Cute Little Bunny
Smultronstället
“Hey guys!” Dada greeted as he strolled into his and his friends’ guild headquarters, coming to a stop at the meeting table the other four currently sat at. “What’s this meeting about?” He questioned curiously, sitting beside Toto.
“Not sure. Shishi just sent us all the same message so here we are.” Joko responded casually, thumbing through a book that the others could only assume he’d just recently gotten.
Dada frowned, opening his mouth to ask if any of the others might’ve known only for said leader to walk in at that moment.
The group immediately took notice of the swordsman’s determined steps as he made his way over which made them all frown in confusion. Shishi stopped at the end of the table, staring at them all contemplatively for a moment before finally saying something.
“I’ve been giving the Marilith mark mission a lot of thought lately and I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to level up our lower leveled members.” He stated, just barely pausing for the group to think over his words before continuing. “I’m not saying that you can’t hold your own or that you’re weak but given that we almost had our asses handed to us on a silver platter the other day, I think it would be a really good idea to do some leveling up.”
“So how are you suggesting we go about it?” Joko asked when they’d all had some time to think about it and had agreed it was a good course of action.
Shishi smirked proudly as he replied, “I was thinking that we’d split up into teams of two - one lower level and one higher level - and do missions as pairs rather than as a group.” He glanced briefly at their youngest member before moving his gaze forward again. “I’ll team up with Toto. Joko, you and Tats can team because he’ll listen to you. And Keke, you’re with Dada. Any objections?” He questioned, gazing around at all of them.
Joko said nothing but he did look a little pleased that his partner would Tats - he could get the fencer to focus on levelling up because the blonde hated to be outdone by him. Dada shook his head but gave a quick albeit guilty look to Keke, knowing that their most silent member would’ve probably preferred anyone else other than him.
Everyone looked around at one another after Shishi got done explaining, each seemed to be pleased with the decision, save for two members. Keke was blank as usual, he went along with most anything Shishi decided on; while Dada looked a bit morose about it.
Before anything else could be said, Tats stood up and looked at Joko. “I’m ready to go when you are - we should hunt for a mission, right?” He questioned, practically dragging Joko out without giving him a chance to even react. Toto let out a snicker at Joko’s retreating sigh but stood up soon after and looked to Shishi who motioned for him to come along. They too left afterwards, leaving Keke and Dada to themselves.
Without a word spoken, Keke pulled open the screen to glance through missions, rejecting some too high for Dada and putting a mark on those that seemed just the right level for him. Once he found an appropriate mission, he stood up and looked to Dada, tilting his head at him curiously before straightening up once more. “Come on, we should gather together some supplies to take with us,” He explained, walking past Dada to the door and waiting for the other to fall in behind him before leaving the guild room.
Dada let Keke buy all the items and haggle down the prices if they were too high as they went from store to store, staying silent and organizing said items in the meantime. He tried his best not to seem too terribly put out by Shishi’s choice in teams but in the end he couldn’t help it. It wasn’t at all a secret dislike of the other or anything of the sort, he actually did enjoy Keke’s company. No, it was more to do with Keke’s opinion of him than anything.
See, while he didn’t mind the other’s company the fact remained that Dada and Keke didn’t talk very much - mostly because Keke just wasn’t a talker to begin with but also because when he did talk, it was mostly with Joko. Dada could tell that Keke would’ve preferred doing anything other than helping him level up.
Heaving a mental sigh, Dada glanced at his companion as the ninja looked over some potions, suddenly realizing that he’d never said what their mission was about. Curiosity striking him, he gave his full attention to the other. “Keke… what’s the mission you chose for exactly? You never said…”
“You never asked.” The blond replied smartly, the faint traces of smirk on his lips. When Dada simply gave a pout in return, he explained, “It’s just your basic ‘find so-and-so’ mission but the area is really good for leveling up. I gained a lot of levels there myself.”
Dada gave a thoughtful hum to that before smiling happily, “Sounds good then.” He replied, suddenly feeling a little more positive about their situation. If Keke was willing to take him to a place where he’d leveled up himself then maybe the other didn’t completely resent being forced to pair up with him.
“So… is that it?” He questioned then, scrolling through their recently bought items once again to see if they had enough of everything.
Keke was glancing over the mission summary once more before they warped out of the home town when Dada spoke up after a momentary pause. He gave a faint smile and nodded, “Yep, that’s it. We need to go to the Giza Plains now…” He motioned for the other to follow him to the portal, which was a only a few steps away. Keke set it up to warp them to the right area and they were off.
Once they arrived at the area, Keke was quick to lead Dada to the right location, silence thick between them. Keke kept glancing over at Dada, his face stoic so as not to alert the archer, but he was still a little bugged by the fact that Dada didn’t seem to like that they were paired together to level up. He was sure had Toto been leveled up more, Dada would’ve preferred going with him instead.
He heaved a barely audible sigh and looked forward where the lady who posted the mission was situated. Taking his chance to get it off his chest without a confirmation to his thoughts, Keke spoke up softly, “I’m sorry you’re paired with me. I’m sure you’d prefer someone else, huh?” He hummed, though it wasn’t much of a question to be answered.
Dada, having been so caught up in his thoughts about how painfully silent it was between himself and Keke and how to better remedy it, almost missed what the ninja had asked him. Almost. The archer’s eyes widened to the size of saucers, not at all believing that Keke of all people was apologizing for Dada having to be paired up with him. Did he miss something?
“Wh-” He started but abruptly cut off by a woman’s voice.
“Oh thank goodness you’re here!”
The two looked ahead to see a young woman running towards them, relief as much in her face as it had been in her eyes. When she finally came to a stop in front of them, she gave them a small smile, “Thank you so much for coming! I was worried no one would come.”
“It’s not a problem Miss.” Dada answered politely, more than a little put out that he couldn’t get to the bottom of figuring out why exactly Keke had apologized to him but willing to set it aside for the moment. He’d get a chance in a little while. “Your ad said something about looking for your boyfriend?”
The young woman nodded her head vigorously, “Yes! He left yesterday to go tend to the village’s Cockatrice and told me he’d be back this afternoon when the next person took over his shift but he hasn’t come back yet! I’m so worried…” She trailed off, sniffling as small tears sprung to her eyes.
Despite the fact that the young woman was just a random game NPC and she would repeat this story to countless others, it didn’t make her story any less heartbreaking and Dada felt his heart squeeze in his chest because of this. He placed a comforting hand on her back and gave her a soft smile, “It’s okay… we’ll find him for you, right Keke?” He questioned, glancing at his companion.
Keke listened intently to the NPC woman’s story for what seemed like the millionth time, nodding his head gently the whole time. He’d done this mission countless times because it provided good experience while also yielding a fair amount of coins. Of course the experience he gained from this mission now was next to nothing, but it was still a nice, easy mission to take lower leveled friends on. He looked to Dada and then to the NPC, smiling slightly, “Yes - we’ll definitely find him for you, don’t worry, ma’am.”
She gasped and jumped in delight, clapping her hands gently. “If he can’t come with you, bring me proof that he’s okay and you’ll be rewarded handsomely.” She nodded her head, smiling sweetly before ending the conversation and beginning to pace around like before.
Keke looked at Dada and gave a half smile, “Well, we should get started. Lucky for you, I know the easy ways around this mission… unluckily, though, I’m not going to tell you. You’ll be leading this mission, I’m only here for backup.” He nodded, motioning for Dada to lead on. Of course he would help more than he was saying he would, but he wasn’t going to let the other know that.
Dada gaped at his companion, the look on his face not only one of shock but disbelief as well. Keke was going to let him lead the mission? Him, as in Dada - the one who had never led anything in all of his gaming life? The one who could barely keep himself alive during missions much less any of his guild members and who had gotten kicked of a couple of guilds because of this factor?
Was Keke out of his mind?
“Do… do you really think that’s a good idea, Keke?” Dada finally questioned once he got over his stupor, eyes shifting nervously towards the open expanse of the savannah they were currently located in.
When the other merely nodded, a look of ‘are we going or not?’ clearly on his face, Dada swallowed thickly and nodded. “O-okay then… let’s go…” He mumbled, steps slow and cautious as he began leading them into the next area and away from the safety of the outskirts of the village.
The walk was once again silent but not nearly as suffocating as before considering both were on the lookout for any ambushes by monsters and not their teaming up. Dada’s grip on his crossbow was tight, the fingers of his free hand twitching and at the ready to snatch an arrow from his quiver at the first sight of an enemy. The feeling was more from fear than being on alert, partly scared that he would wind up needing to be saved their first battle and partly nervous he was going to just mess this whole mission up. He didn’t want to make a mess of things - especially not in front of Keke.
Sure enough, a wolf-like creature with a set of sharp teeth and an equally nasty looking horn protruding from its nose jumped out from one of the bushes a few minutes into their journey through the area. The Hyena didn’t stand a chance though as a highly on-edge Dada shot off a barrage of arrows towards the beast, earning himself extra experience for an overkill.
“I’m sorry…” He apologized instantly afterwards, not really sure why he was but chalking it up to feeling sorry for doing so much damage to the creature when it really wasn’t needed.
Keke was at the ready the second the Hyena dashed out at them, but was pleasantly surprised that the other was so quick to act. He stood by and watched as he pummeled the Hyena with arrow upon arrow until the creature was dead. He smirked, walking closer to Dada as he began apologizing. He snorted softly and shook his head, “Don’t apologize for doing such a good kill. I think it was awesome.” He gave the other a grin and motioned for him to continue on leading them.
The adventure went on and they fell into silence again, this time a little less tense than before. Keke knew there would be more enemies and even an onslaught of creatures just over the next hill, but he wanted to test Dada, give him a chance to prove to himself that he was a better fighter than he gave himself credit for. Keke knew the other had it in him, but just outright saying it wouldn’t be enough.
Dada was going to see it for himself, Keke would make sure of it.
Dada continued to lead them in the direction that he thought would lead them to their mission goal, not entirely sure it was the right way but deciding it wasn’t terribly important anyway. The point of this outing was to help him level up more than it was completing the mission. He was still on alert for nearby beasts but it was nowhere near the paranoid alert he’d experienced earlier as the previous battle had been sobering and somewhat assuring that he could fight just as well as anybody else.
He wouldn’t dare to admit that Keke’s praising him had made him feel a lot more accomplished than defeating the monster had.
Speaking of which…
“Keke?” Dada murmured suddenly, voice breaking through the relatively companionable silence that had enveloped them. When the ninja avatar gave a hum of acknowledgement, he continued. “Um… what did you… mean by what you said earlier?” He questioned, elaborating when Keke raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “I mean… when you said you were sorry that you were the one I had to paired with…?”
It had been the question he’d begun to ask when he’d been interrupted by the young woman earlier and now that he’d finally remembered it, his curiosity had come back with an almost insatiable need to find out Keke’s meaning.
Keke had been wondering when Dada would ask that question - he knew he’d been about to ask the time the NPC woman interrupted them. He’d planned on that actually, he wasn’t sure what the answer would’ve been before, but now he knew what to answer. He took a brief moment to reply before he paused in his footsteps and turned to Dada, “Well… I know I’m not the most, uh, friendly member of our group. I don’t normally talk much, not that there’s a huge reason I don’t…” He shrugged some.
They fell into a short silence while Dada processed that information, Keke giving him a slight smile, “I just feel bad you were left with no option but me since I know you get along better with Toto even though he’s on a lower level than you…” He nodded his head some before beginning to walk again, stopping briefly to call on Dada, “Come on - let’s get going!”
Dada hid a frown as he quickly caught up with his companion, unhappiness with Keke’s words breaking through the shock and disbelief he felt that said ninja actually thought he, Dada, hated their pairing up. He supposed he couldn’t blame him for thinking that way though considering that his own depression over Keke’s possible dislike of being stuck with him could’ve been seen as something other than self-consciousness. It was kind of funny, in a way, that they’d both been worried about the same thing.
It was a couple of short battles later that Dada brought up the subject again, his thoughts now properly sorted enough so that he wouldn’t sound like an idiot.
“I… don’t think of it as being left with no option but you…” He murmured softly, glancing over at the blonde. “Sure… you don’t talk much and yes I do get along very well with Toto but you’re not bad company. Sometimes quiet is good… and peaceful...” He nodded, giving him a warm smile.
He chuckled then, “I’m actually surprised you said that because I thought that you didn’t like being paired up with me and that you’d like being paired with Joko better…”
Keke hadn’t expected the subject to be brought up again, he figured that he had hit the nail on the head and Dada was just too nice to say anything to confirm it. But he’d been dead wrong, which he was glad for, he didn’t want have anyone in his team resent him or how he is. He looked at Dada and raised an eyebrow at what he’d said, a snort leaving him.
“Joko? Him?” Keke began, laughing loudly, turning his head away. “Aish, no… I mean, I like him okay - but he talks too much.” He gave Dada a grin, wiping at his eyes some, shaking his head still at the mere idea that he prefered being around Joko than anyone else. “I like silence a bit too much… besides, Joko and Tats seem to get along pretty good. They both talk a lot.”
He cleared his throat and continued smiling at the other’s words. “Ah… but seriously, I like everyone in our team. Just because I don’t show it doesn’t mean that I don’t - I just rarely have anything to say, so I don’t speak. Why waste breath on conversation that doesn’t matter?” He shrugged gently, looking at Dada.
Dada pursed his lips thoughtfully before nodding slowly in agreement, a small smile on his face, “When you put it that way, it makes a lot of sense.” He replied, facing forward as they continued walking. “I like talking and the silence… both are good to me…” He nodded to himself.
A feeling of contentment washed over him, relieved that his fears were unfounded now. He wasn’t entirely sure himself why the possibility of Keke not liking his company had upset him so, but he chalked it up to having hoped that he and other could be good friends one day. It made sense considering he’d always been so curious about the other, but now he didn’t have to watch and wonder what it was like to actually be able to talk to Keke. They’d cleared the air of any misconceptions about one another now.
Dada brought himself out of his thoughts when he noticed something hopping around the clearing ahead of them, grip tightening on the of his crossbow as he and Keke journeyed closer. He immediately relaxed, however, when he saw that the hopping something was a little bunny-like creature with a fuzzy tail and long feathery looking ears.
“It’s so cute…” Dada murmured, his voice almost a coo as he watched the bunny.
Keke noticed the hopping creature as well, his face instantly showing displeasure as soon as they got closer and found out what it was. He looked at Dada and shook his head some, reaching out to grab him by the elbow. “Don’t be fooled - they’re not nearly as cute when they’re on the warpath…” He murmured, though it was in vain because Dada continue to coo over it. He merely shook his head again and began to reach out to pull Dada away from the creature only to be slammed into the ground by a wolf-like creature.
“What the hell!?’ He shouted, turning over and throwing a kunai at the monster while Dada helped fend off it’s friends. Keke stood up quickly and defeated the wolf at the same time Dada launched a barrage of arrows at the remaining two, successfully defeating them and gaining a nice amount of experience. Only when the dust settled did Keke realize that the bunny was hiding near a rock and looked quite angry as it gazed at them.
“Uh oh…” Keke whispered. There was an odd noise that sounded like a stampede of buffalo, which made Keke grab the other’s arm and yank quickly, shouting to him, “Run!” The ninja led the archer away from the area as a large group of enemies flooded the area thanks to the bunny calling out for help.
Pulling the younger into a cave, Keke sighed loudly and shook his head. “Well.. at least we didn’t get ambushed, huh?” He gave a smirk at Dada.
Dada gave his friend a nervous chuckle as response as he peeked around the edge of the mouth of the cave, darting back quickly when several monsters ran past. “I’m just glad the gamemakers added hiding places several updates ago. I’ve never been more thankful for them…” He murmured, a depressed sigh leaving him. “I can’t believe that cute little bunny called all of those monsters…” He pouted.
When he noticed the blatant ‘I told you so’ look on Keke’s face, his pout only grew, “Don’t give me that. You obviously fell for the same thing or else you wouldn’t have warned me about it.” He stated, not even bothering to hide the triumphant look on his face when Keke crossed his arms over his chest and looked away.
As silence settled in between them, they both quickly noticed just how silent it was. Hoping the coast was clear they chanced peeking out of the cave once more, grinning at one another when they discovered no monsters were in sight. Still, not wanting to chance getting caught by the beasts again, they dashed to the next area which was, luckily, a safe zone because of it being their destination.
The two quickly found the young woman’s boyfriend and relayed her message to him, watching his emotions change from annoyance that she was wasting money on sending people to find him to guilt because he hadn’t even bothered to contact her and tell her he was alright and would be late. He gave them a message to relay back to her as well as his promise ring so they could confirm he was alright once they’d reached her again and then they were off.
“Let’s try not to run into anymore bunnies, huh?” Dada questioned as they approached the end of the safe zone. He paused briefly when they’d reached it and offered Keke a bright smile. “It’s been fun - thanks Keke. I’ve got enough time before I have to log off to do another mission if you’d like?”
Keke chuckled softly at his companion, nodding his head some, a smile on his own face. “Ah, yeah - no more bunnies and certainly no attacking them.” They slowly stepped out of the safe zone and Keke led Dada along as they spoke, talking about going on another mission. “Well, there was one mission that was my favorite when I was leveling up not long ago. Very simple run around mission again, like this one, but you get a lot of free things. I sold my stuff because it was things I didn’t need, but you may have some use for some of the stuff you get from it.”
He paused in his footsteps to look at Dada, “What do you think? Wanna go on that one?” With an enthusiastic nod and grin in response, Keke laughed and nodded, “Alright - well, let’s get back to the beginning to give her the ring and message so we can get the rewards, and then we’ll go to that other mission.”
With that said, they made their way back to the lady safely, giving her the message and getting their rewards (which Keke gave Dada all of) and then were headed back to town to go on their next mission, both quite pleased with the companionship they found in one another.
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