It was a warm and beautiful early morning in Pupu Village today. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, and with it everything started coming alive. The birds chirped, the flowers opened with the bee's starting to pollinate, the butterflies fluttering though the breeze, the sun's rays melting the morning dew. It was simply beautiful.

As the sun slowly came up its rays fell on a small little house in the countryside, shining through the window and on the face of a familiar pink puffball. Kirby groaned a bit from being woken up so early, cracking his blue eyes open. He was usually a heavy sleeper, so he was surprised to be woken up by a bit of sun. As he lay there however he slowly realized that he didn't feel quite right. He was in a cold sweat, causing his bed sheets to feel all sticky and he felt chilled despite how warm it already was. To top it all of his body ached with pain all over.

Moaning he curled into a ball as he pulled the covers to his face. He sighed closing his eyes in hopes of falling back asleep. Maybe he would feel better a bit later? It's not like anyone would worry about him if he slept in anyway, as he slept quite a lot as is. As he lay there slowly relaxing to the point of drifting in and out of sleep, a thought popped into his head causing him to suddenly sit up. The sudden movement caused his body to protest with intense pain, and Kirby gave out a whimper as he remembered what he had planned today. How could he have forgotten?! Yesterday Meta Knight had arranged a training session with him this morning. Kirby turned to look out his window toward the sun. It was still quite low on the horizon, but Meta Knight was an early riser and he was sure to be waiting for Kirby in about an hour.

Groaning Kirby slowly made his way to the end of his bed, ignoring his body aches. He couldn't disappoint his mentor by not showing up despite being sick. He sat there for a bit panting from the effort it took to move. Shaking it off he hopped to the floor and slowly made his way to the door. Upon opening it he was greeted with a warm gust of air. However to him all it did was send chills down his spine, and the sweat slicking down his body didn't help much either. Closing the door behind him he slowly started walking in the direction of the meadow that he and Meta Knight regularly trained at.

"Hey, where you going there sport?" an annoying and high pitched voice called from behind him. Kirby stopped in his tracks, groaning. He knew that voice anywhere. Suddenly his vision was blurred by a flutter of yellow and the said bird was now flapping right in from of him.

"Isn't it a bit early for you to out and about?" Tokkori harassed. "'Bout time you started waking up earlier!" he sneered with a laugh. He stopped just long enough to get a good look at Kirby, and realized, how terrible the child actually looked. "Oh, hey you don't look so good Kirby. I don't think it would be a good idea for you to be wandering around in this heat."

Kirby shook his head, "Mena poyo," he stated weakly, trying to get his point across.

"Uh, well I don't know what metal face has anything to do with you being sick, but-", he was cut off as Kirby started walking around him, not having the patience to deal with Tokkori at the moment. "Hey I wasn't done taking to you!" Tokkori shouted as he fluttered back in front of Kirby, only to be pushed away by the pink puff.

"Fine see if I care!" Tokkori retorted as he watched Kirby leave. "I was just trying to help, but obviously you're too stupid to stay inside and rest!"

Kirby just continued walking, ignoring the shouts of his friend. He didn't care right now; even if some of the things he said were rather mean. All he cared about was that he had made arraignments for a training session with Meta Knight today, and he had full intentions of being there.

A few minutes passed, but Kirby already felt like passing out. It wasn't that far of a walk to the meadow, but as he went he staggered about and his breathing was heavy and labored. Every now and then he'd pant out a few 'poyo's' to verbally express how crappy he actually felt. But his determination to get to the training session overrode everything else and he continued forward nonetheless. Once there he would probably feel better and have a good match with his mentor, right?

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he tripped over a rock, falling face first into the dirt. His body aching from his fall, Kirby slowly moved his arms under him to pick himself up. He had tears in his eyes from the pain.

"Poyo," he whimpered. Maybe training wasn't such a good idea after all. Once he got there maybe he would just tell Meta Knight that he didn't feel well today. He would understand right? But, what if Meta Knight was disappointed in him, or even angry for not having the energy to train or be stronger. After all, he was a Star Warrior and a little sickness shouldn't be a problem. Disappointing his mentor wasn't an option for him.

Shaking it off and blinking the tears away he continued on his way as best he could. He felt so light headed and exhausted though. The heat wasn't helping either, and it caused him to sweat more than he already was. And somehow he was actually shivering despite the warmth, causing him to hug himself as he walked.

As Kirby trekked he could finally see the meadow, full of flowers and butterflies like usual. Usually he would run to the scene and pounce into the flowers giggling like the child he was. However, today was different. It was a miracle he even made it to the meadow without blacking out in the first place, and unlike his hopes of feeling better once getting there, he actually felt worse. By now he was heavily dragging his feet and was taking deep, panting breaths. Sweat licked down his body as his walked and his head pounded with his labored heartbeat. Finally pushing his body to the breaking point he felt his vision blur, staggered, and suddenly everything went black.

Meanwhile, a certain masked knight was beginning to make his way toward the meadow. By now it was mid-morning and the sun was already beating down harshly on the environment. Meta Knight didn't seemed fazed though, and every now and then a nice breeze would blow taking the edge off as he walked, ruffling his cape in the process. Looking around him he admired the beauty of the landscape as he passed by. Birds chirping, butterflies flying from flower to flower, and the rustling of the trees from the breeze; all of it combined was quite relaxing to him.

He gave a sigh of contentment, holding his cape tighter around himself as he walked.

'What should I focus on for Kirby's training today?', he thought to himself. 'Maybe Kirby's blocks perhaps?'. He had noticed that from past training sessions with the sword that Kirby struggled in his defense against him. Granted, the tot was still learning, but not leaving your weak spots open was something that Meta Knight still needed to address with Kirby. It could very well save the tot's life in a demon beast attack; not that Meta Knight would let it go that far, but experience was good.

Nodding to himself at the decision he picked up his pace. The sooner he got to the meadow the sooner he and Kirby could begin the days training.

Within a few minutes Meta Knight had reached his destination. He scanned the meadow with his amber eyes, looking for any sign of his student. Ah! There he was, at the other end of the meadow.

"Kirby," Meta Knight called as he made his way over there. No response. "Kirby!" he tried again, a little louder this time. Still nothing. No movement or sign that Kirby had heard him at all.

"Hmm.," Meta Knight hummed. Something wasn't right. He quickened his pace, hoping that Kirby was just sleeping or something. However a gut instinct told him that that wasn't it. Even in deep sleep you could usually wake Kirby up quite easily by calling or gently shaking him.

As he got near he realized that Kirby was actually passed out face first into the dirt. Alarmed Meta Knight rushed to Kirby's side, and roll the tot over onto his back. Kirby wheezed a bit, but other than that he didn't stir.

"Kirby, wake up!" Meta Knight said as he picked the limp tot up and cradled him. Nothing. "Come one little one, wale up," Meta Knight softly tried. Still no response. It was then that he realized how hot and sweaty Kirby actually felt in his arms. Gently placing a gloved hand on Kirby's forehead and moving it to the pale tot's cheek he immediately knew Kirby was running a dangerously high fever. Besides Kirby's shallow breathing the tot appeared practically dead in his arms. His abnormally pale skin gave him a ghostly look, and the sweat sliding down him showed outwardly the extent of his fever.

Meta Knight looked around rather frantically, his eyes turning a dark swirling grey in worry. He needed to take Kirby back and cool him down, NOW! Any longer and Kirby could…

He shook his head ridding himself of such thoughts. Kirby wasn't dead yet, he wouldn't let it happen. Right now Kirby needed him now more than ever, and Meta Knight wouldn't let Kirby go without a fight.

"Alright Kirby, let's get you back and get some help," Meta Knight said, more to himself.

Standing up and making sure Kirby was securely in his arms, Meta Knight turned around and did something that he swore to himself he would never reveal unless in absolutely dire situations.

'Oh for the love of…when was the last time I did this!?' he thought to himself. As he held Kirby tightly he felt the odd, yet familiar sensation of his navy cape transforming into a large pair of bat wings. Immediately he shot into the air from a standing position, pumping his wings to gain altitude quickly. He wanted to make sure he was out of sight from anyone on the ground.

Once high enough he leveled off, and beat his wings as fast as he could back to town.

Glancing at the limp tot in his arms Meta Knight's eyes turned a dark ocean blue, almost the same shade as his skin. He had always been rather hands off with Kirby, but deep down he truly did care about the child's well-being. He had watched him grow from when he first crash-landed on Popstar and had seen firsthand what a strong and brave warrior he was becoming; and at such a young age! Kirby had conquered many a demon beast on his own, and now, to think he could possibly die from some random, yet deadly illness…

Meta Knight gave a shaky sigh, his eyes returning to their normal amber as he regained control of himself. He held Kirby tightly as he shielded the tot from the wind.

"Kirby, please just hold on a little while longer," he said as he picked up the pace.

Looking down at the ground Meta Knight realized he was passing right over the river with the small bridge that traveled through Pupu Village. Meta Knight stared at it for a second before the realization hit him so hard that it was like being run over by Dedede's tank.

"That's it!" Meta Knight gasped. Quickly he held Kirby tightly against him and pulled his wings in to quickly loose altitude. If anyone would have been around to see, it would have looked like Meta Knight was slicing through the air like a knife going through butter. Just before hitting the ground however he suddenly spread his wings to their full potential, allowing them to catch the air and land on the ground next to the river with only a soft 'thud'. He folded his wings as he landed, allowing them to morph back into his cape.

He approached the river, with Kirby still cradled in his arms. "Kirby, please wake up," he tried again, stroking the tot a little to prod him to wake. But like each time before, no response. Meta Knight gave a sigh. He didn't really want to shock Kirby by holding him in the water without wakening him up first, but Kirby's lack of response left him no choice. His fever needed reduced, and this was the fastest way to do it. He wasted no time stepping into the shallow water as he bent down to gingerly eased Kirby into the rushing river.

However upon Kirby's hot skin coming in contact with the cool water the tot suddenly gave a hard jolt, accompanied by a loud gasp. His blue eyes shot open and he appeared disoriented as he suddenly struggled a bit in Meta Knights arms, though not very hard given how weak he currently was.

"Shh, it's okay Kirby," Meta Knight soothed as he gently lifted the disoriented and whimpering tot from the water for a minute. "I'm sorry. It's just me." Kirby appeared dazed; his eyes glazed over. However he stopped struggling upon realizing he was in Meta Knight's arms, and he stared back into his mentor's eyes and tried focusing on his words as best he could. Feeling Kirby's forehead again Meta Knight said softly "You have an extremely high fever little one. If you don't cool down fast it could become life threatening, if it isn't already. That's why I was easing you into the river so your temperature would go down." Kirby gave a weak nod, understanding what his mentor was trying to do.

Slowly Meta Knight gently eased Kirby back into the water until he was partially submerged. Meta Knight had one arm around Kirby for support, and the other hand he held against Kirby's forehead to prevent the rushing water from getting into the tot's eyes. Immediately the poor tot started violently shivering upon contact with the cool water, letting out a small whimper and giving Meta Knight a pathetic look.

"I know, I know…it's cold," Meta Knight said, "However, you need to sit in the water for just a few minutes to reduce your fever. I promise it will help you to feel better."

Kirby gave a shaky sigh, but nodded as he closed his eyes. He knew Meta Knight was probably right, but to be honest he felt utterly terrible right now. Yes, the water was reducing his fever and the coolness was welcome, but at the same time the cool water was only making his muscles tighten up and his body ache more. He tried his best to deal with it for as long as he could, but after a few minutes his discomfort became unbearable and he gave a few whimpers looking up at Meta Knight with teary eyes.

"Alright, Kirby." Meta Knight said as he slowly lifted the tot out of the water, and walked back to the river bank with the tot in his arms. Once on the bank he carefully set Kirby on the ground, allowing the tot to lean against him for support as he started drying Kirby off with his cape. Once dry Meta Knight felt Kirby's forehead again. It was cooler than before, which made him inwardly sigh with relief. It seems the river helped reduce Kirby's fever to a more stable level, at least for now.

Despite Kirby's fever having gone down though, the tot still looked quite terrible. He was still sickly pale and leaned heavily into Meta Knight as he panted from lack of energy; despite hardly moving the last few minutes. Every now and then he would swallow his spit with a teary whimper following suit, indicating that Kirby had a really bad sore throat as well. Meta Knight couldn't help but look at Kirby with pity; the poor child clearly didn't feel well at all and quickly needed to see a doctor.

Meta Knight gave a sigh and gently picked the tot up; there was no way Kirby would have the energy to walk back to town with him. Gently Meta Knight wrapped his cape around Kirby for warmth and comfort as he cradled the small puffball in his arms.

"I'm going to take you to Dr. Yabui's, Kirby. You need a diagnosis so we know just what you're dealing with," he said as he started making his way to the doctor's. "Hopefully it's nothing too serious."

Kirby didn't respond. He was shaking like a leaf as he fought crying from how crummy he felt right now. He felt WAY worse than he did earlier. His body ached like crazy all over, his sore throat had intensified so greatly that he could hardly swallow anymore, he had a pounding headache, and he even felt a bit nauseous to top it off. He leaned into Meta Knight's shoulder as his whimpers slowly became deep, sharp breaths as he started to chokingly sob.

Meta Knight gently rubbed Kirby's back, trying to keep the child from having a full on break down. "Shh," he soothed, "I know, you don't feel well. It's okay...don't cry."

He held Kirby close as he walked back into town, softly stroking the tot to keep him as calm as possible. It seemed to help just enough, as Kirby stopped crying and mostly just groaned or whimpered. It took a few minutes to get to the outskirts of town where Dr. Yabui was located, but once there Meta Knight opened the glass doors and walked in with Kirby.

The waiting room was empty, not surprisingly, and the only soul in the room besides the two puffballs was Dr. Yabui. He was sitting at his desk and seemed to have taken no notice of their entry. He seemed quite engrossed in some papers that he was filling out; likely for his recent patients.

Meta Knight took a few steps forward and cleared his throat. This clearly startled Dr. Yabui as he visibly jumped and let out a small "AHH!". He looked at Meta Knight and suddenly seemed to be filled with great joy. He clasped his hands together, excitedly exclaiming "Oh, Sir Meta Knight! How exciting! I don't believe you have ever come in before! What can I do for you?"

Meta Knight raised an eyebrow. Clearly Dr. Yabui thought he was going to get to examine the veteran Star Warrior today. Meta Knight shook his head. "Nothing for me today I'm afraid," He stated, though he didn't feel the slightest guilt in telling the man this; he was not one for the doctors. "Instead I need you to take a look at Kirby." Meta Knight moved his cape just enough to reveal the pink tot in his arms.

"Oh," Dr. Yabui said, slightly disappointed. However, one look at Kirby and Dr. Yabui knew the child wasn't well and needed examined. "Oh my!" He exclaimed, putting a hand to his mouth. "This room please!" he pointed at the door with his clipboard, and motioned for Meta Knight to follow.

Upon entering the room, Dr. Yabui motioned for Meta Knight to set Kirby on one of the examination beds. Meta Knight gently set the tot down, and took a few steps back to allow Dr. Yabui to look him over.

Dr. Yabui then offered Meta Knight the clipboard and said "I'm going to need you to fill out these papers for Kirby. I know you're not his parent, but please try to fill it out as best you can while I examine him."

Meta Knight rolled his eyes and irritatingly snatched the clipboard out of the Doctors hand. He took the pen that was attached to the top and started filling it out to the best of his ability.

Dr. Yabui on the other hand started to look Kirby over. He started with the stethoscope and listened to Kirby's heartbeat. "Hmm, heartbeat sounds a bit fast." This caused Meta Knight to glance up from the clipboard. Dr. Yabui then moved the stethoscope around to Kirby's back to listen to the child's lungs. "Please take a few deep breaths for me, okay?" Kirby did as told and inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Lungs sound fine, even if his breathing is a bit labored," Dr. Yabui said, taking the stethoscope out of his ears, and placing it around his neck. "But that's expected for someone in his condition."

Meta Knight then went back to filling out the papers. He had practically everything filled in, except for things he either didn't know or he purposely chose to exempt; like age, and species. Meta Knight handed back the clipboard to Dr. Yabui, who glanced at it for a minute making sure everything checked out.

"Hmm, no species or age," he mumbled more to himself. Meta Knight was about to retort and say something in his defense, but Dr. Yabui finished for him by stating "But who's going to know that!". He then set the clipboard down and went back to checking out his patient.

Meta Knight walked besides Dr. Yabui and asked, "So how is he?"

Dr. Yabui didn't respond for a minute. He took out a popsicle like stick and had the child open his mouth. Kirby whimpered holding back tears. "To be honest with you this is one of the worst cases I have seen in a while."

"So, you know what he has?" Meta Knight prodded.

Dr. Yabui continued to check Kirby's mouth and throat a little more, using a small flashlight to see better. "I'm pretty positive he has a really bad case of Strep Throat. Everything seems to be checking out for that."

Meta Knight was a bit taken back by the statement. Strep Throat!? How could Kirby have caught that? It would explain all of his symptoms though; the spiked fever, extremely raw throat, body aches, and a few others he was probably unaware of.

"It's quite treatable though," Dr. Yabui suddenly stated, bring the old knight out of his thoughts. "It's nothing to usually worry about. Though it can be extremely painful when swallowing, and can bring about body aches, bad headaches, high fever, and in rare cases nausea and vomiting." Dr. Yabui turned to Meta Knight, "Do you know for sure how many symptoms he has had?"

"Well I know he has the sore throat, and high fever for sure. His fever was so high that I had to actually dip him in the river to quickly cool him down. And-"

"Wait, what?!" Dr. Yabui cut him off, waving a hand as a signal to stop talking. "How high was his fever exactly?"

"I'm not sure," Meta Knight continued, "However, to the touch his skin practically burned me on contact, and I found him passed out and unresponsive. We were going to do some training today, but obviously that didn't happen."

Dr. Yabui looked troubled. He took out a thermometer from one of the drawers, and put it in Kirby's mouth. "That's not good," He worryingly stated. "Obviously, you got him to wake up and become responsive though."

"Yes, but only after I eased him into the river. The cold water shocked his system a bit, and he woke up disoriented. He is much better than he was earlier, as he seemed practically dead in my arms then, but that may or may not mean anything as his condition could be worse than we realize."

Dr. Yabui nodded and was about to say something when he was suddenly cut off by the beeping of the thermometer. He took it out of Kirby's mouth and looked at it. 103.3 is what it read.

"Oh…that's high," he said. He glanced at Meta Knight, and he could tell by the way the Star Warrior held himself that he was anxious at the statement. "I'm going to be honest with you. Coupled with the fact that Kirby already had a high fever from strep, and the heat of the warm day…" he paused, trying to find the words, "Going by your word of how hot he actually felt, I believe he also could have had heat exhaustion from being passed out in the sun. That would explain the increased heart rate, and his rather dazed and disoriented state. Any longer though and he would have definitely had heat stroke. And in his condition that would have most likely killed him."

Meta Knight looked away at that statement, and stared at the ground. He couldn't help but partly blame himself for the fact Kirby's life had been in danger from heat stroke. If he hadn't scheduled a training session with Kirby today the child may have never wandered out of his house and overexerted himself, later to be found passed out in the hot summer sun. On the other hand, Kirby would have been sick regardless and his condition may have worsened anyway. And being alone in such a state isn't very smart. It was a two edged sword really.

Meta Knight was suddenly startled out of his thoughts as Dr. Yabui started talking again. "I will say this though. Your quick thinking in giving him a dip in the river might have very well saved his life. If Kirby was taken straight here his temperature may not have lowered quick enough, and there most likely would have been complications from it." He paused for a minute, seeming to be thinking about something. "How did you know to dip him in the river anyway? Most people aren't aware of such methods for high fevers."

"It's just war training," Meta Knight simply stated. "It helps to know such things when confronted with situations such as this."

"Indeed!" Dr. Yabui stated. "You are to be commended for your quick actions."

"Thank you," Meta Knight said softly. "So how did he get strep?"

"Most likely just from hanging around the other children. Someone must have had it. It's easily spread by coughing, sneezing, even just breathing in some cases," Dr. Yabui stated, "It's easy to treat though. Just some penicillin and he should be good to go. In fact, I'll write it up now."

Meta Knight nodded his thanks as Dr. Yabui left the room to get the prescription. With the Doctor gone Meta Knight turned his attention back to Kirby. The child seemed so out of it, and Meta Knight realized that Kirby had hardly made a peep since they got here. Had he even heard the conversation he and Dr. Yabui had just had? His eyes were half closed and glazed over, and he appeared to be fighting crying again. To put it bluntly Kirby's strep made him extremely miserable and sensitive, to the point of suffering even.

Meta Knight quietly walked over to Kirby, and looked at the tot genuinely. However, Kirby seemed to have taken no notice of Meta Knight's approach. He seemed just as dazed as when he first woke up by the river. Meta Knight moved his hand out toward Kirby and held it in the air for a minute, contemplating whether to comfort him more or not. He hesitated only briefly, and proceeded to gently rest his hand on top of Kirby's head.

This caused Kirby to come out of his trance like state as he slowly moved his eyes to meet Meta Knight's.

"How are you doing little one?" Meta Knight softly asked, almost in a whisper as he gently rubbed the top of Kirby's head.

"Okaypoyo," Kirby assured, his voice barely audible. He managed to give Meta Knight a small smile despite how he felt.

"Are you sure? I don't think I can believe you with the way you've been acting all day."

Kirby's face changed at the comment. He became downcast and Meta Knight could see tears well up in his eyes. He looked at the child, concerned.

"Hey, you alright?" Meta Knight gently asked, eyes glowing warmly as he spoke.

Kirby looked back up at him for a second, before proceeding to shakily stand up and quickly embrace his mentor. Meta Knight was startled for a minute and looked down at Kirby, who was very clearly seeking his comfort in his emotional state. A few tears fell down Kirby's cheeks as he clung to him.

Slowly Meta Knight wrapped his arms around the tot, returning the embrace. "I didn't think so little one," He whispered, as he gently rubbed the tot's back.

"Alright! I have filed the prescription," a voice from behind suddenly stated, causing Meta Knight to detach himself from Kirby and turn around. He saw Dr. Yabui standing by the door of the room with a bottle of some type of medicine in his hands. He was looking at it intently, before he looked up and walked over to the duo. "So he needs one capful of this a day. With a meal would be good too. If you do that, he should be better in a week's time." Dr. Yabui then handed the bottle to Meta Knight, who took it and put it in an unknown pocket in his cape.

"Thank you, Dr. Yabui." Meta Knight said, grateful for the man's help.

"Anytime. Maybe next time we can do a check up on you," Dr. Yabui added, pointing his pen to Meta Knight.

Meta Knight stared at him for a minute. "We'll see.". He then proceeded to gently pick Kirby up and have the child rest on his shoulder.

"Is that a yes? You didn't say no." Dr. Yabui excitedly stated, pointing his pen at Meta Knight and having an excited grin on his face.

"I wouldn't push your luck if I were you," Meta Knight threatened as he glared down the Doctor. His patience was starting to wear thin with him.

"Alright, alright! Shesh!" Dr. Yabui yelled, putting his hands up in defeat. "In that case, I hope Kirby gets better soon, and I bid you good day."

Meta Knight just nodded as he walked past the doctor to leave. He walked out of the room and into the main lobby, pushing the glass doors open as he left the building. With Kirby in his arms, he made his way to the path that would lead back to Castle DDD. As he walked along the path he came to a fork in the road, and chose the right one as that was the back way around to the castle. He didn't feel like going in the middle of town and having everyone crowd around and ask what was wrong with the pink puff.

"Let's get you back to the castle little one. You need your rest," Meta Knight said softly, gently patting the fragile tot.

Kirby didn't respond. He just didn't have the energy to really do so. Instead he tiredly leaned into Meta Knight's shoulder, and gave an exhausted sigh. His eyelids where heavy, and after a few minutes he slowly felt himself being lulled to sleep by the motion of Meta Knights walking and the warm cape wrapped around him. Finally, snugly in his mentor's arms, he closed his eyes and gave in to the heavy pull of sleep.

Hey guys! This is my first fanfic ever so don't be shy about giving any constructive criticism or pointers you may have. I've had a lot of fun writing this so far, and I hope you enjoy it and stick around for the ride. Let me know what you think and don't forget to R&R! Thanks for reading!