Author's Notes: I was definitely going to wait until I had finished writing this entire fanfiction before I posted it, but I think with a couple of chapters in advance I should be fine. These chapters get updated EVERY FORTNIGHT, so please don't ask me to post earlier, because, I just...won't. Heh.
Disclaimer: I am not the owner of Kyou Kara Maou!, Tomo Takabayashi is.
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In the Face of Anger -
Chapter
One: The Resolution
Wolfram, I've decided, has got to be one of the most confusing and aloof people I've ever met. A lot of the time, the things he says (yells, screams, rants…) hold no relevance to what is taking place. I mean, just before, I was taking an innocent stroll through the castle corridors, and then when a maid comes up to me and says, "Good morning, Your Majesty!" I'm about to reply, when that jealous pretty boy comes out of no where and accuses me of cheating on him! Honestly, I hadn't even spoken to that girl yet, and he has already flown off the handle yet again.
I am currently hiding out in the library with Murata, who looked all too amused to see me fleeing for my life from temperamental Wolfram. Well, I'm glad he finds this so entertaining, because quite personally, I find this whole arrangement with that pretty boy to be getting rather tiring. Every day I go to bed exhausted from studies, ruling…and escaping the jealous wrath of my accidental fiancé. I mean, come on! When is this farce going to end?
I looked up as Murata placed the large book he had been skimming through on the desk before him. "You look totally out of it, Shibuya," He commented bemusedly.
"That's because I was being chased by Wolfram all around the castle!" I exclaimed, though I already knew that Murata was well aware of that. He just wanted to hear me admit how afraid of Wolfram I was, darn it.
"Well," He began in his 'I-Am-The-Great-Wise-Man-And-I-Normally-Know-The-Answer-To-Everything' kind of voice, "What happened? Why did he become so furious with you?"
"He's just being moody and jealous as usual," I grumbled while coming to sit opposite to my old friend. "A girl greeted me good morning, and he somehow got the wrong idea of it. He just appeared out of no where; it was freaky! He's stalking me or something…" I added, glancing around in a paranoid manner. Is he hiding in the walls? Where will he appear next? I'll be ready for him this time…!
"I'm sure you should know how Sir von Bielefeld's outbursts are rather predictable," Murata said with an understanding smile. What, predictable? How the heck is jumping out of no where and screaming at me predictable? I never know when he's about to blow up at me! He's scary and unpredictable!
"What are you talking about, Murata? He complete takes me by surprise! I never understand why he gets so angry with me…Just what is it that I do wrong?" I asked him helplessly, and I hope he can give me some sort of reasonable answer.
"Hm…Isn't it obvious?" That is not the reasonable answer I was looking for!
"No, not really," I responded confusedly.
"Well, if you really want me to explain it to you…" He gave me a mysterious smile for a moment, and I looked at him with a mixture between anxiety, eagerness, and 'Wolfram's-Insane-I-Don't-Understand-Him-At-All'. "I think he just feels insecure about your engagement. You don't really support the idea, right?" I nodded quickly. "Well, it's seems to me that he's afraid he'll lose you to a woman. So, when he went off at you, I think – in a way – he was just trying to focus your attention on him, rather then the woman who spoke to you. He's just a tad over-protective, heh," Murata chuckled. How can he be laughing about this? Wait a minute…How in the world did he find time to work all this out? Eh, must be the powers of being the Great Wise Man…He gets to be wise.
"It's like you can read him so easily, but I've never met a more complicated person!" I cried, and I'm actually quite amazed by my friend's knowledge.
Murata grinned at me again, "I don't think 'complicated' is the word you're looking for. He's dynamic, since he has so many different kinds of moods." 'Many different kinds of moods'? How so?
"He doesn't, really. There are his jealous, impulsive, spoilt and angry faces, but there's also his peaceful mood, which tends to be when he's sleeping. And even then, he's deadly – Do you have any idea how many bruises are inflicted on me during the night?" I said with a heavy sigh.
Murata adjusted the glasses on his nose, still wearing his wide and somewhat understanding smile. "I'm afraid there's more to him then that, Shibuya. Sir von Bielefeld tends to hide a lot of his emotions; the emotions he considers to be 'weak'. He covers up happiness, gratitude and sadness by yelling and screaming. He makes out that he's furious, but most of the time he's feeling something completely different.
"He hates it when people consider him to be 'weak'," Murata told me seriously. "I doubt other soldiers and warriors take him seriously because of his appearance. You know, since he has the kind of looks that can only be described as 'beautiful' or 'gorgeous', etc…"
"How the hell do you know all this?" I wondered, and I hadn't even realised I found this discussion about Wolfram's emotions to be almost…intriguing. "Are you and Wolfram close? Like, are you good friends or whatever?"
"I'd like to think Sir von Bielefeld and I are friends," Murata said earnestly. "But, there's nothing exactly 'special' between us. I just notice things about him."
"But, why can't I notice those things?" I asked, generally bewildered. The way Murata's talking about him, it's as if Wolfram's an open book or something! How could I fail to notice?
"Hm…perhaps…you don't want to notice," He murmurs thoughtfully, and I feel even more puzzled. "That is to say, you don't want to see Sir von Bielefeld's insecurities because you choose not to. You don't want to think of him as someone different to the way he displays himself. You don't want to think that sometimes he might get a bit depressed, because he makes himself appear to be so strong on the outside."
Do I really think that? For Murata to put it like that, it really doesn't sound right…It's not right to put Wolfram's true feelings to the side so the image I have of him isn't ruined. That is just wrong…Well…
"If that's the case…" I whispered audibly, musing to myself. "That can't continue. It doesn't sound right at all…"
"Then try and get to know him a little better," Murata suggested, looking almost hopeful. "Perhaps if you at least gave him a chance, he might ease off on the jealous rants. And, he might become more at peace with others and himself. Just give it a try."
It's not like there's any real harm in it or anything. I suppose to get to know him a bit more will probably improve our friendship. I just hope he doesn't get the wrong idea out of it or anything if I suddenly start acting differently towards him. But, it'll be worth the risk…I really don't want to put up with those jealous rants any more.
Despite my new resolution in mind, I decided to go about this whole, 'I-Am-Going-To-Accept-Wolfram's-Eccentric-And-Often-Harmful-Nature' in a more private matter for now. And, there's only one time I get alone with Wolfram, so I dodged him for the rest of the day until it was time for sleep. I changed and rushed to my (But, in a way, our) bedroom, and I was grateful that it was currently lacking in jealous pretty boys.
I twiddled my thumbs nervously. Why the heck am I nervous, anyway? It shouldn't be all that different – I'll just take Murata's advice on the matter. He told me I should analyse the situation and try and see things from Wolfram's perspective, and that will help a lot. But, judging from Wolfram, his views could be a bit twisted. And yet, Murata was able to explain Wolfram's behaviour in quite a reasonable manner…It can't be that difficult to see things his way, right?
Just as I was musing over this, the doors to our bedroom were pushed open without a knock, and Wolfram appeared in the doorway, adorned in his usual pink, frilly and very girly negligee, the corner of his mouth twitching unpleasantly when he saw me. "Just where the hell have you been all day? You've been avoiding me, haven't you?"
Okay, I don't need to try and see this from Wolfram's point of view to tell that it looked like I was avoiding him. After all, I technically was. "Er, sorry about that," I apologised, thankful he hadn't yet exploded at me.
He made that 'hmph' sound before closing the doors behind him and approaching the bed. He moved around to the other side (Which he claims to be his own) and climbed in, settling snugly under the covers. "'Night, wimp."
Wait, he's not going to attack me for avoiding him? I practically admitted I had…Oh, but then again, he's always tired at this time of night. He's going to fall asleep any second now, so I should probably try and keep him awake. Or, maybe I shouldn't; he might get angry and hit me…and I can't just start asking him about such personal matters to do with his feelings and insecurities, because as far as I can tell, Murata managed to understand Wolfram just by observing him.
I should still try and keep him awake, I think. "So, uh, what did you do today?" I asked, albeit lamely.
He rolled over to face me, his eyebrows bent in that, 'Why-The-Hell-Are-You-Questioning-Me-About-Pointless-Things?' angle. "My usual duties," He answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Training my soldiers, doing my usual rounds, reading to Greta and, of course, attempting to locate my irresponsible wimp of a fiancé," He affixed with a moody grunt, and I felt my apprehension grew. But, wait a minute…Reading to Greta?
"Reading what to Greta, exactly?" I questioned curiously. Did he give her history lessons like Günter does to me or something?
"Yes, I was reading her a story. It's one of those crazy fictional books that Annissina wrote, and as insane and unrealistic as they are, Greta seems to enjoy them," He told me firmly. Man, this is a really surprising side…I've never caught Wolfram and Greta having those kinds of parent-daughter bonding sessions, and neither Greta nor Wolfram have ever mentioned these little sessions anyway. Who could have thought Wolfram would have such a nice side?
"Oh, really? When did you get around to doing that?"
He snorted, "If you really must know, while I was on my quest to find you, I ran into Greta, who was looking for a certain father to play with her. But, since that certain father was missing, I opted to read to her. Normally I read to her whenever you're at that other world, but you had disappeared, so…"
That explains it; I've never caught him reading to her because he always does it when I'm not around. "Ah, I see." I smiled at him kindly, "That's really nice of you, Wolfram. I didn't know you did that for her."
"Of course I would do that for her! Soon I'll legally become her other father, so it's only natural I'd do those sort of father-like things for her!" Oh no. Here comes the talk of marriage again. Why? Why does he have to always hint towards it? Why can't he just break the engagement?
…Perhaps if I asked him… "Wolfram, why don't you just end the engagement? Greta will still see you as her father even if you aren't legally her parent, so why can't you be satisfied with that?"
Wolfram growled lowly and I felt the sudden urge to run from the room. "Satisfied? As much as I want to become Greta's father, there's also the factor that it'll be a complete blow to my pride if the engagement is to be broken, and I will not allow you to go off with some cheap hussy when we've been through so much together!"
"But, Wolfram…" I tried weakly, but Wolfram made another dark growling sound before turning so his back faced me. Well, that just wasn't fair! The whole engagement was an accident, anyway! It's not fair on me, to suddenly be forced into an engagement when I'm not even sixteen yet, and he expects me to accept it and learn to love him, even if he is a guy…
…Oh, wait a moment; I'm supposed to be seeing this from Wolfram's perspective, aren't I? Hrmm…well, the whole, 'Slapping-A-Person-Equals-Will-You-Marry-Me?' thing may be ridiculous, but Wolfram's grown up with that as the custom. And, uh…of course, there's the fact that everyone in this world appears to be bisexual.
But, what else is there? It's not right that I'm trapped in this engagement and he's being so expectant of me! I'm not allowed to break the engagement because he'll never forgive me for injuring his pride, and he refuses break the engagement.
Oh…but didn't Günter once mention that since Wolfram lost the duel that he and I had the day after I first arrived in Shin Makoku, that sealed the engagement and he wasn't able to back out of it, and the only one who could call the engagement off was me? So, in a way…he's trapped in this farce of an engagement as much as I am. And it's not right to have forced him to remain my fiancé for so long, and then if I was to suddenly call it off now…That would be…There's no way I want to hurt him like that…
Wow, thinking of the engagement in this way, it's no wonder he's always following me around and accusing me of cheating on him, since I've delayed in the process of breaking the engagement. He must think I'm intent on marrying him…
…Poor Wolfram. Man, I can't believe I'm feeling sorry for that jealous pretty boy…Despite the way he acts on the outside, he must be kinda insecure on the inside…At least I can sympathise with him a bit more about our predicament, and I've pretty much solved the mystery of why he refuses to let me go off on any of my adventures without him (Thanks to Murata's help).
Wait, I recall when we were in Big Shimaron that we had a conversation that talked about why he followed me in the first place. At first he had said, "I'm your fiancé! It's my duty!" but then, he had asked me if I understood why he followed me everywhere, so he was implying there was a different reason…
"Well, use that puny little brain of yours to figure it out before I give up and leave you!"
'Give up and leave you?' Give up on what?
Anyway, I suppose since my plan is to get to know Wolfram better, I'll work out his intentions eventually. Man, I still can't believe I'm feeling sorrier for Wolfram in this situation then I feel sorry for myself. I mean, I'm pretty much just as worse off as he is…But, I still don't want him to feel so upset by it.
Without really thinking about it, I reached a hand forward and it landed gently on Wolfram's shoulder. "Hey…Wolfram? Are you still awake?" There was a deafening silence. "Wolf?" I tried again, but this time a quiet snore was my reply, and I pursed my lips. He really is exhausted…But I get the feeling he had wanted to fall asleep as quickly as possible to end our conversation. Now who's avoiding who, huh?
Well, I suppose I shouldn't badger him. If I tried to wake him up to just talk about the engagement, he'll not only be cranky for being woken up, but I doubt he won't resort to shouting if we do get into an argument. Ah, well…
There's always tomorrow, at least.
"Your Highness!" Günter called in his overly-dramatic voice, chasing after me as I ran away from him. "Please wait up, Your Majesty! It is your loyal servant, Günter! Oh, why must you flee from your royal and most humble servant?" Ahh! Oh, God, how the heck am I going to get away from him? If he catches up to me, he'll suffocate me with studies as usual; I need a day off once in a while!
I pretended to ignore him and act as if I was unaware he was after me, and proceeded to bolt inside the library, which I've recently found is a great way to escape certain psychotic and obsessive people. I slammed the door behind me and locked it, and eventually Günter's pounding on the door ceased and he gave up.
"Must you interrupt?" Wolfram's unhappy voice grumbled behind me, and I spun around to see he and Greta sitting in the corner of the library, a large, red book on Wolfram's lap.
"Yuuri!" Greta hurried over to me, beaming before tackling me around my waist. She had always been rather short for a ten-year-old, but I think she's finally growing a bit. "Yuuri, what's going on? Why did you shut Günter out?"
I laughed nervously, "Well, uh, I just wanted to come and see you guys instead of facing those dreaded text books. It would seem Günter would prefer I knuckle down and study hard, but there comes a time when I deserve a break," I explained to her carefully.
Wolfram 'hmph'ed and I glanced up. "You're such a slacker of a wimp. Honestly, how could Shinou have chosen you to become our Maou?"
"Well, thanks for your opinion on that," I said grouchily. "And don't call me a wimp!"
"Yuuri!" Greta said happily, tugging on my sleeve. "Wolf was reading me a story. Would you like to listen to it, too? We'll all be together – as a family!" She said excitedly, tugging on my sleeve harder. I can't help but feel a little apprehensive to give Wolfram the impression that this whole spending-time-together-as-a-family-thing is something I wouldn't mind, but at the same time, I do want to be with Greta. And it's apparent I can't escape, because I swear Günter is hiding just beyond that door, waiting for me to come out…
"Um…yeah, that sounds great," I said in a convincingly cheerful voice, and I looked at Wolfram to see his reaction. It wasn't much, but if I were to look at him closely, I can see that his eyes show he's pleased with the arrangement. Well, that's good at least.
I sat down on a chair that was adjacent to Wolfram's seat, and Greta hopped on my lap. "We were up to the part where Annissina was setting up her inventions for her trap to capture the giant Goala with wings like a Bear Bee's," She reminded Wolfram, while I just looked confused at the thought of a Goala with those little bumblebee wings. Of course, it would be cute…as long as it was in a tree…
"Ah, that's right," Wolfram said warmly, opening the book back up again. "Annissina was preparing her magic devices to wrap the giant Goala with wings like a Bear Bee's in a very large box. Once the beast was inside, she used another of her inventions to tie a ribbon tightly around it, securing it inside. Afterwards, she approached the Community Against Women's Rights and offered the present as a sign of peace. They took it gladly, and, of course, were surprised by what they found inside…" Wolfram looked bemused while Greta giggled.
"Annissina is great!" Greta boasted animatedly. "She's really clever!"
"Yes, it would seem that way," Wolfram agreed wearily, though in reality he looked unimpressed. "Annissina has quite the imagination it would seem."
Greta nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes! Please, Wolf, read me another one?" This is really startling; here's Wolfram, the most aggressive, impulsive and loud mazoku I've ever met, and he's reading to Greta quite pleasantly. This really is a side of Wolfram you don't see that much; it's funny I never realised he can be gentle and almost compassionate in a way. It's so different to his usual attitude…
He looks really…relaxed. Who'd have thought he could ever be relaxed? He always seems on edge and freaking out about something or another…
It's good to see it, actually. I think that if I try to understand him more, he will – as Murata said – become more at peace with himself. And that's what I want above all else…along with putting an end to the jealous accusations and rants, I mused to myself with an absent smile as Wolfram begins to tell another of Annissina's crazy short stories.
Author's Notes: Short? Hm, maybe a little, but this is relatively the length of each chapter. Did any of you guys notice how I would switch from past tense to present tense a couple of times? Well, since we're in Yuuri's POV, it can be difficult to keep things in past tense when you have his present thoughts getting confused with the normal sentences...if that makes sense. Actually, you guys probably didn't even notice, so nevermind. xD
Also note that I have not seen all of the KKM episodes, and some things might not be completely accurate. Some of the things that I talk about that might have something to do with the end of the series are just from what I imagine to have happened from what I've heard. I know the general storyline, but I haven't actually seen the episodes, so I'm sorry if you guys think I'm smoking something.
Well, in order for me to continue, I'm going to require some support. Gosh, I'm so insecure, it's ridiculous...Anyway, basically I want you guys to REVIEW!
REVIEW!