Finally! I got it done! Longest chapter yet, and it was a pain in the ass to rewrite, I tell ya! I HATE SUMMER! It's too hot to even think straight! .
Once again, to thank my lovely, lovely reviewers: Ayjah, peep (thanks for waiting, and yeah, I totally agree with you there xD), Alice P e a c h e s, Amanto, Koatan, KamikorosuXP, Shinichi's Lover, haruhi-chan (your English is plenty good, no worries! Thank you so much for your warm words, they made my confidence boost up ^.^), Ginlover (thank you~) and Lingering Embrace! Thank you for the new alerts, also (sorry for not remembering who alerted...)! You guys rock!
Just to clear up some things, I'm making up some customs of my own for this story. For all I know they are not official rules and customs anywhere on our planet. So don't be surprised if there are some customs clearly not Christian or something, okay?
So, since I'm starting to slowly but surely get inside their heads, you can expect the main couple to appear slightly ooc. Nothing too bad, I hope...
Please enjoy!
Getting to know someone I don't want to know is a pain in the ass, so I'd rather not do it.
Morning came with a brilliant sunrise lighting up the world. Birds sang with joy and people woke up from their slumber to a fresh day. The servants in the palace had woken up long before sunrise, and were happily greeting each other good morning while working. Everyone was excited, and no wonder, since there was a new lady in the house.
"I wonder what she would like for breakfast..."
"Do you think she'd like that dress?"
"Hmm, I think red would suit her better, though..."
"Do you think they had a rough night?"
"Oh, stop it, that's-"
The servants' chatter was cut short as they noticed the crown prince and his fiancée coming down the stairs. Instead of greeting them good morning like they should have, they just gaped at the sight. The couple ignored everyone else and marched onwards, glaring at each other all the way.
As they disappeared form sight, a maid whispered: "What do you think happened?"
Another shook her head slowly. "No idea..."
"Did you see that?" a young boy asked from his seat on a high ladder, window-washing long forgotten.
"Yeah, I swear I've never seen a glaring match with that much killing intent before..." the one securing the ladder answered.
It should be obvious to everyone what ended up being the subject of the servants' gossip that morning.
Mitsuba and Hijikata were already halfway through their breakfast when the dining hall's doors banged open. The two snapped their gazes to the couple standing in the doorway. Mitsuba's 'good morning' died in her throat as she took in their appearences. "Oh my, what happened?" she asked, worried and awfully amused at the same time.
"Just a little lover's quarrel and some strange fetish of Sougo's, I guess." Hijikata obviously wasn't very interested.
Sougo turned to glare at him with his right eye, his left being too swollen and bruised to see with. Kagura, too, glared at him in her maid uniform. Interestingly enough, her hands were cuffed.
For a moment Mitsuba thought that her husband's guess might very well be correct. "So, what exactly happened to you two?" she asked with a frown.
"This guy," Kagura paused long enough to kick him from behind, making him stumble slightly, "made me feel sick by counting corpses to fall asleep so I punched him."
"And doing so," Sougo continued and stomped on Kagura's foot, making her wince in pain, "she crossed the border and I get to punish her. She'll follow me as a maid all day today."
Mitsuba made to wipe her mouth with a napkin, desperately trying to keep her laughter in. "I see," was all she could say.
Hijikata sighed tiredly. "Just make sure to keep her alive. Meaning no starving or overworking."
Sougo snorted. "Like I would let her off the hook that easily. If I have to suffer for the rest of my life, so does she."
Kagura resisted the urge to spit on his face. "The hatred is mutual, damn sadist," she growled under her breath before sitting down on an available seat and starting to stuff her face with food. She didn't exactly trust her oh so wonderful fiancé, no matter what he said.
Sougo also sat down, taking his seat next to his sister, and started eating. Mitsuba glanced at him from the corner of her eye before turning to speak with Kagura. "Well, Kagura-chan, how do you like our home?"
Kagura brightened up immediately, a wide grin taking over her face. "It's huge! It's easily three times bigger than our place! There's so much to see, and I really like the paintings I saw yesterday, especially the ones with landscapes. They look so real," she told excitedly.
Mitsuba smiled and giggled slightly at her enthusiasm. "I'm happy to hear that. I also like those paintings, I selected some myself."
"Really? You have good taste. My favourite is the one with moonlit mountains and wolves, it gave me the chills with it's eerie beauty," Kagura grinned at the memory.
Sougo stood up abruptly. "Thank you for the meal. Let's go, China," he said and started to walk towards the doors.
Kagura scowled at him. "Hello, I'm having a conversation here!"
Sougo gave her a deadpan look. "You can chat all you want at dinner. I'm a busy person and you're a maid so that makes you busy, too. We're going."
Kagura glared at him before standing up. "Thank you for the meal," she mumbled through gritted teeth before she followed Sougo out of the room.
After the door closed behind the two, Mitsuba burst into giggles. Even Hijikata gave an amused snort.
"That must've been quite uncomfortable for him," Hijikata commented as he lit a cigarette.
Mitsuba nodded, a twinkle of mirth in her eyes. "Who would've guessed that they had the same favourite painting?"
"They might be more alike than we thought."
"I think Sou-chan is already intrigued by her."
"Huh? Care to repeat that? I think I misheard you."
"Oh, you wouldn't understand!"
After Sougo and Kagura had gotten a cold compress for Sougo's eye they started on their (Sougo's) busy schedule.
"So, where are we going?" Kagura asked, putting hostilities aside for now.
"To study," Sougo replied shortly.
"Study?" Kagura echoed, but Sougo ignored her.
They soon entered the library where a middle aged man in a formal suit was waiting for them. He stood up from his seat and bowed elegantly. "Your Highness, I'm delighted to see you on this fair morning."
"Counting on you again, professor," Sougo nodded at him and turned to Kagura. "You, go sit over there and don't make a single sound."
Kagura scowled, her temper starting to come forth yet again. "So I'm just supposed to sit and wait like some puppy?"
"Yeah, that's about it."
Kagura kicked his shin, making him yelp in pain. She huffed and stalked to an armchair nearby. She dropped down on it, crudely crossed her legs and turned her face away from the glaring prince.
"Your Highness!" the professor panicked. "Are you alright? How dare you hurt His Highness! Beg for forgiveness at once!"
"Leave it," Sougo snapped at him and sat down, nursing his throbbing leg. "Let's get started."
The professor was baffled but complied, and after sending another haughty glare at Kagura he started a long lesson on something Kagura had no motivation to listen to. She was determined not to spare a single glance towards them.
'How can he talk like that to a girl? He's rotten to the core!' Kagura raved in her mind. 'Mitsuba-san's prediction can't be right, no way. I mean, who would be able to even like, not to mention love, a jerk like him?'
Kagura turned her attention to the books around her. They all had complicated titles and Kagura guessed they were about politics, the subject she never grasped. When problems arose, she was more likely to use her fists rather than some pretty words. Then again, pretty much all of the Yato were like that...
Taking another look around the library, Kagura noticed that it was quite well designed. There were what looked like thousands of books, but there was still enough room to breath and move freely around and the sun's rays lit the room up, shining through large windows. There were three levels in the room, each one's walls filled with books. She got a bit dizzy looking at the bookfilled walls so she closed her eyes for a few seconds. Or that's what she thought...
"...and that ends today's lesson. Please find some time to review the contents."
Sougo stretched his arms and yawned. These lessons were seriously boring to him, especially since the professor was so formal and stiff. Sougo turned to see what Kagura was doing, since she really had stayed quiet for the whole lesson. He blinked in surprise when he saw her sleeping on the chair. 'Well, at least she stayed quiet.'
The professor tsked disapprovingly. "What an impolite and crude girl. Doesn't she have any manners?"
Sougo stood up and went to take a closer look at her. It was his first time seeing her so still and peaceful and, being curious, he wanted to inspect her closer.
"Your Highness?" the professor called, confused.
Sougo ignored him completely and stopped in front of the sleeping female. She looked so serene like that, her eyes closed and mouth slightly open. Sure, she was drooling, but Sougo wasn't the least bit surprised by that. Her chest was rising and falling at a steady pace as she sat perfectly still with her hands on her lap, handcuffs still locking her wrists together. He reached out his hand and carefully brushed some of her bright orange bangs aside and stared at her forehead. Specifically at her left brow.
Sougo had a distant look in his eyes as he lightly brushed his fingers against her pale skin. 'This is where I'll kiss her once we get married. The kiss of absolute loyalty, honesty and...love.' He let her bangs fall back and pulled his hand away, his face blank but eyes thoughtful. 'Can I learn to love her? More importantly, can she learn to love me?'
He was jerked out of his thoughts by a hand grabbing his shoulder. He turned to see his professor looking at him with a shocked face. "What is it?" Sougo asked blankly.
The older male looked like he wanted to scream. Instead, he spoke in heated whispers. "What are you doing, Your Highness? If your honorable fiancée were to hear about you getting close to a maid, of all things, she would leave you for good, I'm afraid!"
Sougo tilted his head to the side innocently. "But this is my fiancée."
Sougo truly enjoyed watching the horror dawn on the older man's face. "Wha-?" The professor paled and turned to look at the sleeping girl. "This...this is...oh my god, please forgive my earlier rudeness, Your Highness! I had no idea!"
Sougo smirked fleetingly before putting on his blank face. "Oh, what should I do? You've insulted the royal family, that is a crime punishable by death, you know?" he said, not bothering to keep his volume down.
"I'm begging for forgiveness! I will compensate however I can!"
"Then you wouldn't mind not charging for the lectures for a month?" Sougo smirked again, his eyes glinting evilly.
The professor gulped but bowed low in gratitude. He really needed the job as a royal lecturer, and his head, so he had no choice but to accept.
Sougo looked pleased. "Now then, leave before my next lesson starts. I still have to read some notes."
"Yes, of course. I will see you tomorrow, Your Highness."
When the library doors closed behind the professor, Sougo's face turned blank again. He glanced at Kagura and sat down on the armchair next to hers, settling down so that he could study her profile comfortably. He propped his arm up against the back of the chair and leaned his head against his hand. He stared at the still sleeping girl in thought.
'Sure, you're calm when you sleep. Once awake, you turn into a China monster,' Sougo thought dryly. Still, she was intriguing.
She was different from the other women he had met. She wasn't gentle like his sister or clingy and annoying like the women of the court. She was violent and straight-forward with her opinions but could still be civil at times. Then he would say something and she would blow up again. She clearly showed how she felt, be it good or bad, and didn't hold back if she wanted to do or say something. Heck, she had even punched him! That's not something that just about anyone would do. But she was different, very different, and that made him feel...was relieved the right word?
A knocking sound pulled him out of his thoughts. "Your Highness Sougo? It is time for the lesson, may I come in?"
Sougo glanced at Kagura. She seemed to frown a little and pulled her arms against herself, as if she was cold. Not thinking much about it, Sougo took off his jacket and placed it over her. She visibly relaxed and sighed a little, her lips quirking up ever so slightly, as if she was smiling in her sleep. Sougo allowed his own expression to soften minutely before turning away and calling the next professor in.
Kagura was cruely awoken by the chair disappearing from underneath her. She fell on the floor in the most ungraceful manner and let out a little scream.
"Wakey wakey, China. We're moving on."
Kagura glared at the man in front of her. Said man just stared back at her with his red eyes, the swelling on the left one gone down cosiderably. "That's no way to treat a lady," Kagura hissed at him.
Sougo blinked and looked around. "But I don't see any ladies around here."
Kagura growled before raising her lower body and kicking him in the stomach, ignoring the fact that she was in a dress and she most likely flashed her underwear quite brilliantly while doing that. After hearing a pained grunt signaling she had hit her target, Kagura jumped up. "So, where are we going next?" she asked sweetly, crossing her arms. 'Wait, I can cross my arms? What happened to the handcuffs?'
She flinched at the dirty look Sougo sent her before he started walking away.
"Hey! H-hey, wait a second!" Kagura yelled and ran after him.
A dark figure in the shadows chuckled.
Kagura was yet again told to sit still and be quiet. She wasn't a happy camper as she grudgingly did as told, especially when Sougo just disappeared without another word. She was left all alone in a huge room with wooden floors and walls and basically nothing in it.
"What a jerk, treating me like that," Kagura sulked. Deep down she knew that it was at least partly her fault, but she couldn't help thinking that he was just a cruel, nasty jerk.
"Eh?" a foreign male voice from behind made her jump in surprise. "Who are you? Where's Okita-kun?"
Sougo intentionally took as long as possible to change his clothes. He was still pissed off, and knew that he would only end up in another nasty fight with Kagura if he arrived earlier than his master.
'That damn China drives me crazy!' Sougo punched the wall with all his might to get rid of some of his anger. Sure, he knew his actions weren't the nicest either, but that's the way he was. He couldn't just change his personality overnight. Not that he wanted to.
"I'll just take it out on danna," he muttered to himself before grabbing his wooden sword and starting on his way back.
The laughter that reached his ears in the hallway just about stopped his heart. 'No. Way. In. Hell,' he thought as he quickened his step. Soon enough he reached the training room, only to come face to face with a sight that, for some unexplainable reason, made his anger flare up ever so slightly.
"And he turns into a complete puppy when he's with Mitsuba-san. He's all adorable and obedient," Sougo's silverhaired swordmaster explained to the giggling girl next to him.
Kagura laughed loudly. "Really? That's hard to believe!"
"It's all true, girlie. His sister complex is pretty serious."
"What are you doing?"
The two jumped and turned their heads to face him. He had succesfully sneaked up on them.
The permhead started sweating bullets upon seeing the dark aura oozing out of the prince. "O-Okita-kun! You're late, so I exchanged a few words with this lady here and -"
"I see. Well, now I'm here, so how about we get started?" Sougo asked and swiped at the man with his wooden sword. He missed by an inch as the man jumped back.
"Oi! What are you doing? That's sneaky!" the man, also known as Sakata Gintoki, yelled.
"You do much worse things, danna. Like almost cutting my training sword in half before having a match," Sougo shot back with his monotone voice before charging in for another attack. "And it's not like you'll die even if I did happen to hit you."
Kagura blinked, completely confused by the turn of events. "What are you doing?"
"He's killing me!" / "Training."
"Oh." Kagura thought that Gin's answer was closer to the truth. The slightly murderous aura around the sadistic prince was proof enough.
'Wonder what he got so worked up about...'
"Right, that's it for today!" Gin panted out and slipped his wooden sword under his belt. "See you tomorrow, Okita-kun!" He waved before speedwalking away, obviously wanting to avoid round two.
Kagura stood up when Sougo didn't move from his spot. "Are we going again?" she asked.
Sougo turned to look at her and Kagura's stomach flipped. He was covered in sweat, little droplets clinging to his bangs. His lips were parted as he practically gulped in air after the workout. He swallowed before answering tiredly: "I have to get changed first, stupid. You think I could walk around looking like this?"
'Yes.' Shaking her head harshly, Kagura tried to form an answer. Tried being the keyword. "Um, no, I guess not." Smooth. Kagura quickly averted her eyes from where his practice clothes had slipped off slightly.
Sougo gave her an odd look before disappearing into the changing rooms again. Kagura slumped back down and hit herself. 'What was that? What the heck was I thinking about just now?' she screamed in her mind in slight panic, her heart beating a hundred miles per hour. 'He did not look extremely hot just now! No! I didn't think he was hot! It was the sweat, yes, a male after a fight is naturally attractive to Yato girls, so it wasn't like I personally thought that he looked -'
"What are you doing?"
Kagura shot up. "N-n-n-none o-o-of y-y-your b-bu-business!" she stuttered, biting her tongue painfully in the process.
Sougo lifted an eyebrow nonchalantly. Fresh from the shower, Kagura victoriously thought that he didn't look nearly as good as earlier, so she could blame it on her genetics after all.
"Just follow me," he finally said and they left the room.
Kagura looked around, further confused. "This is...?"
Sougo stopped under a huge tree and looked up at the branches above, their movement in the wind casting dancing shadows on him. "This is a place where I usually nap."
Kagura looked around her. It was a very secluded area in the vast gardens of the castle, hidden from view by tall bushes and a tree fence. Even from the castle's windows one would have to know what to look for to see there. It was calm, quiet, shaded by the nature. Peaceful.
Sougo slid down and leaned against the tree. "It's a perfect place for sleeping. No one comes here, so I can find perfect solitude," he said and pulled out his bizarre sleeping mask. "That being said, lend me your lap."
A moment of awkward silence. "What?"
"I said lend me -"
"I heard what you said!"
Sougo gave her a blank look, blatantly ignoring her growing blush. "Then, what's the hold up?"
"I-it's embarrasing!" Kagura snapped.
"What is? I could tell you to do much worse stuff. You still have to do it, maid," Sougo said, grabbed her wrist and yanked.
As expected, Kagura fell on her hands and knees. Sougo pushed her upright and plopped his head down on her lap before she could gather herself.
Kagura was stunned for a few seconds. She just watched as he pulled the sleeping mask over his eyes and crossed his hands over his stomach. Then she finally unfroze.
"What the -? Don't just fall asleep like that! Hey!"
But all she got as an answer was annoyingly steady breathing. Giving up with a frustrated sigh, Kagura leaned against the tree. The fresh air felt so good and the place had a very relaxing effect. Before she knew it, Kagura was on her way to dreamland again. Her final thought before falling asleep was: 'He didn't even make me do anything except follow him around...'
Done! The next chapter might take some time again (I'm so sorryyyyyyyy~), since it's going to be a new addition to the original script. More Kamui, you know. Don't expect a long chapter, though!
Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review before leaving! ^.^
~poakkis