The Pirate & The Princess [KaneTou]

3

"You foolish woman! Sit down!" Kaneki ordered, adding pressure to her shoulders so that she sat back down onto the bed.

"Did you just call me foolish again--W-what are you doing?!" Touka shouted when he gathered her skirts up to her knees and inspected the sprained ankle. He avoided her kick with ease and squeezed her ankle. She flinched and yelped in pain. "Stop that! It hurts!"

Letting out a sigh, he started to massage her bruised ankle. She pulled her leg out of his grasp and turned her head to the side. "I don't need any help." She said, being too prideful for her own good. Feeling irritated at her behavior, he decided to be a little evil, pressing the sprained area of her ankle hard with his thumb and she whimpered at the action. 

"Don't be too stubborn, woman. Be grateful that I am offering you help and putting you out of your misery earlier. Would you rather suffer for weeks in pain or just 1 week?"

"..1 week."

"Then stop struggling."

After taking her foot into his hands again, he began out soft, slowly increasing the pressure of his hands and she had to bite down on the cloth he gave her and fist her hands in the bedsheets to prevent from screaming out in pain. At the end of a 15-minute massage, he bandaged her swollen foot and threw both of her heels into the bin. "H-hey, my heels! What am I going to walk around with if you throw them?!"

He snorted. "With your leg as swollen as a pig's, I guarantee that you won't be walking at all. At least for a few days." He tossed a pair of slippers at her feet and she stared down at them. "If you decide to walk and make your injury worse, by all means, use those."

Touka should be mad at the rude way he was speaking to a princess, but out here, she was nobody, only a hostage. Besides, he did help her and she knew better than to discredit someone for what they have done, especially if it's a good deed. Pulling her hair to cover her pink cheeks, she avoided eye contact and mumbled under her breath. "Thank you."

"Hmph. I guess even the princess knows how to thank someone."

Her eyes flickered up to meet his and she glared at him. "Don't push your luck, kidnapper. Don't think I have forgiven you for taking me."

Kaneki grinned. "I have a name and it's Kaneki Ken. You're welcome."

His smile was so charming that it mesmerized her for that one moment before she shook her head to remove those disturbing thoughts. What was she, a maiden in love? It was impossible for her to like someone who kidnapped her, was so arrogant, and so rude to her. 

But some part of her couldn't deny that he could be a nice person deep down. After all, he could have just left her alone to suffer but he didn't. A completely bad person would have done that, that's why she concluded that he was not 100% bad.

Her thoughts were interrupted when he threw a shirt at her, covering her head and she pulled it away in annoyance. "What's this? Haven't your parents ever taught you not to throw things at people?!"

"Shut up and wear that." He answered before throwing another pair of pants at her. She could sense the displeasure in his tone but chose to ignore it. Catching the pants before it hit her this time, she stared down incredulously at the clothes. "You expect me to wear these torn, old and shabby clothes? I'm a princess, if you didn't know--"

He slammed his hand against the wall beside her head and narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't test my patience. When I ask you to wear it, you better wear it. Unless you want me to change your clothes for you? I wouldn't recommend that."

She froze. For once, she felt fear surge through her and it sent shivers down her spine. She understood what he meant; he can be nice, but he can also be nasty if she gave him a reason to be. 

Nodding, she heard her voice waver, which was something that has never happened before. No matter who talked to her, she never backed down and was never afraid. But seeing the dangerous look in his eyes told her that if she were to retort him any further, he wouldn't take it nicely. "I-I'll wear it."

"Good girl." 

Leaving the room with a slam of the door, the princess sighed in relief and leaned back against the wall. Her body still trembled from the fear he made her feel and she shuddered at the thought of his merciless grey eyes because it told her that he had the ability and can wipe her off the face of this earth if he wanted to.