Pinkshuchan: LALIHO! Hi everyone! It's Pinkshuchan! I'm back with the next chapter of The Pissed Prince and the Perverted Pauper. I have nothing else to say. All I can say is that this really is a really long chapter. I hope you have lots of time. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
Tatsuha's Plan; Eiri's Prevention
Eiri woke up the next morning with something wet and rough against his cheek. His eyes winced at first, but then he opened them. He turned his head to see Mr. Meow who was now licking his nose. Eiri chuckled before sitting up and picked up the cat before placing it on his lap.
"Good morning Mr. Meow." he said "How are you today?" The cat meowed at response. Eiri chuckled again. "I guess you already know I'm actually someone else right?" The cat meowed again. "Because if I was really Tatsuha, you would be attacking me by now." The cat hissed in response. "Well, since you know I'm not Tatsuha, I need your help. It's about Shuichi. After meeting her, I don't feel like myself. I'm like a completely different person when I'm near her. I feel like I should tell her that I'm the prince but I don't know how she'd react. I don't know if she'll be happy to see it's me or if she'll want nothing to do with me. What do you think?" Mr. Meow just meowed. "I guess I have to follow my heart on this one, huh? Well, I really want to tell her. I don't think I can keep lying like this. But I don't know."
Then, Eiri heard a familiar voice singing outside. He opened the window and looked upwards to his left to see Shuichi at his window singing to a bluebird that was singing along. It was then Eiri knew that he needed to tell Shuichi the truth. Mr. Meow led him to Shuichi's room and realized the door was partially open. He opened it all the way to see Shuichi as he was singing at the window. When he was done, he turned around to see Eiri standing there; causing him to jump.
"Tatsuha! You startled me." he said.
"Sorry." said Eiri "Shuichi, I want to talk to you." He began walking towards Shuichi. "It's about the events that happened all the way to yesterday."
It seemed like Shuichi remembered the day before well becasue he was blushing really hard. He had a feeling about what was going to be said. He was beginning to think that Tatsuha was going to say he was in love with him. He didn't want that to happen. "I don't really want to talk about it." he said before passing Eiri and walking out the door. Eiri followed.
"Shuichi, you really need to know. It's important."
"I'm sorry Tatsuha, but I'm really busy."
"You didn't look busy when I saw you a few seconds ago."
"I was taking a break."
"You can at least listen to me for a few seconds."
Shuichi turned around and faced him. "Tatsuha, I just want to forget that kiss ever happened, ok? It was a mistake. I didn't mean it."
"I know. You didn't mean to kiss Tatsuha. But I'm..."
Before Eiri could continue, Hiro found them and walked over to them. "I see you're both feeling better." he said "Think you can work today?"
"Of course I can!" said Shuichi.
"You sure?"
"Yes. I'm positive. Is there a job that's needed right now? I'll do anything."
"Well, Miss Judy wants both you and Tatsuha to take care of Riku."
"But why does Tatsuha have to help? I've always been able to take care of Riku all by myself. So why is Tatsuha going to help?"
"Let me say it a different way. Miss Judy is worried about what would happen if you are all by yourself after what happened yesterday. So she wants you to stay in the orphanage and she wants either me or Tatsuha to stay beside you. It would be me, but I have a really important job to do today that Miss Judy asked me to do so I can't."
Shuichi lowered his head. "I understand. If Miss Judy says I must then I must."
"One question Hiro." said Eiri "What is this important job you need to do?"
"Haven't you heard? The king was thinking of inviting Princess Ayaka to the kingdom so she would get a good look of the kingdom she would soon become the queen of."
After hearing everything, Shuichi turned his head away and avoided all eye contact with Hiro and Eiri. "I'm just going to go ahead and see Riku." With that said, he left. Eiri could've sworn that he saw tears coming down his face. But before he can go see if Shuichi is ok, he wanted to know what exactly was the job Hiro was going to do.
"What did all that have to do with the important job you're doing."
"Well, someone needs to accompany her around the kingdom. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm to take her everywhere; even to meet Prince Eiri."
Eiri's eyes widened at his name. He knew that they would be meeting Tatsuha disguised as himself. If Hiro met up with Tatsuha, then the cat would be out of the bag. Eiri couldn't let that happen. Not until he'd let only Shuichi know the truth. "Do you want to do this job?"
"Of course. This is helping royalty you know. I'm not going to pass this opportunity pass."
"Well, why not do it another day? I mean, it's not like Princess Ayaka would be going anywhere right after she comes to the Kage Kingdom, right? So why not do it tomorrow." 'At least tomorrow I would've told Shuichi I was the prince.' he added in his head.
"No way. I may be doing something great for the kingdom. Besides, Miss Judy expects me to do this so I have to go."
"Why don't I go instead and you take care of Shuichi?"
Hiro blinked a few time then gave an amused smirk. "I think I see what's going on. You just don't want to take care of Shuichi. Well too bad. I'm going." And so, Hiro left. Eiri knew it was going to be the end. At least he'd be able to tell Shuichi the truth before Hiro finds out. He walked through the halls of the orphanage until he reached Riku's bedroom and peeked in. Shuichi was sitting there on the bed; holding the sick child in his arms like he really was Riku's mother and Riku laid his head on Shuichi's chest. Eiri really liked the sight of it. It made him think that this was the sight he would always see if Shuichi ever had his child.
"Mama?" Riku asked "I wish I was feeling better. Then we could play Knights."
Shuichi just held him closer and kissed his forehead. "Even if you were better, we don't have anyone else here to play with us."
Eiri couldn't help but feel bad about Riku's health. After all, he was said to have been sick for two whole months. He knew there was something he had to do. Then, he knew what to do. He knew the game Knights very well. When he was younger, Tohma and Mika would always play it with him. Besides, who said that Riku couldn't play because he was sick. He decided that was what he would do. He walked into the room over to the bed and pulled Shuichi close to him; making Shuichi let go of Riku.
"I got you!" said Eiri.
Shuichi began to struggle out of his grasp. "Tatsuha what the heck are you doing?" he yelled.
"I have captured the beautiful princess of course. And of course there is no knight in this entire world able to save you."
Shuichi began to understand what Eiri was thinking and decided to play along. "Oh no! There must be someone who can help me."
Riku knew what they were doing. He grabbed the toy sword from beside the bed and aimed it at Eiri. "I'll save you Princess." he said in a heroic voice.
Eiri let go of Shuichi and walked over to Riku. "I'd like to see you try." And so, they pretended to fight until Eiri grabbed the sword from Riku and held it under his arm. "Oh no! I'm dead. The great knight has killed me." And so, he dropped to the ground and pretended he was dead. Riku couldn't help but giggle with Eiri's acting. Shuichi ran over to Riku.
"My hero." he said, giving Riku a kiss on the cheek. Riku kept laughing until he began to cough. Shuichi stayed beside him until he was calm again and the coughing stopped. Then, Riku went to sleep. Shuichi looked over at Eiri who was currently feeling guilty.
"I'm sorry." said Eiri "If I knew it would be that bad, I wouldn't have..."
"Forget it." said Shuichi "It's not your fault. You were just trying to help. You made Riku really happy. You should probably go. I've got this."
"I really need to talk to you Shuichi."
"For what? We already talked. We even played a game of Knights for Riku. There's nothing left."
"Yes there is. There's something I really need to tell you Shuichi."
"Can't it wait until later?"
"No, it can't. It's something I need to tell you now."
"Tatsuha..."
"It's really important and I need to tell you before the day ends because..."
"I DON'T LIKE YOU TATSUHA! DON'T YOU GET IT? NOW LEAVE!"
Eiri stood silent from the sudden outburst. He had a feeling that maybe it really wasn't the best time to tell Shuichi. "Alright then. Maybe later." He then left the room. He really didn't want to leave but the look in Shuichi's eyes at that moment said otherwise. However, that didn't mean he was going to give up on telling Shuichi the truth. He was determined to tell the truth and then go back to the castle.
Meanwhile, Tatsuha and Ryuichi were sitting in the bedroom; trying to figure out how they were going to get Shuichi to come to the castle. They had figured out that Shuichi was the princess of the Hikari Kingdom. However, they didn't know how they were going to get Shuichi over to the castle and show to the king that the princess was still alive. As they were thinking, Sakano came into the room.
"Excuse me Your Highness. Your father wants to see you." said Sakano.
"Alright." said Tatsuha. He looked over at Ryuichi. "Ryuichi, could you go see to the matter we discussed?"
Ryuichi bowed. "Yes Your Highness." said Ryuichi "Kumagoro and I will do our best." He then left the room. Sakano walked over to Tatsuha.
"Your Highness? Please don't mind me asking but what did you ask him to do?"
"Simple. I asked him to study on rabbits."
"Rabbits? Why rabbits?"
"He wanted to know where the rabbits came from. It'll keep him busy while we see the matters my father has."
And so, they went to the audience hall where the king of the Hikari Kingdom was waiting for Eiri. There beside him was a beautiful young woman with long brown hair and... Hiro? Tatsuha didn't get it. Why was Hiro there? If he found out that the prince in front of him was really Tatsuha in disguise, he and Eiri would be in hot water. But then a thought came to him. Hiro may be the one who could get Shuichi to come to the castle. But first he had to see what the king wanted.
"Eiri, I'm so glad you could come." said the king "Though, I didn't expect you to come right after I sent Sakano to get you."
"Well, I decided I might as well get this over and done with so I could see to my own matters." said Tatsuha. He was beginning to believe that he was good at pretending to be Eiri. No one seemed to notice the difference.
"I promise to make this quick. You remember Princess Ayaka?"
"Yes. I remember."
"Well, I'm not sure when the Hikari Kingdom will make a move but I'm not going to wait to find out. That's why I've decided to get the corronation and your marriage to Princess Ayaka over with."
"WHAT?" Tatsuha couldn't believe it. The king was going to hurry along Eiri's corronation and marriage?
"Yes. That's why I asked Princess Ayaka to come to the Kage Kingdom. If we combine the Kage Kingdom with the Hana Kingdom, all four of the five kingdoms will combine together against the Hikari Kingdom and destroy it. That will show that bastard I'm not to blame. Now, I must go make the war plans. If you excuse me." And so, the king went back to his chambers. Tatsuha knew that he had to get Shuichi to the castle fast which is a good thing Hiro was at the castle. He walked over to him.
"Excuse me." he said "Can I talk to you?"
"Me Your Highness?" Hiro asked.
"No, the wall. Of course I mean you. I want to ask a few questions."
"Of course Your Highness. What is it?"
Tatsuha knew he had to pretend to be clueless about who Hiro was. " I've never seen you in the castle. Are you from the Hana Kingdom? You look like you are from the Kage Kingdom."
"Actually, I am from the Kage Kingdom. I'm just escorting Princess Ayaka around the kingdom until she becomes your wife."
"I see." Tatsuha knew he had to think of something to mention Shuichi. But what? Wait! He remembered Eiri's reason for wanting to leave the castle besides freedom. He met Shuichi in the castle. "You know, there was a girl from outside the castle that came before. She was very beautiful. Maybe you know her. She had violet eyes and short pink hair."
"Shuichi?"
"Shuichi! That's her name. You see, after that day, I wanted to see her again but I can't leave the castle. Could it be possible if you could bring her back here? I want to be able to see her again before I get married."
"I'm sorry Your Highness but I can't."
"Why not?"
"She was attacked yesterday by these guys. They almost drowned her in Lake Mizu. If one of us didn't see it happen, who knows what would've happened to her."
"Well, I can assure you that she will be safe to come to the castle."
"Sorry, but I can't risk it. Now I must go Your Highness. If you excuse me." And so, Hiro left. Tatsuha couldn't believe it. If he didn't get Shuichi to the castle, then Eiri would have to marry Princess Ayaka and fight the Hikari Kingdom. It was time for Plan B. He would have to find Ryuichi and the two of the them would have to sneak out of the castle, find Eiri, and tell him everything. He just hoped it wouldn't be too late.
Meanwhile, Ryuichi was skipping in the halls with Kumagoro in hand to find a way to get Shuichi into the castle. Little did he know that someone was following him.
"And what is the jester doing skipping around the castle like this?" said the mysterious person.
"Kumagoro and I are looking for a way to get the princess into the castle." said Ryuichi subconsciously.
"But I thought Princess Ayaka is already in the castle."
It was then that Ryuichi knew he was duped. He turned around to see Kitazawa standing there. "Uh, did I say 'a way to get the princess into the castle'? I mean 'some way the princess could see the whole castle.'" He was about to run until Kitazawa grabbed his arm.
"No, you said 'a way to get the princess into the castle'. The only other princess I know of is the Princess of the Hikari Kingdom, but she's supposed to be dead."
Ryuichi knew he had to distract Kitazawa. After all, he knew he shouldn't tell anyone about Shuichi being the princess until they managed to get him into the castle. He had to think of something. "Do you want to hear a joke, Master Kitazawa? It's really good. I promise you. You ready? Ok. What did the big toe say to the little toe? There's a heel behind us. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Unfortunately, Kitazawa didn't laugh. "Aww. Tatsuha always thinks my jokes are funny." At that moment, he covered his mouth with his hand. He wasn't supposed to say anything about Tatsuha.
"And who is this 'Tatsuha'?"
"Uh, it's... him!" He lifted up Kumagoro. "He's Tatsuha. Right Kumagoro?" Kumagoro glared at him. "What?"
"You just said his name is Kumagoro." said Kitazawa.
"Uh... Kumagoro is his nickname."
"Well then, I'm sure 'Kumagoro' will give me the info I need." Then without warning, he snatched Kumagoro from Ryuichi. "Now then jester. You will tell me everything I need to know or the bunny gets it."
"Please no!" Ryuichi cried "Don't hurt him! He's my only friend!"
"Then will you coopperate?"
"... ... Alright..." 'Forgive me Tatsuha.'
Meanwhile on his way back to the orphanage, Hiro was walking through the streets until Judy walked over to him. "Hello Hiroshi." she said "How was the job?"
"It was great Miss Judy." said Hiro "I never knew the castle would be so great. And Princess Ayaka is not only beautiful. She's also very smart. She and I spent hours talking on history and mathematics. It was wonderful."
"I see." They were both silent for a while until Judy spoke up. "Hiroshi? I think it's time to tell Shuichi the truth."
"What? But it'll kill him. Why bring it up?"
"Because if I keep it any longer, he'll be even more hurt."
"But still, it's the only thing he has. If we tell him, he'll break."
"What do you think is best? He finds out now and it'll be over and done with or let him find out himself and hate us for a long time for not telling him?"
Hiro couldn't help but agree that it was for the best. Hiro decided that he should be the one to tell Shuichi. He wanted to be the one to break the news. They made it back to the orphanage as soon as night fell. Hiro walked over to Shuichi's room and knocked on the door.
"Who is it?" Shuichi's voice asked through the door.
"It's Hiro." said Hiro.
"Come in!"
Hiro opened the door to see Shuichi sitting on his bed with Mr. Meow on his lap. Shuichi smiled at him. It made it feel harder to say it but he knew he had to. "Shuichi, there's something I really have to tell you."
"Before you tell me, tell me what it was like working for royalty. The last time I was in the castle, I was cleaning."
"It was nice but this is something really important I need to tell you."
"Funny. Tatsuha said he had something important he had to tell me too, but I know that what you have to tell me is completely different from what you have to tell me."
"I'm believe it is too. I'm sure what he wants to tell is something different from what I have to tell you."
"What is it?"
Hiro sat down beside Shuichi and took his hand into his. "I'm just gonna go out and say it. I don't know how to break it to you but... Shuichi... the truth is..."
Pinkshuchan: CLIFFHANGER! What do you think is the truth that Hiro is telling Shuichi? Will Eiri tell Shuichi he's the prince? Will Tatsuha be able to get Shuichi into the castle? And what do you think will happen now to Ryuichi now that Kitazawa has him? Find out next chapter. Read and Review everyone!
