"Not gonna lie, that food was actually really good."
Haizaki grinned, "Of course they are! My favorite foods are the best!"
Nijimura let out a chuckle. Haizaki scowled again, "What are you laughing at?"
"You're cute when you smile."
Red crept onto the younger's face as his eyes widened in surprise. Angrily, he shoved a piece of bread into Nijimura's mouth. "Shut up!"
The older only smiled and chewed on the bread.
"Nijimura-kun."
"WAH!" Haizaki instinctively rolled away in defense when Kuroko decided to make his presence known. "W-What the fuck?! Where did you come from?!"
"I had just finished eating breakfast and the dresser told me to grab Nijimura-kun to get ready."
"Well, why didn't you say so?! Fucking popping out of nowhere like a damn ghost!"
Just then, the priests had come to fetch Haizaki as well. "Haizaki-sama."
"WAH!" Nijimura laughed out loud at the prince's reaction. "Oh, it's just you guys. Don't scare me like that!"
"Uh, we didn't intend to. It is time to get ready for the next ceremony."
Haizaki got up and pointed over to Nijimura and the Miracles with a cocky smirk, "See you suckers in the ring!"
The Teikonians were quite confused on what the Fuku prince meant, but they'd find out in due time.
...
...
All of the citizens from Fukuda Sogo traveled far in order to witness the next ceremony of the princes' wedding. Even the fisherman on the outskirts of the island abandoned their boats for a few days in order to become spectators in the colosseum.
The next ceremony is an ancient tradition of the olden days, meant to be forgotten. However, since this marriage is between two men, the Queen thought it would be quite entertaining to bring the old tradition back just this once.
...
When King Fukuda Sogo was fully established into the newly built kingdom, none of the wedding ceremonies had changed. He wanted to keep the tradition as intact as he possibly could so that the future generations would know their roots and never forget it.
One of the ceremonies that were highly looked forward to was the Battle of Pride. The groom and the bride would be adorned in their personal armor and have a duel against each other to see who would be dominant in the relationship. Back in the old Fukuda, the princes always won against their brides.
However, when King Fukuda Sogo's 1st prince held his marriage, it was the first time in history where a woman had won a victory against her groom. Crown Prince Fukuda Kaito was a well-mannered prince, quick-witted, strong, agile, flexible, handsome, and smart. He was everything a prince dreamed of becoming.
Although, even with all of those qualities, he was extremely weak for his wife, Princess Kyoutatsu Matsuri. She was the 3rd princess of King Kyoutatsu Minoru from the far east, who was famous for his endless wins in battle. Taking after her father, she was strong, swift, stubborn, hot-tempered, loud-mouthed, and brash. She was everything a princess would never want to be.
Yet, Prince Kaito fell for her unruly personality and managed to get her to say 'hi' to him after several months after their first meeting at a royal ball. In which, that same royal ball was the first time he ever saw a princess wearing a prince's attire. Her hair looked like it wasn't even brushed before being pulled into a slicked back ponytail. She wore no makeup, but her complexion was clear. Her chest may not have protruded out as much as her sisters, her legs may have not been as slender as the ideal woman, and she may or may not look like another female soldier, but she was attractive nevertheless.
Prince Kaito was a very popular bachelor at the time, so he was surrounded by flocks of women, looking forward to courting him. Politely, he rejected each one and apologized. When he was finally free of the many women that were after him, he made his way to the princess that caught his heart.
At that moment, she was being scolded by her oldest sister for wearing such attire to a royal ball, and not untangling her hair, and not wearing makeup, and for picking her boogers and flicking it onto the back of a passing minister.
Kaito cleared his throat slightly to get their attention, and it surely worked for her sister, but Matsuri only gave him a swift look before picking at her ear wax.
Shyly, he held his hand out to her, "Could I have the honor of dancing with you, milady?"
Her oldest sister's mouth dropped to the floor in shock, "Y-You're asking Matsuri to dance?"
"Matsuri is your name?" He gave a soft smile to her, "Whether your name stands for 'celebration' or for 'jasmine', the name is just as beautiful as yourself."
Matsuri slowly turned her head to face him, her eyebrow arched. Kaito could've sworn there was a slight blush on her cheeks. "Wow, this bastard is crazy."
"M-Matsuri! Watch your language!"
She turned away and headed for the balcony where it was quieter, but not before getting in her last sentence that night, "Stay away, fucking flirt."
Her oldest sister repeatedly bowed in apology, "Crown Prince, I apologize for my younger sister's brazen words!"
"N-No need! It must been my fault for coming on too strong..."
"No, no! You are not to blame! She's always been like this, please forgive her."
He shook his head, "There is nothing to forgive, she did nothing wrong."
Her sister looked at him with surprise, "Do not tell me, Crown Prince, you've been taken by her?"
He laughed awkwardly and avoided eye contact.
"You have! Haven't you?!" Her eyes sparkled in excitement. "I will help you get her hand in marriage if so you wish! I'm always worried she'll die lonely, but, if you have taken a liking to her, I won't have to worry much longer!"
Prince Kaito twiddled his thumbs and didn't dare to face her, "But...I don't want her to marry me if she doesn't like me."
"Nonsense! I've known Matsuri since she was in our mother's womb, and she'd never bat an eye for any man! Trust me, when she glanced at you, you passed the handsome test. Now, all you need to do is win her heart!"
Ever since then, he's written several letters to her, asking to know her bit by bit. Of course, she never replied back...that is until one lucky day, Kaito finally received a letter back from her.
His younger brothers were also excited about their oldest brother finally wanting to court a lady, so as the hyper child that Arashi was, he had the honor of reading the contents aloud to his older brothers. Kaito was quite nervous as to what she wrote back. Maybe she wrote this letter to reject him? Oh, that would be horrifying!
Arashi cleared his throat and read, "Dear Prince Kaito..."
Their 2nd brother was also quite hyper, "Arashi, why did you stop? Hurry and read it!"
"Um...haa, okay... If you say so..."
Oh no, Kaito already knew by Arashi's face, she definitely rejected him. He hung his head gloomily as he prepared himself for the next words.
"Dear Prince Kaito, sorry that I hadn't replied back to you until now. I was quite busy with my studies and practice. And my annoying sisters want to train me to be a proper woman, so my ass was too tired to read your letters, let alone write a reply. I recently had free time to myself, and read all of your letters. Which I'd like to say that I'm quite impressed that you didn't give up on me the night I called you a bastard and a fucking flirt. But to answer your questions, my favorite color is purple, my hobby is sparring with the soldiers during their training days, my favorite food is deep-fried fish with a side of spicy shredded mangoes, and if you wanna find out more about me, I suggest you come and find me yourself, if your love for me is so sincere. So before I even start liking you back, I just wanna make sure that you want to court a dirty, tomboy like me. I'm not really used to being called beautiful, so you really shocked me back then. Well, my bro is getting married in a few days and your kingdom is invited, so feel free to come, if you really intend to court me. See ya later, flirt."
The whole room went silent. The 2nd prince, Prince Moriyama, rushed over to Arashi and took the paper, "She couldn't have possibly written anything you said! Let me read this!"
Moriyama scanned the entire letter, and every word that came out of Arashi's mouth was not made up. "I-It's true...she did write this! O-Onii-sama!"
Kaito was in quite a state of shock, "S-She did?" He abruptly stood up and snatched the letter from his brother's hands and read it over and over again. Everything was written clearly.
"Onii-sama, what are you going to do now?"
His hands trembled and a tear slipped down his cheek.
"Onii-sama?"
Kaito brought the letter to his lips and kissed it in joy and hugged and lifted all of his brothers into the air in excitement. "She didn't reject me! I'm so happy I can't even describe it in words! I have a chance!" He froze and called for a servant. "Quickly! Inform His Highness that the princes will be attending the marriage of the Crown Prince of the Kyoutatsu kingdom! We are to leave at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
The four Fuku princes have never seen their oldest brother so elated before.
Prince Kaito was never the talkative type, and his brothers really wished he would talk more frequently. But boy, oh boy. The boat ride there, they all wished for Kaito to shut the fuck up. They couldn't even fit in a nap! Even the crew men had to suppress their urges of abandoning ship.
Fortunately, the kingdom of Kyoutatsu took only a day's trip. By morning, Prince Kaito had quieted down, however, his nervousness only increased the closer they got to shore.
As they neared the port, he spotted the princess waiting for them, crossing her arms and idly swinging one leg. Even in a soldier's training outfit, she looked stunning as ever. He let out a breathtaking sigh at the sight of her, "Princess Matsuri..."
His brothers yawned and stretched as they all came out of their sleeping quarters and rubbed sleepily at their eyes. They had to admit, seeing their oldest brother leaning on the edge of the boat, smiling as he's looking off to the love of his life while the sun was rising behind him was a beautiful sight.
They finally landed and Prince Kaito was the first to rush onto the dock. He quickly comb his messy hair with his fingers and made his way towards her.
"So you really came, huh?"
Kaito's cheeks turned pink and he gave her a small smile, "Princess Matsuri, I was very happy that you wrote back. Please allow me to get to know you better."
"Well first off, you can start by just calling me Matsu, cuz I'm sure 'Princess Matsuri' is a whole mouthful."
"I will do that, Matsu."
She looked over her shoulders and pointed over to the four princes that had just gotten off the ship, "So, who dat?"
Kaito beckoned for them to come faster. "These are my younger brothers: Moriyama, Jusei, Takeshi, and Arashi. Brothers, this is Princess Matsuri."
Only eight years old at the time, Arashi's eyes sparkled as he grabbed her hands, "Onee-san!"
"Uhhh, someone come get they mans."
Kaito pulled him away by the back of his collar, "Arashi! Don't be rude!"
"Now I know why Onii-sama likes you! Trust me, he was talking abo-MHMF!"
Kaito slapped a hand over his mouth and smiled, "Sorry, he's quite the hyper child."
She smirked and leaned into Kaito's face, the latter now extremely flustered at the close proximity, "You were talking about me, aye?"
"N-Nothing bad, of course!"
She only laughed, "Follow me, I'll show you to your rooms."
The five Fuku princes heeded her word and looked around as they passed through the flourishing city. They reached the kingdom gates and Matsu's oldest sister was there to greet them, "Prince Kaito, it's a pleasure to see you again." she said with a wink.
He smiled at that and bowed, "The pleasure is all mine, milady."
She ushered Kaito and Matsu together towards another path while she tended to the other princes, "Matsuri, why don't you show Prince Kaito around? I'll show the other princes to their rooms."
"What? Why-"
"Can I come too, Onee-san?!"
Arashi was quickly pulled back by Moriyama, who got the hint, "No, Arashi, you have to help us unpack."
Matsuri crossed her arms and was about to retaliate, when her sister gave her that smile. That meant, if she didn't do as she was told, she would have to suffer wearing high heels for six hours straight, again.
"Fine. Come on."
Before he left, Kaito turned around to give her sister a big smile, who in turn winked back.
Matsu brought him to the royal garden and picked a flower as they passed by, "So~ what do you like about me?"
Kaito coughed awkwardly at the sudden question. "You're beautiful."
"Okay, I know I'm hot stuff. Besides that?"
"You're funny."
"True dat."
"You know how to defend yourself, and you seem like an independent woman."
"Mhm."
"You get me flustered."
"Yep- Wait, what? You said I get you what?"
"F-Flustered...No woman could ever make me jumble my words like you. Every time you look at me, my knees just want to buckle beneath me...Ah! I'm too embarrassed to say more!" he covered his face with his hands and shook his head.
She stopped to look at him, "Pfftt...GAHAHAHA! KNEES BUCKLE! YOU'RE HILARIOUS!"
Even the way she laughed was like music to his ears.
"Hey, if I ever happen to like you back, just know that you're going to be my wife, because WOW! You totally sound like another princess confessing to her prince."
He laughed along with her. She tucked the flower she had onto his ear and took a good look at his face, "You're not that bad looking either."
Kaito was blushing again, and his heart was pounding at the touch of her hands. He held her hand and kissed the palm, this time, making her flustered. "Then, would you be my prince?"
The sound of someone clearing their throat snapped them out of their moment. Matsu quickly took her hands away and waved to the tall, hunky man in front of them. "Yo~ what's up, bro?"
"Don't 'yo what's up' me, who the fuck is this?"
Now, Kaito knows where she got her language from.
"Uh, this is Prince Kaito from Fukuda Sogo. He's here to attend your wedding."
He glared through Kaito's soul, "And do you want to fucking explain to me why he kissed your damn hand?"
"Cuz he wants to court me?"
Even though, the older prince was gruff and hostile-looking, he had a soft spot for all of his sisters.
The Crown Prince staggered back, "C-C-Court?! What in god's name is going on here?!"
"Darling! What's wrong?!" The Crown Prince's fiancee ran to him.
"Matsu! She!"
Matsu rolled her eyes and told her sister-in-law not to worry. "Bro you're so dramatic."
He pointed at her dramatically, "How dare you?!"
She stuck her tongue out at him and pulled Kaito in for a kiss, which neither he, her brother, nor her sister-in-law were prepared for. "He's mine now, so back off."
Her brother fainted right on the spot. Kaito was in a daze as Matsu dragged him along. "Don't mind him, he has a sister complex with all of us."
They made their way out of the garden and back to the castle, "Anyway- hey, you okay?"
She waved a hand in front of his face, "Hello~ Earth to Kaito?"
Mumbles were coming out of his mouth and she thought it would be nice to slap him across the face to regain his senses, but nah.
The morning of her brother's wedding came and everyone was dressed to the nines. Well, except for Matsu of course. She wore a splendid prince's suit to the ceremony and she looked absolutely stunning regardless. Sadly, Kaito didn't get a chance to talk to her.
It was now the night of the reception and Kaito was dressed in a nicely tailored suit. He wore a deep red velvet suit, with gold buttons and cuffs. His silky, long, black hair was braided tightly into two Dutch braids. Both of his ears were pierced and studded with gold all along the rims. He looked more like a devilishly handsome nobleman, than a refined Crown Prince. But, all of the princes of Fukuda Sogo had these dual charms. Even the innocent Arashi looked intimidating with his several cornrows. Moriyama, the only brother that decided to cut his hair short, just slicking his hair back and by taking off his glasses, his piercing green eyes could make any soldier tremble in fear. Jusei, though the middle child, managed to outgrow all of his brothers and gained muscle from training all day long. Wearing a fitted tuxedo and tying his hair up into a messy bun while always having on a permanent poker face, would make anyone feel smaller than they really are. And Takeshi, an outward, thuggish flirt, caused all of the noble women to swarm around him when he arrived in a bright red tux, wearing a black dress shirt underneath. His hair was just beneath his shoulder blades, but the bottom half of his head was shaved off. When he pulled it into a ponytail, everyone could see and feel the freshly shaved hair.
To say the least, the five princes were eye turners that night, catching the sight of everyone at the party. But not to Prince Kaito.
The true spotlight belonged to no other than his lovely Princess Matsuri.
The King and Queen walked down the elegant marble stairs, smiling as they waved to all of their honored guests. Behind them were the married couple, and the four other princesses, the last one coming down the stairs being Matsuri.
This was the first time Kaito ever saw her wearing an evening gown, or any female clothing at all. Although it was a matte black color, the fitted parts of the dress showed off her hidden curves, and the long slit on the side of her dress gave the audience a glimpse of her sun-kissed thighs, and the bust was a sweetheart cut with her sleeves falling off of her shoulders, but holding tight, showing of her gleaming collarbones and shining shoulders. Her hair was finally free of tangles and was smoothly set out in big waves. Her makeup was light and soft, but it accentuated her features well.
Kaito was lucky enough to be standing near the stairs at the time. When she fully descended the stairs, Kaito timidly walked up to her, his hands playing with his braids nervously. "Matsu, you look more beautiful than the goddess of beauty herself."
"Sorry, you're hot, but I'm waiting for someone."
Kaito became disheartened at that. "For who?"
"Some flirt named Kaito."
Is she talking about him?
"Matsu, it's me, Kaito!"
She turned to look at him and observed his face very closely. He blushed again and her eyes widened. "No way! Kaito?! You can look hot as fuck?! Holy shit man, you're like a totally different guy!"
He chuckled, "Dual charm runs in the family, as you can see." Kaito pointed to all of his brothers to prove his point.
"Yoooo, seriously?! Is that kid with the cornrows Arashi?!"
"It is indeed."
She smirked and turned back to look at him, "If you can look like this too, I don't think I'd mind. Say, would you like to have the first dance with me?"
Matsuri held out her hand, just like how Kaito did those few months ago, and he gladly took it and led her to the floor. "My pleasure, milady."
The two locked hands, Matsuri's other hand on his shoulder, and Kaito's on her waist. They clicked together as quick as gears on a clock. They chatted on about endless things as they took turns being twirled by the other. All eyes were on them. Kaito, the surprisingly devilishly handsome prince, and Matsuri, the tomboy princess that surprisingly wore a dress for once in her life.
After the reception, the two officially started to court each other. Eight months later, Matsuri and her siblings traveled to Fukuda Sogo, in order to ask for Kaito's hand in marriage. Obviously, he said yes, but it was quite amusing how he accepted the proposal.
"Kaito!" she thrusted the bouquet of flowers in front of his face and got on one knee, "Will you marry me?"
The entire court was shocked at the action, it was uncommon for women to do the proposing, but knowing Matsuri, she's the only woman that could pull it off.
Kaito may or may not have fainted, but he immediately ran into her arms and kissed her in front of the whole court. Matsuri went completely red in the face, but it slowly cooled down and she smiled as she hugged him.
She only smirked when Kaito whispered into her ear, "I'm officially your wife now."
Her hands slid down to grab at his buttocks and replied, "Damn right you are."
Kaito let out a high-pitched moan at the sudden pressure. Moriyama rushed to cover Arashi's ears, "Onii-sama, please! There are children present!"
"Sorry~"
The King and the Queen just rolled their eyes and laughed. The rest of the court bursted out into joyful shouts and congratulated the couple on their advancement into love.
The thing that Princess Matsuri was best known for, was winning the Battle of Pride. In a one-on-one combat, she dueled with Prince Kaito using various weapons and techniques. The lad didn't have the heart to harm her or even think about hitting her, so he just dodged her hits as best as he could. Eventually, he saw her stamina slowly decreasing after hours of striking him, so he willfully surrendered.
As they were exiting the colosseum together, Matsuri caressed Kaito's face and gave him a worried look, "Did I hurt you badly?"
He smiled and took her hand, "I thank you for your concern, but I'm not too battered up." Then, he moved closer to kiss her cheek, "Just remember, I may have let you win this battle, but when we battle in the sheets by the end of this week, you'll be the one to surrender to me."
Matsuri's entire body turned a deep hue of red as Kaito made his escape. "Kaito! Y-Y-You pervert! You weirdo! I fucking hate you!"
Kaito turned back and grinned, "I love you too!"
...
...
And that was first time a bride ever won the Battle of Pride.
But with the Queen bringing the tradition back, will Shougo be the next bride to defeat their groom?
"Dresser-cchi! Why are we suiting up in our armor?"
"Because the next ceremony is the Battle of Pride. Surprisingly, the Queen decided to bring it back, just this once."
"The battle of pride? What's that?"
Aomine pushed Kise over and grinned, "Did someone say 'battle'?!"
"Aomine-kun, please calm down. It might not be what you think it is."
The dresser shook his head, "Nope, it's exactly what he thinks it is. The Battle of Pride is an ancient tradition where the bride and the groom have a one-on-one duel to see who will be the more dominant partner in the marriage. But since the kingdom is more modernized now and has allowed for groomsmen and bridesmaids, you six will be battling the six bridesmaids first. The battle of the two princes will be saved for last."
"Hah?!" Aomine's face twisted into a frown, "We have to fight women?"
Kise nodded in agreement, "Dresser-cchi, are you sure it's okay to battle with women?"
The dresser chuckled, throwing the seven men off. "Don't underestimate Prince Shougo's bridesmaids. Those six were chosen to be his bridesmaids for a reason."
Akashi finally decided to listen in on the conversation.
"Not only are those ladies Prince Shougo's close friends, they were also personally trained by the late King Haizaki and now serve in the royal army as generals alongside Prince Shougo. In other words, their abilities and strength can compare to that of the Miracles of Teiko, A.K.A, you guys."
Akashi tossed his dagger in the air as he smiled, "Oh really? We'll just have see the truth in this then."
...
Over in the bride's changing room...
"Yo, Shougo! You better crush that ass in the ring today!" Murasakibara's pair-up shouted.
"Oi! Don't worry 'bout me, Yasagi. Worry about yourselves. You're going against the Miracles, you know?"
The bridesmaid that was paired up with Aomine tightened up the strings on her armor, "Ya, we know. Us six are miracles too, ya know?"
Shougo rolled his eyes and tightened the strings for his breastplate, "Ya, I know, Ruri. You guys are the Jasmines of Fukuda Sogo. How could I not know?"
Kise's counterpart was cleaning her blade, "Apparently not, since you're so worried we're gonna lose."
"Hoshi, I did not say that."
"But you were thinking it."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too!" another one chimed in.
"Inoue! This is fight between me and and Hoshi! You stay out of it!"
Akashi's pair-up pouted and continued to sharpen her knives, "Hmph! Shougo is so mean!"
Midorima's bridesmaid was polishing her bow and spectacles, "I told you not to get into other people's arguments."
"But Naomi! It sounds like he doesn't believe in us!"
"Inoue, calm down. Shougo's just worried for our safety." Kuroko's counterpart explained.
Shougo threw his hands into the air, "Finally! Someone who gets me! Thank you, Ayame!"
"No prob, brotha."
The Jasmines all had on pitch black armour, with red capes that were gifted from Ifrit, who took a liking to them as his own daughters, since it was him that helped King Haizaki train them since young. Because Ifrit had gifted them their own capes, they were allowed to touch Shougo's cape as well, but only his cape. Yasagi and Ruri held the heavy cape for Shougo as he secured the clasps onto his armor.
"Is everyone ready?" a priest asked.
The seven generals exchanged smirks and smiles as they grabbed their weapons. In unison they shouted, "LETS GO KICK SOME ASS!"
...
Nijimura and Miracles were led to a locker room in the colosseum, where they waited to make their grand entrance. The room had no door, so they could see who was passing by in the hallway. The groom party was chatting amongst themselves about the results of the battle when they heard obnoxious laughing and pig-snorting coming from the end of the hallway.
"Broooo~ Trust, I am the best. No worries on my side!"
"Same here!"
"Shougo, you betta whip him good!"
"In the ring and in bed!"
The Jasmines snorted and laughed like a bunch of old men while Shougo got angry and yelled, "SHUT UP!"
The six women laughed even louder, even pretending to wheeze because they've never seen their little lion so embarrassed.
Nijimura and the Miracles got a glimpse of their opponents as they passed by the entrance of their locker room. They saw black, red, black, red, and then blinding gold. And only Nijimura caught the smiling face of his fiance. He looked amazing.
Not that he'd ever admit it, of course.
...
"Now, ladies and gentlemen! This is the ceremony we've all been waiting for!"
The crowd went wild and cheering was heard throughout the entire arena.
"Coming all the way from Teiko is Crown Prince Nijimura Shuuzou and the Generation of Miracles!"
The Fukus clapped loudly in respect, while a few Teikonian nobles hollered for their team.
"And from our very own country of Fukuda Sogo is the Little Lion: Prince Haizaki Shougo, and the Blossoming Jasmines!"
Forget about cheering, at the arrival of the bride's side, the entire arena roared out their lungs in support of their beloved generals. Even little Misaki was waving a flag for her favorite uncle.
The bridal party lined up in the middle of the colosseum, each person facing their opponent.
"Silver armor don't look to shabby on you, Niji."
Nijimura smirked, "I could say the same for your golden armour, Zaki."
"Greet! Bow!"
The two teams exchanged their greetings and bowed before leaving to their assigned entrances.
"Up first is General Saotome Hoshi from the Jasmines, and General Kise Ryouta from the Miracles! Combat type: swords!"
The two drew out their blades, Kise holding his with one hand and keeping a steady stance with the other, while Hoshi twirled her sword with her fingers as she watched his every movement. Hoshi made the first move and stepped hard on the ground with her right foot and jumped up, slamming her sword against Kise's, in his attempt to block it.
Kise pushed his sword against her, making her jump back a few steps before running in again to clash with him. "Holy shit! Why is she so strong?!"
Hoshi pulled back and rolled onto the ground to make a swipe at Kise's feet. The blond didn't expect that and stumbled back in the process of avoiding it.
With the blond distracted by the stumbling of his feet, Hoshi held her sword tightly as she swung at Kise's sword, making it fly out of his hand and landing in the ground behind him.
"Winner is General Saotome Hoshi!"
Kise grumbled at his loss while the rest of the arena cheered for her victory. Hoshi offered him a handshake, "Good game."
He sighed and shook her hand, "Good game."
The two headed back to their entrances and switched with the next contestants.
"Up next is General Kurosaki Yasagi from the Jasmines, and General Murasakibara Atsushi from the Miracles! Combat type: sledgehammers!"
Yasagi looked up at the purple-haired general, who stood taller than his own sledgehammer. She readied herself and twirled her sledgehammer above her and moved in on Murasakibara. The latter picked up his sledgehammer with one swift move and swung at her violently. Yasagi blocked all of the strong blows effciently while slowly inching closer.
Now, it was her turn to make Murasakibara back away as she swung at him from several directions.
At one point, he managed to grab her sledgehammer by the tip, and using his huge body as leverage, swung her around. After picking up speed, he let go of the weapon and allowed it to fly away with it's master. Yasagi took a hard hit to the ground as she fell.
"Winner is General Murasakibara Atsushi!"
Yasagi sighed and got up, dusting off her armor and approaching the giant for a handshake, "We should spar again sometime."
"Ok, Yasa-chin."
"It's Yasagi."
"Yasa-chin."
"Yas- ugh whatever."
"Next is General Ayakashi Ruri from the Jasmines, and General Aomine Daiki from the Miracles! Combat type: bare fists!"
"Hey hottie~"
Ruri rolled her eyes and readied her fists.
"Ooh~ eager to play aren't you?"
"Eager to beat your ass!"
She threw a powerful fist first, Aomine dodging it within seconds. "Fiesty, I like it."
He took a shot at her abdomen, but missed by a mere millimeter when she stepped back to dodge it.
Their fists were flying so fast that the audience couldn't even see their hands! Shougo and the Jasmines were yelling from their spots, cheering her on.
Aomine managed to take a hold of her wrist and pinned her down to the ground. Ruri grunted and kicked her feet upwards, throwing Aomine off of her body. He winced and looked at the dented spot on his armor, "I love strong people. You're just my type!"
He pounced forward and did a quick uppercut, his knuckles barely gazing her cheeks.
"Hate to break it to ya, but you're not my type!" She jumped up into the air and did a roundhouse kick, her foot making contact with Aomine's face. He flew backwards and grunted. Sitting up, he smirked and wiped at his bleeding lip. "So that's how we're playing, huh? I got you."
"Winner is General Aomine Daiki!"
Ruri crossed her arms and glared at Aomine as she mumbled complaints under her breath. Aomine only winked at her before switching off.
"Next is General Gazuda Inoue from the Jasmines, and General Akashi Seijirou from the Miracles! Combat type: daggers and knives!"
Inoue skipped her way to the center of the arena and gave a big smile to Akashi. "I wish you best of luck, Akashi-kun!"
Akashi twirled a knife in his hand, "No need. You're the one that will need the luck."
Inoue's bright smile suddenly had a scary aura to it, and she looked down at Akashi with a terrifying glare as daggers suddenly appeared in between each of her fingers, making it look like she had claws of a wolverine, "Hah? Didn't anyone ever tell you to respect your elders?"
"Winner is General Gazuda Inoue!"
Akashi walked back in a daze, "How...no one has ever beaten me before...this is impossible..."
Inoue high-fived her teammates and Shougo gave her a hug, "Inoue, you're the best! I told you I wasn't doubting you!"
"I'm sorry, Shougo! I shouldn't have doubted you!"
Midorima and Naomi's battle, and Kuroko and Ayame's battle both surprisingly ended in a draw. Now it's up to the final two to decide which team, the bride or the groom's, will take the title of the dominant ones.
...
"The title of Dominant was won by the groom! Congratulations!"
The battle ended with Haizaki pinned to the ground beneath his groom, who made sure to lock him in place so that he wouldn't be able to retaliate like Ruri did to Aomine.
Night was settling in quick and the Jasmines and Miracles headed back to their rooms in the castle while Nijimura had to wait for Haizaki to finish putting back his armor in Leo's special room.
"You all set?"
"Yeah." Haizaki stretched his arms out and yawned. But something wasn't right.
He blinked and took a look at his left hand. "My ring! It's gone!"
"What are you talking about? The marriage ring is still on your finger."
"The lion ring, you idiot!"
"Re-check the armor room. Maybe you took it off with your armor."
Haizaki quickly went back inside and scanned everywhere for his ring.
"It's not there! I can't believe I lost it! Oh my god! I lost it!"
He pulled at his hair in frustration and it looked like he was about to cry too. Nijimura was not trying to deal with that. "Hey, calm down. We'll just retrace our steps and find it, okay?"
"We can't sleep until we find the ring."
"Okay, okay. Let's go find it then."
Nijimura took a hold of the younger's hands and dragged him back on the path they were on before. The two of them check through patches of grass, piles of rocks, animal burrows, everywhere. Nijimura could see that the younger was getting more aggravated by the second. "Let's check the colosseum. Maybe it flew off your finger while we were fighting."
They arrived at the colosseum and went to the arena area. It was a full moon, so it was easier to see if there was a shiny gold object around.
"I'll check this half, and you can check the other half."
Haizaki actually listened to him for once and the two split up to search for the ring.
Nijimura was squinting as he searched his side. Minutes later, a reflection was beckoning for him to come hither. "Hey! I think I found it!"
Haizaki's head immediately shot up and the young prince made his way towards him.
The elder reached out for the ring, but Haizaki stopped him, "No! Don't touch it!"
"Why not? I'm right here, I mind as well pick it up for you." He tugged at the ring and looked at it strangely, "Huh? Is it stuck or something? It won't budge!"
Haizaki finally reached for the ring as Nijimura was still trying to pick it. "I told you to leave it. Only I can-!"
Shougo's eyes widened as the pulling force of his fiance caused them both to fall to the ground as soon as he got a hold of his ring.
"OOMPH!"
Nijimura slowly opened his eyes and found himself beneath Haizaki, who, with the bright rays of the full moon, looked almost like a majestic unicorn: soft, pearly-
"What the fuck are you looking at?"
Okay, scratch that. He's not majestic at all.
"Waiting for you to get your ass off of my crotch."
And it just so happened to be that Haizaki was really sitting on the crown prince's nether regions. The younger hurriedly got off and scrambled to his feet, dusting at his ring at the same time. He sighed in relief at the result of their search, and put his lost ring back on.
"What's so important about that ring anyway?"
Haizaki held it dear to his chest and scowled, "You wouldn't understand."
He started heading towards the exit with Nijimura following behind. "Wow, so what? No saying of thanks?"
Haizaki stopped and glared at him, "Hmph!"
Nijimura rolled his eyes and they both made their way back.
The kingdom was having another feast in the center of town and Yasagi and Inoue dragged Shougo to eat with them before he could even bathe. "Guess who's here?!"
"Who?"
The two girls pointed over to a muscular, dark-skinned man, with silver hair.
"JASON!"
Shougo pounced on him like a dog, the poor man choking on his wine.
"I see you're as hyper as ever."
Shougo grinned, "So if you're here, does that mean-!"
Jason put a finger too his lips and shook his head, "I know what you're gonna ask. Nash isn't here. He had to go with his dad to resolve some government issues."
Shougo's grinned faltered and his eyes turned sad. "So he's not here..."
Silver thought to himself, "If he even heard about the news of your marriage, he would jump off the face of the Earth. To think the guy he likes is getting married...poor Nash."
"So you really had to marry Teiko, of all enemies."
Shougo sighed and plopped his ass down next to Silver, "Listen, if I had to choose, I'd choose a lousier kingdom. But I really had no say, so I'm stuck with them- no, we're stuck with them. I guess we all automatically become allies with their allies."
Silver made a noise of disgust and Shougo laughed, "I feel you, man."
He gave Shougo's shoulder a soft squeeze, "Stay strong, Little Lion."
Silence befell between the two. Even with all of the other people around them that were drinking and eating and chatting aloud, Silver could still hear the prince sniffle. "Oh come on, don't cry..."
"Why you gotta say things like that? You know I get emotional when you say it like that..."
Tears were brimming at his eyes and Silver couldn't stand seeing his friend cry, so he just brought Shougo into a hug, hiding his face in his chest. "Come on, Shou, you shouldn't let other people see you cry."
Shougo's voice was soft and muffled, but Silver heard him clearly, "I really wish I didn't have to do this."
He rubbed the prince's back soothingly in attempt to calm him down.
To be honest, Silver knows exactly how Shougo and Nash feel about each other. And probably everyone else too. Well, except for the two in mention.
The two men will most definitely say that they do not have any interest in their own gender. However, Nash is the only man that Shougo would want a relationship with that is more than friends and vice versa. Sure, it's common for buddies to go out drinking with each other and smack each other's private parts for fun, but if you get shy about it and your cheeks get hot when you think no one is paying attention...
Even little Misaki knows the feelings that are being passed between Nash and her uncle. She practically wishes for the two to be together already. But, unfortunately, this happened.
If Nash were to ever find out...
wowwwwwwwww 6k+ words what a record for meee
omg but silver being comforting and haizaki crying is totally out of character isnt it T^T IM SORRRYYYYYYY
but i hoped you liked that mini story of the 1st crown prince and his ghetto ass wife! XD