Chapter 36: Nago, Chuchu, Pitch

Kirby was out for a stroll in the grasslands of Dreamland, enjoying the calm and beautiful weather the day was experiencing. That's when he noticed three familiar faces also out on a walk.

"Oh, hi Nago! Hi Chuchu! Hi Pitch!" He called out to them as he happily ran towards them.

"Well, there's a friendly face I haven't seen in a while. Howdy, Kirby." The jolly yet somewhat lazy cat, Nago, replied.

"Kiiirrbyyyy! It's been so long since we last saw each otherrrr!" Chuchu exclaimed, running up to him as fast as an octopus could.

"Hello friend!" Pitch chirped happily as he flew over, happy to see his pink friend.

"Hey! So, what are you guys doing out here? Just taking a walk?" He asked.

"More or less. Well, Pitch and I were walking. Chuchu only just joined us a few minutes ago, I don't really know what she was up to before that." The cat replied with a yawn as he scratched his ears.

"I thought I already told you that I was looking for Kirby!" She huffed, brushing off that wording.

"Really? For what?" The puff asked, tilting his head.

"You never told us anything." Nago stated, looking over at her in an equally questioning manner.

"She wants to stalk you!" Pitch chirped.

The child blinked. "Stalk? That's a bad thing, isn't it?"

"I don't know what it means, it's just what Coo says that Chuchu does."

"Oh, well, Meta Knight told me that's a bad thing, too."

"I am not stalking!" She replied in embarrassment.

"Then what were you looking for me for?"

"Because I simply wanted to see you!" She huffed in reply, as if it was obvious.

"Well, I'm not exactly hard to find. But it is good to see you though."

"You can be hard to find with how big Dreamland is!"

"But know where I live don't you?"

"Yeah, but whenever I come to visit, you're not home!"

"Oh, well you should come over when I'm home instead. That's what a lot of people I know do!" The puff said with a smile.

"As fun as this back and forth is, we should think of something to do now that we're all together." Nago interjected, cutting the conversation.

"Oh, ok! What do you want to do then?" Kirby asked.

"I'm perfectly content with napping. But if we want an actual activity, we could go fishing."

"Oh, that would be fun! What do the rest of you think?"

"I'm not eating my own kind!" Chuchu said, sounding somewhat offended.

Then both the puff and cat stared at her for a moment.

"...you do know eating isn't involved with fishing, right?" Nago finally asked.

After a brief moment, the octopus's eyes widened as she realized what was said. "...Of course I do!" Sh then insisted, clearly embarrassed.

"Ok, so then do you want to go fishing?"

"I don't care what we do as long as I'm with Kirby."

"So, in other words that's a "yes". Pitch, what do you think?"

"Honestly? As long as I'm with my friends, I'll be happy." The bird replied happily.

"Then fishing it is."

The puff nodded, okay with that idea. "Ok! I know a good lake we can go to!"

"Lead the way then!"

Before anyone could move, Chuchu sat on top of Kirby's head. Shrugging, the child just accepted this action.

"Now we can go!" She said.

The group moved on, Kirby taking the lead as expected.

In a couple of minutes, the group reached a massive lake.

"And here we are!" The puff said happily.

"Well, you weren't kidding, pardner." Nago uttered, looking at the massive lake before them.

"Of course I wasn't!" The child around with a joking pout, making the others chuckle.

"Well, now what? Did you bring rods with you?"

"Of course!" The child replied, spitting them out.

"Do you always carry that stuff in your stomach?"

"Yup!"

The group stared then looked down at the rods. "Well...at least they don't have no saliva on 'em." Nago uttered.

"Yup! It took a bit of practice at first, but I was able to do it! So, you wanna get started?"

"Sure thing."

Kirby nodded in reply. "Chuchu, could you get off me please?"

"What? Why!?"

"Well, I don't want to accidentally smack you with the fishing rod."

"Aww, how thoughtful! Very well then." She hopped off the puff, who then gave a long stretch of his arms.

"Well let's begin!" Kirby yelled, quickly taking a swing.

Meanwhile, Nago simply stared at the water, watching the fish swim around.

"Nago, aren't you going to actually fish?"

After a moment, he pawed at the water and instantly caught a fish. "You were saying?"

"Oh, well never mind then."

"But I thought only bears did that." Pitch said.

"Most creatures with paws and claws do actually."

"But I also thought that cats didn't like water." Chuchu uttered.

"That's a myth. We don't like getting drenched but water itself is fine."

"Oh, ok." The octopus replied.

"Don't believe everything you hear. Hey Pitch, you need help?" Nago asked, noticing the little bird struggling to lift the rod.

"...a bit." was the simple reply.

"Kirby, do you have a smaller rod in that void stomach of yours?"

"Yup!" As if on cue, he spit out a much smaller rod that was perfect for Pitch's size.

"Thank you. But isn't uncomfortable to have so many things in your stomach?"

"Not really."

"How do you spit out exactly what you want?"

"I just do!" He then scratched his head. "Also, because everything tastes different."

"Not with things other than food."

The puff blinked. "Really? It's easy to taste the various materials that are used to make things."

"For you, yes, but my avian tastebuds aren't capable of that. Or other people's tastebuds in that regard. You're special in that way."

"Really? Ehe hee..." The puff giggled timidly.

"Yeah, we're all not Star Warriors like you."

"I know that! But even Dedede thinks so!"

"Dedede is the worst example you could possibly use." Chuchu laughed.

"Even for penguin standards he's unusual."

Kirby scratched his head.

"What we're saying is you're the only one we know with a mouth like yours."

"Oh. Heh heh!"

"Anyway, let's get back to fishing. The fish won't fish themselves."

"Yup!" The puff sat down and waited.

After a couple minutes, nobody got any bites. Kirby scratched his head, but then game a smile and a shrug.

"Not a lot of fish today. But that's fine!" He suddenly said.

After hearing that statement, his friends nodded in agreement.

"All that matters is that we're together." Pitch nodded.

"I think what's more important is that I'm with Kirby." Chuchu said, making the others stare.

"...Right. Well, how about we do something to pass the time." Nago offered.

"Oh? Like what?" Kirby asked.

"I don't know, you're usually the idea giver. You got anything?"

"Hmm..." the puff thought aloud for a moment before giving a reply. "Oh! We should go around in a circle and say something that we like about the person next to us!"

"Alright, sounds good."

"Then who goes first?" Pitch asked.

"Kirby, since he suggested it."

"Ok, so then the person sitting next to me is..."

It was Chuchu as expected. While the octopus looked excited by this, both Nago and Pitch seemed to sigh.

"Oh, well... I like that Chuchu is very passionate about the things she loves! And it's a lot of fun to combine my abilities with you!" The puff said.

The octopus seemed to accept that answer, for the time being anyway.

"Alright, Chuchu, now you have to say something you like about the person next to you!"

She looked over at the small bird, trying to think of something. "I like how energetic you are about almost everything."

The bird smiled in response. "Thank you for the complement."

"Alright you're next." Nago stretched and then yawned in reply.

"Oh, well I think it's cool that you can sleep practically anywhere, completely unbothered by anything."

"I think it's cool as well, man." The cat replied.

"Yeah, well now it's up to you to compliment Kirby."

"Aight." Nago yawned and gave a stretch. "You're the best this planet has to offer Kirby."

Almost immediately, the child blushed. "Is... is that true? Eh... eh hee hee..." He uttered timidly.

"Of course it is, I ain't a liar."

Pitch then cleared his throat. "So now what?"

"Well, some time has passed, maybe more fish are awake now."

"Ok, then let's go back to fishing!" The puff exclaimed as he turned his attention to the lake.

"Please, as if the fish would suddenly be awake that quickly-" Chuchu tried to say, only to be interrupted by multiple fish jumping in and out of the water.

"Well, would you look at that." Nago said.

"Ok fine, I guess it can be that fast."

"Yup! Fish love food!" The puff giggled.

"And fish like jumping like crazy for no reason." Nago lazily added, thinking about their mutual friend Kine and his jumping habits.

"Maybe they want to come on land, too!" Kirby added, also thinking of Kine's habits.

"No, Kine is just a special case. He can actually breathe air." Chuchu added.

"What about you, Chuchu? How can you breathe if you aren't a special fish?" Pitch asked.

"I'm a cephalopod, not a fish. And we can handle the ground just fine thank you."

"Yup! I've seen octopuses walk on land before!" Kirby confirmed.

"I'm sure we all have." Nago said, staring at Chuchu.

"Of course you have! I'm right here!" She huffed, smiling as if she was acknowledging that reply.

"Aren't all sea creatures fish, though?" Pitch asked.

"Of course not! I'm a cephalopod and whales are mammals! Don't you know that?" Chuchu replied.

"If I did, I wouldn't have asked. That's a very silly question, Chuchu."

"Well, you should know that!"

"Chuchu, you don't need to be grouchy about it." Kirby scolded her.

"Ok, Kirby." She quickly replied as if a switch was flipped.

"You're so predictable. Anyway, let's get back to it." Naga yawned.

"Yeah!" Both Pitch and Kirby cheered.

After a few minutes, Kirby suddenly stood up and dived into the body of water.

"Kirby!?" The trio shouted in shock.

"What? It's perfect weather for swimming."

"Ahh... good point. It does feel pretty hot out..." Nago uttered.

"I thought cats don't like the water." Pitch said.

"We've been over this, that's a myth."

"Ah. Ok."

"Yeah, now make way. Don't want to accidentally get you wet." Nago said as he jumped in.

"Hey, wait for me!" Pitch joined them.

"Hey, haven't you heard of ladies first?" Chuchu yelled as she followed.

"Yeah, that doesn't really matter when Kirby went in first to begin with." Nago said.

"Ok fine." She then jumped in and joined them.

"Let's hold a contest to see who can stay under water the longest!" Kirby suggested.

"Sure!" "I'm fine with that. It'll be easy win for me." Chuchu bragged.

"Then let's see that, missy." Nago grinned.

They all went underwater, though Pitch came back up quickly. "Man, I lost!" He panted.

Meanwhile underwater, Nago was surprisingly doing far better than the other two, with Kirby clearly struggling to keep his mouth shut.

"Ahh... that's right... I do better with a snorkeling mask..." He thought.

"Are you ok, Kirby?" Chuchu asked, quickly realizing she just opened her mouth, meaning she technically lost.

Nago seemed to grin at this, while the octopus pouted and surfaced. The remaining two looked at each other, silently wondering who would give up first. Kirby attempted to read his friend's face to see if there were any signs.

"...did he fall asleep?" He thought. "...Or is he trying to make me think he's asleep so that I lower my guard? But what if he's actually asleep? Maybe I should go up to him?"

After a moment of hesitation, he moved towards him and poked him. Nago poked him back, signifying that he was indeed still awake.

"Ah, so he was still awake!" He thought.

But now Kirby was at a disadvantage. Due to swimming, he had used a good amount of the air he had remaining. But he wasn't about to give up yet.

"Ok, then what should I do?"

He could just give up, it's not as if this was a serious competition, just a fun one between friends. Though he still felt the need to keep going, probably a bit if his mentor's personality rubbing off on him.

"Then I'll just keep going!"

Kirby concentrated on staying in the game, unfortunately thar just seemed to make it harder on him.

"I can't give up...!"

Meanwhile with Nago, he actually wasn't thinking and that was his secret weapon. With no thoughts he didn't need to worry about lack of air which in turn made him last far longer than normal. This heavily contrasted with Kirby clearly struggling. Eventually one of them decided it was time to stop, with Kirby coming up for air. Nago resurfaced not too long after. However, wasn't that willingly.

"Should he be laying face down in the water like that?" Pitch asked.

"No, he shouldn't be! We need to get him onto dry land!"

With a nod, the trio carried the puff onto dry land.

"What do we do?" Pitch asked.

"CPR!" Chuchu said, almost too enthusiastically.

"Nah, watch this." Nago stepped on Kirby, making the puff spit out a ton of water. This also proceeded to drench the other two friends in the process. "See? He's fine now."

"...I think we see." Pitch uttered. "Are you ok Kirby?"

The child coughed. "N...no more underwater training for me, Meta-sensei..." He mumbled.

"Wrong location, little buddy. This isn't Orange Ocean."

The puff blinked. "Where is this?"

"You should know, you brought us here."

"He was unconscious! Just tell him!" Chuchu huffed.

"I'm jogging his memory. Besides do you even know what this place is called?"

"The lake!"

"The actual name."

"A big lake in Dreamland!"

"My point exactly. Ok, Kirby, how do you feel?"

"Sleepy."

"Do you remember where you are now?"

"A big lake in Dreamland!"

"Ok, you're back to normal now."

Kirby yawned. "I think that's enough excitement for one day."

"I'll say. You nearly drowning is enough of a scare." Nago replied, with his two friends nodding in agreement.

"Oh yeah, how come you lasted so long, Nago?"

"I just didn't think about anything." He uttered as if it was that simple.

"What kind of sense does that make?" "Oh, that makes sense!" Chuchu and Kirby said at the same time.

"...yeah... yeah, I get it..." Pitch mumbled.

"Well, if I didn't lose like I did, I would have won." Chuchu declared.

"Maybe, but I won so that's that. Besides, I think a certain puff needs help getting home."

Kirby giggled. "Oh, I'll be fine getting home on my own, but I'd love for all of you guys to come with me!"

"We would have anyway. You can barely stand as it is."

"Ah! You're right!" As the puff said that, Nago picked him up and began to roll him along.

"Isn't that uncomfortable?" Pitch asked.

"No, this is how he usually moves me." Kirby replied.

"Why?"

"I dunno."

"Because he's a ball."

"Uhh... ok then."

Without another word, Nago began to roll Kirby back to his house as Pitch and Chuchu followed after him.

"Are you sure it's safe to roll him around right after he almost drowned?"

"He's fine with it. Right, Kirby?"

"Sure I am." Kirby said with swirls in his eyes.

"That's not fine!"

"Are you deaf? He just said it was."

"His eyes are spinning!"

"All eyes spin, its normal."

"But not like... having swirls in his eyes!"

"It's fine, his house isn't far."

"He's right! I can see it right over there!" Pitch pointed.

"Then let him walk the rest of the way!"

"I could. Or I could do this instead." Nago said, sprinting at high speeds. Well, high speed for a large, lazy cat like Nago, anyway.

Soon, they reached Kirby's house just as the sun was beginning to set.

"Alright, bud, we're at our stop."

Kirby hobbled away from Nago and flopped down onto the ground, his eyes still spinning. "Th-thank you..." He uttered, still sounding extremely dizzy.

"Are you ok?" The cat asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm good..."

"Well, I think it'd be best to just take it easy for the rest of the day." Pitch said, after a moment of looking at the dizzy child.

"Sure thing!" The puff said quickly as he almost instantly fell asleep.

"Kirby, you should wait to do that for when you get inside!" Chuchu complained.

"Nah, he's got the right idea." Nago said, immediately falling asleep next to the pink puff.

"But wouldn't it be better inside?! You know, with like a bed and shelter and stuff!?" She shouted, trying to push the cat towards the door.

However, she got no response, as Pitch had also fallen asleep on top of Nago's head. After pouting for a moment, the octopus gave a huff.

"Ugh... fine. I guess I'll sleep too." She snuggled up next to Kirby, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

The four friends slept peacefully with smiles on their faces.

A short story this time, but I hope you all enjoyed it.

Sorry for not posting for a while, I was taking a break to not get burnt out. The next chapter of Deathberry should be formatted before the end of this month.