Yoshi's Story

The blazing sun was bright and high in the sky, making the small island almost oppressively hot. Its inhabitants didn't care, though; after living their entire lives in this climate, they'd grown accustomed to the heat waves. In fact, most of them enjoyed days like this, taking the time to swim, nap, or just relax on the islands many beaches and jungles.

The island was, as you probably guessed, Yoshi's Island, and it was inhabited by the reptilian Yoshis. One of them was currently basking underneath the shade of a large tree, his green skin making him blend in with the foliage. He enjoyed his lazy, no-worries lifestyle, capitalizing on it whenever he could. Sometimes he'd go off to play golf, or, tennis, or race, or some other sport with some of his friends off the island, but he spent most of his time right here, surrounded by all the others of his species.

This Yoshi was, of course, THE Yoshi. The one who had helped Mario on so many of his quests to stop the evil Bowser. Many of the other Yoshis looked up to and admired him, but he never really noticed. To him, it was just something he did; it didn't make him special.

His eyes were currently closed, and he felt like he was drifting off to sleep, when suddenly a large growl could be heard. Opening his eyes, he looked around for the source when he heard the growl again. This time, it was obvious where it was coming from: his own stomach. Realizing how hungry he was, he looked straight up and found, thankfully, that he had taken rest under a tree home to several large melons. Opening his mouth, his tongue shot out and grabbed one of the melons, pulling it down and into his waiting jaws. Quickly devouring the large fruit, he sighed in satisfaction and lay back down. Life was good on the island.

Of course, it wasn't ALWAYS good. There was that time when Baby Bowser tried to kidnap Mario and Luigi as babies, and the Yoshis had to take them back home. And the time that Baby Bowser tried to get his revenge by stealing one of their most important fruit trees. Come to think of it, Bowser had attacked their little island a lot over the years, and, while all the Yoshis were eager to help, it sometimes fell almost completely to him to save the day.

Yoshi's eyes opened again as he realized this. His perfect little island paradise wasn't so perfect after all. He didn't mind helping Mario out with his own adventures, but having to protect his own land made Yoshi feel uncomfortable. But that was the price of standing up to the King of the Koopas, he guessed.

The heat began to affect Yoshi as his drowsiness grew, until small snores could be heard coming from the base of the tree. Yoshi wasn't sure how much time passed, but the sun was still up when he was woken up by a strange sound. Opening his weary eyes and yawning, Yoshi took a look around the clearing where he had taken his nap. He was surprised to find a human man standing on the other side. He looked different from all the humans Yoshi knew, though; Mario and Luigi were cheerful and friendly, while this man, wearing clothes that were entirely white, seemed distant and menacing. Yoshi tensed up as the man took notice of him.

"Ah, Yoshi, just the dinosaur I was looking for."

Yoshi cocked his head to the side and stared at the man. He let out several confused-sounding squeaks in response to the man's words.

"But of course," he replied, as if he had understood Yoshi's words. "My name is Sir, and I come to you with an offer."

Yoshi put his head back to its normal position and stood up. Continuing to look at the man with a puzzled expression, he let out several more squeaks.

"Yes, well, you see, I wanted to invite you to compete in a tournament that my superior is holding. It will be quite exciting, you see, and there will be a prize for the winner."

Yoshi continued to look puzzled, but simple curiosity began to make its way onto his face as well. He made more squeaking noises at the man, who smiled back at him.

"That's the beauty of it, you see. The prize will be tailor-made for the winner. For instance, I think for you, the prize would be…" he paused for a few moments, resting his chin on his hand and looking thoughtful, "For your little island here to become peaceful all the time. No more attacks from Bowser or anyone else. What do you say?"

Yoshi's puzzled expression became one of pure interest now. He let out a few more squeaks, and the man nodded in response.

"Yes, some of your friends will be there. Let's see, Mario Mario and Luigi Mario will both be attending. So what do you say?"

Yoshi stood still for a moment, with an expression that suggested he was thinking. After a minute or two, he nodded enthusiastically.

"Wonderful! Now, let's be on our way."

With a wave of his hand, the man opened a large portal between the two of them. Yoshi ran up to it, and, pausing briefly, jumped in shouting "Yoshi!"

By OddName