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

12

GUESS WHO'S BACK BACK AGAIN 

dies cutely

"K-Kokichi? Hey, where..."

Shuichi trailed off as he realized the boy who had previously been walking with uneven, bouncy steps right next to him was nowhere to be seen. His footsteps slowed and then faded as he stood still, snapping his head around in a search for the boy that he tried not to let get too desperate. The space where he had been was filled with emptiness and he didn't spot him anywhere in the near vicinity. 

Dread instantly settled in the pit of his stomach as the dark trees all around him shielding him from exposure to the moonlight suddenly seemed taller and much more formidable. 

It was just another late night, and they had been aimlessly wandering the forest, trying not to go too far that they couldn't see the castle. Sure enough, the white towers of their home still loomed above even the tallest trees in the near distance, directly in front of Shuichi. However, his companion had disappeared. Just like that, and not a single warning.

 They had made some brief and idle chitchat, specifically concerning Kokichi and Celstia's upcoming 15th birthday. As it turns out, it was quite a source of stress for them both. But they had fallen into silence, which was fine too, so not noticing his sudden disappearance wasn't the most outlandish thing.

He swallowed back an anxious lump in his throat. Don't panic. He's got to be nearby. I just recently noticed, so there's no way he's too far away. He's probably just messing with me. He attempted to remind himself, but it didn't stop all the worst possibilities from flooding his mind.

They hadn't been on much of a path. There weren't many of those in the wilderness surrounding  the castle. They were just... walking. So there were about a million different directions in which he could have disappeared. 

The countless stories he had told Shuichi on the rare occasion they managed to have some time alone together were starting to get to his head. As interesting- and potentially untruthful- as they had been at the time, it wasn't helping his fear at all, now that he was alone in the place where all those things supposedly wandered. 

"Kokichi?" Despite trying repeatedly to prevent himself from panicking, it was getting increasingly difficult as the seconds of discordant silence ticked by. He glanced around, fidgeting with the cuffs of his sleeves nervously.

"Kokichi, come on! I'm back over here...!" He called out, his voice starting to weaken.

Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afrai-

Suddenly, Shuichi heard the brief rustle of bushes behind him, accompanied by several rapid footsteps indicating that something previously hidden was now making its way towards him. He let out a high-pitched shriek and whirled around as quickly as he could, prepared to make a defense against whatever was approaching him.

Right as he turned towards it, though, something strange happened. It was like an electric shock, running from his head down to his arms and reaching his fingertips where it promptly was released into the asurrounding atmosphere It was so brief, though, he barely noticed it. It was secondary to how startled and terrified he was, nothing more than background noise.

He heard a thud and a yelp of surprise, pain, or both. He expected to see some sort of horrible beast with it's fang-filled mouth open wide, ready to tear him into mangled, bloody shreds. But all that was there was a familiar purple-haired boy, now lying flat on his back on the ground, a dazed expression on his face.

"Kokichi!" He breathed a sigh of relief, trying to relax now that he knew the danger was nothing more than his friend being an idiot. Now that the perpetrator had been revealed, the tension all but melted. He must have tripped or something. He walked over to where Kokichi was sprawled, not bothering to offer him a hand.

"Ow." He slowly sat up, rubbing his head in discomfort before narrowing his eyes at Shuichi. "Jeez, how did you do that? It was a simple prank. You didn't have to freak out."

Confused, he took a second to think before responding. He hadn't done anything, at least not to his knowledge. They had been a considerable distance away, too, judging by where he currently sat. "...Do what?"

"You did something, right? Why do you think I'm on the ground?" He asked with a condescending look. "I was gonna run behind you and scare you, but you knocked me over. I felt it."

"I-I don't understand... I didn't do anything, and you're too far for me to touch you, anyways." He denied. 

Seeing that Shuichi was just as confused as he was, he shook his head. "Well, whatever. Either way, I got you good! You should have seen the look on your face."

As confused as he was, he figured he'd just run with the subject change. "That wasn't funny. I thought something might have happened to you." He mumbled, Kokichi's usual grin only making him more irritated. 

"Awww! Shuichi cares about me! I must have really swept you off your feet!" He giggled. "Aww, but you look like you're mad at me... how upsetting..." His expression immediately changed into a pouty one. A deep frown creased his face and he could tell crocodile tears were about to form in his eyes. "It was just a joke... how mean."

He sighed, having none of it. "Look, I want to go home. Can you just get up?" 

He shook his head. "Nooo, I'm hurt. Carry me! Like I did for you when you burnt your foot! Pleeeeease?" He fluttered his eyelids.

"Just stop it already..." He muttered. Tired, irritated, and confused, he wasn't in the mood for any more of Kokichi's lying. "You can just stay there on the ground if you want to that bad."

He turned away from him and started walking towards the caste with angry footsteps. "Hey, wait up!" Kokichi exclaimed, and he heard his rapid footsteps approach him from behind. "You're so mean, Shuichi. It was just a simple joke." He sniffed.

"Yeah, well, it wasn't funny. Despite what you might think, you can't do whatever you want all the time. I say that because I don't want you getting in trouble." He replied coldly, keeping his eyes fixed on their destination and not even bothering to spare a glance in Kokichi's direction.

"Yeah, I can. Sure, I get in trouble, but who cares? I'm a prince. What are they gonna do about it?" He bragged. As much as he hated being royalty, it didn't exactly make him any more modest about said trait. 

He took a deep breath. He saw no point in furthering the discussion, not wanting it to tailspin into an all-out argument. "Just please, don't do that again. You seriously worried me." He declared.

"Hmph. You're so lame, Shuichi. Bore me enough and I'll find someone else to prank." He grumbled. "...That was a lie, though. You're, like, my only friend."

Although the whole string of events seemed like just another night, just another mishap, it was something quite strange. Something that bypassed both of them as they eventually wandered back onto the castle grounds and begrudgingly said their goodbyes, returning to both their lives once again.

Yeah i know it's short have my head on a stick or whatever at least it exists and it didn't before so for that, be proud of me, peasants