Chapter 11
Hey Flowey! I know that your busy right now, but I needed to get you this note really quickly! Since I'm just uploading a note, you shouldn't fall asleep for long, but sorry for the interruption anyhow. To put it simply, I may have read your thoughts earlier. Sorry! I needed to know what your plan was, and I couldn't get private time with you. If I did, it would have made your plan harder. Don't worry, I only read your thoughts. As in I didn't do anything else, I promise. Plus, because I did that, you can now start your plan. What do I mean? Hehehe. Let's just say that I can provide the adventure that you want. Just roll with what you see, ok?
Good Luck!
-Sayori
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I woke up to the sound of leaves crumpling and someone panting. As my vision became clear, I saw that I was in the forest at about sundown. I also realized that I was being carried by Natsuki, who was sprinting and trying her best not to trip on any roots. Her face had an expression of pure, unadulterated fear.
"Natsuki?" I said. "What's happening?"
"Not now!" she yelled through her gasps.
Confused, I looked behind me and saw a pure black creature chasing us. If I had to describe it, I would say that it looked like a hunchbacked wolf sprinting on two legs. It was unsettling to say the least.
Natsuki eventually found a short cliff, about five to ten feet tall, and decided to jump.
"What are you—!" I said as we fell.
Natsuki covered my mouth as I braced for impact. However, instead of hitting the ground or a rock, we fell right into a huge pile of leaves. We remained silent for a solid minute before Natsuki had the courage to look outside. After a moment, she walked out of the pile.
"I don't see the creature," Natsuki whispered. "But keep quiet."
Natsuki removed some leaves from her hair as she took in her surroundings.
"How did you know a leaf pile would be here?" I asked.
"Oh, I didn't," Natsuki replied. "The fall wouldn't have killed us, but we're still lucky that there were leaves to soften our fall."
"That's a bit concerning," I said.
"Anyways, can you tell me why you decided to take a nap?" Natsuki asked as she brushed the leaves off her clothes.
Now that I think about it, I believe Sayori uploaded a message to me. She read my thoughts and said that she would give me the adventure I wanted. Was that creature her creation? And if so, does that mean that she planned for Natsuki to go this way. That would explain the leaf pile, but—
"Well?" an impatient Natsuki asked.
"Oh, I'm just running low on battery," I quickly said.
"Battery?" Natsuki asked. "Flowey, you can stop with that lie now."
She knew?! But how? Did Sayori tell her. Or maybe…
"Hey, remember that note I gave you," I said. "Do you remember what it said? I can't remember anything from today."
"How useless can you be?" Natsuki grunted. "The note said that you were an alien who was searching for treasure. You knew where it was, but couldn't travel to it because you were stuck in that pot. So, if I brought you to the treasure, you would split the profits with me."
She believed that?
"You're probably wondering why I believe you," Natsuki said. "Well, it's clear that you're not a robot, and it's clear that you changed your appearance. I figured only an alien knows how to do that. Am I right?"
"I mean, yes—" I started saying.
"Ha!" Natsuki yelled. "And the whole time I played you like a fiddle! Who's the dumb one now?"
Natsuki, realizing her mistake, immediately covered her mouth.
"Look, I don't care what's in this forest," Natsuki whispered. "There are monsters chasing us, rumors of treasure, and the threat of death following us wherever we go. I'm here for the ride. But I'm still keeping half of the dough."
Looks like my guess was spot on. I knew that Natsuki would like going on an adventure like this.
"So, this is fun to you?" I asked.
"It's not the type of manga I like, but it's still pretty good," Natsuki said.
Natsuki moved her hand and quickly jerked it back. She looked embarrassed.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Nothing!" Natsuki yelled. "Lets just go."
I couldn't confirm it, but it looked as if Natsuki was reaching for her stomach.
…
Time passed as we searched through the forest. There was still daylight, but it was obvious that we would have to leave the forest soon if we didn't find anything.
"We still aren't any closer to the treasure," I said. "Let's just leave."
"No!" Natsuki yelled. "We have to be close! I just know it!"
The plan was to create an adventure, yet I couldn't do anything. Because of Sayori's stunt earlier, everything I could do now seems mundane. I can only hope that Sayori does something quickly.
As we walked, we suddenly fell into a pitfall. How comical, Sayori. Luckily, we only fell for a couple of seconds. However, instead of falling on dirt or a pile of leaves, we landed in a small lake. I felt very cold as the water enveloped me. Eventually, Natsuki rose to the top, carrying herself and I to shore.
When we finally crawled onto dry land, we were met with a hidden temple. Hundreds of torches all over the temple and the surrounding land illuminated our path.
"This is it!" I yelled, trying to sound as genuine as possible. "This is where the treasure is!"
Natsuki looked stunned as she gasped for air.
"Ha…" she said as she took in breath after breath. "Hahaha… I told you. We were close after all."
Natsuki was on the verge of fainting. Panicked, I looked around to, conveniently, find a banana tree. Even better, this banana tree dropped perfectly ripe bananas and didn't leave any bruises whatsoever! It's almost as if someone placed them there! How lucky.
"It looks like there are some bananas over there," I said to Natsuki. "We should take a break and eat something—"
"No, I'm fine," Natsuki said. "We have no time to waste."
"Natsuki, I am not moving from this spot until you eat something," I said.
"Alright fine!" Natsuki yelled.
She got up and stomped towards the bananas. She peeled one halfway down and took a huge bite.
"Slower!" I yelled. "You'll get sick if you eat like that."
Natsuki looked at me defensively. After chewing for a bit and swallowing, she listened to my advice and took a smaller bite.
Even though I wanted her to eat another banana, she refused to be idle for any longer.
"We're going," she firmly said as she picked me up.
"Fine," I said. "Don't say I didn't warn you, though."
Once we entered, we immediately saw the treasure. At the end of a long hallway was a small chest, illuminated by a torch right next to it. What was odd about the labyrinth wasn't the simple design of it, but the complex design of the chest. While everything else look simplistic, the chest contains many small details. Most prominently, the chest had an emblem of a single eye on it. It was unsettling to say the least.
"So what's the plan?" I asked Natsuki.
Natsuki put on an evil expression when I said that.
"Hey Flowey, do you see those red lasers?" Natsuki asked.
When I looked closer, you could indeed see a faint red glow throughout the temple hallway.
"Huh, you're right," I said.
"Those probably trigger traps for anyone who steps in front of them," Natsuki said. "I'm not sure if I can out run them but…"
Natsuki suddenly lifted me above her head.
"Natsuki…" I said. "What are you doing?"
"But if I threw something big enough, we might be able to trigger the traps without any fear of injury," Natsuki said.
"Please tell me you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking," I said.
"That object would have to be, I don't know, the size of a flower pot," Natsuki said. "Now where would we find one of those?"
"Natsuki," I said.
"Oh lookie here! A flower pot! How convenient."
"Don't try it!"
However, it was too late. She suddenly swung her arms forward and released the flower pot. Before I knew it, I was flying through the temple at high speeds with no way to stop. I heard trap after trap spring to life, yet I could never see what they were since I was always ahead of them. After a couple of moments, I hit the ground and bounced right into the pedestal that the chest was resting on.
"What was that?!" I yelled. "You could have killed me!"
"But I didn't, and that's all that matters," Natsuki said as she walked over and picked me up. "That was quite a show, however! All of those traps springing at once was a sight to see. Of course, not as beautiful as you flying through the air and gloriously face planting into the pedestal, but still a close second."
I decided to be the bigger man and ignore her comment.
"Anyways, we're here!" I exclaimed. "Grab the chest and let's go."
"Are you kidding me?" Natsuki asked. "This is clearly another trap. If we remove this chest, a pressure plate below it will unleash a bolder or monster on us!"
"OK, so what do we do?" I asked.
Natsuki grabbed rock from the ground and moved it around in her hand to feel it's weight. After a moment, she walked over to the pedestal and stared at the chest intently. She put one hand near one side of the chest and the other hand, the one with the rock on it, on the other side. Then, in a flash, she removed the chest and placed the rock on the pedestal. Nothing happened.
"How awesome am I?" Natsuki asked.
Trying to seem cool, she leaned on the pedestal and accidently put her hand on it. Realizing the mistake, she quickly removed her hand and stepped back. Suddenly, a huge creature like the one we encountered earlier dropped from the ceiling. It was twice the size of the first creature and dripping black goo.
Natsuki quickly ran through the hallway and out of the temple, but the creature was in pursuit.
"What's the plan?!" I asked.
"There!" Natsuki exclaimed as she ran towards a nearby cave. "That's got to be an exit!"
She sprinted through the cave, trying her best not to hit any rocks. After running for a bit, we finally saw a light.
"Almost there!" Natsuki yelled.
Just before we reached the end of the cave, however, the creature grabbed Natsuki's leg, causing her to trip. She dropped me and I flew a few feet away. Once on the ground, Natsuki looked up to see the huge creature right over her. She looked terrified.
"Flowey," she weakly said. "Help."
In a panic, I tried summoning any magical attack I could. Surprisingly, a vine quickly sprouted up and went through the creature's head. It stopped moving and Natsuki was able to wriggle free of it's grasp. Without saying a word, she grabbed me and ran out of the cave. After a moment of running, we emerged to find ourselves at a street.
"So that's where that cave leads to?" Natsuki asked. "Never would have guessed it. Anyways, let's open this baby up."
I watched as Natsuki undid the latch and opened the chest. All it had in it was a single card.
"This is just a gift card for sushi!" Natsuki yelled. "What a waste!"
Natsuki searched the chest for any other hidden crevices a secret treasure could be hiding in. After a moment, she threw the chest at the street below.
"Hey!" I yelled. "That chest could have been worth something!"
"It's not, believe me," Natsuki said sadly.
"Well, assuming this card actually has cash on it, you wanna head to the place?" I asked.
"Actually, I should probably head—" Natsuki started saying. "Actually, no. Let's get some sushi."
Natsuki carried me to a place called Bobby's Sushi. We entered and she ordered two Andy rolls. The sushi was very expensive, but conveniently, the card had the exact amount of money needed to pay for the sushi. We took a seat at one of the booths and waited for the food.
"So, is the Andy roll any good?" I asked.
"Are you kidding me?" Natsuki asked. "It's only the best piece of sushi in the world! It's tempura shrimp sushi with crab on the top! Every ingredient blends together to make the best tasting sushi Japan has to offer. Some will say that it's technically not sushi since it's cooked, but that's not true! Man, I'm excited! The last time I've ate with someone here was—"
Natsuki stopped. We then sat in awkward silence for a moment. Eventually, the food came.
"Here it is!" Natsuki yelled.
She didn't wait a moment before stuffing her face with sushi.
"If's spycy," she said. "Bft wtfrh if!"
Hesitantly, I took a bite. It was very spicy, but it tasted amazing. Like Natsuki tried to say, it was definitely worth the price. It was sweet and warm, yet not warm enough to burn your tongue. It was spicy, but only for a moment. That moment of spiciness added a kick to the sushi. It was crunchy yet soft, sweet and spicy, messy and clean, a total contradiction. It weirdly reminded me of Natsuki.
As I looked up, I notice Natsuki tearing up. She wasn't upset, but it was obvious that it was emotional crying. Tears of joy, maybe?
I would maybe laugh or cry with Natsuki, if I still had a soul.
End of Chapter
