Title:Faerie Confrontations
Part: chapter2 Author: Nanako
Genre: Fantasy, Alternate Universe, Romance
Pairing: RuHana, HanaFuji(Hanagata),MakiFuji, SenKosh, MitMiyaKo, AkaAya
Rating:PG
E-mail:ishpoof@i-manila.com.ph
Warning: the characters are sometimes ooc, and there is a lot of Haruko bashing in this fic Author's notes: the ship I am using here is a flying one, not the one used at sea
Disclaimer: Salm Dunk is Takehito Inoue's and will never be mine (sob)
Dedicated to Nagyra, who brought me back from writer's block land, Afuna, you know why already ^^, And to Yen, thanks for everything
CHAPTER 2
A Bond of Friendship...or is it?
Sakuragi entered the ship after Haruko and Rukawa and was a bit surprised that the door behind him closed automatically. The ship itself was a magnificent one, in the interior. Although the color combination was quite awful, the designs were intricate and remarkable. And, to Sakuragi's eyes, it didn't seem like a ship at all. In fact it looked more like a small house.
As soon as they had entered, Rukawa spent no time in leaving to God knows where, leaving Haruko and Sakuragi in the main room of the ship. Although Sakuragi didn't really appreciate the presence of the stoic boy who resembled a very pale fox, he also didn't like the fact that he wasn't there with them. So he had the courage to ask this from his fiancé, "Where's Rukawa?"
"Kaede? I think he's in his room," replied Haruko sweetly. "Oh and that reminds me, the room there at the end of the corridor is yours. Kaede's is that one beside yours. The den is right beside the stairs. My room is upstairs and so is the kitchen. So if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. Please excuse me, I have a few matters to attend to." And with that Haruko went up the stairs to her room.
"Oh well, might as well go to my room then," said the redhead to himself as he put his gym bag over his shoulder and walked through the long blue corridor. It seemed as though this was the only part of the ship that wasn't a combination of different shades of colors.
He walked quickly, not even pausing to look at the different tapestries which lined the corridor. And when he reached his room, he opened it and entered quickly.
The room was beautiful, more beautiful than Sakuragi ever thought it would be.
Since his room was at the far side of the ship, he was able to see a splendid view from his room windows.
It was a good thing he was not afraid of heights, because if he was he would have thrown up by now.
The walls of the room were of a beautiful shade of mahogany and the drapes that curtained his windows as well as the carpet underneath his feet were of a dark crimson red. There was a large study table on his right, opposite the windows and the study table itself and the chair with it, was made from fine wood and gold, similar to the dining table back in Eilandar.
He placed his bag on the floor right beside the chair, and went to examine the bed which was in the very center of the room. It was very similar to the beds he saw in fairy tale books, beds which were fit for a king. Fluffy white pillows and pure white linings were covered by thick covers and a thick blanket, all in crimson red too.
He sat down on the bed and found out that it was very soft and comfortable. But before he could thoroughly enjoy the bed, he realized that there was another door in his room. So he stood up and cautiously opened it.
It was a bathroom.
And Sakuragi mentally slapped himself for feeling too cautious about it. There were cabinets that lined the room and in there was a huge mirror and a bathtub. The water in the bathtub didn't come from tap though. It was coming out of the mouth of a lion statue right beside it. 'Probably, this is another one of their spells,' Sakuragi thought.
He approached the statue and touched the water. "It's too cold," he whispered. And to his great surprise, the water became warmer. His lips curved into a small smile. He was going to like it here.
[pic]===================[pic]===================[pic]
Sakuragi spent the rest of the day examining the ship and late in the afternoon, he found out that there was nothing else he could do or explore on the ship so he stayed in his room.
The sunset he was seeing in his window was more beautiful than those he has seen before. Only because Faerie had two suns and its two moons were already beginning to rise in the darkening sky.
But seeing a sunset before your very eyes was very different from seeing it behind a glass window. And since he was in so much need of fresh air, Sakuragi decided to go up to the topmost floor of the ship.
The topmost floor was in open air and it was a full blossoming garden with numerous flowers and grass lining the soft soil that no part of the said floor was barren. Sakuragi went there and looked at the sunset again. He was right, it was much spectacular watching it from up here than down in his room.
"You like it?"
The surprised redhead turned to look at the owner of the voice and found Rukawa seated on the grass behind him.
"When did you get here?" he asked the stoic boy.
"I was here before you," was the reply.
"Oh sorry," apologized the redhead. He looked back at the sunset and said, "It's beautiful isn't it? I haven't seen anything like this in my world. I mean, we only have one sun."
"It is beautiful," agreed Rukawa. Then he stood up and dusted dirt from his black robe. "I will be the one teaching you about your powers when we reach Flores."
Sakuragi appreciated the fox's presence, but having someone as silent and stoic as he was for a teacher?! He was about to say something to retaliate what the other said when Rukawa placed something in his hand and left before he could even open his mouth.
"Darn," Sakuragi cursed himself for being so slow in retaliating and looked at what Rukawa had placed in his hand.
It was a red rose.
Sakuragi, not understanding what it meant, just smiled to himself as he entered the ship again.
He went back to his room and placed the flower on top of the study table. He was about to lie down on the bed and try to think of reasons why Rukawa had given him that rose when the door to his room suddenly opened and in came a fine young lady dressed in a long flowery robe of pink.
"Mr. Sakuragi," she said, with her head bowed low. "It is already time for dinner. Her majesty the Princess Haruko and Lord Rukawa are already waiting for you in the dining room upstairs."
"Oh...okay. Thanks for telling me."
With that the girl left the room. And, a few minutes later, the redhead went to get some food down his stomach.
[pic]===================[pic]===================[pic]
"My my, you have such a good appetite Hanamichi," commented the princess as she drank from her goblet. "Here have some more."
"Thank you," said the redhead, but because he was talking with his mouth full, it barely sounded like saying thanks.
Their dinner was simpler than the feast they had partaken in earlier in Eilandar. But it was delicious, nonetheless.
It was already Sakuragi's fifth time to fill his place and the princess just looked at him, clearly amused.
"I'm done."
Rukawa stood up from the table without another word and left the dining room. Haruko just looked at his retreating back and sighed softly.
"Is he always like this?"
"Yes," Haruko replied. She shook her head and added, "But it's not that I mind. Kaede's just not the talkative type and he really barely shows his emotions. I'm quite used to it already."
'But he wasn't that silent when we met earlier,' Sakuragi thought. 'And his eyes showed so much emotion when he was looking at that sunset. Why doesn't he look at his own fiancé with that same warmth?' He shook these thoughts from his head; it wasn't going to do him good, meddling into other people's love affairs, so he thought better than to voice out his thoughts.
So he just said, "Oh I see."
"Oh, and before I forget, Kaede's going to be your teacher when we reach the capital. He volunteered for the task himself, which he barely does. And I'm too busy with other stuff so I might not be able to accommodate your training."
"Okay," replied the redhead as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. In direct contrast to the way he reacted a while ago, he didn't react at all to what the princess had said. In fact he no longer seemed to mind having the fox for a teacher; instead he was sort of...glad about it.
He didn't know why, but for some particular reason, he knew the fox was not going to ignore him, in the same manner that he ignores his fiancé, during their "lessons". [pic]===================[pic]===================[pic]
"Are you comfortable?"
Kogure snapped out of his daydream and looked at Mitsui. While Miyagi was busy exploring the whole ship, the prince had invited Kogure for tea.
"I'm very comfortable Mitsui," he said with a smile and took a sip from his tea. "And this tea is superb!"
Mitsui's handsome face lit up as he smiled and sat down on the chair opposite Kogure. "I really appreciate it that you and your friend do not call me "majesty" or "your highness" or anything like that."
"Yes, Ayako did tell us about not calling you as such. But why, may I ask, don't you royalties want us to call you formally?"
"Because, we discourage our citizens to treat us like we were born special; because we would be more approachable for them if they treated us as their equals. But since we were born within the royal family, formalities could never be avoided. And, unlike our citizens, you guys will be staying in the palace. You people will be staying WITH us. And if you call us "majesty" all of the time, it will certainly drive us nuts."
Kogure put his now empty teacup down and addressed the prince. "You must be really great monarchs and your people must love you all dearly."
"Why do you say that?"
"In our world the politicians or the heads of the countries are respected most of the time. But, in my point of view, most of them abuse that respect to do all sots of wicked things and often take advantage of the weak and the oppressed. They would only help those in need for popularity and political reasons."
Mitsui looked at Kogure as if he just saw him for the first time. "Is that true?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
"But how...? How could they...?"
Kogure put his hand on Mitsui's shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it so much. Some of them are good leaders and often punish those who aren't doing their jobs well. And it's not something you should worry about right?"
"But how could they take advantage of their own people?"
Kogure shook his head, amused at the innocence of the prince about the political issues people back in their world would usually find normal in their everyday lives. "There are some evil people in my world Mitsui. But those who are good make sure that they get punished. You guys here clearly take good care of your people and they seem to really love you if, even though you tell them to stop, they still respect you with all their heart."
"Really?"
"Really," Kogure assured the prince. "Now, why don't we look for Ryota and tell him to treat you with a little less respect?'
[pic]===================[pic]===================[pic]
"Ruka..."
Before Sakuragi could even call him by his name completely, Rukawa had stepped out of the den immediately, using the other door in the opposite side of the room.
Sakuragi hung his head and returned to his room, no longer bothering to go after the stoic boy.
Ever since dinner the other night, Rukawa had been avoiding Sakuragi like a plague and the redhead was hurt, though he did not show it. He thought the stoic boy had wanted to be his friend, but now he was having second thoughts.
He had been informed by the princess that they would be arriving in the capital soon and that the only reason why their trip was this long was because she was air sick and the slaves had to lessen the speed of the vessel or else she would be too sick to continue on this journey.
A knock on the door.
Sakuragi looked up and saw Rukawa standing there, right hand on his hip and his left on the doorframe. The fabric of his robe stretched because of his position and it seemed to tighten in all the right places, making the pale boy extremely sexy... at least in the point of view of one blushing redhead.
The breathtaking scene before him made the redhead forget about the anger he was about to vent on the other boy for ignoring him. "What are you doing here?" he asked, softly and in the most unSakuragi - like manner.
"I wasn't ignoring you," said Rukawa, answering the unasked question. "I was busy yesterday and a while ago in the den, I had to see my fiancé off."
"What do you mean?"
"Princess Haruko just left. She won't be joining us to Flores. Upon entering the borders of the capital, she was sent for by her cousin - Prince Fujima. And I believe they have matters of state to discuss so I didn't join them."
"Oh, I see," was all the redhead said. Haruko would not be joining them, why didn't he care at all? He had had a crush on the princess ever since he saw her, now why wasn't he even disappointed that she wouldn't be coming with them to the capital?
"We'll be in the capital in a moment," said Rukawa, breaking into Sakuragi's thoughts. "Come with me."
"But..."
"The servants will take care of your belongings." Rukawa stretched out his right hand and repeated, "Come with me."
Sakuragi, though unsure, stood up and took the other boy's hand. When skin and skin made contact, Sakuragi thought he saw the other boy's lips curve into a small smile, but it vanished almost immediately so he thought otherwise.
Rukawa's hands were very warm to the touch and felt like velvet and silk mended together; in complete contrast to the rough and cold hands Sakuragi had imagined the stoic boy would possess.
"Where are we going?"
He had to ask, but the answer was quite obvious - Rukawa's room.
It was a room identical to the redhead's except for the other things which were put on Rukawa's desk.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Because," said Rukawa as he turned to look at the redhead, "I want to show you something. Come sit down."
Sakuragi, like a good boy, sat down on Rukawa's bed and the latter sat down beside Sakuragi.
"Do you love flowers Sakuragi?"
"Yes, my mother used to love them, and so do I. Why?"
"What flowers do you love the most?"
Sakuraagi had no idea where this questioning was going to lead to, but he answered nonetheless. "Sakuras - cherry blossoms, just like my name."
This time Sakuragi was sure that Rukawa smiled, and his breath got caught up in his throat that he was close to choking.
Rukwas didn't seem to mind this though. He turned to Sakuragi and held his hands in both of his. "Close your eyes and trust me."
"I don't think I have any other choice now, do I?"
"You could decline, if you're scared."
"I'm not scared," replied the redhead immediately. He was a man of pride and would never admit that he was afraid of anything or anyone.
"Then close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to."
Sakuragi complied. And, upon closing his eyes, Sakuragi felt warmth emanating from the other boy's hands. It was similar to the warmth he felt when Mitsui had used the transportation spell.
But, while Mitsui's spell had lasted only about a couple of seconds, Rukawa's was already taking up about thirty seconds and still continuing. Sakuragi's patience, which wasn't long enough to begin with, was already wearing thin.
"Open your eyes now."
As Rukawa said those words, the warmth Sakuragi had been feeling disappeared. He opened his eyes and his jaw immediately attached itself to the floor. "What...Where...?"
"This is your room," said Rukawa indicating the room they were in.
Sakuragi's awe - struck eyes scanned the room and realized that the contour or the interior of the room was very similar to his room in the ship of Princess Haruko. The only difference was that there were small, pink cherry blossoms falling from the ceiling. It was like indoor winter, but instead of snow, he had little flowers.
Flowers falling would undoubtedly cause a huge mess on the carpeted floor. So Sakuragi looked at the floor, expecting to see the huge mass of compiled flowers...and realized that as soon as the flowers came into contact with the floor, they disappeared.
He peeled his eyes from the floor and looked at the person who, most probably, had made all these things possible.
"Do you like it?" Rukawa asked.
"Like it? I love it!" Sakuragi exclaimed, bringing another smile on Rukawa's face. "You created all this in a matter of seconds?"
"One minute actually," Rukawa stated matter - of - factly. "If you would like to know, we aren't in Flores. We are in Granfel, the other city of Markiel. And this place is my villa, the place where I stay whenever Haruko's away, in order to get away from the hustle and bustle of the capital."
"You were able to teleport the both of us to another city and cast the spell on this room in a minute?!"
Rukawa nodded, "I may not look like it, but I am not as weak as you might think."
Sakuragi didn't want to admit it, although he barely knew anything about magic, it wouldn't be any easy task to do what Rukawa did in such a short time span.
"Sakuragi."
The redhead looked at Rukawa and was surprised to see that the latter was having difficulty voicing out his question.
"Um...Can I ... call you by your first name?"
"Huh?"
"Because, since I will be your teacher, it wouldn't seem appropriate for me to still call you by your last name."
It made sense.
"Okay," Sakuragi replied. "But you'll have to allow me to call you Kaede."
"Sure. Come, let us go back to the capital," Rukawa said, offering his hand to Sakuragi again. "The ship must have arrived by now."
"But I thought you wanted to stay here in this place?"
"Of course I do, but you have to stay in the capital."
"But I'd rather stay here."
The words were out of Sakuragi's mouth before he could even think of what he wanted to say. What was he thinking? Why choose to stay with this...guy, if he could stay in the palace? Rukawa might not even want him staying in his personal villa for a long time. He looked at Rukawa and hoped that he would just forget what he had said a few seconds ago.
"We have to go to Flores..."
'I knew it,' Sakuragi thought. 'He won't want me here. What was I thinking?'
"...to get your things," Rukawa added with a smile.
Sakuragi's eyes widened as his sullen expression disappeared. "You'll let me stay here?"
"Of course. What reason do I have to not let you stay here?" Rukawa once again offered his hand to Sakuragi. "You ready to go?"
And this time, the redhead willingly and happily accepted it. "Yes, I am."
Tbc
Author's note: Sorry guys, I know this chappy has been long overdue. Sorry for the delay. And I know that both Ru and Hana are tremendously ooc here. Couldn't help but make them as such.
Part: chapter2 Author: Nanako
Genre: Fantasy, Alternate Universe, Romance
Pairing: RuHana, HanaFuji(Hanagata),MakiFuji, SenKosh, MitMiyaKo, AkaAya
Rating:PG
E-mail:ishpoof@i-manila.com.ph
Warning: the characters are sometimes ooc, and there is a lot of Haruko bashing in this fic Author's notes: the ship I am using here is a flying one, not the one used at sea
Disclaimer: Salm Dunk is Takehito Inoue's and will never be mine (sob)
Dedicated to Nagyra, who brought me back from writer's block land, Afuna, you know why already ^^, And to Yen, thanks for everything
CHAPTER 2
A Bond of Friendship...or is it?
Sakuragi entered the ship after Haruko and Rukawa and was a bit surprised that the door behind him closed automatically. The ship itself was a magnificent one, in the interior. Although the color combination was quite awful, the designs were intricate and remarkable. And, to Sakuragi's eyes, it didn't seem like a ship at all. In fact it looked more like a small house.
As soon as they had entered, Rukawa spent no time in leaving to God knows where, leaving Haruko and Sakuragi in the main room of the ship. Although Sakuragi didn't really appreciate the presence of the stoic boy who resembled a very pale fox, he also didn't like the fact that he wasn't there with them. So he had the courage to ask this from his fiancé, "Where's Rukawa?"
"Kaede? I think he's in his room," replied Haruko sweetly. "Oh and that reminds me, the room there at the end of the corridor is yours. Kaede's is that one beside yours. The den is right beside the stairs. My room is upstairs and so is the kitchen. So if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. Please excuse me, I have a few matters to attend to." And with that Haruko went up the stairs to her room.
"Oh well, might as well go to my room then," said the redhead to himself as he put his gym bag over his shoulder and walked through the long blue corridor. It seemed as though this was the only part of the ship that wasn't a combination of different shades of colors.
He walked quickly, not even pausing to look at the different tapestries which lined the corridor. And when he reached his room, he opened it and entered quickly.
The room was beautiful, more beautiful than Sakuragi ever thought it would be.
Since his room was at the far side of the ship, he was able to see a splendid view from his room windows.
It was a good thing he was not afraid of heights, because if he was he would have thrown up by now.
The walls of the room were of a beautiful shade of mahogany and the drapes that curtained his windows as well as the carpet underneath his feet were of a dark crimson red. There was a large study table on his right, opposite the windows and the study table itself and the chair with it, was made from fine wood and gold, similar to the dining table back in Eilandar.
He placed his bag on the floor right beside the chair, and went to examine the bed which was in the very center of the room. It was very similar to the beds he saw in fairy tale books, beds which were fit for a king. Fluffy white pillows and pure white linings were covered by thick covers and a thick blanket, all in crimson red too.
He sat down on the bed and found out that it was very soft and comfortable. But before he could thoroughly enjoy the bed, he realized that there was another door in his room. So he stood up and cautiously opened it.
It was a bathroom.
And Sakuragi mentally slapped himself for feeling too cautious about it. There were cabinets that lined the room and in there was a huge mirror and a bathtub. The water in the bathtub didn't come from tap though. It was coming out of the mouth of a lion statue right beside it. 'Probably, this is another one of their spells,' Sakuragi thought.
He approached the statue and touched the water. "It's too cold," he whispered. And to his great surprise, the water became warmer. His lips curved into a small smile. He was going to like it here.
[pic]===================[pic]===================[pic]
Sakuragi spent the rest of the day examining the ship and late in the afternoon, he found out that there was nothing else he could do or explore on the ship so he stayed in his room.
The sunset he was seeing in his window was more beautiful than those he has seen before. Only because Faerie had two suns and its two moons were already beginning to rise in the darkening sky.
But seeing a sunset before your very eyes was very different from seeing it behind a glass window. And since he was in so much need of fresh air, Sakuragi decided to go up to the topmost floor of the ship.
The topmost floor was in open air and it was a full blossoming garden with numerous flowers and grass lining the soft soil that no part of the said floor was barren. Sakuragi went there and looked at the sunset again. He was right, it was much spectacular watching it from up here than down in his room.
"You like it?"
The surprised redhead turned to look at the owner of the voice and found Rukawa seated on the grass behind him.
"When did you get here?" he asked the stoic boy.
"I was here before you," was the reply.
"Oh sorry," apologized the redhead. He looked back at the sunset and said, "It's beautiful isn't it? I haven't seen anything like this in my world. I mean, we only have one sun."
"It is beautiful," agreed Rukawa. Then he stood up and dusted dirt from his black robe. "I will be the one teaching you about your powers when we reach Flores."
Sakuragi appreciated the fox's presence, but having someone as silent and stoic as he was for a teacher?! He was about to say something to retaliate what the other said when Rukawa placed something in his hand and left before he could even open his mouth.
"Darn," Sakuragi cursed himself for being so slow in retaliating and looked at what Rukawa had placed in his hand.
It was a red rose.
Sakuragi, not understanding what it meant, just smiled to himself as he entered the ship again.
He went back to his room and placed the flower on top of the study table. He was about to lie down on the bed and try to think of reasons why Rukawa had given him that rose when the door to his room suddenly opened and in came a fine young lady dressed in a long flowery robe of pink.
"Mr. Sakuragi," she said, with her head bowed low. "It is already time for dinner. Her majesty the Princess Haruko and Lord Rukawa are already waiting for you in the dining room upstairs."
"Oh...okay. Thanks for telling me."
With that the girl left the room. And, a few minutes later, the redhead went to get some food down his stomach.
[pic]===================[pic]===================[pic]
"My my, you have such a good appetite Hanamichi," commented the princess as she drank from her goblet. "Here have some more."
"Thank you," said the redhead, but because he was talking with his mouth full, it barely sounded like saying thanks.
Their dinner was simpler than the feast they had partaken in earlier in Eilandar. But it was delicious, nonetheless.
It was already Sakuragi's fifth time to fill his place and the princess just looked at him, clearly amused.
"I'm done."
Rukawa stood up from the table without another word and left the dining room. Haruko just looked at his retreating back and sighed softly.
"Is he always like this?"
"Yes," Haruko replied. She shook her head and added, "But it's not that I mind. Kaede's just not the talkative type and he really barely shows his emotions. I'm quite used to it already."
'But he wasn't that silent when we met earlier,' Sakuragi thought. 'And his eyes showed so much emotion when he was looking at that sunset. Why doesn't he look at his own fiancé with that same warmth?' He shook these thoughts from his head; it wasn't going to do him good, meddling into other people's love affairs, so he thought better than to voice out his thoughts.
So he just said, "Oh I see."
"Oh, and before I forget, Kaede's going to be your teacher when we reach the capital. He volunteered for the task himself, which he barely does. And I'm too busy with other stuff so I might not be able to accommodate your training."
"Okay," replied the redhead as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. In direct contrast to the way he reacted a while ago, he didn't react at all to what the princess had said. In fact he no longer seemed to mind having the fox for a teacher; instead he was sort of...glad about it.
He didn't know why, but for some particular reason, he knew the fox was not going to ignore him, in the same manner that he ignores his fiancé, during their "lessons". [pic]===================[pic]===================[pic]
"Are you comfortable?"
Kogure snapped out of his daydream and looked at Mitsui. While Miyagi was busy exploring the whole ship, the prince had invited Kogure for tea.
"I'm very comfortable Mitsui," he said with a smile and took a sip from his tea. "And this tea is superb!"
Mitsui's handsome face lit up as he smiled and sat down on the chair opposite Kogure. "I really appreciate it that you and your friend do not call me "majesty" or "your highness" or anything like that."
"Yes, Ayako did tell us about not calling you as such. But why, may I ask, don't you royalties want us to call you formally?"
"Because, we discourage our citizens to treat us like we were born special; because we would be more approachable for them if they treated us as their equals. But since we were born within the royal family, formalities could never be avoided. And, unlike our citizens, you guys will be staying in the palace. You people will be staying WITH us. And if you call us "majesty" all of the time, it will certainly drive us nuts."
Kogure put his now empty teacup down and addressed the prince. "You must be really great monarchs and your people must love you all dearly."
"Why do you say that?"
"In our world the politicians or the heads of the countries are respected most of the time. But, in my point of view, most of them abuse that respect to do all sots of wicked things and often take advantage of the weak and the oppressed. They would only help those in need for popularity and political reasons."
Mitsui looked at Kogure as if he just saw him for the first time. "Is that true?"
"Why would I lie to you?"
"But how...? How could they...?"
Kogure put his hand on Mitsui's shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it so much. Some of them are good leaders and often punish those who aren't doing their jobs well. And it's not something you should worry about right?"
"But how could they take advantage of their own people?"
Kogure shook his head, amused at the innocence of the prince about the political issues people back in their world would usually find normal in their everyday lives. "There are some evil people in my world Mitsui. But those who are good make sure that they get punished. You guys here clearly take good care of your people and they seem to really love you if, even though you tell them to stop, they still respect you with all their heart."
"Really?"
"Really," Kogure assured the prince. "Now, why don't we look for Ryota and tell him to treat you with a little less respect?'
[pic]===================[pic]===================[pic]
"Ruka..."
Before Sakuragi could even call him by his name completely, Rukawa had stepped out of the den immediately, using the other door in the opposite side of the room.
Sakuragi hung his head and returned to his room, no longer bothering to go after the stoic boy.
Ever since dinner the other night, Rukawa had been avoiding Sakuragi like a plague and the redhead was hurt, though he did not show it. He thought the stoic boy had wanted to be his friend, but now he was having second thoughts.
He had been informed by the princess that they would be arriving in the capital soon and that the only reason why their trip was this long was because she was air sick and the slaves had to lessen the speed of the vessel or else she would be too sick to continue on this journey.
A knock on the door.
Sakuragi looked up and saw Rukawa standing there, right hand on his hip and his left on the doorframe. The fabric of his robe stretched because of his position and it seemed to tighten in all the right places, making the pale boy extremely sexy... at least in the point of view of one blushing redhead.
The breathtaking scene before him made the redhead forget about the anger he was about to vent on the other boy for ignoring him. "What are you doing here?" he asked, softly and in the most unSakuragi - like manner.
"I wasn't ignoring you," said Rukawa, answering the unasked question. "I was busy yesterday and a while ago in the den, I had to see my fiancé off."
"What do you mean?"
"Princess Haruko just left. She won't be joining us to Flores. Upon entering the borders of the capital, she was sent for by her cousin - Prince Fujima. And I believe they have matters of state to discuss so I didn't join them."
"Oh, I see," was all the redhead said. Haruko would not be joining them, why didn't he care at all? He had had a crush on the princess ever since he saw her, now why wasn't he even disappointed that she wouldn't be coming with them to the capital?
"We'll be in the capital in a moment," said Rukawa, breaking into Sakuragi's thoughts. "Come with me."
"But..."
"The servants will take care of your belongings." Rukawa stretched out his right hand and repeated, "Come with me."
Sakuragi, though unsure, stood up and took the other boy's hand. When skin and skin made contact, Sakuragi thought he saw the other boy's lips curve into a small smile, but it vanished almost immediately so he thought otherwise.
Rukawa's hands were very warm to the touch and felt like velvet and silk mended together; in complete contrast to the rough and cold hands Sakuragi had imagined the stoic boy would possess.
"Where are we going?"
He had to ask, but the answer was quite obvious - Rukawa's room.
It was a room identical to the redhead's except for the other things which were put on Rukawa's desk.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Because," said Rukawa as he turned to look at the redhead, "I want to show you something. Come sit down."
Sakuragi, like a good boy, sat down on Rukawa's bed and the latter sat down beside Sakuragi.
"Do you love flowers Sakuragi?"
"Yes, my mother used to love them, and so do I. Why?"
"What flowers do you love the most?"
Sakuraagi had no idea where this questioning was going to lead to, but he answered nonetheless. "Sakuras - cherry blossoms, just like my name."
This time Sakuragi was sure that Rukawa smiled, and his breath got caught up in his throat that he was close to choking.
Rukwas didn't seem to mind this though. He turned to Sakuragi and held his hands in both of his. "Close your eyes and trust me."
"I don't think I have any other choice now, do I?"
"You could decline, if you're scared."
"I'm not scared," replied the redhead immediately. He was a man of pride and would never admit that he was afraid of anything or anyone.
"Then close your eyes and don't open them until I tell you to."
Sakuragi complied. And, upon closing his eyes, Sakuragi felt warmth emanating from the other boy's hands. It was similar to the warmth he felt when Mitsui had used the transportation spell.
But, while Mitsui's spell had lasted only about a couple of seconds, Rukawa's was already taking up about thirty seconds and still continuing. Sakuragi's patience, which wasn't long enough to begin with, was already wearing thin.
"Open your eyes now."
As Rukawa said those words, the warmth Sakuragi had been feeling disappeared. He opened his eyes and his jaw immediately attached itself to the floor. "What...Where...?"
"This is your room," said Rukawa indicating the room they were in.
Sakuragi's awe - struck eyes scanned the room and realized that the contour or the interior of the room was very similar to his room in the ship of Princess Haruko. The only difference was that there were small, pink cherry blossoms falling from the ceiling. It was like indoor winter, but instead of snow, he had little flowers.
Flowers falling would undoubtedly cause a huge mess on the carpeted floor. So Sakuragi looked at the floor, expecting to see the huge mass of compiled flowers...and realized that as soon as the flowers came into contact with the floor, they disappeared.
He peeled his eyes from the floor and looked at the person who, most probably, had made all these things possible.
"Do you like it?" Rukawa asked.
"Like it? I love it!" Sakuragi exclaimed, bringing another smile on Rukawa's face. "You created all this in a matter of seconds?"
"One minute actually," Rukawa stated matter - of - factly. "If you would like to know, we aren't in Flores. We are in Granfel, the other city of Markiel. And this place is my villa, the place where I stay whenever Haruko's away, in order to get away from the hustle and bustle of the capital."
"You were able to teleport the both of us to another city and cast the spell on this room in a minute?!"
Rukawa nodded, "I may not look like it, but I am not as weak as you might think."
Sakuragi didn't want to admit it, although he barely knew anything about magic, it wouldn't be any easy task to do what Rukawa did in such a short time span.
"Sakuragi."
The redhead looked at Rukawa and was surprised to see that the latter was having difficulty voicing out his question.
"Um...Can I ... call you by your first name?"
"Huh?"
"Because, since I will be your teacher, it wouldn't seem appropriate for me to still call you by your last name."
It made sense.
"Okay," Sakuragi replied. "But you'll have to allow me to call you Kaede."
"Sure. Come, let us go back to the capital," Rukawa said, offering his hand to Sakuragi again. "The ship must have arrived by now."
"But I thought you wanted to stay here in this place?"
"Of course I do, but you have to stay in the capital."
"But I'd rather stay here."
The words were out of Sakuragi's mouth before he could even think of what he wanted to say. What was he thinking? Why choose to stay with this...guy, if he could stay in the palace? Rukawa might not even want him staying in his personal villa for a long time. He looked at Rukawa and hoped that he would just forget what he had said a few seconds ago.
"We have to go to Flores..."
'I knew it,' Sakuragi thought. 'He won't want me here. What was I thinking?'
"...to get your things," Rukawa added with a smile.
Sakuragi's eyes widened as his sullen expression disappeared. "You'll let me stay here?"
"Of course. What reason do I have to not let you stay here?" Rukawa once again offered his hand to Sakuragi. "You ready to go?"
And this time, the redhead willingly and happily accepted it. "Yes, I am."
Tbc
Author's note: Sorry guys, I know this chappy has been long overdue. Sorry for the delay. And I know that both Ru and Hana are tremendously ooc here. Couldn't help but make them as such.