Sorry I took so long! I had an AMAZING weekend at Gencon, and I've been really busy. But I got to sing and act with Vic Mignogna (!!!!), so I'm a happy girl!
Thank you MikiWoulf1800 for favouriting! My gift to you is a magic doubloon from Marooner's Rock that will grant you three wishes. (Use them wisely!)
IMPORTANT:
Things to keep in mind: Tootles = Shiro Takaoji (Episodes 6 & 13), Slightly = Kasanoda (Episodes 22 & 23), Pockets = Toru Suzushima (Episode 3), Katz = Nekozawa (Episodes 5, 11, & 13)
IX. A Thoughtful Gift
"Tinkeru!" Kao-bell buzzed at his brother. "When we said we were going to 'get rid of him' I didn't mean kill him!"
"Well, what else was I supposed to do?!" Tinkeru yelled back, not looking the least bit sorry. "And besides, it wasn't me! It was one of the Lost boys!"
"But you told them to!" Bells replied, his aura glowing an angry orange.
"Why do you care, anyway? Did you two get all close while I was gone?"
"No! But there's no excuse for killing someone!" Bells screamed, his glow now completely red. "You're sounding just like a pirate!"
Tink's hurt expression immediately gave Bells a pang of guilt, and he covered his mouth. His glow softened until it was golden again. "I…I'm so sorry, Tink. I shouldn't have called you that." Bells knew his only weakness was his twin brother. No matter how stupid or unforgivable Tinkeru's actions were, he would always find a way to forgive him somehow. His tiny fingers gently stroked his brother's identical face and he held it in his hands. "I'm sorry," he said again. Tink slowly put his arms around Kao-bell's waist, and Bells wrapped his arms around Tink's neck. They stared into each other's eyes.
"I forgive you," Tink whispered. Then, to Kao-bell's dismay, he pushed himself away from his brother and said, "Besides, now we have the Boss to ourselves. Isn't that what you wanted?"
Bells frowned and tried hard to hide the pain his brother's comment had given him. He couldn't tell Tinkeru what he really wanted, but it certainly wasn't Peter Pan. So he just faked a smile and said, "Yes, Tink. It's what I wanted."
On the ground far below them, a crying Honey jumped up and down, trying his hardest to fly to the fairies above him. However, it was impossible for him to conjure up a single happy thought when his brother lay before him with an arrow in his heart. "What did you do?!" Honey screamed, his voice thick with tears. "How could you do this to him? He did nothing to you! How could you do this?!" The twins above and the Lost Boys about six yards to his right were too wrapped up in their own little worlds no notice his cries.
"I'm a right good shot, ain't I?" a young, stern-faced boy with matted brown hair boasted to the rest of the boys. Like Pan and the others, he was dressed rather savagely, wearing animal fur and assorted leaves.
"Whatever, Tootles! I coulda done it, too!" said a bright red-haired boy who was even more angry-looking than the first.
"No you couldn't, Stinky!" Tootles, the youngest of the Lost Boys said, clenching his fists in a fighting stance.
"How many times do I have to tell you, it's 'Slightly!'"
"Slappy?" Tootles teased and stuck out his tongue.
"It's Slightly! Do you wanna die?!" Even the oh-so-tough Tootles cowered in fear at the flaming red-head's outburst. "At least Peter didn't have to make up a name for me! My name was written right on the pinafore I was lost in. 'Slightly Soiled.'"
"Ha!" Tootles chuckled. "Sounds like a Pirate name to me!"
In a split second, Slightly's face was the colour of his deep red hair, and his fist was balled around the younger boy's hair. "Don't you dare bring that up," Slightly snarled. "I've warned you."
A tall, slender boy with short brown hair and bronzed skin stepped between the quarrelling pair. He was accompanied by a female fairy with chin-length brown hair. She was nuzzled in his collarbone, sleeping peacefully with a smile on her face. "You guys," the boy stuttered, "Please stop fighting. You'll wake Kanako. Besides, you should be celebrating!"
"Pockets is right," Slightly sighed, letting go of Tootles' hair. He then grabbed the boy's grubby hand and shook it. At the same time, the boys both spat on their other hands and gave each other a wet high five. "Congrats, Tootles. Nice shot." Despite his rough appearance, Slightly really was a kind-hearted boy.
"Thanks!" Tootles smiled and then continued to brag. "Hey Katz! Get out here!"
"Fool!" the boy's dark voice echoed from inside a small cave. The shroud made of dark leaves that he wore was a great contrast to his long blonde hair and light blue eyes. "The sun shines bright today!"
"Come on! I thought you were over that! You don't wanna miss this, Katz! I shot the Kyouya-bird!"
"The menace Tinkeru warned us about?" Katz's voice echoed from the cave.
"Yeah!" Tootles bragged. "Come see!"
Hesitantly, the pale boy called Katz crept out of his cave, and it was easy to tell where he got his nickname. On his left hand was a tattered old cat puppet, and in his other hand he held a dirty stuffed cat with a missing eye and bits of stuffing sticking out.
"You shot the Kyouya-bird?" The boy asked, blinking into the sun.
"Yeah! It's over here! Come see!"
Together, the four boys turned on their heels to see the dead Kyouya-bird, but gasped when someone they didn't recognize stood before them.
"You shot him?" Honey growled. His tear-stained face was now steaming red with fury. "You shot Kyouya?" He was staring daggers into the boy called Tootles' eyes.
"Uh…yeah," He replied, raising an eyebrow. "Who are you?"
Mitsukuni's eyes narrowed. "I'm someone you don't wanna mess with." Within seconds, the instincts of a martial artist took over him, and the Haninozuka blood marched through his veins. With incredible force, he charged at Tootles, who just stood with a cocky smirk.
"Yeah, right! Like you--," Tootles began, but before he could finish his sentence, he was on the ground beneath Honey, staring into his fiery eyes. Mitsukuni's tiny hand was wrapped around Tootles' throat, and the other hand was balled into a fist above him. The fist came down with impressive speed and force, cracking into Tootles' cheek. The other Lost Boys were trying to pry him off the other boy when a strange sound echoed through the island.
"Was that…?" one of the boys began.
"The crow!" another boy finished.
The doodle-doo of a crowing rooster echoed through the air again, louder this time. Above, Tink and Bells gasped at each other and darted into their little makeshift home inside the hole of a tree.
"Peter!" The boys all yelled together, as they scrambled to their feet. Slightly, the biggest and toughest of the lost boys, had finally managed to force Honey away from Tootles. When Tootles was finished coughing and could finally breathe again, he said breathlessly, "We should hide the Kyouya-bird and surprise Peter when he gets here!"
"Good idea!" The lost boys chimed, and they all ran to Kyouya's body and surrounded it, trying their best to hide him.
"Don't let that freaky kid ruin the surprise," Tootles told Slightly, who immediately covered Honey's mouth with his massive hand.
Slowly and triumphantly, Pan descended from above the treetops. His glowing smile made the boys wiggly with excitement. Their surprise would make Peter so very pleased! At least that's what they were thinking.
"What are you boys smiling about? Are you pleased to see me? Even Katz came out, and the sun is bright today." Peter rambled when he touched down. He gasped and his grin widened, "You met him already, didn't you?! Oh, I just knew you'd be excited. Now tell me, where is he?" He briefly paused his flamboyant tirade to search for Kyouya behind rocks and trees.
The Lost boys' giddiness diminished a little. "Met who, boss?" Pockets asked.
"Kyouya, of course!" Pan practically sang. "Now come on. Where are you hiding him? Kyouya! Come out, mon ami!"
The four boys' hearts sank as they looked to each other, silently begging someone to say something. Slightly was the first to oblige. "Uh, boss…are you saying you…brought someone to us?" he nervously stuttered.
"Yes!" he said to Slightly. His attention was immediately drawn to the little squirming Mitsukuni in the large boy's arms. "And I see the little one is already here. Ah…his name…." he snapped at the air, trying to remember. "Honey! Yes! I see Honey is here, so Kyouya must be close by. Well, I wanted to save the news for when he got here, but since you've already met him, I'll just tell you!" Peter giggled and continued. "I've brought Kyouya to you…to be your new mother!" Dramatically, he flung his arms out and waved them like he was trying to do jazz hands. When the Lost boys just stood there, sweating and gulping nothing down their dry throats, Peter's smile faded.
"Why are you not excited?" He whined, putting on his puppy-dog face.
"H-hooray!" The Lost Boys croaked stiffly.
"What is wrong with you?" Peter asked.
To the boys' surprise, Tootles stepped forward. "I'm sorry Peter!" he reported, standing stick straight like a soldier.
The others looked at him through worried eyes, shouting "Tootles, are you crazy? Don't do it!"
"No!" he shouted with his eyes squeezed tightly shut. "Boys, step aside."
"But Tootles…"
"I did it. He deserves to know. Show him."
Hesitantly, the four boys stepped aside, trying not to look at Peter's horrified expression. Slightly let go of Honey, who rushed to his brother's side.
Peter's stomach wrenched and he covered his mouth. In no time at all, tears blurred his vision. He ran over to Kyouya's body and sat next to Honey. His shaking hand slowly grasped Kyouya's. Had he not been distraught, he would have noticed that Kyouya's hand was still warm. Peter's eyebrows furrowed, and his pained expression became furious.
"Tootles, this is your arrow," he growled.
The boys looked toward Tootles, who stood tall and said. "Yes, Peter. I did it."
"But it wasn't his fault!" Pockets began.
"We thought he was a Kyouya-bird!" said Slightly.
"Tink told us he was dangerous!" finished Katz.
"He did, did he?!" Pan jumped to his feet and flew to the twin fairies' hole. "Tink! What have you to say for yourself? Come out, Tink!"
One fairy slowly peeked his head out from the hole, glowing faintly green with nervousness. "Yes, Peter?"
"Don't act stupid, Tink! You know what you did!"
"No!" the other fairy's voice chimed. He quickly appeared beside his brother. "He didn't do anything. It was me! I'm Tink."
"I don't care who it was! What were you thinking?!"
"We just…"one began.
"Don't like him…" the other finished.
"That is absolutely no excuse, you shady twins! I've warned you once, but now you have crossed the line! I want you out of Neverland, Tink! Now!"
"Okay," they smirked. "But you have to guess. Which of us is Tinkeru and which of us is Kao-bell?"
"I am not playing your stupid game. Just get out!" Pan screamed, turning his back to the fairies.
"Well if you banish one of us…"
"You'll have to banish both of us."
"Fine by me," Pan snarled, not looking back. Just before heading back toward the ground he added, "You've betrayed me for the last time."
The tiny, glowing twins were high above the treetops before Peter looked back. "Did you actually think I was gonna let you cover for me, Bells?" Tink said, grabbing his brother's hand. "I wouldn't let him banish you for something I did. I wouldn't let him banish you, period. Not without me."
Kao-bell smiled and his glow turned faintly to the pinker side of the spectrum. "That really was stupid of you."
"I know. I actually do feel bad. I didn't think the boys would actually shoot him. I just expected them to, I don't know, beat him up or something."
Kao-bell sighed. "You know how they are."
On the ground, Peter was screaming at Tootles, clutching his dagger.
"I understand, Peter," Tootles cried. "Strike me! Strike true! I deserve your punishment, boss!" Peter clutched the dagger in his shaking hand. He couldn't kill one of his own, no matter how horribly he had behaved. Just before he was about to drop the dagger, a noise made his ears perk up. The other boys heard it too, apparently, because all five of their heads darted in Kyouya's direction.
"Peter," the faint whisper came from Kyouya's trembling lips. The boy's eyelids fluttered from behind his broken glasses, and colour filled his cheeks.
Peter's and Honey's hearts jumped out of their chests, and the Lost Boys breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief. "He lives!" Peter screamed, and he and Honey darted to his side. Honey's little arms were wrapped around Kyouya's waist and Peter's were around his neck as he cuddled him like a kitten again. He switched into French again, like he always did when he was excited. "You're alive! Tu vives! Ah, je suis tres contente, mon ami! Tu vives! J'ai pensais que tu étais mort!" His happy tears fell onto Kyouya's unconscious face. He ran his fingers slowly down the arrow that protruded from Kyouya's chest until he reached the base. "Why hadn't I noticed there was no blood?" he asked himself. He breathed deeply and winced as he carefully pulled the arrow from Kyouya's chest.
"Don't!" Honey cried, "You're supposed to keep the object of a puncture wound in the wound until you get to a doctor. I know, I've been stabbed a few times in training."
"But look," Peter said. "He's not bleeding." Peter ran his fingers down Kyouya's chest and then gasped, quickly drawing his hand back.
When Honey looked at Peter's hand, he shrieked. "Blood! Kyouya is bleeding!"
"No," Peter said, wiping the blood on his leg and then sucking his fingers. "This is my blood. Something cut me." He ripped open Kyouya's shirt (which wasn't hard, since there was already a gash in it) and smiled. Smiling back at him from Kyouya's chest, were fragments of his own face. Normally he would have been crushed to see his beloved mirror shattered, but not today. Today his beloved mirror was a life-saver.
Suddenly he snapped back to reality and spun around to face the Lost Boys. "Boys, meet your new mother! He's here to take care of us, and tell us stories!"
"We have a mother!" the lost boys cheered.
"We should do something for him," Tootles said, trying to make up for the fact that he shot his mother.
"Good idea, Tootles!" Pan smiled. Clearly the relief that Kyouya was alive made him forget all about who might have killed him in the first place. "I have an idea. We'll need lots of wood…"
"Wood!" the boys repeated, scrambling to look for bits of wood.
"We'll need lots of leaves…"
"Leaves!" they repeated again, saluting their captain and turning to pluck leaves from the trees.
"We'll need lots of twigs…"
"Twigs! Twigs!" they shouted, getting louder with each word.
"But…HUSH!" Peter yelled, putting his finger to his mouth.
"Hush!" they yelled, and then turned to Kyouya's sleeping body, immediately understanding.
"Ahhh…hush…"