It's a new day. New days are always nice and fun, especially when no one knows what'll happen. That's what makes them an adventure.
However, none of our group of adventurers were in that kind of mood. As they continue their journey to Oma Island, in order to reunite Yugo with his real family, the six keep having to stop and deal with an issue to help people, stop someone, and repeat.
This sequence has been going on for about a week or two now. Currently, the six adventurers were making their way through a forest. Deciding to kill some time as they walk, Ruel brings up a topic about Iops.
"Those lousy Iops and their duels. Honor doesn't pay, let me tell ya." Ruel says with a guffaw. "Keep our heads down and keep out of trouble, that's what I say to that."
"Yeah, but it's a pretty cool way to look at things." Yugo responds with a smile.
"Oh, don't bother Yugo, Honor, courage, generosity. These are the values we Iops hold dear." Percedal said with a smirk. "How do you expect an old Enutrof to understand the pleasures of confronting an enemy eye to eye?"
Ruel laughs, "You're dead right. Understanding Iop philosophy is beyond me. I'd be out of my debt."
Y/n hums, lost in thought. "The Iop's way of fighting kinda reminds me of someone I know."
"Did they think the same way as Iops?" Yugo asks, curiosity beaming in his eyes.
Y/n nods with a fond smile. "Yeah, he's a big knucklehead who prefers fighting face to face. That's how he got so many bruises..." Y/n trailed off, shuddering at the memory of one of his old friends, before rubbing his arm instinctively. He shakes his head and turns back to the others with a toothy smile. "Of course, that doesn't mean that the ninja's way the better way."
"Oh please." Dally rolls his eyes with a smug grin. "The ninja's way is a cowardly way to fight! You cheat and hide in order to win your battles, it's stupid!"
"No, your way is stupid!" Y/n disagrees and points his finger at the Iop. "You guys just fight all kinds of people, even the ones who would whoop your butt, like us Shinobi." He crosses his arms with a victory smirk.
Eva sighs as she looks at the boys unamusingly. "They're like a pair of jealous teenagers."
"Oh, don't feel left out Eva." Y/n says, patting her shoulder. "After all, I should mention the fact that a Shinobi can do anything a Cra can do, but better." This claim of his gains a glare from Evangelyne.
"You say that, but no one has seen a real Shinobi for years." Eva states, crossing her arms. "And seeing you shows how low their standards are."
Y/n laughs and turns back to Eva. "Wow, shots fired, and you didn't even have to use your bow."
Before the argument between the two could continue, they all look ahead to see that they arrived at a village gate, made of stone.
"Great, a village." Amalia sighs in relief. "Perfect timing to do some shopping."
Wow, what a place, come on!" Yugo exclaims, noticing how beautiful it is for a small village.
"Yeah, but for how long?" They turn to Eva, who looks at the village grimly. "This valley won't escape Ogrest's Chaos for much longer. And how will the people survive when-
Smack
Before she could continue her ranting, Y/n slaps his hand over her mouth while looking at Eva with a deadpan. "Eva, I know you like to try to predict the future with that weak Cra vision of yours, but you should really try to stop bringing down the mood with myths and your depressing mood." He says the last part with a smirk, making Eva glare at him, again.
"Ogrest is not a myth!" Eva says, removing Y/n's hand from her mouth. "How else do you explain all the strange occurrences that happen all over the world?"
"Mother nature." Y/n simply says with a shurg.
"Guys, are we going?" Amalia spoke up, having enough of the two's banters. "Or are we just going to argue all day?"
"The youth of today. Don't even know what an honest day's work is." Ruel grumbles under his beard, as they walk to the village.
About a minute later, they all arrive at the gate. Walking through, they look around and notice something off about the village. "Where is everyone?" Y/n asks.
"Don't tell this place is deserted." Amalia says with a sad groan.
"But there are monsters here!" Dally says, pulling out Rubilax and getting into a battle stance. "I can taste trouble."
Just then, they all heard a thump. Everyone was now on guard and prepared their weapons as they look around. Dally smirks, ready for a fight, before it drops as he spots an apple roll over to him. Picking it up, he looks at it with surprise. "An apple? What on Earth?"
Yugo runs up to Dally and points at him with a gleeful smile. "I bet it's a bad api! Or perhaps a demon in disguise! And you said Iops aren't afraid of anything, right?"
"Yugo, I think that's just a regular apple." Y/n says as he sheathes his weapons.
"He's right Yugo. You're mixing fear and foresight." Percedal informs Yugo as he puts away Rubilax. "A true Iop always stays ahead."
"Well, I hate to break it to you true Iop, but there's no one here." Y/n says, putting emphasis on the "true Iop" part.
"What a noble hero." Eva says sarcastically, as she and Amalia walk up to them.
"Yeah, more like a noble zero." The Sadida girl insulted, making Dally glare at her.
"Nothing but a bunch of apples and arachnees." Ruel points out, stepping on an arachnee with a laugh. "By my shovel, we're hardly going to make a fortune here then, are we?"
Meanwhile, as the group was conversing, Az flew over to a barrel full of apples. He smiles as he looks around at the number of apples there were, licking his lips (or beak). Just then he notices a small, blue, bubbly hand reach out from under an apple. He squeaks loudly in fear, which gains the other's attentions. They look over to see Az fall to the ground and passes out.
"AZ!!!" Yugo shouts out to, before running over to the Tofu. Before he reaches his friend, he stops when he notices a weird puddle creature behind the barrel. "Huh?"
"Ah!" Dally perks up and points over at the puddle creature. "See, see? Are you telling me that's not a monster?"
Y/n simply tilts his head as he squints his eyes at it. "Seems pretty small to be a monster."
The creature hides back behind the barrel in fear, as Yugo ran up to Az and picked him up.
"He ran away! The coward!" Dally growls.
"Perhaps he's afraid that Dally will challenge him to a duel." Ruel says to Y/n, who nods in agreement, and making Dally look at him with a glare.
"It's Sir Percedal to you!"
Yugo inspects Az to look for any injuries. "Az! Wake up, little Tofu!" He pleads to his best friend. "Come on, chirp something." Az squints his eyes and blinks, waking up, making Yugo sigh in relief. He hugs his Tofu, who snuggles up against the Eliatrope.
Suddenly, they all heard crashing from one of the village stores. Looking over, they see the door bursts open with a puff of smoke and four bulls run out carrying fruits and bags.
"I'm so glad we came here guys!" One of them laughs, as another spotted the adventurers. However, looks away from them and at the barrel of apples. "Hey, it's the apis!"
"We're gonna turn 'em rotten, then we gonna suck out the little worms." Another bull smiled, looking at the apples.
"Snack time!" The last bull declares.
They all start talking about eating food while our adventurers simply watched them. "Hey! Who do these guys think they are?" Yugo says, peeved, before Ruel places his hand on Yugo's shoulder getting his attention.
"Calm down Yugo, I'm sure this is some kind of local custom. They must be regulars at the inn." He suggested, but the others disagreed.
"Regulars? Looks like their first visit to me." Eva says, as they glared at the bulls.
"And so at home with apis. What a bunch of idiots." Amalia says, crossing her arms.
"And they're ignoring us too. Rude." Y/n adds, with his hands on his hips.
"I can't believe it. The villagers must have spent years collecting those apples." Yugo glared, as one was stuffing his mouth full of apples. "Hey!" He looks over to see Yugo run at them about to attack.
He simply snorts, before raising his hoof and stomps, creating a shockwave and sending Yugo back.
"Yugo!"
"Hey Pee-wee! Make sure you don't fall on our apis!" The laugh at the mockery, pissing off the others.
Dally, meanwhile, crosses his arms with a smile. "I knew there were monsters around here."
"Monsters? More like a quartet of burgers!" Y/n mocks, annoying the bulls.
"The little runts are insulting us!" They face the two warriors with glares on their faces.
Ruel, meanwhile, smacks his forehead. "Oh, here comes round two!"
Y/n unsheathes his dual blades as Dally pulls out Rubilax and transforms him into a sword. The bulls look at the two with smile, "Are they gonna pick our teeth for us with their little toothpicks?" They all laugh.
"Did he just call me a toothpick?" Rubilax asked, sounding insulted and angry at that accusation.
"It's very easy to attack children and farmers, but now you've met two people your own size!" Dally declares.
"What did he say?" "He knows someone our size?" "Papa's our size." "And mama, too. But I'd prefer to fight with Pops."
"Alright, milk heads, if you think you're tough, watch this!" Y/n says, as Dally swings Rubi and fires a shockwave at one of the bulls, sending him flying and crashing into a barrel. This action causes the other bulls to stomp towards the two, angrily.
"You hurt my little brother." Just then, their eyes turn red in anger and steam blows out of their noses when they snort. "You shouldn't have done that!"
Dally pants, due to the attack it took a pretty big amount of energy. Luckily, Y/n stepped in for him. "I got this one, Dally." Y/n grins.
"It's Sir Percedal-!"
"Whatever!"
The bulls stand together and start doing a weird dance. """"Ka mate, ka mate, Taurai tauri! Ka mate, ka mate!"""" Their horns start to glow, and they form a big yellow lightning boomerang at Y/n. Just before it hits him, he brings his swords up to block it, which pushes him back a little from the force.
His grin doesn't go away, as he swings his swords and sends the attack back at the bulls. "Right back at ya!" However, the lightning that reflected back sent bolts everywhere. Even the others were almost hit by some of the bolts. The boomerang flies back at the bulls and creates a huge explosion.
As the dust settles, the bulls are seen laying everywhere, covered in injuries. Y/n smirks and swings his swords around, before looking at the bulls. "Now then, is that all you got?" Y/n mocks, as he watches them pick themselves up.
"This ain't over, runt! We'll be back!" The bulls growl as they run away.
Y/n stabs his sword in the ground and leans on it with his other sword over his shoulder. "See ya, suckers!" He calls out to them with a victorious smirk. He starts laughing, before he gets hit in the back of the head. Rubbing his head, he looks down to see an apple on the ground behind him. He looks up and sees his friends looking at him with glares of anger and disappointment. "What?"
Eva stomps over to him and stops in front of him. "You..." Y/n tilts his head in confusion, before he sees Eva reel her arm back. "Absolute..." He yelps in fear, before Eva socks him in the face. "BAKA!!!!!" Her punch sent the boy flying back and crash into the ground with a dirt trail.
The others, while still upset with the Shinobi, stood in shock as they watched the whole scene unfold. "Hmph!" Eva dusts her hands off, before she walks back after Y/n. The dust settles to show Y/n upside down, with a bump on his head and his eyes in swirls. Eva walks up to him and pulls him up by the collar of his shirt and yells at him in his face. "What the hell is your problem?! You almost killed us!!"
"How...?"
"Your attack almost blew us all into oblivion!!!"
Y/n shakes his head, wearing off the dizziness. And pain. "Well, maybe you should've taken a few steps back and done something to help with that bow of yours!"
"SHUT IT!" She headbutts him, hard, making him dizzy again. "I swear that cockiness of yours is gonna get us killed one day!" Before she could scold him anymore, she hears a noise that sounded like a tiny voice, she looks up and sees more of the little puddle creatures walking up over to them. "What on..." She trails off, with the others looking on in surprise as well.
"Where did those little guys come from?" Percedal asks with a raised eyebrow, as the creatures surround him and Y/n, who had just escaped Eva's grasp.
"They're so handsome!" One of them said, before pointing to the statue behind them. "They're real heroes like Persimol!"
"The Taurs, you made them-"
"Run away with their tails between their legs." Dally interrupts with pride in his voice, before wrapping an arm around Y/n. "Say, Sirs Percedal and Y/n, Terrorizers of Taurs sounds good, right?" Y/n raises a finger to protest, but Dally continues on. "No need to thank us, my friend. It is our pleasure to serve you... uh, what are you exactly?"
"I think I've read stories about them." Ruel speaks up, tapping his chin in thought. "If I remember correctly, they are called Puddlies."
"Puddlies?"
"They're so cute." Amalia coos, kneeling down to their level.
"Oh, you fools!" The puddly with the biggest hat and wearing clothes yelled, grabbing everyone's attention. "You've made them even madder! We- we'll have to pay, not you. They'll be back! We're done for!"
"What are you talking about?" Y/n asks, just as confused as Dally.
"Why couldn't you just leave the Taurus alone?" He turns to the two warriors with a glare. "They would've taken what they wanted and left, like they always do."
"They were stealing and destroying your village. We couldn't just stand by and let that happen!" Y/n retaliates, getting a pat on the back by the Iop beside him.
"Spoken like a true Knight, young Y/n!" Percedal smiles proudly at the Shinobi, who raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm like a year older than you."
"Now they're out for revenge!" The elder Puddly said, as if he didn't hear either of them. "Oh, we're gonna have to pay."
"But-"
"I told you to respect the local customs." Ruel cuts Percedal off, glaring at the two.
"Shut up!" Y/n exclaims, throwing Dally's arm off him and glares at Ruel. The gesture and aura of rage from the boy makes the old Enutrof back away in fear.
"The Taurus have hearts of leather! They're gonna come back and reduce our village to rubble!" The elder Puddly and the other puddlies sink into puddles. Y/n's rage diminishes into regret as he looks down at the puddlies, while the others turn to the two warriors with disappointment.
"It's strange whenever one of you tries to do something heroic, it ends into a catastrophe!" Amalia snarks, giving them both the stink eye.
"But-"
"As far as I'm concerned, we've caused more than enough trouble here." Ruel interrupts the Iop, once again, before suggesting, "It's time for us to take a leave."
"No! We can't just abandon them!" Yugo speaks up with determination. "If we leave now, the Taurs are gonna come back and vaporize them!"
Percedal agrees, before turning to the Puddlies. "You are already small my dear Puddlies. If these Taurs come back, what will be left? Flat Puddlies! Is that what you want? Come on, stand up for yourselves!" Percedal's speech only seems to reach one of the Puddlies, as the others still stayed in their puddle forms.
"I'm with you, Percedal!" The one Puddly that seems to like him says, grabbing onto his boot.
"Well look at that, he finally gets a fangirl." Y/n jokes, which was able to make Eva smirk at least.
"The Taurs are lazy. They come and take everything they want from you just because they can. If you keep letting them go at it, there won't be anything left of your village." Yugo points out, grabbing the elder's attention.
"But what can we do? You won't be here to protect us, will you?" He asks them, with sorrow in his voice.
"Oh, why not?" The female puddly asks, looking up at Percedal with a big smile on her face.
"You'll have to learn to stand up for yourselves." Yugo answers, before pointing over to the two warriors. "Dally is a noble hearted warrior and Y/n is well experienced Shinobi, they can teach you to defend yourselves."
"Dally?" The puddly looks up to him with confusion.
"Uh, Sir Percedal." Dally stutters out in embarrassment.
"We'll never have enough time." Eva speaks up, glaring at the two. "We'll have to set up defenses outside the village and set traps in order to be ready for their next attack."
"Traps? Oh, come on!" Dally rolls his eyes and turns to the Cra. It's no fun if you don't face them face to face. You have to see their fear. Right, Y/n?"
"..."
"Y/n?"
Turning to the Shinobi in question, Dally sees his friend looking away with his arms crossed. "Actually buddy, I uh..." He trails off, before he mumbles something.
"What?"
He runs his hand down his face and mumbles again.
"Speak up, Y/n!" Eva demands.
Y/n slumps forward, sighing in defeat, before saying loud and clear, "I'm with Eva on this one!"
.
.
.
.
.
""WHAT!?""
Y/n and the others wince from the high volume of the two, who were in shock and surprise just as the others were. Y/n rubs his ear, before shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry Percy, but Eva's got a point. We won't have enough time to train them all, so we'll have to change the battlefield to have an advantage."
As Eva still stood there in absolute shock and surprise, Percedal shakes off his shock. "oh, how stupid I am, I forgot I'm talking to a Shinobi. They're ways are as weak and cowardly as the Cras." Dally says, with a shake of his head.
"Well, sometimes you gotta be clever, especially if you lack the brawn." Y/n explains himself, putting his hands on his hips.
"Aha! So, you admit that your way is weak! That's a point for me!" The Iop says, raising his fist in victory.
"This is not a competition!" Y/n yells at him, who just smirks.
"That's not what you thought earlier." Dally's stubbornness kept ticking off Y/n, before Yugo spoke up.
"Why don't we do both?"
They stop their bickering and turn to Yugo. They pause for a few moments, pondering on the idea, before eventually agreeing with the idea. With reluctance on both sides of course.
"Well then, I know what we need to now." Ruel spoke up with a bit of hesitation in his voice. "I'm gonna set up a little surveillance system." With that, he then runs off with a few Puddlies following him.
Dally points to Yugo. "Yugo, you stay here with me. I'm gonna teach these Puddlies how to fight. And you!" He points to a group of Puddlies who yelp. "Go get your weapons." He walks away in one direction with the group of Puddlies to go find some weapons, as Yugo follows.
Eva, who has already worn off her shock, looks to two Puddlies. "You two come with us." She says, before she grabs Y/n's arm and drags him in another direction with the two Puddlies and Amalia following.
"Don't be unreasonable. Puddlies can't fight!" The elder Puddly tried to call out to everyone, but his words only fell deaf on their ears.
"Why are we even here?" As Eva continues dragging Y/n with the two Puddlies behind them, Amalia looks up at Eva with displeasure. "It's dirty, it's ugly, and it smells absolutely disgusting."
"You're the one who wanted us to come to this place." Y/n points out, earning a glare from the Sadida princess.
"He has a point, princess." Eva raises an eyebrow at her longtime friend. "And I thought you were following Yugo to help him on his noble quest?"
"Well, helping little piles of jelly on legs to defend apples and potatoes isn't really my idea of noble." She retorts with a tired glare, which makes Y/n scoff, as a memory plays in his head.
________________________________________________________________________________
Up in the mountains, during a winter solstice, a village can be seen. Birds flew across, migrating away, as the people of the village were going about their day. Family shopping for groceries, friends eating at a snack bar together, and kids out in playing in the snow. Suffice to say, it was a nice winter day.
Deeper in the village, was a market. A market filled with many people who were going shopping, preferably for some gifts for their loved ones, as it was nearing the holidays at this time. Somewhere within the market, a little boy was seen finishing his candy before he tossed the wrapper away, not caring where it landed, which just so happened to be at the foot of a familiar boy.
Using a small trash picker, the boy grabs the wrapper and stuffs it within his bag of trash with a groan of frustration. His angry noises catch the attention of an old man in a kimono, wearing a straw hat, who walks over and chuckles at him. "Something wrong, Y/n?" The boy spins around to see his sensei standing before him.
"Yes!" He exclaimed, waving his hands around. "This!"
"What is 'this'?"
"What you're making us do!" He points at his garbage bag with an annoyed look. "Pick up trash, planting trees, and carrying people's shit!"
Sensei raises an eyebrow, "Well, what's wrong with that?"
"We're ninja! Shinobi-in-training! We need to go out there, kick some butt, and take names!" He says, throwing punches and kicks into the air, which only gains another chuckle from the old man. Y/n turns to him in confusion. "What?"
"Oh, Y/n, while I do admire your enthusiasm, you need to learn a lesson about being noble."
Y/n blinks. "Noble?"
"One of the main qualities of a ninja, nobility." He starts to walk around with Y/n following him. "A person who's noble is someone who takes the time out of their day to help others in different ways." A few kids run up to them and sensei hands out some candy, making them cheer. "They help carry groceries, hand out food or money, and help old ladies cross the street. Sometimes..." He looks over his shoulder at his pupil. "They even help pick up trash."
In response, Y/n looks away in embarrassment and shame. After the kids ran off, the two continued their walk to edge of the village and watch the horizon. "Everyone helps others in their own way, but for different reasons. Some do it for a reward, most because they have to, and others because they simply want to." He pulls out a candy cane and hands it to Y/n, who happily takes it. "But one should never forget the morals of nobility, or even the benefits of their work."
Turning around, they see the village streets completely clean of trash and everyone continuing to go on with their day with joy...
________________________________________________________________________________
2nd Person POV
"Y/n!"
Snapping out of memory lane, you looks up to see Eva standing before you as you finish tying a rope for the trap. "Y-yes?" you stutters.
"Are you okay?" Eva asks, with the tiniest hint of concern in her voice.
"Yep. I'm A-okay!" You reply with a thumbs up, but Eva merely raises her eyebrow and walks away. You shake your head, trying to focus, as you and a Puddly pull the rope, raising the net you all were setting up.
Meanwhile, the others were struggling with the other Puddlies, who were having more fun then working. The ones with Dally were too scared to fight a tiny spider, Ruel, who was supposed to be on surveillance, relaxes on a makeshift hammock with a couple of Puddlies serving him food. All in all, it seemed like the Puddlies were more focused on having fun than preparing for another attack.
Eva and Amalia had just finished tying down the knot of the trap, while you were grabbing some leaves, before you hear a rumble from the distance. Looking ahead, you see a huge cloud of dust coming towards you. "Y/n, how we are doing on those leaves?" Eva asks, not noticing the dust cloud.
"Uh, I don't think they'll be useful anymore..." You trail off, back up to the girls. They turn around to question you, before the two gasps as they finally notice the dust cloud racing at them.
"Oh, great. Top surveillance, Ruel!" Eva yells out to the old stroud, who most likely couldn't hear her. She pulls out her bow and readies a fire arrow, you pull out your dual swords and get into a stance, while Amalia pulls out her doll.
"All right, you jelly pots, hold on tight to that rope!" Amalia instructs the Puddlies, who were shaking in fear, as she throws her doll. "It's time to show these Taurs who they're messing with!" Sadly for them, the little puddle people got so scared that they dropped down into puddles, which released their grip on the rope. Doing so activated the trap and snatched the three of you, which caught you all off guard and made you drop their weapons and allowed the Taurs run pass them.
Amalia's butt landed on the back of your head, pushing you down into Eva's breasts. "Hey! G-Get off me, you pervert!" Eva demanded, with a huge blush, trying to push you off. While some might find this lucky, you are actually suffocating from the pressure and lack of oxygen. Acting quickly, you shift your weight to the side and roll off of Eva, allowing you some oxygen again. For a brief moment, at least.
Unfortunately for you, Amalia's position on of you didn't change. While you were now laying on your back, Amalia fell on top of your face, taking away your oxygen again. It was now Amalia's turn to blush, redder than any rose. She screamed, demanding you to move, as Eva fell on top of her. Luckily, you turn your head to see your sword in the ground, the handle upright, before you reach out to grab it.
You just barely grabbed the end of it with your fingers, before raising it up and gain a better grip on it, before slicing the net and set you all free. You land on the ground hard, due to the fact that the girls landed on top of you. Jumping up, they look down to see you dazed with a blue face.
"We will never speak of this." Eva said, her and Amalia's faces still beat red.
"A- Agreed."
They look down to hear from you, but you only gave them a weak thumbs up. Grabbing Eva's bow and your swords, they pick you up and drag you back to the village to help the others. However, when you arrived, you all see something that surprises you three.
"The Puddlies... " Eva trails off with surprise.
"They're... fighting back!" Amalia points out in disbelief.
"Heh, way to go Dally..." You weakly congratulate the Iop, who walked over to you all with Yugo and Ruel.
"All in a day's work!" He responds, hands on his hips with a smirk. "Seems like your traps didn't work out."
You all look at unamused, before Yugo speaks up. "But you're training didn't go so well either." Now it was your turn to smirk at the Iop, who looked away with embarrassment. Yugo and Ruel laugh at them and turn back to the village to see the Puddlies winning. "They're doing it! They're saving their village!"
Just then, the ground shakes as a huge shadow looms over you all. His horns big and curved, his white facial hair scrunched, and his face... not happy.
"I don't know about that..." Ruel trails off, intimidated by the new ugly face.
"I am Mandhal, all-powerful cheif of the Taur race." He says in a deep voice, before raising it. "Where is my lunch!?"
"Well, that's put a different spin on things." Ruel says, ducking his head and gulps. "I think."
"We just have to show them they can overcome their fear." Yugo says, glaring up at the big Taur.
Mandhal looks over sees the little Eliatrope looking up at him and snorts. "Are you the one leading this Puddle rebellion?"
Yugo sweatdrops, a little intimidated, before an idea forms in his head. "I've got an idea." He whispers to Ruel, before speaking up to Mandhal. "Hey, you big cow! How about we have a little battle?"
"Battle?"
"You and me, one on one!"
Mandhal guffaws and looks down on Yugo. "You wanna fight me? You can't be serious."
"What's the matter big guy?" You speak up, standing next to Yugo. "Too scared to fight a kid not even half your size?" You taunt, with a cocky smirk, which ticks off Mandhal and confuses his sons.
"Daddy's scared?"
"No, he's not. Daddy's not scared at all."
"Sometimes Mommy scares him."
"SILENCE!!!" Mandhal yells at that one, as the other Taurs looked at the one who said that with surprise. He turns back to you two with a glare. "Your parents must have dropped you two as children." He snorts, smoke coming out of his snout. "But if it's a fight you want so desperately, then you got it kids." He stomps away as he finishes with: "I'll show you who's afraid."
Yugo gulps a little, but you pat his shoulder and smile down at him. "You got this, buddy." Just like that, all of Yugo's fear went away. He walks away to go prep himself, Ruel goes off to do something, and the others stood there with you with a little warry. Besides you, that is.
~Timeskip~
At the center of the village, everyone was preparing for the duel between Yugo and Mandhal. Ruel had set up a booth for people to place money on the two, Amalia and Dally included, while Eva stood at the stands near the Taurs, who were cheering for their dad. The Cra sweatdrops and groans in disgust, before shifting away next to you. She looked at you and noticed how laid back you were.
"How are you so calm?" She asks you, getting your attention.
"He's got this." You say with a shrug.
"Well, why are you this relaxed?" She rephrases her question.
"That big burger may see tough, but he's got nothing on Yugo." You answer with a confident smile.
Just then, the contestants arrive on the scene and face each other. Yugo stands there with a determined look, with Az sitting on his hat, while Mandhal stands a distance away from him with a cocky smirk. Mandhal prepares to attack, before Yugo speaks up. "Just a second." He pauses when he sees the Eliatrope raise his hand at him, while drinking a milk carton with his other.
He finishes drinking it, with a burp, and giggles mockingly. You see this and nod in approval at his taunt. Mandhal, on the other hand, was not pleased. "You cocky little-!" He raises his fists and smashes them into the ground. "You're really starting to annoy me!"
Az squeaks and flies away and Yugo jumps up over the shockwave sent at him. However, the strong wind it created sent Yugo up higher into the air. Looking down, he sees Mandhal smirk and fire a lightning wave at him. He tries to avoid it, before realizing that he can open up a portal, which he does. The lighting beam explodes just as he enters, creating a huge cloud of smoke where the boy was last seen.
The Puddlies gasp in horror and fall down to their puddle forms in fear. The others gasp in shock as well, worried for their Eliatrope friend, even Eva was so shock, she grabbed onto your hand absentmindedly. You notice this, but say nothing, as you all continue to watch.
The Taurs cheer as Mandhal laughs in victory, before a portal opens up and Yugo falls out and onto the ground. He stops laughing when he sees Yugo, who was only covered in scratches, give a peace sign before slumping on the ground, panting.
The Puddlies start cheering again, but the taurs snort in anger, scaring them again. Eva sighs in relief, before she notices she's holding your hand and pulls away with a blush. She glances away in embarrassment, while you just smile at her. That smile went away when you notice Mandhal standing over Yugo, who was still laying down in pain.
Mandhal laughs as he looks down on him. "I'm the butcher around here today. And I'm gonna make hamburgers out of you." Right before he could attack, Az flies into his face and pecks him. All it does is tick him off and makes Mandhal blow the Tofu away, making him bounce on the ground and lay there twitching. He laughs once again and turns back to Yugo, who looks up in shock, and prepares to stomp on him.
Before he could, however, you appear above him and grab him by the horns. Your sudden entrance catches everyone by surprise, as you pull on his horns, making Mandhal yell out in pain. He starts to growl and spins his head to throw you off, where you land next to Yugo. Mandhal turns to you with an evil grin. "I was hoping you'd jump in. Now I can make you and your piwi friend regret ever insulting me!"
"Smoke bomb!" In response, you throw a smoke bomb at his face to blind him. As he rubs his eyes, you run up to him and kick him in the face, making him stagger back. He snorts and fires another lightning bolt at you two, but you jump out of the way with Yugo in your arms. You summon a few shadow clones and they run around him and start throwing punches at him. He merely grunts in annoyance and tosses them all away, making them disappear in a puff of smoke.
You spin around into a tornado and rush at him. The tornado definitely has some effect on him, as he staggers back on every hit you send at him. You stop spinning, as you pull out one of your swords, and swing it at Mandhal and leap away. You land on the ground just in time to see a piece of his horns hit the ground.
Silence.
Pure silence is all there was. Everyone looks at Mandhal with shock to see him breathing heavily, before he roars in anger. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" He charges at the Shinobi who stands there in shock, as he charges up and fires a giant lighting beam that takes the form of a bull silhouette. Y/n brings up his sword in an attempt to block it-
""Y/N!!""
before a portal opens up in front of him, in which the beam flies into. Looking to the side, he sees Yugo standing up and open another portal, sending the lightning beam back at the mad cow. Mandhal is sent flying from his own attack and crashes into a tree with the Persimol statue on it. Everyone stands there in anticipation, before the statue fell off its stand and falls on his head, the hammer part at least, knocking him out.
The Puddlies start to cheer for the two boys, while the Taurs look on with worry. "Yikes, don't tell Mommy."
Back with the two victors, you run up to Yugo, who had Az in his hands. "Thanks for the backup."
"Could say the same to you." Yugo says, him and Az smiling up at you.
Just before you could say anything back, your ear gets tugged by a very angry Cra. "That was incredibly reckless and idiotic!" She says to you, pulling harder.
"Ack! I was just helpin' a friend out! OW!"
Deciding to show some mercy, Eva releases the boy's ear and sighs in annoyance. "Don't do that ever again."
"No promises." You remark, getting a glare from Eva again which makes you and Yugo back away in fear. Unseen from you guys, Eva shakes her head and smiles fondly at you.
Minutes later, the Taurs had ran away with their dad, while you all had stood at the village entrance, preparing to leave. "We're very grateful. We don't have much to offer, but please take all the provisions you need as our thanks." The village elder said to you all.
"We don't-"
"Make an arrangement." Ruel covers Yugo's mouth and smiles widely at the offer. "We might definitely need some provisions for our journey. Thank you very much." He thanks them, making you all roll your eyes fondly at him.
"Handsome knight, could you stay?" The female Puddly from earlier, shyly asked Percedal.
"Sorry, but there's nothing left for me here." He responds, absentmindley breaking the poor Puddly's heart.
As he continues to stand there smiling, not realizing what he said, the girls facepalm in annoyance. "Iop brains." They both mutter.
Eventually, you all continue walking away from the village and into the woods, back on track to Oma Island. Ruel, for some reason, was smiling greedily. "You were right, Yugo. It's always good to help others. When you meet people that way, it's a very enriching experience." He says, carrying a bag of fruit in it over his shoulder. "You know, I'm starting to think we should be more helpful more often."
In response, you and Yugo glance at each other with raised eyebrows. Shaking your heads, you both ignore the Enutrof the rest of the way through the forest for the rest of the day. Unknown to the others, you were carrying a little souvenir from your little adventure.
Chapter done. On to the next one.