Four days.
It had been four days.
Kirby cracked open his eyes that morning, the sun shining onto his face and making his head throb in a dull, uncomfortable pain. Had he fallen asleep? He couldn't remember.
Kirby hadn't been able to sleep or eat much of anything throughout these few days, and the lack of both was definitely taking a negative toll on him. He really wanted to just stay in bed, but if he did, people would definitely worry! Wouldn't they?
Throughout those four days, Kirby had tried his best to pretend that everything was okay, and he was doing a relatively good job at it. The townsfolk of Pupu Village hadn't suspected a thing. However, today Kirby felt like all of what was making him sick, had amplified to the point of him being hardly able to move. He was so tired...
With a grunt, Kirby forced himself to sit up, now realizing that he had sweat a lot during the night. He felt himself shiver from the cold sensation of his sweat meeting the cool summer morning air around his clammy skin. He sat there for a while, staring at the wall and contemplating on whether he should get up now or later, before letting out a groan when he remembered that he had to meet his mentor, Meta Knight, today.
"Why…?" Kirby let out, his voice slurred even more than normal from his sheer exhaustion as he slowly crawled out of his bed, not even bothering to fix the messed up blankets. He shuffled his way out the door, attempting to stretch his arms as a cool breeze blew past, only for an odd, pricking sensation to shoot up his back, making him hiss and groan from the pain.
Now his back was hurting? Great… Whatever was happening to him, he hoped and prayed that it would end soon. He was way too young for a bad back! That's what happens to old people! He isn't old!
Kirby shuddered, forcing his feet to move as he took a few steps forward, beginning his slow and painful trek to the castle. He had to get over this pain quickly, the last thing he wanted to do was to explain to his mentor that he wasn't feeling well. He wasn't sure Meta Knight would even understand, the mysterious swordsman never really had a knack for understanding how he felt.
Regardless of how crummy he felt, it was a beautiful day today. The steadily rising sun was peeking out of the clouds, warming up the otherwise cool late summer day. If Kirby wasn't feeling so ill, he would have taken much more time to look at the scenery, but he couldn't look at the bright sky for long without his head beginning to throb, so he was stuck staring at the ground as he walked.
Try to focus on other things, Kirby told himself, trying to distract himself from the aches and pains shooting through his body. He focused on a nearby rock on the road. That rock looks shiny. He paused and picked up said rock that he found. It was just a plain old rock, but it had a slight sparkle on the white surface that helped distract him for a few moments before a shock of pain shot through his head like a flash of lightning, making him lose his grip and drop the rock on his foot.
"Ow!" He cried, jumping and holding his foot. He angrily pouted at the rock that he had dropped on the ground, puffing up his cheeks in teary defiance. "Stupid rock. I hate you," he muttered, wiping the small tear that formed on his eye as he put his now sore foot down.
Without waiting for the rock to respond (not that it would anyway), he continued to trudge along the road towards the castle. In the back of his mind, Kirby hoped Meta Knight would go easy on him in his training today, even though that was unlikely.
Meta Knight stood alone, watching the road leading to the castle for his student to arrive. The sun had crawled up the sky, beaming directly down onto the castle courtyard where he was waiting.
It's not like Kirby to be late, he thought, wrapping his cape tighter around himself as a cool breeze blew past. He began to wonder if his student was feeling okay.
It didn't take much effort to notice something was off about Kirby these past few days. While the teen was able to hide whatever it was he was hiding from the citizens of Pupu Village and his friends, Meta Knight could read him like an open book. Something was bothering him. Something was wrong; but what it was, Meta Knight wasn't sure. Kirby was still a growing child, many small mundane things bothered him. He assumed this was more of the same for the growing teen.
After a while, Meta Knight noticed Kirby in the distance, walking slowly along the road. It was no wonder his student was late; he was walking so slowly, and he was stopping every now and then to catch his breath.
The elder watched carefully as his student approached, hopping down from the ledge he was standing on to the ground below when Kirby entered the castle.
When Kirby finally made it to the courtyard, Meta Knight could easily tell that something was up. He looked terribly exhausted, his normally bright azure eyes dull and void of the usual energy they sparkled with. He had dark circles under his eyes, showing how exhausted he was. How come he hadn't gotten any sleep?
As soon as Kirby caught Meta Knight watching him, he immediately perked up, faking a smile. "Hey, Meta," he greeted, walking closer to his mentor.
"Good morning, Kirby… or I should say, afternoon. May I ask why you're late?"
The teen looked away, his smile fading a bit. "Sorry… I slept lots. It won't happen again." His voice was weary and slurred more than usual, though Meta Knight could tell that his student was trying to hide it.
"It's alright. Now, I want to ask what you're trying to hide. You're clearly exhausted."
Kirby gave his mentor a look, blinking in surprise. "Hiding? I'm not hiding anything. I'm fine."
"Kirby."
"I'm fine…" He repeated, wincing a bit. Was he hurting somewhere?
Meta Knight frowned a bit. He knew that his student was lying, but he decided not to push the subject if he wasn't willing to talk about it. "Very well then, pick up the sword I left for you and let us begin." He gestured towards the sword he left for Kirby, carefully observing his student's sluggish movements as he went to grab it.
Kirby picked up the sword, trying his best to keep his composure as his exhaustion was starting to become overwhelming. He blinked away the fog in his vision and got into a battle stance. He would not disappoint his mentor!
"Alright. We're going to work on your offense, today. We've been focusing on defense for a while, it's time to refresh your memory."
Kirby nodded. He could do this.
"Try to attack me, then." Meta Knight unsheathed his sword, Galaxia. It came to life in a flash of sparks, and he adjusted himself to a defensive position.
Kirby raised his sword and immediately charged at his mentor, swiping the blade at the elder. However, the attack was easily blocked, so he continued to swipe in various directions, trying to whittle down his mentor's defense.
Meta Knight noticed Kirby's attacks were a lot weaker and slower than they normally were. The child was usually a lot sharper with this. With a inwards sigh, he broke his defense and swiped at his student. He knocked the sword clean out of his paw with a loud, metallic clang. He then proceeded to swiftly move behind Kirby, slapping the flat of the blade against his back to knock him off balance.
What Meta Knight didn't expect from the blow, however, was for his student to let out a loud shriek of pain.
Kirby collapsed to the ground on his side, his back stinging and throbbing as though he were brutally stabbed, letting out choked cries of agony. Oh sweet, merciless Nova, it hurt so much…! What was happening to him?!
Alarmed at Kirby's reaction, Meta Knight quickly sheathed Galaxia and went to his student's side. "Kirby, are you alright?" He asked, frowning deeply when he noticed that Kirby was curled into himself crying from the pain, his body trembling like a leaf.
"N-n-no…" He choked out. "O-oh, Nova, w-what did you do…?"
Meta Knight looked at Kirby's back; it was only slightly reddened from the slap of his blade, it didn't seem like any damage was done to it. What had caused such a painful reaction to the blow, then? He gently touched his student's back, tensing heavily when he felt something under the skin. Could it be…?!
"Stop it that hurts…!"
Meta Knight immediately drew his hand back, instead placing it gently on Kirby's forehead. Even with his gloves on he could tell that Kirby had a raging fever, making the skin hot to the touch. No wonder he was so exhausted… if Meta Knight had known this was happening, he would have come to his student's aid much sooner!
"Kirby, you are unwell," Meta Knight murmured. "You shouldn't have come for training in this condition."
"Ungh… gah…" the teen opened his eyes halfway, wheezing as he forced himself into a sitting position. "Meta, I'm sorry," he let out. "I didn't want you to worry… I thought I would be okay i-if I…"
"Kirby, you have nothing to apologize for. Can you stand?"
"I-I think so…" With his mentor's help, Kirby slowly got to his feet. "What's going on…? Do you know why…?"
"Why what?" Meta Knight felt his thoughts swirling about in his head in alarm.
This shouldn't be happening now, it's much too early! Even for Kirby!
Kirby looked away in shame. "I haven't been able to sleep… or eat… for days… my back hurts…"
Meta Knight put a hand on where his forehead would be under his mask. Of course Kirby wouldn't come to him with this sort of issue, he wouldn't normally get this close and personal about Kirby being merely ill, but this... "Let's get you to my quarters. Come."
"You didn't… nngh…" Darkness swirled around his vision, trying to urge him to sleep. Slowly, Kirby was giving in to the pull, and his legs gave out from beneath him within the first few steps he took. He tried one last feeble attempt at fighting the darkness before it consumed him, lulling him to sleep.
"...Kir...by…"
Kirby slowly opened his eyes, his eyelids feeling as though they were weighed down by stones. Though his vision was rather fuzzy at first, he could make out the dark shape of his mentor standing over him. What happened…? He was laying in a bed on his side, loosely wrapped in blankets. There was a dull throbbing on his back, and his head felt like it was going to explode.
"Can you hear me?" Meta Knight asked gently, voice soft.
Kirby silently nodded, closing his eyes again and wincing as his head throbbed even more at the action. "Hurts," he let out, his voice dry and raspy.
"I know, Kirby," Meta Knight responded, gently rubbing Kirby's back as though he were feeling around for something, humming in thought. "Hmm…"
"Meta… what's going on…?"
"I believe I have a plausible theory." Meta Knight moved his hand to Kirby's forehead, checking the temperature. "Fever, loss of appetite, restlessness, back pains…"
"So you know…?" Kirby was growing irritated at his mentor's lack of answers, gripping the blankets that he was wrapped in.
"Kirby... Do you remember when I told you how I got my wings?"
Kirby blinked in confusion, staring at his mentor with exhausted eyes. "I… maybe…?" What did his mentor growing wings have to do with this…?
"Do you remember what happened to me?"
"You got sick… I think…? T-then the wings came out of your back… or something…" Kirby let out a groan of pain when the throbbing in his back began to intensify. "But… you were grown up… what does it have to do with me…?"
"Kirby, I assume you understand that you were forced to fight demon beasts and defeat Nightmare at a very young age, correct?"
"Y-yeah…?"
"And because of that, you are maturing at a much, much more rapid rate than what is normal for us. For me, it took nearly a hundred years to grow my wings… and you're only about fifteen years old, yes?"
Kirby closed his eyes, nodding his head.
"What I'm trying to say, Kirby… what's happening to you right now, is that you are growing your wings."
Kirby's eyes shot wide open at those words. He stared at his mentor in disbelief, trying to sit up. "Really?!" He regretted yelling, as his head began to throb mercilessly. "Nngh…!"
"Lay back down, Kirby. It's best if you stay quiet and still during this process." Meta Knight gently eased Kirby back down, making sure to keep his voice soft. "You need to save your energy for when the wings start coming… Speaking of energy, you need to eat something, too."
Kirby grimaced at the thought of food, his stomach churning. "I don't wanna eat…"
"Kirby, I'm assuming you haven't eaten in days. If you don't have the energy for your wings to grow, your condition could become critical."
"But…"
"No buts. I have some fruit that you can eat, and some grain cereal. It will help you, I promise."
Kirby let out a long groan of protest as Meta Knight left the room, burying his face in the pillows. His back was still throbbing, and his head felt as though it was being stabbed with a hot knife. Though he couldn't help but feel a bit of excitement now that he understood why he was suffering the way he was.
Wings… am I really growing wings…? Kirby closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself with big, strong wings like Meta Knight's. Were they going to be bat wings like his mentors? Would they be different? What color would they be? What about learning to fly? Would it be difficult? Or maybe it would be easy?
As Kirby was lost amidst his excited thoughts, he didn't notice Meta Knight enter the room, a bowl in his hands.
"Kirby."
The teen jumped a bit at the sudden appearance of his mentor. "O-oh… mmh…" He eyed the cereal with distaste, puffing his cheeks and frowning deeply.
"You need to try to eat this, Kirby. It'll give you the energy needed for what's soon to happen."
Kirby slowly nodded, grunting in pain as he sat up, shuddering a bit at the food as it was handed to him. The sight of the food made his nausea even worse. "Nnnn… don't wanna, though…"
"Try to eat some of it, okay? You need it." Meta Knight sighed, watching as Kirby slowly ate the cereal. "You'll feel better when you have something in your system."
Kirby ate the cereal very slowly, trying not to gag every time he swallowed. He knew that his mentor was right, that he needed to eat food to have the proper energy for what was to come. He stirred the cereal with his spoon, giving the food a distasteful look before continuing to eat. Eventually, Kirby finished the food, face pale, and Meta Knight took the bowl.
"Are you feeling okay?" He asked his student, who gave him a look.
"Yeah, I feel peachy. I feel like I'm gonna throw up."
Meta Knight sighed and rolled his eyes. "I suppose I'll let that one slide. I was ornery and cranky during my Winging, too."
"'Winging'? That's what it's called?"
"It's what it was called, back when I was young. It's what our kind calls the process."
Kirby looked up at his mentor, now very curious. Meta Knight hardly talked about his past, and Kirby always wanted to soak up the information like a sponge whenever his mentor talked about it. "Did you have any friends like us?" He asked.
Meta Knight let out a small chuckle. "Of course I did… in fact, there was one in particular I reminisce often."
"What was their name?"
Meta Knight's eyes flashed green for a brief moment. "It's been so many years… but I still remember. His name was Galacta. We entered the GSA together, and fought many battles together. However… we were separated from one another long ago, and I fear he has passed on."
"Oh…" Kirby's gaze shifted downward. "Sorry..." He wasn't sure how to handle speaking about the topic of death.
The elder straightened up, humming in thought. "Hm… You should get some rest. Given your state now, I would guess that your wings will be coming in within the next couple hours. Be ready."
Kirby nodded, now realizing that he felt utterly exhausted. "Okay…" He yawned, rubbing his eyes as his mentor helped him lay back down.
"I will check on you periodically. You must call for me if your back starts to hurt more than it already does. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Meta."
"Good. Now get some rest. I'll be in the other room if you need me." With that, Meta Knight made sure he had the now empty bowl that Kirby ate out of before leaving the room, shutting the door most of the way behind him, leaving Kirby alone in the darkness.
Meta Knight let out a sigh after he left the room, walking towards the kitchen to put the bowl in the sink before he heard the door to his quarters open, revealing his other two students, Sword and Blade.
"Good evening, sir." The two greeted simultaneously, saluting as their mentor put the bowl in the sink, rinsing it off.
"Good evening. Now, I have something important to tell you two." The elder walked towards them, wrapping himself up in his cape. "Kirby is in the guest room right now, resting."
"Kirby?" Blade seemed interested, now.
"Why? Did something happen to him?" Sword asked.
Meta Knight nodded. "Indeed. I believe I have told you two about how I got my wings, yes?"
"Yes, sir," Sword replied, crossing his arms. "Is Kirby…?"
"Yes, Kirby is going through his Winging."
"Isn't Kirby… a little young for that, though?" Blade asked, tilting his head slightly in confusion. "You said it was something that happened to adults of your kind, didn't you?"
"Yes, it is normally something adults go through, which is why I am concerned for his health." His voice got lower for that statement, to make sure the teen wouldn't possibly hear. "He is much too young for this process, I fear there may be some… complications."
"What kind of complications, sir?" Sword asked, his voice also getting softer.
"I fear that his body may not be able to handle the sudden growth, as he's not yet fully matured. There are many things that could go wrong… but I want all of us to be optimistic about this situation, no matter the result."
"Kirby's a strong kid," Sword added, chuckling a bit. "I think he'll tough it out just fine."
"Yeah, Kirby's wings are gonna be great… what kind of wings is he gonna get, anyway? Will they be like yours?" Blade seemed rather interested in this question.
"We won't know until they've come out. Our kind has been known to grow many different kinds of wings; feathered wings, butterfly wings, fairy wings… or bat wings like mine."
"Really? I don't think you told us that. I thought they were all like yours."
Meta Knight chuckled a bit at that statement. "Alas, that is not the case." He tightened his cape around himself, eyeing his students carefully. "Now… I know you two just got back from patrol, but I wish for you to inform Fumu and her family of Kirby's condition."
"What about Dedede?" Blade asked.
"He could make this a problem, that's for sure…" Meta Knight's eyes turned green in thought. "Try to make sure he doesn't find out. The last thing Kirby needs is Dedede breathing down his neck."
"Yes, sir," both of them saluted again before leaving the quarters once more.
Meta Knight loosened his tightened posture as soon as they left, walking over to his favorite chair and sitting down in it.
Kirby…
He couldn't help but be very concerned and think about his youngest student. Despite him typically evading more personal subjects with the child, this had potential to be something bigger he couldn't hide from. His wings… I can only pray that they grow correctly. I hope he's prepared for what's to come. He'll need to learn to care for his wings, fly with them…
The elder closed his eyes. Teaching his student to fly without the help of his inhaling capabilities or his Warpstar would be difficult. He could only hope that Kirby was ready.
