One Flirtatious Knight

Chapter 10: A Knight, A Puffball, and A Noble's Daughter Walk Into Town

A few days later, Kitsune was walking with Tiff and Kirby. Tiff had offered to take her to Cappy Town so she could properly meet the townspeople. "I warn you- be careful if you decide to eat Kawasaki's food." The young girl warned- Kirby giving an excited "poyo" at the mention of the chef.

Kitsune tilted her head. "Why's that?" She asked. "Kirby seems to like it." She stated, patting the puff on the head as she carried him in her arms.

"Kirby likes any food- even if it's burnt." Tiff remarked, giggling. "And, uh... You might get food poisoning." 

"...Dually noted." Kitsune responded. As they neared the village, Kitsune thought back to the conversation her and Meta had recently. From her understanding, if the food wasn't terrible, it was bland- unless Tiff's mother -Lady Like, she's heard her name is- made it. "Y'know... Meta told me something about the food around here recently."

Tiff blinked, looking up at her. "Meta? You mean Meta Knight?" She asked. 'I didn't think he'd care for nicknames.' She thought.

"Heh, yep. We had some snacks and chatted for a while. He said it was one of the best things he had." The dame chuckled, a faint blush dusting her cheeks. "It was really sweet. For someone with a mysterious attitude, he's an absolute sweetheart deep down." She remarked.

"Meh-niiih?" Kirby asked.

"Yeah. I think he's busy, though. We've been chatting a lot recently." Kitsune responded.

Tiff hummed, holding a finger to her chin in thought. "That's interesting... Meta Knight was never all that social before. He must really like you." She pointed out.

Kitsune chuckled. "Aw, that's sweet if that's true. I like him too." 

Before long, they reached the town. Just like the first day she appeared, the surrounding people went quiet as they looked over at the trio. Kitsune couldn't help but chuckle a little at this. "Still scared of me, huh?" She asked.

Tiff stepped forward. "Hey everyone! This is Kitsune! She's gonna be staying here for a while." She introduced, gesturing to the dame.

Kitsune gave a small bow, the usual faint, confident smile on her face. "A pleasure to meet you all more properly. I apologize that I couldn't introduce myself correctly before. You know how the king is, I'm sure." 

A man walked over. He had a relatively thin figure and, aside from his grayed mustache, no hair. Judging by how formally he dressed, she figured he was an important figure in this town. Perhaps a mayor. "It's nice to meet you, Kitsune. You say you were hired here on business- by the king it sounds like, correct?" He asked, to which the redhead nodded.

Another man approached- this one in a police uniform. "What'd he hire ya for? Nothing shady, I hope."

Kitsune chuckled, shaking her head. "Not really. Er, not by any definition of shady I'm aware of, anyway." She shrugged. "Anyways, I was hired to duel Meta Knight. I'm pretty sure he had every intention on us just being rivals, but by this point, I'd go as far to consider us friends." She stated. 'Come to think of it, does he think of me as a friend? I might have to ask.' She thought, looking up as she noticed the people curiously chatting amongst themselves.

"Friends?"

"That's a bit surprising. Meta Knight never really talks much to us."

"I didn't even think he had an interest in friends."

Tiff chuckled, looking up at the tall knight. "Looks like we found the new talk of the town!" She chirped.

"Poyooo!" Kirby cheered, nestling closer into Kitsune.

The dame hummed. "It's that interesting?" She asked.

Tiff shrugged a little. "Ever since Nightmare was defeated, it hasn't been really exciting. News spreads really fast around here!" She chirped.

'Nightmare? Why does that sound familiar?' Kitsune wondered. She'd have to ask Meta about that later on. "I see. Well, I'll bet the duel will be more interesting news. I think it's in a few weeks or so. Somethin' like that." She remarked.

They walked around town for a bit longer after that- Kitsune taking mental note of all the buildings they passed. By far, out of this lovely little kingdom, the beach was her favorite place. Kitsune sighed as she stretched, putting her hands behind her head. "Man... This place honestly might be the prettiest I've seen. Berdie would agree too." She remarked.

"Berdie?" Tiff repeated.

"A friend of mine- Bernadette. She and I have been talking about eventually leaving Banapia- and another friend of ours wants to as well one day. I dunno about them, but..." Kitsune smiled, this one of contentedness instead of confidence. "...I think I'd like to live here." 

"That'd be great! I'm sure Kirby would like that, huh Kirby?" Tiff chirped, smiling as the puffball jumped up.

"Ki-neeh!" Kirby cheered, hopping up and down. 

"I'll heavily consider it then." Kitsune chuckled. "First thing's first though- I gotta have that duel with Meta. Then I can focus on the actual moving process." She stated.

It was funny. Years ago, she doubted she'd be so quick to leave Banapia. Sure, Banapia wasn't the best place by any definition. But it was home. Though at this point, Dreamland was feeling much more like home. She wouldn't openly admit it, but honestly?

At this point? She never wanted to return to her old kingdom.