Ritsu, after a few failed attempts resulting in him landing on his butt, managed to climb back over the castle wall that stood between him and the garden. He was a little concerned at his ability to sneak around. Were the guards here not doing their jobs properly? He hoped he was just getting lucky and that this wasn't a reflection of the guards' failure. He let out a breath of relief once he was finally back on the castle grounds. It seemed he had not been caught, at least so far. He quickly went to the guest room he always resided in whenever his family visited the Kohinata Kingdom, hoping to not run into either of his parents on his way.

Once behind the safety of his door, he freshened up a bit, making sure there was no visible sand or dirt anywhere on his clothing. He still had quite a bit of time before dinner, combing over his appearance carefully to make sure nothing was out of place. It simply would not do for him to show up to dinner a complete mess! Not only would he get a terrible scolding, but his parents would become awfully suspicious of just what exactly Ritsu had been up to. He let out a soft sigh, finally relaxing once his appearance was presentable.

I think I might've gotten away with this, Ritsu at least hoped that he did. If I can do it once, I can do it again, that is, if An would agree to help him again. He hoped the girl didn't go through too much trouble. An was smart though. She likely just avoided curious eyes and if anyone had caught her alone she probably evaded them by saying she needed to get back to Ritsu or something of similar effect.

Where is An now? Ritsu hoped he'd be able to find and reunite with her. They should've corroborated some sort of story about their day and what they did together before Ritsu left. Live and learn, they could make sure they thought things through more next time. If there would be a next time.

Ritsu hadn't seen An in the garden when he had quickly navigated it, so he didn't think she was still there. He started to brainstorm possible places An could be when he heard voices in the hallway.

"Ritsu should know better than to leave you on your own." Ritsu froze. His mother.

"Ah, it really is fine! He just excused himself for a moment. There was a slight mishap in the garden and he wanted to freshen up. There's no need to scold him." An spoke quickly. His mother must've found An alone and demanded to know Ritsu's location. "I'm sure he will join me soon." She added.

Ritsu took a deep breath and opened his door, his mother standing there with her hand raised as if she had been about to knock. An did her best not to look surprised. After all, this was where Ritsu was 'supposed' to be. She shouldn't be surprised to see him, lest she tip Queen Onodera off that something was wrong.

"Ritsu! There you are." His mother frowned, lowering her hand.

"Hello, mother. Is there a problem?" He asked, stepping out of his room and shutting the door behind him.

"You and An were meant to be spending the day together and I find her on her own, tucked away in a corner of the library." His mother put her hands on her hips.

An must've been waiting there for Ritsu to return. Smart, Ritsu thought. That would've been the first place he checked. The library was very rarely disturbed by many people at once and there were multiple nooks and crannies to hide in. Unfortunately, it seemed An hadn't hid well enough.

"I was just about to meet her there, mother. My clumsiness got the better of me while we were in the garden and I didn't want to walk around looking disheveled and dirty." Ritsu said.

His mother pursed her lips. He knew leaving An alone displeased her, but walking around looking less than perfectly pristine would've displeased her as well. She would have to decide which battle to pick this time.

"Very well. Do take more care of yourself, Ritsu. While it may have only been your clothes that suffered this time, the next time it may be your body."

"Yes mother." Ritsu said with a respectful bow of his head.

"I'll leave you two then. Ritsu, you will escort An to the dining room once it is time for supper." It was not a request.

Ritsu nodded and watched his mother walk away. Both the prince and princess slumped with relief when she rounded the corner.

An scampered over to peek around and make sure she was well and truly gone before running back over to Ritsu to speak with him in hushed tones.

"Thank God you returned when you did! I thought we were surely caught!" An whisper-yelled. "Your mother is...certainly determined. I tried to tell her there was no need to disturb you and that you would return to me in your own time, but she would not listen."

Ritsu smiled. "Thank you, An. I know my mother is...intimidating. It could not have been easy to lie to her." He said.

"Make it up to me by telling me about your friend!" An beamed, hungry to hear about Ritsu's time off the castle grounds.

Ritsu's smile turned a little shy. "He's...interesting, to say the least. I've never met anyone like him before." He said, technically not lying. "He's a little rough around the edges, but I think there's more to him than he's letting on." He added. Unkind people didn't save animals, clean beaches, and allow annoying humans to walk away with their lives.

"What's his name?" An asked curiously. "Where did you meet?"

Ritsu wasn't sure if it was okay to tell An. The siren had been so hesitant to tell Ritsu his name in the first place. But, this was An, Ritsu trusted her and she had helped him go meet Saga in the first place.

"His name is Saga." Ritsu said. "I may have told a small lie and told him a fake name." Ritsu added to avoid answering her second question. He didn't want to mention the private beach. She'd have no way of finding it without specific directions, but he still didn't want to risk her searching for it someday.

"Probably for the best." An said with a shrug. "At least until you know you can really trust this 'Saga'." She added.

Ritsu nodded in agreement. "Would you be able to help me leave a couple more times before my family and I go home?" He asked. "I understand I'm asking for a big favor, especially after you had to deal with my mother…"

An hesitated. "Are you sure, Richan? You almost got caught today."

"If I get caught, I get caught. I'll take all the blame. I'm sure my parents are incapable of being angry with you anyway." Ritsu said.

An pouted. "But I don't want you to get into trouble either."

"Please Anchan? I promise I can handle whatever punishment I receive if I'm caught. I just...I have to see him again." Ritsu said.

An crossed her arms, looking away from Ritsu and gently teething at her lower lip in thought. "This person certainly must be something special."

"I think he is."

"You're making me curious. Now I want to meet him." An said.

"He's a pretty private person from what I can tell." Ritsu said. "But maybe someday." He added with a smile. He sincerely doubted it, but who knew? It was a possibility, as slim as that possibility was.

"Okay. I'll help you again. Not tomorrow, though. You should be seen around the castle tomorrow." An said.

"Do you think the next day would be fine?" Ritsu asked. He and his family were leaving in five days. He hoped he'd have enough time to see the siren at least two more times before departing.

An nodded. "It should be. Tomorrow we really should spend time together, both because you're my friend and because it would do you some good if we ran into your mother while side by side. It will put her at ease if we cross paths with her a few times."

"You're probably right." Ritsu said. Besides, it wasn't like he minded hanging out with An for the day. Quite the contrary, it was usually his favorite part of these trips to the Kohinata Kingdom. But now...now it just felt like a matchmaking session. Ritsu frowned a bit at that thought. He and An weren't just friends anymore, they were betrothed. He didn't want that to change things, but surely it did.

"Is everything okay, Richan?" An asked, noticing his pensive expression.

"I realized I never asked you how you felt about...um...our engagement." Ritsu said.

An turned a little pink. "I-I could be engaged to worse people. It doesn't seem like such a bad thing to marry my best friend."

Hearing An put it like that made Ritsu feel terribly guilty for his apprehension about marrying her.

"You don't want to marry for love?" Ritsu asked.

Of course I do, An thought. I love you, I'm marrying you for love, but she did not confess such a thing out loud. Ritsu was clearly not excited about this engagement and she didn't want to make things more complicated for him by expressing her affections.

"It would be nice. But I think it's a little unrealistic, especially for a princess." She said.

Ritsu frowned, but nodded. Perhaps it was unrealistic to hope for more when Ritsu had already been born blessed. Yet, Ritsu doubted he would be able to bring himself to be satisfied with their arranged marriage.

"Let's talk about how we're going to sneak you out again." An said, wanting to brighten the prince's mood.

"Yes, we're going to need a little more of a plan if we want to avoid another close call."

The two young royals shared a delightful dinner with their parents, Ritsu's mother's mood seeming to brighten when he and An walked into the dining room together. An did most of the talking when they were asked how they had spent their day, Ritsu merely nodding along in agreement, not wanting to contradict her.

We really got away with it, Ritsu thought as he laid in bed that night. Their parents seemed to fully believe An as she recounted their time together. Then again, why wouldn't they? An had no reason to lie, as far as they knew. She was the picture perfect image of innocence and honesty. They underestimated both of their capacities for mischief. But, their parents forgot that they were still children. Strict parents more often than not resulted in sneaky kids and the prince and princess were learning.

Ritsu and An spent the next day together, spending their time between planning for Ritsu's next rendezvous and just hanging out. They made sure Ritsu's mother saw them together throughout the day a few times and Ritsu was relieved that his mother appeared pleased.

Ritsu showed An his favorite spot in the library, a small nook that was blocked off by multiple shelves of novels. He had never been found whenever he sat and read there and he suspected if An did the same she would not be found either. He didn't expect her to stay and wait in the library the whole time he was gone, but it could act as a meeting spot for the two of them once Ritsu returned. They also agreed that if An was caught alone, then she should say she left Ritsu's side rather than vice versa so she could claim to not know where Ritsu was at that time. She admitted that she should've done so yesterday, but she had been caught off guard and had to think on her feet quickly when Ritsu's mother demanded answers. It wasn't foolproof, but claiming ignorance was the safest route so that An's claims could not be investigated and proven false.

"One more thing." Ritsu said. "Do you think you could help me sneak into the kitchen tomorrow?"

Ritsu stepped on to the sand, a small basket in his hands with enough food for two. "Saga?" He called out, not wanting to accidentally sneak up on the siren and startle him.

Saga turned to look at Ritsu, his face remaining stoic at the sight of the human. He had thought that since the human hadn't returned yesterday that meant he wasn't returning at all. Clearly, he had been wrong.

"What's that?" The siren pointed at the basket, not bothering with a greeting.

Ritsu smiled brightly, going to sit beside him on the sand. "Lunch! I don't know if you eat prepared fish, but I thought it was worth offering." He said, setting the basket down between them.

"Why did you bring me lunch?" Saga asked. "I'm still not gonna sing for you."

"I-no! I didn't bring it as a bribe!" Ritsu said, some panic entering his voice as he quickly waved his hands and shook his head. "I just wanted to do something nice!"

"Something nice? For nothing in return?" Saga asked skeptically.

"I don't count your company as nothing." Ritsu said. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to." He added. "I-I mean, o-obviously you don't have to eat it if you don't want to, you don't need me to tell you that, I just-it's like-consider it a peace offering?" Oh God, I'm already screwing this up, aren't I?

Saga looked at him distrustfully before opening the basket to look at the contents, admittedly a little curious about what was inside. "I've never tried prepared fish." He said. He only ate his food while it was still alive. "...You eat some first."

What, does he think I've poisoned it or something? Ritsu thought, but didn't protest. This siren was right to be wary around him. Ritsu had no room to judge, considering his own wariness had caused him to give a fake name. Instead he merely reached into the basket, pulling out a rather simple dish of rice, vegetables and salmon. Ritsu and An had convinced the cook to make them something, claiming it was to tie them over until dinner as they had not been satisfied with their lunch. In reality, Ritsu hadn't eaten at all in hopes to share a meal with Saga and An would not be eating the meal prepared. Originally, Ritsu and An had thought maybe they'd be able to sneak in and make something themselves before realizing neither of them have ever cooked and it would likely result in disaster, as well as wasted ingredients. So, they instead snuck into the kitchen to beg the cook for something to eat. The two were not forbidden from entering the kitchen, but it certainly was not encouraged. The cook had agreed only to get the children out of his hair.

Ritsu did away with the thoughts of his and An's kitchen adventure and started to eat, pretending he didn't notice Saga was watching him. Ritsu hoped the siren's curiosity about the food was a good sign.

"Give me that one." Saga said before Ritsu could eat too much of it, holding his hand out.

"Huh? But I have another-"

"I want that one."

Ritsu decided to play along, handing the dish over. He was about to grab a new pair of chopsticks for Saga as well, but the siren took the ones Ritsu had used.

"Ah-wait-" Ritsu tried to protest, but the siren did not listen, eating the food. He struggled with the chopsticks, never having used them before, but managed to take a bite. He definitely was using them wrong, but Saga didn't care as long as he managed to get the food in his mouth.

Ritsu blushed darkly at the indirect kiss and Saga raised an eyebrow at him after swallowing some of the salmon. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing!" Ritsu would dive into his basket and shut the lid if he could. If the siren didn't realize what he had just done then Ritsu certainly wasn't going to point it out.

Saga decided he didn't care and continued to eat. "It's definitely different. But it's not bad." He said.

"Good." Ritsu squeaked out, trying to calm down as he grabbed the second helping out of the basket. He started to eat, feeling relieved that Saga didn't hate it. "If you'd like, I can bring you something to eat again. A different dish, maybe?" Ritsu said. "That is, if you want to have lunch with me again." He added quickly not wanting to seem even slightly presumptuous.

Saga nodded, not looking away from his meal. "Sure." He said. He wasn't prideful enough to turn away free food. Besides, he wanted to know what other sort of things humans ate. He then realized that he had just agreed to Ritsu returning.

Ritsu smiled. "Okay." He said. "I won't be back tomorrow. If I sneak off too often my family might notice. But, the next day I should be able to come for lunch again." He watched as the siren continued to struggle with the chopsticks. "Um, I'm sorry, I should've realized you never would've used chopsticks before. Want me to show you how?"

"These are stupid." Saga complained. Sirens didn't need chopsticks or whatever Ritsu had called them, they had claws and teeth.

"You just have to get used to them. Here, look, like this." Ritsu held up his own hand, trying to demonstrate how to hold them properly. Saga attempted to mimic him, but just fumbled with the utensil.

Slowly, as if testing the boundaries of a feral cat, Ritsu reached out to gently touch his hand and readjust his grip for him. "There, like that." He smiled. "It should be easier now."

"...Thanks."

Ritsu pulled away quickly, not wanting to push his luck. "Of course, it's no problem."

Saga did his absolute best with the chopsticks as he continued to eat, but clearly struggled as he was not used to the feeling of them in his hand. Ritsu found it sort of endearing.

"Stop laughing at me." The siren mumbled.

"I'm not laughing." Ritsu quickly denied.

"I can tell you want to." Saga said in an accusatory tone.

"Don't worry, you'll get better at using them with practice." Ritsu assured.

After all, Saga would have the opportunity to use them once more when they had lunch together again.