A/N: Happy Saturday! You know, it's kind of nice that this chapter falls right before a Father's Day, considering one of the scenes in it. I swear I didn't schedule it like that on purpose. Also, now that I know a little better what ships will be featured in this fic, I think I'm going to go ahead and update the summary. Didn't want to promise anything I wasn't sure I could work into the story, but now...? Fun times ahead. [Nope, EDIT: I'm gonna wait until Chapter 10 because spoilers :D]
Thanks to Zain for the review! I'm no coffee lover but those cappuccino chocolates sound delicious. I know I've seen KeyKats in the manga, now I'm wondering if they taste like at all like coffee! (Oh my god you're right, Yuri's always throwing stuff! XD First her microphone in the OVA, then a pillow, now a chicken!) You know Hinami's bad if even in her most sympathetic scene she's pretty awful. (Kimito vs Hinami bad parenting contest GO)
Enjoy!
[Chapter 8]: The Prince Comes To Visit
"Are you seeing this? Otonashi, you're not looking!"
It was morning, and the Fukudas had left for church half an hour ago, so Yuri had ventured out into the hayfield to amuse herself with none other than Kanade Tachibana's butterfly craft. Matsushita the Fifth had found it tangled in a tree at dawn and promptly given it to her because he thought she'd want to uncover its secrets. Ah, he knew her so well.
Then she'd discovered Otonashi painting the castle in the distance and thought it'd be doubly entertaining to bug him while he worked. He had one of Tachibana's creations fluttering above his head and he didn't even know it.
She giggled fiendishly, glanced down at the handle connected to the spool, and pressed the button marked "delay."
"I don't know what you're so happy about," he said, back turned to her and completely missing the way it seemed to teleport sideways in a more gossamer form. "You'll be swimming in manure if they get married."
"Hm, really couldn't care less!" Yuri called back, blithely running along with the spool.
"Are you serious?" Peeking over his shoulder, Otonashi scrunched up his face in a disbelieving laugh. "The prince would be your brother-in-law, and you, Countess Sakurai, would be bringing them breakfast in bed!"
Yuri sent her eyes heavenward and watched the fluttering wings sail on the air. Word traveled fast in the kingdom of Maeda. So he was "too busy to play," but not too busy to spread royal gossip?
"But after they move into the palace, the manor's all mine!" she explained impatiently, twirling with the craft. "I can finally turn things around. That's all that matters."
She'd been thinking about it a lot since last night and it was the only thing that made sense. No more Fukudas, no more needless spending. Just restoring the Nakamura household to its former glory. Happy ending for everyone involved, right?
Right.
Behind her, Otonashi was doing that dumb all-knowing chuckle he always used on Hatsune. "I still think you like him," he teased.
"Nope!" Yuri grinned and pressed another button. The wings changed from a light blue to a translucent moonlike silver.
She heard a couple of his paintbrushes tumble into the grass. Was he done already, or had he finally noticed what this butterfly thing could do? Whatever. It was her turn right now and she was having fun.
"So, uh…" He was stuttering at this point, sounding rightfully stunned. "So if you saw him again, you'd simply—"
"I'd walk right up to him and say, 'Your Highness, my family is your family,'" she said exuberantly, and closed her eyes in contentment as she let the craft do the guiding. "'Please, take them away.'"
"Good," said Otonashi. "Here's your big chance, he's headed this way."
Her eyes popped back open. What?!
She spun around in sheer panic, and sure the hell enough, Prince Ayato and the captain of his guard were charging across the field on horseback. Shit! He'd timed that perfectly, hadn't he…
And not far enough away for an escape into the forest. Screaming internally, Yuri growled and leapt behind the nearest haystack.
Meanwhile, Otonashi rose from his easel and gave a humble bow as the prince and the captain rode up to him. Hinata – that was his name. Hatsune used to have the biggest crush on him (Otonashi still teased her about it whenever he rode past).
"I'm looking for Kanade Tachibana, we're to visit the Tenjin shrine together. Have you seen her?" Prince Ayato asked, narrowed eyes searching the field.
"T-Tachibana?!" Otonashi almost lost his footing over his fallen paintbrushes. "Uh, no, Your Highness…"
The prince heaved a chagrined sigh, blowing green bangs out of his face. "But that's one of her Angel projects just there," he said, pointing. "Where did you get it?"
Otonashi followed his finger to the haystack, where the telltale butterfly was hovering over Yuri's hiding spot. The spool quickly released itself into the air and soared away with its wings. Hinata and Otonashi watched it go, the latter staring after it with a deadpan expression before his gaze fell accusingly to the hay. Yuri had one of Kanade Tachibana's own creations and she didn't say a word?!
This called for prompt retribution.
"From… the Countess Sakurai," Otonashi answered. "She's a friend of hers, apparently."
The haystack squeaked in dismay. Hinata piqued an eyebrow as he stared at it some more. But Prince Ayato's gaze was now trained intensely on Otonashi.
"You know her?" He turned his horse to face him, hope and intrigue alight in his face. "Please, I have to find her. Where is she staying?"
"I believe, Your Highness," said Otonashi, giving another bow before flashing an innocent smile, "that she is staying with a cousin. The… Baroness Hinami Fukuda."
The haystack raged again. But it was just the wind, of course.
Prince Ayato sucked in his cheeks, no doubt making a few uncomfortable connections. "I see. That does present a problem."
"But! I do know that she is there," he stressed. "Alone. By herself. At this very moment."
The prince's eyes lit up once again, a broad grin traveling across his lips. "Thank you very much, uh…"
"Yuzuru Otonashi, Your Highness," Hinata and Otonashi said in unison, and the latter glanced at him in mild surprise.
"Otonashi. You've been a great help," Prince Ayato said brightly. Rearing his horse to go, he caught sight of the easel and acknowledged it with a nod. "Nice painting, by the way!"
Otonashi preened a bit, standing straighter and shielding his eyes from the sun as he watched the two ride off in the direction they had come.
As soon as they were out of earshot, Yuri snarled and flung herself out from behind her hiding spot.
"You moron!" she wailed, storming across the field. "What the hell were you thinking?!"
"Did you hear that?" Otonashi said absently while fixing his paintbrush set, a smug smile on his face. "He likes my work."
"And he is heading towards my house!"
His dumb boyish grin grew even wider. Ever so pleased with himself, he turned to her and leaned in with mischief dancing in his eyes. "Then I suggest you run."
Yuri's glare faltered. She bit her lip and gave him a halfhearted shove; he just laughed and shoved her back in the proper direction.
And then she started running.
"Stupid!" she yelled over her shoulder. Otonashi saluted with a paintbrush as she disappeared into the forest.
Leaping over a low fence, Yuri darted through the woods and tore down the quickest trail that would lead her to the manor. Vaulting as many fallen branches, logs, and roots as possible in her wake. Thank goodness she knew this land better than she knew the pages of Utopia. The trees opened up into the gardens and she pushed her legs even harder until she was lunging through the door, heart thudding heavy as hooves on pavement.
"Masami!" She staggered up the stairs, nearly out of breath. "Shiina! QUICK!"
It was like the women knew instantly that they had mere minutes. Masami found one of Hisako's dresses faster than Yuri could refill her lungs while Shiina fetched shoes to match and they descended on her right there on the second staircase. Masami had barely gotten Yuri's arms through the sleeves when Shiina's keen hearing picked up the sound of hoofbeats. She checked out the window and gave the girl an eager push.
"Go! Go!"
Yuri rushed down the steps and just about crashed through the front door – thankfully stopping in time to greet the man on her doorstep.
"Your Highness. What an unexpected surprise."
"Countess…" The prince stared at her, dumbfounded. She smoothed the skirts of her pale blue gown and prayed there was no sweat glistening on her forehead. Then again, maybe it was the jeweled headband he was admiring. "Do you not attend church?"
Yuri bowed her head in an attempt to disguise her panic as humility. "I… find that my faith is better served away from rabid crowds."
"Right. My father's newfound interest has created quite the phenomenon," he said with an understanding roll of his eyes, and Yuri smiled sympathetically. He was probably much more often exposed to the king's rambles of "I am the clay and God is the potter" or whatever the man was always on about. "Which is why I'm on my way to the temple instead."
Over his shoulder, Yuri spotted the captain of the guard on horseback leading a carriage through the gate. The prince turned his gaze as well, then back to Yuri with an emboldened grin.
"Our Tenjin shrine's library is most impressive," he added, leaning forward and looking terribly hopeful. "Since you're so fond of reading, I thought… perhaps, you might join me?"
Yuri sighed. There went the rest of her resolve.
"It's not fair, sire," she said with a begrudging smile. "You've found my weakness but I have yet to learn yours."
"I should think it would be quite obvious," the prince scoffed. Then his eyes widened and embarrassment seared his cheeks, as if he hadn't consciously meant to say it. And that was when the meaning of his words truly sank in.
Yuri cut her gaze to the side, fighting a groan as her heart fluttered in her chest. Just when everything was finally starting to make sense, Prince Charming had to ride in and say something like that.
Otonashi, I really will kill you for this...
"Captain Hinata," he said to his guard, breaking the silence that had ensued. "I won't be needing my horse, or your services."
Hinata nodded seriously, the corner of his mouth twitching in amusement. Satisfied, the prince turned back to Yuri and presented his hand to her.
"Today I am simply… Ayato."
Tentatively, Yuri placed her hand in his, and felt a shiver when his thumb grazed her knuckles. Molten gold eyes gleamed with purpose. He guided her out into the world, smirking all the while, and she let her own smile creep onto her lips as she surrendered.
Who was she kidding? Her heart was already in the carriage.
The bells were just beginning to toll as the Fukuda's carriage pulled up to the church. Matsushita the Fifth stood tall at the door and patiently helped the ladies pile out, grinning as Yui deliberately sprang from the carriage instead of using the footplate when her mother and sister weren't looking. She looked back at him proudly and he pretended to be all business, but snuck her a thumbs up.
She was glad to have him back. Masami's nighttime rooftop melodies had gotten so sad without him.
(Oh yes, she knew. She liked to quietly listen when she was awake for them.)
The family hadn't taken but a few steps from the carriage when the page boy Takeyama emerged from the building and approached them at a brisk trot.
"Regretfully, Baroness, Prince Ayato left early this morning and has not been heard from since. But!" He raised a finger to silence her, glasses glinting brilliantly as he reached into his bag. "I have something that will brighten up your day."
He handed her something carefully folded in a fine embroidered cloth, then murmured its contents in her ear. Yui struggled to eavesdrop while Hisako looked around in a dreadful boredom.
Hinami slowly withdrew, her pursed lips now coiling into pure elation. "You vicious, vicious man…"
"Call me Chr—"
"Shh, not another word." Her finger, once stroking his cheek with adoration, pressed against his own smirking lips. "Mustn't spoil the moment."
She hid the gift in a safe place, blew him a kiss, and led her girls into the church as she considered her next move. Dear Takeyama had pulled through as always. But this hand she'd been dealt with was as dangerous as it was blessed, and timing was everything.
Shrouded in the mist of the mountains, the Tenjin shrine seemed suspended in an entirely different world. The prince – or Ayato, as he preferred – had not been wrong about its library, but "impressive" didn't do it justice. From the moment Yuri stepped foot in the building, goosebumps swept over her skin as her senses drank in its magic. It smelled of worn pages and ancient secrets, but she felt like the ghost as her footsteps echoed on the wooden stairwells. All the walls were lined with packed shelves and dusty tomes. A glance over the railing during their descent showed that this would continue for many levels onward.
"Wow…" Yuri breathed, gingerly trailing her fingertips along the spines. "It makes me want to cry."
"Pick one," said Ayato, who was still descending the last staircase with a knowing smirk.
She peered wide-eyed over her shoulder at him, then grinned through an incredulous scoff. "Why don't you just ask me to pick a favorite star in the heavens?"
He joined her at the shelf, leaning against the railing and shaking his head while he studied her intensely. "What is it with you and books?" he asked, a curious chuckle escaping his lips. "I swear, you greet them like old friends."
Yuri chewed her lip as she let her thoughts carry her down another flight of stairs. During the carriage ride here, he'd been very curious about her connection to the Fukudas, and she had rambled about literature to change the subject.
Old friends… It was sort of like that.
"I guess it's because when I was young, my father used to stay up late and read to me," she said, closing her eyes and feeling along the shelves. With the smell of books and mahogany in the air, she could even see his face in the back of her mind, awash in firelight as he exaggerated his features to dramatize all the right parts. She laughed to herself. "He was such a bookworm. I'd fall asleep listening to the sound of his voice."
"What sort of books did he read?" Ayato asked, a fair trace of intrigue in his tone.
"Oh, everything, really." Yuri draped herself over the balcony railing with a nostalgic sigh. "From fantasy and supernatural, to science and philosophy. We were building our own private library for a while, so I suppose being here reminds me of him. He died when I was eight. Utopia was the last book he brought home."
Ayato grinned at her, though his eyes were soft. "Explains why you quote it," he said knowingly.
Yuri stared down into the depths, watching scholars drift in and out of the room while others sat at desks studying a book's contents intently. Crisp pages turned. Footsteps kissed cold stone. Elsewhere, a fountain sang its steady trickle. And Yuri wondered if this was what it would've been like on her father's journeys, where he should have been that week he was taken. Where he could be now, if God hadn't been so cruel. She could just see a flicker of his form, mulling over the bookcases below for the perfect gift to bring back home.
"I'd rather hear his voice again than any sound in the world," she murmured.
She could sense Ayato's eyes on her after that, but when she chanced a look in her peripheral vision, he'd dropped his gaze to the scholars below. A slow frown took over his face, his shoulders tensed and his brows drawn together as if agitated by a thought. Then he silently turned away, his heavy footsteps filling the library with a melancholy echo.
"Something wrong?" Yuri asked, following him to the staircase. She hadn't meant to depress him or anything…
At the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and looked up at her.
"In all my years of study, not one tutor ever demonstrated the passion you've shown me in the past two days," Ayato said quietly, the wistful expression on his face gradually shifting to shame. "You have more conviction in one memory that I have in my entire existence."
Yuri gripped the handrail, taken aback. "That's not true..."
"It is!" He gave a bitter, feeble excuse for a laugh. "Not even with my brother… did I…"
He trailed off then, shaking his head at himself. With an agitated sigh, he turned his back on her and continued down the stairwell.
His brother… Yuri's eyes widened in realization. It was a hushed piece of the kingdom's history that one prince had died at play. Word had it that the king actively discouraged any mention of the topic. So easy to forget that the prince had lost family too.
Flushed with nervous empathy, she hastened down the steps in a careful glide until she'd trailed him to the bottom floor.
"Your Highness," she said tentatively, "if there's anything I've said or done—"
Ayato spun around quickly, raising both hands to halt her.
"Please, don't," he managed through his teeth. His eyes lifted to meet hers, and softened. "It's not you."
Yuri nodded and joined him at the foot of the staircase. Her mind was still reeling as she regarded him a bit more curiously.
Forget me, she thought to herself, wondering. Who are you?
Amidst the sea of chattering worshippers now exiting the church, Hinami shepherded her daughters out of the way on the front steps as she located her prey. The king and queen were already seated in their carriage, which still stood idle while the latter spoke to her ladies-in-waiting. And the flow of courtiers had just reached a lull. This was their chance. She squeezed her elder daughter's shoulders for luck.
"Make haste, Hisako," she hissed in her ear, and discreetly pressed their cloth-wrapped secret weapon into her palm. "It's now or never."
Nodding, Hisako hurried down the steps, and, as soon as she'd beaten the crowd, took a deep breath and gracefully approached the royal carriage. All the while curiously unravelling the small bundle. Inside was a gorgeous ruby pendant framed with gold and pearls – literally breathtaking. She almost faltered when she saw it, but pushed on though her insides gnawed at her. Best not to think about how her mother's pet acquired such a thing; to hesitate was to incriminate.
She was already in way over her head here...
"Forgive me, Your Majesty," Hisako said, curtsying low, and presented the golden necklace to the queen. "You seem to have dropped this on your way out."
Queen Ayame uttered a soft gasp as she cradled the jewelry piece in gloved hands.
"Goodness, I don't even remember putting it on! Thank you, child!" She beamed at her in gentle admiration, touching King Kimito's arm with her free hand and sharing her awe with the rest of the carriage. "What a pure heart you have, to return such a valuable keepsake."
"A rare person, indeed," the king mused, and a rosy-haired lady-in-waiting gave her a wondering smile. Hisako felt her face flush a similar color.
"You are too magnanimous, Majesty," she said, curtsying again as she humbly backed away.
The queen shared a look with the king, then leaned forward to whisper to one of her ladies-in-waiting. "Her name?"
"Hisako Fukuda."
"Hisako," Queen Ayame called, waving to her and stopping the girl in her tracks. Hisako, who'd been glancing towards Hinami for approval, turned back around and blinked innocently. "We shall have a chat tomorrow, you and I." She gestured over her shoulder with a smile. "Bring your mother."
Nodding, Hisako respectfully lowered her eyes. "As you wish."
Bidding her good day, she kept her cool and met her mother and sister at the end of the steps. Her heart was pounding erratically in her chest. After taunting Masami for throwing a chicken in the prince's face yesterday, now she was lying straight to the queen's?
And it was working.
Hinami happily took her into her arms and held her tight. "You did wonderfully, my darling," she breathed. "A mother's approval is everything. Just you wait and see."
Swallowing hard, Hisako bit her lip and leaned into the embrace, the empty cloth clutched in her fist. Royalty was finally within her reach, so close that she could almost taste it.
It tasted not of gold, but copper.
A/N: Let me know if you spot any errors or inconsistencies! Or if you just liked what you read, that's good too.
