In the morning, Hangaku Mae woke up with an alarm on her mobile phone. Tomiko Hari grunted, still half asleep, when Hangaku shook her, “Five more minutes… mom…”
Hangaku shook her again. “Who are you calling mom, dumbass? Get up already! I don’t want to be late because you were giggling most of the night instead of sleeping!”
Tomiko sat on the bed and rubbed her eyes. “I didn’t do that all night! Maybe a little before falling asleep. Besides, who are you to complain? I felt you moving a lot, and I think I heard you moaning during the night!”
Hangaku turned bright red and went to the closet to change. “I may or may not have had a pleasant dream about a very handsome boy that was doing some interesting things to me. Get up, Sakamo-kun said he was going to wake up early, but he would prepare breakfast.”
Tomiko slowly got out of bed and stumbled to the closet with her eyes half-open. Hangaku finished and went out, straight to the bathroom, leaving Tomiko behind to fight with her pyjamas that were stubbornly clinging to her hair.
When Hangaku left the bathroom, she heard Tomiko in the room grunting at her clothes about being too difficult to put on. Hangaku slowly shook her head and knocked on Sakamo’s room. No one answered, and the door was locked.
Hangaku frowned, wondering why the need to lock the room, and she then smiled and mumbled, “Maybe he is afraid that I will rob some of his underwear or go sniff his clothes. Which I was going to do if this stupid door wasn’t locked!”
Hangaku went to the stairs after slightly kicking the door of Sakamo’s room. On top of the kitchen isle, there were a bunch of small plates with food, and there was also a sweet scent in the air, of freshly made food. She saw a note in the middle of the isle and frowned while reading it. “Lock the door and give the key to the man outside, dressed in a dark blue suit. Call him the gatekeeper, that’s what I always call him. He will deliver the key to me when I return. Weird… At least he put some hearts and kisses in the end.”
Tomiko finally arrived when Hangaku was already eating, still looking at the note in her hands. “What’s that? A message from Sakamo-kun?”
“Yeah… He says to lock the door when we leave, and to give the key to the gatekeeper outside, a man wearing a dark blue suit.”
Tomiko answered while grabbing some food, “That’s probably the same man that took Tomoe-chan home yesterday. Do you think he is Sakamo-kun’s bodyguard or something?”
“Probably, but I don’t know why Sakamo-kun would need a bodyguard. Not to mention how he can afford to pay for one! I swear, Sakamo-kun is the weirdest boy raised by Monks that I have ever heard about! He lives in a house like this, he has a secret part-time job, probably at the University of Tokyo that grants him the money to pay the rent, a cleaning lady, and a bodyguard!”
Tomiko shrugged while taking a sip of her juice. “Look who is talking. You are the official heir of your family, and if you weren’t so stubborn, you could live all alone in a house bigger than this one and surrounded by maids. Did you already tell Sakamo-kun anything about your family’s company and lifestyle?”
“Not really. I don’t want to scare him. He could get a little nervous and start to reconsider our relationship. Not that we have any besides a colourful friendship, but I think we are starting something serious.”
Tomiko grabbed a piece of bread and stretched her arms up. “Well… I don’t think he would be nervous or scared. As a matter of fact, I think that if your parents were looking at him from top to bottom to evaluate him as your pretender, he wouldn’t even bat an eye.”
Hangaku took the last sip of her juice and was about to clean the dishes when a knock on the door alarmed her. She frowned at Tomiko and went to the door. She took a pick from the spy eye and opened it, staring at a smiling maid fully dressed in a formal uniform of a knee-length skirt and frilled blouse, with a ribbon on her head, side by side with a very serious man dressed in a dark blue suit.
Without removing the security chain from the door, Hangaku asked, “Yes? How may I help you?”
The maid kept on smiling while the man answered, “Good morning. Sakamo-san calls me the gatekeeper, and I am here to collect the key and let the maid in to clean the house.”
Hangaku nodded and removed the security chain. She looked at the maid as she went straight to the kitchen isle and said, “We were just about to leave and I was going to clean the dishes.”
The maid looked back with the same smile and answered in a calm tone, “No need, young lady, I can take care of that. After all, it’s one of my tasks. Do you want me to make a box with the leftovers so that you can eat them in the middle of the morning? I can also put them in the fridge if you don’t’ want.”
“That’s… a good idea. Yes, I would like that, thanks. I am sorry to bother you so early in the morning.”
“It’s not a bother at all, young lady. If you would be so kind as to wait a few minutes, I can take care of everything.”
Hangaku nodded and tilted her head at the man. “Besides being the gatekeeper, are you also Sakamo-kun’s bodyguard? Because I met the other one yesterday.”
“I am sorry, but I am not allowed to say it. Today, I am just the gatekeeper. I don’t want to be rude, but I can’t answer any of your questions. If you want to know something, I advise you to ask Sakamo-san.”
Hangaku grabbed the purse that Tomiko was giving her and frowned. “That guy has so many secrets that he is getting on my nerves!”
The maid returned and gave Hangaku a tied plastic bag with two plastic boxes inside. “Here you go, young lady. Now, if you excuse me, I have some tasks to attend to. It was a pleasure.”
The maid made a deep bow and rushed to the kitchen area. Hangaku and Tomiko returned the bow, and they made another bow to the gatekeeper. Hangaku spoke, as soon as he opened the door for her, “Do you know if he will return home in the afternoon? Because I forgot to ask.”
“I believe he will return after dinner. At least he said he would be here so that I could deliver the key to him.”
Hangaku nodded and left, wondering why all the secrecy. Tomiko elbowed her and asked, “Don’t be like that. He will tell you eventually. Let’s go, Takechi-sama said to me yesterday that he wanted to go with us, and we must pick him up.”
Hangaku kept on thinking and walked along the street in silence, with Tomiko humming a song she heard at the concert.
When they reached the intersection, Takechi Hito was already in front of his restaurant with another man dressed in a dark blue suit.
Hangaku frowned at the man and asked, “And who might you be? Another one of Sakamo-kun’s bodyguards?”
The man looked down from his nearly two-meter height and said, “Today, I am Takechi-sama’s bodyguard. Sakamo-san requested my presence so that his friend wouldn’t be disturbed by a criminal or a bully.”
Takechi Hito shrugged at the puzzled duo. “Don’t look at me like that. He said the same thing to me when I asked. It seems Sakamo-kun was serious when he said that when he couldn’t be with me, he would call someone to escort me. And he came in a nice car to give us a ride. Pretty neat, right? I could get used to this, having a bodyguard and a car at my disposal…”
Hangaku grumbled while entering the car that the strange man was holding the door, “Sakamo-kun has a lot to explain, he sure has. None of you find all this a tiny bit strange?”
Takechi Hito answered while sitting in the car, “Considering everything so far, not really. I am starting to get used to the strange things that happen regarding Sakamo-kun.”
Hangaku crossed her arms and went silent, thinking that everything was way too suspicious, while Tomiko was happily talking with Takechi.
Meanwhile, Sakamo Ryu arrived at the Imperial official residence and was waiting in a big dining room. As usual, the guards at the gate opened it as soon as the driver told them who was in the back seat. After a quick look at him, the guards nodded and let him in. The car stopped in front of the main door, and the butler escorted him to the dining room, where Sakamo was now.
The table was full of plates with food, and the maids were still bringing more. Sakamo felt his stomach grumbling, but he remained perfectly still in his chair, waiting. Then, when the last maid left, the doors opened again, and the butler walked in. He made a deep bow, and the Empress walked straight to Sakamo, who was already up and making a deep bow as well.
The Empress stopped near him and greeted him. “Good morning, Sakamo-kun. Care to join me for breakfast? Unless you already ate, and I need to slap your head again.”
“No need, my Empress. I will never forget the last slap because you had to eat breakfast alone. I suppose the Emperor and the Princess will not join us?”
The Empress answered while sitting on the chair that the butler was pulling out for her, “The Emperor has already left. He had a meeting to attend to. Don’t worry, he will do the exercises you taught him in the afternoon with me if he arrives late. As for the Princess, she is still sleeping. Last night she went to bed later than usual because of the concert on television of a certain Tomoe-chan. I also saw the concert, and I noticed a strange ninja dressed in a black suit on stage, right before Tomoe-chan’s performance. That was not all. She also called a group of students from a certain High School and I could swear I saw you there. I hope I am mistaken because there is no way you would be a fool to disregard my advice to lie low. Joining a famous pop singer on stage, doing a fighting sequence, and singing in the choir is not my idea of lying low, but today’s youth may have a different definition for that term.”
“You are not mistaken, my Empress, it was indeed me. I was following your advice, but then Tomoe-chan asked me to help her. No way I was going to leave my little sister hanging, you know that.”
Sakamo Ryu explained his conversation with Shubuyaky Tomoe, and the Empress heard everything in silence while eating. When he finished, she asked with a piece of bread near her lips, “Do you think that was wise? Considering that so many people are having so much trouble keeping your existence secret. I don’t need to remind you of the importance of your work or the interest of so many countries if they discover that you have such a brilliant mind, capable of analysing so much data faster than our most advanced super-computers. Despite you saying quite frequently that you are not faster than a supercomputer, you just think differently.”
“I know that very well, my Empress, and I appreciate all the effort they are making to keep me safe, but I can’t live a normal life if I am under house arrest. If I wanted to remain locked down, I would never have left my Shrine. Besides, would it not be even stranger if all my classmates were on stage and I was not? Some reporters could notice that, and it could lead to more people questioning my absence.”
The Empress nodded. “You do have a point, but maybe the fighting in the beginning could be avoided. You could have asked one of your security men to do that in your place.”
“I could, but I didn’t want to. I also wanted to fight Tomoe-chan because I was missing our fights.”
The Empress gave a slight smile. “I see… Well, I am not only worried because of the importance of your work in the Earthquake Research Institute, but I also got used to your visits and I don’t want you to disappear because some spy from another country kidnapped you. You were sometimes a pain in the neck, with your constant rebellion against the agents of the Public Security Intelligence Agency or your mysterious disappearances into thin air, but I got used to having you around, and I don’t want to lose you. Not to mention the Princess, she would have her heartbroken if you were kidnapped!”
“That’s… another subject I would like to discuss, and it more or less concerns the Princess as well. I kind of picked up some interest in a girl from my School. She chased me down the first day as if I were a prey, and she already told me she loved me. It seems she is also intrigued by the strong feelings she is having for me, and she is slowly breaking into my shell. She has a hypnotic smile, and sometimes I get lost in her eyes when she stares at me.”
The Empress froze for a couple of seconds, lost in deep thought, and then slowly nodded. “Well… That will come as a shock to the Princess. She has a crush on you, you know? She is still very young, but I can still remember my first crush on a boy when I was around her age. Don’t underestimate the feelings of a young girl because they can be as strong as those of a grown-up woman. Sometimes even more.”
“Yes, I understand. But now I am curious because it seems there is a story somewhere about a little girl before becoming an Empress, and a little boy. I wouldn’t mind hearing it. It would go well with this food.”
The Empress raised one eyebrow. “It would, wouldn’t it? I suppose I can satisfy your curiosity unless knowing more about my youth makes you lose your respect for me.”
“That would never happen, my Empress, rest assured.”
The Empress made a slight smile and told Sakamo about the boy she met when she was in Elementary School, and that all the girls were crazy about him.
When they were talking about Sakamo’s work, the door opened and the Princess came running with a big smile, but she immediately stopped and walked normally when she saw her mother frowning at her.
The Princess gave a kiss on her mother’s left cheek and apologized, “Sorry, mother, I forgot I should always behave like a Princess, but I was told that Ryu-kun was here!”
She then approached Sakamo and gave him a tight hug. “Good morning, Ryu-kun! I saw you last night on stage with Tomoe-chan! Why didn’t you come here to pick me up? I would love to go to the stage and sing in the choir with her!”
“I… Sorry, I didn’t know you were a fan. It would also be very difficult to explain to my classmates how I know the Princess. There is one boy in my class that would never stop nagging me to explain it to him!”