The Second Prince and the Second Princess

All her life, Kei always thought of herself second. She was an unexpected twin, who due to being the younger one by an hour, was given the name Kei, a name derived from the first one, Keiko. Growing up, she was always second to her sister in everything, the love of her parents, the gifts, and the toys.

At school, she was barely seen, she often kept to herself due to her thinking that loneliness was normal. Up until middle school, when a boy finally made her feel like she was number one. Yusuke constantly approached her, and constantly made her feel seen, even when she was trying to push him away, he persevered. But when they had become friends, she realized, she wasn’t his number one, not in friends, nor in feelings.

So as she was gently dragged through the crowd, through people who she saw as more beautiful than her, more valuable than her, she felt guilty. But every time he turned around, she would see in his scarlet eyes, how much he truly valued her.

“Don’t be shy,” Iscodaya gently told her as many eyes were now on them.

“How could I? There’s so many people looking at you,” she replied. But like he was expecting that, Iscodaya came closer to her, his mouth near her ear.

“Good, 'cause I want to be the only person looking at you.” Kei’s face turned bright red as he continued to guide her.

“W-wait! Shouldn’t we dance somewhere on the sides? Going to the center is embarrassing,” she asked, but yet again, Iscodaya turned to her.

“The sides would be a disservice to you.” Line after line, Iscodaya was making Kei feel like she was in some sort of a fairy tale. And as they made it to the center, Iscodaya guided her hand to his shoulder, as he put his on her waist. And gently, he used his other hand to grab onto hers, “Just follow my lead, okay?”

The first movement felt surreal to her, as Iscodaya danced with the tempo of the music, his skills catching her off-guard, “When did you learn how to dance?” She asked as she found it hard to keep up with him.

“When I was younger. I really didn’t pay much attention though, for I thought I wouldn’t be dancing with anyone. But now, I’m thankful, for I can use those lessons on you,” he remarked before giving Kei a stare that made her bashful, “Here, I’ll be slow with you, look at your feet, and move them with mine.”

Kei looked down as she was careful not to step in the same area as Iscodaya, seeing her try made Iscodaya happy. And as they continued, Kei was starting to get a hold of things, “Hey, look, we’re flowing nicely,” she happily remarked.

Also noticing it, Iscodaya let go of Kei’s waist for a moment as he lifted her head, “Now since your feet know the movements, your eyes can now focus on me,” he remarked before putting his hand back on her waist. Kei was beyond bashful as Iscodaya guided her along the dancefloor.

Kaus watched from a distance, as a girl managed to convince him to dance, “That’s it, your Majesty, just like how we practiced.” But it was not only Kaus that noticed Iscodaya, but more eyes were also peering into him.

Yuuma watched with shock, “What the? He truly is a Prince.”

Rin and Yusuke gazed upon them with awe, “When did Iscodaya learn that?” The girl asked, pleasantly surprised.

Yusuke couldn’t help but grin, as even with the eyes peering at them, Iscodaya’s gaze on Kei was unshakable, “He truly is going all out.”

The dancers close to them, young or old, began to make way for the two. The scarlet-eyed Prince that appeared out of nowhere took everyone’s gaze, except for the one he was dancing with.

“He’s too, bright,” Kei said in her mind as she tried to look away. But she didn’t have space as Iscodaya brought her closer.

“Don’t look away,” he asked, almost in a begging manner. Kei felt bad as she slowly turned her head to him, and that’s where she saw it. Iscodaya’s ears and cheeks were bright red, as she remembered how much he hated being in the spotlight.

“Why?” Kei asked herself, “Why is he doing this?” But before any more thoughts could enter her mind, Iscodaya yet again brought her close.

“I’m going to twirl you, okay?” He declared, causing Kei to be surprised.

“There’s too many people watching us, what if I mess it up?” She replied, but Iscodaya wasn’t getting any of it.

“You won’t, I believe in you. I’ll assist you while you do it, just go with the momentum.” Kei hesitantly nodded as the scarlet-eyed Prince smiled. Removing his hands from her waist, Iscodaya began to make her twirl. Kei followed what Iscodaya told her about keeping momentum and tried to not slip.

The crowd was filled with gasps as Kei’s gown was flowing like a radiant flower blooming. And when Kei was starting to feel dizzy, Iscodaya stopped it, by twirling her into his arms. Kei’s dizziness almost went away as she saw his proud smile staring down at her.

“That was perfect for your first twirl,” he complimented as he set her. But then, as he moved with his feet, he put both of his hands on her waist, “The most beautiful girl should be in the spotlight, right?” Kei felt her feet lift off from the ground as Iscodaya’s unexpected strength lifted her into the air.

Her gown moved like golden waves, and the entire room could see her. But she didn’t pay attention to any of it, as in her eyes, she saw Iscodaya. His scarlet eyes pointed at her, a wide smile on his face like he was very proud of her.

And as Kei’s feet touched the ground, Iscodaya grabbed her hand and he leaned in, “You deserve everything,” he told her, as he kissed the top of her knuckle. The room exploded in claps and cheers at the display, as Kei was bright red as a tomato.

Without a word, she began to walk off, leaving Iscodaya a bit confused. But then, Kaus and Yusuke came rushing in, “I’ll hold them off,” Kaus told Iscodaya as he saw the group of girls rushing towards him.

“Go for her bro, we’ll give you time,” Yusuke remarked as Iscodaya immediately followed. Getting the memo, Rin and Yuuma started to also make way for Iscodaya, as the Prince ran.

He ran and ran to where there were no more people around him. And then he saw her, the Princess he was dancing with, in a room by herself. Iscodaya approached her slowly, the embarrassment creeping in, “Why?” Kei, asked, slowly lifting her head, clearly trying to hide how bashful she was, “Why did you do that?”

Hearing her question, Iscodaya smiled, as he sat next to her, “Because I wanted to make sure you knew that you were the most beautiful girl in the roo-” But before he could finish, Kei put her hands on Iscodaya’s mouth, as she couldn’t take it anymore.

“Why are you talking like that?” She asked, “It’s not like you like me.” But as Kei said those words, something inside Iscodaya’s princely exterior broke.

“YOU DENSE GIRL YOU!!” Iscodaya growled, taking Kei by surprise, “You know how embarrassing that was? How much I had to build my confidence up, for you to not even get it.” Iscodaya’s face then turned bright red, as he tried to hide it with his hands.

Kei watched with shock, as she started to connect the dots, “N-no way, d-do you actually?” She asked, and instead of running away from the question, Iscodaya confronted it.

He grabbed her hand and clasped it, and with genuine, sincere eyes, he uttered, “Yes Kei, I love you.”