Live to Die

Gwendal and Gunter had been fighting for two hours when Yuuri began to get a sense of foreboding. “Gunter is going to win.” Yuuri thought to himself breaking out into a cold sweat. The thought had barely had time to register, when Gunter successfully disarmed Gwendal. Gwendal’s sword flew through the air. With a nonchalant movement, Gunter caught it.


Silence reigned as everyone digested what had happened. Gunter smiled and nodded to the crowd. Yuuri stood slowly and approached Gunter a fine tremor working its way through his body.


“Congratulations.” Yuuri murmured as he started to walk by Gunter to the castle. His thoughts were running together and he felt nauseous at what he had agreed to do. “I am a fool and a wimp.” Yuuri thought as he began to walk faster, tears threatening to spill.


“Come along ass, your majesty will be negotiating the terms on your behalf.” Gunter belted out for the benefit of the stupefied audience. As anticipated, it broke the crowd from their stupor and a roar of sound developed. Gunter ran to catch up with Yuuri, who was almost running from the sound of the crowd. Gwendal followed behind at a statelier pace.


“Gwendal wait up!” Murata called. Gwendal stopped his face an emotionless mask. When Murata reached him, Murata mumbled low as they continued to walk. “I know you were holding back Gwendal. You are just as curious to the changes with Yuuri and Gunter as I am.”


“We shall see soon enough.” Gwendal replied stoically heading towards Yuuri’s office. Murata and Gwendal continued in companionable silence. When they neared the slightly ajar door, they paused. Voices carried from the room and someone was sobbing.


“I can’t do it Gunter.” Yuuri cried trying to pull himself together from his position in the corner of his office.


“I will extend the time for you have for telling them but the counseling can’t wait.” Gunter pleaded falling to his knees in front of his king.


Yuuri had his back wedged in the corner and was hugging his knees to his chest as he cried into them. Gwendal and Murata silently stood in the doorway, holding their breaths as they shamelessly listened in on the conversation.


“You know what they will think! Wolfram will have it confirmed that I am cheater and a wimp.” Yuuri hiccupped as the tears fell harder. “I tried to be like Gwendal these last couple of months and wear a mask of who I use to be before…” Yuuri stopped and cried harder.

“Yuuri stop it!” Gunter cried placing his hands on Yuuri’s shoulders. “Look at me damn it!” Gunter ordered. Yuuri stopped crying in shock over the expletive that came from the normally composed advisor’s mouth. “You are not to blame for anything and if they are half the men that people think they are they will get over themselves. Rape can happen to anyone.”


“Yes but how could it happen to me!” Yuuri finally managed to stop himself from crying so hard and let Gunter’s words sink in.


“Who did it!” Murata roared slamming the door viciously all the way open. His eyes flashed dangerously behind his glasses as he stepped into the room.


“That’s what I’d like to know.” Gwendal added following behind Murata, his movements slow and steady as he fought to control his emotions. Gwendal closed the door quietly behind them.


“No one!” Yuuri cried and began to hyperventilate as he realizes the two of the people he did not want to know under any circumstances now knew. He began to feel chest pain as Gunter roared at the two to leave. Murata’s body began to leak power as he yelled back. Yuuri felt his fingers and toes tingle as he became numb. He listened to the fight as from a distance as his subconscious tried to take over and make him act. Yuuri fought his subconscious viciously and put it back in its box deep inside him.


“I said leave!” Gunter was standing now in front of Yuuri ready to take on the now fully explosively black Murata. “Do not make me remove you.” Gunter warned again as he felt his own powers coming out blindingly white.


“How is Yuuri safe if his rapist still lives?” Murata demanded as he began to shake violently. Gwendal watched silently from his place in front of the now locked door. Gwendal mentally thanked the gods for the soundproof spell he had cast on the room when Murata continued. “He has the best guards and still the rapist got to him. He is the King and still this scum of the earth defiled him! I ask you again, who is it?” The Sage’s rage now made books start to fall off bookshelves and the glass panes in the windows crack.


“Do you know why he didn’t want to tell you?” Gunter bellowed his own power making the room pulse with energy. “He knew what your stance was. He knew how you would react. A horrible occurrence has happened and your first thoughts are for revenge. Great Sage it would be wiser to help his Majesty recover, especially if you consider him your friend. What type of so called ‘friend’ worries about revenge over his friend’s health and well being?” Gunter’s disdain for Murata was becoming clearer as he continued speaking, heedless of the risk. “You are called the Great Sage for your wisdom, where is it now?”


Murata lashed out blindly at Gunter. Gwendal had only just realized the perils of the situation. Both Murata and Gunter level headed under normal circumstances but now the due to the extreme circumstances they both were incredibly angry. Gwendal threw out a protection ward but knew it was too late. Gwendal had not considered all the possibilities and foreseen all the outcomes, as he normally would have. He watched helplessly. Murata’s attack flair of magic flew through the air headed straight to Gunter’s heart. It never reached Gunter.


Yuuri felt pain that he never knew existed. He had been listening to the confrontation. His senses had warned him of the volatility of the atmosphere. Concentrating on the confrontation had allowed him to focus and calm down again. As he listened to Murata speak he became angry. When Gunter defended him, Yuuri realized the truth of his words.


“An eye for an eye and the whole world is blind, Murata.” Yuuri spoke calmly to his friend. Yuuri had blocked the deadly hit of Murata with his body, his arms and feet spread out in a cross position to create the biggest shield. The blood blooming from the wound was like a flower in pattern. “When you lash out in anger you only hurt yourself.” Yuuri continued as he felt blood leave his mouth and he fell to his knees. “On my blood you swear to never speak of this or the conversation you heard leading to this.”


“Yuuri?” Gunter put his hand on the fallen monarch’s shoulder. His worry was evident in his dropping of formalities. Gunter pulled healing energy into his hand and began to fix Yuuri.


“Your oaths!” Yuuri yelled fiercely staring Murata and Gwendal down. Both men nodded their assent. “Then leave us.”


Murata and Gwendal quickly left the room as Gunter continued to heal Yuuri to the best of his abilities. Gwendal grabbed Murata by the arm and led him to his office. Throwing Murata into his office, Gwendal dismissed the guards.


Gwendal stayed silent as he walked to his desk. He sat in his chair and pulled a desk drawer open so hard it left the tracks spilling its contents onto the floor. Gwendal took a deep breath as he left the drawer on the floor and gathered his knitting needles and yarn together.

Murata sat in the chair across from Gwendal and put his head down on the desk. “I should have known.” Murata spoke quietly as he heard the furious clinks of Gwendal’s knitting. “When I saw him like that I could feel something bad had happened. My heart hurt. My body was screaming at me to help Yuuri. It is Yuuri though, it may take a while but he always bounces back. He is always so cheerful and happy. Even when agitated he still is the same gregarious person through it all.” Silence reigned in the room again as Murata kept his forehead planted firmly on desk and Gwendal knitted maniacally.


“Gwendal I need you to test my newest invent…” Anissina stopped speaking as she entered the office and a knitting needle found its way into the doorjamb. Only a millimeter separated the needle from her cheekbone. Anissina quickly and quietly shut the door behind her. Gwendal stood, retrieved the needle and went back to his frenzied knitted and rapid-fire thoughts. Murata just sat in detached contemplation.


Wolfram was fuming aloud to Conrad as they headed towards Gwendal’s office. “I can’t believe that wimp would dare tell me to shut up in public!” Wolfram continued to fuss until Anissina stopped in front of the pair on the hallway leading to Gwendal’s office. She looked worried.


“If you are heading to Gwendal’s I wouldn’t go in there.” Anissina told the duo shaking her head. “Something is seriously wrong.”


“What makes you say that?” Conrad asked thoughtfully. “His ass may be Gunter’s now but I am sure he could manage to get some kind of deal.”


“I am pretty sure that wouldn’t bother him at all.” Anissina said breezily waving off Conrad’s conjecture. “He tried to harm me and I am one of his oldest friends. I think something serious has happened between the fight and now. The Sage is in there with him with his head buried in his arms.”


Wolfram and Conrad ran to the Gwendal’s office leaving Anissina to her own devices. Stopping at the door Conrad knocked politely albeit impatiently. There was no response. Conrad knocked again more insistently and once again it was ignored.


“Gwendal always answers his door.” Wolfram commented his brows knitting together. Conrad nodded in agreement before he kicked the door in. The sight before them made both men take a step back away from the door.


Murata was deep in thought. He was so deep in thought that a black cloud with thunder and lightening had formed over his head. Gusts of wind were going around the room having a slight tornado effect on the different papers that had been stacked on Gwendal’s desk. Gwendal himself was cranking out misshapen knitted animals. His eyes almost crossed from his dizzying display of concentration. The kicked in door had not registered in either of the occupant’s thoughts.


Conrad and Wolfram looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes. Together they gently put the door back up and quickly moved along down the hallway. When they got far enough away, they stopped. Wolfram shivered faintly before speaking. “That was frightening. I think I should get Yuuri to eradicate that type of challenge.” Wolfram paused for a second and then thought about it a little longer before a smile crossed his face. “Forget I said that. That type of challenge has some serious potential.”


Conrad thought about his own special someone before he nodded in agreement. “The Maou is probably in his office.” When the two arrived at the office, they could not even reach the door. A wall of magic was keeping anyone from getting to close to it. “What is Gunter doing?” Conrad asked recognizing the magic signature.


Wolfram’s temper ignited. “He owns Gwendal’s ass I will be damned if he gets what’s mine!” Wolfram yelled trying to get by the barrier. He bounced back repeatedly before the door slowly opened and Gunter began to yell.


“Get Gisela quickly Yuuri has been injured.” Gunter shut the door before seeing if his command was going to be followed. Wolfram and Conrad shared a glance before Conrad ran to get Gisela. Wolfram continued his tirade at the magic barrier keeping him from his fiancé. When a moment of rare insight struck him and made him pause.


“Yuuri is injured. The Sage and Gwendal are acting strangely.” Wolfram stopped his tirade, his mind frantically working. “One of them injured Yuuri over this damn challenge.” Wolfram turned on his heel and marched back to Gwendal’s office.


“Why did you tell them I was injured?” Yuuri demanded grimacing at the pain that erupted in his chest as he tried to move too quickly.


“If both of them had started to bang at the barrier I would have had to use too much power to keep them out.” Gunter explained simply. “You however should lie down. I only managed to stop the internal damage. Gisela will take care of the rest.”


“Fine.” Yuuri acquiesced groaning at the pain in his chest. “Remind me to let Murata hit you next time.”


“By all rights he should be tried for treason.” Gunter humphed as he folded his coat into a pillow for Yuuri’s head. Placing it behind Yuuri’s head, he continued. “Well at least the only one left to tell is Wolfram.”


Yuuri’s moment of peace was shattered as he replayed the last conversation they had together. He began to breathe a little too fast and his heart raced. His fingers and toes tingled and numbed. “Yuuri?” Gunter asked gently having a faint idea about what was happening as he mentally prayed Gisela would arrive soon. “Try to slow your breathing.” He advised watching helplessly as Yuuri began to hyperventilate again and then as though someone had it out for him, Yuuri had a panic attack.