No matter how much time passed none of them could ever get over the thrill of it all. The freedom that came with shouting PERSONA at the top of their lungs and living out the swashbuckling dream every child had at least once. When the metaverse went away there was a little voice of doubt inside them that worried if that thrill would go with it.

Those fears faded to dust that fateful day a certain envelope arrived for Ren.

Addressed to Joker from The Phantom Thieves of Heart.

And thus they found themselves here, a place similar to the metaverse but wholly separate. A dimension in between all worlds, connected to every place a hero could call home. A cosmic colosseum that could morph to reflect areas from those very worlds. Nobody explained to them what this place was called nor who controlled it or created it. But they knew its purpose; to test of mettle of the universe's greatest warriors.

To battle in the tournament of Super Smash Brothers.

"Player 3 defeated!"

When Joker heard the ethereal announcer's voice and the subsequent roar of the audience he knew the stakes that hung over his head. What has started out as a four fighter battle royal had whittled down to a one on one battle. The winner of this strange tribunal was down to him and his opponent.

Captain Falcon.

"Show me your moves rookie!"

The red and blue racer performed his signature pose, virtually bouncing on the heels of his feet as he brought his elbows and knees into what looked like was supposed to be a martial arts stance. Joker slowly rose from the ground, his signature cloak flapping with his movement. At this point his ears had blocked out the noise of the crowd...except for one particular patch up in the stands that he had memorized the position of. His face was as stoic as ever as he slowly stepped towards the Captain, his cloak swaying all along the way.

This was far from his first rodeo but this would be his first victory under these new rules he had to play by. He wouldn't fail.

Not in front of them.

"It's showtime…"

And then in a blink Joker was in a full sprint directly towards a grinning Captain Falcon.

"FALCON….PUNCHHHHH!"

The entire stadium buzzed in anticipation as one of the most legendary techniques across the known lands launched.

And then they gasped when it missed its target.

In a move that was designed to embarrass just as much as it was meant to evade, Joker flipped right over Captain Falcon and landed on his feet on the other side of the brawler's back. He then immediately dropped to the ground and swept his foe's legs from underneath him, knocking him flat on his rear.

Joker spun around in a whirlwind of black and red cloth brandishing his trust dagger but that moment of flair gave Captain Falcon the opportunity to lift his own legs and kick the younger combatant away with both his feet, also using that momentum to get back up. And then in a display of his own renowned speed he jumped up and attached to Joker midair as he was falling and blasted off him in a blaze of fair, knocking them both back to the edge of the stage.

The crowd erupted into a cascade of hype as both fighters stood apart panting and heaving slowly.

"Not bad kid, you could do some real damage here someday."

Joker offered none of his trademark wit in his response as he lazily tossed his dagger up and down in his right hand, his left now brandishing his pistol in an unseen maneuver.

What happened next was something straight out of one of Futaba's favorite shows as they met in the middle and traded blow after blow. With Joker blocking every one of Falcon's punches with his dagger and the Captain in turn kicking away the pistol before Joker could let off more than one shot.

Joker ducked under yet another Falcon Punch but was then immediately trapped into a headlock when Captain Falcon let Joker use his own speed take him into his waiting biceps.

"It's ok kid, plenty of people lose their first match."

Joker stopped pretending to struggle in the hold and let that trickster smirk creep onto his face.

He got him.

"ARSENE!"

Joker jumped up and fell down to the ground hard dislodging himself from the trap, his mask dissolving in a puff of blue flame. Captain Falcon was so shocked he completely missed the top hat wearing red demon crash into him and knock him completely off the stage.

"GAME!"

At first the crowd was silent, shocked at the upset. This wouldn't last long.

"Hell yeah Joker! That's how you effing do it!"

The crowd exploded onto their feet, showering Smash's newest alumni with adulation. His face was as cool and collected as any other day as he stood in the middle of it all. He looked to that specific part of the audience he kept his mind on and twisted a stray lock of his hair as he smiled in satisfaction.

You never really got over the thrill of it all.

When Ren got back to the fighter's designated waiting room his friends were there waiting.

"That was amazing!"

"Simply breathtaking as always leader."

"I can't believe you made CAPTAIN FALCON look like a total noob!"

"And you did it with such style and grace."

"He learned that from you know."

"You wish, cat."

"You wanna go next, Ryuji?!"

"Bring it!"

Ren chuckled quietly as everyone bounced around him. The other fighters and their guests were either used to displays like this or simply didn't care which he was thankful for. He already had enough of a reputation as it was being the flashy newcomer. As the others broke off into their own animated conversations Makoto stepped forward, a proud ember swimming in her calculating red eyes as she looked up at him.

"You really are something sometimes, you know?"

"Only sometimes?"

She whacked his arm and pecked him on the cheek.

"You looked good out there, leader."

The trickster inside him made himself known as Ren did a little curtsy for her, pure electricity and heat in his eyes as his head lifted back up with the rest of his upper body.

"I aim to please."

She whacked him again but his goal was realized by the pink shooting in a straight line crossed her cheeks.

Ren chuckled again when Makoto looped her arm through his and led him to one of the room's many soft blue couches, their fellow thieves following right behind them still engrossed in their own conversations. After they both plopped down into the cushions that felt out of this dimension both literally and figuratively Ren rested the side of his head on top of hers allowing her to nestle in the side of his neck.

"You can be such a show off sometimes."

"Only when you're around."

Instead of the third whack he expected his Queen moved both their heads away from their lazy positions and gazed into his eyes with her own fire and electricity.

"Well then…. you better win this tournament then shouldn't you?"

Her voice was too low for him to handle. She was challenging him, and that thrilled him.

"Anything for you, your highness." He promised through a toothy, wicked grin.

The first victory was always sweetest, but he was just getting started.

This was written for day one of Shumako week the prompt was First time/Milestones.