This is the story of Beauty and the Beast but not quite as you remember it. Our story begins in a small town in rural Japan. Not many cars can be seen for miles and few houses line the roads. A rather unpopulated area to say the least. One of the only families that live here are the Orabashi's.
Kaoru Orabashi is known as the town's bookworm. He is rather bookish and nerdy but kind to everyone he meets. He is almost always in the town library. Everyone knows him and many find him strange and avoid him. A rather normal life indeed.
Meanwhile, miles away, lives an entirely different being. A prince. However, he is no ordinary storybook prince. His family is cursed. Years ago, the royal family, the Hitachiins, were put under a spell by the Nekozowa family. Every 100 years, a prince is born. This prince is doomed to be a hideous beast unless he can find someone that will love him unconditionally.
However, the love must be sincere and he must love them back. Inside his castle is a blue rose. When the final petal falls, if the prince has not found his true love, he is doomed to be a beast for all time. Hikaru Hitachiin is this cursed prince.
These two very different souls live without being aware of the other's existence.
Now, let our story begin.