#like. village girl gets wed off to some far off land to some mysterious guy and theres nothing her family can do about it etc etc | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

shewhowantsmouseears · 5 years ago

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The Little Peach, Chapter 12

Notes: As always, thanks to my amazing editor, Drucilla!

Felt stupidly proud of a gag I did here. A few more chapters and we'll be done!

Summary: Just when it seem Mickey was at peace, a fateful reunion may put the secret he vowed to keep in terrible danger.

Bright and early the next morning, it was clear that a few changes had taken place. Pete wasn't seen barking orders or shoving around the new guards – in fact, no one could recall seeing him for quite some time. Marsupilami and Maurice hadn't returned until late that night, and now that the sun had risen, they decided to take on the day with vigor knowing the information they held. They knew Mickey would be making his routine patrols around the palace, no doubt still angry and upset over his frustrations. That would be no more! No, Marsupilami would not let his friend wallow any further! So with sunlight basking over the capital, Marsupilami slammed the front doors of the palace open, Maurice right behind him. “Mickey! I know how you must be feeling, but starting now, things are going to be different, so you better pay attention!”

“G'morning!” Mickey chirped, one hundred and ten percent pleasant, as he used his needle-sword to take care of some weeds that had popped up around the gates. Pluto was with him, helping paw the dirt to help plant seeds, and his tail wagged, happy to see his master happy. “What can I pay attention to?”

Marsupilami paused, his finger and tail, which had both previously been in the air, starting to droop. “Uh... hang on, weren't you all mad and stuffy and cranky before?”

“What's to be mad about?” Mickey asked, twirling his makeshift weapon around like one would a baton when leading the happiest parade on earth. “It's a beautiful morning, there's peace in the capital, and I've got all my friends here!”

Marsupilami and Maurice exchanged a confused look, with Maurice merely shrugging his shoulders. “Didn't you say you were mad at us for not picking up the slack? Not that I'm complaining about you being all 'zippity doo dah', it's just...you kinda knocked the wind out of my sails here...”

“Aw, how could I ever be mad at my pals?” Mickey put a hand to his chest, sighing deeply. “It's thanks to you all that I'm here, and I can't imagine life being any better than it is now!” Of course his friends had no way of knowing that he'd gotten kinda-sorta-maybe engaged-to-be-engaged to Minnie, and he wasn't going to spill the beans right away. This was a private affair between a boy and a girl, after all! But the more he thought of it, the happier he was, and he made up his own tune as he continued to whack the weeds.

To Marsupilami, Mickey was riding the very fine line of being relieved Mickey was okay and Mickey's utter cheerfulness getting annoying. “Sooo...not feeling too bummed about being so short anymore?” Part of him was tempted to check Mickey's breakfast to see if someone had added something extra – how much booze could a little guy take before he got this plastered?

“Things won't stay the same forever, no sir!” Mickey waved Pluto down so the pup could lower his head and get some well-deserved ear scratches. “I just learned how to be patient, that's all! And the best things in life are worth the wait!” Like a beautiful girl on your arm – and at that point, with the Lucky Hammer as a pseudo-wedding present, he'd actually be able to have her on his arm!

“And the Oni King isn't that big a deal either?”

At that, Mickey's joy did take a minor break. He blinked slowly, startled he'd forgotten something so major. “Huh...well, no, of course he is. But!” He was eager to return to sheer enthusiasm. “One day he'll be gone too, so patience is our friend again!”

“Oh, he's gone all right.” Marsupilami cut him off, hoping to actually put the first time he ever worked hard into something meaningful. “Mickey, that's what I was all gung-ho to tell you about. The Oni King has gone into hiding!”

Again, this derailed Mickey's seemingly endless train of cheer. He faced Marsupilami, puzzlement clear on his little face. “What are you talking about?”

Finally! Marsupilami cleared his throat. “Well, when you rightfully pointed out how little we do, my esteemed associate and I-” Maurice thumped his chest with both fists, “took it upon ourselves to itch some scratches. Namely, solve a mystery, and rewrite history! We buckled down and did actual work for the first time in our short yet full lives, and-”

“Exactly how long does this go on for?�� Mickey interrupted, raising his hand like a child in school.

Marsupilami huffed. “Fine, I'll skip the speech. What am I but the comic relief? Anyway, we found some of the former guards who used to work here and retired...they're still kept in the loop about palace workings, in case they ever need to take up the sword again. They told me that nobody's heard from the Oni King in months! In fact, it's been actual years since anybody in the capital's actually seen the guy – he used to send his minions to do all his dirty work for him, but up until Pete gave a few ones a good thrashing, that stopped too!”

Stranger and stranger! Mickey cupped his chin in his hand, unsure what to do with this new information yet he knew it had to be vital. “Gosh, that's odd...but the Oni are still doing his work all around Japan! They had orders to attack my village straight from him!”

“We sure know it! The Princess is still getting asked to help people across the country, and it sure does sound like they're obeying his word. But no one else has seen him either, none of his lowlife lackeys have! How can they work for him if they don't know where he is?”

Mickey began to pace around in a circle, and Pluto watched him until he got dizzy. “Y'know... some of the Oni I encountered on my journey here? They didn't really want to do what the Oni King said, but felt like they had no choice. If the Oni King has vanished, how would he know if any of his men are slacking off? It's way more than paranoia, they have to be communicating somehow!”

“It's all hush-hush!” With that, Maurice made a zipper motion across his mouth. “The retired samurai told us not to tell any civilians, since they don't want to cause a panic. There has to be a reason the Oni King disappeared... it's not like he took any big losses, and last I checked, the war between us was still at a stalemate when he did vanish.”

“Hmmm...” Mickey crossed his arms, trying to dig through all the guesses in his head. It felt like the world's most complicated puzzle, and none of the pieces he had were fitting together. “Couldn't be an injury or sickness, could it? Pete joined the guards several months ago, he definitely would have healed up by then. So that leaves three big questions – Where is the Oni King? Why is he hiding? And how is he communicating with the other Oni?”

“Too bad we don't have a When, What, or Who, that'd really fill up a literary narrative.” Marsupilami quipped, and as always whenever he joked a little too close to the page, he got nothing but squints in return. “Nobody ever appreciates comedic genius. But if we could find the answers to these questions, maybe we could turn the tide in this war, and once the Oni King is defeated, the Princess wouldn't have a reason to hide the Lucky Hammer!”

“What makes you think we can solve this when no one else in the palace has?” Mickey pointed out.

“Cause they're not us! And we've got...” He counted on his fingers. “A guy who's been sheltered all his life, a mute gorilla, an abandoned dog, a rooster who is as oblivious as my tail is long, and me, a man who has only committed to one day of pure honest work.” That hung in the air for far longer than it should have. “Huh. When you put it out in the open like that, we may have a problem or six.”

It should have been a lot to worry about, and yet Mickey found himself still rather relaxed at the end of it all. “Aw gee, Marsupilami, I appreciate the help but... if there's nothin' we can really do about it, why worry? The Oni King will never get the Lucky Hammer, I can promise you that – especially if he never comes out of hiding, the big coward! And I'm willin' to wait as long as it takes for either him to show up or the Hammer to be in my hands!”

Marsupilami really doubted the Oni King was a coward, but right now, it was a better answer than having nothing at all. “Maybe he really is just a scaredy-cat.” He mused, a playful grin on his face. “Maybe he's hiding under his blankets and trembling in the dark! Just a big baby, whining and wailing about how scared he – OW!”

Maurice had been trying to mime Pete's arrival for a couple of seconds and had gone ignored, which was part of the reason Pete clocked Marsupilami upside the head with a closed fist. He was grinding his teeth so hard Mickey thought he saw bits of tooth falling out of his mouth. “Did we hire a guard or a comedian? GO CLEAN UP THE STABLES WITH YOUR BARE HANDS!”

Marsupilami rubbed his sore head, the bump there feeling so big he thought it'd never heal. “Sheesh, I'd say you woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but do you even have a right side?” The answer to that was Pete grabbing Marsupilami by the tail, clutching his shoulder, and then spinning him fast enough that the jokester was tied up with his own tail.

Pete then tossed the tied-up bundle into Maurice's hands. “If I see either of you slouching for a second, I'll have you clean the castle floors with your own tongue! NOW BEAT IT!”

Maurice used one hand to slap it over Marsupilami's mouth to hide a quip, the other hand to carry him, and he ran off to do as he was told before they could land in further trouble. Pete inhaled very loudly through his nostrils, exhaled just the same, but when he turned to Mickey, he had on a gigantic smile. “Hey there, Mickey! How's it going?”

“It's... going... well...?” Mickey answered slowly, knowing the mood whiplash that occurred right in front of him probably didn't mean anything good. “And how are you...?”

“Oh, I'm swell, but more importantly, how were you things and the Princess last night?” Pete aired an elbow nudge and a wink-wink. “You get a little closer? You get a little nicer? You learn a thing or two about a thing or two?”

“Boy, did I ever.” Mickey mumbled a bit shyly, his cheeks reddening. He waved to Pluto again, this time climbing atop the pup's head so he could try to address Pete a bit more evenly. “At first, I thought the plan was crazy, but we got along real well, you could say! So I ought to thank you for it.” For all the embarrassment and mortification, Mickey couldn't say he regretted that night, nor would he have done anything different. He had the heart of the girl he liked, which made him feel ten feet tall, or what he assumed feeling ten feet tall felt like.

“You can do much more than that, old buddy old pal old friend of mine!” Pete got down on one knee, helping the conversation feel more level. “You can tell me where the Lucky Hammer is! So I – you can use it right away!” He then paused, only now realizing something. “Wait... if she told you where it is, how come you're still a pint-sized pipsqueak?”

Mickey found himself surprised as well, if only because of the gall of Pete's response. “Of course I'm not going to use it now! Sure, she told me, but I made a promise not tell anyone else. The only reason she told me is because I might...someday, sorta, might be her...y'know...husband.” Getting to the word had been a difficult hike, and he could feel his face flushing again. Saying it in his head was endless fun, but saying it to another person made him feel awkward. “A-anyway! If I used it now, why, it'd be like stealing from her.”

Pete's eyelid twitched, and a few veins began to rise up underneath his flesh. It was like it was taking every single shred of will-power not to lash out at Mickey, and even then, it was making him tremble with anger. “And...you're...okay with that? What if she doesn't marry you until she's old and gray? What if she meets someone else and changes her mind? YOU GOTTA TELL ME WHERE IT IS!”

Little by little, Mickey was starting to suspect Pete's good intentions towards last night's date. “A samurai never breaks a promise, you should know that better than anyone! I don't mind waiting as long as it takes. I trust the Princess, and she trusts me, and that's all I need.” That, and perhaps an escape route, judging from Pete's violent nose breathing. “I'm not telling anyone! C'mon, Pluto, why don't we patrol around the palace?”

Pluto yipped, and once Mickey had a good hold on his ears started to make a run for it. Pete reached up, grabbing his helmet, and yanking it down so he could scream into it until his lungs ached. He then pushed it back up, not once letting his head be uncovered, and started to chase after pup and master. “Mickey, hang on! I don't think you thought this through! MICKEY, YOU GOTTA LISTEN TO ME!”

There had to be something to make Mickey give up the secret, but for once, Pete was fresh out of ideas.

~*~

Panchito had been assigned to polish the armor and sharpen the swords, and he was working through them all very quickly. He wanted to know all about Mickey's progress, and hoped to see the results himself. The plan had been so brilliant, how could it not work? The two made for a very adorable couple, and Panchito wished them nothing but the best. He really did like Mickey, as his honest and earnest attitude was incredibly endearing. He couldn't even imagine Mickey hitting on a bunch of girls without caring about their feelings – unlike a certain parrot who just cared about his own fun. Not that Panchito cared.

Panchito didn't care that Jose loathed commitment and wouldn't even give it a chance, of course not, he thought to himself as he ran the sharpening sword across the length of the sword in his hand. He also didn't care that Jose probably felt the same way about Panchito that he did for every pretty face he came across. He really didn't care that he'd dedicated his life to learning under Jose and Jose didn't even bat an eyelash, look at how little he was caring! Not a single ounce of care to be found here! Jose could do whatever he wanted, it was his life, who was Panchito to want some of it, not that he didn't, because he didn't care, HE DIDN'T CARE ONE ITTY BITTY – crack!

Panchito looked down at the broken sword, wincing as he saw his reflection in the other half on the floor. “Maybe I need a break,” he said out loud, trying to scoot the broken piece under a rug. Yes, he needed some fresh air to clear his mind, to completely empty it of Jose. He wouldn't think of that troublesome man anymore, from here on out!

He left the storage room, turned a corner and -

Ka – An arm suddenly thrust out to his side - be - Panchito's back hit the wall – don! Revealing Jose calmly and casually pinning Panchito in place.

Reasonably enough, Panchito could now think of nothing but Jose, save for maybe why his heart was going into overdrive. If Jose knew what sort of internal fluttering he had caused, he said nothing of it. “Panchito, my good friend and fellow guard, may I have a moment of your time?”

At that moment Jose could have asked Panchito for a kidney and Panchito would have ripped it out. As it was, he mutely nodded, finding words difficult to find.

“Very good!” Jose chirped. “I have thought long and hard about what you said to me before, and how my behavior affected you. You asked me to be your senpai, and that is a very serious thing, one I never should have taken lightly. I offer not only my apologies, but a way to make up for my grievances!”

“Okay,” was all Panchito could get out, half listening and half focusing on how close Jose's face was to his own. Here he had thought he'd gotten over his fainting spells, but consciousness threatened to leave when Jose took both his hands in his own.

“I know exactly what I need to do in order to make you happy, and so, as your senpai, it is time I started behaving like one! Teaching you all that you need to know, and ensuring that my student- nay, my kouhai, gets the best education I can provide! You'll be the only one I ever teach these things to, and I say we start right away!”

Had the divine heavens opened up, or was the choir of angels only in Panchito's head? “You mean it? You really want to be my senpai, and just mine?”

“Yours and yours alone,” Jose answered, confident that he knew the key to unlocking Panchito's future happiness. “And the first step in doing so, in teaching you all I know... is how to land you a cute girlfriend!”

Nevermind, the divine heavens definitely hadn't opened up – or the angels had fallen into the fiery pity below. “Eh?”

“Every man is satisfied when there's a lovely face around!” Jose said with a laugh, shaking Panchito's hands up and down. “I'll give you all my flirting techniques! With your face and my tricks, you'll have your own share of lords and ladies to last you forever and a half! Maybe we could even go on double dates! Doesn't that sound great?”

There was only so much Panchito could take. Wordlessly, he slipped his hands out of Jose's, and turned to walk off, his body sagging as if he was carrying thirty bags of heavy rich across his back. Jose looked at his empty hands, his mind boggled at what had gone wrong. “Panchito? What's the matter?”

“What's the matter?” Panchito repeated, so lost in his heartbreak that he didn't hear the rapid footsteps approaching from further up in the hallway. “What's the matter?! Oooh, Jose Carioca, you really want to know what's the matter!” He whipped back around, every feather standing on end. “Then you had better listen and listen good, because this is the last time I'm ever going to tell you!”

Jose was very interested to know what it was Panchito had to say, and even more when the chance was denied, seeing as how Pluto, Mickey, and Pete had run him over.

“I'M NOT TELLIN' YOU, PETE!” Mickey hollered, not realizing who Pluto had pushed over.

“YOU SPILL YOUR GUTS OR I'LL DO IT FOR YOU!” Pete yelled right back, knowing full well who he ran over and not caring one iota.

Jose watched the two of them go in and out of several rooms as the chase went on, before quietly approaching the flattened rooster. “Boy, ever since you and your friends came here, things have certainly gotten more lively. By the way, I think it'd do us both a lot of good if you weren't knocked out.” He waited, but alas, Panchito was K.O.'d by something other than his own crazed emotions for once. “Another mystery for another day, I see.” He hoisted Panchito over his shoulder, and gently pat his back. “Okay, so flirting isn't for you. I don't see why, but I'm not going to give up. I'll find some way to be your senpai properly and make you happy.” Of course it would be easier if Panchito had just up and told him, but what was life without some challenges along the way?

Speaking of challenges, what was going on with Pete and Mickey? He decided it would be a fine way to kill some time until Panchito woke up, so at a walking pace, he followed the two around, not letting go of Panchito for a moment. There was an idea of carrying him bridal style, but that came with the risk of Panchito waking up, seeing how he was being held, and fainting. Funny how Jose could guess Panchito's thinking so easily while knowing him for so little. They were certainly two of a kind, weren't they? This was why he felt confident he'd find Panchito's happiness.

Another person came across the great chase, but Goofy wasn't going to add onto the train. “Hey, fellas!” He called out as he watched them all go back and forth across hallways and rooms. “The Princess wants us all in the throne room for a big meetin'! … Fellas?” Not a single one of his words touched the intended, so it appeared he would have to do things the old fashioned way. He waited until Pluto was close enough, and then stuck out his leg.

Pluto tripped over his leg, causing Mickey to go flying onto the floor, with Pete also tripping and landing atop of Pluto. Jose managed to avoid the pile thanks to his leisurely pace. “There we go! Like I was sayin, we all gotta meet up in the throne room, okay?”

Pluto whined, managing to claw his way out from under Pete, his tail now so flat he doubted it would wag for days. Mickey dizzily sat up, unsure who to be mad at first. “A meeting? What for? Has something happened?”

“A retired samurai came to the capital just now,” Goofy answered, offering a hand to help Pete up, but it was slapped away. “And he says he needs help lookin' for someone. So the Princess wants us all to come meet him, so we can help find whoever it is. The more eyes we got searching, the bigger our chances will be, she figures.”

“We gotta waste time lookin' for some dope?” Pete growled, though his eyes remained on Mickey. “I don't have time for this!”

“Orders is orders,” Goofy replied, leading the charge with a one-two step. “C'mon, can't keep her waiting!”

Mickey chose to walk on his own two feet this time, though he could feel Pete's eyes burning holes through his skin. “Knock it off, Pete! No matter what you say or what you do, I will not tell you where the Lucky Hammer is! In fact, there is nothing and no one that could make me want to snatch it!”

Pete muttered a few threats and obscenities under his breath, but it was clear Mickey wasn't going to budge. The group gathered in front of the doors to the throne room, where Marsupilami and Maurice had been waiting and ready to thank whoever this mystery person was from preventing their stable duty. Goofy opened the doors, and all of the samurai automatically bowed. “Here we are, your highness!”

Minnie, all dressed up in her regal robes and with Clarabelle at her side, bowed her head in return, sitting atop the throne with her piercing cold stare. “It's good to see you all. As Goofy has no doubt told you, all of your help is needed for one of our own. Though they have long since stopped serving the royal family, we owe them a debt so great that helping them in return brings us much joy. Sir Mickey, no doubt you know them as Lord and Lady Duck-”

The next few seconds were a blur, as Mickey saw his mother and father, they saw him, Daisy screamed in joy and ran down to catch her son, bowling all of the samurai over, Donald tried to catch his wife and hoist her away, she kicked and hollered to be let go, and everyone was a rightly confused mess.

“What are you two doing here?” Mickey asked, having been seconds away from snatching, his eyes almost popping out at the sight of those he left behind.

“I could very well ask you the same thing!” Donald demanded, trying to keep Daisy from making a scene with his good arm.

“MY BAAAAAABYYYYY-”

“We've been looking all over for you! We thought all kinds of terrible things could've happened! That's why we came here to ask for help finding you!”

“MICKEYYYY, MOMMY'S SO HAPPYYYY-”

“So you better have a good reason for why you upset Daisy all this time! She's nearly molted over what you did!”

“PLEASE TELL ME YOU DIDN'T GET A GIRLFREIIIIIND-”

It's not like Mickey wasn't happy to see his family, because he was and he had missed them terribly. But he had vowed not to see them again until he was of proper size, so in a way, they were making him break that promise. That... and this was embarrassing on a number of levels, seeing as how everyone in the room was doing their best to avoid looking at the scene Daisy was making, complete with innocent whistling and thumb twiddling.

Mickey cleared his throat, hoping to capture control by any means necessary. “Well...I'm here, so you found me. I'm working as a samurai, protecting the Princess and the people of the capital! I'm here to become the sort of man you both can be proud of, so you can go home now and wait for that to happen.”

“GO HOME?!” Daisy had finally wrestled free of Donald's grip, her face soaked with tears of relief. “Without you? Absolutely not! We're all going home as a family, so things can go back to the way they used to be!”

Donald wasn't sure that exact line of thinking was what Mickey wanted to hear. “Besides, you're too small to be a samurai, you don't even know how to fight.”

“I've been learning!” Mickey countered. “Panchito's been teaching me all about swordsmanship, and...” As he glanced over at the unconscious rooster, he realized this was probably not the best time to introduce his friends. “Wow, this is just bad timing everywhere.”

“We appreciate your help, Princess,” Donald headed over to Mickey, intending to pick him up. “But we'll be going now.”

“No, we won't!” Mickey snapped, growing more irritated the longer this lasted. “A samurai must never leave their master until they're officially dismissed, and I plan on working here for a long time!”

“You are not a samurai!” Donald barked right back. “You're just a little boy with a sewing needle!”

“Stop treating me like a child!”

“You are a child!”

“No, you made it very clear I'm not your child!” Suddenly Mickey was filled with such white-hot anger that it was difficult to think of anything else but this anger, and things he'd held deep in his chest began to spill over, things he wasn't even aware he'd been holding back. “You said so yourself, I'm not part of your family! Ever since I came to your house, you never wanted me, so why should I believe you want me now? You only need me back because of Mother!”

It was impossible to pretend to ignore the conversation now, with all eyes staring accusingly at Donald, who could feel himself shrinking under their gazes. He nervously tugged at his collar, fully aware he had no rebuttal. “Well... um... w-when I said that, I was very angry...”

“I do need you back!” Daisy whined, trying to hold out her hands so Mickey would jump into them as he always did. “I've missed you so much! You have to come home and get out of danger!”

But this time Mickey didn't run into the loving embrace of his mother. “And do what, nothing for the rest of my days? You never let me help, you never let me outside, I might as well just be some stuffed doll to you! Both of you only cared about what you wanted, and never about what I wanted! I'm not going back just to make you both feel better! Like it or not, I'm an adult, and I'm going to make my own decisions! And one of those decisions is doing my job! Pluto!”

Pluto barked, and lowered his head for Mickey to climb on. If these people were enemies of his master, then they were Pluto's enemies too. Donald and Daisy protested loudly, he with angry demands and she with ear-shattering wailing, but the dog was much too quick for their nimble fingers, already bolting down the hallway. No matter how much he heard his name being shouted, Mickey wouldn't turn back for anything.

Donald and Daisy looked at each other, at a loss for what to do – in fact, almost everyone in the room weren't sure what to say in this extremely awkward moment. Even Minnie's usual icy exterior was melting under the heat of this pressure, using her trademark fan to cool herself down instead of hiding herself. This hadn't been how she intended to meet her future in-laws. “Um... well... until this is resolved... I'm sure we can find a place for you two to stay...?” Murmurs of agreement were echoed by all, along with shuffling of toes and clearing of throats.

The only one not so perturbed by the family drama was Pete, who cupped his chin and began to smile darkly. As far as he was concerned, things weren't so hopeless after all.

#disney #fanfic #the little peach #mickey mouse #minnie mouse #donald duck #daisy duck #jose carioca #panchito pistoles

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