Popstar Comics
Author's Note: Special thanks to Arctic01, CowTits the Udderly Glorious, SolarEnergy07, prowessMaster44, Linkarionerd, kinkajou321, MP36PH3S, RecklessBaka, and Dario Flaman from reviewing last chapter. Also, sorry for the long wait everyone. I know it's been like two months but… yeah, I don't really have an excuse this time. You may throw your rocks and tomatoes at me through your phone and computer screens. Ah yes, keep going. It burns.
Chapter 8: Mr. Imperfect
We clocked ten hours of work by the end of the day and to my surprise, Dedede paid us for overtime. He practically shoved the envelope into my hand, stating that he felt bad for putting most of the work on our shoulders. At least he wasn't completely heartless, but he also said he wanted us out by seven o' clock so he and Falcon could finish boarding up the windows. By the time the evening came around, Lucina and I had cleaned up most of the floor and restacked all of the boxes, although we didn't bother setting anything up. Neither of us was expecting Popstar to open its doors to the public again for at least another week.
"I'd like to leave a little early if that's okay," Lucina told Dedede and I. "I want to make it home before it gets dark out."
Without Fox, Lucina has no choice but to bus home on Mondays and Wednesdays. There's a crosstown bus that cycles every half an hour here in the city, driving from the west end to the east end and then back again until the early hours of the morning. The whole ride normally takes about an hour depending on traffic, but it's still a better alternative to walking all the way across the Goldenrod Bridge.
"Yeah, yeah," Dedede replies. "Just make sure you're back here bright and early tomorrow morning. We're gonna get some new windows installed, and this time they better have bars on them!"
She waves goodbye to me as she leaves and I wave back to her.
I remain behind in order to finish boxing up the last of the comics, while Falcon attempts to reorganize the underside of the counter. Thankfully, none of the glass has been damaged, but a lot of the games and figures that were displayed underneath were strewn all over the place as if someone had rummaged a hand through it all. For all we know, that could have very well happened last night.
"Hey Kuro," he says to me, tearing my attention away from the comics. He barely said two words to me the whole day, which was strange considering his reputation for being the bossiest person I've ever had to work with. "What did Samus tell you?"
The cops had left at some point during the early afternoon. Samus never came back in to say goodbye, but had mentioned to Dedede to give her a call if we saw any more signs of Malicious Intent Institute activity. Falcon had been preoccupied almost the whole day, even after coming inside to help with the work for some reason. Something was on his mind and if I didn't know any better, I'd say it had to do with Chief Samus Aran.
"Nothing much," I reply. "She mistook me for my brother and mentioned some stuff about MII."
Falcon nods his head, but remains curious all the same.
"I see," he says. "So she didn't say anything about me?"
I stare at him dumbfounded since that question kind of came out of nowhere.
"No," I say, and I was telling the truth. "Why would she do that?"
Falcon shrugs his shoulders and returns to his work.
"Eh, forget it. I was just wondering."
He didn't say anything else to me for the rest of the night, and for some reason that made me all the more suspicious as to why he was so interested in Samus Aran. She comes off as the last person I'd want to bump into in the middle of the night, and I'm not just saying that because she's a cop. There was something weird about her when she spoke to me, almost as if she could see right through my words. I wouldn't put it past her if she really did recognize me, but if that was true, then why not arrest me on the spot? She knows something, and I have a hunch that Falcon is aware of it just as well.
Rain starts coming down, leaving me no choice but to drop what I'm doing and move all the merchandise away from the front of the store. It's merely light droplets at first, but the clouds quickly overtake the red sun. Even though it's not that late, it gets dark outside pretty fast, and for a moment I wonder if Lucina made it to the bus on time.
I finish boxing the last of the comics and scribble my name on the sign-out sheet that surprisingly remains intact. As I leave, Dedede drags some large wooden boards out from the backroom, and puts them against the broken window in front of the store.
"Falcon and I will take care of this," he says to me. "You run along and get some rest before your parents freak out at me for keeping you so late."
I never told him that I didn't have parents, and I probably never will. I find it funny whenever he does refer to them though.
"Yeah," is all I say before I'm out the door and running through the rain. I didn't check the forecast today (not that I ever do) but I wasn't expecting it to rain this much. It's so dark out that Fourside is practically empty, the only sign of intelligent life being the occasional bypassing car.
There's no way Dedede let me out by seven o' clock.
Since it's raining, I can't take my usual detour. I expect downtown to be just as devoid of activity as my street though, and thus decide to book it home as fast as I can. With any luck, they'll have put Pit on nightshift, which means all the leftovers in the fridge belong to me.
I make my way to the next street over, Dreamland, and my apartment is just beyond there. As expected there's no one around, but I do see plenty of lights on in the neighbouring buildings. You'd have to be crazy to be out here in the rain, especially with the temperature so humid. It's a combination of wet and stickiness that I frankly wasn't too fond of, and I could feel my shirt plastering to my back with each step I took.
A few more blocks and my street comes into view. It's a little blurry, but I know my home when I see it. I frantically scamper to get out of this weather until something stops me. There are footsteps stomping through the rain, as well as voices that soon break out into yelling. I hear what sounds like metal on stone, followed by the unmistakable clash of a fist to the face. It sounds really meaty too, a direct hit that was immediately tailed by another punch and then a kick. My first thought is to assume the usual, and that is just a regular street brawl. They happen all over the city from time to time, typically between rival gang members. My street is no exception, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend some nights just sitting in my room watching people beat the crap out of each other on ground level. They were always a blast, but never in the rain. To brawl in the rain was miserable for everyone, especially the spectators since it was nearly impossible to see what was going on half the time.
Another guy hollers, followed by the cry of a woman. I swiftly dart through the downpour when my ears pick up the echo of voices that could only be coming from an alleyway. I see some thugs, their faces distorted and weird, yanking at a civilian and pulling her behind the wall. That's when I realize that this fight isn't just a regular street brawl. Someone is being mugged.
I race to the alleyway, shouting at them to let her go. To my surprise, the woman manages to escape from their clutches, throwing out a fist and knocking one of the thugs out cold. Another one comes up behind her, yet somehow she is able to duck underneath his lunge, delivering a swift kick to his underside and sending him toppling into one of his comrades. She's really giving them a run for their money, but her efforts are soon in vain when she fails to notice one more punk come up behind her with a baseball bat. With all my might, I sprint to her side, my wings thrusting me forward in a single flap.
Before I was struck by the bat, I was struck by the feeling of deja vu. Someday a while ago I had dove across Popstar Comics' carpeted floor to save a tumbling Lucina from hurting herself when she fell from a stepladder. Well, it turns out that I was doing the exact same thing again, only this time instead of protecting her from the fall of gravity, I was saving her from some moron with a demented face.
The bat connects with my forearm, instantly knocking me to the ground. I hear Lucina call out my name, echoed by the strangers as they realize who I am. I bite my tongue to ease the pain and quickly pull myself to my feet, putting out my other arm to protect Lucina.
"Stay behind me," I say to her, but I can barely see her with the rain in my vision. The arm that was struck finds itself retracting close to my body as I pray that the bone hadn't been fractured in any way, but even that was being to optimistic.
"Kuro!" she replies. "What are you—"
"Just stay behind me!"
I glare at the street thugs, the ones that Lucina had knocked down now pulling themselves to their feet. They all bear disgustingly grotesque faces, and now that I get a good look at them, it isn't surprising to see why. All of the punks are wearing paper masks, very similar to the one that Samus had shown us early today. Just like the mask from before, all of these masks have very distinct and exaggerated facial features, such as bug-like eyes, tiny noses, and sinister grinning teeth. Some had mustaches while others had hair in different places. One of them doesn't seem to have any face at all, and is just a blank slate with dots all over it.
The members of MII surround us, backing us up against the wall. Some of them are carrying weapons, like the mustached man with a baseball bat. Others are brandishing small knives, while one more has what appears to be some form of brass knuckles. With the rain coming down so hard, calling for help is impossible.
It looks like we were going to have to settle this the old-fashioned way.
"Back off," I say to the demented creeps. "I'm warning you."
Two of the thugs exchange a glance with one another before one of them speaks up to me.
"Are you Kuro?" the tall man with the baseball bat asks.
For a moment I almost didn't comprehend his question since his voice is all distorted. They must have some kind of voice-changing device under their masks in order to hide their identities. In any case, these bozos have heard of me, which may work in my favor.
"Yes," I reply with a scowl. "And you're on Gerudo turf. Leave now and maybe I'll forget this ever happened."
I was hoping to get to them with the intimidation factor, but unfortunately they don't fall for my bluff. If anything, my response makes them all the more eager to beat Lucina and I to a pulp where we now stood.
"Excellent." The man taps his palm with the bat. "Let's get 'em boys."
I back right into Lucina who looks terrified beyond belief. She grabs hold of me but I refuse to budge from my position as her shield. I've never run away from a fight and I sure as hell wasn't about to now.
"Someone please help us!" she cried.
The sound of rain is immediately overtaken by a revving engine, and the next thing I know someone is shining a powerful headlight down the alleyway, practically blinding all of us in the process. Screeching tires come plowing from the street, zipping past us and bowling over some of the MII punks. Other members dive out of the way from the speeding motorcycle, which nearly crashes into a nearby dumpster. Gracefully, the driver slides into a complete turnaround, pulling up to Lucina and me with a cheeky grin on his face. I recognize him as one of my comrades from the Gerudos.
"Hey Kuro!" he says eagerly. "Long time no see!"
Seeing his chubby face again brings a smile to my face, if not for the fact that he just saved us.
"Wario, you sly bastard," I reply. "I was wondering when you were gonna show up."
"I'm always late to the party; you should know that by now," laughs Wario, his jaw nearly unhinging as he speaks. A small hand punches him on the top of the head as New Smashopolis' resident witch girl climbs into view from behind him.
"More like I told you Kuro was in trouble," says Ashley unenthusiastically, wielding an black umbrella to protect herself and her chauffeur from the rain. "If I didn't say anything you'd still be at the bar playing pinball!"
"You say that like it's a bad thing." Wario casually sticks a finger up his nose to dislodge some yellow gunk. "I almost landed the high score!"
I notice the MII punks getting up yet again, and if I had to guess, I'd say that they weren't very pleased with Wario's driving skills.
"Who the hell are you?" one of them shouts.
Wario takes that as his cue to dismount his motorcycle, and honestly I'm not sure why he does since he looks much more intimidating when he's on it. In reality, he's quite the short and stubby man, complete with a jagged mustache and enough garlic in his breath to knock out a flock of sheep.
"The name's Wario, you shmucks," he says, "and you came to the wrong neighbourhood. Take a hike or I'll slam you so hard, you'll be tasting sidewalk till next Tuesday."
"You should probably listen to him," Ashley chimes. "He'll really mess you up."
The thugs aren't taking his threats very kindly. If anything, it only makes them want to bust our skulls in even more. Funny enough, I'm hoping that they'll actually provoke Wario into attacking them. It's been quite a while since I've seen him go into his berserk mode.
The MII member with the bat leaps forward and swings with full force at Wario. Almost as if he anticipated it, Wario blocks the attack with his large hand, catching the weapon in his grasp. He gives it a squeeze, prying it from the thug and whirling it around while laughing. New weapon in hand, Wario bats the ground a few times, beckoning for his next opponent to step up to the plate.
"Batter up!" he shouts.
The thug charges at him, but it's in vain as Wario smashes the wooden bat across the face of the man. He hits him so hard that the bat breaks in two, and I almost jump out of my skin upon hearing Lucina scream behind me. The MII member hits the pavement, blood pouring from a broken nose and what used to be teeth. Surprisingly, the mask remains on his face, but it merely covers the wreckage of bone beneath it. Seeing their fallen comrade causes the other MIIs to flinch.
"Alright, who's next?" asks Wario casually. "Come on, I don't got all night."
Fortunately, his stunt seems to be enough to scare them off, as one by one they flee like rats on a sinking ship. Two of the members grab their fallen friend and drag him out of the alleyway, although I'm fairly certain that the guy is already dead. The rest of them scatter off into the street, disappearing through the rain without a trace.
"Aw man, I wanted to turn one of them into a toad," Ashley moans. "Oh well, maybe next time."
"Thanks a lot, guys," I say, patting Wario on the back. He returns the gesture by wrapping a gigantic arm around me, but I quickly push him away as a sting shoots through my whole body.
"Thanks? That's not the Kuro I know," replies Wario with a laugh. "Where's the, 'I could have taken them myself,' line I'm so used to hearing?"
He says that last part in a deep and mocking tone, but I kindly ignore it. I'm not about to get into an argument here in the middle of a dark and rainy alleyway.
"Who's the chick?" Ashley asks with a smirk.
Lucina is standing against the wall drenched with her arms wrapped around herself. She looks mortified, and I notice her gaze rapidly switching between myself and Wario.
"Did he…" she stutters. "Did he just kill that man?"
I swipe Ashley's umbrella from her with a sigh and move over to Lucina's position. As expected, Ashley makes another one appear out of thin air, although she doesn't look too pleased with me not sharing it with her. I couldn't care less.
"This is Lucina," I explain. "She's my co-worker."
"Ah, one of us then?" replies Wario with a sickly grin. He waddles over to grab Lucina's hand but she immediately retreats like a stray animal.
"Don't touch me," she snarls.
"Whoa, whoa, easy toots. I just wanted to say hi!"
"She's not with us," I say. "She works at the comic store with me."
At this, Wario glances up at me, somewhat confused and bewildered by my response. I know what he's thinking and I wish I could tell him otherwise, but with Ashley here, lying would just make me look even more like a fool.
"So it's true then," he says. "You really have left the Gerudos."
"I never said that," I reply. "I'm just taking a break right now. Trying out different things, you know? I also need the money."
"As you did last week and the week before that," says Ashley, stepping down from the bike and walking up to us. To my surprise, she doesn't look disappointed at all, but I'm honestly not sure if that's a good sign or a bad sign. "You can stop stalling and come back already."
"Yeah man, we miss you," chimes Wario. "The guys miss you too! We're talkin' late nights, full moons, every cat and her kitten hunting on the prowl! A lot of bad stuff has been going on since you left, Kuro. You saw it yourself tonight."
Rival gangs. It's always the rival gangs. With the Gerudos owning a majority of this part of town, it was only a matter of time before some new blood would come in and try to take over. It explains the attacks, the break-ins, and it honestly wasn't something that we weren't used to, but that was when I regularly roamed these streets at night. Now I'm in bed by eleven in order to make it to work on time the next day and I've simply got no time for turf wars anymore. It's one of the things I gave up when I started working at Popstar Comics, but I already knew than from Day 1.
If that's so then why am I even having this argument?
"You don't need me," I say. "I'm just one guy."
"One guy that can take on ten guys at once and live to tell the tale!" replies Wario. "They still tell of your stories, Kuro! All of us do! We want to see you fighting on our side again. Our boys are working overtime now because you're not here to cover our asses, and now we're starting to see more brawls in the streets than ever before. The Gerudos used to own this town, but now we're hiding from it! That's not how it's supposed to be!"
He's right and for the life of me I wish I could agree with him. Something inside me is holding me back however, even when I notice Ashley hold out her hand for me to accept it. I already got what I came for when I left Popstar Comics today. Who cares if they still need help fixing the store? Who cares that their image might be tarnished after what happened last night? I certainly don't, yet for some reason, I couldn't return to the Gerudos yet. For amidst our conversation is an outsider who up until a few minutes ago did not know anything about my previous life.
Now my secret is out.
"I'm sorry," I say to them. "I… I'm not ready to go back yet. Believe me, I wish there was another way."
"Kuro, come on, forget your stupid job already," says Ashley rolling her eyes. "You've got so much more going for you than pushing boxes all day!"
"It's not about that!" I shout, but I catch myself a moment too late. "I just… I need more time to think about it. It's been a long day for me."
"How do you think we feel?" asks Wario. Almost immediately he shrugs it off and shakes his head. "Bah, whatever man, I'm too tired for this. Do what you gotta do if that's what you want. You're only going to make things worse for yourself in the end."
"Hm?"
"The Grinning Man takes no prisoners." Wario curls his mustache before it pops back into its crooked pattern, hopping back onto his bike and kick-starting the engine. "If you know what's best for you, you'll stay on his good side. Ashley, let's go!"
Ashley pouts but eventually complies with her companion's demands. She's on the backseat of the bike, holding her umbrella above both of their heads.
"See you later, Kuroooo," she says quietly. The exhaust pipe blows a cloudy fog of grime at Lucina and me, and the next thing I know Wario has driven out to the street, vanishing quicker than he had shown up. He doesn't even say goodbye, although I did notice Ashley staring back at us.
Lucina's head hangs low as she continues to hold herself. I notice that she has a few bruises on her face, but realistically both of us looked like complete wrecks between the rain and the rumble.
"Who were those people?" she suddenly asks. Beneath the cover of our umbrella, I'm not sure what to say. My arm is freakin' killing me right now though. I kind of just stand there for a few moments awkwardly wondering if I should bother asking how much of that conversation she was able to pick up.
"Some old friends," I finally mumble. "They get really clingy sometimes."
"So you're…" she hesitates, but I already know what she's going to ask. Surprise, surprise, I'm not the nice guy that you thought I was! "You're a Gerudo?"
Yes, just as the tattoo on my back says I am. I've been a member since after high school, back when the only responsibilities I had were going to sleep during the day and staying up to wreak havoc during the night. I make my own rules, do my own work, and get my own kicks just the way that I and I alone want.
But she doesn't need to know all that.
"Used to be," I reply plainly. "Now I'm just a regular guy working a regular job. Really a step-up, don't you think?"
She frowns at me and my sarcastic comment. I don't know what else I was expecting honestly.
"You're in a gang," she says. "I can't believe this."
"Call it what you want, but I just saved your life. And I'm not one to go around giving out freebies either."
She glares at me and I can tell she doesn't have much of a rebuttal. She's more disgusted by the fact that I have an affiliation to the Gerudos, especially after hearing what Samus had to say about them today. It was as if the moment she found out, all of her thoughts and assumptions about me were completely wiped and replaced with this evil guise that instantly marks me as an enemy.
And here I thought she was someone I could trust. Is it too late to change my mind?
"I'm going home," she says, and just like that, she removes herself from under the umbrella and storms off into the rain. For a moment, I stand there in wonderment, debating whether or not she is serious about leaving. After what happened tonight, you'd think she'd be more careful about walking around the city, yet after a few seconds, she had turned the corner and vanished. Given the current time, it would be incredibly stupid of her to wait for the next bus, only to wait another hour again before finally being dropped off at her home. And that was all assuming no more MII morons were in the area.
Reluctantly, I go after her.
"Hold on!" I say, and I wave her down, raising the dark umbrella over both of our heads. She pushes her matted hair out of her face, but I can't tell if that's rain or sweat trickling down her cheek. "My place is just down the street. You can stay the night if you want."
"Oh?" she replies, but it's just a placeholder to show how uninterested she is in my proposal.
"Look, it's raining, it's dark, and there are freaks with masks running around all over the place. It's too dangerous to wander around here looking for the bus stop all night." I adjust my posture and lift my arm. "Plus, I'm the one with the umbrella."
She ponders on the thought for a few seconds, but it doesn't take her long to come up with a response. If not for her unenthusiastic gaze, I'd probably think that she wanted me to go chasing after her.
"Alright, Kuro, you win," she says. "Lead the way."
We walk back to my apartment which is just another block down the street. We don't say much to each other however, for I know she's still kind of pissed at me for keeping such a big secret from her. What does she care though? It's not like I'm gonna attack her or anything. I've actually been a pretty nice guy to everyone I've met these past few weeks. They're the ones who are lucky for not having to deal with the real me. Because let me tell you, the real Kuro can be pretty nasty when he wants to be. She just better make sure she doesn't cross the line, otherwise she'll really see how much of a bad guy I am.
It saddens me to tell Wario and Ashley off like that, but in the end I'm simply looking out for myself. After what happened last night and now this night as well, me quitting Popstar would only raise suspicion and land me behind bars faster than I can say, "Malicious Intent Institute." That's why, for the time being, I have to remain a loyal employee for as long as I can. At least until all this crap with the MII blows over.
The only problem is they know my face now.
Author's Note: I want to ask you guys what you think of the chapter lengths for this story. I was going through them and noticed that they kind of fluctuate, and it happens pretty often. Some chapters will sit around 2000 to 3000 words, while others get up to 4000 and even 5000 sometimes. I just want to know what a lot of people are comfortable with. Personally, I plan the chapters to have about 3000 words, but that's just in terms of content. When it gets down to the writing, I can't make that accurate of an estimation. On a similar note, is anyone wondering what's going to happen next chapter when Lucina spends the night in Kuro's house? She doesn't seem too happy with him at the end of this chapter. But just as she learned something about him, he's also going to learn something about her come next chapter… DUN DUN DUN!
