"You look like ass."

I didn't even have the energy to give Yonji a decent scowl, my lips barely even twitching downwards.
"Thank you so much, Yonji. Really. That's a lovely thing to say. You're such a charmer." I replied flatly, irking a little as I watched him chew a bite of his breakfast; a turkey leg, with an open mouth.

Normally, I would have questioned why he was following me down to the village, but this time it kind of made sense. Four nights ago I had tried to tell my parents about what I had seen out in the forest, but the Vinsmokes had yet again been several steps ahead of me.

There had, of course, been a sudden fire in that part of the forest, which had oh so conveniently destroyed any evidence that could have helped me to get them out of my country and out of my life.

On top of that, the sudden pain that had struck me when I had openly rejected Ichiji hadn't gone away. It was duller now, but still constant, like an unhealed wound that throbbed along with my pulse. Ichiji had not made any attempt at approaching me since that night. Actually, he had removed himself from the palace altogether. Something about a task needing to be completed on Germa.

"I know I am." Yonji spoke around a mouthful of white meat, chunky spittle jumping from his parted lips. "Why are we going into the village anyway? You're a princess. It smells like pig shit down there, and it's boring."

If I had had hackles, they would have been standing on end. Throwing the youngest Vinsmoke a glare, I took a big step to the side so we wouldn't be so close together.
"There is no we. You're the one that started following me around like a stalker. Besides, I prefer the smell of pig shit to the stench you and your brothers are filling my home with day in and day out."

Even in the open air I can smell you too strongly...

At the very least I could appreciate the fact that Yonji was the brother that was tailing me. If it had been Niji then I would have likely been in real danger. Whilst Yonji was crude, and annoying, at least he wasn't as violent, if I chose to forget the time when he had squeezed that poor hare to death when we were children.

"It's boring at the palace, too. This whole place is boring. How have you not died of boredom? All you seem to do is climb trees, mingle with poor people and whine." If I wasn't dealing with so much pain I likely would have turned around and smacked him upside the head, but I just couldn't be bothered.

It's fine. Ignore him. Pity him, even. He only has a half functional braincell. It's sad.

"Look, can you just behave? Please?" I heaved a sigh as we entered the village, our boots crunching in near unison against the dirt underfoot. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out a small bag of coins, shoving them against his broad chest. "Here. Go buy something from the bakery. Stuff your mouth so full you can't talk."

Shrugging his shoulders, Yonji thankfully complied, parting from my side and wandering off towards where the quaint little bakery stood further into the village. I immediately set off to start my sleuthing. I hadn't heard a peep from Corbin for almost a week now, and I was getting worried.

He has to be around somewhere...

Approaching the small animal yard, I spied Laoise, so I sidled up to lean against the fence.
"Hey, is your brother around?" I asked, watching her hold back a goat kid with her hand so it wouldn't headbutt her into the feeding trough.

"Hmm? Oh, hey. Haven't seen him for a few days. He's probably around somewhere though." She hummed, glancing over her shoulder to me. "Wait, he hasn't been sneaking to your room? What a dick. Dump his ass."

Where the hell is he?

It was strange. Corbin wasn't the type to just vanish for days on end. He was always either tending to the palace grounds, helping out with the animals here or with me. I was beginning to get genuinely concerned about him.

"I'm worried. It isn't like him to just...not be around, y'know?" I murmured, trying with some splinters that were sticking out from the wooden fence I leaned on.
"Eh, don't be. He's a guy. They never make sense. You could do better."

Laoise was constantly saying stuff like that. She loved her brother, and she loved me, but it had always grossed her out that we were an unofficial couple. I couldn't blame her, but the comments got old sometimes.

"If you took a look at my current situation then you'd definitely take that back." I muttered, and she turned to look at my properly, the kid she had been fending off beginning to chew on her pants leg.
"Oh, wow, you look like shit."

Deflating, I couldn't even argue with her. I knew I looked like death warmed up. Every part of me ached, but especially deep inside of my chest. At what point would it stop? Rejecting Ichiji had to happen, so why was this pain still lingering around? It couldn't be permanent, could it?

"I'm just overtired. Try living in an enclosed space with a bunch of assholes who don't know how to turn off their rank pheromones." Sighing in defeat, I slipped my foot through the fence to let the nanny goat sniff and nibble at my boot.
"Actually, speaking of, there's a really nice scent in the air today. I haven't smelled it before, but it's good." Laoise hummed, standing up and immediately tripping over the hoard of baby goats.

I was about to make an attempt to tease her about it, hoping to maybe cheer myself up, when Yonji returned, carrying several paper bags filled with bread, one bun sticking out of his mouth.
"Oi, you didn't give me enough coin to get..."

Yonji trailed off, coming to a halt beside me. The bun in his mouth fell to the ground as his eyes widened, and I was about to question whether his lone braincell had finally called it quits, but that was when I turned to find that Laoise was making a similar expression, frozen to the spot.

Oh dear fucking god no.

Back and forth, back and forth, I looked between the two of them, realising against my will what was actually happening.
"If you guys don't tell me that this is just some cruel joke I'll feed myself to the goats right this fucking second..." I spoke up, praying that I was misunderstanding their reactions to seeing each other.

It was as though I wasn't even there. Laoise audibly swallowed, wading a little closer through the sea of rambunctious kids.
"Uh, hi..." She gave Yonji a little wave, and the Vinsmoke prince nearly dropped half of his bakery haul to do the same.
"H..Hey. You're really pretty." Yonji responded, his voice kind of far away.

This couldn't actually be happening. What were the chances that they were fated mates as well as Ichiji and myself? It was a small world, but not that small, surely?
"Earth to idiots. Come in, idiots." I snapped my fingers between the two of them, finally gaining at least a little of their attention before sharply pointing to Laoise. "No. Absolutely not. You are not going to get with a Vinsmoke. Love yourself. Do better. Please."

Laoise gave me a sheepish smile before moving to stand directly in front of Yonji, her cheeks flushing.
"I'm Laoise. You really think I'm pretty?" Nope, I'd lost her. Rolling my eyes so hard it hurt, I pushed off from the fence and left them to be all gushy and goo-goo eyed, praying that Laoise wasn't going to get hurt. Vinsmokes were bad news, I knew that from experience.

At least it isn't Niji...Heaven help whoever gets chained to that psychotic bastard...

As I walked, I found my gaze drifting towards the direction of the dock, even though I couldn't see it from the village. Several of Germa's ships had landed there, and that was where Ichiji was right now. Just thinking about him made the pain in my chest pang sharp, and it made me feel sick to my stomach.

Did my rejection have the same effect on him? Was he currently dealing with a similar ache, deep in his chest? No, he wouldn't be. He wouldn't even care. He'd only been trying to woo me to keep me from catching on to what his father had been orchestrating in the forest. He was probably doing whatever sketchy thing Vinsmokes did, completely unphased.

Good. Just the thought of him thinking about me grosses me out. It makes me sick to my stomach...

I kept telling myself that was the reason. That he disgusted me so much that it was giving my physical symptoms. I was smarter than that, but I refused to admit the reality. My rejection had damaged something inside of me, and I could only hope that it was temporary.

Because no matter what, I'm not taking it back...I'll reject you, Vinsmoke Ichiji, body and soul, until the day I die...

.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
***I have been having a time and I've been completely ignoring basically everyone but my brain just won't let me talk to people outside of work 🙃

We adopted a kitten - his name is Lobo, because everyone vetoed my attempts at naming him Vinsmoke or Niji 😅

Next Time: Fix Me***