Chapter 22: Broom Hatter

It was a lazy, quiet morning in Dreamland. Most of its residents were still fast asleep, one resident in particular was Kirby. That was until he heard knocking on his door. "Huh? Who could that be?" He groaned as he stumbled out of bed. He opened the door to see his friend, Broom Hatter, the self-proclaimed greatest cleaner in Dreamland.

"Good morning, Broom Hatter how are..." He let out a yawn. "You today?"

Broom Hatter just looked at him. Hatter was always hard to read considering that she had no visible face.

"I'm here to help you clean." She said bluntly.

Surprised by this, Kirby looked at his friend, then back inside his house.

"Why? It's perfectly fine! Meta Knight helped me clean it last month!"

She seemed to glare at the child.

"A month ago? You should clean more frequently than that Kirby." Hatter scolded, shaking her broom at him.

"Really?" He looked back in his home once more. "But it looks perfectly fine!"

The inside of Kirby's house certainly looked clean at first glance. Everything was where it should be, nothing seemed out of place. The only thing that was remotely out of place were his bedsheets, which were currently on the floor, but at least that was understandable. Kirby expected Broom Hatter to comment on that, but instead she went straight to his fireplace shelf and ran a finger across the top.

"Like I thought. Too much dust."

Kirby honestly had to squint to see anything on her finger.

"While I can't blame you for not noticing, dust can accumulate very quickly. While your house isn't in dire need of cleaning, we still need to get rid of all this dust." She then continued to look around the room. "...I don't think I even need to comment about your bed. And when was the last time you washed your sheets?"

"When Meta Knight helped me clean..." Kirby replied sheepishly.

"Then we'll have to wash those as well."

"Um... Hatter?" The child then spoke up. "I appreciate you wanting to help me, but how did you know my house needed cleaning? I didn't know my house needed cleaning!"

"...speaking honestly, it's because you don't seem like the type who would clean often."

The puff then pouted but couldn't really refute that accusation.

"Though it's probably because you're always helping others that you forget to help yourself." She quickly added.

That was something else the puff couldn't deny. He often put the needs of others before his own.

"Seeing that you've helped me multiple times Kirby, it's only right that I help you."

"It's nothing, Broom Hatter, really but... thanks..."

Broom Hatter nodded and handed him a familiar item. It was the bandana he wore when he became Cleaning Kirby. Seeing it was an Ability Item, the child took it and copied the Cleaning Ability.

"So, where do we begin, Broom Hatter?" He asked.

"We can start by washing your sheets and dusting in here."

Broom Hatter took a large container of water, dumped Kirby's sheets into it, and added soap.

"Hey, Hatter, where do you keep all of your equipment, anyway?"

His friend only looked at him with a usual unreadable expression.

"Do you ask Meta Knight where he keeps all his things?"

"Oh, you have a pocket space, too?"

"So, what if I do?"

"Just curious. Not everyone has a pocket space."

Broom Hatter then seemed to rub her head. "Well, yeah, I do..."

"Well... then how do you keep that of water container from spilling when it's in the pocket dimension?" Kirby asked with his usual curiosity. While the child himself has accessed a pocket dimension multiple times, he didn't really know how they worked.

"Ah, that's the tricky part, Kirby. I can't keep it from spilling. Instead, I keep the containers and water separate until it's time to use them."

The child then took a moment to think about it. "So, as you pull out the container, you put in water at the same time? Oh, I get it! When you aren't using the pocket space, you have no control, but when you use it, you can do anything you want! Am I right?"

"Precisely, Kirby, but no more distractions."

Just as Hatter went back to work, Kirby spoke up once more. "Actually, I do have one more question. Why should I wash my sheets more often anyway?"

Broom Hatter looked at him like he grew another arm. "You seriously don't know? Not even that mentor of yours told you if he helps you clean?"

The child shook his head. "No. He's mostly quiet when he cleans. Well, he's mostly quiet, but still."

Hatter gave a slight sigh in response. "How often does he help you clean anyway?"

Kirby pouted. "Once a month! Seriously what's the big deal?"

"Well, bedding can trap a lot of dirt, dust, and sweat, making it quite icky. So, it's best to wash them once every two weeks at most."

"Oh. Well, I don't understand the dirt or sweat part because I always wash myself before sleeping but I guess I understand the dust part."

That was when his friend did a double take.

"Wait, did you just say you essentially take a bath every day?"

Kirby tilted his head, as if confused by his friend's response. "Yeah, why?"

"WHERE!?"

"What do you mean "where"? In my bathroom."

His friend only continued to stare at him in confusion as she looked around his house.

"Where do you have a bathroom in here?"

"What do you mean "where"?" Kirby walked over to his bookcase and pulled it open, revealing said bathroom.

"Should I bother asking how you can fit all of that in your dome home?"

"You can but I honestly don't know." Kirby admitted, scratching his head. "I just kinda made it like that by accident..."

"You built it? Wait, no, never mind." Broom Hatter sighed in slight confusion.

"So, what's so bad about dust again?" The child asked to help get back on topic.

His friend sighed yet again. "Dust accumulates quickly. While it might seem harmless, too much dust could minor health issues, mainly with your breathing. That's why it's important to dust frequently."

That did sound reasonable to the child. His entire Copy Ability revolved around inhaling things, and he often did breathing exercises with his mentor, so something like that would be important to him.

"Now, if you have no more questions, let's get to cleaning your sheets."

Kirby nodded in agreement as his friend began to work. The child watched Broom Hatter work with full attention. If he was being honest, he didn't like cleaning. Not that he was bad at it or anything, he'd just rather sleep when he was at home.

"Do you want to know a trick to clean Kirby?" She suddenly asked, calling his attention.

A trick, huh? That sounded extremely interesting.

"Yeah, what?"

"I understand fully well that cleaning isn't the most enjoyable task for some people. To them, it can be boring and seems like it could take forever to finish. So, my trick is, just do it."

The child pouted upon hearing that. "That isn't a trick at all!"

"Oh, but it is. Like I said, cleaning seems like it can take forever, so your mind tricks you into thinking it will take forever so you put it off to do something else. But here's the thing, cleaning actually doesn't take that long at all."

Honestly, that was something he couldn't really deny at all.

"In reality, cleaning takes around an hour, maybe even less for a small home like this. Once you get into the habit of cleaning, you can get it done in no time." She finished.

He then nodded in understanding.

"Now that you know this, how about you take over washing your sheets then?"

"Ok, then." Kirby said as he took Broom Hatter's place.

He immediately got to work. Thanks to his Copy Ability and his natural inventiveness he was able to wash them exactly like Broom Hatter did.

As they continued to work, a natural silence washed over the duo. It was starting to make the child slightly uneasy.

"So, what made you want to be the best at cleaning?" Kirby suddenly asked, hoping for a conversation to break the silence.

"That's a difficult question." His friend replied in a simple and blunt manner.

Kirby looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Broom Hatter looked at him. "The question you asked has no answer. I never set out to be the best at cleaning. Nothing made me want to become great at cleaning either."

The puff looked less confused upon hearing this. "So, if I'm understanding this correctly, you just enjoy cleaning? And that's how you got so good?"

Broom Hatter thought for a bit. "Essentially. I've always enjoyed cleaning. Most people consider cleaning to be a chore, something that's extremely aggravating, yet needs to be done. It's the opposite for me, cleaning helps me relax."

While Kirby could understand that, he didn't feel the same way about it. In fact, cleaning was sometimes more stressful for him than anything, especially if it was because of a visitor.

"So, how much longer until I'm done washing the sheets?" He then whined.

"It'll be done when you're done." His friend replied.

"And when will I know when I'm done?" He followed with a pout.

While he was still a child, he didn't like it when someone treated him like a dumb kid.

"Probably in a few more minutes." She shrugged.

"Fine, in that case..."

Kirby sped up his washing, his hands going at blinding speeds.

"Ok, I'm done now!" He exclaimed cheerfully.

Broom Hatter then took a look at his results.

"Yup. I say this is good. Now let's go hang it out to dry."

Walking outside, Broom Hatter looked around for a clothesline or at least something similar, but couldn't find one.

"Kirby, do you have a clothesline?" She asked.

"Nope. I never got one since I don't really need one."

"Then how do you dry your sheets!?"

The child only smiled. "I use my Tornado Ability! Instantly dry in a manner of seconds!"

"...that'll only make your sheets dirty again."

Kirby pouted after his friend said that. "How!? How could wind possibly make it dirty!?"

"The Tornado Ability can pick up dirt and debris, making it dirty again."

The puff sighed and walked into his house to grab a spare Tornado Copy Essence. When he came back out, Kirby was now Tornado Kirby. He then grabbed his sheets and placed them in his head Tornado. Most notably, the puff's tornado wasn't picking up any dust at all.

Broom Hatter looked dumbfounded. "Wait, but you always pick up gravel whenever you use that ability. How are you not picking any up now?"

"The tornado on my head is far enough away from the ground!" He replied with an annoyed pout.

His friend now looked embarrassed. "Sorry, Kirby. I should have known better than to doubt you with something like this."

The child only gave a smile. "It's fiiineee, don't worry about it! I know you're just like that because you care about me, right?"

That just made Hatter look even more embarrassed.

"Anyway, once you're done with that we can start dusting the house." She said, averting her attention from Kirby.

The child gave a slight giggle. "Ok!"

After the sheets were fully dry, the two walked back into Kirby's house to make his bed. After that, Broom Hatter spoke up once more.

"Ok, Kirby, since your house is small this next thing won't take that long. You dust the right half of your house; I'll dust the left half."

"Ok, then let's do it!"

He immediately began to rush into doing that.

"And take your time. If you go too fast, you'll just spread the dust around. Overall, if we keep a good pace, it should only take ten minutes, maybe less."

The child then nodded in understanding.

As they got to work, Broom Hatter began to think of a few things.

"Hey, Kirby, since you asked me a few questions earlier, how about I ask you a few?"

The child quickly looked up from his work.

"Sure, I don't mind!"

"Well first, how many of these books have you read? This a pretty sizeable bookcase."

The child quickly turned back to his dusting work.

"Um... with or without help...?" He uttered sheepishly.

Broom Hatter chuckled. "Both."

The child only seemed to become more embarrassed.

"...ten on my own, I think..."

Honestly, most of the books on the bookcase Kirby couldn't fully read without a bit of help. He wasn't that good at reading, as someone said his reading level was a bit below average for someone of his age. As a result, usually one of his friends or even his mentor when he visited would read to him.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Kirby. You're getting better with each book, right?" Broom Hatter asked.

"Uh... uh-huh. Meta Knight said I got better since the last time..."

"Then like I said, nothing to be embarrassed about. We all start at the bottom; some just climb faster than others." She added. "Second question. Where did most of your possessions come from? I know some were gifts of gratitude, but what about the rest?"

"Um... some of them were gifts and others were things I saved up for."

His friend tilted her head. "Saved up how? Like from your occasional treasure hunting?"

"Yup! I don't need any of the stuff I find, so I sell it to the local museum!"

"That explains a lot actually. Final question then. How do you always find ways to weaponize even the most mundane of abilities? You've done some crazy tricks with Cleaning that not even I could do."

Kirby took a moment to think before giving a slight shrug. "I don't really know. I guess I've always been really good at making mundane abilities useful in battle. If anything, Meta Knight's training has really help to make it easier for me."

"So, in other words it just comes naturally to you. Just like me and my ability to clean."

"Yup! He's also shown me ways to be more creative with them as well!"

Broom Hatter chuckled, though she honestly disagreed with that. Meta Knight might have helped make things easier, but all of that creativity was Kirby's and Kirby's alone. If anything, the child's mentor encouraged that creativity to develop.

"So, I know you said that's your last question, but do you have any more?" Broom Hatter stopped to think.

Then a thought crossed her mind.

"You never needed my help to clean, did you? You probably don't even need Meta Knight's help either. You just accepted my help because you wanted hang out, am I right?"

The child seemed to jump upon hearing that.

"W-what makes you say that?" He asked sheepishly.

"For starters, you finished dusting five minutes ago." He then pouted. "That's just because I got a head start!"

"Three seconds isn't much of a head start Kirby." She deadpanned.

"S-so what?"

"I don't know why you're being so defensive. If you just wanted to hang out, you should of just said so."

The child seemed to become embarrassed from that. "Well, I thought it would be rude to turn down your offer to help..."

Broom Hatter sighed at that response. "Well, I was being rude first since I assumed you needed my help in the first place. So, we're even."

Kirby scratched his head at that. "Yeah, I guess we are even..."

Broom Hatter flicked his forehead in annoyance.

"Quit it. You have nothing to feel bad about. Now, come on, we've got more cleaning to do."

He then blinked in surprise. "Huh? What more do we have?"

"The windows. Both inside and outside. Especially outside."

Kirby then nodded. "I'll get the outside. How about you do the inside?"

"Sounds like a plan. I trust you can summon the necessary tools without my assistance?"

"Leave it to me!" He then went outside and got to work.

Upon further inspection, Kirby noticed that the windows really were in need of a good cleaning. While he didn't necessarily need help, he was grateful for it regardless.

The window cleaning didn't take very long, mostly because his house had only one window.

"Alright, we're done. What should we do next, Hatter?" Kirby asked.

"Now, we can take a break. You're probably hungry by now, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I'm starrrrrving!"

"To be fair Kirby when aren't you?" She asked jokingly.

"...I dunno." Kirby said after genuinely thinking for a moment. "Eh, whatever! Let's eat!"

He shrugged and began to walk over towards the opposite side of his house.

"Well, what do you have here to eat? I'm not a picky eater so I'll be ok with whatever is offered."

"I have a lot of things, actually. I have fruit, cookies, vegetables, and a bunch of other things! Let me go check!" He then arrived at a bowl of fruit that rested on top of a box, revealing itself to be a fridge.

"How are you so good at hiding things in plain sight?"

He only shrugged.

Broom Hatter sighed, then chuckled. "Do you have any carrots?"

"Yup!" He then pulled out a bag of carrots.

"Alright, toss them to me, please."

The puff nodded and tossed the bag to Hatter.

"Hmm... what else do I have...?" The puff mumbled aloud as he looked through the fridge.

"All I want is the carrots. You can grab anything else you want."

"I thought so. That's what I'm thinking about!"

He then gave another audible "Hmm" before grabbing a basket.

"I'm in the mood for apples right now!"

He then went over and sat next to his friend, beginning to eat in silence. Then Kirby noticed that it was starting to rain outside.

"So much for outside cleaning, huh?"

"Yup. Guess I'm stuck here until it stops." She bluntly replied.

"Hmm... how about we play a game then?"

"Well, it's not like we have any more cleaning to do. Sure, what games do you have?"

"Hmm... let's look through my board games! I have a lot of games meant for at least four players!"

After a moment of looking, he returned with a box.

"Um, how about a game of checkers?"

"Sure, that sounds fun!"

"Then let's play!"

The duo continued to play board games for the rest of the day.

Before they knew it, the day turned into night and the rain finally stopped.

"Well, I guess I should be leaving Kirby."

"Awww... really?" The child pouted, but he knew at the same time that his friend had to get home.

"If you want you can escort me. It can be dangerous at night you know."

After his friend said that, the puff nodded in agreement. "Alright! Do you want to take the Warp Star?"

Broom Hatter shook her head.

"I prefer walking. Now come on." She said, grabbing his hand.

While Kirby was surprised by this sudden action, he was also happy about it. "Ok!"

But before they left, he still had one thing left to say. "Thank you for spending time with me!"

While he was unable to read his friend's expression, he could tell that she was happy.

"It's not a problem! I enjoy spending time with you!"

They then left the house to take Broom Hatter home.

This was a nice and cute chapter.

Sometimes I wish it was this easy to clean. Especially dust. I'm not a big fan of dusting.