Book 8: Chapter 13:

“Do you think cat girls would sit in boxes?” Fenrir asked, his tail casually swishing about behind him as he walked with Mister Smiles toward the fishing spot he had been wanting to try out.

“H-huh?” Mister Smiles asked in response, walking beside him.

“Sorry, that was a strange thing to ask.”

The two walked in a bit of an awkward silence for the next few moments before Mister Smiles’ curiosity got to the best of her. “I’m… curious about what ya meant with your question.”

“You know what a cat girl is, right?”

“A-err… cat who’s a girl?”

“You have a lot to learn, my smiling friend.” He checked on her reaction out of the corner of his eye and saw a small smile. An actual smile. Seeing as how her mask was off, he was able to see a real, genuine smile from her for the first time. “You see, there are cats, which can be girls, and then there are cat girls. A cat girl looks like a normal human girl for the most part, but has cat ears and a tail. And this applies to more than just cat girls. I’m a wolf boy. Or dog boy. I… actually forget which one I was going for. Either way, I’m a canine boy. Nyaiko? She was a cat girl. Eva? She uh… I guess isn’t any specific type of girl. Just a hybrid.”

“So… if a girl looks human… and gets dragon wings or somethin’… would that make her a dragon girl?”

“You’re a fast learner.”

“Then… what if it’s the other way around? Like… a cat with human ears and hands instead of paws?”

“H-huh?”

“Sorry. I – I guess that was a strange thing to ask.”

“No, no. I just need a minute. The mental picture is throwing me off. Anyways, I have no idea. Uhh. I think we might just have to settle for calling that an abomination.”

In just a few minutes, Fenrir saw his first real smile from Mister Smiles and heard his first laugh from her. “Probably,” she agreed. “Ah think I like cat girls better than cat abominations.”

“I think that’s something all of us can agree on. Anyways, now that you know what a cat girl is, would one sit in a box?”

“Why a box?”

“You know the stereotype, right? About cats loving to sit in boxes?”

“Ah don’t think so.”

“You must be too busy beating the crap out of me every day to look at memes.”

“Hey… give yerself some credit. You put up some good fights.”

“I think my problem is that you’re a pure, physical brawler. I’ve kind of ended up in a weird, anti-magic brawling position. If you’re not reliant on magic, I think you’re probably always going to beat me if we ever seriously fight without holding back. Seriously, you’re something else.”

“Wh-where’s all this praise comin’ from?”

“What? I’m just being honest. You’re an amazing fighter. I feel like I’m going up against somebody who actually has real experience when I fight you, whereas the only experience I have is from some other fighting VR games. But it’s like, you know? No matter how good somebody might get in VR, you can always just tell when somebody has the real-life skill to back themselves up.”

“I guess you could say ah’ve got some real experience. Nothin’ serious though.”

Since Fenrir had her talking, he decided to keep the conversation going before it could have another chance to slip back into awkward silence. “What about fishing? Got any experience with that?”

“Yeah. Me and the old man… he’d take me fishin’ and huntin’ when I was a kid.”

“You’ve actually been fishing in real life? And hunting?”

“Lived out where nobody else really did.”

“Makes sense then. Only place you’re really going to find fish is if you have a private pond stocked with them or live far enough away from the cities. What was hunting like? Only ever tried it in one game before, and I’ll admit I had no idea what I was doing and got bored of sitting in the same place for hours waiting for something to show up.”

“Heh. It requires a lotta patience, that’s for sure. But I never minded it. Thought it was relaxin’ to be out in the woods with my old man, sittin’ up in a tree enjoyin’ the sounds of nature while waitin’. Those were good times. Simple times. I miss ‘em.”

“Sounds like it.”

“Then cancer had to ruin everything.”

Fenrir half expected to hear something like that considering her mentioning of missing those times, but he wasn’t sure she would actually bring it up. Now that she did, he wasn’t sure how to react other than by relying on the typical, generic response most often used in such situations. “I’m sorry.”

“It ain’t yer fault. It ain’t anybody’s fault. Cancer is too much of a bastard to let anybody else share the blame.”

“Do you… want to talk about it?”

“I… do, but I doubt ya want ta hear me talk about somethin’ so depressin’.”

“I lost my parents when I was younger. I know how it feels to just want to talk to somebody about it sometimes, especially if you haven’t really done it before.”

“Ah’m sorry.”

“Hey, if you won’t let me say I’m sorry, I’m not going to let you say you’re sorry. Anyways, there’s no pressure. If you want to talk, I’ll listen. If you don’t want to, we’ll change the subject.”

“Er… I uh, guess ah do want ta talk about it. But ah don’t know. Are ya sure ya don’t mind listenin’?”

“I’m sure. Promise. Though, wait. Here.” Fenrir pushed his way through a bush and came out on the other side which revealed his destination. “Heard some guys talk about this place and had them show me where it was. First time coming to fish here, though.”

On the other side of the bush was a beautiful, still pond disturbed only by the occasional air bubbles that rose to the surface. Surrounding the edge of the pond was a dense circle of weeds that served as a hiding spot for some of the smaller fish to swim within. It would also surely prove to be the doom of any lines that were reeled into it.

At the back of the pond was a small stream that ran off toward the mountains. In the center of the pond, there was no visible bottom despite how clear the water was. All they could see was a pit that eventually grew dark enough to not see what was on the other side of it.

“Crazy, isn’t it?” Fenrir asked. “A bottomless pond just right in the middle of the forest like this.”

“Maybe… a sinkhole?” Mister Smiles asked.

“Maybe, but I don’t know. I think places like this just might be a feature of the region. There was another one in the mountains those fish monsters tried invading through. Well, it was in a giant cave instead of out in the middle of a forest, but same thing. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a tunnel at the bottom of the pond that leads out to the ocean. Which means…” If the End Bringers find out about these tunnels, they could use them to their advantage. Especially if they have monsters that they can use to travel underwater.

“Somethin’ wrong?”

“It’s nothing. We’re here to fish and talk.” I’ll just let the others know about that later. Maybe Ilo can do a search for any tunnels like these so we know where they are all. “Anyways, here.” While they walked, Fenrir carried their rods and fishing gear while Mister Smiles carried her helmet. Now that they were at their fishing site, Mister Smiles set down the oversized, smiling head and took the rod that Fenrir brought for her. “What do you think we should go with? Live bait or lures?”

“For a pond like this… depends on the bait and lures. Ah ain’t seein’ any big fish in there, so a small worm might be fine ta start with.” Mister Smiles took off the lid of the jar used to hold the worms and picked one out with ease. She managed to pick one that was particularly fat and wriggly, too.

Fenrir was used to his girlfriends having a bit of trouble with that part. Well, except for Eva. They all had a bit of difficulty when it came to picking up a worm and slipping a hook through its body even if it was all virtual. Fenrir struggled with that back when he first tried fishing in games, too. And even though Eva might not have been bothered by it, she was anything but a pro at it. Mister Smiles, however, secured the worm in a way that would prevent it from slipping off no matter how hard it tried.

Taking Rod off his hip, he extended his trusty partner into his full size and slid a worm onto his hook.

“Want the honors of the first cast?” Fenrir asked.

“It’s all yours,” Mister Smiles answered.

“Don’t mind if I do.”

One cast later and Fenrir’s worm landed right near the center of the pond. Mister Smiles’ line landed a bit more to the side to make sure that their lines wouldn’t get tangled up in each other.

Now that the two had nothing to do but wait, Fenrir asked, “So, still want to talk about it?”

“About what?” Mister Smiles asked right before remembering their earlier conversation. “Oh. Err… I don’t know. Might do some good fer me, but…”

“Like I said, no pressure.”

There might not have been any pressure, but there was silence. For a few moments at least before Mister Smiles asked, “Why… is it so easy to talk to you?”

Fenrir’s ears twitched as he tilted his head a little, keeping his eyes on his line. “Is it?”

“Yeah. You’re… easy to talk to. I feel like ah’m talkin’ to a friend I’ve known for a long time.”

“Maybe it’s all our daily fighting sessions. You’ve pounded me in the face with your fists so many times that you’ve gotten comfortable around me.”

“Shuddup, it ain’t that.”

Fenrir smiled and looked at her. “Telling me to shut up now? Punching me really has worked.”

Mister Smiles made a little scrunched up face at him before poking her tongue out at him. “Teasin’ me when ah’m here tryin’ ta be all serious…”

“I’m sorry, I can’t resist. But you know, I am being serious. People used to say things like men could beat the shit out of each other in order to understand one another. They bonded through their fists. Don’t see why that has to be limited only to men. Maybe we did something similar without even meaning to.”

“Ah don’t want ta think that’s what actually happened…”

“Too bad. We punched each other into friendship.”

Mister Smiles sighed and slumped her shoulders. “Ah… guess I can’t deny it. I did feel a bit closer to ya after our fights…”

“Great. Then I can officially say I’ve made a friend via punching each other now. Between that and making a girlfriend via penetration through the back with a spear, I’m on track to collect all the rare friendship-making methods.”

“Ah swear… yer ridiculous.”

“Thanks, I try.” When Fenrir looked at her again, he saw the face of a woman trying her best not to smile while utterly failing at the task.

Perhaps it was him lifting her mood that made her that final bit comfortable enough to actually open up and talk about the earlier topic. “My old man wasn’t a good person. He wasn’t even a good dad. But ah still loved him. He tried his best, which ah guess is all that really matters. Anyways… docs said they never saw cancer spread so quick before. By the time he stopped bein’ so stubborn an’ finally went to get himself checked out, it was already too late and they gave him a year ta live. Didn’t even get half that much. Ya know, there’re always stories about folk bein’ given some short amount of time left ta live, and then the stories end with ‘em makin’ full recoveries or survivin’ twice as long at least. Nobody ever tells the stories about the opposite. Kinda wish they did.”

“I can understand that. If the only stories ever shared are all the good ones, that can cause even more pain to families when their loved ones don’t survive.”

“Yeah. Exactly. Ya know… I read so many stories about survivors. All ah could think about back then was my dad. Only way ta relax was readin’ about people survivin’ against all odds. I think ah actually tricked myself into believing that he would survive even as things kept gettin’ worse and worse. Kept tellin’ myself he’d bounce back any time. He’d bounce back, chug a beer, and take me huntin’ for some deer. Then he’d end up ruinin’ our hunt by thinkin’ of stupid jokes about farts and crack himself up over them. Heh. He had the sense of humor of a little kid.”

“Sounds like you had lots of fun with him.”

“Yeah… like I said, he might not’ve been the best dad around, but he was my dad. I loved that old man.”

“Did you… still have your mom after that? Or any other family?”

“Ah, yeah. Mom took the first opportunity to move us back to tha city once he was gone. She couldn’t stand bein’ in a place that reminded her of him, plus she always hated the country. She’s a real city girl.”

“When you say she couldn’t stand being in a place that reminded her of him, do you mean—”

“Ah, shoot. Bad phrasing. She loved him. That was why she tolerated the country for ‘im. Broke her heart to stay in our old place without him.”

“Alright, that doesn’t sound as bad as I as I thought then.”

“Heh. Yeah. And ya know, I loved my dad, but I still love my mom, too. I really put her through a lot… but she always took care of me even when I was a massive pain in the ass.”

“Now I’m curious about what you got up to.”

Mister Smiles scratched the back of her head. “Geez… a lot. But uh… ah guess the worst woulda been takin’ the old man’s rifle and shootin’ the clay rabbit in a yard down a street. Wanted to see if ah could hit it from our place.”

“So, you hunted a clay rabbit in a residential area with a real gun?”

“Yeah… shoulda seen my mom. She was fumin’. Looked like she was about ta explode. Ah still feel a bit bad about that. Pretty sure half her grey hairs came right after that happened. Then there was tha time I punched a guy in the face.”

“What’d he do to deserve getting punched?”

“Smacked my ass outta nowhere.”

“Sounds like a pretty justified thing.”

“Yeah, it was, but people weren’t too happy about me continuin’ ta punch him after he was already down.”

“Ah. In that case… I mean, I wouldn’t defend him, but maybe that was a bit overkill.”

“It was overkill. Even ah’ll admit that. Had to have an ambulance called for ‘im. But, I know I made my old man proud. He did the same thing when somebody did that to my mom back in the day. She told me I reminded her of him. That made me pretty happy and took away some of the pain ah felt in my hands.”

“Was that the fighting experience you had?”

“Nah. I used ta wrestle as a kid. Dad always wanted to play wrestle with me, then he signed me up for actual wrestlin’ when I was old enough. Won a few tournaments as a kid. Still got the trophies.”

“You had a way more interesting life than me. That’s for sure.”

“Huh? How? All I did was normal kid stuff. A guy like you… you’ve gotta have a more interestin’ story than me.”

“Not really. I was just a normal kid playing games and running around outside as a kid. Then around when I was a teen, I spent all my time indoors playing video games and watching anime. That uh… that was it. Really unimpressive. I’ve never even had a job or anything. Never went to college, either. I… shit. I’m a really boring person. How the heck do I have multiple girlfriends?”

Mister Smiles gave his shoulder a small push before shaking her head. “C’mon! Ya can’t say that about yerself. Sure, maybe ya didn’t do much in the real world, but what’s that matter? You’ve done all sortsa things in-game that I bet normal folk wish they could do! Come on, yer awesome! Plus I always see ya bein’ super kind an’ helpful ta everybody. And yer smooth and confident around your girls. You’re awesome, ya know?”

For once, it was Fenrir who went quiet first rather than Mister Smiles. Mister Smiles didn’t even notice how much she managed to make him blush until she failed to get a response from him.

And that was when she realized everything she just said.

Her own face turned red to match his. That was why she reached down to pick up her mask and put it back on, but she was stopped before she could.

“Wait,” Fenrir said. “I… sorry. I just wasn’t expecting to hear all of that from you. Caught me off guard. I’m not used to hearing anybody but my girlfriends talk like that, and even then… I think it’s been a while since they’ve decided to drop a compliment nuke on me like that. Thanks.”

“They… they don’t say that kinda stuff to ya all the time?” Mister Smiles asked.

“Well, there’s no need to. We all know we love each other and think those sorts of things about each other every day. I guess you could say we’ve kind of moved into the part where we’re comfortably happy with each other and just… honestly treat each other more like friends than girlfriends and boyfriends. I mean, we still do that sort of stuff together, but you know? I think most successful relationships are like that in the long run. You have to be friends with your partner – partners, if you want to last forever. The romance stuff might be exciting for a while, but it’s ultimately being able to just love spending normal days together that’s the most important. We don’t need to be boyfriend and girlfriends every single day. We just need to be happy with each other.”

“Ah… that sounds nice. Never… never really thought about it that way before. I always kinda imagined relationships like… ya gotta be all lovey-dovey every single day. And that’s usually how ya look with ‘em.”

“Well… you’re only seeing us around others. I’ll admit that we… kinda like to flirt around other people a lot. But when it’s just us hanging out on our own or in real life, we’re more like roommates who just so happen to love each other most days.”

“That actually sounds better than bein’ lovey-dovey to me. I always thought I’d end up bein’ single forever since I don’t know how all that mushy stuff works. I don’t know nothin’ about goin’ on dates and buyin’ presents and bein’ cute. If it’s as easy as just… chilling together, then heck, maybe even ah’ll be able to do it.”

“You’re a woman who knows how to compliment a man until he’s blushing, and I feel like I can talk to you like you’re a good bro. Trust me, if there’s no hope for you, there’s no hope for anybody.”

On one hand, Mister Smiles was just compared to a bro. On the other hand, Fenrir basically implied that any man would be lucky to have her. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel nor was she sure how to respond. “Wa-was I just bro-zoned?” she asked.

And then she realized what she asked.

She might not have been sure how she was supposed to respond, but she was fairly certain that she wasn’t supposed to respond how she did. That was why she could feel her cheeks burning and her eyes spinning.

“I – I uh, err… so – a-ah… how’sa – how about that uh… we-weather? Yeah, the sun? Real nice today, ain’t it? Heh. Heh… heh. Crap.” Mister Smiles slumped over enough, hanging her arms low, that Fenrir was worried she would fall over if she leaned any farther forward.

“Don’t worry,” Fenrir said. “I figured it out once you compliment nuked me. I mean, I don’t think somebody would drop that many compliments on a guy unless they felt that way.”

“Ah wanna die. This is why I hide in my mask and never say nothin’. Some of my pride might still be left if ah never took it off.”

In the same way that she pushed his shoulder earlier, Fenrir returned the favor by pushing her by her shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to… it. That makes me sound like some egotistical playboy, doesn’t it?”

Mister Smiles might have been embarrassed nearly to death, but she still chuckled a bit. “Heh… a little.”

“But seriously. I don’t know how else to phrase it, but I’m used to this sort of thing. You don’t need to feel embarrassed or anything. Want to punch each other in the face? Maybe they’ll make you feel better.”

“Ah, dang it! Punchin’ each other all the time ain’t the solution ta everything!”

“Are you sure?”

“… no.”

“Then come on.” Fenrir set Rod down before taking the rod from her hands to set down next to his. That left their hands empty and their bodies facing one another. “Let’s continue this weirdly abusive relationship of ours. You want to go first or should I?”

“You… you can go first.”

“Actually, can you? I mean, I’m all for gender equality, but I’d still feel better about punching a girl in the face if she punches me in the face first.”

Mister Smiles showed him a little pout before getting into position and slamming her right fist into his face as hard as normal.

Fenrir stood his ground and returned with a blow just as powerful into the side of Mister Smile’s head.

Each of the two were left with bruises and bloodied mouths. More importantly, they both wore smiles. And in Mister Smiles’ case, she wore a smile in the metaphorical sense rather than the literal sense for once.

“Feel better?” Fenrir asked before spitting out some blood.

“Ah don’t like that ah do,” Mister Smiles said, “but it did make me feel a bit better.”

“I’m telling you, we’re bonding through our fists.”

“Ah feel ridiculous now. Look at me… gettin’ all worked up and feelin’ better because of a punch. How stupid is that?”

“Not stupid at all. Now, I’m not saying violence is the answer for everything, but it is good for venting feelings. That’s what you just did, isn’t it?”

Mister Smiles was about to answer before she noticed something.

Her fishing rod was being pulled toward the water.

And so was Fenrir’s.

“The rods!” Mister Smiles shouted.

They both grabbed back onto their rods and began to reel before they noticed something.

Their lines got tangled after all.

“Ah… crap, we might lose this one,” Mister Smiles said.

“Can’t give up that easily, can we?” Fenrir asked.

“How’re we supposed to get it if we’re tangled?”

“Teamwork. That’s how. If we try to reel in together while keeping our rods close, we should be able to do this. Our lines were basically already the same distance out, so as long as we reel at the same time, it should be fine. I think.”

“It might sound stupid… but like my old man used ta say, if it’s stupid and it works, it ain’t stupid.”

“Then let’s be the stupidest dumbasses around together.”

Standing shoulder to shoulder, Fenrir and Mister Smiles basically reeled in the fish just like they normally would except they mimicked each other’s movements to the best of their ability. All they could do was trust in one another to make the right moves, and they did. No matter how desperately the fish tried to swim down into the bottomless pit of the pond, the fishing duo were able to reel it into shallow water which revealed the rainbow scales of the puffed-up fish. It turned out to be a rather large and powerful fish, too, which made sense considering just how much it was able to fight against their attempts at reeling it in.

“Take the rods and I’ll go in with the net,” Fenrir said.

“No, ah’ll do it,” Mister Smiles said. “Ah’m still wearin’ my suit. Already got my waders on, ya know?”

“You have a point. Alright.”

Now holding both Rod and Mister Smiles’ fishing rod, Fenrir kept the fish close without getting the lines further tangled in the weeds surrounding the shallow water. That gave Mister Smiles the opportunity to get in there with the net they brought along to get it right underneath the fish, scooping it out of the water with a single attempt!

“Nice!” Fenrir shouted. “See? We aren’t that stupid after all.”

Then, when he looked at Mister Smiles, he had a very specific feeling in his gut.

The kind of feeling that told him exactly what was about to happen.

The kind of feeling that told him he’d be trying to bring another woman into their relationship.

In the same way that he was captivated by Serra’s beauty the other day while they were on The Shoebill, Fenrir now saw Mister Smiles standing there with water splashed onto her hair as she smiled at him so honestly. The fact that she was still wearing her body suit which made her look like an extremely muscular man below the neck did take a little bit away from the sight, but it was also endearing in its own way.

“Ah don’t know about not bein’ stupid, we still punch each other ta bond and feel better,” Mister Smiles said, stepping out of the water with their netted reward.

“That’s a fair point,” Fenrir replied. “By the way, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Yeah?”

“You asked me about wearing a mask earlier. Well, I guess this isn’t really a question so much as an observation, but I feel like I’ve gotten to know the real you behind the mask now.”

“A-ah… that ain’t good.”

“How is that not good?”

“Because. Ah’m… borin’ an’ uninterestin’ and all that. I feel like ah don’t really have any personality. Ah ain’t cute like other girls, I don’t have the same types of interests as ‘em either, and… ah guess I get stupid and self-conscious over really dumb things. I feel like I don’t really know who ah am. Don’t know what I’m doin’ either. Just sorta… goin’ with the flow with whoever has somethin’ for me ta do.”

“If you’re comparing yourself to other girls, you don’t need to be.”

“But… ain’t them the kind folk like? Look at you and yer girlfriends. They’re all so… girly and cute.”

“Half of them can kick my ass and the other half walk around almost naked while scratching their asses. Don’t let them know I said that, by the way. Either way, my point is that they’re not only girly and cute. That doesn’t even matter to me. Maybe it does to others, but I love them for who they are instead of what they are, if that makes any sense. And you? Come on. You’re the cute tomboy type who likes getting rough with the boys. I promise you that you’re the type of tons of men and women.”

“You… ya think I’m cute?”

“Well… I mean, I’d be lying if I said no. Just don’t expect me to give you too many compliments considering I do have girlfriends already. But trying to be objective here, yeah. You’re cute. As for you thinking you don’t have a personality or anything, I don’t think that’s true. I think you’ve got tons of personality. It’s just… it wasn’t exactly obvious while you were hiding who you are from all of us.’

“I – I know… it’s just, ya know? I uh… kinda screwed up with my avatar, and… got so used to hidin’ in my suit that I got comfy with it. Got used to it. Showing my avatar now makes me feel… weird and embarrassed. Ah, darn it. The more ah think about it… the more ah realize all my problems are uh… what’s tha word. Self-imposed?”

“You brought them upon yourself?”

“Yeah, that. Guess ah’m realizin’ I’ve been playin’ victim ta problems caused by nobody but myself.”

“Well, you don’t have to get over it in one day. Take things one step at a time now that you’re aware of it. The only way for somebody to change is if they genuinely want to. If you know there’s a problem caused by yourself, and you want to change it, then you can. It’s the people who never accept blame and always shove it onto everybody else that can never better themselves.”

“Huh… so ya think people can just… change themselves if they ain’t happy with who they are?”

“Yeah, pretty much. It’s basically what I’ve done.”

“What about the folk who want ta be accepted for who they are? The ones who don’t want ta have to change for anybody?”

“They shouldn’t ever have to change for anybody else. They should only change for themselves. I don’t think they truly can change if it’s for somebody else. That’s just… fake change that won’t last or mean anything.”

“What if somebody’s a bad person who thinks they’re fine tha way they are?”

“Then, well, the only thing you can really hope for is that they’ll realize they need to change, but that’s getting into a whole different complicated situation there. If somebody genuinely believes they’re perfect the way they are and refuses to even think about changing, then the only way to convince them otherwise would basically be to brainwash them. And that’s not exactly ethical, especially when it comes to something like determining whether a person is good or bad.”

Mister Smiles thought it over for a few moments before struggling to find a way to respond, ultimately resorting to a basic thanks. “Thanks for explainin’. I guess ah’ve got to think about it some more.”

“No problem. I like talking about this sort of stuff, so you’re welcome to hit me up whenever you want. That being said, if you don’t mind me giving a bit of advice, maybe you should try hanging around the place without your mask on. People might not recognize you without it, but I think it might be good for you to make some friends and get to show your personality off some more. You don’t want to hide behind a mask for so long that you forget what you look like behind it, yeah?”

Mister Smiles nodded and looked down at her mask on the ground. “I… guess ah can give it a try. Though ah doubt ah’ll be able ta talk this freely with anybody else.”

“Come on, you’ve just got to punch each other in the face.”

“A’hm ‘bout ta punch you in the face if ya keep bringin’ that up.”

“Do it. Make our bond even deeper. You coward.”

Despite the original intention of the trip to the pond being fishing, the trip would end as a sparring match while a rainbow-scaled fish, puffed up in all of its glory within the net that contained it, watched with an unamused expression.