou, I’m sorry. We won’t be able to go exploring tomorrow, she thought wistfully. But you already knew that, didn’t you?

Seishirou struck.

The moon had never seemed as bright as this before…or was it the dawn breaking across the horizon?

Hokuto smiled as she felt the first rays of the morning sun splash across her face just as warmly as she felt her blood splashing down the front of her chest.

She didn’t regret looking at the sun at all. She had paid the price. It was just as beautiful and bright as when she first saw it.

oOoOoOo

Subaru shot into full wakefulness screaming his sister’s name as an excruciating pain he had never felt before lanced throughout his body like a slender willow branch being pulled taut until at last it snapped in two losing forever its vital connection with its other half.

The little fruit bat’s eyes burned and watered at the unnatural brightness they had never before witnessed yet still they were clear enough to catch sight of Hokuto’s fragile body as it plummeted to the ground below where it landed at the base of the tree on a bed of white plum blossom petals.

“H-Hokuto-chan!” Subaru shrieked for he had never seen his sister lieso still before; even in her sleep, she was always shifting her roost and stretching out her wings to bash him accidentally in the face.

But Hokuto made no sign that she had heard him and Subaru’s focus suddenly turned to the sky as he gradually realized it was the brightest shade of blue he had ever seen in his life mixed with pink and purple smudges across the horizon all stemming from one vibrant circular spot that shone so vividly it seared his retinas—

A towering shadow obstructed his view as it purposefully placed itself in front of the blinding image and a soft voice settled down upon his ears.

“No, you must not look, Subaru-kun. Your sister gave her life for it. To gaze upon such splendor comes with a heavy price.”

Seishirou-san was talking to him. Seishirou-san was in front of him, the fur on his chest streaked red with blood that was not his own. Seishirou-san had…

“You know, Subaru-kun, I must confess,” Seishirou was saying now, “I am slightly irked by your sister’s abrupt intrusion into our little game. I’m afraid her presence made the fruit grow far more quickly than it was supposed to and thus soured the expectant bite. She, however, seemed to be under the amusing impression that it all could be saved by love. Tell me, Subaru-kun, do you think ‘love’ can sweeten the taste of the bond that I’ve painstakingly created between us?”

Subaru was silent. His eyes glazing over vacantly…then coming back into focus sharply as a slap across his face by a large wing brought him back to reality with bruising force

“None of that, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou hissed, his lone golden eye narrowing with malice. “I will not have you falling into the brink of despair right after I’ve saved you. I’ve given my eye for you; your sister has given her life. Your debts have all been called in, little fruit bat. You belong to me now.”

“Seishirou-san…” Subaru could only bleat brokenly, his eyes stinging with the brightness of the daylight or the agonizing pain in his heart he did not know. “Why?”

“Why?” Seishirou repeated, laughing at the question—a horrible, hollow kind of laugh. “Because I was bored, Subaru-kun. It seemed like an interesting pastime. I admit, for a while, I sometimes forgot it was all a game and really did enjoy your company. Your naivety proved more than adequately amusing. But that time has passed—I am the blood-thirsty assassin, little fruit bat and I’ve come to reap my reward.”

“Hokuto-chan…” Subaru moaned softly, cradling his wings around himself in an echo of how his sister used to do to him during thunderstorms when he was frightened…something she would never do again.

“I grow tired of this lingering attachment you have to your dearly departed sister, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou said. “She is gone from this world and nothing more than an example of how utterly useless feelings serve creatures. They can not save you, these emotions. More often than not, they lead to your downfall. I am fortunate not to be bothered by such follies.”

“I…I never meant anything to you, Seishirou-san?” Subaru asked trying to find some sense in his world which had been turned right-side up.

Seishirou smiled at him—a wicked and cruely twisted upturn lift of his lips in which he exhibited the numerous rows of sharp teeth he possessed—and then settled next to the little fruit bat on the limb before speaking.

“You, Subaru-kun, are somewhat of an anomaly,” the vampire bat stated, lifting his long curved fore-claw to his mouth as if musing out loud. “Every instinct I have within me cries out for your blood. To sink my fangs into your supple flesh and drink from the red river of your life. To behold every memory you hold dear and taste every emotion that has ever taken root inside you. And yet now, at the very end, I find myself hesitating to do so. I wonder why that is? I’m not so weak-minded to believe it is something as foolish as love. Perhaps it is because Subaru-kun is the first creature in a long time to make me truly feel ‘alive’ and without him around, the world will be as bleak and as boring as before. Do you think this could be the reason, Subaru-kun?”

“Are you going to kill me then?” Subaru asked, answering a question with a question.

“Mmm, I wouldn’t put it so crassly, little fruit bat,” Seishirou said. “I prefer to think of it as curing the world of the inhabitants who let their emotions override their reason, and that puts me in a bind. You don’t appear to have lost your rationale, even at the no-doubt devastating loss of your sister. The only fault you may have is that you are far too trusting, but I think you’ve learned your lesson at that, haven’t you?”

The vampire bat chuckled for a few seconds before continuing, “No creature whose blood I’ve drank, ever tasted as sweet as yours. I wonder what it would taste like now, tinged with sorrow, betrayal and perhaps hatred. I wonder what it would taste like if left to fester for several years. So, to answer your question, I think I may keep you around for a while longer. You could prove to be a most fascinating distraction from the mundane.”

Subaru stared across the plum orchard and the valley to the familiar forest beyond, so strikingly different than at night, yet he was careful to avoid looking up at the sun so at least Hokuto’s sacrifice would not be in vain. He wished he was anywhere but beside the larger bat who saw him as nothing more than an amusing game-piece.

“Is my Subaru-kun giving me the silent treatment now for misleading him?” Seishirou inquired in a teasing manner, but the little fruit bat heard the dangerous tone that implied consequences for being ignored.

Through the dazed wanderings of his mind still in shock over his sister’s sudden death, Subaru dimly realized that he should let his grandmother and Kakyou know what happened…that Hokuto was never coming back…never going to smile or fill the air with her crazy, annoying laughter…never…never…never…

“And where does Subaru-kun think he is off to so quickly?” said Seishirou’s voice through his numbed senses and Subaru noted he had both his wings spread out ready to launch himself from the tree branch before he was seized and dragged backward into the vampire bat’s chest as two giant leathery wings folded themselves tightly about him, ensnaring him into his own private prison.

“You are mine, Subaru-kun, to do with whatever I wish, and you may do nothing unless I say you can,” Seishirou warned, his hot breath blowing down on the little fruit bat’s cheek in their close proximity.

Subaru didn’t try and break the hold that the larger bat had on him at first, feeling strangely comforted by another’s presence…until he vaguely realized that the fur he was nestled against was coated with a sticky red residence that smelled thickly of copper…and honeysuckle and pine…

Subaru screeched an anguished, angry cry, and struggled to escape from Seishirou’s clutches, beating his small wings in desperate, harmless blows down upon him and shouted heartbreakingly, “Hokuto-chan! You killed Hokuto-chan! Hokuto-chan, Hokuto-chan, Hokuto-chaaaan!!!”

Seishirou felt the blows fall off him like a bead of dew sliding off a leaf and drew the little fruit bat closer to him in a possessive embrace until his forehead rested against Subaru’s, his tongue absent-mindedly licking away the salty tears that trickled down the other’s face and thought that they almost tasted as delicious as blood…almost.

Gradually, Subaru stopped his useless struggling and sagged limply against him, his tiny frame racked with grief-stricken trembles.

“Look at me, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou demanded and Subaru could do nothing but obey and lift his head weakly.

Seishirou’s sole eye glittered with a golden depth full of mystery as he spoke, “Your sister was sure that ‘love’ would be the savior of this tie we’ve formed together. Need I remind you that she had absurd romantic notions surrounding the whole idea, but I believe my theory is still the correct one. ‘Love’ is something needed by those trying to fill a void in their life; by those who are afraid to live in isolation. And yet, whenever ‘love’ is found, it is forever testing the boundaries of those caught within its web until they no longer are content to settle for its alluring appeal of false happiness and fall to ruin. Tell me, Subaru-kun, are we doomed for the same fate as those lowly creatures? Are we not smarter than that?”

Subaru was silent for several moments before his voice drifted up to the vampire bat’s ears in a muffled, low tone, “If that’s what love really is…then it’s simply a way to avoid loneliness.”

Seishirou blinked then chuckled amusedly, burying his horned snout into the nape of Subaru’s neck, nostrils flaring wide as the smelled the blood throbbing furiously beneath the soft fur, and he fought back the urge to bury his fangs into the faded twin incisor scars left from his first taste of the small bat.

“My Subaru-kun sees this fallacy also? I am a good teacher then,” Seishirou murmured quite pleased. “You will stay with me won’t you, Subaru-kun, even though the blood-thirsty assassin can feel no emotions?”

“Every creature is capable of feeling, Seishirou-san,” Subaru said wearily. “You just prefer not to. It makes killing that much easier and you enjoy drinking other’s blood because their lives are far more intriguing than your own bland one.”

The vampire bat’s wings tightened considerably around his prey as he hissed into Subaru’s ear, “Don’t push your luck, little fruit bat. You’re on borrowed time, remember? I own you.”

“I understand, Seishirou-san,” Subaru said, closing his once shining emerald eyes which had all but lost their glimmer, and made no move to untangle himself from the other’s embrace. “Emotions…cause too much pain.”

He couldn’t leave even if he wanted to.

There might be no love between them but the nectar that dripped from the illusion was just as sweet.

The End

A/N: I do NOT own the last line of this fic. Oh how I wish I had created it myself. I can’t even remember who made it up, I just know I wrote it down in my little notebook because it was so brilliant I didn’t want to forget it and it really fit this story well, so I had to put it in! I know I read it from a fanfic though, so whoever originally typed out those words, I give you full credit! I worship you! Ahem, sorry. So, yes, if you are reading this fic are want to be recognized as the owner of that awesome sentence at the end, please tell me so I can give you full dues! Now…

I will say I’ve always wondered how Subaru would react if he knew of Hokuto and Kakyou’ s relationship during the TB arc. Obviously, he was very close to sister for his death to affect him so deeply (but I guess that anyone would feel the same way). And I’ve read fanfics where Subaru sees Hokuto and Seishirou interacting and it makes him fearful and wistful because he admits they would look good together, complete each other and yet he doesn’t want to give Seishirou to her and he thinks he is being selfish. But they’ve never fully tried to delve further into his feelings such as anger and jealousy as if they he could never feel them or they might make him too OOC.

Hokuto seeing the sun is a plotline straight out of Silverwing as is the War of the Birds and Beasts and somehow they blend perfectly well into Tokyo Babylon’s plot, hehe. Anyway, my beta is currently cheering me for killing Hokuto off while I justify myself doing it because it really is her own fault this time. And where is the spell she wove to protect Subaru from Seishirou lest he ‘try to kill him in the same manner he killed’ her? I might not have done it here because I think she effectively screwed her brother over in the manga doing that. Poor Subaru, I feel he would have been happier if Seishirou killed him. Her spell just pushed him over into the brink of insanity. So, yeah, I might not have done that, but then again, maybe I did. Maybe it was in her blood that Seishirou drank and now flows through his veins…though I can assure you it won’t be the same spell that she uses in the manga (whistles and looks away innocently).

Umm, that’s it I think. If you’re wondering what happens afterward, well, Subaru stays with Seishioru. I like to think of Subaru as a bat blood-donor (sniggers). And I like to think Seishirou who claims he has no emotions was jealous of Hokuto who took up Subaru’s attention (he’s simply a vamp in deep denial). Although who knows. I might actually be stupid enough to continue it and try to write some warped shortened version of X/1999. (is deafened by readers screams of delight). Maybe. I tell you I seriously had to restrain myself from writing a little epilogue that had a much subdued Subaru stumbling upon three little lost bats, Kotori, Fuuma and Kamui, and giving them a lecture to always be wary of strangers and never trust them. (sobs) Sorry, guys, it just didn’t fit the story and broke the mood. The angsty, bitter chocolate mood…I hope you drama freaks are happy! Here! Here’s your angst, you humor-haters! Read it and weep! Now, excuse me while I go off and read some nice fluffy crack! Oh yes, please do review and share your favorite scenes and thoughts on the whole.

Thirteen Ways of Looking at a M&M Package (Poetry Parody)

2009-11-02T03:44:00Z

Disclaimer: This is a parody of Wallace Stevens’s work, 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird. It is a mere shadow of the original…which makes even less sense than when I first read it all those years ago. What the heck is the blackbird supposed to symbolize? Anyway, yeah, I wrote this back in high school and I hone all credit to Mr. Wallace Stevens…and whatever message he was trying to get across. You English Majors probably can spot it right off, can’t you? You know it’s strange. I understand Edgar Allen Poe’s works perfectly, but people like this and Walt Whitman…and Robert Frost, him too, he’s tricksy.

Anyway, please read 13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird first. It will make this read even more fun. You can view the original here: http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88/stevens-13ways.html

You can thank me posting this due to my beta, Leeayre, getting a gigantic kick out of me parodying nonsensical ordinary things. And now without further ado:

Thirteen Ways of Looking at an M&M Package

Among dozens of shelves of candies and sweets,

The only thing my sight fastened on,

Was a bright, red package of m&m’s.

My mind reeled dizzily with pure ecstasy,

Like a trapeze artist

When he is flinging himself into space.

III

The m&m package sat between the gumdrops and the twizzlers,

It was part of a small plot by the Sugar Calories Brigade.

A Twix bar and a Whatchamacallit

Are one.

A Twix bar and a Whatchamacallit and an m&m package

Are one.

I do not know which to choose,

The craving of jaw-sticking caramel,

Or the smooth texture of peanut butter,

The melting in your mouth of chocolate m&m’s,

Or all three.

Undecision and confusion jammed my mind

With sharp, prickling thoughts.

The surface of the m&m package

Twinkled up merrily to me.

Which made my mind,

Still cluttered with the unanswered question,

More phased than before.

VII

O ignorant, deceived people of this world,

Why do visions of m&m packages dance in your heads?

Do you not see how the m&m package

Is filled with 360,000 kilograms of fat,

Making you people slaves to them forever?

VIII

I know of healthy, enriching foods

And their help to aid long lives;

But I know too,

That the m&m package is not

In what I know of good food.

When I left the m&m package,

I could see it in my sight,

One delicious yet dangerous sweet of many.

At the sight of m&m packages,

Glittering in the white light,

Even the most held-back people

Would cry out in longing.

A man walked down the candy aisle,

In search of the famous favorite,

Once a false hope overtook him,

In that he mistook,

A package of Skittles,

For m&m’s.

XII

If a crowd is ranting and raving,

The m&m packages must be sold out.

XIII

It will be a most saddening say,

It will be a most crushing day,

The most horrible fate of all,

If the m&m packages

Ever go away.

A/N: Now raise your hand everyone if you’re suddenly dying to eat a bar of chocolate? Kekeke…

Between Two Worlds Ch.6

2009-10-26T18:47:18Z

Title: Bewteen Two Worlds
Author: Schnickledooger (me)
Rating: All Audiences
Characters: Wolfram, Gwendal, Conrart, Celi, Waltorana, Yozak, (others)
Genre: Family/Action/Adventure
Setting: Pre-war Great Demon Kingdom
Chapters: 6/?
Summary: Young Wolfram’s world is thrown into chaos when his uncle Waltorana attempts to gain his custody from Celi. It grows more hectic when he is kidnapped on top of that and now the stirrings of war are in the air. Brotherly love, defeating the bad guys, you know, the usual routine^^

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 (PT 1) (PT 2)
Chapter 5 (PT 1) (PT 2)

A/N 1: Dart, Brackus, Jass, Valmira, Falconer, and Hughes are my OCs and are not in the KKM-canon verse. (even though Valmira, Falconer and Hughes are supposed to be the ancestors of the dragon poachers-they look and act just like them by the way).

Ch.6 Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

Yozak had a very good inkling on what this mysterious Lord Jass’s profitable business was the moment he laid eyes on the fortress settled snugly between two hills just as the man Brackus had said. Secure behind tall wooden stakes with one main gate as the entrance, it had the appearance of a trading facility at first glance; however, Yozak would bet that was its outward masquerade –that really, it was nothing more than a bandit outpost.

They must be very good at hiding their true colors to survive within the Great Demon Kingdom and at such close proximity to Covenant Castle, Yozak assessed shrewdly as the gate was swung open to receive its arrivals.

“Hey, Brackus, you old dog!” yelled a passerby in greeting, carrying firewood and a crossbow across his back. “You survived another raid? Me and Lonz had a bet you were going stay dead this time!”

“Sorry to lose you money,” Brackus stated humorlessly in reply, never slowly his gait towards the main building ahead.

“Dart, when you going to stop hanging around this loser?” called another jokingly to the group’s left where he was sharpening his knives.

Dart only nodded in recognition and followed Brackus.

Definitely a bandit outpost, Yozak affirmed.

If it had been a trading outpost, the men would have used “shipment” not “raid”, also, he doubted traders would require so many weapons which were scattered about the inside of the fortress, even if the cargo itself was weapons; real traders did not carry their weapons so openly.

Still, if they must have been clever enough to have concealed their identity and continued their façade as a trading outpost for so long. Yozak reverently hoped the mazoku wouldn’t be played as fools anymore. His life depended on it, and now that he thought about it, so did Little Lord Brat’s. If worst came to worst, the prince’s abductors might just decide to ditch the weight around their necks to save their own hides.

Yozak lifted his head and turned it as far as his position over Dart’s shoulder allowed to try and quickly assess his surroundings before one of his captors took notice. It was imperative he to know where what was if he happened to find a way to escape. The group seemed to be headed towards a building in the center of the fort with what looked like only one entrance in or out. As they stepped over the threshold and into the dimly-lit structure, Yozak only had time for one quick glimpse of the interior contained: boxes stacked high to the ceiling, bags piled in every corner and small clusters of men all about surveying several objects which were strewn in assorted heaps.

Then Yozak found himself tossed to the hard wood floor without warning alongside a still unconscious Wolfram.

One of the men looked up from doing inventory of the stolen goods and scowled at the newcomers.

“What is that? You call that a haul, Brackus? Two fledging sparrows and their nannies? And you’re Lord Jass’s right hand man?! Tch!”

“Now, now, Canulf, I’m sure since it was Brackus who brought them in, he must have an excellent angle behind this surprise catch,” said a voice from the shadows as a man emerged from within them and walked in a leisurely manner to where Brackus and everyone stood.

Yozak watched him approach: a man with purple locks down to his shoulders, wearing brown breeches, boots and a long-sleeved white shirt with the front unbuttoned, exposing his chest. A man in his late twenties-mid thirties perhaps: he held himself with an air of superiority and arrogance and his gait sung strong of confidence. There was no doubt in Yozak’s mind this person could only be Jass.

The man stopped directly in front of where the two boys lay and smiled down at them charmingly while he assessed them like a cat eyeing a bird freshly caught between its paws, before turning his gaze onto their captors with obvious recognition.

“Ah, Valmira,” Jass stated pleasantly, “now I see why I have half the Great Demon Kingdom almost upon my front gate. I should have guessed earlier!”

Jass’s men laughed uproariously as their duty and Yozak rolled his eyes up as far as he could to see Valmira’s pinched angry expression.

“What have you done this time, Valmira?” Jass breathed gustily, shaking his head at her. “I expect you’re in a spot of trouble-as usual. Come to plead for protection-again?”

“Nice to see you again too, Jass,” Valmira bit out, curling her lip, “I liked my life better when I thought you were dead.”

“Life’s not fair, is it? Care to explain your situation? It might persuade me to not simply throw you all out into those mazoku’s eagerly waiting hands,” Jass said.

“You wouldn’t. I’d let the cat out of the bag of your cozy little robber’s getaway here,” Valmira stated, lifting her chin up confidentlyxx.

“Robber’s getaway?” Jass echoed, blinking and sounding totally bewildered. “We were but humble traders doing inventory when we were violently belayed upon by a devious houseki wielder and her posse. We barely managed to overcome her with our lives intact!”

“You always were such an overdramatic actor,” Valmira scoffed in distaste.

“Do try and lighten up Valmira or you’ll become an old prune. I’m sorry, let me rephrase that: you’ll become an old prune if I allow you to remain within the safety of this fortification. Hope that your tale doesn’t bore me,” Jass cautioned in the utmost seriousness, although his smile never left his face.

Realizing that Jass finally meant business, Valmira began to speak.

“We seek shelter here long enough to elude the Demon Tribe. We’ll be out of your way as soon as possible. In return, I’ll offer my services as a houseki wielder to aid you against the mazoku in their frontal attack, however, I’m afraid we can’t stick around for the whole show.”

“That’s a rather vague explanation and a poor offer,” Jass said, letting his disapproval ring through his voice even as he kept the folds of his mouth stretched wide in an ever-bearing grin. “I suggest you clarify your facts more, such as why you think the mazoku would attack our ‘trader’s guild’.”

“I heard you were planning to do a little ‘sparring with the mazoku’ anyway,” Valmira said, shooting Brackus a dirty look. “I take it that was another one of your cover ups like the false rumor of you being killed.”

“Did you now?” Jass replied curiously, glancing fleetingly at Brackus also, before he and Valmira hosted a staring match, sizing the other up.

“Well, men, why don’t you all go outside for a bit, eh?” Jass suggested suddenly, turning to his men who trying their best not to appear interested in their boss’s conversation. “Take a break and go see if our mazoku friends are planning to assault innocent working civilians.”

The filed out of the building respectively, laughing at the joke xx

“Brackus, since when has it been your nature to tell the first person who comes along our plans?” Jass inquired, raising his eyebrows at the man. “Trying to impress Valmira with your knowledge? It won’t work; she thinks she is the master of the universe.”

“No, that would be you, O Mighty One,” Valmira cut in sarcastically. “I’d like an answer now, before the mazoku draw any closer. I don’t see how throwing us out will benefit you any. If you really are going to engage them in battle, you’d need some houseki-weilders unless you have a death wish.”

Yozak watched as Jass smirked, walked over to the nearest sealed crate and beckoned Valmira over with his finger. Warily, the woman did so, her expression transforming into shock as the bandit-leader yanked open the top so she could view the contents within. Even from his distance away on the floor-level, Yozak could still identify the soft glow of houseki crystals emitting from it.

“What makes you think you’re the only houseki-weilder here?” Jass asked, putting the lid of the crate back on top.

“You mean all these boxes—” Vamlira started issuing around to the packed room.

“Yes. As you can see we’re quite prepared, although it took us some time to amount to this quantity. You can only bring the stones into the country in very small measures, otherwise the sensitive mazoku would notice,” Jass explained, jumping nimbly to seat himself on top of the box.

“Now,” he said, sitting cross-legged and leaning back slightly, “Perhaps if you tell us the real reason why you’re here in the Demon Kingdom and have its army mercilessly trailing you, I might consider lending you protection behind these walls, although you’re going to have to earn your keep. I don’t host beggars you know.”

“Very well,” Valmira agreed, opting for a half-truth. “We three were hired in the services of Big Cimaron’s king to try and start a war between the countries. Our objective was to strike off the head of the Ten Aristocrats to spur them into action. That goal has been fulfilled and we were returning for our due reward, however, it seems we picked up an unwelcome party member along the way.”

Valmira sent a blasting glare directed to Yozak and Jass hopped off the box and walked over to stand above where he lay bound.

“Ara, what’s this?” Jass inquired, staring down curiously at him. “Are you saying a mere mazoku whelp spoiled your carefully-laid plans? Valmira, you must be losing your touch to not realize someone was tracking you until too late.”

“Shut up,” Valmira ground out irritated. “If you’re not going to assist us, then at least give me the pleasure of ending his wretched existence!”

“No,” Jass chirped, looking positively merry at the woman’s outrage. “Anyone who gets the better of you has an immediate place on my good side. I’ll let him live. We’ll find some use for him, I’m sure.”

Yozak was caught between relief that he wasn’t going to be executed any time soon and dread at what might lie ahead if the Demon Army didn’t arrive shortly. What was taking them so long anyway?

“Now who might this other whelp be, eh?”

Yozak snapped his attention back to Jass who was now inspecting Wolfram closely, taking in his pale complexion, fair features and clothing, although now slightly bedraggled, was undoubtedly rich and extravagant-a far cry from his own traveler’s rags. Yozak watched Jass’s eyes flicker between the two of them and knew the man noticed this as well.

“Just some brat that had the misfortune to get in our way,” Valmira said aloof, “We were going to take him back to Big Cimaron and sell him as a slave there. We should get a good price I imagine.”

“Really? Odd that you would hang onto such baggage when you’re running for your lives,” Jass said turning a skeptical eye on the woman. “Why don’t you tell me the real story now, Valmira? The whole story.”

“Would it help to know that she addressed the blond whelp as ‘His Royal Bratness’ when me and Dart came upon her, and that the leader of the Ten Aristocrats she was sent to kill goes-or shall I say, went-by the name of Waltorana vonBielefeld?” Brackus spoke up for the first time since entering the building.

Valmira whirled on the man, simmering in anger, but Jass pulled her back by the arm laughing.

“Haha! Of course, of course, it all makes sense now! You were greedy, weren’t you, Valmira,” Jass stated, putting the missing pieces of her tale together with a fiendish glee. “You completed your mission, but you weren’t satisfied with the slice of payment-you wanted the whole cake, and now, look what happens when you try and steal the icing.”

“Spare me the stupid metaphors, you sadistic bastard!” Valmira shouted, wrenching her arm free. “You would’ve done the same thing in my place!”

“Oh, but I have,” Jass said, smiling at Valmira’s confused expression. “You think you and your two henchmen were the only people Big Cimaron’s king sent to stir up the Demon Tribe to war? You think I aim to attack the mazoku for no profit at all, when I already have assembled a peaceful and successful visage here?”

“You-you…you’re working for Cimaron’s king as well?” Valmira asked, startled.

“My job was to raze villages and cause chaos all over the country-side with lightning attacks. No kingdom likes the other invading without warning. Why do you think I went through all the trouble of amassing the houseki stones here? But now I’ll have no chance of carrying out the king’s orders, will I?” Jass inquired in a grim tone, his cheery façade dropping at last to show a dangerously serious countenance. “Not with this outpost being slowly surrounded upon by offended mazoku who are concerned about the safety of their little prince. So tell me Valmira, why should I offer you protection when you have ruined my element of surprise; ruined Big Cimaron’s king’s plans?”

“Why shouldn’t I just kill all three of you right here and give their little prince back to them, claiming I unhanded his abductors and keep this masquerade as a trader’s guild until I’m ready to attack?” Jass whispered, stepping forward closely into the woman’s personal space, his eyes two dark pools of void.

Valmira was silent, her throat too constricted in shock and fear to speak or even defend herself. Falconer and Hughes stood stiffly where they were, all too aware of Dart keeping guard ominously by the entry-way. The air was so thick tension, Yozak could practically feel it crackle off his skin.

Brackus made a slight movement forward, breaking the spell.

“Luckily for you, Valmira, I’m feeling benevolent today,” Jass declared gaily, slipping back into false persona once more, giving Brackus a warning stare before continuing. “Besides, who would I torment that gives half as much fun reactions as you do? In any event, you present me with a significant opportunity to turn my misfortune into wondrous success. So he’s what we’ll do: you’ll stay here and help my houseki-weilders set up in an entrapment around the outpost. We’ll go about our usual business here as if nothing out of the ordinary has occurred. We’ll let the Demon Army come close until they’re within the boundaries, then you tap into the crystals’ energy and effectively close them off from any possible attack or escape route. My men will finish the rest of the dirty job. The mazoku will be sitting ducks and we’ll be safe behind these walls.”

“You—” Valmira started.

“Are a genius, yes I know,” Jass declared condescendingly, leveling his gaze to her, “And don’t think about giving us the slip in the midst of the squirmish and high-tailing it off out the back way. I’ve got your precious trump card, after all.”

Jass nudged Wolfram lightly with the toe of his boot and smiled at the woman in a challenging manner, daring her to protest.

“How do I know you don’t have any plans of your own about deserting and running off with the brat to collect my reward money?” Valmira inquired, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Don’t judge people based on your own character, Valmira. You’ll just have to trust me, I suppose.”

Valmira let out an incredulous scoff and pursed her lips, knowing the situation had fallen out of her control. She gave a brief nod of her head in agreement.

“Good girl. Brackus,” Jass addressed with a snap of his fingers, “take our little demon friends to one of our guestrooms and make sure it’s securely warded. We can’t have them running underfoot and escaping while we’re setting up the stage here, can we?”

This recent development wasn’t making Yozak’s hopes of the Demon Army successfully rescuing them any brighter. It actually sounded as if the mazoku might lose…unless someone found a way to warn them about the houseki entrapment.

oOoOoOo

Waltorana gripped the reins of his horse tightly and tried to calm the fast paced beating of his heart. It would be no use getting excited-this very well might be a false trail. After all, it was glaringly too obvious, as if someone had wanted them to follow it. His nephew’s abductors may have created it and back-tracked the opposite direction. But then again, they may have been in too much of a hurry to get as far away as possible from their ambush site to bother covering up their path. The forefront expert trackers of the kingdom were arguing amongst themselves over this very same issue. So the Demon Army had to endure waiting for them to reach a unanimous conclusion before they set out in pursuit again, and Waltorana was not pleased with this delay.

He had set out from Covent Castle with the search party, which happened to be half the Demon Army’s forces. Celi had wanted to use every spare regiment and soldier available, but her eldest son had convinced her they at least needed to keep half the troops to keep defending the kingdom while the royal family left for a short time.

That’s right, they were all there with him: the woman he had the misfortune to be brother-in-law to and her two sons, one of which he kept one eye locked on just in case the half-human whelp took in his mind to attempt on his life again. As they all were deep in secluded woods, it would be a very convenient place for him to have a “tragic accident” and hence, put an end to their problem of him trying to tear their family apart. He was certain the Demon Army would back their Maou up on the matter even if they saw her do the deed herself. It was quite a relief when his own guards came with reinforcements from Bielefeld and joined the party.

They had started the search from where the humans had attacked the carriage and spread out in groups over various points in the surrounding forest. They had sometime later stumbled across a trail which had been stated before, was much too evident. The groups had conveyed and now it was all a matter of biding one’s time until the expert trackers could determine if the trail had been fabricated or not, and considering how long they had been debating, it didn’t appear as if they had come any closer to a decision than when the trail had first been found.

Perhaps this had been the humans’ plan all along: leave a trail so apparent that it would cause their pursuers to stop dead in their tracks in confusion to ponder if this had been deliberate and therefore give the abductors ample time to get further away. It certainly was working.

Waltorana dismounted from his horse and strode over to where the trackers were huddled in a group vehemently trying to dispute each other’s opinion.

“Is there a problem on why this is taking so long?” the aristocrat asked shooting them with a most fierce-some scowl that rivaled even Gwendal’s.

“Ah, Lord Bielefeld, sir!” said one of the trackers, albeit apologetically, “There’s a slight oddity that has unsure—”

“It’s a red herring, I tell you! This trail leads nowhere!” cut in another, “No person would leave a path so obvious unless they wanted us to waste our time following a dead end!”

“Or unless they’re incredibly stupid.”

“Well, these are humans, after all.”

“Yeah, however, these humans overwhelmed even Lord Bielefeld! Ah, no disrespect meant to you, sir!”

“What’s going on?” came a new voice suddenly into the flow of conversation and Waltorana stiffened in surprise as the Weller spawn appeared suddenly right by his side.

The aristocrat moved several steps over, putting a fair distance between them. Not only did he not want any close contact with half-breeds, but for all he knew, the boy wanted another chance to stab him.

“Go away, boy,” Waltorana ordered, narrowing his eyes in annoyance, “Don’t bother the trackers while they’re studying the vestiges.”

But Conrart’s eyes had grown wide as he stared at the trail which had been distinctly clear-cut and a small pile of twigs on the ground centered around a small pale rock…

“Ah, that’s Yozak’s-” Conrart exclaimed excitedly, turning and calling, “Mother! Gwendal! Come see! Yozak left us a trail to follow!”

In the space of the next several minutes, Waltorana learned that Yozak was 1) the Weller spawn’s friend, 2) another half-breed (joy), and 3) apparently, he had somehow come across the humans and was marking a path to lead others to them.

“It is Yozak’s sign!” Conrart declared firmly when Waltorana had voiced his doubts, “He always leaves Boneys to show that he’s been there!”

Well, now that Waltorana thought about it, the small pale rock could possibly be a Boney’s head and the twigs could be the wings…

Conrart smiled at the marker, remembering when he and his father had first brought Yozak to the Great Demon Kingdom from Big Cimaron. Yozak had never seen a Boney before and probably never even imagined anything like them in all his craziest daydreams. He had been very apprehensive in the beginning, but soon after, he had taken to them with sort of an amused fascination.

“Look! I made a Boney!” Yozak stated proudly, pointing to his sprawling messy handiwork on the ground.

Conrart laughed, “It looks more like a giant upturned spider with legs!”

“It’s a Boney!” Yozak repeated stubbornly, clenching his hands into fists as he glared at his friend. “See? The rock is its head and the twigs are its wings! From now on, this will be our sign. If either of us ever gets lost, we’ll find each other by following these signs!”

“Mother, we have to follow these! Wherever Yozak is, Wolfram is too!” Conrart implored to Celi urgently.

Celi nodded curtly and issued commands for the mazoku to proceed forward and be on the lookout for any more Boney markers.

“Does your friend have red hair, by any chance?” Waltorana asked on an inkling.

“Yes,” Conrart said, confused, “How did you know?”

“Lucky guess,” Waltorana replied dryly, walking back to his horse.

When this whole affair was over, he would be sure to compensate his rescuer, who it seemed had some sort of fetish for saving mazoku.

That and he really didn’t want to be indebted to a half-breed for very long.

oOoOoOo

Yozak cast a scrutinizing eye about the surroundings he and Wolfram had been holed up in. Guest room indeed. It was nothing more than a closet-space empty storage room. Well, nothing to it, he had to find someway out it and the outpost. He had to tell the mazoku about what lay in store for them. Taking his shoe off, he pulled out a piece of wire, and smirked triumphantly.

“That guy thinks he so smart. Stupid man didn’t even check me for weapons. Well, that’s one benefit of being a kid: grown-ups always under-estimate you,” Yozak told himself as he hurried over to the door and tested it with a push.

It was locked. Of course, they may be stupid, but they weren’t that stupid.

“Ah, time to get a work,” Yozak said, whistling a merry tune as he fiddled the wire around in keyhole.

“A-a-aah,” came a muffled moan behind him and Yozak turned to see Wolfram stirring for the first time since the forest.

“Hey, chibi, you finally get enough beauty sleep?” he called over his shoulder as continued jiggling the lock.

Wolfram blinked several times and slowly sat up, shaking his head as if clear it from a daze. Finally getting the room into focus, he took one look around…and burst into tears.

“Hey, don’t do that! They’ll hear you and come see what the ruckus is all about!” Yozak cried panicked, dropping his lock-pick and rushing over to the boy.

“Come on, cut it out!” he said, squatting down near him and eyeing the door in trepidation.

What the heck were you supposed to do when a kid started crying uncontrollably anyway?

“Um, there, there?” Yozak tried his best at comforting, patting the small boy on the back.

But Wolfram could not be consoled. The small blond sat there on the floor and wailed louder than anything Yozak had ever heard in his entire life, bawling his eyes out, his face a puffy cherry red with leakage dribbling from his nose.

“Look, don’t worry. I’m gonna get us out, okay?” Yozak said, guessing perhaps the kid was only frightened. “But you have to stop crying. It’ll only work if we keep quiet.”

“I…WANT…MY…OJ-J-J-JIIUE!!!” Wolfram screamed, managing to get the sentence out between shaky deep gulps of air.

“You’ll get to see him again, I promise! Just calm down and be quiet!” Yozak yelled, vaguely realizing that he wasn’t helping things by having a shouting match.

“NO, I WONT! I WONT! HE’S DEAD! THEY K-K-KILLED HIM!” Wolfram squalled, rubbing his eyes hard with small fists.

Ah, so that’s what it was.

“No they didn’t. I saved him. Your uncle’s alive, kid, so don’t be messing up your cute face anymore,” Yozak explained.

Thankfully, Wolfram stopped crying and gazed at him with watery red-rimmed eyes.

“Oj-jiiue’s al-alright?” Wolfram sniffled, unsure of the truth.

“Completely. Just a little worn out, that’s all. He’s resting back at some inn,” Yozak said relieved that the kid had quieted down, and then tensed as the boy’s mouth turned downward into a pout.

“Who are you?” Wolfram demanded, glaring suspiciously at him.

“Yozak Gurrier, Conrart’s friend,” Yozak answered, hoping that would show the kid he was on his side. “Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to get out of here before we’re shipped off to Big Cimaron.”

Yozak returned to the storage room’s door and proceeded to fiddle with the lock once again, aware of the younger boy eyeing him warily.

“You know Little Big Brother?” came a small voice finally.

“Yup. We’re the best of buds. What, he yabbers my ear off about his adorable baby brother, but he’s never told you about me? I’m hurt, really hurt,” Yozak stated mockingly.

There was a tiny click as the wire turned the mechanism inside the lock and the door swung a crack open.

“Aha!” Yozak cried softly in success, pushing it open a bit further to take a peak outside.

The storage room appeared to be in the interior of a deserted part of another building. There were no guards to be seen. Apparently, the bandits hadn’t thought they would actually escape.

“Right, come on, kid,” Yozak whispered, beckoning for Wolfram to follow, “We’re busting out.”

There was no noise of any movement behind him and Yozak turned to see Wolfram huddled in the farthest corner of the storage room, arms wrapped tightly around his knees which he had pulled to his chest, and shivering slightly.

“Hey, what’s wrong? There’s no need to be scared. I’ll protect you,” Yozak said, hurrying over to shake the boy into action.

When he touched Wolfram’s arm, he was disturbed at how cold it felt and noticed how the boy’s skin had turned a several shades paler, and how he was breathing as if he had run a ten mile lap.

“Hey, you’re not sick, are you?” Yozak asked worriedly.

“It-It hurts,” Wolfram whimpered, scrunching up his eyes as if in pain.

Yozak couldn’t see anything that was physically hurting the boy, unless…

He strode back over to door and stepped outside to look at from the front. Oh, well, that explained it then.

The door was strung up from head to foot with dozens of glowing houseki crystals; they even extended to the doorway’s archway.

That’s right; the bandits had thought they had caught two full-blood mazoku. No wonder they hadn’t posted any guards. In the past two days he could have sworn he had seen more esoteric rocks than he ever had back in Big Cimaron. Well, he could always cut them down, but that would take up more time than they had available. He glanced over to Wolfram who hadn’t budged an inch and sighed. The kid really wasn’t going to like this.

Wolfram howled angrily when Yozak grabbed him by the wrist and hauled him to his feet. Apparently if you moved, the crystals affected you worse.

“Close your mouth, chibi and hop on,” Yozak ordered, turning around and pulling the younger boy onto his back. “Sorry, but you’re gonna have to bear through the worst for little while.”

When Wolfram realized Yozak was headed for the door and that every step forward to it caused the pain to increase, the boy shrieked shrilly and yanked harshly on Yozak’s hair.

“YEEEOOW!” Yozak yelped, staggering sideways a little. “Be a little more grateful, kid! I’m the one getting us out, you know!”

Passing the threshold of the door was the worst. Wolfram screamed and convulsed violently, finally slumping over Yozak’s back still as a dead weight, as if he had been through the wringer.

“Hey, you still alive back there, chibi?” Yozak asked, hurrying away from the houseki-riddled door as fast a possible.

“I’m…gonna tell…my bro-ther…on you,” Wolfram threatened through sluggish lips as he feebly punched the back of Yozak’s head.

Yozak laughed, adrenalin rushing through him as he sped towards the exit of the building. This was it! They were escaping! Jass had made reference to a “back way” out. They could slip out that way, circle around the outpost and meet the Demon Army before they stepped into the boundaries of the houseki entrapment. And he could tell them about Bid Cimaron’s king’s plans for inciting war, and he’d be a hero, and they’d give his village special status and a stable income!

Bright sunlight splashed upon his face as he raced out of the building into the open, his heart beating excitedly…

“Ah, I thought so,” came voice which sent chills down his spine with its icy coolness.

Yozak halted in his tracks and turned his head slowly to his left, his chest heaving wildly.

Jass stood leaning against the building, arms crossed and smiling superciliously at him, as if he had just won a victory.

“I was beginning to wonder if my previous assumption had been mistaken and you really were a full mazoku after all. Did the little one give you trouble? You took longer than I expected to break out.”

It had been planned out. Everything. He hadn’t been checked for weapons because Jass had suspected he did possess them. The houseki crystals warding the storage room hadn’t been set up there to keep them in but as a test to determine if they or at least he was a full blood. The “back way” had been mentioned in front of him because that’s where Jass had wanted him to head when he had broken out. Was the whole houseki entrapment ploy merely a fabrication too?

Jass was more cunning than he had given him credit for.

Yozak opened his mouth but no sound came out. He could only gape soundlessly at the man at a loss of what to do.

“Speechless, are we? I do have that affect on people,” Jass laughed, “Now, why don’t you come with me somewhere less conspicuous until the mazoku make their grand entrance.”

Yozak took a step backwards, intending to run, just where he didn’t know-but collided into someone else instead.

Dart made no movement to grab him, only gazed down with a countenance that was frightening with its blank expression.

“Come, don’t make this more difficult than this is. I’ll be nice: you can come on your own and I’ll let you keep an eye on the little one, otherwise you two will be separated. I’ll even explain everything to you. How can you resist that offer?” Jass waved at him in an amused manner.

He couldn’t. Besides, there was no other option at the moment.

Yozak trudged after the bandit leader with Wolfram awake but silent riding on his back, feeling as if his feet were full of lead, aware of Dart following closely behind him.

Escaping had just gotten a lot more complicated than before.

oOoOoOo

“The markers end here,” one of the trackers explained to the royal family the reason why the procession had stopped.

“It appears there was some sort of scuffle,” another said, pointing to an area in the grass

that was more disturbed than the area around it.

“And it looks as if they were joined by two more people,” said a third tracker as he indicated to a faintly visible trail coming out from between two trees into the small clearing.

“They took off in a northern direction with all haste. I assume they caught the person tagging them and were notified about our position behind them,” voiced the fouth tracker.

Conrart bit his lower lip as he scrunched his eyebrows in worry about the well-being of his friend.

“We estimate they’re only about half a day’s distance in front of us. Don’t worry, they’re on foot. We’ll catch up to them in a matter of hours,” put in the fifth tracker.

Waltorana’s face twisted into an irritated grimace at the news. A matter of hours was not good enough. Who knew what the humans were capable of doing in desperation.

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!” called a soldier exiting from the trees and returning to the main body of mazoku.

The soldier rushed over to Celi where Waltorana could see upon closer inspection it was one of the scouts sent ahead of the procession.

“What is it? Have you found something?” Celi asked sharply.

“Your Majesty, we didn’t catch sight of the humans, however, they appear to be headed in the direction of a trading outpost not far from here,” the scout said, giving his report.

“Trading outpost?” Celi repeated surprised, “Did you see it?”

“No, Your Majesty, it’s still a couple of leagues from here but we came across the road that leads to it and it’s a well-known facility for travelers in this region. It is likely that the humans will try and gain shelter and protection there.”

Waltorana felt as swell of elation at those words. At last, a pin-pointed destination. Just a little bit more and then the arrogant humans who had dared steal from him would be dealt a swift and painful retribution.

oOoOoOo

“Sit,” Jass proffered to a chair inside the guardhouse where he had led them, taking his own seat at a table.

There was only one chair left unoccupied. Yozak lowered Wolfram off his back into it and remained standing. Glancing sideways out of his eye, he noted that Dart had taken up position at the door.

“I expect you’re wondering just what angle I’m playing at, yes?” Jass mused, resting his chin in one hand.

Yozak nodded warily.

“Its a little game I like to call ‘double-crossing’,” Jass explained, the corners of his mouth lifting up into that familiar, annoying smile again. “It’s quite fun. What you do is you play either side against each other while making everyone believe you are on their team. Then you banter back forth to the highest bidder until the tide turns and to win, I’m afraid cheating’s involved. That’s when you create a distraction and slip out of the fray before both sides realize they’ve been betrayed. In the end, if you aren’t weighed down by a superfluous conscious of guilt, the profits you take away are most worth it.”

“So…you’re not working for Big Cimaron’s king?” Yozak asked, trying to understand the flow of Jass’s logic.

“Tsk, didn’t you hear a word of what I said?” Jass reproached. “Of course, I’m working for Big Cimaron: I’m getting paid a hefty sum to entangle with these mazoku. Most dishonest men would find that substantial enough for them, but I like to go one step further. I like to see just how far I can push my luck.”

Yozak waited, still not seeing where Jass was headed with the conversation.

“There’s going to be a skirmish here in a little bit. As you know, I think the odds are in our favor as your mazoku allies tend to be not at their best when confronted with houseki crystals. My priority right now is to ensure our side is victorious. Of course after that, we won’t be able to stay in the country for very long. Mazoku will want vengeance of course. But we will have obtained our main objective: rouse and incite the Great Demon Kingdom to war. And with half their forces depleted, I think Big Cimaron’s king will agree I did my end of the bargain more than adequately. So you see, Valmira’s little mishap worked out splendidly for me in the long run. I must thank you for your presence, Little Prince,” Jass said, mock-bowing to Wolfram. “I couldn’t have done in without you.”

Yozak saw the younger boy’s lip tremble dangerously and his eyes water suspiciously, however Wolfram did not cry or throw a tantrum, only gripped his fists tightly together and refused to give any further reaction.

“Alright, I get the message you think you’re a brilliant strategist,” Yozak said, trying to sway Jass’s attention away from Wolfram. “But I didn’t hear anything about double-crossing in that boast of yours.”

Jass leaned back in his chair…and smiled. Yozak was really getting sick of seeing that man smile.

“That just proves my point. People think too small. They can’t see the larger picture. Oh, we’ll win and I’ll take the little prince over to Big Cimaron in the aftermath and receive a double reward. The double-crossing comes next. Unfortunately, some mazoku will have slipped within the borders and snatched their little prince back and have snuck him out of the kingdom. Naturally, the king will have lost his chess piece for war. I offer myself to the king to regain the prince before the rogue mazoku reach the Demon Kingdom. Of course, I’ll need down payment for my services. What the king won’t know is I planned the whole set up and filled my pockets fuller than the bounty foretold. I will be found out, naturally, but I’ll have slipped away beforehand. Maybe I’ll take my earnings and go somewhere else to start the game anew. Then again, maybe I’ll gamble further and return here to tell the mazoku Cimaron’s ‘new plans of invasion’, for a heft sum of course.”

Yozak stared at the man in a sort of morbid fascination. Just reflecting on what had been revealed to him was making his head whirl. This guy was so, so twisted! How do people go about imagining a plan that warped anyway? Did he spend every night scheming up ways to add yet another ploy onto his list of mad gambles?

But more importantly…

“Why are you telling me all of this? Why are you even taking the time to explain this top-secret plan of yours to your prisoners?” Yozak inquired frowning. “I thought captors were supposed to keep their victims in the dark.”

“I thought it would be amiable to share my confessions to another of my kind. I don’t get to see them very often, not as young as you,” Jass stated watching Yozak closely waiting for the message to sink in.

“You’re, you’re…you’re half-mazoku too?” Yozak asked in disbelief, his eyes widening in shock.

“Yes and so is Dart over there,” Jass said, indicating to the man standing guard by the door, “That’s why I haven’t sent him away while I spilled my story. Of course, the rest of the men here are normal humans. Normally, they would get in my way, but they’re quite useful when it comes to handling the houseki crystals, so I have to put up with them for awhile.”

“But if you’re half-mazoku why are you working for Big Cimaron? They enslave half-mazoku over there! How can you be in service for someone who allows that?!” Yozak yelled angrily, memories of his life back in the esoteric mines surfacing.

“Only if they know you’re half-mazoku,” Jass said, holding up a finger to emphasize the point. “You stay in one place long enough and people will notice you’re not aging properly along with the rest of them. As a bandit, I tend to move around a lot, and keep my face and identity hidden. As far as the king knows, I’m just an ordinary human engaged with the task of rousing up the ‘evil demons’ into war to receive my paycheck.”

“How, how can you fight against your own kind though? You’re part mazoku too! You should feel more loyalty towards them than for humans!” Yozak accused, a hot rage welling in his chest.

“Loyalty? Ha!” Jass scoffed, throwing back his head and laughing. “What makes you think I’m loyal to either side? Me, myself, comes first. Whoever dishes out the money, that’s who I temporarily form a truce with.”

“Besides…” Jass said, his voice shifting gravely as he stared piercingly into Yozak’s eyes. “The mazoku aren’t all too fond of their half-breed brethren either, are they?”

Yozak adverted his gaze, his cheeks flushing in shame as Jass presented him with the truth of the matter.

“Yes, that’s reality for you,” the man said, his face devoid of all emotion. “You come over here looking for a better life than the one you left behind only to discover things aren’t much different. What’s worst? Being enslaved or having your dream shattered into pieces?”

Yozak stared back, the fire in his chest dimming down and replaced with an empty numbness.

“I was rather hoping you would want to join me and Dart. That’s the main reason I told you all this. What do you say? Shake off the dust of this country, their high and mighty full-blooded patronizing, biased prejudices and you can be free,” Jass offered, his eyes taking on a wild gleam. “No kingdom to tie you down, just you, yourself doing whatever you desire, going wherever you please.”

Yozak’s mind reeled in confusion. He could be free? He thought he was free. He was no longer enslaved in Big Cimaron. The Great Demon Kingdom was not what he had imagined it to be. The land had certainly not welcomed the half-mazoku with open arms, but it hadn’t drive them away either. And yet…he had always felt as if he never quite belonged. He had wanted his circumstances to change, he just hadn’t known how. Was it as simple as Jass proclaimed it to be?

No…

“You’re right in a way,” Yozak said. “Things won’t ever change unless you decide to do from within.”

“What?” Jass said, startled at the reply. It wasn’t the one he had been expecting.

“If you always avoid the problem, how will it ever get resolved? You can claim you’re free by wandering about and doing whatever you want, but isn’t that just saying you have no purpose in life?” Yozak inquired, boldly voicing his opinion. “Don’t you want to try and change our status and how we are looked down upon by demonstrating that half-mazoku can create a stable working environment and coexist peacefully with the rest of civilization? If we all had the same mindset as you, we’d only be proving everyone right that half-breeds were a bunch of shiftless idle wastrels. You’re setting a very bad example!”

“Bad example? Bad example?!” Jass exclaimed hotly, leaping up from his seat, slamming a fist on the table, and Yozak realized he had touched a nerve with the man.

“Do you actually think the mazoku are watching and waiting for some sort of sign that the half-breeds have advanced to give them the go-ahead to join their society?” Jass raged. “The only reason they allow our kind in the country is to recruit us for war when the time comes! We’re their safe-guard. Their shield. The ones they’ll put on the front lines against the majutsu users because we won’t be affected. The ones who will die first to prove their loyalty!”

Jass’s chest was rising and falling rapidly after he had finished his rant and the man glared at the boy with a crazed look in his eyes that made Yozak truly fearful for the first time in the man’s presence. Jass looked…unhinged.

A sharp knock came at the door.

Dart looked at Jass for confirmation and Jass nodded curtly.

The door was opened to reveal Brackus who spoke only two words: “They’re here.”

Yozak’s heart was pounding wildly in his chest as he heard those words. They’re here. No, no, no, the mazoku couldn’t be here yet. He hadn’t escaped yet to warn them about the trap, about how deranged and capable of vengeance Jass was. What should he do? What could he do?

Jass stood up, his cool temperament seeming to have returned, but by the way the man strode towards the door with a stiff and tense manner proved he was still inflamed over the past recent conversation.

“Now you’ll soon see how easily your precious mazoku fall prey to something as small and simple as a stone,” Jass declared, halting by the doorway. “In the meantime, stop deluding yourself. You’ll never fit in with them. One day the mazoku are going to put you in a position you can’t say no to. One day they’ll betray your trust, simply because of what you are.”

The sound of the door closing was as if someone had shut the lid to his own coffin, sealing his doomed fate.

oOoOoOo

Jass watched behind the fortress’s walls as the Great Demon Army slowly made their way into view.

“Are the houseki stones in place?” he asked loftily, arms crossed as he surveyed the scene.

“We’ve placed them in about a one mile radius around the outpost,” Valmira replied, eyes narrowed. “I do hope you realize that it won’t contain all their number. The mazoku are not going to send all their forces in without asserting the situation. At best, it probably won’t even entrap half. Maybe one-third if we’re lucky.”

“One-third of them wiped out will be more than sufficient enough,” Jass stated. “And I hope for your sake that you were not brainless enough to forget to set up the crystals around this fort’s foundations also. We wouldn’t want anymore unwelcome visitors.”

“I’m not as incompetent as some of your half-wit lugs,” the woman spat irritated, desperately wishing she could physically retaliate.

“Ah, mazoku,” Jass breathed, shading his eyes with his hands to view their oncoming procession. “How the proud and mighty shall fall…caught between a rock and a hard place.”

oOoOoOo

“So what do you think, Gwendal?” Celi asked her eldest son as she shrewdly assessed the trading outpost which lay before her set securely between two hills. “Are they innocent and merely took in a group of travelers not knowing their true identities or…”

“Is it a trap?” Gwendal finished, frowning deeply in indecision.

“Even if it was a trap, what chance has a trader’s guild stand against our numbers?” Waltorana declared, his hazel Bielefeld eyes shining in an icy cold furor. “They’ll render Wolfram and those filthy humans over to us or they’ll be proclaimed traitors to the Great Demon Kingdom! Mazoku aiding humans—it’s deplorable!”

Conrad took the barb against humans without flinching, and although he had a different opinion about humans, when situations like this arouse, he could understand why such hatred was justified. It almost made him ashamed to part of the human race.

A hand fell on his shoulder and Conrad looked up to see Gwendal beside him.

“Humans aren’t the only ones that do bad things,” his brother said quietly. “Remember that.”

Conrad nodded, feeling a warm glow spread throughout him…then gasped as he saw the trading outpost’s gates open.

“Mother, look!” he cried, pointing, as two figures came out and stood in the entrance waiting expectedly.

“What are they—?” Celi inquired.

“It looks like they want to talk,” Gwendal stated grimly.

oOoOoOo

“Do you think this is wise to open the gates like this?” Brackus asked, voicing his concern as he took his place next to the bandit leader in the entrance.

“Call it deception, Brackus,” Jass said. “They were loitering about and not coming any closer. Obviously they were unsure where we stood in our loyalties. Now we put on our innocent façade and draw them near. They won’t be able to resist an opportunity like this.”

“We still won’t be able to entrap all their number. When they realize the situation—”

“They will be unable to do anything to aid their ensnared comrades and will either standby helplessly or rush off to warn the kingdom and try to find assistance. Ironic, isn’t it?” Jass said, giving a twisted maniacal laugh. “The only ones who will be able to help them are those half-breeds they so love to shun! Hahaha!”

“The plan is still in motion then?” Brackus inquired. “Will it still function? Trying to slip out the back way during the skirmish and avoid detection will prove more difficult now with Valmira and—”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Brackus,” Jass scoffed, cutting him off effectively. “Valmira is going to have quite the unfortunate accident before the day is out.”

“Accident?” Brackus echoed.

“Such a pity,” Jass said, turning to look his right-hand man directly in the face. “A promising houseki wielder taken down before she reached her full potential. Well, Big Cimaron’s king shouldn’t be all that sad. One less cut to pay off, eh?”

Brackus was silent.

“And now, the game commences,” Jass breathed softly watching as a handful of mazoku began approaching the open gateway. “Brackus, go and tell Canulf to be ready to charge up the crystals on my signal.”

Brackus nodded once and was gone, departing silently, nothing more than a grim shadow hugging the walls of the fort.

oOoOoOo

Yozak stood inside the guardhouse, his entire body seized up with fear and indecision as his mind raced wildly flinging options, any option as a means to get away and warn the mazoku before it was too late.

There were no windows—he couldn’t break through something that didn’t exist. The only way out was the door. He was sure he could pick the mechanism and unlock it like he had back in the storehouse, but Dart, the tall, silent knife-thrower was guarding it from the outside. He had heard Jass order the man to do so. He could still take his chances though and try to run…but Dart was quick, cold and calculating. He had proved that by sneaking up on him in the trees and catching him off-guard. Yozak hadn’t even heard him coming. He had all but alienated any good graces he had had before in Jass’s eyes by siding with the mazoku. Even if he did manage to get past Dart, he wouldn’t get far, and he suspected he would end up face first on the ground with a dagger sticking out of his back. And who, who then would look after Wolfram?

He could practically feel Conrart’s disapproving narrowed gaze upon him.

Yozak ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he licked his dry lips nervously. At every angle he looked at it, this situation seemed hopeless.

Behind him, Wolfram let out a small strangled whimper. The poor kid was probably worried about his family out there no doubt, since he had appeared not to be as overly concerned about his current predicament as a hostage before.

“It’ll be alright, you’ll see,” Yozak said, trying to comfort the kid as much as himself with his words. “I’ll get us out of this mess somehow and by this time tomorrow we’ll be at the castle feasting at a huge banquet for your safe return!”

But Wolfram only stared at him wide-eyed with an expression akin to horror as if truly seeing him for the first time in a new light, his face a nasty pasty white and spoke one single word in a choked whisper:

“Half-breed.”

Yozak blinked. Had the kid not noticed he had to have been one to get them out of that houseki-infested cell before? Why was he staring at him with such fear-filled and disgusted eyes?

“You’re…you’re…you’re half-human!” Wolfram cried his voice high-pitched and shrill, laced thickly with contempt.

“Nice of you to notice, chibi,” Yozak said wryly, a mask of cool indifference dropping over his face; a force of habit any time he was subjected to unfair prejudice of his race.

It appeared Little Lord Brat had been taught in the usual manner and mindset concerning half-mazkoku. He had thought with Conrart being his brother, the kid would be different. Wait…did this mean the kid had no idea about Conrart’s origins then?

There was a loud scuffle outside at the door suddenly and then a hollow-sounding thud, like that of a body hitting the floor outside, and then the door swung open on its hinges.

For one wonderful, glorious moment, Yozak thought that something had befallen Jass’s plans terribly wrong and the mazoku had overtaken them and had come to their rescue…then his sight was filled with image of Brackus peering in and motioning for them to come out.

“Hurry,” the man said, glancing over his shoulder fleetingly.

Yozak wondered what Jass wanted with them now. Was he going to hold Wolfram at sword-point until the mazoku surrendered their weapons? That was a grim thought but he wouldn’t put the idea past the man. He was ruthless after all. But why had Brackus needed to knock Dart unconscious then if he was following his leader’s orders?

“Quickly, come out and follow me,” Brackus repeated in a dangerous tone that boded ill for them if they did not do as he said.

Yozak decided not to question him. Besides, he had been seeking a way out and now it was present before him. And if needs be, he had a better chance of getting away from Brackus than he did with Dart. He nodded and approached Wolfram, who promptly leaped off the chair he was sitting in and started hurling objects nearest to him at his head.

“Stay away from me, half-breed!”

Yozak growled low in his throat, dodged the projectile missiles and tackled the kid around his waist, driving them both onto the floor.

“Let go! Let go of me, half-breed! Don’t touch me with your filthy human hands!” Wolfram howled, as he flailed his fists down in a rain of blows upon any unprotected part of his body.

“Shut up, you ungrateful little guttersnipe!” Yozak swore, catching the kid’s hands and pinning his arms up above his head. It looked as if he might have to bind and gag him if he was going to ruin their unexpected escapade by screaming bloody murder.

However, his actions had only made things worse, for then Wolfram caught him in the gut with a wicked kick and Yozak’s grip on him was shaken off as he doubled over wheezing.

Brackus’s patience had run paper-thin it seemed, as the man strode forward, grabbed Wolfram by the scruff of his collar and hauled him bodily up kicking and shrieking then did the same to Yozak and shook them both roughly until they dangled limp and silent from the man’s hold like two chickens with their necks caught tight.

“Now we are going to leave swiftly and silently without any more theatrics, do you understand?” Brackus hissed in a voice that gave no leeway for argument and Yozak and Wolfram’s heads bobbed up and down in mutual agreement.

Brackus dropped them heavily on their feet and motioned them to go through the door first.

“Move out in front now, where I can see you,” he said, watching them carefully.

Stepping gingerly over Dart’s body, the two did as they were told without a fuss, and rubbing his bruised collarbone, Yozak couldn’t help but wonder if they had fallen out of the frying pan and into the fire.

To Be Continued…

A/N 2: Alright, Author’s Apology here: I know I left everyone hanging for more than a year now. I am most profoundly sorry. For what it’s worth, I did actually have 18 pages finished last November, but I’m sort of in confusion of what happened. I don’t know if I would call it Writer’s Block so much as I knew what to write but just couldn’t, plus the fact that I ended up somehow taking a year hiatus from KKM. (I blame Kuroshitsuji and Pandora Hearts…and Eyeshield 21…and my friend and beta for getting sucked into the angst-filled universe that is CLAMP, dragging me along for the ride and getting me hyped up back on my old X/1999 and Tsubasa crush, and real life, I blame that too). But mostly, I blame myself for not updating this story sooner even when I received several PMs wondering about it. It was laziness on my part mostly, the honest truth. Nevertheless, I hope this chapter was worth the long unexpected wait and you review anyway. I will try and answer all your questions that you may have and reply to each review. I know I have a bad habit of keeping silent, but my beta has taught me that if you reply to people, they tend to stick around and review again, haha. Now on the event of this chapter:

Jass and Yozak ended up hogging the spotlight, yeesh! Jass kept evolving from some random bandit into some warped vengeance-filled half-mazoku and to quote Yozak, “How twisted is this guy?!” Even I don’t know. I hadn’t meant for the whole racist half-mazoku plotline to enter the story but it did. My muse got away from me and changed details in the storyline yet again. Poor Wolfram was woefully pushed into the background as were Waltorana and the rest. But hey, Yozak got his chance to shine, yay! But why is Brackus, Jass’s right-hand man, helping Yozak and Wolfram, you wonder? Is he really helping them, that is the question. Do feel free to speculate and post your opinion on the matter in your review.

If you must know, once again, this chapter was supposed to be longer and I wanted to finish off the whole kidnapping deal here, but I really need (well want is a better term) some feedback from you guys. I’ve known who Jass is and his agenda for a whole year and everyone else has been in the dark. I’d like to hear your response to him before I start the final chapter. (I say final but who knows, it may be two more chapters before the end, gah). So please, share with me your thoughts on the character interaction, their personalities, the scenes you enjoyed, and what you expect to happen next. Thank you! I hope you enjoyed reading so far!

My Three Fav Spiky Haired Guys (B-Day Fanart)

2009-09-23T20:44:37Z

I noticed a while ago that some of my favorite characters from anime have the same notorious bushy hair style, so I wanted to draw a pic depicting their similarities. (It's just a coincidence I put it up on my birthday^w~). I originally meant to have the 3rd be Dasiuke Niwa from DNAngel since he looks the most like the other two, however, somehow Mihashi became strewn out across the paper and well...look at him, I couldn't erase that cute expression/pose! XD

1st: Taichi Kamiya (or Yagami, if you prefer the Japanese).
From: Digimon Adventure 01 & 02
Sport: Soccer

2nd: Sena Kobayakawa
From: Eyeshield 21 (YA-HA!!! >D )
Sport: American Football

3rd: Mihashi Ren
From: Big Windup! Ookiku Furikabutte
Sport: Baseball

Enjoy! (You can tell who's my favorite, right?)^^

The Little Fruit Bat and the Big Bad Vampire Bat (AU TB fic)

2009-08-18T22:15:13Z

Author: Schnickledooger
Title: The Little Fruit Bat and the Big Bad Vampire Bat
Rating: PG/KT
Genre: Umm...Fluff/Angst/General...everything? O.o;;
Characters: Seishirou, Subaru
Summary: A retelling of Tokyo Babylon in an epic proportion. Epic meaning unbelievable. Seishirou and Subaru in the starring roles as bats. Yes, bats.
Warnings: Cuteness runs rampant here. Reading this fic can cause cavities. Be sure to brush and floss afterwards. Also, you may feel compelled to rush to the nearest market and buy a bushel of plums. Completely unintentional on my part, sorry.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Babylon, X, or Tsubasa Chronicle. CLAMP does. (Which I am sure countless people will be grateful for once they have finished this fic).

The Little Fruit Bat and the Big Bad Vampire Bat

Once upon a time there was a little fruit bat named Subaru who lived with his grandmother in a giant oak tree in the middle of a forest. Now being a fruit bat, Subaru was one of the smallest specimens of his kind, reaching only about 3 inches in length with his body; his wingspan alone measured about a foot in diameter. Subaru possessed shiny, velvety-black skin; large, rounded ears framed with fine tufts of fur; delicate, paper-thin, leathery wings with one pointed claw attached to each; and a short snub of button-nose centered right between his two, wide, emerald green eyes. He was what his older sibling, Hokuto, often described as “very adorable—a meal too cute for predators to eat and destroy; he would break hearts someday with that sweet face of his”. Subaru would blush at this proclamation every time, turning his cheeks an ever darker color. However, Hokuto had flown from the roost earlier that year in search of other colonies, eager to be off on her next grand adventure; so now it was just Subaru to look after their grandmother, who, after many seasons, it seemed that age had finally caught up with.

Dear old Obaa-chan was ailing and could no longer fly long distances to forage for the juicy fruits and sweet nectar the fruit bats fed on, so Subaru was the one to bring her back food, crushed and stored in his cheek pouches. Before each of his nightly flights, his grandmother would always warn him.

“You must be careful, Subaru. Beware the owls, the snakes, the large felines, and above all—beware the traitorous, blood-thirsty assassin!”

“The blood-thirsty assassin, what kind of creature is this?” Subaru had asked the first time his grandmother had mentioned it, for although he recognized the other creatures’ name, he had never heard of this new one.

“He is just how he is described,” Obaa-chan had said, in her weak, raspy voice. “He wanders endlessly through the black skies, a lone, silent sentry, searching for his next victim. He feeds in a manner unnatural of any creature. He does not eat insects, nor grass, nor fruit, nor even the flesh of others. No, instead he does an altogether wretched and evil thing: he drinks their blood! Descending from on high, silent and swift, he strikes with a deadly ease and captures his prey, then he drains every last drop of blood from his victim and carries away the body deep within his cave, entombing the poor soul so it will never be at rest, forsaken to wander the earth for all eternity.”

“Obaa-chan!” Subaru had gasped in fright, wishing hopefully that she was simply making up a terrible bone-chilling story like Hokuto used to do to scare him for fun. “That can’t be true! No creature only lives on blood! Surely the blood-thirsty assassin is only a legend!”

“Be careful, my grandson,” the old bat had repeated, coughing lightly into her wing. “Do not let yourself be taken astray by him. Those that do are all doomed.”

Every night his grandmother warned him and every night Subaru tried his best to watch out for all manner of predators, those real and those not, while gathering food. However, one day his grandmother had overslept well into the evening and night had begun to fall. Subaru’s heart went out for the old bat that had taken care of him and Hokuto since they were pups, whose parents had been devoured by owls. Obaa-chan was curled up tightly within her wings, hanging by her foot-claws in the hollow of the oak tree, huddled as far back into the darkness as she could get, small shivers racking her tiny frame. Subaru had decided he would go out and gather food for them and be back before she woke up. It would be a nice surprise!

So intense was the thought of pleasing his grandmother, Subaru forgot all her warnings and set out into the night, his mind filled only with the purpose of finding the biggest and best juiciest fruit there was and taking as much back to her as he could.

It was a warm night with a gentle breeze and dozens of fireflies decorating the landscape. Flitting among them, Subaru saw many of his cousins, other species of bats—those that ate insects, happily snapping the fireflies up, giggling in glee as the bugs tickled the inside of their bellies and caused them to glow . Normally, Subaru would have flown over to inquire if any of them had spoken to a fruit bat named Hokuto. It had been awhile since she had sent word of her whereabouts and Subaru was getting worried. However, the sight of the other bats eating the poor defenseless fireflies made Subaru sad, even though he knew insects were what his cousins survived on—still, the fireflies were alive and had a right to life also, didn’t they? Subaru flew on, glad he was a fruit bat who didn’t have to worry about taking other creatures’ lives on a daily basis. He didn’t think his conscience would allow him to do it.

The night wore on and Subaru continued his search for the best fruit to bring back to Obaa-chan. He wanted it to be special tonight, something she had not tasted for a long time. There were little patches of wild strawberry and blackberry bushes growing near the tree, but they ate that far too often. A little further into the forest, there were some nice apple trees, and sometimes, if he felt brave enough, Subaru would venture out of the forest into the valley below to sip up the nectar in the field of flowers that lay strewn out across the meadow like a patchwork quilt. Still, Subaru wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to see Obaa-chan’s eyes light up, for the age to melt away from her face and for her to smile in a way he hadn’t seen since he and Hokuto were young.

Then Subaru remembered the plum orchard on the other side of the valley, a place he had never gone, and yet still could recall the sweet perfume of the plums as it wafted on the air downwind to him. But it was so far! Dare he actually fly the distance?

An image of Obaa-chan’s snout wrinkled back into a toothy smile, her eyes shining in delight as she feasted on the crushed pulp of the rare fruit…

Subaru spread his wings wide and sailed through the air, his heart pounding excitedly in his chest as he swooped over the top of the forest, the valley-floor, then finally…the plum orchard appeared in his line of vision. The trees were feathered in an abundance of white snowy blossoms and near-drooping with the weight of their fruit: heavy, plump, purple plums, sweating their juices excessively, overripe and ready for picking, and the scent of it was heavenly.

The little fruit bat’s mouth watered and he launched his body at the nearest tree and attached himself to the fruit with his fore-claws, eagerly sticking his snout in and lapping at the flow of juice that burst out. He took care of his own appetite first, filling his stomach so much that it bulged into a tight, roly-poly ball, then he stored as much of the fruit as he could into his pouch-cheeks until they resembled a chipmunk’s face after stuffing itself with nuts. Then feeling wholly pleased and sated, Subaru threw himself into the air, wanting to get back home as soon as possible. Only he had underestimated just how much weight his fragile wings could carry, and so after a hearty meal, fell earth-bound immediately like a rock, with a startled squeak.

Subaru managed to catch the branch on the lower limbs of the tree with his foot-claws and simply hung there for a few seconds in shock, before pulling himself upright with his wings, where he perched, resting, his mind racing wildly as he realized he had overeaten and would not be able to fly for a while. The night was late now. Obaa-chan would no doubt be awake, wondering where he was. Did she think he had left her too… left her like Hokuto-chan had left them?

Subaru sniffled, feeling very foolish, and thus, began emitting a symphony of tiny hiccups in his distress, the carefully stored juice in his pouch-cheeks slipping out of his mouth in little dribbles.

There came soft laughter in the tree further up. Subaru lifted his head miserably and looked upwards through the branches, wondering if it was an owl and he was going to be eaten. He certainly deserved it, being so greedy. However what he saw was no bird of any kind, rather, it was by far the largest bat he had ever seen.

The bat roosted upside-down in one of the top-most tree-limbs, his long, curved foot-claws digging firmly into the bark. His fur was a rich dark brown and quite short. He had huge, long and pointed ears, and a long and narrow muzzle with an upturned snout like a horn. In the moonlight, there was a gleam of sharp pointy teeth as the bat smiled down at Subaru, watching him with narrowed, golden eyes.

Subaru shivered, not knowing why, but still could not help feeling amazed at the sight. Why even from this distance he could tell that this bat must be about three feet in size!

“You must eat an awful lot to be able to get that big,” Subaru said, forgetting his grandmother’s rule of never talking to strangers.

The larger bat blinked at this statement then smiled even wider at him, as if he were amused at something.

“You’re a funny little one,” he said. “Mind if I come down?”

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry. Am I in your tree? Are these your fruits?” Subaru questioned, ashamed.

The larger bat laughed again and let himself fall free from his perch, the wings that had wrapped around him flapping open and expanding outwards like a massive cape, reaching almost the length of one branch to the end of another on the other side of the trunk. The bat glided on the air, circling a few times, no doubt showing off, the moonlight shining off his gigantic wingspan, making him seem almost ethereal-like. At last, he settled down right next to Subaru, his weight causing the slender limb to sway up and down a few times before it found its balance.

Subaru gaped in awe at the creature next to him. The bat was around three feet tall. He felt rather dwarfed. Why, he would bet his whole body was smaller than the other bat’s head!

“This is not my tree,” the larger bat said, answering Subaru’s last question. “I was merely resting when a little fruit bat swooped out of nowhere and dive-bombed face first into a plum.”

Subaru blushed in embarrassment as he realized the larger bat must have seen the entire spectacle he had made of himself.

“I’m sorry I ruined your fruit! I didn’t know—” he squeaked apologetically.

“Didn’t you hear? This is not my tree and these are not my fruit. I don’t eat fruit,” the larger bat cut him off, smiling in a secretive manner.

“Do you have a name, little fruit bat?” the larger bat asked, before Subaru could think further on the last statement.

“Subaru,” the little bat supplied, hoping the other wouldn’t think him rude for not introducing himself earlier.

“Subaru,” the larger bat said, his golden eyes glinting with intense interest as he spoke the name as if savoring the sound of it on his tongue. “My name is Seishirou.”

“Seishirou…san,” Subaru said, inclining his head in acknowledgement as Obaa-chan had taught him to do when greeting others.

“So polite!” Seishirou chuckled, a quick flash of his teeth showing. “You are full of surprises, Subaru-kun. Most creatures run away screaming when they see me.”

“What? But why?” Subaru asked.

“I suppose it is my great size,” Seishirou sighed in a mournful voice. “It tends to frighten others off.”

“But that’s not fair!” Subaru cried. “You haven’t done anything to them! They should give you a chance. It’s not right to hurt others’ feelings!”

Seishirou looked at him inquisitively and Subaru shuddered under the full gaze of the larger bat, wondering if he had spoken out of place.

“You possess a great sympathy towards all things, don’t you Subaru-kun?” Seishirou mused out loud, as if mulling something over. “And yet you are not afraid of me?”

“You are a bat, like myself, only bigger,” Subaru stated happily, as if that explained everything.

“You are saying then, that bats need not fear other bats?” Seishirou inquired, smiling amused once again. “Ah, but bats are not the only ones who are afraid of me…but who can blame them when I have a visage as grotesque as this?”

The larger bat pointed at his face with one giant curved fore-claw, which Subaru had to admit did look a sight ghastly upon first glance, however…

“Creatures should not judge others based on appearances,” Subaru said firmly.

Seishirou did a double take and looked at the little fruit bat in wonder, his eyes widening a bit before a mask dropped over them coolly.

“If these large, pointed ears are not for frightening, then what are they for?” Seishirou asked, suppressing a smirk.

“Why they let you hear things better!” Subaru exclaimed.

“And these eyes?” Seishirou pressed, locking his huge golden eyes upon the little fruit bat’s own emerald ones in a transfixing gaze.

“They let you see things better!”

“This horrid muzzle,” Seishirou spoke, bending low so he was snout to snout with Subaru, the larger bat’s pointed horn nose, flaring wide his enormous nostrils, contrasting greatly with the smaller bat’s round, button one.

“It lets you smell things better!”

“This mouthful of teeth!” Seishirou declared, stretching the skin of lips back sinisterly, exposing his long, razor sharp incisors in a wide, toothy grin.

“They…they let you eat things better,” Subaru said in a more subdued voice than before, yet his eyes still retained their trust of the larger bat.

“Indeed,” Seishirou whispered into the little fruit bat’s fuzzy ear, provoking another shiver out of Subaru, before he pulled back.

“Tell me, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou said, changing the subject. “What is such a little bat like yourself doing out here all alone? I thought you tiny ones liked to stay in groups.”

“I…I came to get some plum juice for my grandmother, who’s ill,” Subaru admitted. “It’s just Obaa-chan and me that’s left of our colony. Hokuto, my sister, she left and our parents are dead.”

“Such a sad tale. You must use caution then, Subaru-kun. There are many predators who would be eager to get their jaws around a nice tender morsel such as yourself, and then who would look after your poor obaa-chan?” Seishirou said wickedly.

“Obaa-chan is always warning me like that,” Subaru said fondly. “Although…although sometimes I’m not sure if all she says is true. She…she tells me stories…”

There was silence and Subaru looked up at the larger bat to see Seishirou smiling, encouraging him to go on.

“Stories about creatures like the traitorous, blood-thirsty assassin!” Subaru finished breathlessly.

The plum branch bobbed up and down slightly as its larger occupant shifted his weight, edging even closer to the little fruit bat than before.

“And you do not believe your wise, old obaa-chan’s tales?” Seishirou inquired in an odd tone of voice.

“No, well, that is…I don’t see how any creature can exist like that,” Subaru said floundering, trying to explain.

“What? Drinking blood?” Seishirou asked. “Does it disgust you then? This notion?”

“It’s not that,” Subaru said, struggling for the right words. “Creatures do what they need to survive…”

Seishirou blinked his golden eyes at the statement and tilted his head sideways as he contemplated the little fruit bat thoughtfully.

“It’s just the other part of the story…” Subaru went on. “He’s always alone…there’s no mention of a family or friends, and he’s always hunting. Doesn’t he get tired? Isn’t he lonely?”

There was laughter again from the larger bat and the branch swayed to and fro from the shaking of Seishirou’s massive frame until he had regained control and smiled with mirth at his smaller companion.

“You are a strange one, Subaru-kun, to feel sorry for such a damned creature. You’re either very kind-hearted or very foolish. Do you know why he is called the ‘traitorous, blood-thirsty assassin’?” Seishirou questioned.

“Because he drinks blood and kills without warning, silent and swift,” Subaru smoothly recited the lines from Obaa-chan’s tale.

“Yes, but do you know why he is called ‘traitorous’ as well?” Seishirou inquired. “Because he spares not even those of his own kind and eats them as well!”

The little fruit bat’s eyes widened with horror and he gasped, “Oh! That’s not possible! No creature eats their own kind!”

“What tree have you been sheltered in, Subaru-kun? Do not the owls eat smaller birds? Do not the snakes devour the weaker ones of them? Why should this ‘blood-thirsty assassin’ be any different?” Seishirou demanded.

“But, but…” Subaru squeaked pitifully, trying to find sense in it all.

“Do you have any idea of what manner of creature this ‘blood-thirsty assassin’ may be?” Seishirou inquired, eyeing the little bat intently.

Subaru shook his tiny head, although his mind had conjured up images of some great-horned beast with a stinging tail, giant teeth and claws, and glaring red eyes.

Seishirou leaned closer to the smaller bat as he shared the next part in a hushed exuberant tone, “They say he is bat.”

Subaru tried to find his voice and protest against such utter atrocity, such blasphemy, but no sounds emitted from his throat, which felt dry, as if an invisible claw had curled around it, had seized it, and held it fast.

“Yes, a bat,” Seishirou repeated for emphasis. “That’s why they call him ‘traitorous.’ You see, bats are supposed to be one of the few creatures in this harsh world that do not consume their fellow brethren. There is no need to prey amongst ourselves when we, above all others, have the keenest of senses to find food even where it seems desolate. But the blood-thirsty assassin cares not about these things. He yearns for warm flesh and the blood of bat most of all.”

“But why?” Subaru whispered, a cold chill spreading through him. “Why does he have to drink their blood? Why does he have to eat bat?”

“He doesn’t have to, little fruit bat. He wants to,” Seishirou explained with an ardent furor. “You see, within the blood of all creatures flows their desires, their dreams, their memories past, all the things which make up the very core of their being. And the blood-thirsty assassin laps it all up—every last drop so that he sees who that creature was, how he lived, what he held dear, so he can taste and experience the pleasure of what pure, raw emotions feel like.

“He cannot feel, you see,” Seishirou went on as if commenting about the weather. “Perhaps it is a defect from birth. Perhaps he is cursed. Who knows? What is true is that he wishes to discover all emotions in existence and learn how to use and act upon them.”

Subaru didn’t ask how Seishirou knew so much about the blood-thirsty assassin. Nor did he react when the larger bat reached out with one long, wicked-sharp, curved fore-claw to tilt his tiny chin and examine his glazed eyes and blank expression.

“And he prefers bats most of all, my dear Subaru-kun, because they are his closest of kin, and when he samples their blood, in this way for a short while, he can be complete and know what it is like to truly live.”

A gust of wind picked up into a strong gale and rustled the branches of the plum tree, stirring up the snowy-white petals of the blossoms into a swirling waltz, where they scattered upon the ground below in a soft echo of drifting snow. It was all but a faint murmuring in the little fruit bat’s ears. Nothing mattered. Nothing mattered except to keep vigil upon Seishirou’s two golden eyes of light drawing him deeply within their gaze, burning so bright yet so achingly hollow…

Twin pinpricks of pain.

Slight burst of panic.

Controlled by a familiar presence…soothing relief…

The moon loomed in front of him…and everything shone silver…

There was no up or down…no sense of direction…

He was falling…couldn’t fly…

And he was caught and held tight in death’s sweet embrace…

It was a rhythmic pounding assailing his ears that swept away the last vestiges of sleep and caused Subaru to wake. The little bat blinked his eyes blearily and shifted his head about to determine where the sound was coming from, his fore-claws scrambling to get a better grasp on the short fur residing beneath him.

Wait…fur?

“Did you dream beautiful dreams, little fruit bat?”

Subaru squeaked in mortification as he found himself completely enveloped and wrapped up quite snugly in Seishirou’s giant wings like a cocoon so that he was resting against the broad chest of the larger bat, who hung upside-down from his roost in the tree.

“S-S-Seishirou-san!” Subaru cried, staining the ebony skin of his cheeks a glowing red as he blushed. “W-What…h-how…”

“I do believe you ate too much plum, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou said merrily. “You simply toppled over and swooned right into my wings without any warning!”

“Oh, I’m s-sorry!” Subaru exclaimed, wishing he wasn’t so clumsy.

“No need to be. I didn’t mind at all. It’s not everyday I get to play hero for a cute little bat such as yourself,” Seishirou stated, squeezing his wings around Subaru in resemblance of a hug.

It was warm within the larger bat’s wings and the heat was making Subaru grow drowsy, a strange kind of heat igniting his veins and coiling into a pool in the pit of his stomach.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, listening to the comforting sound of Seishirou’s heartbeat resounding loudly in his ears as he lay nestled against the larger bat’s chest. “That was rude of me to fall asleep when you were talking though.”

“What do you last remember of our conversation, little fruit bat?” Seishirou asked, bending his head so he could nuzzle his horned snout upon his smaller companion’s fuzzy head.

“You were telling me something about the traitorous, blood-thirsty assassin, but I can’t seem to recall…” Subaru furrowed his brow, trying hard to see past the hazy mist that obscured his mind, threatening to cast everything into vague oblivion.

And there was an odd sort of throbbing in his neck…

“Daybreak is drawing near,” Seishirou said, cutting him off, turning his gaze to the far end of the valley where the land dipped low between two hills and a pale shimmering reddish-orange finger was stretching up to the dark night sky, changing the black to a faded lavender-grey hue. “Here comes the dawn. You’d best get back home before the sun rises, Subaru-kun.”

“I don’t want to leave,” Subaru stated stubbornly, digging his claws into the larger bat’s fur in a firm grip, and burrowing himself deeper into the other’s winged enfoldment.

“Oh my, but what a selfish little bat we are becoming!” Seishirou proclaimed, throwing his head back and laughing heartily, revealing his long, sharp fangs for an instant.

“I don’t want to say goodbye,” Subaru admitted, feeling as if he would be losing a friend if they parted ways. “When creatures say goodbye, they never see each other again.”

Subaru shut his eyes and tried to ward off thoughts of Hokuto.

“This is not goodbye, Subaru-kun. This is merely ‘until we meet again,’” Seishirou explained. “And we will, I promise. Now let go.”

Subaru nodded and reluctantly relinquished his grasp on Seishirou’s fur as the larger bat uncurled his wings from around him and spread them wide, propelling himself from his roost, air born.

Opening his own minute ones, Subaru hovered nearby in an attempt to delay the inevitable departure as long as possible.

The two bats wheeled circles around each other in a kind of ritual dance, enjoying the other’s company in an amiable silence until finally, Subaru broke out of the spiral to give Seishirou one long, last look as if storing him in memory. Then waving his wing in farewell, the little bat turned and soared back towards the forest where he knew Obaa-chan was waiting for him in the hollow of the tall oak tree.

Seishirou watched the little bat until his form had faded from sight and then he smiled, his pointy teeth bared in a cruel grin.

“Blood so sweet as yours, Subaru-kun, should not be drunk all at once,” the vampire bat stated, pursing his lips in fond remembrance of the taste. “Your emotions need to evolve further before I drain your life. Go and grow some more, little fruit bat. Experience true sorrow, grieving anguish, utmost despair and pure hatred. I’ve marked you as mine and I will find you at my leisure. After all, one does not eat the plum until it is ripe for the plucking.”

Snowy petals swirled about the blood-thirsty assassin completely enfolding and obscuring him from view, and when they dispersed, he had disappeared; only the last words he had whispered in secret to the wind were left lingering in the air:

“So today…I will let you go.”

The End…for now

A/N: This whole fic idea sprung up after my reading Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel for the first time a few months ago. I fell in love with bats and then went bat-crazy. (You know you’re bat crazy when you are looking into getting supplies to build a bat –house to put into your backyard and hope nightly visitors call it home).

Right, so originally, I was trying to do a CRACK retelling of Little Red Riding Hood bat-style, however, my muse grabbed the reins from me and wrote its own story, so that I ended up with this semi-fluff, light gothic fic which resembles the story of Tokyo Babylon more.

Regarding the absence of sakura in this fic… I couldn't use sakura, because the sakura tree has no fruit, so I had to make do with a plum tree with white blossoms. Too bad the sakura doesn't spawn cherries-that would have been useful here. Still I felt it almost blasphemous to have Seishirou in any kind of plot with no sakura—ye gasp! O.o I hope the plum blossoms made for a nice substitute!

I based Subaru on fruit bats in general. There a quite a few diverse kinds, however, I could not narrow it down to a specific one. The closest I could get to model Subaru after would be the Greater short-nosed fruit bat in appearance mostly, however most of Subaru’s traits can be found in all fruit bats. For Seishirou, I modeled him after the Spectral Bat or False Vampire Bat. Yes, they do, reach up to three feet and eat other mammals, including bats. They do not however merely drink blood; that was for my fic purposes only. More interesting facts about bats: most breeds have up to two pups per year, one at a time though. So the first would be in spring, the second in autumn. So technically, Subaru could have an older sibling here like he did with Hokuto, but they wouldn’t be twins. Not all bats live in a big colony. Some live in small groups like Subaru and his grandmother. Also, bats are color-blind, so they wouldn’t be able to note things like the other’s eye color as they did here. An interesting fact I did not know while researching for this fic: not all bats use echolocation. Bats are categorized in two groups: megabats and microbats. Megabats use their acute sense of hearing, sight, and smell to find food, while microbats’ vision are poor and rely on their echolocation to determine their surroundings and hunt prey. Subaru and Seishirou here are both of the megabat variety.

So all that aside, what did you think of the story? I hope it didn’t bore you anywhere and I hope I made Sei and Sub believable as bats and still true to their character. Did the conversation flow well? Btw, the whole Subaru and Seishirou ‘curling up all cute and fuzzy’ and Subaru ‘swooning’ into Seishirou’s wings was totally my beta’s idea once she got over the shock of reading the strange twisted fic I sent her! XD At the very least I hope the story was entertaining. If it is received well, I may write the next saga in it when inspiration strikes. Do list your favorite parts if you like and if you think I managed to capture the Tokyo Babylon element without it being too cliché. Thank you!

jeldi has created fanart of Subaru (he's so cute!) X3 : HERE

Addicted To You (Tsubasa CRACK fic)

2009-07-04T16:42:05Z

Author: Schnickledooger
Title: Addicted To You
Rating: T
Genre: Humor
Characters: Seishirou, Fuuma....(who else I wonder? >D )
Summary: Seishirou has a very bad habit of abusing his power to cross dimensions...and a very unique collection.
Warnings: Major CRACK-age! You're mind will explode...really.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa Chronicle. CLAMP does. (But if I did, you would be subjected to this kind of CRACK a lot). XD

Addicted To You

“This has to stop, nii-san.”

Seishirou glanced dispassionately at his younger brother who was standing on the threshold of his home away from home, a refuge which he frequented when sojourning across multiple worlds took its toll on him, and wished he had never opened the door.

Fuuma stood there, scowling like he hadn’t done since they were children and finally pushed his way inside once he realized he wasn’t going to be invited in.

“What part of ‘never bother me when I’m at this house’ did you not understand precisely?” Seishirou asked, shutting the door, annoyance clearly lacing his voice.

“Really, this has to stop,” Fuuma repeated, ignoring the question. “Not only is it unhealthy but it’s also inhumane.”

“Strange, health issues never bothered you when you gorged yourself on sweets,” Seishirou stated, striding past him down the hallway.

“I’m not talking about sweets, and you know it!” Fuuma shouted, stalking after his brother. “You-you can not keep up this habit of yours any longer! This addiction you have of adding to your collection…it’s going to blow up in your face someday!”

“It is very odd of you to start suddenly worrying about my hobbies, Fuuma-chan,” Seishirou said, entering the house’s study and dropping himself onto a cushioned chair with an air of gracefulness. The man’s lips drew back in a smirk as he continued, “Has dear Yuuko-san been on your case? She can’t break through my own maboroshis to reprimand me so she gets you to come and talk some sense into me, no doubt spewing ludicrous theories in your ear of ‘damaging the fragile state of existence of infinite universes in a chance that they might spontaneously self-destruct due to so many similar links being removed and packed within one place’ am I correct?”

Fuuma was wise enough not to admit that that was exactly what Yuuko-san had said word for word, so instead he settled for crossing his arms and saying in what he hoped was a confident voice, “Aren’t you the least little bit disturbed that your...obsession has gotten so out of control?”

Seishirou blinked, then replied in an amused tone, “Don’t be fooled by that witch, little brother. She has it in her mind that I’m abusing my power to cross dimensions. She’s merely angry that I’ve found a loophole in her contract that enables me to satisfy my cravings when I am fruitless on my quest. As for my obsession, I assure you, I have everything perfectly under control.”

Picking up a bell that sat on the coffee table nearby, Seishirou rang it and not even three seconds later, a pre-pubescent Subaru donned in a maid’s outfit came briskly through the door to the adjoining room, answering the summons.

“Yes, Seishirou-san?” the boy inquired with wide green eyes, which he used to stare adoringly at the man.

“Would you be a good little boy and go fetch Seishirou-san a bowl of strawberries with that chocolate dip, Subaru-kun?” Seishirou said, beaming with pleasure that he was the object of Subaru’s attention, before turning to ask, “Oh, yes, do you want anything, Fuuma-chan?”

Fuuma was too busy gaping at Subaru’s choice of attire to be coherent.

“I don’t think Fuuma is hungry at the moment, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou stated apologetically. “Run along now, and when you get back you can feed them to me.”

Subaru giggled and rushed back the way he had come, giving a full view of his backside which the maid outfit had been too short to cover, inadvertently flashing the frilly lace panties he was wearing beneath to the room’s occupants.

“See, brother of mine? Perfectly under control,” Seishirou said with a smug smile, noting Fuuma still had not recovered his sense of speech.

Just then two more Subarus came barreling into the room, tumbling over each other in their haste. Fuuma was dimly aware that these two seemed to be hardly any older than nine.

“Seishirou-san!” cried one, looking a bit tearful. “We can’t find Pochi anywhere!”

“I let him out in the garden,” said the other, his eyes red and wet. “I think he might have escaped and gotten lost!”

“We’re sorry, Seishirou-san!” they voiced in unison, looking absolutely miserable and ashamed as they clung to their guardian and sniffled their apologies into the man’s chest.

Seishirou thought they were adorable and leaned back in his chair, pleased they had put concern for his own feelings above their own for the missing puppy.

Fuuma didn’t think there could possibly be anything more disturbing than his brother possessing three Subarus at once…when another Subaru entered the room and waited expectantly in the doorway.

He looked about sixteen age-wise and was blushing in an embarrassed manner, which Fuuma thought he had every right to be as he wore nothing but a towel wrapped pristinely around his waist.

“S-Seishirou-san,” he said, stuttering lightly. “I’ve prepared your bubble bath upstairs, so whenever you’re ready…”

“Thank you, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou said, smiling at him, his hands fondly caressing the top of the younger Subarus’ heads, whose faces were pressed tight into his shirt, seeking comfort and forgiveness. “I’ll be along shortly, and then you can massage my back with that special scented oil.”

Subaru-in-a-towel flushed a darker shade of red, nodded sharply and all but rushed out of the room as quickly as he was able.

“My god, nii-san, how many of them do you have now?” Fuuma asked, dreading the answer.

“Hmm, I think six, no wait, seven,” Seishirou said counting on his fingers. “There’s the four you saw just now; another upstairs resting; then there’s—”

“Seishirou-san?” came a soft voice and Fuuma groaned inwardly, not wanting to turn around and see, yet found himself unable to stop.

When he did, he was certain his eyes were going to pop from their sockets at the spectacle they beheld. It was the oldest Subaru seen so far, in his twenties and looking for all the world a housewife in his blouse, knee-length skirt, pink slippers and ruffled apron. But the reason Fuuma felt his heart had suddenly jumped into his mouth and he was slowly choking on it was the small bundle this Subaru was holding in his arms.

The small bundle that was crying loudly.

“OMIGAWD, TELL ME IT’S NOT YOURS!” Fuuma exclaimed, pointing at it, the room spinning dizzily around him. “TELL ME YOU DIDN’T FIND SOME HERMAPHRODITE VERSION OF YOUR OBSESSION AND MANAGED TO PROCREATE WITH HIM!!!”

The baby’s cries grew louder at the sudden outburst, and Seishirou stood up from his chair like a king being made to step off his throne to fix some common task that his subjects were unable to deal with and gave the younger Subarus’ heads a final pat

“Don’t be absurd, Fuuma-chan,” he stated, walking over to where Housewife-Subaru stood and gently pulling the baby into his own arms. “This is Subaru too.”

It was only his staggering over to grasp the wall to support him that helped Fuuma not to faint.

“He wouldn’t stop crying. I didn’t know what to do,” Housewife-Subaru said with a worried expression, casting discreet glances over to where Fuuma stood, hyper-ventilating, that seemed to say he didn’t think it prudent for a crazy man to be in the same room with an infant.

Of course Fuuma had his own opinion of just who was the crazy one here.

“There, there, my little Subaru-kun,” Seishirou crooned to the baby, rocking him back and forth. “Seishirou-san’s here now. It’s all right.”

The baby stopped its wailing immediately and began to coo and gurgle in delight as he recognized the voice and nestled in the security of the man’s arms.

“Oh, Seishirou-san, you’re so knowledgeable!” Housewife-Subaru gasped in awe with a little bit of hero-worship on the side.

Seishirou beamed at him, reveling in his admiration and the three of them together looked far too much like some picture-perfect family for Fuuma’s own good.

“Under control?” he managed to croak out. “Under control?! You have a house packed full of Subarus and you think you have your obsession under control?!”

“Oh don’t exaggerate like that,” Seishirou reproached his brother. “I don’t even have an even dozen yet. That’s my goal by the end of July by the way. It’s just so hard finding them though. I swear I’ve visited more than a hundred worlds and even though I steadfastly run across that Miyuki-chan girl always with a piece of toast in her mouth, I rarely stumble upon a Subaru. So you can hardly berate me for taking one with me when I do get that chance and ‘adding to my collection’ as you so eloquently put it.”

“This is no longer a collection—it’s a blasted harem!” Fuuma exploded, throwing up his arms in frustration.

“Seishirou-san, what’s a ‘harem’?” asked one of the younger Subarus innocently.

“Hush, Fuuma-chan. You’re going to damage their delicate sensibilities with your adult vocabulary if you’re not careful,” Seishirou chided before answering the boy. “A harem is simply another word used to describe another word for barber shop or salon. That reminds me—I need to make appointments for all of you. Your hair is beginning to look scruffy and while I think it’s cute regardless, I like seeing my Subarus’ gorgeous green eyes without having to part their bangs.”

The room lit up in four shy yet pleased Subaru smiles—even Baby-Subaru was grinning ear-to-ear from Seishirou’s compliment and Seishirou was once again basking in the glow of his obsessions’ veneration like an idol being worshipped.

Fuuma shook his head, realizing his brother had passed the point of no return. There was no way Seishirou was going to relinquish his grasp and return the Subarus to their rightful worlds peacefully.

“There’s going to be repercussions for this, don’t you believe otherwise,” he warned, feeling a slight headache coming on, and wondered if it could be cured exiting this madhouse as quickly as possible and eating a giant ice cream sundae.

“What’s this? More deranged witch ramblings?” Seishirou inquired amused. “If the universes somehow don’t happen to wink out of existence for what I’ve done, I will have thrown the natural order of events off their intended course and caused day to be night, trees to become killers, and ultimately in the future, in some distant alternate world, have helped wreak destruction on mankind at the very least all because the fates-of-the-universes could not handle multiple withdrawals of the same person or some other such nonsense?”

“I’m merely advising you to remember there’s such a thing called Murphy’s Law, which states whatever can go wrong, will go wrong,” Fuuma said, narrowing his eyes.

“You’re so very melodramatic today, Fuuma-chan,” Seishirou said with evident distaste. “Just admit the real reason you’re not hooraying my ingenious solution to soothe my addiction is because you’re jealous you didn’t think of it first.”

“What?!” Fuuma exclaimed, looking incredulously at his brother. “What are you talking about?!”

“Don’t play coy with me, dear brother. I know you wouldn’t be complaining or be nearly this agitated if you had your own harem—excuse me, collection—of Kamuis flocking about you,” Seishirou stated, relishing his brother’s bug-eyed expression and red face.

Fuuma stood stock-still for a moment, his body unable to move but his mind racing a hundred miles per second, caught up in a tantalizing fantasy of himself lazing on a beach on a tropical island, in a hammock between two palm trees, one Kamui gently rocking it back and forth, while another Kamui fanned him lightly with a giant palm leaf, another Kamui kneeled nearby feeding him grapes one by one while another served him pina colada as he watched two more Kamuis in grass skirts and coconut bras do a sexy hula dance with fire batons in front of him…

Fuuma let out a muffled pained cry and cupped his hand over his nose which had sprung a nosebleed suddenly.

Seishirou was smirking knowingly.

Fuuma glared at his brother and after regaining control of his nervous system, managed to croak out, “T-T-That’s b-beside the point! Harrumph! Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to take my leave before the anvil falls on your head.”

Then as if the fates were listening in to the conversation and decided to stir up some amusement, the doorbell rang and Fuuma knew as if struck by lightning that the time for his brother to reap what he had sown had at long last arrived.

“I’ll get it!” shouted Maid-Subaru, rushing down the hallway to the door, just coming out of the kitchen with the requested strawberries and chocolate sauce.

“NO!” Fuuma yelled, whirling around and trying to stop him, but he was too late.

He could only watch in a numb sort of horror as the door was opened to reveal six furious, dangerous-looking, vengeful Seishirous standing on the front porch, all of them possessing a murderous glint in their eyes.

“S-Seishirou-san?” Maid-Subaru exclaimed in shock, blinking at the group assembled at the door, and then doing a double take at Seishirou standing in the study behind him.

“That damn witch,” Seishirou growled out, catching sight of the newcomers and grasping a hold of the situation at once.

“SUBARU-KUN, WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!” screeched a teenage Seishirou, pushing his way to the front of the group and gaping at the Subaru which Fuuma supposed was from his world.

“You don’t l-like it? B-But you said it made you feel g-good inside when I wore it. Well, I guess it wasn’t you—it was him…I mean he is you…you’re him…all of you, that is….ah” Maid-Subaru trailed off looking very confused.

“Seishirou-san, hey, guess what?!” exclaimed one of the younger Subarus, bouncing over to the door, ecstatic that his favorite person had somehow divided into several copies. “This you made us appointments at the harem later! Want to come with us? It will be fun!”

“WHAAAAAAAAAAT?!” came an enraged roar of unison.

Then Subaru-in-a-towel came staggering down the stairs, covered in a foam of bubbles, holding a small bump on his head and sheepishly admitting he had accidentally spilled some of the special scented oil on the floor, slipped and fallen and knocked himself out for a short while and now the water in the bath had overflowed, and could he please be forgiven for his clumsiness.

It struck the last nerves in the Seishirous, who gave each other sharp inquisitive nods before launching themselves at the doppelganger who had dared to steal their personal obsessions from them.

Fuuma thought it amazing his brother had sense enough to shove Baby-Subaru into his arms before he was tackled to the floor by a pile of…well, himself, where a massive battle of kicking, biting, and fist fighting broke out. They rolled about the room in a ball of bodies, stirring up dust, crashing into furniture, screaming, swearing and cursing, while half a dozen crying Subarus ran about willy-nilly unsure of what to do, but not wanting any of their precious Seishirou-sans hurt.

It would have been rather amusing, Fuuma mused, had it not been so disturbing.

Finally at some point later, after a few minutes or so of non-stop fighting, the Seishirous had collapsed, breathing strenuously, with sweat, blood and bruises decked out across their bodies like glorious war wounds, and Fuuma realized in their brawl they probably had not given much thought to who-was-who and had all taken their fury out on whoever had happened to be the closest target. Now that they were spread out though, Fuuma could see they were all different ages, ranging from ten to around thirty-five, and it was easy to distinguish his brother from the rest.

That could be because only one Seishirou was holding Sakura’s feather all of a sudden though. Leave it to his brother to always have a trump card up his sleeve. Fuuma wondered if he was going to use it to escape or to defeat his other selves.

However, it appeared as if Yuuko-san had informed the Seishirous of their duplicate’s ace-in-the-hole, for all of them went on red-alert when they saw it in his grip. A Seishirou in his middle ages dealt a swift blow to the man’s stomach, while the youngest Seishirou kicked both the man’s knee-caps in with two fierce blows, and the teenage Seishirou leaped onto his back when he doubled over wheezing in pain and began simultaneously whacking his head in and tearing out tufts of his hair in vicious chunks. It was in this manner that a Seishirou in his twenties easily ripped the feather from the man’s grasp and tossed it aside as he too got his share of licks in, while the two remaining Seishirous cheered the others on.

Fuuma had to wince. As much as he had told his brother there would be repercussions for his actions, he had never honestly believed they would catch up to him. Seishirou had always been too quick for justice to bite him in the rear. It seemed fate was making up for it in spades today.

In the end, after the six Seishirous had beaten his poor brother to a bloody pulp to their satisfaction and left him lying mangled and unconscious on the floor, they had left with their respective Subarus, giving each copy of themselves a warning glare to ward off anyone who had a similar idea of starting their own harem—ah, collection. And they were quite the odd pairings too. Housewife-Subaru turned out to be owned by the ten-year old Seishirou and was led out of the house by the boy (who was shorter than his waist), while a fifteen-year old Seishirou snatched Baby-Subaru from Fuuma’s arms giving him a dirty menacing look. Subaru-in-a-towel was carried out wrapped in a blanket by the middle-aged Seishirou, while Maid-Subaru left with another Seishirou ten years older than him, and the two youngest Subarus were given piggy-back rides out of the house by two Seishirous in their mid-twenties.

Fuuma stood there in shock as he watched all the really mismatched pairs go by before he had finally had enough and burst out, “YOU’RE A PERVERT IN EVERY DIMENSION!!!”

The beauty of it was that his brother couldn’t retaliate at all due to his injuries.

oOoOoOo

“Well I hate to say I told you so, but—”

“Finish that sentence and you die.”

“What are you going to do? Bash me over the head with your paper-mache arms?” Fuuma guffawed, smirking at the death ray glare his brother flashed him from his eyes—the only part of his body besides his mouth that was visible under a full-body plaster cast.

“That damn witch doesn’t know who she’s dealing with. She’ll get what’s coming to her one day,” Seishirou swore vehemently.

“You mean like you got what was coming to you?” Fuuma snickered. “You’re just angry that you got outsmarted. You’re ego’s still reeling in shock that it’s been out-schemed. Too bad, all your little trophy-pieces—history.”

“I’ve still got one left. The witch missed one—she’s not so clever after all,” Seishirou stated, sounding smug.

Fuuma scrupulously eyed the last remaining Subaru sitting at his brother’s bedside. It was the one who had been upstairs resting—the one who hadn’t come down and had missed the whole fiasco. He couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that something was very odd about this one. He was quiet and withdrawn and hadn’t said much—only to ask if Seishirou was alright. He was tall and slim and appeared to be in his early twenties. He sat with his legs crossed, smoking a cigarette in a manner that said he’d had years of practice and stared at Fuuma with eyes that looked as if they had seen far too much—strange mismatched eyes: one emerald green, the other a startling golden color…a rather familiar golden color.

“So, uh,” Fuuma said uncomfortably. “Where is your Seishirou anyway?”

“I killed him,” the Subaru said in a flat monotone voice, exhaling a puff of smoke with cool ease.

There was an awkward kind of silence for the next several seconds where you could hear a pin drop, before Fuuma said, “Um, right. Can’t say as I blame you. I feel the urge too sometimes. I’ve got to go now. Enjoy your obsession, nii-chan!”

“No! Wait!” Seishirou yelped in panic, twitching on the bed. “Don't leave me alone with him!”

“Don’t worry, Seishirou-san,” Subaru soothed gently, smiling insanely. “I’ll take veeeery good care of you.”

The last thing Fuuma heard before hopping worlds was his brother shrieking in a very un-Seishirou like fashion.

Epilogue

A short, short time later in a universe far, far away…

A stretch of beach unfurls into the distance on a tropical paradise. The figure of a young man streaks madly across the sand, fleeing for his life. Hot in pursuit, a band of primitive, tattooed, spear-wielding black-haired, amethyst-eyed natives chase after their victim, the sound of his screams of terror drawing their blood-lust higher. They will feast well tonight.

A collection of Kamuis would be hell, Fuuma, not heaven. Didn’t the lesson with your brother teach you anything, silly boy? Tsk, tsk.

To the rest of the mortals out there who have yet to learn: do not test the fates (or anger the Time Witch).

The End

A/N: Hello all! Why is it I never can remember what I want to say in these notes when I get here? I hope this fic sent you all into hysterics. I know I killed my beta temporarily with it! Leeayre, you okay? XD You guys should laud her, she’s the one who helped me out on the ending and managed to make it even more crazy! Anyway, I think this scenario would be totally possibly, Seishirou is sadly that obsessed. And for those of you who have not figured out who the last Subaru was: it was him from the X/1999 manga, but I’m sure most people reading will know this. As for the battle, I hope no one was disappointed. I suppose I could have gone into a spell-illusion fight but that would have taken too long. Besides, I’m sure all the Seishirous would agree with me that it was much more satisfying to physically hurt the enemy themselves for once. You’re probably a bit disappointed that TRC Kamui and Subaru didn’t show up—well, who’s to say they won’t found out later in a sequel, hmmm?

Well, I hoped you enjoyed the madhouse I have written! Please share what parts you loved and your favorite scenes, thank you!

Please No One Look Here...>/////

2009-05-24T06:35:10Z

I am posting this because my friend and beta (and twisted evil task-master) won't lay off my back about putting this where everyone can see it. It is against my better wishes, but she is rather pushy so JJ Blue, Divine X/1999 Fanfic Queen, if you have been dragged here against your will by a hyper-maniac on a sugar-high LJ-er who goes by the name of Leeayre...you have my most sincere apologies. No doubt we have both sealed our own fate as being labeled as obsessive fangirl freaks by this cartoonish drawing.

P.S. Don't let Leeayre's warm, amicable, enthusiastic naivety fool you. She's a devious, scheming limpet who once you accept her hand of friendship you shall never be free from.

Tsubasa Vampire Twin CRACK fic

2009-02-04T17:22:26Z

Title: Stuck In the Middle With You
Author: Schnickledooger (me)
Rating: T
Genre: Humor
Characters: Seishirou, Subaru, Kamui, Fuuma
Setting: sometime after the Acid Tokyo arc and Syaoran has not retrieved Sakura's feather from Seishirou yet.
Summary: Seishirou and Subaru are trapped in an elevator together. Kamui is freaking out. Fuuma is enjoying the whole situation immensely. Beware the madness…
Warnings: It's CRACK, pure CRACK, and I may have exaggerated the characters' personalities a tad^^

Disclaimer: I do not own X/1999 or Tsubasa Chronicles, CLAMP does, which is the reason the characters within them are subjected to so much torture and angst.

A/N: Numbers within parentheses indicate a footnote explained at the bottom.

Stuck In The Middle With You

Subaru sighed as he pressed the button for the elevator and waited for it to come to a stop on his floor of the huge skyscraper where he was job-applying. No, scratch that, where he had been job-applying. Unfortunately, his potential employer had seemed more interested in the physical attributes he could offer, not his mind and skills. Subaru shivered as he remembered the balding glasses man groping him inappropriately and hoped he could escape the building before the man’s secretary discovered her unconscious boss and the massive dent in his office’s wall. The only good thing Subaru could manage to see in the whole situation was that Kamui hadn’t been there to witness the act. His little brother was a bit over-protective of him (and might he say obsessed too?) and would probably have snapped the guy’s neck and flung him through the large glass window instead of delivering a minor bump on the head.

So far, from the amount of time they had spent in this current world, Subaru had decided it was worse than the one from which they had just come. That world still confused him. When they had arrived in that country, Subaru had been surprised to see that the society had been divided into two classes: those with cat ears and tails and those without. (1)He noticed that children were in the majority of those who possessed feline features while most adults were earless. More startling was the fact that he, himself had somehow grown cat ears and a tail, while Kamui did not. He had never discovered the reason behind this odd happening, although he suspected that his brother had in their time there, for one day Kamui had come home to their apartment red-faced and had holed himself up in his room. Subaru had pressed his ear against the door in concern but only could make out angry cursing and stuttering and muffled phrases such as, “Fuuma…kill him…even if…hot night…this world SUCKS!”

They left that world as quickly as possible, and Kamui had declared the only good thing about that world had been seeing that his onii-chan’s ears were still intact. Subaru was still perplexed but Kamui had never bothered to explain what that had meant.

So now they were in this world, which seemed like an echo of a 21st century Tokyo, and both vampire brothers were out searching for a place to stay and a temporary position to support them in their brief stay. The elevator bell dinged and the doors opened. Subaru stepped inside and silently hoped Kamui was having better luck than him.

oOoOoOo

Kamui growled low in his throat as he stalked angrily down the crowded sidewalks, causing several little kids to scream in fear at his deranged expression and flee madly away. Aside from the fact that he was still extremely pissed off at the last world he and his brother had visited (stupid freaky cat people and their Unspoken Rules of the Ears), he wasn’t having much luck finding a new place for them to live. So far, he had had ten landlords laugh uproariously and slam a door in his face when he told them no, he didn’t have a job, no, he couldn’t give any references, of course it was none of their damn business why he was dressed up in “some weird cosplay outfit”, no, he wasn’t some super teenage idol and they weren’t on a game show to win a million dollars, and did they want their throats ripped out if they continued laughing at him?

He had had to dodge several run-ins with the police for “threatening the safety of innocent civilians” and had had to resist the rising vengeful urge to suck every one of those idiots dry and discard them like empty husks. He knew his brother wouldn’t be pleased if he gave in to his violent temper. Subaru possessed a kind, gentle nature and did not like seeing people hurt. He and his twin brother really were polar opposites.

Kamui turned a corner and yelped as he smacked right into someone’s broad chest, causing some delicate bones in his nose to crack. That was it! He didn’t care if it was an accident or not, he had had enough! Today was not a good day to get on his bad side!

Kamui’s mouth turned upward in a smirk, showing his sharp fangs as he readied himself to attack the person in front of him…a person who seemed awfully familiar with that dark hair and red-tinted glasses…

“FUUMA!” Kamui exclaimed, his pupils narrowing to slits in shock. “What are you doing here?!”

“What? No hello kiss?” Fuuma asked, smiling roguishly at him, “I was hoping you were missing me terribly from our last good-bye together and came to comfort you.”

Kamui snarled at the innuendo and leapt at him, his nails enlarging and lengthening several inches as he slashed them through the air in a sweeping arc directed at the other’s face.

The next thing he knew, he was struggling to free his hand, which was stuck partway through a brick wall, and Fuuma was maintaining a firm grip on his wrist.

“Tch, tch, claws in, you naughty kitty!” Fuuma chided, tapping one finger lightly on Kamui’s bruised nose. “Speaking of which, how did you enjoy the last world you were in? It was easy for me to pick up your trail there…especially since everyone could then see the after-effects of my introducing you to the pleasures of adulthood.”

“FUUMA, YOU BASTARD, I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” Kamui yelled, his eyes turning a dangerous shimmering yellow as he finally managed to wrench his trapped hand from the wall and took another swipe at the treasure hunter.

Fuuma dodged the assault easily yet couldn’t resist taunting the vampire one step further, “Really, what is all the fuss about? I didn’t hear you complaining that night…”

“SHUT UP!” Kamui swore, feeling his face flare up like it was on fire as he hurled himself through the air at the other in a frenzy, claws pointed outwards.

“I must say, though, it was a bit disconcerting to see my older brother suddenly spring cat ears though,” Fuuma said as he leapt over Kamui’s attack. “Even I assumed he had some experience at that. I had no idea he was saving himself for your vampire twin he’s stuck on.”

“What?” Kamui said, halting his attack, a kind of fear coursing through his veins at the words. “Your brother—”

“I didn’t have fun at all there,” Fuuma stated, crossing his arms and grimacing in remembrance, “Between listening to him ramble on about how he couldn’t betray his love then getting the Safe Sex Talk when he saw I didn’t have my ears…”

“WHAT?!” Kamui squeaked, feeling a bit sick himself at the idea that that man knew he had been intimate with Fuuma.

“Yes, it was quite traumatizing,” Fuuma said, sighing dramatically as a sly grin broke out across his face. “I need some Kamui to make me feel better!”

Kamui ignored the last part, his mind only focusing on one thing.

“Your brother is here on this world with you?” he demanded an answer, raising his claws intimidatingly.

“Of course,” Fuuma said, smirking as he put his hands in his pockets and took a casual stance. “Now where do you suppose he is at this very moment?”

Kamui’s eyes widened in realization and he did an about-face turn and hurled himself into the air to jump on top of the nearest building where he continued to race along the rooftops in a mad desperation, following the link that flowed between him and his brother.

If that man was here, then he might be too late.

Subaru...I’m coming.

oOoOoOo

Seishirou ran his hands across the top of his head for the umpteenth time checking to make sure his cat ears from the last world were non-existent here. That had been quite a humiliating experience once he had figured out what having cat ears there had meant. Fuuma had gotten a good laugh out of that and he had had to resort to Step 2 of The Talk just to shut him up. In the meantime, while tracking the vampire twins’ trail, Seishirou had had to put up with points and stares from the people of that world who were far too curious for their own good about an adult man still possessing his cat attributes. One female even had the gall to walk straight up to him and give them a hard yank to make sure they were real. That incident had opened up a whole new can of worms, for then he had begun to receive dozens and dozens of requests from overly-eager women and men to “assist him in getting rid of those pesky ears”. Fuuma had nearly busted a gut trying to refrain himself from laughing, not looking forward to getting another Talk lecture.

Blast! This was all Subaru’s fault anyway! Seishirou smoldered as he waited for the elevator to arrive at his floor.

He knew that vampire’s number alright. Subaru might act all chaste and innocent, but he was really a tease, a minx playing hard-to-get, making him traverse universe after universe to catch him. Honestly, had the boy really been so frightened by a few passionate kisses that he had had to suddenly up and run away? Seishirou still remembered when he had suggested they do more than kiss.

“B-But Seishirou-san!” Subaru had cried startled, his green eyes growing alarmingly shiny full of water. “We’re…we’re…we’re not married yet!”

Alright, so maybe Seishirou regretted that he had stiffened in fear of the M-word and transported away in a flurry of sakura petals without saying anything further. It might have given Subaru the wrong impression of his intentions. Maybe that was why the vampire had taken off so abruptly across the vast void of worlds, although there seemed to be this rumor concerning him and Subaru’s blood floating around now. He would have to put a stop to that somehow.

A bell dinged and the doors slid open revealing a much-crowded elevator. Seishirou was tempted to just wait for another one or take the stairs, but he changed his mind. He was on the 87th floor after all and that was a lot of flights to walk down and he had waited a full ten minutes for this elevator anyway. No telling how long the next one would be.

He stepped into the elevator and squeezed himself into a tiny space in the front. As the elevator started down, Seishirou wondered why he was at this building in the first place. It was true he could feel Subaru’s presence, but then that had been true of all the worlds he had visited, and he had always been days, weeks, or months behind him. Subaru may have been here before, but it certainly didn’t mean that he was here right now or even still on this world.

Seishirou’s eyebrows furrowed further as his irritation spread. Damn, he needed a cigarette now!

The elevator stopped one story down from the floor where Seishirou had been waiting and the doors opened to reveal a young boy in a black and white sailor school uniform complete with a white hat. The kid was short in stature with tousled brown hair, brown eyes, and a face that held an expression between a blank slate and a scowl. (2)

Seishirou tried not to start violently at the sight of the boy. It seemed he had run into his former student Syaoran’s doppelganger on this world. How peculiar. Other than a curious glance at him as the boy stepped into the elevator, it appeared this country’s Syaoran did not have a familiar relationship with his own double (assuming he had one here).

The boy compressed himself as tightly as possible to the side near the button-panel where he pressed floor 85, one story down, causing the people in the crowded elevator to groan and moan loudly.

“Hey, kid, you’re young! You could have just taken the stairs!”

“I’m on a tight schedule, you brat!”

“These elevators aren’t exactly the fastest shooting rocket, you know!”

“You young whippersnappers have no respect or consideration for your elders!”

Syaoran said nothing, keeping his gaze directed in front of him, showing no outward signs that he had heard their lamenting.

The elevator dinged merrily as it stopped on floor 85 and opened, but the boy did not move to get off for a few seconds. Then in one brilliant and timed out act, the boy ran his hand down the control panel in one swift motion, successfully pressing every single button and jumped off the elevator just as the doors began closing.

“BUWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Syaoran laughed, an evil triumphant look on his face as he smirked at everyone’s shocked expressions, which were slowly turning into outrage, but it was too late to retaliate.

The last they saw of the boy was of him blowing them all a raspberry as the doors slid shut and the elevator continued its trip downwards…or tried to anyway. However, when the control panel’s buttons began twinkling out of sync like Christmas lights and the lift gave several violent shudders and jolts before careening to a halt midway between floors…Seishirou thought it safe to assume they weren’t going anywhere for awhile.

Despite it all, Seishirou found a wide grin wafting across his face. This world’s Syaoran appeared far more rambunctious than the original one he knew. It was a nice change.

Unfortunately, the other occupants of the elevator did not share his view.

“THAT LITTLE BRAT!”

“IF I EVER SEE HIM AGAIN, WHY I’LL—”

“I’M A PRIVATE EYE! I’M GONNA TRACK THAT LITTLE MONSTER AND SUE HIS PARENTS FOR ALL THEY’RE WORTH!”

“I’M CLAUSTROPHOBIC! OH DEAR GOD, THE WALLS ARE CLOSING IN ON ME! I CAN’T BREEEEEEEEEEATHE!”

“DON’T BE AN IDIOT! WE HAVE MORE CHANCE AT FALLING EIGHTY-SOME STORIES AND BEING SMASHED TO A PULP THAN RUNNING OUT OF AIR!”

“OMIGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWD!!!”

And with that, the crowded elevator erupted into sheer panic and chaos as everyone attempted to claw the walls…literally.

Seishirou found himself pressed tight against the sealed doors by crushing bodies, barely able to move, and his ears deafened with fearful screams and wails.

Forget the last world being the most annoying—this one had just topped it.

“Agh, excuse me, ma’am, but you’re squishing meee!” came a familiar voice from the back…a very familiar voice.

And suddenly Subaru appeared in front of his vision, wearing an expression of extreme discomfort as he wormed his way through the stricken mass of people to reach the front of the elevator...and came face to face with—

“Seishirou-san!” Subaru gasped in surprise…(and was that a small bit of delight or was it just wishful imagining?).

Then Subaru let out a startled cry as he was crushed into the sealed doors right next to Seishirou from the crowd behind.

Seishirou was elated, his head felt like it was spinning dizzily and his heart was fluttering crazily at the sight of the person he had been chasing for what seemed forever. Of course, these symptoms could all have been from the lack of air in the elevator due to the amount of body heat from all the other people, but Seishirou tossed that notion aside. This was fate! Destiny! An unbreakable bond which tied them together! And now he could finally ask that question which he should have asked a long time ago…

“Subaru-kun, what is this ridiculous rumor I keep hearing about me fixated on your blood or something to that extent?” Seishirou inquired, narrowing his eyes at the vampire expectantly.

“W-What?” Subaru said, blinking his big green eyes in that adorably clueless manner of his that Seishirou found hard to resist.

“Yes, there is this rumor on every world I’ve visited so far that I am after your blood, and everyone seems to have spawned up some ludicrous theory of why. So far I have been accused of desiring to become a vampire, people confusing me with being a vampire hunter, not a treasure hunter, or that I already am a vampire. Would you be so kind as to explain how this rumor got so blown out of proportion?” Seishirou demanded.

Subaru’s lower lip trembled causing Seishirou to use every ounce of self control he possessed not to simply pounce on the boy and capture that luscious mouth with his own.

“Well, you see,” Subaru started, squirming embarrassedly against the sealed doors as best he could given the close proximity of everyone. “Remember that one time when you were teasing me about what it’d be like if you were a vampire and you were…practicing on me…”

Here Subaru flushed a shocking shade of red (well, as red as a vampire could manage), and Seishirou could not hide the smug grin that slid across his face with pride at the memory.

“A-Aah, S-Seishirou-san!” Subaru moaned in ecstasy as the older man kissed his way slowly down his neck, nipping playfully at the skin until it had swollen into a beautiful purple color.

“Mmm, Subaru-kun, is this what you do to your victims?” Seishirou purred and Subaru shuddered delightfully as the warm breath tickled his ear.

“Tell me, do you take their every emotion, twist them around until they cannot recognize pleasure from pain and make them cry out, beg for release?” Seishirou asked in a soft-spoken whisper as heburied his face into the crook of Subaru’s neck, slipping his hand underneath thevampire’s shirt and up his chest…

“GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY BROTHER, YOU SICK DEVIL!”

And of course, the mood had been spoiled by his love’s twin brother. Future in-laws were always such a pain.

“Well, Kamui may have sort of, kind of, maybe started a few of those rumors about you on purpose to steer people clear of you. He figured if everyone saw you as a rogue, it would be hard for you to dig up information on our whereabouts,” Subaru stated sheepishly.

“What?” Seishirou growled, feeling deeply affronted.

He always had known Subaru’s brother was an irritating little twat but he had had no idea he could be so vindictive. Really, the very idea that he was some maniacal villain seeking someone’s blood for his own devious purposes…well, now that he thought about it, he certainly wouldn’t mind shedding Kamui’s at the moment. Too bad Subaru would never forgive him if he did.

“Well, that needn’t matter now. I have found you anyway, haven’t I?” Seishirou said, smiling in victory as he reached out and gently cupped Subaru’s cheek.

“Seishirou-san,” Subaru spoke softly, placing his hand over Seishirou’s own.

“THIS IS IT! THE END! WE’RE ALL GONNA DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!!”

“I NEVER WANTED TO BE A SALARY-MAN IN THE FIRST PLACE! I WANTED TO BE A SWIMSUIT MODEL!”

“AMI AND YUMI, I LOVE YOU AND I’M NOT AFRAID TO ADMIT IT! NO ONE ROCKS LIKE PUFFY!!!”

It seemed like the elevator’s occupants were embracing the assumed inevitable.

“It’s a bit crowded in here, don’t you think?” Seishirou stated, reaching into his vest pocket and pulling out a glowing white feather.

“Oh, that’s—!” Subaru exclaimed, his eyes widening in recognition.

“You know what this is?” Seishirou asked curiously, noting the recognition on the vampire’s face.

“Sakura’s feather! Yeah, we met up with Syaoran and crew a few worlds ago,” Subaru confessed.

“Oh, yes, Fuuma told me about that,” Seishirou said remembering. “Though most of the story he told me revolved around a ‘fiery, arrogant, yet gorgeous dark-haired vampire’ who had stolen his heart. I very nearly killed him before he told me it was that temperamental brother of yours. No one takes what belongs to me. Subaru is mine and mine alone.”

“Seishirou-san!” Subaru gasped, blushing again.

Seishirou chuckled at the vampire’s flustered countenance and stated, “You’ll find this feather does not provide shields. However, it does allow me to manifest any imaginary world into the real one.” (3)

A small frown line appeared between Subaru’s eyebrows indicating his puzzlement.

“It’s quite simple,” Seishirou explained. “You take some technological or inanimate object like this—”

Here the treasure hunter deftly plucked a mini snow globe keychain (portraying a scene at the beach) from the cell phone of some woman who was tearfully leaving a message of farewell to her two cats, Binky and Mr. Num-Nums, and held it up in example.

“Then you tap it with the feather like so,” Seishirou said demonstrating, “And viola! Instant Imaginary World In Real Life at your disposal!”

“Um, Seishirou-san,” Subaru spoke up a bit hesitantly.

“Yes, Subaru-kun?” Seishirou inquired, puffing out his chest proudly at displaying his finesse in front of his beloved.

“Do these Imaginary Worlds In Real Life obey the laws of nature?”

“I assume they do. Why?”

“Well, because according to the laws of physics,” Subaru said, looking very perturbed, “if you just created an entire oceanic world, then this elevator is going to—”

“FLOOD! OH DEAR LORD, THE ELEVATOR IS FLOODING! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!”

“SOMEONE TELL ME I’M ON CANDID CAMERA PLEASE!!!”

Seishirou was rudely jolted out of his euphoria by the hysterical shouts of the rest of the elevator’s occupants and turned his attention to the air vents which were pouring water into the lift at an alarming rate. The man looked down at the floor in which the water was already ankle deep and arched an eyebrow incredulously. Well that was completely out of character for him. How could he, who possessed such keen wits, not have thought the situation out wholly beforehand and foreseen the consequences?

He blamed Subaru. He had always been undone just being in the proximity of the vampire. Whenever he was around Subaru, he seemed to lose grasp of his senses. Sentimentalists would call it love. Seishirou didn’t bother to put a label on it, he simply reveled in the feeling whenever it decided to fall upon him. Clearly though, he was going to have to reevaluate the issue. This “love is blind” thing might be true.

“WHAT THE FRIG? IT’S SNOWING NOW TOO? I’M GOING TO BE BOTH DROWNED AND FROZEN AT THE SAME TIME?!”

Seishirou and Subaru gazed in amazement as large snow flurries floated down from out of the air in a healthy sheet to settle in the rising water among the people.

From out of nowhere a red and white beach ball bounced off a man’s head, taking his toupee with it.

Several seagulls flew around the small entrapped space crying viscously, one woman screamed as she was knocked off her feet by a giant sea turtle, and two other people did a mad dance to shake off the crabs clinging to their clothes.

“Hmm,” Seishirou mused, cupping his chin between his forefinger and thumb, “Perhaps it wasn’t such a bright idea creating an oceanic world in an elevator, particularly from a snow globe.”

“Seishirou-san!” Subaru yelled as the shock wore off. “Quick, change it back!”

Already the water had risen to knee-height and it showed no sign of stopping.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” Seishirou admitted.

“What? Why not?!” Subaru cried, treading the water as anxiety hit.

“This feather only allows me to make realities, not UN-make them,” Seishirou stated matter-of-factly. “I suppose it could work either way, but I’ve never tried unmaking a reality. Even if I figured out how, it’d probably be too late for us.”

“Seishirou-san!” Subaru shouted exasperatedly. “You have to do something!”

“Right!” Seishirou declared, smacking his fist into the palm of his hand, his glasses glinting dangerously. “Subaru…you’re a mermaid!”

“W-W-WHAT?!” Subaru shrieked in disbelief just before an odd tingling sensation seized him and he fell backwards into the water with a resounding splash.

Sputtering wildly, he resurfaced only to realize the lower half of him had…

“FINS?!” Subaru squeaked, absolutely mortified at his green fish tail.

“Green suits you, Subaru-kun,” Seishirou said beaming with a nod at his masterpiece. “It matches your lovely eyes.”

“How is this helping the situation?!” Subaru demanded with pink-tinged cheeks, as he flailed about in the water.

“Well, I doubt I shall find a way to unmake this world in time, so I thought I would transform my Subaru-kun into something equally cute to survive this mishap. Mermaids can breathe underwater,” Seishirou explained jovially.

“This is not the solution I had in mind!” Subaru yelled in dismay.

“Don’t worry about a thing, Subaru-kun! We two shall be happy fishies swimming in the blue until I discover the method of rescue!” Seishirou said in a sing-song voice not seeming disturbed at all that he was now chest-deep in the water. “Besides, Subaru-kun looks far more pretty than the mermaid in the snow globe!”

Subaru decided he really hated snow globes…possibly more than elevators.

oOoOoOo

Kamui ended his mad dash into the building where he could feel Subaru’s presence; however he was baffled at the link’s indications. It appeared to be telling him that Subaru was stuck in between the levels of the top-most floors…

“YOU!” he shouted, running up to the main floor’s receptionist behind the information desk. “Where are your elevators?!”

“Around to the left, but it won’t do you any good,” the receptionist replied. “We’ve closed the area down for maintenance problems. One of our elevators seems to be stuck. The fire brigade is here trying to bring it down manually.”

Kamui’s eyes widened at her words and he spun around quickly, racing for the entrance to the stairs. He had only made it up a couple of flights before Fuuma was suddenly in front of him, blocking his way.

“Come on, don’t be such a spoilsport. Let my onii-chan and yours have their fun,” the young treasure hunter said.

“Your brother’s idea of ‘fun’ is perverted!” Kamui yelled, leaping forward and extending his claws in an echo of their earlier fight.

This time Fuuma didn’t bother to deflect the attack; instead he lunged towards the vampire, grabbing him by the wrists, and pinning him to the wall behind with his hands above his head.

“You know what I think?” he murmured, pressing his forehead against the younger man’s. “I think it was awfully unfair of you to drag your brother across multiple worlds without ever consulting him on whether that was his true wish or not.”

Kamui’s breath hitched at the unexpected closeness, all too aware of the tempting sight of Fuuma’s pale muscular neck in front of him and the steady throbbing of the jugular vein which seemed as deafeningly loud as a bass drum in his ears.

“Do you want another taste?” Fuuma’s voice drifted down huskily as he pressed himself closer offering…

Kamui tilted his head upwards, locking his violet eyes into Fuuma’s own amber ones and parted his lips invitingly…seconds later they were being devoured in a hungry, passionate kiss.

Fuuma plundered the warm, moist cavern of the vampire’s mouth enthusiastically, running his tongue lightly over the two sharp canines, so focused on claiming the object of his desire…he failed to notice the corners of the other’s mouth turn upward ever so slightly in a smirk as he unconsciously relaxed his firm grip on his captive’s wrists.

The treasure hunter was thrown backwards, hitting the stairway railing harshly as Kamui first caught him off-guard with a knee to the stomach, then scored a flying kick to his gut.

“You’re such a gullible fool,” Kamui sneered impassively before sprinting up the stairs at an inhuman speed.

oOoOoOo

“You know if it weren’t for the fact that we’re all about to die in a matter of minutes, I’d say this has been a truly wondrous and eye-opening experience that only comes once in a lifetime.”

“Oh, I agree, I mean how often do you get to see an elevator which has its own Sea World theme?”

“I come from down south. I hardly ever see snow except on TV and movies.”

“And I’ve been meaning to take a vacation to the beach for years now, but never got around to it, so in a way, all this completes my dying wish.”

Inside the elevator the water had almost filled completely up, except for a few feet at the top where everyone was swimming, keeping their heads above the water, and surprisingly the mass panic had died down and people were being very nonchalant about the whole drowning issue.

It was freaking Subaru out.

“Seishirou-san!” he wailed, splashing his fish tail subconsciously in great distress.

“Hush, now, my cute little mermaid,” Seishirou said, waving him aside, as he puzzled over Sakura’s feather further. “I think I almost got it figured out…”

Then suddenly there was a humongous thump from above their heads and the top of the elevator was ripped open by a pair of elongated wicked-sharp claws.

“ONII-CHAN!!!” screamed Kamui casting his slit yellowed eyes wildly about.

“AAAAAAAAAH!!! IT’S FREDDY KRUEGER!!!”

“NO, HE ISN’T THAT UGLY! IT’S EDWARD SCISSORHANDS!!!”

Kamui’s gaze finally came to land upon Subaru…and his mer-parts.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER, YOU TWISTED SON OF A-!”

“YES!” Seishirou exclaimed triumphantly clutching the feather, cutting him off effectively. “I’VE DONE IT! REVERSE!”

There was a boisterous outbreak of shrill terrified screams as the water in the elevator abruptly receded, turning into a mini whirlpool which the occupants were caught up in and dragged along.

“Seishirou-saaaaaaan!” Subaru cried, flinging one hand towards him as the water ripped and spun him away crazily.

“Subaru-kun!” Seishirou shouted, flinging himself after him.

“Onii-chan!” Kamui yelled diving into the tremulous water headfirst without a second thought.

oOoOoOo

To say that the fire officials and maintenance crew were startled when they at last managed to lower the elevator to the nearest floor and open the doors was an understatement. Completely baffled and dumbfounded would be the more correct terms to use when the trapped group of people stumbled out of their make-shift prison drenched to the skin, sopping wet, with strands of seaweed stuck in their hair and sand scattered on the floor of the elevator and wedged in places people refused to talk about.

“THAT was the BEST freaking ride I’ve ever been on!” gushed one man excitedly.

“I know! They made the special effects seem so real!” raved another.

“Dude, that whirlpool was my favorite part!”

“No way! Mine was when they had it look like that guy pulled back the elevator’s roof all by himself! Excellent makeup job with his hands!”

“And that mermaid they threw in was awesome too! Though someone should tell the creators she would look better with longer hair and maybe a clam-shell bra next time. That jacket she was wearing didn’t do her figure justice.”

“Is everyone all right here?” asked the Fire Marshal, concerned.

“We’re fine, just a little soggy,” one woman spoke up, grinning ear to ear. “I just can’t believe we were so lucky to be chosen as the beta-testers of Sea World’s newest attraction! And I think the idea of hiding it in an ordinary business building like this so it will be a surprise to the public in its opening debut is brilliant!”

One fireman looked to the other and made a circling motion around his head with his finger.

“Maybe a water fountain exploded,” the other said shrugging

oOoOoOo

“Do you honestly believe that crap load of lies you fed everyone will cover up the truth of what you did, you sadistic piece of—”

“Now, now, Kamui-chan, let’s not use foul language in front of Subaru-kun. It would damage his delicate ears. After all, remember, he’s much more innocent than you.”

“THAT DOES IT! I’M GONNA RIP OUT YOUR TONGUE, GOUGE OUT YOUR EYEBALLS, STUFF THEM UP YOUR NOSTRILS, RIP OUT YOUR INTESTINES AND SCATTER THEM ACROSS EVERY UNIVERSE IN EXISTENCE!!!”

“K-Kamui, Seishirou-san didn’t do anything to me, I swear!”

“YOU CALL BEING TURNED INTO A MERMAID BY SOME PYSCHO-MANIAC STALKER FOR HIS OWN SICK AMUSEMENT NOT DOING ANYTHING TO YOU?!”

“Kamui, Seishirou-san isn’t a stalker!”

“HE’S A STALKER AND A PERVERT AND ALL HE WANTS IS TO GET INTO YOUR PANTS, WHICH SHOULDN’T BE TOO HARD AS HE CONVENIENTLY FORGOT TO GIVE YOU YOUR PANTS BACK AFTER TAKING AWAY YOUR FISH PARTS!”

Subaru turned a shocking shade of red and clutched Seishirou’s long trench-coat closer around his body, which the man had taken off and placed on his shoulders to cover his lower half and bare legs.

“Ah, Kamui-chan, don’t be blaming this unfortunate circumstance on me by claiming it was something I purposefully did. That was one of the few minor glitches leftover in using Sakura’s feather in a reverse manner. But I must confess, Subaru-kun, I never thought you would be one to wear such skimpy underwear,” Seishirou stated, lightly slapping Subaru’s left bottom cheek through his coat, causing Subaru to let out a high-pitched squeak of surprise.

“I don’t really mind, though. It makes it easier to remove, yes?” Seishirou said, smiling like a cat that just swallowed the canary at Kamui’s indignant expression.

“I’M GONNA KILL YOU, SICK BASTARD!!!” Kamui screamed in outrage, throwing himself at the treasure hunter, fangs bared and claws outstretched…

Only to be yanked backwards roughly into a firm chest, where a pair of broad arms enveloped him.

“Ah, there you are, Fuuma-bouyo, I wondered where you had gotten to,” Seishirou said, nodding pleasantly at his brother.

Kamui gazed upwards to see a pair of glimmering amber eyes staring back down at him in an unreadable countenance.

“Kamui-chan’s been a very, very bad boy,” Fuuma whispered into his ear in a velvety soft voice. “He deserves to be punished.”

Kamui shivered at the implications behind the words and wondered why he was looking forward to it.

“Well, then, I’ll just leave you two to catch up then!” Seishirou said, waving at the pair. “Come, Subaru-kun.”

Subaru yelped as he was suddenly swept off his feet into Seishirou’s arms and carried bridal-style down the street.

“S-S-Seishirou-san! P-Put me down! People will see!” he stammered embarrassedly, but made no move himself to exit the warm limbs which held him lovingly.

“Let them see then. The chase has ended at last and now that I found you again, I will never let you go.”

“Seishirou-san…” Subaru said, his cheeks flushing pink in rosy rhapsody.

“KEEP YOUR FILTHY HANDS OFF MY ONII-CHAN, YOU PERVERT!!!” Kamui howled, kicking and struggling wildly in Fuuma’s embrace.

“Come on, Kamui, let’s give them a day’s head start wherever they’re going. We’ll catch up to them soon. After all, my onii-chan is an old geezer compared to me. In the meantime…let me prepare you dinner,” Fuuma said, bending his head low and baring his neck.

Kamui’s attentiveness on his brother and that man together waned after that because he suddenly came to the realization that he was alone with Fuuma in a deserted alleyway that provided countless possibilities, and he was unnaturally hungry…

oOoOoOo

“You want to choose the next world or should I?” Seishirou asked as they continued walking, nestling the vampire’s head against his chest.

Subaru smiled up at him, a shy timid but nonetheless glorious smile and said, “It doesn’t matter as long as Seishirou-san is there with me.”

Seishirou felt a warm glow light inside his chest as his stomach did wild flip flops that had absolutely nothing to do with that great doe-eyed look Subaru was giving him. No, of course not! Expert treasure hunters such as himself were not sappy in the least—it had to be those eggs he had for breakfast. Fuuma was a terrible cook after all.

It suddenly came to his attention that he was striding off into the sunset with his lover like some fruity hero in those dime-store romance novels and he chuckled at the irony of those books he used to so despise, yet now he knew how incredulously and ridiculously blissful the hero must have felt at finally winning over his love.

“Seishirou-san?”

“Yes, Subaru-kun?”

“I’m so happy we’re getting married!”

KER-THUMP!

“Seishirou-san! Seishirou-san! Seishirou-san, are you alright?!”

Seishirou had fainted.

THE END

A/N: I’d like to thank everyone who read this fic. It took me some time writing this. I’m more knowledgeable of Tokyo Babylon and X/1999’s universe, not Tsubasa’s. Truth be told, I’ve only watched a couple of eps and seen the Acid Tokyo OVAs. Luckily my beta reader is a Tsubasa-holic and filled in all the blanks for me that I needed. Love you, Leeayre, you’re the best! X3

1) Yes, this is what you’re thinking: they came from the Loveless world which is owned by Yun Kouga (not me)! XD

2) I hope everyone realizes this is Syaoran from Card Captor Sakura here, not Tsubasa’s. I always saw him as a bit of brat, so I was surprised that Tsubasa’s version of him had him so mellowed out. And yes, I know about the whole clone thing. What, there can't be more versions of Syaoran across the infinite worlds?

3) I have no idea if Sakura’s feather really works that way. I’m used to Seishirou of X who creates illusions, but my beta insisted he made imaginary in reality into Tsubasa so I bowed to her wise intellect. (Besides it was fun torturing the rest of the elevator’s people. Muwahahaha!)

I would really love it if everyone shared their favorite parts: what made them laugh, fall off their chair, etc. I hope I got the Tsubasa versions of Seishirou, Subaru, Fuuma and Kamui semi in-character, (although I think I based my Subaru and Seishirou's personalities off of their Tokyo Babylon counterparts). Thank you so much for reading and I hope it brought a smile to your face and made your day!

A Con To Remember (CRACK fic)

2008-10-03T18:03:43Z

Title: A Con To Remember
Author: Schnickledooger
Genre: Humor
Rating: T
Character: Yuuri, Wolfram, Gunter, Gwendal, Murata, Jennifer Shibuya

Disclaimer: I do not own Kyou Kara Maou. Tomo Takabayashi does.

A Con To Remember

Yuuri wished he had gone with Shori to his daily training lessons of becoming the Earth’s next Demon King with Bob like he had thought about earlier.

Somehow he just knew that going to Tokyo’s anime convention was a very bad idea. Besides, anytime Murata got that eerie dangerous glint in his glasses where you couldn’t see his eyes was a very bad sign.

Yuuri had put his foot down and tried to assert his authority as Maou on the issue, but his mother wouldn’t hear of him not going.

“That’s not fair, Yuu-chan!” Jennifer Shibuya had insisted. “An anime convention is the perfect example to demonstrate Japan’s aesthetic culture and society to your friends! It will show them the true nature of this country’s people!”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of!” Yuuri had tried to explain.

“Shush, Yuu-chan, Mama knows best!” Jennifer had interrupted. “You and your friends can go with Dr. Rodriguez tomorrow. He’s going there anyway to stock up on his anime collection, which reminds me, would you be so kind as to get your mama these manga volumes?”

Yuuri stared at the list his mother had pushed into his hands and flushed beet red.

“MOM!” he yelped, dropping the list as if he had been burned. “I’M NOT PICKING UP YAOI MANGA FOR YOU ESPECIALLY AT AN ANIME CONVENTION! I’LL GIVE THEM THE WRONG IMPRESSION! BESIDES, YOU ALREADY OWN THOSE BOOKS!”

“What wrong impression, Yuu-chan? I thought it wouldn’t matter now that you and Wol-chan are engaged!” Jennifer chirped merrily, her cheeks turning pink with pleasure. “And I thought I would give my whole yaoi collection to Wol-chan as a wedding present, so of course I need to restock!”

“WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!” Yuuri had screamed horrified at the very idea of Wolfram pouring over yaoi volumes with their soap opera-ish plots.

He could just imagine it: Wolfram on their bed back in the Great Demon Kingdom, flipping through Okane ga Nai and Junjou Romantica, then glaring at him with those shining emerald orbs and saying, “Oh, so ‘things are different on Earth’ are they?! I can’t be engaged to you because we’re both guys?! YOU LYING WIMP!!!”

“YOU ARE NOT GIVING WOLFRAM YOUR YAOI COLLECTION, MOM!!!” Yuuri had howled, flailing his arms panicked.

“Oh please, pretty, pretty pleeeeease!” his mother begged, putting forth her very best puppy dog face. “I want to introduce him to Yamei no Matsuei soooo bad! Ne, ne, don’t you think Wol-chan is the spitting image of Hisoka?”

“W-W-What?” Yuuri had squeaked, telling the little voice in his mind which was readily agreeing to shut up.

After all, it’s not like he, himself actually knew what those manga were about because he had read them, no, his mother just had a habit of enthusiastically sharing the plots of them to her family whether they liked it or not. Jennifer had no qualms of shoving pictures from the manga in their faces either. Yuuri often found himself wishing he could gouge his eyes out with a spork.

“And your godfather-he sorta looks like Tsuzuki! Do you think I could get them to cosplay that pairing at the con?” Jennifer squealed happily.

“CONRAD AND WOLFRAM ARE BROTHERS!” Yuuri had yelled, feeling frustrated and annoyed. “AND NO ONE IS COSPLAYING, OKAY?!

It had been a very close call. The only way he could get his mother to agree not to give Wolfram her yaoi collection was for him to take everyone to the blasted anime convention, and even then, she hadn’t dropped the subject of cosplay lightly. She had only relented, when Yuuri had pointed out that they wouldn’t properly be able to see all the convention had to offer with a screaming horde of fangirls around them.

In hindsight, he should have realized that with the mazoku’s exotic features, fangirls were inevitable anyway.

oOoOoOo

In the end, Dr. Rodriguez was too busy buying out his favorite manga and anime merchandise to make an outfit, so Murata was the only cosplayer in the group as Sasuke from Naruto.

Murata had done a very good job of spiking his hair the wear the character wore it and had forgone his usual glasses with red contacts resembling the Sharingan eyes. With his ninja headband and garb, he was the first victim to fall prey to the fangirls’ advances.

“LIKE, OMIGAWD, IT’S SASUKE-SAMA!!! KYAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” was the first exhilarated shriek which brought the fangirls flocking over where they surrounded Murata in droves pawing his body excitedly.

Murata didn’t seem to mind the harassment at all. The victorious smirk he gave Yuuri as the fangirls dragged him off to meet an Itachi cosplayer in hopes of snapping some juicy Itasuke pics proved that he had probably picked Sasuke to cosplay, not because he liked the character, but because he would get so many female admirers.

Yuuri mentally kicked himself for refusing the Lelouch cosplay his mother had suggested for him. The only satisfaction he got was the fact that Murata’s smirk didn’t look half as intimidating without his glasses glinting.

“Your Highness, I’m not quite sure I understand what this ‘anime convention’ is,” Gunter voiced his concern aloud, fearfully casting glances at the multitude of young females wandering around in assorted odd-looking outfits that even Lady Celi wouldn’t be able to imagine in her wildest dreams. “Is this some test of courage for your advisors to partake of? We must journey through these packs of ravenous she-wolves and escape unscathed to prove our strength and endurance?”

“Uh…no,” Yuuri said, feeling beads of sweat break out across his forehead. “An anime convention is where…um, you go and uh buy…anime stuff…and…dress up as anime characters if you want. And um, you can talk about anime with people you’ve never met…you know, it’s all…anime…stuff…”

How the heck do you explain what an anime convention was to people who didn’t know what anime was?

“It’s sort of like the black market of Demon King merchandise back home isn’t it?” Wolfram asked as he shrewdly assessed the various trinkets and goods which were displayed and being sold in booths all over the con.

“Yeah, but only, these items are licensed,” Yuuri stated, relieved that someone had provided a good explanation. “You can buy things from your favorite shows, like action figures and such.”

“You mean the people of this world manufacture miniatures of everyone?” Gunter gasped, looking extremely intrigued. “I must take this idea back home! I am certain every citizen would love their own personal Maou!”

“Ehe,” Yuuri could only laugh weakly, worried at the eager expression on his advisor’s (and his fiancé’s) face.

The first half hour or so at the con hadn’t been that bad. It had been rather nice truthfully. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. Gwendal had stopped by every stand of tiny cute plushies and had stared them with a countenance of such adoring rapture, that Yuuri took pity on the man and bought him three. An anime con was the only place that a man of Gwendal’s build and stature could walk around like normal with a bundle of stuffed animals under his arm. Conrad had enjoyed the different swords and weapons each anime seemed to have and Wolfram took great delight in the Japanese confectionaries, especially strawberry pocky. And Gunter…

It was Gunter who unwittingly started the whole mess.

“Oh look, Your Highness, this little masked man looks just like you except with a hat and cape!” Gunter exclaimed excitedly, holding up a tiny figurine of Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon.

Yuuri foresaw the disaster to come immediately, but it was too late to save his loyal advisor from a fate worse than death by then.

The Sailor Moon display happened to be right next to a Final Fantasy 7 stand.

“OMIGAWD, IT’S SEPHIROTH!!!” came the deranged passionate scream of a FF7 fangirl, pointing a finger at Gunter with wild gleam in her eye.

Gunter let out a wail of fear and despair as he found himself a defenseless target against a horde of voracious fangirls and their devious intentions as they flung themselves at him.

“OMIGAWD, HIS HAIR IS REAL!!!” a fangirl dressed in a high school sailor uniform screeched in mad glee as she yanked on it enthusiastically.

“SEPHIROTH, KILL ME LIKE YOU DID IN THE GAME! SLAY ME WITH YOUR GIANT SWORD!!!” crowed an Aerith cosplayer with a sly yet eager expression on her flushed cheeks.

“SEPHIROTH, I LOVE YOU!!!” screamed a fangirl in a gothic lolita attire as she glomped and jumped on him, entwining her body around his. “I WANNA MARRY YOU AND HAVE YOUR BABIES!!!”

“HEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!” Gunter cried in horror, trying in vain to disentangle himself from the fangirl’s grasping holds.

Gwendal, who was from the Great Demon Kingdom and knew from first-hand experience how utterly life-threatening females could be, attempted to help.

Yuuri realized that also was a very bad idea too late.

“Enough now. Young ladies such as yourselves should not throw themselves at a man in such a wanton fashion,” Gwendal stated, as he forcefully pulled the nearest fangirl’s arm off a terrified Gunter.

The fangirl’s eyes grew as wide as saucers as she saw who was addressing her and let out an unearthly shriek of happiness, “IT’S VINCENT VALENTINE! OMIGAWD, HE’S TOUCHING ME! HE’S TOUCHING MEEEEEEE! KYAAAAAAA!!!”

“VINCENT!!!” screamed the fangirls’ in a shrill unified voice, swarming towards poor frozen Gwendal and tugging at him on all sides.

“VINCENT, YOU CAME TO SAVE SEPHIROTH! I ALWAYS KNEW YOU LOVED EACH OTHER!!! KISS HIM! KISS HIM!!!” ordered a Sailor Moon cosplayer with a determined stare.

“NO, NO! KISS ME, KISS ME!!!” demanded a fangirl cosplaying a shrine maiden, pressing her ample bosom against Gwendal’s chest.

Gwendal’s left eye twitching was the only response his adoring audience received before the mazoku barreled forward, grabbed Gunter by the wrist, then bolted from the vicinity, knocking fangirls out of the way left and right.

“VINCENT IS ELOPING WITH SEPHIROTH!!!” shrieked a Renge cosplayer, her eyes twinkling like Christmas tree lights. “MOEEEEEE!!!”

“AFTER THEM! WITH THEIR PICTURES, THEY WILL CAUSE MY UNPOPULAR FACEBOOK PROFILE TO IMPLODE WITH HITS!!!” cried a rather scary-looking Nina from Code Geass.

Yuuri watched the mass of fangirls streak down the anime convention’s stands in hot pursuit of the two unfortunate mazoku and briefly pondered on sneaking away from the convention, however he was sure Wolfram would notice and that would only prove he really was wimp as the blond often proclaimed.

“Should we help them, Your Majesty?” Conrad asked , waiting on Yuuri’s decision.

“No, that wouldn’t do any good. Let’s just hope they’ll escape from the fangirls with their clothes intact,” Yuuri said, looking around Murata who had conveniently disappeared with the Naruto fangirls, and Dr. Rodriguez was nowhere to be found either.

Deserters, thought Yuuri sulkily. He bet they both had known what would happen if he took everyone to the con. Even without costumes, the mazoku were mistaken for characters they were only not cosplaying, but that they had no idea who they were.

“OMIGAWD!!!” came a familiar now despised shout from directly behind Yuuri.

Yuuri cringed, turning around slowly and wondering who would be the next prey to feed the fangirls’ secret lusts.

“YOU’RE COSPLAYING AS SUBARU AND SEISHIROU, AREN’T YOU?!” yelled a Tokyo Babylon fangirl in a very good (and exotic) Hokuto outfit.

“What?” Yuuri said stupidly, dimly realizing that she meant him and Conrad.

“KYAAAAA!!! OMIGAWD, THAT’S PERFECT!!! YOU DO SUBARU’S CLUELESS NAÏVE EXPRESSION SO WELL!!!” the Hokuto cosplayer shrieked, clasping her hands together in rapture.

“Now wait just a minute!” Yuuri started irritated at the implication of him being clueless or naïve, and positively sick of fangirls in general, but the Hokuto cosplayer interrupted him.

“I FOUND SEISHIROU AND SUBARU!!! AND THEY ARE SO IN CHARACTER! MWEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

Yuuri gaped in trepidation as he and Conrad were surrounded and swamped by a crowd of squealing Tokyo Babylon and X/1999 fangirls, practically nose-bleeding at the sight of him and his godfather.

“OMIGAWD, IT REALLY IS THEM!!!” bayed a Kanoe cosplayer who looked like a darker, more sinister version of Lady Celi. “I DEMAND YOU TWO KISS AND MAKE OUT LIKE YOU SHOULD HAVE IN THE SHOW AND MANGA!!!”

“WHAAAAT?!” Yuuri yelped in disbelief and instinctively whirling around to defend himself from Wolfram whom he knew was either going to murder him or the fangirls or possibly both, but when he looked, the blond was nowhere to be seen.

Yuuri didn’t have too long to figure out what had happened to him though. He was too busy attempting to ward off the fangirls’ advances which at the moment were focused on pushing him and Conrad together into a close embrace.

“OMIGAWD, SEISHIROU, SMILE FOR ME! SHOW ME YOUR TRADEMARK SAKURAZUKAMORI SMILE OF FALSE KINDNESS!!!” screamed a Yuzuhira cosplayer who was throttling a stuffed Inuki plushie with her hands in her enthrallment.

“I’m sorry, I am not the person you think I am,” Conrad said, smiling apologetically.

The fangirls almost killed themselves to death with SQUEEing fits.

“KYAAAAAAAAA!!! OMIGAWD, YOU ARE LIKE THE BEST SEISHIROU COSPLAYER EVER!!!”

“THAT SMILE WAS FULL OF WIN!!”

“I HAVE IT ON CAMERA!!!”

“KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS! KISS!!” a fangirl struck up a chant in a very uncharacteristic way of her cosplay of Arashi.

“Your Highness, I believe this ‘anime convention’ to be an unexpected hazard to your safety,” Conrad said, placing a protective arm across Yuuri’s shoulder and causing the fangirls to scream hysterically in delight at the sight. “I suggest we locate the others and flee.”

By that point, Yuuri was ready to ditch everyone and save his own hide, however, a sudden commotion to his right caught his attention and he learned of the fate which had befallen Wolfram.

“TAMAKI-SENPAIIII, DON’T GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” screamed a congregation of Ouran Host schoolgirl cosplayers as they maintained their deathgrip on Wolf’s jacket which Yuuri noted was light blue and suspiciously remembering his mother insisting the blond wear that day.

“HE’S NOT TAMAKI YOU IDIOTS!!! HE’S QUATRE-KUN!!!” shrieked an array of Gundam Wing fangirls in pilot attire as they played tug-of-war with Wolfram’s limbs with the other group.

“TAMAKI-SENPAI!!!”

“QUATRE-KUN!!!”

“TAMAKI!!!”

“QUATRE!!”

“TAMAKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!”

“QUATREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

“SHADDUP, YOU MECHA BIATCHES!!!”

“BRING IT, YOU AIR-HEADED SHOUJO SISSIES!!!”

Wolfram was unceremoniously tossed to one side as both fangirl factions gave a bloodcurdling warcry and leapt at their rival guild, immediately following the biggest, dirtiest cat-fight ever held at any anime convention.

“Are you alright, Wolfram?” Conrad asked concerned, helping his brother up.

Wolfram staggered upright when he stood, his hair a mussed and tangled wreck, the front of his shirt torn and held a scratched hand up to feel his lips which were bruised and puffy as if he had been kissed forcibly.

Yuuri found himself irritated for some reason.

But that soon turned into shock when Wolfram non-too graciously slugged him.

“OW, HEY WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!” Yuuri cried, clutching his cheek, relieved that it had been a punch and not a slap.

“YOU CHEATING WIMP! I BET YOU HAVE EARTH GIRLS CRAWLING ALL OVER YOU LIKE THIS EVERY TIME YOU GO TO THIS WORLD!!! I WON’T HAVE IT! NOT WHEN YOU’RE ENGAGED TO ME!!!”

“NOT SO LOUD!!!” Yuuri hissed frantically, but it was too late…again.

“OMIGAWD!!!”

“YOU TWO ARE ENGAGED?! FOR REAL?!”

“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

They had temporarily forgotten the Tokyo Babylon and X/1999 fangirls.

“WHICH ONE OF YOU IS THE UKE?!”

“WELL, DUH, IT’S GOTTA BE SUBARU! THE BLOND IS MUCH TOO AGRESSIVE TO BE THE UKE!”

“IS IT TRUE, BLOND-KUN? ARE YOU THE SEME?!”

“NO, WOLFRAM IS NOT THE SEME! HE CAN’T BE THE SEME! HE WEARS FRILLY PINK NIGHTGOWNS TO BED, FOR SHINOU’S SAKE!!!” Yuuri exploded, extremely insulted that he had been automatically labeled as “uke material” without a second thought, then realized he had just dug his own grave.

“OMIGAWD, FOR REAL?!” the fangirls shrieked, now a much larger crowd as the CLAMP cosplayers had been joined by others of different sect.

“YUURI, HOW DARE YOU REVEAL DETAILS OF OUR LOVE LIFE IN PUBLIC LIKE THIS?!” Wolfram raged, a furious tomato red, and if they had been back in the Great Demon King, Yuuri was sure he’d be getting burned to a crisp by now.

“WE DON’T HAVE A LOVE LIFE!!!” Yuuri yelled, reverently hoping Conrad wouldn’t get the wrong idea. That’s all he needed was for his godfather to think he had taken advantage of his little brother and tell Gwendal, who would proceed to hang him out the castle window by his thumbs.

“THEY’RE SAVING IT FOR THEIR WEDDING DAY!!!” screamed a Kingdom Hearts fangirl.

“HOW ROMANTIC!!!” shrilled the Hokuto cosplayer.

Yes, going to the anime convention had been a very bad idea. When he got back home, he was going to find Murata’s glasses and smash them to smithereens so the Sage couldn’t do his smirking evil glint with them for awhile.

Omigawd.

THE END

A/N: WAHAHAHAHA! How’d you like that CRACK folks? Delicious, ne? When my muse imagines a scenario like that, I can’t just push it aside. It was simply irresistible. Do tell me the parts where you fell out of chair or died laughing. It will give me great joy. And I’m moving this weekend, so I can’t respond to any comments until Monday, and I hope they’ll be a lot of them. Oh, and I've never been to anime convention, but I can only imagine. Omigawd.

*EDIT* Apparently you guys loved this CRACK so much it spawned fanart! Check it out by the lovely azure_knight94 HERE

It's Tradition (Birthday Present Fic)

2008-09-24T17:42:46Z

Title: It's Tradition
Author: mugen_edamame
Rating: All Audiences
Characters: Wolfram, Yuuri, Conrad, Gwendal
Summary: Yuuri, his fiance and his advisors discuss the random gifts fans of both a feminine and masculine nature have sent them.

It was a traditional game.

At the end of every month, they'd gather in a small dark room, and discuss the random gifts fans of both a feminine and masculine nature had sent them. Perhaps not so much discuss as... boast.

This time, Yuuri joined in.

"I have received a dagger made from the ivory of a flying hippo, engraved with golden birds. My name is etched on the blade in sapphires, and it is sharp enough to slice time. A curse has also been laid, so that none but me may wield it".

Gwendal wasn't one to show off, but sometimes he suspected he was a lot more awesome than the rest of the planet.

"I have been gifted a garden in the land of Meshwick, and the scent from the flowers is so sweet and strong that all the nearby inhabitants are scented with its perfume. The beauty of the sight is said to be the inspiration for Nicolai Hauer's epic tale, Frailty in The Bloom of A Flower", Conrad smiled politely.

Oh, he wasn't being annoying. He was being honest. Besides, both brothers had known Conrad would get the best gift. They had brought this onto themselves.

Wolfram acknowledged Gwendal's and Conrad's spectacular gifts, then went in for the win.

"I have been offered the king of Marden's hand in marriage, and will thereby ascend the throne. The wealth of gold, precious stones and fine silk of Marden is unparalleled, and it would ALL be MINE. Also, he has said that in case I don't fancy just being tied down to one man, he is fully prepared to legalize polygamy for me" .

Conrad and Gwendal twitched. When Wolfram got gifts, he REALLY got gifts.

"Yuuri, how about you?" Three pairs of eyes faced the boy, who know was annoyed at himself for asking to join.

"Umm... Well... Since I managed the full score for my mathematics exam... and my old watch stopped working... My mother bought me a new digital watch".

He showed off the sleek black band on his hand, wishing rubies would suddenly pop out of it.

"Since it can save multiple time-zones, I have Earth's time, the time here and the time in London... That last one was preset, I think. Heh... and... there's a button for... light".

Yuuri waited for the mortification to set in.

Instead, Gwendal made a face, Conrad smiled impressed, and Wolfram started screaming at him.

"Oh, bring in Earth gadgets, would you? You horrible show-offing wimp! How are we supposed to match that?!"

Yuuri really, really wished he hadn't asked to join.

THE END

Know this, I did NOT write this fic! It was a B-Day present from LJ User mugen_edamame which I enjoyed very much! I asked her to post this wonderful hilarious drabble on the KKM LJ comms but she said it was mine, so I asked her if I could post it crediting her and she agreed. YOU ROCK, mugen! X3333333

Two drawings (Slight bit of CRACK thrown in)

2008-09-24T13:33:13Z

Rating: All Audiences
Characters: Wolfram, Yuuri, Rufus, Shinou

OH NO, QUICK RUN! Schnick is using her FULL OF WIN icon!!! O.O DON'T CATCH THE MADNESS! FLEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Ahahahahahahahahaha...I just adore the pairing Rufushinou! Don't you? Hey, if anyone thinks up a better couple name, please do tell. XD

Hey, what do you guys think of...RUFINOU?! =*w*= (gets shot)

It was my birthday yesterday so I plead insanity, and Wolfram was thrown in because fall is now here! My fav season! HOORAY!

Between Two Worlds Ch. 5 (PT 2)

2008-09-15T15:59:16Z

Title: Bewteen Two Worlds
Author: Schnickledooger (me)
Rating: All Audiences
Characters: Wolfram, Gwendal, Conrart, Celi, Waltorana, Surprise Character, (others)
Genre: Family/General
Setting: Pre-war Great Demon Kingdom
Chapters: 5/?
Summary: Young Wolfram’s world is thrown into chaos when his uncle Waltorana attempts to gain his custody from Celi. It grows more hectic when he is kidnapped on top of that and now the stirrings of war are in the air. Brotherly love, defeating the bad guys, you know, the usual routine^^

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4 (PT 1) (PT 2)

A pair of intense blue eyes observed its targets in silence from the tree above which they were currently passing by. The owner of them had been tracking and watching them closely for awhile now, making sure no sign of him had ever been seen or heard. They were an odd company, traveling through the forest on foot, lightly loaded, and steering clear of clear paths or open spaces. The company consisted of three adults and one child. The blue eyes paid extra special attention to the child…

“Valmira, how long am I going to have to carry this runt?” Hughes grumbled as the group wallowed their way through the dense underbrush and thick woods.

“What’s the matter, Hughes? A big strapping man like you not strong enough to hold up a measly mazoku brat?” Valmira laughed mockingly back at him from her position up ahead.

“It’s.Not.That,” Hughes ground out through his teeth in irritation as Wolfram scored another several swift kicks all along his upper torso, thrown over the man’s broad shoulder as he was. “I’d like to break his legs off! Why can’t we keep him sedated with the houseki stones until we get to Big Cimaron?”

“He’s no good to us dead. You saw what a handful of those stones did to His Lordship back there, and that was a full-grown mazoku. The crystals will sap every bit of life the Prince Brat has before we even make it out of this forest if I do what you suggest, then where will our reward money be? Think with your head not with your bruised muscles, Hughes!” Valmira commented, earning an appreciative laugh from Falconer.

“Well can’t we at least shut him up? He’s going to bring the entire team of nosy noble mazoku combing the forest straight to us with his loud squawking!” Hughes said scowling as Wolfram drew in a deep breath and then released it with a bloodcurdling shriek.

“WHERE’S MY OJIIUE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?! PUT ME DOWN AT ONCE! I WON’T BE TOUCHED BY FILTHY HUMAN HANDS!!!”

Valmira stopped and turned, walking over to where Hughes and his captive were, until she stood nose to nose with a beet-faced Wolfram.

“I’d be wise and stow your tongue, brat, unless you want it ripped out. You have two choices: you can be gagged until you almost choke or I can make you so nauseous you couldn’t even manage to whisper. It depends on whether I feel merciful today.” Valmira offered, brandishing her staff threateningly. “I can use a small amount of the crystals’ powers on you for a short time without endangering your life. So which will it be, brat?”

“YOU’RE AN UGLY OLD WITCH!!!” Wolfram screamed at the woman and then just for good measure, he threw in an insult he had heard his uncle say about the serving girl back at the tavern. “An empty-headed wench who enjoys spreading her legs!!!”

He had no idea what it meant, however it seemed to have scored a solid blow to Valmira’s pride as Hughes and Falconer both sucked in their breath bated and the woman’s face flared up green, red and then purple, before she regained control of her emotions.

“Fine, we’ll do this the hard way Your Royal Bratness,” she said pointed her staff at the child’s head and making it glow only once.

Even through the painful bouts of nausea he was experiencing and the feeling of his throat being squeezed, Wolfram mustered enough energy to boldly throw up all over the front of Valmira’s robes as a final payback and took pleasure in the woman’s enraged disgusted screeches.

From his position in the tree above, Yozak Gurrier chuckled quietly at the kid’s spunk. So this was Conrart’s little brother his friend talked so much about when visiting him. The Wolfram he had heard about had been described somewhat differently. Oh the blond hair and green eyes were correct no doubt, however from the way Conrart had characterized him, Yozak had imagined a perfect angel with adorable ethereal looks and a sweet charming personality that was irresistible. He did recall Conrart remark that Wolfram could be a bit of a handful when he got angry, but seemed to have missed the mark by a few more choice words. From what Yozak was seeing, it looked like his friend’s younger brother was quite the unholy terror.

It had been sheer luck-or fate, depending on what one believed in, that he had stumbled across the fallen mazoku trapped within the houseki crystals’ pentagram. He had been on his way home to the village where half-mazoku could live in peace, returning from one of his travels. He did the odd job every now and then; sometimes information was needed and he had a knack for wheedling it out and acquiring it. People tended to let their guard and loosen their tongues around kids. No one ever suspected he was a spy and he had collected a variety of disguises over the years just in case word carried of a kid that fit his description who was always hanging about when gossip or news was shared. Sometimes he did manual labor as well such as helping build structures or aiding farmers drive their herds across the land. Compared to mining esoteric stones from sunup to sundown, his jobs really weren’t that strenuous, and his village needed all the income it could receive for supplies if it was going to continue its existence.

Yozak knew immediately what the stones in the pentagram surrounding the man were the minute he set eyes on the scene. He recognized their familiar glow, even if he could not feel their draining power, however from the looks of their victim, it appeared the mazoku could and if he stayed within the entrapment long enough, he would eventually die.

Yozak had pondered over why he had been so quick to pick up the houseki crystals and then rush to the inn and bring back help for the man, who was not only mazkou it appeared, but of a high-ranking class, perhaps a noble, one whom it was possible went about slandering half-mazoku and destroying any shred of hope or dignity they may have to join in the Great Demon Kingdom’s society. He was certain if he had been in that situation back in Big Cimaron, with one of his guards from the mines needing aid, he would have left them there to rot. Maybe the Wellers’ ideals and teachings were rubbing off on him. Maybe he had somehow acquired a soft spot for mazoku who at least tolerated half-mazoku instead of outright condemning them for being what they were.

He had stayed long enough at the inn to discover who the fallen noble was: Lord Waltorana von Bielefeld, leader of the Ten Aristocrats, who had been apparently heading back to his land with his nephew who was not among the others recovered from the scene. In fact, the small boy was nowhere to be found.

Yozak had taken his leave them, the wheels in his head turning. Well, he had rescued a mazoku, an extra unpaid bonus for his recent job. He could just simply return to his village now, however he had his suspicions about who the missing nephew was and if his assumption was correct, then Conrart would never forgive him for deserting his little brother when he had been given ample opportunity to locate the abductors, who no doubt thought they would have a few good hours head start before the search party set out.

The kidnappers had been surprisingly more difficult to find than he had given them credit for. They covered their tracks pretty darn well and were especially cautious of obstacles ahead and moving as quietly as possible. It was no wonder they had grown exasperated at the kid’s extreme antics.

Yozak debated whether or not it was worth the risk of a swift surprise attack to grab the kid and run away. He doubted he’d escape if he approached them that way though; not when they were awake then. He was fast, but he wasn’t about to see if he could outrun the one called Falconer’s knives or duck the hulking one, Hughes’ gigantic fists. Even if he couldn’t be harmed by the woman’s, Valmira’s houseki staff, he wouldn’t put it pass her to have a couple of dangerous tricks up her sleeve. Besides, the kid looked like he was made out of strong stuff. He was a bit pale and pasty looking from throwing up, but he still managed to keep a sulky glare on his face aimed at his captors.

Yozak watched them start off again, only dropping out of the safety of his tree when they were a good distance away, and then settling into a low crouch before silently following, making sure to leave signs of his trail behind for others to spot and pursue.

oOoOoOo

Valmira sat herself down on the log and wondered on whether or not abducting the mazoku brat and hauling him halfway across the country’s territory had been such a good decision. Not only had it brought practically the entirety of the Great Demon Kingdom’s forces down upon them but the brat still found ways to get under her skin and put new emphasis on the term “demon”.

“Are we there yet?”

Valmira glared at the small blond who was smirking at her impishly despite his green-ish complexion from being under the houseki crystals’ influence for most of the day. Valmira had relented as everyone had settled down for the night, assuming that the child wouldn’t feel well enough to utter a syllable.

The brat had more pluck than she had realized. Now, instead of screaming and carrying on, it appeared the boy had opted on a new tact to rile his captors’ nerves.

“Are we there yet?” came the annoying question again.

“No,” Valmira bit out, searching through her pack for the dried meat and wishing she could light a fire so she could have some hot stew instead. However that was out of the picture as that would only catch unwanted attention.

“Are we there yet?”

Valmira stopped her rummaging and glowered at the boy.

“Didn’t I just tell you ‘no’?” she snapped out, hearing the irritation in her voice and wishing she hadn’t demonstrated how much the kid was getting to her.

“Where are we going?”

“None of your business.”

“How long will it take to get there?”

“That’s none of your business, either.”

“Are these two men your pimps?”

“Shut up, you damn brat!” Valmira shrieked standing up, her face blazing red with anger and humiliation.

Opposite her, Hughes and Falconer guffawed heartily.

“Haha, I’m really starting to like this kid,” Falconer chuckled patting Wolfram’s head and pulling his hand away quickly before Wolfram had a chance it bite it.

“Think of the money, think of the money,” Valmira chanted to herself as she ran her hands over her face stressed.

“You filthy humans are going to get it,” Wolfram said stoutly, crossing his arms over his chest. “My mother’s going to send out the guard and they’re gonna catch you. Then she’ll have them tie to you all to poles and lash you with her whip until your filthy human blood gushes out into pools of blood. And then my Little Big brother is gonna cut off your fingers and toes one by one with his sword before Gwendal will bury you alive with his Earth element. Then I’ll have him unbury you once you’re dead so my Ojiiue can burn your corpses to ash!”

“You have a vindictive grim little mind for a runt,” Hughes stated, taking a swig from his canteen.

“You’re uncle’s dead, brat,” Valmira said smiling in satisfaction and feeling pleasure as she watched the boy’s eyes grow wide in horror and shock. “I killed him myself and I’ll do the same thing to the rest of your family if they get in my way!”

What happened next, no one expected.

Wolfram leapt at her screaming bloody murder, his face a mask of unbridled fury and hatred, but most surprising were the flames shooting off from his fingertips and flaring up larger than life…

Falconer strode forward swiftly and pinched the same nerve as he had before on the boy’s neck, causing the boy to the fall to the forest floor unconscious, his element dying in the air above him, imprinting bright orange-red colors into the eyes of the trio due to the darkness around them.

oOoOoOo

Yozak watched the scenario below unfold out, gripping an upper tree branch in amazement and bit of awe when he saw the blond attack his captors and actually summon up quite a good amount of his fire element before he succumbed to unconsciousness.

The kid was strong, stronger than he or the captors had realized due to their startled reactions below. To actually find enough energy to use that much maryoku when the houseki crystals had been sapping his power all day…when he grew older, Wolfram would be a very formidable opponent.

“You should have knocked him out like that a good while back, Falconer,” Valmira stated, hoping she didn’t appear as flustered as she felt.

She had been caught completely unawares and hadn’t even thought to use her staff on the brat. Then again, she had assumed she wouldn’t need to as the mazoku had been subjected to its draining influence for a long while. The woman gripped it firmly now, taking comfort in feeling its familiar presence in her hands.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to stop all the fun,” Falconer said, grinning lop-sided, referring to Wolfram’s game of toying with Valmira’s nerves.

“Think anyone heard His Royal Bratness scream?” Valmira asked.

“Well, we sure did,” came a new voice from the trees directly behind the trio.

Valmira whirled about, her staff pointed in front of her aggressively and the stone on top glowing threateningly. Beside her, Hughes and Falconer too up a similar stance with their weapons.

“Who’s there? Show yourself!” the woman demanded.

“Calm down, it’s only me. And you should be grateful for that,” said the voice as its owner stepped out from the shadows and into the crystal’s light.

It was a man with olive green hair pulled back into a ponytail, dressed in forester clothes and a rug sack slung over one shoulder.

“Brackus!” Valmira exclaimed with relief and surprise, recognizing the figure and lowering her staff. “What are you doing out here in the Great Demon Kingdom?”

“I could ask you the same question and more,” Brackus stated, lowering his rug sack to the ground. “Why is half the Demon Army combing these woods, why did you leave an obvious miles long trail behind you and who is the kid with you?”

“What are you talking about? We covered our tracks very well and this kid is none of your concern,” Valmira spoke, motioning to Hughes to pick Wolfram up.

“Not that kid,” Brackus said, his face like stone, “the one who’s eavesdropping above.”

Oh damn! Was all the coherent thought Yozak had time for before a figure unbeknownst to him on his left jumped at him and tackled him out of the tree to the forest floor below.

Before he even had time to blink, Yozak found himself face down in the dirt, his hands tied behind his back and his legs as well with the wind momentarily knocked out of him.

“Good work, Dart,” he heard the man called Brackus say above him and Yozak lifted his head to view the person who had gotten the better of him.

He watched as a slighter man with spiked grayish-brown hair wearing camouflage walked-no, more like slinked-over to where Brackus stood and remained silent.

“What-what-!” Valmira sputtered, pointing at Yozak in alarm.

“You have the Great Demon Army half a day behind you, Valmira,” Brackus explained, eyes narrowed showing his displeasure. “If you had stayed where you are now, you would have them stumble upon you by morning. You may have covered your tracks, but this kid here-” the man nudged Yozak with his boot “-left quite a trail of bread crumbs for them to follow. I don’t know what you did to piss the mazoku off, but if it has something to do with that blond limpet over there, you could have had the decency to deal with your own problem instead of dragging Lord Jass into your mess.”

“What?” Valmira said, her face displaying a mixture of bewilderment, anxiety and frustration. “Jass? What’s he got to do with anything? The last I heard of him, he got cornered and gutted by Svelera’s guard.”

“That’s the story he wanted everyone to think,” Brackus said. “He’s alive and he’s got a profitable business running…and now thanks to you and your blundering, you put it all in jeopardy.”

“I don’t have the faintest idea of what you’re talking about, Brackus. You better explain the facts fast. We don’t have time to share our past wandering stories if the Great Demon Army really is right behind us like you say,” Valmira retorted looking extremely suspicious.

“You won’t make it if you try and outrun them,” Brackus proclaimed, shrugging offhandedly. “It’s a mass force and they’re on horses, a commodity I note that you’re lacking.”

“Told ya we should have kept them beasts of that aristocrat instead of turning them loose,” Hughes grumbled, looking gypped.

“Shut up, lubber-lip,” Valmira hissed, not wanting to reveal any more information than necessary.

“Well, since you have unwittingly lured the Demon Army right to Jass’ front door step, I think it’s only fair you pay him a visit and give him a head’s up about his forthcoming guests,” Brackus remarked picking up hid rug sack and throwing it over his shoulder.

“Are you trying to intimidate me, you washed up mercenary?” Valmira inquired, arching her eyebrows incredulously. “Even if I had some shred of intuition of why keep dragging Jass into the equation, what makes you think we would do anything you say? Are you planning on brute force?”

Hughes and Falconer brandished their weapons in warning and behind Brackus, in the shadows, Dart pulled something halfway out of his clothing which glinted silver in the crystal’s light.

Maybe if I’m lucky they’ll all kill each other in a crossfire, Yozak thought from his position in the ground.

“Oh I think you’ll come of your own accord, especially when it’s to a location that will keep the Demon forces at bay long enough for you to slip away. Jass meant to engage the mazoku in a little bit of sparring anyway. All you three did was up the timing and place for him. Of course, you’ll have to let him know what sort of game you are playing at. Protection doesn’t come free, after all. Sound tempting yet?” Brackus asked.

“Let’s go with his suggestion, Valmira. I don’t want to end up as a skin on the wall for some demons all because you became blinded with greed and strayed from the original plan,” Falconer spoke up, voicing his opinion.

“The runt’s brought us nothing but trouble,” Hughes put in.

“I don’t recall you or Hughes complaining before, you turncoats,” Valmira snapped testily, before turning back to Brackus and relenting. “Fine. I’m listening. Where is this ideal location?”

Brackus grinned, his teeth flashing white in the darkness, “Just a through the woods behind me and between two hills. It’s a wonder you didn’t trip over it, though I guarantee you, the Demon Army won’t be as distracted as you three goons tomorrow. Follow me.”

Hughes growled low in his throat at the insult.

“Just a minute. I want to deal with the little rat that’s been tailing us,” Valmira stated, whirling on Yozak with an aura of vengeful fury, jabbing the end of her staff until the houseki crystals were almost touching the boy’s face. “This is what you get for poking your nose into other people’s business, vermin. When the cavalry reaches the end of your happy trail, all they find are your remains.”

The crystals began to glow and Yozak wondered when the woman realized they weren’t working on him, if she would resort to messier, painful measures to finish him.

“Stop. The rat’s ours. We noticed him. We caught him. We decide his fate,” Brackus stated, snapping his fingers.

Yozak found himself picked up from the ground and hoisted over the man called Dart’s shoulders where he hung like a sack of grain.

“You’re not going soft now that you’ve retired from your merc days I hope, Brackus,” Valmira said, sneeringly.

“I just think Lord Jass would be interested in seeing him, that’s all,” Brackus said and starting forward, he called over his shoulder, “And I’m not as retired as you think.”

From his position looking backward, Yozak watched Hughes sling the still unconscious Wolfram over his shoulder similarly. Falconer smiled grimly when he saw the boy observing them, drew his knife across his throat and pointed at him in indication; and by the icy glare Valmira was giving him, he could tell the woman had no qualms about plotting a convenient “accident” for him.

Well, looks like you’ve really stepped into this time, Gurrier, Yozak thought, not sure whether to laugh or curse at himself for ending up in his current predicament.

He only hoped Brackus was right in his prediction of the Demon Army finding this Lord Jass’s place by tomorrow sometime. He highly doubted he’d live longer than that. Who knew that his friend’s little brother could cause so much trouble?

Conrart, you owe me big time for this.

To Be Continued...

A/N: (finishes playing game of Solitare; looks at chapter again) Hmmm, this was supposed to be the last chapter but as you can see, my muse finally woke up, got carried away with the plot and now there are too many things to fit into the final chapter and who knows how long it will take me to write the rest of the scenario I have dancing around in my head. It’s already long, plus I made you guys wait two months for this so I won’t punish you anymore :cries: Sorry! So what did you think of the newest development? Yes, Brackus and Dart are my own characters like Valmira, Hughes and Falconer. Who is this Jass person and what did Brackus mean when he said “Jass meant to engage the mazoku in a little bit of sparring anyway”?

Next chapter will have us meet Jass himself, his domain, and his plans unveiled. What will happen to Yozak and Wolfram? Only I know that…hehehehe! It’d make me extremely happy if you reviewed, especially when you tell me your favorite parts, and it inspires me to write faster! (That and I’m afraid Conrad and everyone is going to be after my hide if I don’t allow them to rescue Wolfram soon…help!)

Between Two Worlds Ch. 5 (PT 1)

2008-09-15T15:56:00Z

Ch.5 Playing For Keeps

Waltorana drifted in and out of consciousness. He was unclear on how long he remained sprawled out on the ground; all he could recall was the extreme harrowing of pain that racked through his body and the shining glow of the houseki crystals which imprisoned him. Through his blurred vision, he imagined they had sprung to life and were dancing around him jeeringly, tiny glimmering red sprites which tormented him with their whisperings.

“Death,” they spoke in shrill little voices, their faces stretched in wicked eager grins. “Death will soon come for you and ease your suffering!”

Then merciful oblivion swept Waltorana away, away from their cruel taunts and malicious laughter, and when he again slipped into wakefulness, it was for the very briefest of moments.

Dazed, he remotely realized that the pain vanished, and wondered if Death had come to collect him early as it had with his brother, however, wasn’t Death supposed to bring eternal rest? Why were his limbs so weary and heavy-ladden? The surface beneath him felt hard and uneven…like a forest floor.

A shadow fell over him and Waltorana managed to lift his head long enough to catch a glimpse of the figure standing over him, before the darkness claimed him a third time.

Strange, was his final thought as he let himself be enshrouded in obscurity. I never once pictured Death with red hair…

Then Waltorana knew no more.

oOoOoOo

The next time Waltorana awoke, he had full reign of his senses and was in a bed. Just by the lumpy texture of the mattress and the scratchy feeling of the sheets, the mazoku instantaneously knew he was back in the decrepit inn from last night’s stay without even needing to see the familiar crumbling walls.

The door to the room opened and a serving girl stepped in with a tray of food and gave a little gasp of shock when she noticed the occupant was awake.

It was the very same busy-body serving girl whom his nephew had bitten for disturbing his rest.

Well, if Waltorana really was dead, it appeared he was in the worst hell he could possibly imagine.

“Oh, my, you’re awake, Lord vonBielefeld, sir!” the servant girl cried stating the obvious.

“Why am I here?” Waltorana inquired as several images flashed through his head: the houseki crystal trap, his men lying in the pathway, and Wolfram slumped over unconscious in his captive’s arms.

Wolfram…he felt the panic, fear, anxiety and guilt all eating away at his heart. He had taken the boy away from Celi on claims she didn’t look after him properly, and in the first twenty-four hours of gaining the child’s custody, he had allowed some mere inferior humans to nearly kill him and steal away the one thing he held more precious to him than life itself.

The houseki stones would have dealt their magic on any mazoku caught off his guard just like he had been, he tried to tell himself, but his consciousness was not buying the pathetic excuse.

“We were brought word that you and your company had suffered an ambush and how your attackers had left you all for dead out in the road!” the serving girl explained, setting the dishes from the tray onto the bedside table. “So, we sent out a rescuing committee and brought you all back here! I’m afraid the bandits ran off with your horses though. Of all the nerve, assaulting one of the aristocrats!”

Waltorana frowned at her story. Something was out of place about it…

“But the houseki crystals,” the mazoku questioned. “How did you manage coming near us with the houseki crystals?”

An ancient, ram-shackled inn this place might be, with its even lesser owners, but however low their status was, Waltorana knew for a fact they were all full mazokus. One couldn’t live in the Great Demon Kingdom and not be anything but a pure blood without people knowing.

So how had they avoided the stones’ sapping power and retrieved him and his men unscathed?

“It was the boy that told us what had happened to you,” the serving girl said. “He came across you in the road and gathered up all the crystals, so there wouldn’t be any problems for us.”

“A boy?” Waltorana asked, wondering for a split second if it could have been Wolfram, but no, of course not. Wolfram was a full mazoku and currently being held hostage who knew where…

“Yes, the boy was a half mazoku!” the serving girl stated, whispering the last part as if the word was cursed. Now, she spoke again, holding the empty tray over her mouth as she told the next bit of juicy gossip, “Apparently he lives in that village set up as haven for all half mazoku. Shocking isn’t it? The likes of him daring to venture into decent folk’s territory, but it was fortunate that he stumbled across you.”

That must have been who was standing over him before he lost consciousness again, Waltorana mused, scoffing at his earlier assumption.

Death with red hair…really!

However, it was fortunate for him that a half mazoku had come along. Houseki crystals posed no threat to those who did not possess maryoku.

The boy had saved his life, or…more importantly, he had presented Waltorana with another chance to steal back what rightfully belonged to him and act out revenge.

The serving girl mistook his silence for disapproval and hastily tried to reassure him, “We sent him away as soon as possible! There’s no half mazoku hanging around here to bother you about a reward of sorts!”

From the way, the girl was speaking so casually on the matter, it was clear she or at least her boss intended to receive such a due consolation prize for their troubles of retrieving and keeping him and his men an extra night.

Waltorana was hardly paying any attention to the thought of the avaricious inn-keeper’s expectations or his surprising rescuer, though. No, he was planning out just how exactly each one of the three humans should die and quite painful, agonizing deaths too.

Oh yes, those humans would pay!

No one stole from Waltorana vonBielefeld and lived very long.

oOoOoOo

Gwendal supposed it was quite an ironic paradox that silence could be the worst sound in existence.

Covenant Castle’s walls were void of its usual everyday bustle and chatter. The maids dutifully did their chores and for once tried to keep out of the royal family’s business and way, speaking only in hushed tones. The palace guards avoided looking directly into his eyes whenever he passed them even the Bad Omen birds had ceased their relentless cawing.

It was as if a large gaping hole had been left in the place where Wolfram used to be before he was taken out of their lives, ripped from the seams of their very heartstrings.

Celi hadn’t uttered another word after explaining to Conrart where his brother had gone and had barricaded herself in Wolfram’s room, much like a Sand Bear burrows itself deep underground; and Conrart…

Conrart had returned during the night in a raging storm, thoroughly drenched and without Wolfram, but really, was the last part any surprise? Gwendal stubbornly squashed the memory of him foolishly hoping that his younger brother would be successful. Waltorana was a rather possessive victor. He had known the minute he had seen the aristocrat’s face that near-tragic day when Wolfram butchered his element that nothing come hell or high water was going to change the determined mind to take the boy away. Conrart had never stood a chance.

Conrart, who had ever since he had come back, been practicing his swordsmanship skills in the soldiers’ training grounds, paying no heed to the hazardous conditions of the outside. He had been at it in a fashion all night, disregarding the need for sleep, as if only he and his sword existed.

Gwendal wondered if he was imaging Waltorana on the other end of his blade. In any case, he was far too ashamed to try and console his brother or even face him.

Conrart’s accusing words rang throughout his head like the repeated tolling of a bell and cut through him like a knife.

“At least I’m actually going to try and do something about it, unlike you and mother!”

Gwendal rubbed a hand over his face and sighed wearily. He hadn’t gotten any sleep last night either. It had been spent knitting furiously at a pace that even amazed himself, not that the finished outcomes looked any better than his usual ones. By the time the dawn had broken and raised it’s fiery head into the sky, there were three new horribly deformed stuffed animals to join his massive collection: a purple pig which appeared to be crossed with a bear, a green whale which looked more like a roly-poly caterpillar and a blue dragon….which closely resembled the one which had been Wolfram’s favorite toy…

A fist slammed itself against harshly the stone wall as the young mazoku vented out his frustration upon it. It wasn’t the fact that Wolfram would grow up away from them, his real family, but that whenever they saw him again, he would be changed, utterly unrecognizable from the little brother they knew so well, both in features and in character. The vonBielefelds were arrogant, jealous, conceited and prone to hold grudges for anyone or anything that dared offend them. To realize that Wolfram would become one of them and one day perhaps stare at his brothers and mother with such deep-seated contempt…it was more than Gwendal could bear to think about.

Gwendal leaned his head against the glass of the window, the coolness of its surface feeling refreshing to his forehead.

That was why he was the first of the palace to see Waltorana and only one guard enter into the courtyard, without carriage and without Wolfram.

And Gwendal knew somehow, without even being told, that his little brother was far beyond the reach of anyone now.

oOoOoOo

“YOU PIG-LOVING MONSTER!”

Waltorana tilted his head to one side and felt the rush of wind as the heavy-bound book sailed past him and connected to the wall behind. He had known what coming back to Covenant Castle without Wolfram and explaining what had happened would entail, and he had only returned there simply because it was closer than his own estate. If his nephew’s abductors were to be found it must be done quickly before they crossed out of the Great Demon Kingdom’s boundaries. He had sent two of his guardsmen out into the surrounding countryside in hopes of discovering the humans’ trail and another ahead to Bielefeld to alert his house of the predicament which had arisen. His remaining guard had remained with him, however, it was not bandits who were currently assaulting him.

“YOU NO-ACCOUNT CUR! YOU-YOU-BASTARD!” Celi screamed, rattling off a few more shocking self-proclamations about his lineage, as she flung any object near her at him.

Waltorana felt a vein spring out upon his forehead. He did understand her frustration and rage. After all, it was her child that was missing and he had been the one that had lost him, but if they would get no closer to recovering Wolfram if the damn woman kept carrying on is such a fashion! They needed to be planning how many forces should be sent out to search and how many were needed at different locations on the boundary lines as blockades.

The mazoku dodged the next few bombardments at him and allowed his sister-in-law to vent out some more of her wrath, however, when she pulled out a whip seemingly out of nowhere that was the last straw.

“WHAT IN SHINOU’S NAME, DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING, WOMAN?!” Waltorana roared at Celi across the room as he caught the end of her weapon in a tight grip, but not before it had grazed his cheek, leaving a thin slash mark.

“I’M GOING TO LYNCH YOU AND THEN HANG OUT YOU OUTSIDE THE WINDOW FOR ALL TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS TO MAZOKU COWARDS!” Celi shrieked, grappling with him over the whip.

Coward! That was going a bit too far, Waltorana thought seething. He had been no coward; he had merely been unable to act out against the attackers, that was all! Curse the woman and her stupid fit of female hysterics!

He didn’t know how she did it. For one so slim with more curves than muscles, Waltorana really couldn’t figure out how Celi managed to yank him forward and lasso the whip around him until he was tied up like a prized hog.

Shinou, the crazy dame was actually going to string him up like she had declared! Waltorana struggled in vain gaping at his captor incredulously as she tugged him closer and closer to wards the room’s large pane glass window, however, the whip was wound so tightly about him, he barely could take a breath.

Well, fine then, he had always wanted an excuse to flambé his sister-in-law and she was giving him the perfect opportunity! Waltorana snapped his fingers igniting the first small flame of fire. Hopefully the Maou would be utterly unrecognizable under all the scorch and burn scars afterwards-even better if all her hair was seared off.

“MOTHER! STOP!”

Celi did refrain from her intent of strangling her brother-in-law and hanging his body out the window long enough for Waltorana to set the whip on fire, causing her to release her hold on the weapon with a startled cry. Waltorana extricated himself from his blazing bonds and pushed them to the floor where the fire hungrily devouring its prey simmered and died, leaving the whip’s charred remains behind. Then the aristocrat looked up to view who had been the needed distraction for his escape.

It was Celi’s first son, Gwendal vonVoltaire who had called out for Celi to halt, however, Waltorana did not fool himself into thinking the youth had done so for his benefit. No doubt, he was merely concerned for the welfare of his mother, who Maou or not, would face the consequences of the law by killing not only an aristocrat, but one of the heads of the houses as well. Either that, or her son wanted the pleasure of killing Waltorana himself.

Unfortunately, it seemed that neither of the two would receive satisfaction of slaying the person they so loathed, because the half-human Weller spawn decided the take the life of the mazoku in his own hands.

The boy darted past his brother and shot through the open doorway, a streak of brown hair and a dangerous glint of steel in his hands as he rushed towards his prey like a speeding arrow seeking its mark…

Waltorana felt the blade slice through the side of his uniform a hairs-breath away from his skin even as he turned sharply to one side to avoid the full intended strike.

His blood boiling in anger, Waltorana drew both his hands into clenched fists, fire flaring up about them. He had had it with the entire ludicrous family! He had indulged them their right in accusing him as his fault the youngest prince had been abducted and taking out their temper out upon him, but he would not simply stand there and present himself as a defenseless target to a would-be assassin clan!

The first blast of fire caught Conrart in the chest and sent him flying backwards and crashing into the room’s table. Then as if he was trying to prove how irritatingly stubborn and idiotic humans could be, the boy leapt up unfazed and sprung at Waltorana again.

Only Gwendal’s quick thinking and action of rushing forward and gripping his brother firmly by the arms to halt his mad tirade against Waltorana kept the mazoku from charbroiling the whelp to a satisfactory crisp.

“Conrart, calm down!” Gwendal roared in a commanding voice, but Conrart was far beyond being consoled by reason now.

“HE WAS SAFE HERE! WOLFRAM WAS SAFE!” Conrart screamed at Waltorana, his face an infuriated red, struggling vigorously to escape his brother’s grasp. “YOU TOOK HIM AWAY FROM US! IT’S YOUR FAULT! IT’S YOUR FAULT!!!”

Another pang of guilt flared up in the mazoku’s chest as those words cut sharply to the core, however if Wolfram was to be saved, then merely wallowing in his own accountable actions would not help.

“Yes, it is my fault,” Waltorana agreed, taking the blame. “Now are you all going to assist me in getting him back or are you going to continue attempting on my life?”

“Don’t assume once we rescue our brother that you have any claim to take him away again,” Gwendal warned, his face an impenetrable wall. “You had your chance.”

Waltorana eyebrows narrowed as he locked eyes with the youth.

“We’ll discuss that matter later once we recover Wolfram,” the aristocrat stated, his tone issuing no room for arguing.

“Yes, we will,” Celi declared, her emerald eyes shining with a new-found determination as she stepped forward behind her two sons.

Waltorana took in the family staring unfaltering back him and scrutinized their austere expressions. All of a sudden, he realized it was not just a matter of rescuing Wolfram from his abductors. The game had spiraled down a new path and the prize was up for grabs again.

Both sides were playing for keeps now.

Continued in PT 2

CRACK Mini-comic!

2008-07-14T15:39:39Z

Rating: PG
Characters: Wolfram, Waltorana, Rufus, Yuuri, Murata, Shinou, Daikenja
Spoilers: WARNING! Information surrounding Rufus from the Drama CD. View at own risk!

So, basically, I was bored one day and amused myself by imagining a chaotic KKM scenario and laughed so hard I just had to draw it! So here it is in all its mad glory and I hope you all enjoy it!^w~

I love Rufus I really do! =^w^= and since you are viewing this, I take it you did read the spoiler warning label. Here's the link to the discusson about Rufus being a girl if you missed it: http://community.livejournal.com/kkm_wolframfans/294625.html

EDIT: <lj user= "lurel"> GOT IT! IT WAS FROM CODE GEASS!!! NANI MAI HUNNY?! XD XD XD CONGRATS!

Oh and cookies to anyone who knows where the "Mai Hunny" reference came from! X3 (It's from a very recent anime) Okay, a hint: The title of the anime is two words and the first word starts with a "C" .

So I hope it brought a smile or laugh to everyone's face! It was just another spawn from my poor demented mind! XD

Between Two Worlds (Ch.4) PT.2

2008-06-27T14:58:52Z

Title: Bewteen Two Worlds
Author: Schnickledooger (me)
Rating: All Audiences
Characters: Wolfram, Gwendal, Conrart, Celi, Waltorana, (others)
Genre: Family/General
Setting: Pre-war Great Demon Kingdom
Chapters: 4/?
Summary: Young Wolfram’s world is thrown into chaos when his uncle Waltorana attempts to gain his custody from Celi. It grows more hectic when he is kidnapped on top of that and now the stirrings of war are in the air. Brotherly love, defeating the bad guys, you know, the usual routine^^

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

It was amazing, Waltorana speculated, that his nephew could seem so adorable the night before, however, in the morning it was as if he had been replaced with a changeling child.

First had been the incident with one of the serving girls at the inn. Waltorana had gone out early with a few of his guards, leaving the rest behind to see no harm befell his nephew, to see what damage the storm had dealt to the road they were going to be traveling and if their carriage could be unstuck from the now dried mud. After setting some of his men to clear the bramble and fallen debris upon the path and receiving word that the wheels would probably be dislodged in an hour, Waltorana returned to the inn and stumbled onto the scene of the serving girl fleeing down the stairs from the rooms above screeching hysterically and flinging herself into the inn-keeper’s broad chest where she continued her ear-shattering caterwauls.

From what audible sayings she managed through her gulping sobs, it appeared she had thought the guests had left already and had gone to clean the rooms as it was her duty. However, when she had entered she had noticed the room was still occupied by a small blond body in the bed.

“He looked like so cute! Like a little angel dreaming! He even made little purring sounds! I just had to touch him!” the girl was shrieking now. “I only pet his head! Then he attacked meeeeeeeee! WAAAAAAH!”

Further interrogating from both Waltorana and the inn-keeper, they learned that the “little angel dreaming” had become quite grumpy and violent at being awoken and had bit the servant girl’s hand right through the skin. Waltorana wondered if his nephew always awoke in such a manner, however he did think his actions were highly justifiable this time. The stupid girl had got what she deserved. Perhaps this would teach her to not bother her guests and leave them in peace. She should be glad she hadn’t provoked Wolfram enough for him to strike up his maryoku.

The inn-keeper was trying to console her, but she was baying like a cowardly dog, “But he bit me! I might have caught a disease!”

It only took once chilling ominous glare from Waltorana to shut her into silence and send her scurrying hurriedly away. After that, the mazoku had looked around, searching for the guards who had been supposed to watch over the boy. He spotted them sitting at a table, devouring the food which had been prepared for them.

A fist slamming down hard upon the table’s surface interrupted their pleasant meal and upset their appetites as they stared at their lord’s vexed demeanor.

“If you can not follow through with the simple task I ask of you, then you can join the rest of the company sweating outside and toiling slavishly!” he barked out, sending the men saluting hastily and scrambling for the door in a panicked state.

Waltorana heaved a sigh of exasperation and pinched the skin between his eyebrows in an attempt to spirit away the headache he felt coming on.

The day wasn’t even half way over.

oOoOoOo

Waltorana raised an incredulous eyebrow at his nephew seated across from him at the table or more correctly, the petulant pout which was firmly planted upon the boy’s lips as he stared at the dishes laid out for them to eat.

“Is anything wrong with the food?” he asked, finding himself terribly amused.

Wolfram looked as if he was fighting an internal battle within himself. His mouth was quivering at the corners, his face had flushed an angry shade of red, and he had curled his hands into tight little fists as he glowered sourly at the meal before him. No doubt he was not at all pleased with the inn’s choice of food and was debating whether or not he was upset enough to pitch a tantrum. Waltorana found himself surprised to be waiting in eager anticipation. He had never witnessed a Little Lord Brat incident before. He suspected that his nephew wanted to appear like a good boy for his uncle, however this breakfast seemed to be pushing the child’s limits.

“Wolfram?” he asked, wondering if his voice had splintered the fragile wall holding the boy’s emotions back.

Wolfram jumped a little at hearing his name and blinked at his uncle as if just realizing he was there. His presence seemed to resolve something for the child’s next actions were to set his mouth into a firm line, take a deep breath, pick up a spoonful of the grey glop which was supposedly porridge, and swallow the lump with a dreadful but determined grimace.

Waltorana chuckled, placing his hands under his chin as he watched his nephew delightedly. The serving girl may have been an air-headed wench, but she was right. Wolfram was very cute indeed.

oOoOoOo

The carriage rolled along through the now-cleared road, wobbling a bit unevenly, but at least they were finally moving, away from Celi and Covenant Castle and away from the inn and its extremely unsatisfactory service.

Wolfram had at last snapped out of sluggish, fussy behavior and was a very different sight from the pale ashen child he had been the day before. At the moment, he was sitting next to uncle, swinging his short legs to and fro happily as he giggled at the various shapes and forms his uncle’s fire element changed to as he manipulated it to entertain him.

“When we arrive at my manor, I shall teach you how to do this as well,” Waltorana stated as he kindled a small flaming bird into existence.

“But I already know how to do that!” Wolfram bragged, puffing out his chest proudly. “Mother said I made a fire lion bigger than Elizabeth’s!”

Waltorana raised an eyebrow at that and opened his mouth to say something, before thinking better of it.

“Well, I shall perfect your skills then, O Mighty One! Would you like that, Master of Greatness?” he inquired jestingly, reaching over and tickling his nephew on the stomach.

Wolfram howled with laughter, his legs kicking out in vain as he tried to escape his uncle’s clutches, and Waltorana laughed heartily hugging the boy close, startling himself even.

He couldn’t remember the last time he truly laughed…it must have been when his brother was still alive…

All of a sudden, the carriage gave a tremendous jolt as if it had been slammed with a battering ram and there came frenzied shouts from his men and shrill horses’ cries outside.

For a moment, Waltorana believed the wheels had gotten stuck in the mud once again. Then he realized it was not storming…and the sounds of swords clashing were filling the air.

Curious, Wolfram made to poke his head outside the window to see what the loud ruckus was, but he was jerked him backwards abruptly. Landing on the coach’s floor with a startled yelp, he stared up at his uncle puzzled.

“Ojiiue?”

“Quiet,” Waltorana ordered, drawing the window’s curtains quickly.

Wolfram watched as his uncle stood up and lifted up the cushion where the two had been sitting seconds before. There was an empty space below the seat and Waltorana motioned the boy to climb into it.

“Hurry,” he said, his voice issuing in a sense of urgency.

Heart pounding and his mouth suddenly dry, Wolfram did as bidden and squatted down in the small hiding place, circling his arms around his knees.

“No matter what happens, you stay here and do not come out,” Waltorana commanded in a grim tone, his eyebrows furrowed and his face stark white.

“Ojiiue!” Wolfram cried softly, but his uncle had already placed the cushion back on top of the secret compartment and he was left alone in the darkness.

oOoOoOo

Waltorana flung open the door to the carriage in a furious rage. Whoever it was who dared to attack his company, they would soon feel his wrath. The mazoku stepped outside and paused, his gaze falling to his unconscious men lying scattered across the forest road. The horses were gone; either they had run off in the ambush or had been taken. The surrounding area seemed deserted and was deathly silent, however Waltorana wasn’t one to be fooled by false appearances.

“You can come out now, all three of you,” he ordered, letting his arms fall to his side to show he had not drawn any weapons yet.

“You sensed our presence. Pretty smart for a mazoku, but who would expect anything less from the leader of the Ten Aristocrats?” came a voice from a figure suddenly melted away from the shadow of a tree and stepped into the light.

Waltorana was aware of two other people approaching slowly, one from his left side and one from behind, but he remained where he stood and focused on the person in front of him.

It was a woman with long flowing red hair, violet eyes, garbed in a purple cape and brandishing a staff with a glinting red stone.

Houseki crystals…so that was why his men had been knocked out so easily. He would have to be careful. He couldn’t just openly attack her with his maryoku.

“What do you want?” Waltorana inquired, stalling for time while he searched for a way out of this situation. “And tell your lackeys trying to sneak up on me they’re about as quiet as a Bad Omen bird.”

The woman laughed at that and said with an impish smirk, “Falconer, Hughes, His Lordship is funny! Let’s humor him, ne?”

The two men halted in their bumbling wake and Waltorana turned his head a bit to the side to evaluate his opponents, while still keeping an eye on the female who it seemed was in charge of the assailment.

If their names matched their character, he would bet that Falconer was the slim, scrawny fellow to his left with raggedy brown hair and a hooked nose and Hughes was the tall, muscular man with the shaven head behind him. They, themselves, did not possess houskei crystals, but swords instead.

“What do you want?” Waltorana asked again, a small sheen of sweat perspiring across his brow, but it was not himself he was worrying for…

“We really couldn’t believe our luck when we saw you at the inn earlier this morning,” the woman continued, ignoring his question. “It was just too good to be true! Here we were on the way to slip across your borders to get to you, but there you were right in front of us with only five guardsmen! So we decided to slip out ahead of you and greet you in a proper manner.”

“A sneak attack is the manner you think is proper?” Waltorana inquired, refusing to dwell on why he was their intended target and subtly curling his right hand into a starting summon of his element.

The woman was standing directly beneath a very thick, heavy-looking tree branch. If he hit it right on its weak point, it would fall upon the victim below and he could deal with the two less dangerous ambushers.

“Don’t even think about it,” the woman said, as if knowing his next move and whirled her staff upside down, touching the ground by her feet with the tip of the crystal.

Waltorana’s first thought was that she was an idiot to leave herself open like that and thrust out his hand immediately in hurl an assault with his maryoku…only to find himself utterly paralyzed and unable to breathe for several long seconds.

Then finally, after what seemed like forever, a small prickle of pain shot right in the center of his chest and quickly flared out in all directions across his body, growing more and more intense, until Waltorana collapsed to his knees convulsing violently, and there it was he saw that he was hunched over directly in the center of a shining red pentagram, pin-pointed by smaller houseki crystals which had been set up.

He had been lured into an entrapment.

Through his excruciating lacerations, Waltorana swore silently at his own folly.

“Sorry, Lord vonBielefeld,” the woman said, shrugging. “Nothing personal. It’s just good business.”

What did she mean by that? the mazoku wondered, however he soon had his mind in turmoil on something other than the horrible pain he was in.

“Hey, Valmira, do you think there’s any valuables in the carriage?” asked the muscular man, supposedly Hughes, while Falconer nodded to the suggestion.

“You greedy swine!” Valmira chided mockingly to her comrades in arms. “We’ll be paid handsomely enough as it is for His Lordship here to live like the nobles themselves and you’re still wanting to hunt for petty baubles? Tch, go ahead if it will keep you from sulking for the rest of the journey though!”

The carriage…Wolfram!

Waltorana bit down on his tongue to keep from crying out not from pain but from fear. He had to trust that the boy would be safe in the secret compartment. Nontheless, he watched the searching of the coach with bated breath until it was finished.

“Nothing but traveling money,” Hughes grunted, weighing the pouch of money in one hand.

“Well, you sure don’t boast your wealth like most aristocrats,” Valmira commented.

Waltorana felt a wave of relief rush through him. So they hadn’t discovered the hiding place after all.

“Are you sure that’s all?” Falconer asked, speaking out loud for the first time. “These mazoku are tricky, don’t forget.”

Valmira cast a debating look at the carriage before examining Waltorana closely.

“What do you say, Your Lordship?” the woman questioned. “Are you holding back the goods on us?”

Waltorana stared back at her spitefully and said nothing.

“I guess there really is nothing of any worth in there. I’ll just destroy it then,” Valmira declared off-handedly as she leveled her staff at the coach, the houseki crystals glowing dangerously.

“NO, STOP!” Waltorana shouted in a distressed voice.

“Oho! Check it again, boys!” Valmira ordered excitedly. “This is getting interesting!”

Waltorana could only watch on helplessly as the two men began rummaging through the carriage anew.

oOoOoOo

Wolfram sat huddled in the coach’s hiding place frightened and worried. He wasn’t sure how long he had been there, but he didn’t like it. He hated the dark and the silence and the compartment which he was sure was slowly growing smaller and smaller. He had to remain there though, his uncle had told him to!

What was going on outside? One little peek couldn’t hurt.

Then he heard his uncle’s voice through the compartment, muffled, “NO, STOP!”

All rational thoughts flew from the boy’s head, including the instructions from his uncle. Wolfram pushed the top of the compartment up and lifted his head out…to come face to face with a huge bald monster.

oOoOoOo

“Look what I found!” Hughes guffawed. “A pint-sized stowaway!”

Waltorana gazed in trepidation as the man hauled a kicking and squalling Wolfram out from the carriage and held him up for all to see.

“Hmm, a kid?” Valmira voiced, seeming quite surprised. “Who’s he?”

“Bit of family resemblance there, don’t you think,” Falconer stated, pointing between the two mazoku.

“Is the runt yours?” Valmira inquired of Waltorana, who never got to respond due to a great rumbling bellow from Hughes as Wolfram bit him.

“OJIIUE!” the small boy screamed, struggling wildly and flailing his limbs in punches and kicks.

“Be still, damn brat!” Hughes snarled flinging back one hand in preparation to strike.

“WOLFRAM!” Waltorana exclaimed at the same time Valmira yelled, “Hughes, you big lug, you’ll damage him!”

Falconer solved the problem by reaching over and pinching a nerve on the boy’s neck. Wolfram slumped over in the man’s arms, completely docile, unconscious.

Waltorana clenched his teeth in frustration as he attempted in vain to free himself from the houseki stone circle’s imprisonment, but it was no use. He could barely move and he was about to faint. He could tell by the darkening edges in the corners of his eyes.

“Don’t strain yourself, Your Lordship, it’ll hurt less,” Valmira said though she was staring at the smaller blond with a furrowed brow as if thinking really hard.

“What…do you want?” Waltorana managed to get out, his limbs trembling in exhaustion from forcing himself to stay alert for so long.

“It’s not what we want. It’s our employer,” the woman explained. “I’m not gonna do any name-throwing, but he’s pretty high up there, power-hungry and needs an incentive for your kingdom to make the first move against his so he can justify a war.”

Waltorana’s eyes widened at that shocking statement. She couldn’t mean…

“I don’t think the Ten Aristocrats are going to like the example he makes out of their leader,” Valmira said, winking at him. “Or the plans he has for your cities. Your Maou will have no choice but to fight, even is she doesn’t want to-”

The woman cut herself off abruptly a she gaped at the boy in Hughes arms and Waltorana realized with a sinking feeling, she somehow knew who he was.

“Wolfram,” she said. “Did you call him Wolfram just before? As in Wolfram vonBielefeld, third son of the Demon Queen? Yes, you did, and he called you ‘uncle’! Oh, this is rich!”

With that, the woman threw her head back and laughed elatedly, not able to believe her good luck.

“Oh my, this is unexpected!” Valmira crowed triumphantly as he smirked over the unconscious child like he was a trophy. “Let’s go, boys! Leave His Lordship here and bring the runt instead.”

“But I thought the boss wanted to make an example out of him,” Hughes said confused, pointing to Waltorana kneeling on the ground.

“We’ll be forgiven. The kid’s worth his weight in gold ten times over. Forget living like nobles. We’ll each buy an island and become royalty,” Valmira said. “If he wants an incentive for war, he’ll get one. I highly doubt the Maou will like the fact her youngest child is in the hands of the neighboring kingdom at their mercy. Besides, what would be a more better example than the leader of the Ten Aristocrats being caught off his guard by three weak humans and die due to houseki crystals draining his energy?”

Waltorana’s vision was swimming and he felt as if he were traveling down a long tunnel, for even when the woman bent down next to his ear, her words sounded as if she were speaking from far away.

“You mazoku think you’re so much better than us lowly humans, don’t you, just because you live longer and possess maryoku? Well, here’s what I say. You may think that; it may even be true, but I will tell you something: we are and always will be smarter. Now hurry up and die!”

Her boot connected to the mazoku’s rib with a resounding crack and the last thing Waltorana recalled before darkness overtook him, was hearing the name whispered faintly upon his lips.

“Wolfram.”

To Be Continued…

A/N: OHOHOHO! I bet the title threw you off didn’t it? Ho-hum, a chapter about a carriage stuck in the mud-AH, what just happened?! Seriously, I’ve been working like crazy on this chapter and my goodness, its long! (And angsty, again, when shall I ever be free from this genre?)

Concerning Wolfram’s father, there’s not a whole lot of information aside from a small tidbit in one of the drama CDs, which was he was young when he died and did not want anything to do with Wolfram. (Correct me if I’m wrong, KKM Comm Ljers).

Notice anything familiar about the three humans? No, they’re not the same ones from the show. They are, however, their predecessors (that I made up). It seems kidnapping and profiteering must run in the family genes. Also, if anyone’s wondering, yes, it’s Big Cimaron’s king that wants to start a war.

So, I would love some feedback from you all (aside from the “Poor Wol-chan! You’re an evil author! :chucks sporks: )^^;;;. Tell me what you liked, what parts were tearjerkers, if I managed to get the right emotions across to you all, and did I depict the characters’ thoughts and personalities well. Thank you for reading and I hope you come back for the next chapter!

Between Two Worlds (Ch.4) PT. 1

2008-06-27T14:52:18Z

Ch.4 In a Sticky Predicament

Conrart gripped the bouquet he held in his hands firmly but gently and smiled softly down onto the assorted flowers: a dozen Beautiful Wolframs nestled among a few Celi’s Red Sighs, Secretive Gwendals, and Conrart Standing Talls.

His little brother was such a narcissist, he thought fondly. If anything would make him feel better, it would certainly be seeing these flowers when he woke up.

The flowers which he had gathered together and managed to salvage from the storm-struck wreck that had once been the gardens…

He had been so afraid when had found out what had happened in the gardens. He had almost lost his little brother! What kind of life would that be like, with no big green eyes begging to be comforted or paid attention to, or gazing at him in adoring hero worship? No more tucking in and telling stories to a small energetic blond or waking him at night so they could both launch a sneak attack on an unsuspecting sleeping Gwendal. Who would he look after? Who else could need or he possibly share his protection with?

Conrart stopped right outside the door from his little brother’s room and took a deep breath to calm himself. He didn’t want to alarm Wolfram with looking worried or upset. He was here to verify for himself the report that his younger sibling was alive and recovering from his near-disaster with his element and possibly entertain Wolfram, who was no doubt probably throwing one of his infamous temper tantrums at having to stay in bed all day.

Finally regaining his composure, Conrart pushed open the door and entered, smiling broadly as he opened his mouth in greeting…

The words he had been about to utter died before they even made it to his throat and the bouquet he had so carefully picked slipped out of his numb grasp and fell to the floor, scattering loose flowers in its wake.

Conrart stared at the empty bed, completely devoid of anything: pillows, covers, sheets, but most especially, Wolfram.

Thoughts raced madly across the boy’s mind. Why would Wolfram not be in his bed? Hadn’t he been told that all his little brother needed was a period of rest to recuperate? Why was the bed stripped completely bare? Wasn’t that only done when a person…died?

The room started to reel and tilt around him and Conrart’s vision blurred as he started taking in short, panicked breaths.

A noise to his right shattered him out of frozen state and Conrart jerked his head towards the sound to view his mother seated in a rocking chair over by the window, her face turned as she gazed outside.

Celi had not sat in that rocking chair for over thirty years. It had only been used when she had nursed Wolfram as a baby.

“MOTHER!” Conrart exclaimed rushing over to her side. “Where’s Wolfram?! Where is he?!”

Celi said nothing but continued to keep her vigil at the window, and the only sign of movement she made was the wild shaking of her hands as she clutched something tightly between them.

It was a stuffed animal: a badly deformed blue dragon, knitted by Gwendal for his newest little brother, blackened and ragged over the passage of time and Wolfram’s rough horse-play.

It hadn’t been that long ago, Wolfram couldn’t get to sleep without his “Liesel”.

“Mother, please,” Conrart pleaded, kneeling down and placing his head on his mother’s lap. “Where’s Wolfram? Tell me.”

Something warm and wet plopped down on his head and he looked up to see the traces of twin rivulets of tears from Celi’s green eyes and the sparkling of unshed ones yet to come.

“Gone,” Celi said, her gaze never leaving the view outside from the window, as she repeated herself. “Gone”.

What did she mean by “gone”, Conrart wondered, fear gnawing at him. Surely not…

“Conrart,” came a voice from the doorway and the boy turned to see Gwendal standing in the threshold with a very odd expression upon his face: sadness and perhaps a bit of pity as well.

“Aniue,” Conrart said, getting up from kneeling. “What’s happened? Where’s Wolfram? What does Mother mean he’s ‘gone’?”

“He’s with Waltorana. They’re heading back to Bielefeld now,” Gwendal explained, his voice never once faltering from nonchalant tone he spoke in, although his knuckles has turned white from his hands gripping his arms which were crossed over his chest.

Conrart stared, unable to believe his own ears. It couldn’t be true! Not when Celi had seemed so dead set against it and Shinou himself had declared that was the last option if the trial period he had graced their mother with had failed. Had Wolfram’s perilous bungle with his element tipped the scales of the Great One’s judgment? Or had Waltorana simply bullied his sister-in-law into giving in to what he wanted? No, their mother was not one to be intimidated by scare tactics, but what was the reasoning behind Celi’s decision then?

“I brought this…on myself,” came a soft whisper and Conrart turned to see his mother no longer gazing outside the window but staring with unfocused eyes at the space in front of her.

“Who…puts herself…before her own children?” Celi asked no one in particular. “Who is so blind not to notice when one of her children needs something other than toys and presents? I …have been selfish. So selfish…”

“Mother, you haven’t selfish!” Conrart protested, placing his hands over one of hers, which clutched his little brother’s stuffed animal. “You’ve been the best mother anyone ever had! How could you let Waltorana take Wolfram? He belongs here with us!”

“I…deserve this,” Celi said, not appearing to hear what was said or even be aware of her surroundings. “I wasn’t able to keep him from harm. I’m unable…to keep a lot of things from happening…”

Conrart suddenly realized that perhaps it wasn’t just Wolfram his mother was talking about anymore.

“He’ll be better off with his uncle,” Celi said, speaking to the air again. “He adores him and Waltorana loves him like a true son. He’ll be better off…”

Then the Demon Queen turned her head towards the window once more and lapsed into silence, Wolfram’s blue dragon falling out of her limp grasp onto the floor by her feet.

Conrart turned away, unable to bear seeing his mother in such a broken state, and ran out of the room, pushing past forcefully by Gwendal.

His older brother caught his arm as he attempted to flee and asked, “Where exactly do you think you’re going?”

“I’m going after Wolfram and I’m bringing him back!” Conrart shouted, struggling to break free out of the strong grip.

“Don’t be a fool!” Gwendal snapped out harshly. “They’re a good hour ride ahead of you, and even if you do catch up with them, what do you propose you do? Challenge Waltorana to a duel? Or get down on your knees and beg for him to change his mind? I’m sure you groveling in the dirt before him is something the bastard would enjoy very much!”

“At least I’m actually going to try and do something about it, unlike you and mother!” Conrart yelled, angry tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes as much as he attempted to stop them.

Gwendal froze for a moment, although his stoic mask never faltered, then he let go of his brother’s arm and watched as Conrart took off down the hallway. The mazoku stood there in the same spot even when he heard the loud commotion of cries and shouts of alarm from outside in the courtyard. Gwendal remained where he was, until even the sounds of a horse’s neighing and the wild pounding of hooves had long since faded into the distance.

Sometimes life dealt out hard circumstances that were unavoidable. It was a lesson Conrart was going to have to learn sooner or later.

oOoOoOo

It was nearing dusk and slowly the setting of the sun crept upon the land transforming all the earthly tones into varying shades of crimson, orange and a golden splendor, making the trees and grass seem ablaze with fire.

Fire, Waltorana mused, staring at the coppery scenery from the carriage’s window. To think that his own nephew was almost killed by his own element…an end like that would be a shameful embarrassment for any vonBielefield, who took the utmost pride in being masters of their elements. That, however, was not the reason for Waltorana’s anger. The mazoku was furious, no doubt, but it was at himself, for being stupid and foolish enough to leave his nephew in the clutches of that blithering harpy he called his mother. A cat possessed more nurturing instincts that amorous wench.

Contrary to what that oaf, Stoffel had accused him of, he had not visited Covenant Castle on behalf of the Ten Aristocrats to survey how the kingdom was being run. Really, if they were all to blind to see that that woman would bring the walls crumbling down around her during her reign, they were just as idiotic as she was. Neither had he been there to usurp the present Maou from her throne and place himself or one of his relatives upon it, although, now that he thought about it, that notion did have merit. Wolfram would make a much better Maou than his mother, however, he was still quite young. It would be best to wait a couple of decades until his nephew came of age and had been cued in the role and mannerisms of how to rule. Now that the boy was safely out of reach from being corrupted from his mother’s ludicrous whims and reprobate habits, he would truly be able to grow in his power and character! He had seen the way Wolfram had been sheltered and babied by his mother and two older brothers. Most assuredly, they would keep on in such a manner even when Wolfram reached adult-hood. There was nothing wrong with being loved so greatly, however coddling such as that often produced tremendously spoiled children. Although he had never actually seen Wolfram act up in front of him, he had heard the servants’ hushed whisperings in the castle. It seemed his nephew had earned quite a few titles for his infamous temper tantrums: Selfish Pooh, Little Lord Brat, and so on.

Yes, he was definitely doing the right thing separating him from his mess of a family and the bad reputation he was already gaining. A future Maou couldn’t afford to have entanglements like that hanging about him.

But still, training Wolfram for that purpose was not why Waltorana had come to the Covenant Castle and had vied so hard for his nephew’s custody.

He had always wanted to raise Wolfram. Perhaps he had felt guilty at his brother not desiring to have a child and refusing to have anything to do with his own son. Perhaps he had felt responsible for taking care of the boy who never really knew his father that well before the father died all too soon and too young.

Perhaps it was because Waltorana himself, had come to view his nephew as his own son over time and could no longer swallow the bitter jealousy of seeing him so utterly happy with the woman he so despised.

Perhaps the title Selfish Pooh did not just apply to Wolfram, but to all vonBielefelds in general.

The carriage bounced a little too roughly over a rough patch in the road and Waltorana was jostled out of his thoughts along with it. A small head slumped across his shoulder and onto his chest and the mazoku blinked and looked down to see Wolfram, bundled up securely in the blankets and sheets from his bed, his complexion still a little grey but now sporting hints of rosy cheeks. He was snoring contentedly, even drooling slightly, while a gentle evening breeze wafted through the carriage’s window and tousled the boy’s golden locks.

Waltorana smiled fondly and twirled one soft curl between his gloved fingertips.

He honestly had expected to be at the castle for several weeks before he could figure out some way to get around Shinou’s decision. He had been certain Cecile was going to slip up and he would be there to see her utmost demise, however, he had never once imagined she would simply relent and allow him his way. He supposed Wolfram’s elemental incident may have been the straw that broke the stack, that his combined preaching. It was probably one of her spontaneous resolutions, one which she would undoubtedly change her mind in a few hours or so, but he had seized the moment of victory when it was presented and left almost immediately with his prize.

He now possessed full guardianship of his nephew. Even if the Maou regained her senses and sent the guard after him, there was nothing she could do legally.

Wolfram was his.

“Lord vonBielefeld! There’s a rider approaching!” announced one of the men in his traveling party.

“So soon, Cecile?” Waltorana murmured surprised. It was only an hour since they had left the castle. He had thought he would get a day’s start ahead at least. His sister-in-law must be more distressed than he thought.

“My Lord?” asked his man waiting for instructions.

“Stop the coach,” Waltorana said, getting up and carefully laying Wolfram down across the seat so he would not wake him. “I’ll deal with this myself.”

The mazoku stepped out of the carriage and waited with crossed arms as he watched the rider in the distance become larger and larger, until at last he came into full view and reined his horse in.

Waltorana raised an inquiring eyebrow surprised. Perhaps Cecile hadn’t tried to recall her decision after all. If she had, she surely picked a poor choice sending her mulling half-human whelp to do the job.

“What do you want, boy?” Waltorana asked, emphasizing the last word, to show there were a few more colorful examples he could address him as.

The boy dismounted but kept a firm grip on the reigns as he stared Waltorana straight in the eye and said, “I want my brother.”

“Go home, boy. Don’t meddle in adult affairs you don’t understand,” Waltorana stated, turning to leave.

“I understand things better than you think,” he heard the young Weller’s voice say. “I understand that Mother isn’t the best Maou to rule and that she lets Uncle Stoffel have his way more that he should have. And I understand that you think you are doing Wolfram a favor taking him away from us, but really, he’s just a tool for you to use.”

Waltorana tilted his head over his shoulder and half-smiled, “If that’s what you want to think, go ahead. Now, begone, I have better things to do than make small talk with whiny children like you.”

“Wolfram’s happy where he is!” Conrart shouted, a hot rage swelling up in his chest.

Unbidden, the hand holding the reins of his horse fell open and strayed to the hilt of his sword which had begun accompanying him everywhere. The vonBielefeld guardsmen noted the movement and copied it warningly.

Waltorana glanced behind him and laughed, “Really, now, men, are you that intimidated by a weakling human spawn? I highly suggest you do not draw that toy of yours, boy. Demon Queen’s son or not, you will show an Aristocrat the proper respect or you will get sound thrashing!”

“What do you propose you do? Challenge Waltorana to a duel? Or get down on your knees and beg for him to change his mind?”

Conrart’s hand shook in restrained fury as Gwendal’s words drifted back to him. No, he would not beg. He wouldn’t give the man the satisfaction. And however much he wished to gut him open, he was still several lessons from being able to defeat a whole group of guards single-handed.

But one day...one day he would be the best swordsman there ever was! And when that day came, Waltorana had best watch his back.

Waltorana nodded as Conrart slowly let his hand drop from his sword’s hilt, appeased at the sight, and motioned for his men to get moving.

“Wait,” came a soft voice and the mazoku turned back yet again to see the boy’s face no longer swarming with hatred and anger, but sadness and despair.

“Can I…can I see him, please?” Conrart asked, his voice pleading. “I never got…to say good-bye”.

Waltorana stared at him for a long while with a measuring look, before he finally spoke his answer into the air.

“Yes, it is unfortunate that half-mazoku age quicker than full-bloods. Still, I suppose you’ll live long enough to see him again when he returns to show everyone what a true Maou should be, that is, if you don’t die ill-fatedly, challenging your betters and superiors to a hopeless duel!”

The vonBielefeld guards laughed uproariously at this and Waltorana, as he stood, one foot on the steps of the carriage, commented, “My nephew is sleeping. I do not see any reason to disturb his rest.”

“Are you going to tell him?”

Waltorana paused and directed an inquisitive eye upon the figure of the boy standing forlornly in the road, despondent for all to see and with eyes that had once been burning with a determined fire minutes before, now so achingly hollow.

The mazoku stared, knowing what the question being asked was about, and when he finally answered, listeners might have mistaken the response for pity or compassion, however for Waltorana, it was a simple matter of fact realization.

“I don’t think there’s any need to destroy the boy’s delusions he may have concerning you,” Waltorana said, his eyes narrowing. “I’m sure you and all humans alike will over time reveal their true colors. I’d rather he found that out for himself first hand.”

Then he climbed into the carriage and soon the traveling company was off with a steady rolling pace, leaving Conrart in a cloud of dust.

It was twilight now and the brazen radiant colors of the earth had all faded into a pale shimmering blue, while the night sky had been enshrouded in a deep purple hue which quickly turned a dark grey color as storm clouds gathered.

Conrart remained in the same spot and watched the carriage disappear from his line of vision, even when the warning rumbles of thunder boomed and flashes of lightning flared overhead.

He stayed, even when the heavens opened their floodgates and let lose a torrent of rain upon the land below.

And through the raging downpour, it was unable to determine raindrops from tears streaking down the boy’s face.

oOoOoOo

The vonBielefeld coach’s windows had been tightly closed to keep the cold air and stinging rain out. Waltorana could not help feeling sympathetic to his men who riding in the awful weather.

If I were a more poetic person, I might think the gods are grieving in tune with the Demon Queen’s melancholy mood, he mused.

The carriage gave a violent lurch forward then before rolling in the opposite direction a few paces with a loud squelching sound, causing its passengers inside to slam backwards into their seats quite hard.

A hand knocked against the window and Waltorana pushed it open and inquired with an annoyed countenance, “What is going on out there?”

“The carrriage’s wheels have gotten stuck in the mud, sir!” one of his guards explained with an apologetic face. “Even if we do get them clear, they’ll just get stuck again with the road the way it is!

“There’s also the possibility of falling trees to be wary of, sir” stated another guard.

“What are you suggesting? We just stay out here all night like sitting ducks until the storm passes then?” Waltorana said, his voice heavy with irony.

“We passed an inn not too far behind, My Lord,” one of his men offered. “We could spend the night there and set out in the morning when everything’s calm.”

Waltorana’s lip curled up in distaste at the very idea of staying in such a common place among lesser people, however the only other option was to return to Covenant Castle on horseback. He would not give Cecile another chance to take back what she had willingly given.

It might be hazardous to Wolfram’s health if he spent the night in a damp coach though.

“Very well,” he said reluctantly, picking his sleeping nephew up, making sure he was securely bundled up in his blankest, and wrapping his cloak around him, before he stepped out into the soaking rain and gusts of wind.

oOoOoOo

Wolfram woke up confused and just a little bit frightened. This room with wooden walls, rotting in some places, bare with little furniture, its shabby bed and scratchy sheets were not his room. A window to his left held no fancy curtains with tassels and was streaked with dirt, and the view outside showed that it was night and a storm was blowing. The room was very dark with only a small lamp lit, its glow casting odd-figured shadows to dance eerily about.

The door to the room suddenly opened and Wolfram sat up and stared wide-eyed at the outline of the person unable to see their identity until they stepped fully into the light.

“O-Ojiiue?” Wolfram asked, relieved to see the familiar face.

“Ah, Wolfram, you’re awake,” his uncle said, smiling charmingly as he took off his cloak which was thoroughly drenched and hung it on the bedpost and flung his cap onto the bed next to his nephew’s. “I’d thought you’d sleep till morning.”

“Where, where am I?” Wolfram questioned blinking, uncertain if this was a dream or not. “Where’s mother?”

Waltorana frowned slightly at the mention of Celi, then cleared his expression as he walked around his bed to Wolfram’s and kneeled down so he was eye to eye with the boy, “She’s at the castle. She agreed to let me take you to vonBielefeld. We’re staying at this location they have the gull to call an inn until the storm dies down.”

“I get to visit you for awhile?” Wolfram asked excitedly, not understanding.

Waltorana hesitated, wondering if he should correct him. He wasn’t sure how Wolfram would take the news, and didn’t want to jeopardize the boy’s already fragile state. He was still weak from abusing his maryoku. The last thing he needed was his nephew to launch into an impressive fit. Not only would he become more ill, but he would probably bring this decrepit shoddy inn to its foundation in flames.

“Yes, for quite a long while,” Waltorana replied, settling for a half truth. He would explain the situation fully when they were back at his home.

“Go back to sleep, Wolfram,” he said, and swept one hand through the young boy’s flaxen hair affectionately. “You need to rest some more.”

Wolfram lay back down and let his uncle tuck him in, his gaze never leaving the older mazoku. Waltorana glanced up and smiled in bemusement at his nephew’s close examining of him.

“What is it?” he asked puzzled.

“Are you lonely, Ojiiue?” Wolfram questioned, his green eyes blinking large and owlishly in the dim lighting. “Because you don’t have to be. I’m here.”

With that, Wolfram leaned up and planted a soft peck on his uncle’s cheek, before rolling over and quickly drifting into peaceful slumber.

Waltorana remained in his kneeling position by the foot of his nephew’s bed for a few moments, before getting up and going to stand by the window to watch the never-ending cloudburst from the sky batter mercilessly against the glass pane.

Lifting one hand to his cheek, he voiced out loud to his reflection, vivid with the flashes of lightning, “Lonely…I wonder…”

(Continued in PT.2)

TOGARAM!!! (Wolfram Fanart)

2008-06-16T14:48:21Z

So this is what happened. Aside from being hopelessly obsessed with Wolfram, fanfiction, fanart and surfing the KKM LJ comms, I am also a Gaia addict. (blushes) Yes. So me and my friend there, Ghost of Ireland, also known as The Mad Charlotte Scarlet, have made friends with some Wolfram and Yuuri avatar cosplayers. They keep their characters' personalities very much in perfection! So, apart from GLOMPing and SQUEEing over the two, Ghost-san and I like to play our fangirl-ish tendacies to the utmost, like one time we kidnapped Yuuri Heika in hopes of strengthening the bond between him and Wol-chan, because we know how both get so miserable when they are apart, even though they refuse to acknowledge it. What happened was we got our butts flambeed by Wolf^^;;;

Ahem, so our current escapade with them has been to torment Yuuri Heika with visions of Wol-chan in a toga (aka Togaram). Ghost-san has drawn three very good toga-ish pics: one of Yuuri, one of Wolf, and one with both us like Greek female adonises sitting on Yuuri Heika. She doesn't have an LJ account yet, and I would post them here myself, but I would rather ask her first, so you all will have to be satisfied with mine for now. Somehow we managed to convince the Yuuri and Wolfram avi cosplayers to don on the Egyptian linens and sandals Gaia has available, so now we are all strutting about across each others profiles like this, so I decided it was my turn to draw a Togaram picture, so BEHOLD!

I added a little something that will no doubt drive Yuuri Heika into hysterics and much protesting that such a thing is not possible!
(shift eyes around) He claims he doesn't surf the KKM LJ comms, but Wolf never said that. Hmmmm....

EDIT: I ASKED HER AND SHE ASKED ME TO POST HER PICS TOO, SO HERE!

The first three are drawn by GHOST-SAN, NOT ME! Mine is the bottom with crayons^^;;

So here is Wolf being all "Hail me, I am the Adonis of Hotnesss!"

And here is Yuuri being all "Rescue me, please, Wol-chan! Why did I ever befriend those fangirls?!"

And here we two are (Ghost is on the left and me on the right) just sitting there being awesome^-~

And finally, here's the Maou chiling out on his water dragons, savoring the moment and popping cherries, haha! (=>w<=)

Between Two Worlds Ch.3

2008-06-09T14:58:35Z

Title: Bewteen Two Worlds
Author: Schnickledooger (me)
Rating: All Audiences
Characters: Wolfram, Gwendal, Conrart, Celi, Waltorana, Anissina, Stoffel, Raven, (surprise character)
Genre: Family/General
Setting: Pre-war Great Demon Kingdom
Chapters: 3/?
Summary: Young Wolfram’s world is thrown into chaos when his uncle Waltorana attempts to gain his custody from Celi. It grows more hectic when he is kidnapped on top of that and now the stirrings of war are in the air. Brotherly love, defeating the bad guys, you know, the usual routine^^

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Kyou Kara Maou. Tomo Takabayashi does.

Ch3. The Trouble With Fire

It had been only three days since his uncle had come to visit and already Wolfram vonBielefield found himself extremely annoyed. Not by his Ojiiue, no, by his brothers. They had always been protective of him, but it seemed as if they were now taking it to an almost paranoid obsessive-ness. He couldn’t go anywhere without one or both of them alongside him or non-discreetly following him. The only time they ever relinquished their stalking act was when he was in the presence of his uncle, which Wolfram thought strange, for they watched him like a hawk when their mother, herself, tended to him. Perhaps they simply didn’t like Waltorana, something that depressed the young boy a good deal since he had often had entertained the notion of his uncle marrying his mother and becoming a permanent member of his family. It wasn’t fair, he often speculated quite jealously, that others should have two parents, yet he and his brothers did not. In fact, fathers seemed to be something lacking in each boy’s life. However, he seriously doubted his childish fantasy would come true. If he wasn’t sure that Gwendal and Conrart didn’t like his uncle, then he was absolutely certain that his Celi loathed Waltorana, and vica versa.

These were the thoughts racing around the young boy’s mind as strolled down the western corridor of the Demon Castle listening to the soft footsteps of his pursuer behind him. Frowning, the young boy quickened his pace, turned the corner and streaked madly along the hallway, hurling himself into the one of the many rooms which occupied that level. Leaving the door open a crack, Wolfram pressed his eye to the narrow gap to view the identity of his stalker.

Conrart stood confused glancing down both directions which the hallway split with a worried look on his face. Finally, the half-mazoku made a decision and hurried down the opposite way from where his little brother was hiding.

Wolfram closed the door giggling at his own cleverness and reveled in that emotion for a short while before the euphoria ran out. Before boredom could completely settle in, however, a commotion outside captured the boy’s interest. Wandering over to the floor-length window, Wolfram peered through the glass down into the courtyard below to see his uncle Stoffel’s carriage stopping in front of the castle’s main stairway entrance.

Wolfram stuck out his tongue at his mother’s brother as he climbed out of the coach, even though his uncle wasn’t looking his way. Unlike his uncle Waltorana, Uncle Stoffel hardly paid him any special attention at all and merely viewed his youngest nephew as yet another annoying addition from his sister’s many love conquests. Not only that, but he frequently made trips to the castle and was always making requests to his mother which sounded more like demands. Stoffel was a big bossy airhead!

Wolfram watched as his uncle’s subordinate Raven, followed him out of the carriage. The black-haired man was always at Stoffel’s side; the boy wasn’t at all surprised. However, Wolfram did jolt back in shock as Raven reached out his hand and helped the next passenger step out: a person about his height and age with long curly light brown hair and big violet eyes…

“Wolfram!” came a voice from behind him suddenly and Wolfram yelped startled, whirling around.

“Wolfram, you shouldn’t run off like that! You could have gotten hurt and no one would have known where you were to help!” Conrart admonished, his face a mixture of anger and fear as he walked over to where his little brother was standing and laid a hand on his shoulder as if to verify that he was really there.

Normally, Wolfram would have been irritated at such suffocating over-protectiveness and would have warned against such an act with one of his infamous temper tantrums, but the young boy’s mind was otherwise occupied at the appearance of the newcomer.

“Conrart,” he said without ever taking his eyes off the girl holding Raven’s hand as she walked up the front stairs to the castle. “Who is that girl with Raven and Uncle Stoffel? I’ve never seen her before.”

Conrart directed his gaze towards the figures on the steps.

“That’s Lady Elizabeth,” the boy answered. “She’s Raven niece. He’s fostering her.”

“What does ‘foster’ mean?” Wolfram questioned, turning to face his brother as there was nothing now to look at, since the arrivals had gone inside their destination.

“Foster is when your parents leave you in the care of a guardian and let them raise you in the manner they chose. It’s usually done to raise allies between the houses and families,” Conrart replied and Wolfram blinked at the harshness in his brother’s voice.

A heavy weight came to settle suddenly in the young boy’s stomach.

“Is that what Uncle Waltorana wants Mother to do? Let him foster me?” Wolfram asked in a small quiet voice.

“No,” Conrart stated bluntly. “That would mean Mother would still have legal rights over you. He wants full custody so there’ll be no penalties of the law when he takes you to Bielefield and never allow you to see us.”

“Ojiiue wouldn’t do that!” Wolfram screamed, coming to his uncle’s defense furiously.

“Why don’t you ask him yourself then,” Conrart said in an all-too calm tone of voice.

Wolfram scrunched his eyes shut and shook his head in denial, balling his hands into tight little fists as he stood miserably in front of window.

Conrart sighed, taking pity on his younger brother and rested a hand on top of the mop of blond hair comfortingly.

“Come on. Let’s go down to the kitchens and have some tea and cake, all right?” he said softly, gently ruffling the boy’s curls affectionately.

Wolfram nodded slowly and started his way out of the room without speaking.

Conrart narrowed his eyes as he turned his gaze back to the window and stared down at his uncle’s carriage below. He would have to tell Gwendal about this.

He was sure it was no mere coincidence that Stoffel had shown up so unexpectedly at the same time Waltorana was visiting.

oOoOoOo

Wolfram wasn’t too sure of what to think of the girl, Elizabeth. He had watched her across the table at dinner, hoping she would do or say something that he could reply to. There was a great shortage of children at the Demon Castle and the whole of the Great Demon Kingdom itself. Conrart was the closest person to Wolfram’s age and even then, it was getting more and more difficult to play games with his little big brother everyday. It seemed Conart was not playing them because he enjoyed doing so, only that he was pleasing Wolfram, something which annoyed the young boy terribly. He wanted to have someone who was genuinely having fun!

This Elizabeth looked around his age. Maybe she wouldn’t mind playing with him.

Even if she was a girl.

However, from what Wolfram had viewed of her, Elizabeth appeared pretty boring. She had sat quite primly in her chair and cut her food into perfect tiny pieces before chewing them delicately. She had said not a word and had not even looked up once she finished her meal, and merely stared at her hands in her lap.

All in all, she was picture of angelic perfection.

Wolfram crossed her off his list of potential candidates he deemed worthy to interact with him. He didn’t have time to waste on a sissy like her.

The young boy frowned as his thoughts drifted from Elizabeth onto the rest of last night’s events. Although, he wasn’t quite sure of what happened, he did recall Uncle Waltorana say something to Stoffel that made him turn red and sputter indignantly. The next thing he knew, Stoffel had addressed his mother quite vehemently which had sent Celi into a verbal spar with both her brother and brother-in-law. He and Elizabeth had been ushered off to their rooms rather quickly by the maids.

Wolfram wished he understood adult vocabulary better. They used it to an unfair advantage around children too often.

Wolfram sighed, his shoulders drooping. It was now morning and breakfast had been a letdown. Celi had taken her meal in her room, refusing to see or hear from anyone until her mood had passed. Stoffel had been too busy having a conniption fit at losing his sister’s ear for even a short while to even bother eating, and Waltorana had not turned up at all. It had just been him, his brothers and Elizabeth at the table and there had been hardly any conversation. Wolfram had been quite glad to escape the dining room and flee outside.

The young boy found himself trekking through the gardens yet again, and glanced behind him knowing one of his brothers was trailing him even though he couldn’t see who it was. Wolfram scowled, straightened his shoulder and marched onward, determined to prove that he wasn’t as helpless as he they thought he was. Why did they insist on treating him like a baby? He was more than capable of taking care of himself!

And then he was suddenly attacked by a flaming orange beast!

Wolfram shouted in surprise and alarm and fell backwards, his hands extended outward defensively. The boy curled up in a ball on the ground, covering his face with his hands, fearing to even look. Where were his brothers? Where were his mother and uncle? Why weren’t they rushing to his rescue?!

Why…why wasn’t he getting attacked?

There was loud laughter above his head as a shadow fell across him; laughter which sounded shrill and high…like a girl’s.

“Boy, I can’t believe you got so scared! What a wimp!” declared a voice above his head.

Wolfram peeked through his fingers and saw Elizabeth standing over him a satisfied smirk lingering on her face. The young boy’s blood boiled angrily and he felt his face flush red in embarrassment.

“I AM NOT A WIMP!” he yelled, springing up from the ground and shaking his fist at the girl. “TAKE THAT BACK!”

“You are a wimp,” Elizabeth restated, placing her hands confidently on her hips. “Any person who is afraid over their own element is a definitely a wimp!”

Wolfram blinked at her words, momentarily forgetting the slander against his name.

“You’re…you’re a fire elemental too?” he asked a little more than impressed.

From what little knowledge he had managed to remember from the Demon Castle’s advisor and historian, Lord vonKrist, most mazokus possessed an element, the most common being Earth. There were a few uncommons such as Fire and then there was Water, a rare element indeed. So far, the only person he knew with an element was Gwendal who possessed Earth. Even Conrart didn’t have one. But to actually meet someone who had the same contracted element as himself…well, this was quite an experience!

“Yes, I’m a fire elemental and I knew you were too the minute I saw you! What, you couldn’t tell I was? Your wimpy-ness must be blocking your senses,” Elizabeth said, pushing the insult again.

“STOP CALLING ME THAT!” Wolfram howled furiously, doing a little dance of rage.

“No, you are a wimp,” Elizabeth retorted. “I bet you can’t even make a decent fireball!”

Wolfram had about had it with this girl and her know-it-all condescending attitude. He’d show her!

“I can so make a fireball! I can make lots of them! Look!” he exclaimed heatedly, snapping his fingers and summoning dozens of blazing firey orbs out of the air to hover above them.

“See?” Wolfram bragged swaggeringly.

“Not bad for a wimp. But can you make a fire lion yet?” Elizabeth inquired, clapping both hands together and drawing up energy enough to form a huge flaming cat behind her, burning with a brilliance of red, orange and yellow colors, and expulsing heat in torrid waves.

“Wow,” Wolfram gaped in awe, letting the word slip through his mouth without thinking.

Then shaking his head to clear his mind, the boy narrowed his eyes.

“I can do that too! Just watch!” he proclaimed stoutly, copying the same motion he had seen Elizabeth doing with her hands.

Wolfram was very familiar with calling upon his element, perhaps a little too familiar for someone his age as he had often heard others tell his mother, however he was only used to summoning small balls of fire. He could probably summon a hundreds of them and never notice a flux in his power, but to summon so much fire at one time and mold it all into one massive form…Wolfram had never felt so much strain before!

The young boy bit his lip, feeling sweat break out across his forehead as he struggled to bend the fire elements into a bigger and more fierce-some lion than Elizabeth’s. No girl was going to outdo him!

Elizabeth watched Wolfram’s hands shaking at the intense strain and noted how pale his face had gone. Perhaps she shouldn’t have goaded him so much, but he had annoyed her with his ignoring! Practicing her manners certainly hadn’t impressed him. Her mother had been wrong in telling her that she must be a perfect lady to catch a gentleman’s eye. It seemed the only real way to get attention from a boy was a physical assault. Well, it had worked, but now it looked like the stupid boy was going hurt himself at the rate he was going!

“You can stop now, wimp! I believe you!” Elizabeth cried, her hair whipping about her face as an unnatural wind picked up.

The fire elements merging into one above Wolfram certainly didn’t seem to resemble a cat of any kind. Rather, they appeared to be forming one titan-sized burning sphere with red-hot tongues of flame shooting out and licking out at empty space hungrily.

Elizabeth felt the odd tug below her stomach and braced her feet against the ground so she would not answer the invisible pull the blazing giant fireball was drawing towards it. Her eyes widening, she glanced around her to see flowers, shrubs, and even small trees ripped up from their roots and sucked into swirling orb up ahead.

“Stop! Stop! Wolfram, stop it!” she screamed in horror, realizing something had gone horribly wrong.

But Wolfram’s concentration was far too focused on his summoning and the only response the girl received was the welcoming roar of the cataclysm above.

oOoOoOo

“Supreme Super Genius to Frowning Frump! Repeat! Supreme Super Genius to Frowning Frump! Do you copy?” the persistent voice spoke into Gwendal’s ear through a small device called ‘Hear-And-Be-Amazed-At-My-Voice-No-Matter-How-Far-Apart-kun’.

Gwendal’s knuckles whitened as they clenched tightly around the railing on the Demon Castle’s second level overlooking the gardens. Several veins sprang out across his forehead as the voice began again.

“Supreme Super Genius to Frowning Fr-”

“Shut up, Anissina,” Gwendal growled into the handheld gadget that came along with ‘Hear-And-Be-Amazed-At-My-Voice-No-Matter-How-Far-Apart-kun’s earpiece and ground his teeth in irritation. “I can hear you just fine!”

“Supreme Super Genius to Frowning Frump,” the voice replied. “Non-usage of code names is restricted! Waiting for confirmed sighting and report! Over!”

“Will you just put Conrart on the other side?” Gwendal hissed, giving the handheld gizmo his most fearsome Intense Silence and Grumpy Glare, even though it was an inanimate object.

WHHFFFTT, went the static in ‘Hear-And-Be-Amazed-At-My-Voice-No-Matter-How-Far-Apart-kun’s earpiece before his younger brother’s voice broke through.

“Smiling Swords Master to Frowning Frump, what’s your position and status?”

“Oh, Shinou, Conrart, not you too!” Gwendal groaned, pressing the palm of his hand to his forehead in exasperation.

“Sorry, Aniue,” Conrart’s voice said sheepishly. “But the code-names sounded like fun!”

“It wasn’t as easy to think up as yours though, Frowning Frump” Anissina’s voice interrupted. “But nothing is never too difficult for the Supreme Super Genius! OHOHOHOHO!”

“Conrart, do me a favor and whack her a good one,” Gwendal ordered, wishing he was there to do the act himself.

“Not on the left cheek now, Smiling Swords Master! I want to leave that option open for Frowning Frump when grows up and becomes more cheerful! OHOHOHOHO!” Anissina laughed gleefully.

Gwendal felt his face heating up and was glad there was no one around to see his left eye spasm into twitches and his hands involuntary jump into knitting motions.

Dammit, where were his knitting needles when he needed them?!

“Gwendal, where’s Wolfram? Can you still see him?” Conrart’s voice questioned, politely evading Anissina’s last remark.

“Yes, he’s in the gardens,” Gwendal said without looking, grateful that his younger brother was not one to join in teasing. “He ran into Elizabeth. They’re trading insults and showing off their fire elements. They’re going to be best friends before the day is out.”

“Have you spoken to Mother yet?” Conrart asked abruptly.

“No, and it wouldn’t matter when she’s like this. Let her sulk for a while, all the good it will do her. She’s just putting off the confrontation for a later date and stalling for time,” Gwendal stated, unable to keep the disgust out of his voice.

Celi was their mother and her sons loved her, but her actions for dealing with important matters could be better done by a servant. No doubt, she had some childish notion that if she hid away for a short time, her unpleasant situation would vanish completely.

“Uncle Stoffel’s here to make sure his control over her hasn’t slipped, isn’t he?”

“Yes, and perhaps to make sure Waltorana isn’t making a grab at the throne for himself,” Gwendal spoke daringly.

“Aniue, what-” Conrart sounded shocked to hear such a dangerous accusation coming from his brother’s lips.

“Think about it,” Gwendal said. “Everyone already knows Mother is unfit to rule. I don’t care what Shinou’s word is. If Mother keeps acting the way she does, the aristocrats are going to storm the temple and demand a new Maou. Waltorana is always boasting about how much Wolfram looks like Shinou, not too mention how proud he is over the fact that the Bielefields are cousins of the Great One. It may not just be familial concern that brought him here. If he plays his cards right, he can probably twist this whole situation to his advantage. Don’t forget, if the new Maou is too young to rule for a while, he’ll need a Regent…”

“Stop it, Gwendal!” Conrart’s voice shouted, sounding panicked and distraught, his breathing coming over ‘Hear-And-Be-Amazed-At-My-Voice-No-Matter-How-Far-Apart-kun’ ragged and shaken.

Gwendal halted his treacherous tirade against Waltorana, taking pity on his younger brother, who obviously hadn’t elaborated further on why Lord vonBielefield was fighting so viscously to gain custody of his nephew other than the reason of petty jealousy. But then, Conrart who had far too kind a heart, would never understand why people used others as pawns to succeed their goal.

“Stop! Stop! Wolfram, stop it!” screamed a child’s voice filled with horror.

Gwendal snapped his head towards to the gardens below, instinctively searching for his little brother, cursing inwardly at himself. He had gotten so involved with trying to convince someone else of Waltorana’s premeditated schemes that he forgotten to keep an eye on what was important!

Wolfram wasn’t hard to spot. He was easily recognizable: a small blond figure…directly beneath a blazing elliptical vortex already at so an immense size, it was a miracle it hadn’t swallowed its own creator up yet.

‘Hear-And-Be-Amazed-At-My-Voice-No-Matter-How-Far-Apart-kun’s communicator slipped numbly from the mazoku’s fingers and fell to the floor with a clatter.

“Gwendal, Gwendal, what’s going on? Gwendal!” Conrart’s voice exclaimed anxiously out of the receiver.

“WOLFRAM!!!” Gwendal yelled terror-stricken at the ghastly sight.

The mazoku braced both hands on the railing and leapt over the side without a second thought, not caring the he was on the second floor. Nothing mattered.

Nothing mattered except getting to Wolfram.

Gwendal hit the ground hard and staggered at the rigid impact before rushing forward, one arm out reached towards his brother, and even then, he knew it was too late.

He could only watch helplessly as the fiery maelstrom finally broke completely free of Wolfram’s control and inhaled its victory with one large surge of energy, picking up its nearest victims and sucking them towards its smoldering core.

Then like a star suddenly winking out of existence, the blazing vortex heaved a final mighty moan of disbelief before it folded inward on itself and scattered miniscule fire elements every which way, while the repellant force hurled back its would-be victims down to earth.

Elizabeth hit the charred remains of the garden grounds screaming in fright and lay there sobbing as violent tremors racked through her body.

There was a sickening thud as Wolfram plowed head long into the dirt and lay unmoving.

Gwendal flung himself down beside him and enveloped his little brother in his arms, calling his name frantically.

“WOLFRAM! WOLFRAM!”

There was no response and the young boy remained unconscious with a deathly pallid color in his complexion.

Something made Gwendal look up and there he saw across the now destroyed gardens stood Waltorana, sweat shimmering on his face, one hand still raised with small flickering flames dancing around it, and looking far more furious and outraged than Gwendal had ever seen him.

oOoOoOo

“Thought you an immoral and negligent woman, I did. However, an utter idiot never once crossed my mind!”

“How dare you call me such things! I will not stand here and listen to you accuse me-”

“I can accuse you to the fullest degree now, Cecile! You haven’t had the boy properly trained in his elemental skills! Even an infant knows how to manipulate his own element! If I hadn’t stumbled onto the malignant scene, you wouldn’t even have a third son anymore!”

“Wolfram was doing just fine with his summoning! I saw no need-”

“Summoning and manipulating are two entirely different fields! Oh, but of course, I forgot, the Great Demon Queen doesn’t possess an element. She can’t even hold on to her consorts for very long.”

SMACK!

“DESPICABLE CREATURE! GET OUT!”

“You had better be glad that was the right cheek you slapped, Cecile. Any man who gets entangled with the likes of you is a fate I wouldn’t wish on a dog.”

“GUARDS!!!”

“There’s no need to rush into a fit of female hysterics. I’m leaving, but only until you clear you head enough to see the full picture. You can bring up your other two children however you like; it’s far too late to save them from your influence. But Wolfram needs a father figure and a professional tutor for his elemental skills. I suggest you mull that over until the truth seeps into that empty head of yours. I’ll be ready to return and take him to Bielefield at the moment’s notice when you finally decide what’s best for Wolfram and not for yourself!”

The sound of a door slamming and a woman sobbing was woke Wolfram vonBielefield up out from the warm darkness he was drifting in. His senses not fully awake, the young boy frowned at the amount aches and dizziness he was experiencing. His mind reeled wildly, trying to recall exactly why he was lying in bed when the sun was shining brightly outside the window in the room.

What was the last thing he remembered?

Oh, yes: walking through the gardens, Elizabeth and her fire lion…

Fire lion…

Had he made one? There seemed to be a gap in his memory from where he summoned the elements and then started to mold them together. He was drawing a large blank

A lady’s crying brought him back to the present again.

Wolfram turned his head, wondering why he felt so tired at doing such a little motion, and viewed the person sitting in the chair next to his bed, her face buried in her hands and long blonde hair streaming across her shaking shoulders in wavy curls.

“Hahaue?” Wolfram asked hesitantly, not sure if he should bother her.

Celi looked up and managed to smile through her tears.

“Wolfram, darling!” she said softly, bending over him and planting a gentle kiss on his forehead. “How do you feel?”

“What happened, Hahaue? I feel so tired.”

His mother said nothing for awhile, merely smoothing out the wrinkles in his sheets, before she finally spoke again in a quavering voice.

“W-Wolfram, honey, would you like…t-to stay w-with your uncle Waltorana for awhile?”

“Ojiiue?” Wolfram said, his eyes brightening as the corners of his mouth struggled to turn up. “Yeah, I’d like that! For how long though? Aniue’s birthday is coming up. I don’t want to miss it!”

Wolfram blinked in surprise as his mother reached down and embraced her youngest child as tightly as she could without fear of hurting him.

“Hahaue?’ he whispered, not understanding why so many crystal teardrops kept trickling down her cheeks to drip onto his face below.

Straightening back up, Celi stared down at Wolfram’s face, running her hands across every delicate feature on it as if trying to memorize it.

“You won’t forget me, will you, Wol-chan?” his mother asked more to herself than to him. “No, no, of course not. You’re too old not to remember. You’ll come see me and your brothers again when you’re of age, ne? Your uncle can’t keep you away from us forever.”

Wolfram felt the throes of sleep creeping back, threatening to draw him under again. The young boy fought to the best of his ability to stay awake.

There was…something he needed to ask…something….

“Hahaue, did I…make a fire lion? Was it…bigger than Elizabeth’s?” Wolfram murmured, his eyelids drooping.

“Yes, Wolfram,” Celi said softly. “It was the biggest, the best, most beautiful fire lion I have ever seen. I am so proud of you.”

And the last thing Wolfram saw before blissful oblivion overtook him, was his mother’s face smiling down upon him, still glistening with the vestiges of her tears.

To Be Continued..

A/N: Oh, lawsy. I’m sorry for not updating sooner. But yeah, wow. (Rereads chapter). I meant for this one to be funny. The angstbunny kidnapped my muse.

My god, I think I nearly brought myself to tears at the end. And I probably butchered the whole elemental contract, but I only watch the anime, and everything is not crystal clear on that, so I used fanfiction allowances to my advantage.

Please don’t hate Elizabeth. It wasn’t her fault Wolfram got hurt. She had been trained and he hadn’t. True, she was a little stinker here wasn’t she though? Well, now you know where Wolfram learned his greatest insult from (at least in my version)! Hahaha!

There’s more to come! Please review and shared which parts you enjoyed the most or what touched you. Thank you!

Between Two Worlds Ch.2

2008-04-19T18:48:59Z

Title: Bewteen Two Worlds
Author: Schnickledooger (me)
Rating: All Audiences
Characters: Wolfram, Gwendal, Conrart, Celi, Waltorana, Anissina
Genre: Family/General
Setting: Pre-war Great Demon Kingdom
Chapters: 2/?
Summary: Young Wolfram’s world is thrown into chaos when his uncle Waltorana attempts to gain his custody from Celi. It grows more hectic when he is kidnapped on top of that and now the stirrings of war are in the air. Brotherly love, defeating the bad guys, you know, the usual routine^^

First Chapter

Ch.2 Shinou’s Decision

It wasn’t the morning sun streaming in through the windows that awoke Gwendal vonVoltaire, but rather a series of continuous drips of a green liquid from the inside of an overturned beaker that rained down upon his head. Gwendal, once realizing he was in the direct path of vile concoction whose potential destruction knew no bounds, rolled himself out of the way with all haste. Once safely out of the reach of the doomed experiment, he glanced about for his brothers and found them on the floor, snoring softly, both still lost in the throes of sleep; Conrart’s arms were wound protectively around Wolfram and his younger brother’s head was nestled under Conrart’s chin, his golden hair sticking out in unruly tufts every which way.

Gwendal ran a weary hand over his hand and sighed. He knew he had promised Conrart that they would find a way to keep Wolfram with them, however he could not think of any possible course of action they could take that would halt Waltorana’s plans, short of kidnapping Wolfram themselves and locking him up in a tower until someone worthy of him came along.

Actually, that’s not a bad idea, Gwendal mused, and was in the process of deciding just where the tower should be built and how there should be several dragons guarding the location, when Conrart finally stirred.

Blinking sleepily, the brown-haired boy gently extricated himself from Wolfram, whose hands were clenched fast in his shirt in an unrelenting grasp, as if the child had feared he would be ripped away in the night, and sat up, staring at his older brother.

“He’s going to take him away today,” Conrart said numbly, his face filled with an unsettling emptiness.

All of Gwendal’s plans dissolved at that moment. Who was he kidding? A tower? Dragons? It was nothing but wishful daydreaming. The cold facts lay before them bare: Waltorana was not a man to be outwitted by childish schemes. He was going to take Wolfram away from them. This could be the last time they saw their little brother for a long while.

Or perhaps, not ever again…

The brothers’ silent anguish seemed to seep throughout every available space in the room at being face with an obstacle they were unable to overcome.

“AHA!” Anissina crowed triumphantly, her blue eyes flashing wildly as she threw open the door to the lab and spotted the intruders inside, “I KNEW I’D FIND YOU HERE!”

“What do you want?” Gwendal snapped, not feeling up to any of the mazoku girl’s crazy antics.

If it was true that this was the last time they were going to have with Wolfram, then he wanted to make time to say good-bye and create a few more pleasant memories for his youngest brother to carry with him to Bielefield.

That way, it would be more difficult for Wolfram to forget them…

“Did you know the entire castle is in an uproar looking for you three?” Anissina asked loftily, answering a question with a question, “Sir vonBielefield thinks you made off with his nephew in the night under Lady Celi’s orders. Oh, it’s not going good for her at all. He’s accusing her of everything he can possibly throw at her, right down from kidnapping and assault up to negligence against the kingdom. It’s a pity too, right when Ulrike sent word that nothing disturbing the balance of the castle and kingdom could be done without first consorting the Great One.”

“You mean Waltorana doesn’t have the authority to take Wolfram away then?” Conrart pressed eagerly, his heart racing.

“Well, not at the present moment. Not until you travel to the temple and find out what His Majesty Shinou’s decision on the matter is. However, if you don’t appear with Wolfram soon, that little blessing won’t be on your side much longer,” Anissina explained with a flip of her red twin pony-tails.

For the first time since Waltorana had declared the terrible statement of taking their brother away, Gwendal felt the first stirrings of hope rise in his heart. Perhaps there was still a chance to keep Wolfram after all! Locking gazes with Conrart, he saw the same thought openly on his brother’s face.

“Wake him up and let’s hurry back to Mother,” Gwendal said, nodding to Wolfram, who was curled up on the floor, smiling blissfully at something in his dreams, a picture of perfect contentedness.

“Wolfram, Wolfram,” Conrart called his little brother’s name, shaking his shoulder gently.

The blissful smile on the young boy’s face turned into a downward pout as his eyebrows furrowed, however Wolfram did not budge an inch from where he lay, a clear sign that he was desperately clinging to the last vestiges of sleep and did not want to be disturbed in any way.

“Wolfram,” Conrart tried again, shaking his brother’s shoulder a little more firmly.

The small blond not even bothering to open his eyes, wrinkled up his nose and gave an almost inaudible warning growl from the back of his throat.

Conrart refrained from trying to wake Wolfram up at that. The brothers were all too aware of the fact that Wolfram was most definitely not a morning person, and liked to lounge in his bed as long as possible before he came down for breakfast, if he managed to make it to breakfast at all. It didn’t matter how early he was sent to bed; he still woke up with the idea that noon time was the crack of dawn. Celi thought it was rather cute. She called him her little “slug-a-bug” and often got him up herself each morning, since there was no one else brave enough to try. Wolfram was the quite the little horror when he was woken up not of his own accord and for one so small, could deck out some nasty punches and well-aimed kicks and also possessed a ferocious set of baby teeth. Those who were lucky enough to escape injury from those attacks, did not survive being charbroiled to a crisp.

All in all, it was another unspoken rule in the Demon Castle: if you value your life, you do not wake up Lord Wolfram early in the morning.

Both Gwendal and Conrart knew this. It would have been amusing, Gwendal supposed as Conrart gazed at him helplessly at a loss at what to do, if there hadn’t been a need for speed.

“For Shinou’s sake, just carry him,” Gwendal swore exasperated, walking over and reaching down to pick up his youngest brother from around to waist.

Wolfram had been patiently waiting for the next touch. As soon as Gwendal’s hand made contact with him, the young boy’s head snapped out without warning and had sunk his teeth viscously into the intruder of his rest.

Gwendal reeled backwards, roaring like an enraged lion and tried unsuccessfully to shake off his little brother’s iron-clad jaws, and Wolfram, to his capability, hung on like a young, famished piranha.

“LET GO! LET GO, YOU BRAT!” Gwendal bellowed, taking hold of his brother’s golden curls with his free hand and yanking at his head in an attempt to unfasten the sharp visors that way and only accomplished receiving a painful kick in-between his ribs by a small foot.

“Ooh! This is a great opportunity to discover if ‘Stuck-On-You-Forever-kun’ will work in reverse!” Anissina squealed in unadulterated glee as she snatched up one of many inventions litter across the room and held up near Gwendal’s face, exhibiting his would-be death as what looked like a harmless jar of paste had it not been frothing and bubbling wickedly.

“KEEP THAT AWAY FROM ME!” Gwendal yelped in terror and as his hands were both full, hooked a leg behind Anissina’s and swept her feet out from beneath her.

The mazoku girl toppled over with a surprised cry, knocking into the table and sending several inventions flying to floor. Stuck-On-You-Forever-Kun slipped out of her grasp and crashed into the one of the fallen experiments, the same green liquid in a beaker, which had woken Gwendal up.

The resulting explosion shook the entire castle and sent tremendous tremors throughout the length of the grounds right up to the castle gates themselves. When the servants and guards finally arrived and broken in the damaged door of the lab, four very-blackened, frizzy-haired, smoked young mazoku stumbled out coughing.

Celi and Waltorana arrived on the scene in time to see an extremely incensed Gwendal at last released from Wolfram’s biting grip, whom the explosion had seemed to thoroughly wake up. The young child decided to proclaim his furious indignation at having his morning slumber ruined by howling unceremoniously to high heaven. Gwendal noted with some satisfaction that his brother’s teeth had been dyed black from the blast.

“Wolfram-kun!” Celi cried, reaching for him, but Waltorana beat her to it.

“Wolfram, what happened?! Are you hurt?” Waltorana questioned, kneeling down and grasping his nephew’s and checking to see if he had sustained any injuries.

“O-O-Ojiiue!” Wolfram wailed, throwing his arms around his uncle’s neck, acting as if he had been horribly maimed and sucking his concern and worry for all it was worth.

Gwendal snarled inwardly at the sight. Didn’t his brother even remember that Waltorana was trying to separate him from his family, his real family? The enemy was supposed to be avoided, out-witted, not one to run straight into their arms!

“Is this how you raise children, Cecile?” Waltorana accused standing up with Wolfram tightly clinging to his chest, “Letting them run wild throughout the castle with no supervision, not knowing their whereabouts for hours on end, and only locating them by an explosion in which they could have been killed?”

Celi stared at her brother-in-law, mouthing soundlessly, quite at a loss of what to say.

“Oh, but Lord vonBielefield,” Anissina piped up, in an attempt to explain, “Please, sir, it was my-”

“I can only hope that Shinou grants the right decision to be made, which is for me to take the boy as far as possible from your jeopardous clutches,” Waltorana stated running over the mazoku girl’s words as if she was not there, and walking briskly away.

Celi gave a strangled choking sound from deep within her throat and fled down the hallway in the opposite direction leaving her two oldest sons and their friend to ponder on to clean up the mess they had unwillingly created.

“So far, your plan isn’t working well, Aniue,” Conrart said seriously.

Gwendal gritted his teeth and forced down the urge to lash out and bite at something much like Wolfram had done. He was far too mature to be fall prey to that childish desire.

So he settled for giving Anissina’s twin ponytails a good hard yank, relishing the sound of her startled squawking.

oOoOoOo

The carriage ride to Shinou’s temple was rather subdued. Wolfram, now newly-clothed and soot-free sat in his uncle’s lap and amused himself by making faces at his brothers seated opposite him with Celi. Gwendal smugly viewed that it appeared the boy’s blackened teeth were going to remain so for quite some time. Waltorana seemed caught between the choice of who exactly he should glare so he resolved to frown at some point over all their heads. Conrart’s mind was clearly elsewhere as his vacant gaze implied and Celi was making little sobbing cries into her handkerchief while her eyes flashed dangerously over to Waltorana’s direction. It was quite the relief to all to leave each other’s close company when they arrived at their destination.

The shrine maidens led them to the interior of Shinou’s resting place where Ulrike waited, her long silver hair pooled around her feet, and her eyes wide and sad, as if asking for forgiveness.

“You have the answer already,” Waltorana stated pretentiously, overly-confident that the news about to be announced would be in his favor.

Celi bit her lip and Gwendal and Conrart waited with bated breath.

“This is the will of His Majesty the Great One,” Ulrike spoke, her small voice echoing around the shimmering walls of the tomb in a lost fashion, “That His Excellency Wolfram vonBielefield be given into the custody of his uncle, Waltorana vonBielefield-”

Conrart could not stop his outcry of dismay and Gwendal had to quell down his own sudden burst of panic. Celi herself, had collapsed to her knees on the floor and was trembling in consternation.

Gwendal resisted the compulsion to sock Waltorana directly in the face and knock the bastard’s vainglorious smile off.

“Only,” Ulrike added and everyone stilled, waiting for the remainder of the sentence, “If Her Majesty Cecile vonSpitzveg does not step up in her duties as Demon Queen as she should have been doing all along and only if she acts in a manner which His Majesty the Great One finds disapproving in her trial period.”

“Trial period?”

Waltorana was no longer smiling. If anything, he competing with Gwendal for a deepening frown-line between his brow.

“His Majesty Shinou understands Lady Celi has been entirely attentive in her obligation as Demon Queen,” Ulrike explained, “The Great One realizes that His Excellency Wolfram would be under better care and watch with his uncle Lord vonBielefield, however he deems it unfair that a child should be ripped away from the only family he has known without that family given a chance to redeem themselves. Lord vonBielefield may only take His Excellency Wolfram if the extenuating circumstances hereby proclaimed are a risk to the child’s livelihood.”

Waltorana looked positively infuriated, but Gwendal felt the beginning twinge of desire to fall down on his face and worship Shinou in full according for the first time in his life. The message was clear: their mother had best clean up her act and start acting like a real ruler, and if she slipped up under Lord vonBielefield’s scrutinizing eye, he had full authority now to take his nephew and never look back twice.

“Do you accept these terms, Your Majesty Cecile vonSpitveg?” Ulrike asked as Shinou’s mouthpiece.

“Yes, yes!” Celi sobbed, willing to agree to anything that would enable her to keep one of her beloved children.

“Then His Excellency Wolfram may reside under your care still unless you break the contract withheld in your trial period,” Ulrike declared, giving a great sigh as if she had been released from some great pressure.

Celi embraced her youngest son tightly and smothered his face in her ample bosom, tell-tale signs of tears edging out of the corner of her eyes, clearly shaken at how close she had come to losing her child.

Gwendal met Conrart’s gaze and nodded discreetly, able to read the unspoken message. Celi just might actually try to uphold her end of the bargain at becoming a better Demon Queen, however if she failed at that there was nothing they could do to help her. On the other instance of refining her parenting skills, her sons were not about to let her mess up. If needs be, they would make sure Wolfram was properly looked after. They would not give any leeway for his uncle take him to a distant land.

Waltorana had better beware.

Woe betide any person pompous enough to think he could disrupt their family and steal their little brother away.

Waltorana smiled scornfully at his nephew’s two older brothers who were both staring challengingly at him. The aristocrat took off his hat and bowed mockingly at them.

Oh, so it’s a fight you want then, boys? He thought in his head, Then let’s soon unveil the victor. There’s a prize to be won!

A/N: So, I just had to watch the 3^rd ep of Season 3 before I posted the next chapter! Mweee! More Wolfram/Waltorana interaction! X3 I must say, I adore Waltorana now. The vonBielefields sure have handsome genes, don’t they? So, what did you think of this chapter? What did you like about it? Feel free to quote your favorite parts, express musings on what may happen and generally gush about whatever character you love: winks: Thank you for reading! Please review!

Kyou Kara Maou Fanfiction (Wolfram-centered)

2008-04-14T13:53:54Z

Title: Bewteen Two Worlds
Author: Schnickledooger (me)
Rating: All Audiences
Characters: Wolfram, Gwendal, Conrart, Celi, Waltorana
Genre: Family/General
Setting: Pre-war Great Demon Kingdom
Summary: Young Wolfram’s world is thrown into chaos when his uncle Waltorana attempts to gain his custody from Celi. It grows more hectic when he is kidnapped on top of that and now the stirrings of war are in the air. Brotherly love, defeating the bad guys, you know, the usual routine^^

The bright sun beamed down its warm, golden rays upon the head of Wolfram vonBielefield, who was in the garden of Covenant Castle, viscously ripping off the heads of dandelions and imagining they were the ladies of the court, his mother’s gossiping, busy-body friends, who had dared to pinch his cheeks until they were bruised, muss his hair until it was a untidy cowl, and attempted to squeeze the breath out of him when they had gone in for a suffocating hug, much like how one cuddles a pet dog.

The result of the ladies’ actions, especially the hug, had not boded well for Wolfram’s temperament, which was rather short-lived. His oldest brother, Gwendal often remarked he had mood-swings as swift as lightning strikes and as violent as a volcanic eruption. Everyone in the castle knew it best not to upset the youngest son of the Demon Queen for the sake of their own well-being, not from any ruling authority but from the young prince himself. It was no secret that Wolfram possessed the fire element as his magic and used it to the extent of almost deranged enthusiasm.

There was no excuse. The court ladies really should have known better.

The servants and guards all agreed later on that the final conclusion of Wolfram vengefully setting the ladies’ huge frilly dresses on fire and the women’s hysterical shrieking with added over-dramatic actions such as fainting spells and theatrical tears caused more pandemonium than any of Anissina’s Experiments of DOOM ever had. The ladies had wailed and carried on as if they were dying even when the last simmers of steam had ceased rising from the charred remains of their fine gowns.

“That horrid little beast!” one lady had managed to accuse through her histrionics, “He should be given a good thrashing!”

“M-m-monster!” another cried, trembling from either anger of fear, or perhaps both, “He should be punished severely! He almost killed us all!”

This statement seemed to remind the ladies that they were supposed to be in the midst of an exaggerated display of fits and proceeded where they had left off with their shrieking and tears.

Wolfram, having now finished uprooting and plucking off the heads of all the dandelions, moved onto the goldenrods, his face set in a sulking glare as he recalled his mother’s words on the matter.

“Wolfram, baby, you can’t just set people who upset you on fire,” Celi said, looking terribly amused and trying desperately hard not to laugh.

“They’re awful, ugly old crones!” Wolfram had declared boisterously so the ladies would hear him over their dramatic staging, “Why don’t they all go back to the swamps they crawled out of?”

He had been sent to weed out the garden for that last proclamation although the ladies were insulted at their attacker receiving so light a punishment and demanded a more just retribution than that. Celi had attempted to mollify them, however Wolfram still managed to thumb his nose at them all and stick out his tongue before he was hastily escorted from their sight.

I hope they all grow warts and turn into toads, Wolfram thought maliciously as he non-too gently uprooted another goldenrod from the ground.

“What’s this?” came a familiar voice suddenly, “My favorite nephew, a royal prince, weeding the garden like a commoner?”

“Ojii-san!” Wolfram exclaimed happily, leaping up and running to his uncle, flinging his arms around the man as far as they would go.

Waltorana smiled down upon his nephew who had buried his face into the front of his vest. The boy was getting taller. His head now came just above his stomach; the last time he had visited him, he was barely the height of his knee.

He’s growing up too quickly, Waltorana mused, his eyebrows furrowing slighty, All the more reason for me to have returned when I have.

“Well, are you going to tell me the reason you were elbow deep in dirt or shall I dig up the story out of some servant like you were digging up those weeds?” Waltorana asked teasingly, placing a hand on his nephew’s head.

Wolfram swiftly related his tale of horror to his uncle about the evil court ladies, their grabbing hands, how he had solved the problem with his element and his getting in trouble for it, watching as his uncle’s face closely as his expression changed from amused to one he couldn’t quite identify: somewhere between concerned and vexed, though not at him, persay.

“Your mother still keeps that pack of idle gossip-mongers about her then?” Waltorana inquired, his voice terse.

Wolfram nodded, wondering if it was too much to hope for that his uncle take his side and allow him the joy of burning the remains of the ladies’ dresses and perhaps their hair as well.

“No doubt she lends an ear to their soft whisperings concerning how the kingdom could function best,” Waltorana murmured, more to himself than to Wolfram.

“Are you going to stay a long while this time, Uncle?” Wolfram asked, not really understanding the meaning of the previous statement.

“Until a certain affair of mine has been settled,” Waltorana responded, giving his nephew

a long, full look, before redistributing his gaze to a place over Wolfram’s shoulder, and his expression hardening.

Turning around, Wolfram saw Conrart standing beside one of the garden’s short shrubs with a rather stoic countenance. Though he wasn’t too sure, Wolfram often thought that his uncle didn’t like Conrart for some reason. He supposed he must be imagining things, because his uncle seemed fine with Gwendal. He wasn’t overly-friendly towards his oldest brother, but he at least respected him.

“Wolfram, mother says it’s time for your swordsmanship lesson,” Conrart addressed his younger brother, though his gaze never left Waltorana.

“Really?” Wolfram shouted, amazed and ecstatic.

As young as he was, he didn’t get regular practice with a sword like his two older brothers. Sometimes, though, Celi would relent and let him train for a short while. What puzzled him though, was why his mother decided to do that today of all days, especially when he was supposed to “toil away the sins of his crimes” according to one of the ladies.

Now he was being offered a reward? Had Celi finally grown annoyed at them too?

“What about me weeding out the garden?” Wolfram asked, hesitating.

“Mother says forget it. You’re to come with me and we’ll spar. Mother wants to have a talk with Sir vonBielefield,” Conrart said solemnly, before turning and walking away.

“Wolfram,” his uncle spoke before he could follow, “You know humans are no good, right? Never trust one. They are full of lies and deceit.”

“All right, Uncle,” Wolfram said, staring at Waltorana’s face, which was riddled with frown-lines, “I’ll remember.”

Wolfram hurried quickly to catch up with his brother, wondering why his uncle had chosen to bring up the topic of humans so suddenly and why Conrart’s gait was so stiff and tense.

oOoOoOo

It had been an eventful and particularly good day for Wolfram. Not only had he flambéed some air-headed females, he had gotten to practice sword-fighting and his uncle had come for a visit! Wolfram was positively bursting with happiness as he swung his feet to and fro from his seat at the dining table, waiting for dinner.

“Guess what, Aniue?” Wolfram gushed excitedly as Gwendal joined him at the table, “Uncle Waltorana has come to visit me!”

“Yes, I know,” Gwendal said tersely, his knuckles unconsciously clenching.

“I hope he brought me present,” Wolfram voiced out loud, “Maybe a pony! Then I could go riding with you and Conrart without one of you carrying me.”

Gwendal said nothing, and only pursed his lips tightly.

Conrart, who was already seated at the table, gazed worriedly at him and opened his mouth to speak, but halted when Celi and Waltorana entered the room.

Celi held herself in a very strained manner as she walked towards the table, her eyes hurling daggers at Waltorana as she sat in her chair. Waltorana, himself seemed taunt, however there was an air of superiority as he took a seat, as if he had gained the upper hand in some hidden matter.

The meal that evening consisted of silence except the dinging noises of silverware on plates and Wolfram’s babbling chatter, oblivious to the thundercloud that loomed over the table.

“What would you say to me taking you to Bielefield for a while, Wolfram?” Waltorana asked his nephew, ignoring the sharp intake of breath from Celi.

“Really? Like a visit?” Wolfram inquired delighted. The day kept getting better and better!

“Yes, something like that,” his uncle said, appearing pleased at his nephew’s enthusiasm.

“Yay! I’d love to!” Wolfram cried joyfully, throwing his hands up in the air, spork and all.

“Well, perhaps when there’s time, we’ll see if a trip is available,” Celi spoke up, her voice heavily laced with nettle.

“Oh, I have plenty of time, Cecile. Time’s no issue for me. We could set out tomorrow,” Waltorana said, sounding faintly amused.

“I was not referring to you, you insufferable intermeddler,” Celi hissed as she tightened her grip on her wine-glass, her hand shaking with repressed rage, “As the Demon Queen, I have duties that are time-consuming and must be looked into before I dabble into things entertainment-wise.”

“Strange,” Waltorana stated as he neatly cut through his meat with one swift slide of his knife, “From what I’ve heard as news, your ‘time-consuming duties’ seem to have slipped into the hands of your brother, Stoffel, while you are known to throw lavish parties that sometimes last for days.”

“You should not believe such ridiculous rumors!” Celi retorted, her face aflame with fury and embarrassment.

“But you did throw a party last week, Mother!” Wolfram piped in, beginning to see a bit of the tension that was clearly evident to the others and wanting to ease the discomfort somehow, “Remember that drunk baron who threw up in the punch bowl?”

“Quiet, Wolfram!” his mother snapped, but the damage had been done.

“Were you at this party, Wolfram?” his uncle inquired in a dangerously soft tone, no longer looking amused.

“I always go to Mother’s parties,” Wolfram said, puffing out his chest proudly, “Because I’m your escort, right, Mother? I’m the one who sends away all the people she doesn’t want to talk to. I allowed to set them on fire.”

Wolfram blinked as he looked around the table not understanding family’s different expressions. If Gwendal’s frown grew any more deeper, it would certainly become a permanent impression; and Conrart’s look of pain as if someone had kneed him in the gut worried the young boy. Celi, herself, was staring at Waltorana haughtily, as if daring him to say something. And his uncle seemed to be caught between shock and outrage.

Several long seconds passed, before Waltorana found his voice and when he spoke, it was in a firm, grim tone, “We discussed this matter earlier, Cecile. You gave me your word on the boy’s proper upbringing and now am regretting on not coming sooner. I am leaving tomorrow and taking Wolfram with me.”

Wolfram supposed at that moment, he should have realized something was terribly wrong, however it was not until his mother’s next response that jolted him to the core of how serious the situation was.

“You, you-WRETCH!” Celi screamed at his uncle, jumping up and flinging her the contents of her wine-glass in his face.

“I do not know what my poor late brother ever saw in the likes of you, Cecile vonSpitzveg!” Waltorana thundered, standing upright, running a napkin over his face and flinging it violently onto the table, “There’s only one good thing that ever came out of your nuptial vows and that is Wolfram, and I will not stand by and watch him be corrupted by your misguided, sullied ideals!”

It was utter chaos in the next following minutes. Wolfram’s memories of it later on were rather blurred. He was confused and frightened at the loud shouting his mother and uncle were doing and remembered bursting out into tears and asking them to stop, to which neither of them seemed to hear him. The next thing he knew, Conrart’s arms had enveloped him and Wolfram had buried himself into the warmth and secure ness they offered. He recalled being carried out of the dining room quickly and seeing Gwendal’s broad back as both his brothers hastened down the castle’s hallways and corridors until they had reached their intended destination and had barricaded themselves inside. Then Conrart had held Wolfram until his younger brother’s tears had run out.

“M-M-Mother’s being m-mean to Ojii-san!” Wolfram wailed, lifting his puffy red face up from his brother’s shirt.

“Your uncle’s being pretty rude himself!” Gwendal retorted before he could stop himself, thus resulting in Wolfram throwing an intense temper tantrum.

The young boy may not have had any fluid left in eyes to cry, but his lungs proved themselves to be quite healthy as the room was swiftly filled with ear-piercing screams. Wolfram really had no idea why he was even throwing a tantrum. He was simply confused, worried and upset all at one time and released his emotions the only way he knew how.

When the boy’s temperament grew to the extreme of having small flickering flames of fire flare-up around him, Conrart decided enough was enough.

“Stop it, Wolfram,” his brother said in a no-nonsense manner, “This is Anissina’s lab. You might accidentally start up one of her experiments.”

Wolfram quickly halted his violent outburst and stared wide-eyed about their surroundings taking in the strange contraptions and odd-fangled gadgets strewn about the place at random.

“Why are we here?” he asked “I thought Anuie said if anybody ever went into Anissina’s lab they’d end up talking like a seal, sprouting chicken feathers and walking backwards for the rest of their lives.”

Gwendal had the grace enough to blush and cleared his throat hastily, “Yes, well…I may have…exaggerated a bit. The point is, no one will dare set foot here, so we’re safe until we think up a plan.”

“A plan for what?” Wolfram questioned, his eyelids drooping slightly.

“Keeping you here with us and Mother where you belong and possibly finding a way to make your uncle disappear without raising questions,” Gwendal stated, “Do you suppose Anissina has an invention could turn him into a slug?”

“Gwendal!” Conrart chided frowning and braced himself, half-expecting Wolfram to throw another tantrum, but the young boy was strangely quiet.

He thought Wolfram might have fallen asleep from all the past excitement until a small sad forlorn voice broke the air.

“Why are Uncle and Mother fighting? Is it because of me?”

“Your uncle doesn’t think Mother is raising you up the right way, or rather, he thinks he can do a better job,” Gwendal explained in a huff, folding his arms across his chest, “He’s trying to gain your custody so you’ll be in charge of your living conditions and upbringing. And his idea of the best way to rear you is to keep you as far way from Mother and us.”

“T-T-That’s not true, is it, Conrart?” Wolfram asked, his voice quaking in disbelief, “Uncle wouldn’t do something that cruel, would he?”

Conrart turned his head away from his younger brother, not wanting to see those hurt green eyes, before he answered softly, “He doesn’t think it’s cruel, just something necessary.”

“Liar!” Wolfram yelled, glaring up at him, “You don’t like Ojii-san! You never did! That’s probably why he doesn’t like you!”

“WOLFRAM!” Gwendal barked out in a voice that sent chills up the young boy’s spine, “There is no need to take your frustration out on Conrart! This is all your precious uncle’s doing! Do you want to live with him?”

When Wolfram failed to respond right away and seemed to find the floor entirely fascinating, Gwendal took offense.

“I see. So that’s how it is,” he said quietly, turning away in a disgusted manner.

The sound of Wolfram’s sniffles echoed throughout the lab’s four walls.

“That’s not fair to ask him to choose, Gwendal,” Conrart said, drawing his younger brother close, “He’s just a child.”

“Yes, he’s just a child who knows hardly anything about life and is young enough to have other people’s opinions and views easily influence the way he thinks. Do you really want him to grow up under Waltorana’s teachings, Conrart? You of all people?” Gwendal asked almost accusingly.

Conrart’s complexion turned rather pallid and he held Wolfram tighter.

“But there’s no need to worry, is there?” he asked, “Mother is the Demon Queen. Surely her word is law. She won’t let his uncle take him away.”

Gwendal scoffed at such a proclamation and chuckled dryly, “Ha! Waltorana made one good point. Mother is Queen only in title. Uncle Stoffel is her puppet-master and her parenting skills are poorly lacking even though she does love us dearly. If he wants to take Wolfram and makes a strong enough case, he’ll have every right to. After all, it’s not as though he’s a distant relative. Wolfram’s father was his own brother.”

“We can’t…let him take Wolfram away.”

Conrart’s voice shook when he spoke, making Gwendal realize again how young his brother was, despite his older appearance due to his human genes. He was only a couple of decades older than Wolfram.

“We won’t let him. I promise,” Gwendal said, his expression relaxing as he knelt down beside his two younger brothers and encircled both of them in his arms, “We’ll think of something.”

The three brothers stayed in that tightly-knitted group the whole night, soothing their minds’ anxious distress with the warmth and closeness of each others’ bodies and a bond that they all shared-unwavering, unbroken-a bond of love.

To Be Continued…

A/N: So, how many of you, after watching the second episode of Season 3 were captivated by the brief scene of Wolfram and his uncle and the strain it places upon Wolfram’s relationship with his brothers? :raises hand: Me! Me! I can not wait for the third episode and hope I see more Waltorana in the future. Sorry if I got any facts wrong. I only watch the anime and lurk in the KKM LJ comms so I will understand and know anything not revealed in the show. Please review, tell me what you thought of my fic, and I love seeing you quote your favorite parts! Thank you!

Yuuri's Christmas Present

2007-12-17T20:14:27Z

Author/Artist: Schnickledooger
Characters/Pairings: Yuuri/Wolfram
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Hints of SMUT!
Theme/Prompt being used: Holiday

For the KKM Challenge, though I must say I am astonished that I actually drew something like this1 (<-<) ;;;
I hope everyone likes it! WHOOT!

One Wolfram Drawing

2007-08-17T22:09:11Z

FINALLY Prompt #6 is here and I for once, DON'T have a Wolfram cross-dressing picture:GASP!:

No really, this drawing is dedicated to all of Wolfram's many admirerers out there, may they be full out obsessive or secretly stalking the Adonis of Hotness, here is a pic that shows a true fangirl's heart, heehee...

I give you THE PIC! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! >:D

Hugs and kisses to angelbloodyrose for the awesome icon and total WIN-NESS of that phrase X3!

Harry Potter Mania!!! (No spoilers, haven't read the book yet)

2007-07-21T05:33:53Z

So, I just got back from the midnight Harry Potter at Books-A-Million and am SUPER PYSCHED!!! I had a blast! I went with my mom and we arrived at the store around 7:00 to get a head start. I read manga until 9:00 when the party officially began. OMG! I've forgotten the title of the manga now, but I was flipping through it, and glimpsed a phrase I thought I must be dreaming up. So I looked again and there it was: "Avada Credava". XD
In a MANGA book! LOL! (One character was muttering this in his sleep, while his roommate looked on sweatdropping, thinking, "Is he trying to curse me in his sleep?") XD XD XD!

Anyway, back on track, I met a couple of friends from uni, as well as some old ones from high school. We walked around making fools of ourselves at the local HP stations: Tea leave readings, wand-making, etc. I made a wand, one of the last people who got a chance since they ran out of tape. Stopped by the potions sections, where drinks were served in these little black cauldron cups. Turns out there were different types of teas in them. Mine was green tea, which I identified immediately by the smell, having been very well associated with ocha, ever since taking Japanese. It was much stronger than my usual green tea, so I decided to help myself to the jug of red liquid on the table to sweeten the brew. Unfortunately for me, it turned out the drink was not kool-aid like I thought and was red vinegar! The reason for having that on the table was never explained-_-;;.

After that, a voice announced that face-painting would begin at the kids section by the train. Wouldn't you know it? That was where my unfortunate kool-aid mishap was. I was second in line! Which was a good thing, since a horde of kids came stampeding from all four corners of he store at once. I got a red lightning bolt on my forehead and a green snake on my right cheek.

Then the costume party began, and the manager came and asked my mom if she wanted to be in on the judging! o.o! :O! @_@! So, I got to watch the parade of characters up close, but could not vote sadly. The winners: Remus Lupin (omg, he looked just like HIM!), Professer Trelawney and Nymphadora Tonks (who were mother and daughter-both outfits VERY cool), and one small Draco Malfoy from the first two movies with his hair slicked back XD!

The costume parade also had some very weird and funny people too. For instance, one kid came in normal clothing and pronounced he was Marvin the Mad Muggle (from Ron's comic book^^), another kid was Hedwig, all decked out in white feathers from head to toe, another was a box of Chocoalte Frogs, another were a group of three people, each with different masks (Halloween-ish) holding light sabers-yes, LIGHT SABERS from STAR WARS, who claimed they were Hogwarts Rejects. One of the Hogwarts Rejects claimed he was Harry as in 'Hairy" because he was wearing a werewolf mask^^;;. The judges had a hoot with the whole thing.

After the costume contest, the voice announced on the speaker to get in line, half an hour till 12:01. There was a mad scramble (I have never seen people move that fast in my life).I wasn't in the front, but not the back, someplace in the middle. They wheeled out the books around 11:45 all stacked up in their happy little boxes with the lettering "Do not open until July 21st". People were snapping pictures, but me being stupid, had forgot my camera-_-;;. The line moved pretty quickly once time reached 12:01. When I reached the cash register, all the computers froze and stopped scanning the vouchers. The employees (with red shirts reading "Muggle Crew") were freaking out, scared about the potential mob they would have on their hands if people did not receive their long-awaited book. Finally the manager shouted, "JUST TAKE THEIR VOUCHERS! MOVE! MOVE!" Heehee^^!

I grabbed my book and met my old high school friends out side and was in the process of trying to find a pencil so we could exchange emali addresses, when my nightmare came true. Some freak-azoids nearby opened the book (no spoilers, I promise!), flipped to the end and apparently shouted who died, were going to shout who died, or was in the middle of shouting who died. I didn't hear the words, thank god! I did become aware of the dangerous situation when the people around us surged towards the party-poopers, screaming "NO! DON'T!"

At this point, both me and my old high school friends began "LA-LA-LA-LA-ing" very loudly while covering our ears, while we somehow managed to exchange email addresses. Then I hopped into the car and told my mother to step on the gas (all while I was humming as loud as possible to drone out excited buzz outside the shop). I'm not sure what the mob did to those party-poopers, but I hope they received a few good whacks of justice.

I wish I could read the book right now and finish it over the weekend, however my Japanese midterm in on Tuesday, and I really have to study (T^T)!!! Then I have chapter and kanji quizzes throughout next week, so I probably won't get to read it and have it done with until next Monday, waaaah! So, I'm going to stay away from the internet for this week, until I have read the book. I know spoilers will be popping up everywhere.
So, good-bye for a short while. Hear from you all soon as I have finished the last HP book:cries some more: (T^T)!

Lurve,
-Schnickledooger^_~

P.S. Went to a shop and found DOZENS of HP T-shirts and merchandise. Bought Sirius Black shirt, as he is my favorite. Am going back for a Snape one next week.

P.P.S If anyone wants to share their HP experience do so. Only please don't leave spoilers. I won't go online until I finish the book, however other people may not have read it yet and still take the chance of surfing the net. Please be considerate of them. Thank you. Hope you had as much of a fun time as I did!