"Alright, everyone. Take a seat." The young teacher's voice echoed through the classroom. Every student, wearing alike uniforms (except several) instantly fell quiet and grabbed a seat, watching their teacher hopefully.
He always taught his clases in a fun way, making all the boring facts meaningful and funny in some way. Like the time they were learning about royalty. Well, they were in highschool after all, and they needed to know all the facts in order to pass the test. Which totally sucked. In fact, this topic was so incredibly boring that even teachers avoided it like the plague. But this perticular teacher had just waltzed his students through it all, summing up the entire topic in just a few lessons - and his class all passed their exam with an average of 95 out of 100. He was one good teacher and everyone knew it. Everyone knew his name - Jillius. He said that no one should call him 'sir', 'mister' or anything like that. He had allowed his students to call him by his first name. Brilliant.
"Register time. Chipple?"
"Here." The wannabe-boxer replied.
"Good. Huepow?"
"Here!" The blue-furred boy waved his hand energetically, and fell off his chair, turning into his usual ball-like shape. Everyone sweatdropped.
"Pleased to see that you are so energetic to learn. Klonoa?"
"Here!" The young cabbit smiled widely. The teacher smiled back. "Let's see the usual thing, then." Klonoa nodded, and took out his Wind Ring. With a cry of "Ruprudu!", a Wind Bullet shot out from the jewel part of the ring. Jillius laughed.
"Looks like you're still you. Leorina?"
"Bonjour, mousieur." A sultry voice answered him. In the corner, the Sky Pirate smiled softly.
"Salut, mademoiselle Leorina. Ca va?" Jillius returned smartly, leaving Leorina in a small confused daze. "Guntz?"
Silence.
"Is he not here?" "He-"
A crash and the door opened.
Guntz, dressed in crooked uniform and wearing engineer boots with his hair down to his waist, came swaggering into the class.
"Why are you late?"
"Shootin' practice with my old man. 'Couldn't miss the opportunity when my old man isn't even around that often, guv'nor." Klonoa rolled his eyes at that, while Leorina looked bored and prepared to throw an ink pellet at Guntz.
"Fine. You're here, and that matters - take a seat." Jillius signed the register and put it down on the desk. Guntz simply nodded and walked away, sitting next to Klonoa. The young cabbit looked surprised at that, but Guntz merely looked down at him and raised one eyebrow, indicating that he wasn't in the mood for childish stuff at the present moment.
"Turn to page two hundred and three. Today we are learning about the Agricultural Revolution in Lunatea, which is probably one of the most boring, crappy topics in history." Several kids laughed. "So I'm going to keep it short and direct. This apparently comes out in your exams." Groans echoed from all around the class.
The ink pellet, fired by Leorina, hit Klonoa instead of Guntz. Klonoa rubbed his face, shrieking, and Guntz looked at him with a strange stare. Klonoa turned away, blushing.
"Miss Leorina, you can have a detention for that." Jillius said calmly, and turned to the blackboard. "The Agricultural Revolution took place some three hundred years ago-"
"I don't really mind a detention," Leorina whispered, giggling. "As long as he's in the room as well!"
"Leorina, you're terrible." Lolo muttered. "You can get done for that!"
"So what?" Leorina sighed dreamily.
"-Work through questions one to five. Twenty minutes, as each of those questions require a mini-essay. Personally, I don't see the point, but the curriculum says so, so you have to do it."
All the class groaned and turned their eyes to their exercise books, working their way through the tough questions.
"Jillius-san." Guntz shot up his hand.
"Don't call me that, for heaven's sake." Jillius sighed. "Yes, Guntz?"
"Can I have a pen, guv?"
"Why don't you have your own?"
"Run out."
"Where's your spare?"
"Home."
"You do know the school requirement, Guntz?"
"Yeah."
"You need to have at least three at school. So I don't see why you complain of your pen running out."
"Fine, I'll just borrow Klonoa's." Guntz slipped the pen out of Klonoa's hand and started to write.
"Guntz, give that back at once."
No reply.
"Guntz, I said, give that back."
"For (swearword)'s sake, I want a frickin' pen! Is that so wrong?"
"Get out of my class!" Jillius suddenly shouted, pointing outside.
A stunned silence followed.
Guntz looked shocked for a while, but then, he stood up casually and walked out with a swagger. Jillius followed him outside and shut the door, and the class could hear the footsteps walking away, in the direction of the headmaster's office.
No one said anything for a while.
The silence was only broken by a soft voice. "Poor Guntz," Klonoa whispered quietly.
"'Poor Guntz'?" Leorina repeated incredulously. "He was horrible to you!"
"He's just misunderstood." Klonoa murmured. "I'm sure he's kind inside."
"Oh, please." Lolo muttered. "Guntz? Kind? Tch. The day that happens is the day when Namco brings out a Klonoa Heroes soundtrack."
"In other words, never." Chipple piped up. Lolo and Leorina both nodded.
"Guntz is such a bloody schizophrenic." Leorina said. "Shame, though. He's nearly as good-looking as Jillius-san."
"Leorina!" Lolo shouted. "Don't!" Leorina said nothing, but stuck her tongue out.
"I know something about Jillius you lot don't." She boasted, twirling her pen. "Well, I'll tell you - he's a monarch! He's a member of the royal family."
"What?!" Klonoa cried, sitting up. "You're having a laugh, Leo, right?"
"No, seriously. I heard them talking about it in the staffroom. Jillius is royal, but he wanted to get away for a while so he hid away." Leorina leaned back down. "So I'll be looking forward to that detention with him tonight, then."
Just then, Jillius burst in, looking very distraught. "They've found me!" He muttered, reaching and packing his bag quickly. "I have to leave the country!" And just as suddenly, he ran out and down the corridor, disappearing from sight.
Silence.
Guntz walked back in, smoking a cigarette and listening to his MP3 player. He took one look at the dumbstruck students, and gave them the one-finger salute.
"Yo," He smirked. "What's up?"
Further conversation was disrupted, however, as the assistant headmaster, Janga, walked in. "Continue working," He growled. "And as for you lot, turn to page two hundred and five. You are no longer learning about the basic facts of Agricultural Revolution." He grinned, showing his sharp teeth. "Instead, you're going to write five essays and analyze every bullet point there."
Klonoa heaved a sigh, and opened up his heavy book to page two hundred and five. The page read:
"Klonoa and related characters are copyrighted to Namco. The authoress, Solitary Shadow, makes no profits from any of her fanfiction, and will continue to earn nothing. This chapter is a part of Kiss and Tell, S.S's pride and joy, and is not canon in any way. Namco, 1997 to current year, has owned Klonoa and other characters mentioned in the chapter."
--------------------------
Yes, people.
... That whole story was the disclaimer. And believe it or not, that story took less than I normally take on the average disclaimer you see on my stories. I usually try to think of a witty disclaimer, but if you're not bursting with ideas that takes a long time. This one took me just ten minutes, which is a record.
You might be laughing hysterically/saying 'WTF?'/cursing me right now. I just got fed up with the disclaimers we usually write, so I took a different take on things. Sorry if it freaked you out.
Now for the real story. The mood of this one, however, is far from lighthearted. So you might decide to read, weep bucketfuls (optional), and review/depart with a one-finger salute. Or you can just review on the disclaimer. O.o
-----------------------------------
"Why did you leave me..."
Lolo walked along the bank of the river, head bowed, her priestess hat clasped in her hands. She had no desire to return to the Temple, however, for she'd given up. There was no point anymore. She had no one to support her, no one to work together, no one to care for her.
With him gone, she'd lost all she'd ever cared for.
Slowly, she raised her eyes, the once-bright blue eyes dull and blank, etched within it sorrow. She looked out to the vast river, the sun shining on the water, and could not help but think that the blue reminded her of him. She reached out an arm, as if to try to grasp the water, but stopped herself.
Klonoa wasn't ever coming back.
It was not that he was dead; it would have been better if he had been. No, he had been banished to the world of nightmares, where he would never wake up and never return.
With a sudden burst of frustration and rage, she threw the priestess hat into the water. The hat seemed to sink for a moment, and bobbed back to the surface, the current quietly carrying the hat away, off into the sunset. Feeling somewhat regretful, tired and sick, Lolo sat down and sighed, burying her face into her hands.
"Must you torment me so?"
She sat there for a long time, uncomprehending, her mind going round in endless loops. Night fell over Lunatea, but it mattered no more to her.
She couldn't live like this; she knew it was stupid, she still had so much to live for. She still had her friends. But she had loved Klonoa more than any of them. Her inability to do anything, the hopeless situation she was in tortured her conscience endlessly, until her mind was filled with despair and her body grew colder. She shivered, but only curled up more, doing nothing else to stop catching a chill. Her eyes were closed, her breathing heavy and laboured. But then, she remembered another person on her mind just as she was near unconsciousness.
Guntz the Bounty Hunter.
The hunter infuriated her so much, but she could not help but feel sorry for him. His sapphire eyes, filled with cold anger and hate, were eyes that had seen too much, too young. His eyes, although seemingly emotionless, were filled with so much sorrow and guilt once you looked closely.
Why was she thinking of him? Guntz had never shown kindness to her. He had shown kindness to Klonoa, to Pango, to most of the residents of Breezegale - but he was oblivious to her. He showed no interest. He didn't care.
Lolo made up her mind.
She stood up, and walked closer to the water's edge, letting her shoes soak. She hesitated for a while, but then kept on walking, until she was up to her waist in water. She closed her eyes, whispering a final prayer. She was like a sort of vision, her pale complexion providing stunning contrast to the darkness of the night.
Lolo opened her eyes again, looking up to the beautiful full moon above, reminded of that time, years ago, where she'd been kidnapped and held prisoner. Klonoa had come to rescue her.
With Guntz...
She closed her eyes and let herself fall into the water, the cold liquid washing over her body, whirling around her, an escape.
Lolo welcomed the inky abyss. She could hear shouting above the surface, and wondered if she was dead. Then, suddenly, a hand reached out to grab her wrist, pulling her out...
But she was already unconscious.
-----
Lolo awoke in a white room. The sun shone brightly outside the window. She sat up, confused; was this heaven? Or was she...
She looked down, to see pink blankets wrapped around her. Her hands were the same, and she could feel, the only thing different being a scar down her palm.
She was very much alive.
In her moment of confusion, she looked around, and saw something unexpected.
Guntz lay in the other side of the room, lying on a bed. He seemed completely out of it. Before she could try to figure out this odd twist of events, the door opened and Pango came in.
"Are you feeling alright now, Lolo?" He asked softly. Lolo nodded, dumbstruck.
"Why... am I here?" She stammered. Pango looked grim.
"We were passing by when you sank into that water. Guntz ran out and grabbed you before you drowned. He sure struggled a lot, though. He collapsed when he got you out safely to land." The older, fatherly man shook his head. "You two've been here for two days. You're fine-" Here Pango smiled softly. "-But I'm worried about Guntz. He's just been lying there. No response at all."
Pango moved to check Guntz's temperature, and Lolo could see him now - his face pale, deathly pale, with closed eyes that never flickered. He was an image of death.
-----
For two more days, Guntz lay in a coma-like state. Lolo, who had recovered somewhat, helped to nurse him. The fifth day, he awoke, and without another word he nodded and walked out, leaving Pango and Lolo alone.
"How rude..." Lolo muttered, but Pango gave her such a look she shut up instantly.
"You can't blame him, Lolo." He sighed. "He's been through more than you would ever imagine. His father was murdered in front of him when he was only five years old. That's why he's so intent on catching Janga - he'd killed his father. And then, when he seemed happier, Klonoa got banished." Pango sighed again.
"Can you imagine just how great his grief was?" Pango turned to look at the shocked girl. "Look at his arms, Lolo. He's dying inside."
"I... I never knew." Lolo whispered. "I thought he didn't care about me..."
"He cared for Klonoa, Lolo. And he saved you from the river. If he hadn't cared, he would have done nothing." Pango looked outside the window. "Saving you... that might have awakened his personality more."
Lolo stood up. "Where do you think he is?"
"Probably at his hut?"
Lolo nodded, said thanks and ran out.
-----
Guntz was not at his hut; no one had seen him, either. Lolo was about to give up when she found him, standing in the river, fully clothed, not moving. As she watched, he walked slowly forwards, immersing himself in the river further, up to his knees, and then to his waist. He was quite deep in now, as he was quite tall for his age.
He reached behind his head and untied his long, black hair, which tumbled down his shoulders like a dark, glistening, moonlit lake. His hair was long enough so that the end of it barely brushed the surface of the water.
"Guntz." Lolo called out, standing at the bank of the river. Guntz looked back with his blank, sapphire eyes, but said nothing.
"Guntz... come out, please." She pleaded. "I-"
She found herself speechless after that, as Guntz slowly walked back up to the bank, water dripping from his lower half but not caring. He stood in front of her, and he still had not said anything. Lolo noticed his arms were bare, his sleeves pulled up, and dozens of scars marking his otherwise flawless, obsidian skin. A razor blade cut marked the top of his right palm.
Lolo reached out and took his right hand, covering his scar with hers. Looking at the beaded, red lines, Lolo suddenly felt tears rushing to her eyes; she'd never known. She had never noticed how much pain Guntz was going through. She let herself break down in front of him, holding his hand desperately, as if that was the only thing that mattered.
She stopped, though, when she felt a warm arm wrapping around her waist. Guntz was holding her, his long, soft hair falling onto her face, cradling her against his chest.
"You shouldn't be out here, Lolo." He murmured, his voice soft, gentle and laced with the faintest of sadness. "You might get a chill."
"Idiot," Lolo cried. "I'm sorry, Guntz... I never realized."
"It's not your fault." He whispered.
They sat down on the bank of the river, watching the now-fading moon and stars dotted around the darkening sky. Lolo let Guntz hold her; his strong arms encircled her waist, the hunter nuzzling her cheek gently. At the moment, no one else mattered, and Lolo realized that sometimes life has no answers, and that life must go on. They could heal each other with their own pain, and that was the only thing that was important.
-----------------------------
Okay... now... what... I really have no idea what was going on here. It changed from suicidal to spiritual, and I'm not entirely sure what I wanted to say.
But did you like it?
