Prince Yuki

Chapter 8:

Hana stared down at Prince, sleeping soundly in her bed beside her. All night long, she had been thinking of strange thoughts and it wasn't stopping anytime soon. Yuki. Yuki. Yuki, Yuki, Yuki! Every single thing in her thoughts consisted of Yuki Souma! It was not obvious, physically, but it was eating her inside. Why couldn't she stop thinking of Souma, Yuki!

What did it matter to her that Yuki didn't ask her earlier what he had been asking her consecutively for a week now? Why did it bother her so much? It wasn't supposed to bother her this much! Yuki has his life, his secrets, his privacy! So why was she—dare she think it, irritated, at the thought that Yuki Souma had actually forgotten about her at the mere sight of her best friend, Tohru!

She was a bad friend! She should be happy for Tohru-chan and yet, look at her now! She was—jealous?… At the realization that what she felt was actual jealousy, her heart broke! How could she! How could she do this to Tohru-chan! Hana tore her gaze away from Prince and shut her eyes tight, ashamed of herself and completely disgusted!

She was a devil! How could she be jealous of Tohru just because of Yuki Souma's attention! She was such a bad person! She didn't deserve a friend like Tohru! She didn't deserve anything she was given! A curse doesn't deserve anything! Not even freedom from life itself!

Suddenly, she felt two strong arms wrap tightly around her body, pulling her closer to come in contact with a firm body. She instantly stiffened and turned quickly, only to see Prince staring up at her. That was strange. Prince was strange. His waves were so strong that she actually thought she felt him hug her. That was what she loved most about Prince. He was strange; like her. And he loved her, cared for her. She knew she didn't deserve him either.

"Prince-chan…" she didn't want him to worry, seeing as he cocked his head to the side with curiosity. "Should I attend the Zodiac Festival?"

Immediately, Prince nodded. "Don't you think I will only ruin their celebration?" Prince violently shook his head no! Hana smiled with content, Prince was far too good to her. If he were a human, she would never have believed such kindness from him. But since he was an animal, she could live in her fantasy and dream that he actually did answer her questions instead of simply doing tricks.

She lay down on her bed and looked at him with a content and blank stare. "Do you love me, Prince-chan?" she asked.

Prince simply stood there, almost as if thinking it over. Hana felt like laughing inside, of course the mouse wouldn't answer. She ruffled the top of his head with her index finger and closed her eyes, giving in to rest.

When Yuki was sure she was finally asleep, as if on cue, he turned into a human. He stared down at her intently, not knowing what possessed Hana to say something so…not like her. But what puzzled him more was that…did he love her? She asked him that and never expected an answer. Yuki never expected the question so he never had an answer. But now that she asked him…did he? Was he in love with Saki Hanajima?

Well, he felt strongly about her, sure. But…love? All he knew about love was what Honda-san had taught him. She was his first love. But she broke his heart when she said she loved Kyou more. Would it be the same to Hana? Would she love somebody else more than she loved Yuki?

That next day, the school was busy with their own booths. The field for the festival was ready and bustling. Students and teachers alike were walking around and examining booths. Yuki stared up at the banner in their booth, a proud glint in his eyes. His classmates had actually managed to do something fairly decent without him!

It was a Soul Mate booth. At the booth, they were selling little message flasks with the head of the zodiac as a cork. Of course, the flasks had the name of a student on a rolled piece of paper inside. And they explained that whoever it was that you got, that student would be your 'soulmate'. Of course, Yuki knew that a lot of boys and girls were buying the flasks in hopes of getting his name. He sighed, thankfully, his classmates made a rule to sell only one flask per student.

"Souma-kun." He turned to his side to see Tohru walking alongside Kyou towards him. Kyou had a stubborn look to his face with his hands folded behind his head while Tohru looked excited and had her trademark smile bright and ready.

"Honda-san." He acknowledged with a small smile.

"What do you think of the booth?" she asked.

Yuki evaluated it before smiling, "They did a good job, Honda-san." With the compliment, Tohru smiled brighter.

"I'm glad you think so! Hana-chan and Uo chan worked hard to write all of the students' names in those little pieces of paper. Oh, why don't you buy one! You might know who your soul mate will be!" she enthusiastically invited.

"Ah," Yuki smiled. He really didn't want to, since he didn't believe in this. And besides, it would never be Tohru anyway, so what did it matter? But just to make Honda-san happy, Yuki agreed. "Hai." He bought one with the head of a mouse as a cork and put it in his pocket. He would open that later.

Tohru was happy with that and turned to Kyou, "Kyou-kun, why don't you buy one too?" she invited.

Kyou scoffed and turned away, "I don't need no freagin' bottle to tell me who I'm gonna be happy with!" but when Tohru faltered, her smile slowly fading, Kyou's face softened and he said gently, "I'm already happy with you."

Tohru blushed, wide-eyed and flattered. Shying away, she turned her eyes to the ground and concentrated on it. Yuki tore his eyes from the scene, feeling his stomach churn with jealousy. It was for the best, he knew. Stepping back to save Kyou's soul from darkness. It was his decision to do so…but why was he the one left miserable in the darkness, standing on the same ground.

Later that day, Hatori slowly and carefully walked into the overcrowded field. He berated himself for actually coming right after going to Kisa's. He didn't want Hanajima to think he was too eager to come, but he also didn't want her to think he wouldn't come. He was anxious, he knew. But what made him anxious in the first place wasn't even anywhere in sight! Where was she?

"Souma-san!" a husky feminine voice called out. He turned around, suppressing a groan as he expected to see no one else but the Secretary. She looked fairly young, had long brown hair curled beautifully and falling lightly over her shoulders. She wore a velvet red coat and sleek black skirt that reached her knees and had slits at the sides. She had big green eyes and luscious lips and had a smile on her face. "I'm so glad you came!" she said, coming up to him.

"Hai, I decided to come." He said blankly at the evidently interested woman.

"Well, have you been to any booths lately? I'm very interested about the marriage booth the juniors made!" she said with a coy smile but seemed innocent enough.

"What did the seniors make?" he asked, wanting to grasp on anything related to his source of anxiety.

"Oh, the seniors!" she started to grab something out of the pocket of her coat and soon emerged with a flask with a letter inside and the head of a dragon as a cork. "I bought one for you, Souma-san! It's a Soul Mate bottle. You were born in the year of the dragon right?"

"Hai. Arigatou." He took the flask and looked at it. "What is it for?" he asked after a while.

"It has the name of your soul mate in it, of course!" she smiled prettily, in hopes that he would get her name and start to make a move. Either he was gay or really timid, she thought. That was the only way a guy could ever not be interested in her. "Open it!" she suggested excitedly.

Hatori looked at her then to the flask, deep in thought. "Maybe later." And with that, he walked away, giving no heed to the pout the Secretary made. He made his way through the hoards of boys and girls excitedly showing their little cliques what they got or discovered.

He soon stopped, not finding who he was looking for. Perhaps it would be better if he just left? Come to think of it, all he was doing was just going to a pointless festival. So, why would she care if he were there? It wasn't that important.

He turned to leave but was surprised and relieved to see, from a distance, Hanajima with her friends Uotani and Tohru. She was giving Tohru a flask with a dog's head for a cork; Tohru smiled and hugged her friend tightly. He determined himself and walked over to them.

Uo was first to see him and she smiled up at the handsome doctor. "Yo!" she greeted, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"Hatori-san!" Tohru cheerfully called, "I didn't think you'd come!"

Hatori waited for Hanajima's reaction but what he got was a polite bow and a blank stare. He nodded to them, "Hai. I decided to watch the festivities."

"Oh, how is Kisa-chan?" Tohru asked with concern.

"She's…alright, though I had to find a way to restrain her from scratching." He answered icily, looking to no one else but the disinterested Hanajima. For a while, Tohru and Uo had been talking to him, Hanajima had simply stayed out of the conversation. But when Uo had to go help in their booth and Tohru had to go buy Momiji some food, Hanajima was left to be with him.

They were alone and standing in the crowd at a fair distance. Both were silent, contrary to the people around them. He looked calm and placid like he always did but inside, he was scrambling for something to say. It was a long while until Hanajima spoke, "Your walls have fallen?"

Her voice was low and, to Hatori, the most seductive tone he had ever heard. It was as if she was an enchantress who was prying into his mind, into the very recesses of his heart. He knew he had to answer soon but he took his time, deciding upon the best answer to give. "More like…I've surrendered my castle."

As a sign of mild interest, Hanajima cocked her head to the side but decided it was rude to pry on other's business. "I see." But then she sensed something and pointed at his pocket, "Won't you open it?"

"Are you curious?" he asked with a raised brow as if it was playful teasing.

After weighing her words, Hanajima looked up at him, straight in the eyes. "Are you?"

Meanwhile, Yuki was fingering his bottle. He didn't believe in these things since the hands that wrote them were just kids but at the same time, it made him curious. Whoever's name was in there could actually be his soul mate. But then again, it could be wrong. Finally tired of puzzling over it, Yuki took out the glass to stare at it. His eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Slowly, he took off the cork and put it in his pocket. He took out the letter and unfolded it, his eyes widening in disbelief!

Hatori stared down at the name in the paper, his hands shaking almost obviously. The one name that all of a sudden made his heart stop.

Hanajima, Saki

Yuki's hand felt numb and the letter fell to the ground, there the name of his soulmate, his love was revealed…

Honda, Tohru

Review Responses:

Doctor Kiba: haha, yes I can't remember the saying either! Thank you for waiting!

Keybordist: thank you, I try. Thanks for waiting!

Daniel of Lorien: I'll do my best to make it longer, promise!

Animefreak: sorry I haven't updated. I was busy with my alter ego. Hehe…

Yuka Kitsune: It seems that way! Thanks for waiting!

Hiei's Kat: haha! Yes, it would! I'll keep that in mind! Thanks for waiting! My alter ego needed some more time!