Chapter 4 - Closing wounds

Coco and Aku Aku were talking in the front yard of the house while Polar and the other pets were resting beside them. Both the smart bandicoot and the magic mask thought that the girls' visit could help cheer up Crash. They knew perfectly well that it was his family with whom he tended to hide his emotions, so he could let them out with the help of Ami and the others. The conversation ended when they heard engines approaching. It was the now ex-Nitro Squad, who reappeared from the jungle in their karts and parked near the entrance.

"Hi, girls" Coco greeted them. "How did it go?"

"Well… by telling you that we surprised those two having lunch together, you can get an idea" Isabella replied a little awkwardly. "In fact, we have left the group."

"Oh…" Coco said. She knew that the meeting would be very uncomfortable, but not to the point that everyone fought with Tawna. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was the best choice" Ami tried to hide her disappointment with a strong attitude. "If you want, we can tell you everything."

"Of course" Aku Aku said.

"Hold on, girls" Megumi interrupted. "Coco, hasn't Crash come home yet? I want to talk to him."

"Not yet. He must be somewhere on the beach" Coco pointed where Crash usually goes. "You could try to talk to him, but every time Aku Aku and I do that, he pretends nothing happens. He always encloses himself" she said sadly.

"I see" Megumi gave a reassuring smile to the bandicoot's sad sister. "Don't worry. I will bring him back."

"Do you want us to go with you?" Isabella asked. "We also want to help."

"I'm sorry girls. I think it would be a bad idea" Megumi said without wanting to offend her friends. "If we all go together, Crash could feel overwhelmed and we would not achieve anything except scaring him."

Ami and the others had doubts about letting her go alone. They thought that Megumi would be planning to confess to Crash her feelings, which was a bad idea because it would further complicate the poor hero's psychological condition. But then, they remembered how many times they were sad or in a bad mood, and she has always been there to comfort them. In addition, Megumi was not the kind of person who takes advantage of others, so they decided to trust her.

"Okay, Megumi" Isabella smiled at her. "We wish you luck."

"Thank you" Megumi gave her friend a thumb up before going with Crash.

After she moved away at a distance inaudible to others, Aku Aku decided to speak. "Do you think she can help him?"

"I'm not sure" Isabella replied. "But, for now, all we can do is trust her."

"Okay" Coco said with some hope. "And you, Ami. Were you going to tell us what happened with Tawna?"

"Sure" the green-haired bandicoot replied as she and the others sat on the yard logs. "You see…"

While Ami told Coco and Aku Aku about the events that happened almost an hour ago, Crash was several meters away from them, sitting on the beach and looking at the sea. He was still sad about Tawna, but what happened with his sister this morning made him feel worse. He knew that his family wanted to help him, but the fear that his condition would be irreversible and, consequently, he could never forget his ex-girlfriend didn't give him the courage to accept their help. He didn't want them to waste time with his problem.

"Hi, Crash" a familiar voice brought the bandicoot out of his thoughts. He got quite surprised when he saw it was an old friend.

"Megumi?" Crash asked. It had been a while since the last time he saw her. "What are you doing here… in Wumpa Island?"

"My friends and I are visiting" she replied. "We decided to take a vacation and chose to come here. Besides, I wanted to hear you speak with your new voice in person."

"Oh… I see" Crash said while trying to hide his condition with a fake smile. "Welcome."

"Thank you" Megumi said happily, but then she noticed the falsehood of her friend's smile, so she decided to sit next to him. She wanted to show him that he can trust her. "And how are you?"

"Well… I don't complain" Crash lied and struggled to pretend joy, which was difficult because of how close he was to her. "You already know me. Living a quiet life with my family and being aware if Cortex returns to his old ways."

"Sure, a hero can't leave his job" Megumi said with a sympathetic giggle before taking a more affectionate tone. "I'm glad to see you again. We have all missed you."

Crash felt that he was lowering his guard, so he decided that it was best to get out of that situation as soon as possible. He didn't want Megumi to know about his true mood. "And ... speaking of job, I remembered that I should go to... somewhere else" he said nervously. "It was nice to see you again. See you later!"

"Crash, wait" Megumi said as she put her hand gently on the hero's shoulder, preventing him from standing up. "Don't go. I want to talk to you... please."

Crash didn't want to hear her but, after seeing the concern on his friend's purple eyes, something inside forced him to stay.

"I know what happened with Tawna" Megumi said with some sadness. "Coco and Aku Aku told us everything. Even about the ring."

"Oh..." Crash said with surprise, but he tried again to pretend joy, with some trouble. "I'm fine, Megumi. Things like that can happen."

"No, Crash. You're not fine" she said. "We all know that you are suffering a lot. Please, we want to help you."

"But why?" Crash was beginning to feel very uncomfortable. "I'm serious. I'm perfectly fi…" before he could continue lying, Crash was stopped by something he was not expecting: Megumi wrapped her arms around him and hugged him gently.

"Crash… please" Megumi whispered in his ear with a sad but soft voice. "You don't have to hide your feelings. You are my friend and I wish you to be happy. I really want to help you."

Crash was surprised. He didn't expect his friend to show him that amount of concern and affection. He didn't even have any idea how important he was for her until now.

"Don't worry" Megumi kept talking sweetly in his ear and gently stroked his back with her hand. "You can let it all out. I won't judge you. You know why? Because I care about you."

Gradually, Crash lost strength to keep pretending and, instead, he felt tears rising up his throat. The hug was helping his true feelings to come out.

"We all love you, Crash. Even I do" Megumi continued as tears threatened to leave her friend's eyes. "I do love you."

With those last words, Crash couldn't take it anymore and broke in tears. All the sadness he had accumulated during all this time had finally floated. Megumi's words touched him so much that he didn't resist and decided to hug her back. The sad hero rested his head on his friend's shoulder, who decided to gently stroke his hair while he sobbed.

"I… I loved her!" Crash said through tears. He was having trouble to talk. "I thought we'd be together... forever and...!"

"I know, Crash. I know" Megumi kept whispering softly. "Don't worry... We're here for you."

Both bandicoots were hugging for more than 10 minutes. Crash had stopped crying a few moments ago, but Megumi's hug was so warm and comforting that he didn't want to let her go.

She didn't mind at all. In fact, she wouldn't mind being with him for longer if necessary. She hated to see her friend in such a bad state, so she wanted to make him feel better at all costs, even if they stayed hugged for hours and her lab outfit was soaked in tears.

However, Crash didn't want to bother her, so he pulled away from the hug. They both stared into each other's eyes while Megumi gave him a warm smile and stroked his cheek in affection.

"Better?" She asked softly.

"Y-yes" Crash stammered and gave her a smile back. He had trouble speaking correctly due to his crying a while ago. "Thank you… Megumi."

"No, Crash. Thanks to you for sharing your feelings" she said. "Glad to see you smile again."

Without Crash expecting it, Megumi kissed his cheek. This caused a slight blush on the hero's face.

"I think it will be better to return. Your family may be worried" she stood up and held out her hand to help him up. "Do you want to greet my friends?"

"Umm… of course" said Crash, who felt a little strange as he took her hand.

As they walked back home, Crash couldn't help looking at Megumi. He knew she was kind and gentle by nature, but not to the point that she cared deeply for him. All those signs of affection, including the kiss of a few moments ago, caused Crash to have strange feelings about his friend.

"By the way, Crash. Every time you're sad, if you want to talk to someone or you need a shoulder to cry on, count with me. I'm here for whatever you need." said Megumi, whose face began to blush a little. "Even... if you need a hug or something similar."

"Thank you... Megumi" Crash also blushed from that statement. "I'll keep it in mind."

Back with the others, Ami had finished explaining the current situation of her and the other girls.

"So you have nowhere to stay?" Aku Aku asked.

"Unfortunately, no" Liz said. "That's why we shouldn't stay here for too long. If we want to return to the city to find a hotel, we must go through the jungle when there is still light. At night, we won't see anything."

"And was Megumi really going to punch Tawna?" Coco got surprised when Ami told her that part. She didn't want to admit it, but deep down she would have liked to see it.

"If we hadn't arrived on time, yes" Isabella replied with an embarrassed smile. "It is logical that surprise you. Normally, Ami is the grumpy of the group."

"Yeah... said the girl who throws tantrums when losing a race" Ami replied, earning a furious look from the blonde bandicoot.

"Oi, look!" Liz pointed to two figures approaching from the beach. They were Megumi and Crash. "It's them."

As they approached, Coco noticed something different in her brother. His smile, although still somewhat sad, was no longer forced, but genuine.

"Hi, girls" Crash timidly greeted the three female bandicoots. He was still exhausted from a while ago. "How have you been?"

They all looked at each other surprised by the sudden change of the hero, but when they saw that Megumi winked at them, they realized that she had managed to comfort him, so everyone decided to act normally.

"How you doing, champ?" Ami gave him a friendly handshake. "I'm glad to see you."

"Hello, Crash!" Liz hugged him affectionately. "Your new voice sounds different from when you spoke to us by video call."

"Yeah, I know" he laughed shyly before looking at Coco. "I still can't believe that my little sister has done an incredible job."

Coco was still processing her brother's change of attitude, but seeing that something of his former personality had returned made her feel very happy.

Meanwhile, Isabella kindly placed her hand on the shoulder of the still sad hero. "How do you feel, Crash?" she said softly. "I guess Megumi has talked to you. Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. A little… thanks to her" Crash said as he turned to see his blue-haired friend, who responded with a smile.

Suddenly, strange noises were heard. When everyone tried to find out where they came from, they realized that it was Liz's stomach.

"I'm sorry…" she had caught everyone's attention, which made her feel embarrassed. "We were so distracted by everything that happened that we forgot to go eat something in the city."

"Don't worry" Aku Aku smiled. "We were about to prepare fish and chips. We have enough for everyone."

"Great!" said Isabella, whose face lit up when she heard about the fish. "Thanks a lot. I'm starving."

"You're welcome" the mask laughed a little at that reaction. "Let's go inside."

But before they entered the house, Coco recalled the fact that they are looking for a hotel. Suddenly, she had an idea in her head. "Hold on, guys" she stopped them and looked at the green-haired bandicoot. "Ami, you said that you all had nowhere to stay. True?"

"Exactly" she answered. "Why you ask?"

"Well… Why don't all of you spend your vacation with us?"

"HUH?!" All were surprised at that question, except Aku Aku, who decided to analyze the idea in silence.

"You mean... all of us... with you there?" Isabella pointed at the siblings' house. "Don't you think we will become a nuisance?"

"None of that. I insist" Coco smiled. "You'll be our guests. We will make your stay here pleasant."

"Maybe it's not a bad idea" Aku Aku said after meditating about it. "Besides, we have two rooms available for you, each with double beds. But of course, it's your decision. What do you say?"

Ami, Isabella and Liz were not sure. They didn't want to become a burden for their friends, even if it's only for a month. But then they saw Megumi, who secretly begged with their hands for them to accept, and Crash, who still needed to recover from that bitter experience about Tawna.

As for Crash himself, he liked the idea. Since Megumi comforted him a moment ago, he wanted to spend more time with her, so this was the perfect opportunity.

"Can you excuse us for a moment?" Ami said as she left with her friends for a private conversation.

While the four former members of the Nitro Squad were discussing about the issue, Crash took the opportunity to talk with his family. "Coco, Aku Aku… forgive me" he said in a sad tone, catching the attention of both of them. "I am very sorry to have worried you all this time. I didn't want my mood to affect you too, so I thought it was best to keep distances. But… it seems that I ended up doing the opposite: I made things worse."

"Crash" Coco said as she took her brother's hands and looked at him affectionately "You don't have to apologize. That's from the past. The most important thing now is your well-being. We want to help you overcome this."

"Exactly, my child" Aku Aku said. "We are a family and, as such, we support each other. Do not forget that we love you."

"Thank you, guys" Crash hugged his sister warmly. "I love all of you too."

While the three enjoyed the family moment, Crash felt someone touching his ankle. When he took a look, he realized that it was Polar in the company of Pura and Baby-T, who were happy to see him in a better mood. What none of them knew is that Ami and the others had secretly seen them while they were talking. The moment was so touching for them that they had no heart to reject Coco's offer. They wanted to help them, so they made a decision.

"Guys" Isabella said with a warm smile, catching the attention of the Bandicoot family. "We were talking and... we will gladly accept to spend our vacation with you."

Everyone was glad to hear that, especially Crash.

"But with one condition" Ami said confidently. "We are not going to let you do all the work. We will also help."

"Ami, that's not necessary" Coco said.

"Guests also have tasks, so say no more" Megumi said as she winked at Crash's sister.

"Okay, girls. You win" Aku Aku smiled at them. "Well, who is hungry?"

"I am!" Liz raised her hand. "But first, we must bring our luggage."

"No problem. Let us give you a hand" Coco gestured to Crash to also help.

Together they loaded the suitcases of the ex-Nitro Squad. As everyone walked to the entrance of the house, Coco spoke with her adoptive father. "It will be a long month. Isn't it?" she asked him.

"Who knows?" Aku Aku replied. "Maybe, this experience will serve to strengthen ties between us. You'll be surprised about what can happen in a short time."

Autor's note: There are some things I want to explain:

1. As many people know, I have this story in both English and Spanish. I started writing it in Spanish but, when I ended chapter 4, I decided to translate the whole story in English. Now that both versions are equal in progress, I can continue to write the following chapters. For now on, once I finish writing one chapter in Spanish, I'm going to translate it to English and publish both versions of that chapter at the same time.

2. Many people may think I hate Tawna, but no. I actually like her (mostly her version from Nitro-Fueled) and I'm glad she is having her own place in the franchise. I just hate her counterpart from the Japanese mangas, which fortunately are not considered as canon. Part of this story is most likely my vision about what I think about this whole "Pinstripe excuse".

3. About Isabella and her liking for fish... well... Do you remember her "tune-up" quote being usually confused with "tuna"? That was a hint.

Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter. See you later. :)