Popstar Comics

Author's Note: Another late update, another shameful excuse for my tardiness. It can be hard for me to feel inspired about writing this story since every time I start a new chapter I have to recap on everything that's been going on in the plot so far. It's only been 10 chapters, but damn, there's quite a lot happening in this fic. I've had to reread everything in order to remember a lot of stuff, so hopefully I don't forget anything. I'll be going through the previous chapters and polishing them up later, but I won't be adding anything of plot significance. Anyway, enough rambling from me, here's chapter 10.

Chapter 10: Black and White

I never thought I'd be defending myself from a home invasion. You hear about it on the news all the time, mostly with older folks who are either physically or mentally incapable of fending off their attackers. Regardless, you'd have to be crazy to break into the house of an able-bodied young male, especially one with a reputation for being immortal. And in an apartment complex with less than four floors, someone was bound to hear you come in, and let me tell you if you mess with one resident, then you've messed with all of them.

Other people who heard Lucina's scream open up their doors, staring at one another and wondering what the hell is going on. They see me too, gunning it up the stairs faster than the elevator could move. In all my years of living here I never took the chance to learn any of their names, but they all know me as that black-winged angel boy who always stays out until after curfew. They were also under the impression that my involvement with something normally meant bad news. It's a pretty good assumption; I'll give them that.

I reach for the knob and shove into the room, raising my fist to bring down the first punk in my way. To my surprise, the hall is empty, and I would have thought the entire apartment was too had a certain pansy numbskull not come flailing through my field of view.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Pit squeals as he stampedes across the living room, a white towel wrapped over his eyes. He collides with the couch, flipping over it and landing on his back on the other side.

If this were any other situation, I probably would have laughed my ass off, but his crazy stunt just left me more confused if anything.

"What the hell is going on in here!?" I shout as I storm over to Pit and yank the towel off his head, revealing a beet red face.

"Gah! D-Dark?" he replies frantically. "Oh thank heavens! I thought I walked into the wrong room!" He pulls himself up, a few feathers dropping from him in the chaos.

"What are you talking about?"

"There's someone in the bathroom using our shower! I thought it was you, but when I knocked you didn't answer, so I opened the door and…" He stopped mid-sentence, a sudden realization dawning on him. "Oh my gosh! I just saw a naked girl! Lady Palutena will never forgive me for this!"

He immediately drops the conversation and dashes to the shrine in the hall, falling to his knees to beg his goddess for forgiveness. As you were probably suspecting, I'm not surprised in the slightest. His reaction is amusing to say the least.

It turns out that Pit had accidentally stumbled upon Lucina in the shower expecting me to be the only one home. This is normally the case on practically any other day of the year; however, I made the mistake of inviting Lucina as a last-minute decision. He wasn't expecting anyone to be over, and he certainly wasn't expecting to see a stranger in the nude. Palutena would probably give him forty lashes for that one.

I notice Lucina suddenly creep up next to me, dressed in the large black t-shirt and shorts that I had given her after dinner. They're just some extra hand-me-downs that I had found in my closet, a little too big for the likes of Pit or myself, but they will do until I retrieve the clothes that I had absentmindedly left on the bottom floor. She's looking much better now, although she fails to hide the embarrassment on her face.

"I'm sorry," she says. "It was totally an accident."

"I figured," I reply, "but it's fine. It's not every day I get to see him like this."

In the midst of Pit's groveling, a few neighbors from the lower floors poke their heads in curiously. Upon noticing Pit however, most of them are just weirded out. I kindly explain to them what happened (in other words I tell them to get lost) and fortunately it's enough to disperse them back to their rooms for the night. I'm expecting a few of them to question me about it though if I just so happen to run into one of them again tomorrow.

Pit ended up praying to his goddess for over five minutes before finally getting off the ground so that I could explain the situation. The rain hadn't let up at all since we arrived, and it was showing on him through his hair and uniform. When he did eventually realize that Lucina was no stranger, his attitude did a complete one-eighty, and the next thing I knew both Lucina and I were seated in the living room while Pit had run into the kitchen to boil some tea. I had to admit that it was a nice thought considering it was still pouring rain outside.

"How silly of me!" he says as he hands us our cups. "I should have known that you were one of my brother's co-workers. He talks about you all the time!"

"He does?" replies Lucina curiously as her eyes glance over at me. I twiddle my thumbs as Pit fills my teacup, distracted and somewhat jealous of his hospitality skills.

"Yeah! You're Falcon, right?"

Of all my co-workers, Lucina is the one that I have never once mentioned to Pit. I didn't even tell him about the managerial position that Dedede so kindly bestowed upon me, but in hindsight, that whole thing was a joke. Lucina and I are practically equal in terms of rank.

"Her name's Lucina and she's new at the store," I explain awkwardly. "She's the partner that they assigned to me."

"Don't sound too excited there," she jokes. "You might accidentally cock a smile."

"It sure sounds like you've gotten used to him," says Pit. "I'm just glad that Dark has a friend there now. I think he was getting kind of lonely at the comic store."

I glare at him, just like all the other times when he talks about me like I'm a child. I want to say something in retaliation, but for some reason, I can't. If it were just him and me one on one, he'd probably be left crying in the corner by now, but with Lucina here I'm forced to watch my tongue.

"By the way," says Pit sheepishly, "I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I wasn't trying to…you know."

"Oh no, it's okay," replies Lucina.

"Yeah, I just wasn't expecting anyone else to be here. We don't get visitors very often."

"Can we not talk about it."

"O-Oh yes, of course! Sorry."

His attempt at rectifying his clumsy mistake makes me cringe, but I remain a blank slate. I'm more impressed that Lucina decided to stay here after being caught in the nude like that. Then again, I still have her clothes in my possession, clumped in a calamity of fabric just down the hall in a broken laundry basket.

There's some more mindless chatter to follow this, but half of it I miss due to my constant zoning out. My head's feeling a little fuzzy, likely aftershocks from all of the excitement from today. Funny enough, I get to relive the events of the morning, listening to Lucina talk about the robbery last night, followed by the resulting crime scene this morning. Needless to say, Pit is shocked, but still as confused as we were when we discovered that nothing in the store had been stolen. He's eating everything up word for word, and when she gets to the part about the Malicious Intent Institute, he practically hops from his seat to rummage through our recycling bin.

"They were in the paper a few days ago," he exclaims. "They must have been the ones responsible for the break-ins from last week!"

"That's what the police chief told us," replies Lucina. "They've been trying to track them down, but in the meantime, they've told us to be careful if we're outside after dark."

She looks at me while Pit skims over the article in the paper, a worrisome glance that appears to ask if it's okay to mention what happened tonight. I sternly shake my head without saying a word. The last thing I need is for Pit to worry about me again, and I'll be damned if I was going to go through another monotonous lecture about personal safety.

"I wonder why they've suddenly started appearing," mutters Pit. "We've never had a problem around here like this before."

I can probably answer his question, but again, I remain silent. Up until a few months ago, the Gerudos were the most powerful gang in this neighborhood. Unlike the MII however, they didn't go around terrorizing civilians for pleasure. They are an organization—a business if you will—that deals with the production and exchange of electronic devices and equipment. They aren't drug lords or weapons manufacturers by any means. In fact, they have quite a docile reputation, being an organization that stays out of your way so long as you stay out of theirs. They sound cooperative enough, but there is one catch. All of the products that they handle are produced, used, and sold on the black market. We're talking lockpicking devices, surveillance equipment, and duplicate credit cards just to name a few, and I'm not even mentioning the really good stuff.

That's just the tip of the iceberg, though. There's another side to the Gerudos; a side that aims to control the city, and so far they've succeeded by claiming the west end as their territory. If you pledge allegiance to their cause, they are more than happy to let you borrow some men, maybe to keep the Villagers off your humble booth in Station Square for a day or two. Most people don't care for it, however, and would much rather continue going about in their usual lives as if this were any other major city in the world. Those who sought help from the Gerudos normally did so in secrecy to protect their names. This was my job at one point, acting as a sort of vigilante so long as the pay was good. Most of the time I just enforced the rules. I kept every other gang in the area in check, while at the same time making friends with people who wished to be under the strict umbrella of the Gerudos. Sure the risk factor was high, but nothing could ever beat the thrill nor the freedom of going out for a night of prowling.

My absence has brought more problems to the group than I thought, however, for now rival gangs have started popping up all over the city. Names come and go like the wind, but the Malicious Intent Institute has proven to be one of the most annoying and dangerous gangs in the district. The fact that all of their members are anonymous is what makes them a threat, and although they don't look so tough on their own, tonight certainly taught me that they could be devastating in packs.

As a member of Gerudo, it's my job to investigate this terrorist group and somehow put a stop to them. That might have been a no-brainer for the Kuro from two weeks ago, but with the police and now Popstar Comics involved as well, I can't afford to make any rash decisions.

Lucina and Pit continue to talk about the MII thing, but neither of them can hit the nail on the head. Pit's theory is that the rising rate of unemployment has caused some people to turn to crime, thus resulting in the sudden influx of street gangs. It's not a bad guess, but he forgets that the Malicious Intent Institute doesn't have any form of income (not as far as we know at least). Lucina is convinced that similarly, they are composed of homeless people who had no choice in the matter, but I already know that she has some issues that dig far back to her roots. It's kind of funny seeing them talk like this, for Pit is able to carry a conversation much better than I can. His overly friendly aura has already rubbed off on her. It's also weird for me to see Pit so engaged in something that isn't his religion. Normally our discussions end with one of us yelling at the other, but here in the living room he was talking and acting like a completely regular person.

"You know, I think I know you from somewhere," Lucina says to my brother. "You work for Paratroopa Post, right?"

Pit's eyes seemed to light up at the mention of his workplace. I take it he rarely ever got to talk about it since I sure as hell am not interested.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do!" exclaims Pit excitedly. "I'm one of the paperboys in this city. Nevermind the name though since I don't actually deliver the papers around here. I just handle the mail." He pauses momentarily before adding, "Why, have you seen me?"

"You delivered mail to my house last week. You saw me on my doorstep, remember?"

It took Pit a few seconds to recall this supposed event in which he and Lucina exchanged a few words one morning. I suspect that to have taken place just before I met her, seeing as how she recognized my face through him. But really, how easy can it be to forget an encounter with someone with blue hair?

"Oh yeah, now I remember!" says Pit. "You asked me where you could find the comic book store."

Indeed she did, and for good reason too since she's still relatively new to this area. She may have been born here, but that was long before the city had expanded its borders to the western side. With her coming from the east, it's no wonder she had a hard time locating Popstar.

"I still have the map you drew for me," she says. "If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have been able to meet Kuro."

At the mention of my name, Pit nearly drops his cup, hacking and choking like something out of a cartoon show. I hold my ground.

"What did you say?" he asks as if he misheard her. His happy-go-lucky demeanor suddenly vanishes, as if Lucina had done something dreadful like use Palutena's name in vain.

Lucina is taken aback by his question but calmly reiterates thinking that it's merely a misunderstanding.

"I said that if I never met you, I probably wouldn't have been able to meet your brother."

"No, just now. What did you call him just now?"

And here it comes.

"What? Kuro?"

I can already feel the tension between us. Should I say something to defend myself? Probably. But there's not much for me to say.

"You said you were done with that, Dark," he says to me. "We've been over this!"

I maintain eye contact with him, but I can tell that Lucina is confused.

"I am done," I reply sternly. "I haven't looked back since I started working at that damned comic book store."

"You can't get over it, can you? You're still obsessed with that…that…street gang!"

Pit knows about my past. He's lived through it with me, but unlike me, he despised every moment of it. He hated the person that I had become, unwilling to take care of myself, wishing for me to be a productive member of society. He knows the name they had given me, and for him, it will forever be a curse, an unholy sin to never be reconciled. To my brother, Kuro is poisonous.

I hesitate to respond, the definite answer I want to give dangling on the tip of my tongue. I want to tell him I'm going back. I want to say forget Popstar Comics. I want to be free, to walk down those streets and not be a stranger to everyone. I want to find the thugs that attacked Lucina and take out their leader with my own two fists. I want everything that I've given up, but I can't bring myself to say it. I can't say it so long as we're not alone.

"He's changed."

I open my eyes, surprised that it was not Pit, but Lucina who had spoken. She stares directly at him as if to take the blunt of the blame for my actions. We're suddenly standing the alleyway again amidst a thunderstorm, my back against the wall while she stands before me, protecting me from the thugs that approach us from every direction. She looks at me and smiles in reassurance.

"Huh?" Pit mutters, but he barely has time to say anything before Lucina interjects.

"I may not have known him for long, but I can tell you right now that Kuro is not who you think he is. He has proven to me time and time again that his heart is in the right place. Last week, he saved Popstar Comics from being robbed. He tracked down the thief himself and returned the stolen books faster than the police could start their investigation. Tonight…" She paused. "Tonight, he offered me a place to stay so that I didn't have to walk home in the rain. Most importantly, he told me that he quit the Gerudos so that he could continue working at Popstar Comics. Isn't that right, Kuro?"

Her eyes meet mine for a brief moment, but for lack of a better word, I'm speechless. I can't remember the last time someone stood up for me, let alone against my own brother. There's an aching pain in my heart that won't go away, and the harder I try to suppress it, the more I feel like crying. After all the crap that's been going on this past week, Lucina was always there to support me regardless of my position. She doesn't like me for my wings, my powers, or my reputation. She likes me for who I am, the exact line that was fed to me when I first joined the Gerudos. Only, her compassion feels more genuine.

I can't turn my back on her now.

"That's right," I choke before quickly gathering my composure. "I've kept my name because I like the way it sounds; that's all there is to it. There's no gang tied to it either. I'm not working for the Gerudos anymore."

Now it's Pit's turn for bewilderment. I'm not sure what it is, but something about going with Lucina just seems right to me. Am I going to give up the friends that I already made all these years? Hell no. In fact, I don't plan on permanently retiring from the gang. I'll keep my foot in the door; that's kind of how things usually went with them anyway. I'm more concerned with Pit since I know how much he loathes my affiliation with them. If I can keep all parties happy by the end of the night, then I'd say I did my good deed for the day.

"Is it true?" he asks hopefully. "Did you really quit?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," I say.

At that, Pit nearly leaps from his seat in joy. The grin on his face is irreplaceable, driving him to the point where he can't stop laughing. I hate to admit he makes me smirk as well, and as for Lucina well, let's just say she's glad we're not fighting anymore.

"This is great news!" Pit cheers. "I can hardly believe it!"

I'm unable to react in time to his arms around me and the next thing I know we're both on the floor, him squeezing tightly while I try to pry him off my chest.

"Let go of me you idiot!" I shout.

"You've made me so happy!" he keeps saying. "I'm so glad for you, Dark!"

It bothers me that Lucina is watching us wrestle, and so I eventually manage to kick that crybaby off of me. Pit is back to being is old jovial self again, blurting about how he can't wait for me to get started back at Popstar Comics. He sees this as an opportunity to shove more potential responsibilities onto me since this change comes off as a sign of me "maturing as an adult." I detest how he talks about me in front of Lucina though, making me sound like I'm a useless kid rather than a freethinking individual.

"Mom and Dad would be so proud," he says to me, and for a second I notice a tear in his eye. He's doing that thing again, but thankfully he manages to distract himself this time. "I'll go put on some more tea. Be right back!"

He gets up and returns to the kitchen, all while humming some happy tune. I've never seen him so excited for me before, but I can't complain. As wimpy as he is, I admit that these kinds of conversations are much more pleasant compared to our usual ones.

"Thank you," I say quietly, "for that."

"It's no problem at all," replies Lucina warmly. "I wanted to pay you back."

She reiterated to Pit what I had already told her, which is what I ended up spewing when I was put on the spot with Ashley and Wario earlier. Now everyone thinks I've given up on the Gerudos, left to pursue a life of stacking comic book boxes. I can't abandon it entirely.

I find myself torn between two sides. On the one hand, I can choose to live a life of freedom, at the expense of working a dishonorable career that could land me a spot in prison. On the other hand, I can live the average man's life, working a normal job with normal people, and making a normal living for myself. Is this really what I want?

No. But it is something I can use.

"I think you've made the right decision," Lucina says to me. "You'll be much happier this way."

"You think so?" I respond. I'm not so convinced, to be honest.

"Trust me. Give it a few months at least. Maybe you'll start to see a difference."

A difference in what? My behavior? Or perhaps she was talking about my environment? For some reason, I can't help but doubt that Popstar Comics has anything to offer me in terms of experience. And I'm not talking about work experience either. I'm talking about life. How can walking into the same building to greet the same wave of lousy customers every day be anything but a pathetic excuse for a career? The experience I get from working there is nothing compared to what I take from life in the city. On the streets, every day is a new adventure where not one person you meet is the same, and people can be whatever they want to be. At Popstar Comics, I just feel like I'm at the helm of the S.S. Nerd, and the people who frequent that place might as well be paper-eating zombies.

"You're still not sure?" Lucina extends a hand to me just like on the day we first met. "Let's make a promise to each other. Four months from now, if either one of us is unhappy with our jobs, then we'll quit. Sound fair?"

It's a hard bargain. However, I can tell that she's set the bar high to help me to overcome my stubbornness. I don't understand why she puts her job on the line, though.

"Sounds a little too easy for you if you ask me," I say. "You love working for Popstar."

"You said so yourself; I'm new. And things change. Isn't that the whole reason why we're having this discussion?"

Her confident gaze makes me hesitate, but shedoesn't do it because she has nothing to lose. No, as a matter of fact, she has much more to lose than I do if she were to quit. It's a risky gamble, but a gamble worth taking for those who are used to walking the tightrope of life. She's willing to surrender everything more than I ever was. Perhaps that's what inspires me to shake her hand.

Author's Note: Thanks a lot to my readers and reviewers, including CowTits the Udderly Glorious, MP36PH3S, SolarEnergy07, and stwome. Again, sorry for the late update. Stay tuned for the next exciting issue of Popstar Comics!