"Face it, Mario…" Kira whined, pulling her hair back to keep the moisture from her face. "We're lost."

"That's an understatement." He said under his breath. He continued to pull Kira by the arm, and although this annoyed her, she had stopped resisting about an hour ago.

"It'll take years if you really want to search the whole forest." Kira sighed. "Luigi's not going to make it."

"In that case, neither are you. I told you, if he dies, you do too." Mario said.

"W-was that a threat?" Kira questioned. "Because I could really hurt you if I wanted to."

"You're funny." Mario said. "When it comes to fighting, I have a lifetime's worth of experience. You're just a girl."

Kira folded her arms and didn't say another word. They remained like that for hours. Silent.

"Mario…" Kira said, just as the sun was beginning to set. "Can we PLEASE make camp? Just for tonight? I haven't gotten any sleep and I'm hungry. And I can tell I have a fever…"

Mario was tired as well, and he let out a sigh.

"Fine." He said. By then, it had stopped raining, but all they had were the clothes on their backs. "Just until the break of dawn though."

Kira nodded and used some type of telekinetic powers to levitate some sticks, leaves, and etcetera in order to make some tents.

"I'm going to sleep." She sighed tiredly, getting into one of the tents. She was soaking wet, freezing cold, and she didn't have a blanket. She just had to bear with it.

She woke up before Mario, at the break of dawn. That was her chance- she could finally get away from that nut-job! (A/N: OMG I just realized that nut-job sounds like a very dirty joke…sorry, kids, but I had to point that out.)

She put on her heels, which she hated with a passion, and began running.

That was, until she felt something wrap around her leg. She looked down and saw the vine of a piranha plant. It was covered in thorns, and her ankles had already begun to bleed as they pierced the skin under her white stockings. Before she knew it, she was hanging upside down, and the vines were around her arms, torso, and slowly making their way to her neck, and would probably strangle her.

"L-let go of me, you stupid, vile, ugly nuisance!" Kira said, trying to get her arms out of its grip in order to be able to use her magic on it.

It seemed to be aggravated by her insults and wrapped around her tighter, making her bleed all over.

"Tsk, tsk…" she heard a familiar voice tease. "Getting ourselves into trouble a bit early?"

She looked down and saw Mario.

"M-Mario…you'd better help me!" she sputtered.

"Say please." Mario taunted.

"P-Please…" she whined, as she began to lose so much blood that she was starting to feel weak.

"Now, if I let you go, how do I know that you won't try to get away again?" Mario asked. "Convince me, Kira."

"I-I…MARIO, IF YOU DON'T KILL THIS STUPID PIRANHA PLANT IN THREE SECONDS, I WILL-"

"You're not a morning person, are you?" Mario asked. He was amused at how much blood she was losing, and after all, she had deserved this. "I'll help you as soon as you promise me that you won't try anything funny again."

"O-okay…" she choked out, tears streaming down her face. "I…I promise I'll stay with you…"

"Until…?" Mario asked teasingly.

"Until we find the antidote…" Kira said, swallowing hard.

"Good girl." Mario chuckled quietly. He took a fire flower from his pocket, the only one he had, and obtained its power. He then threw a few fireballs at the plant, and it shriveled up, making Kira fall face-first to the ground. She lied there for awhile, unresponsive.

"I hate you." She muffled into the ground after awhile, her blood creating a small puddle under her.

"Mhm." He said, trying to pull her from the ground. She could hardly stand.

"M-M-Mario…" she stuttered, falling down a few times before regaining her balance. She leaned on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"I suppose you want me to carry you?" he asked aloud, although he knew she was unconscious.

"Unghh…" Kira moaned quietly. Mario sighed and picked her up. He kept walking, unsure of how much farther he could go. He knew he could use the exercise, but he was truly exhausted. He was in the middle of nowhere and he had no place to go. He had no map, no shelter, and what seemed like a 5-ton girl weighing him down. For someone who was only 5, 5", she was pretty heavy.

It was midday, and Mario was still just as determined as he was on the day he began his journey. He was THEE Mario, so he was totally unstoppable, right?

He sat on a rock with a sigh, setting Kira on the ground. He picked up a stick and weakly poked her.

"Wake up, Kira." He said quietly, his exhaustion clearly in his voice. "I can't carry you anymore…"

She slowly opened her bright, emerald-green eyes and sat up.

"D-Did you find it yet?" she asked groggily with a yawn.

"No." Mario sighed. "No luck yet."

"Mario…" she said. "It's hopeless. Now can we please turn around?"

"NO!" Mario snapped, smacking the back of Kira's head, standing up, and pulling her arm. "I'm NOT going to give up! This isn't the first time I've been lost in a forest- not even the second…I have to keep going."

She shakily stood up and moaned.

"But I…I'm so hungry…I'm going to lose my sanity!" She cried.

"Not before me." Mario said, violently tugging her arm. "The sooner we find the cure, the sooner we can leave this wretched place."

Although she still found it hard to walk, she finally obeyed, and let Mario lead the way.

"Mario, I don't think we're going the right way…" Kira pointed out after some time.

"Why so?" Mario questioned.

"Because we would have found it by now if we had the map." She said.

"Probably, but you know what?" Mario asked. "I'm not turning around until I've found the antidote, even if it takes a month."

"But Luigi would be dead by then." Kira sighed.

"I know, but it would help to know that I tried." He said, looking down and loosening his grip on Kira's arm just a bit.

"I see." Kira said. "You really love your little brother. I'm sorry, bro."

"It…it's fine." Mario sighed, although he knew it wasn't and he still hated Kira…kind of. He saw tears in her eyes and knew how bad she was starting to feel. She had just seemed so insensitive about it before.

"Well, considering the fact that I'm the Dark Princess, I shouldn't feel any sympathy for you, or at least that's what I was taught." Kira said, staring at the clouds, as if in some sort of trance. "But I guess…I can truly, honestly say…I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Mario said. He was unsure how to feel. "But your sympathy won't help."

Kira sighed, still struggling to keep her balance.

"I wonder what's going to happen when I get back to the Mushroom Kingdom…" She wondered, still gazing into the sky, which was beginning to break into dusk.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about that just yet, Princess." Mario said. "We still have a very long trip ahead of us…I just hope Luigi's okay…"

Finally, they were both calm, and not a single thing could have gone wrong. There was (somewhat) some peace between the two of them. By this point, it didn't look like Mario was pulling Kira against her will, but they seemed to be holding hands.

"I hate being lost." Kira complained. She had only been mentally lost before, but she was never stuck in the middle of nowhere. "It's tiring."

"Then let's take a break." Mario said. They sat down on the ground and looked up at the stars above them. They were on a hill, and it was rather steep. (Yes, a hill in the forest. UMAD, BRO?)

"Man, I would kill for some pizza right now…" Kira sighed. A few seconds later, she heard crunching. She looked at Mario.

"That sucks for you." Mario laughed, snacking on a fruit bar he had pulled from his pocket seconds ago.

"W-wait…" Kira said. "I've been almost three days without food, and you've had snacks all along?"

"Well, actually," Mario said. "This is my last one."

Kira growled.

"May I have it?" she asked, quite rudely.

"Hey, I get hungry too." Mario snickered.

"Could you quit being a fatty and share for once?" Kira asked.

"Nope." Mario said, gulping down the rest.

"I hate you." She mumbled, turning away. She had already lost a few pounds, and her wounds from that morning were still there, and very painful. She fell asleep there on the ground, and she honestly hadn't been feeling well.

The next morning was bright and sunny. Mario was up pretty early, and he let Kira sleep for awhile. It was the least he could do. She was such a wreck, and Mario didn't even know half of the things that went through that girl's head.

Poor, naïve Mario…

I'm going to throw up.

That is all.

Wait…oh yeah, I'd like reviews, some fries, and a veggie burger…