The Princess and The Devil - Karma Akabane x OC

T W E L V E : THE HONOUR STUDENT

Hime's POV

After the meeting with the 5 Virtuosos, Gakushuu brings me home. He accompanies me to the 12th floor when I was greeted by my Uncle Ichiro and a sleeping Haru in his arms. Uncle smiles sadly to me and told me that he will take care of Haru for the time being at his house. And he doesn't feel safe if I were to stay alone in mine. He said there are a few gang activities around the area and he could not ensure my safety if I were to stay home alone. Since Uncle is already quite familiar with gakushuu, he asked me to return home to Gakushuu's house for this night until he confirms that it's safe to stay there. Biting my lower lip, I nod. I know nothing good will come out if I were to argue with uncle Ichiro.

Uncle bids us farewell as I enter my house. I pack my books for tomorrow and take out a duffel bag and stuff my uniform and some clothes for tomorrow. I slide open a drawer and find a few ribbons Karma and Haru has been buying me but I refuse to change my current ribbon. My current ribbon is black with delicate velvet designs on it. Someone really special gave this to me when I was younger. I take a plain red ribbon with me and stuff it inside the duffel bag. Before going out of my room, I slide my curtains to find Karma's room dark. I bite my lower lip. Of course he won't be home.

I close the curtains and come out of my room only to see Gakushuu in my kitchen. "Were you cooking?" he asked. And suddenly memories of sukiyaki flashes in my mind. I drop my duffel bag and messenger bag and rush in the kitchen. It shocked me to find the kitchen spick and span. The pot I used to cook is washed too.

"I was.."

"You should really be careful when you cook. The spills on the stove will crust up and it will be hard to clean." He said, grabbing a wet cloth and wipe the spill. Dumfounded, I find myself watching him. He wash the cloth when he's done and washes his hands. He walks towards me and carry the duffel bag for me. He waits for me to lock the door and we walk together to the elevator in utter silence. We walk past the receptionist as he calls a taxi.

The ride to his house is in silence. No one spoke a word and in a way, I like this silence I have with Gakushuu. As much as his silence and tense self suffocate other people in the same room, it doesn't bother me.

When we arrive, he pays the taxi and the door slides open when he presses the button. He unlocks the door and invites me in. We take our shoes off and almost immediately, three maids came to our aid. They took my messenger bag, duffel bag from Gakushuu and replace our shoes with house slippers. Gakushuu asks the maids to clean a guest room for me to use and we walk to the dim litted foyer. On our right, the principle is there playing shogi in the living room. He looks up to me and smiles. He walks towards us and greets me like he always does. "Hello, Sakuragi Hime-san." He nods.

"Hello, sir." I nod back.

"May I have a word with you?" He asks.

"Hime, come, your room is ready." Gakushuu tugs on my sleeve.

"Sakuragi-san?" He calls me name sternly. I give an apologetic smile to Gakushuu and walk towards the principle. "Asano-kun, you can go ahead and make sure her room is really ready." Gakushuu stiffens beside me.

"Of course." Gakushuu bows a little to his father as the principle leads me up to his office.

"So, Sakuragi-san, this isn't your first time here." He starts. I purse my lips. I'm not sure where he's trying to go with this conversation.

"This is my third time here, sir. Gakushuu was once sick and you were busy with the school board. So Ren and I came to take care of him. The second time was to celebrate his birthday, sir. You weren't around again so I came here to treat him to dinner." I said.