Child's Play
"Hey, Freaky-Fox kid what are you looking at?" His voice squeaked. Jin Magastu was still dressed in his school clothes and was running to his home deep in the forest pass the temples, when that weird kid starting following him. His follower or perhaps stalker flinched at being detected. Jin always liked to get to the point of things.
"..." The child looked no older than him as they were the same height, though his clothes were dated. He was wearing a traditional dress, usually reserved for special occasions. His mask or face, Jin couldn't tell the difference, had a haunted look. He also had jingling necklaces draped over his slim body. All in all, Jin was a bit mesmerized.
He looks so cool!
"You are not afraid?" The other kid said to him quietly. Jin didn't remember seeing his mouth move to form the words.
"Not at all!"
He started to run ahead until he noticed Freaky-fox face, whom he had deemed in his mind, stopped walking.
"Well, come on! You have followed me all the way from school, you might as well follow me home and later to Megumi's house." Jin had a knack for weirdos, so why not add one more to his friend roster. Not that he had that many friends to begin with. He pulled on his odd-colored, bowtie he had been forced to wear for school picture day as he waited for Freaky-fox face's reply.
"... You need a buddy?"
Oh, great now he was reeking of desperation, which wasn't good for his already tainted fourth grade reputation. It was one thing to make the kid a friend in his head, but not to be put on the spot about it. Instead, he answered his question with another question. "And, you need a name. So, what's yours, Freaky-fox face and who are you?" Was the snarky reply.
"I am a buddy monster. Yamigitsune-"
Peering closer at the buddy, Jin's inquisitiveness started to arise and he touched his skull necklace. "Where'd you get all these cool stuff? You steal it?" He wrinkled his nose and wondered if Megumi would freak out at the sight of the scary, kitsune boy. He hoped so! Whenever he could get a reaction from the stoic girl he relished it. Scaring or pranking Megumi was a task only the skilled could pull off.
"-Evil in heart, Yamigitsune. Pleased to meet you," Yamigitsune finished. He carefully swatted Jin's hand away when he made a grab to remove his mask. He didn't want any darkness to release now and scare away the first kid, who wasn't afraid of him in a bad way.
"I am Magatsu. Jin Magatsu, " Jin lazily drawled, though he was both excited and frighten to learn the buddy's full, sinister name. "I am bored. You want to scare someone with me?"
Yamigitsune lifted his mask a few inches above to reveal a human-looking mouth. His creepy smile widen and inside his mouth, Jin saw how pointy the depth of his teeth were. So the mask could come off, Jin thought.
"Does she fear the undead?" Yamigitsune asked, a devious smile replacing the creepy one.
"Uh... I think so but wait! The only thing is you can't hurt her! She's my only fri- She's blind okay...Well, not really but there has to be reason she covers her eyes by that atrocious hairstyle"Jin rambled.
"If Jin agrees to be my buddy, I shall not hurt my victim," Yamigitsune said sadly. The ears on his mask began to point down. In that moment, the creepy buddy seemed so much like a child, seeking approval.
"I didn't even know you were a buddy monster at first, but I will think about that. Now, let's go to my house so I can change out of these school clothes!" Jin grabbed Yamigitsune's hand and started to run to their destination. The buddy monster tagged along unsure where they were going.
"Wait... Allow me to change form." The next thing Jin knew the height of his new-auditioning buddy (He hadn't decided if he wanted him for a buddy or not. A friend perhaps...) had cast a shadow over him. He must have been at least six feet tall!
Yamigitsune crouched down and Jin hopped on his shoulders, pulling himself up by the demonic kitsune's ears.
"Whoa! You're super tall! I am the tallest one in my class," Jin continued. "I thought you were my same height!"
Yamigitsune said nothing but he reached over to pat the young boy's head, Jin could tell he felt pleased.
OXOXO XOXO
After changing into stylish, play clothes Jin and (chibi form) Yamigitsune left the forest and made the walk to Megumi's house. Jin rang the doorbell two times before he got impatient and sat on her doorstep. Yamitigatsune tilted his head in a way that said, "Why'd you do that?" before sitting next to him.
"Please! I'm not going to stand up all day waiting for miss princess. Ugh, I wanted to prank her now!" He whined, placing his elbows on his knees so his hands could rest on either side of his face.
"Hey, do buddies get hungry?"
"Yes..."
"So, what do you eat? There's no food at home now and Megumi's mom always gives me dinner when I come over. I don't know what you would like..."
"I am not hungry often. I usually eat rice if I have to but I prefer the skulls of dead animals, particularly rodents."
"Gross! You're like a snake," Jin laughed.
The sound of a door creaking open disrupted their conversation. A small girl with pale pink hair and her arms folded, wearing a cream-colored sailor outfit emerged from the door. Her side-swept bangs covered her eyes perfectly, yet she seemed to walk down her doorsteps with no problem.
"Jin, you're here again? For another free meal I presume. Geez, stay at your own house for once." Her monotone voice chided him.
"Megumi! Nice to see you too! What's your mom cooking? It's smells good all the way from here!"
"Huh, hard of hearing as always." She sighed. "Mom's making fried plantains and stir-fried vegetables and rice in soy sauce." Turning her attention to the boy in the traditional purple garb she asked, "Who's the kid?"
"He's not a kid, he is a buddy monster. I just met him today. His name is Yamigitsune." He elbowed the monster in his side and whispered, "Hey, Yami, go hide inside Megumi's house then we can scare her!" Yamigitsune nodded his head and left without either of them noticing.
"Jin, what did your parents tell you about taking home strays? I know you don't have any friends except me, but you don't have to be so desperate. Hey, where did your friend go?"
"Desperate!? This kid followed me all around town just be my friend!" His plan to scare Megumi was momentarily forgotten as his temper flared.
"Careful, Jin all that red doesn't go with your purple.' She smirked. Jin was easy to refute but he was also a lot of fun, which was why she tolerated him enough so they could hang out. Even if he did eat all the food in her mom and her house he was a true friend, who didn't even care about being teased because his best friend was a girl. When she asked about it he had said he had his own mind and he didn't care what others thought of him. Somewhere, deep down where Jin wasn't submerged in his own arrogance he had a decent heart and loyalty. She admired those good qualities and once you became a friend of hers she would do anything for you.
Even let some unknown kid in her house you met on the street, that might be a stalker and you eat so much of her food that there would be no leftovers.
OXOXO XOXO
"Hey, Jin stop stuffing your face for a minute. The lights just went out and there's no thunder outside. This is highly illogical. I hope mom paid the bill, she forgets to do so sometimes."
"What?" He said, mouth full. He swallowed the last of the stir fry and washed it down with sweet tea."The only thing illogical is a nine-year old actually knowing what that word means."
"Everyone's not a underachiever like you. Try being less of a good-for-nothing and help me find the candles."
"Megumi, is that anyway to talk to your friend? He's such a sweet boy. He ate all his food and then he licked the plate clean. You barely touched your food, baby."Her mother said.
"Fine. Sorry, mom. Jin, you are not a good-for-nothing. You are intelligent, funny, and you have more potential than me. However, you will never tap into it until you stop being lazy."
"Uh, uh not lazy but a slacker! There's a difference," Jin wagged his finger in the dimmed dark. He also cued Yamigitsune to get ready. "Anyway, I found the candles. Here I will give them to you."
Bony fingers brushed up against Megumi's small ones before giving her the candlesticks. Since, when had Jin's soft hands become so dead-feeling and cold?
"Jin?" He almost burst out laughing at Megumi's unsure tone. "Your hands feel like skeletons. You need to use more lotion." She sounded confident again and his face fell.
"Let me turn on the light, okay... OH NO THERE'S A GHOST!" Jin screamed, pretending to be shocked.
The lights flickered on and the demonic buddy appeared, cackling loudly. He summoned a small group of ghost to fly around Megumi's kitchen before eating them all. He could have literally frighten them all to death, but due to the prospect of a buddy he held back.
"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A female screamed.
Megumi?
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKK!" Mama Mamakari screamed again. She grabbed the closest weapon to her, a dusty broomstick, and tried to swat the evil spirits out.
After, Mama Mamakari cleaned the house of the evil spirits, whacked Yamigitsune on the head, and wiped the lone tear from Megumi's face she left the room to lie down. She said she needed an aspirin and told Jin to take home as much food as he liked. The two children waved her off.
Jin turned his head to get a look at Megumi. The scare prank had been hilarious! He had never seen Megumi's well-groomed mother act like a scared chicken, but he was surprised to see the trail Megumi's lone tear had left on her face. His stomach twisted a bit from guilt and all the food still churning in it. He had told Yami not to hurt her, but he guess mental hurt was a loophole.
"This is the most scared I have ever been in my life, so as of now I'm getting rid of fear. I will never be afraid again." Megumi declared. "Anyway, Jin and Yamigitsune do you want to play leap-frog or duck-duck-goose?"
OXOXO XOXO
Ribbit. Ribbit. Ribbit.
Megumi leaped over Jin's hunched figure. The two both gave a shriek of childish laughter before they began to chant for Yamigatsune.
"Come on, Yami! Your turn! Leap! Leap! Leap!"
The buddy in his small stature wobbled around the toys scattered across Megumi's floor, obviously thrown by Jin. He walked around a neater pile of toys Megumi had organized herself until he was directly behind Jin.
"Now what?" He asked. He guessed this was the first of different Earth's customs he would be introduced to. Things operated much differently here than in the katana world.
"You leap, dummy" Megumi deadpanned. "... Over Jin."
So, he leaped. He leaped until his toes touched the black and white checkered rug and Megumi's mouth formed a perfect 'o.'
Megumi clapped happily. "Congratulations, Yami you successfully leaped! You get bonus points for knocking over Jin too!"
Oh! He looked down to see the young, spiky-purple haired boy sprawled out on the floor.
"Oops," he snickered. Jin shot him a dirty look before he realized he did look a little funny and began to laugh as well.
Watching the boy collapse in pitchy giggles, he thought it wouldn't be hard to get use to hearing it often. Yamigitsune loved making mischief, and he was finding out he liked making mischief with this kid more.
"Hey Yami! Duck!" Jin said, patting his almost-buddy monster's big hair. He patted his own head and added another duck! before he stood and walked to Megumi.
"What?"
"GOOSE!" He yelled. Megumi smirked, trying to catch him. Jin and Megumi ran in circles around her small bedroom nearly bumping into this and that. When they did finally bump something, a teddy bear of all things, they started a stuffed animal fight. They looked at Yamigitsune expectantly.
He stared at the two before joining in. He made the game more fun as he possessed the stuff animals with (nice) ghosts, who made them move on their own.
OXOXO XOXO
Megumi swung her legs. She pondered why her boring bedroom could seem different at a new height. She was sitting on Yamigitsune's shoulder in his true form. She noticed as the night went on the buddy felt free and didn't try to change to his chibi form. He had acceptance with them she guessed.
"Jin, your buddy is really tall and strong!" She slapped the his chest for added effect. He hadn't even flinched.
"Yeah. I wish he could have been here a few weeks earlier, when the school bullies were hounding us." Jin replied.
"No, it's good we were able to stand up for ourselves without any extra muscle."
"Hey, don't forget to mention the part where I valiantly saved you!"
"You mean the part when you told the bullies to let me go, and they grabbed you by the collar and beat you? I can't believe we almost forgot that," Megumi responded dryly.
"Getting your butt kicked with a friend is a lot better than getting it kicked alone. Besides, I got a couple of good licks in after I pulled down their pants. It pays to wear a belt."
Megumi had to smile at that.
OXOXO XOXO
"Goodbye. Glad to see you freeloaders leave," Megumi said, waving the two boys off her doorstep. Her mother murmured a goodbye, still sounding sleepy.
"That's her way of saying she loves us and to come visit again," Jin whispered to Yamigitsune, holding his plate of leftovers close to his heart. The smell of the delicious cooking stayed close to his nose.
His new friend stopped after the trail that returned to the forest and grabbed his hand.
"Oh, come on Yami! Not this again. I have to get home. We are lucky its July, so the night sky is light enough to guide us home." Jin tried to pulled his hand out of the firm grasp, but the buddy's bony hands would not budge. The boy sighed. No one at home will be happy to see him return so late, since he hadn't asked for permission to play with Megumi.
"You need a buddy?"
"Really, Yami? Really?"
"I need... Will you... I command you to be my buddy!" Yamigitsune said, with a harsh edge to his otherwise smooth voice.
Jin snorted. If his Yami wanted to scare him he should have done it sooner. Now, he was desensitized to his creepy ways or so he thought.
"Let's see if I can change your mind," Yamigitsune half-threaten. Visible grotesque souls were beginning to sprout from the ground and circled over Jin's head.
A frighten look flashed across Jin's face and he failed to replace it with a stoic one. He clenched his fist through the fear. No one, buddy or human, could make him do anything. "Stop!"
Slowly, Yamigitsune retracted his evil spirits and underneath his mask a small frown was on his angled face. He had thought they would have been buddies by now. Why was there such resistance? He was relieved to see Jin's facial expression relax.
"Sorry."
Jin sighed.
"Listen, I don't mind us being buddies, but this calling for ghosts whenever you don't get your way stops now. The only drama queen I will put up with is Megumi and sometimes me. Understand?"
Yamigitsune nodded. He was happy to have been given a second chance.
"Good. Since, you're my honorary buddy you will be living with me in the dump I call home!" Jin cheered, he grabbed his new buddy's hand and ran toward home, mirroring their fast pace to Megumi's.
Halfway home, Jin asked a question, "Yami, do you think it is hard to be buddies?"
"Not at all! It's mere child's play." Yamigitsune answered, smiling. Well, Jin considered the smile painted on the freaky fox- on Yami's kitsune mask was good enough for him. As was their newly budding friendship.
OXOXO XOXO
THE END
OXOXO XOXO
This one shot was inspired by the new Buddyfight outro! Seeing how the kids first got their buddies is so adorable! When I saw sweet, baby-faced Jin I could have squealed.
I like the stuck-up, deceitful, and sarcastic slacker Jin, so I had to make an oneshot about him. I am pretty sure if this was canon Jin would recognize right away Yami was a buddy monster, but for the sake of the story he was very clueless. Jin and Megumi seem childish for nine-year olds, but I played duck-duck-goose until I turned ten. (ﾟДﾟ)
My bad, if Yami (his name is so long!) is OOC, but I can't remember much of his personality. I was getting a sinister prankster vibe from him until the outro, because he looked so innocent with his head bobbing up and down with Jin dragging him who knows where.
I have gotta practice oneshots more this ending seems abrupt. I might rewrite the ending. Also, kitsune or fox? I can't decide which I like more or want to use, they both are the same word.
Oh yeah, you guys should check out this drawing of Jin, Megumi, and Yamigitsune someone made: zerochan . n e t slash 1681540
Thanks for reading and/or reviewing!