A/N: Last chapter, and its jammed packed with happy endings (3), I promise!
Once Upon A Time
Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, the local castle was in an uproar. Preparing for the ball, everything was almost ready.
They had guests, they had cooks, and they had everything. And Jakotsu would get his Prince Charming and leave Renkotsu alone.
And Renkotsu had to say life was good, his little brother would be out of his way forever.
"Tonight is just a ball for Jakotsu's fun, I'll just be there…"
Glimpse 3: The Ball, The Prince and the Prude
Jakotsu tilted his head to look at the entering princes. All of them were extremely cute! Once all the guests had arrived, the cooks had started cooking and the music had started playing, he made his way out among his visitors.
He found a minor problem though.
None of them would dance with him!
"Renkotsu," he pouted, coming back to his chair. "None of these cutie princes are gay! How the hell am I supposed to fund my Prince Charming if none of them…like me!"
"Try the buffet," Renkotsu replied, his eyes falling on a braided boy who was currently stuffing his face.
Jakotsu walked over to the buffet. "Hey there cutie," he said with a wave.
The younger prince turned around, swallowing his mouthful and smiling. "Hi," he replied.
"Do you want to dance?" Jakotsu asked him.
Scratching the back of his head in thought the braided boy shook his head. "I would but…I can't really dance that well, I always feel goofy."
Jakotsu smiled brightly. "That's really ironic," he told him laughing.
"Why?" he asked, starting to look cross at the taller male laughing at his lack of coordination on the dance floor.
"I can't dance either! I just ask to see if anybody would actually give me a chance," he added.
"Oh…drumstick?" he asked, offering out a piece of chicken to the other prince.
"Nah, I'll stick to a bowl of rice," he replied, fixing himself a small bowl of rice.
"Be careful, it's really spicy, these cooks are good."
Jakotsu nodded and slowly ate his rice. "What's your name?" he asked suddenly.
"Bankotsu, Prince of Ushitora, you're Jakotsu right?" he asked, smiling as he poured himself a cup of sake.
He nodded. "You don't act like most of the princes here," he said slyly.
Bankotsu blinked. "I don't?"
"You don't! They're all…extremely…straight, even though I'm particularly fond of that cutie over there," he said pointing to a white-haired prince who was dancing with a black haired girl.
"Inuyasha? He's already betrothed to the girl he's dancing with," Bankotsu replied, narrowing his eyes at the dog-eared prince.
"I know, he turned me down…I'd like to rip those dog-ears right off his head…" he muttered under his breath, gaining a kind of sadistic grin.
Shaking his head, Jakotsu looked back at Bankotsu. "Ya know what, Bankotsu?"
"Hmm?" he asked through another mouthful of food.
"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship…"
Bankotsu blinked. "Really? Cool!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the buffet table, the two young cooks were putting on a show of epic proportions for the guests. The tip bowl was overflowing with coins.
"We're gonna be rich!"
And across the large ballroom, four princesses discussed a plan of action.
"Well he's going to be king right? He must marry, and why wouldn't one of us not want a comfortably assured seat on a throne?"
"I'm betrothed," two chorused quietly.
"Well, I'm not," the lead princess told them matter-of-factly.
"Can we really approach him with his stepmother right there, though?" the youngest asked. "She's…intimidating," she added.
"So? We still need to marry princes, and he's a prince…"
Tsubaki narrowed her eyes at the whispering girls. "I think they're trying to get the guts to talk to you."
He shrugged. "Let them, they're too young anyway."
While the girls discussed, there was a commotion over where the young cooks were working their magic.
"The King! The King has fainted!" someone screamed.
Most of the ballroom rushed to where the fallen King was lying. Renkotsu and Tsubaki took their time, putting on perfect facades of concern as they pushed through the crowd.
Jakotsu was kneeling over his father with a questioning look on his face, and then looking at his brother, his dark eyes twinkled a little. "He's dead," he said blankly.
The news spread quickly, the whole village was in chaos. Renkotsu was going to be King now, and no one liked it. But what of a Queen? He would have to get married before he could actually take the throne.
The next day, Renkotsu was invited to a wedding. Not just any wedding, the union of Princes Jakotsu and Bankotsu, now the King and…King of Ushitora.
They were both in pure white suits, the finally kiss seemed oddly awkward.
After the wedding Jakotsu walked over to his older brother, a wide smile on his face, he seemed to have finally released his young king to approach the taller man.
"Renkotsu, thanks for coming," he said detachedly, he didn't seem to mean it. Pulling something out of his pocket he shoved it into his older brother's hands. "Open it before you go to sleep," he said.
"What is it?"
"That's a stupid question! It's a present, I can't tell you what it is!" he said, walking away. "Have fun being king."
Renkotsu shook his head and pocketed the package.
Jakotsu and Bankotsu pranced away from the crowd of happy onlookers for some privacy, Renkotsu saw this and felt a short spasm of pity for Bankotsu.
And the two Kings ruled their kingdom with a very laidback iron fist, and never had children or anything. Because its rather difficult to have children if both partners in question are males, and they weren't ever really ready to stop having fun so they could adopt or any crazy stuff like that.
But that's beside the point.
And Bankotsu and Jakotsu lived happily ever after.
Shippou and Souten had found their niche; they became the most famous chefs in all the land. Every time they cooked for a new party or another kingdoms annual ball, they made plenty of money. They bought a house at the edge of the grounds and remained as the head chefs for the King and Queen.
They were known for raucous parties when not on duty, and for being tricksters. And everyone said (and they vehemently denied) that they were in love with each other.
And they were!
So, in summary, they lived the rest of their lives in relative comfort and happiness and their love secretly flourished.
And in an even shorter summary, Shippou and Souten lived happily ever after.
Renkotsu married his former stepmother about a week into being King. He hadn't wanted to get married of course. He hated the idea of being stuck with this insufferably vain woman.
But he didn't really care anymore. He had power, money, and no real need for anything else. It was a good life.
So, well not really…but I have to say it, it's a fairytale.
So King Renkotsu and Queen Tsubaki lived happily ever after.
"No we didn't! Don't lie!" Tsubaki insisted, yelling at the narrator in irritation.
Renkotsu rested his chin on a fist and sighed in annoyance.
Excuse me, Queen-I-Know-All, I'm sad to say I'm narrating this and I know all! So when I say "happily ever after" I mean "happily ever after", got it?
Tsubaki glared in annoyance. "Fine, whatever."
So King Renkotsu and Queen Tsubaki lived happily ever after.
A/N: …I bet you thought that was the end? Nope, there's an epilogue. You wont be sorry if you read it. I promise.