"You remember how to do this, right?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Taking a deep breath to ready himself, Fox McCloud shifted into a fighting stance. After a moment's hesitation, he plunged downward into a split position. Another pause came when he tried to register whether or not he had done it correctly.

Next to him, his trainer leisurely guided herself into a similar position. "I think you've still got it." she assured, having noticed his thoughtful expression.

Fox thought he saw her smile-her pure white skin and the bright lighting made it hard to tell-and decided to return the gesture. "I should hope so."

"Then we're done for the day. I hear this tournament is going to be bigger than ever. Are you excited?"

"Well, I'm looking forward to it," he answered, easing himself off of the floor. "and I'm sure you don't mind the extra business."

The trainer nodded and effortlessly stood back up. "Not at all. I'm even expecting some new faces to drop in at some point. But until then, I have meetings with Captain Falcon and Samus to look forward to."

"Samus?" Fox questioned. The trainer didn't allow firearms to be used during her sessions. The thought of Samus showing up to the gym in her power suit more than confused him.

"I wasn't exactly open to the idea," she explained. "but Samus claimed she needed to brush up on her physical training."

"Well then, sounds like this next tournament is going to be exciting."

While the trainer began preparations for her next session, Fox turned toward the door to leave. That was when a brief thought caused him to stop. "You know, you train me well enough, and I'm sure you're not too bad with the others."

"Yes. And?"

Way to be modest. he thought cynically.

When he seemed reluctant to continue, his trainer turned to him in full. She said nothing, but simply waited for him to say something else. While he could barely make out her expectant stare, the silence that settled over the room was enough to unnerve him. "I'll bet you could handle yourself," Fox said at last. "Have you ever thought of getting a little more involved in these tournaments?"

"More involved?"

"Yeah. Have you ever thought about actually joining?"

This proposal gave the trainer reason to pause. Although observing the fights was always enjoyable, she hadn't exactly considered entering the fray herself. But now that someone had brought the idea up, it intrigued her. "I haven't, actually."

"Then what do you think?"

"...Perhaps next time," the trainer answered.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Fox shrugged and took his leave from the room. "I guess I'll see you at the opening ceremony," he called on his way out.

Deep in thought, she scarcely heard him.

The Brawl, like she'd expected, was truly an entertaining spectacle to behold. She couldn't help but feel a bit of pride whenever she noticed a fighter putting her teachings to use. Often, it would take her back to what Fox had said.

"Have you ever thought about actually joining?"

It had been a few years since she received any training requests from him. Or any of those fighters, for that matter. She didn't mind as much as others might; she had other clients, and perhaps the next tournament would be announced soon...

She almost smiled at the thought of herself on that battlefield. "How strange..." she would murmur, still not completely abandoning the idea. But the sudden thought of Bowser setting her aflame or getting munched by Wario would immediately make her stomach flip.

Still, the notion always lingered in the back of her mind...

Thank you very much for reading. I'm going to be entirely honest; this fic is old and unfinished. It's been sitting on my flash drive since the Trainer was announced and I just needed to get it out here. I'll finish it in time, but...yeah. Here ya go!