"Remember: you are a Kujikawa. Do not dishonor this family." It's a mantra that has been repeated to her since she got out of diapers.
The Kujikawas are a big name in Japan. The name alone was enough to strike fear into many Japanese and even foreigners' hearts. When you heard the family name Kujikawa, you knew to tread carefully.
As the sole daughter of the heads, this weight was heavily forced upon her shoulders. She had to uphold the honor of the family everywhere she went. Even in the privacy of her own house, her shoulders couldn't slack for a second. She had to uphold the look, aura, and presence of a graceful, responsible heiress and perform her duties to absolute perfection. There was no room for mistakes.
One of these duties - probably the worst one - was having to learn and memorize the entire history of the Kujikawa family. Her teacher went ahead and scanned through their grand library and picked out books for her to study. She also brought some from her own personal selection. It left her staring down a tower of books longer than her arm that she had to have memorized before noon.
Rise was halfway through her 5th book and close to bored to death when a glass of water and a plate of sweets was placed beside her by a mop of familiar gray hair.
"I asked the maids to bring these. It looked like you'd be here for a while," he said, also eyeing the large stacks of books in front of her.
Yu has been her bodyguard for two years. The Narukami family and her own have been friends for ages. When Yu's parents had to take trips overseas that they couldn't take their son on, her parents had no qualms with hosting him until their return. During one of those trips, Yu took interest in swordplay.
Together they would sneak out to the armory, sometimes at night, sometimes in between her lessons. It's where he first got his hands on one of the wooden swords, where he showed her his skills on a few of the training dummies in the yard, where they got caught red handed by the knight's commander, and where the commander decided to take him under his wing.
She would watch him train alongside their own knights for years. It was her favorite thing to do when she was skipping out on her duties. Watching how he parried and blocked their strikes and came back with his own gracefully was much more interesting than listening to her teacher blabber on and on. He always made sure to greet her too, waving at her whenever he noticed her watching his training sessions - even though he wasn't an official knight. It was hilarious to see the knights get angry when he would come back and be even stronger than before.
He caught her parent's attention when someone attempted to kidnap her.
In 5 years he surpassed all of their knights, earning immense respect from the knight's commander and when he told them of the boy's accolades, her parents'. When she turned 13 and he 14, her parents asked both him and his family if he could serve as her personal bodyguard.
"You're a lifesaver, Senpai," Rise sighed in relief, quickly setting the book down flat so as to not lose her place and gratefully grabbed one of the sweets. Her eyes closed in delight as the sweetness burst on her tongue and eased her hungry stomach.
"You know your parents don't like it when you call me that," he chastised her.
"My parents don't like anything," she said. "Besides, I'm being respectful."
"Sure. That's why you call me that." Yu rolled his eyes. He took one of the sweets from the tray and took a bite before returning to his post by the door. Proprietary demands that they are an 'appropriate' distance away from each other, unless it was in the line of duty. Proprietary calls for her to be an 'appropriate' distance away from any male. Even some females based on society's thoughts of them. She was free to call upon Yukiko or Naoto when she wanted to have a dinner party or go shopping, but because of Chie's 'boyish' behavior, her presence was basically shunned at the mansion.
Her parents were more lenient with Yu - something that irritated most of the males in the mansion - so he got some leeway with the rules. What frustrated her was that he took no advantage! Like now, he could be sitting beside her, eating treats, and actively distracting her from her work. But no! He wants to stand at his post by the door! Like what his job entails!
"You know, you could pick up some of these books yourself," she said, intentionally raising her voice slightly and leaning back in her chair to make sure the other occupant heard her. "I'd get done much quicker."
"No chance," he shook his head, eating the rest of the sweet he nabbed. "I already memorized my family's history. I know first hand how fun it can get."
"It's crazy. Just how much can one family do?!"
"Loads over a thousand years." He motioned at the gigantic stack of books. "Way more than five books worth, too. Keep reading."
"But Senpai," she whined.
"If you don't get this finished, you won't be able to have some fun later."
Fun? This made her swivel towards him in her chair. "Does this mean I get a reward later, Senpai?"
"Not if you don't finish your readings." He schooled his face into a deadpan, but a curl of a smirk was peeking through. "Next page."
Her pout returned at his rejection, but the promise of future pleasantries lit a fire within her. She returned to her studies with a new fervor.
Rise's teacher passed her with an acceptable pass and begrudgingly let her go. It took everything in her not to grab Yu's hand and run out of there like she was escaping imprisonment. But nothing stopped her from doing it when the library doors closed behind her. He stumbled before matching her steps and speed.
"Rise! Where are we going?"
"Somewhere you can give me my reward."
"Rise-chan!" Yelled a completely, undesired voice. Rise had half the mind to hide behind one of the nearby pillars, or maybe run ahead as if she didn't hear him.
Said undesired person was running right up to her with Inoue a few steps behind. Yu quickly let go of her hand and stepped back just before the guy stopped right in front of them. He didn't seem to notice how they were standing earlier, or he just chose to ignore it.
"Sorry, Rise-chan," Inoue apologized when he caught up. "I tried to tell him that you had another appointment." He also sent an apologetic look to Yu. It seems like Inoue didn't miss how close the two of them were at first. Her parent's messenger was always kinder to Rise than most of the other staff. It also meant he left a lot of details out of his reports to her parents. How close her relationship to Yu is for example. He thought Yu was good for Rise, and Rise was good for Yu. He tended to cover for them more than he should, especially since his own job was at risk.
"It's fine, Inoue-san." She put on the best smile she could, not caring if it was a little too wide to be realistic. "Tadase-san, how can I help you?"
"Hmm? What's with that proper response? We're already betrothed to each other, Rise-chan. I hope you don't plan to talk to me like that forever."
How could she forget? The betrothal announcement was an out of the blue experience for Rise. Her parents just outright told her at the dinner table. No warning or anything. It took massive restraint not to spit out what she was drinking at the time. She doesn't even know him. She thinks they may have met once when they were kids and his parents had visited. It was fast; an in-and-out. How is that long enough to consider someone for marriage? And what's even crazier, is that he seems so happy about it!
"Sorry," she apologized, then reworded her question. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Tadase shook his head, "Still so proper." But he seemed to let it go since the next second he was sporting a smile, all teeth. She admits that she can see how any girl would fall for him just from seeing it. The low ponytail also has its own charm. It just doesn't do anything for her. "Is it wrong to want to see my future fiance?"
Time for the eye twitching charisma. "Of course not, but showing up unannounced like this…"
"Just one cup of tea?" Tadase asked, holding up one finger for emphasis. "One cup of tea and I'll get out of your hair."
"Uh." She hesitantly, sneakily looked over her shoulder at Yu. He was staring at Tadase too, his face schooled back into his deadpan even when he noticed Rise looked back at him. He made a slight nod, barely a motion at all. It would look bad if she turned her betrothed away, even if he came unannounced.
Rise sighed, then turned towards the direction of the mansion's chambers, "Right this way, Tadase-san."
Inoue left them and Rise escorted Tadase to a guest room. There was no way she was going to take him to her personal quarters. She also made the request for the tea before they reached the room. She wanted to get this done as fast as possible. Maybe faster than that.
By the time they were comfortably sitting on opposite couches and Yu manned his post by the door, the tea had arrived: Oolong tea. A sophisticated drink, perfect for young heiress Kujikawa, not Rise. She believed food and drinks should be either really sweet or really spicy. There was no in betweens. This tea wasn't really doing it for her, but it was perfect for her familial mask.
"Mmm. Oolong tea. A perfect tea for you."
Rise grimaced a smile, acting like that wasn't one of the biggest insults she's ever heard. "Thank you"
"Milady." The blonde noble rose from his seat. She could see Yu startle from his station, his hand was quickly tight around the hilt of his sword. He reached across the table for her hands, placing his over hers on the teacup. His hands were warm, too warm. His touch made it feel like something was slithering beneath her skin.
"I just wanted you to know that I feel so honored to be your intended." His eyes were so sparkly, like a little puppy. How can he trade up personalities so fast?
"That's… nice to hear."
"It is, isn't it," he smiled. His thumbs rubbed little, unnecessary circles on the back of her hand. Then soon started to inch up her wrist. "I mean, you're so beautiful, Rise."
Yu was by her side now. He caught the Viscount's wrist before it could venture up any further. "Excuse me, my lord, but my lady does have another appointment to get to." Over his shoulder, Rise could see Inoue holding a clipboard.
My saviors. "Yes, I'm terribly sorry, Tadase-san. Your company was greatly appreciated." Rise stood up from her couch, taking ahold of Tadase's hand and leading him personally to the door. "But I do have other business to attend to."
She handed him over to Inoue before closing the door on both of them. She spun on her heel to see Yu standing in front of the couch where Tadase was sitting, staring at the empty teacup.
"You know, I've heard Takamaki's bodyguard almost threw her intended out by his belt buckle for trying the same stunt." Rise just mentioned out of the blue.
"Ha. Well, he did always have a bit of a temper." If she wasn't so frustrated, she might've laughed at that huge understatement.
"What do I have to do to get you angry like that?" Her steps were very sure as she sauntered towards him.
"You want me to get that angry?" He looked up at her when she stopped right in front of him. A gentle push and she was slowly guiding him down onto the couch. She followed suit, hitching up her skirt and straddling him, efficiently trapping him between her and the soft cushion of the couch.
"Maybe not angry, but jealous has a nice ring to it."
"It'd be hard to face your parents and the other guards if I got angry at every man your parents sent to court you," he said as he settled his hands around her waist, pulling her even closer to his body. "Too many suspicions would be raised, too."
"But you could get angry with every other suitor."
"How can I when I'm the only person who can do this?" He closed the already tiny distance between them, slotting his mouth against hers in a savory kiss, a simple push and pull that showed his emotions more than his words ever could, a future but definite promise of more to come. Rise parted from the kiss with a sigh, glad to finally get what she's been yearning for back in the library; really since she awoke in her bed this morning.
"So what other business do I need to attend to?"
The question was answered with another kiss, then another, and another, and another, leaving her dizzy with the flurry of attacks.
"Me."