Blank? (1)

"We should call a mage or a saint. What if the book is cursed? A demonic power of some sor-mnph!"

"Sigh...stop it. Do you want us to get kicked out?"

Derick glared at the hand covering his mouth, then at Yuno who was leveling him with a stern expression. Without warning, Derick opened his mouth again. Yuno was about to scold him when he suddenly felt something tickling his palm.

With a horrified look, Yuno quickly retracted his hand. His face morphed into despair as he saw a patch of saliva on the base of his palm. In a flash, he retrieved a clean handkerchief and began to scrub his hand like a madman.

From the corner, Derick watched this and openly rolled his eyes.

"Oh c'mon stop being a drama queen. A couple of spits aren't gonna kill you."

"Tsk, you piece of shit. You're lucky we're inside the General's room or else I would've smashed your head into the wall."

Yuno gritted his teeth, supressing the bubbling anger on his stomach. He and De-parasitic good for nothing-rick were still by the General's bedside. The head butler had already gone out and had issued them a warning before leaving.

"Please don't fight inside the General's chamber's. The servants just finished tidying up the space minutes ago. And please minimise your voice, especially you Lieutenant." Derick shudered and nodded in reply.

"Hmmm what's this? Is the famed strategist losing his cool?" Derick egged on. He carried a satisfied smirk as he saw another vein popped on Yuno's forehead.

"You're fucking dead later." Yuno rasped out in a hushed tone. Even though they were military officials, they still followed the head butler's warning too afraid of the elder's wrath. Especially Yuno, who practically grew up together with Cyrus and has experienced the fierce punishments of the elder.

"Tsk,tsk. Is that how you talk to your senior?" Even so it didn't stop the two from quarelling, albeit in a hushed manner, different from their loud and obnoxious ones.

"Oh please, you're only a year older and you don't even act like it. "

"Ha! At least I'm not like you - young, but acts like an angsty grandpa."

"You talk as if you aren't-"

"You little-!"

.

.

.

Upon waking up, the General could feel the familiar headache resurfacing once more. It seems that every time those kind of dreams happen, a headache was to follow as side effect.

Clutching his head, he promptly sat up on the bed. Along with his throbbing headache, his heart was also beating uncontrollably. He's afraid that at this rate, the psychiatrist would mistake him of having sickness instead. Though he suppose that it would be more logical than saying 'a book wants to target me so I can talk to a weird man that's threatening to castrate me.'

It took a moment for the pain to subdue, though when his mind began to clear up, the first thing that popped through the General's mind was the man and his heart began to race faster.

His face that seems clear on the dream was suddenly becoming a haze as Cyrus tries to remember every inch and detail of the dream scape. Though most of the details were now blurred, the interaction that happened between them was still crystal clear in his mind. He remembers how the man's golden orbs kept stealing glances at him, how he approached him and how he-'I want you'

Suddenly a hand slapped his face, but luckily because of his quick reflex he was able to stop it in time. The hand on question was his right and was promptly stopped by his left. Cyrus felt himself heating up. Now that he wasn't dreaming anymore, he was able to think more clearly. And for some reason, he hated that fact. He thanked that the man's face was blurred or else he would have remembered it too clearly.

Especially considering the last part when their lips-

He spotted his sword tucked under the pillow where he usually leaves it whenever he sleeps. Without much thought, he picked it up and threw it to whatever direction he was pointing at that time. The place shook and a loud bang resonated through out the entire manor.

Fuck. He kissed someone. His first kiss. And it was a man. A MAN. Though that itself wasn't the problem, the problem was he barely knew the man! Not to mention that he has yet to asses if he was an enemy or an ally.

'The situation jumped too far.'

He might not be much of a romantic, but he was taught the basics of a relationship.

"The first step in forming a relationship is through having a conversation. Small talk will suffice and once you get acquainted well enough then you can become friends. Once you're friends then you can become more closer as you get to know more about each other on a personal level. As time pass, you might or might not develop feelings for each other. Though, please note this young master, I suggest that you simply don't jump over the bridge and do the deed. Start by dating first and if you're truly set on then you will become lovers. And if there's really no one else on your heart other than that person then you two can marry. Of course, ask for the other party's consent first."

Hugo spent half of that day teaching him about relationships. Of course the six year old-yet to be General didn't understand anything, but he nodded nonetheless.

Even now, he still didn't understand half of what Hugo said, but as he fought wars and drowned himself on paperwork, he reasoned that he didn't need to understand it. He was too busy for a lover and having one would only get in the way of his work.

So it isn't that suprisng that for the last couple of years Cyrus remained single with not even a single dating rumor surrounding him. He was even crowned 'The Cold Hearted General of The North' which was a nickname highly praised by Derick for some reason- "It sounds very intimidating. A very befitting nickname for the General!"

Cyrus touched his lips unconsciously. He shouldn't be thinking too much of this. He does though.

'It doesn't count, right? It's just a dream. There was no physi-'

The door burst opened. Cyrus startled and quickly retracted his hands.

"General is everything ok?!"

Without a doubt, it was Derick who slammed the door, followed by an annoyed Yuno. Now that he thought about it, it was because of these two-or Derick to be more specific that the dream was cut short.

He was quite expecting the two to be arguing on his bedside when he woke up, only to be greeted by peace and quiet (something that he was thankful of). Eyeing the two, Derick still looked the same as ever and as for Yuno, the other was covered in dirt. A lot of it.

'No wonder he's annoyed.'

"Fight?"

Yuno who quietly stood by the door nodded. He eyed the room and his gaze fixed on the corner where a sword-with it's scabbard still on-was piercing the wall.

"Assassin?"

"No...just...saw a cockroach..."

Cyrus avoided Yuno's hawk like gaze, he cleared his throat before asking. "Where's the book?"

"Again!? See Yuno, the book really is cursed!!!"

Yuno ignored him, he was still eyeing Cyrus, similar to how a mother would stare at her son when she finds him suspicious. The General still didn't dare to make eye contact and only stared at the wall.

"General, you still owe me an explanation. After that then I'll think about handing you the book or not."

So it's one of those bargains again. With a resigned sigh, Cyrus finally made eye contact with Yuno.

"I suppose you've already read the book."

"Yes. It was blank."

"Exactly, the chara-wait, huh? Blank?"