Tooru headed over to the door, which the guards opened for him, revealing a wave of sunlight, along with the sounds of excited chatter. The girls stopped talking, however, when the castle door opened, revealing the prince of Aobajohsai, who had been deemed the most handsome young man in the entire kingdom, and not just because he was royalty.

"Hello, girls," he greeted his small crowd of fans, whose eyes were wide with amazement and awe. They were all swooning so much that they were a bit unsteady on their feet. Luckily, none of them were wearing heels or else they might have fallen over, but that wasn't the case since their mothers had probably forced their daughters to wear flats after hearing that Tooru wouldn't date a female who was taller than he was. "You all look very lovely today," he complimented them honestly, taking note of their outfits. All of them wore cute dresses that he thought were very flattering with their fitted tops and flowing skirts. Even though some of them were shorter than others, he still liked them all.

This compliment caused a small uproar in responses from the girls, all of whom thanked him profusely and shot compliments back at him, touching the soft shirt of his fabric upon request and telling him how handsome he looked. All of their gentle cops and sweet voices were music to his ears and he couldn't help but pause for a moment to bask in the glory of being popular. "Oikawa-kun, you're so handsome! You dress so much nicer than any other men around here do! No wonder everyone likes you!" He could let them go on and on...

"Thank you for the wonderful compliments," he said graciously, giving them a slight bow, "Please allow me to take you all for a walk around the gardens." His voice was sweet and soft, almost like honey, and it drove the girls insane whenever they heard it. He led the pack of girls along to one side of the castle, making conversation with them as they spoke to him, wondering about his life as a prince. Of course, he told them all the glamorous aspects of being rich and famous, since that's what he was known for besides his exceptional beauty.

Sure, Tooru was selfish. Many people who knew him thought he was self-centered, conceited, and spoiled. But he didn't care. He didn't care what anyone else thought of him. He knew that he was the best and that everyone who shot insults at him was simply jealous. However, he wasn't a rude person. In fact, he was known for being amiable and pleasant with anyone he met except for those who picked fights with him, but he always had a tendency to be much more polite to females than to other males, who he had a predisposition to see as competition. Even though he was known for having an overinflated ego, he was one of the kindest people, which was all the more enraging to other men who tried to compete with him.

When they arrived at the stables, Tooru asked the crowd of young ladies if they'd like to see his horse. They quickly agreed, practically chomping at the bit to do anything that could potentially win them brownie points with the prince. Tooru shot them his thousand-watt smile as he went into the stables and fetched his horse from its stall. The bright white, perfectly groomed stallion trotted out of the stall after him as he gently tugged at the reins. The horse had already been dressed in its riding gear upon his mother's request since she'd expected her son to want to show the stallion off to the group of girls.

"Meet my horse, Akihiko," Tooru announced proudly, smiling as he stroked the snout of the strong and trustworthy stallion, "He's very friendly, so you can give him a pat if you want." The girls timidly stepped forward and approached the horse, who appreciated their stroking of his head as much as Tooru appreciated the stroking of his ego. He gave his companion a pat on the neck before turning to face the crowd of girls around him. "Now, which one of you lucky ladies would like to win a ride with your prince?" he asked and smirked as he put his hands on his hips. There was an overwhelming amount of excitement in response to his question so he decided to close his eyes and moved his hand randomly to select a girl to accompany him. When he stopped his hand, he found that it was pointing to a girl standing to the left; watching him hopefully. "You. What's your name?" he asked as he summoned her with a hand gesture.

"M-Masako," the girl responded quietly. The look of surprise on her face clearly showed that she hadn't thought she'd get noticed by Tooru at all. She was quiet and reserved, and the bangs of her long, black, neatly braided hair hung closely to her deep blue eyes. She clung onto the skirt of her dress nervously as she approached Tooru.

"There's no need to be shy around me," Tooru told her softly and smiled reassuringly. As she neared him, he grabbed her hand and led her over to the horse. "Ready?" Before she could respond, he wrapped his hands around her thin waist and hoisted her up onto the saddle on Akihiko's back. She sat sideways on it since she was wearing a dress, and he put his foot into the stirrup before climbing up onto the horse's back himself, wrapping his leg around the other side of the saddle and sitting behind Masako.

"I'll see you ladies in ten minutes. Time me if you want. I'm never late. And then the rest of you can have your turns as well," he offered and waved to them as he reached around Masako for the reins. He heard the group of girls giggle with excitement before he gave Akihiko a nudge with his foot and the horse began to walk over to another part of the garden.

"Thank you so much for t-taking me, Oikawa-kun," Masako said softly, a blush dusting her cheeks as she glanced over at him. Her hands clasped one another, fidgeting as she attempted to hide the nerves that she was most likely feeling.

"It's no problem, Masako-chan," he responded gently and smiled at her. He watched her for a moment as she took in the scenery around her before he proceeded to do the same. He looked around at the hedges that lined the garden, creating a small maze with a fountain in the middle. Outside of the maze, which was more of an intersection, there were different gardens with different kinds of plants, most of them tropical to match the environment. At each point in the garden, there was some view of the vast ocean beyond them. He would take a trip down to the beach with his fans, but the walk was a bit lengthy and he didn't want to wear them out. "So, tell me a bit about yourself," he suggested with a soft smile. Now that they were isolated, he could get to know a bit about her without being bothered by the others.

The small girl placed a hand on her chin. "I'm sixteen and I'm from the Fukurodani Kingdom. My father is somewhat of an aristocrat, so he goes out on business trips a lot. Since he had one here, he decide to bring me along so that I could meet you," she explained, her voice still soft and meek.

"Hmm, you're from Fukurodani? So you're not that far away, then. Does your father know mine?" Tooru inquired, his interest piqued when she mentioned that her father had come here for business.

She hesitated a moment before nodding. "I suppose so," she answered tentatively.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tooru pressed.

Masako lifted her head higher and looked at their surroundings, but she didn't seem to be admiring them this time. She seemed almost... on edge. "Is there anyone else around right now?" she asked quietly. Tooru's eyebrows knitted in curiosity and he took a quick look around to check and make sure nobody would overhear them. He shook his head in response once he'd confirmed they were alone. "Well," she began under her breath, making Tooru lean in closer so that he could hear her, "I overheard some of my dad's conversations and some of them are... well... not so good. I heard him talking about your dad a lot and not in a good way."

"What has he been saying about my father?" Tooru asked quickly. When the girl flinched, he added, "I'm not angry. I'm curious."

Masako adjusted the straps of her dress and sighed softly. "I heard that he's been obtaining money in ways that are underhanded. My dad says that he thinks your father has been working with an underground group of aristocrats and wealthy businessmen who gain money from loan sharks, card sharks, crime syndicates, that sort of thing. Also, I heard that he's been intentionally targeting people from the neighboring kingdoms so that he can underhandedly take money from them, weaken their economy and make them more susceptible to rolling over and giving up when your father decides to 'expand,'" she elaborated, her blue eyes wide with worry at the confession she'd just made.

Tooru was silent for a few moments and he looked away, trying to absorb the information that she had just given him. He hadn't expected to learn something like this on a simple entertainment session. It was valuable information, though. "And does your father know this for sure?" he asked.

"He's never really one hundred percent sure of anything, but I'm pretty sure that he's here to all with your father about this," Masako responded. Tooru felt the muscles in his neck tighten as he tried to think. He had had his suspicions that his father was involved in something scandalous. Usually his mother would've tried to stop her husband in this situation, but she seemed ready to watch him collapse so she could get out of the tyrannical grasp he held her in. "Prince Oikawa," she called him gently, awakening him from his thoughts again, "listen, I'm not trying to threaten you, but I'm just saying that you should be careful. If what my father says is true, then that means that the king is sitting atop a very precarious stack of money and that a lot of people are going to be angry with him once they find out what he's been doing. If these kingdoms fight back, the first person they'll come offer will most likely be you, not your father. If they get to you, they'll put the entire Oikawa bloodline at risk since you're an only child and your mother can't have anymore children. I'm just worried for you."

Tooru sighed gently as he tried to come to terms with what she was saying. Worry was starting to knot in his own stomach, but he didn't want to concern her by letting it show. "I'll be fine, Masako-chan," he assured her quietly as his mind reeled with the possible scenarios. Now, because of his father's selfishness, he was probably going to have to pay the price. He didn't want to die! This was crazy! "Thank you for sharing this with me." He nodded and glanced down at his watch, noticing they only had three minutes left to get back to the girls and give someone else a turn. "We'd beat be heading back now."

"Please don't tell anyone that you heard it from me," Masako begged quietly, grabbing onto his arm suddenly. Tooru wondered what exactly she was so afraid of. If anyone was going to get punished for saying such things it was going to be him. Besides, he wouldn't rat her out anyway. He was a trustworthy person, unlike his father, and he would never betray anyone else's trust unless it was for the best in the situation.

"I won't. I promise," he told her with a diligent nod. This seemed to reassure her and she slowly let go of his arm with her cold and clammy hand. He then turned his gaze ahead and steered Akihiko in the direction from which they had come on their short journey. When they neared the rest of the girls, the both feigned happiness to give off the illusion that they hadn't just emerged from a heavy conversation. Even as he rode the horse with the other girls and chatted politely and happily with them, he couldn't forget about what Masako had told him.

What was he going to do?