The Pirate & The Princess [KaneTou]

24

Arriving by carriage, Kaneki sucked in a huge breath and let it out as he stepped before the large castle. Today was the day he was going to see Touka again. Today was the day where he'd get Arata to acknowledge him.

Stepping into the room, he was momentarily blinded by the bright lights that lit the ballroom, and the amount of people staring at him. He knew it was out of curiosity and because he had unusual white hair. Ignoring them, he strode further in, making sure that he walked with dignity and seemed confident. His hours of struggling with lessons had to pay off if he wanted to convince Arata.

Touka's eyes widened when she saw Ken approach them, and greeted her parents before turning to her with a smile. "Good evening, Princess Kirishima."

"What's the meaning of this, Papa?" Her voice wavered as she looked to her father.

"I invited him here. Told Prince Kaneki here that if he wished to marry you, he had to prove it to me. I'll be watching him throughout the evening and will decide whether he deserves to marry you, Touka. You're allowed to have a dance with him." Arata kept his eyes on Ken upon saying the last sentence.

Kaneki got the hint and held out a hand. "May I have the pleasure of having a dance?"

Touka calmed herself down, placed her hand in his gloved one, her heart skipping a beat as he squeezed her hand and pulled her to the dance floor with a smile on his handsome face. The music started playing at the sight of the first couple on the floor of the evening and soon, other people filled the floor with their respective partners.

As they danced, Touka was too stunned by his waltz skills and forgot how happy she was to see him after so many months of separation. Before she could tell him how much she missed him, he beat her to it, eyes gazing into hers. "I missed you."

It's been months, and he still looked as handsome as ever, except that he looked absolutely exhausted, from the eye bags under his eyes and the paleness of his face.

"I missed you too... what happened to you?" She resisted the urge to cup his cheeks, knowing that they're in public.

"Haven't been sleeping well. You know me, I get nightmares whenever you're not with me. What about you? You don't look good as well." He asked, signaling to the redness under her eyes and thinness of her face.

She hesitated. "I haven't been eating and resting well since we separated. But that's not important. How did you convince my father to let us meet?"

His eyes softened as he looked at her face. "At first, I thought distancing myself from you would do both of us good, but when I tried to forget you in the few months we were apart, I just couldn't. You were on my mind every minute of the day, even when I'm working hard in making up for my sins, and in my sleep. After I was done with my work, I went back to your father and asked him to let me see you again. Then, he gave me an invitation to this ball and only will allow us to marry if I carried myself as a proper prince."

He paused, looking at her regretfully. "I'm sorry for making you cry on that day we separated. It was painful for me as well, so I can imagine how much you suffered too."

Touka shook her head, eyes glistening with tears. "It's alright. You're here with me now, that's all it matters."

The couple enjoyed the remaining minutes of the waltz in each other's arms as they danced gracefully all over the floor and stepped away from one another hesitantly once the dance was over. Kaneki excused himself with a kiss on her gloved hand and a bow before he went to get drinks for both of them.

Her heart pounded as she watched him walk away and didn't know that she was holding a huge breath until she released it when he returned with drinks in his hands. The trauma of being separated from him came back to her and she was so afraid that he wouldn't come back, just like that day.

Arata watched closely at how Kaneki acted, with grace and like a proper prince, and laid back against his throne with a sigh. Hikari placed a hand over his, and he looked at her who had a smile on her face. "You're being too uptight. Today is a ball. You should enjoy yourself instead of watching them the whole evening."

"But dear... I just want the best for her. It's been hard since Ayato left us, she's our only child now."

"I know darling. But Touka's a big girl now, she knows what she's doing. I believe Prince Kaneki wouldn't dare do anything in your presence either."

At Hikari's insistence, Arata decided that taking his eyes off his daughter and Kaneki for a bit wouldn't be that bad and didn't notice the both of them slipping off to the gardens in the night.