A/N: This will be a multichaptered fic in the end. When I reached the last line of this first chapter I felt like it would be a nice end for a chapter and it allows me to update this fic bit by bit, instead of posting 20-30k words in one go.
Between Sunglasses and Princesses
Warm rays of sunshine fell upon Harima Kenji's face and slowly he woke from his slumber. As he rises up from his bed, he started to realize that he had not been sleeping in his own bed and room.
The room at first glance was obviously part of a Western-styled house.
As he stared out the window by the side of his bed and listened to the birds chirping outside, he wondered, "What happened...?"
Bit by bit, he began to recall the events that must have lead up to this point.
"That's right...The chief editor told me that he'd start serializing my manga and that he wanted me to have thirty pages done by next week. So...then I rushed home, but that damned Itoko was out on one of her trips to wherever and even though I had a duplicate of the key, she changed the locks, so I couldn't get inside. Then, I wandered around outside for hours and I..."
At that point, Harima's stomach loudly growled as if he needed any further reminder.
"I passed out from hunger? Are you serious? Damn...I can't believe this. Still, that doesn't explain where I am..."
"You currently reside within the Sawachika residence."
Harima almost jumped out of bed upon hearing the voice. His eyes shot to the other side of the room, where he found a neatly dressed man standing in front of the door that connects this room with the hallway behind it.
"You are...!"
"The butler, Nakamura." Nakamura said as he took a deep bow.
"Then, this is the Princess's house?"
"Correct. Our Lady was kind enough to take a lost puppy like you in last night. We were on our way home when we found you collapsed at the side of the road. After I determined you merely collapsed from fatigue, our Lady decided to give you a place to stay for the night. You should be grateful." The butler replied with a faint smirk on his face.
"Ah...Y-yeah...Thanks."
"No, no...Your thanks should go to our Lady. Then, shall I have breakfast prepared for you, Mister lost puppy?" Nakamura asked as he straightened up.
"No, I should be heading out. I shouldn't be a bother."
"Pardon my rudeness, but I overheard you talking to yourself before. You have nowhere else to go, let alone money to eat. Not to mention, it seems like you have urgent matters to attend to as well. Wouldn't it be best to enjoy our Lady's hospitality for a while longer at least?" Nakamura asked, though it sounded more like a command.
"Is the Princess fine with that?" Harima asked.
"You would have to ask her in person. Of course, I could explain the circumstances as well, but I am but a butler." Nakamura took a slight bow, "I believe your own word would be much more persuading."
Harima sighed, "I guess I have little choice, eh?"
"Then, shall I prepare breakfast?" Nakamura inquired once more.
"Yes, please."
"Then, please head downstairs in a few minutes." And with a bow, Nakamura left the room.
There wasn't much Harima needed to do before he was ready to go downstairs. He found his trusty sunglasses lying on top of the bag he had with him when he left the publishing company and he was still wearing his clothes from the day before, as he wasn't prepared for Itoko's unexpected trip away from home.
As he stepped out of the room, Harima paused for a moment as he took everything around him in.
"Man, Princess's house really is gigantic..."
As he put his hands in his pockets and headed towards the staircase, he continued talking to himself, as there was no one else around to his knowledge to talk to.
"This hallway is damn long. How many rooms are there anyway? No matter how much money you have, what's the point of having all this space? I don't get rich people..."
"Apparently to take in classmates that pass out along the side of the road like some drunken bum."
Harima froze on the spot and slowly turned around. There, right behind him, was Sawachika Eri, standing with her arms crossed in front of her, throwing an angry glare at Harima.
"A-Ah...Princess."
"What you're looking for is 'Good morning', Harima-kun."
"Good...morning."
"Good morning, Harima-kun."
Unsure as to what he should have said next, Harima merely stood there and stared at Eri for a while. The blonde half-asian stared back for a moment before looking way from him, "At this rate, not only your breakfast will be cold, Harima-kun, but mine as well, so shall we get a move on?"
"Oh, yeah. Better get to that, huh?"
The two of them remained silent as they headed down the stairs. Harima tried his best to find something to say, but he somehow couldn't find anything to say.
"Damn...How am I supposed to thank her when she's acting like this? I guess she's not much of a morning person? I see. I guess I'll just wait until it's afternoon before thanking her then." Harima thought as he followed Eri.
Eri suddenly called out to him, "The dining room is this way."
"Ah, I see." Harima swiftly turned around as he realised he had kept on walking when Eri stopped at the door that led into the dining room.
"I was right after all. The Princess is in a pretty foul mood this morning. The way she looked at me just now, she seemed pretty pissed off."
Unbeknownst to Harima, Eri wasn't having an every-day bad morning at all. Her mood stemmed from none other than Harima. She wondered, "What's up with Hige? Not even thanking me for getting his sorry behind off the street...Could it be that he's still fatigued? No way. After sleeping that much, he should be fine, right? Of course he's fine. I'm willing to bet he's just taking this for granted! Hmph! Who does he think he..."
"Your pancakes are ready, my Lady." Nakamura declared, breaking the blonde's train of thought.
"Good job, Nakamura. You too, of course, Masaru."
"It is our pleasure, my Lady." Nakamura replied as he took a bow. As he raised his head, he looked at Harima and said, "We prepared some pancakes for you too. I'll be as bold to assume that you have no problem with this, correct?"
"No, no problem at all." Harima answered as he took his seat across Eri's.
Both of them were served a pretty large stack of pancakes with syrup slowly dripping down the sides. Harima tried his best to refrain from drooling like some kind of animal, but he had to admit that it looked more delicious than he thought it would.
"Then, I'll be digging in." Harima proclaimed as he picked up with fork and knife.
"Bon appetit." Eri replied in true ladylike fashion.
"By the way, did you give your thanks to our Lady yet?" Nakamura asked loud enough so that both Harima and Eri could hear it. As a result, Harima nearly choked on a piece of his pancakes.
"Are you alright?" Nakamura asked him as he managed to swallow the pancake piece.
"Yeah...somehow." Harima added the last part softly before loudly clearing his throat.
"Ah...Uhm...Thanks for helping me out, Princess, and sorry for causing you trouble."
"Coincidentally, he'd also like to request to stay here for a while longer." Nakamura added immediately afterward, this time causing both Harima and Eri to choke on their food.
"You bastard! What do you think you're saying in my stead?" Harima shouted at the butler, nearly strangling the man.
However, Nakamura merely stared straight at Harima and coldly said, "I merely repeated what you told me yourself. Isn't that right?"
"Even if it is, let people say so for themselves, damn it!" Harima shouted as he tightened his grip on Nakamura's collar.
Again Nakamura coldly ignored Harima's supposed threat and turned his head to face his mistress, "Well, there you have it, Lady Eri. What do you say?"
"Are you kidding me? Why would I let someone like him stay here?" Eri shouted at her butler.
"Should I explain the circumstances or will you?" Nakamura asked as he cast a glance back at Harima.
"I'll do it, so just keep that mouth of yours shut already." Harima said, finally letting go of the butler's collar.
"Here's how it is, Princess..." Harima said before explaining to her how he can't go home as the person who owns his place is off on a trip and he's locked outside.
"So, I don't really have a place to stay." He finally finished, "So...ehm...Please, let me stay here for a while longer, Princess!"
As Harima clasped his hands together and bowed his head before Eri, the blonde put a finger to her chin and tilted her head slightly back, seeming to give it some thought.
After a moment of silence, a devious little smile curled up on her lips as she looked at Harima.
"Very well..."
"Really?" Harima shouted in disbelief.
"On one condition, however."
"What...What would that condition be, exactly?" Harima hesitantly asked, already starting to feel regret for even asking in the first place.
"For as long as you remain here, you will be my servant." Eri said and he devilish smile seemed to grow even broader.
"Wha-...Why do I have to do something like that?" Harima slammed his fist on the table.
"Then, you just intend to stay here and be a freeloader for a while?" Eri threw a quick glare at him. It wasn't entirely filled with hostile intend, but she was being serious at the very least.
"No, but...I got...things to do." Harima said as he laid his hands down flat on the table.
"Things? Such as?" Eri asked, raising a questioning eyebrow at Harima.
Harima turned his head away as he started to sweat bullets, "Ah, you know...just things..."
"Crap, there's no way I can tell her about my manga, but now it looks like I'm just trying to weasel my way out of having to work!"
"Hmmm..." Eri let out as she glared at Harima for a while.
"Lady Eri, I can vouch for this. I overheard him saying something like that as I went to wake him up. I believe he's being honest." Nakamura stated.
"Well, if Nakamura says so...I guess I won't make you work to death...entirely." A devilish smile curled up on her lips again.
"Alright! Thanks, Princess!"
"Now let's eat our pancakes, before they go cold." Eri said, this time with an honest smile.
"Yeah!" Harima exclaimed before digging in to his pancakes once again.
"By the way, Lady Eri..." Nakamura started.
"Hm? What is it, Nakamura?"
"Starting today, Masaru and myself will be off to a three day convention for servants. Thus I'll have to leave the mansion in your capable hands."
"Wha-...!"
"Of course..." Nakamura said as he placed a hand on Harima's shoulder, "He will be there to help you should you need it, Lady Eri."
"What? Why do I have to fill in for..."
"You will do it." Nakamura's grip tightened on Harima's shoulder, "Won't you?"
"Yes, sir!" Harima yelped as he felt Nakamura's grip tighten even further.
"No! Not 'yes sir'! Nakamura, I demand you cancel this little trip of yours right now!" Eri exclaimed angrily at her butler, her face flushed bright red.
"Unfortunately, that's impossible. Then, enjoy yourself, Lady Eri." Nakamura said, picking up two suitcases from a corner in the dining room. As he headed towards the door with Masaru however, Eri jumped up out of her seat and ran after them.
"Nakamura! Masaru! Get back here this instant!"
"I must refuse, Lady Eri!"
Harima looked over his shoulder towards the door as Eri and Nakamura kept on shouting things at each other as Nakamura and Masaru ran for the front door.
He sighed, "Well, it's fine I guess?"
Right around the time he finished eating his pancakes, Eri came back in to the dining room, completely out of breath.
"That Nakamura...What is he thinking, leaving all of a sudden like that?"
Harima turned his head around, "Looks like you'll have the entire place to yourself."
"You are here, aren't you?"
"Well, that's true. Don't worry though, if it's up to me, you won't see much of me." Harima replied as he got up from his chair.
"...Do you mean that?" Eri let out as Harima passed by her.
Harima paused in his steps and slightly tilted his head towards Eri, "What was that, just now? The Princess sounded...lonely?"
"What? Are you telling me you'll be lonely without me around then?" Harima asked.
"I won't be! It's not like I want you here or anything!"
"Then, I won't bother you." Harima said, waving at Eri as he headed out of the dining room.
"...Maybe a little." Eri muttered under her breath.
"Hm? Did you say something, Princess?"
"I said, maybe I'll be a little bit lonely!"
"Huh?"
"But only a little bit, you hear me!"
Harima sighed and smacked himself on his forehead, as if he knew he was going to regret this, "Then, let's go have some fun today together. I should be able to spare at least that much time."
"Eh?" Eri replied bewildered.
"I'm telling you I'll be able to hang out with you today, alright? I should be able to spare this amount of time at least, so just let me know what you want to do." Harima said as he took a step towards her.
"Oh...ehm...I'm not sure, really..." Eri said as she looked away from Harima with a slight blush on her face.
"You're not sure? Come on, Princess. What do you usually do?"
"Eh...like...hang out with my friends?" Eri replied in an unsure tone, tilting her head slightly to see Harima's reaction.
Harima took a deep breath, "Then, what do you usually do when you are with your friends?"
"Well...that depends, doesn't it? Usually something like shopping or..."
"Hmm, shopping, eh? I guess we could start off with buying some groceries..." Harima contemplated while rubbing his chin.
"No...that's not the kind of shopping we usually..." Eri sighed, "Alright, why not? I'll make something good for the two of us tonight then."
"No." Harima pushed his sunglasses up and they sparkled in the light of the morning sun, "I'll handle the cooking."
"You can cook?" Eri said, sounding rather shocked.
"Well...Well, only a little bit. A man has to fend for himself from time to time after all!" Harima said as he proudly hit his chest with his fist, "Actually, I know for a fact that my cooking must be at least infinitely better than yours and I'd rather not succumb to food poisoning, so..."
"If that's the case, let's go out and buy some groceries!"
Eri grasped onto Harima's hand and started pulling him along.
"Eh, right now?"
"Of course! We can think of what else to do along the way, can't we?"
"That's true, I suppose..." Harima said, stroking his beard.
"Then, let's go!"
Without any further complaints, Harima and Eri soon reached one of the many convenience stores in town.
Along the way, Harima had thought about exactly what he could make for dinner, but the delinquent found himself without an answer.
"Damn it! What am I going to do? At this rate, the Princess won't only find out I have no idea how to cook, but she'll also definitely kick me out of her house! Think, Kenji! There must be a way out of this!" Harima thought as he stood in front of the vegetable department. He pushed his sunglasses up his nose and tried to concentrate as much as possible for someone like him, but after emitting a dangerous aura and scaring off customers around him, he merely sighed and rubbed the side of his head.
"It's no good. I can't come up with anything."
"What's wrong, Hige?" Eri asked.
"Well..." Harima started as he looked away from her, "I can't say it. I can't tell her I have no idea what we should buy."
"Well?" Eri repeated after Harima remained silent for a moment.
"It's just that...Ehm..."
"Just what?"
"This girl is persistent!" Harima thought as he slightly backed away from Eri's soul-piercing stare, "It's just that...I...I wanted to hear what you'd like to have for dinner before deciding...I guess?"
"What I'd like to have for dinner?" Eri tilted her head to the right before putting a finger on her cheek and tilting her head the other way, "Well...I'm fine with just about anything, though..."
"That's unexpected."
"What is?"
"I expected you to be more picky than that, Princess."
"Wh-what! I'm being considerate here! You're the one that's cooking after all! That's all! It's not like I'm fine with just what you cook up or anything! I'm having high expectations here, alright? So you'd better not screw up!" Eri shouted at Harima as she pointed an accusing finger at him.
"I am so screwed!" Harima thought as he further backed away from her.
"I got it, I got it! I'll make something good!" Harima replied, holding both hands up in surrender.
After hearing that, Eri backed off a little and Harima straightened up, taking a good look at the vegetables behind Eri and all around him.
"I guess I have no choice then..." Harima said out loud, "I'll rely on my instinct!"
With that, he began to gather ingredients, ranging from different types of vegetables to some of the finest spices and finally the most tender meat he could spot.
Before long, their shopping basket was loaded with a variety of ingredients and Harima was satisfied with what he had selected.
"Alright, this should be fine." He said as he put a watermelon on top of the rest of the groceries.
"Honestly, I have no idea what you're planning to make, but from the ingredients alone I can tell it's something way above anything I could do..." Eri said as she looked at the groceries.
"Well, cooking comes from experience mostly, right? I'm sure that if you try it often enough you'll be able to make something delicious with ingredients like these too! Ahahaha!" Harima laughed, "What the hell am I doing?"
"Somehow, that sounds impossible to me." Eri replied with a smile on her face, "I'm probably just not cut out for cooking."
"That's fine." Harima said, "I'd much rather have Tenma-chan's cooking anyway."
"Ah, I just had an idea!" Eri suddenly exclaimed, "Wait here, Harima."
"Uh, alright?" The delinquent stopped walking and tilted his head sideways as Eri suddenly ran off.
"Sir, may I have a moment of your time." A man beside Harima called out to him.
"Ah, of course." Harima turned towards the store clerk, who wore an eyepatch in front of one eye and a monocle in front of the other.
"I see you have a watermelon there. May I suggest you consider this product of ours over here?" The clerk said, stretching one side of his well groomed moustache.
"Eh, what product exactly?" Harima asked.
"Right this way. Here, let me hold your basket for you for a moment." The clerk said.
"Ah, thanks." Harima said and handed the basket over.
"Right here, this is a natural sweetener that will make that watermelon taste even sweeter." The clerk said, directing Harima towards a certain sweetening product.
"Huh, really? That's pretty cool." Harima said, and contemplated, "Does the Princess like sweet things?"
"I'm sure she will." The clerk said, "Here's your basket again, Sir."
"Ah, thanks." Harima said as he took the basket back and stared at the sweetening product.
"Then, please consider it, Sir." The clerk said, making a small bow.
"Hey."
"Yes, sir?" The clerk replied.
"I get the feeling we've met somewhere before...and I don't do a lot of shopping around here, so..." Harima said as he turned towards the store clerk, only to find him nowhere to be found.
"What the?" Harima tilted his head and then looked around him, to see if the clerk was anywhere to be found.
"That's weird..." Harima stated as he didn't find the monocle wearing clerk anywhere near him.
"Well I'll guess take this then." He then concluded and picked up the sweetener.
Right then, Eri came running back, carrying two white packages with her, "Hey Hige!"
"Ah, Princess. What's that you got there?" Harima said, pointing at the white packages.
Eri raised a smile at Harima, "Popcorn! Let's watch some movies!"