After successfully fleeing from the rowdy gang, Marth hurried into a nearby park. It only had a small playground, which consisted of a slide, monkey bars, and a swing set. It was surrounded by looming, old buildings with colorful graffiti smeared on its walls. Pigeons were pecking at the ground, desperately looking for food. Marth sighed as he sat down in a bench. He looked across the street and watched crowds of people quickly hurriedly enter and exit a busy local supermarket. Cars quickly darted by like an arrow.

Now that Marth was not a brawler anymore, what should he do for a living? He was alone, with no enormous gloved hands to pay for his needs. He couldn't just steal clothes and foods, that was breaking the law! If he had the courageous guts to do so, he risked getting caught and arrested!

Marth dearly wanted a job that did not include talking to his new coworkers, as he was terribly shy. Due to his recent experience in the Smash Mansion, unless if his coworkers clearly showed that they were friendly, Marth feared "false friendships", backstabs, and being left alone in the frightening darkness. He was too afraid to take another hurtful punch in the stomach again.

"Mom, can we play in the park?" a little boy's loud voice suddenly rang up. Marth instantly looked at the source of the voice and saw three boys talking to their mother near the park's entrance. The tallest boy had a red baseball cap sitting on his curly brown hair. The skinniest boy had straight blond hair and innocent sapphire eyes. The shortest boy had green eyes and wavy black hair.

"Yes, but only for ten minutes." The mother answered. "I have work to do at home."

"Yay!" The three boys cheered as they rushed towards the playground equipment. They being to play on the swing set.

"I can fly!" The boy with the red baseball cap shouted excitedly.

"To the moon!" The boy with the black hair exclaimed.

"B-Be careful!" The blond boy shuttered as his sapphire eyes widened as he gradually got higher.

A feeling of nostalgia made Marth's heart pound sadly as he observed the three naïve kids play and their protective mother carefully watch them. They reminded him of Ike, Link, and all of the child brawlers. Once in a while, the three would take the children to the Tokyo Park. Although it did not have a playground, the eight brawlers would play a great game of soccer, basketball, or tennis. They had so much fun, when Ike and Link announced to the kids that it was time to go, the children would desperately beg to stay longer.

"Are the children lonely without me?" Marth wondered as he nervously fidgeted with his dyed black hair. "Well, they have Henri-kun now. But, he seems really scary. Maybe I should go back… NO! I won't!" Struggling to endure the strong temptation to return to the Smash Mansion, Marth hastily exited the park. He did not want to remember the blissful times he had in the Smash Mansion. "I never want to go back!" Marth hissed to himself. "Never, ever!"

Marth decided to look around the neighboring supermarket. Many people were shopping in it, so he assumed the store was selling something special. Was it a mouthwatering cake made from a top-secret recipe? After squeezing and wiggling through the swarming entrance like a worm, he finally set foot in the store.

To Marth's little disappointment, there wasn't anything special about the store. It almost looked exactly like the convenience store near the Smash Mansion. The only difference was, it was much smaller, there wasn't a large variety of foods, the floor was cracked and littered with trash, and there was only one busy employee at the register. Customers were crowding around him and impatiently shouting at him, instead of lining up in an organized, single line and patiently waiting for their turn. To Marth, it was a tad strange and a bit impolite.

As he curiously looked around, a worker carrying a few bags of chips accidentally bumped into Marth. "Ah!" the prince exclaimed. The worker quickly turned and hurried away without a single word. "So rude…" Marth mumbled to himself. A hurrying customer who was trying to exit the store stepped on his shores. "Ah!" Marth cried out softly.

Marth heard loud, slow footsteps coming up from behind. With a small tone of fear swirling in his heart, he turned around and saw a bulky employee caring five heavy boxes containing cans of food. Marth thought he was a stack of boxes walking on its own for a split second since the boxes hid his face. Due to the boxes blocking his view, the employee did not notice a banana peel lying in his path.

"Look out!" Marth blurted out.

It was too late. The employee slipped on the banana peel with a shocked yell. Boxes tumbled out of his hands. With an exclamation, Marth hurried out of the way, only to knock over a stack of boxed cereal.

"D-OH!" a frustrated voice shouted furiously. "Who did that?!" A man dressed like a manager angrily stomped towards Marth with a glare. He had hair as red as a tomato and ruthless hazel eyes. He wore an icy blue shirt with a red and orange tie and black dress pants. "You did it, did you?!" He pointed an accusing finger at the tense ex-brawler.

"I, urm…" Marth nervously started.

"Devon, excuse him." An old lady approached the scene and faced Devon with a stern look in her frail, winkled face. She wore a patterned purple dress and black sandals. Her gray hair was tied in a bun. A pair of glasses enlarged her blue eyes. "He didn't mean to do it!"

"Fine…" Devon huffed. He went away, not before giving a harsh look at Marth.

The old lady turned to Marth. "That's my nephew Devon. Don't listen to 'em."

"T-Thank you, Miss… Erm…" Marth quietly began, looking down at his shoes.

"Please, call me Granny." The old lady said with a gentle smile. "That's what my beloved employees call me. You seem to be new here. What's your name, sonny?"

"My name…" Marth began timidly. He forced a soft smile and continued to look at the ground. "M-My name Mark."

"Mart?" Granny asked, rubbing her ears. "Is that what ya said?"

"M-MARK!" Marth spoke louder.

"Ah, Mark!" Granny replied with a softly smile. "Sorry, my hearin' is a bit weak."

"It's o…kay." Marth said, shyly looking around. "Erm, it's nice to meet you. It's really busy, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Granny answered. "It has been this way ever since it first opened."

"When did it open?" Marth asked.

"Over fifty years ago." Granny answered with a soft smile. "I was about five years old when it opened."

Marth's eyes widened in bewilderment at Granny's statement. "How old are you?"

"My memory is a bit rough… I am eighty-five years old." Granny answered with a small nod.

"Wow!" Marth gasped softly. He suddenly thought of something. "Er, I have a question. I'm looking for a job. Can I… work here?"

"Well… Sure!" Granny answered with a beaming smile. "You seem to be a good employee. You're friendly and look like a hard worker…"

Marth blushed at the kind remark. "Thank you. What can I do now?"

"You know the guy who was carrying the boxes?" Granny pointed to the muscular man setting the five boxes on the ground. He was wearing a dark green shirt, jeans smeared with dirt, and white tennis shoes. His skin was slightly tanned. His straight blond hair covered his cobalt-blue eyes. "That's Michael. He goes by the name Mike. He's unloading a truck full of goodies. Go ask him if he needs some help."

"Ok. T-Thank you." Marth thanked with a small bow. Marth bashfully approached Mike. "Um, e-excuse me, Mike?"

Although it was dreadfully loud in the supermarket, Mike heard Marth's quiet voice, faced him with a calm smile, and said, "Yes, what do ya need from me?" His ears were as sensitive as a certain Hylian Hero's pointy ears.

"Ok, I'm Mark and I'm a new worker." Marth explained. "Granny told me to ask you if you need help. D-Do you need help?"

"Yeah, my buddies and I could need some help." Mike answered, motioning Marth to follow him.

Marth followed Mike out of the store to the truck, which was parked across the street. As they approached the truck, a short male with dyed red hair and green eyes passed by them, his hands holding two boxes of junk food. "That's Robby." Mike introduced. "He has been workin' here for a couple of months. For some reason, he doesn't like talkin' to people. He's really quiet."

"Did something happen?" Marth quietly asked.

"I don't know." Mike answered. "He never talks 'bout his past."

A man in his thirties was on the truck's cargo area. With all of his strength, he was carefully setting freight on the ground for his coworkers. He had wavy black hair and squinty brown eyes. Marth picked up a small, light box filled with candy bars. He never had enough muscles to carry a large box.

"This is Kyle." Mike pointed to Kyle, who paused for a few seconds and wiped his brow with a loud sigh. "He's been working here for years." Mike picked up a large box filled with cat food.

"How is he?" Marth quietly asked. To the coy male, Kyle looked a bit tough.

"Although he looks stern, he is actually light-hearted." Mike answered. "Did you see the blank look on his face and assumed he is cold?"

Marth blushed in embarrassment. "Yeah…"

"That look can mean anything." Mike explained. "He could either be happy, sad, or angry. Don't worry. I've known him for a while, so I know how he's feeling. He's probably feeling happy right now."

Marth and Mike entered the supermarket with the freights. After setting the boxes in the empty corner of the room, Mike continued to introduce his coworkers to Marth.

"The guy at the cash register is Wyatt." Mike pointed to the bored-looking teenager at the counter. His orange hair, which was parted to the left, covered his exhausted black eyes. "Poor guy, he's forced to work at the cash register." Mike pointed to a young burnette lady with calm indigo eyes standing near the entrance. "And that's Alexis. She makes sure that no one shoplifts."

"Hey, EXCUSE ME!" Mike and Marth looked up and saw Devon snobbishly shoving through a crowd of ladies.

"Urk, and that's Devon." Mike groaned.

"I already know." Marth softly whispered. "He's really mean."

"I don't really like him." Mike added. "Sadly, he's the manager of the store."

Marth sighed unhappily. He wondered why nasty people always got high-ranked positions.

"Enough with the upside-down smiles!" Mike piped with an encouraging grin. "Let's get back to work!"

"Y-Yes!" Marth replied.

As Marth followed Mike out of the store, a married couple stepped in front of Marth, blocking him. He stood on his tippy-toes and helplessly watched Mike walk away from him. Sadly looking down at the floor, Marth began to wait for his path to clear.

Granny, who was sitting in a wooden chair and keeping track of her store, saw Marth's meek action. "Mark!" she called up. Marth jumped and looked at her. "Don't let them step in your way! Speak up, kiddo!"

Swallowing nervously, Marth turned to the couple, who were talking to each other. He put up a confident face with his gathered courage and looked directly at them. "Excuse me, you're in my way!" he said assertively yet politely.

"Oh, we're sorry." The husband apologized. He and his wife went out of Marth's way.

With a thanking smile, Marth slightly bowed down and hurried after Mike.


The slow, boring day went as fast as a beam of light. At the end of day, Marth happily helped Mike and Granny clean up the store. He happily hummed a light-hearted tone as he swept litter out of the store's entrance with a broom. Granny and Mike were tidying the foods stacked on the shelves.

"I never met a kid as nice like Mark." Granny whispered to Mike.

"I know!" Mike replied as he watched Marth put the broom back in the closet. "Teenagers these days are so lazy and disrespectful, man!"

"Ah, I'm finished!" Marth sang out. He approached Mike and Granny. "What do we do next?"

"We're done for the day!" Granny answered.

"Finally!" Mike sighed. "Today was really tirin'!"

"Awww…" Marth groaned. "I had a lot of fun…"

"Don't worry, there's tomorrow!" Mike replied with a wink. He began to head out of the store. "I got to go now, see you guys later!"

"Bye, bye, Mike!" Marth said with a sweet smile.

Granny suddenly remembered something. "Oh Mark, I forgot to ask you for your phone number."

Marth's face went pale for a second. "I… I don't have a phone number…" he softly sighed.

"Your address?"

Marth began to shiver wildly. "I… I don't have a place to live."

Granny gave Marth a sympathetic look. "Oh, you don't?"

"Well not really. I live in abandoned building."

"Don't you have a family?"

"Well…" Marth began. He remembered why did he run away from the Smash Mansion in the first place and began to weep softly. Tears slowly rolled down his cheeks.

"Did something happen?" Granny questioned. She gave Marth a warm embrace, which felt a bit like Ike's hugs. This made Marth bury his face in her shoulder and cry slightly harder as he tried to hold back tears. "Don't worry, you can stay with me for now."

"Really?" Marth looked up with teary eyes.

"Yes. I live around this area. Come along with me."


Author's Notes: Marth, you're so lucky! You don't need to go through a stressful job interview!

YES, I'm finally finished with chapter 9. Well, here's Marth's "job". I have to admit, I wasn't realistic enough with this chapter. So much for trying to show the harsh realities in this story, haha! Also, I hope I'm not bothering the readers with all of these dialogue! Just to let my readers know, school will be starting again in about two more weeks. Darn it. =(

I also edited some of my earlier questions. I kinda screwed up on my FE: Awakening facts.

Story Questions:

Do any of Marth's new coworkers resemble his friends back at the mansion in any way?

In the next chapter, should Granny discover Marth's true identity? Why or why not?

What would you like to see in the next chapter?