So I've recently been watching "Kirby: Right Back at Ya!" and… okay, I'm utterly convinced that Meta Knight has a soft spot for Tiff! And it is just SO FREAKING CUTE. I couldn't resist writing some one-shots about them! This one takes place during episode 35: The Kirby Derby (part 1).
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters in the world of Kirby.
Practice Makes Perfect
"Push the lever forward to speed up, but be careful not to accelerate more quickly than you can handle," Meta Knight instructed.
Kirby didn't seem to hear him. The young star warrior was too absorbed in admiring his surroundings. "Poyo!" he said happily.
Tokkori looked down at him. "Come on! Give it some gas, Grandma. This is supposed to be a race car!"
Kirby blinked, and then shoved his foot onto the gas. Tokkori squawked as the car suddenly sped up, causing flames to come out of the back end. Meta Knight quickly jumped out of the way as the fire came close to him, appearing to be unsurprised at the turn of events. Kirby squealed with delight while Tokkori clamped onto his head and continued squawking. Once the fire died down a little, Meta Knight stepped back into his original position and continued to observe. Kirby was having loads of fun, but Tokkori felt like he was going to fly off and hit the glass surrounding them.
"That's enough!" Tokkori finally shrieked.
Kirby blinked again as he let his foot off of the gas pedal. The car started to slow down, then immediately went in reverse and flew off of the pedestal. Meta Knight jumped over the vehicle and landed just as the test model crashed into the wall. The room shook and smoke drifted up from the ruined vehicle. Kirby started bouncing up and down, shrieking "Poyo!" with glee while Tokkori propped himself up on the edge, seemingly dizzy.
"No wonder he doesn't have a license," the bird groaned.
Meta Knight chuckled quietly. Then the door flew open to reveal a certain blonde ponytailed girl. Her green eyes were wide with fear and anger as she stormed over to the wreckage and yanked Tokkori and Kirby from it. Her ponytail, kept by the same purple and orange clasp, swung around her shoulders as she turned to glare at Meta Knight.
"META KNIGHT! What were you thinking!?" she shrieked.
"Just as I told you, Tiff, Kirby needs practice for this race. It will prepare him for the battle that lies ahead of him," the masked knight replied smoothly.
Normally Tiff wouldn't have thought to argue with him. However, the girl was still heavily against the idea of Kirby participating in this so-called "Grand Prix", and seeing how he had crashed the test model so easily, Tiff was afraid of how badly damaged Kirby's spaceship would turn out to be. Kirby himself could get hurt, or worse.
She turned back to Tokkori and Kirby. "You two! OUT!"
Kirby tilted his head to the side. "Poyo…?"
"Come on, squirt! She's mad enough already!" Tokkori urged as he flew out the door.
Kirby reluctantly followed the bird, but not before he made a sad face at Tiff. The door closed behind them and Tiff whirled around on Meta Knight. "This is exactly what I was afraid of! Kirby is going to get hurt in this race; he doesn't have enough time to practice for it! There has to be some other way to-"
"Tiff." His voice was calm, and his eyes were glowing pink- meaning that he was amused.
Tiff stared at him. "What's so funny?!"
"You are, my dear girl," he replied as he wrapped his cloak around himself again.
"M-Me?" she stammered.
"Yes, you. You're always worried about Kirby, fussing over him like a mother with her child," Meta Knight said.
She crossed her arms. "I don't see what's so funny about it."
"Sooner or later, Kirby will need to start doing things on his own. You cannot keep him sheltered. Look at how much he has already done for the citizens of Cappy Town," Meta Knight said as he came closer to her.
She took a few steps back. "I… I know…"
His eyes turned green. "I know you care about him very much. It is a trait of yours that I admire. I couldn't have asked anyone better to help him grow."
A faint blush tinted her cheeks. Being close to her secret crush and hearing him compliment her was almost enough to soothe her anger somewhat. "I still don't approve of this, Meta Knight. Dedede is up to something, and it involves this race."
He chuckled. "I have no doubts about it either. Whatever it may be, we will face it together."
She smiled when she heard him say that. "Yeah… we almost always do."
He came closer to her and ruffled her hair. "Come. We must get some rest."
"Meta Knight! Don't mess with my hair!" she whined as he slipped out of the room.
She ran out to the hallway to hear him chuckle again. "Good night, sweet Tiff."
Seeing as it is 1:30am, I found some parts a little funnier than they probably are… I'm tired. Leave a review if you liked it!
