The Princess sat on the empty chair near Sakamo and reached for a plate that she began filling with food while speaking, “That would be difficult indeed, but you would probably manage a good excuse. You could say we met two years ago when I was having a tantrum in front of my Elementary School because I didn’t want to go, and I screamed for help.”
“That was what happened, remember?”
The Princess nodded with a big smile. “Yeah, you thought my bodyguards were criminals that were trying to kidnap me, and you knocked them out! I spent all day with you, we went to an amusement park, we walked around the City… While my bodyguards and the entire police force searched for me! I can still remember the surprised look on your face when we arrived at the gates of this house and the guards tried to arrest you.”
“Yeah, I remember no one believed I didn’t kidnap you and I kept on fighting until the Emperor came and told the guards to stop.”
The Princess then made a serious face. “Yeah, and I remember you scolded me in front of my father because I fooled you. You called me a spoiled brat, and I should be ashamed of myself. You even called me an ugly piece of dog shit! No one dared call me a bad name until you came along! You even threatened me that you would put me in your lap and make sure I wouldn’t be able to sit properly for a week if I ever pulled another stunt like that!”
“Well, did you ever throw a tantrum because you didn’t want to go to School after that? See? It worked. Lucky for me, the Emperor was very understanding, or they could have arrested me until now.”
The Princess gave a slight smile. “At least with all that mess, you conquered my father and my mother. And until recently, you owed my heart…”
The little Princess went silent, with her face all red. The Empress got up and waved them. “This is my cue. I will leave you two alone. It seems I am not needed now, so I am going to change into my kimono. I will wait for you in the training room. Sakamo-kun, you will stay for lunch, right?”
“Of course, I wouldn’t miss it for anything. If the Empress doesn’t mind, do some warm-up, and I will join you with the Princess for our weekly training. Perhaps today we can start with the Chen Style of Tai Chi. The Empress and the Princess already know the basic Tai chi movements, it’s about time to learn the fighting side.”
The Empress gave a big smile and she quickly left. “Nice, I can put to good use all my Tai Chi training that I am doing every day!”
As soon as the Empress left and the butler was in silence near the door, looking at the emptiness at his left, Sakamo spoke to the Princess, “You said until recently I owed your heart, but we already talked about that matter. You know what I…”
The Princess put her index finger over Sakamo’s lips and gave a slight smile. “I know, I remember perfectly. I promised you that if you waited for me to get older, I would date you, and you told me that you considered me your younger sister. I also told you that I wouldn’t give up, but… this week I met a new boy in my School. He is my age, and he is sweet… I… like him… and he said he likes me. He asked me to date him, and I told him I had another boy in my life and I had to put my mind straight. I am sorry, but I think I am going to break my promise to you…”
“Seriously? I am glad for you if you found a boy that likes you as well. Is he a good catch, or someone that I must dispose of as soon as possible?”
The Princess nodded with her pink cheeks. “He is very sweet and from an excellent family… and unlike a certain boy I know, he also has excellent table manners.”
“Hey, I know how to behave at the table! I might get confused sometimes with all the forks and spoons, but I am not some animal! Well, I also met a girl in my School… I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how to start…”
The Princess gave a big smile. “Cool, she is pretty? What’s her name?”
“She is very pretty, and she has the most beautiful smile I have ever seen and pretty yellow dyed hair. She is Hangaku Mae.”
The Princess stopped with the chopsticks in mid-air and dropped a piece of bamboo. “That’s a strange coincidence… The boy I like is Hangaku Say, and he told me he has an older sister, called Hangaku Mae, with dyed yellow hair. She started this year in your School because she refused to attend the Private School her parents chose for her. Do you think she is the same girl?”
“That’s indeed strange. I think she is the same. I do not see Hangaku-chan letting another girl with the same name in our School attend there for long. She acts as the ruler of our School. And many students see her that way. I know she has a housekeeper, but I know little more.”
The Princess smiled. “As usual, you are not interested in another person’s life. I guess you don’t know that the Hangaku family is a well-known family in Tokyo because they own a enormous construction company that made a few of our most important buildings and bridges. They are one of the richest families in the country, you know?”
“No, I didn’t know that. She told me she was afraid of what her parents would think of me, but nothing more.”
“Probably if they knew her daughter was interested in an orphan that was raised by Monks in a Shrine, could lead them to think that you are after their money. Your well-paying job will probably mean nothing to them, but being a close friend of the Imperial Family will undoubtedly gain you their approval. I am sure my mother and father wouldn’t mind if you used their names in that regard, but I’m guessing you won’t. You have that nasty tendency to not worry about such kinds of things, but they might look at you differently if they knew we consider you as a dear friend.”
Sakamo nodded and gave a slight smile. “If I used your family name, it would lead to more questioning. Let’s not worry about that for now. Finish your breakfast so that we can join your mother, or she will get bored and come get us.”
The Princess vigorously nodded and stuffed her mouth with food, munching in a hurry. Sakamo laughed at the way she was gulping down, and after quickly cleaning her lips, she pulled him up and rushed to the door.
They went along the corridor and joined the Empress in the training room, where she was warming up, getting ready for another one of Sakamo’s classes.
They spent the entire morning inside that room, with Sakamo teaching the several movements and situations where the fighting Chen Style of Tai Chi could be used.
Lunchtime came, and they all went for a quick bath and joined the Emperor in the dining room because he also wanted to know everything that Sakamo did during the week.
During the conversation, the Emperor raised one eyebrow when he heard the name Hangaku Mae. “That family name is that…”
The Princess nodded. “We think she is the older daughter of the Hangaku. Talk about coincidence, right? Who could have imagined that she would attend the same School as Ryu-kun? And she seems to like him!”
The Emperor bit his lower lip and stared at Sakamo. “You know, like most prominent families, the Hangaku definitely have high expectations for their daughter. It wouldn’t surprise me if they had already contacted other families to find her a suitor. You will have to face vehement opposition from a lot of families, including the Hangaku. Are you prepared to go to such an extent?”
“I don’t know, my Emperor. I like her, but I am not sure how much yet. I would like to figure it out, though.”
The Emperor took a sip of his cup and said, “Maybe you should check your feelings then, and hers as well. If I can be of some help, let me know when you figure out how you feel about her.”
“Thanks… but I am afraid that it could make them ask too many questions about me. I also don’t feel very comfortable asking you to help me with these kinds of matters.”
The Emperor carelessly waved one hand. “Nonsense. I won’t mind helping you this much. Her family would be very lucky if you ended up with Hangaku Mae. Perhaps you could bring her here next time. Or at least, when you figure out your relationship.”
“Thanks… I guess… I mean, I would be honoured if you let me bring her here! It’s just… I don’t want to scare her.”
The Emperor slowly shook his head. “Sakamo-kun… Like always, you are completely unaware of the most mundane subjects. You are a genius in some matters, but a little dense in so many others. I already know the Hangaku family, including her older daughter. I remember that when I met her, she looked nervous, but that’s understandable, considering my position and her age. She might get surprised after finding out that we consider you our dearest friend, but she won’t get scared. Believe me. She has a very strong mind and beliefs. Her mother tried to tell her to avoid looking at me and to always bow, but she always gave me the most beautiful smile I ever saw on a girl of her age.”
“Yes, I like her smiles as well. They are almost hypnotizing.”
“They sure are. We even spoke for a while, and I noticed she didn’t like the idea of her mother about introducing her to several boys from important families. She said to me she wanted to choose her future. If she chooses you, she will win more than she hoped for.”
Sakamo went silent for a while, and the Emperor spoke after folding his napkin, “So, what about if we go for a walk in the gardens, and you could tell me how is work? Because the date for the nationwide simulacrum is approaching, and I was told that everything is ready in several sectors.”
“Yes, the simulacrum is worrying me a lot, but my team is taking care of the last details. I think everything will go smoothly at our end. I am only worried about the fine-tuning of the automatic programs.”
The Emperor spoke while walking alongside Sakamo, holding the hand of his wife, and the Princess was grabbing Sakamo’s left arm. “That’s why you will be in charge during the simulacrum. With that mind of yours, capable of analysing data at such incredible speed and figuring out all the scenarios before they even trigger an alarm, it will be the IT guys’ job to make sure the automatic programmes learn with you. Don’t worry so much, all the previous tests with the automatic programmes were a success, remember? On a side note, what have you scheduled for this afternoon’s training session with my security people? And may I join?”
“I prepared a session of Aikido, mostly about joint-locking techniques. I guess my Emperor can also attend, but I won’t be easy on you as a punishment for skipping this morning’s training session. Your security guys already know a lot of joint techniques, but they only learned the most ‘civilian’ approach to restrain someone without causing too much harm. I have a few sets of techniques to render an opponent unable to continue fighting or escape by causing the most pain possible without killing him. I know it can be a little too much for your security team in the general public’s eyes, but I would prefer to see a group of attackers with their arms and legs dislocated and screaming in pain, instead of your security guys, or you, dead.”
The Emperor smiled. “That sounds quite interesting. It’s probably better if we walk some more to help the digestion before going to the training room, right?”
Sakamo nodded, and then he felt his phone vibrating inside his pocket. He picked up the phone and wondered, “Hangaku-chan is calling me… Strange… If you excuse me, my Emperor, I have to take this call.”
The Emperor continued his walk with the Empress while the Princess was making a thumbs-up gesture to Sakamo. He sat on a nearby bench and touched the screen. “Hello, Hangaku-chan. How was work?”
“It was a lot of fun, actually! Tomoe-chan was a tremendous success! Many of the elderly like her songs, and they always watch her on television! She even cleared her schedule for this afternoon, and we will stay in the nursery home, and we will even have dinner here! You want to come and join us so that you are not alone?”
Sakamo made a slight smile. “Don’t worry, I never feel lonely during the weekends. I think I will have dinner with some friends, but maybe we can go tomorrow morning for a walk in the park. It has been a while since the last time I went to Yoyogi Park. I know a nice restaurant nearby, and we could go there to have lunch. I have work to do in the afternoon, but I have the morning free.”
“No way! You are really asking me out on a date? Just the two of us? What happened today, for you to be so daring?”
“Nothing unusual, don’t worry. I just thought it would be nice to have a walk with you. But if you don’t want to…”
Hangaku Mae almost shouted, eager to explain her surprise at such a direct invitation, “Of course I want to! Will we meet there in front of the main entrance? Like… nine in the morning? Early, so that I can be with you for as much time as possible!”
“Alright, nine it is. See you tomorrow, then!”
Sakamo hung up and ran to join the Imperial family on their walk. As for Hangaku Mae, she was staring at the phone with a big smile on her face. Shubuyaky Tomoe was near her and asked with a puzzled look, “Why are you smiling so much? Did Ryu-kun tell you he likes you or what?”
“No… he… invited me for a date tomorrow morning. We will go for a walk in the Yoyogi Park, and we will have lunch in a restaurant nearby.”
Shubuyaky Tomoe placed both hands over her mouth. “No way… I never heard or saw him invite a girl for a date! Way to go, Hangaku-chan! I think he fell for you!”
Hangaku Mae turned to her with the biggest smile, almost glowing with happiness.
Side Story: Meeting the Princess 1
Sakamo Ryu was visiting a Shrine in Tokyo following the advice of his adoptive father, Sakamo Yahei, to see the Capital and find out if he could adapt to a life there while studying in High School.
As he was walking along the sidewalk of one of the several busy streets, he stopped near the gate of a Private Only Girl’s Elementary School, wondering why the need for a separation of genders so early. A girl’s scream made him look back in surprise, and he saw a big man in a dark blue suit, dragging a little girl who was kicking and fighting to get free.
Sakamo frowned as he heard the girl say, “Let me go! Stop grabbing me, you scoundrel! Help! A pervert is grabbing me!”
He approached and stood in their way. The man looked down at him as Sakamo asked, “What are you trying to do to this little girl?”
“It’s none of your business! Step aside!”
Sakamo didn’t bulge and asked the screaming girl, “Do you need help to get rid of him?”
The girl screamed at Sakamo while crying, “Are you stupid? Do I look like I am enjoying this? He is hurting me! My wrist is going to break!”
Sakamo clenched his fists and looked up at the man who had almost doubled his size. “If you let her go this instant, I won’t be forced to hurt you.”
The man tried to push Sakamo away while shouting, “I said step aside…”
He grabbed the man’s left hand that was reaching out towards him and twisted it, making him put a knee on the ground. Sakamo then kicked his groins, and as the man bowed his head in pain, he let the girl go, which Sakamo took advantage of by kicking the left side of his temple, knocking him out instantly.
A loud shout made Sakamo turn to his left, as another man dressed in the same way was getting out of a car parked nearby. “Hey, what are you doing?”
Sakamo frowned and asked the girl, “A friend of this guy?”
When the girl nodded with her red face and tears in her eyes, Sakamo ran to the man and kicked the car door, crushing the man’s right hand between the door and the frame. A series of punches to his stomach to lower his size, and a final and powerful right uppercut with the elbow hit the man’s chin, knocking him out completely.
He then went to the girl, who was seated on the floor with a surprised look and tears running down her face, and gently touched her right shoulder. “You are safe now. Are you a student at this School? It’s better if you go inside, you will be safe there. What did those guys want from you, anyway?”
The girl cleaned her eyes and stood up while holding Sakamo’s hand. She bit her lower lip, thinking in silence for a while, and then vigorously shook her head. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to go to School! Not looking like this! My hair is a mess, and I probably look horrible!”
Sakamo took a handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned the little girl’s face and tried to fix her hair. “I understand. You indeed seem too nervous. What do you say if we get out of here before some of their friends arrive?”
The girl made a big smile and pulled him while running. After a few blocks, she stopped, caught her breath, and asked, “Uff… Uff… I think we can stop… for a while… that was scary. Who are you, anyway? And where did you learn how to fight like that?”
“I was raised in a Shrine in Nakanojo, and Martial Arts were part of my training. Where do you live? I can escort you there to make sure you don’t get into danger again.”
The girl looked at Sakamo and made a slight smile, trying to look calm but still trembling. “I… you know… Perhaps you could stay with me for a while. I need to calm down, because I can’t go home looking like this, or my parents will be worried.”
“I guess I can be with you for as much time as you need. I have nothing planned. I am sightseeing.”
The girl gave a big smile. “Nice, I can be your guide, then! I know a beautiful park where we can walk for a while! There is also an amusement park that I have wanted to go to for so long. Maybe you can take me there!”
“Sure, I think that would be fun.”
The little girl grabbed Sakamo’s right hand and pulled him along the side-walk. “The park is this way. There is a pond with koi fish and ducks! I was told that we could even buy some old bread to feed them! I have little money with me, but I think I have enough money for bread!”
“I don’t have much money either, but I can pay for a few rides in that amusement park if you buy the bread for the ducks, and we share the cost of our food when we get hungry.”
“Alright, let’s go then! To the park!”
Sakamo laughed while being pulled by the overly excited little girl. “To the park! Heheheh!”
She pulled Sakamo by his right hand, feeling her heart pumping. That boy was gorgeous, and her little maiden heart was finding it difficult to keep on beating while so near him.
They spent most of the morning in the park, walking, talking, and enjoying the sun and open air. The little girl rushed to the selling lady to buy the old bread and pulled Sakamo to the pond, where she laughed at the way the ducks kept on avoiding Sakamo’s bread, going to hers instead, as if they were afraid of his long braid and frowned eyebrows.
At around noon, they bought some small boxes of food and sat on a bench in the shadow of a tree.
The little girl kept on smiling while eating, and Sakamo remembered something. “You know, we are having a great time, but I still don’t know your name. I am Sakamo Ryu. And you?”
“Ryu-kun… Such a pretty name… You can call me Hiko-chan!”
“So, Hiko-chan, why have you never come to this park or the amusement park?”
She stopped her chopsticks midway and asked, “Why do you think I never came to this park? Or to an amusement park?”
“I don’t know, probably by the way you smiled so much while feeding the ducks, or by the way your eyes were glowing when I agreed to go to the amusement park. Why did your parents never take you here?”
Hiko turned bright red and answered while looking at her food, “They… work a lot. It’s kind of hard to find the time to do those kinds of things…”
“What things would prevent them from having fun with their family? That doesn’t sound right to me.”
“Yeah… you are right…”
Sakamo noticed how sad Hiko looked, and immediately regretted having said such a tactless thing. She probably had some special circumstances that kept her away from her family.
He took his and her empty boxes and threw them into the trash bin nearby, then pulled her up from the bench with a slight smile. “What about if we walked some more before going to the amusement park? Or we could feel sick on one of those rides and throw up this lunch!”
“Yeah, that would be a waste! Let’s go then. I want to see the ducks again! Maybe some of them will approach you if you try to smile at them.”
They followed the path to the pond, with the little girl still holding Sakamo’s hand and smiling the entire way.
After throwing a few crumbs to the ducks and the koi fishes, she pulled him to one exit of the park, and they walked on the side-walk, stopping now and then to look at the window of a shop. Sakamo noticed a few police cars driving on the streets with the sirens on, and the little girl always called him to look at a window when a police car went by or pulled Sakamo inside a shop when a police officer appeared on the side-walk.
When they finally arrived at the amusement park, the little girl pointed to a boat that was on a small river channel that went into a dark fibreglass mountain. “What about if we started with a ride in there? I think it’s completely dark inside, and there are ghosts and skeletons! You can hold my hand if you get scared!”
“And a little girl like you won’t be scared? Skeletons and ghosts are pretty scary! You don’t prefer a ride in another thing, like… that one, for instance?”
Hiko looked to where Sakamo was pointing and frowned at the sight of a carriage pulled by ponies that were tied to a pole and walked in circles around it. “That’s for little kids! I am almost thirteen! I am already a young lady! I had my first period last year! I can even have babies now, you know?”
She then turned bright red and covered her face with both hands. “Can you… pretend I didn’t say that? I feel so ashamed…”
Sakamo made a slight smile and gently took her hands away. “You don’t have to be ashamed. The ability to create life is an incredible gift the Gods have bestowed upon you. Let’s go on the scary ride then, and I will try not to scream in fear. After that one, we can look around and choose another ride, a cheap one, or I won’t have the money for it.”
“Yeah… That boat is a little too much, but I want to go with you… I have a few coins, and if we put our money together, I think we will have enough for another ride, a medium-priced one, at least.”
He went to the first boat with Hiko, enjoying the surrounding view, totally unaware of her true intentions. She wanted to be near him in a boat, with darkness all around them.
As the boat moved, another couple entered the boat after them, and Hiko saw the way the girl was smiling at the boy next to her, with her eyes shining. Hiko felt her chest squeezing, thinking that she probably looked like that, side by side with that beautiful, long-braided boy. When the boat entered the darkness, she approached Sakamo and leaned her head against his shoulder, enjoying his warmth, and screamed when a skeleton fell from the ceiling, right in front of them, with lights turning on and pointing at it. Sakamo laughed, and he almost jumped when a person inside a white sheet touched his arm with icy fingers. That was the cue for Hiko to laugh at Sakamo’s expense.
They kept on screaming and laughing every time one of them got a scare, and when the boat stood still for a few minutes in complete darkness, Hiko asked, “Ryu-kun… do you have a girlfriend?”
“No, I don’t have one. I never had the time or opportunity to get one! What about you? I bet that with your pretty smile and contagious laughter, you have many boys after you!”
“No… not really. Most of the boys are afraid of getting near me, or don’t want to deal with me… Yeah, it’s a little strange, I know.”
Sakamo gently bumped his head against hers. “Don’t worry about boyfriends, you are still young. You have a lot of time to get in trouble because of a boy!”
Hiko smiled in the darkness, thinking that she wouldn’t mind getting in trouble with him. She felt her face becoming hot and thanked the darkness because Sakamo Ryu couldn’t see. When the boat started moving again, there were a few more screams, and as the boat exited and stopped in the dock, they got out and went in search of another ride they could pay for.
After getting out of the bumping cars, Hiko looked at the clock on a pole and said that it would be better to go home, or her parents would be worried if she didn’t arrive at her usual time.
Sakamo went with her, laughing while talking about the scares they both got in the boat inside the mountain.
Side Story: Meeting the Princess 1. 1
After nearly an hour of walking, they arrived at the vicinities of the main gate of the Imperial Palace. Sakamo thought it was weird if she lived there, but probably her parents worked there.
To his surprise, a group of four men ran to them as soon as they recognised the Princess, and one of them shouted to Sakamo, “Let her go! Why are you holding her hand like that? Why did you kidnap her?”
Sakamo felt Hiko trembling as she hid behind him, and he whispered, “What do these guys want? Are they friends of those guys this morning?”
“I… am not sure…”
Sakamo gently squeezed her hand that was on his left shoulder and whispered, “Better if you close your eyes. This won’t be pretty to watch if they try to take you.”
Sakamo then made a defensive pose by taking one step forward and lowering his body, with one fist near his waist and an open palm pointed at the group of approaching strangers. Sakamo shouted, “I don’t know who you think you are, but if you make a wrong move, you will wake up tomorrow morning in the Hospital!”
One of the men spoke into his sleeve, probably calling for backup, while the other three were still running towards Sakamo. Hiko had her eyes shut as Sakamo instructed her, but she quickly opened them at the first scream, only to see one of the security guards on the floor grabbing his broken knee and another one kneeling with both arms broken at the elbow. The third man got a kick in his stomach, followed by a swipe at his legs and a downward kick to the head that broke his nose against the concrete. As a pool of blood was spreading on the floor, Sakamo jumped towards the other security guard and knee-kicked him straight in the face, knocking him out completely.
Another group emerged from the open gate, and Sakamo continued fighting, making certain that none of them approached the dumbfounded Hiko, who stood four metres behind, watching all the fighting in awe. Suddenly, one of the security guards pulled his gun, and Hiko shouted to Sakamo to watch out, only to see him grabbing the gun, twisting the security guard’s hand and hitting him with the gun a few times, making a mess of his face. Sakamo jumped back with the gun and put a knee on the ground, standing between another group of approaching guards and Hiko, pointing the gun at them.
Sakamo shouted, and they all froze in their tracks, “The next one that approaches Hiko-chan will meet the creator! I don’t know who you are and I don’t give a damn, but you are scaring her! She only wants to go to her parents!”
A powerful voice shouted from behind the security guards, “Everyone, stop fighting! What is the meaning of this? Who are you, boy?”
Sakamo looked at the man when the security guards made room for him to pass. Sakamo immediately recognised him from the pictures he saw in the Shrine and on the television. He put the gun on the ground and made a deep bow, still kneeling. “My Emperor, I am sorry for all this, but these men were trying to grab my friend Hiko-chan, and they were scaring her.”
“They were scaring her? Hiko, do you have any idea of how scared your mother and I were and all the trouble you caused all day? All the security guards and the entire police force were looking for you everywhere! Where did you go?”
Sakamo blinked a few times and looked back, only to see Hiko looking down, avoiding his look. “Hiko-chan… what…”
“I… am sorry, Ryu-kun… I just… wanted to be a normal girl, even if it was only for one day… Those men this morning were escorting me to School, but I didn’t want to go to School today. I wanted to go to the amusement park, and have a walk in the City…”
Sakamo remained silent, and Hiko looked up. She saw the disappointed look on Sakamo’s face and cried. “I… am sorry… Ryu-kun… Don’t… look at me like that… Please, say something… Please…”
Sakamo remained silent, and he slowly got up and made a slight bow to the Emperor who made a signal for the security guards to let him go, and Sakamo took a step towards Hiko, and as he was passing by, she hugged him from behind and shouted, “I am sorry! Don’t leave me like this! I am sorry! Say you are still my friend! I don’t want you to be angry at me! I am sorry!”
Sakamo slowly but strongly took her arms from him. He looked at her and said, in a harsh voice full of anger, “You are nothing but a spoiled brat. You have parents that love you and care about you, and you lead me to think that they didn’t want to be with you. Your heart is rotten and you are not better than dog shit. Leave me alone. I don’t want to look at you anymore.”
Sakamo turned away, and when Hiko grabbed his right arm and pulled him, he shook his arm hard to get rid of the grab and shouted, “I said leave me alone, you spoiled brat! Go learn how to treat people! I honestly thought you were in danger this morning, and I only spent the day with you because you looked so nervous and sad! You are a lying, crazy brat, and I don’t want you to touch me!”
The Emperor shouted, with his face all red, “Hey, what are you…”
Sakamo looked at him with a cold shine in his eyes and pointed at the security guards that were hurt on the ground. “You should be ashamed as well. This is the parenting you are doing? Look at what your daughter caused! Because I thought they were trying to attack her, I hurt them! I could have killed some of them because of her! I swore to my father that I would never use my Martial Arts to harm an innocent person, and I have hurt all of them because of your spoiled daughter! You may be a good Emperor, but you are a disgrace as a father because you only raised a rotten child!”
The security guard that was nearest to the Emperor shouted, “That is no way to address the Emperor!”
Sakamo looked at the guard and pointed at the surprised father and next, at the crying daughter, and said, “Are you being serious? Are you worried about the way I am addressing the Emperor after all that happened here? There we have a father ashamed for having a young boy like me telling him the truth about his parenting skills, and here we have a spoiled brat that only now realised all the harm she caused!”
The Emperor placed one hand on the left arm of the security guard to stop him, and said, “Perhaps it would be better if we talked inside if you don’t mind accompanying me. I still want to know what you two did all day, and I think all this mess was just a sad misunderstanding.”
Sakamo made a slight bow and answered, “I am not worthy of such consideration, my Emperor, but I won’t apologise for anything I said, because I didn’t lie. She was the only one that lied to me all day long.”
Hiko tried to apologize, “Ryu-kun… I am really sorry…”
Sakamo looked at her with sadness in his eyes, and that made her cry again. “Despite anything that happens to me after today, if you ever pull another stunt like this, I will grab you, put you on my lap, and I will slap your butt so hard that you won’t be able to seat properly for a week!”
Hiko vigorously nodded. “Yes, believe me, I will be a good girl from now on! I will go to School every day and I will study really hard! You will be proud of me! But please, say that you forgive me!”
“I can’t… You broke my trust and I can’t easily forgive you for that…”
The Emperor signalled the guards to let Sakamo pass, and asked as he walked alongside him towards the main building, “Tell me, how were you able to defeat all those security guards so easily? They are all highly trained, and you took care of them as if they were nothing! I saw some of your fights as I was approaching, and I also know a bit about Taekwondo and Judo, but you fought as if you could predict their movements! Where did you learn how to fight like that?”
“I grew up in a Shrine in Nakanojo, and Martial Arts were part of my training. I learned many styles and different Arts, but I am also gifted with the ability to analyse everything around me, and I can virtually predict my opponent’s attacks just by observing their body language and shape of the body.”
“Amazing… Does that ability to analyse your surroundings only concerns Martial Arts?”
Sakamo slowly shook his head. “Not only that, but I am also very good with Mathematics and data analysis. My father used to say that I have a mechanical brain, but perhaps I only think differently from most people.”
“Really? Interesting… Perhaps you can help me with a matter that is making many people go crazy over these past few months while trying to find a solution. It’s more or less related to predicting people’s reactions to different situations and analysing a bunch of data.”
“If I could be of some help, it would honour me to do so. Or at least, to apologise for the rude way I addressed you out there. Usually, I am not like that, but I was disappointed and angry. Hiko-chan broke my heart, and I wasn’t expecting it from such a cute little girl.”
Hiko remained in silence, looking down, feeling ashamed. The Emperor saw she was still crying and said, “Perhaps most of what happened today was my fault. I failed to realise how our lives and obligations to our people and country could make her feel miserable. Perhaps you could grant her another opportunity. She could use a good friend like you, one that didn’t have a problem saying what was on his mind, or scold her if needed.”
Sakamo spoke in a calm tone, and Hiko’s face brightened up with a big smile, “I think I can do that. My Emperor probably should have slapped her butt a few times while she was growing up, instead of spoiling her so much.”
“Maybe, but I never dared to do that. She is my only daughter. But I have sent her to her room a few times every time she made a blunder!”
Sakamo asked, making the Emperor muffle his laughter, “An Emperor can’t order a little girl to be locked in prison? Or to get a few lashes in public, like in the ancient days?”
“Pfft!…That would be difficult to explain to the people and the World, why I resorted to such methods! But now that you mention it, perhaps on her next blunder!”
They both looked at the surprised Princess with a weird smile. With this, a genuine friendship between Sakamo Ryu and the Imperial Family began, even with a few more mistakes and misunderstandings along the way.