Popstar Comics
Chapter 5: They Call Me Kuro
It's twelve o'clock noon on the dot when I arrive on Fourside Avenue. On a sunny day like today, I'm expected to work six hours, with an hour break at some point in the early part of the evening. So really, I was to hang around the place for about seven hours, which sucks big time because I could think about twenty other things I'd rather be doing with my time on a Friday afternoon.
Mechanically, I approach the glass doors of the store, taking my daily glance at the large sign atop it. The Popstar Comics logo is represented by a chubby star, with its name in red lettering circling the orbit like a planet's ring. Compared to the Asian diner next to us, we look pretty sad. Their side is all decked out in gold and green, with plenty of pictures showcasing various dishes such as fried rice, spring rolls, and sushi. They even have a few seats outside the restaurant in case anyone wants to enjoy the smoggy atmosphere of the neighbourhood. Compared to us, they're like the main subject in an artist's painting, while our shop remains to be just dull colors in the background used to enforce the look of whatever is in the foreground. We're a shop that many people don't notice, except for those who have good eyesight and a keen interest in anything remotely related to fun.
In other words, we're noticed by kids.
It usually happens around three or four in the afternoon. Children by the masses arrive at the store, all curious and bewildered by the colorful covers of whatever's on the hot-seller rack for the day. Allowance money goes right into the register, while copies of Zelda, Mario, and Pokémon are exchanged over the counter ready to be torn open by eager story devourers. Other times, the kids don't even buy anything, and would much rather spend their time hanging out in the store or looking at the board games and figurines. Those kinds of days never last that long though, since Dedede typically shoos them away if they've spent a good half hour in the store without buying anything. I've gotten a few chuckles out of watching those spiels, let me tell you.
As everyone knows, school ends on Friday, and so I'm expecting a large number of kids to show up today this afternoon. It kind of sucks given my situation, but at least after this I'll be able to call it quits and still get paid for it. I might as well go out with a bang too. It'll be Kuro's last hurrah before saying good-bye to this nonsense and all these crazy comic book lovers. Thankfully, neither Dedede nor Falcon works on Friday, which means that it'll just be me and Fox. And since Fox usually tends to the back room, I should have most of the early afternoon to myself. It would sure be a nice change of pace from all the excitement yesterday.
I put my hand to the glass as I go through the door, but I barely hear the chime coming from the bell overhead. My mind immediately becomes overtaken by the sight of a dimly lit room, followed by Lucina standing on a stepladder who appears to be messing around with one of the lights on the ceiling.
"Come on," she mutters. "Come on, come on." The lightbulb she tugs on finally lets go of its fixture. "Gotcha. Whoa!"
I act fast, but honestly I'm not sure what was going through my head at the time. I just see her tumbling backwards like a domino. With ten feet between us, I did the only thing I could do and dove forward.
On second thought, I should have just let her fall.
I land hard on the carpet, hearing a sharp tear from the fabric of my t-shirt. I feel something like a baby rhinoceros land on my back, my ribcage nearly shattering if not for my arms to cushion the fall. Short breaths are caught in my lungs as my heart thumps the ground in panic.
"Oh my gosh!" I hear Lucina say. "Kuro, I'm so sorry!" I feel her roll off of me, which ends up crushing my right arm in the process. I hold back a tear, as well as a hundred curse words between clenched teeth. "Are you okay?"
I open my eyes and she's on the floor next to me. With a sigh, I sit up, but I barely notice that she helps to lift me.
Wait a second, did she just touch me?
"I'm fine," I snap, retracting my arm from her. "You should be more careful."
Her eyes drop, much like Pit's did in the previous night. I realize that it was the jerky motion in which I pulled my arm away that startled her.
"I'm sorry," she says again. "I thought I could change the lightbulb on my own before you showed up."
The bulb that was in her hand is now on the floor next to us, but the top of it has already blacked out. Apparently it was a dud.
"That's weird," I reply. "Falcon replaced it yesterday before you came to work."
"He left a note on the door," she says, fishing a small paper out of the back of her jean pocket. "The bulb he replaced yesterday was actually an old one. He said he left the real one under the counter and forgot to change it." She glanced at the note again. "Although, I really don't understand why they would keep a faulty lightbulb in the first place."
I can think of three good reasons. One, Dedede is cheap, two, he's trying to save money, and three, he probably thought there was some juice still left in it. Oh wait, those reasons all mean the same thing.
"Do you have the good one?" I ask. At this point I just wanted the damn light to be fixed. The room was surprisingly dark despite the presence of large front windows.
"I've got it right here," she says, producing the new bulb in question. "I was going to—"
I swipe it from her, pulling myself to my feet, and then the stepladder. In a matter of seconds, I've installed the bulb, folded up the ladder and flicked the lights on. Lucina stares at me in bewilderment.
"Next time, wait until someone else is here," I say to her.
"O-Oh," she replies. "Okay…" She gets to her feet, and for a moment there's nothing but awkward silence between us. She quickly mutters, "Fox is in the back. I didn't want to ask him though because I thought he was busy."
I suddenly remember that Fox was Lucina's ride in to Popstar today.
"You can still ask," I say. "If he's busy he'll just say he's busy." But then I thought how busy could he be for a guy who works in a freakin' comic book store?
"He said that Fridays are usually one of our busier days," she explained. "So he's checking to make sure we have enough copies in the backlog for all the popular series."
Mario, Pokémon, Zelda, I swear I've heard these three names more times than I've heard my brother call me by my own. Even Lucina is repping the Super Mario series with a shirt that has the Italian plumber himself stamped on it. Does she keep a closet full of these novelty shirts at home?
I'm reminded of my own clothes, but thankfully there's no visible tear anywhere from the fall I took. At least, I don't think there is.
"We're working the front then," I say, and rather unenthusiastically at that. As long as Lucina is here, I can't goof off lest I get scolded by one of my co-workers. So much for easy Friday…
"Okay." Her mellow attitude from before seems to have washed over with the diligent Lucina I met yesterday. "So what should I do first?"
"Um… You can…"
I scan the room looking for a task to assign Lucina. Since today is my first real day playing the leader, coming up with a job for her becomes pretty difficult. It's not like I ever paid attention to my other duties either since most of the time I swear they were making me move boxes or sweep floors. It can't be that hard; Falcon comes up with tasks all the time.
Eventually, my eyes fall on the windows across the room.
"First," I say, "You can toss the burnt lightbulb. Then you can wash down the windows front to back." An uncontrollable smirk inches over me. "Cleaning supplies are in the storage room, and you can use the water from the bathroom to rinse." I pause to remember if there's anything Dedede would say at a time like this. "Make sure you don't waste any water, and only fill up half as much as you need."
Lucina nods her head several times as I explain the details, but she doesn't actually go anywhere until I tell her that she can start. Soon enough, she disappears into the back and I can hear running water from the room. Naturally I take my seat at the captain's helm, leaning back in my chair to look at random papers and other notes that are under the counter.
"That ought to keep her busy for a while," I thought. Not gonna lie, I felt pretty good giving direct orders like that.
Whoops, forgot to write on the sign-in sheet. Eh, they won't notice.
It's by some bizarre coincidence that none of the customers who come to the store this afternoon ask me for anything. It's not like I try to avoid confrontations. Okay, well maybe I do, but if they need help then it's their job to ask for it—not me. That's how it's supposed to work right?
Lucina remains preoccupied by the windows, greeting people as they pass by her with a welcoming smile. Of course, I notice that smile quickly disintegrate once she gets back to scrubbing down the glass with her mop. Watching her work reminds me of how Falcon would sit back here and watch me do the hard labor. Now the tables have turned, although honestly I wish it was him doing the washing instead of Lucina. The task I gave her kind of seemed like an unfair punishment that should have been directed at someone else.
Oh well, at least the windows will look nice after this.
"Afternoon, Kuro."
"Huh? Wah!" I tumble from my seat as Fox McCloud enters the room. His eyes fall to my own while I hit the floor, a mistake I made for getting a little too comfortable on the stool. Being the supervisor that I am, I thought it would be appropriate to put my feet up on the counter, but I didn't expect him to emerge from the depths of the back room so soon.
"Working hard I see," says Fox slyly, pulling a small trolley with comic books behind him. I climb back up to the counter as he maneuvers the trolley down the main aisle.
"Harder than you," I retort. "At least we're getting something done out here."
"You mean, she's getting something done out here," he replies, nodding his head towards Lucina. Thankfully she was now working on the outside part of the windows and couldn't hear our conversation.
"What can I say; I'm a delegator." I heard Falcon use that word a few times, but he always pronounced it weird. With the way he says it, it sounds like he's saying "deli-gator," as in an alligator who works at a deli. I still can't help but think of that when I say it though.
"Okay there, Falcon." Fox pulls the trolley around to the hot-seller rack and begins unloading the stack of books. "If you aren't too busy, I could use some help."
I'm suddenly feeling sour all over again, but without an excuse I shuffle over to his position and start taking things off the rack. I notice that the comics he brought in are more of those Pokémon ones.
"Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire," he explains. "Hot off the presses too." He holds a copy to his snout and takes a whiff. "Fans have been dying for these babies for years and finally Nintendo delivered."
I barely hear his last comment because I'm so weirded out at how he practically inhaled that new paperback aroma. I refrain from saying anything about it, deciding that at the end of the day, this conversation was just not worth having.
"Pokémon, Pokémon," I mutter instead. "I don't understand how this series is popular."
"This is nothing," says Fox with a smirk. "You should have seen this franchise back in '97. There was so much Pokémon merchandise that they practically flooded the shelves of every toy store in the city." He pulls a comic off and replaces it with another one. "Some kids outgrew the series, but true fans remain to this very day. If you're curious, you should read a few of these yourself. Personally, I recommend the Gold and Silver series. Even with the reprints that came out a few years ago, nothing can beat the original releases."
"Thanks, but I think I'll pass," I reply nonchalantly. "Comics just… aren't my thing."
Yes it was an understatement, but like I said I wasn't about to get into another discussion about why I am the way I am.
"Is that so?" he says to me, a rather surprised look on his face. "You're not a fan?"
"Not really." Yet another understatement. "I just don't have time for them. Not to mention I can't afford it." And that last excuse came out on the fly.
"Well, you're free to read anything from the backlogs during your break if you're interested. It's mostly junk, but there are some hidden gems in there like Duck Hunt and Bubble Bobble."
He's says it to me as if I've heard of these comics before, but I can't even imagine what a story with a title like Bubble Bobble would be about.
"Thanks, but I think I'll pass," I reply flatly. His shoulders shrugging were a sure enough sign that he finally got the message. Despite my attempts at cutting our conversation short, it seems that it wouldn't have mattered anyway due to the arrival of some new customers. We finished lining up the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire copies just as a city bus pulls up in front of the store, dumping a hefty amount of kids, teens, and parents at Popstar Comics' front door.
"Three already?" muttered Fox, glancing at his watch. "Alright, better call in Lucina now."
He pulls the trolley to the back room, but I notice that Lucina has already begun packing up her cleaning supplies. Not only that, but the windows are practically sparkling. I can actually read the name of the coffee shop across the street now.
The front door opens as the crowd pours in, and already I'm back behind the counter in my safe zone. The store suddenly booms to life as people reach for the new issues of Pokémon, kids already tearing through the pages and talking to their friends about the colorful pictures and texts held within.
To my surprise, Fox is in the crowd too, helping customers locate the comics they need, or simply discussing whether or not Nintendo will include the Delta Episode (whatever that is) in the new comics.
"Excuse me. Pardon me," comes Lucina's voice as she zigzags through the store in order to reach me. She's holding her mop, as well as a bucket of dirty water.
"Watch yourself," I say, but I don't bother to open the rear door for her. My eyes are set on the group of kids peering through the glass cabinet where the figurines are stored.
"I didn't know it gets this busy here," she replies, pushing her way through the door with her back. I guess she didn't hear my comment, but that doesn't matter anyway as she's soon back out here to help manage the floor. "What do you think?"
"…What do I think of what?" I reply, turning my attention back to her. I notice that her hair is a little damp, and I think about how nice it would be to dunk my own head in some water to escape the mugginess of this place.
"Of the windows," she says, and there's something like a laugh tailing the end of that sentence.
"Oh." I take a quick glance despite the fact that I've already seen them. "They're nice. Good work."
"Thanks. So I guess now we're just helping out in here?"
"Yeah, pretty much." It was like this every Friday. Customers flock during the after-school rush, and we always need at least two people out front in order to deal with the traffic. Granted, since it was usually Fox and I before, I was typically the one who remained behind the counter since Fox was naturally better at conversing with the customers. That wasn't about to change any time soon. "Just go around and see if anyone needs help finding stuff. I'll be back here to man the register."
"Okay," and she nods her head before zigzagging her way back through the bodies.
I turn my attention back to the figurine shelf, and those kids are still hanging around it like mosquitos at a horse ranch. I remember Dedede would always get mad whenever he saw people loitering near the toys with no intention of buying anything. He's the kind of person who would charge people for breathing the air in his establishment if it wasn't already illegal to do that. No wait… Is it illegal? I don't know, but I'm not about to give him any ideas.
"Excuse me," says a boy at the counter.
My attention is once again torn from the cabinet as I'm met by two kids, both boys who appear to be together. They seem to be around the same age, similar to the Villager from the other day but not nearly as dishevelled as him. The one boy is wearing a red baseball cap and a striped t-shirt, and I notice him place a comic book on the countertop.
"Yeah?" I reply, but naturally I already know why they're here.
"We'd like to buy these," the boy says, and he looks surprised when he sees that there's only one book on the counter. He turns to his friend muttering, "Hey, put yours up there too."
The other boy, pale with wavy blond hair, jumps at attention when I look at him. Right away I can tell he's one of those timid types, reminding me of the kids I used to bully in school. Years later and they still haven't changed, although he does seem to be sporting a striped shirt similar to that of the baseball cap kid.
"Um, r-right," he says quietly, and with a shaky hand, his copy of Omega Ruby is placed on the counter.
I reach out to grab the book and he retracts his hand immediately as if he thought I was going to smack him or something.
"What's your problem?" I ask, brushing the comics over the scanner.
The blond boy shudders and appears to shrink into the ground. He refuses to look at me.
"Don't mind him," says baseball cap kid. "He's always like this when he talks to strangers."
"N-no I don't," replies blond boy, but he had no rebuttal to follow up that statement.
I ignore their comments, checking the total price on the screen. As expected, customers who purchased both of the new Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire issues together received a ten percent discount on the whole purchase. It's one of our many in-store promotions.
"It's four-eighty all together," I say, and the two boys are already fishing their pockets for this week's allowance money.
"Here." Baseball cap hands me some coins, a small collection that he and his friend had amassed.
"You're short ten cents."
The blond boy frantically searches his pockets for more change, but all that comes up is a twisted paper clip and a broken pencil.
"Sorry, Ness," he says to baseball cap kid. "I'm all out."
"Hang on." The kid (who apparently went by the name of Ness) pulls off one of his shoes and shakes a coin out of it. "Ah! Here you go."
I'm somewhat disgusted and surprised as I receive their payment, and two seconds later I've dropped the comics into a plastic bag and handed it back over the counter.
"Later," I mutter, hoping this will be the last time I talk to these two clowns for the rest of the day.
"Thanks!" says Ness, but instead of scurrying off to read their new comics, the two kids remain in front of the counter. "Say, are you new here?"
I quickly debate whether or not discussing my personal schedule with these strangers is worth getting into or not. They must have been regulars, but in all honesty this is the first time I've ever seen them.
"Sort of," I reply, looking down at them. "Why, what's it to you?"
My scary face has luckily frightened the blond boy again, and I have to admit that I'm enjoying the sight. The boy named Ness pulls him forward again though, as he appears to stand firm and unafraid.
"Nothing to me," says Ness. "But my friend here says that he knows you."
"Nessss," the other boy whines. "What are you—"
"Come on man, do you want to find out if he's real or not?"
They're whispering to each other about something, and now I'm kind of curious. With Fox and Lucina dealing with other customers, these two kids were the only thing I had to worry about at the counter. I find myself leaning forward a little in order to get a better ear in their conversation, but jump back when they both glance at me.
"I hope you don't mind," says Ness all of a sudden, "but Lucas has a question for you."
So the name of the blond boy turns out to be Lucas, and he's staring up at me with sharpened eyes. I notice that his legs are quivering, but I commend him for putting on his big boy pants so quickly.
"Alright then, go ahead," I reply. "I don't have all day."
"S-sir, I was just wondering," says Lucas, his fists clenched in tight knots. "Is your name Kuro?"
My, my, what gave you the first hint, genius?
"Yeah," I say, but I'm not looking too impressed. I flash my nametag on the front of my shirt, a four letter word that I myself had scribbled on with a Sharpie.
"No," Lucas replies, much quieter now. "Are you the Kuro?"
Am I the Kuro? They couldn't possibly mean the Kuro who only walks at midnight, the very same Kuro who beats up punks in alleyways, and steals money from snobby business owners. I haven't seen that Kuro around for a while now.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I say flatly. If these kids recognized me, there's no way in hell I was going to take a chance here in the store, at least not with Fox and Lucina within earshot.
"Come on, Kuro, you can't fool us," says Ness, hopping on his tiptoes briefly. "We know those wings from anywhere!"
I feel my wings folding out of sight on their own, but I make no reaction whatsoever. I can't figure out how these two bozos know me, as I sure as hell don't recognize them from anywhere. Did Wario put them up to this?
"Can I help who's next over here?" I say loudly, but to my dismay no one else has lined up behind them.
"Come on, Ness," murmurs Lucas as he grasps his friend by the arm. "Let's get out of here."
"No way." Ness raises his chin. "I want to know if it's true or not."
"If what's true or not?" I ask automatically.
"If Kuro has really retired."
As I anticipated, several rumors have already been spread about me and my current standing with the Gerudos. I suppose it's partially my fault, having overstayed my welcome here at Popstar Comics. After I disappeared, people thought that I had given up on the gang, and that I was seriously turning over a new leaf in an attempt to start life all over again. Little did anyone realize however, that I never planned on staying, and I'd bet my own feathers that Ashley started those rumors. She'd practically do anything to have me back.
Nevertheless, the fact that Ness and Lucas know more about me than I know about them pisses me off. In less than two seconds, I'm leaning over the counter and towering over them with yet another menacing glare.
"Listen here you little punks," I growl. "Kuro hasn't retired and he has no plans of doing so any time soon. I'm only working here to prove a point to someone who got on my bad side, so unless you want me to do the same to you, I suggest you haul your asses out of here before I dropkick you to the curb."
A final slam on the counter seals the deal as both of them shake their heads in terror, but unfortunately they remain rooted in place. It seemed as though my threat had petrified them.
I could have gone on, but a surge of commotion brought our discussion to a halt when I heard someone shouting from the front of the store. There were screams, a break in the crowd, and then I saw Fox trip and knock over one of the standing comic racks. The figure of a cloaked individual escaped my eye through the shimmering windows.
"Someone stop him!" a customer shouted.
"Kuro!" Fox was on the ground as customers tried to lift the metal display unit off of him. "Call the police!"
I could hear him loud and clear, but I wasn't about to call any police department. I barely caught wind of the crime as it took place, and for some reason I knew that pressing that button under the counter would be a waste of time. I didn't stop to think about it. In one swift motion, I leaped over the countertop, landing just in time as Ness and Lucas fell out of the way. My feet seemed to move on their own as I weaved through the crowd as smooth as a bobsled on ice.
"Kuro," called Lucina. "What are you—"
I didn't hear her though, for the next thing I knew I was out the door and on the sizzling pavement of Fourside. And just as I expected, there was the cloaked character sprinting down the street, shoving past any and all pedestrians that stood in his way.
I gave chase.
"Stop!" I shout, running through the openings of people. For a Friday it was surprisingly busy outside, what with the construction crews, maintenance workers and everything. I hurdled over fallen pylons, mailboxes, and even some unfortunate bystanders who just so happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time when the shadow swept through. I could see the back of his pants, but whatever he was wearing fluttered up and covered his head. One thing was for certain: He was short.
The thief ducks underneath a large mirror that two shmucks were loading onto a moving truck. I hesitate for a moment before deciding that seven years bad luck couldn't possibly be any worse than what I've had to go through all my life. The guys carrying the glass fixture flinch and slam their eyes shut, and with the agility of a fox I slide gracefully beneath the mirror, and then I'm back on my feet chasing the comic thief for another two or three blocks.
Eventually, the guy breaks off into an alleyway, and for a second I hope that it's a dead end. I follow suit, but I notice at the turn that the thief dropped one of the comics he was carrying. Up ahead there is a chain-link fence, and I see the kid attempting to climb over it.
"Not so fast!" I say, lunging forward and grasping the thief by his ankle. Some more comics drop, and just as I'm about to grab him with my other hand, he kicks me off, sending me tumbling to the dirt.
I catch a glance of his face as he climbs over and I'm shocked that I recognize him. He lands in a dumpster before jumping to the ground and running through to the next alley. The thought of going after him again doesn't even occur to me.
"The Villager…" I mutter between hard breaths.
Yes, the face of the thief did belong to that of the boy I spoke to a few days ago in Station Square. I don't understand why though. I recall him mentioning to me that he was trying to maintain a low profile, however, it seems that the cause of the mass break-ins recently originate from him and his clan.
It's a shame too since up until this point I thought that he and I were pretty good friends.
"When I see him again I'm gonna…"
"Kuro, are you alright?"
I turn around to see Lucina trotting to me, but before I can say anything she's already helping me to my feet. The alarm in my brain goes off again as she puts her hands on me.
"Yes, I'm fine," I reply, and I pull away from her like before, only this time I end up falling to the ground again like someone just kicked me in the shin. "Ow!"
"You're hurt," she says to me. "Come on, let's get back to the store." She lifts me up again, and as much as I want to resist, I can't. Something in my right leg in killing me, probably just after the kid knocked me off the fence.
"I think I sprained my ankle," I mutter.
"It's okay. I'm just glad you're safe." She walks me out of the alley and back onto the street. I try not to lean on her too much. "Did you see who it was?"
I did, but was it worth telling her about it? Sure she was just as involved as I was being a Popstar employee, however, seeing the face of that Villager sparked a different kind of emotion in me. I wasn't just upset that we had been robbed; I was infuriated. And the fact that I had talked to him recently makes this assault more personal than I would have thought.
"N-No," I say to her. "He disappeared before I got there." We pass by one of the fallen comic books, an issue of Alpha Sapphire turned to a random page. The illustrations depicted two colorful monsters fighting each other just as the Villager and I had done moments before. I scoop it up before I find myself studying the front cover of a large whale-like creature with ginormous fins. It was a little torn, but you could tell by looking at it that this issue was hot off the presses.
Author's Note: Some people have asked why this story is labelled as a Crime, and I hope this chapter gives you a better idea as to why. I know the summary describes this as a slice-of-life, but there is a main plot that the story will follow, coupled with odd one-shotish chapters that will be sprinkled every now and then. Since I'm still building the world and characters as chapters go, the plot will remain the primary focus for a little while before we eventually branch off to a universe that is truly alive and breathing. Many thanks go out to Varanus K, SolarEnergy07, Arctic01, flowslikepixels, PozzyP, ChaosxPaladin, Dario Flaman, and Kinkajou321 for leaving reviews! And Kinkajou, I did add your new friend code, and to answer your question, Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta will be making appearances at some point in this story, although I'm still trying to figure out their roles. I'd love to play Fire Emblem Fates with you, as well as anyone else who plans on picking it up this month. I hear that it has multiplayer support so hopefully we can play that together! Thanks for reading all and I'll see you in the next update.
