The Royal Switch part 5

[krystalkatzfics]

“Careful!” Satoshi called grabbing Taro around the waist and pulling him backwards as a large, sleek black motorcycle came tearing past. The rider paused a few feet down the road and turned back a helmet covered head to look at them as Taro started shouting;

“Oi! Be more careful, arsehole!”

“I don’t think they can hear you” Satoshi hummed chuckling at his actions his arm still firmly wrapped around his waist. Taro sighed before shaking his head and pulling himself up out of the arms of his oldest friend. Satoshi gave him a little smile and Taro smiled back righting his clothes again. “Come on the studio is over here...”

“Good, we can check it out and then go find some where for lunch, we have four days to sight-see after and I’ve made a list...”

“You know that we could just wing it...” Satoshi suggested as they continued over the road with Tama swinging loosely from his hand. Taro paused for a moment unable to believe what he was hearing. Satoshi was very much life’s wanderer. Even when they were in college together he had been the type of person that had never had any fixed plans, life took him where it wanted and he was happy to go along with that. It had always worked out well enough for him he supposed, even if it had meant that he was a single father at only 27. Taro was different, he always had been. He liked firm plans and goals and had always been resolute in keeping to them. “Only joking, but it wouldn’t kill you to relax more...”

“Relaxing isn’t going to get us to win this competition! We need to focus! If we fail...I don’t even want to think about what will happen if we fail...” Taro grumbled, wondering once again why he had agreed to come here, it had been a moment of weakness and madness and now if it failed he could lose everything. He struggled to smile as they showed their passes to two men dressed as Nutcrackers on the door. Taro couldn’t decide if they were meant to be nutcrackers or if it was some traditional uniform that the men were meant to be wearing. Either way it was amusing, more so as they had serious expressions on their faces.

Once in the studio, a large room seemingly purposely built for the competition, with ten fully equipped kitchenettes, nerves collected through him once more and that only heightened as he looked to one of the kitchens and saw Inoue Mao. The woman had been in his class when he had been studying at the school of baking in France. They had never liked each other and that seemed to be still very much the case when the woman looked at him and scowled before forcing her face into a smile.

“Taro, how unexpected, I never imagined that I would see you here...” She said in a clipped tone and Taro forced himself to smile in return motioning to Satoshi and Tama to go to their kitchenette that was in front of Mao’s.

“Inoue, I didn’t expect to see you here either...”

“I was last years winner...” The woman announced proudly sticking out her foot and causing Taro to go flying straight into another competitors sauce that she had been mixing. The blueberry mix sloshed down over the apron Taro was wearing and up over his face. “You really should be more careful...”

“You did that on purpose, old dragon!” Tama pouted his hands on his hips and Taro grinned at his god-son before looking down at himself and sighing.

“I should go clean up...Can you set up?”

“Of course, boss,” Satoshi agreed with a scowl that matched his son’s in Inoue’s direction. With a sigh Taro looked for a sign for the bathroom and then followed it until he found himself in an almost empty corridor with only one other person. The man in front of him dipped into the bathroom before him and Taro followed going straight to the sink to wash his face. He heard a breathy voice whistling beside him and then the sound of a secondary tap being turned on. Stretching out his back to look at himself in the mirror Taro almost screamed as he saw not one but two of himself. The man at his side let out a shocked gasp as well and then as one they slowly to turned to face each other their eyes mirrored in shock and awe.

“Who...Who the hell are you?”

“Duke Ninomiya Kazunari of Overnory...” The other him said in a polished voice and Taro swallowed down a strangled cry bowing so fast and so low he ended up smacking his face against the sink. “Are you okay? Mr...”

“Yamada...Yamada Taro...Um...Your highness...Um...”

“It’s your grace actually” The duke corrected with a soft chuckle. “Are you one of the bakers in the competition?”

“Yes, I’m...I’m one of the bakers...In the competition...” Taro repeated before flushing and groaning as he rubbed his forehead and bowed again. “Your...Grace...”

“It’s fine, actually...I have something of a baking emergency that you might be able to help with, if you come to the palace at say...6 o’clock?” The duke hummed softly and Taro stared back up at him feeling something prickle at the back of his neck. It was...Astonishing...The likeness between them. Even the moles on their chins were the same and he had to fight the urge to reach out and touch the duke to make sure he was real. He barely heard the question that was being asked but again the Duke looked amused and repeated himself.

“You want my help?” Taro asked in disbelief “What with?”

“My wedding cake, I am marrying the prince in a little under two weeks and all I have been allowed to do is pick the wedding cake. But I am absolutely not the best judge of sweet things. But you as a baker...I am positive that you would be able to help...” The duke coaxed gently and Taro allowed his brain to process the words he was saying over how much they looked alike;

“I...But don’t you have...You know...Cooks and things at the palace”

“Of course, tons, but that doesn’t mean they would be honest with me...They all want their cake to be picked, you are unbiased...Please say you’ll come? I have to go...But promise me you will meet me at six” The duke said reaching out and grabbing his hand between both of his and Taro was shocked to feel how warm he was against him.

“I...Um...Yes, of course...Um...Your grace...Um...Do I have to bow?”

“No, it’s fine...Thank-you, I look forward to seeing you later...Thank-you again”

TBC

A/N: I hope that this is okay ^_^

Comments

[kemala_octi]

OMG >.<
just opened my dreamwitdh and binge-reading this, somehow remind me of the princess and the pauper

I love this^^

[denyclamp]

Oh my! That explains the yellow apron (that confused me in chapter 1 Lol)! I still can't imagine how the couples will be though, I'm fairly intrigued 😆