Yelling is how you show friendship.
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Chapter 2: A Very Loud Reunion
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Kid grimaced as he carefully navigated his way around numerous branches.
After a lot of running and some disorientation, Kid had finally made it out of the Temple. Not even bothering to look back, he had run through the eerily quiet and infertile fields surrounded the Temple he had just left, bright Sun beating down on him. After that he had passed by a small hill to see a small valley filled with fruit-bearing trees; olives, oranges, lemons, apricots and so on.
"Oi!" came a loud voice and Kid whipped his head around. He'd recognize that voice from anywhere. Through the branches Kid saw a figure pass from tree to tree until it faced Kid and pointed a hand at him. "Hey, if you're from that dark place or whatever, come face me coward-!"
"Black Star, it's me," Kid said as he stepped forward, leaning under another thick branch and get a clear look of his friend. He didn't pay much attention to Black Star's question, having known the assassin long enough to expect some nonsense from him every now and then.
To his credit, Black Star's expression changed from a triumphant smirk, to a confused frown, to a cheery smile within an instant. "Oh, hey Kid!"
Kid's frown deepened. The familiar soul he had sensed back at the Temple was Black Star's soul. Still… "How did you end up here?"
Black Star shrugged but paused moments later. "Hey, wait a sec!" He pointed an accusatory finger at Kid. "If you're here to fight that dark champion dude too-!"
Kid crossed his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about. I woke up here with no recollection of how I arrived."
That gave Black Star pause again, as he stood up fully and placed his hands on his hips, frowning. "Same. So, uh, any idea how to get back home?"
Kid looked around him and sighed. "None whatsoever."
Black Star looked down at the ground and kicked the dirt. Kid let his shoulders drop as well. Even if he had found a familiar face, the two of them were still utterly lost about how or why they ended up in this mysterious island.
"So," Kid diplomatically said a after a few moments, "what was that you were talking about earlier? It sounds as if you're off to fight someone-"
Black Star looked up and gave kid a wide smirk. "Oh yeah! So like, I woke up in this village or something, and there were people cheering me on and calling me their Champion -it was awesome!- and then they said that their home was in danger or something and I have to defeat some rival champion to help them, so here I am!" Black Star said in one breath that had Kid frown in concern. "Protecting my subjects!"
Kid sighed. "They're not your…" Upon Black Star's blank look Kid took in a sharp breath. "You know what, sure. What about this other Champion of yours? I assume you're headed their way."
"Yeah, one of the dudes back at the village said I'd find the guy there!"
Before Kid could react, Black Star had reached around his shoulder, brought him close and spun him around. Kid, practically pressed against Black side, glanced between him and where he was pointing at and his eyes widened.
Black Star was pointing at the mountain. Specifically, the Temple. The place Kid had woken up in.
Kid's face fell. "Wait."
Before he could get another word in, Black Star had let go of Kid and was marching towards the mountain. "See ya-"
Mentally cursing, Kid followed after him. "Black Star, wait-!"
Looking back at Kid, Black Star gave him a friendly wave as he kept his pace steady. "Don't worry, Kid, I won't be gone longer than a sec, just gotta kick this guy's ass-!"
"That's where I woke up!" Kid shot back as he pointed at the Temple.
Black Star paused halfway through a step and Kid let his hand drop.
A second of silence passed.
"So you got that guy before I had a chance!" Black Star accused Kid, finger-pointing included. "That's cheating-!"
"What, no!" Kid swatted away Black Star's hand. "Black Star I suspect I am that other 'Champion'," he made sure to gesture quote marks at the word, "the village you came from spoke of."
Black Star took a step back, dumbfounded. "Eh?"
Kid gestured at the Temple. "I woke up in there. The only people were me and another unconscious human, but they didn't look they could put up much of a fight, let alone be a 'Champion' of any sorts. Plus, since you are a so-called Champion and you woke up here with no recollection of how they arrived…" Kid trailed off meaningfully, letting Black Star connect the dots.
Black Star, hands akimbo, stared at the ground for a few moments, "So…" he began in confusion, "I gotta fight you…?"
Kid barely held back his immense desire to facepalm. "I'd rather we don't. And it's not like I intend to harm any village in the first place."
Black Star scratched his head as he looked from Kid to the Temple. "I guess we don't have to fight if you don't want to." He leaned in conspiratorially to Kid with a smirk. "Chicken."
Kid narrowed his eyes at Black Star and made a mental note to yell at him later, after they'd figured this mess out. "You said you woke up in a village, right?"
"Yeah," Black Star said in recollection. "It was very nice, had a lot of buildings, and trees, and was right by the beach. Like something out of a postcard or something."
Kid felt his mood worsen. Ah yes, let Black Star wake up in a tropical paradise while Kid did so in the world's creepiest pool. Honestly, the world wasn't fair.
"Did you ask them where you are, or even if they know how you got here?" Kid asked.
"Oh, that!" Black Star sheepishly scratched his neck. "I, uh, forgot-"
Kid choked on his own words. "You forgot- what- how?!"
"Hey, there was a lot of stuff happening-!" Black Star shot back.
Kid stared at Black Star for a few seconds. "You know what, I'm not gonna argue." He turned his back to the Temple and began walking. "Now, let's get back."
Black Star caught up with him moments later. "Back where?"
"To the village of course." Kid looked in the sky, at the setting sun that filtered through the foliage. "It's getting dark and you'll need a place to sleep-"
"Pft, I'm sleeping right here!"
There was the sound of a body falling to the floor and when Kid turned around he saw Black Star lying on the ground, using his hands like a pillow.
Kid's right eye twitched, followed by his left for symmetry's sake. "What are you doing?"
"Resting." Black Star threw his hands up in excitement. "It'll be like camping-"
"There's a perfectly habitable village right next door-!"
"Yeah, but they're weird." Black Star dropped his hands and looked up at Kid. "Do you think it'd be better if we go back?"
"Compared to the wilderness, yes!"
Black Star gave Kid a long look. Just when Kid was about to ask if there was something more to Black Star's aversion, the boy threw his hands up again, his lost cheer returning with a vengeance. "Come on, where's your sense of adventure?!"
Kid mumbled a stream of curses.
"And like, look at this place! It's just trees!"
"And lightning is just static electricity," Kid mumbled under his breath.
Still, Black Star may have a point. Looking around, they were surrounded with trees, buzzing cicadas and the occasional fly being the only other living beings around them. Occasionally he saw a bee resting on a few flowers growing by the side of trees.
Was this the greatest danger here? Bees?
Kid looked at the vegetation again, taking note of the chamomiles, daisies and dried woody husks of various weeds. This type of flora was found in Mediterranean environments, and if Kid remembered correctly, the biggest danger in such an environment were venomous snakes, but they were rare. Not to mention that if Kid stuck close to Black Star then he wouldn't have to worry about animal attacks. The elements were another matter entirely, but judging by the dried weeds, it was summer, and the temperature was what someone in Death City would call comfortably warm.
Kid grabbed one of the hanging fruits, a green fig barely bigger than a walnut and frowned. The entire branch of the fig tree swayed as Kid observed the fruit. Despite its colouring that indicated it was ripe, it was too small in size and slightly sagging. The rest of the figs were like that as well, all small and weirdly bulging.
Frowning, Kid snapped the fig away from the tree but held the branch in his other hand. It came off easily, but where Kid expected white milk-like sap to trickle out from the stem, barely a drop came out. From what Kid remembered on an educational trip of the DWMA, unripe figs usually dripped a lot more sap.
So, Kid wasn't imagining things. The fig was ripe, as evidenced by its colour and lack of sap. Still, though…
Kid pried the fig open and paused.
It was rotten inside. Where he expected to see countless small seeds covered in red, all that was in the fig was a slurry of digested seeds, sugar and parts of the outer shell.
Letting the fig fall to the ground Kid looked to the other trees as well; the olives were an unripe green, the oranges were small and dripped their contents, while the apricots looked like deflated balloons.
A knot of worry formed on his stomach. Considering it was summer, there shouldn't be any rotten fruit. All the other flora looked relatively healthy though, so it might be some localised disease. Still, Kid didn't know of any type of disease could affect a wide variety of fruits, let alone in such a way. He'd have to get to the bottom of this eventually, when Black Star would stop being so stubborn and they could just go where civilisation was…
But, no matter how silly it sounded in Kid's head, there was that look Black Star had given him before…
Was there a reason Black Star didn't want to go back to the village besides his usual stubborn-headedness? Was Black Star aware of that reason, or was he going by gut feeling?
Kid let out a sigh. When Black Star did get stubborn like this, changing his mind was an exercise in futility. Even when it came to the rotten fruit, he could just make sure Black Star wouldn't eat any of them. "Fine. We're spending the night here."
Black Star let out a whoop as he picked himself up and stretched his back. Small branches and leaves were stuck all over his hair. "Alright!" He then immediately went and sat against a large fig tree.
Kid took a deep breath. "What are you doing now?"
"Catching a few z's."
Kid lightly poked him with his foot. "Get up. We need to build a shelter, a campfire, as well as find food and a source of clean water."
Black Star let out a long-suffering groan. "Aw, come on…"
"No buts. I will get started on the shelter and campfire, you find us food."
Black Star opened his eyes and gave Kid a frown before looking up at the fig tree. "Uh, there's stuff everywhere-"
"A lot of it rotten and I'm not having you eating rotten things," Kid said with crossed hands.
Black Star let down another groan but did get himself up. "Ugh fine. Be right back."
"As I said, make sure to open the fruits and check if they're rotten," Kid said as Black Star was leaving.
"Ok."
"And don't eat anything before we make sure it's not poisonous."
"Ok…"
"Also don't drink anything because it might be contaminated-"
"Yes mom!"
"Don't take that tone with me-"
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Changed weekly update day to Sunday cause that's when I have some free time lol
Feedback is appreciated.
