One Flirtatious Knight

Chapter 3: A Little Pink Friend

The following day, Kitsune was sitting out in the castle courtyard by the fountain. It was a beautiful day, so she brought a book with her to read and a small snack- just a bowl of cherries she got from the big kitchen. She was given the go ahead, so why not? She could get used to this, honestly. As much as she loved the kingdom she grew up in, it paled in comparison to the lush scenery of Dreamland.

The kingdom she grew up in, Banapia, was a lot more rural in a way. Yet recently, it's been going under some industrialization via a family that moved in a couple months ago. Kitsune hadn't met them personally, but she had heard the last name bounce around before she left. Haltmann, she was pretty sure. 

Hopefully they'd find a way to make the streets safer at night.

"Poyo!"

She was suddenly brought out of her book by a sudden chirp and a small amount of pressure on her leg. She looked down, seeing that same pink, round creature she saw yesterday. It was hugging her leg, a happy smile on its face.

Kitsune chuckled, picking it up. Lots of cute round creatures around these parts, it seemed! She could definitely stand to stay a while. "Hey little guy! Where'd you come from, hm?" 

The creature looked at her, blue eyes shimmering with happiness. "Poyo poyo!" It chirped again.

The dame raised an eyebrow, amused. "Really now? Tell me more." She responded, deciding to play along. The creature seemed to be young, it gave her the same energy as a little child. A baby, even.

"Kirby!!" A new voice called out, running over. Looking up, Kitsune saw a young girl- not as young as the little orb that now sat on her lap -who she now knew was named Kirby- running over. She had blonde hair tied up in a ponytail with a rather ornate hair tie in orange and purple, and green eyes. Her clothes consisted of pink and lime green- with those colors being in a zigzag pattern with orange flats. She also had green eyes that were slightly wide with concern.

Once she got close enough, she let out a sigh. "You can't just run off like that, Kirby! You know it scares me when you do that!" She scolded.

"Poyoo..." Kirby mumbled in apology.

The girl sighed again, laughing. "It's alright." She responded, before turning to the female knight. Suddenly, she seemed more on edge. "You-!" She yelped, backing up.

Kitsune blinked. "Err.. Yes, me." She said. "I believe I saw you yesterday- right before I entered the castle. Am I wrong?"

The girl nodded. "That... That's true. You were that knight that Dedede called. Why'd he call you here? Are you here to cause trouble?" She asked, a noticeable tone of distrust in her voice.

'Ah, sounds like this isn't a reputation thing. Or well, not my reputation, at least. Sounds to me King Dedede has quite the... track record, if I'm getting interrogated from being called here by him.' Kitsune thought to herself, chuckling a bit. "I'm not here to cause problems- quite the opposite. Apparently, I was called here for entertainment purposes." 

The blonde blinked. "Entertainment purposes?" She echoed.

"Correct! I was called here to duel Meta Knight. Not for fighting, just for entertainment. I have no personal scores to settle, and honestly, I'm just here for a job and a fun time." The dame explained, standing up. 

"Where are my manners- I forgot to introduce myself. My bad." She put a hand on her chest, holding her hand up as she gave a very faint bow. "My name is Kitsune- or Dame Kitsune Reine. It's nice to meetcha!"

The girl was quiet for a moment. It was interesting, seeing a knight talk so casually yet so formally- especially as interchangeably. Seeing as she didn't seem to have any interest in causing harm, she relaxed a little. "I'm Tiff. It's nice to meet you! I can see you met Kirby."

"That I have! Cute little thing. We don't have anything like him in Banapia." Kitsune remarked, patting Kirby on the head.

Tiff smiled a bit, before something clicked in her head. "You know, now that I look at you more... You kinda look like Meta Knight- thought that might just be the mask and the colors." She commented. 

Kitsune laughed. "Maybe it was meant to be then!" She joked. "But no- in all honesty, that just might be a coincidence. I obviously can't speak for Meta Knight, but I have my reasons for wearing this mask." She added.

"What is it? If you're okay with telling me, that is!" Tiff questioned, sitting down beside her. Kirby also seemed interested, now looking up at Kitsune with big, curious eyes.

The knight chuckled. "You know, the funny thing about that is, I have a friend who asked something similar to a mutual friend." She started. "See, that other friend told me something. He told me that human psychology says that humans tend to think that people with masks can cause discomfort, fear, or cautiousness. It makes someone more likely to take you seriously." She reached behind her head, untying the ribbon that kept her mask on. Without a second thought, she pulled it off her face.

"Which, when you don't exactly have the most strong looking figure, you need some way of making them do that." She shrugged. "Or at least, that's how my kingdom operated." 

Tiff was confused. "But your face is completely normal. Aside from that scar on your forehead." She remarked, before realizing what she said. "Ah- sorry."

"It's alright!" Kitsune chuckled. "Honestly, the story of this scar is pretty funny. I accidently ran into a nail sticking out of the wall- y'know, like an idiot. I still think it's funny though!" She remarked.

"But yes- normal. Exactly. In my kingdom, it was rather difficult to get taken seriously. I'm not exactly super muscular, and being a female has its drawbacks sometimes. So, I had to get a mask to make myself look a little more imposing- and though the judges were reluctant, they let me in!" She smirked a little. "And honestly? The look of shock on their faces was totally worth it. I didn't win first place- in fact, I got third. But it was fun, and I made some friends!" She explained.

"That's so cool!" Tiff chirped. 'Though, that first part sounds... worrying. I wonder if she thinks that's how it is everywhere...' She wondered. 

"Why thank you." Kitsune smiled, putting her mask back on. She tied the usual bow before standing up. "Anyhow, it was lovely meeting you, Tiff. I'm gonna wander the castle a bit. Maybe I'll run into my little "rival" again. I kinda wanna make it a point to get to know him more before our duel- partially to know what to expect, and also because he seems like an interesting guy." She remarked.

There was also the thing she was secretly being hired for, but she wasn't allowed to talk about that. Come to think of it, she'd definitely need to think of some way to do damage control- just in case. She wasn't an idiot. If Meta Knight was keeping his face a secret for this long, there's definitely a reason for that- and she wanted to make sure there was some way of doing damage control just in case. She was a warrior, not an insensitive mega bitch.

"Okay then! See you later!" Tiff responded, Kirby giving a wave as the redhead walked away. Tiff smiled, looking down at Kirby. "You know something, Kirby?"

Kirby looked up at her. "Pyooo?"

"I honestly have a pretty good feeling about this."