One Flirtatious Knight

Chapter 4: Nice Day for a Patrol

(Eres el peor = You're the worst.
Todos sabemos que no piensas eso = We all know you don't think that.)

Meanwhile, Meta and Tourmaline were walking around the castle on their usual patrol. Sword and Blade were patrolling various other wings, so it was just the two siblings. Tourmaline glanced out the window to the right, smiling a bit. "Kirby's back at it again." She pointed out.

Meta hummed, looking out the same window she was. Down in the courtyard, Kirby was excitedly talking to Tiff about something, doing a little dance it looked like. He chuckled a little. He wasn't sure what Kirby was talking about -then again, no one really did yet- but he seemed happy.

"Perhaps he made a new friend, or he was given food recently." He remarked.

"Like that 'Assigned Rival At Meeting' of yours?" Tourmaline asked, grinning a little.

Her brother gave her a deadpan expression. "You were saving that, weren't you? You waited for the opportunity to use that." He asked, though his tone made it sound more like a statement.

"Perhaps~." Tourmaline giggled, looking ahead. Her eyes lit up a bit as she saw a certain dame ahead. "Hey! Speaking of which, that's her, right?" She asked, pointing in front of her. Meta looked up, and sure enough, the woman was there.

She sat in the large, makeshift windowsill. She seemed to be taking in the scenery, perfectly content. A small smile was present on her face. She didn't seem to notice them, so she must've been pretty lost in thought.

"Let's go say hi!" Tourmaline chirped, running over to the redhead before Meta could protest.

"Wha- Tourmaline-! And she's gone. Right.." Meta followed after, unsure of how this interaction was going to go.

"Hi! It's Kitsune, right?" His younger sister asked, gaining the redhead's attention. 

Kitsune chuckled a little. "That's me, yes." She stood from the windowsill, her eyes quickly wandering to Meta. A sly little smile appeared on her face. "Meta Knight, good to see you. Who's this?" She questioned.

The knight patted his sister on the shoulder, having to stand on his toes to do so. "This is Tourmaline, my little sister." He introduced, quickly coming to a rather embarrassing realization- at least, to him it was. He was the shortest person here. He wrapped his cape around himself, standing on his toes.

"Nice to meetcha, Tourmaline." Kitsune nodded, stretching as she stood. "So, what are you both doing today?" She asked.

"Just some patrols. Even though the monsters are gone once and for all, we have a job to do." Meta responded.

'Monsters? Clearly I missed a meeting or two.' Kitsune thought. "Interesting! Mind if I tag along? I don't really have much else to do at the moment." She responded.

Meta hummed, mulling it over. Tourmaline did want them to get closer, so he didn't really see the harm. Besides, it could be interesting to learn more about her. Not to mention, some of her remarks about safety regarding her kingdom made him feel... rather concerned. It was a weirdly specific question, and something about it kept knawing at him. Finally, he shrugged. "I see no issue with that. Come along." 

Kitsune smiled, following after. For once, Meta felt the need to spark conversation. "So. Kitsune. Why don't you tell us a bit about the kingdom you're from? I seem to recall you haven't mentioned the name." He suggested.

"Oh, that's right, I haven't. My bad." Kitsune paused, seeming to think about how to put her thoughts into words. "Well, it's called Banapia. It's kinda a ways away. It's called a kingdom, but it honestly feels like a small, now industrial town. The air smells kinda weird if you get too close to the Haltmann Factory." She responded.

Meta bristled a bit. "You have a factory?" He asked, the memories of Dedede's factory resurfacing. The air smelled horrible back when that thing was built, so he could empathize.

Kitsune nodded. "Yeah- started going out less after it was built. Or at least, I avoided the street it was on- especially at night. Though, I never went out at night much if I could help it." She explained. "It was dangerous sometimes."

Tourmaline glanced at Meta, an expression of concern was on her face. Meta returned it, deciding to try and press for more answers. "I recall you mentioning that. Lots of crime at night, I assume?" He asked.

"Hmm.. I wouldn't say 'a lot'- I think I just had a bit of misfortune once. Since then, I've been a lot more cautious." Kitsune responded.

"Misfortune..." Tourmaline repeated. "Were you attacked? A-Are you hurt?" She asked.

"I was attacked, yes. Or at least, they attempted to." Kitsune patted the sword on her hip. "Never have I been more thankful to have my knight training than that knight. I got a few bruises, but nothing too seriously damaged." She shook her head. "But enough of that- I can't say I'm fond of remembering that night." 

"Right- our apologies." Meta responded. 'I didn't think she'd explain all of that. It helped, but I'm a little surprised.' He thought to himself.

"It's alright, sweets." Kitsune assured, grinning a bit when she saw him jolt. Tourmaline raised an eyebrow, and amused smile on her face.

"Sweets?" She echoed.

Meta sighed, glancing away. "Kitsune has a tendency to call me nicknames. Sweets, I'm convinced, is her favorite." 

"Cooooorrect~!"

Tourmaline laughed. "It's cute! And honestly pretty fitting considering Meta's sw- mm-!" She was cut off as her brother covered her mouth with a gloved hand, effectively shushing her. 

"Shh!" Meta hissed.

Kitsune laughed. "Shot in the dark- sweet tooth?" She asked. Meta froze up before his shoulders slumped in defeat, letting Tourmaline go. 

"Correct... If it isn't any trouble, could you refrain from telling anyone? I don't mind the nickname, but I'd prefer if my sweet tooth stayed a secret." Meta said, before faintly mumbling: "I have a reputation to uphold."

"No issue at all!" Kitsune chirped, tilting her head. "I can't exactly blame ya. I have a sweet tooth as well. Speakin' of, I'm heading back to my room for sweets. I'll be seeing ya both later!" She gave a small wink, running off.

"Bye bye!" Tourmaline called, waving. She turned to her brother, a smile on her face. "I like her." She stated.

"We have yet to meet a woman you didn't like, Tourmaline." Meta remarked, a slight teasing tone in his voice.

Tourmaline pouted, huffing a bit. "I like women, what of it?" 

"I know- believe me, you've been obvious about that since I've known you." Meta replied, chuckling as Tourmaline swatted at his chest.

"Eres el peor..." She muttered.

"Todos sabemos que no piensas eso." Meta responded, patting her head.

"Yeah, fair." Tourmaline said, looking back at him. "In any case, what do you think? Do you think it was worth it?" She asked.

Meta paused, humming a bit. "...Yes. I do, actually. You were right." He stated, making Tourmaline giggle a bit.

"See? I knew it'd be alright!"