Unfaithful

Touring And Bonding

      A raven-haired boy with dirt on his legs and face opened the door, an expression of surprise on his face. He immediately steps aside without a word, allowing Nagito to enter swiftly, dragging me along directly behind him.

   The door slams shut behind them and the peasant frowns. "I wasn't expecting you back for at least another week!" He exclaims, "What happened? And who's this guy?!"

   Nagito proudly places his hand on my shoulder, causing me to flinch. "This is Hajime, my sister's fiancé. Speaking of such, where is Kokichi?"

   The peasant, Shuichi I can only assume now, frowns. "He is in bed, he's got a fever. I'm afraid he cannot come out to greet you today but I'll tell him you dropped by," with those words he focuses his attention all on me, "so, you're one of the siblings from the arranged marriages," He sticks out his hand for me to shake, "Shuichi Saihara, wonderful to make your acquaintance."

   I accept it carefully. ". . .Hajime Hinata. A pleasure."

   Nagito beams. "Yes, let's all remain friendly! You two speak, I'm going to put on some tea." With that he crosses into the next room over, leaving Shuichi and I to smile awkwardly at each other.

   "So, what do you think of Miss Sonia?" He asks. 

   I shrug. ". . .She seems like a kind girl. I imagine we will get along well." I answer carefully.

   Shuichi frowns. "I take it you're not too thrilled about the marriages either. I doubt any of you are. My heart aches at the thought. . .but that's all you've been thinking and talking about for the past couple days, huh? You don't want to talk about that. Hmm. . ."

   He strokes his chin carefully as he thinks about good conversation topics. 

   "Uh. . .so, tell me about Kokichi." I demand helplessly. Shuichi instantly brightens up.

   "He's a bit of a handful but his overall intentions are good. He's happy and hyper but he's got a bit of a lying problem. He's quite skilled at it actually, which has preserved and hidden our romantic relationship from prying eyes. You know how most people around here are." He tells me fondly. 

   My eyes widen. "Why. . .Why did you just tell me that?!" I demand, "About your relationship! I mean, I'm a royal! I can turn your lives upside-down and make your life a living hell because of that, so why?!"

   Shuichi calmly blinks back at me. "Nagito wouldn't have brought you here if he had the slightest inkling you'd have a problem with it. Besides, you can only assume, right?" He points out cheerfully.

   I let out a defeated sigh. "You've got a point there," I admit in a mutter, "I've got no problems with it. To tell you the truth, I. . .ah, never mind."

   "Now I'm sorry we can't stay long," Nagito pipes up, breezing into the room balancing three cups of tea in his hands, "but this visit wasn't really planned, Hajime wants to play 'tourist' and we have to get back early for a ball."

   He then distributes steaming cups to both Shuichi and I with a bright smile.

   "Now then Shuichi, what have you two been up to since I saw you last. . ."

-

   Nagito bows slightly. "Thank you for having us, Shuichi, but we really should get going. I have so much I want to show Hajime!" He gushes.

   Shuichi smiles politely. "Come back anytime. That includes you, Hajime. Stop by when you can." He replies. 

   I duck my head shyly. "It was nice to meet you. Maybe next time I can meet Kokichi. . ?"