Today was a good day in Dreamland. It had been just like any other; calm, peaceful, and fun. For many years since the downfall of Nightmare, that had been the case. Every day was full of peace and tranquility, something that the citizens cherished and hoped would never end.

And it wouldn't end, at least not for them, not for a long time. The peace was well earned, and would hopefully last for many years to come.

For Kirby, however, things were different.

As Kirby grew older, his maturity, as well as his curiosity grew leaps and bounds. He began to question who he was, what he was, what his purpose was now that Nightmare was gone. He was of a species that was very different from anything seen in Dreamland, if not the entirety of his planet, maybe even the whole galaxy! The only other person even close to his species was his mentor, Meta Knight, and even they had many differences between one another. Such as wings, for example.

Kirby had asked about how his mentor had gotten his wings, though all Meta Knight would say was that it was a 'unexpected surprise' that came to most of their species. That answered the question of whether he and his mentor were of the same species, but it still made the child curious. Would he ever grow wings?

His question would be answered eventually, as Meta Knight told him. He would definitely know if he was to grow wings. What would be have to look for? He recalled Meta Knight telling him some symptoms and what to look for, but what they were, he drew a complete blank… especially today, Kirby felt himself growing more and more distracted.

"Kirby? Kiiiirby?"

Kirby blinked, being dragged back out of his thoughts and looked up at Fumu, who gave him a look. She didn't look very amused at his zoning out.

"Were you listening to me?" She asked, tapping her fingers on the book she was holding. "You know you need to work on your speaking." In the years following Nightmare's downfall, Fumu too had grown and matured drastically. She had gotten much taller, and her hair, which was still held up in a ponytail, was much longer.

"Sorry, Fumu…" Kirby mumbled, his voice still slightly slurred from learning how to speak properly. Even though nearly decade had passed since the fall of Nightmare, Kirby was still learning how to speak in a regular manner. He knew how to speak, yes, but his voice still had that child-like slur and he still spoke at a speed that made his words sound smushed together like a sandwich. He was definitely improving, though, as he was a very fast learner, and growing up around more intelligent figures such as Fumu and Meta Knight definitely helped him in that regard.

"You've been getting very distracted today, Kirby. You're normally very eager to learn. Is something wrong?"

Kirby looked towards the setting sun in thought. He wasn't sure what was going on, he just felt more… distracted than usual. All the little details that dotted the courtyard of Castle Dedede, like that very fuzzy little bee hopping from flower to flower in search of nectar, a stray leaf falling from a tree as a breeze blew past, it made all his focus go into those small things. He felt… off. He wasn't sure why.

"I dunno," Kirby responded with a shrug. "I'm… very distracted today."

"Is there something in particular that's bothering you today?" Fumu asked gently, closing the book she was holding.

"I dunno," he repeated, looking down at the ground in slight shame. "I think… I might not have gotten enough sleep?"

"You slept in this morning, more than you usually do. Are you sick?" The blonde looked rather concerned now, feeling Kirby's forehead.

Kirby shook his head, gently pushing Fumu's hand away. "I'm fine. Maybe I'll go to bed early tonight," he murmured, yawning a bit. "I'm sorry I didn't make much progress today…"

"You're doing fine, Kirby. You're speaking just fine to me right now, you just gotta remember not to smush all your words together."

"I know… it's hard though," Kirby mumbled.

"You'll get it eventually. You're doing fine." Fumu got up and wiped her usual attire, a green and pink dress, before smiling at Kirby. "It's about time for dinner, would you like to have dinner with us tonight?"

Kirby smiled wide at the thought of food. "That sounds great!" Food would definitely help him feel better!

Despite the fact that Kirby was known for eating large amounts of food, often eating enough to feed a whole family in one sitting, tonight was different.

"Kirby, honey, why haven't you eaten your food?" Memu, Fumu's mother, had asked at the dinner table.

Kirby poked as his food, a very high quality steak with his fork, staring into nothing. He felt his mind drifting to thoughts unknown even to him, heavily distracting him. He didn't feel hungry. The thought of food made him feel queasy. But why? He was excited about having food not even an hour ago! What was going on?

"Kirby?"

The child looked up, a small frown creasing his lips. "I'm sorry… I'm not hungry…" He muttered, poking at his food a bit more.

Bun, Fumu's younger brother, couldn't help but snicker. "Did I hear that right? Kirby? Not hungry? I never thought I'd hear that in my life!" in the years since Nightmare's defeat, Bun had grown a lot as well, though he still had that habit of covering his eyes with his hair, which had grown a bit in the back. His maturity, however, hadn't changed much at all. He smirked at Kirby, continuing to laugh as the younger one looked away in embarrassment.

"Bun, be nicer to Kirby! Try to remember your manners!" Memu scolded her son. She looked back at Kirby, giving him a soft, concerned look. "Fumu told me you were acting strange today. Are you sure nothing is bothering you, dear?"

"I dunno…" He mumbled quietly, his gaze shifting downward in shame. "I'm sorry I wasted your food…"

"Don't be, dear! We can always save it for tomorrow if you're hungry then."

Fumu frowned at Kirby, pushing her plate aside. "Do you want me to walk you home, Kirby?" She asked.

Kirby thought about it for a second before nodding. "Yeah…" He slowly got up, yawning and stretching as he followed Fumu out of the apartment.

"Kirby, are you really sure there isn't something going on that I'm not aware of?"

"I'm really sure… I don't know what's wrong, but I'm sure I'll get over it when I get some sleep."

The walk to Kirby's dome house was completely silent after that, though Kirby could feel Fumu's concerned stare poking at his skin. He almost felt guilty for not feeling well, especially without a good reason.

But why? Why was he unable to eat? Unable to think straight? It didn't make any sense… did he eat something bad recently? No… not much can make him sick. Was he not getting enough sleep? That couldn't be it, he always slept like a rock. He couldn't think of a single thing that he had done outside of his usual daily routine that could have caused his strange behavior, and it was bothering him a lot.

By the time Kirby had snapped back out of his thoughts, he had already arrived at his home.

"Well… goodnight, Kirby," Fumu murmured as Kirby opened the door to his small home. "I hope you feel better tomorrow."

"I hope so too," Kirby replied sleepily. "I just need some sleep, is all… goodnight."

Fumu smiled softly before turning back to walk home. Kirby waved for a moment before walking into his home and shutting the door behind him, letting loose a loud sigh as he fell onto his bed.

Kirby yawned and cuddled up to his pillows and tucking himself beneath the warm, soft covers. He didn't like being heavily distracted, not hungry… he hated it. It wasn't like him. He hoped that this whole ordeal would be solved by the morning, and he would be back to his usual self soon.

Little did he know that something big; something life-changing, was soon to transpire.