Complete summary: Princess Naoko knows her father is a horrible ruler, but no one suspected his selfish ways would end in her being kidnapped. Now traveling through her Kingdom Aralon, across wilderness into the enemy country Honrako, Naoko and her servant friend Suki soon learn that their kidnappers, the four bandits of Quentia, might not be so bad after all.
A/N: In this chapter, Ryo decides he wants to play head games with the Princess. (But if you ask me, he's just so desperate NOT to fall in love with her, that he thinks confusing her with charm is going to turn the tables and make her the one to suffer from the frustrations of feelings.)
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Arigatou
Chapter Eleven
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"Yukio, could I ask you something without offending you?" Naoko enquired the next morning.
"I dare say you can try."
"Well really, I was wondering about your left eye…"
It was something both her and Suki had been wondering about for sometime. Mikitao, who was sitting with them as they ate, grinned at this.
"I told you Yukio, that one day your eyes would charm ladies. And here you thought they'd be disturbed."
"Ah yes, I was wondering when you girls would ask about it." He laughed, ignoring Mikitao.
"Because I really mean to compliment you. I mean, for both of your eyes actually." The Princess assured.
"Yes, most people around here have the plain black or brown eyes."
"So how did you—I mean, were you born with them?"
"Oh no, no. And yes. My green eye, I was born with. It's the sign of a Tyapilis sorcerer. As for the silver eye, I got that after a freak accident while training with magic."
"What was the accident?" The Princess asked on.
"Oh, it happened when I was still a child. My grandmother was teaching me how to conjure water, you know just in case I'm ever in need of some. I mispronounced a word or two and changed my left eye from green to silver."
"So you didn't try and change it? You decided to keep it silver?"
"My grandmother wasn't too sure about how to reverse it, so she thought leaving it was a lesson well learnt."
"Well, I'm glad you kept it, it's so appealing." Suki spoke in turn.
"Ah, do you really think so?" Yukio turned his gaze eagerly to her.
"Yes I do. It sets you apart and adds such a dazzling gleam to your face." Suki smiled, daring to look up at his said feature.
"Oh Mikitao, I've been meaning to ask you about something." Naoko got up at once.
"Alright then." He just sat there and looked up at her curiously.
"Well about this thing, I have to show you it. May you come with me?"
"Sure thing." Mikitao got up and he followed her.
Naoko walked until she and Mikitao were a good distance away from Yukio and Suki.
"So, what did you want to show me?" Mikitao looked around at where they now stood.
"Don't be silly. I have nothing to show you."
"But then, why did you—"
"Mikitao," Naoko sighed. "Surely you could sense what was happening back there?"
"The only thing I could sense was my stomach grumbling for more food." He answered.
"Never mind, just don't go back to them. They are probably having a private moment now. Why don't you go find Ryo, or go help Shinji groom the horses over there?" The Princess looked to the trail, where Shinji was.
"Yes, perhaps I will." Mikitao nodded, and walked off to Shinji.
"Now, that should give Yukio some time to profess his feelings." She thought to herself.
"It is time to go everyone." Ryo called, coming out of the trees behind Naoko.
"Shh, be silent!" Naoko shot him a glare before the others had heard him.
"What is the matter with you Princess?" He stopped in front of her.
"Be patient. Shinji and Mikitao are not yet done grooming the horses. Even more important is what Yukio is doing."
"Oh, and what would that be?" Ryo questioned, taking a glance at Yukio and Suki.
"If you must know, he is in a tête-à-tête with my dear friend, concerning his feelings, and hers."
A curve of a grin formed on Ryo's face. "That is what you think, is it?"
"It is what I know. Surely, he must be doing so. They are both alone and it is his opportunity."
"They may be alone Princess, but I do not think Yukio is declaring any feelings."
Naoko looked away from the idle couple and up onto Ryo's face. It was apparent to her by the half smile he wore that he was amused, and it irritated her. "I believe you to be grossly mistaken. I would bet my kingdom on it."
"Then bet your kingdom away, and I am sure to be the future ruler of it, for I too am sure that you are wrong. Yukio simply talks to your friend, he does not admit to any attachments. Look at his face and hers, both at perfect ease with no hint of passions flaring that such a situation would surely cause." Ryo pointed out.
Naoko studied the couple's body language and could not disagree with Ryo. "You take a delight in proving me wrong, don't you?"
Ryo studied her face and found that she had a hint of annoyance in her features. Her eyes shone a touch of loathing.
"Yes, I do take most wonderful delight in proving you wrong, but you should take it as a compliment Naoko. For most I do not care because it makes no difference, but you have such an independent and deep mind, that it is always an honour for me to find any way to surpass such knowledge as you possess."
Princess Naoko, who had been looking at the bandit the whole time, suddenly became aware of it, and so looked away determinedly. Not knowing just how to answer to this, she did the only thing she could. She walked away to Shinji and Mikitao.
Ryo watched her leave and he couldn't help but sneer to himself and think, "Yes, she thinks she is wise, using her charms to convince the bandits to let her go. But let us see how those charms will work against her. How will she act when someone is being charming to her instead? Yes, I'll captivate her before she can me!"
- - -
"What do we do from here, your lordship?" Kanitsu asked as all the other men looked to their Prince for an answer.
"That is the question to ask, isn't it?" Hiromi responded. "We crossed the border into Honrako but days ago, and it would seem we've come closer and closer to the palace. Who knows how much longer we can last until we meet Honrakonese soldiers in these parts. I think it is best we make a new plan."
Everyone mounted their horses and waited for him to continue.
"Right, here is the new strategy. Kanitsu, Harue, Takashi and I will continue to search until we reach the castle. I doubt we will have any luck though, which is why the rest of you will set off at once back to Aralon and inform my father that we have failed in our attempt to find her. He must now deal with the Honrakonese rulers."
"At once my Prince." One of the other head knights bowed, and then galloped away with the other groups of solders. The three remaining knights continued along the journey through the woods with Prince Hiromi, all knowing there was no longer any hope of finding Princess Naoko.
- - -
"Just think ladies," Mikitao exclaimed as they continued to ride down the dirt path at midday, "By tomorrow evening you shall be able to see the majestic Honrakonese Palace in the distance. We should reach there before noon that following morning. Then this expedition shall come to a close, and you will be sent home."
"Yes, but how long will the stay at Honrako Palace last until my father sends word?" Naoko sighed.
"It might be some days that you'll be there before you are traded back." Shinji nodded grimly.
"Do not let fear and worry brew in your mind. Prince Takuya will not do anything shameful." Ryo stated briefly.
The three bandits looked his way doubtfully, but the Princess was the one to speak up.
"And how can you be sure? I will indeed dread the future because it is almost certain that man is immoral."
"Immoral he may be but he will not take part in any wickedness towards you or Suki."
"Do not try and console me with lies. You know not what he will do. How can you say such things?"
"Because we will not hand you or Suki over until he agrees to the terms we set. One of them will be that he cannot harm or mistreat you two in any way. The Prince is no fool, he knows we will find out if he does do so."
"That's a brilliant idea!" Mikitao thought out loud, smacking the front of his saddle in delight. "I'm happy you thought of some way to insure their safety."
"I'm surprised at you bandit." Naoko turned her head to look behind at him. "I never thought you would go to such measures."
"But of course, Princess. None of us could live with ourselves if we knew we sent you into direct danger. You'll find that we are all concerned about your well being." Ryo spoke with a hint of charisma, his breath tickling her ear.
"Oh, I—" The Princess was simply stupefied by such spontaneous behaviour.
"Yukio, what did you give Ryo to eat this morning? He seems strangely subdued." Shinji laughed.
"Speaking of food," Mikitao began, "is it not time to stop for lunch?
- - -
"Here Princess, let me help you down."
They had stopped a quarter of an hour after Mikitao had suggested lunch. Everyone was dismounting and walking over to a clearing to sit.
"It is alright Ryo, I can get off myself, as I have done many times before."
"I realize you are quite capable in dismounting a horse, as you have made it a point to show me, but I am asking you if you will let me help you. It would be my pleasure, really." He flashed a sly smile.
"If you insist." Naoko held out her hand, and Ryo took it.
Lightly slipping down from the saddle, he caught the rest of her, and set her down.
"Arigatou." She thanked briskly, and walked to where the others sat.
"I'm am confusing her greatly." Ryo thought to himself as he followed. "It will not be long before she is completely taken in with me, and then we'll see who has won this game of allurement."
- - -
"This time tomorrow night, you will be looking upon the castle." Yukio solemnly informed Suki and the Princess.
Those three, as well as Mikitao, were all sitting around one of Yukio's night fire.
"And then I suppose, the proceeding morning afterwards, we will be in the castle." Suki nodded.
"Yes, I suppose you will."
Naoko remained silent and observant. It was evident, by the way Suki and Yukio conversed, that he had not mentioned one word of matrimony to her dear friends, and she wondered why. They had one full day left of travelling, and then after that it would be over. It seemed as though Yukio had made up his mind not to confess his affections to Suki, and the Princess was left to wonder why.
"Well, I'm off to bed. An early sleep is almost as good as a late rise." Mikitao got up lazily, and made his way to his blanket that waited for him over in the distance.
"You know what? If this is the second last night I have to spend with the bandits of Quentia, then I think I would like to go and ask Shinji to play me a song. Good night you two." Naoko stated, getting up.
Just before she left, she caught a glimpse of Yukio's pleading eye. Apparently he didn't want Naoko to leave, but she thought it was best she did, so that he could finally tell Suki, even if he was anxious about it.
Walking past the shadowed trees of the night, she managed to find the lake by its glowing presence, as it reflected the moon. She was surprised to find that Shinji was not playing his flute. Instead, he and Ryo were in a conversation. She walked up to them, not wanting to eavesdrop, and they both stopped talking.
"Princess, we were just talking about you." Ryo stated naturally.
"Oh, you were?" She was a little taken aback by his frankness.
"Don't be alarmed, we said nothing bad." He pressed on.
"I'm glad to hear of it. I only came because I wished to hear you play your flute Shinji." She turned to him.
"If it will please you." Shinji smiled and brought his flute, which was already in his hands, to his lips.
"That is such sweet melody." Naoko closed her eyes and sighed.
"It is pleasant to be sure." Ryo, who was still standing next to her, commented.
"Pleasant?" She opened her eyes and glared at him. "It is so much more than pleasant. It is glorious. Such gentle notes played by such a romantic as Shinji brings about nothing but pure ecstasy."
"I repeat, it is pleasant. You may allow your feminine reasoning to deem something more tender than it really is, but I will call it as it is. Shinji plays well, but it is nothing to swoon over." Ryo spoke with a touch of superiority.
The Princess forgot about the music and studied the look on Ryo's face. "Ah bandit, I believe you are just jealous."
She was surprised to see a smile appear on his face. "You are absolutely correct. I am indeed jealous."
"You—you are?"
"Why of course. I am madly jealous with rage towards Shinji. He can play a flute with such tunes as to charm ladies, as I can't."
"You jest with me!"
Ryo looked down at her for a second and laughed. "Maybe just a little. You were so definite in your idea of me being jealous, so I played along. And it was amusing to see your face just now when you thought I really was."
"I do believe I shall not be able to trust one word that comes from your mouth from here on in."
"Princess, I am shocked that it took you these number of days to realize that."
"Ahem." Shinji cleared his throat.
Both Ryo and Naoko looked in his direction.
"Oh, are you done with your song Shinji? It was beautiful." The Princess beamed in gratitude.
"Arigatou my fair Princess, though you did not hear all of it." Shinji cast an expressive glance to Ryo.
"I apologize Shinji. Next time I will try not to distract your audience whilst you play." Ryo snickered.
"Well, it is time for me to turn in. Princess, I talked to Yukio, tonight he will be using his blanket and you may use mine." Shinji bowed to her, and left the scene.
Naoko avoided Ryo's eyes but it was inevitable. "So Princess, you gave in, did you?"
She took a deep breath and looked up. "Alright, I admit it. I couldn't bear it any longer. Does it please you that I have proven myself weak and have given into comfort? I did rough it out for most of this journey, however."
"That you did, and I commend you greatly for it. If I am pleased, it is not because you have proven yourself weak, because you haven't. I'm please you gave in because the competition you held was ridiculous, and you did prove yourself most strong these past days. I hope we can both forget about this silly little rivalry, and move on."
"I agree." Naoko nodded and turned to walk away, only she stopped and turned back. "Do you mind if we stay here a bit longer? Both Shinji and Mikitao have gone to bed, but I am sure Yukio and Suki are still awake. I do not wish for them to have any distractions. Not from me, or you. I am sure he is going to propose to her."
"You are still thinking that way, are you? I hate to mention this again Princess, but Yukio isn't going to propose."
"And I still say he is. We have our different views, and in the end we'll both see who is right."
Ryo choose not to answer, and instead looked for something to sit down on.
When he found a big boulder, he leaned against it. "Look through those branches up top. You can make out the stars. It's a site that is always soothing; clusters of shining stars."
The Princess moved from her spot and took a better place at which she could see the stars in the sky.
"Nothing is more enchanting then a shooting star." Ryo claimed, as one went by.
The Princess looked down from the sky and at Ryo. A mystified look played about her face.
Ryo looked down for a second.
"Why do you look so perplexed? There is a question forming in your eyes, I can see it. Well, ask me away."
She remained silent for a second, and then, "Bandit, do you love me?"
Ryo's eyebrows went a little up in awe of her question, but then he looked back up at the stars. "No."
"That is what I thought it to be." She nodded, looking back at the stars as well.
"Then why did you bother to ask?" His voice was calm, though he was still somewhat astonished.
"Because it is your comrades, who have all expressed to me their certainty that you were. I of course have rejected their ideas, and told them I believed them to be erroneous, but nevertheless, I had to ask."
"You were most entitled to, and I suppose now I have to return the favour and ask you the same thing, though I already know the answer. So Naoko, do you love me?"
Naoko thought for a moment, then answered, "I suppose I do. Yes, most passionately."
"You do?" He looked down at her so fast his neck snapped tightly.
"Yes, I do." She smiled.
"And you are not jesting with me?"
Naoko glimpsed his way for a second and laughed. "Of course I am jesting with you! To think me, a Princess, would fall in love with a bandit, hah! Ryo you should have seen the look of utter amazement on your face when you believed me!"
Ryo rubbed his neck soothingly with his hands. "I suppose I deserve that deceit. Am I to presume that you teased me here as such, only because I did the same to you when I claimed to be jealous of Shinji? Was this just your plot of revenge?"
Princess Naoko's smile turned sly. "Yes I believe you presume correctly. We are now even, as the scores count it."
"So, everything is a game to you then? Are we always to be rivals, do you think?"
"I wouldn't have it any other way my dear bandit adversary."
- - -
End of ch.11
A/N: I watched Mulan with my little cousins a few days ago, and then I realized how much Ryo reminds me of Captain Li Shang (Rayko fans face just at the thought of him). Not only that, Yukio reminds me of Ling (the skinny soldier dude), and Mikitao is like a mix of Chien-Po (fat happy solider) and Yao (short stocky grumpy solider). Alas, there is no Shinji though; the flute-playing bandit has no double from Mulan. Oh, and Naoko isn't really anything like Mulan (except maybe, they are both brave) so I'm afraid Suki and Naoko have no double either.
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ObsessedReader, Ryo's got his reasons for not freeing them, one of them being gold, and lots of it, the other being the fact that he is a very dedicated and determined person, quite stubborn too, and once he starts a mission he makes it a point to complete it (or else, it's considered failure, and he won't allow that of himself). Those are his reasons, and no amount of feelings for the Princess, which he denies of course, will change his mind on the matter. As for Takuya, haha, yes, is he the Prince Charming or the toad? Or both, I should say.
Traceykiwilee, hahaha, your reference to Ryo as a "stupid boy" makes me laugh. Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked this chapter, and luckily, you don't really have to wait all that long for the next.
TAMI, hey thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like Ryo, and the one from "Fruits Basket", is his name Ryo, or is it Kyo? I think it's with a "K", but yeah, they are similar in the sense that they're not very sociable, are they? And Kyo is my favourite character from "Furuba", orange head of rage that he is, sigh. Do you read FB manga or did you watch FB anime? I'm glad you're interested in the sequel, and at the end of this story I plan to take a poll and if people review saying they want me to, then I'll post it up, and if not, I'll send it to you, I'd be honoured to.
like i'd tell you, yes he did admit it—but just barely—that he's sacrificing something too, and that shows he's beginning to doubt himself. But will that doubt be enough to change his mind, or will something happen to make his decision for him. Hmm…hehehe.
-rayko.