Chapter Four
To Akane's surprise, there was an unexpected fifth member at the breakfast table that morning. As expected, there was her nervously giggling mother, and monotonous father, as well as Shinya Kogami, recounting his visit in a rather flat tone to her father, and blanking the man opposite him. The man seemed somewhat bored, almost like he was stifling a yawn, until he saw Akane, which made Shogo Makishima's face split into an overly joyous expression. "Good morning, Akane-sama," he called over. He indicated for her to sit next to him, but she graciously refused (or at least, attempted to turn him down with what little manners she could summon for this man) and sat next to Shinya.
"Akane, dear, why didn't you sit next to Makishima-sama?" her mother asked, curious.
Almost robotically, she answered her mother, "I can see him much better from here, wouldn't you agree, Mother?" Her mother's face took on a contented smile – she must think I'm completely enamoured by this guy, doesn't she? Akane thought to herself sullenly. In truth, the reason she sat down next to Kogami was to put as much distance between her and Shogo as possible, and being next to Kogami made her feel safer. Alongside the subtle knife she'd strapped to her thigh when Toko went to fetch her a specific hair pin. It was one Kogami gave her, crafted by hand to make the shape of a rose.
"I like your hair decoration, Akane-sama," he smiled gently. "Was it a gift?"
"Yes, Kogami-san presented it to me after his travels a few years ago. Unfortunately, the name of the land of its origin has escaped me. I apologise."
"It must be my country. I recognise the handiwork. He's a rather esteemed jeweller in our area," Shogo continued. "I will inform him that the Princess Akane is in possession of one of his works."
"I am sure he will appreciate that," Akane replied stiffly, formally. All she wanted was to leave with Kogami and listen to him talk about his experiences, sans the one involving Emperor Sasayama.
"And this is for you, Akane-sama," Shogo handed her yet another book. "I cannot believe it slipped my mind yesterday- how terrible of me." Akane opened it up and found that Shogo had scribbled a short message in the front: To the radiant Akane-sama, Here is to a happy future together. Yours always, Shogo Makishima. She expected to find it filled with words, but it was completely blank. "I have heard from several close friends of yours that you are an incredibly articulate and imaginative woman, and I thought that perhaps it would be beneficial for you to keep a record of your fantastical ideas."
"Th-Thank you very much, Shogo-sama," she mumbled her thanks. Next to her, Kogami had visibly tensed. "I will be sure to utilise it." She focused on eating her breakfast and avoiding Shogo's gaze, which seemed to be permanently on her. After a while sat in a hardly comfortable silence, Shogo piped up again.
"Say, Akane-sama, could you perhaps accompany me for a walk in the gardens afterwards?" he asked. It wasn't like Akane could turn him down, especially not in front of her parents!
"I would be honoured to," she accepted, trying to ignore the fuming Kogami next to her.
"Could I be so callow as to ask you for a walk around this fine establishment? Unfortunately, I have to be escorted everywhere, since I am unfamiliar with the surroundings." He smiled, almost comfortingly at her.
"Of course, it would be my pleasure."
The rest of breakfast was spent in awkward silence.
"God, I am going to snap that asshole's neck," Kogami growled as he punched the mannequin relentlessly, imagining that it was Shogo Makishima's smug, self-satisfied face.
"Your words, Ko. Use your words," Shion teased from the side. She had sat down after a short while of shooting arrows, too lazy to go and fetch them from the target. "I don't like the idea of our adorable Aka-chan growing up and getting married either. You don't think she'll forget us when she's married, do you?" Her words only made Kogami angrier and his punches got more vicious.
"Don't be ridiculous, Shion-kun," Masaoka called from the back. As a rather elderly samurai, he had become the team's battle tactician above anything else. "Does Akane-sama seem like the type to forget her friends?"
"Masaoka is right, Shion. Now, fetch your arrows. I can't call shooting 11 arrows a complete training session," Ginoza snapped, focusing on the task at hand. He had seemed especially energetic that morning, but not to the extent of Kogami.
"Yeah, you guys. Everything will be alright." Kagari chimed in cheerily. He was hardly happy about the recent events, but was much better at hiding his emotions behind a carefree smile then the others in his group. Namely, Hinakawa, who had lost all energy that day and seemed to sniff whenever Akane or Shogo's names were mentioned. Yayoi had remained silent on the matter, if only to tell Kogami that she had her suspicions of Makishima as well. "But it seems he really does want Akane-chan all to himself, huh?" At that, Kogami punched through the mannequin's head. "Fucking hell, Ko."
"Big brother, big brother, Akane-onee won't forget you! She'll still like you! She'll still want to be friends with you! And w-we an all protect Akane-onee together! It'll be okay!" Hinakawa was near tears trying to calm his brother figure's anger. "Akane-onee li-likes y-y-you more than Sh-Sho-Shogo-sama!" This did nothing but resort Kogami to kicking the mannequin into the floor, grinding its face into the floor with his foot.
Meanwhile, Akane was trapped with Shogo, showing him around the gardens and then the palace, her patience getting dangerously thin with each little smile or comment he made, either about the palace or Akane herself. She was irritated at the fact he had dragged her away from Kogami and his stories, which she treasured, since they shed light in her otherwise mundane and boring life. Shogo had attempted to tell her stories of his homeland, but she'd grown to despise them over the hours that passed- she preferred the way Kogami told them. When he spoke, it was like she was there, travelling alongside with him.
He kept trying to hold her hand, but when he hadn't asked her, she pretended it was a mistake on her part. But when he did explicitly ask her, she had no choice but to accept and begrudgingly take his hand in hers. As they stayed like that for a while, he interlocked their fingers and squeezed. She detested these affectionate gestures. They seemed wrong coming from someone she wasn't close to. She was glad they had finally concluded their tour, which meant she could go and see Kogami at last. However, Shogo wasn't quite done with her. "It appears to be time for lunch, my fair Akane-sama. Could you possible come and dine with me?"
"Yes, Shogo-sama," she acceded. "But first allow me to go and chance into dress befitting of the event," she bowed curtly, before hurrying off.
When she reached her room, Mika was nowhere to be seen, but Toko was diligently cleaning in her stead. "Ah, Akane-sama!" she bowed deeply upon the princess' arrival. "I'm sorry, Mika-senpai went into town to fetch new material for a dress she is making for you! Do you need my help dressing?"
"Y-Yes please," Akane nodded, and Toko adeptly picked an outfit for Akane to change into. "Before I go to lunch, Toko-chan, could you… Could you go and fetch Kogami-san for me?"
"Yes, Akane-sama!" Toko danced away, lithe on her toes. She didn't have to wait long until Toko re-entered, a flushed Kogami on the other end of her arm. "I'll leave you, my lady. Excuse me!" she bowed hastily several times before shutting the door and going to clean the bathing chamber instead (personally, Toko liked the bathroom more than the bedroom, since she could smell the different shampoos Akane owned). Kogami collapsed heavily in a chair and sighed.
"It's been one day, and I already want to kill him," they both started.
"I can't fault him, it's just the situation!" Akane snapped. "There's just something off about him anyway- it's like he's acting."
"He's trying to piss me off," Shinya growled.
"He made me hold his hand all morning," Akane continued. "He even interlocked fingers and his hands were so cold and now he's making me have lunch with him!"
"I'm getting pretty hungry myself, I may come and join you," he smiled. "He might poison your food," he tried to joke. "I'll see you down there later, okay? Just don't stab him before I get there. It would kind of ruin my fun, you know?"
"I won't," she promised, and hurried to the dining room. If she took too long, her fiancé would most likely get suspicious and come looking for her or tattle to her father, and she couldn't decide the lesser of two evils. He hadn't started without her, to his credit, but he looked vaguely irritated at how long she'd taken. "Sorry for the wait. I had to ensure I looked adequate enough for a meal with Shogo-sama."
"I have the feeling you would look perfect no matter what you wear, Akane-sama," he smiled warmly. "Also, I would appreciate it if you called me Shogo, and drop the honorific nonsense."
"If it so please you," she responded.
"In return, would I be permitted to call you Akane?"
"If you so wish," she repeated her previous answer with different words. However, her thoughts were far away- just seeing Kogami in her room again had stirred up memories of the previous night, and his talk of Emperor Sasayama placing her in power. What did that mean for her parents though? And if she was in a place of power, did that mean she could call off her and Shogo's wedding? She knew her parents and Shogo's father were discussing dates, and it was likely to be in the next few months or so, and she felt nauseous even thinking about it. She was grateful that Shogo wasn't holding her hand anymore. Just in time, Kogami waltzed in, staring at the duo with nothing but an obviously false smile. "Ah, hello, Kogami-san!" Akane greeted him as if they hadn't seen each other earlier. "How did your training go?"
"I swear Gino's a slave driver," he laughed as he sat down. "I guess he just wants a solid team, which isn't such a bad thing. We're having a hard time with Hinakawa- the guy prefers drawing and writing over fighting, and is far too nervous to even try sparring with anybody other than Kagari. The two are like brothers, I swear. How was your and Makishima-sama's morning?" Akane could sense the repulsion when he had to address the other man with respect.
"We covered a lot of ground in such a short amount of time. It was fun," Akane responded briefly. "What did you think, Shogo-sama?" she purposely used the honorific, going against his wishes in whatever way possible.
"I did indeed have plenty of fun with you, Akane," he refused to use the honorific, and Kogami's eyebrows shot up. "The castle is interesting and incredible- I am glad that I will be getting acquainted with it well in future." She could almost see the waves of fury and irritation washing from Kogami after that.
The date of marriage was announced a week after that first day of meeting Shogo. They were to be wed two months later, with all the royal dignitaries connected to the families to attend. Again, Akane found herself sobbing like a child into Kogami's chest, fearing the time they shared together was finite. Kogami had held her close again, and though he never showed it on his face, he felt like crying too. Shogo had been doing his damnedest to keep the pair apart, always wanting to do this with Akane, or that with Akane, as long as it was with Akane he didn't particularly care.
And their time really was finite. Kogami had to take his leave again, since the King had requested he survey another kingdom for him, and he had to finally part ways with Akane. The night before he was due to leave, they had stayed up all night, chatting, and finally, finally sharing the stories Akane had longed to hear. Kogami knew he would regret it in the morning, but he didn't care. He always had to tell Akane about his experiences away, without fail. The day of his departure, she had waved a sorrowful farewell to him, and feigned illness as an excuse to stay in bed and away from the man who had ruined things for her. She slept soundly all day, and Mika stood attentively outside her door to snap at anyone who dared make a racket anywhere near the vicinity of Akane. She stayed in bed all week, until her regular sleep pattern was disrupted.
She awoke to the sound of swords clashing and the cool sensation of a blade on her neck.