#nessten

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Ninten was so ecstatic that he could barely sit still at his desk. Everyone in the class recalled how much he brought up the word "field trip" in their conversations with him. They all knew how excited he was for this day, despite the bizarre circumstances.

On the other hand, Ness was going to hate this. And he did not hate a lot of things. Thank you to whoever decided this, he thought.

"Mrs. Simons?" Jeff Andonauts raised his hand. "Why doesn't the other class just get a substitute teacher?" Ness glared at their teacher, silently agreeing with the question.

"That is because this was a last-minute emergency," replied their teacher. Many of the children assumed there was probably more to it than that, but the teacher refused to go in-depth. She perused the room environment. "Now, I see that some of you may be a little upset, but believe me, the other class has just as many friendly boys and girls, and I am very sure they would be happy to be friends with all of you."

A quarter of the class exchanged looks and small chat, unsure if they should be enthusiastic. The teacher continued. "So, just as a reminder, even though this is a nice field trip to the zoo, don't forget to pick at least two animals and write down five facts that you can find out about each of them. And since you'll now be in groups of four, rather than just a pair, make sure you all stay together, and respect your friend's choices of animals until they finish what they need to know."

"Woo," Ness mumbled.

The teacher ignored Ness's remark and picked up a clipboard. "Now then, since you chose your partners for this class, this time we've assigned the pairs you will be with the other class. I'll call this list again when we arrive, but this is just so you know beforehand." She flipped a couple of pages on the clipboard. "Everyone should be here…alright. Firstly, Ness and Ninten will be paired with…a Lucas and Claus."

"Yay!" Ninten exclaimed.

"What're you excited about?" Ness asked. "We don't even know them."

"It means we can make new friends!" Ninten answered.

Ness sighed. "Whatever."

"Hush, you two," said the teacher. "Next, Jeff and Tony, you will be paired with…"

Ness rested his head on his desk, albeit uncomfortably. He quietly groaned again. As much as he liked the zoo, he disliked the other classes in his grade. There had been multiple class competitions in the past, which developed a high rivalry sense within him as well as most other students. Ness only believed that whatever class he was in was the only class that mattered. The same kind of belief fell within many other students as well.

The only rare exceptions who had no disdain towards the other classes were ones that were very happy-go-lucky or did not care much about who was better than the other. Ninten was evidence of both, but he only cared about seeing animals in person at the moment. Forget the class assignment he had to do, all he wanted to do was get close to one of them and hug them.

Ness sighed. He hoped his extra two partners weren't going to be a nuisance.

As soon as their teacher finished calling out the names, there was a knock on the door. Another adult had come in to inform them that the bus had arrived.

All the students grabbed their necessary belongings and headed out the door. Walking down the hall, they saw that the class they were paired with was gone from their room. As expected once they walked out of the school, they met the other class already boarding the bus.

"This is gonna be so fun!" Ninten exclaimed.

"For you, at least," Ness said.

"Aw, cheer up! Aren't you at least excited to go see live animals?" Ninten asked.

Ness shrugged. "A little, I guess. It's just annoying to be paired with the other class."

"I bet they're nice guys, just like us. It'll be fine!"

Slowly, the students of the combined classes all boarded the bus, followed by the only teacher and bus driver. The teacher recounted the heads for both classes, and then the bus took off.

Ninten took the window seat alongside Ness, watching for all sorts of things as the bus took them on an unfamiliar drive. Ness laid his head back, closed his eyes, and tried to relax through the chaotic sound of people chattering all about.

"Ness, are you seriously trying to sleep?" Ninten asked, leaning forward.

"I've got nothing else to do," Ness said.

Ninten gave him a weird look, knowing that Ness couldn't see it. Ninten was about to return to sightseeing, until he noticed he was being stared at by one boy on the other side of the bus. It was a blonde boy, who quickly turned his head after he was caught. Ninten paid no further attention and returned to sightseeing.

"Claus," said the blonde boy to his seating buddy. "I think those two are twins like us."

"So?" mumbled the other boy, trying to sleep in his seat.

"Isn't that cool?" asked the blonde.

"Forget about them," said Claus. "They're in the other class, they don't matter to us."

"I bet it'd be nice to get to know them, though. Why not try to get to know them now?"

"Pfft, fat chance. I just want to see dragos, not make buddies with the other class." The blonde frowned, and sat patiently in his seat.

The bus finally arrived at the city zoo, and most of the student population was excited to step off.

"Alright, everyone." Ms. Simons stood in front of the combined classes as they were gathered at the entrance. "Before I send you off, you will need to get in your groups, of course. When I call your names, step forward and get together."

First off the list was Ness and Ninten, followed by the two boys from the other class. All four of them stepped away from the gathering and looked at each other.

"Wha—" Claus remarked. "We're paired with twins?!"

"We're paired with twins!" Ninten repeated, although more excitedly. Ness rolled his eyes, and Lucas nervously smiled.

The teacher finished off announcing the last of the paired groups. "Now as a reminder, you are welcome to go to whatever part of the zoo with your pairs. But remember we meet back at the entrance in one hour, that is exactly 2 o'clock. So, go and have fun."

Ninten turned to his group. "So, buddies, where do you want to go first?"

"I'm fine with anything," said the blonde named Lucas.

"Same here," Ness added.

Ninten nodded eagerly. "Then let's see the penguins first!"

"Lame," Claus reacted. "I want to see dragos first."

"Dragos?" Ninten questioned, with Ness giving an added look.

"Claus, I told you, they don't have dragos here," Lucas told.

Claus crossed his arms, "Well they should! Otherwise, this field trip sucks even more."

"What's a drago?" Ness asked.

"It's...like a giant lizard," Lucas explained. "Back where we're from, we have lots of them."

"Where you're from?" Ninten asked. "Did you guys move here from somewhere?"

"Yeah, from Tazmilly," Lucas answered. "We moved here a last year."

"Lucas, stop explaining everything to them," Claus said. "Let's just go finish this stupid assignment already." The older twin started to walk away.

"Wait, we need to stick together!" Ninten called out. Claus ignored the voice and kept walking farther.

"Ah forget him," Ness said. "He probably doesn't like us."

Lucas turned to the two capped boys. "Sorry about my brother. I have to make sure he doesn't get in trouble. Can you maybe keep quiet about being separated for now?"

"I…guess," Ninten shrugged.

"Fine by me, as long as you do the same," Ness replied.

"Thanks," Lucas responded. "Maybe we can get to know each other better later?" The blonde looked over to Ninten, and they nodded at each other. Then, he ran off to follow his orange haired twin.

Ninten hopped forward, pointing at the zoo's entrance. "All right, let's go see the penguins!"

Ness smirked, now that he was more relaxed without the presence of the other pair. "Sure," he said, and followed his friend's trail.

:*:

After speaking to a zoo worker for directions, Ninten eagerly ran towards the area for penguins. Ignoring the other people looking at them and taking pictures, the excited boy collided into the fence and hopped up and down.

"Ness, look!" Ninten exclaimed. "Pengi!"

"Yeah, yeah, penguins," Ness responded. He stood beside his partner and tried to amuse himself with the sight of the many flightless birds wandering on ice and wafting in water.

"Look, there's a place where you can get closer!" Ninten pointed to a lowered platform area which protruded further into the visiting area. He hurried along over, with Ness following behind. After reaching the fence, Ninten squatted down and became as closest as he could ever be with live penguins.

"Pengiii…" Ninten murmured. One penguin nearby waddled closer and tilted its heads at him, unable to understand his adoration. "Who's a cute penguin—that's right, you are!"

"You're such a dork," Ness commented.

Ninten ignored the remark and planted his head into the fence, trying to widen his view. Ness lightly huffed at his mesmerized friend. He looked around to find a bulletin board placed in the middle of the platform. It was filled with pictures and facts about penguins.

"Oh, there's penguin facts here. Perfect." Ness walked over to the board and filled his journal with the facts that intrigued him best. "Huh. Some penguins are gay. Never expected that."

Ness finished retrieving his facts and walked back over to Ninten. "Hey Ninten, come on and get your facts."

"I already have penguin facts written down," Ninten told. "Did it before we got on the bus."

Ness made a surprised face. "Well, then let's move on to the next animal."

"But I wanna stay and watch the penguins!" Ninten exclaimed.

Ness took hold of Ninten's hand and started to pull him away. "We can come back after we finish this stupid assignment."

"Promise?!" Ninten exclaimed. He immediately pulled away from Ness's grip. "Okay, next animal! What's the closest—lions!" He ran off towards the cage of lions that was in sight. Ness rolled his eyes again and quickly followed by.

:*:

"Claus, wait up!" Lucas called over.

"What?!" he responded. "I just want to find some dragos!"

"I'm telling you, they don't have dragos here!" Lucas told.

"I don't believe you!" Claus exclaimed. "If this place can have elephants and bears, why not dragos?!"

"Because dragos are more endangered," Lucas told. "They belong in the wild, not in zoos."

"Tch, dumb. Another reason for me to want to go back home." Claus sat down on a nearby bench. "Stupid zoo. Stupid new city, stupid new house, stupid new school with stupid people."

"Claus…" Lucas mumbled. He sat down next to his brother. "I know you're still getting used to this place—"

"I'm not even trying to," Claus responded. "I never wanted to come to this place, you know."

"So then why'd you come along?" Lucas asked. "You could've stayed with Grandpa in Tazmilly."

Claus frowned. "Well, who's going to keep an eye on you? No one else but me."

Lucas silently gasped, and then lightly laughed it off. "Aw, Claus, I'm big enough now. You don't have to protect me anymore."

"Heck yeah I do, and more than that. You're clumsy, a pushover, and you have no sense of direction."

"Wha—I am none of those things!" Lucas pouted.

"Oh yeah? You tripped on your own shoelaces six times this week, you can't stand up for yourself against those bullies in class, and if I hadn't come on this field trip, the whole class would be looking for you wandering around in the zoo."

Lucas froze. "…Well…"

"See?"

"Okay, maybe I would've gotten lost on my own. But I would've eventually find my way back!"

"Yeah, in like, four hours."

"Gosh, Claus! Believe in me more!" the blonde frowned again.

Claus chuckled. "Wish I could."

Lucas firmly stood up. "Well, I'll prove it to you that I won't get lost! I'm going to go find two animals to get facts on, and then come back right here."

"Wait, what—?!" Claus exclaimed. "I can't let you do that by yourself—"

Lucas shook his head. "I'm not going to go very far, I promise. I'll even do your facts for you. You just wait right here."

"Wha…" Claus stuttered. Lucas gave him a firm glare that told him to stay on the bench. He flustered between trying to follow him and believing in his brother more than he should, leaving him frozen at his seat. By the time Claus decided to stand up, his brother was already out of sight. He sat back down, cupping his face into his hands. "Oh boy…"

:*:

"Lion facts done! Back to the penguins!" Ninten dragged Ness back towards the penguin area, causing Ness to almost trip.

"Whoa, hold up—I'm not done!" Ness exclaimed.

Both boys landed back on the lowered platform. As soon as Ninten returned to his original spot, he squatted back down firmly and gazed at waddling creatures.

"Pengiii…" he mumbled.

Ness brushed the part of his arm that he was forcibly pulled on, patting off the slight pain. "Geez, what's so good about penguins anyways?"

"Look at them! They're sooo cute!" Ness squatted down beside his friend and looked into the direction where Ninten was pointing at. A couple of baby penguins were playfully poking at each other, followed by an adult penguin squawking at both of them.

"Well, the baby ones are cute, I guess," Ness added. "But you've gotta be bored of watching them all the time."

"Nope!" Ninten popped. "I could be here all day."

"Well, I want to go look at some other animals," Ness said.

"You can do that by yourself," Ninten said. "I'll be here with the penguins, don't worry!"

Ness raised an eyebrow. He trusted his friend's words, but still felt worried about leaving him alone. However, with people around on a visible wooden island, it seemed safe for Ninten to stay. After all, it did not look like he was going to move. He was too intrigued by the display of penguins. The older boy left the area and headed back to the lions, before deciding on what new animal to visit.

:*:

Claus frowned as he looked down at his watch. Ten minutes only passed, but it felt like forever.

"I've gotta find him," he decided. He dashed away and went in one direction, searching around as keenly as he could. When he found himself ending in a corner of the zoo, he ran in the other direction, ignoring all the animal sights to see. He then returned to the bench he sat on, hoping to find his brother waiting there during the time he took to find him. However, a small family had occupied the bench instead, with Lucas nowhere to be found.

"Oh god…" Claus murmured. He went in another direction instead, finding himself in a small aquarium. It was a single path that ended in a circular island with plenty of fish and creatures to view in blue lighted water, but he did not find his brother there either. Claus ran back out, and found himself in a jungle-like zone, filled with loose vines, leaves, and more exotic animals. A long and sturdy wooden bridge was the only path he could take, and so he ran forward past passerbys and more animals. However, with each step, his panic grew greater. If he didn't see his brother soon, he felt like he would lose everything in an instant.

Claus eventually lost his breath and shut his eyes, but continued forward while holding onto the side railings. He looked around to find empty caged areas occupying spaces not covered by ground, vines or leaves. He felt like he was lost and secluded, which put him in a worse situation. The corners of his vision grew dark and blurrier, filled with fright.

Claus groaned, and he bellowed into the air. "God, Lucas! Where are you?!"

"Claus?"

He looked over to the side, and right across from him was his brother. With an innocent expression, Lucas turned around with his journal and pencil in hand.

"What're you doing here?" Lucas asked.

"Lucas!" Claus exclaimed. He immediately ran over to wrap his brother into a tight hug.

"C-Claus—! What's wrong?!"

"I thought I almost lost you!" Claus responded. "Never run off like that again!"

Lucas gently pushed away. "I told you I'd come back to the bench. I wasn't lost, I just got sidetracked."

"Still, it was scary without you." Claus sighed. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened."

Lucas grinned, "Claus, I can take care of myself." The younger twin noted the anxious expression laying on his brother's face. Lucas placed his hand onto his brother's hand, which was resting on his own shoulder. "But, thanks for keeping an eye on me. Especially all this time."

Claus looked up, his frown turning into a smile. He let go of his brother and wiped the slight water in his eyes. After regaining a clearer vision, he finally noticed a giant green snout that poked between the two boys.

"Whoa!" Claus stepped back.

"Oh, right!" Lucas exclaimed. "This was why I was sidetracked." He patted the green snout, causing it to growl very lightly.

Claus's eyes widened as he turned his head over. A large green drago was placed in a small pit below them. It was dug at an appropriate size for the drago to come to the bridge to be petted by zoo attendees, as it was now by Lucas.

"They really do have dragos here!" Lucas told. "And you can pet them!"

"Wow," Claus gasped. Lucas removed his hand so that Claus could take a turn at petting it. "Hey there, big guy." The drago purred in response.

"It's a mom, Claus," Lucas corrected. He pointed down for Claus to discover the presence of two baby dragos wandering by their mother's feet.

"Aw, babies!" Claus exclaimed. He kept patting the drago's snout. "Best zoo trip ever."

Lucas smiled. "We should come back here with mom and dad."

"We definitely should." Claus glanced at his watch. "Oh, but right now, we should head back."

"Ah, okay." The twins patted the drago one last time and waved good-bye to it, walking away from the zone.

:*:

Ness returned to the penguin display area after visiting all the animals that satisfied him. He walked back to the extended island, but stopped when something was missing in his sight. At the very spot he remembered where his friend was, there was no Ninten. He looked around, and still did not find his classmate in the area.

"Oh crap!" Ness cursed. He looked around one more time, but his doubts failed. Ness ran out of the island and ran alongside the outer area of the penguin display, hoping to find Ninten. Ness completed a semicircle run, and lost some of his breath. However, as he took a small break, he discovered that there were two wooden structures extending into the penguin zone.

"Oh…" Ness whispered. He hoped that he wasn't wrong, and was just mistaken. He ran around to the other tied island in hopes of finding his friend there, as he still was not visible in the proximity.

Running down a small set of stairs, Ness found Ninten kneeled down, almost at head level with a few penguins that noticed him.

"Oh, there you are," Ness called out.

"Oh, hey Ness!" Ninten responded.

"Dude, you said you weren't going to move," Ness told.

"No, I said I'd be with the penguins," Ninten corrected. "And I still am."

Ness rolled his eyes. "Whatever. At least you're okay."

"Of course I'm okay! The penguins are keeping me company." Ninten turned his head back to the flightless birds.

Ness sighed. He has a strange addiction, he thought. He retreated the area for a moment, knowing Ninten would stay put for a moment more.

Ness returned with his journal stuffed in the waist of his shorts and under his shirt. He squatted down again and offered an ice cream cone in Ninten's face.

"Huh?" Ninten asked.

"I thought you'd be bored just watching them," Ness told.

"Wow, thanks!" Ninten exclaimed. He took the cone from Ness's hand.

Ness looked away and took a lick from an ice cream cone he bought for himself. "You owe me a dollar, though."

"Sure." Ninten leaned forward over the fence and hovered his ice cream cone over the penguins. Ness quickly reacted and grabbed pulled Ninten's arm back.

"What're you doing?!" Ness asked. "You can't feed them ice cream!"

Ninten frowned, "Aw, really? But they look so hungry, though…"

"They can't eat ice cream!" Ness added. "And I'm not letting you feed them something I bought for you only!" He took the cone from Ninten's hand and gently hovered it to Ninten's face. "Gosh, just eat it."

Ninten smirked. He bobbed his head forward and licked the tip of the swirl. "Mmm!" He then started to peck small pieces into his mouth, puckering his lips as he came back up.

Ness sighed. "You even eat like a penguin."

"Squawk!" Ninten mimicked.

Ness continued to eat his cone while extending his arm out, holding the other cone out in front of Ninten's face. After finishing up his own, he switched his tired arm out and continued to feed his friend, despite knowing they were being given weird looks by passerbys.

Ninten finished off the creamy part of his snack, and soon went out into biting the cone. He chomped gradually, but surely finished most of it off. Then, with one last peck, he took in the last piece of waffle cone, but also pecked in a bit of Ness's finger. Before Ness could react, Ninten happily pulled away. "Thanks again!"

Ness averted his eyes, faintly blushing as he tried to brush his finger on his shirt. "You're welcome."

Ness looked down at his watch, noticing the time. "We should probably get back and meet up with the other pair. It's almost time to go."

"Aw, I guess you're right." Both of them looked over the area of ice and water again, almost saying good-bye to the view. Ness left the island first and waited for his friend to finish the visit. Ninten stood over the fence one more time and waved his hand at the few penguins he had been observing. "Bye-bye, pengis!"

In a moment more, Ninten caught up with Ness and they walked away from the penguin zone. As they made their way towards the zoo entrance, Ninten sighed depressingly.

Ness sighed along as a response. "We can come back sometime if you want. The zoo is free to the public, after all."

Ninten grinned. "That'd be nice."

:*:

Nearing the entrance, the two capped boys stood at a distance from the bus, teacher, and other class groups, waiting for their paired partners to arrive. The twins from the other class eventually arrived, and rejoined with their assigned pair.

"We're done," Lucas told.

"And so are we," Ninten said. "Did you guys have fun?"

"Heck yeah," Claus answered. "I got to see a drago!"

"And I got to spend time with penguins!" Ninten added.

"I thought you said there weren't any dragos?" Ness asked.

Lucas nodded lightly. "I did, but turns out I was wrong."

"Huh, maybe I should go see it." Ness looked back into the zoo.

"I can show you a picture of one later," Lucas offered.

Ness nodded, "Sure, I guess." He watched the twin brothers walk ahead of him. He had a side thought, “Maybe they’re not so bad.”

Their teacher raised her voice, "Alright class, time to go!"

All the students from both classes began boarding the bus. The four boys were among the last groups to climb on. The twin brothers headed in first, taking their original seat from when they first boarded.

Ninten leaned his head closer to Ness's. "Y'know, that Claus guy seems kind of cute."

"Wha?" Ness remarked. Ninten smirked as he didn't let Ness finish reacting by climbing onto the bus.

Ness huffed lightly as he stepped onto the bus as well. "Some penguins are gay."

Ness took his seat beside Ninten, and patiently waited for everyone to settle in. The teacher began a final head count as the driver prepared the bus.

Ness looked over at his classmate, who was looking away into the window. He noticed that Ninten's arms were still settled on his stomach area, ever since they left the penguin display.

"Ninten, are you feeling okay?" Ness asked.

Ninten almost jumped, but calmly turned his head. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" Ness questioned. "Did that ice cream give you a stomachache or something? The teacher can probably let you go use the bathroom really quick."

"Ah—no, I'm fine, really!" Ninten smiled.

Ness squinted at his friend. Then, he noticed that something had moved under Ninten's shirt. Ninten panicked and quickly put his hand on the area.

Ness paused to think, and then almost gasped at his most logical conclusion. "You didn't."

Ninten smiled again, "Didn't what?"

Ness forced away Ninten's arms. Out from the shirt collar of the younger boy came a baby penguin. It lightly squealed as it snuggled up in Ninten's shirt.

"Oh boy…" Ness mumbled.

The orange-haired twin had leaned over at the time, and caught sight of the picture. "…Is that a penguin?"

Ninten covered the view from his peers. "No?"

Ness pushed his friend's hand away again, about to add another protest of words until his teacher caught sight of the penguin and screamed.

"How could you take one?! And why?" she exclaimed.

Ninten quivered. "I wanted to raise one!"

The teacher quickly snatched the penguin from Ninten's clasp and returned it to the zoo. However, despite the honest report of the situation, the school became banned from visiting the zoo together. Most of the class did not care, including Ninten, who was content altogether as he was able to actually hold a live penguin.