Part 15

Rukawa sighed heavily as he walked towards the main palace of the Underworld. The road towards the dark palace was brightly lit by torches of fire, but Rukawa could sense what lay beyond the road he was walking on. It wasn't anything new, but Rukawa found it overly disgusting and pathetic. The lowest class of demons that have been cast out from every area in the Underworld and that didn't have any place to go would reside in the darkness of the valley beside the houses and roads. These demons would never attack a demon who had a strong aura, but when they sense that there is someone with a not-too-strong battle aura, he or she would be labeled as either their breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

At the moment, there were around 50 of them following Rukawa in what looked like a swarm of bees. Rukawa just wanted to burst out and kill every single one of them for 2 reasons. One was because he found it very annoying that their eyes were trained on him and only him when they knew that they very well couldn't eat him. The other reason was because he was in a fairly bad mood.

He had just heard that over a million demons were invited to his marriage ceremony, and if his guess what right, Eri Fujisawa was going to come.

He already felt a migraine coming just remembering her face. Ever since he turned 11, that girl has been sticking to him like glue, saying that they were meant to be together, that he belonged to her, stuff like that. Frankly, she was a pest. Rukawa never liked her, and never will, but she has this strange talent for making other people believe that she and Rukawa looked like the perfect couple. Rukawa knew the real reason why she went after him, though. She wanted great power and to be praised highly, and the only way she can get that was to get the most powerful demon to marry her.

And that meant Kaede Rukawa.

Rukawa sighed again as he finally reached the main gate of the palace. The demon who was in charge of security gave one look at Rukawa before bowing down, his entire body shaking half in fear, and half in recognition of who he was facing. "You-your great!" Then, he turned around to face his comrades and stuttered, "O-open the gates! Master Kaede is back!"

The other demons all scattered at that name and started to open the gate. The others handed Rukawa his black stallion as the drawbridge was also lowered. The palace was one of the greatest palaces in the Underworld. It had around 3 gates that needed to be opened and 2 drawbridges that were around 70 feet in length. This palace was dubbed the best in the entire Underworld.

Rukawa nodded at the captain of the guards and mounted his horse. "Thanks."

The guard seemed quite shocked at what the young prince had just said. Cautiously, he bowed his head down again.

Rukawa dug the heels of his boots into the sides of his mare and rode off, leaving the very stunned captain gaping at him like a gold fish. Rukawa grinned as he passed the first bridge, the wind blowing in his face. He never bothered to say anything to any of the lower classed demons such as the guards and servants, so he guessed his little 'thanks' shocked them to the core. He laughed out loud as his horse rode on towards the second bridge.

Just as he was about to pass the bridge, another black stallion appeared beside his, and Rukawa turned his head to see who it was.

Sendoh waved at him cheerfully. "Hi!"

Rukawa snorted at his cousin and grinned at him. "Wanna race?"

"Nah, don't think so. You always win, anyway." Sendoh replied grumpily, making Rukawa grin more. Sendoh chuckled and looked forward just as they exited the drawbridge and entered the main gate, sending dirt spraying in the air as they reeled their horses back at the same time.

Servants came forward to retrieve their horses, and as Rukawa got off his horse, he gave a charming smile at the young boy who held his horse. "Arigatou." As expected, the young servant boy's eyes widened as he stuttered madly. Rukawa grinned and walked towards the palace with Sendoh beside him.

Sendoh gave Rukawa a weird smile. "What the hell was that?"

"Hmmm?" Rukawa replied innocently.

Sendoh laughed and slapped his cousin on the back. "Don't give me that. Why the hell did you say 'thanks' to him?"

Rukawa laughed back as they walked up the stairs towards the door. "Just wanted to."

"Hmmm...I bet."

Rukawa smiled at Sendoh's evil look and pushed the doors open with one hand. He watched as everyone around the great hall stopped with their preparations for the marriage ceremony and looked up to see who was entering. When Rukawa stepped forward into the light, many of them gasped in shock and dropped the materials they were carrying. The name 'Master Kaede' spread out through the entire area like some kind of disease.

Sendoh sighed and patted his cousin on the back. "Not fair. How come this is the reaction you get every time you enter, and when it's me, nothing."

Rukawa smiled and walked towards his room on the left end of the palace. He waved his hand towards the demons around the hall before he pushed his door open, and as expected, they all went back to their duties. Rukawa entered his room and took his cape off, dropping it next to his chair as he walked by, and jumped on his bed.

Sendoh gave Rukawa a soft smile as he sat on the chair Rukawa had just passed. "Tense about the ceremony?"

"Tense?" Rukawa chuckled as he said that and rolled over, his eyes fixed on the fire by the fireplace. "How could I be tense? I have no room for that at the moment."

"Then what's eating you?"

Rukawa turned around to face Sendoh, and sighed. Sendoh and Mitsui were the closest demons to him. They could very well be his own brothers, and both of them could read him like a book. Sendoh was the best at doing that, though. Mitsui tended to observe the entire person, while Sendoh only observed the eyes, and at the moment, Rukawa's eyes showed a lot. He moved to sit up on his bed and stared at the fireplace, a thoughtful look on his chiseled face. "Have you ever had a mortal say 'thank you' to you, Akira?"

Sendoh blinked at what Rukawa just called him, but he smiled in return. Rukawa wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk whenever he used Sendoh's first name, and Sendoh was willing to listen. "No, why?"

Rukawa smiled that soft smile again as he moved his head to one side, remembering Hanamichi's face as he watched the fire dance around the wood in the fireplace. "Hana thanked me. Despite all that I've done to him, and all that is about to happen, he still thanked me."

Sendoh smiled. "He did?"

"Yeah..." Rukawa sighed and rested his head against his pillow, tilting his head back in the process. "And he hugged me. Do you know how nice it feels for a person you love to hug you, Akira?"

Sendoh thought about a certain brown eyed demon with quite a spirit as he leaned back against the chair. "Yeah, I do."

Rukawa smiled as he closed his eyes. "It feels great, doesn't it?" He rested his arms over his head as he murmured, "That's how Hana makes me feel."

Sendoh watched his cousin carefully. "Do you...regret anything that you have done to him?"

Rukawa was silent for a while as he thought about it. His intention from the very beginning was to see that Hanamichi would get his wish, and he did, and as Hanamichi told him, he was happy, but there was pain lurking behind the redhead's eyes. Rukawa opened his eyes and gave Sendoh a defeated look. "Yes."

Sendoh smiled at that answer and stood up from the chair. "That's all I needed to know." He walked towards the door just as a servant was about to knock. Sendoh smiled at the surprised demon and waved his good bye to Rukawa. "See ya later, Kaede. Get some sleep. You look like you need it." With that, he walked out of the room.

Rukawa leaned back even deeper on his pillow as he thought over what he had just said. I...regret many things...Hana... He saw the servant lay out his attire for the ceremony by the wall, and felt his insides jump. When the servant bowed to him and left the room, Rukawa stood up from the bed and moved towards his outfit. He stood in front of it and clenched his fists even tighter.

But there's nothing I can do now to make it up to you...

* * * * * *

Sendoh transported himself into the room of Kogure and looked at all the occupants with a wide grin. "Mission start."

Mitsui grinned back at his brother and hugged Kogure to him. "So, what do you wanna do? Go to school on a Sunday to take some test, or help me carry out my brother's plan?"

Kogure sighed. "Do I have a choice?"

Mitsui smiled back at his angel and nodded at Sendoh. "Ja ne."

Sendoh nodded back and watched as Kogure and Mitsui disappeared in front of him. He turned to catch his lover's hand and gave it a small kiss. "Ready?"

Koshino swallowed nervously, but nevertheless, he nodded. "Yes."

Sendoh gave Koshino a long, passionate kiss, and whispered endearingly in his ear, "I love you." Koshino nodded back at the blue eyed demon. Sendoh looked at the clock. 5:50 pm. It was time. He opened a vortex in front of him, held Koshino's hand in his, and stepped in.

* * * * * *

"Ah! Mite, mite, Hanamichi-kun!" Haruko shouted excitedly as she leaned over to one side of the Ferris wheel cart, eyeing the moon that stared back at her in the face. She laughed happily, seeing that the first star had just appeared, and started reciting that 'Star Light, Star Bright' song.

Hanamichi stared at her with a small smile on his lips. The day had gone by surprisingly fast. He got to Haruko's house right on time, brought her to the carnival, and before they ate their lunch, they decided to ride the roller coaster that had 5 loops in it so that they won't...you know. After that and their lunch, they road bumper cars, played in the arcade, and Hanamichi played basketball against some members from the park. Of course, he won, and as a prize, they gave him a HUGE teddy bear, which, in turn, he gave to Haruko. After that, Hanamichi distinctly remembered entering the House of Mirrors, the Haunted House, where he ended up scaring more of the people acting as monsters away than them scaring him, and finally, they rode the Ferris Wheel.

Hanamichi leaned his head against the side of the cart and eyed Haruko. He didn't know why, but, he didn't feel anything exciting with her. When he fetched her from her house, it was like a friend picking up another friend. When they entered rode the rides and entered all those other places, it was all done in a friendly manner. Well, for Hanamichi's part, that is.

Haruko was trying her best to make Hanamichi notice her more. She would accidentally bump or fall against him, hold on to him when they were in the Haunted House, hug him whenever he won a game or a prize, all the things a couple would do, but, no matter how much Hanamichi tried...

...He thought of her as his little sister. Someone special and someone he cared for, but not someone he loved.

Hanamichi sighed and closed his eyes. The situation he was in was really contradicting. One minute, he says to himself that he loves her, the next, he doesn't. What was it that he really felt? What did he think of her? What-

"Hanamichi-kun?..."

Hanamichi snapped out of his personal thoughts and looked at Haruko with a warm smile, "Hai?"

Haruko blushed as she moved closer to him. "A...ano...I was just wondering..." She breathed in deeply. "I...I think I love...you, and..." She gave him a shy smile as she continued. "I was wondering...Is it okay if...I kiss you?"

Hanamichi was taken back with that request. He blinked hard, trying to see if this was just part of his imagination. When that didn't satisfy his curiosity, he pinched himself in the back. Oww! His eyes widened at the meaning of that. This wasn't a dream. Haruko asked if she could KISS him.

Strangely enough, he didn't feel his heart race like what most authors in books wrote whenever a situation like that arose. Instead, he felt detached.

What the hell is wrong with you, Hanamichi?! Isn't THIS what you wanted?!

Hanamichi looked up from the ground slowly and nodded, both to Haruko and to his conscience. Sou ka na...this was what he wanted. He gave Haruko a smile and nodded again. Haruko smiled happily at Hanamichi's reply and slowly leaned forward, closing her eyes in the process. Hanamichi watched her do that and closed his own eyes, waiting for Haruko's lips to touch his.

This is what I want...right?

TBC