Story: Pretence

Pairing: RyunosukeXMako with hints of TakeruXKotoha

Hey, this is yite12! I'm back with another fic! Please R&R and Enjoy!

Silence… The room is just full of tension that it made Chiaki slightly uncomfortable. It really starts to affect his concentration on the game he is playing on his PSP. The young retainer couldn't stand it anymore, he glanced at Mako and Ryunosuke. They were sipping their tea calmly. Their movements were too robotic and lifeless. The two of them had broken up and things have not been the same ever since.

~Flashback~
"Ryunosuke! Hai… here is your bento!" Mako proudly presented one of the two home-made lunch boxes to her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend made a face when he opened the bento to reveal burnt tonkatsu and the strong odor of over-cooked rice. Nevertheless he stated "Itadakimasu!" Ryunosuke consumed the meal as quickly as he can. Unfortunately, this caused him to choke.

Mako who was pouring green tea from the thermo, noticed her boyfriend's choking. "Are you all right?" She quickly handed him a cup.

Ryunosuke drank the steaming tea and spat out "HOT!" He quickly took in a breath and muttered silently "Terrible…."

Unfortunately, Mako heard it, "Terrible?" she asked with a frightened voice.

"No! There's no such thing!" Ryunosuke quickly denied it and gave a reassuring smile before eating his lunch.

Mako ate her own lunch, thinking of her own cooking. Sure, she knows that her cooking is very bad, in Chiaki's standards. Every time she cooks at the mansion, Chiaki and Takeru would take refuge at Genta's sushi cart. Only Kotoha and Ryunosuke would eat her cooking. Mako feels lucky to have a boyfriend like Ryunosuke. Sure he can be a drama queen but when he feels homesick or depressed, she couldn't help but save him. He was willing to eat her cooking though he finds it appalling.

That's one of the things she loves about her boyfriend. She happily ate her bento, determined to improve.

The ShinkenBlue felt like it was an eternity for the worst flavors combined, travelling down his throat. But in reality, it took 3 minutes. And he managed to finish every single thing from the bento. His Sodophone was ringing and he received the call, "Tono! Hai! We'll be back!"

Mako paused from her meal, feeling a pang of disappointment. The ONLY thing she can't stand about her boyfriend is his devotion as a vassal to Takeru. It was like this every time she thought that she can finally spent some quality time with her boyfriend, Takeru has some errands for him to do since he has better capabilities than Chiaki or Kotoha.

"Mako… We have to head back immediately! Tono has some compulsory training for us to do!" Ryunosuke stated.

"Ryunosuke… We just got here… we've been out for like half an hour!" Mako pouted.

Her boyfriend made a stern face, "Mako… Tono says this training is very important! Or else… we can face some punishments if we don't show up!"

She looked sadly at her lunch box, "I don't mind being punished…. If I get the time to spend with you…"

"No! We as vassals must follow Takeru's orders!"

"Tono…Tono…Tono! Everything is about Tono!" Mako complained.

"Of course! As a vassal, protecting Tono is the first priority!" Ryunosuke argued.

Mako felt the statement pierced through her heart to million pieces.' I'm not more important than Takeru?' Mako thought sadly, "So I don't come first, even though I'm your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, Takeru is our Tono. Of course his safety comes first!" Ryunosuke stated it as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Mako stood up, glaring at him, "If Tono is more important than me… let's break up!"

The sudden statement startled Ryunosuke, "What?"

"If you love me, would you skip the training with me? To spend time together?" Mako was on the verge of crying as she feared his answer.

Ryunosuke closed his eyes, remembering his father's words clearly 'You must protect the Shiba Head! Put him as your absolute priority!" He answered, "No…."

"It'll never work out between the two of us…" Mako stated sadly as she started to make her way to the mansion with Ryunosuke watching her back, regretting his words.
~End of Flashback~

The both of them sat opposite each other, sipping tea calmly. Though their faces were blank, they were aching to return to their bedroom and cried. The break-up was two weeks ago and it was clear they have not got over each other.

"They're too stubborn!" Genta whispered with Chiaki nodding.

Takeru came back from sword-fencing practice. Ryunosuke quickly attended to his lord to see if he could provide any assistance, Mako sent them a deathful glare. If looks could kill, they would be so dead.

From the corridor, Kotoha came in, carrying two big boxes that looked too heavy for a fragile-looking person like her, to carry. Immediately, Takeru rose and was instantly by her side, helping her. "Ah~ Tono-sama!"

"I'll take this…." Takeru took the bigger box. Ryunosuke stood up, "Tono! Let me!"

"It's fine!" Takeru replied as he helped Kotoha carried the boxes to the main hall.

"Mako-chan! This is a delivery for you, from Hawaii" Kotoha presented the box. The ShinkenPink accepted with a smile, "Arigatou ne, Kotoha!"

Kotoha is the only person that Mako is most comfortable with her company. She watches out for her like a little sister. Chiaki and Genta would always drop hints that Ryunosuke want to get back together, which she finds very absolutely annoying! As for Takeru, she tends to ignore him as she is reminded of Ryunosuke's devotion as a vassal, which is the reason for their break-up.

Chiaki noticed Ryunosuke's pouts (when he thinks no one is looking) when Mako smiles or talks with Kotoha. He also noticed how Takeru act very unTono-ish around Kotoha. A plan begins to form in his head as his mischievous smile comes on his face.

"Kotoha… What is this?" Takeru indicated at the box he was carrying.

"Ah!" Kotoha turned to Takeru, "This is a box of vegetables from the Sakakibara!"

"Hiro? How is he?" Mako asked.

Kotoha took out a letter, "Tono-sama! The letter is here, I'll take this to the kitchen!" The young vassal took the box and left.

Takeru was staring at the space where Kotoha was, "Tono?" Ryunosuke asked.

This snapped the lord out of it, "Oh, right!" Takeru returned to his seat as the Shiba Head and began reading the letter. As Kotoha returned, Chiaki saw a trance of a ghost smile on Takeru when he sees Kotoha.

"Gen-chan! I have an idea that might work!" Chiaki whispered.