One evening, after their routine practice Michel decided to have some coffee so he followed Miyake and Shin into the small wooden cabin where they lived. Miyake after walking into the house threw himself on the couch as soon as he could. Shin on the other hand walked into the kitchen and brought back two glasses of water with him. Miyake sat up and took the glass from Shin's hands.
"Thank you so much"
"No problem" Shin responded and took a seat next to Miyake, Michel looked at Shin, raising his eyebrow.
"Something wrong uncle?" Shin brought the glass to his mouth as he took a sip
"Not necessarily" Michel sat down across from them "I just expected you to bring some water for me as well"
"Torturer's needs should never be accounted for". Miyake said as he glared at Michel with narrowed eyes
"Torturer? That's a pretty strong word to describe an instructor"
"To you, it may seem that way, but we see it differently" Miyake continued glaring at him. Michel shifted around awkwardly trying to shake off Miyake's cold gaze, but he couldn't.
"Well, maybe I was a bit..."
"Pfft" Shin released a small laugh to which he received an elbow to his left side, but instead of shutting up, he burst into laughter. Miyake looked at him, annoyed.
"Could you not hold it in for a minute longer? He was about to admit it" Miyake held his head in his hands
"Sorry, sorry" Shin wiped his eyes "It was just too funny seeing him so awkward and nervous"
"Wait" Michel finally understood what was happening "This whole ordeal was a joke?"
"It wasn't a joke so to speak. More like a way to make you ease up on our training routine, but because of someone" Miyake looked at Shin who was holding his hands together, asking for forgiveness "This whole plan fell into the water"
"I see" Michel held his chin while looking at the two boys "How about this? I have some business to take care of at the kingdom so how about I take you two with me"
"What!" "Really?" The two boys slammed their hands on the table as they leaned over, shouting right into Michel's face
"Calm down you two" Michel raised his hands in defense
"But we're going to be visiting the kingdom for the first time!"
"Yeah! Asking us to be calm is just asking us to do the impossible"
"Okay, okay I get it" Michel wiped his face, cleaning the spit droplets that landed on him, and the two boys sat down "So you two want to come with?"
"Yes!" The two nodded in unison
"Then how about you get me that glass of water" They both immediately stood up, Shin sprinted towards the kitchen while Miyake jumped over the couch following behind Shin at the same speed. Seeing this happen Michel could only sigh
The next day Michel arrived at Wolford's residence early in the morning by a carriage and after waking up the two boys they were off. The journey to the kingdom was uneventful mostly because of the lack of noise coming from Shin and Miyake.
"They didn't even last a second" Michel sighed and looked out the window "I'm guessing they were too excited to sleep and ended up staying awake for the whole night"
The birds chirped, signaling the start of a new day and Michel continued to look out the window, taking in the scenery. They crossed through the dense forest and came out to a beautiful field filled with all kinds of flowers in big patches. Michel's knowledge of botany was scarce but he still recognized some of them for example lavenders, tulips, daisies, and roses.
The last sight was the Argent Mountain far on the horizon. With its cliffs, snowy peaks, and deadly heights it was a sight to behold. The majestic screech of an eagle echoed throughout the area.
"You don't see those often" Michel followed the eagle with his gaze
Many people tried to conquer the mountain but to no avail. It is said that whoever tries to climb the mountain will be brought down by an unknown force, and because of this, many people believe that the mountain is cursed,
The rest of the journey was calm and after a short while they arrived at the gates of the capital city where they were let through without an inspection. The carriage went straight to the royal palace and Michel gently shook the two boys
"Huh, where are we?" Miyake rubbed his eyes
"At the royal palace, champ"
"Huh?" Miyake stuck his head out through the window "What?"
"When did we get here?"
"While you two were sleeping," Michel said flatly
"So we missed the whole trip" Shin's head dropped
"There's always the trip back home." Michel stood up and opened the door "How about we get out"
Per Michel's suggestion, they came out of the carriage and were greeted by the long stairs leading to the entrance of the palace. As they looked up they saw the big windows decorated with imagery of a phoenix. The flag atop the castle also had a phoenix on it.
"Wow" Miyake's mouth hung open
"Uncle" Shin turned towards Michel "What should we do?"
"You can go explore and have fun. I need to do some business so I can't hang out with you. Just make sure to stay within the castle walls, alright?"
"Got it!" Miyake gave him a thumbs up
"Don't cause trouble" Michel walked away towards the main door with his hand in the air
"So where do you wanna go first?"
"Hmmm, I'm gonna guess that the palace is off limits even though Uncle didn't specify it"
"I guess we'll just walk around until we find something interesting" Shin shrugged and started walking with Miyake following behind
"I hope it's a place with food" Miyake rubbed his stomach "I haven't had breakfast and it's already time for lunch"
The duo walked around until they stumbled upon a garden with a gazebo and a woman sitting in it. *Think of the sitting area from Re Zero s2*
The woman had platinum blonde hair which fell freely down to her lower back. Her crystal clear blue eyes calmly observed the baby in her arms with her mouth curled in a warm smile. The baby was wrapped in a red blanket as its chest rose and lowered rhythmically.
The woman noticed the two boys and waved at them, calling them over. Miyake and Shin walked towards her.
"Good morning" She greeted them in a soft, quiet tone
"Good morning/good morning" They both responded speaking in a hushed tone to not wake the baby up
"What brings you to this garden?" She asked
"We're sorry if we aren't allowed here we'll leave," Miyake said hastily
"No no" The woman waved "You're allowed don't worry. Have a seat"
Miyake and Shin sat down "We came here with our uncle, but he had some business to take care of"
"So we've been wondering around when we stumbled upon this garden"
"Oh, you're Sir Michel's nephews?"
"Yes" The boys responded
"Then how about you-"
"Waaaaaaaaah" The woman was interrupted by the crying baby that woke up, and she gently caressed her and rocked it back and forth. It seemed that no matter how long she caressed it, the baby wasn't going to calm down
"You mind," Shin spoke, hesitating "If I take him?"
"Not at all" The woman handed the baby to Shin and "WAAAAAAAAAH" The baby started to cry even louder and Shin was bewildered with his eyes darting around the area
Miyake without saying a single word took the baby and started singing in a soft voice
You're alone, you're on your own, so what?
Have you gone blind?
Have you forgotten what you have and what is yours?
Glass half empty, glass half full
Well either way you won't be going thirsty
Count your blessings, not your flaws
You've got it all
You lost your mind in the sound
There's so much more
You can reclaim your crown
You're in control
Rid of the monsters inside your head
Put all your faults to bed
You can be king again
You don't get what all this is about
You're too wrapped up in your self-doubt
You've got that young blood, set it free
As Miyake continued singing the baby grew drowsy, slowly closing its eyes, and falling asleep
"Miyake you can sing?
"I guess" Miyake gently caressed the baby's cheek "It's just something I do in my spare time and it helps me calm down"
"You have a lovely voice," the woman's warm smile brightened her features
"Thank you" Miyake smiled, giving her the baby "It will be most comfortable in your arms"
The woman chuckled "I'm not sure about that, considering how fast she fell asleep in yours, but enough of that you said that you were Sir Michel's nephews? Then how about you join us for lunch?"
"Are you sure? We don't want to be a hindrance"
"Oh it's fine you don't have to worry about it" She waved her hands "Now if you don't mind follow me to the dining room uhm...." She looked at them with her index finger on her chin
"Ah. Where are our manners. My name is Shin"
"And I'm Miyake" Both of them bowed
"Well then Shin, Miyake follow me to the dining room"
They followed the women into the palace. As they passed through the corridors every maid, butler, and guard bowed after coming across them. This left Shin wondering why they were doing that, and the confusion was written on his face.
"So he doesn't know who she is...he he" Miyake snickered "I wonder if he will figure it out by the other clues or he'll leave not knowing a thing"
After walking for some time they came across a room with a door with guards protecting it. After seeing the woman they bowed and opened the door for her. As they walked in the boys were greeted by a nicely decorated room with a long table and chairs
"You can sit where ever you want" She smiled as the two boys walked in "Could you tell the maids to bring out the lunch and call over August," She said
"Yes, Your Highness" The guard saluted and the woman walked inside the dining room
Some time later the door opened and a boy with blond hair and blue eyes entered. He stopped and looked at the two guests that were seated next to each other and happily talking, so much so that they didn't notice the boy walk in. The boy walked over to the woman and leaned into her ear.
"Mom, who are they?" He spoke in a low voice
"They are Sir Michel's nephews"
"And what are they doing here"
"They are joining us for lunch. How about you go introduce yourself to them"
"Ugh I don't know" The boy looked at them
"C'mon darling don't be like that. Go and have fun" She gently pushed him towards Miyake and Shin
"Okay, okay I'm going"
He walked towards them and as he walked he entered Shin's field of view and he called out to him.
"Oh hi, when did you walk in?" Shin asked, making Miyake turn around
"You two were talking so you probably didn't notice"
"You're probably right. Wanna sit with us?" Shin moved to the next seat to the right, leaving an empty seat for the boy in between him and Miyake
"Sure I don't mind"
"By the way I'm Shin and he's Miyake" He pointed at Miyake
"Hi!"
"Hi! I'm August"
"August huh? That's a pretty fancy name you have there" Miyake smiled
"I wouldn't say that besides I think Miyake is a weirder name" August jabbed back
"Haha, I guess."
"So what were you two talking about earlier?"
"We were talking about the strange thing that happened" Shin answered
"Huh? What strange thing" August raised an eyebrow
"Well, you see while we were walking here every guard and maid bowed after seeing that woman. So we've been wondering what was up with that"
"That's because she is the-" August was interrupted by Miyake's hand covering up his mouth
"She's probably someone important. Yeah let's go with that" Miyake answered swiftly
As they were talking the maid with a cart walked in and grabbed Shin's attention. Miyake pulled August close to him and spoke in a whisper
"He doesn't know that the woman, who I'm guessing is your mom is the queen. I want to see if he will be able to figure it out or not"
"Ah I see, I'll be careful with my words then"
"Thanks" Miyake smiled at August and he returned the smile
The maid placed the plates of food in front of the boys first and then she walked to the woman, who was still holding the baby. The eating period was spent in silence with the three boys finishing their food first.
"That was amazing"
"Yeah that really hit the spot" Miyake and Shin rubbed their stomachs and August chuckled looking at them
"What's up?" Shin asked
"Nothing, it's just your expressions are funny"
"I see that you're done so how about you go and play? I won't be joining you since I have to feed this little one" She said as she kissed the baby's forehead,
"Okay then we're off" August stood up "Come follow me I know where we can go"
"Alright" The three of them walked out, Miyake took a step back walking back into the room
"Thank you for the food, Your Highness" Miyake bowed and walked out of the room
"So he knew after all" The woman smiled "Yet he still" A tear rolled down her pale face, it dropped onto the baby's face, and she cried out, waving her hands around "Oh my I didn't mean to do that"
The two boys followed August out to the garden and they walked over to a big tree with nothing but short grass surrounding it.
"This is the place where I spend most of my time," August said while leaning on the tree and slowly sliding down to the ground.
"So what do you usually do here? It doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of options" Miyake sat down next to him
"Well usually I either read or practice"
"Practice what?" Shin also joined them
"Well umm" August scratched his cheek "Magic, I guess"
"Really? that's so cool" Shin's smile beamed at him "Can we see you cast?"
"Ummm okay," August slowly got up, sweat drops forming on his forehead.
"August" Miyake spoke up "No need to be nervous"
"Right," August nodded and took a deep breath. Next, he held up his hands in front of him and closed his eyes.
"I call you forth to destroy and burn away, anything that hinders my true will." Miyake dug his head into his arms and Shin covered his ears "Let your endless stream of light erupt in manifestation. Spirit of Fire, I call you now" He opened his eyes and a small fireball flew forward and hit a faraway tree leaving behind a black burn mark,
"Nice job, August!" Shin stood up and high-fived August
"Thanks, Shin"
"August you mind if I ask you a question?" Miyake gave his ears a couple of hits as he stood up
"I don't mind, go ahead"
"Why do you chant?" August looked at him with his head tilted
"Why? I mean isn't a chant necessary for a spell to be successful?" August laughed a bit after hearing the seemingly silly question
"Not really" Miyake answered and one second later a magic circle appeared on top of his hand and a water bubble above it
"What!" August shouted in shock "How is that possible"
"It's simple really" Miyake answered and the bubble splashed onto the ground "The chant helps you picture the spell. How it looks and all of that. So if you just create a good image in your head, you won't need the chant"
"Ugh" August laughed and scratched his cheek "I don't understand"
"Well, I guess It's hard to overthrow what was beaten into you. But every once in a while try to cast without chanting"
"Hmm okay, I'll try" August smiled "So what do we do now?"
"I have an idea" Shin spoke up "August do you know what tag is?"
"I do why?" August said and Shin slowly walked toward him and tapped him on the shoulder
"Tag, you're it" He shouted and ran off along with Miyake
"So that's how we're playing" August ran after them and they spent the rest of the afternoon playing
After evening rolled around the boys were still playing and currently Shin was trying to corner August, slowly moving towards him. Sweat slid down both their faces and they were breathing heavily
From the garden's entrance, Michel appeared "Boys! Time for dinner!"
"Ah, it's Uncle Michel. It's time for dinner, let's go back!" Miyake yelled which got August's attention but not Shin's. After seeing that August wasn't paying attention Shin dashed forward and tapped him on the shoulder
"Tag, you're it" He smiled
"You got me" August raised his arms in surrender and after locking eye contact both of them burst out laughing.
"Oi, you two!" Miyake yelled again
"C'mon let's go back," August said and started to walk away, Shin without saying a word followed after him
All three of the boys stood in front of Michel who just stared in disbelief.
"I mean there's playing and there's whatever you three were doing. Just look at the state of you, you look like you came out of elite soldier training. I can practically squeeze you like a sponge. You'll have to eat like that since the bath isn't ready yet." Michel facepalmed
"C'mon, there's no need to be stressed. We're perfectly fine so let's go eat" Miyake marched forward with August and Shin following behind, leaving Michel.
The woman from before was playing with her baby when the door opened and August walked in. The woman's face saddened after seeing him but brightened up as soon as Shin and Miyake walked in with Michel. August went to greet his mother while Shin, Miyake, and Michel took their seats.
"Hello, mom"
"Hi. I see that you had fun" She took the napkin and cleaned some dirt off his face
"Yeah, I did" His grin brightened up his face
"I'm glad you did" She smiled just as brightly "Now go join your friends" She watched August walk towards Shin and Miyake as she silently wiped her tear
The dinner was spent in silence as everyone enjoyed their meals and after everything was done Michel stood up "You two ready to go home?"
"But I don't want to" Shin complained
"But you have to"
"I refuse" Miyake joined sides with Shin
"What am I gonna do with you two" Michel held his head with his hands
Seeing this the woman chuckled "Sir Michel how about all three of you stay the night"
"But you know how their grandparents are"
"I'm sure they'll understand besides I can't let them go home in such dirty clothes."
Michel looked at the two boys that were looking back at him with sparkling eyes. He sighed "Fine then I guess we can stay"
"Yaaaay" All three of the boys jumped into the air
"But you know thanks to 'Grime repel we don't-" Shin started which earned him a swift knee to the stomach from Miyake
"What was that?" Michel asked
"Nothing" Miyake answered while smiling
"Anyways you three should probably go take a bath, I can smell you from here" Michel pinched his nose
"Follow me," Said August, and Miyake along with Shin followed after them leaving the woman and Michel alone in the room
"Sir Michel," The woman said making him turn his head in her direction "Thank you for bringing your nephews here. Thanks to you August finally has real friends and I can't describe my joy, at this moment" She bowed her head slightly
Michel freaked out and frantically said "Y-Your Highness, please raise your head. They came with me voluntarily so please don't lower your head."
The woman looked up making Michel release a sigh of relief "Nevertheless, thanks to you August can at least have a somewhat normal childhood"
"You really shouldn't be thanking me, if you really want to thank someone it should be Shin and Miyake. They decided to ignore August's royal status and treat him as a regular kid."
"I wouldn't say so" The woman laughed "I don't think one of them figured it out"
"I'm guessing the one you're talking about is Shin." Michel scratched his head and laughed "He is lacking in the common sense department."
After an hour the boys came out of the bath, the time spent washing was minuscule compared to the time spent playing. The boys entered their bedroom with a plan of playing for even longer, but that failed. As soon as their bodies touched the bed they were knocked out.
The morning sun shined through the window directly onto Miyake's face. He rubbed his eyes and woke up, raising his head he was left confused.
"Huh? Where am I" He thought to himself as he was laying on the floor with one foot resting on the bed. "Oh right we stayed the night, but why am I on the floor?" He tried to recall what happened during the night. "I don't really remember all I know is that I felt some sort of pressure on my left shoulder. No use thinking about it, need to get up"
He slowly got up only to find Shin spread out in the bed like a starfish and August laying horizontally at the bottom of the bed with his head where Miyake's foot was previously."Well, at least now I know why I was on the ground. Now what should I do...I guess I'll just go to the dining room"
Miyake slowly opened the door making sure not to make too much noise. As he was walking to the dining room he saw guards sluggishly moving and some of them dozing off, leaning on the wall.
"Night shifts are cruel"
Shortly after Miyake came across the dining room and he walked in expecting someone to be there but to his surprise, he was all alone.
"Guess I'll just sit down and wait" He sat down and decided to just wait, but shortly after he fell asleep on the table
Sometime later the door opened, waking Miyake up. He raised his head to see who it was and the woman from the previous night walked in along with an unfamiliar man
"Good morning, Miyake," The woman said while smiling
Miyake stood up and bowed "Good morning, Your Majesty. Good morning, Your Highness"
"Good morning, Miyake" The man responded "Honestly, I didn't think you would guess who I am" He laughed
"I know how to piece together a picture through hints" Miyake scratched his head
"Hahaha, certainly." The man sat down at the end of the table "From the stories I heard it seems like you're a bit smarter than Shin"
"I wouldn't say that I am necessarily smarter more like...I like to observe things so I pick up on certain details and Shin can sometimes ignore really obvious things but I wouldn't call him dumb."
"Sir Michel described it pretty well yesterday" The woman chimed in, placing a finger to her chin "He lacks common sense, is what he said"
"Yeah that describes him well" Miyake scratched his cheek
"Anyways how are your grandparents?"
"They're doing pretty good. Grandma is probably drinking tea while reading a book and Grandpa is eating while extremely sad because we aren't there."
"Hahahaha, that does seem like a Merlin thing to do"
"The king knows our grandparents?"
The door opened and August along with Shin and a maid soon after.
"Good morning Father, Mother, and Miyake" August raised his hand
"Good morning Sir, Miss, and Miyake" Shin bowed
"Good morning" They responded
"Did you sleep well?" The woman asked as Shin and August took their seats
"That was the best sleep of my life, I feel like I've been reborn"
"That's because you pushed me off and August had to sleep next to your feet"
"That explains why I dreamt about swimming in the sea"
"Haha" Shin laughed awkwardly and clasped his hands together "Sorry about that"
"Apology taken" August and Miyake responded
The door opened yet again and Michel walked "Good morning everyone" He said as he sat down next to Miyake
"You look like you slept the best out of all of us" The man commented "Looking at your hair that is"
"Not sure about the best but it was pretty enjoyable. Anyways I'm starving when will the food arrive?" Right on cue, the maid walks in pushing the cart full of food
"We waited for you to wake up so we could eat"
"Well then I apologize for delaying our breakfast"
After the plates were cleared out the maid brought out dessert and drinks, coffee for the adults, and juice for the kids with the exception of Miyake who asked for a cup of tea.
"Why do you always get tea when you have the chance?" Michel asked, ruffling Miyake's hair. Miyake swatted his hands away
"Got tired of juice and coffee is a bit too strong for me. Tea isn't strong and I can pick the sweetness"Miyake took a sip "It's perfect"
"You say that without even tasting alcohol" Michel laughed
"I agree with Miyake" the man spoke up "Tea is a perfect beverage, but the reason people choose coffee over tea is that they need it since most people have stressful jobs and coffee eases their mind"
Shin and August looked at each other, then and their cups, then back at each other then nodding, silently agreeing that juice is the best
"Anyways we leave in thirty minutes, so get your stuff ready"
The boys alongside Michel stood outside the main gate, a carriage already prepared and waiting for them.
"It was really fun playing with you August"
"I hope that this won't be our last time" Miyake and Shin commented a little teary eyed
"Yeah, I had so much fun with you two. I'll miss you" August replied sniffling as he spoke. They all huddled together and group hugged
"Why are you this making such a big deal, you're not going out to war you'll see each other again." Michel said and the boys smiled at each other "Thank you for your hospitality" Michel bowed as did the boys
"Have a safe trip" And they walked away to their carriage, Shin and Miyake stuck their heads through the window and yelled
"Bye Aug"
"See ya Aug" They waved at him as they rode off
"Goodbye Shin, Miyake. Let's play again sometime" August waved back, and they waved at each other until they couldn't see each other.
"Oh yeah," Michel spoke while Shin and Miyake finally sat down "I forgot to tell you, we're going to visit a friend of mine. We won't stay long but you can have fun with their kid, he should be around your age"
"Really?!" The boys jumped towards him with sparkling eyes
"Calm your horses" He wiped their spit off his face "Honestly" "He's my brother in arms, so I want to see how he's been holding up after all these years"
"Yeah, that's good and all, but you said we can play. So when do we get there?" Miyake said
"Listen here you" A vein popped up on Michel's forehead as he breathe out "Anyways, how did you like the visit to the palace?"
"It was amazing," said Shin "I can't believe that we got to sleep in such a big bed, and playing with Aug was the best."
"Yeah, it was a one-of-a-kind experience"
"But, I am kinda sad that we didn't get to meet the King and Queen"
"Huh? What do you mean? You did me-" Miyake's kick interrupted Michel's sentence "Oi! What was that for"
"Even a lion has to be careful of its roar sometimes" Miyake replied with a smile "Any interesting stories that you have with your friend that we're visiting?"
"Plenty" Michel chuckled "But we don't have a lot of time for all of them so I'll pick one. One night after everyone has gone to bed..."
The rest of the ride was spent with Michel retelling the stories of his days in the army. The carriage stopped and they arrived in front of a two-story wooden house. The flag of the kingdom was nailed above the front door, and the front door was decorated with sword imprints.
"Finally" Miyake jumped out of the carriage and raised his arms in the sky "Freedom"
Michel and Shin slowly got out right after him "Stop overexaggerating. My stories weren't that boring" Michel said as he walked over to the front door and knocked. The door opened revealing a woman with hazel eyes that matched her shoulder-length hair
"Oh my, Sir Michel" the woman bowed "It's nice to see you after so long"
"Nice to see you too Madeline" Michel raised his hand "These are my nephews"
Shin bowed "Nice to meet you, I'm Shin and this is Miyake"
"Nice to meet you, Miss" Miyake bowed
"Well, aren't you well-mannered" the woman smiled "I can see that your parents have raised you well"
Michel laughed while scratching his head "Is Filipe home?"
"He's in the backyard training with Tony. How about you head inside while I call him over"
"No need to trouble yourself. We'll just go to him and I want to see if he can still hold a sword" Michel laughed
As they moved closer to the backyard the thudding of wooden swords grew, and as they walked into the backyard they saw a tall, muscular man with black hair and a boy slightly taller than Shin with brown hair. The boy's chest rose and lowered at a fast rate and his sweat rolled down his forehead. The man's stance was similar to the standard military sword stance of the kingdom, while the boy's wobbly replica shook his shoulders.
"Keep your shoulders still." The man lunged forward and forced the boy to back away on unsteady feet "Watch your footwork!" the man stepped towards the boy with his swords slicing through the air and hitting the boy in the abdomen. The boy fell to his knees, breathing heavily and clutching his stomach
"I see that you're harsh as always," Michel said walking towards the man while holding his hand up
"Huh?" the man turned around with a raised eyebrow "Oh Michel, what a pleasant surprise" he extended his hand toward Michel
"Nice seeing that you can still hold a sword after all these years," Michel said while shaking Filipe's hand
"Hahahaha, I'll use my teeth if it comes to it. That aside I see that you brought some company" He says looking down at Shin and Miyake
"Yeah, this Miyake and Shin" the two boys bow "I had some business at the castle so I brought them with me"
"Well that's nice, how about we leave the boys to play while I show you some beer I got from The Aclor Kingdom"
"Oh that I have to see" The two walk away while continuing their talk as their voices grew fainter
Shin and Miyake look at each other and shrugged as they decide to go over to the boy still on the ground "Hey are you alright? That seemed like a pretty bad hit" said Shin
"Yeah, I'm okay" the boy smiled "This much is nothing" he staggered on his feet, wincing, His knees shook violently, and he dropped to the ground again
"Sorry about this" Miyake crouched down and put his hand on the boy's stomach "Let me help you real quick"
A magic circle appeared beneath Miyake's hand as the pain in the boy's stomach was replaced by a strange warmth. His breathing slowly stabilized and soon after he stood up without any difficulties
"Thank you," the boy said while avoiding eye contact
"You're welcome, I'm Miyake and this here is Shin" He pointed towards Shin who lifted his hand up "Nice to meet you"
"I'm Tony"
"Are you a knight in training, Tony?" Shin asked
"Yeah, my father and all of my siblings are knights so I'm following after them," Tony said while looking off to the side
"That must be amazing to have all of that history behind you" Shin smiled
"But also really pressuring, depends on how you see it" Miyake shrugged "You have a ball or something that we can use to play?"
"Huh?" Tony bent his head to the side "All that I have here are training swords and practice dummies"
A magic circle appeared above Shin's hand and a water bubble materialized, which then is wrapped by a thin layer of magic "We can use this" he smiled as he kicked the bubble high into the air
Tony stared at the bubble with stars appearing in his eyes and a small wow escaping his lips "You're allowed to use magic?"
"Huh?" Shin held the bubble on beneath his foot "Why wouldn't we?"
"My father says that magic is for cowards and that it shouldn't be used"
Miyake stole the bubble and ran off with it while shouting "Then your father is boring"
Shin ran after him "Give that back"
"Never" Miyake smiled at Shin and runs away
Tony stood still as he watched the two boys, seemingly in a daze "Tony, catch!" a shout snapped him back as the bubble landed near his feet with Shin running straight towards him and Miyake yelling "Don't let him get it". Tony ran off with Shin right on his tail, and so the three boys continue playing till their legs gave out
The sun hung high in the air, Tony was stuck in a corner with Shin slowly closing in and Miyake standing behind him a couple of feet away. Their breathing was shallow and quick, their heartbeat relentless, their vision was blurry and their eyes stung from all the sweat sliding down their forehead.
But Shin wasn't letting Tony from his sight. While playing they came up with a point system, where for every successful pass you get a point. Miyake is currently one point behind Tony and Shin. If Tony's pass to Miyake is successful he will be at a big advantage considering their current stamina.
Tony weaved to the side, then back. Managing to get Shin to overstep and create an opening, Tony shot the ball through his legs "A nutmeg?!" Tony ran behind Shin and shot the ball toward Miyake. The shot was weak and the ball made it only halfway. Miyake sprinted forward, his reaction time slightly faster than Shin's by a slight second. Both of them dove for the ball, it looked like Miyake will reach it first securing the point for Tony
"C'mon get it," Tony shouted
"Boys, we're going home!" Michel walked into the backyard. Noticing his opportunity Shin deactivated his spell and both he and Miyake got soaked by the water bubble.
"C'mon, that's unfair" Miyake gave Shin a sour look, Shin looked back at him with his tongue out Tony's laughter sounded behind them
"I said we're going home!" Micheal yelled again. The boys catch their breaths as they walk over to him "Honestly, I don't know how you did but you look even worse than yesterday. Did you wage war on each other?"
"You could say that," Shin said as three boys laughed in unison Michel sighed but soon afterward warmly smiled
A short walk later, the boys are saying their goodbyes as Filipe hands something to Michel.
"Here you go, something to keep you company on the road home" He laughed, handing Michel a pouch with glass bottles
"Thanks, I appreciate it" They shake their hands "Thank you for the hospitability, Melanie" Michel bows which is mirrored by Shin and Miyake. Shortly after they head into the carriage and wave their last goodbyes.
The slow ride home was silent with the two boys sleeping through it all, and even when they got home, they greeted their grandparents and went to bed immediately exhausted but wearing wide smiles on their faces.
A/N
A bit of a longer chapter, but not the longest I've written. The story starts to pick up pace from here on, it's kinda awkward to write the childhood ones when the traits are just developing, later on it's so much easier. The images are AI-generated, don't take them like the exact looks, they serve as a way to better portray the cluster fuck in my head.
Don't forget to vote, love y'all <3