Long Live The King

Hiding In The Garden

"Kokichi, get your buttocks over here this instant!"

The queen dashed after her son, now the age of seven, who was running throughout the castle on his own crusade. "No!" he shot back, giggling as he passed the knights' quarters. "Dear, you can't run forever! Now, get over here— you need to get dressed in your formal attire!" she exclaimed, careful not to trip over her gown.

"No I don't! You just want me to!" Kokichi yelled, making a sharp turn around a corner. The queen came to an abrupt stop as she nearly fell onto the floor due to loss of balance. "Kokichi, you're acting like such a brat!" she said, anger in her now non-French sounding voice. He stuck his tongue out in response, darting to the back exit of the castle.

The purple haired boy ran outside into the blossoming garden, taking a few more steps before slowly coming to a stop to catch his breath. He rested his hands on his knees, closing his eyes. He didn't hear nor had seen his mother follow him, so he appeared to be safe.

He wiped some sweat from his brow, exhaling sharply. "Holy cow..." he mumbled, "That was a work out..." Kokichi took a deep breath in, sitting down between some rose bushes. He let his eyes flutter open, looking around the garden full of flowers and other assortments of plants and such.

Suddenly, he heard the bushes from a row behind him rustle. He jerked his head around, but no one could be seen. He blamed it on the wind, turning his head back around and sighing heavily. He ran a hand through his now messy hair, not even bothering to style it back to his liking.

Then he heard it again— rustling in the bushes. He now shot up, turning around and pointing at the bushes. "Who is it?!" he asked, furrowing his brows and scrunching up his nose a bit. Kokichi waited a moment for a response, however he did not receive one.

He mumbled in an annoyed fashion, shaking his head. He took a step forward, slightly leaning down to get a closer look. He squinted his eyes, trying to focus his vision on anything that may move. Slowly, Kokichi extended a hand and reached out, sticking it in the bush and poking around. He was met with... a forehead?

"Ow..!"

Kokichi practically screamed, tripping over his own feet and falling back into the rose bushes. He winced as thorns tore at his skin, burrowing deeper because of the accidental pressure applied after he landed. He whispered a string of the few curses he knew under his breath, tears threatening to spill from his violet eyes.

"Woah, woah, woah! Hey, you alright man?"

The purple haired boy looked up and saw an unfamiliar face. The boy before him had lightly tanned skin, a few freckles splattered across his face. He had green eyes that were accompanied by long eyelashes that complimented them very well. His head was topped with locks of light green hair that was sprawled everywhere probably due to being in the bushes.

Kokichi scoffed, shaking his head as much as he could without causing any more pain. "Do I look alright? I just got torn to shreds by thorns 'cause of you, you jerk!" The green haired boy put up his hands defensively, taking a step forward. "Hey, I didn't mean for you to fall into those thorns. I'm sorry I scared you, heh."

Ouma mumbled, letting out a strained sigh. "Whatever, just help me get out of here," he exclaimed, reaching out to the other. The other boy obliged, pulling Kokichi out without much effort. "There 'ya go," the green haired one replied, letting go of Ouma's hands.

"Why in the hell were you in my bushes?! No, why were you even in my garden?!" Kokichi stammered, annoyed at the scratches now littering his skin. The other's eyes lit up. "Woah, you live here? You're part of the royal family?" he asked, amazed.