Chapter 77: Footsteps of Time

Mid-March, the time of the year where Winter finally decides to head off and let Spring in. The air's getting warmer and the grass greener. Not that any of that matters in Sancturia.

Another morning has come around and Mew's walking his daughter Maria to school. But in an unusual change of pace, his brother Riku's by his side this time.

Riku watches the two walk side-by-side with a doting smile as Mew teases Maria for not brushing her hair enough, then rustling his hand around atop her head.

They laugh and play for a bit until they are standing before the school itself. Mew looks up and sees Maria's two friends, Kris and Nikolas, standing at the door waving their arms up to grab her attention.

"Hurry up Maria, the bell's about to ring!" Shouted Nikolas.

Maria turned around and Mew bent down to look her in the eyes and pat her on the shoulder, "Have fun honey."

"I will, papa!" Maria smiled and kissed Mew on the cheek before going on her merry way.

"Bye!" She waved back.

"Bye Mr. Whiter!" Shouted Kris.

Mew waved his hand up by his chest and chuckled, "Don't get into too much trouble today kids!"

The trio snickered and then went inside the door. With their visages fading behind the glass, Mew folded his arms and sighed.

"She's growing up so fast. Seems like yesterday I adopted her into the family..."

Riku walked up beside Mew and patted him on the back, "Feeling old, brother?"

Mew gently brushed his hand off and turned with a calm smile, "Nah. I'm still a spring chicken."

"Heh, well, I'm glad to see you're enjoying peace time finally."

"Oh yeah, totally," Mew bobbed his head around and waved his hand aside, "Got a driver's license, been hanging out with Maria and Kairi, gotten some good walks in..."

He then propped a hand on his hip and after a brief roll of his head looked Riku square in the eyes and remarked, "Speaking of walks, shall we?"

"Yeah." Riku nodded with a smile and like that, the two wandered off to the edge of Sancturia, and took flight.

Under the guise of the cloudy sky, they made their way down South and surveyed the tree filled plains of Canada for a bit. Then when they passed the border into the USA Mew inquired, "Any idea where you want to go?"

Riku rubbed his chin musing over this for a few seconds and then turned his head at him, "How about somewhere close to home?"

"Are you sure?" Mew asked, "Really really REALLY sure?"

"Yeah, I'm not too picky." Riku's assurdness made Mew roll his eyes to the back of his head and sigh.

"I thought it'd be a good excuse to go to Hawaii but whatever..." Mew gave this matter some thought of his own and then snapped his fingers, "I got it!"

He then guided them down towards a small suburban town, but had them land off on the side of the road on the outskirts. The wind was blowing crisply with the grass dancing in the breeze behind them.

After taking a moment to stretch his arms high Mew glanced aside at Riku and said, "I was surprised to get the call to come hang out this morning, Riku."

"We hadn't done this alone since New Year's." Riku remarked fondly.

"Yeah no kidding," Mew flapped his hands around by his hips and chuckled, "Usually Lunis or Maria tagged along with us. Speaking of which, how's Lunis doing these days?"

"Uhhh, about the same as usual," Riku replied with a bit of hesitation, "You know how she is..."

"Still got books glued to her face?" Mew grinned and nudged his brows playfully.

"At least she's been trying to get out more often lately," Riku replied, partially humored by the remark, "In fact she's off clothes shopping with her brother and Samantha today."

"Well good for her!" Mew gave an earnest nod, "I was starting to worry when I last saw her, looked like she was putting on weight. Any longer spent as a slave to words and she'd start turning into a butterball!"

Riku crossed his arms and tossed him a stern glare, but smirked and laughed it off, "And you wonder why everyone groans around you, brother."

"Hey its my right to speak my mind!" Mew said with a shrug.

"For better and for worse..." Riku groaned.

A car drove right by, kicking up a swift gale that sent Mew's hair into a frenzy. He patted his head down and smirked, while Riku followed the car with a grin.

Mew leaned out to take a closer look at his brother's face with a comment of, "Speaking of enjoying the peace time."

Riku flinched and his grin sheepishly vanished from view. He then slowly rubbed the back of his head while making a remark of, "Yeah, I guess I am, aren't I?"

Mew wrapped his arm around his brother's shoulders and rubbed cheeks with him, grinning unbearably wide all the while, "Well good for you!"

Riku however was a little dour over this, "Its crazy how long its been since I did any real fighting."

He let out a sigh and murmured, "I missed out on Ba'al. I wasn't there to help you with Beerus..."

Mew pulled away with a big sigh and then slapped Riku on the back, making him stumble onto the road. When he backed away Mew crossed his arms and remarked, "Oh that's not your fault come on. I didn't contact you when I should have."

Mew then grinned extra bright and giggled like a hyena, "Boy I could only imagine the look on Beerus' face if we had combined our powers against him."

Riku smiled softly and remarked, "That would've been funny."

Mew paused for a while before smiling himself and tapping Riku on the shoulder, "Ah well, another day then."

He then pointed down the road, "Shall we?"

"Yeah."

Then began a peaceful stroll down the road with the early spring breeze at their backs. It was relaxing. A much needed breath of fresh air, quite literally.

After a short while Riku craned his head towards the sky and breathed deep out his nose. Mew glanced at him with his hands at the back of his head wondering, "What's up?"

Riku jerked back down muttering, "O-Oh nothing I was just...feeling a little nostalgic."

He reached up towards the clouds and whispered, "This blue sky, staring at it from afar. It reminds me of..."

He began to close his hand and groan in an uncomfortable manner, placing his fist on his chest and closing his eyes.

The stroll took a backseat for the moment so Mew could offer his brother some comforting words, "If you need to talk we can take a rest here."

Riku creaked his eyes open with a smile, "No its fine. Someday I'll tell you the rest of that story. Its just...I'm still not ready."

Mew puckered his lips and shrugged, "A'right."

He then grinned and put on a more chipper tone to lift his brother's spirits, "I really am excited to learn what worlds you went to and who you got to hang out with! Plus like, you still haven't told me how you unlocked Genesis Form."

"And so you don't get any bright ideas, I don't think I will." Riku said with a playfully smirk as he continued to walk down the road.

"Ah, party pooper!" Mew let out a "Hmph!" and then strolled after him with his hands back behind his head.

Halfway to the city itself, Riku glanced aside at Mew and asked him, "Hey uhhh, you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

Mew tilted back and barked, "Shoot, go right ahead!"

Riku paused in contemplation, fiddling his fingers around in the air before averting his eyes away from Mew entirely and saying, "What do you find...attractive in a girl?"

Mew applied the brakes to his legs instantly and stared at Riku with bulged out eyes. Riku paused and slowly swiveled back, left feeling a bit flustered at his reaction.

"M-Mew...?

Mew squeezed his eyes shut, grinned, and pumped his fist triumphantly by his chest with a gasp of "Yes!"

He then trotted on up to Riku and gave him a big ol' hug, "You really are my brother!"

"W-Was that ever in question...?" Riku stammered.

Mew pulled off, gripping his brother by the shoulders and giving him a firm nod of pride. He then had them keep walking as they continued this fine, gentlemanly conversation.

"So what brought this on?" Mew asked.

"Oh I was just...thinking about it lately," Riku was shy to speak, barely raising his voice past a whisper, "I-I was reading a book recently about how our experiences early on can influence what we find-"

Mew rolled his eyes and hastily mumbled, "Blah blah blah books ok I think I get it."

Riku widened his eyes at Mew as he told him, "Lemme guess, you're feeling romantic lately?"

"S-Something like that..." Riku muttered.

"Aaaah, love has been in the air a lot these days," Mew lowered his head with a snicker, flapping his arms down by his sides, and wiggling them stiffly in place, "First Joe Dark and Alura, then Solaris seems to have a thing for Samantha...Now you've got the love bug, Riku."

Mew then tilted his head and smirked, "Before I tell you my tastes, indulge me. Describe your ideal woman, Riku."

"W-Well..." Riku looked away with a shade of red in his cheeks, "I like...tall girls."

"Tall girls eh?" Mew waved towards him and himself, "We're already six feet tall so the type of girl you like would have to be some sort of...giant."

"Yeah but despite their size...They're cuddly like a teddy bear, and smooth as marble." Riku's smile continued to grow, while Mew eyed him suspiciously.

"They...are?" He teased him with a grin.

Riku sprung right up and muttered, "W-Would be. My bad."

"Uh-huh..." Mew nudged his hand at him and said in a sing-song tone, "Go on."

A lump formed in Riku's neck and he gasped "R-Right" before craning his head and continuing on his way, "I think...I have an attraction to silver haired girls in particular."

"That's oddly specific." Mew said in a joking manner.

"And they'd...probably look cute with or without glasses."

It couldn't have been anymore obvious who Riku was referring to, but it was amusing to watch him try so hard to tip-toe around that after having been caught once.

Mew raised his hands behind his head and asked, "Say this person existed. How would you ask them out on a date?"

"D-Date?" Riku looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights then stared straight ahead with a huff of anguish, "I...wouldn't know the first thing about that."

"Eh, fair enough," Mew logged his brother's expression away in his memory banks and then craned his head to look up at the sky, "Now lets see...the type of girl I'd want to be with."

"Well, she's gotta be tough. Tough as me, maybe tougher, so I wouldn't have to worry about them constantly. I like spunk. The perfect girl's gotta not be afraid to speak her mind even if its to be blunt. I'd want them to look a little fit, height doesn't really matter too much. I'd take 'em short or tall, but being fit is absolutely the important part. The curvier the better but I'm not opposed to someone flat-chested. I'd like them to share a couple of my interests, doesn't matter which except well, maybe they should be a gamer. Hmmm...I guess I'd also like them to be able to make a good strawberry lemonade for me every morning if I happen to sleep in."

Mew paused for a few seconds while Riku stared at him slowly, utterly baffled as to how much thought his brother had put into this.

"Oh yeah!" Mew put finality to his speech with a snap of the fingers and a turn towards Riku, "And they gotta be good with kids."

"...How long have you been thinking about this?" Riku uttered.

"Eh I'd say roughly eight or nine months?" Mew shrugged, "I'm at that age where I think about it a lot."

"No surprise there." Riku jokingly replied.

As they finally reached the town a gas station was there to greet them. Mew stopped for a moment and then started to walk towards it saying, "I'm feeling a little thirsty."

They walked up to a soda vendor and Mew reached into his pocket to pull out a couple dollar bills, inserting them into the slot.

He then hovered his hand around the buttons while looking over his shoulder, "You want anything?"

"If they have a diet soda, sure."

Mew's features nearly slid off his face when he groaned, "Ah, weak."

But nevertheless he gave Riku what he wanted, then inserted some more money to get himself a sugar-heavy drink. It popped with a gratifying fizzle and he gulped a quarter of it down in one swallow, letting out a gasp of relief.

As the brothers continued their walk down the streets Riku was constantly staring at both him and his can. He couldn't help but make a somewhat snide remark at his tastes, "And you judge people on their weight."

It was just a little good-natured ribbing, but Mew fabricated an exaggerated response by spitting up part of his drink and then rubbing the dribbling liquid onto the back of his hand.

"Oi! I ain't got nothin' to worry about here!" Mew slapped his stomach as hard he could and raised his head proudly, "I'll be fit as a fiddle for life!"

"Heh heh!" Riku resumed his drink, while Mew begin to swivel his head around to look at all the buildings.

It was a strip mall area so there was a few antique shops and small-time restaurants along the way. Nothing he wanted to waste time on though. He had a specific place in mind he wanted to visit.

After thirty minutes and a few blocks of walking and sitting later, Mew was mumbling aloud, "Where is that place...?"

"What're you looking for?" Riku chimed in.

"Nowhere," Mew nonchalantly responded but then stopped right then and there and pivoted to his right, "Ah-ha!"

He pointed up at the store sign labeled "Metalheads" and then nudged Riku twice in the hip with his elbow.

"C'mon, lets go give a certain someone a hard time." Mew snickered like a gremlin and then waltzed right up through the front door while Riku shook his head with a sigh and followed.

Inside at the back sat Alura and her two co-workers, Jeff and Stewart. Alura was tuning her guitar, leaving the bozos to pick up the slack for her.

"Yo! Come on in." Jeff stated.

"Heeeeeey, Alura!" Mew ringed merrily, making the little goth perk up with surprise.

She creaked her head back and stared at him as he waved at her.

"Mew." She murmured.

Jeff sprang in his chair and then fell forward, clamping his hands on the front of his seat between his legs, "THAT'S Mew?"

Stewart leaned his head out and added, "The Legendary Perverted Couch Potato?!"

Mew's whole body suffered recoil like he'd just been flicked by the God of Destruction. He then grit his teeth and glared at Alura, who stifled a smirk his way.

Mew wagged his hand out and reprimanded the two numbskulls, "Hey, I'm no Couch Potato!"

"So you're a pervert?" Stewart waved his hands out in invitation towards him, "Welcome to the club!"

Jeff groaned aloud, "We don't need two of you around here."

"I'm not a pervert either, Thing 1 and Thing 2!" Mew yelled with his arms crossed.

"T-Thing 1 and 2?!" Jeff stuttered.

Stewart leaned into his ear and whispered, "Hey am I 1 or 2...?"

"I...don't think that matters." Jeff replied.

Mew then turned his sights on Alura with burning intent and mustered up a scowl as he told her, "Did Joe Dark set you up to this?"

"Uh uh." Alura softly shook her head, focusing more on her guitar than Mew's pesky presence.

And Mew's irritation grew to the point of a vein popping out of his forehead, "Alright you purple-haired gremlin, you've just invited the pain train to your station!"

"Mew," Alura calmly raised her head and looked him square in the eyes, "If you're not going to buy anything, then I'll have to ask you to leave."

Mew stared back then leaned his head out and shook it like a rattle, "I'm sorry what?"

Jeff waved his hand up and remarked, "Yeah its actually uhhh, store policy. We're tight on space so we don't like having loiterers."

"Its on the sign outside." Stewart interjected.

Riku patted Mew on the back and remarked, "Sorry, my brother doesn't like reading."

Mew jerked his head and let out a "Heyyy".

Alura looked back down at her guitar and remarked, "Have a nice day, Mew."

Mew jerked his head back and began to shout "Now wait just a second!" only for Alura to repeat in the exact same, stoic tone, "Have a nice day, Mew."

Mew growled like a hungry bear and then after feverishly tapping his foot on the ground for a bit he threw his hands down and relented with a groan.

"Uuuuugh fine," He approached them in a more normal manner and murmured, "Do you guys have a copy of 'Four Days on Rocky Shore' by the Yelling Bats?"

A few minutes later he was being escorted out the store by Alura with a bag in hand. She waved him off with a tiny smirk.

Mew stared into his bag as him and Riku continued further down the street, "Why do I feel like I've just been conned?"

"I don't know what you thought was going to happen, brother." Riku remarked.

Mew hung the bag on his elbow and faced him looking more than a little pissed off, "She's been on my case ever since that driving license business! I was wanting to humble her but..."

"Ugh...!" He threw his head back with a groan and then grit his teeth, hissing between them, "Little brat thinks she's got big britches just cause she's dating my brother. The nerve on her!"

"You just don't want to admit that she's got your number." Riku was quick to point out.

"Hell no!" Mew swung his head at him with a furious glare, "I'd rather fight Beerus again than admit defeat to HER."

Riku faced forward with a tiny smile and sighed, "You should be happy for her, she's finally settling in to around here."

"Yeah yeah..." Mew crossed his arms in a huff, "But I get this bad feeling that she's being fed the wrong idea of what qualifies as 'normal'. Uuuugh, that girl's gonna be a real pain in the keister one day."

Mew stewed in his defeat for a bit while they enjoyed a stroll through the quiet city. That silence was broken when he came up with another brilliant idea, punctuated by the snap of his fingers.

"I got it!" Mew turned to Riku and suggested, "While we're in the area, why don't we go pay Joe Dark a visit?"

Riku leaned a hand against his hip and groaned, "Don't bug him during work..."

Mew shook his head vehemently in denial, "Nah nothing like that."

He then waved his hand forward and started walking towards the local Safeway, "Follow me."

They walked through the front doors and Mew peered around, stopping towards the cashiers lined up one after another. It wasn't very busy this time of day so Joe Dark's super black hair stood out like a sore thumb.

And since he had no one in line Mew felt free to waltz right on up and say "Hey, bro!" which left Joe Dark's stomach curling and his skin paler in seconds.

"Oh no." He moaned as Mew stopped and leaned against the cash register, propping himself up with one arm.

"So, how's the customer rush going to-"

"Mew please I swear to god, please leave now." Joe Dark insisted with all the kindness his dedication to customer service could muster.

Mew stared with his fluttering whites and then pulled away, waving his hand up and remarking, "I was just gonna invite you out to lunch."

Joe Dark stared back, Mew properly crossed his arms and telling him with a smile, "My treat."

Joe Dark released all his pent-up stress in one massive sigh and groaned tiredly back at him, "I get a break in a half-hour..."

"Awesome! We'll see you then!" So Mew and Riku decided to wait outside the store, chatting about the type of groceries people ferried out until finally, Joe Dark strolled out looking like he had just finished carrying the world on his back.

He undid his tie and stuffed in his pocket with great disdain, then looked to Mew with his eyes half open and remarked, "So where were you planning to go?"

"Good ol' Maccas." Mew replied, with Joe Dark giving him a ghastly stare back.

"You know, Mickey Ds?"

Joe Dark continued to stare.

"...McDonalds." Mew relented.

"Oh," Joe Dark said, coming across more like Alura in her more ignorant moments, "Fuck it that actually sounds pretty good right now. Lets go."

One trip to the golden arches across the street later, the three brothers took a seat at one of their outdoor benches and unfurled their respective burgers from their cheap plastic wrappings.

Joe Dark chomped down on his Big Mac and chewed it for a long while before swallowing with a satisfied gulp. Mew meanwhile dipped his fries in BBQ sauce and stuffed them into his mouth with his palm.

Riku, being Riku, had ordered a salad and a few chicken nuggets.

"This is so good...!" Joe Dark moaned ever so slightly.

Mew raised a brow awkwardly towards him, "Don't get anything on the seat there, bro..."

Joe Dark puckered his stuffed lips and then swallowed another bite. His scowl was temporary, and with his burger laid down he patted his mouth dry with his napkin and said, "So what are you guys doing here anyways?"

"Nothing much." Mew shrugged.

"Just decided to go for a walk." Riku added.

"Yes, because I suppose that's your freedom to do so..." Joe Dark sighed and then drank up a big chunk of his milkshake in one stress-induced gulp.

He slapped the cup down with a sigh and Mew chimed in cautiously to tell him, "Joe I'm seriously worried for your mental health lately."

Joe Dark eyed him with intense, crimson hate and groaned, "I'm perfectly peachy, Mew."

Mew wagged his hands up and muttered, "Whatever, I just don't want to have to defeat you again when you have a breakdown."

Joe Dark stiffened upright looking utterly baffled, "When have you EVER beaten me?"

"What? I totally..." Mew crossed his arms and started spacing out for a while there, "...Have I never beaten you?"

"I think you're the only one of us who hasn't." Riku remarked.

"Well shit!" Mew brushed his hand out towards Joe Dark and told him, "That settles it, we're having a rematch on the moon this weekend!"

"That'll be a hard no from me," Joe Dark groaned with his grip firmly on his milkshake, "I could give less than half a shit about that now."

Mew settled down in a huff and remarked, "Are you just not gonna fight anymore? Like, at all...?"

Joe Dark stared at him and blurted out, "I never said that. When the chips are down I'll be there, you can be damn sure of that. But I got other shit to worry about..."

"Oh yeah," Mew smirked, "Like tending to your clingy new girlfriend."

Joe Dark's eyes ramped up their intensity to solar flare levels while his voice remained as cold as the coldest ice, "Mind repeating that, Mew?"

Mew flinched but was too busy yucking it up to care. Riku, however, broke them up with a cough and then remarked, "You mean preparing to become President, right?"

Joe Dark settled down by taking a deep breath and sighing, "Yes. That."

He projected a vacant stare down at the table as he spoke, "I have to keep doing my best at work to climb the ranks so I can even become rich enough to fund my campaign. Then I have to actually come up with a good campaign slogan and prepare speeches to convince the public I'm worth voting for. And who's to say I'll even get my policies through once I get into office...?"

The mood went south and Mew looked at his brother without a hint of a smile. Joe Dark shook his head slowly and his gaze turned towards the empty spot on their benches, "But I have to do it. So there can be a world that people like him could have lived in..."

"..." Mew closed his eyes and gave a silent prayer to their lost brother.

He then clapped his hands, shocking Joe Dark and Riku upright, and picked up his own Big Mac in one hand, "Say, do you think Alex liked Big Macs?"

Joe Dark slowly blinked at him before letting out a dry chuckle and remarking, "Probably."

As Mew took a bite from his burger he glanced aside at Riku and said, "You're the odd one out here."

"I just don't really see the appeal of fast food." Riku replied.

"Ah you just haven't found the type you like yet!" Mew playfully nudged him in the shoulder, "Next week I'll take you to a Taco Bell or something."

"Ha ha ha...!" Joe Dark laughed with genuine enthusiasm, leading Mew to stare at him all fearful for his life.

"Y-You ok?" Mew replied.

"...I'm going to miss moments like this once I take the oath at the Oval Office." He mumbled dryly.

Mew crossed his arms and looked at him with a puzzled stare, "Why...does it have to stop? Can't you just invoke some sort of Presidential power to get out for a bit and have lunch with us?"

"I think he means if both of us end up getting jobs of our own one day," Riku said, forcing himself to be the bearer of bad news, "That'll make it hard to align our schedules for this sort of thing."

Mew flopped into his seat with his arms crossed and with a mutter of "Oh yeah" he leaned back almost out of his seat and grumbled.

He then threw his arms up and shouted nonchalantly, "Bah who cares about that! We'll manage it some how!"

"Brother..." Riku groaned.

"If it was anyone else saying it I'd call them stupid," Joe Dark interjected, letting out a huge sigh, "But somehow you manage to make everything you try work out..."

Mew waved his hand out towards him while looking at Riku, "See? He understands! You just got to believe!"

Riku shook his smiling head and went back to his meal for a little bit. As did the other two. Then after a few more scrumptuous bites of his burger, Joe Dark looked at them and asked, "Have either of you been thinking about work at all?"

Riku set his fork down and pondered aloud, "I've been considering going job hunting lately, just to be safe in the future."

"Huh?" Mew tilted his head quietly and then looked at Joe Dark with his arms crossed, "Jobs? Well...Actually, I think I might know what I want to do when I'm older."

"Oh yeah?" Joe Dark took sincere interest in what he had to say.

Mew thrust a thumbs-up at Joe Dark and declared with great enthusiasm, "I'm going to become a race car driver!"

Joe Dark's expression fell into a depressive slump as him AND Riku let out a collective groan. Mew shifted his gaze to them both while rapid-firing "What what what".

"Wasn't it bad enough when you threatened the people on that freeway?" Joe Dark grumbled.

"I-I mean, I understand why you'd want to do that. But why?" Riku followed.

"Gee, thanks for the support..." Mew leaned back and waved his hand up beside his face, "Face it guys, I ain't cut out for any sort of office work."

He pretended to grip a wheel firmly before him with the tip of his tongue sticking out, "I got to do something that really gets my adrenaline PUMPING. All speed, no brakes! And hell, my powers won't give an advantage in racing too."

Joe Dark, between sips in his milkshake, remarked in a humored tone, "Who would be crazy enough to hire you?"

"Oh yeah wise guy?" Mew crossed his arms back up tight and exclaimed, "Lets make it a race then! Whoever gets their job first wins!"

Joe Dark settled his empty cup down and laughed, "Forget it, that's a fight I'd definitely lose."

The three shared a laugh and then wrapped up their meals seeing as Joe Dark's break time was just about to end.

After seeing him off Mew and Riku resumed their walk through the town with a peaceful look in their eyes.

"Who'd have ever thought we'd be eating burgers with Joe Dark, eh?" Mew said.

"He's...settled down, to say the least?" Riku was hesitant to commit to.

"I mean comparing him now to back then is like comparing apples and lemons."

"You mean apples and or-"

"I know what I said!" Mew threw his hands up in defeat.

Riku smiled, "Everyone's settled down nicely into our group."

He then stopped and faced Mew, who did the same, "And its all because of you."

Mew tilted his head and went "Huh?" as Riku put his mechanical hand onto his shoulder and looked him right in the eyes.

"All of us came to this world broken or beaten, but somehow...You were the glue that put us back together again."

Mew couldn't help but snicker at his choice of words, "W-What's with that cheesy speech all of a sudden...?"

Riku continued to smile unimpeded as he told him, "I just want you to know how appreciated you are."

Mew's gaze began to turn away and he pulled Riku's hand off gently, giving off this sort of half-hearted smirk as he replied, "I... was never really worried about that, Riku."

"No, look at me," Riku insisted and Mew felt compelled to comply, "Now say that again."

"..." Mew instead closed his eyes partway and shook his head, "Riku..."

"You're not a bad person just because people call you stupid or lazy," Riku told him in earnest, "You're so much more than that. You're kind, determined, caring. And you've never had to prove that to anyone but yourself."

"...Is this why you wanted to have this walk?" Mew gave a dry chuckle, "So you could build up the courage to cheer me up after what happened with Beerus?"

"...Actually," Riku retracted his hand and laid it flat against his chest, "This...this isn't what I needed to build up the courage too."

He closed his eyes and his smile, so soft and warm, spread across his trembling face, "B-But, I'm glad I finally got to tell you just how thankful I am that you're around."

Mew looked at his brother's face and saw his normally stoic demeanor unraveling. With such timidity in his expression he looked prepared to confess something terrifying to him, and him alone.

"Mew, I..." Riku let out a deep gulp and forced his head up, water in his eyes, "There's...there's...there's something I need to tell you about me and-"

"Can you hear me?"

Suddenly the palpable tension broke with Auris' tender voice in their heads. The two looked around completely baffled until the motherly saged imparted some clarity to their clouded thoughts.

"Oh good, you're both together. I need you both to hurry to Sancturia now."

"Auris?" Mew murmured, recognizing the urgency in her voice, "What's going on?"

"Its Shina," She said, her second pause lasting an eternity in their minds, "Her water broke. She's having her baby."

Mew and Riku's glares froze towards one another and Riku, unfurling his hand, began to stutter, "W-We'll pick this back up later. Lets go!"

Mew gave a firm nod excitedly and with a shout of "Right!" they quickly headed out of town and then rocketed towards the sky undetected, making a beeline for Sancturia...

Next Time: Last Stop