Warming Up To You

Part 1

When you thought about the small town, known to locals as Hedgehog Village, you never thought of speed and violence as a daily occurrence. So it made it all the more amusing to see tourists swept away in utter fear whenever Eggman attacked the town hall for the seventh time that week.

Yes, although the village looked like any other, it in fact held one of the weirdest rivalries in all of Bygone Island. Pretty much everyone in town knew who Sonic the Hedgehog was, his friends included. They'd be seen stomping on Eggman's doomsday parties and hanging out at Meh Burger. For whatever reason you were unsure, why frequent a place that specialises in paper straws?

You weren't too familiar with the entire group, only introducing yourself to a few whenever you crossed paths. You were friendly enough with Sonic and Tails, and you had once bumped into Amy while shopping for fresh fruit. You had heard stories of the missing members: Knuckles and Sticks.

Though you had never met them in person, they sounded like a barrel of fun. But after an unworldly experience last week, you were hoping to run into the blue blur again and hammer him with your questions.

Last week saw another Eggman attack, nothing surprising or new. However, what really spiced the game up was another addition to Team Eggman. Instead of his usual lackeys, he was joined by a black and red hedgehog. To say he piqued your interest was an understatement.

You were enamoured by him, so much so that you grew embarrassed when even thinking about it; for heaven's sake, you didn't even know his name. You tried to ask around, be completely incognito about the whole thing but you couldn't get any answers from the brain dead villagers.

So low and behold, you hoped to stumble across Sonic and discretely ask questions about the mysterious ebony hog. After all, it was Sonic who was fighting him and even from the distance you were at, you could see there was some sort of relationship there.

You were hanging around Meh Burger, just perched against a tree waiting for the key moment when the Sonic team arrived. This felt weird, was it considered stalking? Well, it's not like you wanted information on Sonic himself, just another speedy hedgehog that kinda looked a little like him.

Were they related? That thought had crossed your mind at some point, but you soon dismissed it; you like to think you'd know if Sonic had a brother.

Aha, right on cue Team Sonic rock up to Meh Burger and rush to their usual table...perfect. Using that acting degree to the best of your ability, you stepped away from the tree and pretended that you hadn't just spent close to an hour hiding under it.

You swiftly walked over to the group, watching with disgust as they began piling in what they considered food, "Oh, hey (Y/N)!" Sonic beamed.

I'm in, you thought to yourself with a smile. You gave them a brief wave, "Hey guys, I see you're eating at Meh Burger...Finally, right?" you awkwardly laughed. Tails shrugged his shoulders, inspecting a fry, "Yeah, it's nice to go to the only food joint in town. And they rebuilt this place pretty quickly, I still feel bad about partially destroying it."

Tails glared across the table to Knuckles, the red echidna was about to eat his burger but placed it back down to defend himself, "Hey, it's not my fault Meh Burger was in the way of me falling!"

"Hehe...riiiight..." you rubbed the back of your head, knees weak and palms sweaty. You looked around the table, seeing the others staring at you with confusion in their eyes, "Segway!" you shouted out, finger pointing up to the sky.

"Speaking of last week, that was some fight, huh? A-and who by chance was that other hedgehog you were up against? A friend oooor family?" you drew out. Sonic shook his head with disgust, "Nah, that's just Shadow. He's sort'ova loner type, doesn't work well with others."

"Oh," you whispered out, so his name was Shadow, you like that. Now all to do was ask for a location, but why on Earth would they tell you, let alone know, where he live-

"Oh yeah sure, we can tell you where he lives." Tails spoke, smiling and flicking up his fancy-lookin' wristwatch. A holographic map shot into the air, sending your skin a rich blue, "He lives out in the jungle, I'm not exactly certain whereabouts, but I know he lives in a cave around this sort of area."

Tails pointed to a small area of the map, it seemed to be near some cliffs. You nodded your head, trying to form the map into your mind to remember later when you'd get inevitably lost. With all the information you needed, which wasn't a lot, you set off to find this elusive hedgehog.

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It had felt like hours since you had left the comfort of Hedgehog Village, all you could see for miles were thick green bushes and long logs of brown.

Sweat was beginning to form along your forehead, maybe hacking at leaves for countless hours at a time would wear you out; mad. But you continued on your tireless track, who knows, perhaps you'd find Shadow and then-

And then...and then, what? Oh god, you didn't think this out enough. What would you do when you actually met Shadow the Hedgehog? Have a nice chat about...being...evil? Maybe a conversation will strike up when you actually meet him, could be very natural ooooor completely awkward.

Another cut here, a simple slash there and you had finally made it into a clearing. There, along the dirt horizon, stood a small cave. You couldn't make out the inside, too shrouded in darkness for anything to be seen. Stepping forward you were swept off of your feet and pinned to the nearest tree.

Deadweight pushed against you, breathing becoming a little harder to control when you could feel your feet dangling off of the ground. Blinking your eyes open you were caught in a stare-off, ruby eyes glared back at you, a low growling sound filling your eyes.

"What are you doing here?" his voice was deep, much deeper than you had originally expected. And if it were any other situation you might have swooned. You struggled against his grasp, Shadow's grip only tightening the more you twisted and turned.

"I'll ask again, what the hell are you doing here?" you felt like your lungs were going to explode if you didn't get some air. Your face began to turn purple, you repeatedly began tapping on his arm that held you up, wordlessly begging to be released.

He complied, for now, allowing you to drop to the ground, coughing and spluttering while you regain your natural complexion. It took a few moments for you to rescue your composure, but when you did you could only stare at him wide-eyed.

"Well, I'm waiting?" he huffed out, standing above you with his arms folded across his chest. You stuttered to stand up, dusting off your clothes before responding, "A-are you Shadow the Hedgehog?"

"Who wants to know?" he growled out, you wheezed but went along with this tough guy schtick, "I do."

"And who are you? Actually, don't tell me. I've lost the need to care, just crawl back to whatever dirt hole you came from and never come back." he panted, turning to leave you. He had only made it a few paces ahead before he heard you pipe up, "And what happens if I come back?"

He flicked his head to you in an instant, "You don't want to know," you stepped forward, slowly approaching him like you would a cornered cat. With a fake smirk on your lips, you once again prayed on that drama degree, "Oh, but what if I do?"

You think for a split second you saw him smirk, but with the frown that seemed permanently stuck to his face, you were beginning to think it was a trick of the eyes. He, like you, took steps closer until there was only a hair of space between you, "Then you deal with me."

He pulled away walking back to his cave and disappearing into the inky darkness. You took his warning, albeit lightly, and made your way back to Hedgehog Village; knowing you'd return here sooner than later.