"Why are you leaving Grandpa?"
"Eh eh my dear, this old champ has to visit one of his oldest friends! It has been too long…"
"Friends? I want to meet them, Grandpa! Can I do that? Pretty pleeeaase?"
"Ha ha ha! You're always been so curious! And that's a good thing, because you need to have curiosity to live in this world."
"Really?! What can I do with curiosity?"
"Well, it makes you discover secrets! Yes, very important secrets."
"Ooooh! So did you find any secrets too, Grandpa?"
"Of course I do. Wanna know one in particular?"
"Yeah!"
"Alright then, here it is: you must always remember to keep your promises."
"Oh? Why?"
"Because a promise is like a honor. It proves how trustworthy you are, in front of the people. However, if you fail at it..."
"W-what happens?"
"… you'll hurt your friends. A lot."
"U-Uh?!"
"Yes, remember this very well Grina: a broken promise, will always lead to bad consequences. The bigger the promise is, the worse the consequences are when broken."
"Oh-oh… G-Grandpa, I'm scared!"
"Oh oh oh, don't worry. You're a good child, always been able to keep all your promises! Like how good you were at school, helping mom and dad out…"
"But I wanted to do another promise…"
"Another one? Right now?"
"Yep! You know how we talked about Turf Wars…?"
"Oh, them! They sure are fun!"
"Well, I promise to create a squad and be super famous with them!"
"Oh oh oh! That seems a bit too much for you…"
"But Grandpa! You always said how it's in our tradition to be very good Turf fighters! I want to keep it for you… I want to make you happy!"
"… Grina…"
"Uh? Are you… crying, Grandpa?"
"N-no, that's ok. Sniff! Really…"
"Grandpa… can you promise me to watch all my matches? It would make me very happy!"
"Yes. I'll watch all your matches and root for you in every single one of them! Even if you'll not see me doing it…"
"W-what do you mean?"
"Grina… I have to go now… the time has come…"
"Wait! W-we'll see each other soon, right?!"
"… yes… you'll notice it."
"How? How can I notice it?!"
"… goodbye Grina… always keep your promises…"
"Grandpa? Grandpa?! GRANDPAAAA!"
The light penetrates through the darkness. The mind is getting back to the real world and starts seeing everything clearly again. All the memories are getting back, but also the pain. A big one, coming from the upper body.
With some noticeable difficulty, Grina raises from the bed leaning on her hands. All she saw is what it looks like to be a small hospital room. No one was in it, except for her. But why? Why she ended up in this room, exactly? What happened before…?
Before she could start remember the most recent events, someone opened the door: a sincere-looking female Inkling nurse. She noticed quickly Grina awake and well: only a smile is her reaction. She left the door open and wonders off.
Didn't took too much, for all her 6 Inkling friends to get in the room and greet her in relief. Bars in particular, was crying a lot.
"Y-You're fine, Grina!" Bars said, while sobbing uncontrollably.
"Of course she is." Mirii adds. "Even the doctor said that. The blow wasn't fatal…"
"B-But still! She got to the hospital! How can you not get worried about that?!" Bars replied.
"Well to tell you the truth, I was a bit worried too." Enrick said. "But seeing Grina with her eyes open, it sure makes me more optimistic!"
"That's a good thing how we took out all those creeps!" Nick said while holding his hands on the back of his head. "So the first aid came without any problems at all!"
"I must say, how efficient they were! They brought Grina here in no time." Ana adds.
"Yay! We have to do a big group hug, now!" Zira said, as happy as ever!
Grina smiled: it sure feels great to have friends like those. But something kept her from being completely happy. A thought she wished that never existed. Unfortunately, it was there. Too big to dodge, too important to ignore.
Grina took a great look to her 6 friends, in hope to find someone in particular.
"… Hunry…"
Everyone turned once again, towards her.
"… where is Hunry?!" Grina asked.
That question brought to the room, the biggest silence Grina ever experienced. All the happiness was fading slowly, letting the seriousness triumph. Her friends wanted to answer that question, but they were too afraid to do that. However, Enrick took the courage to deliver the message.
"… he got kidnapped… that man got away with him."
Grina felt like she couldn't breath anymore, even for just a moment. That message struck hard in her heart, giving her a really bad sensation. A sensation that quickly transforms into despair.
"No… n-no…"
Grina shakes her head multiple times and decided to get out of the bed, without listening to her physical pains. Mirii, Bars and Enrick got quickly near her before she could get up.
"What are you doing Grina?!" Bars said.
"Leave me alone, Bars…" Grina answered, without even looking at him.
"You can't be serious!" Mirii speaks up. "The doctor said that you need a lot of rest and"
"I DON'T CARE!" Grina shouts. "LEAVE ME ALONE, ALREADY!"
"But we don't even know, where he's! He could be anywhere!" Enrick tried to reason with her. "Please Grina, calm down…"
"Calm down…? After knowing that someone is risking his life, because of me…?"
"Huh?! No wait, it's not your fault!" Enrick replied.
"Oh… tell me Enrick… honestly, who had the genius idea to send Hunry into the goo? Come on, say it… SAY IT!"
"… Grina… you didn't know…" Enrick replied.
"Ooooh oh oh oh! But of course! I didn't know anything! Bravo! Now THAT makes me sooo much relieved! Everything now is solved and closed, right Hunry?! … Hunry…? Oh… yeah… he's not here… he's being held by THAT DISGUSTING CREATURE BECAUSE OF MY SELFISHNESS!"
Grina got back on her bed, with a quick jump.
"Oh gee, Grina! It was REALLY important that Global Testfire? I mean, of course the idea was amazing! What better way to start business, with something this big?! Yes, always think big, Grina! As big as a castle full of riches and glory! However, there's no one in that castle except you… but who cares about friends, right? We toss them around, to get whatever we want! Ha ha ha ha! BECAUSE THIS IS HOW LIFE WORKS, RIGHT?! TOSSING FRIENDS AROUND IS SOOO MUCH FUN! HA HA HA HA! EVEN BETTER WHEN THOSE ARE PROMISES! Big… huge… p-promises…"
Grina didn't say anything else, for a moment… she was crying while grasping the sheet. No one got the courage to stop her, in that moment.
"… I-I'm sorry Hunry… I'm so sorry… why… WHY YOU HAD TO MEET ME?! I ruined your life, because of me… and now, I don't even know if I can save you… I wish I could right now… but I'm just a miserable pile of ego, incapable of caring about my friends… I deserve all the mockery and beat-ups, now. No way, I'm going to get out of this one…"
"That's not true, Grina!"
Enrick spoke with guts, making Grina stop talking for a moment.
"Well… we thought about this before, but Temanga is going to help you!" Enrick announced. "We'll search every inch of this city and we'll find Hunrick safe and sound!"
"Really?! Thanks guys! We're going to save Hunter soon!" Bars said, optimistic.
"And then we'll throw a big party, full of candies and soda!" Zira adds in.
"Uuuh, what about chips?" Nick asked.
"Candy chips! I like the idea a lot!" Zira answered.
"Whaa?! I didn't say that!" Nick replied in shock.
"That's Zira for ya…" Ana commented shaking her head.
"Wait a sec, guys…"
Grina got up from the bed again…
"… WHY ARE YOU HELPING ME?! I don't deserve anything right now! I'm just a stupid, ridiculous, stuck up girl that goes around ruining everyone's lives! No one should help me! No one"
"That's enough, Grina." Mirii speaks up.
Grina turns her head towards Mirii, incredulous.
"I don't know if you're noticing this… but your phrases are offending us all." Mirii explained. "Especially when you're one of the nicest person I ever met."
Mirii lowers her head.
"Who'd have thought that one day, when everything was falling apart… you'd be there… helping me out. I didn't forget that day… it still gives me bad chills, but also good reliefs."
Mirii look at Grina.
"Grina… Bars told me about you. I know you helped him as well."
Bars got shocked about that revelation, but Grina was it even more than he was.
"You took care about two beings that didn't have a bright future, in this society… and that's something rare and valuable." Mirii explained. "Now… I'm going to tell you something, very important: we didn't join this group because of fame and glory."
"N-no?" Grina said in a soft voice.
"No… we joined because we could still be best friends… forever."
Grina was left speechless. Of all things she could guess, that one was something impossible to figure it out. Nothing was coming in her mind: she simply watches Mirii going away, with her mouth open. Bars was actually in panic.
"A-are you crazy?! W-why you told her that?! Now she doesn't want us anymore!" Bars explained.
"Bars, we have a mission now…" Mirii said while not looking at him.
"Huh?! B-but Grina didn't say"
"It's a very important one, since a dear member of our squad is in danger, so failures are unacceptable." Mirii continued. "You better get serious Bars, because I'll not forgive your childish antics this time. Understand?"
Bars listened without complaining… nodding at the end with proud.
"Yes! Let's do this, Mirii!" Bars said enthusiastic.
Mirii smiled and looks back at Grina.
"Recover well, Grina… we need you."
Mirii and Bars left the room, while Temanga was still there.
"Well, it looks like we have to go too. There's a lot of work to do." Enrick said.
"Already? But I'm tiiiired!" Nick groans.
"You didn't do anything for a while, you also got my money and took a bag of chips and a can of soda, which you ate and drank all alone… and yet, you're still tired?!" Ana complained.
"Yeah, what did you expect? I'm a kid! Kids need a lot of rest and games to play with!" Nick explained.
"BABIES NEED IT, YOU MORON! NOT KIDS!" Ana shouts.
"Yeeaahh… better get going! See you later, Grina!" Enrick waves his right hand.
"Bye bye!" Zira waves both her hands with joy.
Temanga left the room too, leaving Grina all alone. Many things start to run through her head, aside from that promise she couldn't keep for now. She learned something new that day, something she wishes to tell right now to an old dear relative: what it means to be appreciated by your friends.