For The Love Of Yuri

(For Yuri) For The Sake Of Love

"It can't be… Ryuuji?" Erika muttered in extreme shock.

Ryuuji smirked.

"It is a good thing that someone like you truly know someone like me… Erika Shibuya."

She opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. She could not believe it!

The man that had become the reason why she had to be separated from Yuri and the others a long time ago… why she had to do an unbelievable task in order to protect Yuri.

But before she could react even further, she saw Ryuuji was about to strike her down using a katana. It looked like he really wanted to kill her and Yuri, but this was something she could not allow to happen. She has yet to do something in order for Yuri and Wolfram to find the happiness they both deserve from each other. It was enough that both people had to suffer because of a decision to end something as special as Yuri and Wolfram's friendship. She would not allow someone to die senselessly because of it.

And just as the sword almost reached her, she jumped away in order to avoid it and landed just a few meters back. It was a good thing she learned some evading skills and techniques when she was younger. After all, she needed that in order to fulfill her duties.

"You are good," Ryuuji commented. "I give you my compliments. But you will not last long!" And then he lunged himself towards Erika, only to be deflected by a sword. He was surprised when he saw her holding a sword. How did she able to materialize that so easily? "How… come…?"

Erika tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. "It seems to me that you still have not given up your grudge against her, have you?"

"There is no way that I will easily forget that! Because of her, my life became a trash!" And then he stared at her with full hatred in his eyes. "And I am going to make her life a trash, as well. I am going to do that by destroying her precious treasure—HER SON!" With that, he charged at her again.

But before he could even try to strike her down, Ryuuji was struck badly with a powerful energy blast from behind. Though Erika was caught surprised because of it, she tried to look around to see the one who cast that energy blast.

"Onii-chan!" she exclaimed when she saw Shori not far from their position.

Shori started running towards her. "Eri-chan, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but Yuri is…" And then she looked at the unconscious Yuri being soaked in both blood and rainwater. Shori immediately approached Yuri and carried him carefully not to cause too much blood loss. Then he looked at Erika. "I will be fine, Onii-chan. Just take Yuri to the hospital as soon as possible before it is too late."

"Eri-chan…"

"Hurry…" she said calmly while smiling, as if assuring him that it would be alright, before seriously facing Ryuuji with hate and determination vividly expressed in her eyes. "It is about time I finish everything that she had started eighteen years ago. I promise, I will be alright…"

And with that, Shori did what Erika wanted.

As for Erika, she began to prepare herself in order to finish the battle that began eighteen years ago…

...the time when she and Yuri were forced to be separated because of the act of this man that made her and Yuri unable to communicate with each other. And if it means she has to end the life of this man in order to accomplish that, she would do it willingly. This man had caused her and her family more than enough suffering and she would not allow that to happen once again.

Beneath the dark sky, in the midst of the falling rain, a battle will begin…

xxxxxx

One month later…

It had been a month since that fateful morning and right now, things were working out quite alright for everyone in the Shibuya family.

Well… almost…

They were still worried about Yuri since he has been in the state of coma for the whole month ever since that incident that really became depressing especially for Miko and Erika.

Erika still remembered when she arrived at the hospital after that bloody battle where she emerged victorious somehow despite the wounds that she had acquired during the battle…

XXXXXX

Flashback…

Erika arrived at the hospital panting heavily, tired from running just to get there as fast as she could. Although her clothes were covered in blood and she was completely soaked in rainwater, she did not mind. Her priority as of the moment was to know Yuri's current condition, not minding about her own wounds that were actually quite deep.

She found Shori outside the ER who was walking back and forth, probably because of extreme worries for his little brother. He saw her approaching him and looked at her with wide eyes.

"Onii-chan!" Erika called out.

"Eri-chan!" And then she stopped running towards him when she reached him. "What exactly happened? Why are you covered in blood?"

She could not help but to somehow smile at this. "It is not much. It was from the wounds I acquired during the battle a while ago. How is Yuri? Is he okay?" she asked worriedly.

"An intense operation is going on in there. And it has already been an hour and a half since they have rushed him into the ER," Shori said sadly.

"He had taken a hard blow, hadn't he?"

He only looked down and decided to sit. And then a nurse asked her kindly to treat her wounds. She looked at Shori with hesitation whether she would acknowledge the help or not.

"I will tell you as soon as you are done if Yuri came out of the ER. For now, you need to treat your wounds. It was enough that Yuri got hurt badly. Do not put yourself next," he said.

And with that, she agreed to take the help.

Half an hour more had passed further before the doctor came out from the ER. By that time, Yuri's parents Miko and Shouma arrived. Murata arrived as well, but decided to check out first on his childhood friend Erika who had just finished being treated by the concerned nurse.

They all stood anxiously outside the door and focused their attention on the surgeon as he came out.

"How is he? How is my son?" Miko asked quickly.

"Well, he is… stable. For now…"

But they could not actually feel relieved with just that. Erika frowned at the said statement of the doctor and approached him.

"Wait, what exactly do you mean 'for now'?" she asked, worry hitting her quickly as she looked intently at the doctor.

"Well… that's…" The doctor looked down."

And then Shouma spoke. "Please, tell us the truth. What is going to happen with my son now?"

It took a while before the doctor managed to speak. He sighed heavily before continuing to speak. "We were able to repair his lungs and most nerves in the spine. However, when he was coming here, he did suffer a large amount of blood loss… and…"

"And?"

"He also suffered from oxygen deprivation that caused his brain to shut down passively… So right now, he is in a coma, to be exact."

Erika was basically surprised that made her unable to comprehend all that has been said by the doctor. She slightly shook her head in disbelief. And then unknowingly, as she remembered the man that caused this to Yuri, she tightened her fist out of anger and hatred.

"This is all his fault…" she murmured.

Murata held her tightened fist in order to calm her down. When she felt that, she looked at him and she saw him smiling a smile full of hope.

"Ken-chan…"

And then after that, Murata faced the doctor. "When will Shibuya wake up, doctor?"

"I'm not sure if he will. His brain might not be able to recover from that much oxygen loss. And if he does wake up… well… there's a 90% possibility that he'll never be able to walk again."

And that did it. Miko sobbed harder when she heard that and Shouma tried his best to calm her down. Shori could only stare at the doctor with wide eyes. And Erika suddenly felt her strength was being drawn away from her when she collapsed to her knees.

This could not be happening… How could something like this happen?

Yuri, you can not die now. Please don't die… Now that your feelings for Wolfram had been reciprocated, it is not yet the time for you to give up and lose everything… You are a fighter, right? I know that you can pull through this. I promise, everything would be alright once you wake up… So please don't die… Yuri… Erika thought as she tried to pull herself together.

Yuri could not die… and that was what she was going to believe till the end of this battle…

End of Flashback…

XXXXXX

Erika sighed as she remembered that. Right now, she was in the hospital room where Yuri was confined. To be specific, he was placed in the intensive care unit. But it has been a month since she decided that. And now, as each day came passing by, she could feel her strength being drifted away from her.

And as she could feel that again, she decided to go outside for a little while and take a walk while breathing some fresh air. Right as of that moment, she felt that it was all she needed.

She was about to get out of that room when she heard a faint sound. But at that single instant that she heard it, she was certain where that sound came from. But she decided to turn around just to be sure. She was not sure if she was hallucinating or something else, but definitely she heard Yuri spoke something. And when she approached him, Yuri subconciously murmured something.

Her eyes widened at that.

That was right. She had forgotten about that. So she decided to stay a little longer just to be sure. But nothing came up again for the past half hour. Though during that span of time, she was thinking about what Yuri had spoken of. And after that, she finally decided one thing. She smiled and then held Yuri's hand.

Don't worry… I will not break my promise. Everything will be alright once you wake up…

Determined, she stood up from the chair and went out.

Unknown to her, Yuri had subconciously spoken something. And this time, it was clearer.

"Wol… fram…"

xxxxxx

Shin Makoku…

It had been a month had passed. Since the passage of time between Earth and Shin Makoku were almost the same, I was quite sure that it was also the same time had passed there—to where Yuri was right now.

But for the past month, that foreboding feeling that I felt just when I entered the portal had not left me ever since. I knew that it would be pointless for me to think about it now since I decided to leave Yuri, anyway. But why exactly does that feeling would not leave me? Did something really bad happened to Yuri during that time?

Weird enough, just as soon as we arrived at the Blood Pledge Castle, I did not feel any weaker than when I was on Earth. My mother, Cecilie von Spitzberg, found it quite unusual that I was healed as soon as I returned home. And all the guesses had been cleared when I asked Gisela, the royal healer, about the unusual phenomenon. The curse inflicted upon me has been lifted, she said. It came to me as a shock. Not just to me but to my family, as well.

So here was the question that came to me after hearing that. Did someone manage to defeat the man who put that curse on me?

But no one could give me an answer to that. Even my mother, who was appointed as the present ruler of Shin Makoku, could not provide an answer to that, as well. Though she knew the man, she had not heard anything about him ever since I was transferred to live on Earth.

I sighed heavily after thinking about that. For now, I should be happy that I was cured and I could finally do many things that healthy people usually do. But I did not have any energy to do anything as of the moment, for some reasons. I did not know why but somehow, I could feel that something would happen today that made me stay in my bedroom.

That was the time when a guard knocked and entered and he said that Mother was requesting for my presence. I just said that I would follow and thankfully, the guard complied.

I sighed before deciding to come out of my room and proceed to the meeting room, just as my mother had requested.

xxxxxx

When Wolfram arrived at the meeting room accompanied by a palace guard, he saw Conrad, Gwendal, Gunter and his mother seating on their designated seats. But then he was completely and utterly shocked when he saw someone unexpected waiting for him, as it seems. That person looked at him and smiled. So he guessed that it was not just a mere illusion created by his mind.

Erika was really there. And he guessed she was also accompanied by her advisor since he could see that someone unfamiliar was sitting beside her—a man probably about the same age as her who was wearing glasses.

"Erika?" he whispered while staring at her with wide eyes because of disbelief.

"I'm sorry for suddenly coming here. But you see, there was something that I have to do for Yuri's sake, that was why I came," she said apologetically.

Conrad frowned at that. "For Yuri's sake? What do you mean, Erika?"

But before she could say something, Wolfram spoke rather frankly.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Yuri right now?"

Lady Cheri was quite surprised at her son's retort to Erika's words. "Wolfram!"

"For now, I should say that Yuri needs you even more than he needs me. Besides, he really wanted to tell you everything the day you left and to apologize for hurting you inadventently because of his rather absurd decision. If only he had not met an unfortunate incident…" Erika said sadly.

"Unfortunate incident?" Gwendal curiously asked.

"What do you mean? Did something happen to Yuri?" Wolfram asked immediately.

Erika sighed. "I assumed that you already know that."

And this made Wolfram infuriated, at the very least. This woman was somehow avoiding his questions. He couldn't help but to think after knowing that something bad really did happen to Yuri. "Would you just get straight to the point?" he blurted out. But he got no answer from her or her advisor. He sighed heavily after that and Lady Cheri just looked at him and Erika. "Why am I even asking this to you? You wouldn't even care…"

And since Lady Cheri couldn't just let his youngest son act so improper in front of their guests, she spoke. "Wolfram, can you at least be kind to our guests?"

"But Mother… you don't understand…" the blond said.

Erika sighed and smiled despite Wolfram's protest. "It's alright, Cheri-sama. I think I know the reason why—somehow—he holds a grudge against me."

"Erika…"

"I guess Yuri did not tell you the truth about me, did he? About him and me… and my real connection to the Shibuya family…" she said sadly.

But Wolfram did not say anything regarding that, though he did realize that he did not know anything about Erika at all. All he knew was that she was really close to Yuri's family and particularly, to Yuri himself. But was there something more to it?

Murata talked that somehow broke the silence looming around the room. But he faced Erika with a worried and reluctant look on his face. "Erika, are you sure you're going to tell them everything?"

She nodded. "I know you are worried, Ken-chan. But this has also something to do with Wolfram. Besides, he has to know the truth." And with that, she faced Wolfram who was looking at her, as well. "Since the peace treaty had been signed and the allegiance between Castalia and Shin Makoku had been formed a month ago, I guess it is time for me to reveal the truth." Erika sighed heavily before continuing to speak, as if gathering up her courage. "To tell you the truth… Yuri is the supposed inheritor of the Castalian throne but because of some circumstances, I have to pose as a decoy of Yuri in order for me to protect him."

"Supposed inheritor?" Gunter curiously asked.

"Then that means…"

"That's right. Yuri is related to me. To be more specific, he's my long lost twin brother."

All eyes widened as they heard that revelation from Erika.

"What?"

"The reason why Yuri could not tell you the truth was because he does not want to put you in danger that we were facing. But I never thought that the person who were after him was the same sorcerer who gave you that curse—the reason why you have to live on Earth for ten years."

Wolfram was undoubtedly surprised to hear that. How the heck did she know that part of his life? Did his mother tell her about it? With that, she immediately faced Lady Cheri. "Mother, you told them about it?"

But instead of Lady Cheri, it was Murata who answered that. "No, she did not. We investigated this ourselves since Ryuuji had been on our list of Most Wanted Criminals, that was why we did a thorough investigation on him. And that was how we found out what he did to you, Lord von Bielefeld."

"Erika, can you explain to us why you and Yuri got separated?" Gwendal nonchalantly asked the young lady.

Erika closed her eyes for some seconds and then opened them again. She exhaled before facing the others and spoke. "Eighteen years ago, when my mother gave birth to me and Yuri, a sorcerer named Ryuuji came to our kingdom and attacked it. He had decided to eradicate all white mages living in our kingdom and most of all, he had decided to annihilate my twin brother Yuri because of the powers that he alone possesses—powers that could easily destroy him and all of the black mages planning a war against us white mages. It was something that my mother would not allow to happen, so she has to use her powers to seal that sorcerer. And even though it was painful on her part, she decided that Yuri and I should be separated in order for him not to be detected by the black mages who desired to control my brother. Unknown to them, when Yuri and I are together, that was when we could use powers beyond the combined powers of all of the great white mages in our kingdom—that was when we were known as the Great Double Mage. But when we were separated, our powers were sealed inside of us and somehow cut in half, making it undetectable. When Ryuuji was sealed by my mother, that was when all of the black mages attacked us suddenly with the intention to take control of our kingdom."

"That was a part of our history known as the Great Mages' War," Murata said.

"Yuri lived on Earth along with Mama, Papa and Onii-chan. As for me, I lived at our kingdom under the care of my maternal aunt. I was raised as a male, masquerading as my brother in order for me to protect him. It wass the least I could do since Ryuuji does not know Yuri has me as a twin sister. But then I guess the trick did not work," Erika continued.

"Now it makes sense…" Lady Cheri said after she heard that. "For the past eighteen years, no one knows the true identity of Castalia's ruler. Not even I knew that. They said to me that it was a male but just shy enough to reveal himself. Only the advisors were the ones making a presence when it comes to meetings."

"However, because Yuri remained on Earth for the past eighteen years, his powers gradually diminished. And if he stayed there until the age of twenty five, his powers will be forever lost, eradicating the seal of our powers in the process. That may have been the reason why Ryuuji found him. And the true mage mentioned in an ancient prophecy of our kingdom was revealed, as well," Murata said.

"But why are you telling me this now? It's no use since Yuri decided to end his friendship with me a month ago…" Wolfram said with a sad look. Up until that moment, he could not forget the pain that Yuri's words had inflicted in his heart. Though he really wanted to forget that, for some reasons, he couldn't. He really could not.

"I had to tell you the truth just to clear things out. I could tell that by not tellng you the truth, things got worse and you hated Yuri for it," she said. "Anyway, will it be okay if I ask you something?"

Wolfram frowned. "About what?"

"The day you left, have you felt something foreboding?"

"How did you…?" And his eyes widened at a sudden realization that hit him. "What is about Yuri? Did something bad happened to him?"

She looked down sadly that made him definitely worried for Yuri. "Unfortunately, yes. The day you left, he decided to settle things with you and ask for forgiveness because of his decision but then he was attacked by Ryuuji. And because I was near my brother, I used up my powers to destroy him completely to make him pay for his crimes to my family and my kingdom." And then she faced Wolfram. "Your sickness had not stricken you since then, am I right?"

Wolfram nodded. "Is Yuri okay?"

"He's not, unfortunately," Murata replied. "He took a blade to his chest which pierced his lung and came very close to his heart. And then he was thrown from the bridge to the grassland beneath it, breaking a bone or two. His spine was quite damaged and that means, even if he wakes up, there was no guarantee that he'll walk again."

"What do you mean 'if he wakes up?'" Wolfram could not help asking.

"Are you telling us that for the past month, he hasn't woken up?" Conrad asked.

"He had taken quite a lot of damage because of the attack," Erika explained. "The doctors were able to repair his lung and most nerves in the spine. However, because of the late arrival of the ambulance, he did suffer a large amount of blood loss… and…"

"Yuri's still alive, right?" the blond asked in an extremely worried tone.

"He's… basically unconcious… sort of sleeping…" Murata answered in a soft tone, looking down sad.

And that made Wolfram baffled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"The blood he lost had clogged his lung temporarily, they had to drain it—and he suffered from oxygen deprivation during that time. And because of the inability to get the oxygen it needed, his brain shut down passively. In other words, he's in coma… during the whole month," Murata continued.

That actually made Wolfram felt sad. "You mean… just to get me, he suffered that much?" he muttered but still loud enough for Erika to hear it.

The said young woman sighed. "It was a surprise attack, so you don't have to worry and blame yourself for it. In fact, I should be blaming myself for what happened," Erika sadly stated. "If I had not decided to see Yuri and my family, he probably would not be taking this kind of damage… I should be the one in his current condition…"

Wolfram could not help but to feel sorry for both Yuri and Erika… including the sufferings that the Shibuya family had to go through in order to protect the kingdom of Castalia and each other. He had no idea that Yuri had to go through so much just to protect his family… and him, as well. And there he was, thinking that Erika was Yuri's girlfriend or something, without knowing her thoroughly and that she was taking Yuri away from him…

"I'm sorry…" Wolfram said after a short while of silence. "I never realized what Yuri had done for you… And I thought all these times that I see the two of you together, you were taking him away from me in order for you to ruin our friendship… He was just protecting you… and me, as well."

She smiled after that. "I'm sorry, too, if we have to keep it from you. But I'm glad that you understand me now." And then her face turned serious. "Wolfram, I'm going to ask you a question. And I hope you answer me truthfully."

The blond was puzzled at that. But before he could utter something, Erika spoke.

"Have you… really loved Yuri, Wolfram?"

The blond's eyes widened at that question and blushed at the same time.

"What are you trying to say, Erika?"

But the said lady just smiled. And then Wolfram became serious.

"Will something change if I tell you the truth?"

"That depends on your answer…" Erika replied.

It took a while before Wolfram spoke again, while the others in that room were anxious to hear his answer. "The truth is… I really love him… more than a friend. That's why I was completely hurt when I heard his decision to end his friendship with me…"

Stunned silence… and then…

"But even though I thought that Yuri was a human, I love him… even though it's forbidden. And I guess loving him now wouldn't mae any difference," he said sadly. "Yuri is a white mage—a race that's also forbidden to love a Mazoku…"

"People are just too foolish to create that law…" Erika suddenly stated that made Wolfram and the others change their focus. "Whoever created that law when it comes to loving someone, he's just someone who doesn't know the true powers of love. That's why he's hating everyone who loves someone that's of a different race from them. If Mama made it here to this meeting, she would say the same thing."

Wolfram just gazed at her and Murata was smiling.

"What are you trying to say, Erika?" the blond kindly asked.

"Races doesn't matter when it comes to two hearts in love," she answered. And then she stood up as she picked something from the pocket of her dress. From there, she handed him a folded paper—a bloody, folded paper, to be exact. It was the paper that Yuri was holding onto the day she found him severely wounded. She saw the fear in his eyes when he saw that. But still, she tried to smile just to remove that fear of his.

"Yuri was supposed to give that to you on the day of the incident because he wanted to talk to you. I guess it's better if you read this since this letter is actually addressed to you. Everything that Yuri wanted you to know was written here."

Hesitantly he took the paper from Erika's hand. And then the young woman gave a small bow.

"I have to go. I need to stay at the hospital for the night so that my mother could stay at home and rest," she said and then waited for Murata to come near her.

"Wait!" Wolfram suddenly exclaimed and then hurriedly left the room. The others were puzzled as to why would he act like that. And then after a few minutes or so, Wolfram entered that room again—this time, with something in his hands. He slowly gave it to her. "Before you leave, can you please give this to him?"

Though reluctant, Erika took it from him and then checked on it. She was surprised when she opened it. "A music box?"

"That was supposed to be my birthday gift for him last year. It's actually a magical music box. I hope… that could help him regain his conciousness."

She couldn't help but smile at the thoughtfulness she could hear from his voice. "I know he'll appreciate it since it came from you. Don't worry. I'll make sure he'll have this. And thank you… for understanding… And I'm sorry for causing you trouble…"

"You don't have to. At least, things are clear right now," he replied.

After that meeting, both Murata and Erika returned to Earth. Gwendal, Conrad and Gunter were happy about the outcome of the said meeting. And Lady Cheri was more than happy to find out something from Erika about her youngest son, Wolfram. She, of all, people, knew very well what it feels like to fall in love with someone she's forbidden to love since she fell in love and married Conrad's father who was a human. But still, their racial differences didn't keep them from falling in love with each other. And no matter what will happen now, she will be there for her son. And that's a promise she could definitely fulfill and keep.

She just hope that after this, everything would somehow turn out good…

…for Yuri and for Wolfram…

After all that commotion and revelation in the meeting room. Wolfram somehow felt relieved and renewed.

But still, he was hesitant to know what Yuri had written for him to know. That's because whenever he could see the blood on the paper, he could somehow imagine the physical pain that Yuri went through when he was about to get through him.

X

I never had a chance to show you everything

As I look for a part of my life that's missing

And leaving you was the only choice I had

In order to find out everything I once had

X

And after minutes of thinking, he decided to read it… for the sake of his love for Yuri that hadn't really faded for the past month. That's why he's immensely hoping that the letter could define everything yet hidden in his heart. His hands were shaking while opening it. But he had to gather all of his strength to read a letter that came from the man he loved… and he still loved him up until now.

X

Should I really believe in a love that's true?

Why is leaving you made everything so blue?

Am I really doing this the right way?

For whose sake did I turn my back away?

X

His tears couldn't help falling when he read the first two words written there after writing his name.

I'm sorry…

But the words that made him really cried was the words he had long yearned from Yuri to utter in front of him… The words he never thought he could hear from him.

I love you so much… Wolfram…

He never ever realized that, after all these years that he thought Yuri was only treating him as a friend, the man he loved also loved him… much longer than he himself had loved Yuri. Five years were nothing compared to ten years…

X

Before, I tried to return to your side once

But a sudden truth had made my heart dance

You still love me in spite of what I did

And now I know what my heart really needs

X

And that made him realize that he somehow made a mistake when he chose to leave Yuri a month ago despite the foreboding feeling that he felt just before he entered the portal.

After reading the letter, he cried harder. Yuri… Yuri really loved him so much in a way he never ever thought the said man would.

X

Loving you is what makes my heart tough

Even if I had cried more than enough

But I swear I'll never leave you anymore

It's a promise that up in the sky will soar

X

With all that realization, he decided to keep the letter as a part of the time capsule that he'll be making along with him. But before that, he decided to head to the Shinou Temple to pray and ask for the guidance from the protector of Shin Makoku.

X

I want to return to you for a certain reason I know

That this time, I could be able to let it show

I can leave the life I know I'm going to have

To be able to return to side for the sake of our love

X

At the very least, this was all he could do. He would pray for the health of Yuri and for the said man to regain his conciousness…

Yuri… I'll be waiting for you… Please try hard to fight for your life…

xxxxxx

Wolfram: I wanted to go back to be with the man I love who also loves me. I wanted to stay by his side forever no matter what hindrance may come between us… Our love will keep him alive and it's going to be our power for us to live with our dreams…

Yuri: I wanted to go back… back to where everyone is… back to where Wolfram was surely waiting for me. I just couldn't leave it like this… I don't have the will to leave him without even telling him that I love him…

Wolfram: Next time, For the Love of Yuri: The Final Chapter – Ask My Heart

Yuri: This time, it's going to be a happy ending for the two of us… if you're going to accept it…