THEY WERE CLOSER...

     than before; hanamiya could tell.

however, it was probably also because the two of them were on violin, while he was the outcast: the pianist in this situation.

"hanamiya, you've truly exceeded my expectations", aisa complimented, only to earn a scoff from the man.

'yeah, no shit. you practically forced me to learn the entire piece in an entire week and a half', the dark-haired male internally cursed.

     "and of course, you've been doing extremely well too, akashi".

"thank you, your highness", the red-haired captain replied, not even surprised that they had reverted back to their original name-callings.

"so since you two have been such good boys, I have decided to reward you guys with a surprise", aisa smiled, causing the two knights to perk up in curiosity.

sometimes the woman's words made their stomachs churn, as they never knew what was bubbling up in that mind of hers.

hanamiya shot akashi a look, who proceeded to speak up.

"your highness doesn't need to waste her energy on the likes of—"

"nonsense! the carriage has already been prepared. now let's go", aisa ushered.

"carriage? we're leaving the palace for this...surprise?", hanamiya suspiciously asked.

"yes! is there a problem?", aisa asked, her eyes sparkling with temerity.

"absolutely not, your highness. we'll be right behind you", akashi stated, as he proceeded to put the violins away.

"lovely. then I shall see you both in a few minutes", aisa smiled, truly excited for this mini adventure.

     akashi and hanamiya shared one last glance.

     "I bet you pissed her off somehow...if this is directed towards you, then you're going down alone", hanamiya muttered.

     "bold of you to presume that it isn't you that's that cause of her wrath", akashi retorted.

     the two men then glared at each other, before they heard the calling of their owner.

     "HURRY UP, BOYS!!"

ೃ࿔*:･

     "when you said surprise...this wasn't exactly what I was expecting", hanamiya mumbled, starting to feel annoyed at the many pairs of hands that were roaming around his body.

akashi didn't seem to mind too much, as he was used to being dressed by the servants back at the duke's mansion.

"well what exactly were you expecting, hm?", aisa questioned, quirking a brow up in the process, as she leisurely took a sip of tea.

the three were currently at atiana's boutique, a famous dress and suit-making store for the more prestigious nobles.

some couldn't even get in without a two week reservation, though because it was aisa — the first princess herself — that rule was obviously excused.

"lady aisa, what do you think of these two suits that they have on currently?", the owner of the shop — miss atiana — nicely asked.

since the two were well-known acquaintances, due to the various times that aisa would have atiana personally make her dresses, aisa had allowed the shop owner to refer to her more casually.

"I like the simplicity of the black suits...though not so much the similar ties", aisa bluntly critiqued.

     "I want each of them to have a separate color...mm...perhaps a crimson red tie for akashi and an olive green one for hanamiya", aisa suggested.

"of course! and did you want a dress as well, or...?"

"I want something black, tight at the top, but sheer and loose from the waist down; something elegant yet not too flashy. since you already have my measurements, I'll be letting you choose the design and such, and I'll pay now", aisa demanded.

atiana smiled with a nod, as she truly appreciated when customers knew exactly what they wanted in a dress, yet there was still a bit of liberty given for the more intricate details.

"and when do you wish for it to be done, lady aisa?"

"in three days, please. I know it's a bit of a time crunch..."

"no worries, lady aisa! I'll have it delivered directly to the palace once it's finished", atiana promised.

     "lovely. thank you for your cooperation", aisa smiled, as she watched her two knights go back into the changing room to shed off their suits.

     "ah! and before I forget, can you..."

     atiana leaned down a bit, as aisa whispered something into her ear, to which the store owner had immediately widened her smile, accompanied by a nod.

     "for sure. I'll have that prepared along with your dress as well. anything else?", atiana questioned.

before aisa could answer, the store bells had rung, signaling that another customer had arrived.

"oh apologies, but the store's currently clos—"

"AISA?!"

"satsuki! lovely seeing you here", aisa smiled, as she then turned towards atiana.

     "I hope you don't mind lady momoi joining us, miss atiana. she's a close friend of mine, well, my best and only friend", aisa corrected.

"in that case, please take a seat, lady momoi. would you like any tea or treats? and what may I help you with today?", the shop owner questioned.

"oh, no thank you! but I do have a request for the ball in four days. what color do you think I should go with, aisa?", the pink-haired woman asked.

"hm...what about baby blue? it's a very cute yet elegant color", aisa suggested.

     "yes! I'll go with that then!", momoi exclaimed, as she noticed two figures exiting the changing rooms.

"ooohhh!! I didn't know you were here as well, akashi! who's the other guy?? and is aoimine here too?", momoi asked.

     "pleasure seeing you, lady momoi", akashi greeted.

     "the name's hanamiya makoto, lady momoi", the dark-haired knight politely greeted, even going as far as to taking momoi's hand and kissing the back of it.

the pink-haired woman had a splurge of blush overcome her face — matching her rosy hair — as she glanced over at aisa, as if expecting for the princess to advise her on what to do.

"aoimine's unfortunately not here. he actually got picked by my second brother: hirotada. and I suggest you go for another one, satsuki. that one's not exactly your type", aisa calmly responded, as she dabbed the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

"what do you mea—"

"that's so mean of you to say, princess~", hanamiya slightly pouted.

"even though I might not be her type, she's exactly my type: stupid girls", the uncrowned general smirked, causing momoi to offendedly gasp and immediately retract her hand.

     "how rude! I am not stupid!", momoi retorted.

     "hanamiya, apologize", aisa demanded, not even sparing the male a glance, as she dropped a bag of gold coins onto the table for atiana.

     the uncrowned general furrowed his brows in reluctance, even more vexed that aisa didn't find his insult hilarious.

aisa then sighed, talking pacific steps towards the male.

     a slap had then landed on the right side of hanamiya's face, causing his eyes to widen in shock, as he didn't expect aisa to be so serious about apologizing.

     even momoi covered her mouth in shock, as she had felt a tinge of guilt for him.

     "you only bark at the people that I dislike. just because I favor you a little, doesn't give you the right to be uncivil with anyone you want, understand?", aisa sternly asked.

hanamiya bit the inside of his cheeks, as he muttered out a bitter, "yes, your highness".

"a-aisa, you didn't have to..."

"sorry about that, satsuki. I'm still training him. however, I hope you have a fun time getting your dress fitted, and I shall see you at the ball. feel free to come by the palace more often. I miss chatting with you", aisa smiled, her attitude doing a full 180.

momoi simply nodded, as she watched aisa and her two knights disappear into the carriage — presumably returning back to the palace.

"so...baby blue for the dress, correct? lady momoi?"

ೃ࿔*:･

hanamiya swore to take revenge, which is why he had gathered the kirisaki daiichi members onto the field, meanwhile aisa was getting ready for bed.

"what's got you so pissed, captain?", yamazaki questioned, as he wasn't the only one that could feel a menacing aura radiating off the prideful knight.

     "I believe it's a who, not a what", seto corrected, yawning at the same time.

     "we're going to sneak into that bitch's room tonight and search for something that looks valuable to her. then we're going to trash her room while she's asleep", hanamiya stated with no hesitance nor second thought.

     "bitch? what bitch? the empress?", hara asked, scratching the back of his head.

     "say that any louder and you're going to get your head severed", furuhashi warned.

     "maybe that's a good thing, considering how annoying hara is", yamazaki joked, causing the lilac-haired male to click his tongue in distaste.

     "no, that's for another time. I'm talking about the first princess", hanamiya replied.

     yamazaki and hara raised a brow in confusion.

     "huh? why? I thought you liked her".

     "like her my ass! now are you guys in or not?", hanamiya gruffly questioned.

     "I mean sure! not like I've got anything to do tonight", hara shrugged.

     "you mean anyone to do", yamazaki snorted. "but yeah, count me in!"

     "is my assistance absolutely needed?", furuhashi asked, knowing full well that if he got caught, his parents will have his head served on a platter to the emperor and empress.

     and he knew that it was the same, especially for seto, since the both of them were the children of a marquess.

     "but sleep...nighttime's the best time for it", seto mumbled.

     "oh come on! as long as no one finds out, who's gonna blame us?", yamazaki persuaded.

     furuhashi agreed, as seto begrudgingly nodded, signaling his consent.

     "so what exactly is the plan?", hara whispered.

     though before hanamiya could spit out his wicked scheme, an uninvited voice had chimed in.

"got room for one more?"

everyone looked up to see the one and only troublemaker that was just as well-known as the kirisaki daiichi members themselves: haizaki shōgo.

╭─────────────────╮
EVIL
╰─────────────────╯