Hard Relationships
By: Q2
Author's Note: I didn't intend this story to be funny. Still, I think it's a good story. Also in this story, Spiral Mountain is somewhere in Donkey Kong Country. I think that would be most reasonable for Banjo's video game history.
Prelude
Banjo and Kazooie have beaten Gruntilda like the story goes. Grunty is stuck under a huge green boulder and her servant, Klungo, is still trying with all of his might to push the boulder off of her. Banjo, Kazooie, and their friends have celebrated over their victory. Mumbo had shown the team up the secret pictures of hidden items. Weeks later, no one had even mentioned Gruntilda, but Banjo always peeped out of the window to make sure that rock was still on her. By this much time almost two months had passed by since the victory party. Banjo hadn't checked the rock in a while. Other things were on his mind. Banjo's attitude began to go into a change. No one yet has really noticed this, except Tooty.
VOLUME 1: "Secrets Revealed"
Chapter 1 "Banjo's Affliction"
Tooty has invited some of her friends over to discuss Banjo's changing attitude. Bottles, Kazooie, Brentilda, Mumbo, and the five jinjos were there. They were all in the kitchen viewing Banjo's condition. He is slouched in his chair while looking at the T.V. In reality, he is only facing the T.V. His attention is elsewhere.
TOOTY: I'm kinda worried about him, guys.
KAZOOIE: Yeah, I know Banjo's lazy, but this is startin' to get stupid.
TOOTY: He hasn't even said that much to me. It's like he'd just say a few words to me each conversation and that's it for the day.
BOTTLES: This isn't like him. I wonder what's wrong.
MUMBO: Perhaps Banjo spend too much time with Filthy Feathered One.
KAZOOIE: (To Mumbo) If you call me that ONE MORE TIME...
TOOTY: Kazooie. Please, this is serious.
KAZOOIE: And it's about to get MORE serious if Mask Midget over there don't watch his mouth. (Sarcasm) OOPS I FORGOT! He CAN'T watch his mouth because of his STUPID mask.
MUMBO: Bird, be quiet now.
KAZOOIE: MAKE ME!!
TOOTY: Guys, please.
BOTTLES: What should we do?
TOOTY: Uh, I don't know.
KAZOOIE: Let's try and get him excited. I know!
(Kazooie rubs her wings into her feathers so it would appear as if she was in a struggle. Next, she practices breathing hard to make it seem like she ran very hard. She runs over to Banjo.)
KAZOOIE: BANJO!! YOU GOTTA HELP US!! GRUNTY GOT FREE AND SHE'S GONNA WREAK HAVOC UPON US ALL!!
(Banjo doesn't even move at first.)
BANJO: Why don't YOU take care of her?
KAZOOIE: Me? Uh, tha....uh.....that's because uh.......YOU'RE THE MAN!! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO BEAT GRUNTY SO YOU SHOULD TAKE HER DOWN AGAIN!!
(Banjo only looks up at his bird friend. He gives her a look that sees right through her pathetic attempt to try and get him up.)
BANJO: Leave me alone, Kazooie. I'm not in the mood.
(Kazooie calms herself down and walks back over to the kitchen.)
TOOTY: Well, that didn't work.
BRENTY: Perhaps, excitement isn't the best strategy.
BOTTLES: Well, he DID have a better reaction to Kazooie's annoyance. Maybe we should annoy him.
KAZOOIE: Tooty's good at that. (To Tooty) Tooty, go annoy Bear Brain.
(Tooty takes what Kazooie told her and walked gently over to Banjo. She's tries not to grab his attention until she is close enough for a surprise. Now, she's so close to Banjo that she can touch him. She grabs his arm and shakes his whole body.)
TOOTY: BANJO!! BANJO!! I WANNA GO ON AN ADVENTURE!!
BANJO: LEAVE ME ALONE, TOOTY!! IT'S IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY!! I DON'T FEEL LIKE IT!!
TOOTY: NUH UH!! WE'RE GOING ON AN ADVENTURE, RIGHT NOW!! GET YOUR LAZY BUTT UP SO WE CAN GO!!
(Banjo had it! Anger takes over his mind. He leaps up from his chair and snatches his arm from Tooty's grip. The snatch caused Banjo's claws to scratch across Tooty's left hand. Tooty takes three steps back acknowledging pain in her left hand.)
TOOTY: OW! BANJO, YOU SCRATCHED ME!!
BANJO: LOOK!! I TOLD YOU!! NO ADVENTURES!! MAYBE IF YOU LISTEN SOMETIMES, MAYBE YOU WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN SCRATCHED!!
TOOTY: WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WIT' YOU?!! YOU NEVER ACTED LIKE THIS BEFORE!!
BANJO: YEAH, WELL, I'M JUST GOIN' THROUGH SOMETHIN' RIGHT NOW!!
TOOTY: WELL THEN WHAT'S WRONG?!! WHY WON'T YOU TELL US?!!
(Banjo calms down a little bit. The question makes him think a little bit. Banjo lightly closes his eyes.)
BANJO: I...can't.
TOOTY: Why not?
BANJO: (Immediately) I CAN'T TELL YOU, ALRIGHT!! (Banjo tries to regain calmness. The thought of yelling at his own sister starts to get to him.) I'm going to bed. I don't want to be disturbed. (Banjo trails off to bed. He throws himself onto the mattress and just lays there not even trying to make an attempt to go to sleep. He's just not moving; not even trying to get under the cover. He just wants to get away from being annoyed.)
(Tooty looks straight at Banjo. She didn't even flinch until she felt someone's hand touching her left shoulder. She immediately turns around to see the yellow jinjo with his hand on her shoulder.)
YELLOW JINJO: I'm sure he didn't mean anything, Tooty. (Tooty made no movement except for her breathing.) Whatever is bothering Banjo right now, I'm sure he'll be all right. (This time, Tooty nods.)
BOTTLES: Why don't we come back tomorrow? I'm sure he'd feel better then.
BRENTY: That's a good idea. Let's all come back tomorrow evening.
TOOTY: Why don't you guys come at about seven o' clock in the evening?
MUMBO: Mumbo agree with small bear.
PURPLE JINJO: Then it's agreed. See you later, Tooty.
TOOTY: I'll see you guys, too.
(Tooty's friends leave the house leaving only her and Kazooie there.)
KAZOOIE: Well that's how selfish Banjo is. All throughout our last adventure, he just accepted ALL of the credit. No one gave ME any thanks. He's lazy and only thinks of himself.
TOOTY: Let's leave him alone, Kazooie. We'll see what we can do when he wakes up.
(With this, the two girls just sit around the house occupying themselves. Tooty randomly looks back at Banjo throughout the rest of the day. She notices him twisting and turning hard in the bed indicating that he probably isn't asleep at all. She leaves Banjo alone.)
(That night, Tooty and Kazooie are asleep. Tooty is sitting on the couch and Kazooie is in the backpack hanging on the rack. Suddenly, loud banging noises fills the house. Tooty and Kazooie wake up slowly.)
TOOTY: Huh? What's going on?
KAZOOIE: I don't know. (Kazooie looks over to Banjo's empty bed.) Hey, where's Banjo?
TOOTY: (Tooty looks at Banjo's bed.) Hey, he's gone.
(More loud banging noises come from the attic.)
KAZOOIE: It's coming from the attic. It may be a burglar.
TOOTY: I think it's just Banjo. He's probably the one makin' all the noise.
(Suddenly, a very loud roar came from the attic. That noise scared the girls stiff.)
KAZOOIE: Still think it's Banjo?
TOOTY: I've never heard him roar before. It can't be him. It's probably some kind of monster.
KAZOOIE: Let's go get 'im. I'll get the flashlight. You get the baseball bat.
(Later in the attic, the girls have their objects and work up enough courage to take themselves up into the attic. The only light there was before Kazooie turned on the flashlight was the moonlight from a nearby window. That light was only able to light up one eighth of the attic.)
TOOTY: Um... oh... kay... Kazooie. Turn on the flashlight.
(Kazooie flips the switch. The flashlight only sparks and goes out.)
KAZOOIE: Great! Battery's dead. I'm gonna sue Energizer for false advertisement.
(From the distance stood a creature in the dark. In obvious anger, it is ripping pieces of paper into shreds. Afterwards, it started pushing over every object possible.)
TOOTY: There it is. What's the plan?
KAZOOIE: Uh, I'll tackle the monster and slam him onto the floor. When it gets up, beam it with the bat.
TOOTY: Uh, okay.
(Kazooie walked up silently to the creature with its back turned. The creature hasn't noticed Kazooie's approachment. Finally, Kazooie is close enough to the creature where she jumps on top of it and wraps her wings around its neck.)
KAZOOIE: GOTCHA!!
(The creature throws itself left and right trying to get Kazooie off. Its struggle intensifies and it began roaring each time it turns. Kazooie's grip on the creature starts to loosen.)
KAZOOIE: C'mon, fall down, fool!
(Kazooie's wish didn't come true. As her grip is finally loose, the creature picks her up and slams her on the floor. As Kazooie gets up, she sees three claws flying towards her and slash into the source of her sight.)
TOOTY: KAZOOIE!!
KAZOOIE: (Kazooie covers her face.) aaAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!
TOOTY: ALL RIGHT, YOU MONSTER!! TAKE THIS!!
(Tooty takes the bat in her hands and unleashes a massive hit onto the creature's forehead. The creature voiced out a familiar cry.)
BANJO: OW!!!
TOOTY: BANJO?!
BANJO: Huh, TOOTY?!
TOOTY: WHAT?!
BANJO: KAZOOIE?!
KAZOOIE: MY EYE!!
BANJO: "Gasp" Kazooie, I'm sorry.
KAZOOIE: WHY'D YOU DO THAT, BANJO?!!
BANJO: I'm sorry! I thought you were someone else trying to attack me.
KAZOOIE: WHY'RE YOU UP HERE, ANYWAY?!
TOOTY: Yeah, Banjo. We couldn't even slee... (Tooty notices something in Banjo's hand.) Hey, what's that in your hand?
(Banjo had forgotten about the photo in his hand. He looks at his hand and remembers it. Then, he hides it behind his back.)
BANJO: What?
TOOTY: It looked like a picture. Show it to me, Banjo.
BANJO: Tooty, no.
TOOTY: ......What's wrong with you, Banjo? ...Lately, all I've seen you do is mope around the house. You haven't said more than ten words to us each day. Why won't you tell us what's wrong?!
(Banjo stares deeply into his sister's eyes. They are wide open showing how much she wanted to know what was wrong. Banjo closes his eyes and clinches his teeth. The thought of what he must do now makes him shutter. The sudden silence increases Kazooie's curiosity as to what was going on.)
BANJO: I guess I have no choice. (Banjo takes the photo from behind and shows it to Tooty.) Here, look at it.
(Tooty takes the photo and tries to look at it, but the darkness is overwhelming her sight.)
TOOTY: I...I can't see it.
BANJO: I'll find the light switch.
(Banjo walks over into pure darkness. Moments later after feeling against the wall, Banjo finds the light switch and flips it on. A bulb in the ceiling illuminates and the attic becomes much easier to see in.)
(Tooty studies the photo. It shows a picture of two honey bears smiling together. One is a male and the other is a female. Their heads are leaning against each other. The female's hair is blond like Tooty's. The male's hair is just extra fur on his head like Banjo's. Tooty realizes who these bears are.)
TOOTY: Banjo, this is Mom and Dad.
BANJO: Right.
TOOTY: But, this doesn't explain ANYTHING. Wha-
BANJO: Look around you, Tooty.
(Tooty looks up and around the attic. She sees lots of papers scattered all around. Some of them are shredded to pieces. Most of these papers are newspaper articles. Tooty walks around to get a better look. Banjo checks on Kazooie.)
BANJO: Are you all right? (Kazooie says nothing.) ...You should probably go call the doctor or something.
(Kazooie nods and tries to feel her way back to the stairs. Tooty picks up a newspaper.)
TOOTY: This one has Dad on it.
BANJO: Go ahead and read it.
TOOTY: (Reading) Date: August 5, 1983. Attention everyone in Donkey Kong Country! The Killer Kismet is still at large. He is charged of thievery, murder, and resisting arrest. True identity: Tinyo Borns. Last sighted: Kremkroc Inc. Reward: Five million dollars. You are advised to remain cautious. He is armed and dangerous. Here's a picture of him. (Tooty has already seen the picture of her father. She stops reading.) But, Dad's name is Shamisen. Why does this say Tinyo Borns?
BANJO: That's because Tinyo Borns is his REAL name. (Tooty is more confused than ever.) Let me explain, Tooty. (Banjo walks around the attic picking up various pieces of paper.) Tinyo, (Not even bothering to call him Dad anymore) was one of Donkey Kong Country's most notorious criminals. He pulled off so many crimes that they had to put out a reward for him in hopes that someone will bring him in. Tinyo realized this and tried going under a new identity. He moved here in Spiral Mountain and changed his name to Shamisen. (Banjo digs through a mess of papers and finds another photo. He hands it to Tooty. The photo shows a picture of their father in a black suit and their mother in a wedding dress.) In a few years, Mom fell in love with Shamisen and they got married. She loved him so much.
TOOTY: (Tooty sits on her knees and looks up at Banjo.) Did Dad love Mom?
(Banjo closes his eyes at his sister and slowly shakes his head. Tooty depresses her head. Banjo walks over and sits next to Tooty.)
BANJO: He only did it to cover up his true identity even more.
(Tooty keeps silent to herself. Banjo just watches her.)
TOOTY: Banjo?
BANJO: Yeah?
TOOTY: What about us?
(Banjo closes his eyes again. This time he gets up and wanders away.)
TOOTY: Banjo?
BANJO: "Sigh" .....The time came for my birth. Shamisen continued on with his charade. Every now and then, he would return to the Kong lands and find out if anyone had some kind of lead on him. That's why all of these newspapers are here. This is where he stored them. "Sigh" After your birth, Mom began to wonder something about Shamisen. Later, Shamisen confessed everything to Mom. I know because I was awake that night when you were asleep and too young to understand. It wasn't loud enough to wake you, but still easy to hear. In a few months, Shamisen left and never came back.
(Tooty's eyes opens and are filled with tears. She wraps her arms around her waist to try and comfort herself. Banjo steps a little closer to her.)
TOOTY: Did...Dad even...care...about us?
(Banjo stands above her. His mouth slightly opened. His voice was low enough that Tooty barely heard him.)
BANJO: He didn't even want us.
(Tooty's eyes shut forcing the teardrops to flow from her eyelids. Tooty lowers her head and clinches her teeth. The teardrops run themselves down Tooty's entire face until the reach her chin. From there, they simply fall and splash quietly upon the floor. This continues for over a minute. Tooty stutters in her breathing and shivers from the coldness of her father's heart, if he had one. Banjo had never taken his eyes away from Tooty. All he does is stand there watching his sister weep heavily.)
BANJO: I'm sorry, Tooty. I didn't want to tell you. I thought it would've been best if you didn't know; at least not until you were a little older.
(Tooty didn't change.)
TOOTY: Banjo?
BANJO: Yes, Tooty?
TOOTY: ......What happened to, Mom?
BANJO: I really don't know. All I DO know is this. Some time after Shamisen left, these guys kept coming to the house. Mom would always make me leave the room so I don't know what happened. In a long while, they stopped coming. Then one day after that, I couldn't find Mom anywhere.
(Tooty cries harder than before. This time, Banjo sits next to her and rocks her gently in his arms.)
BANJO: I'm very sorry, Tooty.
TOOTY: That's...all right. At least...you...told me.
BANJO: We'll get through this, Tooty. Together. (Banjo looks back at the staircase.) We'd better check on Kazooie.
TOOTY: Go ahead, Banjo. I'll stay here.
BANJO: Tooty.
TOOTY: Please, Banjo. Just...give me some time.
(Banjo sighs as he leaves for the staircase. Tooty opens her eyes and sees a shredded picture of her father lying in front of her. She stares at it for a few seconds and then backslaps it away from her sight.)
(Downstairs, Banjo finds Kazooie placing the phone back on the receiver. Then, Kazooie covers her eyes with her wings again.)
BANJO: Are you okay?
KAZOOIE: Banjo? "Sigh" I guess. I just called the paramedics. They'll be here to pick me up in a while.
BANJO: How bad is it, Kazooie?
KAZOOIE: I don't know. (Kazooie steps up onto the carpet in the middle of the floor.)
BANJO: (Walks over to Kazooie) Let me see how bad it is. Maybe I can help you.
KAZOOIE: I don't want to, Banjo.
BANJO: C'mon, Kazooie. (Places his hands on her wings.) I did this to you. I want to try and help you.
KAZOOIE: I don't want to.
BANJO: (Starts pulling Kazooie's wings away.) Let me see it, Kazooie.
KAZOOIE: (Pulls her wings back toward her.) No, Banjo!
BANJO: (Pulls harder) Let me see!
KAZOOIE: (Pulls harder) NO!
BANJO: (Pulls harder) C'MON!
KAZOOIE: (Pulls harder) BANJO! LET ME GO!
BANJO: LET-ME-SEE!!
(Banjo pulls Kazooie's arms away from her face. The shock causes Kazooie's eyes to immediately open for a quick second.)
KAZOOIE: AW!
(Banjo is startled at this. He quickly let go of her and Kazooie covered her face up again. Kazooie's cry isn't the only thing that startled Banjo. He swore he saw something fall from her face when she opened her eyes. Banjo slowly looks down to the carpet. What he sees down there is a large red stain next to Kazooie's left foot. Banjo silently gasps to himself.)
BANJO: Kazooie....I'm so sorry. I-
KAZOOIE: (Throws her wings down with her eyes closed; however her left eye is badly bruised) JU-JU-----JUST--LEAVE ME ALONE!!!!!!!
(Kazooie didn't move from her spot until she hears Banjo's footsteps move away from her. Banjo walks back to his bed and lays down softly. Kazooie feels her way to the chair and sits in it. Tooty was standing at the staircase and witnessed everything from the moment Banjo pulled Kazooie's wings away. Tooty says nothing. She sits there on the staircase and folds her arms across her knees. She views the two friends separate from each other and afterwards lays her head onto her folded arms.)
(Later that night, the paramedics have come for Kazooie. Before they take her away, Banjo and Tooty say their farewells in hope that she will be all right. Then, Kazooie leaves with the paramedics and Banjo and Tooty are left alone in the house. Soon, Tooty sits in the chair and she and Banjo fall asleep.)
Next chapter preview: Kazooie returns with a surprise. Mumbo's face is finally revealed. What in the world happened?