Just another story about if Yuuri came back after the end of the series. I admit that everything might not be exactly canon, and a few might be a bit ooc. But I wrote the story the way I wanted. So there. :p

I don't own any of this stuff, just so you know. *sigh*

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A dream, Wolfram thought, staring with wide eyes. This has to be a nightmare!

He sat on his humble cot, clutching his blanket to his chest as drop after drop of what looked like blood materialized on the stone floor. He looked up, but there was no indication of a source. There was no blood on the ceiling. Steeling himself, Wolfram threw his blanket off and walked boldly up to the puddle. He reached out over it, expecting the drops to land on his hand from where they were falling, but they just continued to pool on the floor, so much so that Wolfram had to step back as the puddle expanded toward his bare feet.

It definitely smelled like blood.

Wolfram shook himself, backing up to sit on the edge of his bed.

A nightmare for sure. He closed his eyes and opened them again. Still there. A vision?

Wolfram thought about his brothers and his mother. His heart started pounding in earnest. Could one of them be injured? There was so much blood now. The pool was almost as large as a person. Just as Wolfram stood, intending to ascertain the welfare of his family, something else started to appear. He froze.

A burst of red and black sparks sizzled in the thick puddle, forming the shape of a young man. He lay on his side in the pool of blood, most likely his own, making no movement but for the slow, shallow jerk of his chest with breath, like a fish gasping on a riverbank.

Wolfram shrieked. "Yuuri!"

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Wolfram hardly noticed the gentle hands of his mother sponging the blood off of his face and arms. It had seeped into his plain woolen pajamas as he'd knelt in the pool, trying to save Yuuri with all the magic and desperation he possessed. He had no memory of flinging open the door and screaming for help, but he must have, for help had come.

The room was now lit by candles and lamps, and there were far too many people in Wolfram's tiny bedroom. He could barely see Yuuri, lying on the floor, surrounded by healers. Gisela was a little more relaxed than she had been when she'd first come in, finding Yuuri on the verge of bleeding to death under Wolfram's faltering magic.

So pale… Wolfram thought. He closed his eyes.

"Wolfram," Cheri pressed, stroking his hair back from his face, and he drew together his frayed strands of composure.

"Yes, Mother?"

"Tell us what happened," she said, and Wolfram finally noticed his brothers standing behind her, crammed into the narrow space between his bed and the wall. Conrad was sitting on the other side of the bed in a familiar fashion, but Wolfram thought nothing of it.

"I had just lain down," he said. "And I heard a wet sound, so I sat up, thinking perhaps there was a leak somewhere. I lit my candle." He took a deep breath. "A pool of blood was gathering itself together in the floor. I couldn't tell where it was coming from. I… held my hand over it." He mimicked what he'd done without thinking, then drew his hand back to his chest. He looked at the stone ceiling, unconsciously acting out the traumatic scene. "But it wasn't dripping from above. I wondered if it were a nightmare or a vision…" He paused.

"And then?"

"I was thinking of what to do when Yuuri suddenly… appeared like that." He shifted in his clothes, now stiff and rank with the drying blood. "That's all."

"It sounds as though… he used the blood to transport himself here instead of water," Gwendal suggested.

"Isn't blood partly composed of water?" Conrad offered.

"But what happened to him?" Gunter whispered. He was pale and unable to look at Wolfram's face. The blond was obviously numb with shock after his nearly hysterical episode. He'd never been like this before, and it disturbed his brothers to see him this way.

"Why is he here?" Wolfram asked softly, finally giving voice to what they were all wondering. "He wasn't supposed to come back…"

"I will go to the Temple," Gwendal volunteered. No one replied. Yuuri was being gently lifted onto a litter.

"We've done all we can for now," Gisela said, her voice strained. She wiped her bloody hands on the front of her smock. "He'll be in the infirmary."

"You should bathe and change," Cheri said, and Wolfram looked away.

"If Her Majesty would bring Wolfram to the baths," Conrad said, "I will bring him a change of clothes."

"Very well," Cheri agreed, wrapping her hands around Wolfram's shoulders and standing him up. He shrugged her off and walked around the edge of the room to the door. As they moved down the hallway, dodging the servants, staring at his blood-soaked clothing, Cheri spoke again.

"We'll have some new pajamas made for you," she murmured. "You will sleep in my chambers tonight."

Wolfram nodded.

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It was late morning before Cheri woke, the night's upset having disrupted her routine. She looked over to find Wolfram in a dead sleep in the rolling cot beside her own bed. He'd insisted on not sleeping in her bed, claiming that he was too old, and that he would undoubtedly disturb her slumber with his constant tossing.

Cheri smiled softly. As if she hadn't grown used to that when he was a child!

Besides, Wolfram seemed to be lying in exactly the same position as the night before, wearing some of Conrad's large clothes. He was pale.

Cheri sighed. My poor Wolfie…

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Wolfram woke slowly to the smell of breakfast and of his mother's perfumed sheets. Familiar voices murmured somewhere nearby, hushed but not whispering. He opened his eyes softly and turned his head.

A table had been set up in the corner of the large, marble-lined room, and Conrad, Gunter, and his mother were having breakfast. Wolfram rolled over on his side, watching them in silence. He grimaced. His body was stiff. His eyes fell half-lidded.

Why are they…?

They didn't want to wake you, but they didn't want to leave you alone either.

I feel so numb.

Wolfram recognized the coldness. It wasn't as if he'd never been in shock before. He was a soldier, after all. It was different this time, though. The chill was so close to his core. His gaze fell from the others to the floor, and he wrapped an arm around himself.

Yuuri…

He wanted to ask if Yuuri were still alive, but he was afraid of the answer. He also didn't want to attract attention to himself. Blushing at the memory of his behavior the night before, he decided to lie still and listen.

"Those are all questions for when Yuuri awakens," Gunter sighed, his back to Wolfram. "Oh, Heika!" On the other side of the table, Conrad saw him watching and tipped his cup discreetly in greeting, but Wolfram made no reply. Of course, they knew he was awake; they must have heard him roll over a moment ago.

When he awakens… Wolfram thought, relief piercing through the cushion around his heart. He's still alive.

"You're right, of course," Cheri agreed.

Wolfram sat up, feeling the blankets slide down around him. Conrad's shirt slipped low on his shoulder, and he reached up absently to adjust it. Hearing his movements, the three turned to watch him.

"Good morning, Wolf," Cheri said. "Have some breakfast."

"I'm not hungry," he grumbled softly.

"But Wolfie!"

Wolfram gave her a sharp look that was so like his usual self that she shut her mouth instantly. He turned his head away.

This… confusion won't go away until I see Yuuri.

But Wolfram paused, looking down at his pajamas. I need to change, but…

"Your change of clothes is hanging behind the screen," Conrad offered, and Wolfram breathed in relief. He wouldn't have to go back to that room just yet. He went behind the screen to change, but when he took the first article of clothing in his hands, he immediately gagged, covering his mouth with his arm to muffle the sound, but he could tell from their silence that they'd heard. For a moment, he debated with himself about whether or not to wear the offensive garment.

It hung in that room all night, absorbing the smell.

You've smelled like blood before. How many battles…?

But others would notice.

You're going to the infirmary, anyway. It will smell like blood there, too.

But… this smells like his blood.

Wolfram stepped closer to the hanging uniform, taking the sleeve between his fingers.

Why is this smell so offensive to me? I've smelled blood before.

But not his.

Is it because you…?

Perhaps because you were supposed to protect him.

Wolfram's eyes lit up with recognition. He gritted his teeth.

The fact that you can smell his blood means you failed to protect him.

That Yuuri had been seemingly exiled to Earth did little to assuage Wolfram's guilt. His sense of loyalty was too deeply engrained.

Yuuri's blood…

Growling quietly, Wolfram threw off his pajamas and shoved his limbs into the rusty-smelling uniform.

When Wolfram came out from behind the screen, he saw Gunter's nostrils flex slightly as he scented the blood in the air, but he said nothing. Conrad might not have been able to smell it, lacking the mazokus' keener senses.

"I'm going to the infirmary," Wolfram announced in a way that clearly forbade them following him, striding with false confidence through the door into the hallway. Maybe if I expose myself more to this… it will stop making me into such a wimp.

The blond paused, clutching the cloth above his heart at the word that had so lightly slipped through his defenses.

"My Lord?" a guard at Cheri's door queried, but Wolfram ignored him, starting to move again toward the infirmary.

I'm over him, Wolfram reassured himself. It's only natural that some things should still hurt. This is just reopening an old wound.

Wolfram stepped into the infirmary, and the healers paused, looking at him, wondering what he would do. The blond ignored them, tossing his hair indignantly at their stares. His eyes found Yuuri on the cot by the window, directly next to the healer's desk. Stiffly, he forced himself to move toward the chair beside it. He lowered himself into the seat, staring at the sleeping young man.

Yuuri was still pale. He was lying on his back, completely motionless. His right eye was swollen partially shut from an injury to his cheekbone. Two stitches were holding the cracked skin closed. His chest and stomach were heavily taped. Bandages wrapped his hands and fingers as well, likely from defensive wounds.

The blond sighed. I told you not to go about unarmed.

Wolfram's brow bent as his eyes passed over and over Yuuri's figure. He'd grown taller in the time he'd been gone. His shoulders had broadened, and the lines of his face had matured.

The blond gave a noisy sigh, tearing his gaze away.

I used to be so strong.

Wolfram leaned closer in to Yuuri. He felt himself keep going until his forehead was pressed into the mattress beside Yuuri's arm. For once he didn't care that others might see him.

How does he do this to me without even being awake?

Yuuri took a deep breath through his nose. "'Ulf…" he breathed, and Wolfram sat bolt upright, but Yuuri was still asleep.

He called me.

Does he smell me?

"I'm here," Wolfram said, trying not to shake.

You still love him. Idiot.

Wolfram looked up. "Gisela."

The lady turned and gave him a gentle smile as she approached. "Yes, My Lord?"

"What is Yuuri's condition?"

"Well, he was stabbed several times. There seem to have been at least two different blades used. Those wounds form the bulk of his injury. All else appears to be superficial," she said. "His wounds have been cleaned and stitched, of course. My healers are on a regimen of alternating blood-making maryoku with infection-killing maryoku." She looked away. "The wounds had been exposed to powerful filth, but I don't believe he will catch fever. Once we can stop fighting infection and move into flesh-stitching maryoku, I see no reason why he shouldn't make a full, swift recovery."

"Thank goodness," Gunter sighed behind him, and Wolfram in his seat turned to see him standing there, looking tired, with an equally exhausted Sage beside him.

"Sage," Wolfram said, more out of surprise than greeting. "You were brought back, too?"

Murata gave him a tired half-smile. "Obviously." He sighed. "Just when I was resigning myself to the monotony of regular life." He looked at Yuuri. "Not that Shibuya ever did." He moved closer, brushing Wolfram out of the way to lean over his friend.

"Yuuuriii~" he sang, lifting the young man's uninjured eyelid to peer into his eye. "Would you like me to take care of that?"

"Let him rest," Wolfram grumbled, and Murata stood, giving him an amused grin. He turned it almost instantly on Gisela.

"Where are his belongings?"

Gisela's innocuous smile faltered. "Here," she said, leading him to a desk drawer. She lifted the length of her necklace out of her shirt to reveal a key, which she used to unlock the drawer before opening it.

"Just these?" Murata said quietly, touching whatever was in the drawer, and she nodded.

"Well, his clothes were hopelessly sullied. It was difficult to even look through his pockets." She sighed. "His clothes have been burned by now, and anything else in them. If you were looking for something-"

"Just this," he said, turning his back to the others and using it to hide whatever he was lifting out of the drawer. Wolfram saw him slide it into his breast pocket as he turned. In his other hand was a folded leather thing that he remembered Yuuri had once called "wallat."

"Here, I'm trusting you with Shibuya's wallet," Murata said, slapping it against Wolfram's chest. "This is his most important Earth possession. He'll be sure to want it when he wakes, so take good care of it."

Wolfram's eyes steeled as he slid the mysterious 'wallat' into his breast pocket. He remembered that Yuuri had always had it with him and, on the rare occasion that someone else had handled it, he had always been subtly anxious about it until it had been returned.

"I will guard it with my life," he said.

But Murata just grinned at him again. He thought about telling him that Yuuri would never want that, but he highly doubted there would be any reason for Wolfram to defend the wallet, so he let Wolfram have his mission.

No, that wasn't why he'd given it to Wolfram, at all. He turned away.

"Let me know when he wakes. I'm going to take a bath."

"Wait!" Wolfram called, standing, and Murata paused, turning with curious eyes. "Do you know what happened to him? Why would anyone do this to him? If it was robbery, why didn't they take his important wallat?"

Murata bit back a wince. "Earth is a senselessly violent place, von Bielefeld," he said, tapping his finger thoughtfully on his lips. "But usually if money's not the motive, it's sex."

Wolfram stiffened, looking at Gisela with wide eyes. His heart was frozen in his chest.

"Well, was he raped, Gisela?" Murata asked, the lightness of his voice betraying that he knew the answer already.

She clutched her hands to her chest in distress. "We found no evidence of that!"

"Then perhaps he just pissed someone off. He's very good at that." Murata spun on his heel. "Well, if there's nothing else, then I'll be going."

Wolfram turned and sat slowly back down in his chair. When he felt a hand come to rest on the top of the chair beside his head, he remembered Gunter.

"Then… did Ulrike bring Yuuri back to save his life?" Wolfram asked.

Gunter hesitated. "According to what Gwendal told us, Yuuri brought himself back. When Ulrike realized what had happened, she called back the Great Sage."

"Why don't they send Yuuri back?"

The man sighed. "Since Yuuri fought so hard to come here, Shinou decided to give him a choice. You see, his ties to Earth are strong because he has blood there as well as love. But he has no biological ties to Shin Makoku. All that ties him here is his love for the place."

Ah.

"According to Shinou, having a child of his own blood would be ideal, but… since that seems unlikely for him, Shinou has shown mercy. If Yuuri wants to stay in Shin Makoku, all he must do is get married within six months' time."

The blond bit his tongue to restrain an unbidden moan of confusion from shaming him in the middle of the infirmary.

"I have told no one yet but you, Wolfram. I am aware, of course, that you never finished the paperwork to officially annul your engagement."

Wolfram's cheeks burned.

"As long as Yuuri wasn't coming back, I figured it was your own business. I make no judgments as to your reasons," Gunter continued quietly, "but I will give you until the time Yuuri wakes to complete the paperwork. If, when he awakens and is able to understand the situation, you have finished the paperwork, I will tell him that your engagement was annulled, and he must seek someone else. If, on the other hand, you have not, then I will inform him that he is still officially engaged to you."

Wolfram stared out the window at the blue sky, so many thoughts whizzing through his head that he couldn't latch onto any of them.

"You see, he's sure to ask about that, and you know I cannot lie to him." Gunter's voice was soft. "But you mustn't feel like you must marry him. There are many who would take your place without question if need be, so if he wants to stay, there are options. I know, at the very least, one person who would take Yuuri in an instant… if it came down to it."

The blond startled visibly. He turned to look at Gunter's pale face.

Of course. Gunter was in love with Yuuri, too. He had been all this time.

Wolfram looked away again. "Gisela… how long do you think it will be before he regains consciousness?"

Gisela looked up from where she'd been working at the desk. "Not more than two more days at this rate."

I can't think here. Wolfram stood. "Thank you, Gunter." He straightened his tunic and hurried toward the hall, but he paused in the doorway. "I will not be in for dinner. Do not come looking for me."

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Murata's eyes were fixed on the ceiling above his bed. He listened to the silence in his room, letting it settle into his chest, trying to calm himself. He hadn't been expecting to get so worked up about Wolfram's question. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

As his heartbeat slowed to a more normal pace, Murata felt himself relaxing into his lavender-scented mattress.

This place really is better. I want to stay, too, Yuuri.

"Yuuri," he sighed. "You're such an idiot! But you saved me, so I guess I shouldn't complain."

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AN

I would love some feedback. It's been a long time since I wrote anything and I feel rather rusty.