[KKM] Fifty sentences
Title: Fifty sentences
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Characters: Great Sage (pre-Murata) and Shinou
Series: None
Warnings: Ah... some spoilers up till end of series. Apart from that, nothing much. It gets somewhat dark in places, but.
Misc. Information: I claimed Shinou/Great Sage on the 1sentence comm, this is my response (using theme set beta). Because fics that are only one sentence long are fun.
These are all from the Sage's pov and set sometime between the Sage's first death and Murata's (or even Christine's) birth, I'd say the first thousand or two thousand years in between.
01. Walking
Sometimes when he is walking, he feels a presence beside him, imagines he hears Shinou's footsteps keeping pace with him and all he has to do is turn his head to look - he never looks; he has learned to appreciate the illusion.
02. Waltz
When he dances, his mind jerks him back to the beginning and he closes his eyes because as long as he does not have to see the wrong face in front of him he can almost imagine he is back then.
03. Wishes
He has given up on wishes because they never come true; at first, he wished for a happy ending, then for an ending where their plan succeeded, then finally for any ending at all - but none ever came.
04. Wonder
One of the strongest memories from his first life is Shinou's smile, Shinou's voice and Shinou's warm hand clasped around his; Shinou's blue eyes, the first he had ever seen without fear in them and even now he still feels wonder at the memory.
05. Worry
Slowly but surely, he stops worrying about things, thinks there is no point because nothing they can do to him lasts and he has already experienced the worst that can happen; nothing matters so there is no need to worry, until suddenly things become important again and he doesn't remember how.
06. Whimsy
"I think I'll be a girl this time around," he tells Shinou near the end of his third life in a sudden flight of fancy, and he knows he will regret the decision already but Shinou's laughter makes it all worth it.
07. Waste/Wasteland
In the first life, they used to have nightmares of defeat, world turning to wasteland as their enemy screamed in victory, but the dreams stopped after his first death - for a while; after the tenth time he dies at the hands of his parents he starts having them again except that he's not so sure they're nightmares.
08. Whiskey and rum
He tries not to let himself get drunk these days because he never knows what he will say; this would be much easier, he grumbles to himself, if alcohol tolerance actually stayed across lives.
09. War
He's not quite sure how many wars it has been when they begin seeming ridiculous instead of horrible, a thousand fake people fighting and bleeding and dying for nothing at all and him the only real one there, until Shinou whispers into his head and he realises it's the other way around.
10. Weddings
He's lost track of the amount of times he's been married, now, a blur of different ceremonies and faces and lives and the only thing that remains constant each time is the sting of guilt.
11. Birthdays
Shinou remembers his birthdays, wakes him with an ephemeral touch that grows less and less real each passing year but remains the best gift he can imagine; truth be told, he cannot remember them himself, not important enough for either's attention he thinks but Shinou doesn't agree.
12. Blessing
They both find some of the customs that arise in Shin Makoku rather silly, but he gets so much amusement out of some of them that despite complaining yearly about all the babies Shinou never does tell them to stop.
13. Bias
He is born into many countries, powerful empires and great nations and lands beautiful enough to take his breath away, but somehow Shin Makoku still overshadows them - although he supposes he must admit to a certain bias in the matter.
14. Burning
Being burned is the worst way to die.
15. Breathing
He used to take comfort in the sound of his breath, a ceaseless whisper of sound that stayed constant through all his lives, until he realised Shinou was listening too - listening and suppressing the faint touch of jealousy.
16. Breaking
One life, everything simply becomes too much and he feels himself break, starts screaming and screaming and screaming until they kill him just to make him stop; in his next lives, he keeps screaming and they keep silencing him until he puts himself together again and learns to keep his mouth shut.
17. Belief
He has gotten very good at faking belief, gives a fervent smile and downcast eyes while ignoring Shinou laughing in the back of his mind and soon he is walking out of the church with the priest's blessing; in truth has been a long, long time since he believed in anything at all, but when he hears Shinou's voice he can almost remember what it felt like.
18. Balloon
I thought you meant a small nation, I never expected things to balloon like this, Shinou complains to him when the thirteenth Maou annexes yet another territory.
19. Balcony
What are you standing on, Shinou asks him as he leans on a balcony; he rolls his eyes and thinks, as he answers the question, that any other travellers between the worlds must be surprised at the amount of similarity in architecture.
20. Bane
They never talk about the Sovereign.
21. Quiet
He does not remember what quiet is like because he always, always hears the whisper of Shinou's power in his mind; it is something he is grateful for because he thinks silence would have driven him mad long ago.
22. Quirks
"But those are just quirks of his," he overhears his current body's mother exclaiming to her friend one day and shudders in fear; he doesn't know what 'quirks' she's talking about, doesn't know what he's doing wrong, only knows that he never never never wants to be burned again.
23. Question
Once, he asks why he is never born into Shin Makoku; then he spends a lifetime desperately trying to avoid being crowned the Maou and decides not to ask again.
24. Quarrel
They never quarrel; even the idea of seriously fighting makes him freeze with fear and he knows Shinou is the same way.
25. Quitting
Once, his then-sister accuses him of being a quitter and he laughs and laughs and laughs until she gives up and leaves in disgust.
26. Jump
He is perched on the roof when Shinou tells him that he's needed elsewhere; he doesn't ask stupid questions like "Are you sure?" or "How urgent is it?", just jumps.
27. Jester
He learns that it is easier to play the jester than the sage, that the fool remains invisible, remains safe where a more respected person may not; but do you mind, Shinou asks him about it once, and he doesn't answer because he doesn't understand the question.
28. Jousting
That looks interesting, how does it work? Shinou asks him as he watches a jousting match while sunk in dark thoughts; he snaps back "Don't you dare!" and in the friendly bickering that ensues he completely forgets his melancholy.
29. Jewel
Over the lifetimes, material possessions have lost their allure; still, he would like to be an international jewel thief some life, if only to be able to tell Shinou he was.
30. Just
One thing numerous lifetimes make abundantly clear is that there is no such thing as justice, but Shinou doesn't like that idea so he tries not to think about it.
31. Smirk
One day, he's grinning at something a friend of his said and is surprised when he's told to stop smirking already; he studies a mirror later that day and decides to start cultivating fake smiles.
32. Sorrow
It keeps surprising him that he can still feel sorrow, but somehow he can and Shinou is silent as they watch Alexandria burn.
33. Stupidity
After an exceptionally embarrassing death, he forbids Shinou to talk about the latest stupidities of the present Maou while he's eating.
34. Serenade
Great knowledge and wisdom has its disadvantages, he muses as the caterwauling of yet another suitor reaches him, since there are definitely times he wished he didn't know what good music was supposed to sound like; of course, the situation would already be much improved if Shinou would just stop laughing.
35. Sarcasm
He is rather fond of sarcasm as a form of humour, but when Shinou starts using it he feels obliged to remind him to avoid it when speaking to the shrine maidens because, well, they both remember what happened last time.
36. Sordid
They didn't really- Shinou's voice is full of anger and disbelief, and he wishes yet again that he could better protect Shinou from the sordid reality of the world.
37. Soliloquy
One of the good things about the situation is that he always has someone to talk to during boring speeches, although it means he gets more practice at keeping a straight face than anyone could ever want.
38. Sojourn
Once, Shin Makoku is is in such a dire state that Shinou needs to intervene personally; Shinou has so little power these days that it is three weeks without any response in his head and when it is finally over he is shaking and screaming and almost makes Shinou promise never to leave him alone like that again except that they both know it isn't possible.
39. Share
He dimly remembers once considering privacy a thing of importance, but he's forgotten what it feels like not to share his thoughts with someone else.
40. Solitary
In the beginning, he feared losing Shinou to the Sovereign and constantly watched for dark influence - but then he realised that although Shinou's voice was not corrupted, it was growing steadily fainter over the years and now he fears losing Shinou in an entirely different way.
41. Nowhere
Neither of them had anyone else to rely on so in the beginning, they used to reassure one another, affirm that they wouldn't abandon each other; they thought it was very important until the time they realised they had nowhere to go.
42. Neutral
He's stopped letting himself get attached to anyone else; it's simply easier this way.
43. Nuance
People call him cryptic, but the truth is he keeps forgetting that not everyone can read his every nuance.
44. Near
For some reason Shinou seems unable to grasp the idea that when it comes to interdimensional transport, "near" is not enough.
45. Natural
Sometimes everything just becomes too much, too many lives and memories, more than any soul was ever meant to hold and he realises again that there is nothing natural about either of their situations but there was never any choice.
46. Horizon
He has always craved knowledge, remembers Shinou teasing him about it in the first life, but one of the things he misses now is being able to wonder what lies beyond the horizon.
47. Valiant
It is easy to be brave when there is nothing you fear, he thinks, mouth twisting as he accepts the accolades for his heroics; Shinou does not respond, and the silence is an answer in itself.
48. Virtuous
He remembers when virtue was not a meaningless word.
49. Victory
He looks out over the battlefield, listens to the cheers of the soldiers and does not let his expression change; victory is surprisingly empty when the game is of no importance.
50. Defeat
He doesn't let himself think about the future, about the yawning emptiness and loss yet to come; the way the game is set up he loses either way.
Cross-posting at my LJ, aithris, kyou_kara_maou and 1sentence
Fandom: Kyou Kara Maou
Characters: Great Sage (pre-Murata) and Shinou
Series: None
Warnings: Ah... some spoilers up till end of series. Apart from that, nothing much. It gets somewhat dark in places, but.
Misc. Information: I claimed Shinou/Great Sage on the 1sentence comm, this is my response (using theme set beta). Because fics that are only one sentence long are fun.
These are all from the Sage's pov and set sometime between the Sage's first death and Murata's (or even Christine's) birth, I'd say the first thousand or two thousand years in between.
01. Walking
Sometimes when he is walking, he feels a presence beside him, imagines he hears Shinou's footsteps keeping pace with him and all he has to do is turn his head to look - he never looks; he has learned to appreciate the illusion.
02. Waltz
When he dances, his mind jerks him back to the beginning and he closes his eyes because as long as he does not have to see the wrong face in front of him he can almost imagine he is back then.
03. Wishes
He has given up on wishes because they never come true; at first, he wished for a happy ending, then for an ending where their plan succeeded, then finally for any ending at all - but none ever came.
04. Wonder
One of the strongest memories from his first life is Shinou's smile, Shinou's voice and Shinou's warm hand clasped around his; Shinou's blue eyes, the first he had ever seen without fear in them and even now he still feels wonder at the memory.
05. Worry
Slowly but surely, he stops worrying about things, thinks there is no point because nothing they can do to him lasts and he has already experienced the worst that can happen; nothing matters so there is no need to worry, until suddenly things become important again and he doesn't remember how.
06. Whimsy
"I think I'll be a girl this time around," he tells Shinou near the end of his third life in a sudden flight of fancy, and he knows he will regret the decision already but Shinou's laughter makes it all worth it.
07. Waste/Wasteland
In the first life, they used to have nightmares of defeat, world turning to wasteland as their enemy screamed in victory, but the dreams stopped after his first death - for a while; after the tenth time he dies at the hands of his parents he starts having them again except that he's not so sure they're nightmares.
08. Whiskey and rum
He tries not to let himself get drunk these days because he never knows what he will say; this would be much easier, he grumbles to himself, if alcohol tolerance actually stayed across lives.
09. War
He's not quite sure how many wars it has been when they begin seeming ridiculous instead of horrible, a thousand fake people fighting and bleeding and dying for nothing at all and him the only real one there, until Shinou whispers into his head and he realises it's the other way around.
10. Weddings
He's lost track of the amount of times he's been married, now, a blur of different ceremonies and faces and lives and the only thing that remains constant each time is the sting of guilt.
11. Birthdays
Shinou remembers his birthdays, wakes him with an ephemeral touch that grows less and less real each passing year but remains the best gift he can imagine; truth be told, he cannot remember them himself, not important enough for either's attention he thinks but Shinou doesn't agree.
12. Blessing
They both find some of the customs that arise in Shin Makoku rather silly, but he gets so much amusement out of some of them that despite complaining yearly about all the babies Shinou never does tell them to stop.
13. Bias
He is born into many countries, powerful empires and great nations and lands beautiful enough to take his breath away, but somehow Shin Makoku still overshadows them - although he supposes he must admit to a certain bias in the matter.
14. Burning
Being burned is the worst way to die.
15. Breathing
He used to take comfort in the sound of his breath, a ceaseless whisper of sound that stayed constant through all his lives, until he realised Shinou was listening too - listening and suppressing the faint touch of jealousy.
16. Breaking
One life, everything simply becomes too much and he feels himself break, starts screaming and screaming and screaming until they kill him just to make him stop; in his next lives, he keeps screaming and they keep silencing him until he puts himself together again and learns to keep his mouth shut.
17. Belief
He has gotten very good at faking belief, gives a fervent smile and downcast eyes while ignoring Shinou laughing in the back of his mind and soon he is walking out of the church with the priest's blessing; in truth has been a long, long time since he believed in anything at all, but when he hears Shinou's voice he can almost remember what it felt like.
18. Balloon
I thought you meant a small nation, I never expected things to balloon like this, Shinou complains to him when the thirteenth Maou annexes yet another territory.
19. Balcony
What are you standing on, Shinou asks him as he leans on a balcony; he rolls his eyes and thinks, as he answers the question, that any other travellers between the worlds must be surprised at the amount of similarity in architecture.
20. Bane
They never talk about the Sovereign.
21. Quiet
He does not remember what quiet is like because he always, always hears the whisper of Shinou's power in his mind; it is something he is grateful for because he thinks silence would have driven him mad long ago.
22. Quirks
"But those are just quirks of his," he overhears his current body's mother exclaiming to her friend one day and shudders in fear; he doesn't know what 'quirks' she's talking about, doesn't know what he's doing wrong, only knows that he never never never wants to be burned again.
23. Question
Once, he asks why he is never born into Shin Makoku; then he spends a lifetime desperately trying to avoid being crowned the Maou and decides not to ask again.
24. Quarrel
They never quarrel; even the idea of seriously fighting makes him freeze with fear and he knows Shinou is the same way.
25. Quitting
Once, his then-sister accuses him of being a quitter and he laughs and laughs and laughs until she gives up and leaves in disgust.
26. Jump
He is perched on the roof when Shinou tells him that he's needed elsewhere; he doesn't ask stupid questions like "Are you sure?" or "How urgent is it?", just jumps.
27. Jester
He learns that it is easier to play the jester than the sage, that the fool remains invisible, remains safe where a more respected person may not; but do you mind, Shinou asks him about it once, and he doesn't answer because he doesn't understand the question.
28. Jousting
That looks interesting, how does it work? Shinou asks him as he watches a jousting match while sunk in dark thoughts; he snaps back "Don't you dare!" and in the friendly bickering that ensues he completely forgets his melancholy.
29. Jewel
Over the lifetimes, material possessions have lost their allure; still, he would like to be an international jewel thief some life, if only to be able to tell Shinou he was.
30. Just
One thing numerous lifetimes make abundantly clear is that there is no such thing as justice, but Shinou doesn't like that idea so he tries not to think about it.
31. Smirk
One day, he's grinning at something a friend of his said and is surprised when he's told to stop smirking already; he studies a mirror later that day and decides to start cultivating fake smiles.
32. Sorrow
It keeps surprising him that he can still feel sorrow, but somehow he can and Shinou is silent as they watch Alexandria burn.
33. Stupidity
After an exceptionally embarrassing death, he forbids Shinou to talk about the latest stupidities of the present Maou while he's eating.
34. Serenade
Great knowledge and wisdom has its disadvantages, he muses as the caterwauling of yet another suitor reaches him, since there are definitely times he wished he didn't know what good music was supposed to sound like; of course, the situation would already be much improved if Shinou would just stop laughing.
35. Sarcasm
He is rather fond of sarcasm as a form of humour, but when Shinou starts using it he feels obliged to remind him to avoid it when speaking to the shrine maidens because, well, they both remember what happened last time.
36. Sordid
They didn't really- Shinou's voice is full of anger and disbelief, and he wishes yet again that he could better protect Shinou from the sordid reality of the world.
37. Soliloquy
One of the good things about the situation is that he always has someone to talk to during boring speeches, although it means he gets more practice at keeping a straight face than anyone could ever want.
38. Sojourn
Once, Shin Makoku is is in such a dire state that Shinou needs to intervene personally; Shinou has so little power these days that it is three weeks without any response in his head and when it is finally over he is shaking and screaming and almost makes Shinou promise never to leave him alone like that again except that they both know it isn't possible.
39. Share
He dimly remembers once considering privacy a thing of importance, but he's forgotten what it feels like not to share his thoughts with someone else.
40. Solitary
In the beginning, he feared losing Shinou to the Sovereign and constantly watched for dark influence - but then he realised that although Shinou's voice was not corrupted, it was growing steadily fainter over the years and now he fears losing Shinou in an entirely different way.
41. Nowhere
Neither of them had anyone else to rely on so in the beginning, they used to reassure one another, affirm that they wouldn't abandon each other; they thought it was very important until the time they realised they had nowhere to go.
42. Neutral
He's stopped letting himself get attached to anyone else; it's simply easier this way.
43. Nuance
People call him cryptic, but the truth is he keeps forgetting that not everyone can read his every nuance.
44. Near
For some reason Shinou seems unable to grasp the idea that when it comes to interdimensional transport, "near" is not enough.
45. Natural
Sometimes everything just becomes too much, too many lives and memories, more than any soul was ever meant to hold and he realises again that there is nothing natural about either of their situations but there was never any choice.
46. Horizon
He has always craved knowledge, remembers Shinou teasing him about it in the first life, but one of the things he misses now is being able to wonder what lies beyond the horizon.
47. Valiant
It is easy to be brave when there is nothing you fear, he thinks, mouth twisting as he accepts the accolades for his heroics; Shinou does not respond, and the silence is an answer in itself.
48. Virtuous
He remembers when virtue was not a meaningless word.
49. Victory
He looks out over the battlefield, listens to the cheers of the soldiers and does not let his expression change; victory is surprisingly empty when the game is of no importance.
50. Defeat
He doesn't let himself think about the future, about the yawning emptiness and loss yet to come; the way the game is set up he loses either way.
Cross-posting at my LJ, aithris, kyou_kara_maou and 1sentence