Chapter Text
God, he was tired.
Jin clawed his way up to the edge of the grass, coughing up water and bits of sand. He stared at the assorted animals. “Holy shit. Salty, salty…. Is- Can any of you tell me where I am?”
“Well, I do believe it would be in our best interests to dry off,” murmured who he assumed was some sort of baby bird, maybe a crow. “considering my feathers aren’t water repellant.”
“You don’t even have feathers, all of that is down. Though, I am not going to marine animal-splain feather types to a bird. Apologies.” The man with many arms- wings? They had feathers, but they certainly just looked like hands. Does it matter?- said, crossing the top of his arms and letting the other four hang down. “Even if they were feathers, the only one here with water-repellent anything is Koda.”
The one with the beak squeaked, looking between Jin and his friends. He was gesturing vaguely, but the other two were too engaged in their conversation to notice.
“Well, I feel like if we got enough money, we could probably get some spray or something to make them hydrophobic.” The Eaglet put his hands on his hips. A shadow sprouted from his stomach. “I’m hydrophobic-”
“No one cares!” He pokes the shadow back under his shirt.
“Where would one get hydrophobic spray? Are there even convenience stores here?” Says the Octopus man.
“There has to be-”
“Hey! There’s a land-lubber here, yare-yarrr!” A new voice echoes.
Jin is too tired to crane his neck upwards, so he flops over to look at the person. From his perspective, he saw the pirate boots of the man. He had large blue wings which somewhat resembled a dodo’s, and his golden hair fell over his face in an upside down V. Hawks.
“Oh? Ye, Koda? Oh- sorry.” He clears his throat. “Koda spotted him first. Good eye, lad.”
“What’s with the pirate get-up, hero?” Bubai hisses. “Is this some kind of sick joke? You captured me and brought me to Tartarus,maybe, but I won’t go down without a fight!” He jumped up, ignoring his aching limbs as he grabbed Hawks by the collar.
“H-Hey! Calm down, who- Hero? I’m no hero!” The pirate accent disappeared. He grabbed Bubai’s fists and tried to make him release his poor, poor clothing.
“Quit actin’ dumb, stupid! He wouldn’t be acting then, god!” Jin lets go, stepping back. “Sorry- my… my nerves are all out of whack at the moment.”
“...Uh.” The Dodo man slicks his two hair tendrils back and gains his bearings. “Tis’ fine, ye- uh, landlubber! Meh crew and I are welcoming to all those who inhabit wonderland!”
“Please, lord, stop pushing the pirate thing. We’re just a group of birds.” The Crow thing pinched himself just above the beak. “Excuse my mentor. My name is Tokoyami, this is Shoji-” He points at the Octo-Man. “-he is a Lory. Koda, that one, he’s a.. Duck. You already talked to my mentor, Hawks, the dodo. And I believe you met Nezu. I did hear you talking his ear off, y’know, Principal?”
“Not my fault he doesn’t know basic Russian..” The mouse murmured.
Jin blinked. So many birds… fake birds, that is. “Can I join this gang? Sorry- My name’s Jin, or Twice. I’m kinda fine with anything, since we have bigger fish to fry. Where am I?”
“Yarr, you’re in Wonderland, as I…cough… said before. Ye must be far away from home if ya don’t know where you are. Or- or you’re from the Mad Hatter’s tea party, they always forget where they are… No matter, lad! Stick around with us and we’ll help you along!” Hawks said, swinging a rusty and bent sword that was formerly on his hip.
“...I don’t want to stay with you guys. Honestly, I just want to dry off and then try and find a way out of here…”
Nezu butted in between the two. “Well! Don’t I have the method for you! I have a story that many have told me is dry!”
“Oh please, not again-” Tokoyami murmured.
“Well, there once was a hero named All Might. Many people spoke of his glory ㅤㅤㅤ
ㅤㅤand excellence, because he was a great and powerful man.
ㅤㅤㅤLittle people know of his story, however. In fact,
ㅤㅤㅤI hardly know the story myself, since
ㅤㅤㅤㅤ it is such a close guarded secret.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤBut I do know a rough figure.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ It started when he was a
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤyoung boy, and he was
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤinspired to become a hero.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ He saw the great feats of others,
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ but could sadly not achieve his
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤdream. Later on in life, he
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤwent to America to
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤcontinue his hero
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤschooling. Another
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ man assisted
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ ㅤㅤhis dream,
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤand that’s truly
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤwhen he
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤstarted.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤInspired
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤby the hopes of
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤothers, he
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤpersisted.
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤHe became
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤa symbol of
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤhope, justice,
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤand peace. He
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤfaced many
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤtrials,
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ and
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤhe
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤalso
“Man, that is a dry tale.” Hawks, having dropped the pirate accent due to how bored he was. yawned. The other birds, being teenagers, had all fallen asleep.
“Pardon you. You heroes think you’re all big shots, not paying attention…Where was I?”
“You were talking about how he conquered trials? If we’re going off how far along your…uh, tail you were, you were around the second bend.”
“I was not! This was completely off of my memory!”
“A knot? You should shove it up your-”
Hawks shoved Jin aside.“Woah! Twice, calm down! Here, let’s have something more fun to dry off with, eh? It’s an exercise I call a Caucus Race.”
“A caucus race?” Tokoyami tilted his head, immediately waking up from his slumber.
“You know it! And the best way to explain it is to do it! Three, two, one, go!”
Hawks flew- not literally, with him being a flightless bird and all- towards the rock, his steps spraying sand behind him. Tokoyami was the next up, rushing behind his mentor, with Dark Shadow poking from his shirt. “Hell Yeah, Caucus Race!”
Shoji and Koda, having been caught off guard, hauled each other up from the ground and ran after them.
“...Is- Is this horse racing? I bet on Hawks!” Jin decided to run with it, quite literally. He followed the group in running around the rock, over, and over…until he felt quite like passing out again.
Luckily, Hawks announced the end before that could happen. “Alright! Stop the game! The race is over, we’re all dry!” He squawked, not even being slightly out of breath. “So, who wins?”
Koda looked to Tokoyami, who looked to Shoji, who, in turn, looked over Jin and to Nezu. The mouse cleared his throat. “Well, since it was a very idiotic game, you get an equally idiotic answer. Everyone wins. Though you should have had that answer prepared, Hawks. I had to make up for your shortsightedness.”
Hawks rolled his eyes. “Well, in that case, we all gotta have some prizes for winning!”
“Prizes? All we did was run around in a circle. That doesn’t really-” Jin started, before getting cut off.
“Well, if you’re gonna be such a spoilsport, then you can give the prizes!” Hawks smirked at the other man, holding out his hand. “Well?”
Jin cleared his throat. There wasn’t much in the pockets of his new attire, aside from meaningless trash. “Uh, alright. A cigarette butt for you, pocket lint for you, wadded up tissue for you, and…uh, split the pocket lint with the Duck, would you?” He handed the garbage to the birds one by one.
“Wow. Thank you..so much.” Tokoyami muttered, giving half of his share of pocket lint to Koda. “Eternally grateful.”
“Anyway- Mouse! You said you’d tell me what Wonderland is. Maybe tell me how to get out of here? Hey, if you’re a mouse, whaddya think of cats-?”
He barely got the words out before Nezu screeched. “CATS! OH, DON’T TALK TO ME OF CATS! FOUL CREATURES! Especially that Cheshire…” He harrumphed, turning around very harshly. “You have gotten on my nerves for the very, very last time, Mr. Jin. Goodday.” And he stomped off, unknowingly leaving his tail behind.
“What a wacko. C’mon, that’s..” He trailed off as everyone else was staring at him. “What? Are you all scared of cats?”
They all stared for a second, before Hawks cleared his throat. “Uh, it's dangerous around here at this time. Best to be..Moving.” He gestured vaguely at the sea, before ushering his flock away. “Don’t mention cats. There’s a not-so-nice one around here. Good luck, or something.” He muttered a rushed goodbye before following the others.
And so, Jin was left alone with his thoughts. Though, in a mind like his, was he ever truly alone?
“Man, I wish I had someone here…Toga, maybe or Mister-” He was distracted by the sound of pattering feet.
Maybe he wasn’t as alone as he thought.