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In the guest room of Furin Castle, the King of the Noroshi Kingdom, King Takiishi, knocked and entered his son’s guest room. Only to find not his son, but his son’s aide and right-hand man, Endo Yamato.
“Endo, where is Chika?” the king asked.
“Exploring the castle,” Endo causally answered while enjoying the tea and sweet biscuits that was served to him. “His Highness got bored just waiting here.”
The king’s blood pressure rose.
“...Did I not tell you to keep an eye on Chika and make sure he behaves while on this trip?!”
“You did, Your Majesty,” Endo set down his teacup. “But His Highness promised to not do anything, didn't he? Besides, if I tried keeping him here, he would just keep getting bored and I couldn't have that!”
The king mentally screamed to the heavens. What did he do to deserve such a difficult son and a most troublesome subject?! If Chika weren't so prodigal at everything he did and if Endo wasn't so gifted, the king would have thrown these two out of his castle as soon as he could.
He swore, his migraines were getting worse with each day he was on this trip with these two.
“Well, find him then! Who knows what unlucky servant he could have run into at this point—”
Slam!
The door to their guest room burst open, and there, standing in his composed royal uniform of pure black and gold with a fur coat around his shoulders, was his own son, Prince Takiishi Chika. But there was something different in Chika's demeanor now.
The usual indifference wasn't there.
“Your Highness, welcome back!” Endo greeted, standing up and walking towards Chika with a wide grin and eyes turned up into crescents. “Did you have fun exploring the—”
“Father, I want to marry Prince Haruka.”
Endo froze midstep, while Chika’s father, the King of Noroshi, wondered if he was dreaming. Maybe that was it. Maybe he took a nap early from the headaches he was getting and was currently dreaming.
The king pinched himself.
Chika was still looking at him with that same strange resolute look.
Nope, he wasn't dreaming.
His son actually just said he wanted to marry someone!
“Y-Your Highness… You want to marry the Second Prince of Furin?!” Endo questioned, glee in his voice. “You even said his name!”
“Chika, what brought this on? You’ve been against marriage up until now.”
Ten minutes ago…
Chika’s eyes wandered around the opulent halls of the Furin Castle. The dark interior, the spaces were filled with trinkets and gifts from various people both local and from afar. A testament to the crown prince’s influence and desire to forge connections wherever he went.
From the various vases and flowers decorating almost every corner, his feet took him to a hallway where a giant portrait of Crown Prince Umemiya Hajime hung on the wall. But Chika tilted his head as he noticed the crown prince wasn’t alone. Sitting on a chair next to the prince was a younger boy with the most curious appearance. Hair split between black and white, and eyes of a dissimilar color, one eye a piercing gold, the other a striking silver. The younger’s face was slightly twisted into a frown, as if he was forced to take this portrait.
Chika tried recalling through his lessons of Furin’s current royal family and faintly remembered his tutor mentioning the crown prince having a younger brother.
But like always, Chika didn’t care enough to know anything else beyond what was necessary for him to pass his teacher’s test.
Looking at this portrait, he wondered if the white hair was a genetic trait of the royal family.
“Hmmm…” Chika hummed, thinking to ask Endo later for confirmation if he knew, which his aide usually did.
Wandering deeper into the castle, a sweet and tangy smell suddenly flowed through the air, catching Chika’s attention instantly.
He followed the scent trail, leading him to an open door where the scent was strongest, recognizing the open fires, pots and plates. The royal kitchen. Yet there seemed to be only one person present.
A person with short hair split between black and white, and clothes in shades of orange made of material too luxurious to be a servant of the castle. In front of the shorter boy, Chika noticed the yellow-orange like dough in front of the boy. The smell was coming from the pastry in front of the boy.
Chika entered the kitchen with quiet steps, barely any sound, but the boy snapped his head around and their eyes met.
Silver and gold.
Just like the boy from the painting.
But the painting did not do this boy’s face justice.
Pale and smooth skin, different colored eyes yet gleamed with fire and curiosity, and mismatching colored hair that shone smoothly in the kitchen’s light. The second prince’s hands were covered in flour and light scars.
“H-Hey… Uh, I don’t think you’re supposed to be here,” the second prince nervously said.
Chika walked closer, ignoring the slight flinch the second prince did when he did. “I smelled something sweet coming from here so I followed it.”
“Oh,” he relaxed his shoulders, eyes looking down at the cake in front of him. “You must’ve smelled this then.”
He gestured to the simple-looking powdery dish in white and yellow.
“What is that?” Chika asked.
“It’s a honeycake. They’re fairly new and recently invented, but the head cook of the castle is really good at making these.”
The smell continued to entice him, his curiosity overweighting his caution.
“I want to try a piece,” Chika declared.
The second prince looked at him with blown wide mismatching eyes, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
“I… I made this. And haven't had much experience baking yet. It could taste… horrible.”
Those silver and gold eyes looked down at his creation, as if already expecting Chika to reaffirm the taste of the cake.
“I’ll decide whether or not it tastes horrible,” Chika began. “After I take a bite.”
“Well, I guess…” he fidgeted on his feet, scratching the side of his cheek but that only got flour onto his face, so the second prince flicked his own hand away in embarrassment. “It wouldn’t hurt to give you a slice. But don’t expect it to be a mind-blowing cake or something! I’m still just learning.”
The second prince cut a slice for him with the knife already on the table, but Chika, not wanting to wait, bent down and ate the offered slice right from the second prince’s hand.
“H-Hey!” the boy exclaimed, his cheeks turning pink. “Who said you could—”
Sweet.
A strong splash of honey with soft creamy dough.
“It's good.”
“Huh?”
“It's good.”
“Uh, I, um…What…”
The boy's cheeks turned from pink to red, and his eyes shook with a mix of confusion and flattery. An odd combination that Chika was not used to seeing on other people.
Odd but interesting.
Those two words felt right. Right for the prince that was standing and stammering before him with so many clear emotions playing across his face.
To Takiishi Chika, there were only two types of people in the world: the ones who gave him what he wanted, and the ones who got in his way. Most people tried showing their best side to Chika, mostly because Chika was born a powerful prince. And if they didn't do what Chika wanted, then all Chika had to do was beat them out of his way.
Chika wondered, where did this boy fit into his categories?
“What's your name?” Chika asked.
“Huh? Oh…” the boy ceased his stammering. “Haruka.”
Chika quickly noted how he omitted mentioning his true status. But the reason for that mattered very little to Chika because that name caught his attention.
Haruka.
Like spring. Like the flowers that bloom in an array of colors beautifully in spring.
“It suits you.”
“What?” Haruka snapped, his lips protruding into a pout. “What is that supposed to mean? You wanna fight?!”
“You're pretty,” Chika bluntly declared. “Thats what I mean.”
Haruka's face turned even redder.
“H-HAH?!”
And Chika found the prince’s face even prettier.
“Pretty,” Chika repeated. “You're pretty, Haruka.”
Before even realizing it, Chika was stepping closer to Haruka, wanting to see the splashes of color across the second prince's face. The gold, the silver, the black and white, the red. It was all so interesting and pretty to Chika that he wanted to keep staring.
“Hey, you're—” Haruka was forced to take a step back. With each step Chika took forward, Haruka took one step back. “Too close…!”
Haruka knew if this continued, Haruka would end up backed against the wall, and he would have nowhere else to go! And if that happened, Haruka knew his instincts would kick in, and he might actually punch the Noroshi Kingdom’s prince! When he promised everyone he would stay out of trouble!
No, Haruka couldn't afford to disappoint his family. Not again.
In a desperate act, Haruka took the slice of his honeycake that he wanted to eat for himself before Chika entered…
And shoved it into the Noroshi Prince’s mouth.
CRASH!
A plate crashed onto the floor.
A woman with short brown hair with a white apron tied around her simple forest green dress was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, her eyes shaking and her jaw hanging open at what she was seeing.
“Your Highness?!” she exclaimed, scandalized.
“It’s not what it looks like! It's not what it looks like, I swear!”
Because what she was seeing was the seemingly very intimate scene of Second Prince Haruka feeding Prince Chika of the Noroshi Kingdom, the former’s hand on the latter's mouth, and the two of them standing very, very close to each other.
…
“And that’s why I want to marry Prince Haruka,” Chika finished explaining.
Endo and Chika's father stared at Chika like he had grown a second head.
Then, tears pooled in the corner of Endo’s eyes, looking like he was this close to falling to his knees and crying tears of reverence.
Chika’s father sighed, breaking the silence. “Chika, while I acknowledge how you feel—and how rare it is for you to feel in such a way—I’m afraid what you want this time is not something I can easily grant you. Prince Haruka is someone deeply loved not just by the royal family, but by the whole Kingdom of Furin. Crown Prince Hajime in particular is known to dote on his younger brother. “
“But peace through marriages has been around for centuries. Isn’t that why we’re here? For this peace treaty?”
“We’re here to finalize the peace treaty so that both Noroshi and Furin can finally bury the hatchet after you and Endo incited that whole “war” without my knowledge. Not to settle a marriage alliance! Even if I were to push for such a thing, that would take more months of planning and negotiating with Furin. And even then, there’s no guarantee that Prince Haruka’s father would agree.”
“If I may, Your Majesty,” Endo cut in, wiping away his tears. “I believe a marriage between His Highness Prince Chika and Prince Haruka would be far too beneficial to pass up. While I agree that there would definitely be challenges and opposition, the pros far outweigh the cons.”
“Endo, you just want to go along with whatever Chika wants.”
Endo didn’t bother denying it. “Even so, you cannot deny what it would mean if Noroshi and Furin were to unite through this marriage! As someone that has already met Prince Haruka, I believe the prince will adjust quite well to Noroshi’s traditions and culture.”
The king rubbed his forehead with an even deeper sigh. “This is not something I can bring up without consequence. Not only that, are you sure that Prince Haruka would even want to marry?”
Chika and Endo remained silent, as if just now remembering that Prince Haruka’s consent mattered and that he should also have a say in something as important as his own marriage and future spouse.
“...I’m willing to court him,” Chika said at last.
The king blinked. “You what?”
“And I believe in Prince Haruka’s magnanimity!” Endo declared. “Prince Haruka is definitely the type of person that would be willing to sacrifice himself if it was for his people. And what royal doesn’t have their own burdens to bear in exchange for all the power and wealth they’re born with?”
The king eyed the two boys in front of him, but steadfast in their decision and neither flinching from his gaze.
“You both talk so confidently like it’s already a settled decision.”
“If I get to marry Prince Haruka…” Chika began, stepping closer to his father. “I’ll take my public appearances more seriously.”
Endo turned to the window and began chanting prayers. While the Noroshi King looked at his son, eyes wide in shock.
“Chika… You want to marry Prince Haruka that badly?”
“Yes,” Chika answered without hesitation.
The king sighed for a third time, defeated, feeling a familiar headache coming. “I’ll bring it up to Furin’s king and Crown Prince Umemiya. But I’m telling you both right now that nothing is guaranteed. You will be met with resistance, most likely from Crown Prince Umemiya himself. If that happens, you two must absolutely not declare war or harm or threaten the crown prince or anyone else from Furin in a way that ruins the peace treaty. Or else, I’m throwing the whole proposal idea out!”
“Your Majesty, you know if you do that, His Highness Prince Chika is just going to find some other way to marry Prince Haruka,” Endo pointed out, a sly grin plastered over his face.
The king only felt a vein pop.
“So why not settle for the most peaceful route?”
Scratch that.
Multiple veins pop.
…
“YOU MET PRINCE CHIKA?!” Nirei Akihiko, Haruka’s attendant, screamed at his face.
“And you say he even said Prince Haruka’s name out loud?” Suo Hayato, Haruka’s personal guard, asked in confusion and awe.
“He did!” Kotoha reaffirmed. “Isn’t that crazy?!”
Haruka had to cover his ears from all the screaming around him because what the fuck. What the actual fuck. This wasn’t his fucking fault!
For once, Haruka knew not to cause trouble and purposefully stayed away from the guest wing of the castle so that he could avoid running into any of the members of the Noroshi retinue, especially Endo. The royal kitchen was his safest choice because not only was it far away from where the Noroshi delegates were staying, but Kotoha, the the head chef, had given him permission to use her kitchen freely ever since Haruka expressed his desire to learn how to cook and bake.
How was he supposed to know that Prince Chika—who was surprisingly more handsome in person with his face no longer covered in blood and now that Haruka got a proper look at his face this time—would take a tour of the castle by himself and just so happen to pass by the kitchen where Haruka was so conveniently placed?
“T-T-This is terrible! Terrible!” Nirei repeated, shaking and clutching strands of his hair. “His Highness Prince Haruka already has Lord Endo’s interest, and now Prince Chika, the strongest fighter in all of the Kingdom of Noroshi, the only person Crown Prince Umemiya even considers stronger than him—IS ALSO INTERESTED IN YOU?!”
“STOP FUCKING SCREAMING SO MUCH!” Haruka shouted over Nirei’s screaming. “Besides, this isn't my fault! I was minding my business and staying outta trouble for once! That guy was the one who waltzed into the kitchen and said he wanted a slice of my cake!”
“Now, now, let’s all calm down for a second,” Suo stood between them, easing them down by placing his hands on each of their shoulders. “Prince Chika, Lord Endo and the King of Noroshi are here to formalize the peace treaty so that the whole war from last month won’t repeat. I doubt Prince Chika’s father would let anything ruin it.”
SLAM!
Suddenly, the door to Haruka’s room slammed open, nearly off its hinges.
“Haruka, what did you do?!”
Crown Prince Umemiya Hajime of the Furin Kingdom entered, and Haruka's older brother demanded. His face crinkled in worry as he strode over to his younger brother, while Nirei, Suo and Kotoha all bowed to him.
Haruka had a bad, sinking feeling in his stomach as he stared up at his older brother's blue eyes that seemed to search his own face for answers.
“Ha? What are you talking about?” Haruka asked, genuinely confused.
“Prince Chika wants to marry you!”
The room stilled.
And then Nirei fainted.