Chapter Text
Being "perfect" came with a lot of responsibilities.
Throughout the many kingdoms in the country, Mafuyu was the princess of one of them. The most famous, Miyamasuzaka. She was known as the flawless, beautiful royal daughter of the queen that would sure take her place one day.
But inside, Mafuyu felt empty.
She felt like a shell of who she really was. Who is she, anyway? After spending your entire life molding into other's expectations, you don't have much of your old personality left.
The best food in the village tasted bland.
The storm of compliments and thanks from her people didn't make her feel any more fulfilled.
Mafuyu wanted nothing more than to find who she really was.
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Sitting in her room, Mafuyu absentmindedly sketched a couple shapes and pictures on a piece of paper at her chair. She was deep in thought, about finding herself. Recently, she learned that hearing music helped her feel something. Though Mafuyu didn't know what it was, it was still something. The warmth in her chest when she heard a good song felt completely unfamiliar, but the princess welcomed it, craving more.
Mafuyu got anything she wanted, so when she asked her parents to get her an instrument, they didn't hesitate to provide.
A small violin sat on her desk with a book explaining how the instrument worked. It definitely interested her, as she felt that music would be the solution to her empty heart.
Reading through the first couple pages of the instructions, she decides to give it a try. The violin had been tuned and was brand new, ready to be played. Mafuyu went at it for hours, quickly learning the basics and slowly but surely improving her skills.
One day, during her practice, a light knock came from the door. Mafuyu hastily put her instrument down and switched her face to her "good girl" persona.
"Come in."
The doorknob is turned, and a servant arrives in the room, bowing then looking Mafuyu in the eye to inform her of news.
"Your mother wishes to see you this instant. Follow me."
The servant spoke in a steady voice, yet the request felt urgent. This made Mafuyu slightly nervous, especially since it involved having to confront her mother.
The thought of even seeing her face made Mafuyu's heart ache.
Though she didn't know why. Mafuyu decided it was negative and pushed down the feeling. Then stood up and grinned at the servant, making way to her parents room.
"You called for me, mother?" Mafuyu called out to her mom, who was currently sitting in a large throne a few feet away from her daughter.
"Yes. We seem to be having some complications with our neighboring kingdom, Kamiyama. You're aware of this, Mafuyu?"
Kamiyama. The home of "the most beautiful princess in all of history." I've never seen her, but I doubt that.
"No I was not. Please continue."
"Their town seems to have an organization of delinquents who wish to overpower their rule for no apparent reason. The damages this group is causing is making a severe dent in the town's economy. They were hoping for our help in defending off this group." Mafuyu's mother pauses for a moment before continuing, "We will work together for quite some time, so we arranged for our family to meet the Hinomoris. We will have a meal with them tomorrow at 6:00 PM. Are you doing anything at that time, Mafuyu?"
"Not at all. I'd be happy to assist you, mother. I'll be sure to do everything I can to help them out." Mafuyu spoke those words, but they didn't feel genuine. She hoped that would change someday.
"Thank you so much, Mafuyu. You are dismissed."
As Mafuyu walks to the clean halls of her castle, her mind wanders to Kamiyama. An organization is trying to overthrow them? Just how powerful could they be? She wondered that, but the princess didn't feel any sort of concern for the Hinomoris, just continued emptiness. Mafuyu wished on everything, that just for a moment, she would truely feel something again.
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"It's Wonderful to see you tonight, Hinomori-san." Mafuyu's mother shakes the other Queen's hand as the Hinomori family enters the dining room. The dining area is large, with a long table taking up most of the room and small candles lighting up the space. Mafuyu straightens out her dress and keeps her smile in check, looking at all of the unfamiliar faces walking in.
The youngest princess, Shiho, seemed to have came in first. Shiho looked like a bold and intimidating, yet kind person, so Mafuyu gave her a slight bow on her head in greeting.
The soft tapping of heels outside of their dining hall signified another coming into the room. Mafuyu turned her head up to see the stunning face of Shizuku Hinomori.
Shizuku was the face of beauty in all of the lands surrounding their own. Her pale blue hair, tall and lean features, and soft light eyes made her the idol for many girls within the country.
This, combined with the welcoming smile on her face, made Mafuyu feel odd. Her feet were shifting in their place, her cheeks felt like they were getting hotter by the second, and she couldn't seem to focus on one thing.
Then, the realization came -
Was this an emotion?
Was this Princess causing her to feel this way?
Mafuyu was eccentric about her feeling a new emotion, as this was a step towards finding her true personality. Why did Shizuku Hinomori make her feel this way? Nothing around the dark haired monarch registered as her mind kept digging deeper and deeper into this new feeling, making her want more.
"Asahina-san?"
Mafuyu blinked, and in a second, she saw Shizuku Hinomori standing deathly close to her own seat, in her face, with a hand on Mafuyu's own forehead.
Shiho interjected, worried about crossing boundaries with the other child of royalty.
"Shizuku, you're too close to her, back up a bit."
The concerned and questioning look on Shizuku's face was gone in an instant and she jumped away from Mafuyu, sufficiently embarrassed.
"I'm so sorry, Asahina-san! You were spacing out and looking feverish, so I wanted to make sure you were feeling alright! I know I crossed the line, I truly hope you forgive me!"
Shizuku bowed furiously and returned to where Mafuyu assumed was her original seat, in between her and Shiho. Mafuyu then grasped that Shizuku had told her an apology, and immediately went to respond. She put a bright smile on her face and said:
"You're quite alright, Hinomori-san. I understand your concern, and I apologize as well for making you worry."
Mafuyu felt that her smile this time around didn't feel as forced, but as it belonged on her face. She also saw that Shizuku's cheeks seemed to be tinted pink, the color that Mafuyu assumed her own were at the moment.
"My sister is the person you hear about that seems to be the perfect idol, but she's really quite featherbrained, you see." Shiho budded in, making Shizuku feel even more awkward. "Shii-chan..! Don't just say those things..!"
"That's not a problem. It just makes you even more of a mystery behind your stunning face, Hinomori-san." Mafuyu spoke with the same grin on her face, looking directly into Shizuku's eyes. Maybe she guessed wrong. Shizuku was attractive, and her clumsy personality made her stick out even more to Mafuyu.
She felt special.
"Alright, let's start feasting." King Hinomori raised his glass, and everyone simultaneously said a small prayer of appreciation before digging in to their meals. Mafuyu picked up her utensils, shifting her food around her plate. Eventually, she took a bite, complimenting her chef on how well prepared it was. If only she could actually taste such high quality food.
Everyone was discussing the problems within Kamiyama, how to deal with the mischief brewing in the village. Mafuyu's father made a few points in which the other parents seemed to take into consideration, yet Mafuyu was too far away to hear exactly what was being said. She decided to get to know the other girls a bit more.
"So, it's wonderful to meet you all. Do you have any past times?" Mafuyu asked, hoping to learn more about the sisters. "Well.." Shizuku started. "I do really appreciate dancing. We have festivals in our town for every holiday, but i'm sure you've heard. I dance in the center of all of them, sometimes I sing. It truly does bring me joy, the thought of putting smiles on everyone's faces."
Shizuku goes on, clearly passionate about dance. "That's quite admirable, Hinomori-san. I'd love to see you dance some time. What about you?" Mafuyu turns toward Shiho, and the younger girl thinks before replying, "I do play the bass guitar. My father was quite the musician, and adored guitar playing, but when I started to show interest, My folks didn't support because they believe that guitars are too manly for a princess."
"Shii-chan still plays whenever Mother and Father are out though~ She threatened the guard outside her room to not tell them about her hobby, such a rebel~☆"
"Shut it, Shizuku."
The banter between both Shizuku and Shiho interested Mafuyu deeply. It almost made her wish she had a sibling, as well.
Time went on, Mafuyu continued talking with the other princesses, learning more and more about them personally. Both intrigued her, especially the glamorous dancer, Shizuku Hinomori. Something in Mafuyu craved to become closer to her, to hug her, to touch her fluffy looking hair-
What? How disgraceful. A woman falls in love with a man. Besides, Mafuyu would probably be forced into an arranged marriage no matter who she fell for. There's no way another woman could make her feel like this- Is that the emotion she was feeling? Love?
And before she knew it, the Hinomoris were getting up and gathering their stuff to leave. Everything in her wanted them to stay, to talk to her and be in her presence forever, but they had their own responsibilities as a royal family.
"It was wonderful meeting you, Asahina-san. I wish to see you again in time." Shizuku called out, saying her farewells with a sad smile on her face. Shiho and their parents did the same, the other family leaving the room.
"Thank you for being such a welcoming host, Mafuyu. The Hinomoris seemed to really like you." Mafuyu's mother said, turning towards her.
"I would expect no less from my daughter," Her father added, putting a hand on Mafuyu's shoulder.
Mafuyu smiled and thanked them, then timidly opened her mouth to ask, "I really do enjoy Shizuku Hinomori's company, would it be possible to come together again sometime?" Asking her parents for something always made her nervous, but there was nothing more in that moment that Mafuyu wanted then to see Shizuku once more.
"We can definitely arrange that. I told you we'd be seeing them quite a bit, yes? I believe they said that they would be free for another meet up in about two days time," Mafuyu's mother told her. Two days felt an eternity away, but at least it was now insured that she would see them again.
"Thank you very much, Oka-san, Oto-san. I'll be getting ready for bed right about now."
"Got it, love you, Mafuyu."
"Love you too."
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Shizuku Hinomori. Even after taking a long bath, changing into more comfortable clothes for slumber, and attempting to read a book to no avail, Mafuyu still couldn't get her face out of her mind. Her unique turquoise hair and eyes you could easily get lost in, the mole right under her lips, it was stained into Mafuyu's mind.
Mafuyu hoped to see her again, but everything in her hoped even more that this feeling wasn't romantic. She could not fall in love with a girl.
Mafuyu Asahina, the perfect princess of Miyamasuzaka, could not fall in love with another girl.
This was the reoccurring thought playing in her mind as Mafuyu slowly drifted into a deep sleep.