There had been rather too many memorable ways in which Yuuri had arrived in Shin Makoku - and it was just a little unfair, he often thought, that the Maou himself should have to arrive in what happened to be fairly embarrassing situations.

Like the time he came to land in the horse trough, buck naked. The fact that Conrad and Wolfram had happened to be there didn't make things any easier.

"Er... hi", said Yuuri, a little unnecessarily, since things had gone dead quiet (even the horse had backed off, although admittedly this might have been something to do with its surprise of being very abruptly interrupted from its drink more than anything else). After Yuuri had - quite admirably, really - gotten over the fact that he had just been transported from a hot bathtub before going to bed and into a sweltering mid-summer's day just outside the stables. However, he was once more momentarily stunned by the state of undress Conrad happened to be in.

Needless to say, Conrad carried off being shirtless extremely well. The slight sheen of sweat which glistened in the heat only emphasised the attributes which were merely hinted at beneath the usually pristine soldiers uniform, which was now discarded a few meters away. Wolfram, however, had made no concessions to the warmth of the day, and had stubbornly kept his uniform on although he was clearly uncomfortable, face flushed from the exertions.

"So... what's up?"

Conrad had by now gotten over his shock and pulled himself together, giving Yuuri his hand to help him out of the trough. Behind him, the horse snorted indignantly. Wolfram could only stand and stare as Yuuri allowed himself to be helped out of the trough and tried (with some small amount of success, at least), to act as though this was something that occurred everyday. This was no small feat when he was without a stitch of clothing, and when Conrad himself was half naked and smelt so strongly of everything that was Conrad: horse, leather, his own unique scent that Yuuri had never quite been able to define besides just Conrad.

"Just spending some quality time with my younger brother, Heika", said Conrad easily, smiling in that familiar, confident way. Yuuri felt somehow both calmed by the familiarity and oddly flustered by it. Wolfram, for his part, had not quite found his voice yet and could not even summon the words to protest that Conrad was no brother of his.

It could only be put down to clumsiness on Yuuri's part over what happened next, or else the cause of fate. Yuuri, suddenly more embarrassed that he had ever been in his life, chose this particular moment to slip on the wet ground, falling back into the trough he had just been rescued from. Conrad, ever the gentleman, made a valiant attempt to haul Yuuri back from the water. And the horse, finally deciding that enough was enough, plunged forward and, whether accidentally or not, overbalanced Conrad so that both humans ended up falling, one on top of the other.

At least, thought Conrad, the water provided a moment of blessed coolness on overheated skin. Beneath him, it seemed that it was Yuuri's turn to be at a loss for words.

Wolfram blinked, apparently coming back to himself. "YUURI, YOU CHEATER!"

The words rang clearly across the landscape and brought the maids scurrying to see what the fuss was, along with Gunter who, upon coming to his own conclusions, promptly had to deal with a very impressive nosebleed.

Conrad only shrugged and smiled, recognizing that there was nothing he could do about the situation. Wolfram felt differently about the whole fiasco, and didn't speak to Yuuri for two whole days after that.

---

When Yuuri arrived in Shin Makoku over a year later, it was during the heart of winter but was no less memorable for that. It was also at that point that Yuuri came to fully understand the phrase, "life flashing before your eyes".

The method of arrival was common enough, the old fountain taking Yuuri faithfully to the pond next to the temple which had become almost as welcome to Yuuri as the castle which lay beyond it. The unexpected part came when he reached the top of the water - he could see the sky and shadows of the landscape just above him, oddly distorted - and found himself trapped beneath the surface.

Then the cold came, making his breath surge out into bubbles as the shock hit him, chilling the young Maou to the bone. He pounded what he now knew to be ice with his fists, harder and harder and eventually with a desperate force strong enough to bruise his hands, but to no avail. It dawned on Yuuri then that this could very well be the end. Battles and falls from horses and even the occasional wound or two had seemed to carry elements of fantasy to them, because everyone knew that the main protagonist and hero of a story never actually died. But this was different - this ice was hard and unforgiving and there was absolutely nothing unreal or fantastic about being entrapped, cut off from the air that his lungs now craved and was only inches away, yet utterly unattainable. Against his will, his mouth opened to breathe in air. The water which it found instead travelled fatally down his throat and into his chest.

It would be a lie to say that Yuuri's life did suddenly flash before his eyes like some flashback scene from a movie, but there were definite memories drifting there as Yuuri closed his eyes. They came to the forefront of his mind now, drawing away some of the panic that he felt to replace it with a kind of irrational calm. His mother's hand in his hair, tugging black locks into two tufts to turn them into pigtails. His brother Shori getting glasses for the first time and allowing Yuuri to fiddle with them and watch the sun glint off the lenses enchantingly. Playing baseball with his old team, whistles blowing and the satisfying thunk of the ball as it hit the bat squarely and flew far enough away that people screamed at him for a home run. Being pulled into a whirlpool and coming out the other side where a confusing land awaited him, filled with dragons and swords which moaned at him and people who he now thought of as family.

These memories, while mostly not particularly important, were etched into his mind more sharply than they had ever been. So it was confusing and on the whole fairly disorientating to then begin hearing noises in his mind that he couldn't place in his memory at all - a huge cracking; a woman crying noisily; men yelling things he couldn't make out at all; a pull on his body that seemed to jar him right from within and force the memories back into the recesses of his mind; and directly after this a rushing sound that made his ears and head pound. And finally, the cold came back with a vengeance and the barrier which had separated his lungs from the fresh air had disappeared.

Yuuri choked, coughing up water and struggling to sit up at the same time, as his body jerked back to life. He opened his eyes to find Conrad's mouth scant centimeters away from his own as the soldier sat back and watched Yuuri breathe freely with obvious relief. It occurred to Yuuri then that Conrad had very likely saved his life, and had done so in the only way possible at the time even if it did make Yuuri unaccountably shy of Conrad for a few days afterwards. He could still taste Conrad on his mouth, and it was this more than the aftershock of nearly dying which kept Yuuri quiet as everyone else made a great deal of noise and fuss, wrapping him securely in blankets and conveying him to the castle and looking at him like he might almost die again any second, despite now having plenty of air to breathe. But while all this was going on around him like some sort of surreal dream, Yuuri kept the one memory of Conrad looking at him like he had almost lost something of vital importance, and stored it safely in his mind alongside the brief moment when he had felt Conrad's lips against his own.

Wolfram, after fussing over him more than anyone else and making quire sure Yuuri was fine, didn't speak to him for almost a week.

---

As it turned out, the most memorable of all of Yuuri's abrupt entrances into Shin Makoku also happened in the most ordinary way.

In the usual fumbling fashion (and with the help of a smugly grinning Murata), Yuuri fell - or rather was pushed - into the river which ran alongside the baseball field. When he emerged from the all-too-familiar whirlpool, he found himself in the steamy air of the royal bath chambers. With a furtive look around (he would never forget the time when he had emerged in the same place and had been immediately pounced on by a group of naked and over-enthusiastic men that were all built exactly like Josak), Yuuri surmised that the chambers were empty.

Lighthearted to find himself back in what he felt had become his home away from home, he allowed himself to relax a little, perhaps sneak a few quiet moments to himself before the inevitable confrontation with Wolfram, who would demand what he had been doing all this time - however long it had been this time - and make him apologise to Greta for being away for too long. His bare feet brushed the smooth stone bottom of the pool (he hoped that wherever they were, his shoes would be picked up by Murata), and his blue baseball cap, which had miraculously stayed on for the ride, was wet and heavy on his head. Yuuri removed it, letting the warmth of the water dip over his hair instead to ease the tension of a hard hour's training. Being leader of a baseball team, he had found, could be just as taxing as ruling a kingdom. It was soothingly quiet here, however, and Yuuri felt amazingly good as the warmth sank in to his body. There was an enticing smell, too, which made him feel drowsy and yet also more alert to the gentle sensations surrounding him more than he had ever felt in his life - the gentle teasing of the water against his skin and the slow, lazy sound of the pool around him lapping from where he had surfaced.

"Heika?" said a voice quietly.

Yuuri jumped, then visibly relaxed again as he recognised Conrad's figure approaching through the steam, where he had been previously been hidden behind a pillar.

"Don't call me that", said Yuuri automatically, walking forward to meet him. "How long have you been there?"

"Not long. But you seemed very... relaxed. I did not wish to disturb you."

"... I do feel good", Yuuri replied, distracted a little by Conrad's proximity. Not that the soldier stood any closer to Yuuri than usual, but at the same time Yuuri felt his face redden. His legs were heavy, most likely from the workout he had just had, but the world was suddenly so beautifully clear and vivid. With every breath in, Yuuri felt like he was inhaling something wonderful - his head spun with the rhythm of it, and the feeling of euphoria spread down to his toes and all the way back up again, making him stumble.

Conrad caught him with some surprise, not understanding what had made Yuuri trip as he had. "Are you alright? Yuuri?" He could sense no reason to be concerned, but Yuuri was plainly affected by something. The Maou dropped against him, leaning on Conrad's arm for support even after Conrad gave him a gentle shake.

"I'm fine, Conrad. Isn't that such a wonderful smell?"

Conrad frowned. "Smell? I don't smell any- oh!" The older man might have not been affected by the tiny pink glass bottle which sat atop the stone ledge of the pool, but it was clear that Yuuri certainly was. "Yuuri? Here, sit up a little - the warmth is making you sleepy." Which wasn't entirely true, but it was the least complicated answer.

Yuuri did as he was instructed, walking to the side of the pool and easing himself up so that his back was now supported by the wall. The glass bottle gleamed quite innocently on the opposite side of the pool, and Yuuri stirred a little now that the smell seemed further away. Still, Conrad knew it would take a while for the effects to completely wear off. The quickest way would be to allow Yuuri to breathe air which was thoroughly clear.

"Come, Yuuri - I should alert the others that you've arrived back safely. I know Greta will be pleased to see you again; it's been nearly a month now and she's been asking after you."

"I don't know... it's nice in here, maybe if I stayed just a little longer..."

"No, I think it would be better if we left now - there's still time for you to get dry and dressed before dinner if we do." Conrad made his voice as convincing as possible and reminded himself to have a word with his mother later.

"Well... alright. But only if you kiss me first, okay?"

There was a resounding silence, while Yuuri waited for Conrad's answer and acting as if he had made a passing comment about the weather, and while Conrad decided that his mother was too devious and used concoctions too potent for her own good. As if sensing Conrad's hesitation, Yuuri pressed up against him and pouted. "I won't leave until you kiss me", he declared, with the air of someone who had absolutely no intention of budging until he got what he asked for.

"Yuuri, I don't think that's quite-"

"Do it, or I'll never ever leave this bath", said Yuuri very firmly, folding his arms. Conrad was sure that he was not imagining Yuuri's hair growing longer either, or the pupils of his eyes gradually changing to cat-like slits. That aura was unmistakable, and everybody knew: what the Maou of Shin Makoku wanted, the Maou of Shin Makoku got.

Conrad bowed his head formally. "Are you absolutely sure, Yuuri?"

"Yes."

Conrad muttered something under his breath (Shinou forgive me), before kissing Yuuri completely unapologetically, and not in in the least chastely, and then pulling away to watch Yuuri change back into something more like his human self (if still a little dazed).

He shook his head as if to clear it. "Um... what just happened again?"

Conrad stood up, offering Yuuri his hand. "Nothing much. I believe the steam and the warmth of the pool relaxed you a little too much, that's all. It happens. Now, shall we change for dinner?"

"Oh... um, yeah, I guess so."

Conrad vowed two things as helped a still unsteady Yuuri from the water: the first, that Wolfram would not find out about what he would surely think of as traitorous behavior from his older brother (although in all honesty, Conrad supposed that having been given a direct order from the Maou meant he could have done nothing but obey). And second, that the next time Conrad kissed Yuuri - or indeed the other way around - it would not be his mother's perfume responsible for it.