[TW: Mentions of SH and Suicide. Inspired by an ao3 fic that will be linked at the end of the chapter.].
"Bye X!!!" Leafy chirped, waving at yellow Algebralian, who boasted a calm and happy smile. "Lovely talking to you!".
She turned to him as the mellow creature left the two of them alone. "As for you...." she began, while Firery kept his stoic and uninterested yet mildly agitated expression. "Firery, what was That about?".
"What?" he asked, still uncaring and seeming a little off-put.
"Your story's a lie! I was there. I came to the Half Nots to check on what you guys were up to!" she explained, moving her hands about and seeming a little hurt. He merely looked away from her gaze, folding his arms. "You never got in between Flower and Taco's argument.".
He still didn't respond. The sunlight basked the Capillary ruins in its late summer glow as he continued to try to ignore her.
"I didn't say any of that nonsense, you lied.".
He only made a guilty grumble from his throat, still not looking her way.
"Wha-" she began again, only to realise why he wasn't being direct. She stomped her foot in annoyance as her finger pointed to his still facing away face. "Don't tell me YOU stole the diary!!?".
He had no words, as his face grew more agitated. "Is that why you lied?" Leafy probed, causing him to direct a mere "Hmmph" in her direction. Her face dropped as the realisation struck like oil and his actions made sense. The avoidance, the grumbling, the wandering eyes.
"Firery...." she said, her voice cracking with confusion, wondering about his motives. "Why would you do that?".
The question seemed to elicit something in him, like a deep welled anger and frustration. His arms pointed at her as he suddenly lashed out "Because YOU stole Dream Island from ME!!!".
The outburst seemed to startle her with even more confusion. She stepped back, feeling the heat of his Firery body seem to bubble and sizzle more than usual. His words seemed hard and directly angered, laced with irritation and arrogance.
"H...Huh?" Was the only response to come out of her lips. "You....stole the diary because.....I stole Dream Island? That doesn't make any sense?".
"We battled for TWO YEARS to win Dream Island!!! And YOU just.....TOOK it away from ME!!!" he lashed out, his body flickering and fanning in all manner of directions as he spat his long time held frustrations out towards her.
"H....Hey, You didn't let me in?" Leafy with replied, a rise in her voice. It didn't seem to make sense, how he'd hold that decade old grudge against him.
"So what Leafy?".
"Huh?".
Firery's flames flickered less as he looked at him with disgust, seeming to have envy and pain in his words. "You couldn't have waited to TALK about it?" he asked, ready to pour out his psychological fire and years of built up irritation.
However, as he began to speak again, that last line seemed to elicit a reactions. "Talk....about it?" was all the lemon leaf could mutter, her voice soft and confused. Her eyes seemed to flicker as she stamped her foot, interrupting his tirade. "When would you have "talked" about it?"
Firery was taken aback by her sudden anger. "Well, obviously after...." he began, still annoyed at her. He could feel is anger slightly waning, yet still wanted to pour his anger out. Yet, he couldn't get a word out.
"After what!? After enjoying your luxury island? After having fun with everyone?" She demanded, her eyes watering. "I mean, would you even have remembered me?".
"Y....yeah but that's besides the point." Firery retorted, still trying to speak. "I mean, at some point I MIGHT have got bored enough to let you in. Or...or maybe just...let you in at some point!!!".
"But would you?".
Firery had no response, feeling slightly guilty. Yet, that wouldn't deter him.
"You.....said you didn't care." she said, shocking and confusing him now. "On the hang glider you....you said you only....wanted my friendship...".
Her words were genuinely heart felt, almost as if she was hoping for something. "Did......did you care?" she asked hesitantly. The question seemed to make him feel worse, both because she seemed slightly hurt but also because she kept interrupting him.
"Y.....yes. I do." He replied, the grass slightly singed and blackened. "But, when I lost control of the hang glider and everyone....started chasing you....I realised they were only after....you.".
Leafy listened, feeling her mind crack as he talked. "And I...... realised they wouldn't...care about me, if I just...forgot you.".
In the distance, there seemed to be commotion going on in the courthouse with the teams. Distant screeching from Four was heard.
"I....I still care, about you Leafy." Firery said, seeming genuine. "But....everyone hated you. If they learned I cared they would.....They would hate me too.".
The words seemed to sting Leafy, like a bush of nettles. "And....over time it was just....easier to...to hate you." He explained. "Or really just....forget you. To try....forget what I lost." He added, as though he thought she would understand. But, it was Leafy. The supposed "Nicest" person ever, as per her own totally unbiased word, would surely understand. It was a Leafy thing to do.
"So you.....cared more about yourself?" Leafy said, her voice soft, yet snaked with slight anger. "You really only cared enough to save me from death!?".
"l...Leafy I...." he began, but again, his words were never allowed a chance to be spoken.
"I COMPETED TOO, FIRERY!!!! I was battling for that island for two years TOO!!!" She yelled, her voice cracking as he couldn't get a word in. "I was there for that time. I battled and fought and allied and got betrayed for that prize too. And....And because YOU forced me out, I did what I wanted in the moment.".
"W...Well yeah but...".
"BUT WHAT, FIRERY!!!? BUT WHAT!!!? Was it really enough to just keep me out of the island and ignore me all these years!?" she cried out, her voice hoarse and high as she let out her pent up feelings. "If you really cared, then why didn't you come help!!!?".
"Help? With what?" Firery enquired. What could she possibly have needed help with?
"While you and the others were doing....whatever it was you were, I was in Yoyle land.".
"Well...hey, I couldn't help you. We were battling in season two." He said, still not understanding. "I mean, it doesn't change how you never apologized for stealing dre-".
"Oh will you just SHUT UP about your stupid island!?" Leafy screeched, her face contorted with anger. "ALL that time I was in Yoyle land with nothing! All to eat were some damn Yoyle Berries and nobody to be with. I....". She choked slightly, still remembering the endless nights of lonesomeness. "I hurt myself, Firery.".
The words seemed to make him shocked as he realised those strange bumps on her arms may not have just been "rashes" as she had said before when she came back. "I.....I thought about ending it all. About....disappearing." she continued, her words laced with hurt and betrayal. Each syllable was a mess, the speaker behind such words breaking. Like something had snapped in her head.
"And you I....I held out a hope." she continued, her tears welling in her eyes. "I.....I hoped that even....Even if everyone else...forgot or....didn't care.....You....would care.".
He felt a pang of guilt as she spoke. Yet, the anger in him didn't subside at all. "Well...ok fine. But....I still want you to apologize. And then....I guess I will." he said, not understanding why this was so hard for her. Why she couldn't understand how felt.
"I.....what?" She asked, her eyes still watering. Anger escaped her lips like a venom, which he didn't notice.
"Yeah well....Listen, I'm sorry for what happened to you, Leafy." Firery said, his voice still leeching irritation. "Now, I want my apology from you".
The winds seemed to pick up where they stood,, making his flaming body seem to diminish slightly at its edges as he tapped his foot, bored. Her eyes flashed as her head jerked. Her eye lid twitched and her fists clenched as her breath grew heavy.
"Have you...." she began. Firery could feel a heat in the air. Not of his own body. But of her bubbling, scorching fury. "Been listening to A THING I SAID!!!?" Leafy yelled, waving her arms around in anger. "YOU CARE MORE ABOUT YOUR STUPID ISLAND THAN ME!!!?".
"Well no but...." he began, only for her to step forward. And now, he could feel her rage, that bubbling storm she had stored within her mind.
"YOU CAN'T EVER SEEM TO LISTEN, CAN YOU!!!? "Oh, I may have caused you years of unending trauma and turmoil but Wah Wah, Leafy stole my precious island". BOO HOO!!!! YOU WANT AN APOLOGY?" She rhetorically spat, a hint of sadism in her tone. "FINE!!! I'M SORRY I EVER THOUGHT TO TRUST THAT YOU WOULD CARE ABOUT ME!!! I'M SORRY THAT I EVER IMAGINED US AS ANYTHING MORE PAST SIMPLE FREINSHIP IN THOSE LATER, LONELY YEARS!!!!
HELL, I'M SORRY THAT I EVER REACHED OUT TO YOU, NOT AS AN ALLY IN THIS STUPID GAME, BUT AS A GODDAMN FREIND!!!".
That last line stung him to his core. An actual freind? She really did value him as a freind? Not as an ally in the competition, but a true and genuine freind?
"And...."She continued, still seething with rage. "I'm sorry for ever truly trying to reach out and be someone close to you.".
The sun was setting as time for their "talk" was running low. Soon, Four would want all contestants back for a final verdict of who stole Donuts Diary, and thus decide which team to put up for elimination. Yet she turned, not toward the Courthouse, but in the other direction.
"Fuck you, Firery.." Leafy spat, as she walked. "I'll make sure that...That you don't get that prize.".
Firery tried to speak, but found he couldn't find his voice. His stomach churned as he tried to think of a response. Yet, he had nothing, as he watched her storm off, a bundle of those strange purple "Yoyle" berries he'd heard so much about. Those same fruits she must've been surrounded by everyday. Alone.
He sat on the mellow green grass, causing it to splutter and burn beneath him. Firery's hand clumped on the grass, as his head racked with guilt and ached at the realisation. She genuinely saw him, HIM, as a freind. She trusted him, cherished him and wanted to know about why he ignored her. Hell, she was willing to become something more with him.
And he......he rejected that.
"GAH!!!" He cried, throwing the grass clump in frustration. It merely got picked up by the wind and hit his flaming body, making him yelp as it sizzled through him. Behind him, it was an ash pile, about a handful, upon which his head fell back as he groaned. What might have been fifteen minutes, may have in fact been an hour, but how could he know? All that went through his head were Leafy' s words.
"Even if everyone else...forgot or....didn't care.....You....would care.".
"HELL, I'M SORRY THAT I EVER REACHED OUT TO YOU, NOT AS AN ALLY IN THIS STUPID GAME, BUT AS A GODDAMN FREIND!!!".
She had been rejected by everyone. No one really cared for her. Yet she held out hope. Hope that he would care. A flame of hopes she held, like the flame he was. He was the last thing she had, what kept her going and made her continue to smile.
Days. Weeks. Hell, why downplay, YEARS she was alone. Years she had nothing and nobody. Any normal person would hate everyone. They would probably be so much meaner. So much more...aggressive. And harsh.
Yet, when she returned almost a year ago, it seemed to opposite. Leafy would regularly smile, even when people insulted her. She'd look extra happy, helping people out and even just doing things to make others lives easier. Almost as if she'd gone through the opposite.
Then there was him. Out of everything Leafy wanted to keep, it was him. His friendship. She wanted to be friends with him. HELL, there was chance she may have wanted something more.
But now, that chance was gone. Leafy' s hope was gone and she hated him. Utterly and truly. Somehow, despite everything he believed himself, despite everything he valued, he'd fucked it up. In no less than a few minutes of talking. He was Firery, literal walking fire. She once valued him, kept trying to talk with him, even as he walked on and ignored her.
And now, he had snuffed out that flame.
...
11.
The juicy fruit may have been filled with sweetness, but every swallow felt more hollow and metallic than the last.
12.
Her jaw ached, and she wanted to stop. Her body was already fully metal, yet she still continued to chow on this sickly sweet fruit, huddled under a small tree.
13.
"Stupid......Stupid dream island.....Stupid Firery....." she mumbled, as she finished another berry. Even as she filled herself, her mind felt empty and numb. Leafy wanted to hurl and scream. She wanted to pour a large bucket of water over his head to cause him that intense, sizzling pain he felt. She wanted to slap herself just a few hours ago, somehow as naive and stupid as ever.
He never cared. He only pretended to look better. As soon as it benefited him, he just casted others aside. Firery, such a great guy. Such an amazing and awesome person.
She spat, slightly laughing through her tears. Even after she disclosed her attempts on her own life, he still only cared about that STUPID island.
She hated that island. She hated herself for ever taking it. Hell, she hated herself for genuinely believing in him. Her hand gripped another berry, nails digging into the violet flesh. Years it had been, eating this slop of a fruit. Years, waddling as metal, always hoping someone would remember her.
"Stupid....Stupid.....Stupid..." she mumbled, tightening her grip. The berry's vibrant bluish purple juices shot out slightly from the pressure, spritzing the grass in lilac hue. Her arm ached as she found her other hand pressed firmly on it. Yet, the pressure felt like something, against the bottomless void of emotion, so she never let go.
"He cares so much about his island?" she mumbled, still able to remember that day where he saved her from the others as they were just about to kill her. "He cherishes getting a prize so much, huh?". Leafy gritted her teeth, a small sadistic, yet hurt grin across her lips. She released her arm, not caring what could happen to her.
"Fine. I'll make sure he never gets anything." she spat, the berry exploding in her clenched fist. The entire area, from the red wood bark to the soft, emerald grass, were coveted in ugly purple hued splatter, like blood. Her fist was soaked in the sticky, sugary and bitter berry remains. "No dream island....".
She picked another berry and started to trace its edges with one finger. Her lips creased in a painful, bitter smile as she bit down on the fruit harshly. It tasted palpable and sour, yet she didn't care. "No bfdi..." she mumbled, feeling a sense of being alive that she hadn't felt in years. How stupid was it, to try have chased something she'd never have?
"No bfb."
[This will get a part two coming soon.
Inspired by this ao3 fic. Really recommend you read.
https://archiveofourown.org/works/51265933/chapters/129534118].