Hiro absentmindedly continued walking along the path he created. Knowing the grounds by heart made it much more simple. It also made him think that maybe things should have been changed up. They could have redecorated the entire left wing or something. Hiro chuckled at the idea, reminding him off his stepmother. Before he realized it, the two were indoors. "Hm?" The prince returned to reality and looked around at the men sitting around board games. Politely, he waved to the ones who greeted him. 

At first, he watched the various games going on. However being invited to play made him pause. "Oh." Hiro sounded as he moved towards the board. "You can watch if you'd like? Maybe play the next round if you want." He gave a slightly eager smile before plopping unceremoniously onto the floor. Both opponents nodded to each other and the elderly male gestured for Hiro to make the first move. 

Unlike the usual relaxed and somewhat lackadaisical look in Hiro’s eyes, he straightened up and looked a lot more focused. It was somewhat like when he was practicing his magic. He worked out a strategy in his head as he moved the first piece. The man across from him looked a lot more relaxed, as he was more of a professional at the game. For the most part, the two remained silent compared to the mumblings of conversations around them. There were a few remarks passed between them. 

“You’ve gotten better.” 

“Eh, I try.” The prince shrugged nonchalantly and the complimented his skill. It was fairly silent for most of the play. 

As things began to get more ‘intense’ towards the end of the game, pieces were moved a little quicker and both were now leaning forward eyeing the board carefully. With a proud grin, Hiro set his final piece down and straightened up. “Ha!” However his grin faltered as his opponent chuckled and moved his own piece. 

“I win.” 

Hiro pouted and stared at the board one final time in order to be positive about it. “But I-! . .Wah!?” His hands went up to his head and he dramatically fell backwards, his knee bumping the table gently. He ended up messing his hair up in the process as he childishly ran fingers through it. The man sitting next to Akito and Hiro’s opponent began to laugh. A few others near them chuckled as well. 

“Now, now your Highness, you’ll beat me at this one day. You were actually pretty close this time.” The man smiled and set up the board again after picking up a few pieces that fell off. The prince laid there with an arm over his eyes for a short moment before he started laughing gently. 

“You’re no fun. You used to let me win all the time.” He sat up and ruffled his hair. 

“Well, there’d be no fun in that now.” He looked over at Akito with a gentle smile. “Would you like to try your hand at the game?” Hiro had crawled out of the way and sat one side of the board. He was curious if Akito wanted to or not, but he made sure the soldier knew he didn’t have to if he didn’t want to. “We could always find something else, or even go back outside if you want.” Hiro placed his hands in his lap as he waited for Akito’s decision.