Disclaimer: My imagination can only handle so much before it will implode; I have only enough as to create a plot for this story rather than the universe it originates from. Sadly, this means the creation of 'Kyou Kara Maou!' was not by me.

Things Unfurled
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Last Edit: Sunday, September 27, 2009; 6:15 p.m.

Chapter Three:
Stimulant

...

It wasn't until more than an hour later that, by the light of the waning sun, did Yuuri allow his frazzled nerves to calm.

He patiently awaited the dissipating of the bundle of emotions which took up residence in his chest and sighed to himself dejectedly; not entirely sure that they were truly unwanted.

Still though, they coolly ebbed away leaving him with a frightfully empty feeling that made him grimace in distaste as they managed to make him queasy even in there absence at the implications that they might hold.

If he were entirely sure with himself he knew what he was feeling was an assortment of emotions. Everything from embarrassment to the situation with Wolfram, the humility which reminded him that Anissina had to, on some level at least actually know, the further uncertainty at his new-found knowledge, his everlasting anxiousness about the hot-pinpoints which ensnared his body at Wolfram's every touch to his person, and his confounded unease at how to go about rectifying the entirety of the situation as a whole.

What good was him being the Maou if he couldn't handle disputes that arose in his own kingdom, moreover, his own person. Morosely, he lamented, that saying you were going to do something and actually doing that something; were two wholly different matters entirely.

He had patiently listened to Anissina, for the better part of two hours or so, banter on and on about men and their: 'Complete and utter disregard for any and all relations with anything vaguely resembling a granule of intelligence.'

In the entirety of that time, he had quietly feigned ignorance at Wolfram's subjugated form and listless attitude. Even more so Yuuri himself had tried to feigned ignorance at feigning ignorance at his not so ignorant glances at the other male, at every haughty look the petite scientist shot his way. It was all very confusing.

But he couldn't help but feel…something. That twisted in his belly and made itself known by a sharp pang every time he looked at the blond. As if the other's presence alone set something off. In some way due to recent events, incredibly odd and cliché though it may have sounded to his own ears, something had shifted in his view of the blond. Guilt, pity, apathy, or whatever it was, none of these emotions seemed like something Wolfram would reciprocate to; which then led him to thinking why he would want to converse with Wolfram on the matter anyway.

Surely this incident was something that was meant to be treated as a freak fluke and then ignored with steadfast devotion.

The entire situation was running circles around Yuuri's head and wasn't truly sure if he was to discern the hidden meaning in every glance Anissina shot his way. Yet at the same time he was absurdly grateful that he was even being as perceptive to her hints as he was. Shinou knew how often someone had tried to subtly tell him something without words before and he missed it impeccably with the density of a nat.

Throughout all of his musings he couldn't help but notice the aristocratic demeanor which had previously always been present around the blond, was absent. Here Yuuri was, all out of sorts emotional wise, but even from a good foots distance he could tell that Wolfram however, looked for all the world as if he were not wholly there to begin with. The blonde merely looked with decided precision at his shoes and fingered the golden buttons adoring his jacket, through the whole tirade of the rouge-woman.

At this revelation, Yuuri was even more ill at ease than previously before as it meant something irrevocably life-altering had occurred to Wolfram for him to loose the grace that seemed to trail him. Then again, he could not put into word or even corhent thought, how much the simple fact that he was so aware of Wolfram's person affected him. It was something he hadn't noticed before, and rather than dwell on it he simply applied it to the fact that and event of such epic proportions had occurred.

Nevertheless he had somehow throughout the duration of his musings managed to sit, entirely motionless, while the previously ignored 'scientist' listed and repeated the failure of the 'man' and how it was 'reasons such as this' that men needed to be shoved aside and the 'more intellectually stimulated' gender should prevail.

Better yet, with a dexterity he hadn't even known he acquired, he had managed not to heave out loud the relieved sigh that was itching to burst forth when Anissina had deftly shoved the much-too-silent flaxen haired young man out the door; under the pretense of getting him further medical and health treatment from Gisela. All the while Yuuri was giving the other a smile and somehow managing to maintain it instead of letting it turn to a grimace as the other youth wouldn't even spare him a glance.

As it was, he stayed still instead of insisting on following, sifting through the turbulent thoughts and musings which clamored amidst his mind. Unlike normally where he would have jumped from one thought to the next without thinking of the repercussions of such actions he now made himself stop. Calculating in his own way his decision that he must make before going forward.

While Anissina starred him down with eyes that depicted their own version of Hell.

It was quiet admirable, really; how much like a Doberman she resembled.

And how he himself had not acquired a need to change his pants he knew not; really, she was that frightening.

Unwavering, resolute and exuding an aura that Shinou himself would be proud of, the red-haired vixen hummed quietly. Seemingly to herself; whilst she sized him up, and down over and over again till, in the moment he thought he could take it no longer; she spoke:

"The loafer seemed non-too-happy just then. Wouldn't you agree?" Her head tilted to the right, and though he was sure it was to seem inviting, he could only think of it as a god of sorts deciding his fate.

He sat quietly, still.

"Oh, come on now Mr. Maou. Really. You honestly have nothing to say?" She seemed appalled at the very notion.

Her eyes widened dramatically and a hand let itself to her lips. "I'm quiet sure Wolfram had lots to say," She gasped knowingly, "what with that fierce spark of his."

Something, fiery and hot slithered through his being; feeding the coals in the fire of his annoyance. Wolfram hadn't had a spark, or even a flickering sputter, of the defiant persona which normally accompanied him at any point of her ramblings in the room.

Still he sat quiet, knowing it would truly only be worse in the long run, till he was sure he was meant to speak.

"You've nothing to add, do you now?" Her cerulean eyes dancing dangerously in a mockery of the ignorance she portrayed.

Yuuri could feel tendrils of anger seeping in his chest, pooling at the bottom of his abdomen and into the very crevice of his soul. Oozing slowly throughout his body, down to the very core of his being, yet he fought valiantly to keep it down. He couldn't expect his naivety to save him forever. He knew or rather had a small notion, of what his actions had caused to transgress.

"Nothing, say… worth my while to hear about?" Her eyes seemed to glint maddeningly by the few vestiges of light entering the window in the nearing darkness, as the sconces were not yet lit.

He took a calming breath and went to close his eyes, as if to block out the offending jesting, till he realized he already closed them: he barley just resisted covering his ears.

Time passed slowly, trickling by without notice as Anissina's taunting persona continued to amass and grow more and more condescending, even with his intrepid attempts at ignoring her, until finally: "I think he would have at least liked it. Did you get jumped mightily my Lord?"

At last the last strands holding together his dwindling and near non-existent patience broke and Yuuri snapped fiercely.

"Silence."

His voice was so maddeningly deafening and irreplaceably one fit to a ruler that he scarce could recognize it himself. Yet by the enlargement of Anissina's eyes, he knew he had at least made his point.

Still though, she sighed tiredly before merely stepping towards him and with purely three foots length between them; she plopped down in a rather ungraceful imitation of sitting Indian style beneath him.

"Well then…Mr. Maou. What are you gunna do?" Her tone was not menacing, as before, but merely inquiring.

He paused before letting forth the first thing on his mind. "What I need to do."

It was her tinkering laugh which caused him to look at her interestedly.

"Well, what might that be?" She questioned airily, as if already anticipating his answer.

Then as if she honestly knew it beforehand, sooner than he could so much as form the syllables to a single word; she spoke his thoughts.

"Going to run after him?" She paused momentarily, as if looking for a way to word his feelings.

"Going to tell him how sorry you are he got his ikkle emotions reveled? How awful it was that they were stripped from that shoddy defense he calls a 'wall'," When he made move to defend the other, she plowed on, "But also tell him how thankful you are, that you know his feelings now?"

It was now he realized, moments too late, that he'd stepped on a mine-field. Her eyes darkened and seemed to radiate with such a fierce intensity that he nearly toppled over his chair in his attempt to back it up; though it was quite hard seeing that it was already against the wall.

He tensed resignedly, awaiting the onslaught.

"You make me sick." As he looked up unexpectedly he realized her eyes were no longer looking at him. They were trained to picture above his head, as if to show how unwilling she was to so much as look at him. It hurt, in more ways than he could describe, as it reminded him terribly of Wolfram's departure and unwillingness to acknowledge the one he had expressed such raw sentiments to only hours before.

Before he could sink into far too complex thoughts Anissina's soft voice managed to slip itself into his musings.

"He's showed you for years that he's loved you….Yet only now you take note of it." Her voice was low and hit struck a serious cord in his mind for some unfathomable reason. She blinked entirely too hard, as though if pained her to think of it.

"Only now, when it's been all but shoved in your face," she laughed humorlessly and it lacked the tinkering bell-like chime that had accompanied it moments ago, "I'm actually quite sure it has been shoved in your face. But only now…" Her voice took on a wistful tune as it became obvious she was getting lost in thought; perhaps of past memories, of lost loves or maybe just simply the predicament at hand.

"Only…now." Her eyes dropped suddenly to a visible nick in the flooring of the castle and she quickly composed herself.

The fire was back in her piercing gaze with a vengeance and she glared at him with a potency that could rival that of Medusa.

"If you honestly believe that doing something as irrevocably stupid as tha-No," She cut off mid stride and gently eased herself up doing a complete one-eighty in attitude. "I want you to think…About someone other than yourself; anyone. But…Preferably someone blond and masculine…" her tone held a slight precision at the last word, as though reminding him of something forgotten.

Yuuri let loose a quizzical noise and her form tensed as though she was letting something secret out. Something he either wasn't supposed to know he mused or, he winced inwardly, something that was assumed he should have already figured out.

"Someone who…never shows much emotion…to the man he loves at least, other than raw intensity. Not anger, frustration, love or adoration: But sheer intensity."

The words were stressed as if to affirm his earlier thoughts and make known the fact that these were not merely words she was speaking, but also advice. If he could only take the time to determine their meaning, to treat it as one would a puzzle of the utmost importance.

She towered over him, her gate blocking his view of anything other than her abdomen before she gently held his head up in both hands in a gesture of peace, and he couldn't think of anything other than what this moment might mean later on in life, because something was happening.

"Someone who has just had his most hidden emotions forcibly flaunted, unwittingly, to the man he loves…and believes the other to not love the man back. How would you feel?"

It was impossible to tell what exactly; be it because of his ignorance, naivety or something else entirely but something in this moment in time was changing. For better or for worse he wasn't even sure if Shinou himself could have said.

Yuuri would have liked to think that he was rather intelligent and held the ability to mentally multi-task; but her words caused his turbulent thoughts to stop and swivel steadily around her last spoken sentence.

How would he feel?

She must have noticed his confusion that was warring with the utter curiosity on his face, because it was most assuredly as plain as day.

She must have as she smiled serenely at him with something that spoke of years of experience in such matters, and left the room without so much as resonating footfall, but she did nothing to mollify it.

Author's Note: Many moons and two computer problems later, our story is continued. Where shall it go from here…? I must say, I'll be as surprised as you. Either way, it'll be a couple weeks, but I'll see you before long.

Until next time!