Hey! Yume-chan here.
Yup, that's right, I'm B-chan's friend, Yume, the other amazing author writing this amazing fanfiction. We're working hard together, however, I must warn you:
We have different writing styles, so don't freak when our word choice, etc. are VERY different
We're slow at updating. If you're lucky, you might get a chapter once a week. But don't count on it.
We've planned out BASICALLY what direction we want the story to head in, but nothing's definite besides Tohru x Kyo. Expect plot twists.
I write long author's notes. For anyone who's read my other stories should know that by now. I write everything and anything up here. In case you're interested.
Anywho, Wish Us Luck and enjoy the story!!
Love always,
Yume-chan
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Tohru, ever polite, walked quickly and gracefully to her father's traditional study. Her long black gown clashed painfully with her peaceful face and fair complexion, and her black heels seemed out of place on such a delicate young woman- probably in her early twenties. The heels clicked with each persistent step that she made, and her dress ruffled impatiently with her nervousness.
Tohru had defied her father last night. She had openly opposed his decision. That sort of thing was just unheard of.
Akito was known as being cruel, ruthless, and uncaring. People wondered how such an innocent young girl was born to Akito. And yet, the people of the kingdom were extremely grateful to Princess Tohru. She acted as a sort of hope, a light, in midst the blackness of Akito's reign.
Yes, that's right. Everything in the traditional Japanese house/palace was black. The clothing, the curtains, the furniture, even the walls. Akito seemed to find fun in sucking the happiness out of the people around him. Once, Tohru had made the mistake of asking him why everything in the palace is black.
"Because I wanted to remind you, my beloved hime-sama (1), and everyone else in this god-forsaken dump how truly worthless your lives are. You're all hated, you know that? You're not needed. I live in a dark, black world. So you must too. It would do you great good not to forget that."
And Tohru never did. After that, she never questioned her father's motives, obeying his commands without question. Until, that is, last night. Tohru was scared of how her father would lash out at her. He was not to be defied, and those who did defy him, suffered gravely.
When Tohru reached her father's study, which was marked by a black traditional sliding door, Akito's attendant Shigure smiled animatedly at her and knocked slowly on Akito's door.
"Yo, Akito-sama, hime is here to see you."
"Yes, thank you Shigure, let her in. I asked her to visit me earlier." Akito's intimidating voice came out.
Sometimes Tohru swore that Akito's voice was so intimidating, so scarily powerful, that it became nearly impossible to tell whether he had a man or a woman's voice. Akito's funny that way.
As Shigure pulled back the sliding door, Tohru tugged of her heels and stepped onto the tatami mat of her father's study.
Akito was sitting on a mat on the floor, his loose yukata spread around him artistically. There was a pile of scrolls on the floor next to him, which he seemed to be neglecting. She never knew her father to do work. He made other people do it. He just took all the credit. He was sick most of the time anyways.
Kazuma, the palace doctor spent his days with Akito, along with Shigure, to whom Akito seemed to have taken a liking.
"Come here, my beloved hime-sama." Oh darn, Tohru thought, (A/N: It's really annoying writing polite characters. Who says "Oh darn"?!?!) hime-sama is the title Akito gives her when he's in a really bad mood.
"Hai, Otou-sama."
"Now, hime-sama, I understand that you do not wish to marry this prince."
"I considered it briefly yesterday, Otou-sama." Tohru was careful to keep her eyes plastered to the ground as she said this.
"But you understand that you must, dearest hime-sama, for the sake of my well-being?" Personally, Tohru could see no benefits in marrying her off to some random prince. Wait a second. She was his tool. He was using her to gain power, expand his nation, get more money. She would have sworn if she had not promised herself to always be polite.
"Hai, Otou-sama."
"Excellent. The prince and a small ensemble of people will be joining is for dinner tonight as well as the rest of the weekend."
"That sounds wonderful, Otou-sama."
"Ee, indeed. Let us look forward."
That wasn't nearly as bad as Tohru had thought it would be, but she was positive that her father had some, interesting ideas on how to make her suffer during the process of being engaged to some random prince.
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DinnerThat evening, Uo-chan and Hana-chan dressed Tohru in her finest black gown. It was very stunning, and made her look quite beautiful, yes, but black was never Tohru's style. Her personality was much too bright.
Only once had Tohru worn a colorful dress while visiting her cousin Rin for a weekend. She was practically radiating in it. She never saw that dress again.
Hana-chan and Uo-chan left Tohru at the entrance of the dining hall. When she entered, she was greeted by a loud, tall man with long silver hair.
"Good Evening, young maiden! You must be the beautiful princess my fine young brother is to be married to! Please, come join us in this activity one might call a very tasty looking meal!" Tohru stared up in surprise at the man.
No one had ever addressed her that way. She didn't think that she had ever seen such enthusiasm in her entire life.
"Ah…ah." The man led her to a seat to the left of the head of the table. On her left, sat a younger looking version of the man, with shorter hair. He smiled politely and introduced himself.
"I'm Yuki, of the Snow Kingdom (A/n: get it? Yuki snow, Ayame's color is white, and Hatori is always talking about the snow thing! XD). It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Tohru, of the Souma Kingdom. The pleasure is all mine." She curtsied, and he bowed from his seat at the low table in response, smiling slightly.
"Please excuse my brother, Ayame, although he's king, he can get quite boisterous," Yuki whispered to Tohru when Ayame had turned the dark haired man who wasn't smiling and was sitting across from her, doing what seemed to be looking disapprovingly upon the King.
"And that's Hatori. My brother can get quite reckless when it comes to making decisions, so his old friend Hatori helps him out. Ayame-nii-chan is a handful, and Hatori is the only one he will ever listen to." Tohru nodded and looked to the other end of the table, where her father was sitting.
Akito looked a bit like he had just eaten something really sour. Tohru could understand what her father was going through. They weren't used to someone like Ayame.
But she also knew that her father would bear it, though. Because accepting Yuki as Tohru's future husband would mean many benefits for the Souma Kingdom, or, more importantly, Akito.
Therefore, the meal commenced. Ayame and Yuki shared stories of their kingdom, while Hatori made snide comments. Tohru listened politely and made comments on her life as well when she felt it was necessary.
Tohru felt very awkward. The Snow country seemed so sunny to her, compared to the life that she had been living. She felt uncomfortable talking about herself, because she had no interesting stories about foreign affairs or celebrity visits. Everyday that she lived was the same: wake up, eat, study, practice etiquette, eat, deal with affairs her father ignored. Every day, for as long as she can remember.
But at the same time, the stories sparked hope in Tohru. Marrying Yuki would mean that she'd be able to start over again, and she'd be able to be free from her father, freed of the curse of the Souma family.
"Tohru." Tohru snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of her father's voice.
"Tohru. Show the price and the king to their rooms, then meet with Kazuma. I want to make sure that you don't pass any diseases on to your future husband."
"Yes, Otou-sama." What Akito really wanted was for the doctor Kazuma to make sure none of Tohru's bruises were still showing. Akito had gotten quite angry with Tohru a few days ago.
Well, rising from her seat in the hand of Yuki, Tohru decided that she really didn't mind. She had heard much of Kazuma's adopted son, Kyo. He was currently staying at the castle for the first time, and being his age, Tohru wanted to meet him.
Maybe Kyo would be able to tell her more of what the outside world is like. Who knows, she could even make a new friend…
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So…puff…much…puff…to do I tried my best to write this quickly and failed. I finished this on May 8, so hopefully B-chan will have it up soon.
I feel kind of guilty, I took forever with this chapter and it's not even long. After next week, all my projects will be done with, so hopefully I'll be able to write some more between that and the next batch of projects.
This is the time of year that all the teachers teach everything that they are required to teach but never got around to it. And, as a result, we are loaded down with projects. I swear, I'm running around in circles.
So, until next time,
だいすきいつも、
ゆめこねこちゃん
P.S. My birthday was April 25 and B-chan's was the 23rd. In case you wanted to know. This is my birthday present to us both. MUCH LOVE, B-CHAN!!!
P.P.S. CHECK OUT MY OTHER STORIES! Please and thank you! The link is somewhere on B-chan's page.