The Demon King

A KKMaou story by Jetede

Disclaimer: Let's cut the crap, shall we. We all know I don't own KKMaou. So just enjoy the fic!

A/N: HAH! I finally managed to finish this next chapter of The Demon King, YAY! I know I promised to post this last month, but I've been kind of distracted…I've been hooked with Naruto and my other fic: Horizon (a crossover between Naruto and KKMaou) lately. Check that one out if you're interested. It's basically an all powerful!Yuuri and Murata in Naruto world. I've always loved an all-powerful Yuuri idea, anyway…hehe. Review after you read, ok!?

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Chapter 4: The Fated Encounter

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"Kirei… You're a tennyou, aren't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"Miss tennyou, can I see your hagoromo?" (1)

The 'tennyou' laughed. "Do I look like a female to you, kid?"

"A… ah, I'm sorry, sir. It's just that you're so pretty, so I thought you were an angel. This is the first time I've seen someone with hair the color of the sun."

"What's your name, kid?"

"Ken, Sir, Murata Ken."

"Well, Ken, you may call me Shinou," the tennyou said with a kind smile. "Tell me child, how old are you?"

"I'll be nine years old in a month."

"I see. What are you doing in this part of the forest, anyway?" Shinou asked from his perch on the tree.

The 'tennyou' was lounging on a big branch of a tree in the forest that morning, enjoying the warmth of Spring's morning sun, when the young eight-year-old Murata Ken found him. It's rather surprising to see a human child in his forest since other humans tend to shy away from the enchanted forest for fear of demons and others of his kind. It's even more surprising that this human child could actually see him and not be afraid of him! It's the first time in hundreds of years he's met someone like Ken. The child had gained his full attention now.

"Ah…umm I was playing and gathering some flowers and herbs earlier, but somehow I got lost."

Shinou nodded in understanding. It is very easy to get lost in his forest since the forest tends to have a mind of its own. "Where do you live and where are your parents, boy?"

"I—I don't have any parents. I'm an orphan, Shinou-sama. I've lived alone ever since jii-chan and the others died a few weeks ago," Ken said sadly as he looked down towards the ground. "There was a fire—" the child was on the brink of tears. He clenched his fists so hard that the knuckles turned white.

"…I see." Shinou said quietly. 'A mere cub not even nine years old—yet already had to take care of himself. He must've been the sole survivor of the fire at the small orphanage by the river. I thought everyone died that day. Hmm…interesting.'

"Well, child, how would you like to live with me from now on?"

Ken looked up in surprise. "Are you serious, sir?" His eyes flickered with hope.

Shinou laughed. "Well, it's been a while since I had company, and you don't have anyone else in your life. So, why not?" At that point, Ken's face broke into the biggest, most beautiful smile that Shinou had ever seen.

The 'tennyou' jumped down from the branch gracefully, giving the impression that he was floating off the ground for a few seconds. Shinou walked towards the boy and put his hand on top of Ken's black hair as he leaned down. Ken, he noticed, had the deepest pools of black eyes he's ever seen in a human. 'Such a beautiful child,' he thought. Ken closed his eyes as Shinou leaned down and kissed his forehead gently.

"Come, Ken."

From that day, Murata Ken was never seen in the village anymore. None of the villagers even noticed.

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"Oy, hennachoko."

"I said, don't call me wimp!"

"…"

"What?"

"Why do you seem different? Do you have, like, a split personality, or something?"

"What do you mean different? And no, I don't have a split personality. This is who I am and how I am as always."

"But, you're…" Wolfram blushed. "You're not as… forward… as you were when we first met."

Yuuri blushed at Wolfram's last comment. The Demon King and the new Companion were sitting back at the living room after dinner that evening. Murata had suggested for the two to 'bond' and try to get to know each other since the two were practically 'inseparable' because of the contract now. It's rather disconcerting to Wolfram to see the 'young' Demon King to act like a nervous teenager, considering that the first night they met each other, that same man managed to molest and put a mark below his chest. Really, what's up with this wimp anyway? Sure, he's probably quite attractive for a guy, but—

'Wait a sec'! I DID NOT just think this wimp attractive…did I? Oh my God! I'm officially crazy! If mother, Gwendal or Conrad somehow found out about this…well mother probably will get into one of her excited squealy mode on me, and Conrad will just smile that creepy, all-knowing smile of his…but Gwendal?' Wolfram groaned out loud in exasperation.

"…rry—"

"Huh?" Wolfram said. "Did you say something?"

"I said, I'm sorry about the mark thing. I mean, I really shouldn't have done that without your consent in the first place," Yuuri said.

Wolfram sighed and leaned back into the sofa. "I guess we can't help it now. Like it or not, we're stuck together now, huh? Murata-san did say that it's irreversible, right?" He put his arm on top of his eyes tiredly. "It's just that…this whole Companion thingie is rather hard to believe, you know. My whole life, I've been trained in all kinds of things focusing on family business in order for me to sometime inherit one of my family's companies—and now when I'm actually on the right track—this happens. I don't know what to do or what to think anymore. This is all so confusing." He clenched his left hand onto the fabric of the sofa.

Yuuri did not make any comment and for a while the room was eerily quiet, only the sounds of their breathing could be heard.

"So what happens then?" Wolfram asked finally. "What exactly is expected of—us?"

Yuuri smiled. He did not miss the 'us'. At least he didn't have to worry about Wolfram not accepting their 'relationship.' "Well, I guess we could try to get to know each other for starters, if we have to spend the rest of our lives together—it is a long life, after all." He chuckled. "As for what is expected of you as a Companion…well, we can talk about that later."

"What about you yourself?" Wolfram asked again. "What do you do as a MaOu?"

"You know how you were able to all of a sudden create fire out of your empty hands earlier? Well, Murata had already explained that fire is your elemental affinity, right?" Wolfram nodded. "As for me, although water is my main affinity, it is not the only element I can control. Basically, as the MaOu, I have control over all of the elements. The reason for that power is because I am what you could call the balancer. My existence in the world is to help maintain the balance between the different elements in the world, that and among other things, I guess."

"I don't understand. Why maintain the balance between the elements?"

"Think about it this way. When the balance is tipped towards one element or the other—say…there's too much water—there will be lots of major disasters that involve water in the world, such as continuous rain and flood. When there's too much of the fire element, you get drought and volcanic activities. There will be a lot of innocent lives lost without that balance."

Wolfram got speechless and paled considerably when he heard the explanation.

"You don't have to worry about your power to control fire. I'll help you in controlling your maryoku so it won't harm anyone. Even then, you won't be causing major natural disasters." Yuuri chuckled. "Probably some small freak fire accidents, though." He added in a whispered tone.

"That's not your only role is it?"

The Demon King smiled. "No, it's not. As the MaOu, it is also my job to maintain the balance between the light and dark, the good and evil. Everything in this world is all about balance, Wolfram. I'm sure you're familiar with the term of yin and yang. As long as the world is alive, that balance has to be maintained. The moment the balance is broken, it is the end of the world. 'With power, comes responsibilty'—I'm sure you've heard of that before."

The blond paled even further and groaned. "What the hell did I get into?"

Yuuri chuckled again. "We'll take it slow, one step at a time, okay? For now, let's just work on your control over your maryoku. We'll cross the bridge when we get there. Now, let's see…"

Yuuri suddenly stiffened and straightened his pose, his face turned serious while his eyes lost the warmth that was there when he was talking with Woflram. Not a second later, a man wearing all white uniform with tan cloak, covering his body from head to toe appeared in the middle of the living room out of nowhere.

"What the—!" Wolfram jumped in surprise.

"Sumimasen MaOu heika, Bielefeld-sama. I apologize for interrupting your evening," the man said. Wolfram was surprised that the man recognized him.

The MaOu stayed unmoved and seated on the sofa. The only movement he made was the slight turn of his head. Yuuri looked at the stranger as if a person materializing in his living room out of nowhere was an everyday occurrence. It probably was. His face was neutral and his eyes turned cold as he faced the man. One could see the thin golden ring that appeared around his black pupils—his eyes did not turn all golden like the first night he met Wolfram on the streets, though. Wolfram realized that the young man in front of him wasn't the naïve wimp he accused him of earlier. This was Shibuya Yuuri, the Demon King. The blond shivered subconsciously.

"Forgive me, heika, but there's been a disturbance in South East Asia earlier. Our branch office in Singapore had reported that there were some volcanic activities around the Sunda Strait in between Sumatra and Java islands in Indonesia."

"Mount Krakatau?"

"I believe so, heika."

"Who's in charge of the area? Why haven't they taken care of it, yet?"

"Murata-sama is the head of Asian region, but—"

"Murata's here. I see. Don't worry, I'll take care of it soon. You may go." Yuuri nodded to the man. The man bowed once and disappeared from the room. Wolfram was surprised once more.

"Doria," said Yuuri. A maid appeared by the doorway.

"Yes, heika?"

"Call Murata and tell him we've got a situation in South East Asia."

"Right away, heika." Doria left as soon as she said that to get Murata from the kitchen.

"What the hell was that?" asked Wolfram

Yuuri turned his attention back to the emerald-eyed blond in front of him and smiled. The thin golden ring around his eyes disappeared from sight. "You asked about the job of a MaOu earlier. I believe this is the perfect occasion to demonstrate what it is exactly that I do." He stood up and offered his right hand to the blond, "Come, let's get ready. As soon as Murata is ready, we'll head over to Indonesia immediately."

Wolfram was confused but he eventually stood up and hesitantly reached for Yuuri's outstretched hand. The two of them headed to the mansion's main entry and waited for Murata at the foyer. A minute later, Murata appeared.

"Problem, Yuuri?" Murata glanced toward the two and noticed that Yuuri was holding Wolfram's hand and the blond did not seem to mind. 'Ooh, interesting,' mused Murata silently.

"Volcanic activity discovered from within Mt. Krakatau by Java island in Indonesia. We're heading there right now. South East Asia is still under your jurisdiction. This is supposed to be your job, you know."

"Ah, oops?"

"It's fine. Besides, this is the perfect time to show Wolfram about the balance of the elements."

"Well, what are we waiting for, then? Lead the way." Murata laid his hand on Yuuri's shoulder and clasped it lightly.

"Wait, how are we going to get there?" asked Wolfram.

"You'll see," Murata answered.

Yuuri tightened his hold on Wolfram's hand. "Whatever happens, don't let go of my hand, okay?" Wolfram gulped and nodded. "Here we go."

Not even a blink later, the three men disappeared from the foyer without even a sound. The only proof that they were there was the slight disturbance in the air one could see if one looked closely at the spot they were standing on earlier. The mansion was silent once more.

(To Be Continued)

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(1) Hagoromo: enchanted 'scarf' the heavenly faeries believed to wear when they descend to earth in order to enjoy their bath in a spring. There are different kinds of versions of stories about bathing faeries who gets accidentally found out by this hunter hunting a deer in the forest in Asian cultures. The hunter then stole one of the faeries' scarfs and hid it in his home, forcing the faerie to stay on earth, since she can't fly back to heaven without it. Most of the myths basically tell that she's then married to that hunter, however left after finding out that the hunter has been hiding the scarf all along.

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A/N: Read. Review. Repeat.