A/N: Remember the Rakuzan School festival that Akashi was planning in Chapter 1 of Always by your side Red Emperor? It happens after the Winter Cup (between Chapter 16 and 17). Enjoy!
After an intensive two week preparation and much to the school body's excitement, the annual Rakuzan School Festival finally started with much fanfare. The first year Rakuzan student, Kuroko Setsuna was psyched just as well, it will be the last school festival she gets to attend in Japan after all. A few months later, the tall and lithe girl will have to leave for Chicago on a scholarship and she honestly wanted to spend as much time and create many memories with her close friends.
Her thoughts drift back to her beloved fiance, Akashi Seijuro. After many tribulations, they are finally officially together a few weeks back after the Winter Cup finals. Unfortunately they barely get to spend time together since Akashi was immediately thrust into his role as the student council president, busy tending to the festival preparations. The only time she get to see him was back in the Akashi residence where she is also staying, but she did not have the heart to disturb him since he always return late and exhausted.
Being his childhood friend, she was well-aware his schedule will always be tight, and by signing up to be his fiance, she is prepared to be often neglected. But being prepared for that, and whether her heart is agreeable are two different matters. To keep herself busy and from letting her thoughts wander, she had volunteered to take on more tasks for her class's exhibit, a butler's cafe, by helping paint sign boards to creating menu items to serve its customers. However, once the festival started, her class president, Miyuki kicked her out and ask her to enjoy the sights before returning to help out with the cafe in her shift.
With no other choice, the amethyst-haired girl proceed to wander around the exhibits alone, browsing the goods that each class had to offer. She passed by a ghost house then an empty classroom filled with Shogi club members, waiting for the next contestant to step in to challenge them. It was these random things that forced her thoughts back to Akashi again since she knew it will be fun to experience all these with him.
"Hey, Kuroko-san, do you have a moment?" A senior called out, stopping Setsuna in her depressing thoughts.
"Me? What is it?" Setsuna turned towards him politely with a smile on her face.
"Do you mind if you take a photo with me? Just one picture!" He pointed at his camera, clapping his hands together in a plead.
"W…What? A photo? You and me? What for?"
"Oh come on, don't be so humble. You are very popular among the guys! You're really pretty! Just one photo! I will make sure the photo turn out nicely."
"But I don't know you." Setsuna frowned, taking a step back but the guy was persistent.
"Heeeeeee, what would you need a photo with her for?" A tall brunette piped in, standing in front of Setsuna protectively, grinning haughtily down at the interloper. A tall blonde and a dark-skinned senior followed closely behind, literally creating a meat shield between Setsuna and the guy.
"What… I just want a couple photo with her." The guy stuttered, backing away from the taller and bigger seniors.
"A couple photo? Ah ah, no choice then." Mibuchi tapped a finger on his cheek pretending to be in thought," We will be magnanimous and volunteer our bodies to you. See? Now not only you get a couple photo, you get a triple. What a bargain!"
Setsuna laughed, watching the guy turned tail and run crying, after being forced to take the photo of the three seniors.
"Thanks for helping me, senpai dachi! But why are you guys here?" The girl asked after her laughter stopped, grinning at the three uncrowned kings, Hayama, Nebuya and Mibuchi.
"We were looking for you, Suna chan." Mibuchi winked at Setsuna, gently leading her towards the classrooms," Sei-chan requested for us to accompany you for the school festival. He couldn't step away from his student council duties at the moment."
"Wa, how does Akashi knows she will be in trouble?" Hayama clasped his hands behind his head, casually glancing at the small crowd they are attracting.
"Tsk, and that's why small boys like you won't understand. Suna chan is like a beautiful rose blooming in the wilderness. Those who witness an exotic flower can't help but want to pluck it for themselves, so it takes knights like us to protect a flower like you, right?" Mibuchi hugged her protectively as they walked along the corridor taking in the sights.
"Aaah… I won't go so far as to say I'm like a rose." Setsuna blushed, Mibuchi is like a big sister to her," But thank you so much for helping me earlier, Reo nee!"
"You are very welcome." Mibuchi smiled, patting the girl on her head.
"If we are knights, what does it make Akashi?" Nebuya asked, keeping his eyes peeled for yummy food booths.
"A prince? He does have a white horse after all." Hayama replied," And a prince is definitely always busy with his royal duties."
The noisy trio bantered on together with Setsuna, quickly dissipating her earlier thoughts. She was glad that she made friends with the seemingly intimidating trio. Strolling and bantering with them often reminds Setsuna of the days in Teiko when she hang out with the GoMs and Momoi. She made a note to take some photos and send it to her cousin, Tetsuya later.
After bidding goodbye to the uncrowned kings, Setsuna head back to her classroom for her shift. Her class voted for the typical western butler's café, but under Akashi's careful persuasion, a butler's cafe it still is, but with a 'traditional Japanese' twist.
"Kuroko, you are here! Good!" One of her classmates shoved her a pile of clothing," We have a special costume for you because you are so tall! Miyuki will help get you dressed."
After a good 30 minutes of helping her fix her costume, hair and makeup, Setsuna stepped out of the changing room while her classmates who helped her all took a step back, their eyes watery from their ultimate masterpiece. Setsuna was dressed in a deep purple hakama, with a pink kimono as a top. Her amethyst hair was swept up in a bun, adorned and clipped together ironically with a huge pink rose. Her lips were puckered in a crimson rouge, all dolled up that place emphasis on her vibrant big baby blue eyes.
Because this is a butlers' café and she have to serve customers, she was also made to put on a frilly white apron and a maid's hairband, and her female classmates immediately scrambled asking her to hold onto to a circular metal tray.
"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA KUROKO CHAN! YOU ARE SO CUTE!" The girls screamed then tackling her into a hug.
"Ne, ne, Kuroko. Can you try bowing and say, 'Welcome home, master.'?" One of them suggested.
Setsuna did as she was told, she bowed deeply with both her hands holding onto the tray and said," Okaeri nasai mase, goshujin-sama!"
"And smile!" Miyuki shouted gleefully. So Setsuna repeated the action with a smile, eliciting another round of thrilled screaming. Setsuna thought their behavior were a little over the top, but when she finally stepped back into the classroom cum café, all the customers as well as her remaining classmates all stopped whatever they were doing and just gaped openly at her.
"Kuroko chan! Can you please take a photo with me? Please!" One of the customers shouted, but her classmate immediately snapped out of the stupor, coming in to defend her," If you want to take a photo with our waiters, please spend at least 2,000 yen on food here and join the queue there for our free polaroid photo-taking!"
Immediately the 'café' went into another uproar, plenty of customers scrambling to order to hit the target. Setsuna's shift officially started then, scrambling around, entertaining and taking orders from her masters. It was a while later that the noisy trio seniors returned as promised and they were equally stunned by Setsuna's transformation. Naturally with Nebuya's humongous appetite, they more than exceed the 2,000 yen requirement, even allowing all three of them to each take a photo with Setsuna separately.
After bidding them goodbye, it was a short while when loud screaming could be heard outside on the corridor. When the classroom door slide open and Setsuna bowed, welcoming her master home, she was stunned to see it was Akashi who had finally made time to visit his own class.
"Se…Seijuro!" Setsuna exclaimed, surprised that her childhood friend could make it.
Akashi also stood there momentarily speechless, taking in the sight of Setsuna in a hakama. He suggested traditional clothes because the maid's uniform dress is typically short and did not want her to expose her legs to other men.
When the festival had started, he was stuck in the student council room, swarmed with endless waves of problems and complaints to attend to. Knowing that Setsuna will most probably wander around the school alone without him, he immediately text the three seniors to accompany her.
It relieved him when Mibuchi obediently reported back about what happened in the corridor earlier. Though at the same time, it annoyed him that the moment he was not with her, the bugs immediately start flocking around her. The final straw that broke the camel's back was when Hayama send a photo of him and Setsuna posing together with a V sign in a Polaroid. The emperor had slammed his fist on his mahogany desk in fury, shocking the rest of the members in the room. He took three solid seconds to regain control before turning round to sweetly manipulate the vice president to step up in place of him while he left to 'check out on his class'.
When he arrived in the classroom however, he was surprised at the long snaking queue, mostly boys, waiting their turn to enter the café. He bypassed the queue, nodded at his classmate who scrambled to allow him in, all the while ignoring the gasps and screams from his fan girls.
And so here he is, taking in the sight of Setsuna like a yearning man quenching his thirst in an oasis. He noted the mascara and black eyeliner only served to enhance the color of her eyes and her rose accessory had complemented her purple hair perfectly.
"The Hakama suits you, Suna." Akashi stated simply, not elaborating the whole chain of events that led him here. The girl had blushed much to his amusement, and she promptly tried to brush it off by showing him to his table.
She handed the menu to him with both hands, and took a step back, not wanting to intrude on his privacy. He grinned to himself, thinking how Setsuna had subconsciously mimic the actions of the servants back in the Akashi manor. He took some time in deliberation, and looked up at her as a signal. The girl obediently stepped back with a notepad and pen in hand, waiting patiently for his order.
He named a few things, making sure his order went above the stipulated amount for a photo. When Setsuna bowed to him again to give the order to the kitchen, he gripped her hand, asking her coldly," Have your master dismiss your presence?"
"But…" Setsuna wanted to indicate to him that she needs to at least stepped away a minute to place his order. The glare from his crimson eyes however put a grinding halt to her thoughts. When one of her classmates/waiters walked past, she handed the note to her with some instructions and remained a few steps away from him, keeping her eyes slightly lowered, waiting for further instructions.
It was rather humiliating for Suna to obey the emperor's demands without question; the current "Suna" is a rather petulant child after all. His earlier words however ignited a fiery spirit within her. He was role-playing as her master and she sure as hell could pull off the perfect butler/waitress. The one who falters first loses. Her pride now somehow on the line, she proceeded to bow deeply, apologizing to her fiance-now-master," My deepest apologies, goshujin-sama. I have relayed your order to another, is there anything else that you would require of me?"
The whole café was silent, keenly watching them going back and forth. Even though this is a butler's cafe, this fine-looking couple's role play is of another level. Akashi was naturally effortless in his role as a master, just sitting there, without uttering a word already exude his authoritative and stern aura. Setsuna obviously put on her best effort to appear as the dignified and capable butler, answering his questions perfectly all the while pouring his Darjeeling tea professionally, without a single drop escaping from its small confines.
Akashi had just placed his teacup down when Miyuki, the class president walked towards him, intending to ask him to release Setsuna so she could serve the rest of the many customers who all came to look for her.
Instead of sending a deadly glare to the foolish brave one, he gave a smile that did not reach his eyes," Actually, Suna was just telling me her shift is almost over and I think she should get a well-deserved break. I trust that our class is more than capable of handling on their own, and I'm sure Miyuki-san will ensure our victory to be the most profitable booth in the festival."
What Miyuki hear is his confidence in her abilities. What the rest of the class hear was he trust them. And the person who knew him best, Setsuna hear it as a threat. Akashi stood up, wiping his mouth elegantly with the paper napkin offered, gripping Setsuna's hand leading her to the photo booth.
The long queue parted like water to Moses, and he smiled gratefully to them for allowing them to go ahead first.
As they stood together facing the polaroid camera, Setsuna hissed at him," I still have 15 minutes more to go, Sei kun!"
He replied monotonously," As if I will allow you to continue to serve any more guys, other than me. You have more than did your part and they should release you from duty. They need to know who you belong to."
While the classmate started counting down from 1 to 3 for the photo-taking, Akashi pulled her flushed to his body with his hand on her shoulder, both facing the camera. To Setsuna's utmost disbelief, at the count of 3, he suddenly tilted her chin up, kissing her square on the lips, just as she heard the shutter click on the camera. The classroom immediately erupt into an uproar, mostly yells of despair, because it was not confirmed till this point that they were an item.
Setsuna was dumb folded by this unprecedented public display of affection, her body frozen solid on the spot. Her azure blue eyes stared widely at Akashi, as he glided his thumb slowly over his bottom lip, scrutinizing the lipstick that had slightly smudged on him. Akashi took the polaroid from the photographer with mock gratitude while he made a beeline to the exit, dragging along the still shell-shocked Setsuna.
It was not until they arrived at the rooftop that Akashi finally released her.
"Geez, Sei kun! What was that for?" Setsuna pouted, glaring at him. She immediately took out a handkerchief from her pocket, handing it to Akashi.
After removing the remaining traces of lipstick on him, he asked calmly," Were you lonely?"
Not exactly surprised how quickly her childhood friend can pick up on her mood, Setsuna answered with a gentle smile on her face," It's alright. Mibuchi and the rest kept me company. Though I would want to visit some booths with you, just like old times."
"Which booth would you like to go? I have already told the council to leave me alone till the end of the festival."
"Really? We can spend the whole day together?" Setsuna beamed, happy with the unexpected surprise," Then I want to go to the..."
"Shogi club booth!" Setsuna shouted just as Akashi said,"Ghost house."
Both of them smiled, knowing they had each chose what the other would want to see, so Akashi said," Let's check out the ghost house first then. I suspect we will be at the shogi club booth for a while. "
"Beating all the Shogi club members will win a half year supply of Maiubo!" Setsuna clapped her hands together in excitement," You think they allow delivery to Akita?"
"I'm sure we can work things out with the Shogi club president." Akashi answered easily, intertwining their hands together, leading the girl back to the festival," Our age old tradition, do you still want to bet who will falter in the ghost house?"
"Geez, I'm sure I will lose even though I'm confident I won't even flinch."
"How about if it's a draw, it will still be considered my loss?"
Setsuna squint at the red emperor," Somehow... This makes me even more suspicious."
"Well, do you want to or not?" Akashi deadpanned.
.
.
And despite losing so many times, Setsuna never learn when to give up. It really was not a surprise when they left the ghost house with a dazed Setsuna and a smirking emperor like he just ate a canary.
A/N: Hmmm, feel like I could do better with the ending but risk getting too long-winded. In case it wasn't clear, Setsuna has a love for horror stuff and has a iron clad heart when it comes to scares. If you still like to see more of Akashi and Setsuna, please follow or review! Or even better, read Always by your side, Red Emperor. ^o^
