[Legend of Sun Knight] fic: My Friend, the Pope (in-training) - Part 6: Chikus
Title: My Friend, the Pope (in-training) - Part 6: Chikus
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 2,269
Summary: Grisia wasn't chosen as the Sun Knight. This is the legend of the strongest Pope in all history. AU.
Notes: Here, have some more of everyone as little kids. 8D;
Previous part
Part 6: Chikus
I guess I met him because of how I always kicked down doors. Like, a lot of doors. There was this one time when my teacher whacked me on the head because of it (actually, that's nearly all the time), but this one particular time was just a bit different.
Instead of his smoking pipe, Teacher actually used his fist to knock on my head! It was totally child abuse!
I scowled and rubbed my innocent head. Teacher's face had turned almost as red as his hair, and he sputtered, "Chikus! You broke way too many doors again!"
But wasn't he the one who had told me to do it? I still remember what he'd kept drilling me about during our first few lessons! Break these doors, Chikus, with a good, hard kick! You're the Blaze Knight, and Blaze Knights need to be brash! Impulsive! All of that! Never use a doorknob when you can kick the door open instead!
I followed what he'd told me and found that it was... really... addicting!
I said just as much, that he was the one who'd told me to do it, and watched in amazement as Teacher's face turned even redder. Like, redder than his hair! I hadn't thought it possible.
"Y-You!" My teacher took several deep breaths while impatiently tapping his smoking pipe against his crossed arm. Finally, he said in a somewhat calmer voice, "Since you're the one who broke all the doors, you'll go and explain it to the Pope!"
He didn't manage to stop his voice from rising by the end. I winced, this time rubbing my ears.
I guess I'd found Teacher's limit! It wasn't like this time was any different than usual, but he picked me up by the collar and marched me over to the Sanctuary of Light. I struggled the entire way, trying to shrug Teacher's hand off. I shouted that I could walk just fine, but he wouldn't let go!
Only when we reached our destination did he finally let go. He pushed me through the door and stood solemnly behind me, his one good eye glaring holes into my back, leaving me nowhere to turn.
I stumbled forward, scowling as I rubbed my neck. After finding my balance, I raised my head and saw that I was in a study of some sort. There was a very boring desk and lots of books and papers about. I glanced around, not impressed.
The clink of a teacup being placed down brought my attention back.
That was how I first met him.
Not the Pope. I mean the scrawny kid behind him. Made sense. He was the Pope's student, so of course the Sanctuary of Light, especially the Pope's study, would be his base of operations. At the time, however, I had no clue who he was. He was just some short kid standing by the side of another short kid, that other kid being the Pope himself.
Anyway, it was hard to take the Pope seriously when he looked like a fifteen year old boy. He berated me about all the broken doors. I wasn't really listening until Teacher said in a gruff voice, "I won't be paying any repair fees for the rest of the month!"
"What!" I exclaimed, head snapping to the side. I stared up at Teacher in disbelief. "There's no way you can leave your student out to fend for himself, right? I would starve! And die of boredom! That's too cruel!"
I'd already spent all my pocket money! That would mean no more candy, and I wouldn't be able to kick down any more doors for the rest of the month!
I stared at Teacher pleadingly. He kept on glaring at me, but I knew I could wear him down. All I had to do was keep at it!
Come on, Teacher! I know you can't bear to see me without any doors to kick!
Finally, he sighed and said, "I... I won't be paying any repair fees for the doors you broke today!"
Immediately, I perked up and punched my fist in the air.
"Yes! This means I can continue to kick doors for the rest of the month!"
But wait... How many doors had I kicked today?
I held up my fingers, trying to count the doors I had kicked. It wasn't like I had broken all of them, so not all of them needed fixing... One... two... nine... ten... I don't have enough fingers...
"Fahr," the Pope admonished.
My teacher held his hands up. "I know, I know. Look, at least I brought him here, right?"
Through my fingers, I frowned at my teacher and the Pope. The latter didn't even look any older than me, yet my teacher had to answer to him!
The Pope waved his hand, as if dismissing my teacher. "Forget it! No matter how many times I say it, the result will be the same. At least you know that you can't shield him forever. Today's damage must be compensated. My student will deal with this in my stead. This is a good opportunity for him to learn more about the finances of the Holy Temple."
After that, the Pope gestured, and someone walked forward.
I blinked upon seeing this "someone." If the Pope hadn't introduced him, I might've thought him to be a girl. He was a fair bit shorter than me, his hair like a blinding mop of golden straw. He actually reminded me of someone... Who was it again... Oh! The Sun Knight.
Like, a mini, girl version of the Sun Knight! He even had blue eyes!
I stared in awe, and so marked our official meeting.
"Grisia," the Pope addressed the kid, "take note of all of the damages and calculate how much the repair fees will be. Have him pay, and if he doesn't have enough funds to take care of all of the damage, make sure you assign a suitable punishment until he does."
"What?!" I blurted. "You sure?"
I eyed this Grisia a second time, this time sizing him up. He gazed back at me, blue eyes watching me curiously. His robes were really loose on him, his hat ridiculously big.
He was seriously just a kid!
The Pope nodded, and his student held out a hand for me to shake. Grisia said, "I look forward to working with you from now on, future Blaze Knight!"
A smile followed.
I took his hand. He clasped it with his other hand as well and shook it up and down. He didn't seem half bad.
...But I was totally wrong!
It was from that point onward that the fate of my future salary rested completely in his hands. I was the first to fall before his money-grubbing ways, and I never got out of it.
After the Pope finished giving his instructions, my teacher left us (but not without a knock on my head with his smoking pipe, telling me to behave). Grisia and I went around the entire Church, both the Sanctuary of Light and the Holy Temple, to revisit all the doors I'd kicked down. Grisia would stand in front of them, examining the doors from all these different angles. If people were around, like the owner of the room, he'd even ask after any "inconveniences" the kicked doors brought about. Then, he'd jot down a bunch of numbers. I tried sneaking some glances at his notes, but I couldn't make heads or tails out of them from my distance.
When we got to Roland's door, which was only a little bit crooked and thankfully the last door, Grisia looked over at me and... tsked! He tsked at me! He was looking down on me!
It didn't matter that he was shorter! He was looking down on me!
"What?" I challenged and stuck my chin up.
"Kicking your future Sun Knight's door, tsk tsk!" Grisia shook his head, his huge hat bobbing and nearly falling off. He shoved it back on. "How disrespectful of you!"
Hey! With Roland being the only one with an individual room, it goes without saying that his door had to be kicked! He had to be hiding something behind that door of his! Otherwise, he'd have roommates just like the rest of us!
It was too bad that the scene behind his door had actually been really boring. All Roland had been doing was paperwork.
...Then again, why had he been doing paperwork?
I scratched my face.
Grisia jotted down some more stuff, mumbling the entire time he did so. "...Grave damage to the future Sun Knight's door. Hinge unusable. Replacement will be necessary. Wood is cracking in three different areas..."
He was still mumbling when he rapped his knuckles against Roland's door.
"Is this really necessary?" I complained. I'd already watched him speak to countless people! It wasn't like their doors were unusable! I mean, only like, one was completely in smithereens... and another was in four pieces... but the rest were still fine! Just a little dented! With itty bitty teeny tiny little cracks!
We waited, but no one came to open the door. See, this was why kicking doors open was much more efficient. We wouldn't have to wait for the people inside to walk at a tortoise's pace to answer the door! And if they weren't in their room, we would know right away!
I tapped my foot.
Eventually, the door opened, revealing Roland who was in the middle of toweling his hair. "...Grisia...and Chikus?" he said absentmindedly. Water dripped down his neck, soaking into his lopsided collar.
Grisia was about to speak when he caught sight of Roland. Blue eyes widened, and he hissed, "Roland, straighten your shirt! Finish toweling your hair before you open the door!"
"Oh, right," Roland said and closed the door.
I stared at the closed door.
Huh?
Beside me, Grisia had on a frown, and now he was tapping his foot instead of me.
When the door opened again, Roland stood at the doorway, his hair no longer dripping, though still very wet. He had also changed his clothes. I guess they looked a little neater.
"Grisia and Chikus." He greeted us solemnly with a nod. However, in the very next moment, a large smile broke out on his face, and he quickly turned away to cover his mouth.
Huh?
That was... unusual for Roland.
I snapped my head to the right, only to see Grisia looking innocently back at me. His hands were not as innocent though, as they were dangerously close to me.
"What?" I said.
"Nothing~" was all he gave as a reply. He stepped away from me and pulled out his pen and paper once more. "Roland! How is your door?"
Roland turned back to us. He still had a smile on his face as he considered the question. Had Grisia put that smile there?
"A little crooked," he replied.
See, it was just a little crooked!
Grisia nodded and jotted down some more stuff.
"Would you say it closes correctly?" Grisia asked.
Roland thought it over. "When I try to close it, there is a small gap at the bottom of the door."
"I see, I see," Grisia mumbled, his feather pen flying across his paper. "How does this gap affect you?"
This Grisia fellow was damn persistent with all these tiny little details! Who cares about a small gap at the bottom of a door?! What difference does it make? The door still closes!
"It takes a few seconds longer than before to close the door to make sure the door closes correctly," Roland answered.
I swiveled my head to stare at Roland. He was being way too detailed with his answers!
In such a way, with Grisia persistently asking about super tiny details, and Roland answering in equally great detail, they kept on rambling about Roland's perfectly good door, golden heads huddled together. They looked almost like siblings. After they finished speaking, Grisia turned to me and held up a scroll that was half unrolled, the part Grisia had been writing on. The rest of the scroll unrolled, the paper falling to the floor, revealing all of the rest of the stuff Grisia had jotted down.
Grisia looked up at me with a beaming smile. "Dear future Blaze Knight, here is a tally of the repair fees you need to pay. If you are unsure about any of the costs, I have written in great detail what they are for."
My eyes nearly fell out. I stared, slack-jawed, at the never-ending list.
"That can't be right!" I protested.
"Hm?" Grisia tilted his head to peer at the list. Then, he glanced up at me with confused blue eyes. "But we went around together, didn't we? You were there as I tallied everything up."
That was true, but... Why do I have to pay for someone's sleep getting disturbed? Or for someone taking longer to close the door? That was all nonsense! Besides... "There's no way I can pay all of that! Where would I get that kind of money?!" I shouted.
I didn't even have a single ducat to my name!
"Ah well." Grisia rolled up the scroll, his smile growing even wider. "It just means you'll need to be assigned a 'suitable punishment' until you can repay the debt."
What?!
Don't tell me I won't be allowed to kick any doors anymore?!
Grisia tucked the scroll away. He looked at me earnestly. There wasn't even much sunlight in this corridor, but for some reason, the sunlight from the window seemed to gleam off of his golden hair at that very moment. It was like I was being blinded by a golden field of straw underneath the blazing sun.
It really made my eyes hurt.
"Why don't I help you out?" he asked brightly. "All you have to do for me is a small favor~"
Not knowing what I was agreeing to, I exclaimed, "Really? You'll help me out? Does this mean I can keep on kicking doors?"
"Of course!" Grisia beamed.
In such a way, I signed my future off to him.
to be continued
Grisia... how are you going to become friends with Chikus like this... Isn't this more of a debt collector and debtor relationship... :'D;
Next part
Fandom: The Legend of Sun Knight
Words: 2,269
Summary: Grisia wasn't chosen as the Sun Knight. This is the legend of the strongest Pope in all history. AU.
Notes: Here, have some more of everyone as little kids. 8D;
Previous part
Part 6: Chikus
I guess I met him because of how I always kicked down doors. Like, a lot of doors. There was this one time when my teacher whacked me on the head because of it (actually, that's nearly all the time), but this one particular time was just a bit different.
Instead of his smoking pipe, Teacher actually used his fist to knock on my head! It was totally child abuse!
I scowled and rubbed my innocent head. Teacher's face had turned almost as red as his hair, and he sputtered, "Chikus! You broke way too many doors again!"
But wasn't he the one who had told me to do it? I still remember what he'd kept drilling me about during our first few lessons! Break these doors, Chikus, with a good, hard kick! You're the Blaze Knight, and Blaze Knights need to be brash! Impulsive! All of that! Never use a doorknob when you can kick the door open instead!
I followed what he'd told me and found that it was... really... addicting!
I said just as much, that he was the one who'd told me to do it, and watched in amazement as Teacher's face turned even redder. Like, redder than his hair! I hadn't thought it possible.
"Y-You!" My teacher took several deep breaths while impatiently tapping his smoking pipe against his crossed arm. Finally, he said in a somewhat calmer voice, "Since you're the one who broke all the doors, you'll go and explain it to the Pope!"
He didn't manage to stop his voice from rising by the end. I winced, this time rubbing my ears.
I guess I'd found Teacher's limit! It wasn't like this time was any different than usual, but he picked me up by the collar and marched me over to the Sanctuary of Light. I struggled the entire way, trying to shrug Teacher's hand off. I shouted that I could walk just fine, but he wouldn't let go!
Only when we reached our destination did he finally let go. He pushed me through the door and stood solemnly behind me, his one good eye glaring holes into my back, leaving me nowhere to turn.
I stumbled forward, scowling as I rubbed my neck. After finding my balance, I raised my head and saw that I was in a study of some sort. There was a very boring desk and lots of books and papers about. I glanced around, not impressed.
The clink of a teacup being placed down brought my attention back.
That was how I first met him.
Not the Pope. I mean the scrawny kid behind him. Made sense. He was the Pope's student, so of course the Sanctuary of Light, especially the Pope's study, would be his base of operations. At the time, however, I had no clue who he was. He was just some short kid standing by the side of another short kid, that other kid being the Pope himself.
Anyway, it was hard to take the Pope seriously when he looked like a fifteen year old boy. He berated me about all the broken doors. I wasn't really listening until Teacher said in a gruff voice, "I won't be paying any repair fees for the rest of the month!"
"What!" I exclaimed, head snapping to the side. I stared up at Teacher in disbelief. "There's no way you can leave your student out to fend for himself, right? I would starve! And die of boredom! That's too cruel!"
I'd already spent all my pocket money! That would mean no more candy, and I wouldn't be able to kick down any more doors for the rest of the month!
I stared at Teacher pleadingly. He kept on glaring at me, but I knew I could wear him down. All I had to do was keep at it!
Come on, Teacher! I know you can't bear to see me without any doors to kick!
Finally, he sighed and said, "I... I won't be paying any repair fees for the doors you broke today!"
Immediately, I perked up and punched my fist in the air.
"Yes! This means I can continue to kick doors for the rest of the month!"
But wait... How many doors had I kicked today?
I held up my fingers, trying to count the doors I had kicked. It wasn't like I had broken all of them, so not all of them needed fixing... One... two... nine... ten... I don't have enough fingers...
"Fahr," the Pope admonished.
My teacher held his hands up. "I know, I know. Look, at least I brought him here, right?"
Through my fingers, I frowned at my teacher and the Pope. The latter didn't even look any older than me, yet my teacher had to answer to him!
The Pope waved his hand, as if dismissing my teacher. "Forget it! No matter how many times I say it, the result will be the same. At least you know that you can't shield him forever. Today's damage must be compensated. My student will deal with this in my stead. This is a good opportunity for him to learn more about the finances of the Holy Temple."
After that, the Pope gestured, and someone walked forward.
I blinked upon seeing this "someone." If the Pope hadn't introduced him, I might've thought him to be a girl. He was a fair bit shorter than me, his hair like a blinding mop of golden straw. He actually reminded me of someone... Who was it again... Oh! The Sun Knight.
Like, a mini, girl version of the Sun Knight! He even had blue eyes!
I stared in awe, and so marked our official meeting.
"Grisia," the Pope addressed the kid, "take note of all of the damages and calculate how much the repair fees will be. Have him pay, and if he doesn't have enough funds to take care of all of the damage, make sure you assign a suitable punishment until he does."
"What?!" I blurted. "You sure?"
I eyed this Grisia a second time, this time sizing him up. He gazed back at me, blue eyes watching me curiously. His robes were really loose on him, his hat ridiculously big.
He was seriously just a kid!
The Pope nodded, and his student held out a hand for me to shake. Grisia said, "I look forward to working with you from now on, future Blaze Knight!"
A smile followed.
I took his hand. He clasped it with his other hand as well and shook it up and down. He didn't seem half bad.
...But I was totally wrong!
It was from that point onward that the fate of my future salary rested completely in his hands. I was the first to fall before his money-grubbing ways, and I never got out of it.
After the Pope finished giving his instructions, my teacher left us (but not without a knock on my head with his smoking pipe, telling me to behave). Grisia and I went around the entire Church, both the Sanctuary of Light and the Holy Temple, to revisit all the doors I'd kicked down. Grisia would stand in front of them, examining the doors from all these different angles. If people were around, like the owner of the room, he'd even ask after any "inconveniences" the kicked doors brought about. Then, he'd jot down a bunch of numbers. I tried sneaking some glances at his notes, but I couldn't make heads or tails out of them from my distance.
When we got to Roland's door, which was only a little bit crooked and thankfully the last door, Grisia looked over at me and... tsked! He tsked at me! He was looking down on me!
It didn't matter that he was shorter! He was looking down on me!
"What?" I challenged and stuck my chin up.
"Kicking your future Sun Knight's door, tsk tsk!" Grisia shook his head, his huge hat bobbing and nearly falling off. He shoved it back on. "How disrespectful of you!"
Hey! With Roland being the only one with an individual room, it goes without saying that his door had to be kicked! He had to be hiding something behind that door of his! Otherwise, he'd have roommates just like the rest of us!
It was too bad that the scene behind his door had actually been really boring. All Roland had been doing was paperwork.
...Then again, why had he been doing paperwork?
I scratched my face.
Grisia jotted down some more stuff, mumbling the entire time he did so. "...Grave damage to the future Sun Knight's door. Hinge unusable. Replacement will be necessary. Wood is cracking in three different areas..."
He was still mumbling when he rapped his knuckles against Roland's door.
"Is this really necessary?" I complained. I'd already watched him speak to countless people! It wasn't like their doors were unusable! I mean, only like, one was completely in smithereens... and another was in four pieces... but the rest were still fine! Just a little dented! With itty bitty teeny tiny little cracks!
We waited, but no one came to open the door. See, this was why kicking doors open was much more efficient. We wouldn't have to wait for the people inside to walk at a tortoise's pace to answer the door! And if they weren't in their room, we would know right away!
I tapped my foot.
Eventually, the door opened, revealing Roland who was in the middle of toweling his hair. "...Grisia...and Chikus?" he said absentmindedly. Water dripped down his neck, soaking into his lopsided collar.
Grisia was about to speak when he caught sight of Roland. Blue eyes widened, and he hissed, "Roland, straighten your shirt! Finish toweling your hair before you open the door!"
"Oh, right," Roland said and closed the door.
I stared at the closed door.
Huh?
Beside me, Grisia had on a frown, and now he was tapping his foot instead of me.
When the door opened again, Roland stood at the doorway, his hair no longer dripping, though still very wet. He had also changed his clothes. I guess they looked a little neater.
"Grisia and Chikus." He greeted us solemnly with a nod. However, in the very next moment, a large smile broke out on his face, and he quickly turned away to cover his mouth.
Huh?
That was... unusual for Roland.
I snapped my head to the right, only to see Grisia looking innocently back at me. His hands were not as innocent though, as they were dangerously close to me.
"What?" I said.
"Nothing~" was all he gave as a reply. He stepped away from me and pulled out his pen and paper once more. "Roland! How is your door?"
Roland turned back to us. He still had a smile on his face as he considered the question. Had Grisia put that smile there?
"A little crooked," he replied.
See, it was just a little crooked!
Grisia nodded and jotted down some more stuff.
"Would you say it closes correctly?" Grisia asked.
Roland thought it over. "When I try to close it, there is a small gap at the bottom of the door."
"I see, I see," Grisia mumbled, his feather pen flying across his paper. "How does this gap affect you?"
This Grisia fellow was damn persistent with all these tiny little details! Who cares about a small gap at the bottom of a door?! What difference does it make? The door still closes!
"It takes a few seconds longer than before to close the door to make sure the door closes correctly," Roland answered.
I swiveled my head to stare at Roland. He was being way too detailed with his answers!
In such a way, with Grisia persistently asking about super tiny details, and Roland answering in equally great detail, they kept on rambling about Roland's perfectly good door, golden heads huddled together. They looked almost like siblings. After they finished speaking, Grisia turned to me and held up a scroll that was half unrolled, the part Grisia had been writing on. The rest of the scroll unrolled, the paper falling to the floor, revealing all of the rest of the stuff Grisia had jotted down.
Grisia looked up at me with a beaming smile. "Dear future Blaze Knight, here is a tally of the repair fees you need to pay. If you are unsure about any of the costs, I have written in great detail what they are for."
My eyes nearly fell out. I stared, slack-jawed, at the never-ending list.
"That can't be right!" I protested.
"Hm?" Grisia tilted his head to peer at the list. Then, he glanced up at me with confused blue eyes. "But we went around together, didn't we? You were there as I tallied everything up."
That was true, but... Why do I have to pay for someone's sleep getting disturbed? Or for someone taking longer to close the door? That was all nonsense! Besides... "There's no way I can pay all of that! Where would I get that kind of money?!" I shouted.
I didn't even have a single ducat to my name!
"Ah well." Grisia rolled up the scroll, his smile growing even wider. "It just means you'll need to be assigned a 'suitable punishment' until you can repay the debt."
What?!
Don't tell me I won't be allowed to kick any doors anymore?!
Grisia tucked the scroll away. He looked at me earnestly. There wasn't even much sunlight in this corridor, but for some reason, the sunlight from the window seemed to gleam off of his golden hair at that very moment. It was like I was being blinded by a golden field of straw underneath the blazing sun.
It really made my eyes hurt.
"Why don't I help you out?" he asked brightly. "All you have to do for me is a small favor~"
Not knowing what I was agreeing to, I exclaimed, "Really? You'll help me out? Does this mean I can keep on kicking doors?"
"Of course!" Grisia beamed.
In such a way, I signed my future off to him.
to be continued
Grisia... how are you going to become friends with Chikus like this... Isn't this more of a debt collector and debtor relationship... :'D;
Next part