I own nothing and no one in this fic. I make no money at all, and certainly not from writing this. This will likely be a slash, shonen ai fic. If you don't like this concept, please leave. If you don't know what these words mean, back up and hit WIKI for info before reading. Beyond that, this is a Con/yuu fic. I don't know how far beyond friendship I am taking it, but the fic is going beyond friendship, so if you don't like this pairing, please leave.

Arriving in Shin Makoku, Yuuri finds himself alone in what seems to be human country. Conrad shows up to retrieve him...but things aren't exactly the same as always.

The man was amazing, wasn't he? Yuuri had always thought so. From the moment he met Conrad Weller, the air of relaxed self assurance that the other man exuded told Yuuri that Conrad, if not perfect, was so superior to everyone he had met so far, in either world, that the brunette might as well be. Always protecting, always kind, even when pretending to betray the young Maoh, Conrad had done everything in his power to keep the young king safe.

Pleased with the knowledge that if he just sat long enough Conrad would get here, Yuuri reclined on a soft embankment and watched the snow silently falling. A long prairie, turned tundra for the winter, flowed out from the hill he sat on, and at his back a large forest loomed. Thoroughly aware that his transportation between Shin Makoku and Earth defied all known physics, the Maoh still found it humorous that he some how had emerged from a rivulet about two inches wide.

Yuuri would have to thank Murata when he got back to earth, or when the sage decided to grace Shin Makoku with his presence. His cryptic comment to 'bundle up' for the next day, when it was about 100 degrees outside, told Yuuri that another impromptu trip would be forthcoming, and likely in winter. Thus informed he had been carrying a change of clothes, blanket, some food and water, and a lighter with him in what was supposedly a waterproof bag, thankfully the top of the blanket had only gotten mildly wet when he 'tripped' into a convenient fountain in the park near his home.

Upon landing in the frigid environment Yuuri quickly stripped and changed into a pullover sweater, jeans, a brown leather coat with matching hat and gloves and some boots while being sheltered by the forest from any unwanted eyes. Despite the feeling that he would be made fun of, Yuuri also donned the soft pink scarf that his mother made for him. It was cold, and he couldn't find any of his other scarves, likely because his mother had hidden them.

Having sat at the edge of the forest for nearly an hour, the young Maoh was beginning to become concerned. Darkness would be setting soon and he had not seen any sign of his tardy protector, nor of anyone in fact.

Ah! As Yuuri heard galloping approaching, not from the prairie he had been scouting of course, rather from the forest, Yuuri turned to meet Conrad. Then as logic kicked in Yuuri hid behind a tree. He wasn't as thick as Wolfram liked to claim he was, and as no cries of 'Heika!' had yet greeted him, Yuuri would play it safe. Better to let Conrad ride past and have to circle back, then have to endure the worried eyes and disappointed lecture that would follow if the man had to rescue him yet again.

As the horse galloped past, the black haired boy could tell from the tack and coloring that it was, in fact, the one Conrad rode most often. He had to use the marking to make this decision, however, as the rider was not actually on the mount, and judging from the terrified pace the horse was setting across the prairie, something bad must have happened. This had to be the case if a superb rider like Conrad was unseated.

Running through the forest, dodging branches as he went, Yuuri soon reached his protector. Taking in the scene before him, Yuuri stopped dead in his tracks, mouth slightly agape.

In the darkening forest there was a large clearing, nearly unmarred by snow due to the heavy canopy above. In the center of the clearing kneeled Conrad. Upturned earth and branches were strewn about him, and the man seemed to be bleeding from at least a dozen gashes, possibly from a knife. His sharp brown uniform was covered in mud, leaves and blood, and his hair was mussed. The most astonishing feature of the moment was Conrad's face. His traditional soft eyes and smile had been replaced by a look of total despair. Tear marks traced down his strong features and his jaw was locked in a grimace. The other man didn't seem to notice the soft approach of his king, and as Yuuri cautiously stopped just a few feet from the scene he saw that Conrad's right hand, that closest to the boy, held his familiar sword loose against the ground, but on his far side...was that a doll? It looked something like a mannequin, but was made of straw. Whatever it was, it seemed thoroughly thrashed from a round with Conrad's fighting prowess, but it was on the broken object that the man's despairing gaze was riveted.

Not knowing what was going on was frightening for Yuuri. A brief look around made the boy fairly certain that he and Conrad were the only people here, so what had happened? If the doll were more cute and it was Gwendel kneeling next to it Yuuri could almost understand, but as it was...

Well he'd never understand if he just stood there, and if he looked at Conrad's grief-stricken face for another minute, Yuuri might end up in tears as well. No one and nothing should ever make Conrad look this unhappy.

Biting his lower lip, Yuuri reached out and gently grasped Conrad's shoulder, softly calling the other man's name as he made contact.

In an instant the Maoh was stepping back and wincing as he held his smartly hurting hand. He was a fool to not get Conrad's attention before touching the other man, and could only be thankful that the warrior had only used the pommel of his sword to knock the surprising touch away.

For a brief second, Yuuri understood why people called the brown haired man the Lion of Luchenberg. The feral, wounded glare leveled at him would have made him flee, and possibly wet himself, if not for his knowledge that Conrad would never purposely harm him. The glare turned to pure shock in a millisecond however and Yuuri, further unsettled by the unguarded emotion on his protectors face, attempted to break the silence.

Umm...hi. I'm back, and umm, look! Because of Murata I'm even wearing the proper clothes...I guess we need to find you some too...umm are you okay, Conrad...are you hurt..." During his chatter Conrad seemed to have nearly given himself whiplash as he rapidly divided his attention between Yuuri to the doll. Yuuri thought maybe his guard was worried the doll would move or something. The black haired boy personally thought dolls were creepy, and had seen too many American horror movies to completely disregard the killer doll concept.

His nervous internal and external ramblings were cut off when Conrad, still on his knees, turned back to Yuuri with eyes that brimmed with emotion.

"H-heika..." Was all that Conrad seemed capable of saying as his gaze settled unwaveringly on Yuuri's face.

Today was not going at all how he thought it would, with Conrad this upset Yuuri didn't know what to do. If the boy himself were this distraught Conrad or Wolfram would have tried to cheer him up. Then the thought struck the young Maoh, 'who cheers Conrad up?'

Well, Yuuri supposed it was up to him to try and lighten the mood.

"Honestly, its Yuuri! You named me and still you forget." Ignoring his throbbing hand, Yuuri huffed and crossed his arms in a petulant stance. "Maybe its Alzheimer's, you are really old after all. How sad to be struck with such an illness..."

Yuuri trailed off as Conrad quickly reached out to him, and Yuuri flinched slightly as one hand cupped the boy's face. The Maoh met his guard's eyes; the golden brown orbs filled with tears were even more intense since they were on the eye level with the boy's.

"Con-" was all that Yuuri managed to whisper, his arms dropping loosely to his sides as the older man's other hand wrapped around the boy's waist and dragged him into a crushing hug.

Yuuri could feel the unheard sobs wracking his protector's body. Instinctively he tried to offer comfort by wrapping his arms, as much as he could, around Conrad's broad shoulders. The older man's hand moved from the Maoh's cheek to tangle itself in the raven hair, and he seemed to burrow his face into Yuuri's neck.

Yuuri was used to being smothered by Wolfram when he slept, and Cheri or Günter whenever emotion overtook them. But being crushed against Conrad, the other's pain obvious, Yuuri reeled. It seemed he would never be able to get his wits together, with such rapid changes and emotions being thrown at him. All he could do was hold on to Conrad, and try to ease the other's pain, even if he didn't know the cause.

At his neck he heard Conrad whisper, "Heika, h-heika," then finally, "Yuuri," as the guard succumbed to his numerous wounds and passed out. The weight of the brown haired man unbalanced Yuuri, and he let out a grunt as he fell back against the cold earth, one of Conrad's arm's still wrapped around his middle, and his own hands on the guard's shoulders. The older man's face had slipped a bit, and was resting on Yuuri's chest, his rasping breath puffing against the Maoh's coat, and the cloud of warm air mixing with his own. As Yuuri lay there, trapped under his protector, he came to a few conclusions.

First, it was rapidly growing dark, and with the cold they could both freeze in the night, assuming Conrad could freeze, if they didn't find shelter soon. Second, if the wet spots he could feel against his hands and arms were any indication he would need to heal his guard soon, or Conrad might bleed to death, again if the man was capable of falling to such. Third, if Yuuri found out what made Conrad hurt, bleed, and, he could barely even think it, what made the other man cry, pacifist or not, Yuuri might well have to kill them. No one was allowed to hurt his nazukeoya, someone so dear to him, this much.

Rolling the other man off of him with difficulty, Yuuri saw something that lightened his worries a bit. Conrad's faithful mount had returned, and stood at the edge of the clearing. Now all he had to do was find the two, well three with the horse, of them a cave or something, start a fire, and treat Conrad's wounds. Yuuri wasn't even a passable horseman or swordsman, and he considered himself a rather unreliable Maoh, but for the first time, he was the only one who could help another in this strange world, and he felt he could do it. He would heal the other man, and protect him if he needed to. He would make sure Conrad was healthy and smiling again so they could return home together.

Woohoo! I made a Conyuu! Or at least started one. Now I have two writers who I must thank for introducing me to this anime series and this pairing.

First, flacedice, who writes the amazing XXXholic fiction Supernatural Entanglements, wrote a story called Cow Bells. I only read it because I think flacedice is an amazing writer, and due to the story have watched about 60 episodes. Thank you flacedice!

Second is the author Vanessa S. Quest. Her many stories for Kyo kara maoh made me fall in love with the pairing of Conrad and Yuuri. Not too mention that her awesome writing style could make any pairing work. Thank you Vanessa.

Now I have humbly added my attempt at writing to the pool. I hope people like it and review. Oh, flames will be used for mixing strange chemical on my bunsen burner.