This is about the fleeting moment

15 January 423

"You look awfully tired, John," Miklotov commented, making me pause as I finished scribbling a couple of addendum to a recent law reform. It's been just a day since I was done with the whole Vollachia's situation, and I really was trying to do my best to not appear shaken by some thoughts that had lingered after that visit.

A descendant to the Red Baron, I knew the elves had customs akin to my country's, and I was supposed to not believe that there was much more influence coming from the world I came from. Or a world similar to mine, at least. It was mind-boggling how complicated things were turning as I tried to get stuff done for the better way.

I tried to imagine that it was my sheer imaginations creating this unknown enemy, maybe joke about the fact this world was actually controlled by an external force I wasn't able to predict and counter its moves in time- but the more I pondered about this, the clearer it was to me that there was indeed something with a degree of intelligence and capacity to manipulate reality itself.

Something that wasn't Pandora. Something that was beyond her and… I knew nothing about it. Something so dangerous that knew exactly where to place pawns and pieces around to undermine my best efforts to solve some of the problems early on. I solve an issue, a new mostly unknown one would rise up to match my efforts.

I wasn't exactly sure who was having fun throwing curve balls at me, but I knew it was something that was within this world. I pondered for a while about the chances of having to deal with a multi-dimensional threat, but from the clues I found while thinking back at the strange developments I had to face, I knew that the entity I was trying to fight was still limited by this world's rules.

Somehow it could weave around and push people left and right to get me stuck in an unpleasant situation. I managed to this very point to handle the trouble, but at the same time I couldn't help but fear that things just weren't going to get any easier. Quite the opposite considering previous examples.

All in all, I wasn't in a good mood. And the fact I had been wasting sleep hours because of these thoughts was enough to leave me particularly drained this late in the day.

"That's because I'm tired, sir," I replied half-formally, holding a palm over my mouth as I let out a quick yawn. "It's been a tough day."

"It was. Yes," The old Prime Minister agreed with a nod. "Still, you're not usually this tired. Especially since you have an easier time handling these tasks."

I shrugged. "I suppose I woke up the wrong way today. And maybe there is something else right now that is making keeping focused quite difficult."

The fact Majima was quietly napping on my lap was indeed lessening my focus with how warm and soft she felt to have on my leg. It was like having a cat, except this one had a cute tail wagging slowly and in an almost mesmerizing way.

"I guess your familiar is representing your current state of self," The elder mirthfully commented. "It wouldn't be the first time I would see a scene like this."

"Of a dog lazing around with no care of the world?" I suggested, getting a snort from the amused old man.

"I would say that too. But I believe you know what I'm referring to."

I did. While Majima was usually a lazy mutt, she wouldn't be doing this kind of effort to show how tired she was. She would have taken a corner and wasted herself in there. Yet she had decided to come to my lap, sleep on it and make my legs fall asleep because of that cheeky move of hers.

But this behavior wasn't driven just by her personal feelings, it was something that came right from my end of the bond. I was tired, thus tiring her even more than usual, and putting her in this situation that was slowly driving me even sleepier. This circular logic was starting to hurt my poor brain- and it shouldn't because I would've normally taken it and understood it like a champ.

"I guess I should find some time to sleep-"

"Maybe while you're with the prince. I've heard from him that you two were meant to spend some time talking by the garden," Miklotov offered. "I'm sure his highness wouldn't mind it if you need some rest."

"It wouldn't be nice towards him," I softly remarked. "I could ask, and I know he would accept- but then I would feel guilty since he really wanted to spare some time talking with me. It's been so long since we had more than just meal times, study sessions or the hour before going to sleep to talk. Duties just are… stretching our schedules."

"Oh, I see," The prime minister muttered with a nod. "Maybe I could try to lessen up the burden of our lessons. Just enough to allow you to have more free time by the hours his highness is free from his duties and can attend to less formal activities."

I frowned. "Wouldn't that be… seen as odd?"

"After your impeccable work in Vollachia? Doubtful," Miklotov calmly elaborated. "You've done what many wouldn't have done in that situation."

"Not cause a war?" I mirthfully offered as a guess.

"Give the appearance that an alliance can actually be forged between Vollachia and Lugnica quite soon," The old man explained with a serious tone. "While I doubt this will ever happen while I'm still alive, what happened in Lupgana was nothing short of a diplomatic miracle."

"I doubt that."

"Maybe you missed what I just said," The elder stopped me with a sigh. "The appearance makes it seem like a miracle, but all diplomats worthy of their positions know that what you did was something possible and, albeit surprising in and of itself, still easy to predict considering the turnabout was logical-driven.

…

"I don't know if it is a compliment, or not."

"Yes," The experienced politician answered tactically, leaving me to frown at him because of this.

"Fair enough," I conceded. "Still, I doubt a real alliance will ever come soon."

"But what happened can't be reverted by those in Volacchia that aren't keen to keep the hostile relations with our kingdom."

"So the task for the next few years will be to foil any efforts from militarists to undermine our current status quo?"

"Mostly correct," Miklotov agreed with a sigh. "But I believe it will be a task for you and only you."

…

"You hope to retire before it will become a nag, aren't you?"

"That's some heavy accusations coming from my apprentice," The elder rebuked, turning away in an effort to hide away the little glint of smug coming from his eyes at the mention of leaving the hard work all on me once he got old enough. "But perhaps it's correct for me to think you will do a fine job. You've yet to disappoint."

"Oh, don't say that, sir," I groaned at that second bit. "You know better than me that this is how one set up expectations high enough to allow any awkward predicament to happen. And not just the funny kind of awkward."

"You expect to fail. Soon even."

"I do," I admitted. "I mean, maybe? It's not like at this point I know for certain how everything will go. I just came so close from slipping into a terrible situation and… I guess it was luck that saved me from some really big trouble."

"Do you really think luck saves people, young man?"

"I-"

"There was a time where I was supposed to die on numerous occasions," Miklotov explained, interrupting me. "I don't need to say that I wasn't well-liked when I first started my studies. I wasn't a noble, and I was already considered a prodigy at a young age."

…

"I can still remember the struggle of… avoiding the problems thrown in my way. Those issues that were there to make me falter and fall into despair."

I listened to his words with my full attention. The man's past wasn't as known as many would imagine from a famous figure. No, while the general info was clear that he was someone that worked his way to the top through sheer determination and willpower… and an incredible intellect, the details weren't as common as that.

"What changed?" I asked quietly, feeling really interested by where he was trying to go with this detour.

"I met someone that I will always treasure as the one that pushed me to go through the first obstacles… and someone that I still visit when a specific anniversary comes by," The elder replied with a sigh. "His name was Gurcant. He wasn't… a student. A nobleman with childish thoughts ruling his actions, he was particularly silly with his manners but still a jovial person that I had the chance to encounter."

"He sounds like… there is more to that."

"His joviality was… particularly explosive. I would dare to say he was someone I thought unique and without equals," Miklotov added, smiling as he remembered those times fondly. "I was so skeptical to believe he cared. That he really wanted to be my friend after I spent most being ostracized for my humble lineage."

…

"We spent more than twenty years of our lives trying to make sense of the world. To be the light to each other's path in this troublesome journey that is existence itself," He said, his tone growing sadder. "When he died of sickness, I was only left with a void, my books and a responsibility. He had a son, a young shy kid that was really reluctant to sit where his father once used to."

…

"Do you know what was the child's name, young man?"

"I think I do," I quietly replied. "But… I believe I will leave this honor to you, sir."

…

He sighed. "Gurcant was indeed King Randohal's father. And by relation also Prince Fourier's grandfather."

That was actually a surprise I hadn't expected to be regaled with. While I had some suspicions that the man was tied to the royal family more than just a trusted friend of the family, I didn't know enough to make that big of a correlation.

"I faced many horrible situations that were beaten back by what you may call 'sheer luck'," The elder returned to the main topic. "What I call this 'luck', is actually the capacity of an individual to get through the adversities despite dreadful odds. It means being able to not be afraid when you need to be brave, to be awake when you feel tired, to be driven when you feel lost."

…

"John, I know this will sound like the condescending preaching of an old man that now has nothing to offer except swift quips and an advice from his youth, but when I say that you should stop believing in something so foolish as truth, mine isn't an effort to 'encourage you through a logical factor', I'm trying to point out how most of your situations, albeit interesting, lack what you call luck," He added in a lengthy speech, keeping me floored with the unexpected pep talk. "I believe you should now go. It's about time we wrap up this 'lesson' so you can't be late at your friendly date with his highness."

I sighed, shaking Majima awake as she happily accepted me lifting her up in a tight up as I stood up. A little wobbly, I still managed to walk properly despite my worries about this very topic.

Before I left, I paused by the doorstep and looked back at the old Prime Minister.

"Sir," I called out to the man, drawing his weary look back on me. "Thank you for being my teacher."

He sighed. "I believe I should be the one to thank you. For not having been a fool like I was."

I frowned at that comment, but he didn't offer any explanation about it, returning to his activities as I was indirectly told to leave at once.

I didn't linger any longer, but I thought a lot about that strange sentence, unsure what he was trying to say with that.

"Ah-ah! You see, I told Marcus that I could've easily beaten five of his recruits with ease and… I did that!" Fourier eagerly narrated, taking a swing with his old wooden sword to nothing but air.

I was sitting on a bench right in front of him, listening as my familiar had decided to look for a comfier spot where to rest for the time being.

"I don't recall you ever mentioning why you have it so bad with Captain Marcus."

"I guess I just… forgot, yes!" The blond replied with a nod. "You see, there was a time where I thought the man was really cool. He was nice with me, he would sometimes play when I asked him when I was a kid and… and I thought he was a good friend."

"Sounds like there is a big reason to see you now at odds with him," I pointed out, getting an uncertain shrug off of him.

"Yeah, like… it was something he said that even he believes in," The young prince explained with a sigh. "He said that a noble like me shouldn't invest this much time in learning how to fight on my own since that's the knights' role."

I frowned. "Wait, really?"

"Yeah, he said that when I asked him to teach me something. I was… twelve or thirteen. He said that 'even if I was of age, I was not meant to hold a sword'."

"And yet you hold it and… you can use it proficiently."

"That's why the memory is really frustrating," Fourier lamented. "I trained a lot and for long, yet he would always say that it's all for waste. Sir Wilhelm said that I was decent too, so I don't see why keeping saying that to me."

"Does he corner you and tell you that?"

"Of course not, I just remind him how cool I am with a sword and he would just repeat those words."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What if he is just trying to be alone and away from your gloating?"

"It's not gloating, it's just me reminding him how wrong he is."

"Fourier-"

"Okay," He admitted with a sigh. "Maybe I could have been a little less of a pest. I'm not trying to get in trouble, but it's just difficult to forgive him about it."

"How about you just train to beat him and prove him through that?"

…

"What?" The blond paused, giving me a confused look.

"Words hardly hold valor when you haven't given him a true show of your abilities. Train hard enough, beat him in a proper fight, and then he will have to concede to that point," I explained. "I believe Sir Wilhelm will be more than happy to indulge in training you again for that kind of goal."

"Hmm, that wouldn't be a bad idea," The prince admitted. "I could already hear him surrender and… still, I wanted to ask you about something else."

"Sure, go ahead," I offered, expecting nothing worrying out of this permission.

I was incredibly wrong.

"How about we talk about your little adventure in Volacchia? I've heard from Felix that you've met Ivan again."

Goddammit Felix, I'm trying to keep things quiet and-

I sighed. "It's way more complicated than it sounds like."

"Then explain it to me in simpler terms. You usually do that when the topic is really that messed up," The prince flatly rebuffed.

"Let's just say that he did something that almost killed the world as a whole."

"And I believe you've… stopped him?"

"I did. And it was mostly frustrating since I had to change things about the contract," I replied tiredly. "Now I expect him to actually do something half-as-crazy just to test the water, then full crazy

"Should we be worried about an attack from Gusteko?" Fourier asked, sounding legitimately serious on the matter.

"More like the monarch sending some sketchy letter to annoy me, then expect a reply from me," I assured with a sigh. "Whatever happens, he can't use his gem while I'm around."

"Oh, that means… he will keep with indirect approaches?"

"It's possible. Either that or I have to really start to make contingencies for everything."

The young man huffed. "That sounds dreadful. What do you think of a spar?"

I opened my mouth, only to stop as I realized what query he had just asked me. Frowning, I tilted my head to the side at the sudden question.

"What?"

"A spar? Like a few months ago. I've got my wooden sword here, I have a spare in the bushes there… we can have a little play and see who is the strongest with a sword."

That was… bad. I was still tired, even more tired than before considering how draining on my mind that conversation with Miklotov had been. Still, I couldn't exactly back away from the challenge and just decided to pick up the practice blade for the sparring session.

We took proper positions, fairly distant from each other. My grip over the hilt was tight and solid, the same confidence wasn't for my footing as I felt a little wobbly despite my best efforts to appear capable of holding myself in a battle.

Fourier began the fight by rushing towards me. It was a boon since it meant I could spare some energy by keeping myself on the defensive for a while and then snap back in an offensive approach when I felt confident of winning this struggle.

While the plan was simple, the execution was worse than I could have imagined. While I managed to hold myself against the first hits, some of the strikes got through my defense and landed some non-negligible damage. Biting down a groan, I felt my ribs hurting at being struck so suddenly, but my fortitude was good enough to hold true to these unpleasant developments.

"What's wrong? You would be striking back at this point," The blond lamented. "Tired already?"

…He didn't.

"Miklotov-"

"Sent me a message through a servant. Why didn't you ask to rest for a while? I wouldn't have minded!"

"And miss the little time we have together that isn't about studying, lunch or dinner?"

"Ah, I'll have you know I'm flattered. But also annoyed you're using that as an excuse," He replied with a sigh. "Which is why I will kick your butt enough to get you to sleep for once!"

…

"Or you could have asked me kindly to do that instead of pulling me in this sketchy fight," I lamented. "My ribs hurt, and I think I will be sore for a while."

"You should've chosen to go for the easier when you could," He rebuffed flatly. "Now you shall be given my righteousness delivered through sparring."

"Can I ask for a pause?"

"Nay!" The young man refused seriously. "My name is Fourier Lugnica, you've skipped sleep time, prepare to nap!"

That's a reference to- Okay, very funny, last time I tell him about stupid plots from movies.

Still, despite the horrible odds stacked against me, I dared with what I had left in my body. The result was particularly disappointing as I found myself face down on the ground and Fourier sitting on me by the end of the fight.

"Are you asleep yet?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"...Now?"

"I'm not going to fall asleep if you keep me answering."

He nodded. "Okay."

…

…

"Now?"

"I will punch you if you say that again."

…

"John?"

"Hmm?"

"I missed this," Fourier muttered truthfully. "You know, the fact it's only you and I having fun like this. It's childish, I know that but..."

"It's still fun," I fondly agreed to his perspective. "I find those moments fun too. It's… a nice change from the usual paperwork issue."

"Are you saying that I'm better than paperwork?"

…

"John? I hope you're asleep or I will-"

"You all are better and more important than paperwork," I dryly replied. "Why would you even question that?"

"I have my… reasons," The young noble remarked. "Like, would you go through the hardship of redoing the same papers again?"

"Well… it depends on how many papers we are talking about-"

"Two towers?"

I sighed. "I would."

"And what about four?"

"I'm not going to put a price on our friendship, Fourier," I guaranteed with a tired huff. "And I really hope you didn't do anything about my paperwork, because I would punish you for being a pest."

"See, that's one of the reasons."

…

"I'm really too tired for this..."

"Oh, do you want me to sing you a pretty song?"

"How about you just keep quiet and… talk about your day."

He paused. "Just… that?"

"Uh-Uh."

"But… why?"

"I asked. Is that a problem?" I inquired flatly.

"No-"

"Then please start."

He groaned. "Fine but… I really expect this not to be a silly prank of yours."

"I don't… prank. Always."

After promising that, Fourier began narrating his day. At first it was a slow and boring tale, but soon it picked up when the young man began talking about how he had unwittingly pranked a noble that was trying to score a favor with him.

He was speaking with such eagerness and interest in the memory itself that it was easy to feel how genuinely happy he was after so long had gone since his father's death. The fact I had indeed succeeded in getting him through that dark tunnel was something soothing for me. It was relieving and satisfying, just enough to finally get me to ponder about falling asleep. A quiet yawn escaped my lips as I felt my mind faltering before the strong wave of tiredness slowly consuming my interests on the matter.

Everything faltered as I allowed the calm of nature and the knowledge that everything was fine to lull me away from reality itself. I splashed away from consciousness, drowning in a state of unconsciousness in that sea that was made of silence and dreams.

And before I could ask, I found myself given some relief away from trouble. With Fourier watching over me, and his smile keeping the worries of something ruining the harmony surrounding us while I tried to take a moment to nap.

AN

Gasp! What is this? Time-skip next and… the target is 'canon start'? You know what that means?

You asked for him, and here comes the Barusu… but now, how will the events unfold with how things are set to be and… why did Satella bring Barusu in this crazy world?

Finally… Omake Ex! The Bukharin extended family is here!

Omake EX 6: The Kids

While Hans and Fritz knew that they should've been happy to learn that their family wasn't as small as it once felt, that didn't exactly mean they were having an easy time trying to… make sense of their brothers and sisters.

"Nora SMASH!" The orange-haired girl with blue eyes giggled as she continued running around the large playroom, hot on her trail being the young boy called Ren, and her step-sisters Cinder and Emerald.

A little far from their chairs was a red-haired girl that was playing happily with the shorter and younger brunette. Asuka and Mayu.

But what really got them confused wasn't the inherent chaos lingering around them, but the adorable bundle of joy sitting on the floor right in front of them. The toddler blinked, her violet eyes staring widely at them both. She seemed mesmerized, but she was truly unaware of the fact that the twins were also fascinated by her appearance.

Her dark hair was about shoulder-length, with two gray horns protruding from the top of her head. Black scales covered her hands and feet, and the small pair of wings arching behind her coupled with her tiny tail that was wagging out of curiosity confirmed early suspicions they had when they first saw her.

A baby dragon that was wearing a black onesie that allowed some freedom to her dragon details. And she was their sister since this place was containing only children to a single individual- well, multiple versions of the same person.

"Her name… wasn't it Alea?" Fritz asked, and his brother nodded.

"Yes, her name is Alea. I wonder how she came to become other dad's child."

After saying this, Hans stood up from his seat and crouched down to look closer at their young sister and tried to ignore how cute her onesie was. Alea was hardly capable of speaking, that's what their 'father' had said. She was capable of making messes of simple words that once in a while could be easy to understand due to the simplicity of the words themselves.

Dada and Mama were easy examples of clear signs, but other words that strayed from this logic would most of the time be lost in the 'translation'. In that very moment, the child wasn't speaking as she was seemingly gauging her new environment and the people in it.

Fritz and Hans had been the ones that hadn't instantly bolted to play around at such a curious situation, preferring to stay for a moment and understand what had happened. At the same time, that left them to properly interact with the toddler, making her their responsibility for the time being.

It wasn't a duty that was imposed to them, rather a strong instinct they had coming from within their souls. A sense of responsibility that burned fiercely, especially since they know their little sibling couldn't exactly be left alone like that.

Before Hans could say or do anything about this new closeness, he was caught off-guard when Alea reached out for his foxy ears and actually got hold of those. He expected for the claw-like hold to be painful, to be sturdy and hurt him since it was a toddler reaching out for his delicate animal features.

Yet, much to his instantaneous surprise, he was left stunned when he felt her hold being surprisingly careful, soft and warm. The scales, albeit having a mostly smooth feeling to their texture, were not sturdy or rigid. In fact, it felt like those were just a pair of rough gloves or something like that. What really got him shocked was the fact the child seemed to know when to stop squeezing at the ears. It was clear she had some experience before now, further leaving the twins perplexed on what to do on the cute child.

And before they knew it, they had to move her away from the middle of the room as, while they were distracted interacting with her, a little kerfuffle was created by two of their siblings. Well, one of their siblings and a second-grade cousin.

"I'm the Queen of the Castle!" Nora proclaimed sternly, eyes narrowing to match the steely glare she was being subjected by the blonde in front of her.

"No chance! I will be the Queen since I'm pretty and I can fight!" Mordred, daughter of Joseph Bukharin, shot back with the same degree of fierceness shown by the fellow child.

A battle was soon to erupt from the looks of it, and some were looking eager to see it unfold one way or another… that is until their escalation was interrupted by the happy gurgling coming from the toddler nuzzling happily on the twins' closeness. With the duo having kept beside each other while holding their little sister, Alea was comfortably sandwiched by her brothers, pushing her to display that glee with her noises.

Said noses grasped the attention of the rest of the children, with the extroverts taking the lead in checking the origin of this adorable sound.

"Oh my- SHE IS SO CUTE~!" Nora exclaimed as she rushed to try and check on the dragon girl. Action and sound eventually drew the attention of the cast right on them.

Soon after, the entire group was circling the twins and the happy-sounding Alea, all sharing mirthful words, comment, or even enjoying the sudden closeness. Since they shared a similar parentage, they were more than happy to be open to the others, either replying more directly to some odd behaviors, or giddily approve some of the crazier actions.

It was at that moment that the kids of the Bukharin family finally took a moment to appreciate the interestingly big group they were part of.

And from the ceiling, a much older 'child' sighed at the madness unfolding under his hiding spot, only for his attention to be forcefully redirected when he noticed that Alea had taken notice of him somehow and was holding her hands up in the sky to spot him.

Giorno Joestar really wasn't sure how, but that child was… really something worthy of a careful study.