Author's Notes: I must warn you, Megumi may get a little mud thrown her way, but that's only because its necessary. I don't hate her that much in the anime. Same goes for Enishi. If anything, I pity the poor guy, but he must be tortured in the plot. They'll get their moments in the sun later.
Thanks again, everyone! Now, here's the second chapter!
Disclaimer: Don't own the characters nor plot.
* * * * *
Winter
Part One: Overcast Skies
~ II ~
* * * * *
The next morning, Kaoru was humming happily while approaching the main gates of the school. She had gotten up early and walked to school. She hopped up on the railing and walked along despite her instability.
"Kaoru, you might break something." An annoyed voice called from behind her. Kaoru immediately jumped off and turned around.
"Good morning, Enishi!" She said in her singsong voice. When he didnít return the salutation and continued to glare at her, her smile faded.
"Is something wrong?"
"Yes, there is," He said irritably, "Rather, the question is, did you forget something?"
"Hm," Kaoru pretended to think, "I did my math homework. I think Iím fully dressed. I ate breakfast and brushed my teeth. And I arrived on time. Nope! I donít think I forgot anything!" She smiled cheerfully.
"You forgot that I was supposed to walk you home yesterday." Enishi grumbled. Kaoruís smile faded immediately.
"Oh! Iím so sorry! I forgot you were waiting for me!"
"I waited until sundown and I didnít see you so I assumed you already left."
"No, I was here until well after sundown." She tried smiling at him, in hopes of lightening his mood. All that did was make it worse.
"With who? That Battousai freak?"
"Hey! Thatís not fair! You donít even know him! Heís a very nice person!"
"I donít care," Enishi huffed, "Thereís something about him that I donít like."
"Enishi, you have to lighten up! Thereís nothing wrong with him." Kaoru hopped back onto the railing, "Youíre too suspicious of everyone."
"Kaoru, be careful!" Enishi disregarded her last statement completely. "You could fall off! Give me your hand, at least."
"Iíll be fine," Kaoru persisted, "Besides, what right do I have to holding your hand? Only lovers do that." She continued hopping along the unsteady railing. Enishiís eyes narrowed at this and without another word, he stalked off. Kaoru stared after him in curiosity.
"Kamiya!" An enraged voice screeched. Kaoru stepped off the beam calmly and turned.
"You wanted something, Megumi?"
"I donít know WHAT you did to brainwash Battousai," Megumi seethed, "But mark my words, I will get him back from your little hands!" With that, she left in a fashion not different from Enishiís. Kaoru stared after her as well. Brainwash?
"Hey." A voice from behind her called. Kaoru jumped a mile into the air. She whirled around, heart thudding in her chest. There stood Battousai with a casual grin.
"Donít go scaring people like that!" She yelled at him. He cocked an eyebrow as she regulated her breathing.
"Figures," He snorted, "Out of all the people who yelled at you today, Iím the one who can scare you." With that he flashed her a grin. Kaoruís heart threatened to speed up again so she quickly looked away and changed the topic.
"So, um, whatíd you do to Megumi?"
"Megumi?"
"Yeah, tall and pretty girl with brown eyes."
"All the pretty girls I know donít have brown eyes." Battousai grinned at her. Kaoruís own blue eyes widened and she looked away blushing.
"I think you know who Iím talking about."
"Yeah, actually," He shrugged, "I think I scared her away by accident. Oh well."
"I donít think sheís capable of being scared away by anyone sheís set her eye on." Kaoru stated flatly.
"She likes me?"
"You canít tell?" Kaoru glared at him dully.
"Jealous, are we?" Battousai winked at her. Kaoru tried to look annoyed but couldnít stop a small blush from entering her cheeks.
"Sometimes your arrogance surprises me."
"Speaking of my arrogance, I thought of an adequate way to pay off that little debt you owe me." He grinned. Kaoruís stomach did a flip. He continued without waiting for her reply, "Come to the park with me today."
"Oh!" She let out a breath she didnít know she was holding, "Sure. Where should I meet you after school?"
"I meant now."
Kaoru stared at him in disbelief.
"B-but we have school!"
Battousai shrugged.
"So?"
"Weíre required to BE in school!" Kaoru tried again.
"Point being?"
Kaoru sighed.
"No point in arguing with the stupid." She mumbled to herself. When she looked up to make a snappy retort, she noticed that Battousai was already walking in the direction of the bus stops.
"Hey! Wait up!"
* * * * *
Kaoru stepped off the bus and stretched. The sunlight filtered through the trees of the little strip of land. She took a deep breath and sighed. Battousai stepped off after her and surveyed the area.
"So what are we going to do?" Kaoru said as she turned around. Her breath caught in her throat. The sunlight highlighted Battousaiís hair, setting it off in the brightest shades of red. And Kaoru herself looked beautiful. Battousai couldnít help but notice how her eyes shined in the sun. However, the latter had more self-control and was first to recover.
"I thought we got rid of the staring habit." He grinned, with only the slightest pink twinge on his face. That snapped Kaoru out of her stupor and she blushed sheepishly. She turned back around and looked out into the ocean.
"So this is a nice spot. What are we going to do now?"
"Oh, this wasnít the park I was talking about."
Kaoru looked at him curiously. They had sat on a bus for over half an hour and this was the only area that resembled a park in the area. Battousai caught her confused look and grinned. He took her by the shoulders and pushed her towards the shoreline. Kaoru looked at the water and gave him another confused look. He laughed and pointed off towards the horizon where a tiny island was barely visible. Her mouth formed a little ëoí and he laughed again.
"Weíd better get going if we want to catch the ferry." Battousai said, checking his watch. Kaoru dumbly nodded and followed him.
On the boat, Battousai sat down on one of the benches near the side of the boat while Kaoru was content standing by the railing. Once the ferry took off, she closed her eyes and spread her arms, embracing the wind and the sun. Battousai peeked over from where he was sitting and was enchanted. The wind nipping her nose and cheeks to a light pink, and the wind running freely in her hair; she looked like a goddess. He didnít even realize he was staring until she spoke.
"I thought staring was supposed to be MY bad habit." She grinned, proud to have caught him blushing. Luckily, he didnít have to reply, for the boat hit a minor bump, signaling that they had docked. The two of them stepped off onto the island.
* * * * *
At no point during the whole day did Kaoru feel regret for taking Battousai up on his offer. They spent the day taking walks on the shore, weaving between the trees playing games, laughing into the wind. Now they lay by the waterfront, watching the sun set.
"So what do you want to do now?" Battousai lay back in the grass.
"Can we just sit here for a moment?" Kaoru suggested from where she sat. "Itís a beautiful view." He shrugged his consent and they sat in silence.
"Just curious," Battousai spoke up, "Do you have anything to do this weekend?"
"Nope. I donít think so," Kaoru said after briefly thinking about it, "Why?"
"Feel up for lunch and a movie?"
"Uh," Kaoruís mind went into overdrive. Did he just ask her out on a date? What should she say? She thought for a split second more before replying, "Sure." He flashed her a grin and they sat in silence again.
"Hey," Battousai spoke again after aother moment or two, "Wonít your parents be worried?"
"Nope," Kaoru said, eyes still on the horizon, "But they probably would if they were still alive."
"Small world." He retorted. At this, Kaoru turned halfway to look at him. Sensing her confusion, he elaborated, "I havenít had parents for a while now."
"Oh," Kaoru turned back towards the water, "Howíd you manage to get yourself into this school by yourself?"
"My legal guardian got me here from America."
"But arenít you...?"
"At the age I could take care of myself? Yeah. I had a few issues back home so they sent me here."
Neither of them had any more to say on the subject and another silence blanketed them. Kaoru sighed after a few minutes.
"I think I have to be getting back now." She said, rather regretfully, "We still have school tomorrow." Battousai nodded and stood up. Likewise, Kaoru stretched and smoothed her skirt. Together they made their way back to the dock.
* * * * *
Kaoru slept the bus again the next morning. She was rudely woken up in the same fashion as well: a harsh thud on the head and an arrogant grin. Kaoru said her share of obscenities and stepped off the bus in high spirits with Battousai following. They didnít get too far into the main gates of school before having wedding marches hummed at them and questions regarding their first-born child. There was even a large "Kaoru + Battousai Forever" scrawled in chalk on the pavement. Almost everyone was making comments, jokes or catcalls. Only Megumi and Enishi sulked jealously off in the sidelines.
Battousai took all of this in with calm regard, glaring occasionally at a few guys whose jokes passed the ëfriendlyí line. Kaoru was looking at her hands as she walked forward, trying her best not to blush, but hardly succeeding. As they made their way towards the school, neither of them had noticed Hiko standing before the building. When the two came within hearing range, Hiko took a deep breath and bellowed.
"You two lovebirds get yourselves over here!"
Battousai narrowed his eyes and walked leisurely over, while Kaoru blushed and took quicker steps. Quite naturally, she was the first to reach him.
"Iím sorry, Principal Hiko." She bowed and kept her head lowered. He snorted and glared over her head to the second of the two culprits.
"Sometime this century, idiot." He yelled brazenly at Battousai. The latter returned the glare but increased his pace. Once they were both in front of him, Hiko cleared his throat.
"Where exactly were you two yesterday?"
"I was sick." Battousai drawled out.
"Donít give me that. There were students whoíve seen you walk through those gates."
"Sir, we went to the park." Kaoru cut in before Battousai caused any more trouble. She shot a glare at him and he stared right back. Hiko was getting impatient and annoyed at being ignored, cleared his throat more loudly.
"Why, pray tell, were you in the park?"
Kaoruís brain sought for an answer. She couldnít tell everyone about their after school bet. She blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
"Trees!" She yelled on impulse. She blushed at her own outburst, "We were looking at trees in the park."
"We volunteered to collect leaves for an extra credit assignment for biology." Battousai stated calmly.
"Well Iíll save you the trouble. Youíll both be doing the schoolís yard work for the rest of the month," Hiko stated with a hint of haughtiness, "You start on Monday. Get to class before you get another detention for being late." With that he turned on his heel and stalked off.
* * * * *
The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. Now, everyone sat around calmly eating lunch.
"Kaoru? Misao?" Enishi asked as he approached their lunch table, "Megumi, Aoshi and I were thinking of a camping trip in her fatherís cabin this coming weekend. We wanted to know if you could come."
"Aoshiís coming?" Misao squeaked, "Count me in!" Kaoru laughed at her friendís enthusiasm and turned to give Enishi a rueful smile.
"Iím sorry. I already have plans."
Before Enishi could ask for an explanation, Megumi stomped over to where they were sitting and plopped down.
"Hmph." She gave a whiny huff, "Battousai canít come either."
"You asked him to come?" Enishi said with clear distaste.
"Yeah," Megumi ignored Enishiís tone, "He already had plans for the weekend."
Something between the spoken words clicked in Enishiís mind. He looked between Kaoru and where Battousai sat eating. Immediately his eyes turned dark. He excused himself hurriedly and left the room. The three girls looked at each other and shrugged.
* * * * *
During cleaning duties at the end of the day, Enishi scanned the halls for a red head of hair. As soon as one came into view, Enishi stomped over.
"Hey," He tapped Battousai on the shoulder, "I need to talk to you." Battousai quirked an eyebrow but allowed himself to be led into the supply closet. As soon as they were away from the hearing range of the other students, Enishi turned and glared.
"I donít know what you think your trying to do. Itís obvious you dislike me, but leave Kaoru out of this."
"What are you talking about?" Battousai replied with equal dislike.
"You know what I mean. You obviously donít care for her and youíre only showing interest in her because Iíve liked her for the longest time!"
"Donít be stupid." Battousai snorted, "I have every right you have to like her."
"But you have nothing to offer her!" Enishi raged, "Youíre just some ex-gangster from a run-down city in America!"
"Oh?" Battousai growled as he grabbed Enishi by the collar, "Want to make something of it?"
"Just admit it," Enishi continued with a slight waver in his voice, "Youíre only doing it to make me jealous."
"So what if I am?" His temper boiled, taking over the better half of him, "I can choose to like her if I-..." At this point, he was interrupted by the door bursting open.
* * * * *
Kaoru noticed one particularly dirty window and picked up her bottle of cleaning fluid. Finding it lighter than it shouldíve been, she decided it was time to get a new can and perhaps a few more rags. She hummed to herself as she made her way to the supply closet. Her hand was about to reach for the knob when she heard voices coming from inside. She leaned in to listen
"I donít know what you think your trying to do. Itís obvious you dislike me, but leave Kaoru out of this."
At the mention of her own name, Kaoruís brow furrowed. That voice sounded a lot like Enishiís. That was to be expected. He tended to be overprotective.
"What are you talking about?"
Kaoruís raised her eyebrows. Battousai was having a conversation with Enishi about her in a supply closet? Interesting.
"You know what I mean. You obviously donít care for her and youíre only showing interest in her because Iíve liked her for the longest time!"
At this, Kaoru rolled her eyes. Enishi could be paranoid when he wanted to. Not to mention dense and arrogant.
"Donít be stupid. I have every right you have to like her."
Kaoru blushed, but couldnít help smiling.
"But you have nothing to offer her! Youíre just some ex-gangster from a run-down city in America!"
The smile was gone. That was not a fair comment. Sheíd have to talk to Enishi about those kinds of things later. There was a slight shifting of cloth and Kaoru leaned in further to hear properly.
"Want to make something of it?"
Good, she thought. At least Battousai was sticking up for himself. She still had no idea what the shifting was from, but she dismissed it.
"Just admit it. Youíre only doing it to make me jealous."
Kaoru sighed. Now Enishi was taking things a little too far. Part of her told herself to walk away now, and lecture Enishi later. Part of her wanted to hear Battousaiís response to the comment. Sheíd thought that perhaps heíd say that he really did like her, or that he wanted to be her boyfriend. She was by no means expecting what he was going to say next.
"So what if I am?"
At this point, Kaoruís blood turned cold. He was only playing with her? He wasnít serious about any of it, was he? At this, Kaoruís blue eyes turned to ice. She pushed open the closet door and glared at the two.
"Kaoru?" Enishi looked baffled, "Wh-what...how long...?" Battousai, on the other hand, looked shell-shocked, and then guilty. Kaoru misinterpreted this.
"First you play with a girlís heart, and then you go around beating other people up? And why the guilty look? Someone finally found out about your plans?" Kaoru shot at him coldly. With that, she turned to Enishi.
"I hope you donít mind if I decide to come on that camping trip. It seems my plans just got canceled."
Enishi nodded dumbly. Kaoru turned on her heel and stalked out of the room as Battousai watched with pain in his golden eyes.
* * * * *
The rest of the few days passed without much activity. Kaoru no longer sat in her usual seat on the bus and refused to speak to Battousai. He watched her for the remainder of the few days with sad eyes. It was heart wrenching but Kaoru forced herself to ignore it.
Finally, the morning of the trip came and Kaoru waited with her average sized bag by the train station. She looked around for the others and checked her watch again. Kaoru sat on her suitcase and sighed. Where were they?
"Kaoru!" Misao ran over, "Kaoru! We were over there waiting for you!"
Kaoru felt like tearing her hair out but pushed down the urge. She picked up her stuff and followed Misao to where everyone else was gathered. Aoshi stood against a wall, staring off into space. Megumi was looking around anxiously and Enishi looked annoyed. Misao skipped over to where Aoshi was standing and began to ramble, regardless if he decided to listen. Kaoru looked at the other two.
"Megumi, what are you looking for? Iím here already."
"I see that," Megumi said but continued looking around, "Itís not like Iíd look for you in the first place." Kaoru shot her a dull glare and turned to Enishi.
"Something wrong Enishi?"
He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a squeal from Megumi. Kaoru ignored it but Enishi glared over to where Megumi was standing.
"Yes somethingís wrong," He spat, "That." He indicated with a jut of his chin. Kaoru looked at him questioningly before turning around. There stood Battousai with his bags. Kaoru glared at him coldly.
"What are you doing here?"
"Funny thing," He smiled, but his eyes were still pained, "My plans got canceled too." Despite his usual attitude, none of this was said with any sarcasm or arrogance. If anything, he sounded a bit hurt. Kaoru ignored this and turned away.
"When can we leave?"
"Now," Enishi said, "Our train just pulled in."
The six of them boarded the train and found seats. The hour-long ride was relatively silent. For Kaoru anyway. Misao babbled on to Aoshi, who looked like he was trying to sleep. Megumi flirted with Battousai, much to his annoyance. He mainly listened to her attempts of conversation with half-interest and watched as the scenery flew by. Enishi sat glowering over everyone. Kaoru tried to read but occasionally snuck a peek in Battousaiís direction.
After the majority of the ride was over, Kaoru put her book down. She looked around at her group. Enishi had fallen asleep. Aoshi hadnít moved an inch. Misao was still talking but Megumi had given up and was now reading as well. Battousai still stared out the window in deep thought. The intercom chimed twice and voice announced their stop. Gathering their belongings, the group waited as the train pulled to a halt. They stepped off and began their quarter-mile walk to the cabin in the woods.
Megumi walked ahead, the cabin being her fatherís, and pulled Battousai by the arm along with her. The others followed behind, Kaoru walking behind them all. She was looking at the scenery and never noticed when Battousai would throw her a backwards glance of remorse.
* * * * *
After they arrived, the group spent the rest of the day preparing for the upcoming night. The girls cleaned off the insides of the house while the guys set up the food and looked for firewood. Just as dusk was hitting the roof of the cabin, the girls polished the last of the windows and the guys started the bonfire. All six members made their way to the outside of the cabin and sat around in a large circle. It was a clear autumn day and the weather was comfortable. After eating the hastily made dinner of canned foods, they took turns singing outdated campfire songs and playing storytelling games. The latter of which was currently taking place.
"Once upon a time, there lived two princesses in a distant land," Megumi began, the characters forming in her mind. She was given dull glares for her lack of originality but she ignored it, "The older of the two was supposed to be the heiress but one day, she was told that the younger was going to be inheriting the land."
"The funny thing was," Enishi continued, making his own implications on the subject, "that the younger one was a rude adopted orphan from a poor town while the older was the biological heir. The older one had everything, the looks, the money, the grades-...erm, I meant the better room in the castle. The younger was a ruffian with hostility, little regard for learning, and hideous looks. Yet the queen favored the younger one and gave that one the land."
"The truth of the matter was," Misao took on from here, personifying her own emotions, "That the queen favored the younger princess because she felt pity. The younger princess had her eye on a handsome prince for a while, but the prince ignored her completely. The queen thought that perhaps if the princess had more appeal, sheíd capture the interest of the prince."
Aoshi didnít make a move to continue, so Kaoru did.
"But the younger princess was always misjudged. She didnít really want the empire, although she thought she did at the beginning. She decided she didnít need love from-...um, the prince, and would have gladly handed the property over to the older princess if she had asked. But all the older princess did was complain and nag."
"At one point," Battousai cut in, surprising everyone, "the more fortunate of the two had even threatened the ëruffian.í The older one, in a fit of jealousy, accused the younger one of wanting to use the favor of the queen and the land to overthrow her own empire. The queen overheard and believed it. The ruffian was banished from the castle without getting a chance to explain him-...herself."
"Well," Kaoru stood up, eyes blazing, "In that sense, the younger one didnít deserve a chance!"
"As you said," Battousai replied, "The younger one was always misjudged. None of that had been her true intention."
Kaoru glared at him and walked off into the woods on the other side of the cabin. Battousai, without hesitation, got up and walked past the cabin.
"Where are you going?" Enishi growled.
"Getting more firewood," He replied smoothly, "It seems to have gotten colder." With that he left, leaving everyone else in a semi-state of stupor.
It wasnít long before he caught up with Kaoru. She had half expected him to come and sat on a log waiting.
"Care to explain yourself, ëprincessí?" She asked coldly, "Or should I call you the land, the empire or the ruffian?"
"Only if the queen should allow me to." He replied calmly. Kaoru snorted and he took this as consent. "What you heard the other day wasnít supposed to be said."
"I wasnít supposed to hear about your little plan?" Kaoru spat.
"No. He had insulted me and my anger tends to get the better of me when arrogant, egotistical and over-controlling people annoy me."
"So you really like me?" She asked, letting some hope into her eyes.
"Yes," He replied after a brief hesitation. Kaoru caught this and whatever hope she had was replaced with malice.
"Well how do I know that youíre not lying?" She glared.
"What would you like me to do?" He sighed, "Do you want me to promise that Iím telling the truth?"
"No. For all I know, you couldíve promised countless girls since you moved here, not to mention all the pretty ones in America. You are pretty ruthless." Kaoru knew that was a pretty low comment, but didnít care. Immediately, Battousaiís eyes turned hard.
"You know what?" He said, voice dangerously low, "For the past five days, I thought I had met someone different than the typical stuck-up people this school was known for. I thought she was open and forgiving. But I guess I made a mistake."
"Well then I think I made a mistake too!" She yelled, not caring anymore, "I should have known better than to start liking a guy I donít know!"
"Of all the things you said today, you were right on that last bit," He narrowed his eyes, "You really donít know me. Youíre not even going to take the initiative to try because youíre just like the rest of them."
Kaoru looked at him with pure rage, anger and pain. She ran off further into the woods, hiding her eyes and the tears that threatened to fall.
* * * * *
Kaoru was so upset that she didnít even care where she was running. Her unshed tears blurred her vision and she tripped over a loose rock. She sat up but didnít bother to help herself from the ground as she buried her face in her arms. She refused to let herself cry and was content with just squeezing her eyes shut and trying to erase the pain.
Those words didnít hurt as much as others have. It was in the way he was standing, looking at her, when he said them. He looked just as angry as she was, perhaps even more. His amber eyes were flashing, the rest of his face passive, his stance was tense and almost shaking in anger. His voice was what scared her most. The usually teasing, arrogant voice she knew was gone. Battousaiís was filled with distaste and irritation. She had done that to him. She had made him that mad.
But he had hurt her too, she stubbornly argued back. If he really did like her, why did he hesitate? Why did he say those things in the first place? Inwardly, she knew that she was fighting a losing battle with reason but allowed herself to dwell until she felt strong enough to face everyone.
Finally getting up off the ground, she wiped the remainder of the dirt from her face and surveyed her surroundings. The treetops covered the moon so she had barely any light to see by. But from what she could tell, she was no longer by the well-worn path towards the cabin. Wearily, she tried to remember the direction she came in but realized with a bit more fear that she couldnít remember. There were trees as far as the eye could see and she couldnít see the light or the smoke from the cabin at all.
She was lost at night in a forest she wasnít familiar with.
An animal howled in the distance and reminded Kaoru of her need to keep moving. Maybe sheíd eventually find something she recognized. She picked one direction and started off walking. At another howl, closer this time, she broke into a run. She ran until she had no more energy left and the cold of the night bit through the thick sweatshirt she had on. She sat down on the ground for the second time that day and cried. Cried for the cold, the hunger, the bruises she got from falling before, and the still-fresh pain in her heart.
* * * * *
Battousai stood rooted to the spot as he watched Kaoru run off into the woods. Part of him wanted to go after her but he decided that he was perhaps not the first thing she wanted to see in this state.
Unlike her, Battousai no longer felt rage after the harsh words were exchanged. Instead, he felt immediate guilt and remorse for letting his anger get to the better of him. The pain of her words struck him deep, but he probably hurt her more.
He sighed as he sat down on a fallen log. Looking up into the moon, he pondered over their conversation. He was sure he saw hope in her eyes when she asked if he liked her. He knew the answer before the question finished leaving her mouth. But why had he hesitated? He didnít want to stain her joy with all the horrible things that happened to him in America? Probably.
After thinking he was calm enough to face everyoneís questions, he got up and made his way back to the cabin.
"Battousai!" Misao hurried up to him, "Whereís Kaoru? Wasnít she with you?"
"No," He replied, in somewhat of a shock. He mustíve been sitting there for hours and she never came back? "Are you sure sheís not here?"
"Weíve checked the cabin and the area around it several times now." Misao said while wringing her hands, "Where could she be?" Enishi ran over, urgency and panic evident in his eyes.
"Iím not waiting around anymore, Iím going off to look for her." He didnít even make a comment to Battousai as he grabbed a flashlight and ran off into the woods.
* * * * *
"Kao-ru!"
Enishi cupped his mouth with one hand and called. With the free hand he swung the flashlight in an arc. Goddamnit, where was she? If that bastard Battousai did something to her, he would pay with his life.
Enishi searched for another ten minutes before he finally saw the footprints on the ground. Picking up his pace, he began to follow them in hopes of finding Kaoru.
* * * * *
Kaoru sat for how long, she didnít know, just crying. This was hopeless. Even if they sent people out to look for her, what was the chance of a handful people finding a girl in acres and acres of woods?
Suddenly, she heard footsteps near her and she looked up, only to be blinded by a flashlight. Her eyes were still trying to adjust to the intensity of the light before her savior moved it.
"Looks like I finally found you, Kaoru." Battousai said, face in a relieved smile.
* * * * *
A/N: Ha! Fooled you didn't I? (If I didn't pretend I did .) After this, two more chapters in Part One!! Then onto Part Two, modern times!
I have a minor contest for you! I donít know what the prize will be, but here goes...
"Once upon a time, there lived two princesses in a distant land...
The story bit? That was my brainchild. It took me the longest time to think up so that everything fit in perfectly. Of course Iím not going to let it go to waste! A thousand praises to whoever tells me what each person is referring to. And they vary from person to person, of course. Reread the start of the argument between Kaoru and Battousai for a bit of a clue. Iíll give the answer next week!