𝔽𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣 ℂ𝕣𝕠𝕨𝕟 || 𝕂𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕠 𝔸𝕪𝕒𝕥𝕠

18. What A Beautiful Truth

"The king seems very friendly with you."

The question caught Kanari rather off-guard, as she and Sara walked along the empty corridor. The walls enveloping them were the familiar shade of white that painted the halls of the knights' quarters. She raised her eyebrows and glanced at her friend with mingled curiosity.

"Oh?" She hummed, not quite sure how to respond to such a remark.

"I've never seen His Majesty quite as open with anyone else," Sara replied, eyeing Kanari with slight suspicion. "I'm happy you aren't really nervous around him, at least."

Kanari regarded Sara's words carefully. The month or so she spent as the king's advisor was rather more relaxed than she'd expected. Though the workload was immense, talking to the king wasn't as straining anymore. Almost as if he'd become a friend rather than a co-worker, but of course, she refused to acknowledge this openly.

"We have to work together," Kanari said, crossing her arms as she walked. "I can't be perpetually nervous every single day."

"At least it's good on your wrists."

"What do you mean by that?" Kanari questioned, frowning as they turned a corner.

Sara rolled her eyes. "You dig your nails into your wrists when you're nervous."

"Do I?"

"Have you seriously never noticed that?"

"I didn't realize I did it that often...," murmured Kanari curiously. She went silent for a moment, pondering her own habits with slight unease.

She and Sara reached the end of the hall, where a wooden door stood greeting them. Kanari could hear sounds of laughter from within. Bright, sparkly, giggles of Kokomi, and deep laughs, resonating from the stomach, that belonged to Gorou.

She beckoned for Sara to knock, stepping back a little. The general gave her a strange look, but tapped sharply on the door anyway. The mirth inside immediately ceased and was replaced swiftly by a strained stillness. After a moment, the door opened.

Gorou's face popped up, filled with intrigue at first, then with ecstasy as he saw who was standing there.

"Yo! Kanari! Sara!" He exclaimed, stepping back so they could enter the room. "It's so good to see you guys again."

Kanari smiled as she walked in. Her friend's enthusiasm was evidently contagious. The room was the same as ever, though a little more empty. The afternoon light pouring through the window was starting to shift to the pinkish hues of evening, bathing everything in a warm ambience.

"Nari!!!"

Kokomi's figure embraced Kanari abruptly, her arms wrapping around her friend's body tightly. Kanari froze for a second, shocked by the sudden act, before surrendering to the hug. For a few minutes, they stayed like that, exchanging a million unspoken words.

When Kokomi finally let go, she looked at Kanari with a bright smile. Kanari, however, glanced upon the bandaged wound on Kokomi's arm. She looked at the pink-haired girl before her worriedly, almost begging for more information.

"Oh don't worry about that," Kokomi immediately remarked, watching Kanari's gaze. "It needs to be bandaged and redressed every now and then, but it'll heal in a week or two."

Kanari nodded a little reluctantly as Kokomi grabbed her hand, dragging her to the beds. She sat down on hers, while Kanari sat opposite to her, on her own old bed. Sara and Gorou followed them over, where they both stood leaning on whatever they could. Sara on the wall, Gorou on a chair.