Chapter 1: New Soldiers
Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis and all its attributs are not mine, they belong to their rightful owner.
In this world, there were Empires ruling over the land. One of the big empires is Seishun Empire, which was led by Emperor Tezuka Kuniharu and Empress Tezuka Ayana. The emperor and empress were loved by their people and the empire prospers during their reign.
They also have a crown prince, Tezuka Kunimitsu, who was said to be 'the most stoic and handsome man in the land'. Many women threw themselves on his feet to get his attention, but none of this worked. The prince truly lived as his title suggested. The reason was Tezuka never had any inkling to romance, and his parents gravely worried about this predicament. For as the crown prince and future emperor, Tezuka has to have a wife. And so, they came up with the only way out.
Arranged marriage.
True, there were many beautiful women in their kingdom, but no one could truly live up to their expectations as the future empress. There was one girl, actually, who occupy their mind as she has all the qualifications needed. The only problem is that this girl is a tomboy, although her gracefulness never ceases to amaze them since she could act very lady-like while doing un-lady-like things.
Now, the only thing needed is consent from both sides, which was harder than expected. Of course, their son accepted this without any outward struggle because of his perfectionist side as the future emperor. However, the girl was harder to persuade because unlike other women, she won't fall to a man because of his looks only. And so, they granted her wish and went with her plan to know more about her future husband.
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"Recruits! Fifty laps around the camp!"
"Yes, Sir!"
This really is a fine morning in Seishun Empire. And the new recruits for the empire's army are brimming with excitement. The reason was their promotion that afternoon. After three grueling months of endless exercises, they will finally be acknowledge as real soldiers and get to meet the royal family. And this is the reason why the army never let any women to participate. Not because their anti-feminist, but because no women will be able to meet face-to-face with the prince without squealing. Well, no one but Fuji, of course.
After they finished their laps, the soon-to-be soldiers took a break and leisurely chatting with each other. On the mist of these men, there was a group of seven who sat together under a tree. The group, which consisted of Fuji Shuusuke, Oishi Suichiro, Kikumaru Eiji, Kawamura Takashi, Kaidoh Kaoru, Momoshiro Takeshi, and Echizen Ryoma, is the top group among their peers.
The top group of each year gets the chance to guard the crown prince as his personal soldiers for one year, before they were replaced by their successors and moved to the high ranking army. That was the rule set by Seishun Empire's first emperor. No one know exactly why this rule was set, but it actually helped the emperors before so they have no complaints. This rule also helped the present emperor a lot.
"Fujiko, aren't you excited about this afternoon?" asked a cat-like boy by the name Kikumaru Eiji.
"Of course I am. Right, minna?" responded a soft looking person who goes by the name Fuji Shuusuke.
"Of course, Fuji-senpai. I can't wait to see the infamous royal family," answered a boy with broom-like hair, Momoshiro Takeshi.
"Fsshuu…. You're too loud, baka," hissed a bandana-wearing boy, Kaidoh Kaoru.
"What did you say, mamushi?"
"Baka"
"Do you want a fight?"
"Now, now, you two. Don't fight during break time. You'll disrupt the other." The mother-hen of the group, Oishi Shuichiro, tried to separate the two.
"Humph."
"Mada mada dane," said a short boy, Echizen Ryoma.
"Nya. Ochibi, why did you say that?" asked Eiji.
"No particular reason."
"Ano, guys, they want us to prepare ourselves for the ceremony," said a timid looking person named Kawamura Takashi. "Ooh…. BURNING! LET"S GET GOING!"
"Oi, Echizen, why did you give him a sword?" Momoshiro asked the smallest member, which was replied by a shrug as he got up and went to their tent.
"Ahahaha…. Minna, let's just prepare ourselves, shall we? We have to look the best so not to shame this year's soldier including us," said Fuji.
"Alright, Fuji/Fujiko/Fuji-senpai."
As the other ran up towards their tent, Oishi walked leisurely with Fuji while the later watching their friends with amusement and closed eyes.
"Fuji," called Oishi to his companion, "What will you do later?"
"Hmm? What are you talking about, Oishi?" Fuji ask back even though he already knows what his friend wanted to say.
"You know what I mean, Fuji."
"Hahh…." a rare sigh escape Fuji's lips. "Can we just not talk about it?"
Oishi analyzed his only female friend before agreeing. "Alright. I hope you won't be disappointed, Fuji Shuusuka."
"Thanks, I won't. But please refrain from using that name."
As they walked and laughed together, nothing seemed to be wrong with them. But if someone were listening to their conversation, they will surely be confused. Why did Oishi called Fuji, Fuji 'Shuusuka'?
The reason was simple, actually. In reality, Fuji Shuusuke is biologically female and his-err-her real name is Fuji Shuusuka. She decided to enter the army, disguised as a male, because she wanted to reject the offer of marrying the crown prince and becoming the next empress of Seishun Empire. She hoped that after seeing her tomboy side, the prince will also reject the arranged marriage. And so, she cut her long silky hair, said goodbye to her family, and entered the army with her childhood and best friend, Oishi Shuichiro.
Currently, no one beside the two of them plus the emperor and empress know her secret, and she like to keep it that way. She just hoped her plan would work. It's not like she hate the position of an empress. She knew the responsibilities of those royalties and actually learned on how to deal with them. But when it comes to an arranged marriage, she would have to refuse. She was still a girl, after all, and she wants to marry someone she truly loves.
Of course, she didn't naively believe her plan would succeed without any hinder. She was not a genius for nothing. She knew that there was a possibility of her falling in love with the prince, and vice versa. But she would bet her luck on this plan because it has the highest succeed rate and lowest risk, for her and for her family. Besides, this plan seemed fun and even though she has a sadistic side to her, she wishes only the best for people who deserve it. And the crown prince, Tezuka Kunimitsu, clearly deserve a woman worthy of his love and affection.
But now is not the time to dwell on such things. She has more important matter to attend to, like how to avoid the watchful eyes of the future advisor, Inui Sadaharu. It was said that he has information for everything. She just hopes he didn't find anything strange with the record she submitted.
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"Hmm…. This year's personal army for you is quite an interesting bunch," said the future advisor, Inui Sadaharu, to the crown prince who was watching the preparation for the promotion of the year's soldiers through his window.
"Hn."
"There's a 90% chance that you will find what you were looking for all this time," said Inui again, undeterred of the lack of respond.
'Something I've been looking for all this time?'
The duo continued to watch the commotion below in a comfortable silence.
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"Presenting, his royal highness, Emperor Tezuka Kuniharu, and her royal highness, Empress Tezuka Ayana."
Hearing the announcer, everyone in the room stood up and bowed down towards their leaders. After a few moments of silence, the emperor's deep voice echoed through the room.
"You can raise your head. Once again, we are gathered in this hall to mark another beginning in our empire's history. As many of our predecessors had done, we shall fulfill our promises and swore loyalty towards our empire and its people. I thanked all of you who had bravely stood by our empire in times of need, to those who still fight for our peace, and to those who will join our forces as the new soldiers. As the emperor, I shall witness your bravery and loyalty, and give you what you deserve. "
As the speech went on and the ceremony commenced, Tezuka Kunimitsu watched his new personal soldiers, who were congratulated by his father, with interest. They don't seem to be older from him, but he knows better than to judge a book by its cover; especially the brunette with closed eyes.
"Each of them has their own unique talents it seems," said Inui from his side. The spectacled man watched the ceremony with interest while leaning sideways to the railing.
"Hn. This year will be interesting," said the young prince before he turned away to make his entrance beside his parents.
Inui eyed his friend until he was gone from sight before redirecting his sight to the emperor.
"And now, my children, you shall rise and stand tall" said the emperor, "because from this day onwards, you will be known as our new soldiers."
Hai, Phantom Sky here~
This is actually my first posted fanfic, so forgive me if there are any mistakes on grammar and other things. And the characters may seem a little bit OOC because I'm a novice in the writing world. Also, my primary language isn't English.
This story is an AU one, with female Fuji and the background is a world with empires but no tennis
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story.
Ciao~
PS: Sorry about the format, for those who had viewed it before.