Under a moonless sky.
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Chapter 3: An Utter Lack of Camping Etiquette
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Hours later, Black Star sat cross-legged and with crossed hands as he looked over a pathetically small pile of fruit.
He turned to Kid who was staring at the pile with a frown and hand on his chin.
"Uh, guess we're fasting tonight?" Black Star was an absolute disaster when it came to cooking, but even he recognized that what little fruit he had gathered could not sate two people, especially not when one of them was Black Star.
On a level, Black Star was frustrated. He had been picking fruit for what felt like hours, and almost every single time he opened one he was met with a dark disgusting slurry. It didn't matter if their appearance was pristine, inside they were filled with the tarry remains.
"I'm not eating," Kid nonchalantly said, still staring at the fruit.
"Then who did I gather all this food for?!"
"For you, of course," Kid immediately replied, not missing a beat.
Black Star was about to yell at Kid again for making him gather so much food but paused. Had Kid accounted for Black Star's enormous appetite? Was that why he'd implied he'd be eating as well? Had he expected Black Star to find very little edible food?
Why that sly little Grim Reaper-
"Maybe…" Kid mumbled to himself and picked up a wayward apricot, split in half and oozing that black slurry.
Before Black Star could react, Kid took a bite out of the apricot.
"Hey, that's rotten." He narrowed his eyes at Kid as he coughed and grimaced. "And you said you're not eating."
"I'm testing to see if they're poisonous," Kid said with another cough, expression still sour. "Haven't seen this type of rot before." He coughed again. "Ugh, this tastes vile…"
Black Star crossed his hand and rolled his eyes. "And you told me not to eat anything-"
After another coughing fit, Kid doubled over and begun dry-heaving. Black Star rushed over to him, holding him upright by the shoulders.
"Kid?" Through the coughs, Black Star would later hate how quiet his own voice was.
Kid grabbed Black Star's hand and gave it a squeeze. "They're… poisonous alright."
Black Star gulped. Poison? Shit that wasn't good. What was one supposed to do when someone got poisoned?
"Don't worry Kid, I got this!" Black Star yelled as he positioned himself behind Kid, wrapped his hands around his stomach and squeezed. "I'll have you throwing up in no time!"
With surprising strength, Kid pushed black Star away, somehow managing to make his coughs sound annoyed. "No, it's... fine. Effects… temporary." He took in a deep breath and Black Star relaxed, right before he started coughing again and Black Star instinctively reached out to him. "Oh dear, it's strong and ugh…" Kid clutched his stomach, slumping over, "the taste…"
"Uh," Black Star let out, "you sure you don't want to make you throw up or something…?"
"Just… give me a second." Kid took a few more deep breaths and straightened up. Black Star couldn't help but notice that he'd gone paler. "I think I'm fine now."
Oh, good, Black Star could breathe normally again. "The hell was that?! Doesn't rot give you like, stomach cramps of something?!"
"Yes. This…" Kid frowned as he looked at the discarded fruit. "This is outright poison. Heart-stopping and such."
Crap. So the rot was deadly? Good thing Black Star hadn't tried to eat any of the fruit before meeting Kid.
"Something is wrong with the land," Kid muttered as he looked around the tree-line, as if the one responsible would simply jump out at them. "With the island itself."
It was the complete sincerity with which Kid had said that last part that sent a shiver up Black Star's spine. It was suppressed immediately -after all, someone who had surpassed God shouldn't have shivers up their spine- but still. Damn Kid and his ominous statements.
The silence that fell among them was interrupted when Black Star's stomach let out a loud growl.
"Right…" Kid looked at the small pile of fruit and the small flame he had created, encircled by stones and using fallen branches and leaves as fuel. "I think we should cook the fruit, just in case."
Black Star watched as Kid took a thin branch and used it as a skewer, impaling bits or orange, apricot, mandarin, half a fig and a couple of grapes on it. He gave it to Black Star who held it over the open flame as he went on to prepare a couple of more skewers.
The two stood in silence, accompanied only the sound of cackling fire and buzzing cicadas. Sometimes, Black Star would hear a distant sound of waves hitting rocks, of branches creaking under a soft warm wind. The sun had set a while ago, bathing the place in darkness. The moon was nowhere to be found, engulfed by the Black Blood, a black orb that disappeared into the dead of night.
With Kid was methodically making more skewers for Back Star to hold while occasionally adding a bit of fuel in the flame, Black Star found himself at peace.
Kid gave Black Star a small poke and pointed at the first skewer he'd given the boy. "This should be ready to eat. I can hold a couple of skewers if you want a free hand."
"Sure," Black Star as he handed a hand's worth of skewers to Kid and took a bite out of the one that had been deemed 'ready'.
To Black Star's surprise, the fruits tasted great. They were soft, mushy even, and had a deep caramel-like flavor. It was like a dessert, almost.
Black Star practically inhaled his skewer, just in time for Kid to give him another one. "Yo, this is great!" He looked over at Kid. "You should eat one too, it's like honey."
"I don't need to-"
Before Kid could protest, Black Star shoved one of his skewers right in front of Kid's face.
"I'm not gonna die if you eat a skewer's worth of fruit, Kid." Black Star meant it as a joke, but from the sincerely thoughtful look he received he feared he may have made his humor too abstract for the Grim Reaper.
And so their game of 'get the other to eat' took off. Black Star and Kid would give each other skewers that they thought were ready. While Black Star would wolf his skewer down, from the corner of his eye he spied Kid only picking away at his portions and then trying to pass them off to Black Star again. Black Star wanted to protest but another pang from his stomach had him devouring another skewer that he was pretty sure he'd already passed on to Kid.
He would get Kid later for this.
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Many skewers later, Black Star found himself with a full belly and dozing off.
Black Star looked over at Kid who attended over the faintly-glowing remains that used to be their fire. Since it was already warm, hot even, the two had decided to put out the fire, preventing them from accidentally starting a wildfire while asleep.
As Kid piled more dirt on the dying embers, Black Star looked up at the sky. Any traces of sunlight were gone and the sky was only illuminated by a few faint stars.
There was a bzt in his ear, followed by a prickling sensation on one of his arms. "Ouch," Black Star said as he swatted his hand, crushing whatever was prickling him. Bringing his palm up, he saw the bloody remains of his attacker.' "Stupid mosquito."
"Mosquitos?" Kid repeated. "Were you bitten?"
"I think so." Another bzt in his ear and Black Star waved his hands around his face. "Ugh, stupid things are buzzing all around me."
With surprising speed Kid was by Black Star and pushing him forward. "In the shelter, now."
"Hey," Black Star protested, "why are you freaking out-?"
"Mosquitoes are vectors of disease," Kid replied with some urgency. "Honestly, the things some of them carry…"
Black Star rolled his eyes but allowed himself to be pushed towards the shelter. Their so-called structure was just a bunch of giant palm leaves stacked against an olive tree like a tent. Dried leaves had been used to make the 'floor' but they served more like annoyances in Black Star's opinion. He was also beginning to think Kid wasn't that well-versed in the whole shelter-making business, but hey, he had tried.
"I'll be fine," Black Star drawled as he kept being pushed towards the shelter. "Aren't they biting you too?"
"No, for obvious reasons."
Black Star looked back at Kid and narrowed his eyes.
"Oh for crying out- I am a-the Grim Reaper, Black Star," Kid quickly corrected himself and Black Star held back a frown. "Most animals are sensible enough to avoid me."
Black Star narrowed his eyes further and leaned back closer to the Grim Reaper, as if challenged.
Kid's ensuing glare could wilt flowers. "Key word being sensible-"
"Then you come into the shelter too."
"Why-?"
"Cause the shelter's got no doors and it has holes so mosquitos can easily come in but if you're in with me that means that they'll avoid you and I won't be bitten," Black Star said in one breath as he found himself outside the shelter. Also, he'd like the company. "Duh!"
Taking advantage of Kid's momentary confusion, Black Star got him in a headlock and maneuvered his way inside the shelter, falling and taking Kid with him.
Kid looked up from where he'd landed and spat out leaves. "This is childish." He made a motion to stand up but Black Star had one hand around his back and pressed down. "Black Star!"
"Come on, stay~" Black Star said with a groan as he clutched to Kid's shirt. "It's gonna be boring otherwise…"
"I thought you wanted me as a mosquito repellent."
"Yeah, that too~"
With a groan Kid settled back on the ground as Black Star yawned and stretched.
Huh. Despite its appearance, the shelter was surprisingly comfortable. Soundproof even. The constant buzzing of the cicadas quieted down to a low rumble. Even the floor leaves were gathered in such way that resembled a pillow at the top.
"Hey, this is pretty good," Black Star looked over at Kid as he let out another yawn. "You done something like this before?"
To Black Star's surprise, Kid paused. For a second his gaze became vacant. "I…" he let out, looking at the shelter as if seeing for the first time. "I'm not sure…"
Kid's troubled expression bothered Black Star so he let out a loud laugh, causing the Grim Reaper to flinch and look at him disapprovingly. "Hey, cheer up! We're camping!"
With a roll of his eyes, Kid turned his back to Black Star as he settled into the shelter. "Whatever."
As the two sat in silence, Black Star realized that they were … close. Close enough that it made the shelter felt warm, close enough that Black Star could hear Kid's breaths, or more specifically, the lack of them.
Black Star gave Kid a gentle poke and the Grim Reaper turned around to face him with a frown. "What?"
Black Star's initial response was planned to be 'nothing', but then he noticed how alert Kid seemed to be, as if he hadn't let himself relax one bit. "Lemme guess, you're not sleeping?"
The leaves rustled as Kid gave Black Star a shrug. "I don't need to-"
"You will." That vaguely sounded like a threat and Black Star wasn't quite sure if he'd intended that or not.
Judging by Kid's frown he had taken that as a threat. "Or what?"
"Or I won't sleep either!"
Kid's frown was replaced by a flabbergasted expression. "Why won't you sleep-?!"
"Cuz I'm the one who's surpassed you, so whatever you don't need I don't need it too!"
Kid gave him a long look before groaning and turning his back on Black Star. "Ugh, fine, it that's what it'll get you to sleep."
Black Star blinked as Kid went silent. He… hadn't expected that reaction. "Hey Kid," he began, "Uh, I kinda meant that as a joke-"
"I'm trying to sleep," came Kid's even voice. "Unlike some, I have to expend effort and concentrate to do so."
"Come on grumpy-pants, cheer up," Black Star drawled. "We're stuck in a mysterious island and people are calling us Champions."
"…And?"
"And?!" Black Star repeated. "Come on, last I saw you was when you became the Academy's Headmaster and was like, half a year ago!" Now, why Black Star hadn't bothered to visit Kid again was another matter entirely. "The last six months have been so boring…"
"They've been busy for me."
"Yeah, I bet, which is why this is so exciting!"
With a sigh, Kid turned around and faced Black Star with a frown. "What do you mean?"
"Come on… You and me. The man who surpassed God and the God of Death. Finally meeting up after a long time stranded on a mysterious island. On an adventure!" Black Star even added jazz hands to that last bit, but Kid remained completely unimpressed.
Kid rolled to the other side. "Haven't we had enough of those?"
"What?!" Black Star drawled. "No way dude, think of all the twist and turns-!"
"I've had enough surprises to last me several lifetimes."
There was an odd finality in Kid's statement that gave Black Star pause. Though he hadn't seen Kid in a while, he could easily recall all the little details that signified his mood, from odd twitched to changes in his pitch. Yet he had never heard Kid sound so…tired.
With a hum, Black Star laid against his back, looking at the leafy roof of their shelter. "I still think this is gonna be fun."
"It never is," came Kid's tired voice.
"Bet?"
"No, because I tend to win these things."
Again, Black Star found himself without a witty remark to shoot back. He thought about replying with a boisterous laugh instead and say Kid would lose, but decided against it. Kid… he didn't seem to be in a good mood, to say the least.
"'Night, Kid," was all Black Star could bring himself to say as he closed his eyes.
"…Goodnight, Black Star," came Kid's voice, eventually.
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Feedback is appreciated.
