Chapter Text
I-I
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It's been approximately one year since Akito became a White Knight. He was sixteen. During that one year, there weren't any wars or tension between all the kingdoms and empires. However... recently, the Soleil Kingdom has been trying to establish trade routes with the Nocturne Empire, but they were extremely defensive and reluctant towards Soleil merchants stepping foot in Nocturne territory.
Akito, being the overthinker he is, has been quite distracted the past week with thoughts about a possible war. He was prepared, of course, but that never meant he wanted a war. Taking into account the two regions' armies, things could get... very bloody. For both. And no one liked that, you kn-
"-nome! Shinonome?? Earth to Sir Akito Shinonome!"
"Huh? Oh, Tenma, it's just you. What do you need?" Akito looked up and sighed. "I was just finishing up lunch."
"…Akito, why are you eating lunch in the garden? Nevermind, that's not the point! I wanted to know if you've seen any... magical creatures recently, my friend! Specifically, dragons!" Tsukasa asked.
Akito stared at him in confusion. "Why would there be any dragons in Soleil? All I've ever seen was a small one up north, but that was when I was uh, six?"
"Hmm... I see then, Thank you, Shinonome!" Tsukasa turned and left, scratching his head.
"...What? Well, do whatever, I guess." Akito hummed and left it at that.
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Considering how today was Akito's day off, he decided to head into the forest(in disguise!) to sing a bit. Singing wasn't his dream or anything, it was more of a hobby he really enjoyed. However, he would never sing in front of anyone... he'd be too embarrassed. He was probably the only person in the Soleil Kingdom who could navigate the woods behind the castle, or even enter at all, so this place was perfect for whenever he wanted some personal space. Though, said forest happened to be part of the Nocturne Empire as well, so he always stays in the southern side of the terrain.
The moment he snuck in the forest and the bustling town was out of sight, he took off his hood and started singing to himself.
♪~
A strange sound interrupted him, like multiple slow footsteps... as if he was about to be ambushed. Akito immediately froze and drew his sword, carefully following the sound to its origin, slowly maneuvering between the trees.
Soon, he made his way to a clearing, hiding behind a large tree.
In the clearing, there was a boy his age, with two-toned blue hair and simple attire.
He accidentally stepped on a branch, alerting the blue-haired boy.
The boy jolted and immediately looked towards Akito, eyes wide, and stood up. He picked up a dagger, pointing it towards him.
”Who are you, and what do you want? Where did you come from?” He questioned.
Akito panicked and walked out from where he was hiding. “I- Sorry for startling you, I didn’t really expect to find someone else here.” he blurted. “Uh… my name is Akito Shinonome. Just call me Akito.”
“…Why did you even come here? It’s easy to get lost.” the boy said, furrowing his eyebrows. “In fact, this clearing is quite hard to find as well. I’m surprised all you have is a sword.”
“Well, I’ve been here a lot, and I come to this clearing quite often. I could ask you the same thing.” Akito stated.
The boy slowly let go of his dagger, realizing the other posed no threat. “How long have you been coming here? Why haven’t I seen you around before?”
“I used to come here a lot, but the past year I’ve been really busy, so I just… didn’t have the time,” the ginger said, scratching the back of his head. “Also, you haven’t introduced yourself yet! What’s your name?”
“…My name is Toya.” he said hesitantly. “I come here every few days and sometimes with Crimson, my dragon.”
“You have a dragon?”
Toya nodded.
Akito grinned. “That’s pretty cool. Anyways, I usually come around every week or two. Mind if I hang out with you? It’s better than wandering around alone.”
Toya shrugged. “I suppose you could.”
He sat down and patted the space next to him, signaling for Akito to come and sit. The knight walked over and plopped down next to the other.
Akito stretched his arms and reached into his bag.
“Um. Apple?” Akito looked over to Toya while holding out one of the two apples he brought.
“Ah, sure.”
- - -
The two started their conversation with simple topics, like food preferences and interests.
“What do you mean you drink black coffee!? It’s so bitter!”
“Well, I fail to understand why you’re able to consume such unhealthy amounts of sugar and still be perfectly healthy.”
Soon enough, Akito started talking more about his disconnected family and complaining about the other knights.
“My mom was a pretty nice person, but she was always busy with her job. She was completely different to my shithead of a dad! He’s so strict and mean to my sister! My dad used to be an artist, but it didn’t work out in the long run. Too competitive of a job, I guess. But that doesn’t give him a reason to discourage my sister! Sure, she’s a bitch sometimes, but… she always saves me a slice of cheesecake. Almost always.”
“Your family seems… hectic.”
“Yeah, but I haven’t talked to them since I started knight training. Before I left though, my sister gave me a bracelet. I think she made it herself. Now I’m a knight, so I have to deal with an annoyingly loud upperclassman and a pretty enthusiastic upperclassman, who’s always in a decent mood. They’re so chaotic as a duo, and I always manage to get caught in their field of view. There’s more knights, but they don’t annoy me as much.”
“Huh. They sound interesting…”
Akito also learned that Toya was, unfortunately, taller than him.
“Wait, what do you mean you’re 178cm tall!?”
“I’m not extraordinarily tall…”
“Damnit… another person who’s taller than me.”
Toya also shared some experiences he had while exploring the woods.
“One time I saw a stray cat getting chased by a squirrel.”
“A cat getting chased by a squirrel? Are you sure you saw it clearly?”
“I’m quite sure it was getting chased by a squirrel. I also thought it was weird, but it was out in the open where I could see it clearly, so it has to be true.”
After a while of chatting, Akito looked up at the sky to see that the sun was setting. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a pocket watch.
Upon seeing the time, the ginger stood up and stretched. “It’s getting late, I should head back. Maybe we could meet again sometime, y’know?”
Toya smiled softly. “I’d like that. Are you able to come three days from now, at the same time?”
“Yeah, I can. That’d be nice. See ya!” Akito waved and went on his way, disappearing into the trees.
The other smiled and stood up, but saw that Akito left behind a braided bracelet made of brown and bright orange yarn. It was probably the bracelet his sister gave him, so Toya put it in his pocket so he can give it back to Akito next time.
Upon his dragon’s arrival, he climbed on and headed up north, feeling content that he had met someone new.
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I-I