enthraller | IC inbox

[ And there goes another wave of embarrassment. Burying his face in his hands is so tempting right now. ]

No, that really doesn't help. That actually makes all of this worse.

Well, I feel a little better.

[Schadenfreude is great for one's mood. He sobers a little, but it's still with a faintly lighthearted air that he takes pity on Yuuri and moves on.]

A great deal happened after all that. It's a long story.

[And one he's not sure if he wants to tell Yuuri about or not.]

It might be a long story, but I still want to hear it.

[ What if there are things he definitely needs to know about in order to be a better friend? That's important. ]

[well shit]

...Not like this. It's strange when I can't even see your face.

[And he'll want to while talking about this. Better to judge how Yuuri might react and decide how honest he should be.]

[ Honestly, Yuuri can't argue with that. ]

Should we meet up now?

If you'd like.

[He sounds just faintly surprised, like he didn't think Yuuri would be so eager. But then again, it's Yuuri. And to be honest, Saralegui thinks he'd probably be eager to be filled in about things he doesn't know too. Maybe it's not that strange after all.]

I'm in the merchants square right now. Near the clock tower.

Oh, I'm actually pretty close. I'll be there soon!

[ And as promised, Yuuri is running up to Saralegui just a few minutes later. He stops just a few feet away, offering him a slightly awkward smile, the last time they saw one another in person still fresh in his mind.

It's a little easier to talk to him when it's not face to face. ]

Hey.

[Saralegui had been in the middle of exploring the local shops when Yuuri called, so he'd sat himself down by the tower. When Yuuri approached, he was idly fussing with his amulet, but he tucked it away smoothly when he noticed the other king.

And yeah, ouch. Seeing Yuuri again stings, even having just been talking to him. But Saralegui smiles anyway, out of instinct or habit, whichever.]

Yuuri. How are you?

[ Yuuri visibly relaxes when Saralegui smiles. ]

I'm alright. Better now that we can talk things out.

[ Because now they actually move on to working on being friends. ] How've you been?

[His smile doesn't slip, but it certainly tightens a little.]

I'm stuck in a strange world while my country might be falling apart without me back home. I have no idea what I'm doing here, or even where I'm going to stay in the long term or how I'll manage once the locals' hospitality runs out. And my closest friend doesn't even remember me.

[Basically: not great. Saralegui's smile went a bit dry, and he shrugged.]

Did you want to sit and talk, or maybe take a walk?

[ Yuuri's smile certainly does falter as Saralegui continues to speak, and his eyebrows are knitted together in concern. He has some similar worries too, but he's spent enough time away from Shin Makoku before to know that they'll be fine there.

Still, he knows saying anything about it won't help any, so he stays quiet about it. ]

We could take a walk, if you want. [ Having distractions around them might make it easier to talk. ]

[Yuuri's country was at least always in a less precarious position, and usually still being looked after by fairly competent retainers. But there have always been people looking to snap Small Shimaron up, Large Shimaron and people working for them and people looking to take power for themselves and people who just didn't like him as their king. And Belias is a wonderful bodyguard and quietly intelligent, but he's not a politician, and there's no one else he trusts to keep the country running and independent in his absence.

Saralegui smiles, but the expression is a little stiff, now that he's letting those very legitimate concerns out into the open and thinking about them again. He stands, straightening the long skirts of his clothes out with a smooth, efficient gesture.]

Fine. Let's walk.

[Part of him wants to take Yuuri's arm to do so, whether out of habit or instinct or whatever. But he's not quite sure where they stand right now, so he keeps his hands to himself.]

[ That lack of contact is something Yuuri does take notice of, since Saralegui was so touchy before. It's hard not to notice. But Yuuri decides not to say anything about that either.

He lets them walk in silence for a little bit, contemplating what to say. There's no reason for him to go into any discussion on where they stand just yet, not when he doesn't even know where exactly they stood before. ]

So... what happened after we met officially?

A great deal, a lot of it mote politically complicated than you might be interested in. An attempted coup d'etat in my country, Large Shimaron taking issue with the fact that we'd been meeting, a whole mess involving the hidden country of Seisakoku and my mother...

[He gives a helpless little shrug, a sort of "what can you do" kinda gesture.]

It really is a long story. And I wouldn't want to bore you with the details.

[Okay, maybe he's being a little evasive. But Yuuri is at least still talking to him and everything, and he finds he doesnt really want to risk spoiling that yet. And the risk will be there no matter what he says. Honesty about everything that happened might actually turn Yuuri away from him this time, who knows. And dishonesty might come back to bite him in the ass if Murata happens to bring anything up.]

[ Well. That already sounds a lot more complicated than he was hoping for, but he's come to expect everything in his life being complicated. ]

You're probably right about the politics, but... I still want to know as much as I can. [ He pauses for a moment, watching a few people pass by thoughtfully. ]

If I don't know everything, that still wouldn't be fair to you. I wouldn't know what I should.

[Saralegui pauses as well, half a step in front of Yuuri. He's thoughtful for a moment before he decides fuck it and pushes right into the risky stuff, tone and body language kept carefully light like maybe that'd make it seem less serious, less of a big deal.]

Fair warning: you probably won't be very happy with some of the things I've done. [He makes a loose, airy gesture, shrugging.] You forgave me back home, of course, but...

[But things aren't necessarily the same here.]

[ That makes him a little nervous, but Yuuri steels himself. ]

But what? If I forgave you back home, I'd probably forgive you here too.

[ He takes a step so that he can actually look at Saralegui. ] I'm still me, you know. Even if I'm missing some memories.

You still said "probably".

[Yeah, like he was gonna fail to notice that. Saralegui frowns and goes silent for a moment, but eventually he sighs and carries on.]

I tricked you into using your powers to...ah, deal with Large Shimaron for me. [A beat, and he adds:] Not that it wasn't for your own good as well. King Lanzhil would have hurt you and your people, and you weren't about to do what was necessary to stop it yourself...

[Yes, it sounds a little better phrased like that. It's even true, sorta.]

[ Yuuri's quiet for a long moment. So... he was tricked? Saralegui doesn't seem like the type to trick people, but then again, he barely knows him. ]

How exactly did I deal with them? [ He has a feeling it was violent in some way, because that would definitely be something he'd never resort to on his own. ]

[~~yuuri you sweet summer child~~]

Storms, earthquakes. Your usual methods.

[Or rather, the Maou's usual methods. But whatever, Saralegui's trying to be flippant about it.]

[ He was afraid of that. That's usually how things ended up going, if his powers ended up getting too out of control. Yuuri clenches his fists, letting out a breath he wasn't even aware he was holding. ]

So... how did you trick me into it?

[How does one say "I have mind-control powers" without sounding really creepy? Especially when your companion already seemed a little unnverved?]

Let's just say I'm very persuasive.

[ Unfortunately, that unnerves him a little more. ]

...What do you mean?

[The sideways glance he shot Yuuri was more than a little exasperated. God, he'd almost forgotten how dense Yuuri could be. And it wasn't always quite so charming.]

You're not the only king with unique powers. And to be honest, you're extremely predictable. It didn't even take any special magic to guess what would set you off and arrange it. I only really had to force it once.

[ It's only just now that all the work Saralegui put into manipulating him dawns on Yuuri. He subconsciously creates a little space between them. ]

...You arranged everything to manipulate me into doing something you know I wouldn't ever want to do. [ They're supposed to be friends, though. That's what he said, and there's no way Saralegui would have been that upset before if they weren't, right? Yuuri wants to say something along the lines of "that's not what friendship is supposed to be", but. That wouldn't help anything, and it's all in the past anyway. There's nothing he can do about it now.

So, he takes a few seconds to gather his thoughts, letting a soft sigh. ]

What... happened after all of that?

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lost track of this notif for a few days orz

no worries!

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