Annoying Zombie requested Kouen, so it's Kouen she gets. Sorry if this little drabble isn't to your liking~
Rivalry was quite the petty thing, Kouen had always thought.
Rivalry was derived from envy, which came from even pettier jealousy, and Kouen liked to belive that he was above such emotions. He was a general, after all - a great and powerful leader, and people looked up to him. What would they think if their general turned out to be some jealous little two-bit prince? Not to mention that he had seen ugly rivalries first hand, and no way in hell was he gonna end up like Judal, who fought like a idiot with that white-haired assassin for the high king of Sindria's affections.
But even Kouen couldn't deny that there was the littlest something between him and Sinbad.
Sinbad was infamous and glorious, what with his lady-killing charm and his man-killing fighting techniques. He was know across seven different seas, and he had captured more Dungeons than Kouen had believed was allowed.
That alone was enough for Kouen to consider Sinbad his rival. Because no one should be getting more praise, more glory than the high general of Kou. No one.
Especially not the doofus king of a newbie country somewhere in the middle of the ocean.
And why was it him? Why was it Sinbad, the idiot born from parents far from nobility, the lecher who trusted everyone just a little too much? Sinbad was arrogant, Sinbad was stupid, Sinbad was gullible and shameless and one thousand other things that Kouen simply wasn't.
Of course, now that he thought about it, Sinbad was a lot like his own siblings. He was an airhead, like Kougyoku, he was a bum, like Koumei, he was flirtatious, like Kouha - seeing his siblings act like fools didn't bother him in the least. But seeing Sinbad act like that bothered him to no end.
And it was because of that that Kouen had firmly decided that he hated Sinbad.
What else would explain that strange warmth in his gut whenever he heard someone speak of Sinbad, or the blush he had to hold at bay whenever he saw Sinbad, or the irritation he felt whenever Kou's resident Magi spoke of the high king for hours on end?
What else, indeed.