Disclamer: I don't own Mario, Toads, Toad Town, or anything else like that. I do, however, own the storyline and the characters Nillie and David -

This isn't my first fanfic, but it is my first one to be put online so please R&R, tell me what you think okay? :)

Prelude

"Hey, cut it out!" the little mushroom girl giggled, swatting at her friend's hand. The boy kept poking her, laughing and giggling with her. The pair had been the best of friends for as long as either of them could remember, and delighted in getting on each other's nerves. She started poking him back, and soon they were frantically poking and jabbing, until the girl's mother entered the room with their lunches on a tray.

She put the tray down and scolded them lightly. "Now, you two, settle down! Can't you ever play without getting so rough?"

The little girl, who couldn't have been older than eight, grabbed her sandwich and grinned winningly at her mother. "Aw, mom, we were just playing. And besides, he started it."

"Did not, Nillie!"

"Did too, David!"

Soon they had snatched throw pillows off the couch and were pummeling each other with them, until feathers flew. The children were in hysterics by now. Nillie's mother grabbed their pillows, trying to hide her own laughter. "Look, I made you two this nice lunch, now will you hold still long enough to eat it?"

After a few more minutes, the pair settled down, and ate their lunch. Both agreed enthusiastically that Nillie's mom made better sandwiches than Tace T. Once they had finished it, they decided to take advantage of the nice summer weather and go outdoors.

"What do you think? Jump rope? Hop scotch?" Nillie said as they stood in the quiet street.

"Aw, we always play those same dumb games." David said, waving his hand dismissively. "Why don't we do something else? We could play tag," he suggested.

"All right, but… I'M NOT IT!" the little girl screamed gleefully, and immediately tore off down the road.

"Hey!" David yelled, grinning broadly as he dashed after her. They chased each other about for at least ten minutes, gently tapping and pushing each other as the tagged and re-tagged.

"Slow down, Dave!" Nillie cried as she chased her good friend. "Gotcha!" she shouted triumphantly, reaching out to touch him in the back. Suddenly her foot caught on a rock in her path, and she stumbled forward, accidentally bumping into David and knocking him forcefully to the pavement.

Nillie caught her balance and froze, staring down at her friend where he lay stunned on the road. He sat up, and his hands and knees were scraped and bleeding. On his forehead a large bump was already developing.

"Oh David! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it!" she said in a hushed voice. Dave looked at his injuries with wide eyes, which were wet with tears of pain. He choked back a sob and fearfully began to wipe his red hands on his vest. "David, David... you- you'll be all right, I promise!" she continued, kneeling by him. Tears were already streaming down her soft round cheeks. Gently she reached out and touched him on the shoulder, not knowing what else to do.

Suddenly her hand felt very hot. Her grip tightened, and David winced, but warmth was spreading from her hand and through his body like a sip of hot chocolate in the dead of winter. The pain from the scrapes was deadening, until finally it vanished completely, leaving nothing but a dull, numb throbbing in his hands and knees.

Amazed, he looked down at his hands. The hot, red blood was still there, so he wiped it off and looked again. The scrapes were gone completely. He looked up at Nillie with eyes full of awe and fear. She immediately let go of his shoulder and stared at her own hands in amazement. What had happened…? "Dave," she said dryly. "You'll have to wipe yourself off and change, or your mom will wonder what happened, and… I don't know what happened, Davie!"

He stood up and took off his already stained vest, using it as a handkerchief to clean himself off. He'd been bleeding a lot, he realized. He suddenly felt sick. "Nellie, that was really weird. How'd you do that?" She shook her head but said nothing.

"If you're okay then I better go home," she said. "I'll see you tomorrow?" she added hopefully. David grinned.

"Of course. See ya, Nil!" he said, managing a smile as he walked towards home. Nillie went inside her own house in silence, and went straight to her room to wonder about the strange occurrence.