Additional One-Shots

The Shadow King's Son [SKP] [*S*]

A/N: Before you read this, be fully aware that this takes place after the events of both Shadow King's Princess and it's sequel Love's Shadow. It's actually quite, quite far into the future. If you don't want potential spoilers (potential because some you might not catch) then don't read~ Otherwise, enjoy!

Hana

Hoping that I wasn’t about to get scolded, I tore into the kitchen with my school bag clutched in one hand. The bag was overflowing with papers, a few of which fell to the floor when I came to a stop in the middle of the room. In my other hand I held a few opened notebooks with a single mechanical pencil clipped over one of the metal spirals. Dropping both the notebooks and bags to the floor, I skimmed my eyes over the table for something I could possibly carry with me.

The only thought crossing my mind when I seized a piece of toast from the table was that most families would be shocked, or at least surprised. Not my family, however, if anything Mom seemed to be expecting it.

“Running late as usual?” she questioned.

“Mhm, no time to chat,” I replied, biting into the toast.

My eyes swept over the floor, locating the papers that had slipped from my bag. Once I’d spotted them, I left the piece of toast in my mouth and snatched them up to stuff them back in. The already messy bag just got worse afterwards and I quickly used the ties to pull it shut before Mom could notice. The state of my bag would only earn me a lecture as my room normally did.

“After school,” she began, apparently not having caught sight of it. “I’d like it if you could take care of Sa-”

“Plans with Andre,” I mumbled around the toast as I leaned down to grab my notebooks from where I’d dropped them. From what I could tell, the only word that came out remotely close to how it was supposed to was ‘Andre’. “Gotta go, he’s picking me up.”

Slinging my bag back over my shoulder, I gave her a smile before turning away. She’d looked more amused than anything else. As soon as I’d spoken, I tore the toast from my mouth and swallowed the bite.

“Alright, I’ll call the sitter then. You and that boy are like your father and his mother,” she mused. “I’d wager that h-”

“I’m eating,” I reminded her. “Don’t finish that sentence. Bye, Okaa-san.”

Returning to my previous job of making a mad-dash to the front door, I’d almost reached it when a voice caught my attention.

“Onee-chan, Onee-chan!”

Spinning around I spotted my five-year old brother holding my shoes in his hand. A quick glance at my feet told me that I had indeed forgotten them.

“Oh, thanks, Sasuke,” I said, taking the shoes and giving the currently furry eared and animal tailed kid a second glance. “... or are you Shiro today?”

“Shiro!” he agreed. “Okaa-san put it on me!”

“... of course she did. See you later!”

Turning back to the door, I drated outside and shoved the rest of the toast in my mouth. While running I began attempting to pull one of the two shoes onto my foot, notebooks still gripping the notebooks in the same hand that held held the toast. My eyes spotted Andre’s driver pulling open the door to his vehicle as I drew near. I almost had the second shoe on when I tripped and ended up sprawling halfway in the car, halfway out. Unsurprisingly that sent my bag and notebooks flying through the car.

“... running late?” an amused voice asked and I glanced up to see him looking just as amused as he sounded.

“Me? Never.”

Shaking his head, Andre shut the laptop on his lap and offered me a hand. Sheepishly taking it, straightened myself so that the driver could shut my door. It wasn’t until I was buckling in that I realized after releasing my hand Andre had bent over to pick up my  notebooks. He skimmed the page it was open to as my face flooded with color.

“Akane shivered, acutely aware of how his hand was brushing the small of her back. She couldn’t pull her eyes away from his, despite this knowledge. As Ryou leaned in-”

“Stop that!” I demanded, attempting to snatch the book from his hand and failing as he pulled it away.

Andre simply laughed, tucking the book beside him in response to my glare.

“Tell me,” he said lightly. “You say that you and your parents are quite different, but how is it that you get off being such a romantic if that’s the case?”

“Shut up,” I retorted, my scowl growing worse.

“Should I rea-”

“No! And there’s nothing wrong with being a romantic,” I cut in. “It’s… it’s normal for a girl my age!”

Andre rose a brow, but he didn’t say anything. Instead he looked even more entertained than before.

“At least you admit to being one,” he mused. “Although, it would be hard if you didn’t… I mean, what was it… you wanted your first kiss to be…”

“In a gondola or on the Eiffel Tower,” I finished for him.

“... right. Completely normal for a girl your age.”

“Shut up!”

Laughing, Andre glanced out his window. We’d already gotten quite close to the school, seeing as I didn’t live that far from it. When Andre wasn’t picking me up I simply walked.

“That reminds me. You don’t have any plans for break next week, do you?” he asked.

“Me?” I scoffed. “Please, remember who you’re talking to. Everyone’s just breaking down my door to ask me to hang out with them while we’re on vacation.”

Andre chose to ignore the sarcasm.

“My family is going to France for the week,” he began. “And Otou-san had an idea. He thought it’d be nice if you came along, that way I wasn’t bored while he and Okaa-san went about the business they have planned.”

“Me?” I asked, astonished. “Go to France with your family?”

He nodded, seeming amused.

“That’s what I said.”

“I’d love to!” I squealed as the driver stepped around to open my door. “When are you leaving? Are your siblings-”

Andre interrupted my questions with full out laughter. I frowned, attempting to pull what I’d said that was funny to the front of my mind as I slid from the car. Unable to figure it out, my frown turned into a scowl.

“What? What’s so funny?” I demanded.

He shook his head, sliding out behind me as I got out of the car.

“Nothing, it’s just… Otou-san did warn me that you were a lot like Okaa-san and might miss the point of everything.”

More confused than ever, I sighed, grabbing my bag from the floorboard of the car and slinging it over my shoulder.

“Well, whatever it is, you’re right,” I informed him sourly. “I don’t get it. Now, when are we leaving?”