Kira walked to the local hospital and found Mario dozing off in the waiting room. She sat next to him.
"Heya, Mario…" she said.
"Hey, Cherry…" he said quietly.
"What happened?" Kira asked. "I got your note."
"Well, I came home and Luigi had passed out." Mario said. "Do you know what happened?"
"No, I have no idea." Kira sighed. "I wasn't there at the time."
"Well, that's funny…" Mario said. "Well, do you know why THIS was in the kitchen?"
He pulled out a poisonous mushroom. Kira must have left it there by accident.
"Uh…" Kira looked around.
"Cherry, are you hiding something from me?" Mario asked.
"N-no!" Kira insisted. "I don't own any poisonous mushrooms."
Now how would she kill Mario now when he was already finding out what she was up to?
Mario stood up and Pinned Kira violently against the wall.
"What…the hell did you do to my little brother?" he asked.
"N-nothing! Nothing at all!" Kira said nervously.
"I just want to know what made you want to poison him. Are you just some sick freak that likes to kill people? Or is it something more?" Mario asked. "Were you planning on poisoning me too? Huh?"
The more Kira tried to pry his arms off of her neck, the tighter his grip became.
"I…I can't tell you anything, Mario…" she said. "I'm very…truly sorry…"
"Oh, I'll make you sorry." Mario said, slapping her across the face. "Is there an antidote?"
"I told you…I can't-"
"IF LUIGI DIES, I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND MAKE SURE YOU DIE A SLOW, GORY, AND EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL DEATH!" he exclaimed, strangling her just a bit tighter. "Now…is there or is there not an antidote?"
"Y-yes…" Kira choked out. "Yes…there is an antidote…"
"Do you know where to find it?" he asked.
"N-no…" she said.
He slapped her again.
"Don't lie to me!"
"Well…" Kira said as he slowly released his grip. "I kind of…know where to find it."
She extended her hand and magically produced a map of an area that was very unfamiliar to Mario.
"Now…" Mario said, looking at the map with one hand, still holding Kira down with the other. "What is the antidote exactly?"
"What you're looking for is a pure magical essence, the purest of the pure. It only grows deep in this forest." She said, pointing to a big forest on the map. Then she realized that she had just told Mario how to contradict her plan.
"Great." Mario said. "Because you're coming with me to find it."
"N-No I'm not!" Kira exclaimed, shoving Mario away from her.
"Listen here, princess…" Mario said. "If we can't save my brother, I'll personally kill you. Now, you still haven't told me your motive."
"I can't" Kira said simply. "I'm under oath."
"TELL ME BEFORE I CUT OFF THE OXYGEN TO YOUR BRAIN!" Mario yelled, strangling her yet again.
"B-Bowser…" Kira choked out. "I…I'm only his apprentice."
He let go of her.
"I knew it!" Mario said. He pulled Kira by the arm and headed towards the door. "We have no time to lose!"
"L-let me go…" Kira whined helplessly. "Please!"
"No." Mario said, scrutinizing the map carefully as he pulled Kira's arm. "I don't think I want to do that."
"Why so?" Kira asked.
"I'm not going to let you run off. Even if I have to handcuff us together." He said.
They walked for hours. It seemed that morning would never come.
"Can we please…" Kira huffed with exhaustion. "Make camp…or find food…or a restroom?"
"No, not when my brother could die at any moment…" Mario said sternly, still pulling Kira's arm like he had been doing for hours. "I will not rest until we've found what we've come here for."
They entered the forest and it began to rain. The map immediately became soggy and fell apart.
"Nice going, Mario." Kira said, rolling her eyes. "We might as well turn around. We can't get there without a map."
"No." Mario said. "You'll have to kill me first- AND DON'T GET ANY IDEAS!"
"Okay…but I really have to tinkle…" Kira said. "I don't think I can wait…"
"Well that's too bad. I'm not stopping until we find it. That's final, Cherry." He said.
"Call me Kira." She sighed.
"OH SO YOU LIED ABOUT-"
"Mario, look!" Kira exclaimed, pointing to a fruit tree. "Food!"
"Can't you make your own food with your magic or something?" Mario asked.
"Nope." Kira said. "My magic is only good for creating destruction…and a few other things."
Kira picked a fruit from the tree and tasted it. She continued walking.
"Hey, the sun's coming up…" Mario said. "How long until the poison kicks in?"
"Hmm…about five or six days." Kira said. "But that's only under intensive care."
"Alright." Mario said. "But since we don't have a map…it could take longer than that."
"Oh, boo-hoo." Kira said. "You're going to lose your brother. If you ask me, that's pretty fortunate."
"What do you mean?" Mario asked. "All I have is a brother!"
"Yeah, but try watching your whole family become brutally massacred…while you're forced to take the throne at 15. Imagine all of the hate you would receive because you're too young to handle a whole civilization…and then your whole life just vanishes…" Kira said, a single tear rolling down her cheek, which she didn't notice. "I guess that would be a bit unfortunate…you know, hypothetically…"
"Oh…I'm sorry…" Mario said.
"Don't be sorry." Kira sighed. "Your sympathy won't help. But it's all in the past, right?"
"I guess so." Mario said.
"I'm so…tired…" Kira complained, lying down on a rock. "Wake me up when you find the thingy…"
"Nope…" Mario said, pulling her by the arm. "We're searching this WHOLE forest if we have to!"
"B-but Mario…" she whined. "You're INSANE!"
"It's only been one night. Now please act like a grown-up and keep going." Mario sighed. Kira's arm had grown weak from being pulled by him
"No." Kira said firmly. "You can't make me. I'm not your servant. You're the reason why I'm going to lose my job."
"And…something else…" Mario said. "You're kind of sitting in poison ivy…"
Kira stood up and began itching all over. Still, Mario grabbed her arm.
"No!" she cried. "I can't go any further!"
"Listen, Princess," Mario persisted. "The sooner we find…the thing…the sooner we can save my brother."
"Do you think I WANT to go against my orders?" Kira questioned. "I could lose my job…or worse."
"Yeah, it's too bad that I don't care." Mario sighed before realizing how lost they were.
-smirk-
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