Lily

Edward Hart.

⏾⋆ Edward would love to pretend you’re dating whenever it suited him. Especially in public spaces. Your reactions, to him, are the most amusing part.

⏾⋆ The first time he’d do it would be on a mission. Even if it wasn’t necessary to sell your roles, making you his partner in any given backstory brings him endless, somewhat sadistic, delight.

⏾⋆ It comes off as him just doing it to see your reaction and tease you, but truthfully, part of it is for protective reasons. Even if he wouldn’t admit to that.

⏾⋆ Edward is aware of how his status as the world’s strongest vampire protects him against much of Darkwick’s administration. If they were to get wind of the fact that you were ‘dating’ him… they may stop treating your safety with more urgency.

⏾⋆ If you ever wanted to make it real, he’d be happy to make it so. Until that day that you’re the one to ask, though, he’ll keep playing with you just to see your reactions.

‘I don’t need to win over the Pearl. After all, we’re already sweethearts.’

As the director yelled ‘cut’, you couldn’t help but sigh. Even on set, in the middle of a mission, of course Edward wouldn’t miss out on a chance to bring this up.

“Mr. Hart! You can’t bring up anything that suggests that you already know the Pearl!” The director’s tone was exasperated as he spoke. “And what’s this about you already being sweethearts? This wasn’t disclosed to us before.”

Because it isn’t true, you thought, glaring at Edward, but he only smiled, his blood-red eyes narrowing. Before you knew it, Edward had crossed the room to be at your side, an arm going around your waist. “I thought it might disqualify me, but isn’t it natural for me to want to make sure nothing unsavory happens to my partner, isn’t it?”

“If they’re already dating, this whole thing is kind of pointless, isn’t it?” Ren spoke up, annoyed as his arms crossed. After his already rocky start and Edward saying this in the middle of them recording the one-on-one interviews at the end of day one, he was already over the entire game show. “I mean, it’s obvious who’s going to be picked.”

Finally, Rui broke his silence. “They’re not actually dating!” He clarified with a tight-lipped smile. This was something the reaper was often having to correct, and now of all times, he was doing his best to not let his annoyance show. “Really, they’re not! Nothing is compromised. He just likes lying about their relationship status.”

“Rui, really, you don’t have to cover for me,” Edward insisted. His grip on your waist became tighter as he pulled you closer to him.

Is he doing this to provoke the anomaly? You thought, looking up at his face. It came out before to insist that we don’t do anything to stop the filming, so… maybe this is just Edward’s way of making it reveal itself again.

With Edward, though, it was always impossible to tell.

Rui Mizuki.

⏾⋆ At first, your ‘fake dating’ ruse with Rui was only something that he teased during a mission. He didn’t expect you to actually bite at the idea.

⏾⋆ It was fun for him to pretend to be your boyfriend… until the reality that you didn’t actually see him that way sank in again at the end of the day.

⏾⋆ After that mission, though, he was delighted every time you brought it back up. Even in passing, when you were obviously teasing him, he lived for it.

⏾⋆ He usually wasn’t the one to bring it up first… unless it seemed like there was someone or something that made you uncomfortable. Then he would swoop in as your ‘reliable boyfriend’ and whisk you away from the situation, checking on you afterward to make sure you were alright.

⏾⋆ And, very rarely… he’ll invoke it when he gets green-eyed toward someone like Haku, who flirts with you blatantly in front of him.

Due to his curse, Rui rarely ever left campus on an R&R permit. It was too much of an unnecessary risk - something that he didn’t really think he’d ever be able to do comfortably.

When you asked him to go with you on an R&R permit to visit a new café, though, he didn’t want to reject you. Especially when you asked him to be your ‘boyfriend’ to take advantage of the couple’s package that the café was offering on its opening weekend.

“Leo told me all about it! He wanted to come himself, but Vagastrom is really strict about their R&R permits.”

When you said that, Rui’s heart sank a little. Was he only here as a second choice…?

He didn’t let it show on his face, though. Plus, he had to focus from the moment you entered the café with him, not wanting to accidentally brush arms with someone and turn a casual outing into a death trap. He only started to calm down once you were seated, a tea tower already in the middle of the table and filled with different decadent sweets. “Wow, they’re really going all out, aren’t they?”

“This is part of the couple’s package! I told them I wanted it when I put our name in line,” you smiled at him, looking around. The café was packed, other couples and groups of friends gathered around. “I’ve never been to an opening day of… anything before. This is really exciting!”

All of his previous concerns melted away as he saw you smile. Rui pulled out his phone. “How about we get some photos? After all, good boyfriends know how to take good ones, right? I have to pull my weight!”

“Oh, that’s a good idea!” You jumped at his offer, scooting as close to him as possible before you could actually make contact with him. “You’ll have to send these all to me!”

With a click, Rui got a photo of the two of you with one of the café’s empty cups in hand and the tea tower behind you.

When he looked back at the photo later, there was only one thought on his mind.

‘I wish this wasn’t just pretend.’

But, of course, the ghoul knew how dangerous a wish could be.

Lyca Colt.

⏾⋆ Upon hearing about both Rui and Edward going on a mission for a fake dating show, Lyca realizes that he’d be completely unprepared for any mission of that kind if it came up again in the future.

⏾⋆ At first, he only expresses frustration to Subaru over his other two dormmates being asked on the mission while he was left behind. After admitting that he’s inexperienced and wouldn’t know how to act, Subaru proposes a solution: why not ask you about it? The worst you could do was say no.

⏾⋆ Endearingly, Lyca interprets that as Subaru encouraging him to ask if he could pretend to be your boyfriend so he knows what it would entail.

⏾⋆ Lyca would take his role as your fake boyfriend extremely seriously. To the point where most students don’t even think that it’s fake anymore.

⏾⋆ There would be no one more dedicated to the role than Lyca. Anything you ask him for during that time period would be yours - after all, even if he was inexperienced, he knew one thing for sure: he would do whatever it took to make his partner happy.

Honestly, to Lyca, pretending to be your boyfriend was easier than everyone made it sound like it was going to be.

Rui had reacted with almost exaggerated shock, as if he couldn’t fathom the two of you as a pair. Edward, on the other hand, had been almost condescendingly amused.

“You want to play house? How human. That kind of thing isn’t meant for us, Lyca.”

The vampire’s words had only made him more determined to prove him wrong. With the way they both reacted, he thought that this would be difficult.

It turned out that pretending to date you was the easiest thing in the world. When he asked to hold your hand in the halls, you accepted easily, and he found it was… far more comforting than when he walked alone. When he was by himself, the side glances he got made him feel othered, as if they were staring at him for being an oddity. With you at his side, though, the stares had changed.

Plus, having people perceive the two of you as a couple came with its own set of warm feelings.

He insisted on eating lunch with you for as long as you kept the ruse up. You taught him how to more efficiently use his chopsticks and asked him to open your ramune like you were relying on him as a boyfriend… Although admittedly the first time he did that, he almost broke the bottle after being surprised by the marble giving way.

One day at lunch, over two takeout containers from Sho’s foodtruck, you asked him something he had considered.

“How long did you want to pretend to date?”

He’d been having such a fun time pretending to be your boyfriend, he honestly had never considered when it would feel ‘complete.’ He stopped eating for a moment to consider the answer.

Does it ever have to end? Lyca wondered.

“I want to do this for as long as you’ll let me,” he admitted in a soft voice.

Does it have to stay pretend?

Speed Friending Dating

—----------------------------------- —-----------------------------------

  –  24 HOURS AGO – 

After placing her order at Lettuce Eat food truck, Katsuko stood by the delivery window next to a guy dressed as Mr. Fantastic.

(He’s in cosplay. And he looks fit. This is a good opportunity to try out my sales pitch for the photoshoot.)

The idea had come to her when she was prepping for ‘Fandom-Con’. What could be cooler than capturing kickass superhero action poses while doing urban parkour? It was the perfect combination of her interests. There had to be others out there who felt the same. A convention was the perfect place to find them.

“Can’t believe our luck in finding vegetarian options here at the con. Pretty great, right? Or should I say … Fantastic?”

The man turned around when she started speaking, head swiveling to see who she was addressing. It was just the two of them at the food truck. He pointed to his chest as if to ask ‘Are you talking to me?’ with a quizzical expression. 

“Oh! Because of my costume for Reed Richards? That’s a good pun!” A joyful smile broke out.

(Well, damn. That face contained the heat of a thousand suns. He should have dressed as Johnny Storm with a 500-killowatt smile like that, not Reed.)

The man continued, “Oh, I’m not vegetarian. But this one had the shortest line of all the food trucks, so my chances of getting back inside for the next panel were statistically better.”

Well, that was disappointing. Regardless, she was undeterred in her mission: Find out if he does parkour.

“Oh, that’s valid. Totally. But I gotta say that costume really is…” she mimed finger guns at him, “...Fantastic! The spandex fits so well; you’re like, really fit, too. What kind of training do you do to stay in shape?”

The minute the words were out of her mouth, she cringed inwardly so hard it felt like a blackhole had opened inside her gut. She wanted to crawl into it and disappear. 

(That is such an obvious pickup line! I should have practiced in front of a mirror. I hate talking to new people.)

She wished her Mockingbird eyemask was large enough to hide her discomfort. 

If the man had noticed it sounded like flirting, he gave no indication. In fact, it appeared as if he was oblivious of the connotation as he replied with an earnest smile, “Thank you! I don’t do much, but I do have an elliptical in my apartment that I use when I’m reading.”

They were interrupted by the window opening next to them, as hands held out take-out boxes. The man accepted one, she took the other.

“Ugh! Mushrooms?!?” came from her, at the same time he groaned, “Carrots? Whyyyy…..?”

The forlorn pout on his face was too cute. The food in his container looked like the stir fry she ordered. And hers? There was no way she would have asked for this many mushrooms.

“I think our meals got mixed up. Here.” 

The change on his face was instant, clouds clearing away to bright sunshine once more. He reacted as if she was doing him a huge favor. “Oh! You really don’t mind trading with me? I can’t thank you enough. You’re so nice!”

She would have argued that they were handed each other’s orders by accident, but he had already started jogging away.

(Shoot, I never got a chance to finish trying out my parkour photoshoot questions.)

—----------------------------------- —-----------------------------------

  –  8 HOURS AGO – 

Would this line ever move? The long queue in the autograph area snaked back and forth. Katsuko had been standing for an hour before being told that she was in the wrong line for her favorite celebrity.

After finding the correct line and being at the very back of it, time stood still. 

The line crept forward inch by inch. 

Another glance at the clock on her phone.

(Aughhhhhh! If this line doesn’t start moving faster, I’ll never get to the Star Wars panel!)

Besides this autograph session, that panel was the one thing that made her sign up for the convention. Why did they have to be back-to-back on the schedule? 

Her feet were falling asleep,; her legs were killing her. 

—----------------------------------- —-----------------------------------

  –  THE SAME 8 HOURS AGO – 

What a find! The vendor room had been crowded and over-stimulating, but at least Mitsunari had found something worth reading at the rare book dealer’s booth. A first edition printing of the schematics of the vehicles in the Star Wars trilogy! Now all he needed was a quiet place to read it.

Every square foot of wall space was occupied by bodies, and there wasn’t one open chair in the food court. After peeking into the large rooms, he found one that was empty. Taking a seat at the front, he began to read. The world around him disappeared as his brain absorbed the technical diagrams. 

—----------------------------------- —-----------------------------------

  –  6 HOURS AGO – 

Katsuko sprinted from the autograph area to the Star Wars panel at the other end of the convention center. Legs on fire, ankles still numb, dreaming of the chair she would finally sit on.

She opened the doors, only to be met with a room full of people. Every seat taken. Even the wall was packed. Exhaustion made it difficult to mask her frustration. 

(No-no-nooo… Could this day get any worse?)

As if on cue, her left calf spasmed with a cramp. A little cry of pain escaped Katsuko, to her chagrin. 

(Why did I ask that question? I jinxed myself.)

Putting her weight on the right leg, Katsuko hobbled forward as she scanned the packed room for any place to sit down, even on the floor.

—----------------------------------- —-----------------------------------

  –  THE SAME 6 HOURS AGO – 

(Oh boy, what a great book! Ahhhh.)

Mitsunari closed the cover and returned to the real world with all the smells and heat of a hundred people crammed around him. His nose wrinkled as Mitsunari noticed the empty room was now filled to the brim.

His ears picked up a tiny sound of distress in front of him, seeing a woman favoring one leg and looking miserable. Oh no! He had to help her.

“Miss? Ma’am?” What was the appropriate thing to say in this situation? He gestured to the limping lady as he stood up, indicating his chair, “You, with the pretty turquoise and brown hair? Please have my seat!”

He was oblivious to the grumbles of the crowd that had been standing for the past hour as this newcomer was given a chair. After seeing that she was comfortably seated, Mitsunari smiled at her and left.

—----------------------------------- —-----------------------------------

  –  1 HOUR AGO – 

“Give it a try? Please?” Hideyoshi had cornered Mitsunari, taken away his new book, and was now begging him.

(Why did he have to grab my book? He better not damage it!)

Mitsunari couldn’t focus fully on what Hideyoshi was asking, as his mind was on his precious rare book. Purple eyes were tracking the hand holding it, which was making erratic gestures. 

“You want me to do something for you and Mai, correct? Yes, of course I’ll help if I can. Now please give me my book. You’re creasing the cover.” 

“...I don’t believe he heard all of your request. Allow me,” Mitsuhide’s smooth voice preemptively cut off Hideyoshi’s frustrated reply.  “Hideyoshi is asking you to attend a speed dating activity to get a girlfriend so the two of you can go on a double date with him and Mai. It starts in one hour. It’s not a simple errand. You’re trying to find a date. Is that what you really want to do?” The sardonic tone suggested it should be the last thing anyone should do to help their friend. 

Mitsunari processed that for a second, gears whirring in his brain. He weighed the concern for his friends and wanting to fulfill their wishes against the impossibility of convincing a woman to go out with him. Yes, he wanted to help, but was he able?

(Surely Mitsuhide was better at flirting than me.)

He looked between his two friends, the concern written on his face, “Me? Why not Mitsuhide? He’s more popular with the ladies.”

The words were barely out of his mouth before Mitsuhide closed in, wearing that scimitar smile and pointing a warning finger at Mitsunari, whispering a deadly “NO.”

At the same time, Hideyoshi gave an uncomfortable laugh, looking off to the side, “Yeah, no. Mai would rather it be you, Mitsunari.”

“But I have no ‘game’,” Mitsunari repeated something he had heard one of Mai’s friends say about him.

Hideyoshi sighed, “Yeah, buddy. I get it. It’s a lot to ask. I just wanted to make her happy…”

Guilt gnawed at Mitsunari, shoulders slumping.

“What if I sweetened the deal, hm?” Mitsuhide’s good humor had returned, “A $50 gift card to your favorite bookstore if you get a woman’s number. I’ll bump it up to $100 if you manage to secure a date.”

Hideyoshi, scandalized at the mercenary turn this conversation had taken, spun on his white-haired friend. “What? No! I don’t want to buy his agreement. I wanted him to actually make an honest effort in getting a girl. Mitsuhide, that’s … unconscionable.”

“Oh, but you’re not the one asking him to do it for a wager. I am. So you can keep your intentions pure. And I get to have a fun stake in it.” He turned his gleaming gold gaze on Mitsunari. ”What do you say? You can make an honest go of it for the sake of friendship, and you get books out of it. That’s a deal too good to pass up, Nari.”

(Those are all excellent points…) 

“I’ll do it. When and where?” He was already pulling out his phone to add the event to his schedule. 

—----------------------------------- —-----------------------------------

  –  NOW – 

The room looked exactly like Katsuko expected it to: small tables with a numbered placard and two chairs facing each other. A coordinator directed her to sit at table 17. Waiting for the first round to start, she mentally prepared her speech to make the most of the 5 minute time limit.

Mitsunari almost walked into the wrong room, but noticed the sign said Speed Friending. Close call! Next door was the sign for Speed Dating. Inside he was told to wait along the wall with the men. He looked at his number: 16. The girl sitting at table 16 was wearing a yellow wig. Then he looked to table 17. 

(Oh! It’s the limping woman! I hope she’s feeling better now.)

The first man to sit down at table 17 only wanted to ask about what Katsuko’s ‘type’ was. Whenever she steered the conversation towards her photoshoot goal, he seemed confused, and then was finally sullen by the time he left his chair. She rolled her eyes, thinking it would have been more efficient and less frustrating if she had made a sign announcing her intentions.

Meanwhile, the bubbly personality seated across from Mitsunari was trying way too hard to sell herself. It was two minutes before she took a breath. He grabbed his opportunity to ask for her number. She produced her phone instantly with a high-pitched giggle, exchanging contact info with supernatural speed. Mitsunari was stunned at how easy it was. That gift card was as good as his!

Soon the time limit was called, and the men were told to move to the table to their left.

Katsuko hid her dismay at seeing yet another man sit down, but soon recognized him from the Star Wars panel.

“Thanks again for letting me sit down,” she started at the same time he asked, “How is your leg now?”

She was the first to recover, giving him finger guns and a grateful smile, “Fantastic, now, thanks to you.”

Mitsunari grinned at their simultaneous talking, his mind flitting back to a similar situation at the food trucks. 

The finger guns and the word ‘Fantastic’ triggered enough similarities for him, while his solar-flare smile was unforgettable to Katsuko. They both leaned forward inquisitively, their movement mirror images.

“Were you dressed as Mr. Fantastic yesterday?” she asked – almost nearly at the same time as Mitsunari exclaimed, “You were the one cosplaying Mockingbird!”

They both chuckled at talking over each other again. 

Katsuko asked, “Are you into parkour?”

“...What?” Came his reply with polite confusion.

She explained the sport, hopeful when recognition dawned on his face. Turns out a friend of his, Sasuke, did that. And why yes, he would consider trying it some time. In costume, even. And take photos. He simply kept nodding and agreeing to every suggestion. So cute.

Keeping her cool, she pulled out her phone, “Great. Let’s schedule something. I’ll get your email address.” 

Mtisunari’s eyes widened. Wait – were they setting up a date? Had he fulfilled both Hideyoshi’s and Mitsuhide’s requirements without even meaning to? “I never thought the Speed Dating event would be this easy,” he hummed cheerfully.

“Speed Dating? No, this is Speed Friending,” she replied absently, opening her calendar app.

He shook his head gently, “Ah, that event is next door. The sign on this room definitely said Dating.”

Katsu: *breaks the fourth wall, looking at the camera with deadpan disappointment*

—----------------------------------- —-----------------------------------

–

“That wouldn’t be the formula nor the variable to allow it to manifest again." Sasuke tapped his pencil to the table while deep in thought.

“Sasuke, you are overthinking this too much." Yukimura stared at his best friend, who probably did all-nighters for the past three days.

“I know, yet there is something missing—"

“Take a break. You need it at this point. You're going to lose sleep, which means you lose some brain cells." Yukimura sipped his morning smoothie he made in their dorm.

“Really?” “Yes, really.”

The two stared at each other. In Sasuke’s defense, this was the first time that Yukimura, in all their history, actually made sense, somewhat. With a heavy sigh, Sasuke decided he definitely needed a break; he can just come back to it at a later date.

Standing up, Sasuke turned to Yukimura. “So, shall we head to our class?”

That caught Yukimura off guard, and he spit his smoothie out in response. “Wait… WE HAVE CLASS THIS EARLY!?”

“Yes…?”

“OH WE GOTTA GO! WE ARE GOING TO BE LATE!”

Thus, Yukimura made a sprint for it while Sasuke casually went for a detour. He didn't tell Yukimura about it.

–

Kate arrived at the lecture hall before taking a seat near the middle, taking her supplies out to take notes before reviewing them later on in the day. Minutes later, Sasuke arrived with Yukimura barely arriving in time before the professor came into the room. The two took a seat near Kate, as the majority of the seats were taken by others who arrived earlier.

“Why didn’t you tell me there was a detour… Sasuke…?” Yukimura placed his head down on the desk, exhausted.

“You never asked."

Yukimura could only stare at Sasuke out of disbelief. In their two years of friendship, this is how Sasuke treats him??? If he weren't in class, he would definitely smack Sasuke in the head for such behavior.

For Kate, she looked at their exchange with fascination. Despite so many eyes looking at them, they never bothered to acknowledge the eyes—just each other. Especially how, despite their banter may be to others, they understand each other.

Maybe… I could try to be friends with them.

–

Two hours. Two hours is how long the class lasted, with the professor talking about a group project to understand at the end, which… many wailed about with reasons that are understandable — they witnessed the horrors of assigned group projects in their high school years. Kate ended up being in a group with the two people that happened to be next to her.

"So… where do we start?” Yukimura asked, clearly not used to talking to the opposite gender.

“We can start with a layout, especially where we want to focus." Kate responded.

“Great idea. But where should we focus on, literature, movies, or games?” Sasuke asked, The topic is focused on the themes of how one conveys it.

“I say we should focus on literature; they have themes that are executed very well. Compared to… modern literature that seems to not be focused on anything,” Kate scratched her face, trying to not talk too much knowing how much she loves those three.

“Great idea. Let’s exchange contact info." Sasuke took his phone out and asked Kate to put her info in, which Yukimura copied onto his.

The first message from them in the group chat was a hello and a boar emoji from Yukimura.

“...boar emoji…?”

"Well, you look like–”

“Yuki, let’s not talk about that, especially in front of her,” Sasuke cut his best friend off to prevent him from making a bad decision.

“Alright,” Yukimura raised his hand up as an act of surrender.

Despite that hiccup that was caused by Yukimura, the three started off with a good start. Over time as the project went by, the three became quite close friends. With Kate showing a side of herself to them where she rambles about her obsessions with Sasuke following up on his love of astronomy. Yukimura was forced to listen to their rambling, but he never bothered to interrupt them, as, hey, they are his friends now — best friends. Kate wouldn’t ask for a better start of the year with new friends who then introduced them to their group. Belonging is what Kate felt, and safe as time went on. With her and Sasuke dating months later, idiots in love, their friends call them but couldn’t ask for more. Except for one request, for them to be Sasuke’s wingmen when they end up getting married in the near future.

–

A year passed. A year flew by when they first started going out with one another. With it being their anniversary since they started dating, they decided to head to a spot that is secluded from most eyes on campus.

“I’m glad I met you, Sasuke,” Kate said as her fingers intertwined with Sasuke's.

“I too am glad to have met you. Not even the universe nor fate will make me want to leave you,” Sasuke said, squeezing Kate’s hand in hopes that he isn’t dreaming about this moment — a chapter of their life.

Are you well? I miss seeing your smile. Something inside me hurts when I think I will never see your smile again. That the smile is brighter when you look at Kenshin. If he ever makes your smile fade, please come back to Azuchi and I will-

The letter had been abandoned at that point. Mitsunari gave up, realizing whether the words were on the page or locked in his head, they were only words. Because whatever emotions prompted this letter still had the power to cloud his mind, cramp his stomach, and stab at his heart. What was the use of writing them down?

It would have ended there. But Mitsunari was interrupted and in his absentminded way, he forgot all about that wayward piece of paper.

It should have ended there.

Then a new threat coming from the Mori clan, the resurrection of Motonari, and a message delivered by the ninja Sasuke invited the Oda forces to a summit, to a camp in neutral territory, to meet with the Uesugi-Takeda forces for a strategic discussion. Of course, as Nobunaga’s rising strategist, Mitsunari’s presence was necessary.

And because in his haste to gather his notebooks, references and papers, Mitsunari accidentally swept the forgotten letter into his pile, it did not end there.

Even then, disaster might have been avoided if the letter had stayed hidden amongst the scattered diagrams of formations, or if anyone else had been the one to notice the letter. Anyone but the one person who absolutely should not have found it.

Anyone but Kenshin….

There had been an internal battle within himself when Kenshin had allowed – no, not ‘allowed,’ for that suggested that she would have agreed if he had even hinted that he wanted to leave her behind at Kasugayama. He’d asked her to come from the start and bathed in her smile when she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and whispered, “I know how much it cost you to ask that. Thank you.”

He knew she thought he had conquered his easily roused jealousy, allowed the embers to fade on his fear of loss.  It wasn’t true, but he’d allowed her praise to settle around him like a warm cloak.

He’d pretended.

Pretended it didn’t hurt to see her bow to Nobunaga and call him ‘Ani,’ to be swung into a spinning hug with Masamune, to see her clasp hands and smile with affection toward Mitsunari. Still, he had tried to push past his jealousy when he’d seen how happily Marie was to be with her “Azuchi family.”

But he couldn’t push away that still simmering fire, a fire that had been banked by her daily affection but not extinguished completely.

Thus, when he and Mitsunari sat down to exchange strategic theories, Kenshin’s neat journals lined up against the young man’s explosion of papers, Kenshin had already been primed. Primed by his previous dislike of the man who everyone else described as human sunshine.

Hmph. As if that was something to be aspired to.

The genius, yes, Kenshin could see it. Also, he saw the waste. Why was such a mind bestowed on this clumsy, smiley, boy?

As if to immediately give example to Kenshin’s internal critique, Mitsunari clunked a large rock on top of his pile when the wind ruffled the papers, threatening to scatter them to all corners of the camp. “Oops!”

“How do you find anything?” Even if he hadn’t had Kanetsugu to help organize his days, Kenshin would have kept his papers and reports in order. This chaos was not acceptable.

Of course, all Mitsunari did was smile. “It doesn’t matter. I know where everything is.” To demonstrate, he shut his eyes, touched the stack of papers, thumbed part way down, and retrieved a diagram of the formation that they’d planned to discuss. “Here. See?”

He saw…

He saw more than Mitsunari realized. Underneath the page Mitsunari had retrieved had been a piece of paper with the name ‘Marie.’

Yes, he saw.

Kenshin slapped his hand on top of the papers and under Mitsunari’s confused gaze, he dove into them until he pulled out the errant letter.

Read it.

He wants to steal her away from me.

It took a moment for Mitsunari to recognize what Kenshin had in his hands. A moment for him to understand that this time, he had not known exactly where everything was. His blush… the shame, followed immediately after. “I thought I burned that. I only needed… I never planned for anyone… anyone at all… to ever see it.” The explanation was jumbled, stammering, honest.

Kenshin wasn’t listening. Could hear nothing beyond the roaring of a fire that swept through him as he read a letter meant for nobody. “We will spar.”

Mitsunari looked down at the letter that was now crumpled in Kenshin’s white knuckled fist. “Of course, that is your right, Lord Kenshin.”

“Until death.” And he would kill the boy. Kill him and any other who got in the way.

“I understand.” Mitsunari placed his hand on the grip of his sword, taking a deep breath.

“You understand, then, that I will kill you.” Daily, Kenshin threatened to kill his vassals, his ninja, his friends, and that Yoshimoto. This was not the same type of threat. This was a promise. The beast inside him roared for blood. The fear of loss blocked every other sound.

Amethyst eyes finally met his own. “You can try.”

His blood lust combined with battle lust. In recent years, there was only one person Kenshin had failed to best in battle. Mitsunari. They’d fought before, Kenshin and this boy. A battle that had lasted longer than expected. Neither had won. The fight had been stopped by his ninja, who had claimed, in his odd Sasuke dialect, that he could tell the fight would end in a draw.

We’ll see about that now.

In grim agreement, they marched to a flower decked meadow far enough away from the camp to attract attention. A meadow more known for peace, not battle. A flower filled meadow suitable for a grave. Kenshin’s internal vow – only one of us will return.

Underneath the roar of the dragon in his soul, he wondered if this had been Mitsunari’s plan after all? To lure him out, then finish him off in private. Was even now a team of archers or riflemen hiding beyond that cluster of trees? Just as that cheerful exterior masked the most complex strategic mind Kenshin had ever encountered, did that sunshine also hide a streak of hate? Behind the smile was there someone planning to murder for love?

You shall not have her.

They bowed to each other deeply, then ritual satisfied, there came the sinister whistle as two swords unsheathed. Kenshin struck out first, though Himetsuru Ichimonji was immediately greeted by Mitsunari’s nameless weapon. Their gazes met over the crossed swords.

For a moment, neither was able to push forward, as the strikes had equal strength, powered by equal determination.

Then finally, Mitsunari whirled away, his weapon already primed to meet the next attack.

As with that past battle, this match began slowly, increasing in intensity as the strategist anticipated his every move. Strike met strike, tempered steel met its counterpart in a deadly dance.

The sun reached its zenith then slowly reversed toward the horizon.

Something is different this time. The moves were no longer academic. Yes, Mitsunari anticipated Kenshin’s every movement, his sword in place almost before Kenshin’s, his body ducking and spinning away from every potential hit, but this time there was more strength and skill behind the moves.

He’s been practicing.

No matter. Kenshin was different too. He had someone he could not, would not lose.

Neither warrior faltered, even as it neared sunset and lanterns began glowing from the distant camp.

They fought on. Grimly. No words had been spoken since they began. The only sounds were the clang of swords and the grunts of effort. Kenshin smelled the sweat rising from both of them, a scent mixing with the scent of summer grasses. The taste of blood in his mouth as he bit his own cheek in determination. He felt the heaviness of Himetsuru Ichimonji in his hand, a comforting, familiar weight.

Panting breaths… his… the boy’s. His own heart drumming in his ears.

Then a scream. “Kenshin!” Marie rushed out into the flower-covered field.

“Stay back!” He turned his face to her. It was only a fraction of inattention to the fight. But it was enough.

Mitsunari saw the opportunity and swung his sword—

Only at the last moment did he alter the trajectory and step back, adopting a defensive position, waiting until Kenshin was ready to resume.

He could have killed me.

With a scowl, Kenshin paused. “You had an opening. Why didn’t you take it?”

“She will be sad.” MItsunari’s voice was a hushed whisper, and Kenshin had had to strain to hear him.

Kenshin looked over at Marie, her face a mixture of confusion and worry. “If you weren’t going to kill me, why bother to fight?”

“I did not want to die.” Mitsunari stated it as if it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Seeing that their fight had paused, Marie strode between them, holding her arms out as if to become a physical barrier. “What happened? Why were you fighting?”

He pulled her to his side, slinging his arm around her.  Mine. “Sparring. It was a good day for a fight.” The look he gave Mitsunari dared him to correct that statement. When no contradiction appeared, he added. “We’re done now. I’ll kill you tomorrow. Go!”

Mitsunari bowed. Kenshin wasn’t sure if it was an apology or a thank you. Or… with this strange boy, it could have been acknowledgement of a good fight. Then he turned and walked away, his smile dimming as he left Marie by Kenshin’s side.  

As Kenshin and Marie ambled back to camp, she rested her head on his shoulder. “That didn’t look like a sparring match.”

He contemplated the truth, then decided that his love for Marie aside, Mitsunari did not pose a threat to him. Kenshin realized he ought to have known that all along. “It was a misunderstanding. Now we have sorted things out.”

“Mmm.” Marie side-eyed him, the single syllable and her skeptical expression conveying the extent of the belief she had in his explanation, but that she chose not to press him further. As they entered the camp, she took his hand, leading him past the warriors enjoying their evening meal, and to the tent they shared.

It was a beautiful summer day in Rhodolite; around the time the roses fully bloomed in the country. Lady Aino had visited the country under the pretext of a political visit, which happened quite often to keep up relations with Rhodolite. 

Today, Aino sat in the garden of the grand palace of Rhodolite where their renowned flower grew in masses. The flowers lined the hedges; some hedges short, some tall, and even some trimmed into intricate designs such as birds and deer. The leaves rustled in the slight breeze of the day, which carried the smell of fragrant floral along with it. To some, this was a wonderful place to enjoy a tea party; this weather was perfect for this sort of occasion after all. 

However, to Aino, she felt terribly out of place.

It wasn't that she hated the outdoors; quite the opposite actually. It was the fact that a garden with beautiful roses was elegant; she however didn’t share this sentiment. Elegance was an unfamiliarity for her; spending days on a battlefield teaches you to be tough, not proper and poised like a delicate flower. 

Yet, here she was sitting before Licht Klein, the Sixth born Prince of Rhodolite, and the man she was betrothed to on a date-of-sorts that his older brother Yves had set up for the two of them under the guise of “spending more time together”. 

She was impartial to being here on this date. On one hand, this was to the man she was supposed to be with out of duty for the safety of her country. On the other hand… she knew quite little about the Prince, despite her many attempts to get to know him.

Now here they were, sitting in front of each other drinking tea scented like bergamot and peppermint with an array of freshly baked good made with love from the Fifth Prince of Rhodolite on three-tiered dessert towers, and Aino, figuring out if she should tuck her pinky inward or leave it out when drinking the tea and making sure not to chew too loudly or with her mouth open.

“Hold your pinky out, like this.” Lichi explained in his ever monotone voice as he raised the hand that held the teacup to demonstrate how it was to be held, bringing the liquid to his mouth, enjoying its contents.

“Ah, thank you.” Aino replied as she then followed suit, copying the movements shown before her, bringing the liquid to her mouth as well. The tea was warm, minty and slightly sour, but was quite a refreshing beverage to have on a sunny day.

Bringing the teacup down she quietly placed it back on the plate as a silence passed between the two of them.

“I’m sorry, I’m not the best at casual tea time banter,” she adds as an apology.

“It’s fine. I appreciate that.” 

He then reached over to the first tier of sweets tower to grab one of the many darioles scattered on the tray.

“Is that your favorite?”

The man before her answered with a nod grabbing another from the tower. Instead of eating it, he extended his hand over to her, offering the sweet treat.

“Here, take it. They’re good.”

Extending a hand forward to grab the small pastry, she raised the dariole to her lips, taking a bite from the velvety delicacy. The pastry had a rich creamy texture on the inside that simply melted in her mouth as the second passed.

Finishing the pastry, she made contact with his red eyes.

“You know Prince Licht, you’re kind of like a Rose; prickly to the touch, but you’re quite kind even when you’re trying to distance yourself,” She absentmindedly blurts between bites of the delectable pastry.

“Ah…” he let out as his eyes averted from hers, pink dusting his cheeks. Then, her own eyes looking away due to his lack of a reply.

Yet another bout of silence fell over the two royals. This time it was an awkward silence as they looked at the surroundings pretending a hedge was far more interesting than each other's presence.

“I’m sorry if that offended you.”  Aino let out an apology for the awkward air that was created between them, hand reaching behind her neck; a physical display of the discomfort of the difficult social situation.

“No. I appreciate that you felt comfortable enough to speak your mind.” A blunt, fast, yet honest reply from the Sixth Prince.

“You don’t think that it was unnecessary?”

Her eyes traveled back to meet his, already looking back at her own eyes.

“I do not. I honestly prefer that you’re honest with me.” 

A small smile formed on the Prince's lips, the first she had ever seen from him in the years she had known him. Her lips then formed into a small smile as well, mirroring the exact one he was adorning.

Elegance was never Aino’s strong suit. However, it is most certainly not her weakness.

---------------------------

𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓼 𝓾𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓶𝓸𝓸𝓷𝓵𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓣

Ship: Vernard x reader

Themes: Fluffy, pre-relationship, he is slowly falling in love

Warnings: None

----------------------

The night has fallen upon Rhodolite, as its residents were sleeping. Well, maybe not all..

You were turning around in your bed, not even being able to find the most comfortable position to sleep in. You have been trying to sleep now for three hours, but nothing has worked out for you.

You don't know what the cause is, but just lying in bed is boring. So, you decided to take a walk through the castle, hoping a reading session in the library will tire you out enough. The bright moon is shining through the windows, wrapping you halfway in its light.

You soon reached the library, but you were surprised to see the door being slightly open. In the middle of the room, there sat a man in his late twenties at a table. The light on his table was on -not very bright though- and he was reading a book.

His emerald green eyes were gazing down onto the book he was reading. This man was so focused on reading, it felt like he was tuning out the world around him.

You immediately recognized him. It was Vernard. You were confused though, because why was he here? Couldn't he sleep either? Or does he just enjoy reading at night?

A surge of hesitation filled your body. Should you call out to him? Should you ask what he is doing here? Maybe he wants his own peace right now?

But without realizing it, you did. You called out to him. “Vernard?” Due to time of the day, your voice was automatically quiet. But it was loud enough for him to hear you.

Vernard looked up from his book and his gaze wandered to you, who was still standing at the door. He seemed surprised… Probably because he didn't expect someone to walk into the library.

“Shouldn't you be in bed?" He asked, his gaze wandering back to the book in his hands.

“I could say the same to you." You replied, approaching him to where he was sitting.

“But to answer your question, I couldn't sleep well… So I decided to go to the library to read a book.” You replied to him, trying to see what he was reading. “And you are here why, Vernard?"

“I just simply like reading at night.” Was all he said, before returning back to his book.

His short and dry sentences made you think he wants to be alone. Maybe it is better if you leave. “I’m sorry.. If you want, I can leave.” You stood up and were about to leave, but his next words surprised you.

“No… You can stay. I don't mind…” His words have surprised you. He actually wants you to stay? Is he just being kind? No.. He sounds sincere...

You stayed seated onto your chair. And so, around three minutes have already passed…

The atmosphere was a bit awkward. Neither of you two were speaking. He was focused on his book, while you were staring down onto your hands.

You finally decided to break the silence.

“The moon is very beautiful, right? It seems nice reading a book, while the moon shines through the windows.” You commented, looking at the windows with a smile. The moon was shining onto Vernard, lightning his hair with its enchanting light up.

Vernard looked again up from his book at her. “It is nice…” He added in a short sentence.

“... You also like books. Why not get one too?”

You thought that this is a good idea, afrer all, it is the same reason why you even walked to the library. Mayhaps you forgot about the book, since Vernard distracted you. You left your seat and went to the shelves, to take one of your preferred books.

You sat back down next to him, opening your book and starting to read.

The silence between you two was more comfortable this time. It wasn't like any of you were trying to force a conversation or forcing yourself to be quiet. You two were simply enjoying reading in silence.

You were so invested in your book, you didn't even notice Vernard sometimes looking up from his book to look at you. He also saw how the moon lightened onto your beautiful hair. He saw how focused your eyes were on the book in your hands.

Vernard couldn't explain it… But something about you was enchanting for him. You just… Looked so beautiful in that very much moment… And it wasn't just because of the moon. No, very deep down, he knew it wasn't just because of the moon.

After Vernard finished yet another chapter, he closed the book and stood up. “I’m going back to my room.” He announced, turning to the door.

“Oh, I’m going with you! I finally feel tired.." You yawned and repeated the same movements as him.

“Let me accompany you to your room.” Vernard suggested, walking out of the library with you. You two weren't talking much, but it wasn't awkward again. It was the nice silence from before again.

Vernard saw your tired expression. When he was sure you wouldn't notice it, he had a slight smile on his face as he admired your adorable expression. It wasn't clear, whether Vernard was already accepting the fact he was falling in love with you. But perhaps one day, he will admit it.