Title: Prince & Prejudice

Summary: There's plenty of pride and prejudice when "princely" Tezuka could be viewed as Mr. Darcy; so is Carlinda his Eliza Bennet? A non-yaoi Tezuka-exclusive story.

Disclaimers: Tezuka Kunimitsu isn't mine, but boy, would I like him to be…if he were real…which he's not. (sighs) I also took some liberties with Jane Austen's work, obviously; please, don't come after me clutching your reticules full of citations of what I got wrong.

Things you might want to know:

—All my, er, "Tezuka Zone" stories are intended to stand alone even though they relate to each other (and are set in the same AU); it won't be necessary to read one to understand the next, but please do if you like my writing. Grocery Shopping is extremely general, if that helps.

—My PoT fanfiction so far is set in a present-day post-anime AU in which characters are simply older (by about 15-20 years) and have gone on with their lives, yet society/technology has not changed. I thought it would distract from my story-telling if I tried to predict how society and technology would progress in the future, or if I tried to take away what was in the show such that it was set in the past.

— Any "Mary Sue-ishness" should be minor, but intentional: be forewarned.

Please enjoy, and reviews would be most helpful! (My main concern is that Tezuka stays in-character as much as possible, within the context…)

Chapter 1: The Prince at the Party

Carlinda Singh did not recognize at first that Dr. Tezuka was a "Mr. Darcy"—she was too busy being mad at him for snubbing her at the interdepartmental Holiday Party.

She was more than brand-new to the university: she would not actually start teaching until the spring semester. The British Literature professor she was replacing had promised to stay on through the end of the current semester to finish out his classes as well as facilitate the transition. He had been indifferent toward her, not hindering yet not entirely helpful. Carlinda, dealing with inefficiency regarding her paperwork by Human Resources, could not turn to him with any confidence; nor did she want to start off her career at the university with complaints, no matter how justified. No, she intended to see if she could handle the situation on her own, first.

So the party presented a fortunate opportunity to make friends in the faculty, in hopes of unobtrusively garnering advice before the minor mishaps escalated into snafus. From experience she knew that holiday (really, "Christmas," only everyone tried hard to be politically correct these days) parties tended to be the best time to meet her colleagues, since they would be in the mood to be friendly already. She had additional advantages in a party environment: as a young, beautiful (she could not help knowing this) and outgoing person, all she needed to do was be her usual vivacious self and people naturally gravitated toward her, wanting to be a part of the fun.

Her endeavor met with instant success when, after ably reading the signals, she graciously maneuvered a tongue-tied calculus professor into conversation with the very popular on-campus fencing master. Apparently, this had been something of a feat, because several people converged on Carlinda within seconds to marvel and gossip. From then on, Carlinda easily managed to gain enough insight into the particular workings of the university's Human Resources to stay on top of the paperwork despite any further mishandling that might occur. Someone also helpfully mentioned the name of "Dr. Tezuka" as the ideal person to enlist if she needed a supporter to talk to the dean, who would deal with HR on her behalf: not only did Dr. Tezuka have the ear of the university president himself, according to rumor, but also a natural persuasiveness with both genders (though for different reasons). This idea immediately generated a lively discussion, since some believed that his sense of justice would be enough to interest him in helping her to correct the problem while others thought he would say she should fight her own battles.

Thus the awed murmur that spread through the attendees when this Dr. Tezuka arrived caught Carlinda's attention. 'Almost as if he were a prince, or of the aristocracy,' she thought, 'since everyone seems so surprised that he deigned to grace the party with his presence.' The way he held himself apart and gave monosyllabic answers to perfectly civil questions could only vindicate her opinion of him as such; though objectively, she had to admit, he was quite good-looking. His professorial demeanor of authority and competence, enhanced by his handsomely sensitive face, oval wire-rimmed glasses and endearingly rumpled hair, was the stuff of poetry (or excellent prose). Even better, his reticence leant him an air of mystery and of unspoken depths irresistible to susceptibly romantic females. Not that she considered herself to be one of those susceptibly romantic females, but she could understand his appeal. After all, it was easy to suppose that a single man possessed of such a passion about teaching history—he had become a full professor at the age of 28 earlier that year, an occurrence unheard of in academic circles—must be in want of love from a good woman to direct that passion elsewhere as well.

Although Carlinda found herself wanting to dislike him on the basis of his aloof manner, he did not do anything specific to earn her ire until he curtly refused to join in any activities when she went to the trouble of approaching him (with the intention of proving to herself that her first impressions of him were unfairly prejudicial). Since she prided herself on being able to charm even the shyest hermits out of their shell, she felt slighted that he actually preferred to stand in anti-social silence with his equally haughty companion (his teacher's aide, the French professor informed her in a slurred voice later, then added, inexplicably, "Mais oui…Shoo!" and trailed off with gales of laughter): the TA, though fashionably dressed to a degree of nicety that showed her familiarity with such gatherings, seemed resigned to the party as a fate worse than death for both herself and the professor.

As she turned away, Carlinda decided that neither should have come, since their attitude could only detract from the holiday spirit of peace and goodwill. To counteract this, she began telling a playful account of the interaction, brushing it off as best she could, and allowed herself to enjoy the added attention for having braved the renowned reserve of The History Professor. Every now and then, she glanced toward the corner where he stood, as if daring him to challenge her on it. That he appeared completely oblivious aggravated the original insult; more so when she overheard the calculus professor express sympathy to him, which was received with a solemn nod as if the condolences were his due.

It so happened that during a re-telling of her narrative later in the evening, Carlinda likened the TA to the disdainful (and jealously designing) Miss Bingley, and her audience took to the comparison with such glee, she rendered herself unable to disassociate the name from the person. But even then, Carlinda did not mentally pursue the analogy further. After all, that would have made Dr. Tezuka the protagonist in the situation, and, subsequently, her perspective of his character flawed.

Coming up next: "Wickham" appears on the scene! What's his history with The Professor, since he believes himself a victim of prejudice? Updates may be slow, since I'm posting this prior to finishing later chapters, and I have the usual obligations of a "real" life…but I wanted to test the waters, as the saying goes. Therefore, any response as to what you think would be much appreciated!