Prince Kurapika and Sir Leorio [Leopika Royalty AU]

[12] Teachings (Pt2)

Another big important arc is coming up next! Thank you guys for being patient while my writer's block wares off.

"Leorio." Kurapika stubbornly let out, "Where are you taking me?"
Leorio pivoted himself as he walked ahead of Kurapika, stopping in his tracks.
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean 'what do you mean?' you haven't told me where we're going!"
"Oh!" Leorio quickly turned back and continued to walk at a considerably fast pace, "I'm going to teach you something! It's my turn to teach you something, remember?"
"Well, yeah, but context would be nice!" The prince had to jog slightly in order to catch up with his guard.
"You're not getting any! It's a surprise!" Leorio began to run slightly, poking fun at the blonde, who sighed, beginning to run after him as his cheeks flushed red from embarrassment as they dashed past numerous palace workers.

As they ran, their shoes slightly ruffled the scarlet carpet beneath their feet. The quickened nods of the staff as they passed granted Kurapika quite an ounce of embarrassment, as he'd never really ran around the palace before - atleast not since he was a child.

What was stopping him before, he thought - nothing. Nothing had been stopping him from running around the palace like he used to as a child, being carefree.

It felt so... Exhilarating.

So nostalgic.

It was a good feeling, but still, the embarrassment was there.

After some time running, eventually Leorio stopped in front of him, prompting Kurapika to quickly lean onto his knees to catch his breath. After taking a few moments, dangling his head as stray blonde hairs swayed, he heard shuffling in front of him as Leorio turned.

"We're here. You okay?"
"Ye- Yeah!" Kurapika gasped, "Just- Uhm, Gimme a second!"
"Alright. I'll be right back."

Looking up slightly, the prince realised that it was only him and Leorio in the area - they were in a small courtyard, used for guard training. Why here of all places? Quickly sitting down to fully try regain his breath, Kurapika leaned back onto the ground and just lay there for a moment with his eyes closed.

Never, before today, would he have thought simply running throughout the palace coridoors could be so... Fun.

"Hey, Sunshine."
Kurapika's eyelids fluttered open, adjusting to the sunlight through the open roof. Before they could fully adjust, a loud clang sounded as something hit the floor beside him. The blonde boy sat up, rubbing his eyes slightly and looking over at what had been dropped beside him as the footsteps of Leorio grew further away over the sandy centre-courtyard flooring.

"A... Sword?"
"Yep!"
Kurapika didn't pick it up, but turned to Leorio, who stood in the centre of the sandy sparring floor, with his sword unsheathed and ready.

The sword that had been dropped beside him by Leorio was just a normal sparring sword - it had obviously been through quite a lot of wear and tear. The metal was a lot softer than what is normally saved for actual guard swords and weapons, therefore a ton of scratches, gashes and markings were visible on the metallic surface under the barrage of sunlight.

On the other hand was Leorio's sword.

Bejewelled, and even having been through multiple fights, not a scratch could be seen even with the brightest angled light upon it. It could reflect light with so much intensity, you may catch yourself looking down at the metallic blade, mistaking it's reflectiveness for a mirror. The rubies embedded in the base of the blade not only exuded grade, but beauty in the sword technique that the wielder used. Hand crafted by the very best blacksmiths in the kingdom, designed to be beautiful, yet deadly.