A flash of aggravation loomed over ruby hues before they darted away from the condescending source to land on a red tapestry embroidered with golds and silvers. It was high time the kingdom gave him the recognition he so well-deserved throughout the entirety of his knighthood, but of all people to provide the message of his new mission, why did it have to be Kisumi? Sure, he always wore an airy smile on his lips to appear friendly, but Rin saw through that cheap facade and decided long ago that it was more conniving than genuine. On the contrary, most people took a liking to the pink-haired man-- Rin was not most people.
"You understand how important this is, ne?" Kisumi drawled with an added cutesy quirk of his head, eyes closed and smile wide. How gross.
"Yeah, you don't have to repeat yourself," Rin griped as he took a step back in hopes of signaling his departure although he knew Kisumi was in charge and would only allow him to go when a dismissal was spoken.
A low sigh could be heard near the entrance of the vast meeting room. It came from Sousuke who sounded exhausted by merely watching the exchange of wits. He had not once tried to participate in the conversation since they first entered, so his woes seemed vastly smaller compared to the redhead's staggering mountain. That sigh should have fallen from Rin's lips, not his lucky friend who did not have to deal with the candy-colored fiend. With that thought, Rin shot his right-hand man a quick glare over his shoulder before he turned back to Kisumi, giving him a fake, strained grin. Of all people, Sousuke should be well aware of Rin's displeasure toward the king's chancellor and should not be surprised or, of all things, depleted. Sometimes Sousuke would call Rin's hatred unaccounted for, but Rin didn't care. If someone gave him the creeps, then they gave him the creeps. End of story.
And Kisumi just made his creep radar sound off all the alarms.
"Here, take this," Kisumi continued as he slid a pocket-sized drawing across the table, "you will meet with him before sundown. Ah, I know that look, cute isn't he?" If Rin's eyes could shoot daggers, Kisumi would be a dead man. The drawing pictured a detailed portrait of a male with brown hair and green eyes. He looked fairly young on the canvas, but Rin was already informed that they actually neared each other in age now. Apparently the drawing was created before the male had made a mad dash to the forest during a time when people of magic were hunted and sold as servants and farmhands, or worse yet, killed. "Unfortunately, we do not have any depictions of his friend, but Makoto will introduce you to the water-manipulator." That was one of the many degrading names people of magic were given-- manipulators.
"He will help restore our kingdom and if not... Makoto will convince him."
As ominous as Kisumi's voice sounded, Rin could only shrug as he took the drawing off the desk and slid it underneath his shirt. It would not budge thanks to the weight of his chain-mail.
"So do we understand?" Kisumi finished. "The king has placed all of his fate in your hands. Do not disappoint."
"Great! Then you and Sousuke are dismissed," Kisumi granted with a happy clap of his hands. "Oh! And Rin," he called to them just as they were about to cross over the threshold into the corridor, "Prince Nagisa will be accompanying you, King's orders."
"Don't worry, Rei-chan, I will replace it. My family owns all of the mines across this land, not only will it be replaced, but it will be an upgrade!" The worried blonde kept on trying to relieve the elf over and over again ever since he had broken said elf's bow.
Rin told him it was a bad idea. Nagisa had never held a bow in his life, what made the bubbly prince think he could actually shoot with one?
It all happened near the start of their trip into the forest. Rei was not originally apart of their trio, but after meeting him a few miles in, Nagisa could not help his temptation to have a try at his bow and arrow. It snapped within the first thirty seconds, which granted Rei access into their party for the rest of the journey. Not because he wanted to be with them, but because Nagisa insisted he would repay the elf with a new one.
Rei continued to reiterate that you could not simply replace a family heirloom and Rin had to side with the elf on that one even though he was at the very bottom of the status food chain. Even mages were more valuable than elves.
After more bickering back and forth, the four men trekked on deeper into the forest. Sousuke would leisurely point out a fairy or two, usually throwing in a joke about how Rin would fit in with them quite easily if he wanted to quit his day job. At comments like that, Rin would shift his horse in front of Sousuke's to stunt his horse's stride before quickly pulling back into his lane not wanting either of their horses to topple over.
Not long after, the four men eased up on their horses and came upon a quaint little cabin in what Rei called the dead center of the forest. Rin pulled on the reigns of his horse, gently tapping her side with his foot to get her to move closer, but she stood still. More fiddling with her, being unsuccessful each time, made Rin grumble as he leaped off her and neared the cabin himself. He told the three men to stay back while he checked to see if their guy was here.
"Don't take too long, some of us have sweethearts to get home to," Sousuke teased, jumping off his horse too. However, the horse neighed and pushed at the bigger male's shoulder to stop him from advancing.
"Sweethearts, you have a sweetheart, Sou-chan?" Nagisa inquired, joining Sousuke on the forest floor too.
Ignoring the clowns he called friends back there, he ventured closer to the cabin, landing a foot on the first step. To Rin's surprise, he did not have to knock on the door because as he approached it, the thing opened to reveal the very brunette whose image remained strapped to his chest. Of course, he looked older, taller, broader-- puberty did him well. The male greeted him and led him inside of the cabin. "They shall stay behind, the horses will make sure," Makoto chuckled softly and gestured to the window, Rin catching Nagisa trying to dance around his horse that blocked his path toward the house every time. "For now, it should just be you, Rin-san. Our life out here is much different from your own."
The redhead's jaw nearly hit the ground when Makoto uttered his name, Rin had not even given it and how the hell did he make the horses do that without-- None of it added up, but Rin knew he was standing among mages now. So he complied and followed Makoto out the back of the cabin.
The two made their way to a bustling stream and followed it further up, passing through dense bush and trees to get to the round pool that housed a roaring waterfall. Ruby hues widened at the sight, ears going in and out of the conversation that Makoto was trying to make as Rin became mesmerized with the nature. The knight did not see sights like this everyday and could only read about them back home. It was really something to see. "--and they have lived there peacefully for some time. I am thankful for that. The city can provide them with a good education."
Rin turned back to Makoto and studied his soft gaze. Oh, that was right, he was talking about his younger twin siblings. How they were free of the magic or, at least, no signs of magic had been seen in the two. How they were able to hopefully live with their parents still and create a name for their family. "I am sure if this mission ends successfully, the king will see to it to give them the best education," Rin agreed as he followed the brunette closer to the waterline.
"So is this where we meet the Haru you speak of?" Rin wondered as his eyes scanned the greens and blues around them. From his periphery, the water gave an illusion of blue, but if his eyes were targeted on the surface it was as clear as a mirror.
Makoto smiled and held his open palm out to direct Rin's vision back to the waterfall. Squinting his ruby eyes, Rin could make out a soft silhouette looming behind the crystal-like water. "Haru!" Makoto voiced, but Rin didn't think it would be loud enough to be heard over the water, especially if one was standing behind it.
The silhouette went out of focus, diving into the depths of the water and Rin gave Makoto a questioning look. "Ehhh... I almost forgot. Maybe you should turn around, Rin-san." The expression on Makoto's face was sweet enough, but Rin didn't understand why he had to turn away from the water until he did so and caught sight of clothes strewn about on a boulder not too far from them.
Haru was naked. The thought alone made Rin flush and he had not even properly laid eyes on the male. However, to potentially meet someone for the first time while they only had on their birthday suit was not something Rin had ever done or could fathom (he also flustered easy but would never admit that). Makoto made a good call to only bring Rin here. The knight would not put it pass Nagisa to want to strip naked to and run into the water.
"Does he always do this nude?" Rin stammered, voice slightly louder than normal thanks to the water distorting his brain making him think he had to raise his volume, as he swiped at his cheeks with one hand, attempting to remove the heat from his face. His question was returned with a soft laugh before Makoto went out of view to move behind Rin, presumably closer to the water.