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The citizens of Diamond City watched in awe as three, small shadows leapt and darted above their heads. A purple blur was far ahead, leaping from stoplight to stoplight, with two other blurs, pink and orange, closing in behind it. The blurs continued to dart and leap about until the purple blur landed on the nearest sidewalk, darting into the dark alleyway between two buildings. When the blur turned to rest behind a dumpster, the wind settled, and the blur revealed itself to be a kindergartener boy with purple hair and a sleeveless shirt, puffy black pants, and a fluffy yellow scarf; Leo. Leo huffed and puffed, holding a box of 50 cookies in his hands close to his chest. He scooted a little bit to the dumpster’s edge and peered from the side, a few cookie crumbs dropping from the corner of his lips. He saw the pink and orange blurs drop to the sidewalk, revealing themselves to be the kindergarten ninjas themselves; Kat and Ana respectively. The sisters looked to their left and right, Kat putting her hand over her eyes, while Ana leaned and tilted her body to better look at her surroundings. Kat huffed as she put her hands on her hips.
“Geez, where is that troublemaker? We were just on his tail!”
Ana shook her head.
“We definitely saw him here. Where else could he have gone?”
After she said that, both the girls turned to look down the dark alleyway, causing Leo to retreat and scoot himself closer to the wall. He thought to himself, gritting his teeth a bit:
“ Ugh, did these girls ever learn when to quit ? I can’t keep running with these stubby legs forever! ”
He put a finger to his chin.
“ And transforming into a lion to get some extra speed going would just put a bigger target on my back. I gotta lose them somehow ! ”
Just then, Kat’s voice rang out, echoing down the alleyway.
“I thought I heard some shuffling down here. Leo’s gotta be here!”
Leo put his hands over his mouth, his eyebrows rising in panic.
“ WHAT ? I made no sound coming here! What do you mean you ‘heard some shuffling?! ”
Leo then heard Ana’s voice.
“U-Uhm, Kat? Do we really have to go down here? This place looks spooky…”
Kat’s voice responded.
“Ana, we’ve faced spirit skeletons, the Diamond Troll, and took down an enormous Wario-infused bug. A dark alleyway is nothing to us. C’mon.”
Leo then heard footsteps echoing, each step getting louder and louder. Leo clutched the box of cookies close to his chest, looking left, right, up, and down, sweat running down his face.
“ Crud! Crud !! Where am I supposed to go?! One step, one single noise, and I’m toast ! What do I- ”
His thoughts were interrupted when a cat suddenly dropped from above, landing on a crate before carefully stepping onto the ground, in front of the troublemaker. Leo looked at this cat: the kitty was a ginger cat with black stripes and big, green eyes. Leo narrowed his eyes and pointed at the cat, whispering as quietly as possible.
“Wait… I think I’ve seen you around before. You’re that cat on Sapphire Street, aren’t you?”
The cat did not respond, she only looked at the boy… at least, that’s what Leo thought she was looking at. He turned his attention to the noises behind him, those footsteps were getting ever closer. He didn’t dare look, worried that the moment he peeked his head over the side, he’d be face-to-face with either one of the sisters. Then, Leo heard a very faint hum of a sound in front of him. When he looked towards the source, he found the cat purring, stepping a little closer to him. At first, Leo leaned back a little, wondering what’s got the cat purring like that, however, the closer he looked, he soon realized the truth. The cat wasn’t looking at him … she was looking at the fluffy, poofy scarf he had on. The cat stepped closer and closer, the purring getting louder and louder. Leo scooted backward, pressing himself up against the wall so hard he could practically fuse with it. His fear only got worse when he heard Ana’s voice close by.
“Hey, Kat? Do you hear… purring ?”
Kat responds.
“Yeah, I do. If there’s a cat here, where is it?”
Leo jetted his head to look at the cat and put a finger to his lips. He aggressively whispered, glaring at the feline.
“ Shut up! Shut up !”
The cat stopped walking and tilted her head, eyeing the scarf more intensely. Leo tucked himself into a ball, covering a bit of his scarf, as well as the box of cookies.
“ Hey hey hey ! This is no time for playing, y’hear? J-Just go away! Shoo! ”
The cat, in response, purred louder , even crouching down and lifting her behind, shaking it a bit. Realizing the implication, Leo stuck out his hands and frantically shook them, shaking his head as well.
“ Nononononononono nonononononono !”
But it was too late, the cat leaped and tried to fit herself inside Leo’s scarf, scratching and clawing her way around Leo’s neck.
“ YEOUCH ! Ow ow ow ow ow ow !!”
Leo jolted from his position, dropping the box of cookies as he rolled down the alleyway, frantically trying to catch the squirming cat around his neck. Kat and Ana, who were just on the other side of the dumpster, whipped their heads to see the tumbling Leo, rolling into nearby garbage bins and smacking himself against the wall with a thud . Kat acted instinctively, grasping the hilt of her sheathed katana and growling at her rival.
“Leo! We’ve got you now-!”
However, Ana put her hand in front of the eager Kat.
“Wait wait , Kat! Look!”
Ana pointed to the struggling Leo, and upon further inspection from the girls, they could see parts of the ginger cat popping in and out of his scarf. Kat and Ana’s eyes first widened from surprise but as soon shined and glimmered from the mere cuteness of the feline friend. Kat pumped her fist in the air.
“Yeah! Get him, kitty cat, get him !”
Ana put her hands to her cheeks.
“ Awwweee ! She’s so cuuuuuuute !”
Leo, on the other hand, was tugging on his scarf like a madman.
“GET THIS STUPID CAT OFF ME!!!”
After a few more seconds of scuffling, the ginger cat finally leaped from Leo’s scarf and landed on the ground. Leo huffed as he lay on his side, glaring down at the cat.
“You jerk ! Get outta here! Go eat some rotten tuna or somethin’!”
The cat stuck its tongue out, then simply walked past Kat and Ana, as if nothing happened, leaving the three kindergarteners alone. Leo stood up and dusted himself off, then looked to the girls. He chuckled with an awkward expression, rearranging and straightening out his scarf.
“ Sooooo … uhm… cats , amirite?”
Without hesitation, both sisters jumped high into the air, glaring down at their target. Kat glanced at her sister.
“Ana! Get Leo! I’ll get the box!”
Ana nodded.
“You got it, Sis!”
Leo tripped and crawled backward, looking up with horror.
“Wait wait wait ! Hold on! GAH !”
Before he could do anything, Ana landed right behind him and restrained his arms behind his back. Kat scanned the area, still in the air, until she spotted the box. With ninja speed, her image went from being in the sky instantly to behind right next to the box of cookies. Leo groaned, trying to shake himself out of Ana’s grasp.
“Oh come on ! You guys didn’t even do anything! This isn’t a real win for you guys!”
Kat picked up the box and dusted its cover off.
“ Stealing Ms. Munchly’s cookies isn’t a game, Leo.”
Ana nodded, keeping her grip firm with Leo’s wrists.
“Yeah! It’s a mean thing to do! You meanie!”
Leo rolled his eyes, tilting his head back to try and look at Ana.
“Oh! I’m so sorry that I wanted a little snack ! Seriously! You guys treat this as if the world’s about to end! That old lady can just get some more at the nearest market or something.”
Kat walked in front of Leo, putting the box on her side, and huffing with frustration.
“She made them! Handmade , Leo. That’s a lot more than just running to the store.”
Ana leaned to get a look at Leo’s face.
“She put so much care into them! And she was going to share them at ninja training! How could you do such a thing to a precious angel like her!”
Leo let out a huge sigh, hanged his head, and spoke remorsefully.
“Okay okay, I’m sorry. I really am. It was wrong, and I shouldn’t have done that.”
Kat and Ana looked at each other, Ana smiling with satisfaction, while Kat was a little more skeptical. Leo continued, lifting his head a bit.
“Well, if it makes you two feel any better…” Suddenly, his expression went from somber… to sinister, mischievous, and cocky. “...they were preeeeeeeety tasty.”
Kat and Ana went pale, so shocked that Ana even let go of Leo, letting him flip backward over the orange-haired ninja and land a good distance away. Leo wiped his mouth with a smirk as the sisters turned to look at him.
“What? Y’all don’t believe me? Open them up! Have a bite , teh heh heh… ”
Kat practically ripped the box’s cover open, and when she and Ana peered inside, all they saw were crumbs and a little caterpillar moving along inside. Kat, stunned by reality, dropped the box and slowly looked up at her rival. Ana put her hands to her mouth as she too looked at him. As for Leo himself, he cackled and roared with laughter, even rolling on his back a bit. Still in hysterics, he sat up and pointed at the two of them.
“ Hoooooooo boy ! You two really fell for it! I was the winner from the very beginning ! I was eating them as you two were chasing me all across Diamond City! Gah ha ha ha ha!! ”
Kat dropped to her knees, staring back at the box, and Ana started to develop tears in her eyes. Leo wiped his own tears and he finally stood up.
“ Phew ! Victory for Leo!”
He flipped his hair, revealing the red eye hidden underneath before being covered again. He narrowed his eyes with a smug grin, leaning forward as he put his fist at his hips.
“Hey, I told yah already, the cookies were good! So why don’t you two go back and tell that old lady that the cookies were oh-so-good !”
With that, Leo leaped high into the air, kicking himself off of the walls close by, until he landed on one of their roofs. He peered down with a wave.
“I’m always gonna have the upper hand, ladies ! You ain’t ever gonna catch me with my pants down! HA HA! Smell yah later!”
And with that, he disappeared from sight, gone with dust being left behind him. The girls looked at the empty box on the ground, now Ana falling to her knees. Kat punched the ground with a huff.
“Dang it! Gosh dang it! That was so… so… ugh !”
Ana wiped away her tears, but it didn’t stop the flow from streaming down her cheeks.
“We failed to save the cookies. We’ve failed Ms. Munchly .”
She looked at her sister with watery eyes.
“A-Are we in trouble, Kat?”
Kat, with pouty, puffed-out cheeks, sighed and put her hand on her sister’s shoulder.
“No, Ana, we’re not in trouble. We just… didn’t save the day today. I’m sure Ms. Munchly will be alright without the batch of cookies.”
Ana nodded and gently held her sister’s hand, feeling at least a little better.
“Yeah, yeah… it’s just cookies.”
Kat stood up and picked up the box, while Ana stood up and picked up the lid. Ana put the lid on the box, and Kat nodded.
“Let’s just head back to the Diamond City Castle and tell her the bad news.”
Ana sniffed up her snot and nodded, responding with a shaky voice.
“Okay.”
* * *
As the evening sky encompassed the city in a dark, orange hue, Leo hopped from rooftop to rooftop, eventually leaping off one, grasping a street lamp, and swinging off it into Crystal Park. From there, he darted to one of the trees and climbed up it, resting on one of the sturdy branches. He peered deep into the trees, humming in thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers and pointing in a direction. He zipped to one branch, then another, then another, following the direction he pointed towards. Eventually, he grasped onto one of the dangling vines and swung forward, flipping forward more than 10 times before landing on the ground in a superhero pose. When he looked up, he saw the thickest, largest tree in the center of a clearing. However, this tree had a dangling, wooden ladder that extended and disappeared far upward the tree. Leo stood up, dusted his hands, and walked over to the wooden ladder.
“Home sweet home, baby !”
He grasped the lowest rung of the ladder, then hopped upwards, making himself disappear inside the tree. Leo climbed about 25 rungs of the ladder before reaching the planks of nailed wood above him. He grinned as he clenched his fist, transformed said fist into a lion’s paw, and punched the wood with a mighty roar, forcing the door open with a mighty WHAP ! Leo laughed triumphantly as he hoisted himself up through the hole, revealing the large, spacious, and messy interior of a tree house.
There were a few wooden bridges connecting to the floorboard Leo stood one, leading to different parts of the treehouse. One bridge, the leftmost, led to what looked like a kitchen, appearing to be the most spaced out of the five rooms, with a basket of fruits, candies, and sodas on the counter. Another bridge led to what looked like an equipment room, featuring bo staffs, nunchucks, a box of organized shuriken, and a plethora of other ninja tools. The third bridge led to his bedroom, given the bed and closet visible from where Leo stood. The room also had a bunch of stuffed animals, varying from mammals to fish to birds, etc.. The fourth and rightmost room was blocked visually by a purple curtain, and from the bottom of it, there was pure darkness, not even visible from crouching. There was also a ladder that continued up the tree, though one could see now that it was the very top of the tree. As for the room Leo was standing in, all there was were two mats surrounding a small, round, wooden table.
And sitting on one of those mats was an enormous, yellow lion with purple a purple mane, bigger than twice Leo’s size. It was slumped other with a permanent smile, looking at the table idly. Leo looked to the left at his lion plush.
“Hey, King, how’s home been?”
The lion plush said nothing, remaining in its nonorganic state.
“...”
Leo chuckled and shook his head.
“You always say that you’re lonely here! Dude. You’ve got the other animals in my bedroom you can talk to!”
He walked over the bridge to the equipment room, examining a few bo staffs of different lengths. Then, Leo looked over to King, who had not moved from its spot, as if it spoke to him.
“...”
Leo’s eyes lit up and smiled.
“Oh, my day’s all good, thanks for asking, bro.”
He turned around and checked the sharpness of the shuriken in their cases.
“ Finally got the upper hand in my little rivalry with those Iga Clan sisters.”
Leo walked back into the main room, and King said nothing.
“...”
Leo walked over the the fourth room and pulled open the curtain, looking inside quickly before closing the curtain again.
“ Tch , you always say that! ‘ Oh, Kat and Ana are just stopping you from getting into trouble ’,” he scoffed, “ please , I’m just having fun! What? You tellin’ me that I can’t have fun around here?”
King remained motionless.
“...”
Leo, all of a sudden, whipped his head around to glare at his lion plush.
“Hey! Don’t go sounding like mom and dad, okay? Don’t spoil my victory.”
He walked across the bridge to the “kitchen” area, eyeing the basket of food and drinks.
“Yo! What do you want for dinner?!”
King responded in the best way possible… silence.
“...”
Leo nodded as he took out a banana and an apple.
“One banana, comin’ up!”
He walked back across his bridge and tossed the banana.
“Catch.”
The banana plopped onto the table but rolled off onto the floor. Leo chuckled as he set his apple on the table, bending down underneath the wooden item.
“Oops. Lemme get that .”
He picked up the banana and set it in front of King. Leo collapsed onto his mat, picking up his apple and lifting it high.
“ Cheers , bro.”
He then nudged the apple up against the banana, followed by taking an exaggerative and large chomp off his dinner. After a bit of silence, only filled by the sound of the troublemaker’s chewing, Leo spoke to his plushie friend.
“Y’know, I actually was this close to losing again to them, but thanks to my quick thinking, I prevented that failure from ever happening.”
Leo took another bite of his apple as his friend responded.
“...”
He nodded.
“Yeah, so I manage to sneak in and take those awesome cookies that Ms. Munchly lady makes, and I thought to myself, ‘ Instead of just waiting to go home to consume them, why don’t I just eat them on the go ’? So for the past 10 minutes, I’ve just been runnin’ and scarfin’, ha ha !”
“...”
“Oh yeah! Eventually, I was caught, no thanks to that stupid cat -!”
“...”
“Oh, no offense to you, dude. This was just a regular ‘ol cat. But that cat just started purring loudly, and all of a sudden? BAM ! It’s in my scarf and scratchin’ me!”
“...”
“Hey! It’s not funny! I was caught because of it! That’s why I was so proud of myself for snacking on those tasty pastries on my way to my hiding spot. Boy were those girls devastated, ha ha!”
King then asked a very serious question to Leo.
“...”
Leo took a chomp out of his apple and tilted his head, revealing just a fraction of his right eye.
“Hm? Whaddya mean?”
“...”
“Well, duh , they’re my rivals , hellooo ? There’s only gonna be one top ninja around here, and that’s your boy ! Leo!”
He pointed to himself with both fingers, smirking in the process. King followed up with an amazing statement.
“...”
Leo huffed and rolled his eyes.
“ Ugh . Again with this, dude? I told you already, they ain’t gonna be my friends! They’re my rivals, my enemies , for a reason, and a very important reason, remember.”
He stood up and paced around the room, tossing his apple into the air a couple of times.
“And I get it, it’s ‘ about time I finally talked to another living being again ’, but trust me, I’m getting by just speaking with you!”
Leo stopped and twisted on his heel, now pacing the other direction.
“And to further disprove your argument, bud, I don’t think those girls plan to show a shred of mercy or sympathy for me. Nor would I want them to!”
Leo turned to face King and flexed his noodle arms.
“I’m the king of ninjutsu, the king of the jungle, and the king of all that is awesome and cool! If I show any signs of vulnerability to any enemy, they’ll strike me down quicker that way!”
Leo shook his head.
“Nuh uh, no way. Not gonna happen.”
Leo took another chomp of his apple, looking out at the window, the tip of the sun only barely visible now. He spoke just a little more calmly.
“No one’s ever gonna catch me off guard. Ever …”
King remained motionless, but he started to speak with humor.
“...”
Leo blushed and tossed his apple behind him, running up and putting his hand over King’s mouth.
“ SH SH SH SH shhhhh ! We don’t talk about… that ! That’s a thing that only you and I will ever know about!”
Leo then grabbed King’s left arm and slowly brought it to the back of his neck. However, Leo used his left hand to smack not King’s hand, but his own, other hand, letting King’s hand drop back to its side.
“ See ? What did I tell you? You ain’t catching me off guard ! I am a proud , powerful , and unflinchable lion ! Nothing is going to get by me.”
Leo took a couple steps back from King’s spot, letting him slump back to his usual position before letting the plush continue.
“...”
Leo groaned and crossed his arms, puffing his cheeks in a pout.
“ Hey ! That weird plant creature came out of nowhere! I was just expecting a fun little game of ‘tag’ when I took their parfait map! I-I’m still… on guard.”
He shook his head and brushed his hair with his hand, walking over to grab his giant friend from the mat.
“C’mon dude, it’s getting dark, and I’ve got nothing to do tomorrow. We better start thinking of ideas before I get bored in the morning.”
Leo then carried his friend around as he turned off the electronic candles set up around the place. When he made his way to his room, King presented a quick idea.
“…”
Leo scoffed as he turned off the last candle.
“ PFFT ! Spend time with Kat and Ana without plans of competition? Tch. You say that as if I have a shred of sympathy for them…”
* * *
The next morning, Leo, in his black and yellow striped pajamas, slowly blinked his eyes, staring up at the wood above him. He yawned and stretched his arms, sitting up in his bed, covered with thick, poofy, purple blankets. He rubbed his left eye before looking at King, resting right beside him. Leo smiled and petted the mane of his plush.
“Mornin’, King. You sleep well?”
“...”
Leo chuckled as he kicked off his blankets and walked over to his closet.
“That’s good. You know,” he pulled open his closet door, revealing a line of purple, sleeveless shirts and another line of black, puffy shorts, “you’re super snuggly. Like, you’re a pillow I can fit my whole body on. It’s super cool!”
Leo went inside his closet to get changed from his pajamas, and in the meantime, King asked a very important question.
“...” Leo threw open the door, confidently standing in his usual ninja attire.
“Well, like I said last night, I’m gonna take a walk around town, see what’s happenin’, and if nothing comes up, I’m gonna try and take you to the zoo to meet your folks.”
He walked over to his little table beside his bed, pulled open the only drawer, and grabbed his scarf, throwing it around his neck.
“Those security guards don’t stand a chance against lions like us .”
Leo patted his pockets and looked around the room with puffed cheeks, clicking his tongue in thought.
“I… don’t think I’ll need anything, I guess I’m off.”
Leo began to walk out of his room and across the bridge to the door.
“See you around, King.”
However, King made one last comment before Leo took off.
“...”
Leo rolled his eyes with a smile and carefully opened the door.
“Tch, I ain’t gonna say hello to those girls! Quit tryin’ to make me warm up to ‘em.”
Leo then jumped down, closing the door above him to start his day.
* * *
Leo casually hopped from one rooftop to another, surveying the citizens and the shops below. As he ran, he tried to find at least one place that really called out to him.
“ The Sweet Spot? Nah, not too hungry at the moment. Toy Express? Maybe, but I’d just be wandering like I am now if I go in. Diamond City Amusement Park? Probably not, I do something more ‘casual’ today, but what ? ”
Eventually, he landed on one of the taller buildings and decided to rest on the edge of it, kicking his feet lazily. Leo groaned and leaned back, dragging his head back as well.
“ Ugh ! Is there anything interesting going on in this stinkin’ town? Am I really going to the Diamond City Zoo for the third time this week?”
He sat himself back up, resting his elbows on his knees and sighing, blowing the hairs covering his right eye.
“Well, if I’m going there, I’m gonna get myself a treat at least-”
He cut himself off, suddenly, when he saw a particular sight. Leo saw a girl his age with red-orange hair, tied up in two, pointed pigtails, walking down the street by herself. She appeared to be holding two pots of marigold flowers, one in each arm, minding her own business. Leo leaned forward, squinting to get a better view of what he was seeing.
“ Hey , that’s little miss crybaby…” His expression then turned from analytical to downright mischievous. “... and bossy big sister ain’t with her . Hmmm…”
He stood himself up and walked along the rooftops to follow Ana, watching her every step. Eventually, Ana turned and walked through the gates of a botanical garden. Carefully, Leo hopped off the roof, and after transforming his hands into lion paws, he clung to the wall, slowing down his descent as the claws scrapped and screeched along the brick building. When he was low enough, he leaped off the wall, flipped clean over the busy road, and landed right in front of the gates. He looked up after transforming his hands back to normal, reading the metallic sign etched in the archway “ Diamond City Botanical Garden ”.
“Huh,” he muttered to himself as he walked through the gate, “didn’t know we had one.”
Once inside, he looked around to see long, luxurious lines of flowers, waving with different colors, heights, and organizations, creating paths from all directions. If the flowers were much taller, one might mistake this for a corn maze! Leo shook his head, getting back on track with his mission. He walked down one of the many paths, keeping his eye sharp as he scanned for his rival. Reaching the two rows of lilies, he turned his head to the right, standing stiff once he’d found his target. Ana appeared to be conversing lively with a young woman in a sundress, showcasing the two pots of marigold flowers to her. Leo quickly dove into the field of lilies, crouching low exactly like a sneaking cat. He surveyed as the young woman pointed behind Ana while handing her a plastic trowel, and the ladder nodding as she went in that direction. Leo crawled and stalked her, watching her joyfully skip over to wherever her destination was. Eventually, Ana stopped at a lovely row of marigold flowers and went down to her knees. Leo stopped and kept his distance, watching as Ana set aside her two pots of flowers and began digging at an empty spot. He put his hand on his chin and pondered with a hum.
“ This is perfect . I probably ain’t getting a chance like this again, so I better make this count. What should I do? Scare her? Take one of the flowers? It’s gotta be memorable and fast. I dunno how long she’s gonna be here. ”
Ana began digging a second hole next to the first one. Leo looked at both of his hands, then nodded with a sly grin.
“ I think a good scare will leave an impression. Let’s do it! ”
As Ana started to take the first flower out of its pot, Leo crawled out from the lilies, slowly transitioning from walking on fours to walking on his legs. He transformed his hands into lion paws and tip-toed closer… closer… closer . Then, he lunged and grasped Ana’s shoulders.
“ BOO !!!”
Ana jumped to her feet.
“ UWAH !!!”
She accidentally sent the first marigold flower so far into the sky, it disappeared into the blue void, a twinkle signifying its departure. She clutched her chest and whipped around, eyes widening with pure terror as Leo cackled and rolled on the floor, his hands returning to normal. A faint blush spread across Ana’s face, and with a pouty expression, she stomped her foot and clenched her hands.
“ Leo ?! You big meanie! What was that for?! You scared the daylights out of me!”
She looked up to the sky, her expression now turning disappointed.
“And my flower is gone with the birds now!”
Leo settled down and sat up, wiping a tear from his eye.
“Oh man ! The look on your face! A ha ! Whoo ! I’m so glad I found you here!”
Ana crossed her arms, trying to look down at him.
“Just so you can mess with me? You’re a real jerk , you know?”
Leo stood up and dramatically flipped his hair.
“Yeah yeah, I know, anyways,” he dusted his hands and stuffed them into his pockets, leaning back slightly, “Whatcha doin’ out here? Is little miss sunshine here a florist now?”
Ana sighed and returned to sitting on her knees, reaching for the second marigold flower and pulling it from its pot.
“Well, I’m hoping I can be a good florist when I grow up.”
Leo clicked his tongue and kicked a small pebble down the brick walkway.
“ Eh , sounds boring. I wouldn’t wanna spend time just planting flowers just cause it looks nice.”
Ana set the flower into the hole and wrapped the dirt around its stem, making sure it stayed nice and upright.
“I suppose we have different points of view on flowers. To me, they mean a lot more than just being pretty,” she moves from sitting on her knees to sitting on her bum, letting her hands keep her steady as she leans back and admires her work, “all of these flowers started small, tiny, and even a bit frail. But after a long time, they bloom, grow up, and evolve into the beautiful thing we see today. And the best part,” she gestures with her left hand to the surrounding flowers all around them, “There’s so many of them! So many different types, heights, and even deeper meanings! Flowers are…” She inhales deeply, then sighs lovingly, “...they’re what makes me feel better . They’re reminders that I too will grow up and bloom into a beautiful, strong, and capable ninja… and florist, of course.”
Leo, once again, scoffs and scratches his head, looking out at the rest of the flowers around them.
“Geez, didn’t know you were this dramatic, ha ha! You say all of that as if it’s the secret to life . Bet you’re taking some sort of dumb poem class or something.”
But when he looked back at Ana, he noticed her soft expression, the way her smile seems… natural . The wind blows, letting her two pigtails dance as her eyes marvel at the singular flower she has planted.
“I guess, in a sense, that is my purpose, you know?”
She leaned forward, putting her elbows on her knees and cupping her cheeks with her hands.
“I want to be someone who can manage things on her own, no longer the dependent little ninja I am right now.”
She giggled and tilted her head a little bit, keeping her gaze on the flower.
“You know me well enough now, Leo, I’m… not too great on my own. I constantly need Kat to help me out, but… I think I’m getting better.”
Leo’s shoulders slump a little bit, the smirk he originally had was long gone now. He looked to his left, then his right, and then back at Ana. His face felt warm; he touched his cheek to make sure he wasn’t imagining it.
“ What the heck? Why do I feel warm ? This girl’s just talking my ears off. ”
Just then, his legs started to move closer to Ana until he stood right next to her.
“ Wait wait wait, what’s happenin’ here? What am I doing? ”
Leo then sat down as well, pulling his knees close to his chest, keeping his gaze on her.
“ You’re sitting next to her, dude?! Bro! This is your nemesis ! Get outta there! ”
Leo cleared his throat and tried to add some sass to his tone, but…
“S-So… why are you telling me all this? Y-You think I care about what you’re aspiring to be, crybaby ?”
Finally, Ana turned her head to look at Leo, letting her arms rest across her kneecaps.
“I… I guess I just don’t have anything to hide. I want the world to know that I’m going to be better than who I am today, and I’ll say it again the next day. The next week. And even the next year .”
Leo raised an eyebrow, brushing a little bit of his hair back and scooting his knees closer to his chest.
“You dummy . Someone can exploit your sensitivities if you tell the wrong guy, you know.”
Ana smiled a little wider, then looked back at her flower.
“Then if they try to use it against me, I’ll be prepared and trained to handle it the best way possible. Just like how a flower blooms over four seasons.”
Leo’s face went warm again, like an ocean’s wave drifting up his face, then disappearing again. He scoffed as he focused his attention back on the flower. The two sat in silence, letting the wind play with their hair as they watched the flower dance with it. For a moment, Leo felt an itch on his neck, and he lifted his hand to scratch it, but quickly slammed it back onto the brick path once he heard some shuffling from within the flowers. Ana’s head perked up a bit, quickly glancing at Leo before focusing her attention on the shuffling.
“Did you hear that?”
She stood up and backed away a bit as Leo stood up and rolled his eyes.
“Oh please . You seriously scared right now? It’s probably just the wind-”
Just then, the ginger cat leaped out from the row of flowers, landing right next to Leo’s leg.
“ GAH !”
Leo jumped back and nearly fell to the ground, barely regaining his footing. The cat sat upright and tilted her head, examining first Leo, then Ana. The ninja girl’s eyes sparkled with delight as she put her hands together, walking closer to the cat.
“~~ Awwweee , sweet wittle baby~~! ~~You’re so CUUUTE!~~! ”
The ginger cat let out a lively “meow” as she walked over to the crouching Ana, extending her neck for her to scratch. As Ana continued to baby-talk the cat, Leo clicked his tongue and crossed his arms, glaring at the cat.
“Tch. It’s that same stupid cat that almost got me in trouble.”
He watched as the cat stood up on her hind legs and dragged her cheek across Ana’s face, making the ninja girl laugh as she fell back, letting the cat rest on her lap. As she petted her, the cat began to purr, laying on her side and extending her arms, extending and retracting her paws in alternating rhythm. The purring was loud, expressing the intense satisfaction the cat was receiving. Leo raised an eyebrow, then carefully lifted his hand to the back of his neck. He hesitated for a moment, making sure Ana was still focused on her petting. Then, quickly, Leo scratched the back of his neck, took a deep breath, and with restraint…
“... purr … purr … purr …”
He quickly set his hand back down and sighed a breath of relief.
“ There. Done and done. Really needed to get that itch outta the way. Stealthy like a ninja, oh yeah! ”
Though, when he looked back, Ana and the cat stared at him with curious, wide eyes. Leo took a step back, mimicking their shocked expression. A little bit of blush formed across his face as he spoke.
“Wh-What? Y-You askin’ for trouble or something?”
Ana lifted her hand and pointed at him.
“Did… did you just purr ? Like… like a cat ?” “ NO !”
Leo said a little too loudly.
“That was the cat , you idiot ! Crybaby idiot !”
Ana and the cat exchanged a look, and after a moment of silence, Ana carefully set the ginger cat off her lap and stood up, eyeing Leo’s neck. She took one step towards him… he took one step back. She took another step forward… he took another step back. Two steps forward… two steps back. Three steps forward… three steps back. All of a sudden, Ana leaped into the air, letting gravity guide her to crash into Leo! Quickly thinking, Leo flipped backward, making Ana land on the brick pathway as he landed a few feet away from her. He looked up and pointed at her, glaring.
“You heard nothing ! I didn’t do anything !”
Ana tilted her head and put a finger to her chin.
“But… but you purred so loud ! How do you purr like that? I didn’t even know people could purr! Well, I guess Spitz is a cat, but that’s beside the point.”
Leo huffed and turned his body the other direction.
“Well too bad , crybaby ! You’re just crazy, a crazy weirdo ! See yah !”
But before he could take off, a brown blur suddenly came zooming down from above, smacking right on Leo’s head! He groaned and flopped face-first onto the walkway. Ana put her hands to her mouth, and when she looked at the top of his head, there was a pile of dirt holding up the first marigold flower she had. The ginger cat meowed, looking just as surprised as her, then ran off in another direction. Ana puckered her lips and hummed.
“Huh. Didn’t think I’d see you again. Thanks flower!”
She skipped over to the dizzy and dazed Leo, crouching down next to his face. Leo shook his head and looked up at her, eyes widening as he tried to scramble away.
“Waitwaitwait waitwait wait !!! D-Don’t do it! I-I-I’ll punch you!”
Ana said nothing as she casually and slowly reached over to his neck. Leo continued to crawl backward but stopped before he sat on the flowers.
“H-Hang on! Let’s talk! WAIT!”
It was too late. Ana’s fingers gently touched his neck, wiggling as if he was a cat. Leo’s body shivered from her surprisingly warm touch, and he instinctively reached out to smack her hand. But he hesitated, and his arm shook before he set it back down. He whimpered a little as the purring began once again.
“... purr … purr … purrrr …”
Ana’s eyes sparkled so bright like a large pile of glitter.
“Awwwweeee! Leo! This is so cute! You’re so cute!”
Leo shook his head, shivering more once Ana’s left hand started to scratch the right side of his neck.
“H-Hey… w-wait… I-I’m NOT c-cute!”
“... PURR … PURR …”
Ana’s eyes widened, slowing down her scratches.
“Woah! You really like this! You’re purring super loud!”
Leo’s face was painted red, shaking his head again.
“N-NO I DON’T! N-N-No I… I…”
Ana took a closer look at Leo’s expression, especially his flushed face. For a moment, she showed a soft smile, but quickly realized the reality of the situation, and took her hands back. Leo, seeing the opportunity, stood up quickly, holding both sides of his neck with both hands. Ana put her hands together, in front of her hip, looking down as she fiddled with her fingers.
“I-I’m sorry, Leo. I got a little carried away.”
Instead of yelling at her, trying to pick a fight, or messing with her back, Leo looked down, taking in a deep breath before replying with a whimper.
“Y-You jerk. I should’ve been more cautious around you. Now you’re gonna use this against me. Dang it.”
Ana looked up at him, a complex and guilty expression slowly forming on her face. She looked at the marigold flower behind them, whose stem was bent a little bit. Ana looked back at Leo, facing him directly.
“I didn’t know that was something sensitive to you.”
She then tilted her head and looked up to the sky.
“Though, I suppose I should’ve seen it coming since you were backing away,” she looked back at Leo, “but still. I thought this would’ve been something that was more… pleasant to know.”
Leo dropped his hands and crossed his arms, looking away at nothing in particular. His face was still red.
“I-I… well…” he took a deep breath and looked back at Ana. “It… is pleasant,” he then pointed at her, staring her down menacingly, or at least, he tried to look menacing. “BUT I’M NOT SUPPOSE TO BE CUTE! I’m a fierce , powerful lion! I’m meant to be feared ! Not mocked!”
Ana put her hands behind her, raising a curious expression.
“But, I wasn’t trying to mock you. I really thought your purring was something… sweet .”
Leo narrowed his eyes but rubbed his cheek, feeling the warmth of it, not only out of embarrassment but out of something more hidden.
“W-Well, whatever . You’re gonna tell your bossy sister about it and finally ‘ take me down for good ’ or whatever.”
He turned to his right and started to walk away.
“You don’t gotta worry about me anymore. You ain’t gonna see my face ever again.”
Ana’s heart jumped a little, looking around for something to say or do.
“W-Wait!”
She then hopped to her left, picked up the marigold flower, dusted off the dirt, and quickly ran to walk by Leo’s side. Leo rolled his eyes and looked in the opposite direction. Ana held the flower close to her and took a deep breath.
“I know you won’t believe me, but I still want to tell you; I promise I won’t take advantage of your purring.”
Leo didn’t react, and Ana looked at the flower, her expression turning somber a little.
“I once fought a skeleton spirit named… Boneheads .”
She gulped, but continued.
“I tried to fight him and save the ruler of the Diamond City Castle. I had my crew with me… but we all lost, and he captured me as I sent my message to Kat.”
Leo looked at her and raised an eyebrow, his shoulders slouching a bit. Ana continued.
“While Kat was making her way to me, Boneheads taunted me. He told me that even though Kat and I had trained together… I was merely a ‘ damsel in distress ’. Incapable of defending myself, or fighting like a true ninja. He told me I should leave the ninja work to ‘ those more professional ’, like Kat.”
Leo winced and scratched the back of his head. When Ana looked at him, he quickly reverted to a neutral face. She looked back to the flower as her voice became quieter.
“To keep myself from crying nonstop, although there were a lot of tears shed, I remember a song my mom sang to my dad. It was about two baby sisters who got separated at birth, and lived completely different lives, eventually having a fateful, joyful reunion.”
Ana smiled, pulling the flower closer to her chest. Leo crossed his arms, solely focusing on her now.
“And wouldn’t you know it… Kat came, and took down that monster and saved all of us.”
She looked at Leo, tilting her head a little.
“Ever since that day, I’ve made it my sole mission to become as tough and resilient as my sister.”
Leo sighed and looked down at the walkway, putting his hands in his pockets.
“Dang… sorry ‘bout that. That’s… that’s tough.”
Ana smiled, dropping her hands to her sides.
“No need to apologize. I just wanted to share my experience with you.”
A moment of silence fell between the two, but after not too long, Leo brought both of his hands to his hair, shook it, and growled in frustration.
“ Grrrrrr rrrrrr ! GAH!”
He whipped his head to look at Ana, and the ladder hesitated from the quick turn he made.
“You did it again ! You told your nemesis something they can use against you! Are you asking for trouble? Why are you comfortable sharing this sort of stuff with me ?!”
Ana giggled a little and looked over at the tulips to their left, making the troublemaker even more confused. She spoke softly, carefully, making sure Leo heard every word.
“Because… I wanna be your friend. And…” she turned her head to look at him and smiled wide, “…I think a good start would be understanding each other for who we are… and who we want to be.”
She used her left hand to take Leo’s, then set the marigold flower in his hand, helping him curl his fingers around it. Leo didn't resist, he didn’t shout, but his face didn’t get any cooler. Ana let go and looked at his face.
“And now that I know your little secret …”
Leo hesitated, bracing for impact.
“…we’re at a good starting point. We both have things we feel insecure about, and we’ll learn more about each other from there. And hopefully…” she reached out and pushed aside Leo’s hair, showing his red, right eye, “…we’ll be good friends.”
Leo’s body tensed up, clutching the flower tightly in his grip. Ana retracted her hand, letting his hair drop back down. Just then, a ringtone in the form of barking dogs started blaring, and Ana pulled out her phone, reading the message.
“Oh! I’m late for hide-and-seek training with Kat!”
She put her phone away and started to run towards the gates, but stopped and turned around, facing Leo.
“Next time we see each other, you’ll probably be messing with us again, right?”
Leo stuttered and tried to form a response, but Ana just chuckled and shook her head.
“I’m looking forward to it! Bye!”
She waved and ran through the gates, taking a sharp left, and disappearing from sight. Leo simply brought up his hand and gave a small wave, long after Ana disappeared. He looked down at the marigold flower he was handed, and its stem seemed to be more upright now.
* * *
An hour later, Leo returns to his treehouse, closing the door below him as he puts the flower on the round table, where King sits motionless.
“...”
Leo scoffed and walked over to the kitchen area.
“I just… visited the botanical garden. Nothing crazy.”
As he grabbed a donut, King idly teased him.
“...”
Leo quickly RAN into the main area and out his hand over the lion’s mouth.
“NO! Nonono! It was not from Ana! It wasn’t !”
“...”
He raised an eyebrow, pulling his hand from King’s mouth.
“Huh? What do you mean you never specified who you were…”
Leo then stopped himself and looked aimlessly forward. He blushed intensely and swiped the marigold flower from the table and stormed to his room.
“ Don’t you dare assume anything, King !”
He tossed the flower onto his wooden counter, and as he stared at it for a moment, King asked him a question.
“...”
Leo growled and walked back into the main area.
“I’m not ! I’m not getting ‘ soft ’!”
He then looked over to the open window, looking at the waving leaves.
“I’m… not…”
* * *
Ana and Kat stood in front of the Diamond City Castle, looking up at the gates before them. Kat nodded, keeping her gaze on the wooden doors.
“Ana? Are you ready for our training? I won’t be going easy on you today.”
Ana took a deep breath, then nodded as well.
“Ready, Sis.”
Kat walked over and put her hand on the door, also looking back at her.
“Ms. Munchly also said that she would help us with training as well. We can both hide while she seeks.”
Ana’s eyebrows perked upwards and jumped a little bit.
“ Ooo ! That’ll be fun! I wonder how good she’ll be at finding us?”
Kat shrugged as she pulled open the doors. When the sisters looked through, their jaws dropped as they witnessed Ms. Munchly organizing 2 large tables of 50 cookies each! Kat and Ana walked over to her and gazed at the steaming cookies, begging the sisters to eat them. Kat tugged on Ms. Munchly’s garb.
“M-Ms. Munchly?! Did you make all of these?!”
Ana followed up.
“P-Please don’t tell me you overworked yourself, ma’am!”
The old lady simply smiled and shook her head.
“Oh, don’t you two worry. There was a nice, sweet gentleman who came over and delivered these.”
Kat and Ana looked at each other, both wondering if either one of them knew who this “gentleman” was. Ms. Munchly continued as she walked to the corner of the table, picking up a piece of paper.
“He made all of these himself and left this card for,” she narrowed her eyes and put the paper close to her face, “A-Abby? Amy? Aaaaaaaa shley?”
Ana walked over and gently took the paper.
“I-It probably says Ana , ma’am.”
Ms. Munchly nodded, then turned to Kat as she walked away from the tables.
“Oh, Ken?”
“ Kat .”
“Can you help me with the ninja traps for our little game today? We have lots of equipment to set up.”
Kat looked at Ana, then jogged up next to the old lady.
“Okie dokie!”
Ana watched them walk over to a nearby shed, then returned her attention to the paper. She flipped it over and read:
I did this because I felt bad for the old lady. NOT YOU! Don’t you dare start thinking I’m being nice or something. We’re still enemies, crybaby.
- Leo
P.S.: Thanks for the flower, or whatever.
Ana sighed softly with a smile. She folded the paper, put it in her pocket, and ran to help her sister and Ms. Munchly.