Chapter Text
It was night out, sitting at the dining table in the living room in the apartment sat Shuriken, Vinestaff, and Slingshot. Slingshot sat, his head buried in shadow. "We're running tight on money and it pisses me off." Slingshot's voice cracked slightly. Shuriken watched as his siblings sulked, deciding to speak up or stay quiet like a puss.. "Well we could.. uhm... maybe we could start going into more phights?" Shuriken suggested, smiling a smile that was forced to try and make the situation a bit brighter. It didn't work. "We don't have time, Shuri! Plus, last time we went into a phighting match; you got hurt and I damaged my shoes badly! We aren't going back until we are fully ready!" Slingshot aggressively spat, almost yelling. Vinestaff put her hand on Slingshot, calming him slightly. "ah... right..." Shuriken looked away, fiddling with his scarf. "... I'm gonna get ready for bed." Shuriken said, getting up. His hand was on his bag, the bag carrying his precious mask. Vinestaff sighed, "Goodnight, Shuri..." Muttered her.
As soon as Shuriken reached his room he closed is door and locked it. He slumped down, sliding his back on the door. God, it felt like it was his problem to fix. He glanced at the touch tone telephone on his desk he got recently just in case he had any... Temptation. Shuriken stood up, opening his bag, eyes never flicking off that phone. He grabbed his mask through the smoke bombs he had just incase., holding it by the bite part. His other hand hovering over the telephone. He picks it up, the number embedded into the phone.
"Hello? Who is this?"
A voice spoke, accented with a feeling you couldn't describe, but it felt bad. Shuriken opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. He felt like he was being watched. Shuriken turned his head to nothing but the welcoming darkness of his room. The voice spoke up.
"Oh! You're that green-twink ninja I talked to before!" The caller giggled, you could hear him smile It was sickening for some reason.
"Have you finally made up your mind?
...
Shuriken lifted his head, facing his window. He was gonna do something stupid.
Slingshot, seated in the dining room table, Vinestaff next to him. He tapped his claw on the table, the only sound that would be heard minus the buzzing from the lights. Suddenly, Slingshot stood up, his tail twitching. "Don't apologize to him yet-..." Vinestaff reached out to him, Sling's paw jerking away. "I won't, I'll do it tomorrow when we can think clearly." Slingshot glanced away, his face hidden in shadow. Paw steps faded away leaving Vinestaff alone. Her dragon-like tail flicked. Her tired sigh cut the silence.
[][][][][][][]
The sun rose, peaceful morning shined. A knock echoed in Shuriken's room. Slingshot's tail roped around His leg. "Hey... Shuriken... I just wanna say sorry, yeah? Wanna like... Open up and talk...?" Slingshot muttered, loud enough to be heard on the other side. No response echoed back. "I'll talk later then..." Slingshot's paws stepped away.
...
There, in the busy roads of Craterdust Capital, was a yelp. A few yelps and growls actually. "Sorry! 'Scuse me!" Skateboard shouted, the wind whooshing past. "!" Skateboard jumped off his board, running up to two of his friends. "Boom! Coil! What's up?' Skateboard asked, smiling as his tail twitched. "Dude, you gotta be more nonchalant if you wanna get bitches, you hopeless romantic." Coil teased, pushing himself off from the wall he was leaning on. Boombox chuckled along with Skateboard.
"Wanna grab a bite at Slings' café? I'm literally like starving." Skateboard sighed dramatically. "But Boombox is driving." He added, turning to face Boombox. "Duh, none of you have cars." Boombox chuckled, nodding. "We'll get there by like, 11. It's 9 now anyways, that's if we leave now." Coil calculated, stretching his arms. Skateboard nodded, looking at Boombox again. "What're waiting for?" Skate asked, hopping on his board, his tail wrapped around a pole in the ground to keep him steady. "Yeah, let's go now. Come on." Boombox gestured as he started walking. "Can't wait to ragebait the house-cat." Giggled Coil, earning a playful nudge from Skateboard.
During the drive, around the first hour in the car, Skateboard received a... Worrying text from Slingshot. A panicked one.
Coil looked back into the middle sat in the back where Skateboard sat. Skateboard's leg bouncing. "You're stressed. What's up?" Coil asked, startling Skateboard. "OH-!" Skateboard jolted, clutching his phone. "Uhm... So Slingshot kinda needs our help..."
"..."
"Shuriken's missing."
Boombox nearly hit the breaks on the car, Coil's fur bristled up slightly. "What?!" Boombox exclaimed, trying to focus on the road. "Damn..." Coil attempted to brush it off. "You sure he isn't like, out around? And I'm NOT going to be the little sniffer dog doing all the work." He growled, sitting back in the car chair. "Coil..." Boombox muttered. "What?" Shot back Coil. "nothing..." Boombox followed up, glancing away. Coil, still stuck his nose out the open window on his side. No reason though...
Spammed. Spammed was Shuriken's phone. He hated it.
Slingshot: 46+ New unread messages since 10:00 AM today.
Vinestaff: 21+ New unread messages since 10:04 AM today.
Katana: 2 New unread messages since 10:02 AM today.
Read Shuriken's phone's lock screen. He growled, clearing the notifications. He walked on the sidewalk of the highway, soon to be exiting the tunnel to ___________ , feeling the heat of ___________ . He was going the right way, right?
...
Hm.
...
...They don't need my help...right?
After getting to the cafe, Slingshot greeted Skateboard with a hug. Mainly for himself though. Sling was holding tears back as Vinestaff was tearing. Coil tapped his foot. "You sure he isn't on a long stroll or something." Coil asked, his eyes wandering the cafe. "He left a fucking note saying 'I'm Fine: Don't kno when I'll be back :shrug:'!" Slingshot's tail puffed up in anger as the tail lashed. "Tch-!... Sorry or whatever..." Coil grumbled, stepping back with his arms crossed. "Was there anything notable other than that in his room?" Boombox stepped forward as Skateboard started to also join in on the conversation. Coil tuned out their conversation. Coil was distracted by the smells in the air. One of them was Shuriken's scent while there was another unfamiliar smell. Coil wanted to get out. He needed to. "I'll be outside." He spoke to deaf ears, lazily waving. As soon as he stepped out, he was devoted to find Shuriken, even though the sent is hard to find. He took a step forward and was stopped.
"It would be very wise to not go alone and wait for your friends." A voice spoke from behind Coil, making his fur stand. "Hey!" Growled coil, wiping his head back to the voice. Katana. "Oh. It’s you.” Coil’s ears flattened as he narrowed his eyes. “Look, I'll be fine. They're just gonna slow me down anyways." Coil huffed, his arms crossing. "Plus I'm a smart guy!" He added. Katana stayed stoic. “I don’t doubt you are not smart, Coil. But,” Katana was looming over Coil at this point. "Do not do anything foolish. Be smart." Katana spoke out, more commanded than said. Coil had to admit he was threatened, but stood his grounds by pinning his ears and growling. "I don't 'sit' and 'stay'. I’m not a house dog. I do what I want." With that, Coil stormed off with a sigh from the older man.
“I found it!”