Shakespeare In Love

"In sooth, I know not why I am so sad." The young brunette of no more than 6 years old shook his head, sighing. Apparently, he was troubled. Why wouldn't he be? "It wearies me; You say it wearies you…?" He looked up at the tall caretaker, who seemed petrified.

"Yes, it does, Young Master!" He coughed out. "If you would quit jumping around reciting Shakespeare, we would both be less weary."

Said Young Master gave the caretaker a look of disapproval before continuing.

"But how I caught it; found it; or came by it, what stuff 'tis made of, where of it is born; I am to learn." The young boy shook his head in the wise manner he'd seen the ancient scholars on TV shake theirs.

He sighed again, jumping onto an antique chair from the Tang Dynasty of ancient China, and shaking a porcelain vase from the Ming Dynasty. Following that, he proceeded to knock his head on a piece of exquisite jade, much to the horror of the caretaker.

"And such a want-wit sadness makes of me, that I have much ado to know myself!" With that, he jumped atop another vase and gave an exaggerated bow. (1)

"Honestly, Young Master. I really don't understand you either." The caretaker muttered.

"… OMIGOSH, KENJI!" Keiko sashayed into the antique room and lifted her baby brother off the vase. "YOU – YOU – OUT. You're FIRED. Fancy leaving my little honey-bunnykins on a VASE. My father's favourite vase, no less. Get out. OUT, before my father finds out about this." The 16 year old frowned.

As soon as he left, Keiko set Kenji down on the chair and pinched his nose softly.

"Now, you mustn't misbehave anymore, OK?" She prodded his nose. "I saw what happened just now. If the servants or maids complain to Daddy, you'll be grounded. And I can't keep firing people."

"But I don't like him! He doesn't appreciate my reciting!" Kenji pouted. "Shall I recite to you?"

"That won't be needed." She smiled, ruffling his hair. "I know you have a lovely voice. Come on, let's go out for a walk!"

-

He liked going on walks.

Minus his sister squealing over every eligible-looking guy on the street. And the horde of bodyguards trying to camouflage themselves so as not to 'disturb their quality time'. But honestly, what was there to camouflage with when all that was around them were trees, plants, more trees and more plants.

But overall, he liked going on walks.

Almost more than reciting Shakespeare. Because when his sister brought him on walks, they always went to the playground. And she was always at the playground.

"Now, stay right here and wait for me. I'm going to get us some ice cream, OK?" Keiko sat him down at the bottom of the slide. He put on his most innocent expression and nodded sweetly. She smiled and left.

He scrambled over to the dark-brown haired girl at the other side of the playground, building a sandcastle with, er, leaves.

He liked her.

She recited Shakespeare, too. Better than he did, because people listened to her.

"Hey, Kenji." She smiled. She had a weird smile. But he liked it. Even if she looked like she was going to bite his head off any moment. He liked everything about her. Because she recited Shakespeare.

"O, speak again, bright angel! For thou art as glorious to this – er, afternoon – as is a winged messenger from heaven!" He sighed melodramatically. He'd gotten pretty good at that over the past few days.

"O, Kenji, Kenji! Wherefore art thou Fujima?" She sighed, for real. His face fell as well, as he studied her wannabe-sandcastle, which was now no more than a pile of leaves. The silence was uncomfortable. But he liked it. Because he liked her. Because she recited Shakespeare.

"Have you forgotten your line, fair Shinji?" He asked, smiling.

"By heaven, no!" She affixed a smile on her face and continued. "Deny thy father, and refuse thy name. Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love – And I'll no longer be a Maki." He vaguely wondered if she meant it. "O, be some other name! What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet; So Fujima would, were he not Fujima call'd, retain that dear perfection which he owns without that tile. Kenji, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee, take all myself."

"I take thee at thy word: Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized." He grinned. "Henceforth, I never will be Kenji Fujima." (2)

"… Let's elope." She said, a dead serious look on her face.

"That part doesn't come so soon, does it?" He blinked. "You haven't mentioned the part about your kinsmen finding me here and- Wait. You didn't really mean that, did you?"

"I did." She said flatly.

"But – But." He thought about all his stuffed bunnies at home, and his latest Shakespeare sonnet collection. "I don't want to."

"Well, I don't care. It's fun." She dragged him out of the sand-pit. "We're going to elope."

"Is it really going to be fun?" He asked her, wide-eyed. She nodded confidently and began informing of all the sappy Chinese soap operas she'd watched where couples eloped and lived happily ever after – er, for a while until somebody gets some sort of cancer and one of them goes flying back to their longlost kin, and sobs and begs for them to take him or her back, and – And he gave in to her. He could never stand it when she started nagging.

Besides, he liked her. She recited Shakespeare, after all.

"… Elope, you say." Came a rather high-pitched and not-so-obviously male voice, belonging to a teenager with a raised and well-plucked eyebrow.

"OMIGOSH. KENJI." Keiko sashayed towards her baby brother for the second time that day. "What are you doing with… get your hand off my brother, you daughter of a fish-brained octopus."

"Why, Miss Fujima Keiko, I don't see how my Uncle and Aunt resemble octopus's in anyway at all." Said the male with the well-plucked eyebrow.

"Screw off, Mr Maki "I-am-an-ass-now-throw-me-down-a-toilet-bowl-OH-WAIT-I-CAN'T-FIT-IN-hardy-har-har" Ryuuka." She threw a screwdriver in his direction, causing him to shierk in surprise. She stared, hard. "Ken, did you hear that? I think it's time to show you what it means to be frickin' gay (3)."

"I – I am not gay, you – you – bimbo!" Ryuuka stuttered.

"… Nee-chan, why is that oji-san calling you a bimbo?" Kenji asked his sister.

"Oh, it's because he's 16, looks 60 and has the Intelligence Quotient of a -0.16 year old." Keiko snorted. "Let's go, Kenji."

"Here's to my love!" Kenji took the ice cream from Keiko and gave it to Shinji, smiling. He kissed her on the cheek. "Thus, with a kiss I go."

"Oh, cut the soapiness." Ryuuka grabbed his cousin's hand and pulled her away.

"You gay, you're just jealous no guy ever does that to you." Keiko smirked, and led Kenji away. "Honestly, Ken – how could you mix with anybody from that family!"

He wasn't listening to her as she launched into one of her many other naggings / lectures. He was looking over his shoulder at her until his neck hurt and he could hardly see her anymore.

That was the last time he saw her. He supposed he could live without her.

But that didn't mean he didn't like her. He did.

After all, she recited Shakespeare.

-

(1) – Basically what Ken's saying goes like this.

I do not know why I am so sad.
It (the sadness) tires me, and you say it tires you.
(Here, the caretaker gives a smartass reply)
But how I got this sadness, I do not know.
And it has made me such a want-wit (an idiot),
That I do not understand myself.
(Here, the caretaker gives a smartass reply again)

The above is quoted from Act One, Scene One of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, from Antonio right at the beginning of the play.

(2) – This part is from Romeo and Juliet, with the names editted to fit the Maki/Fujima family rivalry. You don't have to know what's going on, just that Shinji is upset that she can't be with Kenji just because he's a Fujima, and she's a Maki. Just so you know, Maki Shinji is a shameless ripoff of Maki Shinichi. He'd probably be her older brother, or something.

(3) – No offense to homosexuality, just Keiko teasing Ryuuka's feminity.

All in all, I don't own Fujima Kenji or the name Maki. Shinji, Keiko and Ryuuka are mine, sadly. I never liked OCs much. I suppose I have to disclaim Shinji too, since it's a ripped off name. :) Review