Hello everyone and welcome to chapter 24! I got A LOT of reviews, questioning me, "MARRIAGE?" Ha ha ha…well…it looks like today we're going to see what the hell is going on. So pull out some onigiri, turn on that Fruits Basket DVD (Episode 6 please! I love that episode…so funny…) Repeat the actor's name "Jerry Jewell" in your head while you are holding that Kyo Plushie, and start reading the chapter!

Chapter 24 "Fiancé Arrives"

Before

"MARRIAGE!" shouted Tohru's voice as Kyo eyes opened wide, though he didn't even flinch by the sudden shout.

"Marriage?" thought Kyo as he froze. "…Marriage?"

"What marriage?" questioned Kaxa who was standing behind Kyo the whole time. Now he immediately flinched and turned around quickly, acting as though he did nothing. "What are you doing sneaking up into a father and daughter conversation?"

"…Feh why do you care?" snapped Kyo rudely. "…What about you? You probably came here to listen huh?"

"…No," replied Kaxa as she lowered her brows. "I was simply passing by…anyway, you heard it right. King Yishanu told me a while ago that he was planning on Tohru to become married."

Kyo kept quiet, however he didn't show the slightest bit of interest. So what? Tohru was probably going to get married to a rich mortal prince who owned a mortal castle and had mortal warriors all to himself. What was wrong with that? It was perfect for a wonderful girl like Tohru.

"…So now what?" questioned Kaxa. "You two don't hang out anymore, why do you look so struck sudden?"

Now

Kyo completely ignored Kaxa and left her in front of the room, not speaking another word. She really didn't care about him anyway, so she simply knocked on the door, not wanting to barge in.

"Excuse me King Yishanu?" questioned Kaxa. "This is warrior Kaxa; may I come in please?"

"…Y-yes," answered Yishanu as Kaxa opened the door, inviting herself in. She looked up to see Tohru: still surprised yet she tried to hide it by giving her a happy smile. Yishanu, however, did not look so please. But that's what Kaxa imagined in the first place.

"What do you need?" questioned Yishanu. "I'm quite busy at the moment."

"Um…just wanted to say that is it now time for dinner," spoke Kaxa. "But since you are busy, I'll speak with the servants and tell them that-."

"No no," interrupted Yishanu. "It's all right. I can take care of my necessary works later. Tohru-kun, let's go."

Tohru simply shook her head as she made a bright smile, hoping that no one would get a suspicious thought about her.

"It's okay I don't feel hungry," replied Tohru. "Is that okay with you? I think I should take a shower…I'm very tired."

Yishanu slowly nodded as Tohru gave a quick wave to Kaxa, rushing out the door and walking briskly down the hallway. Kaxa took a peep at her, seeing that her face still looked fine, but by the way she was rushing to her room, that was a sign of discomfort.

"Did she take it okay?" questioned Kaxa. "…The marriage thing that is."

"I don't think so," sighed Yishanu sliding his hand through his bangs. "Everyone knows that she is always cheerful and understandable, but now as the days go by she seems to change more and more. And now when I mention this, I had a feeling that she would start shouting at me…I don't want my daughter to yell at me…she's the only thing I have left."

Kaxa placed an assure hand on his shoulder, though it didn't seem to help Yishanu reach comfort level.

"There are just some…personal things in her mind," replied Kaxa. "She needs to think them over…but this marriage thing…you really want it to happen? It might crash her life down…"

"Yes…but it will keep the kingdom high and above," spoke Yishanu.

Top Tower

Tohru folded her hands behind her back as she slowly walked up the stairs, eyes gloomy as she watched each and every step she took. Her hair swayed back and forth, sometimes seeing her dress wave with every step. Everytime someone walked by, she would quickly rise her head and give a blissful smile, not wanting anyone to worried.

"Why so out of the blue?" thought Tohru to herself. "Yesterday it was yet another war, and now he wants me to get married? I'm not mad at him…of course not! I don't want to think that way about Yishanu…but just the thought about it…"

As she looked up, her heart started to race immediately when her eyes met up with the cat leader, leaning against her bedroom door as he looked at her, no emotion approaching his face. Instead of smiling up at him like everyone else who passed her, she continued to keep her face the way her emotions wanted it to be.

She continued to walk up to him until she stopped, looking down at the ground. No, she wasn't mad at him or anything. But there was something troubling her that she just couldn't get out of her head…and for some reason it had something to do with Kyo.

"…Kyo-kun may I please go into my room?" questioned Tohru softly. "Dinner is serving now if you want something to eat."

Kyo didn't say anything and merely stepped out of the way for Tohru. She grabbed the doorknob and turned it, walking inside. But right as she was about to close it, she noticed Kyo's foot stopping the door from closing.

"…When were you going to tell me?" questioned Kyo, trying to sound curious.

Tohru felt confused. What did she need to tell him? Her hand was still on the doorknob, yet she stared down at the brown leather boots that stopped the door from closing.

"What do you me-?"

"About the marriage crap," interrupted Kyo. "When were you going to tell me about it? Or did you plan to hide it from me until I go back to Zodiac Castle?"

Tohru released the doorknob as Kyo suddenly welcomed himself in, closing the door for her. She stared at him surprised, wondering how in the world he found out. If he's been up here this whole time, her and Yishanu's conversation couldn't be that loud…could it?

"I…I don't know," replied Tohru slowly sitting on her bed. "I mean, I just found out now and all so I guess I was a little surprised since it all came out of the blue and all…"

Kyo leaned against the door, not bothering to sit next to her or anything. Just like Tohru, he wasn't mad either. There were difficult things running through his mind. Just a while back, Mortal Castle was like a vacation spot for him. But now it seemed worst then Zodiac Castle…he just couldn't think why.

"Does he have a reason?" questioned Kyo, trying not to act all inquisitive. "For you wanting to get engaged that is."

She slowly nodded, yet she didn't even bother to answer. Even though Kyo knew this was making her uncomfortable, he couldn't take it but feel piss about not knowing anything.

"…You could at least explain!" snapped Kyo angrily, however he didn't even apologize for his surprising voice rage. He didn't hear himself. It was as though someone else spoke those words and it just came right out of his mouth.

"Uh…yes!" replied Tohru quickly. She really didn't want to upset him; she remembered how angry he could get sometimes…but that's something she somehow likes about him. "Um…where do I start…"

"Name?" suggested Kyo in a rude way.

"Yes!" answered Tohru. "…Er…I mean, his name is Ginta Suniva-san! Um…other then our castle, there is another castle that is pretty far away from us. His parents died because of age so now he rules the castle with the servants and the warriors and all. His castle is smaller than ours though, but he and Yishanu got in contact somehow and now Suniva-san wants to help us fight against the Zodiac."

"…So now Yishanu wants you to marry this Ginta guy so you could rule your own castle and rule over more warriors so you can have a better advantage of defeating us?" questioned Kyo.

"…Ho-how did you know?" spoke Tohru surprised. "That's the exact reason! Wow I could have never thought of that if I were in your shoes!"

"She seems cheerful to me," thought Kyo. "Why did Ghanjan say she was miserable? Stupid servant…"

"…Why are you curious Kyo-kun?" questioned Tohru suddenly as she looked up at him.

"Feh, me? Curious?" snapped Kyo with a laugh. "Like I would be curious about anything like that. He's mortal like you, why should I care? I'm a simple prisoner here so don't think I'm curious! What am I saying…I'm going to bed."

He didn't even give Tohru a chance to say anything else as he left her room quickly. Even though he tried to hide his emotions, he couldn't help but slam her bedroom door close. Tohru looked down at the ground, face sad as ever.

"Ever since the warriors came back, Kyo-kun has been angry as ever," thought Tohru depress. "What could be bothering him? He's acting just like the first time I met him…"

To her surprise, a tear suddenly fell from her calm blue eyes. She quickly wiped it away as she sniffed up her emotions a bit.

"I didn't get to tell him when Suniva-san was coming…" spoke Tohru to herself. "I just hope he doesn't cause a huge commotion when he comes tomorrow morning…"

Zeknui's Room

The queen-to-be laid lazily on the bed, hair messy as her clothes were all wrinkling. She stared at one place for a long time, not even blinking at all. A knock was then heard as she lost her concentration on whatever she was doing. She slowly got up, yet she didn't bother to walk over to the door.

"…Lady Zeknui I brought your dinner," spoke Machi. "…Cou-?"

"Just leave it in front of the door," replied Zeknui as she pulled her hair back behind her.

She heard the servant place the tray in front of her door as her footsteps started to fade away. But once Zeknui thought she was gone, her door suddenly opened and entered the rat leader. She didn't look surprised, but instead she looked damn tired and gloomy, sitting in a dark room. Even though the room was incredibly huge and royal, she didn't give a chance to show it's true presence.

"…Rat leader," spoke Zeknui, quickly changing her face expression. "My, I wasn't expecting you to show up so suddenly."

"Sorry if I disrupted you," said Yuki, closing the door behind him. "But I wasn't sure if you knew, but Jek-Dragon 172 is in perfect condition. After the battle that is, or did someone already reported that information to you?"

"I find my reasons," said Zeknui casually, fixing up her dress. "Just as long he isn't dead, then I won't be in a somewhat angry mood. But I'm still mad at him…he could have said no to Yishanu right then, but he had to go off. Stupid boy…he's the future ruler of Zodiac Castle."

Yuki looked around the place, trying not to make eye contact with Zeknui. He had already discovered some of her devastating past plans she did with Tohru and some others. She was extremely different…yet she seemed to resemble Lord Akito. Thinking of that, a shivery chill went up his spine, yet he didn't show any emotion.

"Rat leader," spoke Zeknui, buttoning up her collar and standing up, almost losing her balance. "I want you to keep an eye on Jekou from now on until further instructions, which of course will be given by Lord Akito. Don't let him do anything foolish that might cost his identity or his life understand? I can easily take your life away you know."

"…Understood," replied Yuki taking a slow bow. He looked up to see if Zeknui had anything else to say, but he noticed that her eyes were red as bags hung over her eyelids. Her face was pale as ever, almost white as a pure ghost instead of that rich snowy white skin.

"If it isn't a problem," spoke Yuki opening the door, about to leave. "But since I'm mostly the strongest of Zodiacs, would it be all right if I would to ask why you aren't doing any of your…plans?"

Zeknui simply walked out of her room as Yuki followed, closing it behind as Zeknui got to a head start. The dinner tray helplessly laid in front of her door, though she didn't bother to eat. The rat leader figured that if he continued to follow Zeknui, he would start to get on her nerves. He didn't want that to happen, yet Zeknui seemed to become quieter and somewhat…ignored.

Next Day

The maids rushed to make Tohru's bed as clean as possible, wiping the tables and scrubbing the wooden floors. Ironing the curtains and cleaning the bathroom; it was all a racket today. Tohru sat in her chair as one maid started to choose a delightful dress for her, another one combing out her hair, and another maid who started to clean her nails. Tohru kept asking that it wasn't needed, but no matter what, they wouldn't obey since it was under King Yishanu's order.

"Please, I can do this all myself," said Tohru happily. "You don't need to do all of this for me! You should get ready as well!"

"King Yishanu order us to help you get ready Princess Tohru," spoke one of the maids, pulling out a couple of dresses. "He told us that we had to prepare you for the arrival of Prince Ginta and we can't disobey his commands."

Tohru made a soft sigh as the maid who once spoke rushed up to her, holding two gallant dresses that Tohru, to her surprised, didn't even know that it was in her closet. One was a hot red dress that was strapless and had decorations of black pearl flowers, decorating the whole dress. The other one, however, the one that caught her eyes, was a nice dark green dress that had a choker with it, sparkling with green gloves attach to it. She really liked the color green, and for some reason the hot red dress just didn't suit her.

"Um…may I have the green dress please?" questioned Tohru a bit shyly, even after many many years of ruling by the King, she wasn't quite use to ordering people around, especially for her own needs.

"Certainly!" replied the maid. "This dress is extravagant Princess Tohru! A very wise choice indeed!"

Outside

King Yishanu, accompany by Zeknui and a few warriors, incase of some unexpected battle shootout (which will most likely never happen) waited at the front entrance, the large gate that blocked out everyone. All the warriors were not needed for this kind of arrangement; they were mostly inside, doing their usual routine. King Yishanu tried to look as tall as ever, wanting to improve the other kingdom on how intelligent he was, as Zeknui wanted to laugh rudely at him, but held it.

"Prince Ginta is now arriving!" announced one of the gate men, standing up on the head quarters tower. "Release the gate! Release the gate!"

The men who had total control over the opening and closing of the gate rapidly released the thick heavy rope, slowly dropping the gate onto the ground so that the Prince and any of his other guests could enter. This time, Yishanu stood proud as ever, as for Zeknui, she copied, however she tried not to act like a total goof ball. Kaxa lowered the barrier as the prince came close into contact with it. The horse trailer crossed as a few of 3 dozens of warriors followed behind, holding weapons and such.

As soon as they were inside, Kaxa immediately rose the barrier once more. The gate slowly lifted, seeing the warriors having difficulty in doing so. Yishanu put on a decent grin as Zeknui made a pleasant smile, becoming a bit concern about her identity being discovered by the Prince or the warriors.

One of Yishanu's warriors gradually opened the carriage door for the prince as he walked out. Zeknui, to be honest, was impress by the image and the graceful moves of this boy. He had short yet lose and perfectly in style brown hair and the calmest blue eyes she has ever seen, almost as blue as Princess Tohru herself. He wore rich blue uniform with a key-chain or some kind of locket sticking out from his pocket, revealing that he is Prince.

"My…" whispered Zeknui to herself. "He looks far different from a mortal…"

"Ah, good morning Prince Ginta," greeted Yishanu as he firmly shook hands with the Prince himself. "It is so nice to see you at our castle. How is everything back at Grimkil Castle?"

"Fine as ever my King," replied Ginta with a low yet steady bow. Every second Zeknui was becoming impressed by this boy's behavior. All the mortals she ever saw were somewhat carefree…simple…sometimes rude…on the other hand, Prince Ginta was as sophisticated as ever.

"I should introduce you to my future wife, Zeknui Gyte," said Yishanu as Zeknui slowly revealed her hand, being taken by the Prince's hand as he pressed his lips against it, showing his respects.

"It is an honor to meet a fine lady such as you," said Prince Ginta with a calm smile. For some reason, Zeknui couldn't help but blush, yet she immediately withdraw her hand and curtsey to him, hiding her embarrass face.

"And this is my loyal partner, Kaxa Suou," introduced Yishanu as she made a bow, the Prince returning it as well.

"Now that's been taken care of," interrupted Yishanu. "Warriors, take the Prince's belongings inside the castle and place him in the guest room on the third tower if you do so may. Prince Ginta, allow me to show you around the castle?"

"It would welcome me even more," replied Ginta as he followed Yishanu into the castle. Kaxa looked up at Zeknui, seeing her blush slowly disappearing. Why would she be blushing at Prince Ginta? She couldn't possibly be having second thoughts…no…it was impossible! Mostly outraging!

Tohru's Room

"Oh, Princess Tohru you look extremely radiant as a true princess!" complimented one of the maids as all the others gazed at Tohru with gleaming eyes. And they were indeed being truthful. Tohru looked so beautiful, she could easily surpass a true angel. Her long silky brown hair was straightened out with a green ribbon used as a hair band. The long straight dress she had on fit perfectly, revealing every curve on her body, which made her look like a woman. The choker and bright green earrings somehow brought out her beauty even more while the green gloves sparkled just like her dress.

"AH-NO UM…IT'S NOTHING THAT GR-GREAT!" stuttered Tohru, becoming a bit uncomfortable by everyone watching her. "I…thank you…all of you for helping me, but please it's nothing at all!"

The compliments continued to go through her ears, trying to answer each and every one of them until her eyes fell upon her clock. She was told to be downstairs by 11:00, and it seemed to be 11:07 already.

"Oh no I'm late!" cried out Tohru devastated.

"Princess Tohru don't forget the shoes that come along with the dress!" reminded a maid holding her glass slipper (no…this is not like Cinderella…that damn bitch…that slipper could of cost HUGE GRAND but no…she had to leave it behind and instead take love. I would have gone for the money instead…)

Tohru quickly took the shoes and put it on, not thinking if she had the right foot in the right slipper, but that didn't matter. She opened her bedroom door, and for some reason took her time, becoming a bit nervous about meeting this Prince she would have to marry.

But to her unexpected surprise, the door across from her immediately opened as the Lord Kyo walked out, wearing his usual warrior uniform that would always make him look cool…well…that's what Tohru thought. She wanted to say hi, but nothing came out of her mouth. As Kyo closed his door, he noticed Tohru, staring blankly at him, but to his surprise, his face suddenly turned red, crimson as his eyes.

"…Go…good morning, Kyo-kun," greeted Tohru as she tried to sound happy as possible. "Come on Tohru…try to be as cheerful as you can! Did you sleep well last night? It was a wonderful day yesterday! The weather was absolutely perfect!"

"You look excited," muttered Kyo, taking his steps to walk down the curvy stairs. "Probably because you're going to be off marrying that Prince guy huh?"

Tohru looked confused as ever as she caught up with him, wondering what he meant by that.

"The happy face, the dress up, what do you expect?" questioned Kyo stupidly. "It's obvious that you want to marry this guy. It looks like today is going to be the happiest day for you."

"Why is he acting so moody?" thought Tohru. "I…Kyo-kun I don't exactly know who this Prince Suniva-san is, but I have to marry him for my own peoples' sakes. Today is like an ordinary day for me, nothing special or anything."

She tried hard to keep her anger inside by clenching her fist. She was always nice to everyone, even if they didn't like her, she would treat them with kindness. But around Kyo…it was as though she could never control her emotions…and what really bothered her was that she wanted to yell at him. She has never yelled to anyone before in her life except for Kyo-kun…why is that?

"Better be glad you are finding yourself a husband to go to," muttered Kyo rudely. "Because once I go back to Zodiac Castle, it's going to be this Ginta guy I'm going after."

Tohru couldn't take it anymore; Kyo's behavior was really driving her mad, yet as low as possible, she tried to hide that anger yelling inside of her head.

"Why are you speaking so rudely about Prince Suniva-san?" questioned Tohru a bit harshly. "This is only about me and him and our people! Why do you want to slaughter Prince Suniva-san?"

"…Because he's going to run his own kingdom that's why!" snapped Kyo angrily, going faster down the stairs, but Tohru chose to follow by his pace.

"Kyo-kun why are you acting like this?" questioned Tohru, though it really didn't sound like a question. "Is Prince Suniva-san bothering you this much?"

"By the way I'm talking, does it sound like it?" spat Kyo harshly. "You're just sticking up for the weakling because you are going to marry that boring old guy."

Dining Room Staircase

"And in here is where all the past rulers portraits are displayed," spoke Yishanu, opening up his arms as though he were going to hug the whole room. "Right by the living room door is my great-grandfather, Ryuto Kaznemi. You have heard about him, did you not?"

"My father spoke highly about him while I was still a youth," replied Ginta ever so royal. "I heard he was a great and powerful man; I am sure his high characteristics are passed down to you, seeing how great your castle seems to be taking."

"How ever so kind of you to speak about me that way," said Yishanu with a somewhat excited grin, but of course since he was King, he tried to hide it. "Hm…I wonder where Tohru-kun went off to…"

"You mean the Princess?" questioned Ginta who's interest was suddenly captured.

"Yes," replied Yishanu. "I precisely told her to be down here at 11:00, but it seems she's fifteen minutes late. I hope she didn't sleep in…uh, not that she does however!"

Ginta merely smiled, thinking about this Tohru Honda he would be marrying. Sleeping in…not coming on time…she didn't sound like a Princess…but more of a…unique girl he wasn't expecting.

"FOOLISH?" shouted a voice that caught Ginta and Yishanu off guard. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING FOOLISH YOU SILLY PRINCESS!"

"Kyo-kun it's nothing to get angry about!" shouted another voice as they started to become closer and closer to Ginta and Yishanu. "And why are you calling me a silly princess?"

"BECAUSE YOU ARE A SILLY PRINCESS DAMMIT!" bellowed the other voice. "BUT NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT, YOU'RE MORE THEN A SILLY PRINCESS! YOU'RE A SILLY MORTAL!"

"…A-and you are a foolish…a foolish…"

"COME ON!" snapped the other voice as they appeared in front of Yishanu and Ginta's view, standing at the stair case entrance, Yishanu and Ginta looking up at them. "SAY IT! I KNOW YOU WANT TO SAY IT!"

"…A foolish Zodiac!" shouted Tohru suddenly as they started talking back and forth angrily, yet it seemed Kyo was the one who was becoming pissed.

"…Is that…the Princess?" questioned Ginta a bit surprised, a sweatdrop falling off his head.

"…Unfortunately, yes," replied Yishanu. "Um…Tohru-kun, dear?"

Tohru and Kyo's eyes quickly went to Yishanu, scaring him a bit since they both were in an angry mood right now. But suddenly Tohru spotted the boy standing next to Yishanu, and she figured that it was most likely to be the Prince.

"Oh, um, good morning!" greeted Tohru happily as she rushed down the stairs, almost losing her balance. Kyo gave a despicable look at Ginta and turned around, wanting to leave until a voice stopped him.

"You come down here too," ordered Yishanu, and to his surprise, Kyo obeyed. He was expecting to get some kind of shout from him, but it looked like he was taking control over the cat leader.

Both Kyo and Tohru approached Yishanu, however they both looked away, not wanting to make eye contact, which caused Ginta to become very confused.

"Prince Ginta, allow me to introduce my daughter, and your fiancée, Princess Tohru Honda," said Yishanu as Tohru looked up at Ginta surprised. He was surely tall, taller then Kyo to be exact. She couldn't help but blush by his appearance; he was absolutely handsome, the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen…well…maybe not the gorgeous boy she had ever seen…

"Tohru-kun, this is your fiancé, Prince Ginta Suou," said Yishanu as she fell from her focus, bowing down quickly to Ginta as he returned it, that was until his eyes went to Kyo, who was looking at Tohru a bit pissed.

"Oh," interrupted Yishanu. "This boy is Lord Kyo, or by how you know him, cat leader of Zodiac Castle."

Ginta shivered a bit, not believing what a Zodiac was doing here. His eyes stared at Kyo a bit nervously, yet no matter what he had to act as calm as possible. But Yishanu could tell by his expression that he was utterly confused.

"Don't worry, he's not going to kill you," assured Yishanu, though he wasn't exactly sure about that.

Ginta looked between Tohru and Kyo continuously. It seemed like when they were coming downstairs, they were having an argument. Did they always have arguments like this? Or was it just for today? But most importantly, how come the cat leader isn't killing anyone? Or how come he didn't escape?

"Maybe that barrier that warrior placed up is too strong for him," thought Ginta to himself. "Could that be the reason?"

"Tohru-kun," spoke Yishanu, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Would you ever be so kind as to show Prince Ginta the rest of the castle?"

Tohru looked at her father, yet for some reason her eyes were immediately stick upon Kyo's. It didn't seem that he would stop anything, and he was in a grumpy mood, so maybe he just needed some time to cool down. She needed to cool down too…she actually called him a Zodiac…

"Yes, Yishanu," replied Tohru as Ginta offered her his hand. She hesitated, but grabbed it as Kyo's eyes twitched a bit, yet he hid it and continued to look around the room, acting as though nothing was bothering him.

"…You can leave if you want to cat leader," spoke Yishanu.

"Then don't tell me to come down here you damn King!" shouted Kyo inside his mind, however he simply listened and stormed up the stairs, wanting to go back to his room. Boy…was he having a horrible day…and he knew that tonight…and tomorrow would be even worst…