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All According to Plan
Chapter 2: In which our antagonist meets his match.
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"The Japanese have a word for it. It's 'judo' - the art of conquering by yielding. The Western equivalent of judo is 'Yes, dear.'"
- J.P. McEvoy
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Two days found the unlucky Fuu in a large palatial room covered in shades of cream and ivory. She was sitting on a plush chair, mousy brown hair pulled up with chopsticks. Her long, velvet robes colored fuchsia were being toyed with by a tiny squirrel, the golden tassels being petted to almost fraying. "Momo-san, I don't think Katsuhiko-sama would appreciate such a fine dress being messed with by a squirrel." The small rodent ignored her and continued to bat around a particularly annoying tassel. Entranced with Momo-san, Fuu hadn't noticed the thin, pale messenger as he walked into the room.
"Konnichiwa, Fuu-sama!" He piped up. Fuu looked at him, her eyes glazed over with boredom. The messenger, whom she recognized as the lord's main servant, Takaharu, smiled nervously. "Ryuu-sama and Prince Kiyoshi have arrived from the Fire Clan lands!" Fuu grimaced. Takaharu tittered at her reaction to the news. "Oh, dear . . . are you not pleased with the news?" One look from the girl told Takaharu that Fuu was anything but pleased. "You should be, lady! After all, your marriage will end two thousand years of rivalry!" Fuu sent the messenger a glare, but she rose from her comfortable chair. Brushing any and all invisible specks from her robes, she looked at him expectantly.
"Well?" She asked, "I doubt the lord and prince are very patient." Takaharu, feeling embarrassed, quickly bowed to the now-yawning security officer, and he motioned for her to follow him out of the room. The two passed through a long corridor with open doorways to different rooms. Each was painted a different color; a green one, she noticed, was a small library dedicated to the Lady Aya, and an orange room was a gymnasium for Lady Kohaku. In a bright blue room, she saw two small boys wrestling. 'Oh dear, Taro-chan and Jiro-chan are wrestling . . . ' The two princes continued to fight even after Fuu, while walking past, shot the two an evil glare that she knew the two could see.
After looking at each of the rooms while walking past them, Takaharu and Fuu reached a large, mahogany door trimmed with gold leaf. It was massive, nearly twice the size of Fuu (though Fuu wasn't such a tall girl . . . ), and it was wide enough to allow three burly security officers through with no problem. Takaharu knocked heavily on the door, and then he turned to Fuu.
"Nervous?" He asked. Fuu looked confused. "You're pale and shaking." Realizing it was true, Fuu quickly panicked. She couldn't be nervous! She was never nervous! And now her realization that she was nervous was making her even more nervous.
If that made any sense at all.
But she was quickly pulled from her inner turmoil when a small girl opened the heavy doors. She allowed the two to pass, and then she quickly ran back to the wall, where she could hide in the shadows until ordered to do something. Fuu sent the girl an encouraging smile, and she continued to walk toward the royal thrones. Sitting in the center of the room sat a thin, wiry old man. His clean-shaven face was broken into a wide grin, revealing very fine, white teeth.
"Aa! If it isn't Fuu-sama!" The man announced. 'Katsuhiko-sama is rather loud,' Fuu thought as she looked at the two men who were standing in front of Lord Katsuhiko. The shorter of the two, whom Fuu assumed to be Lord Ryuu, was rather dumpy, with salt-and-pepper hair and round, rosy cheeks. He looked like someone who laughed a lot. However, the man next to him, a tall, lanky man with a deep tan and dark brown, spiky hair, looked . . . weird. His face, which should've been clean-shaven to prove his royalty, was covered in a five-o'clock shadow, and his outfit was so outlandish and worn out that it was as though Fuu was to marry a common thief!
"Konnichiwa, Katsuhiko-sama," She answered. "I apologize for keeping you waiting." She tried to bite her lip from saying anything she may regret, for Jin warned her against it. He had told her to hold her tongue, for if she said a single wrong word in front of Lord Katsuhiko, even if he looked jubilant as he did now, Katsuhiko would erupt and sentence her to death. Apparently, Lord Katsuhiko hated having his clan embarrassed due to a single woman's mistake.
"No worries," Lord Ryuu answered her, "After all, I'm sure Kiyoshi here would wait for hours to view such a beautiful bride!" Ryuu turned to look at his son. "Right, Kiyoshi?" Fuu could've sworn she saw Kiyoshi roll his eyes as he murmured a quiet, 'Sure, whatever.' Fuu immediately felt furious at the prince. But, Jin did tell her to hold her frustrations inside, so she did. She looked back at Katsuhiko and smiled.
"I am proud to serve my clan," She grimaced out through her smile. As soon as she said it, she wanted to brush her teeth a hundred times. It made her mouth feel dirty. However, seeing Katsuhiko pleased at her words, Fuu realized she was in the clear. She turned and bowed to Ryuu and Kiyoshi, who she noticed was looking at everything but her. 'How rude!' "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ryuu-sama and Kiyoshi-sama. I am pleased to marry into the Fire Clan." Kiyoshi's brown eyes swivelled to meet hers, and he immediately smirked at her.
"No, no, it is a pleasure just to speak with such a lovely woman," Lord Ryuu told her. Looking to Katsuhiko, Ryuu then continued. "Now, if you and Kiyoshi could just walk through the palace to get to know each other, Lord Katsuhiko and I can finish with the agreements and contracts." Looking as though he was about to swallow glass, Kiyoshi nodded and bowed stiffly to the two royals. Fuu flashed the two lords a smile, bowed, and began to follow after Kiyoshi, who had begun to leave the throne room before she.
Once out of the throne room, Kiyoshi seemed to speed up quickly. Fuu had to nearly run to catch up to him, but when she did, she sent him a deadly glare. Kiyoshi ignored her and continued on in his murderingly fast pace. Fuu, thinking at how much of an ass Kiyoshi was, kept following him. After all, she had to get to know her future husband one time or another . . . and she didn't want to get to know him on their wedding night.
"Anou . . . Kiyoshi-sama?" She puffed out as they continued down the long corridor that she walked down earlier. Kiyoshi made no movement that said he heard her. So she repeated his name again louder. "Kiyoshi-sama!" Kiyoshi stopped abruptly and turned around quickly. "Why are. . . you running. . . so quickly!" He gave her a cocky grin.
"Too fat to catch up, ne?" He asked. Too shocked to give him a response, Kiyoshi continued. "Besides, who said I want you to follow me?" Fuu glared at him, her brown eyes flashing angrily. "Kami-sama, it's bad enough I'm gonna be married to you. D'you have to follow me like a starving dog? It's pathetic."
Fuu couldn't take it anymore. Enough holding her tongue! "You asshole!" She shouted, raising her right arm and slapping Kiyoshi loudly. Seeing him wince at the sting and bite of her slap, she spoke. "I don't want to marry you either! But seeing as I have no other choice, I'm trying to make it work!" She paused for a minute. "Besides, you must be pretty unpopular with the ladies in the Fire Clan if you couldn't even land one. . . At least our royals are already getting married off!" Stomping on his sandaled foot, Fuu turned on her heel and marched off. To where, she didn't know or care. All she knew was that it was far from Kiyoshi.
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Damn! That girl could sure hit hard, Mugen thought a few minutes after Fuu stomped off. The brunette was very vivacious and full of spunk, and. . . well, Mugen thought she was nothing more than an ugly wench with a big mouth. She had no figure whatsoever, and she had an annoying, grating voice. 'Goddamn it. I'll have to marry that bitch. . .' He thought. He wiped his tanned forehead, a large grimace growing on his face. He'll have his hands full with this one, he knew. Still, he continued walking through the palace to two large French doors lined in pure ivory. Opening them, Mugen noticed a large garden area filled with fresh fragrances. He walked into the gardens and just took a look around. So this was what it was like to be a royal . . .
"Who are you?" A monotone voice asked the thief. Mugen snapped his head toward the sound quickly, almost causing whiplash. Rubbing his neck, Mugen glared at the source of the voice: a thin, pale man dressed in dark blue security officer's robes with thin-rimmed glasses had walked into the gardens, one dark eyebrow raised.
"For your information, I'm Prince Kiyoshi of the Fire Clan," Mugen answered with emphasis on the word 'prince'. "And I don't remember calling for some washed up security officer to bother me." The security officer walked over to him and stood right in front of the thief. "Oi! Go. . . protect Lord What's-His-Face! Get the hell away from me!" The security officer, instead of walking away, leaned closer into Mugen's face, the officer's face emotionless. "Oi, are you a fag or something? Get the hell outta my face!"
"I'm onto you," The security officer answered. "One mistake. . . just one, and I won't hesitate. I will kill you." Mugen smirked at him. "Royal or not, if you put the Four Winds Clan into any danger, remember. . . my loyalty belongs to the Four Winds Clan. Not to any alliance." Straightening himself up, the security officer began to walk out of the gardens when. . .
"Jin?" Mugen could hear Fuu call. Damn, was she back again? He saw her sprint toward the two, a large smile on her face. "Jin! I was wondering if you'd show up! I was hoping you'd see me off before I was tossed into the lion's den!" Mugen distinctly felt as though he was ignored. And Mugen didn't like being ignored. The security officer, whom Mugen took to be Jin, nodded his head, his face still emotionless. "How was your trip?" Seeing Fuu's starry-eyed gaze at the security officer made Mugen sick.
"Fine, Fuu," Jin answered. "I must be going. Katsuhiko-sama needs someone to watch Aya-san and Kohaku-san off." Mugen's interest was piqued. So there were more women here in the palace? "Their fiancees are waiting for them in the south." Damn! They were married off. Fuu nodded. The security officer bowed and started to walk off before. . .
"Jin! Tell Shino I said 'hi'!" Fuu shouted. Mugen tried to cover his ears. Her shouts almost made his ears bleed! She must've seen him, for she immediately continued, "You jackass!" Giving him an evil stare, she stomped on his foot. Again. Ouch. "I hope you have a coronary or an aneurysm before the wedding!" With that, she turned neatly on her heel and stomped into the palace.
What a bitch, Mugen thought angrily. After all, he wasn't too insensitive. So what if she couldn't take criticism? The stupid, fat bitch needed to get an attitude adjustment, get her butt on a treadmill, and learn some better insults, Mugen thought. With that, the thief sat and relaxed on a nearby bench.
After all, he was gonna have the good life. He was prince of the Fire Clan, remember?
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The next day passed by with nothing very detrimental to the two. Fuu seemed to ignore the so-called 'prince,' and Mugen tried his damnedest to make sure that he didn't see the young girl in the halls. He did, however, come across the two princesses, Kohaku and Aya, with not-so-good intentions in mind. The blonde Aya, with her blue eyes flashing in anger, promptly threw him out of her library after his wandering hands wandered a bit too far south, while the redheaded Kohaku kicked him in his most valuable assets when he tried to help her with her backspring. . . when his hand ended up on her breast. Boy, girls in the Four Winds Clan were always on their menstrual cycles!
The day after that, however, the two were forced to sit next to each other as they helped plan the wedding. Lords Katsuhiko and Ryuu both thought they were being sympathetic to the two when they allowed them to choose their own vows, clothes, and decor. Now the two lords were rubbing their foreheads due to the never-ending headaches brought on by the newlyweds' arguments.
"No! I want red roses! They're romantic!" Fuu exclaimed loudly. She pointed at the odd-shaped flower in Mugen's hand. "Those are so ugly!"
"Oi! I want these! They look like a woman's. . ." Mugen was interrupted by Lord Ryuu.
"The roses are perfect, Fuu," Ryuu interrupted, his round head covered in a blush. "Kiyoshi, put those down!" Mugen, feeling put out, put down the flowers. "Now. . . what about the food?"
"Ooh! I want those little. . . uhm, what do they call them. . ." Fuu became flustered as she started to name off different types of food. The two lords were quite surprised when the girl had named off almost fifty entrees alone. "Oh! And we can't forget about eel! That's so scrumptious!" Almost as surprising as the girl's choices was the fact that Mugen wasn't disagreeing about the food. When looked at, the prince spoke up loudly.
"What? Some of that crap she mentioned is good. . ." He said, crossing his tanned arms over his chest. "What next?"
Katsuhiko's eyes gleamed as he picked up a small, white book. "Now's the time for the bride and her bridal party to choose the dress. Alone, please." Fuu smiled and nodded, grabbing the book from Katsuhiko before bowing and walking out. Her bridal party was on their way from the main city of the Four Winds Clan, Kyo. Upon seeing the girl leave, Katsuhiko ordered the doors of the room to be closed and for all of the servants to leave. When they left, he cleared his throat. "And now, gentlemen!" He grinned loudly before pulling out a thin booklet from his robes. "Let's choose the apparel for the wedding night!"
Mugen may have been thinking of his bride's lack of curves before, but once Katsuhiko opened the booklet, all thoughts left Mugen's mind as he saw the scantily-clad women in the portraits. 'Ooh. . .'
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"Stupid . . . pigheaded . . . jerk!" Fuu exclaimed as she walked out of the room. She stomped loudly upon the marble floors, her footsteps echoing throughout the corridor. She began mumbling loudly, not noticing where she was going. " . . . doesn't even respect me! . . . expects me to worship him! What a prick! . . ." She continued her tirade until she bumped into a hard wall. "Damn it! Why am I worrying about him, for? It's not like he's important! Humph!" Rubbing her head, which had taken the brunt of the wall's "attack," she turned towards an open, airy room: the royal meditation room. Because, kami-sama, she needed to relax.
Because otherwise, she'd strangle that stubborn idiot.
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Author's note: Thank you to all who reviewed! You all had such wonderful comments, and I thank everyone who gave me constructive criticism. After all, it is through you readers that I am able to strengthen my writing abilities. This story shouldn't be too long: probably at most fifteen chapters. Also, I am trying to write more per chapter, so the chapters should be longer than three pages now.
The WEDDING is in the next chapter! Be prepared!
Note about the fic: In case anyone's wondering, the country the characters are in is not Japan. I have a bad habit of using Japanese and Japanese honorifics in my stories. Let's just say they're in one large continent (which I'm looking for names!), which has about five different clans residing on it. Also, I will be including 21st century elements to the mix, like lingerie, treadmills and junk because . . . well, just because. ;;;
Review responses:
Shadow Elf Sofi - Thank you very much! I agree, most AU aren't that good, but I thank you for giving this one a try.
djmonkey - Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are the type of reviewer I love the most! If it weren't for reviewers like you, I wouldn't be able to learn from my mistakes in writing! Thank you! I will try not to rush the storyline anymore, I just have a bit of trouble with that. "OOC" means "Out of character" and "OC" means "Original character".
TiNyLoVeBuBBLeS - You're totally right. Making Mugen and Fuu like each other right away is really annoying. Seeing them argue is so funny. Don't worry; there'll be a lot of fights between the two. Especially in the upcoming chapters (which involve the wedding ).
Spiritwolf112 - Thank you very much! There seems to be a lot of people who don't like AU fics, but I'm glad you gave mine a chance! I can't get enough of Mugen/Fuu fics either. . . but there's not a lot to choose from!
The-everglow - blushes You shouldn't worship me! LOL. . . I hope the update is early enough for you!
Also, thank you to: Enkaiame Katana, h to the iso a.k.a. Ed, midnight 1987, Rouge With A Blade, midnightdreamer123, and pie108!