Chapter 12

Namine had always had her twin siblings to rely on, and that was what was holding her back. She and Xion were quiet and meek, leaving Kairi (the oldest by 7 minutes) to protect them from any bullies. Thankfully, by the time they got out of middle school, that wasn't a big of a deal, but it had another side effect: Namine never developed her own sense of self. She just lived in Kairi's shadow.

Who was she, anyway. She'd always defined herself in relation to her sisters. She was less popular than Kairi, less rebellious then Xion (Even though Xion wasn't that rebellious in the first place, Namine was still much more of a rule follower). She was the quiet one, the stoic artist.

It made so much sense when she found out she was Kairi's Nobody in her other life. Just a shadow, not meant to exist. Kairi was a princess, and she was a Nobody.

She couldn't hate Kairi for that. She had no control over what had happened in the other world. But she could hate herself.

In the other world, she wasn't just a copy of Kairi. She had powers to manipulate memories, and boy did she use them. She replaced their friend Sora's memories of Kairi with memories of her. Of course, everyone forgave her because she was coerced into doing it, but it was still her fault.

Marluxia was right. Kairi didn't know the whole story. Kairi would love her unconditionally, and would never accept that Namine was a bad person.

Namine really, really, really needed to make friends outside of Kairi and Xion. Of course, since she was a coward, she still spent lunch with Kairi's friends at one of the round tables. They weren't bad people by any means. In fact, they were good. Really, really good. Sora had a similar issue to Kairi, where he wouldn't see the bad in anyone. In fact, most of them seemed to be blind to that. The only ones who seemed to have any negative opinions at all were Riku and Roxas, which Namine appreciated, but they sometimes swung too far into the negativity.

After lunch, it was time for Art class. As she and Kairi sat down at the table, Zelda greeted them with a friendly smile. Link was quiet as usual, as well as Rosalina. Demyx didn't show up to class.

Class itself wasn't difficult. Mina gave a presentation on color theory, and then assigned the class to come up with some color schemes to use in future projects. It was just a brainstorming session, so they weren't bound to any of their choices.

Of course, as soon as Mina turned everyone loose, Kairi and Zelda started talking. It didn't really bother Namine, other than a slight pang of jealousy for Kairi's ability to make friends. Instead, she just went to work.

Her colored pencils were some of her favorite things in the world. She had multiple sets mixed together to create a custom palette. Of course, her favorite medium was crayons, but she'd been bullied about those plenty, so she only brought the pencils to school. She went to work, creating little groups of five colors that worked together nicely. She looked around for a bit. People around were on their tablets, looking up pictures and creating palettes out of those. Smart.

Eventually, her eyes settled on Link, who's paper was empty. He looked exasperated. She wanted to help, but she didn't want to call him out. She knew how that felt. After a moment of thinking, she pulled out her tablet and PMed him.

Namine M: You okay, Link?

Link seemed confused whenever his tablet vibrated in his bag. He got it out, and then looked at Namine confused.

Namine M: You haven't done any work.

Link E: These colored pencils are super bright.

Link E: I wouldn't use any of these colors in an actual project.

Namine M: You can borrow mine if you want.

Namine M: There's some nice muted colors in there, and I can bring in more tomorrow.

Link E: Sure, thanks.

Namine slid her pencil box over to him. He started to look through, and then grabbed a few. He nodded at Namine, and then went to work drawing. She went back to work too, occasionally stealing glances at his paper. He came up with a few monochrome looks in cool tones, and a couple schemes that just seemed… melancholy.

What was his other life like?

As Namine worked, she realized something completely obvious - Link could be her friend. He was quiet like her, and they had similar interests. Plus, he seemed to know about drugs, which Namine was interested in. She'd read online that psychedelics were a good way to discover your true self.

After a while, Mina called for everyone to clean up since the bell would ring in a couple minutes. Link returned the pencils and put his work away, and Namine did the same. She took a deep breath. After class, she'd ask him to hang out. After all, they'd already agreed to show off sketchbooks sometime. Maybe they could go to the museum. Yeah, that way they could talk about art and stuff.

She wasn't used to being the person to approach a near stranger. Well, Link wasn't that much of a stranger. They had classes together, and Link was cool. Really cool. He helped protect her from a dude twice his size. Maybe that's why he intimidated her.

The bell rung, and everyone got up and walked out the door.

Right. Here goes.

"Hey, Link, can I speak to you for a moment?"

Link seemed a bit confused. "Uh, sure?" He turned to wave at Zelda.

"See you guys in History!" Zelda didn't seem to mind as she ran to catch up to some tall girl with blue lipstick.

Namine and Link went over to a small stretch of wall with no lockers. It wasn't exactly private, but this didn't really need that much. "So, uh, would you want to hang out sometime? I've been meaning to go to the museum, and I figured you might wanna come too."

Link nodded.

"Okay, cool! Wednesday around 4 work? We can eat at one of the nearby restaurants for dinner." Namine smiled.

"Sure. Shouldn't be working that day. I'll let you know if that changes."

"Cool. Well, I've got to get to class, but talk to you later." She waved and started heading towards class.

As she walked, it dawned on her. She'd just asked the coolest guy in their school on a date without even realizing it. And he said yes.

Holy shit.

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Leon Alverez (Not to be confused with Leon Squall) had already talked to so many students. The staff knew there would be issues with people adjusting to having two lives, but he could barely handle it. Most of his job was just to help students sign up for actual counseling, but he still tried to listen to as many kids as possible.

So many students had witnessed death. Some had caused death, despite ultimately being heroes. Some had stories that sounded like outlandish fantasies you'd read in melodramatic books, but what hit him harder were the more… mundane ones. Things that could have happened in this world too. His trauma was like that too. Child grooming could happen anywhere, both in a land with fantastical creatures and right in your own city.

Things were already starting to slow down in his office. Most of the people who needed counselors were already signed up, so he had a little more time to himself. He was still busy, though. He was trying to form a support group for those who've hurt people in their previous lives. It had been hard to find someone who could lead it, though. All the teachers were already busy, and many of the townies were just normal people from another world. However, through his search, he found Misha, a Russian man who called himself Heavy. He was a kind man who was clearly bothered by what he'd done in the other life, so he was willing to help students dealing with the same issues. Everything seemed to check out, and even though he wasn't an experienced therapist, there really wouldn't be any that also knew how to deal with having two lives. They were hoping to be able to set up the group by the next week.

With that settled, Leon had another project. Thankfully, this one was a lot lighter of a topic. He was going to sponsor a Dyslexia Awareness Club.

His little brother Hop had mentioned that the textbooks' dyslexia font wasn't great, even though the chatroom one was fine. Apparently, his friend Pit agreed. Since Leon himself was dyslexic, he knew how hindering that could be, so he and Hop decided to start a club where student s could voice their concern.

And so, Tuesday afternoon would be the first Dyslexia Awareness Club meeting. Most clubs weren't going to be officially formed until after Student Council elections were done, but he got the rest of the staff to agree that this one should meet as soon as possible.

He leaned back in his chair. Class was about to end, so he'd probably have a student or two stop by to talk to him about counseling, or Hop would pop in and say hi, but he had a couple minutes to himself.

He didn't want any time to himself. He needed to keep working on something.

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Even if life was weird, Link could take comfort in his sword. Battle classes were fun, even if they left him sweaty and gross. Currently, he was fighting against Marth, the famed Hero-King as he was apparently known in his home world. He was infinitely more skilled, precise and intentional with every move. It couldn't be just the fencing he'd done previously, could it?

Link was a lot more impulsive in battle. It felt like he had multiple people pulling at him, moving his arms in wildly different ways after every swing. It didn't help that he, well, was multiple people. According to what little he'd read, he wasn't just one 'Link". He was part of a lineage of 'Link's, heroes who kept naming their children the same thing over and over. He'd adventured through the same world over and over, but each time it was wildly different. Even then, it always ended with him saving Zelda from Ganon.

Honestly, he had to give props to the ten year old versions of himself who could wield a sword, because his current self certainly couldn't.

How the hell was Zelda so composed? He looked over to her, practicing some spell that generated a suit of armor to fight for her. She seemed confident, effortless. She was just as many people as he was, plus there was a goddess crammed in there too. Maybe that was her secret.

Marth knocked him over with a blow to the gut. Luckily, they wouldn't take any real damage, but hitting the ground still hurt a bit.

"You seem distracted, Link." Marth offered a hand, looking too goddamn smug.

"No shit." Link grumbled as he accepted Marth's help. Luckily, Zelda didn't notice, so all was well.

Marth gave a glance over to Zelda. "You really like her, don't you?"

God, was it that obvious? "I mean, yeah. She likes someone else though."

"That's rough, man. I know what that's like." Marth's eyes swiveled over to the Melee fighters area, and it didn't take Link long to realise who he was looking at. Peach was practicing her low kicks on Daisy, who was effectively dodging them. God, they looked so ridiculous, running around in poofy princess dresses and tiaras. Then again, Marth was wearing one a well.

Did he know what happened at the party? He hadn't talked to Marth much at all, but he hadn't really talked about the party with anyone. That moment at the lake? He wanted it to be his own to hold on to. It was just him, Peach, weed, and alcohol. For one moment, he felt like he had everything he needed, and that was something he was never going to let go. It wasn't going to happen again, and that's what made it so special.

"I kinda though Peach, you know, liked me, but then she made out with Ike at that cake party she had."

Oh. Link hadn't made the connection. Zelda mentioned that Ike had gotten a hickey, but she never said if she knew who gave it to him. He didn't really care, not even that it turned out to be Peach.

But it did, a little. For the first time, Link had been able to feel something. Did it mean anything to Peach? He supposed it didn't really matter.

"You know, I guess it doesn't exactly matter. My wife in the other world, Caeda, goes here too." Marth shrugged. "We agreed to not force a relationship, but, I dunno, every time a memory slips in…"

"You're married?"

"Well, I guess I will be. Then, Caeda and I have kids, and then they have kids, and eventually, Chrom is born."

Wait, what? "Like, Mr. Lowell, our teacher?"

"Yeah, my world's timeline is convoluted, to say the least."

"Tell me about it."

"Speaking of Chrom, we should get back to fighting before he yells at us."

And so, Link gripped his sword and attacked. His mind was in other places, reliving adventures with Zelda, things that had happened so long ago, yet hadn't happened at all.

He and Zelda were intrinsically linked, always crossing paths upon reincarnation after reincarnation. Still, he never quite knew what their relationship was. Princess and Knight? Too simplistic. Best friends? More than that. Lovers? The word didn't sound right, like it did it justice.

Maybe the past didn't matter. Maybe all that mattered was his life here.

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Peach noticed Link and Marth talking. Were they talking about her? Her ears had gone hot, and she'd noticed them looking at her. She could tell when people were talking about her. After all, there was usually someone spreading gossip.

Speaking of gossip, she was surprised no one knew what happened at the lake. She'd almost expected them to get caught. Not that it was a bad thing. Two teenagers almost fucking wasn't the worst thing. It's not like either of them were dating anyone or anything.

But they both liked other people. Link had Zelda, and Peach had Marth. What the two of them had done was a chance encounter, one driven by alcohol and loneliness. Though, honestly, she wouldn't mind if it happened again.

No. That wasn't the objective. He had Zelda, and she never let herself steal away someone who's heart belong elsewhere.

They'd known each other for less than a week. What did any of this matter, anyway?

They arrived back at Peach's house, and Yoshi greeted them at the door. God, that dog was so cute. Very well behaved too.

"Hey, Peach," Daisy said, kicking off her shoes. "Would you want to go out tonight? Maybe get Zelda and do some shopping?"

"Hmm." Peach thought for a moment. "Maybe after homework? I want to get ahead in English."

"Alright, sounds good!" Daisy said. "I'm going to play some Kart Racer for a bit, then."

Peach was already done with her homework. It's not that she didn't want to go out. Shopping sounded fun. But no, she had some stuff to take care of first.

She went upstairs and towards her room. Yoshi followed her up, staying just at her heels like always. Such a good pup. She flipped down on her bed, and Yoshi climbed in next to her.

For the longest time, she didn't know why the name Yoshi called out to her. But as Yoshi licked her hand, a memory flashed back of a little green dinosaur doing the exact same thing. Her other life seemed very strange.

That didn't matter. What mattered was right then, right there, and she needed to talk to Link.

[hey, link, can I ask you a favor?]

Link replied a couple minutes later. [Sure.]

[so you know how I'm helping you get together with Zelda, right? Mind if you do the same for me and Marth?]

[I can try, but uh, he's married in the other life and his wife goes to school with us.]

Oh. That changed things. [they together?]

[Nah, but Marth mentioned he gets these little flashes of memories of them together. I guess I get memories too. Do you?]

She did. Little things, like Yoshi, but also being kidnapped and almost marrying a giant turtle on the moon. God, that life was weird. [Yeah, I get it.]

Of course Marth would have someone. A strange part of her was relieved. It wasn't her fault that he rejected her. Well, it still kind of was, but his heart was already in another place. She couldn't change that, even if she wanted to. She couldn't pursue him, which meant she could move on to other people.

Still, her heart ached.

Instinctively, Yoshi curled up next to her. She idly pet him as she stared up into the pink fairy lights.

Yeah, she could move on.

[Also, apparently Chrome is actually his distant grandson. Light, over 20 greats in there.]

How could… Never mind. Peach wasn't going to even pretend to understand how time worked in the other lives. Hell, she didn't understand her own other life. All that mattered was this life. Everything else was just a distant memory that slowly kept creeping into her mind.

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A/N: well that was late. Even later because I finished this three months ago and forgot to publish. Sorry. Peach's sections always trip me up. I think it's that I don't particularly ship my incarnations of Peach and Marth. I've read others where I like them, and even in my old stuff I ship them.

Oh my god, is Marth gay? I literally just realized this as I'm writing this author's note. Oh my god, Marth might be gay. I'll have to think about it.

Anyway, how are you doing? I have a job, an apartment, and a dope ass boyfriend. Also, I finally got drunk, and nope, never doing that again. Also, I'm 20 now. Life is good for me, pandemic and protests aside.

Oh yeah, I'm super late to the party, but #BlackLivesMatter. And fuck all the pedophiles in the Smash community, y'all can go to hell. Happy very late Pride, y'all are wonderful and valid. Wash your hands, wear a mask, social distance. There, that's most of the stuff I would have said had I updated during all those events.

Anyway, hopefully next update won't be so late.

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