Disclaimer – I do not own any of the rights to the characters from Bleach and so forth.
"Catch me if you can!" Laughed Yoruichi.
"That's not fair! You're too fast for me to catch!" Cried Kisuke as he tried to catch her.
It was a bright sunny day in the ever small, familiar clearing as Kisuke and Yoruichi played together in the mid-afternoon of the day. The roses were in full bloom and the grass of the park was as green as ever. The open clearing itself was nestled against the very edge of the valley that made up the grandest city of the world, Ryūsei no Machi, the City of the Falling Stars. Even though the city could be seen from miles away, it never occurred to Kisuke and Yoruichi that it was even there when they played tag or hide-and-go-seek. Kisuke and Yoruichi had been friends since they first met when they were younger. Kisuke was only 10 years old and Yoruichi was 11. Ever since they met, they were always with one another in some way. But their friendship, as they found out, had to be a secret.
Kisuke was part of a very wealthy family that owned much of the land that made up the country that they lived in. Kisuke was tall, even for his age, and held his head high that was full of unruly blonde hair. He never seemed to be happy due to his parents, but deep down he was content with what he had, though he didn't have many friends. His family, however, was stingy, and very uptight about keeping the family in line and respectable. His father, Byakuya, was a very famous and renowned war general. Often times, he would have to leave on extended trips out of the country for business with neighboring regions to settle disputes with rebels that threatened the people of Ryūsei no Machi. His mother, Rukia, was the daughter to the king that ruled over the country. As for being raised in a respectable family, she did not take too kindly to her son playing with the common folk of the city. She would often stay at the estate and ponder what curtains would go well with the furniture and Kisukes father would nod in approval, not paying much attention to what she was saying. Kisuke never saw much of his mother and father, and they hardly ever seemed to notice him half the time. Although, it was thanks to their lack of interest in him, that he was able to slip away from the estate to spend time with Yoruichi whenever he had the chance to.
Yoruichi on the other hand, was far from nobility. She always had a smile on her face when she walked the streets of Ryūsei no Machi, and was very out going in everything she did. She may have been older than Kisuke, but she was just a hair shorter than he was with dark hair and cat like eyes. Her family lived in the lower parts of Ryūsei no Machi with the other common folk. Kisuke was always envious of her because she would always tell stories of how much her mother and father would take her on trips to the market and go fishing when the time of the year was right. Her mother and father owned and lived in a small flower shop inside the city. The shop always did well in the spring, summer, and fall, but they always struggled to get by in the winter when they had to close shop for the season. They were happy with what they had; but it was ever still a life long struggle to find other work to help when the flowers died from the cold air that crept into winter.
Though Kisuke and Yoruichi were from two different parts of their own world, they still took great pleasure in each others company. When they met for the first time, Kisuke ran away from his estate after his father told him off about breaking a very old vase in the study. As he walked away from his house, he found an old and very beaten path that lead to the small clearing a mile or so away. He wandered aimlessly for hours around the tall trees that surrounded the place he discovered, when he finally sat down to rest. It wasn't long after that, when he peered up from his knees to see a small girl in front of him. She was dressed in ragged clothes which immediately told Kisuke that she was a commoner. To his surprise, she didn't seem to notice the wealthy looking clothes that he wore. It was odd, he thought, that a commoner would just stroll up and present herself in front of him. Most people bow in respect for him, but there was something different about her.
"What are you doing?" She asked curiously. Kisuke only frowned as he buried his face in his knees again. If there was one thing he didn't want right now, it was to talk to some random stranger that he didn't know. He just put his face down and ignored her peering at him, until . . .
"Ya know . . . it's not nice to ignore a lady!" She yelled at him as she kicked him. Kisuke fell to his side holding his ankle furiously, glaring at what the little girl just did. She kicked him. Him!
"What was that for!?" Kisuke said as he yelled in pain. But the little girl just looked at him feeling irritated.
"When a lady walks up to you, you say hello! Where are your manners?" She said smiling. Kisuke looked at her confused as he saw her. He knew all about the 'proper' ways to greet people, but being nobility gave you the right to not say anything at all. With the pain in his leg, and feeling very angry at the girl, he turned away and buried his head between his legs again.
"Leave me alone, commoner. . ." He said quietly with a scowl.
"How dare you call me a commoner!" She said spitefully. "I have half a mind to kick you again you big jerk!"
"Go a head . . ." He said sadly. "It's not like my parents are going to care. . ."
The girl looked at Kisuke confused. After further inspecting Kisuke and taking note of how well dressed he was, and that he had no dirt clinging to his clothes, she said,
"Your nobility! You must be the son of that war general guy!" She said excitingly. "Wow! I actually met someone important!"
"I'm not important. . ." He said with tears filling the brims of his eyes. "No body cares about me. They all say the same thing about how great I am. But I don't care!"
"So what are ya doin' here?" Yoruichi asked curiously again.
"That's none of your business . . ." He said quietly. But she smiled and sat next to him and looked at him with great interest.
"Sooooooooooo?" She asked grinning.
"I . . . I ran away . . ." He said under his breath.
"Why would you do that?" She asked.
"Because I broke some stupid vase . . . my father got mad at me and told me to get out of his sight." He said harshly. Yoruichi giggled when she looked at him and asked,
"That's dumb. Why did you break it?"
"I didn't do it on purpose!" He yelled as he rose to his feet and began to walk away. Yoruichi stood as well and started walking with him. All Kisuke wanted was to be alone. But thanks to her, he was now sad and angry at what happened.
"Do you have any friends?" She asked as they walked to the edge of the clearing that led to the path home for Kisuke. He stopped and looked at her with teary eyes. It was an odd question to ask out of no where, he thought.
"No . . . I don't . . ." He said shaking.
"Whys that?"
"My parents won't let me have common friends. They said that I don't need them . . . but I hate playing with the other noble kids. They're always being mean to me . . ." Kisuke was now in tears, but held back the whimper in his voice.
"Weeeeeeeeeeell . . . if you want . . ." Yoruichi began, "I could be your friend! And I promise I'll be nicer to you than those other boys!" Kisuke looked at her curiously as she spoke. Deep down, though he may have been young, the idea of having a friend sounded like fun. It would be nice to finally have someone to play with and talk to that didn't ridicule you every time you spoke out of turn. But her being a commoner wouldn't sit well with his family, and he knew this better than most. His mother always discouraged the idea of him going into the city and looking around at all the people and shops. 'Shopping for supplies and conversing with commoners is for servants, Kisuke!' is what she would often say.
"You can't be my friend. My mother would get angry at me . . . and my father too." He said sadly.
"They don't have to know!" She said grinning at him and putting her finger in front of her mouth. "It could be our little secret."
A secret? Was this girl crazy? There was no way, he thought, that he would be able to keep her a secret. The thought festered in his mind, but the idea of having a friend that wasn't a noble who didn't like him to begin with struck him as something better than what he had. With a nod, he wiped his face and held out his hand.
"Ok!" He said happily, "My name's Kisuke!" Yoruichi grabbed his hand and shook it furiously.
"Mine's Yoruichi!"
And with that, their friendship slowing began to grow. They set up dates when they could be together, and as always, the never missed the chance to go to the clearing and spend the day with each other. They would play until it would start getting dark in the late afternoon, then say their good byes and part ways until the next day when they would meet again. It never seemed to change for them as the seasons changed and the years grew ever more.
"OUCH!" Kisuke yelled as he fell to the ground. Yoruichi looked back, then walked to where he fell and laughed hard as he slowly stood up covered in grass.
"Ha! I knew you couldn't catch me!" She said laughing mockingly as Kisuke brushed the grass of his nice clothes. "Do all rich people suck at running!? Ha ha ha!"
"Shut up! I just tripped!"
"Well you'll have to try better than that if you wanna catch me!" Yoruichi said as she started to run away. Before she ran very far, Kisuke lunged at her and tackled her to the ground. With a look of triumph, he pinned her to the ground and laughed.
"Ha! Who's laughing now, Yoruichi?!" He said grinning while he sat on top of her.
"That's not fair! I wasn't ready!" She yelled as she struggled to get away.
"Admit it! I won!" He said looking smugly down at her. Yoruichi gave him a definite glare as she moved her arms up to push him off. As she did, her arm slipped from underneath Kisuke, and brought her face up to his. Kisuke looked at her in shock as her face reddened before he realized that their lips were touching together. When he pulled away from her, he saw his fate before him.
"Uh . . . Yoruichi?" He asked cautiously.
"Kisuke . . ." She growled as he scrambled off of her.
"Wait! Yoruichi! It was an accident! I didn't . . ."
WACK!
"You idiot! How dare you kiss me! I don't know how things work up there in that castle, but you ask permission before you make a move on a lady!"
"It was an accident!" Kisuke yelled as the hand print on his face reddened. With fists tightened and glaring at him, Yoruichi turned and strode away. Kisuke just stared as she walked in a fit of rage. To his surprise, she turned around before the edge of the clearing and waved back at him with a smile.
"Same time tomorrow?" She asked happily.
"Uh . . . sure!" He said as she walked and left him sitting with his hand on his face. He smiled, and began his journey home.
It wasn't long before he reached the grounds of the estate. The castle itself was fairly large. But from the inside, it seemed even larger and more ghostly then from the outside. The whole place was adorned in silver and purple vases, furniture, and so forth. Being a three story building, the stairs were well made with pearl steps like the floors and snaked its way all the way to the top. Quite a sight to see, but Kisukes thoughts were elsewhere. The thought of kissing Yoruichi was still swimming in his head. It happened so fast that he wasn't sure what to think about the whole thing. First she was mad at him, then she was happy and waved good bye? It was the weirdest thing to happen to him since the met. But a strange feeling grew in him. He had kissed her! His only real friend that he made some years ago, and he kissed her! Sure it was an accident, but was it really?
"Maybe she wanted me too . . ." He thought as he entered one of the doors into the house. "But there's no way! And it was an accident! An accident . . ." Before he could finish untying this mystery, Byakuya strode foreword and called to him.
"Come here, boy." He said sternly. Now this was a surprise. His father never wanted to talk to him. Though every time he did, it was usually to ridicule him about something he either did or DIDN'T do.
They walked up the winding staircase to the study where Rukia was waiting for them. She was in her usual dress gowns and wearing the same silver crown on her head. They walked inside as Byakuya closed the door, and sat lazily into his office chair with Rukia standing next to him. Kisuke sat on the far end of the study as his father began to speak.
"Where have you been running off to?" He asked coldly.
"I . . . I was playing . . . in the clearing off the grounds . . ." Kisuke said quickly. His parents knew that he often went there to play, but he never told them about Yoruichi.
"You have been going there a lot, boy. What are you doing?" Byakuya asked with his hands in front of his mouth.
"Playing . . ."
"A boy at your age shouldn't be playing in a forest somewhere." Rukia said harshly. "Your 10 years old now, and you need to start acting like it."
"But I like to go and play there!" Kisuke said with a worried expression.
"And why is that, boy?" His father asked with angry but curious eyes.
"Because . . . it's fun . . . and it's nice to get out for some . . . fresh air." Kisuke had never tried to lie to them before about his departures to the clearing. Then again, they never seemed to ask why, despite the fact that they knew where he was going at all times.
"Fine. I'll let this be for now. But we have more important things to discus." His mother said harshly.
"What do you mean?" Kisuke asked, relieved that the subject of him going off and playing Yoruichi was over.
"It has come to my attention that the princess of our neighboring rivals is the same age as you. Because the King wants to end the minor disputes to our country, he has decided that you are to be wed to the princess. This diplomatic convergence of the two countries would make us a very powerful force to reckon with. Therefore, you will be wed to her within the week."
This took Kisuke back for a minute when he realized what was happening. Arranged marriages were very common to the countries around them to join two or three together to make the countries prosper. But Kisuke loathed the idea of being tied to a girl, especially one that he had never even met before. He thought of what Yoruichi might think, and how she would react. He wanted to keep her as close as he could because she was his only friend. But what would happen if he was wed to another girl? Would he even get the chance to play with Yoruichi anymore? And a week! Only one week until he was married? His head began to hurt at the thought of how quickly things were happening before him.
"Well?" Asked Byakuya. "What do you have to say?"
Kisuke looked up from his twiddling thumbs at his father. "I . . . I'm not sure . . ." He said shaking. "I'm not sure if I like that idea . . . I don't want to get married . . ."
"Well, you don't have a choice." Byakuya said coldly. "I have already made the arrangements, and it's going to happen weather you like it or not. The princess will be here tomorrow, and you are to look your best and act accordingly."
"But I don't want to!" Kisuke yelled as he rose to his feet. "I don't even know if I will like her!"
"You will mind your tongue, Boy!" His mother shouted. "This is for the good of our country! And you WILL go through with this plan!"
Kisuke was livid with anger. He frowned at his mothers' response, and left the study with his fists balled up and a tight knot forming in his stomach. What was he going to do now? How could something like this be out of his control? It was as if he had no other choice or say in the matter at all! He rounded the corner of the long hallway to his room, and slammed the door closed. He then walked over to his bed, and flopped down on it with a thud.
"It's not fair." He said angrily. "I don't want to get married . . . at least not to . . . who ever she was." He laid in his bed for hours before nightfall came, and he fell into a deep sleep.
So this is the next story I thought to write. I was in kind of a modern-ish mid-evil mood when I thought of another romance like this. I hope you all will enjoy it, and I have more chapters to add before this story is over.
Cheers.