synergetic | Prince of Fire Emblem: Three-Ring Circus

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prince of fire emblem

Prince of Fire Emblem: Three-Ring Circus

So, not how she expected to spend her day.

"We have to get this done by mid-afternoon if we're going to have time to eat afterward, and for me to still have tea with Maribelle..."

She's walking, but she stops short at the remembrance of her friend.

"Ooh, someone's gonna have to tell her, huh? She should hear it from me."

She glances back at Bunta, expecting him to be following her as she navigates the castle town. Several people recognize their princess and raise their hands or hats, which she acknowledges with cheerful return waves or personal calls as she goes, but plenty of others see no significance in the presence of a girl in a plain cleric's habit, walking down the street.

"Wait, what should she hear from me?" She gives him an almost pleading look. "Should I... be honest with Maribelle? Or not?"

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Nose wrinkling intensifies. Lissa is slightly affronted that he's so nonplussed by her threat, and the pressure to up the ante is on.

"It'll have my name on it, too. In fancy calligraphy."

If Lissa is hoping to deter him... it's not working. Instead of becoming uncomfortable, his interest only seems to increase.

"Oh, that's a good idea. We can get it engraved around the band."

"On the OUTSIDE, where everyone can see it," she warned. "And, there will be flowers in the design. Big ones with lots of petals."

The lack of effect her words have on him is beginning to rankle... worse, she's running out of ideas to threaten him with.

"It'll say a bunch of other stuff, too."

Once she thinks of it, anyway.

Why is she talking like this is a threat? Bunta doesn't get it.

"Oh? What else should it say? Pink stone, Lissa's name in fancy writing, flowery design-- hey, Ishimitsu, are you getting all this?"

"I-- Well, yes, certainly, we can do that, if you're sure that's what you want."

"Well, when can we come back to get it, then?"

She's pretty much lost the plot; instead of getting Bunta to take it seriously, now she's just wanting to carry through on the threat and be done with it.

"It's going to have to say 'Property of Lissa Yukimura, Princess of Rikkai,'" she blurted out, one last stab at getting a reaction of some kind. "Or something like that, but tell me if that's too long, okay?"

[As soon as Bunta finishes processing that, he explodes into laughter.]

"Property? That's great...! I like it. Let's do it, Ishimitsu!"

Poor Ishimitsu seems torn on exactly how seriously he should take this order. But it ultimately seems like a really bad idea to question the princess herself, so he answers with minimal hiccup: "Of course, Princess Lissa. I'm sure I can find a way to fit all of that. Given the complexity, this may take some time, however I assure you its completion will be prioritized so that it's available as soon as possible."

But wait, you weren't supposed to... She'd had a goal, a reason for doing it like this, and the purpose was...

But Bunta's laughter is contagious and Lissa giggles, too. This is a stupid thing they're doing, and she still questions Seiichi's idea, but it's already been a load of fun.

If nothing else, Ishimitsu-san earned a lot of money for listening to this.

"It's my brother's fault whatever happens, anyway," she finally decides. "Can't wait to see the look on his face!"

In the end, it all worked out. It isn't a formal, serious, elegant ring he's getting. That's what makes it perfect: it's 100% Lissa. Playful. Vibrant. Spirited. Maybe just a little impulsive. Every time he looks at that ring, he'll think of her, and of this moment in Ishimitsu's shop, laughing with her about the brilliance of the joke in calling a fiancé property. And it will probably make him giggle again.

"That's right. In any case, I think he'll get a kick out of it, too. Now, for yours..."

Bunta steps over to Ishimitsu and tugs him down to whisper into his ear. Ishimitsu listens carefully, and he seems relieved after a moment, smiling and nodding with a friendly pat on Bunta's back.

"What? Hey! No secrets!"

She didn't hear any of that, and crossed her arms. There was a brief attempt to look imperiously down her nose at Bunta, intimidate him the way Seiichi sometimes did to people who didn't know him, but she didn't really know what went on in his head in those moments and her attempt at replication was somewhat lifeless.

"Don't I get a say in this?! Just because you refused one...!"

Though he apparently got everything he wanted, judging by that laugh. Lissa is just a little nonplussed.

Lissa is too pure to pull off her brother's staredown quite the same way, but it's a cute effort.

"Don't worry; that was a side request. You want to pick your own ring, right? That's fine. Try and take a look at the rest of the cases. There's plenty here you haven't seen yet."

Is there, though?

She supposes so, and turns around in a huff to go peeking through the cases, up one side of the room and down the other, a few stray exclamations over engravings or stone cuttings left in her wake.

Still, it's a little half-hearted, since she's dying to know what his 'side request' could be. And it's not like any hearts are really being touched in this scheme, anyway.

She keeps following Bunta with her eyes, too.

"Kind of a shame nobody else came along..." Seiichi should at least know what he was spending before he got the bill, but that was his choice at every step!

While Lissa is browsing, Ishimitsu opens the central case of featured items and removes the daisy ring with the fire opal stone that Bunta saw earlier, closing it inside a ring box before taking it to the transaction desk and starting to fill out some paperwork for the custom order. Once the details of the instruction are recorded, he hands off completion to the desk clerk and rejoins Lissa to show her through the remaining selection and answer any questions she has about them.

Bunta stays with her, casually browsing the rings in cases and occasionally commenting on them up through her remark about their company.

"Huh? How come? Are you missing someone?"

"I just think shopping's more fun in a group, that's all," she said. "Then again, I don't think they'd have any really good opinions... Genichiro-kun would just keep telling you to find something better."

Which makes her giggle.

"You're the only one I'd thought would have any opinions on this kind of thing... well, besides Hiroshi-kun, but whether or not it's sufficient to my station in life isn't really the kind of opinion I care about. So I'm kinda disappointed you wouldn't say anything about what you're wearing!"

The little dig at Sanada makes him smile, only because it's true. Sanada's standards were second possibly only to Yukimura's. He shined brightest pushing everyone and everything to be the very best that they could, and their entire nation was stronger for his pushing. And like the rest of them, he had a soft spot for Lissa. She was right. There wouldn't be a ring in all of Rikkai that could seem worthy enough for her in his eyes.

"Mmh... I see. Unfortunately, whether it's a ring I'd choose for myself isn't the kind of opinion I care about. The perfect engagement ring for me is the one that my partner chooses for me to have. So thank you for helping me get the best one!" He winks.

Edited 2023-08-31 03:19 (UTC)

"W-well, maybe we still have time to change it..." She bit her lip, suddenly picturing people making fun of Bunta over the ring.

Bunta tips his head and blows a bubble.

"Huh? But I like it..."

"...Why are you so weird?" she asked, after a long stare and a short contemplation on the merits of popping his bubble (none, she decides, especially if it gets in his hair).

"Just bein' me," he says shamelessly, and then gestures towards the case of featured items that now sports an empty slit where the daisy ring had rested. "Look, there are some more rings over here. The one you want might be in this one."

She looks at him a little suspiciously. She has no idea what to do be suspicious of; she's just alerted to be wary now that he's directing her specifically.

Her eyes roam over the jewelry, but she isn't really seeing any of it, because she's thinking.

She doesn't glare, per se, but she looks rather intensely at him.

"What makes you say that?"

Marui is as guileless as ever as he looks back at her. "Because you haven't looked here yet." Is this a trick question?

"And you have?"

Of course, she can't really help what attracts her eyes. She points at something with an iridescent stone in silver setting.

"What kind of stone is that, do you think?"

Bunta shrugs. He did look earlier, but that isn't relevant, is it? Lissa wants to choose her own ring to wear for the arrangement, and she deserves to be able to. And if Bunta happened to see a ring that made him think of her, and he just happened to act on the feeling that he really wanted to get it for her, that's a separate matter.

Mostly.

"I dunno. Ishimitsu?"

"Ah, that's an opal! Beautiful, isn't it? Would you like to try it on?"

Edited 2023-08-31 05:35 (UTC)

"I, um." Suddenly, she's a little unsure.

"I guess that's a good idea. I guess if you have any more opals, I'd want to try them..."

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