Chapter 10
A couple of days have passed since Lucina's second date with Palutena. As promised by the goddess, she and Lucina met at the training complex every day after the second date in the mansion. At the facility, the two had used equipment that the building offered: practicing strong and weak attacks with a sandbag, improving reflexes, and developing combos. However, there was one place that Lucina refused to go to every time, the virtual training room. The horrific memory of the bluenette's Falchion penetrating through the goddess's body kept resurfacing Lucina's mind vividly. She wanted to avoid that one room that almost made her breakdown as much as possible. Whenever Palutena wanted to enter in the room in order to catch up with other finalists, Lucina was twenty feet away from the door as if she was given a restraining order. The greenette ended up being alone in the computer-generated room while Lucina stood outside, watching her crush performing well in practice runs.
On a late Saturday morning, Lucina was getting prepared for another training day with Palutena while dressed in her battle attire and held her Falchion on her right hand. Before exiting the mansion, she noticed Robin who held a cup of coffee and looked like she saw a ghost.
"Robin," Lucina said as she walked towards her friend who was sitting at a table. "May I join you for a moment?"
"Oh, hi, Lucy" Robin replied after zoning out for a brief stint, appearing that she wasn't listening to Lucina. "Yeah, you can join me for a moment."
"Thank you" she said, taking a seat across from her friend. "May I ask are you feeling normal today?"
"I seriously don't know, Lucy" the female tactician replied, taking a sip of her coffee and slamming the cup on the table, causing a little spill. "I seriously don't know."
"Why is that?" The swordswoman questioned.
"It's yesterday's date with Falco" Robin said slowly, feeling regretful yet fascinated by yesterday's events.
"Oh," Lucina remembered that her friend had a date with the bird after negotiating a deal during the blackout in the mansion. "How did the date go?"
"Oh, crap" Robin began, becoming uncomfortable to tell the story, which Lucina never saw before. "I guess it's better sooner than later." She took a deep breath before revealing the event. As told the story, she made nonverbal gestures. "I was getting all dressed up for this unbelievable date. I finished the last touch of combing my long, awesome, grey hair when a knock came from my door. It was obvious who it was because it was exactly seven o'clock, so I opened the door and saw Falco. I'll admit he looked pretty good with the simple plain white polo shirt, dark blue pants, and the black blazer. He went with the casual style clothing, which is a favorite for me. Continuing on, he gave me compliments, which I would have expected, so I pretended to appreciate those comments. Afterwards, we went to our dinner date at a place called, 'A Taste of Smashness'. Seriously, these restaurants are trying to be humorous with their rudimentary puns. I mean I could make a better restaurant name if I wanted to. Back to the story, we ordered a lobster with side orders that we usually like. Usually, I wouldn't be interested in his stuff, but something happened…something." Robin paused intentionally in order to give suspense and get Lucina to ask curiously.
"What sort of event occurred?" Lucina asked inquisitively.
And so Robin was right.
"He acted like a real gentleman!" She yelled, causing Lucina to flinch.
"A real gentleman?" Lucina inquired. "What attributes constitute him as a gentleman?"
"The way he opened the door for me when we entered the restaurant, he bowed to me as if I was his majesty. He treated our waiter with high nobility and respect." Robin took another sip of her coffee before returning to her story. "I was just astonished and stunned to see him this way before. It made me feel…different towards him."
"Did he treat you differently?" The swordswoman continued with questions.
"Yes!" She exclaimed as her eyes opened in disbelief. "When we were deciding on what to get, Falco initiated small talk to me by asking about my day. I responded by saying it was a good day and what I did, and then I asked him about his day. He said the same thing but added that it was due to the date with me. I felt odd because he cared about me; I just never saw that before, so I replied that he was very nice for saying that. Then the waiter arrives to write our order. Falco let me take my order first, and I had a craving for lobster for some unusual reason. He wanted the lobster as well, so we just got the lobster and whatever sides we wanted. After the waiter left, Falco told me that he's into acting. I replied by trying to do some acting on me. In honesty, I almost laughed my ass off since I can't imagine him in theatrical arts. But I had to give him a chance, so he does an excerpt on a tragic love story, and it blew me away."
"It blew you away?" Lucina suddenly became drawn into the story, becoming interested about a possible romantic relationship between her friend and Falco.
"His eyes were so sincere, open, and…handsome" Robin felt disgusted and ashamed by saying the one word she described Falco, handsome.
"Oh, my" the bluenette gasped, appearing surprised by opening her eyes a little bit. "Robin…"
"It gets worse!" Robin cried back. "Falco then asked me about my life into more detail and I did. He was so interested in everything I said that it had me contemplating if Falco is really a good guy in a way that he isn't an arrogant jerk. We also had so much in common that…that I felt closer to him like I knew him my whole life or something."
"Wow" was all Lucina could say. She was glad to see that her friend may have some affection towards Falco.
"Ugh" Robin whined back. "It's not done. After the dinner that lasted for so long with the entertainment, we called it a night and returned to the mansion. We stood at my room's front door, enjoying a few laughs before saying goodnight. We both said to each other that we had a good time tonight and hugged afterwards. Then…" Robin felt horrified to reveal something to her friend that made her look vulnerable and paused for moment to gulp her saliva. "For some unknown reason, I said to him, 'I really like you, Falco. I hope we can go out again sometime'. He replied, 'I feel the same way to you, Robin. How about next Friday?' And I complied with him and went to bed." Robin covered her eyes, disappointed by having an amazing time with Falco.
"Robin" Lucina spoke and patted her friend's shoulders supportively. "It's okay to like him for who he is."
"Are you sure?" She requested for confirmation.
"Of course" the bluenette replied, smiling to make her friend feel better. "I still cannot believe all of that happened."
"That's because it didn't" Robin said by making a facial expression that exposed her lie.
"Hold on a minute" Lucina said, becoming bewildered by what Robin just revealed. "I don't quite understand."
"Lucy" a smile formed on Robin's mouth before chuckling that the swordswoman bought the story. "That story never happened. It was all a joke or a lie if you will." She began laughing.
"Why would you lie to me like that?" Lucina felt a little upset about Robin's deception.
"I wanted to try acting to see if I was good at it, which I am" Robin responded. "For your information, Falco did mention acting, which had me thinking if I should try it, so I tested it one you. It shows that I got potential of becoming an actress." She added.
"I perhaps should have seen that coming" Lucina commented, giving a half smile to Robin. She was still confused and dumbfounded by the tactician's interest in acting.
"It's all good, Lucy" Robin said, tapping her friend's shoulder with her fist playfully.
"So could you tell me what really happened?"
"Sure" the tactician replied honestly. "It was a terrible date. He actually tried this exquisite gentleman image, but it was horrible. He did look good, I'll admit that. But in the end, he wasn't himself, so that's why it was a horrendous date. Obviously, we're not going to date anymore. Besides, we agreed one date only."
"I see" Lucina started her response. "The only possible drawback is that he may still want to pursue a romantic relationship with you."
"I know" Robin agreed negatively, sipping another of her beverage. "That's going to be like living in hell."
"I suppose so" Lucina responded who barely laughed at all. She looked at the clock and saw that she was going to be late for training with Palutena. Losing valuable training was one of the few things Lucina couldn't tolerate. "Excuse me, Robin, but I'm nearly late for training."
"With your girlfriend, right?" Robin asked, smirking intentionally just to make her friend feel a bit uncomfortable.
"S-she's not m-my g-g-girlfriend" denied Lucina whose cheeks reddened brightly. "We're just dating and getting to know each other is all.
"Okay, okay" the female tactician said back, raising her hands up to her chest as a sign of defense. "I'll take your word for it, Lucy."
"Thank you" the bluenette thanked as she stood up, preparing to head out. "I will see you some other time then."
"Hell, yeah" Robin replied hilariously as she waved a goodbye to her friend for the time being before reading a book while enjoying her warm beverage.
As Lucina walked her way towards the training facility, she mused about Robin mentioning about Palutena being her girlfriend. The idea of holding hands was normal for her to like, but when she fantasized about holding the goddess close to her and kissing her lips passionately, Lucina stumbled and nearly tripped herself a couple of times. This "girlfriend" idea was becoming a serious, real mission on the bluenette that it made her lose focus and possibly fighting skills as well. She hoped that the relationship with Palutena moved up another step.
The swordswoman entered through the doors with such concentration and preparation. Her mentality was giving a hundred percent effort and be positive. It almost went away when only seven of the finalists were present. The strange thing to her was that she didn't see the goddess anywhere. Palutena was usually in front of the exit doors, waiting for Lucina to come in and get ready to train. Concerned for her, Lucina walked around the area of the ground floor and asked people if they had seen Palutena. Unfortunately for the bluenette, the finalists were so concentrated on the finals that their rivals never bothered to look out for others. After searching around, Lucina had one more place to investigate, and it was unluckily the one place she tried to avoid, the virtual training room. She stood closer to the door by ten feet, breathing faster as time passed with each minute feeling like an eternity. Then Lucina drew out her hand and slowly approached the door handle. Her fear was about to be conquered, making her feeling more courageous than ever before. Before she even contacted the handle, a hand touched her buttocks, causing Lucina to flinch. "AH!" Lucina screamed, scared of what was happening. She turned around to see who was messing with her, but it turned out to be Palutena.
"Did I scare you, Lucina?" Palutena asked jokingly, smiling at the swordswoman's reaction.
"Yes," Lucina replied, placing her hand on her chest plate. "You nearly gave me cardiac arrest."
"I was only joking around" giggled the goddess, defending her side from any conflict.
"Well, don't do it here" the swordswoman demanded to her goddess.
"Oh, so you want me to grab your nice butt somewhere else?"
"Uh…I…didn't mean that" the bluenette felt extremely uncomfortable and had her cheeks redden. "It's just not here, understood?!"
"Of course, Lucina, sorry for messing with you" Palutena apologized.
"It's quite alright" Lucina accepted the goddess's apology. "I'm sorry if I was being rude."
"You weren't rude to me at all. It's okay" the greenette said nicely.
"So, shall we commence training?" Lucina asked.
"Sure," Palutena responded, nodding to confirm her answer. "But we should practice by battling opponents since my match is in two days."
"Are you suggesting that-" Lucina asked, hoping it wasn't the virtual training room.
"Yes, we are going to the virtual training room together."
"I respect that you want to improve your fighting abilities, but I refuse to enter into the crime scene" Lucina declined.
"Come on," Palutena complained, disliking Lucina's stubbornness. "You have to go in there and face your fears."
"It's just that I don't want history to repeat itself by maiming you again" Lucina bowed her head down in shame and in sadness.
"The room has been repaired, and there shouldn't any more problems at all." The goddess tried to make the situation seem less dangerous.
"But what if something does happen?" Lucina still didn't move her head upwards.
"Lucina" Palutena said before trying to cheer her partner up. She threw an unexpected move by placing her hands on Lucina's hips and bringing her closer to her body. Palutena then took one hand to fix her hair, so she can see her face. "You have to listen to me."
"P-Palutena" Lucina stuttered as she tried to get the goddess's hands off her hips but ended up resting her hands on Palutena's shoulders awkwardly. She blushed again harshly by Palutena's actions. "C-could you please let go of me? I am v-very uncomfortable by your h-heavenly hands resting on my hips."
"No" she declined Lucina's demand. She held the bluenette's hips tighter, making the swordswoman redder. "You need to hear me out, and since you are close to me, you'll focus on me. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I comprehend your terms" Lucina said slowly but without any hesitation since it was the only way to get the goddess to stop making her feel weird.
"Good" Palutena lessened the tightness she had on her hands on the swordswoman's hips. She took a short, deep breath before speaking to Lucina about being concerned for any possible repeated history. "Lucina, I know the virtual training room has tormented you by the accidental stabbing of me. But what you need to realize that it's all in the past. You have to let go of it and move on. Living in the past has caused you to miss living your life today. Instead of reminding of the virtual training room as a crime scene even though it wasn't, think of it as a developing your own character. What I mean is learning your mistakes and accepting them makes you stronger and better as person. Think about the future, if that makes any sense to you."
Lucina took some time to think before responding to her crush's argument. Palutena did make some good points to the bluenette because the swordswoman only refused to go into the simulation room because she was with the goddess. Anyone else she was with wasn't a problem. Lucina did want to let go of her incident with Palutena, but it was difficult because she maimed someone and had seen the pain the greenette felt. Although Palutena was considerate about it and how the virtual room was repaired to have the rarest chance of malfunction, Lucina was fearful because of the tiniest possibility of a repeated event. However, she thought of how it may conflict her relationship with her crush in the future. That was something she would die if it was lost. The past couldn't be changed, but the future can. That was the one thing Lucina always remembered because her father, Avatar, and Robin reminded her of it whenever there was something wrong.
"Palutena" Lucina said, prompting the goddess to listen to her. "Thank you for reminding me about the future. It is not written because…"
"You and I will write it," Palutena added. She didn't have her hands on Lucina's hips when she said it; she held her hands on Lucina's hands instead, "together."
Lucina didn't speak at all; she was just surprised that Palutena was holding both of her hands, having that same warm feeling she had before asking her out on a date. The swordswoman again blushed due to the unexpected holding hands but smiled because the goddess really cared about her, always making sure Lucina was okay with everything, and if she wasn't, then Palutena will find a way to make her feel better, much like Robin.
"I take it that you'll join me in the virtual room" Palutena said, equivalent to a question.
"Yes," Lucina responded quite contently. "I will train with you in the emulation room."
"Excellent, let's get right to it."
"Understood."
The two entered into the virtual training room that appeared unchanged even with the repairs and the accident. Both ladies located a panel that had a touch screen. To register, just to be sure that it was being occupied, Smashers had to place their hands on the touch screen for an identification scan. When it was confirmed, there were two icons next to each other on the screen with one displaying battle royale while the other one was team battle. Both women agreed to do free-for-all matches obviously because of the upcoming final for the Smash tournament. After selecting the battle royale, there were five more options to choose with a question shown at the top of the screen saying, "How many fighters will be represented?" Palutena pressed the option with the number two on it and continued from there. She also selected the eight-player Smash with the stage being the Big Battlefield. The two entered the simulation area and were virtualized onto the bigger version of Battlefield.
The stage was set; six computer-programmed finalists were selected at random with Lucina as one of the non-finalists. In the first practice run, Palutena and Lucina's placement resembled the exact session where the bluenette fatally thrusted her sword through the greenette's body. Lucina's fear and worriedness spontaneously came back, expecting them to never be completely eradicated. She hoped nothing can go wrong at all.
Lucina's first target was Meta Knight since he was a swordsman, and the bluenette preferred to challenge swordfighters in order to prove who was better. She short-jumped and vertically slashed her Falchion. In response, the Star Warrior dodged by rolling forward in front of the swordswoman making him behind her. He then executed a series of lightning-fast slashes that caught Lucina in a trap. It ended with a swift uppercut that sent Lucina not very far. She quickly recovered once she contacted the ground with her back and rolled back like that was nothing. As she got up, Meta Knight was gliding towards her and performed double slashes. His sword, Galaxia, contacted Lucina's Falchion that was positioned downwards. It engendered a counter succeeded by the swordswoman and the Star Warrior fell back. During his knockback, Lucina ran towards him and executed her sword dance in the order of forward, forward, downward, and forward, catching him in a somewhat combo move. As she attempted to deal more damage, another computer-generated fighter swooped in and spun around in the air with a surrounding of stars. This particular fighter had an assistant who was a Luma. Lucina looked up to see the one who intercepted her possible victory over Meta Knight and saw that it was Rosalina and her Luma. It appeared that she and Meta Knight were teaming up against the bluenette, so Lucina had to be extremely cautious and active throughout her battle.
"You two will never defeat me" Lucina shouted, showing determination and arrogance at the same time. She held her Falchion horizontally with the handle perpendicular to her face and ran towards the two. The cosmos queen rolled behind Meta Knight, charging up her Luma attack. The Star Warrior disappeared, causing the bluenette to either counter Rosalina's attack or dodge Meta Knight's Dimensional Cape. Time was going too fast for Lucina, so she just went with the first thing she saw, which was the Luma's mother. She attempted to swing her sword vertically, but the Star Warrior appeared behind her and used his lightning-fast slashes. As the bluenette was trapped, Rosalina's Luma was ready to launch. The strength by the Luma sent Lucina surprisingly far. While she was a little high in the air, Sonic appeared out of nowhere and roundhouse kicked her, launching her to a possible knockout. She fought back and grabbed the edge of the stage, waiting if someone was closer to her. She heard the sound of the wind becoming louder as it approached to her. Instantly, she knew it was Meta Knight, so she surprised attacked him with her Falchion. The Star Warrior rolled in front of her and tried to grab the swordswoman. Lucina dodged sideways as well to prevent a chain grab. She slashed her sword from behind her back to above her head then in front of Meta Knight in the form of an arc. The Star Warrior fell back to a distance where he had to put more effort into surviving. He attempted to fly back to the stage with his Shuttle Loop, but the bluenette hopped over him and spiked him successfully, causing him to fall straight down into the void. He never returned. Lucina landed back on the stage with her second jump. She now had one more opponent to handle.
"One enemy down, one more to go" Lucina said to herself as she repositioned her Falchion perpendicular to her body.
Rosalina called back her Luma and flew towards Lucina. She first jumped shortly and did multiple flip kicks that created a twisting galaxy. Lucina shielded herself and quickly countered by a powerful upward thrust, sending the cosmos queen upwards. The swordswoman immediately leaped upwards for another attack. She swung her blade twice horizontally: the first one being an inward slash while the second one was a full 360 outward spin. Rosalina dodged the attack mid-air and landed on her feet. Lucina tried to spike her opponent, but when she missed, Rosalina grabbed her and threw her forward, making her vulnerable for a meteor smash or being sent further so that she cannot return to the stage. The cosmos queen went for a galactic kick that could drop someone downwards for a meteor smash. Lucina was hit and fell vertically downwards, but she managed to grab on the ledge nearly costing her the match against Rosalina. She then threw herself upwards and slashed her opponent in an uppercut-like motion. Lucina rushed to the first-level girder and jumped as high as she could. She positioned her Falchion for a powerful horizontal thrust, which meant Lucina planned to execute her shield breaker move. However, she had to trick Rosalina by leaping towards other opponents, and by some miracle, it worked. The knockback was strong enough to send the queen of the galaxy into the void. Lucina used her dolphin slash to get back on the stage. When she saw sight of the entire stage, there was no one else except the green-haired goddess across from her.
"Oh, dear" Lucina said fearfully as the situation gave her a flashback of the incident. "Why does this happen to me at the worst circumstances?"
Lucina and Palutena were ready to face off against each other. The goddess started out with a powerful move by using her ethereal wings. Lucina, in response, countered back the smash attack, making the goddess fall back at such distance considering that she fought other fighters who gave her a decent amount of damage. She ran towards the greenette hoping to cease the match. As Lucina pulled back her blade that barely scraped the ground, Palutena recovered and saw her opponent charging at her. The goddess wasn't panicking or frantic about her situation; she was rather calm and relaxed as if she knew what was going to happen. She summoned a colorful yet transparent reflective barrier to push back the swordswoman.
"Autoreticle" Palutena softly said as her staff locked on Lucina as the target and blasted three bright blue spheres. Lucina was stunned for a moment, and Palutena flew towards her and grabbed her. She then threw her down, which made Lucina bounce upwards and away from her. The greenette jumped towards her and spun her staff around her four times. It sent Lucina a little further than she expected, so Palutena swiftly flew towards the ground floor and prepared for a potent blue blade attack. Lucina was right above the goddess and caught a glimpse of her plan, so she intentionally fell towards Palutena. And when the greenette unleashed her upper smash attack, the bluenette dodged it mid-air and went through the first-level girder to land on her feet quickly. Lucina grabbed Palutena and threw her off the stage. Palutena attempted to get back on the stage but saw her opponent coming at her. She side-dodged in order to prevent a meteor smash, however, Lucina risked a second jump, catching a surprise expression from the goddess. The swordswoman's body was nearly ninety degrees because her Falchion was below her feet. She slashed horizontally, striking Palutena on the head, engendering her to plummet downwards. A blue flash appeared in front of Lucina, signaling her that the match was over. She had finally won against Palutena but felt unsatisfied with it.
The two were transported back into the simulation area, and both felt some muscular pain, but it wasn't too severe. It was minimal.
"Well, congrats" Palutena commended Lucina for performing outstandingly. She clapped for her with a huge smile on her, showing that she wasn't even upset that she lost. "You defeated me. You're getting so much better."
"Thank you for applauding me for my victory" Lucina replied, feeling guilty for hurting her crush. Her facial expression displayed a different meaning, which the goddess noticed.
"Something wrong?" The greenette asked, wondering if Lucina was okay. She walked closer to her, entering to her personal bubble.
"Yes," the bluenette responded remorsefully. "Because of my rash actions, you received pain from me. I'm so sorry for conducting such an irrational move on you and-"
"Lucina!" Palutena shouted to silence the swordswoman. She then held both of Lucina's hands again, making Lucina smile and blush simultaneously. "You don't have to apologize for hurting me. It's only training, so it doesn't matter at all. We're doing this in order to improve our Smash game. So no unnecessary apologizes to me, okay?"
"I understand" Lucina commented back, feeling a huge relief from her since her crush was never mad at her. "So you're not upset at me?"
"Not at all" Palutena responded, laughing just a tiny bit due to Lucina's over-reactive behavior. "Ready for the second run, cutey?" She intentionally said 'cutey' just to playfully mess with the bluenette.
"Uhh…umm…Y…uhh" Lucina sputtered, blushing harder than ever before. The term that Palutena called her pushed her further into the uncomfortable and awkward scale. It wasn't such a bad thing because Lucina thought Palutena liked her just as she liked the goddess. "Y…yes, I am prepared for another training session."
"Awesome!"
For the next numerous trial runs, Palutena ended up winning the majority of the matches while Lucina won a few. The swordswoman still felt bad for defeating her goddess but managed to hold it back against her without any hesitation or contrasting facial expressions. After the training day, the two cleaned up and met up again in order to hang out in Smash City. They had lunch at a healthy restaurant that Lucina suggested because she wanted Palutena to have the right fuel for the upcoming finals for the tournament, which the greenette deemed being adorable. Palutena and Lucina then went bowling again to settle unfinished business due to a white angel's coincidental arrival during the first date. The bluenette was still a rookie in the beginning but rapidly improved to beat her goddess in two games. It took no more than two hours before the two left to do some other activities. The next agenda was consuming dinner where the two had conversation about their day, the tournament, and about some people. Lucina mentioned about Robin's date with Falco and how it was a disaster, making the greenette chuckle and grin. By evening, both women returned to the mansion satisfied with the day they spent together, especially Lucina. She almost spent the entire day with the woman she was attracted to, making the relationship feel closer than ever by one step at a time. Lucina and Palutena returned to the mansion and headed upstairs. They stopped at the goddess's room first before another goodnight.
"I had such a wonderful time with you today" Lucina said, smiling about the day she spent with her goddess.
"Me, too" Palutena replied positively, stretching her arms outwards after moving around all day. "You were fun today, and I enjoyed that."
"Thank you for being so honest" Lucina acknowledged. "Are you nervous for the finals?"
"Not really" Palutena said back.
"What's the reason?" Lucina wondered.
"It's because you're supporting me in my match. Since you're with me and dating me, there's no excuse for being nervous." she explained her reason.
"Ehh…uhh…you're welcome" the swordswoman rubbed the back of her head, feeling happy for Palutena's reason but had her face redden a little.
"Aw, you're warm" the goddess pointed out Lucina's blush.
"Sorry, I just warm up sometimes" the bluenette lied.
"You're so funny" she giggled at what she thought was a joke.
"What joke?" Lucina seemed bewildered. She never intended to formulate a joke.
"Oh, nothing. Well, goodnight" Palutena said and hugged the bluenette tightly before walking inside her room.
"Palutena, wait" Lucina said right as the greenette opened the door.
"Yes?" She asked curiously.
"I wish you the best luck in the finals" the bluenette said supportively, wanting to say that all day.
"Aw, thanks for your support, Lucy" Palutena said and closed her door.
Lucina returned to her room, thinking about what Palutena just called her. 'Lucy', did the greenette really say that to her? The only person who called her that was Robin. She said it because she was a friend who cared about Lucina deeply. Was it possible that she told her Lucina's nickname? Did it mean that Palutena deeply cared about Lucina as much as Robin, too? It was possible. She just smiled for the rest of the night.