Fumu dashed through the halls, her feet casting rather long shadows across the ground. Clutched tightly in her arms, a stack of books swayed dangerously in its threat to fall over. The girl panted; she scarcely ran that fast in her life unless she was trying to return her library books on time, for the late fees were preposterous and she had little money of her own. The daughter of the Cabinet Minister, Parm, managed to weave her way through the swelling ranks of Waddle Dees and reached towards the door-

-Only to have it open, and in her shock, she jumped back quickly, her books falling to the floor unceremoniously. As far as she could recollect, the blonde was the only one who used the library save Escargoon, and even then the snail scarcely visited. And she certainly didn't recognize the person at the door frame, whom was just her size and had a mask on that added to the mysterious aura all ready around him. The stranger quickly stooped down to help her collect her books, and she did the same, noticing the navy-blue cape that matched his skin tone exactly.

By the time they both stood on the same cue, the books had been collected. The stranger looked at Fumu with an honest, amber-eyed gaze that harbored secrets unimaginable. Quietly he placed his books in her stack, muttering, "I apologize," before making to leave.

"Hold on," Fumu said, allowing annoyance to lace through her voice. How could this person just waltz in here and treat her like she was a speck of dirt? He hadn't even offered to introduce himself. Obeying, the stranger paused, albeit hesitantly. "Just who are you exactly?"

"I work here now," he said quietly, shifting his position slightly. "You should check those books in. I think they're almost overdue."

How he had known that, Fumu would never know, but it prompted her to dash towards the now-closed doors blindly. She almost ran head-on into them when they opened, and the stranger was at the door, holding it open for her. So he was a gentleman after all, but that still didn't excuse him for his lack of words. Unless he was shy, Fumu secretly hoped that she'd never see him again.

The Waddle Dee at the receptionist desk checked the books in, and she was relieved that he had reminded her. Five more seconds, and she would have had to pay 100 deden.

When she left the library, satisfied, she was rather taken aback when she found the stranger at the window near the entrance, and she found herself annoyed. He gazed out of the window with a critical eye, as though appraising his surroundings. Fumu worked up the nerve to advance toward him and snap at him, but before she took one step, he said, "This place is quiet... it's different from the battle cries I'm so accustomed to hearing... is it always like this?"

"Yeah, it is, and you'd better like it," she hissed, frowning heavily as she crossed her arms. The stranger shifted slightly, as if uncomfortable with the situation.

"...I know you don't like me," he started hesitantly, looking away from the window and down to the floor, "but if you'd permit me, I'd like to at least introduce myself."

"Please do."

He cleared his throat and shuddered, as though he suddenly found himself in a cold place. "...My name is Meta Knight, and I'm the new knight of Castle Dedede."

"Oh, my parents told me about you," she remarked snobbishly. "My name's Fumu."

"Fumu... it means chronicler in Japanese..." She could almost hear the smile in his voice. Just as Fumu opened her mouth to make a remark about his rudeness, he turned around, and his gaze was suddenly hard and cold. "I'm trying to be nice here. I don't need you beating me down. I know that you have to live with that idiot king every day, but try not to let his bad temperament rub off on you."

Fumu froze. The icy stare he fixed her with stirred something in her-confusion, maybe, or was it empathy? It was something that she hadn't felt since her childhood, and when Meta Knight turned away, she felt as if a great weight was taken off of her. Like when he stared at her, he took a little bit of the pressure of what she was expected to behave like and took the burden himself. The new castle knight sighed heavily, sounding almost sad. All Fumu could think to say was, "Sorry..."

"It's not your fault," came his curt reply, and he wrapped his navy-blue cape around him. Meta Knight turned to the side and began to walk away, and she could have sworn that his tone was musing as he said, "I wonder what Sword and Blade are doing..."

Little MK x Fumu thing I'm cooking up. This is when Meta Knight first came to Dreamland, and this is Fumu's first encounter with him. I'm thinking this will be a three-shot, one before Kirby crashed, another in the middle of the anime, and another after Nightmare was defeated.

Anyways, I do like this couple, even if it sounds a little perverted. I think it's cute how Meta Knight's like Kirby's distant father and how Fumu's like his overly-protective mother. I also think that it's adorable the way they interact with each other, and some scenes just SCREAM MK x Fumu~~~ XD