Chapter Text
Natsume put on golden eyeliner on his eyelid as he looked in the vanity. It had been a week since the Gun Adventure Pomni and Jax had been avoiding each other well. He had been too, but A new player, Name Lamby, joined, and of course, everyone but Jax liked Lamby.
Lamby is a sheep-looking felt doll with a red ribbon and a small cape. Of course, Lamby is trying to befriend Natsume, which sends shivers down the porcelain doll's spine in a bad way. Natsume sighed as he looked at his ball joints ' There's got to be a way out...' he thought as he looked in the mirror, grabbed the veil off the mannequin's head, and put it on his own head.
A knock caught his attention. Natsume opened the door and saw the felt sheep doll. " Ah, Natsume, good morning!" he chirped. Natsume looked at Lamby before nodding and walking past him to Jax's door.
"Oh, I tried to wake up Jax, but he didn't open up," Lamby said as natsume knocked on Jax's door. Ignoring Lamby's words, Jax opened the door. "Morning, Jax." Natsume said the purple humanoid rabbit nodded, "Want to join us for breakfast?" he asked Jax. Jax looked at Lamby, who waved at him cheerfully.
"You making Breakfast?" Jax asked the blond fortune teller, Natsume nodded, "Always." he replied, Jax walked out, natsume blinked ' He really doesn't like Lamby...I wonder why?' he thought as Jax walked past Lamby. He narrowed his yellow eyes at Lamby, who, in his eyes, looked like a felt wolf with broken glass for teeth. Just looking at Lamby sent a shiver down his spine, yet everyone seems to like him. How can they see a sheep?!
Natsume trailed close to Jax with Lamby behind him. Jax looked over his shoulder, seeing the blond procilin ball jointed behind him, then the Felt wolf. Jax clicked his tongue as he turned ahead, and Natsume went to make breakfast. "So, what for breakfast?" Ragatha asked, " Steamed rice, Miso soup, and Salmon with natto ." Natsume replied.
"What Natto?" Jax asked with a raised eyebrow, " I-it fermented soybeans." Gangle replied, "It's a bit slimy from what I heard, but it's like a super food." Gangle explained, "Tastes better with a bit of mustard." Natsume added.
"How does Natto taste?" Gangle asked natsume to look up at the ceiling, trying to explain, "Texture-wise, Slimy and Stringy, but it has a nutty tone in it, I guess." Natsume replied," It's been a while since I had it, so.." Natsume added.
"I bet it tastes wonderful ~!" Lamby chipped, "....uh-huh.." Natsume blinked as he went back to cooking the salmon.
"Kiss up.." Jax muttered under his breath. Natsume paused, then thought, "Uhh, Jax, you don't mind Soy beans, do you?" Natsume asked as he plated up the rice and the cooked salmon, and he grabbed some small bowls for the miso soup.
"Well, Natto is just fermented soybeans, look like?" Jax asked, "Well, uhh, like soy bean,s I mean, you don't like corn due to...reason." Natsume shuddered as he handed plates, putting them in front of the others, "It's just beans." Jax rolled his eyes as he peeled back and saw the slimy beans in the plastic box.
"Pfft, this is nothing!" Jax chuckled, 'It should be fine as long as it's not corn... it doesn't even look bad!' his mind screamed, but the way the slimy soybeans were clustered together, looking like egg sacks, made his skin crawl.
'It is not corn or pomograntes ...it is not corn or pomograntes,' he repeated to himself as he opened his mouth and took a bite, only to meditatively turn green and throw up in a nearby trash can. "Can't do it.." he groans.
"Y-yeah maybe I shouldn't have handed out natto.." Natsume sighed, and Gangle took a bite, making a face. "T-the texture is really something." She said, reaching for a glass of water.
"I had a feeling." Natsume rubbed his neck. " I thought the texture would be differnt here." He added.
"It does have a nutty flavor, though." Pomni said, "Once you get past the texture," she pointedly added, " Yeah, I didn't really like it when I was a kid, but kind of had to eat out of my mother hitting me with the puppy dog eyes." Natsume chuckled
"Your mother hits you?!" Lamby interjects, his hand on his chest, "...uh, no...she just giving puppy dog eyes..." Natsume explained, ' Why did he think my mom abused me?' he thought, "The heck, lamby.." Jax muttered as he took a bite of rice, followed by a sip of miso soup.
Ragatha shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "Your mother sounds like a nice lady.." she said, " ...yeah, I'm lucky like that...uhh Ragatha, what's your dad like?" he asked, rubbing his neck, " Oh, my dad is always busy on business trips you know." she said, " but when he gets the time he plays with me." she added, "...looks like your lucky in that deparment." Natsume said as he sat down.
Ragatha blinked, "...I-if you don't mind me asking, what's your dad like?" she asked. Natsume looked at his reflection in the miso soup, "He...disappeared when I was 9... my mother kept his photo in the family shrine."Natsume said.
"Oh.." Ragatha breathed, then it hit her,"Oh! a-am sorry I-I didn't mean to bring up bad memories!" She defensively waved her hands, "It's fine." Natsume said sharply, "This is the first time I've talked about it with anyone."Natsume added as he took a bite of food, " You seemed so put together..." Ragatha said, Natsume chuckled as he raised his arm where gold cracks rose on his left arm, " Look at me, I've got to be, am one of the sons of my family!, and I don't care about gender rules, but someone has to be put together!" Natsume slammed his fist on the table.
Natsume quickly grabbed his food tray and left the room in silence. "Nice one, rags," Jax muttered as he finished sipping his soup and finished eating the food before standing up and leaving the room.
Natsume sighed as he ate his food on the stage, "... I shouldn't have snapped like that..." he muttered as he put the last bit of salmon, pulling out a thin bone from his mouth. Natsume stared at it.
Natsume sighed as he finished eating, and he picked up the tray and went back to the kitchen on his way to drop the tray off when he spotted something out of his sight, Jax and Lamby? ' I thought Jax can't stand Lamby...at least how he reacts each time Lamby is even in the close area of Jax,' natsume thought as he looked around the corner.
It appears they were talking. What were they talking about? He wasn't sure, but he noticed Jax was getting infuriated about something Lamby said. Jax clenched his fist, his shoulders tensing up. Oh, no!
Natsume went over trying to break up the fight before it could start. Jax's pupils shrank, fist raised, "Jax no!" Natsume shouted, getting in between him and felt a fist on the side of the jaw, and then.
Crack.
Natsume held his mouth at least..whatever reminds of it, Natsume sees a pool of gold under him, looking up, his lower jaw slid across the floor, looking up, seeing a stun jax gold on his yellow glove .
Natsume stood up, gold dripping to the black and white floor, "Natsume, Lamby got us. Are you okay?!" Ragatha said, holding a towel and applying pressure to the open injury.
Natsume nodded, not like he could say anything as gangle carefully picked up the jaw," H-here I ca-can't belive jax s-suddenly p-punch you." she said.
Wait what?! No, it wasn't sudden, Natsume was trying to stop Jax from hitting Lamby!
Natsume shook his head, " Don't worry about telling us what happened. Lamby told us everything." Ragatha comfort, Natsume, smack her hand away.
Natsume's jaw was fixed with a bandage. Caine told him to wait until the end of today's adventure, which is called Jungle Travel!
The group must work together to find the Jungle Riches in the temple.
"Man, I can't believe you have to wear that the whole time," Zooble said. Natsume sighed through his nose as he signed something.
"uh..what?" Zooble narrowed their eyes, and Pomni looked over. " Oh, he said, 'Well, at least you can still speak despite you lacking one,' " she translated, "Hm? Pomni, you know how to read sign language?" Ragatha asked, " Yeah, I have a cousin and a sister-in-law who are mute and hard of hearing, respectfully speaking." Pomni explained, Natsume widened his eyes, and signed something to pomni, "Huh? You want me to explain something to the others?" she asked. Natsume fevishly nodded.
" Okay," Pomni said as natsume signed something, " 'What happened with Jax was an accident he didn't mean to hurt me.' " pomni explained, " Then what happened?" Ragatha asked, " ' Jax and Lamby were talking, then Jax got angry. I went to stop them, and that's when Jax hit me.' " Pomni translated.
"S-so i-it wasn't no r-reason you took a blow trying to stop jax?" Gangle question.
Natsume nodded, "This doesn't make sense, Lamby said Jax just ran at you and sucker punched you." Zooble commented, Natsume blinked as he signed, " 'But lamby was talking to Jax at least to the point Jax suddenly got mad.' " Pomni translated, Everyone looked at the felt sheep doll who chuckled sheepishly, "I-I must have forgotten something when I went to get everyone. I'm sorry." Lamby apologised meekly.
Natsume had to resist the urge to show what he thought of Lamby's Apology, "That's not nice, Lamby!" Gangle said, " You made everyone think the worst of Jax, I mean, yes, Jax is a jerk, but not once has he ever punched anyone, he always pushes, but he never actually punches people... I-it never been his thing!" Gangle explained.
"Yeah, Jax may be a jerk, but as long as we've been here, he hasn't punched anyone yet, at least..till today," Ragatha added, clenching her fist as almost everyone was getting on lamby case...as they should.
Natsume walked over to Jax and tapped him on the shoulder as he signed something to him before he stopped himself, not knowing if Jax knew ASL.
"I'm fine," he replied as he looked away, "...you didn't have to do that," he added as he rubbed his neck. Natsume signed how he wanted to, that it wasn't fair for Lamby to lie about this, and Jax looked at the blond and his wrapped mouth, " Why did you try to stop me? If you heard what Lamby said, you won't have to try to stop me." Jax said as he growled as he reached for a fruit from a tree.
Natsume signed. What did Lamby say to Jax?
Jax stiffens, shoot! He spoke too much, "I-it not ...it not important okay?" Jax replied, Natsume pouted though the bangaged before he signed, "Yeah, well, I'm hungry besides the worst it would do to me is giving me scales or something." Jax replied as he took a bite of the dragon fruit.
Natsume sighed and signed to him again, " Realx Caine like us!" Jax said as he walked ahead, taking another bite of the dragon fruit with a loud crunch.
TBC.