He sat in the middle of the flowery meadow, humming a tune long forgotten. His voice gentle and almost inaudible if one wasn't paying enough attention. His fingers had laced themselves into the grass blades beside him, rubbing them against his fingers. The sun he had not seen since the day he left... felt almost unrealistic to him. He knew it was there and he knew that no matter how high he outstretched his hand he would never be able to grasp it... It was unlike the sun in Tazmily somehow... It was... unfamiliar. Like seeing a person you barely know and forcing yourself to give off pleasantries. Tazmily's sun felt warm and loving, this one was a bit too bright for him.

The sounds of punches and slashes had been faintly ignored, acknowledged, but ignored. He didn't want to hear it. He wanted to lay in peace as he watched the clouds go by in the sky. They convince you that they are still and never moving but in the hours you spend playing and working you look in the sky to see them somewhere else... or not there at all. He learned that the hard way, his life passing by as his family slowly disappeared. The clouds are still there though, not all of them, not all the same, but they are there nonetheless.

The two he weren't familiar with. The two he had to leave with. They continued their practice, being louder than before. Each slash and each kick... all of it was coming back. Those memories of before, the fun times and the sad ones. Leaving was the hardest thing to do but so was coming back. That applied to this fighting tournament and his home island.

Though there was no point in fighting it did make money and it did bring a lot of people together. It was worth it for him to see new places, make new friends, create new memories that overlay the old ones. Don't get him wrong he loves Tazmily but... sometimes going home gives him a shock of reality.

'It's a bit lonelier here.'

Running away isn't always the best answer but sometimes it gives you time to think of the best answer. Isn't it what this was supposed to do? This place, a vibrancy of characters and stories and lives that are still alive to keep telling tales over and over... and yet from every experience he couldn't think of anything. All he keeps getting is distractions.

The shouts and cries broke through his thinking. He could feel the grass tickle his cheeks and arms as the wind swayed slightly. He was laying down without realizing it. Thinking without realizing it. But it felt good to relax and take in the summer like before in Tazmily.

It is hot, a blazing hot feeling which emanated from those two as their screams became louder and closer. Blocking the sun with his hand, he tilted his head up. There were coming closer. He rolled over and pushed himself up just before the swordsman fell right on the spot he was laying at. The swordsman held a bit of a scowl while the brawler had a bit of smirk on his face as he walked closer. That's it.

"PK Fire!" he yelled as he positioned his hands in front of him and blasted a fire bolt at the brawler. The shot had hit him and knocked him back but not enough to make him fall. "I'm trying to rest... Could you please stop? My body hurts all over from having to travel for the entire two weeks..."

The swordsman stood from his place on the grass, sheathing the sword in his hand.

"I apologize," he said. "This was only training for what's to come, we had no intention of bothering you."

The brawler had stepped forward.

"Speaking of which, should we continue our journey? It looks like we all have enough energy to spare," he said. "Unless of course you would like to stay a bit longer."

He shook his head.

"We can leave now if you'd like. We're almost there right? When we get over there we can just go relax or train or anything really..." he said. "I'm fine with staying here a bit longer too... just please... watch where you're going."

The two looked to each other, collected looks on their faces. It surprised him how calm an adult can appear to be.

"You're right," the swordsman said. "We should get going. Marth's waiting for me, Link too... and many other newcomers Marth's told me so much about! I would like to fight them myself and see how much Marth has grown."

"I feel anticipation knowing that new challenges await me," the brawler said. "That thrill of fighting is what I live for."

With that said both of them had begun walking. He followed only two steps behind. Now that he thought about it, it seems like they both had a valid reason for being here. Would his reason count as valid? Distractions, excuses, fun? Maybe he was looking at it too negatively. They seem to have a positive outlook on fighting, why not him? Running away can give time for the best solutions, he should focus on that.

"La la lala la, la la lala la, la la lalaa la, la la la la la... Take a melody..."

He had hummed a tune long forgotten. His voice gentle and almost inaudible if one wasn't paying enough attention. The sun, the almost unrealistic sun, had beat down on him as he looked to the ground and sang.

...

AN: This was literally nothing. It had little to no plot so please don't think too much into it. It was a way of celebrating the return of MY CHILD/HUSBAND. I just came back from a Lucas/Roy/Ryu party at a friend's house and we did Eight Player Smash (Well... seven people plus a Kirby amiibo)! I played as either Lucas or Ness the entire time! (I didn't buy Roy or Ryu yet) That's why this is so late at night. I'm sorry.

Oh and yes I'm alive. I apologize for the hiatus with a Fire Bound update.