Yuuri surfaced from the small pool, spluttering. Could he not even take a drink of water without being transported between his two worlds, now? But apparently not, because he was, choking from the suddenness of it all. One moment he was lying in bed, preparing to give into what had been a over-bearing mother’s orders, and the next moment he was being half-drowned in a whirlpool. And still in his pyjamas, what’s more. He shakily stood and coughed up more water, wishing there was a more dignified way to arrive.

“Heika? Are you alright?”

And now Conrad had clambered into the pool, unmindful of his own clothing being soaked to the knees in the process, when he saw Yuuri clearly in some distress.

“It’s… Yuuri”, the boy replied between ragged breaths. He allowed Conrad to take him by the shoulder and guide him out of the water. Yuuri was still having trouble breathing in-between his coughing fits, however, and it became apparent to Conrad that Yuuri’s sudden dunking was not the only cause.

“You’re sick”, Wolfram announced helpfully from a few feet away.

“Thanks, I hadn’t noticed”, Yuuri replied, and covered his mouth with his hand just in time to catch another few coughs. He saw Conrad out of the corner of his eye beckoning to someone, and the next moment Conrad had a horse in hand, and had more or less bodily lifted Yuuri to sit astride it. Conrad was in front of him a second later, already signalling the horse to move forward with never a by-your-leave. He was not in his usual soldier’s uniform, Yuuri noticed, but rather dressed in plain, non-descript clothing, and Yuuri reminded himself to ask about it back at the castle. Speaking of which-

“I could’ve ridden to the castle on my own”, said Yuuri, attempting to sound indignant and trying to convince himself of the statement at the same time.

“I think not”, Conrad replied, and Yuuri heard a little amusement in his voice overlaying the concern. He gripped Conrad’s waist a little tighter as Conrad urged the horse into a swift trot. Wolfram, Gwendal and Gunter followed behind them on horses of their own, letting Conrad lead the group up the hill and towards home.

“So, what’s going on? Why have I been called back this time? Dragon attack? Earthquake? A hostage situation?”

“None of those – at least as far as we’re aware”, Conrad said from in front of him. “Actually, we’ve really no idea why you were brought here. Shin Makoku is currently as peaceful as we could hope it to be. But Ulrike announced only hours ago that you were coming, and so we met you as usual. “I’m thinking it would have been better had you not been summoned, much as we enjoy your company”, he added, hearing Yuuri cough again.

“It’s just a cold, really”, Yuuri answered. “Does it make a difference whether I have a cold here or a cold back on Earth?”

Conrad had no reply to that, and Yuuri seemed to be recovering a little now; he sat up higher in the saddle, and Conrad, with his trained soldier’s hearing, was relieved to find that Yuuri seemed to be breathing a lot more easily.

The group arrived at the castle soon enough, and Yuuri might have gotten away with just Conrad’s concern had Gunter not insisted so strongly that his daughter attend to His Majesty. Yuuri gave in with a sigh to Gisela’s administrations, knowing that Gunter would be unlikely to leave him alone if he did not consent. The skilled Healer carefully checked Yuuri’s pulse and listened to his chest, telling Yuuri to take as deep as breath as he was able. She even checked his eyes – for what, Yuuri wasn’t entirely sure. Pronouncing herself satisfied, she allowed Yuuri to get up, with a quiet but firm warning to take it easy for the next few days. Gisela was soft-spoken enough for now, but Yuuri knew not to object; all present in the room had at least once witnessed Gisela when she became stressed or angry, when even the hardiest soldier did not wish to chance drawing her displeasure.

Finally in dry clothes, Yuuri remembered to question Conrad about the clothing. “Why are you dressed like that? Going someplace where you don’t want to stand out?”

“Just a precaution. There are still many people around, Demons and Humans alike, who are distrustful of a man in soldier’s uniform. It’s just a regular scouting trip – nothing exciting, I promise you.”

“Great. Then I’m coming along, too.” There were simultaneous exclamations of refusal, at that.

“You’ve only just arrived, Yuuri”, Wolfram protested angrily. “You should spend your time doing actual work, not gallivanting around the country-side doing what’s only a mere soldier’s job!”

“Oh, Heika! You really mustn’t, you’re sick, you’ll come down with a fever, it’ll be cold and wet at night and you’ll come back even worse than you arrived, I simply can’t allow it-“

“I must agree, Heika. You’re needed here at the castle, and all I’ll be doing is checking to make sure everything is still as it should be.”

“Good – it won’t be dangerous then, right? Not if you’re only scouting the area – it’s not as if we’d be going into enemy territory or anything. And it’s Yuuri, by the way”, he added as an afterthought.”

“Well, no, but even so, Wolfram and Gunter are still correct; it’s no trip for the Maoh to be making.”

“Why not? It’s a safe enough trip. And it’s not like I have anything to do here, is there? You said yourself you don’t know why I was summoned here this time. Maybe it’s because I’m supposed to go with you.” There was a stubborn note in his voice that Conrad knew all too well.

“And I expect someone else – namely me - would be doing the paperwork for you?” Gwendal glared at him, and Yuuri squirmed guiltily.

“Well… I could just do it when I get back”, Yuuri said. “How long would we be, Conrad?”

“A few days at most, but-“

“You’re still not well, Heika!”, Gunter moaned. “How could you take so little care of yourself? Oh, so brave, risking your very health for your country’s welfare! But I beg you, let Conrad go alone and stay here yourself in order to recuperate fully!”

“I must agree, Yuuri. It’s no use telling me you’re not sick, and I won’t be the one to make it worse.”

“And I told you before, it’s just a cold! Please, Conrad. It’s a great chance for me to get to know the wider area better, and it’ll be perfectly safe if you’re there. And anyway, I feel just fine now, see?” He stood up straight, praying the tickling sensation in his throat wouldn’t make him start coughing again.

“Hm. You were in your pyjamas when you arrived because you were sick and had no doubt been ordered to rest.”

“You know what my family’s like – I practically get ordered to bed every time I happen to sneeze.”

“And did your mother also happen to order you to take the day off from your studies?”

“She did not”, Yuuri said triumphantly. He refrained from mentioning that it had been a Sunday back on Earth anyway, and smiled winningly at Conrad. The soldier sighed.

“You will need to pack some warm clothes, since it’s possible we’ll be making camp outside.”

“Lord Weller!” Wolfram looked furious, and Conrad shrugged as Yuuri ran off to change back out of his distinctive black clothing that had been provided for him.

“He is the Maoh, Wolfram. If he wants to come that badly, what’s the real harm? I won’t let him out of my sight, believe me.”

Wolfram continued to splutter angrily as Gwendal turned to Conrad, speaking quietly into his ear. “Stick to that promise, Conrad. I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“You never do when it comes to him”, Conrad replied, smiling slightly as he saw Gwendal’s eye compulsively twitching. “Don’t worry – you know I’d protect him with my life, if it came to that.”

“Hn.” Gwendal didn’t deign to reply any more than that, but Conrad knew his older brother trusted him. It was Conrad, after all, who was the most protective out of all of them in a way. He would allow nothing bad to happen to Yuuri, and had meant every word of his reply to Gwendal.

Banishing the darker thoughts from his mind, he smiled at Yuuri as the Maoh made his reappearance, now dressed in much less distinctive clothes of his own. Despite his earlier protestations, Conrad welcomed the trip alone with Yuuri. Other than when they played baseball or ran together in the mornings, precious little time was spent between them in any privacy; there was always some business for the Maoh to attend to. Perhaps this time, Yuuri could relax a little more and be able to

enjoy his first few days in Shin Makoku without the ever-present burden of paperwork to be done. And perhaps, after all, the fresh air might do him some good-

“Ready?”

“Whenever you are, Yuuri.”

The group walked to the stables. And Yuuri smiled that open-hearted smile of his, both because Conrad had called Yuuri by his name and because he had been allowed to escape the usual castle routine, at least for a little while.

“Yuuri! If you get hurt in any way, I’ll never forgive you! Either of you!”

“Bye, Wolfram”, Yuuri replied, not bothering to argue. “I’ll do that paperwork when I get back Gwendal – I promise”, Yuuri added, waving.

“Hn. Just be careful,” the older man replied gruffly. Gunter could only wring his hands in hopelessness from where he stood beside him.

Gwendal’s warning was the last thing Yuuri heard from them as he and Conrad each mounted a horse and rode away from the castle again, and into the morning sunlight.