"Wait right here." Meta Knight watched Tiff scamper off towards the bathroom and return with a long roll of bandages, a glass of water, a cloth and some cotton balls, and some disinfectant ointment and a towel. "Did a branch scrape your side?"
Meta Knight lifted the left half of his cape to reveal a not too large, yet deep gash. Tiff picked up a cottenball and dipped it in the water. "Okay, stand still."
She proceeded with cleaning the wound with the wet cotton ball, gently brushing the blood off and then dabbing it dry with the towel and finally, applying some ointment. When she picked up the roll of band-aids, she realized that she would have to remove the knight's oh so precious mask in order to wrap the gaws on the injury properly. 'He's not going to like this….'
"Tiff, is something wrong?" the said puffball's concerned tone yanked her away from her thoughts. "Oh! Um, Meta Knight…your umm.."
He only stared at her in silence. Tiff gazed away from the bandages but not directly at the star warrior. "I'm going to have to take your Mask off for the bandages. If I don't, that gash might get seriously infected…" She remembered a time where one of her friends from town had a accident like Meta Knight's. Not as dramatic, just falling through the branches of an oak tree and getting a cut that went a little past the skin.
-Flashback-
Tuff ran up and looked at the cut. "Hey, that looks pretty bad!" Tiff wasn't too far behind. "It's not too bad but you should have your parents clean that up before it gets infected."
The cappy got to her feet and looked down at herself. "Oh don't worry you guys! It's just a scrape, I'll be fine!"
"I don't know…" Tiff trailed off. However, before she could say anything else, they had already started to run back to their other friends who where having a picnic on the top of the hill. Tiff decided to just let it go and follow them back for lunch. The next two days however, she and her brother found out that the young cappy was staying with Doctor Yabuhi for a couple of days so that the swelling from the cut would go down and hopefully not do any internal damage. "Wow.." Tuff trailed off. "I little cut can do all of that?" The cappy's mom responded with a hint of regret. "Germs are really tiny things, if they can find a way in, they can do all of that." The statement wasn't that educated but that sounds just about right.."
-end of flashback-
"I cannot allow you to do that, I can do it my self later." Meta Knight said curtly, making Tiff feel a bit annoyed. Eventhough she kept the fact that he has fought in a war for many years and has most likely had his fair share of experiences, she wouldn't let that happen to Meta Knight. "I know you don't want to but you're going to have to trust me on this. Besides, why would you want to hide your face? I'm sure there's nothing wrong with it!" Kirby chimed in with a "Poyo!" Meta Knight's eyes glowed a dark green for a moment. He tightened his fists and looked away uncomfortably. He sighed before placing his hands on the buckle on the side of his mask. "With anyone else, I would not do this . I am sure to be laughed at…" he unclipped the buckle on both sides of his mask and shut his eyes.
As he did so he told himself over and over that open wounds were nothing to joke about. He has seen too many comrades fall from such a underestimated factor, he had to let her put the band-aids on. Meta knight felt a small chill against his face as the meta plate was lifted off of his face, it even made the room look a bit brighter. The knight's heart started to pound. He hated showing people his face! Such an appearance such as his made him look weak…or at least, that was what he had drilled into his mind for many, many years.
Meta knight's eye's open and met with Tiff, who had a hand to her mouth with a shocked look. This disheartened him fast. She was sure to kick him out now-
"I still don't get why you would want to hide such a wonderful face; I don't see anything bad about it!"
The star warrior blinked in astonishment. She…didn't even laugh at him…?
He looked nothing like she imagined him to be. She worried that he carried large scars along his face from the war but that couldn't be farther from the truth. He had a Kirby-like cuteness to his facial features yet a wise appearance at the sametime. His brilliant gold gaze was out of focus due to something that was very unusual for him. They portrayed a glint of fear still but mainly shock. "Did someone tell you something a long time ago that made you so insecure about your appearance way back or something? Is that why you hide your face behind a mask?"
His gaze hardened and his cheeks burned red. "Could y-you just apply the bandages please? I will answer your question as you do so…"
"Sure! Here, hold this." Tiff handed Meta Knight the end of the gawk and then started to wrap it a few times around him, going over the first layer that he was holding onto. "Tiff." She stopped wrapping the gaws. "What you guess before was exactly the case. You must not tell another soul about this, understand?"
"You have my word." Meta Knight looked at Kirby. "You too Kirby-" He looked sad about something. "Poyo…"
"What's bothering you?" the star warrior pressed. "Meta Knight, I think that he thinks it's his fault that we got hurt." Tiff opened her arms and knelt down. "Come here Kirby!"
Kirby's sad expression lifted into his normal, cheery one. He ran up to Tiff and happily gave her a hug. "Poyo!" he squeaked.
"Oh Kirby, you didn't do anything bad, you couldn't help it!" she reassured him. "Thanks for watching out for us."
She put Kirby down and finished up wrapping the band-aids around Meta Knight. She swiped her arm across her forehead. "There, All done!" Then she handed him his mask.
"Thank you Tiff."
"It was the least I could do. I'm sorry that I made you start up from such a high place, we need to come up with a better plan. Oh, I've been meaning to ask you, would you and Kirby like to join me for dinner?"
"That would be great but I think it's raise too many questions about my face."
"We won't be eating with the rest of my family. We'd eat in here on the wooden coffee table that I have been pulling out for the past couple of days. You see, I've been researching and writing about the kingdom's weather conditions and climates ever since that snow storm that we had a while back. It grabbed my interest a few days ago again so I've been too busy to eat with my family. Plus, Tuff can't fling food at me if I eat in here and it peaceful and quiet."
Kirby was overjoyed from the word "dinner" while Meta Knight remains silent for a minute. "Okay then, Tiff I would honored to have dinner with you."
Author's Note: Well that was mushy…sorta XD
Don't worry, the story will (eventually) get back to MK's wings being the main focus!
*is trying to fend off writer's block*
Kirby & crew (c) NINTENDO & HAL labs
