A/N: Emm and I apologize a million times for the wait! Here is the long awaited Chapter 4 of Taming the Emperor, we hope you enjoy it. Quick thing before you start: anything between apostrophes (these guys: ' ') are your inner thoughts. Read on! -Air

A Reminiscent Empress

When you finally make it home you greet whoever is home with a quick "I'm home!" You hear your mom reply with a muffled "Welcome back" and mutter something about your father having to work late. You notice your sister's shoes aren't neatly placed in the entry room so you guess she isn't home. Noises from the kitchen draw you to it. You peek in and see curry ingredients littering the countertops. You dance excitedly at the idea of having curry for dinner. Your mom turns and looks at you happily. She tries to give you a hug but you're too focused on opening the fridge. As you grab yourself a snack to ease your hunger pains you look up and see your mom glaring at you from across the kitchen.

"(F/N)." Slyly grinning you turn tail and race for your room. A spoon soon lands in the spot where you had just been standing. You laugh all the way up the stairs.

You lay yourself down on your bed. Sighing, you reach for your phone: no messages. It's not as if you expected any, anyway. Putting your phone down on the bedside table you pick yourself up and drop to the floor. Pulling your textbook and loose pieces of graph paper out of your bag you start on trigonometry. Fifteen minutes in and you give up. A dull thumping in your brain makes your rub at your temples. You rest your elbow on your textbook,putting your chin in the palm of your hand. A giant smile finds its way onto your face even though your eyebrows are drawn in annoyance. You start to remember the first time you had met Akashi Seijuro.

Flashback

Per usual you were late getting back from lunch. A bun of some sort gripped firmly in your mouth, a store bought bento clasped between your hands. (Looking back, you now realize what an utter disaster that was waiting to happen). In too much of a hurry to pay much attention, you notice a little too late that you're on crash course into someone. Well not just someone, Akashi Seijuro to be exact. You'd heard about him of course, but you'd never actually met him. Unable to prevent the inevitable you ram into him. The breath and bun are knocked out of you and the contents of your bento over the both of you. Your first instinct is to start laughing at the hilarity of the whole thing, but the leering look that said person was sending your way soon killed the laugh in your throat.

"Sorry! But seriously you could've moved out of the way ya know." You wait for him to say something. After all he was just as responsible. After a few minutes of painful silence you pull yourself together finding his silence arrogant and distasteful. Turning to leave you watch as he collects himself before finally responding.

"You obviously don't know how to apologize to someone of a higher social standing, so just this once I'll overlook your obvious lack of a proper upbringing."

The color in your face drains to an almost transparent white. You grind your teeth together and clench your fists. In that one sentence everything you had ever been told and heard about Akashi Seijuro was confirmed. He was a rude, pompous, arrogant, and an all around asshole of a person. As you attempt to process his jibe, he turns to leave. You quickly grab hold of his wrist.

"Hold on! Who the hell do you think you are? Talking to me like that. As if you know any-" Your grasp on his wrist is broken when he jerks his arm out of your grasp rather forcefully.

"I don't think, I know that I am Akashi Seijuro. Emperor of Rakuzan High and you'll do well to remember that."

You just now notice that his eyes are actually two different colors: captivating. Even if they hold a murderous glint that makes you take a step back. A proud grin surfaces at your actions. 'What's with this guy?' He resumes making his way back to class or possibly the bathroom, but not before a most unexpected sound makes its way to his ears: laughter. He turns to face you and he's met with you clutching your abdomen, red faced, and tears pouring out of your eyes.

"Oh my gosh. Pfft, ha-ha. Are you serious right now? Ha-ha, who are you, seriously? Who even talks like that? We're in high school! Geez you're an upstanding prick."

Your words, a little muffled by your uncontrollable laughter, ease their way out of your mouth. You look up at him and see the most enraged face you've ever seen in your life, gulping you pull yourself together, straightening out and standing tall. You see that he's about to say something and you can't help yourself. Threatening aura or not.

"I know, I know," you wave him off, puffing out your chest and imitating his voice the best you can, "you're Akashi Seijuro, the Emperor of Rakuzan High and I'll do well to remember that."

As the last word leaves your mouth you lose it all over again. Your laughter echoes in the silent hallway. When you finally manage to pull yourself together, you realize that you're completely and utterly screwed. Ignoring the fuming and on the verge of rampaging "Emperor" in front of you, you pull out your phone to check the time.

"Shit! I've only got two minutes 'til I gotta get to back to class! I can grab something quick, right? Right!"

Gathering up your stuff, not a thought about your appearance, you make a small attempt to clean up the mess you made, and bid Akashi farewell.

You then hightail it to the cafeteria where you hope there will still be something to buy. You come to a halt before you round the corner,

"Oops, almost forgot my manners. The name is (L/N), (L/N) (F/N), but you can just call me (F/N)! Bye Seijuro!"

You turn the corner feeling victorious. Calling him by his first name with no honorific, just so that he could shove it,would definitely rub him the wrong way. And thus began your very informal not really a friendship, friendship with Akashi.

End Flashback

Snapping out of the memory, you muse about how that was over a month ago. Since then, you and Akashi really hadn't talked much. Except for what had happened earlier today. Blushing slightly you remember exactly how you both ended up in that situation.

Start Flashback

You had been roaming the halls, trying to figure out where you could have possibly misplaced your textbook. Searching room to room to no avail. Rolling your eyes as you walk up to the last room you were willing to check, you open the door and stop. There sitting ominously in a corner was Akashi playing a solo game of Shogi. Part of you wanted to back out of the classroom, but the part that knew you really needed that textbook won out. Clearing your throat in an attempt to let him know that you were there, you begin your search. You don't think you are making much noise up until you hear the screech of a chair being pushed back. Swallowing you turn around to face the sound.

"You're making too much noise, I was patient but now you must leave." Frowning at his demand, you continue your search.

"Chill, will ya? I'm just looking for my textbook. I'll be out of your hair in no time."

"I don't think you understood. I said LEAVE, NOW." He reaches for your arm, but you pull it back before he can grasp it.

"Watch it!" By this point he's fuming and you're not all too concerned that is until he goes on the longest rant in the history of rants. It was like when you had first met all over again, "I am the Emperor", "Do as I say", blah blah, and more blah.

In what you presume was halfway through his little tirade, you stroll up to him. You quirk your lips at what you were about to do (you can't believe that you ever thought that what you were doing would be a good idea).

"Shut up! You're driving me crazy."

He stops and looks at you, his expression perplexed. Not waiting for him to start all over again you crash your lips into his. His shock is evident in the way his body stiffens at the touch of your lips; taking advantage of his sudden lapse of control you bite his lower lip. He probably expected you to shove your tongue down his throat or something. There was no way, in this moment or in the future, you would ever make out with this jerk and well that must've pissed him off. Next thing you know his grip around your waist is tightening and he is growling. GROWLING! Who growls? Worst part is you could feel his friend against your thigh. Yup that was your cue to leave, but not before you get in a little teasing.

End Flashback

Shaking the grin off your face, you dig deep and with a newfound vigor ready yourself for the pain that is and will be completing your homework. After what seems longer than is acceptable, you stretch your arms out over your head patting yourself on the back for getting shit done. Your stomach grumbles, letting you know that it's time to check in on your mom's progress on the curry. Shuffling out of your room and down the stairs the wonderful aroma wafting out of the kitchen makes you all the more hungry.

"Maiko, watch it!" You screech as your younger sister comes racing out of the kitchen.

"Oh! Oneechan, I was just coming to get you heehee." She grins up at you, eyes sparkling. Inwardly sighing you wrap your arm around her and lead her back into the kitchen.

"Let's eat!"

Sitting back, you watch as your sister goes for her fourth serving of curry. You don't know how she does it, tapping out yourself after 2 and a half, she just keeps going. Smiling at her antics and trying to dodge the surplus of semi-chewed curry that sprays out of her mouth while she talks adamantly about her day at school. Wishing you could go back to the days of being a wistful seven year old, your thoughts wander to a certain red headed ass with heterochromia.

"Oneechan. Earth to Oneechan, hello?"

"Huh? What's up Mai-chan?" A sly grin appears on her face.

"Oneechan was thinking about a BOY! Wasn't she?" At that your mom's head whips around, from where she had started to clear the dishes, to look at you. Color begins to speckle your cheeks. You turn your head to the side in an attempt to hide the impending blush.

"As if. There's no one out there interesting enough to get involved with. Anyway he's a prick." You blanch as you mention him, 'Awh God.' Mai bursts into peals of laughter, your mom stops what she is doing.

"(F/N), do you have a crush? Oh, my should we have 'that talk', or… I don't know what to do! Your father is much better at these types of things."

You hurriedly wave your hands in front of you, the color draining from your face at the near idea of telling your father about a boy.

"Papa doesn't need to know anything. There IS NO ONE, okay? So, please leave it alone. Geez you'd think the world was coming to an end."

Your mom nods her head, still overwhelmed with the idea of you possibly liking someone of the opposite sex.

"Well it will be! The day Oneechan likes a boy is the day the world ends." Mai's obvious mirth spills all over the place as her small frame shakes with it.

"Why you little brat! Come 'ere!"

You reach for her, as she lets out a squeal and makes a break for the door, but you're quicker- cutting her off. You lift her up off the floor, cradling her against your chest with one arm and tickling her with the other. Your laughter soon mixes with hers filling the entire house. It's soon cut off when you both hear the front door open and a familiar voice say "I'm home." You both stop what you're doing and race to the hallway.

"Welcome home Papa!"

Simultaneously you launch yourselves into his arms. He chuckles at your attack, wrapping you closely into him. Leading him to the kitchen your mom prepares a plate of curry for him. You take your seat and let Mai do all the talking, you sigh with relief when neither she nor your mom bring up the boy incident. Smiling contently you watch as your dad eagerly listens to your younger sister's ramblings. When your father finishes his food he sends both you and Mai off to bed.

You lay your head down on your pillow and blow out a breath. 'Today sure was eventful. Hopefully tomorrow things won't be so chaotic, it is Friday after all.' You close your eyes, not noticing your ears turning a light shade of pink.

A/N: There it is! I really really hope you enjoyed reading it! As always kudos and comments both critiquing and applauding the chapter are welcome. We hope to update every saturday or every other saturday (any changes in the schedule will be noted at the end of a chapter). Last thing, previews of new chapters will be posted between each update on our blog (the link is on our profile). So look out for a chapter 5 preview! Last, last thing: SHOUT OUT to all the people giving us love, it is so appreciated and makes us really happy! Keep it up :)