A Castle in the Trees (Saiouma Fantasy AU) (HIATUS)

7

Kokichi uttered a frustrated sigh as his blade clattered to the ground, his trainer promptly replacing her own sword in the case she wore over her back at all times. He wiped a few beads of sweat off of his forehead and huffed, defeated by her in their mock battle for what felt like the thousandth time.

"This is stupid." He grumbled. Peko sighed.

"It may seem that way, but swordfighting is a neccesary skill, especially since you are to be the king. If the time comes, it is pertinent that you're able to defend yourself." She reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Sorry." He lied about agreeing with her, not feeling like continuing the discussion. If he couldn't defeat her in a fight against where she wasn't even trying, there was no way he would be able to save his own life, and he doubted he had much potential to get any better.

 He picked up the practice sword he had been granted off of the dusty ground of their training area. It was an old and tainted thing, the blade dull in both sheen and sharpness and covered in scratches, clearly having felt the wear and tear of being passed down over generations and used in daily swordfights. He felt that if he were to learn how to fight, he should at least have a better weapon to work with.

"That wraps up our training for today. Would you like to have lunch with me? There are a few things I would like to discuss with you." Peko asked him.

He faltered for a second. He intended upon sneaking off to have lunch with Shuichi, as he had done every day since they had become friends. But he knew Peko was pretty lonely, and was stretching the rules for him by offering in the first place. It'd be rude to refuse, and although he didn't typically care about anyone's feelings, he couldn't deny that Peko mattered to him.

He shrugged. "Sure, why not?" 

Peko smiled slightly at her student. "Alright."

The two of them wandered silently together back to the castle, feeling the stifling heat dissapate the moment they stepped inside. It was nice to be freed from the blistering sun, especially when they were forced to do excessive physical activity while being exposed to it's heat.

After Kokichi went to his room to drop off his sword and change clothes, he walked down the hall to a small loung where Peko awaited on a couch, having gotten a plate of food for each of them. He sat across from her, thanked her, and they began eating in somewhat awkward silence.

"So, do you mind telling me what's going on?" Peko asked him suddenly. He raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure what you mean, my dear Peko." This wasn't a lie- he actually wasn't sure what exactly she was talking about, although he had a vague idea, and dreaded the prospect.

"Well, you've been acting distracted lately. A bit too eager to run off after we're done with lessons, and it's like you've been moving backwards slightly. You have been doing well, but something seems to have thrown a wrench in the usual swing of things." She commented. 

Kokichi flinched internally. I guess I haven't been as discreet as I thought. 

He didn't want to tell her about his friend and risk putting him in trouble. He knew that there was not one person in the castle he could trust with that partcular piece of information, and he knew that Shuichi would panic if he found out he had told someone, whether or not Peko's reaction was positive. And so, as usual, he lied.

"No,  not at all. I don't know where you got that from, but I'm fine." He replied with a shrug, taking a bite of his food to pass of the statement as casual. She didn't buy it for a second, knowing full well about her student's decietful tendencies.