Co-written with miss mika namariya! We own nothing. :)
The Prince did not believe in love at first sight. He could admit to himself that he found her attractive, certainly. Definitely intriguing. But in love? It was too cliche. Besides, part of him grumbled, How could it be love at first sight? I barely get to see her.
The first thing that Kuon learned about his new guard, aside from the fact that she was incredibly hot when she was holding a blade to his throat, was that she was practically invisible. He could never tell where she was. Every now and then, he would catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye; but by the time he would turn to look, she would be gone. He could more easily catch lightning in a jar than catch her. He had half a mind to write to his godfather and demand to know what the man meant by sending him a bodyguard who was never there.
"Aren't bodyguards supposed to, I don't know, guard?" he asked the air exasperatedly one day. He hadn't seen her in hours.
"That's what I'm doing," Kyoko said, popping out from behind a statue. "A good guard is ever-vigilant. I have to seek out the best vantage points in order to scan for danger." True to her word, her gaze never stayed focused on one spot, instead sweeping their surroundings. "I am also a more effective guard if potential attackers don't realize I am here until it's too late."
He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "But -"
Kyoko was already gone.
[Line break]
"Er, Mogami?"
A soft thud on the carpet behind him made Kuon turn to see Kyoko, already crouched in a bow. "Your Highness called?"
"How did you do that?"
Kyoko tilted her head. "I jumped?"
"Yes, I gathered that. I meant, from where?"
In response, the guard pointed directly up. Kuon wanted to smack himself in the face.
"No, I mean, specifically," the prince said slowly, "where were you? And how did you get up?"
Kyoko adjusted the hand that was pointing up and Kuon's gaze followed her finger to a smallish window that was set back into the wall. He squinted. From his vantage point below, it looked as though there was a small ledge, enough for a reasonably small person to perch on (which Kyoko was). What didn't make sense was how she got there, as it was at least twenty feet up the wall, and there was not a ladder in sight. Kuon pointed this out, raising an eyebrow at her.
In response, his guard produced a long silk scarf from one of her many well-concealed pockets. Far from answering Kuon's question, this only raised more.
Kyoko looked at his puzzled expression and blinked. Then she walked towards one of the large, smooth columns that ran the length of the hall, wrapping the scarf around it and catching an end in each hand, circling her wrists twice to secure the fabric. She pulled the scarf taut and put a foot against the column, using the strength in her arms to move the silk as she quickly scrambled up the column a few feet, then dropped easily back down.
Kuon struggled to close his mouth. The prince was strong, he kept himself active. Maybe, if he observed Kyoko again, he might be able to copy her movements well enough, combined with his brute strength, to get both feet off the ground. But Kuon seriously doubted his ability to get all the way up the two-storey column. And even if he could brute-force his way up, it would not have the lithe ease of Kyoko's seemingly effortless movements.
He stared up at the column for a few moments, and then noticed that the recessed windows were placed between the columns, not directly above them.
As if she could read his mind, Kyoko offered, "There's a ledge."
Kuon squinted. "That ledge can't be wider than your foot. And it's right against the wall. How..."
"I'm quick," Kyoko said, as if that explained how the guard managed to defy physics. Kuon shook his head.
"Show me?"
So she did. Kyoko unfurled her silk, quickly working her way to the top of the column, where Kuon's stomach dropped as she let go of the silk with one hand and reached out with one arm to grab the shallow ledge, swinging the rest of her body up behind her to land cat-like on all fours. Any other person would have immediately plummeted down to the floor, but Kyoko was already up and running with quick, sure-steps towards the window alcove, where she tucked herself inside, crouching low so that she was barely visible from below. The guard stayed for a second, then jumped off the window ledge and Kuon panicked, letting out a startled yelp as he ran forward to try and catch her.
But instead of freefalling, Kyoko had leapt out at an angle towards the nearest column, slowing her descent until she was about ten feet off the ground and she pushed off the stone, landing easily on her feet.
Kuon looked almost green.
"Are you feeling alright, Highness?" Kyoko asked.
"Please, remind me to never ask for a demonstration again." The prince closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, willing his brain to forget the image of Kyoko leaping from the window above him with only a silk scarf. "I don't think I can handle watching you fall."
"I didn't fall," Kyoko corrected. "It's a controlled drop. I can show you aga—"
"That's quite alright, once was more than sufficient," Kuon cut in. "If you'll excuse me, I think I need to lie down."
[Line Break]
The first thing that Kyoko noticed about her new charge when she started working, aside from the fact that he was a colossal jerk, was that he had terrible eating habits. This would not stand. But, as Duke Takarada had warned her, he was also extremely stubborn.
"You need to eat."
"Debatable." He didn't look up from his paperwork. "Besides, I hardly think that's any of your concern."
"It is, actually." This time he did look up, and saw her standing primly next to his desk. "I am responsible for your wellbeing. Ergo, I am responsible for your health. I will protect you from any threats, including self-inflicted ones. You have to eat."
"I'm not hungry." He turned back to his documents, not wanting to argue this with her. Even if this was the first chance he'd had to talk to her all day.
"You haven't eaten all day." A beat passed, and then she added, "I will make you eat if I have to."
That got his attention. "Is that a promise?" He leaned back in his chair and smirked at her.
Her eyes narrowed. Ah, so he's not just a jerk. He's also a playboy. "That is a threat."
Okay, that backfired. He heaved a sigh and turned back to his work. "Very well. Do your worst."
Kyoko's only outward sign of irritation was a slight twitch of her face. Then she snapped into her service persona. "What sounds good to eat right now?"
"Nothing, I don't care. It's just food."
It's just FOOD? She stared at him for a moment, appalled. What kind of man was she guarding? "Alright." She turned and left, tagging out with one of the guards outside the room. The bland young man stepped into the room to watch him in her absence.
"It's just food," she muttered as she stomped through the halls. "We'll see about that."
[Line Break]
Kuon now, finally, had a reliable way to track down his bodyguard (besides speaking her name aloud into the open air and hoping that she appeared from around some corner or dropped out of the ceiling). He wasn't sure how exactly Kyoko determined her shifts. Certainly, Kuon wasn't in charge of scheduling her hours. He only knew when she was 'off-duty' because two of the royal guards would appear to follow him around instead. The Prince thought about asking his guards if they knew where she was, but couldn't quite bring himself to do it. It was bad enough that he had a crush on Kyoko and she was completely unaware of his feelings. He didn't need the entire palace staff to know that he had a crush (and that it was very, very one-sided).
It was completely by chance that he found her one day near the palace kitchens. The day after that, when Kyoko left him and his regular guards appeared, Kuon waited a bit before following her downstairs to the kitchen. Or more accurately, kitchens. Given the King's appetite, the palace kitchen had expanded until it took up most of the ground floor underneath the east wing, spilling out onto a terrace used for grilling and growing fresh herbs.
But just because Kuon could regularly find Kyoko in the kitchens didn't mean it was easy to talk to her. First, because the kitchen was noisy: the rhythmic *chop* of knives against cutting boards, the burbling of pots of stews, and sauces, the clamor of pots and pans being pulled from cupboards, and the constant motion and chatter from the fifty-odd staff as they went about their work. And secondly, because as soon as Kuon stepped into the kitchens, he was in the domain of the palace's head chef. The taciturn middle-aged man — whose natural expression leaned towards a gruff scowl — did not like the Prince, since he took Kuon's dislike for consuming food almost as a personal affront to his professional skill. Kuon felt that there was not a single corner of the kitchen where he felt shielded from the chef's watchful eyes. How the older man was able to stare at the Prince and sharpen his knives at the same time without cutting off his fingers, Kuon didn't know. The chef glanced back and forth between the prince and his new bodyguard, a suspicious furrow appearing on his already wrinkled brow.
Kuon's new bodyguard was surprised to see him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, skipping directly over any polite conversation besides a nod to acknowledge his presence. Kyoko would have bowed (she did have manners, after all), but she was holding a rather large stock pot full of very hot soup, and she would rather not risk any spillage (and second degree burns).
"I…" Kuon shut his mouth. I came to see you. There was no way he could say that. He had tried flirting with her before, timidly, and she had taken all of his hinting and subtle indications of interest with a confused, slightly disgusted face. "I suppose I was curious."
"About what?" Kyoko asked, carefully setting the pot down on a different burner and adjusting the heat. She retrieved a clean spoon and tasted the soup carefully, before giving herself a satisfactory nod.
"About… you, er, your skills!" He amended hastily. "The Duke mentioned that you had all sorts of other talents, and I wanted to watch them in action."
"Did you think I was lying about making your meals?" Kyoko raised a brow at him.
"I didn't say that."
"Your presence here certainly implies it."
"I meant no offense." Kuon held up both hands in defeat. "As I said, I merely wanted to sate my curiosity."
"Well, now you ha— watch behind you!" She grabbed his wrist, pulling the Prince forward just in time as a servant passed by with a large tray that would certainly have hit him, if she hadn't tugged him out of the way.
"Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me. I'm just doing my job." She replied, her attention already occupied elsewhere as she pulled out a large skillet and cutting board. "If your Highness doesn't need anything, perhaps you should go."
She had said it politely, completely without malice. But it still stung. Her implication was clear: you're in the way.
"Alright. I got it." Kuon muttered, trying to maintain his dignity as he exited and conceal how he felt — like a dog that was underfoot and had been shooed outside.