SK8TEMBER'21 SERIES

The Princess and the Knight.

Kojiro loved the cultural festival their high school celebrated every year, Kaoru on the other hand... not that much. But this year, Kaoru was trying to give it a chance.

And you may wonder: why is that? Well, every year, each class was assigned to do an activity to entertain the people that would come to the festival.

In their first year, they participated in a maid cafe.

In their second year, they played in a concert.

And in their third years, their class had voted to do a stage play. More specifically, they were gonna perform a fairy tale about a knight and the princess he had to protect in a battle, and moreso, who he passionately falls in love with. And the reason Kaoru was willing to give a chance to the festival, is because he's been chosen for the role of the princess, and Kojiro for the role of the knight.

At first, he was reluctant to participate because the mere thought of having to act in front of so many people made him really anxious, but then, when he saw the screenplay and knew he had to kiss Kojiro, well, he supposed it was gonna be worth it in the end.

The first days of rehearsals were a lot funnier than Kaoru thought they would be. His classmates really made everything better. But seeing Kojiro playing his role as a knight was really the cherry on top. The girls —and even some boys— of their class were drooling after him, and Kaoru really couldn't blame them, but that didn't mean it didn't make him any jealous.

After all, he has been pining after his best friend for years, he understood them.

"Okay, everybody!" their teacher called for them, and the whole cast reunited in front of him. "Tomorrow we'll finally have all the costumes ready." he announced and the cast clapped. "There's only two more weeks until the opening day, so keep working as hard as you've been doing!" he encouraged them.

The cast cheered and clapped again.

"Kaoru!" Kojiro called him as soon as their teacher dismissed them.

"What?" he asked.

"Wanna practice our parts of the play this afternoon at my house?" Kojiro proposed with a small, unsure smile.

The only part left they had to practice and memorize was the end of the story... where the princess and the knight kissed.

Kaoru's heart beat faster, making his chest ache. His cheeks blushed noticeably.

"Yeah, good idea." Kaoru tried to answer nonchalantly.

Kojiro beamed at him, and Kaoru didn't know how he was supposed to survive the practice of that kiss. But he was more than willing to discover it.

He arrived at Kojiro's house more nervous than ever. His palms were sweaty and his heart beated like crazy. At least before they started to practice, Kojiro's mom made tea for them, and that helped him to feel a little bit calmer. But that didn't last long, because when he and Kojiro were alone in his room, his heart was beating incredibly fast once again.

They started with the parts they already knew, reciting them by heart and making sure they didn't forget any line.

Kaoru felt confident in how well they were portraying their characters, but when they arrived at the scene where the knight professed his never ending love to the princess and they kissed... Kaoru was about to pass out.

Kojiro looked at him intensely, and recited his lines.

"... When we were in the middle of the battlefield and saw how that sword almost killed you... I couldn't imagine a life without you, my lady. That's why I promised myself that if we survived the battle, I was gonna tell you everything I couldn't dare to say through the years." Kojiro kneeled in front of Kaoru, never breaking eye contact with him. "I promised myself that I would be someone worthy of your magnificence; someone worthy of your trust; someone worthy of your love. That's why, my princess; my love, if you want me, and the king gives us his blessing, I would love to have your hand in marriage." Kojiro ended his line with a reverent bow of his head, still kneeled in front of him.