Chapter 2- Oujirou meets Misaki
" Who…who's there? Misaki said nervously, standing up quickly. She forgot she was dangling her feet in the fountain and as a result of standing, lost her balance and began falling backwards. A strong pair of hands braced her before she hit the ground. She sighed, closing her eyes. Then she snapped out of her reverie and looked up towards the person who caught her. She blushed.
" Uh thank you, you know for catching me," she said looking at the ground, her blush deepening. He laughed at her shyness.
" Your most welcome," he said, helping her out of the fountain. He smiled at her and she blushed even more.
" My name is Oujirou," he said extending his hand to her, still smiling. She looked at it and blushed even more before placing her slender hand in his and shaking it firmly.
" My name is Mi… Misaki Suzuhara," she said shyly as she kept blushing and turning away. He held her hand longer than was necessary before letting go.
" Its nice to meet you Misaki. That's a nice name, suits you," he said as he turned and sat down on the ledge and dangled his feet in the water, as Misaki was doing before.
" You can sit down to, I wont bite, I promise," he said as he looked up at the statue. She stared at him wondering who he could be. She still hadn't sat down when his question startled her out of her reverie.
" You still didn't answer my question, miss Misaki," he said looking at her curiously, as he realized she had been lost in her own world.
" Oh yes, ugh what was it again?" she asked scratching her head in confusion. He laughed at her shy childishness. She blushed and promptly dropped her hand.
" You know you're very cute when you blush," he said smiling causing her to blush more. She just smiled sheepishly, not used to that sort of attention from boys. She sat down beside him, and swayed her feet in the cool water.
" My mother had told me that the prince of Kobe palace was 16 years old, so I wouldn't expect him to befriend a twelve year old girl," she said smiling, although he noticed it didn't reach her eyes. He sighed.
" Misaki, I have never had any real friends. Will you please do me the honor of being me first friend?" Oujirou asked, uncertainty in his eyes. She looked at him and smiled.
" Sure!" she said happily. He smiled.
" Misaki Suzuhara! If you don't come here right now, your mother is going to kill me! Do you really want that on your conscience?" a voice called out startling the two.
" OH its Hikaru. I better go," she said as she turned to leave.
" Who's Hikaru?" Oujirou asked.
" She's my guardian and my dearest friend, she's quite lovely. You'll have to meet her," Misaki said smiling as she turned towards her companion and then proceeded to blush at her openness. Oujirou stood up and walked towards her, and she unconsciously took a step back.
" Well lets go then, I would love to meet her," he said as he looped Misaki's arm with his and lead her out of the hedge. She could only gape at him as she let herself be pulled along.
" Wizard, I would like you to go and get Oujirou for me please. He needs to greet our guests," queen Sayaka said smiling to the guardian.
" I'm on the case he said," mock bowing to her as she laughed and swatted his arm.
The queen turned back to the room of guests and smiled. They were all seated around a circular table. She took her place at the head.
" First of all, I would just like to welcome you all here, and to pass on my condolences to you Shuuko and Shouko. I'm not sure if you are all aware but the king passed away not to long ago, and Shuuko as taken over as queen. And quite a young queen I might add," she said hoping to lift her spirits. Shuuko smiled and clutched at her sisters hand.
" I will understand if you wish to just watch the proceedings of these meetings, so you can become more aware of procedures, otherwise your opinion would be greatly appreciated," Sayaka said once again smiling at the young and nervous queen.
" Queen Sayaka, I have also my son attending these meetings, if that's is alright with you," king Shaoran interrupted. The queen smiled.
" Can we please drop these formalities, we all know our positions," Sayaka asked. Everyone nodded his or her head in agreement, laughing.
" Ok great! Well dinner will be served at 7 sharp, so I would imagine you are all wishing to get freshened up and try and track down our tear away children so we shall continue with the meeting tomorrow. I shall see you all at tea," Sayaka said standing up dismissing everyone. Oujirou entered the room, followed by wizard, Hikaru and a timid Misaki, clutching at her guardians hands.
" Hikaru I hate crowds," she whispered. Hikaru laughed.
" Oh Misaki, its not really a crowd. You'll be fine," Hikaru said trying to soothe her fears.
" Oh Oujirou, you came. Everyone I would like you to meet my son, Oujirou," she said placing an arm around his shoulders as he stood before her. He smiled at them all, but looked at Misaki and winked. She blushed.
" It's nice to meet you all," he said in a soft voice. They all greeted him and talked before once again getting up and leaving the room. Shaoran however, stayed behind.
" Oujirou, Ichiro, we have some news to tell you," Sayaka began. The princes looked at each other, before Shaoran continued.
" The queen and I have decided that once these meetings have been finalized, we plan to get married." Ichiro nodded his head.
" Yeah I thought there was something going on father. You never seem so eager to attend meetings like these any other time," Ichiro said smiling. Oujirou just hugged his mother. He had no idea what to say.
" Are you ok with this Oujirou?" she whispered into his ear. He nodded.
" If he makes you happy than I am happy," he said smiling up at her.
" Well we are going to freshen up. Do you wish to make the official announcement tonight at dinner?" Shaoran asked. Sayaka smiled.
" That would be splendid." The two men left the room.
" So did you meet any of the princes and princesses?" Sayaka asked her son. He smiled.
" Oh yes, only one though. But that was all I needed. Her name is Misaki," he said looking up at his mother. She smiled down at him.
" Young princess of Kansai. Her poor mother has just been thrust into the role of Queen," her mother stated nonchalantly. He just smiled.
Finally the time for dinner had arrived. The dinning hall had been decked out in ribbons and decorations. In the center of the room sat a large and very long table. Each dinner setting had been labeled so everyone had a seat. The king and queens, princes and princesses sat at the end, followed by the lords and ladies. The guardians were after those, with the remaining youngsters at the other end.
Sai sat next to Kaede. Across from Sai and Kaede sat Tamayo and Kotarou. Beside Kotarou sat wizard, Ogatachi, and Shirahime, across from them sat Hikaru, Suzuka, and blanche. Next to blanche sat Keito, Sonya and Shouko. Next to Shirahime sat Hatoko, next to her mother, Elizabeth, than Shuji. Next to Shuji sat Oujirou, followed by Ichiro and then Shaoran. Across from them sat Misaki, followed by Shuuko then Sayaka.
The table had been laid out with more food than you can imagine. Well hello it's a feast of course it is. There was roast chicken, surrounded by roast potatoes and pumpkin. There was also roast pork, roast beef and ham set out the same way as the chicken. There were bowls of cooked peas and beans, corn on the cobs and an assortment of salads. Bowls of mashed potatoes and pumpkin also adorned the table as well as several baskets of bread rolls. (AN:I don't know any Japanese dishes so please forgive me.)
So the group dug in and loaded up their plates, while they chatted about almost everything they could think of.
" Ohhh kotarou-chan look he must be the prince of Kobe," Tamayo said grabbing his head and swiveling around to look towards Oujirou.
" So what Tamayo?" Kotarou asked.
" Well he and Misakichi seem to be getting on really well, and look she's blushing," Tamayo said giggling. Kotarou sighed.
" Tamayo, Misaki always blushes when she talks to a boy," he said, focusing his attention back to his food. Tamayo pulled him into a headlock.
" So now you are studying her hey?" Tamayo asked skeptically.
" Ugh Tamayo let me go!!" he yelled, and the whole table turned to see the commotion.
" What are they doing?" Oujirou asked. Misaki sighed.
" This happens all the time," she said turning away from the scene.
" Really? She must be strong," he said as he looked at Misaki.
" OH well yes, she does like martial arts but she's never been properly trained. Tamayo just watches the world wrestling, and copies it. Kotarou ends up being her sparring partner. He had to take up karate so he could fend her off, but as you can see it didn't work," she said smiling. Oujirou laughed.
" I hope you aren't going to do that to me," he said winking at her. She blushed.
" OH… no... No… I don't know how to fight," she said smiling shyly. Eventually Tamayo let him go and everyone continued eating and talking. Kotarou looked at Oujirou, who was smiling at him. He gave him a small smile back and turned to his plate.
" You don't think he would hurt her, do you Tamayo?" he asked her quietly. Tamayo just looked at him.
" Prince Oujirou is not the kind of boy to hurt any girl," Sai said in her cool voice, not looking up. Tamayo looked at her.
" How do you know that?" she asked skeptically.
" He hasn't had a chance to make many friends, according to his mother. So I don't think he would jeopardize any chance of a friendship with Misaki, even if it lead to something more. He would cherish any form of friendship he would be blessed with," Kaede said in her happy voice smiling at the group as she turned and looked at the prince.
" Oh," was all Tamayo could say.
At the other end of the table, Sayaka was asking the same question as Oujirou had.
" So Shuuko do they fight like that all the time?" Shuuko looked up and laughed.
" Yes they do. We've come accustomed to seeing their little sparring matches. Misaki usually has to break them up though," she said as she looked at her daughter and smiled. Eventually dinner had been finished and the food dishes taken away by servants. Drinks were served. So Shaoran stood up clinking his glass.
" Excuse me everyone, if I could have your attention. Sayaka and I have some news we would like to share," he said as he pulled the queen to her feet. When he felt he had all their attention he went on.
" After these meetings have been dealt with, Sayaka and I plan to wed. We hope that you will all stay around to help us celebrate," he finished as he held the woman's hand. She was blushing furiously. Everyone clapped and proceeded to leave their seats to congratulate the pair. Oujirou smiled at Misaki.
" Now I will have a father and a brother," he said as he looked at Ichiro. She smiled at him although he noticed it didn't reach her eyes.
" Congratulations."
" You don't seem all that happy Misaki," he said looking at her seriously.
" I'm sorry Oujirou. I am happy for you really, but I just wish I had a father too," she said sadly. Both Shuuko and Shouko heard her sadness, and they looked at each other, a frown marring each if their faces.
Wow I'm finished….. well I hope you guys liked that chapter… let me know what ya think ok
Cheers angel
