Kingdoms (kaimaki fantasy AU)

Chapter 13: Back On the Ground

Shuichi felt uncomfortable as he walked through the market. Since Kaito had run off with the girl, guards and Monokumas patrolled the village. It was as if they still thought that they were still hidden somewhere or were waiting for Kaito to come back. Just seeing them patrolling the streets and occasionally checking everyone's homes was enough to make Shuichi nervous. Not to mention the Monokumas occasionally growling or attacking random people if they so much as looked at them the wrong way. Shuichi wasn't sure what Kaito had gotten himself into, but he hoped that his friend was alright. And that the guards would just take a hint and give up already. The last thing that he wanted was Kaito to come home to this mess.

"Excuse Gonta."

Shuichi turned around to the voice behind him and nearly had a heart attack. He didn't know what he was expecting, but the last thing that he would've expected was a giant standing so close behind him, carrying a big bag on his shoulder. He leaped back in surprise and almost fell over backwards.

"Sorry, but are you Shuichi Saihara?" The giant asked, looking apologetic. As he regained his composure, Shuichi scanned the giant carefully. He didn't seem like a threat despite his appearance. But why would he be looking for him?

"Yes, that's me. Can I help you?" He said calmly as he strained his neck to look up at the giant. He seemed relieved, as if he had been looking for Shuichi all day.

"Gonta bring message from Kaito." The giant, Gonta, smiled. Shuichi immediately put a finger to his lips, telling the giant to be quiet. He watched the guards carefully as they walked past. If Gonta had a message from Kaito the best thing to do was to not discuss it out in the open. The guards ignored them completely, not seeming to be concerned about the giant that had suddenly appeared in the village.

"Come with me, quick!" He hissed, gesturing for Gonta to follow him. They walked back to his house as calmly as they could. Again, the last thing that they wanted to do was make the guards suspicious. Shuichi and Kaede were lucky that the guards didn't find evidence of Kaito's escape from his house with the girl. He didn't know how long that luck would last however.

"Shuichi? Who's that?" Kaede asked as they snuck into the house. Kaede looked a little worried upon seeing the giant having bend down a little to get through the door.

"Hello. Gonta's name is Gonta. Gonta sorry for scaring you, miss." Gonta smiled as kindly as he could. As Kaede introduced herself, Shuichi scanned the street from the window, making sure that they weren't followed. A guy like Gonta probably would've caught some attention, he had no doubt about that. He was a little surprised to find that they weren't followed by any suspicious guards. For good measure, he closed the curtains, just to be safe.

"You said that you have a message from Kaito?" He asked, turning to Gonta.

"Yes. Oh? Why is bag moving?" Gonta suddenly questioned, looking puzzlingly are the luggage he was carrying. He cautiously swung it off of his back. Sure enough, there was something moving inside it. It was like an animal or something was trying to claw its way out of the bag. Throwing caution to the wind, Gonta opened it. There was a flash of white, black and purple, as a boy suddenly jumped out of it.

"BOO!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. Everyone else in the room screamed in surprise as they leapt away from him. The boy burst out laughing. He was laughing so hard that he was on his back, kicking his legs in the air and holding his stomach. "Oh man! I got you all good!"

"Hi Kokichi." Gonta smiled, recovering from his shock. Shuchi and Kaede watched as the boy calmed down, laying flat on his back panting heavily, still letting out stifled giggles. "Is this why you told Gonta to take big bag with Gonta?" Gonta gently grabbed the back of Kokichi's cloak and brought him to his feet.