A Simple Promise

Chapter 11

Mario sighed as he woke up the next morning. It was Friday, and a half day of school no less! But for some reason, this didn't feel like a Friday. It felt more like a Monday, if anything.

He slowly sat up, letting out a yawn and rubbing the sleep from his aqua blue eyes, before glancing over at his desk. With all the homework he had let back up in his math class, it had taken him a few hours to actually finish everything. The funny thing was, or at least, Mario found it funny, despite not caring too much about his least favorite subject, he spent so many hours working on it, and he found it odd he was still about to wake up on time.

'I must be turning into a student... arghhh, that's just wonderful!' he groaned inwardly, swinging his legs over the side of his bed. Hw yawned again, stretched, then scratched his back as he began to shuffle out of his room and towards the bathroom.

He was a bit surprised to see he was the first one awake, but let that quickly slide, as it was possible that Luigi was already dressed and downstairs waiting for him to walk with him to the bus and train stops. Mario rolled his eyes.

Reaching the bathroom, Mario brushed his teeth, washed his face, and then stared into the mirror as he checked once again to see if he had any facial hair. Finding none as usual, Mario sighed in defeat and headed out to get dressed and meet his brother downstairs, still yawning. After getting dressed, Mario went to check on his brother.

As he expected, Luigi wasn't in his room. Mario walked downstairs and found his brother at the dining room table, a half eaten apple sitting in front of him. Luigi looked even more tired than Mario felt, and he wondered why. 'Bro, did you sleep at all last night? Maybe he didn't really take that nap he was talking about...'

"Buongiorno, fratello." Mario sleepily greeted. Luigi's head snapped up at the sound of Mario talking.

"Oh, b-buongiorno, fratello." Luigi returned back before staring into outer space again. Mario noticed that and was getting a bit concerned. Grabbing an apple from the fridge, he noticed their mom had put together their dinner from last night into smaller lunch bowls.

"Huh. Forgot all about dinner last night. Ah well, guess we can eat good for lunch instead!" Mario happily munched on his apple as he took both his and Luigi's lunches out. Mario had half a mind to wake Sylvia and thank her for doing so, but he decided to let her sleep. Michael was probably already gone as well, so Mario didn't think he needed to bother her right now.

After putting their lunch bags together, Mario noticed Luigi was still sitting at the table with that same sleepy, spacey look on his face. "Uh, Weege? Weeeege?"

Luigi jumped again. "H-Huh? Sorry, did you say something, Mario?"

"Yeah." Mario stopped what he was doing and took his apple with him as he sat at the table. "Spill it. You're looking more spacey than usual, and that's saying something. What's up?"

Luigi yawned and then looked at his unfinished breakfast. "I-Its nothing major... it's just..."

Mario took a bite of his apple and waited for Luigi to continue. Luigi shook his head and reached for his apple, taking small bites and chewing as he tried to figure out how to explain what was going on in his head.

"I couldn't really sleep last night. I heard Mom and Dad talking, you know, about what we did."

Mario nodded, knowing there was more to that. "And what?"

"I... I guess I thought we were going to get in a lot of trouble. You know, for going to the Bronx or Harlem or wherever that man lives. But Mom... she kept saying she was... kinda proud of us, actually."

At that, Mario almost choked on his apple. "W-Wait, whaaa?" he got out. "She was proud of us? Are you sure?"

Luigi nodded, then took a few more bites of his apple. Mario had to get up and get something to drink since he almost choked to death on his own apple, and Luigi laughed a little, hiding the smile behind his fruit. When Mario returned to the table, Luigi explained what he meant.

"Mom knew sooner or later we would find a way to get in contact with Charles and ask about what he did. She really meant what she said about him all those years. I know she was really upset about how we did it, going into her room and snooping, but... I think she was more proud of you and how you handled yourself."

"Huh... really." Mario didn't know how he should've taken that. "So Mom thought I was going to beat his head in, too."

Luigi half shrugged and finished off his apple. "I don't think she meant beat his head in. But being angry... well, you do have a bit of a temper... sometimes."

Mario thought about it for a few moments. Then he gave Luigi his core and got up, tossing Luigi his lunch bag, and replied, "I guess so. He's lucky I didn't beat his head in, but I think karma got him good enough. We got what we went for."

"Yeah." Luigi put everything in his bookbag and looked for his house key. Once he had it, he met up with his brother at the front door, and the duo headed out for the bus stop. It was then Mario remembered something strange his mother said last night.

"Hey, Weege."

"Hmm?"

"Why did Mom think you were getting bullied? Is something happening at your school?"

Luigi looked a bit... odd as he tried to answer. He looked upset, but he was trying his harest to keep a straight face- and Mario knew it wasn't possible. Luigi was an emotional child; always had been since he was a baby.

The knowing of his lower lip gave him away completely, and Mario was already formulating what he was going to do, what he was going to ask, and to whom he was going to have to track down and... talk to. But he let Luigi answer anyways, gauging him the entire time.

"N-not bullied, I... I guess... I'm okay, Mario. You taught me how to fight, I can handle myself." Luigi stared rather hard at the bus stop, his lower lip trembling as he tried not to cry. Mario sighed; of all the times for Luigi to be stubborn...

He never noticed anything unusual about his brother- no bruises, no cuts, no black eyes, no busted lips... but Luigi was a very sensitive child. If they weren't hitting him, they were probably teasing him. Meaning Luigi couldn't really defend himself since he gets his feelings hurt so easily...

'Weege… come on, bro. If someone is hurting you, you can tell me... you already know that.'

"You sure everything is okay?" Mario asked him one more time as the bus approached. Luigi nodded, but his shoulders slumped. He looked like he was losing some kind of battle, but Mario didn't know what.

"Can we drop it, Mario? Please?" Luigi begged him. Mario arched his eyebrow, but gave Luigi a gentle ruffle on his head as he told him, "You can, if you want. But you're my brother. I'm not letting this go just yet. I'm getting to the bottom of this. No one messed with you."

Luigi sighed and got on the bus with Mario. 'Of course you're not... that's what I'm worried about. That's why I didn't say anything.'

The rest of the school day, more or less, went well. Mario's friends asked him about his sudden departure the other day, and Luigi's teachers and some of his classmates were glad he was taking the lead in answering questions again. Things seemed to be returning back to normal.

On the way home, Mario and Luigi chatted about their school day, how things went with them, and Luigi actively avoiding Mario's questions about bullies and other things of that nature. Mario made a note to talk to Sylvia about that later.

'Luigi, I wonder what's wrong...' Mario thought worriedly as Luigi kept talking about his Algebra class and how he answered all the questions in his class, like he normally did. Mario nodded and absently listened.

'Something is happening at his school, and he's about to start high school next year. He shouldn't be hiding that kind of stuff from me!' Mario wondered to himself. 'Strange... but why would Mom not mention this to- oh. Guess she thinks that my anger is a problem and it might do more harm than good.'

Mario rolled his eyes, and luckily Luigi couldn't see it. They crossed the street and headed for home.

Once they got inside, and Luigi announced that he was going to be upstairs in his room doing his homework, Mario pulled Sylvia off to the kitchen. She looked like she just woke up, frizzy hair and all.

"M-Mario?" Sylvia asked. "Sweetie, what's wrong? Why do you look so angry?"

Mario knew he was over thinking it too much. He heard his brother- nothing was going on in school and he was never home with bruises or anything external.

But it wasn't called a big brother sense for nothing. Mario knew something was up, and he needed to know what it was.

"Mom, question." Mario said, his face serious. Sylvia was getting worried for her son.

"Mario? What's wrong? Is Luigi okay? What's the matter?"

Mario looked over his shoulder, making sure Luigi wasn't eavesdropping on their conversation. "Is Luigi getting picked on at school?"

"Luigi?" Sylvia looked like she wanted to say something else, and Mario knew he had her. Something was going on, and for whatever reason, Luigi didn't think to tell him? "Well... Mario, it's a bit hard to explain..."

Mario closed his eyes and took a deep breath in, then let it out. "So Luigi was being bullied... and you knew? Does Michael know?"

Sylvai shook her head no. "Mario, just... you need to sit down and let me explain before you go off and kill your brother."

"Is that all everyone thinks I do? I barely even fight!" Mario mumbled angrily under his breath as they went to sit at the table. Sylvia folded her hands and sighed heavily.

"Well, I'm not surprised that you figured it out. Your brother was hoping you were too busy worrying about passing the 10th grade to actually pay his issues any mind." Sylvia started. "You know, with the girls and your horrible grades and prom-"

Mario cut his eyes at her. "Really? Not what we're talking about here!"

"I know. In any case... Luigi wasn't really being bullied. He told me a few of the older boys from his school sometimes said mean things about him- that he was a nerd, a geek, he had no chance with the ladies, things like that. Luigi did his best to block it out since he wouldn't be seeing them anytime after he finished 8th grade, but..."

Leaning forward, Mario asked, "But what? And who are the kids that keep picking on him?"

"Well, that's the issue. Luigi refuses to tell me any names. I know they're from around here, but other than that... nothing. It doesn't help that he thinks the ringleader has an older brother who may attend your school."

Mario crossed his arms in thought before he realized what Luigi was trying to do. "He's trying to protect me... because I'll get in trouble if I fight. But the kid is older, right? He's the one losing out more than me!"

Sylvia nodded. "Luigi doesn't like to think he's being bullied. But to me, that's classic bulling right there. He's just hoping if he ignores them, they'll leave him alone."

"That isn't how that works, and Weege knows that. They're going to keep picking on him because he won't fight... and that's what I'm kinda scared of, actually."

Sylvia chuckled. "You know how Luigi gets when he has his buttons pushed too many times, don't you."

"Yeah. But at school, that's like, Luigi's second home. Honestly, I don't mind busting open a few heads-"

"You better not or you're so grounded, you wouldn't believe it." Sylvia warned. Mario shrugged.

"The point is, Mom. Luigi needs to know that he can stand up for himself. Dad and I have been teaching Luigi a few self defense moves, if something like this ever happened. That's why we were trying to prepare him. I know Luigi can be a bit... awkward around people. His height and weight are definitely not helping, and his love of school and all things cute is DEFINILTY not helping."

Sylvia massaged her temples. "I wish I knew how we could get him to talk to you. You, as much as I hate to admit it... make a good point. Luigi has always been the center of attention, and sometimes... not in a good way. I've known that for a long time now, and I was hoping he would grow out of it, but... maybe he won't."

Mario looked at his mom. He knew she loved them both dearly, regardless of what they did or who they turned out to be. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"I guess for now, I'll find out who's in my school that has an younger brother that goes to Weege's school, and have a talk with him."

Sylvia looked at her oldest son skeptically. Mario put his hands up in mock defense. "Hey, I said talk. Didn't say I would mess him up... yet."

The two shared a laugh before Mario gave his mom a hug and went upstairs to do his homework. Unbeknownst to the two of them, Luigi had overhead a fair amount of the conversation, and was glad when Mario didn't check in to see how he was.

"Mom... and Mario... they think I'm weird, too..." he mumbled sadly before he decided to go to bed early. He laid face down on his bed and buried his head in his pillow, allowing tears to soak the fabric.

'Mario... why you? Of all people, I thought... you would understand...'

And rewrite complete!

Translations:

*1. Morning, bro.

I hope that you guys and gals enjoy this chapter rewrite. As always, please leave any reviews that can help, as well as what you thought of this chapter.

Until next chapter!