Disclaimer: I do not own the property of either Night in the Woods or Naruto, both works are owned by Masashi Kishimoto, Infinite Fall, and Finji respectively.
Chapter 1: Welcome Back, Mae Borowski
The sound of wheels departing was the only sound to be heard from miles away as the desolate night of the small town was deadly silent as the lack of activity to be seen at the bus station made for an eerie scene to be at.
The set of footprints heard through the exit tunnel was accompanied by the sound of low grumbling from a female who was walking near that of a blond fox who had his hand in his right pocket and a duffle bag sling on his shoulder walking next to her.
The fox in question wore that of a gray and blue color Champion jacket that matched the white long-sleeved shirt he wore underneath it that connected to a pair of faded blue jeans. The heavy steps of black military-style laced boots thudded each step he took.
This was sharply contrasted by that of the clothing of his short companion as she regulated to wearing a long-sleeved orange shirt with a slash zero in the middle of the chest together with gray jeans and greenish boots.
"How are you feeling Mae?"
"Sick"
"You said the same thing before we left, but you still wanted to go either way"
"I didn't think that the bus would take forever to get here"
"What do you expect, your hometown is really out here in the boonies far from the nearest town that's anywhere near a city"
"I blame the bus driver"
"Your lucky we didn't get kicked out of the bus, or we would be having this conversion while walking here"
"Don't want to even think about having to move this body of mine all the way home"
"Well, you should really start to focus more on your health, than you do in ordering all that take out"
"Didn't hear you complaining that night we got ramen"
"Why can I say am a slave to the noodles" Shrugging his shoulders."Is my only weakness in this life "
"Yet you're judging me on my eating habits"
"Yeah, because at least I maintain a healthy lifestyle as you don't. You need to start eating healthy and be more active if you want to continue eating that way you do before you hit your 30s because the moment that happens then you'll end up straight to the hospital with a bad case of heart disease"
"I'll be stuffing my face with all the unhealthy food in the world before I change my ways" Emphasizing her point by having her arms outstretched over her head."PIZZA FOR LIFE!"
"..."
"..."
"Am getting you back into shape"
"Alright"
The two settled into another brief silence as they stared at their surroundings of the almost vacant bus stop that they were currently residing in after being the last of the passengers to be dropped off at the depot.
"Pretty empty?" Called out the fox as he eyed the long row of seats situated in the middle of the lobby."You'll think that at least the bus clerk would be behind the desk waiting on people being dropped off"
"Not in this town" Looking up at the wrinkled poster of a fox with blade shades holding a drink under the banner named Fiascola Fox."People either leave here or hitch the next train outta here. Besides jumping an open freight seems more convenient than having to bear having a bus driver with a short fuse"
"Am still gonna stick with it being your fault that he got pissed in you having to ask so many times when we were gonna get here"
"I'll go to my grave before I admit that"
"Yeah, yeah" Not really wanting to continue the debate of the disgruntled bus driver."How about we continue this conversation once we reach your home. I don't really want to stick around here any more than we need to and right now I am dead tired after such a long drive"
"Blame the bus driver"
"Mae…"
"Look were both a bit cranky from the drive and being here this late is not helping matters so I think we should just head to my house already so let's get out of here"
"I thought you said you were expecting your parents to meet us here?"
"..."
"You did tell them that you were gonna show up, right?"
"..."
"You didn't, did you?"
"I wasn't sure that I wanted to let my parents know that I was coming home this soon"
"Mae, you know you don't have to feel scared about having to tell them about that," He said with a calm voice."Whatever you're going through, just know that you're not alone"
"I don't know, this is all still too raw to talk about" Looking down at her feet as if by reflex with her ears lowering with the final word.
She then felt a hand gently clasp her shoulder and looked up to see Naruto look at her with sincere eyes and a worried expression.
"Just don't close yourself off from others who only want to help you"
"Is that why you decided to come all that way here with me?"
"Of course" Answering her with the clearest sincerity."Why do you think I came all the way here for"
"Boyfriend obligations"
"Now your just talking nonsense"
"When have you ever not known me to sound off like a completely crazy person?"
"Now that you said that" adopting a thinking pose with his hand under his chin and eyes close at the question."There was that time at Jenna's party that you said something about spa-"
He wasn't able to continue with his answer when he felt small arms circle his midsection and the feeling of Mae's head placed against his chest. The feeling of her chest slowly rising up and down slowly made him stop talking.
It didn't take long for him to do the same. Making for a quiet scene of both youths hugging each other in complete tranquil silence.
After a few seconds, both release their grip from each other with a small smile plastered over their faces and still keeping eye contact.
"Thanks, I needed that" Thankful for the helping words given to her.
"Don't mention it Mae" Looking at the wall and seeing that it was past midnight."I think is time for us to be heading off unless we want to stay the night here sleeping on these cruddy seats"
"Can't be as bad as the one on the bus"
"I guess so"
The two then turned their heads to the sound of a power drill roaring to life and turned to the right of them to spot out the figure of a man standing at the entrance holding the tool in one hand with the other one being situated on the belt wrapped around his waist with the rest of his working instruments.
"Christ, I didn't even see him there"
"Yeah, me neither" Startled at the person popping out."He almost pop out of thin year"
"Either way we gotta go"
"Lead the way"
The two then walked up to the man who seemed oblivious to the two standing behind him as he continued to hammer away.
"Cough"
Nothing.
"Cough, Caught"
Still nothing.
"Can we pass through!" Yelled out the small cat.
"Can I help you?" He asked them with a gruff voice
"We want to leave, but you're kinda blocking the way out"
"It seems I am"
"So can you move a bit so we can pass through," Asked the blond."Were expected at someone's house"
"Afraid I can't"
"Why not?"
"Cause the door locked tight right after I got in"
"How long will it take you to fix it?"
"Well little one that depends"
"On what?"
"If I can, or not"
"Then can you?" Getting tired at this back and forth.
"I reckon I can get the job done with a nice cold beverage" Still not turning to look at them, but continuing to use his tools to fix the front door.
"What type of drink do you want us to bring you?" Said Naruto.
"Fiascola"
"Okay, how many do you want?"
"Just one can would suffice"
"Alright" Before turning to Mae."Am going to go get something from the vending machine back there, do you want me to bring you anything back?"
"Nah, am fine"
He nodded his head and went off to go get the can of drink leaving Mae with the handyman leaving the two in complete silence as they waited for the fox to come back.
"..."
"..."
"Yes?"
"Nothing, just waiting for my friend to come back" Shuffling around on her feet trying to strike up some small talk."He probably won't be long"
"I reckon he won't" Still not making any sort of eye contact, but continuing to work on the paneling of the door."Someone as young as he is would probably be without an excuse for being late to bring someone a can of soda
"Why do you say that?"
"Because the vending machine is just right there" Pointing at it with his screwdriver over his back shoulder.
"Oh"
Fortunately for her, she didn't have to continue talking as she heard Naruto come up from behind Mae to save her from making things more awkward.
"Here you go" Handing him the cold can." I didn't know what flavor to get you so I choose by random"
"No worries, whichever one would be fine" Taking the drink into his grip and not waiting a second more in opening the can to enjoy his beverage."Much obliged"
"Your welcome"
Taking another deep gulp that looked to have emptied it, and placed the container to the side. As if by nature he quickly took the screwdriver out from one of the pockets of his belt after he laid the drill to the side and proceeded to prod at the door again, though this time he looked as though he was working on the lock with more efficiency than before.
Both Mae and Naruto just looked on with the cat about to say something until the sound of a loud unlocking was heard.
"Click!"
"There we go" Coming off the stairs with his toolbox in tow."Nice and ready"
"That really didn't take long" Remarked the cat with a lazy expression.
"Not everything takes time to get done," He said "Well for me at least"
"I could have probably fixed faster"
"Thanks again, for fixing the entrance" Cutting in before Mae continued."But I think is time for us to take our leave, got places that we need go to before it gets anymore late"
"Night, then" Nodding his head as he exited from where he entered, before stopping the moment he stopped midway through the door."Just don't stray too far off the path into town, you never know what may be bumping at night"
"What do you mean about that?" Naruto asked him though he was never given an answer as the grizzled worker closed the door behind not even bothering to stop to reply back. Thus once more leaving the two to their own devices.
"That was weird"
"Yeah, it was"
"Any chance you know who that guy was?" Wondering who the individual was.
"First time am seeing him" Thinking the same as her boyfriend."But whoever he was I don't want to stick around here any longer to find out"
"Same."Quickly agreeing with here as both of them turned to the front entrance."Let's just get out of here, that sooner we leave the sooner we can get to your house as safe and sound"
"You don't have to tell me twice"
With that, both finally were able to exit the building of the bus depot and walked through the sliding doors as the cold frigid night greeted them the moment they stepped outside what they expected of the outside elements did not surprise them.
"It's really cold"
"That it is" Feeling the breeze hit his skin and almost letting out a shiver at the speed in which the cold was slowly picking up the longer they stood in place.
He looked at the vacant space and saw the far reaches of the hills that surrounded the town and noticed the field upon fields stretching as far as his eyes could see from where he stood. Snuggled between the fields were either far off from a massive building with huge chimney stacks making it stand that looked to be abandoned, transmission towers whose only indication of being there was made apparent by the light flickering every so often to the sound of the locomotive trains passing by.
The only thing that separated them from the nearby train tracks down the hill was that of a poorly managed fence that had seen better days with only the illumination of two street lamps keeping it from being completely dark.
"I can't see the old guy anywhere"
"How the hell did he leave that fast?" Inquired the cat seeing that there practically in the middle of nowhere with the only highway being the way out of Possum Springs.
"You don't think that he was some sort of apparition that haunts the bus station at night"
"Mae, if he was a ghost then why would he spend his entire time fixing doors"
"Could be a helping ghost, like Casper"
"Well, last time I checked Casper was not much of fixer, let alone able to keep down liquids"
"Different type of ghost then"
"How about just get past this whole ghost talk and get back to the topic at hand and think about the long walk we're gonna have to take to get to your house"
"That's easy"
"How so?"
"Because, and you're lucky that I know this. I know a quick shortcut into town" Walking up underneath one of the street lights and looking ahead of her."If we take a detour through the woods beyond those trees right there."Pointing at the far end where the forest began."We that path and well cut the distance in half if we take the road into Springs"
"I don't know Mae" Really not that sold in the idea of doing something like that."That kinda goes against all sort of common sense in having the two of us walk in the middle of the woods, especially at this time of hour where anything can happen to us, that will definitely be bad"
"We won't know that unless we go for it" Not really taking the possible dangers too seriously."I can assure you that nothing will happen"
"Pray tell what makes you so sure about that?"Curious in what type of answer she'll come up with"
"Because nothing really ever happens in Possum Springs." Sounding real confident about the notion."That not even serial killers would bother to come here"
"Now why do you have to go and say that"
"Because it's true"
"Because it's not"
"Where's your sense of adventure?" Looking at him from the illumination of the light that gave her eyes a gleam to them.
"Where's your sense of dying?" He shot back.
"I wear it on my sleeve. '' She jokingly replied by waving the sleeve of her shirt at him.
Though he wasn't fully on board with her plan to trek through the woods, he couldn't help but smile at her candid attitude of doing something totally off-field.
"And that's one of the reasons why I love her," He thought as she walked up to him.
"Just trust on this" Taking his hand and cradled it into her own small ones."I'll be quick and safe I can promise you that. I know these woods like the back of my head" She said this as she looked him straight in the eyes."Well be able to reach my home in no time"
Seeing that standing around outside the bus station arguing how to get into town would not do the both of them any good, he knew that he had no choice, but to relent at her request.
"I just know that am going to regret this" Looking up at the night sky and seeing a sea of stars shimmering with the faint glow of the moon shining down, before looking down to meet his girlfriend's gaze."Fine, I'll go along with this plan of yours, but if something happens while we're inside those woods, then am gonna say I told you so"
"Well, you can tell me that once we're inside" Still holding onto his hand and leading him to the opposite end where the woods started. The sound of her backpack moving up and down was loud enough to keep him aware of her presence as they got close to the trees.
He took one last glance at the bus station, before redirecting his gaze back and saw that he was about to enter into a dark wilderness filled with the unknown of surprises waiting to be found by careless wanderers.
"I really don't want to regret this"
And with that final thought, both Naruto and Mae entered the woods until the silhouettes of their bodies were no longer visible as they were swallowed up by the surrounding trees as the sound of nocturnal animals drowned out their steps as they proceeded to travel to Possum Springs.
(Half-hour Later)
The night had seemed to have grown colder since they left the bus stop and the start of their trek to Mae's house as said cat came up with the idea of cutting through the woods as a means of getting to her house quicker.
But as the night continued to persevere combined with the lack of apparent progress being made in taking countless turns was beginning to settle in for the two college students. More so the blond, than Mae.
Now about half an hour later, the omission seemed to be more and more true with each minute that passed as they walked around the crooked trees.
"You said that this was a quick way to your house"
"It is," Mae said as she walked in front of him looking around her surroundings and taking a left on an unbeaten path of dirt."It's been a while since I went through hare, but am sure that the way to my house is still here"
"How sure?" Following behind her and keeping at the same tempo she was walking in.
"Pretty sure"
"Oh, okay. Because it kinda feels as though we're lost out here" Moving his duffle bag away from some of the branches that were sticking out and making sure they wouldn't get tangled upon them."I still don't know why I couldn't just talk you into walking the long way back instead of being here"
"Because you love me and that you trust me with your life"
"Yeah, I guess that true," He said as he rubbed the back of his head in waving away some of the mosquitoes that were circling him."Though walking aimlessly without knowing where we're going is where I draw the line"
"Don't worry I know what I'm doing, this is starting to look real familiar we-It's here" Stopping a few tracks as she stared at what was ahead and felt the fox standing near her shoulder.
"Finally" Looking at the trail from where they stopped and saw a valley in front of them littered with trash and pieces of timber logs all scattered all over the area. By the looks of it that area had become a designated dumping ground by the locals.
"If we across this then were bound to hit a small playground that will take us to my neighborhood"
"With the only way to get across is to jump down there and see if we can climb up from there"
"Pretty much" Looking at the entirety of the dumping ground."The good thing is that is not much of a big drop so we don't have to worry of getting injured"
"I like that you're trying to make this sound safer than it is." Looking at the pipe sticking from the earth and seeing that she wanted to use that to jump down."Fine, am game no point in arguing any further now that we're all way out here"
"That's the spirit" Proceeding to jump on the pipe below and followed by a smaller one that resulted in a splash of water that covered the bed floor made by the drainage pipe."Is not that deep"
"Good thing I'm wearing boots" Mimicking what Mae did while making sure to have a firm grip on his duffle bag. Though he wore boots that help keep them from being ruined by the puddle of water, the weight of his drop made a bit of water get inside his socks.
"Ah, crap." Feeling the moisture seep in."
"Got water inside?" Mae asked to see him make a face the moment he landed.
"Yeah, got some inside." Moving quickly to jump on dry land before more got in."You?"
"Feet completely trenched" Saying it as if it weren't a big deal."But other than that am fine"
"Alright, what's next?"
"See that ledge up there?" Pointing at it with her raised finger."If we climb up using those stacks of logs we'll hit the nearest street inside the town and from there is just one road that we need to take to get to my house"
Seeing the throne stacks of wooden posts making an unintentional stepping ladder to climb over, the only thing he thought was how flimsy they looked and wondered how steady they would be if they decided to climb them.
"You know, when mentioned the idea of taking a shortcut I automatically thought of the possible dangers of what we could come across like bears, or snakes, but having to climb up raggedy posts was not one of them"
"So is that a yes"
"You're lucky that my body will take the strain of climbing up with the heavy load that I am carrying."Emphasizing by shaking the bag he was carrying.
"Is a good thing that you're an athlete"
"Not an athlete, just athletic" He pointed out."Besides being more worried about you getting hurt"
"Don't worry" Waving his concerns about her well-being."I may not look like it, but am still pretty nimble on my feet when I need it to be"
"You saying it like that makes me kinda jealous in how you're still able to climb and jump from high places like it was nothing"
"Years of practice, Naru, years of practice"
"Then let's get this climb over with"
Not much had to be said afterward as the two went on to climb up the stacks all while making sure to take it one step at a time as some of the logs felt looser than others. He made sure to be behind Mae as she took the lead as the loose feeling of the discarded logs made it possible to fall in between if they took one misstep. Luckily that didn't ended up happening even when it was made apparent that one of the logs looked to be at the brink of breaking away with any given weight added to it.
Making it over the ledge gave them a first glance of some of the buildings up ahead with the sight of some of the street lights making it easy for them to spot out.
"See that wasn't so hard," The cat said as she now stood up with a huff with some sweat building on her brow." Nothing too hard to handle"
"You don't sound like it"
"Is just the cold that's making me act a bit" Taking a gulp of air before releasing it which resulted in a cloud of smoke trailing out.
"You should have worn a thicker shirt"
"Didn't think that it was gonna get this cold" Rubbing her shoulders to warm them up.
"Mae, its Fall, why wouldn't it be cold"
"Global warming"
"Other than that, here" Taking off his jacket and handing it over to her" Put this on"
"Are you sure?" Taking the clothing to drape over herself."What about you?"
"I have another spare in my bag," He said as he opened up his carrying bag and took another jacket out that was black, but made of heavier material than the one he gave to Mae."Now we can go the rest of the way without having to worry about being that cold"
"Thanks" Nestling comfortably into the jacket that was already making her feel better in keeping her body warm from the environment.
"No problem" Walking up to her with the new clothing already on."You mentioned before that there was a park up ahead"
"Not a "park" per se, but more of a place that much of the kids went to either after school, or when they choose to skip it"
"What was it called?"
"Sawmill Park" Recalling the name with a small smile at the memories it brought."It was one of my favorite places to go to play at"
"Sawmill Park?" Raising a brow at the name."Why was it called that?"
"Because it wasn't that far off from the local sawmill that was located beyond the road that from where it was"
"You don't say"
"Yep, but that was a long ago, and I doubt anyone else has gone back to it given that it was already pretty much a dumped when I was there it wasn't even if a proper park, to begin with, it was just called that because kids would hang out there" Now remembering how it was in the past."Heck, some of us would take some of the discarded wood from the mill to build the park"
"That explains the logs from the pit that we came from," The blond remarked thinking about a bunch of bored school kids making their own fun by building it themselves.
"The town itself is kinda a dumpy place to visit, but then again you don't get to choose where you're raised so you just bear through it" She said as the two were walking side to side with each other as they grew closer to the lights.
"You got to at least be proud from your home at least"
"Is not that am not is just the bad memories that got me to leave in the first and not come back"
"Hey, we talked about this." Putting an arm around her shoulder as they continued to walk."Whatever happened then, just remember that is all in the past"
"I know, I know" Looking down at the ground as her eyes became clouded in remembrance."But that still won't take away the fact of what happened"
"Like I said it happened years ago, people forget and move on with their lives, and even if they do then don't pay them any attention." Giving her should a gentle squeeze."It's nothing but white noise"
"What if they remember?"
"Then don't pay them any attention"
"You said it as if it's easy" Grumbling a bit, but was displaying a smile at his response.
Seeing the smile that he got out of her, made him also smile as well. He knew that when Mae got like this it would take quite the effort to make her feel better again. So he made sure to take the right precautions to avoid making her feel worse.
He was about to say something else before he saw the clearing of the trees that revealed wooden constructs with graffiti on them and parts of children's toys built on them.
"Here it is," Mae said as she took in the view."Sawmill Park"
"You weren't kidding when you said that was makeshift" Looking at the misplaced pieces littered the entirety of the ground. Noticing how the biggest of the construct was levied by planks nailed together."I imagine the parents weren't too thrilled for the kids doing something potentially dangerous"
"They did, but we kept on doing either way. It was better than doing nothing on a school week" Coming up to one of the worn-out playsets and running her hand over the faded painting of an octopus dressed up in pirate gear."I don't know remember who came up with the idea to make the park pirate-themed, but damn was it a hell of a time. Cuts and splinters in all"
"Maybe we can come back during the day to add some more adjustments, maybe a bit of a cleanup?"
"We can" Still not break away from the badly made pirate ship."Am curious if the town council are still hard asses in this still being here"
"We should still try to see if that's true"
"Wait, I want to try something," She said as she quickly got on top of the makeshift ship through the use of two crates near the front and grabbed onto the wooden steering wheel.
"How's the wind up their captain?"
"The air is chill to perfection, first mate" Twisting the wheel left to right."Though I feel as though the winds are beginning to turn the tide against us"
"Then I suggest we better steer clear from the weather, captain"
"Man, just being here makes me remember how I barely could reach the wheel when I was a kid" Breaking from character at the memories that were forming again."I also remember not growing much after that"
"Don't sell yourself too short, Mae there's still a chance that you may hit a growth spurt any day now"
"Don't count on it" Jumping back down once she was done fooling around on the top of the ship."I've accepted my fate a long time ago in being a shortie"
"A smart-ass one at that"
"Comes with the territory," She said as she rolled her shoulders a bit to remove some of the numbness that was beginning to settle at carrying her pack back for a while."Let's get going already, my shoulder is starting to go limp on me"
"Do you want me to carry it for you?" Naruto offered as he saw the reason for her discomfort."I won't mind if you want me to"
"Nah, that's fine" Shaking her head at the request."I'll bare through it until we get to the house"
"If you say so" Shrugging his shoulders at the response and turning to his head towards the direction of the town only to frown at what he failed to notice once they exited the forest."I think we have a problem"
"What problem?"
"Look up ahead" Pointing at what he perceived to be the entrance
Mae followed his line of sight and came to notice a huge fence with yellow tape in the middle wrapped around one of the posts that seemed to be leaning forward as if it were being used to hold up the fence upright.
"Crap"
"You can say that again" Walking up to it followed in tow by Mae.
Coming across the front of the fence the blond put his hand forward and felt the weight of the fence and felt against the palm of his hand how loose it felt at the touch.
"It's loose"
"How loose?"
"With some added force we can probably push it forward to make it budge to get through" Applying more pressure to prove his point."But if we do that there may be a chance that the whole fence comes down"
"Then let's tear down this wall!"
"Not so fast comrade, we have to make sure to do this as quick and fast before anyone comes and see what we're doing"
"Is just an old fence, don't see what the big deal in knocking it down"
"Vandalism"
"Pfff!" Waving her hand at that, while throwing a raspberry at him."That's not much of a crime. That's barely enough to get your hand slapped around here"
"I kinda felt that you were gonna say that" Shaking his head at her response as he began the process of pushing forward with the sound of scraping metal following soon after.
Thankfully, the metal looked as though it had withered from exposure as he could feel some of the rust on the palm of his hands that was making it easy to bend the fence outwards with the intention of making a big enough opening to squeeze through.
"How's it looking?"
"Just a bit more push and we can cross right over" Being deep in concentration as he was making sure to push against the right spots on the metal fence."What about you, see anyone?"
"Mmmmmmmm" Scouting up head and seeing no such activity."Nothing it's dead silent"
"That's good" Latching unto the area that he was able to get loose."Because I'm gonna have to start making some noise to get this open"
"Go for it, is not like anybody is wandering the streets right now, everyone is probably asleep or watching tv"
"Hope your right" Pulling himself back as he still kept a steady grip."Here we go"
Screech!
"Dammit…"
Screech!
"Can you make it any less loud" Looking at him and then the street in quick succession to keep a lookout"
"It's really stuck there" He huffed out."Can't do nothing about the noise" Stressing out his point as he continued to pull, fortunately, the process was able to get the right of open space to crawl through."Got it, quickly get through"
Not waiting to be told twice, Mae quickly pushed her backpack in first, and then with a spring to her steps she went through the fence all while being mindful not to have anything get snagged by the sharp end of the fence.
Naruto on his part pushed his duffle bag once his girlfriend got through the hole, and with one hand still holding the one end that he pulled it from he crawled in as well, closing the pulled-out fence afterward once he was done with it.
Though that didn't stop him from hearing of tires pulling up from behind him and the sudden blinking familiar lights of a police cruiser in making themselves known.
"Shit"
"Mae, is that you?"
Turning to look who it was, Naruto came face to face with a person that looked similar to that Mae who had a much more withered face, due to age and a couple of inches added to her height.
"Someone you know, Mae" Asking her even though he kinda felt he knew who the police officer was.
"It's my…..aunt Molly" Almost stressing it out as if she didn't want him to know that she was related to her.
"What in the world are you two doing here in the middle of the night?" She asked them once she stood in front of them."You do know that is illegal to be hereafter curfew is set" The cop then noticed behind them with obvious marks that looked as though it was forced open giving the tracks in the dirt as an indication of its disturbance."So you two force your way through that there?"
"It was already like that when we got here" Mae quipped quickly."The ones that did it must have run of somewhere down the street."Pointing at her left."You can probably still catch up to them"
"Right" Clearly not believing her."Then what brings the two of you all the way out here at this part of town?"
"Taking a walk"
"A walk Mae"
"Yep, just the run of the mill stroll" Turning to look at the fox next to her who was quite up to this point."Ain't that right, Naruto"
"Yeah, just a walk"
"Right, no I don't believe that at all"
"What, why not" Her fur started to stand up at the response."How hard is that to believe"
"Well, for one that fence right there looks to have been forced open from the other side, and by the looks at the marks on the ground it looks as though something recently stepped on them, and seeing your boots having fresh mud on them it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the footprints no other than the two of you"
"That obvious?" The fox replied to her assessment.
"Now that you said that is pretty much a done deal" Smiling at his dumbfounded face that he made at implicating himself quickly.
"Your good"
"Thanks, but I kinda already knew that it was the two of you before I pulled in as I saw your figure coming over the fence"
"So why now?"
"What happens now, is answering my question about what you guys are doing walking through the middle of the woods into town, especially you Make shouldn't you be in school?"
"..."
"So?"
"Mam, I know that you want us to answer your question, but I don't think is the right time as is already late enough as it is and the weather right now hasn't been that kind to us on our way here"
"Can't do much about the weather, but that still doesn't take away the fact that you vandalized private property, as well as transpassing" Looking at him straight in the eyes as she still hasn't figured out what was the purpose of doing here with her niece alone at night."
"We traveled together," The younger cat replied."He's with me and he's done nothing wrong"
"Not from my perspective"
"He's a…." Droning out at the end as she was at a loss of words in how to describe Naruto to her aunt.
"He's what?"
"A friend from school" He responded to her as he knew that she hadn't told her parents about them. Something he thought that she would do by the time they got into town to be picked up."I decided to tag along with her so she wouldn't be traveling by herself"
"Is that so"
"Yeah, pretty much"
"Fine, I'll take your word for it for now," She said as she turned her view to Mae once again."What about the woods part, was it really necessary in taking a shortcut and messing up the fence"
"We only did what we did because it was the only way to get through and spending the night in the cold was not on the table to be doing right now"
"..."
"..."
"What about school?"
"Taking a break"
"A break?"
"Yeah, is something college students can do"
"In the middle of September this early in the semester"
"It's normal" Not really wanting to get into this about being here.
Rubbing her forehead at this little war of words between the two of them, she checked the time of her watch seeing that it was past two at night, it served no point in having to continue this worthless banter.
"How about I just drop you at your folks and talk about this first thing in the morning" Walking back to her vehicle."That way we can all be rested by then and be a bit more cooperative" She finished as the sound of a small clicking from the doors to the car was heard showing that she unlocked them for the two college students to get in."What do you say to that?"
Both of the youngsters looked at each other for a brief moment with the fox nodding his head for them to get in, with the cat being more reserved in taking up the offer to get a ride to her house.
Seeing that Mae wouldn't be the one to take the initiative to respond to her aunt, it fell on the blond's shoulders to accept on their behalf.
"We like that a lot mam"
"Then get your butts in, I still have a few more runs to get to and me standing here waiting to get an answer from the two of you is not how I want to spend tonight doing" Aunt Molly replied as she got into her police cruiser.
"Shall we?" Getting his bag off the ground as he walked to get in.
"Not like we have a choice now"
"Not the way you expected your return to pan out"
"When have things ever panned for me that wasn't bad"
"Me" Opening the door to the backseat and putting his duffle bag followed by Mae's as she handed it to him.
"You were an anomaly," She said all while smiling.
"You're damn right" He replied back as he got in with the door left open.
Sighing at the thought of going back home to meet with her parents who she didn't tell them that she was coming back on top of not letting them aware that she was in a relationship with somebody topped with having her aunt spot her out, and being a cop at that was not how Mae was hoping things to have gone, but knowing her luck it was not surprising.
Taking one more glimpse of the night sky before she entered the cruiser she stared at the full moon that shone brightly with no clouds in sight making for a bright sight to see.
"Welcome back, Possum Springs"
And with that, she entered the backseat of the cruise and closed the door behind her tight making for a jolt of the car and all three entering the town located in the middle of nowhere.
End of Chapter 1
Finally got this chapter. Felt like forever since the last update, but thankful here it is a new chapter for a new story. I know that this will come to some that wanted an update on either Helluva Boss, or Saints and Sinners, but this story was one of two that I had in the works that I wanted to finish with before updating the other two fics in my collection.
This one and The Agents were the two that I was working on and now that I have them down I'll be working again on my Hazbin and Helluva stories. Sorry to those that wanted an update on them, but this was something that I had been working on in the background that I really wanted to finish.
While I can't make any sort of promises on when I can have a story done, I will always have a commitment to get them at least done as soon as I can get them done. So just be a little patient with them and you won't be disappointed once they get posted.
Now a little bit about this fic. I got the idea of making a crossover with Night of the Woods once I got done playing the game for the first time last year and immediately took a liking to this world and its characters, especially that of Mae, Gregg, and Bea. Fun experience all around in playing the game and left me with so many ideas on how to tackle this story with what I have in mind for the next couple of chapters.
I'll post more info on the goings of the story with future updates, so for the meantime until then. Have a safe and good day wherever you may be.
Lastly, for anyone who may be picking up a trend with how I make some stories and what I base them on them I just wanted to say that I am not a furry, I just like the concept of animal hybrids with human features. I Have no problems with the furry community. It is just a preference of mind with how I make some of my fics. I won't always make them like this, but so far that's how they come to shape out.
Lastly, for all the fans of the upcoming Goodbye Volcano Height, I can't wait for it to come out.