Shared Laughter

As the sun moved slowly in the sky over the Cayman Jungles, Brie was seen walking briskly towards the laboratory.

She had been tirelessly working on fulfilling all that Arthur asked of her. So much so that she rarely changed her lab coat, constantly needing to be reminded by her peers that she needed to stop forgetting to bathe.

Who was she to care about hygiene when important experiments needed more attention? Her attire usually consisted of basic cargo pants and her lab coat over a simple dress shirt.

That was all she needed. That and her glasses.

There was a sense of excitement in her stride today; she was close to a breakthrough.

However, as she approached the automatic doors, she noticed something peculiar. They hadn't opened.

She tilted her head to the side in suspicion.

"Hmm, that's odd," she muttered to herself. She reached for the door panel, ready to press the button, but something held her back.

The door was never locked to anyone unless something important was happening inside. Instead of opening it manually, she lightly knocked on the door.

"Excuse me, my lord?" she called. "Are you inside? I really wanted to finish that project I was working on."

Her calls were met with silence.

A moment later, she pressed her ear against the door. In the deafening quiet, she heard a faint hum. It was subtle yet insistent, the unmistakable sound of electricity.

"He's definitely in there!" she declared to herself. Determined, she began banging on the door with both fists. "Come on, lord Arthur! I really want to finish my experiment on bioluminescent fungi!"

Still, silence met her.

Brie didn't want to spend any time doing anything else except being in the laboratory. She enjoyed that atmosphere more than anything in this world.

Just as she started to bang again in desperation, a familiar voice piped up from above: "Surprise!"

Koko landed on her head with an agile leap, spreading her arms out in her typical grandeur of an entrance.

"Ah! Koko! Get off!" Brie exclaimed, swatting playfully at the little monkey girl who had plopped onto her head. Koko giggled, dodging her attempts before gracefully jumping to the ground.

"Don't you know daddy's busy?" Koko announced with a mischievous smile.

"Busy? Doing what? Fixing some sort of crazy weapon?"

Brie's gaze locked to the entrance. Deep down inside her, she wanted to help him with whatever he was working on—be it big or small.

"You're not wrong; daddy's fixing something alright," Koko replied.

Brie felt disappointed. So she asked, "How do you know all this?"

Koko puffed her chest and said, "I can sense just about everything that goes on in my jungle!"

Brie shrugged and said, "I forgot you had that ability."

It was easy to forget Koko's unique talents amidst the academia that dominated Brie's daily routine. What she truly wanted to know was what Arthur was working on, but she knew by now that once Arthur spoke, his word was law.

It appeared she wouldn't be getting any more answers today.

Koko started to turn away, but Brie called her back. "Wait! What do you even do all day, Koko?"

With a teasing grin, Koko exclaimed, "Why don't you follow me and find out?"

That most certainly was an invitation. That or a chance for the girl to play.

"Alright, fine," Brie remarked, following the little girl.

Koko wasted no time scurrying outside of the plaza and into the depths of the jungle. Brie was forced to run, something she hadn't done in a while.

By the time she noticed, she was quite far from the safety of the laboratory.

They continued to venture into the jungle, and she struggled to keep pace with Koko. The monkey-girl darted around with ease, leaping from one vine to another as if she were born for this environment.

Meanwhile, Brie found herself petrified at every rustling sound and creeping insect that crossed her. Each giant ant seemed absurdly large, while every buzzing insect felt like a predator on the hunt.

Here, on the outside, she was the one at risk of being dissected. That or eaten whole.

"Ugh," Brie grumbled, swatting at a particularly bold mosquito near her ear. "How can you stand this place, Koko? It's filthy!"

"Filthy?!" Koko gasped, pouting in mock offense. "This place is my home, and it's beautiful!"

Brie chuckled as she caught her breath, trying to ignore the discomfort of crawling critters beneath her feet. Yet, Koko's industriousness carried them deeper into the jungle until they stumbled upon something unexpected—a small village, seemingly abandoned, but not destroyed.

"Where are we?" she asked in surprise.

The huts, made of bamboo and woven leaves, stood intact under the trees. Surely there had to be inhabitants.

Koko bounced on her heels and announced, "This is my village! I was born here!"

Brie's curiosity grew, having not known this fact. "It's… It's…

"Awesome?!"

"Small…"

"Hey, that's rude!" Koko pouted before giving thought. "Well, daddy did say it was a lot larger once before he had to destroy it."

Despite all that she'd seen, this surprised Brie more than anything. So she asked, "Why did he do that?"

Koko shrugged with a childlike innocence as she answered, "I can't recall too much. It felt like a long time ago."

In truth, it hadn't even been a whole year yet. Brie felt a chill run down her spine; a pang of empathy struck her. "Were you sad when you found out?"

"Not really," Koko replied in a light tone. "I believe in daddy; he always does what's right!"

Although Brie didn't understand why Arthur would have destroyed all of Koko's family, she was alright since Koko didn't hate him for it; the little girl admired Arthur greatly, having been raised by what she believed was her only real family.

It was admirable in a sense, but it sparked deeper questions in Brie's mind. Arthur was many things—a brilliant scientist, a competent creator—but he had a lot more responsibility that seemed to weigh heavily on his shoulders.

Whether or not this was all true, she didn't look at him any different than she already had.

In that moment, Koko tugged on her arm, leading her towards one of the huts. The interior was lit and smelled of aged leather.

"Come on!" the girl chirped, "I wanna show you something!"

Once inside, Koko began rummaging through a stack of books and scrolls. It was quite cute, something that belied her playful nature.

Brie, intrigued, scanned the scattered items littered across the hut. Shelves lined the walls, decorated with artifacts, texts, and odd trinkets that seemed to possess a story of their own.

"What are you searching for?" she asked, trying to piece together what significance this makeshift library held.

"Knowledge!" Koko exclaimed, pulling out several scrolls and flipping through them eagerly. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction."

"Huh?" Brie wondered, unaware it was a verse from the Book of Proverbs 1:7.

"That's what daddy taught me," Koko answered, still searching.

"Who rebuilt this place?" Brie inquired, lifting a colorful book that caught her eye. It was seemingly unearthed from the dust, yet its pages remained blank.

Koko paused as she thought. Then she declared, "I did! I wanted to after watching daddy fix the playground."

Everyone knew that Sun Stream Plaza was really Koko's playground. At least that's what she believed.

Brie couldn't help but notice how much natural influence Arthur had on her.

Koko had taken the initiative to rebuild, to create something that seemed non-existent. Not because she was ordered to, but because she wanted to be like her "daddy."

As Brie pondered the girl's devotion and brilliance, a scroll fell from its perch, landing flat at her feet.

She picked it up, carefully unfurling the parchment. Two names were scrawled inside in dark, almost menacing ink—blood. The first was smudged out while the second was Arthur's.

"What is this scroll?" she pressed.

Koko, still engrossed in her search, responded nonchalantly, "Es un pergamino de invocación."

"Huh?" Brie wondered, unaware that Spanish was spoken.

"I said it's a summoning scroll," Koko answered, eyes never leaving her search.

Brie raised an eyebrow, trying to collect her thoughts. This little girl was more incredible than she had imagined. Not only was she quoting scripture, but she had known a second language?

"Whatever you said earlier, I won't ask, but what's this summoning scroll?"

She looked closely at it again and noted the other scratched-out name—Hiruzen. This caused her to step back slightly, suddenly understanding that the only Hiruzen in this world was the third Hokage from the Leaf Village.

In the chronicles she had read, he was an old yet powerful figure that was in a comatose state.

'Did lord Arthur…?' she considered. 'No, there's no way he…'

Koko continued rifling through scattered scrolls and books, seemingly unperturbed by Brie's sudden quiet.

"If you're wondering about the scroll, I erased that man's name so he would stop trying to tug on me."

"Tug on you?" Brie repeated. "Why would he tug on you?"

It came as no surprise that Brie didn't fully understand how the summoning mechanics worked in the ninja world. Koko shrugged and toyed with a large book she had unearthed.

"I dunno!" she replied. "But I thought it was a good idea to scratch the name off after I saw it. That's when I stopped feeling him tug on me."

"You sure know a lot for your age," Brie admitted. "I wonder what lord Arthur plans to do with you…"

Koko suddenly stopped and decided to turn and face her with a smile. It was as if a shadow had covered her face and all that could be seen was her illuminated eyes.

A sweat revealed itself on Brie as she asked if the little girl was okay.

"You don't know this," Koko said, "but daddy's been really upset because of some blonde lady. I'm gonna stop that lady to make him happy…"

A lump formed in Brie's throat upon understanding the depth of Koko's loyalty. She knew the significance of the bond that Koko felt with Arthur; it mirrored a father-daughter-like connection, grounded in care and dependence.

Just then, the atmosphere returned to being more playful as Koko spotted what she was looking for. She pulled out a giant textbook with enthusiasm.

"I found it!" she squealed, giggling as she bounced towards Brie.

Brie opened the book, surprised to find that it resembled a world record book—filled with marvels, curiosities, and oddities from different nations.

"What's this for?" she asked, astonished at the information inside.

"I've been reading it!" Koko honestly exclaimed. "But some of the words are too difficult to understand. I wanted to ask daddy, but I felt too abashed that I didn't get it."

The fact that this little girl could even comprehend what the word "abashed" meant only showed her commitment to learning.

Brie believed that Koko, intelligent and curious, was struggling with self-doubt—a fear that she didn't know she had.

"Oh, Koko, don't think like that," she said. "You're one of the smartest creatures I've ever spoken with. I'd be happy to help you learn the words. We can read together, and I can help explain anything you find difficult."

Koko's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really?" she squeaked in disbelief.

"Why would I lie about it?" Brie beamed. "Let's start with the last chapter you read."

Seated cross-legged on the floor of the hut, Koko nestled against Brie, who opened the book. The two immersed themselves in pages beneath the canopy of the jungle.

As the hours trickled by, Koko experienced something she had never before—a shared laughter.