*EDITED

Author's Note:

Hello fellas! As you can see, this is the edited version of Dusk! BTW, a lot of changes had been implemented to this fic and things were getting polish that I really didn't imagine. Things are really getting exciting! And, Sempai CaptSpeed really had a lot of help and really gave his time to help me (since he was my beta-reader and a kind friend). Okay, without further ado, let's start! Ohtaka Shinobu owns MAGI!

Dusk: Host and Victim

Swindler, the perfect word for him.

Who would have thought that he would become like that?

Of course, no one. He was the known 7 Djinn user. The person who successfully conquered some of the Dungeons which the wanderer Magi used to drift up barely 15 years ago.

He had everything; the looks, the heart, the fame and the power. However, he still wasn't contented with what he already , he...

"I won't forgive him," That was what Alibaba Saluja said.

With anger in his eyes, the blond haired man couldn't help but feel betrayed. He was even considering in killing the man that used to be his mentor; the one he always envied.

But now, he could see clearly Sinbad's true nature. In his head he was simply the most treacherous King that would destroy anything to reach his goals.

He definitely wasn't the kind King that many times helped him through his worst this person that he looked up to was simply using him because of his position.

Holding the fragile Princess in shoulders with his firm hands, he swore that he would take revenge against him.

"Kougyoku, I'll promise that I will avenge you against Sinbad," Alibaba cursed threateningly, showing an unbelievably cold side of himself.

"Follow me..."A serious voice said vaguely, commanding the third Prince of Balbadd to give up on his free will and ally himself to the Ren family.

"If you just say… 'Follow me'…then I don't have any other choice…!"The poor blond exclaimed to himself,his head was bent downward, falling to his knees in defeat.

In total devastation, the blond was still kneeling on the floor,his hands were clenched firmly as he finally decided to stop resisting and take responsibility as a Prince of Balbadd.

The adviser of Ren Kouen was staring at his bent form with amusement; he finally managed to get what he wanted. Koumei simply stared at the blond, grinning at his pitiful condition.

Looking towards the standing figure in front of him, Alibaba said to the Emperor of Kou, "You are a cruel person... Did you persuade all of your subordinates to follow you using similar methods?"

Koumei's gaze shifted to his brother,his expression showing no concern for the younger man standing in front of them, but frowning once he saw his brother's reaction.

As an advisor of the King, he needed to keep appearances and make sure that both parties would reach a peaceful agreement.

Trying to control the situation, Koumei finally spoke. "Now now, let's call down. Let us talk about things practically," The second Ren Prince started, "It's not like my brother and King would accept you without any conditions…"

The young Prince was still on his knees while Koumei continued, "There are three conditions," raising his right hand, "First, you have to completely cut your ties with Sindria. Second, you need to present a concrete proposal in ruling Balbadd from a viewpoint we lack and third, you have to show loyalty to the Imperial Ren Family with all yourself,"

Alibaba slowly went up from his knees with his eyes still on the floor. He was frowning, "Basically, you are saying that you can do anything to me. Like hell I can answer that..."

"I can't betray them." The blond murmured to himself, remembering Sinbad, Sharrkan and all his friends in Sindria.

"You're wrong," Koumei calmly said, "It's not like we're saying that we will hurt you or turn you into our puppet. We just want you to marry one of the Imperial Princesses, such as Kougyoku, if you want to keep Saluja bloodline alive."

Of course Koumei meant that the only way that the blond could regain power in Balbadd was to accept in becoming part of the Ren family and be Kouen's right-hand man.

"W-Wha...?!" The blond shouted in shock, "I can't marry anyone…" Alibaba said in a low tone, thinking about a certain red haired girl.

Annoyed with Alibaba's naivety, Kouen said, "Do you have more important concerns than your own country?" Deciding not to answer him, the red haired continued, "If this is about the Fanalis woman she can become your concubine."

Alibaba almost chocked by hearing Kouen's proposal. This was definitely the most absurd thing he ever heard, there was no way he could do something so dishonest.

However, he also knew that he had no other choice. Alibaba had responsibilities to fulfill and a country to rebuild. A brief silence covered the whole room and Alibaba consciousness started to fade as he kept hearing the leading figures of Kou's Empire.

Some time later, they were married. Alibaba married the eight Imperial Princess with a simple yes and a couple of forced smiles.

He couldn't have the woman he truly loved anymore, not in an honest way. Maybe he was being naïve, but he had sworn to himself that he wouldn't get any concubines no matter what happened.

It simply wasn't fair, any of this.

He stood in a balcony that was facing the city while holding the wooden railings with a tight clutch. His head was bending down, a feeling of frustrating taking over his normal bright personality.

He couldn't tell if he was the same brave, honest, but yet naïve person that he used to be. In truth, he knew that he was doing the right thing for his beloved country… However, this cost his happiness and the woman that he loved.

She would never be with him and his promise with her was forever lost. Fortunately though, she decided to stay with him, supporting his every decision, being his most loyal Household member.

A love disregarded over patriotism. How cruel was that? This surely was a tragedy story where the two lovers weren't meant to be with each other.

It really took him more than one hundred years to accept and get used to his decision.

Alibaba still wasn't sure if he was ready to adapt accept his present situation.

Sighing deeply always gave him an easiness feeling, which made him feel like the positive teen that he was in the past. Soon after, he would regain consciousness of his situation and there was nothing that could drive away his worries.

The cold breeze swayed his golden mane a bit, when a pair of slim arms embraced his torso from behind. Without turning around, Alibaba knew who was the small figure seeking refuge in his embrace was.

Kougyoku.

He tried to look at her directly, but noticed that her embrace was different from her normal friendly behavior towards him. Thinking about this, he definitely thought that this wasn't the nerves of being their first night as newly-weds, but it was something else, something way more serious.

That was what Alibaba's instinct told him.

Despite the being a married couple, the third Prince of Balbadd still felt some discomfort and awkwardness when he was around his wife.

Who would believe that the Princess who once despised him and rejected the idea of marrying him to save his country would become good friends with him and sometime later end up being his wife? Who knew that the person that regarded him as an imbecile would become so dependable on him, showing Alibaba her most vulnerable side?

He felt undeserving of such feat, doubting that maybe, just like Sinbad, he was also using Kougyoku to achieve his goals.

Alibaba felt that he didn't deserve to be called her husband. To his dismay, their union was just an arranged marriage with various complicated conditions and consequences that could risk their lives and the freedom of Balbadd.

After rejecting the idea of marrying with the same Princess twice, who would have thought that Alibaba would ask the same woman to be his wife?

If the damned swindler hadn't used his dirty tricks to ruin her life, everything would be much different.

Alibaba knew that he wasn't powerful as the High King of the Seven Seas. He wasn't intelligent or handsome like his mentor was. He wasn't the person that Kougyoku loved. Instead, the blond was just a clumsy and gentle adult, which managed to come back to life, just to accomplish his ideals.

His thoughts were abruptly stopped when he heard silent sobs coming from his 'wife', who was now completely leaning on him. Worried about her mental state, he wanted to comfort her, talk to her, but before he managed to do so she muttered, "I-I'm sorry... Alibaba-chan..."

The blond frowned in confusion. He couldn't deny the odd feeling that was overwhelming him. Alibaba didn't know the right words to pick or what to answer the red haired, so he merely remained in silence.

"I'm sorry for everything... Alibaba-chan! Will you forgive me?" She asked, no, she almost begged for his forgiveness, along with heartbreaking sobs.

Alibaba's confusion was evident on his face. He simply couldn't think straight after hearing the sincere apologize of his wife.

He knew he had to do something to stop this. Before doing so, he left her embrace by removing her shaky arms, firmly holding the red haired by her small shoulders, staring at her with an expression of sadness and concern, which matched with her watery gaze.

Feeling insecure and about to have an emotional breakdown, Kougyoku hugged Alibaba's waist, hoping that the blond would once again become her pillar.

"Kougyoku... You shouldn't be saying that. There's nothing to apologize for." He replied, in a gentle whisper. It was clear in his tone that Alibaba was really unsure in how to react to this situation, so he chose to use neutral words. The golden haired adult, being a dense person, was still trying to pinpoint the reason to his wife's dilemma.

The crimson haired woman averted her gaze while shedding some more tears. Her heart couldn't hold it in, she had to let it all out otherwise it would be too much for her too handle.

"I took away all your dreams... The plans you had... It's all because of me... I said that I'd try to help you because we were friends... I didn't expect this! I stole your happiness and now you're bound in chains to this marriage that you never wanted. I knew you loved someone else, you weren't supposed to choose me instead... So please forgive me for being unable to do anything for you, I'm sorry Alibaba! I'm really, really sorry... Alibaba..." She kept on chanting his name over and over again, this time not addressing him with her usual friendly tone.

In all the confusion, she didn't notice that she was clutching his chest tightly, fearing that she might end up losing his support.

Alibaba didn't know what to say. He wanted to comfort her, saying that everything would be okay, but that would be a lie. If before this talk everything was awkward and somewhat forced, now it was a mess and nothing made sense anymore.

He wanted to hold her and give her some friendly words to help her, but at the same time part of his mind blamed her for sacrificing his own feelings.

This looked like he was being a selfish brat, which made him feel very disgusted. He took a deep breath and said, "You..." He hesitated, "...There's no need to worry about that. It's alright, this was my choice and you don't need to blame yourself."

From the beginning, some part of his mind always told him that he didn't need to do this. He closed his eyes as he remembered his battle with Hakuryuu, before dying. Then, he remembered the conversation that he had with the exiled Princes of Kou who told him everything that happened, years ago, just before his return to this world.

The man who was once the adviser of the head of the Kou Empire told him everything that happened, including the detail that Sinbad used his powers on Kougyoku one more time. The brothers were stripped of their powers and for that reason, Kouha almost begged Alibaba to protect his sister from any harm.

At first, Alibaba couldn't believe his words, the teenager and his brothers that used him as a pawn in the past were now asking him for a favor. A favor to protect their 'traitor' sister who ruined every chance of them winning against Sinbad and his allies.

Alibaba still didn't trust the older brother and he never really had a chance to meet Kouha, but his intentions were pure. He wanted to assure the safety of his sister and for that reason Alibaba was able to create an unspeakable bond with him.

Reminiscing this made him more determined to keep his promise with the exiled Princes of Kou and led him to accept his destiny as the protector of Kougyoku.

Breaking his line of thought, Alibaba returned to the crude reality, closing his eyes as he said, "...Everything happens for a reason..."

He embraced the broken Princess tightly as she did the same, seeking for his comforting warmth.

He sighed inwardly, remembering every decision and every step he made, ever since he returned to life. Maybe now, Alibaba was ready to accept the fact that everything happened for a reason.

I really wish that marrying her has a good reason behind it... He thought to himself, hoping that he wouldn't screw up everything again.

P.S. For those readers who are new reading this fic, you have my gratitude! Thanks a lot for reading this fic and for those who are really new here, I compensated the name 'Prologue' to 'Dusk' and 'Chapter' to 'Night'. Thanks a lot Sempai for all the help! See ya!