Disclaimer: Just not mine.

Authoress Notes: The Sanzo people shall not be coming in for a few chapters. I just need to establish some stuff in the story first, is all.

ONE

Realtiy Bites

Dear diary,

Oh man, right now I am so wanting to stab my father with something sharp! I am fuming! He is such an ASS! –stabstabstab-

Err…guess what he did? And no, he did not drown my favorite pair of jeans in a boiling pot of cheese. He did something much, much worse! He is forcing me to marry some stiff from the neighboring country! God! The guy's name's Hakkai or something totally stupid like that. Well, the bright side of this is that supposedly, he's really hot, according to my friend who went there last summer.-sigh- At least Kosuke's coming with me. I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't see my brother for six months. Yes, half a frickin' year of idiocy in another kingdom! Geez. Fun. And loads of it I'm sure.

On another note, my princess duties are not going to be cancelled. My o so hated dad is paying them to come in when I'm all settled. Just perfect. –sigh-

Well, I'm tired and I have to start packing for tomorrow afternoon.

Goodnight dairy,

Yumi.

Yumi sipped on her now cold chicken noodle soup. She glared at her father who was on the other side of the table and didn't notice. Kosuke, her brother, nudged Yumi in the ribs with his elbow.

"Pssst…" He whispered, covering the side of his mouth with his hand.

"What?" She hissed, doing the same with her hand as her brother did.

"Do you know when the wedding is?" He asked.

"No, not exactly." Yumi raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"No reason. But, just for the record," Kosuke picked up his bowl and began to walk out of the dining hall. He looked over his shoulder, "the wedding's right after the six months are over." He smiled and skipped out, giggling.

"What!" She yelled, slamming her fists on the table, "R-right after! I'll only be nineteen, for God's sake!"

"What's wrong, Yumi?" Her father asked in his soft, yet demanding voice.

"You didn't tell me the wedding was right after! I thought I was coming home after the six months!" She answered angrily.

"But dear, that will be your home after you are married to prince Hakkai." He said calmly, despite his daughter's outburst.

"NO!" Yumi screamed, "I don't want that to be my home, and I don't want to marry some fuckin' loser who I don't know!" She was panting when she finished.

Her father dabbed his mouth with a silk napkin and placed it on his lap, "Now, now, dear, is that any way for a princess to be talking?"

"Screw the princess shit, and screw the forced marriage crap too." She walked towards the door, "Oh, one more thing, I hate you." A string of curses involving Hakkai, her father and princess duties escaped her lips as she stormed out.

"That went rather well, don't you think?" Her dad said to one of the maids. She looked at him strangely and then nodded, not wanting to get fired.

"Kosuke!" Yumi shouted, pointing at her brother's back, "Come over here!"

He sighed, "Do I have to face the wrath of y-"

"NOW!"

"Eep!"

He turned around and inched over to her, stopping at a safe distance, "What do you want, o angry one?" He asked carefully.

"I'm running away. Don't tell dad..or anyone else for that matter." She hugged him, "I'm getting my stuff and then I'm leaving with Midnight." Yumi turned around and began walking away, content with her plan.

"Whoa whoa whoa." Kosuke grabbed her shoulder and whirled her around, "Don't you know why dad's givin' you away like that?"

She thought for a moment, "No. Why?"

"To stop a war from happening."

"Huh? A war?" She questioned, stepping back from Kosuke, "Whadda you mean?"

"You don't know, but there's been a rivalry between our country and the one dad's sendin' you away to." He paused, "In order for the other king to sign the treaty, he asked for you."

"Oh…" Yumi gazed down at the floor and sighed, "I guess I'll have to suck it up and live with a stranger my whole life for us, and our kingdom. God, sometimes I just wish I weren't a princess. It's so difficult."

Kosuke smiled, "It's not easy being a peasant either. They don't have all this money and maids and servants to look after them like us. I'd say we have it pretty good, no matter what we're forced to do." He winked, "And maybe you'll like this Hakkai. Just promise me you'll give him-and the marriage-a chance."

"Fine. I promise." Yumi hugged her brother again, "I'm going to finish packing, and I'll meet you by the stables to leave. See ya." She jogged down the hall.

Yumi ran the brush through her smooth raven black hair once more and frowned at her reflection. I don't want to do this. She sighed mentally, But if I don't, the whole kingdom could be destroyed. Man, I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.

She stood up, wiped non-existent dust from her pink shirt, grabbed her two heavy bags and slowly walked out of her room. On the way down, she ran into her friend, Anna, who was a maid.

"Yumi!" She squealed, eyes sparkling. Anna ran up to her and hugged her tightly.

"H-hi, Anna." Yumi pushed her off, "What's up?"

Spontaneous tears filled her chocolate brown eyes, "You're leaving! I can't believe it!" She sobbed, embracing her friend again, "I-I'll never s-see you again!"

"Calm down. I'll…write you letters every…week or so, if I can. Alright?" Yumi patted her friend on the back.

"R-really?" She sniffed, letting go of Yumi, "You will?"

"Mhm." Yumi nodded.

"Yay!" Anna exclaimed, clutching Yumi's hands tightly, "When are you leaving?"

"In about ten minutes." Yumi laughed to lighten up the mood.

"Ten? Minutes? No!" Anna hugged her friend protectively, "You can't! You can't. Can't, can't, can't!"

"Oh…I'm sorry, but I have to." Yumi pushed her off and tears filled her eyes. She ran down the corridor and looked over her shoulder, still running, "Bye!"

Why is it so hard to say goodbye to friends?

Authoress Notes Again: New story, new story, new story! Yay! Happy, happy me! -ahem- Well, I am actually proud of myself for this chapter. I like it and I hope you do too. Well, please review, it would be greatly appreciated. -bows-