Okay, I know I am supposed to be working on the honeymoon section of 'Present & Future

Okay, I know I am supposed to be working on the honeymoon section of 'Present & Future?' and also the sequel for it. But somehow, ideas of Takumi and Akira that does not really fit into the story popped into my mind and I got a little side-tracked. It's the entire Mai Otome manga fault! It gave me another idea of a TakumiXAkira story!

Therefore, after much ramblings, I will like to present….

Duty Of A King & An Otome

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Chapter I

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In an office with the walls covered with racks of books, floor that was carpeted with the color of royal blue, and a large wooden desk that was full of papers and documents. Behind the desk, sat a young man, probably around 20, dressed in a smart uniform that gave him an air of royalty. He was busy checking on the documents and giving signatures of approval on it.

The young man was Takumi XIII, the king of Chaldea. He had many difficulties in ascending his throne. There were many nobles that competed with him for the throne because the last king had passed away without announcing to the public of his successor and he had no heirs. However, Takumi managed to become the king with the help of his trusted advisors.

The said king had finally finished the first batch of documents and put down his pen to rest. He rubbed his temple gently and looked around. At his left side, there were a lot of books regarding the countries and above the book shelves were portraits of former kings that once ruled Chaldea. At his right side, the sight was almost identical, only that there was a young woman, almost the same age as him, standing in front of book shelves and was looking for an interesting book to read and pass the time.

The young woman was Okuzaki Akira, Takumi's Otome. They had been through many wars together and the bond between them was stronger that with anyone else. They were childhood friends, known since they were really young. They often played with each other whenever they had the time and they were almost inseparable when they were young.

But as years gone by, Takumi begun his training to become a king but he will still find time to spend with his friend. It was then Akira had decided to join Garderobe. She wanted to become an Otome so that she will be able to protect his friend when he was capable of ascending the throne. She made Takumi promised that when she had graduated as an Otome, he must choose her as his Meister so that they were able to spend time with each other and also she will be able to protect him.

And so, here they were. Akira had become a Meister and an Otome to Takumi and Takumi had become her Master. Surprisingly, in the many wars that they had encountered, Akira had never once let herself be injured and therefore, Takumi never had any injuries that could worry his advisors.

Takumi continued staring at Akira and let out a sigh. Akira heard his sigh and turned to look at him. "Is something wrong, Takumi-sama?"

Takumi shook his head and smiled, "No, nothing's wrong."

Akira nodded a little and returned to her search for the book.

Takumi let his mind wandered again. There was a problem but he couldn't say it to Akira. The problem was that ever since Akira had become his Otome, they seemed to become more distant than ever. Sure, when Akira went for her Otome training, they didn't meet for years and when they finally met, Takumi was surprised to see his once tomboyish and chubby looking friend had turned into a very beautiful lady.

But that wasn't the cause of the problem. It was that Akira didn't act like how she used to when they were young. When they were young, Akira would bully him, tease him and joke with him. But since she became his Otome, Akira had been very polite, calling him 'Master' or 'Takumi-sama'. She didn't really talk to him much anymore. Every time he calls for her, she would kneel down in front of him or bowed down and asked if he needed anything and every time she does that, he doesn't have the mood to ask for anything anymore.

Takumi sighed again. "Akira?" he called. He was also forbid to call Akira 'Akira-kun' anymore by the person herself whenever she's on duty, which was almost all the time except when she goes to sleep. Thus, he was never able to call her 'Akira-kun'.

Akira stopped what she was doing and walked to him. She bowed slightly and asked, "What can I do for you, Takumi-sama?"

Takumi frowned but let it slide. "Can you turn my chair around? I would like to take a look at the outside view."

The girl nodded and turned his wheelchair around.

Takumi nodded his thanks and looked out the window. Akira returned back to the book shelves.

As he gazed at the scenery before him, his mind wandered again to how he came to be stuck on a wheelchair. He wasn't crippled but his legs had weak muscles that caused him to be unable to stand for long time. It was 3 years ago when his leg just suddenly gave out and weakened. At first he objected on using a wheelchair but alas, he took his advisors' advice. Now, when he had to go somewhere, Akira will be the one pushing him and also give him support when he had to stand up.

Somehow, he hated how the girl had to cater to his needs everyday. But sometimes, he felt happy whenever he realizes that Akira was the only one that actually caters to his needs everyday.

Then his mind switched to the battle that happened just one year ago. It was the battle between the Otomes and the Himes that were resurrected for some reason. Akira was fighting her Hime double when her double claimed that he was hers and Akira should stay away from him. He saw how Akira became enraged and told her to shut up. Although her next sentence was soft, but he could hear what she said.

"His Majesty is mine!"

Somehow that sentence brought a thrill down his spines and he was somewhat happy even though they were in a battle. He never did asked what she meant after that because he was afraid of the answer.

Knock knock

The knocking on the door disrupted Takumi's chain of thoughts.

Akira glanced at the door and quickly moved back to Takumi's side. She turned Takumi around and went to open the door. She peeked from the door slightly and found Ronde, one of Takumi's advisors, at the door. She nodded slightly before letting him in and found that he was no threat; she once again searched for her book after many interruptions.

"Yes, Ronde?" asked Takumi. Ronde bowed. "Sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty. But I have come to inform you that there will be a short meeting later with the advisors at the meeting room."

Takumi noticed from the corner of his eyes that Akira's body stiffened for a moment before continuing on her search.

"What meeting is it?" Takumi inquired curiously.

Ronde smiled and replied, "It is better if it is discuss when all are present. Now, if you will excuse me, I would inform the others first." He bowed again and turned to exit the room.

Takumi just stared at the door. What was that about? He knew Akira knew what was going on. "Akira?"

"Yes, Takumi-sama?"

"What is the meeting about?"

Akira gave him a smile and he noticed that it was a sad smile.

"You'll know soon enough…."

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First chapter is done! I know this chapter is mostly Takumi's point of view and his thoughts, but I am just trying to give some background before starting on the real thing. I know it's boring but just try it. ;)

This is just a testing chapter… So if I didn't get good comments or reviews on it, I guess I will just take it down…

Therefore, your reviews and comments for this chapter is very important! Please be honest though, because i can take it if you criticise it! So please do R&R! Thank you very much! (Gives you a cookie) :)