Disclaimer: I do not own FY, which belongs to Yuu Watase-sama. ::bows in respect for the great manga-ka:: Also, I do not own the true tale of 'Sleeping Beauty', whoever wrote it lol (Please also try to remember my friend Suboshi no miko gave me the idea for this fic; it will make her very happy lol) On with the story!

Last time:

Again, he stumbled, looking at the ground as if the grassy soil fascinated him. "Um...a birthday no da?" he nearly whispered, waiting for her to laugh at him. She did giggle, but it wasn't in a mocking way.

"Oh how wonderful! I'll think of some excuse to leave my, uh, house for a bit. Where do you live? I will try to come."

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"Chichiri!" Hikou called, looking around for his best friend. The prince's three guardians had told him that he had gone fishing. Hikou sighed, scratching the back of his head as he walked. "Should have known that little fool would be out fishing... I've known him for nine years now, after all..." he muttered to himself, raising his hands up to his mouth again. "Hey Chichiri-"

He stopped, seeing his friend's thin form in a nearby clearing. Ducking behind a tree, he slowly peered around the thick trunk to see what was going on. He could hear a woman's voice as well as his friend's.

'Found your self a girlfriend, I see,' he silently snickered. 'It looks like he didn't even hear me calling him, the lover boy. His stupid head must be way up in the clouds...'

He gasped, withdrawing ever so slightly. 'Was that...?' Cautiously, he peeked out around the tree's bark once again. 'That girl he's talking to is Kouran-sama! What could she be doing out here?' He puzzled over this for several long minutes as he waited for the young lady to leave. Finally, with an enchanting smile and a small bow, Houjun's new friend remounted her horse and disappeared into the surrounding trees. Hikou stepped forward, ready to make his presence known...

When realization hit, and a sudden dread gripped him. "Oh no...Today is when Chichiri, or rather Houjun, turns sixteen! That means I have to..." Peeking out from behind the tree, he saw his friend still staring after the fading figure on horseback, a dreamy look on his face. Hikou closed his eyes and shook his head, a dark cloud forming over his conscience. No, he would worry about that later. For now, he had to maintain his act he had been keeping up for years.

Placing a convincing grin on his face, he crept out from behind the tree and sauntered over to his friend. "Well, well, lover boy! I see you've been busy this afternoon!"

The cyan-haired youth snapped out of his own thoughts at the loud voice. "What...?" Chichiri wheeled around to find himself tackled by his longtime comrade. The two wrestled good-naturedly for a bit, Hikou finally winning and pinning his shorter companion against the base of a tree, grinning triumphantly.

"Isn't that sweet?" Hikou teased. "Little Chichiri finally found a girlfriend. Awww..."

"I'm not little no da!" He pushed his friend away, freeing himself. "And why were you spying on us anyway, hm?"

Hikou tried to look apologetic. "Oh sorry Chichiri; didn't think you needed any 'alone time' with her just yet...HEY!" A small rock hurled past his head, missing his scalp by only a fraction of an inch.

Chichiri frowned, cheeks consumed with red. "Get your mind out of the gutter and let's go home no da." He turned, retracing his steps back to where he had left his fishing pole by the pond.

Hikou followed him, an impish grin still planted firmly on his face. "Why? Will your new lady friend be waiting there, so the two of you can - AH, okay, okay I'm sorry!" he hastily cried as another rock came zinging past his ear. "Man, some people really can't take a little teasing..."

--

Since it was Chichiri's sixteenth birthday, the three faeries decided to be good just this once and try their hand at making gifts "the mortal way." After three hours, two tangled scarves, something that vaguely resembled instant ramen, and a badly crumpled origami swan, they unanimously declared that "the mortal way was for sisses" and broke out the magic. Still, they made certain to secure all the openings of the house and tightly block any cracks or crevices so none of their magic might escape. They never took chances at being discovered, even if the sixteen years were drawing to an end.

"I'll make him a lovely kesa!" Nuriko's declared, lifting up the bubble-pattern material from the nearby table. "And we'll make it pink!"

Tasuki's face wrinkled in disgust. "Pink ain't no manly color, Nuri-chan! Make it blue!" He aimed his tessen at the fabric and it instantly turned blue.

Nuriko frowned. "No, we're making it pink!" The cloth turned a feminine pink once again. "It's far prettier than your nasty blue!"

Tasuki rolled his eyes. "Nuriko, ma'be there's one thing ya ain't understandin' quite yet. An' that would be that he ain't a crossdresser like you! 'Chiri wouldn' wear that if ya paid him! Make it blue dammit!" Again, it returned to blue, and once more, it just didn't set right with Nuriko.

While the two bickered, Kouji was using his magic to make a suitable cake, trying to ignore the flashes of pink and blue out the corner of his eye. Glancing away from them, he noticed two Nyan-Nyans at work polishing a copper staff, one holding it up vertically while the other floated with a rag in hand, smoothing the ornamented top of the long rod.

'Well, at least someone's as focused as I am...' he thought dryly, looking back to the quarreling pair. He couldn't help but smirk at the sight that met his eyes. Tasuki had somehow been turned entirely pink while Nuriko was entirely blue, and the kesa was a strange mix of the two colors. "You jus' couldn' decide on th'right color, eh?"

Both glared, Nuriko picking up his present and moving away with his nose in the air. Tasuki sighed, placing his hands on his hips in annoyance and staring after him.

"So, uh, what'd you make Genrou?" Kouji was, of course, addressing Tasuki by his pet nickname.

Grinning back at the dark blue-haired faery, the entirely pink faery reached into the side pocket of his outer garment, retrieving a string of jade and crimson colored beads. "They'll help 'im t'focus his magic," he explained, his fanged smile widening as Kouji nodded in approval.

"Nyan-Nyan made him a pretty shakujou, see?" the two proud little girls held out their handiwork with accomplished pride.

"I made him a kesa! It'll be easier to get from place to place rather than squeezing into that little bamboo hat of his!" Nuriko smiled, holding up the finished product, which had returned to its regular shade of pink. "Plus it's so stylish! I made the pattern myself!"

"Oh, yeah, it suits him real one, that lovely shade-a pink..." Kouji quickly turned back to finishing the cake before the other could pick up on the sarcasm in his voice.

"Isn't it?" Nuriko giggled happily.

"Shh! Listen!" Tasuki exclaimed, hushing all of them. The three faeries and two Nyan-Nyans paused, focusing their ears on an approaching sound from outside. The sound of familiar laughter...

"Hurry, I can hear him coming!!" Nuriko whispered as he quickly zapped himself back to his original colors and ran to the closet, grabbing Kouji's arm and dragging the poor guy behind him as he went. Nyan-Nyan giggled, vanishing with a small pop. Tasuki was back to normal and about to follow the other two, but stopped in front of the folded bubble-pattern robe and whispered, "Blue!" Grinning at his victory, he hurriedly scrambled for the hall closet as the cottage door began to creak open.

"Nuriko? Tasuki? Kouji? Are you guys here no da?" Chichiri's voice wafted down the hall, bright and cheerful as always, but there was another emotion that his guardians couldn't quite place. "Hello?"

There was a small pause, then Hikou's more mature voice sounded through the rooms. "Oh well, guess they're not here. Let's go back outside and go for another walk, okay?"

"Great Suzaku! What the...?" Chichiri exclaimed, seeing the items laid out on the table as he entered the kitchen. "What's going on here no da?"

The three faeries exploded from the closet, landing on the floor in a rather unceremonious dog pile. Nuriko was the first to his feet, putting his weight on the other two to assist himself in standing. The violet-haired faery flicked his long braid over his shoulder, grinning.

"Well, it is your birthday, isn't it?"

In the midst of all the excitement, Hikou silently snuck out the door, leaving the small "family" to themselves.

"Oh, Suzaku! This is amazing no da!" Chichiri cried. "I just can't believe all this is-"

Nuriko shoved the kesa in his face before he could continue, beaming proudly at his adopted son. "Here, try this on! I made it myself!"

Chichiri obeyed, examining the pattern of the robe and smiling. "It's wonderful, Nuri-chan no da. Thank-"

He stopped in mid-speech, blinking as something was slipped around his head from behind. He looked down at his chest where a string of jade and crimson beads hung; he turned to find Tasuki behind him, grinning broadly. "It should help ya focus th' skills we taught'cha." The redhead lifted his hand and playfully mused up the boy's hair. "Not that'cha really need th' help, kid."

"Arigatou Tasu-chan no da." Hearing someone clearing their throat, Chichiri looked towards the direction of the sound, seeing Kouji holding out a strangely decorated copper staff with jingling rings. The blue-haired faery shrugged, handing it out for him to take.

"I didn' really make it, but that's also fer ya. What I made was yer kick-ass cake." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder to indicate the delectable pastry. "Genrou wanted t'make it, but it prob'ly woulda got burnt..."

There was a low growl in response to this remark.

Chichiri chuckled softly at Kouji's comment, unsure exactly how to handle all these surprises. "You three faeries were really busy this morning, weren't you no da?" he asked, looking from one to the next. Nuriko grinned at the sudden innuendo that popped into his head, but he held back from saying it and suppressed a giggle.

Cluelessly, Tasuki nodded. "Yeah, we - HEY! I ain't no stinkin' faerie! I thought I told'ja that this mornin', 'Chiri!"

"You're not?" Kouji turned away, bravely fighting back tears.

"Oh forgive me koibito! I didn' mean it!" Tasuki hugged him from behind, wishing he hadn't upset the other again. This would make three times in just one day, now. Nuriko glowered as usual while Chichiri simply sweatdropped, then cleared his throat.

"Oh, uh, daa... I'm just going to go outside and, um..."

Tasuki turned back towards the young man. "Eh? What's th' hurry? It ain't like yer waitin' fer yer girlfriend t'show up, after all!" Tasuki cackled at this, but received only silence in return. Surprised by the lack of a witty comeback, the fiery faerie darted across the room and into Chichiri's path, blocking him off from the door and his only escape route. "Hey, 'Chiri... Ya don' have one, do ya?" He watched as the teenager's cheeks turned a rosy pink, but Kouji spoke before he had a chance to comment.

"You met someone in th'woods t'day, Chichiri?"

The blush on his face only deepened, but at the same time a very silly smile was beginning to twitch at the corner of his mouth. He was thinking of her. "D-daaa...yes I did. Her name was..." He blinked, noticing how the trio didn't look nearly as thrilled as he had hoped. "What's the matter with you three? Why do you look so disappointed?" His cheeks flushed again, and he straightened to his full height. "I am sixteen now no da..."

"Oh, no, it isn't that, dear," Nuriko calmly explained. "Its just that, well... you've already been betrothed, you see."

He blinked once, twice, three times. "What?" he finally said dumbly, as if his "uncle" had spoken a foreign language.

"Yer already betrothed," Kouji repeated, folding his arms across his chest and grinning in amusement at the boy's reaction.

"I'm wha... b... b-but how? And when?" Confusion twisted the young man's features.

"Since the day you were born. And to a princess," Nuriko added, his wine-colored eyes showing concern for his foster child. The thoughts and emotions swirling through the youth's mind were easy to see, and it was all confusion, disbelief, and something nearing anger.

"...But... but that's..." Chichiri struggled to grasp this information, but it seemed to slip through his fingers each time. There was just no way... no way what they were saying was true! "That's impossible!" he cried, finally finding his voice. "If I was engaged to a princess, then I would have to be..."

"A prince?" Tasuki asked, flashing his treasured fangs in a devilish grin.

"But that's just it. You are a prince, Houjun-sama," Nuriko said, taking his hand and patting it consolingly. "I'm sorry if this is too much to handle right now, but it's the truth. Tonight, we are supposed to take you back to your real mother and father..."

"B-but...I told her I would be here..." he protested somewhat weakly. "She said she was going to meet me here tonight..."

"We're real sorry, kid, but there ain't nothin' we can do about it," Kouji said, holding out his hands as if to show his helplessness.

"An' there's no way ya can see that girl again," Tasuki added, his grin disappearing as quickly as it had arrived.

Chichiri closed his mahogany eyes, shaking his head hard. "No! No, no, no! I can't possibly believe all this! I'm royalty -- real royalty -- and you kept it from me all these years?!" He looked up, his eyes pleading, his hands clenching at the air, every ion of his body showing the passion that was in his words. "Why would you do that?! Why?!"

"It was to protect you Chich... Houjun-sama," Nuriko attempted to explain.

"Well now's a fine time to tell me!" the prince yelled, stepping away from the trio and moving closer to the hallway. "I don't believe this! I don't believe any of it!" He turned, storming out of the room. Nuriko raised his hand and opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it. A few moments later they heard the youth's door slam shut.

"An' here we thought he'd be thrilled..." Kouji murmured, suddenly very interested in staring at the floor.

--

Chichiri, or Houjun as he was now called, paced back and forth in his room, attempting to cool his temper. He shook his head in disbelief numerous times, as if the action alone could shake off this horrible evening. How could it be true? How could he possibly be a prince? Chichiri just couldn't picture it.

Looking down at the garments he wore and fingering the material of his new kesa between his thumb and index finger, he turned his gaze to the moon outside. He sighed heavily, closing his eyes in an attempt to escape life's sudden complications. "Everything seems so...out of place! I...I can't really be a prince...can I?" He frowned, opening his eyes again and casting a glance at the door to his room. He was already starting to regret yelling at his trio of "uncles." The idea that they'd known all along and never once told him still hurt, but deep down he knew they'd only been trying to help him. And he knew they cared for him very much. As far as he was concerned, they were his real family. An odd one, he thought with a smile, but a family nonetheless.

Once again a sigh, though calmer than the one before it, worked its way past his lips. "I wish I had more control over my anger no da. I wouldn't have yelled at them if..."

His eyes suddenly flashed open, mahogany orbs dilated and the pupils contracting so much so that they were almost lost in the sea of rich brown. A strange sound... Coming from his open window? What was it?

Come... a distant, low voice whispered. Who it was, Chichiri had no idea. He felt so light, as if he might be walking on air. Slowly gliding to the window, so silently that his slippers made no sound on the wood, he looked out onto the surrounding forests. He blinked, surprised to see Hikou standing below his window, waiting for him with a wide grin on his face.

"Well come on Chichiri, you wanna see that girl before they force you to go back to the palace, don't you?"

That girl...

...Kouran...

The cerulean-haired youth nodded in a mesmerized manner, still under the influence of that odd sound. He quietly slipped through the sill and landed beside his best friend. He was not even puzzled as to how his old comrade knew that he was a prince. The thought never even crossed his mind, so lost was he in the thought of seeing Kouran again. Hikou led the way, deeper and deeper into the forest, and Chichiri had no choice but to follow.

--

"Well, t'night definit'ly went well..." Tasuki grumbled, collapsing into a chair with a groan, slouching lazily and resting his chin in his hand. His voice dripped sarcasm. "Best damn birthday ever, wouldn't'cha say?"

"We can't really blame him," Nuriko reminded the others, seating himself in another nearby chair. "I mean, finding out that you're a prince, and not just a simple orphan... and learning that the people you trusted kept it a secret for so many years..." The faerie blinked back tears, sniffing visibly. "I wouldn't blame him if he never talked to us again."

Kouji remained leaning against the wall. "Poor kid... an' meetin' that girl this evening didn't help either, whoever she was. Sure hope this doesn't jeopardize things with Kouran-sama. It's bad enough that she's his fiancée, but bein' th' princess of Sairou, too..."

"Why does 'Chiri have t'marry her anyway?" Tasuki spoke up, anger burning in his eyes. "He meets a girl, falls head over heels fer her, comes home an' finds out all we've ever told 'im is a lie, an' on top-a that he can't never be with her jus' 'cause he's a prince? That ain't fair!"

"I know it isn't, Tasu-chan," Nuriko soothed, placing a hand on his companion's broad shoulder. "But that isn't for us to decide. I'm sorry for Houjun-sama right now too, and for keeping such a secret from him for so long, but..."

Kouji pushed away from the wall, every muscle in his body tensing. "Did you hear that?"

The redhead and the violet-haired faerie grew silent and pricked their ears to the surrounding woods. After a moment, a faint chiming noise reached their ears, coming somewhere from the nearby woods...

Their eyes widened. "Chichiri!" The trio hurried up to his room, bursting through the door and glancing about wildly for their young charge. But nothing stirred in his room save for the curtains blowing in the breeze.

Hurrying over to the window, Tasuki strained his ears to pick up the sound again. He heard it clearer this time, and coming from directly ahead. Without hesitation, he leapt from the second floor, landing lightly and sprinting for the forest. He was much faster than the other two, and was confident that he would find the prince before anything could happen. He had to find the prince before anything could happen...

Hikou paused, sensing a presence approaching them at an incredible speed. He threw a look over his shoulder, eyes widening as he saw the fiery-haired faery approaching them at a breakneck pace.

"'Chiri! Stay where ya are!"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Chichiri turned slowly, his placid expression never once wavering. Tasuki noticed the youth's almost trance-like state, and he didn't like it at all. "'Chiri, what's wrong with ya?" he turned to the other young man. "An' Hikou, what're you two doin'...?"

Hikou's narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Don't interfere!" He flung his hand forward as small wings sprouted from his back, giving him the power he desired. He sent a whirling torrent of water in Tasuki's direction.

"What th'hell?!" Tasuki's eyes widened, reaching for his tessan as the unexpected attack soared towards him. But the water hit him full force before he could react, knocking him back a few paces and slamming him into a tree. Seizing the moment, Hikou quickly called upon his powers to take himself and the prince elsewhere - and far away from these meddling faeries. A whirlwind of water surrounded them, encasing and teleporting the comrades to another place in the woods just as Nuriko and Kouji joined up with the redhead.

Tasuki spluttered, coughing up water and fighting to get his breath back. He glanced up weakly at his two friends, managing to gasp out: "Hikou... Hikou took him... has magic, th' jerk... we gotta... we gotta go after him!"

"Water magic, I take it?" Nuriko said with a dry chuckle, assisting his drenched friend to his feet with one quick tug. He sobered up immediately, glancing around and frowning intently. "This is bad... come on, you two. If we don't find him soon, there won't be a prince to worry about."

---

"Hi...kou?"

The taller youth looked over his shoulder. "What is it Chichiri? This is the way we came after I found you talking to that girl, right?"

The other nodded slowly, his friend's words taking a moment to penetrate through his current haze. "But I was just thinking..." his voice was dull, emotionless. "What about...them?" His body turned slowly back the way they had come, some part of him still thinking clearly enough to worry about the three faeries. "I left without telling... they might worry about me..."

Panic spread across Hikou's face. Even though they weren't calling out to him, their presences were pulling the prince back, and breaking through the spell, if only slightly. The young man jerked his friend's face back to stare him straight in the eyes, even though the deep brown eyes he gazed into looked far away and dreamy. "Chichiri, they don't matter anymore, right? They lied to you for sixteen years, remember? You don't need people like that! So just don't think about them anymore." A flicker of reluctance flitted through the dull orbs, so Hikou placed the final nail in the coffin. "You want to see this girl again, don't you?"

Kouran...

"Then let's keep going. We're almost there, I promise." This time, to prevent another incident, Hikou grabbed his friend by the arm and forcefully drug him along. Houjun followed without a struggle, but that was expected. He wouldn't fight anymore, Hikou was certain of that. And it wouldn't be long now... just a little further...

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A/N: MWAHAHA!! I'm so evil to left you all in suspense this time!! Try not to hate me too much lol ::ducks as random objects are flung her way:: R&R please!

-Amaya-san