"Come on, Meta! Walk faster!"
"Kawasaki's isn't going anywhere, Kirby. You can slow down a bit."
A few days had passed since Kirby's Winging. After those few days, Meta Knight thought it would be a good idea to bring his student to town to treat him to dinner before life began to go back to the status quo.
The two were walking down the path from Castle Dedede towards Pupu Village below. Kirby was very eager; not just to eat at Kawasaki's for the first time in what felt like millennia, but to show everyone in town his new wings. The small, white appendages were folded against Kirby's back, being ruffled by the cool late summer breeze as it blew past. Of course, Kirby kept pelting his mentor with questions.
"Do you think they'll like my wings? What will they think of them? Are any of my feathers out of place? Ooh, I can't wait!" Kirby grinned happily, his wings flapping slightly in excitement.
Meta Knight chuckled at Kirby's enthusiasm, keeping himself wrapped in his cape as they walked. "Yes, Kirby, I'm sure everyone will like your wings."
"I hope so! I'm so excited! It's gonna be a while before I can fly, but when I do, I can help everyone out much more than I could before!"
Meta Knight felt his lips twitch into a small smile. He knew Kirby loved to help out the villagers, despite the fact that it was usually the same chores he had to do for them. As he grew older, the villagers were aging at a much more rapid rate. All of the kids Kirby grew up with were adults with lives and careers now, even though Kirby himself was still a teenager by comparison.
The town itself hadn't changed too much in the past several years; no, everything was just about the same, save for a few new members of certain Cappy families, a few new buildings, and the starting construction of a school that Fumu herself was looking over and working towards. Fumu always had a thirst for knowledge and spreading it among those around her, a school was the perfect idea for her passion, and all the townsfolk happily agreed and had it built.
As it was every day, the village was lively as ever, with all of the townsfolk hurrying off to their daily tasks, mingling with one another, going about their everyday lives. Some of the villagers seemed to notice Kirby and Meta Knight's presence, as they stopped to stare at them as they made their way down the street.
"What's that on Kirby's back?"
"It's a rare sight to see Meta Knight in town!"
"Has Kirby been with Meta Knight for these past few days?"
"That'd explain why he's been gone…"
Kirby shifted his gaze over to Meta Knight, who had his cape tightly wrapped around himself, seeming to be ever so slightly shrinking beneath all the stares or the villagers. "You okay, Meta?" He asked quietly.
"I'm fine," Meta Knight replied gruffly, chuckling softly. "I'm not fond of being stared at. It'd be best if we move along to Kawasaki's."
"Right." With that, the two fell silent and made their way to the restaurant. Luckily it wasn't too busy today, with only Kawasaki and one other Cappy couple, Honey and Iro, in the building.
As the two entered, Iro looked over from Honey and smiled, waving. "Hey, Kirbs! How have you been, squirt?" He asked as the two sat at the table beside them.
"I told you to quit calling me Kirbs…" Kirby mumbled before grinning again. "I've been great! I wasn't feeling too good a few days ago, but now I'm better!"
"That's good, we were worried about you," Honey murmured, smiling gently. "Bun told us you weren't feeling well, that's why you weren't in town." She paused, looking at Kirby's wings. "What is that on your back? Are those wings?"
Before Kirby could answer, the kitchen doors opened, revealing chef Kawasaki, holding two plates of food. "One beef stew and a salad, coming through!" He gently set the plates down in front of Iro and Honey before looking over at Kirby and Meta Knight. "Why if it isn't Sir Meta Knight himself! And Kirby! I haven't seen you in and few days, how are you?" He made his way to their table and smiled wide at them.
"I'm doing great, sir!" Kirby replied, his wings quivering a bit in excitement as he stood in his seat. "I'm starving!"
"Mind your manners, Kirby," Meta Knight chuckled a bit at Kirby's behavior.
"Oh. Right." The teen quickly sat back down, still grinning and wiggling in anticipation as he looked up at Kawasaki. "Did you add that one super spicy chili to that super spicy curry recipe you were working on last time I was here?"
"Why, I sure have! I think I finally got that recipe ready to put on the menu, in fact! Would you like to try it?"
"Yes, please!" Kirby pawed at the table eagerly. It seemed he had a lot of built-up energy from resting for a few days, and it clearly showed.
"Isn't someone eager! Coming right up!" Kawasaki then looked over at Meta Knight. "What would you like, sir?"
"I'll just have some ramen, thank you," the knight responded politely.
"Alright, super spicy curry and ramen! I'll be back shortly!"
As Kawasaki went back into the kitchen, Meta Knight smirked at Kirby, his eyes tinting pink in amusement. "Did you get into my stash of candy this morning, son?" He asked quietly so no one would hear except for Kirby. "You've got a Iot of energy."
"Cause I'm excited, Meta! I'm gonna learn how to fly without my copy ability and my Warpstar! I can't wait to learn to do something without any help from my powers!"
"Oh, so those are wings?" Iro asked, looking at the limbs up and down. "Those are very cool! You gotta show me when you learn to fly with them!"
"Ooh, I'm sure everyone will want to see you fly, Kirby!" Honey smiled sweetly at the two, taking a small bite from her salad and looking in the distance dreamily. "I wish I could fly... that'd be a lot of fun, I'd imagine…"
"It is! I can fly with my copy ability, but getting the right stuff for me to fly is hard… but I got wings now, so I'll be able to fly whenever I want!" Kirby began to bounce in his seat for a moment before forcing himself to calm down. "Okay… enough about me. How have you two been?"
"Oh, just wonderful!" Honey cooed dreamily. "Iro and I are gonna be celebrating our two year anniversary! Can't you believe we've been dating for that long, Iro?"
"Yeah, time sure goes quick, doesn't it?"
You have no idea, Meta Knight thought to himself in slight amusement.
"We plan to go see my grandmother for her birthday up north soon. She's been so heartbroken since grandfather died… oh…"
"Oh… I'm sorry…" Kirby's smile faded for a moment before returning, albeit lighter than before. "But hey, I'm sure your grandma will be happy to see you!"
"Yeah… she sure does love company…" Honey sighed before a faint smile appeared back on her face. "Thank you, Kirby."
Kirby nodded, that smile still plastered on his face as he looked out the window at the sky.
"It is a beautiful day, isn't it?" Meta Knight quietly observed Kirby's happy expression, a faint smile appearing on his own face beneath his mask.
"Yeah." Kirby's wings twitched slightly, it appeared that he was still not used to keeping them folded, and were half open.
"Try to keep your wings folded, Kirby."
Kirby looked back at his mentor and pouted, trying to listen to his mentor, but failing. "It's harder than it looks…"
Meta Knight smirked a bit. Seeing his student struggle made him remember when he had first gotten his own wings, and how he struggled to get them to do as he wanted, as well. However, as his eyes turned green in deep thought, some darker memories of his wings began to take the place of the amusing ones, so he pushed them away silently. There wasn't any need to think of such things.
"Meta? You okay?"
Meta Knight looked up at Kirby, his eyes fading back to yellow. "Mmh… I'm fine, Kirby. Just thinking."
"About what?"
"Nothing of importance."
Kirby pouted, but didn't respond. He had gotten used to his mentor being a little more open about things, so being denied an answer stung a bit. He knew there were some things his mentor preferred to keep secret. A lot of things, actually. Regardless, however, the pout faded when Kawasaki returned with their food just moments after.
When Kirby and Meta Knight left the restaurant, they were almost immediately greeted by Fumu, who had her class of little kids of various species behind her.
"Hey, Fumu!" Kirby waved happily at his friend, smiling even more than he already had been, if that were possible.
"Greetings, Fumu," Meta Knight nodded politely, making sure none of his cape was hanging out for the kids to mess with.
"Looks like we passed by at just the right time! Hi, Kirby and Sir Meta Knight!" Fumu had her hair tied up in a bun and had her reading glasses on today, something that she did while she taught her students during some days. "We were just getting some fresh air."
The kids behind Fumu were looking at Kirby; or rather, his wings that were messily folded against his back, and Meta Knight with big, curious eyes.
"What is that on Kirby's back?"
"Is it a copy ability? Is there a monster around?"
"Is that really Sir Meta Knight?"
Kirby grinned happily, unfolding his wings to show the kids. "It's not a copy ability, they're wings! Real wings!"
"Ooh, they're pretty!"
"I've never seen wings like those before…!"
As the kids flooded around Kirby to see his wings, Fumu stood aside with Meta Knight, whose eyes were a deep green in thought. "Is something on your mind, Meta Knight?" Fumu asked lowly, so only the swordsmancould hear.
Meta Knight glanced up at Fumu, scanning her up and down for a moment before looking back at Kirby, who was wincing as one kid gently pulled at one of his wings. "Nothing that is of concern, Fumu," he responded dryly.
The blonde raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms loosely. "Is it about Kirby?"
"...Perhaps, but it isn't anything that should concern you."
Fumu nodded and accepted that answer. Meta Knight was never too open with anyone about his thoughts, after all. "Kaito, don't pull on Kirby's wings, please!" She called out to one Cappy boy, who immediately let go of Kirby's wings, a single white feather in his hands.
Kirby sighed in relief, folding his wings back up. "Yeah, please don't do that… I'm gonna need all my feathers to fly!"
"Fly? With those puny things?"
Kirby cringed at the familiar, taunting voice of the small yellow bird Tokkori, who fluttered over towards them.
The bird landed on top of Kirby's head, scanning the white appendages on his back up and down before turning around and speaking again. "You couldn't possibly fly with those pathetic things! Have you even looked at 'em?"
Kirby swatted Tokkori off his head, pouting in irritation. "Of course I have! And I know I can't fly, not yet at least! I gotta give my wings time to grow."
"Just growing isn't gonna get you off the ground, pipsqueak." Tokkori landed on the ground in front of the teen. "Ya gotta have all your feathers for that, and you are missing a whole lot of them!"
"No I'm not! They're just not done growing yet!"
"Lay off, Tokkori." Fumu's stern voice seemed to make the bird tense up, his yellow feathers ruffling in surprise. "Kirby's wings are just fine the way they are."
Tokkori huffed, getting back up in the air with a single effortless flap of his wings. "Are you sure about that? Are you sure you can get off the ground?"
"Of course I will! Meta said I would, and I believe him!" Kirby narrowed his eyes, gritting his fangs angrily.
"Old Metal Head here may not know everything there is to know about wings and how they work, pipsqueak. Keep that in mind. Now, I've got better things to do." With that, Tokkori flew away with an amused cackle.
"Don't listen to him, Kirby," Fumu muttered irritably as she walked up to him. "Tokkori always has been a jerk."
"And always will be," Kirby mumbled. He looked over at Meta Knight, who had stayed silent through the entire exchange. "You said I will fly someday, and I know I will, too. I just need time… right?"
Meta Knight seemed to hesitate for a very brief moment, but he nodded. "Yes, Kirby. Just give your wings time, and have patience."
As things began to die down, Fumu was gathering all her students back up to go back to class. Before Kirby was about to go back with Meta Knight to the castle, he felt a small hand tug at his left wing gently. He looked down, and his frown almost immediately faded as he recognized the familiar face. "Hey, Lily!"
Lily, a small Cappy girl, looked up at him with big eyes. "Are those really your wings…?" Her voice was small and quiet.
"Yes, they are! They're cool, aren't they?" He paused when Lily coughed, making him frown in concern. "...Is your mother nearby? Maybe you should go back inside, it's a little chilly."
Kirby loved children; that was a given for someone with as big of a heart as him. This one child in particular, Lily, always seemed to catch his attention. She was small and frail, being sickly brought that upon the poor child. Ever since that day she was saved by Kirby, she seemed to adore him more and more each day.
"O-okay… I'm going to the doctor today…" She shivered a bit, seeming to be nervous about it.
"I'm sure it'll go great, Lily. There's no need to be scared." He gently patted her on the head, making her giggle a bit. "Now, where's your mother? I'll take you to her before I go back with Meta…"
"I'm sorry…"
"There isn't a way to save her…?"
"I'm afraid not. You have my condolences…"
She sat, confused, as her mother broke down into tears. Why was mother sad? She's at the doctor's… they said a whole lot of stuff she didn't understand, was that what made mother cry?
She didn't quite understand most of what happened around her, given her age, but she knew deep down that it wasn't good. Why else would mother be sad? Mother was sad a lot, and that made her sad, too. Oh, how she wished she could see mother happy like she was before! Before she got sick… everyone was happy before then, why couldn't they be happy now?
"Lily will have less than a year to live. You have my condolences…"
