Minor Setbacks

Shiroi found Hansha calmly unpacking his things in the guestroom. Hansha sure looked determined about something, he didn't even look up when Shiroi opened the door.

"Is that all you brought?" Shiroi asked, eyeing over the very small pile of clothes and books laid out on the bed. Hansha jumped slightly at the sound of Shiroi's voice, blinking and blushing at his friend.

"Um, yeah, I don't actually have that many possessions," Hansha murmured, keenly aware of how good Shiroi looked just in a simple shirt and pants that were almost too small for him.

Shiroi laughed. "Heh, good luck keeping up that lifestyle once you marry Midori; she spends more money that my brothers and I combined. Granted, most of what she gets is weaponry, but she is just so cute when she chases people down while throwing battle axes at them."

Hansha blinked. "Has your sister always been so… violent?"

"Yeah, haven't you noticed? Don't you remember that time when she threw rocks at us for calling her a pretty prissy lady?" Shiroi rubbed his forehead, wincing at the memory. "Girl almost knocked me unconscious."

Hansha laughed softly. "Oh yes, you were black and blue all over for a week after that day…"

"I pity the guy who's gonna marry her…" Shiroi grinned at Hansha teasingly. "Oh wait, that's you. My mistake."

Hansha smiled, but it was somewhat forced. He didn't want to think about marrying Midori when the one he really wanted was standing right in front of him.

"Hey!" Shiroi said, thinking of something. "Remember that huge ol' tree in the forest that we said we'd climb someday when we were big enough?"

Hansha grinned. "You want to?"

"Race you downstairs!" Shiroi called, already tearing down the hallway.

The Dark Magician smiled and ran after his friend. Still the same childish Shiroi. Some people would never change. Hansha was glad the Blue Eyes White Dragon was one of those people.

**

"You know, it seemed a lot bigger when we were a lot smaller," Hansha commented, taking a hold of a sturdy branch and pulling himself up.

He and Shiroi had always climbed trees when they were littler, mostly because Shiroi's brothers Gin and Kin were so bad at it, giving Shiroi and Hansha a safe high ground far above them. The old tree had always been their future goal, when they grew a bit more so that they could reach the lower branches.

Shiroi was as good as ever, agilely climbing from branch to branch until he'd gotten a perfect perch somewhere up toward the top. It had been a long time since Hansha had climbed, so he was a little rusty at it, plus he was just slightly distracted watching the Blue Eyes climb up first.

Once they were settled on nice resting places among the branches, they quietly reveled in their victory, looking out at the forest from higher than they'd ever climbed before.

Finally the Dark Magician broke the silence, his own voice soft and calm, "Some girl named Ruby came by to talk to me earlier."

"Oh really?" Shiroi asked, glancing down at his friend on a lower branch. "What did she want?"

"To marry you, apparently," Hansha said softly, frowning as he remembered talking to the Red Eyes Black Dragon.

Shiroi laughed, as if this was nothing new to him. "Yeah, her and another half a dozen girls around here. Ruby's been planning something for a long time, but it doesn't matter; I'm not interested in her or any of those girls as a future wife."

Hansha relaxed a little on his branch, back resting against the thick trunk of the tree. "Shiroi?"

"Hmm?"

"What would you do… if you really, really liked someone?" Hansha asked, a little shyly.

"Seduce them," came Shiroi's calm response. He grinned down at his friend. "Got some pretty girl you've got your eye on, Hansha? Don't go breaking my sister's heart now, or I'll have to do my brotherly duty and hurt you." Despite the threat, there was laughter in his tone. They both knew Midori didn't care so much about Hansha to have her heart broken if Hansha should go after someone else.

"It's… actually not a girl," the Dark Magician said, very softly. "It's a boy."

"Ew." Shiroi made a face down at Hansha. "I hope you're kidding."

Hansha blinked up at his friend, a little startled by Shiroi's response. "What's wrong with liking guys?" he asked, trying to keep from pouting.

"Nothing, I guess…" Shiroi drawled. "It's just…" He shuddered slightly. "It's just weird. Yuck. I can't even imagine something like that."

"You always used to say boys were better than girls…" the Dark Magician murmured faintly.

"That's just something I said to tease my sister," Shiroi said with a shrug, looking out across the forest. "It's fine to have boys for friends and all, but liking them… or worse, lusting for them… not even something I want to think about. It's gross, is what it is…"

There was a rustling from below him, and he looked down in time to glimpse Hansha climbing down at a rapid pace, the Dark Magician's head down so his expression was hidden.

"Hey!" Shiroi called after him. "Where are you going?"

Hansha didn't even reply, running off the moment he reached the forest floor. Shiroi blinked.

"Was it something I said?"