Disclaimer: I do not own Hana-Kimi or the plot from Hana Kimi. Why must you torture me so!!!!!!!!

A/N: Hi there. Well I had time to update, so here it is! I want to thank Hotoami and lilac09 for reviewing the second chapter of my fanfic though. I'm really happy! Please read and review! Okay onto the fic!

Chapter 3 – Prince Izumi's Personal Chef

The princess in disguise turned around, only to see a good-looking black haired man with a serious face. He leaned on the wall, looking bored, and waited for her to take the bag. She froze for a second, realizing whom this prince charming was.

'It's Prince Izumi!' her mind screamed.

'Wait…doesn't that mean I just…the person I ran into?…wait…why the hell is he here? Isn't he a prince? Why am I getting so agitated?' she wondered.

"Prince Izumi, you're late," the same voice that introduced Mizuki said.

"Sorry," Izumi replied nonchalantly.

'Wha? He's here too? What's going on?' Mizuki wondered.

"Now that you are here," the head chef said, "Let's start the test. Now, I know all of you are superb chefs in your own right, but not everyone could be Prince Izumi's personal chef. Therefore, all of you will have 2 hours to prepare your best dish. Take out your supplies right now. And begin!" he whistled.

She decided to go simple but elegant, deciding to make fried shrimp tempura. After all, it is one of her favorite dishes. She got out her prepared shrimps and asked for an egg, some ice-cold water and flour. She measured 1/3 cups of water and ½ cup of flour. Then, she opened her bag again and got out a big glass bowl.

'Thankfully it's not broken!' she cried happily to herself.

She cracked the egg and mixed it with water, then added flour and stirred until it mixed well together. After that, she set it aside, and started to shell the shrimp but left the tail. Then, she deep-fried it, using a large heavy pan. She cooked it until it looked golden brown. Then, she prepared the sauce and put it all on a plate.

Mizuki was done in less than an hour. Now, she was bored. She looked around and saw Prince Izumi sitting by himself in a corner, away from the other cooks. She decided to approach him.

"Prince Izumi," she smiled.

The other cooks turned their heads, observing Mizuki and Izumi.

"Wow!! The new chef is talking to the gloomy prince? Amazing!" someone whispered.

"I'm interested in you. Let's get to know each other better" Mizuki said straightforwardly, not knowing that her words had very ambiguous meaning.

After all, her motto has always been "say everything straight out" (that's straight from the text). A clanking sound could be heard.

Izumi froze, took a deep breath and said, "I…don't have an interest in that area…sorry…" he trailed off.

"Eh? What are you talking about?" she wondered, then realized that she is mistaken for a homosexual.

"Um no…that's not…hey you! Where are you going?" she called out.

"Where are you going Prince Izumi?" the head chef asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm leaving," he said and left the kitchen.

Princess Mizuki turned into stone.

'Wait! I'm not….a homosexual' she wanted to cry.

'How did it end up like this??? It's ruining my reputation!'

'Poor guy' the others thought.

Suddenly, she had fire in her eyes, full of determination.

'Hmph! This will not discourage me! Who cares what that idiot prince thinks? I'm Princess Mizuki!' she convinced herself.

'Yes, I must think how much I've sacrificed – my hair, my status – all to convince my family that Izumi is not worthy of my hand in marriage!'

Mizuki got very caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice people edging away from her.

"Why is he laughing creepily?" one asked. "

He-Hey, someone go stop him."

"Hell no! You go!" They pushed each other.

"Aren't you interesting?" the head chef said.

"I think I want to know you better! Hi," he shook Mizuki's hand. "I'm Shuuichi Nakatsu."

She noticed he had bleached hair, and had a good-looking face. He somehow reminds her of one of those hot guys you would see on TV playing soccer.

'Hmm…I wonder why I thought that?' she wondered.

"I'm Osaka Kingdom's best Chef here! They call me 'The Burning Tiger!'" he continued, walking beside her, sort of giving her a tour of the palace at the same time.

"Eh? Burning Tiger? I wonder why," she said silently. "Huh?"

"Oh, nothing," said Mizuki.

"That's no good at all!" he yelled.

"Men should be loud! Loud I tell you!" he encouraged her.

Then, suddenly a dog pounced excitedly onto Mizuki, wagging his tail happily. Lick, lick!

"Wow!" Shuuichi exclaimed.

"That's Yuujirou, Prince Izumi's dog. Usually he doesn't like anyone but women. I guess it makes sense though, since you do look like a girl with that girly face of yours," he said.

"However," he patted her chest, laughing out loud, "If you did have boobs, that would be serious!"

"Hahahaha…" Mizuki laughed weakly, feeling relieved that her secret hasn't been discovered yet.

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Prince Izumi tasted each dish. Somehow, none of them seemed to suit his liking. They were too spicy, too sweet, or even too bitter.

'These people are the best chefs in their own right?' he scoffed.

There was one dish left – fried shrimp tempura.

'Looks appetizing, but will it taste good?' he thought, popping a piece into his mouth.

'Mmmmm. It tastes just right. So crunchy' he ate the rest of the dish with pleasure.

"Wow, that's very rare," a voice commented.

"I never thought I'd see the day when Prince Izumi eats all of his food on the plate."

"Minami," Izumi nodded.

Minami bowed. "I see you have taken a liking to this chef then?"

"I guess," Izumi shrugged.

"I see," the general smiled and strolled around the castle grounds. He bumped into someone.

"Sorry!" a soft voice said.

"Oh! So, you're the Ashiya Mizuki-kun that's been rumored huh?" Mizuki looked at him.

"I'm one of the three generals charged to protect Prince Izumi," he told her.

"Hmm, you are pretty cute. If you were a girl, I would kiss you right now."

"Um, I've got to go and see my results," Mizuki excused herself.

While passing the royal garden, she found Prince Izumi sleeping in an upright position on the grass.

'He looks comfortable' she thought.

She noticed his dog was here too, and signaled the dog to be quiet. The dog sweat dropped.

It seemed to say 'You think I can understand human language don't you? Well I do! But that's not the point!'

She got on the ground and attempted to shield him from the wind. She started poking him lightly, only to have the prince suddenly tip over. She tried to steady him.

'Phew' she let out a breath and stared at his sleeping face.

'He looks so innocent like this. When he doesn't have that gloomy face on' she thought.

He leaned his head onto her shoulder.

'Eh?' she blushed.

At the same time, the dog pounced on the couple, making Prince Izumi land on top of Mizuki. He opened his eyes and was quite startled.

"Um…Yuujirou…" she started.

Getting the drift, Izumi sweat dropped.

'I wanted to hug you guys too!' Yuu-chan thought sadly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Don't speak in that tone!" she yelled at him.

"I just didn't want you to catch a cold! I wanted to wake you up but you looked very comfortable so I figured the best thing I could do is at least shield you from the harsh wind!"

"So that's what happened," Prince Izumi laughed.

It was an expression Mizuki wasn't prepared for. She didn't know he could express such emotions on his face.

"You're weird," he commented. Mizuki blushed lightly, thinking of his smiling face again. 'I want to see that more' she thought.

"You are the one that fell down on me though!" Mizuki accused him. Izumi blushed deep red.

'Aiii. He's so cute!' Mizuki gushed.

'No! Bad Mizuki!' she scolded herself silently. To cover up her mistake she continued.

"You also snored and had saliva falling out!" she told him.

"LIAR," he said.

"Well, shouldn't you get going?" he asked her.

"Huh?" she asked him.

"Don't you have to go to the kitchen to find out your results?"

"Oh yeah! Shoot! I'm late!" she ran off. He laughed.

"What an interesting character," he said aloud to himself.

"Ashyia, you are now officially Prince Izumi's new chef," the head chef announced. "Congrats!" he patted her on the back.

A/N: Now, now. Who guessed that the head chef is Nakatsu? If you did, you get a cookie! So what did you guys think of this chapter? Please read and review! The button's just right there waiting for you to click and write a short review!