Word Count: chapter: 1,044||story: 34,554||Chapters: 30/30

In the days since Brron's defeat and Rune's ascension to command in the castle, everything there had been more or less like a holiday. There were still stresses and problems to be dealt with, but Shou didn't have to worry about those. Or rather, everyone told him that he didn't have to worry about them. He only needed to concentrate on getting better.

That didn't stop him from hearing the stories about how Lord Phoenix and Warrior Asuka teamed up to not just spar against one another, but to go up against a would-be revolution led by one of Brron's former underlings. Two stood up against many and the two returned, tired and drained and with battle injuries, but alive.

What surprised Shou about that more than anything was that it was Imp who told him of it. The little monster flopped back into his life a couple of days after he and Ryou met Fubuki on the balcony, introduced himself to the bard as he kept asking questions of the brothers, and insisted that he'd been with Brron for years and could tell anything that Fubuki wanted to know, and would in exchange for food.

Clearly Imp's loyalty to anyone was forged by whoever fed him last. That didn't surprise Shou at all. And at least now Imp didn't dig those nails into him. He could get along without that.

Rumors ran rampant everywhere in a castle, something Shou had known since soon after coming there, and rumors sometimes resolved themselves into facts: such as the imminent arrival of Johan and his affianced Haou.

Or was Johan affianced to Haou? Shou couldn't get the protocol for it sorted. No one else seemed to care, anyway, but it kept his mind occupied.

Imp himself brought in word on the day of the arrival. They still remained a short distance away, an hour or so, as everyone burst into frantic activity to have everything cleared up and a feast awaiting the most powerful of the warlords of the world.

Every rumor Shou ever heard about Haou spoke of his ruthlessness, his unyielding determination, and the way he disposed of those who stood against him with little more than a wave of one hand. No one even knew where he'd come from. He'd risen to power only a handful of years earlier, and if anyone knew what he looked like underneath his black armor, they'd never mentioned it where Shou might hear of it.

One thing did whisper around, though: tales of Haou's golden eyes. Eyes of burning, searing gold, that focused on one and spoke eloquently of death to those who dared to stand against him.

Just the mention of them made Shou shudder and he could not see how Johan would want to marry such a person. But apparently he did, and now they arrived for the ceremony itself.

Everyone stood before the castle to await the new arrivals. A plume of dust in the distance heralded them. Ryou and Shou had both recovered enough strength so they could join the waiting crowd. Tingles of fear-sweat and nervous-sweat pooled in his back.

In due course, the plume resolved itself into a large carriage, pulled by a pair of fine horses. In front of the carriage there flew a green-armored warrior with fine white wings and beside him there galloped or flew – Shou didn't know which word to use – Johan's beautiful Sapphire Pegasus. There were other guardians to all sides and a small guard contingent bringing up the rear. All in all, a suitable escort for Haou and Johan.

The carriage drew to a halt in front of the castle and the winged warrior stood by the carriage door.

"Haou-sama, Johan-sama, we have arrived," he announced, opening the door.

Johan stepped out first, as brilliant as Shou remembered him, if not more so. He bounced out and ran right over to his brother, caring not a whit for dignity, and hugged him.

"Don't you look fine!" Johan said, grinning. "Running things suits you."

Rune chuckled, giving Johan an examining look of his own. "And I see he's treated you well."

"What would you expect?" Johan turned back to the carriage as an armored figure emerged.

Shou shivered at the sight as the most feared warlord of them all turned toward them. Then he reached up and slid his helmet off, tucking it underneath his arm.

"I'm still mad that you guys went ahead and finished Brron off without me," Haou said, and at the sound of his voice, Shou's jaw dropped, all but brushing his knees.

Ryou shrugged. "It turned out to be necessary. I claimed blood-right on him after what he did to Shou, anyway."

"That's right..." Haou turned toward Shou and what little bit of restraint Shou had slid away as he got a good look at Haou's features.

His eyes weren't gold. His features were older and sharper and more mature with the passing of years, but Shou still remembered him, and now he recognized him.

His voice choked in his throat. He wanted to say something so much, but it was Haou who broke the silence.

"It's been a long time since I saw you. I wasn't even sure if it really was you when I heard about what was going on here. But it is."

Haou stepped toward him and from Shou's throat there emerged a tiny, unbelieving squeak that might've been a name. He swallowed again and tried again.

"J-Ju-Ju-" He couldn't make it. The word wouldn't leave his lips. But Haou smiled anyway and held one hand out to Shou, who showed no inclination to take it. A mix of fear and anger and confusion sealed him where he was.

Then Ryou's hand landed on his shoulder and Shou looked up, wanting some kind of an answer, and his brother nodded.

"It's really him."

It was all that needed to say. The name finally wrenched itself out of Shou's lips, flavored with disbelief all the same, because how in the world could the boy that he'd known become this warrior, this leader?

"J-Juudai?"

Yuuki Juudai gave the most cheerful of grins, one all out of keeping with his armor and his status. "That's me! How've you been?"

The End

Notes: There will be stories involving how Juudai rose to power, how he unlocked his power as Haou, how things resolved with Ryou, Saiou, and Edo, and ones about Fubuki and Asuka, before and after this one. Oh, and Yubel will be there too. After all, my true OT3 is Yubel/Juudai/Johan!

And I hope that you'll be there for all of those stories, no matter how long it takes me to write them.