Sweet Friendship
Disclaimer: I do not own Super Smash Brothers. That goes to Nintendo. The only characters I own are those from the Golden Land, angels from Skyworld including the royal bodyguards, Angel Assembly and archangels along with all the other angels and of course the witch hunters. I finally don't own Queen's Blade as that belongs to Hobby Japan. Finally I don't own Hyrule Warriors as that too belongs to Nintendo.
Summary: The new candy shop in Smashopolis has attracted the hearts of many due to the confectioner that runs the place. Normally, Shulk wouldn't mind Rob making a new friend, but he never expected him to fall head over heels with her. Now he's got to decide whether to intervene now for his own selfish reasons or to let Rob have a chance at someone for once.
Pairing: Rob/Shulk and implied Lucina/Pittoo/Lana, Ganondorf/Palutena, Alvis/Rosalina, Rob/Gretel and Hansel/Rob
Rated: T (for Teen)
Genre: Romance, Friendship and Humor
Warning: Swearing, sexual humor and unintentional OOC
This is a quick one-shot that I wanted to establish in my universe. Like I wanted Gretel to show up in Mecha Galaxy, but why not have her show up sooner and establish herself in my universe so Rob isn't completely miserable? Enjoy!
Shulk wasn't the type of person to try and cause problems to someone intentionally. When he did, it was usually his mean streak coming in and this side of him usually came out when dealing with Reyn or Pit. If he hurt someone whom he treasured dearly, Shulk would do all in his power to make it up to him or her. This was how he should have felt when dealing with his roommate Rob, but for once…he was struggling to feel bad for his friend when Rob really needed the emotional support.
At the moment, Shulk was currently kicked out of the recently opened candy shop. The shop owner had cursed him out and sent him to "time out" until she and Rob could fix the damage that Shulk had caused in the shop. Shulk would actually protest that the shop owner was just as much fault as he was, but she appeared to be the type to not blame herself for the property damage she caused in her own shop. Now she was alone with the male tactician and the Monado boy could only sulk outside until Rob exited the place. She was serious when she told him to stay out too because she locked it. Granted, the shop was already closed and this would be in the after hour timeframe, but Shulk still wanted to go in and call her out on her sexual harassment towards Rob.
This is all Lana's fault. Shulk thought grimly to himself as he continued to sit on the ground outside of the shop. Why would she even recommend Rob to her in the first place?
Shulk needed to recall the events that happened these past three weeks that lead up to him acting out of character in front of Rob.
Recently, two girls that were apparently from Link's world arrived at the mansion searching for Dark Pit for reasons unknown, but Dark Pit did not know who these two girls were making things quite difficult for them when they tried to get past Pit. The light angel was known for being overprotective of the black angel despite not technically being related (but it's not like Shulk completely understood this whole replica process that went on in their world, so it was easier to call Dark Pit the younger twin of the two angels). After some fighting and shouting, Master Hand came to a truce with the two witches. While they were not allowed to stay at Smash Brother's Mansion, they could visit whenever they wanted. This obviously annoyed many of the residents from Link's world including Zelda, Ganondorf, Midna and Ghirahim. Midna in particular had announced that one of the witch's had caused her realm great harm for just existing. Master Hand didn't bother to look into who these two sorceresses are, so he ignored Midna's complaints. Midna wondered if the giant hand would take her seriously if she were a Smasher.
The funny thing was how Ganondorf had every intention of making their lives hell if they harmed Dark Pit. It surprised everyone how Ganondorf was rather protective of both angel twins specifically Pittoo, but that might have to be with how he was in a relationship with the Goddess of Light therefore he had to be a father figure of some sorts. It didn't stop the younger witch twin known as Lana from befriending Dark Pit despite him not remembering her and the two hit it off rather easily. Now granted, Lana was no match for Lucina who Dark Pit clung to constantly and the older twin known as Cia had warned Lana that she was setting herself up for failure. Zelda had overheard this and prayed that history would not repeat itself.
The witch twins weren't just at Smash Brothers Mansion to watch over Dark Pit though. There was someone else they wanted to help like the red eyed angel. Shulk wouldn't understand why they were interested in helping Rob with his problems seeing as how the male tactician wanted nothing to do with the suspicious ladies. Lana had told Shulk happily that she knew how to open Rob up to everyone and not lock himself in the room all day to read after his scheduled Smash matches.
The solution was the new candy shop that had recently opened up in Smashopolis. Master Hand and his friend normally would not let people set up stores without communicating with them first, but there wasn't an issue with one girl opening up a candy store for the people of Smashopolis near the water, so they let her do it.
Business boomed almost immediately because of how the store looked like a gingerbread house from the outside. Everything on the inside looked edible. Despite only one person running the shop (even though she could probably hire someone to help her out and she probably would when she established herself), the chaos in the candy shop did not overwhelm the lady there. Customers went in and went out for the usual candy you saw in other candy stores in the mall. The difference was that the owner specifically made all of the candy and sweets in the candy shop. She made sure to make everything before the day began and would take a half hour break to make more sweets for people. Her hard work and dedication earned her more brownie points than expected in the first few days.
Lana honestly wanted to try out those tasty sweets that she would leave out on the table outside for taste testing. If she went with Dark Pit, she knew that he would have either Pit or Lucina buy it for him to which he would give to her. In this situation, both of them were there, but Pit found himself buying everything for them.
The group consisted of Pit, Dark Pit, Lucina, Rob, Lana, Shulk, Lucas and Cia (who did not want to be there). The children of Smash Brothers Mansion had already gone on opening day therefore they could vouch for the most delicious sweets. Lucas avoided going because he wanted to shy away from sweets. The last thing he needed was to end up like Toon Link and get a cavity the last time he overindulged in sweets. Seeing as how Dark Pit, Lucina and Lana were going, he was going to submit to the sweet candy of the store. As for Shulk, he was only there because he promised Peach that he would pick her up some delicious cakes and recipes to make for the mansion (and to ask the store owner about the job openings).
Due to how aggressive Pit and Cia were, they were able to push through the crowded line and make it inside despite Lucina's protest of waiting like every other person. Pit's excuse was that because they were Smashers that they have the privilege to cut.
"Welcome to Grimm's Candy Shop. What can I do for you today?" The store owner asked seeing more Smashers enter the building.
Shulk wanted to speak first for what he needed from Peach. Pit was kind enough to not say anything if it concerned the wants of the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.
"I would like to pick up three shortcakes, two pound cakes and one…sponge cake." Shulk answered. "This is for Princess Peach."
"Yes. I just finished the cakes. Please late a moment, sir."
The store owner was very well organized so she was able to go to the back room and come back with all the cakes needed. Despite the amount of cakes she had stacked, she was surprisingly powerful seeing as she was able to hold three large cakes in one hand and the other three in the other. Pit eyed the woman suspiciously as she gently placed it on the table.
"No worries, the princess has already paid for it." The woman spoke noticing that Shulk was ready to dig through his wallet to pay for Peach's cakes. "Anything else, sir?"
"Umm…I think the princess wanted me to ask you if you were hiring…"
"At the moment, no. I am still settling in. I do not want the expectations of others to be high until I know I have stabilized in this realm."
"Alright…there was one more thing…I think it was a cookbook."
"Oh, that? Luckily, I have one more and seeing as how the princess is known for her wonderful baking skills, I think I can hand it out for free."
"N-No, I couldn't possibly…" Shulk murmured even though in the back of his mind, he enjoyed free stuff.
"It is no problem. This is on me."
Shulk chuckled nervously seeing how nice the lady was being. He looked around wondering why none of the others have commented on how he was acting. He noticed that besides Rob who was standing next to him, they have all scattered throughout the store to look at what the store had to offer. Pit was complaining to Dark Pit and Lana who were going out of their way to try and buy everything in the store. As much as Pit loved food, he was the one that was going to pay and possibly carry everything so the trip would leave a bittersweet taste in his mouth. Lucina, Cia and Lucas were on the right side of the store with Lucas asking the Ylissean princess what would be the healthiest choice. While Lucina was giving suggestions, Cia was encouraging Lucas to eat what he wants since he's a child. This resulted in a small spat over what the PK boy wanted and it resulted in Lucas compromising for both healthy snacks and fatty desserts.
The blond paid close attention to Rob who was mesmerized by the shop owner. Yes, she was a beautiful lady, but Shulk had never seen Rob's eyes sparkle like that. The shop owner appeared to be shorter than Rob by a foot and that probably benefited Rob who was shorter than many of the female Smashers in the mansion. She had medium length pink hair with the upper portion being curled up like a lollipop swirl and big blue eyes. Her entire outfit was made of sweets or at least Shulk assumed that she asked for her outfit to be customized to fit the theme of her store. The amount of detail put into her attire was amazing. Starting with her ornate tan and black top that had a parfait like look to it, she had a skirt that appeared to be a wafer decorated with colorful candy in it. Her gauntlets were like ice cream cones and white and orange boots with caramels for decorations. Only her black thigh-highs appeared to not be made out of candy. The only way to confirm if it was made out of candy was if someone would eat it…but no one was stupid enough to try that…right?
"Rob…you're drooling." Shulk teased. The white haired tactician wasn't actually drooling, but if he were staring off into the distance, it would be easy to tease him as such. He giggled seeing the reaction he wanted.
"What?! N-No…I wasn't staring at her! It was…the food behind her…I haven't eaten all day, okay?"
And the lady giggled at how flustered Rob became. Rob's face became as red as a cherry lollipop wrapper as he tried to look away but couldn't.
"Oh, you poor thing. You're recommended to try out the cookies I have left out for customers who want any." She responded to him kindly.
"That's great…I think I will try some out…"
Shulk smirked seeing how Rob used this opportunity to grab one of the large gingerbread cookies and shoved it in his mouth hoping that the cookie will bring down the blood that was flowing up to his face. His eyes sparkled again after one bite.
"Holy Naga! This is delicious!" Rob praised as he continued to nibble on the cookie. "This is better than the princess' cooking."
"Rob…"
The girl's eyes widened as now she was blushing. "I do not think I'm that good. I have just been cooking and baking all my life…"
"Hey, don't put yourself down. Your sweets are great! If I had the money, I would buy the entire batch of cookies to support you!"
Smooth moves, Rob. Shulk thought to himself as he sighed thinking that the girl would see that Rob was hitting on her now. He was sourly disappointed at the compliment.
"Hee-hee. You are funny. I like you."
Rob was probably just as shocked as Shulk was when he got praised for a bad pick up line. "Wait…what?"
She smiled warmly at him again causing his entire body to turn red.
"My name is Gretel. I hope to see you around more."
At the comment, Rob immediately melted. Shulk shook his head thinking that nothing would come of it. He would just take the cake back to Peach and then tell Rob that he shouldn't have his hopes up for a relationship seeing as how Rob failed to get a girl every single time, but the Monado boy wouldn't realize how long he was until later.
After Gretel introduced herself to Rob, the male tactician had kept his word in visiting the candy shop more. At first Rob made the excuse of buying sweets for other Smashers and it held up seeing as he would leave and be gone for at least an hour and come back with the candy requested by the children. However, as time went on, he would go and not return until the candy store closed. When he came back, Rob would noticeably be in a better mood. He smiled more and overall wasn't that stressed. His performance in Smash went up as well seeing as how he was able to fight evenly against his sister instead of always getting curbstomped.
Robin was the first to notice the change and had asked him if anything has happened. Rob was very open with talking about Gretel surprisingly and he often praised her for cooking and being a good listener.
"Are you falling in love because she's actually willing to listen to your whining?" Robin had teased and was surprised how her brother threw an insult back at her.
"At least she's willing to listen to me vent and give me advice. Something you should do since you are my reliable big sister after all."
It wasn't everyday Rob would stand up to Robin's mockery. It has allowed him to deal with his own insecurities he has been having as of late. Rob had always wanted to vent to someone about his issues, but he felt like no one wanted to hear him complain as Robin would put it.
Normally Shulk would be happy for this change, but a part of him was feeling this negative emotion inside that he had not felt before. Dunban had joked that Shulk was just jealous that his older roommate's performance had been better as of late. Perhaps that was something that Shulk needed to look into, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized it had nothing to do with the battles as of late. It was the fact that Rob had done everything he needed to do in the mansion and then would leave without telling anyone and be found at the candy shop. Shulk had asked Ness and Toon Link about Rob's whereabouts and they could confirm that Rob was busy helping out with the store owner that he barely acknowledged their presence. This made Shulk assume that Rob got a job, but it obviously wasn't seeing as how the only pay Rob got was Gretel's sweets.
As time went on, Shulk started to get annoyed with Rob always talking about Gretel nonstop late at night. He would happily bring up what he learned about her such as how she was a witch hunter or how similar they were in terms of their backstory. The latter information dampened the blond's mood because Shulk had felt that connection with Rob when they first met, but now Rob was saying that this new pretty girl was everything the magician wanted.
Things started getting worse when Rob would start avoiding Shulk after obtaining something from Gretel. He didn't want the Monado boy to see what it was and was adamant about hiding it. The seer was tempted to see what could be so important that he would hide it from even Shulk, but the Homs trusted Rob enough to not sneak a peak.
However, Rob had started returning later more flustered than usual and a few times he never came back and just stayed at the hotel. Shulk started fearing the worse and many of the Smashers had taken note how he came back exhausted but still happy like he just won the lottery. Rumors started going around that he finally got S Support with the confectioner and it irritated Shulk to no end especially when Shulk had confronted Rob about what he was doing as of late.
"It's nothing Shulk. I'm almost done." He casually said as he went to open that book again.
"Done with what?"
"Can't say yet."
"You can tell me."
"It's something I rather not talk about."
"Rob…"
At that moment, Shulk got a vision concerning Rob. It was a strange one to say the least. It wasn't so much as Rob's life as being in danger as much as it showed what the blond feared for a while. He saw a girl that looked like the shop owner only with green hair instead of pink. She had no problem biting at Rob's neck and attempting to get into his pants. The worse part was Rob wasn't pushing her away even though he was whispering something that Shulk not make out. The vision ends here and with it did Shulk's façade of not being affected by Rob neglecting him as well.
"Rob…what are you doing with that woman?"
Rob blinked a couple of times before his eyes widened. "You got a vision about it…didn't you?"
"…You have no idea. Confess now."
Rob now avoided eye contact with the younger Smasher and sighed. "Even if you know…I'm going to keep quiet until I'm done."
"Done with what? Having sex with her so you can tell me you're no longer a virgin?"
The white haired magician was taken back by Shulk's words. He opened his mouth as he wanted to protest but kept silent. He shook his head and murmured something under his breath.
"…I need to leave now."
Shulk was the stronger one of the two and could have easily prevented him from leaving. He only watched the shorter male leave their leaving Shulk as the only person in the room…besides Alvis if you count his presence in the Monado, but Shulk knew the silver haired Homs was too busy hanging out with a certain Space Goddess to actually comment on the situation at hand. It was so convenient that sometimes Shulk wished that Alvis didn't have someone to associate with besides himself.
"How selfish of me." Shulk thought out loud as he flopped onto the bed. He resisted the urge to take the pillow and rip it to shreds but he was fine with just rubbing his cheek against it. "Uhh…stupid Rob. Can't you see how worried I am?"
The question was if Shulk was honestly worried for his friend or if he was just more concerned with loneliness starting to return to him. When he arrived at Smash Brothers Mansion, he was excited to make new friends. Besides Pit, everyone has been kind to him but Rob was always around due to Rob's inability to be friendly with the other Smashers due to how they took a shine to Robin instead of him. Now, Rob had another friend or rather girlfriend and was no longer spending the same amount of time as the seer.
"…I have to figure out what's up…" Shulk told himself darkly as he stood up and grabbed the Monado. "…What am I doing?"
Shulk waited an additional hour before going after Rob. He needed to take the bus to Smashopolis even though he could have easily just ran from the mansion to the candy shop. He's done so much running in the past that this would be no different. The only problem was he didn't want to be seen by anyone. The Miis don't ask questions on why they are going to X destination so it was better to take the bus.
The Mii driving the bus was Taro the Mii Brawler. Sophie the Mii Gunner had her shift end, so it was Taro's turn to take over. Shulk didn't know who was worse to deal with. Taro who was hot-blooded and drove the bus like it was the Blue Falcon or Sophie who would never stop talking even after you reached your destination. The quiet one Ken the Mii Swordfighter had the graveyard shift and Shulk honestly wished he was the one driving.
What normally would take an hour took fifteen minutes because Taro was indeed speeding. He almost hit a lot of innocent bystanders on the way, but he continued to smile while making these wide drifts. It was a miracle no one died.
"WE ARE NOW AT GRIMM'S CANDY SHOP!" Taro roared as he opened the door to the bus while it was still moving. "GET OUT."
Shulk wanted to leave before he got nauseous. He wondered who in the mansion was forced to jump out of the vehicle while it was going at high speed…
The blond was left near the entrance of Gretel's candy store. It was after hours therefore everyone should have already left. While the shop had a huge CLOSED sign on the front, there was still someone there. Shulk decided to take a peek inside the store to see Rob was still there and he was chatting happily with Gretel. The two seemed to have pushed everything aside in the main area to have some cooking ingredients laid out in front of them. While Rob was obviously struggling seeing as how he had that same book open in front of him, he was still having a good time. Shulk slowly creeped the door open to hear the dialogue. It amazed him how Gretel didn't lock the door despite how tidy she was.
"Rob, you do not need to rush when making this cake."
"I know that, but he already knows, so I better make it now before he starts avoiding me."
Gretel tilted her head in confusion at his word choice. "Why would he avoid you? You two are friends."
"We are but…" Rob trailed off as his face became beat red. "He...uh…"
The pink haired girl noticed that Rob was growing uncomfortable and decided to change the subject.
"You know, I watched some of your recent matches in the arena. I do not understand why you try to mimic your sister when you are capable of doing your own thing."
Now that was a sour topic to discuss. When it was brought up, Rob usually snarled at the person who brought up Robin before insulting them and usually storming off in a pouty mood. With Gretel though, he let out a huge sigh before explaining to her in the calmest voice he could muster.
"My sister is the one that is performing well in these tournaments. No matter how much I improve at the mansion, it is put to the test in the arena. She does her usual thing and places very high. I...struggle trying to not be her...so when I copy her I do just as well…" He frowned thinking that his sister's aggressive way of fighting was better than his style of sitting back and waiting for his opponent to come to him. Maybe it's because his opponents were that's stupid...or maybe it was because he was so slow when the opportunity to punish came up...he was just too slow to follow up.
"I do not think it is your strategy as much as the opponent you are fighting." Gretel stated making her friend look up in confusion. "I also detect that you are nervous when you enter the arena. I assume you are scared of being judged that you imitate your sister just to gain some recognition."
"H-How…"
"I have been battling all of my life. I can recognize anxiety when I observe others."
"Oh…"
"Rob, you just need to be yourself. You will be happier this way. Like, right now you are not being honest with your feelings with Shulk. You do not need to be secretive when delivering something you think he will like. From observation, I feel like Shulk will be happy with whatever you give him no matter how good or bad the cake turns out."
Cake? Shulk wondered as he didn't realize that now he was on the floor hiding behind the candy dispensers. That was what Rob was hiding from me? Really?!
"But I didn't ask him what he liked…" Rob admitted sadly. "So I'm just guessing at this point."
Gretel wasn't exactly convinced. Rob wanted to make a creamy cherry cheesecake, which wasn't exactly an easy recipe. She assumed something as simple as shortcake would be sufficient but he wanted to impress the guy he liked. There was another thing about the dessert that made Gretel question if this is what Shulk really wanted.
It reeks of sexual innuendos. He wants the D.
Gretel jumped at the sudden masculine voice. Shulk froze thinking that she noticed his presence. This caught Rob's attention as he stopped the beating.
"Gretel, is something the matter?"
"Y-Yes...I am fine…"
"...Gretel. I'll take your advice when I finish this." Rob stated. "It's been three weeks now...and I feel terrible for avoiding Shulk like this...I made him worry more than anyone in the mansion. Then again...no one in the mansion really cares about what I'm doing until it affects them. At the very least I want to apologize to Shulk."
"Yes...that is...good…"
Rob was almost done with adding all the ingredients needed before continuing. He did notice how Gretel suddenly became quiet. She was breathing quite heavily as well and it made him wonder if she was having a freak out.
"Gretel?"
"I...I apologize. I will go turn on the oven and get the cherries. Excuse me for a moment…"
Gretel was quick to rush back into the kitchen confusing the white haired tactician greatly. This was Shulk's opportunity to reveal himself and yell at Rob for making him worry. Instead, he decided to watch Rob from his hiding spot thinking about how the short Smasher was doing this for him. His heart skipped a beat just watching Rob beat the ingredients together. He stopped again to look at the book. When he lifted it off the table, Shulk could see that the reason why the book's cover was difficult to see was because it was scribbled on. Gretel must have done so in the past for whatever reason, but it benefitted Rob when it became obvious that the book was literally called "Baking for Dummies".
"Maybe I should have asked Peach to help me so I wouldn't have had to avoid Shulk…" Rob muttered to himself as he slammed the book. "I wouldn't have to read this stupid Dummy book if she was around."
Before he could continue, he heard something crash in the kitchen. He turned around confused at how the graceful confectioner dropped something.
"Gretel, you okay? Gretel?!"
Gretel was fine...at first glance...except when she came out of the kitchen...there wasn't a basket of cherries for Rob, and it looked like she has seen better days.
"Gretel? What happened to your hair?"
While Rob was talking about how the swirls in her hair was gone and replaced with an ahoge nevermind that her hair changed from pink to green in the span of a minute she was in the kitchen. Her clothes were also missing...and for once Rob didn't take notice. Shulk did and gasped seeing that this was the woman in the vision.
"Hee-hee...I'm finally out...took her long enough."
"Gretel?"
Rob flinched when Gretel suddenly grabbed him and suddenly pushed him against the wall. The tactician was taken completely taken by surprise by her aggressive movement.
"W-What?!"
"You know, I'm a man that enjoys his time with the ladies, but I think I can make an exception with a cutie like you."
"H-Huh?! G-Gretel...what are you talking about…"
Oh Shulk wasn't going to let the vision come true at all. When he forced himself out of his hiding place, he accidently knocked down the candy dispenser. That was probably going to cost him.
"Get your bloody hands off of him!" Shulk growled as he activated the Monado right there. If Alvis was there, he would have told the seer that this is not the place to use the Monado.
"S-Shulk?" Rob croaked out surprised that Shulk was even here. How much did he hear between him and Gretel? Was the plan ruined?
"Oh, looks like prince charming is here to stop me." The green haired girl mocked as she pushed Rob away. Her hands started to become encased in ice. "If that's the case, I'll cut you down and steal your boyfriend for myself!"
So Shulk wasn't angry enough to just one-shot Gretel like she was a Mechon. He only had enough rage to where he could beat her with an inch of her life. Gretel was proving herself to be a formidable fighter. Rob had brought up that she is a witch hunter, so it explained why her ice claws could easily clash against a God slaying sword without breaking under the pressure of the blue light.
"That's a cute toy. Do you force it inside the men and women you beat?" Gretel asked only causing Shulk to snarl.
"Your true personality has come out now, I see…"
"Of course. This is my body and I can do whatever I want."
Gretel was on the aggressive with each attack. She did not want Shulk to even have an opening to swing his sword. Not like that would be a good idea because it would only take one swing to destroy half the store. With each claw swipe, Shulk was pushed back against the window. He would have to dodge at the right time to avoid Gretel from attempting to stab him in the face when she thought she saw an opening. She ended up stabbing the donuts that were on the wall but that was now used as an attack. If Shulk were Kirby, that would have been a blessing, but getting hit by a creamy donut only made agitated him even more.
"This is your own shop, and you're wrecking it…"
"It's my host's shop. I don't give a damn for sweets."
Gretel's words now made Shulk wonder if everything she said had been a lie. He was ready to swing back when Rob's words made him realize that he HAD to go easy.
"Shulk, what are you doing?! You can't just swing that sword here! That's property damage!"
"Since when did you care about property damage?!" Shulk questioned rather annoyed as he parried again. "Didn't you burn a bunch of ships that belonged to Plegia?"
"That was my sister for one!" Rob shouted. "And two, this is still a small store of sweets! Cease the fighting!"
Shulk was pissed now and ended up pushing her back when she tried to rush him down again. The Homs looked behind him and saw a wedding cake that was put out on display. He grabbed the plate with it and threw it at the green haired girl. The fact that Rob was shouting at Shulk to not destroy anything was making things worse.
"Wow, aren't you a heartbreaker?" Gretel mocked as she simply moved her head out of the way. "My host worked so hard on that one."
"It's not like you care for your shop if you're trying to kill me."
"Again, it's not my shop."
"Dear Naga, just stop you two!" Rob cried out again. "Gretel, what the fuck are you doing?"
Gretel only stopped because she clutched at her head.
"Dammit...stay inside until I murder something!"
Shulk didn't seem to care too much as he used this opportunity to switch to Monado Eater for a one hit kill on his opponent. Again, Alvis would look at the Heir to the Monado in disappointment if he used this move against one girl who wasn't even a threat to begin with.
"Dammit!" She cursed as she swiped the air around her. "Go away!"
The blond prepared to thrust the Monado toward her, but was surprised when waffles came out of the ground to block the blow. He was beyond mortified that fucking waffles stopped one of his most powerful Arts.
"What in Meyneth's name is this?"
The aggressive nature of Gretel quickly disappeared. At the same time Gretel's hair turned back to pink. Unfortunately her clothes did not return immediately but the candy around her was slowly moving toward the confectioner and recreating her outfit. Was Gretel even a normal human? Was she hiding her strength this entire time?
"God Hansel, why can't you just listen to me for once?" Gretel asked herself more than Shulk. "You are going to get me killed and my lovely shop destroyed...wait…" Gretel gasped looking around the place and was horrified that half of the shop was destroyed. "WHAT IS THIS?!"
"You did that!" Shulk yelled even though he wasn't the most convincing person when he had the Monado out.
"Oh no...oh heavens no…" Gretel whispered as she stood up. The candy in the store was starting to shake as if an earthquake was happening. "Get out...you need to get out before you become one with the candy…"
"Hey, you tried to kill me! I was trying to-"
"GET OUT! NOW!"
For some strange reason, the pink haired girl displaying rage was more terrifying than the green haired girl that tried to kill him. Shulk didn't move resulting in a powerful force blowing him out of the room. The blond could only see a huge gingerbread man coming out of the kitchen huffing and puffing away out of the candy shop. The door was shut on him thus he was outside waiting for Rob to return.
"It wasn't my fault." Shulk told himself again as he recalled the humiliating defeat by a gingerbread man. "And it's getting late…"
When he said that though, the door opened up to him again. Shulk stood up and immediately peeked inside. The place looked like it was never damaged in the first place and the cake that Rob wanted to make was done. The blond was rather speechless that this place was fixed in a short amount of time. Rob came out obviously frustrated and Gretel with a stern expression on her face.
"Rob!" Shulk called out as he wanted to hug the white haired magician but felt too ashamed to do so. "You're okay."
"I've been okay. You could have killed us all with the Monado!" Rob shouted. "You're smart Shulk! Why would you think activating the Monado was a good idea?"
"I was protecting myself and you from her!"
"You protected yourself from Hansel." Gretel corrected. "And you and him destroyed half of my shop. I expect you to pay a large sum of money for the damage."
"But you were…"
"I apologize for Hansel coming out." Gretel responded rather quickly. "He is...a frivolous lech...every time he comes out...he always uses my body for sex. It is very hard to do my job when he wants to bang my customers."
"Huh? You have a man inside…"
"Do not ask. I rather not talk about why he is inside of me in the first place." Gretel looked at Rob and bowed her head slightly. "I am so sorry, Rob. I wanted to keep you from meeting him, but he kept provoking me. Every time I drop something, that is usually his cue to come out."
"R-Really…"
"I am worried that he is starting to be attracted to men now too." Gretel said with a sigh. "It will not be long until he starts lusting for animals."
She meant it in a joking manner, but it made Rob thing that this Hansel personality would go for Donkey Kong in the near future. That image was disturbing…
"Anyways, I am helping out for the evening. Try to not destroy anything else." Gretel told the two Smashers as she turned to leave. "Also Shulk, next time you point your sword at me, I will turn it into candy. Boys should know how to use their swords."
Shulk felt his man pride get destroyed by her words as she walked off into the night leaving him with Rob and the cake that Rob had made.
"Boys should know how to use their swords. Yes Shulk, listen to her words." Rob said in a taunting tone earning another glare from the taller male.
"Excuse me. I was saving you from doing it without S Support!"
"As if that would actually happen." Rob said with a laugh. "Here, take the cake. It took three weeks to make it this good."
"...But there's no fork…"
"I can just shove it up your mouth. Or we can go to the nearby hotel so we can eat it together."
Now it was Shulk's turn to blush at the obvious intentions from his friend. There really wasn't much he could say to that.
"Fine, you win. I don't want to go on the bus anyway. Taro is crazy."
"I thought that was obvious." Rob said before leaning up against his crush's arm expecting the Monado boy to grab his hand. "And I think you should know that your jealousy was so obvious too."
"I wasn't jealous! I was legit worried for you! You saw how much of an animal Hansel was being!"
"S Support is the only thing on your mind."
"That's...just shut up and walk."
"Hopefully you have the money to pay for the hotel. You're going to be broke for this quarter."
Shulk forgot that Gretel was going to destroy his account for the damage he had done. When he found out all the money he saved magically vanished due to Gretel complaining to Master Hand, he was going to have to work extra hard to even have enough to satisfy Rob.
This was not on his mind at all. All he thought of that night was the delicious taste of the creamy cherry cheesecake and how much fun he had with Rob that night following the dessert.
Me: Done with 7333 words.
Li: Well…the conflict between those two idiots isn't too bad.
Me: Nope. Compared to the misfortune that usually befalls them, this is very light hearted in comparison and Rob actually has something good happen to him that does continue in each timeline due to Lana and Cia's interference. Notes!
1. I think I can safely say this story is immediately after the story where Lana and Cia are first officially introduced to Dark Pit and dedicate to protecting him afterwards. The story is set next year called Convict of Solitude. When I feel more confident, I do intend to release the Google document of the timeline of most of my stories.
2. Grimm's Candy Shop is just from Brothers Grimm who wrote Hansel and Gretel. I imagine that Gretel would use an ominous name due to how unstable she appears to be to get people's attention, but Gretel herself is pretty harmless. She keeps Hansel in better than usual in the Smash Brothers Realm due to how she doesn't want him ruining her business by coming out and demanding sex.
3. As mentioned above, I wanted to bring Gretel in Mecha Galaxy, but felt like introducing her now would explain her attachment to him later like Kaguya to Dark Pit. Gretel is obviously based on Hansel and Gretel where Hansel is the split personality that only showed up after Gretel had slaughtered the man-eating witch (the equivalent to the one who tried to eat them in the fairy tale). Her profile states she was abandoned by her stepmother and combined with the "hardships" including defeat the man-eating witch, it's kind of obvious that Gretel is unstable if Hansel's personality has anything to say to it. Gretel is a kind, earnest girl who wants to help everyone and ironically hates violence. Hansel is the exact opposite enjoying the thrill of battle and desiring having sex with woman.
Now Hansel's gender is actually ambiguous at the moment. Hansel is either a lesbian woman (which matches the Queen's Blade theme anyway) or a male personality in a woman's body. The latter is supported by the prologue with how Hansel refers his/herself as "I'm your man." I go with the latter interpretation because it allows for some funny situations like Hansel making an exception for Rob because he's "feminine" and Hansel is using Gretel's female body anyway. The irony is how what Gretel and Hansel hate is literally what each other love. Gretel hates frivolous people. Hansel hates serious people. You see the problem they have?
That's it. Reviews are appreciated. Ja ne!
