Chapter 64: A Date With Destiny

Dave's POV

"Aahh... it was fate for us to come to this place for a date… Hey, I rhymed. Perhaps I should make a poem about you and me in the future, derived from this date..." Feli smiled, then realized. "Yeah, fate and date... So, what is this place, may I ask?" I wondered. "Dave, this is the Primp Town Bowling Alley." She told me. "Hrgh-?!" I tensed up. A-a-a bowling alley?! I hate bowling! I often avoided going to one of those like the plague as a kid! ... But, Feli doesn't know that... How will I explain this to her?! "D-Dave? Are... you okay? You're looking pale…" "Wh-what? Me? No, I'm perfectly fine, Feli." "... Dave, you're clearly not okay. A good girlfriend knows when her boyfriend is not feeling so well. Besides, it's really obvious that you reacted oddly to what I just said. Dave, you tensed up. What made you do that" "I... I uh… ... *sigh* I should probably explain this to you around some place where we can be alone." "Then follow me, there's a secluded spot in town not too far from here." "O-okay."

I followed Feli to the secluded spot that she mentioned, then we began talking. "So tell me what the problem is, Dave." "... ... Back in my world, things were obviously more centered around sports. As a child, my parents urged me to go through with bowling at the very least... since my dad was a bowler himself. But as it turned out… I hated- No, not just hated... I LOATHED bowling with a passion." "... Why though? Why do you have such a disdain for it, Dave?" "... When I was little, Feli... I was noticeably small, even for a kid. And because bowling balls have at least several pounds to them... I was never able to properly hold standard ones in my hands. However, that wasn't even my main issue with bowling; no, it would have to be the lanes that you would throw your ball through. This left me feeling so unnecessarily frustrated, and do you wanna know why that is?" "... ... Is it the gutters...?" "Exactly. The gutters were the biggest thorn in my side there as a child, combined with the bowling balls themselves. My arms almost never could swing the ball over at least in a semi-straight path to the pins. And then, if that wasn't bad enough... a tragedy happened one day that ultimately made me absolutely refuse to ever bowl again in my life." "A-a tragedy...?" "Yes, Feli... a tragedy. ... You telling me that place was Primp's Bowling Alley made me remember that horrific day in my life, one that I never wanted to look back at." I momentarily stopped, just to sigh before telling this story to her.

"It was a day that traumatized me for a few years until I forgot about it. ... It happened when I was just nine years-old. This was a day that I was actually trying to get myself to stop hating bowling. However, this day only intensified my utter disdain for the debatable "sport" and made me quit it indefinitely. Remember when my arms used to be noodle-like while we first met? This is the reason why... With no other sport to lean on, my muscles remained quite small for several years and they were like that when I met you guys for the first time." "... Enough with the build-up, Dave... just what was this tragedy?" "... Very well, I'll just get straight to the point. However, I must warn you that after I tell you this... there's no turning back from the truth. Do you still wish to learn what happened, Feli?" "... ... … Yes, please tell me! I want to help you feel better, Dave!" "... *sigh* Okay then... ... It happened when I was on my last ball throw for a game. As I threw out the ball, determined to win, but my ball ended up smacking against the left gutter extremely hard. After that... it flew in the air and slammed into someone's face, knocking them to the ground. ... This left that person's face all beaten up and bloody. I saw the aftermath of what just transpired... and I was horrified. I don't remember who this person was, but they were just a random, innocent individual."

I stopped for a brief moment before continuing. "I cried from the shock of this happening and I felt so bad for that person. They didn't even know what smacked them before it made an impact. ... The bowling alley called for paramedics, however; it was already too late by then. It turned out that this one person died instantly from the impact. I couldn't even defend myself from this... atrocity. Other people from the bowling alley began shaming me for throwing the ball so recklessly. This caused my parents to quickly get me back home before more blame could be shifted to me. I swore to my mother and father that it was a complete accident; I never meant to have the ball go like that. I expected them to scold me all the same... but they understood me, much to my surprise. And so, over time... my parents would resolve the issue through court, as witnesses to the event. And once I grew up, people forgot that I was the one who accidentally killed an innocent person with a bowling ball. But... I was still left emotionally scarred by that tragedy for a while until I somehow forgot about it. … ... Now that I have been reminded of it though… *sob*"

I hated reminding myself of that damn story. I never wanted to revisit that nightmare of a memory in all the years of life that I had left; I despised it that much. "Dave...! *sob*" "... ... Don't worry, it's not your fault, Feli. You didn't know... I won't hold it against you. I'm not writhing in emotional pain from it anymore, but it has still affected me to where I refuse to play another game of bowling ever again. ... *sigh* ... Have you ever accidentally murdered someone when you were really young, Feli?" "... N-no…" "... Then you should count yourself lucky, you have one less guilty weight to bear. As for me… I want to forget about this shit again as soon as humanly possible. I don't want to ever relive that hellish pain again. … Feli, can we go somewhere else? Somewhere that's happy... somewhere that we can just have a relaxing, but fun time. ... I know that Primp isn't exactly the town that has everything considered to be fun… but please find us a place to date for our happiness, I beg of you…"

Feli looked at me for several seconds, then silently took me by the hand. She was taking me somewhere else. Where is she taking me now…? She hasn't said a word to me regarding that… … We arrived at the place in question. I didn't recognize this other secluded part of town, so I asked. "... Mind telling me what this place is, Feli?" "This is... or rather, WAS a park before that more recent middle district was made. I guess you can say that this was Primp Town's original playground. ... I would come here as a little girl whenever I needed fun that wasn't influenced by anything." "But, Feli... neither of us are kids now… I'm seventeen... and you're..." "Argh! C'mon! Stop being such a buzz-! … Sorry for the outburst, Dave…" "N-no... it's fine, Feli... I HAVE been a buzzkill for a few moments now, letting my past haunt me like this. ... To think: I was the one who told Ringo to ignore her past and move on. And now, I'm letting my own past get the better of me... What the hell…? I'm pathetic..." I lightly chuckled at the end as Feli just stood there, being silent.

I decided to speak up after not hearing her say something. "... I think there's only one way to fix our problem here." "Huh? What?" "We're gonna fight, Feli." "W-wait, hold on! Me and you?! Fight?! ... Why...?" "Don't worry, it won't be anything deadly, only a fun romp. I'll hold back and you can use the ring's power. How about that? I actually did want to fight you at some point for fun, but never got the chance to. With that ring: I can finally see what you are capable of... So, what do you say, Feli?" "... U-um… Well, if it'll make you happy… ... I'll be sure to give you the funnest friendly fight ever!" "Yes! Show me your will to fight alongside the rest of us when Yogs are about! Hraah!" I transformed into my bulky armor, and Feli changed her body with the ring to be like when she used it earlier. "Are you ready?" She asked me with a smirk. "Bring it, my armor will protect me from much of what you'll throw-" I said, before feeling a powerful aura coming from her. Wha...? What's this aura I feel now? ... It's from Feli… Did she have that aura before when using the ring? ... Maybe I didn't notice it then…

Regardless, I know that she won't seriously hurt me. Feli's too soft and loves me too much to do that. "Then eat my Zodiac, Dave! Yyah!" Feli fired something out from the dowsing rods that she always had on hand. "... …! Wha-?! Oof-!" I felt that Zodiac hitting me fairly hard. This caused me to be pushed backwards a bit by the impact of the attack. "How was that?" She continued to carry that smirk on her face. "I'll admit, that surprised me… but I'll be ready for whatever else you have to throw at me." I stood my ground, then used my wings to fly in the air. "Oh no, you don't! Hehehehe... Significator!" Feli's dowsing rods pointed to me and I was suddenly being pulled to her. "O-oh crap! Hrgh-! Dammit, why can't I get out of this?! Hrrrrrgh!" I felt helpless under the pulling force that was Significator. "Looks like you're stuck, Dave." She looked like she had so much confidence in overpowering me.

Damn…! "No, not for long... Cryogenic Bomb!" I launched my icy attack at her. "...! Hah!" She leapt out of the way. "WHAT?! How are you this fast?!" I was shocked beyond belief. "Thank the ring for that." She simply said. "Damn… ... It looks like you've left me with no choice, Feli. Claw of Shadows!" I raised my shadowy claw to slash her. Though, my attack only managed to clash with those dowsing rods. "These rods are my form of offense... AND defense!" She emphasized. "No way... you've managed to perfectly parry my Claw of Shadows and protect yourself. That isn't just power, it's extraordinary skill!" I felt a little scared at this point. With that ring, Feli seemed to become more powerful than even me. "Heh. This is where school and shit gets you in life, Dave. Right?" Feli brought up a point that I knew to be true at this point.

It also reminded me of the reintroduction of academics to Primp Magic School briefly before I got myself back in the fight. "... It seems as though I have to kick things up a notch. I at least know that the new aura emitting from you will protect you from what I will do next. Hrrrrrrrr- -Raaaaah! Let's see you try to pull in a large dragon... It's time for liftoff once more!" I began to go up higher in the air to force Feli to stop using Significator on me. It worked out, as planned, and she was forced to think of something else to fight me head-on. "... Hyah-!" She leapt high into the air. "Ah-! What?!" I turned my head to see Feli launching herself over to me. "Time for something I've never done before! Divination Martial Art!" She managed to cling on to my dragon body and began to punch and kick it. "Gah! Gah! Ooough!" I struggled to keep myself in the air as she did that. "And one more for the book...! YAH! …?!" Feli made one last punch, but I managed to catch it with one of my dragon hands.

Gotcha! "Sorry, but you won't get something like that in…" I said as I held on to her now caught arm. "Hrgh-!" She struggled to escape my grip. "Seismic Slam!" I tossed her down to the ground. "Gyaaaaah!" She screamed. As she was about to hit said ground though, she used her modified legs to land on it with minimal injury. "Damn, I thought that would work…" I thought about another plan of attack. "Taste Principal Star, my strongest attack! Have some fun with it! KIEEEE!" Feli charged up. "Same goes for my Thunder Cannon! Savor it! HOOOOUGH!" I began charging up my own powerhouse attack. In the heat of the moment though, we were interrupted. "Cease this immediately, you two!" We both heard a voice and looked about in confusion. I decided to land and power down, to where it was just my body; before me and Feli fought. Initially, we didn't see anybody else around. At first, we both thought that we were crazy. However, it was then that the source of the voice revealed themself to us.

"M-Ms. Accord?!" We both exclaimed. "What are you doing here of all places today?" I asked her. "Yeah, shouldn't you be preparing for...?" Feli didn't even finish her question, since she was rightfully confused. "Amitie told me that she saw you two walking around Primp together, and noticed you two stopping by at one building. Then, I was told that you two quickly left it because of Dave's sudden reaction... to whatever you said, Feli. Amitie felt concerned, but she didn't want to come to you two herself. So, that's when she came to me. Naturally, I became concerned as well... What is going on with you two? I wish to know. ... I assume this has been a date, correct?" She waited for an answer. "... *sigh* I'll explain… So, it was like this… …" I went on to tell her what caused my sudden reaction. "Hm… … Dave, don't run from your past like that. I understand that it was painful for you to remember, but what happened there was not your fault... ... Feli, I have noticed that you look different today. And no, it's not just the clothing. What happened to your body?" Accord frowned, then turned to Feli. "U-um... ... You'll know when I'm lying, right? ... ... Fine... I'll tell you the truth, but don't tell anybody else for now. My body is looking different because of this ring: The Ring of Body Modification." She admitted. "Oh dear, where did you find a ring like that?" Accord continued to ask questions. "That's the thing... I don't really remember. I only just rediscovered that I had this ring today, Ms. Accord." Feli answered.

What's Ms. Accord gonna do to me...? "... Anyway, here's what I am going to do: Dave... I will take you and Feli to Primp Town's bowling alley, and you will bowl your heart out. Learn to like it for what it is; don't let a tragedy such as that get in the way." Accord told me. "...! … ... I'm sorry to say this to you, Ms. Accord… but to HELL with that! Not to sound like a childish jerk... but I just cannot, for the life of me, come to like bowling. I never liked it to begin with and it eventually came to traumatize my child self… What good would it do for me to not only remember the tragedy, but to also LIKE bowling?!" I threw out some justified, albeit, unadulterated rage. "... … I know it's not easy to justify why you should like it, instead of hating it for your entire life… I just thought you could… make amends with it." She continued to insist with a frown on her face. "With the way this kitten's thinking? Not likely at all, meow." Popoi commented. "Now there's something that I can agree with from Popoi… ..." I said before sighing off my rage. "You won't go through with it, even though it's Mr. Oshare Bones' bowling night?" Accord mentioned. "W-wait, what...?" I looked back at her. "You didn't know? Oshare is a passionate bowler here in town." Feli found it odd that I didn't know. "No... I wasn't ever told anything of the sort before. ... Either way, even if Oshare is bowling tonight… ... Why should I go there? What? Do you think it'll help my date with Feli be memorable in a positive way? No. I just don't see that happening. Now… you should prepare for tomorrow, Ms. Accord. That's much more important for you to do right now." I continued to try and talk my way out of it. "... Then it looks like you leave me with little choice on the matter… Popoi?" Accord nudged the cat. "Yeah, yeah…" Popoi landed on the ground and grew to a big size.

Oh no… It's just like that moment when I was found in the girls area of those springs in the Puyo Isle Resort! Popoi is going to crush my head to make me unconscious! Well, not today, cat! "Let's just make this quick, meow. No hard feelings, Dave." Popoi began to reach his paw towards my head. "Hrrrgh-!" I went. Just before he touched my head, I applied my bulky armor, knowing that I had the safety of the helmet. "Wh-what?" Popoi felt the helmet and realized that he missed his target. "Sorry, but I REALLY don't intend on... being dragged over there…!" I escaped from Popoi's grip and began to fly away. "When I intend to give one of my students help… I don't just let them run away. Fermata Formation." Accord spoke before aiming a spell at me. This one had itself set on me, as if it was tracking my movements. "...! It's homing?! Cryogenic-! *gasp* Geh-! Gah-! Gaaah!" I freaked out, then got hit repeatedly. While I was dealing with that, I heard something that Accord was saying to Feli; however, I couldn't make out what it was. That's when she made her next action... Singing? Yep. Singing. I also noticed that Feli was covering her ears from that. "Wh-why is Feli-?" I felt something off about myself. What's happening to me...? "Am I... falling... asl-?" The next thing I knew, I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was being gripped by Popoi again. I noticed that my armor was gone and I was unable to do anything in this state. I looked at my surroundings, then I knew where we were. "...!" I felt too emotionally affected to say anything. "Well, it looks like you decided to wake up." I heard Accord's voice. "... Dave…" Feli frowned, seeing me trapped in Popoi's grip. At this point, that girl that I had been dating for that day had changed her body back to normal. "Dave, we are just outside of the bowling alley. Let's go inside." Accord walked inside, then Popoi followed. Feli was close behind us, not entirely sure of what she should do. The door closed behind us and Popoi loosened his grip and let me go. "Don't even try to run off again; you won't hear the end of me if you attempt to do so." Accord told me. "..." I remained silent, afraid to get on her bad side. Far down the bowling lanes, I saw Oshare Bones. Just like Accord said, this was the skeleton's bowling night. Even in the bowling get-up he was wearing, his clothes looked different compared to many other bowlers at the time. Oshare clutched a spare, then he made a motion that spoke "Yes!". Accord had me and Feli sign up for a game.

It was at this moment... I finally said something. "... What are you going to expect from forcing me... and even Feli into this, Ms. Accord?" I glared at her. "... Dave, it's not nice to glare at your instructor like that, even if it is not a school day." She scolded me. "*sigh* Ms. Accord, I thought you said not too long ago that you understood my issues. ... I thought you ALWAYS understood my problems over the time that we have known each other… Think about it: When we first met, I was little more than a bashful guy. Then, you helped me mostly fit in with my classmates in your class during my first day of school. You were the one that made me one with magic. You not only helped me train, but you helped the other students in class as well. You even came to me more recently when I needed more motivation for the tournament. Ms. Accord, doing all of those major things, and even smaller stuff as well... I thought you were always the one who could and would bring me back to the right path. I relied on you... so much so, I decided to support the whole wanting to reintroduce academics to Primp Magic School. And then… you decided that THIS was a good thing to employ here to "stabilize" the current problem I have. ... I appreciate you trying to help me, but trust me when I say that this is NOT helping me cope with that trag-" My side of the argument was cut short. "Then prove it. Prove that it isn't helping you cope with the tragedy... by playing the game and giving it a chance." Accord made her own glare. "... ..." I stared at her, before I sighed and rolled with this for the meantime. I was surprised that Oshare didn't see any of us here. By the time that me and Feli got our lane and game ready, the skeleton went ahead and left the bowling alley without ever knowing that we were there.

Feli was first up, her ball was a ten-pound one. She scooched over to the right as she made her way to launch the ball. She threw it in a way where it curved towards the left, smacking against the left side of the pin structure. Feli managed to knock down eight of the ten pins with this first throw of the starting frame. On her second throw, she aimed the other two pins and got a spare. After that, it was then my go at my first frame. My hands shook as I held on to a thirteen-pound ball. I stared off to the pins, as though they were mocking me for my disdain. I breathed in and out as I decided to roll my ball straight towards the front pin. My heart stopped from the anticipation of the ball failing to knock down a good chunk of the pins. I closed my eyes, and... *pins being knocked down* I opened my eyes again to see the result. "...! No way... No fucking way... D-did I just…?" I couldn't believe what had happened. As it turned out, my first throw was a strike. It wasn't just a standard one either, based on the faces that Feli and Ms. Accord made. "Oh my God... that was an excellent strike…" My Feli expressed her shock into words. "What…? How is that...?" I wondered before Accord told me something. "Dave, you have plenty of control over yourself. This is one reason why I often believe you to be my strongest student. Remember when you first used Cryogenic Bomb in class and me saying that it required some fine tuning? You have improved your control with things over time, all by yourself. And now, you can roll bowling balls with both ease and precision. What do you think of this decision of mine now?" She emphasized and reminded me. "..." I looked at my hands and arms before coming to that realization.

She's right... Ms. Accord knew everything that I've done in training would help me deal with my issues involving bowling, as well as that tragedy. She really IS a good instructor...! This is what she meant when she said that I could make amends here and not let the tragedy bog me down. Heh... Ms. Accord, I must thank you after this game. "Let's continue on with this game." I smiled. "D-Dave!" Feli's face brightened up with a smile of her own. Me and Feli went at it in this game of bowling, my first one in many years. I couldn't believe it, I was actually having fun and nothing went wrong throughout the game. Maybe I was just being childish, because I wasn't considering how I am now when it comes to control. Feli, you seem to be having plenty of fun as well... I'm happy for you. In the end, I won the game in a close, but satisfying way.

Several minutes after the game finished, I came up to Accord and thanked her once more for the help. "I assume that everything is fine now?" She smiled. "Yes. You are a wonderful person, Ms. Accord. And… I apologize for being childish before this game. You can now go to prepare for tomorrow, and you definitely should." I said. "Yes, I should... and I accept your apology. I will see you, Amitie, and such when that time comes. Goodbye." She smiled and left. "Dave, let's go outside." Feli led me out of the bowling alley. Then, I was brought to a bench where we both sat down. We looked at the dusky sky above us that brought snow to the ground. "Dave, thank you for being with me for this whole day... It really meant a lot to me that you came to my mansion. Sure, there were not so great moments… but everything turned around for the better today. It was great for us to spend time alone like this." Feli said before kissing me. "... Yeah... I agree with you, Feli." I said, then kissed her in return. After that, she softly laid her head over my shoulder as we continued to look at the sky, with smiles remaining on our faces.

Author's Notes: Dave and Feli continued to walk around Primp Town, searching for a place to have fun. When the gothic lolita said that the two came to a bowling alley, our main character was reminded of a terrible tragedy years prior that happened because of him. This made Dave want to get away from the place itself. Feli wanted to know what was going on with him. When he finished explaining the tragedy to her, she took him by the hand and they arrived at a run-down playground. Through some emotional conversing, this eventually had Dave to come to the decision of having a friendly fight with Feli. She was unsure of the idea at first, but soon agreed to it. Shockingly, not only was Feli on par with Dave at his strongest, but she was also agile. However, their fight was cut short by the surprise appearance of Ms. Accord. After she was explained to: Ms. Accord thought it would be best for Dave to make amends with bowling, rather than have him run away from it. Dave was totally against the idea initially, attempting to run off. but, he failed to do so and lost consciousness from Ms. Accord singing a strange song.

By the time that Dave woke up, he was forced into Primp's bowling alleys for a game. When it was his turn to roll a bowling ball into the pins, Dave couldn't believe his eyes. After he threw the ball, he got a strike and a clean one at that. Over the course of the game, he was actually having fun with Feli. Hell, he even won the game for himself. Dave thanked Ms. Accord, prompting her to leave the two lovebirds to their own devices. Dave and Feli also left the bowling alley before looking at the dusky, snow-filled sky. For the day after this night, Dave and the other students in Ms. Accord's class would have to show up in Primp Magic School's faculty office; they need to prepare for talks of reintroducing academics to the school. Will the whole faculty agree on doing so for the sake of Primp Town as a whole? Next chapter, Chapter 65: A Course Debate.