Chapter 02: Therapy

-----

This was just getting silly.

He was laughing inwardly at himself while the small crowd gathered around him was laughing outwardly at him. Thankfully a set of claws catching the wet fabric of his ruined shirt pushed him hurriedly down the docks to the now familiar pink and teal house. To feel embarrassment towards himself or shame, he didn't know, and wouldn't know until his savior spoke to him at the door.

" You picked the wrong city to live in if you can't swim. " Huffed the dragon that had saved his life. " If you're stuck here I suggest you invest in an inner tube. "

The officer who had so graciously saved his life turned to leave, throwing an ill placed 'Goddess Bless!' over his shoulder towards the soaked cabbit. Klonoa could feel the heat rushing to his face all over again as he fumbled for his keys, trying his best to ignore the taunts and teases at his back.

It was an embarrassing incident all around for the young cabbit. Among the massive list of household chores for his new home were watering the plants in the window boxes. He managed to reach every single one of them from inside the house except the ones lining the very top on the back. Since he couldn't reach it from the window he had the clever idea of standing on the ledge. There he quickly learned that his shoes did not have the traction to stand on the polished coral that encased the house.

The fall was twenty five feet, roughly.

If not for the water dragon; a policeman who was doing a routine patrol below the tides, he would have drowned. Klonoa did not catch the name of the dragon that saved him, but he figured that he'll learn it eventually. After explaining the circumstances that lead a hydrophobic cabbit to live in the water village he was informed he had to file a report at the police station in relation to the accident … eventually.

That would have to wait. Klonoa had to find some dry clothes before he ended up in the hospital as well.

" I'm back – "

Klonoa wondered why he even wasted the time immediately after the words left his lips. It was three hours after noon when he started watering the plants, and after returning he noticed that Guntz still wasn't awake. The younger boy found himself in mild debate over what to do about it. Rest was the only thing that would be beneficial to Guntz at this point but too much sleep could be lethal. Lunateans could fall into a sleep so deep they may never wake again …

Holding back a sigh behind a bitten lip he slowly approached the edge of the couch. There was no harm in at least checking, right? Reaching over, Klonoa brushed his fingers along the fur of Guntz's neck …

Then it all came rushing back.

-----

Though he'd been about three feet from where the wolf fell Pango, who was leading, was the first to actually reach him. Klonoa could do little but stare in the aftershock of what just occurred. He'd found the floor at some point between triggering the trap and this very moment. He didn't know whether Guntz had pushed him down at the last second, or he lost all strength in his knees. Either way he'd been safe, he been spared … while the wolf was not so lucky.

It was green, whatever had been spraying from the golden ornament's mouth. That was one of the two 'warning' colors of poison, and what worried him the most. The liquid hissed against the stones on the ground where it splattered, quickly burning a hole through. If not for his foolish action that may have been beneficial to their escape; they could let the substance spray on one of the outer walls to weaken it.

Guntz took the majority of the substance onto himself, though. It may have been his instinctive reaction to danger that did so, or his need to be the primary 'hero' in the group since he had his medal the longest, but if Klonoa didn't know any better … he'd say that Guntz only intervened to protect him. Klonoa had never seen Guntz do anything helpful without hesitation, ever. Many times the young hunter's mind was in conflict between 'doing the right thing' and 'doing what I'm trained to do'.

Knowing that made Klonoa's heart beat faster for reasons other than fear …

Another reason for the rapid heartbeat was in anticipation for Pango's verdict. The armadillo's hand went for the younger hero's neck to check for a pulse, and an eerie silence followed. Klonoa could feel his muscles tense, anxiety building, which would no doubt be there regardless of what happened next.

" … He's alive. " Pango's voice was softer than the cabbit had ever heard it.

-----

A groan of discomfort brought him back into reality with a dreamy blink. Looking down, Klonoa noticed that his cold, wet, gloved hand had made its way from Guntz's neck to the side of his face. He'd been so lost in thought that he let his hand linger, and sometime in between it traced the outline of the hunter's face. Now the eye directly beneath his yellow gloves was closed, but the other one was opened and groggily looking up at the ceiling.

Klonoa pulled his hand away with a jump. " Sorry! " He yelped.

The hunter's eyes didn't lose focus on the ceiling. Looking elsewhere would have been a futile effort. " … You're always apologizing. " He commented off hand before yawning with bared fangs. " Is it morning yet? "

" It's four in the afternoon. " It was little more than a shot in the dark.

Reluctantly the wolf started to move; his hand catching the back of the couch so he could pull himself to sit. Briefly Klonoa batted around the possibility that Guntz was only getting up so he could yell at him, but nothing of the sort came. Instead he found the wolf was the calmest that he'd ever seen him. The expression on the wolf's face was subtle; exhaustion with overtones of pain and discomfort. He frowned, though not to the extent that he typically did.

" Why are you wet? " Guntz's question came quick.

Looking down at himself in stained blue shorts and shirt he sighed. " I fell out the window and into the harbor. " His explanation was short, simple, and absolutely ridiculous.

There was a pause. Klonoa could see that his friend was on the verge of laughing at him as well, which made another wave of red brush over his cheeks. Hints of a rare smile could be seen on the hunter's face. " To think you're supposed to be watching me. You can barely take care of yourself. "

Guntz's comment cut deep into Klonoa for reasons that the wolf couldn't have remembered. The accuracy of his comment in relation to his most recent recall of that nightmare was stunning, and left the cabbit temporarily speechless. " Stay here. " He managed to force the words through the lump forming in his throat. " I'm going to go find some dry clothes. "

He forced a smile so he wouldn't be forced to tears, then hurried up the stairs.

-----

" No matter how much I apologize I can't make it better. "

His quiet revelation was overpowered by the thunderous sound of little water drops striking his fur at every angle. The hiss of the shower died to a whimper when he reached to turn the water off. He may have been only half a cat but he was still a cat, and he wouldn't leave the shower until every trace of sea salt was removed from his fur. Never before had he been so concerned about the appearance of his fur. He chalked it up to procrastination to keep from falling back into that endless cycle of guilt, sadness, and self loathing that he'd been trapped in these past few days.

The lone towel on the rack was used to pat his fur dry in a ritual that took the typical furred Lunatean an hour. Klonoa managed to cut it down to ten minutes with a few imaginative shortcuts. Towel drying to get most of the moisture out took the longest amount of time, followed by a loose brushing to get obvious kinks out. Then he left the bathroom, towel modestly draped around his waist, to retrieve his ring. A single burst of air was enough to dry him off adequately. Two shots would ensure it.

Once he was dried he quickly ran up on another dilemma; he didn't pack a change of clothes for his trip out to Jugkettle. One thing's for sure … the clothes that he wore out weren't salvageable from his trip in the water. The dye used to make it blue had run, and the fabric itself had shrunk to be even tighter than it had been before.

That meant he had to make one last trip into town before the end of the day, but he couldn't go down there wearing nothing. His eyes idly searched the bedroom he claimed for his own in hopes for a solution. First they caught the closet, and then those tacky teal drawers that looked of something pulled from the bargain bin. Klonoa checked the closet first to find that it was empty aside from a change of bed linens, some slippers, and a locked box in one corner. Shoot.

There were three sets of dresser drawers in the room; two framing the closer on either side, or a smaller one right beside the bed. Logically pulled him towards the drawers by the closet first, pulling at the handles one by one to turn up various odds and ends. From prepackaged socks, sheets, and towels to a strapped … thing that he'd never seen before. It looked like it went around the chest, and it fascinated him until he remember that he was still naked and Guntz was waiting for him downstairs. Maybe later.

The first dresser didn't have much, but he got fortunate with the second one. Running his fingers through the thin clothing to test the texture of the fabric, he sighed. " Well, it's better than nothing. "

-----

A quick change put him in clothes that were typically of people living in the village of water, he figured. The best he could find in the drawer was a plain white sleeveless shirt and a pair of blue shorts. They were made from some type of manufactured material that felt uncomfortable against his fur, and would no doubt cling to it in water. It was practical, he figured, since the people in Jugkettle did a lot of swimming. Not that he planned to join them, ever, especially after what happened today.

He heard a frustrated growl as he came down the stairs. Near the bottom he came across a sight he'd never personally seen from his friend before. " Guntz! " The word was stuttered in the shock. " W-wha're you doing? "

It seemed all that talk of getting dressed put the wolf in that frame of mind as well, and Klonoa walked in about halfway through. " What does it look like? " His voice was muffled as he tried to pull a fresh shirt over his head. It wasn't going to work simply because he tried to put his head through an armhole. " I don't want to wear the same clothes twice! "

Klonoa didn't even know that his friend had a change of clothes until later on in their journey when he caught Guntz buying some more along with some ammo. Guntz told him soon after that it wasn't a bad idea to carry extra sets in case the first was stained with blood or dirt. Since the hunter's usual line of work involved a lot of blood that made a good amount of sense.

For a moment Klonoa didn't know what to do, then his overwhelming desire to be helpful ion general made the decision for him. " H-here, let me help you with that. " Klonoa stammered as he felt the heat rushing to his cheeks again.

Resistance to said help was expected from a boy who'd grown used to his older friend refusing help with just about everything. Surprisingly Guntz didn't show any when he made his suggestion. He flopped down on the couch, releasing a relived breath, as Klonoa slowly pulled the black shirt over his head. Klonoa noticed then that he'd changed his pants without much difficulty, thankfully, to black from the gray pair that lay on the arm of the couch.

This time the silence in the air was comforting though neither party could fully explain why. Klonoa used the time to wad up the black shirt so it'd be easier to push over Guntz's head. It went surprisingly smooth for a first attempt; the shirt fitting over with little difficulty with the wolf lifting his arms through the appropriate sleeves. Guntz's shirt was on but it still wasn't right. The ring of fur that lay in layers around his neck was now stuck in his shirt which caused an effect that made Klonoa giggle.

" What's so funny? "

Klonoa grinned as he went to fish the fur out. " Nothing. "

Tug after tug he was starting to look close to what he once was. His fur was smoothed so it looked close to what it should have by the cabbit's hands. " There. " Loose strands were brushed back into place confidently.

Guntz felt around his feet for his boots, which were made more accessible with a helpful kick from a certain little cabbit. " Thank you. " His gratitude was sincere, and gave Klonoa an odd sensation in his stomach. Maybe he was hungry?

Klonoa found himself shifting from one foot to the other, unable to look at the wolf when he put on his shoes aside from the occasional glance. " I have to go in town before it gets too late. " The sudden change in subject might make him feel better. Going to market was one of the things on Dr. Nadia's list, anyway. There were supplies to be picked up for the house, specifically fresh food, in addition to his clothes.

He didn't expect the wolf's response, though. " Can I come with you? " It flowed so smoothly the cabbit was envious. It was as if he didn't have a worry in the world. " I'll try not to slow you down. "

Even less expected was his answer. " Of course! " That came out before he had a chance to reason with himself. He quickly placed his own fingers in his mouth to keep from saying anything else stupid. Once he organized his thoughts, he continued. " I mean I'd love to have some company. " Or at least he thought he did.

Teme, Klonoa!

There was no taking it back now; Guntz already pushed himself off the couch to join him. " I'm ready if you are. " Klonoa was mentally kicking himself for blurting out such things when he felt the hunter's hand brush against the back of his. It didn't register why he'd done that until full contact had been made; his white glove covering his bare hand.

Leading … right. He imagined it'd be a few days still until he'd get used to the idea of leading the boy who used to lead him around by the hand. It was the doctor's suggestion originally. They only practiced it once in the hospital and again on the way home, and they still had a way's to go.

Thus far Klonoa only established between them that a gentle tug meant they should start walking, which they did towards the door. " It won't take too long. " Klonoa said more as assurance to himself than to comfort his friend, who didn't seem worried at all.

It must be nice not to remember anything, Klonoa thought idly …

-----

Truthfully, this was one of the scenarios that Klonoa wanted to play out since he first became Guntz's bounty hunting partner. He didn't think of Guntz was a business partner, not once.

It was his intention from the beginning to be the hunter's friend, possibly his only friend, so they could do the type of things that friends did. Guntz literally fit the description of the 'lone wolf' from the outside looking in, but it was everyone's assumption that he was only because he wanted to. Klonoa thought differently from everyone else, possibly to the point of being irrational. No one deserved to be lonely in truth. It's everyone's desire; even the most wicked, to have at least one close friend. Klonoa believed that he could be that person for Guntz.

The desire to do so had never been stronger.

One of Klonoa's deepest wishes was for him and Guntz to simply spend the day together. No missions, no hunting, no trying to say the world from inevitable destruction. Just the two of them doing things that normal people would do.

Shopping was definitely near the bottom of his list of suitable activities. He remembered the days he spent helping Lolo carry a ton of odds and ends she bought from various stores. By 'helping' he meant carrying everything while she looked for more things to put on the pile. Somehow he felt that it'd be much more enjoyable with Guntz over Lolo, possibly because Guntz held some restraint over himself when browsing.

" Let's go in here first. " Klonoa became used to telling Guntz they were rapidly changing direction before actually doing it, though it took a few mishaps and nearly losing the wolf in the crowd twice to do so.

Their first stop was the clothing store to replace the clothes lost in the incident earlier this afternoon. There were several in Jugkettle, but given that Klonoa didn't want to spend too much of the hospital's money on their first day he decided to try the one that sold clothes on discount. It was the type of place mothers would get into fistfights over socks for their children in the fall. Luckily the store was practically empty in the other seasons, specifically the early spring as it was.

Klonoa didn't see anything that matched his old set of clothes perfectly, though. It was to be expected since those clothes were made especially for him by his grandfather for his tenth birthday. That'd be five years ago come the end of summer, so perhaps a change was in order.

" This one … and these shorts … " The cabbit muttered to himself as he took the clothes off the rack with one hand. They looked like they would fit him well enough, but he'd have to try them on to make sure. " Do you mind staying here? " Klonoa called over his shoulder.

Guntz's ears rose slightly though he'd had his attention elsewhere. " Go ahead. I'll be fine. " It seemed that he'd been distracted by something Klonoa didn't see, but he wouldn't question it now.

The cabbit set his sights on something that at least resembled his old clothes, with modifications of course. He decided on an open blue vest with matching shorts, a short sleeved red shirt underneath. The red shirt was a spur of the moment decision that he didn't feel completely comfortable with until he looked at himself in the mirror. Klonoa never considered wearing colors outside of his typical blue, yellow, and white before now. In fact, he'd go as far as to say he disliked the color red until just recently.

Satisfied, he left the dressing room with the clothes still on in hopes he wouldn't have to go all the way home to change into them. On the way out he had a stroke of luck in finding a pair of replacement yellow gloves; just like his old ones. He was just about to try them on when a terrified yowl filled the air.

" Leorina! Leorina! " A little ball of black and white fur shot across the store to cling to one of the worker's pants leg. It was a little kitten puppet similar to what Popka was. " That wolf over there is really creepy! "

The worker, a dark furred woman that could have been the same species as Lolo, simply looked down at the small cat with a sigh before picking her up like a baby. " He's not going to bother you, Tat. " She glanced over the puppet's shoulder to Guntz. " Right? "

Who in turn looked troubled, as if he was thinking hard. " That's right. " He said finally.

Klonoa, just as confused as Guntz looked, walked up to one side of him slowly. He didn't know who to ask what just transpired here, so he took the high road, " Don't mind us; we're kind of new around here. "

The small puppet, presumably named Tat, took one look at Klonoa before sobering up in her mood completely. There was a spark of something unsettling in her eyes before she parted from the considerably taller girl to float towards him. " Real-ly now? " She practically purred in his ear. " I wouldn't mind giving you a grand tour of this little place; just you and me. "

He couldn't put his paw on it, but it was something about the puppet's sudden change in behavior that made him feel extremely uncomfortable. " You … and me? " The cat named Tat nodded enthusiastically. " I … can't really do that. " His words came out slow as not to disappoint her.

They didn't; his words enraged her instead. " And why not? " She pouted with paws coming to rest on almost nonexistent hips.

At this point Klonoa wanted to throw any excuse at this weird girl to get her to go away, but he felt honesty to be the best policy. " I have to stay close to him. " He explained while taking Guntz's hand in his again.

Tat glanced briefly at Guntz with her one eye before looking back to Klonoa in consideration. Nothing prepared him for what she said next. " … so is he your boyfriend? "

" TAT! " The store clerk, Leorina, cried in a mixture of irritation and embarrassment shortly before placing her face in the palm of a gloved hand.

" What? " Apparently the puppet didn't think she did anything wrong. " I'm just trying to see if I'm barking up the wrong tree, here! " This caused her friend to release a well placed groan.

Klonoa's mouth was agape momentarily before he recovered. " No! No-no-no-no-no-no! " Each recurrence of the word came out more confident than the last. " I'm just taking care of him! " It caused Tat to give him another awkward stare in which he had to correct himself, again. " You see, he's almost completely blind. " Klonoa waved a hand in Guntz's line of sight for empathies. " So I have to be his eyes for a little while. "

Tat opened her mouth to speak again, but Leorina cut her off this time. " I thought something was odd about his stare. " The girl said as she moved the hand across her face to her chin thoughtfully. Suddenly she leaned back over the counter to retrieve something, which she threw to Klonoa. " Catch!. "

The cabbit's half-cat-like reflexes finally returned to him, it seemed, since he caught it without missing a beat. He looked down at it curiously, a pair of slim black sunglasses, which looked a bit on the luxurious side.

" He should wear a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes, at least. " Leorina explained with a smile. " Those are on me. It's the least I can do after what Tat did. "

" Hey! " Tat whirled around to her. " What did I do!? "

Klonoa smiled as he handed the sunglasses off to Guntz, or at least tried to before remembering that Guntz could not actually see them. " Thanks. " He said as he nudged the wolf's free hand with the edge of the glasses. " I should at least pay for these clothes, though. "

" You better! " Tat nearly scolded him as she folded her arms across her chest. " You're just crushing my little heart to pieces, you know. " She ended her sentence with a pathetic fake sob.

Her poor acting got a laugh from both parties.

-----

" … Klonoa? "

They had finally left the clothing store after an extended conversation with Tat and Leorina. Klonoa was right in his guess that he'd met Leorina once before; she is a former priestess for the same temple that Lolo currently trains in. In fact, Leorina trained Lolo briefly before leaving to pursue her on dreams abroad. During the conversation Klonoa noticed that Guntz had been oddly quiet, and for the moment assumed it was because he wasn't there during the time he visited the Temple with Pango.

Klonoa looked back to him expectantly. " Is there something wrong? "

" I just wanted to ask you a question. "

He didn't expect for him to do such a thing out in public, on the street, where so many people could have been looking at them. " Go ahead. " The younger boy wasn't going to deny him, though.

There was a momentary pause. " Who are you? "

The question was so unusual that Klonoa stopped completely. For a moment he didn't know how to answer, or even if Guntz was joking or not. " I'm Klonoa. You know that. "

" I know that. " Guntz shook his head softly before rewording the question. " I mean who are you … to me? " His voice became progressively softer as he continued. " I can only remember back when I woke up in the hospital, so I don't know whether I knew you before or not. I'm not sure if you're my family, my friend, or just some worker they put on my case from the hospital. I … really don't know anything about you. "

It was a tall order; where do you begin when someone asks you something like that? Klonoa noticed the grip he had on the other boy's hand loosened considerably. He reaffirmed it to buy some time before answering. " My real name is Klonoa of the Wind, my title is 'The Dream Traveler'. I was born in Breezegale; the village of the wind just south of here. I'm fourteen and a half years old. I met you about a year and a half ago near the edge of my village where we became friends. " No details were given; at this point they were irrelevant.

Guntz took a minute or two to take all of this new information in before asking his next question. " … what do you know about me? "

That question was even harder than the last one! To clear his mind, to keep himself from worrying over the details, he pulled Guntz into motion towards the market. He had no intentions on now answering the wolf's question … it was just that he wondered how much detail was too much. His story was easy, but he had to pick his words carefully if he didn't want to upset the hunter.

" Let's see … " His final ditch to buy some time before letting the words roll off his tongue quickly. " Your full name is Shinigami Guntz. You were born in the city of discord, Volk, northwest of the Temple of the Sky. You're sixteen and a fourth year's old. " He decided to end it on a good note. " Your birthday is on Christmas which means you only get presents once a year. "

His attempt to quell Guntz's curiosity seemed to have worked. " That means I just get twice as many presents on Christmas. " He pointed out with a grin.

Klonoa never thought of it that way.

-----

The sun was sinking into the seas of Jugkettle by time they reached the market; the general place where food and supplies were sold. There was one in every village in the world, but they varied considerably depending on the region. Jugkettle's market was essentially a boardwalk on one of the larger piers of the town; the majority of the shops open out to the street to take advantage of the region's sunny weather.

Klonoa learned that it was best to wait for the transitional period between morning and night to start shopping in his travels. It's the time where the shopkeepers became desperate to get rid of their own stock before it spoiled, and prices were the lowest. He didn't want to buy much; just enough food to make it through tonight and the following day. Tomorrow he'd have enough time to make more thorough decisions.

Speaking of which; the cabbit found himself in a rather embarrassing situation. " Guntz? " He figured he'd ask the wolf while they were browsing over the fresh foods near the front of the boardwalk. " … do you know how to cook? " It completely slipped his mind that he didn't.

" Would you trust me to try and cook in my condition, Klonoa? " The younger boy was about to give the wrong answer before being reminded of one vital thing. " I can't see the food to cook it. "

" That's right … " Klonoa's voice trailed as his hopes for a home cooked meal were dashed, but he truly tried to prevent his voice from sounding sad.

He tugged for Guntz to start moving with him down the aisle to the back, where the prepackaged food was. The first time he got no response at all. The second he found himself being pulled back by a counter pull.

" Klonoa, get the potatoes, the lettuce, the carrots, and the celery from this aisle. There should be two pound packages of chopped beef in the back, and some stock. "

For a moment Klonoa was stunned, his golden eyes widening in surprise. " Wha? "

" Just because I can't see it doesn't mean I can't do it. " The hunter said with an air of confidence around him. " You said you were my eyes. You won't let me mess up, right? "

Moved by his sudden enthusiasm, Klonoa found a similar strength of his own returning after an extended absence. " I'll do my best. It's all we can do, right? " Guntz nodded to him, and he found himself smiling through it all.

A basket was needed for everything that Guntz named off, including a few things that didn't come up until they passed the aisle. Some packs of instant noodles were pulled for tonight, and in case the meal tomorrow didn't go as planned. Spices too strong for Klonoa's nose were also added. Klonoa noticed a strange twitch in Guntz's ear when he went to smell certain ones. Typically they were the ones that he picked up.

" I think that's about it. " They were in the store a little over an hour making sure they got everything that they needed for the trip, and now Guntz was certain.

Nodding, Klonoa lead them over to the checkout counter on the other side of the store. A sudden drop in temperature caused him to slow. It was the aisle where the frozen foods were kept. His eyes went down the aisle, and he debated with himself over it for a while even after they got in line.

" I-I'll be back. " He couldn't fight the craving any longer, so he passed the basket off to his older friend so he could retrieve one last thing.

Ice Cream. That was one of the things Jugkettle was famous for. The selection here was about the same as that of the ice cream shop in his memories, but he noticed one significant flavor that was missing; the one that Guntz ended up buying. It was not a flavor he expected to be here, not to say he was any less disappointed. In the end he reached for two cartons; a box of pure vanilla, and a box of the best looking strawberry that he could find.

Just as he went to close the freezer door someone bumped into him from behind. " I'm sorry – Klonoa! " Stuttered a familiar feminine voice.

Klonoa nearly hit his head on one of the racks in surprise. Turning around, he came eye to eye with a rather surprised young priestess. " What are you doing here, Lolo? " Of all the people to bump into at a time like this!

" I'm picking up some things for my parents before leaving for the temple. " Her response came immediately, but her eyes were focused slightly to the side as she said it. " They're getting on in age and can't make the trip to Jugkettle safely these days. "

The cabbit noticed her odd behavior this time. " You didn't remember the things I asked you to get for Guntz, did you? " It didn't hurt to remind her.

Or maybe it did; her eyes were focused on his immediately. " I … " Her ears shifted back slightly as she began again. " Pango said that he'd bring everything you asked for tomorrow. He didn't want me to get caught out here by myself in the middle of the night. " Yet she was here now getting things for her parents …

Klonoa wouldn't question her any further, though. He needed to get back before he missed their place in line. " All right, Lolo. " He tried to hide the fact that he was skeptical of her whole story with a smile. " I'll see you later. " He didn't doubt that 'later' would be sooner than he'd expect to see her given she was supposed to be going back to the temple.

Heading back to the front, Klonoa just caught their place in line moments before it was their turn. The transition went smoothly; the groceries were 'paid' for by flashing a card that the staff at the hospital gave them. Klonoa was quite grateful for that one since he surely didn't have the money for all the fresh food they just bought. The cabbit was always bad with money, and since he'd started traveling with Guntz he'd been mysteriously missing large chunks of what he did have …

Not that he ever questioned what happened to it.

" I hope you don't mind having this beef flavored pack tonight. " It was just an hour after dusk when they finally got back to their poorly color-coordinated home. Klonoa decided to make idle talk while he fetched the keys.

" I'm not hungry, thanks. "

Klonoa looked back to him, missing the keyhole entirely in the process. The large scratch that resulted from the sharp edge of the key scarping against the paint was just one more chore he'd have to take care of tomorrow. " You should really try to eat something. Tomorrow's your follow up and I don't want Dr. Nadia taking you back in again because you're not eating here. "

" Here. There. It doesn't really matter as long as I recover, right? " The younger boy was about to protest, but he continued. " 'Less you're only keeping me here because you're lonely. "

Klonoa squeaked; a literal sound akin to a Moo shortly before being blasted into oblivion. " That's not it at all! I just want you to get better! "

Guntz's ears twitched at the same time the lock on the door clicked open. He pushed the door open with a chuckle, and walked past him. " Fine. I'll eat … if it makes you feel better. "

Though the wind was not blowing Klonoa felt a sudden chill as he stood in the doorway.

Looking down, he noticed that he was not holding Guntz's hand anymore.

-----

To be Continued …