Significant

The tension he felt on the way here was finally easing. Yuuri had agreed good-naturedly to accompany him to the dolphin show. The thought of going out on a date with Shibuya Yuuri made his usual laid-back self nervous; but now that he was here, watching the dolphins and the really cute trainer, he felt excited and happy, even though he knew that Yuuri didn't see this outing like he did.

When Yuuri uttered something, he didn't respond right away, though he started listening.

"What is so fun about two guys watching a dolphin show together?" Yuuri muttered, and Murata had to ignore the slight pain the words gave him. "And I got a weird stamp on my hand."

Someone else might have snapped at Yuuri for being insensitive, and for going somewhere where he didn't want to go. Murata was not someone else. Instead, he turned his bright smile to Yuuri. "Coming to the aquarium every now and then isn't so bad."

Yuuri sighed, looking down. "Maybe if I was with a girl."

An opportunity! Murata perked up and his grin widened. "Want to hold my hand then?" He knew Yuuri would probably decline. He never took his flirting seriously. Maybe that was a good thing.

He paused, and looked like he was thinking about it—which was an oddity into itself. Then he laughed. "Why not?"

Murata's heart leapt to his throat, but nothing changed on his cheerful visage. He took Yuuri's hand and marveled at the warmth and feel of his hand, as well as the tingles through his body that the sensation gave him. He stared at the sight of their fingers entwined, finding the contrast between Yuuri's tanned skin and his own pale skin beautiful. His eyes darted up to see that Yuuri was also staring at their hands. This didn't seem to be a joke anymore. Yuuri opened his mouth to say something.

"Okay, the boy with the green and white striped shirt… please come to the stage!" the pleasant voice of the trainer said, disrupting the moment. Yuuri's hand immediately detracted from his, and he looked around in surprise.

"This is great, Shibuya!" Murata exclaimed, and grabbed Yuuri's arm to pull him up. "Okay! Here he comes!"

As they walked down the stadium, Murata sighed. As much as he liked to say that this was a date, he knew the real reason why he brought Yuuri here—because Ulrike wanted him to. He had forgotten about his duty.

But who could blame him? He may be the Great Sage, but that didn't mean he was immune to love.

He knew for a long time that Shibuya Yuuri was the next Maou. But he had never initiated any contact or friendship, as his only duty was to observe him. Until that one day, when that group of thugs were bothering him. Truthfully, he had more than enough power to take them out, but that would break his cover, so he thought he was stuck. When Yuuri actually saved him, at his own expense, he was struck at how kind and noble he was. (Besides, who could deny Yuuri's attractiveness?) When he met up with him again at the bathroom, he decided that he needed to know this boy.

Not because he was the Maou. But because he was Shibuya Yuuri.

The crush consumed him—was still consuming him—enough to become a manager of a baseball team, just to see him more. He was glad that he did that, because seeing him look so happy playing his favorite sport was beautiful. It was hard work, but completely worth it.

He stopped his introspection when they finally reached the stage. Yuuri was endearingly flustered by this. When Yuuri fell into the pool, he knew that he was going to New Makoku. He longed to go with him, but he remembered what Ulrike said.

"Not this time, Your Highness. But soon, you may accompany him."

This comforted him, because he was blind to a huge part of Yuuri's life. Also, he wanted to see the world where he really belonged to again. When Yuuri finally came up, he had no clothes on, which made Murata believe that he had been taking a bath. They quickly covered him up, which was probably a good thing, because even though he had bathed with him before, that didn't mean he didn't want to see him naked again.

The thought made him blush as he looked down on the still out Yuuri. When his eyes opened, a relieved smile bloomed on Murata's face. While he knew that Yuuri would come around eventually, for a moment he was genuinely worried that he wouldn't. As he explained to Yuuri what happened, he noticed that Yuuri seemed wiser and more mature. (But not by too much, because this was Shibuya Yuuri he was looking at).

He knew that for now—the handholding aside--he was just a high school student, insignificant compared to the other figures in his life. But he couldn't wait until he could be by his side, not only in Japan, but in New Makoku. Maybe then, there would be more than handholding. Maybe then, he would be significant.