Limbo

Summary: Yamuraiha attempts to sort out her feelings for Sharrkan after learning about his marriage. Based off 'Magi' manga chapter 315.

Rating: M (for sexual content)

Pairing: Sharrkan x Yamuraiha

Genre: Romance

Yamuraiha was lying on her bed, curled up to one side and clutching at her head as if it hurt. She knew that it would start to hurt soon, given the myriad of things swimming through her mind at the moment. She was terribly confused, replaying whatever had happened earlier in her head over and over, trying her hardest to make sense of it all. She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that she'd eventually fall asleep and not have to deal with this mess until she woke up. But her chest ached each time she recalled what had happened just a couple of minutes ago. What was supposed to be a jovial reunion with Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana had become a fierce battleground between herself and the king of Heliohapt.

King Sharrkan.

Yamuraiha scoffed, both at her absurd behaviour and at the man that her rival had become. Marriage was something perfectly normal for someone of his status, and given his womanizing ways, surely he would have found a prospective bride by now. Probably a beautiful, smart princess too, she thought bitterly. Besides, from what he had told them before, his underlings had been pushing for him to get married quickly in order to bear his country an heir. It was likely that he already had a marriage in order, just that he had yet to tell her about the details or formally invite her to the wedding.

The sorceress found herself begin to wonder how the bride would look like. She would probably have tan skin just like his that seemed to glow in the sun, formidable assets that would make any perverted man like him drool, a kind, gentle voice that would patiently deal with that nuisance of a man...

She snapped herself out of her thoughts. With a frustrated groan, she turned around and lay sprawled out on her large bed. Facing the pristine white ceiling that for some reason reminded her of his silky white tresses, she heaved a long sigh. What was she doing? Why did she feel so bitter about this, anyway?

Okay, fine, she knew why. She wasn't as stupid or dense as that thick-headed swordsman. She did have some feelings for him, but even so she would never admit to them or act on them. Ever.

After returning to their respective home countries, they had agreed that they would move on and live their lives to the fullest for their countries. She had already promised herself that she would give up on that silly crush of hers, and that she would fully devote herself to the running of Magnostadt, just as her father would have wanted. For months after leaving Sinbad's abode, she had committed herself fully to work, drafting policies and plans for the people of Magnostadt to prepare for Sinbad's revolution. Everyone had thought she was doing fine, or assumed that she was.

Tears pricked her eyes. He never came to visit her. Not even once. It was like he didn't even care. Most, if not all, of her old colleagues had found the time and made the efforts to see her at least once in the last three years. Him? The most they would do was chat over the phone for a few minutes before either of them had to attend to other pressing matters. Sure, they fought and quarrelled a lot each time they bumped into each other or when they got in each other's way in battles, but truth be told, he had been one of her closest friends. To not visit her even once... it had hurt a lot more than she thought it would.

Masrur was the only who picked up that she had been the one most affected by the disbanding of the Eight Generals. He had also been one who visited her the most, like the older brother figure that he was. And every time he came over, he would silently observe her and easily see through her façade. Maybe it was another ability of a Fanalis - to be able to see through lies. Not once did he buy her excuses of "Oh, I'm fine, Masrur," or "Don't worry about me, I'm doing perfectly well on my own". Each time she did that, he would only stare at her with that stern gaze of his and break the invisible Borg that she had subconsciously built around her heart during that difficult period.

"You miss him," he said one day while she was rushing to and fro in her study with piles of paperwork to do, and she stopped abruptly in her tracks, nearly dropping everything in her arms.

"H-Huh?" she stuttered, hoping he hadn't already caught on. "W-What do you mean?"

"Let's go." He easily took the pile of papers that she had been struggling to carry and placed them neatly on her table.

"Go where?" she asked, although she could already tell what the answer was. She wasn't about to give it up so easily though.

"To Heliohapt. You want to see him." It wasn't even a question. Her eye twitched and she turned away, trying hard to ignore the pit that her stomach was falling into.

"This is no time to joke around, Masrur," she replied, plastering a smile on her face, "I have a lot of work to do. I can't just up and leave like that. Besides," an almost inaudible sigh escaped her lips, "I don't want to see him."

"You don't dare to see him," was Masrur's matter-of-fact reply, to which Yamuraiha had nothing to say in return. He had hit the nail on the head, and was giving her a look which meant he knew all about it and wasn't going to accept any more bald-faced lies, which really frustrated her. He was always doing this, being so... so infuriatingly correct.

"Maybe another time," she finished lamely, "I really have a lot of work to do right now. I have a meeting to get to in an hour, and all this paperwork to do..."

He only stared at her in silence for a moment, unnerving her to no end as she tried to anticipate his response. Because, well, if he wanted to he could just carry her off straight to Heliohapt and she wouldn't be able to fight back, simply because it was him.

In the end, he didn't throw her over his shoulder and kidnap her to Heliohapt. Instead, he reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "He misses you too, you know. You're not the only one."

Exactly three years after the disbandment, which was two weeks ago, Yamuraiha received a call and a formal invitation letter from the King of Heliohapt for a month-long stay there. Masrur had also been invited, which was comforting in some way. At least he would be there for her if things got awkward. That Fanalis always knew what to do.

So two weeks ago she had arrived in the magnificent Kingdom of Heliohapt. It had been a few years since she last visited, and she had been pleasantly surprised to see that many things had changed around the city. The markets were bustling with activity, merchants and carriages lining the streets. Heliohapt was the hub of the herbal medicine business, given that the many tropical plants growing in that area were not available in any other country. In addition, they sold pet snakes and other animals at high prices, though Yamuraiha didn't fancy them very much, so she had skipped passing through that section of the market.

The only glaring thing that didn't seem to have changed was the women's dressing. As usual, their chests were either half or fully exposed, and even Yamuraiha blushed at times when she caught herself unintentionally staring at a woman's voluptuous figure. How Masrur could walk through the streets of Heliohapt without so much as batting an eyelash was a mystery to her.

When they arrived at the palace, Sharrkan had been the first person to greet them at the entrance. He gave Masrur a bone-crushing hug, to which Masrur literally returned, much to the chagrin of the foolish ex-swordsman. Then he had turned to her and smiled that usual charming, arrogant grin of his, before giving her a quick hug as well, though she noticed that he made sure contact was minimal.

They had exchanged pleasantries, but nothing more than that. They were in the public eye, after all. They couldn't talk as freely as they used to, at least not until the two of them were alone in the room that she had been provided as an official guest of the kingdom.

"Ah, finally we're alone," he sighed as he sank into an armchair by the window that overlooked the city. "Being all prim and proper really tires me out."

She laughed. "You haven't changed, King Sharrkan."

He scowled. "Don't call me that. We're alone, so just call me Sharrkan like you used to."

Like you used to.

If only they could go back to the way things were before the disbandment, Yamuraiha thought to herself sadly. Of course she was overjoyed that Sinbad had finally achieved his dream of creating a world with no war. Thanks to that, she no longer had to go by every day wondering when Sindria would be attacked next or what new dangers Magnostadt would face. She didn't have to worry about being too weak to protect a loved one in battle anymore.

But... that had also turned some of the things that had become a reality for her - a home, being together with her friends, naively dreaming of romance - all into mere fragmented memories.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Yamuraiha glanced up, and was startled to find that Sharrkan was standing right in front of her, holding her by her elbow. "It's nothing," she lied, looking away, hoping desperately for the tears gathering in her eyes to disappear. For a sorceress who specialized in water-type magic, she sucked at stopping her tears.

She could smell him up close, and she could catch that unique scent of his even after so long. It smelled of herbs and spices that when combined, was both alluring and masculine at the same time. He seemed to have grown taller, or maybe it was his new shoes. His chest was at her eye-level, and as she gazed at the gold plates that lined his body, she couldn't help but miss that white off-the-shoulder tunic, his flashy coat, the gold chains around his neck that she used to listen out for to know when he was approaching...

"Did you miss me?" he asked hesitantly, and she looked up to meet his shy but firm gaze. He wanted an answer. She felt heat gather in her cheeks and she harrumphed, irritated that he could illicit such a reaction from her. "Of course not," she snapped, "I was so busy with work I didn't have time to think about you."

Was it just her imagination? She swore she saw something akin to disappointment flickering in his luminous green eyes. But they were gone before she knew it, and in its place was playful amusement. His lips curled up into that stupid trademark arrogant smirk of his, and he leaned in closer so that their noses were barely touching. He snaked an arm around her waist, preventing her from backing away from him and trapping her in his hold.

"Really? I could have sworn you were checking me out just a while ago. Miss seeing my skin like last time?"

He was probably aiming for that. In that instant, her face flamed and she shoved him away, hurling all sorts of insults at him, which he returned evenly.

Just like they used to.

Over the next two weeks, the three of them spent time together catching up and reminiscing about the old days of constant battling and serving Sinbad. Masrur had two wives and four children and was living a peaceful life in Reim, taking care of his family and serving in the Fanalis Corps. Yamuraiha was already familiar with Masrur's current lifestyle, so Sharrkan was the only one shooting him questions. Sharrkan had also asked her about many things, ranging from how she was governing Magnostadt to whether her breasts had grown bigger in the last three years.

Some things never did change.

Sharrkan, too, shared about his life in the past three years. His older brother, Armakan Amun-Ra had gotten some kind of strange illness that rendered him bed-ridden and incapable of carrying out his royal duties. As such, he abdicated the throne and had Sharrkan take his place as the new king of Heliohapt, to usher in the new age of Sinbad's world. Over the past few years, Sharrkan had been swamped with work, familiarising himself with Heliohapt's socio-economic and political matters, as well as drafting policies and planning for the Kingdom's future of trading with other countries.

From what Yamuraiha gathered, he was far too busy to even think about pursuing a romantic relationship with any woman.

Which was why, when Alibaba, Aladdin and Morgiana abruptly showed up with news of marriage, she was shocked to learn that Sharrkan, too, was getting married.

Shortly after their disciples left, Yamuraiha had ended up getting into a childish argument with Sharrkan, and so she had excused herself, retreating into the privacy of her guest room, bringing her to her current state of mulling over useless, frivolous thoughts about Heliohapt's king.

Honestly, sometimes she regretted having met Sharrkan. He was the only man other than her father who could agonize her to this extent.

Yamuraiha was so caught up in her thoughts that she failed to notice the door of her room opening and a certain someone standing before her until his face was hovering right above hers.

With a startled yelp, her hand instinctively went up to his chest to push him off of her, but he remained in that position, easily grabbing her hands and pinning them down, all the while staring at her with an unusually sombre expression on his face.

"What are you doing?!" she hissed angrily, struggling in protest when he pinned her legs down with ease too, completely immobilizing her.

"Lying on top of you."

"I know, you idiot," she retorted through gritted teeth. "I'm asking, what do you think you're doing, lying on top of me like this?"

"I want an answer from you," he said simply, his green eyes boring into hers, "Why are you so upset about me getting married?"

She groaned, dropping her head down against the bed sheets. He had been asking her that question repeatedly after Aladdin and the others left until she couldn't stand it any longer, and ran down the hallway back to her room. Evidently she had forgotten to lock the door too.

"I... I was just shocked, because, well, you didn't tell me anything about you getting married before this. I wasn't expecting to find out this way." She hated how he could make her waver and sound so uncertain of herself. His gaze was hypnotic and reeling her in. For just a fleeting moment she thought it would be alright if they stayed like this forever, just her in his arms and nothing else would matter. Warily, she averted his gaze as the man leaned in closer, clearly not convinced by her answer.

"You're not answering the question."

"I just did, are your ears not functioning properly? Anyway, would you get off me—"

"What would you do if I told you that I like you?"

With a jolt, her eyes snapped up to meet his, and to her surprise, found that his cheeks were reddening.

This... This was a joke, right?

Too stunned to reply, she could only stare at him in bewilderment, hoping he would break into hysterics and declare it all just a stupid joke and laugh at her for being silly enough to buy yet another of his pick-up lines.

One minute passed. Two, and then three. And Sharrkan didn't say anything, only continued to gaze into her eyes, as if searching for some sort of confirmation within them.

"You... You're joking."

"I'm not laughing."

"Don't toy with me like that." Sparks of anger began to ignite within her. What was with this guy? Suddenly lying on top of her like that and saying things which would make her misunderstand. What was he trying to achieve with all this?

"I'm not toying with you. I really care about you."

She scoffed, a bit more sourly than she intended to. "Really? Because if you did, I thought you would have dropped by for a visit at least once in the last three years. We barely even got to talk over the phone!"

"I could say the same about you," he shot back, frowning. "I was busy too, you know! You could have dropped by for a visit at least once in a while."

"As if I would come all the way here just to see you," she huffed.

"So tell me, who doesn't care about who again?" he rolled his eyes. Suddenly he leaned down, releasing her hands to pull her into a hug. "I missed you, Yamu. I'm being serious here. I really like you."

"Sharrkan, please..." she muttered after a while, unable to take it any longer. Her heart was wavering too much. He was serious, and she was overjoyed, more than she should have been. But this wasn't something they could just jump headlong into, considering the duties they had to their own countries.

"It's not possible between us," she said, trying to sound more confident despite her shaky voice.

"So you do like me as well, right?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. As tough as he was acting, she could tell that under that firm demeanour of his, he was scared. Scared of her rejection, just like she used to be of his.

"It doesn't matter if I do or not," she murmured, feeling tears begin to prick her eyes for the umpteenth time that day. "It's impossible. We have our own lives to lead, we have our own people to account to for everything, and with Aladdin, Alibaba and Morgiana back, who knows what's going to happen to this world again? We have to be there for our countries in case anything happens."

"Yamu," he pleaded. A pang of guilt hit her at the sound of hurt in his deep voice.

"Just leave, Sharrkan," she muttered, trying again to push him off of her, but it didn't work. "Don't make this harder than it should be."

"And what if I won't?"

Pain. That was all that she could find in his eyes, and the kiss that he abruptly planted on her lips. He swiftly captured her lips in his, and it didn't take long for her to respond in kind. Their lips melded together perfectly, and jolts of electricity ran down her spine as his hands slowly travelled down her arms down to her chest, waist and thighs. His kisses grew more fervent and passionate, pushing his tongue into her mouth and tasting her. His hands became bolder, one cupping her cheek and wiping a stray tear away, the other reaching under her clothes and touching her soft skin.

Their moans and her throbbing heart were all that she could hear, as they broke apart and he began to trail kisses down her jaw, neck and her chest. "We... shouldn't... Ah..." she mumbled incoherently, but he wasn't listening. Removing one of the shells that covered her left breast, he ignored her alarmed cries of protest and sucked on a pink nipple.

Waves of pleasure swept through her body, and against her better judgment, Yamuraiha began to allow herself to just indulge in this moment, even if it wouldn't last. She reached a hand out to clutch his gold shoulder plates and the other rested in his soft hair. The embarrassing sounds that he elicited from her seemed to fuel him further in his ministrations. As he teased and pleasured her, Yamuraiha took it upon herself to start moving the gold plates on his body. She wanted him bare too.

Now with her chest fully exposed and his lips reattached to hers again, he kissed her till she was dizzy and unable to think rationally. His hands continued down, and he parted her legs, sensually stroking her thigh. Her body seemed to react exactly as he wanted, her back arching off the bed and clinging onto his body. The contact between their bodies only made her feel hotter than she already was, and it seemed it was exciting Sharrkan even more.

His fingers were amazing - she could understand now why women were so attracted to him. As he teased her clit with his thumb and curled a finger inside of her, she felt her stomach clench and she cried out, unable to restrain herself. She held on for dear life to him as his pumped his fingers in and out of her, sending her over the edge before she could even register it.

Tired, she dropped limply back down on the bed, as Sharrkan repositioned himself. He looked at her, silently asking for her permission, which she gave in the form of another searing kiss. Just this moment, she wanted to indulge in it together with him.

Without another moment's hesitation, he entered her, and she bit down on her lip to keep from making too loud a sound. It kind of hurt, and he waited patiently for her to adjust before slowly moving. "Yamu," he gasped, one hand fisting in her hair and the other cupping her cheek.

He reached down to kiss her once more, this time more urgently as he picked up the pace, thrusting harder and faster into her. Her toes curled, as she felt the same sensation from before building up once more. They broke apart to breathe, their hot breaths fanning into each other's faces. Their eyes never broke away from the other's, both wanting to remember this moment for the rest of their lives.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Yamuraiha cried his name out over and over, spreading her legs wider so he could go in deeper. Sharrkan held her close to him, and she could feel his hot breaths against her ears. "I love you," he said in between gasps, kissing her temple.

"I... I love you too," she murmured, tears springing to her eyes. She truly did.

Their climax came soon after, and spent, they collapsed onto the bed, his heavy, sweaty body over hers.

Still trying to catch their breaths, Sharrkan rolled over to the other side of the bed and pulled the covers over them. "Wouldn't want you to catch a cold now, would we?" he chuckled gently, kissing her lips.

"Sharrkan..."

"Yamu, marry me."

Her eyes widened. "W-What?"

"You heard me, marry me," he repeated, snatching her by the waist and pulling her close to him.

"B-B-But, aren't you getting married?!"

"I never actually said I was. You just assumed that all on your own. Besides, when I suggested for us to get married, you didn't seem to register that at all. You just got so gloomy and everything. You really do love me, huh."

"Don't get full of yourself, idiot," she snapped, slapping him on the chest. "I haven't agreed to marrying you. I already told you that it's impossible between us, didn't I?"

"I know," he replied, tipping her chin up so she would look at him. "That's why I want you to wait for me. We can't get married now, not until everything is stable within our countries and after Aladdin and Alibaba do what they need to do. But after everything, I want you to be my bride, Yamu."

"That could take years..." she muttered, dropping her gaze.

"It doesn't matter. I'll wait for as long as it takes. Won't you wait as well? There's no one else for me other than you, Yamu." He chuckled as he wiped away the tears that had begun to stream down her flushed cheeks. "You're really such a cry-baby."

"I am not!" she shot back indignantly, puffing out her cheeks and turning away. "I'm just a little emotional right now. I'm... happy."

"Me too," he sighed, leaning down to kiss her nose. "I thought you were going to reject me after Alibaba and Masrur both suddenly forced me into a public confession. Good thing you didn't even notice. And it was fun seeing you freak out about me getting married."

"Hey! I was not freaking out, I was just... argh, never mind. I'm leaving."

He pulled her back down on the bed as she tried to get up. "Where are you going?" he asked, anxiety creeping into his voice at the thought of her rejecting his proposal because he had teased her too much.

She smirked. "You can be pretty cute when you beg me like that. Beg me to marry you and maybe I'll agree."

"We'll see who ends up begging," he growled, climbing back on top of her.

Meanwhile, Masrur was in the next room, trying his hardest to ignore the second round of erotic sounds coming from Yamuraiha's room. He sighed.

Sometimes he really hated his Fanalis abilities.

A/N: I love this couple so much I just had to write a one-shot dedicated to them. I was squealing so much when this ship sailed in the latest update, and I'm honestly a little disappointed at the lack of fan fictions about them, so yeah. If you read this, thanks for reading and do leave a review to tell me what you thought about this one-shot if you have time to spare! (: Thanks!