Summary: AU KK King Sagara of the Kasshin Kingdom assembled together a meeting of princes around the country to find a suitable husband for his sister. However, he hadn't expected her to fall in love with a mere soldier... or so they thought. AoMi SaMeg
Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin is not mine, unfortunately. Aah! I think I have to resort to drastic measures... will begging him do? c:
Chapter 3: Close
"So... what do we have here?"
Kenshin frowned, glancing slightly at the blushing woman in his arms. He glared at the man who interrupted them, and something like recognition flashed in his gaze.
Dark amber met smoky blue.
Unexpectedly, Kenshin smirked, putting Kaoru down gently.
The man smiled too, and he neared the pair, sticking out a hand. "It's nice to see you again, Himura-san."
The redhead grasped the hand tightly. "It's been too long since I've seen you. Wandering did you good, I guess."
The man ran a hand across his hair, slightly ruffled from the wind outside. "Hai. I've just gotten back. Never thought I'd see you here..."
Kaoru raised her head at the two, then smiled at the newcomer. "Anou... you know each other, Sou?"
Soujiro Seta laughed goodnaturedly, staring pointedly at the Kasshin princess. "Your Highness! Fancy seeing you there..." His smile was contagious, and a grin also settled across her features.
She enveloped him in a friendly hug. "Kenshin's right. Wandering probably did you good. You look... well, healthy!"
He mock-frowned, leaning back to look at her. "Are you implying that I was weak?"
She giggled, and Kenshin had to intervene before Soujiro decided to smack the woman albeit playfully. "She didn't mean that, Seta, I'm sure. What brings you here?"
Soujiro shrugged. "I just missed my cousins."
"Missed us? Ha!" Kaoru joked, bopping his head. "Sanosuke was going crazy when you left. You were gone for almost three years!"
"Maa, maa... that hurt, Your Highness..." Deciding to bring away the topic from himself, he stared curiously at Kenshin. "If you're here, then Prince Aoshi is here too, right?"
"You know Aoshi-san too?" Kaoru asked disbelievingly.
Soujiro narrowed his eyes at Kenshin's smirk. "The question is... why are YOU here with Her Excellency, Princess Kaoru Kamiya?"
The reply he got was a bigger, but rather evil grin.
He thought for a moment, then... "Aha!" He looked back and forth between Kenshin and Kaoru. "You, my friends, are planning to run away!" he declared triumphantly.
She sweatdropped. What gave him that idea?
Kenshin merely raised an eyebrow. "What, pray tell, gave you that idea?"
She sweatdropped more. How did HE know what was on her mind?
Soujiro danced away from her reach before replying. "Himura-san was carrying you, Kaoru!"
"Baka Sou..."
Kenshin shook his head at their antics. Kaoru noticed this, and thinking that he was jealous, she once again went to his side, clinging to his arm tightly. He raised an eyebrow.
Soujiro bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. "I know now... you two are DEFINITELY having a secret affair!"
She blanched. "S-sou!"
"It's not exactly secret when other people know about it, isn't it?" Kenshin muttered to himself.
Soujiro clapped his hands gleefully. "Ha! I figured that out by myself!"
Kaoru raised an eyebrow. "Sou? You okay?"
Her cousin grinned... wickedly. "Never been better, cous. So I'll be going now... got to check on Ou-sama! Have fun with Himura-san!" he said cheerfully, bounding away.
She shook her head. "I think wandering loosened the gears on his brain..."
Kenshin's face turned thoughtful. "Seta reminds me of Makimachi-san..." he mused.
She laughed. "You think so? Oniisan and I think so too..."
He smiled at her softly, pulling her to his side. He kissed the crown of her head tenderly. "You go now, Kaoru. I shall be attending to my lord."
She pouted cutely, leaving the comfort of his arms. "Mou... did Sou do something to make you leave?"
He grinned, winking at her suggestively. "Don't worry. I'll be at your room later on!" he called, his smile anything but nice.
"KENSHIN!"
"Sou-chan!"
Sano whipped his head towards the door, lifting his head from discussing marriage plans with Aoshi. "Soujiro?"
"The Prince of Oni-"
Misao ran towards the great palace doors, nodding vigorously at the surprised herald, and grabbed the hand of her older brother.
Aoshi blinked.
Her smile was as dazzling as the sun as she dragged the man to join the meeting.
"Soujiro!" Sano boomed, patting his back rather strongly. "You're back!"
Soujiro scratched his head shyly, his smile a little strained. "Sorry I was gone for so long, Ou-sama. Mi didn't even know I was going to leave either. And that's saying something..."
She squealed in delight. "But he's back!" She looked at Aoshi. "Aoshi-san, this is Soujiro Seta and he's my-"
"Tenken?"
Her jaw dropped, glancing at Aoshi in surprise. "Y-you know oniisan?"
Soujiro extended a hand towards the Hiten prince, smiling fully. "Ohji-sama. It's extremely nice to see you again."
Aoshi nodded coolly, grasping the hand firmly then shook it. "Same here, Tenken."
Sano scratched his head, confused. "I just wanna know, Soujiro. How on earth did you know iceb- I mean, Aoshi-san here!" he amended hastily, glancing at his female cousin.
Misao glared at him darkly in return.
"Oh, I've visited the Hiten kingdom a few times." Soujiro replied easily. He grinned at Aoshi. "I've seen Himura-san on my way here..."
The tall man shrugged.
Sou's eyes twinkled merrily. "He was with Kaoru-san. This isn't one of your plans to marry Himura-san off, is it?"
A giggle rose from her throat.
"He was getting old." was the cool reply.
The smile stopped halfway from reaching her lips. "Old? Himura is old?" she hissed.
"24."
She let out a sigh of relief. "I thought he was 30 or something... thank Kami..." Her eyes widened. "W-what? He's already 24!"
Soujiro grinned. "I know Himura-san looks too young for his age. When I met him in the Hiten court, I thought he was merely twenty or something."
Misao nodded. "He had me fooled... hmm, you did say you had been at the Hiten palace?"
His smile froze, blue eyes darting to meet icy ones. "Yes."
Sano leaned forward. "Have you seen the prince?"
"Of course he has." Aoshi interrupted smoothly. "Several times, in fact."
Soujiro chuckled nervously. "H-hai."
Her lips curved into an evil grin. "What does he look like? Tall? Handsome?"
Sano snorted. "Just ask him if the prince looks like Aoshi, itachi."
She colored prettily. "Oh you shut up, tori-atama."
Soujiro looked at Aoshi, then almost dissolved at the glare the taller man gave. "He's- he's-"
She stared at him eagerly. "Don't miss out on any details, Sou-niisan..." she said. "Or else." The wicked smile on her face proved her point.
Soujiro gulped. "A-anou-"
"Princess Kaoru." a voice announced.
All of them quickly sat back on their seats, except for Aoshi who remained aloof, staring fixedly on the man beside Kaoru.
"I'm sorry I was late." Kaoru said apologetically, sitting gracefully beside Sanosuke.
The king waved his hand dismissively, glancing at his sister to the redhead and back. "Yeah, yeah. We know you were busy..."
She blushed. "Oniisan!"
"Himura." Aoshi called quietly. The redhead left his position from behind Kaoru and went to his lord.
"Your Highness?"
Kaoru watched, mesmerized, as Kenshin leaned, his crimson hair falling in slight waves over his shoulder. Her fingers twitched, remembering the feel of it on her hands.
A slow predatory smile lit up his features. Bowing slightly to Aoshi, Kenshin returned to his position behind Kaoru.
She tilted her head curiously at him. "What did Aoshi-san say?"
"We will be staying here for a while." was his reply.
"Really?" She smiled at him softly, lowering her lashes shyly. "I am so glad you're staying..."
Sano rolled his eyes. "Aren't they more obvious? Sheesh..."
"Don't talk anymore, Sano. I think they're going to kiss..." Misao whispered excitedly, clutching Aoshi's sleeve tightly.
Aoshi blinked.
Soujiro grinned at that. "I think Shinomori-san doesn't mind Mi much..." he said to Sano.
"Che! I can't-" He was interrupted by Misao's shriek.
"Argh! I thought they were going to kiss!" she cursed, glaring daggers at the couple.
Kenshin smiled innocently, brushing away some imaginary dirt on Kaoru's hair. "Your Highness, what on earth are you talking about?"
Kaoru blushed crimson, bowing her head. "M-mou..." I thought he was going to kiss me too...
Sanosuke ran his hands across his brown spiky hair exasperatedly. "Che! Misao-weasel, just leave them alone, will you? I am getting headaches just by hearing your weasel voice..."
The younger princess huffed primly. "Whatever rooster. You are such a jerk."
The king sneered. "Is that all you can come up with? Very original."
Her sea-green eyes blazed. "Thank you, ROOSTER. But I'd appreciate it very much if you don't talk anymore." She smiled wickedly. "You pollute the air."
"WHY YOU-"
Soujiro sighed, looking apologetically at Aoshi. "Gomen nasai, Shinomori-san. They were always like that... uh, Shinomori-san?"
Narrowed blue eyes closely watched the royal cousins banter. "They were always like that?" Aoshi said, his voice dangerously low and icy.
Kaoru nodded, a soft smile on her face, not noticing the prince's clipped baritone. "Hai... as long as I can remember..."
Kenshin merely raised an eyebrow. If looks could kill, the king would be dead by now. He leaned forward to whisper to her. "My lord is jealous, Kaoru..."
Her eyes widened considerably like saucers, glancing at Aoshi. "Oh! Oops..."
Misao scoffed at Sanosuke's lame retort, jumping to her chair, a kunai placed casually between her fingers. "Really now? Why don't you just pick your lazy ass and find a wife, baka tori-atama?" she countered.
Sanosuke growled, cracking his fists. "What's that got to do with anything!"
Soujiro sweatdropped. How on earth did they arrive on this topic?
Kaoru blanched. She knew her brother had a soft spot when it concerns his lovelife... or rather, lack of one. "Now, now, Sao-chan, don't talk like that."
Misao laughed gleefully, glaring down at her cousin. "Of course, Kao-chan. Only for you." She promptly sat back down, squeezing beside Aoshi and Soujiro, her kunai hidden in the folds of her clothes.
Sano grumbled inaudibly. "Che! Just be glad my sister's here, weasel..."
She grinned at him. "I'm not backing down, Ou-sama."
Her brother gulped when he saw Aoshi's fists clenched. He smacked his forehead inwardly. Why on earth would Shinomori-san get jealous over Sanosuke?
Misao was grinning triumphantly at her cousin when she noticed Kaoru's eyes signaling at her to stop. Her smile fell, sensing something was wrong. Kaoru's blue eyes kept darting at something... something. Nani?
She also noticed Kenshin's amused half-smile, and his head was tilted slightly towards the man beside her. She was surprised, but nodded anyway.
"Aoshi-san!" she suddenly burst out, her chirpy voice back. His cold eyes shifted to her, and for a moment, she thought it softened.
Or maybe that was just her wild imagination.
"How long shall you be staying here? A week? A month? Two? A year? Forever?" she asked excitedly. She blinked. Why on earth am I excited anyway? "You're always welcome at our kingdom, Aoshi-san! I mean, you'll like it there, if you don't wanna live here!"
"You're not giving him a chance to answer, Mi." Soujiro pointed out cheerfully, glad that the tension which enveloped the room was eased.
She blinked again. "Oops! Sorry!"
Sanosuke shook his head dryly. "This is getting really weird..." he muttered. "Imouto's flirting with a redhead, and the weasel's flirting with an iceblock! What in the world!"
Kenshin and Kaoru glanced at each other, then smiled. Misao glared at him. Soujiro's smile almost fell again from his face as Aoshi almost smirked.
Aoshi... smirked? SMIRKED? Well, it was just a little twitching of the corner of his mouth but that counts for something at least, right?
"Pigs are flying..." Sou mumbled to himself. "Next thing I know, Ou-sama's going to get married..."
"Oh!" Misao clapped her hands in a sudden inspiration. "Since you people are staying here, we got to find you rooms!"
Sanosuke rolled his eyes. "Weasel, we have about 150 bedrooms here in my castle. It's not as if we'll find none suitable for their needs..."
A kunai was promptly thrown at him, embedded in the spot next to his ear.
"Anyway, Aoshi-san has to have the best room in this castle, and of course, Himura should be right next to Aoshi-san's... hmm..."
"Don't think too much about it, weasel… let's look at it this way." He pointed to Kenshin. "This guy stays in my little sister's room."
"Grand idea, Sanosuke! I can't believe you possibly have a brain!"
He flashed her a sardonic smile. "And Aoshi here stays in YOUR room." He chuckled. "An absolutely grand idea, isn't it, Misao?"
She positively snarled at him.
Soujiro heaved a deep sigh. "Don't mind them. Kaoru-san and I shall lead you to your rooms instead…"
Kenshin cursed softly.
Kaoru blinked at him curiously. "Nani?"
"Damn. I thought I was going to stay in your room."
She blushed. "Baka."
Soujiro stood up, smiling jovially. "Well? Shinomori-san, Himura-san, let us go. Kaoru-san? Are you not coming?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so… I'll probably retire in my room…"
"Well, bye!" He and the guests departed.
She watched her relatives fight with each other like kids for a few minutes before she dragged Misao away. "Come now, Mi… there's no use fighting with a chicken head like brother… you're just wasting your time…"
Misao shrugged. "I know, but it's fun."
"HEY!"
Sanosuke slumped back in his seat in frustration. "I can NEVER understand women…" He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his temple slowly. "Hiten Mitsurugi, huh? Wonder who's their king…" He sat up. "Wait a second… smiley-boy didn't tell us how he looked like! Curses…" he muttered. "Che! I better go and do my duties… I keep on forgetting I'm the king…" He was about to leave when a trumpet blew.
"The Princess of Hiten Mitsurugi."
a/n: OMG! i finally finished it! it's been, like, SO long since i've started this and i'm so freakin' happy! i hope you people still review this chappie... i am currently having writer's block so if you have any good suggestions, please send me a message! no flames please! anyway, yeah, it's sou-chan in the second chappie… i was thinking to add enishi in the story but i positively hate him (sorry to enishi fans out there!) at least sou-chan's very lovable… don't you just love his smile? anyway, i want you to guess who this princess of hiten mitsurugi is… i KNOW it's extremely obvious but well… i just want to know if we're on the same level of thinking you know… and maybe, i might have to change this character at the last possible minute! who knows? so pls PLEASE review my story! arigato gozaimasu! ja!
PS. in case you want a good story to read, try looking for RAVYN-sama and read her (is he/she a girl? stupid question...) stories... they are ABSOLUTELY amazing... she's so great! hi ravyn-san! c;
Reignashii: oro? well, kenshin was never ordinary anyway... and what do you mean when kao finds out about ken? i mean, he's just the chief royal guard, right? c;
Bella-chan: REALLY! wow... cool... i never thought i'd find someone here in ffnet with the same birthdate as mine... cool... yeah, i KNOW it's a little too fast but i really want to see them together in my chappies... hehe... i'm a hopeless romantic... c:
MadiSano: hehe... well, sano's a little different older brother here, you know... and he really likes to see kao get married off... i'm thinking of making sano use some 'pleasant language' too but i thought it contradicts with his royal dignitary image... oh well... and sano ain't married to meg, YET. she'll appear sometime in the later chappies... thanks for the review! ; )
Silent Midnight Rose: i KNOW. you're like the nth person who said that... hehe... thanks for the compliment about the kk moment by the way! i'll try not to make their relationship go too fast... arigato!
gabyhyatt: kitsune-chan will be appearing sometime in the later chappies... plz wait! thanks! c;
legolasEstelstar: thank you! misao-aoshi? i'll keep that in mind... and (hehe...) their relationship isn't turning into raw lust... just a little bit of kisses and hugs to satisfy the physical attraction... i guess it's love at first sight or something... what do you mean lying to kao about who he is? as far as i'm concerned, the only thing i've written about ken is he's the chief royal guard! what, do you think he's the king? OMG! c ; thanks for giving advice! happy new year to you too (though i know it's late) ja!
half-breed-demon-fox: you like it? thanks! c:
abubi-chan: i was thinking of courting too but not with kenshin and kaoru... i mean, she's going to marry the hiten king after all so ken's forbidden to court her... who's aoshi's brother? (evil grin) just stay in touch and find out! c:
coldsunshin: yeah, i will! thanks for the review!
Sapphire Lupe: THANK YOU! i love kk moments too, you know? that's why i make them! hehehe... anyway, i don't think kenji will appear... yet. i'm still thinking what he's character will be... arigato! ja! God Bless you too! c;
my-reflection: um... thank you for the CHOCOLATE CHUNK cookie (grabs the cookie), but i don't hink i'll update soon unless...
you give me more CHOCOLATE CHUNK cookies! hehehe! c: just kidding! hope you like this chappie!
All thanks to Evangelion10119 and GreenAnimeLover! Hope you like this chapter! keep reading! Ja! P;