Halfway through dinner Rin rose to his feet, and without a need for the bell to gain the attention of the dining nobles, the hall came to attention. Gou had seen this response to her brothers presence before, but it was always no less impressive than the last.

"This party was to welcome the Yamazaki family to our kingdom, but there was also an alternative motive. The support that the Yamazaki have given us has turned the tides in war, and they deserve the highest honor I can bestow upon them." A murmur of voices ran through the crowd, but as Rin continued it became silent once again, "As many of you know my sister has been of marriageable age for a few years now, and with that in mind it brings me great joy to announce that marriage of my sister and most trusted friend, Sousuke."

Sounds of shock sounded through the crowd before applause broke through the silence. It quickly died down when Rin raised his hand, gaining everyone's attention once more.

"In a weeks time engagement ceremony shall take place, invitations are being sent out as we speak. The marriage is set for a month after and…"

Gou caught Sousuke's eyes over the table, giving him a small smile and receiving one in return. She had accepted the fact that he was going to be her husband in the very near future, but she still didn't know much about her intended. She wanted that to change, and she already knew he wasn't that bad of a guy, but there were other things she could live to learn.

The rest of the dinner went by quietly, with no more shocking announcements from her brother. Gou half suspected that some of the nobles were expecting her brother to announce his own marriage, now that would really send them into a fit. She knew most of the ones that had daughters were all pushing them towards her brother, even if they weren't marriage age yet. They knew that once she was married, Rin would start considering his own needs, and be more open to the idea of marriage. Normally he would brush off pushy nobles by saying he had no time for marriage because of her. Gou wondered if her brother had even thought of another excuse to use yet.

After the dinner and everyone was turning in for the night, she was approached by people, receiving their blessings and congratulations. Sousuke had taken his place at her side, receiving his own goodbyes and well wishes. Gou could feel a headache coming up and all she wanted to do was go to her room and sleep. Bathing could waiting the morning when she felt more awake.

"Are you ready to leave?" Sousuke asked, leaning down to whisper in her ear, his warm breath fanning against her sensitive skin.

"Y-yes." Gou hadn't meant for her voice to come out so shaken, but she couldn't help it.

"Allow me to escort you back." He said, holding out an arm.

Gou nodded, lightly placing her hand at the crook of his elbow, and allowing him to lead the way to her chambers. Her brother and Sousuke's family could finish saying the last of the goodbyes.

"It's only going to get more hectic." Sousuke said, once they were out of the grand hall and in the hallways of the private wing. "It's best we prepare ourselves for the assault."

Gou couldn't help but giggle at his choice of words, it was so very soldier like, but also true. The battlefield of the court was no less full of peril than that of the war.

"Do I amuse you?" He asked, liking the sound of her bell like laugh. "I never did spend much time in the courts, I found them tedious and a waste of time. I preferred to learn in the battlements from my fathers men."

"No, it's not your lack of experience." Gou said, squeezing his firm bicep in amusement, "I am no lover of the drama, well as long as it doesn't affect me." The mischief in her eyes was hard to miss and Sousuke felt a smirk form on his lips, the little minx. "But I understand. There is no doubt in my mind that my brother will be subject to many marriage proposals during our own wedding. Now that I am settled with, he will no longer have an excuse to not marry,"

"I'm sure your snake of a brother will find a way out for himself." Sousuke said, "He already mentioned to me that he has no intention of marrying as long as Akashi Seijuro is alive."

"It seems very oniisan like." Gou smiled, "Though I doubt the nobles will care, I believe they'd rather see their daughter on the throne as next in line than us,"

"That is true." A comfortable silence fell between the two, and Gou was slightly disappointed that the conversation didn't continue. She liked hearing Sousuke's voice, it was deeper than Kisumi's, not as smooth as Makoto's, more mature than Nagisa's and stern, rather than serious like Haru. Sousuke was a soldier through and through, he had control over himself, over his emotions, just as any good soldier and noble should. From his time at her Harem's arena, she knew he was competitive, unable to let go of a good challenge, slightly impatient.

It was kind of cute.

"We're here." Broken out of her thoughts, Gou saw the entrance to her rooms, soon to be their rooms, before her. That was fast, she thought before pulling her hand away from his arm. Turning to face him, Gou gave him a tired smile.

"Thank you Sousuke."

"You seem like you could use a good rest." He said, reaching out with one hand and cupping her cheeks, their eyes locked. His teal eyes flickered down to her lips before back to her eyes. Gou could feel that he wanted to kiss her, it was expected between intended, and she found herself slightly excited with the prospect of kissing him.

The excitement didn't stem from never having kissed anyone before, no her harem had made sure of that. Sometimes arena matches had the prize of a kiss from her, so she had kissed men before. Though they were always chaste kisses, a few seconds of pressed lips before she would smile at them and they would move away. No, the excitement came from the fact that this was Sousuke, her soon to be husband.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head up, hoping it would help with him being so tall. She felt him shuffle closer, but instead of feeling his lips on hers, she felt them on her forehead. Her eyes snapped open in shock, as he pulled away after just a second. He gently smiled at her, bringing blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Goodnight Gou." His hand dropped and he took a step back, bowing lightly before turning around and making his way towards his own chambers.

Gou stared at his back with her mouth slightly open, as her fingers went to touch the spot on her forehead he had kissed. The skin was slightly tingling and she felt both happy and disappointed at this turn of events. Unable to comprehend his actions and her own emotions, Gou turned and walked into her room, unaware that a certain red headed king had seen everything.

"Her forehead Sousuke, her FOREHEAD!" Rin slammed his fist against his desk. "You had the perfect opportunity to kiss her, she was practically asking for it! How are you going to get her to like you if you keep doing things like this!"

"As her brother, shouldn't you be wanting me to keep my hands off of her?" Sousuke asked, a brow raised at Rin's behavior.

"You can't tell me what I can and can't do." Rin grumbled, "You need to leave girls wanting more Sousuke, not kissing them on the forehead. I kiss her on the forehead, she's going to start thinking of you as a brother and we don't want that."

Sousuke let out a sigh of frustration, running a hand through his messy hair, "Rin, Gou and I haven't known each other for long. I don't want her to be forced to do things like kiss me because of social norms. I want her to be willing to kiss me of her own accord."

Rin scoffed, if his friend believed that this would touch his heart then he was clearly deranged. "That's stupid, if you waited for the woman to make the first move you'd be waiting forever."

The taller male rolled his eyes, "I get it now, it's not that you don't want a wife Rin, it's that none of them want you."

"Do you want to die?" Rin snapped, "I am the King, woman are dying to spend the night in my bed and maybe at my side. I have far more experience than you ever will."

"Rin this day has been long, I am tired. If you are done trying to force me to up my advances on Gou, I would like to retire to my chambers."

"Fine." Rin said, "But I expect you to have kissed her before the engagement. We don't want things to get awkward during the ceremony if you mess up."

"Why would I be the one messing up?"

"Kiss her and find out."

"Are you going horseback riding again Gou-chan!" Nagisa asked, excitement bubbling in his voice.

"Yeah." She replied, bending over to tie her boots, "Sousuke said that since I enjoy it, I shouldn't let the war stop me from doing it."

"He's very thoughtful." Makoto commented.

"Yeah."

"I want to go to!" Nagisa said, raising his hand in the air.

"Nagisa!" Makoto scolded, "This is supposed to be Gou-chan and Sousuke-san's time to bond before the engagement."

"They can do that after the engagement!" Nagisa countered, turning the full force of his puppy dog eyes on her, "Please Gou-chan!"

"I-" Gou knew she was giving in, but she had to be strong. She wasn't sure, but there was a feeling inside of her telling her that Sousuke wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of the Harem yet, and she didn't want to push him.

"I don't think you all have left the palace walls for a while now." All eyes turned to see Sousuke walk into the harem. "The war has been very constricting I'm sure."

"Sousuke, I was almost done." Gou said, "I apologize you had to come in here."

"It's not problem Gou." He said, offering her a small smile which disappeared soon after, "I actually came here to invite some of your harem along."

Gou's brow furrowed, she thought this was going to be just him and her, along with a few shadowing guards. Did he not want to be alone with her?

"Did you hear that Gou-chan!" Nagisa laughed, "We can go out too!"

"Yeah." Gou send a questioning look at Sousuke, but he seemed oblivious to her. Instead she turned to the excited blond before her, "Why don't you go get dressed, I don't think you can ride in that."

"I'll be right back!" He grinned, turning around and running towards his rooms.

"Are you ready?" Sousuke asked her, taking in the sight of her dressed in her riding pants, and fitted white shirt, held in place by a brown vest. It was all very form fitting and wouldn't get in the way of her riding. She was dressed smartly.

"Oh, I think I forgot my gloves in my room." Gou said, red eyes widening at her forgetfulness. "I'll be right back." Turning her back to them, Gou made her way back to her room.

Sousuke watched her go, noticing that not only was her shirt form fitting, but so were those pants. Stretching tautly over rounded cheeks, it left little to the imagination. Sousuke cleared his throat and looked away from her retreating form, trying to ignore the heat that spread to his cheeks. He looked down to find Makoto giving him a knowing smile from his desk.

"Will you be joining us?" He asked the brunet.

"While the offer is tempting, there is much for me to attend to. The king made it my responsibility to prepare certain things for the ceremony." Makoto replied.

"Tell me Makoto-san, why are you here?" Sousuke still had a hard time believing that Makoto Tachibana was in this harem willingly. The man was a charmer in the courts of his own small kingdom, so it was surprising to see him so engrossed in the work here. He knew his reason for why he was here, he had read as much, and it seemed Makoto knew as well.

"Rin-sama had no need for a retainer in his courts." Makoto began, "The role was already filled by one already qualified, so he deemed it best for me to offer my services to Gou-chan. Of course that was not how it was described in the records I'm sure."

Sousuke raised a brow, so the man knew that he had read about most of the members of the harem through the royal records that were kept by the royal record keepers.

"It became clear to me that Gou-chan was more interested in my company than my skills in bed. I know how to administer the harem, so that is my job."

"And the others?"

"As you may already know, Aomine isn't kept around for his polite demeanor." Both men smiled at the thought of the blue haired ex-mercenary. "Going by Kise's absence, you already know about his role. I can understand you hesitance at accepting such a tradition, but Gou-chan is a good girl."

"I know."

"Than you also know that inviting the harem to a romantic outing was the worst idea you could've had."

"I know." A small smile formed on both their lips, "Thank you Makoto."

"My pleasure."

"You should heed Makoto's advice and try to woo Gou-chan a bit differently." Stepping out from behind the corner, Kisumi walked over to the two men. He was dressed in riding gear of his own, instantly making Sousuke regret his decision at inviting the Harem. "You should want her attention on you and nothing else. Bringing along distractions will only make it harder for her to see only you."

"You advice is noted." Sousuke responded, "Rin gives me enough grief on my actions."

"He probably feels guilty that he's arranging his sister to marry you." Kisumi noticed the male stiffen and he quickly held up his hands as if to stop him from being offended. "I meant, to a stranger. He wants Gou-chan to fall for you so the guilt in him would lessen."

"That makes sense." Sousuke admitted, slightly surprised at Kisumi's insight.

"I'm far more than a pretty face." He grinned, sending the prince a wink. "But since you have already made the mistake of bringing us along, I'll make sure to have Gou-chan notice it."

Makoto offered the tall male a weak smile, wishing him the best of luck with the pink haired dancer.

"It's been so long since I've been out here." Gou steered her horse too overlook the ocean that settled to their castles east. She loved the smell of the salty air and the cool breeze against her skin. Her last trip here was six months ago, before the war began to produce a larger amount of assassins and spies, causing her to retreat to the relative safety of the palace. Honestly she thought her brother was overreacting, but he was already stressed from the attempted attacks and she didn't want to add onto that with her selfish requests.

"If your brothers plans to end the war are successful, then I'm sure you will be free to come and go as you please." Sousuke replied, steering his horse to stop beside hers. "It is a peaceful setting."

Gou smiled at him, "It helps to clear my head." He didn't miss the sorrow flicker in her eyes, the normal light in them dimming. He didn't like that look in her eyes, he'd rather see the passionate girl he had been acquainted with over the past few weeks.

"W-We can come back." Sousuke could feel Gou's eyes on him, but he kept his gaze steady on the sea. "If you want, that is."

Gou could feel warmth fluttering in her chest at his words. He wouldn't look at her, but it didn't take a genius to see the slight coloring of his cheeks. It seemed her husband-to-be had a hard time expressing himself. A giggle escaped her lips, but she looked away from his questioning glance.

"I'll look forward to it." She replied, letting a calm silence fall between them. Of course in the presence of certain members of her Harem, there was no such things as silence.

"Are you two done having your moment?" Nagisa interrupted, his grey mare stopping next to Gou.

"Nagisa!"

"Come on Gou-chan, we should collect some shells for the wall!" The blond interrupted what was going to be a scolding by his mistress, "I can see some nice pink ones that'll go well with the ones we have back in the palace."

"Really?" There was a wall in the Harem palace where she and the rest of the harem would glue shells they found on the beach in order of color. The tradition was started when Sai, one of the few artists in her harem, through a shell onto the wall in anger. The wall was just being made so the shell accidentally broke through the plaster. To avoid getting in trouble, he, along with Nagisa and probably Kuroko, began to place glue on other shells to the wall, to make the broken wall blend in. It was a silly tradition that followed, but they were halfway through completely filling it. Once it became dangerous to leave the palace all progress was halted.

The pink shells were one of their biggest problems, they never had the correct shades they needed, so they were always in the highest of demands. Since then, whenever someone new was introduced into the harem, part of their initiation was to collect five pink shells from the beach. Red eyes twinkled in amusement as they turned to her future husband.

"Sousuke?"

"Hm?"

"In my harem we have a tradition." She began, "To be welcomed by the older members you have to complete a task to prove yourself."

"A challenge?" Sousuke was slightly curious, but the slight mischievousness he saw in her eyes had him slightly on his guard. He honestly hoped it had nothing to do with running down the beach naked, he still had to maintain some dignity as a general in the king's army.

"But he's not a part of the harem Gou-chan." Nagisa said, staring at his princess in confusion.

"No, but prince Sousuke will be spending time with us all." She replied. Sousuke could see the other members that had accepted his invitation listen in on their conversation. He was still wary about the idea of Gou having a harem, and he didn't see himself spending much time with them at all, but he wouldn't bring that up now. He had a feeling Gou wouldn't appreciate his opinion on the matter. "This way you cannot say he had an advantage over you all."

"The fact that he's your husband will be advantage enough." Kisumi scoffed, "But who am I to stop a challenge."

"What do you say then Sou-chan?" Nagisa grinned, turning his excited pink eyes to the proud prince.

"Sou…chan?"

"You're gonna have to get used to that." Gou laughed.

"It seems I have little choice in the matter." He shrugged, "What is the challenge?"

"You must collect five, no ten pink shells for our wall in the palace." Nagisa announced, "Since you will be Gou-chan's husband you have to get more than us."

"Shells?" Sousuke was surprised by challenge, this was honestly not what he expected from a harem of men. He had thought it to be something much more sexual, maybe he was thinking about this in the wrong manner. "Ten pink…"

"Yes, if you pass we'll show you what we do with them back at the palace." Gou nodded, "We will supervise to make sure you don't cheat."

"How would I cheat?"

"Well you can't right now, but usually there are children around collecting shells and it's very easy to buy some off of them." Nagisa replied, "But don't worry about that now Sou-chan, the war has scared everyone off."

Sousuke dismounted, handing his reigns to one of the foot soldiers that came along with them as guards. "To the beach?" Gou grinned, nodding at him she watched as he made his way down the beach, his eyes focused on the sandy ground. She and her party moved behind him, but at a much more slower pace.

"He does not seem all that bad." Gou turned her attention to Ryouma, a member of her personal royal guard. His long brown locks blowing out behind him due to the wind; his red armor shined like fire in the sunlight and Gou found it hard to stare at him for long. Maybe that was his plan so no one could assassinate him from afar.

"No." She agreed.

"I did as you asked." He reached a hand between his breast plate and chest and withdrew a piece of paper, which she discretely took. "My messenger was sure they weren't seen or followed."

Nodding Gou opened the envelope, and read the short note on the paper.

We can't leave, they have us surrounded. I tried to escape earlier this week and they brought me back, there was no punishment but I fear for the safety of my family.

"What news from the rangers?" She asked, folding the letter back into the envelope and handing it to Kisumi who discreetly slipped it into one of his many pockets.

"There has been no openings for an attack." Ryouma replied, "They are keeping an eye on the guard patterns and hope to find an opening. I have contacted the mercenaries Aomine was once a part of, but the leader has yet to respond."

"He mentioned they would delay in their response." She sighed, "You can inform my brother of these events later today, see if he has any solutions for us."

"Yes milady."

A year ago Rin had approached Gou and the leader of her royal guard to request that they help with the domestic problems, while he handled the war. There was no time for him to protect those in his country, while the war took all his attention. He had placed them in charge of protecting the homeland from anything, whether it be a result of the war, or bandits that were taking advantage of less security.

Of course no one could know that the younger princess was in charge of protecting the country, so she was forced to do this in secret. With a small group of highly trained individuals, along with her personal guard, she made it a priority to free border towns and estates from enemy capture. This current assignment of theirs was a border estate of her friend Hana, who was being held hostage in her own home. They needed to secure the estate and capture the invading forces, but there was a complication, as there always was.

"He has three." Nagisa said, bringing Gou's attention back to her fiance.

"I'm hungry." Kagami grumbled.

"Should we set up for lunch here princess?" One of the servants that had accompanied them asked.

"Yes, make sure to set some food aside for the prince." She shot a glance at the redheaded male who was now dismounting his horse. "We don't want Kagami to finish everyone's meals this time."

"You have no faith in his self control." Kisumi grinned. "Though I cannot fault you for that."

Gou followed suit and handed her reigns to her stable hand, who already had two other horses in his hands. She moved over to where the servants had laid out a blanket and took a seat facing the beach. To everyone's surprise, Kisumi took a seat across from the princess, rather than beside her, which was his normal place, though no one spoke up.

"Should we wait for Sou-chan?" Nagisa asked, eyeing the food a bit to intensely.

"Go right on ahead." Gou responded, picking up a finely crafted rice ball and taking a bite. Half an hour had passed and while most had finished eating and were lounging around, Sousuke was still at the beach, searching for pink shells.

He was starting to get frustrated, there were eight shells in his hands but he could find no more. He had looked over the sand at least three times but still no luck. He wanted to call this foolish endeavor off and return back to the palace, but something, probably his gut, was telling him to not give up, so he didn't.

He heard footsteps before looking over his shoulder; finding Gou walking towards him, carrying something in her hands. "I brought you a snack." She smiled, holding out a few rice balls wrapped in a cloth towards him.

"Is this against the rules?" He asked, eyeing the offering suspiciously.

Gou laughed, but shook her head, "Finding these shells may be a challenge, but they aren't a test of anything Sousuke."

"A challenge but not a test, then it is pointless." He took the offered food and took a bite, his hunger leaving no room for manners, as he sat down on the ground, uncaring of the sand sticking to his clothes.

"Maybe, but it helps them connect." Her eyes turned to the lounging members of her harem on the grass. He didn't miss the way they softened, the soft, tender look in them showed him how much she cared for them. It was obvious, and instead of making him feel on edge as it used to, there was something else nagging at him this time.

"What do you mean?" He pushed, wanting to know the answer.

"I doubt any of them really wanted to be part of a harem." She answered, "Some circumstance or another led them to be sacrifices to a king many deem cruel. They come from all over, and while other nobles call them foreign and exotic they seem to forget that they are still human. They miss their families, their ways of life, some even had children and wives."

"Then why keep them?" He questioned.

"Why do we smile and talk with those that want nothing more than to poison your drink?" Her point seemed to have gotten across as a thoughtful look crossed his features. The second rice ball stopping at his lips. "Many had no choice, they were given up by a father, or lord that wished to appease my brother. They are treaties and payment in the form of a human. We cannot let them go in the chance that we offend the generosity of their patron, so they are stuck with us."

"But why keep them in the harem? Can you simply not just let them be in your kingdom?"

Gou shook her head, "You have seen Kise, he is from Kaijo. Most of the nobles hate him, and if he was let go in the streets he would be killed by the citizens. You must have noticed the coloring of many would give away their nationality and some would not be received well."

"D-Do they object to their stay?" He asked.

"Who wouldn't if they were torn from their home." Her eyes were no longer focused on the present, they were years behind, remembering some memory from her past. "Much of their worry stems from the idea that they are now mere playthings for a royal brat." A sad smile slipped onto her lips, "Kisumi was like that in the beginning too, but he realized in time that I wasn't after his body, and he became much more comfortable."

"You don't use them for pleasure?" He knew he was being blunt, but he wanted to know. While in the meeting with Rin and the top members of the harem had provided him with answers, he still wasn't sure he could believe their words. They were after all Gou's harem, their priority was their princess, not their king.

Gou felt her face heat up at his question, snapping her out of the past. Wide red eyes looked at him in shock, her pink lips opened in an 'O'. Right there he knew his answer, but she looked so cute when she was this flustered; he couldn't resist. "W-What kind of question is that!" She snapped at him, "O-Of course not!" She refused to meet his eye, but his deep laugh caught her attention.

He had smiled in her presence before, and let out a chuckle or so, but he had never laughed as he was doing now. His eyes were squeezed shut as his tanned cheeks turned a rosy pink. He was adorable, she thought, he needed to laugh more often. Any anger she may have felt from his question had long disappeared, instead she was staring at him with warm eyes.

From afar, Kisumi watched the two, a small smile gracing his features, but to his left Nagisa was also watching them, his lips pulled into a pout. He glanced over at Kisumi and was shocked by the almost calm look in the dancers face.

"Why do you look like you're watching your children fall in love?" Nagisa snapped.

Kisumi raised a brow at the blond's anger, "What's gotten your panties in a bunch?"

"Gou-chan is getting to close to him."

The dancer laughed, leaning closer to the blond, "Are you feeling left out Nagisa-kun?" He questioned, purposefully lowering the tone of his voice.

The blond blushed, moving away from the pinkette, "No I-"

Kisumi moved closer, his hands coming down on either side of Nagisa's legs, that were stretched out before him. "Are you feeling jealous?"

The blond didn't pull away this time, instead he glared at the pink haired man, "No."

Kisumi leaned forward, letting his lips brush against the blond's ear, "You're not longer a child Nagisa, grow up."

Nagisa froze at the cold tone of Kisumi's voice as the older male pulled away, turning his attention back to the couple on the beach. Pink eyes were unable to look away from the dancer, he had never expected this from Kisumi. He thought that if anyone would help him keep the royals separated, it would be Kisumi, but apparently he was wrong.

"Nagisa what do you think?"

"W-What?" He turned his eyes to the person calling it.

"We were saying the…"

Kisumi realized he may have been a bit harsher than he wanted on Nagisa, but the brat had it coming. If he kept getting in the way of Gou and Sousuke, he would get into trouble. Kisumi knew how to read people, that is why he became such a good dancer. Able to read the crowd and reacting to their likes was the way to go, but the same applied to life.

What small interactions he had with Sousuke were enough to let him know that the man was ruthless. He may play the part of an ill-experienced romancer to their princess, but on the battlefield the man knew no bounds. Nagisa was going to make a nuisance of himself to a man who took no nonsense on a regular basis. The fact that he agreed to their challenge meant he was really trying to make it work with Gou, which meant he wouldn't like interference from them. He didn't feel guilty in any way though, because once Gou was married, the real fun could start for himself.

Placing a hand on his chest, he could feel the envelope she had handed him earlier, which he had read over her shoulder, it seemed that they were going to send in some extra help if things weren't resolved quickly, but that was a discussion for another time.

In the end Sousuke had found all ten shells, of course Gou may have helped him, but no one could be sure because they were all to busy lazily napping under the warmth of the sun. Gou had taken the shells and promised to show him the wall once they had time again, so he could complete the challenge. He had a meeting with the other generals about the recent movements of their own troops in correlation with those of their enemies.

Gou on the other hand decided on taking a long hot bath, she didn't have much else to do for the rest of the night, since dinner with her brother was canceled. She doubted Sousuke would be free since her brother wasn't so she had dinner prepared to be served in the harem. She was joined by Makoto and Haru, both who had not gone with them. Nagisa and Kisumi were both asleep according to Makoto, and a roll of the eyes from Haru.

"This is it!" Gou smiled, moving her arms to present the wall of shells to Sousuke. "We try to keep certain colors in certain places to keep our resident artist happy."

Sousuke was surprised, there were so many shells, which meant this wasn't something that only new members did. "You said this wall connected the harem, what did you mean by that?"

"When there is a common goal to achieve, people flock together." She began, "There are a few people here who knew each other on the outside, so to help connect them to each other, they needed something."

"There is companionship to be found amongst the men. I am not always around so they must rely on each other for company and it's better if they like each other if they're going to be living together for a long time."

"Hm."

"Come on, I'll show you where to put your shells."

A few days later Sousuke and Rin were having tea in Rin's study after a strategy meeting with their generals. It had been decided that after their engagement had ended, he and Rin would make a quick tour to one of the main border camps to help boost moral amongst the troops.

"Have you talked to Gou about her harem?" Sousuke asked, placing his half empty cup onto the table.

"Not yet, I haven't had time."

"Don't then."

"W-Wait what?"

"I don't mind it anymore."

"Now wait just a minute, what changed your mind, cause you sure as hell weren't going to give in earlier." Rin questioned.

"I spent time with Gou, and her harem and I do no see it as…It was not what I expected." He replied, unable to find in words how he would describe his feelings towards the Matsuoka Kingdom's tradition.

"I see, well then I'm glad it works out. I'm also certain you know that unless you plan on building a harem palace of your own in your kingdom, you will not be returning to your own palace for any long period of time."

Sousuke raised a brow at him, "Are you restricting my movements your highness?"

Rin smirked, "Marrying into my family, combines our two kingdoms Sousuke, while your father is the ruling power there, I am who he answers to now. You and Gou, as of now, are the official heirs of the throne. Gou will be the Crowned Queen and you shall be her king, though I doubt your role of general will change."

"You're talking like you're getting ready for something." Sousuke scoffed.

"Yes, my eventual death when you marry my sweet innocent sister." He grumbled.

"Not this again Rin, we've been over this…"

"Please stand up straighter princess." The tailor said, "I need to make sure all the adjustments are done now and noted so that tomorrow, the day of the engagement things will go smoothly."

"I understand." Gou replied, doing as instructed and staring straight ahead in boredom. The dressmaker had arrived the day after their trip to the beach and took her measurements and showed her a few concepts for her dress. Today they had brought back the finished product and it was as beautiful as to be expected.

"You're one step closer to being a married woman princess." One of her two personal maids, Mei said.

"Hm."

"Prince Sousuke is very handsome." Her other maid, Mai, said, peaking a look at their princess, only to find her staring back at her.

"He is." Gou wasn't sure where the girls were going with this line of questioning, but she was curious.

Mai and Mei exchanged sneaky look, a smile playing on both their lips. "Have you two kissed yet?"

Gou blushed, "W-What?" The twins giggled and the seamstress held back a smile.

"We'll take that as a no." Mei grinned.

"Let us know if he's any good." Mai continued.

"Now girls," The dressmaker huffed, "is that really how you should be acting."

"No ma'm, but like Mei said, it's not everyday our princess gets married." Mai defended.

"Honestly." The woman shook her head, but turned her attention back to the fit of the dress.

"I overheard prince Sousuke talking to the cook earlier today." Mei began, catching Gou's attention immediately. "He was asking him to make dinner for two in his rooms tonight." Both maids turned their eyes to her, expecting a confirmation of her involvement.

"I haven't been asked to attend." Gou replied, "He may just be having dinner with my brother, or his family, or anyone else that showed up for the party tomorrow."

"Yes, but all of the dishes he requested were your favorite." This piped Gou's curiosity, was Sousuke going to invite her over for dinner later, which would be fine, but usually when one invites the other to dinner they tend to let them know that they were invited. A quick look out her window showed that the sun had already set, she was planning on having dinner in her room, that is if Sousuke doesn't show up to surprise her.

Oddly enough, Sousuke did come to her room, the only problem was it wasn't to invite her to dinner. The seamstress and her maids had long retired for the night and she was reading a book when there was a knock at her door. She had already had dinner so she didn't expect it to be her future husband.

"Can I come in?" He asked her, his teal eyes tired.

Nodding, Gou stepped aside, allowing him into her room. "What can I do for you?" She asked.

Sousuke stopped a few steps away from her, his eyes taking in his surroundings. He had never walked into Gou's room before, even when he was going to the Harem he would take the main entrance than the private one Gou had in her rooms. It wasn't what he expected, while there were accents of feminine decoration, Gou's room was fairly neutral compared to her brothers.

"I honestly didn't believe this was going to be a problem for us," He began, turning to look at his fiance, "but Rin won't stop going on and on about it so I feel that maybe it has some sort of significance after all."

"What has oniisan been saying?" Gou asked. She knew how annoying her brother could get when he had his mind set on something.

"He keeps asking me if I have…" He trails off as his eyes take in the rest of her form. Gou had changed into her night clothes a while back, and while they weren't too exposing, they were probably still a shock to see. She was wearing a white night gown, that split at her hips and matching white cotton shorts that reached mid thigh. In her country this sort of dress for sleeping was normal, but she had a feeling that the Yamazaki Kingdom was much more conservative. She could only imagine what he would think of her dress for tomorrow.

Deciding to tease him a bit, Gou took a few steps towards him and continued as if she hadn't noticed his reaction. "What did my brother want to know?"

She watching his adams apple bob up and down as he swallowed, he was nervous. "He wanted to know if we've kissed yet."

Gou raised a brow, "Why would my brother be interested in that?" She wondered out loud, maybe her brother just wanted to know, but that didn't really make sense. Rin wouldn't ask Sousuke such a personal thing unless he had a reason other than his overbearing self.

"He mentioned that he didn't want us messing up at the engagement." Sousuke turned his eyes elsewhere, trying to ignore the pale skin of her well formed legs. "I was planning on inviting you to dinner today and allowing the mood to build from there, but there were some developments at the front that we couldn't ignore so I missed that opportunity."

So that's what happened, Gou felt slightly relieved, it means that she wasn't being ignored. Then implications of his presence here began to form, he wanted to invite her to dinner so that they could kiss before the engagement ceremony, but because he was interrupted because of work, he came to her rooms at night.

Did Sousuke want to kiss her here?

Gou always felt like she was a practical woman who could read the mood and react accordingly. Her brother made sure she could read and write so that her tongue could be just as sharp as her words. Though that tongue couldn't make a witty comeback, instead she replied, "So you want to kiss now?"

The two stared at each other, neither making a move to reply or take action on her question.

"D-Do you want to?" He finally asked.

"I-I mean if oniisan is insisting we might as well." She could feel the heat pooling in her cheeks as she looked up at him, his teal eyes shining with an almost unearthly sheen.

"Right." He nodded, before taking a step and closing the gap between them. One of his arms looped around her waist, gently pulling her against him. His other hand cupped her cheek as he tilted her head back. Gou's eyes automatically slid shut as she waited for the impending kiss, excitement burning through her veins, making her very aware of Sousuke's touch against her skin.

Gou tried to relax, but when she felt his warm breath against her lips she couldn't help but tense up a bit. Sousuke felt her muscles contract, but he continued, knowing it was just nervousness and not her rebuking her consent.

Lips met lips and at first it was a simple chaste kiss, Sousuke held their positions for a few seconds before beginning to pull away. He had kissed Gou and now he could go, but Gou had another plan.

Gou wasn't sure but when she felt Sousuke pulling away she felt that this wasn't what she wanted in a kiss. She wanted more, especially from the man who was going to be her future husband. So instead of letting him retreat, her arms shot out and wrapped around him, one taking a hold on his shoulder while the other slid into his dark hair, pulling his lips against hers once again.

This time she moved her lips against his, urging him to respond to her and he seemed more shocked than unwilling, because in a matter of seconds he seemed to have overcome his initial shock and returned her kiss with equal fervor.

One of Gou's friends who was married mentioned to Gou that her husband sometimes used his tongue when they kissed and Gou was curious at how that worked.

Shyly she ran her tongue against his lips, he responded immediately as he tongue pushed back and his chest vibrated as he let out a low groan. The arm around her waist tightened and the hand that was once cupping her face, tangled in her hair and pulled on the red strands just enough to keep her head tilted back.

Gou's hand slipped from Sousuke's shoulder and slid down his chest, she wasn't actually planning on letting it wander any lower but Sousuke didn't know that. He seemed to snap back to his sense and one the hand in her hair slid down between them and gently restrained her wrist. With some effort from his part, Sousuke pulled himself away from Gou's addictive kiss, taking a few deep breaths to control himself from continuing to ravish her.

Gou followed his departure and pouted at his flushed face as he looked down at her with clouded eyes. "We can't go further Gou." He said, his voice much huskier than normal.

Tilting her head to the side, Gou looked up at him confused, "We can't kiss anymore?"

Letting out another groan, Sousuke let go of her taking a few steps away from her. "N-No." But by the gods he wanted to, she looked too good to just ignore.

"But you said we needed to practice right?"

"Gou the kiss at the engagement ceremony can't be like this." He choked out, unable to bear the thought of such a passionate exchange in the presence of strangers. Is this what Rin meant, but how would the king even know this would happen? "It will only be a quick peck."

Gou pouted, "But this felt so much better."

It took all Sousuke had to keep his jaw from dropping, did the girl even know what she was saying. Running a hand through his hair he knew he had to leave, he doubted he would be able to resist if she decided to pursue him.

"We can only do that in private Gou," He replied, "Once we are married we can," He coughed, "do this more often."

"Really?" Gou send him a happy smile, "I've never kissed anyone like this before." She admitted, and that admission made Sousuke feel relieved for obvious reasons of course. It meant that the harem hadn't taught her this. "My friends who are married sometimes tell me what they do in private with their husbands and I was always curious."

Sousuke could feel his eyes widening, did girls really share these things? Did she say she was curious! "W-What?" He choked out.

"They said that it was painful their first time, but then it becomes more plea-"

"Gou." He interrupted her, "We can discuss all of his once we are married." It was nothing but the innocent words of a virgin, he told himself, she was not doing this on purpose. Her brother kept her very sheltered and she…

"Am I not supposed to talk about it?" She asked, "I…I'm sorry."

"N-No, it's fine." Her crestfallen look had him swearing up and down and without even meaning to he humored her. "Y-You can talk about it."

He was going to be her husband so Gou decided that she could talk to him about this stuff. Yukari-chan always told her that if she ever wanted to know something she would ask her husband who was always happy to demonstrate things for her. She knew that it was of some sort of sexual act, but Gou was curious. Of course she could've asked her Harem about this, knowing Kisumi would've been more than willing to help her explore, she wanted to wait for her husband.

"Come." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into one of her inner rooms, here there was a padded futon spread out on the floor, covered with furs and pillows. She settled onto the futon, pulling Sousuke down after her. "When I was younger I had heard that if a woman touches herself-" Right there Sousuke knew he should've ran, he should've apologized and excused himself before he did something he would regret, but the same voice in his head was intrigued by the idea of Gou touching herself. "-down there she will feel really good. I did that when I was younger and while it felt good I found out that once you're married the feeling will get better, but I don't get it."

Clearing his throat, Sousuke decided that he could try to answer her questions, it couldn't be so bad right. "What don't you get?"

"If the action is the same why is the result different?" She asked, "If I touch myself why would it feel any different than if someone else did."

"W-Well, Gou," Rin was going to kill him if he ever found out, "it has to do with how the person is feeling at the time."

"Feelings?"

"Yeah, when you're alone and you touch yourself the mentality is different than if someone else is doing it for you."

Tilting her head cutely to the side, Gou began to think. She was always willing to try new things and learn from them, so the words that came out of her lips were entirely innocent. "Can you do it to me?" She saw the shock and indecision on his face and knew that he was very close to saying no. "Please Sousuke, I want to know!"

"Gou, we aren't married yet and such an act would be…"

"But we are getting married." She argued, "My brother won't let us back out at this point, please Sousuke. Please touch me."

Sousuke would be lying if he said he didn't want to, but there were still limits he would stick with. While it was true that neither of them would back out from the marriage, he still wanted to respect the customs. His eyes wandered over her petite form and rosy cheeks. Well a bit of petting never hurt right.

"Fine." He sighed, "But you can't touch me okay." She eagerly nodded at him, excitement building in her eyes. "Okay, relax."

(Mature content cut due to rules)

A few seconds later Gou's eyes cracked open and she offered him a sweet smile, "They were right," Her words were mumbled, as if fighting sleep, "it does feel better when someone else does it."

Unable to hold back a laugh, Sousuke let himself relax. He had expected some regret from the girl but she seemed satisfied. Maybe this marriage wouldn't be all so bad. "Shall I carry you to bed princess?" He asked, teasing her.

"If you must." She sighed, loosely wrapping her arms around his neck as he lifted her into his arms. Sousuke got to his feet and made his way towards Gou's bedroom, seeing as her rooms were similar to his own he had a feeling of where the bedroom was.

Fair enough he found her bed and gently placed her in it, tucking her in as if he would a child and not a woman he had just brought to climax. He was just able to pull away and leave, but her hand shot out and gently grabbed his hand. Teal eyes met sleepy red.

"Goodnight Sousuke." She said, offering him a tired smile, one he returned.

Leaning down he placed a short kiss on her lips before pulling away, "Goodnight Gou."

Those of you that want to read the uncut version, you can fine me on Archive of our own as cloud2443.