ARRANGEMENT IS THE BEST OPTION
CHAPTER II
~ MEETING ~
"Morning Kawamura-San" Ryoma greeted the head chef sleepily.
The kitchen was quiet this time of morning, only the head chef and his son present at such an early hours. Her father had always tried to force holidays and mornings off on them, but they were very stubborn. Ryoma found herself having much the same problem.
This morning, however, she was especially grateful for the fresh coffee Takashi placed in front of her as she took her usual spot at the preparation table.
"Thank you Takashi-San" she thanked him, taking a long sip of her beloved diesel.
"It's perfectly fine Ryoma-Sam-"
"What did we talk about Takashi-San?" she asked, abandoning the coffee for the bowl of rice that had been placed on the table with the coffee.
"R-Ryoma-San" he corrected himself sheepishly.
"It's perfectly fine Ryoma-san; you heave a long day today; you're meeting Marui-San for the first time - you need your energy!" his father smiled with far too much energy for such an un-godly hour of the morning.
Catching sight of an unattended pan, he turned his attention to his son explosively.
"Takashi! You've gotta watch the Miso! The Miso!" he yelled.
He persisted in waving his spatula with far too much enthusiasm to be safe. Takashi instantly turned into a panicked hen, dropping one of the preparation bowls that was supposed to be going in the washing up.
Ryoma snickered as the chef-in-training bumbled around the kitchen amongst his father's rebukes. They had a loud relationship; it was easy to see where the eccentric side of Takeshi's personality came from. It reminded her of the banter she used to have with her own father, and it was one of the reasons she made a point of dragging herself down to kitchens once a week.
"You don't seem nervous," Takashi noted, taking his usual spot next to her.
The Miso soup had finally been saved from he stove, and no more work would be needed until the other members of the household finally roused themselves from slumber. The only Echizen to come anywhere near passing the morning coherency test was Sakuno - and even that was pushing it.
"It's too early for me to be nervous; it hasn't had time to sink in yet" she replied around a mouth full of rice - manners be damned this early in the morning.
Ryoma thanked god for her perfect poker face. Takashi would make a fuss if he saw her looking as worried, terrified, and as anxious as she truly felt. What if her brother killed him on sight? What if he was a jerk? What if she had one of her dinosaur-rare-but-disastrous clumsy moments?
'What if this whole thing is a pointless endeavour?' was a particularly large concern of hers. It was an entirely feasible outcome after all; This Marui guy may flat-out reject the idea the moment he laid eyes on her.
So many things could go wrong… Her poker face must not have been working properly as Takeshi's father, un-noticed by his son, slipped a few drops of brandy into her coffee with a wink.
"Does wonders for the nerves" he mouthed, grinning.
Ryoma decided she would force the man into a two-week holiday as she gratefully guzzled the spiked black liquid.
"…wait, I thought he was joking! Bunta seriously has an Omiai?!" Kintaro gawped.
He watched on in horror as one of the maids packed his suitcase. He was still half-dressed in his pyjamas, and was completely taken aback by the flurry of activity that was suddenly taking place in his room.
"Kintaro! Get dressed! The cars will be leaving within the hour!" his father informed him, stopping in front of the stunned boy's open door.
"Otou-San! Is this serious?!" he asked loudly. His father simply nodded in reply before walking on down the hallway.
"Honestly, Kin, why are you the one freaking out?" Jirou asked adding his own suitcase to the growing pile outside his younger brother's room.
"Nii-San should be the one loosing it, not you" he joked.
His brother, who had finally pulled his head through a t-shirt, gave a look that suggested he was missing a few brain cells (something very possible if his grades in Literature and Chinese were anything to go by).
"B-But Ryoma-Oujo-Sama?! This is the biggest thing to happen to us since that time Bunta-Nii caught Yukimura-sempai and Sanada-Sempai making out in the kitchen at dad's 45th!" he tried to explain, somewhat but not completely making his point.
"Look, Nii-San isn't kicking up a fuss, so you shouldn't either. Besides, he's just meeting her; it not actually been decided yet" Jirou placated, running a hand through his carroty hair.
Since when did he turn into the responsible one? This should be Bunta's job since he was the one causing all the havoc for once! Jirou made a mental note to try (key word: try) to tone down his own antics from now on. How did his brother manage to curb his own rambunctious attitude enough to keep not only Kintaro, but also himself from making irrevocable blunders on a daily basis?
"Nii-San, how can you be so calm?! Bunta-Nii is meeting the girl who may one day be leading our country to see if they are compatible enough for marriage! There is nothing normal about this!"
"Why do you hate this so much anyway?" Jirou sighed, pulling one of the heavier cases to the doorway.
"I don't hate it! It's just so freaking shoujo-manga it's creepy!" the boy wailed.
Jirou stared at his brother, looking rather aghast.
"You read Shoujo manga?"
"That's not the point!"
"Will you two stop yelling and get out here already?!" Bunta yelled from a distant location.
Recognising the danger tone in his voice, Jirou scurried away leaving his younger sibling to tug frantically at his trainers.
Bunta watched the countryside scenery passing by the car window absently. His mind was so distracted he barley noticed the vehicle pull up to refill the petrol tank, and his youngest sibling's hurried exit from the car.
He had never given much though to girls, much preferring tennis, hotel buffets, and his studies to looking for a significant other. The few he had met had been through the aforementioned interests, and had never lasted longer than a month at best.
The fact he was actually going to meet a girl who may or may not become his wife had not really sunk in until the cars had pulled out of the city gates and were heading down the motorway towards Tokyo. The fact this girl was the crown princess did nothing to settle his frazzled thoughts.
While he had stated he was as yet undecided on a concrete reply, he knew his parents were desperately hoping for a positive one - though he didn't believe this was primarily dictated on the political gain such a union would bring, his parents were not political hounds like Banji.
He also knew the effect a negative reply would have on the governing of Kantou as a whole. Banji was a man still very much in the past and traditional ruling methods, and his family adopted the same view.
The progress into 21st century thinking made by the Echizen family would be instantly undermined.
In spite of all the logical reasons as to why he should accept this sort of arrangement, he still had his reservations. He had imagined an arranged marriage at some point, but he had presumed it would have been a slightly more gradual process.
The politics behind this proposal - however - made haste a necessity (it was only four days since the need for Ryoma's marriage became apparent, and they were already heading to Tokyo) , and frankly he was unsure as to how well he could really get to know this girl in the two weeks that had been proposed.
The driver returned to his seat and the engine once again revved into action, before slowly moving back onto the road to Kantou's capital. Still drowsy from the early wake-up call, Bunta joined his narcoleptic brother in slumber
"Ryoga-Ouji-Sama! Ryoma-Oujo-Sama is missing!" one of the distraught servants, a teen boy named Horio wailed, running up to his employer.
"Have you tried the kitchens?" Ryoga asked.
He knew that Ryoma would be more nervous than she truly showed, and the antics of the two top chefs greatly comforted and calmed her worries with their antics. He would be surprised if she hadn't dragged her self out of bed earlier than necessary today.
"I just came from there! Kawamura-Sempai said she left a few hours ago! Mauri-Sama's driver called ahead a few minuets to tell Inui-Sempai they had just entered the Setagaya district and no-one knows where she is!" the boy squawked at an amazingly rapid rate.
Ryoga fought down the twitch in his eyebrow, bringing his own panic and frustration back under control. Apparently, Ryoma's inner turmoil was worse than he had originally perceived if she had the gall to disappear at this point.
Luckily, he also knew his twin's mind like the back of his hand. He had a sneaking suspicion as to where she had wandered off to. After all, he only had to place himself in her shoes to know where her location was most likely to be.
After assuring Horio he would keep a look out for the girl and telling him to make sure the guest bedrooms were properly organised, he set off for the once part of the castle that no one would even dare to think of looking.
"You do know that half the servants are looking for you don't you?" her brother's voice asked from the doorway.
She was seated on her father's desk, facing the comfy spindle chair he had one spun around the office in, wreaking his usual havoc.
When she was little and worried, or scared, or simply feeling down in the dumps, he would seat her on the desk - regardless of paperwork - and play Jan-ken-Pon until she forgot what had been troubling her in the first place. As she got older, the intervals between the games grew longer, until there was no need for the game at all.
She remembered most of the reasons she had sought her fathers comfort when she was younger (because she had fallen over, or Ryoga had been teasing her), but never in her life had she wanted to play the stupid hand-game as much as she did now.
Playing Jan-Ken was impossible though; her fathers chair had been vacant for five years. The maids didn't even come in to dust this room anymore; those had been, surprisingly, Sakuno's orders.
The reality of what she was being ultimately forced into had finally struck home, and she was not comfortable with it at all. Ryoma had accepted the position as the heir when Ryoga had been deemed unfit, but that was different somehow.
She had always known she would have a political marriage in one form or another - that was simply the way it was for her - but she had also been sure she would have been given room to decline the proposal, or at least be properly acquainted with the guy before talking business.
In less than two hours, she would be meeting someone she had only seen through a projector, and only knew what Inui and Tezuka had dug up on their background checks. If she were frank, she would admit that she did not want to get married, but admitting that would mean loosing to Banji.
Loosing to Banji would mean letting all her father's efforts to make the country into a prosperous one completely go to waste and she would not let that happen. Not only would it be bad for Kantou itself, but it would also be an insult to the Echizen name.
Some of the less appealing Echizen traits were stubbornness and pride, and Ryoma had inherited those traits tenfold compared to her brother and sister. Even her father was amazed at how stubborn she could be; her resolve to go through with this was no exception to that stubbornness.
Underneath the stubborn poker face however, she was finding it incredibly difficult to even change out of her pyjamas.
"Horio is going to have a fit if you don't come on out. The driver called; the Marui's have just entered Setagaya" her brother prompted.
Ryoma found it harder to ignore him with this news; Setagaya was only two districts away from the Palace. It would be and an hour and a half maximum before the party arrived on the imperial grounds.
Clenching her fists in determination, she hopped down off the desk, and moved past her brother - who had not once moved from the doorway. He knew better than to interrupt her internal turmoil; Ryoma's insufferable pride would allow no less than for her to come to a resolution by herself.
"Do you know where Sakuno is?" Ryoma asked, pausing in the hallway.
"She was in her room last time I saw her, why?" he asked in reply.
"I promised I'd let her fuss over my hair for once" the younger twin informed him, heading off in the direction of her sister's rooms.
Ryoga watched her retreating back critically for a few moments, before then heading in the other direction - poor Horio would have a conniption fit if he did not let the boy know his sister had been found.
"Marui-Sama, please wake up. We will be entering the imperial grounds shortly" the drive spoke through the intercom to his sleepy passenger.
Bunta groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Jirou must be exuding sleep pheromones of some kind if he had slept all the way the palace grounds themselves. In spite of his sleepiness, he couldn't help but be awed by the gardens they were now passing through.
Coming from a high-class family, he had seen some impressive houses and gardens, but the sheer of the imperial gardens was enough to boggle the mind, never mind the flora and fauna (were those red-crowned cranes hopping over the grass?).
"Uh… Nii-San, where's Kintaro?"
Bunta turned to his brother as he pulled his usual wake-up bubblegum from his pocket.
"Pardon?" he asked, having not heard him clearly due to the attention on his gum.
"Where's Kin-Chan?" his equally sleepy brother asked again, yawning briefly.
Bunta glanced around the spacious backseat of the car warily; indeed, there was no sign of his youngest sibling. That probably wasn't a good thing.
"He must be travelling with Otou-San and Okaa-San," he told himself and his brother without much confidence. The youngest of the three had undoubtedly gotten himself into some sort of trouble at the worst possible time.
The cars pulled to a halt on the gravel driveway in front out the palace, and Bunta felt his stomach drop at the sheer size and presence the building commanded. Any sense of awe the grounds had given him was immediately forgotten upon sight of the building. Was he really going to be spending two weeks here?
Bunta was not one with a bad sense of direction, but he could easily imagine getting lost in the myriad of passages and rooms he was sure the building contained. The chauffer opened the door as three people in official looking black suits emerged from the palace doorway.
One with spiky black hair and another with sandy-brown locks, and both wore glasses. He recognised the brown haired one as the chief of security, and the other glasses-wearer as the current ruler's personal assistant.
"Okaa-San, is Kintaro with you?" He asked, noting Kintaro's absence as his parents as the stepped out of their own car.
His mother looked at him in surprise.
"No, why would he be with us?" she asked.
"Oh… Well, I guess that means we lost him," Jirou noted with lacking anxiousness.
Bunta was trying to come up with some sort of idea as to how they had managed to loose a person. This was not something he had ever accomplished before...
"What do you mean you lost him?!" his mother demanded in a hushed tone, noting the two men in the suits heading in their direction.
'This is a disaster!' Bunta groaned to himself.
He had finally remembered leaving the petrol station, particularly Kintaro's hurried exit from the car and non-existent return. The little idiot must have taken a case of wanderlust again!
He had no more time to ponder this other than inform his father, as the men in the suits had finally approached the new arrivals.
"Welcome to the imperial grounds Marui-Sama; my name is Kunimitsu Tezuka, head of security. This is Sadaharu Inui, he serves as Sumire-Sama's personal assistant" he introduced the other glasses-wearer, who bowed politely before scribbling something in a green notebook he produced from a pocket.
"I apologise on the behalf of Sumire-Sama; she will be unable to greet you until later this evening due to affairs of the state. She hopes you will not be offended by her absence"
"Not at all, I understand that she had a time-consuming job. It's a pleasure to meet you, Tezuka-San" his father replied, returning bow with a nod of his head.
"This is my wife Michiko, and err… Two of my sons, Bunta and Jirou" he said, pointing out the respective personages, before taking the time to look embarrassed
"I'm afraid my youngest seems to have succumbed to wanderlust…"
Worried looks crossed the faces of the welcoming committee.
"Oh don't worry about Kin-Chan! He does this all the time; even on his own birthday! I'm sure he'll turn up at the gates during the next few days!" Michiko informed the three with a cheery smile.
Tezuka looked a bit taken by surprise before muttering into his earpiece to have the security by the gate be on the lookout for the youngster. He then turned back to the four family members who had managed to turn up as planned.
"Sumire-Sama has given instruction to ensure you are settled in before dinner. If you will accompany us, you will be shown to your rooms," the man with the notebook, Inui, instructed with a gesture to follow him.
"Onee-Sama, look! Inui-San is bringing them in now!" Sakuno called, gesturing out of her sister's window enthusiastically.
Ryoma stood from her seat on the sofa, still drying her hair with a towel, and joined her sister at the widow. Looking down to the driveway below she could see two redheads, and two blonde figures walking up the steps to the entrance.
"Which one is…?"
Sakuno left the question hanging as she angled herself for a better view through the glass pane.
"I can't tell from this distance. Come on, you wanted to do something with this bird's nest didn't you?" Ryoma gestured to her damp, tangled hair poking out from underneath the towel on her head.
Sakuno nodded and moved away from the window after one quick glance.
"Have you seen Karupin?" Ryoma asked.
She had not seen the Himalayan cat fro several hours - an unusual occurrence. Karupin was usually very well in-tuned with his oldest mistress's moods, and tended to stick around whenever she was in a less than normal mood. For him to have disappeared when Ryoma was so obviously out of sorts was strange.
"I only remember seeing him at breakfast, but then I lost track of him. He'll turn up" Sakuno replied absently, brandishing a hairbrush with a manic expression.
Ryoma soon forgot her cat in favour of other worries; Sakuno's girly streak for one.
Michiko Marui, formerly Michiko Yukimura, watched her two eldest sons with a degree of surprise.
It appeared as though their roles had, for one miraculous moment, been reversed. Bunta was shifting his uncharacteristically where he stood, and was doing his best to become completely absorbed in his younger brother's ramblings.
If that were not indication of his nervous state, the imperfect bubbles of gum that he had been continuously blowing for the past five minuets were more than enough evidence. She counted this to be a good thing; his nerves indicated that he was taking the matter seriously.
While she would never force her son into an arranged marriage (just because hers worked out didn't mean those of others would), she did hope he take the opportunity he had been presented with. Not for political gain (though there was no denying that would be a significant boon) but for his own good.
Bunta was far too apathetic when it came to women, and her wish for grandchildren aside, she wanted him to find someone that would at the very least make his life more interesting. Where Kintaro and Jirou were too excitable and apathetic respectively, so Bunta found it difficult to remain interested in something or someone for long periods of time.
It was a good thing to see him nervous in her opinion.
He almost jumped out of his skin when the two black-haired youngsters appeared to take show them to the room they were to be meeting the imperial family in, bubblegum falling from his mouth when he yelped in fright. Michiko allowed a small grin to grace her features.
Oh yes, this match would prove to be a very good thing for her son.
"I'm not wearing that thing Sakuno. Forget it! You know perfectly well I can't walk for spaz in Kimono!" Ryoma protested angrily, glaring at the beautiful fabric of the garment.
While Ryoma appreciated the beauty of traditional dress, she could not help but despise the things.
Pushing past her apparently heartbroken sister, she headed for her wardrobe. This was just like any other formal meeting; there was bound to be something appropriate in her monstrous wardrobe (though if she'd had her way, it would have been a normal one).
After throwing three skirt-suits, seven trouser-suits, and ten dresses onto her bed into a rejected pile her eyes finally landed on the one dress she had been reluctant to wear since her fathers passing. Every time a formal event came up, it stuck out the most amongst her other clothing choices, and every time she had looked it over.
Those events had never seemed important enough for her to drag it out of the cellophane wrapper that still covered it. She knew she was being a coward but she had always ignored tat screaming part of her mind, and moved on to the next article of clothing.
However, this time it was fitting. She was taking on something that scared the wits out of her (whether she showed it or not), and she had been terrified of even touching the last thing her father had given her before he died for the past five years.
For once, the dress was perfect.
Before she could change her mind, she ripped of the cellophane and pulled the dress off it's hanger before pulling it over her head.
Its some what billowy, thin sleeves were caught with a thin ribbon cuff juts below the wrist, and it hung with an empire line of the same ribbon to just below mid-thigh, and hung just below the shoulders with the same ribbon-edging again.
The material itself was a wispy dull silvery-grey and almost pearlescent blue in certain lights, and wafted with a certain degree of agitation from the wearer. The dress was simple by itself, but with the right wearer, it was something to take notice of.
Ryoma imagined that was exactly why her father had picked it out for her - she loved simple - but the thought behind had not quite turned out the way he had intended. It was now something ingrained into complex feelings of grief - something decidedly not simple.
And the prospect of possibly binding herself in holy matrimony wrought another set of emotions as equally complicated as those dredged up by the overpriced dress.
It really was perfect.
A quick glance in the mirror and she noted that Sakuno's handiwork had been somewhat mussed, but seemed to work in her favour. Slipping on a pair of dull silver pumps and she figured she was ready.
Sakuno gave her a wide-eyed stare when she stepped back into her actual bedroom, but made no comment on her choice of clothing but an approving nod. She even caused more damage to her hour of work.
"You're sure you want to go through with this?" she asked, biting her lip in clear worry.
"Lets get this show on the road" Ryoma replied with dead enthusiasm.
"Where on earth is that girl?!" Sumire hissed to her cowering assistant.
She and Sakuno were supposed to be in the lounge to meet the arrivals with the rest of the family but they had not seen neither hide nor hair of her since her younger sister had rushed off with her.
"Kachiro and Katsuo are searching for her as we speak" Inui informed her, attempting to calm the irate ruler.
"Why can't you just ask Momo?!" the woman complained in a whisper.
"We… Err… We can't get in contact with him," Inui informed her with a high degree of sheepishness.
Just as Sumire seemed to be on the verge of blowing up at volcanic levels the doors to the lounge opened. The younger of the two redheads snapped his attention to the door almost instantly; a slightly terrified look could be seen on his face if one looked closely.
Sakuno walked over to the group that had gathered on the lush sofas and gave a quick apologetic bow, introducing herself to the guests.
"I apologize for the wait. I'm Sakuno Echizen. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance" she spoke quietly but confidently. She held her hand out to the Mauri patriarch, before moving onto the other family members.
She gave Bunta an inquisitive but friendly smile before turning to take her seat next to her grandmother, having the decency to look sheepish at her late arrival.
"You're late Sakuno!" her grandmother hissed behind her smiling teeth as Ryoga made conversation with the Maruis.
"Okaa-Sama always said 'a member of the imperial family is never late; everyone else is just early'" Sakuno countered, quoting her mothers favourite saying.
Her grandmother could do nothing but frown, considering it had been she who had taught the saying to her daughter-in-law in the first place.
"Where's Ryoma?" her grandmother asked.
Sakuno bit her lip.
"Onee-Sama is… getting ready, I guess you could say…" she replied vaguely.
"She's not dressed yet? It's two in the afternoon!"
"I didn't mean her clothes Obaa-Sama…" the youngest crown princess corrected.
Her meaning finally fell on her grandmothers ears and she gave a resigned sigh.
"Momo is with her I take it?"
"Yes, but she made him turn his transceiver off…" Sakuno continued to bite her lip.
She like her grandmother, though this to be an unwise decision.
"How long is she going to be?" the old woman asked.
Sakuno bit her lip once again and Sumire Echizen suppress the urge to pull on her hair.
"Excuse me, but is there a bathroom close by?" the youngest redhead, set to meet her eldest granddaughter, asked politely. He managed fairly well considering the polite glare he was being surreptitiously being sent by Ryoga.
"It's just across the Hall Bunta-San; ah you don't mind me using your given name do you? Marui-San was beginning to get a little confusing, but…" Sakuno somehow managed to work herself up into a dither, and her grandmother was once again reminded why Sakuno was not suited to the position of future ruler.
"It's fine Sakuno-Ojou-sama, and thank you for the direction" he replied before following her garbled directions.
There was silence for a few moments before Michiko grinned to the old woman in a friendly manner.
"He has a weak bladder when he's nervous," she informed her with a grin.
Her two remaining family members pointedly looked away.
Sakuno blushed as her grandmother raised an eyebrow.
"Really? I remember Rinko having the same problem with Ryoga…" she replied with a similar smile.
"O-Obaa-sama!" Ryoga spluttered turning a crimson colour.
Looking across the hallway Bunta spotted a single doorway and supposed this to be the bathroom Sakuno had spoken of. There was a man with spiky hair in a black suit snoring into the wall beside the doorway.
This raised an eyebrow, but brought no other reaction from the redhead and he proceeded to open and step through the doorway.
'This is a bathroom?!' he protested mentally. The room was huge! All it had was a couple of plush chairs and sinks, there wasn't any sign of a toilet anywhere. This was very surreal… After passing through another door he finally found the toilet itself - and for some reason more chairs.
Once the business with the toilet room was over, he made his way back through the doorway to the sink room. He was in the process of scrubbing his hands with soap when he finally noticed the grey ball seated on the peach carpet instead of the chairs.
Judging by the dress he assumed that it was a girl, though he could not be sure as her face was hidden in the fabric covering her knees. The ball-person appeared to be shaking, though no noise was emerging from the said person.
Marui first felt very stupid for not noticing the girl in the first place. He then felt very embarrassed, as he realised he had inadvertently walked into a bathroom most likely for female use. He then felt very awkward, unsure of the appropriate actions to be taken.
Usually, he would have high-tailed it out of the room as quickly and unobtrusively as possible, but politeness would dictate that he at least try to comfort the girl somehow. She did not seem to be crying, but she was obviously shaken.
Deciding he should at least try to comfort her, he crouched down in front of her.
"Um, are you alright?" he asked hesitantly.
"Just gimmie a few more minuets Momo" a decidedly female voice replied faintly.
Well at least he had her gender right, though that significantly raised the discomfort of accidentally using a girl's bathroom. He assumed he was being taken for the man sleeping outside, and decided it would be best to leave - he did not want misconceptions when she decided to look up from her knees.
He grunted in reply and left the room. Part of him wondered if he should have done more to help but he had already spent longer in the bathroom than he had originally planed, and did not want to cause worries or odd thoughts amongst those waiting for his return.
He almost passed the man sleeping on the wall- who appeared to be the intern working for Tezuka on closer inspection - but paused to give him a gentle shake. He seemed to be an okay guy, and he didn't want him to get in trouble for sleeping on the job
After the man had jolted awake, and thanked him for waking him - rather profusely he might add- he returned to the lounge to find Ryoga a vivid shade of red, his sister only less so, and his father and brother wishing they could be somewhere else.
One glance two the two women chattering away as though they had known each other for years was all he needed to know he probably didn't want to know what had been discussed in his absence.
"Momoshiro for god's sake, can you hear me?!" Tezuka hissed monotonously into the small wire communication device. He resigned himself to static once again.
"Tez… Tezuka-Sempai? Is that you?" a metallic but familiar voice replied.
"Momo where the hell are you?!" Tezuka hissed into his mouthpiece.
"I'm waiting for Ryoma!"
"Well cant you get her here faster? Sumire-Sama is on the verge of a stroke!" the senior security manager hissed with more emotion in his voice.
"You don't rush women when theyre in the bathroom Tezuka-sempai! You just don't do that!" the junior protested vehemently.
Tezuka massaged his temples.
"Ok, fine, how long do you think she's going to take?" he asked wearily.
"How do I know?! You don't ask a lady how longs she gonna be in the bathroom Tezuka-sempai! You just don- Oh, wait, she just came out. ETA thirty seconds!"
What?
"Thirty seconds? Momo where are yo-"
Tezuka's question was interrupted by the opening of the door.
Seven heads snapped towards the door as Ryoma entered the room closely followed by a sheepish looking Momoshiro. Sumire immediately rose from her seat and spoke to her granddaughter in a hushed voice.
"Are you alright? You can still pull out of this if you want to Ryoma…" she whispered, more concerned over her granddaughter's mental health than politics for the time being.
Ryoma shook her head stubbornly.
"No, I'm fine, I just had… I had a moment of weakness that is all. Everything just seemed to catch up when I came down the stairs and before I knew it I was in the bathroom…" Ryoma trailed of as if her words explained themselves wholly.
A staring contest erupted between the two women for several moments. Sumire pursed her lips but backed down from her granddaughter's stern gaze. She would be a better leader than her father had been if that stare was anything to go by.
Taking in a deep breath they both turned back to the personages who were still seated on the sofa.
Ryoga seemed to breathing a sigh of relief for reasons that had nothing to do with his twin's late arrival. Sakuno shone with relief similar to Ryoga's but also directed to her sister, whilst a blonde boy watched in curiosity as a bright red-haired man and a blonde woman looked on in interest.
"Michiko-San, Akihito-San, Jirou-san… Bunta-san" her grandmother named the strangers, catching their attention but also introducing them to her eldest granddaughter.
"Allow me to finally introduce my granddaughter, Ryoma Echizen".
Ryoma clasped her hands at her waist and made a slightly deeper bow than usual, intoning an apology for lateness.
"I'm sorry for the wait. It's a pleasure to meet you" she greeted rising her head to meet the face of the members of the Mauri family.
Okie-dokie. I've finally decided the other pairings, if I get around to writing any. They will be as follows: GoldenPair, DataPair, maybe MomoxKaidoh, and NOT AtoTezu (can someone tell me the acronym for those please?) and I don't know of any others at the moment.
Hope you liked it.
Nat.
xxx