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Sunlight broke through the clouds, bringing light onto the sandy shores of Hokolo island. The sea glistened while seafoam formed on top of the sand. All was quiet and serene at the island, Monsters roamed the areas living happily with their lives. Suddenly, some perked up to the presence of something disturbing their peacetime.
“Okay, Kyle...you can do this..you can do this…” A young, blonde-haired hunter paced the sands of the beach, he glanced over at something before looking down at his feet. “I can’t do this...I mean sure you used to be enemies with him and…”
The young boy’s ramblings were cut off when a certain Palico; a small cat-like creature capable of incredible feats, such as battling and speech, appeared next to him. She stood up from her stance and scowled at him before clearing her throat.
“You seem to be in dire stress, Kyle.”
“Tsukino!” The young hunter jumped back in surprise, causing him to lose his footing and fell onto his butt. “What...how long have you been there?”
“The entire time, and I have to say; a hunter such as yourself should never be in such a state.” She held out her paw and pulled up her friend while glancing in the direction Kyle was previously facing. “Do you have a mission in that there village?”
“No! I mean...yes, I mean...not really a mission, I just…” Kyle chewed his bottom lip and kicked the ground. “It’s about...Marcus…”
“Marcus? Oh, that rider from before, what about him? Is he causing trouble?”
“What? No! He never has, if anything I was the one causing the trouble to him...It’s just.” Kyle’s voice trailed off as he paced the sand once again. “I wanted...to see him and maybe hang out with him.” The young hunter’s cheeks flushed a bright red as he looked away from his friend. “I owe him for the trouble I’ve caused to him, yeah, and maybe hanging out will remedy that.”
“Sounds like you want to do more than hang out with him.” The Palico took her friend’s hand and led him towards the village. “Why not talk to him?”
“Talk? I mean sure but I’m...nervous.”
There was a brief silence between the two before the Palico puffed her cheeks out in a fit of laugher, causing Kyle to turn bright red.
“DON’T LAUGH AT ME LIKE THAT! THIS IS SERIOUS TSUKINO!”
“I’m sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you so nervous…” The Palico crossed her tiny arms and nodded at him. “I think the last time was your very first hunt.”
“Not funny...then again, I’d rather experience that again than go through this…” Kyle slapped his cheeks and furiously shook his head as he leaned against the village walls. “Yeah, I’m nervous, but like...Marcus is special, he’s a good friend to me and I care a lot about him.”
“Then what’s stopping you from talking to him.”
“Well,” Kyle paused for a brief moment before taking a deep breath. “I guess I just get all fuzzy around him? I’m okay with everyone else but like...with Marcus...his soft, brown hair...his genuine smile. Something about him makes me…” Kyle crossed his arms and shook his head. “I hate this feeling, how do I make it go away?”
“That is something you need to ask yourself.” Tsukino walked around her friend and held up her paw to him. “I don’t know much about human relationships, but you must discover this on your own.”
“You sound like Dad for a moment...but fine...I guess I’ll ask Marcus myself.”
“Ask Marcus what?” A new voice appeared from behind the hunter, causing Kyle to jump back in surprise.
“Gah!” Kyle fell on his back, his vision dazed and blurred as the impact knocked around his senses… “Who...Marcus?”
There stood another boy, wearing nothing but those long brown pants and a red belt. His brown and wavy hair danced in the winds as his red and silver eyes shined back at Kyle’s face. He held out a hand and quickly pulled up the hunter before touching his cheeks.
“Kyle, okay?” Marcus’ soft hands felt the warmth of Kyle’s cheeks as the boy looked at him. “Kyle, sick?”
“No, no I’m not sick…” Kyle pulled his face away from Marcus’ hands before looking down to the ground. “What are you doing here anyway?”
“Live here…”
“I know that I mean...what are you doing here !” Kyle pointed to the wall as Marcus nodded.
“Oh! Marcus heard Kyle’s voice. Wanted to see him.”
“See me? Oh.” A weird lump formed in Kyle’s throat as he scratched the back of his head. “Well what a coincidence, I wanted to see you too!”
“Really?”
“Yeah, uh...Marcus…” Kyle swallowed the large lump and grasped Marcus’ hands. He stared deeply into the rider’s eyes and firmly nodded. “Would you like to hang out with me? I know we had our differences before and well. I wanted to thank you for opening my eyes to the world. I would’ve never thought that Monsters and People could coexist and I have to thank you for that...so would you like to be...friends?”
There was a long pause as the rider took a moment to process the words that Kyle said. He then broke that silence with a light giggle before ruffling the blonde spiky hair that adorned the hunter’s head.
“Kyle and Marcus already friends. Kyle saved Marcus and now Marcus is friends with Kyle!”
The rider’s warm smile was infectious to the point Kyle found himself smiling at him. Marcus giggled some more as he pointed to his own chest.
“When Marcus around Kyle, he feels, warm and happy...like how with Ratholos family.”
“Right, right...it means you consider me special!” Kyle quickly threw a hand over his mouth and froze as Marcus stepped back. “I mean…”
“Special...Kyle...special to Marcus?” Marcus pondered for a moment before laughing. “Yeah! Kyle is very special to Marcus!”
“Oh, I’m glad…” Kyle’s heart skipped a few beats as Tsukino snickered behind him. “Uh, would you like to hang out somewhere? Maybe someplace quiet…” The hunter glared as he spoke the last sentence, causing his Palico to playfully sticks her tongue out.
“Oh, uh...yeah! Marcus wants to show a nice spot in forest! Come on!” And just like that, Marcus grabbed Kyle’s wrists and led him away, causing the hunter to blush.
“Wait...slow down, I can’t keep up if you drag me like that!” The hunter stumbled as the boys ran towards the forest as laughter echoed between the trees all while daisies fluttered in the wind.
Tsukino giggled before disappearing in the air but not before she took one good look at her friend.
“You’ve grown so much, Kyle…”