❦

     aelita could be described as a little odd, at least from fushiguro's perspective; a very sincere person, but a little too cautious of what others think about her.

the dark-haired boy was invited to tea time with the premature intuition that it was going to either be boring or awkward.

     however, to his surprise, it was neither.

     aelita welcomed him with a warm smile and tea that reminded him of spring, with questions to engage him further into their conversation.

     it didn't feel like he was talking out of obligation, but talking because he felt the girl's genuine wish of getting to know him better.

     it wasn't suffocating, which never came off that way with some others.

     "oi, fushiguro!! what's got you in a daze?", itadori yūji — the younger brother of the head commander — had suddenly asked.

"nothing", fushiguro immediately answered, returning back to his usual expression.

"nothing? oh I know~ it's the second princ—"

     fushiguro hastily covered yuji's mouth, as the other knights-in-training had glanced over to see what the commotion was about, only to resume back to what they were doing.

     "how did you know?", fushiguro darkly questioned.

     the pink-haired boy grinned.

     "my brother's the head commander. everything he knows, I knows", replied yūji.

     fushiguro grimaced.

     "so? how was she?", yūji whispered, taking a seat beside his best friend — who he had met at the beginning of the knight selection exam that happened every year.

     "what do you mean how was she? she's physically well, if that's what you're concerned about", fushiguro stated.

"no! I meant—", yūji momentarily paused, as he lowered his voice. "—is she as hot as everyone says she is?"

fushiguro nearly fell off the edge of their conjoined beds, since all new soldiers were required to share one room, as he watched yūji snort.

"that's not something that should be asked. if you're really curious, then go form your own opinion", fushiguro harshly mumbled.

"does that mean you'll take me next time you skip practice?", yūji asked, with stars in his eyes.

"no. and plus, she only invited me to thank me for saving her life when I was on guarding duty", fushiguro explained.

"huh? then how am I supposed to see the princess for myself?"

"you're the head commander's brother, aren't you? figure it out", fushiguro slyly answered, displaying a quick victory grin, before lying down and preparing for bed.

yūji just sat there, stunned.

"fine! I will!", yūji huffed, to which fushiguro had given no response, as he was sure that the pink-haired boy wouldn't condone something so reckless.

oh, but how wrong he was.

͙⁺˚*･༓☾‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾

"is there a preferred color for the debutante's dress?", getō asked, sitting across from aelita, who was by maki and mai like always.

gojō was probably out and about, annoying nanami and interrupting his and princess irma's precious alone time, since aelita stated that he was free from having to accompany her any further.

"mm...what do you two think?", aelita asked, as once again, clothing wasn't really much of her concern back in real life, as they had school uniforms.

"I believe that any color would suit you, aelita", maki responded.

"blue", mai answered. "but specifically baby blue; something that'll bring out your eyes".

aelita smiled, nodding in agreement.

"alright, blue it is", she told getō.

the man then scribbled something onto his page.

"and for the decorations? what is your highness envisioning?"

     aelita softly sighed, closing her eyes momentarily to ponder about what she truly wanted.

     "I like flowers...well...specifically peonies. if we could get some pink peonies as table decore and golden pastel curtains that match the tablecloth, that's all that I can ask for.

     dessert could be at a separate table for those to grab based on their desire. cherry tarts, macarons, flan, and crème brûlée, are a must.

     and as for the drinks, we can serve carbonated and normal water", aelita said.

"lovely", getō smiled, appreciating that he had something to go off of.

the man despised when he was given full control on events like this, as he just wanted to know what the socialite had wished for.

     "and would it be alright if gojō-sensei was the emcee? I feel that his voice is very projecting", aelita said, causing getō to nearly break into a chuckle.

     "that's a nice way of saying that he's loud, your highness", getō teased.

     "I—well, I didn't mean it like that...", aelita muttered, causing getō to lightly laugh.

"it was merely a joke, your highness. my apologies if I've caused you distress".

     "not at all, mr. getō!! I just got worried, because I heard that you and gojō-sensei were really close friends. I hope that I didn't offend either of you", aelita explained.

     "not at all, your highness. please, if you can, you should insult him as much as you can. his ego is almost as big as this kingdom", getō stated.

aelita cracked a genuine smile, lightly chuckling.

"I'm afraid gojō-sensei will end up detesting me", she playfully replied.

"he would never. you're his precious student", getō said.

"anyways, I believe that we could continue this tomorrow afternoon. please excuse me and rest well", getō bowed.

aelita nodded, as she stood up, grabbing the book that she's been reading, as she headed towards her balcony.

     "I think I'll be okay by myself for now", aelita stated.

     "then we wish you a very good night", maki replied, dipping her head along with mai, as the two had swiftly left.

     aelita then sighed, learning more and more about this world, as it was what she did best.

"ujakken", she called out.

"how many players are left?"

"approximately 2.7 million", the monitor immediately answered, before it had disappeared once more.

aelita curled up into a ball, as she reminisced her old world.

"this would've been easier if misa was here to guide me", the princess mumbled, noticing that getō's affection meter had only jumped up slightly.

"how can I increase the percentages quicker?", she muttered to herself, quickly snapping out of her thoughts when she saw a figure pace below her balcony.

carefully leaning against the white brick railing, aelita could densely make out a teenage boy with a tuff of coral pink hair, very similar to sukuna.

if it weren't for his face posted all over the manga covers that was shoved into aelita's face by misa, the girl would've ceased to recognize him as the main character of this whole franchise.

     "HEY PRINCESS!!", the boy suddenly shouted, waving his arm sporadically, as aelita flinched at the sudden loudness.

     "h-hi!", aelita managed to squeak out, imitating the wave, except with a much smaller motion.

     "MY NAME'S ITADORI YŪJI, SUKUNA'S YOUNGER BROTHER. IT'S A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!!", he shouted, causing aelita to worry that people will find them irritating and a menace.

     "hold on!! let me come down so you don't have to yell anymore", aelita stated, about to go out through her bedroom door, until she realized that it wasn't proper for a lady to be out alone at night with a male.

     'but the percents that I could gain...'

turning back towards her balcony, she had mentally talked herself into opening up a bit more to heighten the chances of her survival.

     meanwhile, yūji just stood there, patiently waiting.

"h-hey!! umm...catch me, okay?!"

without giving yūji a chance to even respond, the second princess had boldly taken her chances, and jumped down from her balcony, shutting her eyes, as thankfully, she felt a pair of secure arms catch her.

"princess, as cool as that was, that was SUPER dangerous!! you could've died!!", yūji huffed, placing the girl down on her bare feet, as she thickly swallowed.

displaying a small smile, she had released an airy laugh.

"but you caught me".

yūji cleared his throat, as he scratched the back of his head in awkwardness.

in all honesty, he just wanted a good look at the girl, having to have never seen any of the royals, even though his brother has worked for them since he was a teen.

"thank you...by the way", aelita said.

"oh yeah!! no problem! it's my duty to ensure your highness's safety", yūji grinned.

"so is there a reason that you were below my balcony this late at night?", aelita asked, not hating the idea that one of her romance targets was making the first move.

     "well uhhh...I just heard that fushiguro, my good friend, had tea with you today. I was...curious?", yūji unsurely explained.

     aelita could feel a small spark of hope, as it seemed like the characters that she was aiming for were all tied together.

     "curious about what? the tea? the biscuits?"

     "THERE WERE BICUI—I-I mean, really? what type?"

     aelita had burst into laughter, surprised by how easily fascinated the boy was, and how easy he was to talk to.

     she appreciated that.

     he reminded her of misa.

     "there were plenty of flavors. do you have a favorite?"

     "favorite? well...there's quite a few, but I must say that chocolate is the superior flavor of them all!", yūji proclaimed.

     aelita tucked a strand of her blonde locks behind her ear, as she listened to yūji explain why chocolate was the best.

     "my favorite's lemon", she answered, when yūji had asked for her opinion.

"o-oh...well, lemon's great too...", he mumbled, obviously not believing so.

"if you want, you should join fushiguro-kun and I for some tea and biscuits sometime", aelita offered.

"WAIT REALLY?!"

"of course. I enjoy your company", aelita admitted, even though they had literally just met.

she wasn't lying though. his presence brought a childish yet calming aura to her; stress-reliving.

"then I'll see you tomorrow, your highness!! please allow me to escort you back to your room first though", yūji stated.

"thank you, and as a reward for your vigilant behavior, please just call me aelita".

yūji hesitantly nodded, bashfully extending his arm out for support, as he mumbled something beneath his breath.

"then I'll see you tomorrow, aelita".

.

.

.

.

.

┌──────┐
progress loading...
└──────┘

• affection meter:
- gojō satoru: 30% + 3% = 33%
- getō suguru: 2% + 3% = 5%
- itadori sukuna: 1%

• romance meter:
- itadori yūji: 0% + 15% = 15%
- fushiguro megumi: 10%
- secret target: 0%

.

.

.

┌──────┐
author's note...
└──────┘

hello darlings!! just a quick note, the debut for aelita will be quite a bit different from how they were in the actual victorian era, so please don't come at me.

and please don't forget to vote + comment, as it makes my day. thank you + love y'all!! <3