Billy stood at the side of the road and watched Nicole's car disappear around the corner. Anby, Nicole, Mousa, and Eous were all inside, leaving him behind with the two giant yellow birds that had apparently been too large to fit comfortably in the car. He slowly turned toward the Chocobos, and both of them stared back at him with their usual unreadable expressions.
"Kweh."
Billy placed his hands on his hips. "Alright, you two. Looks like it's just us now. The mission is simple: reach the Manager's place without causing any unnecessary trouble."
One of the Chocobos immediately leaned forward and grabbed the end of his jacket with its beak. Billy quickly pulled the fabric free before the bird could stretch it any further. "Hey! That's premium material!"
"Kweh."
Billy narrowed his eyes at the bird before pointing down the street. "Nicole said you two would never fit in the car, so we're doing this the old-fashioned way. Just follow me, stay close, and please don't attack anybody."
Surprisingly, the first few minutes went pretty well. The Chocobos stayed close behind him and didn't try to wander off, although both kept looking around the unfamiliar streets with obvious curiosity. The real problem was everyone else. Two enormous yellow birds casually walking through New Eridu were not exactly something people could ignore, and before Billy had even made it past the first street, several civilians had already stopped to stare.
Phones came out almost immediately. A man walking out of a convenience store froze halfway through opening his drink, while a woman across the street raised her phone and started recording. Billy even noticed another person nearly walk into a street sign because they were too busy staring at the birds, and naturally, he took all of this attention as an invitation.
"That's right, citizens of New Eridu! Make sure you get my good side!"
One of the Chocobos walked directly in front of him, completely blocking him from the camera. Billy stared at its back for a moment before pointing accusingly at it. "…You did that on purpose, damn Dodo."
"Kweh."
A small group of Bangboo had gathered nearby as well. Three of them stood together on the sidewalk with their ears raised, staring up at the unfamiliar creatures as the Chocobos approached. The closest Bangboo cautiously stepped forward while one of the birds lowered its head toward it.
"Ehn-na?"
"Kweh?"
The Bangboo slowly reached up and touched the tip of the Chocobo's beak. The bird remained completely still, apparently deciding that the little machine was harmless enough. That was all the permission the other Bangboo needed, and within seconds all three were crowding around it, touching its feathers and making excited noises.
"Ehn-na! Ehn-na!"
Billy placed both hands on his hips proudly. "They learned it from me."
The Chocobo closest to him immediately pecked the side of his head.
"Ow! Okay, maybe not from me."
Several nearby civilians laughed, and Billy rubbed the side of his head before continuing down the street with both birds following him. Unfortunately, the farther they went, the more attention they attracted. At this point, Billy had practically accepted that he was leading an accidental parade through New Eridu, and if people were going to take pictures anyway, he might as well make them good pictures.
A little farther ahead, four girls had stopped near one of the shops. Ellen was standing there with Lynn, Ruby, and Monna, and all four of them were now watching the strange procession coming toward them. Ruby was the first to react, her eyes immediately lighting up when she noticed the birds.
"Whoa. What are those?"
Monna already had her phone out and was taking pictures. "I've never seen anything like them before."
Lynn looked from the Chocobos to Billy. "Are they yours?"
Billy immediately pointed toward himself. "Mine? Of course not. I am merely their heroic Starlight escort."
Ellen took another sip from her drink and gave him her usual tired stare. "That doesn't explain anything."
Billy paused for a moment before gesturing proudly toward the birds. "They're called Chocobos."
Ruby stepped closer. "Chocobos? What kind of animal are they?"
Billy froze for a moment while Monna slowly lowered her phone, waiting for an answer. He eventually raised one finger as if he were about to give a detailed explanation. "They are… Chocobos. They're yellow and—"
Ellen stared at him for several seconds. "So you don't know either."
"I know the important part."
Ruby had already stopped caring about the explanation and was now looking directly at the nearest Chocobo. "Can I touch it?"
Billy looked toward the bird, and the Chocobo looked back at him. After several seconds of silence, he simply shrugged. "Apparently I'm not actually in charge of them, so you'll have to ask."
Ruby slowly held out her hand and moved closer. The Chocobo watched her carefully before lowering its head enough for her to touch the feathers around its neck. The moment her hand sank into the soft feathers, her eyes widened.
"Oh my god, it's so soft!"
That was apparently all the permission Lynn and Monna needed. Lynn moved closer and gently ran a hand along the side of the Chocobo's neck while Monna kept taking pictures from different angles, trying to catch the bird whenever it turned its head toward them. "It's warmer than I expected," Lynn said, sounding genuinely surprised as her fingers disappeared slightly into the thick but soft feathers.
Ruby looked back toward Ellen, who had stayed a little farther away with her drink in hand. "Come on, Ellen. You've been looking at it this whole time."
Ellen took another sip and glanced at the Chocobo again. "I'm just trying to figure out what it is."
Monna noticed immediately where her attention was and smiled. "Sure. You can just admit you want to pet it."
Ellen gave her a flat look, but before she could answer, the Chocobo seemed to make the decision for her. It turned away from Lynn and stepped closer to Ellen, lowering its head until its beak was almost touching her shoulder. Ellen stopped drinking and stared at it for a moment while the bird patiently stared back.
"Kweh."
For a few seconds, Ellen didn't move. Then she let out a quiet sigh, lowered her drink, and reached up to scratch underneath its beak. The Chocobo immediately relaxed into her hand and leaned into the touch, letting out a much softer sound.
"Kweeeh…"
Ruby smiled when she saw that, and Monna quietly raised her phone while Ellen was distracted.
Click.
Ellen's eyes shifted toward her almost immediately. "Delete that."
Monna looked down at the picture she had just taken, clearly pleased with herself. "Nope. This one is definitely going in the group chat."
"Monna."
The warning in Ellen's voice only made her smile wider.
Billy, who had been watching the whole thing with far too much satisfaction, pointed dramatically toward the Chocobo. "Excellent work, my friend."
Ellen slowly turned the same expression toward him.
Billy lowered his hand almost immediately. "Right. I think that's our signal to continue the journey."
It took him another few minutes to actually convince both Chocobos to move again. Ruby waved at them as they left, while Lynn gave the nearest bird one last pat before stepping back. Monna was still looking through the pictures she had taken, and Ellen pretended not to care about any of it as Billy led the birds away. Even so, just before they disappeared around the corner, she glanced back once at the Chocobo she had been petting.
Billy didn't notice. He was too busy trying to keep both Chocobos moving in the same direction without one of them getting distracted by another group of civilians. After a few more turns, the crowd around them had finally thinned out, and for the first time since leaving Random Play, Billy started to think the rest of the walk might actually be uneventful.
He had barely made it another block when a voice called out from behind him.
"Excuse me! Stop right there!"
He turned around and found a young PubSec officer approaching them. Seth slowed down as soon as he got close enough to properly see the birds, and for several seconds he simply looked between Billy and the two massive yellow creatures like he was trying to figure out which part of the situation needed explaining first.
"What are those?"
Billy placed one hand against his chest. "These magnificent creatures are known as Chocobos."
Seth frowned. "Chocobos?"
"Correct."
"What kind of animal is that?"
Billy paused. "That is an excellent question."
Seth stared at him. "You don't know?"
"I know the name."
"That's not really enough information," Seth said.
"It's been enough so far."
Seth sighed before cautiously stepping closer to the nearest bird. "Are they dangerous?"
"Not really."
One of the Chocobos immediately pecked Billy's shoulder.
"Ow!"
Seth looked at him.
Billy raised one finger. "They're still warming up to me."
That clearly didn't reassure him. Seth moved a little closer anyway, keeping his movements slow while holding one hand out toward the bird. "Easy. I'm not going to hurt you."
The Chocobo stared at him for a few seconds before suddenly leaning forward and grabbing one of the straps on his uniform with its beak. Seth froze, and Billy did the same as the bird casually lifted its head, taking Seth with it until his feet left the ground.
"HEY!"
Billy immediately covered his mouth with one hand. Seth was now dangling several inches above the pavement while the Chocobo held him by his uniform like it had just picked up an unusually large bag.
"Put me down!" Seth shouted, kicking slightly in the air while the Chocobo continued holding him by the strap of his uniform.
"Kweh!"
Billy managed to hold it together for about two seconds before bursting out laughing. "Hahahaha! Oh, that is incredible!"
"This isn't funny!" Seth snapped, trying to reach for the strap without making the bird jerk him around even more.
"It is a little funny," Billy admitted, still laughing hard enough that he had to steady himself.
"Then stop laughing and tell it to put me down!"
By now, the commotion had attracted plenty of attention. Several civilians had stopped along the sidewalk, and the moment they realized a PubSec officer was dangling from the beak of a giant yellow bird, phones started coming out almost immediately. The rapid sound of pictures being taken filled the street, and Seth's expression changed from annoyed to horrified when he noticed just how many people were recording him.
Click. Click. Click.
"Stop taking pictures!"
That only made Billy laugh harder. "Oh, this is definitely going on Inter-Knot."
"DON'T ENCOURAGE THEM!"
The second Chocobo wandered over and tilted its head at Seth while he continued dangling helplessly in the air. Seth noticed the second bird approaching and immediately looked worried. "No. Keep that one away from me."
Billy wiped an imaginary tear from his eye before finally taking pity on him. "Alright, alright. Put the nice officer down."
The Chocobo tilted its head. "Kweh?"
"Yes. Down."
Thankfully, it listened. The bird slowly lowered its head until Seth's boots touched the pavement again and then released his uniform. Seth immediately stepped backward and checked the strap for damage while Billy gave him an encouraging thumbs-up.
"See? Completely harmless."
Seth stared at him.
Billy slowly lowered his thumb. "Mostly harmless."
Before Seth could respond, a shrill whistle suddenly came from farther down the street, followed by several electronic voices.
"Pffft! Ehn-na! Ehn-na!"
Everyone turned toward the noise. A pair of PubSec Bangboo were hurrying toward them as quickly as their little legs could carry them. One of them pointed directly at the Chocobos, while the other appeared to be transmitting something over its radio.
Seth visibly relaxed when he saw the PubSec Bangboo approaching, but Billy definitely didn't. He looked at them, then at Seth, then at the crowd of civilians who were still taking pictures before finally turning toward the two Chocobos beside him.
"Yikes."
The birds followed his gaze toward the approaching Bangboo, their feathers puffing up slightly as they exchanged a look.
"Kweh?"
"Kweh."
Billy slowly raised both hands. "Okay, nobody panic."
The first PubSec Bangboo moved closer. "Ehn-na!"
Both Chocobos immediately turned around and bolted.
"Oh no."
Billy barely managed to grab onto the nearest one before it accelerated, forcing him to jump onto its back unless he wanted to be dragged across the pavement. He landed awkwardly against its feathers while the second Chocobo sprinted after them.
"WHOA! WAIT!"
Seth could only stare as Billy and the two birds disappeared down the street at full speed, weaving away from the approaching PubSec Bangboo. Billy's voice echoed back toward everyone as he desperately tried to hold on.
"THIS IS NOT HOW I PLANNED THIS!"
The two PubSec Bangboo finally stopped beside Seth and looked up at him. "Ehn-na?"
Seth slowly turned toward the crowd and immediately noticed that several people still had their phones raised. He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
"Please tell me nobody recorded that."
Several streets away, Monna was already staring at a newly uploaded Inter-Knot video while Ruby and Lynn crowded around her phone. The title had apparently been chosen before Seth had even touched the ground.
PUBSEC OFFICER GETS KIDNAPPED BY GIANT BIRD???
Ruby immediately burst out laughing while Lynn covered her mouth, trying and failing to hide her own reaction. Ellen stared at the video for several seconds before calmly taking another sip from her drink.
"…I'm saving that."
Omake End