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“Y’know for all the complaining Kai-niichan does about ya, yer not really all that bad!”
It didn’t really surprise Aoko that Kaito complained about her, but hearing it said so bluntly did hit some sort of nerve. She breathed out slowly, staying calm in her stance, holding a bokken in front of her in two hands and swinging it in time to the drills that he’d taught her.
He laughed softly, presumably at her expression - halfway between anger and forcing herself to stay neutral. She never was good at keeping a poker face.
Okita walked behind her, examining her stance, poking her occasionally to make minor adjustments, but for the most part, he seemed pleased with the way she was carrying herself.
“Yer also learning to keep yer cool, that’s good.”
Admittedly, the fire that had immediately been stoked when he mentioned Kaito complaining about her had been softened by Okita’s laughter. Aoko was used to being reactive and angry about most things - especially when someone laughed at her expense.
When Okita laughed, however, it gave her pause. He was trying to rile her up, sure, but his laughter didn’t carry the same kind of pointed cruelty that others did.
It made new, unfamiliar feelings bubble up in her chest.
She could deal with cruelty and jabs at her - she was used to that. She was the dirty-kneed, childish daughter of the Inspector who kept failing to catch Kaitou KID. She was used to Kaito teasing her, used to being the subject of others insults about her father and her family. She used it as fuel, never letting her guard down.
She was not used to Okita.
A small smile formed on her lips as she swung her bokken, shifting her stance to take a step forward without prompting, recalling what they had practised just hours before. Her smile split into a large grin as she heard Okita hum approval from behind her.
… It wouldn’t hurt to get used to this, though.
---
Aoko sat against a tree sipping some water. She was tired and worn out from training, but she felt good. Loose, limber, and a little sore, but she was expecting that much. She wasn’t bothered too much, enjoying the time to relax instead.
Truthfully, she had wanted to immediately learn how to do his five strike attack, but since she had no formal training, Okita wanted to instill some basics into her, and so the past few weeks had been just that.
Thankfully, Aoko had watched Kaito enough to be able to pick up and mimic him well enough, and while her technique was messy, Okita corrected her with a small laugh every time.
That laugh that continued to make new and unfamiliar feelings bubble up in her chest. Aoko didn’t want to examine them too hard, and so she shook the thoughts from her mind with a small sigh.
Instead, she stretched, watching leaves of the tree she was sitting against wave gently in the wind.
She’d met Okita when he’d fallen out of a tree, hadn’t she…?
She glanced around. Okita had to run to talk to his grandpa, and he’d told her to wait. She had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn’t supposed to be here, but she’d learnt early on that Okita didn’t care much for what his grandpa thought. He was probably just trying to save her from getting yelled at.
She stood, taking a breath and jumping up, managing to catch a low branch. She didn’t have too much upper body strength - and she was tired from training - but once she set her mind to something, she wanted to see it through.
She hung for a moment, before she pulled herself up with shaky arms, and was able to shimmy herself up onto the branch. She let out a quiet, triumphant cheer before taking a moment to assess her route up further.
From there, it was easier - the branches were closer together up high, and she was able to use her legs, not relying solely on upper body strength. It reminded her of running around in the park and trying to climb the trees to catch Kaito when they were kids. Either Toichi or her dad would usually have to help her up to catch him.
Look at her now, scaling a tree all by herself!
In no time, she’d found herself about halfway up on a strong branch, and Aoko sat on it happily, swinging her legs.
Eventually, after a short while, she saw Okita walk back outside, though he paused slightly when he noticed her water bottle at the base of the tree but not her.
“Hey, where’d ya go?”
She covered her mouth, but wasn’t able to stifle her giggle. She watched as he blinked, and then looked up, their eyes meeting after a moment. He barked out a laugh as he realised just what she’d done.
“Oi, no stealing my napping spot!”